A.N. Someone mentioned this in a review, so I want to say YES. I am fully aware of Helluva Boss, and have plans for them later. Stay tuned! But for now, how about we return to the aftermath of Angel Dust and Molly's meet-up messages?
Fate has a funny way of making things happen… how one's plans can be reduced to ashes in an instant, yet another's can come to full fruition in days… Wait. Is that fate? Or is that destiny? Honestly, I have no idea. Some might call what happened fate, others would call it destiny, while others may call it a pre-determined destination in which a human soul has absolutely no control in terms of its arrival or outcome…
"AAAGGHH!"
Cr-RACK!
"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU FURRY BASTARD!"
But there are some people who fate seems to specifically target, doing everything it can to make their lives as outlandish, miserable, intriguing, or confusing as possible for no reason other than it supposedly can.
Cr-ASH!'
"FUCK! YOU!"
But we all know the truth: it isn't fate, it isn't destiny. The author is just having way too much fun screwing with these characters.
WhaM!
Honestly, things had been going okay for Mad Dawg this morning. He had slept decently, actually felt refreshed, and was ready to tackle the day and any problems thrown his way.
"Oh, hey Dust. What's-"
Those issues began the second he opened the door to his room. He found himself being grabbed by two arms, punched with two, slapped with one and choked with another. With way more strength than Mad Dawg would've thought he had Angel Dust had grabbed Mad Dawg and slammed him into the wall.
"YOU DAMN FREAK OF NATURE!" Angel Dust screamed, anger Dawg hadn't expected clear in his voice. Dawg wanted to ask what was going on, but was thrown headfirst into a nearby desk. "THAT WAS YOUR PLAN?! ACT NICE AND INNOCENT AND TWIST YOUR WAY INTO MY SISTER!? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?"
"What are-" Mad Dawg began, but was cut off when Dust slugged him in the jaw. His head snapped to one side, and a tooth cracked off. "Dust! What-"
WHAM! Another blow, Dawg's head was growing heavy, and his vision was blurry… what was Dust on about!?
"Dust… I think you took some bad stuff, man!" Mad Dawg coughed, trying to collect himself.
"YER NOT GETTING OFF THAT EASILY!" Dust shouted, throwing Mad Dawg to the floor again and slamming his face into the floor repetitively, blood and cracks making their presence known. "I TURSTED YOU, MAN!" Dawg struggled and threw Dust off, getting outside into the hall. Dust however, didn't stop and attacked him once more, throwing him into a nearby railing.
Maybe it was the weight of the Mad Dawg's new form, or perhaps this nearby railing didn't have the best quality of construction, but the railing began to crack and moan before shattering, Mad Dawg over the edge of the stairs and into the lobby. The other residents (who had been doing their own thing) all jumped when what sounded like screams and a concrete piano being dropped into the middle of the room.
"Mad Dawg! Are you okay?!" Charlie exclaimed, being the first to see Mad Dawg on the floor. Her confusion and worry weren't helped when Angel Dust fell from the floors above using three of his arms to pull off a triple diving elbow drop directly onto Mad Dawg.
"AGH!" Mad Dawg cried out in pain as the spider-hooker kept attacking.
"I'LL! KILL! YOU!"
"WHO'S YOUR SISTER!?" Mad Dawg finally managed to shout What was Angel Dust so upset about!? What was he talking about!? Dust yelled, kicking Mad Dawg in the ribs. Suddenly, Dawg's question gave Dust pause.
"Angel! Are you bayunco!?" Vaggie screamed. "What the hell are you doing!?"
"This BASTARD TOOK ADVANTAGE OF MY SISTER!" Angel Dust roared.
"WHO'S YOUR SIS-" Mad Dawg began, but a 'ding!' went off in his head, connecting everything. He stared up at Dust in shock, then his confused and nervous face changed into one of pure, uncontrollable hysterics.
"OH, SHIT!" Mad Dawg exclaimed in-between fits of uncontrollable laughter. "OH, SHIT! NO! THAT IS NOT THE CASE!" Mad Dawg broke down into riotous laughing, for some reason. Confusing everyone present, aside from Baxter who was collecting some of Dawg's blood without him noticing. "Holy crap. How did I not know Molly was-"
"Shut up!" Angel Dust yelled, punching Dawg in the jaw once more. By now, he was seeming almost close to tears, what was he so-
Holy crap.
"You think I had sex with Molly!? Are you insane?!" Mad Dawg shouted suddenly snapping to look at Angel Dust in terror, only to be grabbed and throw into another wall.
