Ishizu stopped within the doorway of the escape orb, glowering at what she saw.
When the announcement had come for everyone to abandon the blimp she had quickly made her way to one of the main doors, at first confused at how it could lead to salvation. It was just a door that led outside. With Endymion dead such things were just... doors. But then the Millennium Necklace had shown her what would happen the moment the door opened. An inflatable device would activate, creating a sealed orb that would allow her to safely land in the ocean. There she could wait for rescue. As much as she loathed the modern world she had to admit it did, on occasion, come up with some rather brilliant ideas.
Of course that was went the cretin Rex Raptor had pushed her aside, stolen her escape orb, and flipped her off for good measure.
She planned to have the Pharaoh whip the piss out of him for that action!
Several other escape orbs had also been taken (and those inside must not have heard her calling for them to wait because they all detached before she could reach them) and for a brief moment Ishizu had thought that she wouldn't find one. She had worried that her heartless killing of Endymion had caused the gods to turn on her and she would die to pay for her actions. It was something that would make a woman question her life choices and wonder if she shouldn't seek a way to make up for her errors in what little time she had left.
...then she'd found one with only a single occupant and realized the gods still loved her and she was justified in her murder.
"Well?' the occupant said with a sneer. "Are you going to just stand there, sister?"
Ishizu considered turning back and finding another escape orb before, with a sigh, finally entering and shutting the door, activating the minute countdown. Marik, already strapped in, merely watched her with a dark sneer.
"I suppose I don't need to remind you to be careful with your Millennium Rod?" Ishizu asked as she worked to strap herself in. "If you pop this orb you will die too."
"Yes but I will get the delightful sight of your horror-filled face just before I meet my end!" Marik taunted.
Ishizu shot him a cold stare. "I will not die this day, brother. I have foreseen it."
"Just as you foresaw the blimp crashing?" Marik mocking shook his head, eyes shut. "You didn't truly think that Moon would react kindly to the death of her lover, did you?"
"Moon will get over it quickly," Ishizu reasoned. "The Greeks are fickle and quick to turn their sights to another. She will probably end up seducing... Joey Wheeler or something."
Marik cackled at that. "That blond boob wishes he could be seduced by that blond and HER boobs!" He took a breath, calming himself. "But I must admit sister-"
The orb detached and Ishizu forced herself not to scream as she and her brother plummeted to the ocean below.
The escape orb did its job though and after a few rough bounces they settled, the orb righting itself so that all they had to deal with was the gentle bobbing of the ocean. Ishizu let out a sigh of relief though that only caused her brother to snicker.
"Displeased that we did not die gruesome deaths, Marik?" she asked. "I would imagine you would prefer to live... you certainly can not look forward the Field of Reeds."
"As if you will be going there, Ishizu," Marik mocked. "Last I checked murder is a sin in most religions."
"I slayed a great evil," she replied. "I will be celebrated."
"You killed a loud mouthed man. Edwin Chaos was as much a monster as I am an English Princess." he leaned in a close as he could... the straps of the harness he wore prevented him from doing much. "Face it, dear sister... you have killed. Stained your hands with blood. You have damned yourself. At least when I kill people I am honest about it. I don't delude myself that I am doing it for some greater good… not anymore. The Pharaoh will die a thousand deaths and I will do it purely because it amuses me!"
"If I damned myself it is for the good of the Pharaoh you mock."
"Oh yes, your precious Pharaoh. He was so pleased with you and your actions that he never sought you out after you killed Edwin Chaos." He chuckled again at that. "Did that surprise you, sister? Did you look at the door of whatever closet you hiding yourself away in and wonder why he wasn't galloping towards you on some steed, desperate to thank you for knifing a man in the back? Don't get me wrong, I wish that I could have plunged a few thousand holes into him... but I have no delusions that I would have been thanked for it."
"The Pharaoh WILL thank me for what I have done."
"Assuming he gets a chance," Marik commented, looking up at the roof of the orb. "Assuming he survived that." He slowly lowered his head once more. "Did you not ensure that he was off the blimp, sister? Or in your terror did you allow him to die in it along with so many others?"
