Millie knew she should have been taking the entire situation seriously. After all, they had to rescue Blitzo before this strange parasite sucked his brain or something. But the moment that she, Moxxie, and Loona saw the armory vault open for them to access, she felt like Christmas had come early. Drool was coming down Millie's mouth as she eyed all the various weapons at her disposal, each highly crafted with the best of Hell's gunsmiths with only the richest could buy. The guns they had to use were cheap and commonly used, with the occasional special one saved up or taken from the human world, but this was god damn pure killing machine art.

They had everything lined up in the shiny vault, from pistols to sniper rifles. All displayed on glass shelves with added attachments and plenty of ammo and explosives around. Reginald walked inside a bit before turning to the others. "Because time is not on our side, I believe you should tell me what your preferred style of combat is so I can give you what would suit best for your needs."

"What do you know about weapons, Gramps?" Loona asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was the Weapons Master for the 15th Legion of Hell for over three hundred and sixty years before I became into servitude for Prince Stolas's family," Reginald stated calmly. "Since then, I have kept myself up to date on every new weapon made on Earth and Hell by personally testing it myself and inspecting it to see if it's excellent quality or not. Should it be sufficient, I work on making sure it's upgraded to the best settings possible."

Millie whistled. "And here I thought butlers only made tea and cleaned the place."

"We're more than that, Miss Millie. Much more," Reginald stated as he straightened his tie. "Now, what would you wish to use in this assault to free your boss?"

"Something fast, but painful," Loona growled, slowing her claws. "Weapons I can easily use when running and hunting down my prey."

Reginald walked over to the pistol section without a second to spare and took out a pair of pistols. "Damascus Steel M1911. A light and deadly metal combined with one of the most well-rounded pistols ever invented. Even the bullets are Damascus Steel with holy salt combined with gunpowder. What most humans don't know is that Damascus Steel is very painful for certain types of Demons. Particularly Goetia types."

Loona took the guns, twirled them around, and grinned. "Anything else?"

"Normally, I would suggest the Uzi, but considering you seem the type who likes to wield lighter weapons for your natural hellhound speed, I suggest we go with these," Reginald said before taking two guns from their stands. One was a machine gun that Millie recognized as a MAC-10, while the other was a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun. "The MAC-10 is perfect for getting rid of crowds of Demons in your way with its fast fire rate and extended magazine. You don't need to worry about aiming; just spray it, and something will be swiss cheese. The magazine also auto refills itself up to five times before you're forced to reload manually."

"Nice, and the shotgun? Does it auto reload too?" Loona asked, taking both weapons with bloodlust in her eyes.

"No, but this will more than make up for it," Reginald said, pulling out the ammo, which showed red shotgun shells with flame marks on them. "Dragonfire shells. The name speaks for itself."

"Hot damn," Loona said, taking all the weapons and ammo before walking out.

Millie couldn't get in front of the owl butler fast enough. "Me next! Me next! Give me something up close and personal!"

"Close and personal? Well, obviously a shotgun, but which one?" Reginald took a moment to think before nodding. "Yes, I think this will do.

He came back with the beauty of a gun that made Millie squee in delight. "A classic Remington Tactical 12 Gauge Shotgun. Filled with a breacher muzzle and barrel that SWAT officers use in the US for when they need something knocked down and blown away. We've added a guiding laser on the bottom for targeting, and the stocker is shorter than normal both for comfort and size. What's unique about this one specifically is that thanks to demonic gunsmithing, the guns fire two shells with one pump."

"Which means double the fun!" Millie shouted, pumping it. "What about something automatic? Oh! An MP5!"

"MP5's happen to be among my favorites as well," Reginald said, nodding to a broad set of them. "I think the best to suit you would be...this one." He picked the one in the middle of the row, designed snow white with a chilling atmosphere. "This one was designed by Hell's own 9th Level Deathmaker Firearms Company. Combined with the Bushnell Advanced Micro Reflex Sight and Rubberized grip for perfect accuracy and control, it holds an extended forty-five round magazine of Frost Rounds. As the name entails, it literally causes the victim to have parts of their body freeze up or shatter from the cold's intensity. A cold you only find in the lowest layers of Hell. And as a backup weapon," He pulled out a pistol, "Hi-Point Model JHP .45 ACP Pistol. Reliable and accurate with a comfortable grip."

With her new shiny toys, Millie looked almost ready to kiss the owl demon until she remembered. "What about something to cut? I like guns and all, but slicing and dicing is my favorite thing to do when it comes to killing."

