You know, I usually consider thirteen a lucky number...it's not here. XD

Melody Dear

Chapter Thirteen

It had been two weeks since Melody recuperated. Two weeks since being hired by the hotel. And almost two weeks since Alastor became her boss. He was dependable, listening whenever a problem arose, and always quick to give her what she needed. Outside of work, he treated her casually, same as before. But while on the clock, he was professional, and though still respectful, demanded she speak to him with proper respect and to "leave her sass in the hotel," as he so put it. Which she managed...

...just barely.

Melody wiped her brow, another layer of sweat and grass smudging onto her arm. She grimaced before pushing the archaic lawnmower forward. This was something she hated about Alastor. One of the few things, but still something. And it was that the Radio Demon insisted that she use only old fashioned tools to take care of the grounds. No plugs, no motors. Just the tool and her hands. What he called character building, she knew to be his own means of torture.

The messed up thing was that it wasn't the increase in physical effort that pissed her off about it. Nor the fact that she got dirtier or easily scratched herself as a result of Alastor's decision. Melody didn't care for that. In fact, being outside and working the grounds brought her a lot of joy. Especially when she got to care for the plants. The problem was when tasks like mowing the lawn, which was a huge undertaking as it stood, was more time consuming than it needed to be, thus taking time away from what Melody really wanted to do before her shift ended. This was only made worse whenever he just sprung the task on her while she was busy with something else.

She groaned and pressed onward. In theory, she could just go to Charlie about upgrading the lawnmower, but where was the challenge in that? Alastor knew this was annoying to Melody, and was most likely waiting for her to snap at him. The bat saw how he got a rise from pissing off Husk and Vaggie, and she was determined to take his poking and teasing in strides. Even if it meant biting her lip and saying nothing by the time the day was over.

Melody made it to the bottom of the cliff and allowed herself a smile, her lower ears twitching up and down as she stopped. The bat rubbed one of them. She thought she'd get used to the whirling sound in the distance, but instead, it continued to get on her nerves now. More than any inconvenience Alastor sprung on her. She didn't dare leave the grounds before Charlie thought she was ready, but if she could, she'd go out, hunt down the source of the noise, and stab it with her garden shears.

Her four ears stood straight as a familiar sound whisked behind her. "Hey, Alastor!" She said, forcing a smile onto her face and turning to face him.

"Hello, Melody Dear!" The Radio Demon said after manifesting. He then looked around, adjusting his monocle as he did so. "Well, look at this, Darling! Aren't you happy you tamed this wretched hill before it became a jungle?" He said, leaning forward, both hands resting on top if his cane.

Melody looked at her work, refusing to let her smile droop. She soon found it relaxing, though. "It does look nicer now," she said in a soft tone.

Alastor nodded. "Mm-hm! And this is why you mow the lawn more than once a week," he said to her, standing straight and twirling his cane.

The amnesiac rolled her eyes, but kept her smile in place. "Right. Was there something you needed, Sir? Or did you just come to check in again?" She asked, managing to keep her tone civil.

"Yes and no," he said, walking up to her. "I just wanted you to know that I'm heading into a meeting with Charlie and the rest of the staff. Monthly food and beverage meeting. We'll be in her office if you need anything," he told her.

Melody's eyebrow raised and she frowned. "Even Niffty? I thought she didn't take part in cooking," she said, rubbing the back of her neck.

Alastor's ears pinned back and his eyes narrowed. "She doesn't, normally. But she's been helping with dinner preparations for the last week and wants us to let her help cook more often," he said.

Melody chuckled. "Yeah, sorry about that," she said, giving him a warm smile. "All the debris from that damn fish attack-" She was interrupted by Alastor tapping her head with his cane.

He let out a chuckle before speaking. "Now, Melody Dear, how many times do I need to tell you this? No need to apologize for things outside of your control," he said, standing straight and holding his cane to the ground.

She let out a light chirp, her cheeks dusting pink but her smile remaining. "I know. It's just that you agreed to teach me how to cook more, and lately, it seems I don't have the time or the energy to give it. Shit, I haven't even been able to practice with the piano in over a week," she said, wiping the back of her dirty gloves over her forehead, creating a solid streak of brown across it. Her eyes immediately widened. "Not to complain about my job, I mean-"

Alastor pressed a finger to her lips. "Now, My Dear, don't start saying things that you don't mean. Besides, who could blame you? Your choice in past times are among the best, as far as I'm concerned," he said, before removing his finger.

Melody's ears perked up and her eyes widened. "Oh...right," she said, her cheeks growing darker. With how absorbed she was with work, she forgot that Alastor had that much in common with her.

The Radio Demon looked around one more time before turning back to her. "Hm. Tell you what! Water all the flowers outside and put everything away. Then you can be done for the day," he said.

