WARNING: The following contains graphic violence, strong language, sexual themes, as well as rampant demon horniness... so yes, it's intended for mature audiences.

VIEWER/READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!

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(Short AN- Multiple 3rd Person POV switches between characters after different time skips)

3rd Person POV with M&M in Pride Ring

From within their (old) apartment, Millie and Moxxie were seen sleeping on their bed, Millie still clutching onto Ayden's choker while Moxxie held onto her as they slept.

*BVVV!* *BVVV!* *BVVV!*

Until Moxxie's alarm for work went off and he reached over to snooze it before gently whispering to his wife,

"Honey....?"

Millie slowly opened her eyes with tears still in them before he asked her,

"It's time for work... think you're up for it...?"

"Yeah just..." Millie started to say, pausing to wipe her eyes, "...give me a sec..."

Moxxie nodded in understanding as he got up to get ready for the day while waiting for his wife.

Once he finished getting dressed and headed out to get coffee started, he stopped by the living room to look at the empty couch, blankets still folded half-assed with corners and folds peeking out from under and in between the throw pillows and cushions... just how she left them...

Trying to push away the thought 'maybe she's finally up already,' Moxxie went to the kitchen and got the coffee pot going before reaching into the cupboard for three mugs.

'Wait three? Oh...'

Moxxie thought to himself at the automatic set-up he'd gotten so used to from the routine the three of them made for work days; the imps waking up earlier than Ayden, having to urge her up, Moxxie sneaking her a tiny bit of coffee with her milk to help her wake up, despite Millie's hesitations, before the three of them talked about different things while they waited for Blitzø to pick them all up.

*DING!*

The coffee pot dinged when it was ready and Moxxie poured coffee into two of the mugs, about to pour some into the third one, but he hesitated before pouring a tiny bit in and covering it with milk.

"Hey baby..." Millie greeted glumly as she walked over to take her mug from her husband, subtly noticing the third mug of slightly off-white milk, before sipping away, Ayden's choker still in her hand between it and the mug.

Just as the silence, aside from the occasional slurp, started to get stifling, the sound of the van pulling up outside reached them and just as Moxxie was about to ask again if Millie was up for work, she wordlessly gulped down the last of her coffee and put her mug in the sink before heading out.

Moxxie sighed to himself as he put his empty mug next to hers in the sink before following her out,

"Let's just hope it doesn't get too busy today..."

...

3rd Person POV with Via in Sloth Ring

...

Walking out of the hospital from visiting her dad real quick, Via stood at the edge of the street waiting for the limo to pick her back up when her phone vibrated,

*BVV-VVV!*

And she automatically hurried to look at it, only to be slightly disappointed at the text her mother sent her reminding her to promptly return to her uncle's palace for an "urgent family business meeting."

Rolling her eyes at the fact that that most likely meant more matchmaking attempts, Via swiped the notification away, only to be met with the selfie Ayden had taken of the two of them with Loona that night at the observatory she had as her lock screen wallpaper.

When she felt the tears start to rise again, she hurriedly turned her phone off to pocket it when a jingling sound made her pull her shawl sleeve up to reveal the Ace-patterned rhinestone bracelet on her wrist.

A tear fell on the heart-shaped rhinestone as Via remembered when Millie and Moxxie had given her the gift that Ayden had been planning on giving to her during their planned sleepover along with the note 'Took a while ta track down, hope it's worth it bestie!' with a smiley cat face next to it.

"Still doesn't feel real...." Via muttered, referring to her mild denial about Ayden being dead before the limo showed up and the backdoor opened to let her in before closing to drive off.

After connecting her earbuds to her phone to play "My World Is Burning Down Around Me" again, Via propped her head up on her hand with her elbow on the car door, blankly watching the other vehicles and buildings pass on her way to her uncle's palace.

At some point in leaving Sloth, the limo got caught in traffic so she started drifting off out of boredom, her gaze roaming over the passenger side rearview mirror-

"HAH!"

Only to gasp back awake when she saw a large hellcat on top of the hospital in the distance in the reflection.

Quickly rolling down the window, Via poked her head out to look back but was disheartened when she saw nothing on top of the hospital before being yelled at by another driver, making her duck back inside the limo with the window rolling up.

When the limo started moving again, Via sighed while wiping her eyes with her sleeve as she tried to convince herself,

"It's just the grief... it's just the grief..."

Unbeknownst to her that the hellcat had reformed, seemingly defying gravity from the way it was standing on the side of the building peeking in through a window to one of the patient rooms; Stolas's.

