The Gang of Five
Role Play => Random Role Play => Topic started by: brekclub85 on November 16, 2009, 10:00:42 PM
-
(Since most of the main characters are taken, I guess I'll start the RP. Belladonna and Annabelle are still open, in case anyone still wants them.)
It was a typical day at the Flea Bite Cafe. Itchy the dashchund was having a mug of root beer, one of his favorite drinks.
"Pretty tasty," he commented.
-
Charlie is playing a game of cards with a group of dogs. He hasn't been very lucky today, and he's down to about a dozen bones...
----------
Meanwhile, a new arrival is just one block from the Flea Bite Cafe. A young Border Collie mix with dull gray fur, has just arrived in San Francisco in his longest trek from San Diego (he walked). Now Tank is in the mood for something to drink...
-
"Hey, who are you?" Ichy called to the newcomer friendly.
-
(OOC: He's one block away. He hasn't come in yet.)
-
(oh.)
-
Itchy called the same question to the newcomer when he eventually arrived.
-
Tank finds his way to the Flea Bite Cafe and enters the front door. He was surprised by the question he gets from the dachshund. "Who am I?" he replied. "Well that depends on who's asking."
Charlie had finished his game, with only a few bones left, and joined Itchy. "The name's Charlie, and my friend here is Itchy."
"OK then. Tank's my name. I take it you guys are natives?"
-
"Yup," Itchy replied. "Ask Sasha here if you're thirsty for something."
-
"Thanks then," Tank replied. "With all the gutter water I had to drink getting here, I could go with some clear water for once." He sat down at the bar, and then slips some bones from a small pack he carries with him and set them on the counter.
Charlie sat up on a stool next to him, his back to the bar. "So, Tank, what brings you over to this part of the city?"
"Eh...just traveling. Going where the wind takes me. You know..."
"Another rover, then... Nothing new to us. Right, Itchy?"
-
"That's right Charlie, we're always on the go," Itchy nodded, "First New Orleans, now here..."
-
"New Orleans," Tank nodded. "That's a long way to go from there. You didn't just walk here, did you?"
"Nah," Charlie answered, but he needed something to add to not give away the truth. "We, uh...hitchhiked most of the way. You?"
"I walked. But only from Los Angeles. And THAT was a walk..."
(OOC: Who's playing Sasha again?)
-
(I think Nick is.)
-
Can I help you? Sasha asked, gazing at the newcomer with interest. Sasha was Charlie's off and on girlfriend, he sometimes repulsed her with his behavior, at other times, Sasha was sure he was the "one" for her. more often, their relationship lay somewhere inbetween.."
-
"I'll have a water, please," Tank replied, pushing the bones forward. "I've had enough gutter water for a lifetime."
"You'd be surprised on what else you could live through..." Charlie muttered under his breath, thinking way back... Until he sees Sasha and fixates his eyes on her.
Tank notices and cocks an eyebrow. "You two dating?"
Charlie wasn't quick enough to the answer...
-
Itchy just laughed a bit, keeping the answer from Tank.
-
dating.. well it depends on the day and my mood.. ' Sasha said teersely.. retrieving the bones.. " The water will be a minute or so in coming.. I'll be right back.. and Itchy.. please keep an eye on him.. hes caused me a lot of trouble in the past.. you know what i mean.."
-
"Ah...one of THOSE relationships...gotcha," Tank replied.
"It's not what you think," Charlie stated. "It's just because we had good and bad days. ALL relationships are like that, right Itchy?"
-
"Whatever you say Charlie," was all Itchy replied with.
-
Charlie glared at Itchy.
"Eh, I never stick around that long for a girlfriend anyway," Tank replied.
----------
Meanwhile, at the docks, a cargo ship began its work of unloading its cargo onto the pier. Unbeknownst to the crew, a dark figure crept between the crates and boxes into the nearby alleyways. His pointed ears pricked towards even the slightest sound around him, and his eerie yellow eyes darted at his new surroundings. With a low evil chuckle, he then calmly strolled down the alley further into the city...
-
Maybe you should" Sasha replied as she came back.'Everyone needs someone they can turn to in a pinch.. Charlies has his good points, but sometimes he just drives me nuts..then he reminds me why I stick with him.."
-
"For now, I only turn to my instincts," Tank replied, and laps up some of the water.
-
"And there's me and Bess," Itchy added.
-
how are you two getting along anyway?' Sahha asked with a smile.
-
"Oh pretty good," Itchy smiled, "She's even given me signs that she wants puppies.."
-
Charlie gave Itchy a gentle punch in the shoulder. "Planning on being a family dog now, eh?"
----------
In an apartment, Linda was typing away at a rough draft of one of her fiction novels. Nearby, Hawk rested his eyes, unbothered by the continuous raps of the typewriter...
----------
Avoiding sight, the bobcat makes his way to a delapidated old building, which happens to be Carface's house...
-
"I guess Charlie," Itchy nodded, thinking about his girlfriend.
-
Puppies, oh, I'm really happy for both of you.. " Sasha beamed.. "At least one of you is showing interest in being responsible.. not to name names" She turned ad headed back towards the kitchen to prepare their dinners.
-
Charlie nervously cleared his throat. "So, Tank, where you staying at while you're here?"
"Don't know yet," Tank replied. "Any recommendations?"
----------
At the front door, the bobcat paused to look the double doors over, then pushes them wide open and enters...
-
Itchy grinned to himself at his friend's love-hate relationship with his girlfriend.
-
Charlie looked over at Itchy before he thought of something. "Well, there's room back at our place for you stick around a couple of days," he said.
"Really?" Tank replied. "I won't be intruding on you guys, right?"
"Nah. You'll be fine. The only trouble is from Itchy being a neat-freak."
-
Sasha sighed as she got thier orders ready. the knowledge that Itchy and his girlfriend were progressing nicely in thier relationship, only reinforced the chaotic nature of the relationship she and Charlie shared. He drove her crazy at times, but those were balanced by the times where he showed a softer side. sasha wasn't sure if that was because he wanted to get 'familiar' with her, but at least Charlie had never tried anything, to date. still it was difficult to see other females in stable and caring relationships, when hers was so.. rocky.. it fluctatuated from day to day, and Sasha longed for stability. she was growing tired of waiting for Charlie to settle down, and he showed no signs of drastically changing his ways..
-
(OOC: Anyone wanna control Annabelle or Belladonna?)
-
well, we can bring them in a little later i'll control annabelle if you want..
-
Thanks Nick! :)
-
(in the meantime lets get the roleoplay moving lets post a few sentences like this//
_ So what are your plans for the day Charlie" Sasha asked upon returning to his table " Still awaits orders from your lead angel? what am I talking about? you never listen to anyone until it suits you, you almost never listen to me, so why should I expect you to listen to ANY female?' Sasha sighed out of exasperation..
-
"She has a point Charlie," Itchy chuckled subtly.
-
Suddenly the halo about both Charlie and Itchy began toi glow. " Charles! Itchy! I must speak with you immediately" came feminine voice thart the two angels understood only too well "It was Annabelle the lead angel, who had sent them down here to San Francisco in the first place.,.
-
Itchy jumped to his feet in attention, awaiting their assignment.
-
Charlie's eyebrows leveled off in annoyance. "Excuse me," he said. "My work is calling me..."
Tank is left confused...
-
" charles Itchy, Your old friend Carface has appeared with some shady characters, and I suspect my Dear" annabelle's voice was dripping with sarcasm as she said the word "dear" "cousin is behind it.. " Find him and see whats hes up to. As you know from experience , If Carface is involved in something, its probably not something good natured..
-
"I always wondered how you and Belladonna are cousins," Itchy said, "Was one of you parent's siblings a heck hound or something?"
-
I've never actually asked" Annabelle replied " we're related, distantly, and that is bad enough.. Now I need you two to get going, and find out what they are up too.. and stop them..
-
"You can count on us!" Itchy nodded confidently. "Right Charlie?"
-
"Yeah, sure, whatever..." Charlie wasn't very ecstatic of working today, but it's not like he could anything to stop it. Carface and Belladonna had the word trouble in their names somewhere.
"You guys need someone to tag along?" Tank asked. He was curious and eager.
----------
Killer was on the main floor, sweeping up whatever dust was on the ground, when he turned as the door opened. "Hey! You shouldn't have barged in like tha-that... B-big cat! Big cat!"
The bobcat smirked and sat on his haunches. "Of course I am a 'big' cat. Now, I'm here looking for your boss..."
-
Carface came in after the bobcat ' hey killer! Why are you cleaning, You know how i like it messy' he stopped as the cat looked down at him ' you must be looking for me eh
- Leaving?' asha asked as the two angels got up from their seats.
-
"Yeah," Charlie replied. "Just some...community service we need to take care of." He turned and whispered to Itchy. "Foiling Carface's plans is always a community service..."
"Maybe I could help with community service," Tank interrupted.
"I don't think it's up your alley, pal. Doing this sort of stuff isn't as glamorous as it sounds..."
"A dog like me, traveling hundreds of miles down dirt roads and highways? I doubt it'd be any worse..."
----------
Blight cocked an eyebrow at Carface. "I thought Belladonna's the boss around here. I don't remember her as a bulldog..."
-
She's not, shes a whippet' Carface grumbled " So whats Miss Hotty want with me this time? Let me guess, stop that meddling old partner of mine and his mangy sidekick.. although i will say he does have good taste in females, Barkin does " Carfice snickered..
-
"Those angels will be left to me..." Blight said darkly. "That's why I'm here for. Whatever Belladonna has for you to do, that's her business..."
----------
"I don't know," Charlie replied. "What do you think, Itch?"
-
"I think that would be ruff," Itchy nodded.
-
fine.. I'll go look for her.." Carface said as he began looking around this place..
-
"What kind of job you guys have, anyway?" Tank asked.
"Er... uh... guard dogs," Charlie replied. "Yeah, guard dogs. We do guarding against... well, 'people' that we were brought to guard against."
"Right..."
-
"And it's best you don't know more..." Itchy added.
-
suddenly there was a spike in the temperature in the room as a dark colored whippet appeared ' Carface' she in a smooth but sinister voice " you made it..
_ Belladonna?' Carface asked stupid;y " who else? Belladonna replied impatiently ' now, do you know why i asked you here..
-
"Where can we find Belladonna and Carface?" Itchy asked Annabelle, needing to know their assignment.
-
outside of town.. that's all I know.." annabelle said .."I'm not omniscient boys.. "
-
"Most likely at Carface's pad, of course," Charlie replied. "Well, see ya 'round, Tank."
"Likewise." Tank was still curious, but he could do some sightseeing about the city in the meantime.
----------
"Of course," Blight replied coolly. "I'm here to give those 'angels' that have been in your hair a run for their money... Unlike old Red, I prefer to do all my dirty work myself..."
-
Red is no longer permitted on earth due to his pathetic performance in dealing with those two angels" Belladonna replied " lets just say the powers that be down there don't take kindly to failure especially of that magnitude.."
-
(OOC: I just thought of this for fun.)
Up in another part of Heaven, Annabelle and Belladonna's grandparents (The grandmother being a heaven hound while the grandfather being a hell hound who was just mischievous rather than evil) were deciding what to do next.
"What would you like to do today dear?" Don asked Bella, his wife.
"How bout visiting the grandpups?" Bella asked. "I'm sure they haven't been up to much, right?" The old dogs were rather uniformed.
-
(wouldn't a hell hound.. be in hell. hence the name....? good idea though..)
-
(OOC: My idea is that they can go between all three places: Heaven, Hell, and Earth.)
-
"Which is why they had you to do your voodoo and me to keep those goody four-shoe puppies out of you fur," Red replied, flexing his claws.
----------
Charlie leaves and leads down the street towards Carface's house...
----------
Linda continues to type until she soon hits a temporary case of writer's block. After a moment of thought, she backs up from her desk and gets up.
Hawk was stirred from his nap towards his human, alert.
"The evening should still be warm outside," Linda said indirectly to Hawk as she replaced her shoes and went to get her things. "Ready for a walk, boy?"
Hawk leaped from the easy chair and was by her side when she grabbed his blind-seeing equipment and strapped it on.
With her cane in one hand and Hawk in the other, Linda left her house for a calm leisurely stroll down the street. She happens to be living next door to a certain boy who aspires to be a magician...
-
"You think after everything, Carface would just give up, eh Charlie?" Itchy asked his friend as they made their way to their mission.
~~~~~~~~~
In heaven, Bella and Don were going to find one of thier grand pups when they soon saw another familiar face come up from beneath the clouds.
"Anne!" Bella smiled, seeing one of her daughters-a hellhound.
"Hey mother," Anne smiled, her fire imps running around her, giggling creepily. "I just came up to see my daughter. I haven't seen Annabelle for a few years."
-
"Of course not," Charlie answered, almost grimly. "And don't expect for Belladonna to do the same thing, either."
-
"How she's related to Annabelle, I'll never know..." chuckled Itchy.
(OOC: Kenjiro or Nick, would you want to control one of the OC relatives of the two whippets?)
-
( I might..)
-
(OOC: Thanks.)
"I have a really bad feeling about this mission," Itchy noted.
-
Meanwhile Belladonna was explaining her plan to Carface ' So you see Carface, I want this world under Hell's control. I'm tired of fighting my cousin for control over it, she stops me at every turn . Well Not this time. This time we're bringing in some heavy hitters , which YOU are to direct..oh.. and Carface.. if you screw this up, you will be taken 'downstairs' and not permitted back here for awhile.. i will not tolerate being made to look like a fool, not when i am up for a huge promotion if this succeeds.. the master may have me be his own personal emissary to the new realm..' Belladonna grinned evilly.
-
Soon, Charlie and Itchy reached the perimeters of Carface's place.
"After this mission I'm going to go see Bess," the dachshund commented.
"Itchy! Charlie!" Bess called, who was coincidentally walking down the street on the opposite side.
~~~~~~~~`
Up in heaven, Anne noticed her daughter. "Annabelle!" she smiled cheerfully.
-
Mother! What are you doing here? This is , to be honest, not a good time to visit.. belladonna's causing trouble again..and I'm sending two angels i have on earth after her.. ' Annabelle replied "you do know the powers that be don't having hellhounds up here, even if they're my father..Heaven and hell don't get along after all
-
"Eh, your father lets me come and go as I please," Anne smirked. "And I'm not involved with Belladonna's plan. I just like to mess with people on Earth, not take them over or anything."
-
still, you know the rules' Annabelle replied "You're my mum, so I'll just say you 're paying a family visit...
-
"Thanks dear," Anne smiled appreciatively. She turned to her small group of fire imps. "You three don't go around causing trouble...for once."
"By the way, where is your father? I've been wanting to have a nice talk with him."
-
talking with the Big Master and his son, I think. so We'll have to wait when they're finished..
-
"Gotcha," Anne nodded, instructing one of her fire imps to pull something out of a bag. "Want a marshmallow? You know what they say, with all that fire, Hell makes the best damn"ing" hot food in the universe!" She laughed at that last part.
The fire imp sighed. Annabelle's mother was an expert at terrible puns.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey Bess!" Itchy waved. "You should get back to the Flea Bite, we're on an assignment."
-
that's why I prefer heaven, your jokes mum are terrible' Annabelle said, but she took the marshmallow none the less.. "But you're my mother.. so i 'm used to it..'
-
"Is there anything I can do for you Annabelle?" Anne asked her child.
-
keep an eye on Charlie and Itchy for me ' annabelle parted a cloud and viewing orb was revealed.. "I'm got to go welcome some new arrivals.. I'll be back.."
-
"Sure thing dear," Anne nodded, looking at the viewing orb.
Some of the Heaven hounds who didn't recognize Anne were creeped out at the sight of her.
-
Anne decided to give her daughter's angels a hand, even if good wasn't exactly her favorite thing in the universe.
"Hey down there!" she called, using a technique similar to Annabelle's to have an image of her appear in a nearby mirror.
~~~~~
"What the?" Itchy went, surprised by the voice.
-
Annabelle welcomed a new arrival a small dog from New Orleans. " welcome to Paradise.. here are your wings" She said handing them to the terrier.
-
"That reminds me, when I go back, it's my shift to work the gates," Anne mentally reminded herself.
-
"Oh hey sis," a voice called to Anne in a sing-song matter.
Donna, Anne's sister and a heavenhound gave a competitve laugh.
"What do you want?" Anne sighed, the hellhound visibly annoyed. "Just wanted to know how my daughter's doing. Is Belladonna not being too evil?" Donna questioned.
"You have no idea..." Anne chuckled.
-
Annabelle finished greeting the newcomer and headed back over to where her mother was.
-
"Your aunt's here..." Anne pointed out to her daughter.
-
Aunt donna, what a nice surprise..Annabelle said What brings you here?'
-
"Just wanted to visit my favorite niece and my favorite sister, since Belladonna's busy now..."
-
And I'm busy trying to stop her Aunt Donna. You know how it is between us.. I daresay you remember the "intervention" you staged a few centuries ago to get me and Belladonna to get along? that lasted for about 5 seconds, then she unleashed the black death on Europe..
-
"Yeah......my bad," apologized Donna.
"I may enjoy Hell but even I think she's a brat," Anne added.
-
And then there was the prom.. and well I don't think either of us want to discuss that night..me or belladonna, lets just say theres a reason those boys are in hell because they are depraved.
-
"Although you and your date did get the cutest little photo," Anne laughed.
-
yeah yeah.. haven't seen him around in a long time..
-
"And that's probably a good thing," Anne nodded.
-
"And we have one more guest," Anne added.
A little pup came running up from behind the hellhound, a male one. It was a young hellhound, named Beller, and the younger child of Anne and Annabelle's father, making him Annabelle's little sibling.
"Hi sis!" the spiky-collared pup smiled.
-
"Looks like you'll be seeing her sooner," Charlie commented.
----------
Blight's ears twitched as he sensed something. "In no time at all, they come straight to us... Should I end it quick or play with them a while?"
----------
Tank sneaked his way up to a more pleasant part of the city for a better view of the town, when he spots a human and her dog coming the opposite direction.
Hawk stopped in his tracks when he catches sight of a stray nearby.
"What is it, boy?" Linda asked.
-
"Oh hey boys," Anne said through the two-way communicating mirror. "I'm Annabelle's mom," the hellhound added.
-
"Um...hello, Annebelle's mom?" Charlie replied, giving Itchy a confused look...
-
Itchy replied with an equally confused shrug.
"I'm just visiting," Anne told the two dogs. "I take it you want to stop my niece, Belladonna? I'd help you guys out, I don't like her either."
-
so you've been busy huh" annabelle grinned as she looked at Beller "hes cute..
_
Play with them.. my dear cousin obviously sent them" Belladonna's voice was filled with malice.
-
"Your father never gets over my "devilish" good looks," Anne laughed, another bad pun.
Beller was chasing his lone fire imp around.
~~~~~~~~`
"I get the feeling they know we're nearby Charlie," Itchy gulped.
-
"You got that right, hot dog..." was Blight's reply as he appeared before them from a quick burst of flame. His paw prints left scorch marks in the sidewalk.
Charlie poised. "Another demon cat from H-E-double hockey sticks? Give me a break..."
"Be careful what you wish for..."
-
"Aw, son of a gun," grunted Itchy.
Bess stood behind Itchy for safety.
~~~~~~~~
"Who's that cat, dear?" Anne asked Annabelle.
-
"Gotcha!" Beller laughed, pouncing the imp.
icht meanwhile got into pouncing stance to protect his girlfriend.
-
(OOC: I'll take David, if no one is controlling him.)
-
( Sure)
one of Belladonna minions.. she keeping finding new ones I guess' Annabelle replied.
-
"You'd really think she'd give up on using minions," Anne noted, in reference to Carface and Killer. "I least when I mess with people, I can do it all on my own."
-
David had been taking a nap in his house. He hadn't seen Charlie for a few days, now, and wondered what he was up to.
-
Blight gave a dark laugh. "Minions are nothing more than cheap creations meant for mundane tasks. I, on the other hand, am one of the real 'puppet-masters' in our eternal game..."
"Apparently, Belladonna made that same remark several times just last month," Charlie inquired.
"Funny, angel hound... But soon after I'm done with you, you won't even have the will to lift a paw against us..."
"Try me, hell cat."
"You asked for it..."
----------
Tank was surprised at the Doberman leading the human with an odd harness around his chest, but the dog's glare was not at all inviting. Instead, he quickly crossed the street to the other side to let them pass, watching the woman with more interest.
Hawk & Linda continued on down the sidewalk, the Doberman kept a close eye on the stray until they were out of sight...
-
Itchy got into a pouncing stance, and began to growl. "Bess..run back to the Flea Bite, and don't look back," he instructed.
"But want to..." she began to say, but Itchy gave her a look showing how concerned he was about her.
-
Sasha twas heading towards the FleaBite as she noticed Bess running towards her " whats wriondg Bess" She asked concerned at her friends appearance.
-
"Itchy...Charlie...there was some....weird....evil...looking cat," Bess panted.
~~~~~~~~`
"I see your angels could use some assistance," Anne said to her daughter.
-
They can handle themselves, its not like they're new to this kind of thing" Annebelle replied " Our job is to observe, not to interfere..
_
Whoa Whoa Whoa! Slow Down.. Come on inside and settle yourself down..' Sasha said helping Belle inside..
-
"Whatever you say Annabelle," Anne replied.
"Now go play wit your little brother."
-
Blight grinned widely as he clutched the cement warped earlier by the heat he's generated, and his fur started to wave into dark red flames. "Before you die, I will torture you beyond reckoning...by destroying all mortals close to you..."
"You..." Charlie started.
----------
Not far from Bess and Sasha, and just into view of Hawk and Linda, a crack in the street opened up and emitted gases and sulfur...
Hawk's eyes narrowed by another possible new threat...
----------
Tank had almost turned to walk away when the ground under his feet. "Earthquake?" he thought outloud...
-
"Scum..." Itchy muttered quietly.
-
crack appeared in the ground and the buildings began to shake violently.. Sasha was thrown to ground hard as was Bess..
-
"What's happening?!" Bess yelled.
-
Anne wandered around heaven trying to find where her husband was.
-
just stay low to the ground " Sasha cried as the earthquake was growing in intensity cracks began to appear in the masontry of the building..
-
Bess nodded and slammed to the floor, keeping her front legs above her head for safety.
-
The shaking caused Linda to lose her footing, but Hawk quickly leaned into her to keep her from falling into the street. She instead knelt down an held on to him to keep her balance...
----------
Tank ran back to see the large crack in the center of the street near what looked like Sasha and another dog keeping low to the ground, as well as the human and her dog even closer to him...
----------
The depths of the crack near Sasha & Bess began to glow orange, as sounds emerged from within of something clawing its way up...
----------
"What have you done?!" Charlie demanded as he braced himself with the shaking earth.
"Keeping you busy for the time being," Blight replied with a cruel smirk. "Sometimes, I believe hellhounds are getting too soft in dealing with the likes of you. And, as Red had immersed himself with deception, corruption, and business, I specialized myself in something simple yet truly effective...chaos, destruction, and death... And tonight, it will all focus on you, angel..."
"You lousy..."
"Name-calling does not win wars, Charlie B Barkin, and it won't save your friends any faster..."
"You keep my friends out of this!"
"Sorry. Your friends are deeply involved, and that is what I'll use to destroy you both..."
-
"What the hell?!" Bess yelled, not realizing yet how appropriate that line was about to be proven.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anne came running up to her daughter and son. "If you could do me a favor kids, I'm heading back to my homefront, I don't want lousy cats ruining the world, I want tha job to be saved for the dogs! Mind helping me out?"
"Sure mommy!" Beller smiled, Hell being his regular home. Anne smiled at her little boy, then turned to Annabelle. "Mind giving us a hand Annabelle?" the hellhound asked. She then created a spiky collar. "If you can, put this on so you don't look like the odd dog out down there."
-
"Don't you dare hurt our friends you, you..." Itchy tried to say, unable to come up with a good enough word to describe his anger.
-
"Come on sis, it'll be fun!" Beller encouraged.
-
sorry, i'm not allowed down there.. you know the rules mum.. i appreciatethe offer, but i must stay here.. Annabelle replied
_ we have to get out of here.. its not safe' Sasha said to belle.. as cracks spread throughout the building.. ' I hope you have insurance.."
-
"I think that's the least our our concerns!" Bess yelled, as she could swear she heard a voice coming from the crack.
~~~~~~
"About that," Anne recalled, "I convinced your father to rewrite that rule. It now says you can come down if you temporarily put on the spike collar and replace your wing type."
-
i need permission from up here though.. and i won't get it' Annabelle said " My superiors don't look highly on crossing over to the other side..even if it is temporary..
-
sasha could hear it too and and she ran over.. grabbed bess by the waist and threw her on her back.. ' the roof began to shake.. ' i'm punching out' she said and bolted for the door, just as pieces iof the ceiling began falling down..
-
"Let me take care of that," Anne assured the younger whippet. "Things like that are decided by a majority vote, and I'm a bit of an enchantress. I can convince any guy dog to do aaaannnnnyyyyything."
~~~~~~~~`
"Hurry Sasha!" Bess cheered on.
-
mom.. you are encouragable..' annabelle shook her head.. " we don't do things like vote up here..we never have.. voting is something mortals do..in heaven or hell, its what the leader says goes..
Sasha managed to get herself and Belle out just before the building collaspsed behind them "okay.. we're heading to David's for awhile .. its a safe place.. well safer than here.." sasha said.
-
"You mean incorrigible, dear," Anne corrected, "And I guess you're right," the whippet admitted. "Keep the collar though, it can give you dark wings and fire breath when you use it. Consider it an early birthday gift."
(OOC: Could we add Annabelle's dad now Nick?)
~~~~~~~~~~~`
"But what if....that thing follows us?" asked Bess.
-
(sure)
Suddenly Annabelle dad appeared in a front of flame " Come along my dear..don't want to miss the fireworks" he said to his wife then looked at his daughter "Ah Annabelle.. such a shame you'll be on the losing side this time..Your cousin has pulled out all the stops.."
_
thats a risk we have to take " sasha said as she ran up a steep hill towards the section of town where David lived..
-
"So come along," Anne added. "Look, if they get mad at you, we'll take the fall for it."
~~~~~~~~~`
David could see Sasha and Bess approaching his house.
-
oh.. alright.. " Annabelle shrugged.. taking the collar and wrapping it around her neck and changed into a hellhound..
_Sasha made a final effort collasping in front of David " We need to.. get inside "" she panted.
-
"Sasha! What happened?!" David asked, opening the door so the two dogs could get inside.
~~~~~~~~
"Now let's take down those dummie cats!" Beller barked.
-
there was an earthquake.. belles resteraunt collapsed.. and i don;'t think it was natural either..Sasha said grabbing a glass of water and drinking it down rapidly...
-
"You don't think it was Belladonna, do you?" David asked.
"Who?" Bess said. (I don't think those two ever had conatct in the series.)
~~~~~~~~~~
Anne and her family flew downwards and ended up at Anne's personal place in Hell.
"Home, fiery home," Anne chuckled, beller lieing in his bed made of bones.
-
Sasha gave him a look " I have no idea.. of course she has meddled with me in the past.. not like i could really do anything to keep her from thar.. belladonnna is well a very evil dog' she said to Bess, simplifying things considerably for her friend..
-
"I take your word for it," Bess nodded.
~~~~~~~~~~~``
"Feel free to make yourself at home dearies," Anne told he kids "Your father and I will go ahead to find those cats and...wait for it...."raise some hell!" She laughed at her dumb pun again.
-
"Youtwo should stay inside," David advised.
-
mom, you need to work on those puns.. they're absolutely dreadful.annebelle grumbled.. looking around the firey pit..
-
"Keep your brother by you," Anne said as the hell whippet flew around to find the creature that hell cat was summoning.
Beller was playing with one of his imps.
-
Hawk pulled Linda away from the crack, and saw the stray had come back. "You again?"
"Listen, I don't want to cause trouble. And what's that crack doing there?"
"It's only bad news, pal. You should be out of here too."
"I'll stick by you too, for your human's safety."
"Fine..."
The trio moved away in the direction of David's house...
-----------
From the ground, several fiery creatures too large to be imps came crawling out, upon their heads were ancient runes carved into their foreheads...
-----------
"If you care for your friends that much," Blight hissed, "then you start looking for them. But time is now against you..."
