Niffty was currently preoccupied with being as meticulous as possible with cleaning the kitchen. Although Charlie had done her best to sweep the floors and rid it of the crumbs left during that sandwich lunch, her technique had much to be desired. It did not matter. Niffty was in her element tidying her workplace. Otherwise, she would have little else, besides sewing or cooking, to expend her boundless energy.

She was humming a little tune to herself as she was cleaning the sink. With dish soap and hot water, she was restoring the metal that made up the sink to a more stainless appearance. Niffty was shaken out of her quiet tune and work effort by the sound of the swinging kitchen doors being opened.

Jersey walked inside, struggling to maneuver two containers of what looked to be unpacked LEDs. The plain boxes had some illustrations to depict how the light fixtures were supposed to look, and appeared to be well over six feet in length. Once the man carrying them into the room got his bearings again, he gently placed them against a wall and walked out the doorway for a moment. Jersey returned with his toolbox in hand, a part of the package bought for him by Charlie so he could do his job as the newly hired handyman of the Hazbin Hotel.

"Ooh! Whatcha doing, Jersey?" Niffty asked as she turned off the faucet. She rushed over to get a closer look at the boxes he had delivered.

"I'm going to install these LEDs and replace the old lights here in the kitchen." Jersey explained. "I still have about two hours before anyone will come in here to eat."

Niffty glanced at Jersey as he placed his toolbox on the metal island in the middle of the kitchen space. Her singular gaze looked up and acknowledged that there were two older lights that provided the bulk of Illumination to the room.

"Wow..." Niffty remarked in slight awe. "You sure you can do this job that quickly? They look heavy."

"They aren't heavy so much as cumbersome when you're trying to walk with them through a door." He grabbed one of the LEDs in question and hefted it onto the prep table behind his toolbox. "I just need a knife to cut-"

"Here!" Niffty, who dashed up to Jersey's left side, presented a small carving knife with a shark-like grin.

"Um... thank you..." He gingerly took the blade by the handle, examining it for a time. "Where'd you get this?"

"I gotta have some way to protect myself." She replied.

Jersey blinked for a bit before nodding at the wisdom of her answer. "Smart."

Niffty blushed heavily. "Why thank you."

"Okay, no need to get flustered."

"Sorry."

Jersey was about to cut the tape binding the sides of the box together when he realized something. "I'm actually glad that I met you here. I'll need a hand replacing these appliances. Plus, you'd be perfect for keeping this place clean as I work."

Niffty beamed at the opportunity to work closely with the latest arrival at the Hazbin Hotel. "Oh boy! I'd be glad to! Where do we begin?"

Jersey glanced up at the grungy, incandescent lighting above them. "We have these old things to remove, for a start."

The first fifteen minutes of the new lighting project were spent with Jersey taking down the first light fixture. Niffty graciously turned off the power to the kitchen lights whilst Jersey did most of the physical work.

The appliance of yesteryear was utterly filthy, and Niffty looked as if she would have a conniption from merely looking at the plastic covering, which was fouled up with cobwebs, dirt, and a few dead bugs. Although her taller compatriot informed her that cleaning them would be a waste of time given they were to be thrown away, she had control over the feather duster and disinfectants, not Jersey.

Relenting to the cyclops' germaphobic nature, Jersey closely observed where the wiring from the Hotel would connect to the new lights. More often than not, installing new fixtures to replace decades old counterparts was not a smooth process, requiring the creation of new holes in whatever timber or plasterboard he had to work with. Making sure that the old wiring was safe and secure, he stepped down from the prep table he had been using to access the ceiling.

It was time to examine the new LED light.

"Let's see what this thing entails, shall we?" The box was opened up and revealed the fixture, screws, toggle bolts, and other fastenings needed to install the LED. A set of paper instructions also came with the kit.

Jersey glanced over the paper manual for a moment. Niffty was surprised to see him casually set the instructions off to the side without spending even ten seconds looking at them.

"Well, how's about we get this LED set up, hmm?"

"Uh, question?"

"What's your question, Ms. Niffty?"

