"Do you feel like we're missing out on some crazy shit?" Angel Dust asked, right before he unloaded several rounds from multiple Thompson Submachine guns into the Baron of Hell simulation he was using for target practice. Each firearm using a different type of ammunition as he wanted to start experimenting.
During all of the multiple events happening elsewhere, those inside the arena were pretty much none the wiser.
"Eh, probably." Katie answered with a shrug, taking a small break from slashing away at the same Baron to reply, "But here's the thing, if any of it were important, I know Will or someone else would've come back to get us." She said.
"Yeah, Angel! No sense worrying about it!" Cherri shouted from across the arena. As for WHY she was so far away, that answer came in the form of a rocket-propelled grenade, RPG for short, which made contact with the second Baron of Hell simulation and turned it into giblets.
"Hey! Watch it! Are you trying to blow us up?!" Blitzo questioned, two flintlocks held firmly in his hands, courtesy of the Slayer making sure his favorite pistol would be in his suit's arsenal.
"I don't think she'd have to try, sir. You seem more than capable of doing that on your own." Moxxie commented.
"HA!" Cherri exclaimed as she burst into a fit of laughter.
"Alright, that fucking does it. I'm done shooting at the Baron." Blitzo said as he pulled the pistols' hammers back.
"You wouldn't d-"
Moxxie couldn't finish that sentence before a rapid-fire of small metal spheres came flying at him. And, in response, Millie decided to fulfill her wifely duties and return fire. Quickly the arena became a weird as all hell recreation of the shoot-out at the okay corral, with those still in the stands bearing witness.
"Yup. I saw this coming a mile away." Husk said with a bottle of wine in his hand, the cork still inside its mouth.
"Didn't Azrael say NOT to get schnockered?" Octavia asked.
"Hey, it's ONE bottle. She SPECIFICALLY told me not to drink TOO much." He answered. "You know, some say one bottle is already too much for an alcoholic." Nifty chimed in.
Deciding he was done with the conversation, Husk's reply came in the form of him popping the cork out with his thumb and drinking the wine. Meanwhile, happening right next to them was a situation of great importance. At least, it was to a certain bird demon.
"Okay...so...what do I do now?..." Stella asked nervously as Daisy sat in her lap.
In a surprising turn of events, the brown-furred lapin decided to switch up whose lap she sat in, and for some reason that went beyond Stella's ability to decipher, she was chosen first.
"Heh, what?" Loona questioned with a smile, baffled that Stella would be so helpless, "Dude, she's a rabbit. WILL'S rabbit. All you gotta do is let her sit there and pet her if you want." She informed.
"So...she won't bite me...don't rabbits bite?..." Stella responded, having never had an animal of any variety so close to her until this moment.
"I mean, if you do something stupid like pull on her ears or hurt her, then yeah, she'd probably bite you." She said, "But ya know, I'd punch you first if that happened..." She muttered quietly.
Even with Loona offering her expertise, Stella was still scared to death of this tiny adorable creature. Who, by the way, was contentedly sitting in her lap without a care in the world.
Hesitantly she reached down with her right hand, placed it on Daisy's back, and began to pet her slowly.
"I...I'm doing it!" She exclaimed with a nervous chuckle as pride began to fill her form, "I'm petting an animal! I've never done something like this before!" She carried on.
"Wait, seriously? But weren't your parents loaded? Didn't they ever get you something like a pony or anything else little girls are always begging for?" Loona asked.
"No...oh! Wait, there was that one time I was allowed to pick something for myself for my birthday...I...think I may have chosen something...with a horse on it...but that was a rare occasion...and that particular birthday was one of my youngest...as that was the only time it was appropriate to engage in such childish things in their eyes..." She answered, struggling to remember all the details due to how long ago and fleeting of a moment it was.
"I think I'm starting to see HOW you turned out...you," Loona said as the pieces of Stella's fucked up life put themselves together.
"Hmph, that's not fair..." Verosika complained as she crossed her arms, "Why didn't she want to sit in MY lap? I AM William's girlfriend." She said.
