Cover Art: FacelessChick on Twitter
"Oh, her? That's just Loona. What a nightmare. Serious attitude problems. She'll be out of our hair next month when she ages out. Good riddance, if you ask me. She'll never amount to anything much."
Blitzo didn't say a word in response. He just stood there silently, looking in horror and pain, at the shaken, lonely hellhound, as she crawled up in her corner and silently cried. This…this…he couldn't think of words to say.
This was supposed to be his big day. The day he'd finally become a father and have a kid who would love him no matter what. When he had come to the Hellhound Adoption Foundation, he had hoped to find a cute little hellpup or two, he could take home and raise. Make a new family. Finally, get the love he desperately craved for so long. And as he had hoped, there were plenty of little ones to choose from, even if all of them looked so sad and skinny. And then, he saw her.
Blitzo would be the first to admit, his motivation was mostly completely selfish. Sure, he'd be giving a parentless kid a new home, but it was mostly just to give him some comfort love now that he had been abandoned by everyone he knew, for understandable reasons. And the reason he decided on getting a hellpup was for convenience. With imps and other hellborn, you had to wait weeks or, fuck, months before you could get approved to care for them. Hellhounds? Shit, they were practically giving them away for nothing. He was free to choose whichever pup he liked.
But then, he saw her. Loona. That poor, lonely teenager who had growled at him the moment she realized they were watching her. And then seconds after, huddled up in her corner for comfort, weeping tears at the cold, cruel words of her caretaker. Words, the imp had heard being used to describe himself more than once. By his father. His former friends. His old boss. His ex-girlfriend. And everyone else. So when he looked at the shaking, broken, pained form of the hellhound, who, unlike the others, didn't even bother trying to look adoptable and cute, instead having a tired, bitter, lonely grimace as she cried, he saw such sadness and pain in Loona that felt…eerily familiar. He saw himself.
"Anyway," continued the old woman, completely ignoring the hound's cries or the imp's growing anger, speaking with the same amount of apathy one would use to describe the weather while in an elevator. "If you'd just follow me, we have a lovely selection of pups over here."
"No need. I've made up my mind. I wanna adopt her."
This declaration came as a shock to both of the female hellhounds. For the first time since he had meet her, the fat, old lady's emotionless look, turned to surprise; her glasses nearly falling off her head. Loona meanwhile, broke out of her crying fit, looking at the imp in shock and for a moment, hope…only for her eyes to narrow and a low growl, to escape her throat.
Once the old lady recovered, she adjusted her glasses, did her best to return to her apathetic tune, and spoke up: "Mr. Blitzo, with all due respect, I would strongly recommend against that. As mentioned before, Loona has terrible issues with her temper and discipline. Her former orphanage gave her to us after she caused them too many problems. She has no known family to speak of, her parents likely having abandoned her at birth; and Loona has already run away from at least ten different homes throughout her life, and an additional four with us. Each one voicing the same complaints; she's a delinquent, a troublemaker a nuisance, and a good-for-nothing. All she does is waste money, get into fights, drink and laze about. Trust me, you're better off with someone else."
Blitzo was barely listening to a thing that was said, his anger boiling and festering up, as each word spoken, caused the teen Loona to crumble back into grief. All he could focus on was the hidden despair behind her angry eyes. How this Loona, had gone through so many homes in her life, while never finding her real one; thrown away by people who were supposed to love her, leaving the hound with nothing and no one. And how within less than a month, they were perfectly happy to rid their hands of her, like she was a used condom and not a person worthy of love. And that sparked something in Blitzo. If his first impressions had decided the matter for the imp, then that had solidified it.
When the lady was finally done, Blitzo turned to her with a murderous scowl as he glared at her with seething hatred and said: "First of all, the O is silent, lady. Told yah seven times already and believe me, you don't fucking want to make it an 8th. And second, maybe you and the rest of the worthless, limpdicked assholes might see her as a failure. But, me? I see a perfectly good kid who got dumped on by dicks and jackasses, including her parents, who were clearly too lazy or stupid to give her a chance! Well, guess what cunt? I think it's time someone tried to help her out for once. And if that has to be me, well, I guess I'm fine with that. So yeah, I'll take her, thank you very much."
The fat lady looked at him, once again flabbergasted by the imp's declaration, while Loona was watching him in disbelief and curiosity. Wondering why this imp was getting so passionate and insisting on adopting her of all hounds. Speaking to her in ways she had never experienced before. Or at least, as genuinely as that.
Eventually, the lady sighed: "Well if you insist, I suppose we can't stop you. If you'll kindly come with me and sign the necessary paperwork, we'll get her for you." With that, she began escorting Blitzo back to the main office, while on the side she monitored the nearby prison guards, who began approaching Loona's room with catchpoles and a muzzle. It took everything in Blitzo's power, not to kill them right then and there.
One quick and messy signature and a few minutes of waiting later, the guards arrived in the main lobby with the hellhound in tow. There she was. Loona. Clad in a red shirt, torn jeans, spiked collar, and a scared ear. Her hair and tail were unkempt, her eyes were bitter and annoyed and despite her bored scowl, she looked moments away from biting someone's throat out. Especially with the muzzle wrapped tightly around her mouth.
Blitzo beamed up like a Christmas tree. She was perfect.
"Hi, there! You must be Loona!" He walked over to her, pulling out a knife he cut the leather muzzle, freeing her mouth as the harness clattered onto the floor. Once that was done, Blitzo extended his hand out for a shake with a bright smile. "I'm Blitz! The O is silent. I'm gonna be your new papa!"
The hellhound, in a momentary look of surprise with her mouth now free, took one look at his hand…and then growled and spat on it.
Blitzo didn't even flinch. In fact, his smile seemed to grow at that. "And you've got spunk too! Ah man, I can already tell we're gonna get along great Loonie! Oh, you mind if I call you Loonie?"
She growled at him again, teeth barred and eyes flashing red. "Call me that again, and fucking gut you like a fish!"
"Awww, she's shy. Don't worry kiddo, I don't mind a little tough love. Trust me, in one week you and I will get together wonderfully" cooed Blitzo, unphased by the threat much to the disbelief of the hellhound.
"I give it two days," the old lady whispered to herself, as she handed Blitzo the certificate. "Well, here's the adoption paper and your new hellhound, Mr. Blitzo. Feel free to come back anytime you want to return her. Goodbye."
