Answers to reviews:
Devilboy101: That makes no sense... unless the appearance is Jon Bernthal but with Keith David's voice.
Perseus12: Different universe. Read chapter one to find out. But his family are in Heaven.
Disclaimer: I do not own Spawn or Helluva Boss. I only own the OC Nathan Nolan/Spawn.
It was the next day, only one day after finding himself in a different Hell and being hired by I.M.P. Because of his lack of a residence of his own, Nathan had to sleep on the couch in the office which he was alright with. While the couch wasn't the best to sleep on, it served a purpose. When he woke up, he explored the office, happy to have at least find an armoury with a buttload of weapons from swords, knifes, guns, you name it.
Afterwards, Nathan found some magazines, some about gospel, some which were basically Hell's version of porn mags, and some human magazines. Right now, he was lounging on the couch while reading one of the human magazines. Loona was nearby, sitting at her desk and on her phone as usual.
The Hellhound glanced at him and hummed as she thought of something. "You know, the whole caped look doesn't really fit the company image or the look of an assassin." She mentioned.
Nathan looked up from his magazine, raising an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"The cape thing." She gestured to his appearance. "If you're gonna be an assassin, then you should at least look the part rather than some wannabe superhero. Unless you want Blitz to put you in some wacky suit like fatty wears."
Nathan frowned. "No thanks." He looked at his magazine again for a few moments then sighed, closing it and standing up. Thankfully there was a mirror nearby so he approached that while mentally commanding his cape to change its look to something more 'suitable' for an assassin. And soon enough, the cape had changed into a long coat reminiscent of the Gunslinger Spawn that Nathan heard about, just without that stupid big hat he wore. If he had to, he'd use an actual stetson.
Loona, who had been watching and was surprised he could change on the fly, nodded her head. "That works." She went back to her phone.
Nathan grunted and went back to the couch, grabbing his magazine and reading where he left off.
Suddenly, the quiet atmosphere was disturbed when Blitzo shouted from his office, with the use of a megaphone. "M&M! SPAWNY! GET IN HERE! WE'RE GOING TO LOO LOO LAND!"
Nathan blinked. "Loo Loo Land?"
Loona sighed. "For fuck's sake." She growled at her adoptive father's declaration.
They soon heard a door opening, followed by Moxxie's voice. "Loo Loo land?"
There was the sound of glass shattering, followed by Millie's excited voice. "Loo Loo Land?!"
"LOO LOO LAND!" Blitzo yelled happily.
Both Nathan and Loona were steadily getting more and more annoyed with the shouting, the Hellhound growling as her ears twitched, and the Hellspawn gripping the magazine. Finally, both of them snapped and shouted at the same time.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
Blitzo soon came out of his office and entered the lounge with Moxxie and Millie. "Spawny, load up! You're coming with us."
"First off, don't call me that." Nathan warned. "Secondly, what the hell is Loo Loo Land?"
"It's an amusement park!" Millie exclaimed, looking giddy and excited.
"But... we're assassins." Moxxie pointed out. Given how their whole job centered around killing humans on Earth, it made little sense that they would be heading to an amusement park in Hell for a job. Which likely meant they were seemingly going to the park for no reason in his mind.
"Stolas gave me a call. Apparently, he and and his daughter… umm… I forget her name. Well, Stolas and his daughter are spending a day at Loo Loo Land and are willing to pay us as protection." Blitzo said.
Blitzo stood proudly in front of his employees as he was undoubtedly thinking about how smart he was. Then, Moxxie hesitantly came up to him, "Sir, we kill people, not protect them." Blitzo's puffed-out chest deflated at the smaller Imp's words. He remained silent until Moxxie continued, "Also, why would he and his daughter need protection? Surely, he is more than capable of taking care of himself."
Blitzo angrily replied through his teeth. "Moxxie, don't question it. We have been promised a payment amounting to… a fuck-ton of money." Blitzo shook off how stupid that sounded before saying, "Whatever gets us money in the meantime will have to work. If I say we are selling ourselves on the corner, you aren't going to question it. We will do what we can to keep these doors open. Are you going to argue with me on that?!" Moxxie remained silent as a response since he saw how pointless it would be to argue, for which Blitzo took as a small victory, "Good. All of us would be helpful, but I already know my little girl wants nothing to do with theme parks. Loony shouldn't mind holding down the fort while we are gone."
