A/N: Hello, not sure if this will be the last update for this year (most likely) but I will finally get some rest and have more time to do things. :) Happy Christmas and New Year Everyone! (And pray for those that will be erased forever in Hell)

Enigmus-288:

"Huh, no? Charlie tried to apply the spell but it failed. She even got slightly hurt in that attempt. His struggle with talking few things about Heaven is a block he suffered from being severed from Heaven, not meant to be pain inducing, only to shut him up."

Dust;

"Heh, that will be a huge deal soon."

Guest;

"I sure hope so, cause the end is nowhere near. Thanks!"

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"...Loona?"

"..."

"Are you ok?"

"...I'm fine."

"Do you want something to drink? Or-

"I said I'm fine! Just... shut up."

"I would, but then what good that will make? You know I won't let it be until you tell me what happened."

Loona tossed her backpack into the wall, a roar of frustration coming out as she stomped away towards the nearest couch. Brutalizing the floor as much as she could before resting on it with extreme agitation. Collin watched the events unfold quietly, unsure of what cause such distress on the Hellhound ever since she returned from her venture into the Human realm. The wolf was suspicious that something may have gone sour in between her and Blitzo, yet he rather try to get something from Loona before jumping into conclusions.

He felt his heart sink as soon he took notice of the blood on Loona's shirt, spreading on a bit of her fur near the chest and chin. It wasn't very noticeable at first sight, but on closer inspection it became pronounced the amount she has on her. Almost as if sensing his stare the Hellhound looked back at him with a huge amount of sadness.

"It's... not mine. I... fuck..."

Loona went quiet, her eyes fixating on the wall on the opposite side, she seemed so distraught. Collin was starting to wonder if she may have witnessed something that was far from expected regarding her current job.

It was a good thing that Octavia wasn't around at this very moment. The Owl, after spending the day and night with them, returned home on a rather cheerful mood, anxious for their next encounter. Stolas, who opened the portal to allow her a safe passage back home, was pleasantly surprised to see his daughter in such a good mood. He would call later thanking both of them for caring and making Octavia feel wanted, immensely glad she made good friends. Much to their astonishment Stolas actually awarded them a generous sum of money which Collin was hesitant to accept but, with a rather convincing growl, Loona took the offer without allowing the wolf any further reluctance.

Thankfully when arriving at I.M.P there were no awkward questions to be answered. Blitzo seemed focused on getting back to work, while Millie and Moxxie were prepping their weaponry for the next assignment. It surprised Collin to see Millie giving him a thumbs up when walking by the couple. She clearly was supportive of them despite Collin's origin. Her support actually made Collin feel sympathetic about her, reminding himself that the Imp, like almost everyone else in Hell, has a good reason to feel hatred towards anyone from Heaven. Yet, she seemed to put that hate aside for the sake of him and Loona having a rather stable and healthy relationship, which could explain Loona's recent shift of attitude towards the Imp lady.

Moxxie still was uncertain how to feel regarding the sh- wolf. He remained distant, only occasionally asking some questions towards Collin, but it was clear he avoided engaging on any talk with Loona, although he was far less reluctant to work near her when needed. Millie clearly talked about Loona's change of behavior, which eased her husband's mind a bit. It was preferable to work in a less hostile environment, at least Loona was not going to pick on him like she used to.

Blitzo pretended to not even notice both of them whenever he walked by. He clearly still has a strong distaste for Collin, but that seemed to expand a bit towards Loona. He no longer would insist on trying to get touchy or awkwardly amiable around her, nor try to provide her with treats or other objects that clearly would demean her as a person. This new approach was akin to formality and it surprised Loona beyond belief. She didn't expect Blitzo to simply change from night to day, but at least she could tell he was trying to.

Or perhaps he was just avoiding her.

"So... what went wrong? I hope Blitzo didn't make you do something you didn't want to." He insisted, deeply worried by her current mental state. His worry increased ten fold as he heard a sniff coming from Loona's hidden face.

"I... he didn't, but... there was this girl... she was part of the couple we were chasing. Well, I wasn't chasing anyone really. I just stood aside while using my disguise. Millie and Moxxie went off to kill her boyfriend. They were at her house at the time, seemed very simple so I just stood outside by a random tree at the backyard. She... I saw her run from the house few minutes later, blood all over her clothes and face, somehow she escaped Millie and Moxxie as they stabbed the guy to death. She..."

