Chapter 8: Good and bad times…

Angel Dust groaned as he turned off the shower hose and took a moment to collect himself. It wasn't ideal for him since he rather be using his own personal shower, but maintenance still had to be done and going to the hotel would take too much of his free time. Not only that but the busy schedule he had endured took quite a toll where even a hot steamy shower was not enough to rejuvenate him entirely. Having spent a solid twenty-minute Hollywood shower, one would think that most if not all the stress one had gained would be gone.

Sadly, this wasn't the case for Angel Dust as he barely made his way out of the shower with a towel partially wrapped around his slim body. He would then lean his arm against the wall where his forehead followed, giving comfort as he attempted to collect himself. Eventually, he would finally move well enough to where his body was free of any excess water that he had trailing down his body. Due to the nature of his profession, Angel pride himself in making sure that his body was top quality and ready for whatever happened next as he thoroughly dried himself.

More groans would escape from his lips as he then focused on wrapping a towel around his head before making sure that he had his things together prior to leaving the showers. Thankfully, his private room was not far and he had no issue walking about the area naked; this was a porn studio after all. With that in mind Angel continued to dry his head while enjoying a cigarette with a free hand. He relaxed even more as he saw a familiar door and entered his wonderful comfortable environment.

(Whew finally I am done…nhhh…I swear that bastard wanted to give me a new haircut…) Tossing the towel aside, he stood in front of the mirror and ran his hands across his hair, checking to see if any loose strains were still present on his head. His last scene had him dealing with one who clearly had issues understanding the importance of acknowledging one's threshold in hairpulling.

"Alright…" Angel Dust got to work applying the needed essentials to his beauty care after a much-needed shower. Lotion there, leave-in conditioner there, and of course, some moisturizer that worked even with the amount of fuzz that he had on his body. Humming as he was almost done, Angel was looking forward to having the next two days off for himself. This since he was entitled after meeting a high demanding schedule from the last few days. "I could go for a pa-"

"My you had quite the showing today~"

"!" Angel Dust jumped as he failed to realize Valentino sitting on the couch, which rested between two lines of hanged attires. With the partial lighting that Angel had in this room, not much could be seen unless you took the time to let your eyes adjust to the not so illuminated area. After that hassle, Angel would be forced to make eye contact with those not so appealing red eyes that came from Valentino, as well as the oh so familiar red aroma that came from both his cigarette and nostrils. As expected, those flumes would passively reveal Summer and Dia who naturally leaned against their sugar daddy.

"I must say you never fail to disappoint me honey. You nailed your scenes like a champ…" Valentino pulled out his phone and his smirk was revealed thanks to the screen's brightness. "I am far from disappointed…"

Angel Dust leaned against his setup and felt his hands making contact with some of his personal care items. "H-Heh happy to please you…daddy." Angel forced a smile as he was wondering why Valentino was here; he would see him from time to time but this was normally when he was messaged directly and never up close and personal. Especially since the pimp demon himself had stood up, spread his arms and embraced Angel in the form of a bear hug. If he wanted to, he could easily break Angel.

"HMMMM~ I love that lovely soap and shampoo that you use…"

Angel's heart froze as a hand was felt against a white bun. "J-Just like the way you like it!"

By some miracle, Valentino was seemingly content and released the spider porn star, even going as far as to face away from him. Despite this, there was still the uneasy sensation of being in Valentino's presence as always. "So tell me…how did you meet our new little friend?" said the pimp demon.

The room went quiet as Angel Dust looked directly at Valentino's back when he heard that question. "Our little friend?"

SMACK!

The impact was not kind to Angel; the floor that is, as he was immediately sent to it with such force that he actually bounced once before he was allowed the chance to immediately grasp his face, and properly react to the smack that Valentino laid upon him.

"You didn't think to tell me about your little field trip with a particular orange demon?"

(FUCK FUCK FUCK-) "O-Oh you mean Candy Corn himself-?!" Angel Dust's heart and mind rushed really fast as he was forced to breathe through his mouth. The blood trailing from one nostril meant that he needed to avoid breathing through his nose. "I-I was g-gonna tell you when- AGGHHHH!"

Angel Dust cried in pain as Valentino's oversized foot was now crushing one of his hands. Helpless, he attempted to use what free hands he had to lift Valentino's weight off of him to no success.

