A/N: I am aware of an angel that bears a striking resemblance to Angel Dust's sister, Molly, was seen in "Welcome to Heaven." I'm also aware that I'm ignoring that, because depth and development for Angel.

"... and that's when Val told me to get lost."

With the story she'd just recounted, Angel wasn't shocked in the slightest that Vanessa once again looked like the scared little kid she truly was. She sat atop his bed, hands balled up and tucked safely between her legs, while her gaze stayed downward. Adding onto that was the fact that Vanessa was clearly trying to hold back tears upon recounting the incident.

Angel felt a bit of sympathy for the tiger broad, he really did. After all, she wasn't the one in the wrong, Val just couldn't keep the cords out of the way for shit.

But everyone, everyone knows that Val could give two shits less about who's fault it really is. He'll blame someone else for the sake of it, and punish them in whatever horrific manner he'd like.

Angel would know. He's been in Val's grip since the early 80's, and he's experienced almost every punishment there was at the Overlord's hands.

The reason everyone could just continue like nothing happened is because they knew that Val would have no problem 'punishing' them as well. To be quite frank, Vanessa had gotten off easy in comparison to everyone else.

Angel felt a little jealous at times. Were it not for her tail, she'd be in the exact same kind of clusterfuck all of Val's other slaves were.

But in the end, Angel knew it was nothing to be jealous of. Angel knew what he was getting into when he made a deal with Val. Vanessa didn't.

Another difference is that by the time Angel signed with Val, he was well into his 70's. Vanessa was just a sixteen-year-old teenager who'd been dealt a poor hand.

How was she supposed to know better? As far as Angel was concerned, Vanessa shouldn't have been sent to Hell in the first place.

Angel would be lying if he'd said he was trying to be the greatest person he could for Vanessa, but he'd also be lying if he'd said he didn't care about her. In the time since she'd arrived at Val's studio, Angel had found himself developing a sort of… brotherly love, for the succubus. He wished he could say it wasn't quite on the same scale, but the truth was that he had more care for Vanessa than his own brother. As a matter of fact… what he was doing for her was the same he would do for his twin-sister.

Ever since he'd signed on with Val, Angel hadn't seen his family much. Most of them had effectively disowned him for being a queer, not to mention the whole porn thing, but Molly had been the only one who'd tried to remain in contact.

For fear of hurting her, he pushed her away.

Sometimes, it would eat at Angel, but then he'd remember the kind of person Val was. The distances he was willing to go.

The threat on Molly's life was not only genuine. If Val followed through… Angel would lose his sister for good.

He wasn't okay with that.

But Vanessa didn't have that chance. And shoving her away wasn't a choice either.

Angel hadn't expected to come to care for her at first. Just another schmuck, not someone to really pay attention to.

One conversation could change a person's view.

The following ones only caused Angel to worry more.

Vanessa wasn't built for this. She didn't deserve this, and knowing there was nothing he could truly do ate away at him. All he could do was be the best friend he could be, and try and help her as best as he could.

He doubted even Mr. Angel-Slayer, currently playing games out in the lobby, could do anything about a deal. Even if he could, Valentino would kill them both if he caught wind before anything could be done.

So Vanessa and Angel both were in a hopeless situation for all of eternity. The only person who could actually help in the first place was near useless, as Angel feared more for Charlie's life than she ever would Val's.

The very best thing he could do for Vanessa was make sure she wasn't alone. Had it not been for Cherri, he'd have broken long ago.

Vanessa needed a Cherri, and Angel would be that person for her.

"It sucks that happened, Ness." Angel spoke softly, both of his right hands moving and pulling Vanessa into his side. Knowing what he did, he was somewhat surprised at how quickly she warmed up to his touch, but that didn't matter at the moment. "But you're safe here, I promise ya."

Vanessa didn't say anything, rather, she pressed herself into his side, accepting the hug as her head came to rest upon his chest.

