Tension

Octavia did her best not to focus too much on the yelling coming from behind the big doors she was seated outside of. Among the shouts, she could just make out her poor Father trying to calm everyone down. Only to go ignored or told off for his efforts.

Every so often, her gaze would drift over to the doors in anticipation. Her leg bouncing slightly as her fingers twitched against her phone, clutched in her hand by her side.

Suddenly, the voices stopped. Octavia quickly put her phone away, pressing a button on the screen just as the doors opened. She watched as several nobles left one by one, each grumbling under their breaths. Finally, she was greeted with an exhausted Stolas, who didn't even take two seconds to notice her sitting there.

"Oh, Octavia sweetie" Stolas smiled tiredly, hugging her once she was standing. "You have no idea how good it is to see you" he said, frowning guiltily as they parted "I haven't forgotten something important we had planned today, have I?"

"No, no" she assured him, rubbing her arm "I was supposed to be with Mum today, but Uncle Andrealphus canceled."

"Again? Did he at least say why this time?" She shook her head "I don't understand it." It wasn't like Andrealphus or Stella had ever been the most family oriented, but they were the ones who insisted it was in Octavia's best interest to spend time with them. Stolas had his doubts, but Stella was her Mother, even if she'd never been very maternal.

Besides, Octavia was old enough to make that decision for herself, and she'd yet to outright refuse. The day she did, that would be when he'd intervene. "He said she was still helping Lord Rodan" Octavia explained, rolling her eyes.

"My ears are burning" Father and daughter jumped, turning to face the Ars Goetia suddenly standing behind them. He resembled a Falcon and was dressed in much fancier clothing than either of them, with a shimmering clock covering his body, and a large eye patch covered his left eye and most of the surrounding area. Though it did nothing to hide the cracks in his beak, or the deep scars running across his face.

Stolas pulled Octavia closer ever so slightly with a nervous smile. "A-ah, Lord Rodan" he greeted as casually as he could "we, uh" he cleared his throat as his voice cracked "we meant no disrespect-"

"Of course not" Rodan interrupted with a calm smile "now what's this about my business arrangements with Andrealphus?"

Stolas did his best to remain calm. For reasons he could never explain, Rodan had always unnerved him. There was just something…off about the older noble "w-well, it's just…it's been a while since Octavia has heard from Stella…actually, I can't even remember the last time I saw her myself-"

"You say that like it's a bad thing" Rodan interrupted coolly with a chuckle "it wasn't exactly a secret you two couldn't stand each other."

"That…is true, but-"

"Stolas" Rodan cut him off, his tone casual yet cold as he stared him down, silently commanding authority "as I've explained to you multiple times now, Stella is assisting me with a passion project of vital importance that simply cannot be interrupted. It was agreed upon between myself and Andrealphus."

Stolas squirmed under his hardened gaze, of course he was familiar with all of this. Andrealphus had told him as such the first time their visit had been cancelled. He'd asked what exactly this project was, Stella wasn't the kind to do that much heavy lifting after all, but it'd been clear he'd only had so much information himself.

Which was next to none.

"I…I understand" he said, trying to keep his voice steady "but…she's still Octavia's Mother, you know."

Rodan hummed, rubbing his beak "I suppose I can understand that" he agreed somewhat halfheartedly. "Of course, I've never had children myself, you know. Couldn't even if I'd wanted to" he mused, placing his hand on Stolas's shoulder "I can't make any promises, but I'll see what I can do, sound like a plan?"

Stolas went rigid, the only reason he didn't faint right then and there was because Octavia placed a hand on his back for support. "I…t-that sounds reasonable" he agreed, wanting this conversation to be over ten minutes ago.

Rodan stared at him for a few seconds, his sharp gaze far too unreadable for his liking before he grinned. "Good man" he said, giving his shoulder a harsh squeeze before taking his leave.

Once he was gone, Stolas couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, practically deflating as he held his stinging shoulder. "Oh, I do not trust that man" he confessed quietly once they were alone again "why can't he just tell us what he and your Mother are up to if it's that important?"

"I don't know Dad" Octavia said softly. It was true she'd never been all that close with her Mother, but this was starting to creep her out. She looked at her poor Fathers exhausted face "since I'm here anyway, you wanna go grab a bite?" She offered with a small smile "we can get fast food, something greasy."

"The greaser the better" he agreed, already sounding better as he returned the smile. He let his daughter take his arm and guide him out of the meeting hall.

As they walked, Octavia risked a glance back in the direction the Lord had left in. "Have they found the assassin yet?" She couldn't help but ask.

It wasn't as big a piece of gossip as the Forsaken, but the near assassination of Lord Rodan got its fair share of attention. Apparently, some demon took their shot during the last Extermination, probably thought an Exorcists would get the blame.

