Rolando Infests Millie

 

“You call yourselves assassins!” Rolando mocked Blitzo and Millie in the pool room of the One Star Wonder Hotel. He moved his head, and all the lightbulbs shattered, leaving the room in darkness, save for the glowing pool. An invisible force rammed into the imps, knocking them backwards. The pillars cracked and yellow sparks rained down from the broken bulbs.

 

 

Rolando cocked his head. He hovered off the ground and spoke in an eerie voice.

 

 

“Eenie, meenie, miny…”

 

 

Blitzo and Mille looked up with terrified looks.

 

 

His glowing yellow eyes widened. “…mo!”

 

 

This time, Millie screamed as Rolando zoomed at her and entered through her head in black goo. Millie collapsed to the ground.

 

 

0 0 0

 

 

Millie gasped and found herself chained to a worn seat in a movie theater. Seaweed and coral were spread out between the seats.

 

 

“What the…what’s going…”

 

 

Before she could finish, she grimaced as Rolando emerged from her chest surrounded by blue goo. He swirled around and ran his yellow-green tongue up her neck.

 

 

“Gross!” she flinched. She struggled against the rusted chains holding her in place, but it was useless.

 

 

“Not so tough now that you’re trapped in your own mind, huh?” Rolando whispered darkly.

 

 

He flew backwards in liquid shadow form and rematerialized next to her.

 

 

“Just so you know, combover,” Millie snapped. “I already have everything I need, a career, a husband and a life, so you ain’t gonna pry nothin’ outta me!”

 

 

Rolando merely smirked and brushed his clawed hand against her cheek. “Let’s take a look then, shall we?”

 

 

He manifested a tub of popcorn and lounged in his seat.

 

 

The curtains parted and the projector blinked to life.

 

 

The old-time movie countdown played on the green-tinted screen.

 

 

 

0 0 0

 

Millie saw herself as a little girl back in the Wrath Ring on her family’s farm. She was dressed in worn white overalls and was busy helping her brothers and sister Sallie Mae with various chores. She and Sallie Mae were plowing dirt fields, while their brothers were lifting pumpkins and vegetables for the harvest festival.

 

 

After their family showed off their vegetables and traded with their fellow imps, Joe and Lin held bags of coins. With glum faces, they paid the annual taxes to Satan and to the royal class.

 

 

Tired, they walked home, their wooden cart full of vegetables and fruit.

 

 

“Savor these wisely,” Lin told her kids. “They won’t last us all winter.”

 

 

“Ma,” little Millie asked. “Why do we have to give most of our money to the royals?”

 

 

Joe sighed. “My little pumpkin spice, that’s just how things roll, unfortunately. The elite need money to help govern the Rings and the cities need money for roads and to fix buildings.”

 

 

“But that leaves us with very little left!” Sallie Mae added.

 

 

“I know. Even if we didn’t have to pay taxes, we wouldn’t be that well off,” Lin explained. “We’re Wrathian imps, nothing but muscle to everyone else. We gotta do what needs to be done to survive in this desert.”

 

 

They headed back to their old farmhouse to store the food. Several of the brothers tended to their hell-hog and hell-cows, collecting the cows’ black milk to later sell at the local market.

 

 

A fire tornado had devastated their crops one year, and poor Millie was left hungry. She fought tooth and nail with her brothers for the remaining food in storage but was only lucky enough to get some scraps. She sighed and sat down with Sallie Mae in the barn.

 

 

“Want one?” she asked, handing her sister a kernel of corn.

 

 

“Thanks, sis,” Sallie Mae said with a small smile, popping it into her mouth.

 

 

“I’m so hungry, I can barely move,” Millie groaned.

 

 

“Well, there’s always lifting and exercising to do,” Sallie Mae playfully elbowed her. “That’ll help keep you in shape…hopefully.”

 

 

Millie glumly stared at the dry ground.

 

 

“Don’t worry. Winter will be over soon. We can plant new crops and get ready for the wrestling contests. For the kids, at least.”

 

 

“The teen and adult ones are more fun,” Millie mentioned. “They get to wrestle hogs and lasso bulls and play tug of war! All we do is roll around as the grownups take pictures.”

 

 

“Better than nothin’,” Sallie Mae remarked.

 

 

As the siblings got older, they learned more farm work, self-defense and the uses of a variety of weapons. Millie’s favorite was a large double-bladed axe. Before long, she was excelling at knife-throwing, doing flips in the air, and hand-to-hand combat. At first, she lost to her older brothers, but persistence paid off. She soon became one of the best fighters in the family.

 

 

Joe and Lin were proud of Millie…so then they began to set high expectations for her.

 

 

“Hey Mildred!” called Joe.

 

 

“Pa, my name is Millie!” teen Millie corrected, running over.

 

 

“Why couldn’t you defeat Brutal Brawn in the wrestling contest at the Pain Games a few hours ago?”

 

 

“I was very close,” she countered.

 

 

“You almost got killed! The only reason you’re still here is because you conceded!”

 

 

“I had no choice…”

 

 

“We needed the extra prize money to help with our food and fixing our house. Now we’ll have to figure out things from square one. Now…” he sighed. “Go feed our hog and carefully use our water for the vegetables.”

 

 

“But Pa, I’ve been toiling all day…”

 

 

“We don’t take no for an answer! You know that. Now go.”

 

 

Millie sighed and wandered off. She spotted Sallie Mae leaning sadly against a wooden fence.

 

 

“Sal, what’s the matter?”

 

 

“Oh. Hey Millie. My day’s been kinda rough.”

 

 

“I feel you. You wanna talk about it?”

 

 

“Ummm…I guess…”

 

 

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell no one.”

 

 

“Okay,” she sighed. “Remember when I was first born and my parents gave me a male name?”

 

 

“Yeah?”

 

 

“Then as I grew up, I wanted to change it? I started calling myself Sallie?”

 

 

“Um…not very well. I was really little.”

 

 

“Right,” Sallie Mae began.