"When? During the next purge? You could have had a good day had you been a good boy and let daddy know what was up…" More weight resulted in a louder cry from Angel Dust. Nonchalantly, he looked at his phone as he continued to speak in their conversation. "Vox and Velvet were more than displeased when you and that Roy boy wandered into Vox's mall and ruined their day. Now normally I would be quite proud of you for reminding them that anyone who is with me is not to be fucked with, and a reminder of who I could be with. After all, it's no secret that my rep is quite valuable to me… However, I must confess that you not telling me that you're become an associate with this new rookie in town is quite upsetting." This time, Valentino gave Angel the courtesy of looking right at him.

Angel's mouth hanged opened as he was trying not to make a sound of pain and stay focus on freeing his hand. "P-P-Please boss! I-I wasn't tryin' to p-piss you off-!" begged Angel who was hoping for some form of mercy. It was stupid of Angel to easily forget that Valentino would have learned about what he and Orange Prick had done…especially since it was obvious that the other two Vs recognized Angel and even conveniently explained Roy's interactions with them.

"Oh baby you know I hate it when you lie to me…" That smooth tone came and go depending on the mood of the moth demon who finally granted some mercy. With his foot moved, he took a moment to reach down and grasp Angel's head, slowly pulling up little spider from the ground. "It's no secret that you tend to forget yourself even when daddy is involved…" He adjusted his hand a bit thus forcing Angel to look directly upwards towards him. "How long have you known our boy Roy?"

(You mother-) "Y-Yesterday! I-I found him at a bar and we kinda hit it off…?" He was careful with his words as the pain began to finally vanish from his hand and he wanted to make sure that nothing would come back to bite him. With that being said, it was not easy to focus since Valentino's strength was forcing Angel to be on the ends of his feet…

"You don't say…" This time, Valentino was taking a moment to smoke from his cigarette before exhausting a familiar smoke to Angel's face.

"YEAH!" Angel tried his best to nod to better convince his boss. This especially motivated with that oh so familiar scent that drove his blood wild. In fact, Angel began to slowly nudge closer and closer to Valentino out of desire…wanting some of what he was smoking despite knowing that he would later regret it. (Fuck come on Angel- You could always get it from someone else-) His mind continued to conflict with logic and desire as he shut his eyes, hoping to have a better chance fighting this urge that was dangerously building up.

"Heh, so would you say that you two are buddy-buddy? Perhaps you can be better use to me baby~" This time, a free hand came to gently hold his favorite toy's face. Leaning in as he exhaled that red aroma towards one who he knew would appreciate it. "Mind telling me a bit about him honey?"

That seemed to do the trick for Angel momentary as he blinked once after hearing a troublesome demand from Valentino. "What…is there to say? Heh!" He gently stood as Valentino released his head and granted him the privilege of pulling away from what held his chin. "I-I mean I barely know the guy. He's new and stuff but doesn't say much-" Angel knew better than to just play all of his cards on the table when he wanted to be as less involved with Valentino as possible. This especially as involving Roy would not end very well if Angel was careless with whatever information he provided…

"Hmmm…I am skeptical considering how he and I were able to have a conversation…not only that…" He leaned in a bit as more of that red smoke came upon Angel's face. "I've been told that the two of you weren't afraid to talk to Vox and Velvet at all…"

"Hey when you're being held hostage by those two, this bird sings!" Angel protested. "Guy was likely thinking the same; he IS new after all to Hell! Probably-"

"Shut up for a moment…"

Valentino pulled away from Angel as he seemed to be loss in thought. That was short-lived however as he would follow with, "You know where he lives? I take it that you're his new buddy after that memorable experience that you two shared…"

Angel nearly swallowed as Valentino was getting straight to the point. Considering what Roy can seemingly do and his reputation already becoming dangerously well-known, he once again felt stupid for not expecting Valentino to query for any information he could get. Thankfully, Angel did think quickly and answered, "I mean…I probably gonna see him again; no reason for him to leave this area unless someone snatched him up right? I mean, you haven't heard of anything have you?"

Seemingly expecting such a question, Valentino said, "As a matter of fact…" He turned to face him slightly. "I saw him with our famed Radio Demon Alastor not too long ago…" He faced away once again. "But it doesn't seem like our boy Roy is particularly looking for trouble; at least with me that is…" He continued to smoke that lovely red aroma. "As long as we keep it that way…maybe I can make better use of him."

("Better use"?) thought Angel as Valentino once again faced him. "What…did you have in mind?" Continuing to play coy and stroke his boss' ego, Angel gently stroked his hair down to his neck. "You tryin' to get him to join us or somethin'? That'd be smart!"

