Welcome back! It has been quite a bit of time since I have last updated. All my exams are finished, for now, and I was able to finally wrap up this bit of writing. I have to say that it was also a bit more difficult than I had initially anticipated, and definitely way longer than I expected. The actual chapter itself it hovering between 12.5K and 13K words. That makes it one of my longer chapters that I have ever written. A lot happens in it. XD
Also, I wanted to express my thanks to all of you who contributed to bring this story over 100 favorites. It is a nice personal milestone, and having it happen this early in the story tells me that I am doing a decent job at keeping some of you around. I am eager to build this story more as we go along.
Well, I guess I should get to responding to the guest reviews:
J (Guest): I always liked verosika not just because she's hot but of how interesting a character she is and plus I love her in a loud among demons. Please look it up I love that fanfic because of how real she is in looking for love. That's something I relate to
Response: I am guessing this is a response to my decision to include her into the main pairing due to overwhelming support (along with the other reasons I said about earlier guest review response last chapter). Yes, I like certain parts of her character, but I also don't know much about her. She is a character that I feel like I can actually develop a bit since she is a side character. Also, I checked out the story (I believe) that you put into your review. Haven't gotten to her, but the authors dialogue just feels fantastic in my opinion. I am hoping to pick up a thing or two so I can make my dialogue better and feel more authentic.
ReadingBeta (Guest): Hopefully things with meeting the cherubs won't be so complicated that ruins the fun of a good old episode. In case people never noticed, this a a adult show where crap is comedy n shit is the norm so don't go making things awkward or weird just for some details we probably won't need anytime soon. Now what can be done to get our oc n Loona back to fucking like horny animals? Update soon.
Response: I pride myself on drawing some level of realism to my stories. However, I have relaxed a little bit and thought about what you said. I decided to make this a lighter chapter to enjoy with some comedic bits for a majority of it while also trying to make the points that I wanted to. I may have stuck too closely to the original material than I would have liked, but what am I going to do. Additionally, I am going to develop the story the way I see fit.
Stuff happens for Loona and the OC, and that is all I will share. I will direct you back to the last sentence of the line above for anything else.
Guest #1: I think the guest on March 3rd was asking about your well-being. It takes time to write, and he was worried if you were had been unwell or if you were busy.
Response: Yeah, I kind of got that. So far, I have just been busy. I will usually say when I have been. Also, a chapter release every week is unsustainable for me. For my first story, I usually defaulted to a release every 2 weeks. That makes me feel not so overwhelmed when writing, since my chapters have gotten longer, and it keeps your expectations slightly lower on how fast I write. I will usually say when I am busy, and the other reason for late releases will just be motivation. That is why I have a Discord.
Otherwise, thank you for your concern. I am good in other regards.
Dingo (Guest): Don't let the human kill Collin, he's a fluffy pure innocent Sheep.
Response: I have my plans for him. He didn't die in the show, so it would be kind of odd to kill him here.
ZILLAFAN (Guest): Am I wrong, though?
Response: You got me there. XD No, you aren't wrong. It is just an odd, and very specific way of stating it.
Guest #2: I hope that the cherubs experience will be enough for kyle to talk to loona.
Ps: they are from religious scriptures not only in movies. Valak is a goetia and marques or snakes and moloch is powerful native demon who is considered a god from various pagans religions
Response: I won't spoil anything about the specifics of the chapter. You will just have to find out yourself. I also found out about original reference material for Valak. I guess popular media just overshadowed mythology. XD Will I include him, I don't honestly know. I haven't thought super hard about specific antagonists beyond what is planned, and that is for main, well-known individuals. I will try to keep it in mind, but no promises.
DZ (Guest): First of all god speed with your exams.
Very much the hurt and lack of the comfort so far for Kyle/Loona.
Although I think you should have Kyle say something to Loona once he get back to I.M.P HQ so there can at least take some of the tension away and Loona just out right give Kyle a hug and a small kiss to let him know she is there when he is ready and she is at least open to the possibility of trying for something more.
Reading your other story Finding Balance you had MC of that story get cut off of his closest pillar of support but it wasn't enough to break the MC there but this story you're really seem to be pushing Kyle to very hard with no support pillar other then his own tanistry to live.
Anyway take care!
D/Z
Response: Thanks for the good-wishes for my exams. They didn't go super well. XD Hardly because of this, just me not thinking things through, and the content is difficult.
It is a hurt between the two, but it will get better! Kyle just needs to work through some major shit, and you should have an idea how that is going to happen after this chapter. I have thought about your second part, and kept it to what I believe was necessary and appropriate. Further development will come next chapter in regards to Loona.
I am glad to hear you reading FB! XD The OC definitely had more support during that, and definitely not here. While I am using the same name, design, and some personality from that story, I wanted to have a different origin that was more appropriate here. Hell is a hard place to adapt to, and I want it to be clear how he will endure and overcome. It takes a lot, and the support will come.
Thank you for the review!
Guest #3: We hope your exams and job applications go well! We're cheering you on in your corner!
Response: Well, already stated about the exams. As for applications, I just need to beat the AI for it for my stuff to even get a glance from a real human being. Doing my best! Thank you!
Tyler432 (Guest): Great chapter nice work
Response: Thank you! I do my best.
...
That is it for guest reviews. I have definitely taken up more space than I wanted to for responses. I guess I have kept you all long enough. Time to get into it!
Chapter 10: C.H.E.R.U.B. and Heaven
Finally. It felt like the better part of the evening had been in the pursuit of finding where Lyle Lipton was living. The search had been tiresome and wore on me. I remained silent through most of it, and the three Imps that I accompanied seemed to always be in some sort of conversation. I barely even gave input when they were 'borrowing' some disguises so that humans wouldn't notice them instantly. I would have assumed that they would have been noticed more than they had been, but I guess I was wrong. No one seemed bothered by the Imps. Instead, they seemed more focused on the guy with a sword. Maybe they thought that we were some street-performing group? I don't know.
Once we had tracked down Lyle Lipton's residence, it was only a matter of how we were going to get through his security and defenses. It is simply put, Blitzo, who was wearing the most ridiculous disguise of a trench coat and colorful afro, was disappointed when he saw that we had no security to go through.
"For a guy who is supposedly loaded to the tits in money, I thought he would have decent security. I guess this is just going to have to be a quick and quiet job," Blitzo said before he cocked his weapon while we got over the fence. The overall design and layout of the estate seemed grandiose and a bit much even for someone as wealthy as our target. I didn't get beyond the dollar symbol etched into the pavement up to the front door.
Blitzo then commented with a joking attitude to Moxxie, "You get what I mean, Moxx? You and Mills would know a thing or two about 'quick' and 'quiet'." He started to bump the smaller Imp on the arm with his elbow.
Moxxie held back some anger while he replied with an even voice, "Sir, I would refrain from those sorts of comments."
"Yeah. Besides, I don't think you have the 'quiet' part correct." I pointed over my shoulder at a tour bus that was in full view of us. On top was a group of tourists taking pictures of our little group. I covered my face from view before turning back to them. I followed with, "So, if we could get a move on, maybe we your 'quick' part of the job out of the way."
Blitzo then shot back, "I never thought I would see you grow a spine and embrace our work. I would almost be proud if I didn't have to babysit your dumb ass."
I almost grimaced at the idea of murdering this guy, even if he was a giant pile of shit. Lyle's transgressions were a list a mile long, and that was only from what I knew from the rumors. His unethical practices through his company were hard to stomach, and I was still resentful of murdering the guy.
No, I was here for another couple of reasons. If some angels were getting involved with this guy, seeing as he was on death's doorstep, I want to know what they are doing. Mr. Lipton's track record should buy him an immediate ticket straight to Hell, but they are trying to save him. This was my opportunity to see whether Azazel's words had any merit.
