A Stud Auction? A fucking STUD AUCTION!? That's what the special event was!? Of all the insane schemes Gaap could have come up with, THIS was what he went for!?
"Wait…" Octavia uttered, giving her mother an appalled glare. "You KNEW about this!?"
"Oh, what of it?" Stella retorted, not even bothering to deny it. "So Gaap had this foolish idea to get some extra cash by putting some eligible bachelors up for auction. So what?"
"So what!?" Octavia repeated. "Mum, it's not exactly putting a bid on a new painting!"
"Obviously," Stella agreed. "But I imagine that it will still be quite the spectacle. Perhaps you'll even be able to get someone that'll actually be worth the money."
Oh, sweet merciful fuck! Her mother was trying to fix her up again! THAT'S why she's so on board with this whole facade! Here they were, supposed to be on a relaxing weekend getaway, and now here Stella was trying to lump her daughter with some douchebag she's literally going to BUY for her! How could things possibly get any… wait… if Mick wasn't back yet… oh you gotta be kidding…
"Could you believe that foolish man thinks that the Cat will actually be WORTH anything?" Stella cackled, practically confirming Octavia's fears. "I mean who would honestly pay good money to be stuck with HIM? Best case scenario, he gets laughed off the stage or someone pays to have him stuffed."
Octavia didn't know which was worse, the fact that her mother put Mick in the auction, or how cruel her reasoning was. Not only was she trying to buy a man for her daughter, but she also seized the same opportunity to try and humiliate the one her daughter ACTUALLY liked. Try to make matters even worse than that, when Octavia looked over to Googoo's table, she couldn't help noticing the look of glee spread all over the Mouse Demon's face. Oh fuck… if Googoo knew that Mick was being put on auction, then the crazy bitch won't stop at anything to get him!
"Now, before we bring out our eligibles, there are a few key things to know," Gaap continued, strutting along the stage with the microphone raised to his mouth. "The minimum bid will be around 100 souls, which will increase as the auction progresses. Now before you get too excited, this is only a temporary purchase for tomorrow evening, meaning that you can't take the products home with you after the date is over. And as much as I'd love to see you ladies gorge yourselves to your heart's content, I'm afraid it's only a maximum of 2 items per customer. Sorry."
This statement, of course, resulted in many groans from the audience, showing just how many of Gaap's patrons were actually looking forward to either buying everyone who was available or hoping to have a new slave to keep.
"But fear not!" Gaap continued, quickly calming his guests. "Even if you don't get the boy or girl you want at first, then there may be a better one along the way as the auction carries on."
The moment he said that, many delighted smirks filled the room as the thought of at least getting a date with high-quality men or women raced through their minds.
"Now, after you've claimed your prize, you will be asked by our lovely manager to select one of the many random date spots that we have arranged for you all so that we may keep track of your stud and their whereabouts," Gaap instructed, gesturing a hand to the Hellhound holding the tablet off to the side, who in turn gave a stoic wave. "Also, a quick note: All proceeds of this auction will be going into building a brand new steam room for you to enjoy next year. Alright… let's bring them out!"
Upon that declaration, a loud burst of music rang through the dining room and a large line of Demons of all shapes and sizes marched onto the stage, all of them looking severely nervous. Meanwhile, coloured paddles were being placed on the tables around the room by the waiting staff, most likely to make the bidders stand out a bit more. However, as various as the Demons on stage were, there was one in particular neither Linda nor Octavia could spot.
"I-I don't see him, do you?" Linda whispered, seeing neither mask nor tail of her fellow attendant whatsoever.
"N-no," Octavia replied with a shake of her head. "Where is he?"
Alas, before Octavia could receive any answers, the auction was already in full swing.
"Alright, first up!" Gaap announced, ushering a handsome-looking Hellhound to step forward. "Here we have a strapping young fellow, with a strong bite and a tendency to be the bitch in any relationship. Bidding starts at 100 souls!"
"100!" a random guest cried out, raising their paddle.
"150!" shouted another.
And so began a seemingly endless flurry of catcalls and laughter as each stud was put on the spot for purchase, men and women, both Sinner and Hellborn alike. While some sold for short cash in an instant, others were the target of two combatants trying to outbid the other, resulting in a loss of BIG money for the victor.
