Notice: It looks like there was a glitch with the system previously that caused some formatting problems and locked me out of my account. I'm sorry for the inconvenience and I appreciate all of the patience waiting for this!

While Coco had been (actually) pushing her work mates and single support group out of the door, there was an impromptu group meeting in the lobby area. All of which regarding the elephant in the room: … The human.

"Okay!" Charlie said excitedly, spinning around and tapping her fist in an opened palm. She looked very excited to be taking on this additional responsibility that she was ill equipped and ill prepared to deal with. "So! As you guys may already know, we have a new guest staying with us!"
"Yeah," Husk said boredly, laying his head on the table and rolling his eyes. "We were here for that…"

"R-Right," Charlie remembered that they were indeed all in the same room while this was happening. "Well, then we all know that she's obviously a human."

"Obviously," Vaggie said in a restrained voice while avoiding eye contact.

"Which means," Charlie further went on and began to start giving instructions. "That we all need to be more careful with what we're doing here. Humans are preeeeeeeeeeeeeetty delicate from what I understand. So we should prooooooooobabllllllllly start setting down some, um, guidelines on how to run the hotel with her around!"

"…. You've never actually met a real human before, have you?" Angel asked, looking at Charlie with a fair amount of skepticism and confusion.

"Nope," Charlie admitted.

Everyone in the group, except for Niffty, groaned loudly. They had all wondered what came over Charlie in the moment of agreeing to take in a little human into the hotel and now they faced the possibility of having more rules? Really?

"Having one rule in Hell is too many!" Angel yelled out, holding out both set of hands to show how dumb this whole situation was. "And now you wanna make a bunch of them inside this hotel? Just because a human is here! Great! Why don't we all also start trying to be nicer to one another and start congratulating everyone on their poor decision makin' skills!"

"That's…. actually…. Not a bad idea," Charlie began before clearing her throat and getting back into it. "Look, it's not too much to ask that everybody think about keeping the human secret. After all! Having her here is important to the Hotel and we don't want to cause any attention by having a human staying with us."

"How is having a human staying here important again?" Vaggie asked, looking tired and impossibly over worked. She had tried talking sense into Charlie earlier but knew that it was getting no where so she stuck with just keeping Charlies' expectations under control. "If anything, having a human here is just a safety hazard."

"It's because we actually have an innocent soul here!" Charlie said excitedly, looking at this situation as an opportunity ripe for the picking! "Having someone who is free from sin helps us all understand how to be redeemed! She'll have so much insight on how to be a good person, I know she'll help us change altogether!"

"Uh, I don't know about you people," Angel started, crossing his arms and giving a light glare over to the human. "But I don't need some literally sticking human telling me how to run my afterlife! I'm doing just fine, thanks."

"Yeah. Porn start junkie," Vaggie said, rolling her eyes. "Real fine…"

"Hey! I got a good rep and a good place to sleep at night, baby," Angel said, now smirking a little at Vaggie. "Sometimes a different bed every night, if I have to. But I'm slummin' it here until I'm clean and then we'll go from there."

"Plus!" Niffty said, raising her hand in the air. "Didn't the human say she wanted to be a better person? How do we know if she's not a murderer? Or an addict? Or a hoarder? Or, ah! What if she's as bad as Angel!"

"I'm gonna punt you so hard out that window…." Angel growled under his breath.

Charlie had to quickly go back to keeping the peace by separating Angel from Niffty and getting them refocused. After all, this was important to her!

"Look guys," Charlie started again, holding out her hands and showing she meant no harm but needed them to cooperate with her. "Coco is a part of our hotel now. And we can either look at it as a burden or as an opportunity! I say we should all try our best to… Welcome Coco in Hell officially!"

"So we should make her even more miserable?" Angel said, cracking a grin and a laugh. "Okay, I mean if that's what you want-"

"NO!" Charlie stopped Angel mid-sentence and went back to correcting herself. "I mean- We need to all welcome her into the Hotel and recommitting ourselves to redemption! I'm calling an all staff, all-guest support group!"

"Support group?" Vaggie, Angel, Husk and Niffty echoed in confusion.

"Right!" Charlie said, standing proudly as she believed her idea was brilliant. "A support group! If we can learn how the human is in her good ways, then she can also learn how to be a better person! Plus! We can learn what qualities are considered good and work towards redemption! Sounds like a good idea, right?"

Charlie was met with more groaning, following with almost all of the demons muttering annoyedly to themselves. Vaggie was a lot more polite and reverted to trying to support Charlie but keep her realistic.

"Look," Vaggie said, walking up to Charlie and putting a hand on her shoulder. "I know you mean well and I know you only want the best for everyone."

"Aw~" Charlie looked at Vaggie with happy, glittering eyes, "Vaggs~~"

"But you're being blind to the problems with it again." Vaggie said, snapping her fingers in front of Charlies face. "Having a human here won't change anyone's minds about redemptions. And, I don't want to say I told you so, but I'm really worried about keeping a human here when we're not sure if anyone's committed to redemption."

"Angel is!" Charlie stated, sighing a bit before looking at the group again. "Come on, guys! What could be so bad about having a human around here to brighten up the place?"

"She stinks." Husk pointed out.

"She could be messy," Niffty said.

"She could die," Vaggie pointed out the obvious.

"She'll be annoying," Angel huffed.

"You don't even know her!" Charlie exclaimed, trying to remember why she doesn't beat the living crap out of half of them.

"So?" Angle shrugged his shoulders and let the lower set of arms hold themselves out. "It's not hard to figure out if someone'll be annoying."

"Yeah," Vaggie agreed, pointing a thumb behind her to Angel. "I always know he's going to be a walking migraine and I don't even have to try hard to figure it out."

"Agreed," Husk said boredly. "Him and the tiny fuck."

