Hell. The fiery abyss. The dark world.
For as long as it has been discussed, Hell has always been told of as a place of eternal torment, where all damned souls are condemned.
A place of punishment. A place of suffering, where there was no rest for the wicked.
A place where sinners would suffer punishment for eternity. No sun would ever go unpunished.
But Charlie Morningstar had been in Hell for a long time. Sure, some sinners may be older than she was, but Hell was her home.
It always would be.
The sinners may have been born upon Earth, but they were her people. Same as all hellborn demons. The moment they left the embrace of life and fell down into the hateful pit that Charlie called home, they became her people.
And she was sick of the way they were slaughtered.
Every year. Every single year. One day completely ruins Charlie's world, and it happens every year. And of course, the gigantic reminder perched on the clocktower of Pentagram city did absolutely nothing to help.
Heaven had deemed it necessary to begin a purge. Once a year, angels descend from Heaven and slaughter any and all demons in sight. Anything they can drive their spears into, the angels will attack.
Because of "overpopulation".
Charlie was sick of it.
She hated the senseless violence. She wanted peace. She wanted to be there for her people, spare them the senseless slaughter. And she'd do anything to do it.
Even something almost no one else would agree with.
When she'd pitched her idea to her parents, they'd reacted… differently. Lilith seemed to support her decision, but there was always a sad gaze in her eyes whenever Charlie spoke of it. But her dad…
Lucifer had made it crystal clear in his belief that her idea wouldn't work. That redeeming sinners and getting them into Heaven was a pointless pursuit, and fruitless effort that would never work.
Charlie hadn't been on the best of terms with her dad since then.
If it weren't for Vaggie, Charlie honestly wondered if she'd have even been able to make it this far.
Vaggie was her rock. Someone she loved, someone she could always rely on. When she fell, Vaggie was there to pick her back up. When someone called her stupid, Vaggie was there to ease the situation. And if someone decided to be troublesome, Vaggie was there to defend her.
And as much as she loved the moth demon, she hated how much weight that she'd put on Vaggie's shoulders.
Hopefully, that load might be lessened.
It had been a few days since that dreadful interview. Since things had started to surprisingly look up. Granted, it was a rather dysfunctional dynamic.
Vaggie hated or distrusted everyone but Charlie herself, Angel seemed like he always took three steps back for every step forward, Alastor couldn't be relied on considering he was only onboard for entertainment, and Niffty…
Well, they were eighty percent sure she was harmless.
The only one who really seemed reliable was Husk. He was rude, foul-mouthed, and he was almost impossible to approach. And yet, whether it was by choice or not, Husk fulfilled his job without question. If it was a part of his particular job description, then he was there to fulfill it.
However, they may have had a stroke of luck.
Charlie had learned of something. Something intriguing. And possibly…
Something helpful.
A few miles away from the Pentagram was another city. It was smaller, not nearly the size of Charlie's own home city.
The Hell Hole, it was called.
Obviously, Vaggie had been a bit reluctant, but she'd agreed to accompany Charlie to their destination as always.
Their destination being a small, rather decrepit apartment building.
After the recent Extermination, Charlie had expected things to proceed as planned.
But then she'd learned something from her father. Something he'd never sought to discuss before. Because he wanted to keep her safe.
See, The Hell Hole had a reputation far different from the rest of Hell when it came to Exterminations. Because for the last two years, the angels had not so much as stepped foot within the city.
Of course all of Hell knew. But not many knew why.
But now Charlie did.
The Exterminations had been happening for fifteen years, but four years ago, something changed.
Someone fought back. And they fought back like no demon ever had before.
Hundreds of bodies had been left behind by the aggressor, leaving the blood and… if this part was correct, limbs of angels all over the place.
Of course, this was a bit odd and more than disheartening to Charlie at first. She wanted peace, not war.
Not to mention that prior to the common bit of knowledge, The Hell Hole had always originally been known as a joke. Why?
Because it was a place that was far more good than anywhere else in Hell.
A functioning justice system, including dedicated cops who would do their jobs at the cost of their lives. Hospitals that weren't just organ harvesting plants, but actual places to go for medical help.
Hell's society thought it was a joke.
Charlie couldn't appreciate it more.
The Hell Hole was what she wished Hell could be.
But then the angels stopped going to the Hell Hole.
Because somebody had torn them limb from limb, two Extermination days in a row.
It took some digging, but not too much, and she found what she was looking for thanks to her father.
There was a sinner in the Hell Hole. Being the place it was, sinner demons weren't often welcome, and the few who were had to work hard to prove they could be trusted.
This one in particular was powerful.