The other reason was a little more personal. Loona. Why I couldn't be an adult about it and just talk to her was a mystery to me. It should have been easy. 'It's about my dead ex-girlfriend whom I feel guilty over'. It should have been that easy to at least start with something. Nope, I couldn't even do that. I am such a fucking coward…
I could tell that I was getting sucked up in my thoughts that I just realized that I was sitting silent after Blitzo's comment. I finally gathered my words together, "I have no love for that rich piece of shit, but I have no interest in killing him. I can't even believe that I am getting involved…" I trailed off for a second before I took a deep breath in and said, "If there are going to be some angels here, then I need to be here."
Blitzo gave me a crooked look before saying, "Okay… I know our client said something about angels, but you can't believe that shit. Many of your kind see and hear a lot of random junk that means nothing. It sounds to me that you just wanted away from the office."
We began to approach the windows to the side of the mansion and began to look in them. I uttered evenly, "Oh?"
Blitzo said, "Yeah! I get that the paperwork can be fucking boring, but you can't expect my little girl to do it all."
Moxxie spoke under his breath, "You can't expect Loona to do anything, to be honest."
I looked at Moxxie with a bit of irritation at the comment, but I was beaten to punch my Blitzo, "Hey! I would watch what you say, Moxxie. Your work isn't exactly something to be proud of."
I followed up more directly with the smaller, male Imp with a kinder tone, "You would be surprised by what she can do when you put a little confidence in her. She might surprise you."
This was followed up with a small sigh from Moxxie, "Yeah… I guess I could remember that…"
Moxxie walked by me as he followed behind Blitzo checking in the various windows. I was about to follow suit, but I was interrupted when I felt something prod my leg. I looked down to see a blonde wig-wearing Millie smiling up at me. She then commented, "Yeah? Well, that wasn't the only thing I heard you putting in her last night."
My jaw would have dropped straight to the ground if it was possible. I couldn't even come up with the words to respond. Instead, I turned over to look if either Moxxie or, more seriously, Blitzo heard her. When I saw that both were still looking into windows, I then turned back to Millie in an attempt to lie. However, I saw that it was written all over her face that she knew. Loona must have said something to her…
I spoke, "Please, don't-"
Millie waved me off, "Yeah, yeah. Don't tell anyone. I already know. I never thought that you would have the balls to do something like that with any demon. I didn't know that Hellhounds were your type."
I wanted to retort, but Blitzo's voice broke my concentration, "Millie, Kyle, we found him. What the fuck is taking you two so long?!"
Millie gave me a cheeky look before she ran to the other two. I rubbed my face with my hand in exhaustion before I followed her and gazed through the large window into a very large and empty room. Inside was an ICU bed with different monitors connected to a short, shriveled-up man. He seemed preoccupied with looking at a picture with a reminiscent look.
Moxxie commented, "Wow. That machine did a number on him."
It was undoubtedly Lyle sitting in the bed, and he looked to be on the verge of death. His frail look was a complete turnaround from the previous pictures I had seen of the eccentric billionaire in the past. This representation before me was just a hollowed shell. The atmosphere of depression was seeping from the dark room.
Then, in a move that seemed to be entirely planned out in some play, Lyle appeared to be making a noose out of the rubber tubing tied to him keeping him alive. I wasn't sure whether that would be effective for what he wanted, but that didn't matter to Blitzo.
"Great! It looks like the old fucked is going to our job for us." The other Imps seemed to be equally alright with the prospect of an easy job like this.
I wasn't entirely bothered by the prospect of Lyle taking his own life. It was his choice to do this to himself. However, I was bummed out by the fact that there wouldn't be any angels here. There wasn't even a hint of them being anywhere nearby. Additionally, I still didn't know what I wanted to tell Loona, or if I could even talk to her yet.
Right as Lyle was about to put it around his neck, a glowing, white aura began to emit from the loop in his hands. It grew in intensity before a burst of white energy exploded out of it like a shockwave. The three Imps beside me had been thrown back while I stood my ground without any trouble. Instead, I covered my eyes until I was able to adjust to the darkness in Lyle's room.
However, it wasn't nearly as dark as it once was. From columns of light floated three individuals as they gracefully descended. Their small wings flapped to keep them airborne. Lyle looked own with astonishment, and even with a look that must have been confusion. He seemed to rub his glasses and squint to make sure he wasn't seeing anything. I, on the other hand, had enough experience with this kind of thing to know I wasn't seeing imaginary beings.
Blitzo looked over through the window before saying, "Great fucking job there, Kyle! You wished for angels, and now you got them!" He then looked through the window before saying, "Just what exactly are they?"
Moxxie seemed to be distraught, "Oh, no. Those are Cherubs! If they are here, that means we do have competition."
Blitzo seemed confused, "Competition? Wait, are you telling me that those little pussies are trying to-" He then became furious, "OH, HELL NO! That fucker is going to die whether he wants to or not!"
As I looked through the window, I noticed how the three Cherubs emphasized their joy through their fluttering around the old man. It didn't take much imagination that they were trying to reason with Lyle that he should live. I commented to Blitzo, "What are you going to do? You can't just jump in there and interrupt them."
The Imp glared at me before saying, "Just fucking watch me!" He then tried jumping through the window, "Don't listen-" Instead of gracefully landing in the room with the intent to make a grand entrance, Blitzo fell onto his face with a bunch of glass sticking into his clothes.
In the background, I covered my face in disappointment while Millie and Moxxie jumped through the hole into the room. This seemed to surprise the old man while a hint of irritation could be sensed coming from the Cherubs. I followed behind the other two into the hole before I decided to pick up Blitzo by the collar and hoist him to his feet.
With a surprised look, Blitzo blinked a few times before he continued saying what he was before without missing a step, "Don't listen to these wannabe Beanie Babies!"
Moxxie added, "You should probably just continue with what you were planning on doing before any of us. If you need anything, I am sure that I have a few guns that will do the job…" Moxxie then began to dig through his coat looking through his various gun inventory. I don't even understand how he was able to pack as much as he could in it.
The baby one then tried to get Lyle's attention, "Don't listen to them. They are only thinking about their own selfish desires."
The female sheep took on an acquiescing tone, "Cletus is right. Just look at what they did with one of your kind. He is now just a slave to these demons."
I looked around for a second before I figured out that she was talking about me. I pointed to myself in confirmation before saying, "Me? No. I am here at my own choice. As for what this old guy should do, I don't really gi shits. He looks like he is about to croak any moment now."
Blitzo seemed joyless at my response, "Great… I see that you are going to be even more useless than Moxxie. Why did you come again?"
Millie then stepped forward and ignored our side conversation. She directed her attention to Lyle before she said, "Just what do you expect to do now, Mr. Lipton? Do you want to be stuck in your bed for the rest of your life? To live your last days old, gross, and alone while not doing anything worthwhile?"
The female sheep Cherub responded with a scoff, "Not doing anything worthwhile? He could still do so much good with all that he has. He could spread his wealth around to those who need it the most."
Lyle grumbled, "I'm not giving a penny to freeloaders."
For the first time, the male sheep spoke, "He could change things for the better. He could build health clinics that help the needy and lead by example."
This got another unhappy look from Lyle as he folded his arms like a pouting child. He said, "I don't want to do that either. I don't even like the poor."
Blitzo smiled at this along with Millie. The female Imp said, "You goody two shoes are barking up the wrong tree here. Can't y'all just go back to the little paradise you crawled out of where you can just look down at all of us? We have a job to do here."
The female sheep seemed irritated by the comment before her look swiftly switched to one of glee. She seemed to be masking her true feelings behind a façade. She then said, "I think you three Imps and Satanist and Mr. Lipton need a lesson in the sanctity of life. There is so much out there that is worth living for! Even for the old! Right, Cletus and Collin?"
Both Cletus and Collin spoke in unison, "Right, Keenie!"
I mumbled out with confusion, "Satanist?"
