The limo returned back to the kingdom around thirty minutes later. Lilith was waiting at the main entrance to assist the demons. When the doors opened she looked at them all, and the state that they were in. All of them required some sort of medical attention. She quickly saw Lucifer assisting Charlie into their home. She could tell something was seriously wrong with her. She went over and hugged Charlie as she wasn't sure if she would she her again. The rest were assisted by the royal guards and treated for their injuries. Husk was given a lot of attention as he was nearly beaten to death. The guards took him to a separate room where they could provide some kind of help. The only one who trailed behind was Angel. Angel walked by himself to try and take his mind off the last week. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the demon he never expected to see again. He saw Cherri, as she seemed to be looking around for something.
"Holy shit, Cherri!" Angel exclaimed as he went over and hugged his best friend.
"Angel," Cherri said while returning the hug. "I was starting to freak out. I'm so glad you're okay."
"Me? I literally watched you get shot twice. You were bleeding out in my arms. I-I didn't know if you would even still be alive," Angel said, trying not to cry.
"Well I may not be alive had it not been for the Slayer. Apparently he brought me back to stable condition," Cherri said as they let each other go.
"That man is a fucking miracle worker," Angel said as she looked over Cherri's body. They were hidden by her coat, but he could partially see the bandages around her stomach.
"Speaking of the Slayer, where is he?" Cherri asked.
"I actually don't know. He didn't come back with us. According to Lucifer he had to do something," Angel said.
"What did he have to do?" Cherri asked again.
"Beats me. He is a very sexy and complicated person. I feel like he wants to keep things to himself," Angel said.
"Wait I am so dumb. If you are all here, what happened with Valentino and Vox? Did the Slayer fuck them up?" Cherri said.
"Sure did. I watched him beat Val to a pulp before cutting him in half," Angel said while using hand motions to recreate the scene.
"Fucking sweet. What about the others?" Cherri asked.
"I don't know what happened to Vox. Lucifer said that the Slayer killed him before he saved our asses. As for Velvet. Well she got a bullet between the eyes," Angel said while pointing to his head to mark the location.
"Damn. So the Three V's, a group of overlords who ruled hell for the entire time I've been here, gone like that," Cherri said, snapping her fingers.
"I couldn't be happier. Sure the constant sex is good and all but I have been a slave to Val for seventy fucking years. And I am finally free," Angel said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"So Mr. Celebrity. Now that your assholes of an employer is dead, what do you plan on doing now?" Cherri said pretending to give Angel an interview.
"Hm. Good question. I may retire and live the rest of my days on my fancy ass yacht, in the lust ring," Angel answered.
"Sounds like a fun time," Cherri said.
"Yeah, it will be," Angel said. His spirits seemed to be lifted in that moment, but quickly dropped back down as he thought about it again.
"You okay Angie?" Cherri asked walking closer to him.
"I don't know. I feel awful for what happened to all of them. I got off way fucking easy being Val's toy. They didn't. I watched them do to Charlie, what they did to me on a regular basis for being bad. But they did it even worse to her. Husk was beaten to death, and Vaggie was strung up like a fucking puppet. I feel like I could have done something, but I just sat back and watched it all happen," Angel explained.
"I know what you mean. But think about it Angel. You couldn't have done anything besides getting yourself killed for nothing. I know that you are a badass motherfucker who can gun anyone in hell down. But that was different. You were outmanned and outgunned. If you did something you would have just gotten hurt for nothing," Cherri said.
"Yeah. Fuck it would be so much easier if I was as powerful as fucking Doomguy. He's completely overpowered and no one can tell him what to do," Angel said.
"Heh, yeah he is very cool. Val came to fuck with you and you just ripped him in half," Cherri said joining in.
"That would be the greatest day of my life. But seriously you should have seen the Slayer. Nothing seems to hurt him. And I am not joking, literally nothing seems to hurt him," Angel said.
"How do you mean?" Cherri asked.
"The guy was probably getting shot up from all different directions. He never even seemed affected by any of the bullets. Even the ones that hit his exposed skin," Angel said.
"Holy shit. I wonder how that is even possible," Cherri said.
"That is what I am saying, I need to ask him that when we see him again," Angel said.
"Fuck yeah," Cherri said.
Cherri and Angel walked with one another and kept coming up with funny things to say, or what they wanted to ask the Slayer when he returned. Angel didn't seem to realize it but he was forgetting everything by the second. Maybe laughter is the best medicine after all. While they left the room that left Vaggie all alone. Vaggie was searching around desperately for Charlie. In the ride back to the kingdom, she had not gotten a chance to talk to her about all that happened to her. She knew that Val tortured her in some way, but she wanted to know what he did so she could help her. In that moment, she saw the king exit through a door and close it behind him. She saw him take a heavy breath before walking into the middle of the room.
