"Andrealphus' Palace is like any other Royal Forte'," Benny explains as Moxxie and Millie drove him to their destination. They were in a hummer that was heading towards the home of icy blue feathered Ars Goetia "Heavily guarded, top-of-the-line security, probably have a camera or...2 million around every corner, but that does not guarantee that the place is impregnable."
"Don't you mean, impenetrable?" Moxxie asked.
"I meant what I said." Benny was examining his Kandarian Dagger before sheathing it. "Drop me off the curb and then get out of here. This is my gig."
"Hold on there, Benny," Millie said. "Your pal, Virtue, wanted us to help you with this part of the job."
"You already got paid in advance, and Virtue is a demon with high-priced connections. You should practically be set for life right now." What he was saying was true. Before taking the job, the money that Moxxie and Millie received from the Incubus was enough to even get them to leave Blitzø if they wanted. But they couldn't do that, not after they and their boss have already been through thick and thin, and kinda owing Benny a favor at this point, they weren't going to just cut and run now.
"Come on, Benny. We never turn down a good payday like this, we sure as hell not going to do so now."
Moxxie then added "We've already been through a lot. I'm sure this will be a cakewalk."
"Even if you think so, I cannot guarantee your safety when we get in." Benny said.
"If Blitzø can sneak his way into the manor of the Ice Bird's brother-in-law, then I don't think we'll have much to worry about."
"...Wait. Are you telling me my brother broke into Prince Stolas' Mansion?"
Moxxie and Millie froze, having realized they forgot to tell Benny about that.
"What was he doing there?" Benny asked, but the two imps weren't sure how to answer. Benny knew Stolas' failing marriage was due to him being affiliated with a 'business partner', according to Octavia, but if his brother had some history with the Prince, and he didn't know about it until now, he might just go out of his way to go do some digging...
"Uh...hey look, we're here!" Millie yelled, quickly changing the subject as they looked out to see Andrealphus' palace was seen in all its ice-covered glory. Heading out of the car, Benny brought out his knife and gripped it firmly in his hand while looking at the mansion with a solid glare on his face.
"Welp, let's get to it then!"
But before Moxxie and Millie could leave the Hummer, Benny slammed the doors shut the moment they tried to open them. He looked at them with cold fury and suspicion, which left them unnerved, continuing to find Blitzø's brother more intimidating by the minute.
"You two. sit. tight." He growled. "We'll continue the little discussion we were having later. Right now, I go solo." And with that, he was off, leaving the two stunned for a second before they looked at each other in thought. All the while, Benny stopped when he was about 30 yards away from the Mansion. Taking out a pair of binoculars, he looked through them and analyzed the area, seeing some guards at the front entrance surprisingly. He continued looking until he heard footsteps coming from behind, forcing him to brandish his knife...only to find himself pointing it towards Millie, who leaned back as the blade's tip was very close to the center of her face.
"Eep!"
"What the hell did I tell you before? I'm doing this by myself."
Moxxie stepped in and pulled his wife away before saying "Benny, with all due respect, that's not how we operate. When we take a job, we're fully committed to completing it, no matter what. Besides, we owe this to you and Blitzø, and if we back out now, it'll come back to bite us in the ass."
"Like it or not, we're in this thing together!" Millie said.
Seeing that these two were stubborn as heck, Benny sighed and put away his knife before gesturing over to the door. "I believe that someone must've alerted the Marquis that we were coming. He has triple guards posted at his door. Going into the front would be..."
"Bloody."
"Needlessly dangerous." Benny retorted before handing the binoculars over to Moxxie, who peeks through it. "There's a back entrance. Less populated." He then directs Moxxie to the door he meant, with only a single guard posted.
"And the rest of your plan?" Moxxie asked, to which Benny brought out a roll of building schematics. It was the blueprints for Andrealphus' Mansion, the interior, the floors, which rooms the bird is like to be held up in and which ones are bound to be trapped.
"Once we're inside, we need to move fast." He explained. "Do not stop moving for any reason. We corner Andrealphus and make him sing.
The couple look at each other and nod and then nod at Benny, who held a scowl on his face. Later on, the guard posted at the back entrance was standing still, weapon in hand, ready for any sort of trouble...except for three imps coming from out of nowhere and started stabbing him repeatedly until he fell to the ground, not moving, some of the wounds steaming from the cuts made by Benny's dagger. And with that, they headed inside. Making their way through a corridor, Moxxie and Millie stared in awe at Andrealphus' décor. Sure, everything looked to have been made of ice and there were pictures of the Marquis and other Goetia members associated with him hanging all over the walls, but it was still a sight to see when infiltrating a Royal Demon's Mansion.
