Daily Disclaimer: My DA is EmeraldOverlord so feel free to check out any art you see since some of it is for my story.
Meanwhile, back in Hell…
Grunts and howls of pleasure were heard, the sounds of bodies moving against each other in pleasured unison and the feeling of the satin bed sheets that Arackniss clenched onto tightly as the male actor shoved himself inside of him, the claws digging inside of his hips.
The mattress creaked from the pounding and Arackniss grit his teeth when his hair was being pulled back in a rather rough manner. Sweat trickled down his face as he held back the tears forming in his eyes from the agonizing pain he was in.
The male demon left out a low growl before he felt a familiar sticky substance spray inside of him. They both painted once they were spent and the other male lay on top of him, laying on his chest and snuggling into the fluff. Arackniss looked at the camera and forced a smile on his face.
Shortly after that, Arackniss heard Valentino's voice snap,"Cut!"
The second he said cut, Arackniss quickly shoved the man off of him, visibly disgusted by his actions,"That wasn't part of the script, bucko. You're not supposed to cuddle up into my chest fur like it's a pillow. Now move it, I don't want your nasty ass slobber on me. Try that shit again and you'll be missing teeth…"
The male demon muttered a few curses under his breath before stumbling off the bed. Arackniss did the same, quickly getting off stage grabbing his old clothes, lazily putting his pants on and deciding to hold off on wearing his shirt for the time being.
He then gagged before noticing a glass of water nearby, towing his head back and drinking the beverage down as if it was his last drink.
'Bastard's semen tasted more bitter than the last fucker's…and that's saying something. He thought to himself, disgusted at the foul taste that remained on his taste buds.
It wasn't the first sex scene they had done today, this was just their latest one and Arackniss had spent the entire day filming pornos for Valentino's films so that he could sell that to all the demons who were into that shit.
By now, he was used to the routine. Wake up in the morning, practice whatever skit Val had come up with, film pornographic films and perform at Valentino's hottest clubs to entertain the raving fans who were willing to spend what was likely their entire savings(or most of it) attending his shows. And whenever he wasn't doing any of that, he was outside making sure to get Valentino's money's worth to ensure the moth was satisfied and in a decent mood.
He had been at this job for months and at this point, having sex was more or less a chore, especially when it was with men. He had to fake enjoying it on camera and on the job in order to ensure the clients wouldn't voice complaints to Valentino but that didn't mean he liked any of it.
It was a job at the end of the day…a job that he had to do in order to ensure that the one motherfucker he still cared about in this shithole still lived. He knew his father wouldn't understand it, but he believed that it was better dealing with this shit than risk Henroin trying to stupidly save him from someone who possessed more power than he could ever imagine.
As he sipped on his water, Arackniss flinched when he heard the sound of someone's hands clapping with Valentino's calm yet sinister voice entering his ears,"Well done, Nissy. That was a wonderful performance, just like the other films! These will make me a fortune once we clean them up and distribute them to the populace!"
"Thanks, Val…" He said, doing his best to keep his tone steady and hide the slight fear in his voice.
Even after all this time, he still hadn't mastered his emotions enough to not show slight discomfort in Val's presence and the last thing he wanted was Valentino to press into him while he was exhausted and worn out.
Thankfully, even if Val noticed anything, he didn't get the chance to as one of Vox's former employees approached him and gestured the moth demon to lean down. He didn't hear what he said but whatever the worker said must've triggered something in Val as his reaction was to respond with great annoyance, pinching the bridge of between his eyes and massaging his brow.
"Oh for fuck's sake, you've gotta be kidding me? Can't you people work any faster? Why is it that anytime I rely on you people, you never seem to be competent enough for my standards?"
"Sir, it's not our fault, the program's latest update is causing trouble in the software and it's going to take us a while to adjust in order to fix it. It'll delay the film but if you give us time we'll be able to-GRK!"
Valentino grabbed the man by his collar, his magenta eyes flaring up with anger as he growled,"Listen here, bub. I don't know what type of operation you think we're running here but whatever 'problem' you're experiencing is not only a waste of time but a waste of my money. I want this issue to be fixed immediately because I don't want to keep my customer's waiting.."
