WARNING: The following contains graphic violence, strong language, sexual themes, mentions of self-harming, graphic injury descriptions, as well as rampant demon horniness... so yes, it's intended for mature audiences.

VIEWER/READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!

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3rd Person POV

"Ugggghhhhhh..." Ayden pried her eyes open to see nothing but darkness as she uncurled herself from the old white t-shirt she used as a bed and the slightly burnt Loo Loo plushie as a pillow before she made her way up the short burrow tunnel that led back to the alley.

After nudging the cardboard box back over the burrow, Ayden decided to try her luck at getting something from the coffee shop as she shifted to human form to go inside.

After waiting in line with a few strange looks sent her way from other customers she made it to the front and ordered,

"Nitro col' brew to go..."

"Sorry we don't serve strong stuff to kids." The barista behind the counter told her making Ayden grit her teeth in frustration as she seethed,

"Then I'll have a cold hot cho'late please..."

"One hot chocolate coming up for...?"

"Ayden wi'h a y."

"Got it!" The barista replied peppily and Ayden walked over to the edge of the shop so she could wait and pull out what money she had to pay for her drink.

After rummaging through her mini red backpack, she realized she hadn't converted the Souls from her last "paycheck" to human dollars so she looked over to see the barista still taking orders from other people before leaving the shop to go a few stores down the street to the local pawn shop.

The door jingled to announce a customer's exit and her entrance as the shopkeep behind the counter yelled out,

"No refunds!"

"'T's just me Saul..." Ayden told him in a bored tone as she walked up to the counter where a balding, short, wrinkly elderly man was examining some rings with a jeweler's loupe that he took off to look at her and exclaim bluntly,

"You look like shit!"

"And you look as young as eva..." Ayden snarked back as she pulled her bag off her back and pulled out some of the Souls to place them on the counter as Saul asked,

"Found more of those strange moneys didja?"

"Think the guy'd still want'em?"

"You kiddin'? He keeps comin' back for'em, won't tell me what he uses'em for though..." Saul put a hand to his chin as he took the Souls and put them in a tin before pulling out a few human dollar bills to hand to her with a questioning,

"Where do you keep gettin' those things?"

Ayden shrugged as she pocketed the bills with a casual,

"Jus' 'round..."

Before flicking a two-finger salute to him as she left the shop and headed back to the cafe just as the barista called out her order so she handed over the money before taking the cup, frowning when she saw they had spelled her name "Aiden" on the side and the cup was hot muttering,

"Pricks..."

Before smirking as she figured she could mess with them a bit as revenge so she walked past the espresso machine while tracing a finger along it, concentrating hard on heating it up, before ducking into the bathroom just in time to hear a mini explosion and screams.

Chuckling to herself, she summoned a portal on the bathroom wall and stepped out into the alley behind the I.M.P. building with her drink in hand before she swirled it around and chugged the whole thing down in three large gulps.

After letting out a loud, slightly smoky from it being hot despite her order, belch, she crumpled and tossed the cup into the dumpster as she walked toward the street where the I.M.P. van was already parked with Blitzø, Loona, Millie, and Moxxie waiting around, wearing Western-style outfits, before they noticed her coming and Blitzø yelled,

"Fucking finally, you have any idea how long we've been waiting for you?!"

"Sir, it's only been 10 minutes." Moxxie pointed out blankly as Millie told her,

"We couldn't get ahold of ya so we figured the best thing ta do would be to just wait for you here like normal."

"Wha's goin' on?" Ayden asked and Blitzø answered,

"Stolas invited us to the Wrath Ring for some Moon Festival or whatever and I thought it'd be fun to go since we can't do shit without his fancy book anyway."

"OK...?" Ayden raised her eyebrow since she knew her boss met with Stolas for what he called "transactional fucking" but she had a feeling it was something more but before she could think about it anymore, Moxxie told her,

"You should give us your phone number, that way we can more efficiently contact you."

"I can't." Ayden told him plainly making Millie ask,

"Why not?"

"Cause she doesn't have a phone." Loona spoke up from where she was leaning against the van typing away at her phone.

"She's right ugh that felt weird." Ayden confirmed before fake gagging that Loona returned with a mild,

"Weird on my end too."

"Been meanin' ta get one but you don't pay me 'nuff for one..." Ayden grumbled looking at Blitzø in particular.

"Oh for fuck's sake here." Blitzø dug into his vest pocket and pulled out one of the many spare phones he had that she fumbled with before grabbing it with both hands as he announced, "Now let's get movin' already!"

They all started to load into the van before Moxxie told Ayden,

"Uh you better take the window seat because of... well..."

"Yea' yea' I got it..." Ayden took the hint from the last time they traveled to a different Ring and took the window seat before they all took off for the Ring elevator to get down to Wrath.

As Blitzø drove, Ayden tried to figure out how to use the hPhone since the last time she used a human phone was years ago when Loona shockingly offered,

"Need help?"

"Yeh..." Ayden relented, handing the phone over to her as she typed away at it for a few seconds before tilting it her way to show how the pentagram symbol flashed on the screen to indicate it had been completely reset as she explained, "Just sign into your account or create a new one from there."

"Thanks..." Ayden told Loona as she handed the phone back to her and Loona shrugged before going back to her own phone,

"Whatever..."

Just as Ayden had created an account and was starting to customize it to be hers, the van reached the Ring elevator and was heading down when she put the phone down right as the familiar pinching in her stomach started up and she rolled down the window to hurl the lava-like vomit out onto the floor leaving another hole in the floor that she did her best to remain unphased by so the others wouldn't look and see.

Once they made it down to the Wrath Ring, Ayden marveled at the Western desert-like setting and faced the open window, reveling in the hot wind when they pulled up to a place called the "Rough n' Tumbleweed Ranch" where two imps were waiting at the front; a man and woman, both wearing Western-style clothing and had multiple scars, some decorative-looking, on their skin.

Just after the woman waved to them all, Millie bounced in place excitedly before running out and greeting the two shouting happily,

"Mama! Daddy!"

Her dad, Joe, picked her up in a hug before swimming her around and setting her back on the ground to ruffle her hair as he shouted joyfully,

"Yeeeee-hawwww! How's my deadly little pumpkin spice doing?"

"I'm good, Pa! Thanks for lettin' us stay here for the harvest jamboree." Millie told her parents as her mother, Lin, assured her,

"It's no trouble. We know you aren't making as much anymore since y'all went 'freelance.'"

She made quotation marks around "freelance" making Millie tell her lightly,

"Freelance pays fine, Ma! We're doin' fiiiiine!" Switching to a serious tone as she told her, "It's fine."

She walked over to where Moxxie was struggling to carry a suitcase as she reminded her parents,

"Anyway, y'all remember my husband Moxxie?"

Pushing him in front of them from where he had been struggling to carry in their loaded suitcase as he took on a nervous expression from the way they stared down at him in disapproval with Joe huffing,

"Hmph."

