A Samurai in Hell

by Gamer of Action44D

Before the final blow was struck, Aku tore open a portal and flung the samurai through, but not to the future. No, it was far more fitting to trap the fool within Aku's old home: the Depths of HELL! Now the Samurai seeks a way back to his lost kingdom, but he must fight through demons, imps, well-meaning hotels, a lycanthropic curse, and even the forces of Heaven. Watch out!

5. Jack in the Big Apple

Whelp, here we go. One of the longest single chapters I've ever posted. Let's tackle the reviews, there's a lot of them.

Tigershark431: Thanks so much, man. I had a lot of fun writing that part. And though it may take a while, Aku is defintiely going to be shaking up the power structure in Hell.

Lightblade1121: Okay, a lot to go through. First of all, I totally understand how you feel about Jack working with I.M.P. I had to really rub my neurons together on why he would ever work with them. This chapter was the result. I think I did a good job, but odds are it isn't perfect. The reality is, if you want a character like Jack to interact with characters like I.M.P. you're going to have to make some compromises. It's why I'm setting this story after Episode 3 of Helluva Boss. Way too much murder happens in that episode for Jack to ever be comfortable with. As the story goes on, I'll try my best to highlight Jack's altruism in hopes that it will balance out him interacting with I.M.P. so I don't end up writing an edgy morally gray OC that happens to look like Jack

Anyway, that tangent went on a bit long. Let's tackle your other comments. Now, Aku may be back in Hell but that doesn't exactly mean he's on his home turf. Hell used to have 9 rings instead of 7, did it not? If I was a sin, loosing the ring tied to me would probably nerf me significantly. Remember, it took Aku thousands of years to gain the influence he did in the show. Heck, 17 years and he didn't even make it out of Japan.

And it's not that Aku couldn't take over Hell on his own, it would just take time that he does not have. We know that he is fully capable of making deals and alliances with other factions such as the Gangsters and the Scientists or even Demongo. So I don't think it's a stretch to think he would be willing to team up with the Vees, or at least employ their services. And don't worry, even from a distance, Aku will make Jack's life even more of a living Hell.

Raven Mordrake: Well, it's a good thing Jack won't be getting along with any of them for a while. To say Jack is a reluctant participant is an understatement. But still fair, I can't please everyone. Like I said, this is just kind of inevitable in this kind of fic.

Super heavy weapons guy: Yeah, :) also, I guess you're getting your wish.

Gamelover41592: Thank! Aku is getting an empire going...

TheMischieviousPuppyDog: Thank you so much. And don't worry, I have more plans for Valentino.

HeiHeiTurtal: Thanks for the reviews. Jack is very unaware what the true consequences of scratching Loona truly are.

Firestorm808: Don't worry, you'll get your answer this chapter.

Rook435: Thank you. I had a lot of fun writing those action sequences. And yeah, the multiple factions of both Hell and Heaven are definitely going to play a factor in Aku's hostile takeover as well as Jack's quest.

Guestonova7: Cool twist on the traditional guest name. And I heard about that same rumor. Not gonna lie, while I don't have faith, I really hope it's true. Because it would open the door for so much cross-show worldbuilding on my end and how I can utilize Aku in this story.

AUNBRIE: Roo? See above.

Guest 1: Yeah, the Sins are definitely going to need to have a talk about Aku. Unfortunatley, we won't see the ramifications for quite a while. Gotta keep somethings a mystery.

Guest 2: I'll admit, I'm way more proud of that running gag than I should be.

So many lovely reveiws and I am so thankful for each and every one of them. Now, on with the show.

---

Jack took a deep breath. This was it. Right in front of him was a portal back to the mortal realm. Soon he would be home. Perhaps he did not even need to participate in this dishonorable mission. Once he was through the portal, he would only need to incapacitate the imps and then make his way back to his kingdom on foot.

A small part of him felt a sting of guilt for such deception towards prince Stolas, but a much larger part of him screamed in outrage at the mere idea of Jack being complacent to murder.

"Get moving, Jackass, before we leave you behind!" Blitz's voice called from beyond the portal.

Jack steeled his nerves. The end to his quest was in sight. He took a deep breath and leaped through the portal…

…and landed in a near identical environment.

"Okay, guys," Blitz clapped for attention. "Let's make this quick and snappy-"

"Demon!" Jack cut him off, standing ready for a fight. "What kind of trick is this? We are still in Hell!"

Blitz blinked. "Pardon?"

"Do not feign innocence," Jack snarled. "Look around you! It is all the same! We are surrounded by overwhelming, gray, and lifeless towers. The streets are filled with filth, trash, and decay. The air is thick and pungent like a disease."

Jack pointed upward. "Did you truly think I could be fooled by nothing but blotting out the blood-red skies with a grotesque smog?"

"I don't know what to tell you, man," Blitz shrugged. "That's just New York."

Jack blinked. "New… York?"

He took another look around. Upon closer inspection, everything did have less of a red tint to it, and there seemed to be less dried blood everywhere. And sitting in corner next to bags of trash, was a snoring human being. Albeit a very dirty one dressed in ratty clothes.

"C'mon, people, chop chop!" Blitz marched forward out of the alley, the other two imps following his lead. "I want to get this done by sundown!"

Jack followed with hesitation, but when they finally came out of the alleyway, he had wished he stayed behind. The buildings were even more monumentally tall, and covered in bright lights and constantly changing signs. The streets were absolutely swarming with people of all different nationalities- a bigger mix of human races than Jack had seen in his entire life! And they were all dressed in all sorts of bizarre garb. Some wore exotic furs, others wore strange puffy jackets, and some were hardly wearing anything at all! Hell was almost less overwhelming.

"Are we… on Earth?" Was there another living world beside his own? It was the only explanation Jack could think of.

"Yup," Blitz dashed his hopes. "Smack dab in the Big Apple of the U.S. of A. Smells just as shitty as usual."

Jack felt his head begin to ache. "U, S of… what?"

"America," Millie piped up. "Bit farther East than I would like though. I like the parts that remind me of home."

Jack had heard tales of the Americas. But they had told of a few small colonies in the west, nowhere did it speak of a city so grandiose! This did not make any sense.

"Uh, sir?" Moxxie spoke up. "I know stealth isn't usually a priority on our missions, but should we really be out in the open right now?"

"Don't worry your pretty little head, Mox." Blitz ruffled the white hair of his coworker a bit too hard. "We don't stand out any more than the usual weirdo out here. Besides, according to our client, the asshole we're supposed to kill lives in a hole in the ground. We won't be out topside for long."

The head imp, cracked his knuckles. "Alright gang, let's find us an asshole in the sewer!" he dove into the sea of people, his employees right behind him.

Jack's eyes widened. "Wait!" He dove in after them, desperately trying to get a hold of one.

Jack had been in chaotic environments before. While sailing the north seas with vikings, he had been subjected to many raging seas and restless storms. He could still recall the overwhelming force of the waves as the water rose over the bow and crashed into him. He remembered the biting wind furiously trying to push him overboard. He remembered the overwhelming noise as his crewmates barked orders, trying to be heard over the roaring thunder.

All that paled in comparison to the sheer chaos that overwhelmed Jack's senses as he was overtaken by the rushing masses of New York. People bumped and crashed into him without a care in the world. They stepped on his toes and shoved him out of their away. Many were yelling into more small rectangles, some shouting at him to move it, everything blurred into a cacophony of a hundred strangers trying to talk over one another. Jack almost wished he was fighting Stolas again.

Jack couldn't take much of this. He tried his best to fight against the crowd. He struggled past the shuffle until he finally burst free from the chaos! He stumbled out onto a much clearer sidewalk, still full of people yet not nearly as much as the street.

Jack leaned onto his knees and took deep breaths. He had been looking forward to seeing the mortal realm again. He thought taking in the fresh air alone would lift a massive weight off his shoulders. Instead, the weight had increased tenfold.

Jack stood up. His eyes darted over the crowd. He could not spot even a hint of familiar blood-red skin. He had lost the imps.

Jack nearly screamed. Of course they were playing him for a fool! They intentionally led him astray so they could leave him behind in the chaos. It was as Jack deserved for trusting a demon-

"Like, excuse me?"

Jack blinked. The voice had come from his left. He turned to see two young girls standing next to him. They were dressed in strange brightly colored clothes, with strange tinted glasses atop their head.

"Can we, like, get a photo?" One girl held up another rectangle. "You look, like, SO authentic."

"Uh… thank you?" Jack said with uncertainty. "I… suppose I don't see why not."

The two girls flashed a couple of bright smiles before huddling in much closer than Jack was comfortable. The girl held up her rectangle and flashed a smile. "Say 'screw twenty-twenty!"

"Screw twenty-twenty!" he friend smiled as well.

Jack shook his head and forced his grimace into a smile.

The girl pushed a button on her rectangle, and a clicking sound was heard. The girl and her friend removed themselves from Jack's side and began hunching over the girl's rectangle.

Jack cleared his throat. "Excuse me, what exactly did you mean before when you said twenty-twenty?"

"Oh, right," the girl looked up. "I, like, know it was a so long ago by now, but I just- screw that year, am I right?"

"Oh my God, don't even get me started," her friend rolled her eyes. "I had to graduate on a Zoom call!"

There were many words that in those sentences that Jack found concerning. Chief among them: Year.

"Anyway, thanks," the girl handed Jack a small green slip of paper. Jack eyed the strange paper before he apprehensively took it. The girls smiled at him and walked away.

Jack looked down at the paper. It depicted a bearded man, the number five was in each of the corners. None of this made any sense.

