1990
The Pentagram View Diner was bustling with patrons demanding food, coffee, and other assorted dishes. Cherri casually strolled and glanced around the place before they landed on the person she was looking for.
"How many?" A goat demon waitress asked with an annoyed attitude.
"I'm actually meeting someone," Cherri said unapologetically to the waitress. "And I see them, so I'll just go find my seat. Keep up the good work, though." The waitress rolled her eyes as though saying she wasn't paid enough to put up with this sort of stuff. Waltzing up to the booth where Angel was sitting, Cherri immediately took the seat opposite. Angel was dressed in a casual long sleeve t-shirt with dusty pink pull over sweater and a pair of white denim jeans. He was wearing a dark-haired wig with part of it flopping over his darker eye, and he had gone to the trouble of covering the freckle-like spots underneath his eyes. The casual observer wouldn't even know he was actually Angel Dust.
"Hey," Cherri said when Angel had noted her arrival.
"Hey, yourself babe," Angel greeted.
"It's not often your asshole boss lets you have the day off," Cherri commented as she picked up the menu to look over what she wanted for brunch. "Hmmm choices, choices…I don't know what I want more."
"Yeah," Angel said as he glanced around uneasily. "Though I wouldn't talk about Mr. V too casually, it always feels like he's havin' me watched."
"So what are you having," Cherri asked? "I'm debating between getting an omelet or french toast."
"I'm plannin' on the banana's foster pancakes," Angel said.
"Ooo, I didn't see that," Cherri said as she returned her attention to the menu. "And they have cinnamon roll French toast as well, yum." There was the sound of group of people entering the restaurant. Whoever they were they seemed to have caught Angel's attention
"How many," The female goat demon asked?
"We're actually not interested in dining here," One of the newcomers said as they all drew guns and hand-held assault-rifles. "Okay folks, let's all do this nice and easy. You just hand over your wallets and valuables and no one has to get hurt. If not…" At this the demon speaking shot the female goat demon leaving her limp on the floor. During this exchange Cherri had noticed Angel had slid the knife from off the table. Scooting out of the booth, Angel stood up with his second pair of arms clasped behind his back.
"Alright you," One of the muggers said as he pointed his gun at Angel. "What do'ya think you're doing?"
"Oh nothing," Angel said with a smirk. "But if you guys don't want any trouble yourselves, I suggest you go bother some other establishment."
"You must have fallen into Hell yesterday," One of the thugs said as though he trying to sound tough. "Were the notorious 'Brass Needle Gang'. If you don't want to lose your head, you'll return to your seat."
"'The Brass Needle'" Angel said the name as though in consideration. "'The Brass Needle'...sorry, I've been in Hell for forty-three years, and I've never heard of you. And trust me when I say I've met some real fuckers that make you guys look like your hardly more than chicken shit."
"He's got to be lying," One of the thugs protested. "We're the worst gang that Pentagram's ever seen."
"You said it, not me," Angel snarked. "Hey look, I get it. You arrive in Hell, got nothing to your name and you think robben' a few sinners and blowin off a few heads will give you some sort of a reputation. But it don't, it just makes you look…sad."
"Tough talk from some scrawny git," Another one of the thugs said, also pointing his guns at Angel. "Show us what you're hiding behind your back"
"Oh," Angel said coyly as he unclasped the hands he had behind his back and showed them to the thugs. "Nothing really." Cherri had slid under the table and was prepared to move. She eyed Angel with some interest, she knew he had slipped a knife off the table. But if he wasn't hiding it behind his back…,where was it?
"You think you're being cute, do yah," One of the thugs demanded?
"No," Angel said as a third pair of arms sprouted from a point just above his hips. One of the hands from this set was holding the knife Angel had slipped off the table. "But I ain't someone you wanna mess with." Before anyone could react, the six-armed demon threw the knife at one of the thugs. It landed a glancing blow, but it was enough of a distraction for Angel and then Cherri to duck behind the kitchen bar.
"Where'd he get to?" One of the thugs said as he looked around.
"What was that," Another thug asked? "It's like he suddenly grew a third set of arms." Behind the bar, Angel had grabbed a nearby kitchen rag and was ripping it into strips. Most of the cooking and wait staff slipped out of a door in the back the kitchen while Angel had the thugs distracted.