"Greetings, Lin! Joe!" Moxxie tried to greet his parents-in-law, asking while holding out his hand weakly, "How have you been, uh, with all the... flaming twisters and stuff around here?"

"We lost our old farm hand to one of them terrors last week." Joe bluntly brought up making Moxxie laugh nervously,

"Oh, crumbs. My bad! I am so sorry. I-I didn't mean to open that wound... sir."

"Hey, watch it! I'm the 'sir' here, bucko!" Blitzø yelled out from where he, Loona, and Ayden were standing.

"Oh yeah!" Millie spoke up gesturing an arm out to Blitzø and Loona as she introduced them to her parents, "Y'all haven't met my boss Blitzø! And his hellhound!"

"I'm not just his hellhound." Loona protested before Blitzø added while pulling her to his side with a sparkled look in his eyes,

"Yeah, she's my daughter!"

"Only on paper." She deadpanned before Blitzø let go of her and she pulled her phone back out as she grumbled, "Y'all don't deserve to know my name."

Before Millie gestured over to Ayden as she introduced her,

"And this lil' kitten is our coworker Ayden."

"Call me kitten again and I'll claw yer eyes out..." Ayden hissed slightly with a fist raised and claws readied before crossing her arms again as Lin and Joe chuckled with him saying,

"Hmph feisty, I like'er."

"Don't see too many hellcats like you 'round these parts." Lin added in.

"Guess I'm jus' special that way." Ayden gave a small smirk as she put her hands on her hips right before Blitzø walked up to Lin and Joe, shoving Moxxie aside in the process, to tell them,

"Anyways it's a pleasure to finally meet the sperm and egg factory that popped out this little gem of an assassin."

Lin and Joe's eyes went wide at Blitzø's forwardness while Ayden just shook her head while ruefully smiling as he complimented them while giving Millie a solid punch to the shoulder,

"You two raised a sturdy bitch!"

"That we did!" Joe chuckled as he shook his hand while asking him, "So... Blitzø, is it? Heh heh. That's a fine name."

"It reminds me of war." Lin spoke wistfully as her husband agreed with a sigh while flexing a bicep,

"Nothing like a little war to make a strong man!"

"I like you people." Blitzø stated admiringly and Ayden added,

"This place is pre'y cool."

"Y'know..." Moxxie spoke up trying to prove himself as he explained, "More battles were won by technological advances in warfare. I've researched the history of weaponry extensively, and it's inspiring how, for example, the progression of guns utilizing angelic technology has changed the landscape of Hell's combative..."

But he trailed off when he saw Millie making a "cut it out" motion to her neck, Blitzø blinking one eye at a time bored, Joe crossing his arms while he and Lin looked at him in disapproval, and Ayden was discreetly shaking her head with her eyes half-lidded.

"I mean..." Moxxie changed his voice to a deep and awkward one as he stated dumbly, "War fun!"

"Guns get the job done... but a man ain't nothin' if he can't tear the head off a hellish beast with only his bare hands!" Joe argued as he punched a fist into his hand before clenching his fists.

"HAAAA!" Blitzø laughed out loud as he told Moxxie, speaking in a baby tone, "He's right, Moxxie! ~You got cute wittle baby hands like your baby dick!~"

Blitzø had grabbed Moxxie's hand and was about to reach for his crotch when Moxxie slapped it away to warn,

"Refrain... sir."

"Speakin' of strong hands, y'all should meet our newest help. Hey! Striker!" Joe told them before calling out.

Ayden ears twitched when she heard the sound of large hooves clopping on the ground and they all looked over to see a huge horse with flaming hooves, tail, and mane being ridden by an imp, but this one looked more rattlesnake-like with a spiky tail that slapped the horse's flank to jump over a fence, rattlesnake-esque coloring, and wearing Western clothing as well with a hat that fit around his horns, a gold tooth, and a piece of straw in his mouth.

After the horse reared up to a stop in front of the group, Striker greeted them all with a hat tip and,

"Well, howdy! Oh, lookie here! You must be the famous Mildred!"

Striker got off his horse to greet Millie with a wink,

"Heard some good things about you from your folks, little lady."

"Ohhh!" Millie exclaimed before laughing sheepishly and returning the handshake as he asked chuckling slightly,

"What're y'all doin' so far away from Imp City? Heh. The free workin' finally slowin' down?"

"Oh, no! Freelance isn't free! It's a-" Millie started to explain before giving up to explain, "Never mind. We're just visitin' for the festival. The prince is our boss' boyyyyfrieeeend!"

Adding the last part in an exaggerated teasing tone and making Blitzø mildly threaten,

"Millie, I am not above hitting a female in front of her daddy."

"Boss, huh...?" Striker took the stalk out of his mouth to think for a second before realizing with his tail pointed in the air, "Ohhh, so YOU'RE the bold imp to start his own killing biz?"

"Yeah, well if you're good at somethin', you should probably capitalize." Blitzø reasoned before Striker complimented with a wink and a finger gun point,

"Not many Imps start businesses on their own. That's pretty impressive, sir."

Making Blitzø stutter slightly before accepting pridefully,

"Oh...! Yeah? It is-I-I-I guess-I guess it is, isn't it?"

"So you even conned that ditzy blueblood into gettin' you to the surface?" Striker asked as he shook Blitzø's hand before he answered with,

"Well, it's long and complicated, but the short answer is yes."

Blitzø answered simply but then started trying to sputter to clarify his standing with Stolas only making himself seem more unsure as Millie, Moxxie, and Ayden started sharing knowing glances and eye rolls,

"But he's not like, you know-W-We're y-We're not, like... We're not doing it... We w-What's betw-It's a transactional fucking, you see."

Blitzø made the finger-into-circle sexual implication motion with his hands making Ayden gag,

"Ugh!"

Turning Striker's attention to her as he asked,

"And who's this little kitten right here?"

"I swear if some'ne calls me that one more time... haaaah." Ayden seethed to herself before letting out a sigh and introducing herself, "Name's Ayden."

"You're quite a rare one aren't ya Kit?"

"So I've b'n told..." Ayden reluctantly shook his hand, even though she hated the new nickname and she could've sworn her paws were getting warmer when, thankfully, Joe turned the attention away from her as he suggested,

"Y'know... you boys should enter the Pain Games!"

Causing Blitzø to excitedly scuttle over to him to question,

"I heard games! What games? I'm in!"

"Every harvest festival, there's a competition to be the roughest, toughest bastard in Wrath!" Lin explained right before Millie pouted,

"Yeah! Wish I could play!"

"Millie, you know you get too carried away." Lin reminded her with a hand on her shoulder, "The last competition ended in fifteen separate funerals."

"I'm aware, but I only caused nine of them!" Millie conceded before questioning accusingly as she crossed her arms, scrunched in on herself, and puffed her cheeks out annoyed, "How come Sallie May still gets to compete?"

"Your sister doesn't have a neighborhood headcount."

