Things were quiet after Angel returned to the cabin. The three girls had made sure to keep to Angel's injection schedule, Cherri had taken it upon herself for most of it since she was going to be staying with Angel at the mountain compound once Charlie and Vaggie had to return to the hotel. Their trip would be over in a little over a week. As much as the wanted to add on third week to the two-week long trip to her family's mountain estate, she had responsibilities she needed to deal with in Pentagram City. From what Husk had reported to her things were becoming uglier by the day. Alastor had gone to the liberty of reporting from his radio tower that the rumors of Angel's retirement or being redeemed against his will were all nonsense.
Charlie also had gotten in contact with the News Station and also the Pentagram post to give a few statements. Namely that Angel was not being held captive or subjected to anything her family's estate. The reason for Angel's departure from the city was because there were some incidents that have led her to be concerned. Since he is a resident of her hotel his is under her custody and protection and as there have been no explanations from the studio to suggest that his safety there isn't at risk, she has declared Angel's employment at Porn Studio's to be ended until further notice. She understood this was not a popular decision, but she had already discussed this with Angel Dust himself and he has agreed it was time for him to take a break for the time being.
The princess doubted her words would do much in the long run, particularly since she had been speaking on Angel's behalf while he was at the clinic. Also, people like Killjoy did have a habit of twisting things to meet ratings so doubtlessly the anchorwoman would have brought up the fiasco of their last interview. Particularly, the moment where Charlie had stated Angel was clean, well behaved, and out of trouble for at least two weeks since moving into the Hotel. Only for breaking news about Angel being involved in Cherri's turf war to be announced; discrediting everything Charlie had said about his improvement. Velvet also wasn't making things any easier as she was spreading false information across her social media feeds. Such as hearsay from some of Angel's coworkers, to speculations that Angel Dust himself had been deceiving Charlie into believing that studio was toxic. Including testimony about her associations with Valentino as a friend and business partner, giving glowing affirmations that Valentino did treat his top performers better than any other manager would have. And how she had personally seen Angel act overly dramatic and ungrateful for everything he was given. Charlie figured it would be a good idea have Angel give a statement so people could hear his view on things.
But that was to be determined later. Since returning, Charlie and Vaggie had been making effort to allow Angel to have his space. They did make him feel welcome, but they also knew without drugs to escape to there was a lot he was trying to process and come to terms with. Having mentally and emotionally suffered who knew how many years of physical, emotional, verbal, and covert abuse over the years he had been in Hell. And then there was also the years he was alive to factor in as well. Since he wasn't confined to the clinic Angel was free to enjoy the cabin or explore the compound like everyone else who had been there as a guest. Most of the time he stayed around the cabin and the grounds around the cabin. Cherri was the one who often encouraged him into exploring the area with her, but other times he chose to remain behind.
It was during the times Angel was resting or out walking about the grounds alongside Cherri that Charlie would watch his music videos. She wasn't concerned that he would be bothered by her watching them. Nor had he told her not to, he had just said they didn't really fit the message of the Hotel which was true. But it did give her a better idea of the sort of person Angel had been before everything. A lost and lonely soul that was trapped in an existence he couldn't escape. While happy with the limelight, he would return to the knowledge that he was still chained to Valentino as a prisoner. The drugs were his only escape, the sex his only means of survival, and the songs his only unheard cries for help.
"You're still watching those," Vaggie asked? She had just come in with some fish she had caught for dinner that evening. Charlie had clicked out of watching one of the videos and was scrolling through the Angel Dust performances on Voxtube.
"I just thought..." Charlie explained. "I just thought they would give me more of visual idea of what was going on."
"You know what was going on," Vaggie said. "You don't need to see his music videos to understand that."
"Maybe," Charlie said. "But Angel hasn't really talked about it. He gave us a rundown of what was occurring, but that was a choice he made under duress because he felt it was better we heard what was going on from him rather than Val explaining his version to us first. Then with what happened with Angel not returning to the Hotel and our trip here. When I called Valentino, he did say Angel could be dramatic and manipulative himself and what he said wasn't a complete fabrication. If I was someone else, I probably would have found more reason to believe him then Angel, even if it was only because Valentino was an Overlord."
