So… I remembered at one point this was kinda supposed to be a musical-fic, hence all the chapter titles being puns on actual songs. So, there's like, six or seven songs in this chapter. Have fun!
"I'm sorry. WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S NOT DEAD?!" Charlie demanded. Only for Baxter to grab her and drag her off, Charlie in turn grabbing Vaggie and dragging her along as well. They didn't stop until they were in Baxter's lab, and he was grabbing stacks of notes.
"Okay, so. When he first got here, Mad Dawg claimed he died by going through some sort of doorway, a teleporter which misfired and killed him." Baxter explained, pointing with a meter stick to notes and chalk drawing on his board. "Now, I could believe that easily enough, science mistakes do kill a lot of us."
"Get to the point!"
"Right, right. Sorry. But he said that it was a doorway. Explicitly said it was a doorway." The fish-demon continued pointing to the corner of the room where a twisted wreckage of metal and wires was tossed. "THAT doorway."
"WHAT!?"
"See, a few days before he arrived at the hotel, I finished that device. It was meant to potentially open a doorway to the lower rings of hell, or it had the slightest chance to open a doorway back to earth!" Baxter continued hurriedly. "And it worked... For about ten seconds.I thought it overloaded and imploded because of a power failure, but I realized where I went wrong! In order to create a doorway to another dimension, there needs to be a two-way connection. Think of it like a phone line, one doorway sends out a signal, and another phone has to answer it!"
"…wait, you're saying that the doorway Dawg went through up on earth, somehow picked up on your doorway…"
"And that's how he got to hell!?" Vaggie cut in, both having a hard time believing what had been said, but… this also kinda made sense. It'd explain how Dawg had his bag, his laptop, mortal possessions that did NOT come with a sinner when they died! Vaggie had assumed Dawg just somehow got extremely lucky…
"Yes!"
"Wait, but how did he become a demon then?" Charlie asked, confused. "He doesn't look like a human, so how come…"
"Well, I have reason to believe that regardless of him being alive or dead, he would be given a 'new form' reflective of who he was when he was alive." Baxter reasoned, everything he was saying making sense.
"Wait… so the little guy is out there, alone, and not even DEAD!?" Charlie asked, her face and tone growing grave as a series of thoughts barreled into her head like a freight train. "He… oh no… he's an unjudged…"
"A what?" Vaggie blinked, and even Baxter seemed confused.
"An unjudged! A soul who isn't supposed to be in hell! If he isn't dead, or didn't get the okay to come down here from above, that means he might be taken out of here. But if that's the case, then another demon could try and take his body and be taken back to Earth!" Charlie explained, the confidence that things would turn out all right from the last few chapters rapidly deteriorating. "Or… or at least, that's how the stories go."
"Miss Charlotte. That's ridiculous." Baxter said flatly. "In order for that to work, the host and victim would need to swap bodies, correct?"
"Y..yes…"
"…Mad Dawg already has as second entity in his body." Baxter finally said after a few moments of silence.
"Charlie, I understand your concern. I really do." Vaggie said, trying to reassure her girlfriend. "And, I'd be lying if I said Mad Dawg will be okay out there. If he's killed, then he's going to hell regardless, and that never gave him a chance to be better. But – look, I don't like this – if he dies, he may have a better chance at being redeemed!"
"Vaggie… please, please, PLEASE tell me you're not saying I should let him get killed!" Charlie practically begged. "If he dies and ends up down here, he'll never see his family again! I can't let that happen! His soul will be destroyed! If this hotel is going to work, then he's exactly what we need! If we can redeem him, then he'll go before God as a changed soul who wasn't even judged!"
"If I may raise a point that may be of concern." Baxter added, getting their attention. "I have never heard of an unjudged soul being in hell, but it most likely is not noticeable unless those around him know he is unjudged. In fact, he may not even know."
"Okay?"
"Right, sorry. *Ahem* My point is, if Dawg truly is unjudged, then there's a fifty-fifty chance that he can or cannot die to regular weapons down here. In fact, the only thing that may be able to kill him would be an Exterminator weapon. From what I know, it doesn't matter if you're judged or not, if you die by one of those, then you're gone."
Vaggie and Charlie realized what this meant.
"Well, today just got a whole lot weirder." Charlie finally sighed, exasperated.
Today suuuuuuccccckkkkeeeeddddddd….
The 29th of November. The worst day of the year for Mad Dawg.
Well, at least he was letting is anger out constructively. And by 'constructively' we mean 'violently'. He had been in a few fights last night, and a few today, and he had a decent win-to-loss ratio, and he had made some cash for I.M.P. which was also good. But Dawg felt free, like he was finally unleashing that pent-up anger he didn't know how to release without hurting someone… okay, without hurting someone who didn't enter a cage match looking for a bloody fight. He may not always win, but those he fought were surprisingly good sports sometimes. Sure, those who won believed they had managed to dethrone the devil himself, but even a few of them were gracious post-fight. Dawg was… content. If he could fight his way through the day, then knock-off, find a gas station and drink his emotions away with four dozen 57 oz. slushies, it'd be an okay day in his books.
But this is Mad Dawg we're talking about. That wasn't gonna happen.
Mad Dawg heard the door open as another combatant entered the ring. By now, 'Dead Meat' had become his unofficial name, but he kinda liked it, he could roll with it. He thought it was better than 'Beast' or 'Hellhound' or something else like that. But the demon that entered… unsettled Dawg. Heck, the demon that entered seemed to be giving him an appraising look. Dawg knew he had met this demon before, but where? It couldn't be with Molly, and he wasn't at the hotel, he honestly looked like one of- Oh no.
"Wait a second… I know you!" The demon stated, and Dawg's eyes widened in shock as he laughed. "Holy damn… Mr. Valentino was wonderin' where you ran off to!" Mad Dawg growled, not saying anything as the enforcer just laughed. "Y'know… it's really unprofessional of you to run out on a shoot like that, especially when you were there to cover for someone else. It's even more unprofessional to attack your superiors."
"All I hear are the pathetic squawking of a third-rate c**-guzzler." Mad Dawg snarled, unsheathing his claws. The Enforcer scowled at that, clearly not liking the insult. "Now… why don't you go back home and keep eating whatever comes out of Val's ass? The grown-ups are in the middle of something here."
"You've got a real mouth on you…" The Enforcer muttered, then ran forward. Mad Dawg snarled and lurched forward with his claws ready to rip him apart.
But this fight was different. It was probably the most taxing fight Dawg had been in yet… Val's Enforcer (Dawg didn't care enough to learn or remember his name) was fast, and seemed to be able to predict where Dawg was coming from. He also hit a lot harder than he expected. Mad Dawg's head snapped to the side as he was kicked into the wall. The mutant snarled and dashed forward, trying to fake a low sweep to go for a high attack, but was caught half-way through and slammed back into the ground. His foot on Dawg's throat kept him pinned, but he yelled in anger and pain when Dawg clawed the back of his leg. However, when Dawg got back up, a punch to the side of the head came in from the left, knocking him into the wall as the crowd cheered.
"I'll beat you until you beg like the mutt you are… I'll drag you back in chains, and we'll find that little imp…" The Enforcer continued, forcing Dawg to his knees and then stimping on the back of his head, forcing him into the ground. "…and then we'll make you do what your job was. And then, we'll do our job. You're nothing but a freak of nature, and you're gonna spend the rest of your eternity doing what we ask of you. You're not a sinner, you're not a person, you're a slave."
Something… snapped.
