After the little group therapy, John seemed to at least be somewhat normal. He was still a little more reserved, but he didn't look as drained as he had all morning, and his smiles were no longer forced upon his face. It was easier to engage in conversation with him, and his laughs held more mirth to them than they had before.

It warmed Charlie's heart.

This was the John she was used to.

Right now, he was finishing up his safety checks, since Charlie and Vaggie had only managed to get halfway through before Rose had come to find them for the impromptu intervention of sorts.

How she managed to convince John to share that kind of trauma, Charlie would never know.

Honestly, it was still biting at her. No one should be forced to endure such pain, and yet, if it weren't for the nightmare, no one would have ever guessed what kind of baggage he carried with him.

A lot of things made more sense now, for sure. His sudden decision to end Valentino's life came to mind.

But it was his entire demeanor that astounded her… and at the same time, earned her respect even more.

When he first arrived, up until last night, he was always so… she said jovial a lot, but she felt that wasn't the proper term to describe him. He was always so upbeat, outgoing. Ready to help at the first sign of trouble if he could, whether it be a personal issue or a rather blatant issue. He was the one who proposed the idea to take Vanessa to Loo Loo World, and he was the one who hunted her down to try and get some help about Vanessa's sustenance issue, considering the poor girl's own issues.

She'd also been promptly chewed out by Rose not long after for her misinformation, which could've possibly scarred the poor teen, but that's a story for another time.

He was the one who took down Valentino, with ease, she might add. John was the one that pretty much threw Vox and Velvet out of the Hotel and saved Angel from what was most definitely another rape, and admittedly, if it weren't him, Angel would probably still be the only Hotel guest.

John was a saving grace. There's the phrase 'wolf in sheep's clothing' but she felt it more appropriate to call him a sheep in wolf's clothing.

And even then, that was a stretch.

Even with the gashes that marred his body, not to mention that gruesome wound on his chest, John wasn't really ugly, per say. Intimidating, sure, at first glance. Charlie could admit that. During their first meeting, she'd found herself terrified by the sheer size of the behemoth, not to mention… well, the gashes, plus the spikes jutting from his joints and shoulders. Even knuckles protruded from his skin as razor sharp spikes.

But it didn't take long for her to realize that John truly was a kindred spirit. A gentle giant.

Even his temper was hard to set off. Granted, it took only three days, but when John finally snapped at Vaggie, it was because he was in a hurry to help someone and she was in the way of that objective, and even then, he felt the need to seek her out and apologize.

The only time that she'd ever seen John go off was on Valentino, and it was well deserved.

In the entirety of the Hotel being established, including prior to that disastrous interview with Katie Killjoy, she'd have never imagined she'd get any sort of help. Even Alastor's own involvement, regardless of his reasoning, was a small step up.

But never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined that on that some day, she'd get help from someone, a friend of Alastor's and a sinner no less, who truly wanted nothing more than to help.

John was an unexpected help. But she'd never trade it for the world.

Charlie still wasn't entirely sure of her stance regarding the behemoth, admittedly. She knew she had feelings for him, though whether it was love or a simple infatuation that would fade would only be told by time.

She knew she liked him enough to be jealous of his love with Rose, though not enough for her to be unable to ignore it. She knew she couldn't lose him. But she knew she could live without being with him.

Whether that would change… only time would tell.

To be fair, it was plausible that it was just an infatuation. Even with the ghastly gashes, John was a rather handsome man, not to mention how herculean his physique was, and Charlie would be lying if she'd said that she wasn't attracted to him early on.

But the difference between an attraction and an infatuation, is that an attraction can occur with anyone with the preferred body type.

Regardless of how her feelings develop, for better or worse, however, Charlie cared for John a great deal.

'You don't control who you love, princess.'

The words of Madrox rang through her mind a lot recently. Any time the spiky giant entered her mind, all she could think about was the conversation with Madrox, Arya, and Andre back at Grundy's Plaza.

Maybe they had a point.

But regardless of how deep her feelings for John ran, she would never be able to act on them. They couldn't do that to Vaggie or Rose.

Neither of them deserved it.