Another blush came to the little cleaner's face as she briefly imagined herself and Jersey being wed and having the title of Mrs. Niffty. She pushed the silly thought to the back of her head as she remembered her query. "Aren't you supposed to look at the instructions? I'm just saying..."

"Have you ever put together one of these appliances before?"

Niffty quickly thought over her life experiences. She died decades before "LEDs" were ever invented. Although Niffty was quite skilled in most facets of home-making, she had no experience doing anything of this sort. She shook her little head "no."

"This is a little known fact most people don't realize when installing something: instructions are mostly useless. At least for an experienced handyman."

"Why?"

"Beginners might benefit from instructions as a reference point, but most of the time, installing electrical appliances or plumbing fixtures can be boiled down to a simple analogy. It's just a bulky puzzle you have to put together."

Jersey pointed to the multi colored copper wires sticking out of the back of the LED. "These copper wires need to connect to the other set of wires sticking out of the ceiling up there. We can do this using these little doohickeys called wire nuts." He presented a small, red, hollow, plastic cap that was as long as a digit of his pinky finger.

"Ooh. What's next after that?"

"The light will have to have support. So depending on the amount of timber we find in the wall, we'll use either normal screws or toggle bolts."

"What's the difference?"

"Screws can be put in a wooden board using an electric drill. Toggle bolts have a special mechanism that lets them hang from plasterboard ceilings like this one. Unfortunately, you have to punch little holes in the ceiling to make the bolts enter."

Jersey quickly assembled an electric drill from the toolbox, placing a cross slot screwdriver head at the end. It was a fully charged device, having not been used since it was unpackaged days before.

"Shall we get started?" Jersey asked his little helper.

"Let's do this!" Niffty cheered.

Meanwhile...

Razzle and Dazzle had driven one of the Magne family limousines back to the front of the hotel. Their master, dressed inconspicuously to go out into Pentagram City, was stepping away from the front door to enter the luxurious, albeit terrifying vehicle. A determined look was on her face.

Charlie had been thinking all about the ill fated rehab lesson with Jersey. It had started out well enough, only for her prodding into what caused Jersey to become a sinner to deeply upset him. She could only gleam so much from what he spoke of, but it was clear that his first murder was inspired as a result of the loss of a loved one.

Ever since that moment, when Jersey stormed out and glared at her, Charlie thought of some small way to reestablish the sense of trust she had built as his employer. It thankfully did not take long for her to think of a new, practical gift that would be useful for Jersey, but it left her with having to acquire the gift in question. If it meant making a new, clean slate and creating a rehabilitation plan with greater tact in mind, Charlie would endure whatever mockery she might endure from those who might recognize her from the fiasco that was the interview on 666 News.

"Charlie!" Vaggie swiftly caught up to Charlie, having not expected her departure so soon. "Are you really going?"

"I'll be fine." Charlie assured her. "I can handle things from here. Besides, I need someone to watch the hotel while I'm gone. I can't think of anyone but you to do that for me."

"But-"

"It's okay." Charlie could sense what Vaggie's concern was. "Sticks and stones, right?"

An imploring look in Vaggie's eyes betrayed her disagreement that Charlie should leave on her own. "Just be careful, and don't draw too much attention to yourself."

Charlie made a knowing grin. "I learned my lesson. Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it."

Vaggie nevertheless allowed worry to cloud her thoughts as Charlie entered the limousine and was escorted towards the more affluent side of the Pentagram.

As Vaggie trudged back into the hotel, she could not help but faintly hear the whirring sound of a drill being used. Her curiosity ignited, she was lead by her ears towards the kitchen. She arrived just as the drilling had stopped. The silence was temporary, as she could hear the sound of Jersey giving instructions to Niffty.

"What's going on in there?" Vaggie asked, raising her voice.

A silence swept the area once again. If any sound was made, Vaggie was incapable of hearing it. Suddenly, she was surprised to find a grinning Niffty bursting from one of the doors.

"Hi Vaggie!" She greeted energetically. The little cyclops appeared to be unaware that a little bit of sheetrock dust in her little coif of hair.

"What's going on in there?" Vaggie repeated, her one good eye glowering in suspicion.

"Jersey and I are working on a project in there!"

Vaggie looked less than convinced. "Seems like a noisy project..."