"Okay, look horny hips." Loona started while turning to look at her, "I know you've got some magic drug shit flowing through your veins. But do you honestly think Will and you are an item? That when this crazy-ass war is over, you're going to be the number one celebrity couple in Hell?" She asked.
"Didn't you hear what William said to me before he left to go find Charlie? I'm so important to him that I HAD to stay here rather than be by his side, as he couldn't bear the thought of seeing me in such a dangerous situation~" Verosika answered, nearly falling backward in her seat from how much that speech swooned her.
"Are the drugs you elite-types buy ALWAYS this good?" She whispered to Stella,
"...I'm sorry, what?" Stella replied with a somewhat surprised look on her face, for she had been entranced by how soft Daisy's fur was.
However, before they could resume their conversation, a portal suddenly appeared in front of those in the stands, and from it came Azrael and Gabriel.
"You're back!" Nifty welcomed as the portal closed behind them. "How'd it go? Is everything on fire?" Octavia asked.
"In what feels like a miracle gifted to us by the powers that be, no. If anything, we've
managed to secure an advantageous upgrade to our forces that will turn the tides of war in our favor." He answered.
"In other words, everything turned out fine," Azrael said.
"Well, that's good to hear. Nice to have news that doesn't fuck us up for once." Husk replied as both retook their seats.
"Is that your first bottle?" She asked, not trying to be overbearing but still wanting to know.
"Yes, Az. And you'll be happy to know I JUST opened it." He answered but made sure not to come off sarcastic because, despite his rough exterior, he did appreciate that she worried about him.
"Look, Gabriel! The rabbit's taken a liking to me!" Stella said with an unexpected level of excitement while she pointed at the seemingly sleeping Daisy.
"Her name's Daisy." Loona reminded.
"Have you never had an animal show such trust in you before?" He asked.
"No! This is a first for me! And I must admit, it is a surprisingly euphoric experience!" She answered.
"Hey, Gabriel." Octavia spoke up to get his attention, "Where's Will and Vaggie? Did they decide to walk back?" She asked.
"A near-perfect guess, Octavia." He praised before explaining, "The Slayer wished to continue her training as they returned. And my niece, who is accompanying them, wanted to help her partner get used to flying since she knows how to do so herself." He informed.
"Aw, that's cute. Two lovebirds flying side by side." Nifty said.
"Please, not while I'm drinking." Husk requested, mushy shit even now that he was in a relationship making him feel sick.
"He who makes out with the angel of death has no place to complain." Loona joked, causing him to squint his eyes at her.
"Yeah, and she who is single has no place either." He countered, which immediately made her blush out of embarrassment.
"Sh-Shut the fuck up, asshole!" She shouted back before hiding her face the best she could so no one would see her blush.
"...Are they shooting at each other?" Gabriel asked, just now noticing how the simulated Barons had less battle damage than the arena itself.
"It appears so," Azrael chimed in, also taking notice.
"Moxxie made a crack at how Blitzo's dumb as hell, he fired the first shot, and now we're here." Husk answered, getting them up to speed quickly.
"I don't think the Slayer will be too keen on them using their time like this." He said.
"Huh, I guess that mortal claim about speaking of a devil is true." She noted as she pointed to the
entrance.
Following the angel of death's finger, they understood the meaning behind her statement when they found the trio they were waiting for. On the right, Vagatha was doing her best to hover while moving. In the middle was Charlie helping her keep her balance while holding her hand. And on the left was the Slayer, who stared right at the insanity happening in the arena.
"Sheesh, we leave them all alone for a short while, and they devolve," Vagatha commented as she and Charlie also looked at the skirmish.
"I'm guessing they're supposed to be shooting at the big red guys, right?" Charlie asked in case she was missing something.
"...Yeah..." The Slayer answered with a sigh.
"They don't seem to know we're here yet. How're you going to handle this?" Vagatha inquired.
"It may be a bit cruel...but this does present a perfect opportunity to show what happens when you take your eyes off of not one Baron, but three..." He replied before looking up at the arena's attendant.
Communicating with them silently through the use of sign language, so the others in the arena wouldn't hear him speak up, the Sentinel nodded to show they understood and set his plan into motion.