 

 

“If you’re worried about your gender, you know that Ma and Pa accepted you wholeheartedly, right?” Millie mentioned.

 

 

“Ma more than Pa.”

 

 

“He got used to it.”

 

 

“I know. But…” Sallie Mae sighed. “It’s hard…sometimes. A few hours ago, some of the local imps noticed my horns and thought my name was too girlish. They were taken aback by my low voice and called me some bad names.”

 

 

 

Millie punched her own hand with her fist and scowled. “Those little punks. I should’ve been there.”

 

 

Sallie Mae shrugged. “It’s okay. I wasn’t in the mood for a brawl, anyway.”

 

 

Millie put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Don’t listen to anyone under any circumstances, ya hear? You’re a wonderful, beautiful sister and one hell of a crime partner!”

 

 

Sallie Mae whispered, “Don’t tell Ma and Pa that I buried one of the contestant’s bodies by that cactus over there.”

 

 

Millie giggled. “Ooh shit, you’re so gonna be banned from the contest if anyone finds out.”

 

 

Sallie Mae winked. “Emphasis on ‘if.’”

 

 

“Your secret’s safe with me.”

 

 

They shared a side hug.

 

 

“Come on, let’s get to work,” Sallie Mae sighed, leading Millie along toward the field under the burning Wrath Ring sun.

 

 

 

0 0 0

 

 

Millie eventually found herself bouncing between jobs. While her siblings stayed on the farm, extroverted Millie longed to make a bigger impact.

 

 

But of course, it wasn’t easy.

 

 

 

Millie remembered her two bosses. One was a muscular cruel imp with crimson skin, thick horns and sharp fangs. His eyes were somewhat obscured by a black cowboy hat.

 

 

“Ya think y’all have what it takes to be an assassin for me?” he began. He mentioned to the other interns, a variety of imps and a few succubi, standing outside a bar. “Welcome to your interview. Show me your skills first-hand…the survivor gets hired. BEGIN!”

 

 

Millie, her hair pulled back into a black ponytail, felt the heat and rush of combat. She would fight tooth and nail for this position…she had no other choice.

 

 

She yelled and maneuvered gracefully through the air as she slashed her golden knife at her assailants. Black blood splashed everywhere as Millie dodged bullets, fists, and blades.

 

 

She nearly collapsed as she stood around the lifeless bodies of her competitors.

 

 

The imp boss nodded in approval. He handed her a poster of an imp family and a bag of coins…a measly amount.

 

 

“T-that’s it?” she asked.

 

 

“If you’re not happy with it, then perhaps you should get nothin!” he roared. “I wanna see their heads at my doorstop by sundown. And if you fail…count yourself lucky if you ONLY get fired!”

 

 

Millie nodded, trembling, and with shaky legs, she raced off.

 

 

Her other serpent boss wasn’t much better. When an imp named Moxxie murdered an imp she had been assigned to kill, he didn’t pay her for a month.

 

 

“I really need my money, sir,” she mentioned. “Me and my family are starving enough as it is!”

 

 

“Only seems fair since you didn’t complete your assignment,” he hissed darkly to her. “Clean up those corpses before I decide to let you join them!”

 

 

0 0 0

 

 

 

It wasn’t long before Millie and Moxxie began dating the sexy, self-centered, charming shark demon, Chazwick Turman. The shark was connected to the mafia and was from the Greed Ring. He kept bragging about his big dick and how rich he was. Neither Moxxie nor Milllie had the idea to date him, but with the insistence of Moxxie’s father Crimson, one thing led to another.

 

 

Chaz, Moxxie and Millie got intimate at various times. There were times when Moxxie and Millie were both infatuated with him. But eventually, they saw behind his bad boy showman façade.

 

 

Still, it didn’t make it any less devastating when they broke up with him later on.

 

 

Chaz winked at her and waved goodbye as Millie cried on the porch after discovering a picture of Chaz with a new girlfriend on her social media account. “Chaz in a new relationship” read the text. Millie had never felt so heart-broken before. Moxxie was feeling the same way…Chaz had broken up with him, too.

 

 

“What a dirtbag,” Moxxie growled through his tears. He put a comforting arm around Millie.

 

 

“What happens now?” Millie asked.

 

 

“Well, let’s hope my dad doesn’t get mad…he thinks you, me, and Chaz will help him expand his shady mafia business…more killers, more profit. This may be hard to hear but…I’m glad the asshole’s gone.”

 

 

Millie paused. “Ya know…now that I think about it…I am too.”

 

 

Millie and Moxxie hugged each other sadly on the wooden porch of Millie’s house.

 

 

Another flashback appeared to when Chaz and Millie were having sex in one of Chaz’s fancy bedrooms, only fancy because he had stolen most of the items. Chaz was posing in rented clothes behind neon signs reading “Big Dick” and “Chad Dad” and “Truman the Man.” Chaz and Millie were both nude and he leaned over her as she was on her back.

 

 

Millie flinched in pain as Chaz sloppily thrusted himself inside her, whispering a bunch of nasty names.

 

 

Millie and Chaz leaned in for a kiss. Their tongues met and Millie was filled with a mixture of ecstasy and revulsion.

 

 

Chaz growled in pleasure and Millie stared at his strange glowing yellow eyes. She felt a long tongue inside her mouth. She froze.

 

 

 

“Oh fuck, that’s not…”

 

 

Rolando’s roaring laughter resounded from the Chaz illusion and darkness filled her vision.

 

 

Millie screamed and sobbed in her seat, her body numb. A dark voice around her whispered, “Give in, little farm girl. Your toughness masks your ultimate weakness. You’ll never be good enough for anything other than combat. Your family knows this and so do your coworkers.”

 

 

 

More memories came up, scenes that reminded Millie of her innermost insecurities. She found herself at the summer camp on Earth, when she and Moxxie were in their disguises.

 

 

A jealous Moxxie stood up.

 

 

“All week it’s been ‘Oh look at MILLERD! Isn’t HE great? Oh look how talented MILLERD is!’ We have a JOB to do and you’re off dancing for views. Why does it matter so much how these yokels feel about you?”