Blitzo seemed inconvenienced by what the Cherubs wanted to do. He scratched his head with an old-fashion pistol he wielded before asking, "And what exactly is keeping me from cutting all of this shit short and putting this old fucker out of his misery? I have a tight schedule, you know?"
Moxxie interjected, "I wouldn't do that, sir. With these Cherubs involved, us killing Lyle now would only guarantee that he doesn't go to Hell. I don't think our client would be pleased with that."
Blitzo folded his arms in anger, "Are you fucking kidding me?! What kind of shit is that? So, now we are stuck dealing with all of this?"
Moxxie nodded, "It appears so."
Keenie fluttered around, "I guess we will just have to remind him what wonder exists out there in the world! It doesn't matter what age you are. You can still enjoy it!"
The other two Cherubs seemed excited by the idea. Cletus spoke in an overjoyed voice, "That sounds like a great idea! There is so much out there that shows the gift of life."
On the other side, the Imps didn't exactly seem to be enthralled with the idea. Blitzo voiced his objection, "Come on! Don't waste our fucking time because you three want to play God. The poor guy has already made up his mind. Just let him do what he was going to do, and let it be done with."
The three angels began to swirl around in the air to seemingly change the surroundings. The other five of us we a little confused by what was happening. No explanation came from the Cherubs as to what they were doing. Instead, Keenie retorted, "I think you are just afraid that your corruption won't work, and that you came up here for nothing. We are only working out the will of our Lord."
Moxxie shot back, "No we aren't. I think we are more confused by why you are trying to save some rich asshole who has committed a long list of bad deeds, from experimenting on the poor and unrestricted dumping of hazardous materials in nature and poor areas of cities."
Both Keenie and Cletus seemed to be concerned by the question as I caught them looking at one another with worried expressions. They didn't have an answer immediately to what Moxxie has spoken. However, they were saved by the words of Collin, "S-S-Sure, Lyle does have a lot of black marks in his life. Still, I am a firm believer that someone can change for the better and make the world a better place. Sometimes they just need a bump in the right direction."
The three angels stopped their movements right as Keenie responded to what Collin said, "That is exactly what I was thinking, Collin! And here we are for our first stop!"
It took me until right now to realize that our entire surroundings had completely changed. We were no longer within the confines of Lyle's dark room. Instead, we were somehow underneath the bright rays of the sun and surrounded by trees. We must be within some forest in the middle of nowhere.
On top of this, I could see that my outfit had completely changed from before. Instead of my usual attire, I was now wearing some traditional garb that a lumberjack would wear. While I was surprised by this, I was more surprised by the looks of Blitzo, Moxxie, and Millie. They were now wearing what looked to be feline costumes. This was no doubt a way for the Cherubs to get up to blend into the environment and soften up our looks for convincing Lyle.
I commented with a chuckle, "What the fuck is all of this?"
After a moment of dazed expressions from the other three, Blitzo looked down at himself before looking over to Moxxie and Millie. He then spoke, "What the… While I am not hating the look, I don't enjoy being dolled up to convince our target to be less shitty by these grunt angels!"
Moxxie commented, "I didn't expect them to use their powers to create this place."
I noted, "This is getting a little close to 'A Christmas Carol' since the Cherubs are trying to convince Lyle to be less of a Scrooge." The three Imps looked at me with confused gazes causing me to take a metaphorical step back, "I, eh, never mind. Is any of this real, then?"
Blitzo shrugged, "Who knows… Probably not." He then gazed over at the three angels and Lyle before saying, "It doesn't matter. What matters is stopping them from infecting that old man with their 'perfect ideals'. Time for me to do something." Blitzo said the last part in a mocking voice.
Meanwhile, it seemed like our group wasn't the only one that was confused by what had happened. After rubbing his glasses to check if he was seeing everything correctly, Lyle asked, "Where are we? Just what is that smell? It smells… nice."
Cletus responded, "That would be the fresh air of nature! Just look out at all of this." Cletus then began to motion at the great expanse that was bathing in light. There were also a ton of animals that seemed to be scampering around without much care. He continued, "This is God's gift of nature."
Lyle commented, "Just look at it all… Just think about how much real estate all of this is worth. How many natural resources I could make money from, and the development I could do."
This seemed to be met with an anxious look from Collin after hearing this. He responded, "I-I think you are m-m-missing the point of what we are sharing with you. Would you really want to do something so horrible and destroy all of this? It is something that you can always turn back to and enjoy."
This caused Lyle to look back with a thoughtful expression as he contemplated what the sheep has said. He then said, "I suppose that all of this is quite nice without all of the development I would do."
A small smile formed on Collin's face right before he was motioned out of the way by Keenie. She didn't exactly seem pleased with Collin's input into the conversation, and she gave him a look that said that. She was about to speak, but was cut off by Blitzo who managed to say, "Are you really going to buy all of that shit from a baby and the sheep he fucks?"
Keenie gasped loudly at this, "Wh-That is so inappropriate!"
Millie flipped a double bird as we approached before saying, "Oh, kiss our ass, prude."
Blitzo then said, "Their perfect picture of nature isn't so perfect. Just know that behind every cute critter is a predator ready to pounce. You just have to wait for it to happen."
We all watched for a moment while things seemed to be as peaceful as could be. There were small critters such as rabbits and squirrels moving around trying to scrounge for food. Then, out of nowhere, a wolf came and grabbed one of the rabbits before tearing it apart. This got an immediate reaction from Lyle, "That's horrible!"
Collin did his best to shield the old man from the carnage, "Just turn away!"
"I can't! Now I want to die even more than I did before!" Lyle seemed completely aghast.
It continued to escalate to an unrealistic degree in which the wolf was torn apart by a bear before it was crushed by a tree that fell on it after a lumberjack cut the tree down. Then, a beehive formed on his head causing him to launch his chainsaw up in the air causing it to later cut off his arms. Out of nowhere, a buck impaled the man with its antlers. To finish off the scene completely, the forest was completely set ablaze and chopped down by a group of men with flamethrowers and logging trucks. It was immediately turned into a large parking lot and industry belching smoke.
I folded my arms with a bit of astonishment, "Well, that was a little overkill."
Collin seemed upset by what had happened. He turned and looked at Blitzo in a scolding manner, "W-What were you trying to show him with all that horrible stuff! We are just trying to save this poor old man."
I mumbled, "Yeah, sure. Poor old man." It was becoming clearer that what Azazel had told me held some merit. They weren't concerned by what Lyle had done, and what horrible things he was a part of. For some reason, they were sent here to try and save him. The result was most likely to try and salvage the idea that he should be welcomed into Heaven when his time came. However, I couldn't tell whether all of the Cherubs were knowledgeable about all of this, or even thought about it. That was what I wanted to find out now.
I then said louder to the group, but more specifically to Collin, "It is only reasonable that a fair representation of what happens is shown to Lyle."
Blitzo smirked, "That's fucking right, bitch! So, if you are only going to show him the good, then we are going to show him the reality, or I guess 'the bad' to your assholes."
This caused the baby Cherub to approach Blitzo in a 'threatening' manner. He said, "How about I show you back to the place you came from!"
As if he were trying to piss off the Cherub even more, Blitzo gave a dumb expression before slightly sticking out his tongue to mock him. Cletus didn't seem entirely happy with this as a vein seemed to pulse from his temple. He moved toward something tucked away. Before he could escalate the situation, I grabbed the little angel by the collar and tossed him back to his colleagues.
A furious look remained on Cletus's face, but I was the first to respond, "Don't be stupid. You were in the middle of showing Mr. Lipton the 'wonders of life'. I would continue doing that if I were you."
Cletus remained confrontational, but he was pulled back by a calmer Keenie. She spoke in a light tone, "Cletus, that devil-worshipper is, surprisingly, right. We have a more important job than dealing with these demons."
Her words seemed to have an immediate impact on Cletus. He took a few deep breaths before calming himself completely down. He then looked down at Lyle, who seemed completely disconcerted by what had happened between our groups. Cletus then said, "Sorry about that! Shall we continue?"
