HEAVY WARNING FOR:
Uncensored curse words, graphic descriptions of gore and violence, parental issues, mentions of sexual language and activities
Basically a whole lotta triggering and depressing shite so READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
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3rd Person POV
"Haaaah…. Pheeew…" Ayden took a deep breath with her eyes closed before they snapped back open for her to break out into a run through the newly installed obstacle course set in the hotel's backyard; one made from construction equipment and extra furniture to imitate various components: hurdles, tunnels, balancing beams, a climbing wall, monkey bars, and trampolines.
After the events of the studio visit, Ayden had talked with Charlie about adding the obstacle course to 1) work on Ayden's fire abilities in an athletic and acrobatic setting to work on her eventual routine for the hotel and 2) to work off any pent up aggression and energy she found herself wanting to use for fighting. The only condition Charlie, and really it was more Vaggie's idea, put in place was that every time Ayden destroyed more of the course than necessary out of pent-up anger and aggression, she had to write in a new journal that was given to her to work through her issues in a more "healthily manageable outlet" in Charlie's words.
Since it'd been installed, Ayden had been on it multiple times a week, improving her control over her powers, accuracy with them, and learning some new things about them; she could create fires from her bare paws, but it severely drained her after continuous use, so manipulating from existing sources buffered that, her healing ability's rate was affected by how strong the fire she was using to heal herself was and the longer she waited to heal something, the higher a chance it would scar, using her powers around other pyrokinetic users (so far the only ones being Charlie and Alastor) boosted their abilities as well (something that was discovered on accident when experimenting with fireworks with Charlie), and sometimes scratches she made could be combusted a few seconds later at the snap of her digits, all things she was still working on improving with some success…
"Hah!" Ayden jumped on the trampoline to grab onto one of the tall monkey bars and swung herself back and forth to get up and around to launch herself onto the raised balance beam, landing in a crouch before continuing running along the beam,
*FTHOOMP!*
Narrowly dodging the ball that the ball launcher spit her way before she used a fireball to strike down some of the others that were projected her way,
*FTHOOMP!* *FTHOOMP!*
*PSH!* *PSH!*
"Hup!" Jumping off the end of the beam, Ayden grabbed onto one of the ropes attached to the top of a wooden pole like a maypole and swung around, shifting around to wrap and secure the rope around one leg and extra secure with her tail to spin around upside down freeing up her hands to create sparks that trailed behind her before spreading out and zipping around like fireflies before dimming out as the swing came to a slow and she detached herself to somersault across the ground, landing in a crouching kneel with her head bowed as she caught her breath,
"Phew Phew.. Pheeew…"
"Damn Fuzzball!"
Ayden looked up to see Angel standing there with an impressed smirk and smiled back at him as he added,
"You've been gettin' better at that, ya didn't even trip this time."
"Ya saw that?!" Ayden's smile turned to a whine as she remembered how last week she'd tripped on one of the hurdles and wound up tumbling into the maypole and basically stringing herself up in the ropes that left her hanging there trapped for a couple of hours.
"Ohhhh yeeeah…" Angel drew out with a smug expression making Ayden retort back,
"And ya di'n't help me down?!"
"And lose the entertainment during 'Gratitude Exercises?' I didn't think so."
"Mrrr…" Ayden made an annoyed cat sound before Angel went over with her phone in hand from where he'd found it at the beginning of the course to note,
"BTDubs your girlfriend's been texting."
"Still not my gi'lfriend…" Ayden deadpanned before opening her messages and seeing the messages Via sent her,
*Hey you doing alright?*
*Haven't heard back from you in a minute*
*Check out this bad boy I found*
An image of a taxidermied animal that looked like a mix of beaver, skunk, and deer with four glowing red eyes and fangs was on display under a glass dome on a platter with Via holding it up with a smile
Ayden smiled before typing back,
*That thing looks gnarly as fuck!*
Via's response came a few seconds later,
*Right?!*
*But my dad just 'had' to post it 'eye-roll emoji' ◔_◔ *
Ayden frowned for a second before texting back,
*Been alright, just dealing with sum shite*
*Sounds like the usual*
*You down to hang tomorrow?*
"~Yeeaah are you down to hang tomorrow?~"
Ayden jumped a bit when she realized Angel was peeping over her shoulder to look at her phone and she swatted him away while hissing non-threateningly,
"Bugger off!"
And Angel held all his hands up in mock surrender even as he continued to tease,
"Ok ok yeesh! ~So touchy for someone who you say isn't your girlfriend.~"
But Ayden's deadpan glare made him stop joking as he spoke a bit more seriously,
"Ok I'm done for real this time" Moving to pat her shoulder as he suggested,
"C'mon. Let's go grab some grub."
*Grrrrr…*
Right on cue at the mention of food, Ayden's stomach gave a small growl and her ears drooped a bit and she grinned sheepishly in embarrassment as she agreed while putting her phone in her pocket,
"Yeh…"
"Last one in has ta finish the leftovers!" Angel abruptly challenged before starting to run back into the hotel making Ayden yell as she jumped up and shifted to hellcat form to scurry after him,
"No way! I'm not finishin' that gruel Pen made!"
The two of them made it inside and were about to bolt for the kitchen when they skidded to a stop at seeing what was going on in the living room; papers were scattered everywhere aside from the ones pinned to multiple boards with red string connecting some of them and sticky notes over other with the whole things being darted around on by Charlie as she was muttering in a panicked tone while banging on her head and tugging on her hair,
"I'm just not quite understanding why it's not working. Okay, okay, think Charlie. Think, think, think, think, think, think, think, think. Okay if I do this, it's going to be- Hah! I have trust falls every single morning. We can do- Hah!"
"Yyyyikes…." Angel drew out as he and Ayden went to join Husk, who was pouring a bottle of alcohol into his morning coffee with an unnerved look, Niffty, who was excitedly watching the frantic chaos with glee, and Sir Pentious, who was watching Charlie berate herself with worry,
"Come on, come on, come on, come on. Come on Charliiiieeee…!"
"No'mally I'd say she'll be apples, but this…? This is a new kinda troublin'." Ayden noted in dubious mixed concern as she shifted back to demon cat form to sit on the couch arm opposite from where Vaggie showed up to question,
"Charlie? Sweetie? You, uh, you good?"
Making her look back at them with a sleep-deprived, and frankly mildly insane, look in her eyes with red veins branching through her sclera as she ranted crazily,
"Nope! No, not really. Ha ha. I've been up all night trying to figure out why the hotel isn't working." She crushed a paper in her grip as she continued ranting, "We've done trust falls, we've tried sharing our feelings, we only have a couple months left before the angels come." Her demon form flashed out with fire edging around her loose hair and horns, the same happening to Ayden as she unknowingly supplied it, as she laughed maniacally before turning back to normal, "HAHAHAHAHAHA! And at this rate-"
"Maybe it's time-" Vaggie started to say but Charlie started trying to stop her,
"NO."
"-to ask-"
Even going up to her face to try and stop her,
"DON'T SAY IT."
"-your dad."
