"What the fuck!?" Alastor and Lucifer rushed out onto the stage and saw Husk and the others squaring off against two female demons, a Lust Ring imp and a cat-based sinner demon. Husk's tail lashed angrily while Angel and a couple members of the kitchen staffers stood in front of the snack table to guard the cake and refreshments. Charlie and Angel were eying the Imp angrily while Vaggie was shooting daggers at the sinner as she held out her spear in preparation to leap into action.
Alastor and Lucifer looked around, their jaws dropping in shock at the sight before them. Niffty, along with about a dozen or so workers were scrambling to clean up what appeared to be the result of a massive glitter bomb explosion. There were also a few huge holes busted into the walls and rips in the carpet and drapery; most of the theatre seats and table setups were in various stages of destruction as well.
"You realize I could sue you both into the fucking ground for this!?" Husk roared, "This is destruction of property! Easily hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of damage! Not to mention it's gonna set the theatre's reopening back months!" "Humph; you've got no proof that we did any of this," Karol said with a smug look, "Besides, you could always have your master fix it up for you; maybe he could give this place an actual overhaul. Hello, it's the 21st Century, time to join the rest of us in reality, Husker."
"Oh, that is rich coming from the likes of you," Husk sneered, "Especially given who your partner in crime is. What happened, Jezebel? You thought adding another two and a half braincells to the mix might help you come up with a half-decent 'revenge plan'? Sorry, but no. Close, but no cigar." "Now, now, Husker," Husk flinched as Alastor manifested behind him through his shadow, "There's no need to be so crass."
"Excuse me!?" Husk scoffed, "Do you not see the absolute destruction all around us? How dare you take their side!?" Husk pointed an accusing finger towards Karol and said, "That bitch has spent the better part of the last month stalking, harassing and assaulting my pregnant daughter on some sort of bullshit crusade. For what reason, I don't know and frankly I don't give a good goddamn! And as for her," Husk hissed, pointing over to Jezebel as the sinner smirked and blew a kiss Husk's way, "You don't even want to know what she's put me through… put all of us through over the years! She's a monster… plain and simple."
"Oh, no, Husker," Jezebel huffed, "You are the only monster here. And you know it, don't you? Wife beater." "What… the fuck did you just call me!?" Husk snapped, yelping as Alastor summoned his chains and pulled him into his grip. "A fair question, Husker," Alastor hissed, "Would you care to enlighten me?"
"She's full of shit!" Husk gagged. "I wasn't addressing you!" Alastor growled, sending a tremor of pure fear down Husk's spine. "Explain… Jezebel." Husk's heart sank as Jezebel looked at him straight in the eye and smiled wickedly. Husk shook his head in fear, silently mouthing 'no' as Jezebel put on a hurt expression.
"So, I'm guessing he never told you about the night we broke up?" Jezebel asked, "How he yelled at me and punched me in the face? And right in front of his daughter, too. And the things he called me… oh," Jezebel let out a sob, wiping a few small tears from her face and said with a whimper, "I just… I don't have it in me to repeat such vile language."
Husk felt the blood drain from his face as he turned and saw Alastor's snarling face out of the corner of his eye, gagging as the red-clad overlord lifted him up and tossed him across the room; the kitchen staffers grabbed the cake just as Husk crashed into the table. "Alastor, wait… just listen to me!" Husk panted, yelping as Alastor yanked on his chains, pulling him forward onto his stomach. "Alastor… just… stop! Give me a chance to explain… she… she is fucking lying to you!"
"Alastor, stop!" Vaggie barked as she and Charlie grabbed Alastor's wrists, "Come on, you can't seriously believe Husk would actually do something like that?" "Yeah, give him a chance!" Charlie pleaded, "At least let him tell his side first!" Alastor growled as he turned to Charlie with a vicious smile, his eyes having turned to radio dials. Charlie gave the overlord a stern look, silently demanding that he release his grip on Husk; Alastor hissed and opened his hands to retract Husk's restraints.
Angel rushed over and helped Husk onto his feet as Alastor turned back to Husk and said, "You have two seconds to explain yourself, Husker," Husk's eyes widened as Alastor reached into his coat and pulled out a small envelope marked with Rosie's signature, "Before I tear you and this polaroid to shreds." "It's true… I did hit her." Husk admitted; Alastor growled and nodded, reaching up in preparation to rip up the photograph when Husk stopped him by saying, "But I didn't mean it, I… I just… when I saw what she was doing, I saw red. I-I-I just reacted! I felt terrible about it afterwards, but… looking back, I'm not sure if there was any other way to stop her."
"Stop her?" Alastor hissed, raising a brow, "Stop her… doing what?" "Yeah, what could she have done that was so bad you had to punch her in the face to stop?" Lucifer asked. Jezebel's face fell fast and she swallowed hard as everyone turned to her and Husk said, "Absolutely nothing… assuming of course you're okay with her beating on a five year old." The air grew thick as Karol looked at Jezebel then at Husk, doing a quick double-take before saying, "Well, uh… obviously this was a mistake." Karol chuckled as she grabbed Jezebel's shoulders, pulling the sinner woman in front of her as she slowly started to back away, "We'll just take our leave now."
