Belladonna Chapter 1: Old Management

Setty and Syx marched down the hallway, Patty, San, Dew, and Ena in tow.

"Hey, Syx," whispered Setty. "What's going on?"

"We're doing what Red said," Syx signed, so the others couldn't hear. "We're putting a team together."

Setty glanced back at the motley crew of orphans following them. "That's our team?"

"You, me, and Dew are the muscle. San and Patty will run interference."

Setty glanced back at Ena, stumbling along behind her brother, a look of confusion on her adorable face, muttering questions to her weird living-doodle teddy bear, Scrum. "And Ena?"

"Dew wouldn't leave her alone after all that, Syx said, shrugging. "Besides, you saw her fight her Pops. Maybe she can help?"

"Help with what?" Setty hissed, grabbing his shoulder and leaning in. "What's going on? What's this team for?"

"Kicking Red's ass."

Setty's eyes went wide, her mouth agape. Her grip tightened as she stopped walking, stopping him along with her. She turned to the rest of the kids, glaring. They halted, keeping their distance as she pulled Syx to the side of the hall, their backs to them.

"What are you talking about?!" She whisper-shouted. "Beat Red? How? Why?!"

"He's been Dealt with, Setty," signed Syx, his expression set and stern. "He's basically Boss Lady's guard dog now. If we want her gone, if we want to be free, we'll have to go through him, first."

"Syx, that's crazy!" Setty snapped. "We can't beat Red!"

"We can."

"No, we can't! He's too strong! He'll kill us!" She cried, gesturing at the other orphans. "He'll kill them!"

"That's a risk we'll have to take," said Syx, grimly.

"Syx–!"

"Setty, listen!" Syx interrupted, speaking through his Stand, so the others could hear. "It has to be now! Boss Lady's about to find this whole thing out! She'll get him to talk, to tell her about us, the Arrow, everything! What do you think she'll do when she does, huh? To you? Me? Them? All of us?! And Red won't be able to stop her, he might even have to help her! Red's lost his other powers, right? That just means he's a big, strong goon!"

"So!?" Setty cried, not even bothering to lower her voice. "He's still too strong, Syx! Even with Dew, he'd wipe the floor with us! And even if he doesn't… we might have to really hurt him to get to Bella!"

"He's a Faller," Syx sneered, slapping her hand away from his shoulder. "He'll be fine, even if we have to cut off his fucking head!" Setty bared her teeth, visibly enraged at the suggestion, but Syx pressed on, getting in her face. "I don't give a shit if you love him or wanna fuck him or whatever, Setty, but I'm not about to pass up our chance at freedom because of your stupid crush!"

Setty recoiled as though struck, her anger snuffed in an instant, replaced by an uncharacteristic wave of shock and hurt that twisted in Syx's guts like a cold knife, but he pushed through. "You have to ask yourself what's more important, Setty. Red, or the rest of us. If we're gonna kill Bella, we gotta beat Red first."

"Pump the brakes," said San, gesturing for a 'time-out'. "We're doing what-now?"

"W-we c-can't beat M-Mr. Nuh-Nightmare," stammered Patty, wringing her hands. "He's kruh-crazy!"

"Yeah!" Dew exclaimed, pulling his sister closer to him. "I mean, my [Rebel Yell]'s a beast, but that guy's built different!"

"He's scary…" Ena mumbled, clutching Scrum to her chest.

The crude, living teddy bear in her arms nodded fervently. "Yeah! He's, like, a super-Sinner! Are you crazy?!"

Syx sighed, shaking his head, walking away from the other kids. He spun around and tore off his ever-present teashades, Setty and the other kids gasping in horror and shock. Syx never removed his shades, and no kid, not even Setty, was brave enough to even ask about what lay beneath them. His eyes were milky gray, the color of dishwater, his pupils tattered beneath lumpen, cloudy cornea. Bisecting each eye was a jagged two-inch long ridge of raised scar tissue, too symmetrical and vicious to be the work of a simple accident.

