I
UNDERDOG
"ATONE FOR YOUR SINS"
DISCLAIMER
NOTE: I am aware that the entire series is not finished yet. With the potential number of changes in the canon, this story will be an AU (Alternate Universe) that combines both elements and characters from Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss, while adopting some actual new elements from the canon. This story is also not too "Lore-Friendly" (aka not being too accurate to the world of the Canon.) So, be warned if some inaccurate information in this AU may make you cringe.
Both shows along with their characters DOESN'T belong to me. The series respectively belongs to SpindleHorse and its creator, Vivienne Medrano (aka "VivziePop".) The plot in this Fan Fiction and some characters you'll know who are OCs (Original Characters) are original from me. If any ideas or characters sound similar to another story written by somebody else, it is purely coincidental. I refuse to blatantly steal somebody's idea and claim that it was mine. If you have any concerns, you are always welcome to message me.
If there is anybody outside of this site posting this Fan Fiction without giving proper credit or impersonating me, please let me know.
Chapter 9: Meeting Preparations.
Remember to play nice~!
-(Morningstar Family Palace; Pentagram City, Pride Ring)-
(Morgan's POV)
"COLONEL ON DECK!"
And that was my que. I walked up the steps towards the entrance for the palace to the courtyard and turned my attention to my front, where around one hundred; maybe even more, military personnel stood. Royal Guards, WarDogs, and Regular Soldiers and Marines from Hell's Royal Armed Forces. My position may be a WarDog Advisor for the Royal Guards, but I was also briefed to lead as acting commander for Hell's military personnel in the Morningstar Palace from preparations, to the end of the meeting itself. All the men and women in front of me will be under my command for the next few days. Screwing things up is NOT an option.
"Good morning, warriors!" I shouted to the crowd.
"Good morning, sir!" They all shouted back.
"I see SOME OF YOU bastards are still asleep! GOOD MORNING, WARRIORS!"
"GOOD MORNING, SIR!" The crowd shouted back much more loudly and energetically.
"Now THAT is what I'm talking about!" I said with a small smile. "For those who have been living under Asmodeus' cock, I am Colonel Adler. I will be your commanding officer starting today until the meeting has been concluded. As you know, each and every one of you folks has been handpicked by your commanders to be involved in this important yearly task."
"Yes, sir!"
"That's all well and good. But as a WarDog Officer, I'm not convinced yet. I expect you warriors to SHOW ME you can execute the job perfectly. Now, as always, I expect you crazy ferocious bastards to be on your best behavior. We have both angels from Heaven and humans from Earth coming down on our land. All sides know this rule and WILL follow them: Discrimination will NOT be tolerated. If any of you fuck this up, I get fucked in the ass. The last thing I want to do is love that anal shit."
The crowd chuckled from that small joke, which was intentional as I just wanted to ease the tension a bit.
"Now, with Martial Law still being carried out in all of Hell ever since that day of the ambush, listen to me and engrave this into your little head. And that is to be cautious of any suspicious activity. One tiny mistake can have a huge consequence that can endanger you, your brothers and sisters in arms, and even your King and his family. We will NOT tolerate anybody that will endanger them. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir!"
"After this, you will all be ready for a long two days for preparations until the meeting on the third day. Do your jobs, eat properly, get enough rest, and this will all be done smoothly with an even bigger paycheck awaiting all of you. Understood?"
"Understood, sir!"
"I may not have my original ears anymore. But I still have these, and I can't hear any of you!" I said while pointing at my dog ears on my head. "UNDERSTOOD?!"
"UNDERSTOOD, SIR!"
"Looking good, warriors! Dismissed!" I saluted to all of them before they saluted back to me in sync.
With my briefing speech over, I walked down the steps as the rest of them began to scatter and return to their duties or assisting with the preparations. Charlie was seated near the flower beds with Octavia, who was closely paying attention to a portable game console while vigorously playing. As soon as she saw me walking towards both of them, she paused it and dematerialized it from her hands as if she put it back in her magical storage compartment.
"Wow." Charlie chuckled. "You were NOT lying about giving powerful speeches before."
