Episode 12: A Not So Lost Owlette
Not long ago, in the middle of a dark and rainy night, a young Owl demon girl appears at the doorsteps of the hotel.
After being asked her name, the owl demon answers, "Octavia. My name is Octavia."
Phoenix calmly says, "Octavia… hi."
"She seems nice. And I do like her outfit," Phoenix thinks.
Phoenix calmly says, "So… um, Octavia… right?"
"Yes. That's correct," Octavia says.
"I do hope you don't mind me asking, but what are you doing here so late at night. It's raining outside," Phoenix says.
Octavia says in a monotone voice, "Alright."
Then walks into the hotel. Phoenix notices that Octavia doesn't seem to have any luggage with her, and she seems dressed kind of nice and doesn't look like any demons she's seen this far.
Phoenix introduces herself, "My name is Phoenix. It's well, nice to meet you Octavia."
"Yeah. Nice to meet you," Octavia says, sounding gloomy.
"Is something wrong?" Phoenix asks.
"It… It's nothing. I wish to speak with Charlie about it, it's kind of important. Of course, since you said Charlie is a sleep, it could wait until tomorrow," Octavia says.
"Of course. I'll get you the room key for your stay," Phoenix says, walking to the front desk.
Then brings out a small book and opens it up. She then brings the key to the room that has the number twenty on it.
Phoenix says, "I just need you to sign your name in our booklet that way we can keep track of who is staying in the room. And here is your room key."
"Of course. Thank you, Phoenix," Octavia says, then signs her name in the booklet.
Phoenix helps Octavia settle in and gives her the keys to her room. They both say good night and Phoenix heads off to her room for a goodnight sleep.
The next day, Phoenix wakes up early and dresses up for the day. She is wearing a red button up shirt, black pants, and black shoes. Her hair is in a ponytail with her hair down. Phoenix then leaves the room and walks up the stairs to the other floor where Octavia is staying. Soon enough, she sees Charlie walking down the hall to head down stairs.
Charlie notices Phoenix and says with glee, "Morning Phoenix, how are you doing?"
"I'm doing okay," Phoenix says.
Then begins to tell her, "Um, listen Charlie, we kind of had a late night guest arrive at the hotel."
"Really?" Charlie asks with glee.
But becomes confused soon after, "But who would have come to the hotel that late at night, and it was raining?"
"Yeah. I was surprised to see her myself. She's actually staying in the room here and I was about to see if she's up," Phoenix says.
Suddenly, the door to the room opens and Octavia steps out.
"Morning Phoenix," Octavia says.
Then turns to Charlie, "And good morning to you Charlie."
"Oc-Octavia? Wha-what are you doing here? Are your parents here?" Charlie asks, surprised and yet, stunned.
"That is what I like to know. And no, she didn't come with her parents. She actually came here by herself," Phoenix says.
Octavia sighs and says, "Sorry to bother you both like that. I didn't really want to give you much trouble, but my parents don't even know I'm even here. Then again, they'll notice I'm gone by now."
"So then…?" Charlie replies.
Octavia sighs and says, "I was well… abducted."
Charlie and Phoenix blink their eyes for a few seconds and soon exclaim, "WHAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT?!"
Sometime after the shock, Charlie, Phoenix, and Octavian are downstairs in the dining room with Vaggie, Angel Dust, and Husk. Nifty and Alastor are making breakfast in the kitchen. Of course, after having heard Octavia's statement, they want an explanation from her, which she gives them calmly.
"So you were abducted?" Phoenix asks.
"That's correct," Octavia says.
"And the reason why…" Charlie asks.
"Well for money maybe," Octavia calmly says.
"So they decided to kidnap you and use you for ransom?" Phoenix asks.
"I'm not entirely sure, but that's what I think," Octavia says.
"That doesn't sound good. Your parents must be worried sick by now," Phoenix says, concern.
"Especially for how your dad gets when he worries about you," Charlie says.