The hellcat's breath fogged up the window as it looked through to see him sleeping before it heard someone approaching so it dissipated into embers again, tapping a paw against the window as it launched itself off and rousing Stolas slightly awake as he questioned in a groggy but hopeful tone,

"Hmmm... Blitzø...?"

Only for his face to fall when he saw no one there...

...

3rd Person POV with I.M.P. in Pride Ring

...

Once the I.M.P. team made it to the office, it'd been relatively quiet; Loona was scrolling through her phone on the couch, Blitzø had left somewhere else a while ago without telling anyone, and Millie and Moxxie were sitting at Loona's desk before a knock on the door alerted them of a client.

While speaking to the client, Blitzø had burst into the office, bush leaves, bruises, and dirt all over his clothes and body, before trudging to his office when Moxxie tried to get his attention for the special request their client had asked of them; to investigate around the camp he had worked at in life to figure out which other camp counselor had killed him.

Blitzø ended up inadvertently putting Moxxie in charge of the case, which he then took very seriously with a red-stringed murder board and everything.

"Mox... Are you sure this isn't a little... much?" Millie questioned, a bit irritated that her husband was taking this case a little too seriously.

"It's my first lead, Mills. It has to be... perfect." Moxxie waved his arm dramatically toward the board before devising with a slap to the board, "Now, in front of you, you'll find a comprehensive guide to your cover persona. Memorize it. We've got a lot of work to do. Unless.. you're not up for a field mission at the moment."

"Mox..." Millie sighed in a mildly exasperated tone with a hand to her forehead as Moxxie tried to reason,

"I'm just saying, this could be a good distraction from everything but if you're not up for it-"

"It's fine! Alright?!" She cut him off with a terse response before taking the folder and walking away to read it in private and Moxxie went to prep his disguise and cover story despite his eyes stinging from the barely-being-held-back tears.

From where Loona is lying on the couch, she's seen scrolling through pictures with Ayden in them, the few of them she had, a tear falling from her eye before she quickly swiped it away to switch to Sinstagram.

...

3rd Person POV with Remi and Alex in Gluttony Ring

...

"Hey, Boo?" Alex called to their girlfriend as they were in the kitchen of their shared apartment that looked like a vampire's lollipop candy-themed dollhouse, still in their loose tank top with "Her Trick" on the front and long gray pant pjs while they were making some candy-filled waffles.

"Yeah Woo?" Remi answered as she walked out of the room wearing a matching loose tank top with "Their Treat" on the front with the hem tucked into some bright pink short shorts as she went to sit down at the small round dining table.

When Alex brought over their two plates of waffles with some vegan bacon on the side for them and mini hellhog sausages for her, they asked her,

"You hear back from Ayden's coworkers about if they're gonna have a funeral for her?"

"I've been trying to reach them for the past coupl'a days but nothing yet..." Remi answered as she looked at the messages she left on her phone while using a fork to stab into and eat one of the mini sausages as she suggested, "Maybe give'em a few more?"

"Maybe..." Alex poked at their waffle despondently so Remi put her phone down to reach across the table and intertwine her claws with theirs as she told them,

"Hey, it's gonna be hard for a while, there's no changing that, but.. we just need to keep letting them know we're here for them since she was our friend too..."

"Hmph..." Alex chuckled ruefully before they asked, "When'd you get to be the emotionally mature one...?"

"Guess it's my turn to comfort you ~my lovey lobo...~" Remi smiled teasingly with half-lidded eyes as she toed her partner's leg with a small stroke.

"Oh no..." Alex rolled their eyes jokingly, knowing what was coming as a heart-tipped tail hooked onto their chair to scooch them closer as Remi continued to flirt,

"'Oh no' what like ~my cutesy canine...~"

"Mmhhhhmmm..." Alex tried to "ignore" their girlfriend's teases with a barely suppressed smile even as she pulled their chair right next to hers so she could cozy right up to them as she finished with,

"Or my ~wolfy wonder...~"

Placing a kiss right on their snout with her strawberry-scented chapstick lips that made them sniff for some more before they started rapidly sniffing the air past her making her question,

"What's wrong?"

"There's something outside..." Alex bolted up to throw the curtains open only to see nothing but the lush plants of the Gluttony Ring growing outside the window sill.

They opened the window before sticking their head out to sniff the air relentlessly making Remi look at them with concern before gently tugging on their arm to pull them back inside, coaxing,

"Ok Woo I think you need to give your sniffer a break..."

