Daily Disclaimer: Check out my DA for art and type EmeraldOverlord in the search box since I have art of my fic on there.
Back In Hell….
Rosie wasn't exactly much of a pet person. She had seen a few animals around in the Colony, most of whom comped on whatever carcasses they could find remaining on the ground(and attacking any demons who happened to get too close.)
Thankfully there was pet kibble at the pet store and Vark could eat just about anything. As a shark, his digestive system was fairly strong and anything he could nibble on was considered fair game food-wise.
She reached from the cabinet and pulled out a box of kibble she had purchased not too long ago. She used her magic to pour the kibble into the bowl and got a bowl of water as well. Rosie then shouted,"Fluffy, breakfast is ready!"
Vark waddled over to his feeding station, wearing a bow-tie with his proclaimed name on the side with the words Fluffy on it. She had recently got the collar in order to make him more 'pet-like' in appearance after she had taken him to the pet salon and the collars had been on sale.
The groomers were a bit…taken aback by Vark's presence, likely due to the fact that most pets owners brought were on the normal side. It wasn't everyday somebody brought their pet shark named 'Fluffy' who was covered in dirt and grime due to being on the streets for so long.
It took a fair bit of time to get Vark fully clean, especially since he wasn't fond of people touching him. After several attempts to clean him(along with narrowly avoiding his jaws) Vark was squeaky clean and fresh as a rose.
During his stay over at her emporium, Rosie was working on getting her 'Fluffy' to have proper table manners. Vark had basic training like going to the bathroom and going for walks but his table manners and resistance to chewing on anything that looked edible was less than lacking…
So far, they were making progress and 'Fluffy' was slow at learning what he was allowed and not allowed to chew on but table manners were still a work in progress as his first instinct upon seeing food was to shove his face into the bowl and munch on it.
"Fluffy," She gasped,"What have I told you about being messy with your food!? That's no way to behave! We've talked about this before, being a sloppy eater is not proper!" She pinched the bridge of her forehead irritably,"Oh don't look at me like that, this is for your own good, you cannot be making a mess everywhere. Just because your previous owner neglected training you properly doesn't mean I will allow this behavior to stand. As your new owner, it is my job to correct you and we need to set the record straight. Now are you going to try doing as I say next time or are going to have to have this talk again?"
Vark shook his head, sensing Rosie's disappointment in her voice. He knew that tone all too well whenever he chewed on Vox's shoes and quickly attempted to adjust his behavior by slowly eating the rest of his food in an effort to minimize the mess he'd create in his wake.
"Much better…" She patted him on the head,"Now that's a good boy…"
After he finished his meal, Rosie was prepared to head back to her office to form a plan when she noticed heavy footsteps following after her. Vark was trailing behind her, his stomps making loud thuds against the floor.
Rosie rolled her eyes, she was well aware of this routine. Vark always followed after her whenever she had to go to her office and she'd often have to dismiss him since Vark attempted to play with her paperwork whenever he grew bored.
"Fluffy, you know i have to work. I do not have time to play, especially since we are in an important crisis. If you are going to come into my office, you must promise not to touch anything without ?"
Vark nodded his head obediently, eagerly desiring to follow Rosie inside. He followed Rosie into her office, watching her intently as she sat down and eyed her paperwork and read through the contents of the documents.
Vark stood over her shoulder, attempting to read the words on the books she had left open during her free time but struggled to do so.
As a shark, he couldn't exactly understand what demons wrote on paper. He could understand commands and the basics of what people said to him but reading was beyond his current capabilities.
"What are you doing?" Rosie asked the shark, turning her head in wonder as she saw him staring intently at the books before him,"Are you trying to read what it says?"
Vark nodded.
She giggled,"Fluffy,these books are a little complex for a creature like you. You should not overwhelm yourself trying to take apart books like these. You've been through quite a lot and it'd be better if you relaxed instead of trying to force yourself into things beyond your capabilities."
