During the early hours of the following morning, long before most of the other staff members woke up for the day, the Chef let out a fierce yawn as he staggered into the kitchen. Considering that he was the one who cooked food for both the staff and the family living upstairs, he made it a personal choice to wake up long before anyone else did. That way, he could get his work done without interruption. In fact, one could argue that this was a way of life he preferred since he used to do the same thing when he was sailing the high seas back when he was alive.
After stretching himself out, the Chef slowly got into his daily routine, the first job being to throw out any garbage lying around the kitchen. After emptying one of the trash bins and tying off the bag, he then opened up the door of the kitchen and crawled up the stairs leading outside to toss the bag into the incinerator further away from the house.
However, when he reached the top of the stairs, a strange smell filled his nostrils… and it wasn't the garbage he was carrying. What's more, he felt a strange shift in the breeze around him, so much so that he felt the need to taste the air with his worm-shaped tongue. Whether it was his instincts as a former pirate or beastly instincts as a Demon, the Chef knew something was wrong. And then… he looked to the horizon.
"Swoggle me eyes!" he gasped, seeing the dark purplish clouds beginning to creep across the otherwise red sky of the Pride Ring. "She returns!"
Tucked soundly away in the confines of their room, both Mick and Buzz remained in a peaceful slumber. With Mick purring away in his weed-curtained bed on one side of the room, and Buzz snuggling up to a blender while sucking his thumb in his junk-filled hammock on the other, neither one of them was hoping to wake up any time soon if they could help it… alas life in Hell was never that considerate.
CLANG!CLANG!CLANG!CLANG!CLANG!CLANG!
"GAH!" Buzz suddenly yelped, falling out of his hammock before getting his foot caught in the netting and collapsing face-first into the solid floor. "What the fuck!?"
"The hell's all the racket!?" Mick added, reaching his hand out from behind the weed curtain and grabbing his mask before putting it on and groggily getting out of bed himself.
Before either Demon could even begin to fully awaken from their rude awakening, all of a sudden, someone burst open their door.
SMASH!
"AAAAHHH!" they both yelled in shock, neither one of them able to comprehend why the Chef was suddenly standing in the doorway banging two saucepans together while screaming at the top of his lungs.
"ALL HANDS ON DECK!" he called out, his crab-like legs carrying him through the whole corridor as he kept shouting into every room he passed by. "ALL STAFF MEMBERS, GET OUT OF BED AND INTO THE KITCHEN NOW! COME ON, LOOK ALIVE, YA MISERABLE MAGGOTS!"
Needless to say, no one in the Servant's Quarters had any idea why the Chef was acting like this. In all the time the staff had known him, not once did he ever wake them all up so early in the morning and certainly not in such an aggressive manner. Whatever the reason though, the Chef had better pray that it was for a good reason because, scary or not, the seafaring Sinner now had a bunch of very pissed-off Imps on his back.
"Is he taking the piss!?" Buzz snapped as Mick helped him to his feet. "It's three in the goddamn morning!"
Obviously, Mick shared in the smaller Imp's irritation after being woken up so rudely and early, as did everyone else as they all walked down the corridor towards the kitchen with groggy looks on their faces. So much so, the Cat Demon felt the need to scratch at the wall in sleep-deprived anger.
"This had BETTER be good,"
With their theme music playing in the background, the logo for 666 News flashed onto the screen. A few seconds later, the news anchors, Katie Killjoy and Tom Trench appeared and began their report, the pair of them looking pretty dishevelled considering the early hour they were being forced to broadcast.
"Good morning, everyone!" the blonde news anchor announced, trying her best to look professional despite her appearance. "I'm Katie Killjoy"
"And I'm Tom Trench," her co-anchor added, putting in the same effort. "Major disaster is inevitable in the Pride Ring today as the first sign of Hurricane Pruflas rears its ugly head in the form of the first thundering clouds above Pentagram City."
To illustrate what the gas-masked Demon was reporting, a clipart image of a tornado with a scary face suddenly popped up on the green screen behind the two news anchors.
"That's right, Tom!" Killjoy declared before continuing. "For those who don't know, Hurricane Pruflas is a Hellborn storm so devastating, it occurs only once every twenty years."
Tom Trench couldn't help but shudder at that.
"It starts off with some chilly winds in the early morning, then throughout the day, the rains begin to fall, cold and gentle at first but then it gets warmer and warmer until it literally begins to boil!" he elaborated, giving off as much detail as he could.
"Then come the late evening, the winds pick up to horrific levels and that rain turns to hail the size of tangerines, falling in large streams of fire!" Killjoy butted in, her voice turning particularly dramatic on that last part.