Reginald paused for a moment before walking towards the back. He then came with a single grey and black rectangle of a handle but had no blade. Suddenly, with a button press, a silver blade appeared from the top end that looked thin yet sharp. Another press and the sword retreated back into its original hold.

"Perfect!" Millie said, taking it with a smile as Moxxie stepped up.

"Based on your performance in dealing with Vaax, you're more of a ranged fighter?"

"Yeah, I'll take something with long-range and something mid-long range if possible," Moxxie said, nodding.

"Easy enough," Reginald said as he walked over and picked up a massively huge sniper rifle that Moxxie took into his claws and barely stood with it without falling over. "Barrett M82 Rifle. 1,500-yard range. Semi-Automatic. Comes with Anti-Personnel rounds so strong they can tear through a car. And if you are worried about weight..." He pressed his talon to a small rune on the center of the gun, and instantly it felt as light as a feather for Moxxie. "The rune we carved into it adjusts it so that it's perfect for the user."

Lifting it up and looking through the scope, Moxxie nodded before asking. "And what about something for a bit closer?"

"Heckler & Koch HK416," Reginald said, getting two of them. One for himself and one for Moxxie. "It's the standard gun we usually use in this household. Comes with a scope that switches from normal to thermal. Controls are crisp and clean, the trigger is excellent for a machine gun, and the firearm is extremely easy to control even on full auto."

"Great, I'll take that and a Glock 18 as a backup."

Before the crew could arm themselves, Reginald motioned to sets of black body armor with Stolas' crest in the upper right corner of the chest and shoulders. "I suggest you take that body armor as well. Tengu are very dangerous to fight. This armor is made from a combination of Kevlar and Arachne Demon Spider Silk, so it's not only light and easy to move around it, but it will be highly resistant to damage. Don't worry about measurements; it's got magical charms to fit it for your sizes."

Pumping her shotgun, Millie smirked. "Those rich assholes aren't going to know what hit them."

***

With everyone suited up and geared for war, the three assassins joined the shadow guards outside in the backyard, where they would be transported for their assault. The shadow guards were also wearing the same body armor with blue tactical visors over their eyes. Loona, Millie, and Moxxie each were given one. Upon placing it over their heads, they were able to see various amounts of data such as a green glow among those wearing armor like them, rounds in the guns they were currently holding, and their own vitals.

Apparently, these were state of the art from the U.S. Military back on the human world that was top secret. Not that it stopped Stolas from getting them through his contacts on Earth.

"It also comes with a zoom feature, night vision, thermal, and radio so we can stay in communication," Reginald explained, now dressed and armed for combat himself. "We'll be able to issue commands and information this way."

"Where's Prince Stolas? We need to get this show on the road!" Loona said, gripping her MAC-10.

Reginald looked up towards the stairs leading to the palace and nodded. "He's right there."

Turning around, the three assassins gulped upon seeing the armor and weapon Prince Stolas had decided to use. It was black as night and looked like something you would see out of the forges of Hell itself. Small spike adored the chest and arms that seemed to have orange eyes opening and closing as if it was flesh mixed with metal. His greaves and legs were also spiked, but more designed for combat should Stolas decide to kick you. The others had no doubt that it would slash a portion of a leg off with a single sweep kick if he did. His wings were out in full display, but with a velvet-like armor protecting them, yet he could flap them around as if they had nothing on them at all. The armor made them sharp around the edges, meaning they could also be used as a weapon. Finally, there was the helmet. Owl shaped and yet designed also to give it a skull-like appearance. The visors were glowing orange with four eye visors swirling with energy, while the mouth guard looked to be something you'd see on a Darth Vader mask from that movie Blitzo showed them a few months ago. The most noticeable thing was the two long horns coming out of the top and fire wrapped around them.

But it was the weapon that was the most intimidating of it all. Every Noble Demon had a unique weapon in the family, be it Hellmade or Heavenmade, and Stolas' family was no exception. For in his possession was the legendary Gáe Bulg , the legendary crimson spear of painful death. Forged by the bones of an ancient sea monster, it was said to have been used by the legendary hero of Ireland, Cúchulainn. It is said that a single blow from this spear was enough to not only end your life but in a bloody fashion as well. How Prince Stolas' family got this spear was always a mystery, but seeing the glowing death aura around its dark red steel and a sharp edge that could tear them in half stopped them from asking.