She and the guards turned to leave only to be stopped by Blitzo holding out his phone. "Wait! Wait! Before you go, you've got to take a picture of us together! Our first moment as father and daughter! What'd yah say Loonie?!" Loona snarled furiously in his direction as a response. "I'll take that as a yes!"
The lady sighed and took the phone for the picture. Blitzo tried to wrap one hand around Loona for a hug, only for the hellhound to punch him off her; he just climbed back up, shrugged, and settled for standing next to the hound, holding out his certificate and smiling with his mouth wide open. "Okay Loonie, say welcome to the family!"
Loona groaned as the picture was taken.
Blitzo stared down at the picture on his phone, with a forlorn expression. It was the image of him having just adopted Loona. One of the few untainted good experiences he had left. Until now.
The imp sighed bitterly, as he closed his phone, unable to look at it anymore, sinking deeper into his chair. Once they had all returned from the bar and made sure Loona was okay, Blitzo had secluded himself in his office, barring himself from everyone else and all the madness. He needed a break. A moment away from everything that just happened. And what was going to happen; what he was going to lose…
He thought back to all his previous relationships. His old friends and his family. His mother. Barbie. Fizz. Verosika. Stolas. And now Loona. Every time he came close to others, every time he tried to start something new, it was always the same. It would fall apart completely; turn into ashes and ruins. All because of him and his selfish, terrible, stupid choices. His toxic need to be close to those around him and push them away when they got too close.
He had hoped his relationship with Loona would be different. He had been everything his mother was and his father had not. Loving, giving, selfless, and supporting no matter what. He showered her with constant affection, never once so much as hit her even when she had, spoiled her rotten whenever he could, even at work and made it clear that she meant the world to him. So where? Where had it all gone wrong? What did he do?
…Oh right. That was the problem. He had been too clingy. Too protective. Too irresponsible. Too unwilling to trust her on her own and out on the field. Treating her more like a child than the grown-up she wanted to be. She had told him as much. Multiple times too. He just never thought, how serious she was about it until now.
Blitzo figured she'd come to realize that he was only protective because he loved her; but apparently that only made it worse. At several points, the imp had tried to improve for her sake. Giving her more space, letting her spend more time with friends, easing up on the babytalk and special treatment; but that only lasted a few days, until his damned paranoia and need to be loved, caused him to fall back into old habits, screaming fights forgotten and steps repeated, because it was easy. Easier than opening up. Easier than getting real with others. Easier than risking losing them again. A fat load of good that did him. His closest thing to family would soon be lost, and soon he'd be all alone again.
A small knock drew him out of his thoughts. He let out a small, bitter grunt in response, and the door slowly opened. Moxxie stepped in, looking at his boss with a concerned frown, Millie standing behind him with a look of sympathy, as the two approached their boss. "Uh, sir? B-Blitz, are you-" he stopped himself midquestion, trying to figure out what next to say; his boss wasn't even looking at him. "Millie and I thought now would be a good time to fetch some clean clothes for Loona, for when she wakes up. And since we've never been to your house before, we thought perhaps you could lead us there?"
Blitzo acted as if he had barely heard his coworker, just nodding apathetically and tossing them his car keys. "Yeah-yeah sounds good. You guys go on without me; my address is written on one of the things. You shouldn't have any trouble finding it."
Moxxie caught it awkwardly, his boss' complete lack of emotion, either positive or negative, deeply worrying him and his wife. He had been uncharacteristically withdrawn and quiet all the way during their ride and since coming back from the bar. Not that they could blame him, after the massive bombshell the marchioness had dropped on them. Still, his lack of any kind of response was starting to cause the couple plenty of condern. And his genuine uninterest in the prospect of spending more time with them, something he always clamoured for regardless of circumstance, was increasing that. "Are…are yah sure, yah don't wanna show us yourself?" Millie asked with some attempted enthusiasm. "Yah'll could give us a grand tour of the place. Ah know yah've always wanted to have us over."
"Nah, it's fine. Not like there's anything to show anyway," Blitzo waved them off, turning his chair to look away from them.
Moxxie was growing more worried by the minute and tried his one last resort to try and get a rise out of his boss. "You know Blitz if we're going to do this on our own, we'll have to go through her underwear drawer," he said the last part with his best lecherous tone, which made him want to cringe and gag as he went on. "Maybe you should come, and make sure I don't try to steal anything from her private things…"
Blitzo didn't even turn to face them. "Come on Moxxie, I'm not 5 years old. I know you wouldn't try anything that dumb. Just, make sure you pick her something nice, okay?"
That was the last straw. A frustrated Moxxie frowned determinedly, and approached his boss, swinging the chair so he was facing them, much to the shock of him and Millie: "Alright, that's enough! What in Hell are you doing just sitting around here, Blitz?!"
Their boss was taken aback by their harsh words but tried to brush them off while avoiding their gaze. "I-I've got no idea what you're talking about. I'm allowed to do whatever I want in my office, aren't I? You don't see me judging you on how to sit around all day."
For once, Moxxie didn't bite at his obvious bit of bullshit, instead sighing and once more attempting to get through to the pained imp. "Blitz, please. I'm sure you have a lot to process after everything we just learned, but you don't have to go through this alone or pretend everything's okay. We're your friends; you can tell us what's on your mind."
"I'm fine! Alright? I'm just fucking peachy, okay? Good; now please, leave me alone," insisted Blitzo stubbornly, convincing no one.
"Come on Blitz, we ain't stupid," Millie chimed in a soft, gentle tone. "We were in the van with you. We saw how much yah'll were hurtin' when the royal bitch decided to keep Loona all for herself." She carefully approached her boss with a look of sympathy. "Whatever, thoughts yah've got polluting your head, you can tell us. Better to let it all out, than letting'em cloud your mind like that."