"I swear I smelled something off..." Alex eventually let themselves get pulled back inside as Remi suggested,

"Who knows? Maybe Mx. Brightburn from upstairs's trying another 'organic' cooking phase?"

Both of them oblivious to the giant hellcat on top of their apartment that sniffed the air with its eyes turning red again.

*PRRRRR...*

It ran to climb Bee's mansion, seeing as it was the tallest building around, before jumping off the top of it to dissipate and fly toward the "ceiling" of the Ring to phase right through.

From a balcony, Bee peeked through the doors while sniffing the air before she commented to herself,

"Something feels funky around here... and not in a good way..."

...

3rd Person POV with Angel Dust in Pride Ring

...

"We got'er Nuggsie..." Angel Dust picked up the small, beaten, and scratched-up hellkitten that his pet pig, Fat Nuggets, had led him to during one of their walks through the city.

After bringing her back to his apartment, he cleaned her up of all the grime and blood with a wet wipe and bandaged up all her injuries before leaving her to rest on the cushioned seat by his vanity mirror.

"Ree?" Fat Nuggets squealed while tilting his head in a questioning manner as he reared up on his hind legs to look at the hellkitten.

"C'mon Nuggs, give'er some spa-"

No sooner than he said that, the hellkitten's eyes snapped open before bolting up with a yowl but she slipped off the bench from placing too much pressure on one of her hurt front paws,

*MREOW!*

No sooner than she landed on the ground below, she shifted to her demon cat form while holding onto her bandaged hurt wrist with the paw that had a thick chain trailing from a metal shackle, causing Angel to yell at the same time she shouted painfully,

"THE FUCK?!"

"FUCK ME DEAD!"

"Ain't into that kinda shit small fry!" Angel snapped as he readied his extra arms with a gun to come out on a dime if this kid made any moves.

"Yeh right! Tell that to all the rootin' stuff ya got in here ya perv!" She retorted back using her tail to pick up some fuzzy handcuffs from the ground near her before throwing them at him.

"Aye! I'm a lot of things but a tyke predator ain't one'a them." Angel pointed at her accusingly, making her try to crawl backward only to stop when she aggravated her hurt wrist, making her wince with teary eyes as the bandages detached and the ends fluttered loosely in contrast to the heavy chains on her other wrist.

After harshly sighing through his mouth to calm down, Angel told her,

"Look kid, you're hurt so take it easy ok?"

He slowly kneeled down in front of her holding two of his hands out; one right one reaching into the vanity to grab a roll of tape and a left one held out non-threateningly.

Looking at him still with a hint of mistrust in her eyes, she held her, now loosely, bandaged wrist out so he could rewrap it and use a piece of tape to fasten it better.

When he was done, she took her hand back and moved to hug her knees to her chest with her arms on top, chain clinking as she moved the arm it was attached to, and her face partially hidden in her arms, making no other moves.

"What happened to ya?" Angel dared to ask carefully and she looked down with her ears drooping and her tail curling around her legs with her knees turning inwards not fully blocking the sight of blood seeping through the front where he remembered seeing some scratches, the next thing out of her mouth only confirming his suspicions,

"I gotta get back.. Hannah'll see I'm gone soon..."

"Who's Hannah?"

"She-e..." Her voice cracked a bit before she sniffed and told him, "She.. took care of me.. wi'h the o'hers..."

Angel took note of the way her tail tightened around her legs and how her ears were practically flat against her head, nearly buried under her ratty, super long, and red-tipped hair as she talked about this "Hannah" and her friends?, all of them being signs they weren't particularly good people.

Fat Nuggets must've seen it too from the way he walked out from where he'd been hiding behind Angel and trotted over to nudge his snout under her uninjured hand surprising her from the way she flinched a bit before uncurling a bit to let him onto her lap so she could pet him and smiled a tiny bit when he licked her hand.

"You can stay here.. ain't no way I'm letting ya go back to someplace where they musta treated ya like crap if ya got scared of a sweet little piggy like Nuggsie here."

Angel got closer so he could pat Fat Nuggets's head making him squeal happily and she smiled a bit, fully uncurling so the both of them could play with Fat Nuggets between them.

"So ya got a name?"

She looked down in uncertainty as she shrugged minutely, telling him either she didn't have one or she didn't like hers,

He thought for a second before suggesting,

"How 'bout we call ya-"

*ERRR!* *ERRR!* *ERRR!*

"Uggghhhh..." Angel groaned annoyed as he scrunched his eyes tighter shut when his alarm went off.

