"This. Fucking. Sucks." Angel Dust said aloud as he tossed a paper airplane across the room.
After Will left with Helsa and Stella, the group's entire mood shifted from warm and excited to cold and pissed off. There were a few exceptions, such as Alastor, who was deathly curious of what the two noble-women were up to, as was Lilith though her curiosity was more of concern rather than intrigue. For these reasons, they decided to hold off on planning the Slayer's celebration until later, when he was back in their company. Until then, they could go about their business and do
whatever they needed or wanted to. But of course, for the most part, they all just went to either investigate what the hell was going on or to vent to each other, which is precisely what Angel Dust, Katie, and Cherri were doing in the spider demon's office.
"Right? Like why in the fuck would Will go with them? It can't just be because he's nice, right?" Cherri asked from a nearby couch, laying on top of it with one leg resting atop the other's knee.
"What else could it be?" He asked, giving her a quizzical look.
"Uh, hello? It's Helsa Von Eldritch we're talking about here. That bitch can dig up dirt on anybody, even someone as squeaky clean as Will." She answered.
"No fucking way," Katie interjected from a nearby chair, "I don't care how much money or how many favors she has stockpiled in her ass; there's no way she has something to use as blackmail. It's impossible." She argued.
"Yeah, I gotta agree with her on this one, sorry." He said, taking her side, "Plus, think about it; during that whole interaction, she didn't say anything or act in a certain way that made it seem like she had some dirt on him. He just decided to hear them out to see what they had to say." He added.
"But WHY? They're BITCHES!" Cherri exclaimed as she threw her hands into the air, "Like we're bitches too, but the badass kind! They're just cunts!" She carried on.
"Hey, don't need to explain it to us, sister." He assured while grabbing a new piece of paper to make into another plane, "I'm honestly just sorry for Charlie. I've never seen her sad and angry at the same time." He admitted.
"She was a mess." Katie replied before she looked at him, "But did you see the look Alastor had? It's the kind he gets when someone unknowingly just fucked up hard." She asked.
"Oh, I did notice that it was pretty unsettling, and I mean like in the way that sends shivers up your spine, not when it makes you wanna vom," Cherri answered, giving her two cents.
"You know, as much as we joke around either with or about him, we kinda forget that Alastor's a scary-ass dude." Angel Dust told them just as he finished folding his next airplane.
"Seriously? Another one? That's ten now." Katie questioned before pointing towards the other end of the room, "You keep it up, and we'll be trapped in here thanks to a mountain of those things." She said.
"I'm too upset to distract myself with work, and you two are here, so I can't relieve my stress how I normally would." He replied, beginning to aim.
"You could have a good jackoff or dildo session, and we wouldn't care," Cherri said casually with a
shrug of her shoulders.
"I WOULD." Katie stated with widened eyes, "We might be friends, but I do NOT want to see him shove whatever kinky shit he has in his desk drawer up his ass!" She exclaimed.
"Don't knock it till you've tried it." Cherri countered as a grin came to her face, "One time when we were sitting around bored out of our minds, he made a bet that he could get at least a dozen up there." She revealed.
"...Holy fuck, really?" Katie asked, looking back to Angel Dust, now honestly curious and amazed if that was actually true.
"Mhm, but I could only manage eight at the time. I was still getting into the porn scene down here." He answered with squinted eyes as he almost had his target.
"Does...does that mean you could get a dozen in there now?..." She inquired.
"Pfft, a dozen wouldn't even be a gamble at this point." He scoffed, "But before we continue talking about how amazing I am at anal, let me just..." He trailed off, needing a moment of absolute focus for the throw.
Planning to have his papercraft hit the center of his door perfectly, after a few seconds of being sure it would land, he tossed it with a fair amount of enthusiasm. Watching it fly through the air, all three of them expected it to hit its mark, but they were surprised when the door opened, and it hit something else.
"WILL!" They shouted in unison as they rose from their seats, Cherri specifically having to sit up since she was lying down.
"...I think this is yours..." He said to Angel Dust as he caught the airplane after it hit his chest so it wouldn't fall to the ground.
Instead of responding right away, the three demons all rushed over, focusing entirely on him rather than the small aircraft.
