"What is… THAT?"

"We dunno boss! But it's big… and thick!"

"Rrg…"

"Ooh… just like something else we know…"

"Mrrghh…"

Mad Dawg felt something heavy on top of him, the cold sting of metal pressing down against his body. He was blind, tired… he could hear voices talking, but he was too weak to open his eyes and figure out who was talking. He didn't know how long he had been out, he didn't know where he was, and he was silently praying to God that he wasn't back at the studio… the thought of that terrified him… what had he done?! He… he had attacked Angel, and Dust deserved it… but they didn't know where he was now! But… did he care? After everything that happened, he knew he had to-

"Hm. Okay, here's the plan! Sssomeone get me a sharp stick!"

"Ooh! I like where this is going!"

His eyes faintly opening, as he felt something poking him, Mad Dawg saw… ugh… what were they called? Snek? Snek People? No… dang it, he knew this! One of these killed one of his party members back in Numbani… Wait. Numbani… Numb… Naga! That's it!

"…okay, let's shoot it. I don't know why, but let's sssee what happens." The Naga commented, cocking a gun. The sound of that seemed to summon some sort of anger from within him.

Mad Dawg's eye snapped open, and the Naga screamed slightly, jumping back in shock. Growling, Mad Dawg struggled, and heard the moan and snap of metal links as one of the chains tying him down shattered, freeing one arm. Pushing himself up with his one arm, he felt the chains digging into his back, before they too gave way under his massive size, frame and strength. There were about three dozen hammers cocking as the egg bois all cocked their guns, while others loaded crossbows, one racked a shotgun, another picked up a flail, and one squeezed a rubber chicken.

"Rrrrghhh…" Mad Dawg snarled. "Where… is… Angel…?"

Mad Dawg felt his body twitching and his muscles spazing as he towered above his capturers', looking down at them. His body seemed to be debating between returning to his new demon-beast-whatever-he'd-call-it-form and keeping his cool and this form.

"Now… Uh…" The Naga began, his eyes narrowing back and forth nervously. It was clear he far outclassed Mad Dawg in terms of firepower, but to a newcomer, it looked like a wild animal had just woken up. "Would… would you be willing to talk this over a cup of tea?"

Mad Dawg blinked, taking in what had been said, then let out a long exhale from his snout and let the tension slip away from his body. His breathing came out in panicked stutters as he looked down at the floor, then finally looked back up at the new demon.

"That… would be nice." Mad Dawg nodded, his body tired and weak, so any chance to not be forced to shed blood, he'd take. His voice seemed to convey this as well, as almost immediately, the whole room seemed to let out a sigh of relief. Then the weird almost passionate energy returned from all the egg creatures. Dawg had questions, but wasn't really in the mood to ask them. Following behind his host, Mad Dawg decided if this snake-dude was going to act with chivalry and class, Mad Dawg could (try to) do the same.

"My name is Mad Dawg." Mad Dawg spoke, keeping a cool tone to his words, even though his voice was currently scratchy and messed up. "I've seen you on the news, but I've never been told your name."

"I, am Sir Pentious." The naga remarked with an air of pride in his voice. "Demon of the Highest Class, and soon-to-be ruler of half the pentagram!"

"Ah, so you're the demon lord Cherri Bomb's been fighting since I got here." Mad Dawg blinked, remembering back to one of his first days here when he got dragged into a turf war. And then earlier when he had run into another turf war. "Huh. No offence, but when someone is fighting Cherri, I kind of expected someone more… anarchic, not someone so refined and cultured." Dawg assessed his surroundings, seeing paintings and statures adoring the walls and halls, and assumed this was the kind of demon he was working with.

"Bah, Cherri is nothing but a spoiled brat who doesn't understand the true powers that work here in hell. She acts like a brash school girl, desperate for attention, but never happy with it when she finally receives it."

"That… is shockingly accurate, holy crap." Mad Dawg blinked, muttering the last part mostly to himself. A loud, low thrumming made him realize where he was, he was on the airship that had been flying above the city. The same airship that was occasionally shooting lasers down on said city. "Uh, how long was I out?"