 

 

 

“It doesn’t,” Millie began. “It matters how I feel about myself. And for once I feel like…like I’m important!” Tears came to her eyes. “Like I’m someone to be proud of.” She wiped the tears away. “And I had hoped my husband would be there to support me HALF as much as I’ve supported him THIS WEEK!”

 

 

She turned away. “You could have just finished that job any time if you had just listened to me. But you wanted to do things YOUR WAY.”

 

 

She turned around and shoved the poster into Moxxie’s chest.

 

 

“So fine. Finish the job, go home if you want to. But I’m gonna have my moment WITH OR WITHOUT YOU!” She stormed away.

 

 

She found herself sitting next to the campers by the campfire. “Moxxine” was singing about himself as she played the banjo. As Moxxie walked harmlessly through the fire, the banjo music became distorted. Millie gasped in fright as he leaned his face close to hers. Black mascara ran down his eyes, his grin was wide and sharp…and his eyes were yellow and blank.

 

 

“See, silly Millie?” he cooed in an eerie tone. “We all have our dark secrets.”

 

 

 

The scene shifted to her crawling through the vent with Blitzo.

 

 

“Wow, nice one, Mils,” Blitzo commented, looking at his remote. “I think I found the problem though! The readings were coming from above us, so let’s get up there and…”

 

 

“Ow!” Blitzo cried as he ran into Millie.

 

 

Millie turned around. “Enough!”

 

 

Blitzo fumbled to catch his remote.

 

 

“What?”

 

 

“I’m done. I don’t wanna play ghost hunter with you, and I…”

 

 

“Uh, it’s Ghostfuckers,” Blitzo said in his valley accent, reaching for his hat.

 

 

Millie snatched the hat and leaned angrily into his face. “I wasn’t done!” Blitzo flinched back as she continued. “You know, I always love to have fun with you, and I ain’t said boo to you moping around like a sad sack for weeks.” She jabbed a finger into his chest. “But we have bills to pay.”

 

 

She shoved the hat back to him. “So look, you can go be pathetic and play sex ghosts if that’s what you need to do, but I gotta get this job done.”

 

 

She crawled off to the left, near a cobwebbed fan in the vent.

 

 

“Fine!” Blitzo spat. “Who needs you anyway?!” He crawled off to the right. He shouted in his valley accent, “Bethany Ghostfucker works ALONE!”

 

 

“Is being in I.M.P. worth it? With unreliable coworkers too caught up in their own problems to be concerned with how you feel?”

 

 

Millie pushed the dark thought aside.

 

 

“But they’re my friends! Sure, they make mistakes, but I know we can always find ways to get through things. Joining I.M.P. was perhaps the best decision I’ve ever made!”

 

 

“But your family on the farm…they miss you…and your parents won’t approve of you not being the muscle for the Wrath Ring.”

 

 

“That doesn’t faze me! I already told them about I.M.P. and they’ll know I’ll drop by for a visit. Moxxie always cares about me no matter what. And I know Blitz will always be there, too.”

 

 

Millie shook her head, trying to dispel the dark thoughts away.

 

 

 

 

 

“Millie?” Blitzo called from the outside. “Are you okay?”

 

 

Millie blinked and saw her boss looking at her, back in the pool room.

 

 

Millie heard a frustrated growl from behind her and cried out as sharp teeth sank into her neck.

 

 

She felt more chains manifest around her horns and her legs. Black liquid rushed over the seats and poured over her body. Millie strained as she struggled against the suffocating effect.

 

 

Millie landed a punch to Blitzo’s face, and he fell backwards. Blitzo rubbed his head and stood up. Millie stood up slowly like a zombie. Her eyes shifted from her usual yellow and red to blank yellow and back again. When she spoke, it was a strange, distorted combination of her voice and Rolando’s.

 

 

“Blitz…you are my best…FIEND!”

 

 

She wrapped a tail around Blitzo’s foot, tripping him. He rolled to the side to dodge her kicks. She roared at him, her tongue an unnatural yellow-green.

 

 

“SNAP OUT OF IT MILS!” Blitzo urged as he stepped back and barely blocked her fast punches. “I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE! YOU CAN HANDLE THIS!”

 

 

“She thinks you’re a selfish, unreliable…I-I put my trust in you, sir.”

 

 

Blitzo had a puzzled look on his face. As he punched the semi-possessed Millie hard in the face, he could only hope that she would be able to overcome his influence.

 

 

She leaped into the air, aiming her feet at him. Blitzo grinned and caught them, swinging her off to the side. He briefly remembered the brawl they had at the bar before she had decided to join I.M.P. per Blitzo’s request.

 

 

Blitzo chuckled. “I remember our first fight like yesterday,” he remarked. “I saw potential in you, and I still see it now.”

 

 

“Potential…for me to kill you!” came her distorted voice.

 

 

She crashed her head into the pillar where Blitzo had been moments before. Blitzo promptly pushed her down.

 

 

“Millie knows she’s nothing but muscle and brutality,” she spat, punching him hard in the gut. “A disappointment in the eyes of her parents and the Wrath leaders.”

 

 

“Not to me,” Blitzo stated, stomping on her chest.

 

 

“Imps are nothing but lowborn trash, just like her and you!”

 

 

Blitzo grabbed Millie’s knuckles, turned her onto her back and held her in place. “That’s where you’re wrong. She’s the lifeblood, the very spark of my company. And my best friend. She helped make my dream come true, so naturally…”

 

 

Blitzo avoided Millie’s kicks… “I was more than happy to bring her dreams to life.”

 

 

Millie froze, tears spilling down her face. She looked up at Blitzo, her eyes returning to red.

 

 

Blitzo chuckled. “Who would’ve thought a guy like Moxxie would end up falling for you? I thought you’d hate him.”

 

 

Millie smiled weakly. “It was love at first…BITE!”

 

 

Millie lunged for his arms with her teeth and Blitzo backed away just in time.