"Did you have to talk so…vulgar…?" Octavia asked while awkwardly looking away.
"It keeps things interesting instead of boring. Plus, that's how we talk in the US Marine Corps." I said with a small grin.
"I'll never understand American culture…" She sighed.
With the courtyard now clearing of mostly everyone, the three of us decided to just head inside the palace to grab a drink or a bite to eat. Inside the dining room, army cooks and palace chefs were already getting to work on feeding all personnel breakfast. The smell of coffee was the first thing we caught as the corner table had a variety of them with tea on the other table next to it.
Charlie was the first one to walk there before me and Octavia followed. She saw an Exorcist and Hell Marine finish up with their cups and allowed her to have her turn, walking towards the main entrées table. "It's good to see both sides working together like this."
"After the extermination a few weeks ago? It's pretty awkward…" Octavia commented while taking a seat on the bench nearby, focusing on her console.
"The only reason all of us need to play nice is because it's mandatory to keep things flowing smoothly without any drama. More of that means slow progress and we're all going to start not trusting each other." I told her.
"You think everyone strictly abides to that rule?"
"Doubt it. Humans, Demons, and Angels still have their differences and vendettas against each other. During the meetings from the preparations to the end, we may look like we don't mind each other. But some deep down probably do mind it. Probably even talk ill to each other behind their backs. Especially against demons, unfortunately."
Charlie frowned. "So, this is the closest I'll get to seeing all three of us getting along?"
"Sorry. Life….well, even in the afterlife isn't always that simple." I sighed.
"Trust me. I know. Hence why I have some hobbies to keep me happy." Octavia shrugged her shoulders while smiling. But something tells me that smile was fake as she was hiding how hurt she was from being reminded of everything going on in her life.
Not wanting to make Octavia's mood go down, Charlie changed the subject and peeked over at her game console. "By the way, whatcha playing there?" She asked.
"Just a flight simulator game. Well, wouldn't really call it a 100% accurate one. But it teaches you a thing or two." Octavia replied while vigorously moving her thumbs around the sticks and buttons.
"Didn't think you would be into those kinds of games." I commented.
"This may sound pretty predictable coming from an avian demon. But…I've always loved the open skies and this game shows me why I like it."
"An astrology fan and a lover of the skies. Suits you." Charlie smiled while patting her head.
I nodded in agreement as I took three cups from the stack. "Coffee?" I asked Octavia.
"Tea."
"Typical." I joked.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, nothing." I brushed the joke off, assuming she doesn't know what a British accent is due to being a Hellborn. I just went over to her with the cup of hot water and placed the black tea bag inside with an unopened pack of sugar. "You holding up okay though?"
"I'll be fine." Octavia nodded and added the pack of sugar before taking the tea, using the bag to mix it. "Charlie already talked to me about how things will go. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is speaking in front of everybody. Usually, my dad would handle that."
Charlie took the cup of coffee I made for her and looked at Octavia. "Your dad is coming too, right?"
"He is. It's just he wanted me to give it a try to speak up." She sighed and put her gaming console away to take a break.
"Well," Charlie pointed her thumb at me and winked, "if you need any help, you're with two demons who have experience to talking in front of hundreds of others."
"Thanks. I guess…" She sheepishly looked away with a small smile.
As soon as I made my own cup of coffee, we made our way through the entrance door to walk outside in the front porch. The entire front of the property was under tight security. While the Royal Guards patrolled the inside of the Morningstar Palace, outside was completely protected by Hell's military, some Exorcists, and a handful of American DSS (Diplomatic Security Service) working with the US Ambassador of Hell.
Octavia whistled. "This place is a fortress…"
"Wait till the day of the meeting. Vehicles, tanks, helicopters on patrol, and a UAV overflight." I chuckled as if this was just the beginning.
"That's quite excessive than I thought…" Charlie said while in disbelief.
"Sometimes, you NEED to be careful. You'll never know whe-"
I paused midsentence as I noticed a faint sound coming from the front of the palace. It sounded distant for a few seconds before it began to draw closer. Looking around, the security personnel around the compound heard the same thing. This suddenly made all of us in high alert as the sound showed no signs of stopping and getting louder. Then, our fears were confirmed when we heard this on the radio.
