Doing his best to retain his current image of coolness, something that was rather easy to do since he was wearing one of his best casual outfits while he was carrying a weapon that could be used for either sniping or automatic fire, Blitzo wasted no time in reminding the t-shirt wearing prince to lay off the funny business.
"Now remember Stolas. Me and my team are here to work alright? Not to take care of your sick and twisted bird needs".
Of course the Goetia Prince just had to make it clear that he had less than professional interests on his mind.
"Oh Blitzy. Your so cute when your serious".
"I have a question".
Though appreciating the fact that he was accompanied by someone who could hopefully force the Owl Demon to reign in his more...forward advances, Blitzo held up his finger to interrupt the pink eyed heiress just so he could get his point across.
"In a second sweetie. This is work Stolas. So you even try and touch my sweet little ass the deal is off".
To the Imp's surprise, the feathered denizen of Hell proved to be at least somewhat willing to entertain the idea that this little outing would only be about work.
"Oh now Blitzy I wouldn't do that. There are children present after all".
Casting a quick glance behind him to see Octavia wearing a very annoyed scowl, and the Double M's ward looking at the park with a look of weary excitement, Blitzo had to confess that he should have expected Stolas to restrain himself when there were people watching.
"Though I suppose if the need overwhelms you, we could take a quick trip to one of these delightfully small portables".
And just like that the Owl Demon proved him wrong.
Something that he was quick to point out.
"Not gonna happen Stolas".
This of course merely served to inspire his grey feathered employer/casual lover to change tactics.
"Your right. The back of your van is a much better choice. More room to move about".
Pinching his forehead in a futile attempt to fight his oncoming headache, Blitzo could feel that this was going to be a long ass day.
But he supposed it was worth it if the cash was good, and the Double M's got to enjoy their little family outing.
A shame that his Looney couldn't be with them.
But since someone needed to man the office, and the fact that she had been immune, although just barely, to Harry's pleading look to accompany them, the curved horned Imp was the only member of this group that wasn't accompanied by a family member.
Be it by blood or informal/unspoken adoption.
Something that made his eyes briefly water before he remembered that he was an Imp on a mission.
...
Though he had often dreamed of one day visiting an amusement park, even if his cousin had somewhat ruined the image by bragging how he sometimes threw up on rides after gorging on hot dogs, fries, and other park foods, Harry never expected that he would ever be in a place like this.
It didn't matter that the park name would have caused gales of laughter from every child in Britain. At least from those that appreciated and enjoyed toilet humor.
Nor did it matter that the place had a less than clean and carefully maintained appearance.
What mattered was that he was finally being given a chance to do something he had never thought he would be able to do while living with the Dursleys.
And best of all, he was doing it with people...or in this case demons who actually gave a crap about his well being.
Which was why he was somewhat confused by Octavia's reaction to the energetic, though slightly creepy, apply mascot.
He still didn't get why apples where such a big deal in Hell since Stolas had decided to start off with teaching him magic rather than anything to do with Hell's culture, but he put that questioning thought out of his mind as he watched the smirking teenage demon insult the mascot's place of employment.
"Is it true that that this park is actually just a cheap ripoff of Lucifer's more popular Luu Luu World"?
His mind starting to ponder what the other theme park would be like if this one was just a cheap ripoff, Harry couldn't help but giggle as he heard the slightly nervous answer of the giant apple.
"No".
The one worded answer caused his older 'classmate' to sneer.
"This place reeks of corporate shame".
Shooting a questioning look towards his guardians, taking noticed that Moxxie was wearing an expression that looked like he agreed with Via's statement, Harry gave voice to his curiosity.
"What does she mean by that"?
The answer he received was both quick and merely served to fill him with more questions. Though Millie's accompanying question quickly drove them out of his head.
"Its a business thing Sweetie. Now which ride do you want to go on"?
Doing his best to contain his enthusiasm, for he had seen plenty of rides that looked fun, Harry barely heard the Imp's conversation.
