"Oh...my...gosh!" a very excitable voice broke out in the blood red darkness, nearly giving Aria a heart attack!
Something shot out of the darkness, landing right between Aria and Alastor, making Aria jump in surprise as she mentally rushed to double check and make sure her angel form could only be seen by Alastor! Aria sighed with relief when she found that her default disguise was still working on anyone else looking at her, while Alastor merely chuckled and watched, his demon eyes and smile still glowing red in the darkness. As Aria tried to see who it was that had jumped out at them, Aria heard the telltale sound of fingers snapping in the darkness as a fire suddenly enveloped them all!
The sudden burst of fire brought a cry of alarm from Aria that slowly fizzed out near the end in confusion. Instead of being burned, Aria realized all the candles in the chandelier were re-lit, while all the books and papers that had scattered during the deal were magically back in their proper places. As Aria put her right hand to her face, trying to process what just happened, to her surprise, the sticky feeling of blood was gone, making her gasp as she quickly looked at her hand! To her shock, the wound was gone, along with any trace of blood!
"How romantic! A deal between lovers under the moonlight! I can't believe it! I never thought I'd get to see another Alastor deal so soon! Do you have some sort of history with each other? Do you love him? Are you going to get married!?" a young, feminine voice shouted in an endless line of dialogue as Aria felt inexpressible horror at the allegations from this voice as she looked to where the sound was coming from.
Aria saw a small, human-like demoness that barely reached up to just above her knee standing in front of her. She only had one eye that took up most of her face, the white of the eye being a reddish, orange color near the edges when she looked around with a brighter orange that surrounded the iris. The iris was a bright yellow color with a large, black pupil in the center, making Aria think she was looking at a sunset every time she looked into her eye. Her smile was sharp and toothy, not unlike Alastor's, but it was much lighter in its yellow color than his as Aria noticed small, red dots were at both ends of her smile, making her look very cute. Her skin was a cream color, its light color complimenting her red hair with an orange color on the underside of her short, flipped up hairdo near the front of her face, making Aria wonder how she could have her hair that way. She wore a short, black scarf, a white, short sleeved top with three, red dots on it that dripped a little from each dot. Long, black gloves covered her dainty, small arms as a wine-colored poodle skirt with a black poodle and three bright yellow dots on it that looked really cute on her. Aria guessed that the little demon wore really long boots, since she couldn't see any real sign of a tiny shoe at the end of her dainty feet and she couldn't see the top of the boots because of the skirt. Aria wondered if the little demon was going to a sock hop, later, making her suddenly wish she could go, since she'd always wanted to, but never lived during the fifties when it was popular.
"Aria, may I introduce you to Niffty!" Alastor said politely, his eyes narrowing slightly as the edges of his smile looked rather forced. "She's in charge of the upkeep and cleaning of the Hazbin Hotel! However, she has a rather...unhealthy obsession with romance. I'd like to make it quite clear that I'm not nor ever will be interested in a "romantic" relationship, or have you forgotten the countless times I've kindly reminded you, Niffty?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mister Alastor! I keep forgetting you're not a fan of romance, or my romance fanfiction, or my super romantic romance club dedicated to the art and obsession of romance!" Niffty said in a rush of manic glee, the creepiness of it not lost on Aria as Niffty's eye locked on to her, the black pupil and iris strangely small all of a sudden. "So, it was Aria, right? Do you want to join my romance club? I promise I won't try and take your boyfriend away from you, like the last member I let join! No? Oh well. I guess it's just going to be club Niffty for a while. It's nice to make a new friend, anyway! Do you have any guy friends who need a girlfriend? Wait a minute! Where did these dusty footprints come from!?"
"Oh, sorry! The footprints are mine," Aria admitted apologetically, unsure of how to take Niffty's random dialogue as Aria looked at Alastor, his smile unreadable as a rush of hot and cold suddenly overwhelmed her as what just happened to her began to sink in. "I came in through the service elevator that's just around the corner from that bookshelf over there. Sorry, again, for the mess. I'll help you clean it up in the morning, Niffty, but for now, I really need to find the room I'm staying at. I suddenly don't feel so well."
