The Winged Wolf

Written by catsamurai16.

An Idea from TalosLives.

Chapter 8: Bad Luck, Good Idea, Terrible Feeling

Surprisingly, the next morning was almost normal for the I.M.P.s. Blitzø and Loona picked up Moxxie and Millie and headed straight to the office building. As they parked, Blitzø turned to the others.

He said, "Alright, guys. You all ready to go kill this prick and make a fuck ton of money?"

Millie said, "Hell, yeah!"

Moxxie nodded and Loona gave out a quick "Uh-huh."

They all made their way inside and headed straight for their office. Once the elevator doors opened, they saw Jericho standing at it with several cups of coffee in a carrier and one in his hand.

Jericho smiled, "Good morning, everyone."

Millie said, "Aw, Jericho. You didn't have to get coffee for us."

"The fuck you say, Mils!" Blitzø said, "What'd you get us, kid?"

"I went to the Scarbucks a few blocks over and got your regulars," Jericho said.

"That shithole? They stopped serving us months ago," Blitzø said.

Moxxie said, "And it was your fault, sir. You always cut in line and always made a fool of yourself when you ordered."

Blitzø said, "Oh, yeah? What about you and your fuckin' chemistry test of a latte you'd order? Last time you ordered it, the poor kid behind the counter ran out screaming, 'This truly is Hell!'"

Moxxie said, "I'm particular about my coffee! You're just plain rude, sir!"

"ANYWAY!" Jericho shouted, trying to stop the inevitable fight, "To answer Blitzø's question, I paid extra to get them to make these. And then I paid more so none of them were poisoned. So come and get them before they get cold or melt in Blitzø's case."

Jericho turned to Millie and handed her a cup, "One grande half caf with a shot of chocolate."

He turned to Moxxie, "One grande chemistry text order. And I made sure they got your name right."

He turned to Blitzø, "One grande iced mocha and vanilla mixed with half ice."

Loona snatched the last coffee away from Jericho and took a sip. She immediately spat it across the hall.

Jericho smiled, "And one grande straight black coffee. No kahlua, or cream."

Loona growled and threw the cup at Jericho's face. He caught it with his magic. He reached out the cup in his hand to her.

He said, "This one however has plenty of both."

Loona scowled and reached for the cup. She took a sniff of it and Jericho laughed.

He said, "What's wrong? Don't trust me?"

"Okay, enough. Let's get inside," Blitzø said.

Blitzø unlocked the door and he, Millie, and Moxxie went inside. Jericho smiled and thought, "Looks like Uncle Stolas' advice worked."

He turned to walk inside when he was suddenly hit in the back of the head with a cup of scalding hot coffee. He groaned in pain as the coffee soaked his shirt and fur. Then, a camera flash came from behind him. He quickly turned to Loona. She was texting on her phone with a smug smile on her face. Jericho growled. He glanced behind her and opened a small portal. Freezing and wet wind came from it, hitting Loona full blast. She yipped and jumped from the cold and nearly dropped her phone. She quickly moved away from the portal. She growled at Jericho while she rubbed her cold arms.

Closing the portal, Jericho gestured to the door and said, "After you."

Loona started to throw a punch, but instead she shoved him inside. After Jericho had cast a quick cleaning spell, they all got to work. Moxxie took several handguns and ammo from their weapons locker as well as some knives and passed them to Jericho and Loona, keeping the rest on him. Jericho looked at his gun. It was an almost new 9mm handgun with a full clip. Then, he looked at the knife. It was an average combat knife. He knew his magic was stronger than this knife could ever be. He knew it was just pieces of metal and plastic slapped together. He knew he could destroy it with a simple spell or even his bare paws. And yet… Jericho shook his head to stop himself from thinking about that memory. After making sure they had all they needed, they all donned their human disguises and Loona opened a portal.

Blitzø said, "Okay, guys. Let's go over the plan again. Kid, you head straight to the coffee shop and wait for the target to hit him with that hypno spell you talked about. Loona, once he's been mind fucked, you and Millie will keep watch out for when he gets back to the hotel. If he leaves with the amulet on, signal me or Moxxie. Moxxie and I will be looking for a good sniping or ambush spot. Any questions?"

After getting no answer, Blitzø led the way. As they left, Jericho thought, "Okay. Just cast the spells and let them take care of the rest. Simple enough."

