"I don't feel like we got talk that much at the Harvest Festival." Lilith calmly remarked. "I make it a point to meet all of the demons I find… intriguing. And, well, you're one of them."

"Mrs. Mange, all due respect, I'm not interested." Mad Dawg flatly said, avoiding her gaze. That was new… he had fearlessly looked at her when they first met. Now he seemed to have lost that courage… oh, this could be fun!

"Of course, my sweet." Lilith laughed softly with a slight wave. "Perhaps I misspoke, you intrigue me, not because of what you could possibly do, but because of what you are."

"…I don't follow."

"Well, you're rather unique." Lilith remarked, getting up and seating herself beside Mad Dawg, who almost immediately moved away. "You're much younger than most of the fallen demons here."

"Fallen demons?"

"A human who fell from God's grace." Lilith explained. "There are some beings down here who were born here. Namely Imps, hellhounds-"

"And Princess Charlotte?"

"Well, yes." Lilith nodded. "But despite you coming from above, you seem… different, like a soul who has not been fully consumed by sin and lust… as if you've held onto your soul or whichever part separates from one post-mortem… and that intrigues me."

"Uh-huh."

"You really seem to think I have it out for you, that couldn't be further from the truth." Lilith smiled kindly, and mentally frowned when Dawg didn't return it. What had happened to him? "Any who, I was hoping I might get to have a more… personal conversation, so to say."

"Look, Miss Lilith, you're wasting your time. And mine." Mad Dawg flatly cut in, having a feeling he knew where this was going.

"Mad Dawg, look at me." Lilith said.

"No."

"Look at me." Lilith ordered, suddenly grabbing Dawg's arm. And pulling him closer. She didn't intend to use her powers, but she needed to understand something.

"Whoa! Get the hell off me!" Mad Dawg snarled, slashing at Lilith, who somehow restrained Dawg with some sort of demonic power. She held his chin and looked into his eye, and it felt like she was looking into his very body. Mad Dawg did the only thing he could think of.

Thump!

….

"Did… did you just hit me!?" Lilith sputtered, her hand on her cheek where Dawg had indeed hit her.

"I just hit her." Mad Dawg blinked. "Well. F-"

Lilith created a surge of power, grabbing Dawg's throat and preparing to deliver swift retribution for such an action… but she paused, seeing Dawg's eyes convey genuine terror, and blood-boiling anger. This wasn't aimed at her... in fact, he seemed-

"Oh, that's explains it…" She muttered to herself, letting go and sitting down once more. Dawg's breathing was stuttered as he glared hatred at Lilith, who had seemed to have done a complete 180 and was currently looking through a series of bottles. "Here, honey. Drink this."

"Piss off!"

"Oh, Mad Dawg…" Lilith sighed, both hurt and annoyed. "I'm trying to help you. You've been drugged. Those toxins are still in you, they're making you… susceptible, to certain… ideas. Please, drink this and it'll cure that."

Dawg looked at the water bottle, knowing this is how it happened, how it began, how he ended up there in the first place, how he-

"I don't want your drugs. I wanna leave." He cut his thoughts off, knowing there was a simpler solution to this scenario.

"That's rather rude of-"

"Don't you start! You showed up outta nowhere and practically threatened me to get into a car with a woman I don't know." Dawg snarled. "If you wanna talk, let's talk! But talk with your mouth. Not with your legs."

Lilith stared in surprise at his harsh response before coughing into her hand, and looked away awkwardly. "Hm. Perhaps I did come on a bit strong…" She muttered. "Apologies, my sweet. I'm used to doing things a certain way-"

"Don't care. Didn't ask. Let me out."

"Okay. Screw it. Mad Dawg, there's something wrong with you, I just want to give you some water. There's a little bit of drugs in your system, and I get the feeling you didn't…" Her voice trailed off as Dawg bit his lip, thinking.

If he didn't drink it, then would it happen again? His mind snapped to earlier with Veronica or Vivian, or whatever her name was. Dawg wasn't exactly a celibate, but there was something off about her, she had some sort of sway over Dawg that he had never experienced before! That pink-skinned demoness had gotten to him… somehow. He was torn between two terrible ideas; both ending up with him being hurt in horrific ways… so who did he trust? The devil's wife? Or the ones who did this to him in the first place?! Should he hold off until he got back to I.M.P. and ask them for help? No… what if they turned on him!? What if they had drugged him?!

"Mad Dawg, I'm not angry you hit me." Lilith said, that statement surprising Mad Dawg, and also seeming like total B.S.

"Uh-huh."

"…okay, fine. Maybe a little, but I apologize for grabbing you like that." Lilith spoke calmly, and Mad Dawg looked to her and sighed in annoyance.

Slowly, begrudgingly, he took the bottle and drank. It was water, plain and simple. There weren't any weird flavours to it, nothing that hinted at him being drugged… if anything, it tasted kinda nice. Mainly because he had been living on alcohol and energy drinks as of late, but still.

"There we are, do you feel better now, darling?" Lilith smiled, seating herself next to Mad Dawg once more, who looked to her with an awkward look before nodding.

"Yes, thank you."

