Chapter 47

I.M.P.

Loona was busy reading a magazine featuring Verosika when suddenly a portal to the office opened up to reveal Blitzo, Moxxie, and Millie coming back from their latest job, which was killing a bunch of lumber jacks. After getting Stolas' grimoire back from Moxxie's dad, which was given to them by one of Mordekaiser's agents, I.M.P. went right back to work as they desperately needed money to help pay rent and get food for themselves. Well Loona and Blitzo anyway. Moxxie was covered by his dad along with Millie when it came to money.

"Alright, job is done and you guys can go back home. Your pay will be here tomorrow." Said Blitzo as he walked out of the portal with Moxxie and Mille behind him. The taller Imp said nothing more as he went into his office. Moxxie and Millie both sighed at Blitzo's attitude. Ever since their talk a couple of weeks ago, he's been more professional with them and not as creepy as before. Although a welcome boon in Moxxie's mind, Millie was a bit concerned with Blitzo.

Although Blitzo had promised that he'll be more respectful towards them and won't stalk them ever again, which even Millie admitted was a bit much for her, she can tell that something was eating Blitzo up. He wasn't as enthusiastic as he was before when it came to doing their job. He just went about killing people with a silence that she never would associate with Blitzo, who was typically loud and boisterous in his way of killing people. Was their talk regarding Blitzo's behavior really that demoralizing to him? If it was, why can't he communicate that to them? Or was it something else? If that was the case, then maybe she and Moxxie needed to talk to him again.

"Well, with that job out of the way, once we get our paycheck I got something special planned for our anniversary, honey." Said Moxxie as he adjusted his bowtie a bit before looking at his wife with a big smile on his face. Upon hearing what her husband just said, Millie looked at him in surprise.

"Uh, let's not talk about our anniversary yet, honey." Said Millie after getting rid of her initial surprise at what her husband just said. "We got to talk about Blitzo. You noticed how unhappy and down he's been lately? Ever since our talk with him?" Upon hearing all that, Moxxie blinked a bit before nodding. "Well, I feel like we should talk to him again. See what's wrong with him. After that, let's talk about our anniversary that's happening soon. Okay, hun?" When he heard all that, Moxxie sighed a bit before nodding his head in agreement, understanding where his wife came from. Their boss has been a bit down lately ever since their talk about his behavior.

Before they could make a move to talk with Blitzo, Loona chimed in.

"Probably shouldn't go and do that." Said Loona as she looked at the two Imps with disinterested eyes. "Blitzo's got this whole thing with Stolas going behind the scenes. Don't know exactly what it is, but I heard snippets that its about Stolas' daughter." Upon hearing that, both Imps looked at Loona who simply went back to texting on her hellphone. Looking back at each other, Moxxie and Millie just flat-out ignored Loona's warning before venturing into Blitzo's office. Loona did nothing as the two Imps opened the door to the office and entered. When they did, they saw Blitzo looking over some pictures with a dumb grin on his face.

"Sir?" Asked Moxxie, stunning Blitzo as he looked up from his pictures to see Moxxie and Millie looking at him from the door to his office.

"The fuck you guys want now!?" Yelled Blitzo, a bit peeved at seeing his employees just barge into his office without knocking. Opening a drawer to shove the pictures in, Blitzo looked at his employees with a glare. Seeing that they had the full attention of their boss, Millie spoke up.

"Blitz, while we do appreciate you understanding our issues with your stalking and whatnot, we kind of noticed some new bad behavior from you." Said Millie as she looked at him in concern. "You've been not your usual self. You just focus on the job, get the kills, and leave. Not giving your usual quips or loud-mouth behavior on the job. And this has been going on for awhile now. We got a bit worried." Upon hearing Millie's explanation, Blitzo scowled at both Millie and Moxxie.

"First you guys complain to me about stalking you guys and now you guys complain about me being professional. For fuck sakes, guys, what the hell do you guys want?" Demanded Blitzo as he looked at his employees in annoyance and anger.

