Aria stopped struggling as tears silently dripped down her uncomfortably rugged face as she lay there, stunned, as she watched the acid pool bubble and froth for a few seconds before it settled and disappeared, turning back into a wooden floor. Angel got off of her and called her a fucking crazy, emotional bitch before pulling out a cigarette and lighter out of one of his coat pockets before lighting up and taking a long drag. By the time he'd expelled two puffs of pink smoke, Aria had sat up slowly as she stared at the wooden floor before her, then her manly chest and hands as she suddenly wished she could get out of this nightmare as she felt her chest suddenly ache and tighten.
There were no words. There were no words for the hopelessness of her situation. Stuck in the body of a man, in a simulation controlled by Angel Dust, and watching as Andrew and Angel tore each other apart and attacked her if she intervened, it was all for nothing. She couldn't stop Andrew from killing her and she couldn't stop Angel Dust from killing Andrew or her if he suddenly felt like it. The dark and evil merry-go-round of carnage swirled in her mind as she felt her chest tighten even worse as she felt that there was no way out.
"Ya know, I don't get you," Angel said with a confused and derogatory tone as he simpered and stepped lightly over to her as he bent down and blew smoke in her face, making her cough and sputter as she waved the smoke away, but refused to look at Angel. "First, ya want me. Then ya don't want me. Then ya want me to save ya from Andrew and then ya don't want me to fucking kill the son-of-a-bitch for murdering you! The fuck is wrong with you? I mean, I just did ya a favor and ya look like I just killed your own mother!"
"It never ends," Aria answered quietly as she slowly looked at Angel angrily, but she fought to not lose her temper as she suddenly felt incredibly tired all of a sudden. "The hate, the vengeance, the murder...it never ends unless someone decides to stop. The problem is is that I'm not the one who needs to stop!"
"Your wasting your breath if you're going to give me a lecture about giving up murdering my enemies, Princey Poo," Angel mocked with a laugh as he flipped her off before getting down to her level and grabbing her chin roughly with a free hand, making her try and push him away, but he just grabbed her wrists with two of his extra hands, again, as he forced her to look at him, making her scowl at him as a stab of fear coursed through her. "Tell me. Honestly tell me...did you really want to fuck with Andrew before all this went down, or was it me you wanted, but you didn't have the guts to tell me? Was it worth it? Or do you regret not listening to me when I told ya he's biding his time to royally screw us all over?"
Aria grimaced as the desire to get ugly and nasty rushed into her masculine body like molten lava, but the recent melting of Andrew burst into her mind, cooling her anger. She couldn't look at Angel. She knew he was right. She'd been dishonest with herself and she was afraid to admit it.
"Heh! That look! Ya know I'm right, then! I was always right!" Angel said with a smirk of satisfaction that turned into a sneer as he let go of her and stood up as he grabbed a drink from the table and drank it down in one go, letting out a gasp of satisfaction before he chucked the glass away, shattering the glass into a million pieces as he took another drag from his cigarette still held in one of his hands before blowing it out in wisps of pink smoke. "Ya know, ya can still have me, for a price. Give up Andrew, stay as a man, and we could paint this room white, if ya get my meaning. Do that, and tell me to my face I was right, and I'll give you a night to remember."
Aria was tempted and it revealed so much of how tired she was fighting everyone. She'd failed to persuade Andrew from killing her despite having never hurt him. She'd failed to persuade Angel Dust from killing Andrew despite that she'd been the one who was murdered, not him. Why was that, she wondered, as that thought suddenly got her feeling curious.
"Angel Dust...why did you get so angry that Andrew killed me?" Aria asked suddenly as she turned and looked at him.
"Oh no you don't!" Angel said with a knowing grin as he picked up a martini glass and swirled it around casually while he looked over his shoulder at her as wisps of pink smoke curled from his cigarette that he held in one of his free hands. "Answer my question, first, and then I'll answer yours. This is my desire simulation, and don't you fucking forget it!"
"Hard to do that, since I'm a man," Aria said sarcastically as she stood up and gestured to herself, making Angel whistle seductively at her, making her blush as she looked away from him and rubbed her arm nervously.
"Well?" Angel asked as Aria heard him sip his martini glass.
"Sigh...fine. You're right," Aria said quietly in exasperation as she put her arms around herself as she felt her walls drop, making her feel vulnerable, cold, and very nervous. "I...I did want you. I just didn't feel that it was right to tell you that, since you didn't want me and I only wanted you for curiosity's sake. Plus, I didn't want to offend you by asking."