She blinked at him. "R-really? Because I can-"

Alastor held up a hand, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Now, now, Dear. You've been working very hard. No need to exhaust yourself like this. Stopping early once in a while is fine," he said before gesturing to the landscape around them with his cane. "These grounds look like anything between a dumpster and a bombing range every morning, and by the end of your shift, they're pristine again. You need to give yourself the same care you give our land." He then looked back at her. "Because My Dear, in Hell, if you don't take care of yourself, then no one will," he finished, tapping under her chin with a hooked finger.

Melody let out a small laugh, casting a warm gaze in his direction. "Well, if you say it's okay, then I suppose it's alright," she said.

"Lovely," he said, the distortion in his voice deepening it. She felt a shiver go up her spine and Alastor turned around, twirling his cane. "Well, I'll leave you to it, Melody Dear. Can't keep Charlie waiting, can I? I'll see you at dinner!"

The bat waved Alastor goodbye as he walked back into the hotel. For as much as he enjoyed making her job difficult, she still loved his company and presence. Melody wasn't completely sure how much of his praise was genuine, but she knew at least some of it was, and that was enough. She felt undeserving of all of it, anyways. He knew that. But he kept doing it in spite of, or maybe because of that.

She let out a content sigh before grabbing the archaic lawnmower and putting it away. As much as she'd welcome being close to him, she knew she wasn't, and probably never would be. It was just a matter of time before she saw what Alastor's move was. And whatever it was, whenever it came, it wasn't going to be an invitation to lunch or a nighttime stroll. No, it would be sinister and harmful to her. It would benefit him and leave her in pain.

And that was exciting to her.

Melody shook her head, wondering if that made her a masochist or not. She didn't get excited at the prospects of someone else doing that, so did it count? After a few moments, she grabbed the hose and attached a spray attachment to the end before turning the water on. The hose was long and heavy, but it was worth it if Melody didn't have to fetch a watering can every ten minutes. Especially since it was one of the few conveniences Alastor actually gave her.

She watered the flowers, taking the time to make sure each plant was adequately nurtured before moving on to the next. They were like her babies to her. Alastor gave them to her when they were just sprouts, and now, those that weren't in bloom were getting ready to blossom. They were irises with white petals that had red streaks in them. They were tall, and each flower in bloom fit into the palms of her hands. Each plant had a few flowers surrounded by thin, wrinkly leaves, and were kept a few feet away from each other.

The bat permitted herself a smirk. The guys thought she was wasting her time trying to grow flowers by the gate, especially with how much other demons liked destroying the ground when the turf wars didn't. Quite the surprise they had when they saw the flowers in bloom. That was outshone by the girls, who looked at the fruits of Melody's labor with awe and joy. Charlie had been so overjoyed that she hugged the groundskeeper with tears in her eyes.

Melody finished within half an hour. She looked at her flowers for a few moments, and letting out a content sigh before bringing the hose back to the shed and turning the water off. She then removed the spray attachment and returned it to its spot on the shelf. Melody wrapped the hose in a circle before hanging it up. Once that was done, she went back outside to collect the remainder of her tools.

After another fifteen minutes passed, Melody was at the side opposite the shed and picking up her last tool. It was a garden rake, both old and worn, but also sturdy and reliable. She then began crossing the yard, making it as far as the path before the doors to the gate opened, and multiple sets of footsteps approached her.

"Well, well, well...what do we have here?" A rough male voice said, making Melody stop in her tracks. "If it ain't Alastor's Little Helper," the voice cooed at her, getting a laugh from four others.

Melody turned her head and wished she were looking at the sharks from last week. The men that walked in each had the face of a different jungle cat, and all of them were taller and more heavily built than Alastor was. If that weren't bad enough, they each had a knife in their hands and explosives strapped to their belts. And at being noticed, the other four moved around her.

"Where's your master, Little Lady?" The lion asked, a grit and growl to his voice.

Melody kept her mouth shut. They didn't need to know that Alastor didn't actually own her, and no witty quip was gonna help her here.

A swing of a blade made her flinch, and was followed by the head of her rake landing at her feet, and a trail of blood running down her cheek. The wooden pole to Melody's tool now had a diagonal slash through it. She stared at it with wide eyes for a moment then shifted her gaze between the guys in her peripheral vision. They were all laughing at her, licking their lips, and some of them even twirling their blades. Her gaze went back to the pole in her hand. And for a moment, the scene changed. From holding a ruined garden tool, to holding one of Vaggie's training spears, then back again.

The tiger in front of her laughed as she moved the pole so she was holding it at both ends and hardened her gaze. He started walking towards her with a casual stride. "Whatcha think you can do with that, Bitch? Kill us?" He asked her.

The last thing he saw was Melody's glare before she stabbed the sharp end of her tool into his eye. The tiger let out a startled scream and was about to cut the item again, only to be tossed aside by Melody.

His body hit the ground, and Melody twirled her makeshift weapon. "Didn't even cross my mind," she said, not even looking at the tiger. When she shifted her gaze to look down at him, she gave him a glare and smirk, tapping the wooden pole in her hand. "But now that you mention it, that's not a bad idea," she said before stabbing the tiger through his throat.

