By the time Mick finally managed to force open his eyes, his head was throbbing like crazy. In all honesty, given what he remembered from the crash, it was practically a miracle that he wasn't in pain all over his body. This, of course, could only mean one of two things, either he was completely paralyzed from the neck down, or he somehow managed to escape the wreck completely unscathed. And given the fact that his head was already capable of spinning all the way around, the latter was the most likely.
Thankfully, this didn't seem to be one of those times where he had to snap his head back into place, which, given the circumstances, was all the better considering what could happen should a living human seemingly come back from a fatal injury. With that in mind, Mick swiftly checked his pockets, his mind riddled with a brief panic before suddenly sighing in relief upon seeing that his Crystal was still intact.
"Ugh…" the disguised Sinner groaned, forcing himself to sit back as he put the Crystal back in his pocket and placed a palm upon his head before seeing his friend lying next to him. "Linda… you dead?"
"Ugh… ya man…"
Despite the clear signs of being disoriented from the wreck, Linda otherwise seemed okay, much to Mick's relief. Helping the little Imp sit up, the Cat Demon looked her over, checking for any signs of injury.
"You sure, you're okay?" he asked, checking for any bruises or bleeding. "Nothing broken?"
"No, I don't think so," Linda reassured him. "Just a little shell-shocked, I think."
Needless to say, Mick immediately sighed with relief upon hearing that. However, that look of relief instantly shifted to one of blind rage as soon as a certain Cherub opened her mouth.
"I'm okay, too!" Wimzy spoke up, her eyes still spinning as she pulled herself out from underneath a nearby seat.
His left eye twitching like crazy, Mick immediately snapped his head in Wimzy's direction, earning a small gulp from the Cherub as she quickly snapped out of her daze.
"You are?" Mick said, his tone so soft it was scary. "Good, because now… I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
His eyes suddenly burning with fire, it took Linda all of her strength to pull Mick back before he actually mauled Wimzy into chum. In fact, the poor Angel barely escaped the Cat Demon's wrath as she quickly hovered out of reach.
"Woah! Okay, let's all calm down…" Wimzy tried to say, but Mick's anger was so intense that her words fell upon deaf ears.
"Calm down!?" the Cat Demon snarled. "You almost killed us, you little-"
"Urrrrrrrrrrrg,"
Hearing that groan, Mick immediately ceased his attack and snapped his head towards the back of the bus, along with Linda and Wimzy, where miraculously enough, Jerry also appeared to be waking up. True, he was clearly concussed, his face was all battered and bruised and his arm appeared to be dislocated, but the fact that he was awake was more than enough reason for concern as far as both Demon and Angel were concerned.
"What the hell is this guy MADE of!?" Mick uttered in disbelief.
"I suggest we postpone the homicidal dismemberment of our Angelic companion until we get as far away from this bus as soon as possible!" Linda squeaked out, to which both Mick and Wimzy nodded in agreement, the latter most of all.
"Good idea!" Mick declared, instantly rushing towards the door of the bus.
Thankfully, the crash was enough to cause so much damage, that the doors were ripped off their hinges, however…
"GAAAH!"
THUMP!
… Mick really should have looked down before he jumped out. While he did manage to leave the bus… he also somehow ended up falling five feet to the ground.
"Mick!" Linda yelled out as she and Wimzy peered over the edge of the open door, the latter wincing upon what she saw below.
"Ooooh, that had to hurt," she commented, much to no one's appreciation.
As it turned out, the roll down the hill had sent the bus flying so high and fast that it actually burst through the wall of a large building, only to get lodged in it as soon as it was halfway through. This, of course, resulted in the bus being stuck with the front poking into the building a few feet off the ground with the back still poking out of the building's exterior.
"Mick, are you okay?" Linda called out, receiving a muffled groan as Mick tried to pry his face from the floor.
"I never thought I'd say this," he uttered. "But I'm really starting to miss Hell."
Suddenly, another groan coming from behind them immediately caused Linda and Wimzy to once again panic.
"He's almost awake!" Linda yelled, causing Mick to quickly get back to his feet despite the pain.
"Jump!" he called out, standing tall and opening his arms wide.
Instantly taking the hint, Linda swallowed whatever fear she had of heights and jumped down from the door, landing in Mick's open arms, sighing with relief as she was gently lowered to the floor. Around the same time, Wimzy simply used her wings to float downward and follow the two disguised Demons as they both tried to search for an escape.