"About three hoursss. The Egg Bois spent about two and a half of those hours trying to get you on the ship… they really didn't think it through." Sir Pentious commented as he took a seat in a chair, motioning to another chair Mad Dawg nodded and took a seat, exhaling deeply. "I've ssseen you around the city, and you've fought with that wench, Bomb. But you never seemed to spend extended amountsss of time with Cherri…"

"Cherri… Cherri's a friend, kinda. I guess. I dunno." Mad Dawg admitted. "If I'm honest, when I first crash-landed here, I ended up walking into a fight between you two, and Cherri, uh, 'asked' for me to help. We met a few times since, but that's about it. I was running from Valentino when she grabbed onto me."

"So, you're not an ally, so to sssay?" The Snake-demon asked, deciding not to press the matter of Valentino just yet.

"Eh… yes and no…" Mad Dawg answered awkwardly. "I'd help her move a couch or pick her up from a bar if she was too drunk to drive. But I don't think I'd dive head-first into a turf war with her. She likes me enough to not stab me in the back, but that's about it."

"Here, boss mannnn." One of the Egg Bois said, setting a tray with a teapot and glasses on the table between them. Dawg watched them leave and blinked. There was something… really, REALLY weird about them… but he couldn't tell if he like that, or feared it.

"Are they always like that?" The Mutant asked.

"Yes."

Mad Dawg slowly took the cup and sniffed it, trying to pick up any traces of drugs. Pentious blinked, watching Mad Dawg's apprehension, and took a sop of his own drink.

"You need not worry, I've never drugged tea, and I'm not stating now. I find that to be a gross misuse of tea, and even if one is faced with their worst enemy, the common courtesy of offering refreshments is not to be tainted by means of revenge."

"Huh." Mad Dawg blinked, taken aback by the sophistication of the Snake demon's words. From what Cherri and Dust had told him, this guy was an egotistical blow-hard who thought he was much cooler than he actually was. If there was one thing Dawg had to give him, he knew how to talk. A fact which only put him on more of an edge. It left him wondering if he was being set up or played again. "All right…"

"If you don't mind me asking, what brings you to hell? You don't have the face of a murderer, or the eyes of a junkie."

"…I wish I could give you that answer…" Mad Dawg frowned, shaking his head and taking a sip of the tea. "I don't know how long I've been here, and I don't know why I'm here either… I know I've done bad things, but I can't say which of those got me sent down here."

This was actually somewhat getting to Mad Dawg now, had it been the Omnic Blackout? The Talon agents he killed? If it was the former, would God really holding him accountable for something that was both a genuine accident, and something that happened when he was a kid. And if it was the latter… well they shot first, so… yeah.

"Well, sssometimes we find ourselves left suffering for ssinsss we don't exactly remember. Sometimes we end up left to make do with what we are handed, regardless of whether we deserve it or not… and it sucks!"

"Damn right!"

"And then like, what are we supposed to do!? Just hand around until God decides to erase us from this world?!" Sir Pentious continued, seemingly losing his calm, collected demeanor. "Like, if there was something to do, or some sort of end goal to our suffering, that'd be different. But we're left to carve out our own reality, or destine or… whatever!"

"I know! Ever since I've gotten here, it's just been a bunch of assholes shooting at each other, shooting at me, and then running around like they rule the damn place! Heck, even the guy who supposedly runs the place just sort of…"

"Exists?" The Snake Demon asked.

"Yes! It's like… if you rule over the place, either be a ruler or let people go Purge-wild! But all he does is stand around, laugh at his wife hitting on a child, and then peace out!"

"Eh, the devil does more than that, but I see where yer comin' from. There's a need for tact and class which many of the demons down here simply don't understand, or are unable to actually hold themselves too."

