Back In Hell…
Arackniss's eyes creaked open, his vision blurry as ever. His body felt so weak, he couldn't move and the only thing he could make out under the bright light he was subjected to were those surgeons pulling at whatever they could before he blacked out again.
This wasn't the first time it had happened, he wouldn't know for sure how many times he had blacked in and out of the surgery as he wasn't able to keep track but it happened enough that time was a construct and that it was almost never-ending. It was like he was being subjected to some sort of medieval torture where they would tear through his insides and feed them to the wolves, the only difference being they weren't intending to kill him but were trying to 'modify' him into the perfect star.
Not like Arackniss cared what the difference was, he considered himself to be dying the longer he was like this.
His body was exhausted, his tear ducts were unable to produce anymore tears and it hurt trying to force himself to cry. His throat was so sore from the screaming that he couldn't talk even if he wanted to and his other senses were hazy at best, like his life was dangling from a thread.
Time ceased to be in those moments, moments of his life flashing before his eyes as if he were experienced a second death, something he desperately craved.
All Arackniss wanted was for an Exterminator to descend down from the Heavens and free him from this hellish coil of existence. Death would be preferable to whatever sorry excuse of existence he was enduring right now.
How long had it been there? He wasn't sure, it could've been minutes, hours or days even. Maybe months. He wouldn't know, he had no concept of time while he was spacing out of consciousness. All he knew was that the pain he was in was unbearable and that he was helpless to make it stop…
Eventually, the pain did subside but he had no recollection of how long it had been or how long he had been tortured for. It had been so long and his concept of time was hazy beyond belief and he struggled to regain consciousness.
Still…eventually his body forced him to wake up…
He slowly opened his eyes again full and as his vision slowly adjusted to his surroundings once more. White seared into his eyes as he slowly tilted his head around, unable to see anything else.
Arackniss looked around, seeing he was now in a hospital bed. No longer was he strapped down to a table and instead laid on a soft pillow and mattress with a warm blanket over him. There was a heart monitor to his right which was slowly moving up and down in a predictable manner.
Still alive…how unfortunate.
Arackniss then sighed before removing the heart monitor's connection to his arm, freeing himself. He then weakly made his way off the bed before gasping when his legs made contact with the ground far sooner than anticipated.
As he abruptly stood up, Arackniss noticed that the floor was a lot farther than he had remembered. His body felt stranger..taller even. He struggled to maintain balance, gripping the bed momentarily as he fought to regain control over his body.
'What…what's going on!? Why can't I barely stand?' He questioned himself before noticing a mirror in the room. He stumbled over, tripping a few times in the process of getting there.
When Arackniss finally got to the mirror, he could hardly believe his eyes. His body had become taller, now standing at a height of 7 feet. His body weight had been shifted and while his legs weren't exactly like Angel's they were noticeably thicker to accommodate his growth.
And that wasn't all.
His chest hair, which he hadn't grown, was now aggrandized in size, now looking fluffy to serve as a cleavage like his brother had. His chest had a red heart shaped tattoo in the center and he had red spots in his hair, likely had dye that had been applied without his consent just like everything else. His spiky hair had become 'softer' in appearance, lacking the overly pointy hair he once had, now being slicked back.
"Oh my god…what have they done to me?" He asked, now feeling his chest in effort to see if it was truly real, still unable to believe this was part of his body. He grasped the fluff, feeling up his chest fur in disbelief and touching the parts where the tattoo had been made, horrified to see it had been imprinted into his fur…
His eyes…they had been moved(somehow). They were no longer visible places where his nose would be, resembling tiny freckles if anything.
He could hardly recognize himself, it was like he was looking at an entirely different person. The only thing that hasn't really changed was his athletic build and visible muscle that was still visible underneath his fur.
Dread flooded into his veins, what would happen if someone saw him like this? No…what if his FATHER saw him like this? No doubt the old man noticed he was gone by now, he'd probably be wondering where he went and if he saw him like THIS?
It would be an ugly scene. His Father was a hot-tempered man and he did fear his wrath and what he would do if he found out he had sold himself like this. He wouldn't understand he had done this for him and would judge him just like he judged Angel…
As he thought of the implications, he then realized something…
"How am I going to fit my old clothes?"
