LC Presents: Helluva Dad

by JP-Ryder

As a spin-off of "Luz Clawthorne", in this AU where Loona was adopted much earlier by Blitz, as this story follows the struggles between a father and daughter.

15. Chapter 14: A Day at the Circus

Chapter 14: A Day at the Circus

Once upon a time…

Well, more specifically, twenty-five years ago…

There was a princess. Or at the very least, someone who would one day be a princess. She lived in the Pride Ring of Hell in a beautiful palace with her brother and her parents. This future princess was a white-feathered Goetian demon and on this morning twenty-five years ago, she was sound asleep in her large bedroom, which had pink walls and a collection of stuffed animals amongst other luxuries. This princess slept with several of these stuffed animals before she started to wake up from her slumber. As she stirred, she let out a small yawn as she blinked a few times. Then, once she realized that she was awake, she opened her mouth and-

"CONSUELA!" screamed the young white feathered Goetia.

Moments later, an imp woman in a maid outfit (whose name was not Consuela, but the young princess had never bothered to learn her real name) rushed into the bedroom and appeared diligently at the bedside of the young girl.

"What can I do for you, Princess Stella?" asked the imp maid with a smile. "Oh, and good morning!"

"HELP ME GET PAMPERED UP FOR THE MORNING!" the young Goetia girl loudly demanded as she got up from her bed while in her pink pajama gown. "AND I WANT OMELETTES!"

Consuela the maid felt the ringing in her ears from the young princess's yell, but she just let out a sigh. "Yes, Lady Stella…"

After getting pampered and dressed, Stella walked out of her bedroom while in her usual attire, which included a pink and white dress and two bows in her feathers. As she walked down the hallway, she saw some of the staff just going about their own business, not noticing Stella until it was far too late.

"Cleaning lady! Make my bed!" Stella ordered the cleaning lady while passing by a framed portrait of herself as an egg. "Butler! Make sure my playroom is neat and spotless!" she ordered a butler while passing by a portrait of herself as a hatchling, who was sporting a sour look. "Quit slouching on the job, Muriel! And quit bending your fat ass over!" she insulted the hefty imp maid holding a basket of laundry while passing by another portrait of her choking on another stuffed animal.

Stella walked through the halls, insulting and shouting orders to every servant left and right. Eventually, she made her way to the dining room, where she stopped in front of the table. She looked at her chair, but rather than climb into it, she let out another shout. "JONATHAN!"

"Right away, Lady Stella," said an imp butler who walked up while putting on his gloves before he picked Stella up. He was about to place Stella down, but then he noticed that the chair was not quite high enough. "Ah-ah, the books."

Another butler ran over to place a stack of books on the chair before Johnathon placed Stella down on her seat.

"Good, now then… NOW WHERE'S MY BREAKFAST?!" Stella demanded as the second butler handed her plate of breakfast.

"Your white poached scrambled eggs with a side of sausages with toast, and your orange juice, madame," the butler told her.

"Finally!" Stella said as she started to gulp her breakfast. "Blech! I thought the sausages were supposed to be well done!"

Her butler began to stammer. "But… but they're-"

"Go make some more!" she shouted as the butler lowered his head and walked away.

"Do you really have to yell so loudly this early in the morning, sister?" asked a voice from across the table.

Stella turned to see who it was and she smiled. A genuine smile, her first one of the day. "Why, good morning, my dear brother Andrealphus."

"Yes, it is," said Stella's older brother. He was a lanky young peacock-like avian demon boy with a short turquoise beak, turquoise eyes that both lacked pupils and irises, and periwinkle upper-eyelids. He had mostly white feathers with slick-back, short, periwinkle blue hair with a few darker blue spots. He had long tailed feathers colored in a gradient of turquoise-to-white with no outlines. He wore an extravagant blue waistcoat with light turquoise buttoned puffy shirt underneath, turquoise pants, and a dark blue waist belt over his coat and his dark blue talons.

He was the young and latest Andrealphus, Stella's brother.

"And how did you sleep, my dear sister?" Andrealphus asked.

"Why, splendid, my dear brother," Stella replied, the two speaking to each other with terms of endearment. "I slept so peacefully. It put me in such a good mood."

Behind her, two members of the staff exchanged glances. If this was Stella in a 'good mood', then what did Stella in a bad mood look like?

"I can see that," Andrealphus said with a smirk. "And I think your mood is about to get even better, since I heard that father and mother have something special planned for you today."

"Really?" Stella asked, standing in her seat as she leaned over the table toward her brother. She looked intrigued. "What is it?"

"Oh, I really shouldn't say," Andrealphus said teasingly. "After all, then it wouldn't be a surprise. And father and mother trusted me with this secret…"

"Well, that's not fair!" Stella pouted. "Why bring it up at all if you aren't going to tell me what it is?"

"Hmm, you're right," Andrealphus said, feigning ignorance. "Why would I bring it up? Not surely just to get you worked up…"

Stella sat back in her seat, arms crossed. "You're not funny."

"You're right," Andrealphus said with another smirk. "I'm hilarious."

"Andrealphus, Stella," announced a male voice.

The two siblings immediately quit their squabbling and turned to see one of their parents coming into the dining room.

"Father," Andrealphus said respectfully.

"Good morning!" Stella chirped cheerfully, almost standing up in her seat again before she thought better of it.

"Yes, good morning, my children," said the blue feathered avian peacock-like man. He had pure red eyes with white irises, dark blue hair, and a violet beak like his daughter's. He wore an extravagant green coat with a red shirt, brown trousers, and black leggings that covered his talons. "Did you sleep well, Andrealphus?"

"We did, daddy!" Stella replied.

"Yes, I slept well, father," Andrealphus said as a plate was handed to him by a maid.

"Now where is your dear mother?" their father asked before said mother appeared.

"I was just behind you, Avel," said a white feathered avian woman with blue eyes, gray beak, and her hair was combed over to cover her right eye. She wore a black dress with a blue gemstone.

"Ah, Ramara, there you are," Avel said. "You know, I think I would lose track of my trousers if I wasn't wearing them. Lovely morning, isn't it?"

Ramara, however, just shrugged and went to grab her cereal from the counter.

"Yes, lovely morning," she responded with a dry tone.

And so, the whole family sat down at the table to eat breakfast together. All the while, Stella was brimming with excitement over whatever her parents had planned for her.

"Daddy, do you have something to tell me?" Stella asked, looking hopeful.

"Hmm?" Avel asked, looking up from his breakfast. "Do I?"

Andrealphus and Ramara both sighed.

"The arrangement, father," Andrealphus reminded his forgetful father. "With Paimon."

This certainly made Stella even more excited. After all, Paimon was one of the kings of Hell. If he was involved, this must have been important.

"Oh, right, that arrangement," Avel said before turning to his daughter. "My little star Stella, I have some wonderful news!" Avel declares.

"What is it, daddy?" Stella asked with a smile.

"Well, we wanted to tell you…," Avel said as he turned to his wife. "Why don't you, um, take this from here, Ramara?"

Ramara gave her husband a look, as if she was asking him 'seriously', and then looked at her daughter. She let out a sigh and stood up. "Stella, this has been years in the planning. Since your big brother is the latest Andrealphus, he is going to become a Marquis of Hell, which will be very beneficial for our House."

Andrealphus shrugged. "Apparently I'm going to have to learn geometry," he said, not sounding too happy about the arrangement. "But I heard it comes with a palace, at the very least."

Stella was shocked to hear this. "What?" she asked. "Why does he get to have his own palace? Why can't I have a palace?"

Ramara sighed and placed her hand on her forehead. "Lucifer give me strength," she whispered under her breath. "Stella, you are going to have a palace. You are going to be a princess."

At this, Stella stood up in her seat. "Really?" she asked out of excitement. "A princess?!"

In that moment, Stella thought this was the happiest day of her life.

It only took another moment for that to come crashing down.

"I mean, after you get married, of course," Andrealphus mentioned.

Stella's eyes widened at the reveal. "What… what…?"

"Here's your future husband, Stolas," Avel said as he held up a photo. Stella turned and saw a picture of little Stolas, a timid owl boy holding a stuffed animal. "One of Paimon's sons."

Stella found herself staring at the picture, unable to look away from it. "I don't know him," she pointed out to her parents.

"Well, yes, you haven't met him yet," Avel admitted, a bit awkwardly. "We will have to arrange some get-together where you can meet your fiancé."

"My… fiancé?" Stella asked.

"Yes, that's the big announcement," Avel confirmed. "You're engaged!"

For a moment, Stella didn't know how to react. The news was dropped on her so suddenly. She just… kept staring at the picture. This… this had to be a joke.

"But… what if I meet him and I don't want to marry him?" Stella asked,

"I'm afraid that's non-negotiable, dear," Ramara said, her tone as dry as her cereal. "The deal has already been made."

As the realization fully sank in, Stella reacted in the only way she knew how…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" she screeched.

Her parents were momentarily taken aback as they saw their daughter having a tantrum while Andrealphus was the only one who didn't look surprised as he calmly drank his milk.

"WHY AM I GETTING ENGAGED?!" Stella demanded, looking up at her parents in anger.

Avel looked at his daughter nervously. "Well, pumpkin, that's just how it is. Our family has a history with arranged marriages, since we're a lesser Goetia family…"

"We are precautionary heirs, Stella," Ramara said. "And when you and Stolas are wed, you will have to sire a precautionary heir."

"But it doesn't have to be so bad," Avel told his daughter. "I mean, your mother and I were an arranged marriage and we are perfectly happy with each other!" He turned to his wife. "Isn't that right, Ramara?"

Ramara didn't answer.

"BUT I DON'T WANT TO MARRY SOMEONE I DON'T KNOW!" Stella shouted as she knocked her breakfast away before she jumped off from her seat and started kicking and screaming. "I DON'T WANNA MARRY SOME BITCH BOY! I DON'T WANNA! I DON'T WANNA! I DOWANNA!" she cried as she threw an emotional tantrum while rolling around the floor.

"Now, honey, stop with all the crying," Avel begged while seeing Stella roll around. "Now dear-AAH!" Avel ducked when a plate was thrown over his head and into the wall, smashing it.

"I DONWANNA!" Stella cried while throwing some more plates around.

Avel and Ramara just looked exasperated by this, while Andrealphus just sighed. "I told you she wouldn't take it well," he said as he ate his breakfast.

---

Sometime later, and with some help from a lot of now bruised staff members, Avel and Ramara have managed to finally calm Stella down. The young future princess was now on the couch with her arms crossed, still pouting about the news of the engagement.

"Oh, why didn't my brother Camio warn me about this," Avel said while rubbing the temple of his forehead.

Ramara just looked to her husband and then to Stella. She sighed. "Look, why don't we just buy you something to make you feel better, huh? Maybe a new pet."

"A new pet?" Stella asked, perking up a little.

"Yes, a new pet," Avel agreed as he went to sit beside his daughter. "Especially since you strangled your last pet to death… which is a bit concerning," he admitted. "But we can look past that if a new pet will make you happy."

Stella looked down, considering this. While she was still furious that she had no say in her future as another Goetian demon's wife, she did like the idea of having a new pet…

"I would like a new pet, mommy, daddy," Stella said with a smile. "But I still won't be happy about my engagement."

"Honestly, I don't care if you-" Ramara started to say before Avel cut her off.

"What your mother means to say is that a new pet may not change your mind… but at least it will help you get your mind off of the engagement," Avel said.

Stella thought about this before she started to ramble loudly.

"But I don't want just any normal pet either!" Stella declared, causing both of her parents to sigh. "It has to be exotic. Something… that no one else has…"

---

In the present day, the residents of Carrie's farm were currently having breakfast together. Blitz, Loona, Carrie, Amaroq, and Douglas all sat around the table eating, though Loona was eating less than everyone else. This was because Loona was distracted by checking her phone, scrolling through her texts and looking at Moxxie's name. She tapped on it, but saw no new replies from him, causing her to frown.

"Somethin' eating you up, Loona?" Carrie asked her.

"It's Moxxie," Loona replied, her expression concerned. "We haven't heard from him since he left, and I'm worried for him."

"Well, that could be because getting a signal down here in Wrath is a bit harder than up in Pride," Carrie suggested, though it did little to ease Loona's worries.

She looked over at Blitz. "Don't you think we should've gone with him, dad?"

"No, absolutely not," Blitz said, shaking his head. "It would have been too dangerous for you kids. But hey, don't fret, Loony. I'm sure that Moxxie's fine," he said before remembering that Douglas was there. "Oh, uh, and Striker too," he quickly added. "Mox has a good head on his shoulders and a steady hand when it comes to firearms. We'll see him and Striker as soon as they're done with their business."

"You think so?" Amaroq asked.

"I've seen how Mox can handle himself in a firefight. I mean, I basically carried his ass a few times," he bragged before realizing it was probably not the right thing to say. He coughed awkwardly. "What I mean is, Moxxie works well in the field. If I really thought he needed me, I would have gone with him. But he has Striker and he has Chase. The little guy is going to be just fine." He stuffed some of his waffles in his mouth. "So what's the plan for today, Carrie?"

"Well, I was planning on getting everyone here to help out around the farm today," Carrie replied as she pulled up her lengthy chores list. "Gonna need help feeding the animals, cleaning the porch, fixin' up the barn door and the window upstairs," she listed off. "Not to mention checking the crops…"

"Ugh…" Amaroq groaned. "So many chores today…"

'Knock-knock-knock!'

Before Carrie could finish going down the list, the group was startled by the sound of someone knocking on the door.

"Who could that be?" Douglas asked as the residents of the house looked between each other and the door.

"I'll answer it," Carrie volunteered, standing up and heading to the front door. She opened it and looked outside. "How can I help… you…?" She was forced to look up, her eyes widening in shock when she saw who was at the door.

"Who's at the dooooorWHAT?!" Blitz exclaimed in shock when he saw who was standing in the doorway. His reaction caused Loona, Amaroq, and Douglas to turn to see who it was.

"Ah, so I am at the right address," said Stolas, who bent down to look into Carrie's home. Standing behind him were Octavia and Linda. He gave Blitz a cheerful wave. "Hello Blitzy, so good to see you again."

"Stolas?!" Blitz said in shock as he got out of his chair and walked toward the front door. "What are you doing here? I thought the plan was that we would meet up at the Harvest Moon Festival."

"Well, yes, I know that was the plan, but my dear Via wanted to see Loona again after growing worried for her, so I agreed to bring her down here to see your daughter. However, I thought it would be better to bring her to Wrath a few days before the Harvest Moon Festival rather than during it. You know, when things would be a bit more hectic."

"Okay, yeah, that makes sense," Blitz admitted, looking at Octavia. "Hey, kid," he told her before noticing Linda. "And you're… Laura, right?"

"Linda," the imp girl softly corrected.

"Hi, Uncle Blitz," Octavia greeted before spotting her favorite hellhound girl coming over to her. She waved excitedly to her. "Hi, Loona!"

"Tavi, Linda," Loona said as she walked out onto the front porch, accepting Octavia's hug. She chuckled warmly. "It is great to see you all again."

"Hi, Mr. Stolas!" Amaroq happily waved to the Goetian from the breakfast table before talking to Douglas. "Hey Douglas, have you ever met a Goetian before? I met Prince Stolas right before coming to this Ring…" When she didn't hear him respond, she turned to him in confusion. "Douglas?"

Douglas had experienced a very… different reaction when he saw the Goetia demon. When he saw Stolas, he expression became… terrified and he immediately pulled up his hoodie as far as it would go while averting his eyes and lowering his head.

"Douglas?" Amaroq asked in concern. "Are you alright?"

"I… um… fine," Douglas responded, not looking up at her.

"I would rather not stay out here in the heat, so I suggest we move this reunion inside," Stolas said as he attempted to walk through the front door… only for Carrie to stop him.

"Now hold on there," she said, having gotten over her initial shock of seeing a Goetian prince on her doorstep. Stolas was surprised by Carrie stopping him and he looked down in confusion at the determined and stubborn Wrath girl. "Listen, this is still my house, and you can't just walk in here without my say-so like you own the place."

"What?" Stolas asked in shock, Ovtavia and Linda looking surprised by this as well. Stolas didn't really seem to know how to react to this and he wondered if Carrie was perhaps confused. "Um, perhaps you don't realize who you're talking to…"

"I do," Carrie replied, her tone firm.