"I have consider it…"

"Is he that strong or somethin'?"

"Hmmm…" Valentino seemingly verified what he assumed. "Keep an eye on him Angel…next time you see him, do anything you can to keep tabs…"

(Won't be too hard…) "O-Of course!" (…keeping you out of the blue…)

"Good boy~ Now I think you deserve a reward…" Slowly reaching into his inner pocket, he began to pull out something that was known to be a weakness for one individual in this room. "What do ya say~?"

Angel's pupils reacted accordingly to what was being held before him. That familiar substance…he had run out earlier in the day and was hoping to be lucky enough to get just a bit more in the near future. But this…this was delightful as he subconsciously leaned more and more towards it. The amount…only Valentino would carry such an excess amount and of a finer grade quality compared to what was found in the streets.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'? You're so predictable baby…"

Angel blinked as he heard Valentino's words. "…" Closing his eyes, he slowly moved himself off of the moth demon and rubbed his face. "A-Am I tho? J-Just a guy trying to make the most out of it in Hell hehe…heh…heh…"

"Cute but you know how to earn Daddy's gift…."

"…"

Angel's eyes shifted for a moment as he eyed what Valentino's hand was gently grasping.

*Hours later*

"Well I am happy to hear that you were able to gain more information about living here in Hell!"

"Yeah but maybe learning it on my own or by some other demon would have been better; Alastor is…"

"Hard to read?"

"Thank you."

Charlie smiled as she continued to drink tea with Roy, having invited him into her office to make sure that nothing was done to him via Alastor's interaction. Much to her surprise, Roy was not harmed at all nor seemingly any different than when he left this morning with the infamous radio demon. He even got a gift during his errand run based on the item that he brought back. And of course, a nice clean up with his hair for a fresher look.

"So I never got to ask: what activities do we have while we stay here at the hotel for rehab on weekdays compared to weekends?"

Charlie paused. "You didn't read the brochure?"

"I did but a schedule of some kind wasn't in my package; like do we do anything on the weekends? And since it's Saturday I am curious if I missed anything important…"

"Ah I see what you mean. Well weekends are more often for personal time off so you're free to do whatever you want in all honesty. But for the weekdays, we typically start the day off in a group therapy session or right after breakfast. After that, out of the weekdays we do two to three sessions from either jogging, swimming, or anything to simulate the body and mind in a physical matter. Once a week we have a therapist meet with each of our residents here for a one on one session; yours will be on Thursdays."

"What, no art classes?" joked Roy as he finished his tea.

"Oh yes we have those!" said an excited Charlie. "Painting is a must-"

Roy frowned as he realized that his teasing was likely in bad taste; Charlie was really into what she was trying to accomplish and was seemingly oblivious to him poking fun at it. (She's a decent demon…better not take her kindness too lightly…) With that, he would eventually say, "I am looking forward to it. By the way, is there anything that you feel that I need to know before I go start my new job at that bar?" Charlie would finish her tea with a sigh but would miss her chance to respond.

"Yeah, Mimzy has high standards." Vaggie was looking out the window and into the city life as she stood behind Charlie. "But she must have made it clear when she hired you right?" Vaggie turned her head a bit towards him.

Roy couldn't help but smirk yet yield a chuckle. "Ha…that would be an understatement…" Not going into further details with how he and Cherry first met, he then said, "Is there typically trouble at this bar? She wants me to make drinks but she mentioned wanting a bit of muscle behind the bar itself."

"Not typically; at least whenever me and Charlie see the place even the biggest demon doesn't try anything there. Has Mimzy ever mentioned anything?" This time, Vaggie looked over at Charlie who shrugged in response.

"I don't think so…I don't actually remember the last time Mimzy complained anything about some troubling patrons."

"Well then my job should be easier right? Just focusing on making whatever drinks are ordered?" Roy leaned back and crossed his arms as he then said, "I am happy that she offered me a job regardless…heh, it surprises me how polite and professional a lot of demons are here in Hell. She even has standards with refusing to hire rude demons?"

"Oh yes! Mimzy takes her club very seriously and holds things to a high standard, hence how her employees behave is especially vital to her business," reminded Charlie. "It's nice actually when demons showcase some pride in their work…"

"What, is it not common for demons in Hell to value their business to such an extent?" That wouldn't be surprising to the new resident of Hell.