"I know. Knowing how my dad is, he's probably flipping out by now," Octavia says.
"I'm kind of sorry about what happened, but can you explain to us what happened," Phoenix replies.
"I'll brief it for you. I went to the bookstore and was grabbed from behind and taken to some warehouse," Octavia says.
"Against your will no doubt," Vaggie says.
"Of course, I was able to get out with the demons knowing and realized I'm somewhere in Pentagram City," Octavia adds.
"So you escaped," Phoenix suspects.
"Yes. Since I heard about your hotel, Charlie. I kind of figure I go see you," Octavia says.
"It's a good thing you did. We'll protect you," Phoenix says.
Charlie says, "Yeah. You'll be safe while you're here."
Then says, "Of course, I will need to call your parents about you being here."
"Good luck. My mother is probably screaming with full rage and father is panicking," Octavia says.
"You never know until you try," Phoenix says.
Angel walks by as he says, "Can't knock it till you try."
"Hey Angel, how are things?" Phoenix asks.
"Good. And it's a good thing I got a day off today. I could really use a break," Angle says.
"Well we're mostly going to be here chatting and stuff, so yeah," Phoenix says.
"Yeah. I'm going to get Nuggies from the room and I'll be back down," Angel says.
"Okay," Charlie says.
Angel Dust walks away and heads up stairs to fetch Fat Nuggets.
"Surprisingly that you have someone like him for the Rehabilitation Project," Octavia says.
"I kind of figure you would think that, but Angel Dust is really cool and someone great to hang out with," Phoenix says.
"If you say so," Octavia says, rolling her eyes.
Vaggie calmly turns to Phoenix, "Charlie, maybe we should start considering what we're going to do involving Octavia."
"How come?" Charlie asks.
"Hon, Octavia can't actually stay at the hotel," Vaggie says.
"It's only temporarily Vaggie. Until we can get a call from her parents and they can pick her up,," Charlie says.
"Yes. And you also know that you're well, she's the daughter of the Goetia family. If Stolas and Stella find out about well… this," Vaggie says.
"I know what you mean, but I'm sure we'll explain it to them once they arrive. I mean. What's the worst that can happen?" Charlie asks.
"I suspect a lot of bad stuff can happened," Vaggie says.
"Stolas and Stella? Are those your parents' names?" Phoenix asks.
"They are," Octavia answers.
Then turns to Charlie, "And I have to agree with your girlfriend on this one. There's a lot that can happen. And my dad will most likely get someone involved."
"Like who?" Phoenix asks, confused.
"You don't wanna know,' Octavia answers.
Somewhere in another part of Hell, there is a city called Imp City. This is the city where mostly Imps live and some homeless demons living there. In one of the office buildings, there is one of the Imp beings inside.
The imp is a very lanky jester-like male imp with a pointed tail who conversely has wide-proportioned hands, pointed feet with a boot-like heel, and a narrow head with curved horns. His eyes have black lines running down the eyelids and his sclera is yellow with a red iris, along with crimson skin with trace white blotches that cover his right eye and the tip of his tail, black-and-white striped horns with black spines between them running to his tail, and black stripes around his tail. A heart-shaped skull symbol rests on his forehead. He wears a torn black collared coat with red buttons, black boots, and large black gloves with yellow eyes on them, and has a red skull charm around his neck.
The imp is holding his hellphone and asks, "You want me to what?"
"I want you to help me find my little princess, and I will need my book for a quick transport," A male British voice says over the phone.
"Yeah. How is using that book going to find her?" The imp asks.
The demon on the phone answers, "Well, with my powers and the book, I can use it to open a portal to where she is."
"I see," The imp says, sounding board.
"And I also like to know if you brave little imps will accompany me," The demon says.
"I'm guessing someone is going to die for this, huh," The imp replies.
"Yes," The demon says.
"Alright, me and the others will be headed over there, but we're only there to assist with finding your kid, not your perverted bird needs," The imp says, and hangs up the phone.
