As far as any living mortal in Los Angeles was concerned, this was just a normal sunny day. As always, the streets reeked of piss and the bottled water was basically 2% sewer overflow and 98% literal acid. And yet, hidden within one of its alleyways, unbeknownst to any living Human, a strange event was occurring… well, for Hollywood anyway. Within a matter of moments, two figures gracefully leapt from a strange, shimmering portal… aaaaand suddenly toppled into the dumpster below them.

"GAH!"

"EEP!"

CLANG!

As quickly as it appeared, the portal suddenly closed up and faded away, while the two young Demons that hopped out of it immediately grimaced as they pulled themselves out of the garbage.

"Aw, gross!" Linda exclaimed, shaking an old banana peel off her head. "Well… this is off to a peachy start."

"Oh, pull yourself together, it's only a bit of trash," Mick muttered, though feeling no less disgusted himself. "Try LIVING in one of these things for a year, then talk to me about things being gross."

"When have YOU ever lived in a dumpster?" Linda retorted, only to raise an eyebrow when Mick argued back.

"Trust me, you don't wanna know," he replied, checking his surroundings before double-checking the Asmodean Crystal in his hand, smiling under his mask as it continued to shimmer in his palm. "It worked… it REALLY worked."

Hearing the sound of awe etched in Mick's voice, Linda once again raised an eyebrow as they both cleaned themselves off of any excess garbage.

"Did you have any doubts that it would?" she asked curiously.

"No, not really," Mick replied awkwardly. "But still… a Sinner back from the dead. Who'd have thought?"

Linda, however, only gave Mick a deadpan glance at that.

"Wish the landing was a bit better though," she commented, flicking away a small cockroach that made its way onto her shoulder.

"Looks like we're hidden from the public eye at least," Mick pointed out, gesturing towards how well isolated the area was. "We can put on our disguises here."

Suddenly, Linda's eyes went wide in horror when she saw something emerging from the dumpster standing on the opposite side of the alley.

"Uh… M-Mick?" she uttered, pointing a shaking finger over to it.

Before the two Demons even had time to react, a scruffy-looking Human with a dirty overcoat, and long, greasy black hair sticking out of an orange beanie poked his head out of the trash. From the looks of him, the man seemed to be incredibly confused as he looked over his surroundings in a daze.

"Heeeeeeey, this ain't Chicago," he said, his face suddenly freezing in a state of shock as he locked eyes with the two Demons in front of him. "Who are you?"

Needless to say, neither Mick nor Linda found it easy to force the words to come out of their mouths. Not even five minutes up on Earth, and they've already been caught. Luckily, the man didn't seem all that bright.

"We're… actors?" Mick eventually spoke up with a shrug, unable to come up with anything better.

"Yeah, we're, uh… we're making a movie?" Linda added playing along with Mick's half-assed explanation and hoping for the best.

This, of course, caused the scruffy-looking man to give the two Demons a suspicious glare, one that felt like it lasted for ages despite being only a few seconds.

"I see…" he uttered… before his suspicious glare suddenly turned into a goofy grin. "OH, MY GOD! This is the greatest movie I've ever seen in my life!"

"Huh!?"

That was all Linda could squeak out before the scruffy-looking man started rambling utter nonsense. After that, it took little more than two seconds before Mick was giving said man an annoyed glare.

"Okay, patience immediately gone!" he exclaimed, taking a few steps towards the irritating rambler.

"Hey, Mick, what do you think you're-"

BAM!

Alas, Linda found that she couldn't even finish due to wincing at Mick's distribution of a black eye.

"Y-you got change?"

That was the last thing the scruffy man said before he fell back and slipped into unconsciousness. With any luck, Mick and Linda would be long gone by the time he woke up.

"Was that really necessary?" Linda asked, giving Mick a deadpan glance.

"Yes," Mick replied bluntly, pulling the knocked-out man over to the other side of the alley and hiding him behind the dumpster before dusting himself off. "And also a little cathartic. Now… disguises!"

Quickly remembering why they came here in the first place, Linda nodded her head in understanding and pulled out Dominique's choker stud from her pocket, with Mick doing the same with Desiree's bell.

"Okay… just think… Human," Mick spoke aloud, remembering the instructions they were given and clutching the bell tightly.

