Chapter Text
The IMP crew was on their way down the highway, with Blitz behind the steering wheel. He had made an appointment for Loona to get a vaccine and he brought Moxxie and Millie for backup. Loona doesn’t handle shots very well. Though that’s an understatement. She goes rabid if a needle even goes near her. But this isn’t Blitz’s first time dealing with it, hence the extra muscle in the van. But of course, traffic was being a bitch as always and the lizard driving was losing his patience. “C’mon! Get your ass moving fuckwits!” He yelled as he furiously honked his horn. The veins in his head looked like they were about to pop.
As Blitz continued rapidly hitting the horn, Moxxie growled and covered his ears. Not able to take the noise anymore, he slammed his hands down on the back of Blitz’s seat and pulled himself up. “SIR! Would you PLEASE stop hitting that?! It’s not going to make traffic go any faster!”
Blitz turned his face towards him with a scowl, baring his teeth. “Shut the fuck up Moxxie! One more word and I’ll toss you out the window!” Blitz turned back towards the road and sighed in frustration, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Christ on a stick…” He muttered to himself.
Moxxie sat back down with a thump, feeling defeated. Millie saw the look on her husband’s face and rubbed his shoulder to comfort him. “It’s alright sweetie. Blitz is just stressed out right now. Don’t let it get to you.” She smiled gently.
Moxxie’s gaze somberly looked up at his wife. After a brief pause, he raised his head and smiled. “Thanks Millie.” In place of a response, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. Which he happily accepted.
Out of nowhere, Blitz’s phone rang in his pocket. He growled and aggressively took it out, ready to rip this person a new asshole. When he put it up to his ear, he practically screamed in it. “What?!?!”
“Um… hi Blitz.” The voice on the other side belonged to none other than Stolas.
Upon hearing his voice, the imp groaned. “Stolas, I don’t have time for your shit right now. I’m taking my daughter to the doctor and I am NOT about to reschedule! It took me months just to get this one.” He spoke as he remembered the hours he spent calling the office, and almost ready to barge through the door to give the staff a piece of his mind
“I’m terribly sorry to interrupt what you’re doing, but I’m a bit tied up at the moment.”
Blitz was unsure of what he meant by that. “What, did somebody rob you or something?”
Stolas could be heard sighing on the other line. “No, I meant I’m literally tied up.”
The imp nearly choked on nothing as soon as he heard this. “Wait, what?!”
Moxxie quickly sat up. “What’s wrong sir?”
Instead of replying, Blitz put his phone on speaker so everyone could hear Stolas as he tried to get more information. “Okay Stolas, where exactly are you?”
“I’m not quite sure, but I appear to be on horseback.”
“Can’t you use your powers to break free and beat the person to a pulp?” To him, it was simple enough. But not for the Goetia unfortunately.
“I can’t. I seem to be bound by rope that prevents me from using my powers. Hence why I called you.”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Blitz groaned. Moxxie stepped in in his place. “What does this person look like, Your Highness?”
There was a brief pause before he responded. “A sexy cowboy?”
“It’s Striker, sir.” Moxxie replied with no hesitation. Everybody else wondered how he was able to pick up on that, but ignored it for now. There were more pressing matters.
“Blitz? I was hoping you could come rescue me.”
This was a hard decision to make. Either stay and help his daughter, or leave and rescue his… whatever the hell it was that he and Stolas were. He needed to decide quickly. Or he’ll run out of time for both. A few moments of silence passed before Blitz finally spoke after he sighed heavily. “Fine. Don’t do anything stupid. I’ll be right there.”
Before he got a reply from Stolas, he heard another voice coming from the phone. “Don’t you worry. Your precious little birdy is in good hands.”
Immediately recognizing the voice and incoming laughter as Striker, Blitz growled and squeezed his phone so hard that it got crushed and shattered through his grip. His hand rapidly went to the gearshift, putting it in ‘Drive’ and slamming on the gas. He hit people along the way but he didn’t give a shit right now. He wasn’t about to let Striker do whatever the hell he wants. He didn’t know where he was going, but it didn’t really matter. Even if it takes going through every ring of Hell, Blitz will find him.
It took a bit of aimless driving, but they eventually found a trail of fire leading up a giant mountain. Most likely from Striker’s horse. Blitz drove up to the foot of the mountain and parked the van. He turned in his seat toward Moxxie and Millie. “I’m gonna go in and rescue Stolas, while you guys wait here as backup.”
“But sir, I don’t think you should go in alone. It’s not safe.” Moxxie anxiously expressed his concern in hopes of convincing Blitz to not go by himself.
While Blitz knew it probably wasn’t the best idea, he also didn’t want to risk anyone getting hurt. He wouldn’t forgive himself if Moxxie, Millie, or Lucifer forbid, Loona got hurt. Or worse, killed. To him, this was the more careful thing to do now. “It’s okay, Mox. I can handle myself. Just keep an eye on Loona for me.”
He still had a bad feeling about this. It almost felt like he was saying goodbye. But he had to put his faith in him. Grasping Moxxie’s arm, Millie gently smiled at Blitz. “We understand. Just be careful out there.”
Blitz smiled back. “Thanks Millie.” He then looked over at Loona and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be back, Looni. I promise.”
Loona looked him in the eyes with a hint of worry. “You better not get yourself killed. Come right back as soon as it gets dangerous.” She said it forcefully, but Blitz knew it came out of love and concern for his well-being.
