Charlie AA circle that won't end well

from /hhg/ - Hazbin Helluva General #799
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Here's a little green based on the other day when someone pointed out that there are going to be sinners running around who HATE each other in a way that sitting in an AA circle and talking about their feelings won't fix and Charlie's going to have trouble with that.
Theme music: h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehukpdse8_w
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>"And it's down along the Falls Road, that's where I long to be~"
>"Lying in the dark with a Provo company~"
>"A comrade on me left and another one on me right~"
>"And a clip of ammunition for me little Armalite~"

>The simmering chatter surrounding the bar gradually faded away as someone began to sing
>"Jaunty bar room tunes" weren't an uncommon thing to hear in the evenings, especially if Husk happened to be liquored up enough to start pouring free shots
>But this one wasn't lifting the mood, it was tamping it down
>The throng of demons surrounding the plank grew tense as the tune rolled on
>Despite its up-tempo nature and cheerful cadence, there was an undercurrent of vindictive anger to every word that crossed the singer's lips
>The crowd parted before the singer, a thin demon dressed in green, leaning against the wall as they continued to belt out the tune

>"I was stopped by a soldier, he said 'you are a swine'!"
>"He hit me with his rifle and he kicked me in the groin~"
>"I begged and I pleaded, all my manners were polite~"
>"But all the time I'm thinkin' of me little Amralite~"

>The singer was staring directly at another demon, seated across the room from him at a high table
>One look at the stout sinner's face made it clear that they weren't at all fond of the song, nor of the demon singing it
>Their displeasure deepened as a second voice joined in

>"And it’s down in the Bogside is where I long to be~"
>"Lying in the dark with a Provo company~"
>"A comrade on me left and another one on me right~"
>"A clip of ammunition for me little Armalite~"
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>Another demon strolled over and hooked their arm around the demon in green and began to harmonize with them
>They didn't actually seem to know each other, but the second was evidently just as enthusiastic about antagonizing the patron on the opposite side of the bar with song
>As they swung into the chorus, whispers began to circulate
>Charlie caught bits of phrases like "throw the first one" and "two against one" and "double or nothing" as impromptu bets were placed among the rest of the hotel's clients

>"What is it?"
>"What's going on?"

>Husk looked down, hollow-eyed, at the fair, black-nailed hand that had come to rest on his shoulder
>Like trying to get a cold engine to turn over, his vodka-soaked synapses took a few attempts to properly string the thought together

>"Well uh, thway I heard it, those guys don't really know each other, but they 'know' each other"

>Charlie gawked impatiently at the cat demon, waiting for him to say something that actually answered her question

>"You ever heard of 'The Troubles' down here?"
>"Thaywer on opposite sides"
>"'Pparantly they didn't know the other was here until a coupla minutes ago"

>"...and?"

>Husk shrugged and jabbed a clawed thumb in the direction of the sing-songy conflict

>"And now we wait for the fireworks"
-
>"Well this brave RUC man came marchin' up our street~"

>The word 'brave' was sung with such irony that it was liable to rust

>"Six hundred British soldiers he had lined up at his feet~"

>Something about their tone made it clear that six hundred was nowhere near enough

>"He said 'Come out ye cowardly fenians, come on out and fight'~"
>"But he cried 'I'm only joking!' when he heard me Armalite~"

>The nasally voice they affected and the fey, limp pose they struck upon delivering the fictitious 'RUC Man's dialog left no doubt that the figure in question was, in fact, a gutless, gormless fellow worthy of the utmost disdain
>And it was the straw that broke the camel's back

>Almost as soon as the lyric had been delivered by the duo, a half-empty beer glass went sailing through the air and shattered agains the wall in between them
>The sticky foam from the vessel's contents had hardly hit the floor before the one who threw it was upon them
>Fists and feet met faces and ribs
>Curses and ethnic slurs and general vitriol spewed forth from every mouth
>The brawl spread outward from the trio of demons like ripples on the surface of a pond
>Immediate standersby decided to pick a side of the conflict and join in
>Demons were hurled against nearby tables, toppling them over, and smaller pieces of furniture were hoisted up and broken over unsuspecting heads
>One demon shrugged and thrust a knife into someone else's back
>They had no skin in the fight that had started it all, they didn't even know who their victim was, they just realized that the sudden tumult around them presented a perfect opportunity to cause pain without fear of retaliation and saw no reason not to leap on it
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>Charlie gasped and jumped back as Husk suddenly hacked up a thick, choloric slurry of invectives
>His paw wrapped around someone's skull and slammed it repeatedly into the wood, until Husk lost his grip
>The sinner who thought that he could use the chaos of the ever-expanding bar brawl as cover to nick a bottle out of the well slumped to the ground, bleeding from most of the orifices in his head
>Even while piss-drunk, Husk remained alert for potential threats to his liquor supply
>The stupid bastard wouldn't try that again