"She said you two had a 'great time'! That you were 'real gentle'! What the ever-loving F*CK does that mean?!" Angel Dust demanded, his curse muffled by the impact sound of Dawg meeting a wall, and his demeanour coming across like an angry mama bear. Everyone now looked to Mad Dawg either indifferent, disgusted, or in Charlie's case, betrayed.
"Dude! She was being stalked by some asshole when I was coming back from the Harvest Festival! I stepped in to try and help and we talked! We met and hung out a few times after that and then that same asshole attacked her and she got cut! I offered to try and help patch the injury so it wouldn't get worse! That's what she was talking about!"
Dust blinked, and his eyes widened, as if he realized he had made a massive mistake. "So, you two…" He muttered.
"I didn't do anything! I swear!" Mad Dawg insisted.
Angel Dust's breathed slowed, realization and confusion seemed to be overtaking him as everything settled down, and he began to think rationally again.
"You didn't…. like… show her your hot dawg?"
"Dude. We hung out at that coffee place just off Ashley Avenue! I was there to talk and hang out, but she didn't show. I heard her scream, and found her in a nearby alley, stabbing the ever-loving hell out of some dude! She was injured, so we went to her place, and after we patched her up, we talked, and she asked if I wanted to hang out or something. I offered to make some banana bread, and I did! We ate said banana bread and watched 2 Lava 2 Lantula!" Mad Dawg continued, feeling like he was on trial now, speaking quickly to get it all out. "Dude…" He but his lip, as if desperate to not say something, and eventually whispered: "She's not my type… I'm not… attracted, y'know? I was just trying to help…"
Mad Dawg slid against the wall once Angel Dust let go. The porn star stumbled backwards and fell into a chair. "No… no… what did I just do?!" He moaned, grabbing his head with two of his hands. He seemed to have a full-blown mental breakdown wordlessly as he pulled on his hair, his fists so tight Dawg though they'd rip his head in two. "Dawg… I…I…"
Neither said anything, both unable to think of a comment or uncertain of what to say. Finally, Mad Dawg stifled a laugh, and his giggle was high-pitched, and it changed into a hyena-like laugh that shook his whole body. Angel Dust looked on in surprise, then felt himself unable to hold back his laughter as he felt his body rack with laughter Mad Dawg lost balance and fell face-first onto the carpet, still laughing uncontrollably as Angel Dust tried to stand, but felt his legs turn to jelly and sent him falling onto Mad Dawg, the pair still laughing at the sheer absurdity of what had transpired between them.
"You…Okay…Wow…This…I…" Mad Dawg wheezed. "Oh, dude!"
"I'm sorry kid! I didn't mean to..o..o.." Angel Dust kept laughing, wiping a tear away from his eye as he tried to collect himself.
"Oh geez… Oh geez. I mean… what if-"
"I guess I'd be calling you bro!"
"No! Please!"
Charlie and Vaggie looked to one another in shock. While they initially believed that Mad Dawg might have been one of the worst kinds of sinners, it was clear this was a miscommunication which was blown drastically out of proportions. Now, both had lapsed into some sort of mental hysteria, Charlie smiled as she saw the two trying to get up, using one another for support, and still laughing like hyenas. Mad Dawg tried to push himself up, but with the spider on his back, and his body feeling weak from laughter, he just fell back to the ground, his face buried in the carpet.
"Oh… holy shit… Mad Dawg… That… that wasn't cool man!" Angel Dust muttered, finally managing to calm down somewhat.
"What?! I opened the door and you beat the crap out of me!" Mad Dawg protested. "What did I do wrong?!"
"I don't know. But I'm blaming you anyways!"
"Ugh… I… I don't wanna get up…" Mad Dawg moaned, still lying face down on the rug. "I'm done." It was another ten minutes before Dust finally peeled himself of the floor and left to go get cleaned up. Another five minutes later, Mad Dawg got up and left, heading over to the elevator and getting in. Charlie saw the look on his face, and knew things weren't okay… He had smiled and laughed to hide how he was really feeling, and how he was really feeling wasn't good. He growled in pain and confusion as he traveled upwards, passing his floor, the floor after that, the floor after that… eventually, he came to what he was looking for. The roof.
Sluggishly dragging himself out towards the middle of the roof, Mad Dawg flopped down, seething in pain as his body worked to heal itself. For some reason, internal wounds didn't heal as fast as they normally did down in hell…
"Mad Dawg?"
"What." Was all he said in response, not needed to look back to know Charlie was approaching him. He didn't need to look back to hear the awkward steps she took, as if she was being controlled by an R/C remote, and was trying to fight against where she was being told to go…
"Hey, uh… look. I'm sorry." Charlie said, speaking to his back. "I…I didn't know what had happened, and… and I've never seen Angel Dust get violent with someone…"
"What was that?"
