After his most recent escapade, Mad Dawg wasn't sure what he was supposed to do next… he was pretty sure that all his 'good deeds' he had done thus far was canceled by his 'accidents'. So, he decided on a new plan: give up.

Okay, not exactly.

Mad Dawg decided he needed to take some time off, and he needed to get a good grip on who was who, what was where, and how best to survive. So, he was currently chilling in the bar and lounge, sipping on a Sinful Sider and drawing something in his sketchbook. Looking back up at Husk, he looked back down and added a bit more to the drawing. Then, turned to the notes he took.

Drunk Heathcliff

Drunk constantly

Drinking Buddy

Doesn't like me. But doesn't like anyone.

Might kill me in my sleep if I touch his booze. Need to try.

Friend: Maybe.

Call if Emergency: Maybe. 99% chance he'll be too drunk to do anything.

He shut his sketchbook and cracked his back, beginning to walk around the hotel, mindlessly wandering about, bored and looking for an excuse to do something, an excuse to go somewhere…

"Excuse me." A voice spoke up. Turning around, Mad Dawg looked down, seeing the angler fish demon, Baxter, he recalled, looking up at him.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"Possibly." Baxter shrugged, holding up a device that was whirring and buzzing. "I hope you don't mind, but after looking for your DA. Demonic Aura. And it didn't appear like the others I've seen."

"Demonic… Aura…?" Mad Dawg asked with a raised brow.

"Yes, all denizens of hell have an aura about them, a sort of cloak which surrounds them, and often represents their sinful nature." Baxter explained, holding up a diagram. "For example, Angel Dust has a more pinkish aura due to lustful actions. Husker has a blackish one for his alcoholism and so on."

"Okay, what's mine?" Dawg asked.

"Well… that's the weird thing." Baxter frowned, showing Mad Dawg the device. "You have two."

Mad Dawg blinked, looking down and seeing a diagram of himself, with a dark purple aura on one side, and a teal colour on the other side.

"What do they mean?"

"Well, typically purple represents murder of some kind. Be that intentional, unintentional, or anything in-between. But teal is what I find odd… Typically, blue represents a sort of split personality issue, as in sins committed under a different persona."

Mad Dawg didn't show it, but he felt his gut twist… first of all, due to some pretty obvious reasons, he hated the colour purple now. Secondly, the whole 'split personality' thing. It was clear to him what that was, but he also didn't know if Baxter knew.

"Either way, I've never seen a soul balanced like this." The scientist continued. "Sometimes souls will have a hint of another colour, sometimes more than a few hints, but never a split like that!"

"So, what does this mean for me?" Mad Dawg asked.

"Well, I was hoping at some point you'd consider stopping by my laboratory." Baxter began, and immediately saw Dawg give him an 'are you serious?' look. "I'm not out to dissect you! I just want to take an x-ray of your aura, maybe a little bit of your blood, so I can study them in greater detail."

Mad Dawg gave him an uncertain look. This was hell. LITERALLY hELL. If he gave his blood to what was clearly a mad scientist, they'd end up with Husks again. And Dawg swore there'd never be another one of those, no matter what it took. But… if Baxter was here, that meant he might be trying to better himself. Maybe… maybe by helping him with this, Baxter would in turn use what he found to help others!

"Sure, and monkeys might fly out of my butt…" Mad Dawg mentally scolded himself.

"ARe yOu ReAllY StUpID eNoUGh tO BElIeVe ThAt?" Virus suddenly spoke up, in a rather flat, but still distorted tone.

"Believe what? Baxter helping people, or the monkey thing?"

"BoTh."

"Look…" Mad Dawg sighed. "I'll do the x-ray thing, but I'm not giving you my blood. Speaking of which, why are you interested in it?"

"Well… Alastor mentioned how you were some sort of mutant, and you could heal from attacks. I'm also curious to see how a mutant's soul compares to a human soul."

"Okay, fine. I'll do the x-ray." Mad Dawg conceded. "Where's your lab?"