"You know how to make moltovs?" The Spider Demon asked, as he formed braids out the strips.
"Do I," Cherri said in mock offence? Reaching into the fridge underneath the bar and pulled out a couple of beer bottles. Inserting the braided fuses, Angel lit them with a handheld lighter before launching the incendiary device at the thugs, Cherri followed suit with the second. The thugs screamed in pain as they were set on fire, the patrons in the diner hurriedly left as thugs thrashed on the ground trying to put out the flames. Angel and Cherri also slipped out the back door of the restaurant to avoid being seen by the thugs.
"On second thought," Angel said with a self-righteous smirk once they were outside. "The food here sucks. I think I know of a betta' place."
"So, I guess you're a spider demon," Cherri asked. Angel immediately retracted his third set of arms.
"You could say that" Angel said. "Is that a problem?"
"No," Cherri said with a laugh. "It's just that when you have that third set of arms hidden...you kinda look like a cricket or a grasshopper."
"Well, I am a jumping spider," Angel said. "In case you were curious."
"This is an opiate-based sedative," Dr. Abaddon explained as he injected the needle into Angel's arm. "It will ease the worst of the short-term symptoms of your withdrawal, once we are sure you are over the worst of the detox period, the opiate dosage will be lessened."
"So how long will something like this take," Cherri asked?
"A number of drug addictions are monitored on a case-by-case basis," Dr. Abaddon confirmed. "Since Angel had been turning to his drug use on sparse intervals since joining the hotel, he may have already started to gain some headway into the short-term symptoms. How long were you planning on staying at the Cabin, Charlotte?"
"I'm scheduled to be there for about two weeks," Charlie explained.
"Is there any way you can schedule for longer," Abaddon asked?
"If I need another week," Charlie said. "I can be sure to let the hotel know. I can't be away much longer than that, we came here to have some time way from the city and also put a stop to some situations Angel was experiencing at the hands of his former employer."
"That isn't long enough I'm afraid," Abaddon stated. "Withdrawal symptoms from drugs such as PCP can last from several months to over a period of three-hundred and sixty-five days. Even after the detox period is over, he could still display symptomatic effects from the withdrawal. And there are also the longer-term symptoms to consider as well, such as depression, mood disorders, impaired cognitive functions, memory problems, trouble sleeping. Those symptoms largely depend on the frequency, duration, and level of use. Plus, further rehabilitation to prevent potential relapses."
"So, what your suggestin'," Angel sighed as the valium injection began to kick in. "Is that I get shipped off to a rehab clinic."
"It is likely that will be the case," Abaddon said.
"Like Hell he will," Cherri defensively said as she stood up.
"We still have some time before we need to return to the hotel" Charlie stated, in an attempt as appeasing the cycloptic female. "Maybe there is a solution we haven't considered yet. We should do what we can here, and then decide what should be done later."
"Agreed," Abaddon said. "On that note, it would be best to leave Angel to his rest." Angel was struggling to fight slumber, particularly a drug induced sleep. It just brought to mind the fog that would pass over his brain after Val had used his cigarette smoke. Unfortunately, the drug was winning. Cherri was at his side, one hand resting on his forearm. While she had seen Angel give in to weakness or express his frustrations before. There was an almost a fragility to him now, as though he would break at the slightest touch. It hurt her to see someone she knew to be so strong to be in such a broken place now.
"I want to stay with him," Cherri said.
"We..." Charlie replied, she understood where Cherri was coming from. But Vaggie had told Abaddon that Angel would only require one person to stay with him for the night so he could be certain he didn't wake up somewhere he didn't recognize, that had been granted. Having someone else stay with him as he slept would be a disruption and a distraction. "We can't, I'm sorry. He will be safe here; Dr. Abaddon is someone I trust with him and if anything happens, he will be sure to inform us. The best thing you can do for Angel is watch over Nuggets, you are the only one of us who really knows how to take care of his pig."