"Aw, you're a polite young man. When you want to be…"

"Hm." Mad Dawg smirked slightly, not sure where this was going. "So… what is it you wanted to talk be to me about? Because no offence, Mrs. Mage, but I ain't lookin' to hook up with anyone… and I don't think we're friends… I think."

"Oh? Do you think I'm not attractive enough to be worth your time?"

"Whoa… I never said that." Mad Dawg said, raising his hands and shaking his head. "But you're a married demoness, if you'd like to talk, then let's talk."

"All right then, what the hell is you deal?" Lilith bluntly asked.

"Which one?"

His blunt answer caught Lilith off-guard, and the demoness laughed into her hand before shaking her head. "Oh boy, I wasn't expecting that. Hm… let's start with something simple. Who's the one in your life that you love so much you'd fight me to remain loyal too?" She asked, smiling down at Mad Dawg, who notably deflated in annoyance.

"I was kinda hoping you'd ask like, what my favourite food or something was… but okay…" Mad Dawg sighed. "There's no one."

"Don't lie to me." Lilith smirked. "You can't possibly tell me that you've been avoiding my advances simply because there isn't someone you loved more."

"I'm serious." Mad Dawg shrugged. "The closest thing may have been a close friend back home. She was funny, and sweet, and kind to everyone… when I first showed up, she kinda went out of her way to make sure I was doing all right."

"She sounds delightful, whatever happened between you two?" Lilith asked, drawing a little bit of energy from Dawg's statement. It was pure, true, and it was sweet…

"Nothing. We were friends till the end. It's just, I found out she was a lot older than I expected… and then I met her girlfriend."

Lilith's laugh was louder than she expected, and Dawg had to admit, there was something kinda melodic to it… she quickly recomposed herself, but seemed to relax a bit, losing some of the 'royal image' so to say.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It happened twice." Mad Dawg said flatly, and Lilith couldn't control her laughter this time. Even Dawg laughed slightly. "But whatever… Look, what I said is true, there isn't anyone I was in love with."

"That sounds lonely…" Lilith cooed after collecting herself, gently lifting Dawg's chin up.

"It is… but it's also great!" Dawg remarked with a smile. "I can do whatever the hell I want and not care about anything! Seriously, I can eat what I want, go where I want, it's great."

"I know you're lying to me, but okay." Lilith shrugged. Mad Dawg bit his lip and looked away, feeling kinda cramped in the limo with his new form. How Vortex fit through doors was beyond him…

"Hmm… what's wrong, darling?" Lilith asked, draping an arm around Mad Dawg and pulling him closer. "You can talk to me, I'll keep you safe." She said with a closed-eye smile. "Just think of me… think of me like a mother, you can tell me anything."

"And that's it." Mad Dawg said, pushing Lilith off of him. "I- you- I can't- I mean…"

"Ahh…" Lilith sighed, putting it together as she noticed him stumble on his words. Except, this wasn't the kind of drunken stumble, or love-struck stumble. "His mother wasn't a good influence in his life. Hm, very well, time for a new tactic…"

"Don't do it, Dawg. This is a really, really bad idea." Mad Dawg mentally growled. "She's acting kind, she's acting like her… but she isn't an angel, she's a demon. She'll do anything to hurt you…"

"Just because we're enjoying this little conversation together, doesn't mean we need to talk… vocally." Lilith whispered, and grinned wickedly when she saw Dawg's eyes change. She had seen this before, and she loved it every time. "Just lean back and let yourself… relax…" She had found their weakness, she found her way in… except… he wasn't growing anxious like some would, he seemed… angry.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!?" Mad Dawg exclaimed, genuine disbelief clear on his face. "I don't know how Charlie turned out like she did… not when she has YOU for a mother." Mad Dawg spat, genuine anger in his voice. It took a lot to shock Lilith, and a lot more to offend her, but Mad Dawg just did both. "Are you here to talk to me, or to try and get me to sleep with you because you feel old!? Right now. I don't want to do EITHER!"

"What happened to you?" Lilith asked, dropping the act and giving him an annoyed look. "When we first met, you were so… lively! You had a sense of humor, now, you're just… here."

"You wanna know why I'm not interested in sleeping with you?! Why I wasn't then, and I'm not now?! It's not because your husband is the devil, it's not because I'm secretly gay – I don't even know- never mind – it's because after everything that's happened, after everything I've been through down here, all the shit she's put me through, I don't wanna hurt Charlie."

Lilith blinked, and sat back in the limo, now wanting to hear Dawg's reasoning.

"She never saw me as anything less than a friend. She tried to help me. Sure, she was doing it by manipulating me, lying to me, she using me- but… but somewhere, deep down, there was an attempt to do good. I don't give a damn what happens to my soul. But… I don't wanna hurt her."

"Hm."

"We all deserve to be down here, you and Lou more than anyone for being so brain-dead retarded to think you could CHALLENGE GOD and WIN." Mad Dawg continued, eyes narrowing. "But Charlie? She didn't get that choice, she was born down here!"

Lilith didn't respond, genuinely surprised by his statement.

"Ms. Lilith… I don't care. Whatever you do to me, it doesn't matter to me… but I'm begging you, please don't do this. If you care at all about your daughter… stop."

