Chapter 10: The Big Day

"Alright the balloons are looking good. Get ready everyone it's just a few more minutes until the ribbon cutting."

The day of the grand opening had finally arrived and everything was in place. Colorful streamers criss-crossed the rafters and bunches of balloons floated at various points around the lobby. A large banner faced the front doors from it's place just above the check in desks proudly proclaiming,

'Welcome Guests'

,for all to see. Ribbons decorated the corners of the check in counter adding to the festive liveliness of the hall. Capping off the decorations was a snack table arrayed with salty, sweet, savory, and most every other kind of treat one could ask for. The entire cast was waiting in the lobby, anxious to see if anyone would actually come, even Angel Dust who had in fact taken a day off be there.

"O.K. it's time for the ribbon ceremony, everyone gather out front!"

Exuberantly exclaimed the princess. As the staff filed out to the front lawn for the ceremony each was dressed in their own new uniform.

Nifty had a red maid's outfit with matching apron that complimented her hair nicely.

Vagatha wore a simple yet stylish combo of a red blouse and black skirt.

In addition to his usual top hat Husk wore a plain pair of black slacks with suspenders, at Vagatha's insistence that all employees at least wear pants.

Alastor, while refusing to wear any kind of uniform himself, had adorned a different suit he saved for special occasions with a matching pair of tiny spectacles.

Tafford was an immensely practical man and so chose a simple crimson drab jumpsuit with his baklava, with a security vest in lou of his usual armor plates.

Angel Dust was dressed in his usual attire.

Razzle and Dazzle were likewise dressed in their usual suits, which had been cleaned and pressed for the occasion.

And Charlie herself wore her trademark salmon blazer and dress pants combo.

In no time everyone was arranged behind Charlie on a red carpet. More bunches of balloons were set on either side with a large red ribbon suspended between two brass posts. Taking up a pair of over sized scissors the princess turned to face her companions before approaching the ribbon.

"Before I cut this, I need to extend my thanks to all of you. Each of you has contributed something that the hotel couldn't run without and I'm grateful for every one of you. In a very real way, I couldn't have gotten this far without your help, and now because of you,"

She turns and moves to slice the strip of cloth

", I can now pronounce the Happy Hotel officially OPEN!"

BOOM! *BAM* BOOM! BOOM! POW!

*BAM* *BAM* PEEEEEEEW! *CRACKLE* BOOM!

POW! POW! POW! *CRACKLE* BOOM! PEEEEEEEEEEW! *BAM* *BAM*

In the same moment she cut the ribbon Charlie unleashed a torrent of fireworks into the air form her palm, a power she only used for the most special occasions. All craned their heads skyward to take in the glory of the display unfolding above them.

As she wrote her joy into the sky her companions couldn't help but feel a measure of reflected happiness as well. Even the most stoic among them felt a sense of deep satisfaction wash over them. As for the princess herself, she was filled with pure elation, her dream was finally realized. With this realization came a feeling of completion that few, if any, in hell ever felt. Truly, this was everything she ever wanted.

Some hours later

And this was everything she had ever feared. While many demons had looked to the sky, gazed out of windows, and even stopped their cars to witness the display, not one had visited the hotel. Hours passed and Charlie had to be convinced to come inside. As the morning wore on into afternoon and then into early evening, Charlie had to face hard reality. As the hotel's owner sat despondent on the couch many of the other staff milled about the lobby in various states of boredom. On their phones, pacing about, or helping themselves to some snacks, the only ones who had touched them all day. Vagatha sat next to her friend with her hand on her shoulder, doing her best to offer some comfort.

"What did I do wrong Vaggie? Did I not post enough advertisements, do people not know where we are, or did my interview just flop that badly?"

"Charlie this is not your fault in any way. You've been plastering the city like crazy the past few weeks with your handmade posters, between the hotel's website and all the G.P.S. apps out there finding this place should be a snap, and if all those demons out there won't even give your idea a chance, then that's their loss."