"You be surprised how lazy they can be…" Vaggie seemed to have some distain on her face. "I one time walked into a coffee shop where they don't bother even wiping the tables or the seats. Even their coffee was all sluggish… I still shiver each time I walk past the fucking place!"

Roy frowned with a silence shudder. "How are they still around?"

"Eh free wifi."

"What?"

"This is Hell; not every place has free wifi…"

"Anyway I think you're good to wander around Hell on your own?" Charlie glanced at Vaggie who shrugged in response. "Just be careful with who you come across. If Mimzy has that much fondness for you, take any advice she gives to you."

"Noted…hmmm." He finished his tea and placed it down and looked at the two of them. "Thank you very much. I think for today and tomorrow I'll just relax and continue to settle into Hell…" Looking at his phone, he then asked, "Hey stupid question: how do you charge phones?" Pulling out what was once Velvet's, he examined the device while adding, "I can't see the battery level at all and there's no charging port? Phones in Hell are strange…"

This time, Vaggie came forward to take a moment to glance at his device. "Chances are you have a phone that runs on sin."

"Sin?"

"Some devices in Hell only need sin to run and power on." Glancing at the phone, she couldn't help but ask, "Wait, how did you get that phone to begin with?"

"You know that Overlord Velvet? I took it from her."

"You what?" Vaggie did not expect that as Charlie began to realize what he just said. "Wait how you-"

"Me and Angel ran into that Vox fella at some mall that he owned where he and her got up all in our business just because I met that Valentino earlier yesterday. Apparently, they hate each other but they don't?" He was confused as the last bit was in reference to what he saw today. "What's with that any-"

"You ran into three Overlords?" Vaggie was stunned almost completely as her expression said it all. "Angel did you know about this?"

Everyone suddenly looked to the doorway where a nonchalant Angel Dust was seen walking by with an icepack gently pressed against his skirt-covered rear. Pausing as he glanced into the room, he asked, "Wha?"

"Did you know that he ran into Valentino, Velvet, AND Vox on the same day?!" asked Vaggie, pointing at Roy. Yes Roy did verify that the latter two was experienced with Angel but what of Valentino?

"Oh hehe yeah I was thrown off by it too!" Angel smiled as he leaned against the door frame. "Talk about luck huh?" he smirked at Roy. "Plus Alastor that's four in one day!"

"You mean good or bad?" asked Roy.

"Depends on how you look at it Roy~"

"Ha." Smirking softly as he crossed his arms, he frowned when he finally acknowledged what Angel was doing to himself. "What happened to you?" Gesturing at the ice pack that Angel held.

"Eh rough day at work…" Angel's smile vanished while Vaggie rolled her eyes and Charlie attempted to be stoic. "What'd you do today?"

"New look." Roy gestured at his current appearance, where Angel finally took notice and smiled deviously for quite the obvious reason. "Had a funny conversation with Alastor…" His smile soften a bit at the thought. "Met this other Overlord known as Rosie…" He gestured at the packaged rug that he laid against the wall of the office. "Very nice lady; so far she's been the one demon that hasn't made me uncomfortable."

Angel ignored the obvious especially since he enjoyed seeing Vaggie and Charlie continuing to watch with their jaws dropped. (So that's five in just two days…) Looking at the apparent rug, he asked, "What, did she just give that to ya?" When Roy nodded, he asked, "Why?"

"As a gift; she offered since she met me and apparently took a fondness. That or because Alastor introduced us to one another and viewed me as a friend and thus a sign of our apparent friendship?" Shrugging at the idea, he did not fully read/understood Rosie's view on him aside from it being seemingly positive.

"No I mean why a rug?" Angel looked at the packaging again. "Did she think that you wanted one-"

"Well she asked if I wanted anything and offered it for free."

"…And you chose a rug."

"Angel you're not getting it; it's really gonna tie the room together."

"What do you mean 'tie the room together'? You had options and you chose a fucking rug!"

"Look I don't you're seeing the big-"

"Um Roy? You didn't mention that you came across another Overlord today…" Charlie stood from her chair and added, "I really need to know about these things…"

Roy turned to acknowledge Charlie…only to then realize that both she and Vaggie weren't angry but rather concerned. In fact, even Vaggie's expression was not as hostile as he would have expected, giving the expression that she cared about his well-being in a similar fashion to the more obvious Charlie. "…Sorry, I should have said something." Genuine with that statement, he then decided to elaborate on something. "Regardless of how Alastor sees me, I am not by any means planning to deliberately look for trouble; I don't want that type of attention during my time here in Hell…I want to make that clear."