"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?!" "WHERE'D YOU GUYS GO?!" "WHAT'D YOU TALK
ABOUT?!" Were the questions that rocketed out of their mouths at break-neck speeds.
"Nothing...they took me to Helsa's estate...and they tried to get me to take their side in whatever political mess that's happened since I've been gone..." He replied, answering all three questions in one go.
"Really? She didn't try to have sex with you so she could brag to the rest of Hell about it?" Angel Dust asked, seeming to find the lack of aggressive flirting on her part to be shocking.
"I don't think everyone's as forward as you..." He answered.
"No, they are, just no one's as horny." Cherri joked while nudging Angel in his side with her elbow.
"So that's all that happened?" Katie questioned, finding it hard to believe, "They just wanted to talk? No bribes, no blackmail, no drugs or aphrodisiacs?" She added.
"You sound like you're speaking from experience..." He commented.
Hearing that, both Angel Dust and Cherri looked at their friend, who had a slightly nervous expression appear on her face.
"...Don't try and change the subject!" She exclaimed, quickly getting the attention off of her and her past, "This is about you! And how you decided it would be okay to walk out on us even though we JUST got to see you again!" She reminded.
"YEAH! SHE'S RIGHT!" Cherri shouted, joining in on the dogpile, "What the FUCK was with that Will?! We're your friends! They were just a couple of stuck-up snobs!" She asked.
"If I didn't deal with them now, they'd come back later...would you want either of them showing up when everything is getting put into place, and the celebration's nearly underway?..." He asked.
Crap, he made a solid point, and they knew that which is why they were stunned for a second, trying their best to form a comeback.
"Yeah...well...IT WAS STILL SHITTY ALRIGHT?!" Cherri shouted, trying to stay mad at him. "I'm sorry..." He apologized.
"...You make it SO fucking hard to fight with you, ya know that?" She asked while letting out a sigh, as both his apology and demeanor made it impossible to maintain her anger.
"So it's over then? They're not going to show back up and annoy the fuck out of us, right?" Angel Dust inquired, wanting to be sure.
"No, they won't bother you or the others ever again." He assured.
"That's a relief." Katie said, letting out a sigh, "I don't need a whiplash of emotions like that again, been having too many of those lately..." She admitted.
"You have?..." He asked, finding that to be strange since she was always in control. "...Forget I said anything." She answered, only just then realizing her blunder.
"Aw, don't be so shy now, Katie!" Angel Dust exclaimed as he wrapped his arm around her, "You should've seen her, Will, it was honestly adorable, she said-"
Before he could finish that sentence, she reached up and wrapped her hands tightly around his neck.
"WE DO NOT SPEAK OF THAT NIGHT, YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" She shouted at him as
she started shaking him like a bobblehead.
Watching as the two of them went at each other, though in a way that you'd expect close friends to, neither the Slayer nor Cherri felt the need to intervene as it was clear they weren't trying to actually do harm.
"Soooooooo, Will." Cherri spoke up while sliding next to him to start a conversation, "What're your plans now that you're free from thing one and thing two?" She asked.
"I thought we'd keep planning the celebration..." He answered.
"Oof, sorry big guy, after the whole debacle, we decided to keep planning tomorrow since they kinda left a sour taste in all of our mouths." She informed.
"Oh." He said, now thinking of what else he could do, "Then I guess I'll go look for a place to stay...maybe Charlie has a room available in the hotel?..." He suggested.
However, when Katie and Angel heard that over their squabbling they immediately stopped, as a brilliant idea popped into their heads.
"NO!" They both shouted as they got in his face. "Why not?..." He questioned.
"Because Will, you're supposed to be a secret! If you stay at the hotel, there's a chance someone might find out about you!" Angel Dust exclaimed.
"Then where else can I stay?..." He asked.
"Here! You can stay here with us!" Katie answered.
"Really?...do you guys even have a room I could use?..." He inquired.
"Oh yeah! Besides us living here, Moxxie, Millie, Vox, Velvet, and now Sir Pentious do too! Plus, we also offer our employees, if they've got nowhere better to live, the opportunity to reside here as well!" Angel Dust explained, "It just so happens there is a free room on the floor the others use exclusively, so there's no way anyone can find out about ya since we're the only ones allowed to go there." He added.