Among those who knew of the slaughter that occurred, the sinner was known as the Angel Slayer.
Those among the Hell Hole called him something else. Newspapers referenced him as the Juggernaut, and according to Vaggie, the Juggernaut was a myth. An apparent superhuman with unbelievable strength.
Vaggie doubted they were one in the same, and Charlie agreed. However, she didn't think for a second that made this trip pointless.
It took some digging, but she'd finally found a name. Though, not one that was anything near what she would expect for Hell.
John Gallagher.
Thanks to Hell Hole sinner policies, any sinner that did stay within the city were required by officials to register.
John was a sinner who'd fallen four years. A sinner who was known for his immense power. A sinner with a nickname, if the Hell Hole newspapers she'd found were any indication.
The Juggernaut.
Now, it was true that Charlie could be chasing a dead end. But if John Gallagher and Hell's Juggernaut were one in the same, then the sinner was known for repelling attacks from Overlords and other sinners with surprising power, as well as protecting his home and community from the exterminator angels.
He was someone Charlie would love to have at the Hotel. And as a byproduct, he could act as security, taking some of the weight off of Vaggie.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Vaggie asked as she tore her gaze from the window, turning to look at Charlie with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, we really don't know enough about this guy you found. For all we know, protecting the city is a power play, not altruistic."
Charlie didn't miss a beat as she turned to Vaggie with the broadest smile she could manage. "But if he says yes, then we'll have some actual security! And we don't know him, he might actually be a good guy."
"This is Hell. I honestly doubt it, Hon." Vaggie admitted with a sigh as she went back today staring out the window, before peeking up slightly. "We're about to find out, though. We're here."
At those words, Charlie leaned over to see better out the window, sitting over Vaggie slightly as she did so.
In front of them was a building that looked like it should've been condemned, even by Hell's standards. The bricks has clearly not seen any attention for some time, cracking and some bricks even missing. The windows were all cracked or dirty from what the two demons could see, and atop the building was a sign that looked to be seconds from crumbling. The sign read "Grundy's Plaza."
"Yay!" Charlie was bouncing up and down as her excitement reached its peak, and she had both herself and her girlfriend outside of the car in no time at all.
Unlike the Princess, however, Vaggie didn't not possess the physics defying abilities that Charlie had, and found herself stumbling a little in an effort to reorient herself while the Princess tried to help her stay upright.
"Sorry." Charlie apologized as she rubbed the moth demon's shoulder. In her excitement, she usually had the tendency drag Vaggie all over the place.
"It's fine." Vaggie gave the Princess a smile as she spoke, before taking a deep breath as she turned her attention back to the building in front of them. "Well… I guess we'd better get this over with."
Charlie smiled at the words, and gave a nod of agreement as they made their way into the building.
The outside of the building painted one picture, but as they stepped through the doors, they realized that the interior painted a far different picture.
The interior lobby was very well maintained, shiny marble staring back up at them as they looked at the floor, and the stone pillars and staircase railings were a well polished black. Overall, the building seemed to conflict with itself in many aspects.
At the front desk sat a slightly overweight hellhound. She appeared to be middle aged, and a pair of small glasses sat upon her snout.
"Hello." The desk woman greeted the two with a genuine smile as she stood to her feet. "Welcome to Grundy's Plaza. How may I help you, your majesty?"
Well… that was a first.
Both Charlie and Vaggie found their eyes shooting towards the hellhound in surprise, because anyone other than Vaggie addressing Charlie with anything other than respect was… well, nearly impossible.
Charlie was a joke to a majority of Hell. Although no one would dare to hurt her, that didn't mean they wouldn't insult her straight to her face.
So this random demon, a hellhound nonetheless, treating Charlie with respect was a welcome, if unusual, surprise.
"Um, sorry." Charlie apologized once more, shaking her head to regain her thoughts as she made her way to the front desk. "We're looking for a… John Gallagher? We wanted to invite him to our hotel." The princess explained as she stopped at the desk, resting her hands on it with a smile.
The hellhound nodded and took a seat back in her chair as she began typing away at her computer. "Might I ask what interests you about him?"
"Does it matter?" Vaggie couldn't help but to deflect the question as stepped up next to Charlie.
Unfortunately for her, the Hellhound wasn't swayed.
"To the residents of The Hell Hole, yes." Suddenly, the hellhounds expression changed to a more stern one, her typing ceasing as she turned her gaze to the sinner. "Forgive my own distrust, but the Hell Hole is composed of a very tight nit community. Whether we know each other personally or not doesn't matter, everyone knows that boy and the good he's done."