Her thoughts had found her wandering into the lobby as she roamed the hotel, mulling over the recent developments, and the feelings that were so far growing for the big behemoth that was the Happy Hotel security guard.

Only for her thoughts to come to a stuttering halt by a knock at the door to the hotel.

"We're open, you can come in!" Charlie called out of habit, expecting it to either be a future guest, a friend of a guest, or admittedly someone to start trouble.

But the demoness who walked inside was admittedly far better than all three.

"Hey, girl!" Helsa called out with a friendly smile as she entered the hotel, shutting the door behind her as she fixed her gaze on Charlie. "It's been way too long!"

"Helsa!" Charlie couldn't help the glee that entered her at the site of her best friend as she approached, gladly pulling the Eldritch demon into a hug, which was gladly returned. "It's so good to see you!"

"You too." Helsa said with a smile as the two separated. "So, how've you been? I know we talk over text, but we haven't really had time to chat in a while."

In spite of the fact that she'd been the one to call Helsa for a rather urgent reason, she couldn't help but to give in to the Eldritch Demon's wishes. "So, how's life at home?"

Helsa let out an amused snort. "I think you know. Dad's uptight about the family image, Mom's the perfect trophy wife, and the less said about Sev, the better."

"I know that." Charlie said with a shudder in regards to the latter part of the sentence. "I wish he'd just leave me alone already."

At her words, Helsa's face visibly fell. "Yeah… about that…"

Charlie noticed the change in her friend's demeanor, and it immediately put her on edge, as did anything regarding her ex. "What, what is it?"

"When I went to grab the door, I was hit with a wave of Eldritch energy." Helsa explained, getting right to the point of her visit, even if she'd like to hang out with Charlie for the time being. "Now, the only Eldritch demons in Pentagram City are my family, so unless you've somehow managed to get Mom or Dad angry at you, the only person with any reason to be here is…"

"Seviathan." Charlie picked up almost immediately, her eyes widening in horror at the implications. "He was here." If it were possible, paling slightly at the thought, her voice barely above a whisper.

Even to this day, as bad as it may sound, Charlie couldn't help the utter dread that ran through her core at the mere thought of being around her ex-boyfriend. In spite of the power difference between the two of them, it always felt like Seviathan was the one in control. Whether it be emotional manipulation, or even physical abuse, she'd allowed herself to be fooled into thinking Seviathan saw her as a lover rather than a possession.

It wasn't until a particularly bad beating that Charlie broke up with him, though she still refused to tell her parents of the full situation, for a multitude of reasons. She was just thankful that in spite of everything, Helsa had remained her friend, especially after Charlie finally told her about Seviathan.

The distress on Charlie's face was enough to send Helsa into action, resting comforting hands upon the princess's shoulders when it as her breathing began to pick up. "Hey, calm down, I'll take care of it."

"Why can't he just leave me alone?" Charlie couldn't help but to whimper, on the verge of sending herself into a panic attack.

"Hey now, I'll fix this whole thing, and I'll be having a talk with him when I get home." Helsa's voice held a soothing edge to it as she gently led Charlie to a nearby couch in the lobby, gesturing for her to sit down before taking a seat next to her. "You don't have to worry about seeing him again."

"He won't leave me alone." Charlie pulled her knees into her chest, on the verge of tears. "He won't stop with the texts, the emails, or even trying to call, and now he's coming to the Hotel." Her voice was nothing more than a high-pitched whimper as the thought of Seviathan continued to lurk in her mind.

"It'll be okay, Charlie." Helsa assured as she pulled Charlie into her side, seeking to comfort her best friend as best as she could. "I promise you, he won't come near you again."

"He won't listen!" Charlie retorted sadly as she turned her gaze up to meet Helsa's. "He won't listen to you, he won't listen to me, he just won't stop!"

"I'll make him stop." Helsa insisted as she let a hand glide through Charlie's hair in a soothing manner. "I'm your best friend, Charlie. I won't let anyone hurt you, not even my brother."

Charlie didn't say anything more, instead seeking solace in the comfort that Helsa was providing.

"When's the last time you saw him?" Helsa asked softly, continuing her calming actions as she tried to get a handle on the situation. "He had to have come by here to put whatever hex he did on the Hotel."