As the auction continued, however, neither Octavia nor Linda managed to catch sight of Mick. Trying to look for him while Stella wasn't looking was the hardest thing they had done. Fear and relief were battling inside the two girls as they didn't know if Mick would be next in the auction or if he was going up at all. Soon enough, it seemingly came down to the last item for sale, specifically a pair of boy/girl Sinner twins who resembled a pair of Siamese Cats, both of them looking just as feminine as the other.
"SOLD! To the lovely lady in the back!" Gaap laughed as the twins walked off the stage giving their date flying kisses. "The best packages always come in twos, am I right?"
However, even as everyone else in the room laughed at Gaap's joke, there were still two Demons who remained frustrated, the pair of them growing more anxious by the minute.
"Okay, seriously, where the fuck is he!?" Octavia whispered with worry. "There isn't anyone left!"
"M-maybe we were worried for nothing," Linda suggested. "Maybe he was just asked to help out backstage or something?"
However, as much as she appreciated Linda's attempt to see the potentially positive side, Octavia knew that nothing in Hell is ever as simple as that… especially if her mother had a hand in it. Suddenly, Gaap once again spoke into the microphone.
"And now that we got all that out of the way… it's time to bring out the QUALITY stock!" he announced like a presenter at the Oscars, instantly catching everyone's attention as the lights flashed and music blared from the speakers.
Seeing all of this from their table, Octavia and Linda grimaced. It would seem that the auction wasn't quite over yet.
"Only three men left!" Gaap announced with a shark-like grin. "Each one starting at a minimum bid of 1000 souls. And this time, you can only have ONE of them per customer…. Tell me, ladies, are your juices flowing yet!?"
Upon hearing that question, the remaining women who have yet to receive any studs screamed as though they were looking at Adonis himself doing a strip tease for their pleasure. Stella, on the other hand, simply yawned as if she were about to pass out from sheer boredom.
"Oh, get on with it already." she groaned, much to her daughter's surprise.
Now that she thought about it, Octavia couldn't help but notice that her mother had been acting this way ever since the auction started. She may have seemingly been into it at first but as each stud left the stage, Stella only appeared to grow impatient… almost as if SHE were waiting for something.
"Alright, first up, a special treat for you all," Gaap spoke up, once again snapping Octavia back to reality. "An upstanding gent from a very upstanding family… one of the off branches of the GOETIA family, as a matter of fact…"
Upon hearing the name of the family this particular stud came from, Octavia and Linda immediately quivered.
"I got a bad feeling about this..." Octavia muttered in dread.
"Same…" Linda added, biting her lip in fear as Gaap finished up the introduction.
"Ladies, give it up for the son of the great Count Ipos… SETH AYPEROS!" he announced to the sound of fireworks.
Upon hearing that name, Linda's eyes shrank and the world around her slowed down to a crawl. Daring to look up at the stage, she and Octavia gasped when they, unfortunately, saw that neither of them had misheard Gaap's announcement. There, in all of his gangly glory, was the vile duck who haunted Linda's nightmares and assaulted Octavia on her own property… Seth was back.
"Good evening!" he called out, resulting in a sudden yet understandable reaction from Linda.
"EEK!" she shrieked in horror, instantly diving under the table to hide. "Keep him away!"
While the poor Imp shivered under the tablecloth, her eyes trickling with frightened tears as flashes of her previous job rushed through her head, she and Octavia thanked their lucky stars that Seth was too wrapped up in his own ego to notice the outburst.
"Octavia, please control your Imp!" Stella snapped in a hushed tone. "People are looking."
Of course, Octavia didn't even dignify that appalling lack of sensitivity with an answer. Instead, she only gave her mother a hard glare and her little friend a reassuring pat on the back as the bidding for Seth began.
"Alright ladies, let's start the bidding!" Gaap declared. "Do I hear 1,000 souls?"
However, much to Gaap's surprise, Seth's shock and Octavia's amusement… NO ONE said a word. In fact, the room became so deadly silent, not even a cricket could be bothered to make a peep.
"Uh… anyone?" Gaap spoke up, raising an eyebrow.