"Oh, I'm in the middle of a number of experiments right now. So, it won't be for a few days." Baxter corrected Mad Dawg. "Either way, thank you for your assistance."

"No problem-o, Nemo." Mad Dawg said, walking away as Baxter gave the retreating figure an annoyed glare.

"Don't call me that!" He yelled. "Everyone does, and it's annoying!"

"Then just keep swimming!" Mad Dawg called, ignoring the agitated groans he heard from behind him.


Three Days Later…

If there was one thing which Mad Dawg could appreciate it was good branding. A company, an idea, a culture, all of them could have the right branding to make them memorable, iconic, and appealing.

"But for $%& 's sake, this is overdoing it!" Mad Dawg thought as he looked around the Harvest Festival.

Apples.

Apples. EVERYWHERE.

The tents, the flags, the balloons, the clothing, the food, the maps, the clouds, the benches…

Like, it wasn't even funny at this point.

Did the afterlife's event organizer accidentally order too many of the same decoration, and figured it'd be better to use them and write it off as a tax break rather than let them go to waste in a storage unit!? Don't get him wrong, Mad Dawg liked apples, Ingrid's apple pie was some of the best he had ever had, he liked eating Granny Smiths when he was killing time, he drank too much apple cider, his favourite flavor of Phoenix Energy was Sonic Sour Apple…

"But man… like, ease up on the apple theming…" Mad Dawg bit his lip as he kept walking. "I feel like I don't wanna eat another apple for as long as I'm dead…"

When Charlie had asked if he wanted to go to the Harvest Festival, Mad Dawg had said yes. This was surprising to Charlie and Vaggie, but Dawg's reasoning was sound and simple.

"I'm bored." He had told them. For the past three days, he had remained in the hotel, feeling like venturing back out into the city would result in more property damage, fist fights, and stabbings. Sure, he had gotten to know some of the residents a bit better, and had finally gotten his fur cut to a manageable length thanks to Nifty. But other than that, there really wasn't much worth writing a chapter about.

"No, sorry. I'm not done." Mad Dawg continued looking around. "Like, it's common business strategy to use the Cognitive, Affective, Connative model to try and remind a potential buyer of a product or service, to brand that idea into their brain so they'll always associate that thing with whatever the image is… but even from a guerilla marketing stand point, this is WAY too much! Okay, it could work when you associate it with the Hook model of marketing and branding, but what the heck are they trying to sell?!"

"Like… just… this is overkill…" Mad Dawg muttered.

Still, another reason he agreed to come was apparently the Harvest Festival was sort of a 'Peace Zone', and violence among demons or overlords was very, very rare. That sat well with Dawg, as he didn't want to fight unless he had to, or unless someone pissed him off.

"Okay… Mad Dawg?" Charlie said slowly, clearly feeling anxious about something.

"Yo."

"My… my parents will most likely be here. I don't know if you'll meet them or not, but… I just…" The Princess tried to form words, but seemed to trail off, leaving her in an uncomfortable silence. Both Dawg and Vaggie looked to one another, then back to her.

"What?" He finally asked.

"Just… be careful, okay?" She finally got out.

"You think I'm gonna be tempted by them, or that I'll do something to make the hotel look bad, don't you?"

"No!" Charlie exclaimed, somewhat panicked. "No…"

"Uh-huh."

"Let it go, Dawg." Vaggie said with a hint of anger in her voice. Mad Dawg was going to say something, but shrugged, deciding to remain quiet. Something seemed off… was there an issue between Charlie and her parents? Was it because she didn't turn out like them? Was it because she loved Vaggie?

"YoU aRE iNFuRIaTInGLy StUPiD!" Virus groaned. "ThINk aBOuT wHaT sHE's dOInG!"

…right. As loathed as he was to admit to it, Virus had a point. Still, maybe he shouldn't judge until he-

"Dude. This is the freakin' devil! He's an asshole! There's no way around it! The dude literally told God to piss off he's not some broken spirit who needs a hug!" Mad Dawg's conscious snapped.