He quickly used one of his lower arms to blindly slap around the nightstand before finally smacking the STFU button on the top of the alarm clock, silently cursing Vaggie for introducing the wake-up call as he did so.

*ERR-*

*TCH!*

After a few seconds, he opened his eyes to see he was back in his room at the, newly renamed, Hazbin Hotel with Fat Nuggets sleeping by his side before he remembered his dream memory and muttered in question,

"Ruby...?"

...

3rd Person POV with M&M in Living World

...

After an amazing for Millie but agonizing for Moxxie week for the mission Moxxie was leading, the latter had been by his isolated tent looking incredibly frustrated when Millie came running up with a flier in her hand as she cheered,

"MOX! MOX! You'll never believe it! They want me to perform on stage tonight for the local news! Those videos have made me some kind of human celebrity!"

The time she gushed though, Moxxie's frown deepened more and more until he finally snapped impatiently,

"All week it's been 'Oh look at Millerd! Isn't HE great?' 'Oh, look how talented Millerd is!'"

Millie started to look more and more hurt as Moxxie mocked the cheers she'd been receiving all week before he growled,

"We have a job to do, and you're off dancing for views! Why does it matter SO MUCH how these yokels feel about you?"

"It doesn't." Millie argued, upset now that her husband wasn't happy for her as she continued, "It matters how I feel about myself. And for once, I feel like... like I'm important. Like I'm someone to be proud of..."

Tears started forming in her eyes as she asserted while shoving the flier for her performance at his chest,

"And I had hoped that my husband would be there to support me half as much as I've supported him this week despite him thinkin' 'oh we have a job to do, we don't have time for sad feelings' even though we lost not just our friend but our kid not even two weeks ago!"

After taking the flier back, Millie turned her back to Moxxie, who now had a guilt-stricken facial expression for making her cry and neglecting her feelings, even as he tried to protest,

"Millie, I didn't mean-"

"SAVE IT, MOX!" Millie shouted at him before ranting, "You could have finished that job any time if you had just listened to me and stopped doubting not just my ability to get this done despite the grief but letting yourself feel it too, but you wanted to do things your way."

She started stomping towards him making him stumbled backward and trip over a guy line to his tent as she finished yelling,

"So, fine. Finish the job, go home if you want to but, I'm gonna have my moment, WITH OR WITHOUT YOU!"

Throwing the flier away before walking away, leaving Moxxie to try and catch the paper but only succeeding in getting wrapped up in his tent and falling to the ground as he mumbled,

"Oh, crumbs..."

...

3rd Person POV with Via in Pride Ring

...

After managing to finally excuse herself from the week's worth of "urgent family business," Via found some time to sneak out of her uncle's palace, calling the limo to take her to Stylish Occult for a much-needed breather.

Plugging her earbuds in for the ride there while they were passing by Imp City, Via hit shuffle and a song from Acidic Triad started to play,

♫ But without you around I feel nothing but cold

And I now have nothing

But your heartbeat in my head

And a photograph of my traveling friend

And I became nothing when I found you were dead

When I found out I'd never see you again ♫

The lyrics only worsened the sorrow in her gut as she kept trying to not think about Ayden so she paused and started searching her playlist looking for something less depressing to listen to.

She got so caught up in her scrolling that she didn't see outside the windows that demons were running away from something in the distance behind them.

It was only when she vaguely felt the limo vibrating more than usual did she looked up, saw the fleeing demons, and looked to the passenger window-

"AH!"

Only to yelp when she saw the three pairs of scarlet eyes staring back at her with a fierce look and glowing saliva dripping from a fang-filled mouth.

"Drive drive drive!" Via slammed her hand against the window separating her from the driver only to hear nothing before she pressed her face to the tinted glass to see no one in the front seat.

"Fucking Hell!" Via cursed before she grabbed her backpack and threw the limo door open to start running as the giant hellcat narrowed its eyes even more to focus on her.

Via had run a good distance when she looked back and saw the hellcat starting to run after her.

"Crap..." She took a sharp turn, doing her best to avoid other demons who were also running away on her way to the last place she'd ever expected to run to again; I.M.P. HQ.

...

3rd Person POV with I.M.P. in Pride Ring

...

*Internet sensation and local celebrity Millerd Realboy caught incesting tonight!*

The tv in the meeting room was playing the newsreel of Millie and Moxxie making out on the stage of her performance after making up from their previous argument before continuing with showing the video and pictures of them doing it while the human news anchor reported,

*Showcasing a sickening display onlookers deemed: Too disturbing to look away... and we won't.*

Before the tv was turned off by Blitzø as he sipped from his coffee mug before telling Moxxie,

"Gonna be honest, Moxxie; not too bad for your first solo mission."

