The imps returned to I.M.P after their mission in Chicago, with Millie opening the portal into Blitzø's office with the Asmodean crystal while her boss and Moxxie ran through it puffed out after their workout of a chase.

"Ah, cheer up, Moxx." Blitzø nudged him as she closed the portal. "At least you didn't get the other eye black this time."

"Thankfully, no sir." hissed Moxxie in pain. "Bad news now is I need some stitches in my fucking armpit after grazing it!"

"Technically, it was a loose tree branch, not me who snapped it." lied Blitzø, as Millie wrapped her arm around her husband's injured one. "Anyway... Loonie! We're home!"

"Whatever!" she shouted from the other room, before sniffing. "Why do I smell someone's ripped-open armpit?!"

"Don't worry, we're all clean!" shouted Moxxie sarcastically in response.

Soon, Blitzø walked out of his office to see a marvellous sight. M&M soon joined him and looked to see Loona and Balin on the couch together.

Loona was laying on top of Balin's lap like a normal dog as he sat up with a comb brushing the fur along her back and her tail with a hairbrush.

"Mmmm..." purred Loona. She was really in the zone with this.

Moxxie and Millie went "awwww" witnessing this sweet moment.

"Damn kid, how'd you manage to do that?" Blitzø asked in an impressed but nearly pouty tone. "Every time I try, I nearly lose my hand."

"Maybe because you don't know a 'darn' thing about personal space?!" snapped Loona in a sarcastic tone.

Hearing her annoyance, Balin gave her some soft ear scratches to calm her down, causing her to pant in pleasure.

"Thanks kid." she chuckled, having deserved that. "Sorry 'bout that."

"So, you gonna answer my question?" asked Blitzø.

"Well... if you must know, he did just tell me he used to own a dog, before it died." Loona explained for Balin.

"Really?" asked Moxxie intriguingly.

"Let me guess. The snip?" Blitzø pantomimed a pair of scissors.

Hearing that, Loona gasped and growled loudly at him, while Moxxie slapped him at the back of the head with his not-broken arm. One he doesn't normally use.

"What's the snip?" asked Balin curiously.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no!" Loona quickly stopped him. "Don't worry buddy, Blitzø's just being an idiot."

Blitzø pompously huffed hearing that, and turned away from them.

"You see, my parents dropped her off to my Nan-Nan's house last year, and that was the last time I ever saw her." explained Balin. "But I'm okay now. I did think she knew someone who would adopt her next."

"True. You do seem a little young to know that feeling." Blitzø then said kindly.

"And we're sorry about that." Loona added, sitting up in a dog-like position and gently patting his head, while everyone else apologised next.

"No, it's okay, guys. It wasn't your fault." smiled Balin. "But I appreciate it."

Soon, Millie snuck away from the group noticing the clip on her phone.

"Well, looks like I'm all brushed." sighed Loona. "And shiny too. I'm impressed."

She was about to leave the couch, until Balin softly grabbed her paw.

"Uh-uh-uh, I missed a spot." he stopped her with a grin.

"Okay, where? My fur's pretty much all..."

It was then Balin started giving her belly rubs, as a cheeky way of brushing her again.

"WHOA! Holy! What the...?"

Loona tried holding back her shock or moaning in front of the others for a few seconds, but began wagging her tail and shaking her leg up and down.

"Ooh, Balin! Not in front of the others!" she began laughing. "Stop it!"

"Nope." he jokingly replied.

"Want me to lick your face again...?!" she teased him as she still laughed.

"Lick his face?" Moxxie and Blitzø quietly whispered, looking at each other with stunned expressions, but still holding back their laughter at the cuteness.

Millie, on the other hand, soon brought out one of Blitzø's practice TV sets with her brute strength and whistled for everyone to look at her, even Loona and Balin.

"Blitzø, I got a Sinstagram post during our mission and you might wanna take a look-see on here." she said.

Soon, she pulled the knob, turning the TV on as Channel 666 News with Katie Killjoy and Tom Trench began airing.

"Good afternoon, dirty ones, I'm Katie Killjoy." Katie began in a very Blitzø-like voice.

"And I'm Tom..."

"Everyone knows who the fuck you are, Tom." Katie snapped her fingers, showing a picture of Octavia over Tom's face.

Loona covered Balin's ears as soon as she heard her swearing.

"Breaking news in Imp City today: Long-lost heir to the Goetia family throne and daughter of Stolas Ars Goetia, Octavia Ars Goetia, was rumoured to have been spotted in town after quite a long absence, having consorted with what appears to be a hellhound then various little imps at a costume parlour."

"Which begs the question Katie, does Stolas or any of the bloodline know if she's back by any chance?" asked Tom through his gas-mask of a face.

"Oh, so you can have her all to yourself?" Katie laughed. "No clue!"