"Where is Charlie?" Vaggie asked as she approached Lucifer.
"Lilith is with her at the moment. She is trying her best to talk to her," Lucifer said, placing his arms behind his back.
"What do you mean by that?" Vaggie asked.
"I tried to get through to her but she is not budging. The whole subject may be a bit too sensitive," Lucifer said.
"It also doesn't help that she was given a sedative or some kind of potion that makes her mind refuse to forget what happened," Vaggie explained.
"She was?" Lucifer asked making sure he heard correctly.
"Yes. Val made it his damn goal to destroy her mind for whatever fucking reason. He believed that she was the closest to Doomguy," Vaggie said.
"Shit. I never would have expected that," Lucifer said with a sigh. "Now this makes things a lot more complicated as I don't know how to relieve her of her trauma."
"Yeah, and I have no fucking clue if this wears off," Vaggie said.
"With someone like Charlie, this may never wear off," Lucifer stated.
"That's what I'm afraid of," Vaggie said. Vaggie didn't mention that she was also given some of this potion. Comparing to Charlie, she didn't seem to be given such a high dose of it. She was trying to block it out as best she could. Even in death, she would not let Valentino get the best of her.
"Miss Vaggie, you have returned," Alastor said as he finally rejoined the group.
"Y-yeah I have. Along with all the others," Vaggie said.
"When the hell did you get here?" Lucifer said looking around for his point of entry.
"Oh I just arrived Luci. I was informed that you were saved from the trenches of Valentino," Alastor said.
"How do you know that already? It just happened. And you weren't even there," Lucifer said.
"I may not have been there myself, but I have my ways to acquire information," Alastor said, speaking about his shadows that he sent throughout the city.
"If that's the case then I'm surprised how you didn't find them before we did," Lucifer said.
"I suppose I was looking in the wrong places," Alastor said with a shrug.
"I guess you were," Lucifer said.
"So, can you fill me in on the events of your daring rescue? Since I was not present for the show, I need the full recap," Alastor asked.
"This is probably not a good time for that Alastor. What happened to these demons in there was not pleasant. I don't know how much they would like to talk about it," Lucifer responded instead of Vaggie.
"Oh your highness, I am not asking about the terrible things that the Three V's unleashed against them, I am asking about how they got out of there without a scratch," Alastor said restating his question.
"Without a scratch? I can tell you right now that none of us left without a scratch. We may all be alive, but there will be scars from this damn experience," Vaggie said taking offense to his question.
"Hm, I suppose you're right," Alastor said placing his hand to his chin.
"If you must know Alastor, our big 'friend' if you could call him that, killed the Three V's," Lucifer said trying to end this conversation.
"Oh I figured he would. You should have seen him the moment they were all taken," Alastor said while laughing.
"Why should i have seen him? What did he do?" Lucifer asked.
"You should have seen how angry he looked. He was so mad he broke a entire couch in half with one punch," Alastor said while still laughing.
"Any reason why that is funny to you?" Vaggie asked.
"It is funny, because at that moment, I knew he would kill them, I just wished I got a chance to watch it," Alastor said.
"I'm not surprised that you say that," Lucifer said.
"Look Alastor, if you can, can you keep all of this to a minimum. I know you cannot relate to what just fucking happened to all of us because you're the big bad radio demon and you could just kill them if they tried to take you hostage, but we're not. We were too weak to do anything. So please, do not bring it up, especially to Charlie," Vaggie said.
Alastor didn't say anything. He finally stopped to think before he spoke and realized that he truly couldn't imagine what that felt like.
"Alright my dear. I understand your concerns with the topic. I will do my best to refrain from speaking about it," Alastor said.
"Wait you serious?" Vaggie asked as she was confused.
"I am indeed, I can make a deal to promise that it is upheld," Alastor said reaching out his hand.
"No, no. I don't want to make any deals. I believe you," Vaggie said waving her hands.
"Clever girl," Lucifer said.
"Oh come on Lucifer, there is nothing wrong with making a deal," Alastor said.
"Yeah there isn't. But with you is a different story," Lucifer said.
"Oh it is great to talk with you again Lucifer. that type of reckless attitude could cause the apocalypse," Alastor said.
"That is a really fucking odd comparison," Lucifer said with a confused look on his face.