From what they could see, the bus appeared to have crashed through the side wall of some kind of large hall filled with rows upon rows of chairs, all of which were facing a small stage with a projection screen draped towards the back of it. Thankfully the hall appeared to have been empty of people and thus gave those riding the bus less risk of trying to explain things to any witnesses. However, that may not be the case for much longer once someone comes along to investigate the loud noises. Even though the lights were out, Mick quickly found their salvation by spotting a pair of double doors behind the last row of chairs.
"Through here!" he cried out to the others, immediately shoving the doors open… only to discover something that immediately caused his jaw to drop once he was on the other side. "Whoa…"
If there was one word Mick could describe the new environment he and the others now found themselves in, it would definitely be colourful! Somehow, the ride down the hill had caused Mick, Linda and Wimzy to land smack dab in the middle of a large Convention Center!
"It's… it's like Heaven for nerds," Linda uttered, looking at the strange costumes everyone appeared to be wearing.
"Yeah… Heaven indeed!" Wimzy added, stars literally in her eyes as she gawked at her surroundings with a sliver of drool dripping from the corner of her mouth.
Mick, on the other hand, was too awestruck to even speak. Everywhere he looked, the entire area was filled to the brim with stands selling numerous variations of merchandise, tables housing celebrities for autograph signings, and cosplayers all dressed up as their favourite fictional characters. And there were so many people talking about comic books, movies, upcoming series, theories and promoting their own pieces of entertainment. If anyone ever had the same love and passion for pop culture, THIS was the place to be!
"Wow!" Mick blurted out, eventually finding his voice again as he noticed the banners hanging from the ceiling. "This is Comic NovelCon! I've wanted to come here ever since I was a kid. Damn, it's gotten big."
"Doesn't look like anyone's noticed the crash yet," Wimzy pointed out.
From what Mick could gather, the Cherub appeared to be right on the money with her observation. Given the lack of response to the commotion from all of the attendees of the Con, it was likely that the main hall was either filled with noise too loud for anyone to hear anything else or possibly said attendees simply chose to ignore the noise. Hell, it was probably both. In any case, this proved to be most beneficial as far as the Sinner was concerned.
"Right," Mick said with a firm nod. "As much as I would love to stay and indulge in my nerdy fantasies, we really should- Linda?"
However, the moment he tilted his head down to look at his two companions, he was horrified to see that one of them had suddenly disappeared. It was only for the briefest of moments, but somehow Mick's luck seemed to have gotten even worse. Now TWO of his friends were missing.
"Oh, what the FUCK!?"
If there was ever a time Linda wanted to curse her own inability to watch her surroundings, this moment definitely made its way to the highest point of the list! While they may have been distracted only for a minute by the sheer magnificence of NovelCon, that one minute was all it took for someone to suddenly sneak up behind her and Mick, gag her and stuff her in a duffel bag that, for some reason, had the strong smell of fish and fried potatoes.
As she trembled inside the bag, she suddenly heard the muffled voices of her kidnappers chuckling to themselves as they ran off with her in tow. A man and a woman by the sound of it… ones who spoke with peculiar accents based on what she could make out through the fabric of the duffle bag.
"Huzzah!" she heard the man say. "We did it, my dear! We have finally captured Linda Cardellini!"
"The ransom we'll get from James Gunn will set us up for years, darling!" said the woman, only bringing confusion to Linda's mind.
Did her kidnappers think she was someone else? If so, then Linda's luck was WAY worse than she originally thought. What was going to happen to her if these two found out that she wasn't their target? Alas, it wouldn't be much longer until she was given the answer to that particular question when she suddenly felt the bag being dropped to the floor.
"Now then, let us make sure she isn't too badly damaged," she heard the man say. "We don't want to go through the same bullshit that happened when we tried to kidnap Brad Pitt."
When the zipper was pulled open, and she was finally able to see everything outside the bag, the sight of her kidnappers made Linda immediately switch from being scared… to just plain baffled, because these were the WEIRDEST people she had ever seen, and that's saying a lot considering where she comes from.
As she had thought, her kidnappers were both a man and a woman, both of whom were dressed up in the oddest-looking outfits Linda had seen today. While the man had very bad front teeth, and sported a powdered wig, white facial makeup and a bright red tailcoat with white ruffles and golden trims, the woman appeared to be wearing a blue one-piece swimsuit with the Union Jack plastered on the front of it, along with a white feather boa around her neck and a pair of white sunglasses perched atop her blonde hair.
