Cover Art: Tejedora7 on Twitter

Loona kicked open the door to the office, as she lazily made her way to the desk. Behind her, Cyra happily followed, gently placing her school backpack by the nearby coat rack.

"Girls? Is that you?" Called out Blitzo from his office, who went to greet his daughters with a beaming smile. "Yeah, there are my two favorite kids! Loonie, thanks again for picking up Cyra. I'm so proud of your sisterly love. In fact, expect another bonus, in this month's paycheck!"

"Wow, a whole 50 extra $ouls this month," cheered the hellhound bored, as she turned to her phone. "Ring-a-ding-fucking-ding."

Blitzo didn't pay her too much mind as he turned towards his other daughter. "And how about you Cyri-Lyri? You have a good day at school?"

"Y-yeah, I think so," nodded the hellpup. "I mean, there was this one kid who called me a bad word, but I did really good at the math quiz, I got to see Abby during recess and Ms. Mayberry, let us watch a documentary during English. I-I-I didn't quite get it; it was about Envy and stuff-but how about you? How's your day been, Mr. Blitz?"

The imp's excited mood immediately soured as he groaned: "Ugh, don't get me started. Feels like I've had to run three marathons, with a pair of elephants fucking on my back."

"Thanks for that eye-gouging image, Blitz. Really what I wanted to hear upon coming back to work…" Loona muttered disgusted from her desk, with Cyra also looking rather green at the analogy.

But indeed work had been a lot more exhausting and hard to manage, since the Festival. With Millie having broken both an arm and a leg, Blitzo made the hard choice to bench her until she was at full mobility; for her own safety and to avoid unneeded risks during their jobs. Millie heavily objected at first but reluctantly relented after some talking from him & Moxxie. Speaking of which, while Moxxie was still in shape for active duty, he had repeatedly asked for early leave, to care for his wife, leaving most of the work to Blitzo and Loona. And while the pair of them could certainly handle most jobs, with their crew cut in half, it meant they had to stick to the easier and poorer paying hits, more often than they had liked; which left them tired, unfulfilled, and bored most days.

So much so that everyone was quite happy to hear Blitzo suggesting: "You know what? I think I've had enough of this place for one day. What'cya say, kids? Wanna call it early and head back home? Maybe watch a movie?"

Loona didn't need to be told twice, already rising from her seat and pocketing her phone. "Best idea you've had all day. Let's blow this place."

"S-sure! That sounds fun. M-maybe something from Voxflix?" suggested Cyra happily.

The imp chuckled as he began to follow her toward the door. "Whatever yah want Cyri! I know we'll find something good to-"

The doors suddenly swung open as someone stepped through. It was a female sinner, looking around her early 30s-40s. The former human now resembled more of a light green poodle, dressed in a tattered frilly dress, with two sabertooth canines jutting out her mouth and a thin trail of smoke exiting her nostrils. She spoke up in a raspy voice: "Is this the I.M.P. office?"

Blitzo scowled, pissed off at having his night off ruined by the unwanted guest, and barked out: "Yeah, this is the currently CLOSED I.M.P. office, and we're leaving early, so kindly fuck off until tomorrow or arrange a meeting for later, we're heading home now thank you every little."

The poodle girl scoffed at the harsh rebuttal. "Um, I HAVE a meeting for today. Remember, I called your receptionist last Monday and arranged the whole thing? Did you just forget or something?"

The imp blinked at that and turned towards Loona looking for confirmation. The hellhound didn't even face him as she muttered: "Oh yeah, some lady called you before the Harvest Moon stuff and booked a time for today. Something about revenge on her mom or whatever the fuck."

Blitzo gave her an annoyed, frustrated glare, at her neglecting that. Now the rest of what might've been a fun day was completely ruined! With a rude huff, he turned towards the sinner and grumbled: "Look lady, I've had a real long boring day, and it's getting late-"

"It's barely 3:30," the sinner glared, indicating to her phone, showing the afternoon time.

"Yeah, and I've got barely a shit to give right," snapped Blitzo irritated, beginning to walk away from the smoking poodle. "Come back tomorrow, and maybe I'll consider it."

The sinner spoke up in a deadpan voice. "I'm rich and willing to pay in advance."

Blitzo flipped around and happily motioned her towards his office. "And we are more than happy to take your case, no matter what." He turned towards his daughters as he and the sinner entered the room. "Girls, just hold up a minute; this shouldn't take any longer than ten minutes at most."

Loona rolled her eyes behind her phone, while Cyra nervously nodded and went to take a seat. Inside his room, Blitzo relaxed down on his chair in preparation for another client's sob story. "So, you got a name for yourself Smokey the Poodle, or you just wanna get down to the brass tax?"

The poodle woman scoffed proudly as she glared at the imp. "Yeah, you've probably heard me already. I'm Ella Goodlock," She said it so naturally like she should've been recognized on the spot. Blitzo just look at her unimpressed, with not the faintest inkling of who she was. Ella frowned. "…You know? Ella? Most popular child actress of the 2000s? World Famous Popstar sensation? Emmy Winner at age 10?" The imp continued to look progressively unimpressed, more interested in his nails than her accomplishments, much to Ella's irritation, a thick cloud of smoke blowing from her nostrils. "Becky Swann, the sweet little kid on the hit sitcom: Good Life with the Family? You know: "You never listen, papa"," she said the last part in an overly cutesy voice while striking what she thought was an adorable pose, that just looked very uncomfortable.

Blitzo remained uninterested. "Is that supposed to be your pickup line or something, tits?" He asked nonchalantly, the now angry-looking poodle woman fuming in response. "Cause, you know not that I wouldn't have two thoughts about fucking you in the office, were it not for the pair of sweet innocent ears outside, but I figured we were here to talk about a hit, not the sad fucking state of your acting career."

Ella growled, and punched the wall in anger before ranting: "Fucking figures even down here no one remembers me! I used to be on top of the world! Everyone's favorite star. I was trained by my bitch mom from birth to sing, act and dance until I was the greatest actress on Earth. And I fucking was…And it sucked!" The trail of smoke coming through her nostrils exploded into a thick cloud of smog, causing Blitzo to erupt into a coughing fit, waving away the vapor, while Ella continued bitterly. "That selfish cunt acted more like my manager than a parent; she controlled every aspect of my life! Keeping me on strict diets and purging to stay fit, barely letting me have a moment's sleep in order to pump out more stuff, making me star in pieces of shit films because they paid more, and discouraging me from doing anything that wasn't making her money in some way. All the while I had to face the consequences of it all. Dwindling options, letters from sexist assholes and bastards calling me a sellout, like it was my choice in all of it!"

Ella finally looked downwards somberly as the painful memories of her past reemerged, while behind her the imp turned on a nearby fan. "Finally my popularity had turned dry; after that, no one wanted me anymore. I turned to alcohol and drugs to cope with the pain, while my mom continued to find new ways to milk me of what little I was worth…right up until I tried to rob a gas station for cash and ended up right in the officers' sights. In my drugged-up mind, I finally decided to end it all right then and there."

