The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea

In a beautiful pea-green boat,

They took some honey, and plenty of money,

Wrapped up in a five-pound note.

The Owl looked up to the stars above,

And sang to a small guitar,

"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,

What a beautiful Pussy you are,

You are,

You are!

What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

-The Owl and the Pussy-Cat - Edward Lear

"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!"

Snapping her eyes open at the shrill screech of her mother's screaming voice, Octavia Goetia groaned in exasperation as she begrudgingly pulled herself up out of bed. This had become a basic routine for her at this point, go to bed, go to sleep, wake up to the sound of her parents screaming their lungs out.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!

In all honesty, she shouldn't be as used to this as she is, however, the constant arguments between her parents, Stolas and Stella, have basically left her somewhat dead inside at this point, which was ironic considering her family was royalty in the literal depths of Hell. By the time she had gotten cleaned and dressed for the day, the screaming voices of her parents had finally begun to quiet down, followed by a few smashes, courtesy of her mother throwing something again. Seeing that no one was in the kitchen when she came down to breakfast, Octavia could only assume that her parents had taken their argument to another room or just decided to keep out of each other's way to cool off. Either way, this meant that she was alone to eat her breakfast in peace, which mainly consisted of coffee and cereal she just ate straight out of the box, not even bothering to look for a bowl. She had eaten about two handfuls when, all of a sudden, a small Imp in a butler's uniform came walking up to the table.

"Pardon the interruption, Miss Goetia," he said, keeping his tone polite and professional. "But the limo is ready and waiting for you."

Octavia couldn't help but roll her eyes at that. She had come to expect stuff like this while growing up in her household, if her parents were too busy being caught up in their arguments, one of the Imps in their employ would relay any information she needed to hear for them. Just another day in her shitty life. Finishing up her breakfast, Octavia then made her way to the front doors of her home, grabbing her bag along the way, and mentally readying herself for what was sure to be yet another pain in the ass of a day. Much like any other member of the Hellish Nobility, she had to attend a Private school during weekdays, of course, that didn't mean she actually enjoyed it, if anything she hated every minute of it. From the stuck-up students to the corrupt teachers that showed favouritism to certain students, more often than not resulting in them FUCKING their students in exchange for raising their terrible grades, it was putting it mildly when Octavia would describe the whole establishment as nothing more than a polished turd.

After the limo had pulled out of the driveway and drove past the gate of the estate, Octavia couldn't help but sigh as she leaned into her elbow and peered out the backseat window. Given the fact that it was less than a week before the annual extermination of Hell, it was no surprise to her as she saw countless demons, Sinners and Hellborns alike were taking the necessary precautions for what had to be considered the worst day of the year for most. As the day drew closer, the panic understandably grew, though that didn't stop the more sensible demons from barricading their homes, locking their businesses down early, even getting into fistfights over the tiniest thing. Suddenly, her train of thought was halted when she heard the screeching sound of the limo's brakes before the whole vehicle jerked forward.

"Oh come on, what's the fucking hold up!?" she heard her limo driver yell from the front seat.

Taking a moment to regain her senses, Octavia then leaned in to see just what had her driver so riled up. Looking through the dividing window and out the front windshield of the limo, she managed to see that all traffic seemed to have come to a screeching halt.

Just as the driver started honking the horn, she noticed that people on the streets were starting to run in the opposite direction of where they were heading; some demons from a few cars ahead of them getting out of their vehicles and started running away in terror.

"What the fuck is going-" those were the last words the driver would ever say before a glowing white blade suddenly pierced through the roof of the car and imbedded itself directly into his skull.

Screaming in horror, all Octavia could do was fall back and watch as the Imp's black blood oozed down his face and out of the corner of his mouth while his brain was being cooked from the inside out by the scorching hot metal. Mere moments after the sudden death of her driver, Octavia remained frozen in fear while the blade, still stuck in the Imp's head was suddenly yanked up, causing the Imp's limp body to get forcefully pulled up before smashing against the roof and falling back down against the steering wheel. As the car horn started to ring in her ears, Octavia snapped her head in all directions, her mind reeling over what had just happened as she tried desperately to find an explanation for it. Suddenly, her mind was instantly snapped back to her current situation as the blade once again pierced the roof of the limo... only this time is only a mere centimetre from her face!

