Moxxie and the Big Exit

by lbbendykid

Summary:

Generations after the passing of Angel Dust and his family, their descendants are enslaved by Pentagram City's newest mayor, Crimson. Fortunately for them, Satan has a plan to free them from their plight. A plan that involves a small imp named Moxxie.

A retelling of Moses (Exodus)
Contains elements from VeggieTales "Moe and the Big Exit"

Notes:

In this story, Moxxie is born into the Buckzo family, but adopted by Crimson's wife. I made it so to give Moxxie more parallels to Moses.

Chapter 1

Summary:

Generations since the passing of Angel Dust and his family, their descendants have been reduced to slavery by mayor Crimson and his mafia. During a mass genocide, one infant boy is spared a terrible fate, and adopted into Crimson's family.

It had been ages since Angel Dust and his family had settled in Pentagram City. He, his pa, Husk, and his eleven siblings had long passed on, and their descendants had multiplied like rabbits.

 

This raised concern for the rest of the townsfolk, especially the new mayor, Crimson Knowlastname, a mob boss flanked by a shiver of loan sharks.

 

Not wanting those Wrathians (as they'd been called) getting any ideas of overthrowing the town, the mayor and his mob set to work placing them in the most arduous, thankless jobs in town. This brought misery upon the children of Husk, inspiring them to try praying to be delivered from their plight. None of them believed that God cared about them, being demons, but they were desperate enough to try anything, praying to Lucifer, Satan, anyone to free them.

 

As the Wrathians were all hard at work, Crimson, along with his assistant mayor, Alessio, watched over them all. Despite them all being too tired from labor to think for themselves, the mayor still glared down at them all.

 

Alessio simply looked down at his boss. Said shark had been working for Crimson longer than any other mobster and knew better than to speak to him unless ordered so. Nonetheless, he could tell that something was troubling the scarred imp.

 

Crimson slipped a cigar from out of his pinstripe jacket pocket and held it up to Alessio. Taking the hint, the shark pulled a lighter out of his own pocket and ignited it before holding it down to his boss's level.

After he was sure his cigar was lit, Crimson took a big drag before slowly blowing the smoke out of his mouth, a small but dark cloud forming before quickly dissipating.

 

"There's too many of 'em." the mob boss finally spoke up. "Parden?" Alessio replied. It was rare to hear the shark speak, even catching Crimson a bit off guard. "Too many Wratians." the mayor clarified. "So?" Ale didn't quite catch on to what was irking his boss, but he would do everything in his power to rid whatever was p*ssing him off.

 

Crimson's eye twitched, irked that not even his right hand shark, and the only demon he could consider a friend, wasn't seeing what he was. But, Crimson knew Ale was loyal, and was willing to spare him from his wrath. "So, they outnumber the other townsfolk ten to one. If they realise that, they might decide as a group to rebel."

 

Ale simply nodded. It made a little more sense now why Crimson would remain on edge. Though, what could be done about it?

 

As if his boss had been reading his mind, Crimson voiced a solution to the problem. "We need ta thin da hoid."

 

Alessio just raised a brow in question. This prompted the imp to scowl. "Ya know, control their numbahs, make sure there ain't so many in future generations." Alessio nodded, though he was still unsure how exactly a task such as that could be pulled off.

 

"Listen," Crimson was still irritated over having to spell out how to carry out his orders. "I want ya to round up the boys, and have them find and slaughter every Wrathain infant male they can find."

 

Alessio answered with another nod, this time more affirmative.

 

---

 

For weeks, Crimson's loan sharks barged into every Wrathian home, and every baby boy they found, they killed off.

 

One day, one family, the Buckzos, decided to take action to save their infant boy. Down by the river, an imp woman named Tilla was carrying her baby in her arms, shushing him as his older siblings, Blitzo and Barbie Wire, set up a woven basket for their mother to place him in.

 

After giving her baby one last goodbye kiss, Tilla placed him in the basket, stepped into the river, and saw him off as he was carried downstream.

 

As the basket was carried downstream, Barbie followed and kept watch over her baby brother along his journey, keeping herself hidden amongst the tall grass. Her mother had told her to keep watch over him until she was certain that he’d reached safety.

 

Time had passed, and eventually, the basket reached a river bank where Crimson's wife was panning for gold. Knowing who she was, Barbie panicked, wondering if the mayor's wife knew anything about the genocide occuring in town.

 

After submerging her pan and pulling it out of the water, she was surprised to find that she'd scooped up a basket. She then heard a coo. Curious, she took the lid off the basket. And to her surprise, inside was a baby imp.

 

Said baby had curved black and white horns. His white freckled face was framed with thin white hair. What really intrigued the mayor's wife was how closely he resembled her husband.

 

Her eyes widen as an idea struck her. For a long time, she and Crimson had tried for a baby, but their efforts bore no results. To say that her husband was p*ssed would be an understatement. It didn't make sense to her at first how she'd find a baby flowing downriver, one who resembled her husband even. 'Perhaps,' she thought, 'someone of higher power brought him to me. They knew of my plight and delivered this babe straight to me.'

 

With that thought in mind, Crimson's wife lifted the baby imp out of the basket. He was a very small one, but looking into his eyes, she felt certain there was a hidden strength buried in him; a sort of moxie. "Moxie... I think that's what I'll call you. Moxxie."

 

At those words, the baby cooed, seemingly agreeing with her choice of name.

 

Crimson's wife's beamed brighter than heaven itself. It was settled, she was going to bring home baby Moxxie, and raise her as her own son. If her husband and his mob had any complaints, they could all choke on a d*ck for all she cared.

 

Crimson's wife then set off for home, carrying Moxxie in her arms.

 

Unbeknownst to either of them, Barbie Wire had witnessed the entire interaction. The imp girl smiled, relieved that her baby brother was now in safe hands. She then set off for home, ready to tell her mother the good news.

 

---

 

Back in his office, Crimson was reading over some paperwork while chewing on a pencil eraser. He figured being a mayor was a huge step up, but he wasn't expecting such a heavy workload. It was stressful, but as long as he still had his power, he would push through this. He didn't get where he was by backing out of a challenge after all.

 

Crimson was starting to get a migraine, but he was distracted from his work, briefly, when he heard the door open. "Honey, I'm home!" Recognizing that voice, Crimson looked up to see his wife came home. She seemed oddly happy for some reason, and what was that bundle she was carrying?

 

Taking the pencil out of his mouth, Crimson asked, "Why the change in mood?" For months, his wife had been rather despondent, likely over all of their failed attempts to conceive a child. "Did ya find any gold?"

 

His wife's smile only grew as she walked closer to the desk. "Crimson, I found something even more precious than gold."

 

"Oh, yeah?" Crimson bit down on his pencil again, trying to mask his curiosity with indifference.

 

His wife than brought the bundle closer, and what he saw shocked him to the point where he spat out his pencil. Fortunately, it didn't strike his wife, but one of his goons had been unfortunate enough to have been in its path when the point impaled his eye.

 

Crimson could not believe his eyes! Paying no mind to his injured goon yelling in pain, he stared slack jawed at the babe in his wife's arms. He had counted on her to bring home gold, but instead she brings home a baby; one who bears a strong resemblance to himself even.

 

It all seemed to much for the don to process. After staring at the infant, tuning out his wife's words, his eyes rolled into the back of his head before he slumped forward, his face landing flat on his work desk, scattering papers.

Chapter 2

Summary:

Moxxie grows up under the protection of Crimson's wife before he is inducted into the family. While helping to keep the Wrathians in check, a bunch of sentient eggs tell Moxxie the truth about where he came from. This motivates Moxxie to question everything he ever knew.

As the years passed, Moxxie grew. Though he was smaller than average for his kind, he soon learned how to compensate for his lack of physical strength.

 

At a shooting range, his mother showed him how to use a BB gun. He performed so well, he decided that he wanted to keep on practicing. Growing up, he went from stationary to moving targets, from a bb gun to a sniper.

 

When Moxxie turned eighteen, Crimson inducted him into the family. While he wasn't happy that his son didn't turn out thick skinned like he'd wanted, Crimson was at least grateful that his wife let him learn how to use a gun.

 

---

 

One day, while Moxxie was out with his father's goons, supervising the working slaves, he heard someone calling out to him. "Moxxie!" Said imp turned this way and that, trying to pinpoint the source. "Hi!" The voice called out again.

 

Moxxie kept swiveling his head back and forth, now starting to feel uneasy. "Down here!" the voice called. Looking down, Moxxie took in the sight of what looked to be an egg. It was wearing a little black top hat and a yellow shirt covered by a dark grey coat with vertical yellow stripes. Around its neck was a black tie. A crack in its shell revealed a pair of glowing yellow eyes, a bigger crack making up its mouth. It had sticklike black arms and legs on its body.

 

The sight of the creature confused Moxxie to no end. He'd heard of no sentient egg demons throughout his life. What really caught him off guard was the idea that it somehow knew his name.

 

Curiosity getting the better of him, Moxxie knelt down to the egg and asked: "How do you know my name?"

 

"Word travels fast among us slaves. Even my boss knows about how your mama sent you downriver, saving you from being killed by Mayor Crimson and his mob."

 

Moxxie could only blink in response to the egg's words. 'Crimson, my father, wanted to kill me?' "I'm afraid you're mistaken, slave, I was never sent down any river."

 

"Oh, yeah." the egg looked as if he'd just remembered something. "You were only a baby when it happened, you wouldn't have remembered your mama, or any of your family-"

 

"WHAT'SSSSS going on here!"

 

Standing himself back up, Moxxie looked up to see a rather intimidating figure. He looked like a cobra with arms dressed in Victorian English threads. His attire nearly matched that of the egg, except his top hat had a single red eye in its center, which seemed to glare at the much smaller Moxxie, like both red eyes on its face... and the ones on his hood... and along his body!

