5:59 p.m.
Husk slowly began to open his eyes. He could hardly make out where he was. He could feel that he was moving, and at a fast pace. So, he was obviously in a vehicle of some sort. He could hear the sounds of indecipherable chatter. He tried to sit up, but couldn't. He felt as if he were paralyzed. He felt weaker than he had every felt before. He used as much strength as he could to keep his eyes open, but they felt like hundred-pound weights.
6:39 p.m.
He awoke again, his eyes were blurry. This time he felt the car come to a hard stop, which sent him into the interior of the car. It sent pain throughout his body. He heard laughs coming from inside the vehicle, so he knew they did it on purpose. The car was powered down. The front doors were opened and shut with a loud slam. He heard more voices and footsteps on the side of the car. The demons from the outside opened the back door. The bright light blinded Husk and he tried to cover his eyes with his hands, only to find that they were tied up, along with his legs. The demons then began to make fun of him at his expense.
"Hey there kitty, it's time to come out and play." One said.
"If you behave nice, we'll buy you a toy." Another said.
"Yeah, and maybe bring you a ball of yarn too." They all shouted the typical cat insults to Husk.
He couldn't even make out who was talking to him. He saw them come closer and grab hold of him. They dragged him out of the car which he now realized was a black van. He could only stay awake for so long as his eyes shut on him once again.
6:52 p.m.
Husk felt the cold floors as he was being dragged into a dark, damp room. The men were cutting the ropes off his hands and feet, only so they could chain him up to the wall. He had no escape.
"Enjoy your new home furball," The demon said as he closed the door and locked it tight.
7:40 p.m.
Husk couldn't tell how much time had past since he was first attacked. It felt like hours, hell even days. He looked up to fully access the situation he was in. He was handcuffed to the wall. Even if he did manage to break loose, there was still a big metal door in front of him. the odds of him escaping were very slim. He heard someone outside the door trying to open it. He heard a key turn and the lock click open. The door was slowly pushed open. Even in the dark, it didn't take a genius to figure out who walked in. His bright square head provided light throughout the entire room. He saw a big smile on Vox's face, followed by a snap of his fingers. The whole room lit up, which seemed to blind Husk.
"Enjoying ourselves?" Vox asked sarcastically.
Husk just sat there in complete silence.
"What's wrong? Vox asked, "Cat got your tongue?"
"F...F..Funny," Husk said as he was tired of the cat jokes.
"I thought so," Vox said as he walked closer to Husk. "You do not look too good friend. But hey, you didn't make it easy for us to capture you. You got some fight in ya."
Husk said nothing once again. He wouldn't give Vox and type of satisfaction.
"Hmph. Well since you're not in the talkative mood, like a certain individual we both know, I guess I will carry on the conversation," Vox said clearly mentioning the Slayer. "So if you have forgotten because of all the blows you received to that noggin of yours, I will inform you of your, um, situation." Vox said while adjusting his suit. "You or anyone else at that stupid fucking hotel didn't realize that you were all being watched. Not by us of course, but by some of our men. You see we all fought this Slayer, and it didn't go so well. This man cannot be physically outmatched. While I want to splatter his blood across the pavement, I have to face the facts that it won't happen. So Valentino greatly suggested that we try to hit him with a different kind of approach. The psychological approach. Since we have been monitoring the Slayer in hell, we've noticed that he's been spending a great deal of time at that hotel. And he clearly thinks of all of you in some way. Whether it be allies, best friends, love interests or what the fuck ever. And don't try to even deny it. Because if he hated all of you, he wouldn't come back now would he?
Husk said nothing again because Vox hit it right on the head. He couldn't think of anything else to say in response.
"Exactly. Now when the rest least expect It, we will come for them too. They can try to resist, but it won't matter. If you're wondering what will happen to them compared to you, I'm afraid I cannot say. Heh Valentino is a very creative person. It's what makes him so hot. He could beat on them, starve them, or rape them for all I'm concerned. And knowing Valentino he probably will. There's some decent looking women at that hotel. But I know he'll think of something. Whatever it is, it will be punishment for what the Slayer has done to us. And hey, maybe there is some kind of weapon that could help us in killing him. We will have plenty of time to think on it because that big brute will not find us for some time. So I would make yourself comfortable.
"You..fucking bastard," Husk said with a glare.
"I truly am aren't I," Vox said before looking at something. "Say these are some fancy looking wings you got here. Hell they even got the symbols on playing cards as well. Heh you got spades, aces, hearts and clubs all over your fucking body. I would take it that you're a heavy gambler. Is that the fucking sin that made you end up down here? I wonder how much someone would pay for these," Vox said while holding onto them. "Quite soft too," He said running his fingers through them.
"So you're not as... dumb as you f-fucking look," Husk said.
"Ouch and insult and a compliment in one. But I wonder," Vox said while pulling on Husk's wings. He yanked off a feather from his wings, which made Husk grit his teeth in pain. Vox was holding up the feather in front of him and examining it.