"Well, we want to be respected, sir." Said Moxxie as he looked at his boss as he scowled at them. "But we also care about your wellbeing as well, sir. If you are unhappy or distracted while on the job, it can lead to you being unfocused and make mistakes that could cost us our lives. Or worse, expose Hell to the human world and that is something that will get us all in trouble. Including Stolas." Upon hearing the mention of Stolas and exposure of Hell to the Humans caused Blitzo to shut up and look at Millie and Moxxie with a dejected expression on his face.

"Just what the fuck do you want, guys?" Demanded Blitzo as he looked at his employees with frustration.

"We want for you to be happy as well, sir." Said Moxxie as he looked at Blitzo with pity. "You're our boss and, though I consider you more of an acquaintance than anything else, sir, Millie considers you to be a friend. Plus, just because I don't consider you a friend, sir, doesn't mean I don't want you to be happy as well. So, whatever is eating you up is my concern as well, sir." Blitzo just looked at Moxxie upon hearing that before sighing.

"Fine." Said Blitzo before explaining the situation. "Stolas' brat is spending more time with that golden bird fucker we met some months ago than she is with him. Happier with him too. Needless to say, Stolas is kind of down because of that. Like really down. And its affecting our sex time together. So, needless to say, I don't get pretty good fucks because of it and I'm kind of moody as a result. You guys happy?" Upon hearing that, both Millie and Moxxie looked at Blitzo in shock as they processed this information.

"You mean to tell us that you're upset over Stolas being upset over his daughter, sir?" Asked Moxxie in shock at what he just heard. When Blitzo nodded, Moxxie blinked in surprise. He never thought Blitzo would care for Stolas that much beyond as a means to obtain a way to gain money for himself.

"Oh, he really is your boyfriend, sir." Said Millie as she gushed at what she just heard. Blitzo just groaned at what Millie just said.

"He's not." Said Blitzo in annoyance as he glared at Millie. "He's just a means to enter Earth and gain some money. And also get some good sex, but that's it! Besides, if he's upset, he might end up backing out of our deal and there goes our meal ticket. So, I'm trying to figure out a way to cheer him up." Upon hearing that, Millie gasped out loud, thinking of an idea.

"How about we all try to cheer him up!" Yelled Millie with stars in her eyes. Moxxie looked at his wife in shock.

"But our anniversary, Millie." Said Moxxie in shock. While he understood her reasoning in wanting to help their boss, couldn't they do that after their anniversary?

"We can do both, Moxxie." Said Millie with a smile. "What exactly was your plan for our anniversary, honey? Maybe we can have Blitzo and Stolas along for the ride." Seeing the expression on his wife's face, one that he recognized as one that she wore when she put her mind into something, Moxxie sighed, consigning to bringing along Stolas and Blitzo to his anniversary dinner.

"Well, I was planning on a dinner date at Ozzie's in the Lust Ring." Said Moxxie, referring to the expensive and highly prestigious restaurant owned by the ruler of the Lust Ring, Asmodeus himself. Upon hearing that, Millie gasped out in shock.

"Ozzie's!" Yelled Millie in excitement. "How did you manage to get reservations at Ozzie's? That place is always booked!"

"Well, it's something I planned when we got married, honey." Said Moxxie with a smile, not wanting to mention all the bribes and huge amount of money he threw to the owners of that place to get a spot for him and Millie. "I was planning on singing you a song on our first year anniversary as a means to show how long we went since meeting each other. And I was hoping to do it in a place that shows how much I love you." Millie, upon hearing that, blushed a bit before kissing her husband in the cheek.

"That's wonderful, darling." Said Millie with a smile. "And it sounds perfect to help cheer Stolas up! We can invite Stolas and Blitzo to Ozzie's! Even if we only got a reservation for two, we can still bring them along. I mean, Stolas is royalty, you really think the people there will deny him."
"No, but I won't like it." Thought Moxxie as he realized what his wife was going along for this. Sighing a bit, both in fondness and exasperation at his wife, Moxxie spoke up.