"What's the matter?" Niffty asked, the sudden change from manic excitement to troubled concern on Niffty's face touching Aria's heart, surprising her enough to bring a small smile to her face. "Did you eat something bad? Do you have a fever? Is it demon pox!? Actually, I think the last one doesn't exist. Do you want a satchel filled with voodoo relics to help you feel better? I've got mine right here!"
Sure enough, Niffty pulled out a cute, pink bag out of nowhere that barely fit inside her tiny, black gloved hand. Aria immediately felt a familiar, malevolent aura coming from the voodoo bag, making her think of that awful, black tentacle and the traumatizing events that followed. That awful feeling of hot and cold shot through Aria's body, again, making her shudder as she felt cold sweat trickle down her back. Aria was sure she was going to throw up what she'd had to swallow, earlier, but she really didn't want to do it in front of Alastor.
"No, thank you," Aria managed to blurt out in a polite, apologetic tone, that feeling of nausea really doing a number on her stomach as if to confirm her suspicions as she felt her stomach rebel, but she succeeded in holding it in. "Excuse me, but I really need to go!"
"At least let me help you get back to your room!" Niffty pleaded, her concern making Aria hesitate as Niffty even pouted, her big eye looking so sad and tragic as Aria wondered how Niffty made her iris and pupil so big as Aria sighed before nodding to her, making Niffty suddenly shout out with excitement! "Yes! We'll have a sleepover! Play games! Talk about boys! Oh, I really want to talk about boys. You never did tell me if you know any men looking for a girlfriend, you know. Oh wait! I still need to finish cleaning the library! I'll get that done after we get you to your room, Aria!"
"I'm glad you two are getting along so well!" Alastor chimed in, stepping in to pat Niffty on the head, while he suddenly pulled Aria into a casual side hug, smiling at her cheerfully!
The hot and cold flashes grew worse for Aria the moment Alastor touched her, making her quickly pull away from him, but her feet stumbled as she suddenly felt dizzy! Before she fell over, Alastor grabbed her left wrist with his right hand, his grip as unrelenting as ever as he pulled her back up to a standing position and rested his hand on her waist to steady her. Confident she'd regained her footing, Alastor summoned his staff in his left hand as he pulled out a pocket watch from his dress coat pocket with his right hand, an eye looking back on the pocket watch's face as Alastor then closed it and put it back with a flourish.
"I'd love to stay and chat, but there are a few things I need to get done before turning in for the night," Alastor stated primly as he bowed politely to Aria before turning around and walking away. "I look forward to seeing you again, Miss Aria! Please know that, should you ever need me, my door is always open!"
"I'll make sure to keep it closed, locked, and bolted," Aria muttered grimly, the distrust and dread heavy in her tone as she watched Alastor walk away as his long stride quickly carried him out of sight.
As Aria was led away by a very animated Niffty, Aria failed to notice that an Alastor shaped shadow merged with her own, its smile wickedly wide as it disappeared from view.
"So he says to me, 'Honey, you're a fine girl! What a good wife you would be, but my life, my lover, my lady is the sea!" Niffty said with a heavy sigh, mirroring Aria's own heavy sigh as Niffty ended yet another tragic story of how she lost another man.
Aria regretted bringing Niffty along to take her back to her room, especially since they went through the same route Aria had used to get to the library. Aria could only watch helplessly as Niffty attacked any sign of filth, grime, dust, or cobweb they came across, which made the trip back a lot longer than Aria would've liked. It wasn't that Aria was ungrateful for what Niffty could do. It was amazing to see her move around at blinding speed to attack any filth in sight! The problem was that Aria felt like she was leading the world's most chatty cleaning machine through the hotel, while Aria was overwhelmed with the nauseous urge to just get to her room as quickly as possible!