"And not just any fire, ANGELIC fire!" Tom added, being just as dramatic. "We're talking '10 Plagues of Egypt-shit', folks!"
After pausing for a quick moment to allow their media crew to gasp in horror, giving dramatic effect to what they were telling the public, the two news anchors gave each other a quick nod and continued with their broadcast.
"So for those who wish to survive the night, we urge you to stay in your homes and prepare to lock yourselves down for the night," Killjoy stated, feigning concern through her toothy smile, though in reality, giving no real shits about any of the Demons she's broadcasting to. "If any Demon gets caught in THIS storm… well, sucks to be you!"
"Stay tuned as we give you regular reports on Hurricane Pruflas as time progresses, all that and more after the break!"
Those were the last words any of the Goetia staff heard Katie Killjoy say before the Chef turned off the small TV perched on the kitchen counter. Needless to say, as they all stood there in their sleepwear, any drowsiness any of them had was long since replaced by a mix of confusion and fear, though the majority was leaning more towards the latter.
"Oh… fuck," Jessie gasped, her tail wagging a little with unease as she stood there in nothing but a loose T-shirt and pyjama shorts. "That's actually a thing here?"
"I've heard of flaming twisters down in the Wrath Ring, but this is insane!" Pringles added, his evident fear and exhaustion once again betraying his otherwise stoic demeanour as he stood there in his striped two-piece pyjama set.
"Aye, you lot will be too young to remember any of the previous years this beast of a storm came about," the Chef pointed out, giving an understanding nod. "Luckily you all have ME to instruct you on what to do for-"
"Excuse me, I'M the head of the household, Chef," Pringles interrupted, earning many annoyed glares from everyone around him, most of all from the Chef himself. "Therefore, it should be my responsibility to head the preparations."
The Chef, of course, wasn't pleased in the slightest about being so rudely interrupted, especially considering that the Butler had no real notion of what was to come.
"Take it up with the Goetias then!" the Turtle Demon snapped. "Prince Stolas made this responsibility part of my contract years ago."
As soon as those particular words reached his ears, the Butler's eyes immediately snapped wide with shock.
"H-he did?" he asked, unable to fathom that someone other than himself was put into such a high position without his knowledge.
"Aye, and every time this storm shows her ugly mug, I've never once failed to protect this house," the Chef declared, puffing out his shelled chest with smug confidence before turning his attention back to the other staff members. "Trust me, lads, you will need a strong sea-worn captain to lead you through THIS beast."
As aggressive and grouchy as the Chef normally was, no one else in the room could comprehend the amount of determination he was showing at this point. It was as if the cook inside him was being pushed aside and the pirate he used to be was swiftly racing to the surface. In any case, if what the Chef said was true, then the staff was going to need every ounce of help they could get.
"If it keeps me out of that hailstorm, I believe him," Mick spoke up, earning some nods of approval from his coworkers.
"Likewise," Buzz added.
Seeing that the same opinion was shared with pretty much everyone in the room, the Butler inevitably let out a defeated sigh before straightening himself out.
"What will you have us do, Chef?" he asked, earning himself a small smirk from the Sinner.
"Everyone out by the pool right away!" he declared, addressing the other staff members. "The sooner we lock down our holdup, the better."
With that final word, the Chef then walked off towards the kitchen door, more than likely to make a few small preparations of his own before everyone began. Of course, this didn't leave him without a few complaints as he left.
"Can we at least have some time to put our clothes on first?" Mick spoke up, not really wanting to go outside in just a bare chest and pyjama bottoms.
That question, however, only made a certain Maid mischievously smirk as she crept up behind him in nothing but a skimpy vest and a thong that was practically nothing more than a length of dental floss.
"Oh, don't tell me that seeing me in my undies doesn't give you a stiffy, big boy," she whispered into his ear.
…
"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer," Mick declared as he quickly walked away with a shiver down his spine and an unnerving feeling in his pants, leaving Jewel to giggle at his expense.
"He so wants me," she said, smugly giving Jessie a playful jab with her elbow, to which she only responded with a roll of her eyes.
"Oh yeah, he wants you… arrested,"
Heading back to their room to get changed, Mick and Buzz tried to be as quick as possible, not only because they realized the urgency of the situation but also because they didn't want to deal with a pissed-off Chef afterwards. Having the same idea, the other members of staff all hurried back to their respective rooms, all of them preferring not to go outside in their sleepwear.
