(See Part 1 for Disclaimer)
[Part 4]
The next day, I.M.P headed back to the Ring Elevator in order to catch a ride to the Envy Ring. Once they got off, they decided to split up in order to have a better chance of finding Moxxie.
While he was on his own, Blitzo started asking any passerbys if they had seen Moxxie, holding up his missing poster so they'd know what he looked like. Every single demon they spoke to all said they hadn't seen him, which added to his frustration.
"Damn it! How the f*ck can one imp just disappear like this?! You'd think he'd be super easy to find!", Blitzo said to himself.
"Excuse me"
Blitzo turned around to see a shy looking sheep demon girl standing behind him, "Yeah...can I help you?", he said.
"I've seen that imp you're looking for, but I don't think you're gonna find him anytime soon", said the sheep demon.
Blitzo gave her a confused look, "What do you mean by that?", he asked.
The girl looked down sadly, "Because by this point, he's probably already dead", she said.
[Time Skip]
After awakening, having breakfast and taking his medication, Moxxie was exploring Dmitri's mansion since he wanted to learn the layout. This time, he was accompanied by Lucinda to make sure he didn't have any accidents like yesterday.
She was nice enough to offer to give him a tour of the estate after giving the female staff workers their jobs for the day.
Moxxie looked out one of the many windows and noticed something interesting outside: not only was the entire estate surrounded by a five foot stone wall, but there was also what looked like a small house a few feet away from the mansion.
"Say, what's that little building out there for? Is that a storage shed or something?", he asked.
Lucinda looked out the window and smiled, "Oh no, that's actually Lord Dmitri's office. Many people wrongfully assume that as Death, his job involves him appearing before humans that are about to die and send them where they need to go immediately afterwards.
"In reality, he only does that with dead children after consoling them. When it comes to adults, they have to come here and Dmitri needs to discuss with them about their lives, their deeds, etc. There's actually a lot of therapy and paperwork involved", she explained.
Moxxie cocked an eyebrow, "Therapy? Is Lord Dmitri a therapist or something too?", he asked.
"Psychiatrist, actually. And yes, it helps because many of the dead souls that comes to him had a lot of serious psychological issues before death. You wouldn't believe how many suicide victims he's processed.
"Many of them still have issues, so Lord Dmitri tries to talk to them and console them about their problems. Some of them take what he says to heart, but others do not, especially those going to Hell", said Lucinda.
Moxxie kept looking at the small office building with intrigue, which made Lucinda smile. "Do you want to go see what it's like on the inside?", she asked. Moxxie nodded, so she took him outside and walked him over to the small building.
When they walked inside, they were greeted by what looked like a waiting room with a receptionist desk. Off to the side, there was another door with Dmitri's name and occupation written on the small window. They heard talking from the other side of the door, indicating that Dmitri was having a meeting with someone.
Just then, the door opened and out of the room stepped Dmitri and a small, old pigeon demon. He was shocked to see his head maid standing outside his main office.
"Lucinda, what are you doing here?", he asked.
"Since Pippin was feeling a bit better, he wanted me to give him a tour of the manor so he could become familiar with the layout. Your office peeked his curiosity, so I brought him here", Lucinda explained.
"Pippin?", asked Dmitri.
"Yes, since I have no memory of my name, I decided to go with a new one. Collin suggested the name "Pippin" for me and I liked it, so I went with it", said Moxxie.
The old pigeon demon smiled, "What a cute little imp! I think he might be the perfect replacement for you, Lord Dmitri", they said.
Moxxie gave them a confused look, so Dmitri elaborated. "Oh, this is my former assistant. They would sit out here at this desk and help me with filing paperwork, answering the phone to address clients, etc. They're quite old now, though, so we were just discussing them going into retirement and for me to find a new assistant", he said.
"Actually, my Lord, it would be a good idea to have Pippin as your new assistant. Even after he heals from his head injury, he could have lasting after affects and manual labor might aggravate them. Sitting at a desk, doing office work, would be much safer", said Lucinda.
"I don't know much about office work, but I'm ready to do my best to serve you if you choose to make me your new assistant, my Lord", said Moxxie.
Dmitri pondered the thought for a moment before he came to the conclusion that it would be a good idea. "Alright then, consider yourself hired. When you're feeling better, I'll have you fitted in a suit and you'll get right to work", he said.