 

"My egg boi issssn't giving you trouble now, is he?" the cobra asked Moxxie, still glaring. Though, now that he took notice, said snake seemed to be shaking.

 

"Egg boi?" Moxxie had never heard of an egg boi.

 

"I'm the egg boi!" the egg creature loudly exclaimed.

 

The cobra proceeded to quickly cover its mouth. "Terribly sssorry, sir, but my minionsss have a tendency to blurt out insane sh*t. Let me assure you, it won't happen again."

 

Moxxie just blinked at the egg and cobra, before shaking his head to try and scatter the questions racing through his head. Taking a deep breath, Moxxie put as much authority into his voice as he could as he gave an order. "See to it that it doesn't, and get back to work!"

 

The egg boi gave Moxxie a salute before he and the cobra set back to work. "Okay!"

 

---

 

Despite the snake telling him that whatever the egg boi said to him was mere nonsense, Moxxie still couldn't shake the feeling that there may have been some truth to his words.

 

This kept on bugging him for days, often causing him to zone out. It didn't go unnoticed by Crimson or any of his men.

 

At one meeting, while Crimson was giving out orders, Moxxie just stared out into space. Unknown to the imp in charge, the younger one was still playing the words of the egg boi in his head. 'Your mama sent you downriver. You were only a baby. You wouldn't remember.'

 

Moxxie was sent back to reality when he heard the sound of snapping fingers. He gasped to see Crimson glaring right in his face. "Moxxie! Have you been listening at all?!"

 

Moxxie could only stare back at his boss, speechless, and trembling on the spot. He wanted to just sprint away from the scene, but his hooves felt glued to the floor.

 

"Kid, it ain't polite to stare. I raised you betta than that."

 

Despite having a lifelong interest in the performing arts, even taking drama classes in addition to his schooling, Moxxie's theatre training never seemed to kick in whenever it came to Crimson.

 

While Moxxie kept staring speechless, Crimson ordered all of his men to leave and give him some time to speak with his son alone.

 

As soon as the last of the gangsters left, Crimson made a 'come hither' motion towards Moxxie.

He tried, but to even flex his muscles felt like a humongous effort for the younger male imp.

 

Crimson just narrowed his eyes until all that could be seen were a pair of glowing yellow slits.

 

Finally, Moxxie was able bring himself closer to the mafia don, dragging his thin digitigrade legs as if they were encased in concrete. Once he was within arms reach, Crimson withdrew one of his arms, and backhanded Moxxie so hard that he fell to the floor.

 

Moxxie blinked rapidly, and released the breath he didn't realise he'd been holding. Hearing his father's footsteps, he shielded his face with his forearms, fearing another blow.

 

"Moxxie!" said imp flinched hearing that. "Look at me when I'm talking to you." Shakily, Moxxie withdrew his forearms and left his face bare, forcing himself to look up at his dad.

 

"You've been acting quite strange these past few days. Keeping the slaves in check too much for ya?"

 

"Uh, uh..." Moxxie was able to make noise now, but no words would come out of his mouth.

 

Crimson just rolled his eyes at that. "To think, your ma and I thought those drama lessons would help ya learn to use your words."

 

"M-m-ma?" Moxxie could only mutter that one word. Growing up with a mob leader for a dad was luxurious, but it was also quite scary. He and his gang had always intimidated him. Thankfully, his mother was always caring towards him, supporting whatever interests he gained. It was even her idea to let Moxxie take drama classes.

 

"Hate ta break it to ya, kid." Crimson's voice snapped Moxxie back out of his thoughts. "But yer ma can't be there for ya no more."

 

"Huh?"

 

"You heard me, she couldn't stand your growing distance since I inducted you. So she left."

 

Moxxie began hyperventilating. If what that egg had told him was true, then his ma... wasn't really his ma. Was her love for him even real? If he really was sent downriver, why would his mother do that? Did he even love him?

 

All of these racing thoughts were too much for the freckled imp, so in time, his eyes rolled into the back of his head before he fainted.

 

---

After that fainting episode, Crimson threatened Moxxie to get his sh*t together, or else.

 

Moxxie was back out on the slave grounds, watching the Wrathians as they worked. He mustered all of his will to keep himself alert and not dwell on any more questions that popped into his head.

 

However, he was distracted when he heard the sound of a whip being cracked, and someone crying out in pain.

 

Looking around, he saw the cobra from days earlier, lying on the ground while a great white shark looking demon loomed over him with a whip in hand. Surrounding them were several more of those talking eggs. They were all trying to climb atop the shark, punch and kick him wherever they could, but he just swatted them all away, a few of them cracking open. Whip in hand, he struck at the cobra, causing red blood to gush out of one of his eyes.

 

Moxxie tried not to let himself be affected. 'He is just doing his job,' Moxxie thought trying to justify what was happening. 'that guy is merely a slave, it's his own fault he's being punished, being a sinner, he can pull himself back together; it's not like he was ever friendly towards me.'

 

Another crack of the whip, and more of the cobra's eyes began bleeding out.

 

Moxxie's fingers began to twitch, feeling tempted to pull out his sniper. He tried to shake himself out of it though, knowing that if he let his emotions get the better of him, he'd be in big trouble.

 

Shakily, the cobra tried to push himself off the ground, his arms wobbling like gelatin. Seeing this, his attacker proceeded to step on his back, forcing him back on the ground.

 

Time seemed to move in slow motion from that point. Moxxie had grabbed a pistol out of his holster and aimed it at the shark. Before Moxxie even realised what he was doing, he pulled the trigger, and with a loud "bang", the bullet struck the shark where his spine and skull connected.

 

Said shark just stood for a few seconds, eyes blown wide before he fell forward, hitting the ground with a loud thud.

 

The cobra and his egg minions stared wide eyed at the now dead shark. Their gazes soon turned to Moxxie, who still had his pistol in hand.

 

Moxxie gasped noticing all of the eyes on him. He then looked over at the fallen comrade of his, and to the pistol still in his hands. "Oh crumbs." he whispered, realising what he'd just done.

 

He was so flabbergasted, he didn't even notice the cobra and his eggs coming his way. Not until he felt one of them tug on the tails of his coat.

 

Letting out a gasp, Moxxie suddenly felt claws digging into his face as the cobra turned it to face himself.

 

“Do you realize what you’ve done, boy?” He hissed in Moxxie’s face.

 

“I-I-I-I-“

“He saved you, boss!” An egg boi exclaimed. The snake tried to shush him before anyone else could hear.

 

“Lisssten to me, boy,” he went back to addressing the young imp. “you’re not safe here. Not anymore.”

 

“Wh-wh-what… do I… do?” Moxxie stuttered.

 

“Leave thissss town,” the cobra fearfully hissed, “and don’t return.”

 

Run away? Could Moxxie even do that. Once again, he felt rooted where he stood. He suddenly heard voices yelling, having apparently heard the gunshot.

 

“Run, Moxxie!” another egg boi called to him. “Run away!” a third egg yelled.

 

“Go quickly,” the snake whispered again, “we’ll sstall them for as long as we can.”

 

With a shaky nod, Moxxie started to run off the work grounds, wanting to create as much distance between himself and Crimson’s henchman as possible, as fast as his skinny little legs could carry him.

 

But being off the grounds wasn't enough, Moxxie knew he had to get as far away from Pentagram City as he could. There was no way that Crimson would ever forgive him for what he'd done.

 

Chapter 3

Summary:

After fleeing from Pentagram City and falling into a well, Moxxie comes face to face with the most terrifying, yet beautiful creature he's ever met: Millie.

Notes:

For all of you M&M fans out there, here's an alternate first meeting between Moxxie and his beloved wife, Millie.

Moxxie didn't know how long he'd been running for, nor how far he had gotten from Pentagram City. The days and nights all became a blur as the imp trudged through the Pride ring.

 

Atop a hill, Moxxie could finally make out what looked to be a well. He let out a heavy, but dry gasp at the sight. Sure, it could be a mirage, or maybe he's just seeing things after all of his days of wandering, but none of that mattered to Moxxie at the time. All he could think of then was quenching his thirst.

 

By the time Moxxie reached the well, he was reduced to crawling on his hands and knees, too tired to even stand. He grasped at the stones that made up the well, his arms trembling and weak. It wasn't a mirage! This was a real well!

 

Taking notice of a rope, Moxxie grasped it and gave a shaky tug. If he was lucky, this well wasn't dried up, like the one he'd heard Angel Dust fell in many years ago. There was resistance as Moxxie pulled the rope. 'Good,' he thought, 'that means there's water in there.'

 

In his weakened state, Moxxie took what felt like hours to finally hoist the bucket to the surface. As he continued pulling, he could make out the wet sounds of water sloshing in its bucket. Hearing it felt like music to the dehydrated imp's ears.

 

As soon as the bucket was within reach, Moxxie made a mad dive to grab at it and drink down its contents. Unfortunately, doing so resulted in him letting go of the rope, causing the bucket to fall back down in the damp darkness below. As it turned out, Moxxie had leaned in too far watching the bucket fall, and tumbled down into the well himself, hitting the water with a loud "splash."

 

While Moxxie was now wet and more than a little chilly sitting in the well bucket, floating atop the water, at least now he could get a drink in peace. Although, once he finally had his fill, he looked up to the top of the well, realising he had a new problem. How to get out of the well? Should he try calling out for help? What if Crimson or his goons wound up tracking him down all the way... wherever in Hell he was?'

 

 

 

Moxxie eventually fell asleep inside the well. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he was startled awake once he felt the bucket being hauled up. He wasn't sure who was up there, so he remained stiff as a board, wary and ready to make a run for it if he needed to.