"You're no better than either of them!"

"Can't we all please just give everyone a chance…." Charlie said vacantly.

Charlie didn't know what to do, she was honestly considering giving up and considering this human thing a lost cause. After all, what did she know about helping humans and how to make better people? She was as lost as they are…

Coco had since gotten up from the door and walked over, electing to stand next to Charlie since she was the less dangerous of the group. But, when she walked up, all she was met with was collective staring from everyone else,

'What the Hell?' Coco thought, looking on confused at the rest of the hotel as they kept staring at her like they were judging her very existence. 'This is weird. What did I do other than exist…?'

Feeling a little bit overwhelmed, Coco tapped on Charlies' shoulder to get her attention.

"Um, heh heh," Coco chuckled a bit and blushed, trying to put on a happy face for Charlie. "The others' left so, um, I'm ready to start anything if you want!"

Charlie, surprised at first, looked a little startled. But then she settled down and smiled fully at Coco. Who knew having some bright human around would make her feel so energetic.

"Right!" Charlie said, turning to the others and holding her hand up high in the air like she was showing something off. "First! How about a round of introductions? It'll be a great way for you to get to know our staff and guests!"

"O-Okay," Coco said, keeping her smile on as she turned to look at the demons who were obviously uncomfortable having her in the same room. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea…"

"Alright guys!" Charlie looked on and clapped her hands. "Is everybody ready?"

She was met by widespread moaning-groaning-complaining.

'These guys really know how to make you feel un-welcomed,' Coco thought. Not blaming them but still feeling insulted.

"O~~okay!" Charlie started, clapping her hands and looking at Coco again. "I'm Charlie. If there's anything you need help with, just let me know!"

"Great," Coco gave a relieved sigh and smiled. "Nice to meet you again."

"And this is Vaggie," Charlie said, walking over behind the girl with long white hair and an eye patch. "She's the co-owner and general manager. I'm sure you two will get along just great!"
"Alright," Coco walked up and held out her friend, smiling at Vaggie. "Nice to meet you, Vaggie."

"…" Vaggie just stood there and glared at Coco for a moment, not taking her eyes off of her and letting everyone know that she disapproved of this whole situation. "Just follow the rules, don't be nosey, and try to stay out of everyones' way. That way, you won't die."

"O-Okay…" Coco said, letting her hand fall down and fidget at her side. She has yet to understand what this girls' deal is but can't argue with someone who's willing to house you no matter what your shit is. "Thank… you?"

"Okay…" Charlie let go of Vaggie and looked at her questioningly before smiling again at Coco. "Let me introduce you to the rest of the staff!"

She took Coco gently by the shoulder and walked her back over to the front desk/bar area.

"This," Charlie started, holding out her hand to the tall cat-wolf-…kind of bird mixed demon. "Is Husk! You'll see him working the front desk."

"Hello," Coco said, giving a wave before studying the area and looking up at him questioningly. "Is this… really a bar?"

"Yeah," Husk answered, not bothering with more.

"Is it… alright… to have a bar here?" Coco asked, wondering if she was even asking the right person or not?

"Do I bother you with stupid questions?" Husk mockingly asked.

"… noted." Coco commented under her breath, making sure never to actually come to this guy with actual questions ever again.

"Alright," Charlie said, ignoring that sidebar and turning Coco around to meet the smallest of the staff. "And this is Niffty! She's our housekeeper."

"Oh right," Coco said, remembering the small pink ball of anxiety that had been studying her non-stop since last chapter. "Uh, hi. How are you?"

"I'm great! Thanks for asking- OH MY CLEAN HOUSE!" In that same exclamation, Niffty picked Coco up by her feat just so she could stare at the bottom of her shoes. "Your feet are FILTHY! Have you been walking outside in them!?"

"UM," Coco was just impressed by the extreme strength of one tiny little cyclops-thing that just picked her up and held her over her head like a tub of bleach. "Yes…?"

"Oh this is just dreadful!" In the same breath, Niffty pulled off Cocos' shoes, threw them across the room, then let Coco down onto the floor and smiled up like nothing ever happened. "There! Now we can have a nice pleasant conversation! It's been awhile since we had new friends come here!"
"… um…" Coco didn't know how to process that.

"As a lady you should really be wearing nicer clothes," Niffty said, starting to stare at her before following up with another comment. "No offense."

"None taken…?" Coco said confused. "Um… my shoes-"

"So dirty!" Niffty exclaimed, going over the strands of Cocos' hair and looking over them. "And this hair! There's so much of it! So thick! Looks like you don't take good enough care of it, which is kind of weird 'cause you're a lady. No offense."

"None taken…" Coco said, a little testy.

"And why are you carrying such a filthy bag!" Niffty said, holding up the laptop carrier Coco uses everyday. "It's so old and ugly and-"

"Okay that I take offense to!" Coco shouted, taking her bag back protectively.

Charlie giggled momentarily before subtly signaling to Vaggie who walked over and pulled Niffty away with her, still curiously going over things that were personally invasive and uncalled for. Coco stood there feeling a bit drained of pride before turning back to look up at Charlie.

There couldn't be anything worse than that, right?

"Alright!" Charlie clapped joyfully before turning Coco around to look at the tall white and pink demon who had been standing there like they had nothing better to do. "Now, let me introduce you to our other patron. This is Angle Dust, you guy's will probably be seeing a lot of each other around here."

Coco had to turn her head up to look up at the tall demon standing in front of her. They were a strange aesthetic mix that made them very interesting to look at: feminine combined with sharp edges. Some mix that Coco knew she could never accomplish.

She really would like it if this person was at least semi-decent to be around…

"Hi!" Coco said excitedly, already holding her hand out to shake and introduce herself to them. "I'm Coachella, but call me Coco. It's nice to meet you!"