"She so does!" She argues right before Millie's sister Sallie May with gray hair tied back by a red bandana, a torn black crop top, and white shorts over hole-ridden leggings that went into some white boots as she and a smaller imp were dragging an imp body in a sack behind them as she told her in a sing-songy tone,

"It doesn't count if they don't find the ~bodyyyyyy!~"

Making Millie seethe before Ayden spoke up since she was interested in playing too,

"C'n just imps play o' other Hellborns too?"

"Other Hellborns don't usually play so you might hafta ask the judges, but I woul'n't put it past'em to just letcha play." Lin answered.

"Yes!" Ayden fist-pumped to herself, happy that she at least had a shot, making Lin chuckle at her enthusiasm before telling her daughter,

"See Millie, you can still root for your sister and your brothers, and now you can cheer on your boss and coworker!"

Before Lin's smile dropped as Moxxie put a hand on her shoulder to assert,

"Y'know, she can also cheer for me."

"HAHAHAHA!" Joe gave a wheezing laugh while slapping his knee before realizing Moxxie was being serious and questioned, "...Wait, you?"

"Yeah! I can compete, can't I?" Moxxie protested before Lin harshly elbowed him in the ribs making him tear up in pain as Joe told him in a faux apologetic tone,

"Sorry, boy. But, I don't think sensitive, thespian types would last very long in the games."

"I was born here, too! I have some fight in me!" Moxxie protested adding the last part in a Southern drawl before Striker put a hand on Moxxie's shoulder to suggest,

"Huh. Well then, little fella... Why don'tcha help me wrangle one o' them hogs for dinner?"

Hooking a thumb in the direction of the hell hog pen where a giant one was sleeping.

"Simple. Watch me!" Moxxie reached into his vest for his gun when Striker stopped him with,

"Nah... with these." Tossing him a dagger and rope as he explained, "Bullets can't pierce the shell. You gotta get the knife underneath and pry yourself an openin'."

Moxxie gulped before saying nervously,

"Oh! Right, right. I knew that."

Blitzø leaned in toward Moxxie while grabbing his shoulders as he "encouraged" him,

"Now, just remember, your rep with the in-laws is on the line here! So, no pressure at all, you totally will not make an ass of yourself in front of everyone important in your life. Go get 'em, tiger."

Before he was shoved forward as Millie tried to object,

"Mox, you don't need to do this!"

"Oh, he totally does."

"No he shoul'n't!" Ayden snapped but it went unheard as Blitzø yelled as Moxxie entered the pen,

"KICK ITS ASS, MOXXIE! YEAAAAAAAAH!"

Moxxie carefully snuck up to the hog before leaping on top of it, getting the rope around its neck, and preparing to drive the knife in even as the hog woke up and reared back, but he misjudged the point of weakness and strikes in an area where the hide was thick.

"REEEEEEE!"

The hell hog squeal-roared before running and bucking around trying to toss Moxxie off with everyone watching and Blitzø yelling,

"FUCK yeah, Moxxie! Ride it, Moxxie! Make it that bitch you won't call back in the morning!"

"This is fucking beautiful." Loona grinned as she started recording the whole thing on her phone.

"Doin' great, Moxxie!" Blitzø yelled to him before whispering to Loona, "Send me that video later."

"Ya got'it!" Ayden tried to shout supportively but her paws and claws were digging into the wooden fence when a faint wisp of smoke rose up and she pulled her paws away to see pawprint singe marks on the wood.

She didn't have time to question it when Moxxie yelped just as Striker leaped down and pushed him off the hog before finishing the job himself with a smug grin.

Moxxie was rubbing his neck as several cracks, heard even by Ayden, sounded and he gasped out painfully,

"Ow... My clavicle!"

Striker stood over Moxxie, his smug grin still on his face as he "assured" Moxxie while his tail rattled,

"Don't worry, little one... You never stood a chance."

Before walking away with the dead hell hog over his shoulder, Moxxie and Ayden growling at him, before he called out to Blitzø,

"Hey, boss man! You wanna help the men skin this thing for dinner?"

"Oh, I am always down to skin the manly meat with the manly men!" Blitzø gladly accepted while shaking his shoulders around.

"Hlp!"

"That's what she said!"

Ayden retched and Loona commented at the same time making Blitzø yell incredulously,

"What 'who said'? Wait, what bitch is talking shit about me?! And for fuck's sake, you should be used to this by now Kid!"

Everyone but Millie, Moxxie, and Ayden left for the house as Millie bandaged up Moxxie's arm.

"Hsss..." Ayden hissed in Striker's direction as her tail whipped around agitatedly before commenting to no one in particular, "Somethin' doe'n't feel alright 'bout that bogan..."

"Don't let 'em get to you." Millie tried to assure her husband, making Ayden turn her attention back to them as she continued, "And hey, you don't need my parents to respect you. They will eventually."

"No, they won't." Sallie May came up behind them and stated bluntly making Millie glare at her before she asked,

"What? I'm right, ain't I?"

"Oh, I'mma enter in those games." Moxxie made up his mind to say it in his Southern drawl again making Millie sigh before her sister came up again and asked,

"Hmm, how pissed would you be if I bet on him dyin'?"

Making Millie glare at her again before Ayden asked,

"When a'e the Pain Games?"

"Tomorrow. You really gonna enter?" Sallie May answered before going up to Ayden to point out, "Cause you're all soft and fluffy an-"

"Grrr!" Ayden snapped at her hand when she pinched her cheek as her eyes glowed in her unfazed face as she commented,

"Damn you're hot..."

"'Scuse you?!" Ayden snapped but Sallie May just pointed down and told her,

"No you're literally smokin'."

Making her look down to where her paws were starting to radiate some heat and wisps of smoke.

"Urgh! Not again!" Ayden hissed to herself as she shook her paws off to make the heat go away and Millie and Moxxie asked her,

"Does it hurt?"

"How long has this been happening?"

"No and.. a while still haven't figu'ed out how ta control it..."

"Well for now let's get some good food in ya and get some sleep, tomorrow's a big day for y'all..." Millie told her while keeping a gentle hand on her arm and guiding her inside along with her husband and sister.

A few hours later, dinner was ready and everyone sat at the table including Millie's three other brothers and the table was a cacophony of conversations but Ayden tuned them all out as she sat, staring and practically drooling at the food on her plate; three large strips of roasted hell hog meat, a cob of bloody-orange corn, a heap of slightly chunky mashed potatoes, a fairly large biscuit, and the whole plate was smothered in creamy gravy.

Lin must've noticed her staring cause she leaned over to tell her,

"No need ta be shy darlin', just go on and dig in."

Ayden licked her chops before grabbing her fork and shoveling as much food into her mouth as possible, chewing maybe twice before gulping it down and repeating a few times before she noticed everyone had stopped to stare at her.

"Damn Kit, what you don't get much ta eat in the big city?" Striker questioned with a hint of condescension and a cocked eyebrow making Ayden scrunch up her face in angry embarrassment as she muttered,

"Just hav'n't had a home-cooked meal like this in a long while..."

