Now that he was back, Mad Dawg's tension didn't alleviate at all. But, Dawg had told himself to expect this. He was back at the hotel, and he was here to stay… and OH BOY was he not looking forward to having certain conversations… to his surprise, after giving him a hug, Angel Dust took a few steps back. Heck, he wasn't even making his usual brand of jokes, something which took Vaggie aback.
Now, Mad Dawg sat on a couch, listening to Charlie reading off a few notes, she agreed they'd start again in a day or two, but she wanted to read through some stuff so they knew what was coming up. He had been here for about ten minutes, and he had barely gotten to say 'hello' yet.
"…but it's great to have you back!" Charlie smiled, warmly, and there was something so… real, about her smile. Dawg wished he could put it into words, but he couldn't.
"Yeah… yeah…" Mad Dawg said quietly, nodding as he looked around. There were two demons he hadn't really talked with yet, one he was apprehensive about, and the other… Dawg had no idea how that would end.
"Well, might as well shoot for the wall, or something." Mad Dawg thought, not remembering how that expression went. He walked into the lounge-bar and sat at Husk's bar. He exhaled deeply, and looked up when a bottle was set in front of him.
"What's this?" He asked.
"Sin Cider, yer the only one that drinks that crap." Husk remarked, setting the bottle down.
"…I…" Mad Dawg coughed, his entire body seeming to freeze. Even weirder, his fur changed colour to a whiteish-gray. Those present watched, but no-one asked what was happening. "If I drink this… what's gonna happen?"
"…you'll consume some alcohol, if you drink five or six of em' you'll probably pass out and wake up somewhere else in the hotel." Husk remarked, not picking up on Dawg's fear. Vaggie blinked and bit her lip, before walking up and setting a bottle of water down on the bar instead.
"Here, just have some water." She instructed, and Dawg nodded, still apprehensive about looking at her. The Salvadorian demoness didn't know if he was guilty over their fight, how he treated Charlie, or something else. While admittedly, she didn't want to treat him like a child, and she had some reservations about him, Vaggie also knew she had to be cautious, at least for Charlie's sake. Something had happened, and until they knew exactly WHAT had happened, best to play things a little safely.
"Hey, where's the fish-dude?" Mad Dawg asked, noting the lack of one insane scientist.
"Baxter's working on some new invention. He calls it the memorjector, or something stupid like that." Husk said flatly. "Apparently, it can project memories people either forgot or remember, and it becomes like a VR game… whatever the hell that is." He finished taking a drink from his bottle. Mad Dawg downed the water and closed his eyes.
"Ugh, let's just get this over with." Mad Dawg mentally sighed, deciding he needed to talk with someone. Getting off the barstool, he began making his way across the lounge to where someone was sitting…
"Ah! Mad Dawg, my boy! So good to see you again!" Alastor remarked, seeming upbeat and psychotic as ever as he appeared out of nowhere, taking Dawg's attention away. Charlie was about to ask Al to give Dawg some space, but she wasn't expecting the 180 Dawg seemed to do.
"Alastor! Long time, no see! How have things been around here since I left for a bit?" Mad Dawg asked.
"Oh, so dreadfully boring." Alastor sighed theatrically. "Without any new sinners, all it's been has been the same angry illegal aliens, flamboyant, gender-confused spiders, and grumpy cats!"
"Uh…" Mad Dawg looked behind Al, seeing a very annoyed Vaggie, but he decided not to push this further. "Yeah, I could imagine as much."
"I did hear about quite a few exploits you had! You've made quite a name for yourself in the fighting rings!" Alastor remarked, leaning on his cane, and Dawg blinked in surprise.
"Y..you know about that?"
"But of course! The Nefarious Nekro-Lycan! The scourge of the cage! From what I hear, some of the Imps down in the wrath ring wanted to try and find a way for you to pay a visit and fight some of their champions! Now THAT would be entertainment!"
"Huh, that would be kinda cool." Mad Dawg nodded, then saw Vaggie lean out from behind Alastor with a 'You-are-on-thin-ice' look in her eye.
"So, tell me 'Dawg'. Are you really so desperate that you genuinely believe that 'redemption' is possible? After everything you've seen down here, do you really think this could work?" Alastor suddenly asked, dropping a rather massive question with absolutely no build-up. However, everyone was taken aback by Dawg's genuine answer.