"Screws won't put themselves in." Niffty quipped. "This is gonna make the kitchen much better!"

"Uh huh..." Vaggie prepared to force her way inside to see with her own eye what was going on. "So you don't mind if I let myself in and see how it's going-"

"No can do!" Niffty stepped swiftly in the way of the hot tempered sinner. "We don't need distractions."

"And why should I believe that this is just some improvement project? How do I know Jersey isn't tearing the damn place up because of-" Vaggie stopped herself. Although she had a lesser opinion of Jersey due to his behavior less than an hour ago, she remembered the necessity of confidentiality with regards to a sinner's personal history. "I need to know nothing bad is happening."

Niffty's increasingly nervous smile dropped for a few seconds. "Uhh, be right back!" She dashed back into the kitchen, closing the door so quickly that Vaggie could not catch a glimpse into what was going on. A few seconds later, Niffty returned again, an earnest smile on her little face.

"This is supposed to be a surprise for Charlie. Jersey says he wants to make it up to her for what happened this morning... whatever that means." Niffty had not been told the specifics about Jersey's first rehab lesson. She was merely acting as the messenger, although she would be asking some questions to the handy man who she was now working with.

Upon hearing the relayed message, Vaggie felt conflicted. Her ever distrustful nature implored her to push Niffty to the side, observe the noisy scene going on in the kitchen, and, if necessary, stick her Exterminator's spear up Jersey's ass for his trouble. Yet another side told her to be patient, and to trust that there was a shred of decency within Jersey.

Part of Vaggie's conscience ironically called for her to wait and see if Jersey did have a rainbow inside him.

Tapping a foot in frustration, she growled out a response. "Fine! But if you destroy that kitchen, then I swear to God that I'll impale you."

"Roger that." Jersey called out from the kitchen as if he hadn't been threatened with violence by his employer's girlfriend.

Niffty beamed up at Vaggie. "Glad that's settled! I'll let you know when we've finished and cleaned up in there." The hotel maid then became a blur once more, shutting the door before Vaggie could sneak a peek inside.

Vaggie, now feeling conflicted and exhausted, slunk away as she began to wonder whether lending her trust to a man was a mistake.

One and a half hours later...

Vaggie had been too conflicted to go up to her room after the small dispute outside the kitchen doors. She sat at one of the sofas still randomly placed in the lobby and used it as the place of her vigil. Randomly listening to music on her Hellphone, she tried to take her mind off of the fact that she was not with Charlie while she was gallivanting off somewhere to buy a gift for Jersey. Time seemed to melt away despite the fact that she could use her Hellphone or the grandfather clock just meters away to tell the time.

Outside of a brief mention to Husk as to where Charlie had departed, no word had been said. The lobby remained relatively quiet, with only the muffled sounds of Spanish hip hop coming from a pair of dark ear buds and the sound of some nondescript booze being consumed by the concierge. It was fortunate that when the song playing on Vaggie's device finished, knocking alerted her to the front door.

"Charlie?" She asked, her voice perking up.

Without another thought, she jumped to her feet and hastily put away her ear buds to greet her girlfriend. She swung the door open, only for her brightening attitude to take a harsh dive when she realized that the person knocking was not Charlie.

It was Alastor, with his prickly smile ever present.

"Oh... it's just you..." Vaggie spoke despondently.

"Yes indeed!" Alastor's grin seemed to widen upon seeing her downtrodden face. "I must say, you make an exceptional greeter. Have you ever considered the position? I think such an illustrious task would be perfect for you!"

"Bastardo presumido..." Vaggie cursed under her breath as she stomped back towards the sofa.

"I'm glad to see you too!" Alastor lied in a chipper tone.

"So, what are you here for?" Vaggie grumbled as she sat down.

"Well, I am currently preparing a script for a radio advertisement of this hotel. I assumed that our dear Princess would be more than eager to help me put together the kind of message she wants the sinners of Hell to hear!"

Vaggie momentarily forgot that this offer was being made by the Radio Demon of all sinners. Such an advertisement would only serve to help foster a more polished, professional front about Charlie's effort to redeem her people. She reminded herself that one, there was always some sort of ulterior motive with deal makers, and two, Charlie was not present.