"Well, I reserved a song for us. I guess Stolas could pull a few strings and have a singalong with Blitzo too." Said Moxxie, deciding to go through with what his wife was planning, even if he didn't fully agree with it. "And I guess denying a royal is a good way to get yourself killed, so I suppose it shouldn't be a problem. Plus, the food will be a bonus. Heard they got a lot of stuff for depression and the like." Upon hearing that, Millie nodded at her husband before looking over at Blitzo.

"Well, how about it boss? You willing to come with Stolas so we can all cheer him up?" Asked Millie, Blitzo just looked at his employees for a good long while before smiling. For a brief moment, the smile was one of appreciation, Moxxie swore, before it devolved into Blitzo's typical smile.

"Well, I ain't going to say no to a free dinner." Said Blitzo with a smirk. Getting up from his chair, he strolled out the office. "I'll get Stolas and meet you two at Ozzie's. Hope your old man can help pay the bill because I'm planning on eating a lot there, Moxxie!" With that, Blitzo slammed the door to his office closed, causing Moxxie to sigh.

"You sure, you want to do this, Millie?" Asked Moxxie as he looked at his wife. "This was supposed to be our special day alone together. You want to spend it with Blitzo and Stolas, cheering them up?"

"I know, honey." Said Millie as she looked at Moxxie with sympathy. "But our friend needs us. Him and his boyfriend. I can't just stand by and let them suffer while we enjoy ourselves in one of the few good marriages in Hell. It just doesn't seem right." Moxxie had to agree with that. Still, a part of him was a bit upset over the fact he can't just enjoy one special day with his wife without any worries at all. Then again, that's life.

"Your good nature towards your friends is why I love you, Millie." Said Moxxie with a smile, causing Millie to smile back at him too. "We should get ready for the trip to Lust. Traffic can be killer to the other rings with the Extermination coming soon. Sinners trying to save themselves however they can and Hellborn eager to loot their corpses once the Extermination is over." Millie nodded in agreement at that.

"Let's get back to our apartment now. And once we're there, let me give you a little gift for being such a good little boy." Said Millie with a seductive smile as she ran a hand through Moxxie's nether regions, making him blush hard.

"Yes, dear." Said Moxxie as he looked at his wife with adoration and affection typically found with lovestruck idiots. And boy was he in such a state for his wife when she was being seductive. Millie just giggled before leading her husband out of the office and towards their apartment for some well-earned alone time.

Later

Morgana

"And here he is." Thought Morgana as she simply sat within her hovel as a portal from the Grey Realm opened up and out came Mordekaiser himself. The Iron Revenant had come to do their annual meetings. Although a part of her was eager to see him again, she was mostly angry with him as well as a bit hesitant on meeting him again for various reasons.

"Mordekaiser." Said Morgana as she looked to face him with a neutral expression on her face as he stepped out of the portal.

"Veiled Lady." Said Mordekaiser as he looked upon Morgana as she sat next to the lake near her home. "I hope that our current encounter will be less hostile than our first one." Morgana sighed when he said that. Although she hoped the same thing, that was not meant to be. Not with the Ruination occurring. Not with the knowledge that he was doing nothing to help stop it. And, above all, she was partaking in a plan to force him to help stop the Ruination and she was the most important part of that plan, which was keeping Mordekaiser from learning of her ally's involvement in the plan. At least until she completed her goal.

"I wish that were the case as well." Said Morgana as she looked at Mordekaiser with a neutral look on her face. "But, I'm afraid that is not possible. As you probably already know, there's a Ruination occurring across Runeterra, yes? One that is more powerful than the previous ones before it?" When Mordekaiser nodded at all this, Morgana then continued. "Then you should know the amount of suffering that is occurring throughout the lands of our world because of this Ruination. All the death and misery caused by this Ruination. So, knowing that, why have you done nothing to help? Why haven't you deployed your armies, of which I know you possess, to help combat the Ruination? Why is the one that called me a coward doing nothing against the scourge that is currently plaguing our world?" These questions and more were in Morgana's mind as she glared at Mordekaiser, becoming angrier with him as she spat out her questions at him.

