Misfortune's Fool
Author's Note: So admittedly, I've been pretty lazy lately, and I haven't been writing a lot. I apologize to anyone I kept waiting, and even more sorry this story started a little over a year ago and I'm still not done! I predict this story will be between 24-27 chapters long, and I'm truly sorry I'm not closer to being finished than I probably should be.
No matter, with the new release of recent Helluva Boss episodes, a couple of last minute changes will be made. You'll see one of them in this chapter, and another in the next, which SHOULD be the most satisfying chapter thus far in the entire story! I'm using that as motivation to finish this one now.
Happy Hotel 7:30 P.M.
After the angels made their departure to Heaven with Millie and Moxxie at their side, Angel Dust and Douglas make their way back to the hotel. Upon entering, they notice a new guest is there. She was another dark owl that shared many of Stolas's appearance traits. Much younger and shorter for that matter, but still very decipherable. Douglas and Angel both notice she's having a conversation with Loona.
"So, it's been a pretty rough day, to say the least." She says, taking a sip of an alcoholic beverage. "I just got news that my father has disappeared for good." Loona's frown turns sympathetic.
"When did you get this call?" She asks. The owl girl chugs the rest of her drink.
"About ten minutes ago I heard from my mom that my dad was killed!" Douglas and Angel sneak up behind Loona's back. "Here's a picture of his corpse!" She says, holding her phone out, causing Loona, Douglas, and Angel to gasp.
"AH!" Douglas covers his eyes.
"What the hell?!" Angel shrieks. Loona turns around to notice them, and the girl frowns.
"Excuse me? What are you morons doing here?! This is a private conversation!" She shouts in frustration. Vaggie overhears this and steps forward.
"What's going on here?" She asks. Loona turns to her with a shocked expression.
"Somebody shot Stolas and threw his body on Stella's picnic table!" The two boys step up behind the photo quietly. Vaggie quickly glares at the holy soldier.
"You did this! Didn't you Douglas?!" She says with noticeable rage in her voice. "You killed Octavia's father!" Douglas holds his hands out defensively.
"Look Vaggie, Angel and I did see Stolas earlier today." He admits. "But neither of us shot him in the chest." Angel nods.
"That's right. We just saw him get sucked into a portal under the merciful companionship of Millie and Moxxie." Loona's eyes widen.
"They're alive?!" She asks with desperation for an answer in her voice. Douglas turns to her and nods.
"Yes, they are. After saving me, I requested my old pal Augustus to give them a retrial in Heaven. They'll likely spend some time in Heaven's prison, but their souls are safe regardless, and they're together." He says, causing Loona to sigh deeply.
"I'm so relieved to hear that." She then opens her eyes suddenly. "Is Blitzo okay too?" She asks. Douglas and Angel glance at each other and shake their heads sadly.
"No, I'm afraid Stolas put him back in the void before we could get him out." He shamefully admits, causing Loona's face to slowly droop.
"Oh… I see." She says with audible sadness. Vaggie frowns at the boys.
"And this happened because you fought Octavia's father?" She asks, getting a counter frown from the young warrior.
"Hey, it's a good thing we fought him!" Douglas says a bit louder. "It got Millie and Moxxie their freedom!" Vaggie facepalms.
"Millie and Moxxie are killers, Douglas. They've killed more living people than anyone else in Hell." She says, getting a glare from Loona.
"A lot of those people they killed were bad people that got away with crimes while another person suffered." She states. Octavia just sighs and turns her head away from them.
"It's okay." She mumbles, causing Douglas, Angel, Loona, and Vaggie to turn towards her, glares turning into glooms. "Dad was a power-hungry tyrant. But he probably wouldn't have done it if people loved him." She turns to Loona for a second. "He probably hoped your friend would give him the love my mother wasn't sharing with him." Suddenly, a sixth person comes in, grinning widely.
"Ah, did Mr. Holy Spirit over here kill another demon?" It was Seviathan, generating a frown from Douglas and a grin from Angel.
"Hey sexy fins, you still single?" The sexual spider asks, causing the duke to facepalm.
"For the last fucking time, no!" He shouts, pointing at him. "I'm not going to have sex with you, ever!" He firmly asserts, causing Angel to hold his hands out lightly.
"Okay rich boy, don't get your taco in a twist." He comments, causing Vaggie to roll her eye, and then turn to Douglas.
