Chapter 20: The Teenagers
Indigo wouldn't come out of her room all night, skipping dinner in the process. Angel Dust felt guilty, sending her to her room when her toy's suggestions seemed too much. But could anyone in the loop blame him?
When Scrunchy suggested that his boss turned her swarm of butterflies into living demons to serve the hotel, Angel Dust had flashbacks of Club 666. The Lapis Locustia devouring demons' hearts and glowing veins to turn into fusions of Exterminators and butterfly demons, eyes shielded with masks resembling their victims and their hands wielding Aztec weapons carved of holy blades. The sudden sentiency fueled by ecstasy of murdering more demons so that the butterflies could take their place.
Angel Dust had no idea where the butterfly warriors went after the non-transformed ones had taken him back to the hotel. Who knew how many other demons they were slaying as the week had passed?
But Angel Dust didn't care about the demons that got killed (demons could die of holy weapons before, during, and after exterminations on a daily basis). What he was more worried about was the little demon who didn't realize she had the capacity to create an army. The idea of the Three Vs finding out about her was scary enough. Did he really need to have all of Hell banging at the door for their one-demon army factory?
Before going back to his room, Angel Dust hoped to attempt another shot at trying to talk to Indigo. What he didn't expect to find was Scrunchy struggling to sleep on the floor just outside of Indigo's door. The scorpion failed to stay curled up and took a sitting position, only to switch so his back was against the ground and his feet on the wall.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Angel Dust demanded.
"Doing my job…" Scrunchy groaned. "Man, I DID NOT think that sleeping with a shell-coated body would be so uncomfortable!"
"So go to bed! Why are you even sleeping outside Indigo's door, Mister Unpaid Bodyguard?"
"My boss needs space and I need to do my job, so I'm sleeping in the hallway in case trouble comes! Kind of like in the old days when Louis the 16th had servants sleeping on the ground by his bed if he needed anything, but we all know how that turned out!" Scrunchy laughed out loud before finally sighing miserably and scratching behind his neck. "I miss being a toy."
"You definitely were less annoying," the spider demon snarked.
"Maybe." The scorpion demon shrugged in indifference before sighing. "At least back then my boss wasn't crying because of me…"
Angel Dust's scowling expression changed. Scrunchy sat up properly… only to hug himself. Not sure what he was doing, Angel Dust sat down next to him.
"Look… I just wasn't crazy about you… telling her that she can make her own personnel, army, or whatever out of her bugs," Angel Dust said. "She's a kid. She shouldn't be doing the kind of crap Alastor does for fun. I mean, it was an accident, but… she kind of turned you from a toy to a demon without your consent. Could you imagine her doing it to thousands of bugs that only live one week a year?"
"No… just maybe twelve volunteers?" Scrunchy hugged himself tighter. "I failed her."
"Dude, you proclaimed yourself as her bodyguard only a few fucking hours ago. You failed nothing… except, well, making Vaggie shed some fucking waterworks, but she and I have issues today."
"You don't get it…" Scrunchy stopped hugging himself and took a deep breath. "This whole thing… might be new to me, but my connection with her? I've been by her side as her toy since the crib years. I see and remember all the things we did together. The games we played in made up worlds and my full name is all the names she came up for me in our games… The stories her father would read to us… The movies we watched… How much she held me when she was crying about her grandparents' death… How I watched her depression after her dreams were crushed…" Scrunchy sniffed, failing to hold back a black tear escaping his eyes. His tears stained his cheeks like wet mascara. "I was eager for her to come back home… Dad took her to a neat restaurant. I was excited for her to come home, jump on her bed, and… I'd do what I did every night. Keep her company while she slept soundly… and tomorrow would be a great day…"
Scrunchy choked a sob. "She wasn't home for two days… I thought she forgot to take me with her for a last-minute camping trip or something… Her friend Dimitri came to the house and took me… I thought she had a meltdown and she needed me… but I was taken to the hospital… Dimitri gave me to Dad… crying so much… He held me, cried on me…" The scorpion let out a large sob. "She was dead… and I did nothing. My heart just broke… I landed in Hell as an afterlife version of her toy… I was so happy to be with my boss… and I hate myself for failing her. If I had done something…"
"You were an inanimate toy, Scrunchy…" Angel Dust said. "I highly doubt you would have done much…"
Scrunchy scowled at him. His expression darkened. Angel Dust was lucky that Indigo was asleep, otherwise she would have stayed up all night in torment.
