"Is it always like this!?" Aria cried out, crying out in pain as Damian pushed her down to shield her from gun fire as a slew of young lion and lioness demons dressed in black leather with white t-shirts and blue denim jeans opened fire again on the limousine!
The limousine kept on racing through Pentagram City as one of Alastor's black tentacles he summoned plowed through the group of lion demons, scattering them, while three got grabbed and flung for good measure. Damian had to force two lion demons with slicked back, yellow manes off the limousine by opening up the sun roof, grabbing them from the seat of their pants, and using his immense strength to throw them off the limo's roof. Arackniss, meanwhile, used the sun roof to spit out poisonous webbing down wind whenever a lion demon was foolish enough to get close to the back of the limo as several more lion demons raced after them on motorcycles.
They'd gotten more than halfway to their destination when they'd gotten ambushed by a bunch of demons calling themselves Hell's Kings. Their leader was a massive lion demon sporting the largest and slickest, black mane Aria had ever seen. He wore a gaudy set of white leather from head to toe that made Aria think of that flame jumpsuit Elvis had worn, only with more tassels and a lot more flames stitched into it. There were so many sequins and beads on it that Aria wondered how the heck the lion demon hadn't already been shot for being such an obvious target.
There was no warning when they hit. One second, Damian was trying to be overly flirtatious with her, making her frown and feel very uncomfortable as Alastor made some sort of witty remark. The next thing she knew, she was being almost pinned down by Damian, while gunfire sprayed the limo, pinging against the bullet-proof glass as the fly guys scattered, being completely overwhelmed!
"This shit usually ain't that hard, but that was when we still had our fucking guns!" Arackniss spat out as he lobbed a particularly large, poisonous web that gummed up most of the motorcycles behind them, sending the riders spinning off in all directions, while the leader of the lion demons succeeded in outmaneuvering the webbing on his glittering, white motorcycle, along with five other lion demons.
"Let's see how well they can handle my road rage!" Alastor said with a chuckle at the pun as he snapped his fingers as a billowing red mist clouded over his fingers as a mass of tentacles forced the asphalt behind them into a sharp curve upward!
Five of the lion demons flew off into the sky with their motorbikes, their screams haunting Aria as the leader did an acrobatic somersault before pulling on one of the fringes of his leather jacket, making a glittering, red cape appear! Using it to glide over their limo, he succeeded in dodging a few more of Arackniss's poisonous webs before landing feet first onto the limo, making Aria wince at the loud landing as Arackniss left the confines of the limo to deal with the leader of Hell's Kings himself.
"I've come to take a hunka, hunk of burning flesh off your bones, Arackniss!" The leader of Hell's Kings sang badly as he did a pelvic thrust before pulling a gun on Arackniss, making Aria realize with some relief that the real King hadn't ended up down here, at least, as she hoped Arackniss could take on the very bad copycat. "The King of Hell demands it after you dumped my little sis last week just before the Hellraiser! Uh huh!"
"Paula had it coming, Dave, and will you fucking stop impersonating Elvis, already?" Arackniss asked calmly with a frown as the wind whipped at his coattails, while Dave's red cape suddenly flopped over his face, making him an easy target as Arackniss grabbed his cape and pulled, forcing the King towards him as Arackniss spun Dave around and around like the spider he was as he used his webbing to gum up the cape until he was nothing but a red and green, gooey burrito, while Arackniss twirled Dave's gun in one, free hand. "It was bad enough that I had to listen to her bitch about how much she hated your fucking obsession with that two-bit showoff every goddamn day, but for you to start a cult following disguised as a legitimate gang? Now I've seen everything. Seriously, did ya really think I'd take her back after all the fucking shit she's tried to pull on me just to win my old man over so she could take over the family business? You're just as bad as she is, if you're trying to pull shit like this on me! As a token of our past brotherhood, however, I'll let you live so you can have the chance to get a fucking clue and tell Paula I ain't taking her back!"
Dave cursed loudly as Arackniss shot out a wad of poisonous webbing onto a nearby building, attached it to Dave, and let the pull from the racing limo do the rest as Dave flew free of the limo, his voice carrying just long enough for Aria to hear him say, "The King has left the building!" before he vanished from view.
"Okay...so, what was that all about?" Aria asked in confusion as she winced from pain as she felt the wounds start closing up pretty quickly on her sides, but they were still really sore as she tentatively touched one and grimaced.
"It's none of your goddamn business," Arackniss said with a sigh before he emptied out the bullets from the gun and passed it to Alastor, who only smiled before he elegantly threw the empty gun out the sunroof before it closed, making Arackniss frown hard, but he said nothing as he rubbed a temple like he suddenly had a headache. "We're almost to our hideout. Remember to show some respect to my old man, and maybe he'll offer you a favor after all this shit with my sister is done."
"You have nothing to fear, my tiny fellow," Alastor insisted as the limo finally came to a halt, the driver opening the door for them with a nervous twitch as Damian stepped out of the limo and helped Aria get out as she hissed out in pain, followed by Arackniss, and then last, but not least, Alastor. "Miss Aria is quite amicable, if I do say so myself. I, of course, am a professional when it comes to manners, so really, the only ones who may need a lesson or two is probably yourself and your deplorable minions. I mean, really, they're all flies! With how they most likely eat, every single one of them must have a potty mouth! Ahahaha!"