Jack looked over the overwhelming landscape. What was this place? He had never come across such a strange city in his travels. He had not even heard of this New York.

And something about what that girl had said. About 2020 being such a horrid year. But… such a time would be hundreds of years off. Perhaps it was not of question of where he was, but WHEN he was.

But that would mean… Aku had been free to ravage the world for over a century! However, that brought up even more questions. If Aku was truly able to do as he pleased for over a hundred years, surely he would have conquered the entire planet by now.

Jack looked around at city. It was almost beyond comprehension, but there was no trace of Aku. There were no statues or monoliths constructed in his image. There were no weapons of mass destruction ready to be used in invasion. And none of these people seemed to be enslaved. Those girls were awful carefree for those under the rule of an evil dictator.

Jack scratched his head. Landing in Hell was less confusing. This simply couldn't be his home world, yet the imps said this was Earth. Perhaps they were lying.

Jack looked down at the green piece of paper the girl handed him. Perhaps it contained clues as to what had happened? He scanned the paper front and back. Well, he was able to recognize an Egyptian pyramid in the imagery, but why did it have an eye-?

Jack suddenly found the paper snatched out of his hands! He looked up to see the back of a sandy-blond child's head running away from him, green paper in their hand. Jack quickly took off in chase. "Wait!"

The child did not slow down at Jack's call, instead the boy sped up. He expertly dogged and weaved between strangers as he made his grand escape.

"Young boy!" Jack called as he quickened his pace. "Please, stop!"

The boy only seemed to run faster. Jack focused his vision onto the boy like a hawk. He would not be evaded this time. He weaved through all the people as subtly as he could, not letting the little thief out of sight

"Someone, please!" Jack called out as he chased. "Stop him!"

But no one helped. No one stepped in to grab the boy or even stick out their leg to trip him. In fact, the people seemed to turn their attention away even more to Jack's cries for help. Staring at their rectangles or their hands in order to avoid eye contact.

The boy darted around a corner, Jack swiftly followed. The samurai turned the corner ready and willing for the chase to continue, but what he saw gave him pause. The boy was gone, all there was was an empty street.

CLUNK

Jack's ears twitched to attention. His eyes followed the noise downward. At Jack's feet was a metal circle sticking out in the stone. Jack quirked a brow. Could it be?

He drew his sword and stuck it into the cracks along the edge of the circle. With a little leverage, the metal disk popped right out of the ground, revealing a cavernous hole right in the middle of the street. Aha! This must be what the child used as an escape route. Odd, why a city would randomly have a hole in it? Was there more city underneath the surface? Only one way to find out.

Within the darkness of the hole, Jack spotted rusted metal rungs sticking out, imitating the steps of a ladder. Jack began his descent.

---

Well, what an incredible smell Jack has discovered. Jack had visited toxic bog pits that smelled better than this underground cavern. He tried his best to breathe through his mouth as he climbed down the ladder.

His sandals hit ground and he stepped off. It appeared that he was now in some sort of large underground tunnel. A waterway was laid out before him, disgustingly murky water flowing down it like a diseased river. Jack didn't even want to know what happened to this water to taint it so thoroughly.

There was no sign of the boy. Jack closed his eyes. He trained his ears, and let them take in every sound they could hear. He heard the flow of water, he heard mildew drip and splash against metal pipes, and he pitter-patter of small running footsteps echoing from the tunnel to his left.

Jack eyes shot open, and he took off in the direction of the footsteps. He was light on his feet, his sandals couldn't be heard even in this massive echo chamber of a tunnel.

The tunnels were beginning to become less maze-like. Jack saw an opening right ahead. He hid against the wall and blended into the shadows right before the tunnel opened up to large open room.

Jack peeked his head around the corner. He seemed to have come upon a sort of intersection between the tunnels, and standing in the middle of it was his young blond thief.

But the boy wasn't alone, he was joined by two other children that looked to be around the same age. The first was a boy who was an inch or two taller than the thief, wearing a cap over messy black hair. The other was a girl, who had tied her own long brown hair into a messy ponytail. All of them were dressed in oversized ratty clothes that could have been fished out from the garbage.

"Okay," the slightly taller boy spoke up. He dug through his oversized pockets, and pulled out many brown and black strips of leather. "I managed to slip six wallets, I think they've got $2-300 between them."

"I got this gold necklace," the girl spoke up next. "The diamonds in it are fake, but some of the rings I got might have genuine emeralds." She held up an assortment of jewelry. She turned to the boy Jack had been chasing. "What about you, Sandy?"

"Sandy" bowed his head. He sheepishly held up the green piece of paper he snatched out of Jack's hand.

"God dammit, Sandy," the taller boy groaned. "Five bucks? Five fucking dollars? God, King's gonna tear you apart for this."

"Maybe you two could share?" the girl spoke up with an uncertain look in her eyes. "Maybe give him one or two of your wallets?"

"And risk him throwing us both in the pit?" the tall boy shook his head. "You give him one of your rings, Sals!"

"Hey!" the girl snapped. "It took a lot of work to wiggle these off that asshole's fingers! Way harder than just reaching into some jackass' back pocket, Tony!"

"Okay, okay! Jesus!" the taller boy cringed back. He sorted through his small assortment of pieces of leather. "This one looks like it's got a lot of cash in it, you can use this one, Sandy."

The boy tossed a dark brown leather piece to the blond. Sandy caught it and flashed a grateful smile.

Jack leaned back into the shadows as he pondered. What was this? A crime ring of children? This Tony seemed to be the oldest, and he couldn't possibly be older than ten, if not younger! How have they not been discovered yet? On the surface, Jack called for help stopping an obvious thief, but the people just ignored him.

There was also this "King" they spoke of with such fear. Another child? Or perhaps the adult ring leader? Perhaps Jack should tail these three to find out more.

Jack peeked his head back around the corner. But just as he did, a high-pitched battle cry echoed throughout the tunnel. The three children looked up just as they were ambushed by three familiar imps. Moxxie tackled Tony to the ground as Millie snatched up Sals into a chokehold.

Sandy immediately turned to run but found his route cut off by the impending form of Blitz. The taller imp grabbed the boy by the shoulders and forced him to the ground. "Don't be scared, junior," Blitz gave a shark-toothed grin. "We just want to ask you a few questions about your boss-"

Blitz didn't finish his thinly-veiled threat, as he suddenly found a holy blade pressed up against his throat.

"Release them," Jack snarled. "NOW!"

"Shit, I thought we lost you," Blitz groaned.

Jack pressed the blade further up against the imps' throat. "I will not ask twice."

"Christ on stick, fine!" Blitz let go of the kid, allowing the blonde to desperately scramble up against the wall. "Mox, Mills, let go of the brats, but keep an eye on them."

His employees complied. They let go of the two kids, and the children immediately stumbled to their feet to put some distance between themselves and the monsters. Rightly assuming escape impossible, they decided to rely on strength in numbers as they scurried to huddle in with their blond companion.

Jack let out a breath of relief. He removed his sword from Blitz's throat. "Just when I thought my opinion of you could not reach any lower." He shook his head. "To callously take the lives of mortals is enough, but to threaten children-"

"Oh my God!" Blitz only rolled his eyes. "You ever hear of a bluff, Jackass? Or are you so high off your own fumes that it damaged your long-term memory? Of course weren't going to hurt the kids!"

Jack kept his glare level and firm.

"Okay, maybe some light trauma and mental scarring, but that's natural for kids. It builds character," Blitz shrugged. "All we needed was for these little shits to tell us where the big shit was in this shitty maze of an oversized toilet."

Jack thought he was able to pick out some meaning from the pile of bizarre and crass words used. "You seek the young thieves' ringleader?"

"Evidently, yes," Moxxie spoke up as he dusted himself off. "Our client was a former police officer investigating a series of thefts, and he tracked them all down to the sewers. He discovered a crime boss that established his base underground. However, after his death no one cared enough to pick his investigation back up."

"I see," Jack sheathed his sword. "What I don't understand is why such a law-enforcer would be in Hell to begin with."

"He was also, like, SUPER~ racist," Millie piped up. "His request had at least three more slurs in it than necessary."

"Not like any of that matters now," Blitz cut in. "Because these little shits were our only lead." He gestured to the wide-eyed children pressed against the wall. "And thanks to Jack's white knight bullshit, their lips are probably sealed tighter than a nun's asshole!"

Jack looked at the clearly frightened youths. They were so young. The same age as Jack was when he was forced to leave home. He took small steps forward, and kneeled to be at eye level.

He focused on the blond one- Sandy. "It is going to be okay," he said. "No one is going to hurt you."

"Bullshit!" It was Tony who spoke up. "You've got a whole gang of freaks, ready to tear us apart!"

Blitz's eyes narrowed. "Oh, you want to see a freak? I'll show you a-"

Jack thrust out a hand with a steely glare, cutting off the imp's rant. He turned back to the children. "I can handle them. I promise that they will not harm you.

Blitz scoffed and muttered "Bitch, you wish you could handle me," under his breath, just low enough for the children not to hear.

Jack took a deep breath. "I am not your enemy," he spoke to the children. "You may even keep what you have stolen from me. Now, I only wish to understand. Why are you stealing? And for whom?"

"Are you serious?" the girl, Sals, spoke up. "Have you never seen a homeless kid before?'

"Unfortunately, I have." Jack recalled many abandoned children in his travels. Many who had no place to truly call home and were forced to rely on themselves. Jack used to wonder if he qualified for that distinction, but he brushed such thoughts aside.