"She did this to me," he growled, pointing to his ruined eyes. "I wasn't earning enough begging as a mute, so she decided to 'sweeten the pot'. I was five. I promised myself that day she'd never do anything like this again, not to me or any other Donna Kid. She made me break that promise with every kid her goons beat, with every kid she sent to the Carriage House, with every kid that didn't make it. She made me break that promise a thousand times over! But I'm still gonna keep it." He turned back to Setty, grimacing. "Now's my chance, my only chance, to keep that promise. Really keep it. Make it real. And if I gotta go through Red Nightmare to make that happen, that's what I'm gonna do! And if I gotta do it alone, I will!"

Patty rushed forward, grabbing Syx by the wrist and pulling him into a tight hug, the shorter imp's face pressed into her warm, fluffy chest, tears spilling down her black-furred cheeks. "I-I'm with y-you, Syx! B-Belladonna Kids st-stick tuh-together."

"Yeah! We're all we got! Also Yay! Hugs!" San cheered, scurrying over and wrapping her arms around them. "Hey, I peed in Red's cornflakes before by accident, imagine what I can do on purpose!"

Ena sniffled and ran over, arms spread wide, a squawking Scrum dangling from her hand, wrapping her arms around Syx's waist. "Me and Scrum will help you bash up Boss Lady, Mr. Syx! Even if it hurts a whole lot!"

"Not too much, I hope…" Scrum moaned, reluctantly joining the hug. "But, yeah, we got yer back."

"Tch…" Dew scoffed, shaking his head, hands in his pockets. "This is fuckin' crazy. But, hey, when have I said 'no' to runnin' fades? I'm in."

"Dew…" Ena said, beckoning with her free hand.

Dew turned up his nose, scowling. "Pass."

Ena's face scrunched up, glaring at her brother and beckoning harder. "Dew."

He crossed his arms and turned away.

"Dew."

"Oh for… fine!" Dew sighed, deflating, shaking his head. He marched over and, stiffly, awkwardly, approximated a hug around the huddle of kids. "This is stupid."

"Syx… I didn't know," Setty said, finally, walking over to the cuddle-pile, her eyes downcast, when she raised them they were hardset, steely and sharp. "She's taken so much from us. From all of us. We're always saying Belladonna Kids look out for each other, but if we meant it we'd make sure that there are no 'Belladonna kids'! I'll help you keep your promise, Syx, even if I have to put Red down to do it!"

Syx allowed himself a small, touched smile, saying nothing, instead holding out his hand. Setty took it with a resounding clap, squeezing his in hers.

"And while we're in the business of making promises…" said Setty, [Titanium]'s gauntlet shimmering over her hand, thrusting it out in front of her, palm down. "Hands in, kids."

Syx smirked and summoned [D5H], setting its mechanical hand over hers. "Klk."

Dew reached out, [Rebel Yell]'s massive hand reaching out and setting over his, a vicious grin spreading across his handsome face. "Fuckin' A."

"I-I'm in," said Patty, her gaze resolute despite her stammer, [t.A.T.u.] joining the vow.

"My Stand doesn't have hands and stuff so…" San plopped her [Stealers Wheel] on top of the pile. "Does that count?"

"I wanna promise, too!" Ena cried, shoving her [Paper Planes] into the circle. "Promise buddies!"

"Let's promise, all of us," said Setty, looking around the circle. "No matter what happens, Belladonna doesn't get out alive."

The assembled kids nodded in unison, breaking the circle, the air around them electrified with their shared will.

"So," said Setty, turning to Syx. "Where to next?"

Syx considered his options, smirking. "The Computer Lab."

Arby sat at his workstation, his round, lumpy face illuminated by the hard blue light of the screen. Clicks and clacks sounded throughout the Computer Lab as the other kids set about their duties. No longer moving Boss Lady's cash about, hiding it from prying eyes that would otherwise have demanded a cut, they were investing, turning the unending streams of hocked goods, petty cash, and stolen cars into appreciating assets. Mammon's antipathy against regulations and accountability made hiding their tracks remarkably easy, much more so than he'd been anticipating. Still, he was behooved by his own standards to cover their activities as best as he could, his cold, labyrinthine mind weaving the data trail in and out of as many purchases, withdrawals, and inane charities as possible. Anyone tracking them would find what appeared to be two-dozen reasonably well-off demons making a variety of mundane, low-risk investments or, just as likely, throw up their hands to hunt fatter, more interesting prey. Between this and the phishing scams, datamining, and security frauds, the Computer Lab was fast climbing the ranks of the 'Donna's earners, all while cleaning the orphanage's money like a laundromat.