"I guess you're right," Cherri said as she sadly looked over to where Angel was sleeping, before turning and walking away. "See you at the car." Charlie approached the hospital bed. Angel was completely sound asleep. She could see some of the physical injuries he had suffered at Valentino's hands were healing, even the pouched bruising over his right eye seemed to have eased somewhat. Placing a hand on one of his arms was about to brushed away a lock of fur that had fallen across his face when she paused as she felt her hand brush something that felt papery and raised. Looking at the limb she had just touched, she didn't see anything that differed from the pristine white fur. Running her fingers through the hair that ran along Angel's arm, she found she was tracing the line of a long-thin scar. It snaked up his arm as though he had been struck with something. Lifting up his shirt front she found more scars along his chest and stomach, and she could imagine there were likely others along other parts of his body as well. None of these marks were recent, they had clearly been something Angel had carried for quite some time. Leaning forward she placed a soft kiss on his cheek and then left the room without a word.
There was no talking during the ride back to the cabin. In truth the car ride wasn't necessary and given the basketball sized muffins that Tetra had brought up the twenty-minute hike to the cabin might have been welcomed. Once they arrived Cherri immediately went downstairs. Charlie moved to the living room, pulling out her Hellphone she pulled up number for the hotel. Vaggie went to make some coffee for the sake of giving herself something to do.
"Hello, Husk," Charlie said. "It looks like we will have to stay here a third week." She paused as Husk spoke. "Angel's doing quite well, all things considered, though when I saw him today, he seemed rather miserable." There was another pause. "I don't think it's just the drug withdrawal that's the problem. Something about being alone in a medical facility may be triggering something. For instance, you said that in the time he had been alive, people who were interested in people of a similar gender were given corrective therapy. Where would these corrective measures be held...okay...I see...I...I see." Charlie brushed away a tear that had come to her eye. "I don't think Angel should return to the hotel. Not until this withdrawal period is over, there is also the matter of Valentino and the other V's. I've given orders to Val letting him know that Angel is no longer his employee. He will still try to reclaim Angel in some way though. This estate is property of my family, and really is only meant to be a retreat for my parents and myself. My dad also has a rule about interfering in the affairs of sinners, it's one of the reasons he doesn't like the idea of the hotel. It's too early to be sure what should be done; however, I know for a fact I will need to return to the hotel. I'm wondering if maybe I need to turn to some outside help about this. Such as maybe Angel's older brother for instance."
Vaggie had been pulling down a coffee cup for herself but dropped it at the mention of seeking help from Angel's brother. The cup shattered as it hit the Blood Quartz countertop, but she ignored it as she signaled to Charlie that was not an idea to consider.
"I know he is dangerous," Charlie explained. "But..I don't know...but what choice do we have. I don't think encountering either of them is completely avoidable, so wouldn't it be better to reach out to them first. I understand...I'll keep everyone posted about what's going on."
"CHARLIE..." Vaggie's voice raised in frustration. "What are you even thinking?"
"I don't know," Charlie said. "I feel that approaching Arackniss should be an option we have on the table."
"Angel's brother is a hitman," Vaggie protested as she left the kitchen. Completely overlooking the shattered cup that remained on the counter and the black tiled floor. "What part of that don't you understand?"
"I understand that Vaggie," Charlie sighed. It felt like this whole get away was becoming more and more of a mistake. She had thought it would be helpful to Angel's wellbeing for him to be taken out of the city to someplace where Valentino couldn't get to him. A period of time where he wouldn't have to live with the anxiety that Val being an ever-present threat instilled. Someplace where he could freely heal from his injuries and possibly reveal what he felt he couldn't while they were in the city. But then there was the unforeseen storm the previous day which had triggered Angel's sensitivity, and then afterwards the drug withdrawal and the trauma of that. It still horrified her to see his body go ridged as it violently convulsed. This moment only occurred for a couple of minutes, that felt like a horrific eternity before he finally went limp. "But Valentino isn't going to just let Angel go regardless of what I have ordered. We are going to need some outside help if we are to prevent the V's from trying to apprehend Angel. I don't know what sort of terms Angel and Arackniss have towards one another, but Angel at least is respectful enough to refer to him by the "Brother" honorific. I don't want to turn to Arackniss for help but having him as an ally could be a good thing, even if it is temporary."
"Organized crime isn't something you want to turn to for help," Vaggie stated. "Each group has their own rules and methods of running their respective organizations, but regardless of how they present themselves they still are criminals at the end of the day."