"Wasn't the whole thing that he thought he was better, and God got jealous?" Mad Dawg thought. While (again) he didn't know much about religion, he couldn't say that 'God wasn't real' or 'The devil doesn't exist' because… look around.

NO. No. Not in the slightest. Lou believed he was better than God. So, when God asked him to repent, giving him a chance to change and keep living a perfect life, he said no. That's why he got cast out.

"Ah… thanks for that."

"I think there's something wrong with Mad Dawg." Vaggie commented. "He's way too quiet."

"I don't wanna sound mean… but that might be for the better…" Charlie said awkwardly, then felt her gut twist when Mad Dawg looked at her. "Sorrysorrysorrysorry!"

"…did you say something?" Mad Dawg blinked, not having heard what she said. The three kept walking, Mad Dawg still looking around as they walked, Charlie pointing out random things and talking excitedly to Vaggie. Eventually, Mad Dawg wandered off, not sure what he was supposed to do, so he decided to just look around. The festival was huge, much bigger than he had expected, way more than 100 people… or demons, and only some of them were wearing masks-

"What?"

Sorry. Topical humor.

As he wandered about, he felt eyes on him, but couldn't tell if it was good or bad. Thankfully, he found a place selling apple dumplings, so he could eat his concerns away, which was most definitely a healthy, logical and smart way to proves one's emotions and issues. He found himself wandering over to a dock, and below him was a series of fires of different colours making bizarre, abstract imagery and beautiful colours.

"…hey, God?" Mad Dawg began to mentally say. He didn't know why now he felt like doing this, but hey. "Listen… I know you've probably considered me a lost cause, and… I don't totally blame you… but-"

"No Dad! I'm not some kid anymore!"

Mad Dawg's enhanced hearing caught the tail-end of an argument, and as he cast a glance over his shoulder, he saw two demons. From a brief sideways glance, they seemed like bird-demons, but on closer inspection, they were owls. Neat.

"'Tavia…"

"Dad, I'm not some kid anymore! I'm too old for this!" The smaller of the two protested, pulling away from her dad and storming off. Mad Dawg blinked, then sighed, shaking his head. He'd help… but his parental issues ended with him killing his mother.

"She's not my mom. That bitch never was."

Mad Dawg let out a low growl and chomped down on his snack. It was weird… since getting to hell, he actually felt… okay. Royal Woods had been a bit of a trip, but hanging out with Lincoln, Luna, and the others left him feeling better about himself. Now that he was in hell… and not just in hell, but in hell and with a chance to go home? That gave him hope.

What he didn't know, was that 'hope' was noticeable, and that wasn't something you wanted to promote…

"Well, hello there…" Came a soft, soothing voice. A new demoness made her way to beside Dawg, her hips swaying seductively as she gently draped herself on the railing next to Mad Dawg. She was taller (and way thinner) than Mad Dawg was, and her horns curved back like a goat, pushing through her long platinum blonde hair. "My, you must be new here."

"…" Mad Dawg gave her a half-eye closed flat look.

"Aw, you seem lonely…" The demon cooed, gently reaching out and putting her hand on Dawg's arm, which he immediately pulled away, then walked off. "Rude."

Leaning against the railing again, Mad Dawg groaned as he felt the demoness wrap an arm around his waist. She gently leaned against him, chuckling gently.

"Oh, you poor dear, you don't need to play so hard to get." She whispered. "I'm everything you could ever want, and more."

"Really? If that was the case, you wouldn't be here, I'd be home in bed, and you wouldn't be here." Mad Dawg answered in his deep voice, now looking at the demon. He knew fully well who this was, and he wanted to see how far he could push this…

"If it's bed you want, my sweet… I'm more than happy to accommodate you." She said in a silky voice, practically whispering as she did so.

"Sounds fun… but I'm gonna have to pass." Mad Dawg replied, and the demon narrowed her eyes. She grabbed Dawg's wrist and leaned in, her demonic eyes boring into his.