Well, neither of them expected that in response to Vaggie's attempted deflection.
The hellhound stood to her feet, removing her glasses as she turned to look at the moth demon, her expression hard.
"We've found ourselves justified in our distrust towards those from outside of the Hell Hole, and while many of our community respect the princess, I can't say the same for you." Her tone was firm as she spoke, and Charlie could see the faint beginnings of Vaggie's anger.
It all started with the clenched fists.
"But I haven't-"
"Look." Charlie piped up, hoping to prevent any arguing before the conversation took a turn that the princess really don't want as she stepped forward, placing a hand on Vaggie's shoulder in an attempt to calm her. "I can vouch for her, okay?" She assured the hellhound as she looked at her. "She's my girlfriend, and while she's a bit guarded, I promise that she means no harm."
The hellhound's eyes flicked between the two of them for a moment, as if judging whether Charlie's words could be believed.
Or whether her judgment could be trusted.
But she finally seemed to relax, taking her seat once more as she moved back to typing on the computer.
"He's lives in apartment fifteen, but he's more than likely in apartment thirteen at the moment." The woman informed the two of them as she retrieved her glasses so that she could see her computer better.
Vaggie seemed more than eager to get this over with, but Charlie wasn't quite ready to leave the woman just yet.
"Can you… tell me a bit about him?" Charlie asked the hellhound, causing the woman to turn her gaze back to the Princess once more. "I guess I want to know what my odds are."
The hellhound was silent for a moment, before a soft laugh escaped her lips as she shook her head in amusement. "That boy always gets into some type of trouble." The way she spoke, Charlie had the guess that she knew John personally. "He's a good guy, I can tell you that."
"He's a sinner." Vaggie piped up.
"So are you." The hellhound shot right back.
Vaggie simply crossed her arms in response.
"John is… unique. He's a big person, very intimidating at first. But he's a giant sweetheart, and if there's one thing he's willing to do, it's help." The hellhound explained with a smile. "He's built like a Wrath-ringer, but he's got a heart bigger than many people I've met."
Charlie could clearly see the look of distrust and apprehension was still strong on Vaggie's face. But the hellhound wasn't finished.
"Like all sinners, he wasn't trusted at first, and he gave us reason for that. His first day in hell, he demolished the top floor of this place." The hellhound continued. "But he worked hard to make up for it, and if there's one thing I know about that boy… his heart's in the right place. Sinner or not." The woman sounded so sure of her words, and it gave Charlie confidence that the trip hadn't been for nothing.
"Thank you." The gratitude was genuine and earnest as she said it. The hellhound smiled in response and nodded, before returning her attention back to her computer.
Charlie turned to look at Vaggie, smile on her face, as she nodded towards the stairs. "Come on."
Vaggie returned the smile with one of her own, though the moth demon was more preserved. She still had her reservations about the guy, considering they hadn't even met him yet.
Which Charlie understood, but at least she was giving it a chance.
The two made their way up the stairs, and it didn't take them long to find apartment thirteen. Funnily enough, they found the apartment to be the first one at the top of the steps, a door numbered 13 staring right back at them at the top of the steps.
Charlie shared a glance with Vaggie, giving the moth demon a reassuring smile, before she raised her hand to knock on the door.
"Coming!" The voice that came from the other side of the door had a deep, rich tone to it, and they could hear footsteps on the other side approaching the door before it opened up, revealing a large hellhound.
The hellhound was large, wearing a plain white shirt with a pair of simple shorts. His fur was as black as the night sky, but his most distinguishing feature were his eyes.
His left eye was red, but his right eye was a pure white color, with a scar running along it.
The hellhound took a moment to register who had arrived at his door, before a friendly smile made its way onto his face.
"Princess Charlotte." The hellhound greeted her with a nod. "Care if I ask what brings you to my doorstep, of all people?"
"We'll, we're looking for someone." Charlie admitted as she rubbed the back of her neck, feeling a little guilty for disturbing someone. "Sorry to bother."
But the hellhound waved it off. "Not a problem. Live with my family, you'd be surprised what it takes to irk someone." He joked. "And considering that there's only one person here who could be on your radar, I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you're looking for John."
"Is it that obvious?" Charlie couldn't help but to mumble under breath, before nodding her head. "But, yeah. I was wondering if I could convince him to come stay at our hotel. Both as a security guard and if he'd like, a guest."
The hellhound nodded his head as he took in her explanation, before letting out a slight chuckle. "Well, if you think you can convince him, you're welcome to try." He replied as he moved out of the way of the doorway. "Come on in."
