Wiping down a mirror, Mad Dawg listened to his Walkman as he finished up the bathroom he had been assigned to clean. In about two hours, he had finished three bathrooms, and the staff kitchen. He wasn't sure what a good 'pace' would be for this kind of work, so he simply decided not to question it. The sooner the work was done, the sooner his debt would be paid off! But, that still left him with a pretty big problem. How the heck was he gonna get home?! The closest 'solution' he could think of would be to try and use that Skull Heart thing when it shows up soon, but if it only worked for women, then that was outta the question.
"Hey, Mad Dawg? There's a spill in the kitchen. Minette and Feng are there, but they need a hand." Filia spoke up, Mad Dawg nodded.
"You got it, boss!" He remarked as he headed off without so much as a second thought. He had no clue who those two were, but hey. He'd figure it all out. Grabbing a longboard which he had found in a supply closet, he rode off towards the staff kitchen.
"Well, his work ethic is good." Filia said aloud, watching him ride off. She had wondered if she should be concerned about wheel tracks in the casino, but then realized Mad Dawg was going to clean them anyways, so she decided to leave well enough alone. Riding into the kitchen, Mad Dawg jumped off and walked over to the two women in the room. One of them was human, the other – who turned to meet him – was most certainly not. Honestly, she looked like a friendlier version of Baxter… the crazy fish-scientist who was at least partially responsible for getting him sent to heck.
"Hi!" The fish woman said with a friendly smile and a wave.
"Hey." Mad Dawg nodded back. "Where's the mess?"
"Aheh… uh…" The woman moved aside, and Mad Dawg saw the giant mess on the floor. It looked like someone had set a bomb off in the kitchen! Geez, was there a version of Junkrat in this universe?
In the car heading to the casino, Peacock sneezed.
"Huh, well, okay." He nodded. "I got this." He smiled, dunking the mop in the water and wringing it out, beginning to clean up the mess. "What caused this? Food fight? Earthquake? Pipe bomb?"
"Uh, well…" The fish-woman seemed to be stuck on finding an answer, and the other woman spoke up.
"We had a little helper in the kitchen, not sure if you've met him, Harry?"
"No, I haven't." Mad Dawg shook his head, still not knowing these two's names.
"Yeah, his magi-" The fish woman began but stopped himself. Mad Dawg was half-listening, mostly focused on getting the job done. "Uh, there was an accident. Heh."
"Oof, hope no one got hurt." Mad Dawg remarked. A knife slipping from a shelf above and just barely missing him. Both women gasped in shock as Mad Dawg looked down, picking up the large kitchen knife and turning it over. "Okay, that was just stupid, Skorch." Mad Dawg remarked, before a pan fell and banged off his head. "OW!" He began cursing in Spanish.
"Ohmygoshareyouokay?!" The fish-woman rushed up, trying to see if Dawg was bleeding. "Feng! Can you get an ice pack please?" She didn't have to ask twice, as Feng was already grabbing one and tossing it to the other woman, who pressed it to Dawg's head. Sure, his healing factor would/could deal with bombs, bullets, machetes, chains, knives, and all manner of wounds, injuries which left bumps or bruises stubbornly didn't heal the same…
"Yeah, I'm good." He growled. "Thanks, Miss…"
"Minette!" Minette beamed. "And that's Feng!"
"Heya." Feng waved, wincing at the pain Dawg was clearly in. "That… ouch." Mad Dawg simply nodded.
"I'm Mad Dawg." He introduced himself, then looked to Minette, deciding he had to bite the bullet and ask this question: "Look, this may seem weird, and I don't wanna be offensive, but what are you?" Mad Dawg asked, semi-awkwardly. "I'm from way, way, WAY outta town, and I've never seen what I guess could be called a merfolk before."
Minette blinked, then burst out laughing. Both at Dawg's clear tepidness and awkward attempt to not come off as crude, and also by calling her a- "Merfolk?!" She laughed with a huge grin. "That's adorable! No, no… I'm a Dagonian." She explained.
"Ah, uh, sorry." Mad Dawg muttered. He had no idea what that was, but assumed it meant 'fish-human'. As such, he noted he'd need to remember that.
"No! It's fine." Minette beamed. "If you didn't know, you didn't know."
"How did you not know that, though?" Feng asked, bewildered. Mad Dawg looked to her as he rung out the mop and shrugged, returning to cleaning what he assumed was cake batter off the floor.
"As I said, I'm from way outta town. All this stuff is new to me, I'm not lookin' to make enemies within five minutes of getting here." He explained with a sigh, deciding his cover story was that of a simple traveller, coming from WAYYYYY outta town, having lived in a small town all his life. He left because he was ready to start living his own life.
"You say that like that's happened." Feng mused.
"Many times." Mad Dawg sighed. Then realized that contradicted his story. Okay. New story, take two. He was a traveller coming from way outta town, having lived in a small town all his life, and he left because… the Turtle Cartel wanted him dead. Sure, that worked! Wait, who were the Turtle Cartel? Hm… okay, new story, take three! He was a traveller coming from way outta town, having lived in a small town all his life, and he left because-
"Heh, looks like this stray just couldn't stay away!" A new voice spoke up. Mad Dawg whirled around, smacking the newcomer in the face with the mop by accident. There was a long, awkward silence as no one moved, and no one seemed to want to help the new woman. Finally, she pulled the mop slowly off her face and fixed Mad Dawg with an annoyed look. "Thanks." Was all she said.
"Heh, hey, at least I wasn't cleaning the bathrooms." Mad Dawg chuckled weakly, trying to defuse the situation. The figure, some sort of half-cat-half person blinked, and then began laughing.
"Ha! Well at least you got a sense of humour." She admitted.
"Yeah, that joke was crap, sorry." Dawg commented, cracking a pun, which to his surprise, seemed to make the cat woman's eyes light up like it was Christmas. It also made Feng's eyes widen in a 'Please no. Not another one.' Way.
"Yeah, yer makin' my head swirl." The cat woman smirked, laughing at her own pun.
"Geez, this conversation's going down the drain."
"Can't tell if you're a skeptic, or if your jokes are septic."