Just as Mick was about to enter his room first, he suddenly caught a glimpse of someone rushing by behind him. Turning his head, he saw Linda in her blue cat onesie, (something that Jewel graciously loaned her after she arrived) rushing back to her own room.
"Morning, Liddy," Mick called out, quickly seizing the chance to talk to the small Imp while it was within reach.
However, when Linda looked back at him in response, the Imp immediately let out a small huff and turned her back, giving Mick the cold shoulder as she pulled the hood of her onesie tightly over her head. Obviously, she still was not feeling up to talking to him. Letting out a disheartened sigh as he watched her walk away, Mick feared that the Imp may never find it in her heart to open up.
"Give it time, buddy," Buzz said reassuringly, sensing Mick's distress. "She can't clam up forever,"
Not really having the energy to argue, Mick simply nodded his head and went inside his room.
With this being one of the few mornings where she didn't wake up to the sound of her parents arguing, Octavia let out a big yawn as she eventually pulled herself out of her room late into the morning. Normally she'd be up earlier than this, but as it turned out, the incident at her school that caused the evacuation the previous day was more severe than what was originally realized. Now the entire building was closed until further notice, which to most would be great… but in Octavia's case, being stuck at home while her parents continued to fight wasn't much of a school holiday. On the plus side, at least this was one of those rare occasions where she could actually sleep in… despite certain lingering nightmares.
They weren't as frequent now. Hell, if Octavia was being honest, she hardly has them anymore. But once in a while, the Goetia Princess's sleep remained plagued with terrible nightmares of the Extermination, each time filling her mind with visions of the Exorcist that almost killed her. Though last night was particularly bad because, in THAT nightmare, Seth was also there with his smug grin! The horrible dream may have been brief. But it was enough to wake the Owl Demon up in the middle of the night.
Despite saying otherwise, Octavia still hasn't fully recovered from such a dreadful experience that day. In fact, it was only after she began her talks with Mick did the number of restless nights finally start to diminish. Still, despite not having them as often now, the Goetia Princess couldn't stand reliving such an experience when she was trying to fall into a peaceful slumber. Perhaps she could talk to Mick about it later. He always seemed to find a way to make her feel better.
"FIRE!"
BANG!
WOOSH!
Suddenly Octavia's train of thought was cut short by a loud explosion and the sight of something zooming past the window she was standing next to.
"What the fuck!?" she exclaimed, immediately running up to press her face to the glass, trying to find out just what the hell was going on outside.
There, she saw one of the strangest sights she had ever seen… and considering where she lived, that was a pretty high bar. Outside, on the back lawn, numerous members of staff were setting up what looked like automatic cannons in the grass while wearing heavy red ponchos. Among them were Mick, Buzz, and Jessie, all of whom were following orders from the Chef as he barked at them with his loud voice.
"Second round, at the ready!" he screamed, aiming his voice directly at Buzz and his cannon. "FIRE!"
Upon his command, the diminutive Imp slammed his fist on the controls of the cannon with a manic grin on his face. As soon as he did that, the cannon let out an explosive blast that shot a large, iron spike right out of its barrel, one that flew straight up into the air, soared right over the mansion and drove itself into the ground with a heavy slam on the other side. What's more, the spike remained attached to the barrel of the cannon via a very long, metal cable that was about as thick as the pole of a streetlight.
Seeing all of this from the window, Octavia was, of course, instantly baffled. What possible reason could the staff have for doing something like this? And what's more, why did they all look so frazzled while doing it? Quickening her pace, these questions never once left Octavia's head the entire time she made her way downstairs, even as the Chef's voice once again filled the air.
"Ah, I love the smell of cannon fire in the morning!"
As Stolas stood there in the lounge, staring at the staff through the window with a solemn sigh, he couldn't help but feel anxious over what was to come. True, this coming storm is nothing he hadn't seen before given how long he's lived, but there are those he knew and cared about that had never experienced Hurricane Pruflas before… his daughter, his younger members of staff, and, of course, a certain little Imp who shares his bed once a month. Turning his head over to Snowflake, who was snoozing on the nearby sofa, the Goetia Prince couldn't help but worry about all those Demons. Despite his status, he still has a soft spot for certain individuals, especially his darling Blitzy and-
"Hey, dad?"
-his beloved daughter.
"What in Lucifer's name are all the staff doing outside?" Octavia asked as she walked into the room. "It looks like a fucking war zone out there."
Once again, Stolas couldn't help but sigh, knowing that this was one time he couldn't beat around the bush.
"It would seem that it's that time again," he answered. "So the Chef has taken charge of the preparations again."
That explanation, however, only left Octavia with even more questions.
"Time for what exactly?" she asked impatiently. "What preparations?"