Loona stopped, hands closing into fists and her body shook violently. Collin slowly reached a hand towards her shoulder, grasping it gently as possible to ease her struggle.

"She looked like Octavia. Even the clothes and hair style, using that gothic make-up and a few piercings. She saw me standing there holding my phone, I was there to take evidence for the client that the job was done. She ran at me. She... begged me to help her, that... she didn't want to die. I..."

Collin grasped her shoulder more firmly, as it dawned on him what must've happened while she was there with the other Imps. Loona sniffed again.

"I... didn't know what to say. I wasn't expecting that and... the worst thing about it... she didn't seem to be anywhere near as what the client described to us. I panicked, thinking we got the wrong person for a second, but... she was one of the two we needed to kill. I... Blitzo saw me with her, encouraging me to finish her off... I... I couldn't."

Collin felt a small surge of anger, affronted that Blitzo tried to promote such awful acts from the Hellhound.

"I told you Loona, you're not evil. At that moment, perhaps even when confronted with something that you had to do, you felt some empathy towards a stranger, just like you did to me days ago." Collin said, hoping to reach into her despair and provide some clear path. "Don't feel bad about not taking a life, especially of someone you held no animosity against."

"Blitzo shot her." She continued after a moment of silence. "Tore her neck open... and her blood got all over me."

"...I'm sorry."

"For... what? It wasn't your fault that this shit happened. I... I don't know why I thought this would be easy. I didn't have a problem with killing those crazy tards from the dork club, or that stupid kid, or that awful asshole, or that crazy bitch. But... this... I can't. She begged me not to die! I never!..." Loona went quiet again, looking deeply upset as she raised her head slightly, allowing Collin to get a glimpse of her smeared face. "...this sucks so much."

Collin let out a pained sigh, nodding in agreement with her statement.

"I know, I've been there before. I understand the pain of feeling helpless about someone dying. Even if she was just a stranger to you." Loona let out a humorless laugh of disbelief.

"How? You saved Humans, didn't you? Also, how could they ever not be strangers to you?"

At this Collin's face darkened. He contemplated whether he could, or should, tell Loona about his past failure during his probation. Perhaps it would help her feel less guilty? Or just make things even worse regarding her opinion of Heaven overall, not that she really would ever feel any different towards it. He let out a sigh of defeat, assuring himself it was better to tell her about such events.

"When I was finally of an accepting age, by that I meant that I was allowed to apply for a job, I studied hard to join the Angelic Academy for Guardians. AAG we tend to call it. It was my biggest ambition while growing up, for I wished nothing more than be able to provide help towards other people, which meant Humans of course. No one in Heaven ever needs anything." At this Collin paused again, his shoulders dumped slightly. Loona glanced his way, taking note of his dampening posture. "Or... I guess I just wanted to feel useful about something. It's not easy to get any sense of accomplishment while in Heaven. There isn't anything challenging there for the Angels, which is why I wanted to engage on something that would test my very being, that would help me understand what makes us different from those that reside in Hell." Collin couldn't help the derisive snort. "Guess I was far more naïve than I feared. Now that I've been here for few days, after all that I've learned so far... I guess it was just a huge waste of time after all."

"How so?" Loona asked quietly, having found some interest on his story. The wolf grimaced, his eyes narrowing as he tried to recall what transpired years ago.

"I... there was a time when I questioned if I should ever help Humans again." He admitted, his eyes found Loona's as he fixated his attention on her. "I know I told you about how they have their value, but I was far too optimistic back then about their... heh, Humanity. Not sure what else to call it. Common sense? Morality? No... what makes them what they are. Of course it's never a good idea to generalize about anything. Humans are the finest example of a drastic difference from one individual to another, in all kinds of senses. I was not ready to deal with that when I had my first duty as a Guardian Angel."

"So you were a Guardian?" She sounded surprised. "Isn't that better than being a Cherub?"

"... it was. Yet, I became a Cherub because I got demoted."

Loona stared, finding it hard to believe Collin could ever have done anything even remotely bad to cause him to hit the bottom of the ranks. He deviated his stare into the nearest wall, his hesitation was showing again. The conflict on his expression was enough to let her know that, whatever happened, he didn't really want to talk about it.