"Thanks, Mr…"
"Andre." The hellhound gave his name as the two walked into the home. Charlie glanced at Vaggie, who seemed disheartened and definitely on her guard.
Charlie could understand it. Vaggie hadn't had the best life, and it certainly didn't help that they were in an unfamiliar place.
They heard the door closing behind them, before both women nearly jumped out of their skin at the sound of Andre whistling as he moved past them.
"John, you got some visitors!"
"Just a sec!"
A deep, deep voice rumbled through the apartment, jolting both Charlie and Vaggie as they followed Andre through the hall and to what looked to be the living room.
"Feel free to take a seat." Andre offered, gesturing towards the couch as he took a seat in one of the two recliners in the living room. It didn't escape either of their attention that the other recliner seemed comically oversized, either.
It was clear that Vaggie wasn't entirely comfortable, but this was an entirely new experience for Charlie.
She'd almost never encountered anyone this… friendly. Especially not a hellborn demon. Yet this hellhound was friendly, willing to joke and even offering a seat to two strangers showing up at his door.
Andre seemed to be an exception to the usual demons she'd met. But considering what she's read, the Hell Hole tended to be a friendly community when not given reason to hate.
She just didn't expect it to be this… open.
"Thank you." Charlie showed her gratitude, smiling at the hellhound's kindness as she and Vaggie both took a seat.
Vaggie seemed to be surveying the apartment, looking for anything that could be used as a weapon, and anywhere that could be used for a quick exit.
But Charlie… she just didn't see things going wrong. Not to that degree.
"Dammit!" A feminine voice could be heard swearing in frustration from what the two assumed to be a bedroom, as all eyes immediately jerked towards the room where the sound had come from.
"I told you, you ain't beating me at Mortal Kombat."
"Fuck you! You cheated."
"Not my fault you couldn't get a hit in." The deep voice rumbled, letting them know that he was the apparent victor of whatever little contest seemed to be happening, before they heard shuffling. "Coming, Andre!"
They could hear a bit of shuffling, and it sounded almost like someone sitting up off the ground, before they heard a loud thump, followed rapidly by a few more.
When the owner of the voice stepped into view and out of the bedroom, it immediately became apparent that those thuds were footsteps.
Now Charlie understood what the desk woman had said. And she'd just like to say… a "little intimidating" was a massive understatement.
The behemoth that stepped through the doorway of the bedroom was about as massive as massive could get, even dwarfing the large hellhound that owned the apartment. He had to crouch down to step through the door, and he did it in such a fluid motion that Charlie had the inkling that these were practiced motions.
And once he was through the doorframe and stood to his full height… well, Charlie had never felt so small in her life.
She could feel Vaggie tense up against her, as if preparing for any moment that the sinner would turn and become hostile towards them.
Intimidating was definitely an apt description. A black t-shirt with tears all throughout, a faded pair of jeans, and a pair of cowboy boots tucked under pants legs consisted of his attire. That didn't help when compared to his overall appearance.
The behemoth had to hunch down in order to not knock his head against the ceiling, and he looked to be made of pure muscle. His skin was a grayish green kind of color, and deep gashes peppered his skin. Neither of these already fear-inspiring qualities were helped by the razor sharp shark teeth they could see from his smile, nor the large spikes that seemed to jut from every joint in his body. From his shoulders and elbows, to his knees, and down to his knuckles.
Each footstep was casual as he made his way towards the oversized recliner, eyes widening in surprise when he spotted Charlie and Vaggie, but the smile never leaving his face.
This… this was John Gallagher?!
"So, the Princess of Hell wants to see little ole' me?" John joked as he plopped down into his recliner, propping his head up on the fingers of his head as he glanced towards the tv to see what was playing before meeting Charlie's gaze.
Charlie couldn't help it, she found herself blushing in embarrassment when she realized that he'd basically caught her staring. However, she didn't get a chance to respond.
"You, little?!" The female voice could be heard coming from the bedroom that John had originally emerged from. "You're an oversized jackhammer!"
Both Andre and John found themselves snickering in attempts to hold back laughter at the unexpected input, and Charlie would be lying if she'd said she herself wasn't trying to hold back her own giggles.
Vaggie was the only one who looked unamused.
"Fuck you, Viv!" John shouted back to the female, throwing up his middle finger above the headrest of his chair, his hand inches from touching the ceiling in the process. He was still struggling not to snicker. He quickly managed to shake his amusement away, and turned back towards Charlie and Vaggie with a… surprisingly disarming smile. "Anyway, what can I help you with?"