Stolas couldn't blame his daughter for asking that. After all, the last time Hurricane Pruflas hit was just over three years before she was even born, so of course, she knew next to nothing about how bad it was. As such, he felt it was his duty as a loving dad to keep her informed on the situation at hand.
"A storm is coming, my Owlette," he explained bluntly. "One of the biggest storms to hit the depths of Hell in years. And the staff are preparing the house for the oncoming impact."
A storm? THAT'S what all the fuss was about? Octavia just couldn't believe what she was hearing. What kind of storm could warrant such anxiety? And from members of the Goetia household no less… then again, that would also explain why she saw Jewel hefting planks of wood on the way downstairs. More than likely it was to barricade the windows from the heavy winds that were to come. But still, the Goetia estate must surely be protected by her father's magic, that alone should be enough to block out one little storm… right?
Whatever the case may be, it was pretty obvious that this whole thing has gotten everyone worked up. So it'll probably be best not to take this so lightly.
"How long do we have until it hits?" the Goetia Princess enquired, her curiosity begging her to know as much as possible.
"We only have the full day," Stolas answered, once again not beating around the bush. "When the boiling rain stops some time tonight, that's when the most dangerous part begins. So we'll need to do all that we can to prepare the house before then. I'll be doing my part to aid the staff, of course, and your mother is currently in the process of managing all of the indoor preparations."
Whoa… even STELLA was pulling her weight for this? It really IS serious.
"Should I do anything?" Octavia asked, immediately wanting to do her part after hearing how everyone else is.
Stolas, however, merely shook his head at that.
"We've got most of everything already covered," he said, smiling a little as he noticed Snowflake waking up from her nap with a cute little yawn. "You just keep that little one calm, yes? Don't want her making noise the whole time, do we?"
At first, Octavia was going to argue against her father's words, but after taking a moment to think about it, she quickly realized that staying out of the way to look after Snowflake was probably for the best. After all, she wasn't exactly experienced in storm preparations, so chances are she'd only get in the way. Scooping up the Kitsune pup in her arms, she eventually let out a defeated sigh.
"Yeah, got it," she said, giving her father a reason to smile with relief.
"That's my girl," he said, giving Octavia a pat on the shoulder and a kiss on the forehead. "Well, I'd better get moving. Can't keep the staff waiting."
With that final word, Stolas then made his way towards the door and left the room, leaving Octavia and Snowflake alone with their thoughts.
"So… you're okay with thunder, right?" Octavia asked awkwardly, giving Snowflake a curious look.
The little fox in her arms, of course, could only give her an unsure tilt of her head, her large ears flopping over adorably. Seeing this, Octavia couldn't help but laugh… that moment of joy, however, was quickly short-lived when she heard something up against the window.
TAP!
Seeing that first drop of water run down the glass, the Goetia Princess instantly knew that the worst was yet to come.
Meanwhile, back out on the grounds, the staff continued their preparations with the Chef overseeing every stage of it. At present, they were all attaching an extremely large length of tarp to the ends of the cables they had fired over the house. At first glance, it looked to be nothing more than the same material one would find on an everyday marquee. However, when Mick put his hands on it, the Cat Demon felt like the whole thing was made of some kind of tiny-ringed chainmail. Obviously, it didn't take a genius to know what the intended use for this tarp was to be. However, it was still baffling to think that this thing was just sitting in an underground storage unit just a few yards away from the house, only to be taken out once every 20 years.
Suddenly, Mick and the other members of staff heard the faint dripping sound coming from all around them. Listing their heads for a moment, they all cringed at the sight of the first signs of rain falling from the darkened sky of the Pride Ring.
"Thar she be!" the Chef called out, hearing the water run down the back of his shell. "Secure them posts and prepare to pull canvas!"
Regardless of the sailor-talk the Chef was spouting, everyone nodded their heads in understanding and joined him as he grabbed a sledgehammer from a nearby pile, along with several large, iron pegs. Hefting the heavy, metal spikes amongst each other as the rain continued to pour, Mick and the others eventually started feeding the pegs through the attached rings on the tarp before using their hammers to drive them deep into the ground.
CLING! CLING! CLING! CLING! CLING! CLING!
With each heavy impact of every hammer against their respective pegs, their arms and back quickly beginning to ache as they sweated beneath their ponchos, every member of staff, including Mick, groaned in a mixture of pain and frustration. Feeling the gusts of wind and the impact of the rain against their body as it became heavier by the minute, everyone tried desperately to find a way to take their minds off the work they were doing in an attempt to ease their burdens. Before they even realized it, they were all singing to the beat of their own hammering.