"Was Stolas your only victim today?" She asks. Douglas shrugs.
"Please let the record show, I haven't killed a single person all day. Right Angel?" The porn star nods.
"That's right. Douglas and I only battled people from the void. None of them wouldn't have gone back anyway." Octavia stares at the holy soldier for a few seconds and then nods.
"I don't think he's lying about that." Loona gives a thumbs up.
"Me neither, I mean Angel was a witness, right?" She asks.
"Yeah, I was." Angel states. "Douglas and I were shooting and slashing many spirits from the void!" He says with action excitement in his voice. Vaggie glares and puts her hands on her hips. "But we didn't hurt anyone outside of the void." He states. Octavia glances at Loona.
"I'm ready for bed now. I've had enough drama for today." She says sadly. Loona pats her on the back and they both walk up the stairs. Vaggie turns to Douglas.
"You know I'm watching you, right?" Seviathan smirks.
"With her keen little eye." He says teasingly to Douglas, stepping behind her.
"Again, I'm not guilty. Stolas was trying to kill me, and how he got shot is not to my knowledge." He says. Suddenly, the doors burst open.
"SEVIATHAN!" Everyone turns to see another fish person with a similar appearance to Seviathan, but female and much longer hair. She runs up to him with terror in her eyes. "Something happened to our parents!" She exclaims. The duke holds his hands out.
"Okay, calm down Helsa. What happened to them?" He asks softly. He gasps loudly as she shows him a couple of pictures of them, smashed beyond recognition.
"Somebody crushed them! They must've died a couple hours ago!" She shouts. Vaggie takes a look at the photos, flinching in shock at the sight.
"Dear lord! How'd that happen?!" She exclaims. Douglas gives a dead frown and so does Angel.
"Oh, that? Augustus did that." The young warrior says.
"WHO'S AUGUSTUS?!" Helsa screams at him.
"An old sexy guy with huge muscles and a manly beard." The sexual spider states. "He came in and dropped the hammer on those fishy fucks once they started torturing our boy Doug over here." He says, patting Douglas on the back. Seviathan glares at him.
"Alright you little bastard! No more fun and games!" He exclaims, putting his hand to his sword holster. "I challenge you to a duel!" Angel takes a step forward in front of Douglas.
"Hold it! Douglas isn't the one who killed your parents!" He says, defending the holy soldier. Helsa snarls under her breath.
"But he's the reason that mad man even came here to begin with, isn't he?" She says spitefully, noticeably calmer than Seviathan. Douglas stomps firmly.
"He's not a mad man! He's a caring person who did what he did to protect me and three of my friends!" He points to Angel. "Including Angel!" Suddenly, Vaggie grabs him by his arm. "Whoa!" She pushes his back to a wall.
"Enough games Douglas." She says, pulling a small knife out of her pocket. Angel grabs Vaggie's arm that holds the knife.
"Hey! Don't get violent here!" He asserts, but Helsa grabs him by one of his arms and pulls him off. "Whoa!"
"Don't interfere with this." She says darkly. Angel gives her the middle finger with one of his hands.
"Now answer me, Douglas, are you satisfied with yourself?" She asks, holding the knife a bit closer to him. The young warrior glares.
"I have mixed feelings. But as I said before, I didn't kill Stolas, I didn't kill Bethesda, I didn't kill Frederick." He states. Vaggie glares lightly.
"But you don't seem a bit saddened over their deaths either." She says. Seviathan grabs his sword and slashes a couple of times in the air.
"Indeed! Now slit his throat or allow me to do it!" He insists. Angel shoves Helsa to the side and charges forward.
"Leave him ALONE!" He shouts loudly. As Seviathan turns around, Angel forcefully tackles him to the floor.
"WHA- OUCH!" He exclaims as he lands on his stomach with Angel on top of him. "Get off me you fiend!" Vaggie glances to them.
"Will you two stop fighting? Now isn't the- WHOA!" Douglas grabs Vaggie's arm and twists her wrist, causing her to drop the knife. He then grabs her shoulder firmly and squeezes it, causing her to wince a bit.