"Angel said it himself," Vaggie stated. "He is associated with crime. We know what sort of threat the Vee's are, but what about Angel's family members...his father and brother could be a different sort of threat. Maybe not using Angel for money, but being associated to you and the hotel has to have their attention. Valentino and the V's are one form of organized crime, Angel's family is another form. Henroin may not be making any moves because they are assessing how much of a threat our hotel could be to their operations."
"The hotel isn't a threat to them," Charlie defended. "And I am not doing anything to stop their business operations or whatever they are doing. Angel doesn't talk about them because doing so would be breaking a code of silence. Besides Vaggie, he isn't with them anymore."
"We don't know that" Vaggie pointed out. "Angel avoids his family and doesn't work for them...according to Cherri's knowledge. Remember, the Mafia deals in secrecy, so if he was working for them, Cherri wouldn't have known that because Angel wouldn't have told her. He does still have some contact with his older brother after all. Regardless of whether they get along or fight like scorpions, that is still an association."
"Perhaps," Charlie agreed. "But after we figured out who is father and brother were...It may have been a result of the drug withdrawal and the stress he was feeling because of the storm. But the impression I got was that Henroin was someone who had been a source of trauma." Scrolling through the various videos about Angel Dusts singing performances, she found one that said, 'Unusual song by Angel Dust' as its title. The brief description said it was a performance by Angel Dust from sometime before he started working at Porn Studios and it was something that people didn't usually see from him.
"Another one," Vaggie sighed. "I really don't think watching these is a good idea, hun."
"This one is different," Charlie said.
"Charlie," Vaggie heaved an exasperated sigh. "You do understand the concept of click baiting right?"
"This isn't one people usually hear, so maybe there is something different." Selecting the video there was a synthesized tone as though it had a clockwork feel to it before a haunting blues like tune started up. Angel appeared on stage, he wasn't wearing the valentino jacket and skirt he would wear when he worked for the studio. Rather he was wearing a pair of black leggings and a soft lavender top with a napkin hem. The unruly mop of fur that served as his hair was pinned back into a delicate bun. As the song started Angel's words were somber and passionate.
Wish I could believe that you care for me that way
Mirror mirror speak to me In the night...
Don't you think I know this grief can't be cried away
In the tears I cry, I see you Rainy day...
Why can't I love you so? Sleep won't come to me...
With the eyes closed the mind has a perfect view...
It's... just... we two are
Lost in your arms I float away Don't you know?
Once daylight comes, I'm searching for you
It was the song of a sought for love, only for the presumed feelings to be just a dream. And yet despite the knowing the feelings were unrequited, there was the hope that the sparked infatuation had been real. This really was something neither girl had heard Angel sing before and it felt so strange after hearing songs where Angel is pretty much performing as the character that he wanted to present himself as to the rest of Hell to seeking escape from a toxic situation. This song actually felt genuine to the sort of person Angel really was. So, if this was who Angel was behind the mask, that only showed how much Valentino's control had mentally and emotionally broken the spider. And given what she had come to understand...it was a miracle he was even still able to maintain any sort of sanity at all. Charlie said nothing as she gazed into space while the song ended. Her mind trying to process what she had heard and seen, to figure how that could be used to help Angel at this point in time.
Vaggie sat down at the table glad she wasn't really cooking the evening meal for once since arriving at the Morningstar's mountain compound. She didn't mind cooking, but it had felt like that was one of her jobs over the past week. Still, she was apprehensive that Angel had volunteered to cook that night. He hadn't volunteered to make dinner or anything while at the hotel, not that he was really around for many of the mealtimes to want to.
"So, I gather were having spaghetti for dinner," Vaggie asked Charlie? She was taken aback as a plate with a couple pieces of briny lemon-scented chicken breast with a side of smashed potatoes was placed down in front of her and Charlie.
"Give me at least some credit Vag's," Angel said as he also set down a couple of similar plates down at the places for Cherri and himself.
"Mmm," Cherri commented as she came from downstairs. "I thought you'd make something good." The cyclopic female was dressed in red flannel pajama pants and a black spaghetti string tank top. Her pinkish blond hair was down from its usual flame like ponytail giving the bomber girl a slightly softer appearance. She casually took a seat at the table while Angel took a seat across from Charlie.