Staff:
Hike! Ugh! Hike! Ugh! Hike! Ugh! Hike!
We work all day, we work all night,
We never stop, come rain or blight,
We're happy-hearted underlings!
Hike! Ugh! Hike! Ugh! Hike! Ugh! Hike!
When other folks have gone to bed,
We slave until we're almost dead,
We're happy-hearted underlings!
Meanwhile, back inside the house, all the remaining members of staff, including Jewel, Pringles, and to her chagrin, Linda, were in the middle of boarding up every window in the building. Even in rooms that were hardly ever in use, the windows were gradually being barricaded by large planks of wood, all the while Stella oversaw the whole operation with an annoyed scowl on her face. The Lady of the House, of course, didn't give out many instructions, but rather bark out orders on which room to move onto after expecting the Imps to know what to do with the previous one. In fact, the only upside to any of this was that she didn't care about the staff joining in with their coworkers' songs when they heard it from outside.
Staff:
Hike! Ugh! Hike! Ugh! Hike! Ugh! Hike!
We don't know when we get our pay,
And when we do, we throw our pay away,
This stormy day is underway,
With heavy hearts, we'll lock ourselves away,
Back outside, the next stages of the staff's task were already underway. With all the pegs safely secured into the ground, the Chef and half of the staff returned to the other side of the house and proceeded to fiddle with the cannons. Moments later, said cannons began reeling back the cables they had fired over, pulling the tarp that was now attached to them right over the house.
Staff:
Muscles aching, back near breaking,
Eggs and bacon's what we need,
Queen bitch hounding, "Keep on pounding!"
For your bed and feed,
There ain't no let up, must get set up
Pull that canvas! Drive that stake!
Want to doze off, get them clothes off,
But must keep awake!
Alas, even when the tarp was completely pulled over the roof and the cables were pulled taught and driven into the ground, there truly was no rest for the weary. With each passing hour, more and more safety measures had to be put in place as both the rain and wind became heavier. Soon enough, Stolas stepped out in a fancy-looking raincoat, using his magic to force-grow numerous thick vines from the soil to stretch over the outer walls, along with several more to help hold the tarp in place while also enchanting the tarp itself to reinforce its structure.
Eventually, everything from the pool to the flower beds were all covered in tarps, tied down, or both. Watching all of this from her bedroom window with a frantic Snowflake shivering in her arms, all Octavia could do was look on in dread as her mind desperately wished for Mick's safety during this whole ordeal.
Soon, the lightning flashed and the thunder roared, and before long the rain had already warmed up to the point where every Demon standing outside could feel it through their thick ponchos. Alas, they had to finish their jobs. They HAD to.
Hep! Heave! Hep! Heave! Hep! Heave!
Hep! Heave! Hep! Heave! Hep! Heave!
Hep! Heave! Hep!
Swing that sledge! Sing that song!
Work and laugh the whole night long!
You happy-hearted underlings!
Pullin', poundin', tryin', groundin'
Lucy help us if we fail,
Keep on working!
Stop that shirking!
Run real quick and watch for hail!
Poundin'! poundin'! poundin'! poundin'!
Oh…
After many gruelling hours and many back-breaking tasks to secure the house, finally, all was done. By the time it was around 5 PM, almost everyone who had been working outside immediately collapsed on the cool floor of the foyer from the exhaustion and the heat. As they all expected, the rain falling outside did indeed warm up to unbearable levels after a certain time.
Feeling the hot water against their skin, every Imp felt like they were about to boil over. Despite being covered up in ponchos, they didn't do much in regards to the more exposed parts of their bodies such as the hands and face. At least Mick and Jessie had their fur to filter some of the heat in that regard, then again one could argue that it made the heat cling onto them as it soaked through. What's more, the powerful winds that came with it drove the rain in all directions, so the ponchos eventually became redundant after a while. In fact, at one point the wind had gotten so bad, that Buzz was literally almost blown away with it. Thankfully Mick managed to snatch him up with his tail before he got too far.
But now it was over. After some time and effort, it was FINALLY over! As they all laid out on the floor, exhausted and soaked to the bone, not one member of staff could muster up the strength to even raise their heads.
"Ugh… Finally!" Mick grumbled, the mouthpiece of his mask slightly wonky after collapsing to the hard floor. "Fuck, I thought we'd never finish in time."
About a foot away from the Cat Demon, Jessie whimpered in agreement as she laid out on the floor with her ears and hair splayed out like she was an exhausted bloodhound, panting like the overheated dog she was.
