The limousine parked at the Happy Hotel and the guests were allowed in after a quick shopping spree. Bassmaster hit the front door with fresh hellforged sneakers and a tracksuit that stretched to his odd proportions. Angel stirred in his seat, his eyes transfixed on the hotel. He had signed off on the bass demon to come to the hotel but there was a hint of guilt stirring inside him. He squashed it with more hard drugs. Synthia was right. The hotel was making him soft. Cherri parked next to him and poked him from behind.
"Are you getting worried Angie?" Cherri asked. "Didn't see you as the type to worry about breaking a few rules."
"What are you talking about?" Angel snapped back. "I'm having a great time right now."
A ruckus was roaring in the bar when they all walked in. The dozen or so patients were letting loose after an entire day of good lessons and virtues. It was time to get back to sinning. Husk paid no mind to them at the bar and Niffty was doing her best to keep up with the mess. Angel Dust walked up almost impressed.
"What's the big deal today?" Angel asked. "I thought you guys were supposed to keep it under wraps."
"That bitch Charlie is out for tonight so we have free reign for tonight," one of them explained. "Like seriously, there's nothing fun to do in this place. It's all books and pre-approved television. I gotta let loose man!"
"There's a lack of fun here?" Bassmaster stomped forward, his weight shaking the hotel as he went. "I will put an end to this. Bring me the biggest room in this establishment."
"Right this way baby," Synthia gave a courteous smile, but then egged Angel to actually show the way. The two went side by side while Cherri and a couple of the patients followed curiously. "Lucky bastard. You knew the Princess wasn't going to be here did you?"
"Oh yeah, I knew," Angel lied, but he still put on a vindictive smile to piss her off. "Look at you, trying to get me in trouble, but now I'm getting the credit for using my house."
"Like this is your fucking house."
"You're right," Angel snickered. "You know what? Fuck this place. After I get all the credit for this I'm going back to my old pad. We'll make this my sendoff."
"Yeah, a party in Ol' Lucy's place?" Cherri eyed the decorations and paintings. "Actually, this place is kind of a wreck. Let's trash it some more!"
The group entered the ballroom and presented the bass man to the far end. The lights were turned on with a warm orange glow and moonlight entered through the stories tall windows on the right side. Bassmaster halted everyone and stepped back.
"Yes, this space, this echo." He outstretched his arms. "This is the perfect place for my return. I call the denizens of this city to gather around me and dance. The rhythm, the bass, come to me."
The man started vibrating. His very presence created and distorted a musical tune that took over the room. His hands glowed with neon blue and red lights that into flames. With magic he cracked open the floor to bring up a stage, a light show and two massive amplifiers to take up a good chunk of the room. A low hum took the room and the sound of static and microphones scratches added to it. Bassmaster took to his stage with a sinister grin on his face, and that was when everyone figured that they should back up to the other side of the ballroom.
"Oh I can feel it. I can feel it." The Bassmaster found his mixing deck and took control. Its switches sparked with power from his strong magic. "The Bass has come. Let's get this party started!"
He hit the play button and all of the windows in the ballroom shattered. Sound raged across the hotel and spread three square miles in every direction like a sound nuke. The rhythm shook the entire uptown block for a minute but once it settled in the soundtrack came in tune. The watchers in the ballroom held their ears screaming for just a moment until they became attuned or, rather, the music adjusted to their needs. After all this music wasn't meant to blow people back, only to invite people in, and within minutes the hard bass and synth chords lured in the other hotel guests and hundred of demons into the ballroom.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwww Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" Bassmaster rapped. "My power's infinite, but I need a quick minute, to make this sound definite and my love passionate. My soul is explicit and my virtue is forfeit so I hit it 'til I win it and I become ultimate! I got the bass. I got the bass. I got the bass. I got the bass!" The man adjusted his lower levels to broaden his range. The hotel shook underneath his powerful wub. "Y'all can't deny what I testify, that my music gets you high and you all multiply. But I can't deny what I feel inside. This power's alive and my coming is nigh. I got the bass! I got the bass! Come on!"