"Haaaaaah!" Charlie groaned while flopping over the back of the couch as Vaggie tried to reason,
"Charlie, I know you don't want to, but we need every advantage we can get."
"He let the extermination happen to begin with. They just had a meeting and said, 'Go ahead and kill everyone'-Hah! Wait, that's it!" Charlie rose up from the couch with a hopeful tone before Vaggie questioned in uncertainty,
"Kill everyone?"
"No! He could get me a meeting with Heaven!"
"Didn't we already try that?" Vaggie questioned before Charlie clarified,
"Well. yeah with Adam, he was an asshooole. But he isn't in charge of all of Heaven. We could go to the top. There's sure to be some angels who will listen."
After pulling out her phone, she scrolled through her contacts before finding her dad's but hesitated to press the Call button so Husk asked,
"What's the holdup? You got daddy issues?"
"Uhh is the'e anyone he'e who doesn't?" Ayden questioned a bit critically before Charlie answered Husk's question,
"No, we just have never been close... After he and Mom split, he never really wanted to see me. He calls, sometimes, but only if he's bored or like needs me to do something."
But that only seemed to confirm Husk's suspicion as he commented to the others,
"Daddy issues."
"Been the'e…" Ayden agreed nonchalantly as she checked her claws before Angel spoke up from where he leaned over the back of the couch between Ayden and Niffty,
"Well I'd like to meet the big dick in charge."
"~The ultimate bad boy.~" Niffty teased while playing with a kitchen knife before giggling maniacally causing Ayden to shift away from her with a disturbed expression that Angel matched as he took the knife out of her grip to hide before she continued with a semi-flirty tone, "I bet he's scary."
"If he's Cha'lie's dad then prob'bly not…" Ayden noted as Charlie hit the Call button and waited a little bit before it answered and a voice came through,
*~Heeeey~ bitch!*
"Pft!" Ayden threw her paws over her mouth to stop the laughs from coming out at that response before Charlie started talking with her dad with everyone listening in,
"Hi, Dad."
*Hey! How are you? Oh ho ho. Where-where are you these days?*
"You know where I am Dad. I've told you before."
*You have? Oh, yeah uh, well, you know, I uh-*
"I told you when you called me five months ago, or did you not listen?"
*No, no, no, no. Just, you know, just forgot. You know, I've just been really busy, you know, with, um, important things.*
"Well, I'm actually running a hotel to rehabilitate Sinners." Charlie looked toward Angel, Ayden, and Pentious as she said that and he tried to give her an encouraging nod that Ayden backed up with a double thumbs up before asking her dad, "Maybe you saw our commercial?"
*Oh, sadly, I missed it. heh heh. You know, I haven't been watching much TV lately. Scrambles the brain. Blehelhe! But hey! A hotel, fun.*
"Listen Dad, I've got kind of a big ask."
*Yeah, of course. Anything in my power is yours for the asking. You just ~name it…~*
"I need to speak to Heaven. Well, whoever's in charge up there, above Adam, above anybody. I need to go to the top."
*Oh, no. ~Nooo–oooo~ No, no, no, no, Charlie, no, no, no. That's, uh hah, no...*
"Look Daaad…!" Charlie bit out in angry impatience that made everyone wince before continuing in her normal tone, "I don't ask you for much, I never have, but this, this is really important to me. It's the most important thing I've ever done. And I... need you. I need your help."
*I don't know, Charlie…*
"Please!" Charlie was begging at this point, "Just come see what I'm trying to do. You'll see why it's a really good idea. And Heaven is bound to agree if I get the chance to talk to them. Please, Dad…"
*Wait, you're... inviting me over?! Absolutely! Oh, I'll be there in an hour!*
"Least he wants ta actually come…" Ayden side whispered to Angel who nodded in consideration before his facial expression shifted to a sly one and Ayden held a digit in his face to say in a defeated tone, "Don't! I hea'd it too…"
"Hey you said it, not me." Angel noted before Charlie caught their attention with,
"Welp, we have an hour until he gets here."
"Okay people!" Vaggie got into drill sergeant mode again making everyone stand up straight at attention, except for Husk and Niffty who spilled coffee on himself and she fell to the floor on her face, before Vaggie devised, "Lucifer is on his way. So we are going to get this place presentable and we are going to make an amazing impression. ¡Vamonos!"
And everyone scattered to do their things to help prepare for Lucifer's arrival; Sir Pentious and Niffty made cookies, with his coming out neat and hers coming out looking like they'd seen a bloodbath in the oven she crawled out of with them, Husk cleaned glasses at the bar, and Razzle and Dazzle put up a banner that read "Wellcum Daddy" that Ayden noticed and asked Angel as he was putting on his makeup in front of a compact after he had done hers and was fixing her arm wrap after having helped put the streamers around the foyer,
"Didja make that banne'?"
"~I'll never say…~" He teased before she felt a familiar shudder and looked up to see Alastor walking in to watch them all from the mezzanine and she frowned before asking,
"Know whe'e he's been the last couple'a days?"
"No idea." Angel responded as he put on blush and closed his compact to see Niffty staring at him creepily while Ayden narrowed her eyes at Alastor as he descended the stairs to go by the front door with Charlie and Vaggie before Charlie announced once everyone gathered in the foyer,
"Okay everyone, it's ~showtiiiime!~"
Before opening the door to reveal Lucifer standing there with an excited look on his face and his arms thrown out,
"Charlie!"
"Hey, Da-" She gets cut off when her dad hugs her tightly making them both squeak as he cheered,
"Oh it's so good to see you! Haha!"
"It's uh, good to see you too, Dad."
Neither of them noticed that Alastor behind them was smiling in a strained way while his left eye twitched in anger at Lucifer but Ayden noticed as she mentally questioned,
'The fuck is up wi'h him…?'
Before Charlie was released so she could catch her breath, clear her throat, and introduce everyone formally,
"Ahem. Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel!"
Two Egg Boiz popped some confetti poppers before Ayden sent two mini streaks into the air to create a sparks shower that rained down like glitter over them all before fizzling out as everyone smiled.
KeeKee showed up and twined around Lucifer's leg before he saw her and cooed while patting her head,
"~Oh hewwo KeeKee!~"
Before Razzle and Dazzle flew over to him as he greeted them while spinning around playfully,
"Razzle, Dazzle. ~Ohroodoodoo!~ ~Ohh look how much you haven't grown. Still fun-sized. You taking care of my wittle girl?~" His baby tone changed to a deeper demonic one, "You better be." Before going back to normal as he snickered a bit before walking around taking in everything and everyone,
"Wow! This place sure looks, uh... uh huh yah uh huh…"
"It's got a lot of cha-a-aracter!" He recoiled to a stop in front of Ayden as he choked on his words making her lift a paw in a tentative greeting,
"Sup?"
"What's a h-OH, what in the unholy hell is that?!" Lucifer yelled in revulsion as he looked past Ayden and saw the bar area causing his second freak-out.
"Just some of the renovations we had done. Adds a bit of color, don't you think?" Alastor answered as he reformed from his shadow to be closer before Lucifer looked at him suspiciously while pointing his cane at him,
"And you are?"