"I understand that you feel alone," Jack spoke. "That you have no choice but to rely on yourselves. But I beg of you, look into my eyes. Understand that I only wish to help you."

Tony scoffed and looked away. Sals just looked down and retreated further into herself. But Sandy, he looked Jack dead in the eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul, and Jack had seen many a soul on his travels. From the sailors of the eastern seas to the monks atop mountains, each soul was unique.

Jack peered into the soul of this child. He saw heavy scars, tracing all the way back to the gaining of consciousness. Great loss, but also great numbness. An animal that had been beaten and wacked into submission. But there was also a quiet strength, a subtle determination to keep burning despite the pain.

And while Jack searched this child's soul, he could tell the child was doing the same. Sandy stood up, and elbowed Tony's side.

"Huh?" Tony blinked.

Sandy looked at Tony with meaning in his eyes. Sandy briefly glanced his eyes at Jack before darting them back to the older boy.

"Are you shitting me?" Tony squinted like he had just read the most absurd thing. "You want to hand over all our shit to this weirdo, including our LIVES? King'll kill us!"

Sandy did not seem deterred by Tony's protests. Sandy gestured to the three of them up against the wall, then he gestured to Jack, and then to the three imps behind him. Sandy gave Tony a deadpan expression.

"He makes a good point," Sals spoke up.

"God dammit," Tony sucked in a breath through his teeth. It seemed he knew he was loosing this argument.

"Please," Jack spoke again. "I must know who you steal for. Who has put such fear into your eyes?"

The children remained silent. All parties remained motionless within the underground cavern. Nothing to do until one of them made the first move.

"Aw, what the Hell?" Tony growled out. "Fine."

---

They were all walking now, walking down another long tunnel in this cavernous underground. They were following the stream of murky water, the children leading the way.

"King is kind of like our team manager," Tony explained. "He's the one who found all of us, brought us all together."

"How long have you worked for this man?" Jack asked.

"Uh… forever?" Tony shrugged. "I think he found most of us as babies or something."

"Most of you?" Moxxie spoke up from the back of the group. "You speak as if there are more than three of you."

"There used to be," Sals explained. "But… we're pretty much all that's left."

"Well, ain't that sentence fucking ominous?" Blitz said with a tone that implied he really couldn't care less. "What happened to the rest of the little parasites, did they all starve in the cold?"

"Probably," Tony answered nonchalantly. "Most of them bailed, and we never saw them again. Others couldn't keep up with what King wanted and… we also never saw them again."

"This man raised you?" Jack questioned. "Gave you your names?"

"Not really," answered Sals. "He just refers to us as 'that one' or 'you there,' we just named ourselves for the most part."

"Sandy's name was obvious," Tony ruffled his friend's sandy blond hair. "Me? I heard some guys keep yelling it while arguing in Italian. I thought it sounded cool, so I kept it for myself."

"And your name is Sals?" Millie spoke to the girl, awfully chummy to someone she had in a chokehold not half an hour ago. "I have a sister named Sallie Mae, is that what yours is short for?"

"No. It's short for Salad." Sals answered flippantly. "I was found in a dumpster behind a Chop't."

"Neat," Millie smiled.

Jack wasn't sure what he should do about the imps being so close to the children. The demons had threatened them earlier, but now the kids didn't seem to care. Jack cleared his head, and decided to focus on his questions. "The blonde one, Sandy, why does he not speak?"

More than Sandy were silent at the inquiry. The boy in question seemed to grow distant, his eyes became vacant as he looked away. He shifted his walk ever so slightly, and he put a distance between himself and all others.

"Sandy has just had a hard time talking out loud," Tony mumbled. "Especially since King started taking a… special interest in him."

Jack's eyes narrowed. The tone with which Tony spoke, for some reason it put him on edge. He clenched his sword a bit tighter. "What kind of interest?"

Tony stared down at his feet. "The kind where he takes him into another room alone… and takes off his clothes and…"

"Christ on a Stick, this is just getting depressing." Blitz, thankfully, cut Tony off before he could go any further.

Jack felt bile rising in the back of his throat. He clenched his teeth and he felt his sword hand twitch. "Disgusting creature. What fowl force possessed him to think he could get away with such atrocities?"

"Well, no force from Hell, at least," Blitz answered the rhetorical question. "I dated a fuck-ton of succubus and let me tell you, most of them know better not to fuck with kids."

Jack blinked. "Truly?"

"Yeah," Blitz nodded. "Professionals have standards."

That was… oddly comforting to know.

"Hold on," Moxxie spoke up. "If you guys knew he was doing this, why didn't you say anything? Why not speak up?"

"Jane spoke up," Sals said. "But then he got her. It was too bad, I liked Jane."

"Got her?" Moxxie blinked. "Well, that's just vague enough to be horrifying."

"I don't understand," Jack spoke. "Why even stay with such a monster? What does he even do for you?"

"Like I said, he found us," Tony explained. "He's the one who brought us all together. He organizes us and keeps us working together. We go around town, steal what we can and bring it back to him. He takes the stuff, and through his connections topside, trades it for things we can actually use, like food and clothes."

"Is that why your clothes look like they were fished out of the literal garbage?" Blitz asked with half-lidded eyes.

"He also gets medicine sometimes if we need it," Sals spoke up. "A lot of the tim he needs this white powdery medicine he gets by the bag-load. He needs to take it in through his nose for some reason though."

"If that's actually medicine, I will actually buy us health insurance." Blitz rolled his eyes.

"That does not answer my question," Jack reiterated. "Why stay with him? Why not leave like the others?"

Tony's pace began to slow. "We thought about it. But where else can we go? No one up top gives a shit about us."

"Surely, there must be someone you can turn to," Jack offered his rebuttal. "The authorities?"

Both the children and imps burst into a fit of giggles at the suggestion. "Yeah, like a pig would care about something he wouldn't get to shoot." Tony kicked a rock. It fell into the makeshift river with a depressing sploosh.

"Best case scenario is that they cram us into a van and ship us off to camps before we get lost in the system for years. Then they'll split us up and sell us off to another crappy adult who's just going to do the same thing to us."

"That is horrible!" Jack gasped. "Who told you that would happen?"

"King did," Sals said.

Jack blinked. Ah, he did forget that these were mere children. Their logic of who and what to believe was still very dodgy, especially if they were raised by the likes of this "King."

"At least this way, we can all stay together." Tony grabbed Sandy shoulder and pulled him in for a quick side hug. "At this point, it's all we've got."

Despite the… everything, Jack let a small smile creep onto his face. It was always a joy to see companionship persevere, especially in times of hardship. But then a thought occurred to him. "Wait, but the imps wish to kill this man called King."

"Yeah, we kinda figured that." Tony nodded.

"Yet you willingly lead them to him?" Jack questioned.

"Yep," Sals nodded.

"I do not understand. Surely killing your ring leader would leave you in the same situation as simply leaving him."

Tony sighed. "I understand your confusion, but we do have a plan. We call it operation: Nunya."

Jack blinked. "What is Nunya?"

"Nunya business."

"Hey, Jack," Blitz tugged on the samurai's sleeve. "Could you do me a favor and stop looking this gift horse in the mouth? 'Cause I swear to fuck, I will bite you if you don't!"

Now, Jack was not simple-minded. He may not understand where or when he was, but he liked to think he knew a thing or two about human decency. He liked to think that for most humans, when they see someone in need, they would help.

But these children spoke of the people above, they sounded as if the people couldn't care less about these youths in need. Disturbingly, even with Jack's brief time up there, he failed to recall any scene that contradicted that.

Jack had literally chased a little boy through the streets, he even called out for help to the dozens of bystanders they passed. Even if the people misunderstood that the boy was a thief, they would have at least stepped in to stop the crazy man chasing a child. But instead, they went out of their way to ignore them.

What's more, these children had been facing these hardships for years, possibly multiple generations if the stories of King were to be believed. Yet the only interference was from one police officer before the case was dropped entirely?

Jack found himself wondering what would be the fate of these children. What could have happened to them if Jack hadn't come along? If the imps hadn't come along?

Jack shook his head of such thoughts. Don't think like that. The imps were going to hurt the children! Although, they did say it was just a bluff, but they could have been lying-

"Stop." Tony spoke.

Jack's internal argument with himself was put on pause. Tony had stopped the group before a large pool of water, the river they had been following pooled right into it. Many opens pipes hung from the wall over the pool. A few large logs seemed to be floating in them.

"Is this it?" Blitz spoke up. "This is where Mr. High-and-mighty King hides? In a pool of shit?"

"No," Tony said. "This is where he keeps his pets."

Jack's eyes drifted to the logs. He squinted at the strange texture of the wood… they weren't logs!

A massive alligator hissed as it broke the surface of the water. It gave its audience a nasty side eye as it swam through the filthy water.

"Huh," Moxxie mused. "I guess all those baby alligator rumors were true."

"But why?" Millie asked. "Why get rid of a perfectly good baby alligator?"

Jack tuned out the imps, he was too focused on the alligator. More specifically, he was focused on the foreign object sticking out of the gator's mouth. "That one there, what is it chewing?"

The gator almost seemed to understand his request, as it opened its maw in a great yawn. Lying in its mouth were tattered pink remain of a backpack alongside scraps of clothing. And stuck between its jagged teeth, was an underdeveloped femur bone.

"I liked Jane," Sals mused.

Jack felt his knees buckle. He caught himself just before he collapsed. "No…" he clenched his fists so tight, he felt his palms start to bleed. "This monster needs to be stopped!"