"PLEASE. Stop!" Feng all but begged, making the pair look to her, and then break out into gales of laughter at her mortified expression.
"Aw, man that was too good, mujer gato!" Dawg laughed, shaking his head. He extended a hand, slinging the mop over his shoulder, and nearly hitting Feng with it. "Th'name's Mad Dawg. Nice t'meet ya!"
"Odd name, I like it!" The cat-woman smirked, revealing fangs which seemed oddly… charming? It was hard to explain. "Call me Nadia! Nadia Fortune."
"Nice meeting you, Ms. Fortu-" Mad Dawg began, but stopped dead. "Oh, oohhhh, I get it now." He smiled, seemingly clueing into the pun that was her name. He paused, thinking for a moment. "Have we met somewhere before?" He asked casually, something about her seeming familiar.
"I was following you, actually." Nadia admitted, bluntly.
"Huh, that can't possibly be taken out of context in some horrible ways!" Mad Dawg commented with a dry smile. Nadia snorted, trying to hold back a laugh, and failing to do so. "Well, it's good to know who I need to watch out for."
"Wait- what? No! No, that's not-" Nadia's face drained of colour, and she seemed to struggle to find a proper response, but failed to do so. "No! That's terrible!"
"Says the grown woman stalking an underaged boy."
"To the underaged boy streaking through the city."
"Who had just been more or less kidnapped and drugged by total strangers and was fleeing for what he felt like might be his own safety." Mad Dawg countered. Feng and Minette were watching this conversation, now feeling very confused and a bit uneased. Granted, they figured there was more to this than they knew, so they said nothing.
"Do you genuinely believe this, or do you just not wanna admit you were wrong?" Nadia remarked, firing an armour-piercing question into Mad Dawg's soul. Mad Dawg seemed to be trying to think on something, questioning everything he knew, before he simply replied with:
"Shut up." He said with the confidence of someone who had been studying philosophy for decades, but the face of a child who lost an insult fight. Again, it made Nadia grin widely and laugh, playfully messing with his hair, much to Mad Dawg's annoyance. He turned back to his job, wringing the mop out after quickly finishing hings up and grabbing a garbage bag. Pulling the can out with his foot, he was left realizing he was out of hands to change the bags.
"Can you give me a hand?" Mad Dawg asked, then realized he was holding Nadia's dismembered arm. Surprisingly, he didn't freak out. He looked at the arm, then to Nadia, then to the arm, then to Nadia, and then he just grinned. "You've been WAITING to do that, haven't you?"
"You know it!" Nadia laughed. "Although I was hoping for more of a reaction…"
"Hey, I've seen weirder, that's not much of a cat-astrophe." Mad Dawg replied, finishing up his job. The pun made Nadia laugh, as she leaned against the wall. "Hm. I see I've got you-"
"No, no. that one wasn't set up." Nadia shook her head, and Mad Dawg nodded.
"I was gonna say in stitches, but whatever."
"Wanna see something weird?" Nadia asked.
"Okay." Dawg blinked, not even thinking this though. He assumed the arm was a prosthetic or something. Apparently, Morrison knew someone named 'Sojourn' back home who had a prosthetic arm. Mad Dawg hadn't met her though.
Nadia pulled her head off. Completely.
"Uh, what the F-?! Mad Dawg exclaimed, his eyes widening in a mixture of shock, amazement and confusion. "How can you- you don't need to-"
"What? You've seen this before?" Nadia asked skeptically, spinning her head on one finger like a basketball, before throwing her head at Mad Dawg.
"This might make your head spin, but kinda." Dawg nodded. "There was this dude named Wade, he could slice his own head off, and he just kept going! Except for the fact that there was blood everywhere…" Holding her head in one hand, Dawg looked like he wanted to say something. "I don't know what the quote I'm supposed to say here is… so… Heads up!" Nadia laughed as Dawg threw her head back at her, the feral caught it and reattached it seamlessly, something which intrigued Dawg a great deal.
"Sorry, ese, just- how do you… how does that…"
"It's a long story, kid." Nadia frowned. "One I'm not ready to go into."
"Hey, that's all I need to hear." Dawg said, raising his hands, nodding in understanding. "I've got a lot of those tales too." Something about his voice gave Nadia the reassurance she needed. He smiled at her, and nodded.
"Isn't your name Kace?" Minette piped up, and Mad Dawg had a noticeable reaction, namely, he seemed very, very agitated. "Um-"
"Where did you hear that name?" Mad Dawg asked, his voice turning to ice.
"Uh, a-apparently Filia heard you say it while you were lying in the hospital bed." The Dagonian coughed, awkwardly, now nervous she might have angered Mad Dawg. In a fight… well, she wasn't a fighter, so she hoped that wasn't where this was going. Mad Dawg said nothing for a long moment, then sighed.
"Please, don't call me that." He said, and dropped the conversation. Minette nodded, not knowing why he was against it, but she wasn't gonna dig into something that wasn't her place to. Plus, there was a look in his eyes that made it clear violence was usually his answer, or at least when he got angry. There was also a look of great pain upon hearing that name, and Minette assumed (correctly) those two things were connected. Thankfully, when the garbage was done and tossed out (Mad Dawg noticing a weasel feral smoking by the bins) he was walking back to Filia's office when he saw two women talking, and the taller of the two seemed to be in a real bad place.
"Just walk away, esé." Mad Dawg told himself. "This ain't your conflict to get involved in. You aren't doing that anymore." Exhaling to himself, Mad Dawg calmly walked past them, but when he overheard their conversation, he slowed down.
"Bella, you can't keep blaming yourself for that! It was years ago!"
"I know, but it still happened! Those people got hurt because of ME! No matter how much I do, am I ever really-?"
"Stop, stop right there. You can't blame yourself for everything they did or made you do! You didn't know any better, you thought you were doing the right thing!"
"Holy frijoles, what the heck am I listenin' to?! Is this me, but like, gender flipped?!" Mad Dawg thought. "Wait, do I have a gender? No, this ain't th'place to try and figure THAT one out…" He tried to take a step away, to keep moving, but from where he was, around the corner and out of eyesight, Mad Dawg felt frozen, rooted to the spot. He wanted to walk away, but it was as if some unseen force was pulling him back. "…all right. Fine. Just ask if they're okay. That's all." He decided, walking back to the pair.
