A/N:

Hi everyone! Here's the next part of the story - I hope you like it : ) And thank you for your reviews and support. Some characters make their first appearances in the story - Cherri, Valentino, and Velvet!

Partners

Chapter 2:

Friends Have Benefits

In an abandoned area of rubble in Pentagram City, Angel fired a Tommy gun at a rather large square of plywood in the distance painted to look like Sir Pentious.

Cherri Bomb leaned back on a ledge behind them, admiring his handiwork. "I still refuse to believe your new 'hotel savior' The Radio Demon took down Pentious with a snap of his fingers until I see it with my own eyes." She pulled out a lit bomb and tossed it at the Pentious dummy - the entire wooden creation blew up into splinters.

"Believe it or not - still happened, babe. One snap, and that snake's entire operation got purged from the sky." Angel grinned and set down his gun as they both took a seat on the ledge. "Ugh, and those tentacles Alastor used… I wasn't sure if I should be terrified or turned on." He fanned himself with his hand and smirked.

"You are such a fucking train wreck." Cherri grinned and nudged Angel.

Angel laughed elbowed her back. "You're just jealous that YOU didn't sexily disembowel Pen's airship. Ya fucking pyro!"

Cherri snorted. She pulled a stick of unlit dynamite out of her pocket and flipped it in her hand. "Jealous? Oh please - you're the one bragging about the Radio guy like he's a knight in blood-stained armor." She eyed Angel. "You sure you're not making some kind of play for him? I get it, dude's got to be rich, but still, Angie…"

Angel blushed and rolled his eyes. "Come on, I told you, it's not like that! We've really got an understanding, Cherri." He shrugged and smiled, head held high. "Al's my guy buddy…The first guy down here I ever met who didn't want to just hit it and quit it! Believe me, I've flirted with him six ways to Sunday for kicks and all he wants to do is talk and grow tomatoes and rip into Vox while I listen." He rubbed the back of his head. "It's weird but also kind of nice. I know that time with him means time not working - time where I can be myself. Just like with you." He grinned at Cherri.

Cherri's eyelid lowered in a dry look. "Okay, first of all, don't compare me to an old-timey cannibal. Second of all…" her gaze softened, "okay, if he definitely really rips into Vox that much, then I guess he can't be all bad." She flung the dynamite stick in the air and caught it, holding tight. "Now if you could just get him to tentacle murder those three V fuckers…"

"He's my pal, not my hitman." Angel held up his hands. "Besides, he only does stuff if you make a deal with him and I don't wanna do that. I've got enough complicated baggage in my life already." The spider sighed, resting back on his hands. "It's just nice having him around the hotel, is all."

Cherri considered then glanced to the side. "So…you really like being in that place? Even with all the rules and the sappy princess and the whole 'sinless' schtick?"

Angel hesitated, his brow furrowed and his gaze down. Then finally he nodded. "I feel safe there. It's…something."

"Okay… good." Cherri scowled. "Because if anyone there was messing with you, I'd have to nuke the fucking place to the ground."

"Speaking of which…"

Cherri smiled. "Wait, seriously - do you want me to nuke the fucking place to the ground?"

Angel tried not to laugh. "No, no, definitely not! I need the free rent and also all my stuff is there. But I do want you to come by this weekend. Al and I are throwing a little garden party."

"A garden party?" She crossed her arms, grinning more. "What are you, a retired married couple?"

"Hey!" Angel scoffed, blushing again as he crossed a pair of his arms. "We work hard on that garden, and Nuggets wants to come and he prefers being outside! Plus, if we stay out there, Charlie and Vags won't have an excuse to bug us or snoop."

"Those two aren't invited?" Cherri raised her eyebrow. "But a party makes it sound like it's not just me stopping by."

"Al's bringing a friend too."

"It's not some psycho girlfriend of his, is it?"

"No more than you're a psycho girlfriend of mine."

"Ugh, then it's not a date for me, right? If you're trying to set me up with a cannibal, I love you but I'll fucking blow you to pieces, hun."

Angel laughed and shook his head. "No, no - I've met her before. Rosie's cool. No one's gonna eat anyone, not in the sexy or the deadly way. We just thought…well, we both wanted you guys to see the place so why not do it at the same time? Besides, if we invited you on different days, then whoever went second would probably catch hell from the girls."

"Wait…do the princess and her squeeze not know you two lowlives are throwing a party?" Cherri smirked.

Angel smirked back. "Al's fronting the money for the hotel and I'm the poster boy guest making sure the whole shebang looks good. If we want to throw a party, we're throwing a party. It'll be a great surprise - Vaggie is gonna be steamed!"

Cherri snorted. "Okay then - yeah, I'll come! Sounds like fun, Angie."

"You just can't blow up anything, okay?"

