Hello everyone!

Back again with another chapter! To those of you who have been reading, I hope you decide to follow/favorite if you want to know right when new chapters drop. My goal is to bust 50 followers, and at the rate right now, this is very achievable.

This chapter is a transition chapter. This story was a tad more loose in the previous chapters. Episodic in a way. A more streamline turn of events is going to start becoming more present, especially with Tax Day coming closer for the members of I.M.P..

With that out of the way, onto the story!

Chapter 5: Getting Closer

Blitzø was having a good day.

M&M and himself had successfully killed a whole European mafia, hung a sexual predator with his own cumsock, and blew up the house of an overly religious nanny. It was three successful jobs within 6 hours, on top of a fat payout and even a good review online!

Loonie hadn't drank thus far in the day either, meaning she hadn't cleared the fridge. It meant his meal was still there when he went for it earlier. (Not that he would have been upset at his precious daughter for eating it of course. It was just a plus that she didn't.)

Then there was the fact that a new lineup of precious bejeweled ponies hit the market a few minutes ago! He scrolled through his phone, looking at the options and which one he wanted to buy first. Hearts formed in his eyes at the bedazzled blue and red ones, his thumb hanging over the 'Buy' icon.

"Blitzø, can I talk to you for a minute?" Blitzø looked up from his phone, his ire pointed towards the sinner at the door. He put his phone down on his desk, eyes still tracked to the treasure in his shopping cart.

"What do you want?" Taking this as permission to come in (it wasn't), the sinner walked into the office, closing the door behind himself. In his hands was a stack of documents, post-it notes and various extra papers sticking out from the collection.

"I was going through your current expenditures to-"

"Talk normally, shit for lips." Blitzø cut in, taking a sip from his coffee.

"*Grrr* Fine, then let me lay it straight and simple." The sinner placed the papers on the table with a thump. "You owe money to a bunch of fuckers throughout the seven rings of hell, right? Mainly to start this place?"

Blitzø gave an unimpressed look. "Yeah, what about those shitheads?"

"Once I finish your taxes, it would be best to find out which ones to pay out first. I know you have money saved up for your taxes, but if all goes well, there should be some remaining that can be put towards destroying some debt." Leon offered, opening up the pile in front of the imp.

"Uh, yeah. No." Blitzø slid the papers away. "I've already got my eyes on a new figurine I've been wanting. That beautiful little pony is my first target! Not only that! But a market opened up for this one!" The imp pulled his phone up to the sinner's face. "I'm gonna name it Flutterbean!"

"Blitzø!" The sinner shoo'ed the phone away. "Your company has a lot of financial interest payments on the books. At least, the ones you bothered to write about." Leon huffed, showing off a few more noteworthy papers.

"I looked at your prior transactions, and you have only been paying the interest on these. That's just money being thrown away! If you take some of the money you save after taxes, and put them towards refinancing and reducing the debt owed on current interest totals, the overall payments can be reduced to zero!"

"Again, normal words, cocksucker."

"*Sigh* You pay now, and never again. No more debt, and all the money this company makes down the line is for the company, not some greedy asshole out of Gluttony or Greed."

Blitzø pondered that for a moment. "As much as I like the idea of not paying anymore, that means I can't buy the limited edition Sparkle Horses gun decals coming out next month." Blitzø shook his head, a grin on his lips. "Yeah, sorry. It's not worth it. Good pitch, though!" He smirked at the sinner who seemed to fall apart at his words.

Blitzø leaned back in his chair before continuing "Listen, I get where you're coming from, Neck Or-"

"It's Leon, Blitzø ."

"*Sigh* Whatever gets your dick hard. Anyhow, it's my job to worry about the money here. You fix my taxes and straighten up the paperwork. That is IT!" He swung around in his chair, casting a sideways glance to the sinner. "Leave the rest to me. I've got that taken care of. The last thing I need is for you to poke your nose in my business."

"But that's why I'm here, isn't it?" Leon urged. Blitzø rolled his eyes, distracting himself with a small puppet figure on his desk. "If you ignore this, it won't go away. You might be fine right now, financially wise, but the due payments will keep coming."

"Relax, for fucks sake!" Blitzø hand waved the distressed sinner. "I've been taking care of this company and keeping it going LONG before you came in the door. I know who to pay and when to pay them. It sounds nice to just pay it forward and be done with it, but it won't be near as great as you think it will be."