Hours later, the portal reopened and out walked an absolutely pissed off Blitzø.

"THAT WAS A COMPLETE FUCKING WASTE OF TIME!" He shouted.

The others came in behind him. Moxxie was scratched and bruised up and needed to be held up by Millie. Loona was still picking garbage out of her fur. Jericho had more coffee splashed on him, iced this time, and he had a black eye.

Jericho said, "It wasn't a waste. I cast the spell on him, didn't I?"

"Yeah, yeah. You cast the spell, but where the fuck was he after?!" Blitzø asked.

Jericho said, "I don't know."

"Loonie, honey, are you sure you didn't see who dumped this garbage on you?" Blitzø asked, helping to clean off his daughter.

Loona shook the dirt from her fur and said, "It's like I told you, Blitzø. I was heading inside to follow the target and that's when the garbage dropped on me."

Millie asked, "How are ya feeling, Moxxie?"

Moxxie was rubbing his side and said, "Most of the pain is gone. I never knew Earth dogs could be so strong."

"Yeah, they're not strong, tubby, you're just super weak," Loona said, tossing aside another egg shell she'd picked from her hair.

Loona gripped Jericho by his collar, "And If this garbage ruins my fucking clothes, I'm taking it out of your ass."

"Why?! I wasn't even there!" Jericho yelled.

"Your dumbass plan, your fault." Loona shouted.

"Hey, in case you've forgotten, he made the plan, not me!" Jericho said, pointing to Blitzø.

"We don't shift blame around here, kid!" Blitzø said.

Moxxie muttered, "Unless it's to me."

Millie pulled Jericho away from Loona and said, "Alright, that's enough. How's your eye, Jeri? That guy punched you pretty hard."

"Yeah, but it's fine," Jericho said, sending a quick glare at Loona, "It wasn't the first time."

Millie said, "Okay, sweetie. So, what do we do now?"

Jericho cast his cleaning spell again and sat down on the couch next to Moxxie.

Jericho said, "Well, the only thing to do now is keep watch for the target until he comes around with the amulet on."

"Fuck. So, we're starting over tomorrow?" Blitzø asked.

"Not entirely," Jericho said, "The hypnosis spell I hit him with will stay active until I shut it off."

Millie said, "Great! So, he could be wearing it when he gets his coffee in the morning."

Jericho said, "Yeah. So, while I admit today was a washout, it wasn't as bad as it could've been. Tomorrow morning, we'll go and take care of things."

Blitzø groaned, "Fine, but you'd better be right about this, kid. Let's get home, guys."

Millie helped Moxxie up. After giving Jericho a quick wave goodbye, they and Loona followed Blitzø out, leaving Jericho alone. He sighed and thought, "Tomorrow. It'll all be over tomorrow."

But it wasn't over tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the next. Or the next. For days, it went on. It seemed like someone or something was helping their target. They would see the target with the amulet, but something bad would happen. Anything that could go wrong did, from Moxxie falling off a roof to Blitzø being run over by a herd of joggers. Millie had tried several times to ambush the target, but he always seemed to pick a different route. She even waited outside the hotel and he either never left or he was lost in a crowd of people leaving. What was most odd was that everytime they failed, one of them was injured in some way. Once while charging at the target, Loona tripped and nearly broke her ankle. From out of nowhere, dogs would continue to chase Moxxie. And Jericho always seemed to get burnt somehow, with coffee, hot tea, or even soup.

And to make matters worse, due to them all working on Alastor's hit, they had to keep turning clients away. More and more of the money Alastor paid up front was going to bills and buying new ammo and weapons when theirs were ruined. And some of the money went into repairs to their van. After three months, the money was almost gone.

One day, after another failed attempt, Blitzø and the others were sitting around their lobby, nursing their various injuries. Blitzø had his left arm in a sling from the tree branch that Moxxie and Millie had fallen from. The couple were sitting on the floor and still tangled up in the colored banners they got caught in. Millie was close to getting the knots that kept them together undone. Loona sat at her desk clutching her sides. Her sides were still kinda sore, but not from any injury. She'd laughed very hard at Jericho, who had gotten maced for the third time. He had a rag soaked in cold water over his eyes as he leaned back in the arm chair.