"E..excuse me?" Charlie blinked as Mad Dawg did turn around and look at her. Except now it was clear, he was not happy.
"What, the actual FUCK, was that?!" He snapped, anger clear in his eyes. "WHAT. WAS THAT. BULLSHIT!?"
"Hey, listen… I know you're upset, and you have every right to be… but… Angel Dust-"
"Angel Dust, WHAT!?" Mad Dawg snapped now on his feet and looking down at Charlie. "He cares for his sister, so rather than come and take ten seconds to ask me if I had sex with her, or, y'know, ASK HER,it's totally okay to just beat the shit outta someone?!"
"No! Of course not!" Charlie said defensively. "But Dust was taking care of his sister! It was a family thing… I know you don't know what that's like-"
The second the words left the Princess' mouth, she regretted them. The air seemed to freeze as Mad Dawg stared at her. Anger, fear, pain, confusion. They all danced in his eyes tormenting him with the inability to come to any sort of answer.
"Did… did you really just say that?" Mad Dawg blinked, his voice hollow now, timid, angry. "…did…"
"Wait! Mad Dawg! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that!" Charlie exclaimed, in a nervous panic. She didn't know if Dawg would stay all the way through his redemption or not… but if SHE was the reason he left? Then her dad was right, this was never gonna work. "I meant…"
"Meant what?!" Mad Dawg snapped, now demanding an answer.
"I meant that you're not the only one who's suffered down here!" Charlie finally spat. It wasn't the answer she wanted, but it would have to do. "Look around you! You're in hell! You don't think everyone here hasn't gone through something terrible?! The thing is, Dust acting out like that is him reacting with the last vestiges of humanity he has! I'm trying to help him hold onto that so he can be better!" When the Princess finished, it was clear Mad Dawg wanted to say something, but either didn't know what, or how, to say what he wanted to say, so he just growled something under his breath and turned away.
"Whatever." Mad Dawg said dismissively, walking towards the edge of the roof.
"Where are you going!?"
"I dunno. Away from here for a bit." Mad Dawg shrugged, then jumped off of the roof, slamming into the ground and making a sizable crater as he walked away from the hotel, flipping them off as he went. Needing now more than ever to blow off some steam, and he needed to do so before he did something he would regret…
"Mad Dawg…" Charlie said quietly, watching the mutant disappear into the city. "UUGGGGHHHHHH…" She groaned audibly rubbing her face in a mixture of annoyance and exhaustion. Still, she decided to have some faith in Mad Dawg. He had a fair reason to be upset, and maybe he just needed some 'me' time. She turned on her heel and headed back into the hotel, she needed to talk to Dust…
Back in the town, Mad Dawg wandered around the edge of the city. He wanted to see if Cherri was nearby or something, heck, maybe Molly was around…. No. Not Molly. She hadn't done anything wrong, but he didn't want to talk with her right now…
As he kept walking, Mad Dawg heard someone walking next to him. Looking to one side, there was no one. Mad Dawg looked to the other side, and there was still no one. Growling, Mad Dawg stopped, turning around and looking for who he knew was following him.
"Alastor. I know you're following me." Mad Dawg scowled. "Either tell me what you want, piss off, or stand still so I can punch you."
"NoNsEnSE mY, bOY!"
"freakin'…shit…" Mad Dawg cursed.
"WhY dO yOU tHInK I'D fOLoW YoU, wHEn yOu ClEArlY nEEd tImE tO rEFLecT?"
Mad Dawg snarled, lurching forward and grabbing Virus. He hadn't been where he was a few seconds earlier, but Mad Dawg grabbed him and slammed him into a wall.
"Now you listen to me, and listen well you son of a bitch." Mad Dawg growled, he felt something deep within him stirring, as if his Beast side was waking up… that didn't make sense though, he was already in it… "What do you want from me?!"
"I wAnT wHAt yOu tOOk." Virus answered coldly, his echoing, distorted tittle clawing in Mad Dawg's mind. "NoT liFe, nOT bLOOd, bUt sOMeTHinG yOu DoN't kNOw YoU have…"
"Look Thomas. I know I'm in hell, I know you're here to torture me for what I've done, but it you're going to… how about instead of trying to be some mysterious voice, you actually pull your head out of your mother's ass and do something for once!? You don't have your death squads to do your work because you were too much of a bitch to face me like a man. Hell. You couldn't even show your face!"
Virus was silent for a moment, Mad Dawg's brain running through the myriad of responses he was going to get from the dead-Dj. Probably something along the lines of 'Ironic' or 'You're one to talk!' but… that didn't happen.
