(See Part 1 for Disclaimer)
[Part 5]
Moxxie awoke the next morning, feeling refreshed and energized. He stretched and yawned as he rose up from his bed; he looked across the room and saw something near the full length mirror standing next to the closet.
It was a black butler esque suit, complete with jacket, pants, a red bowtie and a white undershirt. The suit looked clean and freshly ironed; Moxxie stood up and walked over to the suit, that's when he spotted the sticky note on the suit.
He pulled it off and inspected it, seeing that there was a small note written on it. It read as follows:
Good morning, Pippin.
This is your new work attire, I had Lucien iron it for you. I hope the size is just right for you, if not, tell me and I'll discuss with my tailor to make adjustments.
I look forward to seeing you in my office after breakfast. I work from nine to five, so as my assistant, you have the same schedule. Don't worry, you'll have days off and you are allowed to take sick days.
-Dmitri
Moxxie smiled at the note as he proceeded to get ready for his first day of work, no longer feeling any after affects of his head injury, though the amnesia was still present since he still couldn't recall anything from before waking up in Dmitri's mansion.
He looked to his bedside table and saw a hair brush, a toothbrush and a towel had been left for him. He picked up the towel and toothbrush, and walked into the bathroom that was just outside his room.
He brushed his teeth and took a quick shower, then he walked back into his room with the towel wrapped around his waist. He put on some clean underwear and then posed in front of the mirror as he put on his suit.
Moxxie finished it off by brushing his hair and stopped to look at himself in the mirror, "I look pretty handsome, don't I?", he said with a laugh. He then left his room, heading for the employee lounge for breakfast.
He entered the lounge to see everyone else there, having breakfast while either watching TV or having conversations with each other. It was then he was approached by one of the chefs who came out the door to the kitchen.
"Hey, aren't you the new guy hired by Lord Dmitri?", he asked.
"Why yes, yes I am", Moxxie responded.
The chef nodded as he walked into the kitchen and then came back with a glass of orange juice and something under a silver dome. "Tell me where you plan on sitting", he said.
Moxxie looked around and spotted Collin, Melody and Francisco sitting at a table close to a window. "I'm gonna sit over there, with my friends", he said as he pointed at the table. The chef nodded as he carried the items towards the table, Moxxie following close behind him.
As Moxxie sat down, the chef set the dome down onto the table and then removed the lid. Moxxie gasped as he was presented with a plate of bacon, poached eggs, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, buttered toast, sausages, and baked beans.
"Wow! What is all this?", asked Moxxie.
"This, my good fellow, is a Full English breakfast", said the chef as he set down the glass of orange juice.
Moxxie was confused, so he friends decided to explain.
"You see, since the chefs know how to prepare dishes from all over the world, every month they pick a new country and prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner based on that country's traditional foods", said Collin.
"They make it a bit of a game, too! We wrote the names of every country on little slips of paper and put them into a glass fish bowl. The chefs shook it around and then they let out of us pick one at random", said Melody.
"This time, someone pulled out a piece of paper that said "England" on it, so we're having British food this month", said Francisco.
Moxxie picked up a fork and knife, and began eating his food. His eyes lit up at the delicious taste, "Mmm! This is amazing, so good! I can't remember eating anything this good in...well, ever!", he said happily.
His friends all smiled as they ate their own breakfast while having a conversation.
[Time Skip]
Later after breakfast, Moxxie made his way over to Dmitri's office outside the mansion. As he did, he heard something; it sounded like low growling. Moxxie became a bit frightened as he looked around for the source of the noise.
Suddenly, a large creature began charging towards him, making Moxxie fall to the ground. He cowered in fear at whatever creature had approached him, but after about five minutes, he realized that it hadn't attacked him.
Moxxie looked up to see a demon dog with three heads, red eyes and dark brown fur. Around the neck of each head was a spiked black collar, each tag reading "Cerberus". The demon dog stood above Moxxie, staring down at him.
Then, the middle head leaned down and began licking him on the cheek. Moxxie's fear quickly dissipated, being replaced by cries of laughter at the ticklish feeling of the tongue on his face.
"Cerberus, down! Now!"