It'd been pretty brutal from what little information was known. The left half of Rodan's face had been ripped to shreds, and his left arm torn out of its socket. The Lord had nearly bled out by the time he'd reached a hospital and had undergone several reconstructive surgeries since.

The strangest part was doctors had found no sign of angelic weaponry used on him.

It was honestly a miracle he was alive right now. She couldn't begin to imagine what else would be strong enough to do that kind of damage to demon royalty.

She wasn't sure she wanted to.

Stolas shook his head "not that I've heard, I'm not even sure anyone's looking." It wasn't like assassination attempts among demons of their class were unheard of, but it was a tad strange they were just letting it slide "I supposed this mess with the Forsaken has everyone a bit distracted, even he said they take priority."

"How did the meeting go?"

"Ugh, don't ask" Stolas groaned, dragging his hands down his face "it feels like we're just talking in circles. Be grateful you don't have to sit in on these yet, Via."

Octavia nodded with a frown. She'd lost count of how many meetings her Father had been dragged into since the Forsaken appeared, but the toll they were taking on him was evident. Actually, he wasn't sporting his usual exhaustion after one of these, he almost looked afraid "Dad?" She began carefully "are you sure everything's okay?"

Stolas avoided her gaze for a moment, contemplating "…Heaven is getting impatient" he confessed quietly. Her eyes widened "worse, they're getting anxious, I don't know how much longer we can pacify them" Octavia felt her stomach churn.

It was true Hevan had been divided on the exterminations since they became public knowledge, but that didn't change the fact this Archangel guy had killed thirteen of their angles. She was positive that the only reason Heavan hadn't gotten involved yet was because they were just as scared as the rest of them. If they did decide to take matters into their own hands, she couldn't see it ending well.

She just wished those weirdos would just come out with whatever it was they wanted. If it was just to cause random chaos, fine, but at least say so!

Steadying her nerves, Octavia gave her Father a warm smile as she took his hand. "Don't worry Dad. I'm sure this will be resolved soon" she told him as confidently as she could.

Stolas smiled weakly, patting her hand "what would I do without you?"

"Probably binge hellanovelas all day and cry about them to your plants" she said dryly, earning a laugh from him. Octavia's smile grew, she did her best to keep his spirits high, but he had happy days so rarely now. The last three years had not been great for him. "Oh no" she moaned, her face souring as they reached the front door.

"What?" Stolas followed her gaze, catching the muffled shouts coming from outside. Instantly, his expression matched his daughters "oh." Fantastic, not only was there a sea of reporters, but D.A.T.F was outside as well.

Demons against the Forsaken, or D.A.T.F as they were known, were exactly as the name implied. In every sense. They were a group of "concerned individuals" that had taken it upon themselves to try and bring an end to the newfound terrors of Hell.

Truth be told, they might have been worse than the Forsaken.

All these guys did was scream and spread hysteria about how they needed to be stopped while offering no solutions. Octavia was beginning to wonder if they even realized just how bad the Forsaken really were.

Not that she couldn't understand their ignorance to an extent, there was a lot of debate on how much of the stories going around were fact or fiction, but she was starting to think they just liked to play victim.

"Let's just try and sneak past them quickly" she whispered softly as her Father nodded. Bracing themselves, they opened the door as carefully as possible. Instantly, they were greeted by the commotion that was the large group of protesters and reporters.

Quite a few of their fellow Goetias were looking either overwhelmed or ready to drop kick the next demon who got too close. Scratch that, one of them just did "that's going to come back to bite us" Stolas mumbled as they both winced.

As they were desperately trying to look for a potential escape route, they each felt someone grab their shoulders, nearly crying out before being spun around to meet Loona's face. "Shh" she hissed, looking around "I'm here to get you guys out of here" she explained, leading them away "I thought this might happen, they've gotten worse ever since that Wrath sighting three days ago."

"How did you-?"

"Bee told me about the meeting."

"Ah" Stolas nodded before smiling weakly "thank you for coming Loona."

Loona didn't reply, just looked away. As they crept along, she kept her attention on the group of protesters all but ascending on the Ars Goetias like a plague. She felt a bit bad leaving those other blue bloods to such a fate, but then she never promised to protect them, had she?

No, that privilege went to the two behind her alone.

She bit her lip to repress a growl. Fuck, she hated D.A.T.F, more then anything, she hated their founder. What she wouldn't give to rip apart the bitch that ruined her life. 'Not like you didn't have a hand in ruining it yourself' a voice in her head reminded her, which was true, but it'd still be nice to have someone to take it out on.

"Where's your car?" She asked softly. Octavia pointed to a small but fancy model she didn't know the name of with their familiar Imp butler standing by. Poor little guy looked terrified, and she couldn't blame him, but at least they were nearly home free.