"AAAAAAHHH! She screamed, getting as low to the floor as possible in hopes of avoiding the same fate as her driver.

Seconds later, the blade pierced the roof again from a different spot, then again and again, until finally something else forced its way through one of the holes and pulled away a larger chunk of metal, allowing Octavia to look up and see the horrifying grin of the being standing atop her limo.

"Holy shit!" she exclaimed.

There was no question about it, the malicious grin, the curved horns, and the glowing white eyes, one of which had a large cross over it as if it were wearing a targeting visor. This was the face of one of Heaven's Exorcists! Before Octavia even had time to think, the hideous Angel once again raised its heavenly blade and began piercing the roof of the limo, more than likely thinking that if it caused enough damage it would eventually get its prey. Her back to the floor, the Goetia Demon in question's heart was racing in her chest as she frantically looked for a way out of her horrifying predicament. At first, she thought she could try reaching for the door, however that would mean that the Angel would instantly be able to get to her so that option was out. She could try climbing through the dividing window and driving the limo away to try and shake it off, but then again the halted traffic threw that option out too.

Suddenly, her hand brushed up against something that rested on the carpeted floor next to her, snapping her head towards the object in question, Octavia couldn't help but gasp as she saw a glass spritzer bottle. Catching a glimpse at the label, she found it to be a bottle of River Styx brand two hundred proof fizzy vodka; some of the strongest alcohol in Pentagram City (The stuff was basically pure gasoline). It was more than likely something that had fallen out of the limo's wet bar. Both perfect for mixing drinks, and perfect for her escape as a plan began formulating in her head at lightning speed. She quickly searched through her pockets and found just what she needed: A pocket lighter.

Grabbing hold of the vodka and aiming both bottle and lighter at the widening hole in the roof, she hoped that this would work. Just as the Exorcist widened the hole enough, Octavia fired her makeshift flamethrower at the monstrous angel and set it ablaze like a bonfire; the angel letting out a loud, distorted screech in pain at being doused in both flame and desecrated fluid.

Octavia knew that it wouldn't last long, so she bit the bullet and made a break out the limo door and ran for her life. Needless to say, it didn't take long for her to figure out just what was going on, daring to take a quick glimpse at the red sky above her, she once again gasped in horror as she saw the usually red pentagram that plastered the sky turn a blazing white… the signal to the entire Pride Ring that the Angels were making their way down.

RED ALERT!

EXTERMINATION DATE HAS BEEN MOVED UP!

TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY!

THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

Only then did the sirens finally start to go off and that announcement rang all across Hell via radio, TV monitor, and Hellphone. Of course, to those who heard it, the news was FAR from being helpful.

"Too little, too late, ASSHOLES!" Octavia snapped, pulling out her own Hellphone as she continued running through the streets. Hopefully, she'd be able to get in contact with her Dad, her Mum, anyone who'd be able to find a way to help.

Breathing heavily as she turned a corner, Octavia tried desperately to search through her contacts as her mind once again began to reel. How could things have gone so bad within a single morning!? The annual Extermination was supposed to be next week, not TODAY! More than likely this had to be Heaven's sick attempt to catch the demons of Hell off guard so they could make their quota of the slain that much easier, which was twisted even by Hell's standards!

Normally, Octavia would be safe and sound back at home around this time. Not only because her father kept the best security measures available literally locked and loaded at every door and window to keep any desperate demons out, but also because the homes of Hellish Nobility were some of the only places that the Exorcists were forbidden to go near, something that Lucifer himself was able to arrange centuries ago by some miracle. However, the only problem with THAT arrangement was the fact that one needed to be INSIDE the residence for the protection to be in effect. Now that Octavia was out on the streets, the Exorcists had carte blanche to do away with her like any other demon in Hell.

Just as she finally managed to find and dial the house's phone number, her Hellphone was forcefully shot out from her hand and embedded into a nearby wall by a harpoon-shaped spear, reducing it to little more than shrapnel just as her father, Stolas, picked up the phone, his voice fading into a distorted blurb as the power instantly died. Snapping her head to her right, Octavia instantly saw the culprit of the second near-miss, as another Exorcist suddenly made its appearance after jumping down from the nearest roof, its twisted feathered wings spread out in a terrifying display as it edged closer towards the terrified Demon.