 

As soon as he saw over the well's ledge, Moxxie took in a surprising sight: a female imp! Though his glimpse was only brief, for when she and him locked eyes, she screamed, letting go of the rope and sending Moxxie falling back into the darkness.

 

Slowly but surely, Moxxie was pulled back out of the well. Though, as he was about to thank the woman who'd saved him, she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, threw him to the ground, and pointed a dagger at his throat. She scowled in suspicion at the stranger, asking: "Who are you, and what were you doin' in that well?"

 

Despite his vulnerable position, Moxxie could only stare up in awe at the imp woman. Her long black hair was tied in a high ponytail, and she wore a black choker around her neck. With her teeth showing, there was a noticeable gap in the front ones.

 

He gasped as he felt the blade press closer to his neck. "I asked ya a question. Who are you?" Moxxie felt a shiver go down his spine, though he couldn't tell if it was due to fear, arousal, or maybe both.

"Moxxie." he finally whispered to the dame above him.

 

Said female narrowed her eyes, still suspicious. "Moxxie. You ain't from these parts, are ya?"

 

"Uh-uh." was all Moxxie could get out in response. He could have sworn he felt his d*ck twitch with every word she spoke.

 

"Where'd ya come from then?" said woman still kept him pinned, not that he minded.

 

Moxxie's eyes then glazed over, remembering that he ran away from the only home he ever knew, and why. "It doesn't matter, I can't go back."

 

Slowly, the imp woman started taking her weight off of Moxxie, still keeping the dagger pointed his way incase he tried any funny business. "Get up." she barked at him.

 

As if under some kind of spell, Moxxie immediately obeyed. His eyes remained locked onto hers as he stood back up on his hooves. "What're ya gonna do to me?"

 

"If ya don't quit talkin' dirty, imma cut your throat open!" the edge of the dagger hovered close to his throat yet again, but Moxxie paid no mind, his eyes only on the woman who held it. "You're beautiful."

 

The woman's eyes widened at those words, and her hand holding the dagger shook a little. She stumbled back a little, as if Moxxie had just stabbed her.

 

 

 

 

 

Despite the rough and very awkward first impression, Moxxie was eventually led by the imp woman, whose name he'd learned was Mildred (a.k.a. Millie), to her home: Rough n' Tumbleweed Ranch, where he was introduced to her parents, Joe and Lin.

 

Neither of them took kindly to the tiny male at first, even going so far as to question their daughter on bringing him over instead of leaving him where she found him.

 

Once again, Millie grimaced as if her parents' words had wounded her. 'Why did I bring 'im home?' She'd always been overly aggressive towards any males who tried to lay a finger on her, and had already acquired a neighborhood headcount. So why did she go through the trouble of dragging this twinky male she fished out of a well to her parents? His past was still a mystery to her. If he refused to go back to wherever he came from, he must have done something rotten.

 

 

 

Over time, Moxxie wound up settling into farm life with Millie and her parents, finding peace he'd never felt during the time he'd spent growing up in Pentagram City. Though farm life had its challenges, he'd put up with Joe over Crimson any day. He also never carried a gun with him anymore. Millie's folks believed in brute force when in combat, a stark contrast to Moxxie's preference of brain over brawn.

 

He also grew closer to Millie. As it turned out, beneath that rough exterior of hers she can actually be a real sweetheart. She also had a sense of enthusiasm that always rubbed off on Moxxie, motivating him to go along with whatever she had in mind.

 

Years later, both Moxxie and Millie were wed. Both remained at the farmhouse, helping Joe and Lin keep everything running. Moxxie felt like he could live like this forever. Unfortunately, all things must come to an end, as he'd receive a reminder of his past.

Notes:

Not my best chapter. Millie and her parents are hard to write.

Chapter 4

Summary:

Moxxie catches sight of a burning cactus, much to his fear and confusion. It turns out to be Satan, who tasks Moxxie with freeing the Wrathians from Crimson.

Moxxie was out tending to the cattle when he saw it. Having so little physical strength, Moxxie's in-laws gave him a tame job of herding the animals on the farm. Having lived in the country for so long, Moxxie seemed a far cry from the fledgling mafioso he once was. Instead of herding demons, he herded sheep and cattle. Instead of wielding a rifle, he had a simple wooden staff. He was content living on the farm with his wife and in-laws, but a certain sin had other plans for the timid imp.

 

After Moxxie had finished helping his father-in-law, Joe, with branding their cattle, he caught sight of a small fire in the distance. Curiosity getting the better of him, the younger male imp slunk away with ninja like stealth. Closer, and closer, Moxxie approached the fire in the distance. He wasn't sure why, but something about that fire seemed unnatural, even by Hell's standards.

 

As it turned out, the fire surrounded a cactus, not much taller than himself. Looking closer, Moxxie took notice that the cactus wasn't being consumed by the flames. It didn't char, or darken... anything.

 

Moxxie rubbed at his eyes with his free hand. After blinking fast as a hummingbird's wings for a few seconds, he resumed his stare at the flaming cactus when a deep voice boomed from nowhere and everywhere: "Moxxie!"

 

The imp jumped at the sound, almost higher than a jackrabbit. Moxxie clutched at his chest, only focused on his now accelerated heartbeat, and the tightness that seemed to be constricting it like a python. He could only stare blankly at nothing, his eyes wide as a deer caught in headlights.

 

"Moxxie!" the voice called again. The imp's eyes darted left and right, fear and apprehension filtering through his being. Squeezing his eyes shut, Moxxie took a few deep breaths, trying to steady himself from his sudden scare. As soon as he felt calm enough, we slowly raised his eyelids, taking in the cactus that still burned before him. Wait, was he seeing things, or were there really four eyes peering at him within the flames?

 

"Satan!" Moxxie whispered. "Yes!" the voice was back, and the fire briefly grew bigger before dimming down to its original size. "It is I!"

 

"O-O-O-Oh crumbs." Moxxie stammered, now clutching his wooden staff in both his hands. Satan himself was talking to him via a flaming cactus! "W-W-What do you want from me, y-y-y-your highness?"

 

"Moxxie," the sin's deep voice vibrated through every fiber of the imp's being. "I have heard the cries of my people; the oppression they suffer in Pentagram City at the hands of Crimson."

 

Moxxie winced, remembering the Wrathians, and how the sharks in his dad's mob had treated them like dirt; himself having taken part in that.

 

"So unto him, I shall send you to liberate your people, and lead them to a land where they can prosper."

 

This confused Moxxie. Why would Satan chose a demon like himself for such a job? "I don't understand? Why me? My dad enslaved these people, I was one of his goons. Even if I tried, no Wrathian would listen to me. My father would never listen to me before, he won't listen to me now."

 

The fire then flared out, emphasizing Satan's anger at Moxxie's doubt. "You dare to question my judgement?!"

 

Moxxie quickly recoiled, fearing he'd messed up and earned Satan's wrath.

 

The fire then shrank back to normal after a few seconds, as Satan had taken a moment to calm himself. "Listen to me, boy! You are not your father, and you won't have to face him alone! I shall be your strength!"

 

Taking a deep breath, Moxxie tilted his head back up to face the burning cactus. "Keep your staff on you at all times." Moxxie then stared at the staff he still kept ahold of. "With it, you shall perform my work."

 

Just as quickly as the fire had appeared, it disappeared, leaving a cactus still alive and intact. Moxxie blinked several times. That whole scenario had felt so unreal. He thought back on Satan's lecture. Despite his promise to be Moxxie's strength, he still felt a lot of doubt regarding this mission he'd been given. He'd spent so long trying not to think about his past, the evil he partook in, the mistakes he'd made. How could he go back after everything?

 

There was also the life he'd made for himself out on the ranch. He'd put so much work into earning Joe and Lin's approval, and he was now happily married to their daughter, Millie. How could he leave that behind?

 

 

---

 

 

 

Later that evening, at dinner, Moxxie told his family all about his encounter with Satan, and the mission he'd been given. Everyone just stared at him in disbelief. Moxxie couldn't blame them though, he still couldn't quite wrap his head around the prior events.

 

"So," Joe finally spoke up. "you're tellin' us that Satan appeared as a flamin' cactus, and he told you to go to Pentagram City to liberate a race of slaves?"

 

Moxxie just nodded at his father in law. "That's just 'bout the size of it."

 

Joe in return let out a massive huff. "Bullcr*p! If he had a plan to save those folks, why wait 'till now and leave 'em to suffer for so long?!"

 

"Joe!" Lin put a clawed hand on her husband's shoulder, hoping to ease his irritation.

 

"Furthermore," Joe wasn't done yet. "why would he place such a task on someone like you?"

 

Moxxie then proceeded to hang his head in shame. Even after all this time, he still felt guilty over his lack of muscle. "That's what I've been wondering myself. But Satan claims that he will be my strength, whatever the H*ll that means." "Besides," he then added, "I've done sh*t back there I ain't too proud of. Goin' back means I'll have to confront my past. I've been runnin' from it for so long."

 

Taking this as her cue, Lin stood up from the dining table and walked over to where her son in law was seated. "Mind if I take a look at your staff?"

 

Moxxie's head still hung low as he gave a weak "Nah."

 

Lin then picked up Moxxie's wooden staff from its place beside him... and whacked him upside the head with it!

 

"Ow!" Moxxie immediately sat himself upright, his arms reaching up to grasp at where his mother in law had struck him. "What'd you do that for?" he whined as he began gingerly rubbing at the sore spot. He was sure that would form a knot over time.

 

"It doesn't matter, son," Lin kept a stern expression as she looked down at Moxxie. "it's in the past."

