It was a early afternoon, and somewhere in upper Imp City, a taxi pulled up to the side of the road in front of a large two story restaurant, called Ravir.
A moment later, the vehicle's door facing the sidewalk opened, and Lily stepped out of the cab, and headed inside the restaurant once she paid the cab driver.
Today she wore a black leather studded choker, a dark steel gray crop top that exposed her midriff, and charcoal grey designer dress jeans shorts.
As Lily entered the restaurant, a small bell above the front doors, immediately getting the attention of a winged male imp near the doors.
" Bonjour madame, and welcome to Ravir, do you have a reservation? " The winged male Imp asked politely with a slightly deep voice.
He was tall, slim but toned, had black combed back hair, and thin, long, curved back horns with many white rings, and a long thin tail, and wore a fancy black dress suit.
He stood behind a podium, with a open reservation book on it, and had a name tag on the left side of his chest, showing he's name was Jeremy.
" Yes, its under Zelramorta, I'm Lily and I'm suppose to meet with my two sisters here. " Lily said as she informed him of the name of the reservation.
" Ahh yes, right this way ma'am. " Jeremy said politely after quickly checking reservation book, before leading Lily further into the restaurant.
Jeremy lead Lily up to the restaurant's second floor, to where a fancy table, made of jet black wood was near a large window was, and sitting at this table were two hellcats.
One was Lily's little step-sister Zella, who was casually eating a toasted garlic breadstick from a breadbasket in the center of the table.
Zella wore a red leather choker with black flames on it, and a silver metal skull on it, a dark red colored silk crop top, and black designer jeans shorts.
The other tabby hellcat sitting at the table with her, was Emiliana Zelramorta, Lily's elder step-sister, who was looking out the window with a bored look.
She was two heads taller than Lily, and had a slim, toned, curvy hourglass figure with a large bust, and fluffy black amethyst purple fur like them.
She had short, spiky dark red wine hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes with a black undertone, and her fur was a bit darker then theirs were.
She also had a jet black tiger strip pattern across her whole body, and wore a light sapphire blue crop top, with dark blue knee high dress pants.
" Excuse me ladies, your sister Lily has arrived. " Jeremy said as Lily and him walked up to the table.
" Hey Emma, hey Zella. " Lily said cheerfully with a happy smile as she greeted her step-sisters while she sat down on the table.
" Hey Lily, long time no see. " Emma said in a soft, smooth, mature voice with a light Italian sounding accent, as she happily greeted Lily with a happy smile.
" Can you bring us some menus now sir? " Emma asked as she turned to look at Jeremy.
" Of course ma'am, I'll have someone bring them over shortly. " Jeremy said with a nod, before heading off to do so.
" So it's been a while since the three of us had the the chance meet up like this, how have you both been? " Emma asked curiously as she looked at Lily and Zella.
" I've been doing good, I'm just glad I got to have a day off, and get to spend some time with my sisters. " Zella said as she before she ate another roasted garlic bread sick.
" Yeah, same here. " Lily said with nod of agreement.
Just then, all three hellcat's ears suddenly perked up at the sound of distant approaching footsteps, and turned and saw a waitress walking towards their table.
She was a tall winged female Imp, with small, thick, curved back black horns, and had a long thin tail, and wore a fancy waitress outfit.
" Hello ladies, I'm Lora, here are your menus, what would you all like to drink? " Lora asked as she introduced herself and handed out three menus.
" Hmm, I'll have a a glass of Pinot Noir, with the rosemary braised beef ribs, with a side of seasoned fries. " Emma said as she placed her menu and stated her order.
" I'll have a glass of Chablis, the lobster, crab, and shrimp risotto, and a side of roasted asparagus. " Lily said a she placed her menu down and stated her order next.
" And I'll have a cola and the fired chicken stripes and oysters, with a side of seasoned fries and cold slaw. " Zella said last as she placed her menu down and stated her order last.
" Of course, I'll be back shortly with your drinks. " Lora said a she finished writing down their orders on a notepad, before walking away.
" So what have you two been up too lately Emma, anything interesting? " Zella asked a she looked at her older sister.