"Quite remarkable. If you were smart you would have just flown away. But no you had to be some noble hero to protect that fucking midget. We'll get her too and we'll put her cell right next to yours. So you can hear all that happens to her."
Husk grew angry and started yanking on the walls to break free. He didn't care what happened to him, he just wanted to strangle Vox with his bare hands.
"So much aggression. You can try all you want to break free and rip me to pieces. But it won't happen I'm afraid," Vox said while delivering a punch to Husk's stomach. He then leaned in close to whisper in Husk's ear. "Keep on pushing me, and it won't be a feather I pluck. I will fucking rip your wing off your entire body. And believe me it won't be fucking pleasant."
Husk wanted to say something, but just remained quiet.
"That's better." Vox said while walking towards the door, "As I said, make yourself at home. And believe me, we are really happy to have you," Vox said before snapping his fingers and sending the room into darkness.
Pentagram City
"The Slayer and I covered as much ground as we could, but found nothing," VEGA said which disappointed Nifty.
"This must mean that there secured in a building somewhere. In a place like hell that would take years to figure out," Alastor said.
"So, what do we do now?" Nifty cried.
"We will continue the search. As of now I vote that we go back to the hotel and tell the others what is going on. They may have a lot of questions," Alastor said.
"The Slayer seconds that," VEGA said.
"Okay, fine," Nifty said as she didn't want to stop the search.
"Then it's settled. Come on, we have no time to lose," Alastor said leading the way back. The three of them walked together down the streets of Pentagram City. Throughout their entire walk, the Slayer kept on looking for any sort of clue on Husk's whereabouts.
"My good man, I know that this isn't the greatest time for this, but if I may ask, where are you storing that gun?" Alastor asked.
"His suit user some futuristic technology where he can make it disappear and reappear again," Nifty said giving her best summary.
"My, that is futuristic indeed," Alastor said.
"Miss Nifty, I have to ask you for clarification on the matter. Are you completely sure that the demon known as Vox was responsible for the attack on Husk?"
"YES, I am 100% sure. Those monsters beat on Husk until they nearly killed him. Then Vox showed up and hurt him more, until they took him away. I-I-I-I don't even know if he's still alive anymore," Nifty explained.
"Do not worry yourself any more than you need to Nifty, we will find Husker, and he will be fine," Alastor said trying to remain calm about the situation.
"So, Alastor is it?" VEGA asked.
"Correct you are VEGA. Do you have something to ask me?" Alastor said.
"I do. You said that Vox is your rival?" VEGA asked.
"He is indeed. Vox and I have been going at it for decades now. We are consistently competing against one another," Alastor said with his cane in hand.
"What about?" VEGA said.
"Oh, nothing much, just ranking in hell," Alastor said leaving out a lot of details.
"Do you believe that your relationship with Vox is the reason that he attacked Husk?"
"That may be a possibility. The others are not aware of this, but Husker is somewhat of an overlord himself," Alastor said.
"he's WHAT?" Nifty said in utter shock.
"You heard me correct my dear. Husker is more powerful than you think," Alastor said.
"But how come he has never told me that before?" Nifty said.
"Nifty you do realize that Husker is what we would call...well lazy. He doesn't seem to give it much thought," Alastor said trying to word it as nice as possible.
"But Al in hell that is kind of a big deal," Nifty said.
"To Husk, nothing seems to be that big of a deal. I think it would be best if you kept this little secret between us. I know our strong friend here certainly won't say anything," Alastor requested.
"Okay I promise to keep it between us," Nifty said.
"Thank you, Nifty," Alastor said with a nod.
More silence fell between the group. The only noises heard were the gasps from nearby demons as they did not want to even come near both individuals. And both men were use to that kind of treatment. As the hotel was now in eye sight, VEGA wanted to ask one more question.
"Alastor, if i may, could you answer one more thing for me?" He asked.
"Of course. What would that be?" Alastor responded.
"Since you seem well educated about Vox. Are you able to tell us where he may be hiding?" VEGA asked.
"Unfortunately, I cannot tell you much. That rancid building that he and Valentino own would be my best guess. But that would be the obvious choice, so it is not likely that he would be hiding out there," Alastor explained.
"I see," VEGA said.
Alastor and Doomguy were caught off guard as Nifty let out a huge gasp as she looked into the hotel. Both men were confused as to what was going on so they walked over.
"Nifty my dear, what is wrong?" Alastor said, but quickly released what she saw. He was also left speechless at the disarray of the hotel. Doomguy walked in between them and saw it for himself. What he was seeing made his fists ball up tighter than ever before.
The entire lobby was destroyed. Every piece of furniture was either tossed across the room or flipped over. The bar was ransacked. The booze was either smashed on the floor, or was stolen. The paintings removed from the walls and tossed on the floor. Nothing was left untouched. That's when they quickly noticed the only demon left in the hotel, and that was Cherri. She was lying on the floor, and bleeding bad.
