On the other side of town, a few miles away from the hotel, Hazel, Charlie, and Sugar Cube sat together at a table outside a little coffee shop; Charlie and Hazel were enjoying some lattes while Sugar nursed on a tall cup of black coffee. "Thanks so much for agreeing to hang with me today, Sugar," Hazel sighed, "It's just been nothing but stress lately; I had no idea how much I needed a girls' day out."

"Gee, it's just too bad Mama Li couldn't make it. But, I guess them's the breaks when you work on a dairy farm down in Wrath, huh?" Sugar chuckled, "Trust me, I've been needing a break myself, so this was the perfect excuse to cash in some of that vacation time I've built up."

"Well, at least it gave us all a chance to really meet and get to know each other," Charlie smiled, "I've always wondered about Husk's inner circle. He's so… so," "Secretive?" Sugar asked. "Yeah," Charlie nodded, "Well, I guess I'd say it's more like Husk is a very… private person. Which, I do respect, but… there's so little any of us really know about him."

Sugar Cube and Hazel looked at each other for a moment, smiling as they tried to suppress a laugh, much to Charlie's confusion. "Did I… say something funny?" Charlie queried, "Or… did I say something wrong?" "No, no, you're fine." Hazel chuckled. "Let me put it to you this way, honey," Sugar drawled, "The simple fact is, it's just not our place to tell you anything about anything." Charlie raised a brow as Sugar continued, "I know that redeeming sinners is kind of your whole mission and whatnot, but we kind of like having Zeke in our lives. If he wants to get into Heaven, good for him, I hope he makes it one day. But we're not gonna help you take him away from us."

"That's not… I-I wasn't," Sugar Cube held up a hand, stopping Charlie and said, "It's okay. We know that's not what you're trying to do." "We just wanted to make we were on the same page before we took things any further," Hazel explained, "As my uncles like to say, 'trust but verify.'" Charlie smiled and nodded, lifting her coffee cup as Hazel and Sugar did the same and they made a little toast.

"So, what about you two? How long have you worked for Husk, Sugar Cube?" Charlie asked. "Well, that's kind of a complicated question to answer," Sugar hummed, "I guess you could say I technically started working at the Jackpot when I was seventeen. Labor laws were a lot more lax back then, but most of what I did at the time was grunt work. You know, bussing tables, washing dishes, things like that. But, it wasn't until I was about nineteen or twenty that I really got around to… finding myself."

"Is that what they're calling it these days?" a voice laughed; Hazel shivered as she and the others turned to see her aunt Karol walking over with a smug grin on her face, "That's a really fancy way of saying 'I'm a mentally ill freak.'" "Karol," Sugar Cube greeted in a deadpan voice, "The hell do you want?" Karol just ignored Sugar, strutted over and pulled up a chair over next to Hazel before sitting down and placing a hand on the younger imp's shoulder.

"Sweetheart, just say the word and I will take you far away from here." Karol whispered, "I mean, you do want to keep your baby safe, don't you?" Hazel hopped out of her seat and backed away, hiding behind Sugar Cube and said, "How the fuck did you even find me?" "Oh, such language," Karol huffed, "I see growing up around this riffraff didn't teach you any proper manners. All the more reason for me to step in. Satan knows I don't want my grand-niece or nephew around such… deviance."

Sugar Cube laughed at that, slapping her knee as she chortled and said, "Bitch, you were born, raised, and live in Lust! You know, the ring whose ruling Deadly Sin is all about deviance, self-indulgence and hedonism. You ain't got a damn leg to stand on." "Back off, freak!" Karol snapped, "This doesn't concern you!"

"Excuse me, hello." Charlie called in a sing-song voice, drawing Karol's attention, "Yeah, hi, hello. I think we've all gotten off on the wrong foot. Why don't we start over?" The three Hellborn demons eyed Charlie curiously as she cleared her throat, extended her hand and said, "Hello, my name's Princess Charlie Morningstar. What's your name?"

"Humph," Karol huffed, "This doesn't concern you, either. But, seeing as you asked so politely… my name's Karol. I'm Hazel's paternal aunt, a.k.a., her only real surviving family member." "Bullshit!" Hazel snapped, "I have a lot of family, and you ain't one of 'em. You said so as much the day my dad reached out to you and told you what happened to my birth parents. What were your exact words again? Oh yeah, you said, 'Well, I guess she's your burden now.' Yeah, you're just dripping with familial love and compassion."