Lyle responded in a dismayed voice, "If we have to…"
From that point, we visited a couple of other places as the Cherubs did their best to convince Lyle that life was worth living. Additionally, the Cherubs tried to preach their messages of goodwill and generosity to a man who had done nothing with his life other than cause suffering for profit.
Other than possibly Collin, they seem rather unbothered by his viewpoint of the world. The way Lyle viewed children trying to get a chance to sit on Santa's lap as 'disease-ridden vermin' when we visited a mall, and how he viewed the teens at Lovers' Lookout being nothing more than a cheap source of labor… It showed what kind of twisted vision he had of the general population. Lyle seemed to only view someone as either a pest to get rid of or as something that he can use. Try as the Cherubs might, it should be very apparent that there was not much that could change this man.
On the other end of things, Blitzo would come up with how awful these things were when a deeper look was taken. Somehow, he knew what was underneath the costume and beard of the mall Santa and exposed the hairy weirdo to the large group of kids, most likely would've scarred them for the next several years.
After that, the Cherubs took us all to Lovers' Lookout to show that love was still on the table for Mr. Lipton. Let's just say that Blitzo managed to ruin that for the rich old man as well. With no context of his wealth, it shouldn't have been a surprise that none of the teens and younger adults wanted to sleep with him. This greatly disappointed Lyle despite his earlier tone about them. The Cherubs were becoming increasingly agitated by our interference in their work.
I could sense that everything was coming to a climax when we arrived at a large theater where an opera was being sung with Lyle sitting in the center of the seating watching it all happen. It was hard to tell whether he was enjoying it, but the Cherubs seemed to do their best and convince him that this was one of the things that the billionaire could enjoy with a longer existence.
Behind the scenes, or rather, above them, the three Imps and I watched from above the stage. I was rather uninterested in the music being played below, but the other three seemed to be at a loss for what to do.
Moxxie asked, "What can we do to ruin this, sir? From my understanding, opera is without any faults that we can use to our advantage." He then looked over at Millie, "Right, sweetie?"
Millie just shrugged at his thinking while Blitzo seemed to watch like a cat ready to pounce. He said, "Just give me a fucking second to think, Moxxie! It is hard enough to think with all of this noise."
I commented to Moxxie, "I disagree with what you said about opera." The little Imp looked at me as if I spoke heresy. I continued, "I would say that it is a little too… highbrowed for me. I just don't get the art of it."
I could see that Moxxie was vexed by my thoughts, and he just had to say something, "You, sir, have no class. And here I thought that you would be someone who would agree with me."
I responded with a bit of surprise, "What part of my personality screams 'I love listening to Italian throatily shouted out by men and women from underneath a spotlight'?"
Moxxie was about to respond until the squeaking of Blitzo moving the spotlight was met with an awkward pause and change in tone by the singing woman below. This caused Blitzo to smile like an idiot, "Well, I guess there is something I can do to ruin this for them."
With rapid movements, Blitzo began to move the spotlight about erratically to the point that the music below was hard to listen to. Lyle seemed confused by the music, and he also seemed to not enjoy it very much at all. This seemed to confuse the Cherubs below, and they began to look around with suspicious eyes. It wasn't until Cletus looked up on the catwalk where we were doing that, they understood the problem. He led the charge with both Keenie and Collin following behind.
With fury, Cletus asked, "Just what do you think you are doing?!"
Blitzo responded offhandedly, "Oh, just messing up another thing you are trying to do."
With anger, Collin said, "W-W-What is wrong with you?! We are just trying to do our j-job!"
Moxxie replied, "And? What do you think we were trying to do before you three dragged us along on a ride of redemption?"
I stepped forward and spoke, "I can't believe I am saying this, but why does all of this matter to you all so much? You three have done nothing but try and keep a man from killing himself before he can find salvation." I let out a sigh before saying, "I was never on board with this whole killing him thing from the start, but why are you trying to stop the inevitable? He is a fucking monster, and yet you float there turning the other cheek."
Collin seemed like he wanted to come up with a response to what I was saying, but he seemed to be at a loss for words. His angry expression was reduced to one of confusion and loss before he turned to look at his associates.
Instead of being reduced to a similar state of consciousness, the other two remained rather angry. Keenie responded, "The only human I see here beyond redemption is you, satanist! You belong in the deepest and darkest pit of Hell!"
Cletus then responded in an equally outraged tone, "We don't have to explain anything to you!"
There was some hesitancy from Collin, but then he seemed to become resolute. They were 'the good', and we were 'the bad'. That means anything that we say must be some sort of trick. He didn't want to fall into that.
Blitzo stopped messing with the stage light before he said, "Well, we don't want your explanation. We let you do your little speech on positivity and happiness, m'kay? Just let us do our part and we will be out of your hair in no time."
Blitzo leaned on the light he had been messing with, and it seemed to have enough with the tampering. The fastenings broke and caused the light to careen toward the stage below. All while this happened, Blitzo's eyes shot open with an 'oh shit' expression. We all looked down below to see the light slowly fall toward the prima donna before it crushed her completely. She exploded into many different, meaty pieces and a pool of blood.
This caused an instant uproar amongst the crowd while the man at the piano began to try and settle the room with an upbeat tune. This was all a massive front to keep the illusion of positivity and happiness afloat in a circumstance where the metaphorical shit had definitely hit the fan and splatted everywhere.
With fury, Cletus yelled out, "I HAVE HAD IT!" He held up his and summoned a crossbow that glowed and seemed angelic. He aimed it at our group with an unhinged look. Keenie and a still hesitant Collin followed suit. The baby Cherub then followed up with, "You four have gotten in the way for long enough! We are going to save that shitty old man whether he wants that or not!"
Keenie then spoke, "You think it is easy to come down here constantly to deal with your despicable kind?!" She pointed at me while she said this. She added, "That isn't even counting having to deal with your disgusting kind!" She then pointed over to the three Imps.
While not enthralled by the comments, Blitzo replied, "I don't give a shit about what you had to deal with. Our client wants that fucker dead, and we are going to make sure that happens. Whether he takes a gun to his head, or if he needs another to pull the trigger. That fucker has got to go!"
This seemed to irritate Keenie as she moved to approach our group. To stop her in her tracks, I placed my hand on the sword on my back while staring deeply at her. Even though I didn't have much of an idea of how to use it, it stopped the Cherub in her tracks.
She glared at us before scoffing, "You are all the worst of the worst. You are worth less than the dirt that you all live under. I mean, messing with the lives of humans?! How can you all rationalize that?!"
Millie stepped forward and confronted Keenie head-on. She spoke, "And what about you?! Y'all think coming down from your perfect little world and enforcing your will on that rich asshole when he was fixin' to do our job for us is any better?!" Keenie faltered to say something for a moment, and Millie pounced on it, "That's what I thought! Now, take your moral superiority and shove it where the sun don't shine, you judgmental, cotton candy, tit-havin' BITCH!"
There was a pause for a moment before Keenie launched herself right at Millie with fury. She yelled out, "You filthy demon!"
I was too surprised to react to the violent way that the Cherub chose to react. I turned around to look at the two females wrestling on the ground. I failed to see Moxxie and Blitzo pull out their weapons before they ran in the opposite direction from the two Cherubs. With a glance forward, I noticed that Collin and Cletus had begun to open fire at the two behind me. Without any regard for my humanity, it seemed as if Cletus had no objection to taking a few shots of his crossbow at me. To my relief, the arrows simply bounced off my chest without causing any damage.
I couldn't even react in time before the two slipped by me. My grasp on my sword dropped as I let out a sigh to myself, "So much for protecting the group." Seeing as I had failed at what I was supposedly here for, I decided to go after my true intent. I wanted information.