"If you're sure it wouldn't be an issue..." He started to say, only to be cut off by Katie.
"No, not at all!" She exclaimed before coming closer to open the door for him, "Just go into the elevator, hit the button for the seventh floor, then pick which room you like best, if you need any help at all just talk to the others, you'll know which rooms are theirs because they have their names on them." She instructed.
"Alright, thanks..." He replied as he took his leave.
Watching him until he was inside the elevator and descended, both Angel and Katie couldn't keep themselves from smiling out of excitement, which didn't go unnoticed by Cherri.
"You sly sluts." She said with a grin earning their attention, "You couldn't resist the chance to have him under the same roof as the two of you, huh?" She asked.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Katie answered, being the first to respond, "We were just thinking of how practical it would be for him to stay here, right Angel?" She asked, looking towards the spider demon.
"Yeah, that's right." He answered while crossing his arms, "There's no sense in risking everyone else finding out he's back before we're ready, and it's not like we don't have the free space or anything." He argued.
"Uh-huh, sure." She replied, her big stupid grin still present, "So out of curiosity, which one of you is gonna try and sneak into his room first?" She asked.
"Pfft, do you REALLY think I'd stoop so low to act like some lovestruck teenager? Just because Nifty called us that back at the hotel doesn't mean there's any truth to it at all." Katie answered.
"What about you?" She questioned, switching to Angel Dust.
"It's no secret that I want to ride him like a racehorse, but even with that being out there as a fact, it doesn't mean I'm gonna try and seduce him or anything." He said.
"So you two are going to be COMPLETELY normal then? No competing with each other or trying to get Will to notice you or any shit like that?" She pressed.
"No." Both stated firmly.
"Huh, guess I was wrong then. Sorry for making assumptions." She said as she headed for the door, "I'll go make sure Will settles in okay, got nothing better to do." She told them.
Same as before, they waited until their mono-eyed companion was inside the elevator and gone before speaking again, which took a few seconds since the Slayer just used it.
"...Whelp, it has been a looooooooong day." Angel Dust said as he stretched out his arms and faked a yawn, "I should probably get to bed, ya know, so I'm well-rested for the planning tomorrow." He explained.
"Yeah, that sounds good." Katie agreed while looking over her nails, "I also need to give myself a touch up here and there. All the excitement and stress from these past couple of days has taken its toll..." She said.
"You know what? Same here." He realized as he looked over his fur, "Need to take a bath, bring back that nice sheen to me, ya know?" He told her.
"Oh no, I understand completely. Which reminds me I also need to do my hair..." She trailed off.
For a few moments, they stood there in silence, each thinking of what they needed to beautify and polish for...the sake of appearances. But when they realized what they were doing, they snapped back to their senses and hastily made for their rooms, both hoping the other didn't notice what was REALLY going on in their head.
Meanwhile, On Urdak...
In cartoons or television shows, when a character is seriously injured, more often than not, they're put in a comical full-body cast for the sole purpose of humor. But in the case of a demon named Husk, it was the exact opposite. Over ninety-five percent of his body was either injured or in a state of suspended transformation. Here is where the full-body cast came into play, but this was far
more advanced than those made by mortals.
Similar to the beautiful pristine white armor that the Maykrs adorned their bodies with, so too was Husk's covered in those same objects to heal him back to his original state. Through them, Argent energy was being given to his flesh to fight off and dispel the Dark One's Hell energy. While it needed to be an unfortunately slow process for his safety, his recovery still progressed smoothly. Because of these facts, very little of Husk's body was allowed to be free, exclusively the parts of himself that were unchanged or just lightly wounded.
The right half of his face, his right arm, and his left leg from the foot to halfway up the shin fell into this category; everything else, including his wings and tail, had to be contained. As for his senses, they were completely gone for most of the first day after the Hell Wave, only returning once he was in Urdak for his extended stay of treatment. So when he heard two sets of footsteps disrupt the peaceful silence that enveloped him and the room he was in, he slowly opened his right eye to see who was coming.
"A...A...Azrael?..." He questioned, unsure if he was awake and seeing the real her or a dream.
"Huh, looks like he's awake," Gabriel commented as he came into view, apparently having to help his sister move around.
"A...are you...here to...kill me?..." He asked, fearing that her brother would take this opportunity to "deal" with him.