"I wish I at least knew who shot that bullet right into her cheek."
The next morning
"A bullet?"
Charlie gasped this after Angel Dust exchanged last night's conversation. With Husker and Nifty doing their own errands out in town, Vaggie took the liberty of making pancakes for breakfast. Alastor read the newspaper in relaxation. Indigo had yet to come down, probably still sleeping in. Scrunchy was still sleeping by her bedside.
"That's what he said…" Angel Dust's grip tightened on his coffee mug. Fat Nuggets was down on the ground next to his chair, eating his food.
"But why?" Charlie asked. "Why murder a teenager?"
"Suicide, fucking jealous or vengeful classmates, school shootings, hired hits, drug gangs, child traffickers, armies hiring kids… Need I go on?" Vaggie flipped a pancake.
"For the millionth time, Vagatha, Indigo isn't a fucking drug addict!" Angel Dust pounded on the table. "Damn it!" He then glared at Alastor, who was still reading the newspaper. "You don't care a damn, do you?"
"Murders happen on a daily basis here and on Earth, my effeminate fellow. Question is, how do you plan on announcing it to Indigo? A week has passed since her arrival, her emotions make her a potential force to be reckoned with, and thanks to some parties in need of punishing, her childhood toy is now a walking Hollywood show. Do you want me to set up a tea therapy to explain to her that somebody might have murdered her on her birthday while she was away from her father for a few seconds? I don't think Capone wants to relive another volcanic eruption. Or in our case, the hotel might get destroyed by a hurricane of caterpillar egg tears and butterflies of turmoil." Alastor glanced up from his newspaper.
Angel Dust sighed. Alastor wasn't wrong. Things were already too much for Indigo. Did she really need to know the possible theory that she was murdered?
"As to ideas of the possible murderers, who knows? Last time I checked, it isn't the hotel's goals to seek retribution but to seek rehabilitation. Unless properly handing out the news, we might accidentally cause Indigo to seek revenge. And revenge has hundreds of accessibility methods."
"I suppose you're right…" Charlie tapped her fingers. Vaggie placed some warm pancakes onto her plate. Charlie took a deep breath and clasped her hands. "We'll work through it. What's up on the news, Alastor?"
"Something to silence Vagatha of her silly theories." Alastor tossed the folded newspaper onto the table. The main page showed a picture of a vandalized casino, complete with broken windows, smoke, and damaged bricks. Demons close to Indigo's age were seen reveling in the chaos while three of them, in the background, were driving away in a convertible.
D.A.S HAS ANOTHER BLAST! WHERE WILL THEY STRIKE NEXT?
"Fantastic…" Charlie groaned. "Damian, Addison, and Sahara…"
"Who?" Angel Dust asked.
"You really need to catch on to politics," Vaggie said. "Besides Lucifer and Leviathan, Satan, Mammon, and Belphegor are the only Deadly Sins with kids in their direct families. Damian Iblis, the son of Satan and Charlotte Corday, Mammon's nephew Addison, and Belphegor and Circe's daughter Sahara Wishazel." She glanced at the newspaper as well. "Another casino destroyed from one of their sudden teen raves… Now you wonder why I don't trust teenagers?"
"So three teens destroyed a casino. Big shit. You realize casinos get destroyed by demons every day?" Angel Dust sipped his coffee in sarcasm.