"Glad we're in agreement!" Blitz pulled out a pistol. "Just point us in the direction to shoot, kid!"

"Hold it," Jack grabbed Blitz by the shoulder. "If we are to do this, we will do it on my terms." Just because their goals aligned, Jack would not bend to the wills of demons. This man deserved to be executed for his crimes, but it would be best for him to die by the rules of the authorities, not lawless hitmen.

"He's up this way," Tony walked over to another rusted ladder leading upwards. "He's not always in his lair though."

Jack nodded. "You three will go first," he turned to the children. "Act as if everything is normal, we will interfere if necessary."

The three kids looked between one another, having another silent debate. Eventually, both Tony and Sals looked to Sandy. The blond child only silently nodded.

---

The ladder led out to another massive underground room, grander than any other yet still covered in grime and filth. After the kids pulled themselves up out on top, Jack paused at the top of the ladder, just enough for his head to stick out of the ground.

To his left, built into the wall was a giant rusted metal door with an impressive valve lock. Over to Jack's right, was a massive man-made pit. It was almost a giant circular chasm, another pool of filthy water sat at the bottom of it.

"Stick to the plan," Jack whispered. "And remain calm."

Jack lowered himself deeper into the ladder hole until his head was barely visible. His eyes were still allowed to take in the scene. A few rungs below Jack were the imps, he could hear Blitz grumbling about how 'he was suppossed to always be on top.'

Tony nervously walked up to the door. He knocked his tiny fist against it with a CLANG CLANG CLANG. Tony jumped back. The children huddled together, trying their best to push Sandy to the back.

The wheel on the door slowly began to turn. It creaked open with groaning metal echoing all the walls. A liver-speckled hand reached out and pushed the door open. Out came a very greasy old man, possilbly in his late fifties. He was dressed in clothes that could have been considered elegant once. A worn-out old dress-suit and a ratty petticoat. His saggy face was perfectly framed by a filthy mop of black hair. And as if he was trying to complete the ensemble of "I'm a villainous cur," He wore an eye patch on his left eye, and held an ornate cane in his hands.

"Ah, children," the man purred in a tone that made Jack's skin crawl. "I grew worried when you did not arrive at the appointed time. It is good to see you did not shirk your responsibilities."

The children did not say anything. Tony shifted his weight foot to foot, Sals twiddled her fingers, and Sandy continued to hide.

"Well then," King held out his open palms. "Out with it, then."

Tony and Sals cautiously stepped forward. Each placed their pilfered treasures into the hands of this monster. King eyed the goods with satisfaction. "Good, good, but what of the young one?"

"What do you mean?" Tony feigned innocence.

"Come now," King grinned. "If he does not pay tribute, how can I be expected to properly provide for him? To protect him from the nasty men up top that will take him away?"

Sandy stepped forward. He pushed his friends to the side and stared up at the grinning beast. He held up his meager five-dollar bill.

King's face fell, he stared at the green slip of paper. He snatched it out of the child's hands. "Is this it?" he sneered. "Where's the rest of it?"

"T-that's all he could grab-" Tony sputtered out.

"Zip it, boy!" King shook his cane at Tony, before turning it to Sandy. "I am asking him."

Sandy remained silent.

"Did you keep it for yourself?" King took a lumbering step forward. "Did you think you could scam me?!"

Sandy instinctively took a few steps backward. Tony and Sals jumped in front of him again but were instantly shoved aside by the marching King.

"You pathetic ingrate! After all I've done for you! I've fed, clothed you!" King's screamed echoed like grating thunder. Sandy kept on backing away, closer towards the pit. "All the love I have given to YOU! And you choose to throw it all away? I'll show you just what happens to ungrateful brats like you!"

King raised his cane like club about to strike-

"That is enough!"

King blinked, someone had come in from his blind spot and grabbed hold of his cane arm. He turned to see a white-garbed samurai looking at him with fury-filled eyes.
"W-what?" King broke his arm away. "Who are you? What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Who I am is of little consequence," Jack placed himself between King and Sandy. "What matters now is that your terrorization of these children stops here!"

Understanding dawned on King's one eye, it trained in on Sandy hiding behind Jack. His confusion twisted into rage, and he took a step forward. "You brought him here… the ultimate betrayal, did you little parasites really think he could-!"

SHING

Jack drew his sword, putting three feet of steel between himself and the deranged madman. While clearly not of sound mind, King wasn't fool enough to walk into a blade. He backed off only slightly.

King gave Jack an ugly sneer. "You think you can save them? I know the world up there, it would treat them no different than I would."

Jack narrowed his glare. "You will find your manipulations do not work on me."

King flashed a smile, showing off crooked teeth. "Won't they now? You must be so adorably proud of yourself. The great gleaming hero come to save all the little children. Do you think they'll reward you? I understand the temptations, the blonde one is so soft-"

Jack bolted forward. His sword slashed King's cane in half, drawing blood from King's hand in the process, Jack did not care. His free hand latched onto King's collar, and he pulled the man in close. "Do not even think of comparing us, you lecherous-"

BANG

Jack's eyes widened. Like a fool, he instinctively pushed King away. A bullet graced the top of Jack's shoulder before speeding off. Jack hissed as he clutched his new wound. It was not deep but it stung.

"Fuck, I missed him!"

"And you almost hit Jack, sir!"

"That's what I just said, Mox!"

Jack growled. Accursed imps! Jack would have cursed their name, but King had seized the samurai's distraction and shoved his entire weight into Jack's.

Now, Jack was normally an immovable rock, but he had let his anger get the better of him. He had underestimated this pathetic old man, and so he let his stance become sloppy if only for a moment. That moment was all King needed to shove him away.

Jack stumbled backwards, trying to regain balance upon his sandals, but then his back crashed into something: the young boy who had been hiding behind him. Jack's balance lost all hope of recovering, and both Jack and Sandy tumbled backwards and down into the pit!

Jack's mind reeled as it tried to comprehend so many failures on Jack's part, but it quickly snapped to focus. Jack threw his arm out and wrapped it around Sandy, he curled his body around the boy, and turned his back to the ground. He was the one who endangered the boy, the least he could do was cushion the fall.

Jack crashed into the water. It felt as slimy as it looked. And he felt his back impact against the ground. The water was relatively shallow.

Jack stood up, waste-deep in murky waters. He gasped for breath and turned to the child in his arms. "Are you alright?"

Sandy was shaking, and his eyes were wide, but there were no obvious bruises or broken bones. After a few seconds, he gave a small nod.

Jack heard a cackle that could only be King's. "You fool! You buffoon! Now you both shall share the same fate! It's dinner time!"

DONG

A noise rang out. If Jack were to guess, it sounded like half a sliced cane banging against lead pipes.

Jack looked up, along the walls of the pit were giant lead tubes sticking outward, big enough for a man to crawl through. But as the ringing continued, a reptilian hissing began to echo out from them.

The alligators crawled through the pipes, bringing a slosh of water with them before they haphazardly dove into the pool.

Of course, this pit must have been where that monster threw in kids who stood against him. There were no obvious means of escape, no ladders not footholds to take advantage of. It seemed Jack's only option was to fight.

Jack raised his hand, his empty hand. The sword! Where was it? He must have dropped it in the fall! He eyes frantically dashed around, but he could not see even his own legs underneath the murky water. The sword was lost.

A horrible thought, but one that would have to weight. The gators were closing in on him. Jack let go of Sandy. "To the other side of the wall, run!"

Sandy nodded and furiously waded away. Jack turned his attention to the two alligators closing in on him. He undid his robe and let it fall away, it would just weigh him down in such an environment. He raised his fists at the ready.

One gator made a leaping jump at him, his right hand batted it away with an open palm strike. The other leapt with massive jaw open wide for a bite. Jack's hands grabbed both its jaw ends, and Jack grit his teeth and forced the gator back.

They were now in a stalemate, Jack forcing the gator's jaw open as the reptile forcefully tried to snap its mouth shut. Jack rotated his arms clockwise, flipping the gator upside down and destroying its balance.

Jack briefly watched the creature flail in the water, before he spotted the other gator had recovered and swam in for another attack. Jack's left fist threw out a punch that knocked the gator away.

Gator Two tried his luck again, and Jack instinctively went for kick, but he forgot that his bottom half was underwater. His momentum was stifled, and his attack fizzled out as the alligator dove towards him.

Just as sharp teeth were about to pierce pink flesh, Jack leaned back and out of the way of the attack. He leaned back so far, that he fell back into the water. Underwater, Jack readjusted himself. He planted his hands against the ground and raised his feet up.

Just as the shadow of the gator passed overhead, Jack launched himself upward, sticking his legs straight up and slamming his feet against the soft underbelly of the reptile! The alligator was sent flying out of the water. It SLAMMED against the stone wall, cracking the cement, before it fell back into the water.

Jack took a deep breath. That would keep that one out of action for a while. Only one to go-

SPLOOSH SPLOOSH

Jack's ears twitched. That sounded big. He turned around. Two more alligators had crawled in from the pipes! Fortunately, they didn't seem interested in Jack. Unfortunately, that meant they could only be interested in one other thing!

Miraculously, Sandy had found some land to stand on. A small rim of cement along the pit's wall stood above the water. The child was leaned up against the wall, desperate not to fall in. The two alligators were starting to close in on him, fast.

"No!" Jack tried to dash to Sandy's aid, but third gator cut him off. Jack yanked his arm out of the way just before the beast's jaw snapped shut.

Jack glared. There was no way to reach Sandy in time! The third gator opened its jaw.