"Hey! Theres Prince Stolas!" Someone shouted, making them freeze. Lona groaned, perfect, she had to jinx them. Almost imminently they were surrounded by the press and protesters, Loona did her best to shield the two, but she was only one Hellhound and these guys were out for blood.

"Prince Stolas, what can you tell us about the Forsaken?!"

"Is it true they were recently spotted in Wrath?!"

"What's stopping Heaven from intervening?!"

"I-I…" Stolas stuttered nervously, getting overwhelmed as he tried to focus on one question at a time while microphones were shoved in his face.

"Why haven't any of you royals done anything about the Forsaken yet?!" An Incubus protester suddenly screeched "you're supposed to be oh so rich and powerful, but they're still out there while you just sit there in your fancy castles twiddling your thumbs!" Several of his fellow members cheered in agreement.

As Stolas began to go pale, Octavia decided it was time to take a page out of her Mothers book. "SHUT IT!" Octavia yelled, making everyone go silent. Even Loona and Stolas were stunned, she rarely raised her voice. Octavia panted, glaring at the crowd as her eyes glowed slightly "my Dad is one demon. One! He's doing what he can but for fuck sakes the Forsaken are impossible to track down! He's doing everything he can but he's one. demon! Can you honestly look me in the eye and claim you can or have done any better?!"

No one spoke up, their glares and grumbles didn't stop, but most avoided her gaze and lowered their signs ever so slightly. At least this group was somewhat intelligent.

"That's what I thought" she spat, taking her Fathers hand and marching off, ignoring the yells hurled at them. Loona quickly followed behind, flipping the crowd the bird with both hands for good measure.

"You didn't have to do that dear" Stolas said, head lowered in shame. His daughter shouldn't have to fight his battles for him.

"Yes I did" Octavia responded, leaving no room for arguing.

"To answer your question, I can't say I have at this time" a voice spoke up, bringing the three to a stop right outside the car. They turned back, eyes widening when they saw the figure leaning casually against the wall of the large building "but I'm willing to give it a shot."

Loona growled "Striker."

Striker chuckled, pushing himself off the wall and strolling up to them. He tipped his hat as his gaze fell onto the terrified Goetia "good to see you again, blueblood." Stolas didn't respond, he couldn't, he was ashamed to admit he'd been traumatized by their encounter. Worse, Striker knew it "aw, don't say you didn't miss me" he teased.

"What are you doing here?" Loona hissed "don't tell me you're with these losers."

Striker shrugged "not officially, they hired me to do some security work" he explained smoothly. "I got no horse in this race either way, but hey" he pulled out a knife, a Blessed knife, and waved it around. His smirk growing as Stolas shrunk away "demons gotta eat, right?"

Octavia was barely containing her rage. She was well aware this was the demon who'd nearly killed her Father "so you think you can take the Forsaken down with angelic weapons?" She asked, figuring out the blade wasn't just an intimidation tactic.

He shrugged "they're still demons at the end of the day, aint they? So…" Striker smirked as he put the knife away "…where's Blitzy at?" He asked mockingly, making all three flinch.

Of course they didn't expect him to know about Blitzo, but that didn't make the reminder any less painful. It was certainly enough to snap Stolas out of his terror "I wish I knew" he said quietly, tears welling in his eyes "I haven't seen him in three years."

Striker snorted "what, did he finally get some self-respect and dump your ass?" He asked cruelly, leaning closer to the Prince "or did you finally get bored of him like we both knew you would?"

Stolas felt his heart stop and break all at once.

"Dude, nobody's seen Blitz in three years" Loona said curtly. She might've mustered more anger if she wasn't consumed by her own guilt and despair.

To their surprise, Striker actually looked taken aback to hear this "seriously?" He looked between them, trying to find any sign they were lying, but the devastated looks on their faces spoke the truth.

"What do you mean no one's seen Blitz in three years?" A new voice suddenly asked. The four looked to see one of the D.A.T.F protesters coming up to them, sign still in hand. She looked between the Hellhound and Goetias with a raised brow, waiting for an explanation.

Loona squinted as she looked the Imp up and down; there was something familiar about her. Octavia and Stolas thought so too "I'm sorry, who are you?" Octavia asked bluntly, not having the patience to deal with one these guys.

"I asked you a question first" she replied stubbornly, folding her arms. "What do you mean no one's seen Blitz in three years?" She repeated more forcefully "where did he go?" They kept staring, how did she even know Blitzo anyway?

Actually…now that they thought about it, she looked almost identical to him.

"If they knew, they wouldn't be saying no one's seen him, now would they?" Striker couldn't help but snark, rolling his eyes as she glared at him.