Lilith looked into Dawg's eyes' once more, critically analyzing what he was saying, looking for the lie that didn't exist- what? Well, okay. There was part of this statement clearly coming from a place of him wanting to avoid her husband's wrath, but… he did care about Charlie, at least to an extent. She dug a little deeper, and then everything made sense. What she saw was horrific, and if she was a compassionate demoness, she may have felt pain for the young demon she sat beside. Still, if it was her daughter who went through that, she'd have those responsible crucified with rusty nails and left for the Exterminators to torture.

"Mad Dawg." Lilith said, taking Dawg's paw-hand. "You're right. Please, could we try again?"

Lilith internally smiled when she saw Dawg not immediately pull away. Yes, she was using a little bit of per powers, but his choice was his. Eventually, Dawg nodded.


"How… how did he live?!" Baxter muttered, looking over the results from the tests he had run on Mad Dawg's blood. The natural acid and toxicity that was scant noticeable in a human (or demon's) blood seemed to be amplified to almost comical levels! Mad Dawg, for lack of a better word, was poisonous. The only way it would ever affect anyone would be if he either transfused his blood with someone else, or someone directly ingested it. What didn't make sense to the scientist was how Mad Dawg survived. The only logical theory was that he had some sort of natural defense due to the mutations affecting his DNA, DNA which was proving to be far more complex than he ever thought possible! Add to that the fact that Mad Dawg's Demonic Aura was another mystery that the fish-demon was struggling to understand. There had been two at first, and now… well, before Mad Dawg left, there had been three! That wasn't possible, that was akin to someone having three souls at the same time! He had to have somehow gotten mixed up with some sort of experiment before he arrived at the hotel, there was no way a condemned soul-

"Oh, my word." He muttered, dropping the notes he was holding before rushing off to look at something else.


"Sorry, so there were clones of you?"

"Yeah, except unlike me they didn't look human. They looked like someone fused a human with lizard's body, minus the tail, and burned the whole thing darker then Notre Dame."

"Too soon." Lilith scoffed, annoyed.

"Why do you care? It's a church!"

"I may be a demon, but I appreciate good architecture!"

"….fair enough." Mad Dawg opened his mouth to reply, then shrugged. "But yeah, they were these creatures running around in a lab all screaming and hissing."

"Did they have names?"

"I called them 'Husks', cause, y'know. They looked like a husk of a body. Oh, and I named one of the few that could talk."

"What? Something like Soul Walker? Bloodedge?"

"No, no. I called him 'Bagel'." Mad Dawg chuckled.

"Bagel? Really?" Lilith laughed. "Why?"

"No idea!" Mad Dawg laughed. "I think I was hungry when I met him, and I just called him that. It angered him, but I really didn't care…"

"Hmm… so your kind is smart enough to create clones now, are they?" Lilith said mirthfully and Mad Dawg shrugged.

"Sorta. They weren't perfect, far from it. They kinda looked like something you'd see down here." Mad Dawg admitted. "It was like, for every ten they made, four of them died within an hour of being released from their growth tubes. There was just… something wrong with them. It's why they needed me, apparently."

Their conversation continued for another hour, Mad Dawg still on high alert, but refusing to let that be an excuse to be rude. More than a few times, he had made Lilith genuinely laugh, something which he noted with a smirk, came as a real surprise to the demoness. Then… Dawg accidentally said something he shouldn't have…

"I don't know what you or your husband thinks, and frankly, I don't care." Mad Dawg commented. "But I think Princess Charlotte's redemption plan could really work!"

"Then why aren't you there now?" Lilith immediately asked.

"I said 'think'." Mad Dawg frowned. "She… there's some issues I don't think she'd willing to acknowledge."

"Ahh… I'll have to agree with you on that one." Lilith nodded. "Charlie is the sweetest soul you'll ever meet, but there's so much she refuses to see, or accept. I get the feeling you know that though, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Between you and me, is that why you left? I won't be angry if you say yes or no."

"I left… due to personal reasons." Mad Dawg admitted. "And now, I'm questioning if I sho - shut up."

"She didn't hurt you, did she?" Lilith asked, then rolled her eyes when she saw the look on Dawg's face. "Yes, yes. I know Charlie couldn't hurt a soul if she tried – most likely – but I don't know what happened."

"Again. It's personal." Mad Dawg said softly. "But it didn't end with bloodshed between her and I."

"Well… thank you." Lilith nodded. "Charlotte… is troubled. She believes that she can save everyone in hell, and, well…"

"You don't believe her, do you?"

"I wouldn't go that fat, but I wouldn't say I believe it's possible. What I'm trying to say, is thank you for trying, and thank you for leaving on good terms."

"…so, you admit it. You lied to me."

"Wait. No, I didn't-"

"Fuck. You."

"Yeah." Dawg nodded, not noticing the limo had stopped. "Well… it's been a trip."

"Yes, thank you for indulging me, child." Lilith smiled warmly. "Have a lovely day."

