This is the second part of the five-part emotional and dramatic Helluva Boss oneshot set in Hell; showing a possible scenario where Striker's backstory is revealed to Blitzo.
Tempers flare as Blitzo and Striker throw insults and jibes at each other, still incensed at being forced to tolerate each other.
A flashback of the Harvest Moon Festival is revealed ... of something previously unknown ...
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I do not own anything belonging to Helluva Boss; the credit for that story and characters goes to Vivziepop! I hope that you guys like it! 👍
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Blitzo just scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I don't really see what the problem is, to be honest", the boss imp said, sassily.
"Aren't scars supposed to be all the rage these days ... especially down in Wrath?" His rival quickly shot him an intense glare, practically snarling!
"Watch it, clownbutt!" Striker hissed, his fists clenching.
Given the tension and clear distress of said cowboy about his future scars, a wise person wouldn't test him like that.
Unfortunately, being wise in situations like this ... wasn't really Blitzo's forte.
His philosophy on this kind of thing was more of a ... 'when in doubt: provoke and destroy it'.
"What?" the boss imp said, 'innocently'. "I was under the impression that the ladies there loved 'rough and tough' guys with scars all over them?"
Blitzo chuckled, and then smirked at the outlaw's steadily darkening, angry face.
"Oh, but that wouldn't work out, huh? Make you a walking stereotype?" he said, in an outright taunt.
"Well ... even more of a stereotype than you already are!"
Striker's eyes immediately narrowed more, as Blitzo unintentionally hit a mental and emotional sore spot.
"I am NOT a frigging stereotype!" the cowboy growled, rising slowly to his feet.
"Oh come on, you could have fooled me!" the boss imp drawled, giving Striker a derisive look as he rose to his feet too.
"You dress like that, you live in a cave with your so-called classics! Though I would argue that that gigantic statue of you was less of a classic."
Blitzo chuckled again, as the outlaw's face flushed deep scarlet for a moment.
"More of a prize to your enormous ego, really!" Striker screeches with rage as he grabs Blitzo tightly by the lapels.
"You're playing with fire, Blitzy!" the cowboy warned the boss imp, through gritted teeth. Blitzo just gave him a mock grimace.
"I'm playing? You're the one who's just got burnt, after all!" he said, with a jeering laugh.
A muscle promptly twitched in Striker's face, as flames blazed in his eyes.
"You little—"
"WILL YOU TWO JUST SHUDDUP?!!"
The two imps both winced and yelped in shock and pain as a shoe bonked both of their heads. HARD.
While rubbing their heads, Blitzo and Striker turned rightwards to the source of the shoe.
It was the now-raging demon mother, now standing and facing them ... holding one of her shoes in a tight fist.
Her now-nervous son was still sitting on his seat, next to his mother ... glancing at the arguing imps.
"Honestly, you fire toads bicker like a pair of spoilt brats!" the aforementioned woman snapped, glaring hotly at Blitzo and Striker.
The duo briefly exchanged a questioning look with each other.
"My little one's waiting for his doctor to come, and he's doesn't need all the yelling!
You're scaring him with all your immature hullabaloo!" she continued, waving her brandished shoe intimidatingly.
Usually, the boss imp would shoot anyone who talked to him like that ... but it felt different this time.
It was silently reminding Blitzo of times back in his childhood when his own mother was mad at him.
Strangely enough, Striker was secretly feeling exactly the same.
"I'm gonna take my other shoe to you if you can't keep quiet!" the demon mother yelled at them, leaning towards them menacingly.
"I'm warning you, keep shouting and I'll tan your hides so hard you'll be screaming for your own mommies!!!"
Blitzo and Striker both gave the mother VERY annoyed glares at that! They very much disliked being treated like and talked to like naughty kids!
But ... the boss imp and cowboy knew that if they tried to start a fight again; they'd be ejected from the premises!
Plus, the stork demon had just poked his beak around the opening waiting room door ... and was giving the imps harsh stares.
It was clear that he'd now marked both Blitzo and Striker down as potential troublemakers!
Biting back their retorts, the duo grumpily shut up and sit back down in their seats ... looking away from the triumphant mother.
Nodding in satisfaction, the stork security chief pulled his head back, and shut the door again.
As the cowboy sat back down, he winced once more ... and touched his tender injuries.