Vark didn't seem to appreciate the dismissal of his capabilities and continued to try and read, much to Rosie's surprise. Of course he understood not a lick of it, but it was quite amazing to see an aquatic creature trying to decipher the English language.
The shark was visibly struggling and she could see the frustration building in his eyes. As amusing as it was to see him try and understand the books, she knew it wasn't healthy for a shark's stress levels to rise quickly and decided to put a stop to it like a responsible owner would.
"Fluffy, there's no need to strain yourself so hard. You're going to pop a blood vessel if you keep trying to push yourself beyond your capabilities,"Rosie looked him in the eyes and noticed how stubbornness was flooding inside of his beady eyes. She had never seen him so determined before and she had to admit, she was slightly intrigued.
A part of her began to wonder, was it possible for animals of Hell to learn to read? To her knowledge, it hadn't been done before. At least, not for animals of a marine background…
Still, it wouldn't hurt to try.
And besides, it wasn't like she couldn't use something to take her mind off the stress of the current situation. She had enough problems on her shoulders as it was, a little comfort in her life wouldn't kill her.
So Rosie grabbed a book from the shelves, pulling out a box of cards with simple words on them. It was a set that Rosie had when she was younger back when her own mother was still alive and used it to teach her how to read.
She of course had no use for it now that she was a grown adult, but she never had the heart to throw it all away, especially since her mother had been gone for a while and wanted to keep anything she left behind, even if they weren't what most demons would consider valuable.
Not to mention that she still had a use for these archaic cards. She may have had no use for them, but 'Fluffy' would. Besides, she always had a thing for teaching others to be better, like in the way of their manners and formality.
While teaching a marine animal to read was out of her comfort zone, she was certain she could handle it. And on the off-chance that teaching her pet shark was successful, she could possibly teach him to write and even speak for that matter(though the latter was still unlikely as hell).
She knew better than to get her hopes up, especially at the notion of making a marine animal talk but she did at least want to give it a shot. So she got all the cards out and began teaching the shark the words and their meanings.
The words were a little old fashioned, coming from the Victorian era and most in modern times didn't use the long words and preferred the slang that the new generations had come up with. But not Rosie, no, she was an old fashioned woman and she had words that had grown out of style quite some time ago.
She used words like 'ardor', 'beguile', 'colloquy' and 'disapprobation' and other words of that nature.
Surprisingly, Vark seemed to catch on to the meaning of these words as she went through the deck. He was far smarter than most would give him credit for as he began connecting certain words together and what their meanings meant within his mind.
As time passed, they went from abc to def, even all the way to xyz. To test Vark's memory she even began telling him the definition of a word and asked him to match it to the words in the deck. Shockingly, Vark proved to have a good memory and seemed to memorize the words like a sponge absorbing water through its pores.
For a shark, he was surprisingly very intelligent. Rosie realized that he was capable of far more than just memorizing commands but was even able to understand the meaning of complex words. His previous owner clearly hadn't been utilizing 'Fluffy' to his full potential and Rosie sought to right that wrong and make up for the shark's neglected skills.
"How impressive…" She remarked as she watched Vark match the words with their proper definitions without pause, he hadn't even blinked and he was already an agile learner."Wonderful job, Fluffy. You're a lot better than I had anticipated you'd be. You're such an amazing creature. Perhaps one day you'll even be able to write with how skilled you are currently."
She patted Vark on the head, eagerly yearning for her affection. Her hands always felt different compared to Vox's, her hands were dainty and soft while Vox's neon blue tipped hands were sharp and more callous. His touch was still gentle but the touch felt different despite emitting love and affection towards him.
The touch made him remember all the good times that he and Vox had together, back when they were happy, before his owner had left him without even bothering to give him a proper goodbye. He could feel himself tearing up a bit and Rosie summoned a tissue to wipe his eyes.
"Aw, is something wrong, Fluffy? You look upset. Are you recalling the times when you were stuck on the streets and had to fend for yourself? There's no need to dwell on that, nobody is going to hurt you anymore, you're perfectly safe in my emporium and I'm going to provide and cater to your every need so long as it's within my ability."
