Striker and Kore have a date at Ozzie's along with Moxxie and Millie and things do happen.

Vol 10: Ozzie's

A portal to the living world opened when a tree fell into the office with a hard fall and familiar workers entering the building. Seth hit the recent target's severed head with his tail as if he was playing baseball.

"Home run!" Kore shouted proudly.

"Woo, that was a fuck ton of lumberjacks!" Blitzo yelled cheerfully as he tossed aside his ax.

"I'm proud of you, son!" Striker said as he gave Seth a high-five. It had been a month since Seth and his mother had seen Striker after what happened in the interrogation room. During that month, Striker had been making an effort to better himself from the Harvest Moon Festival and his talk with Stolas after Stolas saved him and his friends and family from the agents.

"I'm still so jazzed up!" Millie's happy voice snapped Striker out of his thoughts and she snapped her own ax in half, laughing.

Moxxie leapt out of the tree with a seductive look on his face at his wife. "Well you better stay jazzed, babe, because guess where I'm taking you tonight?"

"Don't you dare finish a filthy pun in my presence, Moxxie," Blitzo cut in, "Besides, drinks are on me and Striker tonight."

Striker looked at Blitzo with confusion. "What?"

"Actually, sir," Moxxie corrected as he rubbed the back of his head, "It's our one-year marriage anniversary. So, I'm taking Millie to Ozzie's in the Lust Ring!"

Upon hearing the name of the place, Millie gasped with delight and her eyes sparkled. "Ozzie's?! No way! That place is always booked!"

"Yeah, well I've been planning it for quite a while."

"Moxxie!" With that, Millie jumped into her husband's arms and the two started to French-kiss.

"Kore, I also called to get us both in Ozzie's," Striker told his wife.

"But it's just Moxxie and Millie alone," Kore replied, confused.

"We also have our wedding anniversary. Besides, I've been making some progress ever since the Harvest Moon Festival and Stolas' talk with me."

Kore contemplated this. Ever since Striker made improvements, she and Seth let him in again.

"I, too, made a reservation for the two of us," Striker continued.

"You did? How thoughtful!" Kore squealed happily.

"Yeah, like Mox and Mildred said, that place is usually booked, so I called ahead of time a couple weeks ago."

"All the more reason for you to book us in ahead of time."

Striker pulled Kore close to him and the two started kissing passionately, much to Blitzo's annoyance.

"What about me?" Seth asked.

"Ozzie's not for kids, sweetie," Kore told him, stopping the kiss.

Seth sighed. "Aww, man."

"Ugh, can you four not?"

Moxxie stopped kissing Millie for a second. "I'm sorry, sir. Maybe another time?"

"No, it's fine! I-I can come with the four of you, help you celebrate your boring as fuck monogamy."

"Uh, no. The reservation is for us."

"Uh, huh."

"Just us."

"Mhm."

"Yeah, Blitz. Without you there," Striker said, stepping into Moxxie's defense.

"Thanks, Striker," Moxxie said and to Blitzo, he added in a serious tone, "Explicitly without you there."

"I'll wear something nice. It's a big deal after all." Blitzo hugged Moxxie, Millie, Kore, and Striker. "See you lovebugs later!"

Blitzo made his way out of the office, whistling.

Moxxie growled, having a feeling Blitzo was going to ruin the double date for them.

"Relax, sweetie, don't let him get to you today," Millie said, "Let's just go home and… clean this blood off."

Moxxie blushed, forgetting about what Blitzo said as Millie ran her finger down Moxxie's chest and purred seductively.

Striker, Kore, Seth, Bombproof, Moxxie, and Millie walked out of the office.

…

Striker was in the tub, scrubbing off all the blood from today's kill. His clothes sat in the bathroom sink to soak out the blood.

After washing his hair and body, unplugged the drain to let dirty water go down. Then, he got up to grab a towel hanging from a rack near the tub and wrapped it around his waist. He stepped out of the tub to dry himself off and wrung out his wet clothes into the bathroom sink. He took them to the laundry room in the washing machine, so they could get washed. Finally, he went to Kore's and his bedroom to get dressed.

Kore stepped in the bathroom and grabbed a towel and a washrag to wash her body with to clean off the human blood from her body.

She turned the water on and plugged the drain, making sure the water wasn't too cold or too hot. She quickly got undressed and shut off the water once the tub was finally filled with water. She stepped into the tub and washed her hair and body, removing any blood from their kill.

When finished, Kore unplugged the tub and stood up to grab her towel. She dried herself with a towel.

