Hell's Book of Random One-shots

Tame the Beast - Abe Sapien - Hellboy - Request

You weren't aware of the situation, the only thing you saw was rage and the next target in your surroundings.

You were eager to take a crack at the big thing the red guy was going for, but every time you were pushed back and a smaller thing to attack caught your attention.

It was fun, seeing the little things run and scream in fear as you flung their friend like they were nothing but a bag of meat.

They were nothing, unlike you, who stood a head or two taller than each of them and had furred arms that held enough power to bend the gun of a tank, your fur course enough to hold off flame until it reached a certain point.

Anyone facing you was a fool and boy, did you love to play with fools.

You loved to roar and growl at them to make them scarper, clawing at them and hitting anything in the way to terrify them with your large and imposing paws, the light glinting on the sharp black claws a thrill.

Other yells were coming from around you.

Familiar.

Perhaps friendly, but that didn't matter much to you.

All you wanted was the create havoc, to destroy.

You couldn't remember what had riled you up, all you recalled was seeing red and shifting from a small, weak thing to the great, powerful beast you housed inside of you thanks to a long placed curse.

It was a thrill, to be free and wild.

Not that anyone else seemed to agree.

From the yells you would here, it seemed as though others thought you were nothing but a nuisance who got in the way and made a bigger mess.

You only wanted to help, it wasn't your fault they didn't like the way you went about it.

"Control your damn dog!"

That was the red one.

You knew him but couldn't remember from where and him calling you a dog made the red coating your vision turn darker, a large snarl coming from your throat as spittle threatened to spill over large and too sharp teeth.

He was distracted, trying to hold back a monster ten times bigger than him with noticeable struggle.

Apparently, you kept getting in the way, whether that be physically or by creating sprays of debris and distractions for everyone around.

While you didn't dislike him, you certainly could do without his company.

"I have spoken to you about speaking in such a way."

That was the blue one.

He filled you with warmth, one that felt so familiar and nostalgic.

One that felt long lost in the chaos, but somewhere in the deepest recesses of your mind you knew to be careful with this one.

Even the thought made your steel heart clench.

"Yeah and we'll talk about it again later," the red one said, grunting with effort as he continued to restrain the other being, "but right now they need to stay out of the damn way."

You had already grown bored of their talking and had spotted your next target off in the distance, there were an abundance of obstacles on the path, such as large pieces of debris created from the struggle thus far, but it wasn't anything you couldn't breeze through.

The thought excited you.

You took a single step forward.

Then the blue one was there.

...Abe...some memory in the deepest part of your brain remembers that his name is Abe and that name makes your stomach flutter.

You hate it and yet, you don't.

He was in front of you before you could even register what was happening.

You wanted to charge forward, to continue your fun, but you didn't want to hurt this frail looking being.

One that made you feel funny.

So you stopped, heavy pants mixed with gargled snarls as you stared at one another.

You could snatch him up in your gargantuan paws and heave him out the way, as you would have with anyone else (especially the red one) but the uncomfortable fluttering stopped you and made you question everything.

"Thank you for stopping," he said, sounding relieved.

You tilted your head, unsure of how to respond.

He took a step towards you and you instantly started, shoulders hunching as your top lip pulled into a small snarl, just one of warning.

One that he foolishly didn't heed.

Yet, he approached with an unnerving calmness and this set you on edge.

"We're done here," he said in a tone that was both authorative and settling at the same time. "He has it, we can leave."

Your eyes flittered to the target you had been stopped from charging and then met the blue one's deep black ones, which held so many silent words that even your most animalistic side could decipher and this conflicted you.

He held a hand out to you and you felt an overwhelming urge to take it, a tug of familiarity hitting somewhere in the deeper recesses of your brain, the more human side of your being telling you to take his hand and never let go.

With slow hesitance, a large and deadly clawed paw raised towards his hand.

"There we go," he continued softly, "it's time for us to leave."

A growled grumble erupted from your throat, but he merely covered your powerful paw with his webbed hand.

"We have done all we can."

You allowed him to lead you away, his repetitive talking in that calming voice subduing your need to attack further, the soothing effect almost making you slow and sleepy.

So, so sleepy.

And then you jolted awake with a gasp, all your muscles sore from the tenseness as you sat up in the bed you didn't remember crawling into.

"Oh good, you're awake."

You turned to look to your right, grimacing at the uncomfortable pull in your muscles, to find Abe sitting at your bedside.

"You weren't gone for as long as usual this time," he said with a smile in his eyes. "This is good, progress."

"It happened again?" You frowned, which also seemed to hurt.

"Yes, but this time you were attacked, so we have discovered one obvious trigger."

"You seem happy about that," you mumbled, fiddling with the covers that would have been the protector of your modesty had you not been draped with a too large shirt.

"I am more happy that we seem to have found a way to settle you, you know it worries me to see you like that."

"But it's gotten better?" You asked, near desperate.

"It has gotten better, you've been doing so well."

You smiled and dropped back down to settle in your bed, a heavy weight that you had been carrying for years lifting that little bit more, as it always seemed to bit by bit since you had met Abe and Hellboy.

The road was long and you still had a long way to go, but Abe had already helped you understand yourself so much more and you couldn't be more thankful.

"It's all because of you, Abe, I owe you so much."

"Well," he chuckled softly, dipping his head as he set his book aside and stood from his seat, "we'll figure a repayment later down the line."

You looked up at him, smiling tiredly.

"Thank you, Abe."

"Don't thank me yet, we have much more to do," he said, looking down at you as his face softened, "but you're welcome all the same."