Octavia sighed, rubbing her temples "we don't know what happened, he's just…gone." It was a lame answer, but as far as they could tell that was basically how it happened. "Dad's searched for him, is still searching for him, but we've yet to find any trace of him" she glanced at her Father as he lowered his head, eyes closed.

The Imp stared at Stolas in disbelief, Striker seemed surprised by that as well "why would you look for him?" She asked.

"That's really none of your business" Loona finally said, her voice heavy with emotions. Without another word, she took both demons' hands and dragged them into the car, not sparing the Imp or Striker a second glance. Once they were driving off, they all let out a sigh of relief.

"Sorry" Loona mumbled.

"Not a whole lot you can do about those guys" Octavia assured her tiredly. "I know they're scared, but it's not fair that they get to act that way" she grumbled as she rubbed her face "don't they see they're just adding to the problem?"

Stolas sighed and pulled his daughter into a hug "they never do" he said regretfully. The drive fell into silence, mulling over the ever-growing mess that was associated with the Forsaken.

More than anything, Stolas and Loona tried to ignore the holes in their hearts left by Blitzo's disappearance, and the role they plaid that led to it.

Octavia looked between them sadly. She hadn't known Blitzo as well as them, heck she could count on both hands the number of times they'd spoken, but she knew how much he'd meant to Loona and…

…She'd come to accept how much he'd meant to her Dad. That didn't make the past okay, but she understood things better now than she had back then.

"Wherever Blitzo is…" she began carefully, she always felt like she didn't have the right to talk about him, but she wanted to help if she could "…I'm sure he's not in too much trouble. If anything, he's probably causing the trouble."

Loona snorted in amusement, even Stolas gave a small chuckle. Well, at least she hadn't made things worse "he probably is, knowing Blitz" Loona muttered in agreement.

At the very least, they hoped so.

Striker watched as the car drove off, there were a few jeers from protesters who'd caught sight of the conversation. Although it was debatable if they'd heard a word of it.

"…Has Blitz really been gone for three years?" The Imp next to him suddenly asked, her voice quiet. Striker glanced over to her, he could tell she was trying to look indifferent, and she was failing miserably.

He shrugged "first I've heard of it" he said as walked back to the crowd, but his mind was still processing the new information. Blitzo didn't strike him as the type to just up and vanish from what he knew of the Imp, not discreetly anyway, what could have made such a thing happen?

In all honestly, Striker wasn't sure how to feel. Despite everything, he did have some respect for the Imps skills. His offer at the Harvest Moon Festival to become partners had been a genuine one for the most part, and he'd be lying if he said he hadn't felt disappointed at the rejection.

One thing he knew for sure, if a demon was gone for that long without a trace it meant one of three things.

Either Blitzo was dead, someone didn't want him to be found, or he didn't want to be found.

Question was, which was it?

Behind him, the Imp looked back in the direction of the car, rubbing her arm. When Blitzo had stopped trying to get back into her life, she'd just assumed he'd finally taken the hint she wanted nothing to do with him, but all this time he'd been missing? It never occurred to her he might be gone gone.

"Hey!" She turned to see a few of the other protesters staring at her "you coming Barbie?"

Barbie took one last look at the direction of the car before jogging back to the group. She shouldn't be worried about this; it was none of her business how those guys knew Blitzo and especially not whatever happened to him. She'd told him to get out of her life, the how or why shouldn't matter.

…Okay that was a lie, they mattered a little.

…A lot, they mattered a lot.

She might not want anything to do with him, but she still wanted him to be alive. Did that make her a hypocrite? Probably, but she could live with that.

Barbie tightened her grip on her sign; she was being silly. Of course Blitzo was alive, she was sure he'd turn up eventually. Admittedly kind of weird he hadn't already, but they just needed to give it more time, those randos just needed to be more patient.

She'd made it clear she didn't want anything to do with Blitzo, so she wasn't going to give it another thought. She wasn't overjoyed to know he'd apparently vanished off the face of Hell, but if it meant he'd finally leave her alone like she wanted, she wasn't going to complain anytime soon.

Besides, Blitzo was nothing if not resilient. He was fine wherever he was.

Barbie chewed her lip as she tried to ignore the overwhelming feeling of wrongness creeping over her.

Blitzo was fine, it wasn't a question.

…So then where was he?

…I miss when fandoms were fun. I miss when anything was allowed to be fun. I miss being allowed to be happy.

Now everything is just…miserable.

…Sorry, I was in a mood when I typed that. So anyway, this was a slower chapter, but the next one might be a bit more interesting. On the plus side, most of the pieces are in place now at least.

Most.

For the record Lord Rodan is important too. I just can't decide who I could see voicing him, I'm feeling maybe Benedict Campbell, thoughts?

Till then.