Between their looks and their accents, the latter she was positive was being put on to hide their real ones, Linda could only stare in utter bewilderment at her two kidnappers. Just who in the fuck were these nutcases!?
"Oh… my goodness," the man spoke up, giving the disguised Imp what she could only assume was a look of uncertainty given the heavy amount of makeup. "You're not Linda Cardellini at all, are you? You're one of those costume players we've been seeing about the place. Blast, I knew we should have gone for that other one."
"There ARE a lot of girls in Velma Dinkley costumes," the woman pointed out, sharing in the man's concern.
So these two DID think she was someone else! And all because of her choice of attire no less. Well… seems she now knew why Mick thought she looked familiar earlier that day. With that in mind, Linda quickly scanned her surroundings while she could. Despite how scared she felt at that moment, she NEEDED to find Mick. After all, they left Hell together, and she would be damned all over again if they didn't go back together.
From the brief glimpse she took of the area around her, Linda saw that her kidnappers had brought her just outside of the Convention Center, hiding out in some shrubbery just a few feet from the back door, if she had to guess. If she didn't do something soon, she'd likely be stuffed in the trunk of their car faster than she could blink. Quickly weighing all of the options in her head, the best solution she could think of was to simply play along with her kidnappers' assumptions until she found an opening.
"How… how'd you know my name!?" she squeaked, finally able to speak as the man pulled away at her gag.
"Oh, you ARE Miss Cardellini?" The man said, his tone riddled with relief regardless of the bad accent. "Oh thank goodness for that. I dare say you are much smaller in person."
"Uh…" Linda tried to say, only for her own words to fail her as the woman quickly butted in.
"Oh what difference does it make, darling?" she said, her tone sounding somewhat condescending. "Even if she isn't who we're looking for, who's going to tell the difference, really?"
Okay, so they didn't just talk weirdly and have odd outfits, they also didn't appear to be all that smart. Linda could use that. All she had to do was keep them talking… Well, keep the man talking anyway. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something about the woman's voice that sounded hauntingly familiar to the poor Imp, so much so she couldn't help but feel a chill running down her spine every time she opened her mouth.
"Wh-who are you people!?" Linda eventually forced out, that particular bait thankfully causing her kidnappers to bite.
"Oh, do forgive us, little one," the man spoke, his voice seemingly growing more hoity-toity with every syllable as he pulled out a hanky from his pocket and gave it a small wave. "I am Lord Mingeworthy, and this is my wife, Lady Mingeworthy, my dear."
"Two normal British people!" the woman added, sharing the man's enthusiasm with their introduction.
Alas, once again her kidnappers only succeeded in putting Linda in a state of bafflement.
"You two are… considered normal?" she let slip out, only to quickly cover her mouth upon realizing her mistake.
Of course, who could really blame her? These two were actually claiming to be a British couple? Even Buzz wouldn't be dumb enough to believe that pile of bullshit. Hell, Mick's Mom is British, and she sure as fuck never acted like these two lunatics! Alas, irritation and bafflement aside, Linda knew she slipped up when she let her last sentence escape her lips, as evidenced by Lord Mingeworthy's annoyed pout.
"Well… you're quite rude, aren't you?" he commented with a scoff. "Would have thought James Gunn would have trained you better."
"Probably cranky because she's famished," his wife added, giving that cheek a small poke. "It does appear like she hasn't eaten in a while."
Hearing that, Lord Mingeworthy let out a weird huffing laugh.
"Well, we can't let the goods die of starvation, can we?" he chuckled.
"Indeed not," his wife chortled as she reached into her cleavage and pulled out what appeared to be a small blue tin. "Baked Beans, luv?"
"Uh… sure?" Linda replied, reaching out her hand and accepting the tin.
Wow, either these two were incredibly confident in their kidnapping prowess, or they were just INCREDIBLY stupid… considering that they had literally just given her the weapon she needed!
"HAYAA!"
Before Lord Mingeworthy could even blink, Linda lobbed the tin of beans and hit him right between the eyes, causing him to help and stumble back into his wife and make them both fall backwards. Seizing her chance, Linda swiftly jumped out of the bag and burst out of the foliage surrounding her before making her way back towards the door. By the time her kidnappers managed to get back to their feet, the disguised Imp managed to rush back inside the Convention Center, confident that they wouldn't follow due to the number of witnesses… oh, how wrong she was.