"Ughhh ... I hate hellfire", Striker muttered under his breath.
"You're telling me", murmured Blitzo ... who'd just about caught that. "Stings real awful, that stuff.
Had personal experience, unfortunately", the boss imp continued, frowning with empathy.
Being burned with hellfire was indeed one of the nastiest things that could ever happen to you in Hell.
Blitzo would never really wish that on anyone ... even Striker.
"The circus fire back in your past?"
The boss imp's head cracked around sharply as he whirled to narrow his eyes at the outlaw next to him.
Striker only sent him a mocking smirk, his cocky attitude now back in place.
"I did my homework, Blitzy. I know everything that went on that night", the cowboy said, his smirk growing a little. The boss imp raised an eyebrow.
Hmmmmm ... EVERYTHING that happened? Yeah, right.
"The fire wasn't intentional, you know that, of course?" Blitzo asked, shooting Striker an inquiring glance.
The outlaw looked a little surprised at that ... and confused. The boss imp inwardly scoffed and laughed at his rival's reaction.
Hah! I knew that that piece of work didn't know everything!
"Just a clumsy accident, but it was the biggest mistake of my life!" Blitzo continued, his expression turning serious. The boss imp bowed his head in shame; shoulders began to shake.
"I ... I lost almost everything in my life in that fire. My father disowned me, and threw me out on my backside. My mother ..."
Blitzo paused for a moment, tears now streaming down his face. The boss imp hiccuped a little before his voice steadied.
"Even my own sister: Barbie Wire ... she hated me for what happened that night. Barbie's never forgiven me for it ... and swears she never will."
Blitzo grimaced as he remembered all of the harsh and hateful words his own sibling hurled at him out in the human world.
"I recently checked up on Barbie during a job lately, and she's still disowning me", the boss imp explained ... sighing deeply.
"Sometimes I think that Barbie Wire will hate me for the rest of her life. But other times ... I hope otherwise."
Blitzo sighed again, before quickly wiping the tears from his face ... not wanting to look weak in front of Striker.
Although ... if the boss imp had been looking at said cowboy during his revelations ... he would have seen something interesting.
During Blitzo's reveal, Striker's expression changed several times.
From curiosity ... to shock ... to sadness ... then sympathy ... to remorse ... and finally a calm indifference.
"What job were you on at the time, Blitzy?" the outlaw inquired, clearing his throat loudly. The boss imp raised an eyebrow at him, very suspicious.
"What's it to you?" Blitzo asked warily, loath to give out any information. Striker held up both hands defensively, smiling an 'innocent' smile.
"Just wondering, that's all? Passing the time with chit-chat ... ain't nothing wrong with that, right?" the cowboy pointed out ... kind of fairly.
The boss imp's suspicious stare persisted for several seconds, before he abruptly shrugged.
"Fair enough. Well, it wasn't really supposed to be my job this time", Blitzo admitted, and then rolled his eyes.
"I put Moxxie in charge of it, with Millie as backup—"
"Wait, wait, wait!" Striker interrupted the boss imp, snickering with amusement. "Moxxie ... seriously?! You seriously put the vermin in charge?"
Blitzo huffed, and folded his arms ... irritated at the outlaw's CONSTANT disrespect for Moxxie.
"Hey! He's more capable than you think!" he stated firmly. "Anyway ... Moxxie decided—"
Minutes passed ... as the boss imp related what happened at the human camp (Unhappy Campers) to an intrigued Striker.
To Blitzo's surprise, said cowboy seemed to show an odd but genuine enjoyment in the story he was told!
Striker, unsurprisingly, found particular merriment in Moxxie's antics and various failures during the job ... and laughed a lot.
He completely approved of Blitzo's decision to criticise Moxxie for messing up, too.
"I have to say, Blitzy ..." the outlaw began, after his rival had finished the tale.
"For someone who started out as a second-rate clown, you have quite the interesting and successful career!"
The boss imp raised an eyebrow at that backhand compliment; smiling wryly.
"To tell the truth ... I almost regret not taking up your offer at the festival!"
Striker's expression turned thoughtful as he spoke, remembering what happened back then ...
Blitzo hadn't forgotten either ...
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Flashback:
The Harvest Moon Festival, Wrath Ring, an hour before the games began ...
Imps all around were labouring to get things ready for the Harvest Moon Festival.