"Would it be okay… if I stayed?" Vanessa asked softly, still not moving her gaze anywhere but wherever it already was as she voiced the question. "I… I just want to feel safe again. I haven't been able to do that since…"

"I know, kiddo." Angel's right upper hand came up to gently rub the succubus' head in a gentle manner, trying to calm and reassure her. Telling Angel about the obviously traumatic events that had occurred had obviously had an adverse effect on the kid. "If you want to stay, I know Charlie won't have a problem with it."

Vanessa didn't respond at first, simply rubbing her head against his chest as she thought over his words.

"John's nice." Vanessa suddenly spoke. Angel's eyes widened for a moment, before he found himself laughing to his heart's content.

Trust him or not, that was definitely true.

"Yeah, he is." Angel nodded his head with a small smile. "Did he really take you clothes shopping because you weren't comfortable?"

"Mmhm." Vanessa nodded her head as she sat up off Angel, causing the spider to remove his hands from her as their gazes finally met. "He said everyone is entitled to some sense of comfort. I think he was gonna buy them for me, but…"

"But the store owner decided that being a perv was a good idea, and paid for it with his camera, his wall, and some sleep." Angel recounted what John had said when that particular part had been mentioned in the lobby. "And John didn't try to peep, or take advantage of you, or anything like that?"

Vanessa shook her head with a small smile on her face. "No. The only time he really peeped, if you can call it that, is when he tore the door off to make sure I was okay after I screamed." She explained, an appreciative expression on her face as she spoke. "He took off his shirt and stuffed it into the hole in the wall, and then propped up the door. And that was it."

Angel's eyes widened. He… ripped the door off because she screamed?

…

…actually, that made sense with what little he knew about the behemoth.

"He's really nice." Vanessa reiterated as her gaze fell away, a fond expression overtaking her face. "He… he reminds me of James."

"That's the boy you liked, right?" With all the years he'd lived, Angel liked to think that he could be forgiven for not remembering a name probably mentioned to him plenty of times. But he'd never met the boy himself, so he had a good reason, in his opinion.

Vanessa nodded her head with a smile. "Yeah. They're a lot alike. They're both so nice, they're both big guys with a lot of strength, and they do have a bit of a temper. Between you and me, I think John had better control."

Considering their first real conversation, Angel found himself having to agree. Also, sheer principle because he'd actually met John.

"Well, if there's one thing I know, kid? It's safe here. We aren't free from Valentino, but we are while we're here." Angel assured as Vanessa turned to look at him, causing the spider to give her a confident grin. "What, you think I'd lead you wrong?"

Vanessa raised an eyebrow, and smiled.

"The best advice you ever gave me was get a gun, shoot first, question never." Vanessa joked, eliciting a laugh from Angel.

"What? It'll keep you safe."

Vanessa rolled her eyes, but she allowed a small laugh to escape her. Though he showed nothing outwardly, Angel was genuinely surprised by that.

He had never heard Vanessa laugh so far. Now that he'd thought about it… he'd never seen her happy in the slightest.

He… he liked this change.

"Thanks, Angel." Vanessa said as she looked at him with an honest smile. "I… I know I haven't really said it, but I really appreciate you. You're the only thing that's kept me sane."

"Ah, no problem, kiddo." Angel assured as he pulled her into another side-hug. "One thing I've learned is that it's good to have real friends down here."

"Well… it's good to have you, then." Vanessa replied as she gladly accepted the hug, turning and returning the gesture as she wrapped her own arms around Angel's side.

Angel felt… he wasn't sure what to call it. Brotherly pride, maybe? He felt happy that Vanessa was happy.

"So, you feel better?"

"Yes, you dork." Vanessa responded with an eye roll as they separated, but the smile was still apparent on her face.

Angel found that he wanted her to keep smiling.

"Well, there ain't much to do in here." Angel said as he turned and stood up off the bed, turning to face Vanessa as he crossed his upper arms and out his lower hands on his hips. "What do you say we head back out to the lobby? Maybe John is playing something interesting."

While the spider demon wasn't personally interested in video games, watching John and getting a few more drinks was something to be staying locked up in his room.

"Sure!" Gone was the scared and abused girl Angel had come to now, as the teenager jumped up off the bed with a smile. "You think he might let me play with him?"