Really, he didn't know how else to put it. But something deep in Mad Dawg's core… snapped. It was like when he was in the studio that one time. That anger, that blinding hatred. The fury that was so powerful, he felt like even the Angels above would take a step back and let him enact his revenge. But this wasn't just anger for him. This was anger for Annie. They threatened her… they threatened him… if he left here alive, Val would find out the truth. But y'know what? If Val found out the truth, so be it. Dawg'd fight to freedom again, and he'd be sure to kill Val this time. And make him SCREAM.
Just like he was gonna do now…
From deep within, he felt something clawing, roaring, it felt primal, it felt, well, demonic. It felt like a fire that would hurt him the moment he touched it, but the pain felt GOOD. It felt like a pain he wanted more of…
"yEs! gO fOR iT!" Virus cheered form the sidelines. "SHoW tHeM wHAt YoU ReaLLy ArE!"
"I'LL…KILL...YOU!"
To the genuine horror of everyone. Mad Dawg roared as spikes punched through his back. With a vicious backhand, Val's enforcer was slammed into the cage wall so aggressively he felt several bones crack. Mad Dawg snarled, seemingly losing all control over his mind as his body kept changing, his arms getting bigger and his cat-o'-nine-tails-tail forming, followed up by the sickening tendrils beginning to float behind him.
"No… no this…" The Enforcer weakly muttered when he saw what stood before him. "You… you can't be-!"
Maybe Robo-Fizz was laughing, or making jokes, but Mad Dawg had been having a really bad day as it was. Now, he was just… apathetic. His anger became nothing but a ringing in his ears, the rest of the world was on mute. Deciding he had had enough of this, he attacked. Four massive, jagged claw marks permanently dug into the Enforcer's chest, making him scream in pain as Dawg's tail came in, impaling him through the leg. Dawg ran around the cage, mercilessly dragging the Enforcer behind him, dragging him across the cage walls, leaving a long trail of blood on the walls. The next thing he knew, he was forced into a wall with such force, the corners welded together began to crack, the cage threatening to tear itself apart.
"What the hell are you!?" The Enforcer screamed.
"PISSED." Was the one-word response the monster snarled in response. The tendrils whipped to life and shot forward. The tendrils punched through skin and bone, impaling him through the arms, legs and torso, wrapping themselves around his body, and then pulling back, ripping an uncomfortable amount of skin off as they did so.
"KiLl HiM! MaKE hIm SCrEaM! YoU cAN dO iT! YOu FEEl gREaT! YoU cAn dO ThiS!" Virus was cheering from the sidelines, and for the first time… ever, his words felt nice. Slowly approaching the bleeding demon, the Enforcer pitifully looked up.
"All right! All right! You win! I'm sorry! Please, just let me go!" The Enforcer begged, but was grabbed by one of Dawg's paw-hands, the claws digging in deep as he was slammed back into a wall again, the crows going wild.
"Did you let me go?" The deep growl came in response, Dawg's teeth feeling weird as they began to glow. "Did you show mercy to me?"
The Enforcer screamed as Dawg bit into his neck, and pulled back, his glowing fangs ripping the throat clean out, as well as a massive layer of skin, peeling away to the muscles. With a wet slap, the body fell to the ground, and Mad Dawg roared animalisticly. The entire room was dead silent, horror overtaking the adrenaline as they realized that… whatever the hell was in that cage, had some sort of Exterminator weapon.
"HO-LY FIZZA-ROLI!" Robo-Fizz shouted in utter disbelief. "T-th-that was one HEL-L-L-L of a fight-t! Let's all g-g-give it up for our newest war-r-rior… uh… hang on. What was your name?"
Mad Dawg looked up, not saying anything for a few moments. Truly, he wasn't sure what to say… he didn't have a name for this… thing. Frankly he wasn't sure he wanted one, he didn't want to get used to this. But-
"You're in hell. WHO CARES!?" He shouted at himself. "This is your body, your gift! If you want to survive, then having it both ways won't fly!"
"…I just…you know what today is…"
"Right. I'm sorry."
"Nekro-Lycan!" Someone shouted from the stands.
"Huh?!" Mad Dawg looked around. What was Loona doing here!? "Nekrolycan?"
"GIVE IT U-U-UP FOR THE FURIOUSLY FURRY FANGED FREAKSHOW… NEKRO-LYCAN!" Robo-Fizz declared, and the audience went wild. Most of them had been betting on Dawg to win, since he had been doing all right. But if there were one thing demons down here cared for more than money, it was carnage. And boy, oh boy, did they get that!
What no-one, especially Mad Dawg, saw, was the shadow disappearing from the Enforcer's body, releasing the now-exterminated demon from its control, and slunk away with what it had witnessed… from the corner of the ring, a demon stood in the shadows, grinning sadistically.
"My, this is FAR more interesting than I EVER could've imagined… Perhaps… something a little more… personal. Next time…"
"Yo, Dawg! Wait up!" Loona called. Dawg paused and let Vortex and Loona catch up.
"Uh… how much of that did you see?"
"All of it." They said at the same time. There was silence, then Vortex spoke up. "Hey, kid. Are you mad at us for being ther?"
"Why would I be mad? It's not like this is some secret family I have. I'm beating up demons in a cage, big deal." Mad Dawg shrugged. "I'm just… ugh. I'm tired…" He remarked as the trio walked off.
"So… how long have you been able to do that? Y'know… change into a monster." Vortex asked. Mad Dawg looked up at him, but it didn't look intimidating, it seemed… tired.
"I dunno. Only a year or two." He shrugged, his response making both Hellhounds pause and look to one another. "I don't know why it happened when I was human, but I've been able to do that for a bit. It was only a few weeks ago when… that thing happened for the first time."
"Wait. You mean that spiked, knife-tail beast thing isn't what you normally turn into?" Loona asked, surprised.
"Yeah. Normally I turn into something kinda like this." Dawg remarked, motioning to his body. "But ever since that crap with Val…"
"Actually, that reminds me. What the hell was he on about, you knowing Valentino?!" Loona demanded. Mad Dawg turned around angered, but his eyes were hurt, and Loona took one look at them, and something clicked.
"Oh… oh, shit… Mad Dawg. You-"
"I don't wanna talk about it." Mad Dawg growled, pulling free and walking off.
"…well, that explains why Veroskia couldn't affect him that much…" Vortex mused. "Poor bastard…"
They watched Dawg walk off, then caught up regardless. There were a lot of things on Dawg's mind, and this morning hadn't really helped things.
"Another question. What does it feel like?"
"What?"
"When you change, what does it feel like?" Vortex asked.
"Oh, man… it hurts!" Mad Dawg groaned dramatically. "See, when I was human, every bone in my body had to break, my legs had to snap in more than one place so it could grow and change. But I swear to you, the most painful part is the head. Like, my skull has to crack and reform, pushing outwards! That hurts like hell!"
Dawg didn't know why he was talking about this… but he also didn't much care. It was just a casual conversation, it felt nice, y'know? The kinda conversation he'd have while Luna played some music and the others hung around a campfire where he told horror stories.
"I miss my guitar…" Mad Dawg muttered, having left it behind at the Hazbin Hotel. Sure, he wasn't great at playing, but it was his. And it was given to him by a friend.
When they returned, Mad Dawg could hear another… 'meeting' going on.
"…where he is, sir." Millie's voice spoke up.
"Ugh. Fine. Whatever. That's fine! Great even! Saves me the trouble of telling him he's fired to his face!" Blitzo groaned, accidentally destroying another phone. "UUUGGGHHH… add that to the list of costs we can't afford…"
"Sir, hasn't Mad Dawg been working for free? Why would you fire him for being late, once?"