"You too. Tell the chief I said 'hey'." Mad Dawg nodded, picking up his bags of bananas and getting out of the car. He watched the limo drive off, then sighed deeply. "Holy crap…" He muttered, shaking his head.


"It… it can't be possible…" Beholder muttered looking through another book. "No name, no history, yet his record is here… that can't be possible!"

"It's not possible that he's here, it can't be possible for a soul like that to exist down here!" Baxter muttered, frantically writing something down, trying to figure out a formula, an answer.

"How can he possibly be here?! He's not-"

"-but that would mean…"

"-and that's just…"

"No! No, it can't be!"

DING

In the hotel and in the archives, Baxter and Lore-Keeper looked to their respective devices and their eyes (many, many more in Lore-Keeper's case) widened in shock, astonishment, and disbelief.

"IT IS!"


"I swear. If someone else tries to stop me, I'm gonna scream…" Mad Dawg muttered as he walked down the sidewalk. Only for someone to stop him.

"Um, excuse me?" A small voice spoke.

Turning around, Mad Dawg looked around, then finally looked down to see a small female imp looking up at him with a mixture of apprehension and what honestly seemed like hopeful joy. Mad Dawg swore he knew this woman from somewhere…

"I don't mean to ask a stupid question, but were you… uh…" She began, fumbling to ask her question. "Well, what I mean to say is, were you in a…"

"Annie?" Mad Dawg spoke up, cutting the imp off, asking a question with a single word.

"It is you!" Annie smiled widely up at Mad Dawg before without warning, hugging his leg. After a few moments, she jumped back, letting go and looking away embarrassed. "I'm sorry, that was wrong-"

"No, no… it's great to see you!" Mad Dawg answered honestly, sitting down on a nearby bench, the wood creaking under his massive frame. Annie sat next to him and smiled in relief. "Listen, are you okay? I just kind abandoned you after the incident with Val, and I thought maybe I should try and find ya, but I was worried that doing that would make things worse… but… Look, I'm just really glad you're okay."

The look in Annie's eye (the one that wasn't covered by her hair) seemed to gleam with something that made it clear to Dawg that those words meant the world to her, or maybe she was looking with a 'Are you serious?' vibe about her, and he didn't blame her.

"Yeah, uh, yeah." Annie finally spoke, smiling again. "After you broke my chains, I just ran, and ran… none of them noticed me leaving, and they haven't been around to look for me since. For about two days after I got out of there, there were some people looking for me, but they seemed to quickly give up. Really, I just skipped town and made my way back here."

The two went quiet watching traffic beep and pass by, no one caring about the creature and imp sitting on a bench watching the world pass by.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I'm in a transitionary period of my afterlife." Mad Dawg shrugged. "Things didn't exactly work out in 'Gram city, so I decided to throw my hat to the wind and seek purpose somewhere else."

"And the real reason?"

"I'm looking for something to do with my afterlife, and I don't want to be stuck near those freaks that put us through all that happened." Mad Dawg admitted, his playful tone dropping to a somber and real one.

"I know that feeling." Annie nodded. "Hey, I never got your name, by the way."

"Oh, I'm Mad Dawagh!" Mad Dawg began but seethed when he felt a sharp pain in his side, remembering his injury from earlier.

"Oh my, are you injured!?" Annie asked, concern in her voice.

"Nah, nah I'm fine…" Mad Dawg grimaced, the large gash along his side stubbornly not healing properly. He had gotten it earlier in the day after some idiot jumped him outside the hel-mart for whatever reason they did. The blade had dug deep, and Dawg had reason to believe it may have broken off, leaving some metal in his body… but he could deal with it. He'd be fine.

"Fine!? Mad Dawg, that wound looks horrific!" Annie exclaimed. "You need someone to look at it! That could get infected with lava larva or something else equally disgusting…" She paused, then added: "I can help if you'd like."

"No, really it's fine." Mad Dawg insisted.

"Please, it's the least I can do…" Annie begged. Mad Dawg looked down at her and their eyes met once more, Mad Dawg not seeing malicious intent or twisted plans hidden in them, but a genuine want to help. Or at least, be 'even' so she wouldn't be indebted to him. Either way, he knew he needed to say 'yes'.

"Well, okay." Mad Dawg nodded, following after Annie as the pair left, heading back towards an apartment building. A few Imps took notice, but no one really said anything, either ignoring them, or figuring the hell-beast-thing wouldn't take too kindly to them insulting the young Imp woman he was walking with. In reality, Mad Dawg was just happy to know Annie was okay.

Later…

Mad Dawg hissed as the pliers twisted about, he couldn't tell if Annie was enjoying this or not, but finally, she ripped a large chunk of metal out of Mad Dawg's side. She blinked in surprise when she saw the large gash begin to close itself and then seemed to disappear, a very faint scar disappearing under his fur.

"Oh my…" She breathed. "I've never seen a demon do that."

"It's a long story." Mad Dawg muttered.

"Well, don't worry about telling me if you don't want to." She said with a smile. "After what you did… I really don't- never mind."

Annie disappeared for a minute, then returned with two bowls, handing one to Mad Dawg before sitting down across from him.

"Here, it's chicken and barley, it's not much, but I like the taste." She said with a smile, passing Mad Dawg a bowl.

