Song for quiet bird

by SoulfulAzrael

Moxxie is hired by Stolas to write a song for Stella for her birthday. This rather terrifying endeavor turns into a strange study of Moxxie of Stella's character where he sees something... familiar and discovers more about both her and her family. Also keep in mind. This will vary HEAVILY from the show now that Season 2 started.

8. A new day, a new skin

Well... I wrote it. I'm happy it didn't took THIS long now. Although I still would prefer for it to come out sooner. But I can't help myself being both a lazy fuck and a damn overthinker. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

---

Chapter 8

"A new day, a new skin"

"297 points" Voice of Stella echoed throughout the hall as Octavia tried to catch her breath

Nothing. She landed no hit throughout the entire fight. Not once did Octavia's wooden sword touched even a feather on her mom's body. The only physical contact throughout all of those exchanges were few brief moments when her mom deflected her hit with that flimsy looking dagger. Her mom was a master, she could see that clearly, but there was one thing on Octavia's mind that was bugging her more than anything else about this situation. About the infuriating silence her mom kept throughout this sparring session.

"WHAT AM I DOING WRONG!?"

*TUNK*

Octavia let out her frustration with a scream as she threw her sword on the ground.

"*sigh* You can't lose your composure like this Octavia." Stella said as she picked up the wooden sword from the floor and pointed it's handle at Octavia "It is improper of a Lady like-"

"I asked you a question!" Octavia quickly took the sword as her frustration grew "What am I doing wrong!?"

"Excuse me?" Stella was clearly perplexed about her daughter's response

"What am I doing wrong?!" Octavia repeated her question and put her free hand over her eyes "Isn't that the point of this? I try to get better and you tell me what I'm doing wrong so I can get better!"

"I..." Stella seemed to be taken aback for a moment and looked at Octavia as if she was some alien creature "Well..."

"So many times you berate me and the way I walk, speak or behave and tell me how to act properly in front of people I wish I never met in places I would prefer never to lay my claws in and yet you don't know how to help me get better at this?" Octavia pointed at the sword in her hand and her mom still said nothing "*sigh* I wont pretend I care much about this either, but I do want for this to get better, maybe so I can see why you love it so much."

"..." Stella still said nothing which made Octavia feel even more helpless

"Eh... So it really was a-"

"Your stance." Stella then interrupted Octavia "First you need to fix your stance."

Stella said and pointed her small wooden dagger at Octavia. She took a stance where the right side of her body was facing forward and her left side was behind and she placed her left hand on her back. Octavia immediately knew what she meant and took the same stance and picked her sword into both arms which made her mom shake her head.

"You need to use one hand. It is not a heavy sword even for you and keeping one hand free will make your movement more free." Stella said in a authoritative tone.

Octavia followed her advice and her left hand let go of the sword.

"Should I put my hand behind my back as well?" Octavia asked

"It would be more efficient." Stella said with a strict tone "You need to make yourself a smaller target and avoid exposing any part of your body."

"Okay." Octavia listened to that advice as well. It did feel different, like she was hiding behind this small piece of wood in her hand although she felt like it would be far more tricky to attack that way "It does feel like it will be harder to attack."

"Why would you want to attack?" Stella's tone gave out genuine confusion "I am the one with a shorter weapon. I am the one that needs to get closer, get into offensive."

"Oh." It was the most obvious thing in the world and yet Octavia only now realized it. She wanted to slap her beak now over this.

"Do not berate yourself young lady. It is often the simplest of things that will elude your mind and stay out of reach." Stella said

Octavia assumed it was meant to comfort her, but with her mom's tone she really couldn't tell.

"Now... It is time for practice." Stella said and suddenly rushed at Octavia

Octavia out of panic quickly jumped back before she was hit. Her mom was now kept out of reach, but she tried to push forward from the left. Octavia quickly turned towards her and tried to slash at her, but just before the wooden sword could hit her.

*GRAB*

*HIT*

Stella quickly grabbed her small hand and pushed the dagger quickly and delicately into her stomach

"298" Stella said coldly

"So... what was it now?" Octavia asked as she tried to get her hand back, but Stella did not let go "Mom, can you-"

"Your speed. Your movement." Stella moved Octavia's arm around for a bit as if simulating what Octavia was doing before "Sloppy and unnecessary. You need to limit your movement, especially when you are on the defence. Limit your movement to conserve energy. Make small moves with your blade."

Stella then moved Octavia's arm some more, but this time with far smaller moves

"And use the reach of your blade." Stella moved Octavia's arm to make the top of the wooden sword get closer to her face" The top is as dangerous, if not more so than the edge. Think about what you are doing. Think about the purpose of the weapon you are holding. Think of the purpose you are giving it."

Stella then let go of Octavia's arm. Her mom's touch was not painful, at least not physically. Octavia thought of what she just said and felt embarrassed, but also determined. Her mom had almost 300 points. She HAD TO get at least one before that and now she had only 2 chances before that happened.

"Alright... Again." Mother demanded as she prepared herself

Octavia did so as well. Stella started again and Octavia with a calmer mind made a quick stab at her approaching form. This sword's purpose was to be a weapon for training, she had to give it another purpose though. That one was to defend her. It was both her shield and weapon and she had to make every move count. Her mom avoided the stab, but Octavia did not relent and kept advancing while trying to get a stab at her. Her mother clearly required little effort to dodge it, but it did keep her at bay. Suddenly she tried to grab Octavia's hand again which made Octavia do a quick step back. When she did that though her mom advanced again, this time though she went to her left side and Octavia quickly turned as well and presented her blade before herself. Her mom was unable to advance again, but then she looked at something behind Octavia. For a moment Octavia wanted to look, but then she quickly readjusted herself, but this moment was quickly used by her mom who almost got a hit on her and then...

*TUNK*

Octavia actually reflected the hit. Her swords reflected the dagger at the last possible moment. She did it... She parried a hit from her mom. But then Stella quickly moved behind Octavia and placed wooden dagger against her throat.

"299" She said

"(Damn it...)" Only one chance now "Why did you-"

"In a fight you have to expect everything. Especially from your opponent." Stella said in a very stoic tone "Battlefield is everchanging place where anything can happen. Often times the skill of yours and your opponent will not matter in the chaos of a true battle. A mere, inexperienced and downright stupid novice can be just as dangerous if not more so than a skilled veteran for that novice is embodiment of said chaos, of an idea that anything can happen at any point that you will not see coming. It is most dangerous thing of all. Chance."

Those words made Octavia think of the imp that got into their lives recently. Moxxie. Such a strange being it is. Seemingly an insignificant imp among so many other Hellborn and yet... his presence started changing so much around her. By mere chance it was him who her dad chose for this gift. A mere chance that he knew an imp that brought this Chaos into her life that her mother is so wary of.

"Again." Stella quickly stopped Octavia's train of thought as she prepared herself once more

It was Octavia's last chance. She couldn't waste it. She couldn't. She prepared herself and quickly her mother advanced once more. Octavia again tried the same tactic she used at the start. This time though trying to stop her from advancing to other sides, but she knew that this wouldn't be enough. She had to think of something. How to create... a chance.

Then she remembered. That could work. Yes.

Octavia for a moment relented from her tactic of keeping her mom in the same spot and as expected Stella took that chance to advance to her left side. And Octavia already knew what to do.

*TSK*

And in that moment she pointed her finger with the flaming ball on it's tip at her mom. This visibly shook Stella, more so than Octavia thought, but she couldn't dwell on it now and released the harmless ball from her finger. Her mom tried to swat it away, but it fell on the floor before it even reached her, visibly confusing her.

*HIT*

And that gave Octavia the chance to hit her shoulder.

1 point.

She did it.

"(I did it.)" Octavia couldn't believe it "I DID IT!"

With happiness she screamed out and jumped out of joy and dropper her sword all the while Stella looked confused at her arm which was hit not long before by Octavia, but Octavia did not care now. She was happy. She laughed out of joy and even fell on the floor, but she kept on laughing, cherishing this victory as she laid there. But as she calmed down and opened her eyes once more she saw her mom above her, piercing her with cold gaze as she held her wooden sword.

*TUNK*

And she placed the tip of the sword on Octavia's stomach.

"300 points... to 1" Stella said with still a stoic face, but her eyes and voice soon became far softer and filled with pride "Well done Octavia."

"Hehe." Octavia only smiled with pride and took the wooden sword into her hand

"Octavia? Are you there?" Suddenly a voice came from the doors of the armory "Servants told me to look for you he- BY THE RINGS WHAT ARE YOU DOING STELLA!?"

Quickly Octavia stood up as she heard her father's footsteps quickly getting louder. Stolas quickly knelt down in front of her and looked over her body.

"Are you okay dear!? Are you hurt?! Bleeding?!" Stolas quickly asked, but before Octavia could answer her dad looked at Stella with greatest rage he ever saw from him "YOU! WHAT WERE YOU TRYING TO DO YOU FILTHY-"

"DAD STOP! SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO ME!" Octavia quickly grabbed his hand to stop him "We were sparring! Training!"

"Sparring? WITH HER!?" this though didn't quell her father's anger who looked once more at mother "What were you thinking!? You could have hurt her!"