"But sir, we need time-"
"Then you better get to it then, because in case you haven't heard, my time is money and you're wasting my time!" Val threatened before dropping the man to the ground abruptly who began wincing and sniffling from the agony,"Oh, what's wrong? You gonna cry? Suck it up else I'll give ya something to truly cry over…"
The man scampered away and the other film workers quickly averted their gaze at the sight, a fog of fear suffocating the airwaves throughout the room. Even Arackniss, despite not being the one threatened, felt a shiver run down his spine at the sight of Valentino's wrath.
Valentino narrowed his eyes at the other workers and scowled,"What are you looking at? Get back to work. Now…" His voice possessed such venom and ferocity that he may as well have cracked a whip on their backs with how ruthlessly calm yet deadly as ever.
They all quickly got back to work and Valentino turned back to Arackniss who stared at him with bemusement. The moth demon chuckled before asking,"Aw, what's wrong Nissy? You look surprised…."
"What was that about?" He asked, letting the question slip through his lips despite his best effort to bite his tongue.
"That?" Val asked with a raised brow,"Oh that was nothing. Just a little complication with the system that's all…"
"It didn't sound like anything. Is there going to be a delay? Did they lose the footage?" He asked, fearing he'd have to do all the work all over again.
"Oh don't worry, Nissy, this has nothing to do with ya. The footage is all secure," He said, patting the spider over the head,"The other workers are just…expecting technical difficulties with the system and they claim they're having problems uploading the data…"
"Is there a faster way of doing it?"
Val shrugged,"Not that I know of. I'm not exactly a techie person. That was Vox and Vel's thing, though when it came to distributing film, that went to Voxy. Normally I'd just have him do it but since he disappeared I've had to rely on his employees to do it. Course they're as incompetent as ever and fall apart at the seams of the tiniest difficulty. Guess as always it falls on me to be the one who needs to whip people into shape Clearly Voxy's been too soft on them, letting them give him sass and allowing them to walk all over him. Typical pushover behavior…"
Val uttered other foreign curses under his breath, insulting his former lover's decision making skills.
"Aw, now don't be worried. This has nothing to do with you, it's Daddy's other employees that are the problem, Nissy. Don't worry your little head over it,"He reassured,patting the spider over the head,"Daddy's gonna sort this thing out. Now why don't you run along? Daddy's gotta set these bozo's straight. You've been doing spectacular and I'll let you go have your break…"
Arackniss nodded his head, knowing better than to question Val more. This was Val at his best and he was going to try and keep in his good graces while he still could.
He quickly scampered away and headed to the elevator in order to get to his room. Once the elevator door opened he hit the combination to his room and went inside.
The second he shut the door behind him, Arackniss immediately relaxed and collapsed onto the bed, his body crashing face first into the pillows like a tree tipping over after one powerful cut.
His body was aching, his mouth was sore and he wanted nothing more than for the sheets of his bed to swallow him whole as exhaustion took hold.
Every film..every show..it drains the energy out of him, like a mosquito sucking up the blood of its life force, sucking out the life-force from his tired bones, taking bits and pieces of his soul away from him.
As Arackniss laid in a crumpled heap in the bed, his lashes grew heavy. He was on the verge of total collapse and could feel the drowsiness starting to take over. Before He could fully enter the realm of sleep however, Arackniss was disrupted by the vibration of his phone buzzing in his pant's pocket.
"Ffffuuuucccckkkk…" He groaned in irritation before half-heartedly making a reach for his phone and removing it from his pocket and putting it in front of his face. As he unlocked his phone screen, he anticipated some absurd text from Val about needing to redo the film or wanting to spend time with him 'rivalry' for whatever reason despite it being incredibly involved with the spider.
Instead, he was surprised when the text wasn't from Val at all. It was from…a person called Chloe?
Who the hell was this bitch and most importantly, how in the fuck did she get his phone number?
His brain froze for a moment, confused at how someone named Chloe ended up on his phone. He feared it might've been a stalker(wasn't the first time he dealt with those) and despised the idea of dealing with another one of Angel Dust's morbid fanboys again.
Still, he couldn't help but feel curious…..Perhaps this wasn't just another fucking weirdo who wanted to see feet or something. But who…
His mind raced for an answer and was tempted to just block the number until he recalled meeting a cyclops who helped defend him at the bar going by that had been a while since he had heard of her and he probably would've forgot about her entirely had she not decided to test him out of the blue.