Alastor got a few dirty looks from some of the fly guys, but most just laughed along nervously with The Radio Demon as Aria groaned at the bad pun before taking in their new location. They stood before a large, three story building made of red brick with black mortar, the look almost cartoonish as Aria took in the large sign hanging above them. It was a large, round, black sign with a white spider web designed in intricate, neon lights, with a simple motif of a pizza behind it like the spider web was the main topping, although it wasn't lit up this early in the morning. Below it, in curly, but legible words in white and red neon lights, were the words, "Spider Web Pizzeria", along with small, black and white spiders at each end of the sign, complimenting the theme of the place.
It seemed that the pizzeria was closed, but Aria could see some fly guys moving big bags of what looked like baking goods, assorted meats, rounds of cheese, and vegetables from a refrigerated truck in the small alley next to the building. The smell of old pizza and less than pleasant smells wafted from the filthy alleyway, but apart from the unnerving amount of red, demon eye windows that decorated the ten story, black and blue apartment complex next to the pizzeria, and the white and black, one story mortuary next door that had way too many realistic skulls used in its decor and architecture, the pizzeria looked mostly harmless. Granted, there was an actual ad for "The Spider Pie! Made with real spiders!" advertised in the front window, along with a new alcoholic beverage called, "The Black Widow. Drink at your own peril! The Midnight Mortuary next door thanks you for your business!", but other than that, it looked mostly normal.
"Is 'The Black Widow' really that dangerous to drink?" Aria asked curiously as she felt an odd mixture of intrigue, dark humor, and sadness at the honesty behind the advertising if the warning was legitimate.
"It's a popular drink, but it's not for low level demons, like you," Arackniss answered with a shrug as he knocked one, single time with all six hands at once on the front door, making someone on the other side slip open a peephole disguised as part of the door before a bunch of locks began to be disengaged. "One drink of the stuff would kill ya outright, and one shot glass of the stuff can floor high-ranking demons, but it's mostly harmless to any demon lords who actually grace our small pizzeria. However, it's super addictive, so most demons who drink the shit find themselves next door at the Midnight Mortuary because they can't stay the hell away from the stuff."
"Sounds like my kind of drink!" Alastor commented happily with a smile as the front door swung open, revealing a huge, shirtless man with a huge, black carapace that made up his torso with four arms, two legs that sported green slacks with matching, green suspenders with black and green spats on his feet, four green eyes, and a black horn protruding from his head that made Aria think he was some sort of horned beetle hybrid.
"The big boss is waiting for you," the large, great horned beetle man intoned in a deep, brassy voice as he looked over everyone with a critical eye before looking away from Alastor hurriedly as he gestured a thumb towards the back of the pizzeria. "He told me to tell you that your brother is already here."
"Oh shit," Arackniss mumbled out irritably, a growl escaping him before he gestured to everyone to follow him as the big, beetle man closed and locked the front door, standing guard once more as Aria took in the shadowy interior.
It was definitely spider themed with the black tables having eight, spindly legs and the black chairs sporting the red, black widow mark on the rounded backs of the chairs, making them look like the abdomen of a black widow spider. The walls were a blood red color, while the floors were black with an intricate, white spider web pattern, making Aria smile at the artistic flare. Pictures of pizza and awards for taste and originality were displayed on the walls, including some spider art as Aria noticed a particularly stunning piece picturing a white spider on a black web surrounded by a blood-red background. She even saw a fly guy passed out in one corner of the room, making it look like a real den for a spider as Aria giggled at the sight. However, her smile died quickly as she passed the comatose fly guy and realized with horror that a white note written in red had been pinned on the back of his shirt that read, "For the Midnight Mortuary! DO NOT TOUCH!"
"Well, the dead body on the floor practically screams that the food and drink here is simply to die for, am I right?" Alastor quipped with a chuckle, making Aria groan as she looked away from the poor soul now long dead and gone as she said a silent prayer for his family, trying to comfort herself and not think of bad omens as they passed him by.
Arackniss moved a divider separating the seating area from the serving area as everyone moved past the cash register and long, black, front counter through the red door leading into the kitchen. There was quite a bit of activity going on in the kitchen as supplies and prep work was being completed for when the place finally opened, but nothing looked out of the ordinary as they were all escorted to the back where the walk-in freezer was kept. Aria thought of how easily they could be shot here and made into pizza toppings, but Arackniss only led them to the back of the freezer where a variety of sausages hung from hooks suspended from the ceiling.
"Okay, just to warn you, a lot of mist is going to be released to hide how I access the underground entrance to our hideout, so don't get any funny ideas or try to fucking kill me, alright?" Arackniss said stiffly as the room suddenly filled very quickly with mist, obscuring her vision as a familiar, gloved hand took her hand as she heard chains rattle and something heavy slide against the floor as she was quickly tugged forward into the mist, making her feel very anxious as she felt movement around her before the sound of something heavy moved behind them and then suddenly stopped.
