Content Warning: Some readers may find uses of certain words used in this chapter offensive. All terms used here are NOT REFLECTIVE of the Author's feelings towards any individual. I wish all to feel welcome and accepted while readin' my stuff.


20:33:42…

Tick…

20:33:41…

Tock…

20:33:40…

Tick…

Mad Dawg loaded two shells into Ol' Rusty II, and snapped the gun shut as he stepped out of the post office. He took a moment to re-align his crossbow (Dawg forgot the name of it, he was stressed and needed to focus on what he was going to do) and then nodded in approval when everything was ready. Something he had noticed, was that all of hell seemed to be paying attention to him now, and not in a good way. Then again, Dawg doubted there was a good way hell could pay attention to someone… Ever since Dawg had gotten shot twice by whomever was out there – and was probably still after him – Mad Dawg knew he needed to be prepared.

Returning to the city in the Pride Ring the hotel was stationed in, Mad Dawg knew he had to do something, he needed to reach out to an Angel. He needed to talk to Delilah, one last time.

The only problem?

He didn't know where she was.

Well, that. The fact she may not want to talk to him, and the fact that most of the Pride ring seemed to have decided 'Hey-let's-all-target-that-Mad-Dawg-guy-because-screw-him-that's-why'. And while he had been shot by the unknown sniper, no one else had attacked. Yet. But now, he came face-to-face with an old acquaintance…

"YOU!"

Mad Dawg turned around and sighed deeply, seeing the short, gray-and-black spider demon who had been giving him grief when he first arrived walking up to him. His broken arm(s) were healed now, and he was packing multiple guns.

"Hey, Tiny." Mad Dawg grumbled, annoyed. "You here for me to break your arms again? Or should I go for the heads?"

"Oh, yer still a wiseass, are ya?!" The smaller demon spider snapped, aiming his guns. "D'you have ANY idea what you've cost me?!"

"I dunno, what's heck's health care like? It can't be worse than Americas…" Mad Dawg shrugged, not too concerned with the guns aimed at him. He unsheathed his right claws and cracked his neck. "Dude, how many times have we done this dance? Like, three times? And EVERY SINGLE TIME, I've won. Just walk away, I'm not worth this."

"Oh, no! You're not gonna get off that easy! You think I'mma just ignore what you's cost me?! I'm takin' my pound'a flesh, and the rest of your corpse, right here! Right now!"

"All right, Buggsy Malone, bring it-"

"ARACKNISS!"

Both Mad Dawg, and the spider-demon, now named 'Arackniss', jumped in surprise at the female voice who was now shouting at them. They turned to see who was yelling at them, and both were surprised to see-

"Molly?!"

"Arackniss! You get the HELL away from Mad Dawg! NOW!" She ordered, both demons sputtering in shock and taking a step back from one another. Looking to each other, then to Molly, then to one another. Molly stomped over to the pair, and seemed to be fuming to the high heavens.

"Uh… Molly? You know this idiot?" Mad Dawg blinked.

"Molls, you know this bastard?!" Arackniss snapped.

"Yeah! And why are you aiming guns at my friend!?" Molly demanded.

"This FREAK has cost me more cred then that shemale-prick I have to call a 'brother' ever did!" Arackniss barked, still aiming one of his guns at Dawg. "Moll, I love ya, but you need to step away! This don't concern ya!"

"Okay, first of all, SHUT." Mad Dawg ordered, grabbing Arackniss' mouth and holding it shut. He wasn't one-hundred-percent sure which way he went, but Dawg absolutely HATED those who spoke ill of others based on who they loved. "Second of all, screw you, and not in the fun way! Third of all, Molly, how do you know this asshole?"

"He's my brother."

Mad Dawg stared a molly for a good minute, blinking in shock as the words sunk in. Suddenly, things clicked. Mad Dawg remembered a while ago, Dust mentioned he had a brother named 'Arackniss'. Dawg didn't think he had met him, and didn't much care. But now… Mad Dawg started laughing. It was mostly a snorting chuckle at first, but eventually it over took him until he was laughing like a hyena on happy gas at the dentist. Molly looked to her brother, confused, but didn't say anything right away.