"Two unknown vehicles approaching from the front of the palace! Any units in that area, defensive positions!"
My first instinct was to step in front of Charlie and Octavia before directing them to take cover behind the concrete fence. "Ladies. Behind cover. Now!"
Both princesses didn't hesitate to run for cover as the rest of the WarDogs, Exorcists, and DSS Agents went into defensive positions with a good chunk of three each ran towards where I was.
Lifting up my M4 Carbine I grabbed from inside the palace armory, I switched off the safety before the first car was visually down the path. Then, the second one came up from behind it. It was until then when they were a quarter way down the road that both vehicles began to fire…at each other…? Doesn't matter. Surveillance confirmed they were both unknown and considered hostile the moment they crossed the restricted line.
"CONTACT FRONT! OPEN FIRE!" I commanded all service members around me as I was the first to fire.
Everyone began sending a hailstorm of bullets, and some blessed arrows from the few Exorcists that didn't have Angelic Rifles, hitting vital spots. The windshield for the driver and passengers, and the front hood to disable the engine block. It only took six seconds, which felt longer, before both vehicles stopped and fell silent halfway down the path.
"CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE!" I shouted.
Relaying out that order immediately made everything eerily quiet. I scanned the vehicles with the others from the same spot to verify for any movement. Seconds passed before I began step forward while my rifle was still pointing directly at the first vehicle.
"Colonel?! What are you doing?!" Charlie whispered.
I ignored her and looked over at the front guards that stood next to me. Two WarDogs, two Exorcist, and two DSS agents. I pointed my finger at all of them, then lifted it up to my side to wave them over to follow me. All of them nodded as the two WarDogs approached next to me, the DSS agents stood behind us, and the two Exorcists taking flight to gain a higher advantage while getting a better view. All seven of us began to approach the first vehicle. The scariest part is when one of the passengers is still alive and dangerous. But the worst-case scenario is a car bomb. I've had my fill of this fear since Afghanistan.
The Exorcists above kept their rifles aimed at the windshield, but then gave me an "OK" hand signal as a sign that the occupants were dead. While the DSS guys were aiming at the second vehicle to watch our backs, one of the WarDogs opened the front door and allowed me to examine the driver clearly. With the amount of blood coming out of him, the driver was definitely dead. For the other occupants, being checked by the second WarDog, it was the same result. But there were clearly weapons inside. All of which were clearly black market sold and poor in quality. Other than that, it was clear as both me and the WarDog gave each other a nod that it was green.
For the second vehicle, one of the Exorcists above looked at me and made an "X" in front of his face. A sign saying he was unable to identify anything, which I understood why since the windows were tinted this time. Not taking any chances of putting my men in danger like last time during…that day…I took point and sternly showed my palm to both the WarDogs, DSS Agents, and Exorcists as a sign to stand back. Much to Charlie's disapproval as I could tell with the look on her face in the distance. But they understood and took my orders.
Reaching it, I peeked through the small hole caused by gunfire to see it was only the driver and another passenger in the front, both dead. In the back, my heart dropped to my stomach. I saw a timer.
0:07
0:06
0:05
"SHIT! VBIED (Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device)! GET BACK!" I shouted to my men as they immediately pulled back to a safer distance.
A safer distance than me, that is.
I did gain some good distance away from the car bomb. But not enough to avoid the blast force and some shrapnel, sending me to the ground, landing on my back. The shockwave was enough to knock the air out of me and blackout for one second. I gasped and inhaled some of the dust and coughed violently before I caught my breath to lean over to my side. Then, one drop of blood hit the ground to show I was injured.
"COLONEL!"
That was the only faint sound I heard as my ears were still ringing. Suddenly, I felt two people grab both of my wrists and began to drag me away from the blast zone. It was one of the WarDogs and DSS agents that went with me. One of the Exorcists that came along was conveniently a medic, immediately patching up my injury. A laceration on my upper forehead.
"Warlock 2-0. Bomb detonation in the front of the palace. Requesting a disarmament squad and fire response team. How copy?" A Hell soldier radio operator called from behind the entire line.