"I haven't seen him in person in over a year." Charlie admitted quietly, wrapping her arms around Helsa, gladly taking in the comfort her friend provided. "If he was at the Hotel, I didn't know it."

"How long has this thing been going on?" Helsa questioned once more, in regards to the 'lucid nightmares' she'd been informed of.

"About two weeks." Charlie answered with a tremor in her voice. "It started with one of our guests, and it's hit everyone, including me. Just last night, it got our security guard."

That admittedly surprised Helsa. Not how long it's been going on, or anything in regards to the current situation, but the fact that the Hotel had a security guard. Still, that wasn't her focus.

"What can you tell me about these nightmares?"

"You're completely lucid when you experience them." Charlie explained with a shudder. "And without any sort of outside presence, it's like you completely forget that it's just a dream, and not reality. Mine was… when me and Seviathan were still together."

"So it feels like it's real? Not a dream?" Helsa pressed, albeit softly. That description gave the Eldritch demon a feeling of dread at the possibility of what she was being faced with. And if her hypothesis was true…

Well, Seviathan would be in deep shit. With both her, and their parents.

"Yeah." Charlie nodded her head in affirmation. "Why?"

"It sounds like cursed reality hex." Helsa revealed with a sigh as Charlie finally sat up, looking at Helsa in confusion. "It's a unique hex, it can only be performed with Eldritch magic. It takes the place of a dream, happening only when you sleep. Dreamwalkers can still enter them, but they can't alter the hex in the same way they can in a normal dream."

"What's it supposed to do?" Charlie couldn't help but to ask. "Put an area off limits? Is he trying to shut down the Hotel?"

"Maybe." Helsa gave a reluctant nod in regards to Charlie's guess. "What the hex does is drive it's victims mad by exposing them to increasingly horrific realities in their mind. Whether from sleep deprivation, or just general mind-breaking, in the end, if the victims don't leave the source or wake up soon enough, it will drive them insane."

A pit of cold horror welled within Charlie at the explanation of what these nightmares really were, and it was made worse by the fact that it was done by her possessive ex. "Can you fix it?"

Helsa gave a reassuring smile as she nodded. "Of course. It's actually not that difficult, I just need a little time."

Charlie couldn't help but to return Helsa's smile, sniffling a little as relief flooded through her. "Is there a chance you could keep him from pulling a stunt like this again?"

"You kidding?" Helsa responded with a grin. "After Dad's done with him, he'll be lucky if he can even leave the house. Cursed reality hexes were forbidden by my grandfather, due to how easily they could backfire on the user, and Dad is very strict about my grandfather's rules."

"I've never heard you talk about your grandfather before." Charlie admitted with a small smile. "Who is he?"

"Cthulhu."

"Oh…"

"Yeah…"

Charlie let out a small giggle. "Well, I suppose that makes sense. Anyway, how soon can you get this thing done?"

Helsa smirked in response. "Give me three hours, and I'll have it done in an hour."

Charlie's brow furrowed in confusion at the odd choice of wording. "If you only need one hour, then why-"

"Girl, me and you have to make up for lost time." Helsa grinned, playfully punching Charlie's shoulder as she did so. "You better believe I'm gonna be staying for a bit."

Charlie smiled at her words, and opened her mouth to respond, but another voice entered the lobby before she could speak.

"Hey, Charlie? Husk said you'd be in here." John's voice filled the lobby, causing both Helsa and Charlie's head to turn to find the giant walking into the lobby, a his eyes on a clipboard that he had in his hands. "I got my safety checks done, figured I'd ask if you…" He trailed off when he spotted the two women on the couch, his eyes widening slightly. "Oh… my bad…"

"No, you're good!" Charlie waved off with a smile, before turning her attention back to Helsa, looking to introduce the two, only to giggle when she spotted Helsa's shell shocked gaze stuck to John.

"Dear Satan, you are massive." Helsa couldn't help but to say, causing Charlie to giggle once more while John shook his head with an amused chuckle.

"Yeah, that's usually the first response." He joked as he moved closer to the two, offering his hand to Helsa. "John Gallagher."

