Cody was showing Loona, Serana, Crystal, and Vortex a video that showed a Buddhist's perception of what hell would be like, and how the souls would be tortured for the bad things they would do in the human world and the kind of torture methods that would be given to the inhabitants suffering in it for all eternity. Granted, they were all in Hell right now, but Loona, Serana, Vortex, and Crystal looked rather weirded out, especially by how weird and unusual and sickening the CGI was for this video. "My god." said Loona, "that is by far the weirdest thing I have ever seen."
"Yeah, I'm sure this is just an exaggeration of what Hell really is."
"Ah, it must be one of those self-righteous Bible thumpers." Loona said. "These kind of people always do these kind of things to scare people into making them reform and repent of their sins. Come on, this is just pure bulls- I mean, pure, utter garbage. Heh. This video's kinda laughable once you think about it."
"My grandparents showed me this video to make me understand why I should never sin." Cody said as the video ended.
"Well, like Vortex said," said Crystal, "That is nothing but an exaggeration."
Serana nodded her head in agreement and said: "Don't ever listen to those kind of people. All they are trying to do is scare you, that's it."
Cody looked a little uncertain about this. He's already been down here in Hell for a little while, and he doesn't really see any tormented souls suffering in eternal damnation right now.
"Serana's right, buddy." Loona said. "all of that, not real."
"OK. I've been down here for a day now and it's kind of like Earth, but more... rude."
Vortex laughed. "Yeah, that's a really light way to put it." he took a big, gigantic bite of his triple burger. "Hmm, this is so good."
"About Verosika, are you sure I shouldn't worry about her?"
"Nah, I may work for her, but I'll make sure she doesn't try to hurt you, although she has no intention of hurting you, Cody." he gave the kid a gentle ruff on the head. It made the child smile and laugh a little.
"Why couldn't I have run into Def Leppard or Guns N Roses or Pantera instead of her?"
"Ooh, You like those bands?" said Loona.
"Yeah. My dad took me to a few concerts."
"Well, your dad sounds like the best father in the world." Tex said.
"Thanks. He was. I know there isn't anything that can bring him back." Cody looked down sadly and had a face like a hopeful idea or some kind of wishful thing was involved. "unless... there isn't any magic that can help with that, is there?"
Crystal, Serana, and Vortex bowed their heads. "Sorry sweetie," said Crystal, "but that's not possible. It's not that simple."
"I knew it." Cody laid his chin on his arms on the table, looking away. "Why did I even ask that question anyway."
"No, it's alright." said Serana, gently rubbing his back. "But there's some things even us demons can't do."
"I know."
"But you wanna come to a hound party?" asked Crystal, "They are so much fun."
"Whoa whoa whoa," Loona intervened. "I don't think Cody can handle it. Besides, he's still too young."
"Yeah, it can get a little rough for him." said Vortex. "I don't want him to get hurt. Besides, i'm sure my girlfriend won't allow it. She loves to party, but she doesn't like kids getting hurt."
Loona gave an angry smile and said: "Yeah, your girlfriend. She is one of a kind, is she?" Deep down, she wish that she can maul Tex's girlfriend to little tiny pieces of meat so that she could be Vortex's new girlfriend. Alas, Loona knew how much Tex loved his little lady, and that he would probably be very pissed off if Loona did that to his little lady. If there was one thing Loona didn't want to lose, it was Tex's friendship with her. Who knows? Maybe Vortex and her gal might break up if something unexpected happens. Shit can happen, even for loving couples.
"It's OK," said Cody. "I still have the book that can take me back to the human world when I want to come back. So it's not a total loss. But I hope Tommy knows I'm OK."
"Tommy?" asked Vortex
"His big brother." Loona said. "He's in the marines, right Cody?"
"Actually, he's in the French Foreign Legion." the boy said.
The three hellhounds sounded a little surprised. "The French Foreign legion?" asked Loona. "How did he even do something like that?"
"Well, he's married to a beautiful girl from France named Celeste, and he joined the Legion to be with her. He's strong, he's tough, and he knows how to fight. But I don't know if he knows about my parents being dead."