"But Blitzø-"

"I said it's fine, okay? It. Is. FINE." He stressed, grabbing at sinner's shoulders and pushing him towards the door. "Now worry about the taxes coming up. The one's I can't avoid. Got it rookie?!" He gave a toothy grin to the bewildered expression on the sinner. And with that, he ignored the sputtering of the white haired demon, slapping the door shut.

He waited for a few moments as the sinner seemed to stand at the door for a few seconds. Blitzø practically dared him to try and come in again, but was met with footsteps leaving the doorway, echoing down the hall.

Blitzø sighed, his good mood ruined.

He turned back towards his desk, eyes immediately catching the big pile of papers left strewn across it. He glared at the offending documents, instead walking past them and back over to his phone.

He quickly picked up the small piece of technology, scrolling through it for a moment. He hit the 'Buy' icon on the Pony he wanted, his phone automatically inputting the address to ship it before shutting it off.

He gripped at his cup of coffee, taking a sip before placing it back down.

Blitzø was not stupid. He wasn't educated, but that didn't mean he wasn't well acquainted with how the world worked.

He knew what payments Leon was concerned about. The amount of money owed on some of them hadn't changed since I.M.P. started, his payments only covering interest. Blitzø was content with that, though. He already had plans for the saved money.

His first concern was to make sure M&M never left him. He knew Moxxie was concerned about their finances, and it would affect Millie too. Both had made comments regarding their situation, though only Moxxie directly to Blitzø's face. They were in hot water, and he needed to fix his shit otherwise things would boil over and they would bounce.

Fuck that! Try thinking about jumping ship after the bonus Blitzø had planned, Mox!

After that was paying off the fucker who kept the power in the building. The whole place was supposed to be demolished years ago, but Blitzø sweet talked them into keeping it active. Several companies outside of I.M.P. also partook in the free building access, outside of paying for power and water from the people scheduled to demolish it.

As long as the money flowed, this shitty building would never go under!

Then there was the new guy, Leon himself. Truth be told, he hadn't even set up the fucker's payment plan yet. He already made a deal with Leon regarding his salary, so it wasn't like he could change it (at least until taxes were filed out). How Blitzø divided up the money made at I.M.P. had not included the white haired sinner yet.

He needed to change that too.

Blitzø, in his short time with him, tolerated Leon. That was saying a lot though, considering the shithead was a sinner and a pain in the ass.

He knew that since joining, his problems regarding paperwork have been way down. It meant he was able to more freely focus on clients, his hobbies, and antagonizing Moxxie. It gave him a better mind regarding the money aspect as well.

Blitzø was so used to the incoming payments weighing heavily on his head. Having the paper-pushing audio-jacking twink do most of the work was helping out.

As a downside, Leon was an uppity, stubborn little jackass who always needed something, and whined more often than Moxxie when it involved certain paperwork or more printed files. However, the pile of paperwork that occupied the break room was getting smaller.

Hell, Blitzø was even considering putting him on client management for the future… the problem was that such a job was already taken, and he didn't want to have that conversation yet.

Blitzø leaned back in his chair, pulling up two more papers on their next set of clients. His mind was filled with the prospects of I.M.P., and whether it was possible to get a throat-job from one of Leon's neck holes.

A pale hand hovered over the door, decision still to be made.

Leon made a noise in his throat (speaker), looking over the door. He pulled his hand away, only to bring it back up.

'Relax, Leon, it's just Moxxie and Millie. Just Mox and Mil.'

It's been years since Leon had been invited out by people, much less to their house! It was new territory, and he didn't want to fuck it up. He had no idea what to expect. Leon took a deep breath, moving his fist to the edge center of the door.

*Knock Knock*

The door slapped open. Standing in the entrance way was a joyful looking, charcoal haired imp. Millie was still in her work attire, though a freshly washed set, based on the lack of blood. "Leon! Glad you could make it!" Millie said with enthusiasm.

Leon tugged at the collar of his jacket, not used to introductions and greetings like this still. "Hey, Millie. I'm glad you would have me here." He managed to push out. "I, well…. Um, I brought this!" He smiled weakly, revealing a small box from within his jacket.

"Oh, how nice of you!" She took up the box with gusto, before tucking it away. Before he could say anything more, she grabbed him by the hand. "Come on in now. Don't be a stranger." Leon lurched forward, his taller form having nothing on the impressive strength of the imp. "My Moxxie is finishing up supper right now. Sweetie, our guest is here!"

"Sounds great, honey! Just finishing up a few things!" Echoed from the hall.

"'Kay, sweetie!" Millie turned towards her guest once more.