Charlie shook her stupor away as her thoughts returned to their original intention in the first place. "Well, we wanted to offer you a spot on the Hotel staff." The princess admitted with a smile. "We have a few people, but we don't have anyone for… security purposes." Charlie was honestly a bit bashful to admit that they still didn't have anyone over security outside of Vaggie.
John looked at Andre in confusion, raising an eyebrow, only to get a chuckle and a shoulder shrug from the hellhound in response. He turned back towards Charlie with a confused smile.
"What the hell do you need me for?" He asked. "All I am is someone trying to do some good. I'm no security advisor or anything."
"We want a guard, not an advisor." Clearly, Vaggie didn't like anything close to the concept of having to report to a man, as she corrected him immediately. "We need someone big and decently powerful who's willing to help protect the place." She explained… rather rudely, in Charlie's opinion.
"Okay." John said, seemingly confused as to how that made a difference. "And what do you need me for? The princess-"
"Please, call me Charlie." Charlie found herself interrupting on instinct, and upon meeting John's eyes, found herself feeling a little guilty for interrupting.
But he shook it off with a smile.
"Okay, Charlie…" John corrected himself with no complaint. "Well, you should be more than powerful enough. In fact, why would anyone wanna mess with you?"
"Most of hell treats her like a joke and not many want to take her seriously." Vaggie answered bluntly. "Most of them just laugh when the Hotel is mentioned. They aren't scared of her, and we've already got attacked on the day we revealed the Hotel on the News." She explained. She wasn't anywhere near as eager as Charlie was to get this man on board, but she didn't plan on trying to lie about it either.
Although… she didn't feel the need to mention that the reason they were attacked was because Alastor was there.
John took in the words and seemed to mull over them for a moment, relaxing in his chair a little as he thought about it. "Hmm… well, I can't say the idea appeals to me too much." John admitted, looking at them with an apologetic smile. "Sorry. But this is my home, and I can't say I'm too comfortable leaving it."
Andre seemed to have found that response amusing, as he began chuckling the moment the words left John's mouth, before turning towards Charlie and Vaggie himself. "Like I said, best of luck."
Charlie felt a little saddened at the possibility that despite his genuinely kind demeanor, John really wasn't interested in the hotel. Something John seemed to notice.
"Don't get me wrong, I think what you're doing is pretty damn cool." He assured her with a smile. "But these people… they were there for me when I died. And home has always been important to me."
"So… that's a no?" Vaggie assumed with a raised eyebrow.
"Come on, John." Andre spoke up with a smile of his own as he looked at the behemoth. "We'll be fine. We don't have to worry about the exterminators anymore from the way it seems, and you haven't even tried to leave the Hell Hole since you died."
John merely shrugged in response, shooting a smile at the hellhound as he spoke. "Well, I ain't really had a reason to." He retorted with a grin. "What, did you think I was gonna say 'fuck it' and just explore Hell?"
"I'd kind of rather you did, John." Andre replied with a shake of his head, smile still on his face as he did so. "You know that. I didn't want you to leave when you fell because I didn't want Hell to corrupt you. Now? I don't really have that fear, and I certainly don't want you to keep yourself stuck here all the time."
John chuckled, shaking his own head as a response, amusement clear on his face. "Andre, I'm comfortable here. And honestly, I'm not really eager to leave the Hell Hole in the slightest. I'm doing enough good here."
"But this is a chance to do good for all of Hell." Charlie piped up, causing all eyes to turn towards her in response. "No more exterminations, sinners redeeming themselves and doing good… if we could set an example, or even show that it's possible, things may get better in all of Hell." The princess was earnest in her belief of her Hotel as she spoke to John, hoping to convince him. Faced with the possibility she hadn't really wanted to think much of, she couldn't say she would be eager for the trip to have been for nothing.
"She's got a point, John." Andre added his input, supporting the princess's words as he looked at the behemoth sinner with a smile. "You wanna do some good? Here's your chance to help everyone."
John's eyes shifted from looking at Andre to looking at Charlie, bouncing between them as he thought over their words. Eventually his gaze shifted away from them, staring at nothing in particular as he mulled over his thoughts.
He looked to be in deep thought, genuinely thinking about the idea of going to the Hotel now that those points had been brought up.
"You wouldn't be a prisoner or anything." Vaggie spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "You don't have to pay to stay, and you will be paid for guarding the Hotel. You basically get paid just for being there." Charlie wasn't entirely sure why Vaggie was making an effort to convince the sinner, but she appreciated it nonetheless. Maybe she didn't want the trip to be pointless either.
"That sounds like a pretty good deal." Andre seemed to be all up for the idea, giving John an encouraging smile as he looked at the behemoth once more. "And you know this place will always be here for you if you wanna come back."