She sighed. "That place is making you soft…"

Angel grinned and spoke in a teasing voice. "You can tell your war stories about demolishing Pentious so Al knows he's not the only badass in Pentagram city. You do love being intimidating to overlords…"

"Fine." Cherri smiled again. "But if I think even for a second that Radio Head or his friend are getting ready to try something, all bets are off."

"Wouldn't expect anything less from a firecracker like you, doll." Angel winked.

Cherri lit the dynamite stick and threw it, watching it explode in midair. "So…why do you think this guy isn't interested in your services? Like is it some kind of stupid overlord mind game of his?" She barely glanced at Angel, scowling. "I get he's powerful and important to the hotel, but you shouldn't have to let him lead you on to keep him around, Angel. Let the princess wrangle him: you have enough shitty overlords to babysit in your life."

Angel shook his head, his look and tone soft. "I know Overlords can suck…better than anyone. But Al isn't messing with me or leading me on. He's got a thing about only going after demons with really dark hearts - the really bad ones." He scowled.

"In that case, I'm surprised he hasn't ripped into Val and the others already," Cherri murmured.

Angel swallowed. "He's got his own way of doing things. And…I think that's also the reason he's not interested in 'Angel Dust the Porn Star'. Carnal sin is…not an issue for this guy. He mostly hangs out with girls but he acts around them how I act around them. Like he likes the company and wants to be friends and treat 'em nice. But not like he's interested. And as for guys… he's got some issues there, which makes me think he swings that way a little bit. He's cool with Husk though. And he's cool with me too. I keep the sexy stuff on the lighter side, and he keeps the carnage details to himself, and we just talk: about stuff we both like and stuff we both hate, and…it's good. We're friends. We get that there's more to each other, ya know?"

When Cherri glanced at Angel again, he was looking down with a small happy smile.

Cherri smiled too. She moved closer, her voice comforting. "Well, he SHOULD see there's more to you - you're the fucking full package, Angie."

Angel laughed. "Damn straight, bitch. You and me - both diamonds in the rough.''

She smirked. "Wanna rebuild the Pentious dummy so we can shoot and blow it the hell up again?"

"Right behind you, sister!" Angel extended all of his hands and the two of them dashed off into their shooting field to repair their target.

"What the fuck is that Radio bastard doing going near the princess?" In his private lounge at the studio, Valentino reclined back on a plush sofa. "Her family doesn't give a shit about her, she's got no power or territory of her own, and her salvation plan is a damn joke." He narrowed his eyes.

Across from him in an arm chair, the lord of television shrugged. "Alastor's insane half the time - he gets bored and then gets hobbies. He did pick a particularly ludicrous choice of partner for his latest game. But at the end of the day the worst he'll do is sink a ton of money into that shit show that he'll never get back, embarrass the princess and himself, and maybe get distracted enough that we can claim some of his territory."

Valentino clenched his fist. "I still don't like it. That walking-talking microphone is just crafty enough to somehow turn the princess into a weapon. She's a way to Lucifer - a way to the throne…"

"Or a way to heaven!" announced a chipper voice. Velvet bounced into the room with a platter of bright red cupcakes. She placed them down. "Here we go! I made them extra boozy this time. Red Rum Velvet… Russian Roulette Style. Whoever gets the one I drugged is going to have a rough time!" Her smile curled up at the edges as she sat down and grabbed one of the little cakes.

Valentino and Vox both sighed with dry looks. "For fuck's sake, Vel! We told you to stop doing that!" Valentino pointed at himself. "Last time I got the drugged one, I couldn't get it up for two days! I am the leader of the lust district, it was embarrassing as hell!"

"And the last time I got the drugged one, I had no wi-fi for the week!" Vox's antenna sparked. "No way to monitor all the seedy crap going on in my territory by broadcasting myself through the television networks! And Vox Tube was down too! I had demons rioting!"

"Yeah," Velvet shrugged, "but both of you sure had a lot of fun laughing at each other when the other one got doped up!" She snickered at Valention and Vox.

With resigned looks each of the demons sighed, looked to each other, shrugged, then took a cupcake. "You're lucky these things are so delicious, Vel," Vox mumbled as he bit into his. "Anyway, what were you saying about heaven?"

"Heaven!" Valentino laughed and took a bite too. "No fucking way anyone down here is going up there. That demon princess is dreaming!"

"Oh probably." Velvet shrugged, eating. "But suppose…just suppose…her plan has unintended consequences?" Vox and Valentino eyed her. Velvet went on. "There are demons who love to be down here - like us! We were born for sin. But there are others who ended up here because they just made mistakes topside and didn't make up for them in time: demons whose souls aren't black so much as shades of grey. If those demons start thinking about something better for themselves than what they've got, they might rally around someone who wants to give them hope - whether that means getting to heaven or just changing the way things work around here."

"Hmm…" Vox's eyebrows met in thought, "go on…"

"And get to the point, Vel." Valentino took another cupcake. "You know how I hate vague bullshit."