 

 

“Stand down, Mils. I’m right here.” He winked. “Shall we banish this fishfucker once and for all?”

 

 

A tense pause.

 

 

“Gladly,” Millie said, strain in her voice.

 

 

“Mils can handle this, so buckle up, buttercup!” Blitzo called. He rained his fists down onto Millie when her eyes became blank again. Millie flinched and groaned with distorted sounds as Blitzo attacked and kicked with all his might. Blitzo lifted up Millie and tossed her hard against the wall.

 

 

Rolando emerged from her mouth in black gooey liquid after she slid down. Millie’s eyes opened weakly. Her eyes widened in fear as she saw Rolando reach a clawed hand toward her…

 

 

He then yelped as he was promptly sucked into Blitzo’s ghostfucker device. Blitzo stood up and aimed the vacuum with a gleeful look on his face.

 

 

“Looks like I caught a good one!” he said in his valley accent.

 

 

Millie sighed in relief and couldn’t help but chuckle.

 

 

“Good to have my favorite assassin back,” Blitzo smiled, helping her up. “Wanna do the honors?” He mentioned to the device.

 

 

“Are you sure?”

 

 

Blitzo shrugged. “Meh. I can buy another one.”

 

 

Millie narrowed her eyes. “You still owe me, sir.”

 

 

Millie rolled her eyes and tossed the device into the pool. Electricity raced across the water and the device exploded from underneath the surface. The infestor demon had been defeated.

 

 

“Ghostfucking, am I right?” Blitzo winked.

 

 

Millie smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s go home.”

 

 

“Yeah, fuck hotels!” Blitzo added, lifting his middle finger and walking beside Millie out through the doors.

 

0 0 0 0 0

 

 

Millie ran the faucet in the bathroom, staring into the mirror with tired stressed eyes. She threw something into the trash and banged her fist on the counter. “Shit!” Her green and red sweater read “SINSMAS IS KILLSMAS” with bloodstained dagger designs along the top.

 

 

Millie stared at her cell phone as she walked out of the bathroom. Moxxie held a Mammonopoli board game.

 

 

“Oh, hey sweetie!” Moxxie smiled. “We’re about to start board games!”

 

 

“I’ll be right there, baby! Calling the fam for Sins first!”

 

 

Millie headed frantically into the decorated hallway, tapping on her screen.

 

 

“Hay!” drawled her transgender sister Sallie May in greeting.

 

 

“Hey Sal. You alone?” Millie asked.

 

 

“Uhhhmmmm…” Sallie stood up and spotted her family watching TV. She scurried sideways out of the living room and headed onto the front porch.

 

 

“Yes.”

 

 

“Okay,” Millie breathed. “Good.” She choked, tears in her eyes. She whispered, “I just need someone to talk to about something.”

 

 

“What’s going on?” Sallie May asked.

 

 

Millie held up…a positive pregnancy test.

 

 

“I don’t know what to do!” Millie cried, sliding to the floor.

 

 

The lights above her began to flicker. She looked up, tears in her eyes.

 

 

A tense silence.

 

 

 The lights briefly went dark before one of them illuminated a grotesque figure that appeared in front of her.

 

 

“Did you miss me, farm girl?”

 

 

Her sadness quickly shifted to shock and terror. Faster than thought, she scrambled to her feet and raced back toward the door. The figure reached over and yanked at the shadow of her leg, tripping her. An invisible force pulled her back toward her assailant.

 

 

“Mox!” Millie yelled before a gnarled four-clawed hand clamped over her mouth.

 

 

“You know it’s quite rude to run from someone saying hello.”

 

 

Millie’s eyes widened as she looked closer at him…a tall slender demon with cracked gray skin and small stubs of white fish fins along his back. A purple crystal was attached to his wrist. He wore black shoes, worn-out black jeans and a long black sweater with a black chain necklace around his neck. Saliva spilled from his sharp fangs. His fin ears were mostly stubs of their former glory and his red and yellow sunglasses had long been shattered. His white transparent hair and eyebrows were singed away. Most stunning of all was a stream of black lightning scars crisscrossing over his face and body. His right eye was missing and his left eye peered at Millie with an eerie yellow glow.

 

 

His black sweater had purple and green tentacle designs on it and the words “SINSMAS, JOIN THE INFESTIVAL.”

 

 

‘No…it couldn’t be…’ Millie thought.

 

 

“No,” she cried, her voice muffled. “You’re that infestor demon! You’re dead! Blitz and I saw you die in the pool!”

 

 

“Well, I’m back, bitch,” he hissed with a shrug. “After an agonizing recovery thanks to your boss!”

 

 

She strained to get free, moving his hand away. “What the fuck happened to you?”

 

 

Rolando briefly glanced at his body and then caught Millie’s gaze. “It appears that I haven’t been the only one being fucked around by fate. Perhaps you shouldn’t worry about what happened to me…and start worrying about what’s gonna happen to you!”

 

 

Rolando easily blocked her fast fists with his hands.

 

 

“How can you even see?” she snarled.

 

 

“Oh, silly Millie,” he drawled, “There is nothing that can stop me from sensing people’s innermost insecurities.”

 

 

He opened his mouth wide and spoke in a low distorted whisper. “…and your new fresh doubts are too intoxicating to pass up!”

 

 

Before Millie could react, Rolando morphed into black liquid and entered into Millie’s head. She instantly collapsed.

 

Millie opened her eyes and found herself chained to a seat in an old movie theater. The space was old and worn, with coral and seaweed sprouting in random places. The rusted chains held her in place, and she grunted in frustration.

 

 

‘Was this how Blitz felt when he got possessed?’ she wondered.

 

 

“Yes, pretty much,” Rolando answered, reading her mind. He appeared next to her.

 

 

“Good luck trying to get anything outta me,” Millie spat. “I have a fantastic husband, a great career at I.M.P. and an incredible family. You’ll never get me to be sacred of my past!”