Blitzo whistled as her story came to an end. "Wow, suicide by cops. Hell of a way to go. Tell me you at least took out one or two of those blue bastards on your way out!" Ella glared at him annoyed, seemingly answering his question as the imp shrugged lightly. "Eh, worth a shot. Anyway, so I'm guessing from that baggage dump, you want me to ax out your whore mom?"

"YES!" Ella shouted, another bout of smoke coming out, as she pulled out a photo of her mom, handing it to the imp. It displayed a thin, caucasian woman in a business suit, her hair straight and light brown with greying streaks, eyes hazel colored, wearing expensive-looking jewelry with a sweet smile that hid several layers of cruelty. Below her was a young girl in a peach blue colored dress with curly black hair, looking uncomfortable in her grip. "That bitch ruined my life and has been profiting off me my entire career, even after I died! And now, I hear she's adopted a new kid! Someone else she can leech off of! That woman deserves to die tonight! You think you can handle it?"

The imp smirked slyly through the smoke. "Well little Ms. Longstocking, I'll be more than happy to take your case today. All for the low-low price, of 250.000 $ouls in cash."

"two hundred and fifty-?" Ella exclaimed outraged, before taking out a checkbook with an irate groan writing down the amount, and handing it over to the smirking Blitzo.

"A pleasure doing business with you Lupelick."

The hellhound sisters sat in waiting by the lunge table trying to get time to pass; Loona was lazily reading the latest 'IMP GOSSIP' magazine while chewing on a cigarette and Cyra was looking at the door to Blitzo's office, a soft, worried whine escaping her. The young hellpup had tried to keep herself distracted with drawing, but each time her focus would shift back to the door, clearly anxious over whatever hit Blitzo would get next.

Since coming back from Wrath, the hellpup had found herself becoming more and more worried about the team's safety, always wondering if the next mission would be another repeat of that awful incident. She still felt guilty over not coming to help Blitz, and after seeing how close they had all come to death at the hands of Striker, Cyra had finally realized just how vulnerable they all were out there on the field. Lately, she had even begun to have terrifying nightmares of her past and the terrifying possibility of it repeating…And she didn't want that. Cyra didn't want to see her d-her caretaker hurt like that again. Not like her-

"Hey, kid, you know you're gonna go crosseyed if you keep looking at the door like that right?" asked a stern-sounding Loona, briefly peaking over her magazine, hiding a concerned frown behind it.

Cyra didn't answer, besides a slightly embarrassed shrink, and thankfully didn't need to, as shortly after the office door went open and a fuming Ella, clouds of smoke brewing from her nostrils, stomped out the door. Behind her, a very satisfied and smirking Blitzo whistled out pleased, holding a newly written check in his hands. "Girls, we're having restaurant-cooked beef tonight! Just as soon as I take care of the client's bitch ass mom."

The hellpup sighed a small breath of relief upon seeing Blitzo again, quickly running over to him. "W-what kind of an h-h-hit is it, m-Mr. B-Blitz? I-I-I-It's not something d-dangerous, is it?"

The imp nonchalantly breathed out and patted Cyra's head. "Hah, I wish. Maybe then the day would've gone out on a high note." He showed Cyra the picture of the target. "Nah, it's just some abusive crone who treated her daughter like shit. Clairey Lovegod something or other. Loona, look up info please!"

The hellhound rolled her eyes irritated at the order, but still pulled out her phone and after a few seconds of searching found the target: "Yep, got her. Chelsea Goodlock. She's at some beauty pageant in Utah with her newly adopted kid, Alice.

The imp groaned in disgust at that. "Ugh, of course, she'd be one of those moms. Showing off her kid like she's some fancy doll, can you even imagine? It's like my own dickass dad. At least, it'll make killing her off more satisfying."

For once, the hellhound agreed, scoffing as she read through the article on her phone. "Get this: they're giving 100,000 dollars to the parents, while the kids only get some rare pony doll. Fucking ripoff am I right?"

Blitzo's attention snapped at the last part, as the horse-loving part of him started to emerge. Turning towards Loona, he cautiously asked. "Rare pony doll? What pony doll specifically?"

"I don't fucking know. Sparky Jump or whatever the shit," the hellhound muttered uninterested.

The imp lit up in excitement. "Sparkle Hop?!" Blitzo bolted over to Loona, grabbing the phone off his daughter's hands, ignoring her furious exclaim as he looked at the doll. His eyes beamed up in joy as he looked at the picture pony in awe, and then exclaimed: "IT IS! They only made 50 of those babies! In all my years of searching and collecting, I never managed to find an actual one in Hell or topside! Oh, it's like a sign from Lucifer himself!"

And eyed the image in silent awe, evading his daughter's attempts to get her phone back. Blitzo read through the entire article, including the rules of the show, making sure he got the details right, as an idea started bubbling up in Imp's head. One that had him grinning ear to ear. Turning towards Cyra he playfully asked: "Hey Cyra, how would you like to join your old man and big sis, for your very first mission in the Living World?"

"WHAT?"/"WHAT?"

Both hellhounds asked that in response. Loona looked outraged at Blitzo suddenly drafting her for more unwanted work, while Cyra paled and looked very nervous at the prospect.

Blitzo smiled innocently as he began to explain his plan to the very unenthused pair. "Well, I figured that we have to take Cyra topside at some point right? So why not now?"

"Are you fucking kidding me Blitz?!" shouted Loona frustrated. "There's no way, we're bringing a kid with us on a mission, what if she gets killed? What the fuck is she even supposed to do? She doesn't even have a human disguise yet!"

"Well, that's perfect! You can teach her how to do it. Have a great sisterly bonding moment," Blitzo said excitedly, ignoring the rest of the hellhound's arguments much to her anger. "And relax, she'll be fine. It's just some bitchy trophy mom who needs axing out. No guards, no guns, and as long as we don't draw attention to ourselves, we'll be fine. A perfect mission for Cyra to come on board! How about it, kid?"

Cyra seemed unsure at first but seemed more open to the idea after Blitzo explained everything. She had been curious to know what the living word was like ever since she learned of Blitzo's job. "I-I-I g-guess I wouldn't mind. I-It would be pretty cool, to go to the living world," answered the hellpup softly. "So would I be watching you work or something like that?"

The imp chuckled goodnaturedly with a shake of his head. "Oh no, my little Cyra-Lyra, I got something much better in mind for you." He showed her the entry for the upcoming beauty pageant. "I want you to distract our target, by entering and winning this show!"

His announcement was met with a very…negative reaction. The curious Cyra turned completely pale at that, as the thought of her performing in front of dozens, possibly hundreds of strangers who would judge her on sight. The hellpup already struggled to talk to most new people; having to do so with a massive crowd was nearly enough to give her a heart attack.

Loona meanwhile stared at the imp in confusion, before quickly putting together what was going on. At which point, she growled at the imp pissed. "You've got to be fucking shitting me. Blitz, are you for real right now?"

"Of course, it's brilliant!" Blitzo insisted, quickly starting to doodle up some "masterful" blueprints for his plans, as he explained himself. "We'll enter her in the competition as a late entry. I'll disguise myself as her loving mother and you'll be her supportive big sister, giving us the perfect way to get closer to our target! She'll be so busy fuming at Cyra having the audience at the palm of her hands, that she'll never notice us until we've already axed her off. And better yet, when we win, we'll be able to rub it in their faces, just before the final blow! We get the target, I get the doll and Cyra gets to have an unforgettable first mission. It's full-proof! Right girls?"