"Yeee-haw!"

An unexpected savior dove in from above! Millie tackled the third gator like a missile, the two quickly devolved into a chaotic splashing mess of red and scaled bodies thrashing against one another.

Jack's eyes widened. "Millie?" Jack would have continued to stand gobsmacked but had to quickly dodge another gator bite. "What are you doing?"

"What's it look like?" Millie had somehow forced the alligator into a chokehold. The beast spun itself around in a 360, temporarily plunging the imp underwater, but she still held tight. "Making sure you don't become gator food! You still owe me a rematch!"

The help was unexpected, but surprisingly appreciated. Jack honed his focus. Aside from the one he's currently dealing with, there were two alligators that went after the boy. Millie had one handled, and her chaos temporarily distracted the other. But the reptile's shock had worn off, and it was back to focusing on the smallest prey.

Jack looked between his target gator, and the one circling him. He knew what he had to do. Putting all his strength into his legs, he jumped from the water and ten feet into the air! And when he came back down, he landed on none other than the opposing alligator!

Jack springboarded off of the shocked reptile's back and sailed through the air, and landed right on top of the other alligator, Jack then hopped right off the gator's head, landing upon the sliver of land, firmly between the scaled beast and Sandy.

"Are you alright?" Jack asked.

Sandy nodded.

Jack smiled before turning his attention back to the alligators. Now two of them were closing in on their location. Taking on live gators with his bare hands was proving inefficient. Jack took another look around, praying against logic that he could find his sword.

His blade was still elusive, but Jack's eye caught something next to Sandy. A long, thin pipe was lined up against the wall. It was about as tall as Jack, so it wouldn't do as an escape route, but it could have another use.

Jack reached over and grabbed hold of the pipe, and with a grunt of effort, he ripped it from the wall. He spun it with his hand experimentally a few times. The weight was off from a bo staff, but it would have to do.

With a battle cry, Jack leapt into the air. He spun his makeshift staff like a whirlwind before firmly grasping it with both hands. As gravity brought him down, Jack brought the staff with it, and slammed the pipe squarely onto an alligator's head.

Jack had never seen an alligator fall unconscious before, but he was pretty sure that was what just happened as the gator suddenly groaned before lying on its side… in the water… somehow still breathing.

Jack's ears perked at the sound of a reptilian groan. Right, there was still one more gator, and it was closing in on Jack fast.

Jack spun his staff to gain momentum, and then WHAM. He swung the staff in a wide arc, clubbing the gator right across the side of its head. The gator hissed and immediately put some distance between itself and Jack.

Jack smiled. Good, things were starting to turn around. But… wait, where was the fourth alligator? The one he had thrown against the wall earlier, its body was gone.

The water in front of jack exploded as an alligator leapt right at him! Jack thrust his staff forward. The staff caught the tip of the gator's upper jaw, completely halting the beast in place.

Jack grunted and forced his staff forward, knocking the gator away. Jack brought the staff back before spinning it around.

WAP! BAP! WACK!

Jack struck strong and true, landing three decisive blows upon the offending gator. The reptile hissed in pain and immediately backed away, sinking back below the surface.

Jack took a breath and took in his surroundings. The two gators he had been fighting were gone, evidently deciding that whatever this prey was, it wasn't worth the trouble. The other gator was still unconscious, floating on its side. And one Millie took on?

"This was nice." Millie finished tightening a knot. She had somehow hogtied the alligator using some previously unseen rope. The beast was unnaturally curled up, with its legs, tail, and even mouth all tied together into one point. "Reminded me of doing chores back home, the fun ones, I mean."

Jack relaxed his stance and turned his makeshift staff upright. He turned to Sandy. The boy had not moved a hair out of place.

"Thank you for your help," Jack nodded to the female imp.

"Well, of course," Millie sat on the gator like it was a new leather chair. "We're going to be working together, aren't we?"

Jack blinked. He had nearly forgotten about that arrangement. It also just occurred to him that he technically just fought alongside a demon, a creature he had sworn to slay. Well, at least he swore to slay one demon in particular but still, it created a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Would he have to fight like this again? Side by side with a demon? The agreement was that he only had to attend one job, then Prince Stolas would send him home. But something was gnawing at the back of Jack's mind. Something about this place, New York, was telling him something was wrong. Could Stolas truly send him back?

Gah! Jack did not have time for such questions. The one known as King was still at large. "We must find a way out of here."

Jack took a step forward, but paused when he felt his foot brush against something under the water. His foot reached out, experimentally feeling out the foreign object. The object's shape grew familiar, and Jack felt a smile cross his face.

He kicked his sword up out of the water and snatched it out of the air, letting his temporary staff fall underneath the murky depths. It was good to feel the sacred weapon in his grasp once again, like greeting an old friend.

Jack turned his gaze upwards. The pit had no discernible footholds, but at the very top of the rim were a few broken pipes. If he could lasso them…

Jack turned to Millie. "Do you have any more rope?"

"I'm from the Wrath Ring," Millie smirked. "Do you even need to ask?"

---

Jack grunted as he pulled himself up and out of the pit. After finding and putting his robes back on (they smelled putrid, but he could not leave them behind), he told Sandy to grab onto him like piggyback when he climbed the rope.

Jack grabbed Sandy and gently set him down on the floor. He looked up to see a very concerning scene. King was nowhere to be found, neither were Blitz, Moxxie, nor even Tony. The only person there was Sals, sitting on the floor with wide eyes.

"Sals!" Jack called out and rushed over. "What has happened here? Where are Tony and King?"

"A-after you and Sandy fell," she stuttered out. "King grabbed Tony and ran off. The other two red guys chased after him."

Jack scowled. A hostage, was there no depth this King would not sink to?

Sals' eyes widened. "Sandy!" She jumped to her feet and dashed over to the boy before wrapping him up in a hug. She must not have seen him before in her shocked state.

Jack clenched his fist. He needed to pursue King and save Tony, but to do that, he would have to leave these two alone and unprotected. Unless…

Jack turned to Millie just as she climbed up. "Look after them. Make sure they don't go anywhere, I am going after the others."

Millie nodded. "I will," she said with a tone that sounded almost sincere.

Jack took off. Entrusting the safety of children to a demon, what was he thinking? But desperate times called for desperate measures. He had a child to save, and justice to bring.

---

Jack dashed down the tunnels, ears trained to each precise sound. The one good thing about an old man carrying a child being chased by two vertically-challenged demons, they can't get very far.

Jack could still hear their echoes through the tunnels. The yelled obscenities of Blitz, the panicked screams of Tony, and the frustrated shouts of King telling Tony to shut up. All together, they bounced off every wall until it was an ear-bleeding mess of jumbled up yelling, but Jack was able to tell the difference.

He zeroed in on the voices of Tony and King, he tracked where they were strongest, and he darted after them, faster than a cheetah. As he closed in on his targets, the voices of the imps began to die down. They were going the wrong way. They must have lost King's trail in the maze of tunnels. Good. Jack will be able to finish this his way.

Tony's muffled screams were getting louder, and Jack could hear the sound of feet being dragged across the ground. Jack turned the corner and-

"Stop!"

A knife was held right up against Tony's throat. Jack halted in his tracks.

"That's right," King licked his lips. "You take one single step, and I'll slit the brat's throat."

Jack growled. King was before a ladder that would leave him to the surface, he had a very firm grasp on Tony. He was far from cornered, and Jack was unable to do anything while he had the boy in his grasp.

"Your days of terror end here, King of the underground," Jack glared. "Surrender now, and you just may keep your worthless life."

"Hah!" King threw his head back, his knife dangerously. "Is that your big plan? Just send me over to the police?"

Jack attempted to inch his foot forward. King's grasp tightened and Tony let out a gasp of pain. Jack retracted his foot. The damned cur. Was Jack truly so powerless?

"I really don't want to go to the police right now." King rolled his eyes. "It was so annoying last time."

Jack's gaze shifted from the knife, up to King. "Last time?"

"It took them so long for them to decide what to do with me last time," King drawled. "I spent so long stuck in a room with nothing to do. Thankfully, I had a buddy on the Jury who hated my bitch of a daughter just as much as me. He convinced the rest of them to give me a light sentence, two years later I was pretty much Scott free."

Jack did not understand. This monster had committed such atrocities before? He was captured by authorities, yet he was still allowed to wander free? So he could corrupt innocent children?

"Now, that I think about it," King's speech slurred. His one eye was a pale red. "Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to go to jail again. I'll be out in no time… and all I need to do…" He raised the knife over Tony's head. "Is kill this treacherous leech!"

Jack gasped. He dashed forward, arm stretched out. He wouldn't make it in time. "No!"

BANG

A spurt of blood burst out the side of King's head. His one eye rolled back into his socket, and he collapsed, letting the knife fall to the ground, and Tony out of his grasp.

Jack immediately rushed to Tony as the boy collapsed to the ground. The samurai wrapped the boy in his arms and held him tight. He felt Tony's sob into his sleeve.

"See, Moxxie?" from another dark tunnel to the left, in walked a grinning Blitz holding a smoking rifle. "Second times the charm."

Moxxie seemed unimpressed. His hoof-like feet kicked at the corpse of King. "Why do they always go on an expositional monologue before they die?"

"Because they're high as fuck," Blitz shrugged.

Moxxie stared at him.

"What? Cocaine makes you an oversharing, chatty, little bitch sometimes, trust me." Blitz rolled his eyes. "So anyway. Once again, great job, me," he gave himself a thumbs up. "Screw you, everyone else."