I looked over to see that Millie had her hands full with Keenie, and soon they ended up tumbling from the catwalk that we were on. At the other end, I could see that Moxxie was concerned with his wife's safety, so he split from Blitzo in hopes of helping her. This left Blitzo with the other two Cherubs on his tail with the intent to end the Imp.
The hopes of trying to sway Lyle in either direction seemed to be an afterthought from both groups. I trudged across the metallic surface below me as I caught up with the Cherubs that were after Blitzo. Instead of taking them both out, my eyes settled on the male sheep that was flying slightly behind Cletus. If I had any chance to talk with any of them, it was going to be with him.
I looked out to see that the two were flying over a gap in the platforms. Seeing this as my opportunity to split the two up, I began to run before hesitantly jumping off the edge after the two. I thought for a second that I would miss Collin, but I managed to grab onto one of his extended legs. He looked down at me with surprise and terror. We both came crashing down as Collin's wings failed to keep us up in the air.
I hit the ground first and tumbled while letting go of Collin's leg. He rolled a few feet away from me in the same direction. I was getting a decent idea of what kind of damage I would take with this blade in my possession, and my answer was practically none. I didn't feel any pain from the fall or tumble. Instead, I was completely fine to pick myself up from the ground.
On the other hand, Collin seemed somewhat affected by the fall. He held onto his head while he slowly got back up. He slowly pieced together how he got down here before reaching out for his crossbow. I slowly began to walk over to him, and he flipped over to face me with his weapon ready to fire. He spoke with a shaky voice, "S-Stay back!"
Even though I knew that his little glowing bolt would do nothing to me, I stopped moving toward him and held up my hands. I said, "I am not going to hurt you. I just want to talk."
Collin seemed hesitant to listen to me. He shook his head before saying, "N-N-Nice try! I-I know that y-you are just trying to t-t-trick me!"
"My weapon is not out. I just want-," I had failed to notice that things were quickly becoming frantic with everyone else. While Blitzo was nowhere to be seen, Moxxie and Millie had become a torrent of spinning forms shooting their guns and engaging in 'other activities' while doing so. While they were doing this, a stream of bullets was heading right for Collin's location.
I didn't even let a thought pass through my mind as I charged the Cherubs location. His eyes widened at my quick reaction before he noticed the danger that he was in. When I finally made it to his location, I used my entire body to cover Collin from the bullets as I dove us out of the way. I felt the impacts of the bullets and the discomfort that came with them. It was slightly more 'painful' than the bolts that Cletus shot at me, but it hardly made me flinch.
When we were both out of harm's way, I let the sheep go. I stood up and looked down at Collin as he slowly flapped his wings to become airborne once again. He shook his head and looked at me with shock, "W-Why did you save me? Y-You are with those demons, and therefore on the side of evil!"
I couldn't help but smile at the simple view. I then said, "And what? You and your little friends are on the side of good?" I chuckled before shaking my head, "I don't think so. While I can't argue that Blitz's business is good, I don't think yours is a beacon of goodwill either. I came here to figure out more about Heaven, and now I want to know the truth. Why are you three here trying to make someone who is clearly heinous into a saint."
Collin looked at me with confusion before he stated it as if it were obvious, "C.H.E.R.U.B. is a company that comes down to the human world and blesses the good souls who belong in Heaven."
Ignoring the gunfire, I asked back, "And you think this rich asshole is a 'good soul'. Really?"
Collin flinched at the word 'asshole' but held his tongue. Instead, he tried to think up a reason before saying, "W-Well, everyone deserves a second chance. Mr. Lipton might not have lived the most generous life, but he can turn that over and benefit countless people."
I tried to look at the sheep with any hint of him trying to deceive me. It took me a few seconds, but I finally realized that he had firm conviction in what he was saying. However, I found where his hesitancy had laid. I said, "Unlike your colleagues, I can see that you are genuine about your feelings. I know you want to redeem someone like that, but does he deserve salvation?"
Collin shook his head, "No. Cletus and Keenie both feel the same way as me. You are just trying to trick me."
With a small huff, I responded, "Yeah, I get it. I am some random guy who managed to get himself mixed up with Hell. Still, I want to uncover the truth in all of this. Just… Collin, was it?" He nodded at me, and I continued, "Who else have you tried to save? Are they all like him?" I motioned to Lyle who seemed to be smirking for some reason.
It took a second for my questions to sink in, but the Cherub's mouth slowly closed in contemplation. His brow seemed to furrow before a moment of realization came over him. He muttered quietly, but loud enough for me to hear, "N-No… This c-can't be it… We have helped good souls…"
I was disheartened to hear this from Collin. Still, it wasn't something that I didn't expect. I remained silent for a second while the Cherub processed. After he had enough time, I said, "If you know that it isn't right, then why do you do it?"
Past the mayhem happening around us, Collin seemed to be apprehensive to discuss anything. Perhaps it had to do with his loyalty to his friends or maybe to those in Heaven. It could also be the fact that I am tied to Hell, and therefore evil in his eyes. Still, saving him seemed to put a dent into that last part.
The sheep Cherub began to talk, "W-Well, it wasn't always like that. We used to help humans that needed it to make it a better world. I guess t-things started to change when the higher-ups began to get more involved."
I surmised, "They would tell you Cherubs whom you should help and whom you shouldn't."
Collin nodded at me shyly and I felt a certain level of anger build up inside me. I could vent later, so I let out an aggravated breath before concluding what Azazel had told me was true to some extent. Heaven's system of accepting humans was corrupt. However, it seems like they were trying to cover up with some fake view that they were changing people like Lyle for the better, and therefore they deserve to be in Heaven.
Collin seemed to be having a bit of a panic attack. He began to rapidly speak to himself, "Cletus and Keenie always assured me that we were c-c-changing things for the better. The higher-ups always knew best. God always knows best. God always knows best…"
While he was having this sort of conflict, I was focusing on other things. I asked, "Collin?" He remained deep in thought, and I prodded again, "Collin." The sheep was still trying to rationalize his own beliefs with what he was a part of. I raised my voice, "Collin!"
The angel jumped a little. I didn't want to spook him, but my thought began to become a little more personal. Seeing how Heaven wanted to get some of humanity's worse for their innovations, and how Hell requires exterminations to lessen the population, it begged the question: What happens with the average person?
I asked him, "Please. Tell me what happens to the average person. How does Heaven choose who gets in versus who needs to go to Hell?"
Collin thought for a moment to himself while he still dealt with his internal struggle. He divulged, "Not many humans make it to the gates. W-We have always upheld high requirements for those who are blessed enough. Indulging in sin would find themselves immediately sent down below. Only the most p-pure of humans get to ascend."
My jaw dropped a little as I found it a little difficult to speak. Based on what he was saying, that meant everyone that I had known that passed on was most likely in Hell. However, my mind didn't go to those who died beside me when I was overseas. Instead, I focused on the love of my past, Larissa. There was a specific 'sin' that came to mind that might land her in Hell.
I asked, "What about sex outside of marriage? What happens to people who do that?"
Collin jumped a little at the question before a small blush formed on his face. He became rather nervous at the topic, "W-W-Well, I-I suppose that would be viewed as… f-fornication. It is immoral and tied to l-lust. So, they would be rejected."
My fist clenched tightly at this. My anger wasn't going to be concealed anymore behind a calm façade. I gritted my teeth while I asked him, "You try and 'save' that billionaire roboticist who has committed atrocities, but you overlook those condemned for mistakes! How can you view yourself as a part of the greater good?!"
I clenched my jaw tightly before a look of loss replaced my anger. Collin himself finally began to allow himself to feel the error in judgment that those above him had. His wings slowly slowed until he finally fell onto the ground with a small thud. He sat there with a thousand-yard stare.
I let out a sigh. The truth stung more than I thought it possibly would. I took a seat right across from Collin. Neither one of us talked to one another. I could sense that the epiphany had finally happened for the Cherub. It didn't matter whether or not the thoughts came from some human who lived in Hell, he couldn't ignore what I asked him.