"Oh, why would that be, sweetness?" She asked, now trying to use her clearly siren-like powers on Mad Dawg. However, pulling him closer to her as Mad Dawg just grinned. "Busy schedule? Because you seem… flexible."

"Hm… are you from Saint Lewis?" Mad Dawg whispered, suddenly changing his tune.

"No… why?" She replied seductively.

"Well… I could still teach you how to arch your back." Mad Dawg answered, and the demonesses' eyes widened with excitement.

"That's what I like to hear…" The demon whispered playfully, gently streaking Dawg's fur. "So… why don't you tell me what it is you wanna do?"

"Well, first I was thinking you'd walk over to the end of this place, and then take a flying leap. Then never talk to me again." Mad Dawg said, flatly.

"Aw… you don't wanna tell me your dirty little secrets? Can you at least tell me why you're not interested?"

"Look… you may not care, but I still have standards. I ain't a homewrecker." He answered, his teeth flashing briefly as he looked over her shoulder. "And I'm friends with your daughter."

Upon hearing that, Lilith froze. She was left blinking in shock, still leaning over Mad Dawg while she looked like she had been shot in the gut.

"E..excuse me?" She finally got out.

"Princess Charlotte? Yeah, I'm friends with her. She invited me to come with herself and Vagatha." Mad Dawg remarked in his usual casual tone as Lilith seemed to grow more and more mortified.

"Also, I didn't know your husband was voyeuristic." Mad Dawg added, pointing over her shoulder. Turning around, Lilith's eyes widened comedically when she saw her husband eating popcorn while watching them, Vaggie having an unreadable expression, and Charlie seeming horrified beyond words. "Hi, Charlie! I met your mom!"

"I..but..I mean..oh my God! I'm so sorry!" Lilith exclaimed, suddenly backing up.

"Aw, what's wrong? You don't wanna see the beast within?"

The other demon (who Dawg assumed was the devil) burst out into uncontrollable laughter at the absolute shock, and guilt on his wife's face, which reddened in embarrassment. Not because she felt bad for potentially cheating on her husband, but for doing so in front of her daughter.

"Mom! He's a kid!" Charlie shouted. This only mortified Lilith further and made the devil laugh harder. She stormed off in embarrassment, her face redder than the fires of hell. Mad Dawg laughed as well, and finally Vaggie broke down and started laughing as well.

"Besides, you're a few centuries past my type." He called before walking over to Charlie and Vaggie.

"Ah, so you're this… 'Mad Dawg' fellow Charlie mentioned?" The man remarked, looking to Mad Dawg as he finally collected himself from his laughing fit.

"Yo." Mad Dawg nodded.

"Yeah, he's our newest occupant at the hotel!" Charlie beamed, but didn't seem to get a response.

"Pleased to meet you! I'm Charlie's father." The man said, a twisted grin on his face. Mad Dawg blinked, then realized something.

"Wait, you're… lucifer?" Mad Dawg asked skeptically.

"Indeed!"

"Like, the fallen angel? Adam and Eve? Tempter of humanity? THAT lucifer?" Mad Dawg asked.

"Well, you are in hell." lucifer smiled. "What were you expecting?"

"I dunno. Just surprised is all." Mad Dawg frowned with a shrug. "No offense, but you're not what I-"

Without warning, lucifer's entire head morphed into a twisted, horrific, eldritch abomination that would terrify the toughest criminal down to their core. Mad Dawg felt all the words in his mouth disappear, now replaced by an icy terror gripping his throat. A few seconds later, lucifer returned to normal. Mad Dawg blinked, his fur briefly turning white.

"…I'm just gonna go ahead and retract what I've said over the past ten seconds." Mad Dawg muttered, all the while Charlie and Vaggie left (admittedly, neither seemed like they wanted to. But Charlie wanted to make sure her mom was okay).

"I understand." lucifer rolled his eyes. "If all you've seen are films, then you wouldn't know. That red-skinned, horned 'Satan' depiction of me your kind uses in fiction is rather… offensive, so to say."

