anon "dates" cherri bomb part 3

from /hhg/ Helluva Hotel general #669, #670
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>Over the street and down a dark alleyway was a neon sign sputtering with the last of it's failed power supply.
>A red door with the paint stripping off of it swings open with protest, and the cackling of inebriated laugher and the slapping of backs echoes through the no longer empty side street, drowning out the rattle of gunfire from an ongoing turf war.
>Cherri Bomb and... you

>Alright, so a few bars in and Cherri said she'd get you, 'acquainted with the place', whatever that meant.
>You'd already caught her taking cocaine from a tray and sticking needles in her arm thrice at a time.
'Uh, no thanks'
>You mutter, as you sip your Bourbon.
>'Aw, come on kid, it'll be fun. Don't be a paaaar- *hic* -ty pooper!'
>You shake your head and cross your arms.
>No can do, Cherri. Don't touch that stuff with a barge pole.'
>'Pooper.'
>She polishes off her ccktail and eats the olive from the stick, before chaotically flipping it around her mouth and out of her front teeth, playing with it.
>You stare at her, drawn into her massive pinkish eye, and take in her dress sense.
>Ripped jeans, tank top, aggresive take-no-shit manners.
>A punk, of course.
>How could you have not noticed before.
>'Hey, kid you're uh, staring at me.'
'W-what?'
>You're caught off-guard.
>'Nah it's cool. So...'
>She uncorks a new bottle of something. You think it might be Vodka.
>'How did you die?'
'How did I die?'
>'Yup.'
'I-I can't... seem to remember'
>'Ah. You get that, don't sweat it. Amnesia. I couldn't even remember my proper name for a day or two. It comes back though, in time.'
>'Speaking of names...'
'Names?'
>'Yeah. You need a new one. Using your mortal name down here is seen as a bit pretentious.'
'Uh I'll guess I'll go by Anonymous then.'
>'Blimey that's a long name. By the time I call that out, you could be dead. How's about I call you Anon for short?'
'Works for me, Cherri.'
-
>*BOOM*
>The wall comes away in an almighty explosion, scattering demons that were caught in the crossfire, and impaling some of the poor passersby with shrapnel.
>Showtime.
'HOW THE HELL DID YOU ROPE ME INTO THIS, YOU ONE EYED TWAT?'
>'Oh shush Anon, you love it really!'
>Cherri throws a smoke grenade into the improvised entrance she just created and it detonates with a pink *puff* and a smell of... strawberries?
>No time to dwell.
>'Right Anon, we've got our opening we need to move it!'
>You think you'd better do as she says.
>You sling the bag across your front and enter the hole Cherri's bomb made.
>'Clear out from left to right, honey.' Cherri says, in a sing-song voice
'This better be a good reason for why you decided to do this.'
>'Oh there is.'
>The smoke starts to clear and your memory slowly clicks into gear after being disoriented by being just a few metres away from an explosion to sussing out your surroundings. You manage to find-
'YOU'RE ROBBING A BREWERY? YOU CAN JUST BUY THE STUFF IN A BAR!'
>'Hey sugar! Gotta kickstart my empire somehow. I'm in the runnings to be an Overlord, don't you know? You and I could run rings around these lesser demons and sinners. Whaddya say?'
>Silence. Your brain has switched off.
>'I'll take that silence as a 'Yes', then! Look sharp, and get filling those bags. Security is bound to be on our asses soon!'
>Scooping an armful of product, you drop it into your bag, cringing at the clinking of bottles as they fall into the dark cavity of the bag.
>You remembered you were a bartender at one point up in the living world.
>It cut through your skin like ice to treat alcohol with this level of frivolity.
>An alarm klaxon blares, and the shutter doors at the end of the corridor snap up, and demons armed with assault rifles file into the corridor.
'Hey, Cherri?
>They fan out into firing positions
'You might want to-'
>'Intruders located, Sir. Firing squad, Firing positions.'
>'Take aim.'
>'FIRE!'
-
>Your hacking cough rings out as Cherri flicks on the light to the warehouse you had co-opted as your base of operations as of late.
>Well, late being strictly speaking, about a day ago once you'd cleaned out its previous inhabitants and set up shop.
>You and Cherri drop the bags unceremoniously onto the table and set yourselves up on the musty old couch in front of the small CRT TV set you acquired out of a skip.
'So. Was that a really good idea? How much can we sell the lot we gathered for?'
>'I've got a few dealers honey, don't worry your head about it.'
>She pats your head as if you're a puppy.
'And, can we pick something less dangerous next time? Those guards almost executed us.'
>'What's death down here? You'll just regenerate in a few days. Nothing to break a sweat about.'
'Better lay low for a few days though, so we don't get spotted, kapiche?'
>'Sounds goooood~'
>Cherri is sinking into the sofa cushions beside you.
'Did you mean what you said?'
>'About?' Cherri looks at you with a puzzled expression.
'Me partnering up with you. If you want.'
>Her eye shines, as she cracks into a manic grin and plants a kiss on your cheek.
>'Awwww, Anon! I *knew* I could count on you! You're a keeper!'
'Hey! I didn't agree to anything yet!'
>She pulls back, a face like a wet weekend
'But I'm in.
>Her grin returns as she takes a syringe from the plate in front of the TV.
>Fck it. Why not.
'Alright, Cherri. Just this once'
>As the syringe plunges down into your arm and is injected, you start to feel a lot looser.
>'Now, how about a pizza, drinks and sht TV?'
'Sounds good to me, Bomb.'
-
>GUUUUUUUH
>Brain fog.
>Your head, spinning.