"What did I tell you about that mouth of yours?" Karol asked, "See, this is why I came back. Clearly that… man, if you can call him that, didn't do a very good job raising you. Just look at how you treat your real family; look at who you associate with! It's just so disheartening, sweetheart."

"Alright, that does it," Sugar huffed, "I've had just about enough of this bullshit. You need to leave right now." Karol shrieked as Sugar Cube got up, grabbing Karol by her wrist and yanking her out of her seat before shoving her away. "I don't know why you decided to come back after all this time, and I don't rightly give a shit. And by the sound of it, neither does Hazel. Take the damn hint, woman, and screw off!"

"Who do you think you are to speak to me like that!?" Karol roared, "Don't ever touch me again, you demented, perverted freak of nature!" Sugar Cube let out a snarl, getting right up in Karol's face and said with a surprisingly thick, deep drawl, "You do not want to start with that shit again, Karol. I might've been conceived in Lust, but I was born and raised in Wrath, and I haven't forgotten what I learned back home on the ranch. You wanna fight? Alright, honey, gimme your best shot."

Karol grumbled, scrunching her face up as she looked around, hoping to find someone to help her, but the coffee shop's outside seating area was surprisingly empty. As Sugar Cube took a step forward, Karol stumbled back another step and a half, a smirk slowly stretching across her face as she got an idea. "Well, come on," Sugar snapped, "You wanna go, let's go! Woman versus woman." "Oh, see, that's going to be a bit of an issue," Karol laughed, "There's only one woman here between the two of us, and it definitely isn't you!" Sugar Cube yelped, letting out a high-pitched squeal as Karol slammed her foot hard between her legs hard, sending the taller demon falling to her knees.

"Sugar!" Hazel shrieked, running over to the Succubus' side and putting a hand on her shoulder, "Sugar, are you alright? Talk to me, girl. Hey!" Hazel gasped as Karol grabbed her arm hard and yanked her away from Sugar, huffing as she pulled her arm away, "Get away from us, you fucking psychopath!" Karol reared back and slapped Hazel across the face hard, earning a shocked yelp from the younger imp before grabbing Hazel's arm again, gripping onto her hard and digging her nails into her skin, saying, "Let's go!"

"Stop!" Charlie snapped, "Let her go… now!" "Who do you… uh." Karol's face paled as she turned to see Charlie coming at her, her blonde hair furling as she extended her horns and her eyes flushed an angry red. Karol grabbed Hazel and pulled her in front of her, using the pregnant imp as a shield as Charlie approached.

"Get… get back!" Karol trembled, "Get away from us." "Let go, bitch!" Hazel snapped, jamming her hoof into Karol's foot to force her to let go. Hazel turned back, lifting her hand as a light emanated from her chest before reaching into her shirt and pulling out a switchblade. "Go away, Karol… now!"

Karol gasped, looking at Hazel, then over at Charlie before backing away, flipping them both off before turning and running off, shouting, "I will be back! This isn't over!" Charlie turned back to Hazel as she reverted back to normal, gasping as the small Imp put the blade away into the same glowing light that faded once the blade was gone. "How… how did you do that?" Charlie asked. Hazel smiled and beckoned Charlie closer; once Charlie was a few feet away, Hazel pulled down her top just a few inches to reveal the upper part of an intricate tattoo on her left breast. "What the? Is that… a sigil?"

"Yep," Hazel smirked, "All the Jackpot's top players has one. Each is loosely based on one of the four suits in a traditional poker deck, depending on their department. Shwick and Kanban are Diamonds, Gate's a Spade, Sugar is the head of the Clubs," "And Husker is the… ugh… the Heart of the operation." Sugar Cube groaned, slowly getting onto her feet, "Hot damn that woman has a hell of an aim."

"Are you okay, Sugar?" Hazel asked, trotting over and helping the Succubus sit down in one of the chairs. "Ugh, yeah," Sugar nodded, "Damn it, I might have to do a re-tuck after that. Ow… fuck, that bitch hurts!" "Am I missing something?" Charlie asked quizzically. "Just look inside my purse," Sugar sighed, "I think you'll get it real fast."

Charlie reached over and took a peek inside Sugar Cube's handbag, spotting a small pair of scissors and a roll of tape. Charlie reached in and turned the tape over; as she read the label on the side, she looked up at Sugar, smiled, and gave an understanding nod.