"Uhh Millie. Do you think that this place is...appropriate for someone his age"?
"Don't be silly Moxxie. My parents brought me and my siblings here when we were tots. And we loved this place. Didn't you ever come here as a kid"?
"No. Theme parks always disturbed me. From their creepy ass mascots, to their ridiculously overpriced merchandise. I mean seriously. Why would you pay 15 bucks for a 4 dollar cup that you'll only use once"?
"Cause it's Loo Loo Land".
Stifling a small giggle at the reminder that the park had been named after a bathroom, even though there were countless signs that claimed that the name had been original and had nothing to do with another similarly named theme park, Harry was prevented from voicing his opinion to that question thanks to the sudden arrival of Blitzo.
Whose appearance had changed from cool to funny as he was currently wearing an oversized novelty hat while sipping from a rather large plastic cup.
"Listen to your hoe Mox. With Stolas footing the bill, you might as well go nuts. I'll take the first shift so why don't you three go have a little fun".
Happy at the fact that he now had permission to have fun, Harry barely had a chance to thank the taller Imp before his hand was grabbed by an excited Millie and enthusiastically pulled towards a giant, if slightly flimsy looking roller coaster".
"Come on you two. We have to do my favorite ride".
Knowing that there was nothing he could do to sway his wife when she was currently in one of her moods, and seeing that Harry was currently enjoying his visit to Loo Loo Land, Moxxie tried to keep a cheerful expression on his face.
"Oh? And what is tha...Oh crumbs".
Emphasis on tried.
...
Putting on his best welcoming expression, and making sure that his stand's safeguards where in place to ensure that only he could decide which of these suckers would be goin home with a prize, the pink skinned carnie addressed the interested crowd.
"Hello, hello. Step right up and win a thing".
Pointing with his stick towards one of the cheap stuffed toys, whose workman skip once again reflected the park's desire to offer only cheap goods while charging as much as they could, the booth attendant found his welcoming smile gain a touch of lust as he noticed the excited expression of a female Imp whose figure made him glad to be more of an ass man instead of a breast one.
"OH WOW! Check it out boys. A Thing"!
His eyes narrowing in slight disappointment as he noticed that the babe was accompanied by a nerdish looking imp and what looked like a underfed homunculus, the carnie felt his good mood return as the white haired Imp proved to be the type that would do anything to convince his woman that he wasn't as useless as he appeared.
"Oh. You like that thing"?
Rolling his eyes at this rather obvious question, the pink skinned Imp maintained his smirk as he listened to the resulting conversation.
"YESSSSSS. I don't really know that that thing is, but I WANT that thing".
"Finally something I can do. What about you Harry? Do you want a thing as well"?
Barely containing his eagerness as the kid shyly nodded his head, for it meant that he had just ensured that he would be exceeding his quota for the day, the Carnie secretly double checked that the 'safety' locks had been activated before exchanging the offered cash for one of the game's toy pistols.
And a good thing he did too.
Usually, it would take at least 3 to 5 tries before the average park goer could hit the immobile target. If only because he had altered each and every gun so that the aiming mechanism wasn't exactly in line with the barrel. Meaning that it would take someone to notice this and make the appropriate corrections.
But this dorkish Imp with the hottie at his side actually managed to hit the target dead on.
Now came the tricky part of his job.
Convincing the sucker to persevere in the face of public humiliation.
"Strike one little man".
His words earned a clearly irritated frown from the bowtie wearing Imp.
"But I hit it".
Adopting what he viewed to be his best impression of a teacher, the Carnie explained the rules of the game.
"I don't know what to tell ya, buddy. The target, see? It didn't go down. So yeah, no go, bro".
And just as he expected, his mockery resulted in another bill being slammed down.
And while this second attempt was just as accurate as the first, the results where the same.
Which caused the rightful prize winner to look at the pistol in disgust.
