C12 A Demon Walks Into A Church...

'Speaking of which, I think I already noticed something… Oh, hahaha! Interesting.'

--- [A/N: Have you ever had a FNV flashback? Because I was having one while writing this next scene, the only thing going through my head was 'Johnny Guitar' by Peggy Lee.

If you've never heard of it, don't look it up. It's not the fight scene kind of music, it's slow and depressing...] ---

Walking up to the church, Johnny sees two demons standing outside near the door. One looks like he just got out of the shower, and the other looks high as fuck. Stopping in front of them he asks bluntly, "Where's Roxanne?"

"Johnny?!" Before they can answer a female voice is heard from inside the church. Without delay, Johnny pushes past them, into the church. Upon entering, he could see that the church was only standing by straws. The roof was nearly gone, letting in sunlight, and the floor was dirt.

Standing in the center were three people. Blackheart in his usual black suit, a man who looked like he was rolling in mud just recently, and Roxanne, who was being restrained by said mud man. Johnny, seeing her struggle, says, "Let her go!"

Blackheart looks at Johnny with slight amusement before answering, "Contract." He looks over at Roxanne, "You want her, I want the contract." He then rests his hand on her head, causing her to tremble slightly, "If you don't have it or don't give it, then her life ends now, and I'll torture her soul while you continue being my father's dog," he ends with a not-so-kind smile.

Johnny, seeing this, can only grit his teeth, knowing that Roxanne's life will end with just one squeeze from Blackheart. Looking at him Johnny says, "I've got it. We trade, and"—he looks straight into his eyes—"don't play any tricks, or we'll find out what a 'dog' can do when it has nothing left to lose."

Blackheart, hearing this, loses his smile. He looks at the mud man for a moment and gives him a small nod. Turning back to Johnny, he states blandly, "Fine. We'll let go of the girl when you toss the contract, but"—he gives Johnny his own stare—"if you try any 'tricks', killing you may be hard, but her, not so much."

Johnny doesn't bother speaking anymore and grabs the contract inside his jacket. He gives Roxanne a deep look, trying to tell her that everything will be alright, then looks back at Blackheart. "At the same time," Blackheart only nods in response.

And, as if by an invisible signal, they both act at the same time. Johnny tosses the contract high in the air, but still moving in Blackheart's direction, and the mud man lets go of Roxanne, who promptly runs towards him. It was all happening exactly as planned.

It would have stayed that way too if Roxanne hadn't been stabbed, through the heart, by a water spike, only one step from Johnny. The contract, which would have been caught by Blackheart, was also intercepted by a hand that seemed to come from the air itself.

Johnny didn't notice what happened to the contract, as he was too preoccupied with catching the now dead Roxanne, who was only able to say one word during this whole incident.

Blackheart was not pleased by this, however, and turned to the duo responsible, "What's the meaning of this? This was not the plan!" He was giving them a stare that only promised pain if their answer was unsatisfactory.

The high-looking one, who was now holding the contract, looked at him and said, "Well 'boss', we were getting tired of all this lackey work, so we decided to nab this and see what we could get for it."

Blackheart looked at the mud man next to him only to see that he was still trying to figure out what was going on and likely wasn't with them. Looking back at the duo, he spoke with a severe tone, "Do you two have any idea what that contract means, and what will happen to you if you take it?" He let them think for a moment before adding, "If you return it to me now, I can forget this ever happened."

The duo looked at one another, and they both knew that it was too late to go back, as Blackheart is not that merciful. Or better said, he is incompatible with the very idea of mercy. "No thanks, we'll just take this and be on our way," they turn to leave, but before going more than a few steps, they notice the heat starts to climb.

Johnny had been frozen while holding Roxanne's body. He nearly had her, just one more step, and he could have gotten her out of here and to safety. Afterward, he would have tried to stop whatever Blackheart was planning. But now, he didn't care, Hell could come to Earth, and it wouldn't matter to him at this point. Roxanne was the closest thing he had to a family after his dad passed, and now she was gone, leaving him alone. The ONLY thing on his mind was making the ones who killed her burn, and if that meant using every last drop of energy he had, he would do it.

All four demons looked at the new source of heat. It was Johnny, who for the first time as a rider embraced it, and he was able to turn in broad daylight. He didn't speak. All he did was let Roxanne lay and summoned his chains and shotgun. Then he charged.

Johnny empowered his shotgun with Hellfire and shot at the water boy.

He saw it coming and liquified before he was hit, but this let the high boy behind him get hit, making him fly backward, going through a wall to the outside.

Blackheart seeing this, followed him outside and told mud boy to delay the flaming skull.

Seeing the demon liquify, Johnny increased his flame while stomping on the floor to drive him out. He also started to swing his chain so the mud fuck would stay away.

Being left with no choice, the water demon resurfaced and tried to escape, but a chain found its way around his neck.

Having caught him, Johnny pulled him close enough to grab by the neck and flood Hellfire into the demon. He fired a few shots at the mud demon to stall him as well.

Mr. Mud was forced to watch as the walking water cooler evaporated away while screaming watery murder, not that his fate would be much better in the hands of Blackheart.

Finished drying off, Johnny turned to the walking pile of mud and shot him in the leg, making him kneel.

Mud man tried to fight back by firing rocks at skull face, but they either melted, or he just tanked them.

Johnny walked up to him and grabbed his head while channeling Hellfire through his hands. For an added measure, he also breathed fire onto him.

With two of the stooges down, Johnny made his way outside using the exit he made earlier. His goal being, the pothead and Mr. Suit.

If he was more clear-headed, Johnny would have realized by now that the only "drive" he felt was his own and that the "spirit" was silent.

Walking outside, he only saw Blackheart, but he had the contract, so he assumed that the other demon was dead.

"If you're out here, then that means the other two are dead." Blackheart was a bit surprised, "You were a bit faster than I thought, I suppose watching your only loved one die in front of you was pretty good motivation."

Further enraged, Johnny shoots at him, but it doesn't seem to do anything, so he throws away his gun and whipped his chain at him.

Blackheart catches the chain ignoring the Hellfire, "Oh, that doesn't work on me 'little doggy'. If you want to hurt me, you're going to have to try harder than that."

In response, Johnny charges at him and tackles Blackheart to the ground. Getting on top, he forces him to look into his eyes, "Look into my eyes."

Blackheart does so, but only a grin appears on his face, "Poor Johnny, it doesn't seem your able to do anything to me. But~, there is something I can do to you," he finishes with a chuckle.

Blackheart then makes the two of them return to a standing position with levitation, "I don't want to dirty my suit." He then plunges his hand into Johnny's chest.

Because of this, Johnny is forced back into his human form and is just standing there, unable to do anything, "Just do it, you bastard!"

"Normally, I would make you suffer more, but this is not such an occasion. Goodbye, and have fun in Hell!" With that, Blackheart grabs Johnny's heart and pulls it out.

---

"I can't let him die just yet. I need to make sure the contract is activated."

//Note//

This chapter was the hardest to write so far, but it also took me the least amount of time… How tf does that work??

As you can see, I changed my style a bit too, I personally think it is better, but let me know what you think.

I also didn't bother giving the three stooges actual names because they are just mobs.