Moxxie gasped before questioning with joy as he practically sparkled with delight,

"~Reeeeeally, siiiir?~"

Unfortunately, Blitzø didn't really mean it and switched to a grouchy look at the fact that the mission had lasted a whole week while also finding out that his twin sister, Barbie Wire, who'd been working undercover at that camp as a drug dealer until her supplier, their client, had been killed, still hated him and told him she never wanted to see him again as he snarked to Moxxie,

"Nooo, no, not really. You're a fucking disgrace."

Moxxie's delight dimmed from his face as he became depressed while Millie gave Blitzø a pointed look and Loona continued sleeping on the meeting table when-

*KNOCK!* *KNOCK!* *KNOCK!*

An abrupt and hard series of knocks on the front door made them all look over, Moxxie made a move to go open it when it was thrown open and slammed shut behind by Via.

The sound promptly woke up Loona as she wiped the dribble off her chin before Moxxie questioned at the same time Blitzø asked semi-nervously,

"What are you doing here Princess?"

"Your dad's not here is he?"

"Uhh no and I've got a little.. problem..." Via stayed by the door as if holding it shut from someone behind her.

"What kinda problem?" Millie asked worriedly when she saw how panicked Via was before-

*CRASH!*

Something burst through the wall and windows that had been bashed through previously by Crimson's pilots bringing in a plume of smoke and rubble dust, making them all wave and cough as Via answered,

"That k-kind..."

As soon as the cloud settled, they all looked and saw the giant hellcat from before, Blitzø recognized it right away from the way he yelled while pulling out his pistol,

"Oh fuck it's that thing again!"

"I thought Den took care of it?!" Moxxie questioned as he brought out his revolver and Millie pulled out her axe while Loona stayed behind with Via behind her to keep her safe as the imps stayed standing in front of the giant hellcat.

*FWOOO!*

The hellcat let out another plume of smoke from its nostrils as it huffed before stepping forward to sniff the imps, its breath ruffling their hair and clothes as they stayed still but ready to strike if needed.

It looked up to where Via was standing behind Loona who held an arm out protectively while she growled defensively.

*PFWOO!*

The hellcat sat back on its haunches before it started hacking,

*KLCK!* *KLCK!* *KLCK!*

"What the...?" Via peeked around Loona when she heard the hacking before-

*HLP!* *BLEH!*

The hellcat spat up a large blob of what looked like mucous-y lava but it didn't burn through the floor making everyone exclaim in disgust.

"Ugh gross!"

"The fuck?!"

"Ewww!"

"What the Heaven?"

"Ughhhhh..."

All of them froze when they realized none of them had let out that pained groan before looking at the glob still on the floor as it looked to be dripping off of the thing it was covering; a humanoid figure lying face down and whose upper back was a mess of pale-ish burn scars against cocoa toned skin, mid-length shaggy hair streaked with shiny coppery red highlights.

"Unholy crap..." Via fully came out from behind Loona to go toward the figure, passing the imps as Millie finally saw the glow coming from Ayden's choker in her pocket.

"It ca-an't be..." Millie choked a bit as she realized what was happening since the dull gemstones had regained their color and glow.

Via kneeled down to the figure on the floor as the rest of the glowing substance disappeared as smoke streams while the giant hellcat shrank down to look exactly like Ayden's hellcat form where it remained sitting as Ayden stirred a bit from where she was lying down before shakily pushing herself to her paws and knees as she muttered,

"Shite... the fuck happ'ned...?"

Looking up at Via with unfocused eyes, she gasped a bit when she saw an ugly-looking scratch scar mark going from her forehead to her right temple, only narrowly missing her eye as it hid underneath her bangs and Ayden's eyes finally looked to be focusing as she questioned,

"V-Via...? Wha-at's-Oof!"

The rest of her question was cut off when Via seized her in a hug, grasping tightly onto her head and slightly ripped tank top below the burn scars as though she were afraid she'd disappear if she let go while she slightly sobbed,

"I th-thought you wer-re-"

Before she was slightly pushed aside by Loona as she punched Ayden's shoulder while giving her an annoyed look that practically screamed "what the fuck were you thinking?!"

"'M sorry but like you woulda done be'er..." Ayden managed to snark, making Loona smirk ruefully as she joined in the hug with Via.

"Make room for one more!" Millie exclaimed tearfully as she couldn't contain her excited relief before joining in the hug too.