Alastor reappeared behind Lucifer to greet him by shaking his cane and shaking him in turn before discreetly wiping his hand on his coat as he spoke,
"Alastor. Pleasure to be meeting you, sir. Quite a pleasure. It's nice to finally put a face to the name. You are much shorter in real life."
"Who is this? Who is this man? Are you the bellhop?" Lucifer asked Charlie as he pointed to Alastor with his cane before he laughed,
"Aha! No! I am the host of the hotel. You might have heard of me from my radio broadcast."
"Hmm, nope! I guess that's why Charlie called it the Has-been Hotel, ahaha." Lucifer jabbed while elbowing a nervous smiling Charlie before the two of them went back and forth insulting each other,
"Ha ha ha. It was actually my idea."
"Ahaha. Well, it's not very clever."
"Ha ha! Fuck you!"
The two of them were practically butting heads in confrontation before Charlie got between them to separate them with an exclaim,
"Okay!"
"Am I the only one findin' this wei'd?" Ayden whispered to Angel as Charlie started showing her dad around but Angel asked,
"What?"
"That Alastor might be.. jealous.. of Lucifer?"
"Eh I gave up tryin' ta understand Smiles since Day 1 of'im being here…"
"Might as well do the same Kid." Husk butted in, having overheard their conversation, "Al's a mystery because he wants to be."
"I still wanna know what his deal is…" Ayden looked back over at where Alastor was placing his hand on Charlie's shoulder as she smiled at him while her dad glared at him as he told him,
"Quite an impressive young lady. We're all very proud of her."
"Ahem, Charlie! Dear, eheh," Lucifer stepped between the two of them to gesture to the others while suggesting, "Why don't you introduce me to your OTHER friends?"
Angel was trying to grab a cookie from Pentious's tray of them as he tried to shield them with his body when Charlie came over to bring Vaggie close to her father and she nervously smiled and waved to him as Charlie introduced her,
"Oh, yes, of course. This is Vaggie, she's my girlfriend."
"Oh my golly! You like girls? Yes, so do I. We have so much in common! You put her there Maggie." Lucifer enthused before pulling Vaggie into a tight hug as he complimented her and she greeted him,
"Hey! Oh yeah. She's so pretty."
"Lovely to meet you, uh, sir."
Before Charlie introduced the others,
"And this is Sir Pentious and Angel Dust, our guests!"
"Your Majesty!" Pentious shouted as he saluted Lucifer before falling back forward into his cookies just after Angel managed to snag two for himself and Ayden as he greeted flirtatiously,
"~Heya short king.~"
"Husk is our bartender, Niffty's our housekeeper, and Ayden is our on-site performer and secondary security guard." Charlie finished up introductions as Husk gave a two-finger salute, Ayden gave a small wave with the paw that wasn't shoving the cookie into her mouth, and Niffty scurried up to Lucifer to climb onto his coat while giggling,
"Nice to meet you."
"Mph-eya."
"Hello. Hehe! I clean. Hehehe!"
Out of nowhere the chandelier fell and crashed to the floor kicking up a large cloud of dust that made everyone cough, Ayden sneezed a small plume of embers before Lucifer laughed from where he and Alastor were standing close to the fallen fixture,
"Choo!"
"Hahaha… Alright then."
Before he swung his cane to clear the dust before he started to sing to his daughter,
Looks like you could use some help.
He appeared on a throne while surrounded by fires that rose when he raised his arms,
From the big boss of Hell himself.
'Ok now this is gettin' real freaky…' Ayden thought to herself as she watched with the others as Lucifer sang about being willing to do anything to help his daughter before Alastor butted in with how he's already done more for Charlie than him, to the point of implying being a new father figure to her.
"Now d'ya find this wei'd…?" Ayden whispered to Angel who just looked at her with a confused expression before asking,
"Why do you care so much?"
"Is it cause of your daddy issues?" Husk butted in again making Ayden scoff incredulously before arguing,
"I don't have 'daddy issues…' anymo'e…"
"Mmmmhmmm…" Husk made the "yeah right" hum while exchanging a glance with Angel and Ayden looked conflicted before shaking her head and trying to state with a firm tone,
"My dad left me behind as a baby. What do I care if he neve' shows his face to me?" Her tone turned a little more wistful as she started listing, "Neve' showed up fo' my bi'thdays, taught me how ta fight o' use these powe's, or do whatever it is dads do wi'h thei' daugh'ers…"
Angel and Husk's expressions turned to mild worry before Ayden turned the metaphorical corner and tried to play it off like it was nothing,
"So yeh I di'n't need'im b'fo'e I don't need him now."
Turning away while crossing her arms before their attention was turned back to the song as Lucifer and Alastor started quarreling in song,
What a bunch of losers!
Can you butt out of my song?
Your song?! I started it!
I'm singing it! I'll finish it!
Oh you tacky piece of-!
But right as they were nose to nose and close to enough to get at each other's throats, the front doors burst open to let a short and stout Sinner woman barge in and start singing,
It's meeee! Yes it's meeeee!
I know you were all waiting for meeeeeee!
Before she started going around throwing confetti in everyone's faces, making Ayden wrinkle her nose in displeasure as she sang,
I'm heeeeere! What a gaaaaas!
Took a while but I'm present at laaaaaast!
It's meeeee! It's meeeeee!
She suddenly appeared up on the second level before jumping down to skid on her knees and draw out her name,
Mimzyyyyyyyyy!
Everyone was silent for a few seconds before Lucifer questioned,
"Who?"
"Yeah who?" Ayden questioned readying herself in a defensive position with her claws unsheathed when the lady spoke again,
"Didn't you just hear me? Why is everybody gawking? Is it cuz I'm adorable?" "Mimzy" spoke up before noticing Ayden at the front and questioning,
"What's got the Tomato Tabby's tail in a twist?" Before she chuckled as she pinched Ayden's cheek, completely unfazed by her defensiveness, "Heh try sayin' that five times fast."
"Mimzy!" Alastor exclaimed as he simultaneously pushed Ayden aside while lightly whacking her head with his staff as he held his arms out in a hug-ready stance while Mimzy spoke to him playfully,
"Alastor! Sweetie, Doll-face, so good to see you! How've you been? Good? Good."
The two of them hugged each other with the air of old friends reuniting before Mimzy told him as she looked around the hotel,
"Listen, I was in the neighborhood. I heard you were staying at this ritzy slob factory, so I figured I'd stop by and say hi! For old time's sake."
"Of course, sweetheart! Everyone is welcome here!" Alastor assured her before Charlie walked over to the two of them and asked cheerfully,
"Oh, how nice! So you two know each other?"
"Oh yeah, we go way back, ran in the same circles when we were alive." Mimzy pulled Alastor down to her level in a hug before recounting, "You know, this one used to frequent the club where I used to perform." She went over to Charlie to tell her before dancing when she remembered, "He's the only one I knew who could pound whiskey like a sailor and then keep up with me on the dance floor!"