"Let's make one thing clear Vaggie," Douglas begins to say with a death glare in his eyes. "I'm not a bit sorry for anyone's death today. I was kidnapped this morning and would've been murdered had I not had allies at my side." He leans forward a little, casting a bit of fear in Vaggie's eye. "I feel sorry for Stolas's daughter because I know what it's like to lose a parent." His glare strengthens and so does his grip on her. "But I have no sympathy for these rich pricks losing two parents that clearly didn't raise them well." Helsa makes a fist.
"Oh, you're dead bitch!" She says. Seviathan lifts his head from the floor.
"Slice his head off!" He exclaims darkly. "Aug!" Angel puts pressure on his neck and holds him down, and he trips Helsa as she steps closer.
"Wha- ow!" She turns to him. "You bastard." She comments before they all turn back to Douglas and Vaggie.
"Now, are you gonna stop threatening me with lethal weapons, or am I gonna have to kill you?" He asks Vaggie. The purple cyclops shivers a bit but proceeds to stand her ground.
"You don't need to keep doing this Douglas. People are dying, and you're the one causing it." She says with a determined look. "You're putting more souls into the void." She states before glaring darker. "If you're gonna keep killing people, then I'll do whatever it takes to stop you." She says bravely. Douglas sighs deeply.
"Well Vaggie, I'll owe Charlie an apology in a few minutes." He says, summoning a Seiken sword behind her back, causing everyone to gasp. "But I'm sick of your death threats." He says, slowly bringing the sword closer to her back. Vaggie's eye widens as it gets closer.
"WAIT! STOP!" Angel jumps off of Seviathan and quickly steps in front of the sword. Douglas immediately stops the sword from coming closer as he interferes with its path. "Don't kill her!" He exclaims, causing both Douglas and Vaggie to flinch.
"Angel? You're protecting me?" Vaggie asks with a surprised look in her eye. The sexual spider nods once and turns to the young warrior.
"Douglas, please put away the sword." He says. "Vaggie isn't worth killing." Douglas sighs and lets go of her, letting the sword vanish from thin air in the process.
"Alright. I'm sorry Vaggie." He says as she picks up her knife, sighing deeply.
"You know Douglas? I want to trust you, I really do. But you haven't been giving me that much of an opportunity to." She states. "The cleanse is over, and all I'm hearing is more and more people are vanishing from Hell afterward. Aren't you the one doing it?" She asks. Seviathan gets up and grabs his sword.
"Of course he is. Don't act like he's worth sparing." He says spitefully. Douglas frowns in annoyance.
"I spared you at Killjoy's studio." He mumbles. The fish boy points at him.
"Well, you're lucky King Lucifer was there to protect you the first time! But he's not here anymore, now is he?!" He shouts. Helsa sighs and turns around.
"I'm going to go talk to Charlie." She says. "I'm not fond of her, but it sounds like I'll need to make peace with her if I don't want it to be me next." She walks away. Seviathan starts to follow her, taking one more look at Douglas.
"And you better watch your back you little dick! I'm watching you." He says, getting no reaction from Douglas before leaving.
"If I wanted to kill all of you, I would've done it by now." The holy soldier says to Vaggie. "But if you want to kill me, you're going to need to do it without a weapon." Vaggie raises her eyebrow.
"Why do you say that specifically?" She asks. Douglas turns his pelvis a bit to his gun holster, then shows the other side with the second Glock.
"I have two weapons I swore never to pull out while inside this hotel. I assume someone like you so close to Charlie would play by the same rules." Vaggie sighs and Angel raises an eyebrow.
"That's a good point. You two thought taking my guns away was fair, so why should you get weapons?" He asks. Vaggie makes a subtle fist.
"I don't have the strength to kill you with my bare hands." She mumbles. Douglas frowns firmly at her.
"Well I do, so I suggest you don't make any more attacks on me if you value the existence of your soul." He says, causing her to turn around with her head down.
"You've made your point." She says, walking away. Angel notices her sadness and then faces Douglas.
"Hey, how's about we head upstairs to my room for a while?" He asks. "There's something I'd like to talk to you about." The young warrior nods once.
"Alright. I need some relaxation time anyway." He says. As they both walk up the stairs, Husk sits at a table and reads a newspaper.
"What shit got published today?" He asks, sipping his drink. "Huh?!" His eyes widen at the sight of a certain ad.
Angel's room
The two boys enter the sexual spider's room. Angel sits down on his bed while Douglas takes a seat by the table at the end of the room. Douglas takes a moment to refill his holy water flasks, and then directs his attention to Angel. He has a more serious disappointed look than the young warrior is used to.