Stella did not respond. Her eyes were once more emotionless and cold as she looked at Stolas. There was silence for a moment as the tension grew stronger and stronger.

"But I was NOT hurt. I asked her for this! I-"

"And she agreed!" Stolas interrupted Octavia, never before she heard so much venom in her father's voice "Why would you agree? You could have hurt her! Maybe even worse! I can't believe YOU of all demons would be such a careless, shortsighted *GRAB* -ACK"

In an instant Stella grabbed Stolas by the throat. His words quickly silenced as his throat was being crushed by his wife's immeasurable strength.

"You are one to talk." Stella's voice was cold and quiet, her murderous intent was clear as the floor of this armory "You who wasn't here for so long! Where were you I wonder..."

Mother's grip became tighter, but as dad was visibly losing air his hands did not move towards her hand, but instead towards her head as small sparks were seen between his fingers...

"Stop..." Octavia did not want this. She did not want any of this. "Stop! PLEASE STOP!"

Stop she pleaded. Stop she said. Stop she screamed. All in vain as everything came crushing down again.

*TUNK*

The sword fell from her hands as she helplessly watched. Everything falling, breaking, fading. It was her fault... All of it was her fault.

"PLEASE STOP, please, pleasaaaseee..." Octavia couldn't help, but cry as she grabbed her head tightly and her legs gave out, making her fall on the floor "Pleaaase... *sob* I... I'm sorry... *sob* please..."

As the poor girl was drenched in tears and her mind was full of sorrow and pain, only then did mother's grip loosened and she let go of father's throat.

"AAAHH HAAAA!" Stolas took few deep breaths as he caressed his throat, but then quickly turned to Octavia and got closer to her, embracing her "Shh...*cough* It's okay my owl *cough* owlette..." his voice was raspy and weak, but more than anything it was hurt and Octavia's tears did not stop "It's okay... you can *cough* stop crying. Please stop cryi *cough**cough*"

Slowly the breathing of the little girl slowed down, her heartbeat became more steady, the tears stopped flowing, for a moment she wanted to return the embrace, but she stopped herself. They were lying there for a minute. All the while Stella watched from afar without making a move or saying a word.

"Dad *sob* don't be angry at mom..." Octavia pleaded once again "Please. It's my fault... My-"

"No... It is not..." Stella spoke up in protest

"It's okay Via... It's okay." Stolas said as he hugged her closer and patted her on the head

After a minute Octavia finally calmed down enough to stand up. But even as she did, she still did not look into either of her parents eyes, too ashamed to do so. Then her dad's hand came under her beak and raised her head to look at him.

"I'm sorry my Starlight. I'm sorry for this... overreaction." her dad said, his voice was slowly getting better "I just, I was just afraid that something happened to you. I would never-"

"I... I managed to get one hit on mom." Octavia said, not even knowing why, but this was the first thing she could think of now "I got one point..."

"Hmm?" her dad was clearly surprised and then looked back at mom who only nodded once "You did... I, that's amazing sweetheart!"

Octavia smiled slightly, but it was a short lived joy.

"What time is it?" Stella asked coldly

"What? Oh, it's almost morning." Stolas said with clearly uncomfortable and scared tone

"When you fully recover, contact the bard. Tell him to meet me near Real's shop at 15." Stella said and left without any other word

Octavia and Stolas were alone again and as everything calmed down Octavia felt tired. All of the exhaustion of the last few hours finally caught up to her. She needed to sleep.

"I need to rest." Octavia said with a weak voice

All of the exhaustion of the last few hours finally caught up to her. She needed to sleep. She walked towards the doors, leaving her dad behind in the armory.

"Octavia." Stolas called out to her and she turned around "I... Once you wake up I thought we could continue our work on the gift. We can talk about everything then and-"

"..." Octavia had no response

"Listen I... I'm sorry I was back so late. I was-"

"I know." She knew all too well "I wish I didn't."

And so she left and her father was left alone in the armory with nothing, but sorrow and rage.

Imp City some time later

...

...

It said nothing

...

...

Watching the non existent snow on the glass surface. Hearing breath after breath, filling the lungs of the imp in slumber and the cracking of the snowy glass. Feeling pain and cold as it did for so long, but less and less. Time... Matter of time. But now...

Wake up

...

Wake up

...

...

Wake up

Wake up

Wake up

Wake up

Wake up

WAKE UP

WAKE UP!

WAKE UP!

WAKE UP!

W̸̧̢̢̰̠̟̮̥̹͕̝̬͌̋͐ͅĄ̶̖͍͉͖͉͔̣̠̖̙̈́̑̒̉͂͋͗͊͒̋͐̈́̾͘ͅK̵̡̛̯̰͎͊͌͑͠Ę̵͙̩̹͍̞͎̖̊́͜ ̴̡̧̡̬̮̭̼̭̦̹̑̄͒͑̓̋́̈́̔̎̎͂͝Ų̸̧̪̬͎̻̲̭͎͓̟̯̬̞̳̀͆̎̅̇̔͠P̷͎̖̲͕͗͒̋͛̋̋̎̅̄̍͐̎͘͠!̴̨̱̹̜̭̭̻̼̮̲͑̓̀̍̽̀̊͘!̴͖̫͉̙͐͌̃̐̿̍̒̔̽̈́͒́̾̚͝!

WAKE-

Moxxie slowly opened his eyes as the new day arrived. Millie was lying next to him, happily holding his hand even in her sleep. The TV was still going even though the video long stopped. The bills were going to get bad again, Moxxie feared, but he was glad he could spend this moment with his wife. Moxxie was not exactly sure how he even fell asleep. The image of that monster Andras ripping out innards of one brave (and stupid) Hellhound by pulling their tail extremely hard was still fresh in Moxxie's mind, but Millie seemed to enjoy that view. Thankfully he had no nightmares or any dreams for that matter... Or maybe he already forgot about them. He did not know which one was worse or better. Never having a dream or forgetting ever having one.

Moxxie looked at his phone and thankfully it wasn't horribly late, only 9 in the morning, but he felt like he should be going soon. Then again, he didn't know what Lady Stella was planning for today and worst yet he still couldn't figure out the proper lyrics for a song. Maybe he should just do a melody, but that would be disappointing. He could tell. Not to mention that this song may be a key to helping Lady Stella and eventually that entire family.

*THIS IS THE POINT OF NO RETUUUUUURN*

Suddenly his phone started ringing.

"AAAAA-WHOA! *SLAM*" And Millie was woken up by it and quickly fell on the floor, she quickly got up though "Moxxie... I know you love that musical and I fully support your passions, but on Asmodeus's balls change this fucking ringtone already!"

"Yeeeah maybe you are right." Moxxie did see her point, but that quickly went to the sidelines when he saw who was calling "It's Lord Stolas..."

"Oh! What Stolas wants?" Millie was curious

"I'm about to find out." Moxxie said as he answered the call "Hello my Lord?"

"Welcome Moxxie..." Stolas answered over the phone, his voice was weak as if it was holding back a storm of emotions ready to burst at any moment "I have a message from my dear wife."

"Is everything okay My Lord?" Moxxie could tell something was bothering him

"Of course. Why wouldn't it be?" Stolas said, almost sounding as if he was insulted by this concern "I'm sorry, I just... She wants to meet you at 15 near shop of my Brother-in-law."

"Lord Andrealphus?" Moxxie asked a rather stupid question

"What do you think?" Stolas answered with rather hostile tone "Eh, yes. His shop. I believe you know where that is correct?"

"Y-yes." Moxxie answered, although he could really tell something was wrong "Lord Stolas if I may-"

"You may not." Stolas quickly shut him off "I'm very sorry, I just need to get my head clear and handle a few things. Please excuse me."

"Of course Lord-"

Moxxie did not finish his sentence and Stolas was already off the line.

"Something is wrong right?" Millie was clearly concerned

"Yes. He seemed more on the edge, like something was horribly bothering him." Moxxie answered

"You think it was about this Stella?" Millie asked

"Maybe." It was definitely a possibility, one more reason to pursue his goal "But today it seems like I can stay for longer."

"REALLY?!" Millie was very excited about this news

"Yeah. I just need to be at Peacock's Feather at 15." Moxxie explained

"Oooh. I heard of that shop. Apparently there are amazing suits made there, some of the Seven Deadly Sins wear them too!" Millie was clearly happy for him "Must mean you will get a suit there! Ooooh, I can't wait to see it!"

"Hehe, maybe I could get one for you if it happens." Moxxie said jokingly as he already got her one master crafted item, but then felt less excited about it as he thought of the owner's sense of humor

"Nah, don't trouble yourself. Looking classy is your thing. I prefer my usual thing." And that was part of her appeal to Moxxie "But now we can watch that recording from where we zoned out! Then I will rewind and tell you of all the vivisection techniques used there!"

That part made Moxxie worried, but he was all for spending more time with her. As uncomfortable as that can be sometimes.

Few hours later

Moxxie got to the bus heading to the edge of Noble Realm from where he would have to go on foot. Today there was no drive from Stolas so he had to use other means of getting around. It wasn't very convenient since he had to use about 2 buses to get there. One that took him to edge of Imp City and now one taking him through the Pentagram City and again he slowly realized how unimaginative naming scheme was in this world. At least this way was faster than the Carriage of Lady Stella.

