"...Well...at the very least I can say this has been an interesting morning..." Lilith said awkwardly, both she and her husband no longer frozen in shock.
It had been a few minutes since the bombshell had been dropped, and while thankfully everyone was back to normal and Alastor was filled in on what had happened, their "normal" was well, NOT normal. Though the I.M.P. group was no longer pestering The Slayer they were still blatant about how they felt. Moxxie had a hand to his chin and was muttering to himself lost in thought, Millie was grinning like a doofus at him, all the while Blitzo and Loona were whispering to each other.
Then there was Lilith and Lucifer who while no longer resembling statues, were still trying to fully understand what just happened and how they were going to move passed it.
Last but not least you had Alastor, who somehow despite all logic and reason was the most normal one here, as he was now sitting next to the Slayer just wanting to see what would happen next.
"Indeed, I hate the fact that I got here just a second or so too late, I would have LOVED to see the exact moment all of you were slack jawed." Alastor stated.
"Not...now..." Lucifer barely managed to groan out, as after what they just witnessed he wasn't ready to deal with his...everything.
"Oh come now Luci there's no reason to be so distraught, shocked and amazed of course, but not distraught." Alastor replied as he gestured to the Slayer, "Though our friend here is unquestionably terrifying and gut wrenching to those such as the late Valentino...and Vox..." He began saying, taking a brief pause to really savor the latter's demise before continuing, "But you cannot deny our effeminate spider won't be the first to warm up to him, why if Nifty is to be considered a proper judge of what women want, and BELIEVE me she is, then our dear Slayer here is what most would call a dreamboat! In fact she said exactly that when she first met him!" He pointed out.
"He makes a good point you know." Blitzo spoke up deciding to join the conversation, "Why I'm pretty sure women and men both are gonna be pounding at our doors trying to get to him!" He said.
"See? Even the lanky imp agrees with me!" Alastor exclaimed.
"I have spent most of my eternal life afraid of the possibility of him coming here, then when that fear became a reality but a few days ago I've been on a constant edge, I am NOT at a point where I can accept the idea of people, DEMON people suddenly swarming him like he's some kind of super model." Lucifer explained.
"Hm, I suppose that is fair, still we cannot deny that it's going to happen, all we can do is get a bucket of popcorn and enjoy it from the sidelines!" Alastor reasoned.
"Also make merchandise!" Blitzo chimed in. "Yes, that too." He agreed.
Rubbing his temples because nothing made sense anymore, he felt his wife's hand come to rest on his shoulder as to try and comfort him.
"This is...a lot to take in right now, and we're not even entirely sure if what we're making it out to be IS what it is, so how about we all just go to the lobby, bring everyone back together, and get ready for the interview today as well as talk about our plans moving forward?" Lilith suggested.
However, instead of agreeing with her or even just nodding his head in response, Lucifer slowly looked towards the Slayer who still sat there doing nothing.
"...WHY HAVEN'T YOU SAID ANYTHING?!" He shouted catching everyone especially his wife off guard, "YOU HAVE JUST BEEN SITTING THERE THIS WHOLE TIME AND HAVE DONE NOTHING! WHY?!" He asked.
"The Slayer has no opinion on this matter." Vega answered simply. "...HOW?!" He questioned.
"I cannot offer any better answer than that, that is how he feels." Vega told him.
"Then how come you've stayed in your seat? Why not leave if you don't care?" Lilith asked though far calmer than her husband.
"There is nothing that requires the Slayer's immediate attention right now, the three Vs have been dealt with, he has not been contacted by the Maykrs or any other Heavenly being, and none of you have given him anything that he may be of assistance with, so if he weren't sitting here he'd just be standing or sitting elsewhere." Vega explained.
"...Ya know what...that is the single most reasonable and logical thing that has come out of this breakfast." Lucifer admitted, that response actually managing to calm him down and bring him back to his senses.
"Thank you, now shall we follow in miss Lilith's direction and relocate to the lobby, where we might focus on the day ahead and what still needs to be done?" Vega suggested.
"Yes, that sounds perfect." He agreed before looking to his wife, "Sorry hon, wonderful idea." He whispered to her with an apology, giving her a quick kiss on her cheek right after.
Smiling both from the affection as well as how quickly he managed to bounce back after all this, Lilith and everyone else would rise from their seats and proceed to the exit, leaving the remaining food and silverware on the table as Nifty would deal with it later. Yet as they stepped out into the lobby they were all greeted with the sight of Katie sleeping on the ground, while Nifty and Husk were watching the television he had behind his desk.
"Um...is she okay?" Moxxie would ask gaining their attention.
"Hm? Oh you mean her." Husk acknowledged as he looked over the desk at the unconscious demon, "Yeah, she asked me for a drink to help her deal with what happened, and she demanded I give her some of my strongest swill, bad call." He explained.