"So, how do I start this?" He asks lightly, causing Douglas's eyebrow to raise.
"What is it you wanted to tell me?" He asks. Angel sighs deeply.
"Douglas… please don't be mad at Vaggie. She's been through a lot more than most of you guys have." He says.
"What sort of things?" Douglas asks.
"Well…" Angel closes his eyes and lowers his head. "Rape." The holy soldier flinches and his eyes widen.
"WHAT?! Are you kidding me?!" He shouts. Angel puts a finger to his mouth.
"Sh! Don't try to be too loud!" He whispers firmly, only to attract a voice.
"Huh? Is that Douglas?!" Douglas immediately recognizes the voice, it was Dazzle. Rather rapid knocking is heard at the door.
"Please open the door!" Razzle exclaims. Angel steps up and opens the door. Immediately, Douglas is greeted by a couple of large glooms in the eyes of the goat twins.
"Douglas! Are you okay?!" Dazzle exclaims with sheer desperation in his voice.
"I am." He says calmly. "Angel and a few others helped me escape." He says.
"Oh, that's great!" Dazzle says, smiling towards Angel for a moment. The sexual spider gives him a thumbs up before Razzle looks down.
"Douglas… we're really sorry for kidnapping you this morning." He says shamefully. "We spent over half an hour trying to get into Stolas's mansion, but we ended up fleeing out of fear when we saw a super buff man break through the ceiling." He says. Douglas smiles a bit.
"That's my fatherly friend Emperor Augustus. He answered a prayer to come and save me." He says, causing Dazzle's eyes to light up.
"Really?!" He asks as Douglas nods. "We did it Razzle! We summoned help for him!" He says in a celebratory manner. Razzle faces him and smiles softly.
"We did say a prayer when the doors closed." He says lightly. Douglas smiles at them.
"Well thank you both very much for your concern. I'm okay now." He says as Dazzle faces him.
"You're welcome Douglas." He says before glooming again. "But… we don't expect you to forgive us for such an act. We shouldn't have put you in the hands of those vile monsters!" He exclaims in shame. Douglas steps forward and kneels next to him, patting Dazzle on the head.
"It's okay Dazzle. The two von Eldritch parents are dead now, so they can't kidnap me anymore." He assures. Razzle steps closer to him.
"We still feel really guilty. It was our job to get information from you, but allowing them to just do what they did… we broke our promise." Douglas gives a determined frown and puts his arm to Razzle's back.
"No you didn't. You boys did nothing wrong." They both flinch as he says this, but he proceeds before they can speak up. "Both of you did exactly what you were told to do by Charlie. If Frederick and Bethesda told you they wouldn't hurt me, they lied, not you two." Dazzle looks down for a second.
"I guess, but…" He looks back up at him. "Will you ever forgive us?" He asks. Douglas smirks.
"I'll forgive you if you tell me where my new friend Eden is." He states. Razzle smiles cutely.
"We brought her back up to your room. Maybe you should go back up there to let her know you're okay." He recommends. Douglas chuckles softly.
"I'll do that in a little while. But I'd like a few minutes alone with Angel for the time being." Both goat brothers face each other, smile, and nod.
"That we can manage," Razzle says as he steps out of the room.
"If you need anything else from us, call the lobby number," Dazzle says, smiling and waving as he leaves. Douglas gives them a thumbs-up as they close the door and walk down the stairs. He then faces the sexual spider again.
"So go back a ways, you said Vaggie was a rape victim?" He asks. Angel glooms and nods.
"Yes. I overheard her talking to Charlie a couple of days ago. She was raped, and her rapist got off the hook." He says in a sad tone. Douglas makes a fist.
"Where is he?! I'll shatter his teeth and rip off his scrotum!" He says vigorously. Angel gives him a disappointed frown.
"He's dead." Douglas's frown fades and so does his grip. "After he got a not-guilty verdict, Vaggie killed him herself. She got a guilty-verdict, followed by the death penalty." Douglas's eyes widen.
"What?!" He facepalms firmly. "She doesn't belong in Hell! How could Augustus make such a bad call?!" He says, about ready to cry. Angel sighs again.
"I just wanted to be sure you knew that. She lost her ability to trust men that day, and that's why she's been suspicious of you since you got here. Plus, you seem to have a bit of a thing for Charlie." He mumbles softly. Douglas faces him, still saddened.