"You okay?" Mad Dawg asked, the two women looked to him, the black-haired one seeming a mixture of concerned and agitated, and the green-blue one looking saddened. "Ahh… I get it…"
"Look, you wouldn't understand." Beatrix said, trying to cut the head off of this conversation before it went further. But it went further.
"No, no. Don't tell me." Mad Dawg said shaking his head. "Lemme guess… you worked for an organization due to circumstances outside your control and had no idea what they were really doing. But once you got away from them and realized what you did you feel like s**t because of what you did, the people you hurt, and the families you tore apart. Is that about right?"
"….."
Mad Dawg flew through a wall, crashing into the hard brick on the other side of the building. His body cracked and threatened to shatter as he slowly fell off of the wall. "Ow…" Mad Dawg groaned, pulling himself up and shaking himself off. "Holy crap! What is that thing!?" Mad Dawg exclaimed, having been literally punched through a wall by a hat.
"Shut up!" Cerebella ordered, grabbing Mad Dawg by his shirt, and punched him in the face. Mad Dawg pulled his legs in and kicked Cerebella in the chest, sending him backwards in a flip. He landed and breathed heavily, then saw Cerebella come charging in once again. Mad Dawg narrowed his eyes and dove downwards, sliding underneath her and spinning to his feet. Cerebella whirled around and punched at Dawg once again, but the mutant dodged the attack, coming up from above and hitting her in the chest with the side of his arm, refusing to use either his fist or elbow. He knocked into her with his shoulder, trying to push her back so he could catch his breath. However, the living hat-thing grabbed him, punched him in the face, then slammed him face-down on the floor.
"If you're gonna talk like that, you'd better be ready to fight like that!" Cerebella snapped.
"Y'know… I'm only bringing this up, because I've done a LOT of s****y things!" Mad Dawg said, deadly serious as he ducked under another punch, then was thrown back by Vice-Versa. "I've hurt a lot of people! People who were my family! Hell, I was literally created to kill people without hesitation. I mean, you were born human, I was bred in a freakin' tube! I was meant to be a slave to a terrorist organization… but that doesn't mean that's what I am!" The words escaped him before he realized he had said them, and he realized he'd need a new story. Hm… okay, new story, take four! He was a traveller coming from way outta town, having lived in a small town all-
"Wait… what?" Cerebella paused, not sure about what she had just heard, and also realizing something else in the way he was saying it. She calmed down and bit her lip.
"I was trying to say I understand the feeling, but you can get through it so long as you don't let it control you." Mad Dawg said, cracking his neck audibly. "But… I really screwed it up. Sorry…"
"You know that feeling, too?" Cerebella asked, the anger changing to regret and embarrassment, then to shock: "Holy crap! Your arm!" She gasped.
"What about… oh, that's what that pain was." Mad Dawg commented, seeing his arm was clearly broken, now twisted into an unnatural position. "Hang on." He muttered, grabbing it and suddenly wrenching it in an unnatural way. "Gah! Sh-" Mad Dawg hissed as his arm unnaturally twisted, and seemed to pull itself back into place. "That always hurts more than I remember… okay, I'm good now! Are we still fighting?"
"No! No. I'm… I'm sorry." Cerebella muttered awkwardly. Feeling bad for punching him through a wall, breaking his arm, yelling at him, and also assaulting someone who she now realized probably wasn't an adult. "I got angry, I should've-" She tried to explain herself, but was surprised to see Mad Dawg smile. "HOW DID YOUR ARM-?!" That seemed to finally dawn on her.
"Yeah. Sure. It's cool." Dawg rolled his eyes, cutting her off, then paused. "And… and so am I. I was wayyyy to forward with that, whole… thing… uh. Look, I've been caught in that whirlpool of guilt and self-loathing and I want to help people get out from that. Also, yeah. And I've been through this all before, don't worry!" He smiled, rubbing the back of his head, looking back to the hole in the wall nearby. However, unlike an entertaining and creative game show, this wasn't a good hole in the wall. "But seriously, we should go before Filia docks both our pay."
"What are we gonna tell her?" Cerebella asked, still not satisfied with the lack of an answer regarding his arm.
"I dunno, who do you usually blame around here?" Mad Dawg asked. "That Harry guy I haven't met?"
"He's a six-year-old!" Cerebella exclaimed in a laugh.
"Hm. We'll need a good story to prove it was him then…" Mad Dawg mused, and Cerebella looked at him in disbelief, then shook her head when she realized he was joking. Cerebella and Mad Dawg walked off, looking back at the hole in the wall, and both decided they were gonna go before anyone showed up to question what happened. They walked into the casino proper, Mad Dawg looking around at the theming of the casino. Unlike hell's Harvest Festival-
"If this was like, ANY other scenario, casually comparing something to hell would probably be the most shocking thing ever…"
-the theming was clear and blunt, but also blended its colours, style and imagery in a way that was rather nice to look at. Actually, scratch that! This place was absolutely gorgeous! It felt like everywhere Dawg looked, the casino had some sort of stylistic choice to ensure no corner was left bare, now wall was left undecorated… Man, he really had to give it up to the people who designed the interior!
Unfortunately, I couldn't figure it out by looking at the credits… so… sorry. Love the game tho!
"Listen, I'm sorry if this comes off as mean… but what kinda name is Mad Dog?" Cerebella asked as they walked. This was something she had genuinely been wondering since Mad Dawg first showed up. It wasn't like weird or unconventional names were uncommon (heck, she knew all about that!) but it felt like there was more to the mysterious mutant's name than he let on.
"My name." Mad Dawg answered, earning a laugh from the strong woman. "Also, it's 'Dawg', not 'Dog', dawg. No, but it's the name I've used for like, eleven years now… I forget how I even got it in the first place."
"Does that mean you have another name?" Cerebella asked then blinked when she saw Dawg fidget, he gripped his arm and was clearly trying not to draw attention to himself before he replied.
"That's a long story."
"Okay, you don't need to tell me." Cerebella nodded in understanding. "I don't wanna say something and start another fight." Thankfully, the joke seemed to work, as Mad Dawg looked at her with a goofy half-grin, then started laughing.