Needless to say, this success had improved Arby's status immensely. Truthfully, he was the Head of the Computer Lab in all but name. The lead staffer, Taco, was at best his gofer between him and the Boss Lady, and he knew it. He had neither the knowledge or skill to manage the meticulous web Arby had created. Arby would pretend to do as he was bid, for appearances sake but was, in essence, having his own commands spoken back to him by an overgrown parrot. On some level he found the practice amusing, and on several more levels he found the simmering indignity on Taco's face as he played his role to be deeply gratifying. Even the other Staff would defer to his authority, sometimes in the presence of their own 'supervisor'. The look on the Sinner's face was something he wished he could bottle and savor.

It was good to be king.

The doors to the Lab swung open with a creak. Arby's pointy little ears perked at the sound, he stopped what he was doing and looked up. The door was open about a foot and through he could see Syx and Setty peering… as well as a very familiar baphomet, San. She was one of the crass little grease monkeys that populated the Shop. The only reason he bothered to remember her name at all was the fact that it was exceptionally hard to ignore the wide-eyed manic looks she would give him in the cafeteria, the halls, or anywhere else for that matter. There were times when he couldn't see her but somehow knew that she was watching, her gaze slithering over him like a staticy sweater. What was she doing here?

Wait.

What was Syx doing here? Unfortunately for Arby, Setty was Red's gofer when he wanted to pass on orders, as Syx had no plausible excuse to seek his acumen. Even outside of business, the blind boy had little use for screens, granting precious few opportunities for their paths to cross organically, and forcing an encounter during Lights Out was out of the question. Not that Arby was intimidated by the 'Donna's Golden Boy, he was just… being respectful. Satan knew he loathed it when any of the other dithering buffoons populating this heap sidled up to him unprompted him and attempted conversation, rare as that was. No, if Syx was here, and with his egregiously grating co-commander Setty, it could only mean one thing: Business.

Big business.

Setty pointed him out, beckoning him over.

Arby adjusted his glasses, gesturing at his screen. 'I'm working.'

'I don't care! C'mere!' Her expression said, as she beckoned more emphatically.

Arby rolled his four eyes and turned back, gesturing 'one second', knowing full well that to a harlot like Setty, the action was akin to another single-digit hand-sign. He spied Setty's scowl from the corner of his eye, his thick lips curling slightly in a smirk. Quite fed up, she shoved open the door and marched into the Lab, prompting some of the kids, and especially the staff, to notice.

"Hey," said Taco, getting up from his chair. "Setty? What're you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be–?"

"Shaddup," she snapped sidestepping him as she made a bee-line for Arby. "I need to borrow Arby."

"Hey!" Taco exclaimed, affronted, turning to follow after her. "Hey! You can't just barge in here! Get back here!"

Setty ignored the blustering Sinner, power-walking over to the smirking salamandrine, glaring at him.

Taco caught up to her and, unwisely, reached out, grabbing the notoriously touch-averse succubus by the shoulder, no doubt intending to spin her around and chew her out to her face. Arby surmised that his recent plummet in status and importance had wounded his pride, as it would anyone, and he was looking to puff himself up by flexing what little nominal authority he still had. Arby smirked at this, as rebuffing Setty here would likely result in an amusing visit from Red later. His own misgivings towards the Sinner notwithstanding, Arby would admit a degree of respect and admiration for Red's peerless ability to instill terror.

"Fuckin' brat! Who do you think you are?! I don't care what stupid thing Red's put you up to, that doesn't mean you can–"

What happened next was… unexpected.

Setty hardly made her dislike of physical contact a secret, but would usually keep it together when Staff felt the need to lay hands on her. A grimace always, an impatient swat at the offending limb if she was feeling bold. This time, Setty reached up, her hand encased in the shining ephemeral armor of her potent Stand [Titanium], and grabbed Taco by the wrist. She didn't so much as look back at the Faller, her eyes locked on Arby, expression set and hard. In a movement that was both elegant and dismissive, she twisted. A series of crisp, loud snaps ensued as Taco's forearm warped and bent outward like rubber, his hand bones collapsing in her grasp like rice wafers as blood squirted from his fingertips. The silence that ensued lasted, all told, perhaps a second as Taco and, indeed, everyone else in the room processed just what happened.