The imp's tender tone and voice managed to get through to Blitzo, his expressionless face frowning from sadness and regret, before turning angry. "Oh yeah? And what do you want me to say huh?" He asked them harshly, his voice growing louder and colder as he went on. "You wanna hear me go on and on, about how much it sucks my daughter's some fucking Goetia all this time? Wanna stay there, while I whine about how awful a parent I was? Wanna see me burst into tears, as I cry that I'm about to lose my daughter? That her uppity, royal, bitch-ass, richer than me, cooler than me, related by blood mother is taking my Loonie home? And making sure I will never see her again? Is that what you wanna hear?!" He asked them roughly, slamming his fists against his chair, fighting back tears as he glared down at his coworkers, who held their ground even in the face of such a lashing out. Their boss continued to glare at them furiously, before slumping back into his chair defeated. "Because, yeah, shocker it blows! I'm losing my daughter, the only goddamned family I have left, and it fucking sucks! And there's nothing I can do about it! Happy? No? Too fucking bad!"
The married looked at their boss in sympathy, carefully approaching him. "Oh B, I know how much this hurts, and it's okay to feel horrible about it all."
"Yes, but it's not too late!" Moxxie added in. "The marchioness is still here and there's still time before she leaves. You can still change things. Change her mind" He suggested eagerly. "Surely she should be more reasonable now. While we're off getting Loona's clothes, you and her can talk about-"
"Talk?" Blitzo asked coldly with a harsh laugh as if it was a bad joke. "What the fuck is there to talk about? Don't you get it?! It's over!"
Moxxie was taken aback by his boss' harsh response, turning to Millie for advice, before pressing on confused. "Blitz, you can't seriously just be sitting here doing nothing, while Loona might be moments from being taken away from you. I would've thought you of all people would be putting up more of a fight to keep that from happening!"
"Yeah? Well surprise, I'm not!" Blitzo shot back angrily, before slumping back down tiredly. "What's the point? Even if that bitch's willing to listen, do you think that would matter? Loona hates me. She just sees me as neverending pain in the ass and a creep. Given the options between me and her actual mom, I think it should be obvious even to a blind, deaf and dumb person, who she'll pick at the end of the day."
"Wha-what?! Sir! You can't be serious!" protested Moxxie loudly flabbergasted at this point.
"Yeah, I mean you saw her at the bar right?" Millie interjected. "Yah know when she quite loudly, viciously called her "ma", a selfish, lazy bitch whom she hated for abandoning her. How could you possibly think she'd want to live with her after all of that?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because she was drunk, and just saying whatever shit came to mind. Maybe because, her mom's loaded, fancy, and better off than some bum imp, who blows all his money on fucking horse dolls for babies? Maybe because at least she's better, than the guy who ruins everyone he comes in contact with, yah ever thought about that?" Blitzo snapped back, finally pushing himself off the chair as he marched towards them.
"Oh come on Blitz, you know that ain't really true," Millie tried to insist, as her husband attempted to argue.
"Yeah! I mean, sure Loona's often rude to you, as well as distant and sometimes violent. But, I'm sure that doesn't mean she'd never want to-"
"Satan damn it, Moxxie, stop trying to sugarcoat this bullshit!" snapped Blitzo, cutting him off mid-sentence, as he began to furiously rant. "You were there at the party yesterday! I know you heard everthing she said about me. How all I ever do, is treat her like a child? How I'm a trainwreck of a father, who doesn't know what he's doing? How she wished I had never adopted her? How no matter what I do, it'll never be enough? How, I'm-" He stopped himself, when noticed his eyes begin to well up. He fought back the tears with a pained sneer before continuing. "How, even though I raised her for 5 fucking years, I'll never be a dad to her? You really think after all that, she'd still want anything to do with me?"
Moxxie didn't say anything, after that. At this point he was desperate to think of anything to counter his boss' stubbornness. He turned to Millie for help, who softly sighed and spoke up. "Blitzo, please. Ah know you and Loona don't have the perfect father/daughter relationship, but that doesn't she don't care about you. Ah probably shouldn't be telling you this, but when Loona came in this morning, she said she wanted to apologize for yesterday-"
"Of fucking course, I know that Mills. Do I look that stupid to you?" Blitzo mentioned casually with a tired chuckle.
The imps looked at Blitzo in surprise and confusion, with this new revelation, Moxxie blurting out in shock: "What? Then, why are you so worried? You know that there's a chance for things to improve; that she does care about you more than her mother. So why throw that chance away?"
'Because Loona's better off with her mother, than she is with me. At least she won't drag her down and ruin her.' Blitzo thought to himself. He almost said it out loud, but the stupidest part of his brain kept him from that. Blitzo just sighed and turned from them. "It doesn't matter. I just can't, okay? Besides, this is probably best for everyone, so just drop it."
The imps looked at their boss dumbfounded, so unused to seeing him so vulnerable and so…defeated. Moxxie especially was taken aback by this, before attempting to press on. "No! No, I will not let it happen! We won't let that happen. Look, I understand, this is all much to take in, but if you don't do something soon, you might lose Loona! I don't want that to happen, neither of us do-"
Blitzo suddenly growled venomously at Moxxie; and not in his usually childish or overreacting manner either. But in a vicious, murderous snarl like that of an angry wolf: "Oh, don't you DARE, pretend like either of you gave a single FUCK about Loona!" The sudden harshness and cold tune of his voice, causing the imps to back up a few steps. "You don't think I don't know what you really think?" He pointed towards Millie with a glare. "How you're constantly acting like she's a pet or some stinking animal, rather than my daughter and the person she deserves to be treated as?" And turned to Moxxie. "How you're always belittling her as little more than a meth head, who isn't worth a damn, can't do a single thing right, secretly wishing that I would replace her already?"
The imps' eyes widened, taken aback by their boss reminding them of their past treatment of Loona. They weren't even given a moment to fully process it, as Blitzo continued furiously at them. "Don't think that I don't see the utter contempt you treat her with. The only reason I haven't fired the both of you or even done anything is that I know that if she wanted, my Loona could rip you both in half at any point." His tone lessened after that, but he never lost his angry glare as the imp continued. "And that despite it, you'd come to see past it all and look at her as more than just all of that. But you never did. So don't come to me with your bullshit advice or pretend either of you cared about her or what she means to me, just because suddenly I'm about to lose her. Just…" Blitzo stopped himself, fighting back a sob as he went back to this chair and more turned away from the two imps. "-just leave me alone."
Moxxie and Millie just stood there, unsure of what to do, looking very ashamed of their past actions. Moxxie opened his mouth and tried to say something…but his words died out; so he simply shook his head and walked out of the room with his wife, knowing that for the moment, there would be no reasoning with his boss. The two stepped outside, Moxxie silently looking at Blitzo with sympathy, before pulling out his phone and closing the door.
