Loona didn't know what was worse. Knowing that one of your best friends' mother was behind your father's kidnapping or said friend's reaction to the news. The hellhound didn't know what to think or even say when Stolas told them the truth. Naturally, Octavia fell into hysterics, and Loona wanted to comfort her friend, but seeing her and Stolas hugging each other in heartbreak made the hellhound realize this wasn't the time.

"This is so fucked up," Loona said, running her paw through her hair. Millie was nodding in agreement as the two ladies waited for Stolas to return to his office. Moxxie wanted to join as well, but Millie threatened him to stay put in bed for a little longer until he got the full all clear. "I mean...I know she didn't like Dad that much but...to do this?"

"Demons do crazy things," Millie said, shrugging. "Trust me, I know from experience."

"...I'm still going to kill her," Loona growled, claws sharpening. "I don't care if she's Octavia's mother. I'm going to rip every feather off of that bitch before I have her for dinner."

"I would ask that you leave my wi-Stella to me." The girls turned and saw Prince Stolas walk inside silently. His face was stoic, but his trembling hands made it clear that he was a whirlwind of emotions on the inside. Walking up to his desk, he waved his hand, and an illusionary map of the entire underworld appeared before them. "Now that we know that Stella is involved in Blitzo's kidnapping, I am going to assume her family is also involved as well. Natasha, her mother, is so old school and elite that she makes half the nobles in Hell look like generous nuns on Christmas Day. She looks down on the lesser hellspawn and sinners as if they were bugs not worthy of being under her foot. Her son, Alexander, is just a toady who follows his mother's wishes like the good little boy scout, but he's weak and pathetic in the end. Regardless, they have money and influence due to being a Fallen family with Goetia blood in them."

"Why the fuck did you even marry into that family?" Loona asked, eyebrows raised.

"I had no choice. My parents arranged it based on an alliance we had during the Eldritch-Devil War thousands of years ago. Stella shared her mother's traits, but she was more modern and merely desired to keep our kinds separated and segregated rather than enslaving or wiping them out by the thousands like some of the more extreme types. Over time, she became less like her mother and more like her own person to the point where I thought we had some kind of connection, especially when Octavia was born. I know she worried about our status with my constant dealings with lesser demons, but I thought she'd never go so far as this," Stolas said, shaking his head.

"So, what now? Do we raid her house or something?" Millie asked.

"I already sent my shadow guards to the main house under the guise of wishing my wife to return," Stolas said, crossing his arms as he looked at the map intently. "But she wasn't there. Neither were Natasha and Alexander. Meaning, they must be at another family estate." He waved his hands, and four locations began to glow on the map. "I've never been privy to know where they are exactly as Natasha wasn't a fan of me either, but I know of the general locations of where they are."

He began to point to the four locations. "They are either near the capital region, somewhere in the Lost Paradise Province, near Firebrand City, or in the Apollyon Desert Region. Also known as-"

"Abbadon's Corner," Loona whispered as she remembered her father's words on the call. Slamming her paws down, she pointed at the glowing desert and shouted, "Here! This is where they are!"

"How can you be sure?" Millie asked.

"Because on the call with the kidnapper, Dad mentioned it was almost as bad as Abbadon's Corner! That's where we went on vacation one time, and it sucked bad! I remember it because that's where I got the worst tick infestation on my ass!"

"Uh, TMI," Millie said, sticking her tongue out.

"The official name is Apollyon Desert, but the locals call it Abbadon's Corner because of how destructive the sandstorms can be! That has to be the place!" Loona proclaimed.

"Well, that narrows it down, but it's still a big area to cover," Stolas said as he sat down in his chair, rubbing his chin. "It will take time to canvas the area...I'll send my spies first thing in the morning. In the meantime, I suggest you all rest up."

"I'm going to check on Octavia if that's okay?" Loona asked, getting up.

Stolas nodded as Octavia and Millie soon left the room. Millie muttered a goodnight before heading in the Hospital Wing direction, no doubt to check up on her husband. Loona took the familiar route back to her friend's room, where she could already hear the young owlet princess crying her heart out.

Slowly, she opened the room and saw Octavia crying into her pillow on her big fancy bed. Loona didn't say anything as she closed the door and walked over to her best friend. By the time she sat down, Octavia slowly turned to Loona, who placed a paw on her back.