Moxxie looked up to see Dmitri walking towards him with Lucien, "I apologize for this, Pippin. I was supposed to take his lordship's dog out for a walk, but he ran off after I unclipped his chain from his doghouse", said Lucien.
He walked over to the demon dog and clipped three leashes onto the three collars, pulling it off of him. Dmitri bent down to Moxxie's level, "Apologies, Pippin. This is my pet demon dog, Cerberus. You might be familiar with him from Greek mythology, as the Hellhound who guarded the gates of the underworld.
"He originally belonged to my mother, but he was passed down to me along with everything else she left me when I became the new Death. Cerberus is only violent to intruders, but he can be overly friendly with my staff. I'm sorry if he scared you", he said.
Moxxie shook his head sheepishly, "No, no. It's alright, my Lord. I was pretty scared at first, but Cerberus didn't hurt me so it's fine. Anyway, can we head to your office so I can start my job please?", he said.
Dmitri nodded as he took Moxxie's hand and led him over to the office building. Once inside, Dmitri guided him over to the desk; on the desk was a desktop computer and two bins, one labeled in and one labeled out.
"I was told there were some new files coming in from "upstairs", if you catch my drift. For your first task, I need you to organize them by alphabetical name order and put them in the file cabinet", said Dmitri.
Then, he picked up a box from atop of the cabinet and placed in next to the desk along with a large stamp, a piece of paper and an inkpad. "These files are for many individuals who died and ended up in Hell, I keep track of people even after death too. The annual purge happened not too long ago, so many demons have been slain.
"Once you're done sorting out the files for all the recently born humans, I need you to go through these files. If any of the demons on this list come up, they're dead and therefore, you must stamp "void" onto their files and place them into the out box. You got all that?", said Dmitri.
Moxxie nodded with a look of determination on his face, "Yes, my Lord. I will do my absolute best! By the way, what do I do if the phone rings?", he said.
"Most phone calls are either old clients calling to make or cancel appointments or new clients wanting to schedule their very first appointments. In either scenario, discuss proper appointment times and help them schedule them. I'll give you a copy of my work schedule to help you.
"If they wish to talk to me right away, transfer the call to me by pressing "1" on the phone keypad. If you hear me speaking on the phone or with a client, put them on hold until I'm done. If I leave to go reap a child's soul or I'm out to lunch, tell them I'm unavailable and to leave a message", Dmitri explained.
Just then, a small white portal appeared on the ceiling as a brown box fell through it. Dmitri picked it up and placed it next to the desk, "Ah! Here they are, files on the newest humans that have been born. You know what to do, so I'll leave you to it. Your lunch break is at one o'clock, by the way", he said as he walked into his private office.
With that said, Moxxie opened up the box and began sorting out the files by alphabetical name order, placing each one in either of the three file cabinets. Just as he was about to put away the last file, the phone rang. He rushed over to pick it up.
"This is the Desmodeus Afterlife Consultation Office, how may I help you? Yes...yes...alright, ma'am, please hold while I transfer your call", said Moxxie. He pressed "1" on the keypad and heard as Dmitri picked up the call. He placed the phone back on the receiver and went back to work.
He sat down at his desk with the list of recently slain demons and began looking through their files, for each one he found to be dead, he stamped "void" onto them with the large stamp and placed them into the out box on the desk.
Just then, Moxxie came across a particular name on the list that caught his attention.
It said "Crimson".
"Huh, why does that name seem so familiar?", he said to himself.
He pulled out the imp's file and opened it, reading that he was a Mafia boss from the Greed Ring. Moxxie read about how he was infamous for disposing of those who crossed him; according to the file, he was mysteriously killed a few days ago, no one knew what happened since there weren't any witnesses.
Moxxie shook his head, "Well...no helping him now. I wonder who killed him, though. According to this, he was shoved head first into a fireplace. I guess his murderer had some serious beef with him...", he said.
He simply shrugged as he stamped the file and placed it into the box before moving on to the next one, not even giving the file a second glance.
[Time Skip]
Later on at lunchtime, Moxxie sat in the lounge with his friends, enjoying a platter of fish and chips. They soon finished eating, but since it was still twenty minutes before they all had to go back to work, they all sat on some lounge chairs to talk.
"So, Pippin, do you have any hobbies or special talents?", asked Melody.