 

"Yeah," Moxxie kept massaging his head trying to soothe the pain. "but it still hurts."

 

"Oh, cry me a river, boy." Joe gave a roll of his eyes, finding the scene before him pathetic.

 

"Joe," Lin looked back at her husband, staring daggers. "I'm tryin' to teach 'im a lesson here." She then turned back to Moxxie. "It's true, the past can hurt. But there's more than one way to cope. You can choose to either run from it, or..." Lin paused, prompting Moxxie to look up at her. "learn from it." She then went to whack Moxxie again, but this time, he managed to dodge, hearing a whistle as the staff whizzed past him. "Ha! Ya see!" Lin's face took on a more excited expression, seeing that her lesson was getting through to Moxxie. She then stood the staff upright in her hand as she continued looking down at her son in law. "So, what're ya gonna do?"

 

"Well," Moxxie just sat there for a few seconds, pondering over his next move. "first off... I'm taking back my staff." Before he even finished talking, he made a lunge in Lin's direction, aiming to yank his staff out of her grasp. Unfortunately, he wasn't quick enough, and in a split second, he fo

und himself skidding face down on the floor.

 

Lin just chuckled at the display. Some things just never change. She went back to her seat, but just as she was about to sit down, a spaded tail wrapped around one of the chair's legs and yanked it right out from beneath her. Lin let out a yelp as she fell to the floor, losing her grip on Moxxie's staff.

 

Said imp by then was back on his feet, and took his staff out of Lin's reach. He didn't have long to celebrate, though. He took notice of everyone staring daggers at him. To his surprise though, Joe's face softened a little. "Not bad."

 

"It's settled," Moxxie decided out loud. "I will return to Pentagram City, I will confront my father,-"

 

"I'm coming with you!" Millie boasted.

 

"-and Millie's com- what?!" Moxxie turned to his wife, staring at her like she'd grown seven heads.

 

Millie stood up from her place at the table and approached her husband. "If this means so much to you, hon, then I wish to be there for you."

 

"M-M-Mills," Moxxie stammered. As much as he loved his wife, he didn't want to risk putting her in harm's way if he could help it. "I don't think you understand, what Satan is asking of me is incredibly dangerous."

 

"Danger? Ha!" More often than not, Millie at times felt the need to remind Moxxie that she was more than able to defend herself if needed. "I laugh in the face of danger. Ha-ha-ha!"

 

"Mildred," Both Moxxie and Millie turned to see Joe and Lin looking at their daughter sternly. "This ain't funny."

 

"Please, Ma?" Millie was a grown woman now, but she still felt the need to beg to her parents. "I can handle myself out there. And if anyone so much as leaves a scratch on my husband, I'll tear 'em limb from limb." Her voice lowered to a growl. The idea of Moxxie ending up in harm's way was to her a fate worse than death. Growing up, she had learned to fight tooth and nail to get what she wanted, and defend what she had. There was no way she would let anyone get between her and her husband!

 

“Millie,” Moxxie brought his wife’s attention back to himself. “Listen to your folks. They need you here as much as my people need me in Pentagram City.”

 

“Let ‘er join ya, boy.” Joe was getting tired of all the arguing.

 

Moxxie just stammered at him.

 

“If what you’re about to do is that dangerous, somebody’s gotta keep ya in one piece.”

 

With that, the plan was laid out. At sunrise, both Moxxie and Millie would set out on their way to Pentagram City. Joe and Lin insisted they could mind the farm themselves.

 

 

 

Notes:

Yes, I had to add a few Lion King references. Honestly though, Moses and Simba's stories are not all that different.

Chapter 5

Summary:

Moxxie and Millie journey to Pentagram City, where the former is reunited with his birth family, the Buckzos.

Sunrise came, and Moxxie and Millie had gathered everything they would need for their journey. Moxxie kept his wooden staff on him, and Millie had cut her hair down to a messy bob, not unlike her mother's.

 

Before they could board the horse Joe and Lin loaned them, Millie rushed back to her parents to give them one last goodbye hug. "I'm gonna miss you both." she tried to suppress a sob.

 

"Ya sure ya can handle this?" Lin of course couldn't help but worry for her daughter. She and Joe had faith in her ability to hold her own, but she was going to be away from them for an indefinite amount of time.

 

"Of course, Ma." As nervous as Millie was about accompanying her husband on his mission from Satan, she couldn't bare to lose him if she could help it.

 

After the hug was broken, Millie went ahead and mounted the horse before helping Moxxie aboard to settle behind her. Grabbing ahold of the reigns, Millie lifted her legs before slamming them back down against the horses sides. Said horse let out a whiny as it reared up on its hind legs, startled from the pain of Millie's spurs stabbing it. Moxxie, meanwhile, clung to his wife's waist for dear life. Since she had the most experience, he figured it would make sense to let Millie have the reigns.

 

As the horse descended back to the ground, it set off into a run, carrying the imp husband and wife on its back. "Yee-f*cking-haw!" Millie shouted as they rode off.

 

They were on their way to Pentagram City.

 

After days and days worth of travel, Moxxie and Millie came upon a trio of imps doing acrobatic stunts. Well, the two younger ones were performing, while the oldest carried a sign advertising Pentagram City. They all had curved horns, resembling those of mountain goats

 

Curious, Millie steered the horse towards the imps. "Howdy, there!" The oldest imp looked up at Millie, his eyes looking rather tired. "I reckon this is Pentagram City by chance?"

 

"Read the sign." he waved the sign up in Millie's direction. His voice was awfully scratchy and hoarse, and he seemed more than a little annoyed.

 

Regardless of his attitude, Millie smiled. "My husband has official business here."

 

"Eh." The old imp just gave a small, uninterested shrug.

 

"I'll take it from here, Millie." Moxxie offered. He then slid himself out of the saddle, only to miss the wrung and fall flat on his face. Despite the rough start, Moxxie stood himself up and dusted the sand off is clothes.

 

Behind the older imp, the performing duo were in the middle of a double cartwheel when they caught sight of the imp standing before their father. Recognizing him, they were so overcome with shock that they collapsed in a heap.

 

The older one turned back at them, glaring daggers. "What the f*ck was that?!"

 

The younger imps disentangled themselves from each other before standing themselves back up. They appeared to be twins. The male wore a white dress shirt and black pants with suspenders, black boots, and a choker with a red skull charm on it. Half of his face was red, while the remaining half was scarred white. Beside him was a similar looking female. She wore a red and white striped dress, a dark blue vest, and black ankle high boots.

 

"It's Moxxie," the male spoke up.

 

The older imp didn't seem impressed with the excuse, his glare unyielding.

 

The female gave a roll of her own eyes before speaking up. "Our brother? The one Momma sent downriver?"

 

"Brother?" Moxxie's eyes went wide as saucers at her words.

 

"That's right, we're your family, Mox-Mox." The male twin had no shame in his words whatsoever.

 

The elderly imp stroked his goatee as he took a closer look at the outsider. "Wait a minute, ain't you the mayor's son?"

 

Moxxie wasn't sure how to respond to that. He'd been avoiding thinking about who his true family was for years since he'd split town.

 

"Pop," the female spoke again. "He was born from our momma, same as us."

 

Her "pop" turned to look at her before giving her a huff. "He may have the same momma as you and Blitzo, Barbie, but he sure as sh*t didn't come outta my sperm sack."

 

"Barbie?" Moxxie still stood there, dumbfounded on how these strangers recognized him.

 

"Yes," Now Barbie turned to Moxxie, "I am Barbie Wire, your older sister." She then pointed behind her towards her brother, whose eyes were crossed while his lizard like tongue stuck out. "And that f*cker is our brother, Blitzo."

 

Blitzo cleared his throat. "Actually, the "O" is silent now. So call me Blitz." He then gave Moxxie a smug grin.

 

Barbie then mockingly made jazz hands towards her father. "And this is our Poppa, Cash Buckzo."

 

"Well..." This was a lot for Moxxie to take in. These Wrathians were his actual birth family?

 

"Where'd ya get the horse?" Blitz snapped Moxxie out of his thoughts. He was staring, almost entranced, at the steed on which Millie was still aboard.

 

Millie then decided to hop off herself, managing to land more gracefully than her husband. She kept ahold of the reigns though, as she decided to introduce herself. "This steed is from my family's ranch." She explained to the enthralled Blitz.

 

"Who's the gal?" Cash looked at Moxxie while pointing to Millie.

 

"Oh, th-that's Millie, she's my wife."

 

Cash's gaze narrowed as he stared down Moxxie. "So, ya shot one of the mayor's goons, only to chicken out and split town. While the rest of us are being worked to the bone by those gangsters, you go and get hitched to a farm girl?"

 

"I came back, didn't I?" Moxxie felt that if Cash was intending to make him feel guilty, he sure as h*ll was doing an excellent job.

 

"Why did you come back?" Barbie had a stern gaze on her younger brother, but her eyes betrayed a sense of curiosity.

 

Taking a deep breath, Moxxie readied himself to explain. "Satan has sent me back here to free you and the rest our people from Crimson's control."

 

Cash and Barbie just exchanged a glance, neither one knowing whether to believe him or not.

 

"I know, I know, it makes no sense why he chose me for this mission. But if I don't go along, who knows what will happen?"

 

"And just how do you plan on doing that? You think y'all can just march straight up to the mayor, demand that he let us leave town, and he'll immediately oblige?" Cash was always the skeptic.

 

"O-O-Of course not. I've known him for a long time, and I know that he's stubborn as a mule." Moxxie then looked down, not wanting to make eye contact as he continued. "Besides, I was never good at speaking up to him before."

 

"Ya ever try imagining him in his underwear?" Blitz suggested. He seemed done fawning over the horse and was now invested in learning about his brother's mission.