"Thank you." Mad Dawg nodded, taking the soup and sipping on it. Mad Dawg noticed there was clearly something Annie wanted to ask him, but seemed hesitant to do so.

"Listen, why did you… why did you help me?" Annie finally asked after a minute or two of silent soup eating.

"It was the right thing to do." Mad Dawg answered with a shrug.

"Okay… but no one in hell would ever do anything for that reason. So why did you?" She asked, skeptically. She hadn't sensed any sort of malicious intention from Dawg, but then again, that was how she got into this place originally… "Like, did you do it because I'm not your type? Had the drugs reacted negatively with you? Are you gay?"

"…did you want to be there?"

"NO!" Annie screamed in genuine anger. "Those bastards grabbed me off the street and beat me into the ground when I tried to say no! You think I WANTED THAT!?" Mad Dawg recoiled and Annie froze when she realized both her anger, and the fact that she had spilled her soup onto the table. Mad Dawg grabbed a napkin and passed it to her. "I..I'm sorry."

"When I looked at you… I saw myself." Mad Dawg finally answered. "I saw the pain, the fear, the regret… It was like I was looking in a tiny mirror… that was also female. And an Imp. So not really a mirror…"

"What?" Annie laughed, wiping up the soup.

"I don't know how you got here. Both to hell, and to Val's… whatever. But I made mistakes, I'm not someone who enjoys the stuff that happened there, I was drugged most of the time, and I just kept being strung along… when I saw you, well. Okay. First off, I'm not the kinda guy who would- I mean- I…"

"I get it." Annie nodded.

"Right… so. When I saw you, it reminded me of myself, and… of this girl I knew when I was alive, Alejandra. She was a kid, and she got caught up in my mess… and she paid the price I should've. I saw that again, and refused to let that happen again." He finished, looking away and thinking to himself. What… what happened to her? She was Sombra's friend, and after the crap with Virus… Dawg hadn't really heard from her. Actually, what happened to Sombra? Last time he saw her, she put a gun to his head, but he managed to outwit her – for the first and only time – before escaping. Had she died? Had she cut and run? Mad Dawg knew fully well she wouldn't go out of her way to save him, not like he had tried to help her… but…

"I'm sorry." Annie said quietly, putting a hand on Dawg's arm, pulling him from his thoughts.

"It… it doesn't matter." Mad Dawg replied with a slight smile. "She's safe, you're safe, I feel like I did okay…"

"If you don't mind me asking… how did you get there?" Annie asked slowly. "Please don't be offended by this, but I need to ask. Are…you…"

"I'm offended." Mad Dawg joked.

"…" Annie bit her lip, unsure if Dawg was serious or not. Dawg blinked, then realized what she was implying.

"Holy… holy crap… you think… you think I look like…"

"Please don't be offended. I-I-I-I was… I was afraid, and you…"

"No, no I understand." Mad Dawg said quietly, rubbing his arm. "Do you still think that?"

"No!" Annie exclaimed. "No! Of course not! Mad Dawg, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that! I didn't mean- ugh…" She sighed. "Let's just drop the subject."

"Look, you're safe. I'm out of there, that's good enough." Mad Dawg nodded in agreement, again feeling good that Annie had made it out of there all right.

"How did someone with so much compassion end up in hell?" Annie asked with a faint smile. "Like, seriously. How did you get here?"

"I… I don't know." Mad Dawg shook his head. "I genuinely don't, and it's kinda annoying… I was a good person, but I did a lot of bad things, but I tried to make up for it…"

"Eh, some people just get fucked over." Annie remarked, the shy, friendly personality seeming to chip away, and a more cynical side becoming clearer. However… Dawg didn't mind. "You can be a good person all your life, and then one mistake, and you're screwed forever. Happened to a friend I made down here. She was a school teacher, had a happy life, great marriage, then her husband cheated on her… it ended badly. Hell, that's why I'm in hell. I got screwed over by my husband, and then screwed myself over more."

"Wait. I thought Imp's were hell-born." Mad Dawg blinked, thinking back to what Lilith had explained to him.

"Well, they are. But sometimes you just get really unlucky…" Annie sighed. "We're literally the bottom of the line down here, and there's no way out…"

"Have you considered the Happy Hotel?" Mad Dawg asked, Annie looked up and then laughed.

"Right. Like they'd help someone was insignificant and worthless as me." She snorted, rolling her eyes.

"They helped me."

"Then why are you here?"

"…shut up." Mad Dawg muttered.

"No, I'm serious. If they were so geared to 'help lost souls like us' why are you here?" She asked, stating the middle part mockingly. Her face made it clear that she wasn't optimistic over the idea of Charlie's 'redemption', and Mad Dawg couldn't blame her…

"I had an argument with Princess Charlotte." Mad Dawg admitted awkwardly. "I think they might be in the wrong, but I'm also beginning to think I'm in the wrong too…"

"Eh, screw em'." Annie shrugged dismissively. "If they weren't willing to put in the work to help you, then you owe them nothing. And if such a genuine sweetheart like you bails on them, wheat kinda chance do I possibly have?"

