Chapter Text
Angel Dust lay curled up under his blanket, face buried in his pillow, biting down on his lip to keep from crying.
Since he’d returned to the Vee tower two days ago, Val had insisted Angel sleep on the couch in his quarters. He’d given Angel a comfy silk blanket and fluffy pillow, allowed him to watch TV, and had left him alone for the most part. But he’d also locked the door, and Angel’s phone had mysteriously disappeared.
That was how Val worked. He did nice things for Angel so he could guilt trip him later if he tried to complain. Because how dare he want to be at the Hazbin Hotel with his friends instead of Val’s prisoner?
Angel missed them all so much that his heart felt it would shatter with grief. It had only been two days, but it felt like years since he’d last seen them. The first people to show him kindness in decades. Who had made him feel like a real, actual person instead of just a toy whose only purpose was to be worn down. Who had done good things for him and never asked for anything in return. Who would’ve thought he’d be lucky enough to find people like that in hell, of all places?
But he’d been stupid to think it would last. This was hell, and hell was meant for suffering. Val owned him, and Vox controlled him. He couldn’t go back to his friends, ever. Not without them getting hurt.
Currently, Angel was choking back tears because he’d been watching a show with a pet pig that reminded him of Fat Nuggets. His sweet, adorable, silly little pig who had been there for him in the darkest moments of his life. Who had cuddled with him every night when Angel came back from the studio, listening to him and giving him gentle nuzzles as he sobbed his heart out. And now he’d never see him again.
But he couldn’t cry here. Val could be nearby, and he got pissed whenever he heard Angel crying. Because he was being “ungrateful” or some bullshit.
Angel wiped his tears away with his sleeve, forcing himself to take deep breaths and calm down. It was best that Fat Nuggets was back at the hotel. He was safe there. He wouldn’t be here. Although the pig had been a gift from Val, Angel knew Val wasn’t above harming him. One of the major reasons he’d decided to stay at the hotel was because the day before, Val had burned Fat Nuggets with a cigarette to punish Angel for “talking back.”
But Angel knew Charlie would make sure Fat Nuggets was well taken care of. As annoying as she could be, she loved animals and meant well. Knowing his pig was in good hands was the only bit of peace Angel could find right now. They’d all be fine without him. Charlie would find other, better sinners to redeem. Cherri finally had contact with Sir Pentious, he would keep her happy. And Husk…
Angel immediately pushed Husk out of his mind as he heard footsteps approaching the door.
He wiped away the last of his tears and sat up as the door opened. Val entered the room, yelling at someone over the phone in Spanish. His angry tone made Angel instinctively freeze.
“Cierra la puta boca! Eres una puta estúpida!” Val threw his phone across the room. Angel flinched at the loud bang it made against the wall.
Val let out a series of loud, furious pants, then turned to Angel. Immediately, his enraged expression twisted into a sickly sweet smile.
“Why hello there, Angel baby,” he said, his voice now as soft and smooth as velvet. “Don’t mind that, some dumb coño was just giving me trouble. Anyways, you’ve got a film shoot tonight, so be ready.”
Val went over to the mirror to admire himself, as he did several times a day.
“Oh yeah, and that dumb blonde bitch from the hotel has been blowing up your phone,” said Val, adjusting his antennae. “I might let you talk to her if you’re a good boy.”
Angel’s heart dropped into his stomach.
Oh no, Charlie, stay out of this! he pleaded silently.
“But of course, I think it’s best that you tell her you are fine, and she has no need to worry?”
Val spoke sweetly, but his pink teeth flashed threateningly in the mirror. “Otherwise, things may…not be fine.”
“You better not hurt her!” Those words erupted from Angel’s throat before he could stop himself.
“Oh come now, Angel,” Val crooned. “I don’t give a shit about the hotel anymore now that I have you back, and Vox has stopped provoking them.”
He turned to face Angel, his red eyes narrowing into glowing slits.
“But you know I would hurt you.”
“I…I’m not scared of you anymore!” Angel spat. It was a total lie, of course, but he didn’t know what else to say. “In fact, I kind of get hard when you whack me around. Hit me as hard as you can, daddy.”
Angel immediately regretted saying that. Val crossed the room in two seconds, his eyes smoldering. He grabbed Angel by the throat, and lifted him into the air. Angel barely had time to choke before he was slammed face first into a glass coffee table, which shattered upon impact.
Angel’s vision went red. Pain stabbed every inch of his face. He gasped for air, and spat out a mouthful of blood. He managed to open his eyes just in time to see Val looming over him. He seized him once again by the throat, and stuck his face right into Angel’s, snarling furiously.
“You’re lucky I didn’t kill you for that, you little cunt!” he roared. “I’ve killed whores like you for far less! Did your time at the hotel make you forget that I own you? That you were pathetic enough to sign your life away to me? Huh? DID YOU!?”
Val loosened the grip on his throat just enough for him to choke out, “N–no, Valentino…”
“Then you better shut your mouth and respect me. Or else I’ll skin you alive and use your pelt as a rug. And then continue to make you perform. Got it?”
“Y–yes, Valentino…”
Val let him go and stood up.
“Clean this shit up!” he barked, pointing to the shards of broken glass. He gave Angel’s head a swift kick, then exited the room, once again swearing in rapid Spanish.
Angel got to his knees, sides heaving, blood dribbling from his trembling lips onto the carpet. Shakily, he stood up, but his vision was blurry and his head was pounding. He collapsed back onto the ground with a whimper.
“The fuck happened in here?”
Angel’s vision cleared enough for him to see someone coming into the room. He recognized the glowing blue screen that was Vox’s face…only it was no longer attached to a body. Instead, it was attached to a tripod, which was duct taped to a skateboard. which was wheeling itself into the room.
Angel let out a sharp wheeze. He wouldn’t have thought anything could be funny right now, but he'd been proven wrong.
“You…look so stupid!” Angel coughed.
“I’m not the one with blood all over my face,” Vox scoffed. “What the hell did you do to piss off Val this time?”
Angel scowled. “Why do you care, flat face?”
“I don’t!” Vox laughed. “I heard the sounds of suffering coming from this room and came to take pleasure in your torment, but it seems like I missed the show.”
“Piss off, you fucking TV!” Angel kicked the skateboard, sending Vox flying out of the open door. There came a thunk, followed by an “Ow!” and then Vox wheeling himself down the hallway, shouting “Fuck you!” as he went.
Angel took off his sweater, which he used to scoop up the broken glass and dispose of it into the trashcan in the adjacent bathroom. He took a look at himself in the mirror. It was pretty bad. There were bloody, oozing cuts all over his face, along with tiny shards of glass stuck in his forehead. His lips were badly cut, and a couple of his teeth were missing. Angel gingerly pulled the glass from his forehead, wincing as he did, and then washed his face the best he could. He spat out yet more blood, then treated his cuts with some ointment he found in the cabinet. In the same cabinet he found some carpet cleaner, which he used to scrub out the bloodstains.
Exhausted, Angel collapsed on the couch. The bleeding had finally stopped, but his face was still pulsing with pain. He reached under the couch, where he’d hidden a bottle of vodka. He chugged down the warm liquid until the pain turned to numbness.
I was so fucking dumb, he thought. I know what happens when I mouth off to Val.
He could leave right now. The dumbass had left the door unlocked. But he knew Val would find him and bring him back.
I deserve this, anyways.
Tears welled in his eyes, too thick for him to blink away.
“Husk,” he sobbed into his pillow. “Charlie, everyone…I’m sorry. I’m a failure.”