"Well then ya better enjoy it and come back again real soon." Joe chuckled good-heartedly and the conversations started up again as Ayden smiled before it turned slightly sad as she continued eating her food at a slower pace, eventually finishing and asking for seconds and thirds.

That night, after everyone headed to their rooms and guest rooms, Ayden had volunteered to be the one to sleep on the couch in the living room downstairs and was rearranging the blankets she'd been given to make a little nest when she heard the floorboards creak, signaling that someone was coming.

She went on guard with a silent growl before relaxing slightly when she saw it was Millie with some clothes in hand.

"You di'n't get much of a heads up 'bout this so here's some pj's you c'n borrow."

"Oh..." Ayden was a bit taken aback, about to tell her she didn't need them since she usually slept in hellcat form, but seeing her gentle smile made her take them before thanking her, "Thanks..."

After ducking into the bathroom to quickly change into a large t-shirt and some loose shorts she went back to the couch to find Millie still sitting there and she asked her,

"Didja need somethin' else or...?"

"Y'know you can talk to us if yer havin' trouble right?"

The straightforward question made Ayden do a double-take and look away nervously so Millie added hurriedly,

"Not right now I'm not expectin' ya ta lay it all out now, but whenever you want to, we'll listen, even Blitzø..."

Millie stood back up to give Ayden a gentle hair ruffle before heading back upstairs, leaving her to think over what she said before grabbing a pillow and laying down with her head on it and the blankets over her outstretched body before falling asleep within minutes, not noticing a shadowy figure approach her with a dagger clutched in their hand, the shadow of the blade running across her neck...

In the morning, after being woken up by the screeching hell rooster, everyone got ready for the Harvest Moon Festival, and more importantly the Pain Games, with Millie's family finishing up their chores on the ranch first.

"Aye Kit!"

Ayden's fur prickled up and her tail whipped a bit from her annoyance with that nickname before turning to see Striker standing in front of a tree that was bare of any leaves but one of its branches had broken off and was precariously balancing on some of the still-intact branches above a clothing line where hell hog leather was drying.

"Think ya can reach that broken offshoot up there ta toss it down?"

"Su'e..." Ayden bluntly answered, not getting why he couldn't do it himself, before she went up to the tree and put her paws on the trunk before shifting to hellcat form to climb up to the branch before fully unsheathing her claws and slashing at it until it broke in half and the halves fell down to the ground.

After leaping off the tree to land on all fours and shifting back to demon cat form to brush her paws off, narrowly avoiding another loose branch that was just about to fall on top her, when Striker questioned while hefting the branches onto his shoulders.

"What are ya 'xactly? Can't be a Sinner if ya made it down here but you ain't like most other Hellborns with the shapeshiftin' an' all..."

"I'm Ayden and that's all ya need ta know." Ayden declared strongly before turning away to find Blitzø and the others, leaving Striker to smirk after her while looking at the singe marks in the scratches on the tree branches.

Once they all arrived at the starting area for the Pain Games, Ayden asked Millie,

"Whe'e's the judges' tent?"

"Over there, good luck." Millie pointed to where the stage was and wished her luck.

"Pft I won't need it." Ayden waved her off, confident she'd be allowed to play the games as she wove her way through the crowd to the judges' tent-

"Oh crikey..."

Only for her hopes and confidence to crash when she saw the two judges were Wally Wackford and Prince Stolas.

"I say I say what do we-a have-a here-a?" Wally zipped over to get in her face as he questioned with his cane pointed in her face, "Say aren't-a ya that little kitten who-a works for-a Blitzo?"

Feeling a double hit of irritation at being called "kitten" again and hearing someone pronounce the "o" in her boss's name, but knowing she might need to play nice to be allowed to play in the Pain Games, she sighed harshly through her nose before saying through gritted teeth,

"Yep that's me..."

"Did you need to inquire about something?" Stolas, thankfully, cut in and Ayden unclenched her teeth to ask,

"I wanted ta know if I'd be able ta play in the Pain Games?"

"I say I say that's a new-a one. Nobody but the imps 'round these parts have-a ever asked ta play in-a the games."

"But I supposed Hellborn demons would be allowed to compete if they wish to."

Ayden was about to cheer when Stolas added,

"However there is the matter of the potential for an unfair disadvantage as a shapeshifter with powers."

Hearing that, Ayden's blood went cold and her fur prickled a bit before Wally bargained,

"Pick a form and-a stick wit'-a it and absolut-a-ely no powers."

"Done." Ayden agreed without hesitation and Wally announced,

"Well-a now, good-a luck out-a there kitten!"

Zipping away to the stage leaving Ayden to glower in place before shaking it off to say to Stolas,

"Gotta say. Di'n't think you'd be al'ight with a 'feline' joinin' the games." She joked chuckling a bit toward the end of her statement and Stolas chuckled nervously before admitting sincerely,

"Yes I uh heh I... apologize for my initial.. wariness against you, it wasn't until my sweet Via told me about how you protected and convinced her to talk to me that I realized I was wrong about you... I'm sorry it took that for me to give you a chance..."

"Eh no ha'd feelings." She waved it off nonchalantly with a slight smile before Wally tapped the microphone on stage to get everyone's attention, cuing Stolas to join him on stage and Ayden to walk back to the participating group, giving a silent smile and thumbs up to tell them she got in just as Wally announced through the microphone,

*Welcome, I say-a, welcome-a all to Wrath-a Ring's-a annual-a Harvest-a Moon-a a-Festival! To kick things up, we have the great prince Stolas-a, here to usher in this here Pain Games!*

Stolas took the microphone from Wally as he chuckled and declared to the crowd,

*How kind, Wackford. Greetings, tiny... Wrath Ring Imps! I hereby welcome you all to another year of celebrating the spoils of your labor that continue to feed the citizens of Hell!*

A few boos were heard from the glaring imps in the crowd but Stolas either didn't notice or didn't care as he continued speaking,

*I'm happy to kick off the start of these games that will challenge the toughest Imps and Hellborns to show their skill in dominance. Good luck to you all! Especially that sexy little one there... ~Yoo-hoo! Blitzy!~*

As Stolas gave a little wave in Blitzø's direction from where he was standing next to Moxxie, Striker, and Ayden with them giving him different looks that all pretty much meant '~Ooooh~' as he muttered,

"Ugh. Fuck me."

As soon as everyone was positioned at the starting line for the race portion of the games, a gun went off to signal everyone to start running with Blitzø, Striker, and Ayden, running on all fours but not in hellcat form, taking the lead in no time while Moxxie yelped after being trampled by the crowd behind them.

A wooden ramp structure was the first obstacle to be overcome as Striker climbed up quickly but was bounded over by Blitzø as he leap-frogged over him and Ayden was able to rapidly scamper up and over thanks to her claws on the other side of the puddle at the base of the ramp that Moxxie unfortunately fell in before being chewed on by a large black and white hell shark.