Moxxie had a bright smile on his face, he was happy to be given a new job since he had absolutely no memory of ever having one to begin with.
"Well, I have to help my former assistant file for retirement so they can pack up and return home. In the meantime, why don't you have Lucinda take you to meet the rest of my staff", said Dmitri.
Lucinda smiled as she guided Moxxie out of the building, the small imp waving goodbye to his new boss.
[Time Skip]
Back with I.M.P, Blitzo couldn't believe it when the sheep demon told him that Moxxie was probably dead, so he called Loona and Millie, and told them to meet up with him.
After that, the sheep girl led them over to Leviathan's Beach, towards the cliff. "I was over here collecting starfish for my fish tank at home, when I saw an imp that looked just like the one in your flier slowly walking up the cliff.
"He had a very depressed and solemn look on his face, so I knew there would be only one reason why he was walking up there. I ran up the cliff to try and stop him, but I'm not a fast runner, so by the time I got to the top...he was already gone", she said.
I.M.P gasped in shock collectively, with Millie suddenly bursting into tears. Loona held her close while Blitzo spoke to the sheep girl, "Are you sure it was Moxxie you saw? The imp in this poster, you're sure it was him?", he asked pointing at the flier in his hand.
The sheep demon nodded sadly, "I'm absolutely sure, but you shouldn't jump to conclusions. He fell off the cliff but that doesn't mean he died, for all you know, he could've been washed up somewhere", she said.
With that, she apologized for not being any more helpful to them before leaving to go home, leaving I.M.P to take in what had happened.
"What do we do now?", asked Loona as she tried to calm the crying Millie.
"I don't believe Moxxie's dead, the guy's a pushover but he's definitely no p*ssy! The puny bastard murdered his own father, for f*ck's sake! He had to have survived that fall, I'm sure of it!", said Blitzo.
Millie sniffled as she wiped away her tears, "But even if he did, how are we supposed to find him? What that girl said is right, if he fell into the ocean, he would've been washed away somewhere. How are we supposed to find him now?", she said.
Blitzo pondered for a moment, "Well, we can't search the whole damn ocean...don't even have the money to rent or buy scuba gear anyway. There has to be...", he trailed off as an idea formed in his brain.
"What is it? You've got that look on your face, Blitz! I know that means you've got a plan", said Loona.
Blitzo slapped a hand to his forehead, "Oh f*ck! Why didn't I think of this sooner? We could go to Stolas and have him find Moxxie! He could his fancy ass cosmic powers to find him anywhere!", he said.
With that realization, Millie bolted over and grabbed him by the shirt. "Why didn't you think of this sooner?!", she shouted.
Blitzo eased her off of him, "Hindsight's a b*tch, Mills. Now, let's stop wasting time and get going!', he said as they all raced down the cliff to get back to the Ring Elevator.
[Time Skip]
Lucinda led Moxxie to a large room that looked like the employee lounge found in some companies. There were tables to eat at, with a door leading to the kitchen, several lounge chairs and couches, flat screen tvs hanging on the walls and a pool table.
"Pippin, this is the staff lounge. This is where all of Lord Dmitri's servants gather together to eat their meals and enjoy the down time we get during breaks or on our days off.
"This is where you'll be when you start working, but for now, why don't you introduce yourself to everyone. If you begin feeling tired or sick again, let me know and I'll take you back to your room", she said.
Lucinda stepped off to the side and allowed Moxxie to walk into the lounge and mingle with the other servants, but he kept his distance because he was very nervous.
He then noticed something, they were all currently eating. On each table was a big fondue pot over a bunsen burner, there were baskets and bowls of different food items such as cubes of bread, assorted vegetables, fried chicken and shrimp and small boiled potatoes.
There was also a sign on every table that said "No double dipping!"
Moxxie approached one table but still refrained from sitting down because he was shy and anxious.
"Hey, Pippin! Come sit over here with us!"
Moxxie looked over to see Collin sitting at a table, along with a small female demon dog in a maid's dress and a tall male imp wearing a suit. He tentatively walked over and sat down, the little dog demon passing him a plate and a kabob skewer.
"Here you go, put everything you want on the plate and use the skewer to dip them in the cheese. Just don't double dip, you'll ruin it for everyone", she said.