"Do YoU tHInK… yOu'Re tHe oNLy oNE hERe, whO's SUFfEriNg?" Virus finally asked, seemingly melting through Dawg's grip and leaning against the wall he had been thrown into. "aRE yOu REaLLy sO ShORt-SigHTeD? dO yOu NOt ThINk I aM aS mUCh sUFFeRIng aS YoU?"
"If you're suffering, then that makes me feel better." Mad Dawg coldly said.
"ThINgS aRen'T GOing tO gET beTtEr uNtIl yOu aDmIT…" Virus said cryptically as Mad Dawg kept walking. Eventually, he gave up. His anger kept growing, and growing, and after a few more minutes, he couldn't take it anymore. He stumbled across the remains of an old building and growled animalisticly. This would do just fine…
For the next hour, Mad Dawg tore the building to shreds. His new body was adept at making rubble out of anything in his path. He unleashed his anger, giving into it while still holding the reins so he wouldn't run off and attack someone… but after an hour or so of complete and total demolition, the building was nothing but a pile of rubble and some metal posts. He doesn't feel like anything has been solved, nothing has been accomplished, but damn if destroying stuff isn't fun! Mad Dawg felt his anger somewhat subsided, leaving him feeling anxious more than anything, he kept walking unsure of where he was going, of what he'd say to Charlie when he got back, to Dust… to Molly… did he need to say anything? No. No he didn't. He had told Charlie what he had thought, he owed her nothing more! He told Dust the truth. That junkie-cock-sucker could take it or leave it!
"T-Bone!"
Stopping and turning around, Mad Dawg blinked when he saw… agh… what was- Velvet! That was her name! The doll-demon from a few days ago approaching him.
"Hey, Velvet." Mad Dawg nodded.
"What are you doin' out here?" Velvet asked, her tone… undiscernible. There was defiantly something wrong or malicious in her tone, but Mad Dawg didn't care…
"No idea." He said, his voice not betraying much.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
The two stood there, Velvet trying to get a read on T-Bone, but Dawg was giving up nothing. After a few moments, she spoke up again.
"You doing okay?"
"Yeah." Mad Dawg nodded.
"You sure don't seem like it."
"So?"
"…." Velvet looked away awkwardly, clearly not having expected that response. Mad Dawg just looked at her, not knowing if she was trying to be friendly, or if she was trying to do something to him.
"You wanna drink? Cause I really need to." Mad Dawg said, and Velvet's eyes widened in excitement.
"Sure!" She exclaimed, suddenly grabbing Mad Dawg's hand again. "Let's go!"
Mad Dawg wasn't thinking right now, he followed the older demon until they ended up back at the porno studios Mad Dawg had been at when they first met. Mad Dawg growled under his breath and stopped at the doorway.
"What's wrong?" Velvet asked looking back to Mad Dawg. The mutant didn't answer, he just seemed… uncomfortable. "Aw, T… c'mon! Really?!" She groaned in annoyance. "You've been here before!"
"…yeah…" Mad Dawg muttered. "Before…"
"Hey… what's wrong?" Velvet asked, walking back over to Mad Dawg with a concerned look on her face. "T, c'mon man… do you trust me?"
"Not really, no." Mad Dawg shook his head, and Velvet groaned in annoyance, rolling her eyes with a sigh.
"Then come with me, and let me earn your trust." Velvet said matter-of-factly. "Besides, do you wanna drink?"
"Well yeah… but I… ah, screw it!" Mad Dawg began but shook his head, looking up to Velvet, entering the building and suddenly feeling… more relaxed. Velvet smirked as she and Dawg walked back to the bar area where they had drunk last time.
"Sinful Sider?" Velvet asked.
"Nah. What's stronger?"
"Ah, Reaper Rum it is!" Velvet nodded, grabbing a bottle. Mad Dawg twitched at the name 'Reaper' but shook it off, it was a reference to the Grim Reaper, it didn't mean-
"You've gotta be freakin' kidding me." Mad Dawg mentally groaned when he saw the bottle, as the logo was a black fire with a white skull-masked figure in a black hood. Velvet noticed this but didn't question it as she poured the drink into glasses. She'd ask him when he had some liquor in his system.
"Here ya go, sweetie." Velvet smirked. Mad Dawg nodded and swirled the orange-gold drink before taking a drink. Mad Dawg just remained quiet, looking around the room at the neon lights and odd smell emanating from around the room.
"Hey, so… I gotta ask, what's the deal with the Overlords?" Mad Dawg asked after a bit of silence. "There's satan, and then… what's the deal with them?"
"No one's told you?" Velvet asked a bit surprised. "Essentially the Overlords are demons with more power and influence than the others down here in hell. Vel and Vox are two of em', there's Stolas, Alastor, Rosie… and a bunch of others I really don't care enough about to remember their names."