"So you know that I am a friend of Blitzy," Stolas pointed out. "And we both have business to discuss…"

"Whatever business you have with Blitz, you can do that outside," Carrie told him, causing Stolas to narrow his eyes at her.

It was pretty obvious that few if any Hellhorn had ever talked back to Stolas like this. He certainly wasn't used to it. But here was one, a Wrathian demon at that, managing to put her foot down at him instead of just letting Stolas have his way.

"You do know that I am an Ars Goetian, right?" Stolas questioned.

"I know exactly what you are, sir," Carrie told him. "And I must respectfully tell you that… I don't want any of yer blue-blood kind in my house. Now you may be royal up in Pride, but this is still my land and I am the woman of this house, not you."

Stolas was definitely taken aback by this, while Blitz looked surprised and Loona looked worried for Carrie, who had just told off a Goetian demon. I mean, sure, she knew Stolas and liked him. But she also knew how powerful he was, especially in comparison to Carrie. Octavia and Linda also shared her worried looks as they watched Stolas' reaction.

"You are… braver than most to say that to my face," Stolas said, though he decided that he didn't like Carrie's words or her tone as he and Carrie ended up glaring at one another. Still, he did his best to remain calm and polite. "Perhaps I can offer you-"

"There ain't nothin' you can offer me to allow you in," Carrie replied stubbornly.

"Now you see here-"

"Hey, hey!" Loona shouted as she got in between the two, quickly intervening before things escalated even further. "Look Carrie, it's okay to let him in. I know Stolas, we go way back. He's not as bad as the other Goetians up there."

Carrie, however, scoffed at this. "He's only not as bad in comparison," she pointed out. "Even a 'good' Goetian feels entitled to whatever they want."

"You know he could have easily turned you to stone if he wanted to," Loona pointed out.

"It's true, I could have done that," Stolas casually admitted.

"And the fact that he hasn't done that yet when other Goetia would have killed you on the spot shows that he isn't that bad," Loona pointed out before pointing to Octavia and Linda. "And not to mention he brought his kids with him. I know Tavi and Linda, they're good kids, and it wouldn't be right to just leave them out like this after coming a long way just to see us."

Carrie turned to look at Octavia and Linda, seeing that the two kids were only slightly older than Amaroq and Douglas. After some reluctance, she let out a sigh.

"Alright, y'all can come in," Carrie said, though she didn't sound happy about it as she invited Stolas, Octavia, and Linda inside.

"Thank you, miss," Stolas replied, sounding pleased.

Once they were inside, Octavia gave Loona another hug. "Loona! It's so good to see you again! It feels like it has been so long!"

"It hasn't been that long," Loona replied, though she was smiling as she hugged the young owlette back. She then looked over at Linda. "Though it has been longer since I've seen you, Linda. How are things back up in Pride?"

"Oh, they're good," Linda replied before noticing Amaroq and Douglas. "Who are those two?"

Amaroq got up from the table and walked over to Octavia. "I'm Amaroq," the young Hellpup introduced herself. "Loona, Mr. Blitz, and Mr. Moxxie have been helping me out."

"Yeah, my dad told me about you," Octavia confirmed. "I'm Octavia and this is my friend Linda."

"Nice to meet you, Amaroq," Linda greeted.

"And you all have met Carrie, who owns the farm and the land we've been staying on," Blitz said as he pointed to Carrie, who continued to look quite grumpy.

"Salutations," she muttered.

"And this is Douglas, who's another guest that's staying with us until his father comes back from a job," Blitz said as he walked over and patted Douglas on the back. "Wanna show them who you are under that hoodie, kid?"

"Um, I'm fine," Douglas replied nervously while looking up slightly. He still felt intimidated by Stolas, and even Octavia to an extent.

As Stolas looked around, he noticed that someone was missing. "Say, where is your employee, Moxxie? I don't see him anywhere."

"Oh, he's on his own mission with Douglas's dad," Blitz explained.

"What kind of mission?" Stolas asked him.

"He's protecting some town, I forget the name, from some Demon Apes," Blitz revealed, shocking Stolas. "You know, typical Western shit."

"Demon Apes?!" Stolas exclaimed. "Are you sure he's going to be okay?!"

"Come on, Stolas, don't worry, he's got this monster hunter, Chase, to assist him along with Douglas's father, Striker," Blitz told the Goetian prince. "He is in good company."

"Striker? Now where have I heard of that name before…" Stolas wondered out loud.

But before he could figure it out, Carrie spoke up. "So how did ya even know where to find us, if you don't mind me askin'?"

"Heh, well, you can thank me for that," Blitz admitted. "After we settled down, I gave him the address so he would know where to find us."

"What?!" Carrie told him, going over to Blitz and grabbing him angrily by his collar. "You gave him mah address without my permission?!"

"It was in case of an emergency!" Blitz answered, trying to ease her. "Besides, how else was he going to contact us or need to reach us if something came up."

"And you still didn't ask me about letting blue-bloods comin' to mah home?" Carrie hissed at him while pointing to Stolas, who was looking around the house.

"I must say, this is the first time I've ever been in a… what do you call it? A barn house?" Stolas asked while looking at the curtains. "Egad! What kind of curtains are these? Surely they're not made from velvet or cashmere," he said while feeling the fabric of the drapes. "And how can you live in these confined spaces? I already lost track of how many times I almost hit my head on the ceiling."

Carrie frowned at this before she narrowed her eyes at Blitz, who gave a nervous look while making a small, anxious laugh. "He's not as bad as the others…?" she questioned him.

"Well, um… say, why don't we catch up to what we've been through since we came to Wrath," Blitz suggested, trying to change the subject.

"Yes, I'd love to hear what interesting things you've been through since coming down to dear old Satan's Ring," Stolas replied. "I rarely come down here myself, after all. Usually for only a few hours each year…"

"Yeah," Octavia agreed. "We'd like to hear what you've been up to, Loona. Like, I heard from Jessie you were in a death race with her."

Loona gave an awkward chuckle and rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, that…"

And so, Blitz and Loona used this as a chance to bring Stolas, Octavia, and Linda up to speed on what has happened to them since coming to the Wrath Ring and update Octavia and Linda specifically on what happened before they traveled to the Wrath Ring.

"Wait, so that incident with the kitsune fur farm… that was you guys?!" Octavia asked in shock while she, Linda, and Stolas had some tea.

"Yeah," Loona replied while patting Amaroq on the back. "And Amaroq has been with us ever since." She looked at Octavia in confusion. "Wait, how did you know about the fur farm?"

"We actually saw the kitsunes you rescued," Octavia told Loona. "They're living in an animal sanctuary run by Duke Alloces."

"Huh, so that's who Lars and Harvey gave them to," Blitz noted, a bit surprised.

"Well, it's nice to hear that the kitsunes are in good hands now," Loona replied.

"Yes, now that we are all brought up to speed, there is something else I would like to discuss," Stolas said as he sipped his tea. "On my way down here, I saw that the circus was set up in the nearby town."

"The circus…?" Blitz asked with an absolutely mortified look.

"Yes, and seeing it gave me this delightful idea where all of us go to see it together," Stolas suggested, making Blitz even more uncomfortable.

"I'm not so sure-"

"Ooh, yeah!" Amaroq cheered in excitement, her tail already wagging as she jumped up in her seat. "Can we go to the circus? Huh? Can we, please? I've never been in one before!"

"I've never been to one either," Linda admitted, her voice quiet but… curious.

"Really?" Octavia asked while looking over at her friend. "Well, in that case, we should at least take you to see one."

"Can we go to the circus, Loona? Can we?" Amaroq begged, her tail wagging even faster.

Loona briefly thought about it. Personally, she wasn't that interested in the circus. She didn't hate it, not like her father, but she was pretty apathetic toward it. But seeing Amaroq so excited and Linda so hopeful… she gave a shrug. "Sure," she said with a small smile. "That could be fun."

"Yay! We're going to the circus!" Amaroq cheered.

However, while the children, particularly Amaroq and Linda, were getting excited over the idea of going to the circus, Blitz looked conflicted. This was, of course, due to his own personal hang-ups about the circus, given his own upbringing in one. He obviously doesn't bring it up here, due to not wanting to trauma dump on everyone about his own hang-ups, and he didn't want to ruin the kids' excitement. But…

"I don't know about this, Stolas," Blitz admitted.

"But Blitzy, it could be a good opportunity for our daughters to spend some time together," Stolas pointed out. "After all, it's been a while since they've hung out. They haven't seen each other since that night at the Triton Resort, remember?"

"Well… that is true," Blitz replied, though he still sounded hesitant.

"Also it would give an opportunity for us to spend some time together while the kids are having their fun," Stolas said before leaning a bit closer to Blitz. "Why, it could be just like old times…"

Blitz realized what Stolas was implying, making him gulp and pull his collar up. "Geez, is it getting hot in here or is it just me…?"

Loona and Carrie took notice of the romantic… and sexual tension between Stolas and Blitz, while the younger kids were of course none the wiser. They saw how Stolas and Blitz looked at each other.

"Are they…?" Carrie was about to ask, but Loona shifted her eyes away out of awkwardness, which only confirmed Carrie's suspicions.

"Although, don't you think it's kind of a bad idea?" Blitz asked Stolas, trying to not sound nervous as he attempted to find a good enough excuse. "I mean, the obvious problem with this is that… well, we're trying to lay low. You and your daughter would attract a bunch of attention just for being Goetia."

"Oh, do not fret, because I've already thought about that," Stolas said while he waved his hands around and produced his Grimoire. "Why, with the use of my Grimoire, I could pull a spell on all of you to make it so that you, Loona, and Amaroq are less recognizable, while myself and Via would look like normal Hellborns."

"Wow, so that means we don't have to wear those crazy disguises Mr. Blitz had us put on?" Amaroq asked, liking the idea.

"Yeah, better than wearing a wig all the time," Loona replied before turning to Blitz. "So how about it, dad? The circus could be good for Amaroq."

"Yeah! It would! Can we? Can we?" Amaroq asked.

Blitz, who had run out of excuses to make, just sighed and gave in to the idea. "Alright, we'll… go with your idea to go to the circus, Stolas."

Stolas clapped his hands in delight. "Splendid! I knew you'd come around, Blitzy!"

"Yeah, you're definitely used to getting your way," Carrie whispered, her voice low enough so that Stolas wouldn't hear her.

"Hooray! We're going to the circus!" Amaroq cheered in excitement, her tail wagging some more as proof. She then thought of something. "Oh! Can we invite Damian to come with us?"

"Damian? Who's Damian?" Stolas asked.

"Well, he's a new friend Amaroq made," Loona replied, looking awkward as she realized that she forgot to mention him earlier. "And… he's the son of Satan."

"What?!" Stolas asked in surprise, his eyes widened as he looked down at the young hellpup. "My stars, you somehow befriended one of Satan's kids. That is… very surprising."

"Yeah, I was shocked too about it," Blitz replied.

"Although… I do believe that I can make some arrangements for that," Stolas said, which made Amaroq smile. "These kinds of connections come with my status."

"Hooray for connections!" Amaroq declared.

"Wow, she's friends with one of Lord Satan's kids," Linda said before turning to Octavia. "You ever met him?"

"I've honestly never met any of Lord Satan's children before," Octavia admitted. "Well, at least not formally. I think a few of them may attend Brimstone Prep, but I can't remember talking to any of them, so I guess we're overdue to meet one of them."

Loona smiled at this before she turned to Carrie. "Would you like to come to the circus with us as well?" she offered.

"Nah, I'm tappin' out on this," Carrie said dismissively. "I still got chores to do around here."

"Well, I guess that leaves Douglas," Loona said, turning to the shy boy, who had been quiet throughout the whole time Stolas was inside. "Would you like to go to the circus, kid?"

"Um…" Douglas wasn't sure what to say.

Sensing his discomfort, Carrie spoke up. "Hey, if ya want, you can just stay here to help me out with the chores."

Douglas looked between Carrie and the more excited Amaroq. While a part of him wanted to stay with Carrie, there was also a part of him that had always wanted to see the circus. He was, at this moment, conflicted…

---

Meanwhile, in the volcanic palace of Satan, we find Major Styx, who is holding a clipboard while talking with two demon henchmen.

"Hmm… okay, let's try this again," Styx said. "Who is taking the census on the east side of the Wrath Ring?"

"I am!" shouted the red, fuzzy demon with horns. Next to him was a green, skull-faced Hellborn with striped horns.

"Okay, Bob's on the east side. How about the west?" Styx asked.

Bob and his companion, Larry, were silent.

Styx sighed. "Anyone?"

"Um, well, Major Styx, sir, it's just that… Carl was supposed to be taking the census on the west side, but there are a lot of unruly and rowdy demons and warlords in that part of the Wrath Ring… and he was torn apart by some Demon Apes," Bob revealed.

"Demon Apes?!" Styx asked, narrowing his eyes at them.

"Yeah, they're becoming a real problem," Larry said.

"Well fine, who wants to replace Carl then?!" Styx asked.

Bob and Larry looked at each other awkwardly. "Uh…"

"Well?" Styx asked.

Larry answered. "Well sir, it's just that… the west side is where the worst demons are. They make our jobs in Wrath kinda… hard… shouldn't you send somebody more… I don't know… stronger-"

"HOW IS IT THAT I AM JUST NOW LEARNING ABOUT THIS UNRULY DEMON STUFF?!" Styx shouted in anger, startling the two demons.

"Well, you never came to any of our faculty meetings, sir," Bob pointed out..

"Huh?" Styx questioned before he sighed and shook his head. "Do you have any idea how much trouble I'll be in if Satan finds out about this problem on the west side?!"

"What problem?"

Hearing a voice behind him, Styx gave a startled jump and spun around. "OH MY FUCKING GOSH, HILDA!" he exclaimed, seeing the pale skinned woman with pure black soulless eyes and gray hair tied into a bun. She wore a dark, brown Victorian-style dress, with a long-sleeve button blouse and dark long dress, white kneesocks, and black heel boots.

"Did I scare you, General Major Styx?" asked the woman, Hilda.

"N-N-No! No, not at all," Styx assured her. "You just caught me by surprise. Right, Bob? Larry?"

"Y-Yeah!" Bob replied, looking quite nervous in the presence of Hilda.

"Totally!" Larry added as he took a few steps away from Hilda. "We should get back to our duties. Those Hellborns are not going to count themselves, after all. Um, later, Major Styx!"

Styx watched the two quickly dart away, leaving him alone with Hilda. He turned to look at her, unable to keep himself from feeling nervous around her, even after working with her for so long. After all, she resembled someone who came from the Cannibal Colony up in Pride… and that was because she was exactly that.

You see, Hilda was the head of the house of the royal palace of Satan. She was also a Cannibal, a member of a race of Hellborns created by Lucifer who for the most part were not allowed to leave Pride. But Hilda was one of the exceptions. Still, most other Hellborns were very wary around Cannibals and for a good reason.

"So um, what can I do for you, Hilda?" Styx asked nervously.

"Well I just got a call from Prince Stolas himself, who is apparently down in Wrath for the day," Hilda explained.

Styx was surprised by the news. "Prince Stolas? Of all demons he's here? But he's not supposed to be here for a few days…"

"Yes, I know. But he asked if the young prince, Damian, could spend the day with him and his daughter," Hilda continued to explain.

"What? But… Damian and Princess Octavia have never met before…" Styx said in confusion.

"He also wishes to speak with you directly," Hilda said as she held up a phone, which was on hold. "Best not to keep the prince waiting.."

Styx grabbed the phone from Hilda and answered it. "This is Major Styx speaking."

"Ah, Major Styx, so glad to hear your voice again," Stolas said through the phone. "It has been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has," Styx said with a nod.

"You're probably wondering what is the nature of this call," Stolas said.

"Is, uh, this about arranging a playdate between Prince Damian and your daughter?" Styx asked him.

"Well, yes, Octavia is with me, but she is not the one who wants to see the prince," Stolas told Styx. "Right now I also have a charming little hellhound girl named Amaroq with me." This made Styx's eyes widen as he realized what this call was about. "Does that name ring any bells?"

"Y-Yes, of course, sir!" Styx confirmed before looking at Hilda, realizing that he should be careful of his wording around her. The less Hilda knew about Damian sneaking out to one of his 'adventures', the better.

"Great, cause Amaroq was hoping that Damian could join us for the day," Stolas told him.