Nathan crossed his arms. "Do I look like someone you see walking around an amusement park?" He asked dryly.
"Well, if you want to earn money, you will." Blitzo pointed out. "Also, nice look. Really fits the assassin way."
Nathan growled under his breath, wondering how he could pummel his boss to shut him up.
"Just go with it." Loona sighed, looking up from her phone. "He won't stop bitching at you until you do."
Nathan glanced at her, then let out a frustrated sigh. "And here I thought my first job with you lot would be killing someone."
"Oh don't worry, I'm sure you'll be killing someone today." Blitzo grinned. "See, Stolas is of the Ars Goetia, a prince. And you know what it's like in Hell, royals are always having some fucker try to kill them."
Nathan raised a brow. "Does that include the Royal Family?"
Blitzo paused, thought about it, then hummed. "Yeah-no, who the fuck would want to try and kill Lucifer himself? That's just asking for a death wish. Same with his daughter. You fuck with her, you fuck with the King of Hell."He turned to the rest of the group, " Grab your shit and get ready. We are leaving soon."
The group disbanded which led Nathan to walk over to Loona. He didn't even beat around the bush as he asked, "So, why aren't you going?"
Loona didn't even bother to look away from the screen, "Are you kidding? Loo Loo Land is just a shitty, overpriced, copycat amusement park with no appeal. Why the fuck would I want to waste my time there?" She then looked him over to see his unmoving posture. She began to piece together what he was getting at, "Wait, you are wanting me to go, aren't you?"
"I would be less tempted to kill Blitz for making me go through with this." He pointed out, crossing his arms. "If it's going to be as shit as you describe it, it would be nice to at least pass the time with someone. The others aren't that good of choices, so do you blame me for asking you?" Loona just glared back with an unwavering expression. "Does sitting here alone for the day sound any better? You can probably scroll through your phone there."
Those points didn't seem to connect well with her, "Sitting here does sound better because I won't be there. Plus, I could use some alone time here. I only get that if you all go to Loo Loo Land without me." She saw his persistent look and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose at his stubborness. "Fucking fine! I'll go. You probably won't stop bitching at me if I don't." She grabbed him and pulled him close so he can look into her eyes. "But you owe me."
"Sure." Nathan nodded, satisfied she was going. At least he won't be dealing with everyone else on his own. Moxxie and Millie were alright, but from what he's heard about Blitzo and Stolas... yeah, he'd rather not see that himself. Loona would at least make the job a lot more easier for him to get through with if she was there to suffer through it with him.
Was it harsh? Maybe. But if she didn't, he might just end up killing Blitz.
Loona rolled her eyes before yelling out, "Ugh, Blitz! You better have one more seat in your shit-wagon! I am going with you guys!"
Moxxie looked through one of the doorways with a baffled look, "Say what now?"
Blitzo burst through his door with pure excitement, "You changed your mind, Loony Toony?!"
Nathan snorted in response to the nickname while Loona growled with a small blush on her face. She spat back, "Call me that again and I will shove my foot so far up your ass you will be cleaning shit from your teeth!"
Loona grabbed her phone without the angry expression leaving her features. Nathan sighed, and followed the Hellhound.
The company van pulled into the near-empty parking lot before Moxxie came out of the passenger door, only to open the sliding door. Moments later, an excited Stolas came out in a pair of rolled up red shorts and a red apple printed t-shirt. Following him was Octavia who looked far less excited as she dragged her feet out of the van. She sees her father putting on an apple-themed hat before gesturing towards the gate for an apparent day of endless fun.
Stolas was an anthropomorphic owl demon. He is tall and slender, with a white, heart-shaped facial disk and small black beak, resembling that of an owl. He has two pairs of almond-shaped red eyes, one set atop the other, with no visible irises or pupils, albeit white highlights do occasionally appear when he is excited. Stolas has gray-blue feathers, which gradients to dark gray-blue on his head and long, plume-like tail. He has a lighter gray-blue puff of fur on his chest.
His daughter, Octavia, is an adolescent avian demon who sports a rather lanky figure with unkempt, slate-gray feathers, which forms into back-length and shaggy-styled hair with bangs. Her eyes sport pink sclera and bright white pupils, and her long pointed fingers are colored white. Her small beak is colored in black, and her long tail feathers sport tips which are a slightly darker shade than her feathers. She bears traits from both of her parents - having her father's white mask-like face with her mother's eyes. She also wears soft-purple eyeshadow on her eyelids.