"Wow," Charlie said. "Angel, this looks wonderful." Vaggie used her fork to distastefully poke at one of the capers that rested like a pickled pea in the lemon sauce.
"It's just a simple chicken piccata," Angel shrugged like it was no big deal. Cherri had already got started on her plate, Charlie also picked up her fork when she noticed Angel had made any moves to touch his food. Instead, he sat quietly for a moment with his eyes closed. She was about to ask if he was alright, when he opened his eyes and then lightly touched his forehead, stomach and then shoulders. He was about to reach for his utensils when he noticed her watching. "It's an...old habit."
"Your..." Vaggie asked? She recognized that gesture Angel had just performed as the sort of thing her own family had done when they sat together over a meal, but she didn't want to make any assumptions."
"Roman Catholic," Angel answered. "I'm not what you would call devoted though, most of my familiari only attended mass for religious holidays, and events such as christenings, first communions, and weddings. I'm actually not surprised a large majority of them did wind up in Hell. Being part of the life, we were taught to put the family first before everything, even God."
"When you say family," Vaggie asked. "You mean your family or something else." Angel had paused with a piece of chicken to his mouth. He contemplated, how answer a second before ate the bite. Putting down his fork dabbed his mouth on a cloth napkin before he spoke.
"A bit of both, I guess," Angel said after a minute. "It's complicated because it sorta depends on what syndicate you are associated with." Cherri watched him with a mixture of concern and interest. Part of her wanted to know how Angel planned on answering Vaggie's question, and part of her wondered if this is something he should be explaining. Charlie also seemed to have similar concerns.
"So, you have your dad and your brother here in Hell," Cherri said.
"Pops, Fratello," Angel listed off "Fratello's wife, various uncles and aunts from both Pops and Mamma's sides of the family, whole army of cousins, various assorted other family members, guys who weren't really blood family but were members of the family business."
"What..." Vaggie was aghast at the admission. "You have an entire extensive family here hell?"
"Of course," Angel commented with a shrug. "You ain't part of the mafia with the intention of becomin' saints. Don't get me wrong, there were guys who were part of the life were good guys to know and some of them were better people because they was part of it. But they still did a number of shitty things, and many of them would even admit they weren't exactly proud of what they had to do. Though what you'd gals would see as crime, they saw business. When it comes to my family, there were a few exceptions, but in general every one of my relatives were not what you would call good people. Most were awful, but they was doing what they felt they had to in order to survive in a time and place that wasn't all that welcoming if you were foreign."
"The three of us are aware there are some things you can't actually talk to people about," Charlie supplied. "Because they break an oath of silence. I don't want you to feel like you'll be in trouble or anything like that because you told us something we weren't supposed to know. But, if there is anything you can explain... "
"I guess there isn't much point in hidin' it," Angel said as he got up. Walking to the kitchen he had opened the drawer that he had seen Charlie pull a notepad out of when they had first arrived days ago and took out the pad and a pen. "I've already broke my oath to the family when I dropped ties with them after arrivin' in Hell. Though ties to crime run deeper than just my folks, but rather where they came from in Italy." Returning down to the table he put down the notepad started to draw of rough drawing of what was supposed to be a boot shaped country. He paused when he felt Charlie reach across the table lightly placing a hand on one of his.
"Why don't you explain after we finish our meal," Charlie said. "The four of us are sitting here as a family for the first time since we arrived, isn't that important to?" Angel glanced at three girls around him. It was true this was the first time the four of them had really enjoyed each other's company around the dining room table since they first arrived at the cabin. At the hotel, he wasn't really around to share meals with Charlie and Vaggie when he originally moved into the hotel. He'd always be heading out to the studio by the time the girls were coming downstairs, and they would be asleep by the time he returned. The last time any of them really had sat down to a meal with everyone was when Alastor had made Jambalaya. Though at that point he didn't think of any of them in the context of a family. Even here now, it was hard for him to think of Charlie and Vaggie on familial terms...Cherri he saw as an adopted sister. And both Charlie and Vaggie had been more of a family to him than the majority of his own blood had ever been. Still, he was hesitant about seeing them on those terms, particularly with how they choose to react to what he was going to have to explain. Giving a nod to let Charlie know he heard her and understood he pushed aside the notepad. Charlie noticeably hadn't removed her hand from Angels even though he had done as she requested. It was only when he returned to his dinner plate that she pulled away.