"I'll, um, see if the young master is available," Styx replied. "And I'll call you back after I do."

"Excellent, I'll be expecting to hear from you again then," Stolas replied.

"Will do, my Prince," Styx replied before ending the call.

"So what was that call about?" Hilda asked Styx.

"Oh, um… Prince Stolas thought that it would be a good idea to… build a stronger relationship between his house and Satan's through their children," Styx lied to the Head of the House's face, trying desperately to hide his deception.

Hilda looked suspicious for a moment, which made Styx's worries grow. But after a brief moment… she smiled. "Oh, why that sounds like a wonderful idea," she said. "It would be so good for Damian to go out and have fun with other heirs."

Styx silently sighed in relief before trying to find an excuse for Damian not to go. "Well that may be so, but I don't believe he would be available."

"And why is that?" Hilda questioned him as they walked through the halls together to look for Damian.

"Well, the young prince is too busy with his lessons, for one thing," Styx said while stopping in front of a door. "I'm sure that he's occupied with Daxler…"

He opened the door into the classroom where Damian was supposed to be… but in his palace at his desk was a stuffed toy version of Damian. His tutor didn't seem to notice and just continued to give his lesson.

"Now my boy, can you tell me what key elements are known to make up Hell's surroundings?" asked the tall demon known as Daxler. He had dark red fur throughout most of his body, with the exception of his limbs, which were instead covered in black fur. His head was a skinless deer skull with black antlers and red-furred ears. He also sported a black-rimmed monocle over his right eye.

The stuffed Damian toy's ear fell down.

"Yes! Correct! Fire and brimstone indeed! Brilliant my boy!" Daxler said excitedly.

Seeing that Daxler was none the wiser, Styx slowly closed the door. He looked at Hilda. "I don't think we should tell him."

"Yes, let's go find Damian," Hilda replied, the two deciding to leave the tutor with the fake Damian. Daxler seemed happier that way.

While walking together, Styx would continue to argue against the idea. "Look, all I'm saying is that it's just too dangerous for Damian to leave the palace."

"Please, Damian should be safe around a Goetian prince," Hilda responded as they made it to Damian's room. "And Tentadora could accompany him as his bodyguard," she said as she went to knock on the door. "Damian, we're coming in to speak with you!"

They heard no answer, which was something that Styx quickly grew annoyed with. "Damian, if you don't answer the door." He heard nothing, causing him to sigh as he went to grab the knob. "Not locked? What is he-"

As soon as he opened the door, Styx and Hilda were met with the sight of Damian's room… which was an absolute mess. Dirty clothes piled up, half-eaten food left on the floor for the hell bugs to eat, and flies everywhere. All the while Damian was nowhere in sight.

"Oh by the stench of Mammon's breath!" Hilda said in disgust. "I can't believe how undisciplined and disorganized Damian is, it's a wonder how he's able to dress himself."

"He can dress himself just fine," Styx defended the prince, finding himself irritated with Hilda. He then stepped on something that made a squish sound. He looked down and saw that he had stepped on some ketchup packs. "Ugh, why…?"

"Well, maybe spending some time with Stolas and his daughter would be good for him," Hilda mentioned. "Especially since I worry that some of Tenta's reckless behavior is rubbing off on him." She paused. "On second thought, maybe sending her with Damian would be a bad idea after all. Honestly, he could use some time away from his nanny, especially since I'm not so sure why a former sex robot was chosen to be Damian's caretaker in the first place…"

That remark also irked Styx. "Now hold on a second, Hilda! Tentadora isn't just a sex robot, her programming is far more advanced than that!" he argued..

"That may be the case," Hilda admitted. "But sending her with Damian will perhaps not be the best way to make a good impression with the House of Stolas. Perhaps I should go with Damian myself as a representative of the palace…"

Styx didn't like that idea at all, since it would certainly make Hilda aware that Damian had snuck out. And then Styx would never hear the end of it from Hilda.

"Oh no, if anyone's taking Tenta's place, I should go!" Styx quickly offered.

"Really?" Hilda asked in surprise.

"Well… you are right about Tenta not being a proper representative," he claimed. "Plus… I think you are right, it could do the young prince some good, being around Stolas and his daughter. And I want to be there to help him."

Hilda found this unexpected turnaround surprising. "Are you sure, Major? You must have some other work to do today."

"The prince's well-being takes more priority, Hilda," Styx argued. "Especially as one of his other caretakers,"

Hilda gave a smile at this. "Very well, then it's settled. I'm glad you could see it my way…"

---

Twenty-five years ago, the young Stella waited with her brother in the living room. She looked very excited, for she knew that her parents were out getting her new pet.

"Isn't this splendid, Andrealphus?" she asked while visibly shaking in excitement. "I get to have a new pet! A new, special pet that only I can have!"

"Yes, hopefully it lasts longer than the others," Andrealphus said sarcastically while reading his book. "Remind me, why did you strangle your last one again?"

Stella pouted. "That was not my fault," she complained. "It was being annoying! I told it to stop, but it wouldn't listen."

"Hmm, something small and annoying that doesn't listen," Andrealphus said while looking up from his book. "That sounds familiar…"

"Not funny," Stella said while shooting a glare at her brother.

"Hmm, you're right," Andrealphus said. "You're much cuter than your last pet. Hopefully, this next one will be more pleasant-looking."

"I can't wait to show my pet off to the other Goetia children, especially that wimpy-looking Stoolas," she declared, saying his name in disgust.

"Oh? You plan on showing your pet to your fiancé?" Andrealphus teased. "Trying to impress him, perhaps?"

"Oh, shut up, Andrealphus," Stella hissed. "It is nothing like that."

"Why have you already decided that you hate Stolas?" Andrealphus asked. "You haven't even met him?"

Stella briefly paused before answering. "I mean… did you see him?" she asked her brother. "The way he was clinging his stuffed animal to himself?"

"You have stuffed animals," her brother pointed out.

"That's different," Stella defended herself. "I'm a girl and Stolas is a boy. Girls are expected to have dolls and stuffed animals and all of that."

Andrealphus chuckled. "You know, sister, I'm not sure you're looking at this situation the right way. Sure, you are being married off without your say and you are expected to pop out an heir, but you get a title, you get a mansion, and think of all of the other benefits. The wealth, the status, the legions!"

"I don't care about any of that!" Stella claimed. "I mean, you're already going to be a Marquis."

Before Andrealphus could give a retort, they heard an announcement from one of their butlers.

"Sir Avel and Lady Ramara have returned!" the butler declared, causing the conversation between Stella and her brother to be forgotten.

"Yay! My pet's here! My pet's here!" Stella shouted as she rushed out of the living room and into the hallway while Andrealphus sighed, put his book down, and followed suit. "Mommy! Daddy! Is my new pet… here?" she asked, her expression changing when she saw her parents in the hallway… with another kid at their side.

"Ah, Stella, we were… going to surprise you," Avel said.

"So much for something more pleasant-looking," Andrealphus said in disappointment while he and Stella looked at the young demon boy their parents had brought in.

The young demon boy had pale-red skin with a serpentine-like face with short ivory-colored hair and ivory-colored horns with jagged style stripe patterns. He was dressed with raggedy clothing, with a pale raggedy shirt and black trousers. His tail was long with some spikes close to the back and a black stripe on the fork of his tail. He looked around, as if unsure he was in the right place or not. He then looked at Stella, who stared at him back. The young boy was unsure what to do, while Stella looked confused. And that confusion led to anger…

"Where's my pet?!" she demanded from her parents. "I expect you to bring me back a rare and exotic pet, not… an imp!" she shouted while pointing to the boy, who just frowned.

"Oh, but we did get you something rare and exotic, dear," Avel explained as he patted the boy's shoulder, making him flinch in discomfort. "You see, this isn't just any kind of imp, he's a hybrid that we fished off from the orphanage in the Wrath Ring."

"And he's more than just a pet," Ramara pointed out. "He can also be your… playmate."

Stella was still unhappy about this, so Avel quickly added "Think about it, dear, you can order your playmate around and make him do whatever you want."

"But I already do that with the other servants!" Stella pointed out.

"Yes, well, this boy here will be yours, and yours alone," Ramara told her, which seemed to get Stella's interest.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes, think of him as your own personal servant," Avel said, seeing that his daughter liked the idea. "You can do whatever you want with him, and he won't be able to complain about it."

"Um… can I speak now?" the boy asked, not exactly liking this idea. However, he ended up flinching when Avel and Ramara looked down on him.

"Did we ask for you to speak?" Ramara hissed at him, making the boy silent.

"You will only speak when spoken to, understand?" Avel threateningly asked, making the boy shrink down as he quickly gave a nod. "Good."

The boy stayed silent as Stella walked over to get a better look at him while he avoided her gaze. A Wrathian wasn't exactly what Stella had in mind… but she realized that she could work with this. That while she had no say in her own future, she had absolute control over this kid's future. And there was some appeal there…

"Hey," she called him out. "What are you called?"

"I'm… Striker," he answered, looking up at her.

"Well, I am Princess Stella, and you will address me as that! And from now on you will do exactly what I say and if not…" Stella leaned closer. "I could have you maimed, beaten, tortured… or worse. Understand?"

The boy, named Striker, looked between her and her parents, realizing how serious the threat was. He sighed, figuring that being here was at least better than the orphanage that he was pulled out of. "Of course… princess."

"Yay! I knew you'd see it my way!" Stella cheered.

"At least I won't grow hungry," Striker said to himself.

Hearing this, Stella huffed. "You'll only eat if I allow it!" she told him, much to the young Striker's dismay. "Now follow me, my new playmate! I'm going to show you how things work around here!"

Striker sighed as he began to follow Stella. "Yes, Princess."

After the two left, Avel and Ramara both let out sighs of relief as Avel turned to his wife. "You think he'll keep her distracted for a while?"

"I hope so," Ramara responded. "Lucifer knows that we will need all of the distractions we can get to avoid her being a headache for the next few years."

"Until she reaches marrying age, of course," Andrealphus said as he joined in on their conversation. "Still, I am surprised that you allowed not just an imp, but a Wrathian at that, into our house. Desperate times?"

"Well, my son, since Wrathians are supposed to be tough, we hoped that meant her new pet wouldn't wear out as quickly as her previous ones," Avel said.

"And if it does… well, it wouldn't be a huge loss," Ramara added. "Besides, it was easier and cheaper to pull a kid from an orphanage, rather than risk letting Stella to damage something that was actually rare and exotic."

"Like one of Alloces's animals," Avel mentioned. "He would never forgive us if Stella hurt one of his creatures."

"Oh, I wholeheartedly agree," Andrealphus said. "After all, nobody would miss a dirty Wrathian if she broke it…"

---

Back in the present, Douglas had decided to join Amaroq, Octavia, Linda, Loona, Blitz, and Stolas. All but Douglas and Linda were in disguises as they waited nearby the circus to meet up with Damian and Styx.

"So how do you like your disguises?" Stolas asked while disguised as a very tall incubus. He had gray hair with white streaks and yellow sclera eyes with his red irises and black dots. He retained his usual outfit, though he wore black boots to hide his taloned feet.

"It feels… weird, going out in public while knowing you're disguised as another demon," Octavia replied while in disguise as a young succubi girl.

"Yeah? Look at us. We're just re-colored versions of ourselves," Blitz pointed out. His skin was tanner, while his white spots and the heart on his forehead were covered up.

"Yeah, it's a bit strange," Loona added, her white fur now brown while the black parts of her fur were intact. Amaroq, meanwhile, sported black fur.

"I look like my evil twin," Amaroq said.

"Yeah, your evil twin with guns and super speed," Octavia said, which made Amaroq look confused.

"Why would my evil twin have all of that?" Amaroq asked.

"Oh we should definitely get you into Sonic someday," Octavia said. "Have you ever played any video games before?"

"No," Amaroq admitted, which surprised Octavia.

"Really? You've never played anything like a Gamestation? Or a Playcube? Not even a SNEEZ?" Octavia asked her.

"I heard those are all just Hell knock-offs of human game consoles," Linda mentioned.

"You know, when I was your kids' age, we never had video games to play with," Blitz pointed out.

"Then what did you do for fun?" Octavia asked.

Blitz and Stolas gave deadpan looks before they both replied. "Reading/Balloon animals."

"Hey, what about you, Douglas?" Amaroq asked the hooded-wearing boy. "Have you ever played a video game?"

"Nah, I don't bother with something that would hurt my eyes," Douglas responded. "I prefer reading comic books and spending time with my dad."

"You know, I have always wondered something," Octavia said while next to Douglas, startling him. "I'm a city kid. I've grown up in Pride all my life. This is actually my first time in Wrath and I wanted to ask you… what is it like? Growing up with all this open space?"

"It's, um, it's… pretty cool," Douglas admitted before turning away.

Amaroq then spotted a dark carriage being parked nearby. "Look! He's here!" she shouted, practically bouncing in place.

Everyone turned to see Damian and Styx coming out of the carriage.

"Do you see Amaroq around here, Styx?" Damian asked.

"This is the place we're supposed to meet them," Styx replied while looking around. "Though the Prince told us they would be using glamour…"

"Damian!"

The young prince turned and saw the disguised Amaroq waving at him.

"Damian over here! It's me, Amaroq!" she shouted.

"Amaroq!" Damian shouted back, recognizing her voice. He began to rush towards her. "You're here!"

"So are you!" Amaroq replied as she ran up towards him as well.

The two ran towards each other, their arms raised up as if they were going to give each other a hug… but they ended up stopping short of each other. They lowered their arms and the two looked at each other… before suddenly becoming very shy.

"H-Hi, Amaroq," Damian said in a shy tone.

"H-Hi to you too, Dame," Amaroq replied, just as shy.

"Major Styx, it is a delight to see you again," Stolas greeted Styx while showing him his emblem.

"Ah, it is nice to see you again, my prince," Styx said as he bowed to him, recognizing the emblem. He looked over at Douglas, Linda, and Octavia. "And which one of you is the princess?"

"Um, that would be me," Octavia said, stepping forward.

"Ah, a delight to meet you, Princess Octavia," Styx said with another bow. "I am General Major Styx. And this is…" He turned and saw Damian still acting shy around Amaroq. "Damian, come here!" he shouted.

Damian gave a startled jump before turning to see Styx gesturing for him to come over. Reluctantly, he did just that.

"Damian, this is Prince Stolas and his daughter Princess Octavia," Styx introduced. "Prince Stolas, Princess Octavia, I am proud to present Prince Damian, son of Satan and heir to the throne of the Wrath Ring."

"Um, hey," Damian said with an awkward wave. "What's up?"

"Uh, nothing much," Octavia said, not sure what to think of the younger jackal boy in front of him. He certainly wasn't what she had been expecting. After a moment, she decided to introduce Linda and Douglas to Styx and Damian. "This is, um, my reliable lady-in-waiting Linda."

"Hi," Linda said softly.

"She can be a bit shy around new people," Octavia explained. "And this Douglas… he doesn't work with my family, but today he's an honored guest accompanying us."

"N-Nice to… meet you," Douglas responded quietly.

"Don't mind him, he's also a bit shy," Loona said.

"I see that," Styx said with a nod. "And you are?"

"Loona, Amaroq's guardian," Loona reminded him. "We've met before."

"Right, right, you had, um, white fur," Styx remembered.

"Alright, now that everyone's here and reunited, why don't you and me go wait in a line to get snacks and drinks while the kiddos catch up with each other and look around, Stolas," Blitz suggested.

"Oh, now that's a splendid idea, Blitzy," Stolas replied… before getting a confused expression. "Though, what do you mean by 'wait in a line'?"

"I'll stay here to watch the children," Styx told Blitz and Stolas.

"Of course, you and Loona are in charge of them while we're gone, Styx. We'll be counting on you two," Stolas told them while he followed Blitz.

---

A little bit later, Amaroq and Damian were catching with each other while the rest followed them through the circus grounds, Amaroq telling Damian all about her latest little adventure.

"Wow, you were in a Death Race?" Damian asked her in surprise.

"Well, not intentionally," Amaroq admitted, rubbing the back of her head. "But thankfully, Loona and her friend, Jessie, saved my fur. Though we did get grounded for that… actually, I got grounded while Loona went to have fun with her friends." She briefly shot Loona a dirty look before looking back at Damian.