Millie then paused the TV and raised her eyebrow at Loona, who nervously giggled at the footage of her.

"Well, I may have sniffed her out at the party store for the kid's costume, and she may... know he's a..."

Just then, the bone-shaped telephone began ringing, or barking, and Loona dashed to her desk to answer it.

"Hello? I.M.P?" she responded, flatly but nervously.

The caller was chattering on the other side of the phone, before she looked at Blitzø.

"Uhh, Blitzø? Stolas wants to talk again. Right now." Loona said bluntly as she handed him the phone.

"H-H-Hey, Stolas..." Blitzø showed a very nervous smile. "I take it you just saw the news? Too?"

A FEW MOMENTS LATER...

Via was arriving back at a hotel she was staying at since returning to Imp City, and was about to go up the flight of stairs when the I.M.P van crashed into the trash cans on the curb, instantly startling her.

The window was then rolled down to show Blitzø and Loona sitting up at the front.

"...Hey, Via?" greeted Blitzø awkwardly.

Via just stood there, arms crossed with an angry glare directed right at him.

"Listen, I know I'm not your favourite person to talk to more than your dad right now." he defended himself. "But if you'll just hear me out, I didn't intend for almost any of this to happen. I'm sorry."

"How did you even find me?" she asked walking down the stairs.

"This time..." Loona pointed at her snout.

"Then let me guess... you're here to, bring me back to him?"

"Only if you'd like that, Your Highness." said Moxxie, rolling down his window.

"Fine. It's not like I have anywhere else to go." Via shrugged nonchalantly as she opened the passenger's door. "By the way Loona, where's...?"

"He's... in the far back." sighed Loona.

Via then looked over her passenger's seat in between Moxxie and Millie to find Balin, still in his disguise but with his chocolate mask gone, and right away found him adorable.

"Oh. Well, hello there, little one." she softly said, showing a small smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Balin just flinched, feeling scared of her appearance, and she and Loona noticed it.

Moxxie then scooted closer to his wife and lowered his seat so she could sit next to him if she wanted.

"Thanks, old man." she said in gratitude to him, making him pout a little.

"Please don't hurt me, please don't hurt me." whispered Balin to himself as Via put on her seatbelt, sitting next to the scared child.

"Hurt you? Why in Hell would I ever want to hurt you, my darling?" she asked him in a soothing tone.

"I-I-I don't know. Sorry, I'm just new to Hell." the boy replied. "And... you're an owl. I know they eat mice sometimes."

Blitzø looked at the readers (YOU!) with a 'told you so' look on his face.

"Then hey, it's a good thing I like mice cooked." she smiled again. "If I wanted to eat you, I'd eat you right now."

"Now is she doing that at the moment?" Loona said, as she climbed to the far back to sit next to the boy as well.

"N-No?" he replied.

"Then I'm a friend. Nice, just like you and her." Via gently rubbed his face with her hand.

Warmed by this, Blitzø then gently drove out of the curb, all the way to the Goetia mansion.

Along the way, Balin was starting to feel comfortable in the presence of both Loona and now Octavia too.

"It's nice to meet you too, Your Highness." the boy smiled at her.

"Aww, you don't need to worry about titles, my well-mannered darling." chuckled Via. "You can just call me Octavia. Or, Via, for short."

"Okay, Mrs..." Via playfully raised her eyebrow at the boy, who then said "Via", making her giggle.

"So, my friends told me about your daddy." he continued. "Is he an owl too?"

"An owl 'demon' to be precise, kiddo." responded Via.

"But... we'll have to see." Loona added in a sing-song tone.

"He's also a little weird at times as well, just a heads-up." continued Via. "Like most rich people are."

"I understand. I think Blitzø can be weird sometimes too." replied Balin.

"Hey, I'm not rich kid, but for the record, I think the word you're searching for is strong-willed." interrupted Blitzø boldly.

"Says the weirdo." Loona and Via say in unison, fist-bumping each other and making Balin giggle.

This also caused a blush from Via since she was starting to have certain... feelings, for the 22-year-old hellhound.

Soon, as Blitzø's heavy metal music faded, the radio started playing the McFly cover of 'It's All Coming Back to Me Now' once again.

"I love this song!" exclaimed the boy.

"Me too, sport." chuckled Moxxie.

"What is this song?" asked Via.

"Some young rock band's take on Celine Dion." replied Loona. "Kiddo introduced us to it last night and these dopes must've taken quite the liking to it."

For the rest of the car ride over, Loona and Via snuggled closer to Balin without the other imps knowing, as he decided to rest for a bit.

Soon, he wrapped his arms around Via, which made her heart melt seeing the affection she was already getting from the kid.

Yet, Blitzø did see that from the rear-vision mirror and showed a gentle smile while he was still driving.

