Chapter Text
Present Day...
666 News was contacted and an interview was set up with Valentino and Angel Dust.
Of course, Valentino was eager to show off his regained pride and joy for all of Hell to see and to reassure them that the content they used to love, would be back in effect for them to enjoy once again.
The overlord sat in one of the dressing rooms with Angel Dust, waiting to be brought out for the live interview to begin.
"Now, you're going to smile and behave yourself, right Angie?~"
Valentino asked as he stood behind the arachnid sitting in one of the chairs, looking himself in the mirror.
There was no sign or hint that Angel was even alive. His colors were faded and dim, eyes expressionless, all his lively glossiness was lost and his form was loose and limp.
"Answer me, Angel."
Valentino commanded, eyes narrowing behind the pink tinted heart shaped glasses as he used his index fingers to hook into the corners of the spider's mouth and pull lightly to force a smile.
"Surely after all that time with the Radio Demon, you'd know how to give a proper smile, hm?"
Angel blinked slowly, keeping his eyes focused on himself in the mirror as he gave a small nod and made minimal effort in maintaining the smile Valentino was forcing to his face.
Removing his fingers, the overlord gave a smile of his own paired with a pat on the spider's shoulders.
"There's my happy Angel!~"
He chimed.
"I think it's time for you to take your pills, Angie. You'll look so much better if you do."
Valentino added before turning to the door as a knock sounded, a demon poking her head into the room.
As soon as Valentino had turned away, Angel's forced smile quickly faded.
"We're ready for you now.”
She stated in a bored tone, clipboard in hand.
With a bit of a sigh, Valentino held his hand out to Angel Dust. Normally he wouldn't, but having just gotten him back, he wanted to be at least somewhat pleasant towards him in hopes that he would cheer up and return to how he was before he was so rudely taken away.
Angel's lifeless gaze slowly shifted towards the arm offered to him. He hadn't slept the previous night and was too tired to fight or start rebelling. Slowly raising one of his upper hands, he weakly took Valentino's arm and stood.
"Remember to keep that smile, Angie. Your fans love seeing you smiling."
Valentino gently reminded, leading his employee out of the dressing room and through the halls as they followed their escort.
As they made it to the room that was set up for their interview, Valentino brought Angel to the couch, sitting down and pulling the arachnid into his lap. Of course, being tired and completely drained of energy, Angel complied. His eyes stayed on the floor and he made sure to keep a small smile as asked of him.
Valentino's head tilted slightly, keeping a hand on Angel's lower back as he began to speak, head shaking slightly.
"Angie, I would've warned you about him. And I've told you many times before that you can't trust anyone down here."
Angel could feel tears start to threaten his eyes, but did everything in his power to keep them from falling by closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
"I know..."
Was all he managed to get out, voice just above a shaky whisper.
Pulling a handkerchief from his inner coat pocket, Valentino gingerly wiped Angel's eyes.
"You'll get over it, Angel Cakes. Everything will go back to how it was- even then, it'll be better. You'll have your condo back, you'll have a raise, and you'll be able to have everything you could ever want and need again. I'm not going to hold anything against you. I guess... you just needed to go out and learn this lesson on your own."
Angel still couldn't bring himself to speak, only giving another small nod in understanding. But what he felt was quite the opposite. He couldn't understand this at all...
With all of the tears soaked up by the small piece of fabric, Valentino tucked it back into his luxurious red velvet coat and ran his fingers through the spider's hair before helping fluff his chest up a bit.
Katie Killjoy and Tom Trench entered the room shortly after, the female grinning widely as she took the armchair beside the couch and Tom took the armchair to the right of her.
"It's great to have you both here! We're so pleased you reached out to us!"
Killjoy grinned, though her words were obviously a forced kind of happy through clenched teeth.
"When we start, we'll ask you questions and all you have to do is answer them.” She briefly explained in a rather condescending tone.
Valentino, as he listened, brushed a bit of Angel's loose hair out of his face, sitting back in his armchair.
"You don't have to speak if you're not ready, Angel Cakes. We wouldn't want you to look bad."