Alone again, Blitzo looked at the photo of him and Loona, and silently wept.
From the other side of the room, Marie could glance at the pair of imps as they solemnly left the office, the male one pulling out a phone and calling a number, before exiting the door. Once they were out of her sight, she paid them no longer any mind and looked back at her daughter. Her Diana, sleeping peacefully even with her messy appearance and their awful reunion.
The words she had told her still played in her mind; how she had been abused and mistreated just beacuse of what they believed her to be. Seeing what she had become, hearing what she had suffered through away from her, boiled her blood into a thick fog of fury. She had wanted to have gone straight to Grimwood's Home for the Lost and Damaged Youth, and burn it all to the ground. To impale the headmistress on a bloody pike, draw and quarter everyone who had aided her and scorch the place into ash, once the rest of the children were outside. A million vengeful fantasies danced around the marchoniess' head, regarding what to do.
Thankfully, the ride over had helped to clear her head and make Marie realize to put those on hold for the moment. The marchioness had already drawn enough attention to herself for one day. She couldn't risk any more. Especially when her daughter needed her, after being away from her for so long.
For over twenty-two years now. It felt so much longer.
Marie looked at her sleeping Diana and sighed. She wondered what her Hunter would think of what their daughter had become. If things would be easier, with him by her side.
"A drink, my lady? You look in need of something refreshing at the moment. As well as some good company," a gentle voice spoke up behind her. She turned to find Alphonse, her ever-faithful butler, holding out a bottle of bourbon along with a row of glasses on a tray.
The sight provided a welcomed distraction for the marchioness, as she smiled and accepted one of the glasses, holding it out as he began pouring. "As ever Alphonse your timing couldn't be more spot-on. My thanks."
The hellhounds chuckled softly in response, "Not at all, my lady. It is part of the job after all."
The Marchioness nodded fondly in appreciation as she drank from her glass, the amber liquid helping to ease her nerves, after a long, tense, exhasutive day. She finished her drink quickly and placed it down as Alphonse refilled. "I noticed the guards and many of my staff had long since left when we returned. I trust that Captain Halley is back at the manor with everyone?"
Alphonse nodded. "With the matter confirmed and the situation under control, Ms. Halley knew you would want the guards out before we attracted any more suspicion from the locals; much less the royals. Thankfully, while the media has tried to turn this situation into the latest gossip piece, there's reportedly been little attention from the Ars Goetia or Lucifer himself."
The marchioness sighed in relief, as she turned from her glass. "Good. Let's hope it stays that way. The last thing we want is for news of this to reach the wrong ears…" Marie frowned turning back toward her sleeping daughter. "I'll have to try and contact Halley before I return home with Diana. She must be going through so much herself, and I hardly managed to talk to her about any of it."
"What should we do with Rouge?" The hellhound asked curiously. "Despite what she did, she is also the reason you retunited with your daughter in the first place. I believe she is well deserving of some kind of reward. Perhaps a reinstatement into our household?"
Marie's frown deepened; she poured herself a large glass of bourbon, downing it all in a second before responding. "She's under Prince Stolas' employ now. I'd have to talk with him about it, before even entertaining the possibility. Though frankly, her discovery can serve as the debt paid for her mistake. That should be reward enough."
Alphonse looked a bit displeased by her answer. "I know it must be hard after all these years, but she's gone above and beyond to make up for it. I hope you can come to forgive-"
"NO!" Marchosias raised her voice to the butler; the first time she had done so in years. "There is no forgiving what she did."
"…of course, milady. I apologise, I forgot my place." Alphonse frowned disappointed at the marchioness' declaration. Marie waved it off and poured herself another drink. After a long pause, the butler spoke up again. "If I may be so bold my lady, I fear you might be making a grievous mistake." She turned to him confused by his statement, as the hellhound continued. "I would love nothing more than for you and your daughter to be reunited, but this? Keeping Diana, or Loona as they call her, to yourself, locked away in your home, away from her new friends and family, it's needlessly controlling."
"You make it sound like I'm keeping her prisoner," Marchosias scoffed. "I told them, they may visit and remain in contact. And once we've got everything cleared up with the rest of the Goetia and Lord Lucifer, Diana is free to visit them if she'd like. Provided she takes the proper procaustions. All that changes is that I'll have full custody, she'll leave this job and return to her home. Her real home."
"And, that she leave her adoptive father," Alphonse added grimly. "Don't you think, she'll be rather cross with you once she learns what you're forcing her into? I may not have been there in the pub, but I could still hear her screaming at you in the car. I doubt this will improve her opinion of you."
"She…she was drunk and confused and understandably frustrated," Marchosias reasoned to him and herself. "I don't blame her for being angry with me after all this time, but I'm sure we'll be able to talk things out once she's woken up."
"With respect, you'd be lucky if Diana wants to talk to you at all after she learns what you've got planned. Taking her away from her life, her loved ones, and everything she's built. Forcing her into a new one, with responsibilities and duties she's underprepared for and never even wanted," Alphonse argued back calmly. "Even putting aside no longer living with her father, she's not the Lady she was born as. Do you think Diana would want anything to do with being your heir?"
"It will never come to that; there hasn't been an attempt on an Ars Goetia for years," the marchioness insisted.
"That doesn't mean it can't happen. We never did learn who was responsible for the attempt on her life as a babe," The butler reminded Marie, striking a deep wound.
"That will first thing I'll see to, once she's back home. The second being seeing to her old orphanage…" said Marchosias with a cold snarl, not turning to face him. "And you know, I'm not doing this to have a bullshit precautionary heir. I want my daughter back, damn it! You know I'd never want her to take my place under any circumstances. If she's lucky she'll never even have to take my place. I'm fully willing to give up my title and status if it means her safety; otherwise, I'm sure you and Halley will be able to guide her through her new responsibilities. All that matters is that she's safe."
Her anger faded away after that, the marchioness finishing her drink before exhaling softly, a her frown turning melancholic as a thought came to mind. "Besides, what life would she have amongst them now? She's half Goetia. My blood runs through her veins and with it, comes immortality. If I let her stay, she'd have to see her adopted father, her coworkers, and her friends all age and die, while she remains eternally young. I wouldn't wish that fate on anyway. This… is kinder. At least this way, she may depart them while they're still young, rather than when they've become shells of what they once were."