Misunderstanding the shark's mewls once more, Rosie continued to comfort him(for all the wrong reasons).
"Hm, how would I take your mind off your previous suffering? Not exactly an expert on pets…though perhaps further learning development would help put you at ease? You seem to be doing rather well and it would be wise that we strengthen your talents for further use don't you think?"
Vark slowly nodded his head and Rosie began starting back up again with the words,this time getting a large book and helping Vark understand the definitions written inside the large dictionary she had.
The shark followed along what his new owner said, absorbing the information inside of his head much to her delight. Despite this newfound discovery, Vark couldn't help but feel his sadness gnaw on the side of his stomach.
Rosie was a lovely woman and had been taking care of him in an adequate manner. She fed him, went out on walks and gave him treats but it simply wasn't the same. She wasn't anything like Vox and Vark missed his previous owner dearly, his heart aching just at the thought of him.
The poor marine animal didn't understand what he had done wrong for Vox to leave him like this; he couldn't recall making Vox angry at any point in time prior to his absence. Had there been any signs that Vox was going to abandon him? Was it avoidable?
The lack of answers only made his mind flood with uncertainty. The shark had so many questions and so little answers, the helplessness of the citation made his heart churn in agony. Nobody could understand his pain, not even his new owner who constantly misunderstood his true desires due to the communication barrier between them.
Suddenly Rosie and Vark heard the sound of bickering once more through the hallways. Rosie groaned,'Oh what now? Are those two already at each other's throats again? Fluffy, stay here, I need to go make sure those two don't kill each other…"
Rosie headed out and heard Henroin stomping his foot on the floor with his arms folded, the old spider grouchy as ever as the door to the front door slammed in front of him. She narrowed her eyes as she asked,"What was that?"
"Cherri was being a bitch," he huffed,"Said she'd do a better job finding my son than any of my men and me combined when I complained about our lack of progress so I told her to go do it since it's so fucking easy…"
"Lemme guess, she went out to prove you wrong didn't she?"
"Of course she did, bitch doesn't know when to quit," He muttered,"Not like it's my problem. The farther away from me she is the better…"
"You can't be driving off your own allies, Henroin. We're all on the same side you know that don't you?"
"I'm well aware, but that doesn't mean I gotta tolerate that bitches bullshit.''He then pulled out a cigarette,"Besides, it's only a matter of time before she comes back empty handed. We'll see how her bravado works out for her.``
Rosie rolled her eyes. It felt like she was dealing with children with these two around. Two overgrown children to be exact. Those two were always at each other's throats and Rosie deeply desired some peace and quiet for once in her life…
Still, this was Hell, having peace and quiet was unfortunately just a pipe dream down here and the best she could hope for was that Cherri Bomb would come back. She hoped the girl would remain safe as leaving the safe haven of Cannibal Colony was fairly dangerous,especially with Val out there, his eyes watching every corner…
'Be careful Cherri..' She thought,'You know that depraved moth is always watching…don't let your guard down…'
Cherri huffed as she stormed out of the Cannibal Colony,"Old fart thinks he's better than me. I'll show him! I'll find that stupid spider and make better progress than he ever will!"
The cyclops was fuming with rage, hate flooding through her veins. As she entered Pentagram City, her singular eye narrowed at the sight of Val's billboards and more lust-themed buildings built over the city. It seemed Val's influence over the Pride Sector was far more powerful than she imagined as she found it near impossible to avoid the moth demon's promotion of himself.
It was seemingly an endless bombardment of lust-themed stores, like 'Valentino's Secret'(because of course the bastard would have his own line of lingerie) and other assortments of porn-themed entertainment made in order to entice the masses.