"If he even looks at you funny, I'm kicking his ass." She answered while giving her sibling a threatening glare.
"Be rest assured, no harm will befall you...this time," Gabriel said, which earned him a swift kick to his shin from Azrael.
Doing his best to hold back the pained sound that wanted to escape his mouth after that, he continued helping her move until she was next to Husk's bedside. But when this happened, a rather uncomfortable lull in the conversation occurred.
"Well? Aren't you two going to say anything else?" Gabriel asked, finding their shared silence strange.
"I...I don't know...what to say..." Husk admitted, averting his gaze because he was too nervous to look at her.
"Likewise..." Azrael said as she also refrained from looking at him.
Looking back and forth from his sister to the demon, Gabriel let out a long groan before he let go of her arm.
"I have to do everything..." He complained as he turned around, "I'm going to go see if the Maykrs have any chairs or other pieces of furniture I can bring in here, so you have something to sit in or on Azrael, in my absence, either you two talk or continue to act mute, those are your choices." He told them before leaving the room.
Waiting until they heard the door open and close to be sure he wasn't bluffing, now left alone, they had no other option than to get things going.
"...I'm...glad that you're okay..." He said, which caught her by surprise.
"You were worried about me?" She asked. "Why wouldn't I be?" He responded.
"Because I'm the angel of death, I assumed that you'd assume I was perfectly okay." She explained.
"Yeah, but whatever hit us felt like a fucking bomb. I figured even someone like you would have a scratch or two." He argued, only to once again look elsewhere in the room, "Sorry for worrying about you..." He apologized as he felt like an idiot.
In response to that, Azrael immediately grabbed his hand to hold in her own, but she did so gently to avoid causing him any pain or harm.
"Don't say that!" She exclaimed, though upset it was at herself instead of him, "What I meant was that because of what I am, no one has ever worried about me, so I wasn't expecting that you would." She explained.
"Kinda hard not to...after...well...ya know..." He said slowly, referring to what they were doing and what they had said before the Hell Wave.
Being reminded of those moments, which even after all of this still made each of them feel happy, Azrael and Husk had small smiles come to their faces accompanied by very light blushes.
"R-Right, of course..." She replied, elated to know he'd been thinking about their date, which brought an idea to her mind that could shift the mood of this conversation, "So...what should we do next time?" She asked.
"W-What?..." He questioned as that had caught him off guard.
"Our next date, when you've fully recovered." She clarified with a smile, "We ARE going to have another date, aren't we?" She asked.
"Uh...I mean...shit, Azrael, you can't just spring that on me!" He exclaimed, which caused her to laugh.
"So you've been thinking about our first date but not our second? Don't tell me you don't want to see me anymore~" She teased, enjoying the reactions she was getting.
"W-What?! No! B-But a whole lot of fucking crazy crap just happened! S-So I haven't been able to-"
Before he could continue to speak in a panicked stutter, she leaned down and kissed him. "You're cute when you're flustered." She complimented, hoping it would make him feel better. And it did, in addition to calming him down, so he didn't accidentally agitate his injuries. "You...you just kissed me..." He said, currently in a state of disbelief.
"That is what they call it, yes." She replied. "Why?..." He asked.
"Because Husk, if it isn't clear yet, I like you." She answered as she gently put her forehead against his, "And I want to spend more time with you, whether it's here in Urdak during your recovery, back in my brother's circle, or anywhere else in creation." She told him.
Left at a loss for words, he didn't know what to say, but it wasn't that he was doubtful what she had done and said during their time together hadn't been sincere. It was because even after all of that in the back of his head, he still couldn't accept that it was real, that someone as kind and incredible as her could give two shits about a worthless sack of crap like him. But now, as she looked at him with the gentlest eyes while holding his hand so carefully, even he, with his low opinion of himself, couldn't deny that she did care about him and that she wanted to be with him.
"...I'm sorry for being so hard-headed..." He apologized quietly, which made her smile.
"Don't be. It's part of your charm." She said as she put her other hand on his cheek.
After that, the two of them continued to talk with each other. Eventually, Gabriel returned, bringing an entire bench that seemed to be the only thing the Maykrs made for people to sit on. And although he had to remain if Azrael needed anything else, even he, with his feelings towards this relationship, couldn't keep a smile of his own from appearing, as it did make him happy to see his
sister talk to someone who filled her with joy.