Moxxie looked around the bus and there was no one left. No Sinner obviously wants to even get close to the Noble Realm. While Hellborn such as him are seen by Goetias as merely insects easy to ignore, sinners were seen as more valuable. Easy to maintain slaves that couldn't be killed, but could be by all means exploited in the most vile ways imaginable. Moxxie always felt pity for them and as he heard some rumors about the Princesses projects, even though it seemed impossible, he did hope it could work in some capacity if only to spare them the misery. He hoped Clara would find freedom from it.

Moxxie decided to look out the window and think of something else. He was still thinking over how strangely knowledgeable Millie turned out to be at vivisection. How many ways one can be cut open and where to cut to make it hurt the least and the most. Moxxie wondered if he should convince her to go to medical school, she could be amazing at it and it would be something positive she could do, which he didn't know though if she would be happy with and that was the most important to him.

But the other thing that kept him thinking was that Andras demon. The way he fought, his brutality, the way he wildly attacked with his axes... his screams. It was like every moment of that Demon's existence was pure torment. What was that thing even? Moxxie didn't know if he wanted to know, but something told him he will. Or did he already knew? He couldn't tell. What was more unnerving? The unknown or knowing said unknown and forgetting it? But from where would he know? His thoughts were going in places he would rather not be in so he pushed those thoughts away. It was all so strange. When did everything became so strange?

*PUSH*

"Excuse me." Suddenly something pushed Moxxie a bit closer to the window as someone spoke with the strangest voice he has ever heard

As Moxxie looked to the side he saw... a wooden statue sitting next to him. A strange wooden statue, not breathing, blinking or moving at all. It's body looked like a master crafted statue of a man in something like a leather robe, long boots and with a hood over the head with full beard. The clothes on the statue were painted in colors of black and white while the rest of the body was like wood except for the eyes which were painted as well, with the iris being in color of red and pupils in yellow. Moxxie didn't know where it came from and he felt extremely nervous as he looked around and saw no one else. As there was no way out, he decided to speak up.

"Umm... I don't want to be rude, but... there are some free seats around." Moxxie said as he talked to the statue and smiled nervously

"..."

Statue like a statue. It did not respond and as Moxxie was about to pinch himself to wake up from this obvious dream the statue started to move it's head around in a strange mechanical manner. As it stopped it let out a strange, coarse laugh.

"He he he... Sorry little imp, I just wanted to converse with someone on this journey." As the statue spoke and looked at Moxxie it blinked with it's wooden eyes and the iris and pupils switched colors. They did so with every blink.

"I see." Moxxie had no idea how to respond to this and wondered where this Demon even came from "Wh-what do you want to talk about."

Moxxie decided to humor this stranger. He would rather not know what disagreement would entail.

"What does an Imp look for in a Noble Realm?" Statue spoke like it was telling a joke

"I... I'm-"

"Oooh, but I did not ask about you specifically. Please reserve your ego little imp." The statue interrupted and moved it's hand in a janky manner, showing Moxxie it's pointed finger and waving it in front of him "Again. What does an imp look for in a Noble Realm?"

"I... Don't know." Moxxie had no idea what was going on "But... I am an imp. And I know what I look for."

"Do you?" Statue asked and somehow it smiled which made Moxxie's skin crawl "Truly?"

"I..." Did he?

He knew why he was going there today, he wanted to help, but what was his reason for it? He couldn't grasp it now for some reason. But then he remembered Lord Derangi's words. Reasons are simple. A smile on a sad woman's face, a laugh of lonely child, peace for a tormented husband. Something beautiful... Beautiful.

"Beauty." Moxxie said

"Hehe. Doubtful it's on other imp's minds, but I'll take it." Statue answered and Moxxie had no idea why he was even talking with him in the first place "Say. Since you are good at telling answers. Which one you prefer? Not knowing or forgetting."

"Huh?" Moxxie needed a double take "Excuse me?"

"I had it on my mind for a while. There are certain things one forgets and things one never gets to know. And there are things I wonder if I do not know or just forgot. Like this answer. So I ask for yours." Statue answered and the more it spoke the more Moxxie felt compelled to jump out of the window of this bus

"I... Forgetting I guess." Moxxie had to make a decision. But was it a wrong one? Was there a wrong one?

"Hmm... Logical answer. One born from fear." The statue spoke in a wicked glee with that last word "Unknown in itself carries fear, one that everyone wants to escape from, every measly soul. But act of forgetting carries none so there is peace in it, but it does lead to two other questions that do carry it. Why one forgot? Where one got to know what they forgot?"

"Is there a point to this?" Moxxie asked the statue as he slowly lost grasp of what it was saying

"It is for you to decide." Statue answered and then looked at the doors of the bus "Seems like we are close to the station Beauty Seeker."

"Oh. Right." Moxxie almost forgot about getting off this bus

In a moment bus slowed down and it was about to stop at the last station. The statue rose up from it's seat and some dust fell one the floor with it as if it was sitting there for ages. Moxxie started to get up as well.

"Word of advice. Keep those trinkets close. They break easily Beauty Seeker." Statue spoke

"I will- Wait, what did you-" Moxxie turned towards the statue, but it was gone and even the dust that fell from it was gone

The doors of the bus were wide open now as well. Moxxie had no idea what just happened and he honestly just wanted to get to that damn shop already. But the nickname this statue gave him echoed in his mind for a moment though. 'Beauty Seeker'. At least it was better than an imp. Moxxie started moving, away from Pentagram City and soon enough found himself on the beautiful streets of Noble Realm in shadow of it's high spires. Moxxie dearly hoped no Law Enforcer would come out of somewhere to question him. Thankfully though Moxxie managed to go on through the streets mostly unbothered with exception of sometimes being almost stepped on by a Goetia walking by. Moxxie also did his best to keep his distance from the alleyways where countless imps and Hellhounds fought for any scraps thrown away by nobles and avoided the Law Enforcers roaming those horrid Labyrinths.

Finally after about half an hour of walking he was there. Peacock's Feather. Moxxie looked at his phone to check what time it was. It was almost 15, but Lady Stella was nowhere to be seen. Then he started to hear something from inside the shop. Someone was angry. Suddenly the doors of the shop opened and a well built Crow Goetia in a fancy red and gold suit came out while having deeply resentful look in his 4 red eyes.

"This was your last chance glitter feather!" The Crow seemed rather displeased and the smug look of Lord Andrealphus in the doorframe quickly removed all doubt as to what was the reason "Next time I shall come here with dozen men and very hungry and horny hounds. You better be ready."

"I look forward to that next visit sir!" Andrealphus happily waved at the Crow who was now walking away and then looked in direction of Moxxie "Oh, welcome little guy! Have you come all this way to look at my suits? If so then please, do it through the window. Be careful not to stain it."

"Wh- no, no. Lady Stella told me to wait for her here." Moxxie explained to the radiant Goetia "Is she here?"

"Mmm, I don't believe so. Although that gentleman surely reminded me of her." Andrealphus pointed in the direction the Goetia went

"Do I even need to know what was that about?" Moxxie asked

"This depends." Andrealphus said and Moxxie gave him a puzzled look "Nevermind. As I said. She is not here yet."

"So I have to wait." Moxxie said the obvious

"Quite so. But please do it here and not there." Andrealphus pointed at his shop "It's for paying customers only and don't blame me for my scepticism about your ability to afford anything in there with your lower status."

Moxxie couldn't believe one can be so polite and yet so damn rude at the same time. Andrealphus was about to enter the shop, but then Moxxie remembered something.

"WAIT! LORD ANDREALPHUS!" Moxxie called out to him

"Yyyessss?" He answered with voice full of anticipation

Moxxie pulled out the ring Andrealphus put on him from his pocket.

"You put this on me!" Moxxie said without hesitation

"Guilty as charged~" Andrealphus playfully put his hands up with a bright smile

"IT ALMOST KILLED MY WIFE!" Moxxie got angry

"Ahhh... Almost. The most painful of all words." Andrealphus said while looking at the sky

"I- YOU- Whatever. Just take that back!" Moxxie just wanted to be rid of this

"Take a gift I presented you as token of our friendship. No nonono. I am not that horrible. But I appreciate your generosity." Andrealphus said with the most infuriating of tones

"Ugh. Can you at least take this curse off of it?!" Moxxie knew at this point it was like talking to a wall

"Of course I can." Andrealphus said happily as he put his hands behind his back

...

And he proceeded to do nothing.

"But... you wont do that aren't you?" Moxxie asked, but he could already guess

"No~" Of course.

"Do you at least KNOW anyone who can?" Moxxie didn't know why he even bother

"I do. But I can't do everything for you." Andrealphus said as he looked in the distance

"YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Moxxie pointed out calmly

"Hmph. You just don't know the value of my gift yet." Andrealphus was full of pride "But I think you will learn."