Slowly, Helsa brought her hand to John's, a little uneasy about how easily he was able to wrap his hand around her own as he shook it, but she chose to note something else. "John Gallagher? That doesn't sound like a normal name for Hell."

John let out a chuckle. "So I'm aware." He said with a small smile on his face. "Well, I'm proud of who I am. Maybe not my actions, but that doesn't mean I regret them. I don't need some fancy name to make myself sound scary."

"Helsa, meet John, the Hotel's security guard." Charlie introduced with a smile, before turning to John. "John, this is my best friend, Helsa Von Eldritch. She's here to help solve the… problem, that we've been having."

"You mean these nightmares everyone's been having." John's face fell a little at the reminder, especially due to his own, before he smiled at Helsa. "Well, everyone would appreciate it."

"No problem." Helsa assured with a smile, a little less tense the more John spoke. He didn't really seem all bad. For the moment, anyway.

"Anyway," John turned his attention back to Charlie, offering the clipboard to her. "Like I said, I finished the safety checks. Everything's in tip top shape, though one of the occupied guest rooms has a wobbly ceiling fan."

"Wobbly fan?" Charlie questioned in confusion as she checked over the papers, before looking up at John. "Any idea what happened?"

"The guest, said her name was… Vivzie? Something like that. Said she's not sure, she left the room for lunch, went back to grab a book or something, and the fan was wobbly." John relayed what he'd been told by the guest. "I took a look at it, and yeah, thing's loose. My guess? Niffty was cleaning, bumped it zooming across the ceiling. Jostled it a bit."

"Of course." Charlie said with a sigh. "Oh well, at least it's not that expensive." He gaze suddenly turned playful as she gave John a look. "Not like fixing a bunch of broken doors or a broken floor."

"Hey, I was worried, I'm sorry!" John said with a smile. "And let's be honest here, it's not like Al or you can't just fix the damn thing with your abilities." He joked, causing Charlie to let out a laugh.

"I'll give you that." She admitted with a smile, before handing the clipboard back to John. "Take it up to Vaggie. Since you took back over, she's up in the office trying to catch up on some paperwork."

"No problem." John said with a nod, before turning to Helsa once more, who was now eyeing the two of them with a grin, which he ignored. "Nice to meet you, Helsa."

"You too." Helsa said with a nod as John turned and began walking away. The two women watched as John made his way up the steps, before Helsa turned to Charlie with a teasing grin.

"So, you like him?"

Watching Charlie's face heat-up in embarrassment was a treat as the princess gaze snapped towards Helsa in complete bewilderment, caught off guard by the abrupt question and causing Helsa to let out a laugh.

"I-It's not like that!" She immediately denied, ignoring her own thoughts. This was not the time nor the place to discuss that. "He's a good guy! He honestly just wants to help."

"Sure, that's why you hired him." Helsa snickered, before shaking her head in amusement. "Anyway, just give me a bit of time, and I'll have this hex snuffed out. Then me and you can talk all day."

Charlie smiled at her friend's words. "I'd like that." She said as she stood to her feet, dusting off her clothes out of habit. "I'll give you some space. When you're done, I'll be up in the office helping Vaggie with some paperwork. It's says 'Manager's Office' on the door."

"No problem Charlie." Helsa said with a smile, before watching as Charlie moved towards the steps and made her way up, disappearing out of view.

Once she was gone, the eldritch woman let out a sigh to herself. "Alright." She muttered. "Let's get to work."

In the back of her mind, she stored away a plan for later.

It wasn't just her parents Seviathan would have to worry about.

Ever since the little intervention thing with John, it had been a hassle and a half to try and find Vanessa. At first, Angel wasn't too focused on it, trying to gather his own thoughts and process the bombshell that had been laid on him.

Seriously, how was he supposed to take that? Up until last night, John literally seemed like this unstoppable force, a gentle giant. He fought off the three V's, putting Valentino down for good, scaring Vox and Velvet into hiding, and he did it all with ease.