No seriously, how in the hell was he going to fit his old clothes when he looked like this?
It wasn't like he gained a bit of weight, he had grown several feet and had the general proportions of his body changed in a rather drastic manner. If he tried putting his old clothes on there wasn't a doubt in his mind that it would tear at the seams and even if it miraculously fit it would be the TIGHTEST fit imaginable to the point it wouldn't be comfortable nor practical to wear.
He then tilted his head behind him and noticed a desk with a letter and a box on top. Reluctantly the spider approached and reached for the letter that had seemingly been left for him.
Dear Nissy,
I had to leave to go attend a business meeting due to how long you were out. You were unconscious a lot longer than expected so I had to attend to other affairs while you were gone. I'll be back for you shortly.
P.S: I've got you new clothes since your old ones aren't suited to your modified body. Hope you like them, they're top notch and made just for you. Try it on, I'm certain you'll like it.
~Love Valentino
At the end of the letter was a kiss mark at the end, something that made the ends of his hair stand straight. The letter was clearly meant to be casual but given this was Valentino…the tone of the letter had a far darker meaning in the spider's mind.
He then set his eyes on the box and opened it, pulling out a black and yellow suit and a pair of yellow pants and long thigh-high black boots. There even appeared to be a tiny black choker inside…
Yeah…just what he wanted…
Well…clothes were clothes. It was either that or he wear the hospital gowns and he sure as hell wasn't wearing some stupid blue dress that didn't even cover the bare necessities.
He reluctantly picked up the clothes and put them on piece by piece, slipping the attire Val put out for him on.
When he looked at himself in the mirror, Arackniss would hardly recognize himself. It was like looking at a different person through the mirror. It may have technically been his body but it was so altered he could hardly tell that it was truly his anymore.
"Father is so gonna kill me…" He grumbled before weakly heading out onto the hallway, his legs wobbling as he struggled to adjust to his new body. He wasn't used to the sudden height that had been added onto his body and these damn heels weren't making it any better as he struggled to not trip over himself with every step.
"Stupid fucking heels. Cannot believe Anthony walked around in these things all day. They're so annoying…"
As Arackniss was walking he tensed up when he heard a monotone voice from behind,"Nurse Leslie, it appears the patient has finally come around."
He whipped around and saw one of the surgeons who had been operating on him earlier.
"About time. I was wondering when he would come around. He took far longer than expected to wake up. Still, he shouldn't be wandering the halls. I still believe he needs to work on despite Valentino's claims. I still believe there are…adjustments we can add to make him better, don't you agree Susan?"
"Of course I do..Your judgment is what is best…"
Panic flooded through his system as his heart raced. His mind became a tornado of thoughts and his instincts kicked in, fearful they might try and experiment on him again just for the hell of it.
So he ran for it like his life depended on it and bolted down the hallway. Screams were heard behind him, calling for him to come back but Arackniss refused to heed them and continued sprinting despite not being accustomed to his newfound body, adrenaline pumping through his veins.
He could hear the sound of alarms going off, no doubt that this wasn't the first time a patient had tried to escape the facility. That only fueled the fire in his stomach to keep going and his adrenaline was surging through him like a freight train barely keeping itself on the tracks.
Fear kept him moving, jumping over any obstacles and refusing to let anything slow him down and tossing obstacles in his way in order to slow his pursuers down.
As he was running, he could tell he was approaching the exit.
He could feel them gaining on him and he was desperate to escape the facility no matter the cost, fuckers were going so far as to try and shoot him with stun-darts in an effort to put him down and he narrowly dodged their attacks by the skin of his teeth.
While he was sprinting, Arackniss hadn't bothered to look in front of him as he ended up running into someone. The impact was enough to knock the wind out of him and he hadn't been prepared for such a harsh landing, grabbing onto what he could to prevent him from falling over.
Panic enveloped him, fearing the surgeons had finally caught up with him and were going to put him back to experiment on him again for their own twisted purposes. As he braced himself for the inevitable injections, Arackniss suddenly felt someone clutching his cheek as an all too familiar voice asked,"Nissy, are you alright?"