"What are you doing, Karol?" Jezebel hissed, "What about the trust fund?" "Trust fund… that's what this is about!?" Husk snapped, "How the fuck do you even know about that? Nobody outside of my legal team and Shwick is supposed to know. Fuck, not even Delilah knew it existed until a few weeks ago!" Husk tilted his head and spotted Karol looking sheepishly behind Jezebel's shoulder; his fur bristled as he glared at the Imp woman and hissed, "You… you little… you sneaking… conniving… little bitch!"
Husk growled as he took a few long strides towards the two, gasping as Alastor reached out and grabbed his arm; Husk shivered as Alastor turned to him, locking eyes with him and said, "What trust fund are they talking about, Husker?" "I… I can't tell you," Husk shook, "It's private." Alastor's grip tightened as he snarled, glaring at Husk with a threatening look and flashed his teeth. "I'm serious, Alastor, I cannot tell you! I… I promised."
"Tell me, Husker… now," Alastor growled, jabbing Husk's forehead with his finger and making Husk gulp in terror as he said, "Or I'll go digging around inside your skull until I find what I want to know." "There's no need for that." Karol sighed, "I know exactly what the fund is for. Or at least, what it was supposed to be for." Alastor's neck cracked as he turned to her and gave her an expectant look as she continued, "Turns out that innocent little girl was doing some not-so innocent things; wound up pregnant at just fifteen years old. Husker opened that trust fund to help pay for the baby's expenses but… well, as we all know, Hazel doesn't have any children yet, so… hmmm… I don't know about you, but I can't help but wonder what happened to it. You wouldn't happen to know, would you, Husker?"
Husk's head lowered in sorrow, letting out an angry huff as he pulled away from Alastor's grip and flashing Alastor an enraged glare as he felt Alastor grab him by his tail to hold him back. Alastor's face softened as he saw a few tears welling up in Husk's eyes, watching in curiosity as he let Husk go and the old sinner marched over and got right in the women's faces.
"You really want to know, Karol?" Husk growled, "Your niece had a miscarriage. The baby died and nearly took her down along with it." Everyone's faces turned to shock as Husk started to shake, "Hazel really did want to keep that baby, you know? When she told me about the pregnancy, I told her that I'd support whatever she decided to do… no matter what. So when she said that she wanted to at least carry the baby to term and deliver it, I opened up that fund and started saving up every penny I could spare. And then, less than a week into her second trimester, she lost the baby. We were all distraught. Satan knows it nearly broke me. But Hazel… well… you can't even begin to fathom the pain she felt. Unless you've been through it yourself… you can't possibly know… just how broken it leaves you."
"So why keep the trust fund going? What's even the point?" Jezebel asked. "Because it's my fucking money!" Husk barked, flashing a bitter look back at Alastor before turning back to the women and continued, saying, "And because I can do damn well what I please with it. Any other reasons are frankly nobody else's fucking business but my own!"
Karol and Jezebel gasped as Husk grabbed them by their wrists and pulled them close, glaring at them with a look of rage and pain and said, "Now, unless you want me to tie and lock you both up under the stage until the cops come to haul your asses to prison… you'd better get out the fuck of my house, and don't let me ever see your faces anywhere near me, my business, my employees or my daughter ever again! Hear me!?" The two women nodded quickly, whimpering as Husk dug his claws into their skin and said with a growl, "Good. Now get… out."
The women yelped as Husk shoved them away, letting out an angry roar and sending them running away screaming in pure fear as Husk's fur darkened to pitch black, splaying his claws and his wings as his eyes flushed a deep bloody red and he let out an unholy-sounding wail. As the women rushed out of the theatre, Husk's body slowly reverted back to normal and he fell to his knees, burying his face in his paws and wept.
Angel turned to Alastor, scowling at him as he snatched the envelope out of his hands and dashed over to Husk's side. Husk shook as he felt Angel's hand on his shoulder, looking to see Angel holding the envelope out with a tender smile on his face. "I'm not sure what's in this," Angel whispered, "But… it's gotta be pretty important to you for you to be that desperate to keep Al from ruining it."
Husk wiped the tears from his eyes, tenderly taking the envelope and holding it close, resting his face in his other hand and shook as more tears threatened to fall, taking deep breaths as he tried to calm down. Angel sat down on the ground next to Husk, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and pulling him close as the others rushed to his side to offer him a little company and comfort, leaving Alastor alone to watch on in bewilderment.
Alastor gave a heavy sigh and walked over, bending down in front of Husk and reached into his jacket. Husk's eyes widened as Alastor snatched the envelope and slipped something into it before handing it back to Husk. "I'm… sorry, Husker." Husk's eyes widened in shock, looking up at his master in pure disbelief and disgust, "It seems that I… once again, I've jumped to conclusions. I assumed the worst of you before giving you a real chance to tell your side. I am… sorry for that. I'm… so… so sorry, Husker… for everything."
"You should be sorry, jackass." Husk sobbed, "How long have we known each other, Alastor? And yet, to this day all you see are the worst parts of me… think the absolute worst of me. After more than twenty years of loyal service… you still don't have a single fucking ounce of loyalty to me. Fuck, you don't even really know who I am! Still, after everything we've been through together, you took their side, her side! My abusive ex, who you also know nothing about, and who lied through her teeth to Rosie… because she wanted a fucking sugar daddy! Nothing more… nothing less."
Husk sniffled, taking a deep breath and letting it out slow as he stood up and looked around at the utter destruction before him. "How… how could this have happened?" Husk cried, "This theatre is… is easily the… the second safest place in the whole Jackpot. How could this happen? Why did this happen?"