The I.M.P. office was unusually quiet for once, though it wasn't a comforting silence. The usual chaos of paper shuffling, gun loading, and Blitzo's (with an "o!") loud proclamations were all muted, the air instead weighed down by an unspoken tension. Moxxie and Millie had already departed hours earlier to handle their part of the plan, leaving Blitzo and Loona alone to finish preparing.

Loona sat cross-legged on the worn-out couch in the corner, scrolling mindlessly through her phone. Her tail flicked idly as she occasionally glanced at her dad from the corner of her eye. Blitzo was at the front desk, methodically going over a map riddled with sticky notes and hastily drawn arrows. He wasn't his usual flamboyant, loud-mouthed self, and that alone was enough to make Loona's ears twitch with unease.

"You almost done with your nerdy planning or whatever?" she asked, breaking the silence. Her voice was casual, but her tone carried a faint undercurrent of concern.

Blitzo didn't look up. "Yeah, yeah. Just making sure everything's perfect. Don't want anything going wrong, you know? Not on a mission this big."

Loona snorted with a smirk and returned her gaze to her phone. "Like anything you plan ever goes perfect."

"Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence, Loonie," he shot back, though his voice lacked its usual biting sarcasm. Instead, it sounded distracted, almost... nervous.

Loona's sharp eyes narrowed as she studied him. Blitzo was many things—loud, reckless, irritatingly overprotective—but scared wasn't usually one of them. Whatever this mission was, it was eating at him. She didn't like it.

Blitzo finally straightened up, shoving his chair back with a scrape. "Alright, I'm ready. Let's go, Loona."

"Right." Loona responded as she rose from the couch, slipping her phone into her pocket. As lead the way down the hall, Blitzo abruptly stopped.

"Wait," he said, causing Loona to turning to him. His crimson eyes flickered with an emotion she couldn't immediately place. "I, uh... I need to talk to you for a sec."

Loona frowned. "What? Why? You're not about to give me some stupid pep talk, are you?"

"Just shut up and listen, okay?" His voice was firm but lacked its usual bark. Loona crossed her arms and tilted her head, confused but intrigued.

Blitzo reached up and unclasped the red skull charm that hung from the choker around his neck. It was a familiar sight, one he always wore, a piece of him as iconic as his over-the-top personality. He held it out toward her.

"Here," he said, his voice unusually soft. "Hang onto this for me."

Loona blinked, startled. "What? Why?"

"Because I'm asking you to," he replied. "Just... just take it, Loona."

She hesitated before kneeling slightly to take the charm from his outstretched hand. The weight of the small trinket surprised her, both physically and emotionally. She turned it over in her hands, her sharp claws brushing over its surface.

"Dad," she said slowly, her ears flattening against her head, "what the hell is this about?"

Blitzo sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly looking anywhere but at her. "Look, I didn't want to say anything earlier, but... my part of this mission? It's probably the most dangerous."

Loona's grip on the charm tightened. "What do you mean by 'most dangerous'?" she asked, her tone low and threatening.

"I mean," Blitzo began, forcing a strained laugh, "there's a pretty good chance I'm not making it out of this one, kid."

For a moment, the world seemed to still. Loona stared at him with wide eyes, her tail frozen mid-sway. "You're kidding, right? Please tell me you're kidding."

He shook his head, his expression somber. "I didn't tell M&M because I knew they'd try to talk me out of it. And honestly? I'm not sure I'd let them. This is something I have to do, Loona."

Loona's claws dug into the charm. "Bullshit!" she snapped, standing to her full height. "You don't have to do anything! If it's that dangerous, then I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not," Blitzo said firmly, his voice cutting through her protests.

"Yes, I am!" she yelled back, her tail lashing. "You're not doing this alone! I can fight, you know I can!"

"That's not the point!" he shouted, his voice cracking slightly. "Loona, I can't— I won't risk you getting hurt!"

"And you think I can just sit here and wait while you go off to die?!" she snarled, her voice breaking with raw emotion. "You're the only family I have, Dad! I can't lose you!"

Blitzo flinched at her words, his resolve wavering for just a moment. But then he stepped forward and gently grabbed her paw, causing her to drop to her knees again before he placed both his hands on her shoulders.

"I know, Loonie," he said softly, his voice trembling. "I know. And that's why I need you to stay here. Because if something does happen to me, someone has to keep this place running. Someone has to make sure Moxxie and Millie don't go insane. Someone has to... to keep the family together."

Loona's eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "Dad..."

Blitzo smiled weakly and tapped the charm in her hands. "This is my promise, okay? I'm coming back. I don't care what it takes, I'm coming back for you. And when I do, you're gonna give this back to me."

She swallowed hard, her voice barely above a whisper. "And if you don't?"

"Then you keep it. Hell, you should keep even if I do make it out of this shit alive," he said, his voice cracking. "It'll look better on you than it ever did on me anyway."

Loona let out a shaky breath, her hands trembling as she clutched the charm to her chest. "You better come back," she muttered. "I'm serious, Dad. You better come back."

"I will," he said, pulling her into a tight hug. For once, she didn't resist, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his shoulder.

They stayed like that for a long moment, neither wanting to let go. Finally, Blitzo pulled back, his hands lingering on her arms.

"Alright," he said, his voice steadier now. "Time to go be badasses."

Loona wiped at her eyes and smirked faintly as she stood up. "Yeah, sure. Just don't fuck things up, ok?"

Blitzo shrugged. "No promises."

Loona smiled down on him, close to tearing up again. "I love you, Dad."

"Love you too, sweetie." Blitzo said with a grin before walking by and heading for the door.

As he disappeared into the hall, Loona stared down at the red skull charm in her hands, her chest tightening with a mix of fear and hope.

"Don't you dare die on me, Dad," she whispered.

And with that, she turned and resumed walking, clutching the charm like it was the only thing keeping her world from falling apart.