A Loud Among Demons: Wrong-Right Spell

by gent777

During a trip to the Goetia mansion for another magic lesson, Lincoln finds an unwanted spellbook he figured he could put to good use, only for his family's magnetism for chaos to work its own kind of magic. With one mistaken spell, Hell's only human resident is given a whole new experience for better and worse.

7. OMAKE 4: Amending Fences, Part 1

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm really sorry this one took so long, but not only was I on a mini-vacation, but my head was just swimming with so many ideas for this one, and I believe it shows once you read it.

Enjoy the omake.

---

PRIDE RING, I.M.P. Headquarters

"Hey, guys…"

That was all Lincoln could utter after reverting to his child form to break the awkward silence as he watched his coworkers stare back at him with varying degrees of emotions, despite their unchanging expressions. Lincoln noticed first and foremost that Millie had clearly been crying waterfalls, indicated by her ruined makeup running down her cheeks, a sight that instantly broke Lincoln's heart. He wasn't fond of what Millie had done to interrupt his quality time with Verosika, but he didn't realize he had inflicted this much damage on her despite a similar instance previously.

He then saw Loona, who had faded black makeup matted on the fur of her cheeks as well. Clearly, she had cried tears of her own, but tried everything she could to clean herself up to little avail. Furthermore, he spotted Loona's ears drooping slightly, which indicated to Lincoln that his verbal lashing had also struck her to her core.

Moxxie and Blitzø didn't have any noticeable evidence of crying, but Lincoln did notice upon closer inspection that they sported baggy eyes, indicating that they'd been stressing without rest over what had occurred not too long ago. He didn't see any signs of Stolas, Octavia, or Verosika, which meant he was going to be very busy tomorrow. Of course, their absence wasn't the only thing Lincoln noticed just now: he was currently not in the death grip of Millie's loving bearhug.

"So… that was a day…" Lincoln said awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

Nobody offered a response right away, which scared Lincoln that he may have done more damage than he thought. Of course, he forgot that he could always count on Blitzø to interrupt any kind of tender moment in his own way.

"Yeah…" said Blitzø. "Really took off like a bat out of Hell. Honestly, I thought Mox would've caved first."

"Blitzø!" shouted Moxxie reproachfully before turning back to Lincoln with his previous worried expression. However, his eyes widened as he spotted something on Lincoln. "Wait, Lincoln, your face…" he started, slowly putting up his hand to point at his adopted son. His words had managed to break everyone else out of their stupor and realize something glaringly obvious that they somehow didn't notice when he first stepped through the portal.

"LINCOLN?! WHO DID THIS TO YOU?!" shouted Millie, who immediately zipped towards Lincoln and cradled his face. Now that his attention was brought to his face, he suddenly felt aching pain in his cheeks and realized what it was that everyone else was concentrating on: his face sported some red swellings, a clear indication that he got into some physical altercation which he didn't leave unscathed regardless of the outcome. Millie definitely knew she didn't leave these bruises on him.

"Oh… right…" said Lincoln uncomfortably. "I… may have gotten into a fight up top when I was trying to unwind."

"Fucking Hell, intern, you wanted to get back at us that badly that you decided to go off and have fun like that without us?!" asked Blitzø indignantly.

"Blitzø, shut up!" growled Moxxie. He was in no mood for any of his boss's antics after everything that's happened today. "Lincoln, what happened?!"

"It's a really long story, but I'd like to tell you that tomorrow after I get some sleep," sighed Lincoln.

"Dude…" said Loona pleadingly.

"Guys…" started Lincoln, nervous at first, but after remembering Kiryu and Saejima's words of wisdom, he turned resolute and continued, "I also wanna say sorry to all of you, but I have a whole lot more to say than that. And I don't think tonight's a good time."

"Lincoln…" said Moxxie.

"I promise, I'll talk with all of you," Lincoln quickly said before anyone could properly interrupt him. "But I had a pretty long day and night, and I'm not awake enough to get my thoughts in order. And I know you guys aren't either."

Leave it to Lincoln to be so observant of everyone else's problems that he couldn't leave well enough alone. Everyone averted their eyes sheepishly as they couldn't deny his observation right in his face, but trying to get some sleep after this day's events was nigh impossible.

"Please, let's just get some sleep. I promise that we'll talk. We can even do it one-on-one. That way we can be honest with each other," suggested Lincoln imploringly.

It didn't take long for Millie to cave in when she saw Lincoln's face like that. "Ohhh… how can I say no to that face? Okay. But promise we'll talk?"

"Cross my heart," replied Lincoln with a slight smile. He didn't realize it, but that small smile was all everyone needed to see that there was indeed hope in this situation, which was more than enough to put most of their worries at ease. With that, they finally felt weary enough to accept Lincoln's suggestion for a good night's sleep.

"Okay, Lincoln," said Moxxie, putting a hand on Lincoln's shoulder with a slight reassuring smile of his own.

"You want me to portal you guys home?"

"Thanks, but no need…" replied Moxxie before anyone else could answer. "Besides, Blitzø and Loona need to take their van home."

"Okay, good night, guys." With that, Lincoln waved at his coworker before heading to the bathroom to wash up before turning in. The rest slowly made their way out of the office in slightly higher spirits, but still very downtrodden by what had happened and what might happen. As for Lincoln, after hearing his coworkers leave the office and before making for the showers, he took out his hellphone and sent out a mass text to his coworkers, Stolas, Octavia, and Verosika:

'I'm sorry that I blew up on you like that. I'd like to talk face-to-face, one-on-one so that we can be honest with each other.'

Lincoln turned to readers and said, "Tomorrow… the real work begins."

---

The Next Day…

Before Lincoln fell asleep last night, even before he cleaned himself up, he had been racking his brain to figure out who to talk to in what specific order. He figured that his coworkers were easily the first choice, but which of them specifically? Well, Millie was easily the most devastated from that outburst, so he'd have to set things straight with her as soon as possible because the thought of her suffering from the lack of closure was tearing away at Lincoln's conscience. He could hold off with Moxxie since he couldn't figure out anything he did wrong, nor did he remember a single moment he directed his anger at Moxxie specifically. Perhaps he could have Moxxie with Millie when he sets things straight with her.

Loona would probably have to be next since after Millie, she seemed the most distraught from her accidental strike at Lincoln and his tantrum towards her. The only problem he anticipated is that unlike Moxxie or Millie, Loona is not nearly as open as them. He and Loona may have shared plenty of moments together, but he knew that she had plenty of personal hurdles to overcome, hence why she tends to be awkward in social situations and avoids them despite having a personal desire for more social connections deep down. He also remembered how awkward Loona felt after her argument with her adopted father in the spring break mission that resulted in her issuing a scathing retort about how she didn't need Blitzø in her life, only to regret it almost immediately after. Therefore, Lincoln feared the damage he'd done to Loona by including her in his rant.

Speaking of awkward feelings, there was the matter with Blitzø. In practical terms, it would make sense to try to make up with his boss after his coworkers. However, the problem lies within Blitzø himself. The guy is on a whole different wavelength than Lincoln, leaving him so confused about Blitzø and never being able to get a read on him. Blitzø was always very upfront on many matters, but he seemed to have reservations on others, which Lincoln gathered had to do with something traumatic in his past that forced him to double down on how he currently behaves. Unfortunately, this made Lincoln realize that trying to reconcile with Blitzø would be his greatest challenge since he would be the most closed-off individual compared to everyone else, especially since he seemed smart enough to avoid answering any of Lincoln's questions regarding his past unless it was something grotesque and/or crude. Still, Lincoln never half-baked anything in his life when it came to fixing his mistakes, so he had to try his best with Blitzø, no matter how ugly things might get.

After him, there was Stolas, Octavia, and Verosika. These three were definitely the nicest to him in their own ways right after Millie, Moxxie, and Loona. However, he'd been noticing strange behaviors with each of them after he botched that growth spell and obtained an adult body he can change in and out of at will. Stolas may be a great friend and teacher who provided Lincoln with insurmountable knowledge of the arcane arts, but he seemed to be pushing Lincoln towards marrying his daughter, despite his insistence on these acts being mere jests. Octavia is a close friend whom Lincoln had endeared himself towards as another sister figure who filled the void in his life, but she seemed to be desiring to be closer to him, figuratively and literally, despite her adamant stance against her father's jokes of marriage. Verosika had the most obvious change in behavior, even though she was very upfront in her flirting with Lincoln before the growth spell. But now, even though she'd been trying to treat Lincoln as a friend rather than a new fling, Lincoln noticed that she had a hard time resisting any temptations to develop their friendship further through small actions, such as involving him more in her life and activities while still teasing him sensually.

"Actually, now that I think about it, everyone changed after I messed up that growth spell," Lincoln noted to the readers, crossing his arms and looking down inquisitively. "Like, did the growth spell somehow make everyone forget that I'm still twelve years old?"

Indeed, everyone's behavior towards him had changed since the growth spell incident. Millie was going full steam ahead on Lincoln's training, Moxxie had gotten very lax about letting Lincoln make his own choices, Loona was taking him out more often, Blitzø was treating him a little harsher than before, Stolas , Octavia was also taking him out as much as Loona but also seems to be yearning to be physically close to him, and Verosika appeared to be trying to introduce Lincoln to the luxuries one would see in the broad entertainment joints as a substitute for the more… adult activities he's yet to fully learn about.

"Saejima wasn't kidding," remarked Lincoln to the readers. "They really have been waiting for me to grow up. Things changed after that growth spell, but I have to remind them that I'm still twelve years old."

Looking at his hellphone for the time, he saw that it was almost time for his company to open for business. "Well… it's showtime," said Lincoln nervously, steeling himself for a long day and maybe another.

Lincoln was sitting on the lobby sofa, twiddling his thumbs and waiting for his coworkers to enter the office. While waiting, Lincoln had been rehearsing what he would say to them, as well as the others. He hadn't felt this stressed about keeping his friendship with the others since he went on that field trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. Actually, he felt even more stressed because his worries during that field trip only escalated because he sabotaged his friends' activities just to make sure they stayed together, whereas his current predicament was due to him lashing out at everyone else.

Eventually, Lincoln heard the door open. Turning to it, he saw his coworkers enter, not looking any better than they did last night. Millie may have cleaned up her ruined makeup from the excessive tears, but Lincoln noticed her hair being a bit frizzier and her eyes a bit more bloodshot. Moxxie still had bags under his eyes and looked just as worried as he had last night. Loona's hair and fur was a total mess, which were very clear evidence that she didn't clean herself up this morning, and Lincoln could actually smell the alcohol on her from a distance, which meant she went to town on the booze and was probably suffering the worst hangover he'd seen of her. Blitzø's eye bags weren't as noticeable as last night, but he definitely looked cross and testy, a time bomb waiting to go off in unpredictable ways.

'Yup, I've got my work cut out for me,' thought Lincoln, getting up from the sofa. "Hey, guys…" he greeted, trying not to sound awkward.

"Hi, Lincoln…" Moxxie replied. "I see that you've cleaned up your bruises. Did you manage to sleep well?"

"Yeah, I managed," Lincoln responded simply, making his way to the coffee machine. Right on cue, he saw Loona collapse onto the sofa he was sitting on to nurse her aching head. He picked up two filled coffee cups before returning to the sofa and handing the cups to her. "Three shots of vanilla, just the way you like it."

Loona's expression didn't change as she eyed him and the cups, but Lincoln noticed her ears perking and her tail wagging slightly and briefly. She then took the cups with the tiniest of a smile before whispering, "Thanks."

Lincoln took a moment to appreciate the gratitude as a sign that maybe he could salvage this. Still, this, his earlier rehearsals, and even his mass text message didn't help how he was going to start the conversation. Remembering how the field trip situation was resolved, he knew he needed to be upfront and honest, but given how reserved his coworkers are due to the stigma in Hell that emotions are weaknesses that would instantly be exploited, he also understood that he needed to get them somewhere safe and secluded to converse with them where he would be the only witness in order to get them to be comfortable enough to open up.

"So… about my text last night…" started Lincoln stiffly. "Millie, Moxxie, I'd like to talk to you guys first. Then I'd like to follow up with Loona, and finally, Blitzø, before I move on to Stolas, Octavia, and Verosika." Millie flinched a little upon mention of the succubus popstar, but didn't raise any protest on account of yesterday's event. Lincoln continued, "Before any of you ask, the reason I set that order is because… Millie…"

Lincoln turned to the female imp, who perked up in worry. "I know you only did what you did to protect me, but you also went overboard. And I figured it'd be better to have Moxxie involved since he'd be a great mediator when we're being honest with each other." As Millie looked down shamefully while Moxxie laid his hands on her shoulder to console her, Lincoln then turned to Loona. "Loona, I figured you're hurting as much as Millie, but I'd give you some time to recover from your hangover. I'd also like to talk… not so much about what happened yesterday, but more about what's been going on between us lately." As Loona turned her eyes down to the sofa she was laying her head on with her ears drooping slightly, Lincoln finally turned to Blitzø. "Blitzø… I really don't mean any offense with this, but I honestly have no idea where to start with you."

"Some offense taken?" questioned Blitzø. "So why aren't you going off to the bird-brains and that succubitch if you couldn't figure out where to start with me after you've had all night to do so?"

"It's because I don't know where to start with you why exactly I need to set things straight with you," said Lincoln firmly. "You were there gaslighting Millie and claiming that you were all for me being with Loona when your lectures say otherwise. And that's on top of a whole slew of other issues that's been bugging me since we met, and we really need to talk about them."

Blitzø turned away, crossing his arms with a scowl and a disgruntled huff. "Whatever. I'm gonna do some boss shit because I haven't forgotten that we run a business!" With that, he stormed off into his office and slammed the door shut, leaving Lincoln in the company of his adoptive parents and pseudo-sister.

"Millie, Moxxie… where do you wanna take this?" Lincoln asked the imps.

The two looked at each other nervously before Millie finally croaked out, "The kitchen. We can talk in the kitchen." With that, Lincoln followed Moxxie and Millie into the kitchen, where it was just the three of them alone. "Okay, baby boy… what do we—" Before she could even finish her question, she felt herself being wrapped around, which she saw was Lincoln hugging her like she would to him on numerous occasions, only he didn't have her in a death grip. Not even five seconds in and Millie already felt the waterworks leaking from her eyes like the Niagara Falls before returning the hug, bawling, and burying her face into Lincoln's shoulders. Moxxie immediately joined the hug the moment Millie broke down, and nothing else was said between them for several moments. Instead, the three of them silently agreed to allow their emotions to be let out before continuing any conversation.