"I won't claim for a second I'm some sort of class-act, I'm just some idiot who does his own thing. But even I can tell there's a lack of any sort of tact to most of what they do. Sure, subtly isn't always something needed when it comes to, y'know, hell. But…"

"No, no, no offense, but I completely get where you're coming from. Again, no offence, but you don't exactly seem like the kind of demon who's all about preserving your image, you just… well, you seem to essentially be a nomad."

"Yeah, yeah… that's me." Mad Dawg nodded with a frown, drinking another cup of tea. "I think nomad is a fair term to describe me, for better and for worse." The pair were left in silence the egg pawns coming and going, and Mad Dawg still unable to tell what their deal was… but they seemed friendly, so that was a plus. Then again, 'friendly' is what got him into this situation…

"Just… be honest with me." Mad Dawg part sighed, part growled, part begged and part demanded when he remembered something he wanted to know. "Are you trying to get me to sleep with you?"

"What!? NO!" Sir Pentious exclaimed, seeming downright offended by the question, and he was answering genuinely. After a few moments, he coughed and collected himself. "I will admit sometimes my… passions, are on both sides of the spectrum, but first of all, you appear to be much, much younger than most of the demons down here, or at least, not as experienced. Not to mention you never struck me for even a moment as someone who would be interested in such a thing. And second, I had my Egg Bois dragged you up here because we all assumed you were some new player for Cherri. If anything, we were going to torture you for any information you could give us."

Mad Dawg blinked, looking at Sir Pentious, who seemed to realize what he had just said and seemed to be in a panic to correct himself. There was clearly a projection of self-importance over a true mask of paranoia and self-confidence issues he wore, but Dawg didn't care.

"Uh… but now I wouldn't consider such a thing! Ah-heh…"

"No… no that's fine." Mad Dawg muttered. "Not the torture- I mean… ugh…" He rubbed his face and tried again. "I appreciate that you're honest… I just… I just…" Mad Dawg trailed off, beginning to realize something.

He was in hell.

He was alone.

He… he wanted to go home.

He wanted his family! He wanted to feel safe, he wanted to feel accepted…. He wanted to be with the people who cared for him… but that wasn't gonna happen. He was in hell, and he had thrown away his one chance-

No, he hadn't. They had given him that chance, and they used him! They took advantage of him! They-

Was there a chance he could ever leave? Was that real!? Did it matter anymore?

"Uh… are you okay?"

"…what?" Dawg muttered.

"Oh, okay. You're back. Cool." Sir Pentious muttered, looking around awkwardly. "You just… you just super zoned-out there…"

"Yeah, I'm… I'm good."

"You're just contemplating your existence, realizing what you've left behind and what you want, aren't you?" The Snake demon asked. "You find yourself questioning your choices and weighing their consequences against their benefits and trying to figure out if any of it was worth it, and where you'll go from here, correct?"

Mad Dawg didn't answer, and Sir Pentious knew he had an answer… but the Snake-demon actually felt genuine pity. This wasn't the time or place to explain why, dear reader. But Sir Pentious didn't gloat, he didn't laugh, he just nodded. Thinking to himself about what he had left behind, and what he had lost. Having been in hell for so long, he understood this feeling, and had experienced it himself many times… the difference being, it didn't really bother him anymore.

"Listen, is there somewhere you want me to drop you off?" Pentious asked with a raised brow. "I mean… you're on this airship so…"

"I don't… I don't have anywhere to go." Mad Dawg muttered, both ashamed and awkward to admit to his sort-of homelessness.

"You were at the Happy Hotel, right? With that candy-cane prick, Angel Dust?"

"…" Mad Dawg just let out a low growl at the mention of the Porn Star's name. He didn't know what Dust had done, or even if he was at fault… but he really didn't want to think about him. Sir Pentious noticed this and grinned, letting a slight hiss out as he did so.

"Ah… you've been scorned by that gender-confused jack-off artist, I take it? Hah… he hurts everyone around him, those he claims he cares for are nothing to him… take my advice, cut ties as soon as you can, don't look back, and keep moving forward!"