Suddenly, the two Demons found themselves surrounded by shimmering light similar to that which emanated from the portal they came through. Starting from their feet, the light crawled up their bodies, bathing them in magic until it dissipated the instant it went over their heads. After that, where there was once a pair of young Demons from Hell, the form of two regular Humans took their place.

"This… feels so WEIRD!" Linda squeaked, looking down at herself with a mixture of fascination and unease.

Obviously, Mick couldn't blame Linda for reacting like this, after all this was the first time she had ever taken the form of a Human, so, of course, she'd be somewhat overwhelmed with a mixture of emotions. From what Mick could see, Linda's Human disguise wasn't half-bad. While her horns and tail were utterly gone, and her legs were much less animalistic, donning a pair of black sneakers at her feet, her black hair remained the same, albeit maybe a little straighter and her skin was now a mild tan rather than red. What's more, she appeared to be roughly the same height she was while she was an Imp, so all in all, quite a decent disguise as far as those go.

"Huh… you know, you don't look half bad, Liddy," Mick commented, voicing his opinion on the matter. "Kinda cute, actually."

Hearing that, Linda's Human face immediately gained a small blush.

"Oh, stop," she said bashfully, twirling a finger through her hair. "And you… uh, actually, you kinda look the same. No offense."

Obviously, Mick didn't take any offence because he couldn't fault Linda for having such an opinion. Her description of his Human disguise was so more or less accurate, that it was almost embarrassing. Due to his features being hidden by his hoodie and mask, aside from the disappearance of his tail and the transformation of his hands, Mick's new form was hardly any different to what he was before. In any case, the Sinner didn't seem too bothered by it.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway," he said, quickly taking off his rucksack and opening it up. "As long as we look Human enough, we should be fine."

"Good thing we're wearing casual wear," Linda commented, taking another look down at herself. "Looks like the Crystals don't do much to our clothes save for a few alterations."

"Yes, well it's not like we're asking for a miracle job," Mick added, his focus solely on the contents of his bag. "Keep in mind that we're carrying items meant for Succubi, and their normal skimpy attire is what makes them so appealing to Humans. Having the ability to change them at will would be redundant as far as the guy who made them is concerned."

"But what about your mask?" Linda pointed out. "If we accidentally run into Stolas and his group, that thing's gonna give you away for sure."

Sadly, that was true. Given the unique design Mick gave his mask while making it, it would be immediately recognisable to anyone who had already seen it. And as far as the Asmodean Crystal was concerned, the feline face it was modelled after didn't change at all. So anyone from Hell would be able to point it out in a crowd as quickly as a drop of oil in a sink full of water… Luckily, Mick had already thought of such a situation. Quickly pulling something out of his rucksack and turning around so that Linda couldn't see, he swiftly pulled his mask off and replaced it with something else. When he turned back to face Linda again, the little Imp was left a little perplexed.

"Well, how do I look?" the Sinner asked. "Nice?"

Alas, that question was only met with a sudden deadpan glare.

"You look like you're about to rob a convenience store," Linda said bluntly, giving Mick cause to sigh.

To be fair, Linda wasn't too far off when she said that. Given the fact that Mick was now wearing a cheap, plastic mask with a crudely painted smiley face on it, he could see why she would have such an opinion.

"Look, I was in a rush and this was the cheapest thing in the costume shop, okay?" Mick said defensively.

"Hey, no need to explain to me, dude," Linda retorted, remembering that earlier pit stop she and Mick made before they had even entered the Peppermint Puss. "Although you might want to take the price tag off."

Noticing the small tag dangling from the corner of his eyehole, Mick bashfully ripped it off with a sharp tug. However, that was when he got a good look at his hand and started to feel… nostalgic. The light pinkish skin, the wrinkles surrounding the knuckles, even the smooth fingernails, all of them bringing about some form of memory Mick thought he would never look back on.

"You okay?" Linda asked, quickly noticing his reaction.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Mick said awkwardly, quickly snapping back to reality. "It's just… surreal. I've spent so long as a Demon, that I had almost forgotten what it's like to have Human hands. It almost feels like I'm back in my old flesh and blood."