In a moment to break us out of our worlds, the sound of a piano launching into the air caught our attention. We watched as the large instrument cruised through the air heading toward the audience. In a panic, Lyle tried to crawl away from it. I could hear him scream out, "No! I can't leave my money! I want to live!"
The piano cast a shadow over the old man as he frantically tried to run away. He pushed the people ahead of him to the ground without a single concern as to whether or not they would be spared. His final concerns were about his own mortality. It didn't matter since it seemed to be fate for him to get crushed. With a loud crunch and out-of-tune keys from the piano, Lyle was crushed under the weight.
Blitzo, who managed to get stuck with Moxxie and Millie on the stage, smirked broadly while yelling, "Oh, SHIT!"
The other two Imps smiled as well. Moxxie said, "Would you look at that. It seems like you did our job for us."
Neither Collin nor I saw what happened, but it was easy to guess that something Cletus did caused the chain of events that took Lyle's life. He looked at his crossbow with a frightened look before it dropped out of his hands.
The baby Cherub began shaking his head, "N-No! It was you three demons! You saw it, right Keenie?!"
She stuck with her colleague, "That's right! If your demons never got involved, then none of this would have ever happened! It isn't our fault!"
I stared at the piano for a moment longer. It took me a second to figure out what I felt. Everything that happened here was all for naught. Despite all the efforts on the angels' part to convince Lyle to live and make a positive change, he ended up dying anyways. Where he would end up, Heaven or Hell, was now a giant mystery.
For the first time potentially ever, I realized that there was some relaxation in watching someone die. There wasn't a sense of loss with what I watched. I don't know whether it was because of my heightened emotional state from my talk with Collin or not. I let out a scoff, "Hopefully he goes where he belongs."
Collin watched in horror at what happened but remained silent. He uttered, "He could have done something good before he died… Why couldn't we change him…"
I turned around and looked at him. I then said, "He doesn't deserve that." The Cherub looked at me with astonishment before I said, "The only good that would have come from him would have been from his money. He is an awful person and wouldn't have changed. The only change would have come from a fear of where he would end up. Someone who is nice simply because of a fear of Hell isn't a good person."
He finally said, "We were acting on the wishes of Heaven and God. Demons and Satan-worshippers should be evil, lie, deceive, and do bad things. Not us!"
My gaze narrowed, "Hey, I know that Hell isn't even close to perfect, and is rather… rough around the edges, but I have known the greatest friends of my life from there. Those Imps might be crude, brash, and 'do bad things', but they have also stuck by my side at a point in my life when I needed them. Then there is…"
My thoughts finally moved to Loona. Instead of purely focusing on what we did the previous night, I thought about what we had been through together. A small smile formed on my lips from remembering this. Everything finally became clear. She was deeply important to me, and a night of drunken sex wasn't going to change that.
I finally finished what I was going to say, "Loona… I don't know what I would do without her."
In a moment of pause, Keenie yelled out, "Collin! Get away from that satanist! We are leaving."
Collin's swiftly looked over at both Cletus and Keenie as they waited impatiently for him to join them. He seemed conflicted as to what he wanted to do. He looked from his fellow Cherubs to me, then over to the Imps, and finally back at the Cherubs again. He finally said, "Lyle Lipton was a horrible human being, and trying to help him was a mistake. He doesn't belong in Heaven."
Blitzo smirked at the minor mutiny from Collin while Moxxie and Millie looked surprised. They then turned to gaze at Keenie. The female shook her head in a disapproving and condescending manner, "Of course, he was a bad man, but we don't question those above us. If I am going to ever work my way out of this dead-end job, I will follow orders."
Cletus responded, "That's right! I can't believe you didn't know that." He said the last part mockingly. He added, "If you have a problem with how things are, then we are just going to leave you behind."
Cletus formed a portal that glowed a blinding white and gold. He and Keenie looked at Collin one last time for his decision, but the sheep remained motionless. They turned their attention back to the rest of the I.M.P. crew. Cletus said, "This isn't over!"
They flew into the portal without another word. However, instead of closing, the two were thrust back into the space they once were. I was curious as to why it happened, and Collin was bewildered by what happened.
Cletus yelled out, "WHAT?!"
Out of the portal came a group of five other Cherubs. At the front was a fawn-like Cherub, and the obvious boss of the group. Keenie addressed her, "What is the meaning of this, Deerie?!"
In a voice that was the opposite of being sorry, Deerie responded, "Yeah, no… Since you three acted in a way that resulted in the death of our human-of-interest, you three aren't allowed back in Heaven. Yeah, no, yeah…"
Cletus and Keenie yelled out in surprise, "WHAT?!"
To my side, Collin was equally floored by the decision to keep them out of Heaven. While he didn't exactly know what he was doing pertaining to C.H.E.R.U.B., he didn't exactly seem happy to be barred from entering Heaven. The anxiety on his face was apparent.
Deerie smiled in a fake way before saying, "Yeah, sorry, but no."
Keenie then tried to think of a way out of it. She then seemed to figure it out before saying, "Wait! It wasn't us. It was those-" She pointed behind her to where the Imps once were to see that they were completely missing. She uttered out quieter, "demons…"
Deerie looked around Keenie to see that there was nothing there other than the destroyed lighting support. She then looked back to the two with a smug look before saying, "Suuuuuuure there was. Any more excuses."
Cletus then glanced over at me before taking a double take. He pointed at me before loudly proclaiming, "The one standing next to Collin, he was with them! He is a satanist sent here with them to kill Mr. Lipton! He stopped us from doing the Lord's good work!"
It didn't seem to matter what kind of excuses the two hatched. For one reason or another, they seemed to not convince Deerie or her group. Her expression remained the same while she gazed at me before she looked back at the duo. Deerie said, "Yeah, sorry, but that isn't going to cut it… Yeah, but also no."
Keenie grabbed onto Deerie before pulling her in. She seemed to panic, "You can't take this away from me! I have worked too hard to get here! It was all their fault." She pointed at Collin and Cletus. Collin was hurt by the betrayal while Cletus looked mad. Keenie continued, "Please, is there anything I can do."
Deerie peeled away from the sheep's grasp without much trouble before she began to slowly fly backward. She cocked her head and smirked, "Nope." She then pointed at each Cherub from Keenie, to Cletus, and then way over to Collin before saying, respectively, "No, no, and no."
Cletus started to say something, "Please, give us-"
Deerie's patience seemed to have worn thin as her group flew back into the portal before herself. She said, "Sorry, but those are the rules! Yeah… Bye!"
After that, the fawn Cherub flew into the portal, and it closed. Both Cletus and Keenie looked on with devastated looks. Cletus then began to cry a torrent of tears while the sheep began to have a panic attack.
While I didn't feel particularly anything toward those two, I looked over at Collin to see what he was feeling. He didn't have the major outbursts of reactions that his two colleagues had. Instead, he seemed to be bottling up his emotions inside. A look of despair and loss remained on his motionless face.
I asked, "Are you going to be alright?"
With a gentle look, Collin looked over at me. He softly said, "I-I don't know… I wanted to make things b-better for everyone in the service of Heaven, a-and I always felt like I was doing that. After everything that has happened today, I feel betrayed…" His gaze then shifted to the floor. He then said, "I don't know what to do now. If it isn't in the service of Heaven and good, what is my purpose."
I silently thought to my self about Collin. I didn't know much about him beyond the surface stuff. I could leave him here as anyone else in my group would probably do, and I had some temptation to do so. His blindness to helping Lyle wasn't going unnoticed. While I was hardly on the side of what was 'right' or 'wrong', he had to be told that he wasn't acting for the greater good, either. Still, after what happened, I couldn't just leave him here. He did, in some form, help me resolve my problems with what happened with me and Loona, whether he realizes it or not. He also needed a little lesson in reality.