"Gotta admit, the bird does have good taste." Mille said as she moved past a table with some icy ornaments and vases. She was about to touch one when her hand was almost violently grabbed and pulled away as she was faced with Benny, who she continued to find more intimidating than Blitzø as he stared down at her.
"Remember what we're here for. And don't. touch. anything." He then lets go of Millie's hand before moving back to the front again. Both smaller imps knew to take what he says very seriously as he looked around, saw two passageways at both sides of the hall. "This is too easy. Something tells me the bird is hoping to ambush us in some way. We need to be careful."
"Oh, I don't think you'll be given the chance to do anything, my dear home invaders." A voice came out on some kind of PA system as the three imps circled back-to-back with their weapons brandished. As it turns out, Andrealphus was watching them "But since you were expecting some kind of...defenses, allow me to humor you with some entertainment."
And suddenly, coming out of the passages were guards, dressed in blue armor, bladed weapons in hand which they raised in an attempt to strike the imps single-handedly. But Benny had themselves scatter as he rolled out of the way and in front of the guard, stabbing his soul-absorbing dagger through the armor and watched as the Demon melted from within. He then pulled it out and sent it flying towards the guard that had Millie pinned, the blade landing in the neck of the guard, to which Millie grabbed hold of the boney handle of the dagger and with all her strength, cut the blade through the guard's throw and stood back as its boiling blood spewed out. Moxxie brandished two guns and fired at the guard and that was after him. He hated being in this sort of situation as bullets weren't leaving a dent in that armor. But fortunately, Mille jumped onto the guard's back and began stabbing at the head ferociously. Then Benny came in with his bloody crowbar and stabbed the back end into the throat of the guard before pushing the blunt weapon down, killing him. With all three guards dead, Benny was expecting more to come as Mille gave him back his dagger and the three ran down the hall. Upon entering the room, they found themselves facing a wall with the way forward heading to the right. Benny realized that they walked right into a death trap maze and that any progression from here on out will be getting more difficult.
As they moved on, they could see the passage split up into three separate paths, leaving them with a fork in the road.
"Which way do go?" Moxxie asked, to which Millie added: "Do we split up?"
Benny immediately answered "No. With the three of us, that would make it easier to get lost. Follow me." Then he leads down the left path before making another left, then right, then another right, making a hook-shaped path.
Moxxie asked, "How do you know which way to go?"
"Blueprints didn't say anything about this," Benny replied. "Just gotta rely on instinct."
He stopped them when he saw the holes in the ground, with spikes of ice popping in and out of them. Taking Moxxie and Millie but the shoulders, something they were not ready for, he charged forwards and leaped above the spikes as they were coming up. Landing on the other side, he lets go of the two, Moxxie shaking his head in an attempt to recover.
"Give a guy a warning next time."
"Warning." Benny then takes his dagger and throws it in the path to his left. A guard that was coming from there ends up getting hit in the head with the blade as the imps walk past his body. The maze didn't take much longer to navigate as they managed to find the way out of it...guards with armored demons with swords. Taking out his crowbar, Benny charged in with Millie and her axe while Moxxie gave them some cover fire. It didn't take long for the imps to work over the guards with Benny bashing them upside the head, leaving them shocked to see their armor get smashed by a simple-looking crowbar while Millie managed to chop right through them, as it was "off with their heads" by the time it was done. With that, they headed up a flight of stairs and found themselves going down a hall with two paths up ahead.
"Which way?" Millie asked, and as if on cue, a demon came out of the left side, to which Moxxie quickly blasted him upside the head.
"Not that way." Benny commented as they decided to head down the right hall. Through a pair of French doors, did they find themselves on a higher level, overlooking a great hall underneath them. From where they stood, across the entire room was another balcony, with seemingly no way to get there from where they stood. And yet, on that balcony stood Andrealphus, who tauntingly waved over to them.
"I wish didn't have to resort to such vulgar tactics to deal with a bunch of pathetic, lowly imps, such as yourselves." He said to them, making all three of them glare at the pompous blue bird. "But you've overstayed your welcome, and I am done playing games." He then took a glass of wine that was sitting on the rail. "I have more important business to do anyway...finish them." He waved them off as he gave the order to demons that were on the lower level, all of which apparently had some expensive, and vintage looking guns if you count the 1876 Year Gatling Gun. The imps moved back to avoid fire, the balcony getting blown to pieces while they were stuck at its doorway.
"Your target is all the over on the other side, and we gotta get past a whole lot of gunfire!" Moxxie screamed. "If you have any surprising ideas left, we're all ears here!"
Looking through the hall, guns still firing ablaze, Benny took a deep breath while bringing out...his tail. Moxxie and Millie were a little surprised at the sight of it since it was not like any imp tail they've seen. It was like the tail...of a dragon; half a size bigger than an ordinary imp tail, covered in white scales all over, and had a large pointed tip at the end that looked like it was made of bone.