After about a minute or so of hugging and sobbing, Lincoln finally let go of Millie to hold her by the shoulders and look her in the eyes. "Millie…" Lincoln initiated. "I get that you want to protect me. Because I'm a family to you as you guys are to me." Millie managed a smile at that declaration, as did Moxxie. "But… why are you so dead set against me being friends with Verosika? I mean, I get that you didn't like how I first met her, but even after things got better between us, you're still against me hanging out with her. So much so that you let Blitzø manipulate you every which way. And what's worse is that yesterday, you were angrier than you were with Striker. And believe me, that's saying a lot!" Millie flinched and cringed as Lincoln finished his last sentence with a higher volume than before. "I wanna believe that you're doing this for a bigger reason than being so hung up on what she did in my first meeting with her. So, what's going on?"

Millie was silent as she processed what Lincoln had laid out for her. In retrospect, her fury towards Verosika indeed almost matched how she reacted to Striker harming her husband and son. She wanted to believe she was foiling the floozy's nefarious scheme to snatch up her son, especially with the suggestive position she found both of them in when her Mama Senses were tingling. Still, Lincoln did bring up a valid point. Why did she lose control of herself like that so easily? And worst out of everything she did that day: why was she not listening to Lincoln after everything they'd been through together, especially when she made a similar mistake not too long ago, which was supposedly resolved?

Taking a deep breath, then exhaling, Millie finally replied, "Lincoln… baby… I… I did all that because…" As she paused, she turned to Moxxie, who tried to give her a consoling expression, but also looked confused. She turned back to Lincoln and continued, "Because I'm afraid you're gonna get your heart broken… just like me."

With that answer, both Lincoln and Moxxie exclaimed, "WHAAAT?!" They both turned to each other, equally incredulous at this bombshell of a news, then turned back to Millie, who hadn't even changed her expression by a centimeter. Out of their sight, Loona pressed her hands to her ears to block the loud noise, for her hearing was more sensitive due to the hangover.

"Yeah…" confirmed Millie. "I was in a relationship before." She turned to Moxxie and quickly stated, "But you are and always will be my one and only marriage." She smiled reassuringly while holding his hands, in which Moxxie returned a smile of his own before letting her continue. "Still… I met a guy after I finally stepped out of my family's farm to live a city life. He showed me the ropes and he seemed really fun to be with. But just when things were getting good… I found him flirting with another demon!" she growled through gritted teeth.

"Oh, Millie…" said Lincoln and Moxxie with pity in unison.

Millie took a deep breath and exhaled once more before carrying on. "After I broke up with him, my family tried to be there for me, but… I love them to bits, but they really didn't help that much." She turned to her husband and explained, "That's also kinda why they're so hard on you."

"Oh… ohhh…" trailed off Moxxie, now gaining a better understanding of his wife and in-laws.

Millie then turned back to Lincoln, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Lincoln… I'm so scared of the way Verosika plays around with you. And the fact that she's a succubus who gets around a lot… it's just gonna lead to heartbreak like it did with me. I don't wanna see you get hurt like that."

Lincoln stared back in pity and sympathy, now fully understanding Millie's motivation. She never wanted to hold him back. She just wanted to make sure he didn't suffer the same way she did. Even still, he steeled himself and responded, "Millie… thank you for always being there to protect me." Millie managed a small smile before Lincoln continued, "But I still want to be friends with Verosika. I can't stop being her friend just because something bad might happen in the future, especially if I have no idea what would even happen."

Millie gripped Lincoln's shoulder slightly harder in worry and asked, "But what if it does?! I can't watch you go through that heartbreak!"

Millie was caught by surprise when she felt Moxxie's hand grip her shoulder. Looking at her soothingly, he said to her, "Then we'll be there for him… as his parents. But right now, we should give our boy a chance at this." He had said this to her before during Lincoln and Verosika's karaoke outing, but some lessons need to be repeated, it seems.

Lincoln also grabbed Millie's shoulder comfortingly and said to her, "Besides, if you never gave romance another chance, you never would've found Moxxie."

That, Millie couldn't refute. Fate was indeed a fickle mistress, for it gave her the absolute worst outcome in the romance department for her first attempt, but in the second time around, she somehow landed the mother of all jackpots. All it took was not giving up on the romance game despite the painful grief from her first fling. But in her attempt to prevent the same pain from her only child, she instead ended up preventing Lincoln from pursuing his own interests, to his detriment. He had a bruise under his eye to show for her efforts in trying to protect him.

Unable to stop herself from whimpering and crying, Millie grabbed both Lincoln and Moxxie and pulled them both into her signature death-grip bearhug as she bawled and shed waterfalls of tears. Both Lincoln and Moxxie were turning bluish-purple from Millie's constricting grip, but decided to bear with it to allow Millie to let her emotions out. Soon, she buried her face in Lincoln's chest as she blubbered, "I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY!"

Regaining his breath, Lincoln patted her back and said, "It's okay, Millie." He'd only just cleared the air with Millie, but he still had the rest to make amends with, yet he already felt physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. Still, he made a promise to himself and his friends that he was going to fix this mess.

After what felt like an eternity, Millie finally released both Lincoln and Moxxie. As Millie wiped her tears, Moxxie addressed Lincoln, "So what was going on back at Verosika's mansion? I mean, I want to give you the benefit of the doubt that Millie found you in a… damning posture… for justifiable reasons."

"Oh… well, as crazy as it sounds, I actually slipped on a puddle of my own sweat and fell onto her," Lincoln answered simply.

"Sweat?" questioned Moxxie with a raised eyebrow. "You mentioned dancing in that altercation. You danced that much and that hard?"

"Yeah," sighed Lincoln. "I thought I was gonna unwind with some dancing at first, but then it turned out that Verosika needed my input to help out the Wild Owlets with their upcoming gig."

"Oh!" exclaimed Moxxie. "I forgot that you were still in contact with them."

"That'll have to wait a bit, though. Not until I clear up this mess with the others."

"I suppose you'll be busy talking with the others today?"

"There's that," confirmed Lincoln. "However, talking to all of you is only Phase 1 of my plan. There's still Phase 2."

"Phase 2?" asked a perplexed Moxxie and Millie.

"Phase 1 is talking to you guys. Phase 2 is doing some kind of activity together with you guys. I'm still figuring out what exactly we can do together." The imp couples' expressions brightened upon hearing that revelation, but Lincoln quickly stated, "I'll figure out what we're gonna do. I think we can do better than parkour across Imp City." Millie's smile immediately dropped into a frown. She then composed herself to reply, "Okay, baby boy."

"He is the Man With The Plan, honey," convinced Moxxie. "I'm sure he can come up with something great for all of us."

'Yeah, I sure hope so, too,' thought Lincoln as he made his way out of the kitchen to the lobby towards Loona, who was still lying on the lobby practically half-asleep.

"Hey, Loona," greeted Lincoln.

"... 'Sup, Linc," replied Loona, looking up to him without moving.

"I'm guessing you heard all that in the kitchen."

"... Yup."

"In that case, we'll have to find another place so we can talk away from any prying ears."

"Mmmrrrgh," grumbled Loona tiredly. "Sure you can't just skip to the part where we do something together instead?"

"No, Loona," Lincoln lightly chastised, almost as if he was rebuking Charles for any transgressions. "We're not gonna get through any of this if we don't talk." Lincoln used his magic to transform into his adult form, which he followed up with a spell to teleport the two of them, along with the lobby sofa.

---

PRIDE RING, I.M.P. Rooftop

Lincoln and Loona suddenly materialized with the sofa on the roof of their company's building, much to the latter's surprise.

"What the—?!" Loona blurted out before turning to Lincoln with a scowl. "Maybe a little warning next time!"

"Sorry, Loona," Lincoln apologized as he cast another spell that shot out above him and surrounded him and Loona before disappearing.

"And why'd you pick the rooftop at this time of day?" griped Loona, cradling her head that was internally pounding due to the hangover. "It's one of the noisiest times in these parts. It's why I nap inside." Loona let out a whimper that sounded like a puppy's as she rested her head back on the couch, finding it easier for some reason as she slowly but surely noticed a distinct lack of what should be a noticeable feature. "Wait, why's it so quiet?"

"Noise cancellation spell," Lincoln answered simply. "I know it gets noisy here at this time of day, and I know how bad the noise is for you when you have a hangover. So that spell plus an area with no one else around but us equals a nice, quiet little private spot where we can have a good conversation with no interruptions." He felt a rumble from what he figured was a nearby explosion, possibly from a car crash judging by the small vibrations he could practically feel, which he learned during his time down here stemmed from car alarms. Despite all that, no noise could be heard except for the ones made by Lincoln and Loona.

"Heh, there you go again with your master planning," commented Loona with a mixed tone of amusement and… bitterness? "Maybe you'll get good enough to strike out on your own and call your own shots."

"Maybe," conceded Lincoln. "But right now, I'd like to stick with my friends and family, which brings me to now, where I wanna talk about what's been happening the past few days."

"What's there to talk about?" Loona asked rhetorically and drowsily, closing her eyes. "I fucked up big time, things are awkward between us, and now we're gonna wing it moving forward."

"Yeah, no…" said Lincoln firmly, crossing his arms while shooting Loona a deadpan expression. "How about we start with how exactly we've been hanging out together? Specifically, the fact that we're doing things together that some may mistake us for a couple rather than friends or siblings?"

"Pfft, let those bitches bitch and whine," scoffed Loona dismissively.

"Even if they consisted of Blitzø and Octavia?" asked Lincoln with a slight glower while tapping his left foot.

That question appeared to have awoken Loona almost fully, as she jolted slightly and her eyes shot open. "Wwwwhat do you mean about Via?" asked Loona nervously.

Lincoln pulled out his hellphone and opened Loona's Sinstagram posts featuring her new dresses from Stylish Occult, particularly the posts that also feature the two of them together as they both tried different outfits. He displayed the screen closer to Loona for her to see, which she flinched at.

"Out of all the posts I've seen on your account after you and Octavia became close friends, the posts that feature me and you, particularly the one with us in a wedding outfit combo, are coincidentally missing likes from Octavia, despite the fact that she's been liking your other posts. But, hey, maybe you'd think that she just happened to be busy with something else that she forgot to check your posts. Except that Octavia is active on Sinstagram almost as much as you. And I saw her after both of our photo ops, yet not once did she ever bring them up. Instead, she decided to try and get closer with me, not unlike back when you two were competing over me because of that stupid lust aura."

Loona's ears drooped and eyes shifted downwards in embarrassment as Lincoln resurfaced one of her undignified moments.

"I'll be having a talk with her about this, too," said Lincoln. "But that's for later. Right now, I want to talk about this with you. I'm not putting out any more of that lust aura, so why is it looking like we're gonna see the same thing happening again? Is there something I gotta know about why two of my best friends in Hell are gonna be at each other's throats again after they just started being great friends, especially when it seems like I'm being the problem here?"

"You're not the problem!" roared Loona before recoiling and grasping her head in pain caused by her outburst and lingering hangover. "Look… just… it's not a big deal. It's just some stupid shit that we'll all get over!" growled Loona.

"Then humor me," retorted Lincoln, not faltering. "Is this some kind of Sister Fight Protocol I also have to worry about down here?"

"No! It's not that either!"

"Then please tell me what's going on!"

"I FUCKING LIKE YOU!"

…

…

…

"Wha…?" was all Lincoln could murmur in confusion.

Loona's eyes widened upon realizing what she had just confessed to Lincoln, which she instinctively curled up and hid her head inside her arms, almost like how a dog curls up in when sleeping. Lincoln couldn't fault her in the least bit, for not only was that quite the discovery he'd made from her, but he actually had to give her credit for admitting to something that mind-blowing. Of course, he was still focusing first and foremost on the fact that this confession centered around him being the target of affection, just like when he was stuck in the lust aura situation, except this time, there was no lust aura.

"Loona… how long?" Lincoln asked, trying to stay composed for both his and Loona's sakes.

Loona slightly peered up from her arms before retreating back into them. Nevertheless, she replied in a muffled voice, "Since the stupid lust aura bullshit."

Taken aback, Lincoln blinked a few times before responding, "But the lust aura's gone now."

Loona grunted in slight frustration before she looked back up at him and said to him, "Not that way! … Not anymore, at least." She looked away once more before continuing, "Ever since we hung out at that Japanese city, things started changing. I… I guess the whole time, you've been like a little bro to me and I never wanted to lose that. But then since you fucked up on that one growth spell… I wanted more with you."

Lincoln sighed in exasperation, for once again, the stupid botched spell is still causing problems for him to this day. "Man, is that one little mistake gonna keep haunting me for the rest of my life?"

"Probably… don't see why you're complaining, though. You're a lot stronger and faster. And you're a real ladies' man."

"And it's making things awkward between me and my friends and family," refuted Lincoln, who took a seat on the opposite end of the sofa from Loona. "It's not just you apparently acting like this. Octavia's doing the same, even though she's like a sister to me too." Loona grumbled while remaining curled up like an overgrown dog. "Which is why we needed to talk about this now. That way we can find a way to solve this problem."

"Me having the hots for you is a problem… how about that," remarked Loona bitterly.

"Well, I am only twelve years old, in case you guys forgot," noted Lincoln flatly. "Bad enough that I have to keep reminding Verosika and her girls."

"… Fine, fair enough. But maybe if you didn't actually look like the age you act."

"Oh?" asked Lincoln curiously.

"You're way more mature than any demons down here. Hell, you're way more mature than any humans I've ever seen. And you're a twelve-year-old who's only just started hitting puberty."

'Good grief, is puberty really that important of a threshold?' thought Lincoln nervously. He wondered what it was like for his older sisters, or maybe if they're still undergoing puberty. Was that the explanation for any of their erratic behaviors?

"Not only that," continued Loona. "But you're really starting to act more grown up. Like you're ready to be your own man, calling your own shots, and hell, maybe even run your own business. And you'd do a helluva better job than Blitzø. Plus, your adult body is really hot, the way you take charge and kick ass is hot, and how you always keep worrying about others… that's super hot."

Lincoln could only sit on the sofa, gobsmacked by what he was hearing. Here was one of his older sister figures, confessing to him like one of those dating sims, completely disregarding the fact that he was twelve years old. It probably didn't help that he was there in his adult form and treating her like an adult with an adult-like disposition.

"Loona…" muttered Lincoln, unsure of how to continue the conversation.

"And before you say you're twelve… yes, you're not legal age yet, but don't go thinking age gap is a solid argument. Down here, age gap is only a number. I mean, look at Ozzie. He has the worst-kept secret that he's shagging an imp who's thousands of years younger than him. But they're both consenting adults." She then turned to Lincoln with a mischievous smirk. "So when you turn eighteen, you better watch your ass," quipped Loona. "Unless… that's your kink by that time."

"Gah! Not you, too!" groaned Lincoln, throwing his head back while clapping both of his hands to his ears.

Loona took some amusement at seeing a flustered Lincoln, but then her expression dropped as she fell back into her arms and looked down. "Yeah… you'd probably wanna do it with anyone else but me now, huh?"