John was silent for a moment, thinking over his options, before letting out a sigh in response. "Alright." He agreed with a smile as he looked at Charlie and Vaggie. "I gotta pack some stuff, but… sure."
"Just like that?" Of course, regardless of whether she'd tried or not, Vaggie would question what felt like a sudden switch.
"Well, you girls made the trip here, and Andre here seems to think it'd do me some good." John explained his reasoning as he stood to his feet, once again towering over the two girls on the couch. "That, or he's just sick of me." The behemoth joked.
"I wouldn't say sick of you." Andre corrected with a smirk. "More like… ready to see you spread your wings. Can't keep a pup sheltered, or they'll never be able to live."
John let out a chuckle in response, but Charlie noticed a faint expression on his face, shrouded under the amusement. It looked almost like… sadness?
"Yeah, I guess so." John replied without a hitch, the faint expression disappearing as quickly as Charlie noticed it. "Are you looking for me to come down today, or were you wanting me to come down later on?"
"Today works!" Charlie answered quickly, nodding her head vigorously in response. If he wanted to start today, she would be more than eager to have him. "If that's okay with you, that is."
John merely shrugged his shoulders in response. "Why wait? It might be sudden, but I can still call, or come back up and visit." He reasoned with a smile, turning his gaze to Andre. "And I'll still have my apartment."
"You know we'd be glad to let you spend the night, John." Andre replied with a chuckle, shaking his head in amusement as he met the giant's gaze. "You do it all the time. You and Viv have your games, and all that."
"You better not ghost me since you're not here anymore!" The feminine voice of Viv echoed from the bedroom once more as all eyes shot towards the doorway, before a tall, fit hellhound with long hair stepped into view.
She held a similar fur color to Andre, but her left eye was the exact same as Andre's, leading Charlie and Vaggie to believe they were related in some way.
"And you better let Beartrap know before-"
Suddenly, her words were interrupted by the sound of the apartment's front door flying open, startling the two guest as a black blur rushed through the apartment in less than a second.
And then Charlie found a smaller hellhound, a child no older than five if she had to guess, latched onto John's ankle.
"Johnny! I beat it, I beat it, I beat it!" The pup shouted, eyes wide with glee as he looked up at the giant with a smile.
The hellhound pup had a dark fur color, similar to Andre's, but there was a small white patch of fur on the pup's left arm that looked… a lot like a beartrap.
Beartrap. Huh.
What really stuck out to Charlie, however, we're the two tiny, underdeveloped bony stumps at the top of the hound's head, sitting right between his ears.
Charlie knew horns when she saw them, and she'd never seen a hellhound with horns that she could recall.
John chuckled as he leaned down, picking the pup up into his gargantuan hands with ease and holding him in his hand with absolutely no problem whatsoever.
"You beat Prototype, huh?" John guessed, and the little hellhound nodded eagerly, a broad grin on his face as he looked proud of whatever his accomplishment may be.
"I finally got past the last boss!" Beartrap regaled everyone in the room with his deed, and Charlie couldn't stop the smile if she'd tried at seeing the child so genuinely happy at something. Even Vaggie had a soft smile on her face. "I love that game! Thanks for letting me play!"
"Bud, you know you're welcome at place any time if you wanna play some games." John assured the pup with a grin, turning his gaze to Andre as he finished. "You still have my spare key, right?"
Andre nodded his head in affirmation. "As long as he's back in this apartment by eleven, Arya and Madro oughta have no problem letting him go over there. You know that."
John nodded his head in agreement before turning his gaze back down to the pup, who looked confused at the exchange.
"Are you going somewhere?" The little pup asked, turning his gaze back up to the behemoth currently holding him, eliciting a small chuckle in response.
"Well, yeah, I am." John nodded, his voice gentle as he turned so that the child could see the two guests currently occupying the couch. "The Princess here wants me to come up to her Hotel, so I won't be here as much anymore."
Beartrap seemed to completely ignore the fact that the Princess of Hell was right in front of him. Rather, he was more focused on the fact that John was leaving.
"But you can't leave!" Beartrap immediately protested, swinging his gaze back to the sinner's own with a look of horror. "This is your home!" The boy seemed almost fearful at the prospect of John leaving, and it didn't go unnoticed by Charlie or Vaggie.
Or Viv, apparently.
"It'll always be his home, Benny." Viv assured as she moved closer to the two, holding her arms and allowing John to place the child in her hands. "But he's gotta leave some time. The day will come when you want to leave too, explore and find your own things in the world."