Moxxie shook his head, "I'm still suffering from amnesia, so I would have to say no. I can't even remember my old job was before this, or if I even had one. Everything from before I first woke up here is just complete darkness", he said.
Melody suddenly looked apologetic, "Damn it, I keep forgetting you have amnesia! I'm such a douchebag!", she ranted.
Moxxie patted her on the shoulder, "No, no! It's not your fault, really. Anyone would make that mistake if not reminded otherwise, it's alright", he said reassuringly. Melody smiled as she gave him a hug.
"Hmm, well maybe you're a musical kind of guy", said Francisco as he pulled out a guitar from seemingly nowhere, "Wanna give it a try?"
"Um, I don't know...I don't want to embarrass myself in front of all of you", Moxxie said with a nervous blush.
"Just give it a try, Pippin. Who knows? You might be good at it!", said Collin.
Moxxie picked up the guitar and gave the strings a strum. Just then, he felt something vaguely familiar within him; he didn't know what it was, but it seemed to call out to him. Without any prompting, Moxxie began to sing while playing the guitar.
[Verse 1]
"And I'd give up forever to touch you
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now
And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
And sooner or later, it's over
I just don't wanna miss you tonight
[Chorus]
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
[Verse 2]
And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything feels like the movies
Yeah, you bleed just to know, you're alive
[Chorus]
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
And I don't want the world to see me
[Long Instrumental]
(As Moxxie really got into the music, all the other servants in the lounge stopped what they were doing and turned to watch him play).
[Chorus]
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am".
Moxxie strummed the guitar strings a few more times as the song came to an end. Suddenly, he heard a round of applause; he looked up to see everyone clapping and cheering, some were even crying.
"Wow, Pippin! That was absolutely amazing, you have such a beautiful voice!", said Melody.
"Yeah, that was a surprise. I didn't know you were so musically inclined, how'd you do all that?", said Francisco.
Moxxie looked at him and then down at the guitar with a dumbfounded expression, "I...don't know, it just felt like something inside of me was calling out, wanting to sing...", he said.
"Well, maybe that means you've regained a memory, and that memory is of you being talented at singing and playing guitar", said Collin.
"Huh, I guess you're right", said Moxxie.
[Time Skip]
Later that day, Moxxie was back at his desk doing his work. At the moment, he was taking phone calls and messages because Dmitri was out.
"This is the Desmodeus Afterlife Consultation Office, how may I help you? I'm sorry, but Lord Dmitri is currently out reaping souls. Can I take a message?", he said. Moxxie reached over to grab a notepad and write down the message.
"There we go, thank you for your patience and understanding. When Lord Dmitri returns, I'll inform him of your message and I'm sure he'll get back to you as soon as possible. Have a good day", said Moxxie.
As he hung up the phone, Dmitri walked in through the door, looking a little tired. One of his hands, he carried a large black scythe with a deep red blade and a ruby attached to the base of the handle.
"Welcome back, my Lord. One of your clients called and left a message for you, I took down the information to let you know", said Moxxie.
Dmitri sighed as he placed his scythe in a shatterproof glass case hanging on the wall just outside his private office. "Thank you, Pippin. By the way, tomorrow, you'll be here all by yourself for a few hours", he said.
Moxxie was now confused, "What do you mean?", he asked.
"I have a meeting with one of the overlords of Hell, so you'll have a bit more work to attend to. I'm sorry to thrust this on you when you've only just started working, but it can't be helped", said Dmitri.
Moxxie gave him a reassuring smile, "It's alright, my Lord. As you said, it can't be helped. You yourself are an overlord and thus going to meetings with the others is an important part of your status. I'll be able to handle the work, don't worry", he said.
Dmitri smiled as he gave Moxxie a gentle pat on the head, "I was wise to choose you as my new assistant, for someone who just started out, you seem so proficient", he said.
[Time Skip]
The next day, Dmitri sat on a large luxurious sofa in one of the rooms of his mansion as he waited for his guest to arrive for their meeting. Surrounding him was about twenty of his Hellhound bodyguards.
Just then, the door to the room opened as the guest entered with their own bodyguards. It was an avian demon with white feathers, turquoise eyes and beak, and periwinkle hair. He was wearing a bright blue fur vest with a navy blue undershirt, along with a turquoise colored crown and a white dress with his tail feathers behind him.