Moxxie did what she said, loading up his plate with all the foods he wanted. Then, he skewered one of the cubes of bread and dipped it into the fondue before putting it into his mouth. His eyes lit up at the delicious taste.
"Mmm, so good!", he muttered.
"Glad you like it, Lord Dmitri hired only the best chefs in Hell to prepare everyone's meals", said the other imp.
"Pippin, I'd like you to meet my new friends: this is Melody the demon dog and Francisco the Imp, you can call him "Franky" for short. They helped me get adjusted to my new life here, as well as helping me overcome my depression after being abandoned by my old friends", said Collin.
Moxxie reached over to shake the hands of both demons, "Nice to meet you both, I'm Pippin. That actually wasn't my name before but since I've suffered a serious head injury and developed amnesia, I don't remember my real name. So, I needed a new identity", he said.
Melody looked at him with big puppy dog eyes, "Oh, you poor thing! I feel so bad for you, you must feel so lost and confused!", she said sympathetically.
Francisco gave him a smile, "Well don't worry, buddy. Lord Dmitri had already informed everyone here about your situation and how you're still recovering, so we know to take it easy around you", he said.
Moxxie smiled gratefully, "Thank you all so much for your kindness. I wonder if I had such good friends like you in the life I had prior to my amnesia...", he said.
Collin patted him on the shoulder, "Maybe you did, who knows? Until then, just know that we're your friends", he said as he gestured to Melody and Francisco who nodded in agreement.
Moxxie had to fight to hold back his tears as he continued to eat, having random conversations with his new friends.
[Time Skip]
Later on, Moxxie told Lucinda that he felt well enough to go back to his room by himself, so he walked through the hallways to go back to his room since he was feeling tired.
As he walked through the halls, he came across a room with the door slightly open. Moxxie peered inside to see that it was a child's bedroom: there was a bed with a canopy, space themed wallpaper, a dresser in one corner and a large toy chest in the other.
Moxxie then saw Dmitri's son, Jayden, sitting in the middle of the carpeted floor playing with some building blocks and a toy train. He decided to walk into the room to get to know the son of his new boss better.
Jayden heard the door creak open and looked up to see Moxxie, a smile forming on his face.
"Hello, Mr. Pippin! Are you feeling better?", asked Jayden.
"Just Pippin is fine, kiddo. And yes, I'm slowly starting to get better. Your dad just hired me to be his new assistant too and I made some friends among the staff", said Moxxie.
Jayden smiled as he gestured to his toys on the floor, "Hey, you wanna play with me?", he asked.
Moxxie was going to decline because he was feeling tired but he didn't want to disappoint the little imp/owl demon hybrid, so he decided to sit down to play with him.
Jayden handed him a toy dragon, "Here, you be the big scary dragon that'll attack the castle! Just let me build the castle first, though!", he said.
Moxxie nodded as he watched the young boy build a lopsided castle with his blocks.
Two hours went by as Dmitri walked through the halls of his mansion on his way to his son's room, Jayden made it a habit to go and see what his father was doing every few hours, so when he didn't do so, Dmitri decided to check on him.
He came upon his son's bedroom and pushed the partially opened door even more open. What he saw instantly melted his heart, both Jayden and Moxxie were lying on the floor amongst the toys, fast asleep.
Dmitri quietly giggled as he reached down to pick up his son, "I guess the imp is also a very capable babysitter as well", he whispered as he tucked Jayden into his bedroom with a stuffed dog.
Then, he reached down to pick up Moxxie, lifting him into his arms and carrying him out the room. He turned off the lights, turned on a constellation themed nightlight and slowly shut the door.
Dmitri carried Moxxie back to his own room, tucking him into his bed with the stuffed armadillo Jayden had given him. Before leaving, Dmitri stopped to gentle stroke Moxxie's hair while smiling at him fondly.
"You know, it's funny...you feel like a second son to me. I've always had a certain soft spot for imps, that's why I made my son half imp. It's too soon for me to have another child, I wanted to wait until Jayden was at least a teenager before making a second child, since I do want two.
"But I don't think he'll mind having you as a pseudo big brother, you've already proven to be very skilled at caring for children. We can discuss it further in the future, for now... pleasant dreams, my dear imp", he said.
Dmitri then slowly and quietly stood up, walking over to the door. He turned off the lights and shut the door silently, leaving Moxxie to sleep and dream peacefully.
[End of Part 4]