"I want you now," Angel said seductively as Aria heard him put down his martini glass before he got really close to her back, making her flinch and whirl on him as she stepped back before he could touch her!
"You don't want my actual body! You want this!" Aria gestured to her nether regions, blushing furiously with an anger and contempt that surprised her! "I hated that I wanted you and it hurt even worse when you belittled me because of my sex! I didn't want to be ridiculed by you, so I told you I didn't want you to honor your sexual preference and to save myself from unwanted humiliation! Not to mention I couldn't think of a way to have you stay without Kingsley finding us out and killing us all! Face it! You just want my body because I'm a dude, now! Well, let me tell you something, mister! I'm not that kind of woman...man...oh, you know what I mean!"
"Are you sure? You sure got excited before you told me what Andrew did to you," Angel said with a snicker as he got way too close, making Aria retreat into the bar wall as he placed all four hands on the wall to either side of her face and shoulders, boxing her in as the cigarette he'd been smoking curled pink smoke between them from one of the hands that boxed her in. "You know you want to. Admit it! Be honest, now, or you may come to regret it."
"I regret so much, already," Aria growled as she put her hands on her face and sighed as she rubbed her face tiredly, hating the feeling of the stubble on her chin as she proceeded to fold her arms in front of her and really look at Angel Dust. "Suppose I say yes. We knock each other around, I go back to being a woman, and...what? That's it? A fling for the sex-happy spider just because he wants it? Yeah, no. Sigh…there's more to this than just sex. Why do you care about having sex with me, of all people? Is it because I didn't deliver last time and this is payback for that? Is it because I'm an angel and you've never fucked one? Is it because you secretly found me attractive, but are too gay to admit it? I'm not so sure I even understand anything about this...thing going on right now with you, especially this situation we're in now! What's your angle?"
"Look, it's been a real fucking, lousy day, if ya hadn't noticed, and yeah! I just want you for your body because I fucking got cock-blocked by your emotional breakdown earlier! I fucking deserve this!" Angel Dust insisted angrily as he took a long drag from his cigarette before flicking it away as he grabbed the front of her flapper dress, twisted it, and pulled, making her face get way too close to his as pink, cigarette smoke aggressively burst from his mouth as he spoke. "I won't force it, but damn it! I need this! My sister is going to get literally raped by my boss if we don't stop it in time, which Valentino will lord over me with for fucking forever, and it'll be your goddamn fault if you don't do your fucking job! You've gotten yourself caught once already! I gotta know if you really have what it takes to bring down Valentino, and seducing him with sex would be the easiest way to do it! Plus, I fucking hate that Andrew's been nothing but a murderous pile of fish-shit despite knowing he wasn't involved in the murder scam directly all those years ago! It's fucking upsetting and I demand to be relieved of this shitty tension you created by fucking ya! There's literally no one else who can do it, so you're fucking it!"
"I'm r-right here, you know," Andrew stated awkwardly behind Angel Dust, giving Aria and Angel a heart attack as Angel whirled around and pulled out two pistols and a Tommy gun, while still holding onto the front of Aria's flapper dress as he began to fill the bar full of lead! "Whoa! Hold on! D-don't shoot! Cease Fire!"
"Like fuck I won't shoot!" Angel yelled out angrily as Andrew ran this way and that way to get out of the line of fire as Aria realized there wasn't a scratch on Andrew, but there was definitely a more nervous tension coming from him. "You fucking killed little miss Princess and tried to kill me! I'm not going to listen to a fucking word you say!"
"What d-do I do, then? Just sit here and let you kill me over and over again!?" Andrew demanded as he threw a picture at Angel to distract Angel long enough so he could roll to the bar and use it as a shield as Angel Dust riddled it with holes! "We already d-did that, already! I want out of this c-cursed machine!"
"That won't happen unless we help each other get out of here, and I'm pretty certain that everyone is angry at everyone else in this room!" Aria shouted in exasperation as she took hold of Angel's hand still gripping her clothes and forced it off of her as she smacked the back of his pink head, making him pause in his barrage.
"Ow! What the fuck was that for?" Angel yelled out angrily as he turned on her as he had to shift his gaze between Andrew and Aria as he pointed his guns at Andrew, but scowled distractedly at Aria.
"Stop trying to shoot him! He probably stood there long enough to actually backstab you, but he didn't, so get a clue and stop, already!" Aria said passionately as she felt a slew of emotions flow and clash inside her like a hurricane as she felt the Holy Ghost prod at her to remember her counsel from the Lord, making her sigh as she grit her teeth angrily, but forced herself to walk past Angel quickly, but he grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Hold it! You walk over there and I'm not going to be able to stop him this time," Angel hissed out in a loud whisper of hatred and frustration, but Aria just looked at him coldly before pulling her arm free as she sighed in exasperation, looked at Andrew, who was just waiting quietly, and then back at Angel stubbornly as she just kept moving forward.