" Not much in the last few days, though last week I did a few decent paying hit jobs, but that's about it. " Emma said nonchalantly as she recalled the previous week.
" So are you staying in Imp City for long Emma? " Lily asked curiously as she took a sip of her wine.
" Yeah, I'll be staying for a week at most, and see if I can find any decent work while here. " Emma said as she picked up and began to eat a garlic breadstick.
" I'm currently staying in the penthouse of a hotel I found in the East side of the upper part of the city, it's called Ebony Peaks. "
" So after lunch, do you both wanna come over and see the place and have dinner? " Emma asked as she looked at looked at Zella and Lily.
" Sure, I've got nothing else planned today, and I'd like to hangout more with you sis, what about you Lily? " Zella asked as she looked at her older step-sister.
" Yeah, of course I'll come along as well. " Lily said gladly, H-Huh happy to the opportunity to spend more time with her sisters.
" Great, so what have you two been up too lately? " Emma asked curiously, as she looked between Lily and Zella.
" Well, recently I joined an assassination company, it's called I.M.P, it stands for The Immediate Murder Professionals. " Lily said as she recalled her company's full name.
" Oh really, I've never heard of them before, but I'm surprised Lily, I thought you enjoyed being a freelance assassin? " Emma asked, surprised Lily had become a company employee.
" Yeah I did, but at the time business was scarce, and its a a nice place, and we do a unique service no one else does that's pretty fun. " Lily said, before she picked up a breadstick and began eating it.
" Oh, what kind of work does this I.M.P company do? " Emma asked curiously with a raised eyebrow.
" We do revenge killings for former humans on those who wronged them in the living world, thanks to us having the means to freely travel anywhere in the living world. " Lily said as she explained about I.M.P's line of work.
" Wow, that sounds really cool, but how do they do something like that? " Emma asked curiously, knowing that traveling between the worlds was not easy to do.
" Sorry Emma, it's a company trade secret, so legally I can't tell you. " Lily said apologetically to Emma.
" Hey, it's alright Lily, I should have know that as well. " Emma said with a nod of understanding.
" Oh and something else, you remember Loona, my hellhound friend that I grew up with in that orphanage? " Lily asked Emma curiously.
" Yeah, I remember what you told me about her " Emma said, recalling what Lily had told about the hellhound that was her best friend.
" Well get this, when I first went to the I.M.P office I met Loona there, turns out she works at I.M.P, and she's my boss's adopted daughter. " Lily said with a happy smile as she thought of Loona.
" Oh that's great Lily, I'm so glad you've found your friend. " Emma said with a delighted smile, happy for her younger step-sister.
" She's more than a friend to you though, isn't that right Lily? " Zella asked as she looked at Lily with a playful cat like grin.
" I was getting to that Zella. " Lily said softly with a hint of annoyance and embarrassment, as she glared at her little step-sister with blushing cheeks.
" Oh, so you two are dating? "Emma asked curiously, instantly figuring out from Lily's behaviour she had feelings for Loona.
" No, I'm waiting for the right time to tell her how I feel. " Lily said softly as she twiddled with her fingers, not sure when that would be.
" Well don't wait to long Lily, and I wish you the best of luck with that. " Emma said with a smile, hoping for the best for Lily in her pursuit of love.
" Oh yeah, I've got some exciting news too Emma, you know the noble family I was hired by to be a bodyguard for a member of that family? " Zella asked curiously as she looked at Emma.
" Yeah, this was a bit before I left the family business, so I was informed your working for the Goesha family as a bodyguard for Princess Octavia. " Emma said as she recalled the details of Zella's job.
Suddenly the three hellcat's ears perked up, hearing footsteps coming towards their table, and saw their waitress walking up to them with a tray of drinks.
" Here are you drinks ladies, your meals will be ready shortly. " Lora informed them as she placed each of their drinks in front of them on a black coaster, before walking away.
" So, what about you saying about your job Zella, did something happen? " Emma asked curiously with a hint of concern.
" Well something did happen, but nothing bad, rather something really good has happened. " Zella said as she assured her elder sister she wasn't in any trouble.