Charlie gritted his teeth. "Come on, Itchy. They can't be too far. But I'll be back, cat."
"I'm sure you will..."
-
"I really hate cats," Itchy growled as the dogs rushed off.
"We got to find Sasha, Bess, and David before it's too late."
~~~~~~
Anne turned into her dragon-form (Like Belladonna in the Christmas carol) to get faster in flight. She noticed creatures heading towards a hole back to Earth. "The Pyres, I should have known," she told to Annabelle's dad.
-
When the dogs are out of sight, Blight gave an evil chuckle. "With the angels off on the game, I'll go see how Belladonna's doing with her plans..." He then vanished into a burst of flames...
----------
Charlie led the way when they came to the giant crack in the earth and fiery monsters crawling out of it. "These aren't imps!"
As Charlie spoke, the creatures turned to stare at the dogs with flaming eyes...
----------
Linda, confused on what's going on, halted her dog when they went as far as David's house. "Hawk, what's the matter with you? I know you may be frightened by an earthquake, but why try to drag me across town!"
Hawk sat. He should have given her a warning first, but he had to move her from danger.
Linda kneeled down next to him and stroked his head, when she found a second wet nose sniffing curiously away at her. She lifts her other hand to scratch the fluffy head of Tank. "So who could this be?" Tank's tail wagged as he enjoyed the scratch behind his ears.
-
Nice work, keeping those angels busy" Belladonna smirked as Blight appeared " Have the Pyres reached the surface yet?
-
"I get the feeling we should have kept quiet..." Itchy gulped, but bravely stayed with his friend.
~~~~~~~~~~
Down in the fiery pits, Anne quickly snatched up one of the smaller Pyres.
"Get the kids dear," she said, "We're going to do an interrogation..."
-
"They should have," Blight replied. "And I gave them all a new trick that not even your mother could expect..."
----------
As one of the Pyres was taken, the others had longbows formed from their arms and drew them back as arrows of pure fire appeared at the ready. Several pointed up at the dragon and the rest aimed at Charlie & Itchy.
"Uh oh..." Charlie said. "Itchy! Start zigzagging back and forth 'til we get past these guys!"
-
(OOC: Anne is Annabelle's mom, not Belladonna's.)
Anne reverted to her hell whippet form, still clutching the PYre. "You aren't getting away!"
~~~~~~~~~~
Itchy nodded and followed his friend's strategy.
-
nice work.. you're in line for a promotion' Belladonna smirked " Just make sure we don't have any uninvited guests..
-
"Let's go!" Anne called to her husband, as they back down into Hell.
-
The Pyres fired for the guardian angels, but the dogs moved too erratically for a direct hit, and Charlie moved close enough to ram one of the monster's legs, causing it to lose its initial aim and end up firing on one of its own, blasting it into a pile of burning rock...
----------
Tank and Hawk turned to see the commotion by the unnatural ravine.
"What the..." Hawk started.
"Looks like Charlie and Itchy needs some help with those things," Tank said, and he stood up.
"Wait," Hawk looked up at Linda, and then to the nearest house. Linda knew David's family well, so she should be safe. He started pulling Linda and barked towards the house to get David's attention...
-
Itchy quickly slid through the legs of some of the other Pyres, causing them to fire straight at the ground, causing them to fall into the hole left behind, screaming.
"Ha!" Itchy laughed, the dachshund dodging other fire.
~~~~~~
"What do you wanna do sis?" Beller panted to Annabelle happily.
-
Anne held the captured Pyre under her dark wing.
-
"Stay inside you two," David advised Sasha and Bess.
-
Be Careful Davisd" sasha said as David needed out..
_
just act natural.. this place get creepier each time I come down here.." annabelle muttered.
-
"This place is normal, for me," Beller reminded.
-
It didn't take long for David to see the action going on.
Relatively carefully, he stepped back inside. "You two REEEAAAALLLYYY don't want to go out there," he gulped.
-
Hawk barked more as he brought Linda to David's doorstep. "Why are we at this house?" Linda questioned. Now that the human was near safety, Tank turned around and raced to help the guardian angels.
----------
Charlie continued to dodge the Pyres 'til he was within reach of the crack. With a burst of speed, he reached the edge and leaped over and landed safely on the other edge. "Hey Itch! I see a smaller gap from here! Follow me on the other side!"
----------
The Pyre underneath Anne roared twice before shaping his arm into a large morningstar. Even though it was very high off the ground, the creature made ready to swing upwards...
-
Anne quickly became aware of the Pyre's actions and took defensive measures. She let it go but turned back into her dragon form. "I got tricks in my paws too," she laughed sinisterly.
~~~~~~~~~~`
"Coming Charlie!" Itchy yelled and managed to catch up to the German shepard.
-
"Dear, could you lend me a paw?" Anne called to her husband.
-
It was then Belladonna appeared and saw Anne fighting the Pyres "So, my dear aunt, why is it you are meddling in my affairs .. yet again? Have I not told you, kin or no,that I would not tolerate that? Yet you persist! Pyres! Seize her and bring her down to the fifth level.. I will deal with her later..
-
"You really think I'm afraid of you?" Anne scoffed to her niece. She flew over to her husband. "Dear, I think we should call our friends, if you know what I mean...heh heh...
-
you should be.. tell me.. how is it up in pearly white-ville? Is Annabelle still an insufferable pain in the tail? then she hasn't changed since high school, which was roughly around the time mortals discovered fire.."
-
" I stay down here just like you, and Oh, I think she's "changed"," Anne said with a slight chuckle, Belladonna had no idea that Annabelle transformed herself into a hellhound to help stop her cousin.
"In fact, I think you'd almost resemble each other now, right Damien?" she asked her husband.
-
Oh you think you're so clever" Annabelle smirked as two large Pyres seized her aunt " if you didn't go up there then why is there the distinct smell of halo about you? Get her out of here..and Uncle Damein as well.."
-
"A simple visit," Anne explained. "And do you think I'm that easy to grab?"
Anne then unleashed one trick that Belladonna didn't know she had: The ability to turn into pure, ungrabbable fire itself.
-
the pyres recoiled from the heat much to Belladonnas displeasure "So.. you do have a few tricks..very well I don't have time to waste with you..She turned as strode down further into the pit..
_ Annabelle had watched the scene from a safe distance she turned to Beller "Lead the way.."
-
Beller nodded. "Cousin Belladonna's place isn't too far from here. And mommy says you should try out your new powers," the little dog advised.
-
i don't want to attract attention ' Annebelle replied following the young hellhound
-
"Eh, every dog here can do the basics, you won't stick out," Beller assured, as Anne (back to her regular dog form) and Damien joined their pups. "I used my fire form cause I don't let any body that close to me besides you and the kids."
-
annabelle nodded ' so where is a bellladonnas place.. it is nearby.. i need to do some looking around..
-
"Just.....about....there," Anne pointed out, finding a place with Belladonna's colors on the wall, proving it was her's.
-
Charlie had reached the spot where the distance across the chasm was the shortest. "Think you can make it across here, Itch?" He asked, and he turned to watch the Pyres fighting off against what may have been Anne.
----------
Through a glowing orb, Blight watched the action from deep in Carface's house. "Apparently you can never even trust a hellhound," he said calmly. "At least I have some of my own aces that even Belladonna doesn't even know about... And by that time, this mortal world and even the heavens will be ours..."
-
"hopefully, it's our best chance," Itchy replied, "I'm kind of jealous of a cat's jumping prowess today."
~~~~~~~~~~~`
As Annabelle and her family approached Belladonna's place, Anne turned to her daughter. "Annabelle dear, part of the reason I gave you the collar was not only so you could help us, but in the situation.....that we lost, you wouldn't be able to be imprisoned in a hellhound form."
-
well thats something that belladonna will probab;y doin any case.. likely make me her servant.. 'Annabelle said despondently.. as she enbtered the cavern which served as Belladonnas house..
-
"Well, that collar should keep you safe," Anne assured as they enetered Belladonna's place.
-
Beller yawned, clearly bored.
-
"So what do you think we need to find dear?" Anne questioned.
-
anything that might fbe a clue to belladonnas plans...
- sasha headed up the stairs towards Davids room, she was tired from runnuing all the way to his house.. and needed a rest..
-
"She probably wrote something down," Anne figured, looking over papers around Belldonna's cave. "Oh cute, a picture she took on her date with Cerberus.....let's see, come on, something...something has to be here, ooh, this just might be it."
"What is it mommy?" Beller asked.
"Looks like a notebook," Anne said.
-
As Linda was left at David's house, Hawk & Tank reached the crevice where Charlie waited for Itchy. "I take it you know something about all of this?" Hawk asked grimly.
"Only enough that we can't stick around here much longer," Charlie replied, and then turned back to Itchy. "Come on, Itch! You can make it!"
-
Itchy caught up quickly, clutching his heart. "Believe me...you don't hve to tell me twice," he gasped.
He turned to the newcomers. "Didn't we see one of you before?" he asked.
-
"Well, you know me," Tank replied, "but you don't know him." He implied to Hawk.
Hawk looked up to see the Pyres on the other side of the crevice aiming for them. "Um.. talk later. We still have those things on the other side."
"Get back from the crack!" Charlie said. "Maybe they won't follow!"
-
"Let's hope so!" Itchy yelled, running.
-
The others moved from the crevice as the monsters fired at them from the other side, unable to hit their targets...
----------
Blight watched the Pyres and the dogs for a while, pondering in thought...
-
"We should be safe...for now," Itchy noted hopefully.
-
The Pyres could've easily fired upon the dogs from the other side, but there were orders to follow. Following such orders, the Pyres began to descend back into the ravine.
Tank cocked an eyebrow. "They gave up that easily?"
"You want them to keep going?" Hawk glared.
"No! I just thought they were more... um..."
"It doesn't matter now," Charlie interceded. "They're gone now. Now we have to find the girls and check on David."
"My owner should still be at the house, if that's the David you're talking about," Hawk gestured.
"Let's go then." Charlie leads the group to David's house.
----------
Killer, who was watching the bobcat's orb, asked, "Wh-why did they just give up like that?"
"Because I have ordered them to," Blight replied coolly. "It was simply to send a clear message to the earth-bound heroes. And if they persist, then I'm ready to finish the job. Now as for these goody-two-shoes hellhound traitors, I'm simply in no mood for holding back punches. Hopefully, Belladonna can get her part done before they find out the real scheme of things..."
-
Belladonna watched the Pyres let Charlie and Itchy go.. she frowned something was not right.. as she headed back towards her abode she noticed a familiar smell "Mother' she muttered
_ Sasha had nodded off mfor a nap as there was a knock on the door..
-
"Who is it?" David asked, walking up to the door.
~~~~~~~~~
"Oh crap.." Anne muttered quietly, making out her niece in the distance. "She's coming our way."
-
get out of here.. i'll distract her.' Annabelle said then thought to herself "I don't know how I'm going to go that.. she spotted a broom made of fire and started sweeping with it knocking cinders and debris out of the way..
-
"Try showing off your new form," Anne suggested as she and Beller slipped out the back door.
~~~~~~~
"Gotcha Charlie," Itchy nodded.
-
"Stay hidden in case our daughter needs help," Anne instructed her husband.
-
belladonna reached her cavbe and find Belladonna sweeping away debris into a crevasse " Just WHAT do you think you are doing?
_ Just cleaning, your malevolence" Annebelle said in a simpering voice.. " Belladonna sniffed the air "I've never seen you before.. yet there's something familar about you, something I can't quite put my paw on..your scent perhaps It reminds me a bit of my insufferable cousin..
-
Heh heh, she'll never guess that's her... Anne mentally laughed at her niece as she and Beller flew towards the portal to Earth to find Charlie.
-
"David?" Linda called. "This is Linda. Your neighbor from three doors down. Hawk ran off suddenly and..." Just then, something brushed against her hand and she felt the ears of Hawk as he leaned against her. "Where have you been?!"
Hawk was quickly joined by the other dogs.
"Hey David! It's Charlie! Is Sasha with you?"
Linda was stunned. "Who are... Is someone else here?"
-
"Yeah, she is, and so is Bess," David assured, opening the door.
"Oh thhank God.." Itchy sighed in relief.
-
Anne soon reached Earth and flew to David's house. "She said they'd be around here," she said, remembering Annabele's words.
She knocked her paw on David's door. "Ok, could I come in?" she called.
Itchy peered out the window. "Hey Charlie...isn't that that devil dog who said she was Annabelle's mom?" he whispered.
-
sasha hugged charlie upon seeing him, then realized what she was doing ' so what is the princess of evil up to this time Charlie? she asked him "Can't be anything gicen , given your past dealings with her..
-
Charlie hugged back. "I'm not sure," he replied, "but now some cat from below has joined her and he may have been responsible for the ravine that destroyed the club."
Linda sat down to rest her feet, Hawk by her side. "Wait, who are you?"
Charlie's ears drooped back when he remembered. People could understand he and Itchy. Luckily, Itchy mentioned the hellhound that had said she wanted to help. "Um, David? Mind explaining this to our dobie's friend while I talk to the new visitor?"
-
"Sure Charlie," David nodded. He turned to Linda. "It's kind of a long story, m'am," he began.
Itchy unlocked the door and Anne entered. "Hello boys," she introduced, hen saw Charlie. "So you're Barkin, the one Annabelle told me she had a crush on after you first died..nice to meet ya, I'm Anne."
-
Beller soon followed behind his mom and lied down, getting tired.
-
"Nice to meet you...Anne," Charlie replied. "So... You're a hellhound, and you said you're going to help us stop Belladonna at whatever plans she's cooking up, right?"
Tank sat nearby. So far, he's been finding out what he's gotten into since he came to the city. He spotted the younger version of the new dog come in and lie down. He would say hi, but he could tell the kid is tired, so he lets him be.
As David was explaining everything, Linda listened, and was getting more intrigued. Hawk, on the other hand, laid down next to her to get some rest. He will not be sleeping for very long...
----------
Blight then turned his attention to where Belladonna has just confronted another hellhound in her own cave. "Hmm..." he pondered.
-
Great.. Bess is going to be cleaning that place up for years.. although shes insured at least" Sasha replied " so Belladonnas gotten helpers this time, well whatevers shes planning, you can count on me to help stop it..
-
"Indeed, as well as m little bundle of badness here," Anne replied, pointing to the sleeping Beller.
David expalined their past conflicts with Red and Belladonna to Linda. "we thought that cat was gone for good, but I guess we could be wrong.." he guessed. "And we've never managed to keep Belladonna defeated."
-
"Red hasn't come back yet," Charlie pointed out. "There's a new cat in town, and he doesn't seem like a lackey, either. He may have been involved with those things coming out of the ground."
"So that explains the earthquake," Linda replied. "And now I understand why I can hear this Charlie's voice because he's a guardian angel."
Charlie smirked. "All ladies dig the voice..."
-
"I hate cats," Anne grunted. "I always sick my imps on them to get them out of my way."
"But Charlie, what's our next move?" Itchy asked.
-
well the 4 of us- that means you too bess- will have too stop this demon cat AND Belladonna..' Sasha said. "Like you have anything better to do" She smirked at her..
-
"Then we might need these," Anne said, creating 4 hell collars, one for each of the dogs. (Charlie, Itchy, Sasha, Bess) "These can turn you into a hell hound and give you their powers, only use these if things get rough. And don't worry, they can be taken off."
-
belladonna leaned in close to annabelle.. 'WHAT Is it about you that is so familiar.." She searched her eyes intently, while Annabelle tried her best to look ingratiatng "I'm only here to serve you milady" she said. I would do anything you asked, be it kiss your paw or..
_
Kill my aunt?' Belladionna said with a sadistic smile. I'm not kidding either.. Kill her, and I will reward you..' with what?" Anything you desire once those heavenly fools are out of the way."
-
um.alright.." Annabelle agreed not having a choice."Shall I kiss your Paw Milady.."
" Very well' belladonna held out her paw" And Annebelle kissed it, then Belladonna kissed Annabelle in return on the cheek "Now get to the surface..I want Anne out of the way within two earth days..
-
"Creepy..." Itchy uttered, examining one of the spiky collars.
-
Charlie looked at it before putting in on. "Disturbingly similar to what Belladonna gave me one..." he muttered. "So how do you suppose we stop Belladonna in..."
"H, E, double hockey-sticks?" Tank finished, sitting nearby. "What, no collar for me? I wanna help too."
Hawk snorted.
"Wait a minute," Linda said. "You're not really thinking of going down there, do you?"
"We need to find out what Belladonna's up to," Charlie replied. "She may have something bigger than what she normally cooks up."
-
"Fine, here you go," Anne said, creating another hell collar for Tank.
"So fighting her on her home turf huh?" Itchy figured, putting on the collar, turning into, as tvtropes would say, a darker and edgier Itchy.
-
"Whoa..." David gasped, amazed at Itchy's new appearence.
-
sasha put hers on, and she changed from a beautiful setter to an sharp-faced, hellhound with blazing green eyes..' this is really creepy ' even her voice has changed it was harsher almost metallic.
-
Bess decided to go next. Applying the collar, her red fur on her tail and around her face turned fire red and her other fur turned black. She sprouted small dark wings as well.
"Flight could nice, but this really is creepy," Bess admitted in her new distorted voice (Though it was still recognizably her's.)
-
Charlie too had changed looks, looking scragglier and monstrous, with dark red eyes. He looked into a nearby mirror near where Linda sat, wrinkling his nose at what he saw. "This is so not like me," he said. "Some of you hellhounds need some more fashion makeovers."
Linda, knowing at Charlie was nearby, reached out and stroked his back. "You still seem the same angel to me," she replied.
Charlie smirked slightly.
Tank put on his collar and he too took a menacing appearance, and then look at Hawk. "Don't you wanna come?"
Hawk lifted his head to look the stray in the eyes. "I have no intention of leaving my master behind..."
"OK, OK! I just forgot the human-canine relationship you two have. Yeesh..."
-
"We don't have much time to waste," Anne strategized, "We should depart shortly so we can stop my brat of a niece."
Bess levitated with her new black wings. "Ok, this part is rather awesome," she had to admit.
-
"Whoa..." David said, seeing all of his friends transformed.
-
"Don't worry, David," Charlie said as he expanded his bat-like wings. "This may be a one-time thing. Let's get going..."
-
"Be careful," David called to the dogs.
Itchy spread his wings next. "Belladonna's going down," Itchy laughed to get a group spirit going.
Bess flew beside her boyfriend as Anne led the way.
-
Beller quikcly woke up and followed his mother and the rest of the group.
-
"The hole to hell is close by," Anne informed.
-
Itchy had gotten used to his wings by now.
-
Charlie followed Anne as they entered the hole to the underground. Tank held the rear of the pack...
----------
Meanwhile, Blight had tracked Anne with his orb and watched as the dogs began their descent into the depths. "So they decide to take the fight to the enemy," he said as he flexed his claws. "Apparently, I wasn't convincing enough to make sure they stay away from our plans. And so, I step up the game..."
-
"Here we go," Itchy said, taking a deep breath.
"Stay close," Anne advised, the hellhound swooping down. Bess, the 2nd best with her bat-like wings, was right behind her.
-
David went back to his homework, deciding it's safest to stay inside.
-
Linda & Hawk left David's house back to their own home. There was a lot to think about what happened today...
----------
"Wow," Tank said as they descended deeper. "Is it really getting hot down here?"
Charlie remained quiet. He was down here before, and he didn't like it one bit...
----------
With the orb still revealing Belladonna's cave, Blight turned and went to a nearby closet to fiddle through the pile of junk for something Red had left behind. It was stupid of Red not to make use of such valuable items...
-
"Well, that's to be expected," Anne said to the group, "Although in those forms you'll be able to withstand the heat."
As the group passed through the hole, they eventually made it to the made central part of Hell. "Freakin creepy..." Bess gulped watching from above.
Itchy got a look at some of the dogs down here, both hellhounds doing their jobs and evil souls that had been sentenced to this punishment.
"Hey Julie!" Anne waved breifly to one of her friend hellhounds.
-
meanwhile sasha tried to stay calm, but the vision of seeing condemned souls being brutally punished was nauseating, at the least. lwets get this over with.. she muttered to charlie.
-
"I'm with you Sasha," Bess nodded to her friend.
-
"Don't worry, with those forms everyone here will think you're working here and won't think to atatck," Anne assured. "Now we should find Annabelle."
-
Charlie only nodded to what Sasha said. "So how do you think Annabelle's doing down here with her cousin so far? he asked Anne. "She is the polar opposite of Belladonna, of course."
----------
Blight soon found what he was looking for. He pulls out a dark but ornate urn from the closet. "This place should've been more organized," he said darkly, but grinned anyway...
-
you actually brought her down here.. thats asking for trouble for when belladnna finds out.. you'd be better off in heaven...' Sasha replied.
-
"Knowing my daughter, I'm confident she can stand her own. With hell powers now and since you've seen how she can get when she's angry, I'm confident she can defend herself," Anne explained to Charlie.
She then turned to the transformed Sasha. "Eh, I live down here," Anne replied to the former Irish setter, "the temperature is nice, and we cook a "hell" of a good steak," she added with a laugh, another lame pun. "And my daughter has one of the collars to. Even Belladonna wouldn't see through that immediately."
-
"Let's go find Belladonna and stop her before she can do what she's planning," Charlie said. "Where to now?"
-
"Probably near her home," Anne suggested, "Keep in the air everybody."
"You don't have to tell me twice," hellhound Itchy gulped, "Fire makes me nervous."
-
"Not me...that much," Bess added.
-
With the urn in hand, Blight returned to the orb to watch the goings on in hell...
----------
Charlie continued to follow Anne as they neared Belladonna's lair...
-
Anne slowly descended and landed on the path.
"It'd be best if we divided into two groups," the hellhound mother advised. "Charlie, Sasha, and I will make up the first team. Your small friend there, Bess, and Tank, you'l be the second team."
"I'm not small, this is the normal height for a dog like me...in hell form," Itchy retorted.
-
"Relax," Tank replied. "I've met some small breeds that could give a mastiff a run for his money..."
"Just don't say anything that will have us exposed, OK?" Charlie said in a low voice. Even if we have at least one hellhound on our side, it doesn't mean the others are..."
-
"Don't worry," Anne assured sincerely, "Belladonna's actually in the minority here with how she acts. Most of us just like to torture evil souls. It's fun.."
Itchy shivered at the end of that comment. "You're right Tank," he replied thankfully.
"Belladonna's been a spoiled brat all her live," Anne told her comrades, "And to think I was descent enough to wipe out the dinosaurs for her 250th birthday because she thought they were ugly while she was a pup..."
-
are you serious?' sasha started " so the dinosaurs weren't wiped out by an asteroid? great, theres goes much of what I learned in school.
-
"Well, I brought along the asteroid," Anne noted, "felt they would go out best in a blaze of glory."
-
"Even if all that's true," Charlie stated, "it won't give David a better grade in history class..."
"It won't even make a best-selling fiction," Tank added.
-
yeah, and hthat would make her millions of years old' sasha added.. before forgetting angels and demons were immortal..
-
"Yeah, I kinda have the ability to live forever," Anne reminded her teammates. "As does Annabelle and her little brother here," she said, pointing to Beller.
"Is there anything i can do mommy?" the hell pup asked.
"Head back to our cave, dear," Anne instructed to her son.
"If that's true, I don't know whether I want to know or don't want to know what immortals caused throughout history," Itchy noted.
"Never mind that for now," Anne said, "We're going to have to act soon if we want to stop my niece."
-
"Well let's get going then," Charlie replied, ready to follow.
Tank looked around as he hovered. "No one back at the surface will ever believe this..." he muttered to himself.
-
Itchy, Bess, and Tank were one team while Charlie, Anne, and Sasha were the other.
"I'll admit I'm starting to get used to these new fur colors," Bess admitted.
Anne listened carefully near the wall. "I think Annabelle's still in there," she whispered.
-
David got to work on his math homework to pass his time.
"It's parentheses-exponent-multiply-divide-add-subtract," he reminded himself.
-
Charlie pressed his ear to the wall next to Anne. "How can you tell?"
Tank turned to Itchy. "So, boss. Where to first?"
-
"Enhanced hearing," Anne explained, "It's one of the powers I was given at my birth. I also had the powers of an enchantress, which is how I was able to mess with some people for a while, because for several milleniums all the guardian angels were male, so they all fell for my charms...except for Annabelle's dad, who fell for me even after the charm wore off."
She put her ear against the wall again, "Sounds like Annabelle's got her cousin fooled," she noted.
~~~~~~~
"Maybe try to master our new powers?" Itchy suggested, "In case we have to fight to win."
-
"Good point," Tank replied, looking around. "We should find a quiet place to do so, so that the real hellhounds don't know how new we really are..."
----------
"You know what they're saying?" Charlie asked.
-
"Sounds like Belladonna's making a request to Annaballe, not knowing who she is," Anne replied, listening carefully.
~~~~~~
Itchy saw an abandoned canyon-ish area nearby. "Over there," he pointed.
"Good thinking Itchy," Bess nodded, spreading her bat wings and flying to their new training area.
-
Belladonna was having Annabelle straighten up her lair, and was putting her through a very rigorous test.. Annabelle didn't dare refuse, she knew that hell was a very tightly controlled chain of command, refuse an order even a tiny one, and it was off to torment for you for a few centuries..
-
"She's making her do cave work," Anne told Sasha and Charlie. "This'll ive ustime to form a plan."
-
"Good," Charlie replied, "'Cause we don't want to give a quick-tempered hellhound like her a chance if we don't do this right."
----------
Tank followed Itchy & Bess to the canyon.
-
"Ok, let me give this a shot...." Itchy said, inhaling deeply, and when he exhaled, he exhaled fire!
"Not we won't have to use a BBQ again..." he laughed.
"I wonder if I can turn into a dragon, like Anne could," Bess pondered.
-
"There's one idea I have off the top of my head," Anne said, "But I doubt you'll be in favor of it."
-
what ius it?" Sasha asked " i;m not getting a good feeling about this..
- Belladonna was rather impressed by this newcomer.. she was following every order with aclarity.. ' you're good at following orders.. you'll make a fine servant.. now follow me to the lust section.. i enjoy burning the lovers who are swept together..
-
"The collars can be powered up," Anne said, "But that means the transformations would be permanent, and even though you'd be free to go to the surface world and back as much as you'd wish, you'd have to work here to torment evil souls."
-
Bess flew around the canyon to master her flight.
-
"Come again?" Charlie blinked.
----------
Tank banked several times in his own flying training and slammed on all four feet on the ground below, leaving a crater beneath him. "Cool!"
----------
Blight chuckled slightly while he continued to watch, waiting...
Killer turned to find Carface to see what Belladonna's having him do...
-
"Yeah, the collars you have on now are not at full power," Anne explained, "If they were powered up, you'd be even stronger, but the transformation would be permanent."
-
'i'l have to pass on that, as i don't want to spend eternity here' sasha said.. ' i have a life to live on earth too.."
-
"I know," Anne said, "But actually you could go between Earth and here, but you couldn't go up to heaven. But anyways, let's think of something else."
~~~~~
"Impressive," Itchy complimented after Tank's big smash. "I'm gonna take a shot."
-
"Good call," Charlie replied. " Annabelle wouldn't like that idea either. And I got enough beef from her already... Maybe we'll just evesdrop on her until she accidently spills the beans on what she's planning with that cat..."
----------
Tank flew upwards out the way. "It's all yours, boss!"
-
"Good plan," Anne agreed.
~~~~~~~~
Itchy flew high up, then slammed straight down, leaving behind a crater rivaling Tank's. "Yes!" he grinned confidently.
"Go Itchy!" Bess complimented.
-
David worried about his friends meanwhile.
"Please come back carefully Sasha, Charlie, everyone..." he thought to himself.
-
"Now who is it that said size 'does' matter?" Tank replied. "That was cool!"
-
"Yeah!" Itchy agreed.
"Give me a sec boys," Bess called. She began to concentrate and focus all her thoughts on one thing. After a few seconds, her transformation began!
Her tail grew longer, and she began to take the shape of a dragon-dog (Like belladonna at the CC's end).
"Whoa, go Bess!" Itchy cheered on. That broke Bess's concentration for a second and she reverted back to a hellhound.
-
Tank's eyes went wide when Bess had transformed into a dragon, even if it was for a moment.