"Of all the dumb luck…!" Mad Dawg laughed. "And you… and Dust… and- AHAHAHAHA-!"

"How do you know each other?" Molly demanded. Arackniss looked away awkwardly, then sighed in defeat, not liking the questioning glare his sister was giving him.

"Ugh, me an'the boys tried t'fight him. He's the one who broke my arms."

"Yeah! After you stabbed me like, four times!" Mad Dawg retorted through his laughter. Molly glared at Mad Dawg, then at her brother, angered at both of em'.

"Okay. Fine." Molly grumbled, not wanting to take either side in this case. "Here's what's gonna happen. You two are gonna apologize, and then we're gonna move on. Got it?"

"No!"

"Hell no!"

"I said, GOT IT!?" Molly snarled, and the two demons took a step back, afraid of angering her further.

"You're right. Fine. I'm sorry." Mad Dawg said, holding his paws up. "Okay? I'm sorry."

"Aw, Yer nothin' but an overgrown shoe-shiner, keep yer mouth shut and rack off ya prude."

"Y'know, you're talking a mad crap for someone who's ass is within chainsawing distance." Mad Dawg threatened. The unconventional threat, plus the fact that Dawg pulled his chainsaw out from behind him made Arackniss take a step back, questioning if this was worth having a chainsaw go at his backside. He quickly decided it wasn't.

"Fine. Fine. I'm sorry. There. Happy?" He grumbled, bitterly.

"Not really, but fine." Molly sighed. "Now, get outta here. Both of you."

The two glared a threat at the other, then went their separate ways. About five minutes later, Molly caught up to Mad Dawg.

"Dawg, I'm so sorry about that! I had no idea you two had met previously, and-"

"Why are you helping me!?" Mad Dawg exclaimed.

"You're my friend!" Molly retorted as if this was the most obvious thing in all of hell. She gave him a flat look, which shifted to a concerned one when she saw Dawg's hesitation. "Wait, we're friends, right?!"

"Y-yeah!" Dawg stammered out. "I just- I mean-"

"You mean what?"

"With- with all the crap happening right now, I didn't think you'd still wanna be friends, let alone try and help me!" Mad Dawg reasoned, depressingly. Honestly, heck was not a nice place (shocking no one), and true comradery was something that Dawg knew would be helpful, but until he knew his plan was set in stone, he didn't want to endanger anyone. Let alone the one demoness who had been his friend from the moment they met.

"Hey, no. Stop that!" Molly ordered, a bit annoyed, hitting his arm. "Kid, you seem to think that I can't take care of myself. That by hanging out with you, I'm putting myself in danger. Is that it?"

"Well, I guess-"

"Dawg, I'm OLDER than you!" Molly said, annoyed. She clearly didn't like talking about her age, but decided not to bring that up right now. "I've been down here a lot longer than you have, and I have a lot more experience dealing with crap down here. Now like it or not, I'm not leaving you out here!"

Mad Dawg blinked, then smiled.

"Thanks." He nodded, feeling an odd sense of relief wash over him. Molly grabbed his hand and pulled him to his large demonic paws. "C'mon, I need to find your brother, I need to talk to him about something, calmly…"

It only took them about ten minutes before Dawg found himself in the middle of a firefight.

As usual, Cherri Bomb and Angel Dust had angered some gang, and were now in the middle of fighting them. Dawg and Molly had been looking for Duat (Dawg saying he needed to talk to him about… something). And now, the four of them were in the middle of a firefight.

"…and that's the idea." Mad Dawg concluded, filling Dust in on what he could.

"Odd, but I can work with it." Angel dust nodded, casually re-loading a gun as the hailstorm of shrapnel and bullet casing rained down around them, creating a cacophony of chaos and bullets. "So, when's this going down?"

"I don't know. All I know is I need you to be on-call-"

"Ehhh… that may be an issue." Angel frowned. "I'm already on call with both Val and Cherri. I'm only one incredibly sexy spider, Dawggy. You know that all too well~!"

"What the heck are you on about?"

"Oh, you're no fun." Angel pouted, throwing a grenade out, then realized something. "Hangonasec, how come Charlie doesn't get pissed off at YOU for being in these turf wars, but she gets mad at ME for being in them?!"