Blitzø said, "Okay, all bets are off. Tomorrow, we go in and waste everybody in that fucking hotel. Just rush in, start shooting, get the fucking amulet and get out."

"For the hundredth time, we can't do that because the target could get away in the panicked crowds before we get close," Jericho said wearily.

Blitzø stood up from the couch and paced the floor, "Okay, what about this? We-"

"We can't blow up the hotel either, sir. We'd never find the amulet before the human authorities arrived," Moxxie said.

"Alright, fine! What about-?"

Millie said, "I've lost count of the times we've tried breaking into his room at night, Blitzø. It won't work."

Blitzø slammed his fist onto the desk, "God fucking damn it, killing people isn't this hard! Why the hell haven't we killed his fucker yet?!"

Jericho said, "Because of the amulet's protection."

"Yeah, but you're shutting that off, aren't you?" Loona asked.

Jericho grunted, "Yes, I am."

Blitzø asked, "So, if you're shutting off th-"

"Because the spells that are keeping us from killing him aren't coming from the amulet. They must be part of the protective magic the amulet has given him. I've told you that a hundred times too," Jericho said.

Moxxie said, "What about attacking him at that coffee place again? We almost had him last time."

Loona said, "We could if our magic man over there hadn't burned it to the ground."

Jericho growled and lifted the rag from his eyes, "And whose fault is that, bitch?"

Blitzø yelled, "For the last time, stop calling her that!"

"When she stops acting like one, I will!" Jericho yelled back.

As the usual argument began, Millie sighed, "Satan, not again."

Moxxie struggled with the ropes. He said, "I think I've almost got it, honey."

"Ah, what's the use, Mox? It's over," Millie said, slumping against him.

"What, you got your side loose?" Moxxie asked.

"No, I mean us. The team. I.M.P.'s over," Millie said, "I mean, look at us. It's been months and we haven't killed our target. 'So what if he has a magic amulet,' we said. 'He'll be dead in no time,' we said. And now look at us, we can't touch the guy and we're going under."

Millie started sniffling, "And to top everything off, we're going to miss our second honeymoon. We worked so hard to get that money. All for nothing. And to make things worse, when Alastor finds out…he'll-"

Moxxie struggled with the rope enough to look at his wife.

"Mildred, look at me," he said.

She did so with tears in her eyes and a confused look on her face. Moxxie rarely called her by her full name.

"We are going on our trip," he said in a serious tone, "Come Heaven or high water, we are going. And we will get enough money. Even if I have to whore myself out in the Lust Ring to do it."

Moxxie nuzzled his wife and said, "And I don't want to see anymore tears, Millie. We've gone through rough patches before and we always came out stronger. And we'll get through this. Our target might have luck on his side, but that will run out eventually."

Millie nuzzled Moxxie back and smiled. Then, Millie took a deep breath and said, "You're right, baby. Let's get outta these ropes."

Millie went back to work on the knots that tied her and Moxxie. Or she would have, if the argument between Blitzø, Loona, and Jericho hadn't gotten her attention. She groaned and was about to yell to break them up again when there came a knock on the door.

Everyone stopped for a moment to look at the door. Blitzø plopped back onto the couch and growled.

"And here comes another pissed off customer," he said, running his hand over his face, "Whose turn is it this time?"

"Mine, sir," Moxxie said, "But I'm a little busy right now. You could say I'm all-"

"Now ain't the best time for puns, sweetie," Millie said.

"I'll do it. It's best we handle this stuff with tact and patience," Jericho said, casting a quick glare at Loona and Blitzø.

He went to the door and opened it. There was a sinner demon there. He was a strange looking Cat Demon with long red eyebrows, brownish black fur with a cream colored chest and stomach. He wore a red bowtie and black top hat, but oddly nothing else. He had large red wings that have playing card suits on them. And he looked very hungover. He was leaning against the door frame when Jericho opened the door, his clawed hand covering his eyes.

He looked at Jericho with one bloodshot eye and asked in a gruff voice, "This I.M.P.?"

"Uh, yes sir," Jericho said, "How can i-"

"Great," said the cat demon as he pushed past Jericho.

He began to mutter, "That red wearing, fucking asshole. I got the hangover that'll kill a fuckin' elephant and he fucking has me doing his errands."

He moved to the couch, sat next to Blitzø, and put his head in his paws. Blitzø gave a confused look to their new visitor. He turned to the others and said, "Any of you guys know this fucker?"