----------
Charlie was just starting to lose his patience as he waited for Belladonna to open up her secrets to the disguised Annabelle. So far, his angelic 'boss' has been doing in deceiving her cousin.
-
"Thanks Itchy" Bess nodded, "I hope I can get that down."
"Let's see if I can get a bigger fire breath," Itchy said to himself.
~~~~~~~
"Just keep your cool," Anne told Charlie.
-
"If she takes more than 10 more minutes," Anne said, "I'll try telepathically talking to her."
-
belladonna was busy following more orders from belladonna " so whats the plan mistress? We're going to deal ith those ,miserable halos once and for all right?'
Yes.. but don't you worry about that my servanbnt, those things are above your psay grade.." Belladonna snickered.
-
Anne listened closely.
"Darn it, doesn't seem like Annabelle's going to be getting any answers," she told Charlie and Sasha.
-
"Hmm... This is probably why she got that bobcat working with her," Charlie replied. "He's certainly much more than another lackey..."
----------
"You got THAT right..." Blight chuckled as he watched the orb. "Now that they're busy down there, this world is now left unprotected. Convenient to know that the 'leader' of the halo dogs is hanging in Hell with her cousin... Now, to get to work..."
With the urn in one paw, Blight turned and vanished into the shadows...
-
"Hopefully she'll get a chance to leave soon," Anne said, "We'll probably need a change in plan."
-
yeah probably i don;t think this has worked out all that well.. Sasha admitted " The sooner we get out of here the better.."
-
"I wonder...if they're going to try something on the surface," Anne suggested.
-
As Anne had mentioned it, Blight has appeared back in the open on the surface, with urn in hand. He casually strolls down the sidewalk until he was standing across the street from David's house. Sitting down on his haunches, he pops off the top of the urn, and a blanket of dark ash smoke erupts from it and blankets itself across the street, with what seems like a mind to creep towards the one house...
-
"I really think we should find the others," Anne said, "And maybe get back to Earth. What do you guys think?"
-
definitelyt ' Sasha said "lets head back.."
_ Annabelle soon finished her duties, and was ordered to the surface. " Keep an eye on Blight for me.. you know the old saying, keep your friends close and your enemies even closer...' Belladonna said.
-
Shortly after Annabelle was allowed to leave Belladonna's sight, Anne caught up with her daughter.
"Sweety, did you find out anything?" the mother hellhound asked.
-
Not much, other than she doesn't trust anyone.. also,, she forced me to do stuff for me.. which I didn't like.. personal stuff..' annabelle made a face..
-
"You don't like anything that Belladonna likes," Charlie pointed out as he joined them.
----------
Tank looked up to see Charlie's group with another hellhound. "Hey Itchy. Is that another friend of ours?"
----------
The creeping fog reached its way to David's house and seeped through even the smallest cracks in the door...
-
That is true, but even more than usual.. I won't say anything more" annabelle said, lets just get to the surface.."
-
"That's Annabelle, me and Charlie's boss," Itchy explained.
"Let's get going," Anne said, beginning to fly upwards.
~~~~~~~~~
MEanwhile, David heard a weird noise, but decided it was probably just the house settling.
-
As the mist entered the house, it spread outwards the across the floor and began to rise and take identical humanoid shapes. When completed, they shapes resemble unarmed reapers with glowing red eyes piercing about the room. With very little noise, they glided about the house, searching...
----------
At Linda's house, Hawk stirred from his sleep, sensing something amiss. It was not here, as Linda remained peacefully asleep. It was from nearby. Perhaps David's house? Deciding to check up on the kid, the Doberman carefully crept from the bedroom and bounded outside...
----------
Blight smirked as he saw through the window into the house, and then turned to vanish as he returned to Carface's house, leaving the creatures to do their part...
-
David thought he heard a noise, but remembered Charlie's advice and decided to stay put.
~~~~~~~~~~```
"Let's hope we're not too late for anything bad," Bess called.
-
Itchy flapped his bat wings stronger for more speed.
-
"There's the hole back to Earth," Anne pointed out.
-
OOC; so what is the evil plan for this rp? its never been made completely clear...)
-
OOC: You're right...I think Kenjiro might have an idea, though.
-
"Almost home," Bess sighed relieved.
-
*We should start a discussion thread for this rp, if one doesn't already exist...)
-
Soon, the group set paw back on Earth.
"Glad to be back," Bess sighed, relieved. "Eh, I prefer the fire of my home," Anne shrugged.
-
annabelle looked at the others.. 'while you folks were having a dandy of a time, i was forced into being belldonnas servant she said, taking off the color and transforming back,..
-
"Sorry about that," Anne apologized to her daughter. "I'll get her back for you, how about that sweetie?"
-
No, I will get her back myself, mother, now did you learn anything.. Belladonna didn't reveal much of anything to me.. only that her plans are big.."
-
"Well, we know she has a partner, in crime, some cat named Blight..." Anne replied.
-
Blight.. great, these schemes always involve more than one plotter..' Annabelle said.
-
"We should get back to David's house," Itchy suggested. "I hope he's ok."
"Me too," Bess added, keeping on her collar for now in case a fight was soon approaching.
-
"I think I'll keep this on for now," Itchy added, referring to his hell collar. Flapping into his air with his bat-like wings, he went in the direction of David's house.
MEANWHILE.........
David was now sure there was someone or thing in his house. He was now nervous. Had it been Charlie and the others, there surely would have made that obvious by now. He opened his window a crack, just in case...
-
so where to now/ Sasha asked...; Should we go check on David?
-
"Yeah, we should," nodded Itchy.
-
After putting away the demon collar, Charlie led the way to David's house, with Tank among those in the rear...
----------
Hawk reached David's house first, and quickly caught a whiff of something very wrong nearby...
----------
The creatures glided about the lower half of the house, one of which came to a stop at the bottom of a set of stairs...
-
Itchy and Bess removed their Hell collars as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
David heard a pair of footsteps ascending the stairs at an unnatural pace. He knew this couldn't be good.
-
Hawk cursed to himself as he tried to find a way inside, and spotted a conveniently open window at the side of the house. He wasted no time in getting in...
----------
The creature reached the top of the stairs, stopping to survey the new surroundings...
----------
Charlie quickened his pace for the house...
-
As did Itchy, Bess and Anne.
~~~~~~~~~`
David decided to not take any risks and climb out of the window. However, he happened to do this as Hawk was climbing into it, so there was a little rough landing.
-
Hawk collided with David as they were both going through the window in different directions. He got up just as the door to David's room had opened slowly and one of the cloaked creatures stood there, staring at them with glowing eyes. Hawk bared his teeth as he stood between David and the monster...
----------
Charlie reached the house first and caught a whiff of a damp ashy odor nearby, but there was no fire or water. "What in the world is that smell?" he asked, looking around...
-
"What the heck..." David gasped.
Anne's nose began acting up. "No.....it couldn't be..." the hellhound said aloud.
-
"What is it?" Itchy added.
"Don't tell me that cat summoned those things...." Anne gulped.
-
Keeping between David and the monster, Hawk began moving back towards the window.
The monster gave an unnatural deep breath as it began to glide towards them...
----------
Charlie found an open kitchen window and jumped through it. When he landed, he found himself face-to-face with another cloaked creature...
-
"Charlie..wait up!" Itchy called, but when he and the others got through the window, they gasped.
"I should've seen this coming..." Anne said, angry at herself.
~~~~~~~~~~
"What's that....?" David shivered, staying behind Hawk, looking at the mysterious creature.
-
its a hell-demon right?' Sasdha guessed.. as she cklimbed inside the open window.. ' probably part of Belladonna's plan..whatever it is..
-
"Grab my collar," Hawk said low and not taking his eye off the monster...
----------
Charlie side-stepped the creature downstairs as it lunged at him. A second appeared around the corner when it noticed a commotion in the kitchen.
Tank's jaw dropped at what he saw. "What in heck are they?!"
----------
Further outside the house, another figure appeared to see what is going on...
-
"Yeah, but a more powerful kind," Anne said to Sasha.
Itchy and Bess, readying for a fight, reapplied their Hell collars.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Ok..." David nodded meekly, holding onto Hawk's collar.
-
With one paw, Hawk grabbed one of David's shirts, lying on the floor, and hurled it at the monster, wrapping around the hood. "Out the window!" he yelled, and pulled David towards where the boy had initially tried to escape from...
----------
Tank puts his own collar on, and flew straight at the nearest monster, whom effortlessly glided aside and swung a taloned claw at him. A direct hit sent the stray through a cabinet door...
-
Itchy went to make the next move. He stayed flapping his bat-like wings in the air, and prepared a massive fire breath. "Stay clear!" he called to his friends.
Bess was thinking of trying the dragon transformation. "I'll need to concentrate for several seconds, but I don't think I can get that opportunity."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Gotcha!" David nodded without thinking, following Hawk as quickly as he could, climbing out of the window.
~~~~~~~~~~
Down in Hell, Beller and Annabelle's father Damien were staying there (Mainly cause that was their home) to keep an eye on Belladonna. "Daddy, what's cousin Belladonna doing?" the hell pup asked innocently.
-
As David & Hawk disappeared through the window, the monster ripped the shirt off its head, and barely noticed the two escaping outside...
----------
Charlie was not up for the idea of a flamethrower in David's house, but he got out of the way just the same to check on Tank, whom was coming too as he crawled from the mess.
The two wraith-like creatures converged on the intruders and began to conjure their own dark magic...
-
"Where should we go?" David called to Hawk as they managed to escape from his house. "I"m sure that thing will be chasing us."
~~~~~~~
Itchy let out a big breath of fire right on the creatures hoping it would have some effect.
-
The two creatures were enveloped by the flames, instantly becoming similar to smoke...
----------
"Across the street!" Hawk led away from the house as two more of the creatures materialized after they had moved back under the front door. He looked over to see a silouette dog sitting patiently on the other side of the road...
-
"Did it work?!" Itchy asked hopefully.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Crud, they're everywhere..." gulped David.
~~~~~~~~~
Bess, needing time (and a large amount of space) for the hell dragon transformation, jumped out one of the windows and began to concentrate.
-
Itchy's flame had hit the two wraith creatures, but a third had waited in cover and was conjuring a dark green flame of its own, while the other two were swirling back together...
----------
"This way!" called the dog on the sidewalk to David & Hawk.
Suspicious, but Hawk thought it could be better than sticking with the pursuing monsters alone, and he turned to guide David across the street...
-
"Oh crap..." Itchy muttered, when he realized his tactics weren't so effective.
Bess called from outside "Just a few more seconds!" she said, referring to how long until the dragon transformation came.
~~~~~~
David was also suspicious of the new dog, but something had to be done if they wanted to get away.
-
As the first two wraith-creatures re-materialized, the third began to unleash its green flame at the dogs.
Charlie, without the collar Anne gave him, grabbed his guardian angel pin and held it in front of him. A translucent white energy domed feet in front of him and the green flame reflected off of it. "Now or never, Bess!" he shouted.
----------
The other creatures were in pursuit of Hawk & David across the street, when the new dog reached behind him and pulled forth what looked like a decorated shield in the size for dogs. The face of the shield began to emit its own light. "You'd better stand to side," he said calmly to the boy and the Doberman.
The creatures stopped suddenly...
-
"Got it!" Bess called to her friends. With just a few more seconds, the transformation began. Bess's fur began to become more scale-like, and the dog was soon a dragon again. "That's more like it," she laughed confidently, he body also much larger because of the dragon-form.
~~~~~~~~~
"Ok,' David nodded, having no idea what to expect as the shield lit up.
-
Anne turned to her daughter. "Dear, get ready for battle!"
-
The mystery dog's shield emitted a bright light and unleashed a blast of energy, destroying the cloaked creatures on the lawn...
----------
Suddenly, Charlie's angel pin's power momentarily intensified and the monster's green fire was reflected back at it, narrowly missing the materializing creatures...
-
"What's happening?" David asked, impressed by the blast.
~~~~~~~~~~`
Itchy was asking the same thing. "Charlie, what happened to your pin? How did it do that?"
"Am I still needed?" Dragon-Bess called.
-
Hawk's jaw dropped by the sight. This was no normal dog, like the others...
The shield's light finally faded...
----------
The intensity of the pin also began to fade to normal. "You're still needed, Bess!" he called...
-
"Gotcha!" Here I come!" Bess called, managing to just barely fit in through the window. Luckily, she could fit inside the house with even room for mobility.
"Take this!" she called, whacking one of the creatures with her large tail.
~~~~~~~~~
"Who are you?" David asked, amazed at the shield's power. This dog likely did not live on Earth.
~~~~~~~~`
"Please work..." Itchy said hopefully.
Anne turned to her fire imps. "Create a distraction for those ones boys," she ordered.
-
The creature flew back from Bess' swing and whacked hard into a cabinet, smashing it before it came apart like ash...
The first two creatures dodged, barely avoiding the dragon's attack...
----------
Before the dog could answer, they could hear a crash from within the house. "There must be more inside the house," he said. "Stay here." He straps his shield across his back and bounded towards the house...
-
(OOC: Since Nick's gone for a while, should we take over his characters: Sasha, Annabelle, and Belladonna?)
"We will," David nodded, amazed at what he had just seen.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Direct hit!" Itchy cheered as his girlfriend slammed one of the creatures.
Bess then tried a claw swipe at another one.
(OOC again: And I forgot, who controlled Carface and Killer?)
-
(OCC: Nick's got Carface while I got Killer.)
The two remaining creatures dodged from the dragon, when one of them were ganged by Anne's devil minions. Furiously, it slashed at the vile things with razor claws...
While Charlie helped Tank back onto his feet, a figure of golden fur leaped through the window into the house past the others...
----------
Back at Carface's home, Blight watches the events play out on his orb...
-
"What's that?" Itchy asked, seeing the golden figure enter the room in the midst of the battle.
The fire imps fell back in pain, and Anne raced over to them. "It's ok," she tried to assure, wanting to help her minions. She opened up a tiny crack in the floor, a portal to Hell just big enough for the imps, and they escaped back down it, then Anne resealed the hole.
-
The crack sealed before the monster could follow, but it never noticed the new arrival before the mystery dog drew a sword from beneath his shield and slashed it to ribbons, which shriveled to ash...
"Now who are you?!" Charlie questioned, watching the whole thing.
The mystery dog, revealed as a collie, turned to look at Charlie. "We haven't met, Charles Barkin, but I've heard of your escapades here on Earth from Annabelle quite a bit..." He turned back to the remaining cloaked wraith and twirled his sword...
Tank's jaw dropped. "Cool..." was all he could say...
(OCC: This is Zekiel. You'll find him in the list of profiles.)
-
"Wow.....this is getting epic," Itchy said, seeing the new dog wield a sword.
Bess, having lost her concentration, reverted to her hell dog form. "Who are you?" she questioned.
"I think I've seen you before," Anne recalled to the heaven hound. "I think you were there when my husband became a hellhound."
-
"I'm sure I remember you from then," the dog replied to Anne, turning to glance at Charlie. "How about using that angel pin of yours to finish the job?"
Charlie remembered he had the pin in paw, and raised it up again to create a bright light to illuminate the room.
The creature, sensitive to the light, gave a shriek of fear before melting to dust and crawling out through the bottom of the front door...
-
"Well that worked," Itchy awed, removing his Hell collar, as did his girlfriend.
"Who are you?" Bess asked.
"I know him," Annabelle (Taking over for Nick for a while) explained. "He's one of the top angels trained to fight."
-
"I'm just a senior guardian angel," Zekiel replied as he sheathed his sword. He glanced at Tank, whom was still wearing the hellhound collar. "Personally, I think it doesn't suit you..."
Tank couldn't move fast enough to remove the collar and changing back to normal.
"I almost forgot, you'd better bring your friends back inside."
"Oh yeah," Charlie replied and left the house the way he came to the front. "David!"
Back inside, Zekiel turned his attention to Annabelle. "I am certainly surprised even you could don that look of a hellhound. I take it must be THAT important to do so...?"
-
David heard Charlie's calling.
"Come on, I think it's safe," he said to Hawk, relieved that this was over...for now.
~~~~~~~
"Well, my mother was being a bit of a pest.." Annabelle explained to Zekiel.
"I heard that," called Anne.
-
"One thing after another," Hawk muttered as he followed. "This is going on for a while now..."
Charlie quickly finds David crossing the street. "You OK, buddy?"
----------
"Yeah, some of the angels upstairs are still not too happy about back then," Zekiel replied. "Your father was greatly respected... So, now why would Ravics be hanging around here? I personally thought those things weren't around anymore."
-
"Yeah, I am," David assured to his canine friend. "How about you?"
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Thet cat probably brought them back..." Anne suggested.
Itchy and Bess looked confused. "What are ravics?" the dachshund asked.
-
yeaah what are those things/ Sasha chimed in , looking around at the others.
- LOng story Annabelle said.. ' Mother can fill us in on most of the etails since therie heyday came before i was promoted to my current position..'
-
"To put things in simple terms," Anne began to explain, "You've probably seen a movie or something that shows the Grim Reaper, right? Well, imagine there's a heavy supply of grim reapers with violent powers who can be hired by the worst of the worst."
-
so basically they can kill things at will.. get just great.. and how can we stop them? Sasha asked.
-
"Well, we've seen they can be injured," Anne explained.
"Yeah, I did some of that," Bess noted.
"But I think we'd need to seal them away. I know there's some sort of spell for that...but I never found out what it was," the hellhound admitted.
-
"I'm just dandy," Charlie replied. "It's safe to come in now. We took out all but one, and that one got away."
----------
"That's just the thing," Zekiel replied. "They were supposed to have been sealed away. We above heard that the vessel that had them disappeared from hellhound hands centuries ago..."
-
"Well, hopefully it'll stay away," David said, somewhat relieved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Blight must have been behind that," Anne figured, "Or Belladonna gave it to him."
"Most likely one of those two," Bess commented.
-
Charlie led David and Hawk back inside to rejoin the rest of the group. Zekiel turned to give them a courteous nod before continuing. "Either way, the presence of Ravics signals an underlying problem," he said.
"So, what now?" Tank asked.
"That is for the high court to decide..." came a reply behind Tank, who jumped in fright.
Zekiel was unphased by the unexpected appearance. "Ah, Zoria. You're a little late for the party."
From the shadows stepped a Cocker spaniel with wings and a bow strapped to her back. "I didn't need to join your 'party'. The issues on earth belongs to the guardian angels, in which I've been starting to confirm my doubts..."
-
"So are we heading back up to Heaven?" Itchy asked. Itchy and Charlie, being guardian angels, could come and go as they pleased, but Sasha and Bess didn't quite have that privilege.
"But me and Sasha can't go up there..." Bess commented accurately.
-
"I doubt there is a need for Charles and Itchy to leave," Zekiel replied. "Zoria's just stating that the guardian angels aren't doing their duties properly on earth."
"Well that sums it up..." Charlie muttered.
"Back then, much of our duty were to battle the forces of, well... the underground on earth. But since things have quieted down on both sides as a whole, the guardian angel's role shifted to helping out the mortals here in good deeds. As I have done before I was called for other business."
"The council will still need Annabelle's participation for information about what's going on in Hell right now," Zoria stated. "Now that we've confirmed that her evil cousin and this demonic cat are conspiring something together... The sooner we leave, the better."
"A little anxious to leave?" Hawk said quietly.
Zekiel leaned close to reply. "She's never been a true guardian angel before her promotion to my level, so she's not all that relaxed when she's down here. Plus... Annabelle's father was her favorite tutor before... Well, you know..."
"Oh..."
Hawk, Tank, and Charlie nodded in understanding.
-
Anne decided to stay silent, she loved both her husband and daughter, and respected her daughter's choice to remain in Heaven, even though she has dropped hints over the millenniums that she hoped Annabelle would permanently become a hellhound.
"But what can we do now?" Itchy asked the higher-class guardian angels.
-
"The final decision is Annabelle's," Zekiel replied, "but I'd prefer that you two stay here. This Blight person clearly sent Ravics against your young friend here, and I'd have to say that everyone here involved could be the next target."
"With this cat threatening my friends, I'm not going anywhere," Charlie responded.
-
"And I'll stick around too," Anne added. "Even most of the other hellhound wouldn't want a cat to be the one who takes over the world..."
-
Zoria snorted with disgust and turned to leave. "Time to go. The better we put those demons down for good, the better..."
"You sound like my commanding officer," Zekiel replied. "I'll go in due time."
"Fine... The lingering smell of brimstone makes me sick..." She walks outside and vanishes.
"ANYway..." The collie reaches underneath his shield to pull out an amulet, a shining cabochon surrounded with gold feathers. He hands this to David. "Since you're part of our team, it's best you hold on to this. Rubbing the jewel will emit a signal that all guardian angels can hear, and it can provide some protection against creatures of darkness. I spent a long time protecting kids your age. I'll certainly be there if you need some light."
-
"Thanks, I'll be sure to use this," David assured more earnestly then he has ever been before in his life after everything that transpired in the past few days. "Thank you."
Anne silently growled, annoyed at Zoria's remarks. "Well, I knew I expected that from her," she said calmly, remembering past times they've seen each other.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"So.." Itchy asked Zekiel, "Should we hold onto the collars in case...something goes wrong?"
-
Zekiel sighed. "Well, if you find those collars useful in your quest to find and stop Belladonna and Blight, then perhaps. But don't get attached to them, if you want to keep your place in heaven..."
Tank looked at the collar given to him, and then placed it aside. "You know what? I don't think bat wings would look good. If I decide to find a home, I have to stay cute and fluffy."
Hawk rolled his eyes...
Charlie looked at his collar. "I'll keep it to get more information, but I think I have some ideas where to start."
"Good then," Zekiel replied. "Then I'll leave you to it. And, Annabelle... Your good deeds earned you much good face with the rest of heaven for them to ignore what your parents are. But I can't stop any rumors above about your recent work with your family. Be careful..."
-
"Got you loud and clear," Itchy replied, deciding to only use the Hell collar again in an absolute emergency or if they had to go back to the underworld again.
"Don't worry dear, I'll protect you," Anne assured her daughter.
-
Zekiel held his tongue at that point. He turned and walked out the door, then vanished into thin air.
"OK then," Charlie started. "I'm going to pay a visit to some aquaintences with some information. It'd be best if Itchy and I go alone on this."
"Well, I'm going to head back home," Hawk replied and got up. "I wouldn't be surprised if Linda found me gone already. Since we're nearby, I could keep watch and report if I've seen anything."
"Good plan. Tank? Mind watching David while we're gone?"
"I'm up for it!" Tank answered. "If the kid don't mind."
-
"No problem," David smiled, "Though I will need some help fixing my kitchen..."
"Yeah, sorry about that," Bess apologized. She turned to Sasha. "I guess we're on our own."
"I take it you're talking about Carface, right?" Itchy asked Charlie.
-
Tank went to putting away the spilled pots and pans.
"That's the one," Charlie replied. "Even if he's on the other side, he has a big mouth when he gets comfortable around us. Or we'll sweat some answers out of Killer. If that doesn't work, then I got Plan B."
-
"What's plan B?" Itchy asked, not completely catching on, as the partners left David's house.
-
"Let's start with Plan A first," Charlie replied as they walked along.
----------
Tank examined one of the doors to the cabinet as he saw it break off at the hinges. "Oh yeah... That was me when I crashed into it..."
----------
Hawk was quick to reached his home and snuck into bedroom. He found Linda still asleep and quietly lied down at the foot of the bed, lulling off to sleep...
-
"Got it Charlie," Itchy nodded.
~~~~~~~~~~~`
"I think my dad has some tools we can use in the garage," David explained, "I'll go get some."
-
As Charlie and Itchy walked towards Carface's house, they passed the crack in the road and earth that also decimated Sasha's workplace.
"Think Tank can fix that too after David's house?" Charlie joked.
----------
"Maybe I'll come with you," Tank replied, following. "We can find what we need before your father catches you where you might not belong."
----------
With the fun over, Blight got up and passed Killer as he headed for the back door. "Tell Carface I'm going out," he said. "And don't let any visitors loiter around while I'm gone..."
"Y-y-yes sir," Killer saluted and went back to his cleaning.
-
"Let's hope he can," Itchy commented with a chuckle, "Sasha and Bess will be peeved if the Flea Bite can't get running again."
~~~~~~~
"Thanks Tank," David said, as the two went over to the garage. "What do you think'll we need? A hammer? Nails? A drill?"
~~~~~~~~~
Anne turned to her daughter. "I think I can convince your father to help you out with this," she told the heaven hound, "He'll do anything when I give him that look he likes...."
-
Soon, Charlie were near Carface's home. Lights were on inside.
----------
"We'll need those and some wood glue," Tank replied, sniffing around. Since what had happened before, he's slightly on edge when in the dark.
-
"Think there's a trap planned?" Itchy asked Charlie, looking at the house.
~~~~~~~~~
"Let's see....there's some of that, right over.......here," David said, looking around the garage.
-
So what should we do in the meantime? Help clean up?' Sasha asked Bess.
_ Alright mom, since you're going to do it regardless if I approve or not..." Annabelle said..
-
"That's my girl," Anne grinned, quickly going into the street to create a hole to Hell to catch up with her husband and younger son.
~~~~~~~~~
"We should," Bess replied, "I did cause some of this mess."
~~~~~~~~~~
Down in Hell, Anne found her family's cave, where her husband Damien was resting while Beller was playing with the skulls of tortured souls.
"Dear, I need your help," Anne smiled romantically, knowing that that look could convince him into doing anything.
(OOC: Just a reminder Nick, you control Annabelle's dad.)
-
" what is it, my dear? sooner or later Belladonna will find out we've been less than faithful to our domain.. not that she could really do anything about it, as I outrank her" He grinned sinisterly " So what are you up to.."
-
"Nothing much..." Anne replied slyly, "Just maybe..we could get our daughter out of this mess. She seems to be in deep water. And besides, that brat Belladonna is trying to help a CAT take over the world. I'm just saying if we take over earth it should be us hellhounds only.."
-
shes a heaven-hound, their side ALWAYS wins, my dear, I'm not worried about her in the slightest.. As for cats,, hmm.. " Dameion paused as a tortured soul had his innards painfully regrown, only to be torn out again..
-
"Well, it isn't so much of a matter of them winning as it is she's getting under distrusted up there." Anne then quickly through a fireball at one of the souls for the heck of it.
"Besides, if we help her through this, she may just want to become a hellhound."
-
You still believe that my dear? I see no hope of that.. she has too pure a soul, to switch sides..'Damien replied..
-
"You see how she can be when she gets angry," Anne chuckled, "I wouldn't say that's a completely true statement. Besides, it's your weekend off, we might as well do something as a family."
-
"We'll see when we get there," Charlie replied as they soon reached the front door. He didn't bother to knock as he simply pushed the door open...
----------
"Ah, found the hammer," Tank said, and picked up the hammer in his mouth off a low shelf.
-
As the door slowly opened up, Itchy quickly analyzed the room to see if there were any trap doors or trip wires.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And I got the nails," David said, picking up a pack of them.
-
Charlie strolled inside, and caught Killer by surprised as Carface's right hand jumped onto the top of a tall chair in fright. "Haven't anybody told you to knock!?"
"I would," Charlie replied. "But then there's no fun in it."
Killer climbed back down. "Well there's no one here, and the shop is closed, you'll have to come back when we're open..."
----------
Tank rushed to the kitchen to drop off the hammer next to the broken cabinet, and the went back to the garage to find the wood glue. "You think the glue's on a higher shelf?"
-
"Yeah," David replied, looking up. "I can see it from here, but I can't reach it."
~~~~~~`
"Oh, I'm sure you can make an exception for this one occasion," Itchy chuckled, he and Charlie having Killer outnumbered and most likely out muscled.
-
"Hmm..." Tank pondered, and then came with an idea. He grabbed the hell collar and puts it on, sprouting a pair of bat-like wings. With a few flaps, he lifted off the ground and reached the shelf where the glue was. He picks it off with his mouth and levitates back to the floor, setting it down momentarily to remove the collar. "At least there's some use to this..."
----------
"Hey come on, guys," Killer backed up. "I've been only the housekeeper nowadays. Even I don't know about any plans with Carface and Belladonna..."
"Perhaps," Charlie replied. "But you may have heard something between Belladonna and a certain cat..."
"Y-y-you kidding? We don't have cats around here! The-they're bad for my allergies..."
"So you don't know anything about a cat working with your boss' boss, right?"