The next event was the hog-tying challenge and Striker looked to be triumphing over Blitzø as he had his arms, legs, and horns tied behind and he looked to be enjoying it a little too much while Ayden had her rope stolen from her but she quickly improvised by using her tail to trip up, toss away, and strangle any imp that came too close to her at the same time Moxxie was being cornered by a large imp with a rope in his hands.

After that, the next challenge was tug-of-war with Blitzø, Striker, Moxxie, and Ayden on the same team against four other imps that they soon won over with Striker basking in the crowd's attention while Blitzø and Ayden looked worriedly at where Moxxie had fallen into the water and was attacked by the same hell shark again.

The last challenge was the mud brawl as Blitzø and Striker wrestled with each other and Ayden was seen wrestling with three other imps that she managed to trap in headlocks with both arms and her tail before she looked over and saw Moxxie buried in a dog pile by four imps who hurried away just before the hell shark leaped over the fence and prepared to elbow drop on him as he shouted while holding his arms out defensively,

"MOTHERFUC-!!"

Before it was stopped by Ayden tackling it to the side with her eyes slit thin in rage and she hissed,

"HSSSSS!"

Before she raised her outstretched claws and slashed down on it, causing a burnt gash to trail down the side with a gushy,

*SSHLLL!*

But instead of a small gash like with the monster fish, it spread out, burning the shark's flesh to a crisp, killing it instantly as she huffed for air with the last sparks popping out of her claws and looked at the ash-stained skeleton now in the mud.

*And that's-a disqualification for-a the kitten!* Wally announced and the audience reacted in various ways from jeering laughs to disappointed boos, snapping Ayden out of her rage long enough to realize what she did before punching the muddy ground in frustration with a gritted growl.

Once the games were over, Wally excitedly jumped onto the stage to announce,

*I say, I say, for the first year ever, we have a tie for winner of the Harvest Moon Pain Games!*

Before Stolas took the microphone from him again to announce with his arms outstretched,

*The winners are... Striker,* Striker walked on stage and waved to the crowd before Stolas added in a delighted tone, *aaaaand my darling Blitzy!*

"Just say my name RIGHT! Fuckin' dick...!" Blitzø called up to him before muttering as he too went on stage to stand next to Striker while Millie, Moxxie, and Ayden watched from the bleachers.

"Can't believe I lost control again!" Ayden punched her fists down on the seat on either side of her causing mid-sized splitters to appear before they started singeing from the heat coming from her paws.

"Aaah!" She threw her head back in exasperation as Moxxie started his own gripes about Striker as he sat next to Millie with his clothes dirtied, multiple scratches on him, and a black eye,

"Alright. So, he has the 'physical advantage.' I'm better at other things, like singing!"

" I'd like to take this opportunity to sing a quick song I wrote just now, about me winnin'." Striker announced as he pulled a guitar out to start playing, causing Moxxie to yell impatiently,

"Oh, WHAT THE FUCK?!"

♫ Sweet victory... I smell the smell. ♫

Striker kicked a squealing fangirl Imp with a bee pin in her fluffy hair in the face when she tried to approach him on the stage, sending her back to a group of imps who then mauled her.

♫ From up in stinkin' Heaven, to the rugged rocks of Hell, sweet victory ♫

♫ With everything I do ♫

♫ With every talent, I'm so much more talented than you ♫

Blitzø arrived to sit with the group with a slice of cheese on a stick that he was eating when he asked them with his mouth partially full,

"Isn't this guy great?"

♫ Everytime I tryyyy, I push it and succeed. ♫

"False!" Moxxie huffed.

"No!" Ayden agreed as she angrily chomped down on an imp heart from one of the victims of the games she managed to snag and save in her pocket before shoving the rest in just as Blitzø commented nonchalantly,

"It's gonna be nice workin' with him."

"Working with him...? WHAT?!" Moxxie shouted in disbelief.

"GLCK!" Ayden choked on her imp heart and was silently struggling in the background.

♫ Every first attempt of every single deed ♫

"Yeaaaah! I asked him if he wants to join I.M.P." Blitzø told them unaffected by their reactions.

♫ Me! I'm totally the best. ♫

"You asked... But..." Moxxie started to yell but stopped as he looked hurt as Millie tried to assure him,

"Mox, I think you've had enough, for now. Let's head back to the house and get you clean."

♫ The super cool me, handsome guy- *cough* Moxxie, go fuck yourself ♫

Striker's not-so-subtle jab at Moxxie didn't go unheard as Moxxie teared up and left with Millie before Blitzø finally saw Ayden's struggles so he gave her a harsh slap on the back that sent the half-chewed-up imp heart out into the crowd as Striker finally finished his song,

♫ Did you hear something? It was just the wind. ♫

The crowd cheered for him as he thanked them emptily,

"Thank you. You're too kind."

"Grrr..." Ayden growled at the snake-like imp as soon as she caught her breath before she crossed her arms and glared at him causing Blitzø to ask,

"Ok now what's up with you?"

"Somethin's off 'bout that se'pent and you just invite him to the company jus' like that?!"

"What? Afraid you won't get any more 'special attention' since you won't be the new newbie and you'll be the old newbie?" Blitzø asked in a flippant tone, making her snap back,

"What'd you say?!"

"You heard me..." Blitzø looked at her through a half-lidded scowl and the two glared each other down until Ayden heard more sparks popping around her claws as they dragged through the wooden seats and she huffed before storming away into the crowd trying to get her mind off of everything.

As she walked through the lanes of stalls selling food, advertising rigged games, and tents offering useless junk people don't need but are convinced into thinking they do, the voices started coming back to Ayden's mind,

'Cheap fling...'

'Replaceable.'

'Floozy!'

'Bitch of the week.'

'Not worth the effort...'

And she sped-walked faster as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes so she could head back to Millie's family home to get her satchel with her gummies inside, switching to walking around the backs of the tents to avoid people when she bumped into a tall figure who hooted in surprise,

"Oh!"

"Ack! Watch it y-!" Ayden flinched away before stopping and looking up to see Stolas as he spoke, thankfully ignoring the start of her hostile threat,

"There you are! I was searching for you."

"You.. were?" Ayden questioned in disbelief with a raised eyebrow.

"I saw what happened during that last event..." He leaned down closer to her to whisper worriedly, "They've been getting stronger haven't they?"

Ayden looked at him in a slight panic as she looked down at her paws to admit,

"They keep comin' back and I don' know if I c'n keep'em down without-"

Ayden stopped herself before she could mention her method of keeping calm since it'd been bad enough when Blitzø found out and messed with her stuff before making the deal with her that'd he'd stay out of it if she kept the doses she took down to not make her so... zombie-like...

A hand on her shoulder made her stop and look up to see Stolas looking at her concerned,

"It seems these abilities are rare and become more powerful with your emotions, which is why you need to-"

"Shut off all my feelin's." Ayden interjected making a cutting motion with her arms before Stolas recoiled and practically exclaimed,

"What, no?! Why would you think that?!"

