Chapter 24
This is a fanfiction based on Helluva Boss, Hazbin Hotel, and the fanfiction Loona the Caretaker. All OC rights belong to their original creators and owners. The characters of Loona the Caretaker belong to MetalBrony823. Slade OC belongs to Blurey08. Kyorichi OC belongs to ninjashin11, and the characters of Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel belong to VivziePop. I own nothing. This is pure fanfiction just for fun.
Cody and his friends stood frozen like deer in headlights as Loona and Slade stared at each other. The silence stretched out like a blade. Loona approached Slade scanning him from head to toe. Slade did the same thing but glanced away. Loona then gently moved one of his bangs out of the way but then scoffed before she pulled him for a hug. Slade hesitantly hugged her back.
"Where. Have. You. Been?" Loona asked seriously while still hugging Slade.
"It's . . . a long story. I'm . . . sorry, Loona," Slade responded.
Loona pushed him away with her hands locked on his shoulders, looking him straight in the eye.
"Sorry? You're sorry? All this time, you've been gone, and that's what you say?" Loona questioned.
Before Slade said anything, Cody intervened.
"Uh, Loona. If you two need privacy, there's a meeting room. Whatever you two have to say to each other, maybe it's best not in front of everyone here," Cody pointed.
Loona glanced at him and then at the office room he pointed to. The two Hellhounds entered the office room. It had a long polished bloodwood table with a black pentagram symbol and leather chairs all around it. The windows had the blinds down but folded up to let the light in. Loona closed the door but took her time to turn around and face Slade slowly.
"Loona . . . I'm sorry. I tried to find you. I tried to get back but . . . my friend needed my help . . . but he died because of me. I-I . . . I'm sorry, Loona. It's my fault," Slade spoke.
Loona didn't say anything.
"I know you think you should have been there after we busted out of the orphanage. I know you think that saying sorry doesn't cut it. I-I . . . I get it. I'm a bad person Loona. If you want me to leave then—"
Loona marched up to him. Slade blinked a few times, thinking she would slap him, but she didn't. Instead, she held his face to get him to look her in the eye.
"You. Have. Got. To. Stop blaming yourself," Loona stated clearly. Slade said nothing as she continued, "I never blamed you. I never once . . . blamed you. It wasn't your fault."
Slade's eyes watered, and he did everything he could to prevent tears from falling. Loona pulled him for another hug, and he hugged her back. After a long while of silent hugging, they sat down and talked.
"So . . . the Immediate Murder Professionals, huh?" Slade asked.
"Yeah . . . I was stuck in the orphanage. I almost aged out, but then Blitzo adopted me. He's a dumbass, but his heart's in the right place. I heard you got adopted after they caught you," Loona said.
"I did . . . but they got murdered, and I was on my own for a while. I was so tired of feeling shitty. I joined Joint Task Force 2, which is basically Canada's Delta Force. Surprisingly, I got in, and they made me a hunter for terrorists, and I was good at it . . . real good at it. That was the problem because . . . I was the only one that survived," Slade explained.
Loona's eyes widened slightly.
"All my friends got killed, and I didn't, so you can imagine how that makes me feel. Kyo found me, and . . . here we are. I heard you adopted a kid you saved."
Loona nodded, "That's right. I was up on the surface doing a job. Then I heard cries for help and found this kid in a house on fire. I went in and saved him. He had nowhere else to go, and we bonded, so I adopted him."
"That's really cool, Loona. You should be proud of yourself," Slade said.
"I'm proud of him. Cody's my world. I fucking love that kid so much."
"How does he have powers? Is it true he killed Overlords?"
Loona talked about Cody and everything. Meanwhile, Cody and his friends were getting to know Tim and Kyo.
"I saw your concert at the Battle of the Bands. You, my good sir, are a real rockstar. You handled that double-neck guitar like a pro!" Kyo praised.
Cody smiled, "Thank you. One cool thing about it is that it has a guitar on one neck and a bass on the other. I was able to switch over to handle the songs well."
"He was the best part of the concert Kyo. Brilliant! He's the best part of any concert, really," Octavia said.
"I hear that, and your music, obviously," Tim joked, making everyone laugh.
"So, you're looking to work for I.M.P.?" Moxxie asked.
"Yes! And to show you we have what it takes to be deadly assassins, brought a gift!" Kyo said before pulling out a bag. He reached inside it and pulled out a severed demonic shark head, "Behold! The head of Lord Drake."
Everyone in I.M.P., including Cody and Octavia, smiles disappeared.
"Lord Drake? The Mob King?" Cody asked.
"Oh fuck me," Blitzo clapped his hand to his face.
"There goes that lead," Millie sighed.
Tim and Kyo glanced at each other nervously.
"Uh, is something wrong? Lead?" Kyo asked.
"It's okay. It's not your fault. We're investigating, hoping to get some answers out of this piece of shit, but that's not happening," Octavia explained.
"Oh, we're sorry. We didn't know," Tim said.
"No, it's okay. As Via said, it's not your fault. We have other leads," Cody said.
