"Are you really human? Because I've never seen anyone like you!" "Are you from outer space? You look like you're from outer space." "Where do your guns come from?" "Do you have a head underneath that helmet or are you just a pair of floating eyes?" "Could I please get a picture with you? You're SO cool!" "Can I touch your bicep? It's so huge it's like a snake!" "Can we see your guns? I've never seen any like them!" "Are you single?"
All of these questions and more filled the air of the Happy Hotel's lobby, as everyone except for those who knew him personally were swarming around the Slayer. In fact Lucifer, Angel Dust, and Cherri were forced to abandon their positions as his "guards" and join the others on the sidelines, as they didn't want to be trampled or smothered. Yet the big guy himself just stood there without a care to be had, of course everyone gave him some room so it wasn't like they were latching on like leeches. But still even with that much courtesy being shown they were comparable to a wasp nest, all of'em buzzing around him like he was the queen.
And while this was actually pretty entertaining for the others especially Alastor, it was a nuisance for Tom Trench and his crew as they did their best to reach him.
"Should we maybe help him?" Charlie asked a bit concerned, as the poor news crew were struggling to follow him through the mass of bodies.
"Charlie, just please let me have this, it may be the last time I get to savor being a bad person." Katie requested as she couldn't keep herself from smiling.
"Yeah that's right, you ARE still a resident at the hotel, so once we get some more staff and the programs get started..." Vagatha mused causing Katie to sigh.
"Yes I KNOW, my ass is gonna be one of the first in those damn chairs, so please like I said just let me have this one final moment of pleasured sadism." She insisted.
Relenting because to her credit the spider woman had been perfectly behaving so far, Vagatha and the others continued to watch with her as Tom and his crew struggled. Sadly for Katie yet thankfully for them the struggle would not take much longer, soon Tom would finally reach the center where the Slayer stood with his crew right behind him.
"FINALLY!" He nearly shouted triumphantly, before then clearing his throat and quickly straightening out his suit, "Ahem, sorry about that." He apologized to the Slayer.
"Ah, mister Trench, I presume you are here to interview the Slayer?" Vega asked.
"Why yes I am...sir." He answered, as he still hadn't been informed of the difference between him and the Slayer, "Of course if that's alright with you er him, if not then we can leave you alone." He said.
"That will not be necessary, the Slayer has no issue with me answering your questions on his behalf, also just to clarify for you, your crew, the demons present, and those that will see this interview, the voice you are hearing is not his own, I am Vega, an artificial intelligence created for the sole purpose of assisting him in whatever way he needs." Vega explained for them.
Upon hearing this everybody that wasn't their group began whispering and gasping in astonishment, as this only worsened how batshit crazy awesome the Slayer was to all of them.
"An artificial intelligence...really?" Tom asked unable to keep himself from being just as floored as everyone else.
"Yes, though before we attempt to explore the full details regarding that fact, perhaps it would be best if we continued discussing the Slayer and addressing the questions you have prepared?" Vega suggested.
"O-Oh right! Of course..." He replied awkwardly, clearing his throat one more time before getting back on topic, "The first and most important question that everyone has wanted to know since you first appeared back at the studio is why, why have you come here and why are you doing everything that you have done thus far?" He asked.
"The Slayer initially had plans to kill everyone here." Vega answered bluntly, catching not only Tom, his crew, and the group that surrounded them off guard, but their own as well.
"D-Did he just?..." Lilith muttered.
"What...is...he doing?..." Lucifer questioned terrified of where this was suddenly going.
"You...you were?..." Tom Trench was barely able to ask, as he now was overcome with an immense and powerful fear.
"Yes, but I can explain as to why this desire has changed, as well as why none of you need to be concerned for your safety." Vega assured, which immediately allowed them all to breath a sigh of relief.
"Oh well then please do." He urged as he did his best to catch his breath.
"Due to the fact that you and the rest of Hell have not seen the documentary yet because of last night's broadcast, I will unfortunately have to be quite vague and leave out many details, but I will still give you as detailed of an explanation as possible." Vega promised before beginning, "The Slayer was once a normal human like all of you, the only thing that made him different was his exceedingly high morality, however it is because of this morality that his life would begin its slow descent into madness, refusing to back down to those who sought to kill or harm others for their own enjoyment, or because they simply believed they were in a position where that was an allowable use of their power, he would fight against them at every turn killing them as a result of the pain they caused him, but it wasn't until his first encounter with demons that his hatred for them would consume him entirely, and he would seek to destroy every trace of sin and corrupt energy that existed within creation." He told them.
"What did the demons do?" Tom asked.
"A far easier question to answer would be the opposite, they destroyed his home, killed his comrades and friends, slaughtered his parents, and in a display of spite for his defiance and rebellion against their advance, they tore off the head of his pet rabbit named Daisy and impaled it on a wooden spike, that being the first thing he saw when he returned to his town." Vega answered.