"Loona…" said Lincoln, recomposing himself by putting his hands together and emboldening his expression. "It's still way too early for me to be thinking about anything like that. But…" Lincoln looked down to Loona and scooted closer to her so that he was within reach to start lightly scratching behind her ears. "You're still my family. I don't ever wanna lose that. And I'm not gonna throw any of that away, however things turn out between us." As Lincoln continued scratching behind Loona's ears, Loona continuously kicked the air in response to the pleasant sensation.

"Mmmf," Loona lightly grunted, this time in relaxation rather than frustration. "Thanks, Linc."

"It's what I'm here for," quipped Lincoln. "By the way, I'm gonna teleport us back. Brace yourself."

What Lincoln didn't expect was that Loona's idea of bracing herself was wrapping herself around Lincoln like he was her plush toy. Still, Lincoln concentrated on the teleportation spell to transport himself, Loona, and the sofa back to the office.

---

PRIDE RING, I.M.P. Headquarters

Lincoln and Loona suddenly materialized with the sofa back into the office, much to the surprise of Moxxie, Millie, and Blitzø. Of course, the first thing they noticed was Loona clinging onto Lincoln, something Blitzø was about to raise a fuss about before Lincoln raised a hand to stop him.

"I know. Office. Pronto."

"I was gonna say ASAP, but pronto's good!" Blitzø said cordially for the first half but then sternly for the second half.

Loona finally let go of Lincoln to lie back down on the sofa, but not before suggesting, "Linc, you can let me go with you. I can give that shithead a piece of my mind."

"Thanks, but you can do that after I have my talk with him."

"HA!" scoffed Blitzø loudly. "As if you have the brass balls to—AUGH!" Blitzø's boasting was interrupted by Lincoln suddenly grabbing him by the collar, then dragging him into the office, closing the door shut, and casting another noise cancellation spell so that the boss and intern can have their private conversation. On the outside, Moxxie, Millie, and Loona watched, completely dumbfounded by Lincoln taking the initiative, especially against Blitzø.

The three were silent until Loona piped up, "That was hot…" Moxxie and Millie turned to Loona with absolute incredulity.

Meanwhile, inside Blitzø's office, the imp boss himself and his trusty-yet-untrusty intern faced each other in a rather tense staredown. Who did this kid think he was, dragging his boss into his office like he was the one in charge instead of the imp actually running this company? Like the kid had any right to be pissy at him, even though the intern was the one making moves on his daughter?

"Okay, since you seem to think you're the boss here, what's on your oh-so, big-brained, master-planning mind?" Blitzø questioned snappily.

"I honestly wish I knew where to start because I got so many things I wanna talk with you about," replied Lincoln.

"Then how about you let your boss start about how you're getting very frisky with my Looney before you start manhandling me like a sex doll?!"

"No," declared Lincoln firmly. "I'm not gonna let another one of your hour-long lectures stall from what we really need to talk about here!"

"Oh, pfft! Like what?!" inquired Blitzø mockingly, crossing his arms.

"Well, gee," started Lincoln sarcastically, also crossing his arms. "Maybe we can talk about why you were so bent on gaslighting Millie into attacking Verosika? Or how you're always expecting me to be some pervert? Or maybe about how you keep flip-flopping back and forth between treating me like family one moment, then garbage the next? Same with Moxxie!"

"Of course you wouldn't understand!" huffed Blitzø, turning away from Lincoln. "Goddamn softie turning my employees into softies! No wonder you and Moxxie get along swimmingly! Both of you never even try to listen to me when I'm giving helpful advice to get you two to man up!"

"Except your advice is usually more harmful to us just so you can get a good laugh at our expense!"

"You two need to learn how to take a joke!"

"A joke?! Is that what it was when you kept siccing Millie on Verosika?! Is that what it was every time you try to embarrass Loona just cause you catch me and her at a bad time?! Is that what it is every time you try butt in on me and Moxxie just to get more leverage to make our lives harder?!"

"Maybe if you actually listen to my lectures!" retorted Blitzø. "But you don't try to hear me out, just like my therapist!"

"I hear enough to know that you clearly care about your employees as more than just friends!" retorted Lincoln sterner than ever. "But every single time things start getting good between you and the rest of us, you pull off something horrible to push us away! Like you can't even make up your mind whether you wanna be closer to us or live the rest of your life miserable and alone!"

"Hey, you shut your trap about shit you don't know about!" shouted Blitzø. Lincoln's last statement clearly touched a nerve, especially since he'd heard those words from his little acid trip in captivity before. "You got no business digging your nose into my ass like that!"

Ignoring the metaphor, Lincoln powered through and refuted, "Maybe I don't, except for the fact that your business does involve me! It's always involved me ever since you actually took the responsibility to take care of me! It's involved me ever since you personally tried to make sure that I stayed with you instead of Stolas! And it's especially involved me ever since that mission with the human government agents!"

"This coming from the twink who's too much of a puss to learn about sex!" said Blitzø mockingly. "You wanna get nosy in our lives but you can't even bother to learn the most basic shit about sex?!"

"If that's what it takes just to get through to you, then maybe I will start learning!" rebutted Lincoln without missing a beat, much to Blitzø's surprise. Lincoln figured that Blitzø was going to be difficult, but he didn't realize that it was going to be this asinine. "Because I'm worried about the fact that my boss, who I've come to call a good friend, maybe family, is gonna do something really stupid later on to give us that one last excuse to leave you forever and that you actually are gonna be alone for the rest of your life!" Lincoln didn't realize that as he said the last sentence, his eyes started blackening, just as they did during his outburst last night.

"Intern, I'm warning you!" growled Blitzø through gritted teeth undeterred by Lincoln's aggressiveness, his mind racing, his head throbbing, and his hand shaking towards the inside of his suit, reaching for something hidden inside. "Back the fuck off on this!"

"Why should I?!" challenged Lincoln, also undeterred. "I'm not the one here who's scared of being honest! I'm the one who's scared of losing another friend or family since that stupid curse!"

Blitzø angrily kicked his desk before turning to his intern and shouted, "You want honesty?! Fine! You're so goddamn annoying with your goddamn self-righteous attitude thinking you gotta solve all our problems cause you think you're our family less than a year in!"

"Good… grief… Blitzø! Are you even hearing yourself?!" screamed Lincoln, feeling a migraine setting in. "How are you even trying to be this horrible after all your talks about us being 'one big happy family?!'"

"Hello?!" Blitzø asked sarcastically, poking Lincoln in the head several times. "You're in fucking Hell, kid! Everyone's fucking horrible! So get off my case before you find yourself in an even bigger world of shit!"

However, Lincoln didn't back off. Instead, he glared at Blitzø even harder before whispering his rebuttal, "Is that the warning you gave Verosika before you hurt her like you did?"

"Oh, fuck right off, intern!" shouted Blitzø, throwing his hands in the air. "You think you know everything because you're the company's overglorified planner?! You think you can fuck around and act like our savior just cause we like you a little?! Well, guess what?! That bullshit might work on the others, but you don't mean shit to me! In fact, you think you're so grown up now that you can talk to your boss like this?! You think you know so much better than any of us?! Well, if you think you can start calling your own shots, then you can get the fuck outta here! Out of this company! Out of our lives! I don't need you!"

"If you actually believe that," snarled Lincoln, his eyes turning red before continuing, "then why did you adopt Loona in the first place?"

"FUCK YOU, LINCOLN!" hollered Blitzø, getting up in Lincoln's face, who didn't falter in the slightest. "GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!" Without warning, Blitzø grabbed Lincoln by the collars of his suit and threw him out the door to the office, in which Lincoln fell to the floor as Blitzø slammed his door shut.

"Lincoln!" shouted Moxxie, Millie, and Loona. Millie was especially distressed, followed closely by Loona, as they glared at their boss's door like they were trying to burn it all down with their gaze alone. After making sure that Lincoln was okay, Moxxie followed suit as all three started making their way towards Blitzø's office to really give him a piece of their mind, one that would be far worse than the mascot mission.

"Guys, no!" called Lincoln. "Leave him alone right now. It's gonna take a lot more than just one little talk with him."

"Linc, I don't wanna say he's a lost cause, but Blitzø is a lost cause," said Loona. "You're not gonna get through to him."

"If that was true, then he wouldn't have kept taking care of me, even after he had the chance to pawn me off to Stolas."

"But what in Heaven are you going to do with him, then?" asked Moxxie.

"I'll have to figure it out, but that can wait," answered Lincoln, standing up. "Right now, I need to see the others." With that, Lincoln summoned a portal and walked through it to continue his personal mission.

---

PRIDE RING, Stolas's Mansion

Stolas was in half a mind to undress and binge telenovelas the whole day. Alas, he had duties to attend to in his private studies. Then again, if anyone else were to see him in his current state, one would immediately call that a bald-faced lie. Stolas had been sitting at his desk in his personal study without any progress accomplished in his work. Instead, he was currently occupied by what he had witnessed the previous day, one that pertains to a particular human of interest. What started out as a simple day in which he'd meet with the target of his never-ending affection to arrange an upcoming special day had completely devolved rather catastrophically into an escalating altercation at the expense of his dear student. Even worse was that yesterday's event must've been the straw that broke the camel's back of some proliferating issue, causing his student to erupt in a fit of rage to lash out against all who were present, particularly the ones who accidentally injured him.

And here was Stolas, fearing that he may have played some part in Lincoln's distress, yet despite spending his time up to this point racking his brain to understand what exactly it was, he hadn't figured it out. Without an inkling behind the source of Lincoln's distress, Stolas was also at an impasse in determining how to approach his student. Of course, he had received a text from Lincoln last night, stating that he wished for a personal conversation with each and every individual involved in yesterday's bickering. He could tell Lincoln meant no ill-will in his message with a reassuring tone, yet it didn't ease all of his worries away. After all, what if Lincoln was harboring some personal resentment in which Stolas couldn't accommodate? Perhaps he might have to contact Vassago if that were to be true.

Stolas didn't have to wait long, for his thoughts were interrupted when a portal materialized a few feet away from his desk. From that portal, Lincoln emerged in his adult form, who analyzed his surroundings until he finally spotted Stolas.

"Hey, Stolas," greeted Lincoln awkwardly. "Er… sorry to barge in like this, but I didn't know a better time than now to talk to you. I made sure that Stella wasn't in before teleporting here."

Stolas remained silent and dumbstruck for a moment until he registered what his student said before stammering a response, "Oh! Eh… heheh… well, yes, I suppose. But you could've simply texted me a heads-up to better prepare for our meeting."

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't wait on this," justified Lincoln. "Not after everything that happened last night."

"Yes, I suppose we shan't delay that conversation," sighed Stolas, bracing himself.

"Honestly, Stolas? It's not just about what happened last night."

"Oh?"

"It's also about what you've been 'joking' about," clarified Lincoln with air quotes.

"Oh! Think nothing of those, Lincoln," said Stolas quickly and nervously, waving his hands in front of him. "Those are merely jests! You need not worry about… marrying my little owlet."

And there it was. Lincoln noticed that hesitation in Stolas's reassurance, indicating to him that Stolas wasn't comfortable at the idea of not strengthening the bond between him and Stolas's daughter, something Lincoln had to call him out on.

"Right… jest… except you don't sound comfortable that it's a jest," said Lincoln with a deadpan expression. "Stolas… it's just the two of us here… you can tell me what's going on."

Blinking owlishly, Stolas sighed once more, this time in surrender. After taking another minute to compose himself, he finally responded to Lincoln, "It's actually a little bit complicated. You see, I've been noticing that Octavia has been rather… unhappy. Far more than she had before she first met you. N-n-not that it is you who is the source of her unhappiness!"

"I get it, please continue," said Lincoln just as quickly.

"Right. Well. I'm sure you understand what happened to Octavia during your first mission up in Kamurocho."

How could anyone forget that? Octavia was forced to hang out with her mother for the weekend, which also involved some supposed Goetic duties pertaining blood sacrifices that devolved the moment she learned that Lincoln was going to be involved. In her hasty improvisation to salvage the situation, she attempted to contact Lincoln and her father for help, only to be kidnapped by her own mother to be forced to witness the death of her only best friend. While Lincoln had overcome the odds against him and Octavia was rescued, the owlet was clearly traumatized by the experience, as evidenced by her inconsolable sobbing and hugging.

'Hang on, now that Stolas mentioned that,' thought Lincoln. 'Could it be that Octavia…?' He didn't have to wait long for clarification.

"My owlet always looked forward to your visits, whether they be for the lessons or simple playdates. But ever since that mission, she'd practically been counting down the minutes to your anticipated arrivals. You may have also noticed that I've been tailoring our lessons in a specific manner."

"I thought they seemed a little suspicious, but I never figured out what the purpose was."

"You see, dear boy, the lessons were a mix of gauging your spell capabilities, improving your reflexes, and ensuring you were well-suited to be proper company for Octavia."

"… Come again?" asked Lincoln blankly.

"You have to remember that Octavia, despite her rebellious nature and preferences, is a member of royalty. Much is expected of her when her time comes, but after all that has happened, she is very much in need of support. Support that… I believe I am no longer capable of providing on my own."

"And you believe I'm the best one to do that?"

"Do you not believe in yourself?" asked Stolas, almost confused by Lincoln's question. "Even you must have realized just how much happier Octavia seems any moment she spends with you. And although I have joked about you two being wed, not once did Octavia provide any objections despite being flustered every time."

"Well, I mean… I kinda figured that an objection was obvious enough to be unsaid," said Lincoln, scratching the back of his head.

"One would think that… until our little lesson on transformation. Do you recall that Octavia was completely smitten with your transformation that she couldn't pull herself away from you?"

"Yeah… and no lust aura was involved that time," sighed Lincoln in exasperation.

Stolas giggled before carrying on, "It appears you have another potential suitor. If I recall correctly from our conversation after your mission against the cherubs, you alluded to another potential lover on Earth."

"Hey, I never alluded to anything, okay?!" disputed a blushing Lincoln. "You're the one who made assumptions!"

"If you say so, dear boy," chuckled Stolas. "But moving on, seeing how much happier Octavia is with you, and realizing that I cannot think of anyone else I trust her with besides myself, I was humoring the idea of you two tying the knot in order to secure her happiness. If I had known that this idea was causing you such distress, I would've personally consulted with you on this."

Now that Lincoln was getting a clearer picture about this changing dynamic with Octavia, he finally understood that this was almost a similar setup with his strange new dynamic with Loona. Both were older sister figures in his new life to fill the void left behind by his family on Earth because of the curse, but since his mishap with the growth spell, both initially were smitten by his transformation due to the lust aura. Even after the lust aura dissipated, although both Loona and Octavia no longer appeared to be feeling lustful towards Lincoln, they still possessed feelings that seem to have shifted to be more amorous. It was already crazy enough to learn from Loona herself that she had been harboring these feelings towards him despite the fact that he was still a prepubescent child. Now to hear that Octavia was possibly harboring these feelings as well? He definitely needed to talk to her about this if this was indeed the case. However, he still needed to address the elephant in the room.