Elsewhere...
"Is something amusing creator?" The Wretch asked as Vega let out a few chuckles.
Per his suggestion, they moved from the infirmary to the current Khan's garden, and just as they arrived and the Wretch was seated, something seemed to entertain the other.
"Oh, it's nothing, just thinking of my children is all." He answered, regaining his composure, "But enough of that, let's focus on why you felt the need to talk to me about the Khans." He said.
"I can't work with them." The Wretch told him, getting straight to the point. "Have they been disruptive?" He asked.
"No." The Wretch answered.
"Have they taken over your work to try and make it their own?" He asked. "No." The Wretch answered.
"Have they been belittling you or making you feel like you don't belong because you're not of divine origin?" He asked.
For that third question, the Wretch merely gave him a look, one that was clearly unamused by that outlandish suggestion.
"Okay, so not that," Vega said.
"Creator, could you please take this seriously?" He asked.
"I am, but you must help me to understand why their assistance is bothering you." Vega requested.
"They're letting their sympathy for me and my situation affect their conduct, and while it isn't to the degree that impedes our work, it still cannot be ignored." He explained.
"So...you can't work with them...because they care about you?..." Vega questioned as he put his hands together in front of his face.
"I'm starting to think your children and the company the Slayer keeps are changing your behavior creator." He said.
"It's funny you mention Will since it is clear that both of you have the same hesitation to let others help you or be concerned for your well-being," Vega pointed out.
"Because none of that is relevant!" He shouted while standing up from his seat, "We are trying to keep all of creation from succumbing to the Dark One's rule! Yet we seem to be the only two people who realize this, whereas everyone else is busy trying to make us feel better about things that don't matter. WHY IS ANY OF IT IMPORTANT?!" He questioned.
Taken aback by how passionately the Wretch felt about this, Vega took the next few moments to think of what he would say next.
"Wretch, you do realize that people have emotions, correct?" He asked, "And I'm not asking that because you've upset me, I'm truly unsure if you know this fact or not." He clarified.
"How could I not know something that is common knowledge?" The Wretch countered.
"Okay, so you also understand that because of emotions, people develop affection or hatred, right?" He inquired.
"That I do." The Wretch confirmed.
"Good, so with this knowledge, is it hard for you to see how the Khans' have come to care about you?" He asked before proceeding to list the reasons, "You're the first demon of Doom they've ever encountered that possesses a conscious. You're brilliant like they are, yet you show little to no regard for yourself. And you spent a great deal of time with them sharing details about your life and your personality, which admittedly was my fault, but still, it helped to establish a relationship between you and them further." He explained.
"I am aware of these facts, creator, but despite it all, they still should feel nothing towards me. None of you should." The Wretch replied.
"And why is that?" He asked.
"Because creator, when this is all over, I plan to kill myself." The Wretch revealed. "..."
"..."
"..."
"...Come again?" Vega said, not entirely sure he heard what he just did.
"When the Dark One is dealt with, as is his accomplice Valentino, I am going to end my life so that nothing of Doom remains." He explained.
"What...does that mean exactly?..." Vega questioned, still in a state of shock.
"The suit I wear is meant to keep my body and soul intact so that I may serve my usefulness until we are done, but after that point is reached, I have made plans to eradicate myself as best as possible." He clarified.
"Why...have you not shared this information with me before now?" Vega asked. "Because creator, you're no different from the Khans, none of you but the Slayer are." He
answered, "He is the only one who understands that nothing can remain, even if one of its denizens
has managed to rise above the rest should their life continue, there will always be a risk Doom returns, and that is something I cannot accept, nor should any of you." He told him.
"Wretch, I understand the regret you feel for what you have done; I also understand that you want to make things right, but what you are proposing is far too extreme!" Vega argued.
"It isn't a proposal creator. It is a decision that I already have made." He said before turning his back to him, "All I ask is you respect this decision, and in regards to the Khans or any of the others, please refrain from mentioning this to them." He requested as he walked away.
Although Vega wanted to continue this conversation or even stop him from leaving, he couldn't,
for this revelation had his mind racing with countless thoughts of where to go from here.