"He made it off," Ishizu said with a conviction she didn't truly feel. She had searched for him but only briefly and the Millennium Necklace still showed him dueling but... but the visions were still clouded. Not by the light of Selene or the power of the Millennium Key but rather by brimstone and fire. So much brimstone. "He made it off and he will find me, Marik. And when he does time will have seen the scales fall from his eyes. He will see what kind of creature Endymion was and he will finally realize the error of his ways."
Marik huffed at that. "We shall see."
"Yes, you shall."
The two grew silent.
"...I get the feeling we've forgotten something," Marik said, for once letting his tone hold something other than malice or mockery. "Or someone."
It scared Ishizu to admit that she felt the same way.
~MC~MC~MC~
"Now remember," Edwin said as he walked into Hazbin Hotel, reaching up to pat Angel on the shoulder. "We keep what happened to ourselves."
"Of course," he said quickly. He glanced at his shoulder and was relieved that there were no manacles on it; the last thing he needed was the new demon making him literally dance however he wished. "I'm smart enough to know when to keep my mouth shut."
"Considering your entire career is all about having your mouth open you'll pardon me if I don't believe that. So I'll just remind you that I hold your contract and while I can't kill you…"
His hair began to burn, eyes glowing as he smiled a bit too wide, the Jackal on his shoulder slowly rising up and licking his lips.
"…you'd be surprised what you can live through." And then, just as suddenly as it happened, he returned to normal. "Also I tend to like to help my friends. You and I are friends, right Angel? We bonded over hating Valentino?"
"Yup!" Angel said, forcing a smile on his lips. The thing was he didn't believe for a second that Edwin couldn't kill him; Angel remembered well that the demon held a godly weapon. One that could do far worse than an angelic weapon. That's what made him even more terrifying: he could kill him… but it didn't even enter his thoughts to consider that. "Totally friends."
He paused.
"You can make him, like, strap some C4 to his dick right?"
"I can make him fuck a blender if I want."
"Kinky, Boy Blue," Angel purred, suddenly envisioning all the things he could convince Edwin to do to the Overlord that had ruined his life.
"So like I said, I like helping my friends. Be my friend… and I might make that contract disappear."
THAT made Angel freeze, forcing Edwin to stop and stare at him. "You… you would dissolve the contract? You CAN dissolve the contract?"
"I can and I will… if you remain on my good side."
Angel just continued to look at him, bewildered. It was utterly unheard of for a demon to dissolve a contract. He'd never heard of such a thing happening before. Contracts, especially ones involving souls, were some of the most closely guarded things in Hell. There were demons living on the streets, paying for the right to suck cock from disease-riddled strangers, who wouldn't consider selling the souls they held (mostly because they could make those souls get money for said dick sucking…). Souls were the way that demons showed how truly powerful they were. Wealth could be squandered. Fame disappeared. But souls? Souls were FOREVER.
To suggest he would give up his claim to Angel's…
"Who the fuck are you?"
"Oh… just a man."
"ANGEL!" Vaggie cried out and Angel Dust started at her bellow, whipping around as the young woman stormed towards him, fuming. "What have we told you about bringing johns to the hotel?"
"He isn't a john," Angel said quickly, trying to keep Vaggie from offending the demon. Not because he cared about her at all… no, of course not. Never. Just that if he got mad Angel might be caught in the crossfire.
Totally.
"Please," Vaggie said with a roll of her eye. "That man has john written all over him. Listen, I don't know what you paid Angel but he'll have to return it because you are not fucking him anywhere. Niffty is busy enough without having to clean up the cum stains."
"Oh, but I bet you could leave a lot of them!" Niffty said, suddenly popping up on Edwin's shoulder. "You look big and strong." She sniffed. "And I smell fire on you… and blood. Do you need me to give you a scrubbing?"
Angel at once plucked the maid from Edwin's shoulder. "Nope! He doesn't need that from anyone." Then he hurriedly added, "Unless he requests it!"
"Oh, does he request it?"
"I do not," Edwin said casually, running his fingers along his right shoulder, the one that didn't have the jackal head draped over it.
"He does not because he's leaving," Vaggie declared. "We aren't a whore house."