That was… debatable. In the past few days, one lesson that the Hotel learned was that you do not interrupt John when he's really into a game. It's a good way to end up as a wall ornament.

If you didn't believe Angel, he didn't know what to tell you.

But the excited grin on Vanessa's face wasn't something Angel wanted to take away, so he grinned and nodded his head.

"Can't hurt to ask, right?" He replied as he moved over to the door and opened it up, before gesturing for Vanessa. "Let's go."

Vanessa was damn near beaming at this point as she walked through the door, and Angel couldn't keep the small smile off his face as he moved out and shut the door behind them.

Returning to Val's was an unfortunate inevitability… but this Hotel was a sanctuary. And if anyone, anyone deserved some peace, it was Vanessa.

She'd been through enough.

They mess their way through the halls of the hotel in a peaceful silence. As they made it to the stairs, however, that silence was slowly disrupted by the sound of angry yelling from downstairs.

At first Angel thought there was an argument. A sentiment clearly shared by Vanessa, as she slowed to a stop and turned to Angel, her smile gone as she looked nervous.

"Who's that?"

That question would be answered a second later.

"MOTHERFUCKING PIECE OF SHIT GODDAMMIT!"

That was John. There was absolutely no doubt about it.

That was probably the angriest Angel had ever heard the behemoth, and he found himself wondering which idiot had decided to piss him off.

He realized a second later that said idiot more than likely wasn't real.

"Are you sure you don't need a break?" That was Charlie's voice, and she sounded like… her tone was an odd mixture of concern and amusement.

"I'll take a break when I beat this MOTHERFUCKER!" Was John's response.

Upon realizing that there wasn't any actual hostile tension downstairs, and with John's coincidentally comedic timing, Angel found himself laughing to his heart's content.

Even better, Vanessa was next to him, giggling in amusement like a mad woman as she tried to stifle the noises by covering her mouth.

It worked about as well as one would think.

"Alright, let's go." Angel said, placing a hand on Vanessa's back and guiding her down the steps. Vanessa still tensed up, but she relaxed almost immediately. Despite how recent they'd met compared to anyone else Vanessa due, the succubus had gotten surprisingly comfortable with the spider's touch.

The two made their way downstairs, and while Angel knew to expect Husk and Charlie… the site they were greeted too was not what they expected.

Everyone in the Hotel was currently in the lobby, either seated or leaning against one of the couches as they all watched a visibly irritated John play whatever game was on the TV.

"Hey, what's all the hollering about?" Despite having a good idea, Angel knew what he was doing when he voiced the question, if the grin on his face was any indication.

"John's playing some game." Husk answered from his spot behind the couch John was currently seated on as he took a swig of whatever alcohol was in his hand. "And it's going-"

"Dammit!"

"Not too good." Husk finished with a chuckle, ignoring John's interruption at some unplanned and unwanted development in the game.

"Most of us aren't even interested in the game at this point, we just want to watch John rage." Vaggie admitted shamelessly, smirking as she watched John's character in the game get hit by whatever unholy abomination the enemy was. Which trigger and enraged yell from the behemoth.

Vanessa left her spot at Angel's side and moved to stand next to Husk, curious as to which game he was playing.

Once she saw which game it was, it didn't escape Angel's attention the way her eyes lit up.

"The Orphan of Kos?" Vanessa questioned, causing all eyes to turn in her direction and surprising those who weren't aware of her presence in the Hotel at all.

"Yeah." John answered in frustration, still focusing on the game without ignoring the succubus. "I've beat him a hundred times before, and every time it comes down to a hundred tries and dumb luck- GodDAMMIT!" John interrupted himself with an infuriated curse as he died once again. "I can never beat this motherfucker in the first couple of tries."

"Can I try?" Vanessa suddenly asked, looking at John as she voiced the question.

"You play?" John asked in surprise as he turned to face the succubus. When she nodded, the behemoth immediately offered her the controller. "Hope you can work with a Saw Spear build."