Alphonse frown as well at that harsh truth, but shock his head and sternly countered. "Don't you think that should be up to her? They are her friends after all. Her family."
"AND SHE IS MY DAUGHTER! THE ONLY FAMILY I HAVE LEFT!" exclaimed Marie with a roar at her butler, eyes glowing like lightning and small flames spitting out of her mouth. She glared down at him with barely concealed rage, while he looked back. Marie stood there for a moment, a few tears threatening to fall, before her anger finally died down; she sat back down and turned towards the sleeping Loona, a look of sad desperation crawling through. "I have lost so many that I've loved…I cannot lose her again. I won't. N-not…not again."
Alphonse looked his lady in silence, a look of sympathy at her state; placing the bottle on the table as he left her be. Before he left the room, he turned to her one more time. "I know this is not what you want to hear, but while you may be Diana's mother, she is no longer the child you once knew. She's an adult now, her own person, with a new family and friends, fully capable of making her own decisions. If anyone should have a say in what happens to Diana or Loona, it should be her."
Marie didn't answer her butler; she kept her focus on her daughter, gently brushing her hair. The old hellhound sighed heavily and walked out of the room, leaving the pair alone.
Blitzo didn't move from his chair, even after he heard M&M returned for some clothing. He had spent the moments since they left, looking at the photo, waiting for the moment he would say his goodbye with Loona. It wouldn't be long now. If nothing else, he could at least see her once more, before she was taken from his life forever. Maybe they could part on better terms than the rest of his friends.
The imp was then pulled from his thoughts and sobbing, by the gentle sounds of footsteps approaching him. He didn't turn to the source, just letting out a small, quiet: "Get the fuck out Moxx. I told you, I wanna be alone."
"Yes, he did mention you might feel that way…"
Blitzo opened his eyes in surprise at the voice that greeted him. He turned to see Stolas, slowly walking through a portal behind him, the prince gently approaching the imp.
"S…Stolas? W-what are you doing here? What did-" Blitzo's frantic series of questions were brought to a halt as the prince placed his finger on his lips.
"Try to be still darling. I'd rather not draw too much attention to ourselves, with an Ars Goetia Marchioness in the next room," he carefully grabbed the imp's hand and began leading him through the portal. "Here, we can talk in my realm."
The imp stepped through the gateway, ending up in a vast and empty mass of space, far from the hearing distance of the office. The imp looked at the expanse in awe, having never seen anything so breathtaking and literally otherworldy like this before. At least, not since his mother took him and Barbie to that big extravagant horse show when he was five.
Stolas smiled as he closed the portal behind him: "I usually come here whenever I need a private space to think for myself. Often I'd take Octavia here when she was suffering from nightmares. I hoped it could do you some good." He sat down beside a large rock, motioning Blitzo to do the same. Slowly the imp accepted the seat, laughing bitterly as he did.
"So, I'm guessing this is Moxxie's last ditch effort to knock some sense into me huh? Couldn't do it himself, so he just sent you to do his dirty work for him, thinking you could get through to me," He sneered with sad contempt while Stolas just watched him.
The owl didn't deny it, simply saying: "I admit, your little coworker did give me a call to tell me of your current state, and your decision to allow Marchosias to claim your daughter," he then shook his head and slowly placed a hand on the imp's shoulder, looking at him with a small, comforting smile. "But truth be told, I was already planning to see you regardless. When we last spoke you seemed so hurt. I thought you'd need someone to talk to."
A tired, frustrated exhaled came from Blitzo in response. "There's nothing to say, alright?! My daughter's a Goetia, her mom's been alive this whole time and now she's taking Loona to live with her. Permanently. The End. That's all fucks!" the imp declared bitterly, brushing off the prince's hand as he turned away. Stolas looked at him quietly, thinking about what to say next; gently rubbing his lover's back as he did. It helped to calm Blitzo down a bit.
The owl didn't try to protest; from what Moxxie had told him on the phone, Blitzo seemed to be pretty adamant about his decision. Instead, the prince asked: "Does it hurt you? Finding out about Loona's true nature? Knowing all this time, she was an Ars Goetia rather than a hellhound?
That got Blitzo to look back at the prince, almost offended by the question. "No! No, fucking no, of course not! I couldn't give less of a shit whether or not she's a Goetia, a hellhound, or even some stinking human. She's still my Loona and I'll love her no matter what."
Stolas smirked proudly at his declaration. "Like any true father. I'm glad to see even now your love rings true." He continued, hoping this could help his lover. "Tell me, Loona moving with her mother, do you really think it'll make her happy?"
"Of course, I mean why wouldn't it?" Blitzo answered without thinking about it. "She'll no longer have to work her annoying desk job, she'll have servants and maids attending to her every whim, more money to burn than she'd know what to do with, probably a pool too, her own private bathroom, a bedroom the size of my apartment and…and her real mother." The imp finished the last part with a sad choke. "And not some asshole imp who adopted her when she was practically an adult. What more could she want?"
Stolas immediately countered: "But she'd be separated from you. From her home. You really don't think she wouldn't miss you even with all her boundless luxuries?" Blitzo didn't respond at first, allowing the prince to continue with a more personal question. "And what about you? Is the knowledge that she'd had a rich, enough that you'd let Marchosias keep her. Would this make you happy? "
"Well, yeah, I mean-" Blitzo tried to lie, but as he looked into Stolas' eyes, the owl begging for his honestly, the imp cracked as painfully answered: "No. No. I-I-I know Loona would probably have a good life, fuck, one a billion times better than anything I could give her but…she's still my daughter! The one I've had for over five years now. I know it's selfish but-"
"It's not selfish Blitz," Stolas interrupted, looking at his lover. "You're her father; you have every right to miss her and feel awful about this situation, regardless of how it affects her. Don't let Marchosias take that from you as well."
"It's just…I can't lose her Stolas. She's all I have left," Blitzo said, his voice so exhausted and worn, from the pain he had endured all day.
"But, you're not going to do anything about it, despite how much it hurts you," Stolas said.
That got a rise out of the imp, as he leapt from the rock and angrily snapped at the prince. "Well, what the fuck am I supposed to do huh?! What's the big solution here Stolas?!" He asked his lover bitterly, continuing on before the owl could say anything else. "I can't exactly fight her on this, she's a FUCKING Goetia dumbass! I already tried that with M&M, and we barely got a papercut on that psycho lady!"