"Man, it sounds like you had an exciting adventure, Amaroq," Damian responded. "I'm just cooped up at the palace for most of the time, busy with either my studies or learning the ways of evil from my dad."

"Hmm, speaking of," Amaroq noted as she grew curious. "What's the whole being the Son of Satan like? If you don't mind me asking."

"It's, uh, fine. I can tell you one thing about being the Son of Satan," Damian said as he gave a sigh. "It's… pretty boring."

"Really?" Amaroq asked in surprise.

"Oh yeah, being the favorite son to one of the Deadly Sins is not all it is cracked up to be," Damian confessed. "Like, when you hear that someone is called the 'Son of Satan' or the 'Son of Lucifer', you'd think they'd be some kind of 'Anti-Christ' figure. But let me tell you, being an heir to the Sin of Wrath is not all that exciting. I mean, what kind of Wrathian has to hit the books and learn stuff like history, discipline, and etiquette? What Wrathian prince needs to know about etiquette?"

"Man, that does sound boring," Amaroq replied. "What about your home life?"

"Oh, well, for one thing, I live in a volcano," Damian mentioned.

"Really?" Amaroq asked. "What is that like?"

"Hot," Damian told her. "You've already met some of my house staff. Like Sticks over there, who's a pretty uptight guy," he whispered while pointing to Styx, who was looking around for any potential threats to the prince. "You've met my nanny Tentadora, and there's my head of house Hilda. She is even more uptight than Sticks, if you can believe it. Oh, and she is originally from the Cannibal Colony."

"The Cannibal Colony?!" Amaroq asked in surprise. "You have a Cannibal in your staff?!"

"Yeah, but don't worry, she hasn't eaten anyone… that I know of," Damian said. "Then there's Daxler, my tutor, who is pretty easy to get away from. The guy can't tell the difference between me and a stuffed toy."

"What about your family?" Amaroq asked him.

Damian was silent for a while, thinking carefully before he answered. "My dad… well, my dad is Satan," he told Amaroq. "But we have a pretty good relationship, even if he keeps trying to make me more evil and sinister. In demeanor, at the very least."

"Do you… want that?" Amaroq asked.

Damian shrugged. "Eh, I'm not sure."

"What about your siblings?" Amaroq asked. "I heard you have a lot of siblings."

"Half-siblings, technically," Damian told her. "Though I don't even know all of them. At the top of my head I can list Marcus, Jakk, Bella-Rouse, Elira, Attila, Hannibal, Luzy, Daimo, and Torrent. I'm… not really close to many of them. Most of them don't even like me, since I'm the favorite and the one who is next in line to the throne… unless one of them take it for themselves. A lot of my siblings are warlords, fighting each other over territory in the Wrath Ring."

"Wow, it sounds like your dad gets around a lot," Amaroq commented.

"He did," Damian admitted. "Though I'm the favorite because he actually married my mom and made her the Queen of Wrath. She is actually a mortal from the Living Realm."

"Really?" Amaroq asked in surprise. "Wait… does that make you the Anti-Christ?"

"Nah," Damian dismissed. "Honestly, I don't know where the idea of an Anti-Christ came from."

"Oh," Amaroq replied, actually looking disappointed that her young friend wasn't the Anti-Christ. "So your mother and Satan… how did that happen?"

"That's… a long story," Damian said. "Probably one better told by my parents."

"Wait, are you suggesting that I meet the rulers of Wrath?" Amaroq asked in shock.

"Not today, obviously!" Damian told her before Amaroq got any ideas. "But… maybe someday."

"That would be so cool…" Amaroq fantasized. "So… have you ever been up there? To the Living Realm, I mean."

"No," Damian admitted. "Although I do have some family from the Living Realm that sometimes comes to visit me and my mom. I have an aunt, Mindy, and a cousin, Jackson. They're pretty nice, though my cousin… let's just say he is very accident-prone."

What, is he bad luck or something?" Amaroq asked.

"Yeah, he is," Damian confirmed, completely seriously.

While Amaroq and Damian talked, Loona and Octavia were also having a conversation amongst each other.

"So what do you think of Wrath, Tavi?" Loona asked.

"Hot," Octavia said, making Loona laugh.

"Yeah, that was my first impression too," she told Octavia.

"Is it exciting here?" Octavia asked.

"I mean, that's one word for it," Loona said. "Dangerous is another word." She gave a sigh. "I've seen a lot of bizarre stuff since we came down here… but what about you? What have you and Linda been up to in Pride?"

"Eh, not much," Octavia said with a shrug. "Although… I did manage to make a new friend. Another Goetian kid, believe it or not."

"Really? That's great of you, Tavi!" Loona replied happily. "Tell me about them!"

"Her name is Alice," Octavia explained. "She is the daughter of Duke Alloces. Like her dad, she really loves animals… and she has a thing for plushies. Like, you should have seen her collection. It was… excessive."

"Is Alice nice?" Loona asked.

"Yeah, she is," Octavia admitted. "She even let me and Linda each take a plushie home with us after we met her, as a gift. I'm actually looking forward to hanging out with her more."

Loona smiled. "She sounds like a sweet kid."

"Yeah, she is," Octavia admitted.

"How did you meet her?" Loona asked. "Another one of your mom's 'play-dates'?"

"No, actually," Octavia revealed. "It was actually Cray who wanted me and Linda to meet her."

"Cray?" Loona asked, looking intrigued. "So you've been spending more time with him as well?"

Octavia looked down. "I mean, yeah. But it's no big deal…"

Walking behind them were Douglas and Linda, who stayed quiet as they hung out near the back of the group. Linda looked over at Douglas, noticing his shyness.

"You know, we're the only ones who aren't in disguises," Linda commented. "I mean, make sense since no one's gonna bat an eye at some regular imp kids like us, huh?"

"I… guess that's true," Douglas replied meekly.

"You know, you're awfully quiet," Linda pointed out, causing Douglas to shift his eyes to the ground. "Are you usually like this… or is it mainly around Octavia?"

Douglas looked up at Linda. "You noticed?" he asked.

Linda nodded. "Yeah," she said. "Do you… want to talk about it? I assume it is because she is a Goetia demon."

"It is," Douglas confirmed, keeping his voice quiet as he glanced at Octavia. "She and her dad… they scare me."

"Her dad, I honestly get it," Linda told him. "I was scared of him at first too. But Octavia? What is so scary about her?"

"Well… it's because of my dad," Douglas explained. "He… told me that I shouldn't trust Goetia. He doesn't like the Goetia at all… and for good reasons."

"Honestly, I understand and I can even relate," Linda admitted. "Before I worked for Stolas's family, I used to be the servant in the House of Ipos. And his son, Seth, was the absolute worst. He tormented imps like me just for fun."

"Oh… I'm so sorry…" Douglas said, his tone sympathetic.

"Thank you," Linda said. "My time in that household, it was… awful. And I would still be Seth's victim if his father hadn't given me to Octavia's family as an apology gift for something Seth did to Via," she said as she looked toward Octavia, who was still talking with Loona. "You know, at first, I didn't immediately trust her because of my own experience with Seth and his family. I thought she would be no different and I didn't even think that a friendship between someone like her and someone like me could work. But… eventually I realized that she was a good demon who wanted a friend more than she wanted another servant."

"So… Octavia, she's… pretty much one of the good Goetia?" Douglas asked her.

"Yeah, along with other kids like Cray and Alice who aren't that bad," Linda admitted as she reassured him "But don't worry, Douglas, you're safe around Octavia and Stolas, they're good people… of course, Octavia's mother is a whole different story."

Back with Amaroq and Damian, they were continuing their conversation.

"So since you're the heir to your father, does that mean you will have the whole entire ring under your rule someday?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Damian replied with a grin. "King Damian of the Wrath Ring has a pretty nice ring to it, doesn't it? And when I become the ruler of Wrath, I can do whatever I want."

"That is still a long way off, young prince," Styx said while joining in on the conversation. "Even after you become of age, your father may not decide to step down from the throne for a few more centuries. Besides, there is a lot more to being the new Sin of Wrath. It comes with responsibilities that I don't believe you are ready for yet."

Damian groaned. "Aw come on, where's the fun in that?" he questioned.

"Being king isn't supposed to be fun," Styx replied.

"Then when I'm King, I'm gonna change a few things!" Damian declared.

"Hmpf, not while I'm around," Styx told him.

"Oh, really? Well, then you're fired," Damian retorted.

"Nice try, my prince, but only Satan can do that!" Styx pointed out.

"But Damian is the future Satan, so you'd have to do what he tells you," Amaroq pointed out.

"Not yet," Styx countered. "And with that attitude of yours, Damian, I'm afraid that you will end up growing up into a quite pathetic king. And Hell knows we need another Beelzebub…"

"Yeah?" Damian asked as he smirked at the general. "Well that's not the way I see it…"

Damian then jumped onto some crates and started to sing. "I'm gonna be the King of Wrath, so enemies beware!"

"Well, I've seen a King of Wrath with such little flair," Styx retorted, walking up to the prince, picking him off the crate, and putting him down.

"Well, I'm gonna be the main event, that they've never seen before," Damian sang while rushing over to a dunking tank, cutting to the front of the line. "I'm pushing up and looking down, I'll be making up the score!" he declared while picking up a baseball and throwing it at a target, dunking a clown in the water tank and causing water to be splashed onto Styx.

"Now that's a rather uninspiring thing," Styx replied while trying to find a towel, grabbing one to wipe his face with… only to realize it was the ear of a demon elephant, who used its trunk to knock him back.

"Oh, I just can't wait to be king!" Damian sang as he and Amaroq ran through the carnival, stopping in front of some mirrors as Loona and Styx managed to catch up to them.

"You've got a long way to go, young master," Styx told Damian. "If you think…"

"No one saying do this," Damian sang as he made a silly face in the mirror.

"Now what I said was-"

"No one saying be there," Amaroq sang while making a face in front of a mirror as Loona walked over to her.

"Amaroq, be still-!"

"No one saying stop that!" Damian sang as he jumped up onto a barrel and took a selfie with Loona while placing bunny hears behind her head.

"Ack! My eyes!" Loona replied, feeling blinded by the flash.

"No one saying see here!" Amaroq sang as she and Damian ran off.

"Now see here!" Styx shouted as he ran after them, only to trip.

"Free to run around all day!" Damian sang as he and Amaroq passed by a small band, Damian stopping to leave a tip for them as they played their music.

"Well, that's definitely out," Styx said as he and Loona followed them.

"Free to do it all my way!" Damian declared as he and Amaroq ran around the circus before Styx managed to catch up with them.

"Now I think it's time that you and I arranged a heart-to-heart!" Styx told him with a scolding look towards the prince.

"Kings don't need advice from small blue furballs for a start," Damian sang back.

"Well if this is where the monarchy is headed, count me out!" Styx angrily declared. "Out of service, out of the Wrath Ring, I wouldn't hang about!"

"These kids are getting wildly out of wing," Loona sang, getting worried about them attracting too much attention.

"Oh I just can't wait to be king!" Damian sang as he and Amaroq ran through a costume trailer, managing to lose Styx and Loona before coming out in disguises. They were carrying instruments, Damian playing the drums while Amaroq blew into a horn.

Loona and Styx looked around for them until they spotted them joining the band from earlier, playing with them. The other Wrathians thought they were just performers and they got into the music, dancing along.

"Everyone move left!" Damian commanded, causing the crowd to dance toward Styx.

"AH!" Styx cried out as he was nearly trampled.

"Everyone move right!" Amaroq declared, causing the crowd to run over Styx again.

"AAAH!" Styx cried out while Loona got out of the way, the rest of the kids in their group following their guardians.

"Everywhere you look I'm," Damian sang. "Standing in the spotlight!"

"Not yet!" Styx cried out after he picked himself up.

"Let every demon go for broke and sing!" the crowd sang. Amongst them were Octavia, Linda, and Douglas as Amaroq handed them each instruments to play, the kids shrugging before they decided to go along.

"Let's hear it in the crowd and in the Ring!" the Wrathians sang while Amaroq encouraged the kids to play the instruments, with Damian as the maestro.

"It's gonna be King Damian's finest fling!" Amaroq, Octavia, and Linda sang together.

Loona decided to keep her distance, having already seen what happened to Styx when he attempted to stop the song. As the band played and the crowd sang, Damian climbed onto a bunch of crates.

"Oh, I just can't wait to be king~!" Damian sang as Amaroq came up to join him. "Oh, I just can't wait to be king~!" he repeated before grabbing Amaroq's hand and dancing with her, the two of them climbing on top of a tent while Styx climbed up after them.

"Oh, I just can't wait~~!" Damian sang as he and Amaroq jumped down from the tent. "To be king~!"

"Gotcha!" Loona shouted as she caught both of the kids in her arms.

Meanwhile, Styx had tried to climb onto the tent, but since he was heavier than the children, he just fell through the roof of the tent. "YAAH!" he cried out.

---

Meanwhile, Blitz and Stolas were currently standing in a very long line, which Stolas was even more confused by.

"So tell me exactly… what are we doing?" Stolas asked Blitz. "And why is it taking so long?"

"Well, Stolas, we want to get food and drink for the kids, but so do all these other demons, so we have to wait until we get our turn," Blitz explained to him. "The line will move, but it will take a while while everyone in front of us goes first."

"I've… never done this before," Stolas admitted.

Blitz sighed. "Yeah, I figured. That's because you're used to getting things that you want the moment you want it," he pointed out. "But right now, you're just like everyone else."

Stolas looked down and remembered his disguise. In everyone else's eyes, he wasn't a Goetian demon anymore. He was… just a normal demon.

"Oh, this should be interesting… I just hope it won't take too long," Stolas replied as he and Blitz continued to wait…

...and wait. Oh how they waited. Stolas was enthusiastic at first, especially when they ended up moving a step closer to the food stand. "Blitzy, we moved a step! We're one step closer!"

"Uh-huh," Blitz replied, not nearly as enthusiastic as Stolas.

But as time passed, Stolas quickly went from enthusiastic… to impatient.

"Oh, what's taking so long?" Stolas questioned while tapping on his boot. "Does it always take this long to get snacks?"

"Pretty much," Blitz responded as they continued to wait…

And wait… and wait…

After some more time had passed, Stolas began to whine…

"Oh, when is it going to eeeend~?!" Stolas complained while tilting his head in a somber. "How long is this line going to take, Blitzy~?"

"At least a few more minutes," Blitz told him, his own patience starting to run thin… though with Stolas instead of the line.

As more time passed and they had still barely moved, Stolas started to get a little fidgety. He even started to bargain on the Wrathian in front of him.

"Psst, hey, I can give you a bunch of souls if you allow us to get in front of you," Stolas whispered to the Wrathian.

"Oh no, I refused to move from my spot in the line," the Wrathian imp said while turning to Stolas. "I got five kids expecting me to get them snacks, or they eat my fingers again, and I'm not ready to lose my good pinkie," he said as he held up his hand, showing his wooden prosthetic fingers with only his pinkie intact.

Blitz and Stolas both looked disturbed by this.

"Goodness gracious…" Stolas muttered.

More time passed, with Stolas getting bored while Blitz was getting annoyed. However, Stolas was also starting to get worried, since he certainly had not expected this to take so long.

"You think the kids are alright without us?" Stolas asked, holding his arms while trying to not get agitated. "What if they get hurt? What if Via fell and-"

"Relax, Loona and Styx are with them," Blitz reminded Stolas, trying to calm him down. The last thing he needed was for Stolas to freak out in public. "If you can trust Loona to watch out for Via in Loo-Loo Land, you can do the same here."

"Y-You're right, Blitzy," Stolas responded, remembering that Loona took Via to Loo-Loo Land. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves and ease his worries. He put on a strained smile. "I'm sure the kids are fine with Loona."

Blitz let out a sigh of relief at this and checked to see how close they were to the food stand. Still a while to go…

---

Meanwhile, Loona, Styx, and the kids were checking out the different carnival games, Amaroq and Damian having promised not to run off again.

"Wow, which games do you think we should play?" Amaroq asked in excitement.

"There's a lot to choose from, really," Octavia said like they looked over the carny games.

"Hey, look!" Damian shouted as he pointed to a shooting range game, where the patrons were using gallery guns to shoot at rows of moving ducks. "Say Amaroq, wanna try the shooting gallery?"

"Yeah! Let's shoot some ducks!" Amaroq replied as the two started to run towards the shooting gallery… before they got stopped immediately by Loona and Styx, who pulled them back.