Thankfully, Aria had remembered to ask about which room she would be staying in while wrapping things up with Charlie and Vaggie. Aria had been told by Charlie to just pick a room on the ground floor and that Aria should let her know in the morning which one she'd chosen. Aria made sure she was made aware where Angel Dust, Alastor, Vaggie, and Charlie were staying in the hotel so no embarrassing walk-ins could occur.
Aria had decided to pick the room closest to the lobby, which had plenty of doors between herself and Angel Dust's room. Aria reminded herself that Charlie and Vaggie shared a suite near the dining hall as she tried to remember where Husker had been put up. Aria suddenly realized uncomfortably that she'd forgotten to ask, making her wonder if she should just ask Husker where he was staying before she barged into the first door from the lobby. At least Aria was just glad Alastor had chosen a room near the library on the top floor. It meant she would be as far away from The Radio Demon as she could get inside the hotel.
"...So Juan gallantly rode off into the hellish sunset, his heart forever set upon fighting for the dreams of his beloved comrades!" Niffty went on, her eye flowing with tears as another story about another failed relationship came to a close, making Aria quickly try to change the subject as the nausea she felt spiked.
"Hey, Niffty?" Aria asked, making the small cyclops look up at her with a toothy grin, her little red dots at the end of her mouth really standing out. "I'm glad you're so open with your relationships. Is there any relationship between you and Alastor?"
"Alastor? Pfft, nah!" Niffty dismissed with a giggle as she violently pegged a slew of cockroaches who'd been unfortunate enough to cross her path. "Sure, I tried when we first met, but he's a guy that's really hard to get close to. He can't stand to be touched, which is really weird, because, you know, he's always touching other people and stuff without asking! Oh, he really hates tea, too! One time, I thought I'd win him over with some sweet tea made to be just like the stuff back in Louisiana where he's from, right? Oh gosh! He took one sip, looked right at me, and...hmm, I can't seem to remember what happened next. Some sort of radio interference and way too much tea swimming in my vision..or was I drowning in it?"
"Okay, note to self: Never offer tea to The Radio Demon," Aria said with some surprise, making her wonder why Alastor had such a strong aversion to it as Aria's stomach lurched again, the fire and ice really doing a number as she felt cold sweat trickle down her forehead as she shivered from sudden cold.
"Oh! How do you know Alastor, Aria?" Niffty asked gleefully, that absurd, manic smile coming back from the library, making Aria inwardly groan as she felt another wave of fire and ice suddenly hit her hard, making her quickly lean on one of the walls of the hallway.
"I actually don't know him all that well, Niffty," Aria answered honestly, her body trembling as another wave of nausea hit her. "I actually just met him today. Before you jump to conclusions, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually agree with Alastor. I'm not interested nor will I ever be interested in a romantic relationship with anyone here in Hell. Period."
"What!?" Niffty cried out in surprise, her one eye going huge as she momentarily forgot about the cobwebs she'd been destroying, a spider being crushed in her hand as its legs twitched pathetically. "You're not interested in romance!? You want to be alone forever for the rest of your afterlife here in Hell!? That can't be right! I must've misheard you. Yeah, that must be it! I mean, what woman wants to be left all alone in Hell for all eternity with no one to share her afterlife with? Nah, that's crazy! There's no way you want to do that, right?"
"Ugh...I suddenly don't feel so good," Aria murmured, the fire and ice really getting intense as she fought to keep herself standing. "Niffty, I'm sorry, but I'm going to go on ahead if you're so obsessed with cleaning this hallway I really need to get to-"
Aria felt it before her knees buckled. She felt like her insides were suddenly on fire and then she felt them go uncomfortably numb with cold, the stabbing pain of it rippling through her torso! She doubled over, collapsing in front of NIffty, hearing the small demon cry out as Aria clutched at her stomach!
Aria heard Niffty ask her again and again if she was okay, while Aria couldn't even move or speak. Suddenly, Aria felt Niffty lift her, making Aria cry out in amazement before she realized moving was a very bad idea! Aria felt utterly wretched every time Niffty jostled her, the pain in her core doubling every time she shifted! Tears came as Aria felt the pain in her stomach grow worse, the fire and ice centering there as Aria tried not to whimper! The nausea overwhelmed her as the taste of bile filled her mouth, her body fighting to reject what had been forced into it recently!