"Technically, since I spend time here," Angel began to point out only for Vaggie to glower at him.
"I'm not a john," Edwin said again only for Vaggie to turn and glare at Husk, who was leaning against the bar polishing a glass.
"Why didn't you stop him before he got in this far? Why do you think you are here?"
"I think," Husk growled, "I'm here because that antlered fuck Alastor forced me to be here. Go yell at him that he never told me I had to be good at this." With that he looked over the glass and, happy that it was clean… promptly filled it with more booze that he began to drink.
"Again, not a john," Edwin told Vaggie. "I'm new in Hell and Angel told me this would be the perfect place for me to go."
"We aren't running a flop house."
Angel smirked. "Ya kinda are." And with that he threw himself onto one of the couches in the lobby. "Course I mean that in the most loving way possible… hey!" He shielded himself as Vaggie began to swat at him. "What the fuck!?"
"We just had Niffty clean that!" Vaggie complained, the little demon maid bobbing her head up and down. "Did you at least shower after all you did… whatever the fuck you were doing?"
"I was gonna," Angel complained just as Charlie came into the lobby… and gasped at the sight of him.
"Angel!" she ran over to him and began to check him over. "What happened? Who did this to you?"
Angel frowned before he caught his reflection and winced.
Yeah… that would be hard to explain.
~MC~MC~MC~
Edwin raised an eyebrow at Charlie's fussing; honestly he'd assumed that Angel came home with black eyes, busted lips, and crushed blood all the time and no one would notice. It WAS Hell, after all. But Charlie actually was worried for him… that was both unexpected… and completely expected, now that he thought about it.
"Heheh," Angel said, trying to play off his injuries, "you should see the other guy."
"Its actually how we met," Edwin said. "I was telling your… staff?" He looked at the others before shrugging. "I'm new to Hell… literally just arrived. I walked into the wrong alley and Angel helped me out."
"You… did that?" Charlie said, pupils literally turning into hearts.
"You did that?" Vaggie said, sounding far less convinced.
"Yup!" Angel said; Edwin had to give the spider demon that: he was real good at shifting to go along with a lie. "He really didn't know what was going on and bumbled his way into danger."
"And why would YOU help him out?" Vaggie asked.
But Charlie spoke up before Angel could answer. "Oh, I knew those empathy classes were working!" She hurried over to the front desk and pulled out a med kit, rushing back to Angel to begin patching him up. "I am so glad! You know, I was thinking just today that, "Charlie, I don't think trying to teach everyone empathy is working. They clearly don't like all those exercises and speeches and long boring powerpoint presentations. Maybe you should stop and focus on something else". But now that I know they are working we'll go full steam ahead!"
"…great," Angel said, hiding the wince those words brought by pretending it was from Charlie cleaning one of his cuts.
"So you are new in Hell, huh?" Husk asked, looking Edwin up and down. "What the fuck did you do to end up here."
"Hey!" Vaggie snapped. "That isn't polite!"
"It really isn't," Edwin said, looking away. "I did some… bad things-"
"No fucking shit," Husk muttered.
"-but it wasn't them that got me killed. Some deranged occult bitch decided to stab me in the back because I wanted to save this teen she'd trapped within an illusion."
"Wait, illusions?" Vaggie asked. "Since when are there illusions on Earth?"
"Ever since Ancient Egyptian Myth turned out to be a reality," Edwin muttered before frowning. "I wonder if the Pharaoh would be a mummy down here." He shook his head. "The point is she killed me and because I killed some people trying to save an old man and a teenager I got booted down to Hell."
"Sounds about right for those pious fucks upstairs," Husk muttered. He pushed a bottle towards Edwin but he waved him off. "You… don't drink? What the fuck?"
"It means more for you."
Husk considered that. "Huh. I like you." He smirked.
"Oh…by… Satan!" Charlie exclaimed, trembling in delight as she turned to Edwin. "You're perfect! I mean, you're not perfect because you're down here but you're perfect in your own imperfect way!"
"…thanks?"
"Charlie?" Vaggie said, frowning in confusion.