"The Heaven's wrong with this thing".
Fully expecting his fellow Imp to try again, after he had finished mocking him for his efforts of course, the Carnie was prevented from imitating a crying infant thanks to the soft spoken words of the currently frowning kid.
"Can I have a go"?
Though he knew he had to play it carefully lest he lose the chance to rob the sucker for all he was worth, the Carnie nevertheless felt the need to mock him for this little development.
"Oh isn't that sweet. Little tyke thinks he can do what his babysitter can't. Well as long as you have the cash to play kiddo, your more than welcome to try".
Smirking as he watched the kid turn towards his red skinned minder, and accepting the offered bill after the kid had managed to convince the understandably reluctant Imp to give him the money, the Carnie couldn't help but offer some insulting commentary as he watched the kid carefully aim the weapon.
"Are you sure you wouldn't want someone else to do that for you kiddo? These baby's are modelled after real weapons you know. And might be a too much for a ..
CLANG
His mockery interrupted by a sound that shouldn't have existed unless his foot pushed the right button, the pink skinned con Imp turned could only stare in disbelief as he saw the knocked over target.
"Nice shot Sweetie".
"Yeah. Great work Kiddo".
Turning his attention back towards the celebrating trio, the Carnie felt his eyes twitch in irritation as the kid pointed at one of the usually hard to get prizes.
"I'll be taking that one please".
Though the words were spoken politely enough, the small smirk the kid was wearing was enough to make him do something that would have gotten him beaten if his old man was still alive to see him.
Swearing at a customer.
"You little punk. Just cause these games are rigged doesn't mean you ca...".
...
Harry would never learn what the dishonest theme park worker was intending to say to him.
Not that he really wanted to know since his and Moxxie's efforts to obtain a stuffed toy for Millie had been the one thing to slightly ruin what had proven to be one of the best days of his life.
Even if he felt bad for his male guardian's inability to refrain from puking on nearly every ride he went on.
But since the sight of Mr. Blitz landing on the dishonest carnie, after he had screamed while flying through the air, was enough to divert his attention elsewhere, Harry wasn't exactly crying from his lack of knowledge.
"Are you okay Mr. Blitz"?
While the answer he received lacked the Imp's usual snarky humor, the young wizard was nevertheless concerned by Blitzo's reply.
"Oh I'm just fine and dandy. Though if you and the Double M's want to say the same, I suggest you get out of the way".
Jumping out of the way as the Imp withdrew his pistol, idly noting that it was the same one that had been used to the scumbags he had once called his relatives, Harry felt his eyes widen as he saw something that reminded him of a commercial he had once seen on the Dursley's telly.
Yes the figure emerging from the flames was smaller in stature than the metal monster that had hidden inside the body of that German actor.
But the sight of glowing red eyes peering through the smoke, combined with the sight of the jester's plastic like skin melting to reveal half of his metal skull was enough to make Harry believe that he was now part of the Terminator movie.
"Aw...Awww...Awwwww. Look at that...that...that Blitzo. You finally managed to make a child care..care...care about you. But don't worry Blitz...Blitz...Blitzo. I'll soon be fixing tha...".
The malfunctioning robot was prevented from finishing his mocking statement thanks to a bit showmanship that would have normally impressed a watching audience if not for the spreading inferno that was slowly consuming the park.
As it was, the sight of the robot catching Blitz's bullet with his teeth was enough to earn a gasp of amazement from Harry before his attention was drawn back towards the now growling Imp.
"Moxxie, Millie. Take the kid and go find Stolas. I'll handle this bitch".
These words merely served to make the sadistic machine to laugh.
"Ooooooh...ooooooh. Look at that. Blitzo finally...finally manage to make some friends. I think...think...think I'll have some fun with them once I've finished with you...you...you. Blitzo".
Eyes narrowing in anger as he understood exactly what the mechanical jester had meant, Harry opened his mouth to defend the members of I.M.P. when he felt something that would have undoubtedly scared him if he hadn't already been living in Hell.