Standing before them all, Prince Stolas slammed his spear down for silence as everyone stood in attention. "We all know why we are here and what we are going to do. Blitzo's life is top priority and rescuing him is our main goal. The secondary goal is to kill everyone in the area. No witnesses are to be left alive, not even my former Mother-In-Law, Brother-In-Law, or their servants. All of them I want dead. Understood?" Everyone nodded. "There will be three teams. Team 1 shall be the Assault Team. This team will be led by me, and our objective is to kill everyone inside that isn't one of Blitzo or us. Team 2 shall be the Rescue Team. They shall be led by Reginald, and their objective is to rescue Blitzo. Each of you will have a teleportation crystal that will take you to Judas General Hospital, where they are already alerted of what's going on. Loona and Millie shall be part of this team as well. Team 3 shall be the Ranger Team, led by Grimbeak. Your objective is to make sure nobody leaves the area and to provide cover fire from a distance. Moxxie, you will be on this team."

He looked at all his men and women sworn to him and sighed. "I know this is unorthodox. We are rescuing someone my peers believe to be not worth even a lick of a boot. But Blitzo is more than that. He has always been and will be someone close to me and others. Some of you, I think, have even started to like the guy despite all the messes he leaves."

"In or out the sheets, sir?" Reginald asked in his typical stoic voice but only ended up getting a few chuckles.

"Regardless, I ask you...no, I beg you," Stolas lowered his head. "Help me save him. He's not just someone I like having sex with. He's not just a friend that I love to spend time with. He's part of this family. Part of this nest. And if there is one thing that both Blitzo and I have in common, it's a simple belief: You never give up on family."

Upon hearing this, the three I.M.P members looked at each other as Moxxie slowly put his hand out. "For family?"

"For family," Millie said, putting her hand out.

"For family," Loona whispered, nodding her head and touching the others.

Prince Stolas raised his arms, and a portal appeared before them all. " Now, let's go bring him home."

***

He wanted it to end. He just wanted everything to end.

Blitzo gasped for air as sweat poured down his body, mixing with the tears dripping down it. Since that thing entered into his eye, he found himself in this nightmare that was always changing. No color stayed the same, and the sky was continually shifting shape and form if it even was one. It seemed like hours or even days since he found himself in this place, and it was tearing him apart inside and out.

He continued to wander around the black sanded desert he always found himself in when returning from these nightmares. Each time Blitzo would return here from whatever horror his own mind was causing him to suffer from. He had seen things he never wanted to see again. Witness events that tore his heart apart. A lifetime of shame, agony, and sorrow that he had kept away deep inside. All of which was now appearing before him one by one. Every horrible thing in his life that he had buried deep inside with killing, liquor, drugs, and sex had been playing nonstop on an endless loop. Each different in form and method, yet the same pain each time. He knew it wasn't real, but it felt real. It looked and sounded real.

"Blitzo!"

Covering his ears, Blitzo sobbed and closed his eyes. It was starting again, and it was starting with his big sister. Only three people in his life ever used his name with "o" in it, and they were all dead. "No! No! No! She's dead! Stop it! I know she's dead!"

"Help me!"

"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up!"

"Little brother, please!"

"Fuck!" Blitzo shouted as he got up and rushed towards the screaming. He knew this was stupid, and he knew that this was just a trap, but he didn't care. "Tilla! Hold on!"

Blitzo knew that he couldn't save her. He knew what was going to happen. The same thing that happened that day when he lost everything. Yet he just couldn't stop himself again. Just hearing his sister drove him to try in futility. Blitzo continued to listen to her moaning and crying, his heart pounding with each step as he looked over every sandy hill in this endless desert until he saw, in the distance, the bright lights of a giant circus tent.

His first home. The one that he never could forget.

Rushing down the hill with all the speed he could muster, Blitzo ran as fast as he could towards the big top. It's colorful lights and music would usually bring laughter and excitement, but Blitzo knew there was nothing but danger in this tent. One that his older sister, Tilla, was currently undergoing. And not just her; his entire family was in trouble as the memories of that day flashed vibrantly before him.

"Tilla! Barbie! Dad!" Blitzo shouted as he rushed inside. "Where are you?!"

He went into the center of the three rings in the middle of the stage, where he saw a cage of shadowy like figures surrounding a tall naked imp. Tilla's long beautiful hair was ragged and ruined with cum, blood, and sweat as the creatures creamed all over her like a savage pack of animals. Her naked body was ruined with claw marks and bruises as they raped her over and over again. A sight that made Blitzo scream in a rage as he rushed towards the cage like a bullet.

"Get off my sister, you animals!" Blitzo cried as he reached the cage. He tried to pry it open, but it was stuck. He saw his big sister, once so beautiful and sweet, being treated like a slave whore to these fuckers who didn't care about her suffering so long as their shadowy dicks had their fill of pleasure. He screamed and cried in frustration, but once again, he was powerless to save her.