"Make it two more!" Moxxie was about to join them with happy tears in his own eyes before he was shoved aside by Blitzø as he shouted,

"Me first!"

Eventually, they were all hugging Ayden, relieved she was alive with happy tears in their eyes.

"Ok 'at's 'nuff!" Ayden squeaked out, nearly breathless after a minute or two, so she jerked forward to try and jump out in hellcat form when she realized she hadn't shapeshifted.

"Wait.. somethin's wrong..." Ayden spoke up and everyone let go of her as she fisted her paws and scrunched up her face in concentration before she relaxed only to see she was still in demon cat form.

"What is it?" Moxxie questioned and Ayden responded anxiously,

"I can't shapeshift..."

"What...?" Everyone seemed to whisper at once before Via asked,

"Did you try your human form?"

Ayden tensed up again to try to shapeshift again... but nothing happened...

When she opened her eyes back up, her pupils had shrunk to pinpricks and she started to panic quietly,

"Nonononononononono..."

Just as it seemed like she was about to have an emotional or panic attack though, the hellcat from before walked up and brushed their head against Ayden's paws and a calming voice sounded in her head,

'It's alright sis...'

Ayden froze, her eyes nearly bugging out when she heard the hellcat call her 'sis' and looked down at them to whisper,

"Einar...?"

'And me!' 'Ditto!' 'And me!' 'Me as well!' 'Me too!' 'And me!' 'And me!' 'And me!'

Ayden threw her paws over her ears as if that would stop the cacophony of countless voices in her mind while she shouted,

"Ok Ok! I got it, yer all in the'e!"

"All in where?" Millie questioned with her head tilted and eyebrow raised.

"You sure you're alright Furball?" Blitzø raised a hand to poke Ayden in the forehead but stopped for a split second when he saw the new scar on her face, giving her the chance to smack his hand away and snap,

"All my siblin's are somehow in the cat, speakin' ta me in my head."

"Interesting..." Via muttered before rubbing her fingers together to call the hellcat over to her, which they did, and rubbed their head against her hand meowing and purring happily before she picked them up to examine them as Moxxie questioned,

"What's interesting?"

*KLCK!* *KLCK!*

The hellcat started choking again and Via used her index finger to firmly stroke underneath their chin before,

*KLCK!* *BLEH!*

Another glob of mucous-y lava came spewing out making everyone, even Ayden, wrinkle their noses in disgust before the substance cleared to reveal another unexpected surprise-

"Holy shite!" Ayden hurriedly backwards crawled away from the Angelic blade that was revealed but it looked slightly different this time; there was a lining of reddish purple, almost magenta, along the edge of the blade but the glowing white material was still shining purely underneath.

"Ayden calm down-" Via started to say when Ayden cut her off with a panicked tone,

"Don't fuckin' tell me ta 'calm down' that's the thing that 'lmost killed me!"

"Except it didn't..." Via picked up the knife to look at it more closely but was still wary of the blade before asking, "You told me she was stabbed in the heart with this?"

"Yes..." Moxxie answered hesitantly before Via started to explain,

"Y'know there was this book I read about the creation of Angelic weapons once-"

"You read a book about that?" Ayden questioned a bit dubiously, more at the subject of the reading and less about the reading itself since she knew Via took after Stolas in that aspect before she continued,

"There was a time when Angelic tools would be given to mortal clerics to help banish 'evil influences' from victims who were 'tempted' or 'overrun' by dark forces-"

"Such is the way wi'h most religion, go on." Ayden commented a bit snidely before Moxxie asked,

"Are you saying these tools were once used to exorcize demons from human bodies?"

"Exactly." Via answered and she and Moxxie just started a back-and-forth conversation from there,

"Since Ayden's half human, it didn't kill her, but because her siblings, who are full Hellborn hybrids, were occupying her heart or soul or whatever, they were just cast out of her body then?"

"And because her hellcat form was a part of her Hellborn lineage it just separated from her with them."

"But why can't she shift back to her human form then?

"Maybe-"

"Maybe!" Millie nearly shouted to get their attention, making the two face her as she gently took the knife from Via to leave on Loona's desk, nobody noticing it disappearing in a dimming of light, before she suggested, "Maybe we should all head home and figure all this out later."

Ayden, who'd been sitting on the ground just watching the exchange between Moxxie and Via, was sitting crisscrossed with the hellcat in her lap stroking their head and nearly nodding off.