"WHAT?! AND HOW!?" Moxxie was getting really sick of all this cryptic talking

"I may not have a gift of clairvoyance, but I can tell that this kind of curse will come in handy at one point or the other." Andrealphus said as he looked at his hand

"How can something like this ever help?!" Moxxie asked

"It is for you to figure out." Andrealphus answered and started moving to the doors "And for now, wait for my sister."

*SLAM*

And he slammed the doors with great force. Moxxie did not know what he expected, but somehow he wasn't even disappointed. Just very confused. Now though he had no choice, but to wait. He did hoped nothing bad happened at the palace, but given the state of mind Lady Stella was in when he left and how Lord Stolas sounded through the phone it was hard not to expect the worst. But before he could ponder more on this he saw Lady Stella's carriage with once more William and George as the driver and butler. Moxxie started to really feel bad for those two as they seemingly don't seem to get much of a break. Finally the Carriage stopped next to Moxxie and William came down to open the doors.

"Hello William." Moxxie greeted the sour butler, but all he did was roll his eyes

Moxxie looked up and made a small wave at the creepy driver George. He returned the wave, but Moxxie couldn't, but feel slight repulsion whenever he saw him. He also noticed some bolts on the neck of one of the skeletal horses.

"Are you going to stand here all day bard?" Lady Stella asked, taking Moxxie out of his analysis

"Oh, I'm sorry my Lady I was just-"

"Mmh, Doesn't matter." Stella stopped his apology "Follow me." Stella said and moved towards her brother's shop, but before she entered she looked at the Carriage and imps managing it "And you shall wait here."

William and George nodded while Moxxie noticed something off about the way Lady Stella moved and spoke. She seemed a bit more slow, tired. Moxxie wondered if this was about the events from yesterday. He wanted to ask Lady Stella, but he felt it wasn't a good moment. He just followed her to the shop.

As both of them entered Moxxie was awestruck at first. From the outside there were quite a few beautiful suits presented, but the ones here were something else. All of which adorned with beautiful symbols, made out of materials that even someone from afar could tell were unmatched both in delicacy and endurance. Some were even the same clothes worn by certain high rank Goetias and Seven Deadly Sins even like Lord Asmodeus. Some seemingly even had capability of changing sizes automatically to accommodate two forms of certain demons. Not only that, but there was plethora of wonderful jewelry, with mesmerizing shine to them and masterfully cut gems. There were even house decorations among all of this, like some wonderful carpets, some of which were seemingly alive nailed to the wall as they struggled to get out. Okay that last part actually made Moxxie quite uncomfortable and this small crack in this beauty made Moxxie remember who exactly crafted all of that.

Moxxie could tell just from looking at the inside of this shop that Lord Andrealphus had real passion for this art form, but this made Moxxie wonder just how many of those beautiful pieces of art had some nasty curses placed upon them. Just how many of those are meant to entice one to buy them and then meet a terrible fate once they are worn or used. Moxxie also noticed that Andrealphus was nowhere to be seen. And there was no desk around here either. There were though stairs leading to the second floor. It looked like Andrealphus was really confident about security of this place as there were not even any bodyguards around. Then again as Moxxie thought about Andrealphus's sense of humor the more sense it made. He highly doubted anyone would steal from this Goetia and not suffer some terrible consequences one way or the other.

"Beautiful isn't it?" from behind someone said to Moxxie

"AAAAAH! *SLAM*" Moxxie fell on the floor, but it was a rather pleasant fall as the entire floor was covered in a very soft carpet

"There you are Real." Lady Stella said as Moxxie got up

"Here I am my dear." Andrealphus bowed in a comically dramatic manner "What do you seek in my humble-"

"Can you cut this garbage already." Lady Stella obviously was not patient with him "I need a suit for the bard."

"Oh." Seems like Millie was correct in her assumption

"Hihi, is there a particular reason?" Andrealphus looked curiously at Moxxie

"I was invited to a party at Prince Gaap's estate." Stella said while Andrealphus started to look strange, like he was processing something "And given this Imp's presence I thought-"

"Oooh. Gaap. Hehe. That may be a problem. Quite a problem indeed." Andrealphus knelt in front of Moxxie "The party of Gaap is not a good place for an imp. Not good at all hehehe."

"Wh-why?" Moxxie took a step back

"Why, he may call himself the progenitor of True Love, but he is by all means a VERY hateful individual for anyone he deems... not up his standard. Like servant races such as imps." Andrealphus said with a look that could pierce the hardest of armors "He will not survive even a second in there."

"I am aware of Prince Gaap's tempers and preferences Real, but I thought if the bard came in something dignified he would-"

"No. He would not." Andrealphus was clearly amused and stood up to face his sister "The games they will play there with certain imps... oooh, I'm getting excited just thinking about it. Everyone there will have enough bloodlust to make entire Wrath Ring proud. It will be beautiful to witness, at least for someone like moi."

"Are you coming there as well?" Stella asked

"Ah, I wish. But Mr. Gaap seemed to forget about sending me a proper invitation." There was something strange in the way Andrealphus said that and Moxxie didn't like that

"So you are useless then. Seems like little has changed throughout these hundreds of years." Stella said with a spiteful tone and turned towards the doors

"Never said I couldn't. It's just that a normal suit wont do." Andrealphus's words made Stella stop her exit "I do have a new project I've been waiting to test for a while now. And this situation could be a perfect testing opportunity."

"I-is it going to hurt?" Moxxie carefully asked Andrealphus who just smiled wickedly

"If I'm lucky." Bright Marquise said in a sadistic tone "Hehe... I'm joking of course."

It did not sound like a joke.

"Either way bard has little choice in the matter." Lady Stella said "Unless he wants to walk away?"

"... No." Moxxie knew he couldn't and he didn't want to "I will go."

"Perfect!" Lord Andrealphus seemed overwhelmed with joy "Let's go upstairs. It shall be an amazing experience." Andrealphus moved towards the stairs and Moxxie and Stella followed

*BREAK*

Suddenly Andrealphus broke like he was made of ice and some strange stain left by said ice started slithering across the carpet, it moved under Moxxie's hooves and stopped right before Lady Stella. And suddenly from this small pool of ice came out a statue of Andrealphus with it's hand right before Lady Stella's face with one finger being raised. And then the hand moved.

*BREAK*

And the ice broke around Lord Andrealphus's body who started to wave his finger before Stella's beak.

"Ah ah ah. No girls allowed. Only employees and test subjects allowed. No third parties." Andrealphus said with a taunting manner

"REAL!" Stella was obviously about to strangle him

"Now, now sister! I'm serious!" Then Andrealphus took a more defensive stance "It will be an amazing surprise! Trust me!"

"I would rather trust my husband." Stella said with clear spite in her voice

"Oooh. That hurt deep. Very deep sister." Andrealphus said in a hurt tone as he tapped his chest "Please. I promise you! You wont regret it!"

"..." Stella was quiet for a moment as she looked over at Moxxie and at her brother "*sigh* Fine. I shall wait here."

"Splendid!" Andrealphus brightened up at those words and clasped his hands together "Come little fellow! We have work to do!"

Andrealphus then quickly moved towards Moxxie and took him by his hand and moved up the stairs. Moxxie quickly lost balance and fell down, but Andrealphus kept dragging him and Moxxie proceeded to get hit by every step of those rather long stairs.

*SLAM*

*SLAM*

*SLAM*

*SLAM*

*SLAM*

Finally Lord Andearlphus stopped his climb and proceeded to throw Moxxie on the floor. Moxxie felt a lot of pain, it was a miracle he still had all his teeth after that. Him and Andrealphus were standing before metal doors with quite a few ornaments on it, one of which was a bright symbol of Lord Andrealphus.

"Here." Andrealphus said as he opened the closed doors by creating a small key made of ice "My workshop!"

And as he opened it Moxxie saw a circular room filled to the brim with sewing tools, all kinds of measures, unfinished suits, chests and on the walls there were probably hundreds of different pages with suit designs. All kinds of dresses, shirts, pants, jackets, robes. Those were works spanning hundreds of years.

"Do you like it?" Andrealphus asked with a hint of irony "I know it's kind of a mess, but when you have so much time as an Ars Goetia, you find it extremely easy to leave some things for tomorrow that never comes."

He said that, but Moxxie could see a particular order to this madness. There were some patterns, but there was not enough of them to say that it was all completely as it should be. It looked like every so often a pattern was changed and not everything followed with those changes. Moxxie did not know if that was also by design or not. This was a strange mix of chaos and order.

*BANG*

Then Andrealphus closed the heavy doors and took out one measure from his suit.

"Now, let's see what we are dealing with." Andrealphus said with unsettling look in his eyes

Moxxie was about to prepare himself to be assaulted again, but thankfully Andrealphus seemed to only measure him. Surprising amount of restraint to say the least.

"Hmm, hmm... Yes. I think I see what I deal with here." Andrealphus said as he measured Moxxie's height, width, horns and his tongue for some reason. "Yes. Yes. Clear as day. See?"

All of the measures had 'Pathetic' placed upon them. Moxxie was not amused.

"Hehe. Sorry I couldn't help myself. Honestly none of this makes any tangible difference in this situation." Andrealphus said as he threw all the measures away "Although I DO have to voice my distaste for that abomination of a suit you're wearing. Who even made this garbage?"