"Highlander copies. Emergency team dispatched. Out."
The Exorcist treating me looked over at the five men that accompanied me. "Secure the blast zone for the emergency teams. I got him." He told them as they did just that, spraying some disinfectant after making sure there were no other pieces left on my wound.
Seeing an Exorcist patching up a WarDog was quite the unusual sight for others…
"Are you okay?!" Charlie called as she and Octavia took the risk to run over to me. But with everything back under control, the guards allowed them to leave cover.
"I'm good. Taste a lot of dirt though…" I joked and looked up at the Exorcist helping me. "How bad is it?"
"On a scale of 1 to 10? I'd say an 8."
"Fuuuuuuuck. Another potential scar…" I groaned.
"That car literally exploded near you and THAT is what you're worried about?!" Octavia asked in disbelief.
"Colonel, you can't always be putting yourself in that sort of danger and getting hurt all the time." Charlie frowned, concerned.
I just gave a warm smile to show I was really okay. "I'm in the military. We're supposed to get hurt."
"To be fair, he isn't wrong." The Exorcist soldier chuckled. "I've had my fair of that when I was in the Royal Italian Army."
Charlie looked over at him in surprise. "Italian? Earthly angel, are you?"
"Yup. Been serving the Kingdom of Heaven for a good one hundred fifteen years now." The Exorcist nodded. "You might think it's odd that I'm talking to you guys after the most recent extermination event. But don't take it personal. Orders are orders. For most, they definitely do it proudly. Take Lieutenant Commander Lute, for example."
Before they could continue their conversation, the radio of the Exorcist treating me called. "Head Paladin Nizzola? You there?"
"Nizzola here. Go ahead, Commander." He answered quickly while finishing up with the bandage on my head.
"Everything okay outside? Lute won't stop getting on my dick about what's going on while talking to Lilith."
"Affirmative. Everything is under control. Just patching up one wounded."
"Just one? Who is it?"
"Colonel Adler. WarDogs."
The sound of a disgusted groan was heard. "You can't be serious. Why are you even helping the demons?"
"You know the rules, sir. Or should I contact Lute to remind you again?" Nizzola asked before tying the last knot on my bandage wrap.
"Alright, alright. No need to play it dirty. Sheesh!" He sighed. "Is Adler still with you?"
"Just finished patching him up."
"Put him on the line."
Nizzola took the radio out of his armored harness and gave it to me. "Commander Adam would like a word with you. Careful. He's a pain in the ass." He whispered the last part.
Charlie nodded and rolled her eyes. "Indeed. Hopefully it's a short call."
Heeding both Charlie and Nizzola's warnings, I pressed the button and began to speak, "Colonel Adler speaking."
"Colonel. Heard about what happened. You good to go?" Adam asked.
"I am. Nothing major."
"Well, that's unfortunate." Adam mumbled. "Anyway, Lilith is in the briefing room and would like a word with you."
Charlie perked up a bit as she was a bit excited to finally see her mother again, if she could.
"Just me?" I asked.
"Well, if you have polka dots with you, then go ahead. The little birdy can go with you too, since I heard you'll be watching over them for today."
"Very well. Also, I advise you to start addressing them properly. If you don't want to be scolded by Sera and Emily along with your Seraph Generals." I stated my disapproval of the nicknames he gave to the two of them.
"Fine, whatever. Bring along Princess Charlie and Octavia, if you want."
"That's much better. I'll make my way there."
That was the end of our chatter as I gave the radio back to Nizzola, who was chuckling a bit about how it went down. "Better not keep her waiting. Take care."
"You too, Head Paladin." I replied and stretched one last time before walking up the stairs with Octavia and Charlie following.
"Nizzola seemed…pretty laid back towards you." Octavia commented.
"He might me. But some of the other Exorcists probably still hate us deep down. Especially Lute." I shrugged.
Looking back at the blast zone, I could already see the bomb squad and fire response teams arriving while under protection from the WarDogs, Exorcists, and DSS.
"Don't you think it's kind of dangerous to be holding a meeting down here now?" Octavia asked while looking back too, then at Charlie. "Martial law and now this? Doesn't seem like a good idea." She said while pointing at the two wrecked cars.