He shrugged off a blessed weapon, an angelic bullet, for Christ's sakes! He took a bullet straight to the eye, and it didn't even tickle him, and he'd also heard from Vaggie that when she'd gone to stab him with her spear on instinct, it had literally just bounced right off and he didn't even notice.

At least, they assumed he didn't notice anyway.

And he was always so freaking nice. Seriously, the guy was like a giant spiky teddy bear. Any time he'd kick back to watch movies with someone, chances are somebody would be using him as a pillow. Not just Rose either, but Vanessa had done it, Charlie had done it, even freaking Vaggie! Hell, Angel would gladly admit that he was guilty of it as well, but he knew not to push boundaries with the kid.

Hell, he knew better than to even try. He knew how to respect someone's boundaries. There was a difference between being a flirt and being a homewrecker, and in spite of what he knew of Verosika Mayday, Rose acted absolutely nothing like her show self.

While he didn't know the specifics, he did know something had happened between them. But whatever it was, they had clearly patched it up, if the lovey dovey looks they gave each other and the occasional loud night was any indication.

Oh yeah, they were guilty of it too. First Vaggie and Charlie, and now Angel had to listen to John and Rose fucking each other's brains out. Just perfect.

But, that was besides the point.

John was as tough as he was nice, and seeing the kid break down like he did last night…

It had honestly struck a chord within Angel. In the entirety that John had been present at the Hotel, which was probably bordering on a month now, he'd never seen John so… vulnerable.

It felt weird even thinking about it.

And the way he was acting this morning, so… detached, just didn't feel right.

And now, knowing what his nightmare was, and even worse, knowing that it was a memory… well, needless to say, it was downright horrifying.

All the shit Valentino had put Angel through, as twisted as it sounded, he could safely say the now extinguished moth demon wasn't a ghoul.

Well, that type of ghoul anyway.

What kind of sick fuck actually thought that was justifiable in any capacity? Angel had long been dead by the time John had even been born. The closest equivalent he'd ever heard of would be the Nazis in World War II, which had ended only two years before Angel had died.

It was the lingering thought in the back of his head. Now, every time he looked at John, he could no longer see the same upbeat kid he'd met. Now, all he could see is a tortured soul. The image of that scar on John's chest… it was forever seared into his mind.

He couldn't even begin to guess how in the hell John had been able to live like none of it even affected him. Before he died was one thing, but he'd been cursed with a hellish body filled with constant reminders. He practically had his torturer's name carved into his chest with the mark alone.

Maybe that was supposed to be his punishment? He knew that the body you got when you formed in Hell wasn't supposed to be something you enjoy, but… Jesus Christ.

But as his thoughts continued to mingle over the trauma that John carried with him every waking moment, his thoughts detoured when Vanessa had entered into his mind.

He called John a kid, because he died a teenager. If Angel was right, John was probably twenty or so years old, but even though he could act like a functioning adult, his brain would forever be locked into his teenage development, and there were times it showed. Not to mention that Angel was still several decades older than John.

But Vanessa was a different story.

She hadn't just died as a teenager, she was still a teenager. She was only sixteen! The poor succubus sinner carried trauma with her that no one should have to endure, especially not at that age, to the point that it had driven her to suicide. With no other choice but to attempt to cope, she'd come out of her shell that she'd had before.

When Angel had first met Vanessa, she was nothing like she'd acted lately. She was quiet, barely said a word, always shaking, a terrified expression on her face at almost all times. Val had her dressed up like a prized pony, as he did all his employees, and he was feeding her nothing but his own semen!

Not to mention that she'd only been dead for a little under two months! Angel didn't care what her sin was, no one that young deserved to go through that kind of trauma!

And now, compounded onto that, she now knew what kind of horrors John had experienced.

John was like the older brother she never had, even Angel could see it. He'd tease her, he make jokes with her, watch movies with her, he cared for her a lot… hell, when Vanessa had her lucid nightmare, John didn't hesitate to obliterate the door to their room, and he stayed by Vanessa's side until he was at least somewhat reassured that she'd be alright.

He'd been the one to propose the Lu Lu World idea, and he'd been the one to seek out Charlie, and then Rose, for any sort of useful advice on how to possibly circumvent Vanessa's unwanted succubus nature.