Sniffling, the teary-eyed princess sobbed harder and slowly wrapped her arms around Loona. "I...I...I-I'm...s-sor...s-s-sor..."

"Don't," Loona answered, holding her friend close. "You have nothing to apologize for."

All that did was make Octavia cry harder, but Loona didn't care. She was there when the hellhound needed someone to cry on. It was only fair she returned the favor.

***

After putting up silencing wards around his office, Stolas spent the next half-hour screaming in frustration before throwing his books and furniture around. If his parents could see him now, they would be telling him he was acting like a fucking baby, but Stolas didn't care. His parents never betrayed each other in such a manner.

Grabbing the nearest bottle of scotch in his liquor cabinet, Stolas nearly drank the whole thing in five minutes before landing on his couch in tears. All these years with Stella, he thought there was something between them. Not love, there never would such a thing, but trust and friendship. They had been married for nearly three hundred years and had given birth to a loving daughter that both cherished above all else. Early in their marriage, they had often fought about his dealings to help the lesser demons in their current state. Imp City was under his jurisdiction, and he had spent hundreds of years, making it better from the cesspool it used to be. Time went on, and it seemed they found some common ground as the arguments became less about that and just everyday stuff all married couples go on.

That was until he met Blitzo and started sleeping with him.

"Blitzy..." Stolas wept as he covered his face with his pillow. "I'm so sorry...forgive me."

He would never forgive Stella and her family for doing this to an innocent imp, and one very close to his heart. Nor would ever forgive himself for letting it even happen. Maybe he had done more with his wife or gone slower with their relationship, then all of this would have been avoided.

Stella would often ask why was it that he cared about Blitzo so much? What was it that that had caused the mighty and powerful Prince Stolas, who could cross dimensions and wield ancient magic, to fall in love with one of the lowest races in hell, which caused so much trouble?

He thought back to the days that caused it to happen.

***One Years and Half Ago***

Stolas didn't care what others said about imps and their cocks. The one he had experienced last night was as close to getting to Nirvana as one could get in his godforsaken dimension. Rolling over, Stolas tried to feel for his loving Blitzy only to feel nothing but the sheets and mattress. Sighing, Stolas opened his eyes, expecting to see his lover gone once again, as was often the case, but instead, he saw him smoking a cigarette on the nearby balcony without his clothes on.

"Blitzy?" Stolas asked, slowly getting up.

"Oh, hey. You're up," Blitzo said, shrugging. "Usually, you're down for a whole night after my dick's had its way with you."

"Hmm, I wouldn't mind having another feel of that slimy hard cock going down my ass right about now," Stolas asked, hooting with pleasure. However, he frowned upon seeing Blitzo roll his eyes and look away. "Blitzo? Is something wrong?"

Sighing, Blitzo flicked away his cigarette and turned around, raising an eyebrow. "Just how long am I going to be your monthly fuck boy, Stolas? I mean, what's so great about me, besides my dick and ass? Don't you have other guys or girls to fuck?"

"Of course not, Blitzo," Stolas said, slowly getting up. He walked over to the imp and wrapped his wings around him. "You know you're the only one I want in my bed."

"Yeah, sure," Blitzo snorted as he rolled his eyes. "We've been doing this for over a year now, and it's always the same shit."

"Not always. What about when we found each other in Loo-Loo Land, and our daughters became friends for the first time? Or that time you saved me from an assassin? Not to mention that time you took me to see the city as a commoner, and we ended up causing a street war! Oh, that was fun!" Stolas pointed out with a cheer. He never had such exciting times in such a long while ever since he met Blitzo.

"Yeah, but..." Blitzo sighed as he shook his head. "Look, I appreciate that you do what you can to help with the business, especially since you're well known enough to get us in contact with rich paying clients. Not rich enough to keep us out of the red..."

"That's because I'm not the one who buys a plot of land in Australia and then can't own it because he's not a resident or citizen of the country," Stolas pointed out with a chuckle.

"Hey, I was that close to getting my dream of being a ranch owner! Far as I am concerned, those Aussie pricks can go get fucked by kangaroos!" Blitzo yelled. Shaking his head, the imp sighed. "I mean...is this all I am to you, though? A sex toy?"

"Blitzo?" Stolas asked in surprise.