"Don't you see? A new arrival to Hell, who truly doesn't deserve to be down here and only is because he did something evil in the name of doing something good! He is the perfect person to help redeem and get into Heaven!"
"Where he can hang around with those stuck up arrogant bastards all day," Husk grumbled. "How wonderful."
"Isn't it?" Charlie said, not realizing Husk was being sarcastic. She grabbed Edwin's hand and dragged him towards the stairs. "Come on, let's get you settled in your room!"
Edwin merely allowed himself to be pulled along; he had a rather good feeling that Charlie was getting her hopes up for nothing but at least it gave him an in when it came to having a place to stay.
He also JUST missed it as the elevator dinged… and Alastor stepped out.
"Did I hear a commotion down here?" the Radio Demon asked. "Do we have another wayward soul who believes that is a chance for redemption, only to discover that they are damned and their hopes are for nothing?"
"Could you be any more giddy at their potential failure?" Vaggie asked dryly.
"…yes!" Alastor said, canned audience laughter filling the air. "Now, where is our new arrival?" He twisted his head one direction and the next, a horrible cracking sound filling the air as he did so.
"Charlie took Edwin with her. She wanted to show him the hotel."
"Ah well," Alastor said with a shrug. "I'm sure he will be back at some point." He twirled his cane. "I have some errands to run anyway but I'm sure the two of us will collide into one another soon enough."
"Why do you fucking care?" Husk asked as Alastor moved towards the door. "You don't give two shits about the demons that stay here."
"I don't even give one shit!" Alastor replied cheerfully… and because his back was turned to them none of the staff of Hazbin Hotel could see his smile become… darker. "But this Edwin… he sounds like an interesting fellow."
What he didn't mention was that Alastor had felt… something. A shifting in Hell.
And East Wind was now blowing… and he wanted to see just what was coming with it.
~MC~MC~MC~
"Hahahaha!" Noah cackled in delight. He was sitting on his hovering throne, the many screens that showed him all of the Virtual World turned on. Upon each one he could see the work the Big 5 were putting into preparing for the arrival of Noah's hated stepbrothers and their pathetic friends. "Soon, Seto... soon you will suffer for taking what is mine! My Deck Master Rules are ready, the Virtual World is prepared, and the Big 5 are all ready to spring their traps upon you and your friends!"
He turned his attention to one monitor that showed the Kaibacorp Blimp making its way towards his aquatic fortress. It was a bit... earlier... than he had expected but that didn't matter. He had been preparing for this for years... centuries really. Thousands of years in the virtual world spent readying for the day when he would escape the digital prison and reclaim not just KaibaCorp but a physical form!
"Soon I will be you, Seto... and I will show you that I am a better Kaiba that you could ever hope to be!"
Unbeknownst to Noah his father, Gozaburo Kaiba, had the same thoughts.
"Did you think you were the only one that know of this place, Noah?" Gozaburo said from his hiding spot...which wasn't really a hiding spot at all. In fact he was standing in the very same room as his son. it had been a simple matter to set his own part of the virtual world at a slightly different phase rate than Noah's. It allowed him to see his son perfectly... but Noah couldn't see him. "I have watched as you and those traitors have prepared this trap and I must admit... it is a clever one. So clever. I'd almost be proud but you failed to prepare for the likes of me.
"The moment you defeat Seto and allow for someone to steal his body I will be there to shove you aside. You proved yourself to be far too weak to be my heir... far better I take control of Seto's body myself!"
Gozaburo could see it clearly in his mind's eye: how wonderful it would be to have his youth restored. And he wouldn't be tainted by the whispers, gossip, and government probes that had held him back. Seto would be a clean slate!
"I'll start out with his ideas. The amusement park, the hard light technology... I must admit both are grand money makers. While there is money in war you are killing your potential customers. Games and such... they keep people alive... and spending." He grinned, nearly salivating at the thought. "Besides, I have already proven I can dominate the world of weapons. The world of games? That is an enticing new frontier just waiting for me! I already have a wonderful idea to make them better: in order to get upgrades quicker you can buy with real money in-game currency in order to purchase things faster than if you grind for them. I'll call it… micro-transactions." he snickered at that. "Oh Seto... you have done well to set things up for me but I will be more than happy to step in and FINISH what you started!"