He whispered against the side of the spiders head.
"We're live in five... four... three..."
A demon counted down from behind the camera, using their fingers and mouthed 'two, one' before the red light on the camera lit up, signaling that they were finally live.
***
As it did with all breaking news stories, a double ding of a notification sounded out from the phone belonging to a familiar demon. A demon that had been more than worrying over the past night due to the lack of a call or even a text from her brother- something that he'd promised to give Molly upon getting home safely.
As soon as the notification bell chimed, Molly jumped for her phone. She hadn't slept the night before for various reasons. At first it was because she was caught up with the demon she and Angel had met at the club, Stewart. Then her worries started to kick in as she checked her phone afterwards for the text from her brother... which never came.
Seeing the title of the current live news interview, her eyes immediately widened at the sight of Valentino's name accompanied by the famous Angel Dust.
Hands almost shaking, Molly scrambled to unlock her phone, pulling up the live feed and turning up the volume.
"Good morning, Pentagram City! Breaking news and a live interview with the big boss of the Porn industry this morning!"
Killjoy's voice rang through Molly's phone, the camera panning out to show Valentino with Angel still in his lap.
"Valentino, you've regained custody of your former favorite only hours ago and you say you have a message to send out to your viewers that was apparently so important you insisted that the interview happened as soon as possible! Why don't you go ahead and give your small message so we can all move on?"
It was clear in the woman's voice that she was seething about the sudden change in regular scheduling, yet still managed to keep some professionalism to her words.
"Yes, I've got quite the fun update for all of my loyal little voyeurs."
The overlord seemed to glance towards Tom Trench for a split second.
"With the events of last night, everyone's favorite Angel Dust has come back to us. We have big plans and a lot of catching up to do from the break he took to learn a few things for himself."
Killjoy just nodded, smile so painfully ingenue.
"Why, he looks exhausted! You must have been working away all night to start on all of that promised content! How long until your viewers get what they've been itching for?"
"Mmmm, yes, Angel definitely had a rough night. We're looking at two weeks for the content to start being released. I know that's quite the wait, but I assure everyone it will be well worth the wait."
Valentino replied, moving his upper set of arms up to rest loosely on the back of the couch.
"Fantastic! Tom over here wouldn't shut his damn mouth once he heard that you had news regarding Angel. If only you'd release it now instead of in two weeks!"
Katie then glared at her co-host to which Tom seemed to straight himself out a bit, avoiding eye contact with the intimidating woman.
"Is there anything else you'd like to add before we wrap this up?"
Tom then asked Valentino, trying to take the focus away from him, causing Katie's neck to snap loudly back towards their guests.
"Ah- just one more thing, I suppose. I appreciate the time you've provided me for this important announcement."
Valentino's attention was brought back towards the camera.
"You have your merciless ruler to thank for returning Angel Dust to you all. Make sure you give him all your best and thank him oh so dearly."
The overlord chuckled lightly, eyes piercing into the camera.
"Angel Dust, is there anything you'd like to say to your admirers?"
Katie asked.
Angel's attention slowly raised from the floor and towards the camera, forcing a small smile. There was clear pain in his eyes as he continued trying to remain composed.
"I look forward to making you all happy again... I'm sorry for leavin' you all hangin' for so long. I promise it won't happen again... I'll be a good boy f-"
Molly closed the app, a hand covering her mouth and eyes wide in disbelief. She almost felt sick.
Flinching a little as the weight beside her on the bed shifted, a warm arm suddenly wrapped itself around her waist, a pair of soft lips pressing gently to her shoulder.
"What's the matter, darling?"
Stewart hummed, having just woken up; his dark hair and ears askew, appearance and overall voice tired yet equally content.
Molly was already questioning her actions of the night before, starting to wonder who to really pin the blame on. At first she thought Valentino, thinking his goons had gotten ahold of her brother and forcefully taken him back. And then she started to blame herself. If she'd just taken the time to escort Angel home herself and not give into her desires, maybe he'd be safe...
But then she recalled something that had almost been completely tuned out on her part.