"V-Val?" He asked disbelief, now looking up at him. The Overlord still towered over him despite his newly gained height but the difference in height was no longer as exaggerated as it had been before, Arackniss now standing at Val's chest and clinging to his coat in his panic to prevent himself from falling."W-When did you-"
"I came to pick you up…" Val mentioned before saying,"Though I can't say I expected you to run into me like this. Got a good reason for crashing into me like that babe?"
Before Arackniss could bother to explain, a surgeon screamed,"There he is!"
"Shit! They're coming for me" Arackniss hissed,"I'm gonna die!"
"No you're not," Val assured before saying,"Stay behind me, doll. Daddy's got you covered…"
Arackniss shuddered before reluctantly doing as he was told. He didn't trust Val for a second but he figured if anyone could get the surgeons off of him, it would be him. He hid behind Val's coat, peeking out just so he could see the show-down that would happen from a distance.
"Mister Valentino, you're here," Susan exclaimed,"You..came a lot…sooner than expected…"
"Mhm…" Val mused in a dismissive tone,"I can see that. Though I gotta ask, what the fuck do you all think you're doing chasing Nissy down like this? Because I doubt he'd run into my arms like this without a reason…"
"We..we were planning on making some adjustments to him and he refused to cooperate…" Doctor Leslie said, his voice firm as ever.
"Adjustments?" Val asked with a raised brow,"I thought I clarified that I approved of Arackniss's modifications and that he didn't need any further changes…"
Leslie continued to speak,"You said that but we believe that it would be best if the patient had extra modifications done for future reference. His ability to be immune to drugs is quite unique and more tests and modifications need to be done on him for us to grasp a full understanding of his internal system…"
Val narrowed his eyes,"The answer is no. Arackniss is meant to be a star, not a lab rat. We didn't come here for whatever experiments you wanna run. Go find another guinea pig for your fucked up experiments because Nissy ain't being your lab-rat…"
"But he's one of a kind, we haven't encountered anyone like him before, Valentino. Please let us have him. We promise once we're done you can have him back."
"Tempting offer but no," Val said bluntly,"Not only would that cost me my time, it would cost me my money as well. I need Arackniss and I won't have some deluded mad scientists try to take him away from me just because you want to run some tests. Go find someone else to fuck with because Nissy here is off limits…"
"If you don't hand him over to us we'll have no choice but to pry him from your hands…" The lead doctor hissed, motioning all of his surgeon allies forward who all raised guns at them,"I tried to be civil yet it appears civility doesn't work on overlords. Violence has proven to yet again be the only answer. Everyone, get him and make sure the spider doesn't get away!"
Everyone began attempting to shoot Val with bullets and Arackniss braced himself for the worst. Instead of seeming scared, Val merely chuckled before brushing off the attacks and pulling out his holy pistol and shooting them all in the head at point blank without a hint of hesitation.
Well,everyone except the main doctor of course, who Val instead shot in the leg. It had torn the flesh and left his leg hanging by a thread, rendering him crippled and losing blood quickly. He wasn't long for this world and they all knew it…
"You..you sick bastard…" He coughed out, blood trickling from his mouth,"You ruined it..you ruined everything. We could've made an important advancement to all demon-kind yet your selfishness got in the way of it all…"
Val scoffed,"Are you trying to make me feel bad for you? If so, you're wasting your time. I've got no pity for a dead man, let alone one who thinks he can play up that he had pure intentions while on his last breath. We all know that no demon has good intentions down here. Everyone has committed heinous crimes that most up there wouldn't dare speak of and you think can give me a sob-story to spare your pathetic life? Like you don't deserve a holy bullet down your throat?"
Val then walks up to the man before kicking him while he's down, a sadistic grin growing on his face upon seeing the man's pain. No doubt in Arackniss's mind he had snapped several bones in his body if they weren't already broken, helpless to do anything other than watch as Val tortured the dying man in his last moments.