Leon was looking around at their opening/living room with intrigue. From the exterior, this place looked like it was one step from collapsing. The walls were cracked, with the windows being boarded up and bricks being out of place.

On the inside, however.

The walls were adorned in a music note wallpaper, dark shades of red mixing with the eighth note patterning on the walls. A single, small couch took the wall, accompanied by a night table with candles. A lamp took up a corner with wall mounted shelving above, adjacent to the window. Just below said window was a vinyl audio system, decorated with small music themed adornments.

It was well spaced, and seemed so inviting! Did he step into the same building he had been standing outside of for the past 5 minutes?!

"Leon, hon, why don't you join me in the dining room." Leon blinked, looking back towards the imp. She had a bemused expression on her face, beckoning him to follow as she waltzed down the small hall.

Leon obliged, walking behind his coworker and into their dining room.

"Help me set the table, okay?" Leon nodded his head to the request, aiding the imp in her setup. It wasn't much longer that Moxxie came out from the kitchen.

The imp smiled as he laid out a baked Alfredo Ziti, served with brimstone chicken and baked bread. Leon stared down at the spread with surprise, the smell hitting his nostrils and the aromas dancing over his taste buds.

He had never seen something so wonderful before. This beat the shit out of instant food bowls and ready-made salads by a long shot!

"Leon, you're drooling."

"Yeah, and your speaker is making a weird buzzing sound." Millie giggled. "It sounds like a dirge-hornet!"

"S-Sorry!" He muttered, wiping away the drool from his mouth. "Um… once again…. Thanks, ya'know, for… inviting me."

"Ah, shucks. It's fine, dear! Now grab yourself a seat!" Leon nodded, watching as the two placed themselves across from each other at the small table.

Pleasantries were exchanged as the food was distributed onto plates, the steam from the fresh baked pasta and bread permeating the air.

Leon took a bite of the Ziti, his tongue coming into contact and immediately sending sensations over his mouth. The orgasmic taste nearly made him moan out, finding himself in awe of the flavor. He blushed to himself, trying to pull together his composure once more as he ate. He missed the small look of pride on Moxxie's face, as well as the pleased look Millie gave to her husband.

"We don't get guests over too often." Millie offered between bites.

"Yeah, the last time someone we invited came over, it didn't turn out well."

"Moxxie, try to remember that we hadn't even had time to put the house together. You've seen the outside of this place." Moxie rolled his eyes at his wife's justification.

"Even so, would it have killed your parents to be a bit nicer about everything? Your dad nearly snapped my record of Specter of the Opera!"

"He wasn't much for vinyls, you know that sweetie. He just thought it was a flimsy plate."

"Yeah, a plate that cost me 260 Souls." Moxie huffed, taking a large bite out of a slice of bread.

"Speaking of that." Leon began. "I notice that things like Specter of the Opera , Hell Horror Picture Show, and other Broadway style musicals are down here in Hell. I'm guessing that sinners brought them down here and they became popular?"

Moxxie grimaced. "Popular isn't the right word. More like… they exist now, but most demons tend to ignore them. Only some of the upper rings of hell's aristocrats ordain themselves in broadway." The imp grumbled. "I understand that not everyone can appreciate the artistry and talent required for such pieces of avant-garde aesthetics, but it's a shame that more demons don't try to broaden their horizons." He grabs at his fork, slicing through a piece of chicken and placing it in his mouth.

"Moxxie, most demons don't have the musical love that you have. I don't even understand all of the different kinds of stuff you bring in the house. That doesn't mean I dislike it."

"And that's what I'm saying, Mils. Maybe if more demons were exposed to the majesty and quality that came from orchestral music, we could be a bit more civilized." The imp thought about the city they lived in. "Maybe we wouldn't be surrounded by so much degeneracy."

"Well, that's in part by the sinners that come here, too." Leon offered. "Even before I died, I felt that a lot of music and stuff that people liked was too raunchy. The biggest names in music got famous by singing about their dicks and labias, then they ended up here." Leon shook his head in disgust, the imps nodding their heads in agreement.

"Sorry, but that's not my style." The sinner confirmed. Leon thought about his old playlists, and the music that was burned onto all those CDs. "I enjoyed orchestral, instrumental, alternative rock, and upbeat songs. Music from the Earth's 1960s to the 90s was my main listening zone."

Moxie sighed in exasperation. "At least you have some tastes, though I am curious about what constituted these '1960s' and onwards."

"The Beatles, Bon Jovi, Micheal Jackson, Queen, the list goes on!" Leon waved his hand dismissively. "Curious if Lennon ended up down here because of his song 'Imagine' though." He pondered, thinking about such a situation and what kind of sinner John Lennon would look like.