"Their destruction is neither planned nor part of turf wars," Alastor said grimly. "The heirs of Wrath, Greed, and Sloth do, say, fight, and entertain as they please. They are the embodiment of adolescent chaos and hedonism and nothing else matters. They will go anywhere where their sinful natures will attract demons their age to act recklessly. They won't even care if their followers or bystanders get injured or killed. And their followers could care less of their own demises. To them, the D.A.S are gods of endless pleasure and fun. Being near them is enough to disregard any emotional or rational attachments they had and turn into wild animals with broken chains. The D.A.S are the coachmen to all the unruly adolescent demons, sinner or Hellborn, who could care less if they become donkeys as long as the D.A.S transforms Hell into Pleasure Island for them." The environment had darkened around him, creating an ominous foreshadowing filled with radio static and voodoo symbols… until it all faded away. "Oh well! Good thing we have Indigo, sweet as beignets in Mardi Gras rather than chaotic brats!"
Out of nowhere, a portal appeared in the kitchen. Octavia Goetia emerged, mumbling some cussing words under her breath. The other side of the portal showed that her limousine was parked in front of the hotel.
"Octavia?" Charlie asked.
"INDIGO, GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE!" Angel Dust shouted. "YOUR EMO PRINCESS BESTIE IS HERE!"
"She already knows I'm here…" Octavia dusted her sleeve. When Alastor gave her a disdainful look and took the newspaper back, Octavia merely hissed at him. Some people really forget that Overlords and Ars Goetia don't like one another.
"Octavia, what an unexpected surprise…" Charlie went to shake Octavia's hand. "And, I really mean unexpected! This is the second weekend in the row you drop in. Did something bad happen?"
"Social differences between my mom and I." Octavia pulled her hand away.
"What, did she say you can't hang out with Indigo or some other elite shit?" Angel Dust snarked.
"I don't tell her who I hang out with. It's none of her business," Octavia said sourly. "Doesn't really matter right. You're technically Indigo's not-exactly-her-dad-parental-figure, right?"
Angel Dust frowned. Like the mafia gangster he was, he picked up Fat Nuggets, held him in his laps, and stroked him on the head. "Why'd you wanna know?"
"Yeah, you can quit that Marlon Brando trick," Octavia waved in dismissal. "I can't be with my mom right now, so I'm going to the mall. I already invited Kyle Ketamine and my other personal friend, so I was wondering if I could have your permission to invite Indigo."
"Why didn't you invite her?"
"I wasn't sure if you people wouldn't let her out of the hotel on her own."
"What mall are you going to?"
"The Midas Mall in the Greed District of Pentagram City. It's a 20-minute car ride from here."
"Who are you going with?"
"Just me, the chauffeur, Kyle, and my friend Loona. You never met her. She's a Hellhound."
"What are you going to do at the mall?"
"Shop. Get mani-pedis. Eat at the food court. Complain about family issues, politics, and pop culture?"
"Are you paying for everyone?"
"Are you insane?"
The two had a deadly stare off contest… until Angel Dust started laughing.
"Bella contrattazione, piccola principessa!" He patted her on the head. (Nice haggle, little princess.) "Sure, Indigo can go with ya! As long as she comes back by 5pm!" Before Octavia could even react, Angel Dust pinched her beak, causing her to wince. "HOWEVER, if she even comes back with a SINGLE scratch on her, or worse, I'll pluck you alive and ship your stuffed carcass to your old man, and then I'll pluck and stuff him as well when he tries to kill me, and I'll force-feed both of you to Alastor on New Year's Day."
"Why are you including me? I was not involved!" Alastor protested.
The door to the kitchen opened. Scrunchy floated right in, nearly knocking out some pans.
"Great morning, everyone! Really psyched that the boss gets to go to her first mall outing in Hell! Wait till she sees all the merch!" He chuckled.
"Uh, please tell me that isn't Indigo's Robo-Fizz ripoff butler…" Octavia groaned.
"When did she tell you about that?" Charlie asked. Nonchalantly, Octavia shoved her phone in front of Charlie's face, revealing the Messenger chat the two teens had on Voxtagram.
Papillon_Party_Hearts: Scrunchy is alive. Sentiency Schnapps and Zombie Threads. I basically created Bill Cipher in Annabelle.
Gothchick17: No fucking way. Wait, who's Bill Cipher and Annabelle?