"Wonder what this bitch wants…" He grumbled before taking the time to thoroughly examine what she texted him.
Chloe: Hey, it's been a while, are you free?
He pondered whether to answer honestly, as he was by all means off the clock(albeit just) and he'd much rather stay in bed than have to be on the move again. Still, for the sake of curiosity, he decided to humor her with a response.
Arackniss: Depends on what you're trying to get me involved in.
She responded rather quickly.
Chloe: I was wondering if you wanted to hang out. I know a place that we can chill. It's private and it's not too far from here. Wanna come?
Arackniss:...This isn't some type of date is it?
Chloe: What? No way dude. We're just gonna talk, nothing else. I swear on it.
Arackniss:Ugh..Fine…Just don't waste too much of my time, alright? I'm fucking tired as hell and I don't want to be more drained than I am already. Give me the coordinates will you?
Chloe handed him the coordinates onto his phone and Arackniss put it in on Voogle. It seemed like some fancy smancy cafe if he had to guess. Five star reviews and seemed like a pleasant place for the most part(or as pleasant as Hell could get anyway).
It didn't look bad and while it wasn't a club or anything spectacular, it didn't seem all bad. Besides, he needed a break from flashing lights and loud noises and a coffee shop was usually supposed to be a fairly tranquil place.
Arackniss: On my way.
As he sent this text message, Arackniss reluctantly got out of bed, his legs wobbling ever so slightly with every step. He looked in the mirror, hardly recognizing the person on the other side of the glass.
It may be his body, but he had a hard time recognizing this altered appearance as his own despite all the time that had passed. It was a struggle, taking yourself in the mirror and being unable to come to terms with the fact that THIS was his body now.
It wasn't even that he was ugly…it was that it just wasn't him. It was what the denizens of Hell wanted and Valentino followed the money by making him look like his brother purely to attract the crowd.
'How the fuck did Anthony live like this?' He asked himself, unable to believe that THIS was the life Angel had been living.
You wouldn't be able to tell Angel Dust was miserable because on the billboards and commercials he starred in, you'd think Angel was living his best life with that toothy grin that sprouted witty comebacks on a whim.
The thought that the sibling he rejected for so long had probably spent all his time off camera crying himself to sleep. It made his stomach churn and twist as guilt nudged his side. For so long, he thought his brother was nothing more than a traitor, an insult to their family name for turning his back on them and running off to pursue fame and fortune.
For a while, he thought Angel was living the dream, profiting off the vices of the saps who found themselves trapped in the underworld for all eternity. On all the film he had seen, it looked like Angel was living the dream, indulging in all the sex and drugs he could've possibly wanted while getting a helluva high for the literal hell of it.
The view was heavily distorted, the perception was made to look lavish and desirable, yet it was nothing more than a lie.
The walls that Valentino confined him inside the Studio ripped away the rosy shades, revealing the true horror and abuse that the other workers endured. Everyone had to walk on eggshells around Val else they face his wrath and even the bravest souls cowered before him, the most confident demon could become docile at the mere raise of his voice. Valentino had everyone living in a state of fear of him and nobody dared to let down the facade, else they face his wrath.
Valentino made the Porn Studio look like a lavish mansion, but it was nothing more than a gilded cage.
His deal was like a dream come true to any demon who was low on their luck and struggling to survive, promising to fulfill their vices in exchange of their soul. Any who jumped to his deal ultimately ended up serving him all the same, going right back where they started with little money and being beyond miserable, the only difference being they had to grovel to a pimp instead.
And to think he was technically what most would call 'lucky'(that term was something he used rather loosely). Val seemed to treat him 'nicely' compared to the rest of his workers. He wasn't sure how, but he managed to not get hit across the face throughout his stay here and he considered that a miracle given how quick-tempered the moth could be.
This Studio was likely something Angel viewed as a safe-haven at one point, an escape from poverty but it had become his prison in the end and by the time he realized what he had signed up for, it was too late to back out….
These thoughts didn't leave his mind even as he got up to choose a fresh set of clothing from the depths of his closet before heading to the shower. He still reeked of sex and he sure as hell wasn't going out smelling like a cum-dumpster in front of a woman.