"Lord Stolas gave it to me, but-"

"Ah. Now everything makes sense. Give this primitive a pair of scissors and he will try to clean his beak with them. Disgraceful that he even made an attempt. Ugh." Those so far were the most genuine words Moxxie heard from this Goetia

Lord Andrealphus then started to analyze more of this suit and was visibly disgusted by even touching it. But then as he looked more Moxxie felt a deep cold grow in his heart as he looked over the place where he hid it... The Gun made of Purple Ice.

"Oh." Andrealphus exclaimed as he pulled it out from Moxxie's pocket. "Intriguing."

But then Andrealphus simply placed it on the floor and then took another gun from Moxxie and placed it next to it.

"Umm." Moxxie didn't know what to say

"Hmm? Oh I know what it is. Curious weapons of terrible slaughter you possess. But do not worry, I have little care for such things." Lord Andrealphus said with a strangely honest tone, but then looked at Moxxie with the most murderous eyes he saw from him yet "Unless you plan on using it on my little sister."

"OF COURSE NOT!" Moxxie was less scared and more offended by such a notion "I would never!"

"Heh. Just checking." Andrealphus then smiled "But be careful with it. From what I know it packs quite a punch and for your sake keep it hidden. Not many demons will be as lenient as I am about it."

Moxxie just quietly nodded. He did want to ask Lord Andrealphus about it, but he could already imagine what kind of response he would get and it would be of no help. But this did make Moxxie a bit more calm. But then he realized something.

"Why did you pulled out my guns?" Moxxie asked

"It will be all clear when we start." Andrealphus said as he finally left Moxxie alone "Which will be NOW!"

Then suddenly in hands of Andrealphus appeared a saw made of ice and pair of scissors. Moxxie's heart quickly sank.

"If you will feel a need to scream, please be as loud as you can." Andrealphus said in a gleeful tone

"Uhh.. WHOA!"

What happened next is not something Moxxie can even describe. It's not even that he felt pain. Everything just became a blur as entire world was spinning around him and he heard ever present maniacal laugh of Andrealphus. Moxxie fully expected himself to be dead by the end of it all. But then he started to feel weird. Something was surrounding him and yet it was not at the same time. He felt strange lightness and then something pulling him down. He felt cold and warm. Something was going on and he couldn't tell what. And after a minute of this vomit inducing experience he heard a word which brought a world of relief.

"DONE!" Andrealphus exclaimed

And in that moment Moxxie's body stopped moving at least on the outside. As his view was still spinning. He saw Lord Andrealphus speak something to him and wave his... 3 hands at him? Moxxie felt like he was just put in a well full of very strong vodka. But then Andrealphus put his hand on top of Moxxie's head and let out a bit of ice into Moxxie's skull.

*PZZT*

"AAH OW! OW! OW! BRR!" Moxxie quickly grabbed his head in pain "WHY!?"

"To check if every body function works properly obviously." Andrealphus said as he looked over Moxxie some more

"WHAT ARE YOU EVEN-"

Moxxie was about rant at him again when he noticed something, his voice was different, a bit deeper. And his head. His horns were gone and his head was strangely soft and there were some strange things on it, he tried to pull one of those things out.

'OW!" And he did and it hurt a lot

He took his hands from his head and they were covered in feathers and what he pulled out from his head was another feather. His hands were covered in white feathers that had black outline and feather from his head was red. Then Moxxie noticed something else. He didn't have to look up at Andrealphus anymore. He was in fact... looking down at him. And as Moxxie looked down he saw how high he was. It made his head spin, he felt so strange and his legs were strange, gold with four black claws and he had a different suit on him, an elegant silver suit with golden ornaments, black comfortable shirt and fancy white collar. Moxxie was about to throw up. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening. He tried to move, but just moving his leg made him almost fall.

"Now now!" Andrealphus then grabbed Moxxie by his shoulder, keeping him from falling "We don't want to damage the suit."

"Wh-wh-what did you- I... Wh-what is-"

"Wh-wh-wh Why are you so damn annoying. You are a Goetia now!" Andrealphus said casually as he made Moxxie stand straight up "Well, at least in looks and with some physical strength. No magic skill added though. Sorry."

"WHAT!? I-... It's not permanent right!?" Moxxie panicked. How could he come back to Millie looking like this?!

"HA NO! Of course not. I wouldn't give up this suit to someone like you! It's one time thing for tonight. To keep you from getting torn to shreds." Andrealphus explained "Although it is weird that you ask about that. Isn't that what all Imps dream of? To not be their miserable selves anymore? To be something greater... Like us."

"I prefer my old self. Thank you very much." Moxxie said with little hesitation "It's less dizzy at least."

"But definitely more pathetic." Andrealphus mocked him "Don't worry. I will get this off of you. But tonight you can taste the life of a superior being."

"I'm jumping with excitement." Moxxie said as he tried to move and not look down

"Eh... Wait a second." Andrealphus said as he raised his hand up

In a moment's notice a staff made of ice appeared in Andrealphus's hand and then he quickly took some black paint from one of the chests in the room and started painting it with extreme speed, huffed at the staff and then put a small ruby at the top.

"Here." Andrealphus then presented Moxxie this new staff.

"Wh-what is it?" Moxxie asked

"Something to help you walk and make you look somewhat dignified." Andrealphus said as he gave Moxxie the staff "Now you look good. See for yourself."

Andrealphus then took exposed a mirror that was hidden under the blanket and Moxxie could see his new self. He was a tall Hawk Goetia now. With read feathers on his head and face and white ones underneath his beak and his eyes were of golden color like his beak and legs. Moxxie assumed he wouldn't look half bad for other Goetias. His suit was of extremely high quality which he could feel with every movement he made and there were small ripples of light coming down the fabric every so often. No matter how Moxxie looked, he would never guess the Goetia in the mirror could ever be someone like him. He moved a bit closer to the mirror and touched it just to make sure this wasn't a hallucination, some strange new prank of Andrealphus. He could feel the surface of the glass. Somehow he could feel everything in this suit, when he blinked, the suit blinked and he saw better thane ever before. He could hear so much now, he felt so much stronger. It was him... and yet it couldn't be. It could never be.

"How?" Moxxie asked in disbelief as he touched his new face

"A boring set of details, but I may tell you later." Andrealphus answered

"So... This is how I will go." Moxxie said to the mirror "Wait! D-do I need any invitation?"

"From what I know invited guests can in fact bring one companion with them so don't worry about that." Andrealphus answered with quite a bit of confidence

"But I'm someone who technically never met her before. Wont it be weird if she goes there with some stranger?" Moxxie was still unsure about this

"I know my sister. I know for sure she will figure something out." Andrealphus sounded even more confident about that "Oh and one more thing."

Andrealphus then looked through his pockets and picked out a silver lighter

"A lighter?" Moxxie was confused as he took the lighter in his hand

"I don't know where you stand on smoking, but someone is bound to ask you to light something for them. This could help you blend in as some approval seeking Goetia as most of the lot there will be." Andrealphus did not even try to hide his contempt

Moxxie was curious and tried turning it on.

*CLICK*

*BOOM*

Then suddenly for a moment a gigantic flame came out of this small lighter and Moxxie immediately closed it. Thankfully nothing caught fire.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?" Moxxie's legs were still shaking

"Must be the star I put in there." Andrealphus said in an extremely casual tone "Press it very lightly next time."

"YOU DID WHAT!?" Moxxie couldn't comprehend this concept "How did you put a STAR in a lighter!?"

"Very carefully." Andrealphus answered with an innocent smile and Moxxie was just as confused "Oh what?! It had like 5 million years left! It was on it's way out already! I just broke some constellation and ruined some future visions. It's not a big loss."

"I... Wh-I... I give up." Moxxie said as he just very, very carefully put the lighter in his pocket.

"Sometimes it's the best way to deal with reality." Andrealphus said happily "And I also took some time to place your guns in the pockets underneath your suit. No matter how much they will search you, they will not be able to find them."

"Thank you. I guess." Moxxie was still not sure about any of this, it was all too much to take in

"Now's not time to guess. It's time to act. Speaking of which. Time to go down." Andrealphus pointed down "I need to see my sister's face."

"Right." Moxxie now felt strange, how will she react

Moxxie and Andrealphus got out of the workshop and soon both of them went down the stairs. It was a bit of a challenge for Moxxie, but slowly he got a hang of walking on his new legs. As strange as that was. Slowly, but surely he went down to the midway point of the stairs and as he turned right to the rest of them he saw Lady Stella with her back turned to them. She was breathing slowly. She was... sleeping.

"Hmm. Wait here." Andrealphus whispered and moved towards her

Moxxie wanted to stop him, but it was fool's errand, but surprisingly he did not pull any vicious prank and just patted her on the shoulders a few times. He seemed rather gentle with her. It was strange to see.

"Wake uuup." Andrealphus whispered to Stella who slowly opened her eyes

"Ugh, what do you want." Stella was definitely not amused

Without a word Andrealphus pointed at Moxxie who was now going down the stairs again and Lady Stella turned around. The moment she did her eyes became at least twice as big as she looked at him.