Charlie eyed Angel from where he was standing on the deck looking out at the horizon. He had gone out for a smoke not long after dinner, fortunately it wasn't one of those rank and disgusting cigarettes. They were a pack that Dr. Abaddon had given him when Angel had finally been allowed to leave the clinic. Cherri had gone out briefly to talk to him before she came in to help with clean up.
"I didn't know entire families could be in Hell," Cherri commented.
"It's not common," Vaggie said. "But depending on the sort people who exist in a family, you can get entire blood lines here in Hell. I don't know much about the time he's from or what sort of things he's had to do, but the one thing I know about Italian culture is that they are one of the cultures of the world that has a strong emphasis on family as a community."
"I don't know if he's ever really had anything he could classify as a community here in Hell," Cherri admitted. "I mean, you girls have noticed he is rather guarded and it's hard for him to really trust other people, particularly ones he doesn't really know that well. Given the sort of world Hell is, that is expected since people do stuff like be friends with you one minute and then sell you out to save their own hides the next. Much of his existence following his death was spent on the streets of Pentagram. He joined the sex trade early on, would live in brothels when he could. Occasionally take up short term residence on the homes of clients or people he knew when he was in between things. Live under the care of lovers who served as managers."
"He didn't have a place to live," Charlie asked. This was new to her, again probably one of the things her father may have sheltered her from as she grew up.
"No one does," Cherri answered. "Not when they first arrive in Hell at least. It's not like someone is there to say 'Welcome to Hell, here's the keys to a shitty apartment on this side of town. As long as you don't mind rodents, cockroaches, and the smell of piss you should be right at home.' Maybe they do that in Heaven...but here...you have to scrape for your survival. You want something you fight for it; you take what you can get, particularly with the over population. Sometimes you're lucky and a person who had a decent apartment is erased, so that and its furnishings are up for grabs. For instance, my old apartment on the west side of town. There was an open lease, so I asked about it and the landlord told me that the demon who lived there had been gone for a while and if I wanted it, I was welcome to have it and I can do what I wanted with their stuff. So looked everything over, kept the furniture and other stuff. With the exception of a few tops I got rid of the clothing, none of it was really my style, so I got myself a prefinished home for a time. When I left that place to start living with Angie at the hotel, I just took the clothing and things I wanted to bring with me and anyone else could have it if they wanted it so badly."
"What about where Angel was living," Vaggie asked. "He had told us he was behind on his rent by three months,"
"Yeah," Cherri said. "Though his landlord was over charging the rent for that little single room occupancy apartment. It was more or less a shoe box that had a small room for a toilet and shower. It really wasn't the sort of place he'd entertain clients, but Valentino would come visit from time to time...that's how I learned about what was happening."
*Flashback*
"Hey, 'Grumble Dust'" Cherri nearly shouted into the phone. "Do you really like being a loner, or are you just antisocial?" She understood that there were things Angel couldn't talk about regarding his life in Hell or even when he was alive. She could accept that his job at the porn studio didn't exactly give him much time to hang out. What did bug her was when he seemed to only really see her as a friend when it was convenient for him. It was time the two of them had a sit down as he would call it and actually got some answers. She wasn't going to let him use her for his own needs, she had experienced that before with Issac, she wasn't going to put up with someone else treating her like she was just something who was only useful when they were wanted. Angel didn't respond, instead he hung up the phone like he had absolutely no cares towards her.
"GFY," Cherri snorted in disgust as she gave the abbreviated version of 'Go Fuck Yourself'. Turning to leave, she was shocked when she heard the sound of the door buzz allowing her entry into the building. She considered on just leaving regardless, it would serve Angel right if she just left. But part of her wondered if he was allowing her up simply to setting things between them. Opening the doors and entering the building got into the elevator and traveled to Angel's floor. Getting out she stalked to the door of Angel's room only to find the door slightly ajar. This caused her to pause, this wasn't normal. In fact, buzzing her in wasn't usual either, mostly he'd come down to greet her.