The curtains fell over the theater and the crowd cheered for the cast of Oz. Charlie stood up with a full standing ovation and, not to be upstaged, Alastor joined her. The large demonic cast took their bow and the guests filed out of the theater.
"That. Was. Amazing!" Charlie was on a cloud nine of her own. Her feet could barely stay on the ground. "Vaggie, did you see the monkeys? And the Dorothy actress was so good! Special effects, dancing, cartoony violence! So great!"
"Pfft, well, it was alright," Vaggie had her arms crossed. "It was really different from the movie I saw when I was alive. Very different."
"Oh boo Vaggie. Show some love. It's a date night isn't it?" They made it back to the lobby and saw a few cliques forming together.
"You know, I still have that offer for meeting the actors," Alastor tempted. "I do have some hands in making these productions happen."
"Oh really?" Vaggie sighed. "Fine, show us the way you narcissistic bastard."
"Ohoho dearie. That attitude doesn't suit a lady like you." Alastor laughed, but something caught his attention. Two well known demons were eyeing him and beckoning over, one an owl demon with glasses and the other a short girl with pigtails and a black and heart shaped dress. "Excuse me Charlie, but those fine fellows over there are friends of mine. Would you like to meet them?"
Charlie caught an eyeful of them. "Um, I think I'm good." Charlie said. "I'm a bit tired so I'm ready to go home."
Alastor shrugged his shoulders. It was worth a shot. "Very well. In that case I'll take my time with them for now. Please, go on without me. I'll be home soon."
"Oh, are you sure?" Charlie was having second thoughts but Vaggie had her by the arm already. The two were out of the building in seconds.
"Yes, yes don't worry. This is all business as usual for me. I hope you had a wonderful time! We should do this more often." He waved them off before partaking in his chums. "Velvet, Stolas, my friends. I hope you put the meeting down in stone?"
Outside Vaggie kept dragging Charlie to the limo but she managed to break free. "Alright Vaggie, what's up? You're being very rude right now."
"Rude? Rude!? He just ruined our entire date!" Vaggie fumed. "He took over the entire show and you lapped it up!"
Charlie was taken aback. "He was really into it like I was Vaggie. He was laughing and crying and cheering. It was like I finally got to know the guy, what he's truly like on the inside."
"But you know what is he is don't you?" Vaggie pulled her in close, eye to eye. She made sure Charlie heard this loud and clear.. "Remember what I said before. He can't be trusted. I mean think about it. Why would he say he has connections to this theater and then have to buy tickets in the main audience? Doesn't that sound a little off?"
Charlie's face went from incredulous to horrified. The high from good musical theater crashed and she was back to reality. "When you put it that way it does sound really bad.."
Vaggie let out a sigh of relief. "Look, he isn't a run of the mill sinner like me or Angel. He's an Overlord, and you're a princess. He's probably hoping to get on your good side so that he can get some political clout, maybe even get closer to your family."
Charlie's heart sank at the thought. "I see your point. Really, I do. In fact, starting now I should watch his every move. As much as I like him, we can't prove he feels the same way."
"Right," Vaggie's eye drooped. The mood had deflated like a dead balloon."This date was a travesty. C'mon, let's get home before everyone starts raiding the bar."
"Yeah, I'm worried about how the patients have been acting around Angel. But hey, what's the worst that could happen?"
The hotel was an uncontrollable riot. Scores of demons and sinners alike were packed into the room unable to contain the hypnotic powers of the bass. The bar was dry, the staff was being tossed from one end of the ballroom to the other, and the porn stars and the punk girl were destroying the place.
"Woo! Is it me or is it getting hot in here or is it just me?" Angel asked, his voice barely registering over the music. The man had took some molly that Cherri had brought along and stole the last of Husk's booze. Anything to take him out of a rational stay of mind. "I don't even know what the FUCK this music is!"
"Oh it's lit isn't it!" Synthia smirked. She couldn't help but shake her hips. "I think Val's on the right track with this one. This shit if fire! With this fatass as our main act we'll control all of the media!"
"Yeah, we're gonna take over this city!"
"We're gonna fuck everyone over!" The two of them laughed and held each other side by side. Turned out that an overload of drugs and hypnotic suggestion could make anyone the best of friends. A bat landed between them.