Arackniss took a shower to get all the substances off of his body and scrubbed himself with body wash and freed his fur of the musky smell that plagued his body.
Once he dried himself off, he freshened up with cologne and washed his mouth several times to remove the smell. After that, he slicked his hair back with gel as a way to permanently differentiate himself from his brother before slipping on his boots, grumbling at the way the heels made him stumble sometimes whenever he took a step.
'This should be good. I at least don't look like a used cum-dumpster like before. Maybe they won't notice I got rammed through today if I ignore the pain in my back..'
He then headed out of the apartment, closing the door behind him before leaving the Studio. The cafe wasn't too far from here and so long as he didn't run into any distraction he would probably get there before she did…
Not like he want prepared, it want his first rodeo and he always carried guns on him at all times(it'd be suicidal not to carry a weapon in a place like this). Sometimes he questioned the logic of being able to carry heavy artillery without it being noticeable, but decided to spare himself the trouble of stressing him out.
Hell hardly made sense as it was and operated on toon logic, best to not question it unless you wanted to give yourself a migraine.
As Arackniss made his way to the cafe, he saw 'Chloe' waiting there with another male cyclops at a coffee table outside who had a sleazy and dangerous vibe about him just by the way he smiled with those fangs of his.
'Wasn't to be aware she was bringing guests…Hope this bastard isn't going to be a problem..' He thought to himself before making the decision to approach the two at the table and sat down with menus in their hands.
"You didn't say that you were bringing friends, Chloe…" He said observantly, eyeing the other male with skepticism.
"It was planned," She admitted slowly,"But someone over here just refused to leave me the hell alone unless I took him with me…"
"Oh don't be such a prude, Che-" She elbowed him in the side before he could finish and Izzy hissed,"Ow, what the fuck was that for!?"
"You know why…" Cherri snarled before quickly reverted her attention back to Arackniss,"Pay no mind, Izzy is just being a little bitch that's all. He's always like this, don't pay it any mind…"
"OK…" He said, doing his best to try and pretend that he wasn't seeing two demons practically at each other's throats before his very eyes.
It was like witnessing siblings quarreling with each other and he recalled a time where he and Angel did the same thing, long before either of them had arrived in Hell. And the longer he looked at them, he did see a resemblance between the two cyclops.
To be honest, they kind of looked like twins ignoring Izzy's color palette that had been dipped in grayscale in contrast to 'Chloe's' brighter and more color palette.
Eventually the waiter approached the three and asked for their order. 'Chloe' ordered a plate of macaroons and mocha coffee, Izzy got a flat white with a slice of cake while Arackniss merely got black coffee and a loaf of bread.
"Not a fan of sugar are you?" Izzy asked him while taking a sip of his own drink.
"I prefer my stuff plain,"He admitted,"Sweets are a rarity for me and I cannot stand them in large quantities…."
"Damn, you must be living a miserable existence. How can you feel alive without sugar?"
"My life's been miserable and no amount of sugar will fix that,"He retorted,"Not everyone has a sweet tooth you know? If you wanted someone with a sweet tooth you should've asked my brother. When he was around, he'd eat all the sweets he could get his hands on. It was even worse when he was a kid, he always snuck cookies from our Father's jar. No matter where he put it, Anthony always managed to get his hands on it. Father would curse up a storm about it too, it was priceless…"
Cherri's expression softened at the mention of her old friend's former title. The worst part was she could truly imagine Angel doing those things as a kid, sticking his hand into the cookie jar and looking like a deer in headlights if he was caught. She'd laugh about the moment now, but thinking about it only made her feel sad.
"You alright Chloe?" Arackniss asked,"You look a little upset? Is something bothering you?"
"W-What? No, of course not, just thinking that's all," She brushed off, quickly masking her feelings with an air of confidence to regain her composure.
Arackniss shrugged this off before taking another sip of drink,embracing the bitter taste it left on his tongue,"So, are you two siblings or something?"
The two seemed astonished by his question, taken a tad off guard as Izzy had to fight off the urge to spit out his drink,"W-What?"