"Angie..." She said cautiously as she opened the door. Angel sat seated on the mattress staring into space, his legs tucked up to his chest. Fat Nuggets was curled in his arms contentedly snuffling as the Spider cradled the runty pig. He didn't look at or acknowledge that the one-eyed girl had entered the room. Still, seeing him this subdued worried her, the Angel Dust she knew was strong and took no shit from anyone. This was like he was broken or had experienced something serious that he didn't really know how to really deal with. "Angie?" She softly asked as she sat at her friend's side. Again, he made no hint that he was aware of her.
Glancing around she noticed the room was in disarray. Angel wasn't the most fastidious when it came to cleaning, but aside from leaving his bedding unmade he wasn't what you'd call a slob. Looking about her, it was like a bomb had gone off. A lot of the make-up Angel had on the small vanity in one corner of the room was broken and scattered like someone had swept them from off the table surface. Some of it looked salvageable, but much of it looked damaged and unusable. The old dress rack Angel used to hold his clothing was thrown over. His outfits were tossed about the room, several of which were also in the mess of perfumed lotions and the oil puddle that staining into the floor. It was obvious that much of that would not be wearable no matter how much dry cleaning was done. While Angel could be temperamental at times, she knew him well enough to know he'd never do something like this.
"My boss..." Angel said. His words sounded distant and hollow that Cherri wasn't even certain he had even said them. "...he stopped by."
"Stopped by for what..." Cherri asked.
"There was that storm the other day," Angel sighed. He was less distant, but there was clearly something rehearsed in his words. "Had to be sent home early because I was messing up the shoot. I ain't marketable if I look like I'm going to puke or pass out on set. So, the boss stopped by to let me know he was not happy that he had to cancel shit cause it costs him money, and I had better hope I can make back what he lost."
"I don't see why he needed to do all this," Cherri said as she righted the dress rack. Picking one of Angel's nicer tops she looked it over to see what sort of condition it was in before tossing it aside. It was just stained and torn rag due to the damage. One of the more salvageable shirts had reddish stains in addition to tears but didn't look like anything a good trip to the laundry wouldn't fix.
"You don't know, Val," Angel said. "Anything that don't go his way, he finds something to punish someone for. Even on a good day he finds something to take shit out on someone. A shoot needs more than one take, someone needs to be reamed for it. I do something without his knowledge, he beats the shit outta me because I pulled something behind his back. Don't matter if it benefits him or the studio or whatever, all that matters to him is that he didn't fill him in on what I was doing. Even relationship problems between him and Vox are enough to make him go open season on anyone in the studio. It's just a matter of what sort of mood he's in."
"And you never told me this," Cherri said. "Angie...this isn't...I don't like any of that, why do you even work for that guy if he does this kind of shit?"
"It ain't like I can up and leave," Angel replied. Nugg's gave a small squeal of discomfort as Angel hugged him tighter than he liked. "I'm not just an employee...I'm bought and paid for. So, he works me in whatever way he can to make himself rich. I've run for it before, but Vox helps him track me down, and they have connections that work for 'em, so there really isn't anywhere I can run to."
"That's sick," Cherri growled. "Looks like I need to play that asshole a visit."
"Hang on, Cher," Angel cautioned. "You don't know what you're dealing with here."
"Who cares," Cherri snapped back. "My turf and my friends are one and the same to me. I treat anyone who is messing with my friends is like they are unwanted invaders; I'm not going to let it happen...not so long as I exist."
"Yeah, but Val ain't just anyone," Angel said. "He's one of the Overlords. They can be taken out...if you got enough to get your hands on an Angelic weapon or shit like that. But mostly, you're seriously itchin' to be erased if you have any intentions on taken one of 'em head on. Val and Vox are partners in more ways than one...the sort of shit that my Pops would say was just business. But beyond having their relationship or whatever you wanna call it, they really don't have any loyalties to one another. One of 'em would leave the other to save their own ass if they were caught out during a cleanse."
"I don't give a damn what he is," Cherri seethed, her body starting to expand as she felt her full demon form begin to come forward. "That bastard is hurting someone I care about; someone needs to do something."