"I don't think my parents would easily change the plans right now. Considering everything is almost set, I don't think rescheduling is an option anymore." Charlie sighed as she was clearly troubled too.
"Well, the show must go on. I'll be sure to work hard, since this is my first job as an Advisor." I told them while opening the front door to let the ladies go in first.
But neither of them didn't go inside and just stood where they were. Charlie began to look uncomfortable due to her expression and body language, which made me peek over the side of the door to see the Eldritch siblings; Helsa and Seviathan.
"Oh God…not these two…" Charlie mumbled while covering and rubbing her face.
Octavia grabbed Charlie's arm and helped her move out of the way, allowing Helsa and Seviathan to exit. But instead of walking past us, they just stepped forward past the door to face Charlie. "Can we help you?" She asked.
"Don't worry about it. We're just here to check up on the little Princess there." Helsa smirked at Charlie.
"Glad to see you again, Charlie!" Seviathan grinned and wrapped his arms around her. "How have you been?"
Charlie disgustingly pushed his hand off her shoulder side stepped away from him. "Don't touch me." She sighed and looked over at Helsa. "What do you want?"
"We just finished meeting up with your mother. She told us to find you so you can tell that security advisor tha-"
"He already knows. That's why we're heading over there now." She interrupted her.
Helsa grinned widely and folded her arms. "Well, now that's out of the way, how's the hotel doing~?"
Charlie stayed silent and didn't want to amuse her any further.
"That's a pretty good impersonation of your establishment. Quiet and empty."
"How about you just shut your mouth and move it." Charlie huffed and attempted to enter the palace, only to be grabbed by Seviathan.
"Aww come on~! We only just met up for a few seconds and you're leaving already~?" He teased her while rubbing her shoulder.
Charlie growled and slapped his hand away from her. "I said, DON'T TOUCH ME."
"Are you seriously just going to treat me like shit all the time?" He huffed.
"I'm treating you like shit because you are shit! I broke up with you back then for a reason!"
"Hey, I'm a changed man. Maybe I can show you directly. What do you say~?"
Seviathan went back close to her again, which was enough for me to intervene as he didn't get the first warning. Charlie was clearly uncomfortable as she looked over at me. I grabbed his hand and told him sternly, "I'm going to have to ask you to stop."
"Huh…?" He cluelessly looked at me.
"Charlie, stay behind me." I told her as she did so without hesitating. Octavia went over next to her too.
"And who is this?" Helsa looked over at me and just gave the most unimpressed look imaginable. "Oh. A sinner. Great."
"Yeah, hold on…" Seviathan glared over to me, having some jealousy in his eyes. "Charlie, who the Hell is this guy exactly? And why did he call you by your first name?"
Charlie rolled her eyes and folded her arms at the both of them. "Colonel Adler. Acting commander of all Royal Military personnel for the meeting. And that's none of your business."
"No. I think it is my business since I was the one taking care of you." Seviathan shook her off the conversation. "So, what's your business being with her, hmm?" He stepped closer to me. But I was clearly not intimidated.
"Don't even act like we're still together, Sev." She clicked her tongue.
"Is there an issue here, sir?" I asked while remaining professional towards an Exalted Overlord, which is the position they gained due to their relationship with the Morningstar Family.
"You have to be blind to not notice that there is a problem." He spoke harshly. "So, what's your deal? Trying to take advantage of her for your sick game?"
"Hey. How about you-" Octavia stepped forward but was stopped by Charlie to not cause even more tension.
I just shook my head and remained standing firm. "I'm just a WarDog Advisor for the Royal Guards. So that means I would have to work closely with Charlie and her family along with the Ars Goetia Royals and Exalted Overlords."
"Cut the shit, Adler. You're just excited to get intimate with the Princess, aren't you?" He growled.
Upon hearing this, Charlie felt offended by his assumption. "What the fuck are you talking about?!" She exclaimed.
"I would not be surprised, coming from a sinner." Helsa chuckled.