"She's not here."

"Oh? Why ever not? I'd think she'd be practically tied down to this place, making sure it was operational and what not."

Vaggie sighed for what was probably the tenth time that morning alone. "If you must know, she's out getting a... gift."

"For whom?" Alastor asked, genuinely curious.

"Jersey..."

Alastor picked up on her less than approving tone. An eyebrow quirked down, though his smile retained its firmness. "Has something happened, my dear?"

"We had a rough first rehab lesson. That's all I'm gonna say..."

"Oh dearie me!" Alastor remarked in false surprise. "Even the go getter of our operation is struggling to step up on the ladder of redemption! What a shame that I could not be present to see his rebuke of your moralistic prying..."

Vaggie merely glared up at Alastor. She hoped that Charlie would be back soon.

"Speaking of said go getter, where is Jersey?"

"In the kitchen." Vaggie answered.

"Helping himself to a snack before the rest of us partake in lunch?"

"No. He claims that he's 'improving' it." Vaggie explained.

Alastor quickly began losing interest in the conversation. He had hoped that Jersey would reveal himself to be no more moral than the likes of Angel Dust, if nothing else. If he was making an effort to make the hotel flourish, this was somewhat unexpected. Only especially submissive sinners went out of their way to serve others, and Alastor knew that Jersey had a stronger personality than that.

He answered smoothly enough to cloud his analysis of Vaggie's reply. "Well, I wish him the best of luck in renovating parts of this establishment. I must say that it could use more than a cleaning and new woodwork."

Vaggie leered at Alastor as a thought came to her. "Why not use your powers to fix it up? You did so when you brought Husk and Niffty into this place."

"Oh Vagatha," Alastor laughed, "how naïve are you? I am a Radio Overlord and an investor, not a contractor. Besides, Charlie is more than capable of hiring the appropriate persons to accomplish that task. If you were looking for me to do such menial work, and for free no less, you're asking the wrong Overlord."

His eyes appeared to turn into radio dials as a small bit of his power reminded Vaggie not to take his presence lightly. The chilling display was stopped when the door opened, and Charlie walked in with a satisfied grin on her face.

As seemlessly as he had conjured his demonic abilities, Alastor dispelled the terrifying, static filled aura around his head as he greeted the Princess. "Why Charlie! Your friend and I were just talking about you!"

"Really, about what?" She was holding a small box with a red bow keeping it shut.

"Just asking about where you've been." Vaggie swept Charlie in a hug. "Ugh, I thought you'd be gone for the whole day. Was there any trouble?"

Charlie gave a tense smile. "Not more so than usual."

Vaggie could tell Charlie was being economical with her experience out at whatever shopping mall she had been to, but now was not the time to talk about it with Alastor of all people present. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"I was hoping to give this to Jersey now, if possible."

"A gift from the Princess. Why isn't that such a kind gesture?" Alastor remarked. "Though I have to ask, will Niffty and Husker be given such boons for their part in helping with this hotel?"

"Well," Charlie explained, "this is more of a gesture of goodwill. It's an olive branch for Jersey, plus it'll be useful for him. I figured that he'd appreciate a practical gift."

"An olive branch? Don't tell me that our resident handyman's relationship with you has deteriorated so quickly?" Alastor inquired.

"Nothing that dramatic. It's a private matter. Something we discussed during his first rehab session."

"Well, it seems that the average sinner, no matter how pleasant they may seem, cannot endure such examinations of their ledgers of blood and avarice." Alastor commented flippantly.

Charlie ignored the remark. Now was as opportune a moment as ever to give Jersey her present. "Where is Jersey?"

"He's in the kitchen," Vaggie answered tensely, "but I warn you, he could be tearing the place up to spite you."

Charlie let her nervous look fall into a mild grimace. "Jersey may not be entirely happy with me right now, but to go out of his way to destroy parts of our hotel? That doesn't sound like him."

"Can you blame me? The way that he talked to you..."

"We have to let that go. I'm moving on." Charlie said with conviction. "This is just one step in regaining Jersey's trust and confidence in the journey towards redemption."