"Absolutely fucking not!" Loona snapped furiously, teeth barred dangerously at her father.

"Ooooh, o-o-on second thought, I-I-I-I don't think I wanna go t-that badly…" Cyra stammered out nervously, visibility uncomfortable with the plan.

Blitzo titled his head, confused why there was such a backlash to his brilliant idea. "What? How can you guys not like this? It's fucking foolproof!"

"It's unnecessary and dumb-as-bricks is what it is!" shouted Loona pissed off. "And like hell, I'm gonna spend one of my only missions topside playing babysitter, all so you can win some dumb prize!"

"It's Sparkle Hop, Loonie! I've been trying to find her since 2014!" Countered Blitzo, as if that justified it.

It did not, as evidenced by Loona growing increasingly madder: "Just steal the damn thing if you want it so badly asshole! Don't drag us, and especially not her, into your dumb scheme, when we don't need to be there."

"Aww come on, Loonie. Why simply steal something, when you can revel in winning it fairly and rubbing it all in the shitty loser's faces, including our little target, how much better you are than them?" Blitzo argued with a sly smirk, even as his fuming daughter glared daggers at him.

"M-m-Mr. B-B-Blitz?" Blitzo turned to see Cyra looking at him pleadingly, which caused him to stop for a moment. "D…d-do I have to enter the s-show? I-I-I don't like big c-crowds. Especially w-when they're all looking at me. I-It makes me f-f-feel uncomfortable. A-a-and, I don't wanna fight o-o-other k-kids, they might hate me. A-a-and what if I-I-I-I embarrass myself?"

"Yeah, Blitz. You wouldn't want your shy, socially awkward daughter to have a panic attack on stage, would you? Best to leave her here, and do the smart thing for once," Loona added in with biting snark thrown towards the imp.

Blitzo sighed, and it almost seemed like he was about to relent for a moment. But, then turning towards Cyra, he bent down and looked at her with a comforting smile. "Look, I get it kiddo. Trust me I do. First weeks on the stage had me shivering in my boots, I didn't know what to say or do…and then when I tried acting well-" Blitzo stopped himself. He didn't need another painful reminder of his failed stand-up career now. Especially not in front of the girls. Shaking his head, he forced himself to calm down. "But I know, you're gonna do great! Awesome even. You're big sister and I are gonna be by your side the whole time, to give you a confidence booster whenever you need it." He indicated to Loona who flashed him two very pissed-off middle fingers, which was all the confirmation Blitzo needed. "And if any asshole tries anything or so much as look at you funny, ohohoho, I'll give him something else to think about. You'll be completely safe the whole way."

"B-b-b-but, I-I-I-I d-don't have any remarkable t-talents!" Cyra cried out in a panic.

"Awww Cyra, don't say that, you're plenty talented! I know you'll find something that'll knock their socks off. " Loona was about to argue, but Blitzo butted in. "Besides, it's not just about the doll, it's about you too."

"Yeah, fucking right…" Loona muttered unbelievingly.

"No, I'm being serious. I mean Cyra, I love you and I always will no matter what you're like," he gave the hellpup warm smile as he did that, further aggregating Loona, "But this is a great opportunity to go out there and build up a bit of confidence. And what better way to do that, than by blowing the shit out of the minds of a massive, crowded, seats packed room filled with dumb, constantly watching, overly judgy humans?"

Cyra grew paler and paler with his descriptions, which Loona caught on quickly. "Not fucking helping asshole! You're just making her more chicken shit!"

"What? I was being encouraging!" Blitzo pouted annoyed as he turned back to Cyra. "Look sweetie, there's nothing wrong with being shy. But after all the bullshit you've gone through, I wanna see you gain a level of confidence. Not continue to be some pushover, who keeps falling every time some asshole knocks her down. Getting out there, I think it could help and I know see my cute little badass, can handle it. You just gotta believe in yourself! I mean, I believe in you already. It's a tall ask, but I know I can trust that my little Cyra-Lyra to be awesome no matter what."

The nervous Cyra blinked at the sudden choice of words from Blitzo. He…trusted her. And she could tell it was serious from the look on his face and voice. And the last time he had trusted her was…in Wrath.

For a moment, the sounds of Blitzo's whistle echoed through in her mind and she could see his and the team's busted-up forms after she had failed to help them with Striker. Cyra knew Loona had been right and that there was little she could have actually done to help, but still, she thought of how her family had come so close to dying and she had ignored them. The guilt weighed heavily on the hound and a newfound need to prove herself rose.

"Okay. I'll do it."

"W-what? Cyra are you fucking serious?" Loona asked in disbelief. Even Blitzo was a bit surprised by her sudden turnaround.

"Y-yeah! I-I-I wanna do it. I think Mr. Blitz is right. I-I-I could become more confident doing this and like I said, it could be fun to see the living world. So let's do it," she claimed halfheartedly. Cyra tried to sound confident and sure of herself, but Loona could clearly tell she was very, VERY close to breaking down from the nerves bottling up inside her. It was clear as day she didn't want to do this, but for some crazy reason was agreeing to it anyway.

Loona didn't know what was going on, but before she could try to get answers, Blitzo swarmed in and enveloped Cyra in a proud hug. "Oh, that's my daughter! I knew I could count on you, my little Cyri! Trust me, you won't regret this." The hellpup returned the gesture with a small nod, hiding a terrified frown, as the imp let go and made his way into his office. "Now, let's get a move on! We've got an hour before the show starts, and I still gotta register you. That should give Loonie plenty of time to show you how to get your disguise up! Speaking of which, time for the old dress to make a comeback!"

The two hellhounds were left in the room, an awkward silence hanging, which Cyra eventually broke. "S-so, h-how, do I get my human disguise again?"

The defeated Loona groaned annoyed: "Let's just get this over with."

The portal opened up in a flash of flames, revealing the living world on the other side. Cyra had heard tales and seen pictures of it a few times during her life, but never did she actually think she'd be visiting it.

The hellpup stood there unmoving, as she gazed at the other side, not sure whether or not to step forward. Then, with a deep breath, she stepped through the portal and crossed over to the mortal world.

Almost immediately, Cyra was taken aback by the new world. The air was cleaner, the smells were unfamiliar, the buildings weren't on the verge of collapse, the sounds of violence and death were practically silent and the entire atmosphere just felt…different. In a good way.

The hellpup circled around, taking in the serenity of it all. Of being in the living world. "Woah! This…this place is so beautiful. It's nothing like Hell at all-"

"Yeah-yeah, it's the tits, we know. You gonna put on your disguise or you wanna expose us to the world and blow this whole thing?" A rough voice cut her off rudely; it had come from a very irate-looking human woman, with her hair half shaved off, wearing Loona's clothes and a pair of sneakers. It took a bit for Cyra to realize, this was her sister Loona just in her human form. Which made the hellpup remember why they were here, to begin with.