With her bloodshot eyes filled with tears, Tilla reached out as the monsters continued to have their way with her. Blitzo reached out through the bars on his end, trying to grab her hand. "Tilla! Hold on! Please!"

"Blitzo!" She gasped, her mouth puking all types of contents out of it. "Help...me..."

"Tilla! Tilla!" Blitzo shouted as he glared at the beasts with hate in his eyes. "I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you all! Let go of my sister!"

One of the creatures seemed to have spotted him. With his slitted eyes, it grinned before taking his sister's head with one hand and extended a claw in the other arm. Tilla struggled and screamed as it raised her high into the air, her feet kicking the creature to let her go. She eyed the sharp steel claw inching closer to her chest. "No! No, please!" Her eyes then turned to her brother as she reached out to him in desperation. " BLITZO!"

"TILLA!" Blitzo shouted as loud as he could as the claw sank into his older sister's chest. He screamed in horror as it sliced downward, splitting her entire torso in half. Her organs and bones, along with a river of blood, slowly dripped out and flopped onto the floor, with her limp body joining in its pile moments later. "NOOOOO!"

The cage disappeared, and Blitzo stumbled onto the ground before running to the bloody corpse of a sister. Holding Tilla's remains, Bltizo sobbed as he tried to get those lifeless eyes to look at him with the love and warmth that he remembered from his kind, big sister. How she took care of him when he was sick or injured. The times she laughed as he did his own personal theater performance while encouraging him to follow his dreams of being a musical actor. Her heavenly voice that she sang helped teach Blitzo to sing. All of those happy moments were unable to stop him from crying as he held his dead sister covered in her gore and guts.

Closing his eyes, Blitzo held her close to his chest. "Tilla...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry....please don't die...don't leave me..."

"...Why couldn't you save me, brother?"

Blitzo gasped upon hearing that voice. The voice of his other half. He slowly looked at the bleeding and bullet-ridden form of a lighter reddish imp with ram-like horns. Her face was just like his, but feminine, and she had white tattoos all over her arms. Yet the only thing that Blitzo paid attention two were the bullets in her chest and back as she continued to bleed out in his arms. "B-Barbie?"

He could never forget her face because it was his other half. His twin sister had once been the best friend he ever had. When others picked on him for being weak and spineless, Barbie was there to fight them off. She would be the one to play with him when nobody else did, and she never once laughed at his jokes. They were a team, both on the stage and off it, and hundreds to thousands applauded them for their act. Yet when it did end, she had died, and he had lived with a hole in his chest that, to this day, never could be filled.

"Why did I...have to die...brother?" Barbie asked with tears in her eyes. She coughed up blood as she touched his tear-soaked face. "Why couldn't it have been you?"

"I...I tried to save you, Sis," Blitzo sobbed, lowering his head in shame. "I wasn't...I wasn't as brave as you...or as strong as Dad...or as smart as Tillie. I was weak..."

"...weak...pathetic...a loser..." Barbie whispered as her eyes slowly closed. "If only you had died...if only..."

She closed her eyes and stopped breathing, much to Blitzo's horror as his twin sister lived her last. "Barb? Barbie?! No! Nonononnonononononono! " He begged as he held her close. "Not again! Please, Barbie! Don't die again! I need you! We're a team to the end! Remember, Sis?! Please don't die!"

But she didn't respond. She just was a limp corpse that Blitzo couldn't have saved. His twin sister, his best friend, the one who always made him smile. The one who never laughed at his hopes and dreams. They were always together for so long and now...

"Why...why couldn't it be me...why did I have to live?"

"Because you're a fucking curse."

Gasping, Blitzo slowly looked behind him and saw an imp that made him whimper due to the hateful glare directed at him. He suddenly felt like a small tiny imp again, unable to stand up to himself against the man he knew as his father. His father was one of the tallest imps Blitzo had ever seen. A mountain of a man with thick muscles despite his thin frame. His black and white horns were shaped like a bull with his white hair combed behind him along with a white goatee. His face was adorned with black and white clown makeup while he wore a set of blue overalls and brown pants. His dark green shoes and gloves were covered in blood, and his long red tail swished back and forth yet was big enough to crush a neck with ease.

"D-Dad..." Blitzo muttered as he looked upon the imposing figure. An imp who had been tough but fair and installed in Blitzo the most important words he uttered about family. Yet these eyes before him were not of a stern but caring father, but one with utter contempt for Blitzo.

"You killed them. You killed your sisters, just like you did with your mother. From the day you were born, you were nothing but a curse upon this family," His father spat.