 

Moxxie looked up at the imp who was supposed to be his brother and took notice of the suggestive eyebrow wiggle he made. "I've tried that trick once. Didn't work out too well."

 

"If talking to him won't work," Cash decided to add a suggestion of his own. "how about you beat him with your stick." He pointed towards the wooden staff Moxxie kept on him.

 

Looking at it, Moxxie winced, remembering the "lesson" his mother-in-law gave him. He almost wanted to massage the place on his head where Lin had struck him. "Well... about my stick... Satan told me I'll be needing it to carry out his deeds."

 

Blitz then proceeded to step closer to his younger brother. "I dunno what exactly Satan has planned, or how you fit into all of this, but if this really is our chance to get outta this town, I'll help ya. Since ya got bad stage fright around the mayor, I'll do the talkin'. Meanwhile, you can use the stick to do whatever Satan says to."

 

Moxxie smiled, relieved to know that at least one Wrathain was on his side.

 

Blitz, Moxxie, and Millie made their way through the streets of Pentagram City, on their way to the mayor's office. The other townsfolk watched as they walked by, curious about the events that would soon transpire.

 

Without warning, Moxxie flings open the door to Crimson's office. Inside, Crimson is holding a glass of gin on the rocks, Alessio is at his side, as usual, while another goon is typing a telegram. All three of them pause their activities and turn to look at Moxxie.

 

Unfortunately, Moxxie's words die on his tongue before he can speak up. So he just stands there, trembling like a leaf and sputtering nonsense. His adoptive father and his goons continue to watch him expectantly. 'Come on, Moxxie, don't be intimidated.' Moxxie tried to motivate himself to speak up. 'Try the underwear trick again.' Moxxie attempted to imagine Crimson and his men in just white undershirts and boxers. This did not help, realizing just how attractive Crimson especially looked in his imagination. 'Oh no! He's hot!'

 

Crimson's stern gaze transitioned into a smirk. It may have been years since he'd left, but he'd recognized the imp before him. "Well, well, well. Da prodigal son has retoined."

 

Moxxie was still frozen to the spot when Blitz came in from behind. "Sorry 'bout that, I-" The older brother took notice of the audience before them. Moxxie then proceeded to whisper to Blitz while Crimson dismissed his goons, sans Alessio.

 

"Say..." Crimson found the sight before him puzzling. Moxxie had never willingly spoken to a Wrathain before. "Ain't you one of dose coicus freaks?"

 

"Who, me?" Blitz looked up to meet the mayor's eye level. It helped that they were similar in height. "What about it?"

 

"What's a guy like you doin', tryin' ta convince my son ta join ya troupe?"

 

Blitz cleared his throat. In truth, the family circus fell apart years ago, not that it mattered at the moment. "Nah, I'm just catching up with my baby brother is all. He came home on official business from Satan, and has entrusted me to be his voice."

 

"Brother?" Crimson could not make heads nor tails of what he was hearing.

 

"Yep," Blitz seemed almost proud to announce Moxxie's true heritage to the mayor. "that foundling your wife took in all those years ago was born a Buckzo."

 

Moxxie waved Blitz down to whisper to him again. Once that was done, he faced Crimson again.

 

"On behalf of Satan, we demand you let his people go."

 

Crimson just blinked at them for a few seconds. "What was dat?"

 

Blitz just rolled his eyes. "Satan demands that you let us Wrathians leave Pentagram City, release your hold over us, we want out of this f*cking town!"

 

"Let ya go?!" Crimson looked up from the document he was reading to meet Blitz' eye again.

 

"You got it, b*tch!" Blitz was sure that this would work.

 

"And what if I don't?"

 

Moxxie whispered the next statement to Blitz before holding his staff before him.

 

The older brother cleared his throat, taking Moxxie holding his staff parallel to the floor as his cue. "Behold! The power of Satan!"

 

At that, Moxxie dropped his staff, letting it fall to the wooden floor.

 

Crimson and Alessio just stared down, unimpressed. Suddenly, the staff began to shake. Before everyone's eyes, Moxxie's wooden staff transformed into a pale serpent. Its top scales were pale as porcelain, with vertical white and pink stripes lining its underbelly. It reared its head up to make eye contact with the mayor.

 

Crimson and Alessio stared wide eyed at the serpent before them, unsure what to make of it. Eventually, Crimson looked back towards Moxxie and Blitz. "Nice parlour trick."

 

Both brothers just exchanged a glance. This serpent looked real to them. Almost like a form Lucifer himself would assume.

 

Crimson turned to his assistant mayor and nodded in the brothers' direction. Alessio stepped forward and produced a black snake firework pellet and a book of matches from the pockets of his jacket. After setting the pellet on the floor, he ignited one of the matches and set the firework alight. Within seconds, the pellet spiralled into a serpentine shape, stopping nose to nose with the pale serpent. Said serpent appeared unimpressed and quickly nipped the head off the firework.

 

Crimson could only give Ale a sad shake of his head as he returned to his side. The mayor turned back to the imp pair before him and his assistant mayor to speak once more. "Such a shame the family circus burned down, your snake trick would have really drawn in a crowd."

 

Without a word, Moxxie knelt down and took his serpent into his clawed hands. As soon as it was off the floor, it turned back into Moxxie's wooden staff.

 

"Ya really think that's gonna make me let your people go? Well, you thought wrong. If Satan cared that much about his subjects, why didn't he do anything about it years ago?" Crimson looked at Moxxie specifically for his next question. "In addition, why would he choose you as his errand boy? You've got no more backbone now than before."

 

Moxxie could only turn his gaze to the floor, ashamed.

 

Crimson took a deep breath, trying to keep his cool. "Look, since I'm in a generous mood right now, I'll make ya an offa ya can't refuse."

 

This prompted the younger to look back up at him.

 

"If you quit this so called mission, I'll pardon you for dat stunt you pulled off all those years ago."

 

Now, this was unexpected. Moxxie didn't think his father would even consider sparing him, remembering all of the demons he'd slayed for crossing him. Then again, he was also demanding that he betray Satan, and his people.

 

"It's up to you, kid." Crimson locked eyes with his younger look alike. "Come back with me, or stay against me; live, or die... make your choice."

 

Moxxie then grabbed ahold of Blitz' sleeve, and the two of them quickly made a dash out the door.

 

Crimson could only stare, befuddled at what he just saw. His grip tightened on his gin on the rocks, causing the glass to crack a little. Realising this, he quickly set it down on a coaster on his desk before looking back up at Alessio. "Double the Wrathians' workloads. I ain't lettin' that boy get too bold."

 

Alessio just nodded along, watching his employer pace around the office.

 

"The nerve of that kid. After disappearing for an entire decade, he decides to finally show his face again. And instead of coming back to beg for mercy, he tries to make demands of me. Power of Satan my ass."

 

"He'll be back."

 

This prompted Crimson to pause his pacing and look up at Alessio. "What'd ya say?"

 

"Your son, he'll come back to make the same demand."

 

Crimson just gave Ale a weak shrug. "Eh, I ain't too worried about it."

 

"This isn't over, sir. If anything, it's only the beginning."

 

Sure enough, the workload was doubled for the Wrathians. To say that they were all p*ssed was an understatement.

 

Inside the Buckzos' residence, Moxxie sat on the floor, sadly looking down at the staff in his hands. All that ran through his mind was how he had failed his people.

 

"Moxxie?"

 

He looked up at the sound of his wife's voice, and sure enough, Millie was right there, looking down at him in concern.

 

"What's eatin' ya, baby?"

 

"Oh, nothing," Moxxie was able to add a little sarcasm to his saddened tone. "just thinkin' about how I failed to convince the mayor to free my people, everyone's workloads have doubled, and they all blame me for it."

 

With that, Millie proceeded to sit down beside her husband. "So, things didn't work out the first time. That ain't no reason to call it quits."

 

"But, I was sent to free them. Instead, I've made their lives even worse than before. Maybe Satan chose the wrong demon for the job."

 

Suddenly, the door opened, and in walked a female hellhound with gray and white fur. She had long silver hair running down the left side of her head. Her attire consisted of a black boobtube, a red flannel vest, and black short shorts. Around her neck was a black choker decorated with spikes. "Hey, Uncle," she called in a less than enthusiastic tone. "you've got visiters."

 

Once she stepped out of the doorway, Moxxie and Millie took in the sight of a horde of egg shaped demons in Victorian garb. They all stared at the married couple before one exclaimed: "Moxxie's home!" The rest all cheered as they hurried up to Moxxie, frantically asking questions about where he's been, who the lady with him was, etc.

 

The paused when they heard someone whistling. It was the hellhound. "Alright, egg bois, hold your horses. Uncle Moxxie's had a hard day and needs some space."

 

"Okey-dokey, boss Loona!" they all saluted the hound, seemingly oblivious to her apathy.

 

Millie then stood back up, deciding to contribute. "If it's any aid to you gentlemen, y'all can always speak to me."

 

The egg bois just stared up at her and blinked.

 

"Oh, where are my manners?" Millie realized she hadn't properly introduced herself yet. "My name is Mille, and I am Moxxie's wife."

 

Now the eggs had all sorts of questions for her. They began rapid firing them as she and Loona led them to another room; "How did you and Moxxie meet up?" "Are you planning on having kids?"

 

Moxxie was then left alone, but not for long. Cash, Blitz, Barbie, and a rather familiar cobra let themselves inside. All of them looked exhausted from the extra workload thrust upon them.

 

"Heya, Mox." Blitz tried to present a bit of merriment towards his younger brother, only for him to go back to staring at the floor.

 

The cobra crossed his arms as he let out a huff. "SSServes you right, thinking you could watlzz right back into town and make demandssss to the mayor. If you'd sssimply ssstayed gone l told you to, none of thisss would have happened."