"What, wh-who is this?!" Stella took a step back as Moxxie moved down the stairs

"H-hello My Lady." Moxxie said and bowed his head

"..." Stella slowly took a few steps towards Moxxie and looked at him more "M-Bard? That's the Bard?! What is- What did you do Real!?"

Stella then quickly turned around towards Andrealphus

"I took care of an issue. Simple as that." Andrealphus just shrugged

"How did you do that?" Stella asked with more threatening tone

"Mmmmagic!" Real answered while doing some weird hand gestures

"Real I swear to-"

"Don't worry! I will explain later. For now though I think you should focus on that party." Real quickly stopped her incoming rant

"I think he is right My Lady." Moxxie did not want them to fight

"Ugh... I see. Well then. Let us-"

"But one more thing!" Andrealphus quickly stopped her and before she could scream at him he pulled out a beautiful necklace from his pocket, golden one with black pearls in it "You seem to wear the same outfit every day so I thought that for this occasion you should wear something new alongside it. What do you say?"

"... What curse did you put on it?" Stella was very careful

"None! I swear on this entire shop!" Andrealphus seemed rather serious

"Hah... Fine. But Bard is putting it on me." Stella demanded

"I can't blame you." Real shrugged and gave Moxxie the beautiful necklace "Please be careful with it."

Moxxie nervously swallowed some of his spit and opened the chain of the necklace. Slowly he put it over Lady Stella's neck and closed it. It was strange. For the first time he could look at Lady Stella from above, she seemed so delicate as he was holding his new arms around her. It was a strange experience. For the first time he had an illusion of feeling like her equal. And it was a strangely pleasant feeling. But Moxxie couldn't distract himself and closed the chain with great precision thanks to his new eyes. As he finished Lady Stella turned towards him. This necklace looked quite beautiful on her.

"It looks amazing My Lady." Moxxie smiled nervously as he complimented her

"And you look... charming Bard." Stella said as she seemed to struggle to maintain an eye contact with him

"Bard is an interesting name, but I think we need a better one." Andrealphus then broke this strange moment "You need something better to blend in with the crowd there. Wouldn't you agree sister?"

"Yes. I agree." Stella nodded as she looked at Moxxie

"Perfect. I already have a nice list we can choose from." Andrealphus then pulled out a scroll from his other pocket and it comically fell down on the floor and kept on rolling to the end of the room

"Maybe my actual name will do." Moxxie proposed "Not Moxxie of course, but my real one. Maximilian. Will that do?"

"Hmm. Sounds good to me." Real said as he pulled the scroll up and somehow the entire thing folded itself "What do you say Stella?"

"It sound dignified enough. Very well." Stella approved

Moxxie just happily nodded. At least he didn't have to try to remember a new one.

"So my work here is done!" Real said and bowed to both of them "And don't worry about payment. This time it's on the house."

"Then everything is settled. We are moving out." Lady Stella said and walked to the exit

"One more thing pfft Maximillian." Andrealphus put a hand on Moxxie's shoulder "Keep an eye on her and Gaap. You understand?"

"Of course sir." Moxxie answered

"That's the spirit! NOW GO!" Andrealphus pushed Moxxie forward and almost caused him to fall, but thankfully Moxxie supported himself with his new cane.

"I-is it going to last?" Moxxie asked Real as he pointed at the cane

"For tonight? Definitely." Real answered "Now go. Don't keep her waiting."

Moxxie nodded and moved out the door. Lady Stella was already entering the Carriage as he was going out. William seemed to be talking with George

"Okay let's get out of here al- Who the fuck are you?!" William asked as he looked up at Moxxie

"I, well... I-it's me William sir." Moxxie said as he lowered himself awkwardly

"SHRIMP!? What the fuck did that weirdo do to you!?" William was unsurprisingly taken aback by this new form

"Apparently it's necessary where we are going." Moxxie said to the imp and felt weird about being able to look down on them so much now

"Damn. How does it feel?" William was very curious

"Dizzy mostly. From the height." Moxxie said as he tried to control the spinning in his head

"I can imagine... Actually no I can't, but I will try." William said

"*grumble*" George grumbled and put his thumb up

"He said you look good." William explained

"Right." Moxxie still couldn't figure out a way to understand this Imp

"Say, you are like this forever now?" William asked

"No. Just for tonight and honestly I think it's better that way." Moxxie answered as he touched the tips of his claws

"If you say so Your Majesty." William bowed mockingly as he said that, making Moxxie uncomfortable "Hehe. Come on in."

Moxxie followed his advice and entered the Carriage. It was both easier and harder to do so. But he was able to relax as he finally sat down on the seat. The doors closed and Moxxie could feel the carriage move once more. As he looked at Stella he could see that she was very tired, but her sight sometimes wandered towards Moxxie, more so than usual.

"Is everything okay Lady Stella?" Moxxie asked her sincerely

"Yes. There is no need to worry about me." Stella answered, but Moxxie was not convinced

"My lady. With all due respect I can see something is wrong." Moxxie spoke up and it seemed like with his new form it was harder for Lady Stella to ignore him "If this is about what happened yesterday then-"

"It is not. I just had little time to sleep. That is all." Stella quickly stopped him

"I see." Moxxie could she was honest, but this wasn't the entire truth "But why couldn't you sleep My Lady?"

"It is of no concern to you." Stella refuted

"I disagree. I promised yesterday that I want to help and this is what I want to do." Moxxie said and Stella's only answer was a tired look on Stella's face "Is it about Lord Stolas."

"..." Her expression turned a bit darker and angrier, but Moxxie could tell it wasn't that. Not entirely at least.

"Octavia?" This word though made Stella visibly weaker, more vulnerable, through his new eyes Moxxie could see even the smallest of changes in Stella's body movement "I... *gulp* if you My Lady want to talk about it then I'm here to listen."

"Do you have children?" Lady Stella suddenly asked

"I... No. I do not." Moxxie answered honestly

"I see. If I have to be honest with you Maximilian only recently... I felt like I had one." Stella's eyes slowly wandered off from Moxxie and looked into the distance "I felt like I have a daughter and not an heir."

"It must be hard on you My Lady." Moxxie said, not realizing that for the first time she used his name

"Very." Stella said with an empty voice

"How does it feel My Lady?" Moxxie asked

"Tiring... and terrifying." Lady Stella said with a very weak voice "For so many years there was this wonderful simplicity and now... I feel lost. And for the first time I truly don't know what to do."

"Maybe you can still bond with her. Do something both of you can like. Something you can both be happy with." Moxxie proposed "It doesn't have to be scary. It can be the best part of your life."

"..." Stella did not respond, but she did look at him again.

Her eyes were still empty, but there was a small glimmer of hope shining through those two beautiful gems. It was a mesmerizing sight. And it gave Moxxie an idea.

"Maybe if we get one free day, we could try to do just that." Moxxie said and Lady Stella's eyes brightened just a little bit "Maybe I can help you bond over. Would that be okay My Lady?"

"..." Lady Stella only looked down at the floor of the Carriage "Maybe."

Even that answer made Moxxie slightly relieved.

"So... Does that count for our one day topic?" Moxxie asked jokingly

"I believe so." Lady Stella said in a more serious tone "Thank you Bard."

"At your service My Lady." Moxxie answered with a smile, but still no smile could be seen on Lady Stella

"But now we have to discuss something else." Stella's tone became more official now

"What is it?" Moxxie asked

"I've discussed with my servants before you came out about where we shall stop. You will be out of the Carriage in an alley not far from Prince Gaap's estate and you will approach the gates of it before me. You will seemingly approach me as an act of desperation to enter as you 'lost your invitation' and I will reluctantly agree. That way we will avoid suspicions tying you to me." Stella carefully explained her plan

"Wow." Real was correct, she does think of everything, even in this kind of situation "You thought of all of that in such a short time My Lady?"

"If I couldn't think such simple things I would be long gone from this world." Stella said with a very serious tone

"R-right, right." Moxxie just scratched the back of his new head and it felt weird "But, what should I say specifically?"

"That I can teach you on the way. Gaap's estate is in Western part of Noble Realm. We have time." Lady Stella proposed

"Thank you My Lady." Moxxie was very glad

After a few hours

The carriage stopped on a street between two buildings. The sky was slowly losing it's red visage and the stars and Heaven in the sky grew brighter with every minute. Hellhounds and Imps alike moved out of the way and hid in their little holes as the skeletal horses approached and the grim looking driver with deep grumble commanded them to halt their movement. Soon enough the doors of the carriage opened and a lone Hawk Goetia came out and as he exited his carriage the ancient vehicle moved on from the alley.

As Moxxie looked around he did see a few Hellhounds and Imps cower in fear at his sight. It was a strange experience. To see those Hellborn so terrified of him. But he had to ignore that and so turned towards the end of the alley and came out onto the bright streets of Noble Realm where several Goetias were walking and going about their business.

"Good evening sir." One Goetia passing him told him

It was strange to hear a Goetia refer to him like this. Moxxie's only reply was a quick bow and he kept moving. And as he walked the more he heard the polite greetings, curious looks, non threatening gestures. It was like being in completely different world than the one he was in before. There was no disgust, no mockery, no spite. It was strange to say the least. Not to mention being able to look them all in the eye. It wasn't his life he was living right now and it made him uncomfortable. But he had to focus.