It wasn't like he hadn't seen torture before, the Mafia was no stranger to torture tactics but he had never seen someone go so personal on someone they barely knew. It was unheard of and Arackniss wasn't sure whether he was more fanicated or terrified at the sight of it all.
"I despise those like yourself, always thinking their intentions are pure despite it all. Why? Is it because you're ashamed? Ashamed that without your pathetic little front that you'd realize you're a monster like the rest of us? Because I'll tell you what, every demon, sinner or hellborn is evil within their own rights, others are just better at pretending they aren't. But I don't…I don't pretend I'm not an evil bastard. I know who I am…and I'm proud of it. It's a dog eat dog world and there's no mercy for the wicked. Now die…" Val then aimed his firearm at the man's head who was nothing more than a whimpering mess on the floor before shooting him in the head, blood and brain fluid seeping through the hospital floors.
The man's motionless body flopped to the floor as his fluids spread all over the ground.
Arackniss's heart raced at the sight, staring at the bloodied body for the longest time. The altercation took minutes at best but Arackniss felt like it had been hours or even days, time ticking by slower than he remembered it being.
Val on the other hand seemed hardly fazed by the interaction, merely blowing the smoke off from his pistol and putting it back in his coat before looking at his outfit and scowling,"Damn bastards, how dare they get their disgusting blood on my coat! The nerve of them to ruin my outfit.." He then stared at the dead body before him and stomped on the man's head until it was nothing but mush under his heel in one swoop.
Arackniss was certain Val would've done more but he reluctantly decided to snap Val out of his violent rampage, clearing his throat before saying,"Hate to interrupt what you're doing but now that you've…dispatched the surgeons perhaps it's time we leave. There's nothing for us here and I'd hate to attract more attention, especially on the off-chance the rest of the staff become alerted of what you've done…"
"Aw, you scared, Nissy?" Val asked with a grin before laughing,"Don't be..Daddy's got this covered…"
"But Val, there are probably more out there. What makes you think they won't come after us once they see what you did to their leader?" He said this while looking at the bloody mess of what remained of the head surgeon, cringing a bit when some of the blood got on his boots.
"You're being paranoid, Nissy. This isn't my first rodeo, I know how to handle these sorts of situations. They're not gonna get the chance to do anything, I promise…"
Arackniss wasn't certain what Val had in mind but he couldn't help but feel a giant pit of fear swirl inside of his stomach, something that made his long legs tremble with fight.
Val then lit a cigarette and Arackniss cringed, his nostrils flaring up at the smell. Val's cigarettes had an overly chemical fragrance and while he wasn't put under his control like every other demon the smell was enough to make him cover his nose..
"Val, what are you doing? Are you seriously smoking in a hospital with dead bodies around? You know there's a reason people aren't allowed to smoke in here…"
The moth demon didn't bat an eye at this comment,"So what? It's not like anyone's around to tell me to knock it off. It's harmless. Don't tell me you're suddenly a stickler for rules after all this time…"
"I'm not, I just think it's weird timing to smoke after you murdered a good portion of the hospital staff…"
He shrugged his broad shoulders,"Eh, not like I care. I smoke when I want and how I want. It's just how I am…"
Arackniss rolled his eyes, he knew convincing Val not to smoke around him was a losing battle. Fucker clearly didn't care about the opinions of other's when it inconvenienced him in the slightest, best not to anger him over something as small as this.
Still, the least he could do was get them out of the carnage.
"Hey, Val…can we leave?" He asked weakly, rubbing his arm as his gaze averted from the moth's piercing gaze,"I don't want to stay in this hospital anymore and it's making me uncomfortable…"
Surprisingly, Valentino agreed,"Course we can, Nissy. I was getting sick of this place too now that I was thinking about it. About the time we left, this place had exhausted its use and there's no reason for us to stay in this dump any longer. Come on, baby, let's go…"
Arackniss silently sighed in relief as Val led him out the front entrance. As they were leaving the hospital, Val threw his used cigarette to the ground, smoke emanating from the end of the bud.
Val had his limo parked at the front entrance and he pulled his keys out to unlock the door. Arackniss slid on inside. The view of the vehicle was a lot different with his added height and he felt a bit bigger than the world around him for a moment.