"Oh, bollocks to this," Lord Mingeworthy growled, pulling out an old flintlock pistol from his coat pocket. "Come dear, the hunt is afoot!"
"Smashing, darling!" his wife laughed as the two rushed towards the door.
Meanwhile, in a different area of the Convention Center, two more individuals were continuing their search for Linda, that being a certain Sinner and Cherub with faces filled with worry.
"Liddy!" Mick called, reaching out to tap the shoulder of someone he thought was his missing friend… only to find that it was yet another cosplayer the instant she turned around to face him. "Oh, sorry. Thought you were someone else."
Alas, once again Mick was met with yet another roll of the eyes and a scoff as the cosplayer walked away. That's the fifth time this has happened in the last hour.
"Oh fucking hell, where is she!?" Mick exclaimed, almost flipping over one of the nearby tables out of frustration and panic. "Of all times for that girl to be lost."
"Ooh!" he suddenly heard from behind him. "They have Mini Going Merrys here!"
At those words, Mick's eye immediately began to twitch as he turned towards Wimzy, who appeared to be fawning over some Anime Merch at one of the nearby stalls. Needless to say, the Angel's lack of urgency really pissed the Sinner off… especially considering this was already the third time she had been distracted since Linda went missing!
"Alright, that's it!" he snapped, suddenly stomping over and grabbing her by the tail. "I've had enough!"
"OW!" Wimzy yelled, struggling to pull herself free as Mick dragged her away while she hovered a foot above his head. "Hey, watch the tail!"
Alas, her words fell on deaf ears as Mick continued to pull her away, not even remotely caring that he might be looking like an idiot to any bystanders due to appearing that he was just holding air thanks to the Cherub's ability to stay hidden. Soon enough, he eventually found an isolated corridor close to the nearby bathrooms, where he tossed Wimzy in front of him and gave her a hard glare.
"You, Missy, are getting on my last nerve!" the Sinner growled. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't have time to piss about and pull you away from every stand we pass by!"
"I'm sorry, I just can't help myself," Wimzy apologized sheepishly. "When I'm surrounded by stuff like this, I lose myself in-"
"I don't care if you lose yourself in stamps!" Mick snapped again, not even bothering to let her finish. "I'm supposed to be searching for my friend before she gets herself into trouble, but no! I'm stuck here aimlessly wandering around Comic Con with YOU!"
Hearing that, Wimzy couldn't help but pout, feeling a little hurt by the Sinner's words.
"You don't have to be such a dick about it," she muttered, much to Mick's further irritation.
"Oh, don't I?" he retorted, poking an accusing finger in Wimzy's chest. "Thanks to your little stunt with the bus, I'm down two friends, both of whom are now lost in the Living World, wandering around fuck knows where! And I should probably mention that the longer I stay out of Hell, the more I risk getting into shit with the powers below, ESPECIALLY from my ex-employer if I can't bring his daughter home! So do forgive me for being a little pissed off!"
Unable to take such a hateful outburst, the little Cherub gave Mick a massive shock by glaring back at him as she got up in his face.
"Oh, don't give me that!" she shouted back. "This isn't just about the bus! You've been giving me the cold shoulder ever since we first met! You think I didn't notice?"
Given the silent treatment Mick gave her in response, the Cherub took it as all the evidence she needed to confirm her accusation.
"Look, I get it, okay?" she continued. "You don't like me! I don't know WHY you hate me, but I'm sick of all the snark and the glaring and I'd appreciate it if you could just cut it out! I mean, seriously, what did I ever do to you, huh!?"
At first, Mick was going to scornfully retort with much malice in his voice, but then… the words just wouldn't come out. No matter how many times he tried to formulate an argument in his head, he just couldn't deny the truth behind Wimzy's words. She wasn't an Exorcist and it wasn't as if she actually attacked him throughout the search, even the whole thing with the bus would just be considered an accident. And yet… Mick still treated her as if she was the enemy. True, he had his reasons to despise the Angels who attack Hell every year… but Wimzy wasn't even the same kind of Angel. With that in mind, he soon let out a small sigh filled with regret.
"It's not YOU specifically," he eventually explained, albeit quite reluctantly. "I just don't trust you because… well, because…"
Alas, regardless of Mick's struggle to force the words out, Wimzy didn't even need to hear the end of his sentence.