Gozaburo frowned though as he noticed that the blimp seemed to be tilting at an odd direction… and there were flames coming out of it… and it was plunging rather fast-
"HOLY SHIT!" he screamed, phasing into the same pattern as Noah, causing the boy to jump when he realized he wasn't alone. "THE BLIMP IS FUCKING CRASHING! ITS COMING RIGHT AT US!"
"F-father?" Noah stammered, startled. "You're-"
"Not now, Noah! I need to get the fuck out of here!" Gozaburo began to run about, his panic causing him to dash back and forth without any real thought. "I… I need to get out of here… this vessel isn't fast enough to get out of the way! I need to… I don't know… go to the Internet or something. I can live on Pornhub! So long as it isn't Crump's account."
"Father?" Noah said again, floating down from his chair. "What are you doing here?"
"What? Oh, I've always been here. I just was waiting to steal Seto's body. But now isn't the time to talk about that because I need to get the fuck out of here! That blimp will crash into this vessel in about… 2 minutes I think? And when it does it will destroy all the systems keeping us alive! So we need some way out. There must be some kind of Wi Fi. 5G network?"
Noah though stepped forward, grabbing the older man's hand. "But father, why didn't you come to talk to me if you were here this entire time?"
Gozaburo let out a huff, pausing from his panic attack. "Okay, I'm going to be honest with you Noah… I really didn't want to have you."
"I… was a mistake?"
"No, of course not!" Gozaburo said, utterly offended. He stared down at his son, shaking his head. "Of course you weren't. That would imply I made a mistake. I don't make mistakes… well, other than assuming the Big 5 wouldn't betray me, Seto wouldn't win our bet, and that I'd survive that jump with just a sprained ankle but otherwise I don't make mistakes." He reached out and patted the boy on the shoulder. "See son… I only had you because it was expected of me. Same with marrying your mother. My generation had this foolish notion that we had to have children. That's what was expected so we all married young and quick and by the time we realized that we didn't really want children it was too late."
"Are… are you trying to tell me you're gay?" Noah said, confused.
That made Gozaburo laugh. "I wish I was gay! That would make things so much easier! You know how many times Leichter offered to suck my dick? No no no… see, I'm what's known as Asexual."
"They call that Ace now."
"You kids," Gozaburo grumbled. "The point is that I don't feel sexual attraction to anyone. But again, it was expected I'd have children and I did but I never wanted that. I'd have preferred a dog. A nice little one I could cuddle."
"I'm allergic to dogs."
Gozaburo shot him a dark glower. "Believe me. I know. Life would have been-"
Whatever he was going to say next was lost as the blimp finally crashed into the aquatic vessel that housed the Virtual World main terminal, setting off a series of explosions that vaporized the pods holding their bodies as well as causing the system to crash as everything overheated… because of the fire that was turning it all to slag.
The last to die was Crump, who looked back on all he had done and thought a single thing.
'Life well lived!'
~MC~MC~MC~
Lute frowned as she walked behind Adam as he inspected the new recruits to the Exterminators. "Is this really necessary. We have plenty of angels and never had a problem before-"
"Well, that's where you're fucking wrong!" Adam said with a boisterous laugh… before his smile fell. "We've lost one."
"That was just a fluke," Lute argued. "We rushed that one through… I checked. And we made the mistake of letting Hell know we were coming. There should be no more timers. No more countdowns. We just go in and kill them all. No time for them to prepare for us."
That though made Adam laugh once more. "Where is the fun in that! Come on, Feather Tits, got to use that brain of yours!" He rapt his knuckles against Lute's head, the angel glowering at him. "This is all about my- our entertainment. Showing those fuckers down there where they are in the food chain: the bottom. You just suddenly appear and you cause them a bit of a fright. Like a fucking jump scare in some shit ass movie. But you draw out the terror? Let them know their doom is coming and there is literally nothing they can do about it? Oooooh. Now that should be getting you wet as shit!"
Lute merely stared at him, eyes narrowed.
"That's why we need to up our game, bring in more to help really destroy those demon fucks. And these new recruits are what we need."