"But… but…" The poor little boy looked close to tears, his expression pleading as he looked away from the hellhound holding him to the large sinner he wanted, holding his hands out as if he wanted to be back in his arms. "You can't go…" His voice was so small, and it honestly tore at Charlie's heart.
"Just cause I'm gone don't mean you won't see me, Beartrap." John assured the pup as he leaned down so that he was more level with Beartrap, his voice soft as he brought a large hand up and rubbed the pup's head. "I'm still your big buddy, and I promise that I'll be back to visit and spend time with you."
The poor boy was sniffling at this point, and it was clear that he wasn't happy with John leaving. It honestly made Charlie wonder what kind of attachment these people had to this sinner that their child was so broken up that he was taking off.
"Y-you promise?" The little boy finally asked for some assurance, and he got a smile in response as John gently touched his large head to the child's own, his hand adjusting so that it was a big more than a head pat.
"Yeah, I promise." John assured he hugged the pup. "Ain't nobody gonna keep me from coming back when I want to. And if somebody thinks they can?" He ended the sentence as a question, and Beartrap let out a giggle in response as he brought a hand up to dry his tears.
"Then good luck to them?" Beartrap guessed, getting a grin from the sinner as he pulled his head away and nodded.
"Then good luck to them." John repeated with a smile as he stood to his feet.
"Not to spoil the mood," Andre spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "But if you're gonna go, better go now."
"Is there an issue?" And of course, Vaggie would be the one to think that, Charlie thought.
"Just that if you're still here when Aunt and Uncle get back, you'll be here all night." Viv answered as she adjusted the child in her arms. Her words got a chuckle from John in response.
"Yeah, that's for sure." John agreed, letting out a puff of breath and his eyes going wide for a second as he did so. "I love them both to death, but Arya will do her damndest to make sure I'll be okay."
"Well, two of her children have taken off, and she sees you as another son." Andre pointed. "Can you blame her?"
"Guess not." John admitted with a sigh before turning his attention to Charlie and Vaggie. "Give me a bit to pack my stuff, and I'll meet you out front. I'd imagine there's more to discuss if I'm actually doing this."
"Of course!" Charlie nodded, once again smiling as she meet the sinner's gaze. "We'll be waiting for you!"
Charlie was happy. Actual security, less weight in Vaggie's shoulders, and someone actually decent to do it all?
What could go wrong?
Vaggie didn't trust him.
To be fair, she didn't trust most men, but she couldn't help it. Life hadn't been kind to her, and most men she'd encountered had tried to take advantage of her. And while she was alive, many of them succeeded.
And then she died and ended up in Hell.
So she's felt that her distrust was not only natural, but warranted. Hell was filled with the worst scum imaginable. Pedophiles, rapists, traffickers, murderers, cannibals… these were the kind of people that made up Hell's society. At least, in the Pride Ring. She couldn't speak for the other rings, because she couldn't go to the other rings.
And one thing all of those types of people had in common? They were all good liars. At least, the worst of them were.
What if it was all an act? What if John planned to hurt Charlie? What if he intended to sabotage the Hotel?
These were the thoughts that Vaggie couldn't stop. Someone that big, that strong, that powerful? And a sinner to boot?
He had to be hiding something. There was something wrong, and Vaggie didn't trust him any further than she could throw him.
He clearly had the power, and god forbid Charlie think she can 'talk him down.'
That was one of her greatest fears. Charlie wasn't a fighter, not in the slightest, and Vaggie's greatest fear was that she'd try to talk someone down and get hurt in the process.
Or worse.
Vaggie couldn't imagine it. She didn't want to.
And she certainly didn't want that possibility to be a reality.
What made this guy different from the other men she tolerated is that they were all up front about their flaws. Angel was a sex addict, Husk didn't care about anything as long as he was left alone to do his job, and Alastor made it clear that he thought the Hotel was doomed to fail and he only wanted a laugh.
John was different, and it made her uncomfortable. He was too relaxed, too friendly, too nice.
Which meant he either was confident… or that good at lying.
Or both.
Vaggie didn't even want to think about the possibility that John was a risk. Because from what she knew of him, she hated to admit that if he was…
… what good could she do?
If John really was the Angel Slayer, her spear probably wouldn't mean much. It wouldn't scare him in the slightest, and if he was skilled enough to slaughter what had to be either hundreds or thousands within one day… then as big as he was, she more than likely still wouldn't be able to land a single hit on him.
Vaggie knew what Charlie was doing. John was meant to take some responsibility off of Vaggie, but the moth demon simply couldn't trust that it would pan out.