"Yes." He nodded matter-of-factly. "I think this can work, and I wanna prove it can."
There was silence as Charlie felt a surge of pride welling up in her chest… which was then shattered when Alastor burst out laughing as if he had been told the funniest joke in the world.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA- Mad Dawg, why aren't you laughing? This is the part where you laughing condescendingly with me." Alastor stopped laughing, looking to Mad Dawg with what might have passed for genuine concern as far as the radio demon was concerned. Not that he actually was.
"Sorry, Al. I actually think this might work." Mad Dawg shook his head, speaking calmly. Alastor blinked, the nodded.
"Oh. Well, in that case; AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Alastor shrugged and continued laughing, this time at Dawg instead of with him. As messed up as it was, there was something almost… nice, about Alastor's mocking laughter. Almost as if it was to say; 'Hey, it's good to have you back. I'm going to make your life a living hell, and most definitely wouldn't think twice about killing you, but good to have you back!' and maybe it was Dawg being worn down from everything that had been happening as of late, but he was fine with that. It felt real, like he at least knew where Alastor stood, even though he absolutely didn't.
"I am gonna need so much real therapy if I ever get out of here." Dawg realized, blinking.
"Hey, kid. What's that crap on your arm?" Husk asked, noticing something he should've noticed earlier. Mad Dawg blinked, then smiled; deciding to take the chance to move on and hopefully start a new conversation.
"Oh, this? It's my old crossbow." Mad Dawg commented. "I think I named it 'Talonhawk' because I thought it sounded cool, but then never wanted to use the name again because of the group 'Talon' who were trying to kill me. Sir Pent-er, a demon I ran into and made acquaintances with modified it so I could mount it to me arm, as this thing ain't made for hands as big as mine." Mad Dawg explained, catching himself and purposely not looking at Angel Dust.
"Huh." Husk blinked.
"Shut up, Dust!" Vaggie suddenly snapped, and Dust looked to her offended.
"What did I do!?"
"You-" Vaggie began but cut herself off, realizing that Angel Dust hadn't made the obvious foul joke. He just gave her an accusatory look, and Vaggie looked away awkwardly.
"Okay…" Mad Dawg blinked, confused, then held his arm out. "But yeah, all I do is aim, pull the middle finger and-"
THWAK!
Without warning, Mad Dawg's crossbow fired. Everyone looked to where Alastor stood, the bolt inches from his face, embedded in a picture of the devil. Right in the crotch. He slowly turned and looked at Mad Dawg, and his smile was terrifying. For the first time since he met him, Mad Dawg understood why so many feared the radio demon.
"Oh, crap." Mad Dawg whispered. "Well, nice seeing you all again, Igottagoforeverbye!" Dawg took off running, but Alastor's powers grabbed his arm and threw him onto a nearby chair.
"Wait! Alastor, it was a mistake! Leave him alone!" Charlie protested, trying to stop Alastor from torturing Dawg for something he would claim was a big deal, when in reality, he was just bored and looking for an excuse to hurt something.
"I'm not going to hurt him, I'd just like to talk." Alastor's voice somehow sounded even creepier than before, and Dawg was pretty terrified now. "But I guess we'll talk… later."
"Great. Another thing to be afraid of at night…" Mad Dawg mentally groaned, and laughed nervously. He got to his feet and cracked his back, deciding he wanted to walk for a minute and collect his thoughts. He disappeared into the large hotel, wandering through the library for a bit, then heading to the conference rooms. He wasn't doing anything of value, aside from seeing how much he could make a fart echo in one of the larger conference rooms (he's in hell, you gotta make your own fun). But, to his relief/anxiety/nervousness/irritation at his own cowardice, he saw a demon walking down the hall who he needed to talk to.
"Hey, Miss Vaggie? Do you have a sec?" Mad Dawg spoke timidly. He wasn't sure how she was going to react, and when she started laughing, he thought he had screwed up.
"Aww, that was really cute." Vaggie smiled, shaking her head. "But you don't need the whole 'Miss' thing, niño." Mad Dawg nodded in understanding, finally getting a better look at her. The claw marks and bruises he had given her were healing, and she looked to be in okay spirits. Or, she was extremely pissed off at Mad Dawg, and was super good at hiding it. Honestly, he'd understand either.