"Because I'm an Angel?" she asked, earning a small nod in response. "I… I see…"
Seeing the hurt look on Wimzy's face, Mick's feeling of guilt increased. Regardless of how he felt about her, he couldn't stand the idea of deliberately upsetting anyone. At that moment, he instinctively reached into his pocket and gripped his Rosario tightly as if he were holding a stress ball. The moment he touched it, flashes of memory went through his head. Hearing the screams of everyone around him, the smirking Exorcists as they flew around the sky, looking for some poor Demon to pick off… and a tearful smile from a Demon he hadn't seen in years.
"Uh… Mick?" Wimzy spoke up, quickly noticing the disguised Sinner seemingly staring into space.
Hearing the Cherub's voice, Mick quickly shook his head and snapped back to reality. Of course, seeing the look of concern etched across Wimzy's face, his guilt immediately returned. It probably would have just sounded like an excuse at this point, but the Sinner felt like he should probably elaborate on his last response to her. Regardless of the situation she did offer to help find Octavia, so he felt he at least owed her that much. Sighing in defeat, he allowed his next sentence to flow freely without hesitation.
"Ever since I went to Hell, all the worst things that ever happened to me, in one way or another, were because of Angels," he explained, much to Wimzy's confusion and intrigue. "I've lost jobs… friends… part of my face!"
Letting out that last part, Mick instinctively scratched at the side of his mask as his injury felt like it was about to flare up again. After taking a moment to calm down, he quickly continued.
"And every time… it was always an Angel orchestrating it all," he uttered with a low growl. "All because of that one stinking day of every year!"
At first, Wimzy followed Mick's explanation with sorrow and understanding… However, much to the Sinner's surprise, when she heard that last part, all she felt was confusion.
"Wait, what do you mean by that?" she asked, raising a baffled eyebrow.
"Oh, don't pretend you don't know!" Mick scoffed, practically feeling insulted that the Cherub would even try to feign ignorance about something as big as…
…
"Wait… you really don't?"
"I don't know about WHAT!?" Wimzy exclaimed, her patience seemingly wearing thinner by the second.
This… this couldn't be right, could it? Wimzy HAD to know! Alas, no matter how hard he looked, Mick couldn't find the slightest hint of anything other than innocent unease. Plus, if her Honesty Crest truly did what the Cherub said it did, there was no way she could be lying. But still… it didn't make any sense!
"The Extermination?" Mick elaborated, hoping to get any sort of reaction from Wimzy, only to receive the same confused glance as she shook her head. "That one day of every year when Exorcists come flying down from Heaven to slaughter Demons to reduce Hell's population?"
This time, Mick's words DID get a reaction. However, rather than an expression that would betray Wimzy's knowledge of it all, all he saw on the little Cherub's face was pure horror. Holy shit, she REALLY didn't know!
"Th-they… they WHAT!?" she cried, almost breaking into tears as she pulled at her ears in disbelief. "B-but that can't be right! Demons or not, many of those guys are Human souls! Why would killing them AGAIN even be an option!?"
"How could you not know any of this!?" Mick argued, sharing in the Cherub's bafflement. "This sort of thing has been going on for centuries. What did you THINK the Exorcists did every year!?"
"I don't know!" Wimzy retorted. "The Exorcists are supposed to be a special unit of Angels who're in charge of Heaven's security! Aside from Adam and the Head Seraphim, no one in Heaven knows what they do when they're deployed somewhere else!"
Unbelievable! So no one in Heaven even knew about the Exterminations!? Just what in the fuck is going on up there!? Before Mick even realized it, the conversation had gotten him so worked up, that he felt the need to lift his mask a little and light up one of his joints before he went into his Fireclaw form in the middle of the Convention Centre.
Taking a few small puffs of his weed, he soon felt his nerves begin to calm, letting out a small sigh of contentment as he leaned up against the wall and allowed the flavoured smoke to fill his lungs. Sliding down to the floor, he groaned with exasperation, finally feeling both the physical and emotional fatigue of today's events starting to catch up with him.
"Uh, sir?" he suddenly heard, looking up to see a member of the Convention staff standing over him. "You're not supposed to smoke in here."
"FUCK OFF!"
Needless to say, the loud demonic echo of a voice filled the man's heart with so much dread, he ended up pissing his pants and running away. Normally Mick would regret behaving in such a manner, but given the circumstances, he felt like he had the right to a small outburst or two.
"Wow, never seen a grown man cry like that before…" Wimzy commented, taking note of how much Mick's voice change scared him.
