Epilogue

Astrid watched as Hiccup approached the knocked out Marisol and crouched down. "Hey, he said lightly as he shook her awake. It's over now. You can rest."

Astrid watched the young lady's eyes open. They were no more a complete inky black. She now sported clear blue eyes. Hiccup helped Marisol up but when she caught sight of Astrid she hissed.

"Easy!" Hiccup admonished. "We both know Astrid isn't part of that family. Remember our deal."

Marisol was still looking at Astrid with a glare as Hiccup tried to pacify her. "They're all gone. No one is going to hurt you now."

Astrid gaped then because where the young maid had stood now stood a young girl, probably no older than 5 or 6 years, in a sundress. "Marisol are you happy now, you got your revenge. They can never hurt you again."

The little girl nodded vigorously before she approached Astrid with quick strides. Astrid held her breath when the young girl approached because she had no clue what was going on. Then the girl took her larger hand in hers and shook it. "Take care of uncle Hiccy," The little girl uttered before turning back.

Astrid saw Hiccup blush lightly but he hugged the little girl back. He then took her hand and led her to the elevator which opened automatically and Astrid had to shield her eyes somewhat at the light that emanated from it. "This is it kiddo," Hiccup then said. "All you need to do is walk in there just like the rest of them."

"I'm gonna miss you uncle Hiccy!" Marisol said as she headed towards the light. "You, the twins and even uncle Fishy."

Hiccup walked back to Astrid once the elevator doors closed. "Is she going to be alright?" Astrid couldn't help but ask.

"She's going to be just fine." Hiccup smiled softly. He then looked at Astrid. "I believe I owe you an explanation."

"I figured out some of it," Astrid said as she took Hiccup's offered arm. He escorted her towards the lobby. When they got there it was eerily quiet. "This is literally Hell. The hotel floors are each a level of Hell." She said as she now thought back. All the statues and paintings now made sense. It wasn't that Hiccup had a terrible sense of interior decorating. It was just the people who could have been found in each circle of Hell.

"So am I dead?" Astrid then asked as she and Hiccup sat down in the lobby. There was a flatscreen TV on the wall and Hiccup turned it on.

"Not entirely," Hiccup mumbled. "But first I should explain all the deaths."

Hiccup then changed a channel and Astrid's brows raised at what came onto the screen.

It was a dark office and a single figure sat working behind a computer screen. The light from the screen and that of the moon were the only things illuminating the area.

"I thought you would be here earlier," A female voice said upon hearing a rustle and Astrid realized it was Mala.

"I had a chicken problem," Another answered and Astrid saw Hiccup stepping out of the shadows in the corner. "One of my employees thought it was a good idea to release a flock of demon chickens into the cafeteria." This caused Astrid to raise a brow but she kept watching.

"So have you made up your mind?" Hiccup asked.

"You mean selling my soul for revenge?" Mala huffed. "I don't actually have much of a choice now, do I." She then placed a piece of paper on her desk and Astrid realized it was the same piece of paper she had found under Grimmel's body. Hiccup took the paper and looked it over.

"He's persistent," Astrid heard Hiccup say. "If he wasn't such a douche I'd put him in accounting."

"It's pathetic isn't it?" Mala let out a self-deprecating laugh. "My own husband hired a hitman to kill me. My days are already numbered."

"That's true. There's no calling off a hitman once the payment is made. How did you even find this?" Hiccup gestured to the check. Astrid knew what it was since she saw it covered in blood.

"Grimmel isn't so secretive as he likes to believe. I was looking through his computer for his affairs and found it." Mala muttered.

"So do you want to get revenge?" Hiccup asked. "You know what I ask. A life for a life. A soul for a soul."

"I want revenge, but not for me," Mala stated. "For my father. I've suspected that Grimmel orchestrated his death to get my family fortune. But I made him sign a prenup when he married me. If I divorce him for infidelity he gets nothing."

"But if he kills you he gets everything." Hiccup finished for her. "I know who your father is. He was mafia and is now in my care. You would exchange your soul for his? You know he is proud of you for becoming a doctor. You leaving the family business behind."

