Hello,

No warning for this chapter I think, enjoy!

Chapter 26 - Gathering

Asmodeus stalled for as long as he could, purposefully suggesting to go by foot to grab some drinks first, and surely enough, the snipers were following them. But when they let Blitz go on his own to buy something "real quick", they seemed to follow him, and not anyone else in their group.

So far, everything was playing exactly like the Sin expected, but it didn't make him happy in the slightest. If anything, he wished he was wrong. But at least, it probably meant his guesses were right, and he should indeed be able to help improve the situation, but still, he wasn't happy with the picture that was getting clearer and clearer in his mind.

He would have to wait until they had Stolas with them, but simply getting back to the car to slowly but surely make their way to the owl's place, finally loosing the snipers on the way, had Asmodeus' mane flaring bright as Blitz told them more about everything he found out in the privacy of the vehicle, the injuries, the hellhounds Loona smelt, Via's worries and his own at the prince's behavior even outside of these weird… Torture sessions, for lack of a better term.

"Oh, fuck." Fizz swore at the end of the explanation. "I was wondering a bit what happened to your prince when you told me about that time two weeks ago, but I wasn't expecting… You know, all that."

"Who would have?" Asmodeus finally spoke after a long silence, pointedly looking at Blitz. "Stolas is a Goetia, he isn't harmless, anyone would have thought something had happened but it had been handled and was now over."

"I know where you're going, and I fucking disagree", the assassin grumbled. "I should have known when Stolas refused to talk about it that there was more to it. I shouldn't have let it slide, I should have done more, start investigating, something! I already underestimated the danger before, yet I never fucking learn…"

"Hey hey, calm down jackass", Fizz stopped him. "Ozz is right, that's not something you could have guessed at the time. Even I didn't suggest there was more to it, because I thought too if you had seen Stolas after he was hurt, then he was fine, and maybe he just got hurt in embarrassing circumstances or something. Besides, you told us yourself that Stolas was doing his best to keep all of this from you from the start. You didn't fuck up, he just did a good job at hiding all the shit happening."

Blitz made a face, and the jester wasn't sure if their words were starting to get through or if he was giving up trying to prove it was his fault.

"They're right, Blitz", Loona suddenly pipped up, almost making all three demons jump as they had all forgotten she was here with how silent she was, seated apart and on her phone. "You're even lucky he didn't realize I could smell his injuries, or I'm sure he would have managed to hide it for far longer."

"And I'm so thankful for that Loonie, love you!" The imp immediately went to rub his face on her cheek, and oddly enough she let him for a few seconds before she started to growl warningly. He quickly let go, knowing better than to push too much (for once), before his expression tensed again.

"As much as I love you taking my defense sweetie, I still messed up. M&M were worried, even you pointed out I was avoiding the topic, and I should have listened…"

"Oh for fuck's sake, stop blaming yourself asshole!" She finally snapped, looking up from her phone. "These two were the first to try and reassure you on the day we found out, they were simply being noisy little bitches, maybe a bit worried yeah, but they didn't suspect that shit either, nor did I, and I should have, I've been talking with Via all along and she noticed something was wrong with her dad even before he gave you the crystal!"

Blitz frowned at that, and the other two demons, who were watching silently, straightened up too.

"What? How… Does she know when he started to act weird exactly?"

Loona sighed, looking back at her phone.

"Not exactly. He's been weird since the attack that put him in the hospital, but she said it got different just before your last full moon, and from then it only got worse."

Blitz grimaced again.

"Yeah, that's what I thought… I told you I suspected it's been going on for a while, and my bet was that he was already hurt on our last full moon, I was just too blind to notice. Guess our discussion was pretty distracting too."

"It clued you, but you couldn't guess from that time alone, especially if you had no idea of what to look for since he was good at hiding it, which I don't doubt. I didn't even know he was hurt so soon before our last meeting, I really would have never guessed." Asmodeus explained, frowning as he put two and two together on the timings given by the assassin.