At any moment, the behemoth could decide that it wasn't worth it. At any moment, if he so chose, he could drop the act. Take Charlie by surprise and overpower her before she has the chance to do anything.
And if he could face the angels with no trouble, what good would anyone else at the Hotel do against him? It would take the Seven Deadly Sins or Lucifer and Lilith themselves to bring the Juggernaut down.
At any moment, John could snap, drop the act. He could have his way with any of them, and there was nothing they could do to stop.
Vaggie loved Charlie, she really did, but she didn't see this working out. Not in the slightest.
She'd go along with it… but at the first sign that John would be trouble, Vaggie was calling Lucifer himself. She didn't care if she had to root through Charlie's phone, she would not let the Princess get hurt.
After… after her death… she couldn't lose someone she truly loved. Not again.
Not when she'd finally found someone to love again in the first place.
However, Charlie clearly didn't share her fears, if they way the Princess was almost buzzing with glee was any indication.
"I'm so excited!" Charlie couldn't help but to say, shaking her fists eagerly as she turned towards Vaggie with a massive smile on her face. "Actual security for the Hotel, and someone who'd actually decent to boot! Why didn't we look here for our first guest?"
"Because we weren't thinking, Hon." And because it probably wouldn't matter anyway, but Vaggie didn't have the heart to tell her that. However… "But, are you sure this is a good idea? I can handle security myself."
"But you shouldn't have to, Vaggie." Charlie retorted, her smile softening as she placed a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder. "You're a manager, like me. This might be my dream, but I never could've done it without you."
Vaggie found herself smiling at those words, resting hand atop Charlie's own as she meet her gaze. "Thanks, Charlie." Vaggie didn't think that was necessarily true, but Charlie made sure Vaggie felt appreciated.
"Of course." Charlie leaned down and planted a reassuring kiss on Vaggie's lips. "I mean it. You're just as important to the Hotel as I am." She assured further when she pulled away.
Vaggie simply smiled. She may not always trust Charlie's judgment… but it didn't change the fact that she truly loved the Princess with everything she had.
The sound of the doors to Grundy's Plaza opening interrupted their conversation, and the two turned to find John exiting the building, a normal sized backpack with comically large straps sling around his shoulder. It was certainly a rather comedic sight, Vaggie could admit.
However, John's brow furrowed as he approached, eying the limo as he loud footsteps slowly quieted as he came to a halt in front of them.
"Uh… no offense, but how am supposed I fit inside this thing?" At that, both women turned to look towards limo, and Vaggie suddenly felt stupid for not having thought of that herself.
Even if the behemoth could fit inside the limo, he most certainly couldn't fit through any of the entries. Not the doors, and certainly not the skylight.
Charlie looked at the limo for a moment, before giving a sheepish smile. "My bad." She apologized(sort of) as she raised her hands.
It was always a sight to see when Charlie used her powers, even if some of those cases could lead to a migraine for Vaggie.
With a wave of her hands, the limo shifted. Almost like it had become liquid, the limo was no longer seated close to the ground, but became more of a hummer. The backside was certainly larger than the front, and the doors were definitely big enough for John to fit through now, though he'd have to maneuver himself in.
And this wasn't anywhere near what Charlie could do.
Vaggie wished that displays like this would put some more confidence in her. Confidence in Charlie.
But know what kind of person Charlie was… she could still see Charlie getting hurt before she ever hurt someone else. For any reason.
"Uh…" John looked absolutely stunned at the site, an awed smile coming onto his face. "Alright then."
"Now, shall we? Charlie gestures towards the now comfy looking limo, eliciting a chuckle from the behemoth.
So long as he kept up the act, or better yet, proved he wasn't a threat, Vaggie could be civil.
She just hoped it wouldn't backfire.
A/N: With the release of Hazbin Hotel's first season(finally!) I found myself interested in writing a slightly different version of Hazbin Hotel: The Unexpected Help. My main intention is to write it a little bit better than the original story started out. This doesn't mean that the original is going to be canceled, as I still want to finish it out and do a couple of rewrites, but Sinful Savior is basically just another way things could've gone. One where John never met the Vs, where he never met Alastor, Husk, or Niffty. The only people he still knows in this story are Vortex, Verosika, and Pentious.
So John's going to have to prove himself more(if he cares to) than he had to in the original story to everyone else. Especially to Vaggie.
Anyway, this is a story that wouldn't leave me alone, and it now joins the other two stories as a part of this series. And don't worry, I'm not deviating from the original end goals… this is just a different way the characters could have reached them.
I will say that this feels like a far better opening compared to the original, but that's just my opinion.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed, and I'll see you in the next chapter.