"Yeah, that sounds like Angie all right." Cherri laughed as Vaggie's account concluded."He does make it hard for people to know him." Cherri's single eye saddened somewhat. "Though that's probably so he isn't hurt by others. Still, I'm glad you guys did find him when you did and that the two of you are becoming people he is starting to trust as friends."
"So we shared our story," Charlie said brightly. "What about you, how did you and Angel meet?"
"I met Angie about a few months after I arrived in hell," Cherri stated. "It was during my first Cleanse. My first encounter with him was certainly different compared to yours, but things were different back then."
The day had felt weird all morning. She had woken up and gone to get some coffee at the local shop. Unfortunately everywhere she went the places had lines that stretched for blocks with signs saying they were closed by two. The markets, many of the stores were either shuttered tight or had signs saying "Hopefully open soon". Even the clubs said they were closed until further notice.
There was odd nervous energy, everywhere around her. People were agitated...scared, people were either huddling in their homes or finding different forms of shelter like they were waiting for a nuclear bomb to hit.
"If you're smart you'd be hiding right about now." A tall demon with a New York accent said as he hurried past her. The demon was dressed in a pink and white Valentino Jacket and thigh-high boots.
"Hey," Cherri asked the stranger. "What's going on, everything's closed and shit?" The demon came to a stop in his tracks and seemed to consider something.
"You're a virgin," The taller demon stated, a single dark-colored eye regarded her from over his left shoulder.
"Excuse me," Cherri said, immediately reaching for one of the Cherry Bombs she carried on her person. She may not know what's going on, but she wasn't going to just let some rando on the street insult her.
"I wasn't meaning that," The other demon said, turning to fully face her for the first time. "I mean, you never even heard of the "Cleansings"?"
"I don't understand the shit you're talking about," Cherri said in irritation. The taller demon seemed agitated about something that was going on but appeared rather conflicted too.
"I don't have time to tell ya the details," The taller demon said becoming more stressed by the moment. "Look, how far do ya live from here?"
"Around the west-side of the pentagram," Cherri responded. "Why?"
"Ya won't get there before lockdown," The taller demon responded as he glanced around as though on the alert for something. "If they caught ya, you'll be dead by mornin'."
"If who caught me," Cherri stated as she was getting irritated. "If you're thinking that "I'm dumb, cause I'm a girl" bullshit. I have something for you to choke on." The taller demon approached her, firmly but not ungently took hold of her shoulder and started to pull her along with him.
"Come on," he said. "My place 's not far from here. It ain't much, but ya can hide there 'till the whole things over." Cherri wanted to resist, but something in her told her not to fight him. After a couple of blocks, they arrived at the front doors of a dingy apartment building. Her unknown companion tapped in a key code into the security access panel. The door gave a buzz, immediately he opened the dirty and cracked glass doors as he pushed her ahead of him into the poor excuse for an entryway. The two stopped to catch their breaths. Now that things were beginning to feel more settled she was finally able to get a good look at her companion. He was obviously a bug demon of some kind, she wasn't certain as to what... He was covered in white fur though there were pale pink tones. While clearly male, he did have a rather effeminate appearance, even the attire he wore looked like women's clothing. His dark pink eyes were an interesting contrast, with one gentle-looking white eye. While his second eye appeared to be his only physically intimidating feature as it was sinister-looking black with a single pink orb.
The other demon was gradually becoming less anxious now that the two of them were indoors. She soon learned why he had been so stressed as a siren sounded and a metal grate fell in front of the glass doors they had entered.
"Bet ya glad you ain't one of the poor smucks still stuck out there right now." He said giving her a smirk, though there was a slight bitterness in his humor as well. Turning from the sealed doors he started towards an elevator bank. "Come on, it still ain't safe here." He had stopped physically guiding her, so he was leaving her to follow if she wished. Figuring having a companion would be better than sitting in this entryway alone for however long, she decided to follow. Taking the rickety elevator up to the sixth-floor the two of them got out. There were other demons milling about in the halls. And there were occasional sneers and jeers in their general direction. Cherri noted, her companion ignored them or pretended not to hear them.
"Hey slut," One large demon called out. "How much she'd pay you to give her a good time?"
"If she made a man outta him, it'd be an improvement." Another Demon added. "But then again she'd still be the one wearing the pants in the relationship from the looks of her."
"Like you'd know," Cherri commented back "He's a better man than you two fuckers will ever be." Her companion didn't say anything though he did give her an impressed smirk. Arriving at a door he pulled a key and unlocked it.
"It's a mess in here," He warned her as he entered. "But it ain't like I was expecting company today." Peering in she could see what he meant by "mess". The single room apartment was littered with various sex toys ranging from dildos to vibrators, and some things she preferred not to know what they were. He was hurriedly picking those items up and stashing them in a cardboard box with the words "Work Shit" written on it which he put away in the small closet which was full of more women's clothing ranging from fancy evening gowns to casual feminine attire. Cherri entered the small dwelling closing the door behind her as he drew the blinds down bathing the room in darkness. Locating a small lantern and turning it on he placed it on the floor so there at least was some light in the room. Settling on the floor himself he regarded her as if she was no more significant than the furniture, she was just something that was there.