"You'd be surprised how often that happens down in Hell," Mick pointed out.
Of course, jokes aside, Mick easily took note of the look of disbelief still etched on Wimzy's face. It did make sense though, such a revelation would be difficult to take regardless of who was hearing it, but to an Angel living in blissful ignorance? Hell, Mick was surprised that she wasn't already on the verge of an existential crisis.
"So… who the fuck is Adam?" the Sinner suddenly asked, unable to figure out a better question due to the stress.
"You know, as in Adam and Eve?" Wimzy answered, her tone a little more solemn than before. "Garden of Eden and all that jazz? His ex, Lilith, is the Queen of Hell?"
Hearing that, Mick almost swallowed his joint and choked on it. Once again, the Cherub's response brought about a cause for shock.
"What!?" he exclaimed. "But that would mean that… and Charlie is… Ooooooooh, that would explain so much."
The more he went through everything Wimzy told him in his head, the more her words actually began to make sense. But still… ADAM was the leader of the Exorcists? The First Man, Adam? The guy who basically spawned all of humanity… was leading the charge to slaughter Human souls… that was seriously fucked up!
"Wait, I thought Azreal was the leader of the Exorcists," Mick pointed out, quickly noting a small flaw in the explanation after he remembered the story Octavia told him months back.
"He was, but he retired a long time ago, before I even came into existence," Wimzy explained, understanding the disguised Sinner's confusion. "As far as I know, Adam became his replacement almost immediately… and… now I think I know why he wanted the job in the first place… He was probably the one who came up with the idea to send the Angels down to Hell in the first place."
As much as Mick didn't want to believe it, such a thing would make sense. Despite everything else, Adam would have more reason to hate Lucifer more than anyone. And what better way to hurt a King than to destroy those he rules? If what Octavia told Mick was accurate, Azreal most likely retired shortly after the first Extermination ended, allowing Adam to completely take over. It may have been speculation, but thinking that, Mick could only assume Azreal couldn't handle the guilt.
"Still… snuffing out Human souls?" Wimzy continued, her face filled with sorrow as she took a seat on the floor next to Mick with a heavy sigh. "Just when I thought the other Angels had run out of ways to lower my opinion of them."
Hearing that, Mick couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
"Come again?" he said confusingly, resulting in Wimzy slapping a hand over her mouth upon realizing what she just let slip out.
"Uh, well… I, uh…" she babbled frantically, trying to figure out what to say.
Upon seeing Mick give her a suspicious glance through the eyeholes of his mask, the little Cherub quickly let out another sigh in defeat. She'd already put her foot in her mouth with her last sentence, so there was no point in hiding anything now.
"Okay," she said. "I may have been telling you the truth earlier, but… well, I might have omitted certain details… mainly about WHY I'm down here on earth."
At those words, Mick's suspicious gaze immediately hardened. Just what was the Cherub trying to say now?
"You said you fell in love with the pop culture down here," he pointed out, giving Wimzy cause to nod.
"Yeah, but that was only part of it," Wimzy explained, daring not to look Mick in the eye out of shame. "You see, the truth is that I didn't have a choice in the matter."
Once again, Mick couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" he asked, swearing he could hear the Cherub sniffing back a tear as she gave her answer.
"I didn't leave Heaven willingly… I was kicked out,"
As soon as those words left Wimzy's mouth, Mick found himself completely in shock. So much so that he just had to know more regardless of his personal feelings towards the Angel.
"Kicked out?" he repeated. "Why?"
It was then that, surprisingly enough, Wimzy let out a small laugh in response, one that was clearly oozing with bitterness and sarcasm.
"Where do I begin?" she answered before listing a few things off with her fingers. "Radical ideas for helping Humans down on Earth, questioning my superiors' authority by making suggestions they thought to be stupid, causing multiple accidents resulting in numerous counts of property damage both on Earth AND in Heaven… But I suppose the last straw was when I… um…"
"You what?" Mick asked, practically begging her to finish her sentence, much to her chagrin.
"I… MIGHT have accidentally pushed my client off a bridge."
…
"I'm sorry… what?"
Wimzy couldn't blame Mick for having such a reaction, of course. After all, ANYONE else would have had the same reaction. Still, it did feel a little better to get such a revelation off her chest, regardless of what anyone could say after hearing it.