 

Blitz just sent a glare at the snake. "Sir Pentious, the main reason he came was because Satan chose him to help liberate us from our plight."

 

Sir Pentious just rolled his eyes before quipping back. "And look how that turned out. Your brother doess an illusssion with hisss sstaff, and the mayor disssmissed it as circuss sh*t."

 

"Well, the mayor doesn't fully realise who he's f*cking with."

 

"Enough!" Barbie placed himself between his brother and the cobra esque sinner before turning to speak to the latter. "So you and Mox blew it once, it's not the end of the world."

 

"F*ck off, Barb! Mox and I weren't tryn' to make things worse-! Wait, what?"

 

"What if that snake staff isn't the only trick Satan has up his sleeve?"

 

Blitz turned back to Moxxie, now more determined to snap him out of his funk. "Listen to me, Moxxie, we can't quit now, not while we still have sh*t to fight for."

 

Moxxie tilted his head up to look up at his older brother, but his gaze remained distant.

 

Blitz grimaced as he tried to think of more to say, eventually getting an idea. "Take Angel Dust, for example. Did he give up when his brothers sold him to desperados?!"

 

"No." Moxxie moaned.

 

"No!" Blitz barked. "And did he give up when his ass was hauled to the pokey?!"

 

Cash rolled his eyes as he remembered that part of their common ancestors' story. "You had to bring that up."

 

His oldest son paid him no mind as he continued lecturing his brother. "No, he didn't! Don't you get it? This may not be easy, but that doesn't make it impossible. We have to keep trying until Crimson caves in. For our family."

 

Moxxie blinked, his eyes widening as he took in Blitz words. It was true, Satan never mentioned that freeing his people would be easy, but he also never found doing so impossible. He also had something to keep him going, his wife and her unwavering support, and his birth family with whom he was just getting to know. Slowly, the small male imp stood himself, staff in hand. "You're right, I can't stop now. Not when I've hardly begun to fight."

 

Blitz rewarded his brother with a playful punch to the arm. "Atta boy, Mox!"

 

Moxxie now had a newfound confidence. As long as he had his family, and the power of Satan on his side, he would not quit until he'd successfully freed his people, no matter how long it took.

Chapter 6

Summary:

Blitz and Moxxie continue confronting Crimson, demanding he let them go. When he refuses, Moxxie begins unleashing plaques upon Pentagram City, devastating its citizens, and making the mayor's life harder.

Down by the river, Crimson was dressed in nothing but a bath towel and had a scrub brush and soap in hand. He was about to shed his towel and sink into the river for a bath, when he heard someone clearing their throat from the bank across from him. Looking up, Crimson let out a quick yelp as he covered himself back up. "What the f*ck!" Blitz and Moxxie were across the river from him. While Moxxie's eyes were averted from the partially nude imp, Blitz was practically leering at him from where he stood.

 

"Oh, don't mind us!" Blitz called. "Just pretend we ain't here!" Moxxie jabbed his older brother's foot with his staff. "Ow! What was that for?" The younger male proceeded to whisper in his brother's ear and remind him of the main reason they were here. "Oh, right." Blitz turned back to the mayor. "By order of Satan, 'Let my people go!'"

 

Growling, Crimson snapped his fingers, summoning two of his goons, a sawshark, and a lemon shark. "Seize 'em!" The pair waded their way into the river, intent on capturing Moxxie and Blitz.

 

Instead of fleeing, Moxxie stepped closer to the bank, and raised his staff. Clasping it in both hands, Moxxie stabbed the water. Gradually, tendrils of blackness began creeping from the staff and spreading throughout the river. Moxxie tried not to flinch as Crimson's mooks waded closer to the other side. The two of them paused, however, once they were within range of the now blackened river. Confused, one of them dipped his fingers in before withdrawing. It didn't look like water anymore, nor did it even feel like water. It was thick, tarry, almost like... "Blood!" Both sharks fled to their boss's side of the river, panicking over what Moxxie had just done.

 

Crimson glowered at both goons as they reached him. "Boss!" "Blood!" He simply let out a huff at their incompetence. They should be used to the sight of blood by now, they'd killed thousands of demons in this very river (including his wife). To his right, he looked up at Alessio. "The f*ck just happened?!"

 

Without a word, Ale knelt down to the bank and stuck a finger inside the black substance that now occupied the river. After withdrawing it, he told Crimson his finding. "They're right, it's blood."

 

Crimson just scowled, turning to the other bank, only to realise that Moxxie and Blitz had already split the scene.

 

As if his day couldn't get any worse, Crimson was visited in his office later that day by Mrs. Mayberry, a former school teacher. "Mayor! What the f*ck has happened to our water supply?!" Her eyes were blazing with fury.

 

"Ma'am, I can assure you, we'll deal with the river problem in due time." Crimson refused to show the sinner woman how intimidated he was, putting up his composed public image to keep his own people from doubting him.

 

"I'm not talking about the river, I'm talking about the well!" Mrs. Mayberry went on to rant about how she was drawing water from the well, but when she brought the bucket to the surface, all she found was hellborn blood!

 

As it turned out, all of Pentagram City lacked access to any drinking water. Blood had replaced all of the water the townsfolk had; the river, the well, even whatever had already been drawn. Only the Wrathians were able to access any consumable liquid, or at least whatever the mayor would allow.

 

---

 

A week later, Crimson was fixing himself a cup of coffee. The river of blood incident had subsided, and he and his people could drink clean water again (or as clean as Hell's water could be). For that, Crimson was grateful, for now he could resume fixing his usual morning caffeine fix.

 

When the mayor stepped into his office, he nearly dropped his mug, seeing that Moxxie and Blitz had returned.

 

"Let my people go!" Blitz demanded the mayor.

 

Crimson merely glowered at the former circus clown. "Ain't gonna happen!"

 

Moxxie returned that glower as he brought his staff forward again. He merely kept it suspended a few inches off the ground, engaged in a stare off with the imp who was oppressing his family. Everyone else watched in silence, waiting for either imp to make a move. Finally, Moxxie inhaled deeply, before striking the end of his staff against the wood floor. This caused sparks to fly from the spot, and a massive shockwave to ripple through the town.

 

For a few agonizing seconds, no one else moved or made a sound. Finally, Moxxie waved Blitz to follow him out the door.

 

Once the brothers were out of sight, Crimson turned his attention back to his coffee. While he took his first sip, a face with a pair of beady eyes popped out of the mug. Taken by surprise, Crimson spat out his coffee, scalding one of his henchman. While distracted, the mug slipped out of the mayor's grasp and shattered onto the wooden floor, the remaining coffee staining the area.

 

The mayor and his men gawked at what else had been inside that mug; a toad! Though their trance was broken by the sound of more croaking. One of the drawers of Crimsons desk was rattling, and one unfortunate loan shark was singled out to open it. Slowly, he pulled open the drawer, keeping his eyes shut in fear of what could be inside. For a few seconds, nothing happened, so the goon chanced a peek at the inside of the drawer, only to let out a girlish shriek when a toad lept out and onto his face.

 

Outside the town hall wasn't any better, the mayor and his men found that the rest of their town had toads leaping about, and the citizens racing around like headless chickens.

 

From their part of town, Loona and Barbie Wire were watching the events unfold. "Take note of this, kid, the power of Satan." "Oh, yeah." Loona was especially entertained by the Pentagram citizens scrambling in panic. She had her doubts when Blitz adopted her from the pound years ago, but seeing what he and Moxxie were doing was definitely inspiring. Maybe she would try and persuade Moxxie to teach her how to use his magic staff one day.

 

 

This cycle repeated again and again, Blitz and Moxxie would march up to the mayor demanding, "Let my people go!" Each time, Crimson would tell them "no," and Moxxie struck his staff upon the ground, unleashing a new plague to torment Pentagram City, sans the Wrathians. Among the plagues, Satan brought swarms of gnats and flies, livestock began dying out, demons broke out in boils, swarms of locusts arrived and fed off the crops, and a blanket of darkness was cast across the sky.

 

Despite all of the devastation brought upon his town, Crimson refused to stand down and give Satan what he wanted. Although the other townsfolk complained to him, suggesting he go ahead and let the Wrathians leave their town, ending their suffering, the stubborn imp wouldn't relent.

 

In his heavily lantern lit office, Crimson was sorting through his papers when an elderly cannibal barged into his office. "Twister!" All eyes were on the old lady who'd somehow gotten into the mayor's office. "A flaming twister's coming!" She stopped in her tracks inches from Crimson's desk, her whole body shaking, whether due to fear or old age was unknown. "Just... thought y'all ought to know." This was the last thing she spoke before fainting.

 

For a few seconds, Crimson and his men stared down at the old woman, unsure what to make of her ramblings. Alessio, however, was peaking through the blinds of one of the windows. "She's right, boss."

 

"Eh?" Crimson wasn't expecting Alessio of all demons to believe an old woman's ramblings. Curious though, he left his desk to join his assistant mayor at the window. Sure enough, a massive flaming twister had formed, and was heading straight for Pentagram City. This sent the whole town in a panic, being unprepared for such a disaster.

 

Even after the twister passed, and seeing how much damage it had done to his town, Crimson refused to set the Wrathians free the next time Moxxie and Blitz confronted him. "What was I thinkin', lettin' my wife keep ya all dose years ago?"

 

Moxxie whispered into Blitz's ear, and the latter spoke up. "Ya can't keep this up, mayor. Your stubbornness has done no good for you, or your people."

 

"Ya have any idea how much I've sacrificed to get where I am? How many bodies I've had to dispose of? I've woiked too hard to gain this much power, and I ain't lettin' some sissies make fools of me."