"Alright." Vaggie conceded. "Follow me."

The short walk up to the swinging doors that led to the kitchen concluded with a room that was much more quiet than before. Before either Vaggie or Charlie could comment on this, Niffty dashed out of the kitchen to meet them.

"Hello! You're here at the perfect time! The renovation is finished, Miss Charlie!" The cyclops announced joyfully.

"It's just Charlie, Niffty." She reminded with an awkward smile. "Can I come in and see?"

"Sure thing!" Niffty dashed back in and turned off the lights as part of the surprise.

Vaggie kept close to Charlie as they both carefully made their way inside. Charlie's sharp eyesight spotted the light switch to her left easily enough. When the switch was flipped upwards, she and Vaggie were almost stunned by the brightness in the room.

"Surprise!" Niffty yelled.

The kitchen was now brilliantly illuminated with brand new LEDs. The old overhead lights produced a yellowish gleam that was only half as powerful as the new implements that had replaced them. Sleek and with rounded corners, the new LEDs had a larger area of illumination and brightened even the furthest corners of the room. This, combined with a renewed clean up by Niffty, made the kitchen look almost brand new.

"I hope you like it." Jersey commented as he was putting away his tools.

"Jersey," Charlie breathed out, "it's great! Did you do this all by yourself?"

"Not quite. Niffty was a very good helper. Without her, we wouldn't have gotten this stuff done before lunch."

Niffty sighed dreamily at Jersey's compliment.

Vaggie allowed herself to relax for the first time since she woke up that morning. "I gotta say, you did good."

Jersey walked towards the girls until he was more than an arm's reach away from them. An apologetic look was on his face. "This is my apology for the way I treated you earlier today. You've been nothing but kind to me, and I snapped at you for asking about my past."

"It's okay." Charlie replied. "I forgave you just after you left the session early."

"I have to insist." Jersey said. "As further compensation for my misbehavior, I'm putting this on the house."

"On the house?" Vaggie asked.

"You don't have to pay me for installing these LEDs. If you wanna give it to Niffty as a bonus for her help, then that's fine."

Niffty looked as if a heart was forming in the middle of her eye. She swooned yet again, for Jersey was, whether he knew it or not, demonstrating his worth as a potential husband to her.

Charlie allowed her appreciative smile to fall as she considered Jersey's request. Her right hand, having been behind her back during this time, gripped the box in her hand ever so tightly. She hoped that Jersey would not reject her gift given the effort she went through to get it.

"Would you be willing to take this a gesture of goodwill?" She finally presented the box to Jersey, who looked mildly nonplussed to see the gift in her hands.

He gingerly took the box in her hands. "What's this?"

"You'll have to open it to find out."

Jersey meticulously removed the ribbon by sliding it off of the plain, cardboard box. He removed the top of the container, which was smaller in area than a typical envelope, and saw that his gift was a black smartphone. It was relatively nondescript, aside from the word Hellphone placed on the top left corner of the device.

"A phone, for me?"

"Yep. Now you can call me or anyone else you need help with."

An idea began to form in Jersey's head. This little device could give him a means to spark a business as a handy man. Of course, that was reliant on him having a functional phone number.

"Do I have a number to go with this thing?"

Charlie dove one hand into a pocket and presented a slip of paper that had his phone number written on it.

"This is a little investment in you, and a way of saying that you can put your trust in me to get you to heaven." Charlie explained earnestly. "It's also a pledge to go at a slower pace so that you can redeem yourself without getting completely out of your comfort zone."

Jersey found himself reminded of that one word: redemption. It was a strange subject to think about, given that he lost his ability to receive a proper afterlife centuries ago. Part of him pained to tell her the truth: that her efforts were in vain, and that his only fate after death was the unfeeling certainty of oblivion. Yet he knew she would not understand, for even he struggled to put into words the means by which he was cursed to become the monster that he was.

If he did bring himself to explain, it would not be a short explanation, and it would not be today. Not yet.

"So..." Jersey remarked. "Same time tomorrow?"

Charlie gave a relieved smile. "That sounds perfect."

Jersey looked back towards Niffty, who had silently observed the interaction before her. "Do you mind cleaning up while I put away my tools?"