"Come on, France is like a thousand miles from your home." Loona said. "Don't beat yourself off."
"Yeah, but what if he thinks it's my fault?"
"That's crazy talk, Cody." Vortex said. "What would make you think the worst?"
"Yeah, that's just silly." Serana added while sipping a drink. "A cute, and sweet little boy like you causing a fire to burn in your house like that?"
"Not likely." said Crystal. "You're too sweet and nice to do something like that. Besides, it wasn't your fault."
"Yeah, don't ever think that about yourself, sweetie." Loona said, pulling him close for a side-hug. "Besides, I saved you. And you definitely don't look like a troublemaker. I know, because I have seen kids like that in the human world."
Cody sighed and said: "Well, I guess there's no use in thinking about it too much, or too deep."
"Yeah, exactly." Tex smiled. "Thinking too hard just hurts your head. It'll leave you with nothing but a headache. And come on, we're your friends, and we can have fun together."
"Absolutely!" said Crystal. "We like you already."
Cody smiled and said: "Thanks guys."
suddenly, an imp jumped up in front of the group's booth and he looked like a carny imp with fancy clothing and long, spiral horns colored black and white. He also wore a top hat and had a fancy cane like a snotty rich man would have in his possession to look what they call "regal". "Pardon me, folks!" he said in a southern accent. "I couldn't help but notice that you, little man, are a human, am I right?"
The human child looked a little nervous and said: "y-yeah. I'm a human."
"Well, this be the first time I have ever met a human before." said the imp before sitting next to to him and putting his left arm around the boy's shoulders, much to Cody's discomfort. "And I couldn't help but notice y'all thinking about doing something fun."
"Oh no." Loona rolled her eyes. "Wacky Wally, not again. Ugh."
"So what's yer name, buddy?"
"Cody?"
"Well, Cody. I have a perfect suggestion to do something fun. I am Wally Wackford, and I am the owner and proprietor of 'Wacky Wally Wackford's Wacky Idea Factory'. A place to look at amazing gadgets that I sell."
"That's... a lot of wackiness." Cody admitted with an eyebrow raised
"You can say that again, little man. I can make the wackiest, craziest-"
"Oh get the fuck out of here, Wally!" said Loona.
The imp looked at the hellhound and said: "hey, you're Blitzo's doggy, aren't you?"
Loona growled at being called that, and said: "He didn't adopt me that way. He's... my adopted dad. Now go away, you're making him uncomfortable."
"Oh come on, girl. Money makes the world go round, and the kid should totally come to my factory."
Vortex can see that Cody was getting a little more uncomfortable, and he stood up, looking tough and intimidating, growling like an angry wolf. "Hey." he said calmly yet sternly. "The boy's not interested, leave him alone." he narrowed his angry eyes at him.
Wally got scared immediately, and saw how this tough, terrifying, and intimidating hellhound meant business. "You know... there's always another day!" he said nervously. "Gotta go! You guys have fun!" then he hurried out of the restaurant with no hesitation.
"Thanks Vortex." said Cody."
The hellhound gently touched the kid's right shoulder, "don't mention it." the five continued eating their food and when they were finished, they all headed out and Tex paid for everything.
"That was yummy!" said Cody
"Right? All that yummy burger meat can just melt into my tongue." said Serana.
"So, can you guys turn into humans?" asked Cody
"Oh yeah. all hellhounds can change into humans, Cody." said Crystal. "And we look pretty convincing in human disguises. That's why a Hellhound would be able to be in the human world as long as they want, as long as we have that magical ability."
"But, you guys wanna hang out at my place?" Loona suggested
"What about Blitz?" asked Vortex. "I'm sure he wouldn't want to see me since I am his ex's bodyguard."
"Screw what he thinks. He already knows what a big marshmallow you are." Loona said. "Besides, he's mostly all bark and no bite."
Later in the Night
Cody was asleep in his bed but by the way he was tossing and turning, he was having a nightmare while grunting and whimpering. "T-Tommy?" he said. "Is that you?" in his dream, he was looking at Tommy with his back turned to him with his fists clenched. "Tommy?"
"What are you doing here, you little shit?" he said rudely while turning around.