Angle Dust just looked down at her and sort of squinted through his eyes. It was weird how something that was momentarily interesting became such a fucking pest in under a minute. It might have been because of her rag-tag appearance, her messy hair, that she had dirt under her fingernails or because she was so stumpy.

Or maybe it's because he instantly didn't like how she seemed to believe she was already special just because she wanted to be good. And that sort of bothered him to no end.

"So~" Angel Dust began, a smirk creeping up and their face before they crossed a set of arms and leaned forward a little. Sort of taunting with their height and easy laugh. "The freak show kicked ya' out and sent ya' packin' to here with the rest of the rejects?"

"Wha-" Coco looked confused for a second, lowering her hand a bit and wondering if she should step back a little to give them some space. "I don't know if, I'm um-"

"Just havin' a little fun," Angel said with a light chuckle. They let one of their lower arms fall and take Cocos' hand by surprise in a quick shake. They grinned sarcastically and gave a light pat on Coco's arm. "The names' Angel. And what these sorry sack of losers won't tell ya' is that this place is the biggest laughing stock on the block."

"Angel!" Charlie said indignantly, stepping forward.

"What?" Angel shrugged and took two long strides to stand behind Coco. Using her like a protective wall while he continued to semi-taunt her. "Do I look like I would lie to you? I mean, maybe pick pocket or stab ya', but not lie!"

"Cut the crap!" Vaggie shouted from her spot, looking equally as indignant as Charlie. "And quit filling her head with your bullshit!"

"Oh ye of little faith! Didn't I also come here for the same bullshit as everyone else? And besides," Angel leaned down on one of Coco's shoulders and pulled his face close to hers'. Giving his best version of an teasing grin and let his voice drop a few tones quieter to act secretive. "Do I really look like I would lie to you?"

Coco felt her mouth tighten just as her face started to light up. Who was this person? They were getting way too close into her personal space and by this time, if Blitzo was here, Angel would have been shot or at least had to deal with many broken arms. But now, she had to deal with the fact that Angel was talking very smoothly, smelt very interesting and looked just… so…

So aesthetically ambiguous that she was really hoping Angel is a girl.

And it was making Coco as tongue-tied and babbling as she gets whenever she's talking to a pretty girl.

"Um, I-" Coco started, already feeling intimidated and confused about why her mouth is moving and what exactly is coming out of it. "I guess I- don't just- know if you- I uh- Well we're- we're- we're we're under a lot of uh, things that- that- that- that could we you! You could- um if we're being honest here we could- uhhhh- not that you're not- it's just that- that- uh- I don't know why I'm speaking anymore, what was the question again…"

'Smooth Coco,' she mentally kicked herself. 'Very smooth…'

It didn't take much to give away how obviously nervous Angle made Coco, and than made him laugh.

"This is fucking hilarious!" Angle slapped Cocos' back hard and then stood up straight, clutching his sides as he started to rock lightly with laugher. "You got the only virgin in Hell sleepin' here with me! Ha ha ha!Oh! The fuckin' irony!"

While Angle was currently laughing at her, pleased with the results of his teasing, Coco let it sink in that she had been played like a fiddle in front of a very tense audience. And that was just a bit too much to deal with given that she's already been forced to live with this person, now getting teased by them too?

"I'm not a!" Coco shouted, blushing all over while she stomped her foot down in pseudo-conviction. Not sure why she was suddenly embarrassed about being called a virgin now that she's an adult, but it's just one thing to many to be tormented about. "You don't just- UGH! I am not!"

"Kid, you look like you'd faint if you ever saw dick in real life," Angle commented, leaning back on a support beam again and starting to examine his nails like personal handiwork. "If that's even what you're in to."

"I am not a kid!" Coco pouted.

After watching this incredibly stupid and cringe worthy scene, Charlie was seriously wondering if this was a good idea anymore.

So her solution was to end it as quickly as possible.

"OKAY!" Charlie said a little loudly while clapping her hands and putting on a very stressed smile. It was time for her to move on. "Leeeeet's get you settled in here, Coco! Razzle! Dazzle!"

Coco looked confused for a moment until two small goat-boys' walked in behind Charlie. They were short little things with fluff on top and dressed in mini-tuxedos. The only thing that distinguished one from the other was that one set of horns was turned opposite.

"Who-" Coco started, pointing at the goats.

"Meet Razzle and Dazzle!" Charlie cheered, presenting the two of them to her with a proud face. "They've been with me for a long time! I'll have them take up your bags and prepare anything you need."

"But they-" Coco started again, uncomfortably looking over to Vaggie and Angel for explanations. "Are they-"

"Little assholes," Angel said tiredly, giving a short glare over to Razzle in particular.

"They don't bite," Vaggie brushed her hair with one hand but also kept a considerable distance from them. "Just don't let them push you into anything."

"How can they-" Coco started again before the two of them were standing right in front of her.

Even though Coco didn't see them move and had no idea where they came from, Razzle and Dazzle just stared up at her in honest fascination like children. It was so disarming, they reminded her of being inside a petting zoo. A petting zoo filled with rabid knife wielding animals, but a friendly kind.

'So cute~~~~!' Coco thought while smiling down at them with a blush.

"She's an idiot," Angel concluded, resting an elbow on the bar while watching her from afar. He gave a short side eye to Husk, feigning disinterest. "I give her a month before someone crashes into her wit' their car."

"I give her a week before she's eaten," Husk said, looking over at Niffty whose been taking increased interest. "Inside the hotel."

"Wanna put money on it?" Angel said, smiling.

"I ain't wastin' money to have to talk to you," Husk said, rolling his eyes and leaning away.

"Fine," Angel shrugged before smirking and leaning across the bar now. "We don't have to bet money though~"

"Quit it!" Vaggie said sternly while hitting the bar, then turning her attention back to Coco as she handed her two bags to each goat-boy. "Nobody's dying OR gambling in this hotel. Just try not to kill or reveal the human while she's under this roof."