Wrangling the animals chosen for the games, stockpiling the drinks, building the rodeo structures and pens etc.
Two extremely tall imps in particular were leaning against a fence of a recently built rodeo pen. Striker and Blitzo.
Bombproof (Striker's hellhorse) was munching on a hog carcass, next to his owner and rider.
The boss imp and the cowboy were deep in conversation with each other ... and laughing every now and then.
Blitzo, in particular, was pulling handfuls of little plastic horses from his pockets ... and showing them to Striker.
Said outlaw looked a little confused by this, but mostly amused at the sight of the toys.
"These here are just samples of my collection, you see", the boss imp explained, happily. "Got hundreds of these little blighters back at HQ!"
Blitzo then shoved all of the plastic horses in his hands back into his pockets ... and pulled out a single, new one.
"This one is Renaldo: my favourite horse of all! HE is gold class!" the boss imp said reverently, holding said toy up to the bright sun.
"Whenever I rp with him, I imagine that he's the hellhorse god ... the horse that can kick backsides from the top of Hell right down to the depths!"
Renaldo seemed to reflect in Blitzo's eyes as the imagination of said imp ran wild!
"Born of fire, death, and the love of a good, bloody party!" he declared in excitement.
The boss imp then moved the plastic horse jokingly towards Striker in a mock-ferocious fashion.
"Grrrr!"
Blitzo was instantly met with a raised eyebrow from Striker ... and an incredulous stare and dropped jaw from Bombproof!
The boss imp just ignored their reactions though, and lifted the toy up to the sunlight again.
"Seriously, this here is a vintage Hellhorse VIII model! They don't sell these anymore ... not even on the black market!" Blitzo stated, looking quite proud of himself.
"Do you know how much it cost to get one of these? Two rifles, one bazooka, and my best-to-devil jacket too!"
The boss imp chuckled and smirked as he looked at his hard-won prize.
"Wooo, that was quite the rodeo ... if I do say so myself." Blitzo then gestured down at himself, looking a bit regretful for a moment.
"This is my second best jacket, you see! The other one got shot to pieces!" he explained ... before sighing deeply.
"Ah ... good times", he added, smiling and putting Renaldo back into a pocket.
Now ... during Blitzo's rambling, Striker had a very hard time keeping up with what Blitzo was talking about.
In fact, to tell the truth ... he actually missed a lot of it!
But the cowboy just nodded and hummed at frequent intervals ... to seem as polite as possible.
"Hmm ... Well, you definitely like horses from what I can see!" Striker finally spoke, turning fully to face his new acquaintance.
The outlaw was secretly very relieved that Blitzo's ramble had come to an end! Frankly, he'd never known anyone before who was THAT keen on horses!
"Rather admirable in a way, really", Striker continued, turning to face Bombproof.
The hellhorse, in question, had already resumed eating ... and his attention was back on his meal.
"Most in Hell see them just as personal possessions, transport, or both", the cowboy murmured, gently stroking Bombproof's neck.
"I see them as true companions ... as friends, just like you do." Behind Striker's back, Blitzo was blinked in sudden shock, and slight disbelief.
Had he registered that right? Had the outlaw just genuinely complimented Blitzo on his liking for horses?!
That ... really really hit the boss imp like a metaphorical punch in the ribs.
Nobody ... and NO ONE, not even Loona; had ever complimented him on his liking for horses.
They either thought that it was pathetic, or incredibly frustrating.
More the former, than the latter ... to be exact. Being complimented on it instead felt ... different, somehow. Felt nice ... and warm inside.
That is ... if Striker was being sincere? 50/50 chance: maybe ... or maybe not? But ... the cowboy seemed to be at least a little genuine in his words?
That mattered, right?
"Thanks, Striker", Blitzo said, with sincere gratitude. The cowboy gave him a single, acknowledging nod and grin in return.
"No problem, Blitz. But I have to ask ..." Striker drawled, while darting his eyes to Bombproof and back.
"If you like horses so much; why haven't you already got one of your own?" The boss imp just huffed and rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Weeell ... personally, I would love to have a horse, but there are certain issues", Blitzo said, as he held up two fingers.
"One is that it would be hard to keep a hellhorse in Imp City ... and two: I'm legally banned from riding horses there!"