Octavia's attire consists of a black beanie hat with a pale yellow tiara design on her head, both a pink choker and a pink long-sleeved dress with a pattern of pale yellow stars printed all over it, which is worn under a black feathery cardigan on her shoulders, alongside a set of black leggings and heeled boots.
Spawn got out of the van as Octavia moved to follow her father. The Hellspawn took a look at the amusement park and only had one thing to say. "Fuck, this is going to be a long day."
Loona, who got out and stood next to him, rolled her eyes. "No shit. I think the only one that wants to be here is Millie." They looked over at the female Imp who was star-struck with the attractions. On the other hand, Moxxie seemed stressed, Blitzo serious, Stolas flirtatious, and Octavia seemed like she would rather be anywhere else. Loona continued after Spawn looked over everyone, "I am surprised that this even happened."
Spawn groaned. "Now I'm wishing I just grabbed that fucking book and took a portal to Earth, or left early so I could find a bar and drink the day away."
"Ditto." Loona nodded.
As they walked to follow the others, Spawn was able to hear what Blitzo was saying to Stolas. "Just remember, Stolas, this is work and work only. No one's here to satisfy your perverted bird needs, alright?"
Octavia felt disgusted being back here as she looked about. "Hey, dad, can't we just-"
"Hold on right there, sweetie." Blitzo cuts her off before directing his attention back to Stolas for a final warning. "If you even try fucking my little ass in that park, I swear-"
Amused by his boldness, Stolas bends down to poke the tall imp's face. "You are cute when you're serious."
Spawn deadpanned at the sight. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me." He muttered, realizing what was going on. Loona glanced at him, confused. "This was never a protection job. Whether Blitz knows it or not, this is about Stolas trying to get into Blitz's pants."
Loona's eyes widened a little before she scowled angrily. "For fuck's sake!" She glanced towards Octavia. "And that girl is paying the price for it."
"Like I said, I'm tempted to kill your adoptive father." Spawn huffed.
"I'd join you." Loona growled.
As the one conversation went on, Octavia heard some of what her father said and practically gagged. "I'm literally gonna be sick."
Alarmed, Moxxie fishes inside his fanny pack to find the right treatment for such an occasion. "Oh, crumbs! I knew today would be a lot! What do you need? Antacids? Ibuprofen? Morphine?" He lists off, taking out several pill bottles before revealing rows of hypodermic needles filled with some glowing green substance.
"I was being figurative, old man." Octavia deadpans with crossed arms, walking away in the process.
"Ah, right." Moxxie sheepishly chuckles. "But she said it so literally." he states, confused by the avian demon's wording.
Spawn soon notices Moxxie had discarded the needles and unknowingly had them land into a nearby baby carriage instead of a trash can on accident. The Hellspawn grabs the items before the imp infant inside could remotely touch them, and instead quickly creates a teddy bear with his power which he hands to the infant who cuddles with it. Coming back to the one imp to hand them back, Spawn heard Millie speak with nostalgia in her voice. "Wow! I haven't been to this please since I was a wee little tot!" Even though a giant letter from a ride sign fell off and crushed a teen imp below, it did little or hardly anything at all to ruin her happiness. "It hasn't changed a bit!" She gazed about and gasped when she saw a familiar attraction and directed their eyes to it. "Look! It's Big Woobly!"
Big Woobly was a gray dinosaur animatronic with a mismatched face. It bellowed out a terrifying scream at anyone coming near it. At one point, its head actually snapped shut when someone dared another into putting their hand in, causing it to be bitten off in the process.
"That is… deeply unsettling." Moxxie notes with a look of horror on his face.
"When was the last time that was maintained?" Spawn comments.
"Not for a while from the look of it." Loona shook her head.
"Oh, come on! It's fun!" Moxxie insists, pulling her husband and two coworkers into side hugs. "I mean, have either of you ever been here?"
"No." Spawn and Loona answered in deadpan voices.
'I wouldn't even take my kids to this place if they were... here...' Nathan thought, sighing internally at thinking of his children. He had taken them to theme parks on Earth, better ones than this dump.