"I'm done running," Aria said tensely with fear in her low, manly voice as she faced Andrew, who crouched behind the bar, which looked pretty patchy with all the spent bullets riddled inside it as her manly feet kicked spent casings and a few of Angel's cigarette butts on the floor as she stopped just shy of the bar. "You want me, well I'm right here. What do you want?"
"Um…is there a r-reason you're a man, now?" Andrew commented distractedly, making Aria roll her eyes and fold her arms in front of her defensively as she tried again.
"I'm not answering that question," Aria said impatiently as she waved a hand in dismissal before folding her arms, again, and looked at Andrew stiffly with what little patience she had left as the frustration mounted inside her veins, making her have to remind herself to breath through it so she wouldn't lose her temper. "I'm going to ask again. What do you want, Andrew?"
"I t-told you! I want out of this f-fucking machine!" Andrew insisted tersely as Angel shot at him with a wide shot, breaking a bottle behind Andrew as he cried out and cowered behind the bar as alcohol burst from the broken bottle, soaking the bar floor in red wine. "I just want t-to get out of here!"
"You know the way out," Aria said simply with a sad and angry look as she struggled with the hate and anger and fear and doubt that riddled her thoughts and burned in her flat chest like liquid fire! "You broke your promise and killed me in cold blood! You then refused to listen to reason and assaulted Angel, who already gave you the benefit of the doubt after the shadow man revealed his treachery, which left the stupid spider with no alternative in his mind except that he had to kill you for it! Dang it, Andrew! Honestly, I could just as easily let Angel kill you again, but I'm so tired of the carnage! I don't want things to go on like this! I can't live with myself if things go on like this! So, tell me...what do I have to do to make you trust me enough so you'll let go of your desire to kill me again?"
"Trust you? An angel? What makes you think I c-could ever trust you?" Andrew demanded angrily, making Aria look grimly at Andrew before looking back at Angel Dust before letting out a very, very long sigh as Angel just smirked an ugly smirk before lighting up another pink cigarette.
"How about this?" Aria asked after a long pause as she felt the Holy Ghost work to give her the words she needed as she fought with the fear that rose inside of her as she realized before she spoke what she would have to offer, making her heart sink as her skin burned with spiritual confirmation, leading her into a calmer state beyond her understanding as she swallowed her fear and forced herself to speak. "You win. You have me whenever you like...outside the simulator. That includes sharing my room and taking me when you want me, day or night, no questions asked. In exchange, you no longer seek my life, you tell no one of my angelic origins, you keep my secrets, and I'll agree to help you get out of this machine and make sure Angel Dust and his family leave you alone after this is all over. However, in order to agree to this, Angel Dust needs payment and I already know the price. He must be allowed to take me here and now in this form because I know he won't agree to this deal, otherwise, because of your murderous stupidity earlier. He'll bear witness to this union and will hold you up to the bargain. That being said, I'll warn you right now that if you do me any real harm, including trying to kill me or you succeed in killing me, our union will be null and void, and you will be hunted down and eradicated. I'm not sure who will do it first, but Angel and Alastor will both have their own reasons to want you dead. I made a deal with Alastor that I know he wants to see to its end, so tread lightly. Beware of what you choose."
"You think I w-want you? You? Ha!" Andrew said in a show of bravado as he stood up and sneered at her, but Aria saw the tells as he fidgeted with his hands and the obvious strain in his sneering smile. "What makes you think I c-could ever want you?"
"You already do want me, or wasn't it already painfully obvious when you had sex with me as you murdered me, and then went out of your way to try and kill me again?" Aria shot back with a cool, scathing look that left Andrew frowning as a growl of unease escaped him, making him refuse to look at her as she advanced, making it Andrew's turn to retreat. "It may not be a positive position to want me, but you still want me. The Holy Ghost is the spirit of truth and He speaks through me now. This is your final offer. If you don't comply, then the seal on your body will be removed and you will go where the shadow man was sent, and know this. Your previous state with him before you entered this simulator will be nothing compared to how he will treat you if he's allowed to take you as a vessel again. You won't be allowed to escape him a second time."
"He d-disappeared, so he must be dead, so your threats are empty!" Andrew insisted with a scowl, but when he found that Aria still looked at him unflinchingly as he retreated to the corner of the bar, leaving him with no way out, he hesitated. "He's dead...right?"