"Oh, quite a talent, this gal. Ho ho! You should've seen her in her heyday!"
Ayden was making a "whaaaat…?" face at Alastor genuinely smiling and speaking highly of someone who wasn't himself when Mimzy spoke up in a slightly offended tone as she fixed the top of her dress,
"Hey, watch it, tall, dark, and creepy! I'm still in my prime!"
Before she spotted Lucifer and her attitude changed to impressed infatuation as she spoke
"Oh, oh my stars! Hah! Is that Lucifer?"
Pushing past Pentious and Ayden, who hissed at the rude action, before she stood in front of Lucifer to curtesy and greet properly,
"Move it! Please to meet ya! Your Highness."
Before side whispering to Alastor through a gritted-toothed smile,
"Alastor, you gotta warn a girl when she's in mixed company."
"Charmed, I'm sure." Lucifer greeted her back with an awkward smile before it changed to disdain as Alastor spoke up again,
"As much as I'd love to catch up, Charlie and I have a tour to continue."
But Lucifer tried to take his daughter away from Alastor as he argued,
"I'm sure Charlie can handle showing me around-"
Before Alastor showed up to drag Charlie in a different direction to dispute,
"Nonsense! We started the hotel together, and we'll show it off together. Right, Charlie?"
"Oh, right." Charlie spoke, either oblivious to the tension between her father and Alastor or unbothered by it before she and Vaggie led on with Lucifer behind them as Alastor told Mimzy before following them,
"Why don't you let the others help you settle in, and I'll be back before you know it."
Once the "tour group" was gone, Mimzy walked up to the bar and asked,
"So, where can a girl get a drink around here?"
Husk was groaning in irritation as he cleaned a glass before Mimzy came up and teased,
"My, my, is that Husker? Alastor still has you slinging hooch for him, I see. Hahaha! Classic! How've ya been, Furball?"
"Good!" Husk answered before muttering not-so-subtly, "Until five minutes ago…"
"Oh, don't tell me you're not happy to see me! ~You might hurt my feelings!~"
Husk rolled his eyes as he went to get a drink for Mimzy before she turned to talk to Niffty,
"Hey Niffty, whatcha been up to, girlie?"
"Fightin' bugs." She answered cheerfully before Mimzy noticed a bug crawling around and questioned in mild disgust,
"And uh, how's that going for ya?"
"They're winning," Niffty admitted before pulling out a large kitchen knife and smiling insanely as she spoke creepily, "but not for long."
"Uh huh…" Mimzy doubted but before Niffty could run off with the knife, Ayden took it from her with a panicked,
"Nuh uh!"
Making Niffty pout at her weapon being taken away before Ayden handed her a smaller dagger, one she thought would be less likely to hurt anyone by accident, as she told her,
"Use this one."
And Niffty took it while giggling sinisterly before running off as Mimzy critiqued,
"Ya really think that'll make a difference?"
But Ayden didn't answer her and just frowned and narrowed her eyes more before Mimzy commented boredly,
"Still don't trust me huh?" Before a glass was slid to her and she thanked Husk condescendingly, "Thanks, pussy cat!"
"Oh, fuck you…" He muttered before walking off, leaving the usual drinks for Angel and Ayden as he and Pentious walked up to the bar and took some seats close to Mimzy so Angel could ask while grabbing his and Ayden's drinks,
"So uh, you and Alastor are like, what? Friends?"
"Well, that's your word, not mine, but I think it fits."
Angel, Ayden, and Pentious looked at each other with doubtful looks making Mimzy question slightly offended,
"Why so surprised?"
"Well, I just didn't know he had any of those. He's been here a while and he's still a big, creepy mystery." Angel pointed out before Ayden asked while leaning closer to Mimzy with a suspicious glare,
"Yeh what's his deal?"
"Well since you asked so nicely…" Mimzy spoke dully and unenthusiastically before lightening back up to tell the others, "You've all probably heard the stories. He appeared in Hell suddenly, making a splash quicker than anyone had ever seen. At first, people wanted to dismiss him, but soon, Overlords started going missing, and not small ones neither. We're talking heavy hitters. No one knew what happened to them until these strange radio broadcasts started going out. All you could hear was screams. Every time an Overlord went missing, there'd be a new voice screaming in the broadcast!"
'Ok I already know all this…' Ayden thought in disinterest as she finished her drink and was about to ask Husk for a refill when she saw he wasn't there.
"Hmm?" She sniffed the air and her eyes lit up darker reddish pink tinged with gold as she caught onto Husk's scent heading down a hallway.
After looking back at the others to see that Mimzy was still telling them about Alastor, Ayden snuck away to follow Husk's scent down the hallway and eventually caught up to him to whisper behind him,
"Hey Husk…"
"Geez Kid," Husk jolted in surprise since Ayden had appeared out of nowhere before grumbling, "Maybe we should put a bell on you…"
"Try it and yer face becomes my new scratchin' post…" She deadpanned before asking, "You havin' doubts 'bout Mimzy too?"
"Obviously…" He grumbled before continuing, now with Ayden behind him, they caught up with the tour group while Charlie was explaining to her father,
"So, once we have the proof that redemption is possible, this whole hotel will be full of demons waiting to check out into heaven! We just need a little time to prove it. The sharing circles haven't been working as fast as I hoped."
"Hey, boss. Can I have a word?" Husk asked, holding Alastor up from the group as they continued without him and he twisted his head all the way around before his body followed suit for him to question impatiently,
"What is it?"
"You and I both know Mimzy only shows up when she needs something. That bitch is trouble, and who knows what kind of demon she fucked with to come running to you this time?"
"And if that's true then she needs ta leave now…" Ayden added with a dead serious glare while her arms were crossed before Alastor waved both their concerns off by saying flippantly,
"It's nothing I can't handle. Don't worry you two." Before saying as he was walking away from them, "Who in their right mind would cross me?"
"I mean, you've been gone for a while, and it's not like anybody knows why." Husk pointed out before Ayden added with a curious head tilt,
"Somethin' I know I'm very interested in knowin'…"
"You and the others don't need to know," Alastor slid back over to them to rub both their heads and ears as he spoke to them like pets, "~and don't you worry your fuzzy heads about it.~"
But it only angered and annoyed them both to where Husk snarled as he slapped his hand away before poking his chest and Ayden hissed while unsheathing her sparking claws,
"Grrr! You may own my soul, but ain't your fucking pet!"
"HAAH!"
"Hehehe…! But you are! Haha!" Alastor teased as he bent over backwards while twirling his head around 360 degrees before walking forward with the intent to catch back up with the tour group.
"Tch!" Ayden had scoffed, about to head back to the lobby to tell Mimzy off herself, when Husk caught her attention as he muttered,
"Big talk for someone who's also on a leash..."
Making both Ayden and Alastor freeze in place as she questioned incredulously while the lights started flickering around them,
"What…?!"
But chills raced up her spine when she saw how Alastor had peeked back over his shoulder at Husk with his pupils having turned into radio dials as their surroundings fritzed out when he questioned,
"Aha, what did you say?"
