Hey guys ! Long time no see ! Here a little fanfic about a idea I have without link with my main story ! A multichapter, indeed ! Hope you liked it !

Alastor was sitting at the bar, like most of their blended family, as they drank and celebrated the arrival of new residents at the Hotel. Charlie had suggested this little party, now that the establishment was really starting to work. Everyone agreed, including Alastor. He had to play along and, although he'd never admit it, he tolerated the presence of the other residents.

At the bar were Charlie, Vaggie, Husk, Niffty, Angel and himself. Cherri, the Pornstar's explosive friend, was not present that evening, although she had been invited. Alastor had more trouble with her. She was a recent addition to their little circle and she was obliged not to feel integrated. It would take time for that to happen. He heard an angelic laugh and his ears twitched. Ah, yes, Lucifer was there too.

Compared to Cherri, he clearly felt at home in their group. He interacted with the members of the group with disconcerting ease, and the others adored him. He was now living in the Hotel, apparently at Charlie's request. Alastor couldn't be sure; he hadn't been there when the building was constructed. It had annoyed him when he'd come back and seen him. He wasn't part of his plan, and he was a major problem in carrying it out. How could he influence and benefit from Charlie's power if his annoying father was present? Annoying, yes, but also very powerful.

This made him shudder as he took a sip of his whisky. Just a few days ago, demons had tried to attack the Hotel because of a new resident who had several problems before seeking redemption. Normally, it was Vaggie and Alastor who would take charge of the assault, but Lucifer was standing at the building's entrance. He raised an eyebrow as the Hotel's two protectors arrived. He didn't seem to be in the mood and sighed, snapping his fingers. All the attackers, without exception, collapsed and howled in pain. They squirmed as an unimaginable torture attacked their nerves and seemed to drive them mad.

Vaggie's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Lucifer, who waved his hand.

"It'll be a few minutes. My guess is they won't come back," he said, in a jaded tone. "But free to finish them off if you want!"

He winked at the former exorcist before walking away. She was stunned and horrified. Alastor watched the scene with delight. A shiver of pure happiness ran through his body as he saw his heathens struggling in the face of pain. When he saw this scene, he knew he was in Hell, and that the reason they weren't all in the same situation as those before his eyes was because the King wanted them to be.

Alastor glanced at the little being sitting next to Angel. He was laughing at the discussion he was having with the Spider Demon and, like that, he didn't look so dangerous. He even looked ridiculous in his Mister Loyal costume, with his pearly skin and the little red spots at the corners of his lips. Those big golden and red eyes made him look like a cherub, and that well-groomed blond hair added to his angelic side. And yet, with a simple snap of his finger, he had provoked a reaction of pure terror that Alastor couldn't have achieved without a great deal of energy.

"Of course I can dance!" laughed the fallen angel, which caught the attention of the Radio Demon. "I'm even pretty good at it!"

"Oh?" smiled Angel, clearly teasing. "And what do you know how to dance? Waltz? Tango ? Egyptian dance?" He mimed the cliché with his arms in profile. This provoked another laugh from Lucifer.

"Hip hop, break dancing, capoeira!" he continued, grinning. "Well, as long as you can dance ballet, then you can do anything!"

"Seriously?" laughed the Spider Demon. "You're a ballerina?"

"Yep!" agreed Lucifer, taking a sip of his drink.

"You know how to do pointe and everything?!" gasped Angel.

The King of Hell gave him an amused look and jumped off his stool after putting down his glass. He moved a little further into the room, away from the edges. With a snap of his fingers, he summoned the shoes and took off his boots to put on those spikes. With his gaze fixed on Angel, he struck a dramatic pose and slowly raised himself onto his toes. He finally got into position and laughed when he saw the Spider Demon's admiring expression.

"Oh boy, you're really doing it!" gasped Angel.