"…y'know. I think you've got a point." Mad Dawg nodded, his fangs flashing briefly. Pentious hoped he'd elaborate, but Dawg didn't, instead changing the subject. "Look, I've only hung around the city here, where else can I go? What else does hell have to offer?"

"Well, theresss the Capitol, the Badlands, IMP City, and the Underworld…" Sir Pentious listed off a few of the other places in hell. When he noticed Mad Dawg's confused look, he realized just how new he was. "The Capitol is where the freaks and geeks hang out, lucifer and his gash reside there, the Badlands are essentially an eternal junkyard where those who've lost everything wind up, reduced to mindless savages and violent animals, IMP City is what it sounds like, a city full of IMPs. Then there's the Underworld… essentially there's eight circles of hell beyond this one."

"What's at the bottom?" Mad Dawg asked, and Pentious shrugged.

"No idea." He commented. "Thing is, if you're human and came to hell, unless you're taken there by an Overlord, you can't pass between the circles, so… don't concern yourself with that."

"I have no idea where I'm going, then." Mad Dawg shook his head in defeat, shrugging in indifference.

"You want to stay here for a bit?"

"E..excuse me!?" Mad Dawg stammered in shock.

"I mean, look. You'd have to work alongside the Egg Bois, but I have no issue with you staying here for the time being. Not to mention you might be helpful with keeping the Eggs from destroying everything…"

"I…I…I mean, sure." Mad Dawg finally got out. "Why not?"

And so, it went. After being introduced to the Egg Bois (and a few awkward introductions after being assaulted by them, shot by them, and having killed a few of them) Mad Dawg found himself following the leader, so to say, as he worked on the air ship. Due to his larger size, Mad Dawg found himself lifting the Eggs more often than not to help them reach certain things, rather than them trying to make an egg-ladder, which usually resulted in more destruction.

"Gee, new guy… what do you think of the boss?" One of the Egg Bois asked, #44 marked on his back.

"I can't say." Dawg shrugged as he continued picking up the Egg Minions and putting them on a higher shelf to fix some wiring, not noticing they jumped off, walked back around him, and repeated this process.

"Has he shot you with his ray gun?"

"I wish he'd shoot me with his ray gun…"

Mad Dawg blinked, dropping the Egg Boi he was holding, but didn't say anything in response, both creeped out, and confused by the statement. He had picked up there was some sort of weird worker-master relationship thing among the Eggs, and he reallllllyyyyy hoped he wouldn't be expected to be part of it…

"Right." Mad Dawg muttered, passing another Egg Boi up to the upper shelf as another jumped off and walked around him.

Later in the day, Mad Dawg was doing his assigned task; walking back and forth down a hallway (no, he didn't get it, and he feel like questioning it.) when he saw smoke coming out from the kitchen. Poking his head in, Dawg saw one of the Egg Bois on fire, another trying to cook something and a third one running in circles.

"Uh… you all okay?"

"Yup! We're just making some caviar for the boss!" #21 nodded, still on fire.

"Why are you using a frying pan and a waffle maker?" Mad Dawg asked, watching them in confusion. Sure, he had never made caviar (he didn't know what it was) but he was pretty sure you didn't use a waffle maker… which was also now on fire.

"Because it's how he likes it!" #47 added.

"How does that even work?" Mad Dawg asked.

"I could show up! #21 can swap tasks with you; you take over his dishwashing duties and he'll wander the halls contemplatively trying to think of a world-conquering scheme!"

"Uh, okay then…" Mad Dawg shrugged, entering the kitchen.

Later that night, everyone's tasks were completed and the Egg Bois all got ready for bed. Being new, Mad Dawg found himself taking the back corner of the sleeping quarters, but he didn't mind. It was really cramped and pretty uncomfortable, but at the same time, he was thankful to have a place to sleep at all! Still, it took Mad Dawg much longer than usual to finally fall asleep… and he reasoned he wasn't going to sleep well any time soon. As he lay there trying his best to sleep, his mind began to wander, and instead of embarrassing memories or funny exploits he had been on and done playing through his head, a single thought prevailed.