Then Taco started screaming. Wailing. Caterwauling. Sounds that were at once baritone and falsetto, noises that might have been words but instead sounded bestial. Arby found them to be quite pleasant, but none of the other kids seemed to, crying out in shock and horror, clapping their hands over their mouths or ears. Setty didn't appear to enjoy the tune Taco was singing either, driving her elbow into his solar plexus with a sound not unlike squeezing a plastic bottle. Taco stopped screaming with a low, thick grunt that was as much blood as it was sound, his eyes going glassy and distant as he slumped forward, crumpling to the ground in a pile.

"Don't touch me, asshole."

The other Staff backed away as Setty walked up to Arby, quickly and discreetly excusing themselves from the Lab. Arby eyed her up as she approached, arching an eyebrow. "That was… excessive. I thought we weren't supposed to–"

"It's happening."

Arby blinked, shocked. He rallied quickly, clapping his hands three times. "Everyone out! We're done for the day!"

Obediently, the other kids closed their work screens and got to their feet, filing out of the Lab, some of them stopping to prod Taco with a nervous foot, others taking the opportunity to deliver a crisp, spirited kick to his obliterated ribcage, prompting the Sinner to moan feebly. Arby saw as the kids pushed their way through the door that the fleeing Staff had been dispatched in equally unsubtle methods. One appeared to have been folded flat on herself like a lawnchair, her crumpled remains sitting inside a small, shallow crater. The other, less fortunate Staffer, hung by the collar from the clutches of an incubus boy he recognized as Dew, the 'Donna's resident brute. To say the Sinner had been beaten would have been a crass understatement, his entire body appeared to be one big contusion, with dents and craters hammered into his flesh. It probably would have been easier to list which bones weren't broken.

Syx snapped his fingers and pointed at the pummeled Sinners. "Patty."

'Patty', a tall black-furred hellhound, nodded and summoned her Stand, a bizarre cubist rendition of its user. It swiped at the Staff, causing them to vanish. No, not vanish… Arby adjusted his glasses and looked harder, seeing that where the Staffers had been were now cubist renditions of them as though painted on the floor.

"Fascinating…" Arby mused as the other kids filed into the Lab. "So, it begins. How can I help?"

"Bella's gonna find out about what we're up to," said Setty, arms folded across her chest. "If she hasn't already."

"Either we kill her or she kills us. To do that, we gotta beat Red," said Syx, through his Stand.

"Of course," said Arby, not sounding the least bit surprised, gesturing at the motley assortment of orphans. "That was obviously always the plan, yes? And I assume this is your elite assassination squad?"

Syx and Setty exchanged glances and reexamined their crew; a pugnacious incubus, a wallflower hellhound, a scrawny, manic baphomet, and an 8-year-old girl.

"Uh, yeah…"

"Hmph." Arby grunted. "I'm sure Red will be trembling in his sabatons."

"If we can avoid fighting him, we will," said Syx, turning to Arby. "Your Stand can control people, right?"

Arby wove his fingers together, smiling at Syx' excellent taste in Eleventh Hour Rangers. "It can… to an extent."

"I assume you can't make Red kill Bella," Syx surmised.

"Were I able, I would have already done so." Arby shook his head. "Trust me, I've tried."

"You tried to control Red?" Setty said, incredulous. "He didn't notice?"

"I was very subtle," said Arby, amused. "He must think about killing her so often, he didn't even notice when the Deal stopped his body."

"The Deal," said Syx, crossing his arms across his chest. "Not even your Stand can get past it?"

"Correct. My [Ballads1] can allow me to seize control of a person's body. With sufficient information, I can make a person do almost anything, to themselves and others. But even with a robust dataset of personal information, I cannot make a person do something they are atavistically opposed to, such as serious self-injury or suicide."

"You've…" Setty said, mortified. "You've tried to make someone kill themself?"