Valentino said that Alastor was to thank for this.
"I'm sorry Stew, but I have to go. I have someone I need to pay a little visit to."
She stated softly, trying to keep her anger inside, waiting to dish it out to the demon who deserved it rather than the innocent man in the bed.
The spider then began getting dressed, gathering her clothes from around the room, making it quick.
"I know where to find ya in the future. I'd love to see ya again."
She added as she finished dressing. She then grabbed her handbag and pulled a piece of paper out and set it on the nightstand.
"Here's my number."
And with that, she quickly vacated the building, leaving a lightly confused Stewart in his bed to wake up on his own; the arachnid absolutely seething as she made her way to the Radio Demon's abode. She knew exactly where it was; and it would be an utter lie if she said she was only going to talk to him.
No, she was going to really let him have it.
***
Alastor did not sleep that night. He spent all night up until the early hours of the morning pacing up and down the floor of his basement, in a state only to be described as distraught. Even as the hours passed, morning soon arriving, Alastor had not left the darkened interior of that underground space.
Not owning any form of modern technology, it was no surprise that Alastor did not catch that mornings 666 news, however that didn't mean that the Radio Demon wasn't fully aware of the story going around. He knew the truth, and if the media was going to spread any lies- as it usually did, then that was fine. Alastor knew what was true and what wasn't.
If there was one thing he'd hadn't been expecting at this time, then it was visitors.
There was knocking at the door and despite Alastor's attempts to ignore, it continued to persist. It was so loud, that even from the basement it was as clear as anything.
Clearing his throat and straightening himself up, Alastor materialized back up to the ground level in front of the door, swinging it open, his eyes visibly tired, demeanor now irritated.
A barrel of a handgun was pointed right at him, a demon that could only be described as furious wielding the weapon. And as crazy as it was, for a brief moment Alastor did see Angel right in front of him. But it was not.
"Molly. I can see you're upset."
The Radio Demon tried, no doubt in his mind over the reason she was here. He'd expected the News to jump on this story already, and she had clearly seen the result of that.
Molly stepped inside, keeping the gun pointed at the Radio Demon as she pushed him back into the house and shut the door behind her.
And as soon as that door was closed, all Hell broke loose.
"Why? Why did you do that to him!? My brother fucking trusted you!! I trusted you! Was he not good enough for you? Was he just some toy to you? How could you do such a thing!? He loved you, Alastor!"
By this point of her rant she was starting to tear up, her words cracking but still she made sure to keep her posture strong, keeping the gun against the deer's forehead.
"He loved you more than anything and you just... gave him back...?"
Tears were now starting to stream down her cheeks, her voice small and shaking.
Alastor knew she had every right to be mad- her words were no doubt justified. It wasn't the gun pressed to his head that he was worried about. It was the consequences of Molly knowing the truth. For all Alastor knew, right after storming her way here, the porn studios could be her next stop. And that in itself was dangerous. Valentino wouldn't allow Molly to just walk in and tell him off just as she'd done to Alastor- no, Valentino wouldn't hesitate in disposing of her. And Alastor didn't want that. For Angel's sake.
"Molly dear, you must know it wasn't my intention this whole time- I love your brother. I... had my reasons for doing as I did."
The deer didn't fight her, letting her push him back up against the wall of the hallway, cold barrel of the gun still firmly pressed to his forehead.
Molly simply closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to stay strong for both her and her brother.
"He loved you... probably more than he ever loved James... and James was a good fucking man, Alastor! There's no excusable reason for this!"
Arm shaking as she clutched the gun, slowly her finger moved over the trigger, forcing the barrel harder against Alastor's forehead.
"I'm not sorry..."
And with that, Molly pulled the trigger.
However...nothing but an empty click sounded.
In her blind rage, the spider had forgotten to reload her gun. It took a moment for her to register that nothing had happened, slowly retracting the weapon from Alastor's forehead with a sniffle, dropping it to the floor before looking down at her now empty hand.
"How could you betray someone who'd be by your side no matter what...? I don't.... I don't understand..."