"You're no fun," Angel said, standing up straight and crossing both sets of arms across his chest. "What's the point of havin' a human around here if we ain't gonna mess with her? Ain't that the point of humans comin' to Hell or somethin'?"

"The point is-" Vaggie stopped because she realized there was no point and nothing actually mattered. "Just do what I say!"

"Fine!" Angel shouted, exhaustedly with his arms up and then settled back into a bar stool annoyed. "Not like it would kill 'er to make things a little more interesting around here."

"It would kill her," Vaggie stated.

Coco let Razzle and Dazzle go with her two bags but kept the book with her. While they were cute and all, she thought it was best to probably not let any other demon touch her book.

"Okay!" Charlie cheered, walking up to Coco with a smile. "So! You have the skeleton key, so I'll let you choose any room on our occupied floor! Razzle and Dazzle know their way around and they'll drop your stuff off and make up whatever room you choose."

"Oh cool!" Coco said excitedly, looking at Charlie with excitement and gusto. "Then where do we go to-"

"Simple!" Charlie turned around and held out her hand towards the bar. "Angel'll show you around and help you pick one out!"

"…" Coco felt her sanity break a little with her smile still intact. "What?"

"What?" Angle looked almost insulted before he held his head up, groaned and started to complain. "Why do I have to show around the ugly freak?"
"Hey!" Coco shouted.

"Because you know the best rooms to stay in," Charlie reasoned, looking over and smiling at both of them. "Besides! It'll be good for both our guests to stay near each other."

"Saves on cleaning!" Niffty stated, looking like she meant that in a… different way.

"Just do it," Vaggie said, literally kicking the stool out from under him and making him stand up. "As if you have anything better to do."

Angel just grumbled in response but walked over to Coco with two sets of hands in his pockets. He only gave her a quick, sidelong glance before huffing, turning up his nose at her and walking past.

"Come on then," Angel said, walking away towards a set of stairs in long strides. "I ain't got all day."

"Uh," Coco looked back at Charlie and Vaggie for answers but got unreadable faces in response. So, judging that she had no better options, Coco decided to follow Angel and just hope she won't get lost forever in this hotel. "O-Okay!"

Once they left, Vaggie walked up to Charlie and gave her a questioning expression.

"You sure it's a good idea to leave Angel Dust in charge of her?" Vaggie said, pointing her thumb in the direction where they left. "He's not the most reliable. What if she gets lost in here and we never find her?"

"Not to worry!" Charlie thumbed her nose and gave a grin. "In case of an emergency, I let Razzle and Dazzle know to always keep an eye on her in the hotel in case she needs help. Plus, that skeleton key can lead her back anywhere!"

"Yeah," Vaggie crossed her arms over her chest. "But only if she knows how to use it. Right now it only unlocks doors."

"Oh yeah," Charlie thought about that. "I guess she'd need a lot of sorcery skills to be able to do things like go from one place to another with only a door."

"Like she'd be able to ever do that." Vaggie said.

Suddenly, Vaggie felt like she just jinxed herself.

-Currently with the tall pink guy and smol brown girl-

Coco had trouble keeping up with Angel because their walk was so quick. They had such long legs that even if they were walking slowly with a wiggle, they took lengths gracefully forward. Coco had to lightly jog just to keep up with them, which was harder given that she had to carry a heavy book attached to her hip.

'Well this isn't awkward at all,' Coco self mocked as she looked around. The hallways of the hotel being a mix of rugged-destroyed with varying styles. 'This place sure… doesn't fit together.'

"So…" Coco began, catching in step slightly behind Angel as they walked down somewhat never ending halls. "How long have you been staying here?"

"Awhile," Angel said, non-committedly while shrugging his shoulders. He had sort of lost his initial nervousness when he first came here and settled into a complacent lull of neither caring nor wanting to leave. "Eh, guess this place kind of grows on you. What with it's depressing walls and over-satisfied sense of failure."

"… I thought this place reminded me of high school," Coco stated, suddenly also becoming very familiar and depressed.

They walked in silence for a little longer until Coco found it unbearable and put herself through the torture known as talking to Angel Dust.

"Um, I'm kind of new here," Coco started, trying to find any way to start a conversation.

"Obviously," Angel shrugged.

"Well, I," Coco thought about it before gibberish started spewing out. Alternating between sweating, rubbing the back of her neck and trying to look anywhere else. "I uh, I don't get a lot of Hell. Or this Hotel either. So, what are the rules or? What should I do to try and not well offend anyone? I just don't wanna-"

"Ha ha!" Angel laughed for a minute before turning around to look at Coco while leaning relaxed against the wall, grinning at her as if she said something supremely smart. "What? You think there's rules here?"

"Well-" Coco looked away, blushing at how dumb that had sounded. "I-I meant more like, things I should know to-"

"Look. Kid." Angel stopped her mid-sentence and walked over, putting his arm over her shoulder and leaning over. "You're cute and everything, but this ain't how this is gonna work."

"Huh?"

"I'm not here to be your buddy-buddy big brother," Angel said, standing up to his full length and puffing up his chest before turning to start walking away. "I mean, what? You think you're gonna land in Hell and find yourself amongst some "pure-hearted souls" who just want to do the right thing 'cause they "see somethin' special" in ya? 'Cause if ya did, you're stupider than you look."

Coco found herself shutting up and listening while the tall, boisterous demon paraded himself lightly down the hallway. While she may have a small instinct to feel offended, she had a large amount of sense to tell her that being rude to an asshole of a demon might not be a good idea.

