I

UNDERDOG

"ATONE FOR YOUR SINS"

DISCLAIMER

NOTE: I am aware that the entire series is not finished yet. With the potential number of changes in the canon, this story will be an AU (Alternate Universe) that combines both elements and characters from Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss, while adopting some actual new elements from the canon. This story is also not too "Lore-Friendly" (aka not being too accurate to the world of the Canon.) So, be warned if some inaccurate information in this AU may make you cringe.

Both shows along with their characters DOESN'T belong to me. The series respectively belongs to SpindleHorse and its creator, Vivienne Medrano (aka "VivziePop".) The plot in this Fan Fiction and some characters you'll know who are OCs (Original Characters) are original from me. If any ideas or characters sound similar to another story written by somebody else, it is purely coincidental. I refuse to blatantly steal somebody's idea and claim that it was mine. If you have any concerns, you are always welcome to message me.

If there is anybody outside of this site posting this Fan Fiction without giving proper credit or impersonating me, please let me know.

Chapter 17: A Simple Trade.

Nothing is that simple. There's a catch.

-(RNS Malphas, Bolgia Sea)-

(Underdog's POV)

"Now, I just want to hear you cons acknowledge so I can know you understand." The Captain of the RNS Malphas leaned on his desk and kept his stern expression on the four of us. "Cause any sort of trouble onboard my vessel, you'll be swimming back to the Avalon. Or worse, I'll have you executed if you piss me off on a whole new level. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir." All four of us answered at the same time.

"Good." He leaned back down on his chair and used a button on his desk to open the front door to his office, along with the turret defenses inside deactivating; armed only to use against us just in case he feels threatened. "Underdog, stay inside my office. The rest of you three can leave. Grab some chow, or something."

"Got it." Big-Chete shrugged as he was clearly hungry for some proper food, unlike what we are served onboard the Avalon.

I remained where I stood throughout this meeting as Big-Chete, Dash, and Dropkick left the room. Confused to why I was told to stay, I remained silent out of fear of getting punished severely, and hoped there would be an explanation. Fortunately, it was the latter.

"Morgan Reynolds Adler III." The Captain said my full name while gently clasping his hands together. "Or as everyone calls you, "Underdog" ever since your conviction for your crimes."

It still pains me inside to still remember the day of my conviction over the things I didn't do. Nevertheless, I nodded and looked down at the floor. "Correct, sir."

"During Operation: Killjoy, my ship was there to provide fire support during your advance into the city that was taken from us by the insurgents. Remember?"

Now that he mentioned it, I recall the RNS Malphas being one of our limited support units during the counterattack. "I do recall." I answered. "You probably don't care anymore because of my position, but…thank you for that day, Captain Malphas."

That's right. The RNS Malphas was indeed commanded by the man under its name.

"Indeed. Normally I would be thanking you back. But I suppose a traitorous dog like you doesn't deserve one." He shook his head.

I remained silent and just nodded my head, enduring the pain in my chest of hearing the man that saved me, and my group talk to me like this.

"All that aside, how have you been?" Malphas asked.

"Doesn't matter how I've been." I deadpanned. "Why even bother asking me?"

"Right. Judging by the state of your body, it's painfully obvious." Malphas sighed and shook his head. "Force of habit."

"Has your crew been okay, at least?" I asked.

Malphas nodded and smiled proudly while looking out the window to see his men working on the deck of his battleship. "Although our Carrier Strike Group will be acting as second support, we're more than ready if my ship needs to press up to provide fire support for the regular forces. I doubt you and the Underlings will be getting my help, however."

"Why is the ship in second support? Normally Goetia-Class Battleships would be near the front; especially in amphibious landing operations." I pointed out.

"Correct. We were supposed to be accompanying Carrier Strike Group 2, which is the front guard behind the Underling Brigade Fleet. But a certain someone onboard made the chain of command decide to have my vessel serve as a secondary support ship. As in, I doubt they they'll be ordering us to fire a shot at the shoreline in the front." Malphas groaned.

"Ohhh. I know who you're talking about." I sighed too. "I heard Stella is onboard. Is that true?" I asked.

"The "Fucking Harpy", you called her? Yeah. She is." Malphas chuckled about the nickname I gave her during that day I had to keep an eye on Stolas, when Octavia was moving back to his custody.