"Typical man - always so impatient for the big finish." Velvet chuckled. "Princess Charlie's belief that there's good inside of some demons could make those demons join forces and demand a good life down here. A revolution of millions of souls - us overlords wouldn't stand a chance against those numbers. So maybe Alastor's getting in on the ground floor. All of us know his depravity has a sort of sick moral code to it."

"He only eats the worst sons of bitches…that dramatic fucker." Valentino growled. He tented his fingers together. "But then why be so open about sponsoring the hotel? He could have done it in secret."

"Heh," Vox grinned, his eyes narrowed as he took another cupcake, "because Alastor can't help himself - he needs to put on a show! Always. Why do you think he's been parading around town with Angel Dust at least once a week? YOUR property, Val! It's probably just been to dangle his plan in front of our noses!" He glanced at Velvet. "Vel, you might be on to something."

"That's why I'm the brains of this operation - and Valentino's the muscle and you're here to be our eyes and ears and the punchline to a lot of our jokes." She playfully cuffed him on the screen - Vox scowled and opened his mouth, about to fight with her.

Valentino held up his hands, and they stopped and turned to him. "Vel really is making sense. And you are too, Vox. And I don't like it." He snarled. "I'll be damned again if I lose any of my power - or my best whore - to that laugh track virgin. And I will not let him make a powerplay for the Magne family right in front of me without consequences. We need to do something."

Vox sighed and grabbed another cupcake. "However much I hate to admit it, Alastor is too powerful to attack directly. We'll need to find him at a time and place where he's alone and weak. And we'll need to take him by surprise. It won't be easy."

Velvet swung her feet and smiled with a hand to her chin, musing. "If he would just eat something besides other demons and deer I could bake him cupcakes filled with ground glass and razor blades and bits of Angel weaponry - solve all of our problems!"

"You could tell Angel Dust to keep tabs on him, Val," Vox suggested. "Then we could get a better idea of Alastor's routine and what he does at the hotel and how close he's gotten to the Princess or to Lucifer."

"No." Val shook his head. "I won't ask Angel Dust to do something for us, like I need him. Besides, boy has a big mouth - the second he gets high or drunk or fucked the right way, he could let something slip." Valentino took another cupcake. He looked at the fluffy white frosting on top, reminding him of the head of his favorite little Angel Cakes. "But… making Angel a part of this isn't a bad idea." He grinned. "i'm gonna let Angel and Alastor continue their little strolls and not say a word. Then who knows? Maybe Alastor will let slip a few useful details. And eventually when the time is right, I'll clue in Angel - make him think he's our fourth instead of our bitch. I'll get everything out of him we can use, and then I'll make him disappear for a little while. And by the time he comes back, no more Alastor." He chuckled, low and dark.

"Ooo, that sounds like an absolutely awful thing to do to both of them! I'm in! I'll brings snacks for the carnage!" Velvet rubbed her hands together and grabbed the final cupcake.

Vox chuckled too. "Radios suck anyway. Good call, Val." Suddenly the television demon blinked a few times and brought a hand to his head. "Aw damn, I think I got the drugged cupcake. I don't feel so… uh oh…" His screen became several vertical colored bars.

"Ha!" Valentino laughed. "You stupid—uh…uh oh…" His arms dropped. He blinked a few times then looked down at his body then to Velvet. "I can't move may arms. Damn it, Vel, Vox got the drugged cupcake so what the hell his this?" His speech started to slur.

"Ha ha!" Velvet laughed and pointed at both of them. "Instead of loading up one cupcake with a bad batch of drugs, I put a little into all of them! Surprise!"

"You crazy bitch…" Valentino shook his head. A loud beep issued from his antenna

"I've built up an immunity!" She beamed. "So I'll just get a little…wonky." She giggled and hiccuped, hanging her head off the cushion of the chair with her feet up on the back. "We'll be better in a few hours… you dicks."

The three of them celebrated their plan by spending some time in oblivion.

Evening was coming. Nearing the hotel on his way back home, Angel saw a familiar little sheep trying to carry some big boxes. Just as the top one almost toppled over, Angel dashed forward, all six arms out, and caught the box and the demon in question. "Whoa there - you know, you're allowed to make multiple trips for moving in, Louise. You didn't have to bring everything all at once."

Louise smiled as she set down the boxes on the stoop and wiped her brow. "I just wanted to be as quick as possible - and I'd like everything moved in before Abel gets off work tonight. As a surprise." She smiled. "Steve helped me with the heavy boxes earlier but I didn't want to keep him from missing out on tips playing in the park today. These boxes don't have much. It's just a lot more work than I realized, combining my and Abel's stuff togehter." She blushed, her tail wagging.

