Chapter 6: Confrontation - Charlie
'No, not him, not now, of all the time in hell, why did he have to come now' I thought to myself. Alastor couldn't have come at a worse time. Although I have problems dealing with Alastor himself, I am more scared of what his reaction will be to letting someone like Seth into the hotel, and thinking about Seth's ability and reaction to sensing him coming doesn't help either. Without a second thought, I slam the door on Alastor, and place my weight against it to hold it shut. "Get him back upstairs!" I yelled at the group. Nifty proceeds to drag Seth up the stairs to the second floor.
"You're just prolonging the inevitable." Seth exclaims while Nifty struggles to push him to go anywhere.
"Just go!" I hiss back at him. Seth responds by simply rolling his eyes and follows Nifty up the stairs. While Seth and Nifty slowly walk away to hide, I am using most of my strength in trying to keep the entrance door shut. but to no avail as Alastor still opens the door anyway.
"Greetings, Demon belle, nice to see you too." Alastor responds while shoving the entrance open. "Looks like you haven't changed your greeting technique."
"Well, you know me, someone who is hard to change." I jokingly while trying to visibly distract him from seeing Seth. He responds by simply smiling.
"I see that the Happy Hotel hasn't had any increase in guests." he exclaims while walking around inspecting the lobby.
"Well there is Se-" Angel attempts to say before Vaggie forcefully closes his mouth with a napkin and slams his head on the table to prevent him from further talking.
"Nobody cares about your sex escapades Angel!" Vaggie responds in an attempt to redirect the conversation away from Seth. She looks back up to Alastor, who seems unamused by their erratic and unprofessional behavior. Vaggie nervously chuckles from the sudden outburst.
"Hmm, typical attitude from the effeminate boy and the moth girl." Alastor scoffs as he walks by the cafeteria. Sweat begins to fall down my cheeks as Alastor takes notice of the freshly cooked food, something we haven't had in a while. Out of curiosity, Alastor grabs a spoonful of breakfast we made and gives it a taste.
"Hmm, tasty refreshments dear." Alastor remarks while wiping away the excess food. "Although I do question why you have had all this cooked when no one is really here." More sweat starts to fall as I try to make up a lie to hide the fact that Seth is here.
"Well, I felt like you were going to show up, so I asked Nifty to make something to show you what we have to offer for the patrons." I lie with the most fake smile I could give.
"Ahh, and yet you were so keen on keeping me out when I got here." He responds while walking closer to me. That small detail caught me off guard that I had no response to give, and he knows it. I begin to open my mouth in an attempt to make something else up, but not before Alastor gently places his index finger on my lips. "Let's cut to the chase, I know he's here." He whispers sinisterly.
"Well I guess that cat is out of the bag." Seth replies from the back, with Nifty behind him attempting to push him back up the stairs. Things are getting more and more intense as I notice that Seth is in his withered hooded cloak and robes from when he first got here. Seth taps Nifty's head, instantly teleporting her, along with Vaggie and Angel up to the top of the stairs. "So, you're Alastor." He smirks. Alastor turns his head towards him with a sinister smile on his face.
"In the Flesh." Alastor responds. He then turns his head to me. "Oh, I'm so disappointed in you dear, why would you try to keep him away from me?"
"Probably to keep you alive longer." Seth arrogantly chuckles as what looks like black fumes begin to dissipate from his own eyes. Alastor chuckles along with him, with the biggest grin I've seen.
"Oh really, why don't you come show me how" Alastor replies while slowly creeping towards him. Seth responds by doing the same. Knowing what's about to happen, I transform into my demon form and grab and shove both Alastor and Seth by the tie and neck, respectively.
"Ok, I'm putting a stop to whatever the fuck is going on here." I angrily snarl as I force some distance between them, preventing any conflict from arising. Although a bit drastic, my sudden burst of anger somehow manages to calm both of them down as Seth's eyes return to their normal shade and Alastor takes a step back to neatly readjust his suit. I transform back into my normal form after it is clear that they aren't going to fight in the middle of the hotel lobby.
"Let's just calm down and come to an understanding before we start destroying property over a clash of egos." I explain wiping away the bit of sweat I've accumulated. Noticing that they are still tense from each other's presence I then grab both of their hands and make them shake each other in a greeting fashion. "Seth, this is Alastor, our main investor, co-owner, and stuff; Alastor this is Seth, our recently new patron." While there was a brief pause between Alastor and Seth, they both finally start shaking their hands.
"Ahh a tenant, So the doll finally found a demon that actually wanted to stay here." Alastor jokingly remarks, with one eyebrow raised at me. I rolled my eyes a bit at the slight jab over how the hotel is currently failing.
"You could say that." Seth replies while retrieving his hand from Alastor. "Although I am curious why the investor of this establishment isn't interested in bringing more demons here." Seth questions Alastor.
"Let's just say I am more interested in the thrill in how this place will play out." Alastor responds. "Much like how we will play out." Alastor turns his head toward me, as if he is signaling that he and Seth should fight, Seth proceeds to do the same. As if both of them just simply ignored what I just said.