Before a glowing green chain manifested around Husk's neck forcing him to the ground on his face, making Ayden react defensively,
"Hey!"
*FWTCH!*
"Yah! Mph!"
But a tentacle sprouting from the floor to trap and pin her in place while also covering her mouth thwarted her plan to help Husk as she was forced to kneel while Husk panicked,
"Uhh, nothing! I, uhm…-agh!"
Before he was silenced with a tug on the chain as Alastor approached him while threatening as he wrapped the chain around his mic staff and pulled it taut,
"If you ever say that again, I will tear your soul apart and broadcast your screams for every other disrespectful wretch who dares to question me!"
During the threat, the lights were still flickering as a hint of his full demon form appeared when he stalked closer until he was bending face to face with Husk, who had been scared shitless as he responded in a shaky voice,
"Understood."
"Lovely." Alastor told Husk before turning to face Ayden as he directed to her, "And as for you…"
The tentacle trapping her dragged her closer with a clench of Alastor's fist until she was lifted to be nearly face-to-face with him in the blink of an eye as he straightened back up.
"Hrrrr…!" Ayden growled in his face once her mouth was released, trying not to let the fear settling in her muscles show on her face before he told her in a condescending tone,
"It appears you were lucky enough to get a clue for our little bet but don't even think about asking Husker for more hints. After all, he's still my property and our conditions clearly stated-"
"Ta stay outta each othe's spaces." Ayden butted in, heart still pounding in her chest but putting on a bold face to continue to sass, "Yeh yeh I di'n't fo'get…"
"Perfect…" Before, to her surprise, Alastor motioned for the tentacle to put her down on her feet before disappearing as he told her while bending down to her eye level even as she took a wary step backward, "After all a body strong enough to rip a heart out bare-handed is nothing without a strong mind to balance it out, another thing you've yet to learn as an impulsive bearcat."
Ayden made another "whaaaat…?" face at the unexpected piece of advice thrown in with a completely expected insult before Alastor straightened back up to fix his bowtie with one hand while his other hand twirled his staff around as he announced jovially to her and Husk,
"Good talks, my good chums! Always nice to catch up."
Before he finally left with old-timey jazz music playing in his wake, eventually fading as he went out of sight around the hallway corner leaving the two of them in silence for a few seconds.
"Seriously, that's the guy you made a deal with fer you' soul? Yeesh…" Ayden critiqued before noticing how Husk was still shaking slightly on the floor and asked with a bit more sensitivity while reaching a paw out, "Ya alright..?"
"What.. 'bet' did you make with him…?" Husk questioned seriously making Ayden pull her paw back and look away in guilt with her ears drooping down as she answered,
"Ta see who c'n figu'e out who's secret in exchange fer a favo'…"
…
"What the fuck were you thinking?!" Husk yelled bolting up to grab Ayden by the shoulders and shake her hard enough to make her head jostle back and forth almost painfully as he continued scolding her, "Al doesn't make deals he can't win! You've already been pissing him off as it is and if he gets your soul-"
But was cut off when Ayden pulled herself out of his grip so her pupils could stop spinning in her eye sockets as she griped back,
"Ya think I hav'n't dealt with patronizin' pricks like'im b'fore?" Shaking her head to fully focus before clarifying while making a swiping motion with her arms, "Souls were off the table I made that real clea' when I made that bet and at leas' this way he stays outta my space after the close call I had 'fter you all got he'e."
At that, Husk's frown only deepened as he warned,
"Just.. be careful around him. If he finds out you're.. what you are-"
"Yeh him an' ev'ry othe' Ove'lo'd in this fucked up shitehole that's Hell!" Ayden turned away to throw her arms into the air while referring to the realm before turning away from him as she crossed her arms and muttered, "All cause o' my dumbass dad…"
"I thought you didn't have any daddy issues." Husk jabbed jokingly, trying to lighten the mood but he didn't notice that Ayden's grip on her arms tightened until she whirled around to shout,
"Well I do!"
Making Husk's joking smile fall right off his face as Ayden started to rant while pacing back and forth, the air in the hallway slowly heating up with her growing irritation,
"The day I tu'ned inta this!" She gestured to herself before continuing, "He coulda showed up, left me a message o' somethin' othe' than jus' that crazy crystal! Now I gotta watch Cha'lie take fer granted that he' dad actually showed up, Al's bein' an arsehole using he' ta get ta him, Via's been complainin' 'bout stuff goin' on wi'h he' dad, and jus'-jus'-AGH!"
An angered yell sent out a small but bright flare of heat from her body to where Husk had to shield his face from the mini heatwave.
When it died back down, Ayden was left panting in place with her hair and clenched fists flickering with flames while her freckles and eyes glowed bright pinkish red.
"Agh…" Ayden put a paw to her forehead as the lights and flames died down leaving her with a headache that left her stumbling a bit in place before Husk managed to put a hand on her shoulder to steady her as he spoke gently, joking mildly at the end,
"Woah there kid, dontcha know what happens when ya bottle up your emotions for too long? They get more explosive than usual."
"Ha'dy ha' ha'... haaah…" Ayden laughed sarcastically before sighing as she pinched the bridge of her nose and muttered tiredly, "I need a drink…"
Husk smiled ruefully as he thought about how much she tried to copy Angel even in moments like this and told her while wrapping an arm around her shoulders to guide her back to the lobby,
"C'mon, I'll make your favorite."
"Thanks…" Ayden leaned her head closer to Husk and he smiled before giving her hair a tousle as a wing reached out to join the hug-like position before the both of them made it back to the bar.
Mimzy and Angel were still sitting there when she exclaimed in exaggerated shock,
"There ya both are! I was startin' ta think you were both ~avoiding me.~"
"Yeh?" Ayden started to say with a smile as she took her seat at the bar next to Angel further away from her while Husk went to work getting the ingredients for her drink before she deadpanned, "Well finish that thought…"
Mimzy narrowed her eyes at Ayden looking like she was about to snark something back when the whole hotel abruptly shook, jostling them all before they heard someone yell from the outside as the thuds continued to hit the front doors,
"Mimzy! We know you're in there you lousy bitch!"
"Oh shit…" Mimzy slid to the floor in a cower just as a sparkly golden ringed portal opened up to let Charlie, Lucifer, and Vaggie return to the lobby and she cursed,
"¡¿Qué Carajo?!" (What the fuck?!)
"What's going on?!" Charlie questioned in a panic while her father just smiled in a "told you so" before Mimzy admitted from her spot on the floor,
"I maaaaaay be in trouble with some loan sharks. I may or may not have borrowed 50 grand from-Eep!"
Another thud on the doors made her dart behind the bar counter with Husk as he and Ayden glared at her while Angel looked at her in growing disbelief as she continued,
"And I may have also stolen a car... and crashed it... into the loan shark's girlfriend, but that bitch had it coming!"
*KRSH!*
Fireballs smashed through the windows and walls and crashed through the wooden floorboards before spreading the fires around as everyone scrambled to dodge the other fireballs that came through from the loan sharks outside.