"Alastor's one? Geez. Just when I thought that guy couldn't get any weirder…"
"You've met Alastor?!" Velvet asked, genuinely surprised.
"I live with him." Mad Dawg answered, and Velvet coughed on her drink, looking over to Mad Dawg with a mixture of disbelief and sarcasm.
"Uh-huh."
"I do." Mad Dawg shrugged. "I'm living at that…" He trailed off, not wanting to say where he was living, partially due to fear of bad things happening to Charlie, and partially because he didn't want to make it easy to find him.
"Where?"
"Does it matter?"
"Well, if you're not full of shit, yeah." Velvet shrugged, pouring another glass for each of them. "Where's your hangout?"
"Outsidea the city." Mad Dawg remarked. Velvet groaned in annoyance as she sat down next to Mad Dawg, getting closer than Dawg was comfortable with, but he also didn't want to say anything.
"Y'know, that's not really specific…"
"Never said it was." Mad Dawg muttered, taking another drink. This stuff… burned. Like, a lot! He coughed as the alcohol burned down his body, making his head feel a little lighter.
"I'm just trying to be friendly here, y'know…" Velvet said, putting a hand on Dawg's cheek. Mad Dawg blinked, then smirked slightly.
"Heh, sorry… I'm just… I dunno." He muttered, trailing off and shaking his head. How long had he been here? Scratch that, did he care enough to question it?
"Aw, it's okay…" Velvet winked, pouring Dawg another drink. "But back to your question; the Overlords all essentially are the be all, end all of a specific sin or… well, service. So, to say."
"Is that why Valentine is in a Porno studio?"
"That's… a loaded question." Velvet replied, finishing her drink.
"Ah, never mind then. I'm not in the mood to think too hard about anything."
"I know that feeling." Velvet nodded.
"Yeah… it's just been one of those days, y'know?" Mad Dawg remarked with a sigh. "It's just a day where I really don't care about anything or anyone, and just want the day to make like a burrito and wrap up."
Velvet coughed as she took a sip of her drink before laughing, looking to Mad dawg with a wide grin.
"Okay, that was clever." She laughed.
"I can't take credit for it." Mad Dawg shook his head, feeling more relaxed now. He felt like he was just… hanging out with a friend, and this was a feeling he had missed.
"Hey, you wanna have some fun?"
"…sure." Mad Dawg smirked, being pulled by Velvet into another room which began to move. Wait, no. This was an elevator. The two remained silent as they went up a few floors, eventually coming to what looked like a more lived-in lounge. The whole room had a more causal, worn feel to it. It actually kinda reminded Dawg of his old train yard home… before it got blown to hell… "Huh. Dust never mentioned this place had… all this."
"Dust? Like… Angel Dust?" Velvet asked.
"Yeah, gay-spider-guy." Mad Dawg nodded. Velvet analyzed what he was saying then hummed.
"Do you live with him, too?"
"Yeah." Mad Dawg replied. If he was thinking straight, he probably wouldn't have.
"You're staying at that Happy Hotel, aren't you?" Velvet said, not as a question, but a statement. He didn't answer this time, and Velvet smirked cruelly. "Hm… so what's a demon who's trying to be a good person, doing here with a sinner like me?" She asked, pushing Dawg onto another couch.
"I dunno. And I don't care." Mad Dawg muttered. "I needed to get out for a bit… I needed… me time."
"Yeah, I know that feeling." Velvet nodded, looking for something before she picked up a record. "Don't worry, Bone. I'm not judging you for trying to 'better' yourself."
"I don't know if it's possible." Mad Dawg admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "But Charlotte's determined to try, so…"
"If you don't know, are you just there to screw with her?" Velvet asked, genuinely curious.
"Hell no! I'm not that kinda asshole!" Mad Dawg replied, sounding almost offended by the accusation. Velvet just laughed and spun the record on her finger.
"So, this is a song Dusty made~!" Velvet said with her twisted grin, changing the focus as she put the record on the player and starting the song. It was quiet, then a piano began playing.
Till death do us part. But we're already past that phase… This is a brand-new start, and I think deserve some praise, for the way that I am…
Velvet grabbed Mad Dawg's hand, and pulled him to his feet, at first, Dawg was confused, paranoid and somewhat floppy, but then realized what she was getting at. Heck, the music made him happy, it felt like… man, it felt like the music was taking a hold of him. But he was also enjoying it…
This is the mantra, this is my life you're playing with now till the end of the night…
Surrounded by fire, the passion ignites! A hit of that heaven and hell, a helluva high~!