"YoU hAVe a BeTTeR cHaNCe, SINce yOuR 'FRIEND' diDn'T SCREW YOU oVEr!" Virus spoke up, appearing behind Annie, however, it was only in Dawg's mind.

"He… no. Dust didn't. There had to be-" Mad Dawg began, but trailed off. Why was he trying to make excuses for him? Dust asked him to deliver a letter, Dust sent him to the porno studio, Dust by this line of logic, was responsible. Now… did that mean Dawg wanted to forgive him? No… not particularly, but Dust HAD in some ways been kind to him, helped him get a grip in hell… he needed to think on this later.

"Never mind." Mad Dawg shook his head. "I mean, hey. We're not trapped in a porno studio, so that's a plus!"

"Damn right!" Annie laughed, and they both drank to that. While Dawg drank water, Annie's beer seemed to hit her a bit harder than expected. She wasn't drunk, far from it, but she gave him an amused smile. "Hey, be honest with me… how old are you? Hellhounds can live to be like, twenty thousand years before they hit maturity."

"Uh… fifteen… fifteen or sixteen." Mad Dawg quietly answered, and Annie froze. Mad Dawg looked away awkwardly, then heard a chair scrape across the floor, then felt someone (Annie) hugging his waist. Or at least trying, since she was a small imp and he was a giant mutant hell-beast.

"What are you-"

"You poor thing!" Annie said, trying to hug Dawg with genuine sincerity. "You're so young, and you're down here all alone!? And then they- and you- I'm so sorry!"

Mad Dawg was going to say something, but he let out what sounded like a frightened whimper and a sigh of relief before he finally wrapped his large arms back around Annie. He then realized how much he needed this… He shook slightly, but he knew there was one thing he had to ask.

"Annie. Please. Don't lie to me." He began. "I don't really remember everything that happened up there. I was fuzzy, then I was chained, then I on the floor… then… then I went berserk. Then there was glass and I was running. Please, did I do anything to you?"

"No." Annie replied after what was genuinely some of the most terrifying seconds of Dawg's entire existence. "You grabbed me, and you put a claw to my face but you didn't hurt me. You saved me, Dawg. Don't think about what could've happened. Think about what did."

From a few rooftops away, Delilah couldn't help but smile at their interaction. She was right! He was a good person! But then why didn't her powers work!? Still, the little one's heart was in the right place. Or at least, could easily be steered towards the right place. So, that was something to be happy about, it made her job easier… A cold chill ran down her back as she hissed slightly in agitation. She hated it down here… they were all sinners. Non- She shook her head to clear it, re-focusing on Mad Dawg and smiling warmly again.

About twenty minutes later, Mad Dawg remembered he was technically on the clock, even if he wasn't getting paid.

"I need to get going. My boss is probably wondering what the heck I've been doing all day." Mad Dawg nodded.

"Where do you work?"

"I.M.P."

"Really? The company with that obnoxiously catchy jingle?" Annie asked, and Dawg grinned mischievously.

"If you need someone killed, tell Blitzo what you think of the jingle, you'll probably get 25% off." Dawg laughed, and Annie shook her head. "Stay safe."

"You too, and thank you." Annie smiled as Dawg left the building. Feeling happy, and for the first time in a long time, hopeful.


"Hey. Where the hell were you all day!?" Blitzo demanded as Mad Dawg was waiting by the oven.

"Huh? Oh. Went to get banana bread stuff, then satan's wife came by and wanted to talk to me, and then things got weird." Mad Dawg remarked as he pulled the loaf of banana bread out from the oven.

"…you…you…are you telling me… that YOU. Had sex with Lord lucfier's WIFE!?"

"No! She- ugh. Y'know what? Screw you." Mad Dawg replied irritated, leaving the I.M.P. office and entering the hall to go to… whatever Vanessa Failsafe's place was. Neither Blitzo or Dawg noticed Loona and Vortex by the water cooler. "What the hell is with everyone and sex around here?!" There was something about the way he said it, and how his whole body reacted, that set of an alarm in the female hellhound's head. Blitzo groaned in disgust and annoyance and left, muttering how he wasn't going to pay Dawg for today… despite the fact that he didn't pay him anyways.

"AND DON'T COME BACK UNTIL YOU BRING SOME SORT OF MONETARY VALUE TO THE COMPANY!" Blitzo shouted for no reason other than he was trying to seem like he was in control.

"…okay, there's something seriously wrong with that guy." Vortex remarked.

"He's young. He's only like fifteen or something." Loona remarked. "He's probably just really horny."

"I was talking about your dad." Vortex remarked, and Loona twitched, hating that she had said what she just said. "But yeah, there's something off about that- damn, there's something off about that wolf-thing. He seems… different." The hellhound shrugged indifferently. "Whatever. So long as your boss keeps him outta our business, I could care less."

"Same." Loona shrugged.