"What the f-"
He didn't have time to cuss as Benny grabbed hold of both their shoulders and looked ready to run out there. The scales of his tail 'flaring' up.
"Hang tight." He warns as he then breaks into a run, he extends his tail as if it were a grappling hook to the chandeliers hanging over the room. The tip of his tail seemed to turn from an arrowhead to a hook, which attached to the chains and broke them Benny moved to the next chandelier. Upon doing that, did they fell down and smashed down on the demons underneath them, forcing those who were out of the way to scatter while still trying to fire. The same thing was done two more times with two more chandeliers coming down after Benny swing from them and managed to get to the other balcony with Moxxie and Millie, all three of them running down the hall after Andrealphus.
Speaking of whom, Andrealphus was in private quarters, on the phone with some familiar voice speaking to him. It was safe to say that the bluebird was not at all happy with what was going on. Someone wanted his sister dead, and normally, he would do what he can to stay out of the way and save his own sorry skin; typical Goetia cowardness. But it seems that his entire family was falling victim to this singular hunt, many already being at the wrong end of that Kandarian Dagger. He did not wish to be the next as he complained to the one on the phone.
"You have some nerve to let out a piece of vermin like him. You horned, halo wearing freak...!" He growled into the phone. "What good will come out of trying to have Stella killed anyway?!"
"The Arse Goetia have been overstepping their bounds in leeching their dominance in an attempt to rectify certain 'problems' that would be considered a minor inconvenience to Hell's hierarchy." The voice of Samael spoke through the phone. "It's bad enough Stella's pathetic upbringing in life had left her to be a thorn in the sides of anyone she comes in contact with...but to influence her...when she wants nothing more to see her husband dead just for the satisfaction of it...I didn't think you would be capable of such dishonor, Andrealphus, to gain something of the inheritance rightfully belonging to your beloved niece through your sister...I should've sent him after your first."
Everything the angels said made the bird grit his teeth with anger as he clutches the phone in his hand, hoping it would break in his hands.
"You have no place interfering with the business of the Goetia, Samael! I will see to it that you are broken, and humiliated, and when you beg for mercy, I will-"
Samael merely let out a dark laugh that would send shivers down anyone's spine. "Save yourself the embarrassment with the empty threats, Andrealphus. I promise you that we'll be having a little quality time soon enough...assuming you don't succumb to your injuries."
"Ha! As if good-for-nothing imps could get anywhere near me! I've guaranteed that they'd be nothing but mush staining my floors and walls right now." said Andrealphus. "You've chosen your little hunter poorly, you pathetic little dolt!"
But just as he said that, some booming could be heard outside the chamber, much to his surprise. His every attempt to exterminate the pest invading his home have failed completely, and now Andrealphus finds himself cornered. Samael can be heard chuckling on the phone.
"I wish I can be there myself to see the poor look on your face; I'm sure it would be a sight to see." the Angel said. "I grant you the best chances of survival...I'll be the chance." and with that, he hung up and Andrealphus dropped the phone as he looked so angry, you could see the resemblance between him and Stella.
Blowing through a door, Benny, Moxxie, and Millie walked into the room, only for Benny to immediately grab the other two imps and pull themselves back as a freezing blast was fired at them and hit the wall.
"I would say I'm impressed to see you make it this far...but that would mean complimenting a bunching of lowly imps!" Andrealphus screeched as raised his hands and conjured spiked balls of ice. Benny took a peak inside the chamber and then headed back out as the ice balls came and hit the doorway, freezing it with spiked tips.
"I will shatter you all when you are frozen solid! You can't even come close to hitting me!"
"Well, your abilities got us this far. Any ideas as to how we get to him?!" Moxxie asked as shards of ice were reaching the doorways. Seeing that they had limited options, Benny saw the best, and only, way to do this was to run into there and avoid the blasts for as long as he can. He knew he couldn't risk the safety of Moxxie and Millie, so he had to bare this alone...but not without all his depth perception as he reaches up and slowly rips off the patch seared over his left eye hole. The imp couple were not sure what Benny was doing but were bewildered by the sight of steaming blood dripping from his open hole, which was purely black and gaping as blood leaks out. What looked like a glowing red cornea could be seen inside as the very sight of it left the imps shocked while Benny tossed his patch over to Millie.
"Hold onto that." He said as he took his dagger and rushed inside. Almost immediately, did he have to avoid a freezing beam of ice coming from Andrealphus' own eyes. The bird concentrated his powers to distribute the chilling despair of agony when the victim freezes; wasn't doing him much good if his target was moving so fast. As Benny moved in a blur, a red flash was coming from his left eye as practically ran on the walls of the chamber and soon closed in on the Goetia Marquis. Hoping this was his chance to freeze the hunter once and for all, Andrealphus quickly turned his head to face.