"Her name was Lucy." Collin started before Loona could say anything. "She was about... fifteen, a bit younger than Octavia. She... was not doing well on school, with her colleagues and family overall. I... seeing me for the first time was quite a shock for her, but thankfully just the fact I was there stopped her from... thinking about things she shouldn't." Collin paused, his jaw becoming rather stiff as he tried to keep his emotions in check. Loona took notice of his emotional turmoil, she slowly placed a hand on his arm. The wolf's eyes widened for a moment, he looked back at her questioningly, it was unusual to see the Hellhound taking such approach. She smiled, a timid head gesture that was encouraging him to keep on. Collin blinked, his surprise wearing off and he nodded hesitantly. "I... spent about five to six months with her. Her family never knew I was there, it was part of being a Guardian after all. I... talked with her about so many things. Hobbies, movies, games, sports and all kinds of other Human activities. Her mood improved so much. She was making friends in school, her grades improved, she was getting along with her parents again. I went with her around town several times. We actually had tons of fun, and I was very convinced I succeeded. She was... she was happy."

Loona felt her concern spike ten fold as Collin's voice became high pitched all of sudden. She gave him a slight nudge, but he didn't seem to register. Things worsened by a significant margin as she saw tears forming on his eyes.

"I-I-I tried everything! I did everything! I never... I NEVER!..."

"Collin?!" Loona was alarmed with his agitation. He shook his head violently.

"It was not my fault!" He shouted, pure pain and agony on his voice. Loona was gobsmacked, she had no idea what to do with him behaving like that.

"What happened?" She asked, starting to get increasingly nervous about the way he was crying uncontrollably.

"SHE KILLED HERSELF!"

Loona's head bounced back in shock, mostly for the terrible act than the unexpected shout. Collin was an utter mess, and she was very assured there was nothing she could say that would change it. His voice was a terrible current of whimpers as he kept onward with his tale.

"Why? WHY?! What did I do wrong?! I didn't understand! I still don't!" He mixed pain with fury and frustration. "I did all I could, and more! I didn't want that to happen! Why the fu-

He stopped abruptly. Eyes shutting forcefully and his hands clenched into fists. He took deep, loud, calming breaths to ease himself. Loona remained quiet, not daring to disturb his attempt at easing down. Yet, before she could say anything else, the door of room busted open, revealing the last person she wanted to see at that moment.

"Urgh, why the fuck are we shouting here? Is he being a bitch for any good reason?" Blitzo asked, his eyes locking onto the wolf. The Imp raised an eyebrow once he took in Collin's moisty fur. "Awww, you two had your first fight? How cute! Ah, whatever. Loona, we got the money, client said job well done and all the usual crap. Turns out that couple we killed wasn't really a problem, guy was mad she dumped him and found another dude. He tried to kill them but they got the best of him. Ha! What a loser! Now, I know it was your first day so I will let that early accident slide this time, cannot have anyone slacking on the field, don't forget." He warned followed by a short yawn. "Go clean yourself and go, I don't know, do with your plush toy or something, don't really fucking care. We are done for today." He said before slamming the door back shut.

Loona was very tempted to pull a gun and shoot at the door just for the sake of it, but her concerns were locked on Collin's mental well being. Not to mention she left the gun inside her backpack, which was laying a few meters away and she couldn't be bothered to stand up and grab it.

"Loona, that thing about breaking bonds you mentioned yesterday."

Loona's ears perked, surprised by the icy tone on his words. She glanced at him and was caught off guard by the absolute glare of utter contempt he was giving towards the door Blitzo just closed. His stare alleviated slightly as he returned his attention back at her.

"I will help you break it, but with one condition."

At this she crossed her arms, ready to protest her case. Before she could shout any indignation Collin shook his head as he took in her shift of expression.

"I won't negotiate this. I feel I've reached my limit here. I cannot stand by... with what Blitzo does. I will call Charlie again, ask her about that job offer. You don't have to come if you don't want to. But if you do... I'll make sure there will be nothing stopping you from living your own life as you want. Just... give it a thought?" He couldn't help the light pleading at the end. "Also, may I say just one more thing?"

"...yeah, sure." Loona did sound upset, but not the kind that meant she's infuriated. She knew Collin was making a point. The necessity of her having to make a rather harsh decision, it was pretty obvious things would never change unless she took the first step. "If you can get rid of that bond, I will look about moving on. So, what do you want to say?"

"Regarding this whole bonding thing actually. Just to be clear, this is just about cutting the hold Blitzo has on you, not about severing your relationship?" Loona's eyes widened, surprised that he was worried about that kind of bond.