 

 

Rolando laughed evilly. “Oh, I’m not gonna peer into your past. I’m just gonna take a peek at…”

 

 

Rolando reached under the chains and gripped Millie’s pregnant belly. Millie let out a gasp of disgust.

 

 

“…your future.”

 

 

Millie could only sob as her worst fears of motherhood flashed to life on the screen.

 

0 0 0

 

 

 

 

Seeing Moxxie’s face as she told him she was pregnant the day after the Sinsmas party was incredibly emotional. His eyes were full of surprise, bewilderment, but most of all, joy.

 

 

He embraced Millie in a hug. “Oh my Satan, I can’t believe it!”

 

 

“Hey congrats, Mils!” Blitzo cheered. Even Loona gave her a thumbs up in the corner.

 

 

“I-I was scared to tell you,” Millie began. “I was worried that…”

 

 

“I wouldn’t accept it?” Happy tears came to Moxxie’s eyes. “Are you kidding? I’m gonna be a dad. A real dad.” He chuckled nervously. “But still, I-I don’t know where to begin…”

 

 

The I.M.P. members celebrated for a few days. Then Karen, the previous lady who had come into the office burst through the room.

 

 

“Hey Blitzo, that your name?”

 

 

“The ‘o’ is silent, bitch!” he spat. “And what are you doing here?”

 

 

“Just wanted to let you know that you failed to kill my shitty ex-husband and his husband,” she folded her arms, brushing back her long magenta hair. “Why didn’t you do your job?”

 

 

“Because…” Blitzo faltered. “Because it was Sinsmas and I couldn’t bring myself to…kill them…”

 

 

“You denied me my Christmas present,” she snapped. “You probably think I have a grudge against gays…and yes, that’s true. But this gay man cheated on me…he’s just as bad as any other bastard.”

 

 

“Cheating’s not a big deal anymore…” Blitzo began.

 

 

“Tell that to your owl boyfriend,” Karen scoffed. “I’m sure he can dumb it down for you.”

 

 

She turned to face Millie. “If your boss can’t handle the job, perhaps you can?”

 

 

Millie stood up and eagerly nodded. She looked at her trusty double-bladed black axe. “This time, I’ll make sure he gets killed immediately.”

 

 

“And I’ll make sure I pay you guys double and change up my bad review of this place…if you can actually do your fucking job!”

 

 

“No promises,” Blitzo scowled at her. “As a matter of fact, Mox and I got this in the bag.”

 

 

“And me, of course!” Millie added.

 

 

Moxxie held up a hand. “Hey, honey, now that you’re pregnant, I really think you should sit this one out.”

 

 

Millie folded her arms. “What? Fuck no! I’m just as deadly and brutal as before…perhaps more so!”

 

 

Moxxie held her hands. “I understand, but don’t you think going on missions might harm your baby?”

 

 

“I’ll be careful, Mox, I promise!”

 

 

Moxxie looked into her eyes. “Please. For me. We’ll be back shortly. If you need anything…just let me know.”

 

 

Moxxie gave her a kiss on the cheek and turned to follow Blitzo through the diamond-shaped portal.

 

 

Karen humped. “I.M.P.’s powerhouse sitting on her ass while her coworkers fail at their job. What an utter disappointment.”

 

 

Her words echoed as Millie watched Blitzo and Moxxie slaughter the two men and stroll back through the portal, laughing, their clothes stained with red blood.

 

 

“Oh sir, that was one hell of a trip!” Moxxie grinned.

 

 

“Yeah,” Blitzo added. “The police tried to shoot us with their guns, but Moxxie snipped them out before they could blink. Oh Mils, you really missed out.”

 

 

Blitzo turned to Loona. “Come on, Loony! You can take Millie’s place!”

 

 

“Hey, no! I didn’t ask for…” Millie began, but Loona, Moxxie and Blitzo had already disappeared back to Earth.

 

 

“Hey, Mox,” Millie called as he came back. “Wanna wrestle?”

 

 

“No thanks,” Moxxie said, taking a step back. “Let’s wait until after our baby is born, okay?”

 

 

“Please, Mox! It’ll be a quick brawl. I gotta do something!”

 

 

“What you need to do is rest,” Moxxie mentioned.

 

 

“I don’t need to…” Millie started to say but promptly threw up onto the floor.

 

 

“Are you okay?” Moxxie asked her. Her belly gradually grew bigger, and she felt incredibly dizzy.

 

 

Blitzo shook his head. “Mils, I think you should take a few months off.”

 

 

“No, sir, please! I can keep doing my job. Assassination is my life.”

 

 

“I know it is,” Moxxie said with a sigh. “But in a few months, our baby will be our new life. We may have to…not do I.M.P. missions as much anymore if at all.”

 

 

“No, way, Mox! Anything, but that. I-I’m not ready to be a mom.”

 

 

“Of course you are,” he said.

 

 

“Name one mother who’s also an assassin.”

 

 

“Martha?” Moxxie asked.

 

 

“That southern Sinner doesn’t count!” Millie pouted.

 

 

“Anyway,” Moxxie shrugged. “Blitzo already has the future missions covered if we stay home to raise our little imp.”

 

 

Blitzo was talking and shaking the hands of three imps and a succubi.

 

 

“Congratulations, kiddos, you’re hired!” he smiled.

 

 

Millie paused in disbelief, then stuttered. “W-well, at least let me teach our child self-defense and fighting. They’ll need their all to survive in Hell.”

 

 

“Of course,” Moxxie chuckled.

 

 

“W-would you still accept me if I decided not to have it?”

 

 

“Whatever you decide…I’ll be here for you,” Moxxie gave her a hug.

 

 

Her relief was short-lived, however, as the I.M.P. office was soon filled with more horse merchandise that Blitzo had bought.

 

 

“We’re going bankrupt!” Moxxie cried, tossing paperwork into the air. “Thanks a lot, Blitzo! Now my wife and I can’t afford to buy supplies for our baby! What’s wrong with you?!”

 

 

“Stolas and I are still coping!” Blitzo called from the other room. Blitzo and Stolas sat on a couch watching a TV show about horses and porn.