Niffty got her to the couch in the lobby, the small demon already grabbing a trash bin as Aria finally lost the fight with her stomach. Again and again, her body threw it all back up, but even as her body made sure there was nothing left inside her stomach, the fire and ice remained, twisting her from the inside! Why was this happening, Aria wondered to herself, fighting against the urge to panic? She had expected to feel better once her stomach had brought up the demon blood, but the fire and ice only grew worse as the pain became almost unbearable! What had Alastor done to her that it was possible that she, an angel, could feel this sick!?
"It's going to be ok! Hey! Hey you, you big, furry palooka! I need some help over here!" Niffty cried out to Husk, or so Aria assumed as she felt the gentle touch of Niffty's tiny hand stroking her forehead, which was damp with cold sweat.
"What the fuck? What's going on here? If you want to nurse a hangover, that's fine, but fucking do it in your own room, not here!" Husker growled, the sound of someone drinking from a bottle filling Aria's ears as she smelled alcohol and fur come near her, making Aria gag. "Hey, kid! Come on, and fucking move the drunk broad out of the lobby!"
"She's not drunk, you stupid furball! She's super sick!" Niffty huffed out, her voice on edge with worry as she found a clean rag and wiped Aria's face with it, as Aria tried and failed to open her eyes without feeling like the nausea was back full force. "Well, at least, I don't think she's drunk! She collapsed in the hallway and she just threw up! Wait, my old boyfriend, Shawn, would do this all the time, but I think it was because he was the Irish drinking master from the bonnie hills of Dover! Oh, he used to get so romantic when he was drunk...wait, what was I talking about?"
"After what you just fucking said, are you sure she ain't drunk?" Husker asked, a little annoyance lurking in his gruff tone as another swig of a bottle met Aria's ears as she felt the sensation of fire scorch her insides and then the cold would come in, leaving her gasping in pain as she shivered violently!
"Does a drunk break out into a sweat one second like they're burning up, then shiver like their freezing?" Niffty huffed, clearly getting impatient as Aria tried to look at Niffty, again, and quickly fought another wave of nausea, confirming that it was still a bad idea to try and open her eyes. "Something's wrong, I know it! Maybe something went wrong with her and Alastor's super-romantic, deal-making they did up in the library, but that doesn't make any sense! Why wouldn't Alastor have thought of everything for his lady love?"
"Whoa, what?" Husker said in surprise, the sound of someone almost choking on their drink meeting Aria's ears. "The fuck did you just say?"
"Oh, haven't you heard? Aria made a deal with Alastor up in the library under the blood-red light of the moon! Isn't it the most romantic thing you've ever heard!? Oh, I can't stop thinking about it!" Niffty squeed with delight, making Aria groan as she fought to say something through the excruciating pain she was suffering from!
"I already told you! Urp! Alastor and I are not a romantic couple! Ow! We're not even a couple, period!" Aria insisted weakly, her energy draining just from that one exclamation as the fire and ice spread to her lungs, making her try very hard not to whimper in agony!
"Well, fuck. If this has anything to do with a deal with Alastor, then she's doomed," Husker said callously as Aria heard another swig from a bottle, the lack of concern from him hurting Aria a little. "She should've known better than to mess with a powerful demon like Alastor. Whatever she's going through, I don't want to fucking mess with it."
"I'm telling you, there's no way he did this to Aria on purpose!" Niffty insisted, holding onto her pipe dream relentlessly like the hopeless romantic Aria realized she was, making her groan from more than just physical pain. "You'll see! I'm going to go and get Alastor and prove that it was just a tragic mistake! He'll hold her in his arms, look into her eyes, and Alastor will make all the pain go away! I'll show you! I'll be right back!"
"No! Aria cried out, regretting it instantly as the pain in her lungs spiked, making her gasp as she tried to grasp Niffty's hand at her forehead to stop her!