"So Vaggie is worried I'll do something sexual to Charlie?" He asks. Angel holds a hand out and shakes it a bit.
"Not exactly rape, but she's worried to may do something sinister to her, including killing her." Douglas sighs again.
"I understand her point of view. I owe her a serious apology for overreacting before." He admits. Angel glances at him.
"Well, at least unlike me… she doesn't have to worry about rape anymore." He says, causing Douglas to glare firmly.
"Who's doing it?! Is it that creepy fucktard at the porn studio with the Santa outfit?" He asks. Angel nods slowly.
"Yeah, it's Valentino. He's been in the mafia for a long time now, and he's done several things to me nonconsensually." The holy soldier grabs one of his guns.
"Well you have my word, Angel. I will murder Valentino if it's the last thing I do!" He exclaims. Angel frowns a bit.
"You make it sound like it's easy. The studio is full of weird kink items and even dangerous weaponry used to torture people. Torture porn is his favorite, and he gets even more powerful when he's erotic." Douglas glares.
"Well after I'm done with him, he'll be alone in the void with nobody to fuck except for himself!" Suddenly, a voice is heard.
"WHERE ARE YOU DOUGLAS?!" Both boys recognize the deeper grouchy voice. It was indeed Husk. "I've got something for you!" Douglas and Angel face each other with the same nervous look. They could both tell Husk didn't mean no harm by his tone of voice.
"Uh, why don't I go say hi to him?" The sexual spider asks, slowly standing up from the bed and walking to the door. He gives Douglas a signal to stand out of range of sight from the door's opening and then steps in the hall as he moves. Surely enough, Husk was drunk and armed with a pretty heavy rifle. "Hey Husk, how are you?" Angel asks nervously. The drunken cat gives him a mysterious smirk.
"I'm doing quite well." He states. "In fact, I don't remember when I've done better." He says, laughing a bit and shaking his gun. Angel's nervous grin grows.
"Uh, what are you doing with the rifle?" He asks lightly. Husk chuckles a couple of times.
"Haven't you read the newspaper?" He asks, pulling a large newspaper out of his pocket. "Look at the bottom right of the second page." He states. Angel glances at the bottom and his eyes widen as he sees a picture of Douglas.
"Douglas?! Why's he in the paper?!" He exclaims, intentionally signaling to Douglas that he's in trouble. Husk gives him an evil grin.
"Read the summary and find out." He requests. Angel starts reading.
"Many residents are falling, including overlords to the wrath of this teenage boy." He pauses and his eyes widen even more. "If he's brought to Valentino's porn studio, alive or dead, the person who captured him will be rewarded one million dollars of straight cash?!" Douglas gasps from the other room, and fortunately, Husk doesn't hear it. He instead stands with an evil look and nods.
"That's right. The little fucker has got to go." The dark cat says. Angel raises an eyebrow.
"Does Charlie know about this?" He asks. Husk frowns.
"You think I'm gonna let someone who's already rich claim this bounty?" He steps forward and points his rifle forward, only a couple inches out of Angel's trajectory. "Now, have you seen him?" Angel gives him a nervous smirk.
"You wouldn't actually take the money over a teenager's life, would you?" He mumbles uncomfortably. Husk starts to laugh.
"Ha, ha, ha! You're right. It is a pretty obvious choice." He says before cocking his weapon, causing Angel to flinch. "I shouldn't feel guilty about this. The kids these days are so fucking stupid and irresponsible! All the decent kids are either bullied into depression or told they can do anything, and then end up on the streets because their parents made it sound too easy for them." His frown returns. "But this asshole hasn't had parents for half of his life, so he's obviously a useless soul that wasn't raised well. The fact that Valentino wants to trade a million bucks for his life is unbelievable, but I'm not gonna argue when I'm getting my prize money!" Angel chuckles nervously.
"You know, I think Douglas went downstairs." He says, pointing to the stairs behind Husk. The dark cat chuckles.
"Don't lie to me. I heard the two goat boys mention he was up here." He then points to him. "And you Angel, I heard you talking to someone. Who might that be?" He asks, raising an eyebrow with a smirk.
"Well… I was about to masturbate, so I was trying to set a mood for myself." He lies, causing the drunken cat to frown.
