The war room of Amgal'gara was in pandemonium.

The capital of Hell was infamous for its trades in nearly every legal and illegal (mostly illegal), but its war room was known far and wide for being calm and collected, effective in their decision-making skills and level-headed tendency towards even the direst occasions.

At the moment, however, the circle of demons, imps, and ogres were shouting at each other hysterically, throwing parchment balls and paperweights at each other in what essentially amounted to a small war. An imp was bodily heaved over a wall, and smashed to the ground, curling into a fetal position and crying by himself.

Wrath slammed a hand on the circular table in front of him, five of the other Sins waiting impatiently along with him. "CALM DOWN AND TALK, MORONS!!!"

The courtroom fell into stillness, everyone looking at the burly Sin in mild terror. Slumping back into his throne, Wrath gestured to Pride. The lean demon stood, coughing into the sudden silence. "Please calm down, everyone. I'm sure we can solve this issue, whatever it is." Leaning over to Lust, he muttered, "I'm a little out of the loop. What's going on?"

Resting her elbow on the table and allowing the sheer dress she wore to drop a little lower than usual, she whispered softly, "Brimstone was destroyed."

Pride's carefully maintained eyebrows slid upward. "Envy's territory? How thoroughly?"

She shrugged, resting backward on her violet couch. "I have no idea. I was busy before I came here."

Scanning the room, Pride took stock of the situation. The assorted councilors were slowly calming down, settling into their chairs and looking around cautiously. Sloth, to no one's surprise, was fast asleep on her futon. Gluttony was stuffing his faces with a cornucopia in each hand, and Jerry looked uncomfortable as usual.

Sitting down, he asked, "Very well, there's no point in wishing it hadn't happened. What happened?"

An imp flew down and stood at the table stiffly, holding a small number of documents. Riffling through them, he stated with a tremble in his voice. "A week and a day ago, a new Hero appeared in Hell. He shtarted killing demons indishcriminately and reshieved the name Doom Guy. Two daysh ago, the Arena of Joy at Brimshtone wash, uhh... blown up."

Pride raised an eyebrow again. "Pardon?"

Wrath interjected with a rather inappropriately timed grin, "Blown to smithereens! I wish I could meet that Doom feller. Wanna see what kinda weapons he's packin'!"

Lust glared at him, but before anyone could say anything further, the imp continued, "Torin was killed shortly after."

All five of the Sins stared at him in shock, and Jerry asked tentatively, "Seriously? Wasn't Torin really powerful or something?"

The imp nodded politely, and another imp flew down, whispering something in his ear. The one who had been talking paled suddenly, his face going from red to a light pink. Hands trembling as he turned back to the sins, he said worriedly, "Erm... we've jusht received newsh that... well, the Doom Guy has killed Envy."

Absolute silence reigned as everyone stared at the unfortunate imp, and Wrath laughed. The other Sins turned to him coldly, and he grinned at them unabashedly. "What? She was a prick. Besides, he's got to be quite the warrior if he can kill a Sin only... what, nine days after he arrived? I'm interested!"

Shaking his head, Pride stood. "All those present, I believe that this Doom Guy has no idea what he's unleashed. If his only policy is to annihilate all of the demons, he will find that we are prepared for him. No creature can commit genocide against a species that lives forever."

The imp added miserably, "Actually, he can kill them forever. None of the demons he's shlain have returned."

Wrath's eyes narrowed. "...I may want to battle this creature personally. You said he was a Hero?"

The imp nodded, and Wrath stood. "That's all the information I need. I'll be seeing you later." Spinning on his heel, he began striding towards the door.

Jerry raised a hand. "So, he's killing all the demons? That means that all of Hell will fight him until they die, won't they?"

The second imp leaned in and whispered something to the speaker, and the imp nodded. Turning back to the Sins, he announced, "The Doom Guy hash begun recruiting demons that shwear fealty to him. They have been put in some kind of cocoon and left to resht while he defeated Envy."

Pride didn't hesitate as he hurled himself across the table and slew the imp in one blunt blow, roaring to the courtroom, "NOBODY LEAVES!!!" Spinning to Gluttony, he fiercely told the monolithic slob, "Eat anyone who tries." The demon grimaced, shoveling an entire deer into the mouth in his stomach and snarling wordlessly. Pride took that as a yes and spun to Wrath. "Stop right there! We need to discuss this now."

Sloth woke up, staring around sleepily. "Choose thy paths carefully, lest thy tread leads thee to darker tunnels and send you to deeper hells than these, for crimes committed against morality and the universe always go punished appropriately. Make thy decisions with this in mind, and help those that help thee. The Spider and the Road watch always, and judge thy actions against those they desire to succeed." Yawning, she snuggled back into her blankets and fell asleep.

It startled everyone enough that even Wrath paused. Taking advantage of it, Pride demanded, "We need to make sure that this information dies here. No one can know that this Doom Guy trades life for fealty, or all of Hell will collapse. Wrath." He directed the final section to him, ensuring that he made eye contact and speaking loudly enough that everyone present could hear it. "If this news leaves this room, I want you to kill everyone in this room who is not a Sin. I'll give you a list later."

With a violent objective to follow, Wrath happily agreed, and Pride stared at the crushed skull of the imp he'd killed. "This," he growled, "is your fault. I just need to figure out how..."