"I understand your… "concern." But it isn't like that." I told him. "The reason why I stopped your advances is because she didn't want you near her and you didn't get the hint when she told you directly. We both prefer to keep things professional, so it doesn't get in the way of our work. If not, it would cause a lot of controversy. Not to mention how everything we do is closely observed by others. Especially her parents and my commanding officers."
…
Seviathan clicked his tongue and folded his arms. "Fine. Sorry I made the wrong assumption. But still, you have to admit Charlie is quite a cutie, isn't she?"
Charlie cringed and looked away. "Whatever."
"I know what you're trying to do here, Seviathan." I told him straightforwardly.
"Come on. The least you can do is be honest with me."
I let out a sigh. I just wanted to get these two out of the way so we could see Lilith. So, I answered his question. "Very well. Yes. Charlie is undeniably cute."
In the corner of my eye, I can already see Charlie blushing as soon as she heard my answer. Even as a Princess, she couldn't help but start smiling from flattering compliment.
"Quit smiling. Do you even realize how gross you look right now?" Helsa huffed at the happy princess.
Seviathan raised an eyebrow. "You've probably been behind her a lot. Literally. She has quite the nice ass too, doesn't she?"
My eyes glared harshly at him, which instantly wiped his shit eating grin. "Am I going to have to report you for sexual harassment?"
"No, no, no! I was kidding! Really!" Seviathan chuckled. "Jokes aside, be careful around her though. She's feisty when she's provoked."
'I can tell with the shit you pulled earlier…' I thought.
"But I probably shouldn't be telling you this since you're the kind of guy she would not take."
"Never said I was trying to get her full approval of me. Nor did I say I was after her romantically."
"Whatever. No poor soul would want to sleep with you anyway." Seviathan grinned, thinking poking fun of my romance and sex life would insult me.
"The other sixteen women before seemed fine with me." I said jokingly.
"SIXTEEN?!" Helsa exclaimed as the other three seemed equally shocked.
"Look, we have an important business meet-up with Queen Lilith. So, I advise that you let us leave."
"You think we should take orders from you?" Helsa glared.
"You two could either move out of the way. Or am I going to have to contact Sir Frederick and Madam Bethesda about how their children are interfering inside the palace." I reminded them about our tight schedule. "If you don't comply, I am permitted to detain you without your parents backing you up."
Seviathan growled and was just about to step forward, making me go into a defensive stance. But he was halted by his sister who was already irritated by her brother's attitude.
Helsa looked up at Seviathan and shook her head. "Enough. Don't make this look bad for us. I'd like to keep our reputation leveled instead of going down like Charlie's."
"Whatever." Seviathan rolled his eyes and was the first one to turn his back. "Charlie, don't make that fucking deviant take advantage of you." He said while walking away.
Before Charlie could talk back, Helsa was the one that poked an insult at her brother saying, "Tch. Hypocrite." She said before turning back to follow him with no other words to the three of them.
As soon as it was just them, Charlie looked up at me and frowned guiltily. "I'm so sorry about those two."
"Don't worry about me. I've dealt with worse individuals." I smiled to assure her I was all good.
Octavia sighed. "I dread the day I will have to meet other royals and overlords with THAT kind of attitude…"
"By the way. About what Seviathan said….Do I really have a nice butt?" Charlie asked while looking back at her bottom base.
"Are you being serious right now…?!" I looked at her in disbelief.
She snickered. "What? Can't I joke around like you do to me?"
"You can. But I don't go on THAT level."
"Heh. Says the guy that joked about sleeping with that many women back there." Octavia shook her head.
"About that…." Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Colonel? Did you really sleep with that many women in the past…?" She asked.
I cleared my throat forcefully and opened the door for them. "Anyway, let's go check up on Queen Lilith!"
Charlie's gaze sharpened to a glare as she folded her arms, seeing through me avoiding the question.
"Alright, alright. Fine. No. It wasn't sixteen."
Octavia rolled her eyes. "Of course, you would lie about your body count." She chortled before sipping her tea.
"You're right. It was around twenty-five." I spilled the actual number.
"PFFTTT!" Octavia spat out her tea and coughed afterwards after hearing my honest answer.
Charlie actually gasped and sent a weak punch on my arm. "You're horrible!"