" So you know Princess Octavia, well you see,me and her are dating. " Zella said hesitantly with a soft and nervous tone.
" Y-You, and Princess Octavia's, are dating? " Emma said in a soft, shaky voice, utterly and visibly shocked in disbelieve at this news.
" Yes, we've been dating for over a few months now. " Zella said nervously as she informed Emma of this.
" Marzella, she's a princess of a powerful royal family, if anyone found out, you'd be in seriously major deep trouble! " Emma angrily said in a hushed voice filled with dread as she feared for her little sister.
" Hey it's okay, her father told me and her that he completely supports our relationship. " Zella said as she quickly informed Emma of this.
" Really, well that's a relief to hear. " Emma said as she sighed heavily in relief and relaxed as her fears were put to rest.
" So, this a serious thing with her Zella? " Emma asked her younger sister, as her face and tone shifted to being very serious.
" Yes, yes it is. " Zella said firmly with no hesitation as she stated this.
" Alright then, still I'm surprised Princess Octavia's parents approved of this. " Emma said as she signed in relief before taking drink of her wine.
" Actually, only Octavia's father knows and gave his approval of our relationship, and he told me only to tell those who I completely trusted about this. "
" I already told Lily last time we meet, he wants this to be kept secret for now, considering how his wife Lady Stella is. " Zella said as she recalled how the white owl demon woman was.
" I see, I can understand that, and it's a good idea, so are you going to tell mom and dad as well Zella? " Emma asked curiously.
" No, at least not anytime soon anyway. " Zella replied with a nervous tone as she thought of their parents.
" Hmm, alright then, though I'm sure they'd support your relationship, both of yours, but I understand not telling anyone else. "Emma said a she leaned back in her seat.
" There's a risk of others in the Zelramorta family finding out, and many in the Zelramorta family care so much about the family reputation. " Emma said the last part in a mocking tone as she rolled her eyes.
" Though they wouldn't care who you dated Lily, because sadly most of them don't regard you as really family, even though you certainly are.
" While there's no telling how they'd react to finding out Zella dating Princess Octavia. " Emma said with an angry frown, recalling how some of the rest of the Zelramorta family were.
" Yeah. " Lily said bitterly with a distant look in her eyes, recalling how she was treated as an outcast by most of the Zelramorta family.
" Yeah. " Zella said softly, afraid of what would happen if her relationship with Octavia was found out by them, and they didn't approve of it.
" Hey, regardless of what those in the Zelramorta family say, you both have my full support of course. " Emma said reassuringly as she looked at her two younger sisters.
" Yeah, after all that's what real family does, right Lily? " Zella said as she smiled happily at Lily.
" Yeah, yeah they do. " Lily said as she smiled back, feeling better after hearing her step-sisters words.
Then the three hellcat's ears perked up at the sound of footsteps approaching their table, and smelled the scent of fresh food wafting in the air.
" Here are your meals ladies. " Lora said as she pushed a metal food cart with three plates of food on it.
" The rosemary braised beef ribs, with a side of fries, lobster, crab, and shrimp risotto and a side of roasted asparagus. "
" And the chicken stripes and oysters, with a side of fries and cold slaw, if you need anything press the call button on the table. " Lora said after placing each of their meals, a folded napkin, and eating utensils in front of them.
" Bon appétit. " Lora said with a quick bow, z before she pushed the food cart as she walked away from their table.
" Oh yeah Lily, does this I.M.P have any job openings for assassins? " Emma asked curiously as she looked at Lily after she paused in eating her meal.
" Huh, well we certainly could use more employees, you interested in working there? " Lily asked as she looked at her elder step-sister in surprise.
" Maybe, it certainly sounds interesting, and would be different from the majority of the line of work I usually do. "
" And it would be nice to work alongside you on missions again. " Emma said with a nostalgic smile, remembering the times they worked together on assassinations and other jobs.
" But I'd have to see how they operate in the field first to decide on that, I'd be willing to join on a job if they'd pay me, and depending on the target. " Emma said before she took a drink of her wine.
" Alright, I'll run it by my boss Blitz and see what he says about it. " Lily said as she thought of Blitz and wondered what he would say.