Seeing the confusion and the anger building up on Seth's face, Octavia desperately tried to hold back a snicker. Undoubtedly, the egotistical Duck Demon expected to have women fighting for him, but once again, reality decided to give him a good smack in the face. Not that Octavia was surprised, of course. After the events of the banquet, word about what Seth did quickly spread amongst the elite thanks to Countess Gremory and her Uncle Malphas, making any reputation he might have had instantly get flushed down the toilet. And if his new reputation wasn't enough to put women off, then his new appearance definitely would have done the trick.
While he wasn't that much of a catch before, somehow he looked much worse now. Where there was once just a permanent sneer across his beak, now he had a chip and a crack running across its left side. Not only that, but his clothes looked unkempt and his feathers were all ruffled, almost as if he WASN'T getting daily spa treatments like he usually would. But the most noticeable change of all was what now rested upon his wrist instead of his shattered right hand. Specifically, a small, metal hook that looked so old and rusty, it appeared as though Seth bought it for cheap. If Octavia didn't know any better… she would have guessed that Ipos finally pulled his finger out and cut this little bastard off from his money!
"500?" Gaap continued to ask, lowering the price in hopes it would make the duck more of a buy, but once again getting no response. "100? 10? Come on, someone make an offer!"
Alas, when someone finally DID speak up, it wasn't to make a bid.
"Oh brother, GET THIS LOSER OFF THE STAGE!" a random guest shouted, much to Seth's fury and Octavia's further delight.
"Hey, fuck you!" Seth cursed, shouting into the crowd.
"Fuck YOU!" the random guest snapped back, not intimidated in the slightest.
Octavia didn't know which was more delicious to watch, Seth's frustration slowly boiling over or the disappointment on Gaap's face when he realised that he fucked up royal when he brought him into the auction. Quickly realizing that this was a lost cause, the big-eared Demon let out a defeated sigh.
"Alright, I've run out of patience," he muttered, before shouting to someone backstage. "HERMAN! Get the cattleprod out here!"
"I beg your pardon!?"
Alas, Seth's outbursts fell upon deaf ears when a one-eyed Sinner resembling a sloth with long creepy fingers, wearing blue overalls, burst out from behind the curtain carrying a long metal rod emanating electrical sparks at the tip. Before the disgraced Duck Demon could even think of protesting, the Sloth Sinner shoved the rod to Seth's backside with a sadistic smile.
BZZZZZZZZZZZTTTT!
"GAH!" Seth screamed, feeling the frighteningly large surge of electricity course through his feathers. "How DARE y-"
BZZZZZZZZZZZTTTT!
Within seconds, Herman started repeatedly zapping Seth until he staggered off the stage, cranking up the voltage every time the large Duck tried to complain. Witnessing all of this from the table, Octavia actually joined in on the cackling when the room suddenly burst into laughter at Seth's expense. It was only when Seth was near the entrance of the dining room that the zapping ceased, allowing him to wallow in humiliation and fury as the laughter continued on afterwards…which only grew even more when he suddenly caught Octavia flipping him off just before he left.
"It's alright, Liddy," Octavia spoke up, peeking her head under the table. "He's gone."
"Y-you're sure?" the Imp squeaked, finally poking her head out to see Octavia give her a nod.
Looking over to the stage and seeing that the danger had indeed passed, Linda let out a sigh of relief as Octavia helped her out from under the table.
"Good riddance, I say," Octavia said with a huff, her humour all but gone as her mood slowly began to sour. "What the fuck was he even DOING here!?"
It was at those words that Stella let out a small sigh and chose to speak up.
"Yes, I'm quite curious about that myself," she said. "Given what I've been hearing, the poor dear has been in a spot of bother as of late. Probably volunteered for this event in hopes of perking himself up."
"The 'poor dear'!?" Octavia snapped, appalled that her mother would refer to a monster like Seth as such. "Do you not remember what that bastard did to me!?"
"Hard to forget since your father made such a fuss about it," Stella retorted, rolling her eyes as if she were listening to a meaningless broken record. "Of course, I'm not saying that he didn't deserve to be punished. I'm just saying that the treatment he received was FAR too severe."
Octavia, of course, merely scoffed at that stuck-up statement.
"Too severe?" she repeated under her breath. "If anything it wasn't severe ENOUGH."
Meanwhile, back on the stage, Gaap was pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation over that unsightly display.
"So sorry for that, ladies and gentlemen," he spoke into the microphone. "I suppose that even the quality stock has a few duds here and there. Am I right?"