"Will, you know sign language?" Charlie asked with widened eyes, both she and Vagatha surprised, yet impressed, that their murder-happy friend possessed such a skill.
"It's part of the Sentinels' training...both the beasts on their world and the demons have a heightened sense of hearing...so when hunting them or setting up ambushes, it's better to speak without words..." He answered.
"How many more talents are you keeping hidden inside that big grey helmet of yours, huh?" Vagatha inquired with a playful smirk.
"...No comment..." He replied, deciding to have some fun of his own by keeping a bit of mystery about himself.
During that small exchange, the attendant finished changing the behavior of the Barons, meaning that it was showtime. In the midst of this bullet and bomb bonanza, the Barons suddenly sprang to life, each one rushing at its own target to begin an attack. And like any normal group of people, when their friends saw this, they reacted appropriately.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Cherri shouted before performing a dodge roll to avoid getting crushed by a leaping Baron.
"HOLY SHIT!" Blitzo shouted while ducking, just BARELY avoiding a green fireball the size of his entire body.
"HEY! SENTINEL DUDE! THE FUCKING THING'S BRO-" Angel Dust was cut off near the end of his sentence, the cause? A massive red fist hitting him square in the torso sent him flying across the arena.
Landing on his back with a loud THUD, the force of the blow still propelled his body while it was on the ground and made him slide, which managed to work out because he ended up stopping at
just the right angle to look up into the eyes of his favorite man alive.
"Oh! Will! You're back!" He greeted with a smile, which quickly disappeared as the gears in his head turned, and he put together what was happening, "Oooooooooh, I get it. This is a punishment for us screwing around like a couple of dipshits, ain't it?" He asked.
"Your deduction skills are remarkable..." The Slayer answered a bit cheekily. But, despite his best efforts, he WAS amused by this.
"Ooo~ Someone's getting a little snarky. I think we're starting to be a bad influence on ya~" He teased.
"That happened to moment I met most of you..." The Slayer responded as he held out his hand for the spider demon to take, which he happily did.
"Not us, though, right?" Vagatha asked, genuinely concerned he was grouping HER and Charlie in the same lot as Mr hot pants.
"Nah, you two are good..." He answered.
"Aw, gee Will, you sure know how to hurt a guy's feelings." Angel Dust said with a fake pout that quickly became a smile, "But getting back to the ass whooping of the century, don't you think sicking those big brutes on us was a BIT harsh?" He asked.
"Why don't you ask Katie and see what she has to say?" The Slayer suggested.
Confused by what he was getting at, Angel Dust, Charlie, and Vagatha all looked back at the ensuing fight and were met with a shocking discovery. Katie was the only one in the arena who wasn't freaking out about the Barons; sure, when they started moving, it caught her off guard, but she swiftly adapted. Using her additional bladed appendages as well as those of her suit, she engaged with each of the Barons alone with stunning precision and composure, almost like she was a surgeon in the ER.
As for how she could use her body's limbs when she was inside the suit, that was possible through an impressive technology that allowed the suit to accommodate changes in the wearer's physiology. To simplify, Katie and Angel Dust's suits had a unique design trait that the others didn't, which was the ability to construct more armor arms for their extra limbs whenever they brought them out. This gave Katie a total of eight bladed arms that were sharper than any sword or knife, and she used them to effortlessly cut through the Barons' calves, forearms, and necks. It took a total of two minutes for her to singlehandedly kill all three simulations; having moved with such speed yet powerful grace, it was like watching a dance of death.
By the end, the Barons were cut into the same amount of pieces. Their heads, arms, and legs all smoothly separated from the rest of themselves, coating the arena in a mess of simulated blood.
"Huh, that was easier than I thought." She said while letting out the breath she'd been holding in, "They're definitely scary as fuck when they're in your face. But their size slows them down a shit ton. Dodge, counterattack, aim for the limbs, preferably the joints, and bam, they're fucked." She stated as she lightly nudged a piece of the demons with her foot.
However, when Katie looked to see the expressions of those in the arena and then those in the stands, she was surprised to find that they were all stunned.