He firmly nodded. “I will. See you all later.” Blitz said his parting words and grabbed his guns. After getting everything he needed, he stepped out of the van and started heading up the mountain.
Scaling the mountain proved to be more difficult than he initially thought. With everything he was carrying, it made him break into a sweat. By the time he reached the top, he felt completely out of breath. He hunched over, panting and placing his hands on his knees. Once he caught his breath, he stood back up straight and headed into the secret entrance.
Inside, it was an open, cave-like area. The sound of water could be heard dripping down from the ceiling. Blitz was sure that it would echo off if he yelled out. He followed a narrow path downward, deeper into the cave. After a bit of walking, he spotted Striker in the distance. Blitz quickly ran for cover before he was seen. From what he could see, Stolas was tied down to railroad tracks and Striker was standing above him with a knife in his hand.
Blitz could feel his anger bubbling over, ready to erupt. But he needed to stay calm. He couldn’t let his emotions get the better of him. He quietly pulled out a sniper from his bag and took aim at Striker. Careful to make sure he steadied his aim at his target, Blitz slowly placed his finger on the trigger. He took a deep breath and prepared himself to pull the trigger.
Right before he did so, he suddenly felt a sharp stab in his back. The sniper fell to the ground as Blitz doubled over in pain. He curled into himself a bit, hugging his knees and trying to look at who stabbed him.
Through his blurry vision, he was able to make out another Goetia that seemed more extravagant than Stolas, which was saying something. The bird bent down to his level and looked him in the eyes. “Poor wittle imp, trying to be the hero.” He grabbed Blitz’s face with one hand, smushing his cheeks in the process. “How adorable!” He let go, throwing his head down on the ground, and stood back up. “Too bad. Your precious birdy is mine.” The Goetia spoke as he glared down at Blitz, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.
Stepping over the imp on the floor, he walked towards where Stolas was. Sensing his presence, Striker stopped what he was doing and looked up. “What are you doing here? Making sure the plan goes smoothly?” Striker smirked. The Goetia dismissed his attitude and continued with why he’s here in the first place. “Don’t kill this man just yet. We need him alive.”
He circled around Striker while he spoke. He then pushed him aside to get closer to Stolas. When Stolas caught a glimpse of him, his eyes filled with hatred and rage. “Andrealphus…” He growled.
He chuckled, taking his reaction as a compliment. “Ahh prince Stolas. You have my dear sister to thank for this. Though had I not stepped in, you would be dead.”
Stolas chuckled bitterly. “Do you want me to ‘express my gratitude’?”
The other shook his head with a click of his tongue. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. Besides, you’ll be following my orders.”
“Oh really? And why would I do that, exactly?” Stolas tilted his head in a almost mocking way and a fake smile plastered on his face.
The other Goetia pointed at something in the distance as he spoke. “If you don’t want your precious little imp to die.”
Immediately after hearing that, Stolas’ eyes widened as he looked over in horror and saw Blitz on the ground. His heart nearly dropped into the pit of his stomach at the sight. His shock was soon replaced with anger towards the bird who dared to use Blitz as a bargaining chip. Stolas turned his head back and clenched his fists. He so badly wanted to punch him and rush to Blitz’s side. But he was powerless with this rope binding him to the tracks
He inhaled sharply through his nose and glared at the Goetia above him. Andrealphus smirked at him in a taunting way. He then bent over and grabbed Stolas’ head by the feathers. His grip was like iron as he forcibly tugged upwards. He got up close to his face and looked him in the eyes. “Let’s make a deal. Do exactly as I say and I’ll let you go. If you don’t, the imp dies on the spot.”
Stolas turned his gaze to Blitz as a heap on the floor, trying to crawl his way over. He looked so desperate, like a cornered animal. Stolas’ heart ached at the mere sight. He didn’t want Blitz to suffer anymore than he already has. The lizard has been through enough. And if it keeps him alive, he’ll happily sacrifice himself
Filled with determination, Stolas firmly nodded. Not long after, Andrealphus untied him from the tracks. Without wasting any time, Stolas ran over to Blitz. He got down on his knees next to him, his hands hovering with hesitation over his body. “Blitz. Are you alright?”
Blitz slowly raised his head and groaned. “N-Never better…” He squeezed out through his clenched jaw.
Stolas finally reached out and touched him to provide comfort. “Let me see your wound.” He carefully peered over to look at his back. It looked to be a pretty decent sized wound. And it was oozing a lot of blood for the size. He wanted to rush Blitz to the hospital, but with the risk of him being killed, he sadly couldn’t do anything.
As a substitute, he tore off a piece of fabric on his clothing to act as a compact and stop the bleeding. Blitz inhaled sharply and cursed under his breath because of the pain. “It’ll be alright, Blitz. Just hold still as best you can.”
While Stolas was focusing on what he was doing, he suddenly felt a hand clasp over his mouth. A horrible smell wafted through his nose and mouth. He tried to struggle against them, but ultimately lost consciousness, succumbing to whatever he was forced to breathe in.
“St-Stolas…” Blitz cried out as he attempted to sit up. He reached out his hand. Before he could get anywhere, Andrealphus stepped on his outstretched hand.
Andrealphus bent down so their faces were close. He grinned tauntingly. “You two… are coming with me.”