Ayden shrugged while humming 'I don't know' making Stolas give off an incredulous look before resuming,

"-which is why you need to train, start using them more often so you can figure out how to best wield them."

"How'm I s'posed to figure out how to use'em if I don' even know what they are?"

"Well.. if that unfortunate creature's remains are any indicator," Stolas took a second to look at the mud brawl area where some imps were still cleaning up the hell shark's remains before theorizing, "It would appear you may be a hellfire user."

This piece of information made Ayden's eyes widen a bit before she asked,

"Aren't those like.. super rare o' somethin'?"

"There aren't many users of such skill, yes."

"Then how'm I s'posed to learn to 'wield these powers' if I can't find som'one who has'em too?" She questioned validly as she made quotation marks and waved her hands around to emphasize her point.

"I could attempt to teach you."

"You?"

"Well do you know of any other magic users?" Stolas sassed a bit and Ayden was about to argue when she realized he was right and admitted,

"No..."

"Then perhaps we could attempt some training sessions to see what it is exactly that makes your powers, if you'll excuse the pun, flare up."

"Ha'dy ha' ha'..." Ayden "laughed" sarcastically before asking seriously, "They a'en't gonna be at the same time as you and Blitzø's rootin' meets are they?"

"Oh Heavens no!"

"Good, I hear 'nuff 'bout all that on a daily basis, I don't need ta be witnessin' it..."

Stolas's face was bright red at that point before he was saved by the feedback that rang through the speaker system before Wally announced,

"I say I say the time for-a the moon shinin' is about to-a begin-a!"

"Guess ya be'er get goin'." Ayden nodded her head to motion to the stage but, just as Stolas turned away he jumped as he remembered,

"Oh! Before I forget, Via asked me to see if I could get your phone number for her, she's been trying to get a hold of you since the.. 'escapade' at Loo Loo Land."

Ayden eyes widened at that before she explained,

"Well I jus' got a phone like.. yeste'day so 't's not like I coulda talked to her b'fore then."

Pulling her hPhone out of her pocket, she had to look for a bit before she could find the phone number to give to Stolas before he hurried back to the stage, leaving Ayden smiling at the thought of seeing Octavia again and finally having another friend to possibly hang out with.

Heading towards the main area where imps were all gathering, Ayden managed to find Loona standing at the outskirts of the crowd scrolling through her phone and stood beside her as she asked,

"Eva seen a Ha'vest Moon b'fore?"

"Eh." Loona shrugged and didn't look to be in a talkative mood, per usual, so Ayden stopped trying to start up a conversation with her as Stolas announced through the microphone while magically flipping through his grimoire,

*My dear commoners of the Ring of Wrath! I, Stolas of the Ars Goetia, hereby curse this year's harvest with the glow of the true Harvest Moon!*

Overhead, the clouds swirled before pulling away from the center of the spiral to reveal the reddish-orange full moon from the Living World as it shone an eerie light down on the land, bathing everything in its ominous glow that everyone in the crowd ooh'ed at.

"Crikey..." Ayden stared in wonder at the moon, never having seen it like that before, before she remembered she had a phone now and pulled it back out from her pocket to find the camera app.

"Aha!" She finally managed to find the camera app and had taken only one picture when hers and Loona's ears pricked up at a whistle in the distance,

*FWEET* *FWEET*

"You comin'?"

"Hrrr..." Loona growled uninterested so Ayden ran off yelling behind her,

"Fine! I'll check'it out!"

Luckily she didn't have to weave through the crowd having been on the outskirts of it so she had no people in her way as she ran back to Millie's family's home and heard Blitzø's voice from one of the rooms upstairs so she climbed up the side of the house to get to the open window as he yelled,

"-you honky-tonk CHOODE!"

The sound of a kick sounding and a hiss that sounded like it came from Striker,

"Hssss!"

"MREOOOW!" Ayden leaped through the window landing on all fours before launching to tackle Striker onto his back as a glowing rifle with fancy designs fell from his grip, about to slash down on him when his tail wrapped around her torso and tossed her off, throwing her into a wall that she hit with a pained yelp.

"What the-?! Kid?!" Blitzø yelled in questioning disbelief before his attention turned back to Striker as he was getting up so he grabbed a nearby lamp and bashed it into his head, shattering it before the two of them exchanged a few punches that Blitzø finished with a headbutt to make Striker stumble in Ayden's direction.

"Haaaah!" She hissed as she jumped up from where she landed to punch Striker back toward Blitzø but he managed to slash at her ribs through her shirt making her cry out in pain before growling,

"Aaah! Grrrr!"

Just before Blitzø used his tail to toss Striker to a corner of the room with a yell before Moxxie fired a warning shot using the fancy rifle that Ayden didn't recognize.

The three of them surrounded Striker so he had nowhere to run to as Moxxie kept the rifle in his grip, Blitzø pulled out his pistol, and Ayden, having left her Glock and weapons downstairs, raised her claws with a growl as some sparks popped around them.

"I still think it's embarrassing. You're wastin' a lot of potential relyin' on weak little-" Striker started to jeer before Moxxie fired another shot using the glowing rifle as he warned him, drawling in a condescending tone towards the end,

"You gonna finish that fucking sentence... pard'ner?"

"'Cause you'll regret it..." Ayden added with a fierce growl.

"Vermin."

"Hssss!" Ayden hissed as her eyes lit up red for a split second.

"Who's weak now, BITC-?!" Moxxie was cut off when the door to the room suddenly opened letting Loona in as she questioned casually,

"'Kay, I'm here."

Taking the distraction as an opportunity, Striker kicked Blitzø's pistol out of his hand before shoving him aside to make a run for the window.

"Oh no ya don't!" Ayden lashed out her tail to grab him but he anticipated it and grabbed it with both hands before jerking them in different directions, breaking her tail with a sickening,

*KRCK!*

"AHH!" Ayden screamed in pain before she was quickly swung into the wall again with another crack sounding as Striker made it to the window to taunt before jumping out,

"Maybe you'll get me next time... Blitzy."

Blitzø was able to get his pistol back to try and catch him but was too late as he lost sight of him in the celebration that was still going on outside.

After glaring worriedly off into the distance for a minute, Blitzø turned his attention back inside where Moxxie was sitting up from the ground rubbing his head while glaring at Loona who looked only mildly concerned at what just happened before seeing Ayden still on the floor with her back to them all.

"Oh shit, Kid?!" Blitzø rushed over and put a hand on her shoulder to turn her over when she slapped his hand away and griped,

"'M not dead..."

Before sluggishly sitting up with her right arm dangling limply at her side, no doubt dislocated from the way her left hand was holding it and her zig-zag broken tail drooping unmoving behind her as she sat up and panted through her gritted teeth.

"Oh crumbs! You and Millie are gonna need medical attention!" Moxxie yelped in concern before she asked with wide, panicked eyes,

"Whe'e is she?"