"Yes," he replied, pithily. "Just some homeless Sinner across the street. No one we know."

"So, by that logic, you can't make someone break a Deal, right?" Syx asked, his brow furrowed in contemplation. "Because it's some magic spell between Souls and you only control the body."

"That's correct."

"So why not make him stay still when we're killing Bella?" San said, punching her bony fist into her palm. "Just, like, freeze 'im!"

"The Pact would compel him to protect her, regardless of what I'm making his body do or not do." Arby sighed, taking off his glasses and polishing them on his shirt. "There is no stronger spell in all of Creation than the Pact, as it's powered by the innate potential of the Souls involved. While a Stand is a manifestation of the spirit, it cannot overcome a Pact between two Souls."

Dew scoffed, shaking his head, brandishing his fist. "Then how about you hold him still while we knock him the fuck out?"

Arby smirked at the mental image. "That I can do. That being said, he's very strong-willed. Even if he wants us to succeed, he probably won't enjoy being beaten into unconsciousness. So I'll need some very personal information on him."

Syx nodded as he manifested his Stand [Ballads1]. "Let's see what you have already."

Arby felt something approximating a blush form in his cheeks at Syx' proximity. "You can… see the screen? Can you read?"

"No," Syx replied, brusquely. "Setty."

Setty sidled over, examining the information Arby had gathered. "Jeez! Someone's been busy. Height: 252cm… weight: 205kg… age: 55? Huh. He doesn't act it. His favorite flavor of ice cream is pistachio? Feels the perfect sundae consists of–how'd you even figure all this out?!"

"I asked a lot of questions."

"Lemme see! Lemme see!" San squawked, clambering up onto Arby's shoulder, eyes darting over screen before pointing. "Ooh! Ooh! Says here he wet the bed until he was 12!"

"What, really?" Dew said, amused, before walking over and leaning in. "Ha! Says here he looks good in a miniskirt!"

"What's a 'twink'?" Asked Ena.

"Hey!" Setty exclaimed, blushing. "This is private info!"

"Ha ha! Yeah it is!" San cackled, pointing to a specific line. "Real personal."

"Whoa…" Dew muttered, reaching over and covering Ena's eyes.

"Wuzzat word mean?" Ena said, trying to look around her brother's hand. "Endo… endow-men-tuh…?"

"I mean, it's in metric, but still…" Scrum muttered, clasping his stubby hands over Ena's eyes.

Arby did a brief doubletake. "Is that a talking teddy bear?"

"Can we focus?!" Syx snapped, scowling at Setty and the somewhat mortified interest on her face. "Arby, is this enough info for you to freeze up Red?"

"Impede him, certainly," said Arby, nodding. "Though, if I had more it would be much more potent. Anything to add?"

"Uh…" San tapped her chin in contemplation. "Oh! He has beef with his forehead!"

The words appeared on the screen, flashing red and disappearing.

"What?" San cocked her head to the side. "But I saw him doin' it!"

"He wasn't talking to his forehead," said Setty, sighing. "He was talking to Solido. That's what he calls this other personality in his head… or it's his conscience? I dunno."

The words 'Red talks to Solido' appeared on the screen, flashed green, and stuck.

"Very good," said Arby. "Anything else?"

"Dude's an asshole?" Dew offered.

Green.

"He's kuh-crazy?" Patty muttered.

Green.

"And scary!" Ena added.

Green.

"Very good," said Arby, appreciatively. "Anything else?"

"He's a 'Donna Kid," said Syx, quietly.

Green.

The other kids paused, turning to Syx, their expressions varying between confusion and incredulity.

"What?" Setty said, her tone hushed. "How?"

"Yeah!" Dew exclaimed. "He's a Faller! How could he be a 'Donna Kid?"

"After he gave me [D5H], he told me 'Belladonna Kids stick together, we're all we've got'. I thought he was bullshitting at first, but then I thought about how he acted around her, how he reacted when she was brought up. He's just a little more afraid of her than he hates her, just like us." Syx folded his arms across his chest. "She must have gotten to him while they were both alive. When he was a kid. He's a 'Donna Kid, maybe the first."

The words 'Red was the first 'Donna Kid' appeared on [Ballads1] screen and flashed green.