"You don't have to have to fight her Blitz, just try to talk to her. Make her see how much Loona means to you! I doubt she'll be able to ignore you, after that," Stolas countered, undeterred even with the imp's retort.
But Blitzo's stubbornness continued. "Yeah well, even so Loona hates me. You remember last night, just as well as the rest of us. No matter what I'll never be her real dad. Not the same way, her actual birthmother is," Blitzo insisted resentfully.
"And yet, she still chose to live with you for five years now." Stolas countered back almost immediately. "She's been an adult for most of your time together, I imagine if she really hated you, she would've left you to rot years ago. Has she?"
Blitzo's answer came almost as fast. "Yeah, once. Happened about a year after I adopted her. After she finally had enough of me, she packed up all her shit, stole my money, and left," he said, the memory still fresh in his mind even after so long.
"I see." The prince was a little surprised, by the fact, before asking again. "And pray, what happened to make her stay? Did she come back?"
The imp paused for a moment, before sitting back down and answering quietly, the memory causing him both grief and fondness. "No, I had to get her myself. Loona was still young and made the mistake of going out during Extermination Night. Nearly lost my tail and life getting her to safety, like the idiot I was."
"But, she never tried to escape afterward yes?" asked the owl prince. "Not once more in four years, despite having many opportunities and supposedly no reason to stay. What changed her mind?"
Blitzo shrugged, he himself unsure. "Who knows? Not like I changed much afterward. I mean, I wanna believe Loona grew to love me from my heroic rescue, but let's face it, probably guilt. That and the cheap bed and breakfast helped too."
Stolas frowned at the imp's willingness to easily believe the worst possibilities, but didn't argue for now. "Well, either way, she must care about you a great deal, to still live under your care, if she truly felt so poorly about it; even now with her new friends and chances of getting a place of her own. Don't you think Loona would've left long ago if she only cared about the conveniences of living with you? Perhaps she cares about you more than you think." Blitzo didn't respond, though a small twitch from the imp, seemed to indicate he was listening. "And why did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Go back and rescue her?" asked Stolas sincerely. "After all, she had stolen from you and shown nothing but contempt and anger towards you despite your best intentions. So why try to save Loona after all that, knowing it was unlikely to change anything?"
Blitzo thought about it for a bit, remembering back to that day and why he had done it. "Because…that's what dads are supposed to do right? You know, the good ones anyway? They protect their kids, love them, do whatever they can to make sure they're loved and safe, even if they don't always appreciate them."
"I couldn't have said it better myself," Stolas said proudly, as he pressed on. "Don't you see? This is why you shouldn't give up. Despite all your faults and doubts, you still try your best to be the father Loona needs, no matter what. That matters more than you think."
"But, I'm not her REAL father damn it!" countered Blitzo with a dejected snap. "And I'm sure as shit, not as rich or well connected as her mom. Shit, everything I have left is because of me stealing from everyone else around me. The only reason I even have a company is because of you! Loona deserves better than that! She deserves to live in a big, comfy house, with a pool-size bath, a king's breakfast, and a good, easy life. Not some miserable fucking existence, in a crumbling apartment, an annoying job, and some pain-in-the-ass imps, constantly having to worry if she'll be penniless by the end of the month." The imp hugged himself as he finished, looking to the ground forlorn. "This…this is for the best. I hate it, but it what she needs."
"Have you asked your daughter what she wants? Have you ever considered if she actually wants to live with her mother?" asked Stolas in response.
Blitzo grunted annoyed by the prince's consistance. "I told you, she doesn't want anything to do with me. I mean you heard her yesterday, right? She said all that awful shit and she's right!"
"Well, with all due respect, she's not perfect either." Responded Stolas bluntly. "Sure you have faults, but from what I've heard from your coworkers and even most of my staff, Loona can be a tad lazy and often quite…cold at times. Even towards those with the best intentions. She once bit off part of Pringles' pants leg, when he accidentally bumped into her,"
Blitzo immediately turned towards the prince, with a stern glare. "Hey, my Loona is fucking perfect as she is. It's the rest of Hell that is wrong."
"If you say so," The prince said back with an amused, playful chuckle, before going on. "My point still stands. You have your faults, so do I, so does she, and so does everyone for that matter. That doesn't mean you should give up. Even if there's a small possibility that she'll pick you, even if only for a day, you have to take it while you still have the chance."
The imp considered his words for a bit, and it almost looked like he had been convinced, before he shook his head and said. "I'm sorry Stolas, but I can't. There's nothing I can do."
"Nothing you can't do? Or will do?"
Blitzo didn't respond, but the twitch of his eye and the flinch at the question indicated that it had sprung a cord with the imp. Clenching his hands, he looked towards the prince.
"You know why I adopted Loona in the first place?" He suddenly asked. "Why I even wanted a hellhound? I just wanted someone to love me. That was it." The bluntness of the statement catching him offguard, which Blitzo couldn't help but find some satisfaction on as he continued. "I had just broken up with Verosika. I was so tired of being lonely and unloved, and I just wanted someone, anyone to give a shit about me for a while. And then it hit me! Get a kid! After all, they'll be pretty much forced to love you, since you gave them a home and food, right? I knew hellhound adoption laws were fucked up beyond repair, so they were the perfect option. So there I went, off to get a young, sweet hellpup, because I'm too much of a mess to fix myself. And then I ended up with a young adult because I couldn't help but take pity on her. Pretty pathetic huh?" He finished that story with a bitter chuckle at himself.
The prince was taken aback by the reveal, allowing the imp to continue. He looked at him emtionlessly. "You look me in the eye, and tell me I deserve to be a dad after that. I mean, come on. Loona's real Goetian mother showing up the day after one of our biggest fight? Even you with all your fancy prophecies have got to admit, that's was way too much of a coincidence to be believable. Loona and I? We were always doomed to fail. Guess, that's just me for yah. The biggest problem to my own fucking miserable existence."