"If you knew this would happen then why did you even serve it to her?" Millie questioned.
"Because I didn't feel like angering a woman who can grow additional arms, that she would then use to pluck my feathers with." He told her.
"Is she going to be okay? She seems pretty out of it." Loona noticed.
"Do not worry, miss Killjoy's current state is entirely ethereal, she is able to interact with physical objects and ingest organic substances such as alcohol or food, without it coming back to harm her in any major way." Vega explained.
"Wait, if she's not physical then how does she even digest it?" Blitzo asked.
"The simplest way to describe that particular function of the soul is that it operates like an incinerator, anything she eats or drinks will travel to the center of her form, which is where her stomach and digestive system would be located if she still had a body, there it is destroyed completely and in doing so she is able to taste its flavor, feel its texture, and overall have the same experience if she as said still had a body." He answered.
"Holy shit! How come we all don't just ditch our flesh suits and walk around like ghosts and shit?!" Blitzo questioned.
"That is far easier to explain, the soul at least those of mortal origin innately lack full control over themselves, in terms of manipulating the energy that comprises them as well as all other related aspects, with enough time and proper training or practice one is then able to master their soul and have complete control over it, unfortunately given the nature of miss Killjoy's situation she did not have such time, the only way for her to have a form of any kind was either through the assistance of a device of my own design, which is the collar around her neck, or if she were blessed with such knowledge by a divine being or force." He explained.
"Yeah, that second one was never gonna happen." Loona said bluntly.
"Exactly, and as I stated her situation didn't allow for any other option, so upon accepting to take part in the hotel's rehabilitation program she was given the collar." He replied.
"Huh, well that was certainly interesting, learned quite a bit about the nature of mortal existence and even got a little peek behind the curtain of creation, how fun!" Alastor exclaimed with a chortle.
"We should probably wake her up now though, even without a body it probably isn't comfortable lying on the floor, especially when all of us are just standing around looking at and talking about her." Lucifer said, honestly feeling bad they haven't done so yet.
"Allow me." Vega volunteered.
Unsure as to what he was going to do, everyone felt their eyes widen as the collar began to emit a noise similar to a defibrillator. Turns out that's EXACTLY what it was acting like, which they learned when they saw a truly MASSIVE amount of electricity be sent through her body...soul...they were still a little confused on that.
"Huh...wha?..." She began speaking in a groggy fashion, the effect of that aforementioned swill still lingering.
"Are you alright miss Killjoy?" Vega asked her.
"Uh...yeah...sure...I think?..." She answered though rather hesitantly.
Walking over and holding out his hand to help her get up, the dazed and confused spider woman would allow herself to be pulled up by the Slayer, almost entirely as she still felt a little weak in her legs.
"What...happened?" She asked while trying to come back to reality.
"Gave ya a drink, was a bit too strong for ya, sorry bout that." Husk answered.
"You...you did?" She questioned causing him to point to the glass she had drunk from, which was still sitting on the desk, "Oh...I guess you did, sorry for fainting then." She apologized.
"Not your fault, should've known better than to serve ya something with so much kick, though to me feels like cough medicine." He replied.
"Perhaps it would be best if you sat down miss Killjoy?" Vega suggested.
"Yeah, that sounds good." She agreed as she wobblily headed for the nearby couch.
Watching her just barely make it before falling face first onto it, though she was still conscious it was clear she'd need a few minutes before she was back to normal.
"Husk." Lilith spoke as she looked towards him, "Perhaps you should refrain from serving that particular brew, and any others like it to our guests when they start arriving." She suggested.
"Already on it mam." He assured her as he held up several bottles, before then stepping out from behind the desk and heading towards the dining room, which also lead to the kitchen.
"I'll help you! Plus I've got to cleanup in there!" Nifty exclaimed as she hopped off the desk and followed.
"And I'll go supervise them!" Alastor said.
"Why do you need to supervise them?" Lucifer asked.
"Because Luci, while I have complete faith that both Husk and Nifty will carry out their duties without fail, they might still get a little too into their tasks." He answered.
"What the fuck does that mean?" Blitzo asked for the devil, as that was just a really weird statement.
"For the first time in Husk's life he is in a place that is willing to serve him the best of Hell's liquor selection, without first getting beaten to a bloody pulp of course, as for Nifty while she is unrivaled when it comes to cleaning, there is always the strong possibility that she might start to think things look better in different places, and before you know it she's rearranging the whole hotel!" He explained.
"...You should go supervise them." Lucifer said, fully understanding what they were working with now.
"That's what I plan to do!" He assured before going to do exactly that.
Watching the demonic deer disappear back into the dining room, everyone's attentions would be redirected towards the nearby hallway, as several different footsteps could be heard approaching. To no one's surprise all these footsteps belonged to the first group that left the dining room, and while they were all much calmer and more normal than previously, everyone noticed how Angel seemed to have an annoyed expression on his face, where as the three women all seemed particularly giddy.
