Chapter 18

Octavia

Sometime ago

"Give it back!" Yelled Octavia as she jumped to get her tiara, which was currently being tossed by a group of older teens. Judging by their laughing faces, they were enjoying her struggles to get back her tiara, a symbol of her status as royalty. "Give it back! That's mine!" Rather than heeding Octavia's request, the other teens simply continued tossing her tiara around, much to Octavia's dismay. This has been going on for weeks now and Octavia was getting sick of it.

Ever since she was transferred to a new school for nobles, the last one was unfortunately destroyed in the last extermination, she had been bullied by a bunch of other teens from the Goetia lineage. She didn't know why this was so and she tried telling her parents about this, but they either brushed it off, too busy with being nobles to help their daughter, or just outright told her that she needed to stand up for herself. This hurt Octavia so much that both of her parents weren't understanding her position. Even her father wasn't understanding. Either too busy with something or outright neglecting her, he wasn't there like he used to be when she was younger. When she was a child? What happened to her parents that made them this way?

Going back to the bullying, the group of teens continued to toss around Octavia's tiara until eventually they stopped tossing around her tiara. When they did, the leader of the group, a girl of the Goetia noble lineage and bully of Octavia since the day they met when Octavia transferred to this new school, spoke up.

"This is getting boring." Said a violet-colored, pigeon-like demon with lavender eyes as she looked at Octavia with a sneer. "How about we change things up a bit. If you want your tiara, Octavia, then you're going to have to get it yourself." Before Octavia can figure out what the demoness meant, she suddenly started rummaging her book bag for something until she brought out a purple Grimoire. Stunned at seeing a Grimoire in the possession of a noble girl, no older than seventeen or sixteen years old, Octavia just watched as the girl opened up a page in the Grimoire while her goons ganged up on poor Octavia. While a few grabbed at Octavia, preventing her from moving, the rest were drawing a magic circle on the ground. While Octavia was struggling to get out of their grip, pleading at them to let her go, the pigeon-like demon began muttering ancient demonic words. These words soon caused the now completed circle to glow red and soon a portal was created, engulfing the circle, and transforming it into a gateway that led to a place only Lucifer or Satan knew of. Widening her eyes at the sight of the portal, Octavia tried to get away, but the demons that held her wouldn't budge. With their struggling victim, the demon teens began to drag Octavia to the portal, where the pigeon-like demon had tossed Octavia's tiara into. Yelling in shock at the blatant disregard of her possession as well as a symbol of demon royalty, Octavia was then forced to look into the eyes of the pigeon-like demon, who smirked at her.

"Good luck on the other side." Said the pigeon demon, whose name Octavia had never learned before all this bullying occurred. "For all we know, this portal will lead to Heaven or somewhere in Hell that eats little girls like you for breakfast. Whatever it is, I hope this teaches your parents a lesson for messing with my part of the Goetia family again." Not understanding what the girl meant, Octavia was soon thrown into the portal without much warning. Once Octavia went through the portal, said portal closed, causing all the demon kids to laugh. With some luck, Octavia would no longer be seen again and her parents would be devastated to hear their only heir was gone forever.

Present

"You mean to tell me that you were bullied in school and sent through a portal when you were transferred to your new school!?" Yelled Stolas when he heard that part of Octavia's story. Rather than confirming, Octavia simply glared at her father before speaking up.

"Just shut up and listen to the story." Said Octavia as she glared at her father with annoyance and anger. Stolas, hurt that his own daughter was glaring at him with such emotions, simply nodded before resuming to listen to his daughter's story in silence. The Imps, meanwhile, were also silent and were being served refreshments by several, much to the shock of the demons, humans. Dark skin humans, wearing old-school clothing that they were all pretty sure that humans no longer wore anymore. They had been sent here by Azir, the name of Octavia's little friend, who decided that the Imps and Stolas deserved to have some sort of nourishment after what they endured from both the desert and Renekton, the crocodile beast that attacked them. So he sent word and soon an array of fruit, water, and bread was provided to the demons, which they quickly partook in. Especially the water. Though, with the story being provided to them, they were eating slowly so as to listen intently. Blitzo especially. Out of the three Imps, he was the only that was focused on listening to Octavia the most. Why, neither Millie nor Moxxie understood. Chewing his bread slowly, Blitzo continued to listen as Octavia resumed her story. Of how she met Azir.