"Because it's a matter of principle, Moxxie!" Blitzo declared, clearly agitated over something else and using Dawg as an excuse to vent. "He was once a cornerstone of our company, and now, I wouldn't piss in his general-"
Tmp
The three Imp-migos all stared slack-jawed at the bag of money on the table.
"…where did you get that?" Blitzo asked in disbelief, being the first to recover from shock, then returned to shock.
"I earned it." Dawg remarked, and the Imps turned to him. "For the company."
"How."
"Huh?"
"What… what did you do?" Millie asked, taking over for Blitzo. "Mad Dawg, we can't ask ya to be… well… ugh, how do I put this?"
"I won it cage fighting." Mad Dawg cut her off.
"Oh! Is that all?" Millie laughed, seeming relieved. "Never mind, then!"
"What'd I tell you!? Essential cornerstone!" Blitzo cheered. Normally Moxxie would correct him, or argue with him… but he decided to ignore that for now.
"Yeah. I sleep now." Mad Dawg said, flopping down on the couch and being out within a few moments. The Imps were celebrating their newfound wealth (and the fact they could actually pay their bills ahead of their due date for once!) while Loona cast a glance to the sleeping Dawg. She had a feeling what he had told her he didn't want everyone knowing. But the issue was, she had a bunch of questions now! However, knowing her Dad, things would just get much, much, MUCH worse if he knew about Dawg's 'abilities'.
"Crap. Vortex." Loona blinked, realizing the hellhound had also seen… everything. Still, he had commented he didn't much care about his Bosses' beef, so she decided to hope that he wouldn't bring this up in a way that would result in all of them getting exterminated. She had reason to believe they'd be good, for now.
When Dawg woke up, he realized there were two new figures in the office. One of them looked really familiar, and the other one seemed like someone he had met, but hadn't met.
Loona meanwhile, was growing agitated as Blitzo seemed to backtrack on the agreement that she and some of her friends could go out tonight. Loona didn't have many (if any) friends, but if there was one thing that actually wasn't too bad about her father's odd… 'relationship' with the Demon Prince, was that Loona had met Octavia, and despite some awkward (and somewhat cold) first meetings, they really hit it off. Loona's abrasiveness seemed to balance Octavia's cold dismissiveness, and they both bonded over booze, idiotic father figures, and a general disdain for everything around them. In time, they became genuine friends, and Loona was introduced to another daughter of royalty, Helsa Von Eldritch. Daughter of… Loona forgot. She was probably the most level-headed of the trio (until she had a few drinks)
"Urrghhh…" Mad Dawg moaned as he blinked, staring up at the ceiling.
"…look, I don't know if I'm okay with you three going out on your own! Hell is a dangerous place, Loony. And I don't want you-"
"We're bringing Mad Dawg as protection." Loona cut him off.
"What?" Stolas asked in confusion, not knowing who that was.
"What." Blitzo blinked.
"What." Mad Dawg growled, leaning up from the couch and finally making his presence known. He blinked in confusion, then raised a brow when he saw Octavia. "Hey… have we met?"
"Y..yeah, at the Harvest Festival."
"Riiiight… yeah! At the docks or whatever those things were." Mad Dawg muttered, remembering a few weeks (he wasn't sure how long, really) back.
"Yeah, he's coming to make sure things don't go bad." Loona lied.
"I don't believe we've met. How long has he been here?" Stolas asked, genuinely curious.
"Uh, like a week. Your majesty." Mad Dawg muttered pulling himself up and pulling on his jean jacket. He hadn't met Lord Stolas in-Owl yet, but he knew this dude was royalty so… time to act! "Blitzo needed extra muscle, so he hired me." Dawg lied.
"Oh, Blitzy… if it was muscle you wanted, you only had to ask…" Stolas said with a purr, this making Mad Dawg remember something, and immediately telling him to GTFO.
"Yeah, him." Octavia nodded, clearly uncertain about this. "He's coming with us…"
"…fine." Mad Dawg sighed. "Sure. Yeah. Whatever. Let's roll." He groaned as he pulled himself up and followed after Loona and Octavia, pausing to pick up his crossbow and affix it to his arm, before debating if he needed his chainsaw or shotgun, but decided the arm-mounted crossbow was enough. He noticed Blitzo's ' !' look on his face, but Dawg was already gone, going down in the elevator with the two demoness'. "So… what the heck are we doing?"
"Eh, gonna get some drinks, hit a few clubs." Loona shrugged.
"Mm." Mad Dawg muttered in response, seeming very off.
The trio left the building and jumped into the car being driven by Helsa Von Eldritch. Mad Dawg had zero clue who she was, but she was a green-skinned… octopus? Squid? Fish. Fish demon.
"Oh, hello." She said. "I didn't know you had a brother, Loona."
"I don't. He's new meat Blitzo hired… for some reason." Loona remarked, taking shotgun. "I told him he was coming as protection… it's not like we haven't done this a dozen times already…" She muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Mm." Was muttered. Helsa blinked, then shrugged indifferently. If he was here to act as a bodyguard, then he was here to be a bodyguard. The car drove off towards the outskirts of IMP City, before continuing on towards a section Mad Dawg had never seen. It looked a lot like… well, for lack of a better example, Miami! Sure, there weren't any beaches, but there were bars, stores, shops, bars, clubs, bars, and, oh yeah. Bars. There were also neon lights everywhere, signs all fighting for attention, and they were doing their job as Dawg was looking all over, taking everything in.
"All right! Let's go!" Helsa exclaimed, clearly looking forward to tonight as she parked. Dawg jumped out, and swung his arm, opening his crossbow to its 'ready' position, and ensured it was loaded. Yup. All good! Swinging his arm again, it returned to its folded-in form.
"So… where to first?" Mad Dawg asked.
"Your choice." Loona said.
"Aw, seriously?" Mad Dawg muttered. "I don't even know where we are! Ugh… hang on…" He muttered and walked on ahead, taking inventory of where everything was. While he did, Octavia turned to Loona.
"He seems a lot different then you were making him out to be." Octavia frowned. "Like, he's such a damn bummer. Why'd you bring him again?"
"Look, he's never been like this until today." Loona said defensively. "He's usually a lot more like Blitzo, just not as annoying."
"Why today?" Helsa asked. "I know nothing about him, BTW."
"I can't say." Loona shook her head again. "And not because of some sort of promise. He hasn't told me."
"…okay. Let's get him drunk." Helsa shrugged.
"I think he's a minor, actually."
"What!?" Helsa exclaimed, doing a double-take. "He… I thought he was twenty-five!"
"No, he's like, fifteen, sixteen." Loona shook her head. "It changes nothing though, let's get was-"
"Hey! I found a place!" Mad Dawg called. The others walked over to the place Dawg had chosen.
"Hm. Djinn's House. Interesting." Helsa remarked. "It's one of the older clubs down here in all of hell."
"Oh, sorry, I wasn't looking for some worn-out-."
"No, no, no. It's very modern. Just thought that little tidbit of history concerning it was interesting."
"Uh, yeah. It is." Mad Dawg said awkwardly, not sure what else to say.
Inside, it was kinda what Dawg was expecting, aside from the overall layout. Sure, the place was big, neon lights, booming base, demons both on and selling every kind of drug imaginable (even one called 'Love') and overall just a massive danger for anyone epileptic. But it was the two set of stairs that curved upwards to the second level that caught Dawg off-guard. At the top was the second floor, and on essentially a balcony was the Dj.
"Now what?" Dawg asked, not used to being in a night club with someone who wasn't Don Kim or Lúcio.
"Let's go."