"Honestly!"
"Itchy, what do you think?"
-
"Yeah, that was cool," David said. "Now let's get this fixed before my folks get back." He went around the kitchen and gathered the broken pieces of the cabinets to determine which piece went where.
~~~~~~~
"Hmm..I think he might be telling the truth..." Itchy said slyly. He then applied his own hell collar and turned into his more freaky-appearing hellhound form and looked at Killer. "But you let us know if something comes up.." he laughed, taking the collar off, knowing that would freak him into revealing anything he knew.
-
Killer was again in the air with loud "Yipe!" and landed with a thud. "H-hey... How'd you get something like that? You're not supposed to have something like that!"
"Like what?" Charlie responded quickly. "You must be working too hard. Why not take a rain check and be back when you get better. Come on Itchy..." He didn't sound too thrilled in the last part.
-
"Coming Charlie," Itchy replied, following the German Shepard, leaving Killer convinced he was delusional.
~~~~~~~`
David had arranged the pieces of the cabinet and began applying the glue.
-
As the two walked out, Charlie turned to Itchy. "Now that's done, now I'll go on to Plan B." He pulled out his collar. "At this point, nobody else knows what we look like as hellhounds. We can make it look like we are just a pair of hellhounds sent to help Carface in whatever it is they're doing."
(OOC: Where's Carface again?)
-
"Good thinking Charlie," Itchy complimented, "Our voices and appearances are different enough for them to not recognize us."
(OOC: I think Carface is out somewhere else, let's just say shopping.)
-
(why would he be shopping? Lets say hes headed back to his old haunts , in New Orleans..
-
(OOC: You're right Nick, I just forgot what we did with him. Let's go with your idea.)
-
A Dark portol opened , revealing a decrepit old building, choked with overgrowth. the rusty sign above it read Carface and Charlies' through the "Charlie' had been crossed out, presumably by carface's own hand. It was clear no one had set foot in the building for years, even decades.
-
In the waters near the ruins of the boat, gators lived among them. They were the descendants of the one who caused Carface's initial death several years earlier. They took no notice of the dog, however.
-
Inside the building, lay what had been an old racing track of some king, as a rusted mechanical bunny lay on the floor. the evil hound paused, looking around at what once had been his place, granted her has shared it with cxharlie, until he had had Charllie killed, the first time...
-
also inside the ruins were some skulls and prey eaten by the gators.
~~~~~~~~~~
Down in Hell, Anne was still trying to convince her husband to lend a paw. "If you help your daughter I can make sure the amount of souls you can torture can increase," she said sincerely, knowing how much Dameon liked that.
-
if her bosses get word of this... she could get into trouble.. very well, my desr I'll help" Damein saidd finally...
-
"Thanks darling," Anne grinned, kissing her husband on the cheek. "Now let's head up to Earth. I'll get Julie to babysit Beller."
-
"We'll wait a while for Killer to calm down," Charlie said. "How about around back?"
----------
Tank sat and watched David piece the broken wood together, occasionally finding a matching piece to the one David has in hand.
----------
On Alcatraz Island, Blight watches the entire city. He seems to be waiting for someone...
-
Outside David's house, Anne and Dameon caught up with Annabelle.
"Your father agreed to help out," she explained.
-
"Good idea Charlie," Itchy nodded, following his partner.
-
Ubside, Sasha and Bess wrere trying to help clean up. " well this has been one fine day! Your place gerts thrashed- well mine is too.. and now we've got infernal beings from the netherworld trying to take over Earth..' Sasha complained. "At you have a reliable boyfreind Bess..."
-
"Don't worry Sasha," Bess replied, "I'm sure Charlie's reliable when he needs to be.'
-
I want someone who is reliable more than just sometimes" Sasha said " I mean if we switched boyfriends for a week, you'd find out what I mean.. Say.. thats not a half-bad idea, You'll date Charlie for a week, and I'll date Itchy.."
-
"Really?" Bess asked, surprised. She honestly couldn't tell if Sasha was being serious. She wouldn't mind spending a week with Charlie, but the idea did come out of nowhere.
~~~~~~~~~~
"So, can we do anything right now dear?" Anne asked her daughter, her father beside her.
-
we should go see what Belladonna is up to" Annabelle said " She did mention a meeting at Alcatraz..
) Yes I'm being serious.. besides i'm trying to think of stuff to talk about..."Sasha replied.
-
"Ok then," Bess nodded. "We'll tell the boys about this when they get back."
~~~~~~~
"Should we fly there?" Anne asked.
-
yeah, we'll see how receptive they are..' Sasha smirked, and wrapped Bess in a bear hug " You're probably getting the worse of the deal.. Charlies a handful.."
-
"Consider yourself lucky," Bess smiled, "You get Itchy. I wonder how they'll react to this?"
-
charlie.. probably won;t care.. i suspect Itchy might.. anyway.. there's the little matter of fixing things up so we can get back to normal..' She set the smaller dog down and began to walk away towards the other side of the room..
-
"Yeah, it'll be nice to have the Flea bite running again, I'm sure our regular customers will be thinking the same..." Bess responded.
~~~~~~~~
"Well?" Anne asked Annabelle.
-
Well, i'm thinkimng.. normally I don';t het this involved, usually I have Charlie and Itchy to handle this.." annabelle sighed - alright lets fly there..
-
"We don't have to fight, just watch," Anne suggested.
~~~~~~`
"Where do you think we could get the supplies we need to repair the place?" Bess asked Sasha.
-
it could be awhile' sasha replied ' with this economy.. do you have insurance? I do, might it might not cover all of the damage..
-
"I do have some..." Bess replied, "Though I'm not sure if it'll be enough either."
She then asked, "Is Charlie really that unreliable?"
-
in my experience.. yes.. i know hes attracted to me.. that much has been evident from the beginning.. but he hasn't been there enough for me to count on.. Itchy, in my opinion, is a far beter boyfriend, and pontential mate, than Charlie. I get the sense, that Charlie always has been like this, although I know little oof his history, to be honest..
-
"Itchy's told me some about himself," Bess explained, "Though he hasn't gone into the most descriptive of details."
"And I've kinda already told Itchy I'm interested in puppies..."
-
so you've actually brought 'that" Up? Girlfriend, first things first . Marry him, then have kids.. " Sasha said " We have never discussed That between me and Charlie, and technically they're not even alive..:
-
"I know, I know..." Bess responded, "We would get married first, don't worry." She then said, "What would you do or say if during that week...Charlie ended up actually falling for me?"
-
you know, i'm not sure.. on the short end, i'd be happy for you, and to be honest, I don't think it will take much for him to fall for you, You're very pretty Bess" Sasha grinned.
-
"But I'm already in love with Itchy, so I'd have to let Charlie down a bit," Bess replied.
-
well if itchy falls for me, then that may be an issue, although i don't think he will. there's as much a chance of that as us getting together.. that is to say, none whatsoever. charlie will probably fall for you though.." Sasha said.
-
But I'll have to say no to him. I hope he won't take it too hard, though.." Bess commented.
-
i don';t think he will.. but we'll have to see... but it would be funnty though making them do what we want...' Saha said.
-
"Yeah..." Bess chuckled cheekily.
-
Meanwhile, Tank had helped David piece together the cabinet door, and is now waiting for the glue to dry before screwing it back on. "That didn't take long now did it?" Tank replied.
----------
After a while of waiting, Charlie gave a wink to Itchy and puts on the collar, transforming into a fiendish version of himself...
----------
Blight pulls out a pocketwatch to check the time, and then puts it away. "Soon to have the honey before we attract the flies..." he said to himself...
-
Itchy nodded with a little grin and did the same, transforming into the darker version of himself, sprouting bat-wings and barely resembling the old Itchy at all.
~~~~
"No, not at all," David smiled, getting the cabinet back into position. "You've been a great help, thanks Tank."
-
"No problem, David," Tank replied. "While we wait on the glue to dry, let's see how the ladies are doing."
----------
Charlie led the way back into the house. Once again, Killer was at work hopelessly cleaning the place, when the sight of the two hellhounds made him jump higher than he did with Charlie and Itchy. "You hellhounds never knock..." Killer said as he climbed down a chair he jumped on. "It's about time you boys got here. Belladonna's got work for you to do..."
-
"Got it," Itchy nodded, "That's why we came here."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Sure," David nodded, "I wonder what they could be talking about."
-
"OK then. Wait here." Killer walked into a closet for a moment, then returned with an ornate box with seemingly demonic designs. "You need to take this to Belladonna at Alcatraz Island."
"That's why we took all our time to get from hell for?" Charlie was playing a good role of what he's not. "Delivery service? What's in it?"
"It's a need-to-know mission. For the fact that I don't know what's in it either..."
----------
"Girl stuff, maybe?" Tank answered.
-
"Hey, it's better than guarding the gates of Hell," Itchy told Charlie, also doing a good job at acting. "At least we could potentially cause chaos with whatever this is."
~~~~~~~
"You're right," David chuckled, "I don't know if I'm interested in that kind of stuff."
-
"Your jobs is to take this directly to Alcatraz Island," Killer replied. "No opening the box."
"Fine, whatever," Charlie replied as he picked up the box and headed out again.
----------
"It depends on whether or not you can understand it, let alone like," Tank commented.
-
After they stepped outside, Itchy began to fly with his bat-like wings.
"What do you think?" he asked Charlie, "Should we look at whatever this, or take it to Alcatraz to see what Belladonna's planning?"
~~~~~~~~~`
"Good point," David nodded.
-
meanwhile both Bess and Sasha were finishing cleaning up. Indeed they had been talking girl matters, specifically, how they were going to spend the week that they switched boyfriends..
-
"I just wish we could no what's in here without looking inside..." Itchy said. "It has to be a big piece of Belladonna's plan."
And on Alcatraz, that would prove to be the case...
-
Charlie was tempted to check what was inside, but a strange tingly feeling kept him from doing so. "I wonder if Anne could see in it without some trap blowing up..."
----------
Meanwhile, back at Carface's house, Killer was again at work. This time, a smoky mist seeped into the room and materialized before Killer as a pair of Ravics, causing him to jump yet again. "Oh, it's you. I've been told to give you what Belladonna really needs. It's over here..."
----------
Tank looked around at the newly cleaned room Sasha and Bess were working on. "I guess that just leaves the cafe to be worked on," he said.
-
"And that could take weeks," Bess sighed, knowing it wasn't going to be an easy job.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And can we even be sure that this isn't a trap intended for us to start with?" Itchy asked. "Anyways, I think Anne was on the street near David's house last time we saw her."
-
"Sure then, let's go talk to her," Charlie banked to the side towards David's house...
----------
A noise behind him had Blight turn his head around to the source. "It seems these guardian angels have caused quite a ruckus in our plans..."
The source remained in the shadows to keep from being seen. "The guardian angels on earth and their mortal friends are simply a nuisance," it replied. "They won't change the final course..."
"And what about that warrior of a mutt, Zekiel? You know he won't stand by from investigating out our plans..."
"Leave him to me... By the time he finds out, our goal will be complete... I hope we never have to see each other again after this..." The shape in the shadow shifted and then vanished.
"I agree to the fullest degree..." Blight replied grimly...
-
By sheer perfect timing, Charlie and Itchy caught up to Annabelle and her parents before they could set off.
"Hey boys," Anne said, "I see you're back in your hell forms, need our assistance?"
"Why yes," Itchy replied, "You see, Killer told us to give this package to Belladonna, but we need to know what it is without actually opening it you see...."
-
Charlie puts the box down in front of him. "Killer said Belladonna wants this brought to Alcatraz Island. Any idea what this might be?"
----------
After the short conversation, Blight turned and he too vanished...
-
"Let me have a look," Anne said, taking the package. She examined it closely to sense what was inside.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey, I can see Charlie and Itchy," Bess told Sasha, looking out the window. "They're in the hellhound forms though."
-
"You got to be kidding," Anne said when she sensed what was in the box.
"What is it?" Itchy asked.
"Random garbage," Ananbelle's mother replied, "Things like pennies, other crap like that."
"I get the feeling we've been duped," Itchy frowned.
-
"I don't get it either," Charlie scratched his head. "Why would Belladonna want this junk at Alcatraz? I don't think she knew of our disguises."
----------
Tank looked out the window as well. "Must be guardian angel duties," he said.
-
"Maybe it's not her..." Anne suggested, "Maybe it's Blight."
"You got a point there," Itchy nodded.
"Anyways, if something is happening at Alcatraz, I don't think all of us should go at once in case there's a trap. I'll go with you two, I can be especially helpful if Belladonna has other actual hellhounds helping her, primarily male ones." Anne explained.
-
yeah thats going to take a awhile with clean-up repairs and getting the money from insurance" sasha agreed.. " But at least we didn't lose everything..
-
"Maybe we should see what the boys are up to," Bess said, "Maybe they could use our help."
-
"We should go check it out," Charlie agreed with Anne. "If we were fooled to get the wrong box, then someone else may have the real thing and took it to Alcatraz."
----------
However, the Ravics with the real prize instead appeared in hell in front of Belladonna's cave...
----------
"You think you can use your building talents to help fix the cafe, David?" Tank turned and asked.
-
Excellent Belladonna smirked " You gave those fools a duplicate.. well done" she laughed sinisterly..
-
"Sure, but I haven't worked on something that large of a scale," David replied.
~~~~~~~~~~
"I'm with ya Charlie," Itchy said confidently.
"And I'll go with you two as well," Anne added.
-
"Trust me. You won't be doing it all on your own." Tank responded.
----------
"Alrighty then," Charlie said as he picked up the box. "Let's get going."
----------
The Ravics glided closer and placed their delivery on the ground. I was an antique-looking chest guilded with gold in demonic designs...
-
"Right behind you," Anne said as she began to fly.
"I think Bess and Sasha should stay here Charlie," Itchy said, "For their safety."
-
"Of course," Charlie replied. "Anne said we can't all go at once. Besides, we wouldn't want the girls to walk into any trouble, right?"
-
"That's true Charlie," Itchy agreed.
"Besides, if there are other hellhounds there, I can be of real assistance more than usual," Anne explained.
"How?" Itchy asked, slightly puzzled.
"I think I mentioned it before, but I still have my enchantress powers, I can make any male dog, whether it be mortal, heaven, or hell just fall for me. Of course, I don't really pay them any mind. It's worked on Belladonna's associates before."
"I don't believe that," Itchy chuckled.
"Then I'll give you a little demonstration,' Anne chuckled, closing her eyes, and then reopening them, a little sparkle in them, testing her powers on Charlie and Itchy to prove they would work. She would then snap them out of it.
-
' What do you expect us to do, just sit here and wait foir you guys to come back? We can help!' Sasha said Fiercely.. " You know what Bess, lets head down to your place and start fixing up..
-
"Coming Sasha," Bess called as she followed her friend. "I know the guys just want to keep us safe...."
-
"Eh, she'll get over it," Charlie had said, and then was under Anne's enchanting glance, he could not remember the moments afterwards until he was released from the trance. "Um, what happened?"
----------
"Let's get to work with the girls on the cafe," Tank said to David.
(OOC: Is it still at night?)
-
(OOC: Yeah, or at least the early morning.)
"Proof I still got it," Anne replied with a smirk, beginning to fly. "Let's go boys."
"Right behind you," Itchy called, spreading his bat wings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Yeah, we should," David agreed, "They're going to need a lot of help."
-
Charlie took off with the others to Alcatraz...
----------
"Well, let's hurry up before they leave us behind," Tank said, moving into a jog.
-
"Right behind you," David called, picking up the pace.
~~~~~~~~~~
At the Flea Bite, Bess and Sasha stared at the damage. "Where should we start?" she asked Sasha.
~~~~~~~~~~
Itchy was following behind Charlie and Anne. "I just hope we're ready for whatever Blight and Belladonna got planned."
-
Lets start with the dining room. we'll alsio need something to prop up the roff, theres large crack in the ceiling over there.. we don't want it collasping on us..
-
"I wonder if we could get our paws on construction equipment," Bess wondered.
-
' well thats a good idea' sasha nodded ' first things first though.. lets cxheck out the kitchenand the upstairs..
-
"Yeah, let's see if anything's still in working condition," Bess agreed.
-
the girls headed upstairs , sidestepping debris that had fallen from the ceiling above. installation hung from the rafters, and here and there mice scurried to and fro. the upstaoirs was even more of a ,ass than the downstairs. debris was everywhere, pots and pans were twsted and strewn all over the floor..
-
"Hmm...the cups look in good condition..." Bess noted, "And we could get a cat to take care of the mice for us...."
-
'The mice are the least of our problems. we're going to have to put in new ceiling tiles new installation" The building suddenly began to groan.. as if its foundations weren't very stable..
-
"We should get out of here...." Bess gulped. She then got an idea. She took out her hell collar. "Maybe this'll give me enough muscle to support the ceiling."
-
' no way, we are not.. run1" she yelled as the beiling began to fall on them in check. sasha dashed forward into a small hallway. the doorframe held off the collasping building but the area behing them and in front of them was complete;ly sealed off. they were completely trapped!
-
"Crap! Crap!" Bess panicked. She desperately tried to think of an idea. "Wait a sec...maybe I could turn into a dragon again, and could bust us out of here..." she suggested.
-
We just need to stay calm.. ' sasha said it was hard to hear her over the lous sounds of the building continuing to collaspse..
-
"But we have to do something!" Bess said, "The guys might not find us here in time!"
-
thats just a risk we'll have to take.. for now lets try and break through the floor.. find something sharpp
-
"What about broken floorboards? Would that work?" Bess asked.
-
anything1 just grab something and start working on it..
-
By the time David and Tank reached the Flea Bite Cafe, some of the building suddenly collapsed. "Stay back!" Tank shouted.
----------
Itchy, Charlie, & Anne would soon had Alcatraz Island in their sights. "First Red, then Belladonna, and now this Blight person," Charlie said. "Does everything have to happen at that island every time?"
-
"It only makes sense," Anne replied, "They've kept the worst of the worst here in the past....."
"Yeah, I'd hate to see what this place was like when it was still active..." Itchy shivered.
~~~~~~~~~
David safely jumped back from the debris. "Wait...you don't think the girls are in there do you?!"
-
Just be careful you twp' annabelle said flying off " we need to find out wjat they are up to..
-
the area the girls ghad to move around was between 5 to 10 feet it was pitch dark , so the sasha could not see the paw in front of her face..
-
"What can we do?" Bess asked nervously, "I still have my collar."
-
i don't' Sasha said I left it at david's house... all we can really do is wait, or we can try and break to the lower floor.. but I'm not sure if thats safe...we need to save as much as we can...beep shallow..' Sasha said.
-
"I know they were a ways ahead of us," Tank answered. "Sasha! Bess! You in there?!"
----------
Charlie squinted his eyes to get a better look at the place while they're still far away. "I don't see anything from this distance," he said. "We'll have to get closer."
-
"Just be careful," Itchy said.
"They have to have something set up," Anne agreed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
"You hear someone yelling Sasha?" Bess asked.
"I hope they're not hurt..." David said, concerned.
-
I'm not hearing anything' Sasha said, she was a good few feet from where Bess was..
-
"Let's circle it before we land," Charlie said.
----------
"Of all the times for the others to be gone..." Tank muttered, sniffing around. "David, call to see if they can hear you. But stay away from anything that hasn't fallen yet."
-
"Gotcha Tank," David nodded, carefully examining the ceiling to know where it was safe. "Sasha! Bess!" He called in every direction he could.
~~~~~~~~
"Good thinking," Anne said, flying faster and looking at the island closely. There had to be something off....
-
" see if that collars glows If it does , hold it up so i can see where you are.. its so dark in here...
-
Bess did, and sure enough, it glowed a hellish-red light.
"As good a light as any," Bess figured.
-
Sasha reached over and hugged her friend her voice catching in her thought " i'm sorry I got us stuck in here' she said , her voice almost a whisper..
-
"It's ok...I know we'll get out," Bess said. "Want to use this?" she asked, offering Sasha the collar.
-
as a torch.. sure" Sasha said taking the necklace and hholding it bove her head there wasn't much to look at the debris sretched from the floor to the ceiling, although on closer imspection muchg of the debris was thin ceiling tiles..
-
"Do you see a path out of here?" Bess asked.
-
' we cpuld climb up the debris to the ceiling, but that would be very risky, it collapses on us, we're both dead..on the plus side, we'd both go to heaven, on the downside i'd be stuck with Charlie for eternity, literally.."Sasha frowned..
-
"Well, I want to live," Bess said. "I don't if I can have puppies once I'm up there."
-
Never thought about that, but i don't think you can. the dead have no use for children, only the living do.. now try and see if you can punch a small hole to let fresh air in...' Sasha said
- the forbording island of Alcatraz grew closer and closer...
-
Bess tried her best, managing to pet a few perforations in the wall.
"I was thinking...if we do die, what if one of us volunteers to be a hellhound so we can spy on the bad guys 24/7?"
-
" Bess Dear , i don't think it works that way. We don't want to go to the other place, ever.. I'd much rather float on the cloud, then burn in a fiery pit..
-
"True..." Bess admitted, "Though my plan was to be a spy, who could go between realms as we pleased, and maybe be the ones who give out punishment, not take it..."
"Anyways, if you're worried about an eternity with Charlie, Annabelle once told me she had a crush on him after the first time he died."
-
" Well, he has a way with the females.. I wonder why it never worked out between them although I guess you can't have a relationship of intimacy with your superior angel.. I'm gyessing
-
"Well, she told me one time that if long ago, Charlie ended up going to Hell, she would've aranged it so Anne would've been his torturer so he wouldn't have it so bad."
"Also, I heard that some of the hellhounds who are assigned to be torturers by heaven, those are the ones who don't like Belladonna. Kind of like Annabelle's mom."
-
" and how exactly do you know all this? Did you die previously and were set back? Sasha said her eyes widened..
-
"No, Annabelle told me this. She didn't want to talk about Charlie to you, since she was worried it could mess up you and charlie's relationship," Bess replied honestly.
-
Well, its not like our relationship isn't messed up already.. in fact Annabelle can have him if she wants him.. hes never really reliable for me.. which is why we're going to switch boyfriends ...Sasha said..
-
"And if we die," Bess thought, "You can ask for enchantress powers like Annabelle's mom, that could help you find a dog on the other side."
-
While trying to sniff out the girls' location, Tank remembered the collar and puts it on, shifting quite naturally to demonic form and took to the air above the wreck. "Sasha! Bess!" he called out again...
----------
Once they reached the vicinity of the island, Charlie banked to circle over the prison, looking for something out of place...
-
"Again, do you hear something?" Bess asked Sasha.
~~~~~~~~~
"I don't see anything," Itchy noted. "We can't be too sure..." replied Anne.
-
i don't think powers is something they just give you' Sasha said, the air was becoming thiickr now, they were starting to run out of fresh air.. " Keeping working at that debris.. we'ere running out of air" Sasha said " I hear something but its faint and muffled..
-
"Well no matter what, see you soon friend..." Bess smiled.
"Well, at least I'm sure they'll let us back to earth," she said.
~~~~~~~~~`
"Tank! Do you see anything?!" David called from the outside.
-
Sasha leaned forward and kissed bess on the lips, and gently rubbed her tongue against bess' for a couple seconds. ' Goodbye bess" Sasha whispered, tears running down her cheeks. "I'm sorry for everything..
-
"I"m sorry too...." Bess replied, her eyes shutting. "Well,at least I can be with Itchy more properly now...."
-
Sasha pulled her friend towards her and held her close " I wish Charlie was here she said, giving a final furtive kick as the the debris in front of them ' AS Providence would have it, that kick did just enough damage to let a fresh breeze of air into thieir space..
-
"Oh thank goodness," Bess smiled, beginning to cry.
-
Sasha began to cry too and Hugged Bess again.. " its not our time yet..
-
"Then let's get out of here," Bess smiled.
OOC: I'm going to sleep now.
-
Tank was just about to answer David when he saw some debris fall in and reveal an opening in the wreckage. "Let me check again!" he called back. He hovered close to the opening. "Bess! Sasha! Can you hear me?!"
-----------
"There's too many places to hide in..." Charlie muttered, and then felt himself feeling lighter. He looked down and noticed the box was no longer in hand. The box fell to earth with a crushing thud...
-
Bess could finally be sure she heard a voice.
"Yes Tank! We're in here!" she called.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh crap," Itchy gulped as the box crashed, waiting for something to appear afterwords.
-
" you hear something? Tank! we're stuck in here!" Sasha called out..." can you hear us...
-
"I can hear you, but you sound like a ways down!" Tank called. "Is anybody hurt?"
----------
Charlie chuckled nervously. "Oops... Butter fingers..." He then swooped down to where the box had landed. It was cracked and broken in many places, and it was falling apart then Charlie picked it up. It was then the suspicious item rolled out and landed on the dirt, and then began to illuminate...
-
No, but we were running out of air before we made an opening" sasha replied.. We could use some food too.."
-
"Oh crap, what's happening?" Itchy asked.
"Brace yourselves," Anne advised.
-
" Tank, see if you can toss anything in the hole by us..' Sasha said...
-
"OK! Hold on!" Tank looked around to find something. He flew over until he was near David. "I just found the girls. They're alright, but they're stuck. Do you have anything that is round?"
----------
The glowing item began to shake, causing even the ground to vibrate throughout the island. Any loose debris around the area fell into a clatter across the ground.
Charlie was stopped when he was just above the ground and watched the commotion. "Oh, this can't be good..."
-
"Some of these fragments are," David pointed out, looking at the rubble.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Should we take cover Charlie?" Itchy asked.
-
"Good eye, David," Tank picked up a piece of stone and flew back to the opening. "I'm gonna drop a stone inside! Tell if you see it roll in!" He dropped the stone carefully into the hole...
----------
Before Charlie could answer, balls of light bolted from the glowing object, one of which struck Charlie's collar and shattered it. Luckily, Charlie did not have far to fall, and landed on his haunches...
Some of the balls hurtled towards Itchy...
-
Itchy, since he would have a higher drop, managed to get out of the way just in time to avoid a fall. "I hope those aren't heat-seeking," he gulped, beginning to descend.
"Obvious trap..." Anne growled.
~~~~~~~~
"We can see it!" Bess called, seeing the stone roll in.
-
Although the balls trying to hit Itchy missed, they turned to try again...
The rest hovered above the ground and began to take shape, almost human shape...
----------
"Can you crawl out through the opening?" Tank called.
-
"We'll try...." Bess called back. She scooted backwards, and her front paws were soon visible to Tank.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Itchy, realizing the balls wouldn't give up, landed safely on the ground before they could hit him.
"Whoa..." Anne said amazed at the figure appearing.
-
Sasha pushed Forward and pushed bess forward a come on Girl, you can doi it! You're smaller than me so you can squeeze through the hole...
-
"I see your paws!" Tank said, and moved closer to reach them. "Almost... Keep going!"
----------
The balls chasing Itchy soon diverted and joined the others in taking different humanoid shapes. No face developed from any of the figures to discern who they were, but their intentions were quickly made clear as they could pick up various items left around the island...
-
"Think these things are working for Blight?" Itchy asked.
"Most likely," Anne replied, "But even if they aren't, I don't think we can trust these."
~~~~~~~~`
Inch by inch, Bess maneuvered her body to safety, along with Sasha. The dogs' paws were near Tank's.
-
Almost there" Sasha said pushing Bess in Front of her
_ And now these things want to destroy us' annabelle said darkly..
-
When they weren't looking, a small cloud of smoke sped past Charlie towards the fallen object, and materialized into a Ravic. Once fully formed, the creature picked up the item in one claw and pointed at the quartet with the other. Slowly, the spirits began to descend towards the group...
----------
Tank reached out again...and grabbed one of Bess' paws. "I gotcha!" he said excitedly.
-
Pull Tank! I'm pushing her from the bottom! Sasha said from behind Bess....
-
"Why am I not surprised?" groaned Anne.
"What are we going to do?!" panicked Itchy.
~~~~~~~~~
"Thanks Tank, thank you so much," Bess breathed, relieved.
-
Tank pulled Bess from the wreckage and flew her to where David stood, placing her gently on the ground...
----------
"I don't know!" Charlie replied. "I can't fly anymore!"
-
Bess was happy to be finally freed. She wasn't in bad pain, but she did need a rest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anne lowered herself to the ground as well to assist her daughter and the others.