"Um… you two do know that I'm still twelve years old, right?" asked Lincoln.

"Honestly? With your adult form, you could very easily fool anyone of your true age. You act far more mature than any of us."

"Even yourself?"

"Lincoln… you were the only one who was able to help repair my relationship with my daughter in our lowest points," Stolas pointed out. "Never forget that feat, for it is one of many that will forever serve as a testament to your maturity."

"I guess I never thought of it that way because of how I'm learning so much down here," remarked Lincoln thoughtfully.

"Believe me, dear boy," reassured Stolas. "We are learning much from your level-headedness."

"Even still, that doesn't really change the fact that I'm underage."

"Yes… I suppose that is another fault of mine," said Stolas in a disappointed tone. "It appears that despite all my efforts to provide for my daughter and you, I still carried undesirable traits of my father."

"Your father?" asked Lincoln, now fully curious and invested. This would be the first time he'd ever heard more about Stolas's family outside of Octavia, for he only had paintings within the mansion for context.

"Yes. The man whose only contributions to my life were my birth, my assignment for the Goetia Family, and my betrothal to Stella."

"Wait, you were forced into an arranged marriage? With someone like her?"

"Yes… but that is a story for another time. Right now, you only need to understand that I seem to be resembling my father in that I am similarly betrothing my daughter to you."

"Well, not exactly. I mean, from what I've heard about betrothals, those are already determined with both parties having no choice in the matter. At the very least, you seem to be giving me and Octavia a choice, right?"

Stolas managed a small smile before stating, "I suppose I can always count on you to unconditionally reward me with the benefit of the doubt."

"Hey, it's all part of my learning process down here. And one of the biggest things I've learned is that things aren't always so clear-cut black-and-white," said Lincoln with a grin before his expression turned serious. "But seriously, Stolas, we need to tone down on the marriage suggestions."

"Yes, you have my word, no more word on marriage without both of your approval," declared Stolas.

"Deal. And in return… I'll do everything in my power to try and be there for Octavia… and you."

Stolas's eyes widened in astonishment by what his student had proposed. There Lincoln stood with a very confident and determined expression on his face. Despite having emphasized his true age of twelve years, his declaration in his adult form exuded complete reassurance and comfort. How strange indeed, that a royal demon of over thirty years is taking comfort and security from a human child and stranger. Then again, Lincoln's behavior more than half the time is anything but childlike. Quite the strange irony that despite being aided by other demons ever since he was first trapped in this realm, Lincoln would eventually grow to be the ultimate emotional support for those demons, especially if they worried so much over any negative reactions from the human child.

"Lincoln… thank you… so much," said Stolas, smiling widely with tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

"Any time, Stolas," replied Lincoln. "Of course, I still need to come up with something for us to do together."

"Come again, dear boy?" asked a perplexed Stolas.

"It's part of my two-phase plan. First is to talk to all of you guys about what happened last night to clear the air between us. Second is to spend some time together on an activity."

"Oh, how very thoughtful of you. What did we ever do to deserve you?"

"Well, saving my life and taking care of me, for starters."

Stolas had intended his question to be rhetorical, but the fact that Lincoln answered without missing a beat and unironically made him feel just as heartfelt and emotional as Lincoln's answer. Stolas watched as Lincoln made his leave to find Octavia, processing their conversation while feeling butterflies in his stomach.

'Oh, Lincoln,' thought Stolas. 'You have no idea how appealing you are as a person to us demons. Why, if you were older and I didn't have my eyes on Blitzy…'

---

PRIDE RING, Stolas's Mansion, Octavia's Bedroom

Lincoln had been in this mansion several times, thanks to his magic lessons. Every single time, he'd been given a mini-tour to learn both the crucial areas for some spellcasting and the mansion's layout, particularly Octavia's room. Aside from her parents, Octavia had denied entry into her bedroom to anyone or anything else for the longest time until she met Lincoln for the first time. After her issues were mostly resolved in Loo Loo Land, she had allowed Lincoln entry at any time, although Lincoln still remembered his own tip back on Earth to always knock before entering his sisters' bedrooms or the bathroom when the door was closed.

As such, Lincoln, upon arrival at Octavia's closed bedroom door, transformed back into his child form and knocked a few times before calling out, "Octavia? Are you in there?"

He received no answer, which could only mean one of three possibilities: Octavia wasn't in her room, Octavia was listening to some loud music, or Octavia was in her room and willingly ignoring whoever beckoned her. Lincoln tried knocking again, this time louder and harder just in case for the second possibility. "Via?! Are you in there?!" After receiving no response once again, he called out to her, "I'm coming in! Please be decent!" With that, he opened the door and entered.

Lincoln had been in her room a few times whenever they hung out together after their lessons with Stolas. Usually, their activities consisted of trying out a few clothes from Stylish Occult, listening to some popular Hell songs, jamming together with an electric guitar and drum set, or playing video games together on her personally-owned console. Therefore, as he browsed the room, he noticed everything in place the way they should be, except for one major detail. There, on Octavia's bed, was a large lump under the covers, which could only mean one thing to him.

Sighing softly, Lincoln made his way to the bed and stood close to it over the lump. "Via?" The lump didn't move, but after a few moments, it responded very softly, "Hey, Linc."

Finally receiving an acknowledgement from Octavia, Lincoln propped himself up on her bed to sit next to her. "How have you been holding up?"

"… You really have to ask that?" asked Octavia somewhat snarkily.

"Look, I know I said some… rough words last night," said Lincoln. "But I just wanna let you know that I'm not angry at you. I'm not even disappointed in you. But we really do need to talk about… us."

"What's there to talk about? There's obviously nothing going on between us."

"I'm sorry, Octavia, but we both know that's not entirely true. At least, I didn't even realize there was something between us until now. I always thought that anything you felt for me was because of that stupid lust aura, and when that disappeared, so did any of those adult feelings you had for me, and that we went back to being like platonic siblings."

"Yeah…" commented Octavia. "I guess I was demanding too much, wasn't I?"

"Um… pardon?" asked Lincoln, unsettled by Octavia's response.

"Never mind, forget it," said Octavia, curling up even more.

"Yeah, no," declared Lincoln flatly. "I'm not gonna just 'forget it.' Not when you're clearly bothered by something here. What's going on?"

With Lincoln asking in such a resolute tone, Octavia couldn't help but feel compelled to answer, even though the truth scared her greatly, almost second to her greatest fear of losing her father. In fact, she was shivering from the thought of what she'd have to confess to one of the very few people whose company she enjoyed.

Taking the leap of faith, Octavia answered, "I like you. Okay?"

"Like? As in… like-like?" asked Lincoln for clarity. He heard this from Stolas and he noticed similar patterns when he confronted Loona, but he wanted to hear the whole truth straight from the horse's mouth.

"… Yeah…"

Lincoln was silent for a moment before asking, "I'm assuming since that day I hooked you up with Loona in Kamurocho?"

"Actually… before that. I mean that day when you rescued me from… mother."

"Oh… wait, but that was still when I had the lust aura," Lincoln verified, slightly confused by Octavia's answer.

"Yeah, but you still rescued me like a knight in shining armor when I thought I'd be forced to watch you die. And ever since then, with or without that stupid lust aura… I started seeing you differently."

"Oh… wow, I… I didn't think I had that much of an effect on you," said Lincoln sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, that's what happens when you're kind, loving, and fierce enough to throw down to protect me," admitted Octavia. "I'm pretty sure the same can be said for many other demons."

"Yeah… looks like it's you, Verosika, and even Loona." Upon mentioning her name, Lincoln noticed the lump that was Octavia flinch. "I'm guessing you didn't know about that?"

"No… and that's gonna make things so awkward between us."

"Well, I did talk to her about that, and I'm hoping we can come up with a way to make our friendship work."

"And what about the fact that we like you as more than friends?"

"Well, first of all, I'm still twelve years old." If Lincoln had a nickel for every time he said that today… he'd have three nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened thrice.

"And I'm seventeen, which means I really don't have to wait that long for us to at least start dating," chaffed Octavia.

"Very forward of you. You're actually willing to date your lil' bro?" Lincoln sassed back.

"Not blood-related, so you're free game."

"Assuming I'd actually say yes to being your boyfriend."

"I'll make it a royal decree. I'll be old enough to do that in a few more years."

"Well now I really don't wanna be your boyfriend with that abuse of power," Lincoln pouted, turning away and crossing his arms dramatically.

"Well then, I'm not giving a choice by not letting you go," bantered Octavia. Lincoln didn't realize the implications behind that statement until he felt the bed shift, which he was too late to react to Octavia suddenly wrapping her arms around him and pulling him under the cover.

"AUGH! Let go of me, you tyrant!"

"No! You're not leaving this nest!"

"You can't keep me here forever!"

"Why don't you turn into your adult form?!"

"That just turns me from your plushy to a body pillow!"

Octavia felt herself getting heated, her face blushing, and her feathers ruffling upon hearing that exclamation. Additionally, it broke her out of her playful adrenaline, resulting in her slowly and softly cradling Lincoln closer to her. Lincoln, realizing that the roughhousing suddenly halted, stopped thrashing and accepted Octavia's embrace, waiting for her to make her next response.

"Linc… I… my dad and I are working on finding a way to break your curse so you can return to your life up top," started Octavia. "But… what if… what if you just end up leaving… and never come back again?"

This wasn't the first time Lincoln ever thought of this possibility. He had thought before about how his mindset about Hell had changed since he first arrived here, and he felt hesitant to leave this realm should he ever find a way to break his curse and return to his friends and family. Or rather specifically, he was hesitant to leave the people he had come to call his friends and family down here. In fact, he would love to introduce them to his friends and family up top, just like the way he envisioned during his weird hallucination that night he was captured by the government agents.

As much as he would like to daydream about those possibilities, right now, he had to answer Octavia's question. However, when she'd asked her question, Lincoln finally got an idea of what Octavia had been fretting about. He remembered when she confessed a while back her fear that her father would leave her for good, and now he realized that she was feeling that same fear with him: the possibility that Lincoln would also leave her for good after all they'd been through together. After all that he'd experienced so far, he could finally give his answer with the utmost conviction.

"Octavia," said Lincoln, holding the owlet's hands cradling him. "I promise. If I ever find a spell like that, I won't ever use it." He felt Octavia shift slightly before being embraced a little harder. "I don't ever want to think of the idea that I'll never see you guys again. I promise that I won't stop until I find a way to break the curse where I can have all of you in my life, no matter what." He heard her sniffle while her grasp on him didn't slacken in the slightest. "But we do need to address the feelings you and Loona have for me."

"Right… how are we gonna do that?"

"I don't know. I'm gonna need some time, but I'll try and figure something out." Lincoln shifted to try and get out of bed, but immediately found himself unable to due to Octavia maintaining her grip on him.

"Can you stay here a little longer?" pleaded Octavia softly.

"As much as I'd like to, I still have things to resolve with the rest of you guys from last night."

"… Okay," conceded Octavia in a whiny tone, finally letting go of Lincoln. Taking the chance, Lincoln got out of bed, but turned around to cradle her face with one hand.

"I promise, even if we don't get romantic, I'll still be your friend and be there for you."

"… Linc, you're making it so hard to not grab you again and cuddle with you for the rest of the day."

"Right!" Lincoln exclaimed, hopping off the bed before Octavia could make good on her threat. "I'll be back!" With that, Lincoln summoned a portal to parts unknown to her. Still, her talk did uplift her spirits enough to realize that she shouldn't be spending all day in bed feeling sorry for herself. After all, Lincoln always made the effort to help her whether she asked for it or not, and whether she remained his sister-like figure or became a potential romantic partner, she needed to give back just as much.

---

LUST RING, Verosika's Mansion

Verosika was chugging her glass of Beelzejuice once more to dull the pain she felt since last night. What was supposed to be a fun day to unwind with some dancing and finishing it with a nice dip in a hot tub with the target of her affections ended in a complete shitshow that escalated because of her shitstain of an ex stirring the pot, only for her dear Lincoln to literally take the brunt of the attack. To make matters worse, this completely set Lincoln off enough to blow up at everyone present in the room before leaving to someplace else but her haunt, away from everyone.

She remembered before Lincoln first visited her mansion the phone call she had with him that he was driven to exhaustion due to the numerous strenuous activities spent with his coworkers, Stolas, and his daughter. Looking back on it, she wasn't any better, especially since her idea of unwinding was another physically arduous activity and then flustering him with her and her girls' bodies in almost full display.

'Why is it so hard to fight my instincts for just one lousy day?' Verosika scathingly thought to herself. After all Lincoln had done for her, she hated that she couldn't fight her instincts and habits for the one guy who actually gave her hope for happiness. 'Maybe I really do belong in rehab.'

Before she could deprecate herself further, she was interrupted by a bright light emanating from a magical portal appearing in the middle of her living room. Could it be who she thought it was?

Indeed it was, for Lincoln, in his child form, stepped through the portal before it disappeared. He looked around until he spotted Verosika.

"… Hey, Ver," greeted Lincoln awkwardly with a sight wave of a hand.

"Lincy?!" exclaimed a surprised Verosika.

"Yeah… how's it going?" Lincoln asked, walking up and taking a seat next to her.

"Oh! Uh… fine, just fine," stammered Verosika.

"… Really?" Lincoln asked skeptically.

Verosika paused for a moment before dropping her head and answered, "No…"

"I figured," said Lincoln, scratching the back of his head. He realized that he was doing this a lot any time things got awkward. "I said some pretty harsh words to everyone last night."

Verosika frowned and remained silent for a moment before responding, "It's not just that." She lifted her glass of Beelzejuice to her mouth before stopping herself. Realizing her present company, she placed the glass back down.

"What do you mean?" asked Lincoln.

"… It's me too. About what I've been doing that… might be a little unfair to you."

"How do you figure?"

"… I'm supposed to be your friend. Instead, I'm forcing you into some activities I find fun and relaxing without even thinking about your feelings in the matter. Even worse, I sprung that bullshit on you last minute, asking you for help in my work business without giving you time to think about this."

"Oh… wow, uh… you definitely thought a lot about last night."

"Kinda hard not to after everything that happened."

"Fair enough. It also kinda brings me to something I wanted to ask you."

Verosika turned to him, feeling both curious and anxious at the same time.

"Where do I stand with you?"

"Wwwhat do you mean?" asked Verosika nervously.

"You said that I'm your friend, but… I have a feeling that you want something more, right?"

