Author's Note: Just a reminder to the uninformed and curious folks out there:
Asexuals can become aroused.
Asexuals can have the desire to become aroused.
Asexuals can enjoy being aroused.
Asexuals can take steps to becoming aroused.
Asexuals can be aroused by someone else.
Asexuals can be curious about arousal.
Asexuals can alternatively have no interest in arousal.
Asexuality doesn't mean that you are celibate and have no interest in sex. Do yourself a favor and do some research. Talk to your ace friends. Trust me, they're more than happy to educate you on that subject.
Brace yourselves for another fun-filled chapter!
Chapter Rating: Mature (Explicit in future chapters)
Warnings: Suggestive language, explicit language
Looking back, you slightly regretted your abrasive behavior towards the red-eyed demon. It may have been a bit premature to assume that he was making sexual advances towards you. After all, he never really confirmed that was his intention. You may have just dug yourself into a hole.
Then again… you weren't stupid. It was obvious that he was an opportunist, and also a crafty bastard who got off on manipulating others for his own personal gain. You had wondered if there was a part of him that genuinely wanted to help Charlie with the hotel, or if he had any ulterior motives.
Whatever the case, you had to play this smart. You weren't going to get anywhere by being so negative. However, it was also important to brace yourself for any impending threat, especially considering that you were, after all, in Hell. Cartoon or not, this place was filled with evil creatures, and you had to watch your back.
Taking a deep breath, you braced yourself to leave the safety of your room, equally curious and terrified of what would await you in this mysterious land. Stepping out into the hall, you took a moment to really look around, admiring the creepy hotel structure as well as the art on the wall. Painting of strange beings lined the halls in old, corroded frames. You weren't sure if the creatures on the canvas were important historical figures, or if they were just members of Charlie's family. Either way… they were haunting.
Hearing a commotion downstairs, you decided to go and investigate. Following the noises, you had eventually found yourself in a large room where Charlie, Vaggie, and Angel Dust were gathered together, bickering about something with an odd, furry cat demon who was positioned behind the bar next to them with an annoyed look on his face.
Upon seeing you enter, Charlie cut the conversation short, forcing a nervous grin. "Oh, hey! How's it going?"
Keeping your expression neutral, you replied, "I'm fine, thanks. Am I interrupting something?"
"Not at all!" she assured you, clearly deflecting. "We were just, uh… discussing tactics to get you home. It would help if we had a little more to go off of. Can you tell us more about you?"
"Just ask Alastor," Angel suggested, wiggling his eyebrows. "The two a them were gettin' real familiar upstairs. I'm sure he'd be happy to fill you in."
"Um. What?" Vaggie snapped, her expression equally enraged and horrified.
Glaring at the spider-demon, he merely blew a kiss at you in return before snickering fiendishly, eager to see how this would play out.
"He came to my room after the two of you left," you admitted, noting the nervous glances between Charlie and Vaggie. "It wasn't a big deal. We just talked."
"Oh, honey," Angel began. "You was doin' a lot more than just talking. These walls talk, babe. And these walls told me they saw you two in bed together."
Oh, fuck. Not good.
Charlie looked horrified while Vaggie seemed to be on the brink of a conniption. "No, no, no, it wasn't like that," you urged, putting them slightly at ease. "He was trying to help me."
"How is being in bed together helpful to your cause?" Vaggie pressed, clearly not buying it.
"He did something to me… I'm not even sure. He said that he could help me and then he put his hand on my head. Next thing I know, I'm blacking out. I woke up later in the bed, and he just happened to be lying next to me. That's it."
Angel Dust rolled his eyes, crossing one set of his arms in disbelief while Vaggie pursed her lips in a disappointed manner. Charlie took a moment to find her words before she asked, "What exactly did he do to you?"
"Apparently, he could see inside my head. By looking through my memories he could see what my world looked like. I'm not sure how that's beneficial. Maybe he just wanted to see if I was telling the truth. He didn't say. He's… weird."
"That's an understatement," Vaggie murmured, earning a chuckle from the cat-demon behind the bar.
"Was that all?" Charlie inquired curiously.
"Yeah, toots. Was that all?" Angel teased, biting his lip to keep from laughing. Ugh, he was going to be the death of you.
"He tried to make a deal with me," you finally divulged.
"Hijo de puta," Vaggie seethed, baring her teeth in anger.
Swallowing thickly, Charlie asked, "What kind of deal?"
Shrugging your shoulders awkwardly, you replied, "If he succeeded in somehow returning me to my world, he wanted me to take him with me. I guess he thinks my world would be entertaining for him."
You glanced at Angel, knowing that he was well aware of the other services that Alastor allegedly offered you. Pleading with your eyes, you hoped that he would take pity on you and keep his mouth shut just this once.
A smirk graced his lips as he considered your silent request. Much to your relief, he kept quiet. You'd probably pay for that later, but it was a price that you were willing to pay.
Charlie wrung her hands together nervously while Vaggie approached you, worrying her lip. "Please tell me that you didn't make a deal with him."
"No!" you confirmed, shaking your head. "Of course not. I barely know him."
"You gonna give her a history lesson?" Angel drawled, now apparently bored of the topic.
Rolling her eyes, Vaggie sighed with exasperation. "No one knows how he's accomplished so much since arriving in Hell. Overlords that have ruled Hell for centuries were no match against him. To prove his dominance and establish a reputation, Alastor broadcasted his carnage all throughout Hell, the mere savagery of his slaughters attesting to his abilities. That's how he got his name, "The Radio Demon". How original, right?" she jeered.