 

Moxxie whispered to Blitz again, and the latter spoke to Crimson again. "Know this, for what comes next, you have no one to blame but yourself." With that, the brothers took their leave from Crimson's office.

 

Crimson just stared at the door, befuddled by the last words Blitz gave him. While the mayor was lost in thought, Alessio stepped up beside him. Unlike his boss, the assistant mayor of Pentagram City understood the gravity of the situation. Something big was coming, something more devastating than all nine of the recent plagues rolled into one.

 

---

When the Buckzo brothers arrived home, Millie was the first to great them, tackling her husband in a bone crushing hug. "Oomph!" Moxxie exclaimed. Despite all of the years they'd spent together, he still couldn't get used to Millie's strength; especially when she was feeling affectionate.

 

"Did he give in this time?" she asked. Millie had experienced plenty of flaming twisters back at home, so she figured one of those might teach the mayor a lesson.

 

Moxxie just sighed, going slack in his wife's hold. "Afraid not, Mills."

 

"Ah!" The three imps turned towards Loona, whose face was scrunched up in either anger or discomfort.

 

"I know, Looney," Blitz assumed his daughter was aggravated over them failing once again, "but it's like your Uncle Moxxie told us, Crimson's more stubborn than a mule."

 

Loona merely gave the tallest imp a growl. "Not that! This egg's been yanking too hard!"

 

Taking a closer look, the imps took note that the hellhound was seated on a stool. And on the dresser stood an egg boi, with a brush in hand that was caught in Loona's long hair.

 

Once he realised that demons were staring at him, the egg boi gave a smile and wave with his free hand as he greeted them. "Hey, guys! Loona's shedding."

 

Millie decided to take initiative and help the egg with grooming the larger hellhound. Once she saw the knot in her hair, she couldn't help but let out a low whistle. "Dere's a nasty bugger there."

 

"And about the mayor;" Loona had decided to try to distract her family from her plight by contributing to the discussion regarding the mayor and his stubbornness. "how can any demon not cave in to all of those disasters? If Satan wanted to show him he meant business, why wait until now?"

 

"Loona," Blitz tried to be as reassuring towards his daughter as he could be. "sh*t takes time. We just need to maintain faith in Satan and his plan."

 

"Besides," Moxxie added, "Satan has one final trick up his sleeve. He tells me that if it won't get the mayor to crack, nothing will."

 

"Didn't you say that last time?" Loona couldn't help but snark, cringing as she felt Millie attempt to move the brush caught in her fur.

 

Moxxie wanted to give the bratty acting hellhound a piece of his mind, but instead took a deep breath and let it out. "Only Satan knows when Crimson will relent. This isn't too different from displacing that knot in your hair. It won't give in at the first tug, but you just have to take your time. With the right strategy, we'll find a way, and our problems will soon be far behind us."

 

Loona let out a howl which sent Millie flying towards the vanity once she felt a sharp tug in her hair. Thankfully, Millie and the egg boi got minimal damage. The latter grasped at the clump of fur on the brush, gasping when he saw the knot that was causing Loona so much grief. He was quick to show the hellhound the source of her recent agony, only for her to clutch where the knot was while holding back tears, whining a little as well.

 

"And," Moxxie went back to lecturing Loona, "like with you and the fur, getting Crimson to budge may cause some temporary pain. I ain't too fond of the other folks suffering due to all those plagues, but Satan insists they be punished along with their mayor."

 

"He might be right on that." Cash entered, hissing in pain while trying to straighten his back. "Those other townsfolk have done nothing for us, so they're no better than their leader."

 

"Dad." Cash's sons both chimed.

 

"I know who I am." the father of Blitz and Moxxie snarked as he made his way to the liquor cabinet.

 

"Wait, Pop, we have preparations to make for tonight!" Blitz tried to stop his dad before he got himself drunk. They all needed to be sober to prepare for the last plague.

 

"Eh?" Cash turned to his son, confused and more than a little irritable. "What's happening tonight?"

 

Blitz then nodded to Moxxie, wanting him to explain the upcoming plague.

 

Moxxie dreaded having to tell his family, but it was for their own good. "Death is coming."

Chapter 7

Summary:

After the first nine plagues fail to convince Crimson to free the Wrathains, Satan sends Death to smite every firstborn in Pentagram City.

Notes:

For the final plague, I've decided to include a certain wolf from a certain Dreamworks movie. This idea has been swimming in my head for months and months.

In time, the Buckzos were able to gather the remaining Wrathians to inform them of what was in store that night.

 

"Satan has spoken to us again." Blitz began. "He has instructed us to do the following: take a lamb, slaughter it, and with its blood, paint the doorposts on your homes. Tonight, at the witching hour, Death will pass through Pentagram City, with the intent to smite every firstborn. However, should he find the blood on your doorposts, he'll merely pass you over."

 

Every Wrathian family set to work carrying out the directions Satan had laid out for them. After feasting on their slaughtered lambs, and painting their doorposts with lambs' blood, they all sealed themselves up inside their homes.

 

Inside the Buckzo residence, said family merely waited in silence as the witching hour crept closer. Loona tried to keep up her usual aloof demeanor, but Blitz was able to detect the slight shaking of his daughter's paws. "It's all right, Looney. I promise, Death won't come after you. It's just as Satan explained: should he find the blood of the lamb on our door, he'll recognize us as Wrathians and leave us alone."

 

"How will we even know when "Death" arrives?" Cash remained skeptical over Satan's methods. "What did Satan even mean when he told you that Death was coming?"

 

"Father," Moxxie decided to explain it to him more clearly. "Satan didn't mean it theoretically, rhetorically, figuratively, poetically, or any other fancy way. Death, straight up, will be here tonight."

 

In time, the witching hour arrived, and all of the Wrathian homes were holding their breath, anticipating Death's arrival. For what felt like hours- actually barely a minute-, the Buckzos waited in silence, unable to sleep due to anticipation over the final plague. The almost deafening silence was finally broken by the sound of whistling. It was an eerie tune, one that made Loona's fur stand on end once it reached her ears.

 

Blitz was quick to wrap up the hellhound woman in an embrace. Though she remained tense, Loona didn't fight her father's gesture. In fact, as soon as she saw a shadow begin creeping through the crack in the front door, she returned the hug, clinging to Blitz like her life depended on it. Said shadow had a canine esque shape to it, resembling a hellhound... no, a wolf!

 

For a while, the shadow kept still, but the whistling didn't cease. Barbie Wire, from where she sat, could only watch the shadow in terror. Was this supposed to be Death? Was he going to take her, the firstborn in her family's generation? Did they follow Satan's directions correctly?

 

In time, the shadow began to retreat from the doorway, shrinking back until it had disappeared. As soon as it was gone, the Buckzos all let out the breaths they didn't realise they were holding. Satan had been right! Death saw the blood on their door and spared them, recognizing that they were under the sin's protection.

 

 

 

As the evening went on, Death, manifesting in the form of a wolf dressed in a black hooded poncho, stalked his way through the streets of Pentagram City. He made his way to the front door of another home, anticipating a firstborn to smite. Despite the darkness of the evening, the wolf's blood red eyes were able to see quite well, and found red painted on the doorposts. Wanting to be sure it really was lamb's blood, Death proceeded to sniff at the substance. Sure enough, that red bore the coppery scent of blood.

 

A few homes back, Death noticed an odd scent from the marking on a house's doorposts. Turns out, this home didn't mark their doorposts with blood, but used red paint instead. Death found it foolish that these demons thought they could deceive him, and was quick to let himself inside and smite the residing family's firstborn. While he knew they would grieve their loss when they woke up, he felt little to no remorse. It was their own fault for not listening to Satan.

 

Remembering what Satan had asked of him, Death left the family be, knowing those inside homes with blood on the doorposts were off limits this evening. The next home he found had no mark, so he unsheathed one of his sickles from his belt, and broke the lock holding the door shut. After letting himself in, Death crept around the house, remaining quiet as a mouse, and sniffing for the firstborn inside. Said firstborn was eventually found, sound asleep by the light of a candle on the nightstand. Approaching the head of the bed, the wolf raised his unsheathed sickle and struck down towards the slumbering demon, the lit candle extinguishing simultaneously.

 

 

 

Hours passed, and the sky grew brighter, indicating that daybreak was not too far away. By then, Death had searched every residence in town, scouted out every citizen, and was able to collect all eligible firstborns' souls. It seemed that some early risers had already woken up, for cries of anguish and despair began flowing into the wolf's ears. Clearly, they were the first to bear witness to Death's handiwork. Taking that as his cue to leave, the wolf returned his sickles to their sheaths, and with a whirl of his poncho, disappeared. The only indication the wolf was ever there were the now deceased firstborn demons, whose loved ones began grieving over their lifeless bodies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notes:

I headcanon that while Blitz and Barbie Wire are twins, Barbie is the older twin.

Chapter 8

Summary:

In the aftermath of the final plague, Mayor Crimson finally relents his hold over the Wrathians. They start their exodus from Pentagram City and find themselves at an ocean shore.

Later that morning, Blitz and Moxxie were on their way to town hall. Leading them was Pentagram City's sheriff, Martha. Martha was a sinner with red skin dressed in a white off the shoulder top with red polka dots, black jeans,and a pair of black skull earrings. Her hair was long, bushy, purple, and reached down to her ankles, which sported a set of hooves for feet. Atop her head was a pair of black horns resembling tree branches. Her left eye had a pink iris and pink sclera, while an empty black socket occupied the other side of her face.

 

Earlier, the sheriff had arrived at the Buckzos' front door, stating that the mayor wanted to have a word with Moxxie and Blitz. The two of them complied, mostly due to the fact that she was carrying a shotgun.