'I'm never gonna get used to this added height..' He thought to himself before buckling himself in his seat. Val followed soon after and the car soon began to drive off.
They rode in silence for a moment before Val placed his hand on Arackniss's thigh, the spider flinching at the contact and hid his disgust by turning his face towards the window.
"You know, Nissy, I gotta say, you're a rather strong spider, you know that?"
A compliment? From Val? How unexpected. He wasn't sure whether to be flattered or unnerved by it…
Still, it was better to respond and remain on Val's 'good' side in order to avoid potentially pissing him off. The guy didn't like being ignored and Arackniss knew better than to piss him off while he was still adjusting to his new body.
"Uh thanks…" He mumbled slowly,"I..I don't hear that a lot…"
"Oh really?" Val inquired, seeming a little curious,"I find that hard to believe given your former profession. You were a gangster, your father's top one at that. How could anyone not praise your strength?"
"Because they don't see that. All they saw was a lackey doing Henroin's bidding. Didn't help that I was the smallest member and seen as an easy target. Even when I proved I could stand my ground, they all dismissed it and nothing I ever did was good enough for them…not even for my Father…"
He may have loved his old man..but he sure did wish he at least gave him a compliment sometime. The most Henroin did was say 'nice kill' before moving on and tending to the financial affairs of their family 'business' so to speak.
It may have seemed like he was asking a bit much but a 'thank you son' wouldn't have killed him(again) yet despite his years of loyalty, all Arackniss got for following his father's footsteps was a faint(and barely there to be completely honest) praise before Henroin moved onto the next shipment of drugs.
And he was the only one who had bothered to stay in the family business. Angel went off to be a porn star…Molly wasn't even in Hell(she was far too good for Hell) and had long since cut them off while on Earth, earning herself a spot in Heaven.
All that did was leave Arackniss with his Father and while this would've been considered ideal, he slowly realized that he and Henroin were the only ones left. Sure there was their extended family but Arackniss barely knew them and he considered them more akin to strangers than actual blood relatives.
He knew he shouldn't have let it slip out, especially around Val of all people but it wasn't like his family would want anything to do with him once they saw him like..this. His Father lost his shit when he first heard Angel was a well-known porn star, Arackniss could only imagine the pride he once held for him evaporating the moment he saw him under Val's hand.
He was already in too deep, there was no going back anymore, not after this…
Val then cupped his cheek,"Don't be like that, Nissy. You're not the only one with folks who don't appreciate ya. Angel felt the same way. I suppose this sort of thing just runs in the family with you spiders doesn't it?"
He shrugged,"I wouldn't know. My brother had far…different motivations joining you than I did. He wanted to be a star…I didn't. I didn't want to be…like this.." He said while looking at his body,"I never liked my demon form but this…this isn't me…"
"Of course it's you. You're just a bit taller and prettier than you were prior, Arackniss. It's nothing to be ashamed of. It's nothing you can't get used to, I assure…"
"But it doesn't feel right…I don't feel like myself. Too much has changed…I don't feel like the person I used to be…"
"Because you're a better man now, Arackniss. This new body's purpose is to show you're a changed man. You're not who you started out being when we first met. Sure, that wasn't that long ago but it's the start of a fresh beginning for you and your career as a star. Some sacrifices have to be made and the pain you endured was worth it."
Arackniss heavily doubted that. He wasn't certain trading his original body was worth turning into this…
"Are you certain they'll even like me like this?"
"Of course they will! If they loved Angel Dust there's not a doubt in my mind they wouldn't love you."
"But I'm not like Anthony," He hissed,"Not only am I the opposite in personality but I'm not fucking gay, which wouldn't be an issue if a good portion of his fanbase weren't guys who were sexually attracted to him. I'm straighter than an arrow and I feel uncomfortable giving men service for the same price as women…"
"I know that. But if you're gonna be a star you gotta please your clients regardless of your attraction to them. I know that sounds hard but I'll let you do what Angel did back when he was still with me. Since he wasn't into girls we came to an agreement that if he had a female client they'd have to pay extra in order to sleep with him. How does that sound?"