"It'd be my pleasure, sweetie!" She replied as she ran out to Jersey and hugged his leg before he could react.

Charlie gushed over the adorable display, while Vaggie merely smiled that things had gone back to normal.

"Niffty?"

"Yes?"

"Would you mind letting go of my leg?"

"Sorry."

The next day- 9:58 am

It seemed surreal to Jersey at that moment. The day before, he had stormed out of this room not even ten minutes after his rehab session began. Now, he was determined, however tenuously, to get through a full half hour session without getting too emotional.

He knew that much of it was a well played act. Part of Jersey wondered if he could even attempt to explain his true situation. Whatever possible explanations he could have imagined were paused when the door behind him opened. He leaned back as Charlie slowly made her way to the other side of her desk, with an observant Vaggie in tow.

As they took their seats opposite him, Jersey slightly lifted one of his palms. The soft glow of a magic circle no wider than a golf ball radiated a dampener field that engulfed the room, the same as yesterday. It was a simple matter that ensured privacy between him and the girls.

"Well... I suppose we'll just go with the flow this time around." Charlie brought out her clipboard again. "Do you... want to start from the beginning?"

Jersey nodded. He continued to change up his sitting posture, trying to be as comfortable as possible. "Where do I start? This seems just as much a session with a psychiatrist than anything else, you know?"

Charlie gave a smile. She pointed a pen up towards a framed piece of paper. It was a certificate for being a clinical psychologist. "You can guess how rare that thing is..."

Blinking owlishly at the certificate, Jersey cleared his throat and tried to let his words out. "I suppose my earliest memory was me, in a forest."

"A forest?" Vaggie asked.

"I was alone." Jersey continued. "Chilled to the bone by a late winter rainstorm. It was very unpleasant, you understand."

"I see." Charlie spoke quietly. She was making a conscious effort to better think out her responses to Jersey's testimony.

"Then, while I was wet, naked, and wailing for something to keep me dry and warm... he showed up."

"The... man who abused you?" Charlie ventured.

"Yup." Jersey said, his eyes becoming half-lidded with solemn introspection.

"When was this?" Vaggie asked.

Jersey considered how much to detail about this. He settled on admitting his age. "I was a newborn."

The two ladies were momentarily stunned by this information. It was not impossible to have exceptional memory, but it was the first time they had met a sinner who could detail a memory that far back in their youth.

"I guess having such a good memory can be helpful, right?" Vaggie remarked awkwardly.

Jersey's look did not budge. If anything, his face become gloomier as he understood the merits and flaws with having such skill at recalling events.

"Not always..." He said melancholically.

The room became silent. Charlie could see that such a peek into his early days was quite painful already. "Do you want to change topic?"

Jersey sighed loudly. He figured that airing some of his past might help him to come to terms with what his life had been like. "No. I can keep going..." He glanced up at Charlie. "Thanks for the consideration."

Charlie gave a timid smile.

"That... man, brought me in from the storm. He took me to his palace, and had me raised there."

"Palace?" Vaggie asked.

Jersey nodded. "He was an aristocratic man. Descended from a line of nobles with a good amount of money and influence."

"Did this man... adopt you?" Charlie ventured.

Jersey momentarily clenched his jaw at the suggestion. Then he breathed in, reminding himself that Charlie's curiosity was not something to snap at. "No. Thank God. As it turned out, he brought me in for a more... practical reason."

The two women braved themselves for what they assumed was some especially depraved explanation. Perhaps, in their minds, the man Jersey was describing had pegged him to be used as some young boys had been used by malicious perverts with considerable influence and power.

"For the first handful of years, it was not particularly eventful. I'd dare say it was somewhat boring. I was fed two square meals a day with high quality food. Then I was expected to perform physical exercise, usually under supervision."

"What kind of exercise?" Vaggie was somewhat hoping to not hear the answer.

"Running, lifting weights, swimming, moving through small obstacle courses, things like that. It wasn't easy, but it thankfully wasn't done for the sake of sadism."

Charlie lightened up somewhat. "Did he want you to compete in sports?"