Despite holding his sister's dead body, Blitzo lifted himself and looked upon his father with fear and sorrow. He felt like a worm, squirming, and cowering before the imp in front of him. "It wasn't my fault! I tried! I tried to save them, Dad! Please, belie-"

SMACK!

A harsh blow from his dad's backhand sent Blitzo flying across the tent while dropping his sister's corpse on the dirt. Blitzo could feel his teeth nearly shatter from the blow as he looked around the tent in horror. Without warning, it was starting to catch on fire with the flames dancing around like slithering snakes. His father just continued to glare at him as Blitzo scuttered away with a bleeding lip.

"You've always been pathetic. Whining and messing up everything! You screwed up when we were alive, and you screwed up when we died! What kind of a man are you? One who acts like an asshole who wants everything to go his way and bitches when it doesn't! What kind of boss are you?! You treat your employees like shit despite wanting to keep them close because they're the only friends you got! What kind of father are you?! One who has no respect or love from a hellhound that he couldn't protect when the world hurt her and broke her spirit?! How could anyone care about you?! How could anyone, much less a prince, love you?!"

"Shut up! Shut up!" Blitzo shouted, growling as he rushed for his dad. He tried to punch him but just went through him like he was made of air.

"I can't believe I died saving your sorry ass," His father snorted as the flames got closer and closer around them. Blitzo gasped and tried to find a way out, but they were surrounded. His father just let the fire engulf him but not before saying, "You don't deserve a family, Blitzo. You just deserve to suffer for your sins."

Blitzo gasped and began to panic, his heart pounding nearly out of his chest. There was no way out. The fire was around him as clawed hands reached out and held him down. He screamed as the hellfire burned his clothes away and left him naked in the embers. The scolding pain entered deep into this soul to the point that everything just plain fucking hurt.

He began to fall into an endless cataclysm of fire and darkness. His screams unheard amidst the mocking laughter from voices all around him. He saw, in the darkening hellish flames, the sinister faces of many targets he had killed in the past, both demon and human. All of them were reaching out and ripping him apart with their burning claws, tearing him apart. He screamed and pleaded for mercy, but there was none.

"Murderer."

"Killer."

"Assassin."

"What did I do to deserve death?"

"Selfish prick. You got hard from killing me, didn't you."

"Was my life just a joke to you?"

"I had a family!"

"I had kids!"

"I was seven years old! And you murdered me!"

"You deserve to die."

"You deserve to die!"

"YOU DESERVE TO DIE!

"YOU SHOULD JUST DIE!

"DIE!"

"DIE!"

"DIE!"

***

Gasping, Blitzo opened his eyes and looked around. There was no fire or faces of those he killed. He patted himself and saw his clothes had returned, and there was no damage. Looking around, Blitzo realized he was back in Imp City again by some abandoned alley near the main street. There were...bodies everywhere...with familiar weapons impaling them. Rows of imps and other demons lay on the roads with expressions of horror in their last moments. Glowing white spears, swords, and bullet holes had torn through them like a hot knife with butter. His eyes widened upon realizing they had all been killed by Angel weapons. Which meant it was Extermination Day.

"Moxxie! Please, get up! Get up! Please don't die, Moxxie!"

"M-Millie?" Blitzo whispered, looking around. "M-Moxxie?"

He got up and looked around the alley before slowly making his way forward. There was no sound from the city. All was dead quiet like a graveyard. He then heard sobbing as two figures could be seen at the end of the alley. "Millie?! Moxxie?! Is that you?!"

Blitzo picked up the pace. He had to make sure his employees were okay. He needed them to be okay.

Upon reaching the end, Blitzo felt his heart stop, and his face turned pale. Falling to his knees, Blitzo sat there in stunned silence as Millie wept before him. "M-Moxxie?"

It was his Moxxie. The closest thing he had left to a best friend in this world. He saw him there with an angelic spear right through his heart along with a dozen glowing white daggers in his legs and arms. His face was broad eyed in terror as blood dripped from his eyes, nose, and mouth, combined with the other wounds that made for a pool of blood against the wall he laid on.

"H-How..." Blitzo slowly turned to a package nearby. One that had his name on it. The memories came to him like a truck at full speed. The early dated Extermination Day. When he sent Moxxie out to deliver a package to Stolas without any of them knowing that the event had been changed. But...but Moxxie survived...didn't he?

"It's all your fault!" Millie shouted as she glared at Blitzo with such hate it made him back away. "My sweet Moxxie died because of you! You selfish bastard!"

"I...I..." Blitzo tried to breathe, but he couldn't. His heart was pounding, and he wanted to crawl into a rock. Tears dripped down his eyes as he stared at the corpse of his employee. "Moxxie...he...I..."