Mad Dawg felt his worries melting away, he was just… having fun! He and Velvet weren't dancing, but… no, no they were dancing. For a bit, Dawg just moved with the music, the world around him changing colours in what he assumed was the rooms lighting but were more… wait, oh, wow. They were running! The next thing Mad Dawg knew, he was outside on a rooftop, running along the edge of the building. For a second, he saw he was holding Dust, then realized it was Velvet. Weird, but okay…
I don't give a damn… I've let my emotions go. Fuck being a sober hoe!
"Crap!" Mad Dawg screamed, suddenly slipping and toppling off of the edge of the building. As neon purple fire consumed hell around him and loud techno music kept blaring, Mad Dawg fell towards the ground, which opened and swallowed him whole as he descended into darkness. Then, said darkness was covered in light which danced around him. "What…the…hell…."
Hitting the ground, Mad Dawg rolled forward and kept running through the now neon-scape hell. Every now and then everything flashed, and he saw where he was. He was back inside the building… then he was in a hallway… he was approaching a door… then everything went black again.
"Mad Dawg." A woman's voice spoke suddenly. "Luv?"
"Ox?"
"Wake up."
"..A..Ang…e…la?"
"Wake up!"
"M..merc…"
"Wake up!"
"AAH!" Mad Dawg exclaimed, bolting up from where he was lying, looking around in a panic. He didn't know where he was, what had happened, what had- OH SHI-
"Mad Dawg? You good, little guy?" Velvet asked, appearing from one side. Mad Dawg blinked, looking at his hands, and felt a fury unlike anything he had felt, and lurched forward at Velvet, grabbing her and slamming her into a wall.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!?" Mad Dawg roared, holding Velvet against the wall and baring his fangs at her.
"Hey! Calm down!" Velvet snapped, struggling against Dawg's grasp. "Y..you blacked out! I…I brought you in here to rest! You've been out ten minutes!"
Mad Dawg immediately let Velvet go. He didn't know if she was telling the truth or not… but he didn't want to accuse her of something she didn't do… Yes, he was in a Porno Studio… but Velvet was right, looking at the clock on the wall, many hours had passed since he first came in here (again) but only ten minutes had passed since he had fallen from the roof. In all honesty, Velvet hadn't lied to him thus far, quite the opposite. He had lied to her.
"I..I'm sorry." Mad Dawg muttered, looking away, his body tensing up with every passing second... He was taken aback when Velvet snaked her arms around him and gave him a backwards hug.
"Awww, no need to apologise." She practically whispered into Dawg's ear. "I know you didn't mean it… besides, you're new here!"
"Yeah… new…" Mad Dawg muttered. The alcohol still submerging his brain.
"Don't worry, you're safe here. No one's gonna hurt you here…"
"…okay, what the hell did I just walk in on?" A new voice spoke up. Mad Dawg looked to see some sort of demon with a TV for a head looking from Velvet to Dawg in clear confusion. Wait a second… that was the guy selling that crap on tv! Crap… what was his name? Veidt? Vanoss?
"Hiya, Vox!" Velvet smiled.
Right.
"…hey." Vox blinked. "Seriously, who the hell is that?"
"Him? Oh, this is T-Bone!" Velvet said letting Dawg go. "Or Mad Dawg, I don't know which he prefers."
"Uh… second one…" Mad Dawg muttered. He didn't know how Velvet found out his real name… but he also didn't know how he blacked out…
"Oh yeah, that guy you were drinking with a few days ago." Vox nodded before looking to Mad Dawg. "Thanks for getting that stuff up to the twelfth floor, by the way."
"No problem." Mad Dawg shrugged, trying to be as 'casual' as possible. There was something both off-putting but also re-affirming about Vox. Dawg didn't get the same 'your-ass-is-on-the-line-and-said-line-changes-position-every-point-two-seconds' vibe he did from Alastor… but then again, he had a feeling Alastor probably didn't like Vox. "Wait… video killed the radio- Oh… I get it now."
"Don't worry about him, we were just talking." Velvet shrugged.
Mad Dawg kept quiet, he didn't know how long the conversation went on… but he didn't feel like he had much to add to it. Again, in what felt like seconds, Dawg found himself outside the studio, looking around in confusion. He didn't feel hurt, he didn't feel… anything.
"What… what just happened to me!?" Mad Dawg thought. Taking off once more, he found a nearby store with a public bathroom and locked himself in a stall. Taking a few deep breaths, he checked himself for any marks of any kind… and found none. He checked the lower half of his body… but didn't find anything. He checked- well, you get the idea. After about ten minutes, Dawg came to the most logical conclusion. He had drunk too much rum, passed out, and his healing factor kicked in and woke him up ten minutes later. Satisfied with the answer, he headed back to the hotel, thinking over those he had met. He didn't want to admit to it, but he kinda liked Velvet. There was something that drew him to her… and no it wasn't just her body. But there was something… he connected with, something that resonated with him! Maybe it was her care-free, devil-may-cry attitude, or maybe she just said what he wanted to hear… but Mad Dawg knew two things: one, there was something he liked about her, and two: now more than ever, he needed to be careful.