" Sure, just let me know what he says as soon as you can. " Emma said, before they returned to eating their food.
After they finished eating, Lily and Zella got in Emma's metallic dark sapphire blue black Audi A7, with Zella riding in the passenger seat, while Lily rode in the back.
After a little over long drive, they arrived at a tall, large fancy hotel, it's main color was jet black, with lighter shades of black, and dark and light blood red.
Above the hotel's front entrance, was a sign with the name Ebony Peaks in cursive writing, hanging above the logo of three jet black mountains.
Ebony Peaks was a five star luxury hotel, it had a spa and many other luxuries for guests to enjoy, though only the really wealthy could stay here.
As Emma drove into a indoor private parking lot, reserved for guests staying at the hotel, they then headed to the hotel's front entrance.
The hotel's front entrance had two tinted glass double doors, with ornate gold handles, and had two large muscular hellhounds in black suits standing at the doors.
As Emma and her sisters approached the doors, both the hellhounds swiftly opened the door next to them for Emma and her sisters to enter.
They then and closed the doors behind them, as the three hellcats walked into the hotel, and and entered the hotel lobby.
Lily and Zella saw the hotel lobby's was large and spacious, an had a color scheme that was jet black, with gold as the secondary, and blood red accents.
There were four large square shaped pillars of black marble in the lobby, with a pillar placed in each corner of the lobby.
The lobby also had a black granite floor, a bar, a tall dome ceiling, with luxurious furniture, consisting of leather chairs, couches, and beautifully carved wooden tables.
And had many beautiful paintings, sculptures, and decor throughout the lobby, the lobby also had several armed hellhound and imp security guards placed throughout it.
The security guards were standing near all the doors, and around other places in the lobby at strategic positions, as they stood vigilant at their posts.
All of them were well built and muscular, and wore black dress suits, ties, and shoes, and had the hotel's logo of three black mountains on their uniforms.
They also wore black sunglasses, radio ear pieces, and visibly displayed their weapons, consisting of light machine guns, pistols, and knives.
Once Emma, Lily, and Zella walked over to where five the lobby elevators where, they walked over to where a private elevator for the penthouse was.
As they approached it, Emma took out a white hotel keycard with the Ebony Peaks logo with a gold ring around it on it from the fur on her left arm.
She then inserted it into a card slot under where the call button was, and pressed the button before removing the card, then a few moments later the elevator's doors opened.
Once Emma, Lily, and Zella entered the elevator, Emma pressed the penthouse floor button, and the elevator began to quickly ascend.
* Bing! *
" Alrighty girls, here we are, make yourself at home. " Emma said after the elevator doors opened and they stepped out of it and into a foyer.
The foyer was spacious, and had a tall cream white high arched ceiling, with light beige tan walls, dark brown wood tile floors.
It also had a elegantly carved black wooden front door with a ornate gold handle, and at the top of the archer ceiling of the foyer, was a small fancy chandelier.
The chandelier was made of gold, and had elegant black metal engravings across it, it also had four arms with each having a small light bulb at the end.
As the three hellcat sisters moved from the foyer, and into the living room, which was spacious, and had a modern contemporary design, and a open concept floor plan.
The living room also had a high cream white ceiling, dark charcoal wood tile flooring, and luxury furniture, and a 70 inch flat screen TV in it.
A dark brown U fluffy lazy boy sofa in the middle of the room, with a glass top rectangle coffee table in front of the sofa.
The coffee table had fur polished black wood legs, and sat on a small black rug, and the large TV hung on the wall.
Across from the living room, was a luxury modern chef's kitchen, with a arching white ceiling, pale beige walls, and white tile flooring.
There were large windows, granite counter tops, a large dark stained dining table, and a double door luxury stainless steel refrigerator.
" Wow, nice place sis, how much does it cost to live here?" Zella asked as she looked around the room.
" Hmm, this one costs 70,000$ for a month, it coast 800,000$ to rent for a year, though I'm only staying here a week, with is only 400,000$. " Emma casually said as she walked over and lazily sat down in the middle on the sofa.