Being a Hellborn, Linda couldn't fully comprehend exactly how Mick felt, but nonetheless, she still nodded her head in understanding.

"Do you need a minute?" she asked, only for Mick to shake his head in response.

"No, I'll be fine," he insisted before straightening himself out. "Let's just get on with this."

Before long, Mick and Linda were out of the alleyway and walking across the streets of L.A. Miraculously enough, no Human so much as batted an eye in their direction even as they almost brushed by them. It would seem that as far as anyone else was concerned, the two disguised Demons were no different than anyone else walking the streets, albeit maybe a little weirder than most.

"Here," Mick said as he offered Linda a pair of glasses with the lenses popped out. "These should help sell the illusion a bit better."

"Fake glasses?" Linda uttered with a raised eyebrow, wondering if Mick had gotten THESE from the costume shop too. "That's a little Clark Kent, don't you think?"

"You wanna be spotted even through your disguise?" Mick retorted, earning a small sigh and a shake of the head.

"Point taken," Linda admitted, quickly putting in the glasses, only to suddenly notice the odd look she was getting from her fellow Demon. "What?"

"I dunno," Mick uttered while scratching his head. "You kinda remind me of someone with those glasses on, but I just can't put my finger on it."

Sadly, no matter how much he tried to think, nothing seemed to give Mick the answer he was looking for. Between the glasses, orange sweater and the red skirt, nothing sprung to mind. And that weirdo walking his barking Great Dane across the street was certainly no help. Eventually, Mick just gave up with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Meh, I'm sure it's not important," he uttered, choosing to simply keep walking with Linda following close behind.

"Alright, so where to now?" the disguised Imp asked inquisitively, desperately hoping that her friend had a plan.

At those words, Mick immediately began to scratch his head in thought.

"Octavia said that she and her dad were supposed to go see that amazing meteor shower tonight," he thought aloud. "Given his reaction when we spoke to him last, it seems to me that he must have forgotten his promise."

"And clearly, Octi didn't take it well," Linda sighed, once again feeling guilty about not talking to her friend sooner. "Do you think that's why she's here? To see the meteor shower by herself?"

"It's possible, but there's a lot of better places to do that," Mick pointed out. "Between the smog and the light pollution, this place is a terrible place for stargazing… well the ones in the sky anyway."

Rolling her eyes at that terrible joke, Linda immediately began to rack her own brain before adding her own two cents on the matter.

"Maybe… she didn't MEAN to come here," she said. "This specific place, I mean. I mean think about it. She wants to see the stars, Stolas's Grimoire takes her to a place to see stars… just not the ones she originally meant."

"So, it's possible that she may not even be here anymore," Mick added anxiously. "Is that what you're saying?"

Linda, however, only shook her head at that.

"I don't think so," she said. "No offence to Octi, but she's not that good at magic yet. If anything she's a novice at best. What's more, she's incredibly stubborn when she wants to be. So even if she did come here by accident, she's gonna want to stick it out until she meets her goal."

"Yeah, can't argue with that," Mick admitted with a sigh. "Alright, let's just try to- Oof!"

"Watch it, freak!"

At that moment, Mick suddenly found himself getting shoved aside from behind by an incredibly rude asshole donned in black leather, the stink of cigarette smoke lingering all over him as he forced himself past the two disguised Demons.

"Oh yeah?" Mick retorted, giving the prick the middle finger as Linda helped straighten himself up. "Well, right back at ya, asshat!"

Unfortunately, that outburst turned out to be a terrible mistake, since it caused the human to turn back around, revealing multiple face piercings and the vicious snarl he suddenly donned.

"The fuck you say to me, you fucking nerd!?" he barked, swiftly pulling out a switchblade from his pocket and pointing it in Mick's direction. "Come 'ere!"

"Oh… shit!" Mick exclaimed, immediately regretting his previous choice of words.

"Run!"

The instant Linda squeaked out that word, the two immediately dashed off in the opposite direction. True, Mick could probably take this asshole in a fight, but not without making a spectacle of it and drawing too much attention. For now, the best thing either of them could do was just try to find an escape… Thankfully, their pursuer wasn't all that hard to outrun.

"You… little… bastards…" the man gasped through heavy breaths, quickly bracing himself against his knees as he slowed down to a stop. "Ooooh, fuck… I… I can't fucking breathe!"