He moved on towards the end of the street, at the end of which was a straight road to the estate of Prince Gaap that was surrounded by quite large courtyard and walls with giant silver gates with symbol of Gaap on them and several hearts surrounding it, but classic and realistic ones. From what Lady Stella told him he was one of the more influential Princes, although he apparently had tendency of making himself look better in human texts by bribing his summoners with promise of woman coming at their lap, but as far as Lady Stella was concerned his supposed power rivaling Goetia Kings was merely a horrid farce, but he did have a way of talking with people and this allowed him to climb up in his rank. The estate itself even from this distance looked beautiful with the bright lights coming off from it. Moxxie slowly approached the walls and saw a line of Goetias coming in near the gates, but Lady Stella did not arrive just yet.

"Hello sir." A Goetia called out to him who was leaning against the wall

He was a Goetia in shape of a falcon, in a simple gray coat with a golden chain coming out of it's breast pocket. He was holding an unlit cigarette in his left hand.

"Have any fire?" Goetia asked and made a gesture with his right hand like he was using a lighter

"I-y-yes sir. Here." Moxxie quickly remembered about the lighter carefully pulled it out of his coat, opened it and very, VERY lightly turned it on

*CLICK*

*tsk*

And thankfully the fire this time was small. Moxxie went on to carefully light the cigarette of the Goetia, the cigarette was lighten with fire that was far brighter than Moxxie could imagine. It was not a normal cigarette. There was some Light of Heaven in it.

"Fwoo" Goetia let out a puff of glittering smoke into the sky "Thank you sir. Want one?"

"N-no. I prefer not to." Moxxie was not going to take any chances

"And yet you keep a lighter with you?" Goetia asked

"Yes... In case anyone needs." Moxxie said nervously

"Hmm. Then thank you for consideration." Goetia bowed his head "You are going to the party?"

'Yes sir." Moxxie answered honestly "Are you?"

"Sure." Goetia shrugged "Although such excesses do not hold my interest for long."

"Umm... What do you mean?" Moxxie asked with worry

"Hehehe, first time eh? Don't worry. I wont ruin the surprise. All I'll say is everything you heard is true." Goetia said with a sly smile

"That's what I worry about." Moxxie said quietly to himself

"Ha. Are you that squeamish?" Goetia obviously heard him and Moxxie's heart almost stopped "Eh, don't worry. I get it. Going somewhere you don't want out of obligation. Get out of your comfort zone to get something you need. I understand."

"Oh." Moxxie felt relief as he heard those words

"Word of advice if you are that sensitive, stay on the road. Do not approach others in their games. Keep away." Goetia sounded very serious and he huffed his cigarette again "Good luck."

"Th-thank you sir." Moxxie said and then realized he didn't even know his name "My name is-"

"Do not bother. We most likely wont see each other again. No need for names." Goetia said and went back to smoking

Moxxie said nothing and just nodded. Then he saw that Lady Stella's carriage was approaching and this was his signal to go up to the gates. There was a line of Goetias there being let in by a succubus who was surprisingly not dressed in a skimpy outfit and instead was wearing an elegant black dress. She had a dark pink skin, her hair were white and long, covering her shoulders and her back and around her body were purple thorns much like with that Hellhound who guarded the Theatre, but she seemed to be enjoying herself more with them and some of them even seemed to grow out of her hair as well. She had an elegant beauty to her. More sophisticated one at least compared to the very sultry look of Verosika. And all around the gate were several Law Enforcers... Many of them... It was actually strange how many there were.

The line was quite long, but for now no one else seemed to be approaching it and Moxxie saw that Lady Stella was about to exit. He knew what he had to do and quickly stand last in the line. Lady Stella slowly approached the line too and was now right behind him. The carriage itself drove off. Slowly guests entered while showing their invitations and slowly, but surely it was time for Moxxie to stand before her.

"Do you have your invitation sir?" Succubi asked politely

"Yes, it's-" Moxxie started to pretend to look for his invitation and started to search every single one of his pockets

"Excuse me, but can you please move on already?" Lady Stella asked from behind

Honestly if Moxxie didn't know she was acting he would never be able to tell.

"I-I'm very sorry! I just know it has to be somewhere-"

"I'm sorry mister, but you need to move. No invitation. No entrance." Succubus seemed nice while saying that, but her thorns that suddenly started grabbing Moxxie from all directions told a different story

"WAIT! Please! I swear I had a-" Moxxie stopped talking for a moment and looked at Lady Stella "Y-you! Please help! I really, REALLY need to get to that party! PLEASE! I swear I will repay you! I know good people at-"

"I think you said enough mister." Succubus smiled and her thorns were about to throw him

"Wait!" Lady Stella raised her hand "What can you offer me?"

"Oooh. Bribery." Succubus seemed to enjoy this

Moxxie just used a gesture for Lady Stella to get herself closer. As she did get her head closer to him he whispered with hand over his beak

"It starts to really, really hurt My Lady." Moxxie said honestly

"Eh... Fine." Lady Stella loudly said "I don't have a companion either way. You may as well come with me."

"Hmm? You are taking him as your companion Lady..." Succubus started and let go of Moxxie's body

"Here is my name." Lady Stella gave her invitation and succubus took it with one of her thorns

"Ah. I see. Well then. Lord Gaap welcomes both of you!" Succubus said and her Thorns opened the path "Have a good time."

Stella bowed her head and moved forward. Moxxie was right behind her.

"You did well." Lady Stella said as they were far enough from the gate

"Thank you my Lady. Ow." Moxxie said as he pulled out one of the thorns from his body

As Moxxie looked around he saw quite a few golems around much like those around Palace of Stolas and Stella and among them were a few Law Enforcers. It was actually strange how many there were here. Something was off, but what really got Moxxie's attention was something... worse. He saw Goetias laughing among torches that had some material hanged upon them as some strange, skinny beings were roaming around in this strange ring of torches and touching those pieces of material. Moxxie then understood and stopped walking and watched in horror. Those were imps... They were skinned, their eye sockets were empty and the eyes of theirs were in the hands of the Goetias who sometimes threw some into the torches.

"Are you okay Bard?" Lady Stella asked him

"What are they..." Moxxie couldn't even finish as he pointed at them

"It's... a game. Called 'Finding one's self'" Lady Stella said calmly, but with a hint of distain "An imp is skinned and eyes are gouged out and their quest is to find their own skin. If they do, they will get their eyes back... And if not-"

"Excuse me." Moxxie said as he felt something terrible stir inside him, he had to stop it. HE HAD TO-

"NO!" Lady Stella said loudly and placed her hand on his shoulder "Do not approach!"

"I... I have to stop it..." Moxxie for the first time felt so much hatred, he wanted to hurt them "I-"

"I know." But Lady Stella only tighten her grip on his shoulder "But you wont stop it. You need to control yourself. Doing something this irrational is dangerous and will spell your death."

"..." Moxxie wanted to run up them and tear out all of their heads, break their limbs, burn their corpses, PUT THEM ON A STAKE! MAIM THEM! KILL THEM! BURN-

"Maximilian." Stella said his name and this for a moment took him out of his rage "It's not worth it."

Moxxie still felt terrible, he still wanted to murder everything in sight now, but... he managed to calm down. Somehow as he felt Lady Stella's touch become more soft as well. Finally he turned to Lady Stella.

"I'm sorry for this." Moxxie said and bowed his head "I just-"

"It doesn't matter now." Lady Stella interrupted him "Now let's go. The quicker we get this done the better."

There was truth in her words. Moxxie nodded without a word and both of them moved forward. Little did Moxxie know that this was only one of their sick games. As he looked around he saw other sick attractions of those Goetias. Throwing Imps in the air and some Noble shoots them with a bow or a gun. On the other side some Goetia was selling Hellhounds and not far from that there was a crowd of those Nobles around a small arena where two Hellhounds were killing each other. He even saw some sinners being used as slaves by some Goetias. Having them on leashes with spikes on their inside.

Moxxie never felt so disgusted. Superior beings. He felt ill by just being in this damn suit now. But as he watched Lady Stella he felt none of those feelings. He saw none of that cruelty, none of that monstrosity. Only grace and beauty among this filth. It made him feel so conflicted, but also inspired. Maybe that is why she wanted to take him here. Show just how much worse things can be in this realm. Inspire another part of his song. Or maybe this is another test for him. Was any of it true? He couldn't know.

Finally they arrived at the Estate. Before the main building there was a giant fountain with what looked like water at first, but as Moxxie got closer he could smell somethin weird in it. It was alcohol. A LOT of alcohol has been pumped into the fountain and there was one or two Goetias singing terrible serenades at the top of their lungs. And he even saw one push some sinner's head into the fountain, happily exploiting their heightened durability.

The Estate itself was a very large building made out of some white rock. In touch it was similar to a bone, but it was far harder. The building had about 3 floors and second floor and the 3rd one were placed further to the front than the first and they were supported by large smooth pillars and the Estate. The Estate was bright, all over it were bright symbols lighting up the Estate and the now dark Sky above. The doors to the Estate themselves were very large, easily being able to allow Demon of any size enter the building and like in the Theatre there were smaller doors on these gigantic ones allowing normal sized Demons to enter.