"Look, I'm not great at apologizing, but I wanted to try anyways… I'm really sorry for what I did in Imp City, I just… I wasn't thinking straight, and that's not an excuse, but… look, I'm sorry. That's all I can say without sounding like I'm playing the victim."
"La verdad es… you kinda are." Vaggie remarked cocking her head slightly. "Both playing the victim and actually ARE the victim. Look, don't take this as me blaming you, but I don't know what you've been through. Something clearly happened, and your anger in Imp City made sense, I kinda pushed you a bit further than I should've. But, at the same time, you were kinda making yourself out to be a lone wolf against the world, and that you were the only one who had been hurt, and I don't think you wanted to do that."
"No! No! By Cthulhu's tentacled beard, no!" Mad Dawg exclaimed, waving his hands in front of him. "Absolutely not! I've done that before, and it ruined my life! You told me in the cage fight I needed to grow up, and you're right. Look, what I'm trying to say, is I'm sorry for attacking you. And I'm sorry for-"
"It's okay, you can let it rest." Vaggie smiled, putting a hand up on Dawg's shoulder. "The fact that you came back here, and you're at least trying to make amends tells me what I need to know. You're making the right choice here, perro."
"Yeah…"
"Also, I did kinda stab you." Vaggie added, admitting to something she had done a few chapters ago. "So… sorry. But you heal fast! You don't get to complain about that!"
"Ah, the modern feminism approach to issues. Apologize, but refuse to take responsibility or change."
"You have ten seconds to run."
"I'm sorry." Mad Dawg grinned, then looked down. "The uh, the claw marks, they gonna heal?"
"Yeah, they'll heal. According to the doc, one or two are gonna leave a scar, but hey. Now I can honestly say I got them fighting a legendary beast in a cage fight." Vaggie smirked, and Dawg rubbed the back of his head. "Besides, they'll blend in with the others…" She whispered.
"Huh?"
"Nothing!" Vaggie coughed.
"Hey, random question; how'd you end up in Imp City?" Mad Dawg asked, leaning on the wall. Vaggie blew a raspberry and shrugged.
"I don't know." She frowned. "One moment I was here, the next moment, I saw Loa, and then I was grabbed by some demons. I think Alastor may have been responsible, but I'm not sure." Mad Dawg nodded in understanding, that seemed like something Alastor would do…
"There is something else I need to talk to you about. Something you do need to change…" Mad Dawg said sternly, growing serious and fully taking Vaggie's attention. She was apprehensive to say the least about whatever this could be… "You need to let Charlie sing more."
"Ugh… not you, too!" Vaggie groaned, throwing her hands up in the air (singing hay-oh, gotta let go…) "Tienes que estar bromeando… what did she give you to tell me this?"
"Nothing! I swear!" Mad Dawg said, raising his hands. "I just… I overheard her singing, and I thought it was really nice, and she said you tell her not to sing all the time."
"Okay, hold on. No, that's not fair." Vaggie cut in. "I love her singing! But she sings at times when she really shouldn't. Like news reports, dinners, war zones… I've got nothing against her singing, but time and place, y'know?"
"That's fair." Dawg conceded.
"What was she singing?"
"Uh, I dunno. Something about rainbows." Mad Dawg shrugged. "I felt really sad listening to it; like, it was one of the most beautiful songs I had ever heard, but it was also depressing as hell, so I don't know how to feel about it, and I'm too lazy to put in any effort to try and figure it out, so… whatever."
"I feel that. I really do. But like, ninety percent of her songs are about rainbows, so that doesn't narrow it down much." Vaggie nodded in confirmation, then the two were left in an awkward silence for a few moments, Vaggie rocking on her heels. "Sooooo… anything else you wanna talk about?"
"I dunno. Anything big happen while I was gone?"
"No, not really. More souls coming down here… more gang wars, more idiots starting something they can't finish… the usual."
"Ah, well, glad to know I didn't miss much." Mad Dawg shrugged.
"Oh, before you go, random question." Vaggie added, getting Dawg's attention as he turned to leave. "Was it your birthday recently?"