"Oh right..." Moxxie suddenly looked guilty at going on and on before Ayden tried to assure him and Via,

"It's ok.. 'm jus' feelin' a little ti'ed and-"

*Grrrr....*

Abruptly, her stomach growled and pinched to where Ayden wrapped her arms around her midriff and hunched over a bit from the hunger pains building up.

"Urgh... an' hungry..."

Wordlessly, Loona got up and went to the breakroom, eventually coming back with the tupperware of human hearts, holding it out to Ayden who reached for it before stopping to hesitate.

"C'moon Furball." Blitzø took the tupperware from Loona to swerve it to her like an airplane as he joked, "Gotta eat to grow up big and hearty."

The corner of Ayden's mouth twitched in a smile at the lame pun before it fell again as she looked down at the hearts with an unsure expression.

"Ayden, what's going on? Even before the whole Striker thing, you haven't eaten a single heart for weeks since..-" Millie had enough and practically demanded to know before she stopped and trailed off when she started to realize just as Ayden voiced it,

"Since the thing wi'h my dad..."

She looked over at the hearts in Blitzø's hands as she started talking,

"He said I wa'n't 'really alive' an'... maybe that's why I ate them.. to try an' feel alive but now maybe I really am dead... maybe I can't change back to human fo'm cause I'm not human anymo'e..."

"Hey..." Millie kneeled down in front of her and tilted her head back up with a hand on her cheek as she spoke softly, "I said we're gonna figure all that out later, right now you need to eat something... If you don't wanna eat these now ok, we can get something from Bee Eats back home."

At the mention of home, Ayden perked up a bit and nodded before pushing herself to her paws, keeping the hellcat in her arms before looking to the hole in the wall and asking,

"What're we gonna do 'bout that?"

"Like I said 'worry about it tomorrow.'" Millie told her giving her a slight push toward the door so they could leave as Blitzø agreed with her

"Exactly *PTOO!* Ugh..." The sound of him spitting made them look at him as it was revealed he took a bite out of one of the human hearts before he commented in disgust, "I don't get how you shove these down your throat like-"

"I'm gonna stop you right the'e b'fo'e ya get gross." Ayden raised a paw in front of his face to cut him off so he shrugged and tossed the tupperware back into the room before he locked the door behind them and they all headed for the parking lot.

On the way there, Ayden managed to hang back with Via as she finished texting another limo driver to come get her to ask her,

"Hey you doin' 'lright 'bout all.. this?"

"You're asking me if I'm doing alright?" Via asked her incredulously and Ayden answered a bit cautiously,

"Yeh...?"

"Ayden, we thought you died, ironically it's only by some technicality-based miracle you're still with us and not in the Void. I'm more worried about how you're doing..." She finished up her mini-rant by placing a hand on her shoulder, still being extra careful about the burn scars nearing her shoulders from her back before Ayden shifted the hellcat in her grip to place a paw over her hand to assure her,

"I'll be al'ight.. It's jus' gonna take a bit ta figure everythin' out.."

"Well I'll be here if you ever wanna talk or hit some books to see if we can find anything else or get away from it all or-"

"Ok ok I get it." Ayden cut her off with a small chuckle before thanking her earnestly, "Thanks.. I mean it... I know bein' my friend i'n't exactly easy... but I'm glad we a'e friends..."

"Course..."

Unfortunately, their sweet moment was barged in on when Blitzø stated bluntly,

"Y'know I can't tell whether I should be turned on or off by how cute you two are."

"Blitzø!"

"Ugh!"

Ayden and Via exclaimed in unison while flipping him off with the hands wearing the matching bracelets before the latter muttered under her breath,

"What does he see in you...?"

As soon as they reached their destination and her limo arrived, Via gave Ayden one last hug promising to text her later before heading off as the I.M.P. team headed off as well.

On the way to M&M's new apartment, Blitzø couldn't stop staring at the new scar on the right side of Ayden's forehead through the rearview mirror, realizing earlier that she must've gotten it during her time with Striker when she and Stolas had been abducted by him... he wanted to ask her what exactly happened to them but couldn't bring himself to.. afraid of what he might find out...

Once they arrived outside the apartment, Millie, Moxxie, and Ayden, with the hellcat in her arms, disembarked and Blitzø announced before driving off,

"Alrighty see ya bitches tomorrow for wall repair!"

"Can't wait...!" Ayden "enthusiastically yelled" back before turning to the apartment and commented, still slightly tired,

"This might jus' be me, but I think he dropped us off at the wrong place..."

"Nope, it's the right place.. our place..." Moxxie unlocked the front door letting them in and Millie was eager to take Ayden's paw and guide her as she started to say,

"Best part?"