Seth was dressed in a green t-shirt and blue pants since he was the first to take a bath and his bloody clothes were in the wash along with his parents' clothing.

"Mom? Dad? Am I going to be in this house alone?" asked Seth.

"Well, no, buckaroo," Striker assured him.

Just then, he heard a doorbell ring and he answered the door to see a hellhound carrying an overnight bag.

"Hey, Dexter. How did you get here?"

"Blitz picked me up with Samantha's and Tara's permission," Dexter replied. "They told me I can spend the night here."

"Oh, alright. Come in."

The hellhound did as he was told and Striker closed the door.

"Nice outfit, by the way," Dexter told him.

Striker's outfit was similar to The Mask's iconic outfit. However it was more like a tan cowboy tuxedo instead of a zoot suit. Striker completed the outfit with a tan fedora with a black band, a red necktie, tan pants, and brown boots.

"Thanks, kid."

"Yeah, Dad, nice suit."

"Thank you, Seth."

Seth gasped, upon seeing a familiar face and his eyes sparkled. "Dexter?" he said.

"Seth!" Dexter cried excitedly and the two hugged.

"See? Now, you're not alone," Striker told his son.

"Thanks, Dad!"

"Ah, don't thank me. Thank Blitz for dropping him off to see you." He looked out the window to see that Blitzo was no longer there. He sighed angrily, knowing Blitzo would do this.

"Sallie Mae will be coming over very shortly," Kore added.

Seth and Dexter eyed Kore's blue long-sleeved dress with pinkish red hearts and with her shoulders exposed. She also wore navy blue flats and her hair was tied up in a ponytail.

"Oooooh!" Seth and Dexter said, awestruck, "That's beautiful!"

"Thank you, boys," Kore blushed, the hearts on her cheeks turning slightly pink, "Anyway, Sallie Mae is coming over to watch you guys. Your father and I agreed that she can come over. Oh, and she was thrilled at the idea!"

"That's right, boys," Striker said, "She hasn't seen you in over a month, so she'd be happy to see you."

"If you guys get hungry, you can throw in a frozen pizza," Kore added.

"Just not literally," Striker clarified, just in case they took it literally, "What she means is put it in the oven, so it'll cook."

Dexter and Seth nodded with acknowledgement. "Right."

"Alright, we'll be home late, so please don't wait." Kore followed Striker to the front door and met Bombproof outside.

As they headed outside, they were greeted by a familiar visitor.

"Hey, guys," she said.

"Sallie Mae, what a pleasant surprise," said Kore.

"Yeah."

"Where are you headed?"

"Ozzie's in the Lust Ring," Striker replied.

"It's our eleventh marriage anniversary and Moxxie's and Millie's first," Kore added.

"Seth is in the house with his best friend, so come in."

Striker climbed onto Bombproof and carried Kore and set her on the horse.

"Alright, have fun in Lust!" Sallie Mae said, waving goodbye as Striker and Kore took off. "And tell my sis I said congrats to her one year anniversary!"

"We will!" Striker assured her.

Seeing the couple leave, she sighed as she came to the door and knocked.

"Who is it?" Seth asked.

"Sallie Mae."

"Come in."

She came inside and locked the door to protect Seth, Dexter, and herself.

…

Striker, Kore, and Bombproof descended to the elevator and headed inside the elevator #666 down to Lust. Bombproof sniffed the air and shifted in discomfort, finding the elevator cramped.

"It won't be long, boy," Striker assured him, petting his head.

Finally, in Lust, Striker and Kore looked at each other lovingly.

"Well, Striker, we're here," Kore said.

"That we are."

The Lust Ring was similar to Imp City in Pride, but much cleaner and livelier with neon lights, sex-related stores, and places.

Kore and Striker dismounted from Bombproof, who looked disturbed by neon lights.

"Don't worry, we may not be here for long," Kore told him as he stroked his neck. "I grew up in Lust along with my parents."

Striker recalled the hearts on Kore's cheeks she'd received from her mother, Marigold.

The imp couple held hands as they made their way to Ozzie's.

A burly imp guard who watched the two imps, warmly welcomed them inside with a bow.

Inside Ozzie's, Kore and Striker saw succubi dancing proactively inside cages, couples eating dinner, waiters and waitresses taking orders and bringing them to each table. As they stepped inside, they took a seat at a couple's table.