'Insufferable fucker..' She thought to herself, cringing at the amount of advertisements she saw. She wanted nothing more than to throw a bomb at them but resisted the urge, remembering what she was here for…
Speaking of who she was here for, she noticed a billboard with Arackniss's face on it. She had seen billboards with Angel's face back when he was still around, they always had some lusty sentence on it that was obviously made up by Val himself and it made her sick.
"Hm…he's not bad looking…" She admitted,"Still, I wonder where he could be. He's got to be around here somewhere…"
Cherri began to think, wondering where Arackniss would be. Trying to find one specific demon when he wanted to find them was like finding a needle in a haystack and it didn't help that she had never met the guy in her entire life. Angel didn't like speaking about his family and from what little he did say, he said the vast majority of his family were dicks and about the only thing he had in common with them was a love for money and smoking.
This information did very little to narrow it down, Cherri could think about fifty demons who liked doing the exact same thing Angel listed and Arackniss was far from the only smoking mobster down here in Hell. Mobsters were a dime a dozen around here and she'd be better off trying to find a specific grain of sand in a desert than to try looking for him.
Still, that didn't mean she could give up. She refused to go back without a shred of information about Arackniss, especially since she knew that Henroin would be quick to rub it in her face about it. She could hardly stand the old bastard as it was, the last thing she wanted was to let that smug fucker get the better of her.
She had to prove him wrong, she just had to….
She pinched the bridge of her forehead,'Come on, Cherri…Think. If I were a mobster porn star with an attitude where would I be?'
A bar…
It was at least worth a shot checking the local bars.
Whenever Angel Dust had a day off he often spent his time off the clock at bars and partaking in fights whenever anyone tried to put their hands on him. Being off the clock was one of the few times where Angel had little patience for others since he didn't appreciate being fucked on his own time and unless the money was really good would he even consider making an exception of having sex off the clock.
Only issue was trying to locate the exact bar Arackniss may be residing in. There were countless bars in the Pride Sector and she'd be going on a wild goose chase if she didn't narrow down her choices…
The 'so-called' spunky powerhouse prowled the streets in search of any hints that would lead her to Arackniss's location. Just a small sign to give her some sort of leeway. She knew it was foolish to pray to gods in the realm of the damned but she truly just wanted an answer…
Thankfully, it seemed someone had answered her prayer, because he noticed a fair amount of cars parked at a local bar that looked a tad too high-class for the place. She narrowed her singular eye and decided to see what was going on inside, just to be safe…
Cherri headed to the bar's entrance and opened the door. She saw a bunch of high-class men in suits from different backgrounds sitting at the front counter while HE sat there.
She gasped,'Holy shit…I found him…'
Arackniss was sitting there with a glass of beer in his hand and a cigarette in the other. He was wearing a lavish black and yellow suit with a hat on his head that had a black rose stuck to the side.
Cherri of course, did her best to make it look as though she wasn't staring. She had to remain inconspicuous because so far, nobody seemed to recognize her due to Rosie's little makeover and she wanted to keep it that way…
So Cherri ordered the cheapest drink on the menu(she wasn't that much of a drinker anyway so it hardly mattered) and sat down within ear-shot as she sipped on her glass of alcohol. She kept an eye on them out of the corner of her one eye.
Arackniss then spoke to the men, his voice dripping with annoyance,"Is there any reason you all decided to approach me like this? Because unless you're a friend of mine, which you ain't, you should leave me be. There are plenty of seats over there for you fuckheads, why don't you go over there?"
One of them snickered, reaching out to touch his shoulder, much to Arackniss's annoyance as he sent him a harsh glare,"Oh don't be like that, know me and the boys don't mean no harm. We just want to have a little fun that's all."
"Do not call me babe,"He hissed,"And second of all, I'm off the clock, meaning I don't have to work today and I sure as shit am not gonna deal with your bullshit just because you and your pals can't get it up without someone assisting ya."