"What?" She asked, unsure of why they were gawking at her.
"Katie...that was BADASS!" Cherri exclaimed in praise, amazed at how awesome she'd been over those two minutes.
"Yeah! How'd you do that?!" Millie excitedly asked as she ran up to her, eyes wide and full of wonder.
"I...just attacked them." She answered, "You know, the whole reason we're even DOING this?" She added.
"No, no, no. ATTACKING them would've been flailing your arms around like a retard and hoping you do something. Like Moxxie." Blitzo argued as he too approached her, "THAT was an actual can of whoop-ass being opened." He complimented.
"Sir, I can still shoot you." Moxxie threatened.
"Geez, it's ALWAYS gotta be about you, huh, Mox? Can't let ANYONE else have the spotlight?" He replied while putting his hands on his hips.
"That was an exemplary performance, miss Killjoy!" Gabriel praised from the stands.
"Indeed! You were excellent!" Azrael joined in.
"My thoughts exactly..." The Slayer said, suddenly right beside her.
Katie, Millie, and Blitzo all jumped back a small distance when he spoke, as none of them realized he'd gotten closer.
"Jesus!" Blitzo shouted in surprise, "How the FUCK does someone like you manage to be so goddamn sneaky?!" He questioned.
"Not my fault you weren't paying attention..." The Slayer replied before focusing on Katie, "That show of mastery over your suit's features and your composure in a combat situation exceeded any expectations I had for you today...I'm greatly impressed, Katie..." He told her.
"Whoa...uh...wow...okay...thanks...Will..." She nervously said, never ready for when he decided to show her with compliments like that.
"Unfortunately, this brings me to the rest of you..." He sighed as he crossed his arms, "How did you go from training to shooting the shit out of each other?..." He asked.
"These two." Cherri immediately answered while pointing to Moxxie and Blitzo. "Gee, way to sell us out," Blitzo said.
"Did you guys at least manage to train for a while before turning on each other?..." He asked. "Yes, sir." Moxxie respectfully answered.
"Yeah, we can vouch for'em. They weren't total fuck ups." Husk called out from above.
"Okay, good...I'll still need to see your training data, though..." He said as he looked at the attendant.
"Wait, data? As in like, a performance test or something?" Millie questioned.
"Mhm...I gave them a set of parameters I wanted to track as you train...so that way at any point
should I need to leave, I can know exactly how you've been doing..." He explained while pointing at the Sentinel.
In a few quick seconds, the Sentinel sent the information to the Slayer's suit. Allowing him to bring it up on the inside of his helmet's visor for review. Suddenly, everyone in the arena, with Vagatha being the sole exception, was wary of how he would see their progress. Especially after he just praised Katie for her abilities.
"...Angel..." He called out. Doing so since he was still at the entrance next to Charlie and Vagatha.
"Yes?" Angel Dust responded, sounding almost like a student who just got caught sleeping in a class by the teacher.
"I appreciate your eagerness to test out your various ammo types...but your accuracy on one of the biggest demons who also happened to be stationary is concerning...you need to improve your precision with your guns..otherwise, you have no chance of hitting the bulk of Doom's forces which are nimble and evasive..." He said.
"Right, sorry." Angel Dust replied with an apology.
"Blitzo, Millie, and Moxxie...your accuracy is almost flawless...but your attacks are uncoordinated, and you are constantly switching between weapons...which, while needed when fighting multiple enemies of varying durability, is not necessary when fighting one specific enemy...this isn't a fault on your part since you're getting accustomed to your arsenal and your suits...but you need to know which tool you're going to use on which part of any demon for maximum effectiveness...because the fact is you can waste an entire clip of an SMG trying to break through the Baron's hardened flesh...or you could focus on using weapons with armor-piercing capabilities to shorten the time you're spending on the target..." He suggested.
"Copy that." "You got it!" "Understood." They each replied.
"...Cherri..." He said after a short pause, his tone sounding like that of a disappointed parent.
"Oh, come on! I was blowing shit up! Isn't that what I'm MEANT to do?" She asked, getting defensive before he had a chance to say more.