Sometime ago

Shurima desert

"Hello! Anyone!? Come the fuck on! I need help!" Yelled Octavia as she trudged through the desert that she found herself in after emerging from the portal that she was forcibly sent through. Much to Octavia's relief, she wasn't sent to Heaven or someplace in Hell where a little girl like her shouldn't go alone without an adult. Especially a noble girl like her. That relief, however, soon went away when she realized that she was trapped in a desert. A desert with seemingly no life in it to boot. After realizing this and finding her tiara nearby, Octavia started a long trek in trying to find someone to help her. And by that, she picked a direction to walk in and just hope luck would be on her side.

After traveling for what felt like hours, Octavia was at her wit's end. Not only was she hungry, but she was tired, deprived of her phone, which was getting no reception, therefore useless, irritated, and above all, lonely. She missed her parents and she wanted them to come to save her from…wherever she was currently, regardless of how neglectful they've been with her lately.

Whimpering to herself, Octavia once again cried out for help, praying to Satan that someone was listening and would come help her. She was about to cry out again when she suddenly felt rumbling beneath the sand. Stunned, Octavia looked around for what was causing that when suddenly the ground beneath her gave way, sending her flying up and then crashing into a pile of sand. Landing headfirst into a pile of sand, Octavia let a muffled cry of annoyance, something she would quickly regret when sand got into her mouth, before pulling herself out of the pile of sand she found herself in. When she did, however, she instantly regretted it as she saw what she can only describe as a giant, purple, insect thing with a giant horn on top of its head. Rather than speaking, the giant monster just glared at her with beady red eyes before charging at her with the express intent of attacking and killing her.

Screaming in panic, Octavia tried to run away but by the time that she turned away from the beast, it was already upon her. Horn lowered, the beast failed to skewer Octavia with its horn, the teen's lanky frame saving her from that cruel fate, but the beast used its head to send Octavia flying to a nearby bed rock jutting out of the sand. It was there that Octavia's left arm broke when it collided with the bed rock, causing her to scream in pain. Slumping to the ground, Octavia looked at her now broken arm, feeling queasy when she saw bone shards sticking out of her arm. Crying in pain, Octavia was about to clutch her damaged arm when she suddenly heard a roar from the monster that attacked her.

Looking at the beast, Octavia screamed when she saw it was preparing to charge her again. As it made its last preparations, Octavia prepared herself for the inevitable attack. Closing her eyes, Octavia waited for the sudden burst of pain that would soon arise. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she thought of her parents and wondered if they will miss her.

As she waited for the inevitable attack to come, Octavia failed to see that someone had been seeing what was happening to her and had decided to intervene in order to save her life.

Charging again at the demon girl, the monstrous, purple beast was about to skewer Octavia when the sand ahead and under the beast suddenly came alive and began encircling the monster. Completely surrounding the beast, the sand soon collapsed upon the beast, engulfing it in a ball of sand. Octavia, once realizing that she wasn't hurt at all, opened her eyes and gasped when she saw the beast was inside a ball of sand, roaring in rage, trying to get out. That wouldn't come to pass, however, as the ball began collapsing around the beast. Octavia watched as the ball got smaller and smaller, suffocating and cracking the monster's armor, until eventually Octavia heard a loud crack and the ball of sand turned a dark purple. Stunned to see the beast taken down so easily and with simple sand, Octavia then felt a drift from behind her. Turning around, Octavia was stunned to see a tall and majestic golden bird-like man looking down upon her, a staff upon his right hand. It was Azir, the recently revived God-Warrior of Shurima and soon-to-be friend of Octavia.

"Greetings child." Said Azir as he looked upon the stranger that he had just saved from a creature of the void. He had been in the local area, trying to find a suitable location to further expand his recently revived city, when he had felt unknown yet powerful magic nearby. Curious, Azir went to investigate. Needless to say, he was surprised with what he stumbled upon. "I am Azir, the Emperor of Shurima. Do not be alarmed by my presence. You are in the presence of one that desires not your destruction, but to help you." With that, Azir let out his free hand and knelled before Octavia, who was stunned at his words and his actions. Slightly hesitant, Octavia slowly reached out with her able hand and took Azir's hand.

With that, Azir gently helped Octavia to her feet and began escorting her to his guards, who he had ordered to stay behind and assess the previously mentioned ideal expansion spot for his city. As he walked, Azir had no idea that he had started a friendship with this girl that he had just saved. A friendship that would benefit the both of them in the months to come.