Mad Dawg felt weird, he wasn't one for big crowds to begin with, and he didn't really know how to dance, especially in this form. Not to mention, it felt like there was a chain around his neck, and if he did anything wrong, it'd tighten and choke him out. So that wasn't helping…
Now, he was chilling near the edge of the dance floor, this being so different from the type of dancing he was used too…
"First time in a club?" Octavia asked as she walked up. Over the loud music, Dawg was thankful for his enhanced hearing.
"Down here, yeah." Mad Dawg nodded. "Trying to figure out how I blend in."
"That's what everyone's doing." Octavia admitted.
"Mm." Mad Dawg nodded.
"Oh yeah, sorry to drop all that crap on you at the Harvest Festival." Octavia remarked awkwardly. "I honestly didn't think you were gonna say anything."
"Well, I happen to be a master at not knowing when to shut the hell up." Mad Dawg said with mock pride, warning a scoff from the Owl-demon. "Honestly, I don't know why I responded, I thought you were being sarcastic."
"I was…"
"Oh. Uh. My bad." Mad Dawg coughed.
"But seriously, thanks for not being a freak about it."
"Mm."
Not long after that, the group found a table and sat down, ordering some food, Mad Dawg was still looking around the place, taking it all in.
"Looks great, doesn't it?" Helsa asked.
"Mm."
"…Uh…you uh, you been to places like this a lot? Both above and below? You like partying down here?"
"Mm."
"Okay, look. I'm just gonna say it. You seem really unhappy, what's wrong?" Octavia asked. Mad Dawg bit his lip and growled something inaudible before looking to her.
"Today… today is, or was… my birthday."
"Holy shit! Dawg! Why didn't you say something!?" Loona demanded. "We would've been SO wasted by now!"
"Because my birthdays have always sucked, and I really don't care for it? Because every single one has either been a reminder of nothing but pain, heart break, abandonment issues, and intentions which I REALLY don't wanna think about anymore?" Mad Dawg shrugged, before taking a sip from his drink, not making eye contact. Octavia looked to Loona, who seemed as surprised as she was. Even Helsa was taken aback by both Dawg's statement, and his complete and total indifference to his birthday.
"…yeah…but…" Octavia muttered.
"Oof. Buzzkill." Loona muttered, earning an annoyed glance from Mad Dawg, but he couldn't say she was wrong.
"I'm sorry. Every year until now, I've ignored it, just slept through the day and hoped no one would find out."
"My mom literally tortured me and tried to kill me." Mad Dawg snarled. "So, yeah. I think I have SOME reason to be a little upset over that!"
"Dawg, you're seventeen. This mama drama's got to go." Loona stated bluntly as some punk rock music played in the background. "You say you've longed for true affection, but you're always hung up on a corpse!"
"Hey, I'm-"
"Look, you can stay with the dead, we're joining the living! If you spend the rest of your afterlife, sulking over your Ex-Mama's death, then she WON. Get over it!"
Dawg snarled in agitation at Loona's words. He hated that she was right! But… he couldn't. He was angry, he was still so full of hate…
"DoN't EvER fOrGEt…" Virus whispered in his ear.
"I'm… I'm sixteen…" Mad Dawg said in barely a whisper. Honestly, he didn't know, so he decided to just accept this as his age.
"Dawg. If you hate your birthday, that's fine. Whatever. But if you keep shutting down like this, then you're just closing yourself off from ever making it better. So, what if you were made into a monster?! Spend your birthdays going nuts with friends! Build better memories!" Mad Dawg was quiet, thinking over the Owl-demon's words. "I mean… if you want, we can help."
"Aw… Screw it!" Mad Dawg muttered, suddenly grabbing the bottle of apple whiskey and downing the entire thing in seconds. The sour and sweet apple whiskey burned, but felt so good at the same time… Alcohol didn't hit him right away, and he'd probably regret this later… but who cared? He decided to give it a shot. Tonight, he'd just live for himself, live for fun! His birthday this year would be a mess… but it'd be a mess with these three!
"Yes!" Loona cheered. Slamming the bottle down, Mad Dawg belched audibly and flipped everyone off.
"Beat that!" He declared. Helsa ordered a drink that was nearly 100% pure alcohol, which was meant to be sipped over an hour or so… and downed it in one shot. Her face reddened like the sun and she began coughing violently, while everyone else laughed.
"Let's have some fun!" Mad Dawg declared, and the others cheered. It was as if some sort of song-genie overheard them, as what sounded like a techno-pop-guitar song began playing.
"I love this song!" Octavia exclaimed.
"Hang on… is this… Yeah! I know this song!" Mad Dawg said in realization. "Oh, this is gonna be awesome!"
I feel your heart beat to the beat of the drums! Oh, what a shame that you came here with someone~ so let's make the most of the night like we're gonna-
"Die young!" Everyone chorused, downing drinks, and setting off to really live it up! Ten minutes later, they found themselves being kicked out of the first club due to horrific karaoke singing, the group decided to head onto the next club. Another round of drinks, songs and laughs, and Mad Dawg felt relaxed, he found himself enjoying this. The others seemed to be loving it as well, they were on the dance floor, then onto the bar, then back to the dance floor.
"Hey! Big guy! What's the price for the little one?" A demon drunkenly cat called as he passed their table, and Octavia bristled in disgust. Loona scoffed, and Mad Dawg snarled. Helsa just smirked.
"Hey, Dawg? Kick his ass." Helsa ordered.
"BEGONE… THOT!" Mad Dawg declared, back-handing the vulgar demon and sending him flying across the club, crashing into a wall, then falling into a garbage can. Needless to say, it wasn't what the small group had expected.
"Holy crap… That was awesome!" Octavia laughed.
"No one treats a lady like that. Especially the daughter of an overlord." Mad Dawg snarled.
"Simp." Loona snarked.
"You wanna find out what flying is like?" Dawg asked, there was anger in his tone, but it was clearly joking anger. "…oh, crap. We should go!"
Laughing, Mad Dawg pulled Helsa, Octavia and Loona out as security approached them. They burst through the door and ran down the strip, laughing all the while.
"Oh, that was amazing!" Loona laughed as they came to a stop. "He just FLEW across the club!"
"Hey, hold up. Hold up. Everyone good?" Mad dawg asked, looking the trio over. "No one got hurt or anything?"
"Wait, why are you asking?"
"I'm your bodyguard." Mad Dawg shrugged. "It's my job to ensure you're all okay."
"D'aww! That's so cute!" Helsa cooed, reaching up and pinching Dawg's cheek jokingly. To everyone's surprise, Mad Dawg looked away, embarrassed. "All right, widdle guy. It's your spwecial day. Your choice on where we go next."
"I'm… I'm not little! Please DO NOT talk to me like that!" Mad Dawg said, annoyed. Which of course, the three demons realized would be something they could use to annoy him. Looking around Dawgs' eyes widened and he grinned. "There!"
"Munchies Frozen Yogurt?" Octavia asked, then grinned. "Yes! I love that stuff!"
"Allow me to guide the-" Mad Dawg began, but Loona pushed him into a garbage can, the hellhound flipping him off and laughing. Mad Dawg rolled his eyes and followed after them. When they got there, Dawg was going through the flavours, until Loona pointed to one, and Dawg knew he had to take it. Birthday cake.
Later that night, for some reason, Helsa agreed to let Mad Dawg drive. As he revved the engine, he decided to try something stupid and drove off at top speed. As he drove, Loona turned on the radio.
Hey, bitch
"Hi!" Mad Dawg said with a wave.
Do you really, really, really wanna go hard?
Go in the crib
Steal your stepfather's credit card
And take the car
Do circles in the parking lot
Dawg grabbed the wheel and the car swerved into the next lane, cars blaring horns and people cursing audibly as Dawg laughed. Helsa passed him a bottle of whiskey and he downed another drink. Octavia was a bit frightened by the sudden speed, but realized Dawg knew what he was doing, or was faking it really well, and threw her arms up, laughing.