"What?! Nah, Blitzo and I... we can get along, sometimes. It will take longer, I don't hate him that much." She snorted, although whatever attempt at humor she tried quickly melted under Collin's unexpected glare. "Why you're even worried about that? He can think all he wants, I ain't his daughter."

"Yet, he gave you a roof, food, water, clothes, money, a job." Collin listed, crossing his arms as Loona's shoulders slumped at each word. "I guess he could've done more for sure. Still, he did for you what none had for all those years you've been stuck at that... facility." Collin frowned. He remembered Loona's brief description of the place she spent most of her life, it was anything but an orphanage. "I won't destroy his efforts of wanting some recognition as he tried to provide you with a better life. You ever asked him why he adopted you?"

Loona blinked. She tried to recall if that question ever came around. Yet, most of she remembered was how much she was upset and constantly trying to find a way to force him to return her back. Those first months were nightmarish and, once she had to accept he wasn't giving up on her, she finally came around and decided to try to live her life, even if with his company.

No, she never asked why he did such. Surprisingly she felt some sort of regret for never thinking of that before.

"No. I didn't." Much to her astonishment, Collin suddenly smiled.

"Well, then now is your chance to do so."

Loona jumped from her seat, turning around to look at him, perplexed he was even suggesting that on such an awful moment.

"It's not the time." She argued back, wincing as she realized her voice sounded far too hostile. Despite the animosity Collin stood his ground, he got up slowly, taking a couple steps towards Loona. He looked up at her, the Hellhound quickly noticed how truly exhausted the wolf is.

"I will stand by your side, whatever happens. You have to come clean, both of you. If you don't want to ask him today... I won't force you, I won't beg you, I won't insist on it. It just has to happen. Promise?"

Loona groaned. She hated making promises, not that she ever really had done any. The idea of having to stay true to her word, regardless of time passed, was not one she entertained. Although this is Collin she's dealing with, she trusts him enough to get herself into such predicaments.

"I promise I will try, is that good enough?" Her reply was sluggish, demonstrating how much effort she was willing to make. Collin snorted.

"I guess it's a start."

"Cool, now can we get back on that... issue you had with being a Guardian?"

Collin grimaced, he hoped she wouldn't notice he deliberately steered away from that topic.

"Yeah, I guess so." He made a motion towards the couch, but Loona grasped his shoulder firmly to stop him. "What?"

"I think we should just finish here and leave. Just say whatever you feel there's left to say and we bail out. I'm done with this place."

"Wait... does that mean?..." Loona groaned, struggling to not let her pride stop her from accepting Collin's early offer.

"Yeah, let's look about that Hotel thing again. Even with Alastor there it is still a better option now than being stuck with nonstop murder. I really don't wanna deal with what happened today any time soon. Blitzo can be pissed all about it, I won't fucking care. Better yet if I can finally move out of his house."

"If you're sure, then I will talk with Charlie later today." Collin couldn't help but feel elated that the Hellhound was coming around. But his happiness was short lived as he changed the conversation back into his failure as a Guardian. "As what happened after Lucy... well, I got suspended and questioned regarding my activities with her. Turns out that, since I was in probation, there were Angels monitoring my attempts all the time. They concluded I hadn't done anything that would even remotely compromise her mental health. They were actually astonished that such even happened, for they evaluated my conduct as excellent. So... yeah, I still got a mark of failure on my assignment despite my efforts." Collin frowned, hands clenching as the injustice of that moment burned into his very being. "I couldn't be upset about it, otherwise it would only make my situation worse. I was still allowed some sort of career into the Human realm, which turned out to be part of the Cherubs. They couldn't pin the blame on me, but still pushed me aside into a place I wouldn't really get any freedom of my own. Working as a Cherub... I hated it. It was painful and the other two... they were far from the best friends you can hope to have. I tried to get along, I really did. I guess they were also Cherubs for a fair reason."

"Basically they sucked. Also, how the fuck is that you get screwed over by something you had nothing to do with? Sure, the girl died, but how can they even know what caused it? And... are you sure it was suicide?" Loona asked, raising an eyebrow. At that Collin let out a humorless chuckle. "What?"

"Oh, I know for a fact it was." He replied, looking completely crestfallen. "Because... if you commit suicide you won't go to Heaven... she never did."