"Sup. Here's the banana bread." Mad Dawg said dropping the loaf off and leaving. "I didn't drug it, that'd be a waste of banana bread." Veroskia tried to say something, but Dawg flipped her off. One of the male Succubi (or whatever the heck they were called. I'm too lazy to look in the monster manual) stood before him and grinned wickedly… and then winced in pain when Dawg kneed him in the crotch before throwing him to the side and leaving. The others laughed as Justin growled in agitation. Meanwhile, the shortest of the demons took a bite of the banana bread, half-expecting a dead rat or feces to be baked into it as a middle finger by the over-compensating-on-so-many-levels-Imp…

"Oh… oh…" Milky muttered, looking at something before turning around, stars inexplicably in her eyes. "THIS IS AMAZING!"

"Calm down, Milky. It can't be-" Verosika rolled her eyes, taking a bite of the banana bread and freezing half-way. Her eyes shrunk, then widened almost comically. "Okay. I don't care what kind of depraved favor he asks for. Whatever his price is for more of this bread, we give it to him."

"Hey. What do you guys do to de-stress that doesn't involve any of them?" Mad Dawg asked before pointing to the demons in the other room.

"If you're looking to blow off some steam, there's like an underground fighting ring around here you could go check out. Go to the Crow's Nest and ask for Tyler. Kick some ass or get your ass beat, hell you can make some money if you know what you're doing." Vortex nodded, nonchalantly as Dawg walked back out to the hall. Both hellhounds noticing something was off… but Dawg wasn't gonna talk. Mad Dawg blinked, looking to Vortex with a raised brow, then looked at his hands.

"Okay, cool." Mad Dawg nodded. "Thanks." He then walked out of the hall and into the elevator to leave once more.

"Did he just bail on his job for a second time today?" Vortex blinked.

"Yeah. Blitzo doesn't pay him, and the idiot didn't realize Dawg has zero incentive to do anything for him then. I think the kid stays because he's looking for something to do." Loona dryly remarked, looking to her phone for a moment as silence took over the hallway.

"…you wanna go watch some cage matches?"

"Hell, yes."


"What have you found, Lore-Keeper?" The devil asked as he and his wife entered the archives. Lore-Keeper was going to speak, but bowed his floating head respectfully to Lady Lilith before addressing the king of temptation.

"It… it isn't possible, lord lucifer. But- the one you speak of, the one known as 'Mad Dawg'. He's more than what we thought he was."

"Indeed." The devil nodded. "My wife had surprisingly little luck with him, but he's not a champion of a misguided God, there's something else."

"Yes, my lord. But… I don't know how it's possible, but- well-"

"Out with it, Lore-Keeper."

The ancient librarian sputtered in an attempt to form words, and when the fallen son was going to reprimand him, he was cut off when the Lore-Keeper passed him a folder. A folder with what he had found, studied and the conclusion he had come to. Needless to say, the look of absolute shock on lucifer's face was one of the few ones he had shown in several millennia. All he could do, in a voice that did not match his royal image, was mutter two words quietly.

"Holy shit…"


As he entered, he looked around at the demons, then looked at the cage. It was impressive, clearly built to withstand someone or something being thrown into it. He smirked, knowing this

"Five bucks on me." Mad Dawg replied.

"You know the odds are presently forty-four -to-one, correct?"

"Yeah."

"…your loss." The imp muttered.

Mad Dawg sighed, cracking his neck, thinking about how he was going to do this… then immediately decided screw it, improvise. What he wasn't expecting, was a loud voice to suddenly start screaming.

"H-H-H-HEY FOLKS! W-w-welcome to R-Robo-Fizzarolli's f-f-fight night!" The glitching robot jester laughed. Mad Dawg looked around, then shrugged, walking over to the cage door and nodding to the demon who blinked in surprise, then opened it, letting Mad Dawg enter. "W-W-W-Well, w-w-WHAT do we h-h-have here!? We've got some D-D-DEAD MEAT tonight, folks!"

"AAAAAAGGGHHHH…" Mad Dawg screamed internally. "WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE A ROBOT WITH A DISTORTED VOICE?!"

"W-W-we have t-th-the inf-f-famous Absol! In-infamous for bei-being ab-ab-able to avoid copyright laws f-f-from one of th-the bigg-g-ge-gest media companies up above!" Robo-Fizz continued, and Mad Dawg looked over to the other side of the cage. The demon that stood before Dawg definitely looked more 'human', but that didn't mean much down here. The figure (Dawg couldn't tell if it was a dude, a chick, or someone who didn't identify as either, and he may be in hell, but he wasn't rude) had long white hair in the traditional 'it's-not-a-phase-mom!' style of covering half their face, and a single curved, dark-blue horn.

"Have you dreamt of this moment?" Absol slowly asked.

"…no."

"You haven't had a dream, of absolution?"

"You lived in your parent's basement until you died. Didn't you?" Mad Dawg flatly replied.

"Bah, such insults are beneath me, you are nothing but a rabid mutt brought off of the streets for entertain-" That was as far as Absol got, before Dawg punched him in the face, knocking him back into the cage wall, and began wailing away on him. The crowd stared in shock… except for two.

"Woo! Kick his ass, Dawg!" Loona cheered.

"Damn, that kid has anger issues…" Vortex muttered. The two hellhounds deciding they had nothing better to do, and wanted to see if Dawg actually went through with coming here. If not, hey, they could still watch some cage matches.