None of that was even mentioning that he was the one who'd saved her from Valentino's thumb and brought her to a safe place.

Now, the poor kid would have the thought on her mind that her savior, one she saw as a brother, was experiencing pain the likes of which she could only imagine. Hell, she was a sobbing mess before John had even made it halfway through his story earlier, and the moment it had ended, the first thing Vanessa did when John stood up was wrap her little arms around John's massive waist and give him the biggest hug she could manage.

And now that Angel had thought about it… he hadn't seen her since.

"Aw, jeez, where'd the kid get off too?" She wasn't in the rec room, she wasn't in the kitchen, she wasn't with Alastor, Husk hadn't seen her, even Niffty wasn't able to help. Where the hell could she be?

"Ness?" Angel could help but to call out, as if that would magically reveal her location, but Angel was wondering if she simply didn't want to be found, or if he simply wasn't looking hard enough.

Either way, he'd find her, one way or another.

As he walked through the hall, he found himself coming across one of the upper balconies, with the door creaked open. As he drew closer, he could hear the sounds of a hushed voice coming from outside, picking up in volume at random intervals.

It sounded like someone was crying.

Angel moved closer, his own curiosity driving him, and as he moved closer, he could hear it.

The voice became more recognizable as that of his target.

It was Vanessa.

Slowly, Angel pushed the door open, looking out onto the balcony in search of the succubus teen, where he found her sitting upon one of the benches, knees tucked into her chest, quietly sobbing into her arms.

"Ness?" He asked, his voice holding a tone of concern as he stepped out onto the balcony and closed the door behind him.

Vanessa's head turned in his direction, and Angel couldn't help the sadness that welled within him.

Her eyes were red and puffy, as were her cheeks, stained from tears that were still leaking from her eyes, and it was a heart wrenching site to watch her try and wipe away her tears.

"O-Oh. Hi D-Dusty."

Dusty… that was her nickname for him, in return for his own nickname for her. He didn't like it at first, but he'll admit, it's grown on him.

Her voice held more sadness than even he could imagine, and he had a very good idea of what was causing her so much distress.

"John's story is really getting to you, isn't it." It was a statement, not a question, as Angel made his way towards the bench and took a seat next to it Vanessa, allowing one pair of arms to rest on his knees while his upper arms settled on the backrest of the bench and around Vanessa's shoulders.

"H-How can someone b-be so cruel?" Vanessa stuttered out, tucking her head back into her knees. "W-What did he do to d-deserve that?"

"Nothing at all, kid." Angel said with a sigh, his own face taking on an expression of sadness as well at John's struggles. "You and I know better than most that there are some sick fucks in the world."

"I-It's not fair." Vanessa whimpered, slightly muffled by the way her face was tucked into her knees. "J-John doesn't deserve that."

"No, he doesn't."

Silence fell between them, only broken by Vanessa's heartbroken whimpers. Angel wished he could do something, anything, to take away all that pain that was being caused to her.

"First these awful nightmares…" Vanessa whimpered. "And now this… if God exists, why is he so cruel?"

That's a question Angel had asked himself many times. Make no mistake, it wasn't a matter of belief anymore. Ever since he'd died and found himself in Hell, Angel knew that the existence of God wasn't up for debate anymore, since Lucifer was literally one of God's many direct children. But you'd always hear people talking about how good and loving the big man is supposed to be… and how everything is just a part of his plan.

But what kind of caring diety's plan involves this kind of suffering?

"Kid, I wish I could give you an answer." Angel spoke with a sigh. "Hell, I wish I could make you feel better with a snap of my fingers, but I can't. Truth is… life's cruel." He muttered with a shake of his head, before turning to look at Vanessa with a small smile. "But you can always make it better."

At his words, Vanessa turned her gaze to meet Angel's own, visible confusion on her face, causing the spider-demon to let out a chuckle.

"I'll admit, thinks happen." He said with a sigh as he allowed his gaze to wander out towards the city view. "What happened to you, what happened to me, to John, to everyone… none of it's good. But you can choose to let that affect you, define you, or you can choose to overcome it, take away the mark it leaves."