By some miracle, Aria succeeded in grabbing Niffty's tiny hand, making sure not to grab too tightly as Aria realized her own grip was really damp and sweaty. The fire and ice inside her was moving to her extremities as she almost lost her grip on Niffty as her arm threatened to go numb after the fire ebbed into icy, numbing cold. Aria didn't care, though, as the thought of Alastor seeing her like this was more terrible to her than the wracking pain she was suffering from!
"Please don't go! I...I can tell...this won't kill me...but please...don't tell Alastor!" Aria begged between gasps of pain, her body going through another wave of painful fire and ice, her grip finally failing as Niffty's hand slipped from her grasp.
"Why are you running away from the one person who would go the extra mile to save you?" Niffty asked worriedly, her small hand resting on Aria's forehead, again, as Aria realized with growing alarm that she was starting to feel the fire and ice start to creep up her neck! "Don't give up! I'm sure Alastor will understand! He's really a good guy really, really, really, really, really deep down, I'm sure of it! I mean, he accepted your feelings and everything under the moonlight! If this has something to do with some mistake you made during the deal, I'm sure he would help you fix it!"
"Ugh, this goddamn drama is fucking gross. I need a drink," Husker said with little concern, the eye roll voiced perfectly in his disgusted tone as Aria heard him walk away, the sound of an empty bottle landing on the floor echoing in Aria's ears.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing!? I worked hard on cleaning up this lobby! You think I won't take you on for littering!? Oh, it's on! Hiya!" Niffty cried out in sudden, violent anger as Aria felt Niffty launch herself away from her as Aria heard a loud grunt come from Husker!
A fight broke out as Aria heard the yowl of a cat and the feisty snarl of Niffty as Aria heard bodies hitting walls, what sounded like a chair getting crushed, and she winced when she heard something made of glass shatter near her head! There was a lot of cussing from Husker that made Aria blush as Niffty let out a war cry as Aria heard a few more grunts from Husker! Aria would've put a stop to it immediately if Aria wasn't more concerned about the overwhelming fire and ice finally rushing to her head!
It was like her head was about to crack open as wave upon wave of fire and ice gave her the mother of all headaches! Even sound was painful, now, as every noise the brawl made shattered through her skull, making her cry out, which made it hurt even more! She struggled to endure it, crying mentally to God in agony as she begged Him to give her some sort of relief!
Aria felt from the Holy Ghost that help was on the way, but she got that sinking feeling that she wasn't going to like it. A feeling of cruel irony sunk in as Niffty, the only sinner in the room who had expressed any concern for her well-being, was busy brawling with Husker because he'd dared to litter in her presence! Aria had the feeling she was going to suffer through the excruciating pain of fire and ice a lot longer than she'd like. Welcome to Hell, Aria thought to herself tiredly, the pain increasing ten fold as the fire and ice scorched and burned throughout her body to the point she was starting to lose consciousness!
Panicking as she felt her vision begin to blur, she tried desperately to remember her guardian angel emergency training as she tried to set up protection protocols in enemy territory! If she didn't succeed before she passed out, anyone could haul her unconscious body anywhere they wanted! Gritting her teeth, Aria fought to access the Intention Force Field in her angelic power repertoire, her two weeks in guardian angel training paying off as she felt the force field energize around her. The field would stay up even with her being unconscious, forcing anyone with evil, destructive, abusive, or violent intent to be unable to even touch her.
Sighing with relief that the invisible force field was activated, Aria welcomed the promise of oblivion. Perhaps the Holy Ghost had meant that the help she'd receive would be the much needed gift of sleep as her vision began to dim. The pain had gotten so bad, now, that she had no words to describe the intensity! Her mind gladly gave out to save her sanity, bringing welcome relief as she passed out.
As Aria's body grew still in sleep, the shape of Alastor's shadow flitted from shadow to shadow, his progress up the grand staircase completely missed by Husker and Niffty as their brawl raged on in the lobby.