"Mm."

"So, it appears you've met my daughter." The devil remarked, changing the subject.

"Princess Charlotte? Yeah, we've met." Mad Dawg nodded.

"Are you a friend from the Badlands? Or from Imp City? I haven't seen you before, and I've seen just about everyone down here."

"Nah, I'm… I've been around, y'know." Mad Dawg shrugged.

"Ah, you're new to hell."

"Damn it."

"Apparently, you're staying at my daughter's hotel?" lucifer asked, and Mad Dawg felt his spine twitch.

"Yeah." He nodded, trying his best not to give the devil something to latch onto. "I think it's a great idea! But something tells me you aren't the biggest fan of it, y'don't like people getting better."

"Oh? What makes you say that?"

"You seem like the kinda guy whose miserable and rather than do anything about it, just wants to make everyone as equally miserable." Mad Dawg shrugged. The devil blinked, then laughed again.

"Oh, my boy… you have no idea what you're talking about!" He laughed. "You think I care about anyone down here aside from my wife and child? You think I care if they're happy or depressed!? You've got it all wrong."

"Mm. Well, I really don't care either way." Mad Dawg shook his head with a shrug. "You can sling your elitist crap, but I don't buy it."

"Again! You're just not getting it!" lucifer said, exasperated, rubbing his face. "Mad Dawg, what you think I offer is nothing but bleak torture and mindless drudgery forever and ever! But that's simply not true! What I offer is something God himself can't. I offer true, absolute freedom!"

"…what?" Mad Dawg asked flatly.

"Well, look at yourself. The scars on your body tell a story of suffering and hardship. Of abuse, loss and bullet wounds. And it doesn't take a genius to know that you were considered a 'hero' in life, leaving you bound to an asinine moral code… but down here? No one cares! You can live as free as a roc! No one judges you, no one tells you how to live! No one holds you to a moral code! Do you think you could do what you just did to my wife in Heaven?"

"Sorry about that by the way." Mad Dawg said awkwardly, looking away.

"Why are you apologizing? You clearly felt something, who am I to stop love?"

"…sure." Mad Dawg said.

There was a silence, then the devil laughed shaking his head.

"No, you're right… if you had done anything, then you would discover a new waking eternal nightmare of unimaginable suffering." He commented casually. "But back to what I was saying!"

Only now did Mad Dawg notice they had been walking, and were a good distance away from where they began, and more importantly, were further away from the funnel cake.

"It doesn't take a genius to see you're clearly unhappy with what's happened to you. But down here, I offer you the chance to make that better!" lucifer continued. "As I've said, I hold no sway over you! I'm not gonna hold you to any sort of moral code! You can express yourself in any way you want, you can be the master of your own fate, nothing is pre-determined, and nothing will ever be held against you like in life!"

"So, if me and Charlie…"

The joking mood immediately disappeared. When the devil looked at Mad Dawg this time, he did feel the fear he was supposed to feel. Despite the devil being shorter than him, Mad Dawg felt like he was the size of a solo cup.

"I know you're joking, but I'm only going to say this once." lucifer said in a deep voice, seemingly completely abandoning their previous conversation. "I believe Charlie needs to wake up and see things the way they truly are, but I'm not going to force that to happen. She will learn it on her own… but if you do anything, say anything, or even think about doing ANYTHING to her… you will spend the rest of your eternal damnation screaming for the sweet release of barbed wire and meat hooks being driven through your eyes and legs after I'm done with you, am I clear?"

"Ooh… word of advice Lucy. If yer gonna threaten me, don't say the same shit I've heard a million times." Mad Dawg replied evenly, grinning slightly and revealing his teeth. As he stared into the devil's eyes, he felt the fear, pain, terror, and excruciating eternal suffering he could be put through… but he refused to back down. "If that's the most creative threat you've got, it's no wonder hell seems bankrupt on originality."

The devil returned the stare, then grinned. "Ha!" lucifer finally laughed, slapping Dawg on the back. "You've got more spine than most demons I've met… better watch your back."