"Shit!" Octavia exclaimed, once again breaking into a run just before the Exorcist retrieved its spear from the wall.

Darting through the alleyways between the buildings, hoping that the narrow walkways would at the very least slow down the angel pursuing her, Octavia tried desperately to ignore the growing number of demonic corpses that began to litter the streets around her and focus her mind solely on her own survival. Though this certainly proved to be difficult given the increasing volume of panicked screams of agony and despair and the occasional body being thrown from the upstairs windows above her head, before landing directly at her feet. Before long, the poor Goetia Demon ran straight into a wire fence that stretched from wall to wall.

Cursing her luck, but seeing no other options, she made a jump for it and started climbing the fence as fast as she could. Once she reached the top, she had no choice but to grab the barbed wire-lined top and vaulted over the fence. She was halfway over when her shawl got caught in the wire. Seeing that it was stuck fast, she simply ditched the scarf, unwrapping it from her person with her now bloodied hands, falling to the ground in the process. Staggering back to her feet and breaking into a run once more, Octavia once again turned her head to see how far ahead she managed to get, however it turns out that jumping the fence wasn't as much of a chore to the Exorcist as it was for her. With one flap of its wings and a tremendous leap, the angel simply soared over the fence without any problems, much to Octavia's chagrin.

"Oh, come on!" she exclaimed, once again picking up the pace.

She didn't know how long she had been running for, or for how much longer she needed to in order to escape, but it soon became apparent to the young Goetia Demon that she was getting exhausted pretty fast, a lot quicker than the Exorcist seemed to be. If she didn't find a way out of this soon, she was either gonna collapse or die the moment the angel was within reach. Alas, neither luck nor fate was on her side at that moment. After turning around one final corner, Octavia gasped in horror as she eventually found herself almost running into a solid brick wall! Turning around, she hoped that she had enough time to double back before the Exorcist managed to catch up, however, the moment she looked back, the accursed angel was already rounding the corner and cutting off her only means of escaping the alley. Her back literally up against the wall, once again trying desperately to find a way out of her predicament. However, this time, there was none. She could try the nearby fire escape, however, the ladder was already up and the amount of time needed to bring it down would take too long, same with the manhole cover just a meter away. Octavia just had to face the facts… she was going to die!

She just couldn't believe it. Octavia Goetia, a Princess of Hell, was going to die at the hands of an Exorcist like a rat in the gutter! How humiliating is that!? Worse still, the damn Angel felt the need to taunt her by scratching the blade of its spear against the wall, causing a jarring screech to ring in Octavia's ears as it drew closer and closer. Sliding down the wall until she was on the ground, all Octavia could do now was cry tears of despair and close her eyes, hoping that her inevitable demise would be quick. Soon enough, she heard the Angel's hard metallic breathing mere inches away from here, practically picturing it raising its spear for the final strike. But then…

"Hey, ASSHOLE!"

Snapping her eyes wide open at the sound of the new voice ringing in her ears, Octavia's gaze shot straight up to the fire escape just as the Exorcist's attention was also drawn to it. There, a lone figure with one scorching red right eye, one ghostly white left eye and neon blue teeth stood atop the metal railing as they looked down at the Angel and Demon below, their features somewhat hidden as it lurked in the shadows of the building behind them.

"Suck brick, bitch!" they cried before something was flung from their hand.

Before Octavia had the chance to even blink, the corner of a large brick suddenly embedded itself into the Exorcist's armoured skull, causing it to give out a loud screech as it staggered back a few feet and collapsed to the ground, twitching while holding onto its bleeding head wound. Mere seconds later, the figure jumped down from the fire escape, somehow landing on their feet without any problems despite how high they were. Now that Octavia was able to get a better look at her apparent saviour, she found him to be some manner of cat demon, one who had a long tail at least twice the length of his body and wore a dark metallic mask over his face, one which appeared to have glowing blue teeth. The only other features she could even see was his chestnut brown fur and the tuft of blue hair that drooped over his left eye, given the fact the rest of him was covered up in dark grey pants and a purple hoodie that covered up the rest of his head.

Just as Octavia's mind tried to absorb what had just happened, her saviour suddenly ran up towards her, grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the nearby manhole cover.