"What did I expect from a boss like you?!" Millie laughed harshly. "You never cared about either of us. You just saw us as toys to be used by you like a child! Not as real people! You mocked and belittled him like a bully when all he wanted was your respect! But you didn't care! You never did!"

"N-no! No, that's not true!" Blitzo shouted, sobbing into his hands. "I cared about Moxxie! I care about you, Millie! Both of you are part of my family! Please, believe me!"

Millie slowly pulled out a handgun and pointed it to her head. "Liar. A liar to others and a liar to yourself, Blitzo. It...It should have been you."

"Millie! Noooo!" Blitzo shouted, getting up to stop her, but it was too late. Millie pulled the trigger, blowing her brains out, before landing beside her husband. "Millie! Moxxie!"

He tried to get to the married couple but found himself falling again as the world shattered around him. "Millie! Moxxie! Please, come back!"

***

He cried out their names, even when the darkness faded and brought him to a forest at the break of dawn. Blitzo yelped before landing on the ground with a bone-crushing thud. Blood came out of his mouth upon impact, and his ribs were killing him along with a broken heart. His two employees. His best friends. They were dead, and it was all his fault. He killed Moxxie and Millie. They were gone, and he was to blame.

He sobbed into his arms as he laid there on his stomach, trying to hold back the tears but failing. Millie's accusation could still be heard in Blitzo's ears, and, deep down, he knew she was right. How far had he pushed Moxxie around like a dick? What if he pushed too far or did something that endangered them all. No, he had done that multiple times, but did he ever stop? He knew, deep down, why he did it to Moxxie.

Because Blitzo saw himself when he looked at the young imp. He was seeing the young childish Blitzo who wanted to act and not be a circus clown. The one who was small, angry, and picked around with no respect. The one who was so weak and pathetic he couldn't save his sister from being raped and murdered, his father sacrificing himself, and his twin sister dying in his embrace. He hated that Blitzo so much that he just did everything he could to never be like that again.

Yet, here he was. Weeping and acting pathetic because he was still too weak to save those he loved despite all his time trying to be a stronger person.

"Blitzy?"

Gasping, Blitzo got up and looked ahead to where he saw a shocked and surprised Stolas waiting for him. "S-Stolas?"

"Blitzo! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!" Stolas rushed over and helped the imp up. Never in Blitzos life had he been happy to see the owl prince staring at him with such concern and care. "Oh, Blitzo, what happened to you? You just ran off, and I lost sight of you."

"I...was I...was I dreaming?" Blitzo asked, rubbing his head. He felt wrong. Something was wrong, but he didn't know what.

Slowly, Blitzo felt wrapped up in Stolas' embrace. "Oh, Blitzo, it must have been a terrible nightmare, but I'm glad I found you. There is something I've meant to tell you..."

Blitzo sighed in relief and felt the owl prince's warm feathers shelter him from the cold wind. He presses his horned head against Stolas' chest and his beating heart. For the first time in what seemed like ages, Blitzo felt safe. "What is it?"

"...I'm breaking up with you."

Blitzo's eyes widened as he slowly backed away. His mouth dry and his heart weeping as Stolas looked at him with glowing red eyes and a sinister smile. "W-what? B-But I thought..."

"Oh, come on. Like I would ever really love an imp-like you? A loser who is going nowhere in life? I admit you were a good lay, but I've had better," Stolas laughed with such a high hoot that it made Blitzo's ears hurt.

"But...but..." Blitzo couldn't speak. He felt his world-shattering around him along with his soul. He thought...he thought for the first time since... her ...that he had found someone, at last, that could fill the gap in his heart. Stolas, smirking, reached to the imp's chest and said, "I believe you don't need this anymore."

With a sudden thrust, Stolas' talons went straight into Blitzo's chest and ripped out his heart from the inside. Blitzo, crying in sorrow and heartbreak, stared at his beating heart for a few minutes before Stolas put it in his mouth and began to eat it in one gulp.

"Mmmm, such a good broken little heart, Blitzy. Tastes like your cock. Small, naive, and pathetic."

Blitzo felt his eyes roll against the back of his head as he felt the world spinning around. His heart area continued to hurt even though there was nothing left inside. He felt his body melt into the grass, and his spirit breaking itself from despair. He thought...he wanted there to be something between him and Stolas...but was there anything? No, there never was...it was just... a dream.

He closed his eyes, waiting for the darkness to embrace him. To shut him forever in its cold embrace. He had nothing to live for anymore. His family. Moxxie and Millie. Stolas. All of them were... were...

"Daddy!"