"Say, you seem to like music. Do you know how to play an instrument too! My Mox Mox plays a mean acoustic!" Moxxie blushed at the compliment, chuckling a little bit at the words of his partner.

Leon's eyes seemed to grow a bit distant, looking to the wall of the small dining room. A soft grin formed on his lips. "Yeah, I played. I was a marimba player on Earth. Played all through High School, and even thought about performing in international competition."

"A marimba, what's that?" Millie asked.

"Is that one of those long sets of metal rectangular boards? The ones that sound like a chime piano?" Moxxie offered as an answer.

"Close. The one I played was made of Rosewood, and they had a set of pipes in the belly of the cart they were holstered on in order to produce a nice sound. You played them by placing mallets in your hands and striking them percussively." He grabbed up his fork and knife in one hand, reminiscing. "I was pretty good at four mallet techniques… until I came here, of course!" He smirked down at his plate, his eyes full of emotion.

He remembered the blisters and pain that came from the practices, as well as the competitions that he got to perform in from his local circuit. Leon reminisced on his first time pick up his mallets, all the way to where he was at his best in life.

Moxxie and Millie shared a look, then looked back at the sinner. Leon seemed to be in his own world, contemplation deep on his face.

"What sucks is that they don't exist down here. I mean, I've heard mimicked audio of them, but that's from AnguishAudio music producers. It's not close to the real deal in person!" Leon shook his head fondly. "When I was first starting out, I was so bad with my sticking! I almost taught Vinny the wrong…." Leon stopped, the spark in his eyes vanishing instantly. "Um… nevermind. Forget I…. shit, now I made it all awkward and stuff." He pressed a hand to his face in disappointment.

"Leon, it's fine sweetie." Millie offered, shifting out of her chair.

"What she said. It seems like you've got a lot on your mind, regarding your old life, that is." Moxxie picked up his plate, placing it on top of Millie's polished one.

"Yeah… I guess I never really…." Leon thought about it for a moment.

Ever since coming to Hell, he hadn't really had anyone to talk to. He immediately holed himself up in Pentagram City and stayed put. No one to exchange words with, no friends or coworkers to talk to. Hell, he barely spoke to his landlord back over there! He kinda just…. reclused himself.

"You know, we didn't want to bother you with it, especially with everything you're-"

"No, It's fine, Millie." Leon assured her. "I'm sorry for putting a damper on the mood. I'm okay, honest. I guess I just... had a lot pent up."

"If I may ask, Leon." Moxxie began. "How did you die?"

"Yeah, ya little chucklefuck!" The three in the room startled at the voice. They all turned to the hall that led to the kitchen, only to be met with the site of their boss, eating what seemed to be a carton of ice cream.

"Sup, bitches."

"Blitzø!" They screamed in unison.

"How the fuck did you get in again! I changed the locks on everything, even the vent on the chimney!" Moxxie pointed at his boss in outrage, who continued to eat the dessert by the spoonful.

"My secret. Besides, even if I told you, your baby brain wouldn't be able to figure out how to stop me anyhow." Moxxie growled at his boss.

"Sir! You can't jus-"

"Anyhow!" Blitzø cut him off. "I'm just as interested as these two to hear about it. Lay it on me, Leon! How did ya get offed? Died losing your virginity? An assassination attempt? Maybe OD'd off of a hooker's blow? Ya kill yourself for having such a shit life?"

"Sir, I doubt that someone like Leon was killed in such a wild way. It might have something to do with how he ended up as a sinner!" Moxxie argued.

"Actually, he wasn't far off on the second guess." Leon shrugged his shoulders.

Moxxie stopped, turning towards the sinner. Even Blitzø seemed surprised by his own correct statement, settling into a smirk at his own brilliance. "Come again?"

Leon sighed. "I suppose I should explain from the beginning. Before I do though, did you want some help cleaning up?"

Millie was the first to jump back in. "Sure, hon. Why don't you help me get the plates, and Moxxie and Blitzø can clean the table."

"Correction, Moxxie will clean the table while I finish off this rocky road."

"Hey, that's my rocky road!"

"Finders keepers!"

"It was in my freezer!"

"Losers, weepers!"

The table was cleared (with no help from Blitzø, too busy antagonizing Moxxie with the remnants of his ice cream tub), and Millie/ Leon placing the dishes in the sink and rinsing them so they could be washed later.