"Because I've told her you dragged me into them."

"Aw, seriously?! Not cool, Dawg!"

"Look, it was a one-time thing! She only knew about the one when I had to lie to Pentious to-"

"AAAGH!"

Everyone snapped to attention as Cherri fell to the ground, clutching her arm. The Cyclops had moved in front of Dawg, an inadvertently saved his afterlife, when a sniper took a shot, resulting in her arm taking the hit.

"HOLY CRAP. THAT WAS NOT FROM US!" Angel Dust shouted in surprise. Mad Dawg recognized the red flash from earlier, and growled. He was getting tired of whoever was shooting at him, and now, he was attacking his allies!

"Rrrghhh… this ends, now!" Mad Dawg snarled.

Walking out into the bullet storm, Mad Dawg looked around and then fired his shotgun twice into the air, before reloading it. The blasts tore through the sky like a crack of thunder, and the fighting seemed to slow around them.

"Mad Dawg! Stop being an idiot!" Molly screamed.

"Mad Dawg! If you die, can I have your chainsaw!?" Angel Dust yelled.

"I call his shotgun and crossbow!" Cherri added through the pain of being shot.

"Damn it! I wanted that shotgun!"

"HEY!" Mad Dawg roared, his voice a bit deeper than normal. "I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE, BUT IF YOU WANT ME, I'M RIGHT HERE!"

The silence continued, but Dawg swore he could see a figure with a sniper watching him from afar.

"BRING YOUR ASS OUT HERE AND FACE ME!" Mad Dawg shouted into the sky. "YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE ME ON!? THEN COME OUT AND FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!"

"Jackpot."

Bang!

"AAGH!" Mad Dawg screamed as something blasted into his chest. He was thrown backwards, as if a shotgun had just been fired in his direction, and the force threw him a good few feet back. Molly and Dust watched in shock as Dawg hit the ground and groaned in pain. Dawg felt broken bones, and he also felt something stuck in there… this was bad. Really, really bad. If inorganic materials were in his body, he couldn't heal. Simple as that.

For about a minute, there was nothing but silence, as Mad Dawg stared up at the red sky of hell, questioning what had just happened. He was trying to get back up, he needed to get up! He couldn't just lie here and-

"Geez, I've been huntin' you across the entire Pride Ring. For someone so big and notable, you really got a knack for dissapearin'." A southern voice spoke up, as boots crunched on the ground, approaching Mad Dawg. "But, yer right, y'deserve t'see who's takin' you down."

Mad Dawg looked up from where he was lying. He saw an Imp (he assumed, he had the tail and horns of one) and immediately thought that Blitzo would LOVE this guy. Everything about him said 'Old West' from his hat and vest, which Dawg swore McCree had worn once, to his accent, to his weapons, he seemed like an old-town sheriff. But when Dawg saw the sniper on his back, he bore his teeth.

"You the guy who shot me, earlier?" Mad Dawg asked.

"You th'idiot who hid under a cardboard box?"

"…it seemed like a good idea in the moment…" Mad Dawg mumbled.

"It wasn't." The Imp said flatly.

"What do you want with Maddie?!" Molly shouted, angered someone had shot Mad Dawg. Multiple times. The Imp snorted at Molly's nickname for Mad Dawg and Mad Dawg let out a quiet whine, as if silently saying 'please-don't-let-that-be-a-thing'.

"Hey, this ain't nothin' personal." The Imp nodded, hand on his revolver. "It's just a gig."

"I get that." Mad Dawg nodded as he cracked his neck. Even when he was alive, he had seen this type of character before. Heck, he had been one, briefly. "Bounty Hunter? Or some sorta secret police?"

"Eh, I'd call myself more of a Hunter." The Imp nodded, tilting his hat. "Th'name's Striker."

"Mad Dawg." Mad Dawg nodded. "But, I'mma assume you already knew that."

"Well, I was assumin' it was some sorta alibi, but it seems like yer stickin' to it." Striker shrugged. "Makes no difference what you call yerself, yer' comin' with me all the same."

"HA!" Dust and Dawg laughed, for the same reason.