"What about you Moxxie?" Millie asks her husband excitedly.
"No." Moxxie frowns, voicing his bit of displeasure. "Theme parks always disturbed me. Especially the mascots." He adds in with a shiver.
Right on cue, Loo Loo Land's mascot, Loo Loo showed up. "Hey there, folks!" The park employee exclaims, making Moxxie scream with utter fright and almost clings onto his wife for dear life. "I'm Loo Loo! And I welcome all of you to Loo Loo Land! If y'all get hurt here, just try and sue us!"
"How about I shoot you?" Spawn threatened, tempted to draw the Desert Eagle Mark VII he had taken from the armoury before they left the office. In fact, he had taken two and put them in holsters on his thighs.
"Look! Via! It's Loo Loo!" Stolas says appearing next to his daughter as they were near the merry go round. He believed in Loo Loo's ability to connect with the little girl inside. Oh how that would be proven wrong in a few moments.
Rolling her eyes a little, Octavia speaks up. "I have a question." she says at the sight of the mascot.
The mascot employee turns around to face her. "Well, ask away, little girlie!" He says with a following laugh that it was a poor attempt at a certain cartoon character's heckle.
"Is it true this park is just a really shameless spin-off of Lucifer's far more popular Lu Lu World?" Octavia asks with a smug grin on her face, making Spawn snort and chuckle a little.
Unbeknownst to the others focusing on him, the employee inside of the mascot suit discreetly looks at the poster reminders that explicitly stated otherwise and remembered the binding contract that obligated him to always deny such accusations."...Uh… No?" he replies with a gulp in an almost questioning tone.
Octavia glares at the mascot, making the employee nervous. "This place reeks of insecure corporate shame." she remarks with a sneer.
Stolas, while supportive of his daughter, gave out an awkward chuckle as he led her away. "Why don't we go check out the rides?" He suggests quickly not wanting to cause a potential issue with Mammon should his daughter's remarks get back to him somehow.
Seeing the Goetias walk back, the mascot employee mutters aloud. "That chick's creepy, huh?"
"Eh~ Wait till her dad tries to diddle your holes." Says Blitzo in an uninterested tone as he walks off to stay close to the clients.
This merely made Loo Loo more worried. He turns to the imp couple. "What's that mean?" he asks in confusion.
Instead of responding, Moxxie hisses. "Don't talk to me! I know you're a pervert under there!" he says before walling off with a giggling Millie by his side.
As the others of I.M.P walk away, the park employee slumps his body slightly and admits, shamefully. "Yeah…"
Moxxie and Millie run on ahead with the former sweating profusely, trying to regain his composure once they stop. This was due to his wife enthusiastically dragging him along to see the sights. "You really like this place, huh?" the imp asks his wife with a smile at her excitement.
"I love this place!" She explains as she gazes about a bit more. "My parents would bring me and my siblings here when they would swing it. Money-wise." she says with a shrug as living on a farm it wasn't often there was extra money on hand. Let alone enough for a family of five to take a trip to the amusement park.
Coming up from behind, Spawn heard part of the conversation. Both he and Moxxie gaze over to see a worker wheeling in a wheelbarrow overfilled with so much money it was spilling out over the sides into a nearby gift shop. Approaching the window display, they peered inside to see several novelty cups, containers and plushy apples with large number price tags next to them.
"Yeah. The prices here seem criminal." Moxxie comments with a grimace at how outrageous the prices were even for an amusement park even for one located in hell.
"It's the Greed Ring, fatass." Loona snorted, looking at some of the things on sale herself and frowning. "Of course the prices are gonna be fucking insane."
"For the last time, I'm not fat!" Moxxie glared at the Hellhound, who just smirked at him. "And seriously, that much for a novelty cup that you use one time?"
"Cuz it's Loo Loo Land!" Millie exclaims loudly in excitement with stars in her eyes.
At this point Blitzo walks up to his employees, appearing to have loaded up on the merchandise with a hat with drink holders on them, which had extended straws attached to go into his mouth. For more look towards it, Blitzo even had a novelty cup in his one hand and was sipping from that as well.
"Listen to your hoe, Mox." Says Blitzo as he bumps his cup to Moxxie's chest, soon slurping from the drink soon after. "We may be doing bullshit babysitting for the pervy owl, but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun, right?"