"My windows!" Niffty cried out seeing the destruction while Angel and Ayden hurriedly scooted back behind her to avoid the fireball that landed right in front of them.
"Ah! We're under siege!" Pentious yelled as he ducked out of the way of a fireball with his tray of cookies in his hands before shouting to the others, "Ah! Take cover!"
"Look out!" Vaggie yelled as she went to help Pentious before Angel yelled as he pulled Niffty away from another fireball,
"What the fuck?!"
But she scurried out of his grip to start trying to clean up the messes around while chaos ensued; Angel ran around trying to find cover, Husk tried to stomp out the fires near the bar, Niffty kept running around trying to clean, Pentious was screaming while avoiding the blasts, Mimzy stayed hidden behind the bar, and Ayden frantically looking around for something while Lucifer lectured Charlie as he remained the only composed one in the situation,
"You see? This is exactly what I'm talking about Charlie. You build something nice, you invite people in and offer them everything and they just bring violence and chaos to your doorstep. It doesn't matter how well-intentioned you are, they're always going to disappoint you."
Niffty was seen gathering glass shards from the shattered windows on the floor before Pentious tried to coax her,
"Niffty! Come along!"
Before grabbing her and lifting her above his head out of the way of the debris that fell where she was before.
"Whe'e's all the wate' buckets?!" Ayden shouted when she struck out trying to find them anywhere around the lobby, living room, and kitchen.
"I got rid of them once you started getting better with your powers!" Vaggie shouted back as she searched for her spear.
"Awww really?" Ayden was a bit touched that Vaggie had trusted her that much to make such a move before she was snapped back to the present with,
"Bad move! Cause now we're in a sucky position!" Husk shouted as he kept trying to stomp out the fires near the bar.
Ayden eyes widened when an idea struck her at that and she called out to the others,
"Hold on! Lemme try somethin'!"
Jumping in front of one of the various fires, she took a deep breath before exhaling until her lungs were nearly empty before inhaling deeply, the fire streamed to her mouth and disappeared as she "swallowed" it with a gulp.
"Brp! Pheew!"
She released a small smoky belch before sighing determinedly and moving on to the next fire and rapidly repeating the process until she got almost all the fires out so everyone could more or less stop panicking about the destruction going on inside while the loan sharks outside were reloading their weapons.
"Ok no mo'e o' that…" Ayden bent over with a paw on her knee as she hunched over tiredly while her other paw rested in a fist over her chest as she felt like she had just chugged five gallons of boiling soda and it was all burning in her chest, waiting to be released.
The whole time she had been "eating" the fires, Lucifer had been apprehensively watching her out of the corner of his eye before Vaggie announced while readying her spear,
"All of you! Get to a safe distance, I'll handle this."
But Alastor appeared from out of nowhere beside her to push her spear down as he told her before declaring menacingly,
"No, my dear, leave it to me... It's time I remind everyone why I am here…"
His demon form came out again as his eyes turned to radio dials before Mimzy popped up from behind the counter to whine loudly,
"Oh, finally! Took you long enough!"
"A reminder to all," Alastor continued his transformation as the hotel was surrounded with an eerie green light as tentacles appeared from his back when he proclaimed, "not to mess with the Radio Demon!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" He cackled as he sent the tentacles to smash the catapult the mobsters were using while piercing through several of them.
Mimzy appeared by the doorway to cheer with Ayden beside her, since she still didn't trust her,
"Yeah!"
Ayden gave her a "you fucking kidding me?!" expression before Alastor strode past them as he got bigger and bigger and completed his full demon form as he announced,
"I will devour each and every one of you!"
Before starting to massacre all the mobsters for attacking the hotel and, seeing all the blood and ripped-apart bodies, Ayden's paws started to heat up and felt itchy but she tried to keep the urge to fight and kill down until Mimzy elbowed her to enthuse, oblivious to her inner turmoil,
"Front seats! Eh? Eh? It doesn't get better than this."
"YOU-! Hrrr!" Ayden smacked her hand away while her claws were sheathing and unsheathing with the urge to claw at something before Mimzy just kept adding gasoline to the fire by taunting,
"What's the matter? Killer Kitten's feelin' pent up?"
Ayden grabbed at her head trying to block out all the mayhem that was just worsening the madness going on in her head when she heard Charlie ranting to her father about Alastor's "assistance,"
"-It may be a bit more sadistic than I'd hoped, but he's doing it for me! How come he can have faith in me but my own father can't?"
Before Angel was heard teasing from where he, Husk, and Pentious were still inside,
"~Ooh, drama.~"
"Grrrr! UGH!" Ayden shouted frustrated, her scream going deeper in pitch with her powers peeking out before-
*FWFWFWFWFWFWFW!*
Her ear twitched with the sound of an approaching helicopter overhead and she whipped her head up in its direction with her eyes and freckles glowing while her hair and paws flickered with flames again.
Before anyone could react, Ayden jumped as high as she could and climbed onto the marquee to make it to the top of the carousel that was sticking out from the hotel and letting the heat in her chest move upwards-
"AAAAAHHHHHH!"
Before she screamed in the direction of the helicopter and sent out blazing rings of flames accompanied by searing heat that all but melted the helicopter and everyone inside of it into flesh-riddled molten metal and slag that slopped harmlessly to the ground at a distance from the hotel before solidifying back into a hardened state with the encased victims trapped in positions of agony and torment seen even from the outside.
Panting with exhaustion, Ayden climbed back down to the ground just as Alastor had finished killing all the loan sharks and was reverting back to his normal form as he sighed while twirling his staff around skillfully,
"Oh, I missed getting to let off steam!"
"You 'n me both…" Ayden muttered in begrudging agreement as she made it back to the ground before Mimzy peeked out from where she had been hiding behind a pole and applauded Alastor while approaching him,
"Oh, Alastor! What a fantastic show! Bravo! As always. Thanks for helping lil' old me out of a tougher spot, you're always such a pal!"
Right before a piece of railroad debris fell to the ground close to her making her flinch away before "apologizing,"
"Oops! Heheh... sorry about the mess, but I'm sure the little bug can take care of it for you."
"I think you should go Mimzy, now." Alastor told her and she looked surprised for a few seconds before it quickly switched to her not taking him seriously as she teased,
"Oh pff, Alastor, you're such a kidder you! Haha, ~you are so funny!~"
Ayden's eyes went half-lidded in bored irritation before Alastor reinforced,
"I mean it. You deliberately brought danger to this place just to have me clean up your mess. I can't have that here."
Making Ayden raise an eyebrow in mild surprise even as Mimzy kept persisting,
"But you ~love taking care of me!~ Whaaat? You don't actually give a shit about this tacky place, do ya? Come on, ~I know you.~" Mimzy pushed against him before poking Alastor's chest with each word she spoke next, "~You. heartless. son. of. a. bitch!~"
Before he nonchalantly moved her finger off of him to poke her nose and moved to stand between her and the hotel as he asserted finally,
"You are welcome if you actually want to give redemption a shot, but I think we both know that's not really your style, so you need to leave."