"Laugh all you want, I'm bringin' you in. The client specified 'alive', but seein' as how you can heal, I figure I can put a couple dozen rounds int'a ya and you'll still be fine."

"And if I put as many rounds into you, you'll be mouthin' off still, tonto del culo?" Mad Dawg asked, dropping an insult in the langauge he was still learning. It probably wasn't the RIGHT insult for this encounter, but he was trying.

"I'm just gonna go ahead and assume you said something offensive there." Striker dryly commented, aiming his gun now at Angel Dust. "Now, you can come with me, or your girlfriend gets shot."

"I'm a dude!" Angel Dust shouted, annoyed.

"Oh, my mistake." Striker coughed, aiming his gun at Molly. "Just so there's no misunderstandings, are you like Sally Mae?"

"I… I don't know who that is." Molly blinked, confused.

"Damn, I'm sorry. I'm all sortsa confused." Striker chuckled. "Just stand still and get shot."

Dawg was about to lunge forward, when Dust beat him to it. Two of Dust' fists struck Striker in the jaw, and another two hit him in the chest. Striker was completely caught off-guard when Dust began to fight him de-mano-e-de-mano. Not only that, but Dust was a heck of a lot tougher than he looked. Something Dawg knew from first-hand experience. He also knew one of the best ways to push someone to the breaking point was to do what Striker had just done.

"I can live with you shootin' my buddy Mad Dawg-"

"Thanks?!"

"-BUT NO ONE THREATENS MY SISTER!" Angel Dust yelled, now piledriving Striker into the ground before drop-kicking him across the road. Mad Dawg was left in utter shock at Dust's attack, and then he grinned.

"Nice." He said with an approving thumbs-up.

"Rrgh… heh… fer a gender-confused doxy, you sure know how to use your hands." Striker chuckled, both commending and insulting Dust with the same sentence. "Then again, I guess I shouldn't be surprised…"

"Aw, c'mon man! I'm trying to like you! Stop being so Southern!" Mad Dawg protested at Striker's… 'unique' way of describing Angel Dust. Sure, it wasn't like he had dropped the 'T' or 'F' words, but it was clear he meant that with his insults.

"Oof. Yer younger than I expected…" Striker muttered under his breath as he put his hat back on. "Or, you're somehow still holdin' onto some degree of 'innocence'."

"No. Not anymore." Mad Dawg growled, baring his teeth and unsheathing his claws, ready to fight. "I lost that when I got here."

"Well, I'll be a nice guy, I'll give ya one more chance." Striker comented, cocking his gun. "Come with me, or I'll end all their lives."

"Can… I… can I get a sec?" Mad Dawg panted, still weak from the shot to the chest. He leaned back and looked to Molly and Angel Dust. "Whadd'you two think? Should I stay or should I go?"

"You seem WAAAAYYY to calm about this guy who's trying to kill you." Cherri muttered, looking from Dawg to Striker. She had to admit, for an Imp, he had skills.

"Eh, I was a Bounty Hunter for a time back above." Dawg nodded with a shrug. "Part of the Code I was taught was simple, even when they're after you, respect a fellow hunter. Especially one who's more experienced than you."

"Now that's a code I could get behind." Striker smirked. "Now, you've had yer moment, so if you'd be so kind as t'come with me…"

"Heads up!" Mad Dawg suddenly yelled, throwing something at Striker. Instinctively, the Bounty Hunter ducked.

Tink tink tinkk…

Strikers' eyes widened in shock at the small bottle-like explosive that rolled into view. He knew what it was, and he realized ducking down had been a big mistake.

"Well, F-"

Striker yelled in annoyance and anger as the flashbang went off. He had the unfortunate luck of staring directly at it when it hit the ground, as he believed Dawg was going to throw something AT him, and not in front of him. So, while he hated doing so, he had to give the kid credit where it was due, he knew what he was doing.

But, so did Striker.

It took him about forty seconds until he was fully back to grips, time the freak had used to make himself scarce, and Striker wasn't able to pick up their trail immediately. Normally, this would piss the demonic bounty hunter off, but in this case? He kinda wanted the kid to run, it made the hunt that much more enjoyable.