"Batter up!" Cherri yelled before a vase came hurling their way. Angel picked up the bat by instinct and shattered it in one swing. Cherri barreled into them two seconds later. "You guys are such shit dancers. I oughta teach you some proper moves sister."
"And I ought to teach you some of my moves girlie," Synthia said with seduction dripping off her tongue. Cherri chuckled and tried to explain herself but the moment for unfortunate decisions was already here and Synthia had such electrifying hands.
Angel rolled back for a more cinematic view, and what a view it was. It was a sublime party, but something was buggin him. Turned out to be a piece of porcelain lodged in his side. He pulled it out and focused in. There was a little Greek picture on the surface of a little girl with yellow hair. He kept staring at it. It reminded him of someone.
A moment of sobriety hit and Angel looked up. It was complete anarchy. The paintings were being torn off the walls by the dozens. The sinners snapped them in two as they danced. In the corner a fire broke out and someone was pushed in to put it out. And at the entrance some of the former patients tore off the door and surfed on the crowd, their middle fingers pointed to the hotel roof.
Angel lied on his back. The room was starting to spin.
"Angel? Angel? Angel!" Charlie yelled. When Angel came to it was the afternoon and Charlie was scolding him. "What is this here?" She held up a bag with white substance in it.
Angel shook his head. This wasn't reality at all. "Uh, What about it?"
"I found this in your room when I was cleaning." She tossed it into the trash. "Come on, it's your first day here. You can't start on the wrong foot."
"Come on baby," Angel leaned up. "I just got here, okay? I don't know what's on me right now. I don't know what I'm doing. You can't expect me to change just like that."
"That may be true, but you gotta start somewhere. Please, this is very important to me." This made Angel groan. Did she always have to be so serious? Still, the concern on her face. It was genuine, a little creepy for a denizen of hell to be honest, but it was there. She pulled out a pen and paper. "So, let's do the treatment starting now. Tell me about your family life?"
Angel whipped back to reality. The music was rocking, and the vibrations still had their effect. but something else lit a fire in Angel and he pulled himself back up. "God fucking dammit.. Stupid bitch," he swore under his breath and pulled out his Tommy gun. This made enough smart people back off and let him hit the center of the ballroom. The spider let off a few warning shots. "Hey bozo! Get off the stage!"
"I'm sorry what?" Bassmaster asked.
"I said!" The music cut out. "GET THE FUCK OUTTA THIS HOTEL!"
The whole crowd was dead silent, all staring at the drag queen yelling them down. A rustle came up from the entrance and two voices came through.
"What the hell happened here!?" Vaggie and Charlie yelled in unison. Charlie stepped up. "Who are you and what have you done to my hotel? I demand you to leave!"
"Are you the owner of this establishment?" Bassmaster asked. "Do you deny my true calling? Do you not hear it? The power of Bassmaster?"
A reply came in as a hail of bullets made a line across his chest. Angel's gun was smoking. "You heard the lady. Our business is through."
The two girls backed up Angel and took to a stance. "If anyone wants a new asshole you can stick around," Vaggie snarled with weapon in hand. "If not, you have 30 seconds to get out."
The crowd stared back at Bassmaster. He was motionless after he got hit, but after a few seconds a vibration penetrated the air. The bullets in him shook and rattled out of him, and like magic he was like new again. "Hahaha! You thought you could kill the bass again? This was my warm up. Let me show you the true power of the bass! The carnal instinct of demons shall be unleashed!" The amps were reconnected and a new record was put on the turnstile.
"Well it was good while it lasted," Synthia marched up with Cherri being dragged by the hair. Her fingers were ready to shoot. "Looks like you're as stupid as I orignally thought. I'll make sure the tell the boss how much of an idiot you were before I sent you to the Cemetery."
She was about to burn down the entire hotel but her spark was drowned out by the power of sound. Bassmaster rolled up a keyboard and placed his finger on one note. "The bass requests your voice crowd. I want to hear you scream for E. E, for Entertainment, E for erotic, E for Electronic!" He pressed the key and a sensual wave hit the whole crowd, blowing away at their senses and leaving a hypnotic effect with its cadence.
