Part 20

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The I.M.P got a positive welcome back from the demons of hell, and had no shortage of customers. Astrid helped out at the hotel when she could, though it wasn't like there were many clients there. A few demons here and there who were curious and that was all really.

Astrid and the others operated as quietly as they could, but old souls found them again and spread the word, like the school teacher who'd been Astrid's first client, and the rich inventors who had been the reason behind a whole war involving angels and other creatures alike. Astrid constantly looked over her shoulder when out on the street and kept an eye on the front desk of the hotel at all times, waiting for Lucifer to burst through and have her executed.

Astrid's uneasiness was not completely unnoticed. Alastor approached her 2 weeks after the IMP started back up and demanded an explanation.

"My dear, what has you up in a tizzy?" He asked one morning while they were alone.

She looked around cautiously, "you broke your promise to Lucifer, I broke mine." Astrid then dove into an explanation about Lucifer's deal, and how she finally unfroze them all and then how they'd been working behind Lucifer's back.

He listened in relative silence and when Astrid finished he smiled. "That's impressive. But you think he's going to find out and then have you or your friends killed?" He guessed.

"Yeah." Astrid sighed in defeat. "I'm trying to figure out what I'll do when he tries." She explained.

"Fight?" Alastor suggested, "I know you can."

Astrid wanted to say more, but then Charlie called Alastor downstairs for some assistance and Astrid was left on her own.

Angel was back from his work last night and he looked miserable. "Hey Anthony." Astrid murmured when she got close. "You alright?" He nodded, but he didn't look alright. His long neck was covered in bruises and he winced with every small movement.

Astrid fumed when she noticed the smell that surrounded him. This wasn't a client, that perfume was Valentino's. "I thought you didn't work for him anymore." Astrid muttered.

"I don't. I was on my way over to Mimzy's place to entertain her guests and he showed up an grabbed me an-" Angel cut himself off and started sniffling.

"Hey hey hey, it's alright. I promise you we'll figure out a way to deal with him." Astrid looked around, "Charlie?" She asked. The princess of hell was over there quickly enough with a concerned look at Angel. "Could you maybe... help with something?"

"Yeah sure, what is it?" Charlie asked.

"Make sure Angel doesn't leave, and if Valentino comes looking for him here for any reason, do me a favor and beat his ass." Astrid instructed.

Charlie looked as if she wanted to ask questions, but with a glance at Angel, she nodded with a look of determination.

"I'm going to work, bye." Astrid said, heading out to door.

"Ok bye!" Charlie ran up and hugged her, which shocked Astrid for a moment before she cautiously eased into it. This felt like how Astrid always imagined having an older sister would feel like, she wanted to hold onto it for a moment, longer than she cared to admit. All too soon however, it was gone and Astrid needed to head out the door.

Astrid went through another day at work, and it was almost the end of the day before she realized a small change, that Moxxie was fussing over Millie more than usual.

"Mox, I told you I'm fine." Millie assured him after he asked her if she wanted food or water for what felt like the 10th time in the past 30 minutes.

"Everything alright?" Astrid asked when she looked up at them.

"Well we were gonna keep it a secret for a while but-" Millie began before Stolas burst into the office, looking around and then zooming towards Blitzø, who was playing some 2 player shooting game with Loona. He wrapped Blitzø in a hug and started apologizing profusely.

"Blitzy I'm so sorry, we never made up properly and then you disappeared and I heard you were back in town and I wanted to make it up to you so badly and I just... I." Stolas resolved to kissing Blitzø and murmuring apologies then, Blitzø put his arms around Stolas's neck and gently kissed the tip of his beak. "Stolas I'm fine. Do you want to talk about it somewhere else?" He asked genuinely. Astrid smirked fondly at them as she watched them head up to Blitzø's office and then turned her attention back to Millie and Moxxie.

"Like I was saying, I told Moxxie to keep it a secret but he can't keep his mouth shut." Millie laughed fondly and then looked back up at Astrid. "We're getting ready to start a family." Moxxie looked like the proudest and somehow most nervous demon ever, and Millie was practically glowing with excitement.

"So was it an accident?" Loona asked.

"Well... yes, but we were talking about starting a family soon anyways, this just happened sooner than expected." Millie giggled.

"Well congratulations to you two. That's exciting." Astrid nodded, she looked over at the wall, "anyways we don't have anymore clients scheduled today right? I'm gonna go home."

Home. That was a strange way to describe the hotel, but what else could it be at this point? She had Alastor, Nifty, and Socks there. She was starting to consider the others her friends, and she lived there now after all, home just felt like the right word.

She pulled on her coat and then headed outside. She was not 4 blocks away from the office when suddenly a pair of hands were around her, covering her eyes and mouth. She struggled for a moment, not being able to focus enough to use magic to help her and the arms bounding her were too strong for her to fight off. She felt another hand around her throat and she passed out after a minute, the world passing by in a darkening haze that made her feel like she was under water.

Yippee a cliffhanger! On an unrelated note, what should Millie and Moxxie's kid be named? I'll let you guys decided on the name, which ever name gets the most replies I'll pick for their kids name.

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