"I mean, let's face it, Stolas, save for the weird adventure we end up in by mistake, most of the time, you're just calling me to flirt with me or have sex. The only reason I am doing this at all is so we can keep using the book to get to the living world," Blitzo grumbled. "So you'll forgive me if I don't always find wanting to be some kind of object to be used as you see fit, even if the sex is good."

At that moment, Stolas' eyes opened, and he felt a painful sense of guilt worming into his heart. He had never realized it, but outside of the rare times they interacted, this was the extent of their relationship. Blitzo comes over with the book, Stolas quickly does his job with it, they have sex, and the imp leaves the next morning with the book. Sure, sometimes he stayed for breakfast and even arrived a few times for dinner, but that was only dependent on traffic.

"I see..." Stolas slowly placed his hand on Blitzo's shoulder. "I apologize that you feel this way. I wasn't trying to harm you or anything, Blitzo."

"Well, you aren't really hurting me. I mean, come on, I'm not a pussy," Blitzo said, rolling his eyes, but the twitch of his tail didn't go unnoticed. "It's just that I'd like to know what the fuck we are?"

"...Well, I'd like to be your friend if you'd let me," Stolas said, with a small smile. "And I think I prove it. Come over next week, without the book, and I promise we won't be having sex if you wish not to have it."

"Why? What are we doing?" Blitzo asked, eyebrow raised.

"You'll see, Blitzy," Stolas teased with a wink. "You'll see."

***One Week Later***

Stolas had been excited all week. Setting up the private time he and Blitzo we're going to have didn't take much effort to achieve, but the wait was so long that he felt ready to rocket into space. Just as planned, Blitzo arrived with Stolas waiting outside his palace as Reginald showed him the way and bowed before leaving.

"Sorry I'm late," Blitzo said, wiping some blood off his jacket. "Got your text in the middle of a hit. An entire group of preppy college girls who bullied some other girl into suicide. They were surprisingly decent fighters when their lives were at stake."

"You aren't injured, I hope?" Stolas asked.

"Nah, but you should see Moxxie," Stolas chuckled. "Idiot let his guard down and got his wiener smashed by a baseball bat. Boy, he and Millie are really going to not be having kids now!"

Shaking his head in amusement, Stolas motioned for Blitzo to follow him as they made their way around the palace. Blitzo looked around, bored out of his mind until they made it to the backyard, and his jaw dropped in amazement. Stolas quickly took a snapshot of it with his phone as Blitzo's eyes turned into stars at the sight of two white purebred Arabian Horses who were being held in place by two of his butlers.

"Are...are those...horses...real-life Arabian Horses?! From Earth?!" Blitzo asked with glee. He was clapping his hands and stomping on the ground like a child who just met Santa Claus. It was cute in a weird way.

"Yup, I borrowed them for the day from a fellow noble of mine. He owed me a favor, and I decided to ring it up," Stolas said as he walked towards the one on the right and started petting it. "They're well trained and quite a couple of beauties, wouldn't you say?"

"I've never seen anything more adorable than them!" Blitzo said as he walked over to the one on the left and started cooing at it. He petted its mane and scratched its ears while whispering to it. With his eyes light up, he pulled out a carrot and started feeding the horse while squeeing. "How are they able to survive in Hell?"

"My friend gets his worshipers on Earth to sacrifice them here in his name," Stolas explained. "Their souls then get sent to him, and he uses his own magic to give them a more physical form. After that, it's just a manner of training them to adapt to Hell's landscape so long as it's not some of the more dangerous areas."

"What are their names?!" Blitzo demanded, petting the other one too.

"Xander and Aragon," Stolas said before getting up on the saddle of Aragon. "Want to take them out for a ride?"

"Do you even have to ask?!" Blitzo soon jumped onto Xander like a professional much to the Demon Prince's surprise. He thought Blitzo would need a lesson or two, but he was sitting perfectly like he had done this before. "Let's make trails!"

With a kick, Blitzo got Xander to gallop towards the nearby woods while whooping all the way. Not one to be left out, Stolas got Aragon to soon join up as the two rode into the trees.

***Three Hours Later***

After hours of riding, trotting, and letting the horses do their own thing, Stolas decided to give them a lunch break. While the horses were eating some grass, the Goetia demon had summoned them a proper picnic lunch with sandwiches, chips, wine, and salads. Calmly biting into his salami and cheese sandwich, Stolas watched in amusement as Blitzo used a brush to work on the horse's manes.