Arackniss cringed, he wasn't interested in having sex with men whatsoever but changing more would likely reduce his male clients. Angel's male fanbase likely wasn't used to paying extra so if he ended up charging more for men he'd have less guys to deal with in the long-run.
Obviously the preferable route would be for Arackniss to not deal with ANY men whatsoever but given he didn't have much of a choice, this was pretty much the only option he had.
"It sounds..alright I guess. I just hope his fans don't take their anger out on me for charging more…"
"Don't worry, no one's gonna hurt you. Not while I'm here anyway…" Val said, wrapping his arm around Arackniss,"I've got you covered, Arackniss. We're gonna show Hell what for and prove your family wrong in the process. We'll make you a bigger star than Angel ever was, all I need you to do is to cooperate and do as Daddy says, got that?"
"Yes Val…" He grumbled, forcing himself to say that response while fighting off the urge to puke."So what now? The surgery is done…what's left to do today?"
"Well you were out longer than expected so I had plenty of time to get some arrangements done. While you do have the looks, you also have to possess the talent to be a star, Arackniss and that's gonna require some training."
"What type of training are we speaking of exactly?" The spider asked with a raised brow.
""Dancing lessons and making sure you're able to please clients of any gender. The dancing part is more difficult but I'm certain you'll get the hang of it."
Arackniss sighed, he had danced a few times but it wasn't anything like the dances Angel Dust performed. He wasn't used to moving like that and it was a huge leap of interests to go from shooting people to dancing and flirting with others.
"Do you really think I can do this?"
"I know you can, there's no need to doubt yourself, babe. You've come so far, it'd be such a waste to allow all that talent to go down the drain. Give yourself a chance, I'm certain that you can do it…"
"Will I get more?"
"More what?"
"Clothes..since you know…my old ones…"
"Don't fit anymore. Yeah, I've got an entire wardrobe for you, Arackniss. Don't fret over any of that, all the little things have already been covered. All I need you to do is practice and get ready for the crowd so you can make as much money for me as possible."
The spider then felt his stomach growling and cursed. He hadn't eaten in so long and he had worked up quite the appetite given how much had been going on. He needed to go for a bite and pronto…
"OK…" Arackniss then asked,"Hey Val…before we head back to the Studio, can I have some food? I haven't eaten in a while and I need something to eat before I do anything.."
"Course we can, after everything you've been through I think it's time you got a little treat…" Val then shouted at the driver,"Hey! Go to WacDonalds for me will ya? Nissy and I want something to eat!"
"On it sir…" The poor driver said, obeying as his boss commanded and pulling up to the drive-thru.
Val ordered a burger, fries and drink for himself and ordered Arackniss a smaller meal with just a burger and a drink. Arackniss felt his mouth watering at the sight of the food in the bag and quickly reached inside to eat it.
As he was eating, Val was sipping on his drink. He felt a little awkward at first but he figured he should acknowledge the moth's deeds prior and said,"Thank you, Val…for everything you did today."
Despite being a sinner, he still had a sense of gratitude within him for those who helped him...even if they were as awful as Val. Help was help, no matter where it came from after all...
"What do you mean by that sugar?"
"For saving me from those crazy surgeons I mean…"
"Oh that…" Val snickered before patting him over the head,"Don't mention it babe. I couldn't let them take away my Nissy from me. If they want a lab-rather they should've tested it on themselves by touching what was mine…"
Arackniss then noticed something out of the corner of his eye and turned before gasping,"Holy shit! There's smoke behind us!"
"Smoke?"
"It's coming from all the way back there..where the hospital was…Could..could it be on fire? But how could-" He paused before remembering the cigarette Val dropped to the ground that had still been lit,"Val, you lit the hospital on fire…we could get in trouble and-"
Val scoffed,"You need to stop being so paranoid, Nissy. We're not gonna get in trouble. No one even knows we were there. Besides, if it truly becomes a problem I'm certain the fire fighters will handle it."