"They were mostly one-night stands though."
"That doesn't make it any better!"
After some…convincing, I let Charlie and Octavia inside and began to lead them to the briefing room. Where I remembered Charlie showed me when we arrived to meet up with Major General Damiens and King Lucifer.
In front of the door to the briefing room was Melodie, who was standing guard while eating an almond and chocolate stuffed croissant. It was kind of expected for her to be on guard for Lilith, since she told us she was very good friends with her. She turned over to see us and gave a wink with short wave while holding her croissant with her mouth.
"There you are, Melodie." Charlie smiled and gave her a quick hug.
"Is that chocolate you're eating…?" I pointed out. "Can Hellhounds even consume that?"
Melodie chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, don't worry. Hellhounds can handle chocolate down here. It's not like I'm an earthly canine. What about you?"
"I can eat them just fine." I noted.
"I heard you were the one who got wounded from that explosion earlier. You okay, sir?" She asked while using her tail to brush off some of the dirt still on me.
"The Exorcist patching me up said it was just the head wound. Should be all green." I nodded.
"Sounds good. Adam and Lute left the room a few minutes ago. So, whenever you're ready." Melodie said while finishing up her breakfast.
Charlie and Octavia were the first ones to walk inside, but I stopped and looked at Melodie. "About what happened outside. Any ideas on why this happened?"
She shrugged and looked outside the window, where there was still smoke. "What did you see?"
"Supposedly gangsters firing at each other. Low-quality black-market weapons that could make Madam Carmine cringe. Tinted windows on the second vehicle to hide an improvised explosive device. But most importantly, somehow bypassed the security line outside the surveillance cameras." I spoke about the details I remembered.
"Usually on the first day of preparations, the only defensive line we have is a UAV armed with AGMs. The second day is when the ground starts to become more active with defenses." Melodie explained. "What's the nearest airbase?"
"Merrick Air Base. Mei told me the squadrons stationed there are the ones who will be responsible for the meeting's aerial defenses this year."
"Hmm…" She glanced out the window again to look up at the sky, thinking. "The ambush happened near Merrick and yet I've read reports from my TL that they were unable to provide support."
"Mei said it was due to mechanical problems. Presumably it grounded all squadrons there."
"And yet they were the chosen ones to be our eyes in the sky? Usually, another Wing would've been chosen instead of them."
"Yeah. Something's not right…" I whispered as she nodded in agreement.
"Guys?" Charlie opened the door to the meeting room, puzzled. "You coming in?"
We were going to have to continue this conversation later. Melodie and I walked inside the briefing room as it remained the same as I remembered.
But instead of King Lucifer, there she was.
Queen Lilith Morningstar herself.
Charlie was already hugging her lovingly while she embraced her daughter back, caressing her head. "It's good to finally see you, mom…"
"Of course. I've missed you too, my little one~!" Lilith said before planting a kiss on her head.
As soon as the two of them let go of each other, I approached her and bowed properly. "Queen Lilith. It's an honor." I said as she lifted her hand towards me. Knowing the sign, I gently lifted it up further towards me and planted a kiss on it.
"Colonel Adler. A pleasure to meet you." Lilith smiled warmly.
Universe Trivia
The political connections between the Kingdom of Hell and Earth are currently mild and limited. However, the country on Earth with the most interactions with the Kingdom of Hell is, of course, the United States of America. Even having an ambassador to represent the government. The Embassy of the United States in Hell is located at Central Star, Pentagram City while heavily protected by a strict selected group of US Marine Security Guards, and Hell's WarDogs. If counted, this location is the second largest US Embassy, right behind the US Embassy of Baghdad.
The United States also does have an embassy in the Kingdom of Heaven as well, which follows the same security procedures. Except it is also protected by Exorcists instead of WarDogs.
As for other nations on Earth, only a handful of them have embassies in both Heaven and Hell. The most notable ones are the People's Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, the French Republic, and Canada.
For those who recognized the beginning, yes. It was kind of a Jarhead reference. Sorry. I just love that movie!
And as the Guest reviewer requested, I changed the "Magne Family" to "Morningstar Family" throughout the story.
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