"Touché." He conceded. "After all, why start a fight you know you can't win?"
"Excuse me?!"
"…" Mad Dawg coughed, but didn't say anything.
"Do you want to die?"
"Already did." Dawg shrugged dismissively. "On top of that, you really wanna fight in the middle of the casino? How do you think that'd look?"
"Ugh, yeah… beating up a kid in a casino probably isn't the best look…" Cerebella mockingly groaned. "Get outside, we're fighting in the alley."
"Okay!" Mad Dawg shrugged, seeming WAY too content with that prospect. Cerebella just laughed at his eagerness, messing with his hair.
"Some other time." She smirked. "That's a promise!"
"Aw…"
"So, if you're new here, how much do you know about this place?" Cerebella asked, changing gears.
"I know this is the River King Casino, New Meridian's finest casino and entertainment lounge." Mad Dawg said aloud. "Uh, side note, but who were the Medici's? Apparently, they were complete and total b******s who owned this place, but Filia is apparently one… and she's been nothing but kind to me, so I highly doubt she's what everyone says they are… were they people who came before her? An evil clone? Some sort of inexplicable time-travel mishap which pulled them from the future?"
"Right. You're new." Cerebella said simply, this clearly being something she didn't like talking about, but knew Dawg should know. "The Medici's that people often refer to were Vitale and Lorenzo. They were the heads of the Medici Mafia, and they did… a lot of TERRIBLE things. I… I was raised by Vitale… and…" Her voice trailed off, and Mad Dawg immediately knew what she was getting at.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't've asked." Mad Dawg said, trying to steer this conversation away from becoming another angst-fest. Immediately a number of things fell into place… "Hey, look. If it makes you feel better, my mom was a freakin bitch who was also a terrorist."
"No, it's fine. It's good to talk about because of how much things've changed for the better, y'know?" Cerebella smiled, and Dawg nodded in understanding. "But back to your question: – hold on, do you know about the Skull Heart?"
"Filia told me, not sure if I believe it tho." Mad Dawg answered with a shrug, tossing a coin into a slot machine and pulling the lever as they walked by, not noticing it came up with three oranges.
"Well, it's real. But whatever. A while ago, there was an incident with it, and they were… dealt with, so to say." Cerebella continued with her explanation. "Now, Filia is Vitale's niece, and she's trying to pull the name out of the muck and make it something people don't spit at or turn away in fear from."
"I'd say she's succeeding." Mad Dawg commented, pulling another lever. "Even with what you've told me, and the pieces I've picked up, from the others, my immediate reaction to the name 'Medici' has been a good one!"
"Well, you're also new here…"
"I'm trying to be nice!" Mad Dawg rolled his eyes, pulling another lever.
"I know, I know. I just like giving her a hard time." Cerebella smirked.
"You want me to do that as well?" Mad Dawg asked hopefully.
"She doesn't know you like she knows me or the others, and she may take it seriously and you might lose your job." Cerebella said, raising a very good point.
"Yeah, true." Mad Dawg conceded. "But – sorry to jump topics – now that you mention it… It's bugging me I don't know how I got my name! All I can say about my name is I think the 'Mad' part was taken from Riley 'Mad Man' Dylan." Mad Dawg said, thinking back to when he would want to watch something at the hackerspace, but Ray fell asleep on the couch and Dawg didn't know how to change the channels, so he ended up watching a lot of High-Stakes poker. "He was this Irish millionaire who was the four-time world champion at Texas Hold-Em'."
"You think yourself to be a lucky puppy?" Cerebella asked, neither of them noticing the slot machine Dawg had just pulled the lever on came out with 'Tilt', 'Tilt', 'Tilt'. But the look on Dawg's face said it all.
"I mean, I get by." Mad Dawg shrugged, pulling one last lever as they kept walking, Cerebella looking back in shock when she heard the machine go crazy, and dump a massive payout as Dawg had gotten triple 7's without even looking. Then she realized there was money on the floor at all the machines they had passed.
"Huh… yeah…" She muttered. Vice-Versa tapped her shoulder, then pointed in a direction. "So, what do you think of our city?"
"This is gonna sound super weird, but I can't tell if I'm in the past or future." Mad Dawg admitted. "Some of the ways people dress and talk make me think I'm in the past, like, 1920's kinda vibe…"
"Not sure what that means, but okay." Cerebella shrugged.
"But then we've got the like, sky trains and stuff! That kinda stuff is what I've seen back in my home worlds, and I'm pretty sure that was the future!"
"Wait, are you form like, another planet?"
"Another dimension, but yeah." Mad Dawg nodded, taking his phone out and pulling up some pictures. After swiping through a few, Cerebella seemed to roll with it. He realized he was doing what he shouldn't, but also knew he had to take a gamble here, if this was to make an ally, then fine...
"What else have you seen?" Cerebella asked, genuinely curious now. She (SOMEWHAT) believed Mad Dawg apparently traveled dimensions, and now she was curious what kind of worlds there were.
"Uh… let's see. There was one place I ended up in that looked a LOT like the town outside of this city, one of the worlds I was in was more 'modern' kinda like here, but they were more technologically advanced in terms of computers and stuff. I was in hell-"
"Wait. WHAT!?"
"Yeah, I'm not kidding. I went to hell for a bit. It was not what you expected." Mad Dawg nodded. "Big cities, sprawling landscapes, dead bodies and drugs everywhere…"
"So, you're undead? You died, went to hell, then came back?" Cerebella asked, and Mad Dawg laughed awkwardly.
"No, actually… funny story!" He began, rubbing the back of his neck. "See, after I was sent from my home dimension to Royal Woods, the small-town-looking place, I thought I found a way home. I met this inventor, and she built a doorway that should've been able to send me home. Except, someone in hell made one as well. Now, when you make a device to jump dimensions, you can't do that… unless there's another device emitting a 'call' at the same time."
"So, this inventor… opened a doorway-phone to hell?"
"Kinda, yeah." Dawg nodded. "But here's the kicker, I didn't die, so I was an outlier to hell. A soul who hadn't been judged as sinful by God, but still left in hell. That is not something the big guy wants, so… there was a lotta shenanigans, and I was allowed to leave."