As soon as they sat down, a female imp-succubus came over to their table with a clipboard and pen. She bared a strong resemblance to Blitzo, except she had orange rings in her eyes, slightly curled black horns that went down to her cheek like it was her hair, white lips, a black dimple on her right cheek, white markings on her tail, white thumbs, black hooves, and a heart-shaped tail with a white heart in it. She wore a navy blue dress with red sleeves, a white trim on top and white feathers below her dress, a light blue heart on her head that consisted of red, black, and white feathers, and red leggings with black trimmings.

"Hello, welcome to Ozzie's," she greeted. "Can I start you two with some drinks?"

"How about some red wine and white wine?" Kore replied.

"Yeah, how about it?" Striker added.

"Thank you. I'll get them ready for you." The waitress left to get their drinks.

Suddenly, the colors on the walls changed from hot pink green and hot pink curtains as the restaurant darkened a little with pink platforms plummeting from the ceiling that had imps and succubi standing on, followed by pink smoke for special effects. One could say the show was about to start.

"Ladies and gentlemen! I see some sexy faces around here tonight!" Striker heard that voice at Loo Loo Land when he, Blitzo, Stolas, and Octavia watched the animatronics musical.

Kore looked at her husband in confusion. "I've never seen or heard of him before."

"Unfortunately, I have."

The voice in question came from an imp with robotic arms in a jester suit and makeup, landing on stage.

"I let you and Seth hang out with Moxxie and Mildred while Blitz and I shot anyone who tried to kill the ditzy blueblood," Striker confessed, "So of course you wouldn't have seen or heard of him."

Kore shrugged. "Oh."

"We have a great lineup for you tonight: Verosika Mayday, Samantha, and Tara!"

Verosika Mayday, Samantha, and Tara posed for pictures with their tails shaped like hearts, smiling at the photographers.

Tara's outfit was similar to Blitzo's biker jacket and Verosika's shirt and shorts, but her biker jacket was purple along with a red t-shirt underneath her biker jacket with white hearts on it, a navy blue skirt with a white star, and dark purple long boots. Her purple hair was tied up in a ponytail.

Samantha wore a black dress with her shoulders exposed and short sleeves dangling onto her arms, golden hexagon shapes on the dress, and wore gray boots. The two sides of her hair that were usually up like two ponytails were braided into pigtails.

"But, as everyone's warming up, I got a funny one for y'all: Did any of you hear about the bat-shittery that happened at Loo Loo Land?" The audience laughed at Fizzarolli's remark. "Ha ha ha! Oh, yeah Oh, wow. I'll tell you what: I'd sure love to shake the hand of the crazy son of a bitch who decided to burn down that off brand shithole and then slap a fat subpoena in it, 'cause I am VERY MUCH looking to sue! That robo me made us more money entertaining those kids than the ones we sell to get you freaks off, if you know what I mean."

Kore gulped, remembering that she, her husband, and son were there, riding the hellvern dragon, who scooped up the cheap robotic copy of Fizzarolli and swallowed him whole.

"What is it, doll?" Striker asked with concern.

"Remember when we rode the dragon?"

"Yeah and?"

"He picked up the robotic Fizzarolli and ate him."

Striker scratched his head, trying to follow what his wife had said. "Oh, yeah. I remember. Seth was with us."

Their discussion came to a halt when Fizzarolli announced Moxxie would come up on stage and the small imp had done so, carrying his guitar while Fizzarolli joined Asmodeus on the balcony.

"Hello, everyone," Moxxie announced on the mic, which echoed. He cleared his throat and continued, "Hi, thank you for letting me be here. It's an honor to play."

"Uh, hurry up, Bullet, and, uh, SING, boy! I say, I say!" a stereotypical southern voice ordered, his speech slurring.

"This song is for my beautiful wife, a surprise for our first anniversary." Millie looked up at him lovingly. "I love you, Millie."

Moxxie strummed his guitar and began to sing.

I love you.

More than the brimstone loves the fire.

More than Beelze loves her bub.

More than a maggot loves gangrenes stubs.

The audience looked confused, while Millie sat, touched by the song, dedicated to her. Kore smiled, too, enjoying Moxxie's love song for his wife. Striker had to admit that Moxxie was doing a good job singing this…in the Lust Ring, no less and remembered the loving memories of him and his wife, too. However, all it mattered was as long as Moxxie was happy, Millie was happy, Kore was happy, and he was happy.

You make my spirit sing.

Yeah, you make me glad I live in Hell.

Our love is a story sweet to tell.

Yeah, you cast a special Satanic spell

Over my heart.

Striker took Kore to Ozzie's years ago and whenever he performed for her on stage with a song, she had a loving smile on her face.

