In the shadows of a broken-down warehouse, a tall demon in a suit jacket flicked a cigarette to the ground and blew smoke to the side, "Hey, New Girl," Fred called out, giving a wide grin, "Liked what you saw last time?"
"It got me back here," Claire replied, though her expression was stony, "Is Hatter in? I have some questions for him."
"It's actually 'them' and they don't see anyone without an appointment," Fred pointed out casually.
"Sorry, noted," Claire squared her shoulders, "Can I make an appointment with them, then?"
Fred eyed her but nodded, "Sure, when were you thinking?"
"Right now." Claire replied instantly.
"That's not really how this wo—" Fred began, before Claire interrupted, giving him a narrow-eyed glare.
"Listen, Fred," she leaned in real close, tone threatening, "They're letting everyone think the LLA killed Orkas. It's getting a lot of attention and if you want the LLA to survive it, you'll get me a meeting right. Now." She punctuated the last two words by poking a finger into his chest.
Fred raised both hands, knocking hers to the side and both sounding and looking annoyed, "Okay, okay! Yeesh! You attend one meeting and suddenly you're my third wife. Who I died to get away from, by the way." He took a step back and ran his hand through his stylish hair, considering. Then he turned and waved a hand at her, resigned, "Follow me, New Girl."
He led her into the warehouse and past the crowd gathered for the night's meeting, down several hallways before knocking on a door, "Yo, Hatter," he called out, giving Claire a Look as he opened the door, "You got a visitor."
Inside, Hatter was seated behind a lopsided desk, giving them both an expectant look as they entered. Their wide, beady eyes tracked each step them took, nose twitching in anticipation, "What's this about? You know I'm preparing my speech for this evening."
"She wants to talk to you about that dead overlord," Fred thumbed to Claire, "Right? That's what you wanted to talk to him about?"
Without waiting, Claire strode forward purposefully, slamming both palms down on the table in front of Hatter and leaning forward threateningly, "Did the LLA kill Orkas?" she demanded.
Behind her, Fred rolled his eyes, "As you can see, she likes small talk so definitely tell her about your weekend first."
Hatter gave her a patient smile, though their teeth were pointed, "Orkas' death is proof our goal can be attained—" they started to say.
"That's not what I asked you," Claire interrupted sharply, "You said that exact thing before. At the time I wanted an answer, so I leaned into it. But now there are more bodies, and I don't you mentioning them."
The smile disappeared from Hatter's face and their head tilted with interest, "More bodies?" they questioned, then leaned forward eagerly, dark eyes shining, "Which overlords died?"
"Not overlords," Claire snapped, "They're the people you say you're going to fight for. Which doesn't look good if you did kill Orkas, because they had all sold their souls to him and now they're dead."
Hatter's interest immediately faded away and they sat back in their chair, waving a clawed hand, "Obviously," they said as if Claire was deeply stupid, "That is the work of overlords striking back after those they thought were lesser struck back against them." They steepled their fingers and gazed impassively over them at her, "Another reason they need to be taken down."
"No, not 'obviously,'" Claire glared at him, "Look, the hierarchy of Hell is broken and unstable, I get it. I'm not here to debate you about that—"
"Then what are you here for?" Hatter stood up so abruptly the chair fell away behind them with a clatter, causing Fred to jump, "Because it almost sounds like you're looking for justice for a dead overlord and the justice is that he's dead!" Spittle flew from their mouth as they leaned forward mirroring Claire's lean against the table, grin nearly splitting their face in two.
Claire neither flinched nor backed away, "If overthrowing overlords is your ultimate goal, why aren't you gloating about killing this one? Are you afraid the rest will retaliate? Tell me, Hatter," she didn't bother hiding the accusation in her tone, "Have you started a war you can't win?"
There were many responses Claire was prepared for—surprise, rage, incredulousness—but not for Hatter to start laughing. A high pitched, unhinged, maniacal laughter that echoed off the concrete walls of the makeshift office.
"You think any of this would be possible without powerful backing?" Hatter wheezed between laughs, spreading their arms and sneering at her, "They've started a war they can't win. And it's only a matter of time before the sinners rise and they all burn!"
"Powerful backing?" Claire latched onto that detail and pushed it, "Who—"
Without warning Hatter reached down and flipped the table to the side like it was nothing. It crashed against the wall and both Claire and Fred stepped back in surprise, "Who are you to question me?!" they raged, slamming a hand against their chest, "I am the architect of the future! Have you brought a snake in here, Fred?" they stalked forward, towering over Claire with a menacing glint to their eyes, "Do you know what we do to snakes in here?!"
Claire met Hatter's unhinged gaze with a challenging one of her own when she felt Fred's strong hand grab her arm and pull her back towards him, "Okay," he said, giving Hatter a strained smile, "I think this has gone about as well as it could have! Let's go, New Girl."
Hatter's expression only became more deranged as he followed after them, "You will burn with all the rest!"
"I'm not done here—" Claire protested as he dragged her with him.
"You are today," Fred said with gritted teeth, pushing her through the door which he quickly slammed behind him.
"THE FIRE WILL BURN AWAY THE ROT AND LEAVE ONLY THE PURE!" Hatter could still be heard shouting as Fred rushed them towards the exit until Claire finally broke away and rounded on him.
"How can you blindly follow someone that's clearly crazy?" she demanded.
Fred shrugged and walked past her, "They have their moments, but it's the cause I stick around for," he opened the door to the alley and stepped outside, giving her a pointed look, "Why are you here, New Girl? What's in this for you?"
"Answers," Claire brushed past him, not looking back as she headed towards the street.
"Fine, don't tell me," Fred called out after her, "But Hatter wasn't lying about having powerful backing. Don't come back here again if you're not all in, got it?"
He didn't wait for an answer, disappearing back inside with a slam of the metal door.
"He seems nice," Hades drawled, flapping his wings a few times as he dropped down from the roof and landed on Claire's shoulder.
"He was actually very helpful," Claire replied dryly, shrugging him off and continuing to head back towards the center of the city with a determined look, "The LLA didn't kill Orkas. If they really do have strong backing, there's no reason for them not to claim the kill and start the war they clearly want."
Hades kept pace with her, flying a couple feet away on her right, "So, if they didn't, who did?" he asked curiously.
Claire didn't answer him right away, lips pursing as she reached down to pull Oraks' soul list out of her pocket, "I don't think that's the right question," she said slowly, not even bothering to unfold it as at least one piece clicked into place.
"I've been looking at this all wrong."