"All the more reason to meet with him: To prove to all three of them that the Cleanse was a minor setback."
Alastor's shadow friends were swirling about, getting just as riled up as Alastor himself. Red eldritch symbols blazed in the air as Alastor's righteous anger boiled up.
"And if necessary, the three of them will make excellent examples that my debut was no fluke."
"No Al!" Angel's voice reverberated sternly off the walls in that tiny hotel room. It wasn't fear in his tone... but deathly serious expression was etched on his face like a stone statue. A pregnant paused passed between them, the spider clutching his Hellphone tightly in his claws before his brows softened ever so slightly.
"Like I said, this ain't about you." Taking a beat to shake his head. "You were right in your letter that we don't know shit about what the future might whole for us sinners down here. One day you might be gone. I can't keep hiding behind your coattails when shit hits the fan." Angel glanced away with a soft sigh. "This is somethin' I gotta do for myself."
The forceful "no" startled Alastor. His ears pricked straight up as he stared at Angel, wide grin less malevolent and holding...respect? Yes, that was it. Respect. It seemed those two months out of Valentino's grip had strengthened Angel's spine somewhat.
He could still clearly remember the way the spider clutched at him as they'd gone through the mall, how hard it was to convince him that Alastor could keep him safe. Not that he'd blamed Angel in the least for his fear. He knew from experience just how hard it was to walk away from an abuser.
Not just from watching his mother, either. As much as he loved the woman, she'd hardly been a saint. Alastor wasn't the only one in his family in Hell for a reason.
He struggled for an answer. (How funny! The Radio Demon was speechless for once!)
When Alastor didn't respond, Angel lifted his eyes to stare at him. Really? Nothing? No rebuttal? How unusual for the usual chatty radio host. Normally he had his own two cents to toss in, if not the whole damn dollar. But he could see the look on the other demon's face.
Reaching down to pull his skirt back into its proper place, the spider drew closer to Alastor to place a careful hand on his shoulder. Craning his head to get on the shorter demon's level, Angel gave him a questioning look.
"You trust me, don't cha? I have no intention on being that moth's bottom bitch any more. That binder has given me a way out. And besides..." Angel cracked a grin, pulling away. "If I don't return, you don't have to worry about my little confession."
"...I do trust you," Alastor said slowly, "but this threat from Valentino has made the situation far more complicated than you realize. I'm willing to let you take the lead but I have to be there. Even without this..." Alastor pulled out his watch and popped the case to show the picture of the group. "...I have Deals with Husk and Niffty. I keep my contracts simple to make the terms easy to keep track of, and I do so by doing what most Deal Makers don't:
"The bind goes both ways."
Husk had called it "mutually-assured destruction" though that wasn't quite the same concept: Just as his contractee could be directly compelled to uphold their end of the bargain, Alastor could be directly compelled by the contract to uphold his. It was also why he actually didn't have that many contractees who were as bound as tightly to him as Husk and Niffty. It kept things relatively simple, uncomplicated in his already messy afterlife.
He struggled for a moment, trying to explain. "Husk is partially deaf in his left ear, leftovers from when he was alive. Niffty is brilliant with a knife but only having one eye makes it difficult for her to focus on anything but what's in front of her."
When he, Husk, and Niffty went out to cause trouble together, they had a very particular formation: Alastor in the middle with Husk to his right and Niffty to his left. Most assumed it was just two people flanking their boss.
No, the arrangement put Niffty in easy reach of a free hand in case she needed to get yanked away from trouble while Alastor's sharp ears did the job of Husk's weak left one.
"Now that I'm aware that he's threatening them for something other than their own mistakes, their contracts will compel me to do everything in my power to allay the threat."
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no subject
Alastor's shadow friends were swirling about, getting just as riled up as Alastor himself. Red eldritch symbols blazed in the air as Alastor's righteous anger boiled up.
"And if necessary, the three of them will make excellent examples that my debut was no fluke."
no subject
"Like I said, this ain't about you." Taking a beat to shake his head. "You were right in your letter that we don't know shit about what the future might whole for us sinners down here. One day you might be gone. I can't keep hiding behind your coattails when shit hits the fan." Angel glanced away with a soft sigh. "This is somethin' I gotta do for myself."
no subject
He could still clearly remember the way the spider clutched at him as they'd gone through the mall, how hard it was to convince him that Alastor could keep him safe. Not that he'd blamed Angel in the least for his fear. He knew from experience just how hard it was to walk away from an abuser.
Not just from watching his mother, either. As much as he loved the woman, she'd hardly been a saint. Alastor wasn't the only one in his family in Hell for a reason.
He struggled for an answer. (How funny! The Radio Demon was speechless for once!)
no subject
Reaching down to pull his skirt back into its proper place, the spider drew closer to Alastor to place a careful hand on his shoulder. Craning his head to get on the shorter demon's level, Angel gave him a questioning look.
"You trust me, don't cha? I have no intention on being that moth's bottom bitch any more. That binder has given me a way out. And besides..." Angel cracked a grin, pulling away. "If I don't return, you don't have to worry about my little confession."
no subject
"The bind goes both ways."
Husk had called it "mutually-assured destruction" though that wasn't quite the same concept: Just as his contractee could be directly compelled to uphold their end of the bargain, Alastor could be directly compelled by the contract to uphold his. It was also why he actually didn't have that many contractees who were as bound as tightly to him as Husk and Niffty. It kept things relatively simple, uncomplicated in his already messy afterlife.
He struggled for a moment, trying to explain. "Husk is partially deaf in his left ear, leftovers from when he was alive. Niffty is brilliant with a knife but only having one eye makes it difficult for her to focus on anything but what's in front of her."
When he, Husk, and Niffty went out to cause trouble together, they had a very particular formation: Alastor in the middle with Husk to his right and Niffty to his left. Most assumed it was just two people flanking their boss.
No, the arrangement put Niffty in easy reach of a free hand in case she needed to get yanked away from trouble while Alastor's sharp ears did the job of Husk's weak left one.
"Now that I'm aware that he's threatening them for something other than their own mistakes, their contracts will compel me to do everything in my power to allay the threat."