"In the basement. Striker tried to lock us down there after I found this-" Moxxie held up the glowing rifle before continuing, "-angelic rifle he was trying to use to kill Stolas and Millie got her arm broken and her leg caught in a bear trap."

"We hafta get to her-urgh!" Ayden started trying to get up but stumbled a bit as she got a head rush from moving too fast.

"Seriously, take it easy." Loona told her before adding, "You look pretty bad."

"...I've had wo'se than this..." Ayden muttered but Loona didn't miss the way her left hand slid down to cover the scratch scars on her right arm or the way her scar-skinned knees turned inward to each other.

A cheer in the distance made them all look to see that the portal had closed leaving the sky as bright as it was before, signaling the end of the celebration and the crowd started to disperse to enjoy the festival or head home.

"Looks like the main event's over." Loona commented.

"I'll go see if I can get Joe and Lin down here." Moxxie stood up with the rifle still in his hands as he asked Blitzø, "What should I do with this?"

Looking between him and Ayden as well as the inky blood that stained his own hands, Blitzø told him,

"Hide it, break it, I don't fucking care, just make damn sure no one can use it again."

Moxxie gave an affirmative nod before rushing downstairs and out of the house to dispose of the rifle and find his parents-in-law.

"We better get Millie above ground for when her folks arrive." Blitzø suggested and Loona told him,

"I got her, get the kitten downstairs." Loona sent her a slightly softer than normal smirk that Ayden returned as she threatened unseriously,

"Don' push it hound..."

Before Loona headed out leaving Blitzø to walk over to Ayden as he helped her up with her left arm around his shoulder before he asked dubiously,

"You really had worse than this?"

"Ohhhh yeah, but-tsss shoulda seen the other guy one time he decided ta go 10 rounds wi'h me for 'fter I di'n't 'pay the toll' for crossin' his path... heh fuckwad never hassl'd me 'gain 'fter that..."

"Uh huh..."

They made it to the porch outside where Loona had already set Millie down on the steps when she noticed the two of them and cried out,

"Blitzø! Ayden!"

"Oh hey Mills!" Blitzø replied cheerfully as if he wasn't streaked with his own, along with some of Striker's, blood and Ayden spoke a bit more quietly,

"Hey Millie..."

"Did that asshole do this?!"

"'S if ya hafta ask... tsss!" Ayden hissed a bit in pain as Blitzø set her down on the porch and accidentally jostled her dislocated shoulder.

"You sure it was Striker who did this?" They all heard Joe ask and he and Lin arrived with Millie's siblings in tow and Moxxie at the front.

"Pa!" Millie questioned incredulously.

"What?! 'M just tryin' ta make sure we got it right."

"Haah... I'll go grab the kit." Lin sighed before heading inside with her kids behind her.

After Joe managed to pry the bear trap off Millie's leg and was stemming the bleeding in it and her arm with a red bandana when he noticed Sallie Mae leaning against the porch railing with her back to them as she had a cigarette in her mouth she was trying to light when he scolded her,

"Sallie May what have we told you about smokin' in front of guests?"

"Oh right," She turned around while pulling out her cigarette pack and held it out offering to them, "Y'all want one?"

"I'm good."

"Nah..."

"No thank you..."

"Eh..."

"Not my brand."

Millie, Ayden, Moxxie, Loona, and Blitzø each answered respectively.

"Suit yourself." She used a dark silver metal lighter to light it up and take a drag, puffing out a large cloud of smoke but didn't realize some of the ashes had flown from her cigarette right onto Ayden's broken tail before the tip of it caught fire but no one noticed until Blitzø sniffed and asked,

"Anyone else smell burning hair?"

"Oh shit!" Sallie May shouted as she tried to stomp out the fire only to stomp down on Ayden's tail with her heel making her jump up and yell,

"OW! What the- frick...?"

Trailing off, Ayden looked at where her paw had grabbed her tail, almost freaking out at the fact it was on fire before it spread to her paw but stopped when she realized the fire wasn't hurting her.

A round of hushed exclamations of disbelief was heard from everyone before some more nauseating cracks were heard as her tail's bones snapped back into normal positions when the fire streaked down.

*KRCK!* *KRCK!* *KRCK!*

"Huh...?" Ayden thought for a second before she held the fiery paw up to her dislocated shoulder and winced when she felt the heat spread through the muscles before her arm popped back into place and the flames disappeared as if absorbed into her body.

"Well how 'bout that." Lin spoke up from behind her with a first aid kit in hand and some crutches leaning against the doorway making Ayden look at her as she patted her shoulder a little too roughly while complimenting her, "You really are somethin' aintcha?"

"I g'ss so..." Ayden's mouth corner twitched upward in a slight smile as she looked down at her tail in her paws.

"You guess?!" Blitzø cut in in disbelief.

"Ayden this sort of ability is incredible!" Millie added.

"Think it could work for us?" Moxxie asked and Ayden smiled a bit ruefully as she admitted,

"I'd ra'er not test that 'n case it don't work, ya saw what happen'd to that sha'k ea'lier..."

"Oh right..."

"Well since you don't need any more help, I'll just get to Millie here." Lin stepped around Ayden to get to her daughter as Joe moved aside so a cast could be wrapped around Millie's broken foot and arm.

A nudge on her shoulder made Ayden look up to see Sallie Mae holding out her lighter as she whispered with a wink,

"'M sure you'll put this to some good use..."

Ayden took the lighter with an appreciative smile before putting it in her shorts pocket as she went to grab her satchel from inside, Blitzø and Loona went to get the van, and Moxxie went to get his and Millie's things packed so they could all leave.

Ayden had left the pj's she borrowed lopsidedly folded with the blankets she used and had slung her satchel over her shoulders when she heard Lin scolding Millie as she wrapped her arm,

"I can't believe you let him trap you, Millie! Haven't we taught you better?"

"I was seein' red, Ma! And he was slippery!" Millie argued but her mother snapped back,

"Excuses! You're better than that, Mildred!"

Moxxie was finishing closing the suitcase he and Millie used when he had enough and marched over to Millie's parents as he asserted, throwing in the occasional Southern drawl,

"Y'know, she protected me. And maybe I'm not a strong beefy dickhead, but Millie has the strength enough for both of us! You two are getting on her case about being hurt by a psychopath you hired?! Shaaaaame on you!"

"Aw, Moxxie, look at you! ~Speechin' like a big boy with his big paaaants!~" Blitzø spoke in a baby tone as he complimented Moxxie.

Ayden was preparing to jump in when Joe came up to Moxxie glaring at him but he just gave him a curt nod and a slight huff of acknowledgment before walking away.

"Wooow! He nodded! He's never acknowledged your input before!" Millie exclaimed excitedly as she got up using the crutches and started crutching her way to the van as Moxxie asked,

"Soooo, is that progress?"

"Jus' take the win Mox." Ayden advised.

"Good point." He acknowledged as he got into the van.