"Oh, right. Sorry," apologized Cyra meekly. Taking a breath, she closed her eyes, thought back to Loona's instructions, and changed. The hellpup could feel her fur and tail disappearing, as she followed the lesson as best she could. "Did…did it work? Am I human-looking?"

She opened her eyes, cringing slightly as her new eyes adjusted to the light, and looked at herself in a nearby mirror. Sure enough, in place of a hellpup, was a young human child of Latin/American descent. Her eyes were now white, with the violet relegated to her pupils, and her bald spot was not an angry red mark on her forehead. She still retained her clothes, though her feet were now clad in a cute pair of white and black strap shoes.

he stared at herself in curiosity, watching her human reflection mirror her movements, still not used to the new visage, as the third person stepped through the portal. It was Blitzo, now wearing a hot-pink dress, hop earrings, and a pair of fancy heels, currently applying a whole tube of lipstick on himself. Upon spotting his daughter's new form, he began choking up. "Oh my Satan, Cyra, look at yourself! You're positively disgusting! Awww man, I couldn't be prouder of you!"

Cyra beamed up eagerly at the praise and smiled widely, while Loona just looked off the side with a small huff. "T-thanks Mr. Blitz! I'm really happy you like it!" In her excitement, a small flash of blue appeared over her head, and suddenly her ears popped out! Her hellhound ears to be exact.

Both Blitzo and Loona blinked in surprise at the sudden change. Cyra didn't catch on at first, but once she did the now-human hellpup, let out a surprised gasp and tried to cover them up. "Oops, s-sorry, I'm still new to this! H-here, I-I-I can fix it." She closed her eyes and strained heavily, trying to force her ears back. After a few long seconds, she finally made them vanish, though giving herself a tiny headache in the process.

Loona looked at the display and grimaced in exasperation. "Fucking Christ! I knew this was a shit idea. Blitz, there's no way in hell we can let her go now! If those things start popping up again, everyone with half a brain cell's gonna notice!" She turned to Blitzo with a furious sneer.

"What? No way. We can't quit now. Not after we've already taught her the disguise," the imp insisted stubbornly, before turning towards Cyra. "Don't you worry about that Cyri; we'll just tell them you're wearing some fancy Japanese headband. Oh, or that you're doing magic! Yeah, that can be your talent! A magic show; they'll buy it."

Cyra didn't look too sure about that but didn't want to argue, trusting Blitz with a small nod. Loona looked absolutely done with the madness but simply gave up with a loud exhale. "Fucking whatever! I still say this isn't gonna work."

"Not with that attitude missy. Trust me, not one of those morons gonna notice dick." The imp smirked determinedly as he put on a large, yellow wig. "Now come on, we've got work to do!"

The disguised trio made it inside the audition hall, where Blitzo quickly had Cyra signed up as a last-minute addition. With 30 minutes til the show itself started, the now human-hellpup was left waiting among the other constants, Blitzo and Loona having to sign some contractual stuff, her anxieties bottling up as the upcoming show approached. Despite her earlier resolve, she was already getting jittery again.

Many of the adults and the other kids, all dressed up in sparkling dresses and glittery make-up, much too uncomfortable for their age, started looking at her along with their respective grown-ups, once she had entered the room; most of their looks were very judgemental. In comparison to everyone else, Cyra had gone against the normally formal and fancy wear expected of the pageant, instead keeping to her usual attire. Even upon agreeing the hellpup made it very clear she wasn't comfortable wearing a dress and make-up, something which both Blitzo and Loona had agreed upon.

But now that was making her stand out like a sore thumb, as everyone began watching her confused and even a bit bemused. Even in her new form, the hellpup could still make up the mocking whispers about her, being exchanged by the other girls, and even some of the parents, as they began criticizing her plain look, her outfit choice, and the noticeable scar on her forehead. It was enough for the already anxious hellpup to want to curl up into a ball and melt into a puddle.

"Um, excuse young lady," a rude-sounding, haughty, and stern voice called out to her. Against Cyra's better judgment, the hellpup turned, to see a familiar human woman looking down at her in amused disgust. It was their target, Chelsea, lording over her while her new child, Alice, dressed in a painful-looking dress and far too much make-up for any child to wear, just stood silently by her side. "What exactly are you doing here? And where are your parents? This room is reserved for constants only. Get out of here, before I contact security."

She had said that with an annoyed, mocking demeanor as she looked down at the child, causing Cyra to further wither in embarrassment. "U-u-uh, m-my f-family's h-h-here. T-there's m-my sister," she indicated towards a bored Loona who had just entered the room, to which Chelsea reacted appalled. "A-a-a-and, I-I-I a-a-am a c-c-cont-t-t…I'm competing."

Chelsea blinked at this new information, with a look that seemed to mix disgust, surprise, and amusement. Then she laughed a condescending cackle, before scoffing down at her. "Seriously? They let a plain, nobody loser with a spot on her head like you into a competition like this? Let me guess, this is your first time? Your parents dragged you into this? This is for professionals only. Not silly little children, who think jeans and hoodies are acceptable clothing for a beauty pageant." She then turned towards the other disguised hellhound and smirked coldly. "Probably, just got in 'cause one of the judges is fucking your sister; she'd had to be a prostitute in that get-up." Loona briefly snapped to attention at that mockery, angrily barring her teeth and flipping off the woman in response. "Do yourself a favor kid, get out before you embarrass yourself. It'll save you the trouble when my precious Alice out stages you in every way."

Chelsea left with that cruel insult, dragging the young Alice alongside her, turning from the now almost whimpering hellpup in an even more anxious state. The woman's words had been brutal and cut her completely to the bone. Any lingering confidence Cyra had attempted to muster up, had been completely and utterly dashed right at that moment, leaving her with a bundle of dread much more intensified. Something which Loona noticed quickly, a concerned look starting to emerge. Cyra turned towards Blitzo, currently in the midst of arguing with one of the managers of the pageant. Maybe she could still tell him, she wanted to quit before-

"Attention everyone! Please make your way to the main stage. The show's about to start."

Cyra paled as the announcement echoed throughout the stage. One by one all the other girls started lining up as they were escorted out by the adults. Before she could protest or bring her issues to Blitzo or Loona could get to her, the human-disguised hellpup was dragged along by the hosts, over to the ever-growing line that slowly walked toward the stage.

The next few moments were like a blur to the poor human-disguised hellpup. There was some announcement to the crowd, informing them of the prizes and the structure of the show, and then the line got shorter and shorter, until finally, it was her turn.

Pushed onto the stage, Cyra stepped forward and walked right into the light. And right into the sight of a small theatre that, from her perspective, might as well have been jammed packed with people. Hundreds upon thousands of eyeballs both young and old, all watching and judging her every movement, as she stepped forward. Cyra couldn't even make out their faces, hear the announcer as they introduced her, or even see if her own family was amongst the crowd. Her entire focus was on the massive wave of people watching her. It was her second worst fear coming to life, the attention making the already nervous hellpup even more terrified.