Jack felt Tony dry his tears, and the boy began to push away. Jack let him go and stood up to face the imp. "You put Tony in great danger."

"Ugh," Blitz groaned. "Oh, don't go all nitpicky on how I murder people. This prick would have been dead ten minutes earlier if you didn't screw up my shot!"

Jack thought back. The imp could technically be correct. Jack did throw King around a bit back at the pit. But that avoids the initial issue.

"Then we had to chase this asshole all over a god-damn sewer," Blitz continued his tirade. "Till we could finally pump a bullet in his brain, thereby saving the kid, no thanks to you."

"Actually, sir, we were only able to find them after following Jack-" Moxxie was smacked upside the head.

"The point is," Blitz massaged his smacking-hand. "We just saved the day. You're welcome."

Jack fought the urge to roll his eyes. Truthfully, things would have been a lot smoother without the imps. However…

Jack's eyes turned to Tony, sullenly standing by himself in the corner, then he looked down at the corpse of King.

The truth was, they could argue around in circles, but the final results are what had the last say: the imps saved the children. For goodness' sake, the imps were the reason Jack was even here in the first place! If they had never accepted the request, Jack would have never even known of the children's existence, nor the horrors they had to endure.

And King's final words struck a chord within him. It sounded as if he had been convicted before. A crime upon his own daughter no less, and yet the law left him free to abuse again? What kind of world would let a convicted criminal hurt again?

A world that ignored a stranger's cry for help. A world that ignored hungry children stealing to survive. A world that didn't care.

Jack shook his head. He should not jump to conclusions. He had only been here for so long and most of his assumptions were just guesswork. Still, it didn't sit well with Jack that a man like that hurt so many innocents for so long, and was only stopped because of three demons from Hell.

Jack was broken from his musings by the sound snapping fingers right next to his ear.

"Hey, wake up, asshole," Blitz brought his hand back down. "We've got to go regroup with Mils."

Jack sighed. He rubbed his eyelids. "Must every sentence you utter include some unnecessary vulgarity?"

Blitz scratched his chin as if actually considering it. He flashed his familiar shark-like grin. "Fuck yes, and fuck you."

---

Millie and the kids were not where Jack had left them, but before he could panic and throw out accusations of betrayal, he heard a noise coming from the big metal door King had come in through. Jack, along with Tony and the imps, approached the rusted door. Jack took hold of the handle, and pulled it open.

It revealed an almost disappointingly simple bedroom. It contained a ordinary twin bed with decently clean plaid sheets, across from it was a basic wooden dresser with a mirror on top. It was a normal room, the only thing that stood out about it were the two children and the imp currently tearing it apart.

"Hey, guys!" Millie smiled at them before tearing open a pillow and dumping its filling on the floor.

"Uh…" Jack stared. "What are you doing?"

"We're…" Sals grunted before ripping a drawer right out of the dresser. She turned it upside down, spilling its contents everywhere, before tossing the drawer aside. "We're looking for where King stashed it all!"

"Stashed what?" Moxxie asked.

"The loot!" Sals stressed as she dug through piles of empty plastic bags. "We spent years giving him cash, jewelry, and credit cards! We're trying to find where he put it all, but there's nothing here!"

"What?" Tony spoke up for the first time in forever. He instantly dove towards the pillow innards Millie was sorting through. "T-that can't be right, there has to be something!"

Sandy poked his head out from underneath the bed. He forlornly shook his head.

"There's nothing," Sals held up her treasure for digging through garbage. A plastic baggie of white powder. "Just more of his stupid nose powder!"

She threw it across the room, the bag harmlessly bounced against the wall.

"Uh, I'd be more careful with that," Moxxie eyed the bag like a time bomb. "If that bag breaks and that stuff get everywhere, you're gonna have a bad time.

"This is…" Jack's eyes widened in realization. "This is operation: nunya. Once King was out of the way, you wished to raid him of all valuables and currency."

"Yeah," Tony sighed as he gave up his search. "We figured he'd have at least enough for to get us a new life somewhere else. Maybe buy a way out of this crap hole of a city, and live out in the wild maybe?"

Jack nodded. It was far from a sound plan, but then again, they were ten.

"But there's just nothing," Tony kicked at an empty bag. "We've got nothing…" he sniffed.

Jack looked between the children. Tony was staring at the floor, angry tears in his eyes. Sals was curling up into a ball, staring at her knees. And Sandy just stood there, his expression not one of sadness notr anger, but of pure utter defeat.

Jack sighed. "Well, there is only one thing left to do."

Blitz nodded. "Sell the crack and become drug lords-" Jack punched him in the face.

---

Tony sucked in a breath through grit teeth. "I don't know about this, guys."

He, Sals, Sandy, and Jack were all standing in front of a building on the surface of New York. Jack stood in the middle of the group, holding Sandy's hand in his. Right atop the doorway were the words POLICE PRECINCT.

Jack took a deep breath. "I understand your hesitation. In my brief time here, the stories I had heard of these 'police' have not been flattering."

"So let's just go then," Sals whimpered. "We can figure something else out."

"You cannot keep running forever." Jack shook his head. "Even in a city as grand as this, you will be found, and you will have to face consequences. It is better to face them head on with your head held high, than to let them drag you in on your knees."

Tony shifted his feet, like he was getting ready to run. "But King said-"

"I know what he said." Jack cut off. "And perhaps there was a spark of truth behind his words. But, King was also a very sick man who preyed on your fears."

Jack glared at the building. "This world has much darkness within it, even I can see that. But I still choose to look for the light."

"Light?" Sals spoke. "What are you talking about?"

"Hope," Jack looked to the children. "Even if that building is full of men like King spoke of, I have faith that there is at least one who will care about you. One that will set you on the right path."

The children remained unconvinced. They stayed rooted to their spots on the sidewalk, looking at the building in fear.

Jack took a deep breath. He lowered himself to his knees and looked Sandy in the eye. "You know, I was not much older than you when I also had to say goodbye to everything I knew."

Tony and Sals perked up, their interests piqued.

"My family… my home… I was forced to leave them all behind." The image of his mother alone on a boat, fading into the fog, still haunted him some nights. "And when it was over, I was forced to entrust my life and safety to the hands of a stranger."

Many strangers, from all over the world.

"Were they bad?" Tony asked.

"No, not one. But I did not know that at the time." Jack knew they had been hand-picked by his parents, but that did not stop the fears. It took him so long to truly trust them. "I was afraid. I questioned everything and I wanted to run away. But I did not have a choice. I had to be strong. I had to be brave."

Jack looked Sandy straight in the eyes, he placed his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Whoever you meet on your journey, they could be good, or they could be evil. You will never know until you take that next step. You are strong, and you are brave. And whatever lies beyond those doors, you will not face it alone."

Sandy looked Jack in the eyes. He looked up at the precinct. He took a step toward the building. "O- okay." he spoke.

Tony and Sals looked and Sandy with wide eyes, then they looked at each other. That was the deciding factor. They took a step forward with Sandy, each took one of his hands in theirs. The three of them marched up the steps and into building.

Jack stood up. It was done. Their fate was out of his hands now. He turned around and walked away. His steps were slow and methodical, he contemplated his actions with each one. He turned into an alleyway between buildings, where three imps awaited in the shadows.

"Fucking finally!" Blitz yelled. "Can we go now, or do you have more feel-good B-movie bullshit to reenact?"

"The children have left," Jack answered coolly. "Their fate is in destiny's hands now."

"I'll take that as a yes," Blitz took out his hellphone. "I texted Stolas, so our ride home should be showing up right about…" a portal burst open from the wall next to Blitz. "Now…"

Jack never thought he would feel relief at seeing a portal to Hell. He must be growing delirious. When did he last eat?

"Are we sure about letting them go?" Moxxie spoke in referral to the kids. "I thought we were supposed to be keeping a lower profile?"

"Oh please, whose gonna believe a bunch of homeless kids?" Blitz scoffed.

Jack nodded to the logic. Whatever would get them to leave those kids alone, they had suffered enough. He took a step towards the portal, but he paused.

"You okay?" Millie asked, an uncharacteristic question for a demon.

"I am fine," Jack's head turned back to where he came from. "I just… hope I did the right thing."

"The right thing," Blitz snorted. "Spend some time in the real world, Jack, and you'll learn there's no such thing."

The imp jumped through the portal, followed quickly by his two employees. Jack stole one last glance behind him. No such thing as the right thing… the excuse of cowards. Jack will always strive to do what was right, and even if he didn't understand, he will still try. He jumped through the portal.

---

Stolas sat in the disproportionately-sized couch, twiddling his fingers. He had already checked the archives at home and confirmed his suspicions. Now, all that was left was to wait for Blitzy's signal to portal him and all his little friends back home. However, I.M.P. seemed to be taking their time with this one. The pentagram was beginning to set.

Stolas' eyes drifted over the hellhound operating the front desk. All this time in the waiting room made the prince realize that he doesn't actually know all that much about Loona.

Well, he supposed he should remedy that. After all, she was the daughter of his darling Blitzy, it would be only natural that they engage in conversation from time to time.

"So…" Stolas cleared his throat. "What is this 'hand thing' I've heard so much about?"

"Ugh!" Loona slammed her phone onto the desk as the tips turned pink. "Would everyone just shut the hell up about that!"

"Don't blame me," Stolas grinned coyly. "You made such a fuss about it, I couldn't help but have my interest piqued. Could you perhaps describe exactly what the samurai did? I would simply love to have Blitzy try it on me~"

Loona slammed her muzzle to the desk top as she frantically tried to rip out her mane and stuff it in her ears.