"Oh no, you don't!" Loona shouted as she grabbed Amaroq. "There is no way I'm trusting you with a gun!"

"Same for me!" Styx declared while narrowing his eyes at Damian. "The last thing I need is to get an earful from Hilda and your father on why you came home with your eye shot out!"

"Aw, come on, Styx…" Damian pouted. "I would probably just shoot your eye out…" He saw Styx's unhappy expression. "By accident, of course!"

"We just want to play for the prizes!" Amaroq shouted, also pouting.

"If it's prizes you kids want, I'll get you prizes," Loona said as she went to the shooting gallery, placing her souls on the counter. "I want those Thingies." she shouted while pointing at the stuffed Thingies.

"Sure, just score five hundred points before you run out of time," the carny declared while handing Loona the rifle.

As the round started, Loona watched the moving horned ducks with the targets on them, trying to figure out their pattern and which ducks would get her the most points. She then aimed and fired, managing to shoot one duck, and then another. She managed to earn herself some points, but then the ducks started to move faster and faster and Loona began to miss her shots.

"Come on, come on," Loona said as she gritted her teeth and tried to not let her frustration get the better of her as she kept shooting at the ducks. But while she hit a few, she was missing more and more.

Once the game was over, Loona sighed and put down the rifle before she turned to the carny. "How many points did I make?"

"Well, about three hundred sixty points," the carny answered. "Not enough points for the Thingies, I'm afraid."

"Dang," Loona said, looking disappointed before turning to Styx. "So uh, you got any extra souls?"

"Seriously?" Styx asked in disbelief before Douglas marched up.

"Um, actually, let me try this out," Douglas offered, causing Loona to turn to him.

"You want to shoot?" Loona asked with an unsure look.

"Trust me on this Loona," Douglas told him. "And I promise to be careful. I know how to safely handle a gun."

Loona looked at him before nodding. "Alright, I believe you," she said before turning to Styx, who sighed and produced some souls that Loona used to pay the carny for a second try.

"I'll be next to you just in case," Loona said as Douglas took the rifle.

Douglas held up the rifle and looked at the targets as the carny started the game, causing the ducks to start to move. Douglas kept his eyes on the targets and pulled the trigger…

Bang-Bang-Bang!

Three ducks fell, followed by another few ducks. Each duck got knocked out from each shot, earning Douglas more points from the game. Loona's eyes widened, as did everyone else's, as they saw Douglas shooting each duck one by one without missing. Even as the ducks moved faster and faster, Douglas didn't panic or let himself get frustrated. By the time he knocked down the last duck, the carny's jaw had dropped from shock.

"Whoa, did you see that?!" Octavia asked in awe.

"Yeah," Linda said with a nod. "That was… wow."

"I've never seen all those ducks get shot down one by one like that before," Linda said.

"My word, I've never seen such sharp-shooting like that from a young lad," Styx said, sounding just as impressed.

"Yeah! How did you know how to shoot like that, man?" Damian asked Douglas.

"Oh, well it's something my dad has taught me," Douglas admitted a bit shyly as he turned to the others, surprised by their praise.

"Your dad already taught you how to shoot with a gun?" Amaroq asked in surprise.

"Well, it's only in case I never needed to defend myself, living in Wrath and all," Douglas explained. "He doesn't really let me carry around my own gun, but he felt like if I was ever in a situation where I had a gun and needed to use it, I should know how."

"Yeah, that sounds smart," Loona told Douglas. "My dad started to teach me to shoot when I was a kid as well, though you're definitely a much better shot than I am," she admitted before the carny handed her the prized Thingies, which Loona turned to give to Amaroq and Damian.

"Here you go," the carny said before nodding to Douglas. "Great shots, kid."

At this point, Douglas was definitely feeling bashful, especially when Octavia came up to him.

"I think you'd even impress some of the Sinners we have up in Pride like Billy the Kid," Octavia complimented.

Douglas accepted the compliment, albeit awkwardly. "Um, thanks," he replied. "I guess I just… have a knack for this."

---

"There you guys are," Blitz said when he and Stolas finally found the others, their arms full of snacks and drinks.

"We have all the popcorn, pretzels, and funnel cakes this circus provides," Stolas announced.

"Thanks, dad," Octavia thanked her father as she and the others took their snacks and their drinks from the two.

"Hope that line wasn't too long," Loona said before noticing how distressed Stolas looked.

"Oh trust me, it was dreadful," Stolas responded with a grimace. "But now that dastardly part's over, let's all go into the main tent."

"Yes, let's go see the show!" Damian declared as he and Amaroq rushed ahead with Douglas, Linda, and Styx following.

"Wait up, Damian!" Styx shouted as he followed suit along with Stolas and Loona.

"Just so you know, I am never waiting in a line with your father again," Blitz whispered to Octavia as they followed the others.

"Really?" Octavia asked in surprise. "He was that bad?"

Blitz just gave a tired sigh. Soon, they were in front of the main tent. But while the others went in, Blitz paused, looking up at the tent with this sense of dread. He asked himself if he was really doing this… and Loona looked back, seeing her dad almost frozen in place. Octavia saw this as well while everyone else continued on.

"Is your dad okay?" Octavia asked.

"Just… give me a moment," Loona said as she went back for her dad, kneeling down and placing her hands on his shoulders, getting him to look at her. "Hey," she said. "Are you going to be okay during this?"

"I…" Stolas started to say. But as he looked his daughter in the eye, he did feel that sense of dread fading away and he took a deep breath. "I'll be fine," he said.

"You can do this?" Loona asked, wanting to make sure.

Blitz nodded. "I can do this," he confirmed, putting on a brave face. "For the kids."

Loona smiled at him, a smile that let him know she was proud of him. "For the kids," she told him as they went inside the tent to join the others.

---

Twenty-five years ago, the young Stella had brought the young Striker to a changing room, where she planned to have him try out new outfits.

"Now if you're going to be my new playmate, we're going to have to change you out of those ugly rags you have on," Stella said as they were surrounded by various outfits. "Because those are suitable at all for someone who will be spending time with a future Goetian princess. So I'm going to be making you try out as many outfits as we need to until we find the right one, got it?"

Striker just sighed. "Got it…"

"Got it what?" Stella asked, expecting a proper answer.

"Got it… princess," he corrected himself, much to Stella's delight.

And so Stella made him try out on different outfits. Each time Striker came out and Stella made a judgment.

"Too flashy," she said when Striker came out in a sparkling white jumpsuit with a high collar.

When he changed again, he was wearing all plaid. Stella scoffed. "Too Welsh!"

Next, Stella winced when Striker came out with a blue sweater vest, a red tie, and khaki pants. "No no, not even a Wrathian would pull that kind of look!"

Eventually Striker came out wearing a black button shirt with blue jeans, a brown belt with a golden buckle, and brown boots. Stella gave a hum, "You're missing something… I know," she said as she grabbed a scarf, wrapped it around Striker's neck… and pulled it tightly, choking Striker slightly. "Perfect."

Striker adjusted himself and then looked in the mirror.

"Now, don't you look proper?" she asked him.

"It's… decent," Striker responded.

"Good, now you're ready to serve!" Stella declared as she pulled Striker outside of the changing room.

Once they were in the hall, Striker noticed a rickshaw there, waiting for them. "Where did that rickshaw come from?" he asked in confusion. "It wasn't there before…"

"No time for questions," Stella said as she took her seat in the rickshaw. "Pull so we can pick up my brother."

"Wait… I'm pulling?" Striker questioned.

"Are you refusing my request?!" Stella barked at him.

Striker narrowed his eyes at her, but then he just sighed. "No, princess. I'll do as you say," he said as he went to the front of the rickshaw.

Striker began to pull the rickshaw through the hallway. Of course, since this was the hallway of a Goetian mansion, the hallways were very long and all of the rooms were farther apart than they needed to be, so it took quite a bit of effort to make it to Andrealphus's room. As Striker came to a stop, Andrealphus stepped out of his room and smiled.

"Ah, just what I need," Andrealphus said as he went to take his seat next to his sister. "You can drop me off at our family's library."

"Which way is that, sir?" Striker asked.

"Further down to the left," he responded as Striker began to pull the rickshaw, which was now much heavier, unfortunately for him. When he made a turn to the left… he found himself in front of a staircase.

"And it's on the third floor…" Andrealphus added.

Striker just sighed before he started to pull the rickshaw up the steps, straining with the effort. With each step, Stella complained.

"Ugh, why is the road so bumpy?! Pick up the pace!" Stella ordered the imp boy while Andrealphus sat back and read his book, looking quite bored.

---

Later, Striker was finally allowed to sit down after the rickshaw deal. He was grateful for this, since his body felt sore, but now he was being made to attend a tea party with Stella, sitting at a table with her and a bunch of her stuffed animals.

"Ah, this is a nice tea party," Stella said as she poured 'tea' into her cup. She looked up at Striker. "Isn't that right, Baron Hornberry?"

When she looked at him, it took a moment for Striker to realize that he was supposed to be the Baron. "Uh… yeah, it's a good tea party," he replied.

"Excellent," Stella replied happily. "Because I've got some news to share. As of right now, I am engaged to be married to a prince named Stolas."

"Oh, um… congratulations," Striker replied while 'sipping' his tea.

"Yes, well… I unfortunately had no say in the engagement and I am only being married to him because I am expected to produce an heir, but I suppose that is just the duty I am expected to fulfill," Stella said, her tone slightly bitter. "However, contrary to the compliments, I couldn't help but notice that you and Ms. Gibblesnitch have been staging glances at my betrothed during a soiree at Buer's palace last week," she told Striker, who gave a confused look. "Kinda perfidious, don't you think? Hmm?"

"Uh…" Striker said in confusion.

"Enjoying your tea, Mrs. Gibblesnitch?" she asked a stuffed cat. "It's a delightful blend, isn't it? Got a bit of a… kick to it?" she asked with a wide, scary smile before she then turned to Striker, startling him. "How about your tea?"

"I… um…"

"You know, I've been thinking lately," she said while stirring her tea. "About life, friendship, and trust. It's such a fragile thing, just like those tea cups." she said while looking down at her tea before looking back up at him. "Just like how fragile my fiancé is…"

"I am not sure where this is going…" Striker said before he had to duck down to avoid a tea cup being thrown at him, causing it to smash into the wall behind him.

"HOW DARE YOU BREAK CHARACTER!" Stella shouted at him "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO ACT LIKE YOU'VE BEEN POISONED!"

---

However, later on, Striker learned the hard way that Stella's tantrums were not even the worst thing about being her playmate. No… that would be her brother.

Thanks to him, Striker had been turned into a bird.

"GOBBLE! GOBBLE!" cried out Striker, who was now a turkey. He flew around the room in a panic, knocking stuff over.

"Andrealphus! Change my playmate back right now!" Stella shouted at her brother, who was taking great amusement in the scene.

"Now that cured my boredom," Andrealphus said with a smile while seeing the panicking bird fly around.

"Andrealphus!"

"Alright, alright," Andrealphus said while her younger sister fumed at him. "Although it may take me a while. I actually didn't think I would be able to turn him into a bird, so I am not sure if I will be able to turn him back…"

---

Sometime later, after several attempts, Striker was no longer a turkey. Instead, he was on the floor, hugging himself.

"See?" Andrealphus asked. "No harm, no fowl."

Stella gave him a dirty look. "You're not funny," she said before she went to check on her playmate. "Striker?" she asked while looking over the boy.

Striker was shivering. Not just because he fell and hurt his shoulder after he got turned back, but because being transformed into a bird against his will was… terrifying. He felt like he wanted to throw up and he never wanted to experience that kind of thing ever again. He just looked so… traumatized by the whole thing. He even tried to pick himself up, only to fail.

"Striker?" Stella's soft voice was heard by the imp. Striker turned to Stella, who looked at him for a second… before she snapped at him. "Get up! If you're quite finished with lying on the job, I have more things to make you do for me!"

Striker still looked shell-shocked, but he didn't protest Stella's commands, for he knew that he had to serve her… especially since he was afraid of what else Andrealphus could do to him if he wanted to.

---

Sometime later, Stella was having dinner with her family and Striker was with her. Not sitting at the table with the Goetia demons, of course. He was standing behind her chair, being forced to watch the Goetia family eat their meal together.

"And then I said 'that's not an imp, that's my cousin!'" Avel finished his joke, though only Andrealphus laughed, since Ramara looked unamused and Stella didn't get it.

Striker, however, was staring longingly at the banquet that was being displayed on the table. He had never seen so much food on one table spread before. Back at the orphanage, he could have fed every kid there with just the food on this table. And yet it had been barely touched by this rich family.

He watched as Stella munched on her turkey leg, which made him slightly uncomfortable, since he had been a turkey not that long ago, but he was so hungry that he didn't really care. Stella eventually noticed his staring and she spoke up. "You want some of this?" she asked, waving her turkey leg in the air.

"Y-Yeah," Striker nodded with a hopeful look.

"Well, you can have some…" she offered him, seeing his eyes widen as his spirits seemed to be lifted. "If you can do some tricks for me," she finished, shocking the imp boy. "Come on, you want some of this, do you?" she asked, waving her turkey around some more.

"I…" Striker said, his voice unsure. But before he could reach a decision, Ramara spoke up.

"Stella! Quit waving your food around in front of your pet!" Ramara chastised her daughter.

"Yes, and don't feed it while you're at the table with family," Avel scolded, making Stella pull her turkey leg away from Striker and put it back on her plate. "It's rude."

"Yes mommy, daddy," Stella replied with a shrug, not noticing the look of disappointment on Striker's face.

But as the family resumed eating, Striker couldn't help but ask himself… would he have done what Stella had asked? Would he have performed tricks so she would give him some food, even if it cost him his dignity?

'Would it have been really worth it to humiliate myself in front of this family just for her scraps?' he wondered as he looked down and heard his stomach rumble.

---

In the main circus tent, Blitz, Stolas, and the rest of their group managed to find their seats. Amaroq was shaking in anticipation along with Damian.

"Is it starting?" Amaroq asked while turning to Loona.

"Shh, it is," Loona replied, pointing out how the lights were dimming down as the tent became dark…

…unless a spotlight turned on, revealing that standing in the center ring was the ringmaster, who wore a red coat and a red top coat that hid his face as he kept his head down.

"Seven Ring… glistening and glimmering," the ringmaster sang. "Rising bright… drenched with light~!"

Another spotlight revealed an imp woman in a red and blue checkered harlequin outfit and a rabbit demon dressed as a clown. They came over to the ringmaster, the clown lifting the ringmaster up as the harlequin imp got on top of his shoulders.

"See it smile," they all sang. "Beckoning and shimmering, all a-gleam… like a dream… every fantasy set free." They spun around as they sang. "Summer rising by the Envy seas…"

Loona looked at the kids, seeing them totally engrossed in the show. She smiled.

"Wonders and astonishments for your delectation," they sang while the harlequin pulled out an umbrella that swirled around while the ringmaster materialized a unicycle under the clown rabbit as they rode around. "Phantoms and automatons for your fascination! Marvels undreamed since the dawn of creation~!"

It was then that the audience noticed something in the dark parts of the tent, something… crawling. The audience gasped as polka-dotted spotlights revealed other performers, which included large spider demons and ballerina Dachshund Hellhounds.

"Seven rings, miracle on miracle… see the sound burning round, mile by mile!" they all sang as the lights slowly came back on, showing performers of all Hellborn kind making their appearance. Blitz was actually surprised by the diversity, a huge change from his family's imp circus. "Loud and lewd and lyrical, dream on dream never seen…"

"Welcome one and welcome all! Welcome to the master's hall!" they all sang as acrobats swung above the heads of the audience as they all continued to sing. "Welcome to the, Welcome to the, Welcome to the, Welcome to the, Welcome to the, Welcome to the~!"

As the lights completely flared up, the audience was greeted by a grand opening circus act. Acrobats flipped around, flying through rings being held up by flying baphomet demons. Other rings were jumped through by imps on motorcycles. Also coming into the rings were demon beasts being led by the animal tamer, a very small imp who waved at the audience while riding one of the demon elephants.

Amaroq, Damian, Octavia, Linda and Douglas all look amazed by this opening act. Loona was also quite impressed by the circus, along with Styx whose eyes widened like he was a kid in a candy store. Stolas looked overjoyed as well, while Blitz couldn't help but shift uncomfortably in his seat despite the admittedly impressive spectacle.