"The word 'fun' does not go well with me." Spawn shook his head, glancing away and muttering quietly. "Not anymore."
Loona was the only one who heard him and instantly knew what he was thinking about. Crap, a place like this was probably bringing up a lot of memories. She finally understood that maybe he wanted her along to not only not deal with everyone else on his own, but because he might need someone to talk to and distract himself from the fact he's in an amusement park, a place he's no doubt taken his kids to back on Earth. And thinking about that will mean remembering that they're dead.
"Eh, don't be such a downer, Spawny." Blitz waved him off, getting a glare from Spawn for the nickname. "How about Loony, Spawny and I take first watch while you two have a little fun?" Blitzo winks at the married couple.
Millie soon squeals like a schoolgirl. She effortlessly lifts her husband up and carries him off. "OOH! We gotta do my favorite ride!"
"Oh yeah? W-Which one?" Moxxie asks his wife with a bit of a stutter as he had a feeling ALL of the rides at the amusement park were FAR from safe even by Hell's standards.
Spawn watched them go, then looked at his boss. "Loona and I can just hang back in the distance. It will give us a more layered defense against whoever might try to attack the prince." He said.
Blitzo snapped and smiled, "That works!" He then leaned towards Loona and said, "Just keep back enough to not look like you are following. Got it? Also, here is some spending money for this expensive ass place." Blitzo fished some cash out of his pocket before handing it to the Hellhound.
Loona nodded while taking the money, "Got it."
Blitzo practically beamed, "I am so proud to have you on a mission, Loony. I just wish we could spend more time together on this one."
With a distant look, Loona backed up and began to walk away. She dismissively spoke back, "Yeah, sure."
As Stolas and Octavia walked through the park, Blitzo took up various positions around Stolas and Octavia with preferred weapon of choice in this instance, which was causing disturbances with some park patrons. Spawn and Loona stayed in the background and watched.
"I'm probably going to need three bottles of whiskey after this." Spawn muttered to the Hellhound.
"Share them with me, because I'm joining." She nodded, then glanced at him. "So, um... this can't be thrilling for you, considering..."
Spawn glanced at her and knew what she was getting at. He sighed. "It comes and it goes. I've managed to somewhat move on... doesn't mean the memories won't come about and bring the pain with them."
There was silence between them as they walked, and Loona caught a glimpse of an Imp child. "How old would they be?" She spoke softly.
"My son, David, would be eighteen. My baby girl, Becky, would be seventeen." Spawn said, then chuckled. "Fuck, they'd be driving me up the wall, being teenagers. I'd have to deal with my son's attitude, my daughter bringing home boys and me threatening them and warning them about hurting or laying hands on her."
Loona couldn't help the small smile that came onto her face as he talked about his kids, what they would've been like if they were still alive. "Well, that's teenage girls for you." She mumbled, not even wanting to think of her time as a teenager. She already had Blitzo treating her like some troubled teenager when she wasn't. Quickly, she opted to change the subject. "So, are amusement parks as shit on Earth as this one?"
Spawn snorted. "Depends on where you go. But trust me, each one is as fucking expensive as this place. My parents would take me to some when I was a kid, and it was a lot of fun. But between this place and the ones on Earth? There's not really a difference."
There was a bang from Blitzo shooting which shook us out of our thoughts. We saw the other thuggish demons surrounding Stolas flee away at the sight of the gun-toting imp. The prince just seemed inconvenienced that Blitzo didn't save him faster.
Instead of going to help immediately, Loona and Spawn just stayed back, with the Hellspawn then asking, "So, what about you?"
"What about me?"
He elaborated, "What was your childhood like? Or would it be called something else here?"
The Hellhound's look dropped at the question before she replied, "Nothing I would like to talk about. Just know that Blitz adopted me right before I turned 18, and I am the way I am now because of that shit. I am sure that I am just as fucked up as everyone else around here."
Under his mask, Nathan frowned, "It sounds like you are implying that there is no good here. That you are saying you are incapable of good."
Loona shrugged it off before saying, "I am saying that I don't really trust you yet, and I don't trust anyone else. But I am appreciative of your saving my life, and telling me about your family. But Hell is a place that fucks you up and spits you out. You can't count on anyone."