"However, this does prove that you guys are capable. If you can kill him, then you can kill just about anybody on the surface, which is exactly what we're looking for. Mox, how many other people are applying for us?" Blitzo asked.
"About twelve more. They'll be here soon," Moxxie answered.
Loona and Slade stepped out, and everyone was quiet.
Cody broke the silence, "Loona, everything okay?"
"Yes, everyone, this is an old friend, Slade. Slade, my adoptive father, and boss, Blitzo: Millie and her husband, Moxxie. The Hellhound and succubus demon in the back over there that's Shadow and his girlfriend, Kimi. Finally, this right here is my boy, Cody," Loona introduced.
"Hi, how do you do?" Cody reached his hand out.
Slade hesitantly took and shook his hand, "Nice you meet ya. So, you're the Cody Laurent. The one who's been cleaning up Hell of its VVV vermin."
"Yeah, I kinda have. They attacked my friends, and I protected them, and I'll do it again. We'll be causing more trouble for them now that King Purson knights Loona and me."
Slade, Kyo, and Tim's eyes widened at that statement.
"Knighted?! They knighted you two? Holy Satan, that's awesome!" Kyo praised excitedly.
"So, that's Sir Cody and Dame Loona from now on," Tim said.
"You can just call us Cody and Loona," Cody said.
"You-you're not an assassin for I.M.P., are you?" Slade asked.
"Oh no, no, no, I just help pay for everything because I'm rich now from killing those Overlords, and I like to think of myself as the company's security and portal conductor for transporting our staff in and out of the surface for jobs. Loona and the others don't want murder blood on my hands, and I don't kill without cause," Cody answered.
Slade nodded.
"So, how about we meet in the assembly room and wait for the other recruits before delivering the company presentation?" Moxxie proposed.
"You know what, fatty? That sounds like a good idea," Loona said.
Moxxie groaned and rolled his eyes while Millie shot a glare at her. It didn't take long for other demons applying for I.M.P. to show up. It was mostly Imp demons and Hellhound demons, both big and small. Blitzo, Moxxie, and Cody gave them a tour of the temporary headquarters before interviewing each one. Once the interviews were over, Stolas walked in with some papers.
"How did the interviews go?" Stolas asked.
"Got some potential killers. Tim, Kyo, and Slade are in. The others, I'm still thinking it over," Blitzo responded.
"Good. So, the new headquarters is really coming along. The outside is finished, but the inside still needs work," Stolas said, laying some papers on the desk.
"But the outside is good for a commercial shoot?"
"Yes, it is."
"Good. Via sweetie, you got that camera ready?" Blitzo asked.
"Aye, it's good and ready," Via answered.
"Mox, Mills, Loona, we good?"
"Yes, sir!" Moxxie responded, straightening his costume.
"We're ready to roll, sir!" Millie added.
"And I'm ready too," Cody sided.
Cody was wearing black cargo military pants with boots. He was wearing a white collared shirt with sleeves rolled up and a black and red vest with the I.M.P. logo on the back. The vest had lots of pockets, and his blessing-tipped 1911 pistol was in a shoulder holster. Cody had a belt with items like magic potions, a little magic book, gun magazines, and his infinite cube. He wore black leather gloves and a black fedora hat with a little skull on the brim. Cody looked badass, like a bounty hunter.
"Wonderful. All pimps and players, let's shoot this bitch!" Blitzo hollered confidently.
Commercial View
Moxxie's in a worker's jumpsuit working on pipes and values as he tightens them with a wrench when one of them bursts open, spraying gas in his face with his mouth open.
"Is your current career leaving a rotten taste in your mouth?" Cody's voice asked.
*Camera shows Millie in an office clerk dress looking tired, typing on a computer and stamping papers*
"Do you feel overworked? Underpaid? Not living to your fullest potential?" Cody's voice asked.
*Camera shows Loona in regular clothes looking pissed with a thought bubble showing a person with a big red 'X' over his face.
"Or is there someone you want dead on the surface and willing to pay money to make it happen?" Cody's voice asked again.
*Camera shows Cody walking in front of the outside of the new I.M.P. headquarters.*
"Then you need to learn about I.M.P. The Immediate Murder Professionals. Hi, I'm Cody Laurent, and I'm here to tell you about his exciting company."
*Camera shows Shadow sharpening his katana and Kimi cleaning her guns.*
"Here at I.M.P., we deliver in quality vengeance, or if you want a real nasty S.O.B. dead. For the right price, not only will we make that target dead, but we can deliver death the way you like it. Fast, slow, quiet, loud, we'll even blow them up."
*Camera view showed clips of Shadow, Kimi, Vortex, Loona, Millie, Moxxie, and Blitzo delivering all those kinds of kills. Then shows the I.M.P.*
"Download the I.M.P. app and see how to order your target to die. The different packages are at your disposal."
*Camera shows Cody again*
"We also offer positions for new assassins. So, check out our website, our app, and our bloody deliveries. You name it, and we'll kill it."
*Commercial Ends*