Clenching my fist as I came to terms with my decision, I finally said something, "Do you mind if I show you something?" Collin looked at me with confusion, and I elaborated, "I need you to come with us to Hell."
Back in Hell…
A portal opened up in the lobby of I.M.P. with Loona standing right across from it with the grimoire in her clutches. A nervous look was present on her face while she waited anxiously for us to return. Blitzo was first to walk through with an inflamed look present on his face followed by Moxxie and Millie. He wasn't exactly happy with my little idea. The other two were rather curious as to what got into me.
While Blitzo walked by Loona, he sighed out, "Don't bother asking about the job, Loony. Papa is going to take a few minutes to himself in the conference room to himself before he calls the client with the bad news."
The Hellhound looked around with an annoyed look, "When have I ever asked about the job?"
Blitzo motioned with his hand before walking into the next room. After that, I walked through the portal with Collin apprehensively following behind. He looked around with wide eyes. He looked at everything as if it were going to jump out at him and maul him. His eyes finally settled on a confused Loona who finally closed the portal behind him. He jumped once that happened, and he realized he was finally stuck.
Without saying a word, I walked up to Loona. She looked over at me like she wanted to say something after she put down Stolas's book on her desk. She hesitated for a moment before her gaze looked to the side. It seemed like Moxxie and Millie were still in the room, and things wouldn't move forward between the two of us while they remained present. This was understood by Millie.
She looked over at Moxxie before taking him by the arm. She cheerfully said, "Sweetie? Why don't we go into the conference room with Blitz. I am sure he will want us there once the client arrives."
Moxxie followed behind with a clueless look. He just said, "Okay?"
Before the two disappeared, Millie turned around to the two of us before she gave a knowing wink. This made me sigh but in a thankful sort of way. The door closed behind her, and I was finally alone with Loona. Well, partially alone since Collin was uneasily floating behind me.
I turned back to the Hellhound to say something but was completely surprised when something crashed into my chest. The warmth of Loona encased me as I was wrapped into a tight hug. I was taken aback by the quick action but finally settled down. A small smile formed on my lips, and I held onto her tightly as well.
Loona finally said something, "Look, I get that I completely fucked up. Not like that is a surprise. It's just that… I don't want things to become weird between us. I want to work things out…" Loona pulled away before she said awkwardly, "b-because I care about you."
I rubbed the back of my head, "Well, it's not like I didn't do anything wrong. We were both hammered, and I guess emotionally vulnerable."
She asked, "So, are you ready to talk then?"
I gave a curt nod before saying, "Yes, and while I do so, I want to kill two birds with one stone." I pointed at Collin and introduced him, "Loona, this little guy here is Collin." I then motioned in reverse, "Collin, Loona."
Loona looked at him quizzically and with other mixtures of emotions. She then said, "Ehh, okay?"
Collin shakily said, "Y-Y-You're a Hellhound."
With displeasure, Loona responded sarcastically, "Great job figuring that one out. You're a real genius, aren't you."
While I place my longsword against one of the walls, I allowed the continuous surge of angelic energy to stop flowing into me. I didn't even realize how overwhelmed I had felt by it until I let go of it. Now, I felt better. Still, Loona's comments didn't go unnoticed by me, "Loona, play nice."
Instead of apologizing, Loona instead turned to me and folded her arms. She said, "Kyle, tell me why you thought it was a good idea to bring one of… their kind here?"
The disdain in her voice seemed to strike a chord in Collin since he turned his attention to Loona with a bit of anger, "My kind?"
Loona turned to him before giving a small smirk, "Yeah. The goody-goody, know-it-all angelic types that think they can shit all over us down here. What's wrong? Got thrown out of Heaven?"
Collin jumped at that remark before saying, "T-That's completely unc-uncalled for!"
My patience had completely evaporated at this point. I still said softly, "Are you two done?" Both of them stopped their bickering while they looked at me. I continued, "Look, you two are already regressing from what I was trying to do here."
I walked over to one of the couches before motioning to it, "Loona, can you please take a seat?"
With a loud exhale through her nose, Loona followed what I requested. She walked over and took a seat on the couch while looking at me expectantly. I turned my attention to Collin before saying, "Collin, would you-"
I was cut off by Loona who snarled, "If you are going to make me sit next to him, I can't promise that bloodstains won't have to be cleaned from the rug."
I clenched my jaw before saying, "Collin, would you please sit on Loona's lap."
Loona launched up from her seated position, "What?!"
Collin followed with a milder, "E-Excuse me?"
Loona spoke, "You can't expect me to allow this, can you?"
I didn't want to resort to this card, but I saw no other choice. I responded, "If you want to talk, this is the only way I will do it."
Loona sat back down before muttering, "Un-fucking-believable."
I motioned for Collin to take a seat, and he did so begrudgingly. He slowly approached Loona while he looked away from her. On the other side, Loona gave him a death glare up to the point where he finally sat on her lap. She remained disdainful until I gave her a look. She understood what I wanted, and she growled out before she slowly wrapped her arms around the Cherub. The color drained from Collin's face as he remained motionless in the hostile Hellhound's grasp.
Instead of prodding either of them any more than I already had, I decided to finally jump into the conversation, "I owe you the reason for why I became so detached from you this morning after we woke up."
Loona's attention moved away from the Cherub in her clutches. Her ears drooped and she said, "You don't need to-"
I cut her off, "Yes, I do." I placed my hand on her shoulder before saying, "It was completely unfair of me to leave you in the dark about what I was going through. Additionally, you deserve to know that it wasn't your fault." I felt Loona's shoulder relax, and her eyes dilated while looking at me. I added, "After what happened, I realized that I am still scarred by what happened in the past. Maybe it is embarrassing to say, but I haven't been with someone since, well, since-"
"Larissa…" Loona's gaze shifted away from me. A small silence overcame the both of us. I could tell that Loona was coming to understand my feelings. She was saddened along with me, but I failed to notice the smallest amount of jealousy surging within her chest. Still, her hug around Collin had relaxed to the point where the angel seemed to sink into her. Unknowingly, she rested her jaw a little bit on the top of his voluptuous hair.
I ended the silence by saying, "Yes… After what I did, I can't imagine betraying her by finding someone else, falling in love… or sharing acts of love like that regardless of the circumstances." I looked down at my feet with sadness. I finally said, "I don't deserve that. I guess I was just too afraid to admit this, and to talk to you about it."
Loona asked, "What changed?"
I looked over with confusion. I guess I was a little too preoccupied with my thought. I said, "What?"
She repeated with a bit of apprehension, "What changed for you to come and tell me this?"
I motioned toward the sheep in her embrace, "Collin happened."
Both looked at me with surprise. Collin uttered, "What?"
It was followed by Loona saying, "How did he help you?" The displeased inflection in the Hellhound's voice when mentioning the Cherub was completely gone. Instead, it was replaced with one that was more positive and even.
I looked at him while saying, "He may not know this, but Collin made me realize two things. He made me realize that I shouldn't let something as silly as an inebriated one-night stand ruin our friendship. Since coming to Hell, you are the single most essential person in my life. I can't imagine living and working here without you by my side."
Loona blushed deeply at my comments before saying, "Oh…"
I then said, "He also helped me realize that if there is any hope of me getting through my biggest mistake, I need to face it head-on."
With a raised brow, Loona asked, "What do you mean?"
I spoke with a darker tone, "Whether it is by some cruel bit of fate, or a broke system, it doesn't matter. What matters is that Collin made me realize that Larissa is stuck somewhere down in Hell." Loona's eyes widened at me. I continued, "I need to find her and repent for what I have done."
A lot of emotions were running through me at that moment. It took me a second to realize that Loona was looking at the Cherub on her. She asked, "You did this for him?"
Collin nodded slowly, "Y-Yeah… I-I guess."