"I-" Mad Dawg tried to answer, but Vaggie was surprised by the mixture of shock, fear and distrust in his eyes.
"Never mind." She shook her head. "Forget I said anything about it. Dust heard from someone at his work that they had been hanging out with you and some others and you claimed it-" Vaggie tried to explain herself, but saw all she was doing was setting Dawg more on edge, so she dropped it and decided to take her leave. "Never mind, it's nice having you back, Ka- Mad Dawg." Vaggie smiled as she left.
"Thanks, Vagatha." Mad Dawg nodded in response before getting in the elevator and heading up to his room.
"ThE cRAcKs aRe sTILl THeRe, BETA…" Virus spoke, appearing in the elevator next to Dawg. He seemed more disheveled than usual, the burns and scars more visceral. "No MAtTer wHAt yOU wAnT tO Do…"
"Shut up."
"LISteN to me, MAD daWG. we bOTH KNow HOW thiS iS gOING tO eNd. YoU caN'T HidE FrOm The tRuTh FoREVEr, yOU KNow tHAt ThIS iSn'T gOnnA wOrK, bUt YOu'rE TOo tERriFeD tO dO wHaT NEeDS To be DoNE."
"Needs… What are you talking about, Thomas?" Mad Dawg growled, speaking the Ex-Dj's real name for the first time… possibly in years. Then again, how long had it been since he had met Virus again? He walked down the hall, finally coming to the room missing a door.
"JUSt. lEt. gO. aLl YOu nEed tO Do iS LeT IT alL GO, gIVe iN TO tHe nEw LifE YoU HAvE, StOP ChAsING THEse ImpOsSIBLe DrEamS. you'Ve GOt a whOLe nEw StAGe tO peRfoRM on, aNd YEt yoU'Re So DeSpEratE To REtURN tO thE sMall-TOWn PUBs WHere yOu uSED tO be."
"And did it ever occur to you, that I'm not some attention-seeking, edge-lord, wannabe gangsta bitch?" Mad Dawg snarled, slowly looking over at Virus. "Oh, wait. That would mean you have some level of humility."
"and AlL ThE sTuNtS yOU PUlleD WItH oVErwATCh? WiTH LUnA ANd HeR friEnDs? WhAt wEre ThOse?"
"Hey, can you check the bathroom and see if there's a bottle of sudocrem or Aleo Vera gel? I think I need some after that burn of yours." Mad Dawg remarked, smirking as he saw Virus noticeably react. "You should probably use some too… ooh, sorry. It may be a bit late for that."
"gOoD IdEa. mAYBE thEy hAvE cReAM FOr mY litTle sistEr's rope bURN. tHaT'Ll fIx hALF ThAt pRoBlEm."
Mad Dawg didn't have a reply, but thankfully, Virus disappeared. What caused him? Where did he go? Was it grief? Pain? Regret? Dawg didn't know… but he wished he did so he could get rid of him!
Mad Dawg looked around the room he had occupied previously. He honestly felt like it was more than he deserved, but when he had brought it up, Charlie refused to hear it. So… he was back. Sitting on the bed, Mad Dawg took a few deep breaths, remembering his first night here, and then remembering something else. Digging for a minute, he found a crumpled and somewhat faded card.
Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel!
No matter what you've done, no matter who you are, we believe you can change!
If you believe in us, we'll believe in you!
C.M.
He hadn't looked at it in some time, both due to a combination of shame, and forgetting he had it, but the small card brought a smile to Dawg's face. Redemption… change… now that he really thought about it, what would that mean? There was so much he had done, both good and bad… but if this meant he could leave hell, if it meant he could go home, and see Lena, and Jesse and Lúcio and Angela again… then Dawg didn't give a damn what redemption would cost him. He figured he had hit the rock bottom, and the only way to go was up.
Mad Dawg decided he had done enough for today, and went to get ready for bed. He took a long shower, killing an entire bottle of shampoo and body wash in an attempt to wash his fur coat, and got maybe a third of the way done. Stepping out of the shower, he took a few minutes to blow-dry himself clean and stepped back into his room…
"Eep!"
…and then jumped back into the bathroom when he realized Charlie was in his room. Downsides of not having a door anymore, he guessed.