Present

The Sun Disc

"And so, for a full week, I stayed in this city." Said Octavia as she finished her story. "A full week. A week I was missing and when I got back to Hell, I find out my parents didn't bother searching for me. Because they were told a lie by that shitty school I still go to." She then glared at her father. "Why don't you tell everyone what the lie was dad. So as to give you a chance to explain yourself." Stolas winced when he heard the anger and hatred from his daughter's voice. It was something he didn't want to hear from his daughter, especially directed at him, but it seems he'll have to endure it.

"Well, if my memory serves me right." Said Stolas as he tried to recall a lie Octavia's new school gave him regarding his daughter being missing for a week. "Octavia's school told me that Octavia was going on a trip with some of her friends for an unspecified amount of time. I tried to pry about the trip, but they told me that Octavia wanted to keep it a secret and that it was a test to prove that she is independent of me. So, I…"

"You trusted their word without looking into the matter further." Interrupted Azir, guessing what Stolas did. Stolas looked at Azir and opened his mouth to retort, but couldn't find the words. His lack of words confirmed the truth of Azir's words and caused everyone to either look at each other or shake their heads in disappointment at Stolas.

"You serious?" Said Millie as she scratched her head. "No offense, your majesty, but that's one of the…"

"Easiest and most obvious lies in the fucking book!" Yelled Octavia, enraged at being reminded of the stupidest thing that she had ever heard her father fell for in her entire life. "Like for fuck sake dad, how in god's name did you fall for that lie? When its literally one of the most common fucking lies people in Hell use to cover up what actually happened! Just…argh!" Grabbing her head, Octavia pulled out some feathers, causing Stolas to look at her in concern. Azir, however, simply placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort. He then instructed her to take a deep breath. A few if necessary. Heeding his words, Octavia did just that. Taking deep breaths, Octavia was attempting to calm herself down while Azir was squeezing her shoulder in comfort. Stolas, upon seeing this, felt jealous. Jealous that this…golden bird-man dared to have a better relationship with his daughter than her own father. That jealously, however, soon turned to sadness when he realized that the whole situation with his daughter was his fault. He needed to rectify that. Now.

Once Octavia was done calming herself down, she looked at her father, telling him to say something.

"Via." Said Stolas with a cracked voice as he looked upon his daughter, who was currently glaring at him. "I…I didn't know about any of this. I…I'm so sorry. If I did know about any of this, I would have…"

"But you didn't know about the bullying." Said Octavia, interrupting her father in anger. "You didn't know that I was bullied the moment I landed in that school. You didn't know that it went on for weeks. And you didn't know that I not only got sent to another world but I got hurt there and had to be saved by someone else. A complete stranger at the time. Then, as if those things weren't bad enough, you and Mom continued to neglect me after I came back home after a week stuck in Shurima. Even after I got back to hell, thanks to Azir, you continued to neglect me. Sure, Azir asked me to keep him and this world a secret when I told him about Hell, but that literally means nothing after I heard you fell for that lie from the school principal and board. Like seriously, how the fuck did you fall for that old trick? Were you too busy arguing with mom or sucking that Imp's, limp cock?" Octavia pointed at Blitzo, who looked at Octavia, slightly offended at her saying his cock was limp.

Stolas, meanwhile, was getting more and more hurt with his daughter's words. She didn't know just how difficult her mother was. How she made him feel insecure and how much he despised her. He never loved her and he never will. His daughter failed to understand that. Just as she failed to understand just how much Blitzo made him feel happy. Made him feel like an actual person and not some noble that people can talk to behind his back or be forced to be nice to said people in order to "preserve" his family name. Blitzo was everything Octavia's mother was supposed to be in terms of being a spouse but failed utterly at. As much as it hurt Stolas that his daughter failed to understand this, he couldn't blame her for this.

Throughout her youth, she had been under the impression that he and Stella loved each other. That they were a loving family. It had been a deal that he made with Stella so that Octavia could have, at least, some happy memories for her childhood. To have something that neither he or many other demons of noble blood had. A good childhood. A fabricated good childhood, yes, but Stolas believed that having a good, memorable childhood built on a lie was better than a childhood that held nothing but misery and nothing worthwhile to remember fondly of. Just like anything he had with the exception of the times he had been with Blitzo when they first met as children. Now, however, it seems he's going to suffer the consequences of his choice.