"I wish I could believe that, but if nothing we've done up to this point has been a wrong move, then I guess they just don't like me. Maybe the reason their not coming is because this was my idea. 'The stupid little princess, always good for another laugh riot'."

She sighed before sulking back into her seat.

"Come on now, what kind of talk is that? Look on the bright side, the hotel looks great, and hey, glass half full, we don't have to deal with a human stampede on day one!"

"Your bud is right princess, you need to lighten up."

Chimed in Angel Dust

"So nobody showed up for the reveal, big whoop. The people know it's open so they can show up whenever they want. And if they don't, screw em'. Now I know the hotel might be looking better than ever, but you can't deny this place is pretty dead. I say we get outta here and go have some fun."

"That's a great idea!"

Squeaked Nifty with enthusiasm

"It actually is. How about it hon? Let's just go out, forget about everything for a few hours and come back at this tomorrow?"

"No, no. That wouldn't work, we need to be here in case some guests do show up."

"I could stay behind. I never really was an 'out on the town' kind of guy."

Said Tafford

"Well there you have it, hardy-boy can hang back while we all go paint the town."

Replied Angel Dust

"What? We can't do that! Mr. Tafford, you've worked just as hard as the rest of us, I shouldn't need to say how wrong it is for the rest of us to go off and have fun while you stay behind to do all the work yourself!"

"There isn't any work left commander. In almost every respect the building is immaculate, and there are aren't any guests here to serve."

"Still, it's pretty boring to just be all alone in an empty building. We shouldn't be having fun while your stuck here bored out of your mind."

"Ma'am, before this I lived in a campsite on the outskirts of a little backwater on the ass end of the pride ring. In seven years I never got a visitor once. If I haven't mastered the art of entertaining myself by now, then I must have a skull made of tungsten."

"So that settles it. Let's go get shit faced and hardback can make sure the place doesn't burn down on us."

Interposed Angel Dust

"Well ... O.K.! I'll have the driver bring the limo around, everybody meet back here in five."

"Yeah! This will be so much fun!"

"It has been awhile since I've had a night on the town, I do believe I'll join you."

"Beats sitting here watching this ancient TV."

Replied Nifty, Alastor, and finally Husk.

"Oh, Razzle, Dazzle, I think it would be best if you stayed here too."

Added the princess, to which the two goat-men complied.

In short order everyone had prepared themselves and were cruising the downtown strip deciding on what to do. After some debate they settled on the new nightclub that had just opened a few blocks away, and within minutes had pulled up to the doors. As they exited the limo they were greeted by a rich blue carpet and a neon sign reading,

'Club Advent'

Through the front doors was a short hallway with an employee behind a podium. After paying the cover charge they emerged into a large space with a high ceiling, lit by the glow of blue and purple neon. A large circular dance floor stretched out in front of them, a DJ box suspended a few feet above the ground was mounted to the opposite wall, and a light rig circling the room. Everywhere demons dressed head to toe in glow sticks and rave gear were getting down to blaring music and strobing lights.

"Ugh, it is one of those trance clubs."

Griped Vagatha with distaste.

"Not entirely. Look there."

Said Alastor gesturing with his cane. Another look reviled a second floor lounge area that ringed the main dance floor, which seemed to be lit by far more conventional lights. Not really feeling like dancing, the group ascended the stairs to the second floor lounge, where a much calmer sight greeted their eyes upon reaching the top.

After passing posters for musicians like 'Verosika Mayday' and some DJ named 'Tricky', a simple yet elegant lounge presented itself. A well stocked bar stood to the right with circular booths lining the walls. It was much quieter on this second level owing to what must have been sound proof glass giving a view of the main club floor. Deep purple carpeting, mahogany tables and counter tops, and recessed lighting gave a much more relaxed atmosphere. Perhaps this floor was meant to allow patrons to 'cool off' before going back for more, perhaps it was an attempt to appeal to a wider range of clientele, and maybe it was a little of both.

"My isn't this a change of venue."

"Well, at least it's better than the first floor."