Papillon_Party_Hearts: (
Papillon_Party_Hearts: Remind me to have you watch human pop culture more often… Anyway, Scrunchy's gone psycho. Major breakdown…
Gothchick17: I'm passing by tomorrow with Kyle and my friend Loona. Ya know…
Gothchick17: My friend who happens to be the adopted kid of the guy my dad fucked around with, ruining my life at home?
Papillon_Party_Hearts:…
Papillon_Party_Hearts: What kind of sick sitcom Saturday night crap do you live in?
Charlie didn't need to see the rest and gave Octavia her phone back. "Well, Indigo's adapting to Hell fast. She's using the word 'crap'. But seriously, 'Papillon Party Hearts'? That's how she goes on Voxtagram?"
"Not my business how she picks her social media name, LuvRnbows1812," Octavia snarked, putting her phone back in her pocket.
Indigo finally stepped into the kitchen. Everyone stared at her in alarm. She had on her person the dress she had purchased from Rosie's, the dark blue one with the ruffled petticoat, cuffed sleeves, and bowtie. However, the layers of the dress were savagely ripped. Her loose hair was agitating, and a red admiral cloud floated over her head, with the unique twist of lightning bolts flying out of it. The black marks of tiredness under her eyes made her angry eyes terrifying.
"I… am going to murder… NIFTY!" Indigo hissed, stretching out her hands in fury. Charlie squeaked and hugged a disturbed Vaggie. Alastor and Angel Dust stared in disbelief, Scrunchy gulped… and Octavia just stared.
"Guess murderous desires could fit for sins to rehabilitate," the Ars Goetia shrugged. "Love the Jiangshi style. Works for ya. But it ain't ya. What the fuck happened?"
"What happened? Nifty goes through my manga AND my closet!" Indigo exclaimed. "When did she even get the chance to snoop through my room and destroy my outfits because they weren't 'girly' enough? IT'S 2021, NO ONE CARES ABOUT GIRLY CLOTHES ANYMORE!"
Alastor snapped his fingers. Indigo's dress immediately transformed to its original state. The butterflies flew away as she calmed down. "Thanks…"
"Naturally. It appears that her Highness invited you for a friendly outing at a shopping center. Angel Dust gave his consent," Alastor said.
"Aw, thanks!" Indigo gave Angel Dust a quick hug. "May I use my money, Mister Alastor?"
"Certainly."
"What money?" Vaggie asked.
"Her salary for the garden project. Remember, Vaggie?" Charlie pointed out.
"How much money, exactly?" Vaggie asked.
"I'm not stupid. And I'm not shopping for drugs, so don't you dare follow me around!" Scrunchy handed Indigo her purse, which she politely accepted before glaring at him. "And no, you're not coming, Scrunchy! Last thing I need is for you to get accidentally destroyed by some… giant boulder falling from the sky or an exploding billboard."
"I'm a reality warping bodyguard, not a domestic. I can't leave you alone, boss," Scrunchy said.
Alastor pointed at Scrunchy. A black bolt charged out of his finger and struck Scrunchy, turning him into a living brooch of Art Nouveau aesthetic.
"There you go, my chatty fellow! Portable, defensive, and stylish!"
"I did not consent to this!" Scrunchy's jeweled screeched in a high-pitched voice.
"Yeah, let's do consent next time… but this is handy!" Indigo took the brooch and pinned it over her left chest. "OK, let's go!"
"Don't forget. Come back by curfew, or else…" Angel Dust warned.
"I will be VERY careful!" Indigo promised. "NO fighting, no gambling, no stealing, no drinking, no make outs, no protests, no vandalism, NO DRUGS, and don't accept any candies or deals from demons I don't know. If I'm in danger, I call you."
"Good girl. Have fun."
Octavia opened the kitchen and courteously let Indigo out first.
"Seriously? You burst into our kitchen through a portal but you leave out the door with her?" Vaggie asked.
"I'm an Ars Goetia. Who do you think I am, Valentino?" Octavia snarked before closing the door.
MUCH Later
The outing to the Midas Mall was nowhere close to what Ines had experienced in life.