The men seemed offended by this but their ring-leader quickly tried to bounce back from the insult and said,"There's no need to be so hasty, cutie. We can still talk this out. After all, we can give you a lotta mileage if you give us a chance. Think of the amount of money you'll make honey…"
Arackniss scoffed,"Thanks, but I'll pass, because there ain't enough money in your pockets to make sucking your dicks worth my time. I can cope one night without someone shoving their disgusting excuse of a cock down my throat."
"Oh sweetie, that wasn't a suggestion," The leading demon crooned, his grip on Arackniss's shoulder tightening,"We'll get our services, one way or another. Now I suggest you be a good boy and quit being stubborn else we'll have to be a little rough with ya tonight…"
Cherri stopped sipping on her drink, quickly sensing that shit was about to go down. She cursed herself for not bringing her bombs with her today. Instead, she gripped the glass, carefully planning out her moves in a way that would allow her to safely intervene in the matter.
Only for Arackniss to suddenly punch the men with his multiple arms, using his additional appendages to bash their skulls against each other before dropping their bodies against the ground, glaring up at their leader and the other remaining hench-men with a smirk when he taunted them with a piercing question,"Who's next?"
It didn't take long for an entire bar fight to envelop the area, chaos ripping through as fists flew with passionate rage. Soon enough the entire bar was involved in the action for whatever reason(likely someone ended up hitting a bystander, causing them to get involved in the fight as an act of retribution and so on, leading the entire bar to become a brawl for the last man standing.
Cherri ducked behind a table for cover, hissing as she saw chairs and tables being thrown over the area. It was utter chaos and she winced as she saw debris flying overhead, the bar wrapped in chaos and the spilling of blood. Screams and shouts of agony and terror were heard from all around.
The cyclops looked for something to defend herself, grabbing a wine bottle and using it to arm herself. It was far from her weapon of choice but it was the best she could come up with since she didn't have the materials necessary to turn it into a Molotov cocktail.
Cherri peered out from the table and Arackniss had rolled up his sleeves from afar, knocking down a few knuckleheads who kept trying to pull him down.
'Damn…he can fight…' She knew she should've expected something like that from a monster but it was somewhat impressive seeing someone with multiple limbs making quick work of those around him. She had seen Angel do it before but his moves were always more boastful and showy while Arackniss's were straight to the point and cut to the chase in a matter of seconds.
Cherri then noticed one of the men attempting to appear behind Arackniss in an attempt to initiate a silent-take-down. Acting fast, she moved out from her hiding spot and threw the bottle at the other demon's head, causing him to let out a screech in agony as he crumbled to the ground.
Arackniss blinked as the bottle whizzed past his face, seeing and sent her a look,"A little warning before you throw those things wouldn't kill you, you know?"
She scoffed at his tone,"Oh sorry, I was too busy saving your behind to care about my manners."
The spider rolled his eyes,"Don't flatter yourself lady, I could've handled that without your intervention."
"Didn't look like it,"She retorted, sending him a glare at the smug gleam in his eyes. God, he had the same aura his Dad had, now she knew that shit had run in the family. Guess it was in the blood for Angel's family to be a bunch of asshats. She wouldn't be surprised if there was a gene labeled 'insufferable jackass' just for them in their DNA.
Arackniss seemed ready to refute this until he heard a gun being loaded. His neck snapped in the direction of the ringleader of the rich gang who aimed his gun at Arackniss's head.
"Hate to ruin the mood but we still have unfinished business, Arackniss,"He growled before looking at Cherri and brushing her off,"Pretty lady, do yourself a favor and leave the fighting to the men. This matter don't concern you."
Cherri snarled,"Take your sexist bullshit and shove it up your ass, I'm not going nowhere and I'll be damned again before I let some stranger boss me around."
"Aw, well that's too bad sweetheart. You don't have a choice. Now be a good girl and take that perky ass of yours outta here before I'm forced to load both of your skulls with bullets for trying to interfere in our affairs."
"As if! I ain't backing out of any fight if I ain't brought down first!"The cyclops scowled, as if she was going to back out of a fight. She was fucking Cherri Bomb for crying out loud, Hell's spunky powerhouse, there was no way in the Seven Rings was she going to back outta of fight, especially one without holy weaponry involved.