"Whelp, I found the liquor. The rest of you are on your own."

And with that flat remark Husk wasted no time in parking it at the bar, followed shortly by the rest of his compatriots. While Alastor and company were fine drinking right at the bar, Charlie Vagatha and Angel Dust had left to find a booth after ordering their drinks.

"How ya doing hon? Feeling any better?"

"Not really."

Said Charlie her somber expression unchanging.

*Sigh* "It's just, months of planning, and weeks upon weeks of work and for what? If no one comes to the hotel and tries to redeem themselves, then no one will ever stand a chance of seeing heaven. If no one wants to be better, then what did I do this all for?! I just don't want to think all my effort's been wasted."

"Charlie look, change takes time. That's as true in hell as it was on earth. This was our first day, people will come, eventually. Just be patient."

Vagatha then felt a hand be placed on one of hers, and looking over saw the grinning face of her boyfriend. He clearly had mischief in his eyes as he cocked his head over towards Charlie followed by nudging his drink a little in her direction. It took a few seconds to register what he was trying to convey, but once she put it together she couldn't help but brake out in a smile of her own.

"Ain't we supposed to be forgetting our troubles here? Princess what you need is to cut loose, forget about all the shit that's been gettin' you down and have some damn fun."

He said as both he and Vagatha slid their drinks over to her. Hesitation crossed Charlie's face for just a second before slackening and being replaced by an expression that said, 'why the hell not'.

"You know what, screw it. Let's have some fun!"

"Hell yeah! Let's get fucking shit faced bitches!"

Many Drinks Later

"Wooooooh, ya! Ths plce i osome!"

These were the not-words of a very drunk princess as she flailed around and danced like no one was watching. At her sides enjoying this display of uninhibited elation were her two best friends and her most spirited employee. After numerous stiff drinks she decided she wanted to dance, but while Vagatha needed some convincing, before long the three were moving to hit the dance floor. Even Nifty joined in when she saw what they were doing.

Vagatha had to admit, even she was warming up to this place. Normally she despised clubs like this, with the neon lights, the obnoxious people, and the noise that passed for music. But seeing her best friend relax and enjoy herself after being nigh depressed just hours before, it was a good feeling. And having her tall lanky spider here beside her after not seeing him for days on end was icing on the cake.

Minutes, hours, nobody knew how long they had been there at that point, and no one cared. They were all caught in a moment that they hoped would never end, so they didn't notice when Charlie briefly lost her balance and bumped into a monkey demon.

"Oof."

"Hey, watch it lady!"

In her inebriated state Charlie couldn't think clearly. So instead of politely apologizing as she normally would she instead sputtered out,

"I'm na re-uh-bilitate demons and there ain't nothin' YOU can do about it!"

"Bitch, the fuck you just say to me!"

He said starting to get in her face.

"Hey!"

Yelled Vagatha as she noticed the situation and moved to intercept.

"What's going on here."

"Your drunk ass friend knocked into me and started spouting some bullshit!"

"Well, you can obviously see she's drunk. Can you really say you've never said stupid shit while you were hammered?"

Vagatha asked, deploying some of the psychology she had been studying. After a brief pause he finally backed off while saying,

"Just make sure she keeps her drunk ass to herself."

He said while turning back to his companions.

"Phhhhhhhhhhhhhhhht!"

Charlie sputtered again, blowing a raspberry in his direction.

"Oh that is IT!"

*Whiff* Snap! 'AAAUGHHHHH!'

The simian took a swing but missed in the darkness, giving Vagatha a prime opportunity to grab his arm and snap it at the elbow, prompting a loud scream. As the primate looking demon began freaking out over his arm, his friends took notice and began to advance on Charlie and her trio of companions. The first looked like another ape, the second appeared to be a long green snake-like demon, and finally the last one was some kind of big cat with grey fur.

Looking over and seeing what was about to go down, twin grins appeared on Angel Dust's and Nifty's faces.

"Oh yeah, now it's a party!"

Smiled the slender spider.