"Via." Said Stolas as he tried to tell her the reason he fell for the trick, even though he knew that hearing it would only piss her off. "I…I honestly thought that you were off on a trip with your friends. I didn't hear much complaints from you regarding your school nor did I hear much about you from your school or friends, both bad and good. So I…"

"So, you decided that would be it and left it at that! You didn't bother to verify if it was true or not!?" Yelled Octavia, completely angry now. "I can't believe you dad! Just how the fuck are you a prince of Hell in the first place!? Better yet, how did you survive this long!? Just how naïve do you fucking have to be to fall for that old trick!? How can I, someone who is only seventeen years old, figure something out sooner that my old man, older than me by hundreds of years, couldn't!? Just…argh!" Octavia placed her hands on her beanie before yelling out something that completely broke his heart. "I wish I wasn't your daughter! I wish I was Azir's kid!" Those two sentences caused Stolas to step back in shock, his eyes wide at what Octavia just said. Blitzo, the Imps, even Azir, were also startled with what Octavia just said. Everyone then looked at Stolas, who was staring at Octavia, her words starting to sink deep into him. When they completely sank in, no one was expecting what happened next.

Stolas' eyes started to fill up with tears as he looked at his daughter, both with pain and some anger. Feeling slightly bad with what she just said, but still angry with her father, Octavia was about to speak up when Stolas suddenly opened a portal and went through it, leaving before Octavia can say another word. When the portal closed, Blitzo looked at Octavia and gave her a glare.

"Pardon me, bitch, but what the fuck was that!" Yelled Blitzo as he glared at Octavia for her harsh words towards her own father. He, at first, was understanding of Octavia's position, but after what she said to Stolas, he was now fully against her. "Sure, Stolas isn't the perfect father, but who the fuck in Hell is a perfect father? You ain't got the right to go criticizing him when so many other dads in Hell are so much worse than Stolas! Like, seriously, you should see the shittier dads in Hell. Maybe that will make you see that Stolas isn't as bad as you make him out to be." Upon hearing all that, Octavia looked at Blitzo in anger before retorting back.

"So just because my dad doesn't rape me, physically abuse me, or just straight up use me for other, shittier purposes, that gives him a pass to just wreck my home life by constantly fighting with my mom or ignoring his daughter whenever she wants his attention?" Asked Octavia rhetorically before continuing, glaring at Blitzo. Even when it doesn't inconvenience him in the slightest? No offense, but that has got to be one of the weakest arguments I have ever heard. Just because my dad is a bit better than those other shittier dads, doesn't excuse the fact that he's ruining my life at the moment."

"She has a point, sir." Said Moxxie, deciding to butt in so that the situation won't escalate to the point that Azir decides to punish them for one stupid move against Octavia. "I mean, I don't know much about the family life of Miss Octavia and Prince Stolas, but abuse isn't just physical. Abuse can be achieved with also words and passive actions. Abuse can also be done involuntarily. Stolas may have unintentionally abused his daughter without his knowledge. And it seems that its been going on for quite some time now." Azir hummed at the intelligence of the white-haired Imp. It seems that he was the most astute of the three demons. He was about to speak when the lanky, tall Imp glared at Moxxie and spoke.

"Hey, butt out of this Moxxie." Said Blitzo. "You ain't a dad. You don't know a thing you're saying. I'm a dad and Stolas is a dad. You're not. You're still a virgin despite being married for a few months. We both got daughters and had them for years. I think we got more experience in these matters than you, Mox. So shut up and let the guy with an actual daughter handle things." Millie, upon hearing all that, glared at Blitzo.

"Sir, shut the fuck up!" Yelled Millie as she defended her husband, who was glaring at Blitzo at his insults towards him. "Me and Moxxie may not got a kid yet, but that doesn't mean we ain't got a say in this matter too. Besides, Moxxie is right on this. I ain't the sharpest tool here, but I do know that abuse is a tricker thing than most people think it is. Plus, Moxxie got a damn thing education, better than you and me. So how about we shut the fuck up and trust Moxxie on this one."

"Oh, so just because he went to one of the actual good schools in Hell, it means he has better authority than your own boss." Said Blitzo, getting angry at Millie. "Never thought that you would pull that shitty card, Millie, in defense of your limp dick husband."

"He doesn't have a limp dick!" Yelled Millie in anger as she held her husband so that he may stop her from attacking their boss. "Moxxie got a damn fine dick and I know it firsthand!"

"Well clearly it's a limp dick if you haven't gotten pregnant yet." Said Blitzo with a smirk, enraging both Millie and Moxxie. "Or is it something else that prevents you from getting pregnant?" Upon hearing that, Millie was about to toss herself at Blitzo in anger when suddenly Azir slammed the butt of his staff onto the ground, creating a loud boom that caught the attention of everyone else in the room.