"Hey you!" He would call out as he pointed towards Lucifer, "You're the king of Hell, order these three to get off my ass!" He demanded.
"I thought you'd be into that given your profession." Lucifer joked as they approached.
"Oh ha ha very fucking funny, still these three won't wipe those stupid fucking smiles off their faces, and it is SERIOUSLY starting to PISS ME OFF!" He shouted directing that mostly towards them.
"If you didn't want us to act like this you should've kept that mouth of yours shut dude." Cherri told him.
"ALL I DID WAS ASK HIM A FUCKING QUESTION JESUS CHRIST!" He continued to shout
before he then looked at the Slayer, "Come on big guy help me out here! They're gonna make me want to blow my fucking brains out at this rate!" He exclaimed.
"Big guy? Why aren't you calling him Will? After all that IS what started this mess you know~" Vagatha teased.
Letting out a scream of frustration and irritation, before this special kind of Hell could continue once again everyone's attentions would be redirected, only this time it was towards the front doors of the hotel. The reason why is because someone had knocked on them, though they had done it with such force that made it seem like this wasn't the first time, and that their previous attempts were ignored due to the various conversations.
"Is that Tom?" Lilith asked with a raised brow.
"No way...if it were Tom he would've announced himself like the camera whore he is..." Katie answered though muffled as her face was still in the couch, but it was a good sign as it meant she was nearly back to her old self.
"Would you like for the Slayer to answer it just to be cautious? It could be one of the three Vs associates or perhaps another Overlord wanting to try and get the jump on him." Vega asked addressing Lucifer.
"I highly doubt that anyone after last night's broadcast would be so hilariously stupid...still...that might not be such a bad idea." He admitted giving them both a nod of approval.
Summoning his pump action shotgun just so he would be prepared in case this was an impending fight, once he walked over there and pulled open both doors, he and the others would be met with a sight that was simultaneously surprising yet also wasn't. Standing just outside the entryway were all of the employees from Porn Studios, the ones he saved of course not the ones he killed, only this time they were all fully dressed. Though before Vega or anyone else could ask them why they
were there, the demon who was standing at the front of their group walked forward just a little in order to speak.
"Oh wow...so uh...you really live here...or at least work here I guess..." The demon began as she looked nervously at the ground, "So um...here's the thing...first off thanks for saving us last night, especially me." She said as she pointed to her neck to show her now bandaged wound, "Second uh, well you see the thing is...we kinda are out of a job, d-don't get me wrong though we are SUPER grateful like BEYOND words grateful for what you did, but without our jobs and with every other pimp or peddler going into hiding now...we could really use a place to stay..." She explained before tilting her head up to look at him, "So...I know there's probably like a waiting list or something to get in here...but we would really appreciate it if maybe we could...ya know...become residents too?" She requested.
A silence would then come over the room as that sank in, but for the first time in the Happy Hotel's short history this silence was not spawned from suspense or tension, but rather it was a product of joy and excitement. No one not even Vega nor the Slayer could have seen this coming, they all assumed these poor demons would've just disappeared after being freed from Valentino like Angel Dust was. But to think they all came together and decided this was their best course of action, to not only stay at the Happy Hotel for the purpose of rent free living but hopefully to also try redeeming themselves, was the EXACT kind of boost everyone needed.
"Excuse me!" Charlie called out before running over, coming to a stop right beside the Slayer once she reached them, "Hi, I'm Charlie Magne the hotel's founder, and I just want to say how UNBELIEVABLY happy I am that all of you decided to come here!" She exclaimed.
"Well, looking beyond the fact that he saved us though that definitely was a factor, what happened last night just put things into perspective for us, and it just didn't make sense to go back to prostitution or to try and work for someone else when it wouldn't be much better, definitely not worse but not better." She explained.
"Still we are so happy to have you here! We'll get you all checked in and we'll have people go and bring your stuff here! Oh this is just so exciting!" Charlie replied unable to keep her joy inside.
"Pardon the interruption, but what did you mean miss?" Vega spoke addressing the demon. "I'm not sure what you're asking." She replied a bit confused.
"You stated that you and presumably the rest of you were under the assumption that there is a waiting list for residency, what gave you this idea?" He clarified.
"Oh, well we just thought you did cause of all the people out here." She answered.
Upon hearing that everyone including Katie's eyes would widen to the size of dinner plates, before they all then rushed to the front doors to see what she meant. And true to her word, while the scene that met them was neither comical nor cartoonish, there still was a VERY sizeable gathering of people outside the hotel.
"Holy shit..." Blitzo said as a smile came to his face, "WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SO MUCH FUCKING MONEY ON MERCHANDISING!" He exclaimed.