The imp rolls his eyes and thinks it's going to be a long day.
Back at the hotel, Charlie has tried to call Octavia's parents, but neither one of them answer. She left them a message and decided to wait a little before they called. Since Angel Dust has to work Alastor decides to head out on his walk, and Husk is busy drinking at the front desk, the only ones who are in the lobby area are Charlie, Phoenix, Octavia, Angel Dust, Vaggie, Conan, Grace, Cloud, Zǐ Māo, and Kyuubi and Fat Nuggets. The two animals are playing with a ball while everyone else is sitting, chatting, and having snacks.
"So Octavia, what do you like to do during your spare time?" Grace asks.
"I kind of like to hear some music, read some books, and other things," Octavia says, sounding a bit moody.
"I like to read some books too. Of course, I also like to read some manga and maybe a few cook books," Phoenix says.
"Cook books? Not something you can actually read," Conan says, confused.
"That's only when there's a recipe I like to make," Phoenix says.
"Sounds a bit boring if you ask me. Then again, I look up cook books too for anything I like to cook," Angel says.
Charlie says, "Well, it does appear we're not going to have anyone at the hotel… again. So maybe we can do something fun."
"Like what?" Grace asks.
"I don't know. Maybe go out on a walk, maybe come up with other activities for the hotel, or… we can go to Lu Lu World. Or we can go tomorrow when everyone is with us," Charlie says.
"Lu Lu World? Phoenix says, confused.
"It's like an amusement park, and I heard it's a lot better than Loo Loo Land," Conan says.
"So it's basically an amusement park?" Phoenix asks.
"Yeah. It's actually very popular for many demons and sinners," Vaggie says.
"Yeah. I remember going there with Vaggie, and we both have a blast," Charlie happily says.
"And I suspected you both were dating, huh," Conan says with a smirk on his face.
Charlie and Vaggie blush in reply.
"Conan, don't go saying stuff like that," Grace says.
Charlie says, "It's okay. Anyway,any of you guys wanna go today."
"Sure. Don't have any work today," Angel says.
"I like to go," Zǐ Māo says.
"Us too," Grace and Conan say.
"Sure. I don't see why not," Vaggie says.
"I suppose, only because you guys are going," Octavia replies.
"Hmm, it will be good for you to relax a bit, especially for having to fight demons and monsters as of late," Conan says.
"Monsters?" Octavia says, confused and interested.
Phoenix sighs, "It's a bit of a long story, but right now. It seems that we're going to an amusement park and have some fun."
"Yeah. I'll have Razzle and Dazzle get the limo and we'll head over. So make sure you have everything you need," Charlie says.
Phoenix asks, "Does the park allow pets?"
"It will be best to have Fat Nuggets and Kyuubi stay home. Some of the demons might try to attack and maybe eat them," Angel says.
"Oh," Phoenix replies.
Unknown to the gang in the hotel, a microphone is sticking up from outside one of the windows and has been listening in on the conversation and know where they target is
Sometime later, after getting their things together and having their transportation. Charlie also convinces Alastor and Husk to come alone. Actually, Alastor decides to come for entertainment if something goes wrong. The limo drives to the parking lot and Charlie is the first to open the door and walk out. Phoenix and the others follow after her.
Phoenix looks around to see Lu Lu World's entrance, and surprisingly, there is a large structure of a castle close by.
"Hmm, it kind of reminds me of the amusement park back in Japan," Phoenix says.
"I suspect that, but don't worry, we're all going to have a lot of fun," Charlie happily says.
Then walks ahead, "Now let's stay together and let's have a great time."
"How does going to an amusement park have anything to do with Rehabilitation?" Angel asks.
"I think we're just supposed to have fun, respect each other, listen to some rules, and all that," Phoenix says.
"Boring! Let's just go have some fun," Angel says, and starts heading to the park.
"Wait up Angel!" Charlie calls out.