"Fine! Who needs you? Have fun with your little princess and your little hotel! See if I care!" Mimzy bitched before flipping Alastor off as she stomped away into the distance.
"Don't tell me the great Radio Demon's actually got a hea't and does ca'e 'bout this place an' all o' us?" Ayden questioned jokingly as they both headed back for the hotel and Alastor responded without hesitating,
"About as likely as you controlling that childish temper of yours."
"Mrrr…" She made an annoyed cat noise before joining the others right outside the hotel as they were still watching Charlie and her dad, Angel and Husk holding buckets of popcorn while Pentious read through a TV guide by Vox as Angel commented,
"This is really getting good." Before directing to Ayden as he held out his bucket of popcorn to her so she could grab and shove a handful of kernels into her mouth, "You all good Ruby?"
Ayden looked away with a vulnerable expression on her face as she shrugged halfheartedly so Angel pulled her into a side hug and she leaned her head in to his side just as Charlie was pleading with her father as they reentered the hotel,
"Dad, just... help me."
"I... I can't." Lucifer protested while facing away from his daughter even as she argued,
"Why can't you?"
"Charlie!" Lucifer grabbed ahold of her shoulders before expressing brokenly as he pushed away from her again, "You don't understand. Heaven never listens! They didn't listen to me, they won't listen to you!"
"You don't know that!" Charlie argued before Lucifer told her with tears gathering in his eyes,
"I do!"
Before he started singing as he looked around the hotel again with a glittering swirl of magic in his hand,
You, didn't know that when
I tried this all before, my dreams were too hard to defend.
And in the end,
I won't lose it all again. Now you're the only thing worth fighting foooooor…
Lucifer twirled Charlie away from a beam of light before singing long notes as he cradled her in his arms in a protective stance,
More than anythiiiiiing, more than anythiiiiiing.
I'll shelter and adore you more than anything.
"Dad, I don't need you to protect me from this." Charlie told him as she gently pulled away from his hold before he voiced worriedly,
"I just don't want you to be crushed by them like... like I was..."
"Dad…" She whispered before starting to sing as well,
When I was young, I didn't really know you at all…
I always felt so small…
But I heard your stories and I was enthralled...
The tales about your lofty dreams...
I listened breathlessly…
Imagining it could be me…
So in the end, it's the view I had of you, that showed me dreams can be worth fighting foooooor...
More than anythiiiiiing, more than anythiiiiiing. Charlie sang the long notes while looking at everyone in the hotel with hope in her eyes and tone as she continued singing determinedly,
I need to save my people more than anything…
Causing her father to smile and sing while wiping happy tears away,
I've been dying to find out who you are...
I've been waiting, wanting the same thing...
Looks like the apple doesn't fall far…
Took you a while…
I've missed that smile...
The two of them pressed their foreheads together before dancing with each other as they sang together,
All that I'm hoping,
Now that my eyes are open, is that we can start again
Not be pulled apart again…!
Right before Lucifer's angelic wings came out as a portal to a magical dimension appeared and he picked up his daughter to take her through at they continued to sing their duet,
Cause iiiiiiin the eeeeend, you're a part of who I aaaaam.
Lucifer singing before they alternated lines,
I'll support your dream whatever lies in store.
And who could ask for more?
More than anythiiiiiing,
More than anythiiiiiing,
More than anythiiiiiing.
More than anythiiiiiing.
I'm grateful you're my father/daughter more than anything.
The two of them hugged and made it back through the portal to the hotel as they finished their song.
More than anythiiiiiing…!
The tender moment was broken by Pentious speaking with teary eyes,
"Aww, that was ssssweet…"
*TSSF!*
Just as a loud teary sniffing made some of them look at Ayden who was also shedding tears as she protested while trying to wipe her eyes clear,
"What…?! I got magic spa'kles in my eyes OK…?!"
Making Charlie and her dad smile a bit before his expression fell again as he told his daughter,
"Ok, I can get you the meeting but once you're in Heaven, I won't be able to go with you. Will you be ok?"
"I'll be fine." Charlie assured him as she put her hands over one of his on his cane and he put his other hand over hers to express proudly,
"That's my girl..." Sighing a bit before he disappeared in a reddish and golden sparkled flurry, "Good luck kiddo..."
Once he was gone, Vaggie went up to Charlie as she told her,
"This next part is going to be scary. Are you ready?"
"I'm ready," She assured her before pulling her into a hug as she told her, "cuz you'll be with me."
"In spirit, right?" Vaggie tried to imply before Charlie stated determinedly,
"In Heaven!"
"Yaaaaay…" Vaggie drew out unenthusiastically, making Ayden raise a brow at that in the background.
Later that night, while everyone was getting ready to sleep, Ayden was back out on the obstacle course, having rearranged it so she could try out a different sequence of actions while adding in some makeshift dummies with dumb-looking faces drawn on them to look like the loan sharks, and she was readying to start the course when-
*BVV-VVV!*
Her ears twitched up at the sound of her phone vibrating and she went back over to it as a new message from Via was shown,
*Hey, never heard your answer about tomorrow?*
Ayden's ears lowered a bit as she thought about it before texting back,
*Sum stuff came up
and I don't think
I cn make it*
*Sorry…*
The message was marked as read before the typing bubbles showed up and Ayden hurried to put her phone face down and on silent so she wouldn't see her reply.
Looking at the journal Charlie gave her next to her phone, Ayden considered writing in it for a second before deciding against it for some unknown reason.
'Why a'e feelin's so haaaaa'd….?!' Ayden whined in thought as she brushed her hair back out of her face while taking a deep breath before heading back to the start of the course.
"Hup!"
She jumped up onto the climbing wall and was rapidly climbing to the top so she could leap onto the monkey bars when-
"Got a second?"
"Yah!"
Lucifer's face appeared at the top making Ayden lose her grip and fall backward back to the ground where she landed on her backside and tail before lying on her back.
"This a bad time?" Lucifer asked as he was still on top of the climbing wall grimacing down at Ayden's tumble as she groaned in pain,
"It was…"
Before she managed to pick herself up and dust herself off as Lucifer descended back to the ground with his wings while commenting nonchalantly,
"Gotta say this whole course.. thing looks a bit rickety," Knocking on the climbing wall and a foothold fell off as a result before he continued, "Might uh might wanna get somebody to fix that and-"
"That really why ya had ta come and sca'e me shiteless? Ta judge my handiwo'k…?" Ayden snarked as she finished cleaning herself up and crossed her arms.
"Uh no nonononono!" Lucifer was quick to answer before clearing his throat and answering, "I just needed to ask you something."
"'Ight shoot." Ayden shrugged, making a "go ahead" motion with her eyes, as Lucifer hesitated before asking,
"Are you a Sinner…?"
"Nope I'm a Hellbo'n."
"Hoo boy I was kinda hoping you were a Sinner…"
"Whyyyy…?" Ayden drew out in growing suspicion.