He looked around for a moment, then saw blood splatters, clearly a different colour than most demons, heading off towards an alley. Striker smirked, but wasn't sure if that was Dawg or not. Th'kid seemed too smart to make a mistake like that…


20:05:59…

Tick…

"Qué Cabrón!" Mad Dawg shouted in pain, then looked to Molly and Dust, both of whom seemed surprised. "What?! Technically, I'm from Xolapa, and I've been hangin' out with Vaggie!" Molly and Angel looked to one another, shrugged, and looked back to Dawg.

"What's happening?!" Molly exclaimed, having run with her brother and Mad Dawg when the flash went off, hiding out in an alleyway a few streets over. Thankfully, they seemed to have given Striker the slip for the time being.

"Rrgh- whatever Striker shot me with… it's still in there!" Mad Dawg growled, feeling alongside his body. "We need to get it out-Aagh!" He recoiled when he found the metal stuck in his body. It was lodged somewhere in the right side of his abdomen, and it was stuck somewhere in there. Sliding down the alley wall, Dawg sat on the filthy ground and looked up with a growl. He exhaled deeply and looked up at the two spider demons. "I need your help."

"Of course! What do you need?!" Molly exclaimed, wanting to do whatever she could to help.

"Do you have a knife on you?"

"What size?" Molly asked, taking Dust and Dawg aback. "…what?"

"Er… large." Mad Dawg coughed. Molly looked around awkwardly, then pulled a knife from behind her. "Thanks." Without warning, Dawg took the knife and then stabbed himself in the side, cutting through his side before pulling the wound open. "Hold that open!"

Molly sputtered at the odd request, but bit her lip and groaned. She sighed, then reached forward and grabbed onto the two sides of the wound and trembled as she had to hold them open.

"Dust, you need to stick your hand deep in my hole." Mad Dawg said.

"Uh, kid? This ain't the time-"

"PUT YOUR HAND IN MY HOLE!" Mad Dawg snapped, suddenly pulling a gun out and attempting to aim it at Dust in a moment of pained anger. However, he just dropped it and shouted in pain. Angel Dust winced, usually being open to at least trying that kind of thing, but this was different. He inhaled sharply, and began to push, hearing the sickening squelching sound of his hand being pushed into Dawg's body. The mutant groaned in pain as he forced himself to stay on the ground. "You need to reach up there and grab the metal, and pull it out!"

"Oh- ugh…" Angel Dust muttered, used to doing weird stuff, but this was just… different. He kept pushing inwards, groaning (in disgust) as he felt Dawgs' innards shifting about as he attempted to find whatever was inside him. He kept pushing, feeling what he hoped were non-essential organs as his hand could be seen pushing against the underside of Dawg's skin. "Oh, this is disgusting! Dawg! Why can't you do this at a hospital or something?!"

"No- you- you don't get it…" Mad Dawg growled as Dust kept forcing his hand deeper, looking for the shard of metal. "My ability to heal is contingent on the fact that inorganic material doesn't get stuck in my body. Casings, shells, glass and crap like that, it can usually push out and heal. But whaAAAGH!" Mad Dawg screamed in pain as Dust hit… something.

"Crap! Crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap!" Angel Dust muttered, trying to calm his nerves. "Sorry, Dawg!"

"Ugh, my bad-" Mad Dawg hissed, picking up his gun and putting it in his mouth to act as a 'bite block' for the pain. Thankfully, this was a random handgun he had picked up while working with I.M.P. and wasn't Ol' Rusty II.

"So, you're sayin' if something is left in your body, you can't heal?" Angel Dust asked, trying to keep Dawg calm as he kept reaching, finally feeling something metallic. Mad Dawg grunted and nodded, tears in his eyes from the pain, as blood came from the hole Dust was currently reaching into. "Ugh, fine. I can accept that. But-"

"Oh… oh this is gross…" Molly winced, watching her brother's hand move up Dawg's body. On the inside.

"Sorry." Mad Dawg said in a muffled voice.