Lady Stella stopped moving as they approached the doors. She took a deep breath and exhaled. Moxxie knew for a fact that it meant things were about to get even more complicated. Slowly the doors of the Estate opened and Moxxie was blinded by the light. The whole first floor was drenched in gold and red lights. The floor was covered in red flower petals and at the back of the room were big set of stairs. All around the room on it's edges were tables with all sorts of drinks and food. To the left Moxxie could see some Goetias playing a weird melody. If Moxxie heard correctly this was a melody of a Human musician. Vivaldi. Specifically 'Strings and Continuo in D minor, Rv 535: II Allegro', but it was strangely distorted and not all of them were playing. It was strange to listen to, to say the least.

All around were all kinds of well dressed Goetias. Some were in the back, in right corner of the Hall, laughing about something with some clearly afraid imps next to them. Moxxie wanted to help however he could, he had to remember about those. Some others were dancing to the strange tune, others were busy drinking and many of them were surrounding a particular Goetia... who Moxxie recognized. It was a Crow who came out VERY angry from Lord Andrealphus's shop. And considering how many people were talking to him...

"That Goetia in red and gold suit is Prince Gaap." Stella said and everything became clear

"(Seems like I uncovered the secret of why Real was not invited.)" Moxxie thought to himself, allowing himself in his mind to stop calling that piece of shit by his full name "Should we... introduce ourselves?"

"Everyone has to." Stella answered "Follow me."

And so they approached the Goetia who even from distance seemed very content and peaceful unlike back then when Moxxie first saw him. As the Goetia turned towards them his smile widened a bit on his beak and a small spark in his eyes could be seen. He started approaching them, leaving other guests behind.

"Ah. Stella. How wonderful to see you my sweet." Prince Gaap bowed his head and took Lady Stella's hand into his and kissed it with... his beak. Moxxie was not sure how that worked really, even in this suit "You become more outstanding with every meeting we have."

"Thank you my Prince. It is a great honor to be here." Lady Stella said with respectful tone as she bowed her head, only then Prince Gaap let go of her hand

"And it is greater honor for me to welcome such beauty in my house." Prince Gaap said with a smile and turned towards Moxxie with a curious look in his eyes "And who may you be sir?"

"I'm... Maximilian my Prince." Moxxie said and bowed before Gaap "I accompany Lady Stella."

"Intriguing. I must say Lady Stella I would expect someone like you to take their husband." Prince Gaap said as he turned to Stella

"I wanted to, but he had no desire to participate. I decided to take along someone else." Lady Stella said carefully

"I can understand. Coming alone to such a party would be most a very painful sight. Most definitely one that could negatively impact your reputation." Gaap said with a calm tone "I do hope both of you will enjoy your time at this House. And please excuse the musicians. Not often do they play such melodies."

"Speaking of which My Prince." Moxxie raised his hand "This is human music. Is there a reason for them playing it?"

"Why yes it is. Our melodies while beautiful can get tiring, human music while different tends to bring it's own kind of excitement that I wanted other Goetias to experience." Goetia said with pride, it was weird, but Moxxie found himself agreeing with him on some level "But it is interesting that you know what it is? Because you do right?"

"Y-yes actually. It's Strings and Continuo in D minor, Rv 535: II Allegro by a human named Antonio Vivaldi, but there is something distorted in it." Moxxie said as he watched the musicians

"I see I have an expert on my hand here." Gaap said in an approving tone "Have you been studying about it anywhere?"

"No. Not really. I just share the sentiment of there being something... different in the way they create everything. A passion that one rarely finds here." Moxxie explained his stance

"It is a wonder isn't it? To me there is something romantic in the way some humans use their limited lifespans." Prince Gaap said and Moxxie happily nodded "Hehe. I'm glad to meet another man of passion for such arts under my roof. Maybe we could discuss certain things later on."

"Like what sir?" Moxxie got a bit confused

"I've been looking for quite some time for someone who could help me in organization of my musicians. The way they play as you wisely pointed out, is imperfect and I would be more than glad to have someone who could help me in such endeavors." The tone of Prince Gaap was strangely captivating "Are you interested?"

"I-well..." Moxxie was almost at a loss for words

"Hehehe. No need to answer. I get it. Things are moving very fast and all you want to do is enjoy yourselves for today." Prince Gaap seemed very amused "Please excuse my inquisitive nature sir."

"N-no, there is no need. I just-"

"I think mr. Maximilian could use a little break." Lady Stella stopped Moxxie

"Haha. Truly. As for you Stella dear. I definitely would like to speak a bit more with you as well." Prince Gaap said as he got closer to Lady Stella

As he got closer Lady Stella for a moment broke eye contact with him, it was a small, easy to miss moment moment, but Moxxie saw that and it made him worry a bit.

"I would like to speak of more pressing matters My Prince." Lady Stella said without hesitation

"I can definitely see that." Prince Gaap said calmly as he touched Lady Stella's shoulder, for some reason Moxxie's body became more alert as he did, then his hand went towards her necklace "It's quite a beautiful work of art. It compliments your beauty."

"Thank you for this compliment My Prince." Lady Stella said as she looked down

"It is no compliment, but reality." Prince Gaap said as he raised her head, this made Moxxie feel strangely tense.

Keep an eye on her and Gaap. You understand?

He remembered. But it wasn't just about Real's words... He had to say something. He had to.

*slam*

Then suddenly the entire Estate was shaken. The musicians stopped playing, the lights flickered and became dark. The Imps cowered. The Goetias stopped playing and talking. The area was almost completely dark and silent nad the brightest light came from the eyes of Demons. There was a powerful presence above them. Something... terrible. Then after a moment the lights went back and as they did Moxxie saw a smile on Prince Gaap's face as he looked at the ceiling.

"He is here." Prince Gaap said quietly, but this was a voice with a power of a tsunami

"Who?" Lady Stella seemed lost just like Moxxie was now

"We will talk later my sweet." Prince Gaap said, but before he left he quickly kissed Lady Stella right in the beak, this made Moxxie's body jump as he was about to grab his hand, but he quickly stopped himself as the Prince turned towards him. Lady Stella looked... empty "LADIES AND GENTLEMAN!"

Prince Gaap gained everyone's attention and went towards the middle of the Hall. Everyone was now looking at him. Except for Lady Stella.

"Are you okay My Lady." Moxxie asked her quietly, but she did not seemed to register his words

"I AM DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE A GREAT NEWS!" Prince Gaap continued

*tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik*

Suddenly a strange sound was heard from the roof. Strange ticking like that of a clock, but one that was moving on the roof. Something was there. Something with many legs.

"TODAY'S CELEBRATION IS A SPECIAL ONE!" Prince Gaap screamed with excitement

*tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik*

Strange sounds became louder and they seem to even make Lady Stella wake up from her lethargic state. And Moxxie could feel the presence get stronger with every tik... His heart beat faster and faster with every one.

"ONE NONE OF YOU SHALL FORGET IN HUNDREDS OF YEARS TO COME!" Gaap spoke even louder

*tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik*

And those tik became louder too... Those were footsteps... of...

Kneel

Moxxie without a moment of hesitation knelt down and bowed his head as low as he could... He was quiet and cold as his heart was beating faster and louder. He felt sweat drip down his feathers. He felt fear as he knew what was approaching.

""THIS CELEBRATION SHALL BE BLESSED BY ONE OF A KIND GUEST!"

*tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik**tik*

Lady Stella saw Moxxie kneel. In a few moments she too was on her knees next to him. And soon more and more Goetias followed suit. In, but a few moments, all of them went on their knees.

*tik*

*tik*

*tik*

*tik*

*tik*

*tik*

*tik*

*tik*

...

...

The footsteps stopped and the great doors of the Estate slowly fully opened.

"PAY YOUR RESPECTS!"

There he stood. A great Demon with legs of a spider, torso of a man, clad in armor made of golden bones, with one of it's powerful hands carrying a great staff made of sickly green metal with terrible writings all over it. It's head was that of a old, powerful man with long grey hair and a crown made of the same metal as the staff and with cursed gemstones placed upon it. Every time the demon turned it's head, it morphed into something else. As it looked to it's right, it morphed more and more into a wild cat and as it turned to it's left a horrid face of a frog slowly appeared.

"SHOW YOUR REVERENCE!"

There was no mistaking it. Even Moxxie knew who this being was.

*tik*

*tik*

Slowly it entered... The Highest King among Goetias.

"TO OUR MASTER!"

*tik*

*tik*

Master of masters.

*tik*

*tik*

The Overseer of Ars Goetia.

*tik*

*tik*

"Lord Baal."

---

Damn... This took too long. I sometimes really hate how I can't simply get to the point and I shove so much into a chapter. Makes me confused. But thankfully I DID wrote it sooner this time... Hope you all enjoyed this. BTW that part with Vivaldi song is a reference to Planescape Torment and the OST there for Civic Festhall. I thought it would be appropriate to add this music into this part. In Torment it was for a very pretentious place and this party is... similar.