Luckily that attempt at humour was enough to get the audience laughing again, allowing Gaap to move on from the fiasco with panache.
"But enough about THAT loser!" he continued, the lights suddenly dimming as a spotlight hovered over the centre of the stage. "Now we have an even BETTER man for you all… a man of such perfect breeding in all the best places, the son of Flauros himself… Ladies, give it up for CRAY ROSE!"
Suddenly Tom Jones music started playing in the background as the Leopard Demon from earlier dramatically burst out from behind the curtains, wearing a well-tailored suit and carrying a black rose.
"Oh, fuck me," Octavia groaned, unable to resist facepalming when Cray suddenly started swinging his body and singing along with the music.
Cray:
It's not unusual to be loved by anyone,
It's not unusual to have fun with anyone,
But when I see you hanging about with anyone,
It's not unusual to see me cry,
Oh, I wanna die!
Soon enough, the crowd began to cheer as the Leopard Demon sang and did his weird dance number. In fact, it didn't even take long for some of the guests to even start drooling at the sight of him. Soon enough, the tune ended and Cray and Gaap were met with applause.
"Haha! Now THAT is quality, am I right, ladies!?" Gaap chuckled, hearing the girls in the crowd cheer even louder and practically feeling the money filling his pockets. "Alright, same as before, we shall start the bidding at 1,000 souls?"
At first, Octavia was willing to simply let this part of the auction drift by, seeing as how she had no interest in the Demon on stage… But her attitude quickly changed when she heard the voice making the opening bid.
"1,000 souls!" Stella called out, raising her paddle high into the air.
Needless to say, Octavia was instantly appalled.
"Mum?!" she gasped. "What are you doing?!"
"1500 souls!" a random guest suddenly spoke up.
"2500 souls!" Stella countered with a defiant smile, completely ignoring her daughter's words entirely.
THIS must have been what she was waiting for! Never mind all of the other studs, Octavia's mother already had her date picked out before the auction even started! Hell, she probably got the names of all the studs from Gaap when she was in the lobby earlier. That would also explain why she wasn't more surprised when Seth suddenly showed up out of the blue.
"3500!" another demon cried, throwing their hat into the ring.
"4,000!" Stella yelled back.
"I have 4,000!" Gaap chuckled. "Do I hear 5?"
This was a fucking nightmare! The more the bidding continued, the more Octavia wanted nothing more than to crawl into the nearest dark hole and stay there. Try as she might, Stella was simply refusing to listen to her daughter's protest, clearly determined to set her up with the privileged prick on stage. No matter how high all the other women bid, Stella just kept topping them. Soon enough, the other bidders began to quiet down, leaving only Stella and one other.
"Alright, we have 9,000 souls in the pot!" Gaap declared, growing more excited by the second. "Going once… going twice…"
"15,000 souls!" Stella finally cried out, smiling smugly as Gaap made the final announcement.
"Sold!" he cried, pointing a clawed finger to the Goetia, smirking with satisfaction.
The moment that word rang out through the crowd, a great many women gave out a collected, disgruntled groan, some were even sobbing into the food upon learning they had lost out on a date with such a handsome man. Octavia, on the other hand, had a completely different reason to be upset.
"I can't believe you just did that!" she snapped, much to her mother's annoyance.
"Oh, please, Octavia, you should be grateful," she retorted. "I just landed you a date with one of the most eligible bachelors in Hell. Who knows? You may even like it enough to go on a second one afterwards."
"Yeah… if I had my brain lobotomized with a spork?" Octavia muttered, seeing no point in discussing the matter further with this woman.
Of course, as if her mother's complete disregard for her opinion or feelings weren't enough to piss Octavia off, then her newly-bought date's antics on stage gave her even more cause to scowl.
"I'm sorry, ladies, I know you're disappointed," the Leopard Demon called out to the audience, waving and blowing kisses to all the ladies who missed out. "But I still love you all so-"
"Yeah, Yeah, now get off the stage already!" Gaap snapped, quickly getting annoyed with his fellow Noble hogging the spotlight "Go on, piss off!"
In response, Cray merely shrugged and sauntered off the stage, giving the audience one final wink and a blow of kisses, resulting in many a swooning sigh. Taking a moment to give the showboating Leopard a stern glare, Gaap then took a breath and put on his smile again.