She couldn't fight the overwhelming sadness anymore. It was far too much for her to keep inside.
Alastor didn't move, Hell, he didn't even flinch as he heard the trigger pull. But when nothing happened, his eyes narrowed in the slightest, stepping away from the female.
"There is no excuse Molly, I know. I want to tell you, but I cannot."
There was a sadness present in his voice as well, the deer biting down a little on the inside of his cheek, not being able to bare to look Molly in the eyes currently.
"You have to understand I-...my actions are inexcusable and I could apologize a million times over and it would mean nothing, my dear. Please Molly, you can blame me, aim your firearms at me or even beat me to the ground and I wouldn't blame you. Angel was and still is everything to me. And I promise-"
"You can't promise SHIT to me at this point!! You can't tell me anythin' and have me believe it- even if it's clear fact!"
The arachnid suddenly shouted, enraged as she lunged forwards, grabbing Alastor by the lapels of his jacket and pulling him close to her threateningly.
"He was loyal to you! When we went out last night he didn't even look at anyone else! You can't tell me you loved him! If you did love him you wouldn't have done that!"
Reluctantly pushing the Radio Demon away, Molly whipped out her phone, pulling up the recording of the interview and shoved it up to his face.
"You can't tell me that isn't pain! That's the face of someone who's been broken so many times that they don't even care anymore! That's the face of someone who's given up on everything and everyone! That's not even my brother anymore! I don't know who that is, Al!"
As the arachnid shouted, Alastor turned his head, gaze staying on the floor. He'd never been in a situation such as this, so weak- however he knew that he deserved every single second of it.
And that belief only solidified all the more the moment that a bright screen was shoved in his face, the deer's eyes having to adjust to it a moment before the image settled in. Of course Valentino would have broadcast his regained custody of Angel Dust already.
And the spider's face... the face that Alastor had become so fond of over the past months... he couldn't bare it.
Molly kept the screen to the Radio Demon's face, Angel's only few lines said during the interview cutting through.
"I look forward to makin' everyone happy again... I'm sorry for leavin' you all hangin' for so long. I promise it won't happen again... I'll be a good boy for ya."
Angel then winked at the camera, keeping his forced smile despite clearly suffering a heavy flow of emotions and thoughts.
His words were so empty and forced. There was no life, something that Alastor wasn't used to seeing in the arachnid, even during his painful withdraw.
Broken static still surrounded the air around him as Molly continued on, a throbbing in the deer's head just getting louder and louder to the point where he had to at least tell Molly something. Even if she didn't believe it, she would have heard it, and Alastor would be at peace knowing that he'd tried to explain as much as he could. He was at a weak and pathetic loss.
"Twenty days..."
Alastor almost whispered, eyes embarrassingly glossing over for not the first time today.
"Just twenty days and I will do something. I cannot say what- but I'm not sitting here letting your brother be tied down by that foul demon for long... I implore you to trust me on this."
The Radio Demon had done this. The monster that was truly unforgiving in every single way, even in the matters of the heart now, had done this. It made him beyond angry, yet that anger did not show.
Twenty days.
Molly then removed the phone and tucked it away again.
"Just empty fuckin' words to me, I'm afraid..."
She stated coldly before landing a hard punch directly to Alastor's nose and another to his cheek without an ounce of hesitation, a visible crunch being heard with the slam to his nose.
Those scarlet piercing eyes stayed open as he was hit, face whipping to the side. Alastor still made no move to fight back or avoid this- he would not. His face was in pain, sure, but it was nothing in comparison to what his tiny, shrunken heart felt. That was on a whole other scale.
"I wouldn't even bother at this point. Ya fucked up, Radio Demon."
Molly then let go of the deer and made her way back to the front door. She opened it and paused, looking back at him.
"They say to follow your heart... but if your heart's broken to the point it's just dust blowin' away in the wind, there ain't much left to follow."
With that, Molly left the house, the ground shaking slam of a door soon following, static and Molly's words echoing in the deafening silence that was to come. The tense silence that was to hang in the air for another twenty days...