Driving in Octavia's limousine to the mall was an unordinary luxury, complete with soda cans, Chardonnay bottles, and Venetian glasses. It still surprised her that Kyle Ketamine, the homeless thyme demon, had agreed to come in, probably due to Octavia making reservations ahead of time for treatments at the mall's spa.
Indigo was initially intimidated by Loona, the tall, gothic Hellhound that Octavia had mentioned and who towered over the three other teenagers. Loona briefly ignored her for the first five minutes of the limo ride, but after a quick revelation of shared interests in dark fantasy films and… complicated relationships with their current surrogate parental figures, the butterfly demoness and the Hellhound quickly hit it off.
The Midas mall nearly gave Indigo a heart attack. Ten times the size of the Galleries Lafayette, retail shops, theaters, bookstores, food courts, arcades, spa, and a FREAKIN BLACK MARKET WITH PERMITS, were stuffed in the circular levels. Red light rays slipped through the green-and-yellow dome-stained glass image of King Midas transforming everything into gold. Demons of all shapes and sizes moved around. Indigo was almost overwhelmed by the sins she spotted.
Pride updating their blogs.
Wrath checking the black market for weapons.
Gluttony staining the food court.
Greed in all the shops, ATMs, and arcades.
Lust in the sole strip club and the couple erotic shops with Angel Dust's posters on the window displays.
Sloth at the drug vending machines and perfume shops.
Envy EVERYWHERE.
Indigo was lucky her friends didn't notice her lick her lips.
The spa appointment was first on the list. Despite the priority reservation, some demons dared to cut in line.
"Hey, bitches! Move off!" Loona growled.
"Like we give a damn, whore!" A lizard demon hissed.
Then Indigo did the dumbest thing she ever did all week. Pulling up her Hellphone, she put the Radio Demon on speaker.
"Indigo? How on Earth did you get your little hands on my telephone number?"
The line-cutters gulped when they heard the voice full of static coming from the phone.
"Miss Charlie gave it to me," Indigo said. "Quick question: what should I do if some strangers verbal harass one of my friends? Some demon called her a whore and I'm worried that it might be a warning…"
"You dismember them." Alastor's voice sounded ferocious.
The line-cutters quickly cleared off.
"Never mind. They apologized. Sorry for troubling you, Mister Alastor. Did you need anything from the mall?"
"Nothing, dearie! Just make sure to return in time for dinner!"
Indigo put her phone away. The demon at the front desk gulped as well when the group approached her.
"You know, I just realized today's our special free manipedis day!" The avian demon said. "Will that be with warm water soaks and macaroon snacking?"
The spa really was a treat. Kyle Ketamine soaked in a hot tub and received plant-based trimming treatments, Loona had her claws filed, and Indigo and Octavia both had at least five demons tending to them, constantly changing the tub water for their pedicures, fluffing their neck pillows, presenting platters of pistachio macaroons, and even giving a free facial.
They tackled several retail shops. Stylish Occult was a must. Despite not being much of a goth, Indigo's vision helped her spot clothes with enough envy in them to satisfy her needs. Some customers and at least three shop tenants at Stylish Occult mistook her for a model when she stepped out of the changing cabinet.
Then the uncomfortableness kicked in after the rumors spread out.
The line-cutters couldn't resist. They had to share around that a teenager was associated with the Radio Demon and an Ars Goetia. Their rumors were followed by repeated rumors that then changed to ludicrous rumors.
Rumors saying that she was the Radio Demon's daughter and an Ars Goetia's betrothed.
Rumors lead to terrified demons giving her stuff.
And then the next thing Indigo knew, demons were shivering until they quickly opened the door for her. Clerks charged her a fifth of all the things she wanted to buy and refused to let her pay the full thing. Some moronic janitor threw his own jacket to cover the wet floor he was moping. Once the group reached the food court, demons cleared a space so that the teens had a booth table all to themselves by the emerald fountain of Mammon.
Indigo was tapping her fingers in frustration against the table.
"Indigo… is everything OK?" Octavia dared to ask.