"He'll return," Aria said simply as she stopped just an arm's length away from Andrew just as he brought his tail up to slice at her throat, making her pause, but she didn't even flinch as she realized something was holding him back as she found her head was still on her shoulders. "I've been told that he's temporarily detained, but that he'll return after we escape the machine. I'm sure you're aware that my words have more weight than usual, since you've chosen to keep me alive. You realize it, then...that I speak the truth."
"No!" Andrew hissed out desperately with an anger that brought the red glow to his freckles, eyes, and teeth, again. "I can't go back to him! You'll let me out of here with no strings attached, or I'll just murder you, again, keeping us trapped here forever!"
"The seal that bonded us during the first simulation is based off of a mutual, spiritual agreement you are about to annul," Aria warned as words that weren't her own flowed through her as she looked at Andrew with a measure of pity as she watched his expression change from anger and outrage to fear as he looked like he was about to bolt. "I warned you not to try and run from me in this simulator for a reason. The Lord knew of your plight with the shadow man, and made a way out for the both of us. However, if you continue to see me as an enemy and continue to seek to destroy me, that agreement will be null and void, you'll disappear from this simulation, and join the shadow man where he resides. God created these machines and has full power over them. The normal settings would normally never let us out of this endless cycle of betrayal, vengeance, and death, but He has top access to all the functions to this machine. So please...choose carefully."
"It's n-not fair! Why d-do you get special treatment, while I'm left basically getting married to a f-fucking angel!?" Andrew complained as he pushed his sharp tail into her throat, drawing blood, but Aria still stood her ground as she winced from the pain. "I want leverage! Give me something of yours you c-can never have again!"
"Just take the fucking deal, ya moron! The shadow man's bad news, or did I kill a few brain cells the last time I killed ya?" Angel Dust jeered loudly as he sat at the one table that hadn't been ripped to shreds, which happened to have his endless supply of booze on it, and put his feet on it as he pulled out another cigarette and smoked from it lazily.
"Would you t-take it!?" Andrew asked Angel angrily, making the pink spider shrug as he blew out a plume of pink smoke.
"Depends. If Aria stayed like she is now, I don't think it'd be so bad! Besides, that fucker King of whatever was a real bitch to the both of us! You want him back or do you wanna get hitched? Marriage doesn't mean much down here, anyway, fish breath! She's got a husband back home, but she's willing to have ya, so quit complaining!" Angel said with a laugh as he suddenly held up a tall glass filled with a yellow, bubbly beverage. "Cheers to the happy couple!"
"Angel!" Andrew growled in frustration, but it was interrupted as Aria suddenly touched his tail gently, making Andrew twitch his tail nervously as blood dripped down her throat, but she didn't let go of him as she looked at him imploringly.
"You already have something I can never get back," Aria whispered hesitantly and sadly as Andrew looked at her suspiciously as she felt the Holy Ghost embrace her like a warm blanket as she heard what she said next. "My time. You might think that's a cheap trick, but think about it for a second. You have the power to interrupt everything in my life just because you want to to have sex with me. I want to have breakfast, but it gets interrupted by you. I want to go to the bathroom, and there you are. I won't be able to take a shower without you possibly bouncing right inside with me without my say so. God hasn't only given me to you. My life just got put on hold by you, and that means I have to find a way to compromise with you to get anything done! I'm not in charge of my life, anymore, Andrew. You are."
The only sound that could be heard after that sentence was a chuckle from Angel like he'd known that the first go around, while Andrew looked shocked and hopeful as he looked at her for a good, long time.
"...You m-mean that?" Andrew asked slowly in disbelief as he eased his tail off her throat as he stepped up to her hesitantly, unsure if he'd heard her correctly. "You're m-mine...whenever I wish it? Anytime at all?"
"That's the contract," Aria answered simply as she kept reminding herself that God was with her as the moment of stabbing fear passed by her.
"...Are you saying that, or is it that g-ghost thing you keep referring to?" Andrew asked very carefully as he got way too close to her, making her hesitate as she tried to answer that question honestly.
"Honestly...I'm afraid of what all of this would mean if you answer yes, but despite me fear, I'm not about to go against the word of God," Aria said simply as she looked at Andrew, pleading with him to understand her as things got very real for her as she realized what would happen if he agreed to it. "The Holy Ghost is a member of the Godhead, so what He says comes from God. God warned me that I had to have faith that there was a way forward for me out of this...emotional prison I'm currently stuck in. He warned me that I'd already chosen someone to get me out of it. As much as I hated what you did when you found out I was an angel, I had already chosen you before we stepped into this machine. Just...don't leave me here...please. I can't stand to be a man any longer than I have to be and I really don't want to see what will happen to me if I'm left alone when all of this is over, so please...just say yes. Without my husband, I've felt nothing but a horrible emptiness ever since, but with you...I feel different. Enough for me to have the courage to face this machine and its challenges because I knew you'd help me. I can't hope to keep doing that without help beyond this simulator, though. It's just who I am. I can't live...without being loved."