"But what about-"
Val shushed him,"What did I just say, Nissy? Don't worry about it. It's not our problem anymore. Now quit worrying that little head of your's and eat like a good boy, got it?"
"Yes Val…" He mumbled before going back to his food, his gaze shifting from side to side as he tried to avoid thinking about what Val had done earlier. He wasn't even sure if it was an accident at this point, it could've been intentional given how Val was and he was just trying to get him to brush it off.
Not like he was going to question Val whether he had done it on purpose or not. If there was one thing Arackniss knew about Val it was that the bastard don't like being questioned on whether he was wrong or not and asking if he was guilty of something would no doubt piss him off.
Besides, the fucker was at least giving him food so that was a plus and it was technically free so he wasn't complaining. Perhaps if he kept Val in a good mood this experience would be somewhat tolerable so to speak…
Val smiled as he watched Arackniss eat his food. He still hadn't adjusted to Angel Dust being gone but Arackniss was proving to be a suitable replacement so far despite the…issues prior.
As far as Val was concerned, he was actually an improvement. Arackniss was rather quiet and didn't speak often which was quite different compared to the boisterous and loud-mouthed Angel Dust that Val had been accustomed to.
Arackniss was everything Angel wasn't, mature, quiet and most importantly, seemed to know his place. He was a little inexperienced but Val was certain with enough practice he would do fine and the best part was that the spider wasn't as sassy as his brother.
This meant that controlling him was far easier.
Normally Val would find himself having to break whores who acted up too much but Arackniss wasn't like the rest of them.
He was complacent, kept his head down and would do as you asked once you had him cornered. He was what Val had tried making Angel into though no matter how hard Val had tried, Angel always resisted.
Angel always fought back, even when it was ultimately pointless. He knew Val was stronger than him in every way that mattered yet that didn't stop him from trying to fight back against him.
With Arackniss, this wasn't much of an issue. While Arackniss showed resistance to joining him he more or less mellowed down once Val mentioned harming his father. Arackniss fell in line without Val even having to raise a hand on him.
With that in mind, Val figured a different approach would go well. Arackniss seemed well behaved and obedient.
Perhaps this was why he was Henroin's top henchman for so long, he had maintained the same position for so long without even trying to overthrow his father out of genuine loyalty towards him. Call it a stretch but Val was hoping he could do the same or in the very least keep Arackniss obedient towards him.
So long as Arackniss behaved, he would act 'softer' towards him as he always rewarded/favored employees who did as they were told without hesitating.
That and he couldn't control Arackniss with drugs given his immunity and he didn't have a pig like Angel did so he couldn't really threaten him in any other way. Henroin seemed to be the only person he cared about and so long as that old spider was alive, Arackniss would do whatever he had to do to stay in his good graces.
It would be perfect.
Not only would he have a replacement for Angel Dust but he'd have a replacement that negated all of Angel's 'negative' qualities like his fighting attitude even in the face of futile situations. Val may not have been able to fully control Angel's free-spirit but in the very least he'd be able to tame Arackniss and make sure he obeyed him.
Sure, the strategy wasn't his preferred style but different people required different approaches and if it maximizes profits then Val was more than willing to act a bit nicer to expand his bank account.
Finally..after all these years, Val finally believed he was getting EVERYTHING he ever wanted. Without Vox or Velvet around he was able to do as he pleased without them disagreeing with his plans and he was able to use their technology to control all the Multimedia in Hell.
Hell was supposed to be a punishment...but Val didn't see it that way. It felt like he was being rewarded for all his evil deeds...and he was intent on keeping it that way. Arackniss belonged to him and he'd be damned again before he allowed anyone to take away his future money-maker from him.
He felt like he was the King of the World..or Hell to be exact. He may not have been, but that didn't make him any less proud of himself for coming so far.
After all, it wasn't like he needed any of them.
He didn't need Angel Dust, he didn't need Vox or Velvet for that matter, all he needed was himself and without any of those fools holding him back he was able to do as he pleased and nobody was able to stop him…
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Enigmus-288: It's Mammon. He's a greedy fuck. It's not much of a surprise he's worse than most thought. All the Deadly Sins are awful in their own ways.