She crossed the stage as fast as she, could barely giving the announcer time to finish her segment. By the time she had made it back, she just want to curl up inside her hoodie and hide away until the whole thing was completely over. Holy crud, why did she think this was a good idea? Standing up front in class was bad enough! She had barely lasted a few seconds in there, and she had to go back three more times?! Cyra couldn't take it. She stood there frozen until Loona found her and helped her out for some fresh air, a much-needed relief as the next section started up.

It was time for the main portion of the show itself. Starting with the talent show!

Or more accurately, lack of talent show.

Blitzo couldn't help but cringe and groan as he watched child after child humiliate themselves on stage. Sure some of them were passable, but the ones that blew, by Satan they were worse than feeling the landlord breathing down your neck. Or maybe it was just that he was pissed off that the managers of this damn exploitation show, were insisting his precious, sweet, innocent flower, wear a dress for the big, ending formal show. The imp nearly flipped his lid and killed everyone there, just for that. How DARE they want to fetishize his precious daughter like that! Had they no shame?!

So that sucked, but they'd manage. He'd just pop over to a nearby store and steal something from the rackets. Something tasteful and as unrevealing as possible. Like hell, he was going to let them put her in some kind of child prostitute get-up.

Just as soon as he gave Cyra a much-needed pep talk. Shortly after the talent show had started, Loona come over to him, giving him an angry earful over Cyra freaking out very after stepping on stage. From the sound of her furious rant and demand, he put a stop to this, it was serious too. That got him worried, as flashes to his old performing days, memories he had thought were long forgotten, started coming back. He made sure to get to Cyra immediately.

"Cyri? Cy, sweetie, are you alright in there? Loonie told me you were feeling a little worked up so-" he started calling out to her, while searching for his daughter backstage, only to stop when he eventually found something hiding behind the curtain.

Carefully, he approached the curtain, moving it to the side just to confirm his suspicions and indeed, there was Cyra curled up into a ball, hood covering her face, panic practically reeking off of her, clearly dreading having to go back on stage. So much so, she had brought her tail out, which was now wrapping around herself for support. The sight nearly broke the imp's heart.

With her cover blown, the human-disguised hellpup looked up to see her adopted father with a very concerned expression. Immediately Cyra tried to shake off her fears and stood up with a forced fake smile. "O-oh, M-Mr. Blitz! I d-didn't n-n-notice y-you there," she stopped upon noticing her tail was out. "Oops, s-s-sorry, g-guess I lost c-control again," she laughed sheepishly, as the hellpup struggled to get her tail back in. She tried to pass it off as a humorous bit, but Blitzo could tell right away how anxious she was, and it was painful to see.

Blitzo didn't know what to do. This wasn't how he had expected things to go at all. Cyra looked so uncomfortable and even terrified by all of this; much more than he thought she'd be. And as much as he wanted that Sparkle Hop doll and to see his daughter grow more confident, he could see it wasn't worth putting her through all of this. Especially after his…last time performing; he should've known better than to subject her to the same treatment.

Shit, this was getting complicated! What to do? What to do? What would his dad do in this scenario?

'Quit your damn whining you annoying little shit! I gave you the roof over your head, the food on your plate, and the best job you'll ever have in your life! So now you gotta pay me back and earn this family some fucking money! Now stop looking so sad and scared and perform for those dumb shits already, you selfish ass!'

…you know what? Scratch that. The last thing he wanted was that fucker's advice. All that asshole ever cared about was using her own flesh and blood, to selfishly further his own goals and need for power, not caring one bit about…

Wait.

But wasn't he, also using her for…no. No, it couldn't be that bad…right?

Blitzo tried to deny it, but as he looked at Cyra standing by the corner fidgeting, remembering himself as a child…was…was he becoming his dad?

No! No, he was better than that! He had to be! R-right?

His train of thought was derailed, by Cyra finally dismissing the tail. "There, f-finally got rid of the t-tail Mr. Blitz. I s-should be all r-ready for the s-s-show now," she said in an act of false confidence, doing an awful job hiding her anxiety over performing. Cyra turned to walk away, only for Blitzo to reflexively grab her by the hand. The human hell-pup turned to see him looking at her in clear concern.

"H-hey Cyra, a-are you sure you wanna do this?" Blitzo asked hesitantly, after his new terrifying revelation. Cyra cocked her head confused, as he clarified. "Cause, if you don't wanna do this then…you don't have to. Seriously," he meant that completely sincerely, which caused the hellpup's eyes to briefly widen. "You can just hang out back in the office, Loona will snag the prize, I'll kill the bitch and we can spend the rest of the day together doing something nice and peaceful. Sound good?"

Cyra almost answered yes to that, wanting to get as far away from here as possible. She could already feel the crowd's gazing eyes looking at her again, and it wasn't even her time yet. To go out stage again, after the already terrifying opening ceremony, this time as the center of attention was utterly nerve-wracking to her.

…But so was the possibility of letting her father down again. So biting away her fears, she shook her head and gave Blitzo her best confident smile. "Y-y-yeah. Yeah, I can do this! And I wanna! R-really."

It didn't do much to convince Blitzo. In fact, it only caused him to grow more worried. Almost as if he could see his younger self trying to talk to his mother. His worried frown turned almost desperate. "Look Cyra, I'm telling you it's no big deal. You can drop out if you wanna; you don't have to force yourself into this just so I can win a dumb horse doll."

"B-b-but's not just about that, honest! I-I-I really think you were right and this could make me more confident and stuff," the young child lied. While it was particularly true, she wanted to be more confident, it was the farthest thing away from her mind at the moment. She promised herself, she wouldn't fail him again. "I can do this. I know I can. You don't have to worry about me, Mr. Blitz."

Blitzo wanted to argue more but he could tell that his daughter was being completely stubborn and set on this, even with her worries bottling up. Fuck, out of the traits she could've inherited from him, why now did she have to have his childish stubbornness? It made him wonder what his mum or even Barbie would think of this. If they'd be proud of him following his father's footsteps like this. Blitzo sighed disappointed, but a little proud at her resolve. "Well, Cyra if you insist, I guess I can't stop you."

Cyra smiled and gave him a small hug as thanks. Which made him a little better, but not by much. Still, if she was going to do this, he'd make she was prepared. "But, before you do, let me give you some tips on how to shake off the nerves," He declared with a seasoned grin, remembering what he'd tell himself before going on stage. "You know those assholes out there? I know they look all scary and intimidating out there, but you wanna know a secret? Every single one of them is a dumbass moron." The little child looked at him aghast, but Blitzo kept on. "I mean come on, who the fuck attends a kid's beauty pageant in the 2020s? They just wanna see kids in costumes, acting all cute and charming and some shit. Assholes would probably clap if one of them farted on stage for an hour. And guess what? You're a hundred times more talented than that. Or any of the brats here for that matter. You've got nothing to worry about out there. Now take a deep breath."

He breathed in deeply and motioned her to do the same; the two repeating it for a while, til Cyra had calmed. "And repeat after me: I am a fucking awesome and talented badass and I'm gonna blow their fucking minds out there."

Cyra looked very uncomfortable at the odd, vulgar request. After a beat, she sheepishly said: "I…I am a r-really awesome and talented girl-"

"No no! You gotta add in the swears; really gets the nerves out," insisted Blitzo not too harshly. "Come on we're demons, swears won't kill you, now do it again with feeling!"