This raised both of Striker's eyebrows! The outlaw leaned close to the boss imp's face as he smirked with interest.
"Really? What did you do?" Striker purred, curious to know what Blitzo had done! The boss imp just smirked back at the cowboy.
"If you want to be exact, the big nobs in charge banned me after riding an untrained bucking bronco straight into their annual cavalcade!" he revealed, chuckling proudly!
"It was chaos, pure chaos and carnage!" Blitzo sighed happily as he spoke, closing his eyes in bliss for a moment.
Striker chuckled at the resulting imagery that appeared in his mind at that.
"Must have been a lotta fun that day!" the outlaw quipped in amusement.
He then grabbed two skewers full of roasted meat from a passing imp, and passed one to Blitzo.
The former made to protest ... only to be quickly silenced by the brief appearance of a pistol from inside Striker's jacket.
The boss imp, meanwhile, hungrily tore into the meat ... while sneaking a playful grin at said cowboy.
"More fun than just working as a farmhand in Wrath?" Blitzo questioned, sarcastically. "Wrestling hogs and the like?"
His only answer was a long, low chuckle.
"Oh, you'd be surprised, Blitz. I've worked many, many jobs in Wrath ... with just as much excitement", Striker stated, licking his now-empty skewer clean of grease.
The boss imp's skewer was clean of meat too ... having finished it within seconds.
"Sure, but it really doesn't compare to going into the human world", Blitzo said airily.
"Humans are dumb; pretty easy targets", he continued, tossing the skewer over his shoulders.
The cowboy cocked his head at that statement, tossing his skewer well.
"Wouldn't that make it boring though? Like shooting fish in a barrel?" Striker asked, with a slight frown.
Blitzo shot him a cocky smile, and adopted a confident posture.
"Only if you don't make it interesting!" The cowboy's eyes narrowed in an intrigued grin at this.
"Oooo ... is that right?" he questioned in a sly manner. Blitzo smirked and tossed his head proudly.
"Yeah! I'm basically an expert of all things interesting!" he boasted ... which only made Striker's grin grow.
"I suppose being such an 'expert' is how you hired all of your employees, correct?" the outlaw quipped, watching Blitzo closely.
The boss imp just shrugged, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Eh, sort of. I just encountered them, saw their skills, and hired on the spot!" Blitzo admitted, with a small, genuine smile.
"I know talent when I see it ... even in that bunch of oddballs!" Striker raised an eyebrow at this, disbelief clearly visible on his face.
"Even the vermin?" he asked, his voice ridden with contempt. "I'd think you'd really need glasses to see any talent in that wimp. All brag and no fight."
Blitzo's eyes narrowed a little, but he just ignored the insults ... for the most part.
"Moxxie? He's pretty talented with all kinds of guns, but not so much with physical stuff", the boss imp drawled, drawing a pistol from his jacket.
"Gets into trouble though", he added ... as he inspected said weapon. Blitzo suddenly sniggered.
"Can you believe that one time I told him to shoot a family ... and he got all sentimental over it?!"
"Seriously?" Striker asked incredulously, sniggering as well.
He could just imagine the scenario ... the little, weak imp fleeing from a pathetic human family.
"What a drip. Moxxie's in this business ... and he has a conscience?!" the cowboy asked, with a sneer. The boss imp frowned thoughtfully.
"Only for some things. I usually have to wrangle him whenever he messes up", Blitzo explained, smirking a little.
"Like one of these hogs?" Striker questioned ... while gesturing to a pen of hellhogs nearby. The boss imp grinned.
"Pretty much, yeah!" he replied. Blitzo then cleared his throat, and looked serious.
"By the way ... cut out the mocking, won't ya, Striker?" he said, firmly. "Stop picking on Moxxie so much."
Striker raised an eyebrow sharply, giving the boss imp a confused and cynical stare. Blitzo then winked confidentially at the cowboy.
"I'm his boss ... any picking on him is MY job, not yours!" he said, grinning smugly.
Said smirk was instantly copied by Striker ... whose expression instantly turned to an understanding one.
Understanding ... with hints of thoughtfulness, and wicked glee.
"Whatever you say ... 'boss'", he replied, tipping his hat in acknowledgment to Blitzo.
What do you think of the flashback? Possible deleted scene from Striker's intro episode? Vote and comment if you like it! 👍