Cherri took a seat on the bed, which wasn't so much as bed as much as it was a mattress placed upon the floor. She wasn't feeling exactly comfortable with being in this cramped room with this unknown. But something about him told her he had no intention of doing anything to her. And even if he was inclined to try she had ways to show him she was not a girl to mess with. He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket and shook one of the tobacco sticks loose. Before he took it however it seemed to occur to him that he did have someone else in the room with him.
"Do ya mind?" He asked, pointing at the cigarettes.
"Go ahead," Cherri shrugged. "This is your home...I'm just a guest for the time being. So what's all this shit going on? You were saying something about a Cleansing earlier?"
"Think of it as a New Year's celebration." The other demon said as he lit his cigarette and took a drag of the rank smelling tobacco. "Except instead of toasting the coming year with Champagne and parties, the year is welcomed with murder and mass genocide. This time every year some beings called the "Exterminators" come from Heaven and deal with the overpopulation. Any demon who can rub two brain-cells together knows to be sheltered in place before lockdown starts. If you're unfortunate enough to miss curfew, then you better find somewhere good to hide for the next several hours. Because if you're caught, you're a goner. The killings haven't started yet, but they will very soon. A member of Hell's royal family comes out and announces when the whole thing's over, but we got about several hours until then."
"Oh," Cherri said, beginning to really grasp what had been going on the whole day. "So...what was the big idea of calling me a 'virgin' earlier?"
"That's just something we say at work," The other demon said. "We kinda call people who are new here and haven't experienced a cleansing before "Cleansing Virgins" and "Extermination Cherry's" things like that. As you may have noticed I am kinda involved in adult entertainment so it's a kind of an in-joke as it were."
"Okay," Cherri responded, really considering things from a different perspective. While these exterminations were bad, maybe there was still something to be gained out of all of it. "And what happens when these 'Cleansings' are over. I mean if Demons are actually killed off to the point they can't revive again, that's gotta leave a lot of places open for the taking, right?"
"Yeah," The other demon responded. "There are land and power grabs following these things... turf wars. It's mostly the Overlords seizing more power for themselves, though occasionally the King Pins do try and take advantage of things too."
"I'm not exactly a pushover myself," Cherri grinned holding three small explosives between her fingers. "If there is a place to party, I'm there." Her companion raised the brow of his darker left eye, another impressed smirk appearing on his face. "I'm known as Cherri Bomb...and you?"
"Angel Dust," Her companion responded."You gotta lot of spunk, sista'...I like that." The two demons continued to chat amongst each other about what they had come to learn through their time in Hell as the time passed. Finding a needed companionship with each other. As the hours passed, Cherri felt herself lull into a comfortable sleep across Angel's bed grateful that she had found someone who could fill her in on the chaotic world that she had come to find herself in.
As dawn crested the sky, Angel looked up as the sound of fireworks boomed overhead signifying the end of the lockdown period. Drawing the blinds back up again, the phone on his vanity table rang. He immediately got up to answer it knowing exactly who it was.
"Angel honey," Val purred. "I hope you managed to get some money for me before it was time for lockdown."
"I did get a few Johns," Angel replied. "My last one was a cold-fish. It was barely worth the money he gave me. I'm about the head over to the studio now I'm just needing to take care of somethin' first."
"Don't be too long, Sugar," Valentino said. "You don't wanna make Daddy angry with you…" Hanging up the phone, he moved to the bed and started to shake Cherri's shoulder.
"Okay, Cookie," He said. "Time to wake up." Cherri stirred as her single eye opened.
"Is it over?" Cherri asked as she started to sit up.
"Yep," Angel responded as he put the lantern away and checked the make up he was wearing.
"Why did…" Cherri asked, confused. "You could have left me out there to be picked off by the exterminators, why did you go to the trouble of giving me a place to shelter last night?"
"I guess…" Angel sighed as if he was contemplating. "It's because no one was there for me my first time," He gave a bitter smile at the memory. "I managed to luck out and find a broom closet before the killing started."
"Well…" Cherri said as she made her way out of the room. "Thanks...maybe I'll see you around. I could use a guy like you if I'm gonna start taking over some turf around here."
"We didn't become friends overnight," Cherri admitted "But he did become an ally to me. He taught me about how this city worked. I taught him about handling weapons and explosives which he took to with natural ease. I've literally seen him take on entire groups of demons on his own like it's nothing." Both Charlie and Vaggie look to one another briefly as though sharing a thought between them.
"I know," Cherri sighed "All of that stuff is problematic and is something your Hotel is trying to discourage."
"It's not that," Vaggie responded. "If Angel can take on groups of demons on his own, what is stopping him from going after Valentino?"
"I don't know," Cherri stated. "It might be the fact Valentino is an Overlord. I mean yeah, the two of us took on Sir Pentious together in that turf war we had some weeks back. But when it comes to the King Pins, that wannabe snake-brained edgelord isn't all that much of a challenge, he's mostly just talk and nothing else. But Valentino...I don't know what sort of hold he has over Angie. I mean I know Val's abusive, but...it's like there is more than that. But the worst he's done is forcing Angie to give him blowjobs at times."