Vanessa grinned like a kid in a candy shop as she gleefully swiped the controller from his hand, before leaping over the back of the couch and landing comfortably on the sofa next to John.

"And just who is this young lady?" Alastor asked, causing Vanessa to nearly jump out of her skin in surprise.

Angel made a mental note smack Alastor upside the head later. He immediately discarded said mental note when he remembered that Alastor would slaughter him in response.

"O-oh, I'm Vanessa." Vanessa introduced herself nervously, clearly unnerved by the mere site of Alastor. And who wouldn't be, that smirk was freaky.

But it probably didn't help that all attention was on her now. Considering where she'd been for the last month, it wasn't rocket science to figure out why she was uncomfortable.

"When did you get here?" Vaggie didn't look too pleased that someone had been inside the Hotel without her knowledge, and she directed a scrutinizing gaze at the succubus.

"I brought her up this way a half hour ago." John answered for her, looking at the moth demon with a raised eyebrow. "Angel asked me to go pick her up."

"Is that seriously why you barged out when we were trying to do the commercial?" Vaggie asked, turning to look at the spider demon with a glare.

A glare that Angel didn't give two fucks about. "Look, I was worried about her, alright?"

"Why?" Of course Charlie would be the one to perk up when she heard that, looking between Angel, John, and Vanessa with a concerned gaze.

"Well…" Vanessa didn't exactly look too comfortable at the prospect of speaking about the events that had occurred at the studio to anyone else, something Angel picked up on.

Apparently, so did John.

"Whatever it is, I don't think it's our business at the moment." John spoke up before Angel even had the chance as he looked at Charlie and Vaggie. "She ain't comfortable talking about it, and it's nowhere near our place to badger her." The way he spoke… it was with the tone of a parent. He carried a gentleness in his tone, likely to let Vanessa no that she wasn't and would not be pressured, while there was sternness as well that effectively told Charlie and Vaggie to drop it.

Vaggie being Vaggie, of course she wouldn't get the hint.

"If it's something dangerous-"

"The girl was afraid of her own shadow when I picked her up." Now John really was irritated, interrupting Vaggie's words with a stern glare, jaw tight as he met the moth demon's fierce glare with one of equal fire. "Drop it."

Vaggie's lips tightened, pulling away to reveal gritted teeth. She looked ready to give John the tongue lashing of the century, but a gentle hand on her shoulder caused her to look at Charlie. Angel silently thanked God himself when the Princess slowly shook her head.

Vaggie's gaze softened, before she shook her head and leaned back into the couch, crossing her arms.

"Well, I would certainly like to know more about our newest guest." Alastor sounded almost excited at the prospect, before his tone turned more sinister. "If she is a guest, that is."

Vanessa simply stared at Alastor, unnerved and genuinely afraid. That much was obvious.

Upon spotting the scared look on her face himself, Angel almost found himself lunging at the Radio Demon, consequences be damned.

John sucked in a deep, aggravated breath, exhaling slowly before he turned his gaze to Alastor.

"Al, the girl is scared and nervous. Last thing she needs right now is Mr. Radio Demon interrogating her." The parental tone was gone. Even the frustration. No, now, John's entire demeanor was a far cry from what they were used too, every muscle in his body tense as he looked at Alastor with a blank expression. His tone, however, housed the rage he was on the brink of releasing. "If I have to get up off this couch or say 'drop it' one more time, you'll find out why Charlie and Vaggie came to me for security."

With the exception, of course, of Alastor himself, everyone present tensed up at those words. Every single person knew why John had done, what he was capable of.

With the exception of Vanessa, who was tense because of the atmosphere, and Alastor, who had not yet been informed, everyone else knew that John was the Angel-Slayer.

No one was interested in seeing that power unleashed.

"Al, can you just leave her alone?" Leave it to Charlie to make it out as a kind request rather than a strict demand. Alastor tilted his head, as shooting towards the roof as if he were thinking about it, before shrugging.

"Very well." And that seemed to be the end of that conversation.

Now that the tension was finally leaving the room, Angel took a spot next to Husk, leaning behind the couch as he turned to watch the TV.