Verosika took a moment to process Lincoln's question before looking downwards once again. It seems now was the time to rip off the band-aid and hope she doesn't bleed out.

"Yeah… I do…"

"Man… to think I wasn't such a ladies' man back up top before I came down here. And now I got seven women looking my way."

"Heh…" chuckled Verosika until she registered what Lincoln just said. "Wait, seven? Who are the other two?"

"… Loona and Octavia," Lincoln answered hesitantly with a blush.

"Wait, the hellhound and the Goetia?" inquired Verosika mirthfully.

"Yeah?" clarified Lincoln, unsure about the tone of Verosika's question.

"Holy shit, I was wondering when they'd make their move."

"… Excuse me?"

"What, you didn't realize 'til now? Those two have had the hots for you before and after your little lust aura episode."

"Geez Louise, why is romance so confusingly difficult?" asked Lincoln, exasperated by the romantic revelations.

"Preaching to the choir, Lincy," said Verosika, chuckling into her hand. "So… they wanna be your girlfriends?"

"Yeah," confirmed Lincoln, hanging his head low like Verosika had earlier. "And now that's made things complicated."

"Oh? You didn't seem to have too much of a problem with me and my girls."

"…"

"Ok, nevermind, you have your hands full, even with us."

"Yeah, and even then, Loona and Octavia… they're like sisters to me."

"Ooohhh… I see the problem," uttered Verosika, cringing.

"Even if they're willing to wait until I'm old enough to start dating, I don't know if I can ever see them that way. Not after everything we've been through together."

"Well," giggled Verosika. "You say that now, but once puberty hits you like a dump truck, you're probably gonna start seeing them differently, especially since you're not blood-related."

"Again with the puberty!" groaned Lincoln. "Everyone's been warning me about that! Is it really that big a deal?!"

"Yeah," answered Verosika amusedly. "It's pretty much the source of all the high school dramas you've ever heard of."

"Wait, is that why Lori and Bobby can't stop thinking about each other?" asked Lincoln, suddenly receiving an epiphany.

"That's your oldest sister, right? The one in college?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

"Oh great, I really hope that I don't lose focus that easily. It's already bad enough that it happened with Ms. DiMartino."

"Oh?" Verosika perked up before leaning closer to Lincoln with a mischievous grin. "Sounds like another scandalous story to share."

"Maybe another time. Right now, I gotta focus on all of you guys and what happened last night."

In an instant, Verosika's expression fell. "Right," she said simply. "I'm guessing you're not interested in romance."

"It's not that I never wanna have a relationship. I'm just… not sure I'm ready for one any time soon. I mean, this is the fourth time I've had to say it today, but you guys know I'm twelve years old, right?"

"Yeah… except the fact that you're way more mature than a twelve-year-old makes me forget that you are one, especially when you use your adult form."

"You and everyone else, it seems," remarked Lincoln. Now it was clear to him that his recent problems had all stemmed from his personality mixed with the spell he screwed up on. Everyone was truly viewing him so differently because his experience in Hell had really shaped up his personality, despite not having spent too long down here. As such, everyone immediately took his growing maturity as nearing adulthood and independence, causing them to change their behaviors and interactions with him. Now that he thought about it, this is Hell, where everyone's conducts are so erratic, and when combined with the fact that any taboo regarding age gap is nonexistent, he should've realized everyone would stop treating him like a child sooner than anticipated. Or rather, in Millie's case, trying to treat him like a child as if there was no tomorrow.

'You know, now that I bring up Lori, is everyone's reaction here the same as how dad felt when she left for college?' thought Lincoln, remembering how his dad clung onto the back of Lori's car when she took off.

"I haven't even started high school and everyone's treating me so differently now," Lincoln observed.

"Well… it could be worse," said Verosika sheepishly, trying to alleviate the mood. "You could be some Chosen One and be told that too."

"Heh, telling a twelve-year-old they're the Chosen One, huh? That'd be even worse than what went down last night."

Upon mentioning that, both Lincoln and Verosika fell silent, unsure of how to proceed in the conversation. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Verosika finally broke the ice, "So… what are you thinking about how we go from here?"

"It's hard to say. I know I still wanna be friends with you and the others and hang out in our free time. But I'm not ready for romance. And it seems like there's a lot to work through on that, especially with Loona and Octavia."

Verosika felt a sense of déjà vu before realizing that she was in a similar position before, where she had confessed her love for her ex, which resulted in quite the memorable shitstorm for the wrong reasons. While she figured Lincoln may not pull off some extremely horrible bullshit like her ex did, she finally understood that she might be really rushing into things that Lincoln isn't ready for. Furthermore, it would be extremely unfair to pressure him like that when he had been the most accommodating since she met him.

"I promise I won't try to pressure you into romance, Lincy," affirmed Verosika. "I guess I still have some issues to work through, and I was trying to work through them through you. But I should be holding to my promise that I won't do anything you don't want me to do."

Lincoln took a moment to try and figure out when she made that promise until he remembered that was back when she hired him and his company for the Tokyo hit on the yakuza boss. Man, doesn't that bring back memories, even though it wasn't too long ago.

In any case, Lincoln still had some issues to resolve, and he needed to finish up Part One of his plan with Verosika right here and now. Using his magic, he quickly changed into his adult form. Verosika barely had a moment to register what Lincoln was doing before she was pulled into a hug. Upon finally realizing Lincoln's actions, Verosika leaned into his embrace and wrapped her arms around him.

"V," started Lincoln, "I promise you that whatever happens between us, I will still be your friend and be there for you when you need me."

Though she was touched by Lincoln's declaration, tears were threatening to leak from her eyes. She couldn't stop herself from sniffling, which caused Lincoln to hug her even tighter, though thankfully nowhere near as tight as how Millie would hug him.

"What if I need you all the time?" quipped Verosika, wanting to break the tension.

"But you're a grownup," replied Lincoln, not moving away from the hug. "I know you're not helpless all the time."

"Fine, be that way," pouted Verosika, pulling away from the hug to exaggerate like a child, complete with her arms crossed.

"Besides, I still have to help the Wild Owlets with their upcoming gig on top of trying to figure out what I can do with you and the others to help make up for what happened last night."

"Oh, right, almost forgot about that," said Verosika, realizing she completely forgot something vital.

"Yeah… I've got a lot on my plate, it seems," commented Lincoln, eyes widening and looking crestfallen at the prospect of his workload.

Verosika recognized the fear on his face and, remembering her thoughts on how Lincoln was constantly giving while barely receiving anything in return, came to a decision.

"Linc, you said that the hellhound and princess are head over heels for you, but they're not sure about how to go from there, right?"

"Yeah?" answered Lincoln questioningly.

"I have an idea… but I'm gonna need you to trust me on this," stated Verosika. "I know it's asking too much, but can you please let me handle them? I promise, I will do everything I can to make things right with them."

This was it. The moment of truth. The final decision that would determine how much Lincoln actually trusted her. A request that Verosika now realized the immense gravity of it, which spiked up her anxiety—

"Okay."

…

…

"… Really?" asked Verosika, stunned by Lincoln's lack of hesitation.

"Yeah. I'll trust you on this. I really do need the help," admitted Lincoln, feeling relieved. "Just please promise me that we'll all at least still be friends by the end of whatever you do with them?"

Verosika gave a genuine smile and answered wholeheartedly, "Anything for you, Lincy." This time, she answered that without any sultriness or flirtation. Hopefully, this was her indication on how serious she was gonna take this and not humor her base succubus instinct. She'll also definitely need to relay this to her girls.

*RING RING* *RING RING*

Lincoln picked up his ringing hellphone and saw, to his surprise, that it was Moxxie calling.

"Hey, Moxxie, what's up?" he answered.

"Lincoln! We have a problem!" shouted Moxxie frantically.

"What happened, Moxxie?!" called back a worried Lincoln.

"Blitzø has gone missing!"

"Wait, what?!" Hearing Lincoln's exclamation made Verosika watch with worry, despite not understanding the nature of the call.

"Ever since your argument with him, he hadn't come out of his office," Moxxie explained. "Millie couldn't wait any longer and wanted to read him the riot act, but he wasn't in his office and the window was open! And he's not picking up any of our calls! And our calls don't even go to voicemail and our text messages don't get sent and received! It seems like he destroyed his phone again!"

"Dang it! What kinda stupid stunt is he trying to pull now?!"

"Whatever it is, we have no way to track him down to find out!"

"Hmm…" hummed Lincoln, eyes shut and racking his brain for ideas. "Wait, Stolas!"

"The Prince?"

"Yes! He has a tracking spell on Blitzø!" exclaimed Lincoln excitedly. Upon hearing her ex's name, Verosika's mood soured, especially with Lincoln's previous question about his boss. She can only hope that this isn't the crowning moment of her ex's stupid bullshit that'll crush Lincoln like her. "Moxxie! Just hang on, I'll come pick you guys up!"

"Okay, see you soon!" With that, Lincoln hung up and turned to Verosika. "V, I'm sorry, but something important came up!"

"And it involves your shitstain of a boss," sighed Verosika in frustration. "Just saying… probably not worth it."

"I know, but this isn't my first rodeo," said Lincoln, remembering the times he had to help his friends and family up top against his better judgment. Lincoln summoned a portal, but before he stepped through, he addressed to Verosika one last time, "I'll be right back."

Verosika bid her farewell to him and added, "Please be careful." As Lincoln entered the portal and dissipated it, Verosika was left alone in her mansion, pondering her next move. She pulled out her phone to search her Sinstagram posts until she finally located two particular users to send them a private message.

---

PRIDE RING, Stolas's Mansion

After portaling back to his company's headquarters and retrieving Moxxie, Millie, and Loona, the four of them entered Lincoln's portal into Stolas's personal study. Without wasting any time, Lincoln found Stolas, who had not left his study since their conversation, and called out to him, "Stolas! We need your help!"

"Oh my, Lincoln!" squawked Stolas in surprise. "I know you're a dear friend, but you really should give me a heads-up for your unannounced visits."

"I'll keep that in mind next time, but no time for that now! Blitzø is missing and we need your help!"

"Oh! In that case, feel free to interrupt me!" replied Stolas unironically. "I'll always make time for that!" As Stolas summoned magical energy to cast a spell, he said to Lincoln, "You have done well to remember my little tracking spell on Blitzy."

"Ugh, can you not while we're here?!" growled Loona.

"Sorry, Stolas, I'm with Loona on this," said Lincoln pleadingly in consideration of her and the others. "We're on a mission here."

"Right, right," said Stolas, regaining focus on the matter at hand.

As Stolas continued casting his tracking spell, Lincoln pondered and addressed to his coworkers, "You know, even though I learned about this spell, I never thought to use it on you guys for your privacy. I'm starting to wonder if that might be needed, especially for our missions."

"It's perfectly fine with me, baby boy!" Millie encouraged promptly.

"Me too," agreed Moxxie. "I always trust you have our best interests at heart."

"… You know what, as long as it's just you, I'm cool then," said Loona, slightly blushing.

With their permission, Lincoln cast his own tracking spell on his coworkers while waiting for Stolas to find Blitzø.

"Found him!" called Stolas. "Oh… well, that's interesting."

"Where is he?" asked Lincoln.

"It appears he's in—"

---

"Pentagram City?!"

That was all Lincoln blurted out upon receiving his answer from Stolas. Of course, neither he nor the others had time to ponder what Blitzø could possibly want from here. Therefore, Stolas opened a portal to the general area and, after Lincoln transformed into his adult incubus form, the four stepped through to pursue their boss. Stolas stayed behind since he was royalty with no pressing business matters in Pentagram City, which would make the group an even bigger target than they preferred.

I.M.P. stepped through the portal to the other side, they found themselves in a fairly glitzy and glamorous city area, which definitely caught their interests. Unlike Imp City, Pentagram City was definitely nowhere near as dilapidated with numerous buildings shining neon lights to advertise various luxuries and false promises of happiness. Of course, just like other parts of Hell they'd seen in the Pride Ring, Pentagram City was not without various destroyed buildings, some of which were on fire as a result of turf wars. Therefore, the team would have to bring their A-game.

However, as the team viewed their surroundings, one part of the locale caught Lincoln's attention: a large red Japanese shrine gate he'd seen in Asian temple settings, which shone its own neon lights with the words "Little Japan."

PRIDE RING, Pentagram City, Little Japan

"Wait a minute, this looks just like that entrance gate up in Kamurocho!"

"How do we keep landing ourselves in that location or someplace similar?" questioned Moxxie. "I mean, is that really all our world is limited to?"

"What are you talking about, Mox? We've been on plenty of missions elsewhere," answered Millie.

"It just seems like any time there's drama in our lives, we end up in that particular district."

"We'll figure that out later," said Lincoln. "Right now, our priority is Blitzø."

"What's the plan, man?" asked Loona.

"We stick together for safety," Lincoln declared. "We're basically in the heartland of Sinners and Overlords, so we can't take any chances by splitting up. Loona, you can track Blitzø with your nose, but just in case he took paths that would lead us into circles, we'll need to ask around for him. However, since a situation can turn ugly fast, we'll need safety in numbers for a fight."

"Lincoln, you will never stop impressing me with your penchant for planning," complimented Moxxie proudly.

"That's my baby boy!" cheered Millie.

Loona didn't say anything, but still smiled at the fact that she befriended a smart and considerate man, as well as the prospect of him being a potential boyfriend.

The team crossed the shrine gate into the Kamurocho-like district to search for their boss. However, none of them realized that some particular demon took notice of and interest in them. On top of a nearby roof stood two demons: one was a gray and orange bat-like demon with hair neatly slicked back and wearing a business suit and one black leather glove on his right hand, and the other one was simply a red humanlike demon who also had slick back hair, though it was shorter than the other demon, with a mustache and a pair of large horns and also wore a business suit while holding a cane. The two mysterious demons eyed the group before stepping back out of sight.

---

The team continued their way through the district, following Loona as she sniffed Blitzø's trail. However, if this task had been conducted on Earth, the team wouldn't have run into nearly as much trouble as they somehow have been now.

"Hey, you!" called out some demon thugs emerging from an alleyway. Thankfully, Lincoln had the foresight to cast the universal translation spell before he and his coworkers stepped through the entrance shrine gate. "You tourists gotta pay the toll to stroll around these parts!"

"Some things don't change, do they?" sighed Lincoln. "Well, any of you guys wanna crack at 'em?"

"Leave 'em to me, baby boy!" Millie volunteered excitedly. "I got an itch to scratch, and not the kind my Mox-Mox can take care of!"

"Millie!" shouted an aghast Moxxie.

"Uuuuhhh…" stammered Lincoln.

"Yeah, word of warning, Linc," Loona said to the traumatized Lincoln. "The moment you learn about the bird and the bees, you gotta think about how your parents went at it. And I mean both of them."