"Fucking Bitch!"

"Get her!"

Melody's head snapped, her smirk turning into a scowl as they ran towards her. She dodged them, moving so she didn't get surrounded again. When the leopard one got close, she scratched him across the bridge of his nose, then hit him between the eyes using the blunt end of her weapon. The panther tried to stab her, only for her to dodge him and knock his knife out of his hands before stabbing his shoulder. He growled and smacked her with the back of his hand, sending her and her weapon to the ground.

"You're gonna get it now, bitch!"

Pentious was working hard in his war machine, creating power tools for Melody. The snake truly felt bad for the bat, and he wanted to make her job a little easier. She was so exhausted at the end of her days that she barely had the energy for anything outside of work, Hell Lessons, and the rehabilitation exercises. Hell, the girl barely drank with them, and even when she did, she either only had a drink before dragging herself to bed, or she'd drink until she passed out at the bar. And now, she barely had enough energy to function.

He brought this up with the three operators after lunch. Charlie was very enthusiastic about and encouraging towards the idea. And where Vaggie was a little uneasy about it, she was impressed with Pentious's thoughtfulness and gave her approval. Her only stipulation was that he teach her how to use them, and that she wasn't allowed to use them unsupervised until Pentious was fully confident in her.

Alastor was the only one against it, at first. The man's hatred for such "noisy contraptions," and the insistence that hand tools would be better for her strength and endurance, were the base of his arguments. In addition, the shed was small, and there wasn't enough room for large, bulky equipment.

"I can make them smaller, Alastor!" Pentious pleaded, giving him a nervous grin and folding his hands in front of his chest. "And where hand tools are good for that, it makes her job take so much longer, and I'm worried about her well being. Melody's getting more and more exhausted with each passing day. She's barely functioning. And with how easily she can get sick, I think she needs something to lighten the load, and soon," he told him.

This news caught the three off guard, and when asking for clarification, Pentious told them everything he observed. This gave Alastor pause, before relenting. He told Pentious to listen to the women on the matter, and that he'd talk to Melody before this afternoon's meeting. Satisfied, the snake left and told the other men of the hotel. Angel got to go to work smiling, Husk got to breathe a sigh of relief, and both of them complimented Pentious on the matter.

He stretched his arms over his head, feeling his shoulders pop. A sign he needed a break, sadly. He was almost done with the weed wacker too.

Pentious stepped away from the new tool before slithering to the window. He thought if Melody were still working, then maybe he could give her a wave before going down to see her. However, this idea was forgotten as soon as Pentious saw what was transpiring. His eyes widened as he saw five men surround Melody, taunting her before attacking her. One of them approached her, and where Pentious felt some kind of relief when she stabbed the prick in the eye and throat, it only served to put the other four on the assault.

"Oh no!" He cried before returning to the hotel through his room. He slithered to the stairs, having no patience for the elevator to bring him down to the sixth floor. Once there, Pentious turned right, his breathing quick, and sweat rolling down his face.

He barged into Vaggie and Charlie's office, interrupting some disagreement between Vaggie and Alastor when he did. Everyone's eyes widened when he slammed the door open.

"Come quickly! Melody's getting attacked outside!" Pentious yelled.

"What?" Charlie shouted.

Everyone sprang from their seats and followed Pentious outside. "Hold that cunt still!" They heard as they stepped out.

The sight that greeted them was gruesome. A tiger demon was lying dead on the pathway, and two other demons had scratches on them. There was a busted wooden stick on the ground, stained with blood, and Melody had bruises and cuts all over her face, as well as a few gashes on her arms and legs, as well as one at her right shoulder, and another on her left hip.

She was being restrained by a jaguar demon, one arm holding both of hers to his chest, while the other put her in a choke hold. A lion came at her with his knife, only for her to kick his chin and bite down on the jaguar's arm as hard as she could. The jaguar roared, struggling to get his arm free at first before using all of his strength to toss Melody into the fence. The force of the impact created the highest pitched scream she had ever made.

The jaguar ran towards her as she slid to the ground, snarling as he ran towards her with his blade raised. When he struck, he found himself hitting metal. He looked down, his anger turning to dread as the Radio Demon looked up at him, his ever permanent grin accompanied by a harsh glare.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Alastor said, shaking his head at the jungle cat. "Didn't your parents ever teach you to never harm a lady?" He asked right before a tendril struck the demon through the gut before tearing him in half. Alastor began laughing maniacally as he went after the other three, tearing them apart before he gave them the release of death.

While Alastor toyed with them, Vaggie and the others ran around the carnage to get to their injured friend. They made it to her by the time Alastor was finished with them. "Melody!" Charlie yelled.

Alastor turned around as the others gathered around her, watching as her purple eyes struggled before sliding shut.

First fight scenes of the fic! I know it was brief, but don't worry. There will be more to come. ;)