Helluva Boss - After the Party

The hunt for Blitzo, the O is silent.

Verosika hopped through the portal to Sloth alongside Tex, her Asmodian crystal opening the way for her. As she landed in the hazy, sluggish atmosphere of the Sloth Ring. The air was thick, oppressively lazy, and the streets seemed to drag, filled with yawning demons lounging about. It was a place she normally didn't visit too often—too much slowness, not enough action as opposed to the fast paced Lust ring where she was most at home. But there was a different atmosphere in the Sloth ring now as she looked around.

Scores of hellhounds darted around, running with their noses held close to the ground or sniffing the air, adding a charged energy to the normally sleepy sloth ring. Ahead, she spotted Loona and Bee, gathered in a small group, their faces tense. Verosika hurried over with Tex, trying to shake off the unsettling feeling creeping up her spine. Tex hadn't been able to give her many answers after his mysterious phone call with the Queen of Gluttony, only saying that she'd promised to meet them there to help look for Blitz.

"Alright, We're here," Verosika said, waving to them as she arrived. She glanced at Tex, who gave her a reassuring nod before she turned her attention to Bee. "What's with all the hellhounds running around?"

"They're helping us locate Blitz." said Bee while looking at her phone. "They're going to comb the city until they find his scent and let us know what they find in this group-chat I just made."

"Oh, that's handy." Verosika said, realizing that of course hellhounds would be the best trackers available. "How'd they get his scent though?" Bee gave an impish smile before answering.

"We didn't, not exactly anyway. We just got the closest thing we had to it." Loona gave an embarrassed whine which told Verosika at least half the story. "Ok. Nevermind." But then she had a nagging thought pop up.

"What's with all the urgency though? I mean, not that the help isn't appreciated but..."

Bee bit her lip, her usual air of confidence replaced by nervous energy. "Blitz is in serious trouble." She hesitated, her wings fidgeting. "When Tex called me earlier he mentioned what Blitz had been drinking recently. Lethe."

Verosika raised an eyebrow. "Ok, what's so bad about that?"

Loona cleared her throat, her voice low and serious. "It's not just any drink. Apparently it has the ability to erases memories. The more you drink, the more you forget—permanently."

Verosika's eyes widened in shock. "Wait... What? That doesn't make any sense. You're telling me Blitz is out there literally... drinking away his memories?"

Bee nodded, guilt weighing heavy in her voice. "Yeah, and we don't have much time before it's too late."

Verosika's heart pounded in her chest as she processed the information. Had this been the reason he agreed to meet with her in the first place? Had this drink washed away some of the enmity between them and made meeting her tolerable again? The thought sickened her even if she didn't know if it was true. She clenched her fists in frustration. The thought of Blitz losing his memories—everything he was, everything they had been—hit her like a ton of bricks. "I didn't... I never wanted this. I just wanted answers. I pushed him, but I never thought—"

Loona stepped forward, her gaze locked on Verosika almost as if she'd been expecting this. "Stop it. We don't have time for this. I've already been through this guilt trip with Bee. You didn't know, and it's not your fault. My dad clearly has a lot of issues but right now, we need to focus on finding him before it's too late."

Verosika opened her mouth to protest, but Loona's firm tone and resolve silenced her. Slowly, she nodded. "You're right. Let's just find him."

Bee clapped her hands, summoning a mob of hellhounds that had been waiting nearby, their noses twitching as they prepared to track Blitz's scent. "We've got the hellhounds split into groups. They'll send updates over a the group chat when they've covered an area. Loona sweety, you take Tex and head east. Verosika, you're with me. We'll go west." The hellhounds and Verosika nodded.