"How c-can you say that…after everything I've done to you?" Andrew asked in bewilderment as he stared at her in confusion, turned his back on her, turned to face her, looked at the bar, and then hit it with a fist before turning back to confront her! "I k-killed you! M-mutilated you, even! I said horrible things, ignored everything you d-did for me as I cut you up and used you, and you c-can still ask me this!? How!? Why!?"
"Don't you get it, you idiot!" Angel Dust yelled angrily like he was dealing with the dumbest person in Hell as he sighed in exasperation, got up from his seat, walked behind Aria and grabbed her manly shoulders with two hands, while he grabbed her face with one hand, squeezing her stubbled chin, while gesturing towards Andrew with his remaining hand. "She fucking loves you, dumbass! Any idiot can see that! It's disgusting as hell, but come on! Really!?"
Andrew looked at Angel, then he looked at her, and then he looked back at Angel before he blushed purple from his head down to his toes! He was so flabbergasted that he kept opening and shutting his mouth to say something, but nothing came of it as he kept changing his mind on saying anything as he started to pace behind the bar. He'd look at Aria, and then he'd look away. It got to the point where he'd turn his back to her and lean on the bar, think of something, turn to say something, but when he saw her standing there, blushing like an idiot, he'd bite a finger and wince as he'd retreat and try again.
Aria wasn't ready for that revelation as she stopped struggling against Angel as she watched Andrew struggle to come to terms with this new information as she blushed scarlet! She was in love with him!? No way! It couldn't be, but...then why did she save him the first time they met? It was just because she didn't want to see him killed, right? She shook her head as she felt something inside her tell her it was more than that. He'd been so sweet and kind to her at the cafe. It'd touched her...and she realized it went deeper than just mere affection.
Why did it bother her, then, when Damian started to flirt with her after she rescued Andrew? After thinking about it for a while as Andrew struggled to say something, it occurred to her that it was because of the disappointment of not seeing Andrew, but instead an imposter saying all those sweet things! Then something else occurred to her. What had Damian meant just before the simulation started when he said he was everything Andrew wanted to be and more? Did...did that include...the declarations of affection? Did Damian use them to get close to her, knowing it would rob Andrew of experiencing it for himself? Had those wonderful words not come from Damian, but secretly from Andrew, who felt he didn't have the courage to say it himself!?
"No way," Aria said in shock, but she knew as soon as the Holy Ghost confirmed her suspicions even as she thought them that it was true, making her stare at Andrew in disbelief. "You...when Damian used you, he...oh my gosh!"
"What!? What do you mean? Tell me!" Andrew said desperately as he grabbed her by her arms, making Angel Dust let go of Aria as he rolled his eyes, shrugged, and commented about someone or something being thick as a snicker escaped him as he headed back to his table.
"Andrew...did you mean all those times you flirted with me?" Aria asked with a hopeful smile on her manly face, making Andrew look at her in confusion as he seemed impossibly lost.
"...I d-don't follow," Andrew said lamely, making Aria sigh patiently as she got a little closer to his face for emphasis.
"Did you mean all those times that you flirted with me when Damian was controlling you?" Aria asked with a hopeful smile, catching Andrew off guard as he let go of her as he covered his mouth as though he were in shock.
"How...how d-do you know that!?" Andrew asked, almost panicking, but he gripped her arms hard, making her cry out in pain, but he just shook her. "Tell me, d-damn it!"
"Why are you so scared?" Aria asked in bewilderment as she could see that Andrew was almost somewhere else as she looked into his eyes as they glazed over in thought, making her try to put her hands on either side of his face, making him jump back as he moved to pull away, but he hesitated as she kept her grip gentle. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help. You're safe. I just thought...the shadow man was cruel. I thought he might use the desires you were thinking of to get to me. I didn't mean to scare you for guessing correctly. I swear!"
"You...you c-can't know," Andrew stated fearfully, a hitch catching his throat as Aria realized he was becoming overwhelmed with fear as he wasn't even looking at her, anymore, as he held onto her like he was having trouble standing. "You c-can't...and still love me. I'm your m-murderer, a beast, a phantom and a sham! I'm n-nothing and you c-can't still feel like this! You can't!"