"I was just curious, you two kind of look alike and I was wondering if you two were siblings…"
Izzy was prepared to drop the bomb that they were ex's, however Cherri had other ideas and quickly said,"Uh, actually we're cousins…"
Izzy was taken aback by the blatant lie she had just told. Had Izzy had his two eyes on him he would've likely raised his eyebrows in bemusement. He looked at Cherri quizzically, as if wondering what the game was while his ex gave him a silent glare as a warning to speak nothing of this and to allow her to do the talking.
"You are? Well, I guess I wasn't too far off, "Arackniss shrugged,"Any age difference?"
"Believe it or not, he's roughly the same age as me. Just a few months older but most assume there's a few years between us…."
"Can't say I blame them, he does look older than you."
Izzy scoffed at this, rolling his singular eye,"Oh shut up…"
"Say, what is your name again?" Arackniss asked him,"Chloe never talked about you and I was wondering what your name was. It feels odd that you know me but not the other way around, do you?"
"I guess…" Izzy said and noticed the glare Cherri gave him. He sighed before saying,"For your information, my name is Issac."
"Issac. Haven't heard that one in a while, most people usually give themselves nicknames down here," He admitted,"Tell me, Issac, why'd you decide to tag along? Was this for your own amusement or what?"
"Partially,"Izzy said,"You see, there was a reason we've wanted to talk to you. Chloe's been wanting to get in touch with you but given how busy you were, we weren't able to get a hold of you until now."
"Oh yeah? What for?"
"We want to help you."
"Excuse me?" Arackniss asked, cocking an eyebrow at the two.
"You heard her, she said that we're here to help you, Arackniss."
"You're joking right? No one down here wants to help anyone else, especially for free," He retorted,"What's your game?"
"We're not playing a game,Arackniss. We're the real deal," Izzy said,"I get you don't trust us, and to be honest, trusting anyone down here is a poor decision but we're not trying to lead you astray because we've all got a common enemy…"
"I don't know what you're talking about…" The spider said slowly,his posture becoming intense.
"Don't play dumb," Izzy said,"We all know that Val's a menace. Fucker's hurt a lot of people, Arackniss. You're not the first motherfucker he's hurt, and if we don't do something about him, you're not gonna be the last…"
"What are you saying?"
"We're here to help you, Arackniss," Cherri said,"You might not believe us, but we truly do want to help you, Arackniss."
"You're kidding me…" He laughed,"This has got to be a joke, no way you two are seriously going to try helping me. What's the catch?"
"Nothing, we're legit," Izzy replied,"Trust me, Arackniss, I'm not exactly big on charity and helping others ain't my style, but your Father would probably chew our heads off if we tried not helping you.
"My Father…" Arackniss facepalmed,"Goddamn that son of a bitch, he's so stubborn! He never knows when to quit. Now he's resorting to dragging other people into my mess? Just great…Listen, I don't know what my Father promised you, but you're better off backing off and forgetting about helping me. Val's not someone you wanna mess with and you two should save yourself the trouble before you get hurt."
"Pfft," Cherri said,"We're not giving up on you that easily, Arackniss."
"Why? What type of money has my Father paid you to get me back? Whatever it is, it surely isn't worth your life now is it?"
"You don't get it do you, Arackniss? Because I'll spell it out for you, this isn't about the money," Cherri said, pounding her fist on the table,"You're not the only one he's hurt and if we don't stop him, you won't be the last. Val's only been growing more powerful as time passes and we need all the help we can get to stop him. After all, I doubt you handed yourself over to Val willingly and no doubt you want your old life back, don't you?"
"It's not about what I want anymore," Arackniss said,"I wouldn't do this if I had a choice, but that hardly matters now. I don't know what you or your cousin think you're doing, but Val's not just gonna let me go without a fight."
"Oh we know," Izzy said,"Which is why we need you to give us a chance. If we work together, we can overpower that bastard and get back what was rightfully ours."
"You two really are not going to let this go are you?" Arackniss asked and when the two shook their heads, he sighed,"Alright fine, don't say that I didn't warn you…."
"So does that mean you're on our side?"
Arackniss froze, it was like he didn't want to join, but he feared what would happen if Val caught wind of him mingling with opposition. Val responded poorly to those who acted against him and the last thing Arackniss wanted was to face Valentino at his worst.
When the spider appeared to be hesitating, Izzy continued to press him,"Come on, you know you want to. Don't you want your life back? The ability to choose what you want to do instead of groveling to that pimp bastard?"