"Look, I didn't MEAN to do it," she elaborated, feeling it was only right to make sure Mick had all the details before he passed down any judgment. "But the guy was an asshole, so that's not to say I regret my actions either."
"Who… who was he?" Mick anxiously asked, quickly taking note of how casually Wimzy appeared to be explaining the fact that she KILLED someone.
"Some rich guy with his own publishing business," Wimzy answered, rolling her eyes in disgust upon recollecting the face of the person in question. "I can't remember his name, but in life, he tried to play the charitable philanthropist in public… In reality, the guy was a spiteful douchebag who beat and belittled his wife without hesitation. I think he might have been one of those male chauvinists or something."
Hearing that, Mick immediately went from being too shocked to simply baffled, but nonetheless, he found the story intriguing enough to remain silent as Wimzy continued to let it all out.
"I don't know why such a monster was supposed to be my client, but apparently the Angel who made the request used to be a colleague of his," she further explained. "Anyway, at first I was just going to do my job and give him the blessing like I was supposed to… but after seeing him arguing with his wife, I just couldn't do it."
"So… what happened?" Mick asked, his curiosity once again taking over as he continued to listen.
Alas, that was the question that made the Cherub hang her head in embarrassment and shame.
"Things went about as bad as you'd think it would," she answered bluntly. "Instead of giving him the blessing, I followed him as he was leaving his local bar. As he was staggering home, he was making his way over this bridge that crossed the river near his house. Appearing before him, I called him out on his abuse, but… well, he was drunk at the time. He grew angry… and tried to attack me… and I pushed him back in self-defence. By the time I realized what had happened, the guy was already in the river… he never made it back up."
Even though she tried to put on a brave face when she started her explanation, Mick could clearly see that reliving such a traumatic experience was weighing heavily on her. At that moment, he once again felt guilty due to having asked Wimzy to tell him her worst experience.
"In any case, after that little screw-up, the other Angels had all the excuse they needed to kick me to the curb and bar me from going back to heaven," Wimzy concluded with a heavy sigh. "So… Here I am, wandering around Earth like some vagabond."
After that, the two fell into an awkward silence, neither Demon nor Angel having any clue what to say to the other. As they both sat there, side by side, all Mick could do was allow the effects of his weed to take over as he contemplated what Wimzy just finished telling him. THAT was why she was banished from Heaven? Because of an accident? Because Wimzy chose to listen to her own conscience instead of her superiors? How fucked up was that!?
Had he still been in Hell, Mick probably would have suspected everything she said was just some elaborate sob story to gain his sympathy… but between the real emotion behind her words and the fact that he could see a faint glow coming from her chest through her clothes, he knew that every syllable she spoke was the truth. Some things just couldn't be faked no matter how much people try. Eventually, after a few brief minutes, the disguised Sinner broke the silence.
"Why are you even telling me any of this?" he asked, causing Wimzy to lift her head. "We only just met today and yet you're speaking to me as if we're lifelong friends or something. You didn't need to be so… detailed."
Registering that question for a moment, Wimzy found herself needing a minute to think of a response. Why DID she say all of that? She could have easily given Mick the briefest of details and kept the rest hidden. There really was no reason to tell him her whole life story.
"I dunno, you just feel like… someone who's easy to talk to, I guess," she eventually replied, unable to find any other explanation. "You have this sort of 'big bro' vibe, ya know?"
Hearing that, Mick suddenly felt the urge to once again grip the Rosario in his pocket, only this time flashes of a smile and a child's laughter suddenly rushed through his memory. Looking back at the last time someone said something like that to him, he couldn't help but smile beneath his mask, both from the joy felt from the memory and the irony of his current situation.
"An Angel trusting a Demon?" he said, almost laughing at the very idea as he took one last drag of his joint before putting it out on the floor. "Now I HAVE seen it all… Almost as baffling as Heaven doing something so horrible to one of their own."
Wimzy, of course, merely shook her head at that.
"It's not too bad," she insisted. "I mean it could have been worse… I think."
Mick couldn't tell for sure, but he swore he heard a light cough coming from Wimzy's throat at that last sentence. Seems like even trying to tell a little white lie had consequences thanks to the crest on her chest. That said, the fact that Wimzy was still trying to put on a brave face only made the Cat Demon's sympathy grow.
"Still, banishment for something like THAT?" he uttered with a disgusted sigh. "I guess Heaven isn't fair even to its own people."
"I guess not," Wimzy sighed in agreement, finding no reason whatsoever to argue otherwise. "But at least you guys in Hell aren't oblivious to the truth of it all."