Loona became completely docile in the presence of the Cherub. She didn't quite show it on her face, but I could tell by her eyes that she appreciated what he had done. She finally said, "Uhh, thank you… I guess…"
Collin was astounded by her thanks before he responded, "It was my pleasure."
The angel looked at me with a questioning look before he finally asked me, "Why did you bring me here? I didn't help you that much back there."
My expression lightened a little, but I responded in a serious tone, "You may not think so, but you did. I am not sure I would have realized what I needed to for me to finally talk to Loona. Sometimes it only takes someone to challenge us to finally look deeper within ourselves. You were the person, angel, sheep-thing that did that for me."
"O-Oh…" Collin looked down before he finally forgot about being in Loona's hug. He asked again, "But why bring me here?"
I motioned to Loona, "You needed to be shown a different picture than what Heaven and angels above you were painting for you. They gave a vision that was rather black and white, good versus evil. I have come to understand that isn't like that. Hellborn might be a bit rougher around the edges with a more abrasive attitude. I am not going to pretend that a lot of bad doesn't come from here. It does, and I am afraid that I have gotten wrapped up in it in some ways, but given the right push, they can do the right thing."
Collin nodded, "O-Okay?"
I added, "I wanted you to see all of this yourself. You believe that those in Hell are all evil and just do bad things. How do you feel right now in Loona's arms?"
It seemed like Collin had forgotten that he was sitting within her grasp to some extent. I could see that his form became a little more rigid thinking about it once again. He looked up to see Loona's red eyes staring right back at him. As if to tease him, she asked, "Yeah, shrimp, how do you feel?"
Collin looked back to me and responded, "I-I guess it is n-nice…"
I let out an exhaled laugh before saying, "Loona isn't that much different than others you have known. Sure, she can have a bit of a short temper and is violent at times…" I looked over to see that she was giving me an unimpressed look. I then continued, "but you have also seen the good sides to her."
Collin smiled weakly at me, "Yeah… That's true. I guess I am also not a b-b-blood stain on your rug."
This caused Loona to laugh behind him. She responded, "Yeah, yeah. I guess you aren't that bad."
The Cherub looked at me and then asked, "How was bringing me here going to help me figure out what to do without Heaven."
I was about to respond, but Loona scoffed out, "You don't need those assholes. You seem like a good guy, I guess, so why don't you just do all your blessing, saving, and all that shit by yourself?"
Collin looked at her with surprise before asking, "You mean like freelance?"
The Hellhound nodded at him. I then spoke, "Loona makes a good point. You don't need Heaven to do what you have wanted to do. I don't know if it will make any difference in where they will end up, but there are a ton of people out there who could use your help. You can right many wrongs."
"Right many wrongs…" The Cherub loudly spoke to himself. He smiled broadly to himself before he jumped out of Loona's grasp much to her surprise. He then said loudly, "I know what I need to do!"
Before either of us could say anything more to Collin, he flew forward and hugged Loona. She seemed rather uncomfortable with his contact, but she ended up patting his back after a few seconds. Then it seemed like it was my turn as he hugged me as well. I was in a similar situation that Loona was in.
The sheep responded with glee, "Thank you so much for your help! I know what I need to do."
I got up to my feet before I shrugged, "I didn't even get into what I wanted to say. It sounds like you sort of figured it all out by yourself."
Loona asked while going to the grimoire, "So, do you need a portal out of here or…" To respond to her question, Collin arced his hand in the air and a bright light formed into a portal. She then said, "I guess not."
Collin looked back around before he entered the portal to say, "Thank you, you two." He flew forward and disappeared in a cloud.
It was now only Loona and I left in the reception area. It seemed like Collins words had some effect on Loona since she looked off to where he disappeared with a light blush. I guess she wasn't entirely used to getting a 'thank you'.
She finally said, "Things have definitely gotten weird ever since Moxxie pulled you into Hell."
"Well, it wasn't exactly like that…" I then asked, "Wait, is that a good thing or a bad one?"
Loona rolled her eyes at me before she spelled it out, "It is definitely more of a good thing."
I was about to respond, but then a crash could be heard coming from the conference room. Both Loona and I ran over to the door and threw it open to see what all of the commotion was about. Unsurprisingly, it seemed like Loopty decided it was best to arrive here through the wall again. This time, he made another hole with a staircase coming through it.
Blitzo seemed worried as he explained, "Loopty! Look, I can explain what happened-"
The Imp didn't even get a chance before another hole with a staircase came through another section of the wall. The staircase barely missed Moxxie who jumped back in time. He then ran over to Millie to make sure he would be safe.
Down the second stairs came a rounder mechanical demon with green skin, a large mustache, and piano key-like teeth. I could tell who it was along with everyone else in the room. The three Imp said it out loud, though, "Lyle Lipton?!"
A tremendous amount of relief flooded me when I saw the form rolled into the room. Millie then said, "I thought those Cherubs would have gotten you up into Heaven. What happened?"
Lyle scoffed at the notion, "Heaven?! If you think I was going to get into Heaven, dear, then you didn't know me that well. You have any idea on how much we tested on the poor to make sure we could make billions?"
It seemed like nostalgia or whatnot had worked its way back into Lyle's and Loopty's relationship since the former looked over at the shorted demon with a smile, "Oh, you no-good heartless monster, you."
As the two pals seemed to be happy to be in one another's company once again, I couldn't help but feel like things ended up exactly as they should. A lot of things concluded well, but there were also the things that managed to only begin. The first thing that came to mind was just how things seemed to be just as Azazel described. To say simply, Heaven was corrupt, and there were a lot of people who might be down here who don't deserve it. That wasn't even counting how the Hellborn were punished merely for existing.
My thoughts then moved back to Larissa. She was down here somewhere, and I couldn't help but feel part of the weight of that. If she was down here, I needed to find her. Whatever it takes, I will make sure that it happens.
I was pulled out of my thoughts by Blitzo's saying, "Yeah, nice reunion and all, but how am I going to pay my employees if I have to pay for these walls to be repaired! Do you know how long it will take Moxxie to fix all of this?!"
Moxxie gave our boss an incredulous look before yelling, "Me?! How am I going to fix all of this?!"
Blitzo waved him off, "Oh, Moxxie, don't raise your voice while we have company over. It is unbecoming."
I let out a sigh as I felt my body relax. Those worries that I had seemed to fall into the background as I watched the bickering between Blitzo and Moxxie. Lyle and Loopty looked on with uncomfortable looks before they decided to go out the way that they came. Millie just watched the two Imp males yell at each other. To my side, Loona stood close enough to me for me to feel the heat come off her while she scrolled her phone passively. Instead of her usual bored look, she seemed to be happy. Her tail swung back and forward slowly.
Things definitely felt like they had reached some form of 'normal'. However, beyond the surface, things had completely changed.
Well that was fucking long! I hope that you all enjoyed my work, and I do hope it was worth the long wait while I juggled a lot on my plate.
Well, things seemed to have worked out well for Loona and Kyle. It should blend well into what I have planned for the next chapter. Kyle does have to figure out how to use that sword, and someone has got to teach him. Perhaps Loona will find a way to join. It should be a little shorter of a chapter than this one.
No major hurdles to overcome this coming week. The usual business, so I should have ample time to get some writing done. I am going to leave the release open-ended since I have done a good enough job of releases thus far. That also serves to be an 'oh, shit' when it drops. :)
Now, if you haven't done so and are willing, I would deeply appreciate it if you would spend a second or so to favorite, follow, and/or review for the story. I get excited to see that kind of shit, and I am always happy to respond to what you have to say. If not, I hope that you keep reading and enjoy what content I come up with next.
Now, if anyone is interested, I am going to leave the discord channel code available to any of you. I usually ask for small details, and some ideas are discussed with others on what I should do with the story. You can even just chat with others in it. I don't really fucking care, it is available to you below if you want in.
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INVITE CODE: 8RT9hC5Aau
That is all I have to give!
Until Next Time,
Forsvaret-Komandir