"I know, right?" she exclaimed between pants. "Felt like I was stepping out of a hot shower out there!"
"Yeah, if we stayed out any longer, we'd all be covered in burns by now," Buzz added, laying flat on his back with his tongue hanging out in a goofy manner. "And I don't know about you guys but I ain't looking to add more white marks to my skin, thank you very much!"
At those words, pretty much everyone in the foyer murmured in agreement, not one of them having the strength to argue. Unsurprisingly, the only one who didn't seem the least bit phased about the whole ordeal was the Chef. Whether it was because he was too used to those storm preparations, because he used to be a pirate, or even because he was cold-blooded while also sporting a hard outer shell, no one could tell. The one thing the others DID know, however, was that it was because of him that they were able to stay ahead of the oncoming storm… even if he could have been a bit more respectful with his instructions.
"You all did good, lads," he said with a chuckle, stretching himself out as he made his way back towards the kitchen. "Take a good long rest tonight, cause you should be proud of yourselves."
As they watched the hard-shelled Sinner scuttle away, a few of the staff members couldn't help but add a feeling of awe on top of the ever-growing list of emotions they were feeling at that moment.
"Huh… what do you know," Buzz commented. "He CAN give a compliment once in a while."
Octavia wasn't usually one for helping out other Demons, at least not before she met Mick, but nowadays, for some reason, she felt the need to play her part a bit more, especially since the secret party Mick brought her to. As such, seeing him and the others working so hard in such terrible conditions, the Goetia Princess wanted to do something to ease their woes. Now here she was, making her way from the family's personal kitchen with Snowflake at her feet, carrying a tray filled with glasses and a pitcher of cold drinks for her hard-working underlings.
As she was rounding the corner to make her way towards the foyer, she found her suddenly bumping into a familiar face, causing them to jump.
"Oh, Via!" Stolas exclaimed, placing a hand over his chest. "You gave me quite the fright."
Octavia could only roll her eyes at that.
"Hey Dad," she greeted, lifting up the tray in her hands. "Fancy a drink?"
Seeing the tray of drinks, along with Octavia's genuine smile, Stolas could not help but smile as he accepted the offer.
"Oh, thank you, dear, that's very kind," he said, beaming as he took one of the glasses and took a good long slurp from the crazy straw before letting out a relieved sigh. "Ah yes, that feels good."
"Figured I'd mix up some drinks for everyone who worked to secure the house," Octavia explained, answering whatever question her father would have before he got the chance to ask. "Looks like the guys outside especially need it."
"I won't argue with that," Stolas replied, nodding his head in agreement before gaining a knowing smirk. "Though I can't help but wonder if this is mostly because a certain Sinner is among that group?"
At those words, Octavia's face immediately turned as red as a tomato.
"Th-that is neither here nor there, Dad!" she exclaimed, outright denying the suggestion but somehow not doing so at the same time.
"Mhm," Stolas muttered, not believing a word of it.
The Goetia Prince may have been eccentric and a little perverted on his best days, but he wasn't stupid. While he and his wife may have been wrapped up in their arguments, Stolas wasn't so neglectful that he'd fail to notice a change in his daughter as of late and a positive one at that. She's smiling a lot more, she wasn't as snarky, and now here she was offering drinks to thirsty Demons without being coerced. What's more, he also noticed all these changes only started when a certain Sinner came to work for them.
Ever since he caught Octavia and Mick talking in the library some time ago, Stolas knew right there and then that their friendship had to have been true. Even among her fellow Goetias, Octavia had never opened up that much to anyone outside of her own direct family. For sure, Mick had become a REAL friend to his daughter, one that she desperately needed and deserved… Of course, friend or not, if anyone dared to try anything lewd with his little girl without his blessing… then there wouldn't be anything left of them to find save for the testicles he would have sliced off and bronzed.
"A-anyways," Octavia spoke up, clearing her throat as she desperately tried to think of a way to change the subject. "About what you were all doing out there…"
"Yes?" Stolas replied, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, why have the Imps put up a tarp?" the Goetia Princess asked, showing genuine curiosity on the matter. "Why not just use a protection spell or something?"
Hearing that, Stolas scratched his chin in thought, trying to figure out the best way to explain.
"I'm afraid even my strongest spell can only last so long against angelic fire, Via," he answered. "The best I can do is reinforce the tarp every so often to keep it going while the hail falls."
Octavia couldn't help but grimace at that.
"This storm's really that bad, huh?" she asked.
"I'm afraid so," Stolas answered with a solemn sigh. "A little gift from one of our dear friends up above that decided to overstay its welcome even after he left."