Most of the others shook their heads or shrugged, but Loona squinted at the newcomer.

Finally, she said, "I think I know him. He looks like one of the bartenders at the Desecrator's Bar."

"I own the Desecrator's Bar," the cat demon grumbled, rubbing his forehead.

Blitzø scoffed, "Yeah, right. Everybody knows that dive's owned by the Radio Demon."

"Only on paper," the cat demon said, "Al has me run the place."

"Whoa. Wait. Really?" Blitzø asked, slowly.

The cat demon nodded and said, "Yeah, that and a few other places around Hell."

Moxxie and Millie glanced at each other. Moxxie asked, "So, you work with Alastor?"

Now, the cat demon scoffed, "Ah, something like that."

Millie asked, "Did he send ya here?"

"Yeah. He wants to know what's the hold up with the hit?" the cat demon asked.

Blitzø's throat suddenly was very dry. He coughed and looked around the room to the others. Loona was calmly standing aside with her hellphone ready to text Stolas. Moxxie and Millie were holding each other's hand and stared at the cat demon. Jericho gave a quick nod to Blitzø. Blitzø rolled his shoulders and nodded back.

"We've hit a snag or two, but we're getting there," he said.

"What kind of snag?" the cat demon asked.

"We can shut off the amulets power just fine," Jericho said, "but the target must have some kind of luck charm around him. We think the amulet pasted it to him."

"A luck charm? I've never heard of anyone using a luck spell as protection. You sure it's not a secondary caster?" the cat demon asked.

The cat demon looked around and saw everyone looked confused.

"What? None of you thought about that?" he asked.

"No, not really," Blitzø said.

Jericho took a quick glance at Blitzø, then back to the cat demon and asked, "Will Alastor be okay with the situation?"

The cat demon shrugged and said, "Fuck if I know. He just told me to come and check on you guys. Now, that I've done that, I'm fucking gone."

The cat demon began to walk to the door, rubbing his eyes as he went. He passed by Moxxie and Millie and saw how tangled they were.

He asked, "You two need some help?"

They both jumped a little. Moxxie shook while Millie nodded hers. Rolling his eyes the cat demon lifted at claw and slashed through the banner, freeing them both.

Flopping on the floor, Moxxie quickly stood and said, "Uh, thank you, sir."

"Call me Husk," the cat demon said.

Husk looked over the colors of the banner.

He grabbed one end of the rope and flipped it in his claws for a while.

"Huh," he said with a small smile, "That time of year? I guess it's easier to lose track of time here in Hell. Well, I hope you guys have fun. I'll let Alastor know what's going on."

With that, the cat demon Husk left. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Blitzø stood and started pacing around again.

"Okay, enough of this shit. We have to figure out a way to kill this fucker," he said.

Jericho sat at the desk and thought hard. He ran through every spell he could think of. Husk was right. There were better spells than luck charms to use for protection. But if it was another spell caster trying to protect their target, how did he or she know when to cast the spells? It seemed the only thing that could truly help them was the total magic canceling spell. But if he used that, they'd be exposed and trapped in the Mortal World. Maybe if they could walk around without their human disguises, but it would be too risky. Even if they succeeded in killing the target, they'd never be able to get to the amulet without causing a scene. He watched as Moxxie started gathering up the banner and bundling it up. Then he noticed the colors of the banners, green, gold, and purple.

He asked, "Moxxie, where did you really find those?"

"They were hanging from a post near the tree we were watching from. A wind knocked them off and we got tangled up in them," Moxxie said.

"Yeah. Funny thing is, I've seen the humans putting these colors up all over," Millie said, "I wonder if it's for some kind of party?"

Suddenly, a thought struck Jericho like a bolt of lightning. He quickly pulled out his phone and began quickly searching for something.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Blitzø asked as Jericho began pacing.

Finally, with a smile on his face, he shouted, "It is! It's Mardi Gras!"

"The fuck is Mardi Gras?" Blitzø said.

Jericho said, "It's basically the last big celebration before Lent."

Millie said, "Sweetie, none of us knows what you're talking about."

Jericho said, "It's kind of a religious holiday-"

"Fuck no!" Blitzø interrupted, "We're not doing anything religious. The last time we tried to do anything religious we nearly got burned. Literally."