"Alright! We're through," Arackniss said as the mist dissipated to reveal a dark hallway with black walls and red, wooden floors as a solitary light lit up the darkness ahead of them, lighting the way forward. "Let's move and no dawdling, unless you want to be the next customer for the Midnight Mortuary."
"I thought you said we'd receive a protected escort to rendezvous with your boss," Damian suddenly commented dryly as he put a hand on Aria's shoulder as though to comfort her, but it only made her feel uneasy as she gently shrugged it off as she followed Arackniss and Alastor down the long hall as it turned right into a long corridor where a few red doors on either side of them came into view.
"As long as you follow my instructions, you will," Arackniss answered briskly as he opened the third door on the right, which led to another long, dark corridor with a single light source with even more, red doors on either side of them, making Aria wonder just how big this hideout was as Arackniss continued down the hall.
It was a maze of corridors as they went down a few flights of stairs, and walked through even more unmarked, red doors, until they finally reached a red door at the end of a particularly long, dark hallway. The sound of cursing, shouting, and something heavy being thrown behind the door greeted them as Arackniss let out a heavy sigh before he knocked on the door. There was a sudden silence on the other side of the door before it was flung open, revealing a very familiar, pink spider demon.
"Well, look who's here?" Angel Dust greeted them with an obnoxious grin as Aria stared at the cross-dressing arachnid in shock as he sported a simple, pink dress with long sleeves and a very short skirt, the black choker he wore around his neck complimenting his black boots. "If it isn't the little Princess, the Strawberry Pimp, and...what the fuck!?"
"Well, well, well! Angel Dust!" Damian said with a dark grin that looked smug, making Aria suddenly wonder what was going on as Angel Dust's smile changed to an angry snarl as he suddenly pulled out a Tommy gun and pointed it right at Damian's chest. "I wasn't expecting you here. Are you here on official business for your salacious boss, or did you come here because you found out I would be here?"
"You fucking, two-timing son-of-a-bitch!" Angel Dust yelled out as he dug the barrel of the gun into Damian's chest with every syllable, which only made Damian's dark smile grow more sinister as a chill ran through Aria at the sight. "I thought I made sure you were fucking dead!"
"I'm a water demon, you ignorant pest," Damian said with a satisfied smirk on his face, the reaction he got out of Angel Dust obviously amusing him as he pressed his chest into the barrel of the Tommy gun as though to test Angel's resolve. "Throwing me into the sewers after you so courageously beat me up to a bloody pulp with your friends saved me a lot of trouble, for which I thank you. Of course, I was smart enough to stay in parts of Pentagram City to stay clear of you until now. Who's your new lover these days, I wonder?"
"Shut the fuck up!" Angel Dust shouted out, hitting Damian hard on the side of his head with a pistol he whipped out of nowhere, bloodying Damian's lip as the water demon only laughed in answer to Angel's actions, sending the pink spider over the edge. "Oh, I am going to fucking enjoy killing you!"
"Venter," a low, deep voice growled with a heavy, New York accent from behind the pink spider, making Angel pause and grit his teeth in rage as he never took his eyes off Damian as a large, furry, gray spider demon wearing a dark gray fedora with a black band, a black tie, black slacks, black suspenders, and gray and black spats emerged from behind him, smoking the butt of a cigar between his white, sharp-toothed frown. "You dishonor me and your family name. You threaten our guests with firearms, when I specifically stated that there would be no guns at this important meeting. Put your guns away. Whatever personal grudge you have against this man can be resolved after we save your sister."
"But...but Pops-" Angel Dust tried to explain, but the large, gray spider demon slapped Angel Dust across the face, while two of his big, gray hands grabbed Angel's guns, while the fourth hand pinned Angel Dust against the wall.
"I am the boss here, you ungrateful welp, and you are no fucking son of mine!" The gray spider growled low, his temper even and controlled as he handed the guns to Arackniss without even looking at him as he kept all eight, white eyes on Angel as the pink spider demon grew still, looking cowed and pathetic. "Now keep your filthy mouth shut and let the adults talk. You made your choice, and I will not be contradicted in front of our guests. I only brought you here for one reason and one reason only. To save my daughter from a fate worse than death!"
"Whoa! Hold on a second!" Aria cried out as she tried to process the shocking revelation she was just having as Arackniss put away the Tommy gun and pistol he'd been given in a very nice, heavy oak gun rack in the far corner of the large, gloomy office. "Angel Dust is related to you guys!?"
"Not anymore, or weren't you fucking listening?" Angel Dust said loudly, a clear edge in his voice as he pushed the big, gray spider off of him before walking around to a small cabinet that looked like it was covered in spider carvings near a huge, wooden desk with clawed feet, carved demon eyes, and gnawing teeth on its edges as he pulled out a bottle of what could only be liquor and a drinking glass before he poured himself a drink, and then picked up his glass with a mocking gesture. "Here's a toast to the worst Ragno family reunion since the day I got fucking exiled! Cheers!"