"Gah! Crap! Sorry, Miss Charlotte!" Mad Dawg exclaimed. He had been wearing a towel… but this was her hotel, so he figured he owed her some level of decency.
"No! No, my bad! My bad!" Charlie exclaimed, her face reddening as she hurried out of the room. Dawg realized there was no door to his room (remembering he and Dust trashed it) and quickly got changed, pulling on track shorts and a tank top. A few minutes later, Charlie came back into the room. "Sorry, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay in here."
"Yeah, it's just fine." Mad Dawg nodded.
"Good. There was something I wanted to talk to you about, in private." Charlie continued, and Dawg tensed ever so slightly, he didn't know where this was going… "Normally I'd ask you to surrender your weapons-"
"Aw, geez. Forgot to do that." Mad Dawg muttered, reaching for his bag.
"I want you to hold onto them." Charlie added, and Mad Dawg paused.
"Huh?"
"I want you to hold onto them." Charlie repeated herself. "This isn't how we normally do things, but for a few nights at least, I want you to feel… safe."
"Oh, uh… thank you." Mad Dawg said. "I'll try not to sleepwalk and shoot someone."
"You've done that?"
"No."
"Look, Mad Dawg. The thing is, I trust you." Charlie smiled, but Dawg could see the pain in her eyes. Great, this was turning into one of THOSE chapters! "And, I hope you can trust me, after everything that's happened."
"Charlie, you're not-" Mad Dawg began, but Charlie held her hand up, and Dawg bit his tongue.
"You don't need to explain anything until you're ready." Charlie said sincerely. "Be that tonight, or tomorrow, or in three months. Whenever you're ready, I'll be here to listen and help you."
"Thank you, Princess Charlotte." Mad Dawg said, then noticed Charlie's eyes widen somewhat. "What?"
"That was so cute~!" Charlie cooed, and Mad Dawg deflated. "You had such a sweet little voice just now!"
"I'm not little!" Mad Dawg snapped, and surprisingly, Charlie just laughed again.
"D'aww, is the little baby tired?"
"Charlie. I will… I will pee on every rug in this hotel after eating nothing but asparagus and drinking fish and garlic smoothies for six straight days!" Mad Dawg said in a warning tone, and Charlie did go quiet, thinking his threat over.
"Can't lie, that's a pretty creative threat, I'm gonna have to write that one down." Charlie finally conceded, before smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, I was just playing with you."
"No, no. It's not you, I guess… I guess I'm a little on edge still, y'know?" Mad Dawg confessed, and Charlie nodded in understanding. It was clear quite a bit had happened to Mad Dawg recently, but she didn't want to rush into anything, not yet at least. To the Princess, Mad Dawg was the absolute perfect patient for the Happy Hotel's rehab plan. She just needed to get him on the right path, and he would do wonders for the hotel! And himself!
"Well, good-night, Mad Dawg." Charlie nodded, rising to her feet. "Tomorrow's another day!"
"And we're gonna start working on redemption, right?"
"Y..you…you WANT to start on the redemption plan so soon!? You just got back!" Charlie practically sputtered, surprised by Dawg's question.
"Well, yeah. It's kinda why I came back." Mad Dawg shrugged. "If you need time to get it ready, I understand. But I'm gain for whatever!"
"All right then! Tomorrow it is!" Charlie beamed. "I'll see you then!"
"Good night." Dawg nodded, sitting on the bed and exhaling. Once Charlie was gone, Dawg got up and looked out into the hall. From what he recalled, Alastor was on the sixth floor, Angel Dust was on the ninth, Charlie and Vaggie were on the twelfth, Husk chilled at the bar, Nifty didn't sleep (he assumed), and that fish dude was in his lab. Did that mean he had a floor to himself? Awesome! Silently wandering the floor, Mad Dawg heard the soft sounds of his footsteps, and he slowly let his guard down.
"Hello God, it's me again. 10:00 PM, room 304…" Mad Dawg thought, looking up to the sky through a window. "…well it must be kinda crowded, on the streets of Heaven… and I gotta ask, do you even have room for me?" Mad Dawg was silent for a few moments, then shook his head.
"Who am I kidding… you've got bigger things to deal with."