"What's a Silver Spoon like her doing onboard a ship enroute to a battle?"

"I'd like to remind you that I am one of these "Silver Spoons" you folks call us in the Ars Goetia." Malphas shrugged as he wasn't too offended by the slang. "As for why she's onboard, I'm afraid I can't tell you all the details. What I can share is that she's a part of my family. And you know how we help our own, even if it's a demon like…her." He sighed as if he didn't seem fond of that.

I whistled and furrowed my eyebrows. "My condolences."

"I can't blame Stolas for leaving her, to be honest." He shrugged and took out a cigarette from under his desk. "Anyway, forget about that. I wanted to have a word with you about something."

"And that would be…?"

"I don't like you, Underdog. Hell, I would've had you tied to an anchor and tossed you off the ship for what you did to Princess Charlie." Captain Malphas said while lighting up his own cigarette using pyrokinesis with his pointy finger. "However, I still give credit even towards those who are in the bottom of the food chain, like you Underling convicts."

"You must be talking about the air raid we came across." I said while leaning forward on my seat.

Malphas nodded and handed over a cigarette for me, already lighting it up. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting you cons to put up a good fight. And yet, somehow, you fended off an entire squadron. I know The Embers aren't as good as your standard pilots in our Air/Aerospace Force. But I'm impressed."

I took the cigarette, took in the nicotine and smoke, and puffed it out away from Malphas' direction. "You should probably be thanking Vermilion Squad and Fireteam Mako for arriving in the middle of battle. Thanks to their aircraft advantage compared to our tin cans, our fleet was defended while suffering moderate damage."

"Even after what you've been through, you still have a lot of fight in you."

"Personally, at the moment, I just want to make sure The Embers are wiped out, so they'll never attack us again." I told him after blowing out another breath of smoke. "Hell, when this is finished and their last order was to have me shot by firing squad or shoot myself, I'll carry it out without complaints."

Saying that without any reluctance made Malphas taken aback, not expecting that sort of response. "You still care about the Kingdom of Hell and yet so little about your life?"

"Not the Kingdom. But my friends. Even if they no longer view me as such." I tilted my head down and shook my head. "I want to make sure they'll live their lives peacefully after all of this is finished."

"Interesting to see you still have a noble goal. But I want to see the results. Not just words."

"Figured you'd prefer that. Besides, I won't be going anywhere."

Malphas held his cigarette and curiously raised his eyebrows before saying, "I heard some people are trying to reopen your case. But I'd rather not give you false hope of getting released off that shitty carrier. No offense to Captain Garvey."

"Captain Garvey?"

"The man in command of the HPS Avalon." He told me. "You never met him?"

"We usually call him "The Warden" instead of his rank and surname. Probably easier, and he doesn't want us to address him by name." I shook my shoulders while exhaling another set of smoke from my cigarette. "As for the people trying to reopen my case, First Sergeant Elise told me. But to be honest, I think it's just going to go nowhere."

"I see. So, you have your doubts too."

Suddenly, Malphas' phone started to ring on his desk as he immediately picked it up to see who it was on the screen. Thinking it was probably best to leave him to whoever was calling, I set the cigarette on his ashtray carefully and bowed my head. "I'll let you get back to your work, if that was all you wanted to speak to me about."

"Right. You're excused." Malphas said. "But remember to behave yourself."

I nodded and headed towards the door as quietly as possible when he was already on the line with his caller.

"Mei Damiens?...Yes, he was just leaving now…."

That was all I heard before I shut the door. But hearing the name "Mei Damiens" was familiar. That was Major General Damiens' daughter I've been talking to ever since I was promoted to Colonel a month ago. Why would she be calling Malphas…?"

"Hey, dawg." Big-Chete called out to knock me out of my thoughts. "Are you okay? Looks like you're half-asleep. Silver Spoon didn't bore you to near-death, did he?"

"Hardly, unfortunately." I replied with a joking smile.

Dropkick chuckled and patted my shoulder. "Come on, man. Don't joke about that all the time."

"To be honest, if he pissed you off, I'd be more than willing to kick his ass for you. I don't care what happens to me." Dash rolled her eyes as she seemed pretty determined to do it.

"Look, I know you're mad about him and this ship for what they did during Operation: Killjoy. But we really shouldn't cause any more trouble." I told her.