The sudden feeling of ice in his veins was fine. Although he could have done without the pain that was currently centered on his scar.
The desire to kill was, while surprising, was also okay with him.
But it was only thanks to fact that he had complete control over his body that he didn't do more than flinch when he suddenly heard a whispering voice in his voice.
"Kill it. It deserves to die. KILL IT"!
Though mildly unnerved at the fact that he was hearing a voice no one else seemed to hear, Harry nevertheless agreed with advice and proceeded to do what he could to protect his new found family.
And while he lacked the training to perform some of the spells his owl like teacher had briefly covered, he nevertheless had absorbed the lesson that magic was all about intent.
And right now he intended to turn this murderous robot into a pile of scrap metal.
...
"Do you have problems dealing with male pattern baldness"?
Click
"Now introducing Double S Hair Condition. For hair that is both silky and sinful".
Click
"In lighter news, it has now been confirmed that Princess Charlotte's charity project has indeed attracted the interest of the infamous Radio..".
Click
"When you want somebody gone and you don't want to wait too long call the...".
Click
Sighing in irritation as she tried to fight the boredom of office work with a little bit of channel surfing, not that she expected to find anything worthwhile at this hour, Loona was about to give it up when she heard a headline that caught her immediate attention.
"Breaking news at Loo Loo Land".
Raising the volume, not that it was needed due to having exceptional hearing, the female Hell Hound watched with growing concern as the blond mantis bitch appeared on screen.
"I'm Katie Killjoy, and here is the news. Beloved and iconic mascot of the theme park that is a cheap rip off of our beloved ruler's Luu Luu World was destroyed today after going on a rampage that has resulted in numerous injuries and massive property damage. We will now show you footage taken from the scene by one of the survivors of this predictable tragedy. Tom, roll the clip".
When the clip started to play, Loona's expression changed from worry, to relief, and then back to worry.
For the clip being shown revealed an image that she would never have believed if she wasn't seeing it for herself.
Harry. The shy, kind-hearted and undersized kid who gave her an excuse to come to work in the morning, was clenching his raised first as he stared hatefully at the Robotic Fizzarolli, who was being compressed into a ball of twisted metal while hovering in mid air.
She also noticed that the image had captured not only the looks of fearful amazement that was currently being worn by her coworkers, but also the grateful expression that was currently being worn by her adoptive father.
However, before she could take in any more detail, the screen changed back to the blond white skinned anchorwoman.
"While the boy was unavailable for comment, several eyewitnesses verify that he had been seen in the company of Prince Stolas and his daughter Octavia. Who had decided to spend Loo Loo Land protected by the owner and employees of the Immediate Murder Professionals. They too were sadly unavailable for an interview, but I think it's safe to say that the little monster is connected with some powerful fig...".
Click
Shutting off the tv before she was forced to listen to more of that woman's chattering, and doing her best to contain her growing anxiety, Loona proceeded to do the one thing Moxxie was always on her case for.
Texting while she should be working.
...
ANNNNNNNNND that's the end of the chapter :D
I know, a bit of a cliff-hanger, but I promise that next chapter things will be explained in greater detail.
Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter. I confess that when I first came up with this story, I had always intended to have a scene that shows Harry being actively influenced by the Horcrux in his head. Of course I had ensured beforehand that when it does happen, Harry is still in complete control of his body, though obviously still knows that something has changed.
And yes, the scene where he is destroying the robot jester WAS inspired by another 'magic' using being who crushes the bodies, usually windpipes, of those that displease him lol. Which of course makes sense in this context because Harry is at that stage in his magical training where strong INTENT is what allows him to do magic.
AGAIN, will cover the aftermath next chapter.
Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this. Very happy that I was able to finish it before the next episode. Can hardly wait for the next one, though I hope they show Loona this time.
Plz review. No flames.
Til next time