As he began to make his way back to his room, Mad Dawg didn't see a shadow watching from the wall, and for the briefest of moments, it frowned sympathetically. Then quickly disappeared into the night. When he got back to his room, Mad Dawg sat on his bed, he wanted to sleep, but he also didn't, so he figured he could try drawing. He wasn't great… but he wanted to learn! And the only way to get better was to screw up over and over. But what to draw? Himself? Nah… one of his old Overwatch friends? No… Lincoln? No… Finally, Dawg decided to just draw and see what happened, and a few minutes later, he had drawn a horse. It looked kinda bad, but still, beginners stumblings, or whatever.
"This one's for you, Boss." Mad Dawg smiled.
The next morning came, and Charlie was up, early as always, but her usual smile wasn't there, if anything, she felt nervous, and she didn't know why. It wasn't because Baxter was building something that could destroy the hotel, his newest project was rather calm, thus far.
"…Hey, Vaggie? Did you hear something last night?" Charlie asked groggily, remembering clearly hearing screams last night, and they sounded different.
"It…ugh…It was probably…probably Dust again…" Vaggie yawned, stretching out as she pulled herself awake. She wasn't a morning demoness, but Charlie was, so therefore, she had to become one. "I'll yell at him later…"
"No, no… it… I think it was screaming, but not that kind."
"Babe, we're in hell. There's lots of screaming all the time." Vaggie shrugged, scratching her neck. "You probably just heard that."
"Yeah… yeah… probably just that…" Charlie nodded, heading to get changed and ready for the day.
A few hours passed, and Mad Dawg found himself sitting in one of the studies the hotel offered. Charlie and Vaggie sat across from him, Charlie once again inexplicably wearing glasses, even though she didn't need them.
"Okay, so." Charlie began. "To begin; I'm gonna ask you some questions. Answer 'yes', or 'no'. You don't need to say how or why you did any of the following sins. If you did."
"Gotcha." Dawg sighed, having a feeling this might be tough.
"Assault?" Charlie asked, deciding to be quick about this to keep Dawg from trying to mentally worm his way out of answering. "Physical, that is."
"Yeah." Dawg nodded.
"Arson?"
"Yup."
"Vandalism?"
"Totally."
"Jaywalking?"
"Yup."
"Drug use?"
"Yes."
"Public intoxication?"
"Oh, yeah."
"Public indecency?"
"More than once."
"Murder?"
"…I mean, kinda."
"Speeding?"
"Many times."
"Skipping the theme on The Office?"
"No! I'm not a monster!" Mad Dawg exclaimed.
"Seeing a post online, liking it, but not actually liking it?"
"Hey, if I'm on the can, I can't focus on a million things!"
"Ho boy…" Charlie sighed, putting her forehead against the clipboard. "You're… you're not joking, are you?"
"No. Why would I?" Mad Dawg frowned, deflating somewhat. "Like I said, I kinda deserve to be-"
"Hey! No! None of that!" Charlie suddenly barked, both Dawg and Vaggie surprised by her sudden outburst. "No! None of that! You DON'T deserve to be here! Don't tell yourself you do! Okay?!"
"Y..yes ma'am…"
"Right…" Vaggie muttered.
"Oh, my. I'm sorry." Charlie bit her lip. "I just- never mind." She decided to move onto her next question. "Did you take pleasure in hurting others?"
"Sometimes." Mad Dawg confessed, and it was clear he was practically forcing the words out, when he wanted to murmur his answers. "If they were hurting those who couldn't defend themselves, beating the crap outta them and breaking bones felt awesome. Cathartic. But sometimes it felt wrong, and I knew it was wrong, but I didn't have a choice."
"Right… was that during your time with Overwatch?" Charlie asked, writing something down.
"No, that was during my time on the streets." Mad Dawg admitted, and both Charlie and Vaggie seemed surprised. "It's a bit of a story, and I'm not ready to tell it. But for a few years, I lived day-to-day. Surviving off of stolen food, donations, and if need be, garbage."
"How'd you end up there?" Vaggie asked, even though she knew she probably shouldn't.
"I uh… my family thought I was dead, and I thought they wanted me dead. So, I didn't go back to them. After that, a few families took me in, but they all got scared and threw me out. Eventually, I stopped trying to find a family, and decided to build my own life."