"Uh, I don't r-r-recall hitting the bell, but wha-what the hell?!" Robo-Fizz laughed.

Absol screamed in pain when Dawg grabbed him and slammed his face into the cage wall. Again, and again, and again, and again… Finally, the pitiful demon grabbed a knife from somewhere and slashed Dawg across the chest.

"I don't think the match had started." Vortex blinked, genuinely taken aback by Dawg's sudden attack. It wasn't the most vicious thing he had seen, but still, it was kinda impressive. Needless to say, the crowd was now cheering for Absol…

WHAM!

…for all of another ten seconds. See, the more agile demon lacked two things: massive hammer-fists that could potentially crush a man's skull like a sparrow egg, and just generally having had a really, really bad day. Absol flew across the ring and into the wall, Mad Dawg approached, and Absol seemed desperate, pulling out a gun and firing several times into Dawg. Everyone recoiled (as this was totally cheating, and at Robo-Fizzirolli's Fight Night, you followed the rules. All… all two of them.) but, while everyone knew bullets wouldn't kill, they'd just hurt, it still got deathly quiet.

Tinktinktinktink…

"Uhhhhhh…" Even Robo-Fizz was at a loss for words over what just happened.

Now, to everyone's shock (and dismay for betting against the newcomer) the bullets seemed to be forced out of Dawg's body by themselves, and he didn't fall to the ground, he just seemed even more pissed off. He viciously back-handed Absol, then bashed his head into the cage again.

"Holy crap." Loona blinked when she realized something. "Is he-"

CR-R-R-RACK!

Absol screamed in unbelievable agony, as Dawg stuck his hon through the bars, and then wrenched Absol back, snapping his horn off at the stump. There were gasps, boos, and eventually disgusted 'YEAH!' from the audience as Dawg held Absol up and roared victoriously, holding his broken horn in the other.

"W-W-Wow! That was-w-wasn't what I-I-I-I expecccc-expected!" Robo-Fizz laughed as the crowd applauded unsure if they should or not, but also afraid of the giant death beast killing all of them. "But ther-there's one more step! If-if-if-if dead m-m-eat goes through and finishes the job, he'll be walka-walka-walking away a much richer demon! If he can't, then Absol gets the payout! Probably for some super glue!"

"What?" Mad Dawg blinked, confused.

"FINISH HIM!" The robotic jester demanded in a much deeper, more intimidating voice. Mad Dawg blinked, looking to Absol, who was pretty much in shock and unaware of what was happening, and shrugged. With a disgusting sound, Dawg stabbed the horn into Absol's shoulder, pinning him to the wall, and roared once more. As the cage doors opened, Mad Dawg pulled the horn free, letting Absol fall to the ground, and Dawg walked out of the cage.

"The horn'll grow back… eventually." He remarked, feeling pretty good, all things considered.


Baxter ran down the hallways fo the hotel, looking for Charlie. Of course, he had made the mistake of starting on the top floor where his lab was and working his way down… because of course she was on the bottom floor. As he rounded a corner, he could hear Vagatha speaking to her.

"…I know he went there once or twice beforehand, I know he knew the dangers of it, but I don't know why he would willingly go there." Vaggie sighed. "The few I've talked to said he seemed… content. Velvet was apparently his friend or something."

"Aw… no! If she got to him, then they- and he-"

"Princess! I need to speak with you!" Baxter exclaimed.

"Not now, Baxter. We're trying to figure out where Mad Dawg-"

"Yes! Mad Dawg! It's about him!"

"Wait, do you know where he is!?" Charlie asked hopefully.

"Well, no. But there's been something extremely odd about him ever since he got here! I've finally figured it-"

"He's a mutant. We know."

"No! Beyond that!" Baxter exclaimed. "He seemed different like his soul hadn't fully been consumed by hell yet! At first, I assumed he was just resilient, and he hadn't fully given in yet, but I've figured it out! And he's-"

"Baxter, this isn't the time." Vaggie cut in. "Mad Dawg's out there, and we're trying to figure out what exactly happened that drove him away. Dust may have inadvertently gotten him hurt, and he clearly blames him for something, but we need the whole story so I can help him. So I can redee-"

"Ugh! You're not listening! This is much bigger than whatever happened between Dawg and Dust!"

"Okay, Baxter. We know you weren't around for what went down, but Mad Dawg's soul may be in danger now, and I can't live with myself knowing I stood by and let him get killed again." Charlie sighed. "I get you don't really know him, but right now, I'm more concerned with saving his life before he gets exterminated and dies for good."

"No! Don't you get it!?" Baxter full on shouted, pushing Vaggie aside to thrust something in Charlie's face. "Mad Dawg isn't DEAD!"


Oh. Yes. That just happened.

But how?! Why!? What does this mean!?

It's all there… if you know where to look…

If you don't, don't worry. All will be explained!

Also, while normally I'd discuss this over in Ashes From The Trash when this story is over, I wanna bring this up now. No, 'Annie' is not Mrs. Mayberry from the first episode. I thought about going back and retconning it so it was, but that just seemed kinda screwed up. Just before anyone asked the question, wanted to put that out there.