Cyra took another deep breath and then blurted out: "IAMAFUCKINGAWESOMEANDTALENTEDBADASSANDI'MGONNABLOWTHEIRFUCKINGMINDSOUTTHERE!"

"That's my girl! I knew you could do it," Blitzo smiled proudly, giving the now blushing human child an affection ruffle on the head.

"Alright everyone, next up is contestant number 19!"

Cyra perked up at the mention of her name, hurriedly pushing off from the imp, and began rushing towards the stage. "Oh, t-that's my number. I better get going. T-thanks for the advice Mr. Blitz!"

"Knock'em, dead sweetheart! And don't worry, if anyone boos you, I'll force-feed them their own testicles!"

"P-please don't…"

"Please give a loud round of applause to Cyra Buckzo!"

Cyra slowly stepped out from behind the stage once more. This time all on her own as she carefully made her way to the center. And almost immediately she began to buckle under the attention.

The disguised-hellpup could feel all the eyes focused on her, the audience growing impatient and intrigued, waiting for something to happen. The three grown judges front and center, eyed her with particular skepticism. All the while she stood there frozen, not sure what to do or say. She tried to find Blitzo or Loona in the audience, only for them to be lost in the sea of strangers gawking at her. Even Blitzo's encouragement and advice were drowned out by all of it. Her fears and worries started welling up again, almost creeping up her spine until finally…

Pop!

Almost on cue, her hellhound ears materialized on top of her head. Cyra blinked in surprise while the audience and judges gasped in amazement; from the sideline, the hellpup swore she heard Chelsea squawk in confusion.

She stood there awkwardly, unsure what to do, before eventually gesturing towards them, with a nervous smile and said: "Ta-da?"

There was a pause, and then the whole crowd burst into applause. Cheers, claps, wows, and even awws range from the crowd, while the judges look on quite impressed by the display. Cyra stood there for a bit, just taking in the sound of praise around her, and…it felt good. It was still pretty scary for the hellpup, but as the applause continued, she began to feel a faint spark of confidence and excitement well up inside of her.

And amidst the cheering one voice stood out in particular. From the far back of the front line, Cyra could finally make out her family; Blitzo wildly cheered her on, while Loona just rolled her eyes annoyed at his display, but quietly clapping by the sides. It was enough to push away her worries, even if only for a moment.

She stood there still for a bit, before remembering she was in the middle of a performance. With a shake of her head, she quickly dismissed her ears. They vanished with a trace, and in their place her tail popped out in a flash of blue light. It was a simple trick; completely novice-level for hellhounds. But to the easily impressed crowd who didn't know any better, it was a dazzling bit of magic.

And so she continued, casually summoning and then dismissing different parts of her body; at a much faster rate than before, with her newfound confidence fueling her. With time, Cyra started growing more sure of herself, even doing small tricks while performing her "magic", like a small cartwheel and an attempted handstand. She kept at it for a whole two minutes, before she finally bowed out and quickly ran backstage, the audience still cheering as she left. Once there, the human-disguised sighed in relief at the talent show being over. Even after she started growing more confident, she felt exhausted and a little nervous about the whole thing. At least the worst part was over now.

"YOU!" A familiar voice shouted out, as Chelsea stumped towards Cyra with a venomous glare. The child didn't have time to respond as the woman practically yelled at the girl. "What was that?! There's no way in fuck some nobody loser like you was able to perform tricks like that, so easily! You're cheating, aren't you? That's the only way a scarred-up kid like you could've possibly won the audience over so quickly!"

"U-uh, i-i-it was m-magic?" answered Cyra timidly; which wasn't too far from the truth. By human standards shifting between forms would basically be considered magic to them.

"Bull fucking shit!" exclaimed Chelsea furiously. "What is it? Hallucination gas? Holograms? Some new-fangled Japanese tech? Out with it girl! I know you're trying to rob this victory from MY more deserving daughter. And because of your fancy light show, everyone's talking about you over Alice! I demand to know how you're doing this!"

"W-well…m-maybe, I-I-I'm just b-better than her?"

The words left Cyra's mouth before she realized what she had said. She paled in horror at what she had said, while Chelsea turned a very, very troubling shade of red. "Why you impudent little-!"

"Cyra! Where are you my incredible little hellspawn?" Blitzo's voice interrupted whatever Chelsea was going to do next, as the imp started appearing around the corner dragging an annoyed Loona along with him. Like a cowardly little rat, Chelsea scurried off before they got too close, secretly swearing under her breath that this wasn't over.

The hellpup didn't have time to worry about her though, as Blitzo wrapped her up in a proud hug as soon as she was in range. "Oh Cyri, you were incredible! So brave and talented. We're so proud of you. Right, Loonie?"

"Blitz, she was just going in and out of hound form. It's not that impressive," Loona tried to dismiss with an unimpressed grumble. But one look at Cyra's newfound cheered-up demeanor was enough for her to manage a small, but sincere amount of praise. "But…sure, you did good out there kid. Definitely better than the other whiny little brats."

Cyra beamed up happily at the praise. She was still scared of going back out, but knowing her dad and daughter were proud of her was all she needed to see it through to the end. She had done good. Real good! That was what mattered.

From there things quickly started looking up. Cyra's impromptu "magic show" had completely wowed the entire audience and the judges, with both how adorable and cool looking it had been, blowing just about everyone else out of the water. Including Alice, much to Chelsea's anger.

The following section, an interview, also went exceedingly well. After the positive reception, the human-disguised hellpup managed to get through the various questions without much trouble. She had managed not to raise too much suspicion about herself, thanks to some help from Blitzo, which allowed her to either dodge or half-answer any too-personal questions regarding her origins or how her magic worked.

And it only helped to further increase her popularity, with everyone being drawn and moved by her touching story of being adopted by a single, hard-working parent, and finding a new family after losing her old one. She was soon becoming the fan favorite to win; which only made Chelsea much more bitter and desperate as a result. Watching this seemingly plain-looking girl win over her child, after all the work and practice she had put Alice through, was boiling her blood. As she watched Cyra walk behind the stage, the cruel mother began formulating a plan to eliminate the unwanted competition.

Cyra meanwhile, was actually starting to feel really good. True, she still felt incredibly nervous and anxious whenever she had to walk on stage, and face hundreds of strangers while being the center of attention; but the longer she went on the less bad it was. As she heard the crowd cheer her on in support, everyone complimenting how good a job she did, the better and more confident she felt. So much so that once the final event was starting up, the formal wear, Cyra didn't feel as bad as she first thought. She didn't even mind too much about having to wear a dress.

"Ugh, no, no we can't let her go out like that! Look at her, she's so exposed and revealing! It's fucking wrong!" Blitzo exclaimed as he looked over the display, visibly uncomfortable by the dress Cyra had on.

Loona just rolled her eyes, annoyed by his over-the-top panicking. "Ugh, calm your shit, Blitz, she looks fine. Fuck, she's practically more covered up than 70 percent of the other girls."