Angel chuckled. "You two are freaking adorable. And no worries, doll - professional mover Angel Dust is here. Come on - between my six arms and your two, we'll get everything upstairs in one go."

"Thank you, Angel Dust!" She took one box and Angel took the other three. Louise opened the door for them as they headed inside. "This is so exciting, it's like we're starting a brand new chapter of our lives here, all of us. And maybe we'll get to heaven, but either way it's just so good to be around nice demons like you and Charlie and Alastor." Her eyes brightened on the last name.

Angel grinned as he headed inside toward the stairs. "Yeah, you're a really big Alastor fan, huh? You always look at him like you're waiting for him to raise the sun or something."

"I-I know." Louise shrugged sheepishly. "Is it that obvious? I don't want to make him uncomfortable. But I'm really proud to be part of this place with him."

Angel hesitated, his brow furrowed. "Hun, I don't want to disappoint you, but you've heard him say before - he doesn't believe in reform, he just wants to watch people fail for fun."

"Maybe." She shrugged. "But he's also not here to hurt anyone. And I don't think he'd let anyone else hurt this place either. And that's something - that's a lot here in hell, actually."

Angel managed a little smile. "Yeah, he's…he's a wild card. But I think he cares in his own way. He's okay."

"You both seem very happy together," Louise observed as they reached her floor and headed down the hallway. "I'm glad to see he has a friend and you too."

"Oh yeah, I like getting to know him!" Angel perked up. "I'll tell ya, this place was a lot less fun before that deer trotted in here with his radios and goofy jokes and tentacles of doom."

"Tentacles…of doom?" Louise raised an eyebrow.

Angel glanced over his shoulder with a smirk. "He really is good at defending the hotel from attacks. Maybe you'll see one day. It's a hell of a show!"

Louise considered as they reached her room. She put down the boxes, took out her key, and opened the door. She sighed as she looked at the room - so many boxes and things waiting to be set up. Her new home…with Abel. "Charlie's doing a good thing here, bringing people together who want something better. I don't care what we did back in our lives, we don't deserve to live in fear all the time. There are souls in hell that are good. They need someone fighting for them."

Angel watched Louise, the determined look on her face. And even though she was a little sheep, he felt overwhelmed by her firm conviction. He believed for a moment that he could be worthy of redemption if it was possible. Angel swallowed and cleared his throat. "You and Charlie are definitely gonna get along real well. If anyone deserves to be here it's you and Abel, Louise."

Her happy smile returned as she looked to Angel. "And you too, Angel Dust. And maybe even Alastor one day."

Angel held back a scoff, imagining Alastor ascending to heaven, all the deer features gone, leaving a thin, dusky, sharp-looking guy who would probably still crack silly jokes and threaten people within in inch of their afterlives if they were rude or cruel. "Well, screwier things have happened in hell. Like the princess of the whole shebang making a rehab for sin. Good luck to all of us, I guess." He held out a hand.

Louise took it in both of hers and shook vigorously. "Yes, let's show hell there's another way - together!" She released him, her tail wagging.

Angel chuckled. "Want any help unpacking?"

"Oh, no…" Louise blushed, looking down shyly. "Thank you for bringing the boxes up here and for the offer, but I thought Abel and I could do it together. Like something special before we officially move in next week."

"Aw you two romantic knuckleheads are gonna give Charlie and Vaggie a run for their money." Angel laughed, shaking his head. "Okay, have fun, Louise! I've gotta rest up for work tonight."

She waved to him. "Thanks, Angel!"

As Angel headed down the hall, he couldn't help smiling to himself more. The romance around this place was something he hadn't been exposed to in…ever. It sort of made him warm inside in a stupid way he couldn't explain. Angel wasn't sure himself yet if he believed getting sent to heaven from here could happen. But he was sure that the idea of living through hell with someone who cared about you seemed like a pretty sweet deal.

He blushed for a moment, remembering Alastor's offer of a deal - no more Valentino, and he'd be by Alastor's side forever, and for conversation of all things. It was strangely tempting and yet…strangely wrong for him too. If there was one thing Angel really wanted it was to be free - whether he was in hell or heaven. Alastor's deal meant freedom would never happen. And it meant Alastor would be something different than just his friend, and not in a good way.

Angel tried to smile as he made it to his room and curled up on his bed with Fat Nuggets for a nap. For now, as long as he could just hang out with that uptight antlered radio guy, he was happy. Even if hell was all there was, maybe the set up down here wasn't so bad if it meant two guys born decades and hundreds of miles apart could meet and become good friends.

The spider dozed off, dreaming of tomatoes in the garden and roses in the park and Alastor calling him darling that one evening in his office as he held out a hand to say goodnight.

A/N:

That's all for now - thank you for reading and reviewing if you can! Next time Alastor has a little meeting with Husk and Niffty, and then Charlie has a sweet little talk with him. I hope you enjoy it!

Take care,

-Azure129