"How can you be so sure worse than that hasn't happened?" Vaggie asked.
"Vaggie!" Charlie protested. Cherri glared at the gray-skinned girl angrily.
"I'm just being realistic." Vaggie pointed out. "Look at his profession, look at what he does...is it that hard to believe that abuse of that form could have happened as well. After all, he was with Valentino before he met you Cherri, and it's not like that's something he is just going to come out and say. He's probably never told you because he wants to spare you the truth of it...or it's something he hasn't admitted to himself." Cherri's cycloptic eye grew troubled as she shook her head as if she didn't want to believe that was so.
"No…Angie..." She said mournfully as she grit her teeth angrily. "I swear...I swear I'll kill that evil son of a…" Charlie put a comforting hand on Cherri's.
"He'll need you to help him heal from all that's going on," Charlie said. "Going after Valentino in anger is not going to help matters, it's only going to hurt him more. And that is what that Overlord wants, for you to act against him so he can hurt Angel because of it, and hurt you because it would cause Angel to suffer as well."
"But things are getting worse," Cherri said. "I'm worried I'll lose him…"
"I'm worried about that too," Charlie said. "Maybe...maybe a change in scenery might help. We can't get Angel away from the studio as long as he is forced to be there. But leaving the city even for just a weekend might give him and the rest of us a chance to clear our thoughts and figure out what we could do."
"What about Valentino," Vaggie pointed out. "He will still come here looking for Angel, wouldn't he? Even if we can get out of the city without Valentino's knowledge...he could still destroy everything we're trying to do. We could return here and find the hotel just a pile of smoldering rubble or worse, he could be waiting for us to return so he could force Angel to leave with him at gunpoint."
"Yes," Charlie said. "Maybe...I know he can't be reasoned with...but as a denizen of hell, he still has to obey orders from a member of Hell's royal family. I can talk to him on behalf of Angel Dust and say that I am ordering that he allow his "employee" to have the weekend off."
"Sorry, Princess," Cherri bitterly commented. "You may as well order Valentino to serve us marmite on toast for all the good it will do. Because he won't obey anyone short of Lucifer himself."
"We don't know that," Charlie said. "I was able to order Alastor to help with this Hotel as long as he so desired. But I didn't make any sort of deals with him."
"Which means he will force you into making a deal with him," Vaggie sourly folded her arms in front of her chest "Or he'll trick you into making one. Either way, Alastor is going to turn on us all sooner or later."
"It's too bad those contracts you had me and Angie sign didn't include protections from the Overlords," Cherri said thoughtfully.
"That's it," Charlie said a bright smile came to her face. "The contracts I had the two of you signed, Cherri, that is perfect. We can use Angel's contract against Valentino." Both Vaggie and Cherri eyed the blonde Princess of Hell in confusion.
"Don't you get it," Charlie said as she beamed. "The contract states that all people who agree to take part in this Hotel are given free food, lodging, and protection from the constant hazards of Hell itself. The hazards of Hell includes the power and subjugation of the Overlords. Anyone who agrees to participate in this project is automatically under the protection of Hell's Royal Family. Which would render all previously binding contracts or associations with the Overlords inert and void. Angel was free of Valentino's control the moment he signed that contract."
"Since he didn't tell you about what was going on," Cherri said hopefully. "Valentino was forcing him to do all this shit,...but," Cherri's single eye narrowed in thought. "Wouldn't working for Valentino while under the contract regardless of whether he knew he was free or not make his contract useless."
"If he was willingly working for Valentino, then yes," Charlie said as the three girls left the dining room. "But since he was sold to Valentino and forced to do things like offer himself on the street, then no the contract is still airtight."
As the three girls entered the lobby, it didn't take long to notice Angel Dust exhaustedly laying across the couch that was flush against the wall. He had jackknifed his lanky frame into the limited space the cushions provided.
"So do we wake him?" Vaggie asked as Cherri went and knelt by her friend's side in concern.
"No," Charlie stated softly. She was relieved to finally have an answer...something to end the years of pain Angel Dust had suffered under Valentino's chains. She knew his healing and recovering from those numerous years will be hard, but it will all be worth it in the end she knew it. "He's fine where he is, for now." Vaggie smiled softly at her girlfriend and walked into the managerial office. Charlie walked towards one of the supply closets and pulled a blanket. Returning she tossed it over Angel's sleeping form and tucked it around him.
"Thank you," Cherri smiled up at the blond hotel manager.
"No…" Charlie responded as she lightly placed a gentle comforting hand on Angel's shoulder. "Thank you...thank you both." Angel curled in on himself further as one arm rested beside his face. A soft almost childish muster of "Mama," left his mouth as he settled further into his sleep.
"It's alright," Charlie whispered maternally as she lightly stroked his hair before placing a gentle kiss on his temple. "You rest, your family is right here for you now." Turning she made her way upstairs to her room.
"You did it, Angie," Cherri whispered softly to him as she placed a hand on her friend's arm. Settling on the floor beside him she remained by his side throughout the rest of the night.