"Sure. And hey, Charlie and Vaggie are happy together, why the hell would I do anything to screw with that?" Mad dawg said, and lucifer was surprised by how… honest, Mad Dawgs' words were. It was clear he didn't intend to do anything to harm Charlie, heck, it was clear he believed in her… ridiculous plan, but if it made her happy, he'd keep the truth to himself for now. But he made a note to check through the files for a 'Mad Dawg' to try and figure out what the literal hell this guy's deal was. The devil looked away, and Mad Dawg was gone, but when he looked back, Mad Dawg was still there, but now with funnel cake.

"Good to know. Oh, by the way. If you ever want to make a deal…" lucifer began, his suave and charm returning.

"Yeah. No. Not gonna happen." Mad Dawg said flatly, inhaling his funnel cake. "No offence, but I know how that would work, and I don't see the need to make a deal that'll screw me further than I already am."

"You've been talking with Alastor, haven't you?" The devil asked casually.

"Yeah. Why? Do I sound like him?"

"No, it's just… that's one of his more common lies to newcomers." When Mad Dawg looked to him, he chuckled. "Yes, yes… it is quite true that my deals don't always go the way people want. But that's not because of me! It's because they get carried away with their power. In Alastor's case, he fears a challenger. He's been such a threat for so long, that no one is crazy enough to ask for powers to challenge him, even though I'm pretty sure even Imps from Imp City could do the job!"

"Can the same be said for you?" Mad Dawg remarked. "Because when I was alive, it would've taken a deal with God and you to try and put me down! So far, I haven't seen anything that seems like too much of a threat."

"No, no, no… there are still forces out there that you can't even begin to comprehend. And I'd be careful who you piss off down here. While there's no almighty Father to hold you to your actions, many demons don't forget, and no demon forgives." lucifer said, seemingly finishing his 'welcome speech' with a hint of threatening malice.

There was another stand off until Mad Dawg smirked and walked off. His smirk turning to a scowl as he disappeared into the crowd. He walked for a bit, hitting up a booth that sold massive jugs of Sinful Sider, and began to contemplate heading for the hotel. But… he felt like there was something he needed to do… So, he kept walking. About five minutes later, he gave up. So, he took a seat on the railing, looking down over the city. He took some swigs of the Sider, and waited… and waited… it was about twenty minutes before someone else came up to the balcony. It was that younger bird demon Dawg had seen passing earlier. Neither of them said anything for quite a while, and Mad Dawg wasn't sure if he was supposed to…

"Cider?" He offered. She looked at him, annoyed. Then looked at the bottle and took it.

"Thanks…" She muttered, drinking.

"Yeah." He nodded. The pair sat in silence, passing the bottle back and forth for a few minutes.

"So… how you enjoyin' the festival?" Mad Dawg asked.

"I hate it."

"Oh."

"Whatever…"

"You wanna talk?"

"No."

"Okay. Let's drink."

The pair kept drinking gently, passing it back and forth for another ten minutes. Before the girl sighed.

"You have any ideas on how to deal with a parent who still sees you as a child?" she asked, off-handedly. She discerned easily that Mad Dawg was definitely younger than most demons down here.

"…no." Mad Dawg said, taking a long drink. "I've always had parent troubles… and now I'd give it all up to see them one more time and tell them how much I love them."

"Holy hell what happened to you?" The girl asked, semi-sarcastically and semi-genuinely.

"Ugh, forget I said anything. I've been drinkin' too much." Mad Dawg chuckled.

"Thanks for the drinks, I needed them." She sighed, before turning and leaving.

"Yeah, no problem." Mad Dawg shrugged. He chilled there for a few more minutes, before he saw Charlie and Vaggie approaching.

"Hey guys. What's-"

"I'M SORRY!" Charlie suddenly exclaimed, rushing forward and hugging Mad Dawg.