"But it's perfect fo-"

"I don't give a shit, kid! Forget this Gras thing and let's get back to thinking on a plan of attack," Blitzø said.

Jericho lifted his phone again and after a minute he started to play a video.

Blitzø covered his eyes and turned away, "I don't want to see any religious shit right now. I already have a headache and…"

Blitzø noticed the sound on the video didn't sound very religious. tHe looked and his jaw almost hit the floor. The video was of the wildest, raunchiest, and biggest party Blitzø had ever seen. He had a wide grin as Moxxie, Millie, and Loona got up to watch the video too. Drinking, toppless women wearing beads, and people in all kinds of costumes.

"Now, this is a religion I can get behind," Blitzø said.

"This is Mardi Gras," Jericho said, "A whole bunch of parades and parties leading up to Ash Wednesday."

"Ash Wednesday? What's that?" Moxxie asked.

Blitzø quickly shoved Moxxie aside, saying, "No time for that, Mox."

"Look, the point is that this party is the perfect time to kill the target. Look at this party. It's full of people in costume or painted up. So-"

"So, we won't need our human disguises!" Moxxie shouted happily.

Millie smiled excitedly, "Hey, that's right! And Jericho, you said you had that total magic canceling spell, right?"

"That's right," Jericho said, "Once we're painted up, we can head to Earth and find the target. I'll cast the spell and-"

"We'll finally be able to move in and slash his throat!" Blitzø interrupted, "Goddamn, kid! It took a while, but we finally fucking have a plan that'll work. As long as the fucker has the amulet on him."

"Leave that to me," Jericho said, "I'll hit him with a double dose of the hypnosis spell tomorrow morning so it'll be like he's missing a limb if he doesn't have it on."

"Great. And maybe we can enjoy the party after," Loona said.

"A party in the Human world after a successful hit? Great idea, Loonie!" Blitzø said.

"So, Jericho, how long does this Mardi Gras thing go on?" Moxxie asked.

Jericho said, "According to the Human calendar I found, we have three days until Fat Tuesday, the last night of Mardi Gras."

"All right. That gives us plenty of time to plan and rest up," Blitzø said, "Ok, everybody, go ahead and head home. We're going to get this thing done if it kills us!... or him… or whatever the fuck!"

Meanwhile, the cat demon Husk was walking back towards the Hazbin Hotel. His hangover was still pounding away. He couldn't wait to get back to the hotel and drink it away again. But as he was taking another step, he suddenly banged his foot against the hard cabinet of the bar. As he was doubled over in pain, he heard the familiar laughter of his "partner" Alastor. He rubbed his sore leg and growled up at Alastor, who was leaning over him, smiling.

"So, Husker, my good man. How did things go at I.M.P.?" Alastor asked.

"It went fine, Goddammit," Husk grumbled. He stood and grabbed a bottle from the bar and took several large gulps.

Once his thirst was sated, he turned to Alastor and said, "It was like you said. They didn't think about their problems being caused by a second spell caster. They have no idea you've been stopping them from killing the target. And I dropped your little hint about it being Mardi Gras, just like you told me to."

Alastor laughed, "Wonderful, Husker! It's nice to know my little pawns haven't caught onto my plans."

"What plans?" Husk asked with a scoff, "Besides upsetting Vaggie and getting fawned over by Nifty, I didn't think you had any plans."

"My dear Husk. You judge too soon. I have several plans in motion as we speak!" Alastor said.

"Well, I don't see any fuckin' planning going on, Al," Husk said, "I mean, sure. You used those imps to get Prince Stolas to make a deal with you. But why the hell have you been fucking with the hit? It was just a ploy to get to Stolas, wasn't it?"

"It was more than that, Husker, much more," Alastor said, as he turned toward the window, "For example, have you not noticed the change in the wind, so to speak?"

"What do you mean?" Husk asked.

Alastor said, "I mean there's something happening in Hell. Someone has been making deals, moving around in the shadows, looking to uproot the very order of Hell."

"So, some asshole's making a new power play. Big deal," Husk said, taking a swig of his drink.

"Oh, it's more than that. I can feel it. I've been here for close to a hundred years and I've never seen things as they are now," Alastor said, solemnly.

Husk raised an eyebrow, "And how are they now?"

Alastor turned to Husk and said, "Calm. It's almost calm."

End of Part 8.