"I pulled a dumb move… I'm more frustrated at myself than at the whole mall…" Indigo grumbled. "JUST because this one time, ONE TIME, I used my connection with Alastor! They're gonna think back at the hotel that I'm one of those looney fans who goes around claiming to be BFFs with a celebrity!"
"Uh, you do know who you live with, right?" Kyle removed his mask and breathed ketamine at a nearby demon, knocking down the fellow and stealing his ale can. The girls glared at him as he drank the stolen booze. "It's Hell. You gals seriously thought I went around paying? I'm homeless!"
"I should hope I don't get homeless once Mister Alastor finds out…" Indigo pulled on her hair.
"You're fucking over nothin'," Loona didn't even look above her phone while she talked. "If it really had been a problem, that deer creep would have told you so on the phone."
"Loona's kinda right. You got nothing to worry." Octavia patted Indigo on the back. "Besides, from what I understood, the Radio Demon is the last person in Charlie's whole hotel to believe in redemption. Maybe he'll find it entertaining that you could resist giving a small scare and the unexpected gossip led to chaos. And it's not like you bought anything suspicious, so you're good!"
Indigo took a deep breath. "I suppose so…"
"Gossip is so common in Hell. They come and go, but they never last unless the royalty is involved. That rumor will soon get replaced by the upcoming extermination and taxes… Oh! Indigo, did they start telling you about the extermination?"
The talk about the extermination brought Indigo back to her senses. In reality, the staff hadn't talked about the extermination with her. From what she overheard, they were going to prepare the security measures once the garden party was over.
And from what she definitely knew, her deceased grandfather was an Exterminator and would try to approach the hotel. What a great way it would be to make introductions. Hey, everyone! It's my grand-père. I forgot to mention he's a demon-executioner angel. Don't worry, he won't bite!
"They… told me about the basics. Kyle, you're not going to play possum in dumpsters this year. I'll ask Miss Charlie if you can stay at the hotel during the extermination. JUST until it's over. I'm not forcing you to stay there."
Kyle Ketamine pondered. "Hm… my usual play-dead techniques in the alley or…"
"Dude, you get to stay in a hotel with fucking food and amo against angels! Just sleepover there!" Loona wacked him behind the head with her tail.
"Alright, I will!" Kyle snapped. "Hit me again and I'll knock you out with my bad breath!"
"Free samples! Free samples!" A pink-haired imp carried around a large tray of cups filled with some sort black-colored liquid composition. "Free samples from S's Sloth Smoothies!"
"Sounds like a new smoothie shop." Octavia held her hand up. "Bring up one for all of us to try!"
"Sure thing! How about our Heavy Huckleberry Hazard?" The imp held out the cup.
Indigo's hands suddenly balled into fists.
There wasn't a single ounce of envy in the smoothie. Not even one the size of a grain of salt. The whole smoothie was coated in Sloth.
It wasn't even an instinct that the smoothies might be drugged, but… the mere idea that someone would purposely give out food without envy in it ticked Indigo.
Nobody expected her to get up and suddenly push the tray against the imp. Smoothies coated her red skin.
"Indigo!" Octavia got up. Demons were staring from all over the food court. The imp looked at Indigo.
"I… am not… EATING YOUR GARBAGE!" Indigo growled, red admirals flying in a tornado formation. "EAT IT YOURSELF?"
The imp glared. The black smoothie on the imp floated and swirled around the imp, transforming into pink smoke. Pink and black sparkles appeared through the smoke until it cleared.
The imp was no more. Instead, a teenage demon took its place. Just about the same height as Loona, this demoness had close-to-human facial features and coffee-colored skin. Her knee-high magenta dress was black-striped, her maroon blazer and leggings had fancy pink poppy patterns, and her maroon flats and golden jewelry were the only single-colored accessories on her. Her bright pink hair went all the way down to her heels and bared black splashes on the tips and bangs, but the curious thing was how, when tied up, her hair looked like a head covering. Black sclera circled her pink irises as she glared at Indigo.
All the adults in the food court ran for their lives.
"Belphegor's daughter…" Octavia gasped. "Sahara Wishazel."