Why?

Growling, Dawg turned over, trying to ignore the thought.

Why?

Another low growl, another turn.

Why did this happen?

What had he done wrong?

"No… no… no… no…" Mad Dawg quietly hissed. Suddenly he was unable to open his eyes, he felt metal around his neck. He was being dragged through a neon red and pink hall. His body and the shadows lengthening irregularly, creating a 'tall Dawg', so to say. It felt like he was high, but this wans't a bad trip, this was something else…

"You really thought you could run away?" A voice whispered in his hear. "Hilarious thought, but you belong to me now…"

"No…"

"Stop fightin', it'll only make things more… FUN…" The male voice whispered again.

"No… lemme go…"

"The more you struggle, the more exited I get, sweetie!" A female voice spoke, a shrill laugh echoing through his head. Dawg recognized Velvet's voice and anger overtook him. Snarling, Mad Dawg unsheathed his claws and lurched forward, driving them into Charlie's chest as he impaled her on the wall, blood and intestines pouring out in-

"WHAT!?"

"M..Ma…Mad Dawg… W..w..why…?" Charlie weakly rasped, her eyes filling with tears made of water and blood. Dawg could see Charlie in them, as if her hopes and dreams were about to escape, along with her life.

"No! nononononono! This wasn't supposed to happen! I- Charlie! I…I…"

"This is all your fault, big boy…" Angel Dust whispered suddenly coiling around his body like a snake. Wrapping around his throat, Mad Dawg felt the air escape his body as dust slowly crushed the life out of Mad Dawg. "You were so easy to lead, you know, that right? Right Beta?"

Mad Dawg screamed as he wa suddenly slammed into the ground. The shadowy Angel-Dust Snake disappeared, then re-appeared, wrapping around his arms and legs, and suddenly becoming chains, trapping him on a familiar bed. Mad dawg wanted to fight, to scream! But all he could do was quietly think, the rest of the world becoming a high-pitched whine as he thought.

What had he done wrong? Was… did… Did Velvet know what was happening? If she did… why did she do nothing? Dawg thought she was her friend… No, no she wasn't… why would he have thought that!? But she was kind of a friend, he didn't think he had done anything to upset her… Did he do something wrong? What should have Dawg done? Was he in the wrong? He felt… broken. He tried to think this through rationally, but was this his fault? No! It wasn't! It couldn't be! He made a mistake, and they attacked him! He was just a kid! He was human! He was-

"You were just an experiment, and a failed one at that. Now, you're an annoyance at best, and nothing to me at worst." A woman's voice spoke up in his head.

"Rgh…"

"What HUMAN would do what you've done?! You're a monster!"

"Rrrgh…"

"You were a failure we somehow weren't able to destroy…"

"Argh…"

"Humans deserve forgiveness, Omnics deserve a second chance! You're neither one of those things." The voice disappeared, and then the screaming began. A symphony of shrill cries and wails of agony, screaming for loved ones, parents who would never see their children again, children who last the most important people in their lives, husbands and wives who lost someone they cared for. All set to the sickening backdrop of electrical power generators going haywire.

"YoU. yOU. yOu. YOu. YoU dID tHiS!"

Mad Dawg suddenly bolted awake, breathing heavily. His panicked breathing was drowned out by the snoring of his new crewmates, all of which seemed to be completely indifferent to what just happened. He looked around in a panic, seeing himself, the Egg Bois, his corner… nothing had happened, he wasn't waking up in chains, he wasn't falling, he wasn't choking, he… he was okay.

"Ugh… is this the part of my life when I get nightmares and daymares?" Mad Dawg mentally moaned in protest. He looked around and blinked, feeling a sense of anxiety crushing down on him, before he decided on doing what he did best: ignore it and go to bed. "Screw it."

Flopping back down in his corner, Mad Dawg slowly found his body drifting back to sleep, not noticing a few of the Egg Bois watching him from across the room.