Finished with his rant, Blitzo turned away from the prince and looked out in space, content to spend this brief respite from the madness to watch the stars sail across the skies amidst a mass of purple and black. Besides him Stolas sat in silence, watching his paramour in turmoil, still unwilling to change his mind. It was a pain that, while not on the same level, he recognised all too well. He thought over his next words carefully and then spoke:
"Blitz, I've been a father for close to 18 years now. And in that time, I have made my share of mistakes; many of them especially in recent years. There have been so many times I've doubted myself, that I believed that Octavia would've been better off with another family, away from my hardships and struggles. Sometimes, I wonder if I even deserve to be a father. Afterall, the only reason I even agreed to having children, was to sire a precautionary heir, as expected of me by the Ars Goetia. I remember when she was still an egg, I first thought of her as nothing but an unwanted burden." Blitzo was caught offguard by what the prince admitted. He knew all too well, how much the prince adored his daughter. Even moreso than him. So to hear that confession, even now as Stolas said it with such regret, came as a shock. He looked at the prince, now sporting a guilty look as he continued with a now determined expression.
"And yet, now that Stella is trying to take Octavia from me, I'm not going to let those doubts drag me down. Because despite all my countless doubts and faults, I love Octavia more than anything in the world. And while I've made mistakes, I still need her in my life; so I will be better. Be the father she deserves." He turned towards Blitzo, now fully listening to Stolas' words as he continued.
"And I know, you want that too, even now. Even though, you did not adopt Loona for the right reasons. Even if you've made more failings than you believe you should, that has never stopped you. You've always been there to give her the love and family she needed. That alone, makes you worthy of being her father. So do it. Don't give up on Loona yet. Go to Marchosias, renegotiate the deal, and make sure this won't be the last time you see her! Be the father she needs. Blitz, I recognize the love you have for her. And from what Octavia has told me, Loona shares it with you. She may hide it behind coldness and apathy, but it's there. I won't lie and say it will be easy; it may be hard to reach a satisfying compromise with Marchosias, you'll need to work on your failings and there's much improvement to be made on both parts, but that doesn't mean you should give up. No matter what, Loona is just as much your daughter as she is Marchosias'. Don't forget that."
Blitzo didn't know what to say. It would be so easy to write it off, to fight back like had with M&M, but the way Stolas spoke, what he had said with such sincerity, encouragment and passion, it was clear the prince had meant about every word he had said.
And the more Blitzo reflected on it, he realised…Stolas was right. He shouldn't give up. He shouldn't just take it. He couldn't lose Loona now. Even if she might still hate him. Even if she would never see him as her father, she would always be his daughter. The child he saw alone, crying and left to rot by the world around her, whom he had taken in when no one would. Whom he had loved, cherished, cared for, and sacrificed for five whole years, without ever asking for anything in return…other than the small chance for her to call him dad someday. It may only have been on paper, but Loona was his daughter! His daughter who he loved more than anything in Hell.
And now, Hell wanted to take that from him too? This cunt, who thought she was so high and fucking mighty compared to the rest of them, with an attitude like a whiny schoolgirl and a victim complex that would make JK Rowling roll her eyes, was going to try to take away Loona? After being gone from her life for 22 years, doing nothing to try and find her, now that marchioness bitch thought she was solely entitled to Loona because she gave birth to her? Thought she could just show up and steal his daughter?!
"Oh, the FUCK she will!"
Marie walked out of Loona's room, for the first time since her return to the office. Alphonse had excused himself to wait by the car, for when it was time to leave. The pair of imps who had gone to fetch Diana some clothes, had convinced the Marchioness to leave her daughter be; to get herself some air until she woke up. Despite her reluctance to leave, Marie had to admit, it felt good to get a moment of peace to herself.
Alas, that moment was shattered when the main office door was kicked off its hinges, the Goetia effortlessly dodging it as it came flying at her, the noise causing Moxxie and Millie to quickly investigate the noise, the imp behind the incident glaring at her with newfound vigor and blood-boiling fury.
"Hey, you royal fat-CUNT! I wanna talk to you, yah craven, self-centered leech!"
Everyone turned to the source of the noise to find Blitzo, standing there sending a murderous, bloody scowl right toward Marchosias. It was a far cry from the broken down, defeated, and miserable image he had shown previously, and one that made coworkers beam up in relief.
"Is there something, the matter, Blitz?" Marie asked a bit annoyed at his shouting.
Blitzo just continued to scowl, as he marched right up to her with a furious smile. "Oh you're fucking damn right there is lady! But first of all…" Blitzo suddenly ran towards Moxxie, throwing a rough fist right into his coworker's groin. The smaller imp wheezed in pain, crumbling to his knees and onto the ground, as he lay there moaning and crying in agony. His boss just glared at him. "THAT'S for going through my daughter's underwear, you perverted, sick DEVIANT! You're lucky I'm not firing you for that, you useless freak!"
Moxxie just gasped as he tried to climb back up, with help from Millie. "G-good to have you back, sir."
With that taken care of, Blitzo turned back towards the Marchioness, reassuming his march towards her. "Now let me tell you something, you clingy, selfish whore! If you think for a second that you can just show up out of the blue, like a fucking angel from up above, and take my Loona away from me, then you're dumber than the coke-sniffing Baphomet's down in Sloth."
Marie was not amused by the imp's words or temperament, but kept her ire in check as she attempted to say: "Blitz, try to un-"
"Ahahaha! No! None of that bitch! I get to have my say here!" Blitzo interrupted, waving his finger at her face, before she could continue. "And since you clearly love being as blunt as a fucking hammer all the time, it's only fair I give you a taste of your own medicine. I couldn't give less of a shit, that you lost Loona for years. If you're going to act like a bitch, you don't get to have her!"
That managed to get through to the marchioness, as she snarled at the imp for his brazen words. "Now look, I know you're close to my Diana-"
"Yeah, you see that? That's exactly the shit I'm talking about bitch!" interrupted Blitzo again, as he held up his middle finger to her face. "ONE, she ain't just YOURS, any more than Moxxie's pants are in his own relationship." He ignored her growing fury and his coworkers complaint as he raised more fingers. "Two, her name is Loona! LOONA! And if you think, I'm gonna call her anythign different because it's inconvenient for you then it's pretty obvious, you weren't the brightest halo in the fallen angel choir. And three, you've had your daughter for one year of her life, and already you think that makes you qualified to permanently keep her all for yourself."