He would've usually flirted with Husk, but Vanessa needed to feel comfortable first.

After a few seconds of nothing happening on the TV, John turned to look at Vanessa, and a small smile came onto his face.

"Hey," John's hand came up and gently tapped a finger against Vanessa's arm, causing the succubus to turn her still uncomfortable gaze away from Alastor to face the behemoth. "Ignore him, he's an old man with too much confidence."

Angel could see the way Alastor's smile tightened, turning almost feral, but the radio demon said nothing.

Vanessa continued to stare at John for a moment, before taking in a deep, calming breath. "Alright…"

And finally, she began to actually play the game.

They watched Vanessa maneuver the character through some kind of dreary cave system, before passing through a thick fog made of skulls and coming out onto a beach.

"What's that big thing?" Angel asked, since he hadn't been watching until now and he found himself curious about the large mass upon the beach.

"That's Kos." John answered, glancing back at Angel now that he wasn't the one playing. "A great one who was killed and her corpse desecrated."

A shrill shriek suddenly emitted from the screen, and both Angel and John turned back towards the TV to see Vanessa now locked in battle with a large, slender creature wielding… was Angel high, or was that a placenta?

"And that's Kos's Orphan. You have to beat that thing to end the nightmare."

"And beat the DLC." John muttered, sounding more than irritated at his struggle to beat the boss himself. However, his brow furrowed when he noticed something else. "No beast blood pellets or fire paper?" He asked.

"Every second counts." Vanessa responded, her words simple as she put her full focus on the game, dodging a swipe from the creature's placenta and attacking it from behind. "Pellets take too long to use and the paper doesn't do enough extra damage to mean anything."

They watched as she walked her character up behind the now stunned creature and pressed a button, before her character… stuck his hand into the creature?

What kind of game was this?

The hand ripped itself away from the boss violently, and the health bar at the bottom was suddenly missing more than twenty percent health.

John's eyes widened, a look of surprise overtaking his features before looking over at Vanessa. "How the hell did you get a visceral?"

Despite focusing on the game, a smug grin worked its way onto Vanessa's face in response. "You never can?" She questioned.

"Fuck no." John admitted freely. "I use the pellets and the paper, hope I can do enough damage and maybe stun lock him if I'm lucky."

"Yeah, that doesn't work here." Vanessa replied as she continued chipping away at the creature, before managing to land another visceral. "Your best bet is to get two viscerals in the first phase, and then focus on finding an opening."

"Something that's damn near impossible after the first phase." John grumbled under his breath, but Vanessa shook her head.

"You're just impatient."

"That's not… actually, no, that's fair."

Laughter rang out through the room at John's response, and Angel chuckled. "What's it they say, patience is virtue, right?" He joked with the behemoth, who promptly raised his middle finger in the spider's direction.

"Fuck you."

Silence befell the room with the exception of the TV's audio, as they all watched Vanessa make good on her words. The boss was much more aggressive, and yet they watched Vanessa somehow manage to not take a single hit, chipping it's health away before going in for a frenzied string of attacks when it's health was basically gone.

As the boss died and the words 'Nightmare Slain' popped onto the screen, a strange sound could be heard filling the room. It didn't take long to realize that the sound was coming from John's throat.

Upon seeing the look of complete shock and disbelief mixed with the raspy breathless sound coming from his throat, nobody could help their laughter.

John, however, had other thoughts.

"I struggle with fucker every time, and you beat it first try?!" John raged at his own inability to replicate Vanessa's feat, eliciting another round of laughter from everyone. "Fuck me running." John threw his hands up in exasperation as he leaned back against the couch.

Vanessa had a confident smirk on her face as she offered the controller to the behemoth. "I guess I'm just better at games than you."

Angel had to say… he definitely liked this bout of confidence Vanessa had when she was comfortable. He honestly would like to see it more.

John shot a glare at the succubus, who's confident smirk never wavered, before a smirk of his own overtook the behemoth's face as he pushed himself to his feet.