"Thanks again for havin' us." Ayden stayed behind a second to thank Joe and Lin as she told her,

"It was no trouble dear, y'all can come back again any time."

"Maybe next time we'll get some good ol' fashioned barbeque going. You thought those chops were good? Wait til you try some o' Lin's famous charbroil hog." Joe suggested with a chuckle.

"Al'eady can't wait." Ayden smiled and waved as she got into the van sitting next to Millie in the window seat as they drove off.

A few minutes into town on the way to the car Ring elevator, Blitzø stopped outside a bar as he announced,

"Alright before we get this shitshow on the road, I'm gonna grab some refreshments."

"Sir! You shouldn't drink and drive!"

"They're not for now you pudding-brained pinhead, they're for when we get back." Blitzø deadpanned before getting out of the van and slamming the door as he went inside.

"I swear to Satan if he tries to drink while driving, I'm tucking and rolling." Moxxie threatened after a few seconds and Millie put a hand on his face as she comforted him,

"It's not gonna come ta that baby..."

"'Onestly I'd pay ta see that." Ayden joked slightly as she raised her arms up as far as she could to stretch them out just as Millie was about to send her a glare when she saw the tear in her shirt from where Striker had slashed at her ribs.

"Haah!" Millie gasped slightly when she saw the dried blood still on the fabric but was more shaken when she saw, in a split second, underneath her shirt and simple black sports bra, was a bunch of scarred scratches that were all pointed toward her chest... where her heart was...

"Millie what's wrong?" Moxxie, having heard her gasp, asked in concern and Ayden put her arms back down to match his expression.

"I-It's jus' mah leg!" Millie tried to cover putting both hands on the edge of the cast as she "groaned," "Ooooh it's hurtin' up a storm!"

Ayden raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner while Moxxie told her in an internally-panicking-but-trying-to-stay-calm tone,

"We have some painkillers back home, do you think you can make it till then?"

"I can try..." Millie muttered as she looked back at Ayden who was staring out the window trying to see if Blitzø was almost done getting drinks.

Inside, Blitzø was waiting for the bartender to get his drink pack when he noticed a giant bulletin board on one side of the bar with numerous Wanted posters pinned onto it with giant red "X's" painted over the ones who'd been caught.

"Oooh a Bounty Board." Blitzø chuckled as he went over to look it over making snarky comments every other poster like,

"Looks like he eats his own shit. She probably ate her own kid. That one definitely went down crying like a...."

But one poster caught his attention as he muttered,

"The fuck...?"

The poster had "WANTED ALIVE, USELESS DEAD!" in bright red across the top with the picture of Ayden's silhouette with her glowing eyes in front of the Loo Loo Land funhouse and "Contact Denay T. Thalleche if found" written at the bottom of the poster in the same red ink but no phone number, address, or any sort of possible communication link to whoever this "Denay T. Thalleche" was.

"Here ya are sir!"

Ripping Ayden's poster off the board, Blitzø shoved it into his vest as he took the 6-pack of drinks and made his way back to the van, still trying to process seeing a bounty on one of his employees, with the bartender shouting after him to pay, but a quick gunshot to the wall next to him kept him quiet.

Once he made it back inside the van, Ayden was quick to snatch the drinks from him with a smirk and a quip,

"So th't Moxxie won't be bitchin' the whole way back."

"Christ on a stick fine!" He snapped back before starting the van and driving off.

On the drive to the Ring elevator, Blitzø was still thinking about the Wanted poster for Ayden, looking back at her through the rearview mirror as she chatted with Millie and Moxxie, the former held a look of worry in her eyes even as she smiled and waved her hands around to emphasize her point.

Once they made it back to Pride, after Ayden's puke session, Blitzø stopped the van in front of the apartment they'd picked up Ayden from before and announced,

"Alright kid we're here, now gimme back my booze!"

"'Ere ya go." She tossed the 6-pack back to him as she opened the door to leave before Blitzø called after her,

"Hey!"

Making her turn back as he tossed her one of the drinks that she almost fumbled with as he told her,

"Try not to black out from that one."

Making her smirk and flip him off with her tongue sticking out before going inside the apartment as the others drove off to return to their homes.

Ayden peeked through the door window to make sure they were gone before frowning as she ducked into the janitor's closet to open a portal to the Living World, landing in her alley.

"Home sweet home..." Ayden mumbled dejectedly to herself as she moved the cardboard box hiding her burrow and was about to shift when she remembered the drink in her hand and went to put it in her bag when she felt vibrations coming from within.

Putting her bag on the floor, she put the drink away and pulled out her phone to reveal that a new number was texting her,

*hey, it's Via*

*dad said you 'just' got a phone? wtf's that about?*

*anyway got some free time tomorrow if you wanna hang out*

Making Ayden smile as she texted back,

*haha yeh*

*sounds cool, I'd be down*

*c ya then*

Before putting her phone away in her bag with the rest of the few belongings she had: the drink from Blitzø, the lighter from Sallie May, her gummies, a folded piece of worn and wrinkled glossy paper, the skull hair clips and aviator sunglasses from her disguise for the Lipton hit, and her weapons before putting it back on to shift to hellcat form to get into her burrow.

After pulling the box back over her hideout and taking a moment to arrange the t-shirt and Loo Loo plushie to be more comfortable, Ayden curled up and fell asleep, happy she finally had something else to be excited about looking forward to.

Unbeknownst to her two threats were coming her way; one was the fact that a camera situated on top of the cafe was facing her burrow with its red light blinking and the other was in the form of a certain snake-like imp hiding out in a motel as he finished speaking with Stella about Stolas's attempted assassination and was talking to another client of his as he asked him over the phone,

*Did you get the samples?*

"Fur and blood samples just as agreed." Striker held up a small tuft of red-tipped brown hair and a small vial with inky blood swirling around in it as the person on the phone told him,

*Good, send them as soon as possible, payment will follow. We'll be in contact for possible further action. *CLICK**

He hung up on him as Striker grinned maliciously,

"See ya soon Kit..."

...

...

...

10418 Words

AN- Let's be real for a second... how many of you have been waiting for Ayden to say "Crikey" since finding out she's Australian? Well now she's said it twice this chapter/episode! XD

Also, fun little trivia fact about this episode, I was originally planning to have Ayden come in second place after Striker and Blitzø but before someone named Bruiser but then thought that having her lose the Pain Games would contribute to the worthiness complex and fears she has which will be revealed more in the next chapter/episode next week!

I've got some ideas for possible filler short stories that could center around Ayden bonding with other characters, such as the Via and Ayden hangout mentioned here, and I was wondering if you'd all be interested in those and, if yes, if I should just add them in between the previous episodes wherever they take place chronologically or if you'd like to read them in a separate book?

Other than that, making some good progress on the Ozzie's/Queen Bee combined chapter so I'm hoping to keep up the update streak I've got going and next week's chapter is going to be the longest one yet! : D

Til the next chapter, Bye!