"Gee, that sure didn't look right…" One of them muttered.

"I know… it seems like he's having bad dreams…"

"It couldn't be about the boss, could it?"

"How could anyone have bad dreams about the boss?! He's a helluva great boss!"

"I know. The way he shot those buildings with his ray gun…"

"Say, didn't we have this conversation earlier?"

"I think we did. But I'm okay with saying it twice if we're talking about the boss!"

"Very true, number twenty-two!"

"But should we do something to help the new guy?"

"Like what?"

"Hm…" The few Egg Bois awake all pondered their position, trying to think of a satisfying solution to their crewmate's current conundrum. "Hey, what if we…"

When Mad Dawg didn't return after storming out from the hotel, Charlie understood. He was angry, he was hurt, he needed time to think, collect himself, blow off some steam, then come back… he probably crashed at a motel, or a bar for the night.

When he didn't return the day after that, Charlie was concerned, but willing to wait it out. Mad Dawg seemed really upset, and he had reason to be angry. But she had faith that he'd come back soon enough. He may not forgive Dust, possibly ever, but again, from what she had picked up, he kinda had reason not to… granted, she was still gonna try and help them fix their relationship enough that they'd at least apologize, but that could wait until later!

When Mad Dawg didn't return after three days, Charlie felt a bad feeling in her stomach. Had Dawg gotten drunk, or lost? Either was an option, but when the clock struck eight-o'-clock, her bad feeling began to turn to turn into a churning discomfort. He hadn't said he was leaving and not coming back… sure, he broke into a room and took his weapons, but if he was going into hell, Charlie didn't blame him for not wanting to be unarmed.

"Hey, has Mad Dawg come back?"

"Nope! Like the last eleven times you've asked!" Nifty replied in her upbeat tone as she was cleaning the lobby. She suddenly stopped and gasped loudly, seemingly realizing (finally) that Mad Dawg was gone. "Oh! Where is he?! I got his room all tidied up! And he said he would let me cut up some of his fur so I could make a coat! I promised I wouldn't skin him like the last three ones…"

"Hrmmm…" Charlie mumbled, looking to the door then walking to the study, occasionally looking back to the front door. This was beginning to be an actual issue, and she needed to handle it, now. Sitting at a desk, she picked up the hand piece of a phone and checked her hellphone's contacts. Dazzle, Dust, Husk… wait. Where was Mad Dawg!? She checked under 'Mad Dawg', 'Dawg', 'Kace', and even 'ThunderCock', but there was nothing! Had she honestly not gotten his contact information during his time at the hotel!?

…yup.

"Okay, okay… this isn't a problem! Just, ask around, someone has to have his number!" Charlie laughed, trying her best to keep calm and figure this out. She made her way towards the room that seemed to constantly have smoke and electricity coming from under the door leading towards what had been dubbed 'The Lab'. Knocking on the door, the door opened and Baxter was quietly writing.

"Baxter?"

"Agh!" The Angler fish exclaimed in shock as he spun around. "P..p..Princess Charlotte!?"

"Baxter, it's just 'Charlie'." The Princess smiled, leaning in the doorway. "We've been over this. How's the work going?"

"Slow." The Fish-Scientist frowned. "Nothing of note as of late… the Gateway seemed to work, but it broke... I've been studying some of Dawg's blood… and this is fascinating stuff! It truly has a self-reparative ability! There's also something… off about it, I've been looking through the energy of it, and it seems like… I don't know how to explain it…"

"Right, speaking of which, do you have Mad Dawg's number by any chance?" Charlie asked, trying to seem casual.

"Nope, sorry." The Fish shook his head turning back to his work, ending their conversation.

"Great." Charlie muttered, turning and walking back down the hall. Next, she found Vaggie seemingly waiting for her, looking to the front door.

"No. I don't have his number, and no. I don't know where he is." Vaggie said matter-of-factly. "And yeah, I wanna find him too."

"Right… Okay… Hm, where's Husk?"