Despite her growing anger, the last part sparked a bit of confusion in Marchoisas. "What? I told you all in the car, you might visit-"
Again, Blitzo interrupted. "You know how long I've had Loona? Five years! Five years of fuck ups, fightings and screaming matches. And five years of making sure that every day, she lived under my roof, she had everything she could want to be happy and healthy, to try to make up for a lifetime of pain and misery she experienced in the sixteen years she lived in those pieces of shit oprhanages and foster homes. That alone, makes me a hundred times more qualified to keep her than you ever will! You may have given birth to her, but Loona's MY daughter, and I LOVE her!"
"Yes, I noticed, you made that quite abundantly clear all throughout this long, unholy day," Marchosias muttered annoyingly, her temper growing hotter with every interruption. "But, as I mentioned before, I don't intend to keep her from you. You and your friends are perfectly allowed to send each other messages and visit on occasion. She-"
A bitter laugh cut her off again, as Blito glared defiantly. "Oh, is that so? You'll let us to visit her, huh? You're gonna give us the go-ahead, whenever YOU feel like it? Well, ain't that just fucking generous of you!" The imp continued uncaring about Marie's current mood or words. "Yeah, guess what blue-fuck, I'm her fucking dad! I don't need your uppity-royal permission to my daughter whenever I want. Nor do I WANT it! In fact, we don't even need your stupid money!" declared the imp, as he pulled out the two checks the marchioness had written for him, holding them in front of her face.
Millie looked proud of her boss for what he was about to do; while Moxxie turned pale and nervously chuckled. "O-okay, sir. Maybe we shouldn't take it that far just yet-"
"Thought you could just whip out your gold dick in my face and expect me to act all impressed? You thought you can just buy her off of me, with your bottomless pit of money?" Ignoring his coworkers' pleas and reminders that the money had been for the damage to the office and a reward for taking care of Loona, Blitzo pulled at the checks and beginning to tear. "Well, guess fucking what bitch! You can shove every coin of these checks up your craven ass for all I care! Loona's not going anywhere, except her room at our apartment with me!"
He ripped the papers into shreds right in front of the baffled and furious Marie, while in the background Millie was cheering. And Moxxie was shrieking in horror, desperately trying to collect as many pieces of the checks as he could and salvage the money before it was too late.
By now, Marchosias had had enough of the imp's childish attitude and open disrespect. She hadn't felt so angry in a while. "Mr. Blitz, you will cease this foolishness this moment or-"
"Or what, you're gonna beat me up some more in front of your daughter?" asked Blitzo mockingly. "Yeah, I'm sure that'll get your daughter to really fall in love with you. Beating her adoptive father of five years into a bloody pulp twice in one day? I bet it'll make a great addition to the long list of reasons, you're a fuck up of a parent. Along with how you lost her in the first place."
Marie fliched and barred her cannines at that disgraceful remark, the fur and wings flaring up, her eyes glowing intensely as the room turned cold. For a moment the imps grew nervous at what she might do next. "How…how dare you!" She exclaimed loudly, flames escaping her mouth as she scowled down at Blitzo, ready to rip his head off right then and there. "I would've given up EVERYTHING to save my Diana that night. I lost my husband and almost my life!"
Blitzo scowled back equally as defiantly, uncaring that death was staring him down as she snarled. "Big fucking whop! You know how often, my coworkers and I have come close to death in this business, making sure Loona's safe? You're not special. Just another self-centric, stuck-up, royal asshole."
"And you're nothing more than a foul-mouthed, petty, idiotic manchild! If your parenting is anything like your temper, you have no right to my daughter."
"Ohohoho, and you're the picture of model parenting? I've seen faerie tale stepmoms with more compassion in their pussies than you!"
"You insufferable bastard!"
"Holier-than-thou SLUT!"
SLAM!
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Before the two parents could come to blows, a voice roared out from the lounge, as the door was kicked down as well, much to the shock of everyone in the room. "It's bad enough, I have to deal with the motherass of all hangovers, I also gotta listen to you two assholes throwing a shit fit in the next room?! Both of you just take a cock and shove it up your asses!"
Everyone turned to see Loona, awake, growling, and thankfully in the new clothes, infuriatingly glaring at both of her parents with murder in her eyes. Neither said a word for a second before Blitzo lit up upon seeing her. "Loona! Oh, thank Satan you're alright! I was so worried-" He stopped and backed away awkwardly, when he noticed her daughter turning her glare exclusively on him. "-and, I'm gonna stop talking now and back away. Sorry, I got a little overexcited there. Won't happen again. Just glad to see you're awake sweetie."
Loona turned to glare at Marchosias, who had recovered from her initial shock. The Ars Goetia approached her. "D…Diana, can we talk-"
Loona held up her hand, her mother stopping in her tracks, and grumbled. "Not until I have some painkillers and coffee in my mouth."
Moxxie, who had been standing there awkwardly throughout it all, nervously spoke up: "A-a-actually, coffee is just going to make the hangover worse-"
"COFFEE!"
Moxxie squeaked at the scream and quickly rushed into the break room. A few seconds later, he returned, some meds in his pocket, pouring some coffee into a large cup. He handed the cup to Loona…who slapped it out of his hands, shattering it against the floor, and grabbed the whole pot. Everyone watched silently, as the former hellhound chugged the entire contents of the coffeemaker. Once it was empty, she slammed the pot onto the table, her hair flaring up at the new boost of energy. Then she grabbed the painkillers, chombing them into bits and swallowed.
Then, she sent a deadly glare right at the marchioness.
"Okay. Let's you and I talk."
I originally had a different version of the adoption scene written out. And then Seeing Stars came out…and I knew I could never top that so why bother?
So yeah, quite the emotional one this time around. I hope you all, enjoyed how I handled both POVs, both Marie and Blitzo. Obviously the latter got more focus, but I wanted to try and explore more of the reasons for why Marie's insisted on keeping Loona. And of course, explore Blitzo some more. Not just his reasons for adopting Loona, but his self-loathing and tendancy to push others away, when things start falling apart. He's a fun character to write for, especially when explore his more complex side, so I look forward to getting more into that, along with him playing tug-of-war with Marie over Loona.
I debated wether or not to have M&M or Stolas convince Blitzo to keep fighting for Loona. I chose the latter, as I felt he would relate to Blitzo more being a flawed father himself, but I am a bit disappointed at having Moxxie and Millie, too great characters being sidelined again. I hope to give them more stuff to do later on.
For now though, I hope you all enjoy.