" Huh, so how are you doing money-wise Lily? " Zella asked curiously after Lily sat on the left side, and she sat on the right side lazy boy sofa.
" I'm doing fine, I'm managing my money pretty well, plus my job pays pretty well, so don't worry about my financial situation sis. " Lily said nonchalantly as she leaned back into the soft sofa.
" Well that's good to hear, I'm glad grandpa Curlano decided to give you both a million dollar yearly allowance, after you two left the family business. " Zella said as she stretched out her arms and legs.
" Yeah, I'm glad he did, he's one of few that sees me as family, and is nice to me and cares about me. " Lily said with a smile as she recalled her many great uncle.
" Oh, before I forget, I need to call my boss before it's too late. " Lily said as she pulled out her dark purple IPhone from her fur and headed into Emma's kitchen.
" Tell him if he agrees to pay me, I can come along on a mission as early as tomorrow if he wants. " Emma called out to Lily as she walked into the spacious kitchen.
" Alrighty. " Lily replied, before looking up Blitz's cell number in her contact list and called it.
* Ring, Ring, Ring *
" Hey Lily! " Blitz said cheerfully on the other end of the phone.
" Hey Blitz, I hope I'm not calling at a bad time. " Lily said nervously, hoping that wasn't the case.
" Oh no, I'm just fixing me and Loonie dinner, you wanna come over and join us? " Blitz asked curiously with a happy tone.
" Oh I'm sorry, I'm currently hanging out with my sisters right now, and I'm going to have dinner with them, thanks for the offer though." Lily said apologetically as she politely declined the offer.
" Alrighty, so what's up? * Blitz asked curiously, while Lily could hear the faint sound of something being chopped up on Blitz's end.
" Well, about my sisters, my big sister Emma told me she might be interested in joining I.M.P, but- "
" That's #$%&ing great news! " Blitz exclaimed happily as he interrupted Lily.
" But, she's on the fence about it, she says she'd like to see how we operate, and how we do things in the field, before considering anything. "
" She suggested for her to get the best assessment of this is first hand experience, so she's willing to assist us on a job if she's paid for it.
" And her price will determine on the job, target, and how difficult she assesses the jobs is. " Lily said as she finished Emma explaining proposal to Blitz.
" So whatcha think Blitz? " Lily said as she awaited Blitz's response.
" Hmm, sure why the #$%& not, and hey if she decides to permanently join, that all is the better for us. " Blitz said happily at the thought of having another Zelramorta working at his company.
" Great, she can come in tomorrow. " Lily said, happy to get to work with her elder step-sister on a job.
" Wonderful, and hey how about I pick up you and your big sis on the way to work, that way she can meet and ride with us?" Blitz suggested with an excited tone his voice.
" Ahh, you don't have to- "
" Oh it's no trouble at all Lily, so where do you and your big sister live? " Blitz asked curiously with a happy tone before Lily could decline.
" Not this $#%& again, I know if I tell him where I live, he'll try to spy on me and sneak into my home, like he does to Millie and Moxxie. "
" I definitely don't wanna #$%&ing deal with that. " Lily though, feeling her skin crawl at the thought of Blitz doing the same to her as he did to Millie and Moxxie.
" I'm not telling you that Blitz. " Lily said with a annoyed tired sigh as she pinched her brow in frustration.
" Just come pick us up at the Ebony Peaks hotel tomorrow, the one in the upper east side of the city, my big sister is currently staying there. " Lily said as she informed him of this with a tired sign.
" Alrighty, see you and your sister tomorrow at 9 o'clock Lily. " Blitz said happily with excitement, before ending the call.
" Huha. " Lily said as she sigh, before she pocketed her phone and headed back to the living room to inform Emma about tomorrow.
" Good news Emma, he agreed to your proposal, and he said you can come in tomorrow. " Lily said as she walked back into the living room.
" That's great. " Emma said happily as Lily sat down on the sofa.
" Yeah, he also said he's going to come pick us up here tomorrow at 9, and he's bringing along the rest of my co-workers as well.
" Why's he doing that? " Emma asked curiously, since it seemed unusual for a boss to do that for an employee, and they both had a vehicle of there own.