"The dumbass doesn't have a phone." Husk remarked, taking another drink as he walked by. "He had one from earth, but apparently it's busted and he doesn't want one of the Vox ones… and I can't say I blame him."

"Yeah, I'm with you on that one." Vaggie nodded.

"Husker! He's a kid who just ran off into hell! Who we can't find! What if he gets hurt?!"

"…you mean he wasn't already?" Husk remarked dryly, then realized Charlie didn't know what he was getting at. "Aw, hell…" He muttered, looking away and quickly returning to his drink, not wanting to continue this conversation. Charlie (in a moment of panic) grabbed Husk's tail, which had two reactions. One, Husk dropped his drink, shattering glass and alcohol on the floor. And two, Husk got very, VERY angry. "LET. THE HELL. GO."

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! It's just… what are you talking about?" Charlie sputtered, letting go of her Bartender's tail.

"Urgh, I heard at one of the bars about some sort of 'fresh meat' taken to the studios." Husk began shaking his head. "Apparently, this guy was some newbie in hell, and they said something about him being 'too kind for his own good' or some shit like that. All I heard after was there was a huge fight at the studios, apparently someone had an Exterminator weapon and a few demons got purged…"

"..w..wh…what?" Charlie whispered. "Th..tha..that's impossible! How would they get those weapons?"

"Hey, I'm just going off what I heard." Husk said defensively.

"No… nonononono! I can't let him get Exterminated!" Charlie began to feel panic take hold; how did they get Exterminator weapons?! And was Dawg even still ALIVE!? What if they got to him?! What if-

"Apparently the NEW guy had the weapon." Husk added, making both Charlie and Vaggie flinch at the thought. Did Mad Dawg have those weapons?! Since when?! Man. She was freaking out right now… like, the past fifteen thoughts of hers could be followed by exclamations of shock.

"Huh." Vaggie frowned trying to think it over. That made no sense, as Mad Dawg had only ever shown up with a crossbow, shotgun and chainsaw… none of those were Exterminator gear, unless there was some sort of new type of weapon passing through hell. But then that made no sense, so what was Husk getting at? Just drunken ramblings? Probably…

"What does that mean?" Charlie asked, raising a brow towards Husk. However, Husk turned his back to them, seeming genuinely agitated by something.

"Are you choosing to ignore the truth, or are you really this stupid?!" Husk snapped, suddenly rounding on Vaggie and Charlie in annoyance. "I'm pretty sure Dawg got assaulted by those fuckers at the porno studio!"

Charlie's face was unreadable, but her eyes were horrified beyond words. She knew fully well what happened at that place. She knew what demons had been put through in the studio, and she wasn't so naïve that she figured someone who wasn't technically an adult would be spared due to their age. hell was fucked. Up. There were demons who were into that sort of thing, there were beings down here who got off on torture and death, (the Princess was pretty sure one of the occupants of the hotel was one of those demons) but he was a kid! Not to mention, if he had been hurt, then he was probably angry at everyone here, and if he disappeared because of that, her father would point to this as further proof of the hotel's ineffectiveness! She couldn't let that happen! She needed to find Mad Dawg, she needed to make this right, and she needed to do it as soon as possible, to save her dream!

Vaggie… felt like she was going to vomit. First of all, she was pissed. Pissed off at Mad Dawg for ignoring their warnings and going there anyways, for refusing to see the levels of danger hell presented and blindly going about his day anyways. That was how people got hurt, people got really hurt! But she was also pissed off that anyone would do what Husk was implying happened to Mad Dawg. But she couldn't really be angry… she was a prostitute in life, she knew all about this kind of abuse, she had felt it, been scarred by it, and now. Now when someone who may have been through something similar needed help, he turned and bailed. But she was also hurt, she felt her own pain and fear come flooding back, the tortured feelings she had spent forever attempting to flee from, the feelings which led to her ending up down here. But also, the feelings which led her to meeting Charlie. Now, she didn't for a second think that the same thing would happen to Mad Dawg, but she wanted to help him get through this, one way or another. Either by talking it through with him, or being someone, he could drink with to help overcome the pain. Neither of those were possible unless they found him, yet in hell, if you didn't want to be found, it was easy to make it so.