"And now…" he said. "The last and most exciting item of the evening!"
At that moment, the Goetia Prince suddenly snapped his fingers and the room was suddenly engulfed in darkness. Seconds later, the sounds of Lokole drums rang through the speakers and torches emanating red flames rose from the edge of the stage, shrouding the room in an eerie light just before a large projection screen was lowered in front of the curtains.
"What the fuck?" Octavia uttered, scratching her head.
"Wha-what's going on?" Linda added, sharing in the Goetia Princess's confusion.
At that moment, Gaap spoke up again as numerous clips started playing on the screen… clips of Mick's Crazy Cat videos!
"Oh, no…" Octavia gasped, her eyes shrinking in horror
"He's hilarious!" Gaap cried, the screen showing Mick getting his groin chomped on during his fight with the Demon Toy before switching to him crashing the hang glider through a building. "He's courageous! And if you ever want him to be, he's also quite DANGEROUS!"
Upon those words, the screen showed Mick's latest video, namely his debut as a flaming monstrosity during the last of the Pain Games, a sight which gave Octavia both the feeling of shock and intrigue. Of course, as soon as everyone else saw this footage, the number of hungry looks in the room increased exponentially… especially from Googoo's table.
"Ladies and gentlemen…" Gaap continued. "Without further ado, we give you the internet sensation… Michael FIRECLAAAAAAAAAAAAW!"
At that moment, the drumbeats intensified and the flames at the edge of the stage erupted to the point that they almost reached the ceiling, only to suddenly cease when someone was literally THROWN through the screen, rolling along the stage before he landed on his feet. Wearing nothing but his mask, a tooth necklace and a furry loincloth, Mick had finally made his debut.
"Buh… buh…" Octavia blabbered as she blushed to the point where her face looked sunburnt from the amount of pleasure she took from seeing the Cat Demon in such a state of undress, her jaw almost breaking the table as her eyes went wide at the sight.
Of course, needless to say, the Goetia Princess wasn't the only one enjoying the display, since all the other single women in the room were screaming like they had just seen Jesus Christ himself show off his abs, something that quickly snapped Octavia back to reality with a shake of her head.
"Well… at least we know where he is," Linda stated awkwardly, scratching the back of her neck. "But, um… what happened to his clothes?"
"If by that, you mean: What the fuck are they MAKING him wear?" Octavia snarled, quickly noticing all the other single ladies looking at Mick like he was a slab of meat ready to be picked clean.
Stella, of course, didn't help in the slightest with her latest comment.
"Oh, this is going to be fucking hilarious!" the elder Goetia blurted out, laughing so hard that she almost fell off her chair. "That foolish man went through all that trouble and he isn't going to get a single penny back!"
Clearly, Stella was under the impression that Mick wouldn't sell due to his standing… However, had she not been so consumed by her own ego and paid more attention to the videos online and the faces of everyone else in the room, she would have thought differently. So sure was she of the outcome of this last bid war, that one could only imagine her surprise when the bidding began.
"1500 souls!"
"3,000!"
"4500!"
"6,000!"
"9,000 souls!"
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Stella exclaimed, spitting out her drink.
"Woah… this escalated quickly." Linda whimpered, sharing in Stella's state of shock when she saw how fast the women increased the bid.
Octavia, on the other hand, felt completely powerless. Thanks to her mother setting up that stupid date with Cray, she had lost the chance to save Mick from all the other weirdos… then again, Stella probably wouldn't have allowed her to make any bids anyway. Alas, all she could do now was sit and watch as Gaap made her secret love a freaking half-time show.
"How could things possibly get any worse!?" she asked herself, only for fate to once again give her the middle finger.
"10,000 Souls!" Googoo suddenly shouted, snapping up her paddle and splitting the room like a hot knife through butter, causing both Octavia and Linda to stare at her in horror.
"L-like that?" Linda stuttered, her whole body shaking in shock.
Meanwhile, up on the stage, Mick was frozen with fear at the bidding war for his furry ass. Once again, Stella had been the one responsible for yet another shitstorm he now found himself in. As soon as he found out what the Goetia was getting him into, obviously, his first instinct was to try to get out of it. Unfortunately, Gaap's hotel manager was somehow worse than any bouncer he had ever dealt with. Now here he was, completely cornered and being sold off to the highest bidder, who at present just so happens to be GOOGOO! To this cruel twist of fate, he could only say one thing…
"Oh… fuck me."