"If that deity had such power to let you leave hell, why didn't you go home then?" Cerebella asked, confused. Mad Dawg just shrugged.
"I could've gone to Heaven, but I was given an offer. Keep traveling, and help those in need, with the chance of getting home. Or go to the afterlife and wait until everyone I cared for died."
"That… doesn't sound right." Cerebella frowned.
"Ehhh… It is, and it isn't…" Mad Dawg said with an awkward wave through somewhat clenched teeth. There was more to the story, but this wasn't the place for that conversation. "Look… I don't know why I asked to be allowed to keep traveling, really… I guess it's just another choice on the long list of dumbass choices I've made."
"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it." Cerebella said, putting a hand on Dawg's shoulder. "And even if an eighth of what you've told me is true, I believe you'll get home eventually."
"Yeah. I believe that too. Um, can you kinda keep this on the DL?" He asked and Cerebella nodded. Dawg nodded, then felt another hand patting his head. "Okay, sorry, but… I gotta ask. What the hell is that thing?" Mad Dawg asked, pointing to Vice-Versa. "And why is it so awesome!?"
Cerebella blinked then laughed at his almost child-like excitement. "I don't know where I got him… I've just always had Vice-Versa." The strong-woman shrugged with a smile while Vice-Versa gave an awkward wave to Mad Dawg.
"I've… I've been across multiple dimensions, including hell itself… and that is probably one of the coolest things I've seen." Vice-Versa moved over to Mad Dawg, and the teen looked up, feeling… ridiculous, honestly. From the look on Cerebella's face, she agreed without having to say a word.
"Hey, are you two PPFFTT-!" Beatrix began as she approached but stopped dead in her speech tracks and couldn't help but gawk at Mad Dawg wearing Vice-Versa. The hat seemed like it didn't enjoy her tone, as a cartoonish pound sign appeared next to it as it balled his fists.
"Keep laughing and we'll both fight you." Mad Dawg said as a warning, which only seemed to make the magician more unimpressed while Cerebella took a picture on her phone.
"Right. Yeah. Sure." She said with a massive grin. Mad Dawg looked up at his hat compadre, thinking something over, before looking to Cerebella.
"I think this looks better on you." Mad Dawg said as Vice-Versa returned to his owner, and Mad Dawg put on the hat Nifty had made him.
"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry…" Beatrix said managing to collect herself. "You just… you just looked so weird in that! Like some sort of Dog in a hat!"
"I felt weird, too." Mad Dawg commented. "More so than usual… also, I feel like we were on the verge of greatness there… we were this close!"
"What's wrong, hon?" Cerebella asked, looking to her wife.
"Oh, uh. Just… wanted to see if you two were okay." Beatrix said, remembering why she went out to find them. "A bunch of us heard you and Dawg beating the tar out of each other… and then you were both gone!"
"Oh, no. Don't worry, man." Mad Dawg shook his head. "We had a, uh, a misunderstanding. And we dealt with it in a… cardioactrically-enduring way."
"Cardioact… Dawg, that isn't a word." Cerebella said, and Mad Dawg shot her a look.
"What do you want me to say?! I was an asshole, so your girlfriend beat the crap out of me?!" He asked in a low tone, making a fair point.
"Look, we're fine Bee." The green-haired woman continued in her usual chipper tone, trying to steer the conversation away from the fact that this was kinda her fault. But also, Mad Dawg's. "We talked it out, and there's actually a lot we connected with. Everything's fine!"
"Aside from the giant hole in the wall." Mad Dawg muttered under his breath.
"Right, that reminds me. Filia wants to see you two in her office." Beatrix nodded and Mad Dawg and Cerebella looked to one another. "Like, now."
"Great…"
"So… is there something you wanted to talk about?" Cerebella asked casually, leaning back in the chair. It was clear Filia was nearly at a point of just giving up, and Samson seemed way to entertained with what was going on. Mad Dawg was slouched back somewhat, seeming still as a statue, his face unreadable.
"Yeah, we have a new doorway in the hallway near the staff quarters!" Filia said dryly.
"Cool." Mad Dawg said.
"Which of you two did it?"
"Whoa, hold on Filia. Why are you immediately accusing us!? Just because I'm the strongest one here and Mad Dawg smashed the roof, doesn't mean that-" Cerebella began, sounding shocked and offended that Filia would DARE accuse her of such a thing that she probably and (most likely) would do/be responsible for!
"Yeah, it was my fault." Mad Dawg nodded, raising a hand while Cerebella blinked owlishly. "I was trying to talk with Cerebella, but I stepped over a bunch of bounds without first explaining some things, she got justifiably angry. She hit me, and I threw her through the wall." There was a brief silence, and then Filia and Samson looked to one another.
"The security footage shows Vice-Versa punching you through the wall." Samson said flatly, blowing a hole in Dawg's story. The two looked to one another, then Cerebella spoke.
"Harry did it."
"Seriously?" Filia asked flatly, the two looked to one another, and shrugged in defeat.
"But for real, that's on me." Mad Dawg spoke up again, he didn't want to just lie down and take the blame, but if it meant helping him build more of a 'network' with those working here (or just a way to make friends) a few extra days of janitorial duties wouldn't kill him… "Cerebella, you owe me for this, if this works…"
"All right, thank you for your honesty." Filia nodded curtly. "You're on for the damages, Cere."
"What!? Why?!" She exclaimed, annoyed.
"A few reasons. One, you threw the first punch. Two, you're an adult, he's still technically a teenager." Filia said simply. "Third, he's already in debt for the roof, I don't think it's fair to put something that happened due to good intentions or a misunderstanding of your positions."
"Woo!" Mad Dawg cheered. "Stupidity for the win!" He held his hand up for a high-five, and didn't receive one, so he gave one to himself. Samson was staring at him as if he was brain dead.
"I will punch you through another wall!" Cerebella growled, eyes narrowing as she glared at the mutant.
"You'll be on the hook for those damages too." Filia said flatly.