Of course, this was Hell, it was only natural for most demons to hide weakness, and those who displayed it had a reason for that too. But despite not being nowhere near close to the Goetia, the Sin couldn't help but feel bad at how casually he had welcomed him for their meeting about the crystal without knowing what he was stepping into… Tho it probably explained why Stolas had looked uncomfortable at the time. The rooster simply thought it had to do with his request, but on second thought, it was probably not the only reason for his reaction. After all, asking "how have you been since last time" to someone who had been tortured and almost killed a week before sounded pretty awkward in retrospective. Of course, Asmodeus didn't mean badly, and he didn't know at the time, but he still felt guilty now that he knew, especially once he realized that Striker guy was also the one who kidnapped his Fizzy frog that day. Was that why Stolas stayed to help despite having nothing to gain out of it, as a way to mess up with his former kidnapper? Maybe, tho the King didn't feel like Stolas was one to act out of desire of revenge.

"Anyway, what's the plan?" Fizz asked to cut through the tension. "I guess we're pretty much caught up, and we've dawdled a lot on the way, surely Stolas won't be too long once we arrive at his place. So, how do you want to do it? You said he usually come back in his bedroom, but I doubt he'd appreciate all of us waiting for him as a welcoming committee, even I would be intimidated by such a thing, and I'm a performer used to really creepy fans!"

"Wait, before we move out on that, there's one last thing I'd like to ask", Asmodeus stopped him with a hand raised, taking advantage of his partner being next to him and no longer on his lap. He turned to Loona, trying to smooth his expression into something calm and inviting.

"Young lady, your father said you knew of something that happened to Stolas, but didn't want to share it. Can you try to tell us why and what kind of thing it is? It might help."

The hellhound snorted without looking up from her phone.

"I'm no lady, and no, that won't help you, unless you want to piss off Blitz even more than he already is. It's just… I don't know, something sensible, and I did say I wouldn't spill the beans. I should have told Blitz about the hounds before, even if Stolas wasn't happy about it, but this is different. I can't really explain without revealing too much. Just that I won't tell you so don't bother trying."

That had Blitz frowning, tail lashing out.

"What do you mean it would piss me off? Did they do weird stuff to him or something?"

Loona quickly looked up before adverting her eyes on her phone again.

"Kinda. I know he won't trust us after everything we did, and what we're about to do, but if we want to have any chance at getting him to listen to us and let us help, we have to try and play by his rules too, even just a little. Like, take a step back to be able to take three steps ahead or something like that."

Blitz winced at that, but they were saved from having to continue this discussion by the car finally coming to a stop in front of the palace entrance.

"Oh, we're here? Looks fancy!" Fizz commented, rushing out as soon as the automatic door opened.

The others followed more slowly, Blitz's tail lashing softly near his legs, betraying his anxiousness.

"Okay, so, first, let me get M&M so we can go and have a look at where Stolas portaled. You think you can tell us if he went to the same place again Loonie?"

"I can try", she answered, still on her phone.

"'kay, so, let me just text them…"

Fizz was watching curiously, commenting on the large plants that were everywhere outside, especially as they headed to one of Stolas' greenhouses, meeting with the couple of imps there.

"Hey boss! Sorry, we weren't able to gain much, and Stolas portaled so we couldn't see inside the portal, but he opened it here, I'm sure!" Millie welcomed him, turning to point at the place the portal has been, missing the demons who were with Blitz entirely. But Moxxie didn't, and his jaw dropped as he recognized Asmodeus, still in his shrunk form to pass the door, and Fizzarolli.

"Don't worry Mills, he did the same yesterday. He probably knew where I was then too. So, Loonie, any clue? It's inside, maybe the smells lingered better?" He asked hopefully.

As the hellhound went to work, Millie finally realized they had more company than expected and blinked, unfazed.

"Oooh, so that's who you wanted to ask for help? I didn't know you had contacts with a Sin Blitz! Hey you two, thanks for helping. And, hm, no hard feelings about last time?"

Her smile was bright, unapologetic but also friendly. It took the other couple a few seconds to finally connect the dots.

"Ah, it was you, at the club, who knocked me out!" Fizz suddenly yelled. "So they're your employees? I thought they were friends. Tho it's still creepy as fuck that you were stalking them on their anniversary."

"Ahem, yeah, maybe we can save that for later? M&M, did you notice anything else before Stolas left? Like, did you see him wake up, did he eat breakfast, stuff like that?"

They exchanged a look and shook their head.

"We arrived pretty early as you asked sir, but he was already up and about when we got there. We didn't see him eat anything but he…"

"We think he drank a whole bottle of absinthe, and I bet it wasn't his first one since you left him yesterday", the black haired imp completed with a wince.