"So long, you little-WHAT THE-?!"
As his eyes met with Benny's, he was not expecting to look at a bleeding eye that was flashing violently before.
(FWOOSH)
Coming out of his cornea, like a beam, a spray of blood blasted Andrealpus in his face, soaking his eyes and making him lose his focus. This gave Benny the chance to get him as swept the legs of the bird before slamming him down on a table, breaking it in half and neutralizing Andrealphus. Breathing heavily, he looked down at the bird, seeing that the blood he sprayed on Andrealphus' face formed into a Rorschach blot. Benny then placed his hand on his left 'eye' and collapses onto one knee as Moxxie and Millie peered into the room.
"Benny? Are you okay?" Millie asked."
"Patch. Now!" Benny ordered as he snapped his fingers and the two imps rushed over to him, Millie giving his patch which seemed to seer itself back onto Benny's eye.
"Benny...how were you able to do all that?" Moxxie found himself asking. He knew full well Imps couldn't do magic on there, being lower ranking demons. But Benny's strength, his tail, whatever is in his left eye hole, they definitely weren't natural to their species.
"Don't...worry about it," Benny said as he got up, his patch fully back on and the blood stopped leaking. "Just call it...a little gift...it's how I got my name."
"Your name?"
"The Rorschach Demon." He said as then pulls up Andrealphus off the ground and slams him against the window, making the bird regain his senses as he found himself being held against an imp of all demons. Never in his life has he been so humiliated, to be defeated and be interrogated like a common thug. If he gets the chance to talk to Stella about this, he'll never hear the end of it from her. Speaking of that subject in hand...
"Marquis Andrealphus Ars Goetia..." Benny said in a demanding voice. "I'm gonna make this as clear as I can..." Pulling out his Kandarian Dagger, he stabs it into the wall and grinds it towards Andrealphus' head. The Bird panicking-ly tries to avoid the bone-carved blade coming even close to his feathers as he knows that its even worse than blessed weapons. "Where...can I find...your sister, Stella?"
"Ugh! W-Wha...What makes you think I know?" Andrealphus asked. "I have really...talked to her in a while."
"BULLSHIT!" Benny brings the dagger to the bird's neck and slams his head against the window, cracking it. "I am running out of time and patience with you Goetia, self-loving, freaks! You're not making this easy by not even giving me anything."
"Yo, I'd listen to what he says." Millie says casually as she and Moxxie peered over Benny's shoulders. "You have any idea how many bird wings he's clipped?"
Andrealphus tried to act tough as he began to say "Be silent, you tiny little fil-" But was silenced as his head was slammed against a window and he could feel the edge of the dagger pushing against his skin.
"Tell me what I want to know...RIGHT NOW!" Benny screamed.
"Alright, ALRIGHT!" Andrealphus yelled out, giving in to Benny's threat. Sighing, he confessed... "S-S-Stella contacted me...after she found out that Samael sent you after her. She wanted to go into hiding, but with you having already crippled many of our high and mighty relatives, there weren't people she could turn. she felt like she needed to get out of Pride, a-a-and contacted many of Hell's Hierarchy, including King Paimon, to help her do it!"
Benny was practically crushing Andrealphus' skull against the window, which just kept on cracking as he wasn't satisfied with just that information. "What else? WHERE IS SHE GOING?!"
"UAAAGGHH!" Andrealphus screamed in pain as he gripped Benny's forearm. "King Paimon had a few...safehouses, outside of Pride! Stella was granted knowledge of them after her marriage to Stolas! S-She...She told me about one she liked before!"
"WHERE IS IT?!"
"GREED!" The bird let out. "IN THE GREED RING! THE GOLD STAR COMPLEX!"
Benny relented on crushing Andrealphus' head as he then made the bird look him in the eye in fear as he said in a low voice. "Thank you for your cooperation...have a nice day."
And so suddenly, with all his might, Benny throws Andrealphus through the semi-destroyed window, shattering and watched as the bird fell from the top level of his mansion, all the way down to the icy ground below.
Later on, Benny, Moxxie and Mille can be seen coming out of the mansion, walking pass the unconscious Andrealphus, who left a crater on the ground, upon landing. The headed back to their car, buckled up and drove off.
"Gotta say, Ben. You were unbelievably badass in their." Complimented Millie.
"Oh, I agree." Added Moxxie. "You make this type of work look easy for us. Maybe after you finish your job, you can come work with us at I.M.P."
"...Maybe." Benny said, while examining his dagger. "...Still gotta set things right with my brother though."
"Right...So, would you want us to drive you to Greed now? Or..."
"Actually, head back to Limbo City. Gotta check on my other business first."
Moxxie nodded as he floored the gas the car sped down the road...