Vaggie groans, "That guy is going to drive me crazy."
"Don't worry. I'm sure Angel won't get himself into too much trouble," Phoenix says.
"Fine. But Charlie and I are going to keep an eye on him," Vaggie says.
"We might as well go after him. Remember that it will be good to stay in a group," Cloud says.
"We'll be fine," Phoenix says.
"Okay. And I'll see if we can try calling your parents," Charlie says.
Octavia calmly says, "Okay."
The group begins to head towards the park, unknown they are being followed by a black car. Inside the black car are full if imp, most them are red and have either white or black horns, or even both. Whatever they're doing, they have their eyes on a specific target and plans on getting it no matter what.
The group enters the park, and Phoenix is surprised to see so many rides, food stands, game areas, and a lot more. To her, it's a lot like the ones that she has gone to with her mother, aunt, uncle, and cousins.
"Wow! This place is amazing!" Phoenix says.
Charlie happily says, "I knew you'd like it. We're going to have so much fun!"
Phoenix turns to Alastor, Husk, and Niffty, "So guys, do you like going to amusements park or you ever went here?"
"I have been to Lu Lu World before, it's really fun. There are rides, games, prizes, food. I remember this one time, I dragged Husk the water ride here and then he…" Niffty happily explains, but it happens very fast, it's almost hard to understand what she's saying.
"I think Niffty has gone off on a tangent," Conan says.
Husk groans, "Yeah. She'll probably like this for an hour or so."
"So do you and Husk like coming here?" Grace asks.
"No. I'm only here because Alastor forced me to go," Husk says.
"Amusement parks are okay for me, but I haven't really been here very often. However, I'm sure you'll have a splendid time going on rides and playing games. Of course, you'll be meeting a sour demon or two who are more than willing to cause harm in all kinds of ways. Even robbing you and such," Alastor says.
"Thanks that helps a lot," Phoenix says with a straight face.
"No trouble at all my dear," Alastor says. Then walks ahead of the group while humming a little tune.
Octavia whispers to Phoenix, "How are you okay with staying in the same building with the Radio Demon?"
"I get what you're saying because of Alastor's reputation as the Radio Demon, but he seems alright once you get to know him," Phoenix says.
"You seem a bit positive about it," Octavia replies.
"Well, it will be good to uh, give him a chance. You know, get to know him a little better," Phoenix says.
"You don't sound very confident about it," Angel says.
"Okay. Maybe I'm still a bit weary and I don't exactly understand what he thinks. However, he does make up for it with well, his charm, and such," Phoenix says.
Then turns to Zǐ Māo, "What do you think?"
"Um, I still feel a bit weary about being around Alastor," Zǐ Māo nervously says.
"It's understandable, but as long as Alastor isn't well, being a powerful frightening demon, he'll be a little more easy to get along," Phoenix says.
"If you say so," Zǐ Māo replies, weary.
"So where do you wanna go on first?" Charlie asks, excited.
"Hmm, there are a lot of rides here, and a lot of demons," Vaggie says.
"And be careful. You never know what kind of scum will come at us," Conan says, looking around the area.
"We will," Phoenix says, rolling her eyes."
"Yeah. We're going to run into some ass one way or another," Angel says.
"Careful talking like that, someone might hear you," Charlie worriedly says.
"Yeah. Let's not forget that we're still in Hell so we're going to hear and see a lot of well, uh, you know… I can't think of specific stuff to say, but it's kind of bad… Okay really bad," Phoenix says.
Soon Charlie begins giggling as Vaggie rolls her eyes with a smile.
"Anyway, let's go have some fun," Charlie says.
"Yeah. Let's go," Grace says.
Phoenix takes Octavia's hand, "Come on Octavia."
"Sure," Octavia calmly replies. Then shows a calm smile on her face.
The first place they head to is on the roller coaster. The roller coaster reaches the top and then goes down at top speed, and many of the demons are screaming either in fear or excitement. Then it goes up, down, and around.