Stolas felt a twitch of magic. A message pinging in his soul. "Ah, speak of the devil. That's my sexy little imp, now."

Stolas stood to his full height. He called upon his magic as it appeared as a blue flame decorating his hand. He flexed his hand, and a portal appeared on the wall. Out hopped Blitz, then his two little friends, and finally, the elusive star of the evening: Samurai Jack.

"Splendid!" Stolas clapped his hands as the portal disappeared. "You all came back, none the worse for wear." His nose twitched and he paused his greeting. "Blegh. But not smelling all too pleasant though."

"We spent all day in a sewer, Stols, take it or leave it." Blitz grumbled in his usual foul mood.

"Well, that simply won't do." Stolas snapped his fingers. A wave of magic passed over the imps and samurai. All clothes were instantly mended, dried, and freed of any odors. Stolas also threw in some healing for some minor wounds here and there, just for fun.

"There, all better." Stolas approached them without fear of smell. "So I take it the job went well?"

"Yep," Blitz grinned. "One more asshole dead in the ground!"

"I see," Stolas nodded. "And was Jack of any help?"

"Pfft, no!" Blitz shook his head.

"A little bit," Moxxie mumbled.

"Hell, yeah, can't wait for the next one!" Millie grinned.

Stolas quirked his head towards the subject in question. "And what about you, my human friend? You've been awfully quiet this whole time. What did you think of the job?"

Jack stood there in silence. He crossed his arms. "It… gave me much to consider."

Ah, a perfectly neutral answer. It would have to do for now. "Well, I suppose this marks the end of our little deal, doesn't it? I believe now, you wish for me to send you home."

"Wait, this was just a one-time thing?" Blitz's eyes widened. "Well, Christ on a stick, there's a God after all!"

Jack's face did not light up in excitement. It did not show sweet relief. Instead, his gaze only hardened. "Not so fast."

"Oh?" Stolas quirked his head.

Jack shifted his stance. "I have… concerns."

Stolas took a deep breath. He knew this was coming. "I had thought you might. Would you like to speak in private?"

Jack nodded. "Very much so."

"Very well, then," Stolas turned to Blitz. "Would you mind if we used your boardroom?"

"Do whatever you want," Blitz shrugged. "Whatever gets him out of my building the fastest."

---

Jack walked into the empty boardroom. Through the window, he could see the pentagram setting over the horizon, bathing the room in pinkish light. Stolas stood next to one of the seats, back turned to Jack.

"Well then," Stolas spoke up. "Out with it."

Jack took a deep breath. "When I journeyed with the imps to the mortal world, it was… different from the world I remembered."

"Oh?" Stolas didn't sound that surprised. "How so?"

"In my world, even the grandest of cities could not compare to the monstrosity I was just in." Jack folded his arms. "The streets were flooded with people dressed in strange clothes and speaking with bizarre accents. The very air was stale and worn. It was like I had never left Hell."

"Interesting," Stolas mused. "And by any chance, did you catch the year?"

Jack's eyes widened. That hint made it clear that Stolas knew exactly what was wrong. For now, Jack played along. "They said it was… Two thousand and twenty…" He could not even finish such an immense number.

Stolas hummed. "And I'm guessing that's what? Two- three hundred years more than you expected?"

"How did this happen?" Jack leaned on a chair for support. "Do not tell me… the portal that sent me here, did it also send me forward in time?"

Stolas scratched his beak. "That is certainly a possibility."

"No!" Jack slammed his fist on the table. "It makes no sense! When I fell into the portal, Aku was still alive. Surely in the time of three centuries, his vile legacy would have defiled the entire world by then. But no one there even spoke Aku's name."

"Aku?" Stolas' eyes widened. "Now, why does that name ring a bell?"

"Enough of this!" Jack shouted. "You clearly know what has happened. Stall no more, and give me a concise answer."

Stolas sighed. "I gave you my word that I would send you home, and I intend to keep it. However, it would appear that it's not a simple as either of us would hope."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"Let us start with the big picture," Stolas snapped his fingers, and the room darkened. "First we have the living world- Earth." A blue orb flared to life in midair, continents decorating it like green jigsaw.

"Then we have the afterlife, in Heaven," Above the model Earth, sprouted a brilliant white light of golden glowing wings swirling around an orb of pure energy. "And Hell." Below the Earth, seven sickly rings of varying color spawned, stacking on top of each other until the angry red ring sat atop them all.

"Now, quite obviously, one cannot simply travel between them like going to the store. Not simply because of mere distance, but because each one exists on a separate layer of reality."

Much larger circled runes spawned between each projection, glowing brightly like mighty shields.

"Human souls can transcend these barriers between dimensions, so when a human dies on Earth, their soul can can travel to either afterlife without issue."

Many small lights began to dot across the Earth's globe, before the lights sprang off the surface and flew away, some floating up to the golden haven in the sky while others crashed to the damned rings below.

"For a long time, Hell had no way of accessing these other worlds, souls could only come in. Until one day, one of my ancestors found a way to create portals between Hell and the living world."

Stolas reached towards the shield that floated between Hell and Earth. His finger pierced the veil, leaving behind a burning hole in the barrier. "Using powerful magic, he crafted a spell that could temporarily open a gateway for the Hellborn to freely traverse from Hell to Earth. This, of course, spawned a myriad of copycats and wannabe sins all trying to emulate his spell and forge their own path's to Earth. However, none could foresee the consequences that such an arms race could produce."

"I see," Jack nodded, trying his best to wrap his head around the concepts. "But what does this have to do with the strange Earth I visited?"

"I'm getting to that," Stolas reassured.

More holes began to burn into the barrier, dotting across the shield like a disease. "The Hellborn abused these portals, and this lead to the weakening of the barrier between Hell and Earth. But what was more concerning, was what the Hellborn found on the other side of the portal. A Hellhound claimed to have found an Earth full of castles and dragons, a succubus saw a technological utopia with hundreds of alien species living there, and an imp claimed to have found a colony of lesbian space rocks!"

Jack blinked. "Lesbian what?"

"I know, right?" Stolas chuckled at the absurdity of his own sentence. "One thing was becoming increasingly obvious, all these different spells and portals did not all lead to the same Earth."

Jack's eyes widened. "There is more than one Earth?"

"Indeed," Stolas gave a solemn nod. "Existing on near infinite layers of reality, reflecting off of one another like a shattered mirror."

The astral projection of Earth shook and shattered into a dozen pieces. Within each shard, formed a new image of a new Earth sitting in a cosmos all its own.

"Some would be completely identical, save for one difference." Stolas looked between the floating world shards. "Some would be so different, they became new worlds entirely," Stolas held up a shard. It displayed an Earth with a completely different continental structure, a massive meteor burned beside it, looking ready to crash into the planet.

"Or…" Stolas dissipated the shard. "Some Earths would be the same, but would just be a bit…" he gestured to Jack. "Behind on their timeline."

Understanding dawned on Jack. "So… my home is in one of these alternate Earths."

"I had suspected so when we first met," Stolas nodded. "You claimed to have just arrived in Hell, yet everything from your garb to your mannerisms screamed you were far older than that. I'm guessing Edo period Japan?"

Jack merely nodded. "So… you can send me back home now, correct?"

Stolas' face fell, and he started to look sheepish. "Not that easy, I'm afraid. You see, when Hell discovered that there was more than one Earth, it also found that the souls from those Earths were falling into Hell."

The same soul lights appeared from before. They began pouring out of all the shards by the thousand, converging onto the rings of Hell below. "When word reached Lucifer, he immediately shut down all Hellborn travel to the human-world. He destroyed every spell that he could, only leaving the ones owned by the Sins and my family."

The projection dissipated entirely, leaving Stolas and Jack in the darkness of the boardroom. "The barriers between dimensions were restored, and we stopped getting so many extra tenants. We still get the odd sinner meant for some other damned afterlife, but at that point, who really cared where one ended up?"

Jack shook his head. "I do not understand, can I return home or not?"

"It's hard to say," Stolas admitted. "The spells of my grimoire are tuned to only one Earth as far as I can tell. And as you've seen, it's clearly not yours. And each Earth is only accessible by a unique spell. So in order to return you to your home, we would need the spell that was cast to send you here in the first place."

Jack scowled. "The one cast by Aku."

"Yes," Stolas nodded. "You can see how it would be difficult for me."

"No…" Jack clenched his fists. He felt his heart begin to beat like a drum. He felt the urge to grab one of the chairs and throw it out the window. All of this… was for nothing! "So… it is impossible…"

"I didn't say that."

Jack shot up to attention. "What?"

"I told you before, I gave you my word and I intend to keep it. It's just going to take quite some time for me to do the proper research on what kind of spell I need."

Jack took a deep breath, his heart began to settle down. This was not the end. There were still more roads to take. "And are you certain that is the only way for me to return?"

"Well…" Stolas tapped his beak. "No… Not even Lucifer himself knows all the secrets of Hell. And given how you're technically not a sinner, you could travel to the other Rings. Who knows? Perhaps you can find the power to return all on your own."

"Very well," Jack nodded. "Then I must continue my quest. I shall scour the Rings of Hell until I find a way back to the living world, and back to the past!"

"Splendid!" Stolas clapped his hands. "Although I do hope you'll return here every once in a while. It would make keeping you updated so much easier, and it was so fun watching you play with my Blitzy."

Jack nodded. He had nearly forgotten about the imps. But his mind eagerly reminded him of them and their practice. "Yes," Jack nodded. "Keeping in touch with them would be most ideal."