"Cause uh Hellcats? …They're uhh they're not supposed to be… around anymore…"
"Wha's that s'posed ta mean?!" Ayden questioned forcibly, taking a step forward and causing Lucifer to back away with his hands up in a surrender gesture as he was quick to clarify,
"Woah woah I didn't mean like you're not allowed to be around just that.. they haven't been seen around for a few decades already so I kinda thought you were all.. gone?"
"Gone?" Ayden's defensive position turned to one of confusion as she questioned, "Like gone the way of the dinosaur?"
"Yeeeaaah.. just fvip veow gone…" Lucifer answered making flying motions with his hands before completely turning the corner to comment, "Man I miss those guys."
"What happened ta all of 'em…?"
"The dinosaurs? Oh that was-"
"Wh-No!" Ayden cut him off to correct, "Hellcats, what.. what happened to us?"
"No idea, there were thousands of them one day, across the realms, next thing anyone knew they're all gone."
"So that's why I can't find anything about them-us!"
Lucifer raised an eyebrow at the rapid correction before stating,
"Uh I know you're half human."
Ayden's eyes snapped wide open at that before questioning in disbelief,
"What…? How…?"
"I'm a Fallen Angel? My people created humans? I couldn't sense it before but now I can. It's.. it's really not that complicated to tell you're half hu-"
"SHSHSHSHHHH!" Ayden hurriedly waved her arms around while shushing him before looking around to see if anyone was around, her ears swiveling around to hear if anyone was near as well, before admitting, tone turning bitter at the end, "OK yes I'm half-human but ya can't tell anyone! 'Specially Alasto'...!"
"Wait you hate him too?"
"Well yeh-MRO-EEK!" Ayden answered before it turned to a meow squeak as she was crushed in a hug as Lucifer cheered,
"Then you're alright by me kid!"
"Can't-can't bre-eathe!" Ayden managed to choke out before being released so she could gasp and question, still wary, "So ya won't tell anyone?"
"Hey if you're secretly planning on 'taking care' of that rusty red, daughter-stealing, radio shrieking has-been, I promise to look the other way."
Winking at the end, Ayden smiled a bit unsure before saying as her stance relaxed a bit,
"Not su'e if I'm powe'ful enough to do that but I'm not lettin' him win ou' bet if I can help it."
"'Not powerful enough?' Kid you're a Hellfire using cambion?"
"'Cambion?'" Ayden tilted her head in questioning at that word.
"Half human half demon? Hellfire is strong enough on its own but cambions are stronger than humans and demons of any kind which boosts your power and your demon half being hellcat means your powers affect others too since they were known to amplify the abilities of beings around them."
At that, Ayden started thinking about how that's been proven right over the last couple of months before she sighed,
"True enough but still.. all this jus' sounds like a bunch of Ghouls and Grottos gibberish…"
"What and what now?" Lucifer slow blinked in blank confusion so Ayden just waved a paw to say,
"Neve'mind." Before asking, "So the'e's really nothin' on what happened ta Hellcats?"
"Sorry kid, wish I had something to tell you…" Lucifer apologized before sighing, "I could try to see if there's anything I might've missed but I need you to do something for me."
Ayden scoffed jokingly before saying,
"Sorry chief but souls are a no-go."
"Wasn't gonna suggest it." He deadpanned before pointing the apple-tipped end of his cane right in her face as he told her, "I need you to swear to me you'll continue to protect this place and everyone in it."
"That's it…?" Ayden questioned with a raised brow at that being the only condition as Lucifer turned to face the hotel and spoke forebodingly,
"I know my little girl believes in this place with her whole heart and I'm sure Maggie does an amazing job protecting her," Ayden snorted at the continued mispronunciation before turning serious again, "But Heaven's gonna be hard to convince and they might even see this place as a threat… if that happens I want you to defend it all."
"Done."
"I mean it! Until your last breath I- wait what?" Lucifer almost started to lecture dramatically before he stopped in surprise.
"I'll do it and not jus' cause ya told me to…" Ayden looked to the hotel as well as she smiled fondly to say, "this place… ev'ryone else… they mean a lot ta me.. and I'll be double-damned if I lose another home and mo'e friends…"
Lucifer looked to Ayden with a worried expression as she continued to look at the hotel with sorrowful nostalgia on her face, no doubt lost in past memories before Lucifer put a hand on her shoulder to make her look at him as he asserted,
"It's a promise then?"
Ayden nodded as she affirmed,
"'T's a promise…"
"Good…" Lucifer gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze before stepping away to depart, "Guess I'll be seeing you around kid."
Before disappearing in another reddish and golden sparkled flurry, leaving Ayden to sigh as she figured it was getting late and decided to head back in.
She went to grab her phone and only hesitated for a second before grabbing it and opening it to see that Via had sent her one message,
*I'm here to listen and help if you need it…*
A tear fell on the screen revealing that Ayden was tearing up again and used a paw to wipe her eyes before reacting to the message with a thumbs up and heading back inside, unaware of the glowing eyes watching her and following her moves from the outside…
Once she made it to her room, she went over to her drawers and pulled her choker back out before opening the locket to reveal the contents within; a picture of her mother and father, in a human disguise obviously, and, between them, her as a baby with the words 'Amor vincit omnia' engraved along the edge of the locket.
'This is my new family…' Ayden tried to assure herself as she shut the locket and tossed it back into her drawer while thinking about everyone in the hotel as she lay on her bed and her eyes eventually fluttered shut while gazing up at the single dimly glowing star crystal on the ceiling.
AN- Daddy issues… am I right?
Some notes and references for this one:
The image described in Ayden and Via's texts is the Instagram post shared by daddy_hoothoot (aka Stolas), I thought would be cool to include it since I've seen other Helluva Boss fanfics include the events from the Insta posts
"Ghouls and Grottos" is a spoof of "Dungeons and Dragons" (or "Creatures and Caverns" for you fellow Amphibia watchers : D )
Something that's going to be explored a little bit more in this story that is already lightly touched on here but hasn't quite made an appearance yet over in "Let's Kick Some Ash!" is the history and background of hellcat demons. While I'm pretty sure they're not already a part of Vivienne's Hellaverse, I'm still considering the world-building with Hellcats and their history I've been doing over the last few months to be fanon. So some of it is mentioned here but more will be revealed in the coming chapters of "Let's Kick Some Ash!" so I hope you all enjoy finding out more about my OC ^^
Something that has been touched on already, and was its own two parter in "Let's Kick Some Ash!," was Ayden's dad, Den, and, if you've already read it, you know exactly what he's like and somewhat of an idea as to what his plan is, but for this story, he's going to go about it differently since in this one Ayden's surrounded by beings he doesn't empathize with and won't hold back on when it will come to getting his daughter on his side…
At this point, I've only partially finished "Welcome to Heaven" so it looks like the updating streak might be broken : ' ( I'll do my best to get the last few chapters finished as soon as possible but because I want them to actually be well written and not half assed, along with all the other school and work stuff I've got going on causing my limited writing time and drained creative energy, it'll probably take a few weeks to get them done so I can get to the list of short story requests for both stories…. sorry y'all…
Until the next one, Bye!