Lucifer began to dance. He twirled around, gracefully hopping around the room. Everyone looked at him, and Alastor could only admire the beauty of his movements. They were fluid, swift and at the same time freezing time in a vice of elegance. Lucifer's pearly skin glowed as if emanating divine light, as if he were a condensation of it. His sincere smile gave him a candid air, and his eyes, slightly closed and focused, emphasized the magnificence of his features. The Radio Demon continued to stare at the King, an unfamiliar feeling in the pit of his stomach, as if he were disgusted and at the same time irremediably attracted. When he saw Lucifer soar, he understood why he was called the Original Sin.

The angel took a few classic steps, jumped wide and caught his foot with his hand, making a perfect arc. Alastor had to admit that the King was supple.

"Damn, you must be wonderful in bed." Angel declared, prompting a cry of protest from Charlie and a laugh from Lucifer.

The Radio Demon rolled his eyes. Of course the Pornstar could only make that kind of comment. No wonder. Any sign of elegance was turned into an unholy thought, in his deranged preacher's mind.

"Why, do you want to test it?" sneered Lucifer, a humorously sensual look on his face. Charlie let out another cry of protest and Angel laughed at the false proposal. Alastor felt a deep irritation building up inside him. Truly, the King was a pathetic being.

Was he obliged to respond to Angel's statement? Of course not! He could have done as any descent person would and ignored the Pornstar's more than dubious comment!

"Alastor?" asked Charlie's voice, concerned.

And why did everything have to be about sex? It was something that had always revolted him, whether in everyday life or in humor. What was so funny about making phony advances or references to this obscene act?

"Uh ... Alastor." said Husk's deep voice, horrified.

He thought only men found it funny. Apparently, so did angelic beings. This disappointed him so much that his whisky became unpalatable in his mouth. It would seem that, whatever the species, a male person was still a being who deserved no respect.

"Alastor!" shouted Vaggie's panicked voice.

Why was a being as powerful as Lucifer just a poorly animated representation of what disgusted him most? Why, when he could bring about the end of the world with a snap of his fingers, was he falling so low and responding to such ill-formed advances? It was abject, dishonorable, unworthy of...

"Oh, bellboy." intervenes the sharp voice of the King of Hell.

Alastor's ears turned to the Fallen Angel as he gave him a questioning look. Lucifer stood erect, arms held in a position of incomprehension. His face was frozen in an expression of pure confusion and irritation.

"What the hell?" he questioned. The Radio Demon raised an eyebrow.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked. Suddenly, he heard a muffled sound to his right. When he turned his head towards the noise, a surprised expression painted itself on his face. Beside him, Vaggie, Husk and Charlie were desperately trying to save Angel Dust. He was being pulled to the ground by black tentacles that were strangling him and trying to tear him apart. Those watery eyes, resting on Alastor, begged him to stop. It replaced his voice, which, without air, could not leave his mouth.

"Oh!" exclaimed the Radio Demon, snapping his fingers. The tentacles evaporated. There was no sign of regret on the Overlord's face, his smile impenetrable. However, his mind was going off the rails. What had just happened? Had he really lost control of his powers? And why had he done so? He immediately thought he'd had too much to drink, even if he couldn't feel his mind fogging. Angel caught his breath as he gave him a terrified look. He had to act fast, to show he was in control of the situation.

"I only wanted to help you, I swear! Weren't you jealous of our King's flexibility?" he asked, his voice threatening. "Aren't you satisfied, Angel?"

He brought his face close to that of the terrified Spider Demon, who merely nodded in approval.

"Lovely!" he straightened up and tightened the knot of his suit, to give himself some composure. He didn't give a damn about the disapproving stares of the other people in the room. However, one of them was hotter than the others, more powerful, and that made him uncomfortable.

"On that note!" he exclaimed. "I'll let you get on with your feasting! I'm feeling relatively exhausted! Good evening!"

Waiting for no response, he began to fade into the shadows. The only voice to follow him was that of the Angel of Hell, who whispered in an imperial tone:

"We'll talk about it again."

He made sure it never happened.

The days following the party were relatively normal. Alastor continued his work. He managed the hotel with a master's hand, bringing in supplies for the residents, organizing the shadow slaves to do the housework with Niffty and man the reception desk, monitoring the movements of the new residents to make sure they followed Charlie's instructions to the letter, and securing the perimeter to prevent any unwelcome attacks.