"Do it!" Samson egged her on, knowing it would be fun to watch, and would annoy Filia. Cerebella punching people through walls was far more common than you would expect, or believe to be reasonable…
"Also, Mad Dawg was honest with me." Filia added, and Cerebella deflated accepting her fate.
"Ugh… fine… You owed me extra for the security work, just keep that and we'll call it even." Filia frowned, thinking it over then checked some notes before nodding.
"Done." She nodded. "That's all for now… just try not to smash any more walls, okay?"
"What about the ceiling?" Mad Dawg asked.
"Don't make me reconsider making you pay for the wall." Filia said flatly.
"OhheyjustrememberedIgottagocleanthebathrooms! Bye!" Mad Dawg waved and was gone faster than anyone thought possible. Cerebella got up and left the room, muttering something under her breath. When she got out to the hall, Feng and Mad Dawg seemed to be waiting.
"Well that could've gone better." Mad Dawg shrugged. "Sorry about that by the way, I-"
"It's fine kid, that was actually really sweet of you to try." Cerebella smiled messing with Dawg's hair as if he was a little kid. "But this isn't the first time this has happened, I'll be fine."
"Oh. Well. Okay." Mad Dawg shrugged then walked off. Cerebella blinked, then smiled when she heard Mad Dawg start laughing.
"Sorry! Couldn't resist!"
"Which of you won in that fight?" Feng asked, curiosity clear in her voice.
"Me. No second thoughts." Cerebella immediately replied. "I think he hit me… once. And all the other times he tried to push me back but wouldn't actually fight. Still, I gotta give him credit, he's quick when it comes to evading attacks. There's some real potential, or skill, there."
Later that night, Mad Dawg was done for the day and cracked his neck as he looked to his boss. "Is that all?" Mad Dawg asked, storing the last of the cleaning supplies in a rather spacious closet.
"Yup! Thanks for your hard work." Filia nodded. "You've- hang on, do you have a place to stay?"
"Yeah, I'm good." Dawg nodded. Filia seemed skeptical- no, she clearly didn't believe it, but said nothing. "Look, I'm tired, but I'm not goin' to bed until the job's done. Is there anything else you need?" He asked, trying to force the conversation to be done.
"No, not right now. Wednesdays are usually a lot busier, so tomorrow may be a bit more… active."
"Hm. A'ight. See you then." Dawg nodded, pulling the cleaning supplies away. "Listen, I don't really have a good way for you to get in contact with me if you need me here all of a sudden. So… sorry in advance if that causes an issue."
Filia nodded in understanding, and Mad Dawg disappeared down the hall. For a few moments, Filia debated having someone follow him to make sure he was okay, considering he shouldn't be walking but was, and was from another dimension… but she felt like that might send the wrong message.
Once he was sure he wasn't being followed, Mad Dawg made his way out of the casino, into an alley, and then began climbing. He didn't have a place to stay, or really… anything! He was pretty much barren for lack of a better term (aside from a few things in his bag he kept for emergencies) but he still had a little money from the Deadlock Gold he sold back in Royal Woods… but he wasn't sure if that money was any good… After a few minutes, Mad Dawg pulled himself back up onto the roof he had smashed through, noting that the construction workers were thankfully gone, and dug through his bag, then remembered what he was looking for was below his bag. Pulling the roll free, Dawg unfurled the matt he had picked up when traveling with those X-Force guys and lay down on it. Using his bag as a pillow, Mad Dawg looked up to the stars, the colours of neon lights illuminating faintly out of the corners of his eyes.
"Well, Mad Dawg. You've done got yourself into another predicament." He sighed to himself. "Let's try and not piss everyone off this time, all right?"
Despite his words, Mad Dawg had a feeling that wasn't gonna be possible.
The next day, sore and bent kinda outta shape, Mad Dawg was back to work, cleaning down some tables while listening to his tape player. As he worked, he noticed out of the corner of his eye there was another woman in here watching the tv. As he worked around the room, something on the TV caught his attention.
"…a massive fire broke out of in what police suspect to be either a drug production lab or some sort og gun-smuggling base of operations…" Mad Dawg stopped, pulling his headphones off, the woman turning her head as the lyrics could be heard.
"-supposed to be, living young, and wild, and free…"
"Huh?" Mad Dawg muttered, watching the news report.
"However, those attempting to flee allegedly set fire to their own vehicle, the resulting explosion resulted in them receiving first-degree burns, and their condition has been labeled 'critical'.
"Friggin' dumbasses…" Mad Dawg laughed. "Can't even take a burn?"
The pale-skinned woman raised a brow as she looked to Mad Dawg, but didn't say anything. Mad Dawg noticed she wasn't sickly-pale, more like… un-alive pale. Subtly, Mad Dawg did a double-take. This girl (he was taller than her) was dead. Definitely dead. That raised questions, but he wasn't about to ask them.
"Who are those idiots?" Mad Dawg muttered, setting the mop down and looking at the TV. He asked the question aloud, not really expecting an answer, but he got one anyways.
"They're the remains of the Medici Mafia." The pale-skinned girl frowned deeply. "At this point, they're nothing but a dying memory, but they're getting desperate, nearly at the point of terrorists."
"Damn." Mad Dawg muttered. He could tell Filia had nothing to do with that. Despite only being here two days now, the way she presented herself, and the light in her eyes made it clear she was nothing like them. Whatever her story was most likely wasn't his to know right now. "That's the kinda crap I was dealin' with every day back home… huh. Well, hope for the best, I guess."
"You've seen something like this before?"
"More than I care to recall." Mad Dawg sighed. "Terrorists, murderers, sociopaths, I was dealing with all of them coming after me for way too long…"
"Sorry, I don't mean to pry into something which isn't my place, but what do you mean by that?"
Mad Dawg paused, debating over something, then sighed. "Look, I'm done with that." Mad Dawg said with a dismissive wave, wringing out the mop and returning to cleaning the cafeteria floor. "I've been the hero enough, I'm done with that life."
"Sorry, the… 'hero'?" The zombified singer asked, confused.
"Yeah, back home – where this all began – I was part of this group called Overwatch. We were essentially global peacekeepers, people referred to us as the 'Heroes of Overwatch' and stuff like that. We went up against terrorists and stuff."