For his part, Mordekaiser just looked at Morgana before replying.

"The same could be said about you." Said Mordekaiser as he looked at Morgana, who glared right back. "I am not a knight in shining armor that goes around righting injustices whenever I see it. I am not a hero that people praise and worship as a paragon of justice and virtue. I am a conquering warlord that seeks to dominate both life and death. One that inspires fear from those that know my name. When I return to Runeterra, all will wish to see my returning reign end, even those that do not know of me beyond stories. That is not someone that sounds like one to end the threat of the Ruination. No, someone that better fits that inscription is you." Mordekaiser then walked towards Morgana, who stood her ground as Mordekaiser approached.

"You who claims to stand for justice in the world. For those wronged by those that seek to prey on the naïve and weak. You also helped create a society built upon the principles of justice and virtue. And you helped protect those wronged by said society when they were caught in the crossfire of a rebellion, even if they hold hatred towards you and your lack of aid in their plights. By all accounts, you should be out defending your land and yet I find you here. Hiding in this cave along with those that you rescued, yes?" When Mordekaiser asked his question, Morgana simply nodded. This caused him to scoff. "So do not ask me these questions without first asking yourself these as well. You are even more guilty of not aiding the people of Runeterra against the Ruination than I since you are one that claims to want to fight injustice yet you stay here doing nothing to contribute to the defeat of this Ruination." Morgana felt her anger growing as Mordekaiser insulted her and calling her out on her own lack of participation regarding the Ruination. But as much as she hated him for it, she also knew that he was right on it as well.

People were dying to the Ruination and she was doing nothing but hiding like always. She proclaimed to be one for justice yet she was allowing injustice to stand with the Ruination by doing nothing about it. Once again, that bitter feeling that was within her swelled at the mention of her cowardice, knowing that it was true. Yet, despite that, Morgana pressed on.

"I thought about what you said regarding my cowardice and I must say that you may have a point." Admitted Morgana, causing Mordekaiser to hum at her words. "But that doesn't excuse you not helping as well. You intend on taking over Hell and Heaven. You must have vast armies and resources that can help you do so. Surely, you can spare some of them to help us in this plight." Said Morgana. Mordekaiser simply looked at her for a moment, as if impressed that she admitted her faults, before speaking.

"I admit, I do have the necessary resources needed to defeat the Ruination and its leader, the Ruined King." Said Mordekaiser, deciding to admit the truth to Morgana. "In fact, I have more than enough to defeat this Ruination a hundred times over. However, I fail to see a reason to stop the Ruination at all. I have more reasons to let it proceed than to see it fail." Upon hearing that, Morgana glared at Mordekaiser, not believing what she just heard.

"What reasons do you have to allow innocents to die when you have the power to save them?" Demanded Morgana as she glared at Mordekaiser. "What purpose does all the suffering and death that the Ruination is causing right now help you in any possible way?"

"For one, it allows me to harvest their souls without exposing my presence to those that remember who I was and what I intend to bring to the world." Said Mordekaiser as he looked at Morgana, who was getting angrier as he spoke. "With all those slain by the Ruination, the closer the time comes to for my return and conquering of Runeterra as the weak nations of Runeterra struggle to rebuild. Not only that, but once I defeat the Ruined King and take the Shadow Isles as my own, all those souls killed in the Ruination will be mine to command, strengthening my own forces by a small but significant margin. All without much expenditure of resources on my part. That is only a few of the reasons why I do not help end this Ruination, but I do not think I need to elaborate the rest. You are more than intelligent enough to deduce the others." Upon hearing all that, Morgana couldn't help but glare at Mordekaiser.