"If that were true, I would've ended your life like I did those demons or worse, I'd have let them rape you." Spawn retorted, her words hitting home a little. "You know what I did after I killed the fuckers that killed my family? I turned to vigilantism. I saved people, even though a part of me didn't want to deal with anyone else's problems but I vowed to myself that I wouldn't let anyone suffer through what I had been through. I killed scumbags. Rapists, murderers, child predators, terrorists, any I came across I tortured before ending their miserable lives to send them down here, where they belong. I didn't trust anyone myself, and thought I was a monster for what I was doing, for what I was before I became this... but I wasn't. I was using this dark power to do some good in my life. Fucked as it had been. And you can't stand there and say you don't care about what Stolas' flirting with Blitz is doing to Octavia. You most likely have a good heart, you've just buried it and shrouded it with walls."
Loona growled back, "Don't fucking say that! I know that I am a fucking mess, so why can't you just accept that?! Look, we all make mistakes. The reason I feel for that girl is that I see that she is a little like me, but not as rough. She hasn't gotten that chance to meet the average guy or girl in Hell. I may not be evil like some of them, but I am not good."
Spawn raised an eyebrow. "Is that what happened to you? You met the guy and made a mistake?"
Loona growled. "You really wanna know? Fine. Yeah, I met a guy. We fucked. And do you know what happened next? He gave me fucking syphilis, then dropped right out of my life."
Spawn blinked at that.
Loona's rage grew a little, she clenched a fist, and continued, "He tainted me and left me a little more fucked up. Do you know what it is like to live with something like Syphilis? Something you have to deal with for the rest of your life?" Her eyes were slightly watering, but no tears were going to fall. It took a lot from her to say that.
"You do know syphilis can be dealt with, right?" Spawn asked pointedly.
Loona's rage and anger was replaced by confusion. "What?"
Spawn was about to continue when he noticed something and frowned. "Where the fuck did they go now?"
Loona followed his gaze and noticed the lack of Blitzo, Stolas, and Octavia. They had disappeared somewhere while they had been talking. Spawn's eyes landed on a tent with a poster of some weird-ass looking clown, making him growl.
"I fucking hate clowns." He muttered.
Loona looked as well and groaned. "Why would they go there?"
Spawn sighed. "Let's just catch up with them."
They moved towards the tent, Spawn conjuring a Necroplasm flame and shooting it at the poster of 'Robo-Fritz'. That ugly ass clown reminded him too much of Violator in his clown form.
They rushed into the tent just in time to hear the end of a song, followed by a gunshot as Blitzo took care of another would-be assassin. Spawn saw another in the faters and drew his pistol, firing off a single shot through the Imp's head which ended his life.
At least he killed someone.
Octavia then shouted. "Ugh, I can't do this anymore!"
The younger owl demon ran away with Stolas finally realizing his mistakes of today and going after her. On the other hand, Blitzo began to engage in a spat with Robo Fizz on the stage. In other words, everything had turned into a complete shitshow around here.
'Fuck this. He can deal with that himself.' Nathan thought, turning and leaving the tent. And Loona appeared to be in agreement as she followed him, the two now on the search for the avian demons.
"Don't want to deal with the clown?" Loona raised a brow.
"I fucking hate clowns." Spawn growled. "And we may have caught the tale end of it, but that song was shit."
Ahead of them, they spotted Octavia running towards the Funhouse, her father chasing after her. They could also see a few thugs or assassins hiding, waiting for their chance to strike.
"You get to the girl. I'll handle these fuckers." Loona growled.
Spawn glanced at her, then at the thugs, before giving her a nod. They split from there, with Spawn noticing a green fire starting up on some part of the theme park but he ignored it for now.
Entering the Funhouse, Spawn's eyes narrowed at the way it tried to direct him with several tunnels, before sighing and going down the path it directed him, passing through an apple-shaped entryway. He stopped at two swinging pieces of machinery and ripped them right out of their places, tossing them aside, then proceeded further ahead.
He soon came into another room with four apples spinning slowly around a conveyor. Inside one of them was Octavia, who was softly crying.
Spawn stood there, hesitant, before he sighed and approached while pulling his mask apart to at least not try and intimidate her.
"Mind a little company?" Nathan asked quietly, getting her attention. She blinked, namely at his appearance, before looking back down. Taking that as a yes, he sat in the opposite end of the bench she was sitting on.