"You… you fought terrorists?" Squigly asked, genuinely surprised.
"Oh, yeah! Like every week! We saved the world at least three times…" Mad Dawg nodded, his face showing both a scowl and a smirk. "They were these assholes called 'Talon' and their whole deal was effectively 'screw you, screw everyone, we're in charge now.' and their ideology was essentially rule through fear form the shadows. They bombed, slaughtered and torched any place they thought would make people more… accepting to their leadership, to put it nicely. Heck, that's only when they were being merciful!"
"That's horrible!"
"I know! And they were also a bunch of edge-lord jerk offs who were so far up their own asses the whole world was brown!" Mad Dawg spat. "I mean, it's bad enough being shot, stabbed, mutilated, poisoned and tortured by them… but they never SHUT UP! It was always some faux Art of War garbage that would make Sun Tsu spin in his grave!" Mad Dawg paused, then realized who he was talking to. "Uh, sorry… I didn't mean it like…"
"No, no it's fine…" Squigly shook her head. "What happened to them?"
"I have no idea." Mad Dawg admitted, wringing out the mop once more. "I know that at least four of their higher-ups are dead."
"I understand." Squigly admitted, surprising Leviathan and Mad Dawg. "I'm just… sorry, that you had to go through that…"
"Hey, it's fine. I stopped caring a while ago." Mad Dawg shrugged indifferently. "Sometimes the only way to do some good, is to do some bad. You can't always be the hero." He paused for a moment, then added: "I'm Mad Dawg."
"My name, is Sienna Contiello, but please, call me Squigly."
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Contiyellow?"
"Contiello."
"Ah, crap. My bad." Mad Dawg coughed. "Joder, soy un idiota." He sighed, kicking himself.
"You seem to have… interesting way with words." A white snake-like creature made itself known. Well, snake-like, aside from its head, it looked more like a dragon. It had been there since they started talking, but Dawg had been trying not to focus on it, mostly because he couldn't tell if it was an accessory, or a parasite.
"Oh, you've got one of those as well?" He asked.
"Yes, this is Leviathan." Squigly introduced her parasite, who gave Dawg a critical look.
"Hey." Dawg nodded, not caring in the slightest what the parasite thought of him. "But yeah. I'm done dealing with all that, someone else can clean up the mess for a change. I'll stick to cleaning these messes."
"Is that why you seem adamant on remaining neutral?" Leviathan asked.
"Why… do you care?" Mad Dawg asked, looking back at Squigly. "Like I've been told, those Medici freaks are gone, so… why would I go up against what's left of them? The only one I know is Filia, and I actually really like her."
"It just seems odd that if you were once someone who fought to save the world, your reluctance to do so again is… confusing. Is it due to the collateral damage or something?"
"No. I don't even care so much about the collateral damage like I used to… I just don't want to be the hero! I just wanna chill." Mad Dawg confessed with a shrug, his tone growing more irritated. "I'm tired of dealing with everyone else's crap."
"You speak as if your heroics mean nothing, as if that isn't the life you want-"
"EXACTLY! Thank you!" Mad Dawg snapped. "I'm done! I just want to chill, sleep for two weeks, and move on with my existence! For the past FIVE FREAKIN' YEARS I've been dealing with demons, terrorists, mad scientists, zombies, mutants, twisted copies of myself, the Yakuza, intergalactic warlords, but this isn't my problem! So why should I always have to be the one who deals with it?! I didn't ask for any of this! If this was another realm where there was something that affected everyone then hell yeah! I'd jump in head-first to help! But this Skull Girl doesn't affect me in the slightest! Hell, it barely affects you, but that's only because you all go LOOKING for it! Besides, if I get involved, I will just make it so much worse."
"…I never mentioned that…"
"Whatever." Dawg said dismissively, walking away and cleaning the floors. He realized his anxiety (or whatever the hell he had) was acting up, so being around new people was a bad idea, as he didn't wanna spill his guts further.
"Well, he seems to be rather… crass. Borderline animalistic." Leviathan remarked dryly, to Squigly's annoyance. This, however, prompted Mad Dawg to feel the need to fight back.
"Up yours, worm tail!" Mad Dawg yelled, flipping the Parasite off. "At least I have feet!"
"Excuse you!?"
"Leviathan, please let it go." Squigly said, calming the parasite down. "He has his reasons, and while I may not agree with them, I do understand them."
"Would you be so inclined as to explain them to me?" The Parasite scowled.
"I'd listen to her." Mad Dawg said, his tone low, and an underlying warning-threat clear in his voice.
"You claim to be a hero, yet you stand here making childish threats towards a woman who hasn't done you any wrong, and you expect me to-" Leviathan began, but was cut off by Mad Dawg turning around and glaring at him. Only this time, there was true venom in his eyes. They weren't the brown they had been before, they were dark blue, and the whites had turned a light orange.
"If you think I haven't made some hard choices, you don't know a thing. I've seen s**t that would terrify the worst this world has to offer. What you think of me means NOTHING to me, so do us both a favor, and rack off."
Squigly was taken aback, both by the harshness of Dawg's words, and by the true anger in his eyes. Her suspicions were true. Mad Dawg, to his credit, quickly seemed to realize something and the anger turned to remorse.
"I-I-I'm sorry…" He muttered, quickly leaving the room.
"What was that all about?" The Old Parasite huffed, not exactly having a very high opinion of the newcomer thus far. They seemed all bark and no bite, desperately trying to impress everyone they met with claims of grandiose.
"Leviathan, please. Leave him be." Squigly spoke up, following after Mad Dawg. Sienna had picked up on something different, and while she didn't know if what she was doing would be helpful or harmful, she felt like she had to at least try.
Filia meanwhile, was on her phone when the door to the communal room opened. Mad dawg walked in, and he seemed conflicted. As she opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, Squigly followed him in, and Mad Dawg seemed to notice that.
"Ohfortheloveoffu- can you not take a hint?!" Mad Dawg groaned, exasperated. "Just walk away! This has nothing to do with you!"