"Oh I know all about your type," Angel said with a lazy shrugged while shooting her a sideways grin. "You spend your whole life playin' "sweet and nice" and coastin' by with your "good girl" face; and pretendin' you're different from those "other girls" just 'cause you're kind of smart. Which your not, just big mouthed. And maybe you do one or two "crazy" things like date a black guy or go to another country to do somethin' self-satisfiyan' like "helpin' the orphans" or "servin' the poor". When really you're just an over bloated suburb reject with big self-entitlement issues mixed in with some martyr complex."

He spun around his heel and stopped two feet from Coco before leaning down from his waste and putting his face right in front of hers'. He continued with his lazy grin, but Coco could see some kind of deep chagrin mixed in that black eye of his.

"You're nothin' but another little brat who thinks she's so special, when actually she's just no better than anyone else around her." Angel said hushed before straightening up again and letting out a small whistle. "For your own good, I'd drop the goody-two-shoes act and stick to tryin' to figure out why you're here. If you're smart, you'll figure it out. Quicker ya do, the less time I have to spend smellin' ya."

Coco stood there in confusion as Angel walked forward a little. It felt really weird that she honestly could follow… but couldn't figure out if he was necessarily making fun of her or if he was just naturally an asshole.

"…" Coco cocked her head at him as she realized the most confusing part of all of this. "You're a guy?"

Angel froze up at that an surpassed a small urge to sock it to her, and instead decided to play it like a joke.

"Yeah~" Angel smiled false-sweetly. "And maybe ya should learn not to state the obvious all the time, Miss. Virgin Mary."

"I'm not!" Coco complained again, now just following behind Angel again two steps behind for safety. "Wait. Why do I even care…"

"Good call," Angel said, shrugging. "In fact, just think like that for the rest of time you're here. Don't matter what you do or see, just don't care."

"That's kind of hard for me," Coco admitted, feeling more dejected than angry anymore. She elected to keep following him, in the hope that eventually they'd find a room and she could cry alone in.

"Get used to it. In fact, I stopped caring about whatever it was we're doing when we started."

"… You're so helpful," Coco said under her breath.

'No one told me he was going to be this tiring,' Coco thought sullenly as she kept pace with Angel but tried not to look at him anymore.

Angel stopped after turning down a hallway that had about five different sets of rooms on each side. There were no windows in the hallways, just full length mirrors, strange wallpaper, and the overwhelming sense of deja vu that happens when you think you've been somewhere before but are too afraid to remember where or when.

"So this is basically everything they have that's livable," Angel said, gesturing his hand down the hallway before momentarily pointing in one direction. "My room's over there. So, do me a favor and don't get too close."

"What is your-" Coco was about to ask what's his problem but was stopped by Angel jumping in.

"'Cause ya stink like never endin' humanity," Angel answered quickly. "I can't have all my stuff stinkin' of human, it'll drive my customers' crazy! Or, maybe make 'em more blood thirsty."

"I smell?" Coco lifted up her arm and smelled under her arm.

"Like the fresh and merciful," Angel made a disgusted face before leaning against a wall. "Try not to get too close to anyone out there or bleed or somethin'. You might drive one of the less fortunate and stupid crazy enough to go on an unpredictable murder spree. Or, well, you might just give them a new reason too, heh heh."

"Wait," Coco looked even more confused now. "Demons will do that if they smell humans?"

"The dumber ones will. Can't handle the smell of humanity. Drive one of two instincts into over drive: Kill or Fuck."

"So," Coco decided to lean against the wall opposite of Angel and thought about that metaphor. "It's sort of like living in an unending game of "Fuck, Marry, Kill" down here?"

"What's that?" Angel asked, looking actually interested in something Coco had to say for once.

"It's this game," Coco said excitedly, happy to talk about a game and something somewhat normal from what she's used to. "We played it a lot in college. Basically, you and your friends find a set of strangers and you have to quickly decide whether you'd fuck them, marry them or kill them. You have to say it quickly and can't change your mind!"

"Yeah, that's pretty accurate about how it works down here. Minus the marry thing," Angel said, ending in a chuckle and looking quickly entertained. "So? You mortals are actually playin' something like that up there? Earth just got interesting all of a sudden."

"It's different." Coco admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "But, I mean, it's just a game. We wouldn't actually ever do it in real life."

"So you just talk and don't do nothin' about it," Angel summed up. He rolled his eyes ambivalently but still grinned. "'Guess not much has changed then."

"Maybe," Coco said, looking at Angel confused. "Uh, wait. You used to live-"

"As a human." Angel finished almost politely. "Yeah, you guessed it. In fact, lots of us did. But, try not to pry too much. Else you might just be inviting for someone to eat you up…"

"G-Got it," Coco said, immediately looking away.

Angel fidgeted for a moment. This was weird. From where he stood, this tiny little human girl should mean nothing to him. But she kept giving off weird vibes, and he couldn't decide whether he wanted to ignore her or torment her further. It was almost irritating how he had some lingering interest in her, so he wanted to quash any sentiment she had for him so that she'd stay out of his way for the rest of her stay.

"Look, I'm given' out a bunch of free advice here, so you better be grateful." Angel said, flipping over a hand and walking away towards a room. "And don't come to me whinin' for some tips or nothin: I ain't got time for it!"

"What do you even do around here?" Coco asked, now irritated as she followed Angel further with her hands in her pockets. "Do you work for the hotel or something?"

"Let's just say, I'm a promoter," Angel said, turning his head to the side and giving Coco a grin over his shoulder. "An Adult entertainment promoter~"

It wasn't hard for Coco to figure out what that implied. But what that meant exactly was shadowy enough that Coco wasn't sure if she wanted to know more about what he meant.

"And just some free advice," Angel said, holding his hand up and waving it. "Don't go askin' for help around here anymore. You got lucky so far. Anymore, and people are gonna start askin' for favors in return~"

"Wait-" Coco stopped and tried to take some control of this situation for herself. She was sure what he could say next could end up putting her in some… uncomfortable situations that she is sure will be positively unpleasant. "I don't know what you think but I-!"