"Ok Itchy," Itchy said to himself, "You gotta be tough, you got to fight...."
-
Tank then flew back to the hole to get Sasha. "I'm back, Sasha!"
----------
"So what am I for?" Charlie grumbled, but an idea sparked in his head. "You know what Itchy? You and others stall these spooks off. I got a plan..."
-
"I'm on it Charlie!" Itchy grinned, letting out a fire breath.
Anne landed, preparing to turn into her own dragon form. "I'm not going easy on you creeps," she said to the Ravics.
-
The Ravic simply snapped its talons, and some of the ghostly figures stood between it and Anne...
Charlie, while avoiding the spooks, began to sneak around the Ravic...
Some of the ghouls were enveloped by Itchy's fire, but immediately reformed and continued to move towards him...
-
"I should've seen that coming," gulped Itchy, flying up to avoid the ghouls.
"What do you want?" Anne demanded of the ghostly figures separating her and her opponent.
-
The specters were unable to say anything other than unearthly disembodied moans, but the Ravic made their intentions clear as they raised their clubs at Anne...
Charlie still remained undetected as he crept even closer to the Ravic...
-
Anne noticed Charlie in the corner of her eye, and decided to buy him some time.
Anne took a few slow steps backwards, and began to prepare her turn-into-fire power in case Charlie's plan backfired.
-
Sasha tried to climb out of the hole, but it was too small for her " you'll have to make the hole bigger.."she said.
-
"OK," Tank replied. "There might be some dirt coming on top of you." With he practiced back below, he uses his abnormal strength to begin pushing the hole wider...
----------
As the Ravic was fixated on Anne, Charlie leaped forward and grabs a hold of what the Ravic was holding. Although he got both paws on the object, he finds himself at the other end of Ravic, whose claws kept firmly on the artifact as well. "Anne?! A little help?!"
-
"Coming right up!" Anne called as she dashed forward, carefully breathing fire only on the Ravic and giving it a hard headbutt at the same time.
"How do you like them apples?" Itchy laughed as he prepared to do a crater-causing ground pound.
-
Sasha scurried back, trying to avoid getting hit bu falling debris.. ' so much for the Flea Bite" she thought " We'll have to rebuild in a different location..
-
"We can find another alleyway," Bess said confidently.
-
Sasha made another leap for the opening which was now large enough for her to put her paws though..
-
The 4 made their way back to the fresh air.
-
Just as Tank was about to land, a beam of light appears out of nowhere towards him, but another flying light, more of large disk, shot out from another direction to intercept the first light. The first light exploded before it would hit the collie-mix, but the disk was close enough to shatter the demon collar, dropping him a few feet to the ground. He landed with a thud as the disk curved away and out of sight...
"Ow..."
----------
The Ravic was reeled back by the force, dropping tens of feet away. Charlie himself landed backwards from the sudden release. He held up the item long enough to find that one of the creature's arms still clings to the object, but the arm soon dissolves to ash...
The marauding ghosts suddenly stop in their tracks...
-
"Charlie, keep using that!" Anne called. "It looks like that stops these things!"
~~~~~~~~~`
"What was that?"! Bess panicked.
-
i have no idea.. Sasha said as she headed over to Tank..
-
"OK..." Tank said he got back up. "That was stranger than a 5-foot tumbleweed chasing me over a half-mile in the desert..."
----------
"OK...um..." Charlie examined the thing, shaking it a little bit to see if it was hollow. "Alakazam, return to where you...came?"
Strangely enough, the spirits seemed to comply as they reformed into balls of light and sink into the ground...
The Ravic, meanwhile, got back up and its arm regenerates...
-
"Wait.." Anne realized. "That thing can control them? Then try telling them to lend us a paw here!" She got into battle ready position, as did Itchy.
"I think those things might be on our side," Itchy commented.
-
"Oh right..." Charlie responded. "Alamazoo, come back and do my voodoo!"
As pathetic as it was, the spirits again complied and reformed from the earth.
"OK, team! Go get that Ravic!"
The ghosts turned on the cloaked monster and slowly converged on its position. The Ravic could've easily escaped, but it seemed like it was ordered not to. With its renewed claws, it reached underneath its cloak and pulled out what looks like a small black canister...
-
"Crap, what's that?" Itchy asked.
"I get the feeling we should get rid of that thing," Anne replied zooming down to knock the canister out of the Ravic's claw.
-
The force of the strike knocks the canister from the Ravic's grip, but as the canister hit the ground, it explodes and sends a visible shockwave across the ground. Charlie, Itchy, Anne, & Annabelle would remain unscathed, but the Ravic, the ghosts, and the object Charlie's holding dissintegrated from sight...
-
Let's head back to David's house, Bess abd I need to recover our ordeal..Sasha said.
-
"Well that worked," Itchy grinned happily.
-
"OK then," Tank agreed. "And you'll probably have to be cleaned off of all that dirt."
----------
"Yeah," Charlie replied as he got up. "But that didn't bring any answers we needed, other than the fact that this was a trap and they saw through our disguises..."
-
"I call first bath," Bess said quickly, wanting to get cleaned off.
~~~~~~~~`
"So, should we keep on going?" Itchy asked.
-
"To where?" Charlie answered. "We are here, and we fell into a trap. Belladonna must've known we were trying to find out what she's up to, and placed us with a diversion to throw us off the case. What else could we do here?"
----------
Tank chuckled. "I've been fine without a human-assisted bath for a long time," he said. "I can wait my turn."
-
"You're right..." Itchy admitted. "I'm not going to back out," he kept telling himself.
"That's the way to think, Itchy," Anne replied.
-
sure, bess gets first bath, I can wait" Sasha said shaking some dust off.
-
"Now then," Charlie said. "Can someone give me a lift back to mainland? I doubt I'll be flying on my own for a while..."
----------
"Hope you don't mind your place smelling like wet dogs today," Tank joked to David.
-
"I got air fresheners...." David replied.
~~~~~~~~~~`
"I'll take you back Charlie," Anne said, swooping down, and picking the German Shepard up.
-
As Charlie was being picked up by Anne, he turned his head and smirked. "Now why need charming magic when you prove you can pick men up off their feet the old fashioned way?" he joked.
-
"I'm just that good," Anne chuckled in reply.
-
"Let's go back to David's house," Charlie said. "It's close to morning and we didn't have a wink of sleep all day. After that and a meal, then we could see what we can do next."
----------
Tank followed the others back to David's house...
-
"I agree with you Charlie," Itchy replied, "I could use some rest."
"You boys picked the right idea," Anne replied as she flew Charlie back to the city.
~~~~~~~~~``
At David's house, Bess quickly went to the bath.
-
"Ooh.. I can see our pad from here..." Charlie said outloud as they reached the mainland...
----------
Tank sat on the porch to watch the sky as he waited...
-
"There's where we're headed," Itchy called as he flew with his bat wings, looking down and noticing Tank on David's porch.
"Going down," Anne said to Charlie as they descended.
-
Tank was momentarily surprised by the sight of the others flying in. "Welcome back," he called as they got closer. "What happened?"
"Lost my wings," Charlie joked as he was let down.
"You too?"
-
"I managed to hold onto mine,' Itchy added, taking off the collar after he landed.
"Now, we've agreed to take some time to rest," Anne yawned.
-
Charlie looked around. "Where're the girls?"
"They've gone to take a bath," Tank replied.
"Dirty work at the Flea Bite?"
"Well... You could say that..."
-
Bess was happy to see particles of dust and dirt go down the drain.
~~~~~~~~
"At least we're all ok," Itchy sighed.
-
sasha waited for Bess to finish up, so he could take her turn.
-
"True," Charlie agreed. "Well, let's go get some rest. I don't need a bath. I had one last week."
"That's not long at all on my standards," Tank replied, smirking.
-
"What are your standards than Tank?" Itchy chuckled lightly.
-
"Try nothing but dirty rain water," Tank replied. "I think I still smell like a wet dog..."
-
Ew," Itchy frowned, "Sorry to hear that."
-
"Yeah," Tank replied. "Been nearly two months since some kids decided to give a stray dog a bath."
-
"I'm sorry to hear that," Itchy replied.
-
"What's wrong with that? I'd rather have kids wash me than deal with rain water."
Charlie lied down on the porch. "So you want to be a house dog, eh?"
Tank shrugged.
-
sasha continued to wait for bess to finish.. " are you almost done Bess?
-
"Yeah," Bess nodded, climbing out of the shower.
-
" Good, I need to get cleaned up , pretty badly ' Sasha said as the door opened " You look much better...she complimented her..
-
"Thanks," Bess nodded.
-
Tank yawned and watched the sky some more. It looked like dawn was coming as the skies were changing in colors.
Charlie laid his head down and nods off...
-
Sasha headed inside and turned on the faucet, and let out a sidh as the warm water washed over her, cleaning off the dust. "tomorrow, we start looking at a new oplace for bess.." she said to herself...
-
Bess nodded, then nodded off.
Little did they know the city would be very different the next day....
-
The Morning came but a viel of darkness came through the window.. Sasha and Bess had shared a room for the nbnight..
-
Charlie and Tank slept on the porch the rest of the night, but when they woke up, they saw...
"What the?!" Charlie jumped to his feet.
"Was the town supposed to look like that in the morning?" Tank asked, his eyes wide with surprise...
----------
From Carface's house, Blight chuckled darkly at the sight...
-
Isn't it supposed to be morning? Sasha complained as she came up to charklie and the Others.
-
"Huh? Wha?!" Itchy said, waking up quickly.
"The heck..." Bess gasped.
"You may be spot on, there..." Anne said.
-
From where the dogs could see, sky across the city was blanketed by a magical veil of dark purple. The city naturally has their street lamps off by now, but the sudden darkness had the power company scrambling to bring light back to the dark city...
----------
Linda was up early, and was working on breakfast when she noticed a feeling that something was not right. She could not see what had happened, but she sensed a feeling of dread all the same.
Hawk's jaw nearly dropped when he took a look outside...
----------
"We were barely asleep a while ago..." Tank said.
"What is Belladonna up to?" Charlie asked.
-
whatever it is, its not good, obviously.. " Sasha said looking up asat the strange sights ' best go out and investigate this, i say.." She said heading down the stairs to the street, ;' well, you guys coming or not?
-
"Sure," Itchy nodded. "We'll have to something, and fast."
-
' lets go see how far this leads
- belladonna watched from a distance, and grinned at the dome ' well done blight. ' now no angel can enter, or leave the city.. both charlies and itchy's powers are blocked..
-
"Not entirely blocked," Blight informed. "But limited enough to keep them from doing anything effective. Only the strongest of angels could still retain their full strength, IF any where inside the dome... Now, to wait for the legions to reach the surface..."
----------
Tank and Charlie followed to the streets. "So where are we searching first?" Tank asked.
"I got one place in mind," Charlie said, with slight anger in his voice. "Time I pay Carface a visit..."
-
Great" Sasha groaned " charlie had disliked the cur as long as she could remember, there was a history there , going back a long time, probably back to when Charlie wasn't an angel, however long ago that was..
-
"He's so going down for this one," Itchy scowled in agreement.
-
What makes you think hes involved? or it is because when theres trouble, hes usually involved? Saha asked charlie..
-
"He works for Belladonna," Charlie replied. "And we haven't seen him all day yesterday. He wouldn't be doing things like this without Belladonna doing the commands. Plus, most of Belladonna's scheming is done at his pad anyway, when she's not downstairs, if you know what I mean..."
-
I see, so yes hes involves in this.. if I may ask Charlie how far do you and him go bacK?"
-
"Since before he died the first time," Itchy replied. "They used to be business partners, but that's long over now."
-
oh really/ charlie doesn't talk much about his past or what he did back then Sasha refkected..
-
"Let's just say we didn't get along well back then," Charlie muttered. "And I found out his true intentions the hard way..."
"That's deep..." Tank replied.
"If that's not bad enough, he betrayed the guardian angels by doing some dirty work for a cat named Red, and now Belladonna. He's had some part in this somehow..."
-
"He always seems to be involved with whoever the evil mastermind is," Itchy added.
Anne meanwhile was creating more hell collars, just as a safety measure.
-
whebnn hes not the evil mastermind himself ' sasha said as the dogs continued walking down the sreet under the strange glow that covered the city.. ' had any ideas Bess about where you want to rebuild the Flea Bite? She asked, changing the subject briefly..
-
Just another alleyway would be fine,' Bess replied, "But let's not focus too much on that."
-
Tank was heading up the rear of the group, when something behind them had his ears perked up and he turned his head towards the noise, which was behind the nearest house. He pulled from the others for a moment to check it out...
----------
It wasn't long for Linda to get the full details of what happened as she turned on the radio for the morning news, which wasn't good...
-
Well thats betrter than talking about this purple shield that is filtering out the sun.. and givimng everything a weird tint ' it was kinda like a lava lamp..
-
"Uh, Tank? Where'd he go?" Itchy asked, not seeing Tank stray from the group.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"As much as this should be gone, it does give this place a feeling like home," Anne told Damien.
-
Tank followed the noise to the back yard, finding himself on the porch when the noise stopped. Where the noise had been, sat a pile of collars, with colors of sky blue and sea green, and golden tags. Tank took a closer look at one of tags, and found Itchy's name on it. "OK, this is weird, but cool," he said, and picked up all the collars in his mouth, keeping himself balanced as he headed back to catch up with the others...
----------
Charlie also looked around. "I wonder where he'd gone off to," he replied. "He's not the type to run away from something before."
-
"You guys seem him anywhere?" Itchy asked Charlie and Annabelle.
"I got nothing," Bess replied to her boyfriend. She then stared up at the red sky dome that surrounded the city. It was certainly hellish, to say the least.
-
Tank hurried to catch up with the others.
Charlie shook his head when he saw him. "Where have you been?"
"Uh fund reese behund a huse..."
"What?"
Tank spit the collars from his mouth. "I found these behind a house. They got names and everything!"
-
"This one says my name," Itchy noticed, "And there's one for you Charlie, and ones for Bess, Sasha, and Tank too."
He then turned to Charlie. "You these are from heaven? Or do you think they're some kind of trap?"
-
who knows really? We better take a close look at them before putting them on at least' Sasha said holding up the collar with her name on it..
-
Charlie held up his, taking a good look at it. "I don't think anyone upstairs could've been able to get here," he answered. "Unless, they're already here when this happened..." After a while of pondering, he put the collar on, and the tag began to glow in unison with his guardian angel pin...
Tank's eye were wide...
-
Itchy did the same with the collar labeled with his name, and the exact glow appeared.
"We're back in business Charlie," he grinned. "Bess, Tank, Sasha, you have to try this."
-
"You don't have to tell me twice," Tank replied as he hurried to put his collar on, which the tag began to shine, but not at the extent of Charlie's and Itchy's.
"So where did you find these again?" Charlie asked.
"Behind a house down the street."
"I don't think Annabelle's the type to leave stuff around without us noticing it was her..."
-
Something fishys going on here.. I'm guessing these were left by Vbelladonna or one of her minions Sasha said, she then tossed her collar away as far as she could throw it " i'm not going to be her pawn.. she snapped.
-
Just then, dark shapes began to glide across the street behind them, getting closer with each pass.
Tank caught sight of them and his ears folded back. "Uh, guys... Company..."
Charlie looked over his shoulder and saw them as well. "Ravics," he muttered.
"LOTS of Ravics..."
-
"By this point, I don't think we should be surprised," Itchy gulped.
"we're gonna have to fight..." Bess said, trying to remain calm.
-
good, i'd been meaning to punch something...sasha said as the Ravics approached..
-
Some of the Ravics that was nearest the group drew swords while other began to conjure orbs of energy...
"On second thought," Charlie responded, "let's keep to the task at hand. Now let's see what this collar can do..." As Charlie began to concentrate, and his fur began to shine and ripple like water, before a pair of feathered wings sprouted from his shoulders and unfolded. He marvled at the new look. "This is different from my last pair back in heaven... But this is better!"
Some of the Ravics reeled back from the light of the transformation...
-
"Now that's what we're talking about!" Itchy grinned, putting on his collar, and gaining large angel wings as well.
"I'm starting to think this'll be fun," Bess laughed as she did the same.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Should we go help your friends dear?" Anne asked Annabelle, as they were watching what was transpiring from a rooftop.
-
they look like they can handle themselves annebelle replied, as the battle began.
-
"Ah..but I love causing suffering," Anne smirked playfully.
-
thats your problem mother, our job is to help, if we cannot then we do not interfere..' Annabelle replied
Sasha ducked a swipe by a Ravic sword thrust.
-
While Tank went through the same transformation, Charlie lifted up off the ground to see over the group of Ravics, and noticed a wave of Pyres coming for them down the road. "Check out time, guys!" he called. "We need to get to Carface's house, as planned!" He swooped back down to pick Sasha up and lift her into the air...
Tank also flew up, and saw what Charlie saw. "Good option!"
-
"Right behind you Charlie,' Itchy called, flying after the others. He signaled for the girls to follow.
"Let's go Sasha," Bess said, enjoying their adventure.
-
just don't drop me' sasha said as charlie flew off with her on his back ' so do you think these collars are legit/ you remember what happened last time you got a free collar charlie.."
-
"I know, I know," Charlie replied as they gained altitude away from the fight. "But when do the evil types create collars that complement angel powers? We all remember Anne's collars and how they work."
"I agree," Tank added as he flew in formation. "With that hellhound lady's collar, I momentarily felt like the powerful thing in the world. But with this, I feel a little...heroic?"
----------
Back on the ground, the Ravics and Pyres dispersed from the area, leaving Sasha's collar unnoticed, except for a dark shape to emerge from the shadows and pick it up...
-
"We sure do look the part with these," Itchy said, staring at his big feathery wings.
None of the group had noticed Sasha's collar being stolen.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Should we join Charlie family?" Anne asked Annabelle and Damien.
-
Be;;er meanwhile was resting at his family's cave down in Hell. His sister and parents told him to stay out of the action.
-
Just keep your eyes ahead of you Charlie' Sasha said to him, as he flew with her on his back..
-
David stayed back in his house for now.
-
"I've flown for a while up in heaven, so I'm a natural," Charlie protested. "Hey Itchy! How many times have I ever crashed?"
----------
At Linda's house, there was a knock at the door. Hawk was suspicious, so he went ahead and stepped through the doggy door. He found no one, but a light blue collar was laid in front of the door, and a tag with his name written on it. He sniffed it suspiciously and then picked it up and walked back in the house...
-
"Once, though in your defense you were distracted at the tome," Itchy responded.
"Carface better tell us all he knows," Bess said.
-
Has Carface been someone to beg for mercy when threatened?' Sasha asked..
-
"Sometimes," Itchy replied, "If someone can overpower him."
-
"We should at least an explanation out of him when we get there," Charlie replied as the group continued to fly for Carface's house...
-
"That shouldn't be too hard," Itchy said.
~~~~~~~~
"Anyways dear," Anne said, turning to her daughter, "You should get back to heaven. I know they're being distrusting towards you because of what I and your father are, so you should try to set things straight. Do you want us to come along?" she asked Annabelle.
-
"He does seem like he doesn't have that much bravery," Bess noted.
-
No that won't be necessary , or helpful.. I can handle it" annebelle said returning to heaven in a ray of light..
-
"See you around," Anne called as her daughter warped back to Heaven.
-
"But for some reason he hasn't been around since all this really started," Tank responded.
"Then if it's not Carface," replied Charlie, "then it's Killer. HE's been here and involved quite a bit..."
----------
In hell, where Beller is resting, a fog began to filter into the cave...
-
"You knoe...I kinda felt there's more than meets the eye when it comes to Killer," Itchy said.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Hmmm....?" Beller went, thinking he heard a noise, then he noticed the fog. The hellpup's vision began to get blurred.
-
"You really think Belladonna would've fired them...probably literally," Bess noted.
-
The haze began to clear, revealing Blight sitting across of Beller...
----------
"But who else could make Carface miserable?" Charlie joked.
The group neared the house. It remained as foreboding as it was before the sky changed...
-
Beller gasped at the sight of the hell cat, and stayed his distance.
"Who are you?" he asked, knowing the answer wasn't going to be good.
~~~~~~~~
"Here we go again...." Itchy said to his friends.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Anne turned to Damien. "So what should we do?" she asked. "Stay here or head back to Hell? I think we should check on Beller."
-
Best check out Carface first.." Sasha said
-
"I'm just a fellow denizen of the Underworld," Blight replied, "Like yourself."
----------
"But this time, we gotta a whole new angle," Tank responded as he began to dive to the ground.
Charlie followed suit, but only slightly more cautious, with a passenger on his back...
-
"Nice to meet you..." the hellpup replied, with uncertainty in his voice. The hellhounds and hellcats were known to not get along like regular cats and dogs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'll stay here," Anne told her husband, "You go check on our son."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"But he'll freak out just as hard," Bess laughed.
-
Tank touched down in front of the house, followed by Charlie.
----------
"You know what? I've been thinking," Blight started. "Of all the times your kind and mine have been squabbling about, we both seem to have lost our ultimate objective in conquering this world. It's perhaps a good point that my working with your dear cousin Belladonna actually made a big step in the direction of that goal. Don't you agree?"
-
"Maybe..." Beller replied. Being young, he did like the idea of world domination, "But where's my cousin? I'd want to help her out."
~~~~~~~~~~~
"This time, we're getting answers no matter what," Itchy said, determined.
-
the house showed decay, and looked like it hadn't been used lately..
-
"She's busy leading her legions to the surface as we speak," Blight replied. "I'm not sure if you hadn't heard. We've succeeded in claiming a piece of the surface world for our fellow brethren to build an army. Not even the angels can break through and meddle in our affairs..."
----------
"Is it me, or does this place look more condemned than it is?" Charlie asked, cocking an eyebrow.
-
"But my sister's an angel...can we make sure she'll be ok though?" Beller asked innocently. "She has a temper, plus I don't know if the other angels like her...
Truth be told, the other heavenhounds were suspicious of Annabelle after everything that had happened recently.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Maybe they saw us coming?" Bess asked.
-
Possibly, but we should check it out, all the same' Sasha said " land here Charlie so I can get off?
-
"Yeah, we should land," Itchy nodded.
-
Tank had already landed, and Charlie came down close-by to let Sasha off.
"If these guys were waiting for us," tank replied, "wouldn't they have an army of monsters sitting here to keep us from coming in?"
"A good point," Charlie answered. "But Belladonna and Blight often left 'calling cards' for us anyways..."
----------
"Now that's what causing so many complications these years," Blight replied. "You already know, your mother hangs around with the heaven mutts for a long time, which is bad. But then your father was once one of them before he turned his back on them, which is good. And THEN there's Annabelle, child of two hellhounds that was a heaven hound through and through, and that's bad. And now to you... You are a hellhound of true potential, your father's strength and your mother's dark blood. You could do wonders not just for hellhound kind, but ALL the denizen's of the Underworld! But there's one issue still... Because the rest of your family, except of Belladonna of course, would rather mingle with Hell's enemies rather than do what they were created for, to conquer this world with flames and darkness. And besides the order of heaven losing their faith in your angelic sister, the same could be said here from the other demons on your family..."
"So I ask you now the same question that will be asked again by those that will judge you when the time comes... Which side will you choose?"
-
"They sure like to be teases," Itchy nodded, "We should come to expect that."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beller thought for a moment. He did love tormenting the souls he was given to practice on, plus he was young, and just wanted something to do.
He gave a sinister grin, and exposed his fangs to Blight as an answer.
"But could we find my cousin though?" the hellpup asked, "I wanna work with someone I know..."
-
"Tut tut tut," Blight waved a clawed finger. "In due time. I'm sure Belladonna will come to pick you up when the time is just right. Just remember, if you truly choose to join us, you just might have a piece of the surface world carved out just for you, to do as you like. And that's ONLY if you truly commit... Got it?"
-
"Got it," Beller nodded. Truth be told, though Beller did want to do this, there was something in the back of his mind that said refusal wasn't an option.
~~~~~~~~~
On the surface, Anne and Damien had no idea what was going on with their son. "What do you want to do?" Anne asked Damien, "Just sitting is boring."
-
"Good..." Blight got up and turned to the entrance of the cave. The smokey fog lifted again, and the bobcat vanished within...
----------
"So, who's the first to ring the bell?" Tank looked at the others.
Charlie cautiously stepped to the front porch, facing the door...
-
"This is going to be fun," Beller snickered to himself. He started to imagine what he'd do with his piece of the world. "Firestorms....fire geysers," the hellpup snickered,
~~~~~~~~~~
"Let's do this Charlie," Itchy said, volunteering himself and Charlie.
-
Just as Itchy finished what he said, the doors burst open, and Ravics came pouring out and drawing their swords...
Tank got to his feet and began to growl...
Charlie braced himself, growling...
----------
In a cemetery on the outskirts of the city, still within the dome, Killer was lying back in a large mausoleum, humming to himself, when Blight's sudden appearance made him jump in fright.
"Has Carface returned?" the demonic cat ordered.
"N-n-not yet," Killer stuttered.
"He should have been back with the ingredients I asked for from New Orleans! Our forces can't be complete without the Army of Fear!"
"B-b-but don't we have enough of those monsters already?"
"The Armies of Fire and Darkness are only fractions of our might. If we can unite Fear, then nothing can stop us from taking over, even without our little 'security'..." He gestured to the purple veil in the sky. "But that opportunity won't come if your 'boss' doesn't return from Memory Lane!"
-
Itchy growled, getting combat ready.
"We'll lend you a paw guys," Bess said, referring to herself and Tank, since Sasha was missing her angel collar.
-
Very soon, the Ravics made a line in front of the porch, twirling their wicked swords until the whole line suddenly glided at the heroes...
Charlie responded by taking to the air in a single push of his wings, dodging an attacker's sword swing...
Tank grinned as he conjured a fist-sized ball of compressed electricity. He stands up on his hind legs and poses like a pitcher. "Catch!" he yells, and throws the ball at two Ravics coming in his direction. One succeeded in hitting the ball with its sword, but a loud explosion erupted from the object, sending the monsters through the air into some bushes...
----------
Blight has grown impatient waiting for Carface. "I'm going off to take care of some errands," he growled as he started for the door. "I expect for your doggy friend to be back by the time I return..."
Killer sat erect and saluted with one paw.
Blight simply rolled his eyes and disappeared...
-
Carface frowned as he entered and looked Killer " How come you didn't inform me of Blight's part in this? " He whined..
-
"Time to go bowling!" Itchy smirked, creating a ball of energy and threw it across the ground to some Ravics who were on the ground. It hit them right in the feet.
"Strike!" Itchy grinned. But the Ravics didn't take long to recover their footing.
-
"B-b-but it was Belladonna's orders," Killer replied. "And I'm not the kind to make cat mad... Speaking of which, he's been waiting for the artifacts from the Big Easy, and he is NOT happy..."
----------
Charlie gave a hard flap of his wings, creating a strong gust of air to blow back another group of Ravics into the front porch...
----------
While Linda listened to the radio of the mysterious veil over the city, Hawk's ears perked to something outside, and he doesn't like it...
-
Beller was waiting down in hell for Belladonna to arrive, torturing a soul his parents had left him.
~~~~~~~~~~
Bess followed in Charlie's example and used her wings to create a strong wind. "I'm really liking flying," she smiled.
Itchy was firing light energy balls.
-
Carface brought out a musty and foul smelling bag " i got them, but it wasn't easy
- Belladonna appeared in front of Bellers "So whats the deal, kid?' she asked ' i'm in the midddle of something important..
-
"Hey Belladonna," Beller smiled to his cousin, "I wanted to help you out."
-
help me out huh? In what way? I'm dealing with thing I don't exect you to understand pup.. suffice to say i skeptical you can help me.."Belladonna replied
(What items does Blight need?)
-
(OOC: Cremated ashes of an evil voodoo priest, copper bowl from a burned-down church, and chewing gum.)
Having the Ravics off their balance, Charlie conjured a ball of light and threw it down at them. Some of monsters ducked to the side, but a handful were hit by the projectile and dissentigrated to dust...
Tank did the same from the ground like a bowling throw, taking out a pair of the beasts...
----------
Hawk tried to sniff out what was going on, which brought him to the new collar. He was tempted to try it on, but a sound from outside stopped him...
Linda also heard the sound and turned down the volume of the radio...
-
(OOC: Is the collar Hawk found a heaven one or hell one?)