Finally finding what was embedded in his body, Angel Dust looked to Mad Dawg and nodded, warning him of what was to come. Mad Dawg inhaled sharply and closed his eyes. Mad Dawg roared in pain as Dust ripped out the chunk of metal embedded in his body. The demonic spider coughed and threw the metal away, watching in shock as Dawg's wound just… closed. After a few moments, it was like nothing had happened.

"Oh, that is awesome." He blinked. Sure, he had seen Dawg's powers before, but nothing on this scale. "That's gotta come in handy."

"It's saved my ass countless times!" Mad Dawg coughed, forcing himself to his feet, only for Angel Dust and Molly to provide him support. "Blech… I feel like there's a hole in my stomach…" He groaned, not knowing there was a hole in his stomach. Well, a new hole, which was thankfully closing, but was going to hurt for a while.

"Hang on, big fella. You're not in the best shape right now." Angel Dust commented with a frown. "We should get you back to the hotel, let you rest for a bit, and then-"

"No. No. I'm good." Mad Dawg growled, forcing himself to take a step forward.

"Yeah. Ha. NO. You're not." Angel Dust said, getting in Dawg's face. "That wasn't just some gun he was using! I don't know where he got that, but that southern freak was shootin' you with Blessing Tipped bullets! Those things can kill ya, for good!"

"Blessing Tipped bullets? Did… Did Delilah give him those?!" Mad Dawg's mind snapped to an idea he hadn't even considered before. But, he quickly shot it down. He wasn't sure about everything concerning the Angel, but she wouldn't arm a demon with a weapon to KILL him, right? That just didn't make sense! If she was using him – something Dawg didn't believe – WHY would she now try and kill him!?

The other reason he didn't believe that, was because of the weapon stores he had been to. More than once, he had heard of 'Exterminator Weapons' which were powerful enough to kill demonic royalty! They were apparently worth a fortune, so it stood to reason Striker could've gotten his hands on one via the black market, similar to how Mad Dawg got a lot of his gear back home. No, that's not a joke. A good amount of the gear Dawg rolled with was bought from black markets. Aside from his chainsaw, that was-

"Focus!" Mad Dawg ordered himself, feeling… off. "Find. Delilah."

"I need to find an Angel. You guys know how I could do that?" Mad Dawg asked, looking to Angel Dust and Molly, both of whom shrugged. "Oh."

There was an awkward silence, the three standing there for a full minute, no one sure of what to say or do in this situation.

"…hm…" Mad Dawg frowned, then closed his eyes. "Miss Delilah? Are you there?"

The next thing Mad Dawg knew, he felt… something, grab him. When he opened his eyes, he was at the end of the street, and Delilah was standing before him. Almost as if she had been waiting for him to call.

"Hello, little one." Delilah smiled warmly. Her greeting put Dawg on edge, and he didn't know why. "I take it you've made your decision, and things are in place?"

"Yeah. I've made my choice." Mad Dawg nodded. Delilah had a thin-lipped expression, but nodded nonetheless.

"I understand, child." She nodded. "This… was hard for you, wasn't it?"

"Probably one of the hardest things I've ever done. And that included killing myself." Mad Dawg confessed, and frowned when he saw Delilah taken aback by his statement. "What? Did you not know about that? Surely God would've told you about how I-"

"He- he did." Delilah coughed, collecting herself. "I'm surprised you speak so openly about it."

"I'm sorry, I thought Angels couldn't lie." Mad Dawg said, narrowing his eyes. "I didn't kill myself. I tried to, and I got sent to another world, but then I went through a door and wound up down here. You yourself said it, I'm an Unjudged."

"Yes, and I am very unhappy you continue to try and play these games with me." Delilah countered, seeming to be running out of patience with Mad Dawg. "You are not 'dead', so why did you claim you killed yourself?"

"God knows all, right?"

"Of course!"

"And then he would've told you all about me, right?"

"He did!"

"But you didn't know about that…"

"This is how you chose to spend your chance and redemption?! You chose to live among a disordered arachnid sodomite and a Spanish dyke?! Do you not know what they are doing to you!?" Delilah demanded, now growing angry. Which, only angered Mad Dawg in return. Both because she refused to answer him directly, and for how she spoke.