"That's horrible!" Charlie exclaimed, feeling close to tears, and they were just getting started!
"Eh, it wasn't all terrible." Mad Dawg confessed, thinking back. "I did a lot of illegal labour, but I was cool with it. I was handy with metal working, so I ended up helping build trains for a bit. I was a drifter, working one day, traveling the next, it taught me to survive, to take care of myself. And hey! I met up with my old family, and things were great! …before I ended up down here…" Vaggie nodded, Dawg seemed optimistic about everything. That was good.
"You build trains? Like, the casings, the rails, or the motors?" She asked, seeing an opportunity to build trust.
"A bit of everything." Mad Dawg admitted. "I don't care who you are or what you say, while bullet trains and high-speed trains are great, nothing will ever beat a genuine, coal-powered steam train. Or a locomotive. There's something so… right, about it… making sure the eccentric crank and drive rod are all lined up with the valve gear, cleaning out the sand dome and steam dome between runs, polishing he number of the train…"
"I have no idea what anything you're saying means, but I kinda wanna know more now!" Charlie admitted, then quickly added: "Maybe once we're done here."
"Yeah. That's fair." Mad Dawg nodded.
And so, it went, for the next two hours, Charlie asked Dawg a series of simple questions, mostly about why or how he did one thing or another. Dawg didn't always answer them, as there was a fair bit he didn't want to go into just yet. But you had to start somewhere. At one point, an alarm went off, and Charlie declared there would be a ten-minute break. Mad Dawg nodded and went back to the main area of the hotel, knowing there was someone he needed to talk to, and he needed to just get it over with. As he entered the bar area, his resolve solidified, and he nodded to himself.
"Okay, ten minutes. That should give me the time I need to talk to Ang-"
"YOU'RE BACK!"
Mad Dawg was suddenly tackled into a hug by someone, and at first, he thought Charlie had realized Dawg had returned for real, and everything up until now was some sort of dream, until he saw Angel Dus- no, not Dust. Molly. The overjoyed face of his spider-friend smiling down at him.
"Hey, Molly!" Mad Dawg laughed, trying his best to free an arm so he could try and hug her back.
"I wa so worried! Are you okay?!" Molly asked, tightening her hug.
"Uh…"
"You just ghosted us for a while! I had no idea where you were!"
"…heh…"
"And then you were gone! And then… and then Angel said he got attacked, and then-"
"Hey… Molly?" Angel Dust spoke up, and the female spider realized something.
"Oh, sorry. You probably need to breathe." Molly muttered, letting go of Mad Dawg. Mad Dawg coughed and took several deep breaths before finally turning and giving Molly a small smile.
"It's great to see you, Molly." Mad Dawg smiled, only to be pulled into another hug, one which he was now able to return.
"I'm just glad you're all right! You just up and vanished! Then ya got kidnapped! What happened?!"
"Molly…" Mad Dawg began, knowing Angel Dust was nearby, but not sure how to talk about this. "Look, there was a bit of a falling out between myself and several of the patrons here. We decided I should take some time and return when things had calmed down." It was clear she didn't fully believe him, but also didn't want to push things further than she had to.
"Well, it's still great that you're back!" She beamed.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but why do you care so much about me? I mean, it's nice and all, but I didn't think we were super close…" Mad Dawg asked, awkwardly.
"Weeeellllll… first of all, you're actually nice. And not in the 'nice guys' kinda way, you also beat up some people to help me, and if you're gone, I don't have anyone to turn to too help me beat people up-"
"That is fair, understandable and justified." Mad Dawg nodded in understanding.
"Also, your banana bread is suuuuperrrr good!"
"Actually, yeah. I meant to ask about that." Charlie remarked, having come to see wha tall the noise was, and very happy with the result. "Everyone I've talked to was going on about how great it is, is that something you did back above?"
"No, not really." Dawg frowned. "I know how to make it, and when I got to IMP City, I got bored. So, my options were either make banana bread, fight in cage matches, or start smoking crack."
"Why'd you choose banana bread?" Angel Dust asked, and Molly shot him a dirty look.
"You have any idea how much those vending machines charge for crack!?" Mad Dawg asked, sounding downright offended. "It's highway robbery!"