"It's true," said Arby, arching an eyebrow. "Interesting."

Silence reigned in the Computer Lab as the kids digested the new information. Dew scowled into the middle distance as Ena pulled Scrum into a right hug. Patty rubbed her arm, examining the floor as San grimaced, wringing her hands anxiously. Setty set her rump down on the desk, eyes wide.

Setty broke the silence first. "This whole time… why didn't he…?"

Syx quietly grit his teeth at the 'tell me' she didn't say. "Would you? Would any of us? She got to him early, made him what he is now. Faller or not, that makes him one of us."

"If I knew that before…" San said, quietly. "I-I never woulda done what I did."

"D-don't beat y-yourself up, San," said Patty, setting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "If y-you hadn't, he'd walk all over us."

"What're the fuckin' odds?" Dew grumbled. "The first 'Donna Kid ever showin' up here? What a fuckin' mess."

"It's fate," said Scrum, still in Ena's arms. "That's all there is to it. Fate brought Red here, brought us all together, all so we can finally put a stop to Bella's bullshit."

"What Scrum said!" Ena exclaimed, standing up on the desk, eyes blazing. "Mr. Nightmare's all scary and stuff because of Boss Lady! She hurt him real bad when he was little and now he's mean! We gotta help him, not just for us, but him too! Belladonna Kids stick together, we're all we got!"

"Guess I'm gonna have to take it easy on him," said Dew, cracking his knuckles, grinning. "Oh well."

"W-we're doing this fuh-for him as much as for uh-us," Patty said, resolutely. "B-Bella's gotta p-pay for what she's done!"

"And besides!" San chirruped, turning to Setty. "Now that he's a 'Donna Kid and not Staff, you can totally date him!"

Setty blushed fluorescently, glaring at San. "…You're the living definition of 'letting the intrusive thoughts win' aren't you?"

"Says the intrusive thot," Arby said, sotto voce.

"WHAT WAS THAT, LARDASS?!"

Syx drew their attention with two sharp claps. "Arby, will that do the trick?"

Arby nodded, smirking. "I must admit, I'm interested to see just how much control I can exert with that juicy tid-bit."

"Good," said Syx, pointing at his computer. "Red went to meet with Bella a few minutes ago."

Arby nodded, arching an eyebrow. "…And?"

"And I want to hear what they're talking about."

Arby shrugged, coyly. "Whatever makes you think I've bugged Bella's office?"

Syx said nothing, how brow furrowing slightly.

Arby pressed a few keys on his desktop keyboard and video and audio footage opened on the screen. "Top-down vantage work for you? I have multiple angles available."

"Shh!" Syx hissed, beckoning the other kids to gather around. "Listen."

Red marched down the hallway, followed shortly by a nervous-looking Kabby. The silence between them was deep, heavy, almost palpable like choking smoke. The imp glanced up at the towering Sinner, expecting to see dread, trepidation, maybe even a grim sort of enthusiasm? But no, Red's expression was light, unbothered, as though he were marching into just another meeting, and not the hurried, unanticipated culmination of everything he'd been working towards.

"Hey, uh, Red?"

"Yes, Kabby?" He replied, his tone light, almost chipper.

"What do you, uh–like, what're we…" He paused, sorting out his thoughts. "What're we gonna do?"

He shrugged. "We're going to see how things play out. Who knows? Maybe she's calling me up to chew me out for some completely unrelated reason. Maybe she missed all that commotion in the Bunks… somehow."

"Uh-huh," grunted Kabby, unconvinced at Red's attempt at optimism. "And if she hasn't?"

"Then it's out of our hands," Red sighed, wistfully. "And into theirs."

Kabby grimaced, staring down the hall. "You really think Setty and Syx can beat you?"

"Just the two of them? No." Red smirked. "But it won't just be the two of them. There's a reason I made them my capos, Kabby. They know how to manage their assets."

"What…?" 'What happens if they can't stop you?' Kabby almost asked, his guts seizing in cold, involuntary clench at the mere thought. "What do you want me to do?"

Red paused, Kabby could see that the unasked question had been heard, his lips pulling into a tight grimace. After a moment, Red spoke. "If or when the commotion begins… I want you to round up as many kids as you can and get them out of here."

