Stolas was back in his palace a few minutes later, after having invited Blitz's daughter to stay. However, the hellhound had wept that for the moment, she wouldn't be able to handle this, but that she would come for a visit later on. Stolas nodded sympathetically.

Pringles had been sent to the main entrance to wait for the physician, while Stolas stayed with Blitz, holding his little hand. He dragged one of his own talons upon Blitz's chest, without breaking the skin, observing the imp's face frown slightly, before finally stopping from exhaustion. Stolas let go of the imp's hand and left him in peace. Turning slightly pink, he became ashamed of himself. What's the point in taking advantage of Blitz if he's ill?

He ran his palms along his face, feeling centuries older. Meanwhile, in his bed, Blitz let out a soft groan. The owl prince came closer, and neared his head to his ex-partner. He heard a quiet moan. Could it be his name? And a word, the word "sorrow", no, "sorry"!

He took Blitz's hand back in his own, tightening slightly the grip, before whispering, "No, dear friend, I'm the one who should be sorry". For the briefest of moments, he saw Blitz's eyes gleam open, before shutting back up. Obviously, he still wasn't in shape to deal with that.

Where's that damn doctor?

Stolas didn't have to wait long for Dr Rooroonan Plague to step into the cosy bedroom. The pigeon devil was the only doctor that wouldn't judge Stolas for his love affair with an imp, for he was himself used to complicated love stories. Rumours had it that the physician's father was a rat, and his mother a bird.

Stolas dug his talon deep in his inside coat pocket to retrieve his hellphone. He was about to send a message that would've made wrath quiver in fear, when he heard a light tap on the door.

· Plague! Where've you been! I was on the verge of hysterics!

Plague nodded politely, before sitting down in the chair Pringles had occupied. Stolas was reminded how much the doctor hated small talk, and how he usually went straight to the patient. After sitting down, however, he quietly asked Stolas to undress the patient.

"Not that I mind, but why couldn't you do it yourself?" Stolas asked, confused. Dr Plague shook his head slowly. "Because of the so-called 'Lust Doctor' you might've seen on the telly, specialists were asked to avoid all physical contact with the patient."

Stolas felt his talons trembling in anticipation. Well, here we go.

The owl prince unbuttoned Blitz's shirt, taking care not to maim him with the razor-sharp talons at the end of his hands. The imp eyes were shut, and he seemed to be sleeping peacefully, like any other full-moon night. Stolas preyed Satan Plague didn't notice how wet the inside of his legs was getting.

But once the last button was undone, Stolas began to feel not aroused, but nearly petrified. Blitz's ribs and collarbone were protruding. He wasn't skinny, he was transparent. Now that he saw his ex-partner, Stolas realised he had probably begun his fast more than two weeks ago. The owl prince then proceeded to undo Blitz's pants. He swallowed, hard. It had been about half a year since he'd seen him in his underwear, and was scared of what he might find. He was surprised by how in shape the imp was, considering his rather limited diet. Fortunately, Plague gave a little cough, and said he needed a drink of water. Deep inside, Stolas knew that his friend had figured Stolas and Blitz needed a bit of time to themselves.

Stolas glided the tip of his talons upon Blitz's red chest. For weeks, months on end, had he been much more fragile than Stolas would have ever guessed? Loona had previously told Octavia that her dad and the IMP team had gone to Antarctica… The assassin was obviously still in shape, but still, the smaller imps had mentioned a slight loss in velocity during the more complicated missions. He took a bit longer to aim, to react, to focus in general… Stolas wipes a tear from the corner of his red eyes. Would it have taken him longer to react to the Goetic prince's offer of becoming something more than just a transaction?

Stolas felt Blitz shiver, and covered him with the bedsheets. Honestly, that imp is unreadable. He heard Plague walking back to the room, and stole a quick kiss from his former lover, whispering a short sentence.

"Please don't leave me, Blitzy."

Blitz was walking alone, in a vast garden. The first thought he had was of how Stolas would adore this place. The next thought was how Stolas didn't want anything to do with him anymore. A million of sayings rushed in his mind… You win some, you lose some… There are many more fish in the sea… Que sera, sera… But none of them seemed to cure him from the despair he'd been feeling.

A greyish shadow seemed to walk alone towards him. Tired and aimless, Blitz chose to walk towards the dark lump. "Funny," he thought, "he looks a lot like… Moxxie?"

The shadow had morphed into a carbon copy of Moxxie. A smiling, serene Moxxie, opening his arms to greet Blitz. The IMP Boss let out a snicker. "Hey, Mox, did it hurt much when you got amputated from Mills?"

Moxxie didn't answer, but only smiled.

· Aw, Mox, don't be mad at me, by now you should know my bad jokes by heart.

Moxxie disagreed in silence, and pointed to Blitz's chest. Blitz frowned. Moxxie never acted this way. He came closer and thought…

Is it any use talking to you?

Once more, Moxxie shook his head, and pointed back at Blitz.

Am I… Alone?

Again, with the head shaking.

But if you're not here, then who is?

Moxxie smiled and squeezed Blitz's hand. The garden shook, and once again, Blitz was surrounded by darkness, and stars. Soon, he thought he had seen two pairs of red eyes he knew all too well.

Dr Plague released his patient's arm from the rubber band holding it. He knew finding a vein would be difficult in those conditions, but still… He hadn't expected this. Now, at least, the imp had a serum intravenous and wouldn't need to be woken up. He heard Stolas cry out in surprise.

· Oh! I think he opened his eyes!

Indeed, two slivers of gold had appeared on the imp's face. Plague shook his head.

· No matter, no matter. For the moment, he needs to rest.

The doctor stood up and gathered what he'd scattered around his jet-black leather back, before nodding to Stolas.

· I'll be on my way. If you notice any change, even the slightest, most insignificant change, please do send call. After all, better safe than sorry.

· Very well.

· Stolas…

The Goetic prince blinked. Plague rarely called him by his first name, like he used to when they both were schoolmates, except before starting a serious discussion.

· Rooroonan.

Plague glared at him. Stolas always knew that he positively hated his first name, a reminder of his pigeon ancestry, if such a thing existed, but thought he'd gotten over this.

· Stolas… What is there between you and this imp?

Stolas' head drooped down.

· Only a bunch of idiots that don't know how to communicate.