…

…

…

'I really wish I could take the easy way out and learn a memory-wiping spell,' thought Lincoln.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" demanded one of the demon thugs.

---

"Uuuuggghhh… maybe you should've ignored me…" groaned the demon thug, lying in a bloody pool alongside his fellow demons who were battered and bruised in various ways.

"Whoo!" whooped Millie. "Now that was a good warm-up for the day!"

"I'm glad you had your fun, Millie," applauded Lincoln. "Now we gotta find—"

"Hey, you!" shouted a demon strutting up to him, followed by a few others.

"Dang it!" shouted Lincoln in outrage, throwing his hands up in the air. "We haven't even taken a step!"

"You four are looking mighty fine! How's about you all come with us for some real fun?" leered the demon thug.

"… Alright, which one of you guys want a piece?" Lincoln asked his coworkers.

"They pissed me off," said Loona, readying her claws and baring her teeth. "I'll make 'em eat shit."

"We're gonna make you eat your words, bitch!" taunted the demon thug.

---

The demon thug was lying on the ground in a broken mess with his trousers jammed into his mouth as he muffled his groans of pain. His fellow thugs were also lying in a bloody mess thanks to Loona's mauling.

"I swear, these assholes are actually masochists if they're picking fights out of the blue like this," remarked Loona.

"Okay, now we gotta find—"

"Hey, you!"

"Are you kidding me?! What now?!" Lincoln shouted to the heavens before turning to another incoming group of demon thugs.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"I hate your stupid face and I wanna rearrange it!" insulted the leader demon thug, punching into his hand and cracking his knuckles.

"Okay, seriously, these excuses are starting to be bottom-of-the-barrel material," Lincoln said to the readers.

"Don't you worry, Lincoln, I got this," said Moxxie, pulling out a knife and a gun.

"… I feel like I made a grievous lapse in judgment," muttered the demon thug, eyes widening in fear after spotting the gun.

---

The demon thug lied on the ground, groaning in pain based on the numerous lacerations and bullet holes in his body.

"This isn't working as well as I hoped," said Lincoln. "Literally every which way, these random thugs are coming out of the woodwork to take a shot at us."

"Blitzø sure picked quite the spot," noted Millie. "Now I'm even more worried for him."

"Maybe we're going about this wrong," said Moxxie, placing a finger and thumb under his chin while pondering.

"Wait, we're an assassin group that usually tries to stay out of sight," said Lincoln in realization. "Maybe we just need to not engage in a fight and just run for it when some demon tries to cause us trouble. That's probably what Blitzø would do in this situation."

"But what about asking around for Blitzø?" asked Millie.

"We'll have to ask the locals who don't seem like they'll start up a fight for random reasons, like store owners or barkers," advised Lincoln. "Alright, let's—"

"Hey, you!"

"For crying out loud!" shouted Lincoln before he summoned magical energy in his hand, ready to launch it at the harasser and ignore his own advice out of anger.

"Wait! I'm not here for a fight!"

Upon that announcement, Lincoln dimmed the magical energy in his hand and demanded, "What are you here for then?!" The demon appeared to look like a dark yellow snake, or rather, a viper demon wearing a white and orange floral shirt and black dress pants, almost like he was an islander. Furthermore, it looked like this viper was bipedal with a snake tail instead with another notable feature being a large red X on the left side of his chest, over his heart.

"I heard that there were tourists here and hoped to get you guys out of trouble," explained the viper demon. "Sadly, my group and I were having a bit of trouble with another tourist that dropped by not too long ago."

"Another tourist?" inquired Lincoln.

"Yeah, he's an imp, but he's taller than you two," described the viper demon, pointing at Moxxie and Millie. "He also has a heart tattoo on his forehead and some white spots on his face. And he was wearing a suit."

"That sounds like Blitzø!" Lincoln exclaimed to his coworkers before turning back to the viper demon. "Do you know where he is?!"

"Yeah, my boss told me he was last up near Little Japan Hills," the viper demon admitted.

"Can you please take us there?" asked Lincoln.

"Sure, no problem!" replied the viper demon. "Oh, by the way, my name is Rikiya. Rikiya Shimabukuro."

RIKIYA SHIMABUKURO
FORMER CAPTAIN OF THE RYUDO FAMILY

Lincoln hesitated for a moment, wondering which name he should use for the moment, until he decided, "My name is Lincoln. Lincoln Loud."

"Alright, follow me, everyone!" Rikiya announced, turning around and ushering the group to follow.

"Wait, baby, you sure we should be following him?" whispered Millie, grabbing Lincoln's shoulder. "He's a literal snake."

"We don't have a choice," said Lincoln. "We're practically blind here outside of Loona's nose, and so far, this is our best lead."

"Yeah," agreed Loona, taking a few sniffs. "And besides, Blitzø's scent's in that direction."

"Alright, but everyone, keep your guard up," suggested Lincoln as he and the others started following Rikiya. It was incredible how much this particular district seemed to resemble Kamurocho; the clustered buildings, the bright neon signs advertising entertainment of all kinds, barkers calling out for potential customers, restaurants every which way, and even the layout of the streets resembled too much of Kamurocho. So much so that if he was correct, if they went past this intersection, then on his left, he'd see— "Wait, is that Theater Square?!" Lincoln blurted out, unable to stop himself.

"Oh, you know about Kamurocho?" asked Rikiya with intrigue.

"Oh, right," said Lincoln, realizing his potential mistake.

"Oh, yeah!" interjected Millie with a smile. "We've been up there a few times for our job!"

"Wow, I didn't think you guys were able to go topside," commented an astonished Rikiya. "Then again, you do have an incubus in your group…" he whispered to himself.

"That still begs the question: what does Blitzø want from here?" pondered Lincoln.

"I suppose we'll find out when we find him," said Moxxie.

"Still, I actually kinda enjoy being here," Rikiya confessed. "Although I do miss the oceanview…"

"Oh?" ushered Lincoln.

"Oh, right, I'm actually from Okinawa."

"Okinawa…" repeated Lincoln, trying to remember his geography. "That's an island, right? You're an islander?"

"Yes indeed," answered Rikiya proudly.

"Wow… I always wondered what a vacation at places like that or Hawaii would be like," Lincoln thought out loud. Last time he was ever on an island was a deserted one as a result of a lake trip gone wrong thanks to a non-functional boat that got caught in a whirlpool, and needless to say, it wasn't a fun time.

"Wait, wouldn't you wanna go somewhere like Envy for that?" questioned Rikiya.

"I'd rather try out places that are relatively safer," said Lincoln, although now he was morbidly curious about what the Envy Ring was like.

"Fair enough, I guess."

As the team made their way to what would've been Park Boulevard up top, they saw to their left a large building that almost rivaled the Millennium Tower. In fact, now that Lincoln thought about it, he might've seen a large building in the same location at one point. Wasn't it called something like Kamurocho Hills? However, one other landmark he noticed that he knew for sure didn't exist in Kamurocho was a river that ran behind what Rikiya called Little Japan Hills that also seemed to run through another bright district he saw in the distance.

"Hey, what district is that?" Lincoln asked Rikiya.

"Oh, that? That's all actually part of Little Japan."

"Wait, really?" asked a perplexed Lincoln, completely taken aback.

"Yeah," confirmed Rikiya. "However, if you'd only been up in Kamurocho, then you'd be right that that area wouldn't be seen where you were at. That area is actually based on Sotenbori, which is in Osaka. That's like over 300 miles away from Kamurocho."

"Wow… why that district specifically?"

"So, if you've been up in Kamurocho, have you ever seen the yakuza? More specifically, the Tojo Clan and the Omi Alliance?"

"I haven't seen them, but I've definitely heard of them," answered Lincoln.

"So here's the thing: Kamurocho is basically the Tojo Clan's turf while Sotenbori is the Omi Alliance's turf. And even crazier, the two yakuza groups were not only the biggest ones in Japan, but they're rivals."

"Whoa… wait, then why are they neighboring here? Shouldn't this whole area be a warzone?" asked Lincoln, but then caught himself with that question. "Well… more of a warzone than usual?" This was Hell, after all.

"Heh, you would think that, but the answer is yes and no," Rikiya answered humorously. "You see—"

"Hey, I'm picking up Blitzø's scent!" called out Loona. "He's close! In that building!"

"Guess he was right, after all," said Millie.

"So where do we go from here?" asked Lincoln. "Is it really as simple as walking through the front door?"

"Well, we can walk through the front door," said Rikiya before his expression fell. "But I'm afraid it's not simple."

"What do you mean?" asked Lincoln tentatively, tensing up. The others sensed his tone and prepared to reach for their weapons.

"Because my boss wants to see you personally," answered Rikiya ominously. Lincoln and Loona both felt a presence above them at this moment, causing them to look upwards. They realized too late that hanging on the ceiling were several bat demons, all who flew down to surround them while pulling out handguns to aim at I.M.P.

"What's the meaning of this?!" shouted Moxxie.

"If you want to find your boss, you'll have to meet mine," said Rikiya stoically.

"Wait, you knew?!" shouted Loona.

"Trust me, you'll understand once you meet my boss."

"Trust you?! You say that after ambushing us?!" retorted Moxxie indignantly.

"I'm afraid you're in no position to choose otherwise…" called out a voice from inside the building's entrance. Emerging from the shadows, I.M.P. saw that it was another bat demon like the ones surrounding them, although this one seemed to look like the leader of them. However, what really unsettled Lincoln was the bat demon's monotonous tone, unlike Rikiya's relatively jovial tone. In fact, compared to pretty much every other adversary he encountered before and after he was trapped in Hell, this bat demon is probably the only one who was so devoid of emotion that even Lucy would seem as cheerful as Luan. "That is, unless you wish to see your supervisor harmed or worse…"

"I'm guessing this asshole's your boss?" Loona asked Rikiya rhetorically.

"It always amazes me how much a demon desires to antagonize another even at the cost of a loved one," said the bat demon, who pulled out his phone, made a call, and put it on speaker. "Do you have the imp called Blitzø in your custody?"

"Yes, sir," answered the callee. "He is currently chained up."

"Are you all armed?"

"Only with blunt instruments, sir."

"Good… in that case—"

"WAIT!" shouted Lincoln. "Don't hurt him!"

"Then can I expect full cooperation with you, Lincoln Loud?" asked the bat demon.

Though he was unsettled by this demon knowing his name, Lincoln hesitantly nodded and answered, "Yes." Lincoln hated how easily he surrendered to this demon's demands, but he had no way of knowing if he was bluffing without endangering Blitzø. If worse comes to worse, he'd have to get liberal with his powers.

The bat demon spoke into his phone, "Stand by for now, Oda."

"Yes, sir." With that, the call ended and the bat demon put his phone away.

"Now that we can conduct our business, I suppose we should exchange the basic pleasantries," the bat demon stated. "I already know your names, so I'll simply introduce myself. I am Tetsu Tachibana, president of the Tachibana Real Estate."

TETSU TACHIBANA
PRESIDENT OF THE TACHIBANA REAL ESTATE

"Huh… what kind of real estate runs black ops shit like this?" Loona mulled over.

"The kind where you would need to pull out all the stops you can to go up against the powers that be," answered Tachibana. "It was no different even when I was still alive."

"Whoa…" uttered an amazed Lincoln and Loona.

"Moving on from that, what exactly is it you want from us that you're holding our employer hostage?" questioned Moxxie.

"You will receive your answers in due time," replied Tachibana forebodingly. "If you would please follow me."

Now Lincoln was getting a sense of déjà vu. Last time he had a discussion with some businessman like this, it was with the yakuza boss Go in the Millennium Tower, and the situation turned sideways so fast and forced him and his team into the biggest fight of their lives. As much as this situation was raising so many red flags begging him to simply decimate everyone in the vicinity that wasn't his coworkers or Blitzø, but he realized that he absolutely needed a level head in this situation. For now, he'd have to play along until a better opportunity presented itself, which wouldn't be until he found Blitzø and rescued him.

Lincoln cautiously followed Tachibana, and soon his coworkers followed suit. The interior was definitely luxurious, not unlike what he'd seen inside Stolas and Verosika's mansion, the Millennium Tower, and Hotel New Debolah. He wondered what exactly Tachibana had done in his real estate agency to amass this kind of fortune and resources. He didn't have time to contemplate, though, for he and his team were led to a rather large elevator, big enough to fit a platoon of people. Tachibana ushered them onto the elevator, which they all stepped on hesitantly, followed by Rikiya and some of Tachibana's men. As soon as they stepped on, the elevator fidgeted before, to I.M.P.'s surprise, it started descending. Lincoln had thought that they'd be ascending instead, given the obvious architecture.

After the elevator came to a stop, the doors opened, revealing to the team a hallway lined with a lot of red, including the carpet, the wooden flooring underneath, the support pillars, the hanging lamps, the flowing stream of water under the floor, and most notably, the large cages on both sides. Furthermore, the team spotted some demons in the pathway, watching the cages that held scantily-clad demons inside enticing the demons outside.

"ACK! Lincoln! Shield your eyes!" shouted Millie hysterically, jumping up to his shoulders and placing her hands over his eyes.

"Millie! Can't see!" frantically hollered Lincoln, trying his best not to take another step while keeping himself upright. Rikiya, Tachibana, and his men watched with a mix of amusement and confusion.

"Hmm, strange that you're trying to withhold the glimpses of a red light district from an adult incubus like he was your child," noted Tachibana, although his tone seemed to imply that he knew more than his observation was letting on. However, his statement rang very true, which I.M.P. realized, as well as their blunder.

"Oh, right! Right!" exclaimed Millie, jumping off of Lincoln's shoulders. "He's… perfectly fine! To watch skimpy demons! Doing adult things! Cause he's an adult incubus! Just! Perfectly! Fine!" grunted Millie through gritted teeth that were threatening to crack while her entire body was vibrating like a ticking time bomb.

'Oh no,' thought Moxxie apprehensively. 'Poor Millie. And poor Lincoln. Of all the times to be exposed to this…'

"In that case, please follow me," ordered Tachibana. The rest did as instructed, passing by the demons presently enjoying whatever red light district activity was occurring down here. Lincoln noted that the demons' designs were of wide variety, meaning that they were Sinners and possibly Overlords. However, when it came to the latter, Lincoln had done some research on some notable Overlords just in case he or his team ever ran into them, and he was slightly relieved that he didn't see any of them down here.

Of course, that was offset by the sights of demons, male, female, and all that falls in between, wearing very skimpy clothing, which unnerved Lincoln so much and Millie was fighting every fiber of her being to simply blindfold Lincoln and guide him herself. Hell, even Moxxie and Loona were mentally begging the group to move along faster for Lincoln's sake, although the two couldn't help but gaze at the merchandise with blushes on their faces.