Synthia clutched her head at first, but then grabbed her body. "Oh," she moaned. "Okay, this is what Val was truly after." She hit the ground panting on all fours, unable to take the heightening of her body temperature. Unfortunately the others around her were feeling the same thing with drool coming out of their mouths and grubby filthy hands clawing towards the nearest person. Behold the grossest possible: a giant wave of sinners and demons way hornier than they should ever be.
"Hey, get back! Get back!" She kept trying to shoot but she was out of energy. Her hands were sweaty and clammy. "Shit shit shit shit shit shit god motherfucking dammit! Take this bitch instead." Synthia threw Cherri into the crowd and she disappeared under the mass of people, but more of the crowd kept coming. The swearing continued.
Over on Angel's side the spider covered for Vaggie and Charlie as the space they had to themselves was closing in with misbehaving monsters.
"Charlie, are you alright?" Vaggie shook Charlie. The girl was closing in on herself, trying to hold back as much as possible. It was getting to her too. "Stay with me Charlie. Don't give in. Charlie!"
"Alright girls stay behind me." Angel assured. "Everything's going to be fine." The crowd started to close in with some of the men catching an eye on the two wonderfully dressed girl just waiting for it. Angel pulled out more guns and threatened anyone who got close. "Cherri! Get a bomb rolling and let's get outta here!" There was no response. "Oh shit." Angel blew back a few gents with the Tommy guns but it did not affect the mood at all. The ammo dried up fast.
"What are you doing?" Vaggie hissed. Her entire face was glowing red. "We need to get out of here."
"This guy's set for miles. There's no running from this gig." A girl latched onto Angel's waist and got very intimate before a bat bonked her unconscious. "I'm running out of options here."
"Well you're the porn star here. You know how this goes."
A lightbulb went of in his head. "You're right." Angel stood proud. Game face time. "I was born for this exact moment. Alright everyone get into position. We're gonna make a mess out of ourselves!"
For Angel the solution was a few simple steps. Step 1: He stole a beret from one of the more bourgeois dancers. Step 2: He organized. Most of the demons were trying to pull back their instincts and fight but they were moving to more drastic measures. The answer was to direct the fucking, so he took charge and organized group by group, couple by couple. People smooshed together in an intoxicated love that would only ever last under these circumstances, the perfect porn setup from Hell. Now with proper direction they went with it and became preoccupied. Step 3: He kept them preoccupied.
"Alright you two I wanna see doggy style but with your legs forward like this. No like this!" Angel demonstrated for them. "Yeah that's good. You girls, you're wasting potential. What? You're afraid of some razor sharp teeth in your cootch? Amateurs. Watch them and work those jaw muscles."
The circle stopped shrinking and the hotel gals were safe from the intruders. Just the intruders though.
"Um, honey?" Vaggie asked. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Oh I'm feeling wonderful." Charlie turned around. A pair of horns sprung from her head. "Don't you feel wonderful Vaggie?"
"Yeah," Vaggie's concern had shifted. Her hands shook while she pointed. "Um, you got some, uh. Charlie, your horns, they-."
At this point Charlie stopped listening. She crawled over her on all fours, forcing her legs open and pushing her on her back. Charlie giggled as she pressed down on her. "Vaggie," she hushed with a tone that had rarely come out of her before. "When was the last time we've been this, intimate?"
Vaggie gulped. "Well, it's been awhile, but this isn't really, it-...it's not." She fell back. A kiss was all that was needed to seal the deal.
"Oh would you look at that," Angel remarked, looking behind his shoulder. Another thing behind his back was an explosion, and a half naked Cherri Bomb stumbled out from the scores of falling dudes. "Hey sugar tits, how's the party going."
"Oh it's explosive alright." Cherri groaned. She eyed the show going on between Charlie and Vaggie as she walked by. "That's pretty hot."
"The only thing that's truly hot is my beat," Bassmaster announced over the microphone. Despite all of Angel's hard work there were thirty or so demons without a tango partner. "So what will it be? Death? Or partying?"
Cherri and Angel looked at each other. "Mind if we pick and choose?"