"You weren't thinking about me, were you?" He asks. Angel holds out four hands.
"No, no! I wasn't!" He exclaims. "I was thinking of how sexy that imp with the white hair is." He states. Husk chuckles once.
"If you're talking about the guy that shot Douglas's foot, he's an idiot. Just think of the things he could've bought if he aimed that gun a little higher." Angel shrugs.
"Well, perhaps he saw value in the boy's life." He says, causing Husk to laugh again.
"What an idiot." He then holds his gun upward a bit more. "I'm gonna do what all of us should've done the moment he got here." He states emotionlessly.
"Well, you should probably start at the bottom. I swear Douglas isn't here." He says nervously. Husk chuckles and steps to the door, causing Angel's eyes to widen. "Where are you going?"
"I might need some more ammo," Husk says as he pushes Angel's room door open and steps inside, he turns to the corner and spots the holy teen. "Hey! There you are!" He exclaims, but before he can aim at him, a pumpkin is pushed in his direction. "Ow!" Husk is knocked against the wall as the pumpkin pushes him back. He growls darkly. "You little pest." Douglas holds his hand out.
"Husk! Are you insane?! Drop the- WHOA!" Husk aims the rifle at him mid-sentence.
"Hold still, jackass!" Husk shouts, preparing to fire. Douglas spawns a couple of mystical cylinders. *BANG!* The bullet goes into one of the cylinders and flies out the other, barely missing Husk's head. "Hey! Get back here!" The drunk cat shouts as Douglas flees the room.
"Angel! He's trying to kill me!" He screams out of sheer fear once he reaches the hallway. The sexual spider glares determined and grabs the doorknob with three hands, pointing upstairs with the fourth.
"Go to your own room and lock the door!" Angel exclaims as he holds the knob, attempting to keep it closed. "I'll hold Husk off as long as I can!" He promises as the young warrior heads for the next staircase. He stops for a moment to turn around.
"Angel, this is dangerous! You don't need to do this for me." He tries assuring. Suddenly the door flings open.
"Let me out of your room!" Husk shouts furiously, pulling the door open. Angel quickly pulls it back closed, slamming it.
"If you want out, put down the fucking rifle!" Angel vigorously yells at him. Husk tugs one more time, this time Douglas runs up the stairs.
"It's my weapon! Not yours!" He exclaims, trying to slip through the door. Angel grabs the knob with another hand to pull on one of his arms, slamming the door closed with half of Husk's arm and leg already sticking out. "OW!" He screams as the door closes on him. "What the fuck?!" He pouts. Angel glares at him.
"I said drop the goddamn weapon, you crazy sociopath!" Husk pulls on the handle and yelps as Angel slams the door closed on his body again, but this time only Husk's left leg and part of his back are in the room.
"I'll drop it on your fucking face!" He shouts, raising his weapon. Angel holds his hands up to block the impact, but the dark cat swings the rifle sideways, striking Angel firmly on his right eye.
"OW!" The sexual spider screams as he is pushed onto the floor. He covers his eye as it loses its coloration. "Why Husk?" He says in a quiet voice, prepared to cry. Tears make their way down his face from both pain and fear.
"This fucker has done nothing but kill people. And now he's going to get it." He says, turning away from Angel and heading towards the staircase.
"He saved two people earlier today!" Angel cries out loud, his tears finally bursting from his eyes.
"I don't care!" Husk shouts back. Angel glares and gets on a couple of his hands and knees, still covering his eye with his top right arm.
"You heartless bastard! You don't care about anyone!" He exclaims, but the drunken cat is already out of sight. Angel crawls closer to the stairs and shouts up. "If you kill Douglas, I'll personally blow your brains out with his Heaven's Glock!" He threatens, before collapsing on the first stair.
Douglas's Room
Douglas runs in and slams the door behind him. He thinks about where he could teleport, but then he notices Eden is looking at him from her cage.
"SSSS!" She opens her eyes widely and smiles cutely upon seeing him alive in one piece, but her smile fades upon seeing the horror in his eyes.
"Eden! Husk is hostile! He wants to kill me for a million dollars!" The serpent's eyes widen.
"ESSSS!" Eden freaks out and slithers around her cages rapidly in circles. Douglas quickly runs forward and opens the cage, pulling Eden out.