A short while later, while the man in leather was collapsing on the ground with the lung capacity of an asthmatic child, the two disguised Demons suddenly found themselves rounding a corner, hoping to get as far away from the prick as possible.

"Is he still after us?" Mick asked, causing Linda to quickly look back.

"No, I think we lost- Oof!"

Alas, Linda was unable to finish her sentence due to suddenly slamming face-first into the big round belly of yet another Human.

"Whoa there, kiddo," the man said with a light chuckle. "Where's the fire?"

Looking up to get a better view of the Human she had just bumped into, Linda couldn't help but gasp at the man's attire. Between the fancy suspenders, the bowler hat and the tiny moustache under his nose, the little Imp thought for the briefest of moments that she had suddenly walked into one of those old silent movies. However, that didn't do much to settle her nerves.

"S-sorry, sir!" she uttered, shivering like a kitten as she dreaded how the oddly dressed man was going to react. "I didn't mean to!"

Thankfully, this particular man was seemingly a lot more friendly than the last Human the two young Demons encountered, so much so that he was quick to brush off what was clearly an accident.

"Hey, hey, easy little lady, I ain't gonna bite," he said reassuringly. "Now what's all the running about, hmm?"

At first, Mick didn't want to say anything, however, it would look pretty suspicious for two oddly dressed teenagers to just run off without a word… besides not answering at this point would also just be rude.

"Sorry, sir," Mick apologized, nodding his head towards the Chaplin-lookalike. "We're… new in town and got into a bit of trouble after arriving."

That of course, earned him yet another chuckle from the rotund man.

"Yeah, I gathered," he replied. "You two here for Comic Con, are ya?"

Suspecting that the man was basing his assumption on the way that the two of them were dressed, neither Mick nor Linda saw any reason to deny it so long as it made for a good cover story… especially if it might also give them the perfect opportunity to ask questions without suspicion.

"Uh… yes, we are," Mick replied, trying his best to sound convincing. "But unfortunately, we got separated from our friend after we got dropped off from the airport."

"You wouldn't happen to have seen her, would you?" Linda added, playing along with Mick's little fib. "She'd be a young woman, dressed like an… uh, owl costume."

"She'd be wearing pink with yellow stars and a dark shawl," Mick further elaborated, hoping to provide a clearer picture. "Along with a beanie that has a crown on it that matches her dreamy eyes…"

"Dude!" Linda snapped. "Time and place!"

Quickly realizing what he had just said, Mick immediately cleared his throat.

"Sorry," he uttered bashfully,

Thankfully, the Chaplin-lookalike wasn't at all phased by that last part. Scratching his cheek in thought, he eventually gave the two a solemn shake of the head.

"No, can't seem to recall anyone like that. Sorry," he said regretfully, wishing he had better news for the two disguised Demons. "Has she been missing for long?"

"Well… unfortunately it has been a couple of hours at this point," Mick answered honestly with an awkward scratch of his head.

"You see, it's her first time in L.A. and we're worried that she might be lost and probably scared by now," Linda added anxiously. "And knowing our luck, that's probably the best-case scenario."

At those words, the Chaplin-lookalike only let out a small sigh.

"Well, sorry to tell you this, kids, but I'm afraid your search is gonna be harder than you think," he said. "Not to rub salt in the wound or anything but you're not exactly the only oddly dressed people in town."

Following the man's hand as he gestured towards their surroundings, Mick and Linda were quick to notice all the people dressed up in all kinds of crazy costumes, either for auditions or gimmicks they were using as street artists. Then, of course, there were also the people who were not in costumes and just wearing as little clothing as possible due to the warm weather. If Mick and Linda didn't know any better, they would only need to put on a pair of red-tinted sunglasses and they'd probably believe that they were back in the Pride Ring. Needless to say, seeing all of this wasn't exactly lifting either Demon's spirits.

"But hey, if she's new in town, maybe try checking out the tourist attractions?" the Chaplin-lookalike suggested, hoping to provide at least one small shred of hope to the young pair. "I mean, ya gotta start somewhere, eh?"