"Down here, quick!" he cried, grabbing onto the sides of the cover and using all his strength to pull the heavy slab of metal to the side.

However, though this Demon may have saved her life and the fact that she even considered using this method of escape herself, Octavia was still instantly hesitant to just jump into the sewer with a total stranger, especially considering that this was obviously one of the Sinner Demons.

"Seriously?" she said, voicing out her concerns without even thinking.

Needless to say, her saviour did not appreciate being questioned while he was trying to help.

"You wanna go back THAT way!?" he snapped, pointing towards the direction of where Octavia ran from.

Following the Cat Demon's clawed finger, Octavia gasped in horror as the Exorcist began to stagger back to its feet, its face clearly dented and cracked as it gushed glowing white blood onto the street. Though it was clearly swaying due to being severely disoriented, it was painfully obvious that while a brick to the head from a great height would kill practically anyone else, an Angel who was wearing Celestial Armour was a completely different story. Seeing no other choice, Octavia quickly relented as she grabbed one side of the manhole cover and helped heave the metal cover off the hole. With the added help, they managed to get the cover off in just a few seconds.

"You go first, I'll be right behind you!" the Cat Demon said quickly. Hesitating only a moment, Octavia took a quick breath before making her way down the sewer ladder, trying to ignore how gross and slimy the rungs were.

As soon as she reached the bottom, the Cat Demon quickly jumped down after her, once again landing on his feet with a small splash as he landed in the filthy water below.

"Okay," he said, his voice slightly echoed from either his mask or by the walls of the sewer. "Let's get out of here before- LOOK OUT!"

Before she knew it, Octavia was suddenly tackled to the side of the sewer wall by her would-be saviour and pinned there by his furry hands. Before she even had the chance to protest, a split second later a familiar looking spear shot straight through the man-hole above them at lightning speed and drove itself straight into the stone beneath the water, giving off a faint burst of steam as the white glow faded from the Heavenly blade at the tip. Clearly, the injured Angel above wanted to have one final shot at them before the two Demons actually managed to escape, an effort that was thankfully in vain. As the moment passed, both Octavia and her saviour couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

"THAT was too close for comfort," the Cat Demon commented, Octavia nodding in agreement.

However, the moment of relief was instantly short-lived. All of a sudden a sharp noise rang in both Demons' ears, daring to tilt their gaze downward, they both gasped in horror upon seeing what was causing it. Thanks to both their nocturnal vision, even in the darkness of the sewer, they both could see the massive series of cracks forming from the tip of the spear beneath the ankle-deep water as clear as day, worse still… chunks from those cracks quickly began to sink.

"Oh, Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittt!"

As were the final two words Octavia heard screaming from her saviour's covered mouth, before the both of them fell through the collapsing stone floor, disappearing into the darkness.

She didn't know just how long she had been falling for, but the moment Octavia hit the water with a painful splash, she knew instantly that wherever she had ended up was far worse than what she was going through before. Desperately fighting to breathe, the pain she felt in her back was quickly overshadowed by the terrible sensation of the foul-tasting liquid filling her lungs as she fought her way up through it. Finally breaking the surface of the water and taking in a large breath of air, coughing out anything that shouldn't be in her body, Octavia quickly started to struggle to keep her head above the rushing rapids… rapids of water that oddly enough, tasted like iron!

Bobbing up and down as the raging river of blood tried to swallow her back up again, Octavia continued to thrash about, trying desperately to stay above the surface, all the while her mind went almost completely blank save for the natural instinct to survive. The current seemed to pull her in almost every direction. Left, right, up, down, and even in small tight-knit circles, like mini whirlpools. Suddenly, she felt a tight snap as something wrapped around her waist and slowly pulled her over towards a certain direction, before she felt an arm wrap under her own. Tilting her head up, she saw that the arm belonged to the saviour who fell in this river with her.

"Hang on!" he coughed, trying desperately to keep his head above the surface himself.

As much as she appreciated the effort, however, staying close together in this scenario didn't exactly help much. As the barrage of twists and turns continued on and on, it felt as though this liquefied torture was never going to end, until finally the twisting stopped and the two Demons were left with one final obstacle, causing them to once again gasp in horror.

"Oh, not agaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!" The Cat Demon screamed, as the two finally plummeted over the waterfall of blood and into the dark abyss below.