"I believe you Roy. But it would help in your best interest to be as informative with me as possible; I promise that I can as helpful as possible if you give me the chance." Charlie nodded with a hand gently placed on her chest.

"Thank you." Roy smiled as he glanced at Charlie. "You've all done a lot for me and I couldn't be more grateful."

Angel's smile slowly vanished as he looked at Roy, comprehending more on his words and thinking about what happened with Valentino earlier today. "Ehhh…this sincere crap is making me sick I need to lay down…" Staying in character, Angel looked over his shoulder at Roy for a moment where they made eye contact…only for his eyes to glance down at Roy's goods. "Heh, nice ass~"

"I-"

Angel laughed after leaving Roy dumbfounded from pointing out how firm his rear looked. Moving away from the office, Angel's laughter began to settle down as he thought more and more about his "talk" with Valentino and how Roy was becoming more of a main interest within Hell itself. Now that he was associating with Alastor and some other Overlord, the target was on his back was going to grow at a dangerous rate. For both their sakes, he hoped that Roy would succeed in keeping a low profile…

*The following Monday*

Roy looked himself in the mirror one last time as he wanted to make sure that he looked good on his first day of work. With three days settling into Hell and learning as much as he could, he felt increasingly comfortable within his new surroundings. Getting to know more of the residents at this Hotel helped a lot and his conversations with Charlie and Vaggie educated him quite a bit. In fact, he was looking forward to exploring more of Hell and starting his first shift at Mimzy's club tonight, for what he hoped would be a fun experience. That and get some money into his pocket where he could continue to improve on securing himself in a comfortable position within Hell.

"Alright you're good…you're good…" Looking at his phone, he still had a few hours before work and felt well-rested when he woke up. Walking around his room, he eventually sat on his bed and looked at his phone once again. Thanks to Vaggie, he was able to understand what apps were what and how to even look up information on the world of the living. Sadly, her knowledge also verified that there was no way for him to contact the real world by any means. Despite him even trying to use such approaches involving email and social media, the phone simply refused to let him do such things. And even had he been tech savvy, there was a chance that it would still be a waste of time. All that aside, he still could not find information on himself nor his death.

(It'll still be a few days before it becomes public knowledge…) Deeply sadden by the reminder of his death, he did recall the times where incidents that occurred and the Navy had a particular way of releasing information to the public. This particularly with handling the news of a service member's death and the nature surrounding it. (Don't worry about that right now man…) Gently smacking his face with both hands, he slowly rubbed to shift his focus to his current state in Hell. Grabbing his blazer, he walked out of the room and made his way to the most important meal of the day. When he reached the dinning room, only a few demons were present as he sat down and began to help himself.

"Sleep well?" asked Angel who was enjoying his bagels.

"Actually yeah…" Roy had some cream of wheat, narrowing his brow as it was different than how he and his mother prepared it. "Kinda worried that something crazy will happen when I start my first shift at Mimzy's tonight. You go there often, right? Charlie and Vaggie say that they rarely hear any bad business occurring at the club but maybe you've seen some shit?"

"Here and there; shit don't last long at Mimzy's club as she's pretty swift when dealin' with bullshit," said Angel. "You've seen the muscle that she has out front, when it's full of valued guests you then begin to see how more secure things get there." Taking a sip of orange juice, he began to work on his second bagel.

"Good to know…she wants me to be muscle behind the bar too."

"While you servin'?"

"I am not as big as those guys; I figured it's for smaller fry?" Roy continued to eat. "I am not exactly a body builder," said Roy.

"Heh no shit~" chimed Angel as he ignored Roy's stern look. "Hmmm…word of advice: investing in improving your physique will make your job easier for future convenience…"

Despite wanting to respond to that, Angel wasn't exactly wrong; even with his abilities, could they be as consistently reliable as simply out muscling whatever troublesome problem he came across at work? Or even outside of it? "Does this hotel have a gym or something?"

"Maybe?" Angel shrugged as he stood up having finished his meal. "I don't really explore this place that much; even if I did this place ain't exactly straight forward and all…ciao for now!"

Roy watched as Angel winked and blew a kiss at him before waving goodbye and leaving the dinning room. With this he took the opportunity to eat his food and within such a short time span. Having a large appreciation for his free time, the Navy made him want to optimize the amount of time that he spent eating and thus, he was nearly done by this point. Of course he would like be craving seconds and would add more food. Looking at another resident, he decided to try to have a conversation. "So are there any bizarre drinks from Hell that I should know about?"