"…you…you didn't…" Charlie began but trailed off.
"Nah, I decided I could spend some money and get high, or spend that money on bananas and have a lot more supply." Mad Dawg reasoned. "And if I wanted too, I could buy some weed and make banana-blunt bread."
"That's fair, understandable and justified." Molly nodded, and Mad Dawg laughed.
"Hey, Molly? Uh, thanks." Mad Dawg added, somewhat awkwardly.
"For what?"
"…I dunno, just hearing that you cared, kinda means a lot to me." Mad dawg admitted, and Molly laughed.
"Of course, I care, silly! We're friends, aren't we?"
"Yeah, we are!" Mad Dawg smiled.
"Lady Delilah!"
"Wh- oh, you three." Delilah sighed, seeing the trio of C.H.E.R.U.B. flying down to meet her in the small house she had taken residence in during her mission down in hell. A mission that was currently at a crossroads, and these three were not what she needed to deal with right now. "I heard you three had made a mistake, but I didn't expect you to be down here."
"That wasn't our fault! It was those-" Keenie began.
"I'm not here to discuss if you are or are not at fault." Delilah remarked. "I have a task to attend to, and would prefer if you leave me be."
"But-but-but why are you helping him?!" Cletus sputtered, and Delilah was taken aback.
"Who?"
"The big furry thing! Mad… Mad Cat? Or something like that." Cletus answered, and Delilah exhaled. THIS made things much more complicated. And she hated complications.
"You made your choices, he has not." She said curtly, trying to shut the conversation down.
"He's a killer!"
"As, technically now, are you." Delilah said, her eyes narrowing. "Cletus, I am not in the mood and this is not the place for this conversation."
"That THING was working with the Imps who killed the man we were trying to save! Because of them, we're down here now! And he was WORKING for them, and you want to HELP him!?"
"Do you forget whom you speak to?" Delilah said, more of a growl than she intended. A surge of power flowed through her body, and she quickly bit on her cheek to hold it back. Thankfully, Cletus got the message.
"Lady Delilah, I apologize for Cletus' brashness, but his concerns are justified. If you're here to help the one known as Mad Cat, you should know he works for a group of hired killers!"
"That may be, but he also has shown great compassion and self-sacrifice for no reward, something you were renown for if I recall correctly." Delilah spoke in a gentle tone, and Collin looked away, embarrassed.
"I…I…I only ever did what was right, and what would help others." He stammered out. His humility genuine, and Delilah appreciated that. "I only sought to help, not to hinder."
"Collin, Keenie, I am not at liberty to divulge all the information on this particular soul, but 'Mad Dawg' as he is known, is an odd case. He has done many terrible things for the right reasons, and at the end of the day… there is more to this than you understand."
"Exactly, we don't understand why he would be given a second chance, when we didn't make a mistake and we were punished!" Keenie reasoned.
"Yes, but he was not condemned. We cannot enact the Father's Will if it is not the will the Father has." Delilah said defensively. The three angel/demon/whatever's blinked in surprise at that revelation.
"So, you're letting him go to lucifer's daughter's hotel?! You think THAT is the solution?!" Keenie asked, bewildered.
"It… it is a part in it, yes." Delilah coughed. "So, he actually went through with that."
"Why isn't He down here dealing with this? If he's an Unjudged, wouldn't it make sense for Him to come down here? Does He not know about this?"
"He… He knows, that is why I am here. He believed it would be better and possibly less conspicuous if an angel dealt with this matter." Delilah said sternly, her tone changing from the somewhat strict but gentle and caring tone to a somewhat… aggressive tone. "And if I were you, I would hold your tongue, lest you speak ill of the Father."
"We would never-!"
"Yet you have in some regard. You've fallen from Heaven's embrace, you're barely better than these wretches." Delilah seethed, hissing the last word as her eyes narrowed. "So, I repeat myself, hold thy tongue, or face the consequences of your words."
There was no response.
"Good…" Delilah nodded. "Now, I understand you three wish to re-enter Heaven, and I believe I may be able to assist in that… If first, you all assist me with something."
Things are getting better(?) for Dawg. He's back in therapy, and he's reconnecting with those he left. This can't possibly end poorly, can it?
Oh, BOY it can…