Once again, Blitzo had surprised him. He had ridden his horse better than Stolas, and Xander seemed to be wholly relaxed under his control. Curious, Stolas shifted his weight under the tree he was resting on and asked, "So, when did you become so good at horses?"

"Oh, we had them in the circus I grew up in," Blitzo answered as the horse gave him a lick on the noose. "Aw, such a cutie."

"I take it they were hell-born horses?" Stolas asked.

"Yeah, all skull-like and scary shit like that," Biltzo said as he walked over to the tree and sat down. Taking in a fruit salad, he began to dig in before continuing, "Those aren't really creatures of beauty, however. When I saw my first photo of a horse on Earth, I fell in love at first sight."

"Why do you love them so much? I mean, don't get me wrong, I think they are majestic creatures as well, but why horses?" Stolas asked, tilting his head.

Blitzo was quiet for a moment as he closed his eyes in thought. When he opened them again, Stolas saw something that he never thought he'd see in Blitzo: longing. "I guess it's because...they always act so free. Like, they don't focus on anything else except the world around them. Running as they please, eating wherever they can go, and they always stick together as a herd. They never abandon one another and don't go looking for trouble. They just go around finding places to be happy and at peace."

Looking at Stolas, he then asked, "Have you ever wanted to throw all of these burdens in our lives? Jobs, taxes, constant reminders of how damned we are, etc? Take all of that and just chuck it out the window and go running into the wild? Nothing else would matter than travel, eating, and be happy with the ones you care about. No worries about the war between Heaven and Hell. No contact suffering from your surroundings due to Hell's nature. And nobody is being judged for their income or class. To me? That's what horses have that I want...what we all should want."

Looking up into the skies, Blitzo smiled. "I want to be able to go where I feel, do what I want, and be with those who I care about. Honestly, one of the big reasons I started I.M.P. is because I wanted to do something nobody has ever thought of doing. Don't get me wrong, I'm good at killing, and I like it, but I also know what it's like to lose everything, get screwed over, and not be strong enough to get the satisfaction of revenge. I guess I just want to make sure I can give that to others. Sure, they aren't all nice people, and I have killed innocent people too, but what can I do? I was born in Hell, so whatever salvation they expect from me is impossible. Heaven and Hell see me as some low-class idiot imp who deserves nothing. This is why I wish I was a horse, so I could just run away from it all and just be myself and free."

"...Blitzo," Stolas said in awe. He felt his heart moved by such a thought, and something was turning inside him. Lowering his head, Stolas felt a tear nearly come out as he realized there really was more to this imp than he thought. "I...I kinda envy you."

"You? You're rich, powerful, and are one of the few demons who get along with Angels. What do you envy me for?" Blitzo asked.

"Because I do not have the freedom or drive like you do," Stolas muttered as he looked at his talons. "All my life, I've been prepared to be a Prince of Hell. All without any choice. Don't get me wrong, I do like what I do, but I wish I could be freer. Read books, have tea, go out and explore places of Hell and Earth I've never seen. Find actual friends that like me for who I am and know who I am rather than just because of my social status. You've managed to make one of the most well known and-"

"Successful?" Blitzo asked with a smile.

"... interesting companies Hell has seen in some time," Stolas said with a smile, which made Blitzo grumble. "Sorry, Blitzy, but you really need to be better at managing your money."

"Stupid Australians," Blitzo muttered before leaning back against the tree, his shoulder against Stolas. "But you did also get one thing wrong, Stolas." He looked at the owl demon with a smile. "You do have a friend who likes you for who you are."

"...and you're a much better person than you think you are, Blitzo," Stolas said, pinching his cheek.

"Ah, shut up," Blitzo said as she stretched his arms and yawned. "I'm gonna take a short nap. All that riding made me tired."

"Hmm, that sounds good about now," Stolas said as he cuddled next to his Blitzy and wrapped his arms around him. Blitzo didn't seem to mind as the imp was snoring peacefully in his embrace a few minutes later. Smiling, Stolas closed his eyes and slowly hooted into a snooze beside the most comfortable pillow he knew.