" He likes doing stuff like that, he thinks of it as a team bonding thing, and he's quit, eccentric and unorthodox. " Lily said as she thought of a way to politely describe Blitz.
" Yeah he certainly is, I've met him and her co-workers before, and her boss may be a bit goofy, but he's certainly quit skilled. " Zella said as she gave her opinion on Blitz from what she'd seen.
" Hmm, well I'm looking forward to finally meeting your co-workers, and this Loona you've talk about so much. " Emma said as she smiled at Lily.
" Me too, I think you'll like them, they all have their quirks, but their pretty good people, and I consider them friends. " Lily said as she smiled, looking forward to introducing Emma too crew of I.M.P.
" Oh, well it nice chatting you two but I've got to get going, I've got to get up early tomorrow for work. " Zella said as she got up after checking the time on her phone.
" Oh me too, see you later Zella, and see you tomorrow Emma. " Lily said as she got up after she checked the time as well.
" Alright, see you two later. " Emma said with a smile she saw them leave through the front door.
It was an late morning in Imp City, and while Lily and Emma sat on a bench on the sidewalk a it down from the parking lot of the Ebony Peaks hotel.
Today Lily wore her dark green skull and crossbones choker, her usual leather jacket, a burnt orange tube top, and a pair of black designer jeans.
Emma wore a short pale charcoal grey crop top, a pair of knee high dark blue skinny jeans, and a black leather belt.
Emma kept a keen watch as they sat there, eyeing their surround like an eagle surveying for prey, while her ears swivelled about on high alert.
While Lily sat beside her in a nonchalant manner, though her ears were up on alert as well, while she sat there and occasionally checked the time on her phone.
Suddenly Lily's and Emma's ears perked up, as the sound of a distant of car coming down the road, and turned their heads curiously in that direction.
When they did, they saw a grey van with a dented hood speeding down the street, and could here loud music coming from inside the vehicle as it got closer.
" Is that them Lily? " Emma asked with a cautious edge to her voice as she tensed up, while she stared at the approaching speeding van with a cold calculating gaze.
" Yeah it's them, that's the company van, and I think it's also Blitz's personal vehicle as well. " Lily said as she mused aloud.
As the van slowed down and came to a stop and parked on the side of the road near them, and the Blitz, Loona, Millie, and Moxxie hopped out.
" Hello Lily, and this must be your big sister Emma. " Blitz said excitedly as he gestured to Emma after he greeted Lily.
" Yes, but I'd prefer you call me Emiliana, I'm only comfortable with my parents, sisters, and close friends calling me Emma. " Emma stated simply with a slightly firm tone as she looked at them.
" Well $#%&, okay then. " Blitz said slightly surprise, not expecting to hear that upon first meeting the hellcat.
" I'm sorry, but it just how I prefer it due to, personal reasons. " Emma said with a subtly faint bitter tone to her voice with a frown, seeming to recall something unpleasant for a moment.
" Alrighty, anyway I'm Blitz, Lily's boss, and CEO and founder of I.M.P, and this here is my sweet lovely daughter, Loona. " Blitz said happily, as he introduced himself and Loona.
" Augh. " Loona groaned in annoyance as she rolled her eyes at hearing Blitz introducing her like that.
" So your Loona, Lily's told me so much about you, it's nice to meet to finally you. " Emma said as she smiled warmly as she turned to Loona.
" Yeah, nice to meet you too. " Loona said as she smiled back at Emma.
" Hey there, I'm Millie and this is my husband Moxxie, it's nice to meet ya Emiliana! " Mills said happily as she excitedly introduced herself and Moxxie as she greeted Emma.
" It's nice to meet you all as well. " Emma said as she greeted Lily's co-workers politely.
" Alrighty folks, let's get #$%&ing going now, I don't wanna get hold up in a $#%& load of morning traffic! " Blitz said as he headed back to the company van.
Once seated, Loona, Lily, and Emma sat in the front row of seats, with Lily sitting in the middle, while Loona sat on her right, and Emma sat on her left.
While Millie and Moxxie sat in the row behind them, and once everyone was buckled up, the van's engine then roared to live, and zoomed off down the road.