Arackniss didn't respond but both of them could tell that Arackniss was considering the possibility.
"You know what? Fine, I'll give it a chance," He grumbled in defeat,"But if this backfires…just know that we're all probably not gonna come out of it alive…"
"Takes more than threats of death to scare me, Arackniss. Ain't like this is our first experience with death and we like living dangerously. So what do you say? Are you in?"
The black Spider reluctantly nodded,"I'm in."
"Glad you're on board, Arackniss," Cherri said,"I knew you'd come around…."
"Don't flatter yourself, I don't exactly have much faith in you people, I'm just taking pity on ya because I know my Father tends to get nasty when things don't go his way and I figured it wouldn't hurt to spare you the trouble."
"Whatever you say,Arackniss. Nice meeting ya, we'll see ya around. Let's try and keep in touch, OK?"
"I'll do my best. I'm a busy guy and I can't arouse Val's suspicion…."
"We understand, just try to keep and touch…"
Once Arackniss took his leave, Cherri and Izzy began to pack it up themselves. As they were getting their things, Izzy sent his ex a glare,"So, Chloe, huh? That seriously the best fake name you could come up with, Cherri?"
"It's called being pragmatic, jackass. If Arackniss knows our real names, there's a chance Val will recognize them if he talks about it and most people down here know their nicknames. Chances are that rat bastard wouldn't know it's us."
"Still, of all names, CHLOE is the best you could think of?" He laughed,"God, I forget how much of a freak you can be…"
"I'll show you how much of a freak I am when I shove my fist up your ass…"
"I love it when you talk dirty, Cherry Berry…"
The female cyclops snarled as she grabbed him by the collar,"Don't you dare call me that you asshole!"
"But you used to love it when I called you that babe," He snickered, amused by Cherri's threats even as her grip tightened.
"That was then, this is now. You lost the privilege of calling me that. You're not my boyfriend, hell, you're not even my friend. No, you're just an ally that I'm forced to associate with."
"Aw, you're so cold to me, Cher," He snickered,"You're so cute when you're angry…"
"Then I'm about to become really adorable…"
Cherri grit her teeth, anger building up in her body. She wanted nothing more than to beat Izzy's pretentious smirk off of his face yet held herself back. Rosie would get angry with her if she cost them a valuable ally….
They may have been on the same team but that didn't mean she had to like Izzy, let alone put up with his shit.
Henroin looked up, having a newspaper in his hands with a cigar as he sat down at a table with a black coffee he had brewed himself The news in Hell was fairly repetitive, murder, torture, all other sorts of sinful activities.
Same old shit. Got stale pretty quick if you catch my drift...
There was one however,one headline that made his skin crawl.
He narrowed his eyes at the least headline: Forget Angel Dust, Arackniss, Valentino's new hottest star is where it's at!
His grip on the newspaper tightened, the paper crinkling with how tight he held it within his grasp. The thought that that moth was making money off of his son made his stomach turn and he wanted nothing more than to strangle the bastard with his bare hands.
'Son of a bitch..' He thought to himself as he sipped on his coffee, anger boiling within his eyes as he crumpled the paper up and threw as hard as he could.
His projectile nearly hit Cherri in the eye when she entered the room who fortunately for her, caught it just in time.
"So what crawled up your ass and died today, Henroin?" She asked flatly.
"Be quiet bitch, I'm not in the mood for your petulant mood today…"
"The guy who threw a crumpled piece of paper at my head is now lecturing me on maturity, just wonderful,"She scoffed,"Listen I don't know what's with you today, but I've got some news that you might be interested in…"
"Whatever it is, I don't wanna hear it…"
"It's about your son. He's agreed to work with us."
"That's all you could get him to do?" He hissed,"Should've let me do it. He would've been convinced way sooner and given more up if you had let me do the talking…"
"Had you done the talking we'd likely be dead,"Cherri said,"I get you want to save Arackniss but rushing in head first isn't gonna do us any favors. Val's got a close eye on him and given he's his number one performer it'd be a stupid idea to try and directly rescue him without a plan. We need to bide our time and while that may piss you off, it's the only way to ensure Arackniss comes out of this alive."