As unnerving as it was to hear, Octavia wasn't all that surprised. While everyone was setting everything up for the storm, the Owl Demon's curiosity got the better of her and she ended up spending some time in the library researching what was about to come. As luck would have it, there was a history book she was able to dig up that contained a brief chapter on Hurricane Pruflas.
As it turned out, this storm was the result of an egotistical Exorcist from the early days of the annual Extermination, who tried to outdo his fellow angels by using forbidden magic to wipe out several Demons at once. Unfortunately, the storm proved to be too powerful to control and it ended up wiping out half of the Exorcists too, including the one who cast the spell in the first place before eventually dispersing. Since then, since the original caster never erased the original spell, the storm returns once every 20 years and ravages all in its path before having to take another 20 years to build its power up again. And now that time has come again.
"Bastard," Octavia muttered, feeling the strong urge to curse that Exorcist for the nightmare he had created.
"Very much so," Stolas added, nodding his head in agreement before clearing his throat. "Anyways Via, I'd best do a few last-minute checks. Also, I'll need to make a few calls before the connections go down."
Watching her father put down his glass and walk away from her, Octavia couldn't help but let out a sigh as she suspected WHO her father was going to call. In all honesty, she didn't like the Imp her father was sleeping with, not in the slightest, especially considering the fact that he was the root cause of her parents' fights these days. However, despite her misgivings, after the incident at Loo Loo Land, the Goetia Princess still had a LITTLE faith in her father, so whatever happens next-
SMASH!
"YOU BLITHERING IDIOT!"
Suddenly snapped out of her train of thought by the loud noise coming from down the hall, Octavia couldn't help but grimace as her mother's shrill voice rang in her ears, fearing that yet another fight between her parents was about to take place.
What Octavia didn't know, however, was the fact that neither one of her parents were in the same room at that very moment. Instead, her mother was towering over a quivering Linda as she looked as though she was about to piss herself. As it turned out, having the poor Imp help out with the storm preparations so soon after she was dumped on the doorstep was a terrible mistake on the Goetias' part. After being told to help out with boarding up the windows, it was once again, one mistake after another. From dropping the tools to mishearing instructions, her nerves didn't allow anything to go right for her, especially because she was now under Stella's watchful eye.
Now here she was, cowering on the floor, surrounded by shards of broken china, all because she accidentally bumped into one of the shelves displaying numerous antique pots, one of which was now in pieces. Needless to say, Stella was NOT happy when she saw what happened.
"I-I'm sorry," Linda tried to apologize, her eyes filled with tears. "I didn't mean to-"
"Do you have any idea of how expensive that was!?" Stella screamed, not having any of Linda's excuses "I can guarantee that it costs a lot more than your worthless life!"
At that moment, Linda felt like the entire pit of Hell was going to swallow her up. The disgust burning in Stella's eyes was so terrifying, she felt like they were going to burn a hole right through her head. Even as they nervously stood to the side, neither Jewel nor Pringles dared intervene when Stella was in such a frightening mood.
"P-please-" Linda tried to speak up, only for her voice to once again get drowned out by Stella's screams.
"I should have known that Ipos would just send us his garbage!" she snapped, adding even more insult to injury. "It only makes sense, doesn't it? My idiot husband breaks off his son's hand, and then as a so-called 'apology' he sends over his most useless Imp!"
After that, Linda was unable to say anything else. How could she? After being hurt, insulted, and completely humiliated in such a way in front of her fellow Imps, what could possibly be said after that?
"Well? What are you still doing here?" Stella snarled. "GET THE FUCK OUT!"
By the time Octavia reached the door, it had already swung open, barely missing her beak in the process. When she was able to recover from the initial surprise, the Goetia Princess could have sworn she saw Linda running around the corner… with tears streaming down her face like waterfalls.
"Linda?" she uttered, her brain slowly starting to piece together what just happened. "LINDA!"
Alas, the Imp was deaf to her words and she continued to run away. Unable to let things stand as they are, Octavia immediately set the tray down on the nearest display case and proceeded to follow suit, though not without looking down at the Kitsune pup at her feet first.
"Snowflake, find Mick!" she instructed, believing that he may be the only Demon in the house who might be able to calm Linda down.
With a nod and a yip, Snowflake ran ahead as quick as a flash, using her little nose to track down her master lurking somewhere in the house. Meanwhile, Octavia continued to follow Linda's path, listening for the sounds of her tears as a guide. Much like any decent person would do in her position, she could only hope that the poor Imp didn't do anything stupid.