"Welcome to the circus! I, Mr. Light, will wow you all with wonder and whimsy!" Mr. Light declared as he took off his hat, revealing himself to be a black-furred baphomet demon. "I hope you all enjoy my circus! And my wonderful acts that I have brought you from all Seven Rings!"

And so, the circus began to go through their many performances and wondrous acts. The first act showed off a bunch of acrobats. One of them, a succubi with red curly hair, a patchwork leotard, and only one wing, bent her body while climbing across a tightrope. She then jumped up, did some flips, and then landed back on the tightrope with her hands.

"Give it up for Stitchy, everyone!" Mr. Light declared as the audience clapped for her.

Up next were the jesters, with them pulling up a large cannon. The harlequin ended up being the one to get in while wearing a helmet.

"Wait, why do I have to be the cannonball?!" she asked.

"Our guy got sick, so you'll have to do, Jest," the clown rabbit replied before stuffing her in.

"Wait! This isn't what I-" Before she could finish, the cannon shot her out.

"YAAAAHA!" she screamed before landing in the safety net.

"Ooh, did you just see her flying out of that cannon, Blitzy?" Stolas asked, nudging him.

"Uh, yeah," Blitz responded, shifting some more in his seat.

"And now… for the motherfucking clowns!" declared the rabbit clown as a small clown car pulled into the ring.

"Oh shit…" Blitz groaned while seeing the clowns come out of the car.

"Joko and his gang of clowns will perform their silly little tricks for the audience!" the ringmaster declared while the rabbit demon, Joko, was shown juggling balls before throwing them at his clown gang. One of the clowns pulled up a rifle and aimed it at Joko who just gave a smile before plugging a carrot into the barrel of the rifle just as the other clown pulled the trigger, causing a huge puff of smoke that Joko came out unharmed while the other clown was covered in soot. This made the audience laugh.

"Ain't I a stinker, ladies and gentleman?" Joko the rabbit clown asked, making the audience laugh.

"Ohohoho, isn't this a funny fellow?" Stolas asked his daughter, who actually looked to be enjoying herself.

"Honestly, this guy is a lot better than that mechanical nightmare from Loo Loo Land," Octavia admitted.

After the act ended, Damian and Amaroq clapped with the rest of the audience, Damian looking over to see Styx completely distracted by the performances. The young prince then got an idea and smiled before turning to Amaroq, whispering into her ear. Amaroq smiled as well and nodded to Damian, the two of them whispering to each other some more as the lights darkened.

"Next up is Shoobie with their… abstract performance!" Mr. Light's voice declared as the lights came back on, Damian and Amaroq having been replaced in their seats by the stuffed Thingies, who wore handmade masks resembling the Amaroq and Damian's faces.

Styx didn't notice his, being too engrossed in the acts, his eyes shining with enthusiasm. "What do you think of this, Damian?" he asked the stuffed Thingie, who didn't respond back. "Ah, speechless then," he said without looking at the Thingie.

Loona, however, did notice that the two Thingies had replaced Damian and Amaroq. "Shit," she whispered before turning to Blitz. "Dad, we have two missing from our group…"

"What?!" Blitz whispered before he saw where Loona was pointing. "Oh great, Amaroq and her little boyfriend are gone…" He then paused, realizing this would be the perfect excuse to not stay to watch the show… while making sure that Amaroq didn't start any trouble with the prince. "We should go find them, Loona."

"I was thinking the same thing," Loona replied. "What about Styx?"

Blitz turned to Styx, seeing him watching the circus with wide eyes while not noticing that Damian had disappeared. "Eh, let him have this," he told his daughter. "It looks like he probably hasn't had a fun day out like this in years."

He and Loona then got up, which did not go unnoticed by Stolas and Octavia.

"Where are you two going?" Stolas asked them.

"Looking for two kids that snuck off, be right back, keep watch over the other kids," Blitz told them as he and Loona left the audience area. "So where do you think they went?"

"Knowing Amaroq… probably where she isn't supposed to be," Loona suggested.

"Ah, backstage then," Blitz replied with a nod.

---

While the performance continued, Blitz and Loona looked around backstage for the two missing kids.

"Amaroq? Daman? Where are you two?" Loona called out for them as she and her father looked around. "Those two better not get into any trouble."

"Let's just find them and-" Blitz was almost struck by a knife that hit a wooden post next to him. "Christ on a stick!"

"Hey? Who's there?" asked an imp who lifted up his blindfold. He had short white truffles of hair with narrow horns pointed up and he was wearing a gray vest with green sleeves, dark-blue trousers, and black boots. He sported a mustache, a short beard, and large eyebrows. He had glowing yellow sclera eyes with orange irises and black narrow pupils. The blindfold he had on now covered his forehead. "Who the fuck are you two?! You don't look like you're supposed to be back here…"

"Sorry, we don't want any trouble, we're just looking for two kids who snuck back here, have you seen them?" Loona asked the performer.

"Well, I haven't seen any kids around here, then again I have been wearing a blindfold for the past few hours…" he replied before looking at his watch. "Aw fuck, I'm gonna be late for my act and I'm short on an assistant, and I can't lose this job!"

"Hey, Zuzo!" Jest shouted as he came backstage and walked up to the performer. "You're about to be up, are you ready for your act?"

"Uh… yeah! I just found my… assistants!" Zuzo lied as he pulled Blitz and Loona aside, much to their surprise. "They'll be helping me with my act!"

"What?! Now hold up, bub!" Blitz shouted while trying to get his arm away from the imp.

"Didn't you hear what we just said?!" Loona told the imp before Zuzo pulled them aside in a private chat.

"Look, this job means too much for me. I need some assistance so all I need is one of you to help me with my act, and we have no time!" Zuzo told them in a desperate tone. "This is the first steady job I've had since the last circus I was in shut down…"

Loona and Blitz looked at each other, Loona sighing. "One of us could help this guy out while the other looks for the kids."

"Well… okay, I'll do it," Blitz said with a sigh as he mentally prepared himself. "I'll help your little act of yours, Zuzu."

"Zuzo, but thanks, man," Zuzo told Blitz with a smile.

"I… won't have to do much, right?" Blitz asked, still a bit anxious.

"No, not at all," Zuzo said. "I'll be doing all the work. You just have to be there and react."

"Ah, okay," Blitz said. "So like your hype man. Yeah, I can do that."

"You sure about this, dad?" Loona asked him, worried about him going out there, considering his history.

"Look, I'll keep this guy busy and off our backs, you look for the kids. Last thing we need is to cause a scene," Blitz whispered to Loona before he went along with Zuzo, giving his daughter the thumbs up.

Loona nodded as she watched him go, though she couldn't help but hesitate for just a moment before she went to continue her search for Amaroq and Damian, silently hoping that her dad would be okay…

---

Blitz followed Zuzo to another part of the backstage area. "So what kind of act do you do?" he asked. "Magician?"

"Just get yourself strapped onto this table," Zuzo said as he showed Blitz a circular table on wheels.

"Sure, I don't see why not," Blitz replied with a shrug as he went to the table, Zuzo strapping him down with restraints. "Not to assume anything, but am I getting whipped? Because there are kids in the audience."

"What? No," Zuzo assured him as he then pulled out his knives. "I'm a knife thrower."

"WAIT, WHAT?!" Blitz asked as he started to struggle with his restraints.

"Relax, I've done this plenty of times," Zuzo said as he started to push Blitz toward the ring. He reached for the blindfold around his forehead and took it off. "Just… try not to move too much during the act, okay?"

Blitz was about to protest, but then he noticed the symbol on the knife thrower's forehead. His eyes widened in realization. "Holy shit…"

The symbol on Zuzo's forehead was the same as his.

Meaning, this wasn't actually the first time Blitz and Zuzo had met…

---

Meanwhile, Amaroq and Damian had found themselves in the animal pens, where they saw the horses with flaming manes and the demon elephants, which were even larger than normal elephants, in their pens and cages.

"Wow, look at them," Amaroq said in awe while looking around. "I've never seen animals like these before."

"You haven't?" Damian asked her in surprise. "So you have never rode on a demon horse?"

"No, but I hope I will," Amaroq replied while looking at the horses. "Mr. Blitz talks about horses a lot, but… this is the first time I see ones up close."

"One of my siblings has horses like these as well," Damian mentioned. "They're warhorses, like the ones that the old Horsemen of the Apocalypse used to ride."

"Wow, war horses…" Amaroq said in awe. "Wait, what happened to the old Horsemen?"

"They sided with the old Satan when he attempted to overthrow Lucifer," said a voice behind the kids, startling them. "Like the old Satan, they were… cast out of Hell."

Turning around, the two kids saw Mr. Light, the ringmaster, standing behind them.

"Uh… hi," Amaroq waved to him nervously.

"We uh… got lost…?" Damian suggested.

Mr. Light was quiet for a moment. Then, to the surprise of the two kids, he… started to laugh.

"Hehehehe, don't worry, you kids aren't in trouble or anything," he assured them.

"We're not in trouble?" Amaroq asked.

"Please, do you think you're the first to sneak back here where you're not supposed to be?" Mr. Light asked with a chuckle. "At this point, I'm used to it." He shrugged. "Would you kiddos like to help feed the horses?"

This made Amaroq and Damian smile, their surprise at the ringmaster's nonchalant reaction immediately being replaced by excitement. "Yeah!"

And so, Mr. Light helped the kids to feed the horses, Amaroq and Damian holding up sugar cubes for the horses to lick out of their hands.

"What's this one's name?" Amaroq asked Mr. Light, pointing to the horse she just fed.

"Oh, this one is Scorcher," he responded while petting the horse with a red flaming mane.

"And that one?" Damian asked while pointing to the blue flamed horse.

"Bloobercup," he responded, causing Damian to look up to him in confusion.

"Bloobercup?" he asked in confusion.

"Eh, I didn't name them," Mr. Light admitted with a shrug before they heard someone calling out to the kids.

"Amaroq! Damian! There you two are!" Loona shouted as she rushed over to them, only to slide to a stop when she saw the ringmaster. "Oh…"

The ringmaster actually looked surprised when he saw Loona, seeming to recognize her. "Oh hey, it's you."

"Um, I'm sorry?" Loona asked in confusion.

Seeing her confused reaction, the ringmaster shook his head. "Um, nevermind," he said. "You just remind me of someone else I know. I assume we haven't met."

"Yeah, we haven't," Loona said. "You're…"

"Mr. Light," the ringmaster introduced himself. "And I assume these two are yours," he said, indicating Amaroq and Damian.

"Yeah, they're mine," Loona confirmed while looking down at Amaroq and Damian, who gave her fake innocent smiles.

"We were just helping Mr. Light feed his horses," Amaroq claimed, causing Loona to sight.

"I am so sorry about this," she told Mr. Light, who only smiled.

"Don't apologize," he told Loona. "These things happen. Kids are naturally curious. And curiosity is a valuable thing. Why, if Eve had never been curious enough to take a bite of that apple and see if God was telling her the truth or not, we wouldn't have Hell as it is today, now would we?" He chuckled.

"Um, right," Loona said. "Thank you for finding these two and watching them, Mr. Light."

"It's no problem," Mr. Light said with a smile. "I would love to stay and chat, but I have a show to get back to. And I suggest you get back as well. I would hate for you to miss the rest of the show."

"Thank you, Mr. Light!" Amaroq and Damian both shouted as they waved to him while Loona began to bring them back to the audience area.

"Come on, if we hurry we could make it in time to see some of dad's act," Loona said, confusing the kids.

"Mr. Blitz's act?" Amaroq asked as she and Damian looked at each other in confusion.

---

Back in the ring, Zuzo had begun his act. He was throwing knives at Blitz, who now found himself surrounded by knives that were embedded in the table, the latest one almost managing to hit his head.

"Barely missed…" Blitz said with a gulp. He did feel some relief that the knife has missed him, but the crowd, on the other hand…

…the crowd was disappointed. No, angry.

"Oh come on! Stop missing!" one Wrathian cried out.

"Yeah, we came for blood!" another Wrathian declared while other voices in the audiences chimed in with similar frustration.

This was noticed by Stolas, Styx, Octavia, Linda, and Douglas. They had already been alarmed when they had seen Blitz brought out, but they were even more alarmed that the crowd actually seemed to want to see him get hurt.

"Why do they want to see Blitz get hit?" Octavia asked in concern.

"Yeah, that's concerning," Linda said with an uneasy look.

"It's a Wrath thing," Douglas said with an almost casual tone. "Honestly, this is pretty tame compared to some of the events me and my dad have been to…"

"Now don't worry, children, this is all just for show," Stolas tried to assure them. "I'm sure Blitzy is no real danger." He saw another arm be thrown at Blitz, barely missing the imp's arm. "I hope," Stolas quickly added, wondering if he should intervene or not.

"And now… I will do this blindfolded!" Zuzo announced while holding up the blindfold for the audience to see.

"Um… you do know what you're doing, right?" Blitz asked, his tone nervous as he watched Zuzo place the blindfold around his eyes. "I mean, you have already been getting this pretty close…"

Zuzo just smiled as he held up another knife. "Relax… Blitzo," he said, holding up another knife.

Blitz's eyes widened when he heard Zuzo say his name, realizing that it meant Zuzo knew exactly who he was… and remembered what he did.

"Wait… Zuzo…" he said as he started to struggle more. "Oh shit… shit, shit, shit!"

That was when Zuzo threw another knife at Blitz…

---

A knife was being held up by the young imp boy known as Striker…

"Hehehe, finally…" the young Striker said as he smiled at his knife, seeing his fangs reflected back at him in the blade. "I've been waiting for this all day…"

He then moved the knife… to a block of wood, using the knife to carve and whittle away at the wood while he rested in a makeshift hammock that he had set up inside the glorified closet he was staying in at the Goetian mansion. He didn't stay in the usual servant quarters, instead he had been given this 'living space' so he would be closer to Stella. It was a very cramped space, filled with the kind of stuff rich people bought and then immediately forgot or stopped caring about, which is why he was allowed to stay in it. It was still bigger than a normal closet, but he had very little space of his own because of the stacks of boxes, the shelves, and the clothes racks. But despite this… he made due with his corner of the room, turning it into his own safe haven. Here, he could actually have some privacy whenever Stella didn't want him. He used part of the shelves to house his wooden carvings, allowing him to personalize the closet a bit.

He had made quite a few carvings with what little carving material he had been able to smuggle into his 'room'. One was of a chicken, one was supposedly of a horse though he wasn't particularly proud of that one, and another looked like a cowboy. He had smuggled the knife as well, since he definitely was not allowed to use anything that could be considered a weapon.

Sure, his hobby wasn't much. But it was enough to keep himself entertained and even give himself some fulfillment during his stay in the Goetian mansion. Truthfully, he expected Stella to get tired of him eventually and would even forget about him, just like all of the forgotten clothes and purchases in the closet that he slept in. At that point, he supposed that her parents would either take him back to the orphanage or just toss him out into the streets. He had thought about trying to escape a few times, but he didn't want to get into trouble and he figured that putting up with Stella was at least worth it because it gave him a roof over his head, a hammock to sleep in, and food in his belly, since even when Stella neglected to feed him, he still found other means to secure food for himself. And he would rather not risk it in the streets of Pride. And honestly, this closet was still a better living space than the sad excuse of a room he had back in the orphanage, which he had to share with several other kids. At least he had this space to himself and he now took advantage of that privacy by getting to work on his next figurine, which he planned to be a wooden bull…

Suddenly, the closet door was thrown open and he heard what was by then a familiar shriek.

"STRIKER!" Stella shouted, startling the boy and causing him to jump in his hammock as she barged in. Before Striker had the chance to hide the knife, Stella saw it in his hands and she stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening in shock. "Is that… a knife?!"

"What?! No… no…" Striker told her while hiding the knife under his pillow. But it was too late.

"Y-you're planning to assassinate me!" Stella accused the imp boy. "How dare you! I'm telling my parents!"

Hearing this, Striker panicked. Not knowing what else to do, he leapt out of his hammock as Stella turned to leave the closet, only for her to be grabbed by the arm and pulled away.

"Hey!" she shouted at him.

"Quiet!" Striker frantically told her as he shut the door, trapping them both in the closet. Stella's eyes widened even more at this and she backed away, actually looking a bit frightened as she assumed only the worst about Striker and his intentions.