Finally, the group came upon a three-way junction with the path to the middle appearing to be the main path that led to a curved bridge then to a wide ancient Asian architecture with a pair of large red doors. Truly, this whole area was like a whole new world to Lincoln. To the right, the path led to another pair of large doors, though the team couldn't see what it led to inside. However, Tachibana blocked that path and instead extended his hand toward the left path, which led to some kind of Medieval-looking gate.

"Please, this way," instructed Tachibana.

The team looked at each other with uncertainty and hesitation, but silently agreed that they had no other choice but to proceed. The team walked upon the gate, which opened automatically for them. Inside, Lincoln saw what looked like a reception lobby and another gate up ahead.

"Welcome, sir," the receptionist greeted and bowed to Tachibana, who bowed back in kind.

"I have a few guests I would like to join me at the VIP seats," said Tachibana.

"Of course, this way," instructed the receptionist, gesturing to the gate up ahead. "If you would please follow our employee who will meet you up ahead."

"Thank you," Tachibana said to the receptionist before walking ahead, which I.M.P. followed behind. They walked up the stairs leading to the gate, which opened up automatically like the previous one. As soon as the gate opened, the team heard what sounded like a large crowd cheering, not unlike the kind Lincoln would hear when he and his family attended one of Lynn's big baseball games. Lo and behold, once the team reached the top of the stairs past the gate, they saw a circular arena at the bottom of the stairs on the other side surrounded by seating for the audience. However, unlike the arenas or stadiums Lincoln had seen, which were simply chairs lined up together to make for a large crowd of attendees, these seating had luxurious tables fitting for high-class demons, and wouldn't you know it, there were demons wearing high-class suits and dresses.

In the arena, however, there were two muscular demons contesting in a straightforward fist fight. The arena itself was caged, which led Lincoln to believe this must've been one of those shady underground fights he'd heard about in a few crime dramas. This was even similar to the fighting he'd witnessed at that gym/shooting range he and his team visited for Lincoln's "training" that turned out to be Blitzø's excuse for cheating at gambling.

"Ooh!" whooped Millie, eyes lighting up in excitement. "Now this is my kinda scene!"

"Why is any of this underground?" asked Moxxie curiously. "Figuratively and literally?"

"Your answers may come in due time, depending on how this deal plays out," answered Tachibana forebodingly.

Loona pulled out her phone to take pictures, only to find that she was unable to find her phone anywhere on her person.

"What the shit?!" shouted Loona, checking herself everywhere. "Where the fuck's my phone?!"

"My agents had confiscated all your belongings when you entered the building," stated Tachibana in a matter-of-factly tone.

Upon hearing this, the team frantically searched themselves, only to find that, to their horror, all their belongings were indeed missing.

"My phone!" shouted a worried Lincoln. "My weapons! All gone!"

"Ours too!" Moxxie hollered back as he opened his suit and reached into all of his pockets and hiding spots before glaring at Tachibana. "When—! How did you even do this?!"

"We have our ways," replied Tachibana. "We wouldn't have accomplished any of this," he gestured to the arena, "if we couldn't confiscate your belongings without you knowing."

"Give 'em back, you rat with wings!" yelled Millie, clenching her fists while wishing she could pull out her trusty knives. Moxxie also had to make do without his weapons, even though he felt naked without his guns that wasn't in the fun way.

"In due time," responded Tachibana, never losing his monotonous tone. "For now, please, join me at the VIP seats." Tachibana simply walked up the stairs, and after a gesture by one of his agents, the team reluctantly followed him. Reaching the topmost area, the group traversed around until they came across what looked like the VIP spot. This section definitely looked luxurious enough to be one for the higher class… well, even higher than the ones who are currently attending below. Furthermore, this location definitely provided the best view of both the arena and audience seat. "We're just in time for the main event," said Tachibana, taking a seat in the center chair, leaving the team to tentatively take the adjacent empty chairs.

Lincoln took his seat and witnessed the fighters from earlier being escorted out of the arena after finishing their match. However, as he watched the crowd cheer both in the spectacle of the event that had transpired and in anticipation of the upcoming event, Lincoln just had a nagging thought about what Tachibana said.

"Wait," said Moxxie, voicing Lincoln's thoughts. "I just realized… what is this main event you're referring to? How does it concern us and why specifically this fighting arena?"

"In due time," answered Tachibana once again, not moving his gaze from the arena.

"Getting really fucking sick of that answer," growled Loona, crossing her arms and sagging in her seat, wishing she had her phone for browsing and taking pictures.

The team didn't have to wait long, for a loud booming voice reverberated and echoed all throughout the arena.

"LADIES, GENTLEMEN, AND ALL THAT LIES IN BETWEEN!" called the announcer. "You have witnessed the brutish, the bloodiest, and the barbaric bastards brawling it out in tonight's event! But now… you shall all witness the star attraction!"

A stage light shone and aimed towards one of the two entrances in the arena down below.

"You've all seen his advertisements! You've all watched his unorthodox methods to run his company! But this man, having started out from below the bottom of the rung, is slowly making his way up to the top! Today will be his next chance to prove his mettle! The leader of I.M.P.!"

The team suddenly perked up with that announcement.

"BLITZØ WITH THE SILENT 'O!'"

With that proclamation, the crowd erupted into a roar of applause as a very familiar imp stepped out of the entrance the lights shone on and into the arena. It was indeed Blitzø himself, in the flesh.

"The fuck is up with this cat and pony show?!" shouted Blitzø, surveying the crowd around him.

Almost instinctively, Moxxie leapt up from his seat and shouted, "It's 'dog' and pony show, sir!" Of course, it was a very moot point, considering he was up in VIP spot and his complaint was drowned out by the audience's louder cheering. However, the rest of the team didn't share Moxxie's need to correct their boss, for they were more obviously worried about how and why their boss was even here in the first place, as well as the implications of this whole situation itself.

"Wait, is Blitzø fighting here?!" Lincoln asked Tachibana.

"I understand your surprise," replied Tachibana. "But if you can believe me, this was actually his request."

"What?! Why?!"

"You'll have to ask him yourself… if he can make it through this."

"You can't be serious!" shouted Lincoln furiously, leaping from his seat, an action shared by the rest of his team. Of course, this also triggered a response from Tachibana's guards, all of whom pulled out a handgun and pointed them at I.M.P.

"Please… I'd rather not have any of your blood on my hands… and I'm sure you would want their blood on yours, either," said Tachibana calmly, barely turning his head towards Lincoln.

After a tense moment of understanding the implications behind Tachibana's words, Lincoln reluctantly took his seat, in which Tachibana's men withdrew and holstered their guns. Lincoln could only watch the spectacle below sourly, not just because of his helplessness in the situation he and his team was in, but also because of him thinking about what prompted Blitzø to put himself in this plight in the first place.

'Blitzø, what in the world are you doing?' thought Lincoln anxiously.

"And now!" called the announcer. "For this imp's opponent! You know him well in these parts! A man who also started out from the bottom of the rung and did whatever it took to climb the ladder! Mercilessly killing his own patriarch! Inciting a civil war in the Tojo Clain! Slaying all of those who stood in his way! The koi carp swimming his way up the Yellow River to cross the Dragon Gate!"

A demon appeared on the opposite entrance of Blitzø, revealed by the stage lights that turned to him. Yet another humanoid demon in a white business suit with slick back hair like Tachibana's, but this one had red fish scales for his skin, along with gills and fins. However, what truly caught Lincoln's attention is this man's hardened expression: this man had the same gaze as those of Go, Saejima, and Kiryu.

"Everyone, please! Give it up for one of The Trinity! AKIRA NISHIKIYAMA!"

The crowd burst into an even louder round of applause for what the team could assume was a major celebrity in these parts. The fighter called Nishikiyama walked up to the arena with an air of pure confidence, and if Lincoln could tell from this guy based on what he had seen from the likes of Go, Saejima, and Kiryu, then Blitzø didn't stand a snowball's chance in Hell.

"No time limit! No rules! Anything goes in this brawl!" As the announcer continued to hype up the audience, a large metal cage descended onto the arena. "Let the match… BEGIN!" A gong sounded, prompting an even louder cheer from the audience, as the two fighters prepared themselves for a fight. Or rather, it seemed Blitzø was the only one who seemed ready, while Nishikiyama remained standing almost lackadaisically with his hands in his pockets.

"Alright, fish lips!" taunted Blitzø. "You're going down!" In an instant, he pulled out a concealed firearm and shot at his opponent. What he didn't anticipate, however, was Nishikiyama sliding to his left the instant Blitzø's gun went off, apparently narrowly dodging the bullet. Nishikiyama, however, didn't look worried whatsoever, instead smirking at Blitzø's attempt at a literal first shot.

"Oh… no…" was all Lincoln could utter, realizing that Blitzø had practically lost this battle before it even began.

"Oh, fancy feet, huh?" questioned Blitzø. "Then fucking dance for me, bitch!" he roared before unloading on Nishikiyama. Due to Blitzø's reckless firing, some shots didn't come anywhere close to making its mark, but the ones that could've landed on Nishikiyama, he somehow sidestepped all of them. Blitzø was lucky, or rather unlucky, that only one bullet managed to hit him, though it had only graze his cheek.

"Not bad…" said Nishikiyama, wiping the blood from where the bullet grazed him with a finger. "But you'll have to do better than that."

Growling at the response, Blitzø tried to take another literal shot at him, only for his gun to click. It was empty.

"Fuck!" the imp shouted. Knowing that Blitzø was out of bullets, Nishikiyama put up his right fist and his left fist down as his fighting stance. However, this caught the attention of a particular spectator in the VIP seat.

'Wait, that fighting stance,' thought Lincoln, leaning forward with rapt attention. 'It looks just like Kiryu's!'

Nishikiyama gestured to Blitzø to come at him. Blitzø, having no other alternative, charged at his opponent while pulling out a hidden knife. However, just as he had with the first bullet fired, Nishikiyama dodged faster than the blink of an eye at the last moment before Blitzø's knife could even touch him, and the next thing everyone knew was that Nishikiyama was right behind Blitzø.

Before anyone could register this dodge, and as Blitzø turned around to catch a glimpse of his opponent, Nishikiyama punched twice and roundhouse kicked the imp in the face before delivering a powerful back kick that sent the imp flying until he crashed into the cage and fell to the ground. This elicited yet another loud cheer from the audience, but the rest of I.M.P. could only watch with horror and anxiousness at seeing their boss receive the first of what will likely be a brutal punishment. Lincoln especially was worried, for he had noticed that each of Nishikiyama's strike seemed to have been engulfed in dark blue flames.

"Ugh… did somebody get the number of that truck?" asked Blitzø groggily, completely dazed.

"If that's really your best, then you truly had no business demanding from us," taunted Nishikyama.

Shaking his head, Blitzø regained his focus and retorted, "Bitch! I got far worse in a BDSM sesh!"

"Then prove your worth!" roared Nishikiyama, who charged at Blitzø. This time, it was Blitzø who dodged Nishikiyama's strike at the last moment, then delivered two wide yet hard hooks and an uppercut to Nishikiyama's face before finishing it with a more powerful hook that sent the fish demon staggering a few feet back, but still standing on his feet.

"You call that a punch?" taunted Nishikiyama as though he wasn't even punched in the face. After a tense standoff, both fighters charged at each other and threw their hardest punch, both of which connected to their opponents' faces, but Blitzø was the one who staggered back from the blow while Nishikiyama barely flinched. Furthermore, Nishikiyama charged forward to catch Blitzø with a jumping knee to the face, staggering him back once again. The fish demon caught the imp yet again with a two-punch combo and then a spinning roundhouse that sent him flying back. As Blitzø struggled to get back up, Nishikiyama paced back and forth in place to taunt his opponent.

Growling with blood dripping from his mouth, Blitzø got up to charge at Nishikiyama once more, catching him with a series of quick straight punches to the abdomen before finishing with an overhead hook to the face. While Nishikiyama was only staggered back a few feet, Blitzø's final strike finally drew blood. However, based on the fish demon's smirk and his upward stance compared to Blitzø's hard panting, dark bruises, and a black eye, Nishikiyama was far from done while Blitzø's fate was sealed. Nishikiyama proved this when Blitzø made one last attempt with a hook to the face, which Nishikiyama took but then during the backwards momentum, he swung his left fist upward and then down on Blitzø's head like a hammer. Dazed from the powerful strike, Blitzø was now practically helpless when Nishikiyama finished with a right knee to the face, a left high kick to the face, and then finally ending it with a mountain punch that sent Blitzø flying back to the cage once again. This time, however, Blitzø wasn't getting back up.

"BLITZØ!" shouted I.M.P., distressed by the display, completely opposite of the cheer from the crowd.

The only sign of life from Blitzø was the occasional flinching, but it was very clear that the match was lost for him. And judging by the accumulating pool of blood underneath where his mouth was, he was going to need medical attention fast. However, based on the setup and environment of this arena, it didn't look like he was going to get it any time soon, if at all.

"That's it! I can't watch this anymore!" shouted Lincoln, jumping from his seat and running toward the edge of the VIP stand.

"Wait!" called a voice from behind that wasn't Tachibana. Everyone, even the bat demon himself, turned back to see the source of the exclamation, only to find a red humanoid demon in a suit, limping forward with a cane. "Are you truly ready to intervene? Do you understand the dangers?"

As he said this, Lincoln noticed Tachibana's men ready to pull out the gun for the same threat as before. However, despite his love and concern for his team on the VIP stand, he had just as much for his losing imp boss down below.

"Maybe not all of it, but I'm not gonna stand by anymore!" retorted Lincoln, who then turned back to the arena and, extending his wings, glided down. Thankfully, he'd been practicing to use his wings in his incubus form during his off time, though mainly with either Stolas or Verosika.

Before Tachibana's men could draw their guns, the red demon raised his hand to stop them. He then limped his way to take a seat on the chair that Lincoln had occupied before taking off. Moxxie, Millie, and Loona could only watch with confusion and anticipation, especially when the red demon addressed to them, "Please, take a seat. I assure you, your coworker down there is more than capable."

---

Lincoln felt the adrenaline at the wind brushing his face as he descended to the arena, landing on it right next to the fallen Blitzø. Without a single care for the onlookers and the other opponent, Lincoln kneeled next to his boss and turned him over, cradling him with one hand. Blitzø was barely conscious and very battered and bruised while his mouth was still dripping with blood. He was definitely in worse condition than what Moxxie and Millie did to him after that Ono Michio mission.

Without hesitation, Lincoln gathered magical energy into his hand before casting the same type of healing spell on Blitzø. The spell didn't exactly heal his injuries, but it definitely closed up any wounds, internal or external, and numbed any pain, which is why Blitzø started moving slightly and opened his eyes just a smidge, looking up at Lincoln.