"Then I have no choice but to shoot that pretty face of yours off," He prepared to shoot Cherri only for Arackniss to pull out a gun from one of his hidden arms and shoot the man square in the chest before he could fire.
"Sorry but I was kind of getting bored of hearing your voice. I don't care much for monologues,"The spider admitted apathetically.
He hissed in agony as he crumbled to the ground, blood pouring from his chest as life faded from his eyes. Once he stopped moving Arackniss merely blew off the smoke from his gun that he had kept hidden and calmly took a deep breath,"Well…that settles that."
The dust settled and Cherri realized she and Arackniss were the only ones standing. The others were either dead or knocked out. The bar was a mess, broken glass everywhere, tables were flipped over and the bodies of the other customers were sprawled across the ground.
Arackniss frowned at the blood that had gotten on his suit,"Fucking hell, bastards got their blood on me. That'll take forever to get out of my suit. Swear if the fucker wasn't dead I'd kill him for ruining my look…" He then noticed Cherri looking at him and raised an eyebrow,"What are you staring at lady? Is there something you want outta me because I don't know if you didn't hear me earlier but I'm off the clock. Those bastards were either deaf or dumb because they simply refused to realize that but I doubt you're as thick-headed as those bozos are."
Cherri shook her head and said,"No. That's not what I'm here for…"
"Then what are you here for? Because if it was for a peaceful night out at the bar then I'm afraid that's it's a little too late for that one," He said this while looking at the bodies on the floor.
"Not that either thankfully. You see I wanted to talk to you-"
He groaned,"Lemme guess, you're some sort of reporter or some shit? Are you here for an interview or something because I'll have to decline. This is my day off and I'd rather spend it relaxing than having to be interrogated by some amuter reporter eager for the latest scoop."
"Nope. I really do just want to talk to you, like a normal person…
"About what exactly?" He asked,"You can't seriously just tell me you came here just to 'talk' to me. There has to be a reason you're here, there always is with people down here. Quit dancing around the question and just be honest because I ain't getting paid to deal with small talk cuz that shit don't pay the bills so you better make it quick."
"God you are such a jackass…"
"Am I supposed to be offended? I've been called that more times than I can count, you gotta be more original with your insults,"He sneered,"By the way, just who the fuck are you anyway? I don't believe you ever told me your name…"
"Ch-" She quickly cut herself off, realizing if she told Arackniss her real name there was a chance of Val catching wind of it. All it would take would be for the moth to pry the spider a bit before the truth came out and Cherri knew she'd be in big trouble if Val caught on to her…
"Has a cat caught your tongue or something? Spit it out, I ain't got all day you know."
"My name…is Chloe." That was a lie, but she figured that if Arackniss told Val about her that moth would be unaware of her true identity. Chloe was one of the more generic names out there. She was certain if you called out the name Chloe in a populated area at least ten people would perk up and say 'Yes?' in response to being shouted out to.
"Chloe huh?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her for a second before shrugging,"Haven't heard that one before. Been a while since I've heard someone with that name around, did you come up with it yourself?"
"As a matter of fact, I did,"She said,'Literally just a few seconds ago…'
She conveniently left that part out and Arackniss seemed a little bemused at her presence.``Well…I suppose this is the part where I say it's a pleasure to meet you but I think we both know that's a lie."
"Is that any way to treat the girl who helped you out? You owe me a solid…"
"I don't owe you shit,'' he scoffed,"I could have handled it on my own without your interference. Your presence was required, I had everything under control…"
"Yeah right, that's why I had to hit that bastard in order to make sure he didn't get you while your back is turned,"She pointed out,"Look, I get you got a large ego and you don't feel you have to answer anyone but I'd appreciate it if you made my job easier by not being an asshole 24/7."