"Don't worry, kid," Angel cut her off by stopping and leaning against a door with a grin. "You're not my type. Plus, even if you do look like some fun, you couldn't afford me~"

Coco held her tongue and just stared blankly at Angel. Whatever goes through this demons' mind is beyond her and she really didn't think keeping up with it was good for her sanity. All she wanted was to know which room she could crawl into and hide in until work tomorrow morning.

"And that's the last advice you're gettin' for free from me," Angel said, now going ahead and opening up the door to the room. "Consider this a token of my generosity~ Here's your room."

She went ahead and walked up beside Angel to peer into the dark, unlit room. From what Coco saw, the room was big but reminiscent of a Bates' Motel room. The furniture was all dark and coated in red, including a desk, side table, set of drawers and an old wardrobe. The bed was a big four poster that seemed plush yet uninviting. There was a full length mirror across from the bed that seemed to be watching it. And a large window with dark black curtains drawn yet letting a foreboding red light creep out from around it.

The room looked like the set up of a murder scene both before, after and during said event. Coco wouldn't even trust living in the same house as a room like this, let alone an actual room like it!

"Hey, it's pretty big," Angel mused, looking around at it. He was unimpressed with most of the other rooms but still wouldn't mind stealing this one from her if he was ever in a pinch. "Alright, now you know you can trust my excellent taste!"

"Trust your taste in what exactly?" Coco asked while looking on nervously at the room, still swimming in thoughts of self loathing and fear. Then directing her attention to his outfit that looked like a mix of Lolita meets Nightmare on Elm Street. "Horror movie sets?"

"What? You don't like your room?" Angel said before sucking his teeth and rolling his eyes. This would be the first time he actually touched the human, but her went ahead and used one of his hands to push her chin up to look him in the eyes. "Listen, baby. Hell's not the place to be picky. And, I promise ya', I can make ya' a lot more uncomfortable if that's what you want~"

"…" Coco's mind went blank for a moment since she wasn't sure if Angel really was implying what she thought he was implying. "… N-No. I mean I- I understand. The room is… okay."

"Great!" Angel smiled and let go of her face, feeling satisfied.

Coco stood there uncomfortably in the door way for minute, resistant to committing herself to this obviously untrustworthy situation she was being hoisted into. But, seeing no other option that was better than just getting this over with, Coco went ahead and stepped inside the room. As soon as she did, both Razzle and Dazzle appeared and set down her small amount of luggage, leaving it there and looking up at her proudly for thanks.

Seeing they weren't going away until she acknowledged something, Coco gave him an uncomfortable grin and searched the pockets of her jacket and pants for anything to give. She came up with what felt like coins but what could have easily have been buttons or squashed bullets (knowing whatever Blitzo would pick up and put in his pockets). Whatever it was, they seemed happy about it and left giddy, giving Angel strange looks at which he just hissed at as they stormed past.

"Fuckin' annoyin' little bastards," Angel growled.

"I think they're cute," Coco said, shrugging and looking at him. She suddenly craved for Angel to stay a little longer for an unpleasant chit-chat, rather than leaving her alone in this place. "So, um, is your room just as-"

"Empty and depressing?" Angel finished for her. "Yeah, it will be till you settle in. Look kid, as much fun as babysitting you has been, I've got better things to do with my afterlife than hang around your door and look for a nightlight. So, I'm just gonna be on way then."

"Oh! But I-" Coco looked for any reason to keep him there. "Uh, I-I still don't know much about the hotel. Like, when are the doors locked or-"

"Look kid," Angel hushed her with a wave of his hand. "You don't wanna be around me for any longer than I do. So let's just cut the crap and stay the fuck away from each other."

"…" Coco wasn't sure she had anything more to say after that.

Angel sort of had a way of stunning her silent. A talent that wasn't lost on him, and seemed to be fairly entertaining. He pressed a hand to his mouth to suppress a giggle; taking in a whiff of her scent, something that made his head rush a little. Watching her start something she couldn't finish made him quiet giddy, like watching your favorite car crash on repeat. Like her expressions were a kind of toy he enjoyed playing with, a fairly cute looking toy at that.

Maybe she was more entertaining than he thought.

"Sweet dreams," Angel almost purred as he turned, taking hold of the door knob with him as he slowly shut the door and hallway light out. "Oh and uh, try not to disturb me too much okay? You do that, and we'll just be the best of neighbors. See ya around, Doll Face."

The light pink siloughete of Angel Dust faded with a dull thump and closed her off in a room void of light. Leaving Coco the unpleasant feeling of being left alone in a room that made her feel very scared and homesick all at the same time. She was now standing before the bed and everything else with very few possessions, very little idea of what to do and next to no hope about what would come next.

She stood around for maybe two minutes before realizing she could actually turn on a light.

'Better not go blind.' Coco thought, walking in the direction of the door and feeling around for the light switch. 'Ah ha!'

Once the light switched turned out, it took a few buzzing sounds before overhead lights that burned like center stage lights flickered on and off. It made the room far too vibrant, with shades of red even more focused and a strange kind of heat only caused by over hot bulbs could make. And made you focus on little details here and there for too long so that you were starting to see things that shouldn't be there.

'… Not much of an improvement.' Coco wondered if she should just learn how to appreciate the dark more.

Not taking anymore of this lighting situation, she walked over to the curtain drawn windows across from the bed. Maybe if she had some natural light, whatever it might be, she'd feel more comfortable.

Drawing back the heavy curtains, Coco saw that the sky was slightly fading from red to black but uncovered a strange kind of horizon. Other than the hovering, over imposed pentagram, there horizon setting was split between spiky looking forest and a road with shanty buildings and streetlights. The curtains must be soundproof as well because suddenly Coco heard shouting, crashing noises, screams and howls coming through the glass.