"And when they-" She stopped herself before saying the word. "If that happens again, because they weren't trained properly, it will be bad. If we throw raw recruits at the demons we could lose more and do you realize what that would mean for us? Panic. Pure and utter panic!"
"You are worrying too much! Take a chill pill Lute-McGute!" Adam laughed at his 'joke'. "And sure, these guys might have just came here within the last few hours but I have a good feeling about all of them." He stopped by one angel, this one oddly enough, even with his mask, also sporting some Egyptian markings along the right side of his face. "What say you, tall dark and murderous? Ready to kick some demon ass?"
"I am ready, Master Adam."
Lute bristled at that. "Don't call him that! He is just Adam… you won't disrespect the Lord by holding any other-"
"Now hold on, no need to get your holy panties twisted," Adam said, waving the other angel off. "Master Adam… I like it. I like it a lot. Sounds… regal. Powerful." He looked at the new recruit. "What is your name, kid?"
"Odion, sir," the new angel said.
"Anyone ever tell you that you are a good judge of character, Odion?"
"All the time, Master Adam."
That made the head exterminator shudder. "Oh, stop, stop, I can only get so erect… not really. I can get even more erect so keep going." He grabbed Odion's arm and pulled him away from the other new recruits. "You know, I think you should be my new right hand man. I've been looking for a good lackie and I bet you have what it takes."
"Yes Master Adam."
"Oh fuck, that's the stuff! Gonna holy ghost all over my robes! Hey, so I was thinking of getting a new weapon for the Extermination. What are your thoughts of golden rods?"
Lute glowered as she watched Adam leave. "I swear, Adam, I will make you see the light and return to your duty. This delusion that you are something more than what you are keeps you from your most sacred task. And how you handle it? It is a disgrace. We are meant to see our tasks done, not focus on what such things mean for us. You have gone down the wrong path… and I will bring you back to it."
"Is she talking to us?" one of the Exterminators whispered, another shaking their head.
"I have seen it… like a vision. I will bring you back to the path that you are now walking away from! You will understand what your purpose is! We are not rulers or masters… we are servants. We serve the Pharaoh- God. We serve God."
She blinked.
"Huh, where did that come from?"
~MC~MC~MC~
"And this is your room!" Charlie said as she ushered Edwin into the suite. "It's the least I can do for you helping Angel."
It was a decent size room, with a large bed and plenty of flowers. She'd also tried to make it look as cheerful as possible and thus there were rainbows and smiley faces all over; she'd even drawn smiley faces on the light bulbs which, admittedly, made it hard to throw them away when they burnt out.
"Its lovely, thank you Charlie," the bearded demon said, bowing his head slightly. "Now… its been kind of a stressful day so I think I want to lay down and come to the terms with the fact that I'm dead and might never see anyone I care for ever again."
"right. Right right right." Charlie flashed a weak smile. "Maybe I should add getting a psychologist to the list?"
"Couldn't hurt," Edwin said with a sad chuckle. "But I mean it… thank you Charlie."
"Hey, no problem. Its all cool beans. You have a good night sleep and we'll talk in the morning! The sharing hour is at 10!"
"Be there!" Edwin said, allowing Charlie to close the door.
He waited until his Jackal perked up before letting out a sigh, slowing raising his hands. "Poor dumb girl." He knew that he should do what he had told Charlie… come to terms that he was dead and that he'd never see Renard or Mai or Yuri or anyone else from Earth ever again (he seriously hoped, at least… there was enough humanity left in him not to wish his fate on anyone else) but he couldn't.
There was far too much to do.
"Group meeting," he declared and at once 14 ghostly skulls burst out from his body, swirling around him before they formed into the thieves of Kul Elna. Able to get a better look at them he saw that they were made up of men, women, and even children sadly, they bodies made up mostly of blue flames but there were patches of their skin that were made of gold instead, a testament to how they had died. Some were nearly whole while others were half-wraith like, with exposed muscle and bone revealed to him.
They were horrifying.
They were his.