 

 

Moxxie turned to Millie with a worried expression. “We only have a few packs of diapers, no crib, no nice toys. Worst of all, hardly any food.”

 

 

“Well…I could gather some food from my family’s farm…” Millie suggested.

 

 

“Still won’t be enough,” Moxxie sighed. Millie knew he was right.

 

 

“There’s no point in doing more freelancing jobs,” Millie sighed. “Even if I could do several, it still wouldn’t be enough to raise a baby. Plus, I’d rather stick my chances with Blitzo than my previous cruel bosses.”

 

 

“Come on, let’s go talk to your family,” Moxxie said, taking her hand.

 

 

“Mox, I’m not ready to…”

 

 

“They’ll know what to do. I bet they can help you.”

 

 

As they headed through the portal to the Wrath Ring, Blitzo smiled and waved.

 

 

“Bye, Mox, bye Mils! It was a pleasure having you at I.M.P.!”

 

 

“WHAT?!” Millie screeched. “You’re firing me?!”

 

 

Blitzo chuckled nervously. “Heh, I know I said you could come back in a few months…but…”

 

 

He laughed as he was surrounded by a group of warrior imps brandishing a variety of weapons. “I got a whole squad of young fucks locked and loaded for the job!” Loona appeared and waved softly.

 

 

“I promise to come visit you guys!” Blitzo called. “I know you and Mox will make great parents!”

 

 

“Blitz, NO!” Millie cried, but Moxxie pulled her through, and the portal soon closed.

 

 

 

 

Back on the farm, Sallie Mae and her brothers cheered and playfully ruffled Millie’s hair.

 

 

“Congratulations!” they sang.

 

 

“Aww, another warrior in the family,” Lin sighed. “What’s the sex?”

 

 

“I don’t know yet, ma…” Millie answered.

 

 

Millie’s father Joe came over, his arms folded.

 

 

“Pregnant, huh?” he drawled. “Tell me…are you gonna expect us to feed it?”

 

 

“Well, no…” Millie explained. “Mox and I are gonna live together…”

 

 

“How are you two gonna feed the baby by yourselves? You know how scarce food is already.”

 

 

“Come on, pa!” Millie shot back. “You and ma raised half a dozen of us!”

 

 

“While barely gettin’ by, might I add.”

 

 

Joe sighed. “I’m happy for you, Mildred…”

 

 

“It’s Millie…”

 

 

“But,” he continued, “Life out here ain’t a walk in the park. Lin and I are busy enough trying to manage the crops, sell our food and keeping enough water for all of us. Not to mention paying taxes to the rich and keeping food thieves away.”

 

 

“He’s right, Millie,” Lin added. “So…just know that you and your husband are on your own for now when it comes to costs. You…certainly proved yourself capable when you took those risky freelance jobs. Though we still miss you here on the farm.”

 

 

“Really not the same without you here,” Joe added. “We need all the help we can get. So…once your child is of age, come back and we’ll get him or her to work.”

 

 

“Working our child to the bone so early?” Moxxie asked, eyebrow raised. “Shouldn’t he or she get a chance to grow up at their own pace?”

 

 

“The only ‘own pace’ around here boy, is fight or die,” Joe glowered. “You may be my daughter’s scrawny husband, but don’t think for a moment I’m gonna let my daughter become so complacent because of you.”

 

 

“Pa, please…” Millie pleaded.

 

 

“Don’t listen to him, Mils,” Moxxie urged. “We as the parents are the ones who get to decide how to raise our kid.”

 

 

“Millie,” Lin said. “May I suggest you try out for the more lucrative assassin jobs after you teach your child full independence? You definitely need the money, all the help you can get.”

 

 

“But Mox and I work for I.M.P.!”

 

 

“Not anymore,” Moxxie mentioned sadly. “I know it’s hard, sweetie, but perhaps leaving the Earth missions is for the best. Hell is rough, but in many ways, it’s less risky than Earth.”

 

 

Sallie Mae sighed. “Well, I guess I won’t be seeing you in the Pain Games for a while…”

 

 

“Sal?” Millie asked. “What do ya mean?”

 

 

Sallie Mae shrugged. “With you being pregnant and all, the other Wrathians may think you’re too…fragile to compete…”

 

 

Too fragile…too fragile…too fragile…

 

 

The words cut like a deadly knife.

 

 

“You’re wrong, sis! Fighting is my lifeblood, my purpose! You know how life here works…being seen as weak is the worst thing…”

 

 

“Death is even worse,” Sallie Mae added. “And I don’t think you should risk pursuing your former passions over your child’s life…at least until he or she is grown up…” Sallie Mae looked at her with concern.

 

 

“Fighting is still my passion! You have to let me compete!”

 

 

“No more brawls. End of story,” Lin said firmly.

 

 

“Once you’re not pregnant anymore, you have a lot of catching up to do,” Joe added, mentioning to a pile of hoes, rakes and other farm tools in need of de-rusting.

 

 

Joe then whirled toward Moxxie, fist clenched in warning. “If I hear one word about troubles with Millie and her child…”

 

 

Moxxie gulped. “U-understood, sir.”

 

 

Joe grunted, glared at Moxxie again, then walked beside his wife.

 

 

Sallie Mae, Millie’s brothers and her parents wandered away under the orange Wrath sky.

 

 

Millie sobbed, her hand outstretched. “Please guys…I can’t lose you, too!”

 

 

Moxxie put an arm around her, and they sat in silence.

 

 

“S-should I g-get an abortion?” Millie asked in a whisper.

 

 

“Whatever you think is best,” he answered.

 

 

“I don’t know what’s best! Because of this pregnancy, I’ve lost my job, my passion, and now even my family treats me different! I can’t stand it!”

 

 

Millie tripped into the dirt and stared at her stomach. Hellborns had incredibly fragile lives…one stumble and…

 

 

‘What if I miscarry?’ Millie asked herself. ‘What if someone tries to fight me and I lose the baby trying to defend myself?’