Jersey gave a sharp laugh. It was almost as piercing as the one he gave the day before, only it was more self deprecating. "I wish... that would have made things a bit easier, I'd imagine. You see, it all changed when I turned five years old."

"What happened?" Charlie asked.

"I was asked to swear an oath of loyalty. It was a passage of sentences that I was required to say at the beginning of each and every passing month, as well as on special occasions." Jersey's tone deepened with resentment. "I will not dare utter those words here."

"I wasn't going to ask you." Charlie assured him gently. "Umm... anything else you're willing to talk about your early years?"

Jersey pursed his lips in thought, focusing his gaze on his knees for a time. His fingers flexed tightly onto the arms of his chair once more. "There is... one more thing, I might as well cover."

Charlie did not miss the physical signs of distress coming from Jersey. For a moment, she wanted to halt the session and move on to a more decompressing topic. When Jersey gave a hand up in assurance that he could go forward, her suggestion died in her throat.

"It was... a lesson I was being taught by the man." Jersey snorted, his face contorting in disgust. "He made me refer to him as master. You can imagine how convincing he was when I dared question why. When I made a mistake in my lessons... he whipped me."

Charlie felt her heart fall into her stomach. He may have been her second patron, but she did not expect a story as harsh as this one was shaping up to be.

Vaggie allowed her jaw to drop slightly. "He... actually whipped you?"

Jersey nodded. "It's a damn good thing he was not a sadist, otherwise I would have been broken in a very short amount of time." He paused for a moment, struggling to bring himself to discuss the details of his torment. "I still remember the snap of the whip against my back. I remember the shriek I gave and the rebuke I received for my mistake. The first time you are hurt physically is the worst..."

"Jesucristo." Vaggie said. Charlie, who was no expert in Spanish, understood her girlfriend's remark easily enough.

"That was just the first of many, many painful lessons I learned for years. He didn't whip me every waking moment, but his tolerance for any blunder or misstep great or small was nonexistent."

"What lesson was that bastard teaching that would make him hurt you for an honest mistake?" Vaggie pressed.

Jersey did not feel ready to admit that he knew magic as a result of him being reincarnated into a Devil, so he came up with an alternative explanation, using a different lesson from much later in his life.

"Military strategy."

Vaggie looked bewildered at that statement.

"Why military strategy?" Charlie asked.

"He expected me to be a good little fighter for when he needed me. I was meant to fight for him when I came of age."

"So... you were being trained into a child soldier?"

"Yes. That was his intention." Charlie's suggestion was not entirely correct, but it would be useful for making up his narrative of omissions and half truths.

"Oh my..." Charlie commented.

Jersey nodded at her remark. "Oh my, indeed."

Charlie squirmed at this finer description of the path that would lead Jersey to sin. "Well, perhaps we can move right on to strategies we can take to remove your primary sin from you. You've killed as a response to confrontation, so the best means of reversing that is on two fronts. First, you can find means of reducing your anger, which means you're less likely to fight as a result of passion."

Jersey's eyebrows scrunched together at the suggestion. "What do you suggest, meditation?"

"As a matter of fact, that's an excellent method." Charlie answered. "Find time everyday to focus on inner peace and controlling your emotions. I think just that step alone will go a long way. Just keep to a schedule as best you can."

Jersey immediately considered a brief period during the evening as an ideal time to do meditation. He was a novice as far as figuring out a technique was concerned, but it was an exercise in relaxation. 'Surely it can't be that hard.' Jersey thought to himself.

"Okay."

"Next, since reconciliation is not possible for the time being, I think ways of avoiding conflict should be your emphasis if you are interacting with people who want to get in a fight with you."

For the next twenty minutes, Charlie listed a comprehensive list of stratagems to avoid physical conflict, and thus avoid using lethal force against even especially irrational or violent sinners whom Jersey might come across in Hell. For his part, he was impressed at her ability to explain in fine detail how each tactic would work and how it would feed into removing Jersey of sin. Though Charlie's methods were partly conceptual rather than tangibly effective in redeeming others, she was giving a genuine shot at helping her second patron.