"Alright then." He replied as he grabbed a second controller from the TV stand that Angel hadn't even noticed, before taking a seat upon the couch as he took his own controller back and offered Vanessa the spare. "Put your money where your mouth is. Let's see if you can beat me at Mortal Kombat."

Vanessa grinned as she gladly swiped the controller from his hands.

"You're on."

After the thorough ass-kicking John gave Vanessa in Mortal Kombat, Charlie found herself struggling with how to inform the security guard of Hell's newest predicament.

Mainly, that exterminations would be happening twice a year now.

Of course, he could already know, but that wasn't certain, and Charlie didn't want to keep him in the dark if he didn't.

Everyone had long since dispersed from the lobby, and it had been a couple of hours, but Charlie found herself wandering back down towards the lobby. John wasn't in his room when she checked, so there was a decent chance that he was down in the lobby still.

As she'd expected, as she moved down the stairs, she found John comfortably seated upon the couch.

Charlie was pretty sure that there was going to be an imprint of John's butt in those cushions at some point.

Accompanying him still was Vanessa and Angel, who sat side-by-side on the other couch. They appeared to have been watching a movie, though it was clear they were paying not attention to it based on their conversation.

"Wait, three bills?" John asked, looking at Angel with a raised eyebrow and an amused grin. "He had three bills in his hand, and it took him thirty minutes to count them?"

"Yeah, his eyes fucking suck." Angel replied with a chuckle. "I mean, it was so annoying. Val's eyesight is something else."

"I'll say." John replied, shaking his head as he did so. He happened to catch a glimpse of Charlie out the corner of his eye, and he turned his head towards the Princess with a smile. "Hey, Charlie." He greeted, offering a wave.

"Hi." Charlie gave a small wave of her own as she smiled, walking over past the couch that Angel and Vanessa were on and taking a seat next to John. "I… I wanted to talk to you about something."

"What's up?" John asked, picking up the remote and turning down the TV since it was apparent that no one was watching anyway.

"So… my meeting with the angels didn't go well." Charlie admitted, rubbing the back of her neck. She knew she shouldn't, but she felt a bit of shame at only having bad news to tell.

However, she didn't even have to explain.

"Let me guess: Gold Fucker didn't like the redemption idea." John guessed, and Charlie didn't even attempt to hide her absolute shock at the fact that John knew.

"H-how… you know Adam?" Charlie asked in disbelief, causing Angel to perk up at the words. Vanessa, however, looked confused.

"Adam?" Vanessa looked to Angel for clarification.

"First man."

Now Vanessa was staring at John with wide-eyes.

John took in their shocked faces, and chuckled in amusement. "All jokes aside, I killed thousands of angels on my first two exterminations days." He reminded them with a small smile. "You really think Heaven would be okay with that at first?"

"How come they didn't send down even more after you?" Angel asked, still somewhat shell shocked that John knew Adam.

"Oh, they did." John corrected with a grin. "After the first… I'd say one-fifty?" He paused for a moment, not entirely sure if his count was correct. "Well, they all honed in on me on that first day, and it got them all killed. Next year, they sent double what they did before to my home."

"And you killed them too." Charlie recalled that part, to which John nodded. Since he knew they knew, there was no point in trying to pretend she hadn't.

Not to mention it was mean.

"Yep." John nodded in confirmation. "Well, the day after that second Extermination, I get a knock at my door." He looked at Charlie with a grin. "Take a wild guess who showed up."

"Adam?" Charlie guessed, to which John nodded.

"And your old man." John replied with a grin. "He was there to play peacekeeper, keep me and Adam from coming to blows."

"I take it that was difficult?" Charlie assumed, but John shook his head.

"Not with your dad hanging over us." John replied with a chuckle. "I know I could probably take Adam down, but your father? I'd be better off in a handicap match with the Seven Deadly Sins." The behemoth joked with a small laugh. "Anyway, we came to an agreement. Wherever I go, Exterminators are barred from entering."

"How does that work if you're here now?" Angel asked with a raised eyebrow. "Actually, how the hell are you supposed to let Heaven know you moved?"