"Now listen carefully, I don't know how to teleport while carrying another person with me, so we need to make a plan on getting out of here." He says calmly. "Maybe we can switch rooms with someone else." Eden nods a couple of times before a heavy thud sounds behind them. "Whoa!" Douglas and Eden both flinch as Husk bangs the back of his rifle against the door.
"Open the door, Douglas!" *THUD* Husk continues to slam on the door. "If you willingly surrender, I'll give you an easy shot to the brain!" Husk calls out. Douglas shivers for a few seconds and puts Eden down, then grabs one of his two holy pistols.
"I'm sorry Charlie." He says quietly. "But I don't know if I can survive with this gun in my pocket." Eden glares firmly and then slithers up to the door.
"Open the door, or I'm gonna have to break it down!" Husk threatens. The young warrior frowns.
"You sure you want to pay for a new door?" He asks sarcastically. The drunken cat sighs in annoyance.
"You think it's gonna matter when I have a million bucks?" He asks, pulling his gun back. "Open the damn door!" He shouts, Eden finally manages to slide under the crack at the bottom.
"Open it yourself fleabag!" *THUNK!* Husk firmly slams the entire door forward, unhinging it entirely. Douglas closes his eyes and aims. *BANG!* "AAH!" Husk won the draw, shooting the holy soldier in his right arm and causing him to drop the gun.
"I gotcha!" Husk says as he steps forward and cocks the rifle back. Douglas closes his eyes as the weapon is aimed at his face. *Click* "What the?!" Husk was out of bullets. "How?!" He grabs another pack from his pocket and starts to put them in. Douglas grits his teeth as his arm bleeds, but glares in annoyance.
"Maybe you shouldn't get drunk before you shoot a rifle." He says. Husk steps on his left leg. "AH!" Douglas shouts loudly to react.
"Drunk or not, I won't miss this time." Husk says, getting the bullets inside and then taking aim again. "You're worth a million dollars Douglas, and I hope you remember that while you made countless lives in Hell worse, you're about to make mine a lot better." Douglas looks down, slowly reaching for his Glock, but before he can grab it, he hears a scream. "AHG!" Husk loudly grunts in agony. Douglas notices Eden is sitting on his back, burying her teeth into his neck.
"Eden?!" Douglas exclaims. Husk drops the rifle and grips the side of his neck.
"Stop biting me!" He shouts, trying to grab her. She quickly removes her fangs and bites his hand. "OW!" He reacts as the agonizing pain sears into his bloodstream. "What the hell?!" He shouts, causing Douglas to flinch.
"Wait… those fangs were cleansed in holy water." Husk's eyes shoot open as Eden removes her teeth and nods.
"What?" He asks with a terrified look in his eyes. Eden leaps onto Douglas as the holy teen stands up.
"It would seem I am misfortune's fool." He says. "Though you made a great attempt to kill me, I live on. And I live on with the stress of being hunted for a huge price." He looks to the floor. "A tough but fair price to pay for some of the people I've killed." Husk's anger fades and tears come to his eyes.
"This hurts." He says, gripping his neck as blood comes to it. The slightest movements to his head sting him painfully. "Just… end it." He says as he sits down and closes his eyes tightly to block a stream of oncoming tears. Douglas grabs his Glock from the floor.
"Why should I? Now that you tried to murder me, I don't know if you deserve a mercy kill." The young warrior says, Eden, sticking her tongue out at him. Husk opens his eyes lightly.
"No… please shoot me." He mumbles and then grits his teeth again. "I only wanted… privilege." He mumbles.
"Privilege?" Douglas asks, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Husk leans up against the wall, groaning.
"Vietnam wasn't fun." He mumbles. "You watched your friends die and then when you got home, you were beyond the typical age for college." He says, tears starting to leave his eyes. "God has abandoned me long before I got here, and to think I could've been happy was only a mere illusion that led me into a blind rage." He says, starting to sob softly. Douglas closes his eyes and leans his head down.
"Husk…" He says, keeping his eyes closed before he can cry. The dark cat leans forward.
"P-please." He whispers desperately. Douglas opens his eyes and aims at his head.
"I'm so sorry." He says softly. Just before he fires, a soft smile appears on Husk's face. *BANG!*
"SSS!" Eden shuts her eyes tightly in fear, but they both open them to see what's left. Husk's body falls backward and leans against the wall. He still has that satisfied smile on his face as blood starts to drip from his forehead. Within one minute, Loona enters.