Bess and Itchy fired energy balls at once, some missing the ravics but vanquishing some of the others.
Bess had told Sasha to take cover, since her collar was left behind.
-
(Ok Thanks
Why does he need the asjhes of a viodoo preist" Carface complained..
Sasha ducked behind a crate and watched the battle..
-
(OOC: It's a heaven collar, but he won't be wearing it.)
Killer shrugged his shoulders. "Search me, Boss, but I know he needs them as soon as he comes back..."
----------
Hawk moved ahead of Linda to the front door, only for the door to be knocked off its hinges and into the Doberman. Linda screamed by the loud moise and fell back, dropping her tap stick.
In the doorway walked a pair of Pyres and Blight himself, looking around as they entered. The bobcat pointed at the canine, and one Pyre moved to pick Hawk up by his normal collar, the mystery one hidden from sight underneath the fallen door.
"Hawk? Hawk?" Linda called, but the only response came from a strong hand grabbing her arm and lifting her off the ground. She soon fell asleep from a powder blown from the demonic cat...
Blight grinned evily as he followed the Pyres and their victims into the darkening outdoors...
----------
The heroes were quickly dispatching their numerous attackers...
-
"I wanna cause chaos," Beller said eagerly, he looked truly like a little kid who was having the time of his life...despite what he was planning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This is just starting to bug me," Bess said as she continued to fight of Ravics.
~~~~~~~~~~~
David had no idea what just happened at his neighbor's house.
-
Sasha was poked friom behind, as she turned she was grabbed by a trio of ravics, one of then clamped his paw on her mouth while the others bound her with hellropes. the first ravic lifted his paw and before Sasha could cry out, she was gagged
_ away with her! the first ravic grinned ' We;ll see what the nboss wants done with her! Move it!
Sasha was wrapped in somertthing that smell od decay of death, her surroundings went black. and all she could feel was herself being carried, and the bonds and gag, which glowed from time to time.
-
Itchy, Bess, and the others didn't notice Sasha get taken.
"Time to go bye bye!" Bess said, getting almost a sinister look as she fired another energy ball.
-
Charlie and Tank were also unaware of Sasha's abduction, and continued to thin down the Ravics' numbers to less than a dozen...
----------
Outside David's house, a fog began to roll in, abstructing the view outside...
-
David was resting on the couch, having fallen asleep after watching tv. He was not aware of the fog.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We're gonna win," Itchy said, creating more energy balls.
-
There was now less than half of the Ravics the heroes had to deal with since the first few seconds of the attack.
"Hey Charlie!" Tank called after he blasted a monster to dust. "How's your girlfriend holding up? She still out of harm's way?"
Charlie looked around for signs of Sasha, but she was nowhere to be found...
-----------
Some of the fog seeped in through the chimney, crawling out of the fireplace and creeping along the floor towards where David slept...
-
The young boy had no idea of the danger approaching him. His nose twitched a little, but David kept dozing.
~~~~~~~~~~
Bess looked around. "This isn't right," she said. "Sasha was just there a moment ago!"
-
Chaos hmm.. very wel, you can heklp out' belladonna said follow me
- annabelle returned to heaven, but the looks the other angels were giving her were not signs of friendly welcome. therewas a sense of distrust in the air, a sense that has not been there since the great Schism..
-
The fog reached the edge of the couch before building up and forming into a Ravic. The creature reached out with a clawed hand towards David's face...
----------
"I don't see her!" Charlie was worried. "I'll go see if she got chased off! You think you can take care of the rest of them?"
"Can a dog bark?" Tank commented as he leaped over a Ravic's sword...
----------
An elderly Saint Bernard with a pair of feathered wings and a halo approached Annabelle. "There had been warnings of your cousin planning for something like this," he said, calm but stern. "Why have you not informed us on anything before they seized the city?"
(OOC: This guy will be called Elder Brom for reference.
UPDATE: Mistake changed.)
-
(OOC: Annabelle and Belladonna are cousins, not sisters.)
David's eye shot open at the last second, in time to see the Ravic make his move.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"we're on it Charlie!" Itchy called.
-
Elder Brom I was unaware of what her plans were;' annabelle replied a little testily " i had no inkling she was going to do this. i mean, I knerw she was planning something, what I didn't know...
-
"You stood much closer to her than anyone else in this order," Elder Brom responded. "How could it be possible that you know as little of this as us?"
"It's her demonic blood," retorted another angel. "It could only be that she turned the other cheek because she sympathizes with them."
"It's that mother of hers," a female chimed in. "That demon has gone as far as corrupt some of our best angels before! She's the one behind this!"
"That hellhound should've been destroyed eons ago!" a forth shouted.
Elder Brom raised his paw to silence them, looking at Annabelle. "Right now, our main concern is to stop the dark armies from breaking through to the surface. By doing this, we will find the ones truly responsible. Annabelle, you know that no one of angelic blood can pierce that shield, unless there are angels already within. You are the only one who can get in and out at will. I fear the worst is yet to come. As much as the council does not condone the actions made by your family, we believe you are heaven and earth's only hope now. You must stop them, even if you must fight your own kin..."
----------
Before the Ravic could lay a hand on David, a bright disk of light shot from another room and cut through the monster, dissentigrating it immediately...
Very soon afterwards, the front door was busted through, and Pyres were barging in...
----------
Leaving the team for a moment, Charlie flew higher and began searching the areas around the battlefield.
"Alrighty, boys!" Tank shouted. "Let's mop up the rest of these varments!"
-
David was now woken up by the door slamming open.
"What the?" he gasped, seeing the Pyres.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Coming right up!" Bess grinned, firing more light energy blasts.
-
Understood, and i have experience fighting Belldonna. I truly had no idea what she was doing. In the past when I learned of her plans I acted to stop them, a number of times, like this ordeal, I didn't learn of it until it was well underway. I am an angel, and have NEVER had any leanings towards the other side. Besides, what would doing so gain me? the emnity of heaven and the distrust of the netherworld. My parents are what they are, i cannot change that.. 'annabelle said looking around at the other gathered angels. she outranked most of them, but that wouldn't save her, if they found her to be a traitor,.
-
Anne had just arrived on a building top next to where Tank and the others were fighting the ravics.
"Should we lend them a paw dear? she asked Damien.
-
they seem to have things under control at the moment.." Damein replied, looking keenly at the battle below with just of hint of wistfulness. But was it for not fighting the ravics off, or not getting a pound of angelic flesh himself?
- Carface shuddered as he felt blight 's presence return " I found that things you wanted" He stammered.
Sasha struggled against her bounds and gag, but it was completely futile. the more she fought the more the gag spread to cover more of her mouth and the ropes around her tightened. the darkness around her was disoreintating..
-
"About time..." Blight snarled as he snatched the items from Carface. "This was important enough for me to come back early from some other ventures. It's time we have the final piece to the army of the centuries. I'm certain that Belladonna was busy amassing her own legions for the surface?"
----------
In the darkness, an unconscious Linda and Hawk, bound and gagged himself fell to the floor next to Sasha...
----------
The first Pyre generated a ball of fire to hurl at David, when the disk of light return to strike it from behind.
A voice came into David's head. "The kitchen door! Hurry!"
----------
In very little time, the rest of the Ravics were gone, very few remaining escaping into the shadows.
Tank gave a deep breath of accomplishment...
Charlie searched the area for Sasha, and came up with nothing. He cursed himself under his breath for leaving her alone, even if she is very independant...
----------
"Then you must return and assist your subordinants trapped within the dark sphere," Elder Brom said. "If you can find a way to dispell this shield, then do so for our brother and sister angels to assist you."
-
"Charlie? Where's Sasha?" Bess asked, concerned. Both she and Itchy had a bad feeling they knew the answer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
David obeyed the voice and ran to where he was instructed.
-
"I don't know..." Charlie replied, getting frustrated. "She's nowhere close to here..."
Tank flew up to join them. "You think she may have been taken off while we were busy?"
Charlie couldn't say, but his attention turned to some familiar faces on a nearby building...
----------
Two Pyres turned to give chase, stepping over the fallen monster as they raced after David...
-
Anne flew down towards the other dogs.
"Something wrong?" the hellhound mother asked, she wasn't around at any of the abductions, she had no idea of what Blight did under their noses.
-
"We lost sight of Sasha," Charlie explained, worried. "You see where she's gone?"
----------
The Pyres lumbered quickly after the boy, but a bright light behind him blinded them, giving David time to escape...
----------
Blight left into a tomb with what Carface brought him and began a ritual without the prying eyes of anyone else...
-
"Sorry, didn't," Anne replied. "But this has to be Blight of my niece's doing, no question about that..."
"That's the problem," Bess nodded.
~~~~~~~~~~~
David retreated through the back door of his house, looking back to see if the Pyres were right behind him.
-
thats probably true annabelle said joining the others ' so whats new down here? I just got reamed out by the orsder, mother' she said turning to Anne " they are blaming you and father for this...
-
"That's just them being paranoid," Anne replied to her daughter, "It's your cousin's fault, and they're just peeved that your father changed into one of my kind."
-
if wedon't get done with this soon, they'll kick me out of heaven.. if that happens i'm staying on earth, forever.. i will never go down there with you mother..
-
"Fine, I can accept that," Anne nodded. "But all that matters now is stopping the terrible twosome..."
-
"That's why we're here at Carface's pad," Charlie replied.
"At least until more of those rag creatures showed up," Tank added. "Speaking of which. Maybe Sasha went inside when the coast was clear?"
"Good thinking. Let's go check it out."
----------
The Pyres took a while to regain their posture, and walked through the kitchen towards the door...
Other Pyres were waiting outside by the front of the house...
----------
One angel turned to Elder Brom. "How can you be sure she's not the traitor?"
"How can you be sure she is?" Elder Brom replied calmly. "The only thing we know of is that there is a traitorous angel that is not among us up here. There are angels that have gone missing since the demons have risen this sphere."
"Fine...but now how can we win this in the paws of a handful of guardian angels and mortals?"
"Faith..."
----------
Soon enough, the ritual is complete. A chorus of eerie and inhuman wails and moans began to fill the dark room around a grinning Blight. Although nothing is seen, the noises began to make their way to the surface of the tomb, where Killer and Carface were...
-
What in blazes in that? Carface stuttered as a glkhostly fog streamned out of the tomb towards him and Killer.
-
"Let's hope," Bess said, hopefully.
Itchy walked besides Charlie as they entered.
~~~~~~~~~~~
David ran through the back alleys to avoid the Pyres.
-
Once inside, Charlie stares into a dark room, waiting for his eyes to adjust as he quickly finds the area seem empty. It still had the shawdy furniture, but much of the nic-nacks and stuff he thought as junk were gone...
Tank followed in behind them. "Anyone home?"
"They must've gone," Charlie said. "But let's split up and search the place. We may find Sasha in here."
----------
The Pyres stepped out of the kitchen, searching down the alley for the boy. What they met was a flurry of black robes and the gleam of an object as it cut down upon them...
The Pyres in the front hears the clash of metal around the corner, and began to follow the noise to its source...
----------
Killer clung to a stone pillar in fear as the wails reached them through the stairs, followed by the maniacal laughter of the demonic bobcat...
-
David wondered why he couldn't see or hear from Linda or Hawk during all this.
~~~~~~~~~
"Sasha? You in here?" Bess called.
"This place gives me the creeps," Itchy said.
-
They;'re not here" annabelle said appearing to both Charlie and Itchy.. and if that weren't enough the other angels are ticked at me for all this mess.. I might as well tag along with you two.. until I get a handle on what Belladonna and Blight are up to...
the three prisoners were dragged down a corridors, the wines wrapping thelmselves more and more around them, until they were bound from head to foot and thrie mouths were completely covered by their gags.
-
After a while, the group found nothing. "With us showing up a lot of times, they must've moved," Charlie said.
"So where did they go?" Tank asked.
----------
Although some of the Pyres were engaged with this intruder, there were plenty more of them roaming the neighborhood, and David would run into another small party of them...
----------
After some gloating, Blight paused as he thought of something. "My Pyres should've returned from capturing the human boy by now..." he said, and pointed at Carface and Killer. "The boy that hangs with that second-rate guardian angel you killed before. Go to his house and find out what's going on!"
-
Yes sir.. right aaway" Carface said relieved that he was going to get away from Blight foir the time being..
I'm guessing they are headed off to wherever Blight is" Annanbelle said and it must be somewhere in the city.."
-
"Oh crud.." David gulped, seeing the group of Pyres in front of him.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"He should be somewhere in the vicinity," Anne nodded, "If not, he'd be down in Hell."
-
I don't think hes there, most likely hes around, we just have to find him..Annabelle said as they headed downstairs..
Carface ran through the streets as fast as his short legs could carry him..
-
Before the Pyres could see him, a paw would reach out from behind a large tree to grab David's shoulder and pull him behind the tree...
----------
"While we're looking 'round here, how about someone checking up on David to make sure he's OK?" Charlie said. "Maybe Sasha did just that."
"I'll go," Tank replied. "I'm getting bored just searching for some kooks that might not even be here."
-
"What the?" David gasped, caught off-guard. He turned to see who it was.
~~~~~~~~~
"We're getting nowhere," Bess sighed, "Once we find the bad guys....I'm really in a fighting mood."
-
A figure in black robes placed a paw on David's mouth to keep him quiet, a distinct muzzle seen from underneath the hood. The figure looked around the tree to watch the Pyres, who later turned in another direction. As soon as they were out of sight, the figure took its paws off of David...
----------
Killer followed Carface as fast as he could towards David's house...
----------
Tank was first out of the house and took to the air...
"Wherever Belladonna is, it must be where they're using the power to cover the city," Charlie thought aloud.
-
"Who are you?" David asked his rescuer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Let's take to the skies," Itchy said, flapping his angel wings.
-
"No time to explain," the figure answered in a hushed tone. "The armies of darkness are searching specifically for you. We must find a place where no dark beast dares to tread..."
----------
Frustrated that they couldn't find Sasha, or any clue to the whereabouts of Belladonna or Blight, Charlie followed the others outside into the sky...
-
"A church perhaps?" David suggested, following the figure, deciding to trust whoever it was.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The bad thing is it seems we'll have to wait for Blight, Belladonna and Carface to act before we can pinpoint them down," Bess frowned.
-
"That should work for now," the figure replied. "But I fear it won't hold forever if this dark prison doesn't lift soon. Hop on my back."
----------
"What about all this purple?" Tank asked.
"That's right," Charlie brightened. "Is Anne still with us?"
-
"Right here," Anne said, appearing behind Charlie. "As to your purple comment Tank, there should be a source to all of it."
~~~~~~
David obeyed and hopped on. He still wasn't sure who the figure was.
-
Carface reached his destination, only to find that bnobody was home.. " Drat, just my luck, he muttered " I get there too late. Well best start looking for them, they can't leave the city not with this shield over it. and their powers will start to become affected after a few hours, in other words goodbye flight.." He laughed as he walked down the street.
-
"So what do you know about this kind of shield?" Charlie asked Anne.
----------
Even with the cloak over him, a pair of white wings folded out from underneath. With little effort, the figure took to the sky and makes a low pass as they make a beeline for the nearest church without being detected...
----------
Killer stopped at the house behind Carface. "Ooh, boss!" he shouted, pointing. "They were here for sure! The door's been knocked down!"
-
David couldn't see what the wings were, and held on tight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anne began to recall what she knew "It prevents anything angelic getting in unless they're already inside the shield, it does provide a bit of a power boost for anything demonic inside, so that helps you in a way, with me and my husband here, and certain types of demons can be summoned inside a barrier like this."
-
"Is the power coming from something we can destroy?" Tank asked. "Like an item?"
----------
It took very little time for the figure to carry David to the nearest church, landing on the front steps. Faint glows from wandering Pyres could be seen in the fog. The figure opened the front door and walked inside. The place seemed barely lit except for the few candles about the hall, and no one was around within...
-
"Thanks for your help," David said, "But who are you?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I think there is," Anne replied, "But there were multiple things it could be. But once we find it, we'll know what it is."
-
After closing the church doors, the figure turned to David and removed the cloak revealing his sword & shield between his wings on his back. "Just your friendly neighborhood guardian angel," Zekiel replied.
----------
"There's David's house," Charlie pointed out, and dove in to land close to it...
Tank followed...
-
Itchy, Anne, and Bess followed as well.
"If he's missing too I think I'm gonna be driven crazy," Bess said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I saw you earlier," David smiled to Zekiel, "thank you."
-
When he landed in front of the house, Charlie saw the broken door inside. "No..." He quickly ran inside...
Tank saw a nearby home with the same busted doorway, and went there to investigate...
----------
Zekiel returned the smile, then looked around the church. "We should be safe here for now," he said. "But with this evil dome up, we can't get help from outside. On top of that, my powers are just starting to weaken the longer we're inside. At least your friends have an extra boost to outlast against the forces of darkness..."
-
Itchy quickly followed Charlie. "It can't be.." Itchy gulped. Bess came in after them.
Anne followed Tank to the other house. "Someone you know live here?" the hellhound asked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Let's hope..." David nodded to Zekiel.
-
annabelle flew into the house. theres no sign that he was taken by blights forces' dsshe said looking arround, but they were here judging by the mess.. we'll need to look around for a safe place he might have gone..
-
"No, but it seems to have been broken in the same way as the kid's," Tank replied, and moved to some pictures. "And now I know why... This place belongs to that blind girl and her guide."
----------
"It looks like there was a fight here," Charlie replied. "You think Sasha may have jumped in on something. She and David knows plenty of places to hide. But which one?"
----------
Zekiel turned back to the cloak he wore and picked up to shake the dust off. He then handed it to David. "It's not the best, but it'll keep you warm," he said.
-
"Couldn't be the Flea Bite," Bess figured, "It's too ruined to hide in."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Thank you," David smiled to the angel hound, taking the cloak. "I just hope Sasha, Charlie, and the others are safe."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You think they were taken?" Anne asked Tank.
-
Sasha wasn;'t in on this, she was taken during the the fight with the ravbics..Annabelle said 'They're likely tajkking her tioo Blight..
-
Charlie stopped and stared at Annabelle. "Wait... How'd you know that Sasha could've been taken?"
----------
"The other guardian angels should be able to manage for the time being," Zekiel replied. "Unfortunitely, the dark forces have taken Linda and Hawk before I could get to them..."
-
"Where do you think they are?" David gulped to Zekiel.
-
Because we haven';'t found here, therefore there is only one other possibility, the Ravics grabbed here while you were fighting . Annabelle said " as for exactly WHERE they took her, I don't know..
-
"I'm afraid I don't know," Zekiel replied. "One thing I did know is that Blight is seeking out those close to the guardian angels and using them as leverage. You were one of them they were after..."
----------
Charlie was getting frustrated. "This city is large enough for them hide someplace!" he protested. "We haven't found where Belladonna and Blight are hiding, either, but they're here! We just have to look harder!"
Tank returned from Linda's home to join the rest of the group...
-
Itchy could see the rage in his best friend manifesting over what was transpiring.
"We'll do that Charlie.." Bess nodded, intimidated slightly.
"Seems Sasha and the kid aren't the only ones missing," Anne commented.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David shivered at the knowledge of that fact, he knew this probably wouldn't be the end.
-
"Getting angry and losing self-control won't help us Charles" annabelle said sternly. " Belladonna has done a good job at keeping things from us..but then again thats her nature..
-
Charlie turned to Anne and Tank. "What do you mean?" he questioned.
"Remember the blind kid and her Dobie friend?" Tank replied. "The same thing's happened to their house and they're missing too..."
Charlie turned back to Annabelle. "You hear that? First my girl's gone missing, and then some kids have disappeared, and NOW after all this searching for them, you're just saying that Belladonna's got em?! You got any more surprises for us, or do you want to save them for more bad times?"
"Hey, hey! Charlie! Relax!" Tank intervened.
----------
Zekiel watched David's reaction. "My apologizes, young one," he said, calmly. "I shouldn't be scaring you..."
-
Itchy and Bess slowly backed up. Charlie was downright intimidating now.
"We should leave..." Bess whispered.
"We can find them. We still have time," Anne tried to assure.
-
Unseen in the mist surrounding them, the heroes began to hear unearthly moaning and wailing. There's no way of telling where's it coming from.
Tank looked around. "What on earth is that?" he asked...
-
annabelle was not intimidated however ' Sorry Charles but you can't intimidate me, I've stared down many more intimidating dogs than you.. Now I'm sorry for being behind the eight ball.. but belladonna done an excellent job of hiding things from us..
-
"Oh crap..." Anne said, hearing the moaning nearing them.
"I don' think that's something we've seen before..." gulped Itchy
-
Charlie turned away in anger, forcing himself to hear out the others as they mentioned a new danger.
The eerie wailing grew louder and more foreboding, but remained unseen in the mist...
----------
What little light in the church windows began to dim, leaving only the candlelight to illuminate the room...
"David," Zekiel said, calmly arming himself with his shield. "Go find someplace to hide..."
-
David nodded and retreated to a more secluded area of the church.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Itchy, Bess, and Anne prepared themselves for a battle.
-
"I don't see anything," Tank said.
"The fog's getting thicker," Charlie added. "Let's get back to the air." As he did so, he finds that it took more energy to do so...
----------
The church was filled with a maniacal laughter, coming from a source revealing himself to be Blight. "You could never trust a pair of lackeys to do a single job..." he said.
"It should've taken you longer to tread on holy ground with the help of your dark sphere," Zekiel replied sternly.
"Of course, but you forget, archangel, that the old saying for all holy places is that "no evil may enter unless they are invited in..."
"But I didn't invite you, nor did the boy, and there's no one else here. So who invited you?"
"That's for me to know, and for you to NEVER find out!!" The bobcat then hurled a bolt of lightning at Zekiel, only to hit the shield and bounce off towards a church column...
-
Anne's power level stayed consistent, being from hell as she flew up with the others.
"What's...going on," Bess said, needing to catch her breath. "Flying was so much easier before..."
~~~~~~
David quickly ran out of the way to dodge the collapsing column. He did his best to stay in the shadows and avoid the demonic bobcat.
-
the sphere drains angelic powers" Annabelle said flying with some effort. if this sphere isn't lifted soon, no flight will be possible..
-
"Well, then it's no hindering factor to me," Anne said, being demonic.
"If you guys want..I can get you some hell collars again.."
-
no, that won't work again.. annabelkle replied " especially since I barely escaped being detected last time by Belladonna..
-
"Stealth isn't our main concern now," Anne commented.
-
so whats the plan mother?' Annabelle sighed " I'm all ears..
-
"Right now, it seems a full on offensive is the best we can do," the hellhound suggested. "Blight's getting too much control over San Fransisco to do this behind his back."
-
"One problem," Tank responded. "We don't know where to make a full-on offensive at. Not to forget, it's just us against who knows how many of them."
Without warning, Charlie shot off in a direction...
----------
Zekiel deflected several more lightning blows from Blight.
"You're only delaying the inevitable, angel hound!" Blight taunted. "The boy will be mine!"
"You don't need him to accomplish your goals with Belladonna!" Zekiel replied back from behind his shield. "What do you want him for?"
"I will only give you this, archangel. He's only one of a few very important pawns in another scheme of mine. I just need two more to complete it. Now hand the brat over! You know your powers can't last forever while you're behind that shield blocking my attacks!"
Zekiel turned to look at David, then drew his sword. "You're right for once, demon! Time for a change in tactics! David!! Run!!" With a supernatural burst of speed, the guardian angel charged straight into a stunned Blight, knocking them both into a row of columns and toppling them...
-
"What the.." Itchy said, caught off guard by Charlie zipping off.
"Where's he going?"
"I don't know,," Bess replied, concerned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David did so, seeing a back exit to the church. He ran for the door.
-
"Well, shouldn't we follow him?" Tank responded.
----------
Zekiel & Blight continued to exchange blows, explosions rocking the interior of the church...
The fight has given David time to escape...
-
"Doing just that," Itchy said, zipping after his best friend, hoping to catch up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
David ran outside the church, the booms of the battle roaring behind him.
-
Waiting outside the church, was another cloaked figure catching sight of David exiting the church...
----------
Sounds of explosions reached Charlie's ears, and he turned to follow them...
----------
Tank also chased after Charlie...
-
"I think Charlie knows where to go!" Bess said, noticing the explosion as well.
"Finally some progress," Anne smirked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David did notice the other cloaked figure as he ran.
-
Annabelle flew after the others..
Sasha was thrown into a small enclave and the darkness around her was lifted Sasha could see Linda nearby, bound and gagged as she was.
-
Just then, Ravics appeared, quickly surrounding David...
----------
Charlie neared the noise, and catches sight of David outside the church...
----------
Linda was unable to see, but she reached around with her bound hands as she tried to find Hawk, whom was still unconscious nearby...
-
David backed slowly, shocked at the sight of the Ravics. He didn't see Charlie above him.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"I think we're on the right track," Bess said, getting a little tired.
-
The Ravics drew swords from underneath their cloaks and began to glide towards David, when a ray of light from above shot down and hit the circle, leaving nothing but smoking dust around David. The power came from Charlie, who came down with a thud, seemingly drained of strength...
----------
With a powerful blast, Zekiel was thrown back into the church organ, and was buried beneath...
-
"Charlie!" Itchy gasped, zooming down. He was feeling weaker too, as was Bess.
Anne was still feeling fine, not being powered by heaven. "This could be your best shot people," she said, conjuring up some hell collars again.
David's heart skipped a beat after the Ravics nearly slashed him.
-
Sasha slowly dragged heself to the edge of the enclave into which she was thrown. there was a sulphurouus smell on the air, ad given that her only method of breathing was through her nose the smell made her nauseoous.
-
Charlie picked himself up, just as he sees a ray of light aimed straight at David. "David!!!" he shouted, and dove in to push the boy aside...
-
"No!" David screamed just before he felt Charlie puish into him.
The ray left a brief blinding flash, obstructing everyone else's view.
-
Charlie had moved David aside, but the angel was in the path of the light, which pierced through him and left no mark. The ray emerged on the other side and revealed itself to be an ornate arrow of silver before disappearing into the bushes...
Time seemed to have been frozen to a crawl as Charlie fell to the ground, his wings followed to spread across the ground...
-
"Charlie!" Itchy gasped, zipping down towards his bets friend.
"Charlie...you can't be dead," David said, beginning to tear up, seeing how the dog had essentially taken the bullet for him.
But Itchy felt Charlie, and could tell his buddy wasn't hurt badly
-
"He looks ok..." Anne commented.
-
Annabelle flew over to Charlie and right away she could tell things were not good. . ' we need to get him to safety " she said to the others.. Now1"
-
(OOC: I said it left no mark)
Around the group, wailing began to echo again, this time sounding more angry and vicious...
Tank had to land as he was getting tired.
Behind David, the fog thickened and surrounded him...
-
(changed it)
we need to get going.. Annabelle said looking at Charlie with concern on her face..
-
"Phew...you're ok," Itchy said relieved. But he and Bess could hear the wailing. "We're not out of the dark yet," he frowned.
"Offer's still open.." Anne said, forming 5 hell collars.
David looked around, his vision getting blurred.
-
"I might just take that up," Bess said, feeling weaker as the wailing increased.
-
Behind David, the second figure pulls out a paw and blows a sleeping powder to surround the boy...
Charlie remains limp and unmoving...
-
David's eyes slowly closed as the powder took effect, and he plopped onto the floor, asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh crap," Itchy said, seeing how weak Charlie was feeling. He decided to act fast. "Sorry is this is a rushed decision," Itchy told Charlie taking one of the hell collars and putting it around Charlie's neck, since the barrier was weakening their angel powers.
-
The figure picked David from the ground and carried him off into the dark mists...
----------
When the collar was fastened to Charlie's neck, nothing seemed to happen, until the angel collar, like the feathered wings cracked and shattered like glass, disappearing into the ground. In its place, bat-like wings sprouted from his back and spread out menacingly. Then, his eyes opened, slit pupils and glowing red...
-
"Charlie...you ok?" Itchy asked, concerned.
"Oh no," Bess said, looking around, "where did David go?"
-
A response came from the thick mist parting to reveal a grinning Blight, dusting himself off. "Apparently, you do-gooders failed yet again," he said. "You failed to figure out and stop me from raising the third and final army, which you are hearing them right now..." He paused so that they could hear the unnatural wailing. "And then you failed to save a little boy. If this is what Heaven had to offer, I'd pity them..."