Gaap, on the other hand, seemed to be having the time of his life as he heard the numbers rise.
"Holy shit, I knew you'd sell, kid, but this is better than I could have hoped for," the big-eared Demon chuckled, wrapping his arm around Mick's shoulder and ensuring he remained centre-staged.
Back at their table, Octavia and Linda's fear quickly began to skyrocket. Once Googoo had made her bid, almost everyone in the room suddenly fell silent. Since she didn't bid for any of the previous studs, it was speculated that she was saving for the final item from the start. Now that she threw her hat into the ring, no one else dared to challenge her lest they risked facing the wrath of Bruce if she lost… However, Octavia wasn't going to give up on Mick that easily. She may not be able to buy Mick herself, but she'd be damned if she let Googoo get her skanky claws into him!
"Linda, you gotta do something!" she snapped into her attendant's ear, keeping her tone hushed so her currently-baffled mother didn't overhear.
"What CAN I do!?" Linda retorted, her tone just as hushed.
"Anything, just go!"
Despite being somewhat in the dark in terms of an actual plan, Linda nonetheless followed her friend's instruction and snuck away from the table. Getting on her hands and knees, her small size making it easier to stay unnoticed by the Demons fixated on the stage, Linda quickly crawled off to a different table and suddenly did the first thing she could think of.
"Uh… 15,000 souls!" she yelled, trying her best to put on a different voice just before she snapped the end of her tail against someone's thigh.
As she had hoped, as soon as the guest felt the sting against her leg, she jumped up, catching Gaap's attention.
"15,000!" the Goetia Prince cried out. "Ooh, this is getting juicy, people!"
Snapping, her head down to the floor, the guest hoped to find the culprit behind her unwanted bid. However, Linda proved to be far too quick and was already at a different table before she could blink… alas, Googoo remained undeterred.
"20,000 souls!" the winged Mouse Demon yelled, once again snatching the top spot.
And so began a series of back-and-forth bidding between Googoo and Linda hiding behind someone else. Seeing that the first attempt worked, the small Imp continued diving from table to table, poking or tickling guests to get them to leap from their chairs or stand up while she cried out in a different voice. Octavia may not be able to buy Mick herself, but as long as Googoo wasn't the one who did then there may be a way to salvage things.
"25,000! Linda cried, tickling another guest before leaping to another table like a kitten.
"30,000!" Googoo screamed, standing from her own table.
"Uh… uh… 35,000!" Linda screamed back, spanking someone's ass with her tail just as they were getting up.
"35,000!" Gaap screamed, almost cackling in ecstasy as the bidding reached the highest point of the night. "Going once… going twice…"
"50,000 Souls... CASH!"
"SOLD!"
"NO!"
As soon as those words rang through her ears, Octavia almost became catatonic… Googoo won. Despite Linda's best efforts, the blonde bitch threw in all that cash and Gaap snatched it up like fish on a hook. Now Mick, the man Octavia genuinely wanted… was going on a date with someone who will chew him up and spit him out… BEFORE letting her giant Hellhound do the same! If things could somehow get any worse than this, then some higher power was definitely screwing with her.
"And that is it, ladies and gentlemen!" Gaap called out, earning himself a round of applause as he finally brought the auction to a close. "Now wasn't THAT fun? But don't go away just yet, 'cause we still have a special surprise for the ladies who managed to snatch our quality studs."
"Surprise?" Octavia uttered, not liking the sound of that one bit.
"Tomorrow night, at the stroke of 8, our two quality dates shall be wined and dined on the top floor restaurant of this resort… on their first DOUBLE date!" Gaap announced, much to the horror of two individuals in a crowd of many. "Give them all a hand, won't you?"
As soon as they heard the reluctant claps on their behalf, both Mick and Octavia thought the same thing:
"Oh… fuck me in the ass."
"AGH! Mother titty fucking cock… AAAAAAAAAAAAAAASS!" Octavia screamed into her pillow as she thrashed around on her bed like a hyperactive child throwing a tantrum. "I can't believe this is fucking happening to me!"