"I like it!" Cyra commented as she looked at herself in the mirror, genuinely drawn to her dress. It was a thankfully incredibly modest thing. A simple yellow empire dress, with a few black stripes across her back, covered up her shoulders, along with a semi-transparent cover leading up to half her neck and a skirt that covered up her feet. In addition, she had long black gloves that ended just at the elbows. Around her waist was a big, white bow, almost resembling wings. "It's really pretty. T-thank you, da-Mr. Blitz. C-can I take it home with me?"

The brief, near use of the 'dad' word, was all it took to ease any worries the imp had. With teary stars in his eyes he cooed: "Awww Cyri, you can have all the dresses here if you want. Anything for my incredible, brave little daughter." He hugged Cyra lovingly causing a small fit of giggles from the young girl. Loona tried her best to hide her jealousy at the act. Secretly though, she was happy to see her this bright again. The older hellhound could tell she had been under the weather since Wrath, so it came as a relief that she was starting to feel better. And getting her nerves built up along the way. Even if she hated that she was here at all.

"Okay everyone, next up is the last competition of the show. The formal wear section. Would all the constants kindly make their way to the stage please?"

Cyra pulled away from Blitzo, as she started walking over to where the other kids were headed. "T-the dress part's starting. I should probably get going now."

On her way out, Blitzo reached forward and stopped her once more, with a small worried frown. "You sure, you still wanna do this? I know you're going to kill it, but if it's making you uncomfortable, you can still bow out. You don't owe me anything, okay Cyra?" Loona was taken aback by Blitzo's sudden change of heart. Usually, the stubborn ass wouldn't let anyone blow the mission early, but here he was giving Cyra a choice for once. It felt like she had missed something.

The human-disguised hellpup smiled sweetly at Blitzo and shook her head. "I know Mr. Blitz, but I think I wanna do this. I mean, I've come this far so I should at least finish it right?"

"Well, look who grew an extra thick spine just now," Loona couldn't help but chuckle; a little impressed by how far the usually timid hellpup had come.

Blitzo started getting choked up. "I know. Oh, they grow up so fast, don't they Loonie? Come here," he reached out for a hug, only for the hellhound to punch him off with a rough right hook. The imp just shrugged it off and turned towards Cyra one last time, with a smirk. "You've got this sweetheart. Now go out there and win this thing!"

The young pup nodded, steeled up her nerves, and then joined her fellow contestants on the row, as the announcer prepared to introduce them.

Blitzo excitedly sprinted towards his seats with a child-like prance, while Loona just watched him scamper off with an annoyed but amused huff, before slowly catching up. But midway to the audience, something caught Loona's attention. A faint whisper coming from the stage. Even in her human disguise, her hearing was still as sharp as ever. Just enough to make out the strained grunts of a certain woman.

"I was hoping to get pig's blood, but this'll work out just fine."

Loona's eyes widened, then narrowed at the sound of a familiar voice. Scanning over to the source, she turned up to the rafters where she could vaguely make out a human-like shape. As she got closer, her suspicions were confirmed. Standing there above the stage, hidden in the shadows was their target Chelsea Goodlock grinning evilly with a bucket filled with red paint in her hands.

It didn't take long for the disguised teen to figure out what she was planning to do. It only took her slightly longer to figure out whether she should try and stop her or just leave her be. With an irritated grumble, she began to try and find a way up there. "Fucking hell, being a sister is a pain in the ass."

She managed to find the ladder leading to the rafters, after a small amount of searching and knocking out a noisy security guard trying to stop her. Climbing up the steps at a rapid pace, Loona made it just in time for the show to begin, with the first few girls dancing on stage, showing off their fancy, glittery gowns to the easily impressed crowd. And there stood Chelsea with her paint bucket in hand, clearly intended for the disguised-hellpup who was just entering the stage.

Chelsea snickered evilly as Cyra stepped forward. As ever everyone found the shy little girl absolutely adorable, and her bee-inspired dress so charming. It made the woman sick, and all the more gleeful as she prepared to dump the bucket's contents all over the young girl. "This'll teach you to upstage me you-"

"Hey!" Loona called out. Chelsea turned just in time to see the disguised hellhound sock her across the face. The older woman crumpled down, grabbing the railing for support. Her grip on the bucket failed, and Loona grabbed it before any of the pain could spill out.

But to the hound's surprise, the woman proved to be annoyingly stubborn, shakily climbing back to her feet and lunging for the bucket. Loona dodged, causing a few drops to spill on the floor, and groaned annoyed as Chelsea continued to try and wrestle her. "You bitch! You're that disgusting brat's sister! Trying to sabotage me too, aren't you? Think you can get an easy win by ruining my daughter? Well, I'm onto your whole family! I won't let you ruin everything me and Alice have worked for! Once I ruin your sister's act, I'll sue her and your disgusting family to oblivion."

The disguised hellhound just looked at the possibly crazy woman with a baffled expression and scoffed. "Fucking psycho hypocrite much? God humans are annoyingly stupid." She headbutted the woman in the nose, causing it to break as a trickle of blood started to leak from it. Chelsea backed up for a bit, then roared as she ran back towards Loona.

The two women continued their fight in the rafters, Loona holding the edge with stubbornness being Chelsea's only advantage, all the while the crowd watched the pageant unaware of what was going on. Neither was Cyra, as she showed off her dress to the audience, most of her stage fright and apprehension having melted away by now. She turned towards Blitzo to see him cheering her on as ever, though felt a little discouraged at Loona's absence. She had wanted to see her sister supporting her too.

Still, she continued unopposed, while Loona battled it out with the mad mother in the rafters. It finally reached its halt as the mad Chelsea tripped on a nearby wire and bumped against Loona's chest, the hellhound dropping the paint bucket from the impact. Before either woman could stop it, the bucket fell from their grips and right onto a young girl.

Just not Cyra. She had left the stage a while.

Instead poor, innocent Alice had her new dress and makeup splattered in red, completely ruining her in front of the whole crowd.

Everyone gasped in shock. Well, everyone except Blitzo, who started howling with laughter. Chelsea looked horrified at what had happened, effectively costing her any chance of winning. She stood there in shock for a long beat, before turning red. "Y-y-you! Look what you've done you wretched-" but when she turned to face Loona, the hellhound was long gone, having climbed back down, while she was distracted. And with the spotlights turning towards the rafters, Chelsea was forced to retreat as well; there was nothing else she could do now.

Back on the ground, Loona exhaled at having to do more unnecessary work, trying to find a quiet place for a smoke or a drink. Only to get tackled once more, though this time by a very excited Cyra, who had rushed in for a tight hug. "Loona! There you are. I-I was worried when I didn't see you. Where were you?"

The older hellhound fought back an annoyed huff and answered bluntly: "Had to deal with our crazy-ass target trying to pull some dumb shit up in the rafters. I swear, I was this close to killing her right then and there, and getting this annoying mess finally done with."

Cyra broke up the hug as she stared at her wide-eyed. "W-wait, was that why all that red paint fell on Alice? Oh man, I hope she's okay. She looked so scared and sad when her mom come for her…" the young girl said softly, as she thought of the poor girl. "B-but, anyway, so you were all the way up there, right? Did you get a chance to see me perform? D-did I do good?"