"Well, this is certainly an unexpected turn of events!" A new voice spoke up with a sadistic sense of glee. Stepping in from the shadows, Alastor appeared with his usual wide grin, Cane appearing from a puff of smoke. "I can't find our canine compatriot anywhere. Do any of you happen to know his whereabouts? I've been looking for some more of his unique brand of entertainment…"

"So, you're saying you don't know where he is?" Vaggie asked skeptically. She didn't like Alastor… at all. But he wasn't a frequent liar. However, it would be very in character to lie about this to try and get some of his twisted inhuman sense of 'entertainment'.

"Unfortunately, no." Alastor shook his head, his smile not wavering for even a second. "But hey, knowing how he does things, he should be ay-okay!" Charlie smiled at his words, feeling somewhat reassured… "The hotel, however? Oh, ho, ho… the hotel will NEVER recover from this!" He laughed.

"But, I'm not concerned about the hotel-" Charlie lied.

"Hah! What a hilariously false notion!" Alastor cut her off. "With your newest subject seems to have flown the coop, do you really still believe in the Hotel's goals? Or is this merely an attempt to salve your image?"

"No! Alastor, listen to me!" Charlie suddenly ordered. "This has nothing to do with the hotel! Kace, or Dawg, or Kaiju Mega-whatever-his-name-is, is a sixteen-year-old who's lost everything he's ever loved, got sent to hell for some unfair reason, and now is in a compromised place and running around hell! I can't, and WON'T sit back and let him drown in his pain! We need to find him, and we need to help him!"

"Do we?" Alastor asked, and Charlie felt anger flowing through her body, but it seemed… to be downplayed as the radio demon kept talking. "Hell is entirely made up of people who made terrible choices in life, and that continues once they end up down here! Mad Dawg is a murderer, you know it, I know it, everyone here knows it!"

"What." Nifty blinked. "I…I didn't know that."

"Oh, well. NOW everyone knows it!" Alastor continued. "Thing is, if he truly did believe in change, believe in this place, why is he still gone? Why hasn't he done so much as a courtesy call to let you know he's all right?" When Charlie didn't answer, he pressed the question: "Now, let me ask you this… why are you so invested in this little problem? Is it because you truly wish to help him? Or because you want the hotel to seem effective?"

"Does it make a difference?"

"Ha! Not to me in the slightest, but knowing you? I believe it makes the world of difference, whether you will admit to it or not…" Alastor shrugged. Charlie frowned and looked away, not wanting to answer…

Vaggie heard the doors open and went to see if Dawg had returned, but frowned when it was just Angel Dust. But then the frown became concern when she saw- what happened to him?!

"Angel Dust? What happened?" Vaggie asked, making the Porn Star snap to attention and look at her, then quickly hid his face. "Dust!"

"I'm fine."

"Angel, we can't find Mad Dawg." Vaggie continued, then saw Dust tense in agitation at the mention of his name. "Have you seen him?"

"Don't." Angel Dust growled.

"Dust? You want to-"

"Don't." Dust said coldly. "Don't talk to me. And never bring up that fucking freak of nature that no one had the decency to put a bullet in, Mad Dawg, ever again." The door slammed as he disappeared. Vaggie blinked in surprise, just standing there and thinking. He had been hurt, the marks on Angel's face and body… he had been hurt, badly. But… why? They weren't the marks from Dawg's attack, these were new, and that was concerning… Did it have something to do with the studios? Probably… but what happened then?

Vaggie sighed deeply, deciding to help Charlie however she could with what was happening. Ever since Mad Dawg had appeared, things had gotten a lot more complicated. She couldn't tell if this was intentional or not, but she had a really bad feeling that things were going to get a lot more complicated, one way or another. Still, Vaggie would stand by Charlie no matter what! Come hell or high water, or mutant-made-mayhem.