Needless to say, the moment Octavia and the others made it back into their hotel room, everyone needed some way to vent their frustrations. While Stella chose to clean the minibar out of all its liquor in hopes of forgetting tonight's latest embarrassment in the form of a hangover, her daughter and her attendants retreated to their respective rooms. The only exception being Linda, who at least attempted, albeit in vain, to calm Octavia down.
"O-Octi, I-" she tried to say, only for the young Owl Demon to cut her off.
"I don't want to hear it!" Octavia snapped, only to instantly sigh with regret as soon as she saw Linda trembling with fear. "Sorry, Liddy. I just have a lot on my mind right now."
"No, I'M sorry!" Linda retorted, quickly snapping out of her moment of unease. "I should have done better with those bids."
Hearing that, Octavia couldn't help but smile. Sometimes she could forget just how sweet Linda could really be.
"It wasn't your fault, Liddy," the Goetia Princess said reassuringly. "If anyone's to blame, it's my fucking mother… again! Damn her! And damn that Gaap! Damn him and his fucking hotel for all this bullshit!"
"I still can't believe she would set you both up like this," Linda commented, with a shake of her head.
Octavia, of course, only responded to that with a scoff.
"Oh, believe it," she retorted. "Given how this family works, she thinks she can marry me off as soon as I turn eighteen just because I'm the heir to our branch. I mean, just because she and my dad were engaged when they were 11 doesn't mean I have to go along with the same outdated practice!"
"And what about poor Mick?" Linda added. "He has to go on a date with that… that… that skank!"
As proud of Linda as Octavia was for being brave enough to say such a thing against Googoo, she nonetheless felt just as worried as she was.
"I know what you mean," she admitted. "Hell, why the fuck did Gaap have to make such a big deal of him? I mean we both know he's amazing but that was going overboard! I can only imagine what HE'S going through right now."
Meanwhile, in the other room…
"FUCK MY AFTERLIFE!" Mick yelled, throwing yet another torn-up pillow at the wall before curling up in the fetal position and sucking his thumb
Before long, Octavia collapsed into the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling as she tried to process everything.
"Ugh… why?" she uttered. "Just… why? WHY do things have to turn out like this!? I mean, I'm going to be sitting next to a pompous douchebag with the personality of a cheese grater. All the while, the man I actually have feelings for will be hooked up to a bitch who'd sooner eat HIM alive than the dinner!"
"Sounds like the most awkward double date in existence," Linda commented, having no idea what else to say.
"Oh, you think?" Octavia retorted sarcastically before letting out another sigh. "There's got to be some way out of this… there HAS to be."
Hearing the sounds of desperation oozing from the Owl Demon's voice, Linda felt a great surge of sorrow for the poor girl, so much so that she couldn't just stand there and say nothing.
"W-well, maybe there is a bit of hope," she said reassuringly, causing Octavia to tilt her head in her direction with a confused glance,
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"If I know Mick, he'd never be one to take this sort of thing lying down… ESPECIALLY if you're suffering for it," Linda elaborated. "I'm sure right now, he's formulating a plan to end this date before it starts!"
Hearing that, Octavia smiled as a look of realization spread across her face. Sitting herself up, she began to recall all the times Mick had already helped her in the past. From saving her life to posing as a Noble to share a dance, every time Octavia was in trouble, Mick always had some kind of scheme to combat said trouble.
"Yeah… yeah, you're right," the Goetia Princess agreed. "He'll know what to do…"
"I have NO idea what I'm doing!"
After throwing his tantrum, trashing his side of the room in the process, Mick eventually found himself slumped over his bed, staring up at the ceiling as his brain almost conked out from trying to think of a plan. Given the circumstances, sneaking away or feigning an illness wasn't going to work since it would arouse suspicion and there was no way he was going to leave Octavia alone with Cray. If they both couldn't get out of their respective dates, then there was no point. No matter how hard he tried though, nothing short of burning the whole building down came to mind. So he did the only thing he could think of… he phoned a friend for help.
"You gotta help me, Ember," he begged into his phone. "I'm desperate here!"
Why did he call Ember of all Demons? Because she, out of all his friends, seemed to be the most sensible of all of Mick's friend circle. Johnny may be a good pal, but a schemer he is not. Any plan Buzz could come up with actually WOULD result in burning the building down, and Loona would have just been indifferent to the whole thing. All that aside, Ember was the only other Demon who knew of Mick's true feelings for Octavia, leaving her the only real option to ask for help.