"Fuck", Blitz sighed.

"Sorry to add to everything else, but he did go back to where he's been last time", Loona pipped up, having finished snooping around.

"Fuck", the assassin repeated. "Hey big man, you can't know where he portaled or something?"

Asmodeus shook his head.

"Sorry, portals aren't my specialty. If it was a portal made by an Asmodean crystal, maybe, but I know Stolas don't use these."

"Then, do you know of any Goetia who has a cold place?" Loona asked, back to typing on her phone.

"Cold, you say? I don't visit Goetias that often, but if we're only talking about Stolas' vicinity, I can only see Andrealphus, his brother-in-law. Well, soon to be ex I guess."

"Ah, 'cause he's divorcing his wife? But wait, wait, what the fuck would he do there?" Blitz suddenly frowned.

"That's what I was wondering as well. I was hoping he went to him to have some help with his problem, but… Ah, yup, Via says his place is indeed cold, that's where she's staying with her mom. But she didn't see him yesterday."

Most demons were listening, more dumbfounded than anything, not really seeing where this was going, but Asmodeus was only frowning, deciding to cut the discussion before it went too far.

"Before we continue on the subject, do you mind if I check your phones for malwares? Your boss' phone certainly had a bunch of them, and I guess he often sends you pictures and stuff."

At that, the two imp employees looked at their boss, the white haired one glaring.

"Sir, the hell did you look up again? Was it some scam on horse related websites again?"

"No, I'm careful now, I only go on secure horse porn sites!" He assured while sticking out his chest.

"Can't hurt to check, but don't look at my stuff", Loona surrendered immediately, though she eyed the Sin carefully.

Millie and Moxxie were quick to do the same, Millie more amused than anything while her husband looked annoyed.

"Really, sir, you should be more careful, or someone will empty the company's bank account again. It wasn't too bad at the start, but if it was to happen now, it would be disastrous!"

"Yeah yeah, I know, I'll be more careful. Maybe big man here can install some kind of protection?" He asked hopefully.

But the rooster wasn't listening, making quick work of the different phones. None of them were perfectly clean, but they definitely weren't as bad as Blitz's phone, and he was glad to confirm that none of them had the spying app. A bit surprised, but it was probably for the best.

"Alright, you're good", he said, handing them back. "Now, I'm sorry Loona, I didn't mean to pry, but Stolas' daughter answered while I was checking your phone, and…"

"Don't worry, I'd have shared her answer aloud anyway", she quickly shrugged as she began typing back. "I'd like to ask her to come over, if it's alright."

"I was going to suggest it as well", smiled Asmodeus.

Blitz raised a brow at that.

"You sure? I mean, Stolas is trying to keep it a secret from her even worse than from us, won't he freak out if we try to get him on our side with her there?"

"Oh no, I don't want to drop everything you found out on her so suddenly, she wouldn't take it well and Stolas neither", the Sin confirmed while shaking his head. "But, we are suspecting that Stolas is being blackmailed, right? So if we gather as many of his loved ones somewhere safe, hopefully he will feel safe enough to confide in us and let us help protect whoever is threatened."

"What if it's blackmail over information or embarrassing pictures?" Millie asked.

"I'm sure I can deal with embarrassing pictures if I know who has them, as for sensitive information, it really depends, but I have a hunch it's not about that", he assured.

The way he said it betrayed he was 100% sure, and that got Blitz to frown.

"What do you know?"

"I simply guessed a few things from our discussions, among other things, but I would like to wait for everyone to be here before I start explaining."

The assassin seemed ready to argue, but was cut by Loona, who looked up at them.

"Via tried to find her mother and uncle, but she says they're unavailable, secluded somewhere the palace staff won't let her access, and she didn't see Stolas at all. She's worried and curious about all my questions and is alright to join us, if we can portal her here."

"Let's do that", Asmodeus accepted without batting an eye.

Blitz looked at him, somewhat irked that he was taking the reins of their "rescue mission". Of course, that was exactly what he wanted when he asked for the Sin's help, but he didn't like the need to wait before spilling what he found out, even if his thinking did make sense.

The owlet was quick to join them, and she blinked at seeing such a surprising gathering of demons in her father's greenhouse.