Given their lack of ideas and options, it didn't take long for Mick and Linda to silently agree that such a suggestion was as good a plan as any. Giving each other an understanding nod, they then both gave the Chaplin-lookalike a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Charlie!" Mick said, giving him a gentle nod of his head before turning away. "We appreciate the help."

"Love the 'stache, by the way," Linda added, quickly following suit.

Giving the rotund man a wave as they walked away, the two disguised Demons then made their way further down the street, their mission now once again fresh in their minds. As they walked further away, however, Mick couldn't help but notice the smirk finding its way across Linda's face.

"What?" he uttered. "What's with the look?"

"Dreamy eyes, huh?" Linda retorted playfully, immediately causing Mick's face to turn red from beneath his mask.

"Oh, shut up!"

Meanwhile, in another part of the City, Octavia was once again despising both her impulsiveness and her rotten luck surrounding it. How the hell did she make the same mistake TWICE!? The instant she saw that pamphlet, she thought she was going through on a tour that would take her to the best viewing points to see the stars… and now here she was, sitting on the top deck of a tour bus, passing by the homes of celebrities that she either never heard of or didn't give a shit about!

"And to your left, you'll see the home of one of those influencers who think they're hot shit 'cause now they do TV shows," she heard the tour guide announce through his microphone.

Tilting her head over to the side, Octavia found herself begrudgingly witnessing a scene straight out of a cheap-ass soap opera. One involving a mother and her kid leaving some guy crying in the street before the latter suddenly started making out with a nearby bystander in a pink bathrobe. Feeling embarrassed in more ways than one, Octavia immediately pulled her beanie over her eyes with an irritated groan

"Ugh… why me?" she muttered under her breath, only to suddenly feel movement from the bag she had placed in her lap.

Seeing Snowflake's little nose poking out of the flap of the bag with a light whimper of concern, the Goetia Princess immediately panicked and pushed her head back inside.

"Shh! Snowflake!" she snapped in a hushed tone. "Not now!"

Quickly making sure the little fox was once again out of sight, Octavia dreaded to think what could have happened if she had been spotted. After all, it would have been a nightmare to explain the presence of a regular animal on a tour bus, let alone a small fox with two tails. Sighing with relief, Octavia once again slumped back into her seat, chuckling nervously at the weird looks she was getting from the tourist next to her.

A short while later, Mick and Linda disembarked a small, rusty truck after it pulled up in front of a large archway surrounded by a brick wall, with a sign above it saying: The Lázaro Tar Pits.

"Thanks for the ride, Mr Clampett!" Linda called out gratefully to the hillbilly-looking man in the driver's seat.

"No problem, youngins," Mr Clampett replied, with a gentle smile poking out from the corners of his thick, bushy moustache. "Y'all take care now, ye here?"

"We will," Mick replied gratefully. "Thanks again! Have a nice trip back to the hills!"

With that final word, Mr. Clampett started the truck back up and drove away, leaving Mick and Linda to wave him off as they watched him disappear back into the Hollywood traffic.

"Have to admit, I never thought there'd be such a nice guy here in Los Angeles," Linda couldn't help but comment. "Makes you wonder whether the kindness of strangers is actually dead, huh?"

"And you said hitchhiking was going to be dangerous," Mick pointed out, almost smugly, much to Linda's annoyance.

"It very well could have been!" she retorted before letting out a small sigh. "But… I'll admit that we did need to resort to desperate measures given the circumstances… it was probably safer than getting a cab around here."

"Damn straight," Mick replied with a scoff as he pulled a small pamphlet from his pocket and looked it over. "Plus it's not like either of us have the right kind of money to pay for it anyway."

Given the situation, one would ask why the two disguised Demons chose to come to the Tar Pits instead of scouring the streets to look for Octavia. However, that was the very reason they were there to begin with. After leaving the Chaplin-lookalike to his own devices, the pair of them chose to follow his advice and scout any tourist attraction that might fall within Octavia's interests. As it turned out, there was a bus tour that was supposed to arrive here every hour, one specifically aimed towards those who loved stargazing, specifically making stops at planetariums and observatories across the city.

"You're sure this is where the bus is supposed to pick us up?" Linda asked anxiously, quickly noticing the lack of transport.