After that, they are on the bumper cars. Charlie and Vaggie are riding their bumper cars close to each other. Suddenly, Charlie's bumper car has been pushed forward by Angel Dust.
Angel chuckles, "Gotcha princess!"
Suddenly, Vaggies uses her car to bumper Angel. Suddenly, Phoenix bumps into Vaggie with little Zǐ Māo in the same car with her. The laugh with grins on their faces. Grace and Conan however end up in a bumper car brawl with each other.
After that, they ride on the tower ride. Unfortunately, Phoenix has no clue how high it is, and it's higher than a house. And when the ride drops, it falls down so fast that she is on the ground floor in the matter of seconds. They also ride on the swinging chairs. Octavia is doing her best to enjoy herself. She may not be in the best mood from her event, but she's making the best of it.
After the latest ride, the group are having lunch, and talking about the fun they have. Although, Husk and Alastor haven't gone on any of the rides since they arrived which the others have no clue why.
Phoenix sees Zǐ Māo eating some ice cream and asks, "So are you enjoying the ice cream?"
"Yeah. It's really good," Zǐ Māo says with a smile.
Phoenix turns to Charlie, "How is trying to contact Octavia's parents?"
"Still trying. They must be out, trying to find Octavia," Charlie says.
"I wouldn't be surprised if they are, especially my dad," Octavia says.
Then sighs, "At least, I hope he is."
"I'm sure he is. And I'm sure he has a plan to find you and get you back home," Phoenix says.
Confused, Octavia says, "You sound a bit positive."
"I guess I am. Anyway, what do you wanna do after we eat?" Phoenix asks.
"How about we go to that fun house over there? I heard there is a lot of cool stuff," Angel says.
"I'm not sure. It sounds a bit scary," Zǐ Māo says.
"Don't worry, Fun houses are supposed to be fun," Nffty happily says.
"Yeah. So let's go there," Phoenix says.
Sometime after they are done having lunch, excluding Alastor and Husk, everyone else is in the fun house that is a giant sized maze. Unknown to them the imps who are in the car have follow them inside as well. Since it's the maze, many of them have split up in different directions. Phoenix, Octavia, and Zǐ Māo stick together in one group.
"This place is a really big maze," Phoenix says.
"I'll say," Octavia says.
Zǐ Māo looks around, nervously, "This place is a bit spooky. How are we supposed to get out of here?"
"That's the fun part. You explore around the maze until you find your way out," Phoenix says.
Phoenix then turns her head to notice four imps are a short distance away from them.
Phoenix whispers to Octavia, "Octavia, is it just me or are those imps following us?"
Octavia turns her head slightly to see the imps and grows a little concern.
"You're more than right. I saw those imps before," Octavia says, concern.
Phoenix becomes confused.
Then Octavia whispers, "They're the ones who abducted me from the book store."
Phoenix whispers, "Then they're probably after you."
The three then walk ahead and turn to the corner. The imp follows them and turns to the corner. Soon, they only see the hybrid girl and the small car demon.
One of them walk up and ask, "Excuse me, but have you seen a young owl demon around."
"And owl demon?" Phoenix replies.
Then says looking at the slide, "She decided to go down that slide."
"Thanks kid," The imp says.
Then four imps go down the slide and continue to follow Octavia. Once they're gone, Octavia is actually at the other corner leading to a different part of the hall. Phoenix takes Octavia and Zǐ Māo hand and hurry down the maze.
"They're definitely after you Octavia," Phoenix says.
"We need to find Charlie and the others," Zǐ Māo says.
"But what can we do if they find us?" Octavia asks.
Suddenly, the three come to a stop to see three more imps and different than the ones they've seen.
Phoenix screams, "Run!"
Phoenix takes Octavia's hand as she picks Zǐ Māo in her other arm and begin to run down the maze. The three are in deep trouble and they need to find a way out and get Octavia to safety.