This set Charlie off the deep end. He jumped to his feet, give off an angry roar, and then leapt at full speed at Blight...
...only to be stopped a foot short from Blight, who simply raised a claw to stop him. Charlie struggled to move.
"You'd really think you can stand a ghost of a chance against me?" Blight growled. "The only real match was an archangel I just recently buried. As far as those demonic powers of yours go, I own you... Now hit the road, Jack!!" He then effortlessly hurled Charlie into a building across the road, a bus transit station...
-
"Charlie!" Itchy gasped, flying over to his friend who had been sent flying.
He quickly looked him over, there was some bruising but no major bleeding, but he could tell Charlie was hurt.
Things were looking grim. Charlie, Itchy, Bess, Tank, Anne, Annabelle, and Dameon were all the angel side had left (Even if some of them were demons.)
-
"Now that that's out of the way," Blight continued, "I have one more soul to take before I finish my half of the bargain. And you, traitor!" He pointed at Anne. "For your choice of siding with our enemy, you will learn first-hand of real suffering..." With this, he stepped away into the fog...
Charlie was coming to, rubbing his horned head...
Also, Zekiel could be seen limping out of the rubble that was once a church, his tarnished weapons strapped along his back...
-
"Traitor?" Anne said angrily under her breath. "I just really hate cats..."
"Zekiel!" Bess said, running over to him.
Itchy was tending to Charlie
-
hes growing stronger' annabelle muttered as she looked over at charlie.. ' that was brave but foolish, as a demon his powers far outstrip yours charles..' she shook her head ' things are looking grim for us right now.. the sphere is blocking our angelic powers, and only way to destroy that sphere is to defeat blight and my couisin.."
-
"Blight really seems to be the ringmaster," Itchy said, "Maybe we should take Belladonna down first."
-
first we have to find her.." annabelle said making fists with her paws in anger.
- Belladonna appeared next to blight ' Nice work Blight.. ' the fools are getting weaker by the minute and things are going very very nicely for us..' she said to him, smirking evilly..
-
"I'm gonna make sure she gets it," Anne vowed. Here expression clearly showed she was going to have fun fighting Belladonna.
-
Tank also ran to Zekiel. "Are you alright, pal?" he asked.
"Of all the centuries I served in the order," Zekiel muttered, "never once had I failed to protect a child..."
Charlie got to his feet, in his expression, he wasn't done yet. "I'll make him pay..." he growled. "I'll make them ALL pay!" With that, again he shoots up to the sky...
Somehow, as few would notice, the unholy wailing had ceased...
----------
"Ah Belladonna," Blight said. "You'd also be happy to know that the final army has been awakened. Anyway, how's that little cousin of yours?"
----------
Meanwhile, the figure had returned with David, tied and bounded, and dropped him between Sasha and Hawk, who woke with a jerk. He looked around at the other prisoners, setting his eyes on Linda, and crawled the best he could to her. Linda, who was still feeling around, found Hawk and was able to wrap her arms around his neck, sobbing...
-
shes with that small motley group of angels trying to stop our plans.. " they'll never find me in time for them to stop the army....oh you mean beller the hellpup, well hes coming along quite nicely.. hes going to be heading to the surface in the next couple of hours ' Belladonna smiled "So Blight when are we launching the final assault and where did you put Charles' Girlfriend? i have few surprises in store for the setter, unpleasant surprises " she laughed.
- sasha stirred as her eyes grew accustomed to the dim light.
-
"Charlie.." Itchy said softly, not chasing after him this time.
"What are we going to do?" Bess asked, "That darn cat seems to be one paw ahead of us, and that freakin barrier weakens us in our angel forms."
Seeing where Bess was potentially going, Anne had hell collars for Itchy, her daughter, Bess, and Tank ready.
-
"The more I've been finding out," Zekiel replied, "I'm getting skeptical that Blight could've gotten this far on his own. I would believe he's getting help, and it's not from Belladonna..."
----------
"You just leave her and those children to me," Blight answered. "It's gone perfectly so far to unnerve that guardian angel to the point of insanity. He'll be of no help to them now... As soon as we make our first offensive on the surface, she'll be of no further use to me. Then she's yours..." He paused. "Why would the pup have to wait behind and not see his first look of our real triumph? He could see our armies sweep this mortal landscape in our first wave. That's where the real excitement begins..."
-
"You got any suspects Zekiel?" Itchy asked.
A thought entered Bess' head. "You don't think it could be one of your fellow angels, do you?"
-
"Maybe that Zoria," Anne said, only half sarcastically, "You know well she hates me."
-
Hes not quite ready yet, but he will be before midnight..' Belladonna replied.. ' the boss will be very very pleased, perhaps once the earth is under our control, we can plan the assault on heaven itself/'
-
"Do not make assumptions like that," Zekiel warned. "The truth will reveal itself in due time... Anyway, I may not have my powers at full strength anymore, but I was an average dog before, and I could manage as such."
"I think we'll need all the help we can get," Tank responded, and realized his wings had vanished. The collar remains intact, but no longer bears the holy light...
----------
"Alrighty then," Blight replied. "With our armies in place, we shall strike at the 13th hour. I'll leave you to your final preparations. Or let you take a powder. Whatever..." With that, he vanishes from sight...
-
Beller was practicing his rampage by making little fire geysers sprout outside his family's cave.
"Belladonna's gonna so happy with me," Beller grinned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey, my husband turning to the demon's side is proof not all of you are perfect angels," Anne pointed out.
"Crud, my wings are gone," Itchy said.
-
"And your daughter is proof that not all with demonic blood cannot restore their angelic grace," Zekiel replied in a heartbeat. "But both of those cases are proven facts. You speak only accusations with Zoria without proof... But this argument is only wasting time. Right now, we must find the source of the dark veil and destroy it. Who's coming?"
"Do I look like I'm hesitating?" Tank remarked.
----------
Blight returns to the tomb, looking around for any signs of life...
-
"we're in," Bess and Itchy said.
"Exactly, no use starting an argument," Anne figured.
-
I'm coming Annabelle said. we need to destroy it and find Sasha and the others...
Belladonna popped in front of Beller " Ready to go to the surface' she said in a falsely cheery tone..
-
"Yeah," Beller replied in a innocent way, though he was ready to cause chaos.
-
Zekiel nodded, then turned to Itchy. "You know this city well, Itchiford. Would you know where the center of this city is? My best guess is that if we find the center point of this dome, it should be where the source of the power is at."
----------
Meanwhile, Blight re-enters the chamber holding the prisoners to find the figure standing over David.
"Was it this difficult to capture the boy?" the figure said, sternly.
"Only because of unforeseen surprises," Blight snapped. "You never told me Sir Goody Four-Paws was here!"
"Zekiel is a wild card. No one ever knows his intentions. He still believes in a cause lower than his status, and his powers has weakened by now. Have you any opportunities to capture the last?"
"Soon... He has yet to trust me, but since I got Belladonna working with me, the brat will be in our grasp soon. By the by, how come your powers hasn't weakened?"
In response, the figure pulled out a wooden staff with embedded precious stones, and a light lit the room, and had Blight jumping back.
"Put it away, for crying out loud!" Blight said defensively. "Is that what I think it is?"
"It is. An assured weapon to destroy what I want destroyed."
"Well, be sure to warn me before you use that. I wouldn't have signed up for this if I knew I would be vaporized."
"We'll leave separately, as usual. By now, Zekiel would've figured out where the seal is kept, and the shield must remain to keep the angels from interfering..."
"Fine then... I'll be holding the rabble off until the hellpup can be taken. I noticed that guardian angel took a big dose of darkness when he attacked. He might be a threat."
"Charles is of no concern at all. He has no place in either orders to prove a real threat. Also, any dark powers he carries from the hellhound can easily be negated by the staff. Are you implying nervousness?"
"Of course not! I'll be glad to tear him apart when we meet again! At least not until I dispatched his girlfriend and his boy! Ravics! Get the prisoners moving!"
At his command, Ravics melded out of the walls, and proceeded to gather the hostages. The figure said nothing as it leaves the chamber and disappears...
-
"I have a basic idea," Itchy replied. "I think it would be in the Yerba Buena Gardens area."
"Then let's get going," Bess said. Anne used her bat wings to ascend into the air.
"But doesn't it bother you?" Anne asked Zekiel, "For these guys to have get as far as they did, they would've had to obtain information that only could be given by someone on your side..."
-
so theres a rat on our side we just need to find out who it is.. " annabelle said. "lead the way Zekiel " She added as the group started to head out " Destroty the shireld and I can start throwing my weight around..or powers that is..
Sasha was forced to her feet and forced to move atthe end of what felt like a trident...
-
"You and Itchy lead," Bess told Zekiel.
-
"About as much as losing a highly respected angel to Hell," Zekiel replied to Anne. "But now I've come to believe that his choice was more to be with you than to serve the dark forces. If that is true, then I've come to respect that... But as I said, the truth shall be revealed in due time if we are betrayed. Now let's get going. Itchiford, you lead the way!"
----------
Back in Heaven, guardian angels stand at the ready, looking at the dark sphere below them. Elder Brom was also watching, when a winged Corgi flew to him. "Elder Brom! I have news!"
Brom looked over. "What is it?" he replied.
"We just found out that one of our sacred artifacts is stolen!"
"Not Gabriel's horn again?"
"No, Elder! It's...Raphael's quarterstaff!"
This caused nearby angels to jump in shock.
"When was it taken?"
"Perhaps before the dark sphere appeared!"
"And the missing angels?"
"Only a handful. They may be inside already."
"I hope it was they who took the staff, if they should stand a chance against the dark armies. But if it's in the wrong hands..."
----------
Back at Linda's house, a shape entered the front doorway over the fallen door. It took a while before Hawk's collar was found underneath, which was swiftly removed and disappeared with the shape...
-
"Follow me everyone," Itchy said, running along the sidewalk, "We should get their within 20 minutes."
"Thanks," Anne replied in sincerity to Zekiel's comment, almost beginning to get along with the heaven hound, "You're pretty much spot on."
"Let's hope Charlie take care of himself on his own..." Bess said, worried.
-
"Don't count Charlie out yet," Tank replied as he followed. "He's not the type to run out in dire times. Right, Itchy?"
----------
Meanwhile, Blight was already at the destination, where a tall black spire was erected from the ground. Sasha, David, Linda, & Hawk were tied around it, but they were no longer gagged...
-
sasha gasped, she had been gagged so long her mouth was dry and raw ' what do you want from us? she said in a weak voice, noticing Blight standing there.
-
"Right," Itchy nodded, "Giving up isn't Charlie's forte," he said as they neared the YBG.
-
Blight turned as Sasha spoke. "Oh? I just want you to wait right where you are. You're going to watch your friends perish before you and the kiddies become next..."
-
you're a sadistic bastard, but i guess where you're from they consider that a compliment' Sasha said fiercely, her old wit returning. ' you'll find charlie and his friends aren't easily defeated, the hard way."
-
David stayed silent, afraid of this other demon cat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The group arrived at the Yerba Buena Gardens area. "I think we picked the right place," Bess said, seeing an usual sight.
Just a short distance in front of the group was some object that was emitting a beam of the dark substance the barrier was made of.
-
"Oh, I have yet to let loose my biggest punch yet," Blight replied. "And that's what you're gonna see in a minute..."
----------
First time in a while, a cold shiver went down Zekiel's spine. "I sense a lot of dark power for sure."
"You just ain't whistlin' Dixie," Tank added.
-
"So, how are we gonna smash it?" Itchy asked his friends.
~~~~
David shivered, he didn't want to see what Blight was referring to.
Elsewhere in hell, Beller was getting ready to go to the surface.
-
"A powerful energy of holy light can surely destroy it," Zekiel replied. "Which is why Blight had a dark shield over the city to weaken any angels within..."
"Not only that, look!" Tank pointed at the spire. He could see four individuals tied around the base of the spire...
-
"It's everyone who's been abducted!" Itchy said, "We need to find a way to break this, and fast."
-
Just as Itchy finished his sentence, whatever mist that was there pulled back, and droves of Ravics & Pyres emerged to stand between the heroes the spire...
-
"I really should have seen that one coming," Itchy frowned.
Anne sharpened her claws, ready to fight.
-
"Well, we meet again!" Blight called from afar. "But this will most certainly be the last! I assure it!"
Above the armies of Fire and Darkness, the eerie wailing began again, this time the sources manifested into vague human shapes, translucent, leg-less, and their faces were inhuman, with elongated lower jaws and unnaturally long fangs...
"He's raised the army of Fear," Zekiel growled, drawing his sword. "An ill omen for all three armies to be brought together again..."
-
"You don't say?" Itchy frowned with a tone of sarcasm. He and Bess pulled out their angel pins, hoping to get whatever juice they could out of them.
"This'll be fun," Anne grinned.
-
David stayed quiet, not wanting to get Blight's attention.
-
"You really think you still have your holy powers?" Blight mocked. "The only angel here that was the toughest was Zekiel, and I wiped the floor with him! And now he stands there with only a sword, a shield, and a meager prayer! And if you think borrowed demonic powers will do anything, remember what I did to your friend Charles Barkin! And one more thing..." He levitated to the base of the spire where the captives are kept. "If you wanted to take down this obelisk, you'll have to take it down right through here!" He made a gesture at David. "Right through the middle!"
Hawk, who had been awake, growled at Blight. "You monster!" he growled.
"What do you expect, doggie? This is war! A war that has gone on without one side winning. And it shows that some of our own demonic brethren has gone soft, as to betray their own kind and purpose! Your niece knows her true purpose, Anne, and so shall your SON!"
-
David shivered as Blight made the gesture towards him.
"What?!" Anne growled, flames starting to appear around her. "You...wouldn't...even...try.." She wasn't going to be willing to fight her son if worst came to worst.
-
such a shame mother' belladonna appeared with beller ' then you might as well adsmit defeat right nbow.. the shield prevents angels from using thier powers .,. and it also affects traitors!"Belladonna cast a huge fireball at them..
-
(OOC: Anne is Belladonna's aunt, not mom.)
"Hi mom!" Beller waved naively. He didn't really have intentions to harm his family, he just was in the mood for destruction.
The hellpup than created a small chain of fire geysers.
"Oh you're going to pay..." Anne growled to Belladonna
-
"Get down!" Zekiel shouted, raising his shield to deflect the fireball, which left the shield with scorch marks across it.
"These guys got us beat!" Tank said. "I don't know how this is going to get any worse!"
Just then, the black-cloaked figure appeared behind Blight and stood next to him.
"Impeccable timing..." Blight said. "You want to do this now?"
"Let's get them occupied for the moment."
"As you wish..." Blight snapped his talons. The Ravics and the Pyres began to converge on the heroes, while the Banshees began to raise octaves in evil wailing...
-
"That always happens.." Itchy frowned after Tank's comment.
Anne began to fight off some the Pyres and Ravics.
-
Zekiel was handling his own against the Ravics, sword against sword. Tank was tapping his collar to try and get some angelic strength left.
On the spire, Linda, even though she was blind, was turned away from the fighting. "I don't what's happening," she said, worried.
"You don't want to know," Hawk commented.
"Who said that?"
Hawk perked his head up in surprise. "You heard that?"
"Was I not supposed to?"
Hawk was speechless...
-
"You can understand them too?" David asked Linda, "The dogs, I mean?"
Anne took down a few Ravics with some violent slashes of her claws.
Itchy and Bess were summoning their remaining angelic energy.
-
Belladonna and Annabelle were locked in a desperate struggle, with annabelle diving to avoid belladonnas attacks, which seems to grow in intensity with each new attack. " oh, how i've longed to beat you like this Annabelle.. its been MILLENNIA" Belladonna hissed "
-
"I think I remember hearing Charlie and Itchy talk," Linda answered.
"Whatever magic is behind this," Hawk said, "it may be how she can hear me too..."
----------
"Well, well," Blight said. "Looks like our little demon-in-training is left all alone."
"He's mine..." responded the figure, and leaps over to land in front of Beller...
-
"Who are you!?" Beller yelled to the figure in front of him, before he could cause more chaos.
Itchy and Bess were doing all they could to defend themselves.
~~~~~~~~~
"And it's not just them, Sasha, Bess, and the others can talk too," David explained.
-
annebella barely ducked another blast by belladonna. Normally, she was a match for Belladonna, but now with the forcefield around the city Belladonna had the decided advantage
Sasha struggled to free herself from her bounds..
-
"Hey!" Anne yelled, seeing the figure appear before her son.
-
Banshees came down to block Anne off from her child, giving off unholy shrieks as they lashed out...
Staring Beller down, the figure pulled off the cloak to reveal...
"Zoria?!" Zekiel could not hide his surprised at the sight, even though he had suspicions. He bats away a Pyre to get a better look. "What are you doing?!"
Although she could hear him, Zoria said nothing as she drew her bow, and fired a bolt of light into the air.
"Hey!" Tank exclaimed. "That was the light that took out the hell collar I had!"
The light began to descend, and then broke and formed into a cage, over Annabelle & Belladonna...
-
Beller began to shiver at the sight of Zoria.
Anne did her best to dodge their violent strikes, and when she saw Zoria revealed she yelled "I KNEW IT!"
-
Belladonna frowned' I see Blight has kept a few things from me.. " Tell me Zoria.. how long have you been working for our side? the hellhound asked
-
"Not for you, cur!" Zoria replied sternly, and drew the staff from her back...
Zekiel's eyes widened at what he saw. "Raphael's Staff!"
"What staff?" Tank said after he dodged one Ravic's swipe...
"The only thing that could defeat the dark sphere over us. But if she is behind this..."
Zoria aimed the point of the staff at Beller. "All of you! Stay where you are, or this little hellhound will be the first to perish!"
"You think she could?" Tank asked.
"The staff has more than enough power to destroy demons. The child won't be able to escape if he tried..."
-
kill the runt if you want belladonna said maliciously ' no skin off my back if you kill him.. of course dear auntie would be heartbroken and we can't have that, now can we? Belladonna said getting in a snide dig at Anne..
-
Beller began to quiver in fear, not moving an inch. "Mom..." he shivered...
"You...." Anne said, in silent fury to both Zoria and Belladonna. "If you touch him..."
Itchy and Bess didn't know how to act. They didn't know the hellpup, but they didn't want to see someone that young hurt.
-
i can't very well touch him from inside this cage now camn't I? Belladonna pointed out. ' so direct your anger, dear aunt' she said sarcastically, at her!"
-
"You're not in a position to do anything, traitor!" Blight responded.
"Zoria!" Zekiel shouted. "Why!? You were among the best of us! And you betray the Order?! All for revenge?!"
"You and the Orders don't get it, do you?" Zoria replied. "It was more than revenge. Our heavens have been contaminated with the cur when she spread her wickedness and turned our angels against us! And then spawned half-breeds to mock us in our domain! Such an evil bloodline must end! By whatever means necessary!"
"You've gone mad! Did you lie to yourself so many times you believe it?! And you dealt with the lowest of devils to have your way!"
"I am the one with the Staff! I shall be the one to purify the heavens! And it shall be the worth of any mortal sacrifice for the greater good!"
"She's gonna hurt the others?" Tank started forward, but Zekiel stopped him...
In the distance, a faint glow appeared in the dark sky...
-
Beller began to cry, fearing his fate would arrive any second.
"What's that?" Bess asked, noticing the glow appear.
-
The glow slowly became bigger, soon revealing that it was coming closer, and then it was indeed a fireball coming straight towards them... Until it suddenly dropped to the ground in front of them, incinerating a whole mass of Ravics, Pyres, & Banshees, kicking up a lot of dust in the process. It took minutes for the dust to settle revealing a hulking creature of darkness, only his face, though different, was familiar...
Even Blight was taken aback. "So he's really gone to the dark side!" he said out loud...
-
The other heroes couldn't believe what they had just seen, though they appreciated the destruction of the dark creatures.
"It can't be..." Bess said.
"Charlie?...." Itchy asked in awe.
Anne looked for an opening to rescue her son.
-
"Charlie?" David said, looking up at the new arrival.
-
Charlie didn't reply, but it was Zoria who responded, by diverting her staff towards Charlie, and fired a bright blast at him, who took to the air to dodge it...
This moment gave Zekiel his opportunity to toss his shield like a Frisbee towards Beller. It would scoop the little hellhound up in the shield, which he would ride it like a flying sled...
-
Beller watched as the shield scooped him up, and held on as it took safely away from Zoria.
"Wow..." Itchy said, watching his friend fight in his hellhound form.
-
Meanwhile Sasha was busy trying to free herself
_ Belladonna threw herself against the cage that imprisoned her..with little positive result..
-
"I can't seem to get this open," Bess said, trying to help Annabelle with the cage.
-
The shield started to turn in a wide arc back towards the heroes, carrying Beller to his mother. Blight started to move after him, but Zekiel wouldn't allow it. He then threw his sword with strength, the blade almost singing as it spun towards Blight. The demonic cat simply turned his body to the side, and the sword whizzed past, making its way to the obelisk...and sliced a bit of rope before it disappeared in the fog...
Charlie was surprisingly nimble as he dodged every blast of light from Zoria, but her aim was getting sharper...
-
the rope near Sasha grew slackened and she suddenly fell down to the ground landing with a crash, and lay still..
I'm not having much.. luck either " annabelle said..
-
Beller sighed in relief as he safely reached Anne's paws.
Anne held her child in a warm embrace, but she knew the showdown was still underway. "Dear, get Beller home safe.." she told Dameon.
"Beat her Charlie!" Bess and Itchy called.
-
"No one's going ANYWHERE!!" Blight growled. "SURROUND THEM!!"
Waves of Ravics and Pyres closed in around the group...
Zekiel picked up his shield, although it could do little now...
Zoria lost her temper and let loose a wide blast, to which even Charlie could not escape. He was enveloped in the light, and fell from the sky, hitting the earth...
-
Itchy and Bess used their remaining angel powers to take out a few of the weaker ravics and pyres.
"Charlie!" Itchy cried as his friend was hit.
Meanwhile, the ones held captive were now loose. David, who could see the cage where the whippets were held, called "Annabelle, could you get us an angel pin over here...
-
Not with this cage blocking my powers annabelle replied.. ' theres nothing I can do David. She then turned to Belladonna "We can't get out of hee without working together.."
_ If you're asking for a truce, forget it Belladonna snapped. " Blight trapped you in here with me.. He considers you a traitor.." annabelle pointed out. ' Read my lips cousin NOT.. GOING. TO... HAPPEN..
-
"Oh no, Sasha..." David gasped, running over to the hurt lady dog
-
you still hate me don't you annabelle sighed ' why would i ciompromise my principles to wiork with you cousin? Even for a minute" Belladonna sneered. "Blight has a lot to answr fir, but I'm going to get my share of heavens booty! the horn of gabriel will look lovely on my mantle..
-
Linda & Hawk also fell to the ground, but on their feet. "Linda," Hawk said. "I'm going to guide you to Sasha. I need you and David to put her on my back."
Linda responded by putting her hand on the Doberman's back as he led her to the fallen Sasha...
Zekiel could only block off attacks from the evil armies as best he could...
Zoria looks on, stern but satisfied, at where Charlie fell. "So you chose your fate where you deserved! You were never meant to be an angel!"
"Look who's talking?" came a reply, and Charlie again shot up from the ground, this time as his old self again...with feathered wings...
-
"You're back in the game!" Itchy cheered on Charlie from the sidelines.
David helped carry Sasha over to Hawk
-
Annabelle continued trying to work free of the cage but it was futile. her angelic powers were growing weaker, and finally she gave up..
-
Hawk guided Linda to Sasha and David, then Linda felt for Sasha and helped put Sasha on the Doberman's back.
"Go get 'em, Charlie!" Tank cheered.
Zoria was shocked and distracted to the point that Charlie spun in close and got his paws on the staff, but Zoria was not letting go.
"How...you could never have survived!" Zoria growled.
"Not without a few trinkets, doll," Charlie replied with a sly grin. "I still have my angel pin, and a collar that was made by your friend Zeke. And thanks to the staff, it actually gave both a power boost. Now, to put an end to what you did..."
"You can't! You'll ruin everything!"
"It's YOU who did it all! You betrayed the heavens! You put this world at risk! You kidnapped my family! And you hurt my girl! Here's the payback, babe!" He turned to Raphael's Staff and concentrated, to which the tip of the staff illuminated as bright as the sun...
"Anne! Take your family and get behind me!" Zekiel replied and raised his shield.
Blight cursed under his breath and made a run for it...
-
Anne grabbed Beller and Dameon and they jumped behind Dameon. Luckily, the cage Annabelle and Belladonna was in was not to far behind them either, in case Annabelle's blood would cause her to get harm from this.
"This is gonna be big!" Itchy grinned, excited where this was going.
-
Bess ducked, even though she knew she wouldn't get hurt by this.
-
the energy from the glowing staff shot out and hit the cage imprisoning the two cousins and broke it, freeing them.. Annabelle quickly flew towards the others. " I suggest getting a good distance away! Annabelle said " before the staff releases its full power!"
Belladonna saw the energy radiating from the staff and vanished back to heck " Blight would get his comeuppance for betraying her..
-
"I believe you dear," Anne nodded to her daughter, bracing for impact, her, Beller, and Dameon stepping back
-
With Sasha on his back Hawk, then led Linda and David away from the spire, soon joining with the others behind the archangel. With the new burst of holy power, Zekiel's shield began to glow again with bright radiance...
The staff's light finally burst, immediately incinerating the spire and the remnants of the Armies of Fire, Darkness, & Fear. Zekiel's shield reflected off the power with little effort, to provide those of demonic blood with vital protection...
----------
Blight returned to the depths just as the world above was enveloped with light. He landed on a floating rock to catch his breath.
"A rather disappointing outcome, don't you think?"
The voice from behind gave the bobcat a fierce chill down his back...
-
"All right!" Itchy cheered as their enemies were vanquished.
"Is it over?" Beller asked the others.
-
annabelle fwatched as the energy slowly dissipated ' you're going to get a promotion for this Zekiel " Annabelle smiled
( Theres are 9 orders of angels, archangel is the second-lowest ranbks, with angel being the lowest)
-
As the staff's light began to fade, it was revealed as the veil of darkness began to shatter and fall up, leaving an almost clear blue sky above the city.
Zekiel looked up at the sunlight as he lowered his shield. "If there's anyone who deserves praise," he replied, "It's Charles Barkin."
When the light was gone from the staff, Zoria fell from passing out, leaving Charlie with feathered wings on his back and Raphael's Staff in his hand...
-
"woo hoo! You did it Charlie!" Itchy cheered.
"All right!" Bess grinned.
Anne then turned her head to the unconscious Zoria. "What are we going to do with her?" she asked seriously.
-
put her and trail, and the cast her down to heck with the other demons. shes not fit to be an angel' Annabelle said.
-
"you guys ok?" Bess aksed, going over to Linda, Hawk, Sasha, and David.
-
' Sasha slowlly regained consciousness ' W-What happened all I remembers was falling towards the ground..who.. who freed us? She asked simply.
-
Then, a trio of wings came from the sky, which Elder Brom and two cohorts landed before the group.
"Zekiel, Annabelle, Itchiford, Charles," Brom started. "You have done what few could ever have done. I am proud to call you angels." He turned to Zoria, which one of the cohorts removed her bow while the other placed shackles on her. "And I have heard what you said, but I must say it's not that simple. She is powerful, and even if she were to be banished to the world below, she may try something like this again. So we will have to come to another solution later. But for now..."
He looked to Anne and her family. "It seems Zoria's acts of betrayal was solely because of you and your family's connection to both our worlds. Although many angels still won't like the details of Damon's leaving to the underworld, for the most part our angelic order still respects his decision in the case of love. Furthermore, we shall make certain that there shall be no unjustified persecution against your family because of blood. There is still a matter with that niece of yours with her actions recently..."
Meanwhile, Tank ran to the two kids and the dogs they're with. "How's everyone here?" he asked.
"We're fine," Linda replied, "but who's that?"
"Just your old buddy, Tank."
"He's the out-of-town dog who was with us," Hawk replied in monotone.
"You make it sound like it's a bad thing..."
Charlie approached. "Sasha? Are you alright?"
-
"Thank you," Anne replied to Elder Brom with all sincerity. She really meant it.
"Yeah Sasha, are you feeling well?" Bess asked.
-
jujust give me a day or two to rest' sasha said laying back against the ground.