"Enough!" Yelled Azir as he looked upon the Imps, his eyes glowing bright blue. He then began marching towards them, anger clear on his face as he marched. While the human servants dispersed in the face of Azir's anger, the Imps, normally quite brave for their kind, were left stupefied and afraid as they felt Azir's anger and power emit from his body, causing them to stay where they are in fear. Never before have they had a powerful being march towards them with the express intent of doing them harm or be angry at them at all. Even Moxxie, who was the adopted son of the ruler of Mitna Rachnun, never witnessed or experienced something like this. Ever. Even the brief time he'd seen Morgana's, the four-winged woman of his childhood, power was nothing compared to this. And it scarred him. The trio of Imps were huddled together in fear as Azir towered over them. Even Millie, who wasn't normally scared of anything, was afraid of what Azir may do to her, her husband, and her boss as he marched towards them.

Standing a few inches from the group of Imps, Azir then spoke, his voice booming with power and authority.

"You three should be ashamed of yourselves." Said Azir as he berated the three Imps. "I've shown you curtesy and hospitality upon your arrival into my glorious city. And in repayment, you argue amongst yourselves and defend the one that has caused great harm to my friend." With that, he turned to Blitzo, who actually winced as Azir glared at him. "You. You may have a daughter, but that doesn't give you the right to deem what you believe is right and wrong. Your associate here," Azir pointed at Moxxie. "Is correct. I have seen much in my long life. Much that has given me knowledge and understanding on the complexities of life. Including those that seem to be simple but are more complex than we would like it to be. This is one of those things. Abuse is a very fickle thing. It is something that can appear in even the most well-intentioned individuals. It is an enemy that can and will sneak through one's guard if given the opportunity. It is something that we all must stand vigilant lest we hurt or even lose those we care about." With all that said, Azir turned around and walked away from the Imps. As he did so, he went to Octavia and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Stolas has failed his daughter by failing to heed the warnings in time. However, I believe he can still make things right." Everyone, even Octavia was surprised to hear that.

"What do you mean?" Asked Octavia in surprise, never suspecting that Azir would support her father in any shape or form. Not after everything that she told him about her father.

"I've seen plenty of failures for fathers, Octavia." Said Azir as he looked at his friend, speaking in a soft tone. "Some worser than others. Your father, however, is not amongst the worst. He is awful in some regards, yes, but your relationship with him can still be mended. It will require effort on his part, much effort, but I believe Stolas can mend what he has damaged. But only if he mends his relationship with you now and not a moment later. Anything less is unacceptable after what he has done to you child." Octavia looked at Azir's bright eyes, pondering his words. As she did so, Azir looked back at the Imps and spoke.

"As for you Imps, heed my words." Said Azir, his words harsher than when he spoke to Octavia. "If you desire to help Stolas in repairing the broken bond he had with his daughter, then convince him to invest more time and effort to his daughter. To actually put effort into mending the broken bond he has with his daughter. Otherwise, he will never again have a good relationship with his daughter. Is that understood?" The Imps, seeing that Azir was waiting an answer from them, they nodded their heads. "Good. With that done, let me help you in returning to your realm." He then turned to Octavia. "Do you also wish to return home, my friend?" Octavia, upon hearing that, looked at her friend before nodding.

"Yeah, I think its best for all of us if I go back home." Said Octavia as she made her decision. "Dad is probably in a mess after what I said to him. If I want him to actually be a better dad quick, then I probably need to go back to him and explain what you said. So, yeah. I'll be going now. Thanks for…you know everything." Azir just nodded at that before looking at the Imps.

"Come, Imps." Said Azir as he looked at the Imps, all three of them still stupefied with what was just occurred. One moment, Azir was threatening them and the next he was having a tender moment with Octavia. And now he was offering to take them back home. Just who the heck was this Azir?

Eventually, the Imps followed Azir as he escorted them and Octavia to a chamber that he can use to teleport them back to Hell without drawing the attention of the various powerful beings in Hell. Not unless they knew where to look. As they walked, Moxxie saw Blitzo's face and saw that it was contorted into something of thought and contemplation. Wondering what his boss was thinking, Moxxie also wondered about Stolas and how he was faring regarding what Octavia had said to him. He may not know the prince much, but he felt like he deserved a chance to mend the relationship with his daughter and not be cast out of her life.

Azir seemed to agree with that, but to what extent, Moxxie didn't know. What he did know, however, was that Stolas needed to step up his game or else he may end up losing his daughter's love entirely. Or worse, be replaced by a complete stranger as a father figure for Octavia. Gulping at the thought of what would happen if that ever occurred, Moxxie hoped that things will turn out right for Stolas and Octavia. For his and I.M.P. sake if nothing else.