A short distance above a small crowd had assembled at the glass to watch the developing spectacle.

"Well, and here I though tonight would continue to be so dreadfully dull. How delightful that a brawl should break out when everything seemed doomed to monotony."

"Yeah, you would like this. Should we go and help?"

"HA! No my dear Husker, by no means! Why interrupt such a delectably delicious display? We are close enough to intervene if things get drastic, but for now let us relax and enjoy the show!"

Husk didn't care for the radio demon's brand of entertainment, and he actually kicked around the thought of going down to help for another minute. That is, until he looked to the crowd forming around them and saw an opportunity for his own brand of enjoyment.

"I got twenty bucks on the princess and her crew, who else wants in? I'm taking all action!"

Husk began as the crowd got into it.

"Twenty dollars on monkey man and the snake!"

"Are you blind? That's Angel Dust down there, have you seen how he knocks heads? And that grey lady just snapped that guy's arm like a twig! Forty on the porn star and silver hair!"

"Your all stupid, that's the princess down there! This fight was over before it started! I got one hundred on the princess."

These and other wagers were quickly made as the second tier of the club erupted in an orgy of gambling.

Back on the ground floor the brawl had already begun.

*Whiff* *Whiff* *Whiff* *Whiff*

"Stand still ya slippery bastard!"

Shouted Angel Dust as the snake demon bobbed and weaved, avoiding all four of Angel Dust's limbs.

*Jab*-*Hook* *Punch*-*Cut*

Vagatha stood center, trading blows with the cat. He didn't put up the worst fight she ever faced, but he was far from helpless.

"Behind you."

"In front of you."

"Not there."

"Not there either."

"Nope."

"Try Again."

Nifty taunted as she literally ran circles around the big ape she was facing. The black furred ape lunged, swung, kicked, and lunged again but couldn't land a single blow on the high speed housekeeper. This dance would continue round and round, until the lug managed to score a lucky hit. Turning in a way she didn't expect, the monkey demon threw Nifty off balance and sent her stumbling for a few seconds.

The monkey seized this advantage, and took what may be his only opportunity to,

*Punt*

,the small woman into the far wall. She collided with an audible smack and crumpled into a heap on the floor. The primate began to laugh, until he noticed the small woman pick herself up from the floor and glare at him with a dangerous look in her eye.

"MY my, what a NASTY attitude! I'll have that cleaned up right away!"

crack!

Oof!

Smack!

AUGH!

CRASH!

Faster than the eye could perceive Nifty had grabbed a bottle off of a nearby table and smashed it into the back of his knees making the demon crumble to the ground, followed by a knee to the gut, a smack across the face with a tray, a sharp kick to the groin, and finally a chair broken over the head, knocking the simian out cold. By the time it had all happened the only thing anyone saw was the tiny woman standing triumphant over a mountain of bloodied ape.

A few feet away Angel Dust's fight wasn't going near as smoothly. Though his opponent hadn't been able to land a serious hit, that was just as true of the spider leading to a frustrating stalemate. Jab, hook, bob and weave, until finally

Crack!

The sultry spider connected a solid hit to the serpent's nose causing him to recoil in pain. This state lasted only a second before anger drove him forward and,

SLAP!

"Ow! Did you really just smack me with your tail?"

The exchange began again, with Angel Dust fending off strikes from the green snake's tail in addition to his fists, until the reptile wheeled around and swept Angel's legs out from under him. Coiling around his body and restraining his arms, the serpent raised Angel up to eye level.

"Finally got you pretty boy. For all those arms you still can't box for shit. Guess handjobs is all they're good for after all."

Angel Dust only smirked, much to the chagrin of his opponent.

"You're as stupid as you are ugly."

"Shut your damn mouth! I want to enjoy this."

"Count again, a spider's got eight limbs asswipe!"

"Wha- AAUGH!"

Before the snake could fully react to what his captive said, Angel Dust reeled up and brought his heeled boot down on the snake's tail as hard as he could. Just as he'd hoped the grip slackened enough to summon his hidden pair of limbs, and his bat.

WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!

A blow to the gut caused the snake to fully release, and allowed Angel Dust to beat him down with the stick, leaving the serpent a bloody pulp on the floor.

On her end Vagatha was having no less trouble with her counterpart, though the fight was much more straightforward. The tomcat and the moth blocked and traded blows to no end, as both combatants refused to yield. Punches met blocks as kicks were sidestepped and on it went, until

*Push* BAM, BAM, CRACK!

*Shove* *Knee* BAM, BAM, BAM, CUT!

The cat shoved Vagatha back and delivered two hard punches and a haymaker. Vagatha responded with a push of her own, delivering three sharp blows and a devastating uppercut.

*Grab* BAM! *Throw*

The enraged man responded by grabbing Vagatha and delivering a headbutt before throwing her several feet away. What he didn't realize however is that the moth demon's rage far surpassed his.

*Tackle* SWIPE, BAM, POW, JAB, SWIPE, BAM, POW, POW, BAM!

Vagatha quickly recovered and ran at a low sprint directly into her adversary, tackling him to the ground. She then delivered a savage beating that left the feline's face bruised, disfigured and all but caved in.

When Vagatha's rage had expended itself, and it was clear her opponent wouldn't be getting up, she rose to her feet and looked around seeing that herself and her friends had won the fight.

"Where's Charlie?"

"Yaaay Vaggie, wooooh!"

Her worry melted away upon hearing that, as she found Charlie standing close by.

"Charlie, are you OK?"

"I'm fine, everything fine, it's totally fine."

"How about everyone else? Angel, Nifty?"

"Oh yeah. Was touch and go there for a little bit, but we kicked their asses!"

"Now THAT was fun!"

Replied Angel Dust and Nifty in turn.

"Good. Alright, we need to go. Nifty, can you go and get-"

"Me?"

Teased Alastor standing right behind the moth.

"Shit! Alastor! One of these days your going to do that and catch a shot to the face!"

"It wouldn't be the first time my easily aggravated companion. Now that I have your attention I must say that was a simply spectacular performance! One of the finest club brawls I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing. And I understand Husker quite enjoyed it too."

This drew her attention to the winged cat standing next to him, shoving a wad of bills into his hat.

"Yeah it was pretty good. Also made a killing taking bets, so it's good you came out on top."

"Aw Husky, did you bet on us? It's so sweet that you have so much faith in your friends~."

"Eh some for, some against. Always gotta hedge the odds."

"Can we just get out of here please? I really don't want to be around when security shows up."

Vagatha cut in at the end. With that the group exited the club and was soon back at the hotel. Opening the doors they found Tafford sitting in the lobby looking at something on his phone, with Razzle and Dazzle watching the television behind the bar. Upon catching sight of the group Tafford turned to face them, with Razzle and Dazzle moving to help tend to Charlie.

"What happened to you?"

Asked Tafford when he saw the state most of them were in.

"Just another wild night hardtack, only way I roll."

"Does anyone need help?"

"That's nice of you to offer, but I think we can handle ourselves."

Replied Vagatha. As the group walked passed he could see the bruises, the disheveled and slightly stained state of their clothing, and could smell the alcohol on Charlie from where he stood.

"Heh, fun night. This going to be a regular thing?"

Authors Note: Another bloc down, finally. I want to extend my sincerest apologies to all who liked this story enough to follow or even favorite it. I have no excuse, it was my own laziness that held back this update for so long. As partial compensation I will roll back my feedback period to one week before beginning work on the next chapter bloc. I now see that I really should have stretched my OC's decision out over the first five chapters, this is a flaw I acknowledge. If you would like to help with this story I am in need of side narratives to help enrich the plot, suggestions are welcome. One particular area of these chapters I would like feedback on is "Alastor's day out", would this have worked better as a two part narrative stretched over two chapters? As always, reviews and criticisms are welcome, but please make criticisms constructive. If I can't tell what I did wrong I can't improve. Thank you for reading.