Henroin grumbled something under his breath in Italian. Cherri didn't understand what he said in particular but if she had to take a guess, it was likely some nasty curses that she was fortunate enough to not understand.
"Incompetent sons of bitches…"
Cherri was prepared to say something when Izzy walked in, having heard the commotion and said,"Watch your tongue around Cherry Berry, Henroin. We're doing the best we fucking can here without compromising ourselves."
"What would you two know?" He hissed,"I've been trying to get my son back and yet I'm being told to wait until we finally make contact with him!? By the time we make any moves, it could already be too late! At this rate I shouldn't even bother with this shit! I'd be better off trying to secure Arackniss on my own!"
"Then go ahead and try it, see how well that works out for ya,"Izzy said,"You won't do it though. Because for as stubborn and headstrong as you are, even you fear where souls go after their final death. Some say it's an even worse version of this pit while others claim it's nothing but a void of darkness. Nobody really knows of course, no soul who's gone down there lives to tell the tale…" Izzy's tone then grew dark,"Is that truly the fate you wish to share? To die and be forgotten about just like the rest? Do you think you're the only one whose gotten fucked over by that moth? Get in line, you're not the only one he's hurt. Consider yourself lucky that the person you wish to rescue is still alive, not all of us are so lucky…."
"Speaking from experience, Izzy?" Henroin asked gruffly.
"What would you want to know? It's none of your goddamn business, "He huffed,"Regardless, the point is that if you have a death wish, have the decency to not give up on your kid first since running in guns blazing is a great way to get a holy bullet shoved between your skull…"
"You sound rather angry, cyclops…Is this something personal you're neglecting to talk to us about?" Henroin pressed on and as Izzy's wisecracking attitude cracked, giving way to a darker and more serious person whose blood was colder than ice.
"None of your fucking business, Heroin," He blazing,"Just know, you're not the only one whose lost people. Consider yourself lucky that the person you lost is still around and can actually be saved because the rest of us are not so lucky. Though it really does depend, do you want your son back because he's your kid or because he's a valuable weapon?"
"Are you insinuating? I don't give a damn about my kid!?" He hissed.
"I'm just saying, it's hard to differentiate loving the person's use and loving the actual person down here. Especially since I doubt you were too fond of your other kid due to his…questionable career choices."
"Leave Anthony outta this, he's got nothing to do in this situation!"
"Actually he does," Cherri said,"Because I don't remember you giving a shit about Anthony while he was at Val's mercy. What makes Arackniss so different? Was it because of his sexuality Is that why you abandoned him to the wolves without ever trying to reach out?"
"Anthony stopped being my responsibility the moment he ran away from the family business. Arackniss was his superior in every way. He was better at killing, more precise and more loyal and never gave himself away willingly…"
"Is that an excuse? Angel needed you and you never tried to help him. You only care now because your favorite son is being targeted," She said,"I was his only fucking friend, Henroin. The rest of you had abandoned him to rot and do you know how many nights he'd come home a bloody mess? How many times he'd cry in bed for hours on end? How many bruises and markings I saw on him with each passing day? Do you know how much it hurts seeing your friend hurting and knowing you can't do anything about it? But what would you know? You don't have friends now, do you?"
"A man like me doesn't need friends down here,only associates…"
"So your son is an associate?" Cherri asked, receiving only silence in return,"Listen, you're not the first deadbeat dad I've ever met but you are one I've had the misfortune of being around for long periods of time so I'll set the record straight. You do not need to be here, you can go off and leave on your own suicide mission while we rescue your kid since you're gonna be difficult. How does that sound?"
Henroin scowled,"Will you two be quiet? I know I'm not father of the year or anything, far from it, but I'm trying to do something right and get my son back because the longer he's in the moth's clutches, the worse off he'll be. And as much as I'd like to get him myself, we all know it'd be suicide. However, that doesn't mean I'm just gonna stand here while you two are talking shit because if you two wanna go, we'll go. I may not be in my prime but I'm more than ready to put some young rascals like you in your place…"
Another fight probably would've broken out if Rosie had Izzy not heard footsteps approaching and cursed,"Shit! She's coming! Act natural!"
Everyone knew what that meant and quickly fell silent, doing their best to appear as if they weren't on the verge of an all out brawl.