"Sounds like y'all got yourself into a right ol' pickle there, sugar," Ember said, her voice slightly loud due to speaking over the music in the background.
"More like I was thrown into it by the Queen Bitch herself!" Mick snapped, wincing and hoping Stella didn't hear him through the door. "I'm sorry, it's been a REALLY stressful night."
"I can tell," Ember replied. "And there's really no way to get out of this date?"
"Not now that it's been bought and paid for," Mick sighed. "As soon as I sit down at that table, Gaap's Hellhounds will be guarding the doors. Apparently, this place has had a bad case of runners over the years… and if THOSE Hellhounds don't get us, then Googoo's will!"
Mick couldn't really tell from where he was, but Ember was rolling her eyes at that statement.
"Oh come on, Mick," she said. "Don't y'all think you're exaggerating just a little?
In all honesty, Mick couldn't blame his friend from Wrath for being sceptical. After all, one would actually have to be in Bruce's presence to truly believe the horror he can unleash.
"Oh, I beg to differ," he retorted. "I actually asked Prince Stolas to message me about what he knew about Googoo and Bruce, and it turns out that the big fella was the result of some sick Hellhound breeding program owned by Googoo's dad."
"Breeding Program?" Ember repeated, a lot of confusion clearly sounding in her voice.
"Oh, yeah," Mick began to elaborate. "Apparently, he's half Great Dane, half Rottweiler… half Bullmastiff… half German Shepard… half Pit Bull… and half Wolf."
…
"That's a total of THREE Hellhounds, Mick," Ember pointed out, still sounding completely confused.
"Yep, that's just about the size of him," Mick whimpered with a gulp. "Ember, please, I really need your help here."
"Alright, alright, calm down," Ember snapped, bringing Mick back to reality before he began to reel. "Look, you like Octavia, don't ya?
"You know I do," Mick stated firmly, almost insulted that she would even ask such a question.
"Then show her how much," Ember instructed, much to the Cat Demon's confusion. "Use this date as an excuse to woo her. Flip the script and turn a bad situation to your advantage."
Flip the script? THAT was her advice? As enticing as it sounded, it also felt suicidal!
"And what about my ACTUAL date?" Mick pointed out, feeling as if Ember had quickly forgotten that specific detail.
"Screw her!" Ember retorted, the clear sound of scoff in her voice.
"I hope you don't mean that LITERALLY!" Mick gasped before letting out yet another heavy sigh. "Besides, I'm not sure I could, even if this were a regular date. I'm not exactly a Casanova."
Much to Mick's surprise, however, Ember let out a small laugh at that.
"You sure about that?" she joked. "I mean, if your charm is half as good as your talents in bed, I don't think you'll have a problem."
The moment she said that, Mick's face heated up so much that the blush once again seeped through his mask.
"W-well I-" the Sinner babbled, the memories of that night still fresh in his mind.
"BUT, if you're that desperate to end the date before it starts, then I might have something," Ember continued, instantly recognising the hesitation in Mick's voice. "All you need to do is give this hussy a good reason NOT to go out with you."
"Like what?" Mick asked, raising an eyebrow.
"One word, honey: Sabotage," Ember answered, allowing Mick a moment to process before she began to elaborate. "YOU may not be able to do anything, but I've been on plenty of bad dates to know that there ain't nothing wrong with getting some outside help to cut one off at the knees."
Outside help? As in hiring a saboteur? Mick had to admit, the idea did have merit, but who would be dumb enough to actually go along with such a plan?
"So… what kind of outside help are we talking about here?" Mick asked, genuinely curious about the idea.
"From what you told me about this Googoo gal, you need someone who is instantly repulsive to women," Ember explained. "Someone so deranged and so down on the evolutionary ladder that you'd need an elevator to the centre of the Earth to even come close. Someone who would make even Lucifer himself go completely mad from his antics alone! That's what I think anyway."
Hearing that, Mick looked about his room and shrugged. 'Guess the hotel is officially kindling, after all,' he thought.
"I know JUST the Imp."
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
The Featured Song: "It's Not Unusual" - Sung By: Sir Tom Jones