She shut the curtains and sat on her bed, deciding sitting in a quiet murder scene was better than listening to another one outside.

'…Well.' She tried to think of some good things. 'It's… mostly quiet. And… big.'

"This was a terrible idea, wasn't it?" Coco admitted to herself and she slumped down and rested her head in both hands. Suddenly feeling overcome by exhaustion, she felt her body sink into the reality that she had just placed herself in the hands of some other idiot demons before thinking about what to do first. "Why am I such a fucking idiot…?"

She let herself sink into this for a few minutes before slapping both hands on the bed and standing up. Taking in a deep breath, Coco tried to knock of the same sense of self-pity and walked out of the room with the book and key.

'Come on,' Coco scolded herself, walking towards a set of stairs and going down. 'What am I complaining about? It's Hell, can't really expect decent living here. And, let's face it, I literally asked for this. Can't show Blitzo and the guys' that I'm too scared to take care of myself. Gotta live on my own until I figure out a way to get out of here!'

That's the spirit! And with this new found irritation in herself, Coco tried to find her way back down to the lobby in order not to feel lonely. After all, you can only pressure yourself so much to be a better person until you need to have peer pressure.

Even if those peers happen to be demons. Still better than nothing.

"Wait," Coco stopped in the middle of the random hallway. She looked around and realized… she had no idea what she was doing. "Where am I?"

Even though every hallway here looked vaguely menacing and ominous, this one looked distinctly different from the one she followed Angel Dust down. In fact, it even smelled different from the first one.

'How did I get lost walking?' Coco wondered, then holding up her wrist and looking at her Moral Compass. 'I should have just used this. Okay, maybe I can still fix it!'

"Where's the best way to the lobby?" Coco asked the Moral Compass, quickly looking over her shoulder to check and make sure no lurking demons were around trying to corner her. "And make it quick! I don't want to be stuck here forever…"

The thick arrow on the compass wiggled for a moment before spinning around quickly, like it was trying to locate something. After a few turns it slowed down and stopped, pointing directly behind her.

Coco turned around and looked down the hallway for something, but saw the arrow just jostled and pointed behind her again. Annoyed, Coco turned around again, saw nothing and then saw the compass was still pointing behind her.

"Is this thing broken?" Coco wondered, shaking her wrist and holding it up to her ear as if she was expecting it to start ticking. She frowned deeper as realized how stupid this was and held it out in front of her. "Some cursed object you turned out to be. What's the point of being possessed if you don't get something useful out of it?"

She had the weirdest feeling like something in the back of her mind was shaking its' head in frustration. She quirked a brow, then looked back at the compass and saw that, maybe the arrow wasn't pointing behind her, but at her. At her chest to be exact.

"What the…" Coco palmed the front of her chest until she felt a bump under her shirt. She reached down and pulled out the skeleton key from her shirt pocket and held it out. Remembering what Charlie had said about it, she wondered why opening a locked door would help her now. "Why would I need this for now?"

That same weird feeling came back from the back of her head, and this time she heard a sort of echo come around her from the empty hallway.

"Use the key…"

"…. Thank you ominous voice?" Coco said quietly, looking around herself carefully. She checked to see if the hallway was still abandoned, confirming that the voice did in fact come out of no where and solidify that she should be scared shitless. "Should I really be taking advice from something that could likely be a mental illness?"

The Moral Compass arrow then pointed directly up to 'y' for Yes. Probably a decent idea given that she had no other options left.

"I was being sarcastic," Coco told off the Moral Compass. She bit her tongue, realizing bitching at herself and a cursed tattoo wasn't doing much to get her out of being lost in a haunted hotel. "Guess I don't have much of a choice right now…"

The Moral Compass then slipped down and pointed to 'n' for No.

"I wasn't asking you!" Coco yelled in aggravation. "UGH! Fine! I'm going! Jesus H Christ… How do I even use this thing? I just pick a door, right?"

Coco walked up to a random door and stood in front of it for a moment. First she knocked and listened into it, making sure no one was inside first.

'Why would a murderer answer a knock at the door?'

She then tried opening the door but found it was locked. Finding she had no better option other than unlocking an empty room, she put the key in the hole and turned until she heard a click. Pulling it out and putting it back in her pocket, she opened the door to a less dark room and looked back down the hallway.

'No point in waiting around here,' she summed up before turning back to the room. 'Might as well check it out.'

Coco stepped in and quietly shut the door behind her. She walked through and looked around, seeing that the whole area was actually… familiar. The floors were wooden, the wallpaper was random and faded, and there were large windows all around her.

She walked a few steps more before coming through an entry way and-

"HOLY SHIT," Coco said far too loudly, stepping into the middle of the lobby next to the bar where everyone else was congregating. "I'm back where I started?"

Everyone looked over at her like she was a general irritant and then went back to their business, which just happened to be wasting time.

"So I guess we gotta congratulate the idiot on standing the obvious?" Husk said, thumbing the top of a glass like he was deciding whether to break it or clean it.

"Hey, I'm just surprised she managed to get down here on her own," Angel replied, also playing with an empty glass. "Doll looks like she needs professional help just picking out what to wear."

'I can hear you, bastards…' Coco cussed inside her head.

It was pretty obvious to her now that just about everyone here was awful, Angel in particular seemed to have a new habit of easily getting under her skin. So it would be best if she did take his advice and just stay away from him as well as any other demon for the rest of her trip in Hell.

'Good thing this place looks like no one else will ever come to it,' Coco thought, walking past the bar in search of either Charlie or Vaggie since they looked like they knew what they were doing. 'You know, of their own will.'