Scream at the top of our lungs like la la la
La la la la la la la la la la
We on that la la la la la la la la la la
Drifting around a corner, Mad Dawg stomped on the gas, swerving back-and-forth between vehicles, flipping off a number of them with reckless abode. To everyone's surprise, Dawg didn't even scratch… any of the cars!
"I'LL SEE YOU IN HECK COPPERS!" Mad Dawg yelled, continuing his reckless driving.
"We're in hell!"
"Oh."
This should go without saying, but kids, please do not try this at home.
Performing a perfect 360 drift, Mad Dawg perfectly parallel parked the car, the trio of demonesses staring in amazement at Dawg.
"Wow. I didn't know I could drive!" Mad Dawg said aloud.
"Ahahahahaha…pleasedonteverdriveagain…" Helsa moaned.
Ten minutes later, they were back on the road, and Dawg was standing in the backseat, playing air guitar to the radio. An incoming street sign approached and Dawg limboed under it.
"Ha! How was tha-"
WHAM!
Mad Dawg was hit by a low-hanging sign which read 'watch your head' and was knocked face-first onto the back of the car. The girls blinked and looked back to Dawg, who wasn't moving.
"Dawg?" Loona finally asked.
"Ow…" Mad Dawg groaned as he pulled himself up. "I shouldn't drive no more…"
Later, the gourp of four were walking up some stairs when Ma dDawg paused and pulled something from his jean jacket.
"…hold on." Helsa said, stopping Mad Dawg. "You have a tape player?!"
"Yeah." Dawg shrugged, it was his turn to choose what to do, and he told them to 'Follow me'. "I like them better than digital." He dug for a moment, then pulled a tape out from his jacket. "Yeah, my family used to make me these tapes all the time." Mad Dawg smiled, looking at the Legacy Mix Sitara had made for him when he was little. Currently, he only had volumes 1, 4, and 8 (four being his favourite). He put it in the player and started it up. A techno beat began playing as he sighed contently.
"Hudson Mohawke, Play-N-Go." Mad Dawg remarked. "One of my all-time favourite songs! C'mon! Let's walk the city!"
Only now did everyone realize where Dawg had led them… up to the top of the building, and out onto the roof.
"Holy… holy crap…" Loona muttered, swaying slightly when she made the mistake of looking down, seeing the dozens fo floors to the ground and then realizing how high up they were.
"What? You're afraid of heights?" Mad Dawg asked, surprised.
"Uh, yeah. Kinda." Loona growled. "I also drank a lot."
"That's on you." Mad Dawg laughed. "So, did I. And I'm-" Dawg did a backflip on the edge of the building. "Fine!"
"I… look, I'm…" Helsa mumbled, feeling her legs grow weak. Mad Dawg stopped and looked back at her.
"You, too?"
"Shut up!"
"Octavia?"
"Pfft! I'm fine." She remarked. "Unlike these cowards."
"'Tavia. I will slap you!" Loona threatened, only to suddenly be picked up in one arm by Mad Dawg.
"Whoa what are-" Loona began, but felt Dawg's fur and immediately went silent. "Yo. This is so soft…"
"OhmygoshIwantacoatmadeoutofthis." Helsa said quietly as she sat in Dawg's other arm.
"It can't be that-" Octavia began, but blinked when she got a feel of it. "Okay, wow. That's pretty soft." She paused for a moment, then said. "Actually, I'm scared of heights too."
"C'mon." Mad Dawg laughed. "Let's walk the city!"
As the group walked (or sat in Dawgs' arms) Mad Dawg felt a sense of happiness he hadn't felt… since he was home! Sure, rooftop running in Royal Woods was fun and all, but this! Walking the city with other people? It took him right back to when he was little. Before he knew what he was, before Overwatch and Talon, before Virus, before… before Mad Dawg! Back when he was a little boy, following Marcus as the older man showed him some techniques for running from roof-to-roof. How they went from coffee houses to schools, then up to apartment buildings. He remembered the terror, the fear, how he froze the first time he looked down, but then how he looked at Marcus, and jumped. The feeling of flying, falling, and then landing… it couldn't be explained, but it meant EVERYTHING to Mad Dawg.
And now? Here he was, walking the night skies of… whatever part of hell he was in, with three of his friends. Yeah, he considered them friends. That only added to the joy, the sense of freedom, the sense of belonging... except, this time, he wasn't the student. He was the master.
"I need you two to hang on. And DO NOT LET GO." Mad Dawg ordered, looking to the next rooftop.
"Whoa! No! No! No! No! No! No! NOOOOOO!" Helsa protested, but gripped onto Dawg so tightly she thought she'd pull the skin off of his arm as he ran and jumped, flying across the gap, Mad Dawg panicked for a moment, then made a dumb choice. He threw Helsa.
The fish demoness landed roughly, but was fine. Mad Dawg scowled and drove his free hand into the wall, digging in deeply and stopping himself from falling further. He tossed Loona up onto the roof, then climbed up himself. Laughing, he turned back to Octavia.
"Your turn!"
"NO WAY!" Octavia shouted. "NO! No chance!"
"I thought heights didn't bother you!"
"Dawg! This is suicide!"
"Princess Octavia, I swear on my claimed soul, I will not let you fall." Mad Dawg said in a very serious tone. Octavia groaned, going further back, and then running full-tilt. She launched herself upwards, and…
"Uh-oh." Dawg realized something at the last-WHUMP!
Mad Dawg was knocked onto his back as Octavia crashed into him, grabbing onto his fur reflexively.
"Well… good job!" Dawg awkwardly laughed.
Another hour or so later, they were leaving another bar, and this time, Octavia, Loona and Helsa had gotten drunk. Things were getting a little… weird, to Mad Dawg at least…
"C'mon Dawggy… it's your birthday!" Octavia slurred. "It'll be fun! It's my gift to you!"
"Octavia. Stop." Mad Dawg said quietly, gently setting the owl demon down on the car seat. However, his words didn't seem to have any effect on the Owl.
"C'moooonnnnnnn… It'll be fuuunnn!" Octavia laughed, wrapping an arm around Mad Dawg, who looked her dead in the eyes.
"It wouldn't be right." Mad Dawg said firmly. He looked around, then picked up some of the 'Holy Water' he bought (which in reality was just a way to immediately cure hangovers, but still) and splashed Octavia with it.
"Gah! What the hell!?" She sputtered, flailing about as she tried to get up.
"Sorry, you got a bit drunk, you asked for us to snap you out of it." Mad Dawg remarked as Helsa and Loona drank as well, bringing them back to reality.
"Oh. Uh. Thanks." She blinked. "Ugh, I need new clothes…"
"Wanna go get some?" Dawg asked, looking over to the large mall down the road, and the three women looked to him in surprise.
"Hold on. You WANT to go clothes shopping with a bunch of women?" Helsa asked, trying to make sure what Dawg was saying was true.
"Sure! I'm just having a good time hangin' out with you guys." Mad Dawg shrugged.
Clothes Montage… (IDK, imagine it for yourself)
"Hey kids. Wanna buy a watch?" Mad Dawg asked, his voice low as he opened a trench coat he was trying on. It earned a snort form Loona and Octavia tired not to laugh. He didn't think he'd wear it though, so he put it back, looking for a good hoodie… A few rows over, Helsa pushed a few tops to the side, and was taken aback by who was on the other side of the rack.
"Hang on… V?!" Helsa exclaimed, surprised.
"Helsa?!"
"It is you! Oh my gosh!"