"Uh…"

"I'm so sorry! I…I…I didn't…. I didn't mean to leave you there with… with my dad, and I didn't mean to… I didn't want to…"

"Charlie. It's cool." Mad Dawg said calmly, frowning slightly. "This crap was gonna happen sooner or later…"

"Yeah, but-"

"I'm tired, your majesty…" Mad Dawg shook his head, cutting her off again. "I'm going back to the hotel."

"But…but…are you okay!?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Really. I just… I just need to be alone."

Charlie finally gave in and nodded, letting Mad Dawg leave. She looked to Vaggie with a concerned look on her face, and Vaggie smiled.

"I think he'll be okay." She said softly. "You saw how he handled your mom- wait, that didn't come out right…"


As Mad Dawg walked down the road, he wasn't looking for anything or anyone, he was just thinking about what he had been told. He wouldn't put it past Alastor to lie to him, or lucifer for that matter. In fact, he completely expected it… but… did he have a point? Was this freedom? Was this what he had been looking for?

"JuSt sToP aND tHInK aBoUT iT, 5-sEvEN-siX." Virus suddenly spoke up. Mad Dawg shook his head, then jumped in shock when he saw Virus standing in front of him. He seemed to be shaking, as if he was glitching in an out of reality. Mad dawg walked through him, but he appeared beside him… behind him, across the road… "ThIs cOUlD Be wHat wE'Ve bEeN lOoKInG fOr…"

"…No…it…it…it isn't…" Mad Dawg stammered, shaking his head. He looked around then his head snapped to something. It was that other female spider demon he had seen when he first arrived. Wait. Was this who he was looking for? Was this what he needed to do? Help her in some way?

"IgNoRE hER…"

Mad Dawg blinked, then began walking away before noticing she was being followed. He sniffed the air… booze. Booze and… gunpowder… Whoever this demon was, it was clear he wasn't a friend.

"ShE's oF nO ImPORtaNCe. WaLk aWAy!" Virus ordered, and Mad Dawg looked down at the ground, then scowled.

"F$# you, you Deadmau5 rip-off!" Mad Dawg snapped as he crossed the street. He made sure to keep his head low as he did so, then suddenly walked behind the spider demon.

"It's great to see you again!" Dawg laughed, suddenly throwing an arm around the female spider-demon and whispering: "Play along, I've seen this crap before." The female demon froze for a few seconds, shocked, then smiled.

"How long has it been?" She asked, clearly forcing a smile as they kept walking, occasionally stealing a glance back behind them. It was clear she didn't like being stalked, and she didn't like Dawg 'friendship' so to say.

"Too long!" Mad Dawg replied, taking his arm off of her and whispering: "Sorry…"

That gave her pause before she spoke again. He… apologized? Really? That was a weird thing to do… "Ugh… please don't be one of those 'Nice Guy Neckbeards'…" She mentally prayed.

"Man, I've been so freakin' busy lately… the office work has been hell!" Mad Dawg laughed, waving his right hand in a care-free way, but also in a way that made his claws noticeable. He heard a very audible hiss, and the pair cast a glance back, seeing their follower slowly giving them more space, before turning around and walking away. They walked a few more blocks in silence, then Mad Dawg backed away.

"You okay?" He asked, awkwardly.

"Yeah… uh… thanks." The spider-demon muttered. "That asshole's been following me for the past few days."

"Right. You gonna be okay?" Mad Dawg asked.

"Yuppers! I'll be fine!" She laughed, her regular personality suddenly coming back in spades. "Uh, I'm Molly by the way!"

"I'm Mad Dawg." Mad Dawg smiled.

"Cute name~! Hey, uh… you wanna get coffee or something sometime?"

"Sure." Mad Dawg smiled.

And so, it went. Over the next few days, Mad Dawg and Molly met up, getting coffee, going to a nearby book store, talking about… anything really, making bad jokes, and just generally having a good time. However, one day Mad Dawg was going to meet with Molly, he got a bad feeling in his gut. When he got to their usual hang out, she wasn't there. Mad Dawg waited a few minutes, then began looking around for her, and then he heard the yells.

"Get off me!"