Rosie and Vark walked inside the room, the female Overlord glancing at them all skeptically,"I swore I heard something over here. I guess my imagination was running wild again," She then sighed,"Well, anyways, it's nice to see you all again. Is something bothering you all? You all look rather quiet, anything happened today?"
"We ran into Arackniss and he's willing to work with us, so take that for what it's worth,"Cherri said,"Henroin didn't believe we could do it yet we managed."
"Splendid news,"Rosie said as she brewed herself some tea,"This will make the rescue mission much easier this way. Perhaps he can even give us intel on Valentino while he plays the mole. Valentino already believes he has Arackniss cornered. He will not see this coming…"
"So when will we be able to get my son?"
"Patience, Henroin, we cannot rush these things. All will come in due time. I understand your frustration, but you are well aware that charging in will lead to no positive result. If you wish to save your son, your best bet is waiting for the right time to strike…"
Henroin grumbled something under his breath but knew better than to argue with Rosie. He knew the demoness well enough to know that she'd eloquently tear his argument to shreds more than the other two had without even raising her voice.
Izzy narrowed his singular eye as he watched Rosie pour a bowl of kibble for Vark,"I've seen my fair share of exotic pets in my life but I still can't comprehend a lady like you owning a giant ass hammerhead shark in a place like this…"
"It wasn't as if I had something like this planned, Izzy,"She remarked,"I was never much of a pet person but I couldn't just abandon a poor creature like him. Poor thing would've starved! And now look at him, Fluffy is just the most adoring creature you could ask for! Not only that, but he's remarkably intelligent!"
"He's an overgrown vertebrate, I doubt he's that fucking smart," Henroin grumbled.
"How could you say such a cruel thing!? Fluffy is not some overgrown vertebrate, he's extraordinarily smart! And if none of you believe me, I'll show you!" She growled,"Fluffy, show them what I've taught you and prove them all wrong!"
Vark stared at Rosie before pulling out a paper and ink pen, carrying the pen in his mouth before he began to write down words. The surprise of the others, it wasn't just random letters, but actual sentences written in cursive.
The end result of Vark's act was a sentence saying: Rosie, would you mind reaching for a container of my favorite treat? I'm rather ravenous and I could go for a bite…
"Holy shit, he can write!" Cherri exclaimed.
"Of course he can, I've been teaching him in my spare time to write."
"Why the hell would you do that?" Henroin asked,"He's a shark for god's sake, sharks aren't supposed to write."
"Well Fluffy is not some ordinary shark, he's special and I"m going to treat as such," She smiled,"Besides, Fluffy and I have formed a better bond by doing these lessons. I feel like we both understand each other. Such a shame his previous owner didn't realize his potential, it would've gone to waste had we not encountered each other…"
The trio stood gobsmacked, Izzy blankly saying,"I cannot believe we just watched a woman openly admit she taught a shark to fucking read and write…Wonder how many screws are loose in that head of her's…" He said this while watching Rosie give Vark a treat, to which the shark responded happily to the scrumptious reward.
"More than one," Henroin grumbled,"I cannot believe it. I'm surrounded by lunatics…"
"Don't act like you're not loony either, "Izzy retorted,"Ain't that right, Cherri? Cherri? Cherri, what are you doing?"
"I was just thinking…could Fat Nuggets do the same thing that Fluffy could?"
"For the love of god, don't fucking teach the pig to talk. We've got enough crazy shit to deal with and a talking pig that acts like a person is not what my mental health needs,"Izzy said flatly.
She rolled her singular eye,"Quit being so dramatic, I was just joking…"
"It's hard to tell when someone's joking or not down here and I'm not taking any fucking risks…"
'How did I get stuck with these people?' Was the only thought the three mutually shared, and one that they'd been thinking about for a very long time…
FINALLY, I'm allowed to use my computer to clean up the spelling errors so I could get this chapter out. Took forever while I was on the road but it's out now.
Thanks for 13,664 views, tell me what you think down below!
Enigmus-288: Belphegor is in it for the science because of the 'endless' possibilities of having powerful warriors regardless of the cost and Seviathan...well it was honestly just a matter of time. His reputation is fucked, most do not like him and at best tolerate him and he wants back what was 'rightfully' stolen from him regardless of the cost. It's just shocking how long it took honestly.