"Oh, I haven't seen you in ages! How have you been!?"
"Ah, same as always. Still working with the two V's, y'know, y'know. What are you doing out here?"
"I'm here with Octavia and two others." Helsa shrugged. "We've been out all night. It's been awesome!"
"Have I met the other two?"
"You will in ten seconds. C'mon!" Helsa laughed, leading her friend back to the others. Loona was on her phone, Dawg had his back turned, and Octavia was looking at a jacket. "Hey, Dawg. This is a friend of mine. Her name's Velvet!"
Mad Dawg dropped the trench coat he was holding, his mouth turning to a bloodthirsty snarl and his claws extending. Both Loona and Octavia blinked, looking to Dawg, then to Velvet.
"It can't be her. It can't be her! It can't be HER!" Mad Dawg mentally screamed as he turned around.
But it was.
"Wait, Mad Dawg… do I- ohh…" Velvet began dismissively, but then her eyes widened when she realized something. Dawg wasn't drugged up, he was much larger than her, and he was very, so unspeakably angry… "Uh… hi?"
"You have two seconds to run. Then you die." Dawg snarled, swinging his arm and opening his crossbow.
"WHOA! Dawg! Calm down, dude!" Loona exclaimed, getting between the angry hound-thing and Velvet, who was now realizing that she was in a lot of trouble. Sure, if Dawg so much as laid a finger on her, he'd be hunted down by the full might of Valentino's forces. But, he was some sort of demon with built-in exterminator weapons. So that knowledge that he'd be hunted down didn't mean a lot.
"Fuck. Her." Mad Dawg snarled, his teeth baring and slightly glowing as Velvet blinked and took a step back. "There ain't a chance in hell I'm her leave alive!"
"Whoa. Uh, what happened?" Octavia asked, looking from Mad Dawg, to Velvet and then back to Dawg. "Is she your ex or something?"
"SHE stood by as I was FORCED at GUN POINT-" Mad Dawg scowled, unable to finish his thought. His eyes changing colour as he clawed at his arm, tearing a chunk of flesh off as he did so. "So, give me one good reason not to rip her apart!"
"It'd stain the floors." Loona flatly replied. She didn't show it, but she felt tense. She hadn't seen Mad Dawg angry before, and his glowing teeth gave her bad vibes.
"Look, what Vally wanted you to do, and what I want to do are different things." Velvet said flatly, not that intimidated by Dawg's threat. "If you wanna come at me, fine. If you wanna keep going around town with us, fine. But don't think I'm the one who brought you to that studio in the first place."
"YES, YOU DID! IT WAS ENTIRELY YOU!" Mad Dawg outright yelled, Velvet taking a step back as she began to debate running or fighting. After a few angered breaths, Mad Dawg sighed. "But whatever. If Helsa's asking you to join, cool."
"We are literally forcing Dawg to be kind to one of his abusers. This is so wrong…" Loona mentally muttered, unsure of what to do. Millie would suggest stabbing and sprinting, Moxxie would suggest diplomacy or a sniper rifle, and Blitzo… would make things so much worse.
"He cannot be this stupid." Velvet blinked, taken aback by Dawg's literal 180 shift.
Oh, Dawg didn't forgive her. Not a chance! But that wasn't an excuse to be an asshole to her. At least, not when Loona and the others were around. But if they ended up alone, Dawg was gonna shove his crossbow down her throat and open it.
The next little bit was… awkward. Dawg didn't say much, tending to keep to the back, or side, of the group. He wasn't stupid. He knew attacking Velvet was suicide, and there really wasn't anything he could do to her without it coming and biting him in the ass later. So, he decided to play nice and ignore her. She (infuriatingly) had mimicked the teasing the others were throwing towards Dawg, and he nearly bit her hand off when she touched his face as a joke. Needless to say, the group needed a distraction, and hopefully something they all enjoyed.
"Hey, is that Move Groove Revolution?" Octavia asked, noticing an arcade not too far away.
"Yo! It is!" Loona laughed. "I haven't played that in ages!"
"I used to love that game!" Helsa exclaimed. "I bet I'm still the best at it!"
"Heh, I was pretty good at it." Velvet smirked.
"I can kick all your asses." Mad Dawg declared as if this couldn't be argued. "Don't even try."
"Oh. OH. THAT'S how it's gonna be!?" Helsa retorted.
"Yes." Mad Dawg nodded, seeming way too proud of himself. "Hang on... yup! They have the song I love!"
"Let's go. Right now."
And so, a showdown for the ages, one on the battlefield of a rhythm arcade game, commenced.
We are the Cartoon Heroes - oh-oh-oh
We are the ones who're gonna last forever
We came out of a crazy mind - oh-oh-oh
And walked out on a piece of paper
Surprisingly, Dawg was as good as his word. Loona struggled to keep up with Mad Dawg, who was moving with the speed of a cocaine-fuelled blender. He was pretty much just ribbing it in her face as they went.
Here comes Spiderman, arachnophobian
Welcome to the toon town party
Here comes Superman, from never-neverland
Welcome to the toon town party!
Helsa faired a bit better, being able to keep up with most of the notes, but Dawg still wasn't showing fatigue. In the end, the frantic movements, drinking, and overall long night began to wear her down.
We learned to run at speed of light
And to fall down from any height
It's true, but just remember that
What we do is what you just can't do
Octavia did really well, better than Dawg expected. She was fast, hit almost every note perfectly, even briefly overtaking his score. But when the ending came and the multi-step notes slipped past her, and Dawg still held onto his crown.
An opera of craziness
A bunch of dots that's chasing us
Frame by frame, to the extreme
One by one, we're makin' it fun
Shockingly, Velvet was really good. Like, a genuine challenge to Mad Dawg, who after playing this song on Very, Very Hard four consecutive times was beginning to make small mistakes, and wasn't pulling off the 459-Combo he had previous times.
We are the Cartoon Heroes, oh-oh-oh
We are the ones who're gonna last forever
We came out of a crazy mind, oh-oh-oh
And walked out onto a piece of paper
"Ha! What's wrong, Dawg?! Can't keep up with a chick!?" Loona laughed.
"You can give up, we won't judge you that harshly!" Helsa jeered. Mad Dawg growled, then jumped.
"What?! Oh, C'MON!" Velvet yelled exasperated as she saw Dawg was now facing backwards, flipping everyone off, and hitting most of the notes.
There's still more to come
And everyone will be
Welcomed at the
Toon (Toon)
Town (Town)
Party
"Ugh… I'm… I'm out…" Mad Dawg groaned, turning around. "Who… who won?"
Everyone looked to the screen, and for the first time ever, Dawg and Velvet agreed on something.
"OH, THAT IS BULL!" Dawg exclaimed, exasperated.
Dawg's score was 089733237.
Velvet's score was 089733237.
"Forget it! I concede!" Mad Dawg groaned, slumping against the wall. "I'll be back in a sec…"
True to his word, Mad Dawg disappeared for all of three seconds, and returned with a six-pack of Hydra energy. He passed the cans around and everyone drank deeply.
"Y'know. I'm… I'm not okay with this." Loona shook her head, seeming agitated. "You clearly knew that song, how was that fair to us!?"
"Git good." Dawg remarked flatly.
"Piss off, Dawg. I'm talking about us four!" The hellhound snarled. "I'm willing to bet on this. I'm willing to bet I'm better than all of you."
"How much?"
"Screw money. We do punishments for the losers." Loona retorted, seeming dead-set on this. "It could be streaking, pepper shots, I don't care. I'm not taking this lying down!"
"Okay… If I lose… I'll dye my feathers neon pink." Octavia said, knowing now if she lost, her parents would kill her.