>"W̴͖̋e̵̦͋l̴̈l̶̛̘ ̵͑n̴ow,̷ ̶thǐ̴̞̭̻͔̘̳̆͜͠͠s̸̬͈͚͔̜̿͑̓̃͒̆ wont̴̡̹̬͖̼̫̺̫͂̾̒̓͋͊̎̌̽͋̉̈́̆̊̍͝͠ do!"


>T̶̜̖̿̄̌̿̐̽̃͛̎͐̍Ȟ̵̿I̸͔̾̋̂̏͒͛̐͊̌̏͘͠͝S̷͐ ̵̛͐̆̂͋͋͑͆͋͋̾̚W̴̜̤͓͍͉͕̻̚ͅÕ̸̢͚̯͙̪̗̒Ṅ̵̡̧̡̫̺̹̹̙͖̘̝͇̫͕̎͐̚͜͝ͅ'̶̧̮̣̝̫͉͕̬͈̳̦͋̂T̷͋͐̂̈̄́́̍̕̕ ̶̢̻̜̬̦̘͑̑DÕ̷̢̭̗̜̳̟̹̗̗̣̯͎͎̫̼̂͌̀̑̋̾ͅ A̷̍T̷̽̏̈́̍ Ã̷̐̆́̏̚͘͝L̶̔̎̾L̸̛̟̆̈̈̄̍̔̿̊͠͠

>A thick ribbon of coal tar-black reached up from a pool of neon-green on the floor
>Another slithered down from a round of vivid purple in the ceiling
>More slinked out to join them from dark corners blighted with harsh, unnatural colors
>Shadows that were cast by no natural figure crept along the walls, cackling madly
>Soft ragtime could be heard from an uncertain source
>The combatants were swiftly suspended above the ground by writhing tentacles, voodoo symbols drifting through the air around them like ashes rising off of a fire
>The Radio Demon, the hotel's "head of security", had arrived

>"Well then..."

>Demons were lowered down to Alastor's eye level one after another, his ever-present grin growing more and more malicious as he examined them in turn

>"...who wants to try explaining first?"
-
>A slurred voice called out from behind the bar before anyone else could answer

>"IIWAZZ THOSE THREE CHUCKLEFUGZ THERE!"
>"THEY FRIGGIN STARTED IT"
>"DEAL WIDDEM OUTSIDE AHM SssssICKA YOU MURDERIN' PEEBLE IN MY FRIGGIN' BAR"

>Charlie opened her mouth to protest
>Surely, this could be resolved in a constructive manner?
>These three just needed to talk it out
>She could help them

>"Wai-"

>All the demons who had previously been suspended in the air hit the floor with a dull thump
>Except for the three who had just been stuck with the blame for instigating the fracas
>They hit the window, shattering it, then hit the ground outside with pained yelps
>Alastor was right behind them, shifting into his skeletal, gaping-mawed demon form as he descended on the trouble makers
>The yelps turned into agonized screams

>Alastor returned shortly after the screaming had stopped, dabbing at his mouth with a handkerchief

>"No leftovers."
>"No need to send Niffty out to clean the yard."
>"Just put the window on my tab."

---

>Vaggie sighed, the sound drowned out by Charlie's sobs
>She knew this was going to happen
>"This" as in Charlie crying inconsolably into her shoulder for an extended period of time over the horrid incident that had blighted her project earlier this evening
>But also "This" in general
>Watching Charlie stumble over and over as she was forced to confront just how deep the rot upon a mere human soul could reach
>She ran her fingers through her girlfriend's length of golden hair

>"Sssshhhh"
>"It'll be okay"
>"Maybe tomorrow will be better"

-end-
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Thanks for writing all of this out anon, I was the one who originally suggested the whole AA meeting idea for war criminals, rpists ect.
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My pleasure. Hope you liked it.
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One thing I would have to say is that I don't think Charlie would be fine with Alastor eating 3 patrons right in front of her, but aside from that the story was really good.
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I was rolling with the idea of things going pear-shaped too fast for Charlie to rangle, but you're right. Plus, she can handle herself in a fight, so she probably wouldn't let Alastor get away with any funny business in general.