Kabby cocked his head to the side. "Why?"

"I don't want any of them getting hurt," said Red, his brow furrowing in a moment of inward confusion. "Protecting the assets."

"Uh-huh." Kabby arched an eyebrow, a skeptical smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "And where do you want me to take 'em? Which muster-point?"

Red frowned, his tone almost forlorn. "…I can't know."

Kabby tortuously fought the urge to grill his hulking boss about the absurdity of protecting assets by deliberately losing them, but instead nodded. "Ayuh. Anything else?"

"No. That will be all." They came to a stop outside of Bella's office, the air souring, becoming heavy with dread. "Actually, one more thing."

"Yeah, Red?"

Red turned to the imp, extending his hand. "Take care of yourself, Kabby."

Kabby smiled at the 'and them' his boss didn't say, reaching out and taking his hand. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I hope you get your ass beat!"

Red smiled at this, chuckling softly. "Me too."

With that, Red turned to the door and took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before releasing it in a long, slow exhale. He reached out and knocked, the crisp, respectful raps rang out like the toll of a church bell.

"Come in~" Belladonna trilled from within, cold malice clear in her voice.

With that, Red opened the door and showed himself in, leaving Kabby standing alone in the hall. "Good luck, ya big lug."

Red took his seat before the exquisitely carved mahogany desk. He noted sourly that once upon a time his vision of himself sitting behind it seemed all but assured, that taking over a mere orphanage would be the whimsical first step in his ascension to the throne of Hell itself. 'The Future King of Hell', he thought of himself then, a notion that now struck him as vaguely quaint. If his endeavor of taking over a mere orphanage had been so disastrously fraught, who knew what horrors lay in wait down that particular path? He had been so young then, so full of verve and optimism, flush from his victory over Sallos Goetia. But now…

He looked around at the office, her office, with a somewhat perplexing repulsion. The expensive rug, the tyrian silk drapes over the lavishly framed window, the bookshelf filled with showy, over-designed tomes that he was sure had never been opened. A crass display of wealth to buoy the ego of a miserable, exploitative sadist bought by the labor of helpless children. How many meals had been stolen from starving mouths to buy that desk? How many clothes could those drapes have put on threadbare backs? And the rug–well, no, he rather liked the rug. He'd keep the rug.

His eyes drifted up to the wall behind the desk, to what hung there. His lip nearly curled back from his fangs in an unconscious sneer. An almost lift-sized portrait of Lady Belladonna sitting in the Venus de Milo pose, her lumpen form draped in that hideously revealing white dress with the plunging V-line and egregious side-windows. It was done up in oil paint on thick canvas, framed in beautifully carved polished ebony. A recent purchase, and a costly one, in celebration of their then-profitable ventures out near Little Wrath.

That he would burn.

"Well, Red?" Belladonna said, hands folded neatly on the desk, her tyrian eyes cold, glinting.

"Well?" He replied.

"What was all that commotion just now?" She asked, pointedly. "It sounded like there was a war going on nearby! I almost evacuated the building!"

'That's a funny way of saying 'I almost cut and run with everything I could carry',' Red thought, sourly. "Oh, that? San had too much free time on her hands."

Belladonna blinked, her skepticism vanishing like a puff of smoke in the wind, replaced quickly by a weary resignation as she rubbed her temple with her thumb; clearly this wasn't the first time. "Of for… Damage report?"

Red felt like smirking, could he actually salvage this? "Zak and Bangarang got pretty banged up–"

"I meant property damage, you oaf!" Bella snapped. "What did that little disaster destroy this time?"

"The Bunks," he answered truthfully, navigating the Pact in his mind. "Presently, the damage is… minimal."

"Really?" Belladonna's eyes narrowed skeptically, no doubt wondering if the Deal was keeping him truly truthful. "Define 'minimal'."

"It was essentially a big, loud lightshow," he said, waving dismissively. "I roped a few of the kids together as a clean-up crew. It might actually look better than before."

"Hm." Belladonna tapped the desk for a moment, contemplating. "Anything in need of replacement?"

"It won't cost you a $oul."

"Mhm." She reclined in her chair, steepling her hands together. "Well, good."