"Be that as it may, I feel like we got off on the wrong foot-"
"We did, leave it." Mad Dawg snapped. Filia was a bit disgusted by his words, but noticed his hand was shaking. It was clearly something beyond his control…
"What-?! I'm sorry, I was just trying-" Squigly sputtered, genuinely taken aback by Dawg's harsh response. "The nerve-" She grumbled.
"-you have to follow me and keep trying to drag a conversation on that was clearly done? Yeah, the hell's with that?" Dawg asked. His hand trembling a bit faster now. "Just- just piss off, will you!? Would you want me to ask what the hell your deal is?!"
Leviathan seemed ready to strike, beyond pissed at how casually Mad Dawg would say something like that. But Squigly… seemed saddened, on more than one level. Samson looked from the pair over to Mad Dawg, his opinion on the kid doing a 180 in a heartbeat. Filia felt the same way, until she noticed something sticking out of his bag. She picked up the orange bottle and blinked. "Oh." She thought. Wordlessly, she handed it to Mad Dawg, who opened it, and took whatever was in it. After a few moments, his trembling stopped, and he looked up, seeming hurt.
"…look, I got nothing against you, really. Or any of your friends. Hell, they're some of the nicer people I've met across all my travels! But this doesn't involve me, whatever crap with some who-doo voo-dew kidney stone you guys are up against, I have no part in!" Mad Dawg said, Squigly still clearly trying to convince him of something. And failing. "I'm tired of involving myself with others' issues, and I'm tired of the people I care for, going up against something with my help, and dying!"
"That's not at all what I intended to say, I'm just trying to figure out-" Squigly tried to explain.
"Stop. PLEASE." Mad Dawg cut her off. "This is my life, and I'm not ready to share it. I'm sorry. I don't know your story, so sayin' what I did… it just ain't right." There was no hint of sarcasm or annoyance as Dawg looked into her remaining eye. His words were genuine. "I'm sorry. To both of you." He said, stuttering slightly.
"Thank you, Kace." Squigly smiled. "I appreciate your words, I can feel the truth in them." She blinked when she saw anger flash across Dawg's face at the mention of the name 'Kace', but the anger quickly turned to shame. He snarled something under his breath, but Squigly heard "…dontcallmethatever…" There was anger, and fear. A lot of fear. Mad Dawg looked to Filia before adding:
"Did you tell them that?"
"I-I heard you say it, I thought it was your name…" Filia gulped. Samson seemed ready to fight if Dawg was dumb enough to attack.
Mad Dawg opened his mouth, clearly ready to snap, but then shut it. "Do me a favor, tell them not to call me that. Please." Filia nodded. The room was left in an awkward silence until it was broken by the arrival of Minette.
"Uh, Filia… where is there someone sleeping on the roof?" Minette asked, and her question got the attention of everyone. They looked to one another in confusion, until Mad Dawg spoke again:
"I thought I cleaned that up."
"Y-you're sleeping on the roof?!" Filia shouted in genuine shock.
"Yes."
"Bu-but why?!"
"I dunno. It's a place to sleep." Mad Dawg said, seeming way too calm about that.
"…yeah, but… we could give you a room! We-" Filia began, but Mad Dawg chuckled, cutting her off.
"I'm fine, boss. Really, I am." Mad Dawg commented. "I've lived in junkyards, dumps, and under a Chinese resturaunts floorboards. This is nothin' new to me."
"It may be, but I can't just… leave you here in good consciousness." Filia frowned. Her bleeding heart refusing to let someone (even if she had just met them) suffer like that!
"Tequila. That'll change that." Dawg shrugged.
"Agreed." Samson nodded.
"Mad Dawg, I'm serious."
"So am I!" Mad Dawg shrugged, standing up and cracking his back. "When we're done here, like, the roof's paid off and everything, I'm gonna move on. I don't see the point in moving into some place if I'm not gonna stay here."
Filia bit her lip. That was a fair point, but she didn't like that Mad Dawg was thinking like this despite being so young! She… had kinda, sorta went through his stuff while he was out, and she knew he was only (presumably) a teenager! Why was he so used to living like he was homeless? Something she knew all too well, and didn't want to put someone through! Squigly seemed equally surprised by this, but watched their interaction, noticing how Mad Dawg seemed oddly… happy?
"Mad Dawg, if you keep sleeping on the roof, I'm not gonna let you keep working here." Filia threatened. It was not a good threat, but it was the best she could come up with that didn't involve Samson threatening to rip someone's spine out. Wait, wrong fighting game character…
"Ugh, fine!" Mad Dawg groaned, sensing this wasn't gonna fo his way. "Fine! If it'll make you feel better, I'll stop sleeping on the roof."
"Okay, we'll find a room and-"
"I'm sleeping in the supply closet." He said dismissively, already leaving.
"What?!"
"Filia. Just… just let him do his thing." Samson commented, laughing slightly. "I get the feeling you're not gonna get an answer as to 'why' with this kid." That fact was true, and that fact bugged Filia.
"…quite the uncultured cur, isn't he?" Leviathan snarked once Mad Dawg was gone. "The sooner he's done here, the better."
"Damn, did we swap minds or somethin'? Where was this bite all those years ago?" Samson asked, looking to his one-time rival.
"Samson, I am watching out for Lady Sienna and her young son. If Lady Filia was his Mother, you most likely would be acting similar to how I am at this moment." Unfortunately, Samson didn't have a reply, thinking about what was said.
"Eh, I get yer' point. But there's somethin' with that kid. Somethin' none'a us know about." He finally said, half-agreeing, half-disagreeing. "I think he's hidin' something, from everyone, but no one more than himself."
"You think we can help him?" Filia asked, curiously. She hadn't seen Samson this reflective, let alone willing to help someone without some incentive… maybe ever!
"Maybe? Or maybe we're all gonna make it worse." The Parasite mused. He had a feeling in whatever his 'gut' was, that someone here was gonna help him, he just didn't know who it was.
A.N. Happy New Year! Let's hope 2023 is better for us all! I'm happy this is done, the next chapters should be out quicker (famous last words).
Again, there WAS a story that took place between Dawg getting out of hell, and ending up here that hasn't been written. So, if Dawg seems a bit off? Yeah… you'll find out what happened later.
Next chapter? A new friend(s), new faces, and a PARKOUR RACE! See you next year!