>You can feel someone leading you by the hand, somewhere.
>You have a vague idea that it's Cherri, but you're unsure.
>You have no control over your legs.
>Your vision starts to clear, but the brain fog remains.
>Yes! It's Cherri.
>She's smiling and swirling something around in her hand.
>'Nepo ediw, Nona ybab.'
>What?
>Was she even speaking English?
>You attempt to open your mouth and speak, but nothing comes.
>She appears to notice your efforts and giggles, stroking your chin.
>She produces a small strip of paper with a smiley face on it from her chest.
>That's acid isn't it?
>Yes, yes it is.
>What happened to laying low?
>You were going to get caught if someone recognised you, wherever you were.
>She pouts and repeats again.
>'Nepo ediw, Nona.'
>More insistent this time, whatever it was she was trying to say.
>She stretches out her other hand and reaches outfor something, pulling below your face.
>You're so numb to the world around you that you don't notice her brandishing the tab.
>Oh.
>She opened your mouth.
>And it's closed again.
>She triumphantly shows you her empty hands, before pressing her forefinger onto your nose in an affectionate gesture.
>The world starts going woozy.
>Your vision turns double, then triple then kaleidoscope.
>You start to see all sorts of things, different shapes of demons, shadows, feeling some ethereal music coming from somewhere, you feel yourself being lifted, dropped, spun around, flattened, expanded, taken from place to place by some sort of force.
>You appear in another location every so often.
>Different demons, different lights, different things Cherri offers you.
>But Cherri Bomb is there for you through it all. Your port in the storm. She's the one thing that remains constant for you.
>You decide, in that moment that you want to keep that constant for as long as you can.
>To take hold of it.
>To cherish it.
>To keep it with you.
>So you do.
-
>So you're sleeping now.
>You think.
>It's black.
>You're unconscious.
>And someone's snoring.
>Huh.
>That's interesting.
>Someone snoring would definitely mean you're *not* asleep and *not* as unconscious as you would like to believe.
>You probably should try opening your eyes.
>So you do.
>It's white.
>It's comfy.
>And you're covered in something warm and soft.
>And something's pressed up against your back.
>And reaching around your neck.
>You could be being strangled, you think.
>No, it's too soft for that.
>And there's no malice about it.
>'Mmmnnnnf...', the voice says, along with the smacking of lips.
>You feel whatever it is adjust and grip closer to you.
>Evidently still trying to sleep.
>You slowly attempt to shimmy yourself around without disturbing their rest.
>They deserve that at least, you think to yourself.
>When you finally managed to negotiate untangling yourself from a mess of bedsheets, and extract yourself from the arms of your would-be cuddly assassin, you finally gained a piece of the puzzle.
>It was Cherri, sleeping peacfully besides you.
>You thought it best to check on her.
>You slip the covers up and...
>As you thought.
>She's as naked as the day she was born.
>You suddenly think to yourself and check on your own dignity.
>Maintained.
>You're wearing a pair of boxers, Thank God.
>Or whoever's listening down here.
>You hear a yawn, and a few cracks and pops, as Cherri's bed head rises out from beneath the quilt.
>She shakes her head, and opens her eye.
>Bleary-eyed, she starts to root around for something.
>You scoot over, and start looking to help her.
>Reaching for the nightstand, you finally realise.
>It's water.
>She wants water.
>You see a cup on your side of the bed, filled with bubbles, obviously it was drawn from the tap the previous night.
>You pass it to the lady.
>She hungrily gulps the liquid down, then sets it aside and flops back on the bed.
'Breakfast?'
>You pipe up.
----------------------------------------
>'Breakfast?'
>You look at the form on the bed.
>It's Anon.
>It's slowly coming back to you, the night before.
>Your lips curl and your mouth cracks into a smirk.
>You had a *lot* of fun last night.
>They did too, you hope.
>But, yeah.
>Breakfast sounds nice.
>'Sounds good, Anon. I could do with some food down me.'
>You flip the covers off, and take in your naked form.
>'You, uh, might want to get dressed before we have some.'
>'Good thought.'
>You stride over to the door to the en-suite, reach around to the back of the door, and unhook a dressing gown from the back, and tie it around your waist.
>Back over to the bed, you dip your toes into a pair of carpet slippers, hoist Anon from the bed, and throw a dressing gown from the corner chair at them before barrelling out the door and down the corridor for food, with Anon following close behind.

>'So, Cherri. What's on the agenda today?'
>You thumb through the steaming hot food on your plate before popping the fork into your mouth.
'Well, we've got to sell that stuff we gathered from the Brewery the other day, knock some heads together in case anyone saw us, and give a friend of mine a hand.'
>'Your friend?' Anon comments as they absent mindedly sip their drink.
'Mhmm.'
>'Welp, time we were off.'
>Anon jumps to their feet, taking your hand.
>'You know what they say. Absence makes the nose grow longer?'
'Does it?'
>'Of course.' Anon pokes your nose, and smiles.
'The bill, Anon?'
>'I doubt that matters. Our mere presence should be enough for them, given our status as upcoming Overlords...'
'You're learning Anon... Let's be off, then!'
>You two link arms, and walk out into the morning air, towards the Mall, and your next objective of conquest.