"Perhaps," Charlie agreed. "I don't want to turn to them as an option unless I absolutely have to, but regardless Arackniss is Angel's family, that has to account for something, right? I know just because people are family doesn't necessarily mean they care for you or have to,but familial ties still have to have some meaning." Vaggie didn't answer as she turned to clean up the porcelain shards. With the conversation over for right now, Charlie flipped on the smart TV and pulled up Voxtube, she wanted to check out some of the music performances Angel was involved in. Tetra had said that Angel would lose himself in the music, but Angel had also stated the performances didn't exactly relate to the message of the hotel. Still, she felt she had to hear the songs for herself. Typing in the words "Angel Dust Songs", the search results did pull up a sizable number of choices, most of which were covers of Angel's more popular performances, while others were lyric videos, reactions, or fan edits of the songs. Deciding to pull up one song Angel had performed, the one titled 911. It wasn't a song written for Angel, but he was singing a cover of a performer that currently resided in the Human World.
The opening sequence started with Angel gasping before giving a horrific sounding scream that make Charlie's blood freeze in her veins enough to pause the video as though questioning if she should see more.
"Was that Angel," Vaggie asked? She had finished cleaning up the mess in the kitchen, but the scream from the TV immediately drew her attention. It was like the screams they would hear back in the hotel when Angel would cry out after coming out of a nightmare. The only difference is there was there were rooms and hallways that didn't block out the sound of Angel's screams, so all anyone would hear...at least in the first guest floor was a distant cry that no one was ignoring, but nobody could do anything about either. But this...this scream was more visceral since they were hearing it directly.
"Yeah," Charlie said as she shook her head, but then pressed the play button again just as Angel's scream faded.
The opening sequence began with Val's voice at first sounding nonsensical before there was a firm command of "Get up" followed by the moth demon shouting "ANGEL!" Angel let in huge intake of air before rolling off the bed and violently coughing and gasping as if he had stopped breathing for a handful of minutes. Val ignored the obvious distress the porn star was experiencing and treated it as just another means of causing drama. "Fucking typical, and while you're still on the clock too."
"What the..." Angel said has he struggled to get out of his disoriented state. "What the fuck?! Where the fuck am I?!"
"You know where you are," Val answered as though he had seen Angel overdo it on the drug use far too often. "You only took enough for an elephant to OD on shit. Too bad that sort of thing don't stick down here, huh baby? Clean yourself up!" Angel's breathing hitched as he forced himself not to give Val the satisfaction in seeing him break down into a puddle of misery. Once Val was gone and he was left alone, he let out an exhale as he calmed himself down.
The song began the with a haunting music box tune before Angel began to sing. His voice was breathy and morose adding to the emotionally haunting tone of the song of a person who feels trapped in a toxic relationship and desperately wanted to leave it both in the figurative escape of drugs or being erased and seeking someone to step in and break him free.
Don't think I can take it
With every drama, a piece of me dies
Like some kind of sadist
I think that he likes to see the pain in my eyes
He knows that I'm lovesick
He kissed me and promised I will be alright
We both know it's bullshit
The longer I'm with him the less I'm alive
The song itself made Charlie's heart hurt just hearing it. True to Tetra's words he did appear to lose himself to the music, but there was also a cry for help behind his words. Perhaps this was the only sense of freedom he felt he could gain, so even if his pleas of desperation just fell on deaf ears, he at least was expressing a desire to be free. Turning off the TV she got up and started for the door.
"Charlie," Vaggie asked in concern. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going for a walk around the estate," Charlie said.
"I can come with you," Vaggie offered.
"No Vaggie," Charlie stated not looking at her girlfriend as she closed the door. "I need...I need to be alone right now."
Charlie hugged her arms around herself as she wondered the estate grounds. She felt no sense of danger as the entire place had automatic weapons system set up to erase anyone who dared attempt to enter the Morningstar's mountain estate without invitation or clearance. And anyone who managed to bypass said weapons there were armed guards on perpetual patrol, so anyone who wasn't known member of the royal family was immediately apprehended and brought to barracks for questioning. She stopped by a rock that jutted out into the lake and sat down upon it, her eyes looking troubled as she studied her reflection.