"Why not?" Aria asked, trying to understand as she sincerely wondered what phobia she'd triggered as all the signs of a panic attack was consuming Andrew right then. "You sound like you actually believe you...belong in Hell. Why?"
"It was my fault," Andrew spoke like he was far away as he let go of her and gripped his own arms like he was cold as he stumbled away from her and leaned heavily on the bar, but it wasn't enough as he let himself drop to his knees away from her as he tried to be as small as he could be on the floor. "I k-killed him...and then she told me to die. It was all my fault...all my f-fault."
"Him?" Aria asked, but then she felt a hand tap her on the shoulder, making her turn to see Angel looking bored as he sipped a fruity cocktail and nodded his head towards Andrew.
"There was this girl he loved in life, but she didn't love him back," Angel said impatiently as Andrew kept rocking back and forth as though he were having trouble processing what was going on around him...like he was stuck in a moment in time in his head. "He told me his story once under the influence of a hypnotist I know. Tiny dick, but so fun at parties! Anyway, Andrew found out the bitch was dating this scumbag who'd beat her really badly and she'd have bruises, have casts on her arms, you name it. It got so bad that she got hospitalized once. That's when he planned to murder the girl's boyfriend and succeeded. Like an idiot, he eventually told her once she got out of the hospital after becoming really close to the girl. The girl practically attacked him, belittled him, and wished that he'd died instead of her dick boyfriend. She called the cops on him, but they never caught him. Andrew loved her, so like an idiot, he did what she wanted. The police found his brains blown out with a suicide note on him. "A life for a life. I love you. I'm so sorry. Now you won't have to see me anymore." Ha! What a sentimental moron!"
"Angel!" Aria said loudly in shock.
"What? The guy's a pile of guilt wrapped in a fish fillet suit, and he whines like a little girl about his previous life! If he wants my respect, he needs to fucking find it for himself, first!" Angel insisted unapologetically as he pulled out a little baggy of what had to be drugs as he offered it to her. "Need a sniff? I know I do!"
"No! Angel, he's in a state of panic! I have to take care of this, first, not become so out of it that I need help!" Aria insisted angrily, obviously offended by his offer as she rolled her eyes at him before turning around and concentrating on Andrew.
"Whatever ya say, tight ass!" Angel said good-naturedly as Angel slapped her ass, making Aria blush scarlet in indignation as she whirled on him!
"STOP IT!" Aria shouted furiously as she felt her cheeks burn at the audacity of Angel's antics! "Either go over there and drink some more or I'll have no choice but to...throw all the alcohol at you!"
"Heh! Go ahead! I bet I can catch all of it before it even hits the ground!" Angel taunted with a cheeky grin on his face as Aria picked up a bottle.
"Okay! You asked for it!" Aria shouted as she chucked the bottle, letting it fly at Angel Dust as she chucked another and another!
Angel quickly grabbed the bottle she tossed and succeeded in putting it down before he caught the next one, his reflexes right on point as he began to juggle a lot of bottles as Aria still continued to empty the bar shelves! Angel was placing bottles on top of themselves on his one, good table, while catching the new ones with practiced ease, making her realize he'd probably done this before. Sure enough, as she picked up two bottles and threw them in opposite directions, Angel actually caught one with one foot and one hand as his two remaining arms got the rest of the bottles he juggled safely onto his drink pyramid. Aria watched, flabbergasted, as she witnessed Angel successfully save every bottle of booze she could find to throw at him!
"Impressed, Princey? This is nothing!" Angel said as he took a long drink from a bottle of rum next to him, wiping his mouth with a sigh of satisfaction before stopping it with a cork and flipping it end over end with practiced ease. "I used to do a bottle balancing and juggling gig along with stripping, but I had to give it up after accidentally hitting my partner in the crotch. In my defense, the guy was higher than a kite and wouldn't keep still, so ya know, the fucker had it coming! Valentino kept pushing my other employer to change up my partners, since they'd become pretty addicted to my "payments" and became useless when they did their other jobs under Porn Studios, so he jacked up my last partner to make me look bad and lose the gig. Ya gotta admit that that sounds incredibly sexy, right? I'm so good at fucking that I make other fuckers useless. I know you like what I hear, my little Prince. I can see your tent from here."
"Enough!" Aria said loudly in frustration at Angel before she covered herself with her hands as she gave Angel an angry look before she turned her attention onto Andrew as she slowly knelt next to him, while trying to manage such a strange feeling of tightness around her crotch. "Andrew...I don't hate you for what you did in life. You've paid the price for killing that man, already. I just wish it hadn't been by your own hand that your life was taken."