 

 

Millie saw herself immersed in her passions again, free from her pregnancy and motherhood worries. But the feeling was shattered when Millie noticed Moxxie’s glum look.

 

 

“Mox?” Millie asked. “Are you doing okay?”

 

 

“Yeah,” he stated, sadly. “I’m just…I suppose I’m disappointed that I didn’t get to be a dad.”

 

 

Those words hurt Millie to her core. She had lost the opportunity to raise a family with Moxxie. Millie was fine with her freedom at first…but seeing Moxxie so heartbroken…

 

 

“I…I thought you would accept whatever choice I made…” she breathed.

 

 

“Yeah, I do…I guess…” he began. “I just…wanted to prove to myself I could be a great dad…better than my father, at least.”

 

 

“But I made the right choice…right?”

 

 

Moxxie kissed her and she found herself pregnant again on the couch in their apartment. “We’ll get through this, together.”

 

 

Millie, the fiercest warrior in I.M.P. and quite possibly in Wrath thought she could handle anything…

 

 

…but seeing herself suddenly in a hospital room violently giving birth was too much.

 

 

The pain was agonizing…she felt vulnerable and helpless, crying through the sensations.

 

 

“Flailing around just trying to push a baby out?” Joe asked in the background. “I thought my daughter was more resilient than that.”

 

 

Lin sobbed next to him, talking to the nurses. “Please don’t let her die, please don’t let her die…”

 

 

Millie’s nerves heightened.

 

 

The nurses frantically were helping Millie push out the imp, black blood staining the table and floor.

 

 

Just when she thought it would never end, one of the nurses pulled out her imp baby with red skin, a pointed tail, and a bald head.

 

 

Millie sobbed with relief and instinctively held her baby close to her chest.

 

 

“I wonder what we should name him or her,” Moxxie wondered. He peered closer. “Though I can’t tell at this point, it…doesn’t have a…”

 

 

“A what?” Millie snapped.

 

 

She looked down at her baby calmly sucking her breasts.

 

 

“There’s nothing wrong with…”

 

 

The baby looked up and Millie saw it had no face.

 

 

 

Even the wildest most brutal fights for Millie were nothing compared to a new nightmare she was experiencing.

 

 

She endured many sleepless nights as the baby cried and cried.

 

 

“Mils,” Moxxie groaned. “Can you change them, please?”

 

 

With tired eyes, Millie got up and changed the baby’s diaper. Then to her dismay, there were no more diapers left.

 

 

“Mox, what do I do? We’re out of diapers!”

 

 

“Just use an old cloth or something, I don’t know.”

 

 

The baby started crying again, the screeching wails pounding against her head.

 

 

Millie tried to feed the baby a handful of black beans in the morning, but they spat them right out.

 

 

“Oh, come on,” Millie groaned. “That’s our primary food source right now!”

 

 

A knock sounded.

 

 

“I’ll get it,” Moxxie called, opening the door. “It’s Joe and Lin!”

 

 

When Joe and Lin came inside to visit Millie, they both grew worried.

 

 

“Look at them, they’re as scrawny as a wild hell-coyote!” Lin remarked, staring at the baby.

 

 

Millie turned around and saw her baby, now a toddler, was bony-thin, wearing ragged clothes and babbling nonsense.

 

 

Moxxie dashed around the apartment frantically. “We haven’t paid our rent…no new clothes and worse…THERE’S NO FOOD IN THE FRIDGE!”

 

 

Millie’s eyes grew wide at the sight of the empty fridge.

 

 

“We have to buy some…”

 

 

“We’re running out of money!” Moxxie cried. “If we don’t pay the rent soon, our landlord will kick us out!”

 

 

“But we have to feed our child!” Millie mentioned.

 

 

“I know they need special formula, but that’s too damn expensive! I don’t think our kid will be happy if we become HOMELESS!”

 

 

“Moxxie, I believe you’ve caused enough problems here,” Joe scowled.

 

 

“I’m doing the best I can, sir!”

 

 

“Raising them here with hardly any food and a too-sheltered life. They’ll be a helpless runt on the streets.”

 

 

“You pa’s right, Mildred,” said Lin. “I know we thought you two could handle this on your own, but…”

 

 

“It’s obvious it ain’t working out,” Joe finished. He walked over to the child.

 

 

“Pa, what are you doing?!”

 

 

“Taking them back to the farm so they can at least have some stability there.”

 

 

“I’m coming too!”

 

 

“Not with your husband you’re not,” Joe chided.

 

 

“I ain’t leaving Mox behind!” Millie sobbed and growled. “Give them back!”

 

 

“You can either come with us and help shape them into another fine farmhand…or you can stay here with your husband, lonely in this here city box.”

 

 

Millie watched Joe and Lin take her child’s hands and head out the door.

 

 

“Wait, come back! Let me…”

 

 

 

 

The scene turned dark, and Millie found herself in a dark forest under a full moon. An owl hooted in the distance.

 

 

She glanced down and smiled. Staring up at her were two little imp children. One was a girl with curly black horns and long black hair, wearing worn black clothes like Millie. The other was a boy wearing blue overalls and wearing an orange baseball cap with Satan’s logo on it.

 

 

They raced toward her and Moxxie who was next to her, embracing them happily.

 

 

“I love you guys,” Millie said, “But what are we doing out in the woods?”

 

 

“You’re teaching us how to hunt, remember?” the girl mentioned.

 

 

“We’re taking a break from staying in the desert all the time,” said the boy.

 

 

“Wait…are we on Earth?” Millie wondered.

 

 

“Mils!” Blitzo and Loona called.

 

 

Blitzo held out his gun and Loona sniffed the air.

 

 

“Our next target should be around here,” Blitzo mentioned, cocking his gun. “That Sinner won’t get away from us this time.”

 

 

“Wait…I’m back on the mission?” Millie asked.

 

 

“Of course,” Blitzo mentioned. “Did you think I’d leave you forever?”

 

 

Millie and her kids headed through the woods, looking around.