"Didn't Jesus hang out with prostitutes and tax collectors?" Mad Dawg countered, trying to keep an even tone, but was beyond angry at Delilah for using those terms to describe Angel and Vaggie. They weren't saints, but they deserved better than that!

"Now, you compare yourself to the Son of God?!"

"No! Hell no! You think I'm anywhere NEAR as good as him!?" Dawg snapped, angered. "Y'know, it really feels like you're trying to turn me against them, rather than provide me with an actual answer! It feels to me like you're just using God's words to try and justify your own ideals!"

Now, more than ever, Dawg felt terror grabbing his bones as Delilah glared at him. Some sort of power which all the forces of hell couldn't begin to imagine having seemed to form around her, but Mad Dawg wasn't backing down. Not now, not from this.

"I'm taking issue with how you're talking about my friends." Mad Dawg scowled, not seeing Angel Dust watching from the end of the road, staring in disbelief at Dawg standing up to an Angel… for HIM. "They're sinners, and they're not good people, but they're still my friends!"

"You break bread with sinners, yet you don't do anything to change them!"

"That ain't my job!" Mad Dawg snapped, cutting the Angel off. "If God wants me down here to prove redemption is possible, that would be one thing! But ever since I've met you, all you've done is watch! You've never told me what you needed me to do until now, you've just… been there! Where were you when I needed your help!? Where were you when I was being drugged and possibly violated by Valentino and those others?!"

"I… did not want to explain this to you, but I shall. You deserve this truth…" Delilah sighed, then looked at Mad Dawg once again, seemingly resolved to whatever she was going to say. "Child, if you think I was going to allow the Overlords' actions against you to go unpunished, you are sorely mistaken." Delilah spoke with a calm smile. She gently reached forward and put a hand on Dawg's cheek. "You are one of the Father's creations, you should be shown the same kindness as any other. I said nothing, told you nothing, because you are correct. This is not your place to change others, but to change yourself. The issue is, since you were not condemned down here, I could not stand by and allow this to happen."

Mad Dawg's anger fell away, and he looked away, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry." He muttered, now feeling guilt and regret for his words. "I just-"

"No, little one. It's fine." Delilah smiled. "I understand you have been experiencing things which no one has ever experienced. You are doing well, young one. Do you think I do not wish for change? For bad people to renounce their wicked ways, and turn to the Father for salvation? I do! More than anything, I wish to help those who are helpless, much like you did with your old friends."

Delilah spoke, and Mad Dawg listened. More and more, he realized where he was going wrong, he felt the calm words of the angel seep into him, as if a calm, guiding presence was telling him what to do. It felt… right. It didn't feel like he was being drugged, it felt like he was being taught. Her words kept breaking down Dawgs' arguments, like a parent talking to their child, showing them where they were wrong.

Mad Dawg wanted to say something, but Delilah spoke up again, growing serious.

"Time is running out, Kace." Delilah frowned, looking to a clock. "Make your choice, before it is made for you."

00:20:11…

Tock…

"Wait! I had like, 20 hours left!" Mad Dawg protested.

"You said you have made your choice." Delilah said, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Now, go. We will meet again, soon."

"…when can I tell the others?"

"Only when the time has finished." Delilah answered.

Mad Dawg sighed as he took off. He knew what he had to do.

"If you fail me, then I will see to it that this matter is resolved myself."


Mad Dawg sat in his room, making some final preparations. He looked to the timer on his wrist, and his eyes shot open in terror.

00:14:33…

Tock…

00:04:32…

Tock…

"WHAT!?" Mad Dawg all but screamed. The timer went from fourteen minutes down to four! What was happening!? This was bad! This was really, really bad! He needed more time! He wasn't ready! He-

"Remove the lie, and protect hell."

"IT'S noW Or nEVEr KacE. maKe tHE cALl." Virus ordered, and Mad Dawg froze.

What was he doing?!

Mad Dawg felt sick. What. Was. He. DOING!?

He couldn't go through with this!

Mad Dawg ran down the stairs, eventually jumping over the railing and running out of the hotel. His limbs utterly froze when he saw Charlie and Vaggie running towards him.