"I know," Mala said with a sign. "I'm going to die either way. This way it's on my terms and my terms only."

"You're going to break your Hippocratic oath by doing this," Hiccup stated as a contract appeared before Mala.

Mala said nothing as she looked through the contract. When she got to a certain point she raised her brows. "10 years?" She blinked as she looked at Hiccup. "You'll only hold my soul for 10 years?!"

"You're a doctor. I'm also taking into account the lives you saved." Hiccup mumbled as Mala gave him a look. "Besides I need workers not slaves. Also there's free dental in there as well."

"This is.......... Much more generous than I had expected." Mala blinked.

"I will also give you one wish when payment is due," Hiccup stated. "You're giving me your soul and that of your husband after all."

Mala looked at Hiccup for a moment. She didn't have to think long because she uttered "I want to taste my father's cooking one last time."

"That can be arranged," Hiccup said and then handed her a black envelope with golden calligraphy on it.

The TV screen turned black as Astrid turned to Hiccup. "So that's the whole story?"

"Mala's story, yes. You haven't seen Heather and Dagur's yet." Hiccup said as he changed the channel once more.

This time the scene took place in a basement. "Sis you better not set me on fire again,"

"I said I was sorry!" Heather retorted. "It's hard to see in the dark."

"Then why can't we turn on the light?!" Dagur could be heard whining.

"I'm guessing the human who wrote that spell wanted some dramatic effect," A voice said and the lights went on with a snap of the finger causing Dagur to let out a manly shriek.

Heather, match still in hand, looked at Hiccup, in all his devilish glory, who had appeared from the spell circle they had drawn.

"Do you want to give people a heart attack?!" Dagur shouted. "Wait, no, stupid question. Don't answer that."

"So why have you two called me here?" Hiccup raised a brow. "I doubt you guys need money. Or women, or men for that matter." Hiccup said as he looked over Dagur who was 23 and Heather who had just turned 21. Heir and Heiress to a large fortune. Though according to the information he had, Heather was the one to inherit most of the fortune.

"We want revenge," Dagur said as he got over his shock. "You can do that can you?"

"It depends who you want revenge on. I can be picky about who I let into Hell." Hiccup stated.

"Johann Trader," Heather stated. "He was our father's friend and he's our proxy for the company. But now that I'm 21 he stands to lose his position."

Hiccup thought for a moment as Heather went on. "I got sick last week and Dagur took me to the hospital. We found out that someone was poisoning both of us for several years. It's slow acting but we won't survive for long. Our personal doctors always told us we were fine and that it was just stress. Turns out they'd been bought off by Johann."

"Poisoning, you don't see that too often anymore," Hiccup mumbled.

"He's also responsible for the murder of our father." Dagur growled. "I saw him do it but no one would have believed a 4 year old."

Hiccup went through his list mentally and he nodded as he found the name of their father. Death through electrocution. He continued listening to Dagur who explained that Johann had come to visit and since he was a close friend he walked into the bathroom. No one thought it strange. "And I was in the room next door and I heard them arguing." Dagur continued. "I went to peek and I saw Johann tip the radio into the bathtub."

"So will you take our case?" Heather asked. "We want justice and to make sure our dad is in a good place."

Two contracts materialized before Heather and Dagur and both read through it. Hiccup was impressed, most of the poor unfortunate souls he collects didn't even bother to read the terms and conditions.

"Ten years?" Heather's brows rose up.

"Each?" Dagur added.

"It's normally twenty years but seeing as you two are giving me a 2 for 1 special....." Hiccup said. "Now any last requests?"

Dagur picked up an old cassette tape and tossed it at Hiccup. "It was in the radio when dad was killed."

"Ah, I see," Hiccup chuckled and handed Heather and Dagur two black envelopes. "Creative,"

"Revenge is a dish best served cold huh?" Astrid asked as the TV screen turned dark. "So are you going to tell me how the Prestons were involved? I know for certain I didn't make a deal with you to have them...... " Astrid made a cutting motion at her neck.

"You didn't but they did," Hiccup sat back. "That was a little Pro Bono work."