"If I lose, we find the nearest street vendor, and I'll eat his oldest food." Velvet nodded.
"Look, if I lose… I'll pay for Dawg to get a tattoo." Helsa stated.
"Whoa! Why me?!" Mad Dawg exclaimed. "Also, where on my body and what would it be?"
"…winner's choice."
"Okay." Dawg nodded, leaning against the bars of the DDR machine. "Let's dance!"
Dawg didn't remember anything after that for a few hours. The ganja he was given kept him happy and laughing, but he was also in control. Nothing happened, and he was doing A-Okay… currently, he was lying on his belly, feeling a series of needles burning into his skin, as he got a back tattoo. Octavia had won, and her choice had apparently, really gotten to Loona… and Dawg forgot to ask what it was. Oh, well! The fur would cover it most of the time… he just hoped if he ever left that the giant back tattoo wouldn't be something racist or homophobic. Dawg loved everyone equally. And hated everyone equally too.
"Yo, Velvey. How'd you like, end up with a dude like Val?" Mad Dawg asked, looking up from the chair where he was lying. His sudden question, lack of threat, and overall adressal of the doll demon caught her off-guard.
"Oh… uh… it's a long story…" Velvet coughed. Thankfully, Dawg seemed too high to press on.
"Was it because of your looks?" Mad Dawg asked, then laughed.
"What do you mean by that!?"
"I think you're pretty…" Mad Dawg giggled. "And I think somewhere… deep down, there's a good person! Or there was… but I think she's still in there!"
Velvet was… conflicted. Yes, Dawg was high, but his words seemed so genuine. She almost felt bad for him… he was unspeakably naïve. She honestly found it kind of cute, he seemed so child-like and innocent, yet possessed power beyond anyone's imagination… normally, she'd consider taking him back, but she had a feeling that wouldn't end well for anyone.
"Yo… now what mannn…?" Mad Dawg laughed, swaying slightly as they left.
"Eh, it's only three. Let's go drink some more!"
"YES!" Mad Dawg cheered.
The group of five sang. Liquor was flowing and Mad Dawg was actually feeling pretty good now. Sure, he was drunk. But… who cares?! Besides, he wasn't nearly as hammered as the others, as he was now carrying Velvet on his back as she could barely stand up straight.
"Ugh… Dawgg… Yo… Snoop Dawg… Dawggy-G… Doggo-Doggo… my canine companion…" Velvet drunkenly slurred.
"Sup?" Dawg asked, still a little buzzed, but still 'there'.
"This was fun…" She slurred. "You should really come back to the studio… I'd love to take care of you…" Her words were like ice in Dawgs' guts. The liquor and other… stuff immediately disappeared, and he was back to reality. Again. "You'd be like… a pet… it'd be fun! Val and Voxxx…they're nice…whenyagttknowthem…"
"Hey, we're here." Mad Dawg said. "Here's your stop, Velvet." He snarled, tossing her to the ground in an alleyway.
"Thanks!" She drunkenly waved before blacking out. Dawg looked back to the others, who were buzzed, but could tell something was wrong.
"What?" Dawg growled.
"N..nothing…" Helsa muttered. She was the most buzzed, and her car pulled up to collect her. "This was fun, see you all later!"
Dawg looked back to the alley. Garbage. Filth. It was her home, as far as he cared...
"You're not gonna leave her there, are you?" Octavia asked.
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Who cares?" Dawg coldly replied.
"…yeah, it's just… this is Flayer territory." Octavia remarked. "If they show up, they'll peel her skin off for fun and then cut her organs out."
"Boy, that sure would suck." Mad Dawg remarked dismissively. Octavia and Loona looked to him in shock, then finally the owl Overlord spoke:
"Yeah. It would."
"Not my problem." Dawg waved dismissively.
"So, you're just going to leave her there?"
"Again, not my problem." Mad Dawg said dismissively, his voice slurring somewhat as he spoke, beginning to walk off. A few steps away, he looked back to the pair and added: "If you're so concerned, why don't you do something?"
"…I mean, he's got a point." Loona muttered. "C'mon 'Tavia, let's get home."
Octavia frowned, clearly disappointed by something, or to be more honest, disappointed in Mad Dawg. She saw someone better than the drunken mutant standing in front of her, but she didn't feel like fighting with him. She shook her head, groaning in disgust, and followed after the hell hound. Mad Dawg looked to the unconscious Velvet and spat in disgust.
"Good riddance." He growled, and nodded to himself as he saw Octavia and Loona get on a bus. Oddly, one of the few rules in hell was that public transportation was a safe zone. It was already bad enough, they didn't need gang wars on the busses.
Mad Dawg cracked his back as he ordered a hot dog, taking the food and munching on the meal. He looked across the street and saw several demons crawling along the walls, presumably the Flayers… Mad Dawg shook his head again, not caring about what would happen to Velvet at this point, he turned to leave. As he walked down the street, Mad Dawg heard a piano playing. Taking a drag off of his stick, the smoke seemed to form a heart, which then pulled itself apart.
"I'm addicted, to the to the sorrow…" Mad Dawg was quietly and somewhat intoxicatedly singing. It felt like he had been through anger, fear, joy... but he hadn't hit his the emotional breakdown of sorrow hadn't come yet, and still hadn't... "There's always another rush of shame, coming into my body and residing with pain. I'm addicted, I'm dependant, looking awesome, but truly helpless… and I know I'm raising Cain everywhere that I go, maybe Charlie had a point, I should've taken it slow…"
As he finished singing, Mad Dawg felt like someone was watching him, and looked up to the sky. "What?!" He finally asked. "What do you want from me!?" His voice seemed broken, tired, what was he supposed to do!? He continued walking…
…and froze when the whole world started changing.
"Agh… not again…" He groaned. The hellscapes changed to a cool night sky, the stars shining in the sky, and another, younger Mad Dawg was seated on the edge of a rooftop. He was listening to his tape player and just seemed to be enjoying the night.
"Don't fall luv." A female voice laughed as Lena approached, sitting down next to Mad Dawg. The mutant teen turned and smiled at the pilot, laughing slightly as he turned off his music.
"Aw, c'mon Lee. I fall, I heal. You fall, you turn back time." He smirked.
"I still don't want to test that theory."
"Fine… fine… You here to make sure I don't run away again?"
"That's not funny Dawg." Lena frowned. "I really don't want you to do that again… it hurt. All of us."
"M'sorry…" He mumbled, and Lena quickly realized how harsh that had sounded.
"Sorry that was wrong of me. I shouldn't've been so hard on ya. I understan' there's a lot goin' on with you right now." She said, pulling him into a hug.
"Yeah. A lot." Mad Dawg nodded before looking up to the stars and thinking for a few moments. "Hey, Tracer? What does it mean to 'be a hero'?"
"Wot?"
"I hear that expression all the time, 'Be a hero!' or 'Be the hero you know you can be!' and it kinda bugs me. Does that mean I have to be perfect every moment of every day? And what if doing bad things is what's needed to be a hero? Or what if you just don't feel like it one day, does that mean you've failed at being a hero? Or am I just being a cynical asshole?"
"The honest truth… is that being a hero isn't about saving the world, it's about doing the right thing when it's easier to not do the right thing." Lena had remarked, looking over to Mad Dawg, who had silently contemplated what she had said.
"I'm really bad at that…" He had laughed awkwardly, thinking about how he had acted recently.
"Well, maybe that wasn't the time for you to do the right thing." The pilot smiled. There was something so… approachable, about her. She was kind, and caring and… well. She was a hero.