"You can come down and check if you like?" He offered.

"Ha! Of course not!" She scoffed, muzzled scrunching in disgust. "I can't stand the stink of that sty!"

Red nodded, hoping his relief didn't show, before venturing. "Will that be all, Your Ladyship?"

"Hm?" She glanced at him, eyes glinting in a loathsomely familiar way. "Oh, yes! There was just one more thing, actually…"

Red nodded. "Such as?"

She leaned forward on her desk, smirking. "How long, exactly, have you been farming Stand Users from my children?"

Red felt his heart shrivel, becoming a cold, dense thing as it plummeted into his stomach, skin prickling with icy sweat. He grit his teeth so hard they creaked, green arcs of energy crackled across his frame as the Pact forced the answer from him. "…S-six… m-months, two weeks, four days, eight hours–"

She held up her hand, silencing him. "Goodness. You didn't waste any time. How many?"

"As of today, forty-two."

"My, my, my…" Belladonna crooned. "Quite the army. Was that your plan? To empower these poor, downtrodden vermin, win their loyalty, and overthrow me?"

"I wasn't thinking about their loyalty at the time. That just sort of happened." His hands balled into fists, squeezing so hard they trembled, his talons digging into his palms, drawing beads of green blood. "But yes."

"Interesting plan. And you almost pulled it off," said Belladonna, chuckling. "Too bad I had an eye on the situation."

She clapped her hands and the door swung open. In tottered the round, ungainly mechanical frame of Diamanti, the Shop Head, looking profoundly pleased with himself.

"How…?" Red muttered, his eyes narrowing.

"How else do you think I was able to assess prices so perfectly?" Diamanti said, tapping his multi-lensed eye. "It's a talent I have always possessed."

"You're a Stand User," Red hissed, his eyes narrowing as the clockwork demon waddled over to stand next to Belladonna's desk. "In life."

"That's correct," he chortled, drumming his metal fingers on his rotund belly. "Ever since I was a child, I could compare the relative worth of anything I scanned with my [Temperance]. Though, that raises the question of how? I was born with my gift, and it told me such an occurrence was exceedingly rare, one in a million! How were you able to give these wretches their Stands?"

"I don't have to answer your questions, filth," snarled Red, turned to Belladonna, preempting her question. "I have in my possession an artifact, an arrow. Anyone pierced by the Arrow will have their Soul extruded, creating a manifestation of their spirit. Each one is unique, as are their abilities. Some are passive abilities such as this clanking oaf's, but others are incredibly powerful, some even matching the might of the Archangels."

Belladonna arched an eyebrow an intrigued "And where is it now?"

He smirked, eyes glinting. "It's safe."

"Who has it, Red?" Bella growled, rising to her feet.

Red's form shuddered as he fought the Deal with all his might, shimmers of green dancing across his body. "…S… S-Syx has it."

"Syx…" Belladonna murmured, outrage creeping into her features. "You dragged Syx into this? You turned my Golden Boy against me?!"

"Your 'Golden Boy' hates you more than anyone here, he's just better at hiding it," said Red, grinning. "Well, almost anyone here, Signora Laguardia."

"How did you…?" Belladonna glared into his eyes, a sudden, awful flash of realization appearing on her face. "Who… who are you?"

"Me? I'm Red Nightmare," he said, rising to his feet. "But him? He was born in 1967 on a woman's only penitentiary off the coast of Sardinia…"

Belladonna's eyes snapped open wide, her face contorting with horror. "It's you."

"His mother had been there two years, giving no sign of being with child until the night before his birth," Red crooned as he walked forward, towering over her with glowing green eyes, drinking in her growing terror like it was fine wine. "The boy was born with his eyes open. He did not cry. He did not scream. He was completely silent. But then, you know all that, don't you? You were there! I honestly can't tell you how good it is to finally reunite with you after all this time… bambinaia."

"So, I was right about you all along," she growled, glaring up at him, not a whit of fear in her eyes, only absolute abhorrence. "…Diavolo."

Author's Note:

So, here we are. The finale. Sorry it took so long guys, but I really wanted to nail the build up to the big action scene. Hopefully the next chapter will be much much smoother and faster.

Thank you all so much for reading!