"It started when I got my first job in finance." Leon began. Moxxie and Millie were sprawled over their coach, Blitzø taking up the armrest and swinging his legs too and fro off of the edge.

"I was just a fresh rookie, working for some guy who was involved in the United States treasury department. His job was to monitor the investment of government funding into specialized programs. Basically, he would say where money should and shouldn't go based on performance reviews and spending on these government agencies."

"After a few months working there, my workload had only gotten bigger and bigger, and it felt like I was doing a lot, considering my pay. I didn't say anything though, just hoping to keep pushing so I could get promoted. My boss wasn't horrible, and genuinely seemed to like everything I was doing."

"Turns out there was a reason for him being so happy with me: the fucker had been throwing me his work too! He started getting lazy and used his extra pair of hands to do most of the filing and accounting. He would cross out information like names and agency codes, then want me to file financial reports and audits. They found out he had been doing absolutely nothing when he had to present information on the paperwork he submitted… but he didn't know anything about it, because I had been the one to do it!"

"Anyway, they fired his ass, and just put me in his job. I was already doing his job, so it was just the same thing with better pay! The new office was also a huge bonu-"

"For Fuck's sake, Leon, get on with it!" Blitzø slumped back into the couch.

Leon huffed, adjusting the cord affixed to his neck. "Fine. Everything went along smoothly until I was told to do an audit on some obscure investigation agency. The name escapes me, but the people who worked there requested a meeting with the person in charge of their audit and financial report."

"I did their paperwork, and found that they blew through money with no results. They spent money on all sorts of 'capture' equipment, sonar and scanning equipment and tracking softwares. Not to mention the best camera and surveillance the United States government could buy."

"Despite that, they came up empty handed, and their labor was not worth the hundreds of millions they had wasted. I told them as such too! They didn't deserve such a high end budget, and I promised a great big slash!" Leon said vindictively, remembering the looks on their faces when he dressed them down in their office. Bitterness filled his features, and he sighed. "It was there that I fucked up. I should have never shown them my face, nor gotten all cocky. I guess working for the government does that to you, though."

Moxxie leaned forward, his tail on Millie's shoulder. "They killed you, huh?"

"Not then and there. That would have looked bad. Too obvious." Leon thought back to his last week in the living world. "They begged me for three days to provide evidence of their success thus far. I agreed, not thinking much of it." Leon chuckled. " What a ignorant fucker, I was."

"Did they shoot you?" Blitzø interrupted. "Bury you alive? Maybe they turned you into a living voodoo dol-"

"They strangled me to death." Leon said dismissively. He felt at his neck, fingers tracing the silver ringed opening fasted within his throat. "Chased me down to a music shop I frequented and got me with an audio cable." Leon found his shoes very interesting as he continued to feel at his neck. "Heh, poetic, isn't it."

"Oh, hon. I'm sorry you had to go through that." Millie stood up from the couch, her husband in tow.

Leon smiled at the duo. "No, I should really be thanking you guys. I haven't really talked about it with anyone. It's kind of…. freeing, in a way."

Millie smiled back. "Well, what are friends for?" Moxxie nodded, even Blitzø offering a small smirk.

Leon froze, staring at them with held breath.

Friends.

Leon had been alone for the past two years of his life. He maintained distance from people, avoided confrontation, and kept to himself. He locked himself in his apartment, stayed put during Exterminations, and never bothered with people.

Even in life, he hadn't been the most social. He had been so held up in work and duties that he didn't find the care to work alongside people or become personal. Even through High School, he had been the quiet kid. A wallflower who was picked last, the only reason people spoke to him was when it came to needing help in Math or during Drumline Practice.

His mood and friendliness took a nosedive after That Day too, destroying what relations he did have.

The only person who really gave him the time of day was….. Vincent. Leon bit his lip, trying to stop the memories from pouring out over one of the few people who cared before his death.

He blinked away the emotional tears that threatened to form in his eyes. Leon closed his eyes, a grin taking his face.

"Yeah… friends."

"Just not best friends!" His boss interjected. "That title belongs to this imp!"

"Sir, kindly refrain for two seconds."

"One… Tw-"

"Blitzø!"

Leon watched as the trio bickered, the smile not moving from his face.

It wasn't the same. It was different from his old life, both from Earth and in Pentagram City.

But different was nice… in its own way.

End Chapter

I hope you liked this chapter. If you are confused by the references, AnguishAudio is like SoundCloud, and the Broadway shows are Phantom of the Opera and Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The next chapter will be up within about a week, so sit tight! I appreciate all of you who followed/favorited, and wish you well.

Until next time, see ya!