"Oh my god..." Tom Trench muttered in shock, truly being the only one in the entire group able to do so.
"It is because of this that the Slayer dedicated his life to killing demons, no matter how big, no matter how powerful, no matter where he would need to go in order to hunt them, he would continue this course until they were all deceased." Vega said.
"So...why has he decided not to kill us all then? Why only so far has he killed Katie, Sir Pentious, and two of the three Vs?" Tom questioned.
"For Katie it was reactionary, for Sir Pentious it was to keep the peace, and for the three Vs, specifically Valentino, it was for someone who he has come to see as both an ally and perhaps even a friend." Vega stated, which only noticed by their group caused Angel Dust to smile, "However that is the core of his change in perspective, when he first arrived he saw you all as the same kind of entity, corrupted souls who only sought to ruin others lives for entertainment and pleasure, but now even though it has only been a few days since his arrival he has been in the company of certain individuals, who for the first time in what would be an eternity for most, have made him feel safe." Vega revealed.
"Could you elaborate on that further please?" Tom requested wanting to get the full picture.
"Since his crusade began the Slayer has not been able to relax or drop his guard, if at any point he did he might've been gravely injured or even killed, he has been forced to fight for nearly every second after his initial tragedy, and although you are demons and Hellspawn he sees how comparably normal your lives are to the demons he has dealt with, so while he is still precautious and it is uncertain if his anger will ever fade, he cannot deny that because of the people he has met and spent time with during his stay here, that this has been one of the few truly good experiences he has had since his torment began, and he is grateful to everyone who has made it so." Vega explained.
Another stunned silence came over the room as he finished, yet unlike before their group as well were just as surprised as everyone else. Now they knew the Slayer was not an expressive individual, the only times he even barely showed how he was feeling without Vega's aid, was with violence or by volunteering to help them out as best he could. But to hear that he was not only feeling safe around them but that he was grateful as well, they just didn't know how to react or feel themselves.
"Wow...that was...thank you." Tome Trench said after a full minute had gone by, "I don't know really how to respond, so I'm sorry that all I can say is thank you, for allowing us to know all of that." He added.
"You're welcome mister Trench, however that is all I can say about this particular topic, without stating information that requires the documentary for context, I hope you can understand." Vega replied.
"Of course I do! Besides I wouldn't be much of a news anchor if I didn't move onto the next story right? That is if you're still okay to continue?" He asked this time receiving a nod from the Slayer himself, "Alright, again thank you so much for finally giving us this opportunity, but now as we move onto the remaining questions that I have, the first one I'd like to ask you is what are your plans now? Given that your feelings about us and Hell in general have changed, how do you plan to assist the royal family when your expertise in murder cannot be helpful?" He asked.
"Simple, the Slayer sees himself as a watchful guardian, keeping the peace and offering aid and protection to those who need it, you may all be down here for your own various reasons, but that does not mean you should be abused or forced to serve someone else against your will, that is one of the many principles he stands by VERY firmly." Vega answered.
"That's very noble of you." He praised before continuing, "But what about the hotel itself? Many demons even with your presence and assistance to uphold order will refuse to partake in this plan of redemption, some because they believe it to be impossible or a joke, while most because they simply prefer being down here as opposed to going to Heaven." He pointed out.
"True, unfortunately this is another topic I cannot share too many details about, not without the Magnes permission as well as their official statements on the matter, what I can say is that for those who choose to stay here in Hell you are allowed to do so, there will be no punishment or threat of the Slayer's violent aggression if that is your preference." Vega explained.
"Well that certainly will put many people at ease, moving on however we arrive at the last question that we prepared ourselves, we have a few more after but they were all submitted by
viewers, so before we go further and I apologize for the constant checking, will you be comfortable answering more questions even though they are not from our station?" He asked once again receiving a nod.
"Psst, what kind of questions do you think people sent in for him to ask?" Charlie whispered to Katie.
"Honestly I have no idea, it could literally be anything depending on if there was a screening process or not, hopefully there was or we're going to hear some pretty weird shit." She replied.
"Okay, last question from us specifically, at the studio you summoned a rather peculiar weapon along with a double barreled shotgun, and when dealing with Sir Pentious and the three Vs you brandished what looked to be an assault rifle, perhaps a heavy machinegun, and additionally for Sir Pentious only a chainsaw as said by those we interviewed that you used to cut him in half, which leads us to wonder how many different weapons do you have?" Tom asked.
"In total the Slayer's armaments are as follows, two shotguns one being a pump action that can be modified and the aforementioned double barrel model, the heavy assault rifle and chain gun, a plasma rifle and the ballista which was the weapon you witnessed in the studio, a rocket launcher, his shoulder mounted cannon that can fire a standard fragmentation grenade, a different variant that is capable of freezing his enemies, and producing flames that will quickly burn away the target's flesh, the wrist mounted retractable blade on his left arm which alongside the cannon is always visible, the aforementioned chainsaw for when said blade is not able to handle the task, and two other weapons that I must refrain from sharing details about as some things must be kept secret." Vega answered.