"I want to take some time and learn all about you," he told the fourteen. It made sense, when he did the math: 99 souls for 7 items and the puzzle probably got an extra one. "Your names. Your lives before all of this happened. I do." He began to pace even as Jackal began to bounce around the room, wrapping it in his cloak-like magic. At once Edwin knew the beastly demon was sealing it up so no one could hear him. "Especially you, dear one." He smiled at the Jackal who merely grinned back before settling on the bed, the entire room cloaked in his, well, cloak. "But now isn't the time.
"We are in Hell. And while I would love nothing more than to follow Charlie's advice and work on all of us so we could get to Heaven… this is still Hell. And demons don't sit idly by while you work through your trauma and develop better traits. Here one has to be ready to do some very dark things if they hope to survive. And until we are strong enough to not fear any threat… self-improvement needs to wait."
The thieves all stared at him before bowing their heads.
"Agreed," they said as one, Edwin finding even his own mouth moving at that.
"…right," he said, filing away that bit of info. "Now… the only way we survive here is gaining power." He paused. "But what is power? Some say it is just an illusion. Others that it is what you claim it to be. Still more something that can't actually be weighed and measured. All are wrong." He smirked darkly at that. "I've found, personally, that power… is whatever people don't want you to have. The thing they covet for themselves, that they hold close to them? You holding it yourself is power."
He held up his hand and a flame formed, twisting until it took on the shape of Valentino, trying his best to strut along someplace but it clear it was all an act. That he knew he would never be free again. After a second he suddenly shuddered, reaching down to pull on his coat sleeve to cover where the manacle was hidden. Edwin wondered if Valentino could sense that he was being watched… but also found he didn't care.
"And souls are the greatest thing to hold," he whispered before recalling the flames. "But… not the only thing." He turned to the gathered 14. "You are the great thieves of Kul Elna. And for the first time in 5000 years I want you to do your life's work."
Jackal let out a snicker before making holes for the 14 ghosts to slip through, Edwin focusing as all of Pentagram City began to drift into their nightly lives…
~MC~MC~MC~
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something
Katie Killjoy lay utterly still, a beauty mask wrapped around her face and her latest boy toy wrapped up in her legs. She smiled in her sleep as he suddenly thrashed, trying to come up for air, only for her to lock him in place.
So deeply was her sleep that she didn't notice the ghostly thief creep in and take some of her jewelry.
"The best thief is one who leaves no sign they were ever there."
~MC~MC~MC~
Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused
Cherri Bomb lay passed out, a bottle of good booze she'd stolen from some idiot half empty. She was dead to the world… and dead to the thief that slipped a few bills out of her purse.
"Never even let's their victim know that something is missing."
~MC~MC~MC~
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something
Camilla was working late, looking over the numbers for the reclamation of Angelic Weapons. It was no good if one let a gun or a sword slip through the cracks… if the owner was dead that just meant there was someone else out there who could buy it.
Her eyes focused on the screen she didn't look down to see the thief rise up through the floor and collect the knife that was strapped to the bottom of her desk, forgotten in favor of bigger and better 'toys'.
"Target the greedy child that doesn't understand the value of the gift they toss aside. The drudges who forget the money they worked so hard to get in their dozing stupors. I want it all. Every bit of it. I. Will. Have. All."
~MC~MC~MC~
movin' on
(Hold your head up) movin' on, (keep your head up) movin' on
(Hold your head up) movin' on, (keep your head up) movin' on
(Hold your head up) movin' on, (keep your head up)
Alastor walked back towards Hazbin, rather glad with how productive his evening had been… only to slowly raise his head up, his smile growing a bit more… genuine… as he stared up at the top most suite.
Oh yes… he couldn't wait to see what fun Edwin brought.
"Understand that while a target might be tantalizing… it isn't worth it sometimes."
~MC~MC~MC~
Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused
Imps. Sinner Demons. The high and the low. All would be visited. Not that night but in the nights to come. Every one would have their forgotten trinkets taken and collected.
"Most we'll sell off. I need plaster and clay. But keep the gold. Because that is phase two, my friends."
~MC~MC~MC~
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something
Edwin smirked in his room, eyes glowing as his thieves set to work, his body slowly rising in the air as he held his arms out wide.
"I need you to tell me exactly what happened the day you died."
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something…