"That's where Lucifer comes in." John answered with a chuckle, before turning towards Charlie. "I'm assuming you told him? Because I'm pretty damn positive he's the reason you came to hire me in the first place."

"Um… hehe…" Charlie couldn't help the nervous smile on her face at the way John pointed it out, but the behemoth merely gave her a reassuring wave.

"It's fine, I already let him know." John assured with a chuckle, before turning to look at Charlie with a small smile. "You know, you oughta call him. Whole damn phone call was less me notifying him and more him asking how you've been."

"Um… sure." Charlie gave a smile, but she wasn't entirely sure if she'd call her dad anytime soon. They weren't exactly on the best of terms at the moment. Her expression turned serious as she realized another matter to address. "But… does that mean you know about the new Extermination schedule?"

At that, John's amusement faded away as he fixed Charlie a look of his own. "New schedule?"

"Extermination Day is twice a year instead of once a year now." Charlie informed him, a sad sigh escaping her. "I don't know why, but they're doing it twice a year now."

"Great." John muttered in frustration as he slumped in his seat. He clearly wasn't pleased with the news.

However, his eyes caught the fearful expression on Vanessa's face, and he grew concerned.

"Vanessa? You okay?"

At that, Charlie turned to face the succubus herself, and she felt her heart break.

Vanessa was pale, looking like she was on the verge of shaking as she stared off into the distance. She looked downright terrified.

"They're… they're coming back sooner?" Vanessa whispered, fear as apparent in her tone as it was in her expression. "Wha… what do we do?"

"Nothing." John answered, causing all eyes to look at him in disbelief. "What? I'm not happy about it either, but so long as I'm here, exorcists aren't allowed to enter the city." He reminded them all with a small smile, his eyes landing on Vanessa. "Ain't no reason to be scared of them."

He… had a point, Charlie supposed. If what he said was true, the angels wouldn't dare enter Pentagram City as long as John was present, not unless they wish to incur his wrath or that of Heaven.

It still didn't make her feel much better. She wanted Extermination Day to be a memory. She didn't want to just be exempt from it.

Lute's words at the meeting rang through her head.

She was off-limits because she was a hellborn… So now that she thought about it, why was an entire city off-limits because of John's presence?

Because unlike herself, no matter how much more powerful she may be compared to John… she'd never actually killed an angel.

But… Now that she thought about it, no other demon could kill an angel, so what made John so different?

"Hey, Charlie?" Angel's voice interrupted Charlie's thoughts, and the Princess turned to look at the spider demon. "Do you think you'd be willing to have another guest?"

At that, Charlie smiled, while Vanessa turned to look at Angel in surprise.

"I-I don't know about that." She sounded almost scared at the idea. Which was odd, considering how comfortable she seemed to be here, now that Charlie thought about it.

A heavy sigh from John caught all their attention, as he leaned forward and cupped his hands together as he looked at Vanessa with a soft expression.

"Look, I'm not gonna pretend to know what's got you scared outside of just being in Hell." John began speaking, making sure Vanessa was listening as the succubus stared at him with a hesitant expression. "But my job as security is to protect each and every resident of this Hotel. So as long as you're here, I promise you, you ain't gotta worry 'bout a damn thing hurting you. Free place, free food, and all you gotta do is participate in Charlie's rehabilitation program." He finished.

Vanessa looked at John for a moment, processing his words, his promise, before slowly turning her gaze towards Charlie.

"Is… is that true?"

"Of course." Charlie answered with a smile, standing to her feet and moving over to the succubus, crouching down in front of her as she laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "This is a place free of judgment. And I promise you, you are and always will be safe here."

Vanessa continued to stare at Charlie with a soft look of apprehension. It looked like she was conflicted as to what she wanted to do. She turned her gaze towards Angel.

And the spider-demon gave a smile.

"It's your choice, Ness." Angel assured, resting a comforting hand upon the succubus' shoulder.

Vanessa turned gaze to her lap, looking to be in deep thought. Charlie couldn't help the anticipation she felt to hear her answer.

But finally, the succubus met the Princess' eyes once more.

"I… I'd like to stay, please."