"Nononononono!" He cursed. He needed more time! He couldn't face them, not right now! So much was at stake, and he couldn't risk them getting hurt! Damn it all, the plan wasn't going to work!

"Mad Dawg! I've been looking all over for you!" Charlie exclaimed, rushing up to him.

"Stay away!"

"No! Please, it's okay!" Charlie insisted. "Angel told us everything! He told us you were attacked by an Imp with an angelic weapon! He told us you were standing up to an Angel for them!"

"Charlie, I-"

"Kace, I'm SO PROUD of you!" Charlie beamed, running forward and hugging Mad Dawg. "You have no idea what you've done! It's wonderful!"

"No! It's not!" Mad Dawg barked, pulling away and scrambling back. "Please! Just- just go!"

"Mad Dawg?" Charlie blinked, concerned by Dawg's sudden drastic tonal shift.

00:00:57…

Tick…

"You don't understand! You can't be here! I CAN'T BE HERE!" Mad Dawg began struggling to explain what was happening. What he had done, and what he had to do.

"Hey, hey. Ninō, calm down." Vaggie spoke calmly, taking his arm and looking up at him with concern. "Now, what's happening? Did that Angel woman threaten you or something?"

"Just- just stay away from me! Please!" Mad Dawg pleaded. "I'm not able to explain why, but I need you to trust me on this one!"

00:00:22…

Tock…

"C'mon, Mad Dawg! You gotta talk to us!" Charlie protested.

"I can't!" Mad Dawg retorted, Vaggie seemed… angered, by his response. "I have to go!"

"No, Mad Dawg! This is EXACTLY what we've been trying to get through to you. Something is wrong, and you can't keep running! If you keep doing this, then you're never gonna get better! You said yourself that you don't want to keep running! So please, TALK to us!" Vaggie demanded.

00:00:06…

Tick…

"Whatever it is, I wanna help you!" Charlie insisted, her sincerity still there. Mad Dawg seemed hurt by it, but knew it would all be over soon. He could explain everything to them in just a few seconds. But until then, he couldn't let them get hurt…

"Charlie! Please, you gotta stay far away from me! You don't understand what I have to do, I have to-"

Tock…

00:00:00

BeepBeepBeepBeepBeep…

Then, in an amalgamation of broken dreams, horror and revenge-fueled anger, the hotel exploded. The structure began to wobble, then gave out, floor by floor as fiery explosions incinerated the insides before bursting outwards with an almost painful screech. The building came caving inwards, splitting apart at the sides and seams. The walls crumbled and ripped themselves to shreds as everything inside was brought in on itself in a fiery inferno of destruction. Charlie's eyes widened in horror as she saw her hopes, her dreams, her plans of salvation for the denizens of hell.

Gone…

Completely, gone.

As the building came down, the shockwave which emanated from the explosion was akin to an act of Armageddon, similar to the extinction event scientists believed a meteor caused, which killed the dinosaurs. The ground shook, dust debris and fire shot out in all directions, and everyone was left watching in horror at the sight before them. When the rumbling finally stopped, all that remained was a pile of crushed dreams, broken buildings and burning remains.

From behind him, Delilah gently floated down, coming to a stop behind Mad Dawg. Charlie turned around in horror, and saw Mad Dawg holding an explosive in his large paw.

"Well done, my child." Delilah smiled.

"What… did you do…?" Charlie forced herself to whisper.


Hooray! 25 chapters! *Throws confetti into the air* lets tear this place do- ooohhh… that might not be the most appropriate reaction… huh? Still, thanks for 25 chapters! No, there won't be 25 more. The story ain't that long.

Also, just to clarify any confusion, Mad Dawg joined I.M.P. after 'Spring Broken' and was around (but not with them) during 'C.H.E.R.U.B.' hence why those three appeared in earlier chapters/there were holes in the wall at the beginning of Chapter 16. Dawg then left, and the 'Harvest Moon Festival' and 'Truth Seekers' have happened since. Mad Dawg doesn't know who Striker is, or his past connections to Blitzo, as he's been busy with the Hazbin Hotel crew.

Yes, I know 'Spring Broken' technically happened in MARCH and this story noted that November was when Dawg's birthday was and all that… don't focus too much on that, okay? ;)