"What happened here?! I heard gunshots!" She exclaims. "Oh my god!" She freezes in place as she sees Husk's corpse. Douglas glances at the hellhound sadly, putting the gun in his pocket.
"I killed him." He says quietly. "After he came after me with a rifle, Eden bit his neck with her poisonous purifying fangs." He states. Loona's shivering slows down.
"It was a self-defense?" She asks. Douglas shakes his head.
"It was a mercy kill." He says shamefully, petting Eden's head a little. "I did it so he wouldn't feel pain very long." He admits. Suddenly Angel finally makes his way into the room.
"Are you… okay?" He asks with noticeable exhaustion in his voice. Loona gasps and grabs his shoulders lightly.
"Angel?! What happened to your eye?!" She exclaims with concern. Douglas grabs his holy water flask and starts to poor a bit on his hand.
"Husk whacked me in the eye with his weapon. I was only trying to protect my best friend from his wrath." He says sadly. Douglas stands up and gives Angel a soft smile.
"Thank you Angel. I owe you one." He says as he steps closer to his tall friend. "Can I please see your eye?" He asks. The sexual spider removes his hand and shows Douglas his purplish right eye. Loona cringes a little.
"Aye, that looks painful." She says lightly.
"SSS!" Eden stammers a bit. Douglas reaches up and splashes a bit of holy water on his eye.
"Ah!" Angel flinches as the water touches his face, but the moment Douglas starts to softly rub a white paste on his eye, the pain begins to fade.
"Is that better?" Douglas asks. Angel smiles lightly and gives him a thumbs up.
"Yeah, thanks, pal." He says with gratitude. Loona turns back to Husk's corpse, slightly disturbed by his smile.
"Why'd Husk try to kill you?" She asks. Angel is the first one to frown and pull out the newspaper. He flips to the second page and points at the section with Douglas.
"Because my fucking rapist boss put a million-dollar bounty on him!" He says, making a fist with his other three hands. "I swear, if I had a bit more power, I would choke that creepy fuck where he stands!" He says with frustration. Douglas finishes wiping white pumpkin pulp on Angel's eye and grabs his list. He points to a bluish guy in a red suit.
"Just to be clear, this is Valentino, correct?" He asks. Angel's glare gets even larger.
"That's the one!" He says with anger. "I can't wait for you to murder him!" He says loudly. Loona covers his mouth after that sentence.
"Try to be quiet, people are sleeping nearby." She whispers. She then glances back at Douglas, who is staring at his Glocks.
"You know what? I can't wait either." He says, rotating the guns on his fingers and sliding them into his pockets. "I'm ready to walk to his porn studio right now and blow his brains out." Angel's eyes light up.
"Really?" He asks with some surprise. Douglas grabs a large towel and uses it to bind his right arm.
"Almost, is there anything I should know?" He asks. Loona steps to the door.
"I'll go get you some bandages for your arm." She says. Douglas smiles and waves at the werewolf girl as she leaves the room. Angel shivers a bit.
"My only word of advice, don't do anything kinky around him. Anything that is fetishy at all to him will make him stronger and harder to kill." He says before closing his eyes tightly. "He loves torture porn. Literal torture porn!" Douglas's eyes widen a little, but then he shuts them.
"I'll keep that in mind. No rapist will ever get away with their crimes as long as I'm alive." He says, finishing the binding on his arm. "Angel, I promise you a dead boss by tomorrow morning." Angel smiles for a minute, but then it turns into a worried frown.
"Hey, Douglas." He says, patting the young warrior on the back. "Please be careful out there. Valentino is creepy and deadly. Just promise you'll be okay physically and mentally when you get out." Douglas closes his eyes tightly before opening them and nodding.
"I promise Angel. I'm ready now."
Author's note: Writer's block sucks. The fact that this story came out a year ago and I'm not quite where I'd like to be right now saddens me a bit. But I owe everyone a massive thank you, because this story has over 10,000 views! I genuinely appreciate all the attention my writing has been given!
Side note: Flash is about to die, so if you still want to play Pumpkin Push, you'll probably have to resort to Flashpoint. (If you're a flash gamer like me) Rest assured, the next chapter will objectively be the best one in this fanfic, and you and I both know why. Stay tuned. ;)
Deceased:
Husk