"You refuse to aid in the defense of the Ruination because you seek to take advantage of all the carnage and aftermath of the Ruination?" Said Morgana, not believing what she just heard from the Iron Revenant. Both angry and hurt were coursing through her veins as she glared at Mordekaiser. She thought that he was better than this. That he was capable of being good. But this…

"I thought that you better than that, Mordekaiser." Said Morgana as she glared at Mordekaiser, tears surprisingly welling up in her eyes. She didn't know why, but she didn't care. It only proved her anger and hurt towards him. "I thought that Moxxie was right in that you have some good in you, but if you are so willing to sacrifice innocent lives to further your own goals. If you're willing to prove those that believe that there is good in you wrong so willingly just to advance your own goals, then perhaps he was wrong. I was wrong. You're just as the stories Noxus has of you claim you are. A monstrous tyrant that only cares about his own wants and nothing else. That only wants to rule over everything without any care to those caught in your path or will be in your path in the future." Wiping the tears from her eyes, Morgana turned away from Mordekaiser, who felt something stir at him upon seeing this display of emotions from Morgana.

Seeing the woman upset, Mordekaiser went over to her and was about to offer her a hand when she turned around to face him, tears ruining her makeup a bit. She looked to slap him but refrained as she instead opted to lay on the ground.

"Just…" Started Morgana before stopping herself. "Just why? Why can't you for once care about something beyond what you gain. Can't you do something altruistic and selfless for once in your life? Can't you…be human again? Just…please. Just help the people of Runeterra from this undead plight. I know its hypocritical and cowardly of me to ask you of this while I cower in this sanctuary, but that doesn't mean you should not help the people of Runeterra either. I know this sounds strange and outlandish, but perhaps there are hidden benefits of you assisting the people of Runeterra. Benefits that you may not see them right away." Upon hearing that, Mordekaiser scoffed at what Morgana just said.

"And what may that be?" Asked Mordekaiser as he kneeled before Morgana, who looked at him with an exhausted expression rather than an angry one. It could even be considered pity with how she looked at him.

"The people of Runeterra see the undead as abominations and monsters that need to be eradicated, but what if that isn't something that's set in stone." Asked Morgana as she looked at Mordekaiser, placing a hand on his chest as she did so. As she felt the cold dark energy that comprised his being, she continued. "What if there was someone that could make the people of Runeterra see that not all Undead are monsters? What if they can show them that peace can occur between the living and the dead? What if that person is standing right in front of me right now?" Upon hearing that, Mordekaiser couldn't help but scoff at that.

"You must be even more naïve than I thought if you think such things about me." Said Mordekaiser, yet he didn't pull away from Morgana in disgust. "I am no such savior or herald of change. At least one that you think of me. I'm a conquering warlord that seeks to dominate all life and dead. One that inadvertently created the most powerful empire in Runeterra that brought nothing but misery to its neighboring nations. One that seeks to conquer other realms of spirits and demons, regardless of their feelings towards it. I am nothing of what you hope I am and you should know this deep down." Despite the conviction in his words, Morgana still held his chest.

"Perhaps you're right." Said Morgana as she looked at him with her tear-stained face. She then smiled at him before replying back. "But that is something I choose to believe and have hope will come true, no matter how unlikely it is. Why? Because that's part of being alive and human. To have faith in others, no matter how many times they prove that they are not worthy of such things." Mordekaiser said nothing at Morgana's words, opting instead to just keep looking at the winged woman before him. Pondering on her words, Mordekaiser was about to speak when suddenly a portal to the Grey Realm opened up and out came a messenger bird.

The metallic bird quickly flew towards Mordekaiser, landing on his shoulder, before letting out a screech towards his head. Though Morgana couldn't understand what the construct was saying, the effect it had to Mordekaiser showed what it was.

"What?" Said Mordekaiser as he looked at the bird, his hands clenching into fists as the air around the cave grew cold as Mordekaiser's processed the information given to him. He then looked at Morgana before speaking. "I presume you had something to do with my son's sudden appearance in my realm?" Upon hearing the question, Morgana simply nodded, affirming his suspicions.

With that information, Mordekaiser let loose a cold laugh before looking back at Morgana.

"I did not expect you to have such bravery, Morgana." Said Mordekaiser as he looked at Morgana with a hint of respect in his voice. "To try and deceive me. Bold. Very bold."