Loona was about to tell her, she had been too busy wrestling a paint bucket from a psycho woman to focus on anything else but decided against it. "Y-yeah, I think I managed a small look before heading down," lied Loona as she ruffled Cyra's hair, causing her sister to briefly giggle. "Not half bad, Cy. You were great."

Cyra batted her hand away but smiled back sweetly. "T-thanks. Mr. Blitzo thought so too. He says I'm going to win for sure. But I'm just happy to know you and him liked it.…and that it's finally over. I don't think I could've lasted another second longer in there. I kinda just wanna go home already." Loona couldn't help but laugh at that, which Cyra returned. Despite the annoying day, she was in a good mood right now.

"And the winner of the 2021 Utah Little Girl's Talent show is…Cyra Buckzo!"

The human-disguised hellpup was unable to believe what was being announced, even as her face and name were displayed for all to see on screen. She had done it. She had actually won! As confetti and balloons began to fall and the crowd cheered for her, Cyra didn't know what to say. Having managed to succeed in her task, despite all the setbacks and anxieties felt so strange…but also, really good. Awesome even!

The other kids looked disappointed and shocked at their loss to a newcomer, though Chelsea was fuming at the results. With a hateful growl, she grabbed Alice by her hand, the young girl looking a bit happy at Cyra winning despite being covered in red paint, and began dragging her out of the room. Not that Cyra paid too much mind to her. Even as she was led onto the front of the stage, the small tiara placed on her head, and the Sparkle Hop doll handed to her, there was only one thing on her mind at the moment; two people in the audience cheering her on. Blitzo went completely ham with the cheers, while Loona gave her a small smile and clap of approval. Watching them be so proud of her, was better than any reward they could've given Cyra.

She waved to them, both of whom began joining her on stage. Blitzo rushed onto the front, rudely showing the announcer to the side as they were handing him the check, grabbing the mike, thankfully sparing Cyra from having to do the speech; she had had enough attention for one day. "Oh thank you! Thank you all so much!" He started gushing and crying, the makeup running down his eyes as he turned towards his daughters. "I just wanna say how fucking proud I am of my daughters. They're both so wonderful and talented! I love them both so much!" Throwing away the mike, he leaped towards his daughters and enveloped both of them in a hug before either could do anything to stop him. Both of them looked very uncomfortable by the sudden, messy embrace but quickly returned it.

Well…Cyra returned it, feeling happy to see him like this. Loona fought back the urge to punch Blitzo in the face again but just gave him a small pat on the back. From the corners of her mouth a small, content smile almost formed. The audience awwed and clapped at the display, happy to see a loving family like that.

"Oh, and before I forget," after a beat, Blitzo pulled out his flintlock and fired at the ceiling. And at a large light located conveniently above Chelsea Goodlock. The light fell on top of the woman's head, crushing her to death instantly.

Alice looked at the sight in shock…for about three seconds, before ripping off her dress and shouting: "I'M FREE!" She ran out of the building, practically naked into the night.

Blitzo just shrugged, pulled out the grimoire, and opened up a quick portal behind him. "Well, our work here is done. Thanks for the show folks!" With a final wave, he grabbed his daughters by the arms and fell backward into the portal with them. The trio landed roughly on the ground, but without much harm, as the fiery portal closed back up.

Cyra shakily rose back to their feet, reverting back to her normal hellhound form as she did. After struggling to keep it hidden throughout the show it was great to be back to normal. Loona climbed back up with no problem, casually dropping her disguise as she went to text Ella they had killed her mother. And finally, Blitzo happily skipped back onto his feet, looking at his prize with all the glee of a father holding a newborn. After years of searching and collecting, scouring the internet for it, he finally had Sparkle Hop.

He then casually threw it away and wrapped his youngest daughter in the biggest, most loving bear hug ever. "Oh Cyri, you were so incredible! I couldn't be prouder of you sweetie! I love you so much Cy, come over here."

Cyra laughed embarrassedly, as her dad continued to shower her with kisses and hugs, playfully fighting back until he reluctantly put her back down. "T-thank you so much, Mr. Blitz. I'm really happy you feel that way. And…thanks for taking me. It was scary but, I think it helped a little." She then frowned, a nervous look on her face emerging as she took off her tiara, and looked at the imp with pleading eyes. "But…M-mr. Blitz? Can I please not do something like that again? Please? I mean, I kinda liked it after a while but…it was still way too scary for me."

"Oh fuck no! Of course, you're never doing that again, yah hear?" Answered Blitzo immediately, a clear, insistent frown on his face. "That was a one-time-only thing, I am never putting you through again. I promise, no more shows for you. Ever," He promised her and then put a hand on his daughter's shoulder, with a relaxed, friendly grin. "Next time we head up there, I'm gonna make sure we do something actually fun. Maybe even get your first kill?"

"Uhhh, I-I-I'd r-rather not kill someone if that's okay if you Mr. Blitz," insisted Cyra uncomfortably. "B-but maybe we could do s-s-something else?"

"We'll figure something out," Blitzo said with a nod, taking off his wig and he looked at her excitedly. "For now though, I think we've earned ourselves a big fat break! Come on, we've got the rest of the night and my darling daughter just beat the shit out of some future prostitutes. We're celebrating!" He declared loudly, looking over to Cyra with an encouraging grin. "What do you wanna do Cyra? Movies? Pizza? Gun Range? Steak? Theme Park? You name it, you get it my perfect girl."

Cyra lit up at the encouragement and answered with her tail wagging wildly. "Can we go to the Zoo?!"

Blitzo was taken aback by the mundane request but shrugged it off happily. "The zoo? I-I mean, sure, I said anything didn't I? Alright, the Zoo it is! You girls get undressed, I'll go get the van ready."

The rest of the day was thankfully a fun, relaxing sequence of family bonding; everything Cyra could ask for. The three of them spent most of the afternoon at the zoo, watching the various wild and otherworldly animals from the various rings of Hell, Cyra even getting to feed some of the more peaceful ones alongside Blitzo. And sometimes Loona. After that, they enjoyed a large steak dinner at the fanciest place Imp City could offer, with Blitzo spoiling his daughters with the sundae bar. And finally, they all watched a movie back at home. A cartoon film of some kind. Cyra couldn't quite remember all the details, she fell asleep midway through, leaning against her father's chest as she did. And for the first time in a while, she slept peacefully.

Awww, what a wholesome family moment. Boy, it sure would suck if something were to happen to Blitzo and Moxxie a short while after this right? Nah, I'm kidding, that's not til a little while more.

I almost considered dropping this chapter, or at least the child beauty pageant set-up. I had this set up planned for a long while, but after Season 2 revealed more of Blitzo's failed entertainment days, his backstory at the circus and how it all affected him, I was unsure if he'd believable would put either of his children through similar experiences. Especially Cyra given how shy she is. Ultimately I decided to continue the premise, though doing my best to make his motives believable. I hope it all worked out in the end.

Also, hope you guys don't mind if the Beauty Pageant shown here, isn't quite accurate to the real thing. I looked up some info through google searching, but didn't want to actually watch clips of any pageants besides the Bad Grandpa sketch. Just the idea of child pageants just feel so wrong to me.

But anyway thank you for reading!