- she is no longer a angel' Annabelle pointed out " one does not betray heaven and get to keep their wings..."
-
Charlie picked Sasha up. "Sasha, let's get you checked out, just in case."
"We have a vet who can take care of her," Linda chimed in. "He's the one to checks on Hawk."
"Yeah..." Hawk responded. "Him and that cold thermometer..."
Brom placed a paw on Annabelle's shoulder. "She will be punished properly, I assure you, Annabelle. But for now, you must be tired from all this fighting. I'm giving you time off to rest and spend time with your family. You've done more for us all than any army of heaven could ever accomplish. You make us all proud."
----------
Blight turned to see a black jackal approach him, red eyes staring him down. "I tend to wonder if spending any time where Red is now should help you to learn something out of this..."
"Hey, hey," Blight replied defensively. "I had a good thing going with the beachhead on the surface world, and getting rid of Anne and her posse was gravy. You just can't trust an overzealous angel in these situations."
"If so, you picked the wrong fight with someone like Belladonna. Merciful is one thing she never is..."
"She ain't THAT tough. She couldn't have done half of everything recently without me. And then there's you..."
"Don't bring me into all this! I may be powerful, but I know when to pick my allies and enemies well..."
-
"Yeah sis, you did great," Beller smiled, giving her a pat on the paw.
"Could we get a car to take her there?" Itchy asked.
-
Take him to the pit Belladonna said angrily appearing behind Blight " I have no use for those who doublecross me Blight. Your plan was good, you just didn't think out the consequences of failing.. a few decades chatting with Red should straighten you out..he failed miserably too.."
-
I will be there at her trail " Annabelle said ' but knowing that belladonna is likely getting even with Blight makes me smile.. shes never one to take lightly being doublecrossed or lied to, REd found that out the hard way..
-
Blight turned and snarled menacingly, but it was the jackal who replied. "Lest you forget, Belladonna, for since you were part of the plan to conquer the upper worlds, even you have much to answer for in its failure. Betrayal was another story. Blight's betrayal was only against you, not against the hierarchy. Not like the situation with your aunt and her family..."
----------
"I won't divulge in the outcomes for those in the underworld," Brom replied. "It came as close as it got for things to turn bad for us all. If there had not been a betrayal between those two, you may not have been able to win this day. Now, take some time off to be with your family. I highly recommend it..."
The two cohorts carried Zoria into the sky and disappeared.
Zekiel retrieved his sword from the bushes and rejoined the group. Both his sword and shield had turned into one large pin and hanging from his collar.
Brom noticed him. "Zekiel, you should take some time off as well. We'll recommend a promotion for you upon your return."
Zekiel scratched nervously at the back of his neck. "Actually, Elder... I hope to remain an archangel. Also, I wish to have more time to guardian angel duties."
"Devoted to mortals, just like in life. I will consider that then. But you must remember that you still have more important responsibilities to the order."
"I will remember that, Elder..."
"He's not far from here at all!" Linda replied. "His clinic is just around the corner."
"Linda," Charlie replied, spreading his wings, "you're a guardian angel. We'll get there in a flash!"
Just as Charlie took off with Sasha, Hawk called out to him. "The doc's not used to dogs with wings! Just to let you know!"
-
That much is true jackal, however,I can choose my penance,Blight here does not have that option" Belladonna said. "The Master knows I have been loyal.. loyalty does count for something..I cannot speak for my aunt and uncle..their loyalties are obviously with the other side. They will dealt with at a later time..for now I must go make amends with the Master..."
-
"That'll freak him out Charlie!" Itchy called.
"We can finally take a vacation," Anne grinned to her family.
-
Hell will try to expel you for helping us" annabelle said.. " and heavern won't accept you so you'll have to stay on earth ..
-
"I can take care of myself, don't you worry," Anne assured Annabelle.
-
Brom turned and flew back up into the sky, vanishing in the blue.
Zekiel stretched, and soon his wings and weapons vanished. "Well, I know the first thing to do on break," he started, "is to escort the kids home."
Linda heard him. "Not yet! I want to see if Sasha is OK first."
Zekiel paused, thinking. "Something tells me I shouldn't want to argue that with you."
"Good idea," Hawk replied.
----------
Charlie reached the vet's office in not time at all, his wings vanishing as he landed...
----------
"Unless you wanted to be punished as well, Blight," the jackal said, "I suggest you come with me. You may be useful to me still..."
"Beats getting tortured with Red. Being stuck with him may be torture in itself..."
-
"And they can't kick your father or Beller out, they didn't really actively help us," Anne said to Annabelle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Itchy and Bess were the next to arrive at the vet's. "Let's hope someone is ready to help Sasha," Bess said.
"Agreed," Itchy nodded, he knew going to the vet was important, even if he hated shots.
-
Beller meanwhile, still had the "mess with others" mentality in his mind, but he knew this was neither the time nor place to try it.
-
Tank, Linda, Hawk, & Zekiel followed to the vet's office, making it by the time Charlie knocked on the door. Out came a stout, middle-aged man. "Hello? Oh...the sky cleared up. Linda! I see...you have more dogs with you today."
"Hi Dr Han," Linda replied. "One of my dogs isn't feeling well..."
"I see," Dr Han responded, seeing Sasha, and gently picked her up. "Let's have a look at you. I'm afraid you'll have to keep some of your dogs outside while we check on her..."
"Do you mind, Charlie?"
Charlie responded by giving Linda a kiss on her cheek, making her giggle, then whispered to Sasha. "I'll be outside, Sasha..."
-
"See ya soon Sasha," Bess smiled as she walked out.
-
As Dr Han carried Sasha inside, and Linda was guided inside with Hawk, the rest were left to sit outside.
"I don't know about you guys," Hawk started as he sat down, "but after this checkup is over, I'm sleeping the whole day away on the beach."
Zekiel chuckled. "Considering I got time off for a while, I might just join you."
----------
Meanwhile, Blight and the jackal entered the jackal's cave.
"That was a very disappointing performance on your part," the jackal said. "The plan would've been perfect had you not make some very poor acts of judgment."
"Yeah, yeah. Don't betray your partner, don't trust an overzealous angel, and don't underestimate the power of a guardian angel."
"Good memory... But now there can be no more chances of a full-scale invasion on the upper world. The Master will not be appreciated with that. We must devise a new plan of aggression. At least some payback for those who stood against the plan..."
"I've been itching to get my claws on that Barkin!"
"And let's not forget Anne. She continues to be more a threat to us all each day she exists. If we could find one way to hurt her..."
-
"That actually sounds like a good idea," Itchy grinned, putting on a pair of sunglasses. "I could use the rays."
"Me too," Bess agreed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anne, Dameon, and Beller were now a rooftop, eating some hotdogs (which they admittedly stole...), planning what to do next. They were thinking they might need to find another cave down in hell.
-
Annabelle smirjked as she stood by Charlie
Nice work Charles " you came through for us when we needed you..
-
"Hey, I love it when a plan comes together," Charlie replied coolly as he leaned back against the wall.
"You never did plan all of it, did you?" Zekiel responded.
Charlie scratched his head nervously. "Well..."
"Nevermind. You still achieved what no one else could."
"Yeah, I did!"
-
"Right on, Charlie!" Itchy grinned, hi-5ing his best friend.
The dachshund then put on a pair of sunglasses just for the heck of it. "Finally, we can sit bit, relax, and go to the beach..."
-
"You guys go on ahead," Charlie said, "Sasha and I will join ya later."
Tank cocked an eyebrow at Itchy's shades. "Do I want to know where you kept those glasses?"
-
Sasha slowly came to on the examining bench " err.. where am I? She murmurred.. as she tried looking around.." what happened?
-
"Pockets," Itchy replied, revealing there was in fact one on his shirt.
-
Tank breathed a sigh of relief. "You're...unique," he said.
----------
Dr Han gently set Sasha on the table, while Linda & Hawk stood on the other. "Now let's see what's wrong with you..." the vet said, and checked her over. It was a few minutes until Dr Han was done. "It seems that all she has is a minor concussion. Was she hit by anything by any chance?"
"I could think of an excuse," Hawk said under breath, even though only Linda could understand him.
Linda hushed her dog quiet, the turned to the vet. "She fell off a high wall. So is she alright?"
"Of course. All she needs is some tender loving care and she'll get better in no time."
"Thanks, Doc!"
-
"I have no idea what you meant," Itchy said earnestly as he walked towards the beach.
Beller flew past the group, waving to the normal dogs from above. "Thanks again guys," the hellpup called.
-
sasha slowly stirred into a state of awareness on the table.. she slowly opened hger eyes..
-
Anne flew by as well, giving a wave to her daughter and her friends.
"You did well," Damien said to Annabelle, slowing down as he passed by.
-
"Ah, she's coming around now," Dr Han said.
Linda walked next to the table and pat Sasha. "You OK, Sasha?" she asked.
----------
Tank waved back. "You really think we saw the last of those guys?" he asked Zekiel.
"Not for a while," the angel hound replied. "I've known these demons to be rather persistent. At least they won't be able to amass anything as huge as earlier. Needing assurance?"
"Yeah, pretty much..."
Charlie was starting to pace a bit. "It doesn't take THAT long for a checkup, right?"
-
where am I? sasha muttered. ' my head is killing me.. she grioaned as her vision slowly returned.
-
Anne had grabbed some hot dogs for a snack for her family...behind the store owner's back, of course.
~~~~~~~~
David was happy to see Sasha come to. "You're ok," he smiled to his dog.
-
"She'll be fine," Dr Han said. "As I said to Linda here, that this girl will need plenty of rest and care. She's free to go at anytime."
"Thanks, Dr Han!" Linda replied.
-
Sasha slowly got off the table " Lets go home.. I need a nice long nap " sasha said walking shakily out of the room.. and headed over to David " you ok david?' she asked.
-
"I am," the boy nodded, "and I'm happy to see you're ok, Sasha."
~~~~~~~~~~~
Beller ate the hotdogs he was provided, and looked down on the city. "Not as warm as home, but nice," the hellpup commented.
-
"Thanks, Dr Han!" Linda said as she was guided by Hawk towards the door.
"Anytime!" Dr Han replied cheerfully.
----------
Charlie & Zekiel waited by the vet's door, while Tank followed Itchy to the beach.
-
"I missed the days I could just enjoy the shore," Itchy sighed, soaking in the fresh air and the once again clear blue sky
-
sasha followed linda out the door ' where she was greeted by charlie. ' hello chartlie. i'm fine. Wheres bess? She asked..
-
Charlie's ears perked when he saw Sasha. "Hey Sash! I think Bess is with Itch and Tank at the beach."
"You look tired," Zekiel added. "You sure you don't need a rest?"
-
well i'll be fine, i just need to stretch by legs and get moving around.." sasha replied. " lead me down to the beach Charlie if you please..
-
"It'll be my pleasure," Charlie said as he stood next to her and started off for the beach.
Linda followed behind with Hawk guiding her, and Zekiel stood next to David.
"I'm surprised how well you handled yourself," Zekiel said to the boy.
-
"I think I should check on your niece, darling," Dameon said to Anne, "Better find out if she's coming up with a new plan on the fly."
The former heavenhound opened a portal to hell and flew down to go see what was happening.
~~~~~~~~
"Charlie, Sasha!" Itchy waved, seeing his best friend and his girlfriend join them.
-
As Dameon and Beller reentered Hell, the older dog looked around.
"See Belladonna got off consequence free-no surprise there, she is one of the Big Guy's favorites," the former heavenhound noted as he and his son flew back to their cave.
-
Its time dameon to decide where your loyalties truly lie: belladonna said coldly coming up to them. " the master will not tolerate any more weakness on your part, uncle. You are toing to have to pick a side and stick with it. either you are with usw down here, or you stand with those preachy fools above. There is no inbetween o this.."
-
Beller knew to stay away when cousin Belladonna was in her "moods."
Dameon, on the other paw, thought about this offer. He knew the big guy downstairs would likely do away with him if he kept doing "goody goody" deeds.
However, despite the natural urge for destruction all the hellhounds shared, many of them didn't go to the surface unless assigned. He figured he could stick with the darkness and be with Anne, and not get assigned any tasks. Since he once resided in Heaven, he still had a trace of goodness in him even after his transformation. When he finally decided to change, to avoid living in a "hell-on-heaven" you could say, he was mainly used to supply the Master some info on Heaven.
"Fine Belladonna, I'll be on your side," Dameon finally said. He knew that well still receiving a lot of resentment back in heaven, some of the other angels understood why he did what he did. Some even gave goodbye gifts when he went to stay with Anne.
-
You'd better not be saying that just to take the heat off uncle. The Master will destroy both you and Aunt anne if you do even the slightest good deed from here on out> belladonna said. "That applies to both of you' She added. " he is very upset about the failure of the recent plan, and he will be punishing those responsible for centuries..
-
"Though technically," Dameon pointed out, "I didn't really contribute anything to either side. And your aunt, though she attempted some things, the darkness didn't really stop Zoria. And let me remind you...if she had succeeded, she would have destroyed our kind...." he pointed out matter-of-factly.
-
you always were one to go by the book ' Belladonna said. Zoria was a loose cannon, a wild card if you will. Just.. keep a low profile for say the next 500 years.. ' she said finally
-
"Deal," Dameon grinned. "And heck, to ease any conflict between us, I'll tell the dog at the bar to give you free drinks for a millennium."
In hell, the hellhounds drank liquified souls.
-
Just then, Set, the jackal, approached. "Ah, Belladonna," he said. "I'd like a word with you...privately."
----------
Charlie waved back. "I see you haven't cooked through yet?" he joked.
"What does that mean?" Linda asked, puzzled.
"I hope it's a joke," Hawk muttered.
-
Very well Set" Belladonna said, turning and heading off after the jackal, before stopping in a small cave. 'So what do you want to discuss?
_ sasha smiled at her friends. ' i could use a nice run into the ocean.
-
"Race you there!" Itchy smirked, dashing towards the water.
-
"You're just the devil I wanted to talk to," Set started. "The last...situation on the surface has just revealed to me an opportunity for us to take back our initiative against the heavens. However, I will need a window of opportunity and some time to pull it off without the angels knowing enough to interfere, and that should include that nosy aunt of yours... Anyway, I believe you can provide me with a few suitable distractions on the surface and down here..."
"First, you probably still have your baby cousin's faith and trust in you, so you could mold him back into the demon that he is... And, you have a little operation of mortals above to do some mischief with the angels there. Anyway, I have some very useful information that could bolster your efforts for trouble and revenge against those goody-four-paws, especially the one named Charlie Barkin..."
-
An interesting proposition. but i will need some specifics Set. the heavens will be gradually relaxing after a couple weeks, so we should not moce for the next week or so, let them relax, then we move.."Belladonna said.
-
Dameon didn't stay for Belladonna and Set's conversation, he didn't think anything of it at the time.
He breathed some fire on the entrance to his family's cave. "That's more like it," he smirked.
-
"Let me handle the angels above," Set replied, and a picture appeared in his claws, in which he hands to Belladonna. The picture revealed a familiar-looking German Shepherd, but with different coloring. "In that picture, is the only living descendant of Charles Barkin's family bloodline. You think your pet Carface can recruit him into your trouble making posse?"
-
certainly belladonna smirked " i what way is he related to Charlie may I ask. I was under the impression Barkin was the only member of his family still alive, well apart from those pups he had with that floosie Flo.
-
"It just so happens that one of those pups kept that gene alive all the way to this very day," Set replied. "And this, Oliver J Barkin, has grown up to be a very bad dog. Smuggling and pirating rival smugglers, and stuff like that..."
----------
Charlie shot off ahead to overtake his short friend to the water, with Tank following close behind.
Hawk led Linda to a bench on the sand so she could sit and enjoy the senses of the sea and cool breeze. Zekiel sat next to them, also to watch the ocean.
-
Oliver barkin> Belladonna 's mouth parted in a huge smirk ' yes I could definitely use him., good thinking SEt
Sasha splashed around in the water for a bt before noticing bess. ' Hey bEss remember that plan we had to teach Charlie a lesson? Lets put it into action.."
-
"Which one..." Bess started to ask, but then she remembered "Ah yeah, Operation Girlfriend Switch. But how will we do that? Will we just go up to the boys and tell them? Or try something spontaneous?"
~~~~~~~~
Beller was playing with the bones of victims he had tortured before, it was like sick twisted child's play. "Wonder what happened to cousin Belladonna?" he wondered.
-
spontaneous sounds better than going up and saying 'i'm dumping you for a week..' questions what to do that is spontaneous.."
-
What none of the dogs hanging on the beach noticed was a ship heading towards the port. And why should they? It was a small boat, not a big luxury liner or anything like that. And not too far away, waiting on the docks, was a dog. A dog who none of Charlie or his friends knew, but he resembled Charlie to a noticeable extent. However, this German Shepard had more a reddish dark brown tone to his fur, and unlike Charlie, he always wore what he considered his "trademark", a red bandana.
"Come on...come on..." Oliver Barkin kept repeating annoyed to himself, "The shipment is well beyond overdue." He had ordered a massive number of barrels of a kind of alcoholic drink for dogs intended for his underground casino.
"Ross is going to hell to pay," he frowned.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Do up to the other guy and kiss them?" Bess shrugged.
-
alright, that works.. sasha shrugged.. ' you go first..' she smirked as she went over to itchy..
-
"Good," Set replied, and turned to leave, but paused. "This in itself should give me time and chance to get what I need..."
----------
Charlie looked up to see Sasha approach Itchy...
-
very well..i;ll go fine this Oliver Barkin and make him an offfer.. I doubt her knows hes charlies offspring.. or that his ancestor is still walking around..
-
at the same time, Bess approached Charlie.
"On 3..." Bess told Sasha. "1...2...3!"
-
Sasha suddenly pressed her lips against Itchy's giving him a long and steamy kiss. she smiled inwardly at his reaction " this was a good idea on Ness' part she thought..
-
Bess did the same to Charlie, catching him with a big kiss off guard.
-
Charlie barely had time to notice Sasha kissing Itchy, when Bess planted one of her own on his lips.
Tank, who was nearby, watched in astonishment. And Hawk, who could see from a distance, cocked an eyebrow...
-
"Whhhhaaaaaattt?" was all Itchy could think as Sasha gave him a big smooch. He was caught completely off guard by this.
Bess kept on with her kiss to Charlie, seeing how stunned he was.
-
Sasha finished the kiss pulling away with a grin on her faxe ' For the next week itchy i'm your girlfriend..
-
Charlie's head shot upwards to stare at Sasha when she said that. "Come again?"
----------
"Neither one knows of the other," Set replied. "That should make things more entertaining when they face each other. Now I'll leave you to your fun..." Set leaves the cave...
-
its only temporary Charlie" Sasha said. Next week, we go back to normal..
-
A good instrument Set has placed in my hands Belladonna said to herself..
-
Beller was busy stacking up his skull collection to make it look more like a shrine.
"No, that piece doesn't go there...." he frowned, doing some rearranging.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, I'm your girlfriend for 7 days," Bess smirked to Charlie.
-
Charlie's jaw dropped. "Uh...just one second. Itch? Tank? Privately?"
----------
As Set took to the air, he said, "Now comes the time to wait..."
-
"Uh...sure Charlie," Itchy nodded, stunned by Sasha's kiss.
~~~~~~~~~
"Hmmph...finally!" Oliver groaned, when his shipment reached the shore.
"Man, I'm sorry," Ross, a terrier, apologized to Oliver, "The guys at the loading dock took forever...."
"You know excuses aren't my forte..." Oliver replied, pulling out a switchblade. "Now do you have every last drop...or not...?"
-
As Charlie, Itchy, and Tank converged. "OK... Do any of you know about this happening?"
Tank shook his head...
----------
A mutt appeared behind Oliver. "Hey boss! We gots some snoopers 'round the street nearby! Methinks they may be the boys from Chinatown! And they be packin'!"
-
"I had no idea about this," Itchy replied honestly, still unable to alter his shocked expression.
"Ah, romantic conflict," Anne commented, flying by the boys, having witnessed the whole ordeal from the skies. "This'll be amusing to see..." she snickered deviously.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You're lucky..." Oliver told Ross, retracting his blade. "Lead the way McAllister," he told the mutt.
Ross practically fainted from relief as Oliver left.
-
McAllister led Oliver towards the entrance through the maze of crates and metal boxes. He gestured to some of Oliver's gang, who had taken positions from view, with their own weapons ready...
----------
Charlie scratched his head. "Somehow, I don't think this is some aftereffect from her concussion," he said. "What could they be up to?"
-
"Messing with our heads is all I can think off," Itchy replied.
Itchy didn't want to admit it to Charlie, but he thought Sasha's kiss felt really nice.
"Hey ladies," Anne said, swooping down to Sasha and Bess, "Could we have a little girl talk for a minute?
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I don't see any snoopers..." Oliver told McAllister, having his blade ready, just in case. "Are you pulling one on me?"
-
Sure" Sasha nodded as she looked at Anne. " and don't twell the boys anything please..
-
"So, I see you're really messing with them now," Anne smirked,
"And I want to help. Why don't you scare them by saying you've decided to join my side, I'll help you look the part..." she grinned deviously.
-
Sorry Anne, but thats not an option.." Sasha shook her head " thats going too far.. We want to have a little fun messing with the boys, but that would be going way too far.
-
"I know," Anne replied, "And I didn't intend for it to be real or permanent or anything like that..."
"It's ok," Bess nodded.
-
Tank looked up to the girls. "Hey, Anne's with Sasha and Bess."
Charlie looked over. "What's she doing?"
----------
Just then, shots ring out, and McAllister fell...
-
"After all this, your guess is as good as mine Charlie," Itchy said.
"Keep in touch," Anne smiled to Sasha and Bess, creating a makeshift "business card", you could say, though the hellhound would be making several trips to the surface world and back in the coming days.
~~~~~~~~~~
"The hell?!" Oliver exclaimed as McAllsiter fell right in front of his eyes, he armed himself for what was sure to befall on him...
-
Some further gunshots ring out in the street, followed by hurried scurrying into the alleyways...
----------
"I don't see Sasha as a prankster," Charlie thought. "I think it's another one of those tests of hers... I think we should play along for the time being..."
"You sure?" Tank cocked an eyebrow.
-
Sasha took the card and briefly read it.."For the most devilish fun you can have, contact Anne.. at. Sasha read the number then decided to walk down the street..
-
"Heh, the first 3 numbers are 666" Bess noticed with a little laugh.
"How do you think the guys will react?" Bess asked her friend.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oliver jumped behind a crate, trying to avoid the gunfire.
-
"Of course I'm sure," Charlie replied. "Besides, it's not like anything BIG is going to happen in just one week, right?"
----------
Silence came, then an older pudgy Dalmatian mix, another one of Oliver's group, appeared to inspect McAllister. "Well, he bought it," he said. "You ok, boss?"
-
"Yeah...fine..." Oliver panted, "But what was he up to?!" the german shepard demanded to know.
~~~~~~~~
"Yeah, even by our standards, BIG things happen maybe once a month, twice if we're unlucky. But never twice in a week," Itchy said, calming himself down.
"We'll be fine boys..." he assured Charlie and Tank.
-
"He spotted some members of those Chinatown dogs nearby," the Dalmatian replied. "You know what kind of trouble they are."
----------
"Fine then," Charlie replied. "And as soon as this is over, Sasha will be sorry she's missing out this week. I had a few things planned out for her before, but too bad. Seems Bess has to handle all that now..."
-
"Exactly," Oliver nodded, shaking some dust off. "Are we gonna go give them a "friendly greeting" now?"
..................
"And Bess will be crushed when she learns the plans I had made for her and me will have to change to me and Sasha," Itchy smirked.
-
"Not unless we leave the loot unprotected," the Dalmatian replied calmly. "There's a lot of money riding on that shipment."
----------
"Then it's settled," Charlie replied, and broke off. This time, he walked to Bess. "Well Bess, since you and I will be hangin' out for a week, you better be sure to have your best side ready for tonight, cause we have a date."
Tank watched from afar. "Thank goodness I don't have to go through this..."
-
"How nice," Bess smiled to Charlie, "Where are we going to go to?"
Itchy thought about having a date with Sasha tonight.
...................
"Good point," Oliver nodded, "We'll eliminate our competition the old-fashioned way." He retracted his switchblade for the moment. Though something...no, someONE he saw earlier that day made him wonder about something.
-
"Well, for starters," Charlie began, "we'll be having dinner at the Fisherman's Wharf tonight, followed by a night walk along Hyde Street Pier. Sounds good?"
Tank rolled his eyes and shook his head at the display...
----------
"We can get our friends to leave them 'presents' later, if you know what I mean..." the Dalmatian said with a wink...
-
well theycseem to be adjusying just fine, they';ll just switch thier plans to fit you or me as the case may be.. sasha smiled.. ' have fun with charlie bess, but watcvh oit, that mutt can sweet talk with the best of them..
-
"And I'm in a very giving mood," Oliver chuckled, "I feel REALLY charitable at the moment. Let's not delay....."
............................
"That sounds very enjoyable, thank you Charlie," Bess smiled.
"I have a reservation at the big steakhouse," Itchy told Sasha.
-
steakhouse sounds like fun sasha said
i've been to wharf plenty of times she added ' i need a chabnge of pace..
-
Charlie gave a quick bit of a sneer at Sasha's remarks, the looked back to Bess. "It's a date then!" he said. "So we'll meet back here at 7?"
----------
"I'll send word to Feliq while the goods are being unloaded, boss," the Dalmatian replied.
-
"7 exact, big boy," Bess grinned, waving goodbye.
"You're going to like spending time with her, Charlie," Itchy assured his friend.
-
so whens the reservation, itchy' Sasha asked. " i really like steak.. the juicier the better.
-
Charlie waved back, then looked at Itchy. "I'll go walk the kids back to their homes," he said, and then leaned in to whisper. "You make sure you don't let Sasha push you around. She can be demanding sometimes..."
----------
Meanwhile, in his lair, Seth watches the docks from an orb. Blight sat by, also watching.
"You think Belladonna can pull this off?" Blight asked, seeming unimpressed by the spectacle.
"Without a doubt, my friend," Seth replied with a low voice.
"So then we let Barkin and Barkin kill each other off and destroy the bloodline?"
"It could be icing on the cake, but it's an optional success..."
"What do you mean?"
"Patience..."
-
"Good thinking," Oliver nodded to the dalmatian. "We can't let somebody be competition for when we take over this town...."
"That Flea Bite Cafe collapsed, that's no concern to me now, though it really wasn't one to begin with honestly...."
...............................
"Gotcha Charlie," Itchy whispered, "And in turn, you don't try funny stuff with Bess, ok?"
-
"I'll go talk with them now, boss," the Dalmatian turned back to the docks...
----------
"Am I the dog to anything funny with good friends?" Charlie replied.
-
have fuun with charlie bess sasha smirked, just not too much fun if you catch my meaniung.. she smirked.
-
"Likewise with Itchy," Bess replied, smirking.
......................
Oliver headed back to his personal casino, which had gone unnoticed by Charlie and his friends in the past.
-
"Now that's settled," Charlie said, "C'mon Tank! Itchy! Let's see the kids back home before their parents know they've been gone."
Tank eyed Charlie for a while, then shrugged and followed behind...
-
"Yeah, we better get going," Itchy nodded, "Don't want to have to explain everything that's been going on..." he laughed..
...........................
"So, how have my friends been?" Oliver smirked as he entered his casino, found in the Fisherman's Wharf area of the city. He rolled dice along a table as he walked inside.
-
As Charlie, Itchy, & Tank reached the children, Hawk was taking a nap while Zekiel was calmly watching the ever-changing sky...
"So," Charlie started, "what does everybody want to do today? I'm free until 7!"
----------
Some of Oliver's gang snickered, snorted, and chuckled at Oliver's remark, greeting him as he walked by...
-
"Why don't we hit the beach?" Itchy suggested, "We could try surfing."
"That could do wrong, badly," Anne snickered, as she flew past.
..........................
"So how have you all been?" Oliver asked his gang as he won some cash off the roll of the die.
-
Zekiel looked up at Anne. "And exactly what would you mean by that?" he asked.
"It's not that bad," Tank replied. "I got pretty good at surfing back in San Diego."
----------
"Hey boss!" Came a voice from across the room. "There's a guy in your office, and he wants to talk to you!"