"No," I sternly say as I point to the hotel's bar area in an attempt to steer the conversation away from fighting. "Here how about you two get some nice drinks inside you over this way" Alastor simply responds by tilting his head towards Seth.
"Want to sit down?" He asks Seth. I sigh a bit in relief as Alastor finally tries to cooperate and deescalate the situation., which is a first considering he is the one who has constantly started this whole thing.
"I could go for some drinks." Seth replies while transforming his old robes back into a business suit. As the two of them sit down in front of the bar table, I begin to prepare them each an Old Fashioned, and a Manhattan drink, and maybe try to get them both to calm down.
"Well now that the both of you stopped trying to measure sizes, I think this a perfect opportunity for both of you to talk it out and realize that you two aren't that different from each other, and maybe become friends." I say as I pass the beverages to both parties. While Seth reluctantly picks up the glass, Alastor has no problem drinking his.
"Charlie look at us, I know you're trying to build the bridge between us, but you don't have to lie by saying we are similar." Seth replies before finally taking a sip from the drink. Alastor piques his head towards him before slightly nodding in agreement. "If anything, our personalities just don't mix."
"He does have a point darling." Alastor butts in while wiping the excess alcohol from his mouth with a napkin. "You can play simple mind games all you want, but the decision for if we agree to an impasse is only up to us."
"Am I though, I mean you both are intelligent enough to realize i'm trying to make you friends. Maybe you two could get along more if you also dropped your egos a bit and you realize that you two could get along with each other." I try to explain to both of them. "Plus, with the both you combined, maybe we can get some real tenants into the hotel." The smile from my face instantly disappears after realizing I may have just exposed the truth about Seth in front of Alastor. Seth realizes too as he closes his eyes and slightly shakes his head at me.
"I'm sorry I must've misheard; did you say real tenants?" Alastor asks after drinking down the beverage that was already inside of him. Sweat begins to fall down the side of my face again after being caught in another lie by Alastor yet again.
"Well, technically I am a tenant." Seth interjects by lowering the glass away from his face as well. "Unless the barrier to entry includes being a demon." It was at this point that I am so nervous from what is going on that I can feel my leg start rapidly bouncing up and down.
Alastor slowly but firmly turns towards Seth as he seems more interested in him than previously. "I figured you weren't, but curiously you don't seem human either, so what exactly are you Seth?" Seth chuckles towards Alastor, as if he is impressed by putting two and two together so quickly.
"Let's just say I am not from around here." Seth explains. "Although it is a bit silly as it's an inside joke between us, an old friend of mine used to refer to ourselves as the triple D's, Dimension-hopping Dark Destroyers." He chuckles nonchalantly. Upon a closer look I notice that his violet irises are a bit brighter and seem to be pulsating.
"Wait, so there are more of these so-called 'Dark Destroyers' like you out there?" I suddenly asked after taking in the information that he just said. Seth simply nods in agreement.
"Well, the official term is Disciples, but yes there are many of us in the infinite space of reality." Seth explains himself. "I'm known as the Disciple of Darkness, but I just go by the nickname 'The Destroyer' because it's cooler."
"Interesting, your titles make it sound like you aren't to be taken lightly." Alastor says. "And yet you don't seem so confrontational, or destructive." I give Alastor a concerned stare.
"Maybe I have no reason to." Seth replies while beginning to face towards Alastor. It's like he knows Alastor is trying to push his buttons, and he is waiting for a good opportunity to retort. "Besides, it would be unprofessional to act up against an overlord in front of the princess of hell." He says before taking a final sip from his glass and putting it down on the table. Alastor takes notice of his words and mannerisms as he looks back towards him with a smile on his face.
"It sure would be, especially inside the princess's establishment." Alastor responds as he also places the glass of alcohol down onto the table. The surrounding air of the bar is so thick I could cut it with my elongated claws. It's so obvious what's about to happen that Vaggie returns towards my side with her angelic spear that somehow looks different from before. Before anything else happens, I try to butt in and deescalate the situation.
"So, now that we are done with our drinks and miscommunication, you would consider each other good friends, right?" I desperately ask in an attempt to make both parties okay with each other's presence. Both of which turn towards each other and then back to me before speaking up.
"You could say that." Seth replies in a calm yet confident demeanor.
"Yes dear, it seems I kind of enjoy talking to our fellow tenant." Alastor says while wiping his face with a napkin again. "Although there is still the elephant in the room that needs to be dealt with." Seth nods in agreement as he uses thumb to crack his fingers.
"Charlie, I have a quick question." Seth asks as he gets up from the stool and stretches his body from sitting down for a bit. "Does hell and any type of insurance?"
"No?" I nervously answer. knowing what's about to happen next, I stand in front of Vaggie, she responds by holding my hand and clutching her spear with all her strength.
"Oh, that's a shame, guess I'll volunteer to be the one to fix damages after." He responds. Immediately Seth grabs Alastor's collar and throws him into the wall of the hotel, but not before Alastor grapples him by the neck, making both of them crash through the hotel into the outside lawn.