"Molly!?" Mad Dawg exclaimed, his ears going back and without a second thought, he tore off into a sprint towards her voice. He skidded around a few corners and then raced into an alley, he could hear the sound of someone or something being stabbed over and over. "Molly! Are you- Whoa."

Standin in front of him, Molly was relentlessly stabbing the figure who had been following them earlier. After a few moments, she stopped, breathing heavily and turned around.

"Oh. Hi, Dawg." She blinked, then quickly tossed the knife away.

"You good?"

"Yeah… Yeah." Molly said looking away. "I'm-agh!"

Mad Dawg noticed she was bleeding, noting too deep or dangerous, and it wouldn't leave a scar, but still, she needed to do something about it.

"Listen, do you need a hand with that?" Mad Dawg asked, pointing to the wound.

"You're just offering to help? Why?" Molly asked, confused.

"Because…" Mad Dawg began. "Because it's the right thing to do."

"Sure." Molly said, rolling her eyes.

"Look, do you want my help or not?" Mad Dawg asked bluntly. Molly seemed to consider her options, then nodded.

"Yeah, let's go back to my place." She said, leading the way. It was a short walk to the apartment complex where she lived, and a shorter (but rather cramped) elevator ride. Actually, they weren't certain the elevator would work considering Mad Dawg's… 'size'. But hey, they figured it out. When they got back, the pair set to disinfecting the wounds, which it turned out, there were a few. But thankfully, the blade didn't appear to have been rusty, so it was just a matter of using some booze to clean them and then bandaging them.

"You're pretty good at this." Molly remarked as they finished.

"Heh, I lived in a junkyard for a bit when I was alive. I had to learn a thing or two about treating wounds, and like, learn it fast."

"Ooh… is that all you know how to do fast?" Molly asked jokingly, then mentally kicked herself when she saw Dawg's grin. His whole body seemed to move like a snakes body as he tilted his head to one side.

"Oh no… I know how to make chocolate chip banana bread in under twenty minutes…" He purred.

"Wait. What?" Molly blinked.

"I know how to make choco chip nana bread in like, twenty minutes." Mad Dawg laughed.

"Ohmygoshreally? I want some." Molly said, her eyes widening in hopeful excitement.

"Sure!" Dawg laughed. "You wanna see if there's anything on the V-Tube?"

"Yeah! …but I only have one tv, in my room." Molly said, seeming slightly awkward about it. "In front of my bed… so I hope you don't mind… sharing."

"Oh, not at all." Mad Dawg grinned.


Come next morning, Angel Dust yawned as he pulled himself out of bed. It was another day, so… yay. Another day of his afterlife and all that entailed… Still, it occurred to him he hadn't talked to his sister in a bit, and they had tried to make Saturday 'Sister Time' when they'd message each other… Well, might was well re-start that! Grabbing his phone, he used two of his arms to text while the other four got his clothes and make up.

( Hey.) Hey sent.

( Hiya! ) Came the reply.

( U doin' ok? )

( Yup! Things r lime ) ( fine, dang auto correct )

( Cool, just hadn't heard from ya )

( Ooh! Didn't tell ya! Met someone recently! )

( No way! Like, meet meet, or meet… meet? )

( Neither! Ew! We're just friends! )

( JK, jk. What they like? Funny? Tall? Big dingy? )

( Yeah, he's funny. Doesn't seem like the others, actually… and IDK about that last one. Again. Ew. )

( …be careful Moll. I don't want u gettin hurt by this mysterious stranger )

( It's fine! Rly! His name is Mad Dawg, he picked me up one evening and we had a great time! We've hung out a few times since )

( Define 'great time' )

( Why do U care? Interested in him ;) ? )

( Define 'great time' )

( …U ok? )

( Define 'great time' )

( Okay, geez. We went to my place, got to know each other, he made rly great 'Nana bred! Need 2 get that recipe… He was really gentle as well, he seems too pure for here! )

( ….. )

( Angel? )

( Angel? )

( Michael? Plz answer… )