Furrowing your brows, you continued to listen intently. "It's still unclear as to how he attained the power to overthrow our world's most ancient and devastating evils, but it's evident that he's a nefarious demon and dangerously unpredictable-capable of unimaginable destruction."
Holy fuck. You knew he was dangerous, but you had no idea what he was actually capable of. And you had the audacity to berate him.
Struggling to keep from trembling, you asked, "So… if he's so dangerous, why are you partnering with him?"
Charlie smiled timidly, trying to maintain her optimistic demeanor. "He offered his assistance because he supports what we're trying to do here!"
"You cannot possibly believe that," you countered skeptically.
"I don't," Vaggie barked back, scowling. "I want nothing to do with him."
"Vaggie, come on," Charlie implored. "We've been over this. We've got to at least give him a chance. Everyone is capable of redemption. He hasn't done anything to hurt us or the hotel. He could be the best thing to happen to this place. Other than you," she finished with a smile, earning a flirtatious eye roll from her girlfriend.
"You could always try commanding him to leave," Angel taunted. "I'd like to see how Hell's princess pairs up against Hell's most powerful demon."
It was then you remembered hearing her mention that she was a princess the day before when she had saved you from the mob. In all of the calamity, it had completely slipped your mind. "Wait, so you're actually a princess?" you asked. "How does that work?"
"Jesus, you really are from another world, aren't you?" Angel interjected, reaching for a drink at the bar. "Ever hear of Lucifer? The Big Bad of Hell?"
Nodding your head, Angel then pointed to Charlie. "That's his kid."
Your eyes were probably the size of baseballs as you stared at Charlie, completely at a loss for words. "It's really not a big deal," she assured you, her face flushed with embarrassment, which only added to her already rosy cheeks.
"Wait, you've been here for less than a day. How do you even know about Lucifer?" Vaggie questioned.
"I mean… I don't know about your Lucifer," you clarified, trying to find the right way to explain yourself. "In my world, Lucifer isn't an actual person. He's more of a myth, or a religious figure, depending on who you ask. There's stories about him and no one knows if he actually existed. He's always been portrayed as evil incarnate. He brought sin to the world and God cast him down into Hell. That's the extent of my knowledge."
"Interesting," Vaggie commented, pressing a finger to her lips inquisitively. "Your world's version of him isn't too far off. Rest assured, he's real. And he's not really a fan of our business."
"Yet," Charlie corrected her.
"Yet," Vaggie agreed, grinning slightly.
"Wow," you commented, trying to comprehend everything. "Color me impressed."
"I know that this is probably a lot for you to take in," Charlie sympathized, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder. "I can't even imagine what you're going through, but we're going to help you. All of us."
"Speak for yourself," the cat-demon commented before taking a swig of his booze.
"Oh! I forgot! Y/N, this is Husk. He's a friend of Alastor's-"
"I ain't his friend!" he barked back, seething. "That stupid son of a bitch dragged me in here outta nowhere! I'm just biding my time until the booze runs out."
"Got it," you acknowledged, thoroughly enjoying his callousness. "It's nice to meet you."
"I can't say the same," he grumbled, reaching for a new bottle of alcohol after pitching the old, empty bottle behind him.
Clapping her hands together, Charlie quickly changed the subject. "Let's get started! What can you tell us about how you got here?"
It was mostly a blur, but you tried your best to concentrate and remember exactly what had happened. "I was out for a walk with my friends and we had passed by this old thrift store," you began, trying to recall the details. "It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. I was looking around and saw an old television on display. It looked like it was at least fifty years old, still in prime condition. I love that kind of retro stuff. I remember grabbing the remote for the t.v. to see if it still worked. I pressed the power button, and bam," you threw your hands up dramatically for affect. "That's the last thing I remember."
Charlie hummed in thought, looking to Vaggie for her input. "I've never heard of anything like that," the moth-demon commented. "Could it have been cursed?"
"That kind of stuff doesn't exist in my world," you countered. "Magic and curses and stuff… none of that is real. It's all mythical."
"If none a that stuff is real, how do you explain this place, sugartits?" Angel chimed in, cackling.
He wasn't wrong. You weren't sure how to explain your situation. "I… I don't know," you stammered. "Maybe magic is real. Or maybe it's something other than magic. Of course, there's always the very real possibility that I'm just insane and all of this is in my head."
"Oh, no, my dear," an eerily familiar voice resounded ominously throughout the room. "I've been in your head, and I can assure you… you're as sane as I am."
Everyone was looking around frantically, wondering where Alastor was hiding. Moments later, a shadow appeared on the floor close to your feet, causing you to jump back as it grew rapidly until the Radio Demon himself materialized next to you, grinning widely.
Off-put by his comment, you replied, "Great. That doesn't make me feel any better."
"Ha! I do so enjoy your brazen disposition," he extolled boisterously.
Your automatic response was to bite back with an aggressive comment, but after hearing what he was capable of, you instead avoided his gaze as you fought back your urge to antagonize him.
Immediately picking up on your hesitance, he carefully gauged your reaction as he stepped closer to you. "Now, now, darling. No need to muzzle yourself." He then reached forward to place one of his slender fingers under your chin, tilting your face up to meet his. It took everything you had to remain still and maintain eye contact rather than smack his hand away.
Baring his teeth in a leering smile, his eyes morphed into intimidating red slits as he purred softly. "We are going to have so much fun."