Jersey certainly would not forget these lessons with Charlie, even as he knew in his heart such effort was wasted on him. Until he found a way to return to the mortal world and get back to his home in the Pine Barrens, he would keep up the act of a steadily improving sinner. It was just a matter of finding out what the hell was keeping him stuck in this world.

To the naked eye, one could have seen a small, black streak moving as silently as a private thought up one of the stairwells of the Hazbin Hotel. It slithered with absolute silence until it reached a tall man with deer-like features and an old fashioned radio microphone with a cane. The shadow coiled up the cane when it touched the ground, and presented itself on top of the cane's head, revealing a pair of piercing blue eyes looking up towards its master.

The microphone was understandably annoyed with being used as a resting place.

Alastor pressed a finger to his smiling lips. Stepping towards one vacant room, a second shadow leapt to life from Alastor's bold form. It slipped into the keyhole like a cockroach crawling into a crack in a floorboard. The shift of the locking mechanism followed soon after, and the door opened without any physical input on Alastor's part.

Stepping calmly into the room, Alastor looked down on the first shadow as the door to the room quietly closed. The second shadow entered the room from under the door and appeared to mesh seamlessly with Alastor's own shadow.

"So, what did you find out?" Alastor inquired pleasantly.

The shadow's eyes turned down in disappointment. In a whispery language that only Alastor could understand, it gave its middling report.

"You heard nothing..." Alastor's smile faltered a bit, more confused than upset.

The shadow hissed despondently. It could not explain why it could not eavesdrop on Jersey's private rehab sessions.

"This is the second time in a row that this has happened." Alastor was no contractor, but he was certain that such a formerly decrepit hotel would not have the kind of insulation or sound dampening materials to make listening in on a room impossible. This was an unexpected complication.

"Hmm. It's a bit risky, but you may have to be inside the room whenever Jersey is having his little sessions with the Princess."

The shadow looked unsure. Even if it had little choice in the matter, it was afraid that for all of its subtle nature that it may be caught out.

"I have no doubt that you are more than up to the task. If we can hold something over him, that will be the leverage I need to have Jersey in my pocket. The fellow could be quite useful, and if my feelings are correct on his... potential, that will be one less underling to empower those who would seek to outmaneuver and destroy me."

The shadow hesitantly nodded as its master's power ever so slightly cooled the air around them.

"Keep yourself as unseen as possible. We'll try again next week."

The shadow bowed to Alastor before leaving the top of his microphone, much to its relief. It slithered underneath the door and disappeared from sight.

"One way or another, I'll have him under my yoke." Alastor's sobered grin became monstrously hungry looking for a brief moment, his static-laden voice dropping down an octave as his teeth were further exposed. "Or, if necessary, I'll swallow him up..."

Thanks to all of the new followers and favorites. I wanted to quickly address a few questions with regards to the story. I won't name any particular individuals, but you'll likely know which question you asked.

1: Will there be romance? -I'm still somewhat on the fence, despite the crush that Niffty currently has for poor ole Jersey. If I do decide on any sort of pairing, the romance won't come quickly. I want to be especially careful about adding any intimate relationships outside of what Charlie and Vaggie have going for them.

2: Is Jersey analogous to a reserved Darth Maul? -This was quite the interesting question. To be more exact, he has some story overlaps with the likes of Darth Maul and Darth Wredd, but he was not meant to be an assassin nor a pawn of some greater organization from his universe. Any further explanation on Jersey's backstory will come in future stories on the High School DxD category of fanfictions on this site. I will publish my first story on his original backstory sometime in February, so be on the lookout for when I begin that tale.

3: Will Jersey come across I.M.P in Imp City? -Yes, and I have a rather ambitious arc around Imp City, but that's all I'm going to say for the time being ;).

4. Will Jersey become an Overlord? -Given Jersey'a preference for discretion and his desire to return home, he would probably try to stay out of Pentagram's constant battle over territory, resources, and power. As to whether any of the Overlords themselves will leave Jersey alone if they notice him... that's much harder to say...

As always, I am keeping with the three week interval between chapters. It is a perfect balance between making quality chapters and keeping this story updated.

Finally, I will be making a one shot off of this story in the coming days. As for what it will be about, wait and see ;).

May all of you stay healthy and happy in this New Year.