Octavia sniffled a little, then glanced at him. "You're human?"
Nathan shook his head. "No. Something else, but I used to be human." He glanced at her, then willed his shroud to coil around him and it soon disappeared. His eyes shut for a moment, and when he reopened them he had normal green eyes like any human compared to the pure green in his Hellspawn form. He had also gotten some casual clothing, consisting of a black leather & hooded bomber jacket, white short-sleeved top, dark jeans, black biker gloves and black boots.
"Neat trick." Octavia mumbled.
"One of many." Nathan smiled a little. "You never wanted to be here, did you?"
"What gave it away?" Octavia scoffed through her tears.
Nathan nodded. "Yeah, I'm not too good at this, kid. But I know that it's best if you let it out rather than keeping it bottled up."
Octavia was silent for a few seconds, then she wiped away her tears completely before she collected herself enough to explain, "My parents just scream at each other ever since my dad said he wanted a divorce. My mom," Octavia let out a hollow laugh, "My mom just uses me against my dad. I am not even mad or surprised by that. That has always been who she was. But my dad… My dad…"
The teen let out a few more tears as her voice fumbled. Nathan just sat there quietly with the intent to let her finish and listen to her.
Octavia finally collected herself enough to continue speaking, "My dad has always been there for me. Even though my parents are splitting, I always felt like he would be around, you know? That is before he brought me to this stupid park to prance around and flirt with some weird, red dickhead the entire time. I just wished things would go back to the way things were." She hugged her knees before speaking softer, "Where home felt like home, and I didn't question whether my dad would leave me behind."
Out the corner of his eye, Nathan saw Loona and Stolas near where he had entered. He could see the dismayed look on Loona's from where he sat. Her ears weren't as perky, her eyes were a little more dilated. Even her fluffy tail seemed to be droopier than usual. He could also see the heartbroken expression on Stolas's face while he hesitated between approaching and staying where he was. Then, a glare from his daughter made him stay where he was.
"I know what you're going through, kid." Nathan said, swallowing a little. "My parents were... they weren't perfect. There were times they'd fight, and I had to listen to it from my bedroom. Just a six-year old boy, sitting in his room, scared out of his mind. I never said a word, never let them know how scared I was. Parents fight for even the stupidest of reasons, and while mine didn't go through what yours are, I felt it came close to that. But the one thing that seemed to matter most to them was how much they loved me. My dad wasn't the best, but he did his damnedest to be a father. And I took inspiration from him when I became a father."
Octavia blinked. "You're a dad as well?" She asked.
Nathan took out the photo of his family and handed it to her. "i used to be." He said quietly. "They were... they were murdered. I didn't have a chance to save my kids, but if I had... I would've done anything. That kind of feeling goes for every father. No matter the imperfections they have, they always would do anything to keep their kids safe. Your father loves you, kid. I don't know about your mom because I've not met her, but your dad wants to spend time with you. Sure, he's doing it at this worst amusement park I've ever seen and been to." That earned a small laugh from Octavia. "And sure, he also involved Blitzo in this, but he does love you. He is going to be there for you. I don't have all the answers for you, my children were taken away from me at such a young age, it feels like I never got to do much with them. But I'd tell them that if they ever had anything to say, then don't hesitate and say it to me. So I'm going to tell you the same as a piece of advice; don't keep it bottled up, let him know how you feel. I know it kind of hurts, and you might not feel like it, but talk to your dad. It can be hard to do, but he can only listen to you if you tell him how you feel."
Octavia looked over at where her father was before nodding with a sniffle. She handed him the photo of his family, and he tucked it away as she got up from her seat slowly and rubbed off whatever tears were left over. After that little chat, she didn't feel like crying anymore. She began to walk over to Stolas while Nathan walked over to Loona, standing beside her.
Stolas began to speak, "I'm so sorry for how I have been acting, my dear sweet Via. I know what is happening between your mother and me is the most difficult for you out of all involved. I should have thought of that before bringing you to this silly place, and I should have listened to you when you told me that you didn't want to come here." He then brought his daughter into a hug which she seemed to sink into. He continued, "Just know that I would never, ever leave you alone. I would never do that."
A small tear slid down Octavia's exposed cheek while a smile formed on her face. She spoke, "Thanks, dad. I love you."