"Since you were there, can I take it out all on you then?" Dash asked before "playfully" hitting me in the forehead with her knuckle, which was not enough to hurt. But she kept her stern expression as if she still held a grudge on me after all this.

Big-Chete buzzed his lips and shook his head. "Hey, come on. I never served. But he was just doing his job."

"That changes nothing." She replied coldly.

"Aight. Chill. Just trying to make sure you don't go on fighting each other." He huffed.

"Don't worry about that. Underdog and I are in some mutual agreement." Dash told him.

"That's also funny coming from you, after trying to start a fight with The Warden earlier in the briefing room." Dropkick snickered.

"Yeah, yeah. Just shut up about that, will yah?" He said sheepishly. "So, what now?" Big-Chete asked while looking around the deck.

"Remember what The Warden and Captain Malphas said. Just behave yourself. So don't go waving and threatening the crew with your sidearms, even if they piss you off. Sailors and Marines onboard can easily outmatch you, since they were all trained to do proper infantry work too." I answered.

Dropkick nodded and examined his sidearm. "That is if this pistol even functions properly."

"95% of our shit probably will not function." Dash shook her head. "Not to mention that we don't have enough for what's coming."

"How much you want to bet it was intentional so they can send more unwanted bastards from Pentagram City and all of Hell?" Big-Chete raised his hand as a sign he clearly saw it coming in that direction.

"Sadly, it's more of an efficient method than Princess Charlie's hotel. No offense." Dropkick said to me, knowing I served as the Royal Family's security advisor and Charlie's personal WarDog bodyguard until the meeting concluded. "Pride Ring still has a lot to offer in regard to prisoners for cannon fodder, but not enough weapons."

"You see where I'm going at." Big-Chete said. "Now I know how the Ruskis (Russians) felt during World War 2, and in Ukraine."

"Plus, standard issue equipment for an entire brigade is pretty expensive." I told them. "With an invasion like Operation: Dusty Wings happening, it's going to become even more expensive. So why distribute some funds to give us prisoners some gear when our only purpose is to act as shock troops with a 97% mortality rate?"

"And they may fall into enemy hands." Dash added, knowing based on personal experience during Operation: Killjoy.

"That's another valid reason." I nodded. "Regardless, The Warden won't be easily convinced to make any sort of requisition for us."

"I doubt it too. Almost looks like they just dug out all the shit from the dirt without properly maintaining it and thought it was okay to use." Dash shook her head and looked at the closest clock hanging in the hallway. "Looks like it's almost lunch time. Let's head to the chow hall before the place gets busy."

I nodded but turned in the other direction of where they were going. "I'll meet you guys there. Going to use the bathroom really quick."

Big-Chete shrugged and nodded. "Got it. We'll try to get you something, just in case something happens. Sound good?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

With that, I walked down the empty hall and headed to the nearest restroom to do my business. However, the moment I finished up and walked out, I immediately bumped into someone who had also just finished using the restroom from the women's section. White avian demon wearing a fancy dress, long feathery hair with a crown, it was obviously that certain someone I did NOT want to bump into the moment Dropkick mentioned an Ars Goetia member onboard.

The Harpy herself, Princess Stella.

"You again?" Stella folded her arms and clicked her tongue.

"Oh brother…Was hoping I wouldn't run into you." I groaned, since there was no need to show any mandatory respect to her due to my position. I just rolled my eyes and sidestepped off her path. "I was just passing through. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other things to do."

"Now hold on just one minute." She intervened and grabbed onto my wrist to stop me.

"I'll be sure to count to sixty, fast." I mumbled and turned around, getting her grip off me. "What do you want? Here to insult me for what I've been put into? Actually, I prefer to just get it over with, so I don't have to deal with you soon."

Stella rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Tempting. But I have things to speak to you about."

"And just what do you have to speak about with the most hated sinner in Hell?" I asked.

"I heard your conversation with those other convicts." She told me. "Something about you lacking weapons and gear for the upcoming operation?"

I shook my head at the thought and exhaled through my nose before saying, "Tossed into the meat grinder with outdated and somewhat functional gear and weapons. Seriously. We're better off using black market weapons and "tacticool" knockoff gear from some online retail shop."

"Sounds more like they're just sending all of you to die."

"No shit. That's basically what the Underling Brigade was made to do. Except we won't be able to reach a single klick (1 kilometer) because of that."