"Eh I doubt that they'll just expect you to know that stuff…" Husk continued to drink his coffee after taking a break from his meal. "I'll be honest: there's still stuff that I've never heard of still out there in Hell. Luckily I learned enough during my time here in Hell…"

"Dumb question but is there anything that I would regret making?" When Husk looked at him with a raised eyebrow, Roy added, "I mean like, in the sense where I have to 'pay a price' or some supernatural stereotypical shit that is associated with Hell itself?"

This time Husk's expression soften as he explained a bit on that. "It's not common but there are certain requirements for certain drinks. Maybe some ingredients that are exotic even to Hell or some that need you to be experienced enough to even make it passable. I've eventually learned how to make the more complex things only found in Hell but I haven't come across anything that is above my paygrade."

Watching Husk eat allowed Roy to consider what he was saying. "…What of rumors or stories?"

"Hmmnhmm." Husk swallowed his food as he wiped his face. "…I've heard a few things. But until I learn more about said things, I know barely shit."

Roy nodded slightly as he finished his own food. "Fair enough…" Still feeling hungry, he eyed some of the meat that was left over…particularly the sausage links that he favored heavily. He didn't know why but wow was Niffty good with meat…or at least he would be reminded if Baxter suddenly took the last ten pieces for himself. "H-Hey!"

Roy was stunned as Baxter had once again demonstrated his talents by having a device that suddenly scooped up the sausages only to drop it off on his plate.

"You're quite slow Roy," said Baxter flatly as he began to eat what was now his.

"Ghhhh…" Roy restrained himself as Husk stood up and finished his meal clearly off to take care of his things for the day. Using that for an excuse, Roy also stood up and left the dinning room only to go the opposite direction of Husk. (I swear that fish guy is getting on my nerves…) His experiences with Baxter were less than pleasant due to the behavior that came from him. However, his thoughts were interrupted by the sight of Charlie who stepped out of what he believed to be her office. "Charlie!"

Pausing, Charlie suddenly turned to see Roy with a smile. "Hello Roy!"

Returning the smile, he immediately asked, "I have a question: did you say beforehand that this place has a gym of some kind? I feel like it be a good investment…" Not going into added details, what Angel Dust said earlier did seem like a good idea.

"Oh?" Charlie was curious but didn't pry. At least because Roy seemed to be the most invested in rehabilitation compared to the other residents; even Crymini was just lazy and didn't really go the extra mile like Roy. Thus, it was ideal to keep Roy as invested as possible as she pointed at the end of the hallway. "We have a gym at the end there at the last door to your right. But first we have a group session today in the lobby."

"Group session?"

"Yes group therapy!" said a cheerful Charlie. It wasn't any trouble reminding Roy what was to be expected during his stay here. "In about five minutes we're going to meet up and discuss what we're hoping to achieve here at the Happy Hotel!"

"…Isn't everyone here hoping to achieve redemption into Heaven…?"

Charlie paused as her smile began to vanish. "Um…well yes b-but- it's good to to discuss about…stuff?" Naturally it began to feel awkward as she then insisted, "B-Besides who doesn't want to share their feelings?"

Roy was horrified when she asked that last question; he was a sailor who lived the life of one and with marines especially! To hell with feelings and all that shit! However, he knew better than to argue as he was thankful for everything that Charlie did for him and did not want to come off as rude. "…Sounds good…?" Forcing a smile, he gave a thumbs up…

*Soon after*

Roy sat in a chair that faced the basic circle of other chairs, living up to the stereotypes of these group therapy sessions. He was going to ask why this was in the lobby but then remembered that there weren't many residents in this rehabilitation program; this was likely more convenient. Also present aside from him, Charlie, and Vaggie, was Crymini, and Angel. Baxter was nowhere to be seen as Roy watched Angel and Crymini texting on their phones…as well as Vaggie until Charlie spoke up.

"Hi everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!" Charlie smiled widely as she looked at her current residents and said, "So just three this time?" Naturally a reference to Baxter who wasn't here. "By the way, we all met Roy who is a new resident here from last week!"

Naturally Roy gave a slight nod of acknowledgement to Charlie until she asked the unthinkable.

"Why don't you introduce yourself?"

"…I am sorry?"

"Well…introduce yourself?"

(Everyone already met me-) "Hi everyone I am Roy…you guys already know-"

"Show us ya dick!"

"ANGEL!"