 

As the three of them made their way through town, Moxxie tried hard not to look at all of the mourning citizens crying for their lost loved ones. He couldn't help but feel like he was responsible for all of this suffering. Could this have been prevented if he'd done a better job persuading Crimson? Would it have made a difference if he used his own voice instead of allowing Blitz to speak on his behalf?

 

Moxxie was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard knocking. They were already at town hall, and Martha was knocking for the mayor's attention. "Who is it?" Crimson's voice from the other side sounded hoarse and cracked a bit. This confused Moxxie, as he knew from experience that Crimson was anything but emotional. Whenever any of his goons were killed, he merely got frustrated as he would have to scout for new ones.

 

"They're here." Martha called.

 

"Send 'em in." The mayor replied in that hoarse and choked up sounding tone.

 

Taking that as her cue, Martha ushered both imps inside the mayor's office before quickly shutting the door behind them.

 

Ahead of them, both imp brothers took in a sight neither of them anticipated. Crimson's head was hanging low, and he stood hunched over a table where a sheet covered a body. The table also held a few candles which provided the only light in the room, since the blinds were shut.

 

Moxxie could only blink, puzzled at the mayor's behavior. For as long as he'd known Crimson, he figured he had a heart of stone, and had no attachments to anyone. Curious, he tried to step a little closer, wanting a look at one of the photographs that also surrounded the corpse. As soon as he got a good look, he clasped a hand over his mouth to try and cover the gasp that slipped out.

 

The demon whom Crimson was mourning was Alessio! Moxxie remembered that said demon of few words worked closer with his boss than any other gangster, but he never would have guessed Crimson's favor of him ran so deep. Moxxie rubbed at his eyes a bit, wanting to be sure that he was not seeing things. Sure enough, photographs of Alessio surrounded his blanketed body, and Crimson gripped the table with trembling hands.

 

The mayor's face was scrunched up tight, trying to hold in the flood of emotions that were building up. Eventually, he spoke up. "Go."

 

Blitz picked at his ear, wanting to know for sure if he heard correctly. "What'd ya say?"

 

Crimson then turned his head slightly towards both imps, barely having the strength to open his eyes and face the ones responsible for Ale's death. "You and your kin may leave my town."

 

Both brothers just exchanged a glance. Neither of them were certain how that last plaque would affect the mayor, but they sure didn't anticipate this. Without a word, Moxxie and Blitz left the mayor's office.

 

As soon as the door was shut again, Crimson's shoulders shook violently before silent tears began trickling down his face. He hated this feeling, of being so powerless, vulnerable, how was he to move on without Alessio?

 

---

 

Back in the Wrathian district of Pentagram City, Moxxie and Blitz spread the word that the mayor had given them consent to leave town. With that, everyone gathered their belongings: livestock, clothing, bedding, anything they could carry with them. So began their exodus,

following a pillar of smoke on the horizon (courtesy of Satan).

 

The remaining citizens merely stood by as the Wrathians flowed out of town, having been too impacted by the recent events to intervene. Crimson's goons merely glared as they watched the former slaves leave. If it were up to any of them, they'd go and destroy all of them. But Crimson was too caught up in mourning his deceased second in command to face his men.

 

All day the Wrathians paraded across the desert, keeping the pillar of smoke in their sights. As day turned into night, demons shared concern over having to continue walking in the dark. Thankfully, Satan had planned ahead for that, and as the desert darkened, the pillar of smoke turned into a pillar of fire, illuminating out on the horizon, its light a welcome distraction from the darkness surrounding them.

 

 

In time, the Wrathians came to the shore of a vast ocean. Satan's smoke pilar still stood proud and tall on the other side. Moxxie and his family just stood at the shore, dumbfounded over how they were supposed move forward from there.

 

"Are we supposed to go across the ocean?" Blitz asked no one in particular. "Well," Barbie Wire stepped forward, surveying the area with her brothers. "I don't see a bridge... nothing to build a raft with."

 

"Maybe we should try going around it." Millie suggested. "I dunno," Moxxie reluctantly disagreed. "That might take too long. Besides, what if we lose track of Satan's becan?"

 

While the Buckzos were discussing amongst themselves, one of Sir Pentious' egg boiz turned back to look the way they came, and spotted a large cloud of dust that appeared to be coming their way. In a panic, he raced to the front to share the news. "Moxxie," he called while tugging at his shirt. "Not now." Moxxie simply waved him off, caught up in discussing how to bypass the ocean. The egg boi was stubborn though, and yanked harder, insistent on grabbing Moxxie's attention. With a frustrated huff, Moxxie turned around and knelt down to speak to the persistent egg. "We'll play later, okay?" He then noticed the egg pointing back in the direction they came. Following the twig thin appendage, he saw something that made his blood run cold. "Oh, crumbs."

Chapter 9

Summary:

At the shore of an ocean, Moxxie discovers that Crimson had changed his mind on letting him and his people leave Pentagram City. To grant him and his people safe passage, he uses his staff to part the sea and form a safe passage for everyone.

Moxxie could only stare back in shock at the sight. Crimson and his men were all riding on horseback, charging straight towards them. It was obvious that Crimson had gone off the deep end and had only one thing on his mind: kill.

 

Once the rest of the Wrathians became aware of the danger, they all began to panic. "Way to go, boys." Cash was the first to voice his frustration at the turn of events. "Maybe if we'd stayed in Pentagram City, none of this would be happening!" Other imps began siding with the former ringmaster, blaming their plight on Moxxie.

 

It pained Moxxie having his own people blame him yet again for their suffering. He even started believing them himself. He was suddenly grasped by the shoulders as Loona forced him to make eye contact with her. Moxxie braced himself for whatever beration the hellhound had for him, but much to his surprise, Loona reminded him of the tool he had on him. "Can't you do something with your magic stick?"

 

Having the reminder that he still had Satan on his side, Moxxie proceeded to take a few steps into the water. He could only hope that his staff and Satan's power would save them this time, his people were counting on them.

 

Taking a deep breath, Moxxie raised his staff above the water before striking it all the way to the bottom. Before anyone realised it, the ocean began to part. A narrow, dry path was made in the middle of the sea, while the rest of the water was raised, tall as tsunami waves, forming walls that bordered each side of the path. "Holy sh*t!" Blitz mouthed as he saw what had been done.

 

The other Wrathians backed away from the newly formed path, unsure whether using it would be safe or not. What if the walls collapsed while they were on the path and drowned them? In their uncertainty, the looked towards Blitz. The eldest Buckzo brother stepped towards his younger brother and the path he made. Looking back at his fellow Wrathians, he waved at them to move forward, trusting that they would all be safe.

 

Trusting Blitz' judgement, the crowd of Wrathians began flowing onto the path Moxxie had made. It was challenging for some navigating around the rock formations that filled the ocean bottom, and since many Wrathian demons were not adept at swimming, the fear of drowning still lingered. Within the walls of the path, silhouette's of various ocean life forms could be seen, frightening some, while drawing awe from others.

 

 

 

Back on their side of the sea, Crimson and his men had paused when they saw the sea part for the Wrathians. In time, the mayor was able to snap out of it and drive his men forward. "Don't just stand dere! Kill 'em!" With that, Crimson sent his horse into a run, leading his men into the passage.

 

It didn't take long for the Wrathians in the back to take notice of the oncoming attack. They were quick to spread the word forward until it reached Moxxie and his family. Now alert to the danger they were in, the Buckzos hurried everyone along, leading them to the shore on the other side. The twins, Blitz and Barbie Wire led on the majority towards the end of the passage. Loona helped Sir Pentious gather his egg bois, since their little legs wouldn't be able to carry them as far.

 

While Moxxie watched his father and his lackeys charge, he took notice of the walls of water beginning to collapse. Taking that as his que to take off, the freckled imp turned his back and hurried after the remaining Wrathians.

 

Before Crimson's mooks realized what was happening, they found themselves already knee deep in ocean water. 'Strange,' they thought, 'wasn't the sea floor dry a second ago?' Suddenly, "whoosh!" they found themselves swept off their feet by the powerful current. Not all of them were sharks, so those who weren't were quick to drown.

 

Crimson just stared as the waves swept his men away. As he took notice of the current heading in his direction, he just held his hands up in a shielding motion, and screamed in anger as the waves knocked him off his hooves. Instead of being drowned like his men, the mob boss found himself swept back onto the shore where he started.

 

As the walls continued to collapse, Moxxie and the remaining Wrathians fled onto the opposite shore, just in the nick of time before the sea was full again. Everyone just stared back at the sea, gathering everything that just happened. One egg boi looked up at Loona from his position in her arms and tugged her sleeve to ask a question. "What happens next?" The hellhound stared down at him and his kin, all looking up at her with childlike curiosity. "I don't know, guys." Loona shrugged not having a definite answer. "But I do know this: those bad men can't hurt us anymore. And whatever comes next," She then turned to face the pillar of smoke in the distance. "we have Satan to guide us and thank for our freedom."

 

"Thanks, Satan!" The egg bois all waved and said thank you to the smoke pillar. Loona couldn't help but smile a bit at that. Dumb as the egg bois were, they certainly were quick to learn.

 

Moxxie was reeling from everything that had just happened. He'd done it. He'd bested his father, led his people out of slavery, and brought hope back to them. He then turned to Millie as he felt her embrace him. "Ya did it Mox." She smiled at him proudly. "Well, Satan did all of the heavy lifting. I just stuck to the plan." Millie then gave her husband a peck on the cheek. She would never grow weary of her husband's humility.

 

All things settled, Moxxie and his family resumed leading the Wrathians through the desert, following the pillar of smoke to seek out the new land they were promised. But that's another story.

 

 

The End.