Finishing as she opened the door to introduce her to,

"Your own room."

Ayden eyes widened a bit more as she took in the room; a bed in the corner with her blankets from the couch in the old apartment along with a new one that was super fluffy and red with black planets and her Loo Loo plushie in front of a few star-shaped pillows, posters of "Fuck You Dad" and other Hell-based punk bands along the walls, a large dartboard with throwing knives in an organizer to the side with more weapons and tools around, one of those cat hammocks that hooked onto a window for daytime naps, and her satchel was on top of a larger drawer set by the small closet.

"How...?" Ayden took in the room, wondering how they managed to make it feel so homey already and Moxxie answered,

"Well we figured you couldn't sleep on a couch forever."

"And family always finds a way to help each other out. Oh! Speakin' of," Millie jumped a bit in place as she reached into her pocket to pull out Ayden's choker from her pocket to hand back to her saying, "I've kept a hold of this since... that day..."

Ayden smiled down at the pictures inside before clicking it shut and snapping it back around her neck, feeling some relief from having it back after Striker tried to take it from her for her dad.

"We were also planning to... formally adopt you..." Millie pulled some papers off the top of the drawer set to show her as she slowly turned back with a hard-to-read expression to whisper,

"What...?"

Millie handed her the papers to look them over before Moxxie cut in with an honest explanation,

"I mean.. there's a couple of things we might have to forge since you're.. not a full Hellborn.. b-but we can find a way to make it work to make it official and-"

*KRSH!*

"Ayden!"

"What're you doing?!"

Millie and Moxxie both yelled out when Ayden ripped up the papers and let the halves fall to the ground as she argued,

"We don' need some fancy schmancy pape' tellin' us we'e family..." Her voice softened as she added, "cause I 'ready know it..."

Ayden pulled the two imps into a hug before adding,

"You two, Blitzø and Loona, Hell even Stolas and Via and Alex and Remi have been be'er ta me than my actual blood family... and I love you all for it..."

The couple's eyes widened when she said that before they both started happily crying again as they hugged her even tighter.

"Mreow!" The hellcat curled around their legs from being left out of the emotional family moment and they released the hug to look down at them.

"Glad this place allows pets..." Millie commented giving them a pat on the head before they hissed at her,

"HAAAAH!"

"Sorry..." She apologized, figuring they didn't like being called a pet.

"Y'know they're gonna need a name." Moxxie pointed out before he added, "We can't just keep callin' them 'the hellcat.'"

"Well I can't name'em." Ayden pointed out making Millie question,

"Why not?"

"They'e my siblin's, they should have a say in what they wanna be called. Right?" Ayden directed to last part to them as she held a paw out to them so they could connect before she heard Einar's voice in her head saying,

'We decided we want to be called.. Jin...'

"'Jin?' Like those things dad made?"

'Yes, only he can't control us, not anymore...'

"Hmm fai' point." Ayden shrugged before confirming, "Jin it is then."

"Welcome to the family then Jin." Moxxie told them as he held out his hand to be sniff-approved to pet them, which they let him do before Millie announced to Ayden,

"Now I believe we promised you some food from Bee Eats?"

"Fuck yeh!" Ayden perked up a bit more with an excited yell.

"What are you feelin' like tonight?" Millie asked and they headed for the kitchen with Jin at their heels.

The rest of the evening was spent eating, talking, and watching a movie in the living room before they all fell asleep together on the couch like a real family...

AN- Ayden lives!

For those of you who might've doubted that happening, I'm notorious in almost all fanfics I've previously written for killing off my own OCs only to bring them back some way either towards the end or after a few chapters (Yeah I'm one of THOSE writers XD)

So a couple of references and notes for this one:

Octavia's sexuality being Ace is a headcanon that isn't formally confirmed as canon along with the headcanon that Stella and Andrealphus plot to matchmake Via since she's almost 18The second song Octavia is listening to is "You're Dead" by Alkaline Trio (Spoofed as Acidic Triad)The Void being the place where slain Souls go, I've seen it mentioned in a couple of other Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel fanfics I've read before and it does seem like something that could be a canon thing

I know a lot of you were hoping/expecting Millie and Moxxie to formally adopt her but what I really love about the found family trope is that there's no need for formal things like that for people to know they love each other, something I wanted to show in Ayden's character development in showing the others that she cares about them and is starting to really accept that they care about her too ^^

Until the next one (which may or not be coming a little sooner than you think ;D ), Happy Holidays and Bye!