"Well then," Stolas smiled. Another portal opened up behind him. He gave another grand bow. "I bid thee adieu then. Till next time, Jacky."

Jack tried to hide his cringe at the nickname. He watched the Goetia walk into the portal, then slowly close. Jack turned around. He had some ground rules to establish.

---

"Thank fucking God that's over," Blitz cracked his back. Stolas has left to send that Samurai away and Blitz was left with his regular assholes plus Loona. "We never have to worry about that privileged asshole ever again."

"Stolas?" Moxxie asked.

"The samurai, dipshit," Blitz sneered. "Pompous asshole came in here thinking he could lecture me about the morals of killing people! I don't even care where Stolas sent him so long as it was far away from me!"

"I see," a familiar voice with a Japanese accent spoke up, and in walked the samurai. "How unfortunate for you then."

"Christ on a stick, CAN I BE HAPPY FOR TWO SECONDS TODAY?" Blitz screamed into the void. He sighed and turned to the samurai. "Why the hell are you still in Hell?"

"It appears there were unforeseen obstacles in returning me home." Jack sighed. "So until then, I will remain in Hell."

"Fan-fucking-tastic," Blitz snarled. "And you'll be spending the whole time riding our asses about how it's wrong to kill people?"

Jack closed his eyes. "I will not lie to you. I detest your business and everything it stands for. If it were up to me, I would have this entire operation shut down. However, as it stands, Prince Stolas has a great fondness for you. If I were to shut you down, it would jeopardize my good graces with him, and I would lose my best chance of going home."

Blitz blinked, then his face broke into a cocky smirk. "Hey, yeah, that's right! You're in the pocketbook of my regular hook-up, Jacky boy! And that leaves you absolutely zilch room to lecture us-"

"However!" Jack cut off the imp with a steely glare. "Do not think that means I will simply let you and your cohorts do whatever you want! If you are to continue this deprived business, then you will follow three conditions!"

Blitz's face returned to its annoyed glower. "Conditions? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Rule One:" Jack continued like he didn't hear the imp. "No children. EVER. Not a single child is to be harmed on your excursions."

Blitz rolled his eyes. Fine. The whole "kids die for free" nonsense wasn't making money anyway.

"Rule Two:" Jack listed. "No more 'collateral.' These are precious human lives, and should be treated as such. No more death than necessary."

Alright. Stolas was already on his ass about that earlier anyway. He could pretend to care about that to two people.

"Three:" Jack reached the end. "No more simply doing as the client wants! Each target must be subject to a thorough examination of their actions and attitudes. Only the truly evil and vile may be targets of your wrath."

"What!" Blitz screamed so loud, he was sure Lust could hear him. "Christ on a stick, do you have any idea how delusional you sound? We're not fucking priests, we're God damn demons! And I would rather sit on a sandpaper dildo than waste my time thinking about whether or not an asshole deserves to have a bullet put in his- GHHK!"

The samurai dashed across the room like a bullet. Before Blitz could even comprehend, Jack had grabbed the imp by the throat and hoisted him into the air. Blitz felt his back slam against the wall, his feet still dangling above the floor.

Blitz opened his eyes. Moxxie had pulled out his gun. Millie looked ready to jump in with her bare hands. Even Loona stood up from her desk, snarling.

The samurai didn't bat an eyelash, his ear didn't even twitch in their direction. He stood stock still, faces inches from Blitz. His eyes were glaring with a coldness even the most frigid depths of Hell couldn't reach.

"Do NOT take my words lightly, demon," Jack snarled. "I may be desperate to return home, but that does not mean I will turn my back on everything I have been taught! If I find that you have broken a single one of these rules, I will cut you down, along with all your cohorts, and even your prince if I have to. You will respect life, because if otherwise, I will tear this place down. Brick. By. Brick."

There were many things Blitz could do in this situation. He spit in the samurai's face or kick him in the balls. His usual strategy were to undercut any threats by making an innuendo of some kind. But for some reason, as he glared into those steely eyes, none came to mind.

"Fucking fine!" Blitz coughed out. The samurai let go of his grip, and Blitz fell to the floor, coughing. "Christ! God, I hope you choke on a dick someday soon."

The samurai did not even pay his insult any attention as he just walked away from Blitz. Fucking dick.

"So…" Moxxie raised his gun, but still held it at the ready. "What exactly do you plan to do now?"

"I must continue my quest," Jack narrowed his eyes and looked out the window with determination. "I must traverse the Seven Rings of Hell in order to find someway back home, and back to the past! My first stop shall be the Princess of Hell!"

"What?" Blitz raised a brow while rubbing his sore throat. "You mean the chick who runs the hotel for washed out has-beens?"

"Yes," Jack nodded. "She should be the greatest authority in Hell aside from this Lucifer. If she does not know of a way to send me home, then surely, she can point me in the proper direction."

He took a step toward the window. "I must find this 'Hazbin Hotel' but," he whirled on them with a fierce glare. "I will be back."

And with that botched Terminator reference, he jumped out the previously broken window. The imps and one hellhound crowded around the window. They looked below at the samurai running down the street, wooden sandals clacking with an echo against the empty buildings.

"Why did he jump out of the window again?" Moxxie asked. "He could have just asked us to give him a ride there."

"Moxxie, you are so fucking lucky you didn't suggest that a minute earlier, or I would have killed you myself." Blitz smacked his employee upside the head. "Now, come on, let's figure out what jobs we can do before that asshole comes back."

---

Stolas slumped over once he was once again in the safety of his own home. That was quite the exhausting day. What he wouldn't give to soak in a warm bubble bath for the next twelve hours…

In fact, why shouldn't he? He's earned it! He began to elegantly stroll to his grand staircase, to carry himself up to his bathroom when something caught his eye: the door to the archives.

The archives were a drab and dusty old place, they were where he kept all the prophecies made by his families. Funny thing, prophecies, no two are the same, in more ways than one. Some were very direct and flat out told you what was going to happen. Others were vaguer than a fortune cookie, and only told you the answer after you solved their puzzle of a poem. And some prophecies didn't use words at all, but portrayed themselves as beautiful paintings and woven tapestries displaying all manner of horrors.

Stolas didn't pretend to understand the prophecies, he just plucked them out of the stars and locked them away, never to be used. But today, a certain image tickled the back of his mind. And that tickle grew to an itch so great, that after the imps went on their excursion to New York, Stolas rushed home to the archives and began his search.

Stolas stared at the doorway to the archives. He had found what he was looking for already. He confirmed his suspicions, but something was calling him back to the dusty old room. Perhaps he should double-check just to be sure.

Stolas pushed the heavy wooden door open. The room was exactly how he left it- papers and scrolls liberated from their shelves and scattered across the ground. In the middle of the room was a simple stone table, and laid out upon it was an old tapestry.

Stolas stalked over, and picked up the dusty cloth. It was an old prophecy, one of his first. It depicted the ruins of Hell. They were even more destroyed and decimated than usual, burning with a fire that was bright orange like a final sunset. Looming over the devastation, was a massive shadow that blotted out what little light there was, menacing horns and antlers sticking out from its head.

It would be a most foreboding prophecy, if not for one near unnoticeable detail. Standing defiantly before the shadow, was a small figure in white. It could barely qualify as toe-height to the massive shadow, yet the figure still stood proud and unafraid. And at its side, it wielded a bright white sword- a katana.

Stolas sighed. Visual prophecies were often the vaguest of all. It was not even set in stone that it was the shadow that caused the devastation. The figure in white could have just as easily destroyed everything. Or perhaps it was all just collateral damage from the battle of these two figures? Only time would tell now.

Stolas laid the tapestry back down. He turned to the door. His bubble bath awaits. Stolas only stole a brief glance back at the prophecy. "I hope I made the right call."

He shut the door, leaving the room in darkness.

---

There it is, my longest chapter so far. This time around, I practiced the longer chapter, longer wait time mentality here. Be honest, would you like more of that? Tell me in the reviews.

Schedules aside, I kind of had to take my time with this one. This was a big chapter. I had to establish why Jack wouldn't outright tear down I.M.P. and make sure he would come back to interact with these characters. In a lot of ways, this was the most important chapter. And to be 100% honest? It kicked my ass.

You know how when you visualize a story in your head, you see some plot points so easily and clearly. But the spaces between those plot points is just a fuzzy blur, and it gets to be a slog when you try to write those between points? That was this entire chapter for me.

For the longest time, I had no idea what to do here, as I basically had to come up with a way for Samurai Jack to be okay with murder a lot sooner than he did in his show.

I racked my brain until I remembered this old episode of Batman: the animated series. It had this really forgettable one-off villain and the one thing I remembered about him was that his actions apparently nearly caused Batman to break his one rule. I figured what was good for Batman was good for Jack, and copied the plot beat-for-beat for this chapter.

It didn't help that halfway through writing I started to seriously doubt this. Was this part too cheesy? Was this too one-dimensional? Was this too pandering to the audience. But by then, I was already fifteen pages in, and it was too late to go back. So I decided to just buckle in and tell myself that the original shows had these problems too, so maybe the readers won't mind so much.

So here we are, 40 pages of writing, and I'm not even proud of it. It's high school English all over again. I shouldn't bet too hard on myself. There were plenty of moments that I was still proud of. I just don't want to let you guys down.

But I pulled through. And now, we can finally, finally, FINALLY, get to the hotel next chapter. Good news is that I think I can get it out very soon! So don't hold your breath.

Thank you so much for reading. Till next time!