Stolas seemed to hold onto her tighter, "I love you too, my princess." A moment or two passed before he released her. He grabbed her by the hand before saying, "Come on, it is time for us to leave this place. Let's go home."
That was probably the best decision he had made today. It was a small step, but it was a good one. "Hey, dad… Could we actually go to Stylish Occult, just the two of us? I want to check out their taxidermy." Octavia said.
Stolas smiled down at her, "Nothing would make me happier."
The two finally exited the room leaving only Loona and Nathan alone. The Hellspawn was sort of lost in thought until Loona bumped her shoulder into his, drawing his attention. She smiled lightly at me before saying, "Hey… You did good there."
"Yeah..." Nathan sighed quietly. "Just, seeing her cry..."
"You imagined Becky or David in her place, didn't you?" Loona asked softly and knowingly.
Nathan said nothing, only giving a small nod. His heart ached every time he thought of his kids, what they could've been doing with their lives now. The stress they'd be putting on him with their decisions as teenagers. His heart ached because that would never happen. Seeing Octavia like that... clearly his fatherly instincts hadn't completely been buried and destroyed by all the darkness that laid within him.
"I'm sure Stolas would've come around and seen what was happening." He said, not wanting to take the credit. "He does care for her, that much is obvious. Thanks, anyway."
The two walked outside of the Funhouse, Nathan assuming his Hellspawn appearance once more, and they beheld the destruction of Loo Loo Land that was currently going on. Both of them blinked as they watched their Imp co-workers battle Robo-Fizz, with Moxxie mounting some dragon creature that was chasing after the robot, grabbing it by its collar and flinging it up before swallowing Robo Fizz whole all while their intern and their charges calmly exited the park with Octavia snuggling in closer to her father's hold.
"Well, I won't be missing this place, that's for certain." Spawn smirked under the mask, crossing his arms.
Loona chuckled, putting a hand on her hip as they watched the shit amusement park burn. "No argument there. But you know they'll rebuild it."
"It'll take them months." The Hellspawn scoffed.
Loona glanced at him, and then remembered their earlier conversation. What he was talking about. "So... earlier, you mentioned something about my... problem."
Spawn looked at her before it clicked and he nodded. "Yeah. Syphilis can be treated, and curable. Have you tried Antibiotics?"
Loona looked at him blankly before screaming, "Are you fucking kidding me?!"
"I'll take that as a no." Spawn rubbed his face. "The guy who gave it to you probably didn't know."
Loona pouted, "It's not like Blitz knew either! Ugh!" Loona brushed her hand through her hair before saying, "Medication doesn't exactly come cheap down here. I don't know if-"
Nathan put a hand on her shoulder, getting her attention. "We'll worry about that later. Right now... I could use a drink."
"Yeah, same." Loona nodded. She then added softly. "You know, I don't know why you'd go so far to help me. We just met yesterday, and I don't completely trust you."
"To be honest... I don't know why myself." Nathan sighed. "Blame it on my humanity. Blame it on my annoying need to try and help people."
Loona snorted as they started walking away, side-by-side, to find a shop that sells some cheap drinks. "That kind of need isn't a good thing to have down here. It's Hell."
"I know, but do recall that I was a vigilante at one point." Nathan reminded. "Guess even after everything, that stuck with me."
The two of them didn't stop walking, even as there was a massive explosion that rocked the now destroyed park, sending the rest of the I.M.P members hurtling through the sky, screaming. Only to painfully land down in front of Stolas and Octavia, while Nathan and Loona just walked past.
"Once again, you've ruined another good thing, sir!" Moxxie sarcastically droned in a pained tone from the bruises he received as a result of the rough landing on the ground 'Ah crumbs pretty sure I busted a rib' the short Imp thinks to himself knowing that he would be feeling it the next morning.
"So worth it!" Blitzo victoriously declared. "That slutty clown had. It. Coming!" he calls out in a woozy tone before both he and Moxxie pass out from exhaustion with Millie soon after.
Nathan spotted a fly-like demon trying to drag Millie away and shot the thing.
"Ah thanks Nathan… I'm gonna nap now." Millie says in a delirious tone of voice before she passes out.
Nathan shook his head, a small smile coming onto his face...
And that's it for this chapter. Fuck, this was a long one.