Immature and flirty as he can be, Angel's age didn't come without wisdom. And while he didn't always learn from his mistakes… he did learn from some of them.

"Thing is, this stuff control you unless you let it." He explained, turning to look back at Vanessa. "Look at you."

"M-Me?"

"John might be a better example." Angel admitted, but he smiled nonetheless. "But maybe you can feel better about yourself. In the last month, you've been so different compared to when we first met."

"How do you figure?" Vanessa asked, her voice small, but curious. "I can't have a single nightmare without breaking into a crying fit, I haven't been able to leave the Hotel since Lu Lu World or that shopping trip with Alastor, and god forbid meeting a stranger goes easily."

Angel let out a chuckle at her words, only adding to her confusion. "Kid, you've only been in Hell for a little under two months, and the shit you've been through… All of that's normal." He assured her with a smile. "No, when we met, you was like a shy little mouse, almost scared of your own shadow. Now, you got a lot of sass, you get real competitive, and I'll be damned if you ain't got one hell of a temper when it comes to games."

Vanessa's eyes slowly widened with each word that left Angel's mouth. "W-Was I really that different before?"

"You better believe it, kid." Angel said with a smile, letting his opposing upper him come down to give gentle, playful punch on her arm. "You're coming out of your shell, and I believe wholeheartedly that you can get over this."

Vanessa stared at Angel for a moment, before letting out a sad sigh as she rested her chin upon her knees. "But I'm not that tough. Not like you, or Vaggie, or John…"

"Ah, kid, you don't give yourself enough credit." Angel assured, rubbing her back in a reassuring manner. "You just don't have enough confidence in yourself. If you weren't tough, you'd probably still be the scared little girl I met back in Val's studio."

"But that's because I have all of you." Vanessa retorted. "I feel safe… I don't have to feel like every little thing is gonna pounce on me."

"That's fine." Angel said with a smile. "There's nothing wrong with that, it's a good thing. But give it time, and with a little confidence, I'll bet you that your back to being your old self in no time."

Vanessa turned her gaze to look at Angel once more, and after a few moments, she finally smiled. "Thanks, Angel."

"Not a problem kid." Angel replied with a smile of his own, before it turned into a grin. "Hey, I got an idea. Why don't you learn how to defend yourself?"

The idea visibly caught Vanessa off-guard, as her eyes widened in surprise at the suggestion. "Really?"

"What could it hurt?" Angel commented, the grin never leaving his face. "It'll give you a bit more confidence in yourself, and hey, someone tries hurting you, you can put them on their ass."

"I don't know." Vanessa was admittedly hesitant at the idea. "I mean, how would that work? I'm not exactly strong." She felt a little bit of shame filling her at the admission.

"Eh, that'll change with time." He shrugged off the concern. "And besides, have you met Vaggie?"

"Doesn't she have her spear?" Vanessa recalled with confusion in her tone.

An amused chuckle was her response.

"Kid, using a spear as good as she does requires some serious skill, not to mention she's got a killer aim with those throwing knives of hers." Angel remarked with a raised eyebrow. "But that doesn't change the fact that she's probably the most well trained person in the Hotel. Sure, it may not always mean much, but she's confident." He let out a chuckle. "Hell, she could probably teach you more than anyone else."

"Well…" Vanessa was still more than hesitant at the idea. She'd never really been a fighter, she'd always preferred just being blunt.

Then again… it was that same thing that had led to… well, everything.

If she'd have been able to fight Mike off better, she'd probably wouldn't have been raped, Mike would be in prison, she'd have had the dance with James…

Maybe… it wasn't a bad idea?

And like Angel said, what could it really hurt?

"A-Alright." She finally nodded, turning to look at Angel. "I'll give it a try."

"That's the spirit!" Angel cheered, giving Vanessa a playful pat on the back. "Now, what do you say we go play watch a movie? John's probably done with his safety checks by now, so maybe he and Rose can join us."

Vanessa nodded, a small smile on her face. "I'd like that."