Mick, of course, couldn't deny a single word of that. Even though Hell got the sharp end of the stick, those in Heaven weren't exactly free from whatever cruel decisions those in charge made either. In a way, keeping them all in the dark almost felt cruel from a certain perspective.
Seeing Wimzy wrap her tail around herself as she buried her face in her knees, Mick could easily tell that the truth still stung for her, and as such, he couldn't help but reach out and give her a comforting pat on the back, surprising both her and himself with his own actions.
It was almost funny. Though it was the first time with a Cherub of all things, this wasn't the first time he's been in a situation where he found himself alone with someone in need of comfort. Stolas, Octi, Linda, Chimp… all of them, he tried to help in some way. And for some reason or another, he couldn't bear not to do the same for Wimzy. Seems as though he really did have the 'big bro' vibe she was talking about… old habits DO die hard it would seem. Before he could say another word, however, the Cherub somehow managed to beat him to the punch.
"Look… I know you don't trust me, and given the circumstances, I can understand why," she said, her voice slightly muffled from behind her tail. "But for what it's worth… I'm sorry."
"Eh?"
A weird reaction, Mick would admit, but the surprise of such a word coming from the Angel's mouth understandably threw him for a loop.
"I'm sorry… for what you've been through because of us," Wimzy continued, her face contorted with shame and regret. "I know there are some really bad Demons down below, but given how you care for your friends… you didn't deserve any of it. And if there are more Demons like you, they don't deserve it either… I'm so sorry."
It was at that moment, Mick started to feel like a real asshole. Despite having treated her with scorn and distrust ever since they met, Wimzy was actually apologizing for something she had nothing to do with. Hearing that one would come out of her mouth… Mick immediately felt his last wall break down.
"No… I'M sorry," he said firmly, once again catching the Cherub by surprise. "You were right, I wasn't being fair to you… You were just trying to help."
"Still…" Wimzy tried to say, only for Mick to cut her off.
"Look, I'm not gonna lie and say the slate's been wiped clean between me and every other Angel," he continued. "But… it's nice to know that some aren't so bad. Hell, you're a lot better than all the ones that have tried to turn me into a Kitty-kebab over the years."
A poor attempt at humour on Mick's part, maybe, but at the very least it did get a small giggle out of the Cherub sitting next to him. So much so, in fact, it seemed to put her a little more at ease than she was before. Once the laughter stopped, however, only one question remained.
"So… what now?"
As soon as those words left Wimzy's lips, there was a brief moment of silence before Mick let out one last sigh and rose to his feet.
"Now… we continue our search," he said.
At those words, it was Wimzy who found herself speechless, even more so when the disguised Sinner reached out his hand and offered it to her.
"You coming or what?"
Hearing that, Wimzy genuinely felt like she was going to cry. There was no malice, no disgust, not even the slightest hint of sarcasm in his voice… Mick was genuinely asking for her help. With a nod and a smile, the Cherub fluttered her wings and allowed the Sinner to help her up off the ground. With the ice finally broken between them, she finally started to feel as if she was part of the team.
"By the way, I gotta ask," Mick suddenly spoke up as he made his way back towards the crowd.
"Yeah?" Wimzy replied, her curiosity piquing as she hovered near the Sinner's head.
"How DID you get inside that pet carrier?"
In response, Wimzy couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Let's just say that I've been through a LOT of crazy mishaps since getting kicked out of Heaven?" she answered, earning herself a small chuckle from Mick for her trouble.
"You'll have to tell me about it sometime," he commented, the pair of them sharing a genuine moment of lighthearted joy.
As the pair of them looked into the crowd before them, the thought of Linda being lost among them filling their hearts with anxiety, both Demon and Angel let out a heavy breath and took a moment to mentally prepare themselves for their task. However, before Mick could even take the first step, Wimzy had to ask one final question.
"Sooooooo… friends?" she said, her eyes going as big as saucers and somehow filling with hopeful sparkles.
"Don't push it," Mick retorted bluntly, giving the Cherub a deadpan expression as if she had just told a bad joke.
BANG! BANG!
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!"
…
"That doesn't sound good," Wimzy commented with a fearful cringe.
"Nope!"
With that final word, Mick and Wimzy suddenly charged into the crowd, rushing headfirst towards the sounds of gunshots and screaming, the pair of them understandably dreading what they were going to find.