"Hey, hello… Oh."

She was taken aback by the King's presence, but Loona was quick to reassure her with a hand on the princess' shoulder.

"Don't worry, he's here to help with whatever problem your dad might have."

"Speaking of which, where are your mother and uncle secluded at their place exactly?" Blitz asked.

Almost everyone turned a glare to him, and the assassin shrugged back.

"What?"

"You don't mean to say they're the reason dad was acting so weird?" Octavia asked, frowning. "I mean, yeah, I'm pretty sure mum isn't making the divorce easy, but… Now that I think about it, she wasn't as mad at dad as usual these past weeks, surely it must mean it's going well, so it's probably not it, right?"

"We can't be sure yet, we are waiting for your father to return – and we will wait for him to return without trying to find him, to be safe – and then we will be able to discuss and offer our support." Asmodeus answered, cutting himself in the middle of it to look pointedly at Blitz before going back to Via. "We wanted you to be around so he could see he had people around who care and are worried, but if it is not too much to ask, I would prefer if you stayed apart with Loona while we sort this out, then we can directly come and inform you as soon as we're done, but…"

"Yeah, I know, he won't say anything if I'm here because he wants to protect me", she completed with a roll of her eyes. "I won't be in the way, don't worry, but I do want answers as soon as you have them. I hope you'll be able to get dad to talk, because I…"

She stopped looking down, and Loona rubbed the owlet's shoulder blade with a concerned look, which earned her a shy smile.

"Thanks. The thing is, I'm really worried about what is going on. I wish I could say it's probably nothing, but I'm not stupid, I know it's important. He's been eating and sleeping less and less, and just because he puts on a smile for me doesn't mean there's nothing bothering him. He was smiling the same way in the hospital too."

Fizz froze at that, and was about to step in to try and cheer her up, but Asmodeus slowly shook his head while he suggested they moved inside, and the jester realized that the kid just complained her father was hiding things behind a smile. Having someone try to distract her in the same way probably wouldn't have been welcome indeed.

As they were walking toward the palace and after the Sin quickly offered to clean Via's phone too, Loona walked up to the Sin.

"Hey, can I have a word with you?"

The rooster have her a curious glance, as the other demons around.

"Sure."

They slowed down to let the others go ahead, following from afar enough to be sure they weren't heard. Loona was glad to see Via and Fizz start chatting with the other to make sure no one would try to listen in, Millie getting the hint and quickly doing the same.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Asmodeus asked.

"What's your opinion about boundaries?"

The tall demon blinked, taken aback.

"Excuse me?"

"You're the King of Lust, right? I heard you were all for consent, or was I mistaken?"

"No, you were not. Identifying and stating boundaries, and respecting those of others, are an absolute vital basis of any healthy relationship, and not just sexual! Why are you asking?"

He was about to continue, but his little smile was giving him away, and the hellhound cut him to it.

"No, I don't want advice. I just want to make sure someone here will watch out for Stolas' boundaries, because I'm sure Blitz is too pissed by what's happening to pay attention."

"Fair point", Asmodeus nodded. "Do not worry, I will watch out for him."

"Including preventing Blitz from going to shoot the fuckers as soon as we know who it is?"

That made the Sin pause again.

"You don't want them to be punished?"

"Oh I do, as probably all of us. But I… I've been there before. Being the punching ball, having no one I trusted that I could turn to. Deciding what to do with his aggressors without him is…"

The rooster immediately caught on that it wasn't something easy to admit for the young adult and he smiled softly.

"Do not worry, I see exactly what you mean. I will be careful. At my age, I'm used to dealing with such things, as sad as that sounds."

"Good. Don't fuck this up."

"Is that a hint of threat I hear in your voice…?"

Asmodeus was playful, but the look Loona sent him back was serious.

"Maybe. It's better if you don't find out." She quickly approached the owlet, since they had all stopped near Stolas' bedroom, waiting for the two to catch up. "Now, if you don't mind, we will leave you old dudes to the boring stuff while we're having fun. See you!"

"Damn right you are!" Fizz encouraged as the girls quickly left to Via's bedroom.

They all turned toward the door to Stolas' bedroom and Blitz sighed as he moved to open it.

"Come on, let's get this over with."

14/08/2024

As usual, maybe see you next week, maybe not, it will depend on how quick I am to write.