"What are you talking about?" Cody looked very confused on why his own big brother just said that.
"Oh please, you know very well what I am talking about." Tommy sneered, "you killed mom and dad in the fire. It's all your fault that they're gone! You hear me?! Your fault!"
"No! NO! It's not my fault!" Cody screamed with tears streaming down his cheeks.
"They're dead because of you!"
"NOOOOOOO!"
He felt himself being gently rolled and touched by two furry hands. "Cody, Cody wake up!" said a very familiar voice. The child awoken from his slumber and he was sweating, hyperventilating like a dog with a bad hiccup. Looking to and fro, he was still panting.
"What? What happened? What happened?"
"Cody! Calm down!" Loona said, gently hugging him. "It's OK. It was all just a dream. What happened?"
More tears streamed down the poor child's face, and he tearfully said: "There was... Tommy and... he was so mad at me, and said that it was my fault mom and dad are dead. But it wasn't my fault!" he hugged Loona tightly "I didn't kill them!"
"Ssssshhhhhhhhh." Loona gently soothed him him back. "It's OK. of course it wasn't your fault. You would never do that to your parents. The fire was not your fault." she continued soothing and comforting him so that he wouldn't cry anymore. Loona hated seeing this poor boy cry in agony and sadness. Cody was still just a child that has so much to live for.
It was just then Blitzo came in the bedroom, yawning, and looking groggy. "What the fuck is going on in here? It's three in the morning."
"Nothing, Blitz." said Loona. "Cody just had a bad dream. I got it under control."
"Oh boy. It's just like me all over again when I was a kid. I was crying for hours until my parents sung me to-"
"BLITZ!" Loona said
"OK! OK! I'm going. Sorry." then the imp did just that, leaving Loona and Cody alone together.
"Sorry about Blitz. He can be really rude at times."
"Oh, you should talk?" said the imp from another room.
Loona just ignored his comment and continued to console Cody until he would stop crying. It took about ten minutes, but Cody eventually ran out of tears to cry out, and he was calm. "It was just a dream, right?"
The hellhound gave him a sad smile and said: "Of course it was just a dream. It was no one's fault."
The Next Morning
Cody was feeling much, much better after the nightmare, thanks to Loona being very kind to him, and consoling him. As of now; he was sitting in the board meeting room, sitting next to Loona during one of Blitzo's usual morning meetings. The imps and hellhound weren't working today, and it was just a meeting, nothing else.
"Now, we have got more clients than ever, and our business is booming!" said Blitzo.
"This is good news sir. I think this is a new record." Moxxie admitted
"I never thought I would say this, Moxxie," Blitzo remarked, "But I totally agree with you."
"Come on. Do you really hate to say that?" Moxxie looked offended.
"Yes. Yes I do." Blitz sounded flat and honest.
Just then, the door knocked three times and it made the lead imp growl. He hate being interrupted like that. "Now who can that be?" said Millie. The door opened and it revealed to be Verosika and her close friends. Blitzo growled, and he was not happy to see that slutty succubus one bit.
"Oh no, not you succu-bitches again." said Blitz
"Oh put a cock in it, Blitzo." Verosika frowned at him. "We're just looking for- Ah! Here he is, guys." she looked at Cody, who had the face that said: "Uh-oh" on it.
He felt Verosika pick him up and cradle him like a baby again. "Verosika?"
"Cody, I knew I would find you here." she hugged him. Her friends crowded around her. three guys and four girls. Vortex was with them, but he looked rather guilty being with the wrong side.
Loona got off her chair, and begin growling once more. Her protective instincts were kicking in
"What do you want from me?" asked the human boy.
"Just wanted to say hello, and have you meet my friends here."
"Hello! I'm Apple."
"Kiki."
"Name's Coco."
"My name is Milky."
"Kat's my name.
"Ace."
"And I'm Josh."
"Oh, you look so cute." said Apple, holding him next. "I swear to Satan, I just want to snuggle you for the rest of eternity.
The more these succubi and incubi crowded around Cody, the more angry Loona was getting. She was ready to go on a rampage and turn feral mode.