"AAAH! HELP! He's going to murder me!" Stella cried out before Striker tried to muffle her with a piece of cloth, specifically a sock.

"I'm not! So shut up!" Striker hissed at her, trying to make her calm down.

But Stella butted her head against Striker's, making him back away. She spit out the sock and tried to head to the door, but Striker cut her off by getting in front of her. He grabbed her wrists and tried to pin her to the wall, but Stella kept kicking at him.

"Let me go, you worthless snake!" she shouted at him.

"And I'm tellin' ya to stay quiet!" Striker shouted as he felt her beak biting his arm. "Ow! Hold still!"

"No! Help! I need an adul-HMM!" Stella tried to shout, only to feel Striker's tail cover her mouth. She struggled in his grip and used her beak to bite him again.

"OW! Quit it!" Striker shouted before Stella managed to kick him off of her, sending him back to hit some shelves.

"You dare try to handle me like I am some kind of piece of meat?!" Stella accused him. "When my mommy and daddy hear about this, you're going to be in so much… trouble…" She stopped when she noticed something had fallen off the shelves. She bent down and picked up the tiny wooden sculpture of a cowboy, holding it up. "And what is this?" she demanded to know.

"This is what I've been workin' on," Striker explained as he got up. "Look, I know that I'm not supposed to have that knife, but I promise I wasn't going to use it on you. I was just using it to whittle in my spare time." He pointed to some of the other wooden figures.

"Really? You… made these?" Stella asked him, looking at the wooden carvings with a curious expression.

"Yeah, I did," Striker said, turning away. "Look, please don't tell your parents. I didn't mean to scare you, I just-"

"They're… nice," Stella admitted, which surprised the imp.

"You… think so?" he asked.

"Yes," Stella said while picking up one of the figures. "And you made these yourself?"

"Y-yeah," Striker said with a nod.

"They're crude," Stella said, her tone initially dismissive. "But… kinda nice."

"Well… thanks," Striker responded, having never expected a compliment from Stella of all demons. "So… are you still going to tell on me about the knife?"

Stella didn't initially answer, since she was still looking at the wooden carvings, realizing that Striker was perhaps more talented than she thought and that there was potential here. "Could you make one of these for me?"

Striker raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"Could you make one of these for me?" Stella asked, pointing at the wooden figures.

"Y-Yeah!" Striker replied. "I can take requests! But in exchange… could you keep this all a secret? Just between the two of us?"

Stella looked at Striker, giving in some thought. Eventually, she nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes, and you can keep that knife as well. Just don't let my parents catch you with it or they will probably have you skinned alive with it."

Striker gulped slightly before he smiled and held his hand up. "Then it looks like we got ourselves a deal."

Stella looked down at Striker's hand. "Wha… what is this?"

"It's called a handshake," Striker replied. "Do you not know what that is?"

"Of course I do! I've seen my daddy do it with the other Goetia," Stella said while grabbing her handkerchief, before using it to hold Striker's hand. "But yeah, it's a deal."

And so, the two shook on it, promising to keep this incident a secret.

---

Meanwhile, back at the circus, backstage we find Blitz… being uncuffed from the table.

"See?" Zuzo asked with a smile. "No worse for wear, huh?"

"Physically, at least," Blitz said while rubbing his wrists. "You nearly made me piss myself out there. When I realized that you knew who I was, I thought to myself 'Oh crap, he's going to kill me!' You're an asshole for scaring me like that, by the way."

"Come on, I was just messing with ya, Blitzo," Zuzo responded with a chuckle. "I mean, I would be put out of the job if I just killed you in the ring in front of everyone like that. If I wanted you dead, it would be backstage."

Blitz glanced at Zuzo. "You're not… planning on killing me now, are you?"

Zuzo grinned. "Of course not," he said, patting Blitz on the back. "Honestly, when I realized I was you, I couldn't believe it. I'm actually really happy to see you again."

"Really?" Blitz asked in surprise. "What about…"

"The fire?" Zuzo asked, his tone sad. "Yes, I admit, that fire was… unfortunate. I never got to give you my condolences, by the way."

"Thank you," Blitz said.

"But I'm not mad at you for the fire, Blitzo," Zuzo told him. "I know that you didn't do it on purpose. It was an accident, right?"

Blitz nodded. "Yeah, it was," he said.

"See?" Zuzo pointed out. "And I may have lost a job that day, but you lost… so much more." He shook his head. "No, I could never be mad at you. Mistakes happen. That is life. Plus, I've made my own fair share of mistakes." He paused, looking thoughtful. "Maybe that's why it's sometimes hard to find an assistant for my act," he suggested.

"What happened to your old assistant…" Blitz started to ask, a bit worried.

"Oh, she broke off on her own," Zuzo reassured her. "Has her own solo act now. I heard she's doing quite good for herself. I am very happy for her."

"And how have you been since the, um… fire, Zuzo?" Blitz asked him.

"Well, after the fire, I had to find new work," Zuzo said with a sigh. "Did a few odd jobs here and there, nothing long-term though. I did take on a few hits as an assassin for a brief period. Turns out that not only am I pretty good at not hitting people, I am also pretty good at actually hitting people. Who knew, huh?" He laughed at this, a laugh that Bliz shared.

"So why aren't you still in the assassin business then?" he asked.

"I missed the entertainment bus," Zuzo confessed. "But I wasn't very good at anything besides knife throwing. I had a few rough years that included some disastrous birthday party acts before I landed a gig here with Mr. Light. And let me say, the pay is much better here than it was when I was with your father."

"Yeah, I can believe that," Blitz grumbled. "Dad always was a bit of a cheapskate." He then smiled. "But I'm glad that you're doing well."

"How about you, Blitzo?" Zuzo asked him. "How have you been since the fire? And who was the Hellhound with ya earlier?"

"Well, I actually go by Blitz now. The 'o' is silent. And that was my daughter, Loona," Blitz replied, surprising the knife thrower.

"No shit?" Zuzo asked in astonishment. "Wow, I had no idea."

"Yeah, I adopted her and I've been trying to do right by her," Blitz admitted. "Be better than my old man."

"Hmm… I think your mom would be proud of you for that, Blitz," Zuzo said honestly.

Blitz smiled at this. "Thanks, Zuzo," he said. "So, um, have you ever heard from anyone else? From our circus, I mean."

"Well, I've managed to stay in touch with a few of our old fellow performers. A lot of them are still in the entertainment business, with many of them working under Mammon or Asmodeus. I met up with Fizz once and he's doing quite well for himself. Did you ever meet him after the, uh, accident?"

"Yeah, I have," Blitz confirmed. "With Loona."

"I'm sure she liked that," Zuzo replied with a nod. "Oh, how about your sister? How is she?"

"Still mad at me," Blitz admitted awkwardly. "And still in rehab in Sloth. Though I did see her quite recently"

"Ah, right," Zuzo said, also a bit awkwardly. "What about your dad? When was the last time you saw him?"

"Years ago," Blitz told Zuzo. "Honestly, I don't want anything to do with him or that Fizz tourist trap he's running nowadays."

"Yeah, that's fair," Zuzo said. "You know, he actually did contact me once. Asked me if I wanted to work for him again. Talk to demons about how I knew Fizz when he was a kid."

"What did you tell him?" Blitz asked, curious.

"I told him to shove it," Zuzo said, causing Blitz to laugh. "As for the others, I know that a lot of the jesters and clowns went to work under Mammon. Others ended up working in the entertainment districts in Pride, Lust, and Envy, and the rest, but with others I have no idea what happened to them. They either went off-grid or… well, you know…"

"Yeah…" Blitz nodded and they both looked down somberly.

Zuzo looked up to Blitz. "So this whole new look you have…"

"It's a disguise, actually. Me and Loona are, well, in hiding," Blitz explained.

"Oh say no more, I understand too well," Zuzo told him. "I promise not to tell anyone that might have it out with ya. You helped me out tonight, Blitz, so it's fair I help you as well. But I'd help out nonetheless."

"Thanks, Zuzo," Blitz responded. "I owe you one."

"Nah, you don't," Zuzo said. "Though, I would like to meet your daughter. Formally, of course."

"Yeah, that can be arranged," Blitz agreed with a smile.

---

And so, Blitz led Zuzo to where the rest of the group was waiting after the show. When Stolas, Loona, Styx, and the kids saw him, they all looked relieved, Loona rushing over to hug him.

"Dad!" Loona shouted. "When I heard about the act, I got worried…"

"Hey, I'm fine," Blitz reassured her while hugging her back. "And I got someone I want you to meet. Or, well, meet more formally." He gestured to Zuzo. "You won't believe this, but Zuzo is an old friend of mine. I just didn't recognize him immediately."

"Really? Huh, small world," Loona replied as she extended her hand. "Nice to meet you sir,"

"You too, Loona," Zuzo said while shaking her hand. "Now I'm really glad that it wasn't you I was throwing knives at out there, since your dad wouldn't have liked that one bit."

"Yeah, he wouldn't have," Loona replied with a chuckle.

---

As the circus closed down for the day, everyone started to leave, Mr. Light shouting at the departing crowds through a megaphone.

"Thank you all for coming to Mr. Light's Spectacular Spectorium!" Mr. Light announced while the different tents and stands started to close down. "Be sure to tell all your friends and hey, come back to see more of my spectacles in the coming days!"

"Now that was an extravagant experience," Stolas commented as his group began to leave the circus ground. "What do you all think of it?"

"I'll admit, this is quite exhilarating," Styx replied with a smile. "Made me feel like a young kid again."

"You were a kid?" Damian quipped while Styx just sighed and Amaroq giggled.

"Definitely better than Mammon's shit shows back in Greed," Loona said before turning to Blitz. "How about you, dad? I mean, you got to meet an old friend of yours."

"Yeah, that was nice," Blitz admitted with a smile. "I'm glad that I came here. And I'm glad that the two of you got to meet."

"Well, I love the circus so much! The clowns, the elephants, the bending acrobat guys," Amaroq listed off, her tone brimming with excitement.

"Yeah! I can't wait to tell dad all about the circus!" Damian shouted with a smile. "I wouldn't mind visiting there again."

"Yeah! Same!" Amaroq replied while bouncing with enthusiasm, something that made Loona smile.

"Honestly, I was kinda expecting that to suck like one of those Loo-Loo Land shows," Octavia admitted. "But it was actually pretty fun. What did you think, Linda?"

"I wasn't really sure what to expect, since I had never been to the circus before," Linda confessed. "But I had fun." She then turned to Douglas. "What do you think of the circus, Doug?"

"Oh, um… I'll admit, it kinda reminded me of the rodeos," Douglas replied, forming a smile. "There's the risks, the dangers, and the clowns. Overall, a pretty good time."

Octavia looked up at her dad. "This was a great idea, dad," she said. "Thanks for taking us here."

"Oh, you are very welcome, my little owlette," he said with a smile. "I do love the circus."

"I can see why," Octavia said.

"You know, some of my best childhood memories are associated with the circus," Stolas revealed, surprising Octavia.

"Really?" she asked him. "So grandpa used to take you to the circus?"

"Well, only once," Stolas admitted before becoming nostalgic. "But the circus is actually the reason me and Blitzy met," he revealed, surprising her daughter and the rest of the kids.

Blitz shifted his eyes when he heard this, which Loona noticed. "Dad…?" she asked while reaching out to him.

"I'm fine, hon," Blitz responded.

"Could you tell me more about it?" Octavia asked her dad. "I don't think I ever heard how you two met each other."

"Certainly, dear," Stolas replied happily, not noticing Blitz's uneasiness. "I still remember that day quite fondly. You see, your grandfather took me to the circus on my birthday… well, technically it was just me and my butler that went, my father only attended remotely through a magic mirror. Back then, I was… timid," he admitted. "And during the show, I saw Blitz."

"In the crowd?" Octavia asked.

"No, in the show," Stolas told her, causing Octavia to connect the dots.

"That's how you knew the knife thrower from the circus," Octavia realized. "You two were in the same circus."

"Yeah," Blitz admitted. "We were."

"Yes, and he was performing with Fizzeroli-" Stolas started to say.

"Wait, you performed with Fizzeroli?" Octavia asked Blitz. "As in, the Fizzeroli that Robo-Fizz is based on? Mammon's top clown?"

"Yep," Blitz admitted dryly. "Though the real Fizz was never as much of a pain in my ass as that fucking robot…"

"Ugh, tell me about it," Loona said, sharing her dad's hatred of Robo-Fizz.

"Yes, um, as I was saying," Stolas said, trying to continue his story. "I still remember how funny Blitz was during the show. Like that broken horse joke about it having no legs, because the horse lost his legs from eating all of the sugar! Oh, hehehe, laminitis. It still gets me all these years later."

"Stolas, that act bombed," Blitz reminded him.

"I'm more surprised Paimon would allow you two to be friends," Styx pointed out, making Blitz send him a glare.

"Yes, well, my father noticed that I liked Blitz and his act, so he decided to arrange a playdate between us," Stolas recounted. "Blitz was the first friend that I ever had…"

"Wow… so is that why you always take me to Loo Loo Land?" Octavia asked, seeing now why Stolas kept taking her to that amusement park in Greed. It reminded him of his fond memories of the circus.

"Um, not to rain on your parade, Stolas, but I think you are viewing that day through rose-tinted glasses," Blitz pointed out.

"Then how did you remember that day, Mr. Blitz?" Octavia asked him.

"Well…" Blitz said as he looked at Octavia. He hesitated for a brief moment before looking down in guilt. "I robbed your dad."

Via and Styx were shocked to hear this, both of them gasping. Linda looked surprised, Loona looked unsurprised, Douglas raised an eyebrow, and Damian chuckled while Amaroq smiled and commented "Nice."

Seeing their reaction, Blitz quickly went into his explanation. "Look, I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. My own father basically sold me to Stolas's daddy for pocket change before my dad told me to rob them blind, guilt-tripping me into doing it. I didn't exactly hang out with Stolas that day because I wanted to and I even tricked him into helping me by claiming we were playing 'pirates'."

"Satan's horns…" Styx said as he looked up at Stolas. "Did that really…?"

"Well, I will admit that… yes, I do remember that," Stolas replied, rubbing the back of his feathers.

"Look, I'm not proud of what I did back then," Blitz admitted. "And I felt worse about it afterward because… I did end up liking Stolas. But I tried to justify it by telling myself that since you were rich, you could afford losing some of your expensive shit. That I was helping my family, helping my mom…" He looked down, his fists tightening.

"Hey, it's not your fault that your shitty father put you up to that, dad," Loona assured him while reaching out to touch her father's shoulder. "Especially since he was making you take a huge risk, since if you had been caught…"

"Trust me, Loony. I know how fucked up my father is," Blitz admitted as he looked up at Loona, remembering when he briefly started to using her in his heists when she was just a pup. He sighed before turning to Stolas. "Honestly, I thought you had forgotten about that part. Or had chosen to forget it. But I'm sorry, Stolas, I don't really view that day with the same fondness as you."

"Well, I will admit, while I did eventually realize that you had stolen from us, it wasn't like you stole anything that me or father has actually missed," Stolas told Blitz. "Since otherwise he would've probably hunted you down if you had stolen something actually important and valuable."

"Huh, that is true," Blitz admitted.

"But secondly, I chose not to focus on that," Stolas told him. "I wanted to focus on how happy you made me and maybe that was because… I wanted to believe that you were still my first friend, despite you robbing us." He looked down somberly. "I had a very, lonely childhood back then, but when I first met you, it made me… happy, even if only for a time." He then smiled. "You have no idea how happy I was when I saw you again when you came to ask for my help. Because it confirmed that the day had meant something to you, just as it had for me."

Blitz's eyes widened at that and he wasn't sure how to answer. However, Octavia gave her own input.

"You know, that story did remind me of how I met Loona," she admitted while looking over to Loona. "She became my first friend when I first met her at Loo Loo Land. Despite everything else that happened that day, I still look back at it with fondness… because if it wasn't for that day, I wouldn't have met Loona. Plus, it would probably have not happened if you and Uncle Blitz had never met," she said as she turned to Blitz. "I'm grateful that you did meet my father, Uncle Blitz… even if you did rob my grandfather."

Blitz gave a smile to the disguised owlette. "Thank you, Via, and I'll admit, while I do hate my childhood in general… I'm also glad to have met Stolas that day,"

"Yeah, me too," Loona replied, sharing the sentiment.