Love is a journey we decided to start.

Yeah, I hope we'll never ever be apart.

I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!

Sadly, the smoke changed from pink to a cold, cyan blue with Moxxie's serenade drowned out with mockery and two dark shadows approaching him from behind.

You singing love songs in my lustful lounge?

The lyrics belonged to a large dark blue rooster-like figure. Yep, he was the embodiment of lust, himself and his name was…Asmodeus. He had a cyan blue mane with dark blue faces of a ram and a bull on the left and right sides, neon green eyes, and feathered cyan blue tail with three sickle feathers: white, black, and red. His head was small compared to his broad upper chest. He wore a blue vest with glowing white stripes above his waist with a red heart on his narrow waist, a red long-sleeved undershirt with blue cuffs that had red hearts on them, a black top hat with a red band that had red and white sickle feathers sticking out, and long black high-heeled boots with red tips on top.

Striker, Kore, and Millie were worried for Moxxie since Fizzarolli and Asmodeus had the nerve to ruin Moxxie's song for Millie. Even Striker and Kore were angry. If anyone made fun of Striker's serenade, Striker would shoot them and Kore would throw punches at them. But they weren't the only ones who were sick of Moxxie's song being mocked.

"Hey, now. I've watched those two pork many times!" a familiar voice called out for the whole audience to hear.

Moxxie, Kore, and Striker turned to the voice in shock. "What? Blitz?" they shouted in unison, surprised to see him there.

"And, honestly, they make missionary look relatively exciting."

Striker facepalmed.

"And so do you and Kore, Strikes."

"Whatever," Striker muttered.

Tara gasped, upon seeing Striker. "Is that Striker?"

Striker removed his hand from his face, noticing the hurt and anger in Tara's voice.

"How can you show your face after what happened at the Harvest Moon Festival? Not to mention, how you treated Samantha, Dexter, me, and everyone else around you!"

"Oh, Striker?" Samantha said, a spotlight shining on her and she started to sing, swaying her hips.

I used to be friends with him.

"Oh, Samantha, you're here," Striker sneered.

I protected him from the evil overlords.

Striker silently growled as he crossed his arms, thinking his ex-friend was showing off as Tara caught her as if Samantha fainted.

Then Samantha got back up on her feet.

Yeah, but when the Harvest Moon Festival came,

He had no sense of respect!

Tara sang her part of the song, remembering Samantha telling her how he treated Dexter years ago when Kore was pregnant with Seth.

Like when you mistreated Dexter!

Samantha pushed Striker against the wall before he could brood any further.

A selfish imp in the sheets

And just as bad in the streets!

He winced as she began to tower over him and she advanced on him with one hand to her hip.

A reckless, heartbreaking freak!

She spat the last lyrics in his face, making him cower with guilt, knowing he had no one else to blame for the fiasco and their friendship being torn apart but himself.

"Who is it that you're speaking to, Miss?" Asmodeus asked Samantha, but seeing him against the wall, he finally recognized his face. "Oh, it's you." Then he sang the following lyrics:

Oh, my! If it isn't Striker, the hired hitman,

Who was hired to kill the demon prince!

What made you stop?

Was it your wife and kid and perhaps your job with I.M.P?

Either way, there is something about you that made you quit.

Speechless, Striker headed back to the table with Kore, who offered him a comforting hand, only for him to move his hand away.

Asmodeus turned to Stolas and sang:

Wooo! My dark lord, how the mighty do fall.

You used to have a smoking wife, a kid, you had it all.

I hope you didn't give it up. So, you and him could get it on.

At those lyrics, Striker gasped, knowing it was about the Goetia he tried to assassinate, but he put it behind him and thanks to the Prince, who spoke to him and his family and friends. He growled, having enough of the embodiment of Lust talking shit about his friends.

Just as he was about to give him and Fizzarolli a piece of his mind, someone decided to take over and do the job for him by knocking down Fizzarolli with Moxxie's guitar.

"I think you were trying to sing something for me, Mox," a female voice said sweetly, offering Moxxie his guitar.

"Yes, I was," Moxxie replied, taking the guitar back and strumming the guitar to continue his song as they returned on stage.

I love us.

I love us just the way we are.

Don't have to pretend to like to do things we don't.

I've always got you around to laugh at my stupid jokes.

Kore and Striker smiled in satisfaction, knowing Moxxie finally got a chance to finish his song for Millie. Thus, the cowboy imp and his wife held hands and their tails entwined.