"So, I can be a dick my whole life, but still be a hero once and be called a hero?" Mad Dawg had sarcastically asked, getting a laugh from the older woman.
"Aw, don't ever change Dawgy."
When the world returned to normal, Mad Dawg blinked, then his eyes narrowed as he growled.
Husk was walking past the room that once was Dawg's (the door still missing, and the damage to the walls left untouched) and paused. He didn't care a whole lot what had happened between Dust and Dawg, he didn't care about a lot, honestly. But he'd be lying if he said he didn't care about the way Charlie had been as of late. Oh, sure. She was still determined and happy as ever, but man, she was in pain. Vaggie was working overtime to keep her on the right path, and Husk would acknowledge that she was doing a damn good job. Still, what caught his attention was the guitar leaning against his bed.
"Man, that brings back memories…" Husk thought, picking up the guitar and raising a brow in surprise.
"Huh… whaddya know. He was left-handed." The bartender muttered. Looking around to make sure no one was present, he sat on Dawg's bed and strummed a few notes. It felt right in his paws, and he let himself smile, thinking back to when he was human. After a few strums, an old song returned to him. He looked around, then left with the guitar, returning to his room and beginning to play.
"Well, I won't back down. No, I won't back down. You can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won't back down." Husk sang as he played the guitar, lounging on the worn-out mattress that was his bed.
Across the 'gram, the members of the Flayer Squad all stopped when a low growl echoed throughout the alley, followed by a heavy impact. Turing around, they saw something looking down at them, and whatever it was, it wasn't happy. They chittered like insects, turning their blades towards the newcomer, who broke into a charge.
"Gonna stand my ground. Won't be turned around. And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down. Gonna stand my ground and I won't back down."
Mad Dawg roared and back-handed one of the Flayers into the nearby wall, running forward and shoulder-charging another member. By now they had forgotten the unconscious Velvet and were all attacking the large creature that had interrupted their fun. Dawg aimed and fired, a crossbow bolt speaking one of them through the head, pinning them to a garbage can. Dawg aimed and fired, bouncing an arrow off of the ground and trash can to hit another flayer in the back.
"JUST LEAVE HER!" Virus was screaming, his voice sounding... different. "Why do you care?! Why SHOULD you care?! After everything she let happen!? Let her suffer! Leave her to be hurt!"
Grabbing one of the gang members and stretching him out then letting him fly like a rubber band. His screams still audible as he flew into a nearby building, which Dawg fired several bolts at for good measure. Roaring in pain, Mad Dawg felt two blades digging into his back and tried to no avail to shake the attacker off. Finally, he punched through the nearby wall and grabbed the first thing that seemed like a weapon, not knowing he had punched into 'Crazy Ed's Rusty Metal Shards and Nails Superstore', until his fist came out and drove a clump of rusty nails into an attacker. Her screams made Mad Dawg wince as he realized what he had done, looking at the nails now embedded in her face.
"Where have I seen that?"
"Well, I know what's right, I've got just one life.In a world that keeps on pushin' me around, gonna stand my ground and I won't back down." Husk continued with his song, his mind drifting back to his days in the army, where he had learned to play the guitar, and even this song…
Mad Dawg howled as the blades kept digging into his body, and finally he seemed to snap, grabbing one of the gang members and proceeding to Ozzy Osbourne them, dropping what was left to the ground, horrifying those present. All two of them.
"I won't back down. Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out. I won't back down. Hey, I will stand my ground and I won't back down."
Mad Dawg grabbed one of the two as tendrils appeared on his back. Mad Dawg's teeth glowed as he bit down, silencing the Skin Flayer forever. The tendrils grabbed the one remaining attacker and proceeded to impale the demon on his back-spikes, before ripping him off and slamming him back-and-forth into the alley walls.
Breathing heavily, Mad Dawg pulled the blades out of his body, hoping they weren't poisoned as that would be another issue to deal with, and he wasn't sure how hell's healthcare system was. Granted, it couldn't be much worse than the U.S.A.'s, but he didn't want to find out. Looking over to the unconscious demon, Mad Dawg thought about what she had done, what Valentino had done how easy it would be to get revenge, to ta…
"Stop. NOW." He ordered himself grabbing the metaphorical reins before this got way, way, way too dark. The large demon-beast gently bent down, and then disappeared into the night, carrying an unconscious passenger with him the whole while.
"Wha…what…? GAH!"
Velvet blinked in shock, bolting upright and looking around. Where was she? This wasn't her place, it wasn't Val or Vox's… although at this point those were one and the same… so, where could she-
"Wait. That kid…" She muttered, the previous night coming back to her. "Did… did he really bring me to his place?!" Confusion then turned to anger. "THAT BASTARD!" She threw off the blanket and stormed out of the room, briefly noting she was still in her usual outfit.
"Huh… okay… you were with that group, and then you blacked out…" She thought, checking a few things and sighing. Okay. So, he was angry, and would want revenge, but he didn't go that far. She looked around, seeing she was in a cheap motel, the room stank, and a knife pinned a message to a wall. Ripping it off, she raised a brow as she read.
If you're reading this, I'm probably hungover and sleeping it off. Feel free to get some food or coffee. Don't bother looking for me, I'm not there.
Anyhow, don't bother sticking around. I'm gone. Recommend you bail too.
BTW. You're welcome for me saving your a$$ last night from those Flayers while you were out drunk.
MD
Velvet blinked in shock, then realized what the cuts were from… he saved her?! He. He saved her?! WHY?! Nothing about this made sense! Was this revenge? Did he want a favour?! Why in the seven rings of this truly Lord-Forsaken place would he ever help the demoness who drugged him and-
"Aww… that's sweet of the little guy." She sighed sarcastically, reading the note and seeing the giant middle finger drawn on the back. She found a phone and made a few calls, and twenty minutes later, she entered the Limo, groaning in exasperation
"Well, you seemed to have had an interesting night." Val remarked, semi-sarcastically.
"I found him. Mad Dawg." Velvet stated, and Val and Vox blinked in genuine surprise.
"Who?" Valentino asked, not knowing (or caring).
"The kid who did THIS." Vox scowled, pointing to the deep crack on his screen-face. Valentino blinked, then seemed to remember something.
"Huh. He's still out there? Weird."
"He… he saved my life last night." Velvet admitted, and Val burst out laughing while Vox looking questioningly to her. "I drank a bit too much, some Skin Flayers came at me, and he was nearby, getting some weed or something, and just… came in and attacked." Velvet decided to leave out a lot of the details on last night, but whatever.
"I don't get it. Why the hell would he save you?" Vox asked.
"Maybe he has taste in women after all." Val shrugged, sarcastically.
"Val. You saw what we did to him. ANY other demon, probably even the Princess herself would've left her or killed her if they went through what he did! It makes no damn sense!" Vox retorted. "And yet that thing both saves her, and doesn't hurt her? What's his game here?!"
"Honestly? I couldn't give less of a shit." Val waved dismissively as the limo drove off. "But… he saved one of my favourites… I'll grant him the privilege of walking away. This time…"
Well. There it is! But… if Dawg isn't dead… what happens if he dies? What does this mean?! CAN he die?! Does Dawg even have a soul!? Honestly. You'll get your answers. But I think its time to start making some calls… We're past the half-way point, folks! (I think…) This chapter went on WAYYYYY longer than I intended it to… Also, for those wondering why I chose to use Loona and Octavia instead of Charlie and Vaggie for this, it's because they've got their own stories coming very, VERY soon! Like, in a chapter or two…
Reviews are appreciated!
Also, the version of Won't Back Down I was using in this chapter is the Sam Elliot version from Barnyard.
Yeah. That movie.
The soundtrack is the only thing I remember from it.