"That's what it says here," Mick said, gesturing towards the back page of the pamphlet. "Of course, the problem is that I don't know how long we have to wait. My clock got fried along with my phone. I don't suppose you have one?"

"Sorry," Linda replied with a shake of her head. "I don't have a phone. And even if I did, I doubt it would be set to Earth Time."

"Great…" Mick uttered sarcastically. "So now what do we-"

Suddenly, Mick stopped mid-sentence when something caught his eye. Sitting up against the wall nearby with a bunch of covered boxes sitting off to his side, a middle-aged man with a denim jacket and a bald head wrapped in a red bandanna sat upon a thin blanket, surrounded by open cardboard boxes, and other random pieces of junk. If Mick had to guess, he must have been one of those random street vendors, one who appeared to be fleecing what he could only describe as bootleg goods no less, including DVDs, knickknacks, and any other item that would most likely break the first time the buyer uses it.

Having been in hell for so long, Mick usually tried to avoid guys like this, but right now he needed info, and there couldn't be any harm in simply asking the time… right? Eventually, Mick swallowed his pride and made his way over to the vendor, with Linda following close behind.

"Um… excuse me?" Mick spoke up, quickly grabbing the vendor's attention.

"Hey yo, you wanna buy something, my man?" the vendor replied, a shit-eating grin immediately plastered across his face as he looked upon his latest sucker.

Of course, neither Mick nor Linda was going to fall for any of this guy's bullshit.

"No, sorry, but could you-?" Mick tried to say, however, the vendor was all too quick to interrupt and push for a sale.

"Oh, come on, dude, there's gotta be something that takes your fancy," he said, gesturing to random items on the blanket. "Look, I got pepper shakers, I got some fine ass kitchenware, anime figurines, movies that ain't been released in theatres yet… Ooh! I even got these nice pics of these weird babes in town, some pretty sweet gothic shit here."

Needless to say, both Mick and Linda grew increasingly frustrated with how pushy this asshole was being. All they wanted was to ask for the time and now, both of them immediately regretted walking over here. Just then, however, something upon the vendor's blanket made Mick's eyes go wide in shock.

"I'm sorry, but we're not interested in-" Linda began only to suddenly stumble back as Mick dove forward and grabbed at one particular item.

"Liddy, look!" he exclaimed, practically shoving one of the vendor's photographs in her face.

Getting a clear view of the person in the photo, Linda instantly became just as shocked as Mick was. There, as clear as daylight, was Octavia, wandering the streets of L.A. with a pair of familiar fluffy tails sticking out of her bag! Judging from what Mick and Linda saw in the picture, Octavia clearly didn't know that she was being photographed, and given the timing, this MUST have been taken almost immediately after she and Snowflake had arrived in the Living World. After taking a moment to get over the shock, Mick and Linda immediately gave the vendor a furious glare.

"Where the fuck did you take this!?" Mick snapped, getting right into the man's face.

Of course, the vendor was just as quick to turn aggressive.

"Hey back off, man!" he snapped back. "I ain't tellin' you shit!"

Hearing that, Mick's anger quickly began to boil, so much so that the flames of his eyes literally began to seep through his disguise.

"Oh? You going all crazy-eyed on me?" the vendor scoffed, seemingly not even remotely phased by the blue glow beneath Mick's mask. "I'll show some crazy eyes!"

At those words, the vendor stood up, raised his fists and gave the disguised Demon a crazy look in his twitching left eye while making weird clicking noises with his mouth.

"Come on!" the man goaded. "Let's get busy! Bring it, ya dickless sucker!"

Giving the vendor a deadpan glare upon seeing the pathetic display of bravado, Mick let out a small growl and quickly launched himself forward. Before the vendor even had a chance to blink, he was suddenly shoved against the wall by a very pissed-off individual grabbing him by the front of his shirt.

"Listen, asshole!" Mick snapped, once again getting into the man's face. "Don't try to bullshit me, okay? I know how this all works. You find random shit just laying around and you try to make a profit by selling them to the next available dumbass in the form of tourists. And what's more, you clearly like to put the icing on the cake by selling off secret photos of random hotties with their skirts caught in the wind. Now, I don't give a shit what you do in your day-to-day life, but this particular hottie is VERY important to me. So I'm only going to ask you one more time. Where. Did you take. These photos!?"