"Hello, Andrealphus", said Dmitri as he stood up.
"Ah, Dmitri! My beloved half cousin, a pleasure to see you again!", said the demon revealed to be Andrealphus.
He walked over to give Dmitri a short hug before sitting down gracefully on the sofa; as Dmitri sat down, two imp butlers walked over holding something in their hands. One held a tray with a teapot, two teacups, a bowl of sugar cubes and a creamer.
The other held a three tier snack display: the bottom tier had finger sandwiches, the middle tier had scones with jam or butter, and the top tier had had pastries such as small tarts and macarons.
The two imps bowed respectfully to the two overlords before making their exit, Dmitri then turned to face Andrealphus.
"Care for some coffee?", he asked.
"Ooh, I'd love some", said Andrealphus.
As Dmitri began to pour coffee into the teacups, he struck up a conversation with Andrealphus.
"You're looking as elegant as always, glad to see you're doing well. How's that sister of yours? Is she still a shrill harpy that can give you a run for your money in terms of "making noise"?", he said.
Andrealphus smirked and giggled as he took his cup of coffee and added some cream and sugar to it, "Oh how I missed your deadpanned sense of humor, but yes. As much as I do love her, Stella has always been a bit unpleasant", he said.
Dmitri scoffed as he added cream and sugar to his own cup of coffee, "Pfft, understatement of the millennia! You know when she threw that "Not Divorced" anniversary party, she tried to invite me, casually forgetting I'm not even married.
"Then, we got into an argument for a good fifteen minutes as I tried to explain to her that I'm asexual. Stella then went on some ridiculous tirade about marriage and royal duties and blah, blah, blah!
"She doesn't seem to understand that unlike her, I don't have to marry anyone to produce an heir. As Death, I can keep my position for all of time if I wanted to. My mother only stepped down because wanted to give up her title, I on the other hand, am keeping my title.
"I only made my son with a blood ritual because I still wanted to be a parent, I just didn't want to be in a relationship with anyone. Honestly, I don't understand how she's even still married", he said as he picked up a scone to eat.
Andrealphus took a sip of his coffee, "It's funny you mention that because there's rumors going around that Stella and Stolas are getting divorced", he said.
Dmitri nearly choked on his scone when he heard this, he coughed as he took a sip of his coffee to wash it down. Then, he turned his full attention towards Andrealphus.
"Wait, what?! Are you kidding me? You're screwing with me, right?", Dmitri sputtered.
"I wish I was, but sadly that's not the case", said Andrealphus.
"I've always known those didn't really get along, but to think after all this time, they're getting divorced. Do you know what the reason is?", said Dmitri.
Andrealphus reached for a finger sandwich and took a bite, "I can't say for sure, but it might have something to do with how Stolas has been cheating on Stella with some imp.
"I don't know all the details because I've been busy with plans to expand my land, but it is a possibility. Oh, by the way, that's actually why I'm here: I was thinking of building a summer home near the border between Hell and Purgatory, but I was told I had to get your permission first.
"The area I chose isn't anywhere near your residence but still, you control the border so I wanted to get your permission first before going ahead with my plans", he said.
Andrealphus then pulled out a file folder containing the leasing contract and other papers, Dmitri took a moment to look over and read the contract. Nothing seemed wrong or out of place, so he pulled out a pen and began signing.
"I see you want to give me five hundred thousand dollars for the land space. While I don't really need the money, I'll accept it as a fair trade. Also, Stolas cheated on Stella with an imp? I'm surprised you don't know more details, if I recall, you just love gossip", said Dmitri.
Andrealphus laughed as he ate another finger sandwich, "Oh, even being only half cousins, you know me so well. Yes, I do love some juicy gossip but not much is known about the situation.
"Perhaps either Stella or Stolas is keeping everything discreet, but it won't be long until the full truth comes out to the rest of the Goetia family. I just hope that at the very least, my dear niece Octavia isn't having too hard a time", he said.
Dmitri poured himself some more coffee and took another scone to eat, "Oh yes, Octavia. I hope she's doing alright as well, it's been so long since I've given her a visit. She was the only good thing about going over there in the first place, talking to Stolas is a bore-fest and talking to Stella makes want to shoot my brains out.