The video she saw everything in it was staged but there was still a basis in reality. That interaction was too well played out for it to be anything else. And what was worse is how Val had understood it was an escape attempt in some form, but he treated it like Angel was being a problem, down to mockingly saying that overdosing doesn't work since he is already a deceased soul in Hell. Even the pain and humiliation Angel was feeling up until he forced a smile upon his face at the end when he was to start his performance was real. Something she could relate to was he was seen but at the same time...no one actually saw him. Not the real him, they only saw the persona he knew they wanted and expected to see. Even the day she had first met him, even though he was mostly poking fun at Vaggie's expense that still came across as playing up his public persona. It was only when he was interacting with her specifically that he was choosing to risk glimpses of his true self. The only problem was he had been playing a certain character for so long that he didn't even know if he could be anyone else.
She knew in her heart she couldn't have Angel return with them to Pentagram City, at least not immediately. As a sinner Angel couldn't enter the other rings so that was not an option, and thanks to Vox there was no place in the pride ring where Angel couldn't be tracked down to. He could be kept at the hotel, but that would make him a prisoner. And if she allowed him to freely go about the city, Alastor would either have to accompany him or have a shadow follow him. Nether were conditions she wanted to subject him to. Even if he knew and understood it was for his safety, he still would feel like he was being kept prisoner or under constant surveillance. It wouldn't be that much different from what he was experiencing when he was under Valentino's control. Plus, all it wouldn't take all that much for Val to show up with the intent of forcing Angel out of the hotel or worse erasing him entirely. Getting up she continued to walk down the paved path around the lake.
"Hey Charlie," Tetra greeted from where she was sitting outside the estate's kitchens enjoying a beer.
"Oh hi," Charlie said. She had been so lost in her thoughts she hasn't noticed she had wondered to the clinic.
"Here to visit our patient," Tetra said. "He was still asleep last I checked."
"I might do so," Charlie said. "Thanks for the muffins earlier, they were tasty."
"You're welcome," The female Hellhound gave a toothy smile. "If you want, I can send some muffins over to the cabin for you girls to enjoy."
"You don't have to go to the trouble," Charlie said as she joined the Hellhound.
"It's no trouble really," Tetra said. "This place isn't used enough for the Doc to really do much more then read, I'm only useful because I help keep the guards fed. But other than that, there isn't really much to do. The only time we see any action is when Queen Lilith has one of her fancy parties."
"I see..." Charlie said as though in thought. "You mentioned liking some of Angel's music performances,"
"Yeah," Tetra said. "I find them enjoyable. The cover he does for 911 is hard to watch though. I gather you saw that one."
"Yes," Charlie replayed. "I know the opening scene was staged, but I know him well enough to know that whole situation wasn't complete fiction. The reason my companions and I were here was because of a situation involving Valentino."
"Then that explains the black eye," Tetra as she glanced up at the second floor where the clinic resided. "I'm not familiar with any of the Overlords, but Valentino seems like a real bastard. Though Angel can also be unexpectedly violent at times,"
"I gather you saw that turf war," Charlie commented. "The one that was going on during that interview I was using to promote the hotel."
"Oh, I wasn't meaning that," Tetra responded. "It one of his music videos it begins with him beating up a bar full of thugs most of whom are two times if not three times his size. Since Vox supposedly runs a lot of the media industries it would surprise me if much of the opening and ending were just spliced shots from hidden cameras and everything with the music was staged. And then in Addict there is one throwaway line where he reveals how he died."
"Huh," Charlie looked up, her interest peaked.
"Yeah," Tetra commented. "You don't really pay attention to what he's saying because the music is what's holding your interest not so much the lyrics. But one of the lines in the song he implies that he had OD'ed on some sort of drug slipped into a coma and just didn't wake up."
"I'll have to look those music videos when I'm back at the cabin," Charlie stated as she got up. Turning her attention to the window that she believed was Angels room, she noticed the Spider seemed to be starting to sit up in bed implying that he had just regained consciousness. "I'm going to pay Angel a visit."
The whole opening to the 911 music video was adapted from a cover video performed by Paranoid DJ, please go check it out on youtube.