"Okay…? So, what would you do if you somehow had some power to this?" Stella asked curiously.

"All we need is standard issue weapons and equipment. Nothing fancy like you'd expect Special Forces guys to get." I started off. "Or Hell, maybe start upgrading the Avalon with proper weapons used for defenses. New planes too. I know the ship is old, but something."

She folded her arms and tilted her head slightly. "Planning on starting a breakout maybe?"

"Why would I want to start planning one if I'm suggesting the Avalon to have better defenses?" I pointed out. "The reason why I want this exchange to happen is so The Embers will be much more easily crippled so we can put an end to this war sooner. No disrespect to Captain Malphas, but don't you want to get off this ship sooner than later?"

Stella sheepishly looked away and let out a long huff. "I'll admit, living onboard a battleship is much less to be desired. It's almost damn near claustrophobic. For a ship named after my cousin, you'd think it'd be much more spacious."

Ignoring the standards to her living preferences, I asked, "Why stay onboard the RNS Malphas instead of just staying in the capital?"

"My daughter is currently under my custody at the moment before she heads back to Stolas later on." She answered.

"Is Octavia onboard too…?"

Stella shook her head. "She isn't at the moment. Even if she was, I would not put you anywhere near her."

"At the moment? Why the hell is she here too then?! The Bolgia Sea and the territory belonging to The Embers is going to be a warzone soon!" I told her, clearly concerned that this operation could put their lives in danger.

"She didn't want to leave Princess Charlie's side during her comatose state. Both of them are onboard the RNS Erinies, back in the rearguard, safe as it can be." She answered. "However, don't even think about trying to kill Charlie again this time. Her security detail has become further enhanced ever since the shit you pulled."

"I didn't d-…. ugh…never mind. Whatever you say." I shook my head. "All that aside, what do you want from me? And what made you interested when me and the others mentioned about our shitty weapons?"

When I asked this, she turned her head to look around as if she was making sure nobody was around. As soon as she was convinced it was clear, she gave me an answer I didn't expect. "Because I have a proposition for you. I can distribute some funds to better arm your shitty Underling Brigade, and maybe this war can end soon if you cons are effective than what the military thinks."

I don't know why, but the tone in her voice along with her body language gave me some pretty suspicious vibes. Why would she be making a proposition with a (wrongfully) convicted felon whose only job is to be sent off to die like the rest of the Underlings? Not to mention that she's not a fan of those below her social status, and yet she's willing to contribute to a lowly penal unit. So, I asked, "There's gotta be a catch. How much money? Because you and I both know I lost all my funds ever since my conviction."

Stella inhaled deeply, while staring at me for a few seconds before exhaling. "I didn't intend your payment to be in cash. There was another way that might be easier for you."

Okay, now I was getting even more uneasy about all this. No need to pay her in cash, she says. "So, what do you want? You want me to kill someone? Cook you food?" I asked to get as much information as possible.

"If you're comfortable to continue on with this proposition, then follow me and keep it down." She said, keeping things vague and only making me even more cautious because this was Stella who I was dealing with.

"Where are you heading off to?" I asked.

"Again, if you want to continue with this, just be silent and follow me." Stella ordered as she began to walk down the hallway without further explanation.

So, I followed.

Universe Trivia

The RNS Malphas is a Goetia-Class Battleship in Hell's Royal Navy, commanded by the man under the name of the ship: Captain Malphas. He is considered one of the few members of the Ars Goetia to serve in the Royal Armed Forces throughout Hell's history. Although raised as a "Silver Spoon" (a slang used towards Ars Goetia members), Malphas chose the military lifestyle in the Royal Navy instead of a strictly political position as a noble. He is well-respected by his fellow sailors due to his charisma and leadership, along with how much he cares about his crew more than himself, where he would rather put himself at risk than a Seaman Apprentice. The epitome of a ship Captain.

For the ship itself, it was present during the 2nd Wrath Ring Insurgency, even during Operation: Killjoy where Major Adler (Underdog) took command to regain control of the battle from the ground. It was the only naval support they had available, and it proved invaluable by suppressing and neutralizing enemy positions. Because of this, Captain Malphas was awarded "The Wrath Star" while the ship received "The Silver Anchor" for its outstanding achievement in combat, alone.

Short chapter. You'll see why soon.

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