However, Blitzø, in a slightly delirious state due to the injuries, didn't see Lincoln above him. Instead, he saw someone else…

"M… M-Mama?" whispered Blitzø.

Whether Lincoln heard him or not, he didn't care for that. Instead, he addressed to Blitzø, "Don't move. I'm gonna get you out of here." After placing the imp boss down gently, Lincoln stood up and turned to Nishikiyama. "You've already won!" he called to the fish demon. "Now let us leave!"

Though initially surprised by the intrusion, Nishikiyama maintained his composure and smirked once more before responding, "I'm afraid that's not how it works. However, if you are willing to fight in his stead… and in the small chance that you win, then you may negotiate your leave."

From what little Lincoln had seen of the Wrath Ring, it seemed that this fish demon, along with everyone else participating in this arena would've been a perfect fit for that ring were it not for the limitation that non-Hellborns must stay confined to the Pride Ring. However, Lincoln has had two long days and was in no mood for any delight in violence, instead feeling very exasperated by what will seem like another huge chore for him today. Even worse was that most of his frustrations today were caused by Blitzø, who had apparently pulled off another stupid stunt that Lincoln was afraid he would do. As such, Lincoln was reluctant to engage in yet another pointless fight, but it seemed that his and his teammates' survival depended on it.

"Fine!" shouted Lincoln, getting into his own fighting stance.

"That's more like it!" complimented Nishikiyama before readying himself in his own fighting stance.

"AND WE HAVE OURSELVES A NEW CHALLENGER!" called the announcer, eliciting another ovation from the crowd. "Trapped in a whole new world! Once living above and now down below! Standing so high above many but always in the middle! The Man With The Plan himself! LINCOLN ALBERT LOUD!"

Now that drew I.M.P.'s attention, as well as spine-tingling dread and freezing terror.

"How do they know?!" shouted Lincoln, as well as Moxxie, Millie, and Loona simultaneously. The latter three especially turned towards Tachibana and the red demon, hoping for answers behind this specific bit of knowledge.

"My answer is the same as before," replied Tachibana, now taking a vested interest in the exhibition down below.

"IN DUE FUCKING TIME?!" hollered Millie, now extremely impatient, a sentiment shared by Moxxie and Loona.

"When your beloved adopted son wins," clarified the red demon coolly. "You should have more faith in him and watch how far he's come."

The rest watched down below as the gong sounded for the battle to begin, which started with Nishikiyama charging at Lincoln. Lincoln charged as well, and faster than anyone could see, both he and Nishikiyama threw a punch aimed at each other's faces.

AKIRA NISHIKIYAMA

Both punches struck each fighters' faces, causing them to reel back from the impact. Nishikiyama recovered first to throw two punches at Lincoln, who managed to block the first one and then duck and weave under the second one. Nishikiyama followed up by throwing a roundhouse kick, which Lincoln countered with a roundhouse kick of his own. Though he was surprised by Lincoln's successful blocking, Nishikiyama tried to follow up with a back kick. However, what he didn't count on was that as he extended his kick, Lincoln did a back kick of his own, but was much faster and harder, as evidenced by Nishikiyama being sent flying back to the cage, just as he had done to Blitzø twice.

The crowd fell silent as they had witnessed the fish demon actually fall to the ground, something Blitzø had failed to do at any point throughout his fight. However, the silence was broken the next second by a singular imp.

"FUCK YEAH!" Millie cheered raucously. "THAT'S MY BABY!"

"YEAH!" applauded Loona. "Kick his ass, Linc!"

Nishikyama managed to get up on his knees and panted a few breaths before wiping the blood from his mouth with a hand. Despite having the wind knocked out of him and being injured, Nishikiyama was actually smiling at Lincoln.

"Nice…" said Nishikiyama, getting back on his feet. "It seems today won't be a waste of time…" He and Lincoln engaged in a tense stare down for a few moments before Lincoln finally charged at him. Lincoln then jumped as he sped towards Nishikiyama with a flying kick, which the latter dodged out of the way at the last moment. However, Lincoln was able to think fast and bounce off the cage wall and catch Nishikiyama with a spinning kick.

The kick had managed to stagger Nishikiyama, but he used the backwards momentum to counter with a hammer fist that caught Lincoln by surprise. Reeling from the blow, Lincoln back rolled into a fighting stance while trying to shake off his daze. He then charged at his opponent, who tried to strike Lincoln with a back kick, only for Lincoln to swerve underneath the kick and use his momentum to spin around at an angle in which he brought his leg upwards in a spinning back kick to Nishikiyama's face. Nishikiyama wobbled back from the impact of Lincoln's kick, but before he could regain his bearings, Lincoln followed up with another roundhouse kick while leaning his upper body downwards, catching the fish demon in the face once again and knocking him down this time.

Despite Lincoln gaining an upper hand against this underground coliseum's favored champion, the crowd was no less entertained than they were before, indicated by another round of roaring applause. His coworkers may have been the spark that ignited the crowd to show their support for Lincoln, possibly appealing to their inner desire for an underdog story. If Nishikiyama didn't approve of this change of support, he wasn't showing it, as seen by him lightly smirking as he stood up and readied himself to continue the fight.

However, as exhilarating as the atmosphere was, Lincoln wasn't looking to indulge himself in combat. Right now, he and his team were stuck in a mostly hostile environment with their safety at stake, and he just wanted to escape with them so that he could get back to his life and spend time with his coworkers and friends. Summoning enough demonic energy to amp up his physical strength and skills, he charged at Nishikiyama to finish the fight.

Back up on the VIP stand, while I.M.P. was cheering on their young ward, the red demon stood up and addressed to Tachibana, "That would be my cue." Tachibana merely nodded to the red demon as he watched him limp away before turning back to the fight below.

As Lincoln charged at Nishikiyama, the fish demon responded in kind. Nishikiyama threw a punch to Lincoln's face, only for Lincoln to dodge the last second and swing his feet upwards with a back hook kick to Nishikiyama's face. However, Nishikiyama took the hit and powered through by throwing another punch, this time landing on Lincoln's face. Lincoln was caught by surprise, which Nishikiyama took advantage of and punched him in the face again, although this time, Lincoln powered through that punch and delivered one of his own, catching Nishikiyama in the face and staggering him.

The two fighters began trading punches and kicks in close proximity while taking and powering through the hits in hopes of outlasting their opponent. There was practically no tactic whatsoever, given the way the two were simply taking the hits while barely blocking any of them. One last punch from Nishikiyama and kick from Lincoln were delivered at the same time, forcing them back to wobble from the impact. Both of them were sporting several bruises on their faces with blood dripping from their mouths and noses and gasping for air due to the fatigue from the fight.

Nevertheless, Lincoln had managed to recover first, thanks to his growing demonic power. What he didn't realize that as he was readying himself for his final attack, Lincoln was being engulfed in some kind of red flaming aura.

ESSENCE OF RABBIT DROPKICK

He then took the initiative and charged at Nishikiyama before leaping forward and front-flipping three times before launching out both of his feet like a bullet, striking the fish demon with an extremely powerful dropkick that sent him to the cage wall so fast and hard that it actually made a dent on the cage. To top it all off, as Lincoln got back up off the ground from the dropkick, a large red circle formed behind him with the Japanese kanji that translated to "Kiwami," which means "extreme."

While the entire crowd in the audience stand cheered for this unexpected turn of events, none of them held a candle to how loud Lincoln's coworkers cheered from the VIP stand, with Moxxie and Millie hugging each other and jumping while Loona was pumping her fists (though she really wished she had her phone to immortalize this moment).

Deep down, Lincoln wanted to relish this moment of triumph and recognition, seeing that he rarely had moments like this up top before he had been trapped in Hell, but he immediately remembered that his boss was lying battered and bruised to the side. Lincoln was thankful that Nishikiyama was considerate enough to keep the fight between them and as far away from Blitzø as possible. Seeing the cage being lifted, Lincoln walked towards Blitzø and lifted him over onto his shoulders into a fireman carry, then proceeded to make his way back to the entrance Blitzø emerged from for his fight. However, as Lincoln approached the entrance, he was met by the red demon with the cane.

Lincoln feared that he was going to have another fight on his hand, but the red demon said to him, "Very well done, young Lincoln Loud. Please follow me. I'll take you to your coworkers and provide your boss medical attention."

Once again, Lincoln wasn't too fond of the fact that he was in no position to refuse due to his circumstances, as well as the fact that he has to trust a fairly shady individual. Without any other choice, Lincoln warily accepted his bargain and followed him. He was then met with two other demons who looked like they worked for Tachibana and had a stretcher ready. The red demon gestured to the stretcher, giving Lincoln the cue to gently place the unconscious Blitzø onto it. The demons carried the stretcher and followed behind the red demon along with Lincoln, who was ready to react in case any of the demons pulled off some two-faced move.

Finally, Lincoln and the demons converged upon a door, which was guarded by another demon who opened the door for them. They all entered the door into what looked like a medical ward with numerous beds with curtains lined across the room. The demons carrying Blitzø then placed him on one of the beds next to where Lincoln saw, to his relief, his coworkers waiting anxiously. And of course, Millie was the first to notice Lincoln entering the room.

"LINCOLN!" exclaimed Millie, who zipped towards Lincoln and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "OH, YOU DID WONDERFUL, BABY!"

"*GRK* Choking! Not breathing!" gagged Lincoln. Somehow, even in his adult form, Millie was able to find the leverage to lovingly constrict his lungs without even having a foot on the ground. Indeed, her upper body strength was nothing to scoff at, which is why Moxxie had to work extra hard to pry her off of Lincoln even when he had tools like a crowbar, pry bar, or jack to help do the job.

"Heheh, quite the mother figure you have there, Mr. Loud," said the amused red demon, taking a seat on a nearby chair.

Remembering their present company, I.M.P. minus the unconscious Blitzø turned to the red demon with a stern glare.

"So, is now the right time to ask our questions?" asked Moxxie.

The red demon turned to the medical ward entrance to see Tachibana step in, who then took a seat next to him.

"Yes," answered the red demon. "Now is your chance to ask and for us to answer. But first, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Shintaro Kazama."

SHINTARO KAZAMA
FORMER PATRIARCH OF THE KAZAMA FAMILY, A TOJO CLAN SUBSIDIARY

"But please, call me Kazama," finished the red demon now called Kazama. "And you all don't need to introduce yourselves. We already know of you." He then addressed each member of I.M.P. individually, "Moxxie, Millie, Loona, and of course, Lincoln Loud."

"I guess we'll start with the obvious: how do you know about us so well?" asked Lincoln, unsettled. "And more so, how do you know about me specifically?"

It was Tachibana who answered, "We have eyes and ears in so many places in the Pride Ring. We may be able to earn large revenues and profits, but they would all pale in comparison to the value that is information. It also helps that despite your company's profession in assassination, you are not nearly as subtle as you should be."

I.M.P. could only offer a mix of indignant and conceding grunts. As much as Lincoln liked his coworkers, even he could not deny that his company tends to stay over the radar more than half the time, even with his expert planning.

"You're only lucky that more often than not, your company slides by because many of the higher-class demons don't particularly care for your conduct," elaborated Tachibana.

"Still…" chimed in Kazama. "You can only imagine our surprise when a humble company like yours stumbles upon a living human child trapped in this realm due to an incomplete ritual."

"Geez, nothing really gets past you, huh?" commented an impressed and disturbed Lincoln.

"As I said earlier, information is extremely valuable for us," said Tachibana.

"And how exactly do you get all that?" asked Loona.

"I'm afraid that is a question you'll have to ask after you complete the main event," answered Kazama.

"Wait? That fight wasn't the main event?" asked a confused and slightly outraged Millie.

"That was only one-third of it."

"One-third?" asked Lincoln. "Wait, are you saying there are two more fights now?"

"That is correct," said Kazama. "And that actually has to do with why your boss was here in the first place."

"Blitzø asked for this?" inquired a surprised Lincoln, whose sentiment was shared by his coworkers. They all looked at the unconscious Blitzø, to which Lincoln could only whisper under his breath, "Oh Blitzø, what did you get yourself into?"

"That, I can answer. Ever since your team first stepped foot into Kamurocho, Blitzø had noticed how the district wasn't too different from what occurs in places like Imp City or Pentagram City. As such, there should be plenty of Sinners here in Hell grieving over unresolved matters, which your company advertises to accommodate with your access to the living world to attack those the Sinners would hold responsible."

"Of course… he was looking for more business opportunities," observed an annoyed Moxxie.

"Wait, so why haven't Sinners from that district come to us to kill any assholes up top?" asked Millie.

"That was the question Blitzø wanted answers to," clarified Kazama. "However, we offered a proposition: if Blitzø was to successfully complete the main event, he would receive his answers. Unfortunately, he failed at the first of three events."

"So he's not getting his answers, then," finished Lincoln, both irritated yet worried for Blitzø.

"Perhaps there's an alternative," said Kazama ominously.

"Wait, what?"

"… You managed to complete the first of the three events. If you are willing to complete the other two, then I can provide you an answer to his question, as well as many others, such as Loona's question regarding our capabilities of gathering information. Furthermore, by completing the full main event, you will be permitted to leave with all your belongings."

Lincoln turned to his coworkers, unnerved by the proposition. His coworkers were also just as unsettled, for they felt they were practically in the lion's den. However, they all knew that they didn't have the tools to try to escape guns blazing. Even if Lincoln were to utilize his full demonic potential, they were told that this particular group had the capabilities to have eyes and ears practically everywhere in the Pride Ring, meaning they'd not only have to escape from this district, but also from this Ring entirely and move to a completely new locale. The team was not ready to be on the run, but they also didn't know where to trust Kazama and Tachibana despite how seemingly accommodating they were.

Moxxie, Millie, and Loona shared a look before they all turned to Lincoln, looking as though they were waiting for him. Words weren't needed to express that the three were turning to Lincoln for leadership in Blitzø's absence. With all that had been said and done, Lincoln knew that there was only one choice to be made.

-THE END?-

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Hope you all enjoyed this omake. At first, I thought this was going to be just one long one, but as I started brainstorming more about how each scene would play out, as well as the big Yakuza lore and world-building getting involved, I realized that this was going on way longer than I hoped, so I had to split this particular arc into multiple chapters. So you're going to have to wait for another chapter for the resolution.

Still, I'm very eager to keep developing on this because I had so much fun thinking about how the world of Yakuza could actually fit in Vivziepop's Hellaverse. Thanks for the read and keep a lookout for more. Once again, please give your support to Akito the Boxer, TvFan2244, and Epic-Writer0.1.

PS: The line regarding how stupid it is to tell a 12-year-old they're the Chosen One is only a slight joke on Epic-Writer0.1's fanfic "Hell Gets Loud," but it was mainly a reference to Avatar the Last Airbender and how they addressed how stupid this kind of decision was, even if it was justified.