"Loona!" Blitzo's eyes opened up as he lifted himself from the ground. The moment he heard her voice, pitched in desperation, he felt his energy come back. He got up and looked around. The forest was dark now, and there was no sign of Stolas. He quickly checked his chest and sighed in relief upon seeing everything where it was supposed to be. He got up and looked around the forest. "Loona?! Where are you?!"

"I don't know where you are, Daddy! I'm scared!"

He heard her coming from the west, and he rushed forward without hesitation. "Hold on, Loony! Daddy's coming!"

Pushing himself to every limit he had, Blitzo ran as fast as he could without stopping for even a moment. He jumped over every stone, flipped over every log, and kicked through every bush to get to his beloved daughter.

He would not lose her like he lost the others. She was everything to him, and the only reason he was still alive to this day. That day he found her all those years ago was the first time he felt alive in nearly a hundred years since losing...losing... her.

For 19 years, he had taken care of that little hellhound Blitzo found in the woods, lost and hungry. He would burn the world for her and kill anyone who stood in his way. Blitzo would face off against God and Lucifer together if it meant keeping her safe and happy. He didn't care if she appreciated it or not or disrespected him most of the time. He did all this because he loved his daughter, and that was enough. She had given him something that he hadn't felt in years: a purpose and a sense of love. Hearing him call him daddy for the first time when she was ten months old was still among the happiest memories in his life.

Blitzo had lost his chance to have a child once. He would not lose the one he raised on his own

"God, please! I don't care what happens to me! Just not to her! Not to her, God! I beg you!" Blitzo shouted in prayer, running faster and faster.

The forest was starting to get more and more familiar. Blitzo saw things that reminded him of better times. A time when he was truly happy and yet divided in his actions. A picnic blanket and basket set up near a willow tree. A giant Ferris Wheel with bright lights and balloons. A wedding bell ringing in a stand.

All of these slowly made Blitzo realize what was happening, and while this forest seemed so familiar. It was here that he made his greatest mistake. The one thing that he spent nearly a hundred years to bury so far deep into his memory that he would never think about it again. All those mental walls and defenses he had built were coming down in shambles. Memories of the happiest time in his life soon appeared like flashes in his mind, but with each memory was the grueling harsh final one that ruined it all. The one thing that genuinely damned him both in mind and in spirit. Knowing that his daughter was involved now in such a moment made Blitzo push himself even faster.

He ended up making his way towards the hauntingly familiar Roaring Twenties style mansion where Blitazo spotted the glass ballroom entrance nearby. The various mafia dancing with their husbands, wives, and guests as music played in the hall. And all of them were ignorant in knowing of the horrible fate that awaited them tonight. He needed to stop it. Stop it before it happens.

"Stop! Get out! Everyone get out!" Blitzo screamed, rushing towards it with his lung screaming for air. He was so far away, and yet he felt so close to it. Desperate, he shouted even louder. "Get out! There are bombs inside! You have to get out!"

Getting closer, Blitzo finally saw Loona, but not the adult she was now. Instead, it was a little seven-year-old version of his beloved hellhound girl in a fancy pink dress who stared at him with emotionless eyes. Her stoic face was like one of judgment as he paused for a second upon seeing her. She was holding onto someone. A figure that made Blitzo go silent in both awe and in horror. It was a person he wanted to forget, yet deep inside, he never could. She was there whenever he saw Millie and Moxxie making loving faces towards each other. There at the corner of Blitzo's mind whenever he made love to Stolas. The future Blitzo was denied with her every time he saw a family walk by with their children. All by his own bloodstained hands.

She represented everything Blitzo had done wrong in his life and bore the sin that he carried to this day. Everything he had done since that day was to make him forget to the point where he didn't even seem alive anymore. It was just an endless circle of killing, drinking, fucking, and partying until he found himself in a shallow grave alone and unloved. A fate he no doubts about deserving. Until he found Loona all alone, and she reminded him what they could have had.

Blitzo didn't just save Loona's life. She had saved his life as well. Now she was holding the arm of the very one who caused Blitzo the reason he needed to be saved in the first place.

"Zella..." Blitzo whispered upon seeing the lizard-like female staring at him in her dark blue dress.

Her clear green-bluish scales were mesmerizing to look at, like the night sky at midnight, along with her soft grey underbelly that was smooth as water. The curved and gentle body that Blitzo memorized just by the touch alone under many passionate nights. Nights he had only ever felt similarly with Stolas in their strange, uncertain relationship, which only further caused confusion in his mind on their status together. Her calm and yet angelic face made one question if she had angel blood inside of her. Just by her yellow silted eyes of warmth could Blitzo feel like his soul was ascending above. How long had he wished to see those eyes again after nearly a hundred years of trying to forget they even existed. Her top scales, where one could see her horns', held a crown of roses, her favorite, and feathers from various birds.