Charlie looked at Angel hopelessly as this wasn't the first time that he messed around during their group therapy sessions. While Crymini snickered, Vaggie rolled her only visible eye in response to Angel's typical shenanigans as he then said, "Come on! I'll show ya mine~"

"Do that and I'll snap it in half," said Roy accordingly as Angel gave a kiss and wink at him. Jesus when was Angel never thirsty?

"Oooooo is that a promise~?"

"ANGEL!"

"What I am just messin' with him!" insisted Angel.

"Seriously Angel why are you so gross?"

"Hey if he had a vagina you be all over him like Capone and a flask of whiskey!"

It took all of Charlie's strength to hold back Vaggie who was saying some really unappealing things…both in English and Spanish. But things got worse as she pulled out a very imposing spear out of nowhere, even going as far as to throw it at Angel who mocked her until that point.

"Hey you almost killed me you stupid bitch!" complained Angel as he narrowly avoided the dangerous weapon.

"I was aiming for your dick you cheap whore!"

Roy was in disbelief with what he was seeing while Crymini was laughing at the whole situation…tempting him to ask, "Is this…normal?"

"This is why I always show up!" snickered Crymini.

It would be another minute of cursing and throwing objects before Charlie finally shouted, "ENOUGH!" thus causing both Angel and Vaggie to stop and sit down. Clearing her throat, her smile then returned when she asked, "So Crymini, what did you do last week?"

Crymini leaned back a bit as she thought about some stuff and said, "Not much really. Work was stupid since some bitch was complaining about some things not being on sale. I was then in the mood to strangle her with a few audio wires that I was throwing away…but I stopped after the first ten seconds right before she passed out."

"O-Oh…well hey that's better than when you did it for twenty seconds last time!"

"I guess…nah, I should've killed that bitch…" Crymini suddenly let out a growl at the thought. At least in Hell that "costumer is always right" BS was nonexistent…

(Remind me never to lose my cool with her…) Alessandro became wary as he listened more to Crymini's week.

"Also there was some demon who was really slow at the deli around the corner. The guy couldn't decide what to order and it took all of my strength to not kick him in the balls so that I could go in front of him."

"I would've struck a deal with him instead~" insisted Angel.

"Of course you would Angel." Crymini smirked at Angel deviously.

"Touché~"

Charlie uncomfortably looked at the two of them while Vaggie groaned and softly facepalmed her forehead. Roy wanted to say something but simply remained quiet as Crymini went on with her story.

"Anyway…I think that was it? Nothing really eventful…did go to his party however and met this cute fella. He wasn't a total dick and didn't really care for drugs so yay?" she asked, not knowing if that was good in Charlie's eyes or not.

"I see…" Charlie wrote in her notes and was thankful that Crymini didn't go into certain details. "And did he make you feel safe? If he's not into drugs and wasn't abusive I take it that you're thinking about seeing him again?"

"Maybe?" Crymini shrugged as she honestly didn't consider anything more than a one night stand. "He didn't seem all that adventurous in all honesty so I guess I may not see him again."

Charlie held her tongue as she decided that it was good enough. "Okay…so what are your goals for this week?"

Crymini did not say anything immediately. "…" Thinking about it, it was clear that she didn't think that far ahead and had to come up with something. "…Don't get hit by a car…?"

"So moving on!" Charlie looked to Angel with optimism. "Angel, what did you do-"

"Pass."

Charlie looked at him for a few seconds before sighing loudly and looked to her most promising client. "Roy? What did you do last week?"

(Great we're actually doing this…) Roy shifted forward from his seat and decided to speak. "…Well I died and-"

"HAHAHAH!"

Roy looked at Angel who was suddenly laughing.

"Hahaha sorry please continue."

"…Anyway, I died and-"

"HAHAHAH- OPHG!"

This time, Roy had threw a chair that landed right into Angel's face, resulting in the whore spider demon falling backwards and onto the floor in pain. Charlie was stunned. Crymini was also stunned. Vaggie was smiling in approval.

"…ended up here in Hell. Explored the city for a bit until I met Mimzy and eventually ended up here. I got a lesson from Alastor about how things are like here and I pretty much rested until today. So pretty much a short week."

"Must have been quite the change for you! Have you adapted well enough?"

"Somewhat; it's been only a few days since I got here."

"And what are your goals for this week?"

"Do well in my new job and just keep an ear to the ground."