"Little Octavia was the highlight of my visits, and little Jayden loved playing with her when he was a toddler. Perhaps when the heat dies down, I'll give them another visit just to see how things are going.
"Anyway, here's the contract. You have my permission to build your summer home, just remember to test the land first so you don't accidentally build over potential sinkholes or something", he said.
He handed the folder back to Andrealphus, who placed it back into his bag. "Thank you very much, I'll send you the check in the mail. By the way, how has life been treating you?", he said.
"Fine, all things considered. My assistant just retired recently and I've employed a new one. He's a young imp whom I rescued", said Dmitri.
Andrealphus giggled a bit, "Rescued? Oh, you always did have a soft spot for imps but you make it sound like you picked up a stray from the streets. How'd you rescue him?", he said.
Dmitri summoned a butler to bring some moist towelettes, "I was at Leviathan's Beach a week prior with my son, he found the imp injured and unconscious on some rocks by the cliff.
"We took him in and treated his injuries, but now he's suffering from amnesia due to a severe head injury. Now, he's created a new identity for himself and is currently working as my assistant. He's quite efficient at the job as well", he said.
The butler came back with some moist towelettes for the two overlords to clean their hands with as their meeting was beginning to wrap up. After cleaning his hands, Andrealphus stood up to leave.
"Well, good to see you're doing well at least. Heaven knows Stolas and Stella are having an absolute catastrophe at the current time, only time will tell what happens next. By the way, have you heard about the Mafia leader in Greed who was killed recently?", he said.
Dmitri shrugged, "It's not my concern to get involved in the personal affairs between demons, especially lesser demons like imps. I may have a soft spot for them, but outside of my own staff, I couldn't care less what they do", he said dismissively.
Andrealphus shrugged as well, "Well, I just figured you'd want to know since the deaths of demons is also your jurisdiction. Unlike what's going on with Stella and Stolas, there hasn't been any details released about that.
"All I have to say is keep an eye on your own imps, mistaken identity has gotten many demons killed, you know. I don't want you to have trespassers on your property due to one of your servants getting confused with gang members", he said.
Dmitri smirked as he gave Andrealphus a short hug before walking him towards the door, "I'll keep that in mind, but I'm not too worried. I have many bodyguards, a state of the art security system and Cerberus. No one is showing up here uninvited without my knowledge", he said.
Andrealphus laughed as he walked away with his bodyguards towards his limousine, "Oh I forgot how much you hate sneaks. Anyway, I'll see you soon. Goodbye", he said.
He climbed into his limousine and rode off, Dmitri sighed as he closed the door. "That went better than I expected. Still, Stolas is getting a divorce, huh? I'll have to call him to get more info on that myself, I'm curious about what's going on there...", he said to himself.
[Time Skip]
Stolas sat in his private library, reading some books. He and Stella had gotten into another argument and he retreated to the library just to get away from her, locking himself in the room for good measure.
Luckily, Octavia hadn't been there to witness the argument because she was visiting family on Stella's side for the day and hadn't been dropped back off yet.
As Stolas settled down onto the soft armchair with a glass of wine and a book about astronomy when his cellphone suddenly went off. He picked it up to see that he had gotten a text from Octavia.
She said she had to stay the night because a dangerous storm was scheduled to happen tonight and it would be best to stay put for her own safety.
Stolas replied back, saying he understood and that it was very responsible of her to tell him ahead of time. He then told her goodnight and that he loved her, before going back to reading.
Just then, the phone began ringing. Stolas looked down to see that Blitzo was calling him, he looked excited as he grabbed the phone and picked it up.
"Hello, my darling Blitzy--"
"Shut the f*ck with the bedroom talk, Stolas. I need your help, it's an emergency!", said Blitzo.
Judging by the serious tone of voice Blitzo was speaking in, Stolas knew that he wasn't lying or being hyperbolic. He suddenly became worried, "What's wrong, Blitz? Are you hurt? Did you and your friends get caught by some government humans again?", he asked in concern.
"No, but it wouldn't surprise me if that's what happened though. No, it's Moxxie! He's missing and may or may not be dead, we need your help to find him!", said Blitzo.
[End of Part 5]