"Trust me, sistah," Angel said catching Cherri's hand causing her to turn her attention to him. Her emotion calmed causing her form to return to its normal girlish shape. "He ain't someone either of us can take on our own. I haven't existed as long as I have here by pickin' fights with any Tom, Dick, and Harry that looks at me the wrong way. Yeah, I've rearraigned someone's mug now and again for thinkin' they was being cute calling me a fag or shit like that. But I've also been in enough situations in my human lifetime up until now to know you don't start anythin unless you know you are prepared for the outcome. Every time I've considered how I could take out Val, I've never seen myself walkin' away. So, I know that ain't a battle I can win."
There were no words exchanged as Cherri finished her account. Both Charlie and Vaggie eyed one another in concern at this made it all the more clear that Valentino couldn't be allowed to get his hands on Angel again.
"You mentioned that Angel would stop you from turning into your full demon form," Charlie pointed out.
"Well duh," Cherri said. "You saw him do that the other day when I was starting to lose it. When I get too riled up...I guess you can say I go into She-Hulk mode. The good side of that form is I'm ultra strong and really powerful. I don't know how other demons are like in their full forms, but for me...I just go savage and start attacking anyone around me. One of the trade-offs in my partnership with him is that he is able to help me return to myself. And while I've never seen him in anything beyond a street brawl or a throw down at some dive bar. I wanted to have him as a partner because, I've actually seen him in situations on his own. And those were enough to know I didn't want to have to fight him myself."
"Did you see him use his full demon form," Vaggie asked?
"No..." Cherri said. "I've never seen him need to use his full form. I have asked and he just said he didn't feel the need to show the monster he could become. Though there have been times I've seen his shadow act strangely. He doesn't seem notice it, but there are times where it just extends out ward. And then it seems to show three pairs of arms like when he actually brings out his hidden set. And these glowing red eyes appear in the shadow itself." Charlie and Vaggie looked at one another in concern at this information.
"That sounds like..." Charlie's start to say.
"Cherri," Vaggie asked. "When was the last time you saw this?"
"Um..." Cherri said. "When we were in that turf war against that steampunk serpent edgelord, why?"
"Because, that sounds similar to Alastor's abilities," Vaggie pointed out.
"Seriously," Cherri gave a scoff of disbelief. "Angie isn't into voodoo or shit like that, so why would he have anything like that freaky Radio Demon."
"I don't think the voodoo really is what made Alastor who he is," Charlie explained. "I have never seen this event for myself so I can't give full accounts how or why this happened. But Alastor just appeared one day and was able to utilize a power no one had ever seen used by sinners before, and in doing so he had defeated a number of Hellborn Overlords who had stood in power over Hell for hundreds of years and advertised the destruction over the radios across Hell, as such became known as the 'Radio Demon'. From what you have told us, it is possible that Angel has an ability that is similar to Alastor."
"Meaning what," Cherri asked in confusion? "That Angie is an Overlord like that radio themed freakshow?"
"We don't know," Charlie said. "It doesn't sound like he is aware of this ability, or if he is aware of it he hasn't made any attempts to harness it."
"Come on," Cherri snorted. "I don't know about Al back at the hotel. But, I know Angie doesn't really have any cares about holding power or status over anyone. So why would he bother being an Overlord."
"Because," Charlie said in consideration. "It might explain why Valentino wants Angel under his control. If he's a problem for the Studio it wouldn't really matter how much Angel was able to bring in due to his popularity he would have been erased without question. The only way Valentino would want to keep Angel under his control is so Angel didn't realize that he had something that could make him a challenge or possibly a threat to Val's status."
"What about having a connection to Angie's brother or father," Cherri pointed out. "I mean, these big shot crime lords do have their hands in a lot of different stuff including the porn business. So, wouldn't it be beneficial to have a partnership with them."
"But that would mean..." Vaggie said, the look on her face suggested she felt like she was going to be sick. "That would mean someone in Angel's family was open to the idea of selling him to Valentino knowing what would likely happen. Or someone who felt that Angel was a problem, and having him under the control of an Overlord was the only way to make sure he wasn't."
"That doesn't make any fucking sense," Cherri protested. "Angie doesn't want anything to do with his family. He feels they can do whatever they like so long as he isn't involved in it."
"Maybe..." Vaggie agreed. "But it's one thing for Angel to say he doesn't want to be involved, it's another thing for the members of Angel's mafia clan to accept that he has no intention of interfering with them. So they either didn't get the memo...or someone wanted to be certain that he isn't a problem."