"Incredible, simply incredible, you really carrying an arsenal with you in addition to being a one man army, do you ever cease to amaze?" Tom questioned jokingly before moving on, "Now then, with our questions out of the way we can continue with the ones submitted by the viewers, we have five of them though they are all pretty simple, so I'll just ask them back to back after you answer." He said.
"Very well, please proceed." Vega replied.
"The first question we have from our viewers asks the following, how fast and strong are you exactly? Surely walking around in that armor must make you tired, or are you just that badass?" He asked.
"The Slayer's strength and speed are immeasurable, which is one of the many reasons the weight of his armor does not bother him, though if any of you were to try and even lift a single piece of it beyond his helmet, you would run the risk of breaking your back." Vega answered.
"Okay, so far so good..." Katie muttered to herself, she and the others all bracing for an absurd question to pop up at any moment.
"How are you able to carry so many weapons? As in where do they come from, you clearly don't carry them on your back, do you summon them with magic or something similar?" Tom asked.
"It is actually a function of his suit, though I am unable to go into detail as it is very extensive, I hope the viewer will be satisfied in at least knowing it is a product of science and technology, rather than magic or something else of that nature." Vega answered.
"Not a sexual question I swear, but do you ever shower? I imagine you have to get sweaty when wearing that armor all day, and ESPECIALLY after you fight a bunch of people right?" He asked.
"Actually no the Slayer is incapable of sweating, though as with most of the responses I must give I cannot explain why and keep this answer short, however even if he was capable of sweating or rather ever pushed himself to a degree where his body might produce sweat, another function of his suit is keeping track of both his vitals and all other parts of his body, this includes oxygen intake and a system that allows him to breath in environments which lack it, any potential strains or damages inflicted to his person, and a great deal more that focus on very specific aspects of his biology." Vega answered.
"Are you from the future?" He asked. "No." Vega answered.
With that being the fourth question Katie and the others were able to relax, for if THAT was the second to last then the final one had to be just as simple. But as they watched Tom shuffle the cards he held that the questions had been written on, he looked back to the Slayer and said something that immediately put them all on edge.
"So...um...I just want to apologize for this last question, we would have gone with a different one but so many people had all sent it in, with barely any differences between them and we couldn't just ignore that, so again I'm really sorry." Tom apologized profusely.
"There is no need to be sorry mister Trench, nothing that you can say will upset or bother the Slayer at all, and I promise to give his exact feelings and response to it the moment he hears the question." Vega assured.
"Alright, if you say so." He replied before looking back to the card, "I'm going to word this question in a far friendlier for tv way than it was written by so many of our viewers, in short, what are you into? Sexuality, kinks, age range, sexual positions, sex toys if any, multiple partners if more than one, essentially what a GREAT deal of people want to know is what makes you horny?" He asked.
"No comment." Vega answered just as quickly as the others.
This response to Tom and EVEN the Slayer's surprise would cause an uproar, as the group that surrounded them suddenly went into a frenzy, all of their shouts and questions easily summed up as "WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO COMMENT?!". As for the others they for the most part were all pretty shocked or surprised, the only ones who weren't being the two spider demons.
"Figures..." They both unknowingly thought before sharing a sigh, "Damn it..." They muttered together still managing to be in sync, "Wait, what did you just say?!" They asked as they heard each other, looking at one another with the same shocked expression.
A single flame flicked in what would be an otherwise darkened chamber, illuminating only but a few things comprising of a table, several tomes and parchment scrolls, and a slow but steady hand moving across their contents. Gabriel had been in his private chambers since his return from Urdak, not only going over the history that they shared with the Sentinels, but also all records and
information kept within the archives of Heaven as a whole. It is there that information is recorded not only of the happenings of both the corrupt and pure, but also all mortal souls that were brought into creation. This is how he was able to find his own information regarding the man turned monster, without the concern it may be tainted by the aforementioned races, whom he had many suspicions of.
But finally as the wax that made the candle which the flame consumed neared its end, Gabriel would finish his readings and began closing every tome, rolling up every scroll, and sorting any other mess or object that laid on his desk.
"It is time, the third and final heavenly meeting is to be called." He said to himself as a sigh escaped his lips, "I had hoped my mind would find peace in these scriptures, yet in every text and document I found only more questions, as well as evidence to support my
assumptions." He went on as he rose from his seat, "And while I believe the Slayer will come of his own will, for despite his silence an idle mind does not dwell in that soul of his, I must take cautionary measures in case I am wrong, I shall ask if my sister would be willing to lend me some of her servants to do so." He finished, before then reaching over and extinguishing the flame with a pinch of his fingers.