While it wasn't as detailed or much of a conversation, Charlie would take what she could get. "Okay that sounds good. Now I have a question for all of you: do you have a recreational hobby that you feel makes you better as an individual?"

*One hour later*

Roy was happy that this group therapy session was over…for today. He was not looking forward to doing this often as he found himself in his room. Dropping onto his bed, he rubbed his face and thought about how long this week was going to be…as well as his first shift tonight at Mimzy's. It should go smoothly if Mimzy was comfortable enough to have him start tonight…then again it was also Monday so it shouldn't be that busy…right?

"This is Hell…drinking and partying every night in a place like this should be expected? Why wait for one particular day of the week…"

With this realization, Roy knew that that any night could be busy or laid back depending on the mood of the locals. While he was used to a busy working environment, he seriously doubted that his past experiences would prepare him for working in Hell. Why? Because it was in Hell.

"…?" Looking at his phone, he received a text from a familiar demon. Texting back, he insisted that he wanted to relax at the hotel before he worked tonight. Of course, his demon friend insisted that drinking and blowing random shit would be a great way to relax. This naturally led him to chuckle as Cherri was always a joy to converse with…especially compared to Angel. That being said, he insisted that he wanted to relax but did invite her to visit. Unfortunately, she insisted that it wasn't worth the drive and that she would try again another time.

(At least she's straight forward…wonder how Wendy is doing?) Ever since their last encounter he only got one hostile message from her followed by a phone call and nothing else. And as expected she tempted to call him the moment he texted a "hello" to her. This time however he wasn't in the mood and simply continued to text instead.

"Oh my god all she does is curse…" Scrolling through a large paragraph, it was the typical hostility in the form of threats that Velvet loved to express. At this point he was wondering if she was even trying to keep track of all of the horrible things that she promised to do. This curiosity was because she was just repeating a lot of said threats…

Eventually he told her to fuck off and that he would talk to her another time before dropping his phone onto his chest and closed his eyes. (…)

*Later that night*

Roy continued to watch the passing environment that was Hell itself. Now in a vehicle, he was on his way to begin his first shift at the bar and felt somewhat nervous. The car was making solid progress while moving a comfortable speed thanks to Niffty's superb driving abilities. That and her well-verse knowledge of the city did tell him that this was the fastest way to the bar. Eventually they would reach their destination where Roy took a deep breath before opening the door.

"Thanks for the lift Niffty," he said, closing the door as he made his way to the driver's door.

"Yeah huh! Anytime! I'll pick you up if you send me a text!" she said cheerfully.

"You're an angel~" said Roy with a smile before tapping the car and allowing her to zoom out of here.

As he watched the smoke trail, Roy slowly reached for his hat and looked at his surroundings for a moment. The thought of coming here often would take some time getting use to as he saw the various demons walking about with their own business in mind. Smiling softly, he made his way to the door where a familiar pair acknowledged him yet again.

"Look at this guy with the new digs!"

"Thinks he's someone now!"

"Gentlemen."

Roy took off his hat and jacket by the time he pushed through the door and found himself inside the bar. Like before it hit that solid early 1900s vibe with the pleasant atmosphere that one could experience.

"Well aren't you an handsome man now!"

Roy turned to see Mimzy making her way towards him, and with drink in hand. "Hiya," he said now completely facing her.

"I have to say you're looking quite sharp!" praised Mimzy as she was a fan of Roy's new look. "And you're growing a beard as well?"

"In progress…" Roy smirked as he stroked his chin to feel the less than an inch beard. "So how do things work around here? Placing his hat and jacket down, he began to roll up his sleeves to his elbows. "What kind of stuff do I need to learn?"

"Well follow me to the bar…SHIRLEY!"

Roy followed Mimzy to the bar as he grabbed his hat and blazer, looking around to see if he could spot who he assumed would be his trainer. Yet by the time that they reached the bar and he placed his things on a stool, there was no sign of who he believed to be the bartender of this shift.

Mimzy then jumped onto a stool with ease before taking a sip out of her drink. "Ahh…anyway since you're here early you're going to pick up as much as you can tonight; as much as I like you kid, I expect you to be as effective as an employee as you can be. I do have a business to run."

Roy nodded naturally in response.

"So since you do have some experience with making drinks, I am sure you can pick things up again through a 'refresher' course. And this comes as no surprise but there are drinks unique to Hell which I think is easy to memorize after a few shifts. As for making them proper and the stuff needed to make them?" She suddenly took a deep sip from her beverage before sighing quite deeply. "You're in for a ride sweetie~"