 

 

After a few moments, the boy whimpered. “Mama, I’m getting scared.”

 

 

“It’s okay,” Millie said. “We’re Wrathians, there is absolutely nothing to be afraid…”

 

 

“OH SHIT!” Blitzo cried out as the sound of bullets rang through the air. “WE’VE GOT COMPANY!”

 

 

The I.M.P. family raced around the trees as the sounds of footsteps rapidly followed them.

 

 

The sound grew closer and closer. Millie glanced behind her, but there was nothing there.

 

 

She suddenly heard Blitzo yell as an ominous rattling sound was heard.

 

 

“Time for payback, Blitzo,” drawled a western voice.

 

 

“Striker,” Blitzo glared.

 

 

They fought and swore as gunshots rang out.

 

 

“Crimson has a huge bounty on your employee and his kid,” Striker mentioned with an evil glint in his eyes. “Should be easier than trying to kill that owl prince.”

 

 

“You stay away from my family!” Blitzo fired back.

 

 

“Keep going,” Millie urged. She, Moxxie, and the children raced through the woods.

 

 

Loona rushed to keep up with them…

 

 

…but a strange portal appeared behind her…

 

 

…and the Hellhound was snatched up from behind by two pairs of hands.

 

 

“Gottcha, mutt!” cried Agents One and Two in triumph. Loona let out a canine yelp.

 

 

“LOONA!” Millie cried, glancing back, but she couldn’t turn around.

 

 

Moxxie screamed and stumbled to a stop, the kids slowing down and huddling close.

 

 

“Moxxie what’s…”

 

 

Millie could soon see why he was so frightened. Standing before him was the glowering face of Crimson, Moxxie’s father. Standing beside him was a grinning Striker.

 

 

“Where’s Blitz?” Millie asked.

 

 

Striker smirked, holding up Blitzo’s severed head in response. Millie gasped and covered her mouth.

 

 

“This is what happens when a bunch of rogue assassins decide to mess with my business,” Crimson stated. “Moxxie could’ve married rich, stayed with me to support our dealings…” He stepped forward menacingly.

 

 

“...but instead, he decides to run off with a rowdy Wrathian poor farmgirl. I’d say just as big a betrayal as Chaz when he lied about his wealth! Now there is only one way to return the favor to my ex-son…”

 

 

Before Millie could blink, he tossed a knife, and it embedded itself into Moxxie’s forehead.

 

 

Millie screamed as Moxxie gasped, black blood trailing down his face. He collapsed to the ground and Millie sobbed into his body.

 

 

“I’LL KILL YOU ALL RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW!” Millie bellowed in newfound rage, looking up.

 

 

“Not if you want your kids alive,” Crimson warned. He forcefully grabbed the arm of her son. “Let’s see if this little runt still has his grandfather’s mercenary talent in him.”

 

 

“Mama, help!” the boy imp shrieked.

 

 

“NO! STAY AWAY FROM HIM!”

 

 

Millie raced forward but was knocked backward by Striker.

 

 

“Not so tough now that you’re a mother, huh?” Striker mocked.

 

 

Her fist moved right through Striker and he punched her hard in the stomach. Millie froze with anxious eyes. She was fighting her enemy and was somehow pregnant again!

 

 

“Watch where you’re going,” Striker mocked, tossing Millie into the air. “Your little one might get…”

 

 

“…HURT!” Striker finished with sinister laughter as Millie crashed against a tree and cried out. She sobbed and cradled her belly tightly.

 

 

Millie groaned as she stood up, waving a fist that moved through right through Striker again.

 

 

Then she spotted her daughter backing up, raising a trembling red finger.

 

 

“Mama…who are they?”

 

 

Millie looked up to see Stella and Andrealphus stroll by in their royal garb and crowns.

 

 

Stella lifted her beak in the air. “Andre,” she grumbled. “I believe we have come across a bunch of imp peasants.”

 

 

“Urgh, how revolting,” Andrealphus agreed.

 

 

“Can we get rid of them?” Stella asked. “I need to head back to the palace for my evening manicure and tea.”

 

 

“Don’t see why not, dear,” Andrealphus mentioned.

 

 

He waved his hand and Millie’s daughter froze on the spot in ice. A grinning Stella held an angelic knife and sadistically sliced the ice block. All that was left of her daughter were shards of ice and splotches of black blood that fell at her feet.

 

 

Millie screamed and ran as fast as she could…but all the villains chased after her with evil grins.

 

 

She glanced back at them, and they all had strange glowing yellow eyes.

 

 

Millie soon found herself falling through an ocean of pitch black. Below her, she saw her baby crying and falling.

 

 

Millie dived down after her infant. She winced as cuts began to appear on her skin. Black blood flowed from her arms, face, shoulders, and chest.

 

 

Not caring about her condition, Millie reached out to her baby, arms outstretched.

 

 

‘Moxxie,’ she thought. ‘Please help me escape this nightmare!’

 

 

“This is more than a nightmare…” spoke a distorted voice around her. “This is your DOOM!”

 

 

“NO, NO, NO!” Millie wailed. “MAKE THIS STOP, PLEASE!”

 

 

She watched in horror as her wailing baby fell into an open, gaping mouth…

 

 

…one that loudly snapped shut…

 

 

…and when she saw it belonged to a grinning Rolando…

 

 

She…

 

 

Couldn’t…

 

 

Handle…

 

 

Any…

 

 

More…

 

 

 

 

 

Rolando morphed out of Millie’s head, and he rematerialized in the hall. Millie sobbed and gasped weakly one last time before falling still. Her yellow blank eyes dimmed their glowing, leaving her regular red eyes expressionless. 

 

 

He stood over Millie’s body and snapped a picture with his cell phone.

 

 

“A very merry Sinsmas to me,” he purred.

 

 

Black blood pooled over the hall carpet as Rolando began his feast.

 

 

From Millie’s cell phone on the floor, Sallie Mae spoke, “Ummmm…Mils? Are you okay? Are you there?”