"Blitzo..." she whispered with a smile. She echoed into Blitzo like music to his ears. His heart longing for her like a camel to water. Blitzo made a step to reach out to her...

BANG! BANG!

"Gah!" Blitzo cried out as he felt his kneecaps blow off from behind. He collapsed into the grass, his legs a bloody mess, as he coughed out blood. "Fuck! What the fuck?!"

He heard footsteps get closer to him, and he turned his head only to wonder if he was going mad. Because the one who had shot him, holding a smoking pistol in his hand was an exact copy of himself. His own grinning face looked at Blitzo with amusement as the downed one struggled to get up. The doppelganger knelt before Blitzo and pointed the gun at his head, freezing the original in place.

"W-What are you doing?!" Blitzo cried out, spitting in anger. "Who the hell are you!"

"You, dumbass," Fake Blitzo said, snorting in amusement. "And I'm here to fulfill my revenge, of course."

"Revenge?" Blitzo wondered before his eyes widened. It all came back to him. The party. Zella. The bombs. His revenge that he had planned years to avenge his family. "N-no! Stop! You can't!"

"Why not? Didn't we swear we were going to do whatever it takes? To not give a fuck about anyone or anything else? Didn't it feel great just finally killing them all and getting drunk afterward?" Fake Blitzo asked as he got up. "Don't you remember it?"

"No! I never wanted to remember it!" Blitzo shouted, tears in his eyes. "You have to stop!"

"I can't because this is what you wanted," Fake Blitzo said, snorting. "Don't be such a pussy. It's not like you really care about them, or anyone." He grinned down at Blitzo, who was staring at him in horror. "You don't care about anyone anymore. You numbed yourself so you couldn't feel that pain ever again. You love nobody but yourself. That was what you promised afterward, wasn't it?"

He raised himself up and began showing his fingers one by one. "Let's count your so-called family? Loona? She's just a pretend daughter for something you'll never have in real life. That spineless shrimp, Moxxie? He's a weak, pathetic loser who reminds you of your former self, so you just kick him around because it feels good hurting him, doesn't it? That psycho lapdog Millie? The only reason you keep that crazy bitch is that she's good at killing and says yes to you like a good little bitch. That rich asshole, Stolas? The only reason you're fucking Stolas is that you just need his book, and you know that deep down, there is no future for you two."

"N-no! That's not true! They're my-"

"Your family died years ago, Blitzo," Fake Blitzo said, poking him in the nogging. "Getting it through you're fucking thick skull. No amount of pretending your employees are family is going to change that. It's not like you're a good 'family man' yourself. You don't care about any of them for who they are or what they want in life. You just care that they give you the satisfaction of a fake family because that's what you are. A fake pathetic wannabe who's just good at killing people because that's all you've ever done in your life. From the moment you were born and killed your mother, you've always been a cursed soul."

"...no...I...." Blitzo tried to speak, but he couldn't. He slowly lowered his head and wept. "Yes...fine...whatever...just please...don't hurt Loona and Zella...please stop...I'll admit whatever you want...I'll do whatever you want...just please..."

"Hmmm," Fake Blitzo tapped his chin before shrugging. "Nah, I wanna see the look on your face."

With that said, Zella took Loona by the hand and entered the glass ballroom, much to Blitzo's horror. "No! Stop! Loona! Zella! Don't go in there! "

"Too late!" Fake Blitzo said as he pulled out a detonator.

"No! NOOOOO! " Blitzo shouted as he got up, despite the pain in his legs, and ran for the door. Time seemed to slow down as he pushed himself, tears sailing from his eyes, as he screamed for his daughter and old lover to run. To just catch them and save them. Or if he couldn't, then to join them in the fiery end.

Anything was better than being all alone again.

Yet, a second later, an explosion rocked the entire building and blew it to pieces. Blitzo screamed, both from the pain and the horror, as the blast sent him sailing into the air, calling the names of the most important people in his life.

Everything circled around him in a blaze of fire and darkness as he screamed for everything to just stop and end. It finally did when he landed again on the harsh black desert. The same one he found himself in the first time he arrived in his nightmare world and would return after every session. He lost count around the fifth time this happened.

He just lay there, cradling himself while sobbing his eyes out. "Please...help me...please God...help me..."

It would be sometime before the nightmare would continue. But for now, the few precious moments Blitzo had in the silence of his despair was welcoming.