Alas, Mick's demand was responded to with a large glob of spit shot straight between the eyes. As such, despite not knowing how royally he had just screwed himself, the vendor had all but sealed his fate.

"You really shouldn't have done that, buddy," Mick scoffed, taking a moment to rub the saliva off his mask with his sleeve. "I did try to be nice… but now you've gone and pissed me off."

Letting a low growl seep through his disguise, Mick readied himself to give the vendor the thrashing that he deserved for wasting precious time. However, it was at that moment that Linda chose to speak up.

"Now hold on, Mick," she said worriedly, not liking how far this confrontation was escalating. "There's really no need for violence is there?"

"Yeah, man," the arrogant vendor scoffed, clearly believing that Mick was all talk and wouldn't actually do anything. "Better listen to miss tiny-tits here."

…

"On second thought… string him up by his balls. I think we can spare a few minutes,"

With Linda's nod of approval, Mick immediately began to smirk under his mask.

About three minutes later, the panicked Vendor suddenly found himself with a black eye and hanging by his ankle from the mouth of a large, silicon T-Rex statue over a bubbling tar pit. To add insult to injury, he was also surrounded by numerous tourists, all of them taking pics with their phones. While the asshole was being humiliated, Mick dusted off his hands and exited the gate to the tar pits, back towards the vendor's blanket, where Linda was waiting for him.

"Shouldn't have made me ask twice," he muttered, letting out a sigh as he took out a joint, only to put it back as soon as he realized he was currently wearing a mask that had no detachable mouthpiece. "Cheap piece of shit."

"Got what you needed out of him?" Linda's voice spoke up, drawing his attention to her.

"Eventually," the disguised Cat Demon replied with a shrug. "Turns out he took those photos of Octi no more than three blocks from here."

Hearing that, Linda's spirits were raised, if only by a little bit.

"So there's a strong possibility that she could have gone on this particular tour?" she replied hopefully. "I mean, she could probably walk it quick enough."

"Yeah, that's the conclusion I came to as well," Mick said in agreement, suddenly pulling what looked like a gold Rolex wristwatch from his pocket. "Even got us a little timekeeper for the trouble he gave us."

This, of course, gave Linda cause to give Mick a raised eyebrow.

"What?" Mick inquired defensively. "I've basically just committed an assault on that dickweed, I might as well ROB his ass."

"Hey, no judgment here," Linda quickly replied, holding up her hands just as defensively. "Heck, the thing's probably fake anyway."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Mick replied with a sigh as he double-checked the watch to see if it actually ticked. "Given all this other crap he was selling, I wouldn't be surprised."

Gesturing towards all the items on the blanket, Mick immediately gave Linda a reason to let out a small scoff as she looked everything over.

"Jeez, people actually pay MONEY for this stuff?" she said in disbelief as she picked up a DVD that was clearly a knockoff due to the shabbily printed cover.

"I know, right?" Mick chuckled in agreement. "And some people wonder why Hell is so overpopulated."

"Wait? Did you just say that you guys were from HELL?"

The instant that new, surprisingly sweet voice suddenly rang in their ears, Mick and Linda froze in horror. Once again they had been caught! But… by who? Snapping their heads in all directions, they couldn't find a soul anywhere nearby, even though the voice sounded close.

"Who… who said that?" Linda fearfully asked aloud, hoping and dreading that the voice would respond.

"Back here!" it cried out. "Behind the boxes!"

With curiosity getting the better of them, Mick and Linda quickly followed the voice to its source. As soon as they pushed away some of the boxes, however, they were met with a curious sight. Namely, a small plastic pet carrier wrapped up in what appeared to be a pair of bike chains and multiple padlocks.

"I'm in here!" the voice called out.

Sure enough, as soon as Mick heard the voice coming from within, he had to pick the carrier up to his eye level and peer through the small grate. The instant he saw what was inside, however, he almost fainted from shock.

"What is it, Mick? Linda asked, understandably wondering what could have caused her friend to suddenly freeze up like that.

In response, all Mick could do was lower the carrier just enough to allow the disguised Imp a clear view herself. Much like the Sinner, she was immediately taken by surprise.

"Oh. My. Satan!"