She found him looking at her like a cornered scorpion with his tail ready to strike, but he kept shivering and hesitating as his eyes would focus on her, then they would become unfocused like he was lost in his memories. There was a real battle of wills lurking within his yellow eyes behind the thick glasses. It was like two parts of him were fighting for dominance and Aria knew it had something to do with hope versus fear. She struggled with it, herself. She saw herself in him.
"I d-don't believe you!" Andrew said hesitantly as he looked at Angel, who just shrugged and grinned as he drank more rum, leading Andrew to look back at her with distrustful eyes. "How do I know this isn't a t-trick to control me?"
"That's not the right question," Aria said patiently as she waited, while he looked at her with searching eyes as she took a breath and let it out slowly, asking the Lord for the right words as she moved forward. "What is the right question, Andrew?"
"...Why are you d-doing this?" Andrew asked slowly after a moment of thought, making Aria smile, but it was a sad one of both approval and pain.
"I need to live to complete my mission here in Hell," Aria answered as she adjusted her knees, since she found it painful to sit like that for too long as she tried hard not to think about her bizarre problem of having a hard on during this conversation. "The Lord has offered this proposal to ensure my safety and show that He gives you the freedom and acceptance you desperately crave. Sigh...he also offered the sexual aspect of it for the both of us. I hate to admit it, but I need to be needed and that need can't be filled by my husband right now. He's still alive on Earth, so...I chose you as someone I could open myself up to. It was before the simulator was even turned on. I...I see you as someone I could really trust...if you'd let me. The thing is...I didn't know for sure if you wanted me. That's why you were given most of the power in this relationship. It gives you room to just go on with your life if you want, but it ensures your silence and my safety. Honestly...I'd like to have a real friend, if nothing else."
"Friends with b-benefits?" Andrew said with a weak laugh of disbelief like he couldn't believe his ears, making Aria chuckle helplessly at the insanity of it.
"Yeah! I know! I don't get it, either," Aria said awkwardly in bewilderment, but she tried to just laugh and accept it, since the Holy Ghost insisted otherwise. "It's the most backwards counsel I've ever received. I'm not even sure how this even works. Still...God said it's okay, and whatever He deems okay means it's not a sin."
"Isn't that cheating?" Andrew asked skeptically, but it was with less fear or harshness as he stood up, making Aria do the same as she hid her tent the best that she could.
"Think about it," Aria said with a smile of amusement despite the stubble on her face as she looked at Angel, who looked very pleased with himself as he just sat there looking very out of it as Aria noticed his face was coated in a lot of white powder before looking back at Andrew. "We're all different. The children of God need guidance, but each takes a different route to get back to Him. Some need special guidance and sometimes that means God offers trials that are apart of the normal experiences of life. Abraham was commanded of God to offer his only son as a burnt offering and he did what he was commanded because He trusted God and knew He would provide a way despite that it looked hopeless. When God saw that he'd do what he was commanded by Him, God spared Isaac's life and told Abraham he was a righteous man, despite that the general commandment that 'Thou shalt not kill' remained in force."
"How is that r-right?" Andrew asked in bewilderment. "How is anything of this r-right?"
"Let me explain," Aria said with a warm smile as she loved where this conversation was going as she became animated as she explained. "God loves everyone equally, He knows all things, He is the most powerful being in the universe, and is loving and just. He is, in every sense of the word, our perfect, kind, and wholesome Father. He created us. He wants us to succeed and to grow and learn and to become even as He is. Not in the sense of becoming a copy of Him, but that we can learn to be just, loving, kind, all-knowing, all powerful, and to treat everyone with love and dignity as He does, by being our best selves and following His counsel. He upholds His laws, even when He commands someone to do something that looks contrary to the general commandments He has given previously. He is the law giver and is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He knows what experiences will be best to offer his children to bring them back home. Sometimes that means doing things that are unusual or even new based off of older commandments He has given in the past. Gaining new commandments and covenants by revelation remains in force for the children of men through God's living prophets, and what is revealed for us today is to be heeded first before we heed the old revelations of the past. That includes personal revelation for ourselves, which can be attained by our own efforts through sincere prayer and fasting with the intent to act on the counsel we receive. Unfortunately, some people like to hold onto the previous commandments, or instructions, without remembering that God can grant us new perspectives and blessings by offering new commandments, or instructions. People forget that loving God is the first and greatest commandment as it is written in The Holy Bible, The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, and The Doctrine and Covenants. The old commandments aren't destroyed by the new, however. Whatever commandment He has made in the past that He Himself hasn't specifically fulfilled remains in force. To love Him is to trust Him and His judgement. That's why I know that what I'm offering to you is right because of the testimony of the Holy Ghost, which is in me...you're looking at me like I'm crazy."