"OH MY GOD, CHERRI!" Nifty said as she quickly rushed over to her. Doomguy walked over to her and got on one knee to take a look at her condition.
"She has been shot twice by an unknown type of firearm. She is in the process of bleeding out and requires medical attention immediately," VEGA said accessing Cherri.
"I'LL GO GET THE MEDKIT," Nifty said as she rushed off.
The Slayer got next to Cherri and put pressure on the bullet wounds. Cherri seemed unresponsive at the moment, so they couldn't get any information as to what caused this. Nifty hurried in with any type of medical supplies that they had. Putting as much pressure as he could on the shot on her shoulder, he needed another set of hands.
"One of you will need to apply pressure to her second gunshot wound," VEGA ordered.
"I will do it," Nifty quickly volunteered.
After the Slayer was able to stop the blood flow, he summoned a potion to try and heal the wound. Now he wasn't quite sure the affect that it would have on these types of beings, but they needed to do something, and fast. He poured it on the wound and it seemed to somewhat heal it. He wrapped it up with gauze and bandages as much as he could. After he did that, he repeated the same steps to her other gunshot wound. He placed a finger on her neck to check for a pulse. And he found one.
"She is alive, for now," VEGA said.
"What should we do with her now?" Nifty asked.
"We need to bring her to a bed, or any type of resting place," VEGA said. While he was explaining it to them, the Slayer picked up Cherri in his arms.
"Where is her room?" Alastor asked.
"It should be on the first floor, next to Angel's," Nifty said. She directed the Slayer as he didn't know where Angel's room was at. Nifty tried to open the door, but it was locked.
"Oh shoot, we don't have her room key," Nifty said.
"Stand back," VEGA said causing Nifty to take a few steps backwards. With one kick the door flew off it's hinges. After all of the destruction in the hotel, this broken door wasn't that big of an issue.
The Slayer placed her down on the bed. They needed to keep watch of her, so her condition didn't get any worse.
"Nifty could you stay with Cherri for a moment. The Slayer needs to attend to something," VEGA asked.
"Of course, um Doomguy," Nifty said as she still was confused on who to address.
The Slayer walked past both of them and back into the main lobby. Now that he was here, he could fully access the damages at hand. He wondered who could have done this. What could have caused all of this. He soon realized that Cherri was the only one that they found. There was no sign of Angel, Vaggie or Charlie. This raised some serious red flags in the Slayer's head. They were taken hostage. The only reason that Cherri was left behind, was to be left for dead. He walked over to spots of blood on the ground and used VEGA to analyze the blood to see who's it was.
"The blood here matches the same blood pattern from the demon known as Cherri," VEGA said.
So that didn't help the Slayer. He looked at another patch of blood and had VEGA repeat the process.
"This blood matches the blood pattern of the demon known as Vaggie," VEGA said.
The Slayer closed his eyes. He was trying to put together the clues as best he could. He knew one thing for sure, Vaggie was beaten before she was taken. The Slayer's anger grew. But he noticed something else. He noticed a very small object on the ground. It gave off a reflective glare. He picked it up with two fingers and examined the object to be a shell casing. He saw another one near the blood of Vaggie. These had to be the bullets that hit Cherri.
"One moment," VEGA said in the helmet of the Slayer which caught his attention. "There is a different pattern of blood near Vaggie's."
The Slayer waited patiently for VEGA to inform him of his discovery.
"This blood...belongs to Valentino."
That caught his attention once again. He walked over to the blood and moved his finger through it. After he did, he noticed all of the blood on his gauntlets. Most of it was Cherri's. After VEGA confirmed that it was Valentino, the Slayer fully understood what had happened. This wasn't just some turf war that broke out. And it wasn't some plan of Vox to get back at Alastor. This was a coordinated attack. The Three V's knew that the members of the hotel were allies to the Slayer. So, they waited for their chance to strike. They knew that once the Slayer heard about Husker's disappearance and the fact that Vox was back, he would immediately look for Vox. When he did, Valentino and the rest would use this time to strike. Without the Radio demon or the Slayer at the hotel, nothing could save them from their attackers. And their plan worked perfectly.
The Slayer slowly backed up. He tried his best to think through the situation, but he couldn't. His anger grew as he, in a way, blamed himself for this. If he had just finished the fight against the Three V's, then these innocent demons wouldn't have been attacked. His blood was beginning to boil, he had no other thoughts that wanted to rip out their insides. He stood over a couch that was tipped over. He raised his arm and with one swift punch he smashed it to pieces. This loud crash startled the other demons as they looked to what caused it. They walked out into the lobby and saw what the Slayer did. And they said absolutely nothing. They could sense the amount of anger emitting from the Slayer. It was so strong; they could smell it.
The Three V's now made the mistake of wronging the Slayer, one of the strongest beings of all time. Their fates have been sealed. As their time in hell was coming to an end. As in this very moment,
The Slayer's time, is now.