"Oh hey!" Charlie walked out of a side door alongside Vaggie and caught Coco, smiling at her as she made her way up. She looked unexpectedly enthusiastic for some reason like she couldn't wait to tell Coco something. "Great news! I have a totally new idea that I think you're prooooobably gonna love!"

It was weird just how expressive Charlie is and how she inflected everything with so much energy. But it was also super cute too.

So, just as Coco was very nervous and a little skeptical that Charlie actually knew what was a good idea or not, but decided to humor her and go along with it. After all, the woman was currently keeping her off the streets.

"What's up?" Coco asked, walking over to Charlie.

"I have implemented a brand new Hotel system," Charlie leaned in, excitedly explaining. "A support group!"

"Support group?" Coco echoed.

Multiple groans were heard behind her and Coco resisted groaning herself. The idea of a support group sounded… kind of…

"Like at an AA meeting?" Coco asked, thinking back to all of those movies about old sad men sitting around and secretly wishing they could be drinking again.

"What's that?" Charlie asked confused.

"Yes," Vaggie said shortly, taking Charlies' shoulder and stepping in. "Pretty much. We're just trying to keep everyone accountable for each other and things should work out fine here. And that means you, newbie."

"Okay?" Coco said, tossing the idea around her head for a minute and before shrugging and gesturing that she thought it was a good idea. "But uh, I'm not drunk."

"Yet~!" Someone from the bar stated.

"It's more than just that!" Charlie chimed in, popping over excitedly. "We are starting a peer support system, a buddy policy!"

There seemed to be a very long moment where everyone stood still and looked in complete stupefied disbelief at the woman who says she's an adult. Was this a joke? An elaborate ruse? Was she high? Were you high? Are we all high right now?

"…" Coco looked on in disbelief and turned to Vaggie, asking quietly under her breath and hoping on the faint chance she was joking. "Is she serious?"

"Yeah…" Vaggie already had her hand planted on her face in complete disappointment. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't convince Charlie on how bad an idea this was. "She is."

"…" Coco turned to look at Charlie again, now trying to see any humor and when she didn't, looked pretty horror struck. "Um, can I remind you I'm new here?"

"And what a perfect way to get you used to living in Hell!" Charlie exclaimed, looking super supportive while taking Coco by the shoulder and gesturing to the group by the bar like she was showing them off. "Than by relying on your support system right here!"

Coco just stared forward and was met by Husk ignoring her and Angel Dust flipping her off. Oh yeah, you can just feel the love from here…

"Greeeeeeaaatt…" Coco said, forcing a cheesy smile and underplaying the sarcasm. For some reason, she had the feeling that going along with this girl would save her a lot more mental energy in the long run than anything. "So uh, what do I do? Just… keep an eye out?"

"Actually," Charlie clapped her hands a little bit too quickly. She had a sidelong look in her eyes like even she was uncomfortable with what she was about to say. "I was thiiiiinking you could take a little bit moooooooore proactive approach!"

"…" Coco continued to be silent and listened, but was getting a more and more bad feeling with every lengthened syllable. "Like?"

"Since you're an innocent human, I think you have the most potential in helping our clients change their ways towards redemption!" Charlie did a short of side step and twirl that reminded everyone more of a tap-dance performance than an actual business proposal. The seriousness of this idea was down played through it, but definitely caught every bit of her attention. "It's because of this that I want you to work even closer to our hotels' dream! I'd like you to support Angel in his rehabilitation!"

"…" It felt like she just swallowed her own tongue while her eyes started bugging out.

Now more than just stunned silent, Coco was outright shocked. That couldn't be right. What was it she just heard? She said what now?

"What!?" Coco outright shouted after a full minute of silence.

"I told you this was a bad idea," Vaggie said under her breath, starting to hide under her gloved hand and wish she also hadn't been a part of this terrible plan.

"It'll be great!" Charlie said, stepping up in between both Vaggie and Coco. She was speaking softer, but her tone was firm and unwavering. She had already put in minimal thought and figured what she says go anyway! "Angel knows all about Hell, so he can help you get uh acquainted, and you can help him on his long term goals of rehabilitation! He's been focusing on recovering from drugs and he's been clean for a few weeks now. So it'd be great if you could help him focus, and help him turn into a better person!"

Coco sort of stared at Charlie before chuckling nervously a little, as if she could see a funny joke coming after this to relieve the tension. This girl wasn't being serious, was she?

She was. And Charlie knew she wasn't selling this well and decided to be more proactive about it.

"Plus!" Charlie continued, trying to stay upbeat. "I'm sure you understand that two people helping each other would be better for both of your longterm goals. I bet that helping out Angel Dust will even help you become a more patient and open minded person!"

"Definitely make you more patient," Vaggie said mostly under her breath, remembering all of the times she was close to killing the man for some stupid shit or the other he did.

Coco looked on at Charlie in pretty much awe-struck horror. She didn't know Charlie was leaving out the man was a machine gun carrying, gangster connection person, porn star, psycho killer. All she currently knew was he was rude, perverted and had a possible drug problem. Even worse, he seemed to have a strange desire to torment her whenever they were forced to interact with one another.

'You want me to be around Hell's most impossible person and think that'll make me more open minded?' Coco mentally screamed after Charlies' explanation. It was almost insulting.

Coco was semi-prepared to deliver a long, structured delivery about how that was a bad idea and how she wanted to stay 10 feet away from any possible demon for as long as she had to. But, after looking at Charlies' red-brown eyes, she remembered how hard to was to be rude to pretty people.

"… O-Okay…" Coco chocked out, suddenly losing all of her nerve and negotiating skills in favor of just accepting any that happens.

"Really!" Charlie said excitedly, taking one of Cocos' hands into her own and giddy shaking it. "I'm so glad we came to an agreement!

'Worst deal with a devil ever,' Coco concluded.