Somewhere far away, a woman opened a book and studied the information inside, her calm features shifting to one of grave concern as she read what was presented before her. When the book was completed, she pushed it to the side and briskly left the room, humming a small tune as she did so. She had a job to do, and she needed to get it done quickly… She made her way to another room and looked around before seeing what she had come for. Opening a cabinet, the plucked a mask off of a shelf, as well as a cloak, and slipped the latter on. She didn't put the mask on just yet, but did turn it on to make sure it still worked. After a few moments, the lights came on, with a white circle with an 'X' through it, a wide smile, and a somewhat closed eye on the right. Nodding in satisfaction, the woman switched off the mask and set everything in a neat pile next to the cabinet before leaving the room once more. There was someone she needed to talk to before she set out on her job…
After a rather uneventful walk, Mad Dawg was back at the hotel, nodding politely to Charlie, his face made it clear things were… better. Charlie sighed in relief but didn't press further. She understood sometimes you just needed to punch a wall to feel better… heck, Vaggie had a bit of a bad habit of doing so.
Speaking of punching walls, Dawg noted he was going to need to repair the door and walls in his room that he had been thrown through… great… Wandering aimlessly around the hotel, a new thought came to Mad Dawg, well, two actually. One, why hadn't he seen Virus during that whole stint? Was it because he was suffering in sin or something, and therefore the dead-Dj didn't care enough to say anything? No, that didn't make sense… Virus had been tormenting him for AGES now! Why would he stop when Dawg was potentially in real pain? Add to that, why hadn't he seen Virus in the hotel? Secondly, and on a completely different note, what had he been feeing earlier? It felt like his 'other side' was trying to break free… but that didn't make sense! He WAS in his other side!
Right?
His mind wandered off, thinking back to when that other side first appeared. How he had been held down, shot repetitively, his spine snapped in two, his body mutilated and impaled with needles, the sense of hopelessness, the feeling of fear and the cold grip of death coming to take hold of his body as he desperately fought to retain some sense of his own life. How his body had snapped and twisted, his brain had been overflown with nothing but anger and pain, he remembered how Virus had tortured him, left him to die in front of the families that Dawg destroyed, that Mad Dawg had-
"Wh…what's happening to me?!" Mad Dawg growled, suddenly realizing that his entire body was shaking. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest, he felt sick… he felt like he couldn't breathe. Honestly, he was scared! He didn't know what was happening and he didn't know how to stop it. Eventually, everything got blurry and his hearing seemed to be fading away, all he could hear was his heart beat alternating between paranoid fast and death bed slow.
"…o…e…!"
"Wh…what…?"
"Ma…wg! L…k…e!"
"Wh…what's happ…ening…?"
"Mad Dawg! I need you...at me!"
"H..Husk?"
"Listen to me you furry bastard! I need you to focus on the bar!? Okay!? Focus on the sign!"
"Wh..a.."
"Focus. On. THE SIGN." Husk shouted again, and this time, Mad Dawg heard him clearly. "Look at it, and don't look away!"
Despite his body being weak and his vision blurry, Mad Dawg looked up at the bar's neon sign. For some reason… it was soothing… it wasn't moving.
"Now breathe. Breathe for five seconds, then let it out." Husk ordered, and after a few attempts, Mad Dawg was slowly breathing and letting it out. His muscles still felt like they were spazing out, and not in the way they did when he changed… this was different.
"Sit down, kid." Husk said, helping Mad Dawg to a bar stool.
"What… what the hell just happened?" Mad Dawg muttered.
"Kid, I'm. like ninety-nine percent sure you just had a massive anxiety attack. That or you've got Post Traumatic Stress and something set that off…"
"I'm okay…" Mad Dawg mumbled, not wanting to think about it.
"No. You're not." Husk said flatly. "First of all, you're in hell. Secondly, you've got some sort of PTSD... You said you were ex-military, right?"
"No. Not military." Mad Dawg said quietly, shaking his head. "Not… exactly."
"You fought terrorists?" Husk asked flatly.
"Yeah."
"You were in firefights?"
"Yeah."
"You saw people die?"
"Yeah."
"Then that shit's enough." Husk said dismissively, passing Dawg a glass. "You're really fucked up kid, just... catch your breath. Drink some water. Go to bed."