"So do you ever miss the circus, Mr. Blitz?" Linda asked.

"Hehehehe… fuck no," Blitz responded.

And as they continued to walk away, none of them realized they were being watched from a distance by Mr. Light, the baphomet ringmaster stroking his chin as he thought to himself…

---

Soon, the group had left the circus grounds and was at the parking lot where Damian and Styx's carriage was, along with Blitz's van.

"Well, we must be heading back, Damian," Styx said as he turned to Stolas, Loona, and Blitz, "Thank you, Prince Stolas, Loona, and Mr. Buckzo, for inviting the young prince out today." He turned and saw Damian going to say goodbye to Amaroq and he couldn't help but smile, if only for the briefest of moments. "He… had a very good time."

"You're welcome, General," Stolas replied. "I'm just glad we were all able to share a good time together."

"Yeah…" Blitz responded awkwardly. "I'm just glad that Amaroq and Damian had fun, even if those two can be little rascals…"

"Yeah, but it's good that they enjoyed themselves," Loona said while witnessing Amaroq and Damian hugging each other.

"I had a good time today, Damian," Amaroq said as they let go of each other. "But I guess this is goodbye…"

"Nah, this is more of a 'see you later' than a goodbye," Damian replied before turning to the rest of the kids. "And maybe 'see you later' to you guys as well."

"Yeah, it was nice to meet you, Damian," Octavia replied. "You're definitely the coolest kid of a Sin I've met. Well, maybe second coolest."

"That's not exactly high praise when the only other Sin kids you know are Cordelia and Charlie," Linda pointed out.

"It was nice to hang with you, Damian," Douglas commented while offering his hand to shake. "Maybe I'll see you around Pride."

"Thanks, man," Damian responded while shaking his hand back.

And with their goodbyes finished, Damian and Styx went back into their carriage, which began the journey back to the palace, the others watching them go.

"How are you feeling?" Loona asked, checking in with Amaroq once her friend was gone. As they talked, Stolas went over to Blitz.

"Hey, Blitzy," Stolas said to Blitz. "I had a thought. Why don't we let Loona take the kids back to Ms. Carrie's place while we go somewhere to talk…" he suggested in a husky tone. "…in private."

Blitz immediately realized the implications to what Stolas was referring to and sighed. "If it was any other day, sure, but right now… I'm gonna take a rain check on it."

"R-Really?" Stolas asked in surprise, taken aback.

"Look, it's just that, well… I'm not in the right headspace for it," Blitz admitted. He thought back to waiting in line with Stolas, to being part of the knife throwing act and reuniting with one of the old performers from his family's circus, to having to tell Octavia about how he once robbed her dad. "It has been a long day and I am exhausted. Both physically and emotionally."

"Oh…" Stolas said. He looked disappointed, though he quickly tried to hide it. "Well… I accept your decision. Though, do you still wish to talk to me about what you, Loona, and Amaroq are going to do?"

"Honestly, I would prefer to have Moxxie back with us before we talk about what to do next," Blitz admitted. "He is still off doing his thing."

"I'll accept that as well," Stolas replied with a sigh. "I'll be seeing you at the Harvest Moon Festival then?"

"Yeah, you will," Blitz confirmed.

"I look forward to it," Stolas told Blitz. "But this was fun, right? You had fun today?"

Blitz put on a tired smile. "Yeah, I had fun," he said, though he wasn't entirely sure if he meant it or not. He was glad he came, if only because he got to see Zuzo. But 'fun' was a very strong word and perhaps not the one he would use to describe today. Though it had been a bit cathartic for him, at the very least. "Thanks for suggesting this," he said and this time he knew that he meant it. "The kids had a great time."

"Glad to hear it," Stolas said, satisfied with Blitz's answer. He then turned to call out to the kids. "Octavia! Linda! We're about to leave."

Hearing this, Octavia turned to Loona, Amaroq, and Douglas.

"Well, this is goodbye for us as well," Octavia said. "It was nice meeting you, Amaroq."

"Yeah, you too, Octavia," Amaroq replied.

"Keep Loona out of trouble for me, okay?" Octavia asked, only for Loona to snort a laugh.

"Please," Loona said. "I'll be the one keeping her out of trouble."

Amaroq shrugged. "It's true," she admitted.

Octavia smiled at this and then turned to Douglas. "It was nice to meet you as well, Douglas," she said. "I am still very impressed by your marksmanship from earlier."

"Yeah, me too," Linda added.

"Oh, um… it was nice to meet you all too," Douglas replied, cracking a smile to them.

"I, uh, hope I wasn't too intimidating," Octavia told Douglas, whose eyes widened.

"You… weren't," he said. "Was it… that obvious?"

"That you were kinda scared of me and my dad?" Octavia asked. "Yeah, it was obvious, though I didn't want to draw attention to it. I mean, I get it though. Almost all of the kids that I've ever interacted with have been Goetia or royalty like me. Sure, I am friends with Loona and Linda, but I can understand how me and especially my dad can come across as intimidating from our titles alone."

"I'm just glad my dad isn't here," Douglas admitted. "He… really doesn't like the Goetia."

"Douglas, I am gonna let you in on a secret," Octavia said as she leaned closer to Douglas, her voice becoming a whisper. "I'm not really a huge fan of the Goetia either."

At this, both Octavia and Douglas smiled at each other.

"Stay cool, Douglas," Octavia told the younger boy.

"Yeah, you too," Douglas said, smiling a bit more.

Loona and Octavia then went to share a hug.

"I hope I see you soon…" Octavia said.

"Yeah, me too, Tavi," Loona replied while hugging Octavia back.

"Do you know when you'll be back up in Pride?" Octavia asked.

"I… don't know," Loona said while glancing at Amaroq. "But I'll let you know when I am. I really want to meet your new friend Alice. And tell Cray that I said hi."

"I will," Octavia promised.

And so, the groups went their separate ways, Blitz and Loona taking Amaroq and Douglas back to Carrie's in their van while Stolas brought Octavia and Linda to somewhere he could use the grimoire to bring them back to Pride.

"I'm glad that you girls have a good time today," Stolas told them. "But before we go back home, I must ask two one thing… under no circumstances should you tell Stella that I brought both down here to the Wrath Ring." His tone was dead serious. "And do not tell Jewel either. Understand?"

"Yes, dad," Octavia replied.

"We won't whisper about this, sir," Linda said.

"Excellent," Stolas replied, satisfied with their answers as he produced his grimoire to open a portal back home.

---

Back at Satan's palace, Damian and Styx had returned from their outing. Soon after their return, they were both met with Hilda.

"Ah, young master Damian, and General Major Styx, welcome back," Hilda greeted them. "Did you enjoy your time with Prince Stolas and his daughter?"

"Yeah, we sure did, Hilda," Damian replied with a smile. "Me and Octavia had a good time together, right Styx?"

"Y-Yes! The prince and the princess had a good time. No trouble, whatsoever," Styx said, them both having agreed on the way back to not say anything about Amaroq and the others to Hilda. Though Damian did a much better job at hiding it, since Styx seemed nervous as Hilda looked at him.

"Hmm…" Hilda said as she narrowed her eyes at the two… before she broke into a smile. "Well, I'm glad that you two had fun. Maybe you can tell all about it during dinner."

"Yes, yes, dinner sounds nice," Styx responded.

"Um, I'm going to see Tentradora before that," Damian said as he started to walk away… before he was stopped by a voice.

"Oh? You're home, Damian."

Damian turned around to see an anthropomorphic jackal with red and black fur. She had long hair and a black spiky crown with a red glowing gem. Her hair came down to cover the right side of her face, with red sclera eyes with crimson glowing irises, and long black eyebrows. She had a red underbelly with black fur on her upper arms and feet, a black bead necklace that has an upside down cross, and a crimson, sleeveless dress with a V-shaped neckline strap. The dress stopped at her lower paws and she had a long red tail. Besides her beauty, her most noticeable feature was her stoicism.

"Hi, mom!" Damian greeted her happily.

"M-M-My queen!" Styx saluted her. "Um, as you can see, Damian was brought safely home, Queen Narissa!"

"I can see that, Styx," Narissa replied before turning to her son, her stoic expression remaining. "I heard you spent the day with Prince Stolas and his daughter, how was that?"

"Oh, I had lots of fun, mom! We went to the circus and we saw the animals, the clowns, and the animals!" he replied while going up to his mom, who picked up Damian in her arms. "You should've seen it, mom, it was amazing!"

"Well, I'm glad that you had a wonderful time, Damian," Narissa replied, forming a smile as she petted her son's head. "But I also wanted to let you know something. You can expect a visit soon."

"A visit?" Damian asked.

"Yes, my family is going to be coming down to visit us in a few days," she said. "Your aunt and your cousin."

Damian's eyes widened at this and he formed a smile. "Oh yeah! Cousin Jack's coming!"

---

Meanwhile, up in the Pride Ring at the House of Stolas, Stolas had brought Octavia and Linda back home.

"We're back!" Stolas announced before seeing his wife appear.

"Ah, there you are," Stella responded. "Where have you all been?"

"I took the girls out on a little outing today," Stolas responded. "Just the three of us."

"Yeah, we went to… see a play," Octavia lied. "You know, the one with the phantom, what was it called?"

Before either Stolas and Linda could come up with another lie, Stella just sighed. "Well, I was visiting with my brother today," she said. "He is doing well, in case you were wondering."

Stolas was not, though he wisely didn't say anything.

"If you need me, I'll be in my quarters," Stella said before she walked away.

After Stella left, Linda turned to Octavia and her dad. "Well, that was easier than I thought."

---

As Stella entered her private quarters, a room separate from the bedroom that she shared with Stolas, she shut the door behind her. She looked around at the white room, spotting the table desk, the dresser, the mirror, and the large window behind the desk. There was also a bookshelf, which showed off a tea set, a fan, some magazines stacked in a row, and an object that caught Stella's eye.

"I… don't remember putting you there," Stella said as she walked up to the shelf and grabbed a tiny wooden figure that resembled a bird. She looked down at the wooden figure in her hands and as she stared at it, she remembered the day she received it…

---

Sometime after the knife incident, a young Stella met up with Striker, who handed her a wooden bird figure.

"Here you go, just as you asked," Striker said as Stella took the bird. "What do you think?"

Stella looked down at the bird in her hands. It was no masterpiece and yet… Stella knew there was nothing else like it. And it was hers and hers alone.

"I like it," Stella said with a smile. "Thank you, Striker."

Striker was surprised to hear this, blinking a few times. "Um, did you just say 'thank you'?" he asked.

Stella realized she had and was surprised herself, but she quickly readjusted herself. "Don't get used to it," she said with a scoff.

---

As she gazed upon this wooden bird figure, Stella let out a sigh and formed… a small smile.

It was a brief smile, but a smile nonetheless.

Returning the bird back to its place on the shelf, the Goetian princess started to walk back to her desk, only looking back at the wooden figure once.

She was honestly surprised that she had still kept the thing after all of this time, since it wasn't of any value… well, to anyone except for her, that is.

Perhaps that is why she kept it. Because it was something that would have meaning to her and her alone, unlike all the other items she owned which had worth.

It had sentimental value to Stella, for it reminded her… of a friend.

---

Blew your minds, did we?

Well, okay, some of you are pretty right about Striker being Stella's previous imp she had, which is something we've built up for quite some time.

So to put in some notes, this chapter is meant to be a call-back to the first episode of the second season of Helluva Boss, "The Circus". Not only does it reference how Blitz and Stolas first met, but Stella's storyline about how she met Striker is meant to be a parallel to how Stolas met Blitz, as well as showing how Stella reacted to learning about the arranged marriage.

Writing these flashbacks was… an interesting challenge, especially since we didn't want to retcon what "The Circus" established about Stella as a child. Like, we didn't want her to be this innocent and completely sympathetic like Stolas was. No, we made sure that she was still a spoiled brat with rage issues who once strangled her own pet. But… she is not only that. She is similar to Stolas in some ways, but very different to him in others.

Beyond the establishment in how Stella and Striker met, this chapter is meant to achieve a few things. It's meant to give Blitz and Stolas some more screen time together, since their relationship hasn't been at the forefront of Helluva Dad like it has been in the canon series. Plus, it's meant to give Amaroq and Damian more time together to build up their friendship.

As for the new characters, first off we have Bob, larry, Hilda, Daxler, and Narissa who are all characters from Zoophobia. Hilda, in regards of her being adapted as being a Cannibal, as well as Cannibals being Hellborns, this is a headcanon we came up with after the first season of Hazbin Hotel. We thought it could explain a few things: why all the Cannibals look alike despite the usual diversity in appearances even when they commit similar crimes(Martha, for example, is a cannibal herself but doesn't resemble like the Cannibal Colony when she became a Sinner), as well as the presence of Cannibal babies and children, and the comment made about how Rosie never died.

While it's more likely that the Canibals are Sinners based on Vizie's own comments, we still ike this headcanon, including the idea that Cannibals were created and then rejected by Lucifer. Like, beforehe got obsessed with making new types of rubber duckies, he tried making Cannibals. We thught it would make for good world-building and gives an explanation for Hlda, who does resemble Rosie in the Zoophobia comics.

Damian has also mentioned his other, half-siblings. Jakk, Bella-Rouse, Elira, Attila, Hannibal, Luzy, Daimo, and Torrent, are actually the names of ultimate-drax's Satan kids OCs. While we didn' t have room to include them in this arc, we still thought we could give them a mention. For those of you wondering who Marcus is… well, no spoilers.

For the circus part, we have Mr. Light at the scene who runs the circus. Some of his employees are based off of the characters from Digital Circus, such as Jest who's a parody of Pomni, Joko who's like Jax, Stitchy who's like Ragatha, and the unseen Shoobie who's like Zoomie… we'll let you imagine what kind of demon she is. Zuzo, however, is the same knife-thrower from Buckzo's old circus, as seen in "The Circus" episode.

Andrealphus turning Striker into a bird is a reference to the Andrealphus from demonology, who had the ability to turn any man into a bird.

Also thanks to Jack_Skeletron for suggesting the names of Stella's parents. Also that their appearance are based off of fanart interpretations in what Stella's parents would look like by the artist Acker, which can be found on Reddit.

As for musical numbers, we have two. First is "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" from The Lion King which although it was already used in Luz Clawthorne, it was just too perfect for Damian. And hey, if Mulan II can use "A Girl Worth Fighting For" again, I see why not to re-use this song.

Second is the "Coney Island Walz" from Love Never Dies, which was used for this musical number for the introduction of the circus.

Review section:

Crash X Fusion: You'll see when we see them again.

Matteso585: 3) Well that, and it is a chance for them to shine, plus it kinda does reference the Magnificent Seven where the seven heroes come back to defend the village from the bandits.

Shuffollower: At this point, Millie hasn't met with Chazwick yet, but eventually they will. As for what Blitz, Loona, Carrie and the rest are doing, well they've been doing okay as you see.

Spantidem7: 1) If it's revealed how Blitzø and Millie canonically met in "Ghostfuckers," will you include that in the LCU?

We already had an idea on how Blitz and Millie will meet before "Ghostfuckers" premiered.

2) Will this little story arc within a story arc have any consequences?

Yes, what happened in Angerton will have consequences.

3) Were there three demonic monkeys, or were they all in Murdock's army?

We don't know what you're talking about.

4) Why are you making it seem like the Crimson gang cares about Moxxie, when we all know they're going to let Crimson force Moxxie to marry Chaz and get killed by Millie for it?

First of all, this is an AU. Things could play out differently. Second of all, they were going to let Moxxie be forced to marry Chaz because they thought Chaz was rich. One of the reasons they came back to help Moxxie was because he owed them and because he was more valuable to them alive. Sure, they like Moxxie. But that's not the only factor motivating their actions.

5) If Moxxie had a palisman, what animal would it be?

Honestly, a cat.

6) What were Loona&Co doing while this battle was going on?

This chapter is what they were doing during the battle. After all, this chapter was originally going to be the A plot of the previous chapter, but we decided to split the storylines into different chapters because of tone and tension issues. We didn't want to break the flow of the Battle of Angerton by constantly cutting back to what Loona and the others were doing, which is why we moved both that plotline and the Stella and Striker flashbacks to this chapter, though they're still happening roughly the same time.