"Because you are c-crazy!" Andrew insisted in fear and helplessness as he grabbed her manly shoulders and shook her, making her roll her eyes at him. "God left us here t-to be punished because we're evil! I deserve to b-be here! I deserve to b-be threatened the rest of my afterlife by annihilation, but in n-no way am I or anyone else here, able to be g-good enough to go to Heaven! Have you seen what we've b-been doing inside this f-fucking simulator!? You're n-nuts if you think any of this is going to help us stop hating G-God, eachother, or ourselves!"
"Hey! Speak for yourself" Angel demanded defensively as he shook up a cocktail or two before pouring them into a glass full of suspicious powder before drinking it. "Ah, yeah...that's the stuff!"
"Andrew, think about it," Aria said patiently in her low, manly tone as she gently placed her hands on Andrew's arms for reassurance as he moved to pull away, but then decided to keep a painfully firm hold on her. "Ow! Not so tight, buddy! Look, I actually do care about you. I do. I didn't even know it was love, but...it makes so much sense, now. I don't just show that kind of level of patience to just anyone, especially not like a man like Damian. I mean, I showed Damian kindness because you were underneath it all somewhere. If Damian had been a separate man, I wouldn't have even given him the time of day! He was driving me crazy and...I missed you. I'm really, really glad I was able to talk him into letting go of you before the simulator started. I would've hated every second of being trapped in here with him. Ugh, I feel sick and cringey just thinking about it!"
"You're j-just saying that," Andrew insisted weakly as he tried to pull away from her, but she let go of him to gently put her hands on his face, making him turn to look at her with terror and the barest spark of hope in his bespectacled eyes.
"Please don't run," Aria said pleadingly as she looked at him searchingly, the feeling of care for him surging up, surprising her as she realized she sincerely cared for him. "I...I want you. I need you. If for no other reason than to help you, not just myself. You're afraid you'll be killed when you get out of here, or worse. Your rage and fear of me earlier confirmed that, and yet here I am begging you to trust me instead of trying to kill you. Can you believe for just one second that I'd be willing to make sure you survive beyond this? I mean, I did save your life when no one else would. I wanted to punch Alastor for insisting we just leave you behind in the woods unconscious, the heartless bastard."
"I d-don't know," Andrew said awkwardly, the yearning in his voice keen, but a hint of frightened reluctance remained as he spoke as he gently placed his hands on hers, taking them off gently from his face as he held her hands in his. "I hurt you very b-badly. I want this, but…I d-don't deserve this. I don't d-deserve you."
Andrew started crying then. Looking embarrassed and tense, he let go of her hands quickly. He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket as he wiped his nose and eyes as he looked away from her, but she put a hand on his shoulder as something broke inside of her.
"I won't let that stop me," Aria said with a sad smile as the craziness of that statement left her feeling vulnerable and scared, but she didn't want to hold a grudge against Andrew, despite her simulated murder, which only compounded the insanity of what she was willing to do. "You killed me out of fear and a lack of understanding. That's what happened when I was murdered the first time. I just hated that no one had the decency to just let me live in peace! They just had to be right to the point of silencing me! I just wanted to live...and see my son and husband again."
Aria cried a little, then, as she felt the powerful loss of her loved ones sear through her, breaking her defenses even more. She looked at Andrew, who looked torn by her words, but despite his hesitation, he tentatively turned towards her and reached out a hand to her, blushing badly. Smiling tearfully and weakly, she felt strangely peaceful as she took his hand in hers. A peace and understanding passed between them, making them both smile at each other in wonder until Angel slammed a bottle a little too loudly on the table he was sitting at.
"Ya finally done? Good! I just got one question, then. Are ya ready for the most life-changing fucking you've ever had?" Angel said with a seductive grin as he stood up and elegantly strode over to Aria and shoved Andrew out of the way as he slid a finger under Aria's stubbly chin, making her blush and frown, while Andrew scowled in anger at Angel Dust, but it then softened to an expression of irritability as he looked at Aria, then sighed.
"I just know I'm g-going to regret this," Andrew said as he stepped up to Angel and with annoyance, pushed him off Aria long enough to kiss her, making her eyebrows shoot up in shock as his mouth tasted sweeter before she tasted something coppery in her mouth before he bit her lip, making her cry out in pain as he pulled away and licked her blood off his lips. "We have a deal. By blood, we are bound together. Only by blood can it be undone."