"You do Pro Bono work?" Astrid questioned with a raised brow.

"Well, if they violate the terms of the contract then yes....." He said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Picture this, nearly 20 years ago, it's the turn of the century. A young famous couple is ripe with greed. They end up summoning a demon because they want world fame and notoriety. They sign a contract stating that if they break it they forfeit their souls. Of course they didn't read it fully before signing it." Hiccup sighed.

"So just before New Years said devil delivers. He drops a baby on their doorstep."

"Marisol," Astrid put the pieces together and Hiccup nodded.

"She really was the sweetest little thing too," He said. "She would have grown up and done an amazing thing. One of humanity's greatest discoveries."

"She was their ticket to fame and stardom," Astrid's eyes widened.

"Yeah, but they got tired of her when she was five and they ended up killing her in her bed. Smothered." Hiccup groaned. "You can imagine the uproar when a 5 year old ended up in my office instead of......." Hiccup gestured upwards.

Astrid got the gist of it. "She wanted revenge and well the guys in white couldn't let her enter with her heart that black." Hiccup continues. "So the twins, Fishlegs and I took care of her until the time came to collect."

"That poor girl," Astrid mumbled.

"Poor?" Hiccup raised a brow. "She was a little hellion. I found alligators and bats more than once in my office."

Astrid had to let out a laugh as she tried to imagine Hiccup facing off against a stubborn alligator. "So what happens now?" She then had to ask.

"Now we resolve your little problem," Hiccup said. "You basically have 3 choices." The TV screen turned back on to show a scene from a hospital. Astrid blinked in shock as she saw herself in bed hooked up to various monitors.

"You weren't supposed to be on the boat in the first place." Hiccup said. "There were to be no survivors. Your time wasn't up so you ended up in a coma, not fully dying."

"So that's what you meant by dead-ish." Astrid said. It still felt weird to look at herself on the monitor.

"Now your choices are this: One, you can take the boat back home......" Astrid looked at Hiccup in shock as she heard that she could go home. "But you'd have brain damage for the rest of your life. You'd been in the water too long and your head wound had gotten worse. The doctor has already pronounced you to be stuck in a vegetative state and your family is now debating on pulling the plug, which they will, so you don't have long to consider that option."

"What are my other two?" Astrid then asked as she clenched her fists.

"The second option would be them pulling the plug today and you going upstairs." Hiccup stated. "The third would be them pulling the plug but instead of going upstairs you become a demon." He then materialized a contract. "But for this last option you have to sign before your body dies."

Astrid took the contract and read it over. "There isn't a set time for employment," She said. She was impressed by the benefits they offered though. Free dental and medical benefits, insurance and several other workplace perks.

"It's the same as the twins have. You basically just have to hand in a two weeks notice if you don't want to stay in Hell anymore." Hiccup said. "But you can never go upstairs again."

"I see," Astrid murmured as she thought it over. She looked at the TV screen and saw that she had little time left. "Do you wear these form-fitting tuxedos every day?" She asked with a smirk.

"Well no....." Hiccup hesitated as he didn't know why she was asking.

"HE WEARS LEATHER GIRL!" Ruffnut suddenly jumped up from behind the reception desk and shouted. "REAL TIGHT LEATHER!" The woman was immediately pulled back down by several hands and shushed.

A blush crept upon Astrid's face as Ruffnut voiced her thoughts. "What the heck," Astrid said as she signed with a flourish. "I was never one for clouds anyways. I'd rather enjoy the view."

"OH MY THOR, YESSSSSS!" Ruffnut shot up again and this time Hiccup and Astrid could see Tuffnut, Fishlegs and Snotlout behind the desk as well. "WE GOT A NEW DEMONESS ALL THANKS TO HICCUP'S PERT BEHIND!"

"RUFFNUT YOU ARE DEAD!" Hiccup shouted as he stood up.

"Of course I'm dead. I work in Hell," Ruffnut rolled her eyes before bolting out of the room. Hiccup was hot on her tail as he threatened to feed her to Toothless.

Astrid raised a brow at the scene. She was certain she wouldn't have any dull days.