By the time Mick and the others managed to pull themselves off the floor and step out of the nearest elevator and into the Servant's quarters, every single one of them had already started to feel the urge to collapse again, preferably in their own beds this time.
"Ugh… I swear, I'm gonna need a nice long soak after dealing with all that," Jewel commented, only for her coworkers to grimace in response.
"Please, no more mentioning water!" Jessie snapped, still feeling horrible due to her fur still being pretty damp.
SMASH!
Suddenly, everyone heard a loud sound of broken dishes coming from the kitchen up ahead. About 2 seconds later, Snowflake came running out, having once again used the vents to make her way down to the lower levels of the house.
"Snowflake?" Mick uttered, gasping in surprise when his beloved pet started jumping like a rabbit and scratching at his leg like a lunatic. "What's the matter, girl?"
In response, Snowflake quickly took hold of the bottom of Mick's pants leg and gave a few good pulls. Despite this display not doing all that much, Mick knew the Kitsune pup well enough to know that something was DEFINITELY wrong.
DING!
Once again stepping out of the elevator, Mick and Snowflake made it into the foyer just in time to see Octavia run into the room at the very same time.
"Octi, what happened?" Mick asked, having the strong suspicion that it was the Owl Demon in front of him who sent Snowflake to get him.
"It's Linda," Octavia answered, her voice filled with anxiety. "My mother scared her off."
Choosing to put his unbridled hatred for Stella aside for the moment, Mick's eyes immediately shrank with horror when he saw Octavia gesture towards the open front door flapping in the strong winds.
"Oh no…"
The pair of them immediately rushed towards the front entrance, staring out into the storm as they made it to the foot of steps. Mick and Octavia were filled with so much fear for the poor Imp, that neither one of them could fathom what possessed her to run into such a horrible phenomenon. Seeing all the devastation that the wind and rain alone were causing to the area, Mick dread to think what was going to happen to Linda if she ended up getting caught in the hailstorm that was yet to come. Only one conclusion came to the Cat Demon's mind.
"We can't just leave her out there!" he yelled, his voice almost drowned out by the wind and the thunder.
Attempting to run out into the storm after her, Mick then suddenly felt something grip tightly onto his arm. Turning his head he saw Octavia staring back at him with a hard glare. At first, the Cat Demon thought she was going to tell him that she couldn't let him go… but then she surprised him by saying something he would never expect.
"Well, we're not gonna catch up to her fast enough on foot," she stated firmly, turning back towards the house. "I'll get the bike!
Needless to say, that statement left Mick completely flabbergasted.
"Wait, WE!?" he repeated, only to raise his eyebrow when the second half of Octavia's sentence was finally absorbed in his head. "The what?"
It didn't take that long for Octavia to grab what she needed. Snatching a hooded leather jacket from the back of the cloakroom was easy enough, and snatching the keys from her father's study drawer wasn't too difficult. If anything, the trickiest part was rushing out into the garage and finding the one vehicle she was looking for. About 10-15 minutes after she left Mick standing on the front steps of her house with Snowflake, Octavia suddenly pulled up in front of it, riding a large black motorbike with a Hellfire engine and spiked rims. The moment Mick saw the Goetia Princess donned in leather and riding such a powerful machine, he felt his face heat up like a furnace.
"Since when do you own a fucking hog!?" he exclaimed, somewhat unable to fathom what he was looking at.
"I went through a rebellious phase when I was 15, sue me," Octavia replied nonchalantly as she took off her beanie and replaced it with a helmet.
"That's one badass phase," Mick commented, unable to resist speaking his mind as he made his way towards the bike.
"Just get on!" Octavia snapped, the unease in her voice clear for all to hear. "The storm's gonna reach its peak soon and we want to be out of it when it does."
Not wanting to argue, Mick quickly lifted his leg over the bike and took his feet behind the Goetia Princess, meanwhile Snowflake positioned herself in front, resting her head between the handlebars. At first, everything went pretty smoothly as all three of them prepared themselves to leave, however as soon as Mick held onto her, Octavia's face immediately turned red. Feeling the Cat Demon's arms wrapped around her, squeezing the area just below her breasts, Octavia felt like she was about to explode though she couldn't understand why. Gladdened by the fact that he couldn't see her blushing face through the tinted lens of her helmet, the Goetia Princess tried desperately to return her focus to the task at hand.
"R-right!" she said. "Let's go!"
With that final word, Octavia revved up the engine and soon enough, all three Demons were zooming down the driveway and making their way towards the streets of Pentagram City, all three of them hoping that it wasn't too late.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
The Featured Song: "Song of The Roustabouts" - from the movie: Dumbo