"Yeah Al, you seem a little off. Are you okay?" Vaggie asked, as she was not one to ask about Alastor's health.
"Of course. But you may be right, my mind is a little out of it right now," Alastor said.
"You sure? I know you say some odd shit but that was odd," Vaggie said.
"Oh forget about that, but on another topic, where is my good friend Husk?" Alastor said changing the subject.
"He is being treated for his injuries. He is not well by the looks of it. He couldn't even find the strength to walk in and out of the vehicle," Lucifer said.
"Oh my, it was that bad?" Alastor asked.
"Yeah, I think Nifty may be in their with him. She says she owes him her life," Vaggie said pointing towards the room he is in.
"According to Nifty, she does indeed," Alastor said walking away from the group.
"Where are you going?" Lucifer asked.
"I am going to see how my feline friend is holding up," Alastor said.
"Are you sure? It may be best to give him his space," Vaggie suggested.
"Oh Vaggie, it will not be the end of the world if I see him for a moment," Alastor said.
"I guess you're right about that," Vaggie said as she followed him as well.
Alastor opened the door first and held it open for Vaggie to enter as well.
They saw Nifty sitting by his bed side and Bertrum was applying a towel to Husk.
"Oh hey Al, I have wondered where you have been," Nifty said looking at him.
"Hello Nifty. I see our good friend here suffered some serious injuries," Alastor said.
"So how is he?" Vaggie said looking towards Bertrum.
"It is quite hard to say. After he was brought in, he passed out. Not much of a surprise. He looked as if he was suffering from major exhaustion," Bertrum said.
They both looked over his condition, and he looked in very rough shape. But due to his fur it hid a lot of his bruising. His face was swollen up with patches on his head and cheeks. Blood was obviously seen all across his body as it stained his black and white fur. Unfortunately they would need more advanced equipment to diagnose any more injuries. But they tried to do as much as they could to ease his pain.
"He isn't going to die is he?" Nifty asked.
"Oh Nifty, you will soon realize that Husker over here is a tough old bugger. He can withstand everything that is thrown at him," Alastor said.
"I got to say Husk did surprise me. I thought he was just some drunk who didn't give a shit about anything. But when he cares about something, he is a very different person," Vaggie said.
"I really do not know how to thank him. In a way, I thought he hated me," Nifty said.
"Oh Nifty, Husker is just always grumpy, this should clearly tell you that he does have deeper feelings than what meets the eye," Alastor said.
"I guess you're right about that," Vaggie said.
"You said that he needed more treatment right?" Nifty said, directing the question towards Bertrum.
"I did indeed. I do not know the extent of his injuries. But since you all are here, do you mind telling me how this happened to him?" Bertrum asked.
"The Three V's attacked us. According to Nifty they beat Husk mercilessly and took him away. From spending time in their 'prison' they didn't make it better on him," Vaggie said giving a very short summary.
"Oh my. He may have a lot of internal injuries then, such as broken bones or even internal bleeding. if that's the case, he needs a hospital right away," Bertrum said.
"Then we have no time to lose," Nifty said going to the doors.
"Nifty makes a good point," Alastor said.
"Alright well we need to get him back into the car. I will need all of you to assist me in this," Bertrum said.
"Of course, it's the least we can do," Nifty said.
Fortress of Doom
The Slayer returned back to his fortress once again. He walked up the steps and headed over to his version of a mancave. The mechanical door opened and he entered. He walked over to his workbench. He put both hands on his helmet and removed it. He placed it on the table, and began to remove other parts of his suit. He removed both gauntlets. and placed it on the table. He then began to take off the armor piece guarding his upper torso and placed that on the armor stand. He stretched out his shoulders and gave his armor a look. They didn't have any major damages or marks to it, so that was a good sign. All that remained was the blood that was splattered all over the suit. While he did not care that blood drenched his suit, as it tended to do. Due to his free time, he decided to clean and polish the armor as best as he could.
As he began to clean it, he started to think about the events of the last few days. He began to question something. The Slayer was questioning if he would return or not. After all the time he spent there he released something. He allowed himself to get too comfortable. He realized that he started to befriend these demons. He started to befriend them in some way. He wouldn't have made it his mission to save them if he didn't. The Slayer didn't like to be around people as he liked to be alone. He knew that everyone in his past that he ever cared about seemed to die. All he knew was to lose. So he didn't want to befriend these demons further to where he calls them his best friend. He saved them from a bad fate, and now nothing should get in their way. The Slayer kept telling himself that. So he thought nothing about it. He would focus on his world, and make sure the demons do not return.