"Yes...but remind me, Cherri...do you only have ONE weapon you need to familiarize yourself with?..." He countered with a question of his own.
Realizing what he was disappointed about, the truth is Cherri HAD almost exclusively been using just the standard rocket launcher.
"...Sorry." She apologized, now aware of her mistake, "I've never had a launcher pack such a punch before, so I kinda just got wrapped up with it." She explained.
"Understandable, but you need to spend time with all of your guns and the rest of your suit's features..." He stressed.
"Right, obviously. Don't want to be a useless paperweight on the battlefield." She agreed.
"Overall, you guys are making good progress...it needs to improve, but you ARE coming along..." He told them to try and lighten the mood.
"Except for Katie, right? She's the star pupil for today." Blitzo asked.
"That she is...which is why I think she deserves to be rewarded..." He answered, causing all of their eyes to widen.
"Wait, what?! She gets a REWARD?!" Angel Dust questioned, "What KIND of reward?!" He asked.
"Whatever she wants..." The Slayer answered, "When I said you exceeded my expectations, Katie, I meant it...you just took down three Barons with next to no errors in the execution...so if you want to take the rest of the day off, or anything else that is within my power to grant you...then please, ask away..." He explained.
Holy fuck, this was legitimately like the holy grail in their group. The Slayer, the single strongest, most badass person in all of creation, was telling Katie right to her face that he'd give or allow anything within his discretion; that was a HUGE deal. Of course, Katie was no idiot, she wouldn't ask for something absurd or outlandish, but there were still a LOT of possibilities this opportunity allowed.
"...Could...we spend the rest of the day together?" She asked, "And when I say that, I don't mean like a date or anything weird or a huge waste of time considering what's going on. I just mean walk around and talk because there are something's I'd like to speak to about." She clarified.
"HELL NO!" Verosika shouted as she jumped up from her seat, "Keep your fucking claws off of my man!" She yelled.
"Verosika..." The Slayer spoke up to handle this before it escalated, "You know you're the only one for me...Katie and I are just good friends who respect each other and value each other's opinions..." He said, not needing to take any pauses like last time as he was, unfortunately, getting the hang of this.
"I don't care! We haven't gone on a single date yet! And she wants to spend the rest of the day with you! That's bullshit!" She argued.
"Yeah!" Nifty chimed in, also not liking where this was headed.
"Ey, pipe down pipsqueak." Husk told the redhead as he grabbed her shoulder, as things were bad enough without this turning into, no pun intended, a catfight.
"...How about this..." He began as a compromise came to mind, "While we're out walking...I'll buy you something from the market...would that work?..." He asked.
"Really? You'd buy me a present?" Verosika responded with wide, hopeful eyes. "I'll buy you two if it helps to seal the deal..." He offered, upping the ante.
"Oh, William! You know exactly how to make me happy." She sighed with a smile on her face, "Okay. You two can go out." She "allowed."
"Thank you..." He replied before looking back at Katie, "Ready to head out now?..." He asked. "Oh, uh, sure. Just let me get out of my suit first." She answered.
"Hey, Will." Vagatha called out while pointing to herself, "What am I supposed to do while you two are gone?" She asked, having not received any feedback on her progress.
"Well, now that Charlie's here, you can go outside, and she can help you to start flying in a more
open space and to get better control over your suit..." He suggested.
"That sounds like a great idea!" Charlie exclaimed with a grin, more than happy to help her GF with her training.
"As for the rest of you, no more Barons...the attendant will spawn in three Hell Knights, five Imps, two Prowlers, and a few wild cards every so often to keep you on your toes...your training will last until you're done for the day at dinner time..." He informed.
"Great. We get fucked in a different way while Katie's gets the good option." Blitzo complained, which earned him a bop on the head from the mantis demon, "OW!' He shouted.
"You're lucky I didn't kick you." She told him, having dealt the blow once she was out of her suit, "Alright, I'm good to go." She said.
And with that, the Slayer separated the arena once again, only this time with Katie as his company. Leaving the others to resume their training and their spectators to watch, all the while, they wondered what those two would get up to in their time away.