THE GOETIA MANSION...

The van soon pulled up at the Goetia family residence, which Balin thought it would look more like a Disney castle. Except it was like a normal mansion on Beverly Hills, but with exotic plants and waterfalls.

"So sport, ready for your first brush with royalty?" asked Blitzø excitingly.

Balin gave a slow but confident nod.

"Alrighty, here goes nothing." the imp continued.

"...And everything." whispered Via out loud.

As the entire gang got out of the van, Blitzø walked up to the door and was about to knock it when Via stopped him.

"Blitzø?" she said gently. "Don't."

"Eh, feels only right." he shrugged as he moved out of the way for her.

Via soon knocked on the door, and it opened to reveal a small imp butler the size of a minion from 'Despicable Me'.

"Can I help you folks with..." he spoke until he saw Via right in front of the gang. "As you wish, Your Highness." he continued and opened the door wide enough for everyone to come in.

A few steps into the mansion, and Balin was already in awe by how magnificent the setting was.

"Quite the attraction, isn't it, sweetie?" smirked Loona.

"Wow, wow, wow." the kid answered, mesmerised by what he was seeing.

Soon, a familiar voice was heard from the staircase up top.

"VIA! My owlet!" shouted Stolas in joy. "Why in all my lucky stars I am so glad to see you from so high up!" he then ran down the stairs and wrapped Via into a real tight hug.

"Uhh, hey... dad..." she uncomfortably said, getting squeezed.

"I just can't believe you're home! After all this time!" he started spinning his daughter around emotionally.

"Dad! Put me down!" Via pouted loudly. "Not in front of our guests!"

Stolas then saw the entire I.M.P family in front of them, including Balin, who hung onto Loona's hind-leg whilst Millie gave him gentle head rubs.

"Oh. So we do." he said in surprise.

The owl demon approached the little human boy and crouched down.

"Why hello there, little one. What's your name?" he smiled.

Balin didn't respond, but however shivered feeling a bit invaded.

"Hey, there's no need to be frightened." he continued kindly. "I know I look scary because I'm a... surely you must know now, but I can be pretty kind."

"Just like I told you." Via crouched down next to him. "And speaking of which, you haven't told me your name either."

"B-B-Balin? Balin Johnson?" the boy said nervously to the two owls.

"Balin Johnson?" Stolas repeated. "That's a cute name for a boy like you."

"I agree." added Via. "...While we're on the same subject, of course."

"Come on, you two." pouted Loona. "Is that any way to make a nervous guest feel during a visit to Hell?"

"No, no, you're right. Sorry" replied Stolas, before crouching down to speak to Balin this time. "So what is a little one like you doing in Hell, amongst demons?"

"Umm... You see, Mr. Stolas,"

The child tried to explain his dilemma, but Loona looked up from her phone slightly to make sure he was okay telling them this time. It was royalty he was talking to after all, and aside from uncomfortable or vulnerable, she didn't wanna see him sad as well. But he was determined to hold his own.

"Loona brought me here from Earth after she chased me down for spying on her co-workers' scary work." explained Balin. "I was out there late and alone because... I was homeless."

"Homeless? Why ever, my child?" Stolas was already shocked to hear this.

"Because... because my family went into this thing called witness protection." the kid lowered his head. "The worst part about it is that they left me behind."

The two Goetias were already starting to feel more heartbroken than shocked at what he was saying.

"The people who asked them to go there said they couldn't take me because I was something called a liability." he continued. "So I was sent away to a foster home, but I escaped and slept in a hotel closet by myself every night since. Until Loona found me and bandaged me up a few days later, and then she promised to look after me until they get out."

Loona then got a blush on her face. She did realise she made that promise last night, but didn't want to give that away just yet.

"Technically kiddo, Moxxie was the one who thought of the idea first." she interrupted. "But I did promise to help out, and a hellhound's promise never breaks. Or, something like that."

Via then showed Loona a smile before looking back at Balin.

"My, what a brave and kind boy you are for telling us all this." smiled Stolas also.

"In that case, we'll look after you too." added Via, as she crouched down and opened her arms. "Come here."

Once Balin walked over to her and hugged her, Via picked him up in her arms and gave him some soft forehead kisses, showing him the sweetest smile. It was like a princess hug at a theme park, but FOR REAL.

Stolas shed a tear, or half a dozen tears, seeing the affection coming from his daughter to even a human boy. Loona admittedly wanted to cry as well, given he was one of the few friends she made, but decided to keep it to herself as always.

Soon, the prince cleared his throat, getting back to business. "Now then, with all this settled, I'd like to ask. What brings you home, my owlet?"

"Oh, shit, right." said Via. "Dad, you're in terrible danger right now. You were right about mother."

A/N: See y'all in the next chapter.