"You're the one intruding on my break time. Not only did my relaxation period get interrupted by these bozos but now you're taking up my time for whatever reason. Sorry if I'm not in the most pleasant of moods…"
"Still, you don't need to act like a dick. Besides, I really need to talk with you."
"About what exactly?"
"About your Dad…"
Arackniss tensed before looking at her with a skeptical glance,"What does my Father have to do with this conversation, Chloe? You didn't do anything to him did you?"
"Of coure not,"She said,"Your asshole Dad is perfectly fine, believe me, I jst saw the fucker before I left the house looking for you. And don't worry, the old man is fine, physically that is. Mentally I wouldn't be too sure but he for sure wants you back."
He groaned, pinching the bridge between his nose,"Dammit Father, you never know when to quit…"
"Shouldn't you be happy? That old asshole wants you back, you should be relieved someone still cares for you after all this time."
"I'd be happier if I didn't know that you guys no doubt intend to 'rescue' me from Val. Listen, I get you wanting to help, Chloe, but you don't know what you're up against. Val isn't someone to be trifled with and my Father is in over his head if he thinks he can help me. That moth is too strong and he's sadly mistaken if he thinks he can get me out of this in one piece."
"We know the odds are not in our favor but it won't hurt to try, we're already dead anyway, so what's the harm?"
"Oh I don't know, our lives?" He said,"Val has holy bullets on him, Chloe. One hit with that and we're all done for. It's off to double-hell or whatever dumb name demons came up with to describe the great unknown after you die for real. The point is that rescuing me is far more trouble than it's worth and that you all would be better off not even trying."
"So you're just gonna give up on yourself? After all these decades you're just going to call it quits here? I'd think for a gangster you'd be tougher than that…"
"You wouldn't get it, Chloe. You don't know what kind of power he has. Val is not someone you want to mess with. Trying to 'save' me will only anger him and he's got tons of resources up his sleeve to put an end to those who displease him. You know that Hell is never safe, but now that Val's grip on things has increased tenfold…it's gotten even worse…"
"I'm well aware, but that doesn't mean you gotta give up. We can still help you. I know you don't believe you can be helped, but I had a friend in a similar situation just like yours and I always wanted to get him out but I never could. The last I can do is try and help you, especially since you look like you need it…"
Arackniss stared at her before saying,"How flattering, Chloe. I really do appreciate the kind gesture but I really do think it'd be wise if you backed off of this little mission my Father sent you on. I know we don't know each other but I'd prefer not having random strangers throw their lives away from something they likely didn't sign up for."
"But I did sign up for this, Arackniss. I know what the hell I'm doing. You're not the first person who Val has hurt, Arackniss and so long as he's in power, you won't be the last either. You need to let us help you because if we can, we might be able to overcome him and you'll be able to regain all the things he's taken from you. You want that, don't you?"
"What I want is irrelevant. I want many things, Cherri, but reality has other plans. I don't know why you want to help me so badly and what my father's done to get you on board with his cause, but I'm just warning you here, Val will not hesitate to kill you if he catches wind of what you're doing and I'd rather not see your body be loaded with holy bullets this soon. You seem like an alright girl and I'd prefer to not see your corpse lying around in a pool of its own blood…"
"That's a risk I"m willing to take. It's better to die trying than to live and stand idle as the world goes on around you. Besides, this ain't my first rodeo and I've had a few…quarrels with Val in the past. He may have more power but I've caused problems for him before and I'll sure as hell do it again if it means getting back at him."
"You're really not going to let this go are you?"
The cyclops shook her head,"That bastard made it personal…I won't stop fighting until that son of a bitch pays for what he did to my friend…"
"Hmph…You're as crazy as you are pretty. Not many people have the balls to try resisting an Overlord of Hell, especially when they are not anywhere near the same playing field. I'll give you some credit, as insane as you are and as absurd as you and my father's goal of 'saving' me is, I have to applaud a good effort."
Cherri wasn't sure whether to be offended or flattered by the words he said and responded with a chuckle,"Wow, gee, thanks. I was aware I was a little nutty but I didn't need for ya to rub it in."