"But-"
"Kid, you aren't gonna get anything done until you get control of your mind." Husker cut Dawg off. The way he spoke reminded Mad Dawg a lot of Morrison… actually, that potentially explained a few things… had Husker been in the military? "Just drink that, and go sleep. It might be hard, and you might just stare at the ceiling, but that shit is better than trying to act like nothing just happened."
Mad Dawg didn't reply, he just downed the water and then left. Thankfully, no one was present as he returned to his room… he really didn't want to talk to Charlie or Vaggie… or Alastor. Especially Alastor. Admittedly, he didn't really have anything against the radio demon, but in the state Dawg was in, he had a pretty good feeling this is when Alastor would really make his life hell… well, more than it already was.
"Original."
Still, as he walked back to his room, he passed by Dust's room, and paused when he saw him writing something. Mad Dawg bit his lip, then decided to get this over with.
"Hey? Angel?" Mad dawg said, knocking on the open door. The spider porn star looked up and blinked.
"Hey, Dawg… you uh… you doin' okay?" He asked after a few moments of silence. "Apparently you were kinda upset after we left, and you bailed for Charlie for a few hours…"
"Yeah. Uh… look. I'm tired." Mad Dawg sighed, shaking his head. "But… I dunno…"
"Listen, you can't tell anyone what I'm about to say, it'll kill my credit more than this hotel already is." Angel said matter-of-factly, turning to face Mad Dawg and writing with two of his lower arms. "I screwed up, okay? I should've asked Molly, or you, or… honestly thought rationally for more than five seconds. At the end of the day, Molly's smart enough and been here long enough to know when someone ain't on the up and up. If she agreed to let you go to her place, let alone help tend to her wounds, she probably could've told that you weren't gonna try anythin'. Also, I don't think you're smart enough, or stupid enough to try something like that."
"I'm sixteen!" Mad Dawg exclaimed. "And I'm not a member of the Smash Bros. community!"
"…the what?"
"I dunno." Mad Dawg shook his head. "Sometimes I just… say things, and I think they have importance or something, but I can't say..."
"Right." Angel Dust slowly nodded. "My point is, I'm sorry. Really, I am. Okay?"
"Fine." Mad Dawg nodded.
"I'm not upset because I thought you tried to sleep with my sister, I'm more upset she didn't save me any of that banana bread…" There was something about the utmost sincerity that Angel spoke with, that Mad Dawg couldn't help but laugh.
"If I make some for you, would that make you feel better?"
"YES."
"All right, fine. I'll ask Charlie to get me some stuff…" MAd dawg shook his head, noticing Angel was still writing while looking at him. "Uh… do you need to be looking at what you're…"
"Nah." Angel waved dismissively. "It's weird, I write anything, ANYTHING with my bottom arms and I'm not looking at what I'm writing, I write them out of order. It's real annoying, cause it makes Krampmaus threat cards take that much longer to write out… put the wrong name on em' and send one saying 'Die screaming in a pit of rusty nails' to Molly, and one saying 'I love you more than the world' to Arackniss…"
"Arackniss?"
"My asshole brother. Short, grayish black, has a thing for switchblades"
"…oh…" Mad Dawg blinked. "Huh. Well, I'm gonna go…"
"See ya, kid." Dust nodded as Dawg returned to the remains of his room, before muttering under his breath: "Friggin' mutant freak of nature…"
Returning to his room, Mad Dawg froze when he saw Charlie standing in his room, looking around at the damage.
"Oh! Mad Dawg, are you… doing better?" Charlie asked awkwardly when she saw Mad Dawg.
"Yeah, uh… Miss Charlotte? Do you have a minute?"
"Oh boy… I did something wrong if he's calling me 'Miss Charlotte'…" Charlie blinked, then smiled. "Sure."
Sitting on his bed, Mad Dawg looked away before he finally spoke. "So, uh… I'm sorry. I know you're trying to help me, and… I'm sorry I'm not…" He didn't know how to finish his thought, but Charlie smiled warmly at him, sitting next to him.
"I understand, and thank you." The demon smiled. "I've… I've also not been the best at trying to help you. It's clear you need a certain type of help, and I don't always know how to help… so…"
They remained there for about twenty minutes, both acknowledging what the other could do to try and help the other.
"I promise, I'll do everything I can to help you get back to your family." Charlie said seriously with a nod.
Mad Dawg felt better when it was all said and done. He felt like he was gonna get out of here one day, that he would be able to go home and see his family. In the utmost sincerity, he trusted Charlie… he felt like he was gonna be okay, all things considered…
But in hell, can anyone ever truly be okay?
"StAy tUnED… tHiNGs aRe gOnNa gEt a WHoLe lOt MOrE… iNTerEsTInG…" A voice whispered, before letting out a shrill, mechanical laugh.