Tara and Samantha sipped their drinks as they enjoyed seeing the couple on stage along with the little imp's serenade.

I'll never take you for granted.

I'll always give you my best

And if you can offer the same,

Fate will handle the rest

'Cause I love you.

'Cause I love you.

At the end of the song, Moxxie and Millie shared a passionate kiss and the audience cheered and applauded, especially Striker, Kore, Samantha, and Tara.

"Aww... ain't that just such a happy display?" a familiar voice said sarcastically, "It sickens me." Moxxie and Millie stopped short to see the embodiment of lust with a now recovered Fizzarolli. "GET THE FUCK OUT!"

With that demonic voice from Asmodeus, Moxxie and Millie were officially banned from Ozzie's for good.

Kore and Striker checked their surroundings and saw that Stolas and Blitzo were no longer in sight. Their guess was they couldn't handle the humiliation any longer, so they went home.

However, despite what Striker had been through tonight, he wasn't going anywhere…yet.

"Striker, wait," Kore said as Striker stepped out of his chair and she followed him. "What are you doing?"

Striker stepped on stage.

"Ooooh, is it going to be sexier, compared to that limp dick nerd's song?" Asmodeus asked.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to sing a quick song I wrote just now about me and my wife leaving," Striker replied as he took out his guitar and started drumming his fingers on the strings, playing a familiar melody.

"Aww, not again," Moxxie groaned as he and his wife stopped to hear music.

"Mox, it may not be about you this time," Millie assured him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Alright, Striker!" Kore cheered.

Striker grinned at her and started to sing:

Sweet victory,

I smell the smell

From up in stinkin' Heaven

To the rugged rocks of Hell.

The audience whistled.

Sweet victory,

With everything I do.

With every talent,

I'm so much more talented than you.

He smirked at Asmodeus and Fizzarolli.

Every time I try,

I push it and succeed.

Me! I'm totally the best.

"Hmm, not bad," said Samantha, who admitted she was somewhat impressed that it wasn't about Moxxie.

The super cool me, handsome guy!

Oz and Fizz, go fuck yourselves!

Asmodeus scoffed as he and Fizzarolli walked away in a huff.

Did you hear something?

It was just the wind.

At the end of the song, the audience cheered.

"Thank you, you're too kind," said Striker.

"That was fucking awesome, Striker!" Kore cheered as she hugged him.

Striker's cheeks turned red like a tomato, blushing. "Thanks."

…

At midnight, Kore and Striker headed back to the house and boy, did it feel nice to be home after that terrible night at Ozzie's.

In the house, Striker and Kore went to check on Seth and Dexter, who were both asleep on the couch and they thanked Sallie Mae before sending her home. Sallie texted her parents hours ago, letting them know she was going to babysit Seth and Dexter, while Striker and Kore went on a date at Ozzie's. They responded by telling her she could come home whenever Striker and Kore returned home.

As soon as Sallie had gone home, Striker carried Seth and Kore scooped up Dexter and brought them both to Seth's bedroom. The imp couple laid the impling and hellhound pup in a comfortable position and tucked them into bed.

With that taken care of, Kore and Striker turned to their room and started to lie in bed.

Striker opened up his phone to look at pictures of himself with people he'd known for a while. One was a picture of him and Kore at their wedding. Kore wore a black dress with a navy blue band around her waist along with a navy blue flower. Striker wore a gray tuxedo with white cuffs, a white undershirt with black buttons, and matching pants. Striker smiled fondly at the memory of their wedding day.

Another picture was of him with Samantha, who wore her usual black top with red sleeves and a black skirt. This happened after she helped him escape from the overlords and before their relationship became bitter. He knew he screwed up, but he'd have to give her time to heal.

A third picture was of him watching Kore cradle their newborn Seth, swaddled in a dark blue blanket lovingly in her arms. There were hearts in her eyes at the sight of their offspring.

A fourth photo was of him, Kore, and Seth joining I.M.P. with a "WELCOME TO IMP" banner above them and cake.

A fifth photo was of him, Kore, and Seth with Lin and Joe.

A sixth picture was of his younger-self and his baby horse, Bombproof.

A seventh one was of Striker and Kore introducing young Seth to Bombproof and pet him for the first time. Striker smiled through most of the photos he looked at.

The eighth one was of himself as a child with his loving parents. He got most of his looks from his father like his skin, hair, horns, and eyes. His mother was more imp-like with peach skin. This one hit him hard because as far as he knew, they were gone, so he sobbed softly into his pillow.

Seeing this, Kore placed a comforting hand on his back.