Somewhere, on the outskirts of Pentagram City, lied a large mansion. It was an odd site, seemingly blending both angelic and demonic elements of Heaven and Hell together. The stylish flare and shine of what one would expect of Heaven, with the demonic color and design that made up most of Hell's landscape, with a large wrought iron fence connecting to a large red brick wall that sealed off most of the property. Not that it needed such defenses of course.

For no one within nine circles of Hell would ever attempt to attack this home, not unless they wished to incite the wrath of the owners of the mansion.

Within the mansion, within one of the largest kitchens in all of Hell. And within that kitchen, sat one of the only two occupants of the house. A gorgeous succubus with black lipstick, blonde hair, and pail skin, a pair of large black horns protruding from her hair, wearing a black dress of the finest tailors, with the material of the dress around her shoulders completely transparent.

And she was happily enjoying a snack at the moment.

"Those meetings are always such a bore." Lilith muttered to herself as she carefully lifted the apple to her mouth, taking a bit out of it with a certain amount of grace that was pretty much nonexistent to anyone else, especially when it came to food. "I get why Luci must have them… but sometimes I wonder if I really need too as well."

Despite the power the Royalty of Hell possessed, it was Lucifer's decision to at least try and maintain a stable kingship, rather than simply lording over the land like a tyrannical monarch.

Still… he often invited anyone stupid enough to try and challenge him. It… usually ended very terribly. And with his admitted immaturity, it wasn't often that got to cut loose her own shackles and deal with the annoying pests who dared disturb them.

Well… unless her daughter was involved. More often than not, she was the one who'd reach the irritating cretins before Luci ever could, because she knew that Lucifer would deal out a swift, if painful, death.

She, however, would not.

She didn't care if her plans would work or not. While Lucifer didn't share Charlie's view of Hell's population, admittedly neither did she, one thing she and her beloved had disagreed on was how to handle Charlie's dream. Admittedly, it was about the only thing they'd ever disagreed on, discounting minor spats about decorations and decisions.

Charlie was her daughter, and regardless of whether she agreed, she'd show nothing but support for her dream.

Lucifer, however, was cold and cynical about it. Though, a part of her wonders if he actually didn't believe it, or if he was simply jealous about the possibility of lowly sinners being redeemed, and earning a place in the home he'd been kicked out of.

Regardless of whether it touched a sore spot, Lilith still felt that Lucifer should have at least supported the dream rather than let his feeling get in the way of them. After all, whether he knew it or not, the last voicemail Charlie had left her contained an admission that she believed Lucifer thought of her as a failure.

Lilith found herself thrown from her thoughts, however, by the sound of her phone vibrating upon the table, the screen flashing on. The queen took a glance towards her phone, picking it up with her free hand and raising it to see what the notification was.

TEXT FROM: HELSA VON ELDRITCH

I need to talk to you. It's about Charlie.

A/N: And that's the chapter. Yes, I know, Helsa is usually depicted as a snobby bitch who's always at odds with Charlie, but I wanted to do something different, since we know little to nothing about the character outside of her design and what we've been told.

Also, yes, I made Cthulhu Helsa and Seviathan's grandfather.

While we only know the main Von Eldritch family, we have absolutely no idea who, or what, they come from. However, their name and designs are pretty much obvious indicators that they veer away from Christianity and are based heavily on the works of H.P. Lovecraft. So, I decided to take a little twist.

And no, that does not mean that I'm trying to merge Christianity and Lovecraftian mythos together. I just thought it'd be a neat thing to throw in, so don't go expecting to see Cthulhu pop up in person or play an important role in any capacity through the entire story.

As for Cthulhu's position in the hierarchy… well, let's just say he's one of God's creations, but not one of his children. In my headcanon, Cthulhu was basically the ruler of Hell before being usurped by Lucifer, and Lucifer is the only one in Hell above him. Technically, Cthulhu is over Charlie and Lilith, because I do not plan to put a cosmic diety like Cthulhu on the scale of the Seven Deadly Sins or the Ars Goetia.

As for Eldritch Magic… well, I'm not too sure I should discuss too much here because I run the risk of spoilers, but I will say this: Unlike demonic or angelic energy, Eldritch Magic is completely unique, unnatural, and exclusive only to Eldritch Demons.

Anyway, that's it for this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll see you all in the next one.