"I don't tend to hold back my opinions, Chloe…It's simply not my style," He then signed,"Still, I take it that since you're set in your ways about this mission, I see there is nothing I can do to stop you and that trying to conceive you to reconsider is a lost cause. If you came this far for me I suppose that the very least I can do is give you something to keep in contact with me…"
"And what would that be?"
"My phone number," He admitted,"Val made me a new one right after he tossed my old phone out. Mind exchanging numbers so we can keep in touch?"
"Sure…" Cherri got out her phone and gave Arackniss her number and vice versa. Once they completed the exchange they made a contact with their names on it and secured it within their database.
"Oh, and one more thing, take this," He reached into the 'breast' window of his tuxedo, rummaged through his faux cleavage for a split second before pulling out a card,"This is my card, its of course supposed to be used for services but I figured you could have it just as an extra way to contact me if you need anything."
"And why would I need this again?"
"To serve as a backup number in case you can't contact me on my normal one."
"Well, that makes sense…Thanks I guess," She said before putting the card in the folds of her dress. She then looked around the chaos in the destroyed bar and winced, rubbing her arm,"So…about the damage…"
"Don't worry, it's not like this was your fault. I picked a fight with those fuckers, not you. Besides, I'm certain bar fights like this are a common occurrence. It's nothing they can't handle. They can deal with the mess and if they have any complaints I'll just tell em to put it on my tab."
"I don't think that's how it works…"
"It may not, but it's not like anyone's here to tell me otherwise. The bartender is knocked out just like everyone else and we both know damn well he ain't waking up soon," He admitted before letting out a yawn,"Speaking of sleeping, I could really use a nap after all this horseplay. I've got a long ass schedule tomorrow and it's probably help if I got some rest for once in my damn life."
"So when will we see each other again?"
he shrugged his shoulders,"Hell if I know, I'm a busy man, Chloe and I can't let Val know I'm talking to those who are against him. Ideally I'll text ya for a free day I have or when I'm done with work but that's assuming Val doesn't want me to stay over for…private time. "
She scowled, despising the notion of Val spending 'private time' with another person. The mere thought made her stomach churn after hearing the things he had done to Angel,"Eugh…gross."
"Believe me, I'm about as excited as you think I am. Still, whatever keeps him in a stable mood, the better…" He grumbled,"So Chloe, let's just hope we see each other around sometime. I'm not sure how this'll work out so do yourself a favor and don't get yourself killed, got it? Because I'd hate to see a pretty face like yours go so soon…"
Arackniss soon left the bar and Cherri left soon afterwards, the two going their separate ways. Once they had been separated, Cherri took a deep breath. Things weren't quite how she expected and it wasn't the most ideal situation. Sure, she could contact Arackniss but that did little good when Arackniss was at Val's beck and call.
Still, it was progress and it at least granted them a tiny advantage. Val didn't know that she had made contact with Arackniss and there was a chance they could free him from Val's grasp. It was a long-shot but Cherri wanted to make that moth pay and snatching Arackniss from him would no doubt do the trick.
Because if there was one thing that Cherri knew about Val, it was that the best way to get back at him was to hit him where it hurt, his pocket. His bank account was likely one of the few things Val truly loved and the thought of losing money made him furious…
Val's greed and lust for power and fame grew like a tornado and his thirst for more only grew larger over time. He wanted everything and he'd get it, one way or another. It didn't matter how many people he had to topple, how many lives were lost, none of them matter to Val at the end of the day.
Because all of them are tools for him to advance higher up the social ladder and he'd do anything to secure his position , even if it meant harming those who had done nothing to him.
The cyclops vowed to make him pay, for his past victims, for his present ones and those who'd suffer a similar fate in the future had he not been stopped, he would pay for his crimes, no matter how long it took.
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Enigmus-288: Yeah depressing and sad are pretty much how my stories tend to roll honestly. It's going to get worse...and worse...