***Later***

After waking up, the two decided to head back and rode all the way just as it was about to become late afternoon. Giving the reins to the butlers, Blitzo quickly spent one last time petting the two before kissing them on the nose each. Wiping a tear from his eyes, Blitzo sighed. "Those two are so cute."

"Just like you, Blitzy," Stolas said with a wink, which made the imp blush. "Well, I sadly had nothing else planned for the day. Stella wishes for me to dine with her and Octavia today, so I'm afraid this is where we part ways. I'm glad you came over, and we had some real fun."

"Yeah," Blitzo said, rubbing the back of his head. "It was nice."

"Well then, see you around," Stolas said as he turned around and was about to make for his home when Blitzo called out.

"W-wait!" Blitzo shouted as he rushed forward. Stopping in front of Stolas, the imp muttered, "Um, well, one of our jobs paid us really well, and I was thinking of having a little company vacation to one of those islands up on Earth that no humans are on next Saturday. Since I feel like I kinda owe you for the day, I wondered if you and your family want to join us? I mean, Octavia and Loona have become such good friends it kinda would be a nice thing to give to our girls, right?"

Blushing, Stolas gulped and rubbed the back of his head. "Um...sure, but there is one thing you should know."

"What's that?" He asked.

Sighing, Stolas muttered, "I can't swim."

Blitzo's eyes widened before snickering, and then came the full on laughter, much to the Prince Demon's embarrassment. "Really?! The super-powered prince of summoning himself to other worlds cannot swim? You're what, four thousand years old now? And all that time you never learned?"

"Have you seen how owls look when they are swimming? It's not very pretty. I still can't even believe Octavia knows how to swim better than me..." Stolas grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Well, then I guess that's one thing we'll do when we're on there," Blitzo said, wrapping his arm around the taller demon's waist. "I'm a great teacher at swimming! Taught my Loony everything there is to know."

"I don't know..."

"Do a good enough job, and I'll put my tail in your asshole that night while letting you suck my dick," Blitzo added with a grin.

"DEAL!" Stolas shouted with excitement at the prospect. Already his asshole was begging for that sweet feeling of being abused like a whipped puppy.

"Great, see you then!" Blitzo said as he was about to turn around but paused. Stolas tilted his head as Blitzo looked like he was debating on something until he shrugged. "Ah, why the fuck not?"

Grabbing Stolas by his shirt, Blitzo leaned the prince to his face and kissed him on the lips. In all the times they had slept together in bed, the one thing that Blitzo never did was kiss him. It was actually the one rule that he requested when they did so. Stolas didn't mind because he figured it was just awkward enough to be sleeping with a prince, but this was the first time their lips actually touched. Stolas had felt unimaginable power throughout his long years of living and crossing between the barriers of reality. He had been through rituals, summonings, and events that had changed him both inside and out.

Yet none of those were compared to the kiss he was getting right now. He had never been to Heaven, just Purgatory when he was allowed, but this right here? These few moments of utter bliss had to be what Heaven was like every day of eternity. Because Stolas had never felt anything so beautiful and lovely as this.

Ending the kiss, Blitzo did a 180 and started running towards the exit with his hand in the air, waving. "See you later!"

Slowly touching his lips, Stolas felt something that he had never felt before in his entire life save for his mother, father, and daughter. Something that, in all the creatures of the world he had bedded, never brought such a feeling.

Love.

With that one kiss, Stolas knew he had fallen in love with that damn imp.

***Present***

Stolas knew that he and Blitzo could never have what he truly wanted. He wanted Blitzo to be his partner, his boyfriend, maybe even his husband if things worked perfectly. Ignoring the fact he was already technically married-although not for long-there was no way the entire hierarchy of Hell would accept such a romance. Even Lucifer would be after his hide.

Only after their relationship became more could Stolas truly understand what Blitzo meant about wanting to be free as a horse. "Blitzo...I'm sorry..." he whispered. He had to find him. He had to save him. Even if it meant...killing his daughter's mother."

"Sir!" Reginald said as he burst through the door.

"Reginald, I said I want-"

"Stolas!"

The Owl Prince felt his mouth dry, and heart nearly stopped as his wife, escorted by his guard, rushed in with tears in her eyes.

"You have to stop them!" Stella shouted. "You have to save Blitzo before it's too late!"