However, he did notice a coldness with the other members of his new family. The most obvious was Angel, who, whenever he saw him, petrified with horror and began to cower. A rather delectable reaction, but a truly strange one from the Spider Demon, who until now had never shown any fear concerning him. Vaggie and Cherri were very venomous towards him. They only spoke to him to give strict orders in the case of one, and injunctions in the case of the other. Husk was unusually silent and never spoke to him. He obeyed his every word, without questioning. Although this was pleasant, it was far less amusing. Niffty herself seemed to look at him with disapproval and no longer approached him as she used to. She'd appear for two seconds, give him a live cockroach and then leave like a flower. The fact that the bug was still breathing when she brought it to him didn't bode well. Charlie, for her part, was the only one who spoke to him normally. She remained an unchanged ray of sunshine, a glimmer of pure happiness in this crimson, rotten world. Alastor had grown accustomed to this fact and, even if he'd never admit it, appreciated it. It made the young woman manipulable, of course, but also pleasant to be around.

One day, as they were discussing a new resident who was reluctant to accept Charlie's methods, Angel came swiftly down the corridor, his smile strained, his eyes deeply sad and on the verge of tears.

Charlie, when she saw him, tried to reach out a hand to challenge him, but stopped when her expression of pure sorrow turned to terror at the sight of Alastor. So the Princess of Hell let her friend walk away, her face worried, while the Radio Demon raised an eyebrow in incomprehension.

"What's the matter with him?" asked the latter, in a neutral tone, more as if he were asking out of politeness than genuine interest.

"He was with Valentino today," Charlie explained softly, his head still turned in the direction Angel had fled." I don't think it went well."

"As usual," Alastor sighed. "Why didn't you stop him? Normally, you'd have stepped in and tried to comfort him."

Charlie quickly turned to him, eyes wide, as if he'd just asked him the most ridiculous thing that ever existed. This hurt Alastor, who settled for a patient smile and a hard look. His question was pertinent, there was no need to act like this.

"Uh." began Charlie, raising an eyebrow. "Because you were there?"

Alastor raised his eyebrows.

"And?" pressed the Radio Demon.

"And?" repeated Charlie, incredulous. "Alastor, seriously?"

"I'm very serious, Charlie." he said, slightly cutting.

Charlie raised her eyes to the sky with a sigh, something she never did to Alastor. This confused him. She placed her hands in front of her mouth, clasped together, as her father often did when he was about to reprimand someone. He froze in place.

"Alastor." she began. "Have you forgotten how close you came to quartering Angel the last time you two hung out?"

"No." replied the Radio Demon.

"So," continued the young woman, "how does the fact that I didn't stop Angel because you were there make you wonder?"

The mature man frowned.

"It's not as if he didn't know who I was and what I couldn't stand," he replied dryly. "I wanted to teach him a lesson. It's no different from what I usually do with other people."

"Except." contra Charlie, a slightly disappointed look on his face. "That Angel hadn't realized he was considered an other."

Alastor raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"He thought, as we all do, that we were a family, Alastor." continued Charlie, and though his face was smiling, it sounded false. "And that because of that, you'd never hurt him, no matter what he said."

The Radio Demon's ears perked up at the statement. He frowned and looked away, pondering.

"We know you, Alastor," Charlie continued, softly. "We know who you are. We just thought we knew your limits, that's all."

Alastor glanced at him, his smile taut.

"But, it's no big deal!" she exclaimed with a happier tone. "It's just that we need to reshuffle the info we gleaned at that party to get to know you better and make you feel welcome in our circle!"

"And what do I have to do to stay in this circle?" posed the Radio Demon as a question. Charlie raised his eyebrows.

"You make a lot of effort for us, Alastor," she says. "Everyone is well aware of that. Many feel that the least you can do is apologize to Angel for your excessive behavior."

"Not you?" he asked.

She seemed legitimately surprised.

"Why apologize for who you are?" she replied, her head tilted slightly. Alastor's heart stopped for a second as he looked at her, genuinely intrigued.

"You tell others that it all starts with sorry." he said. She shrugged.

"Yes, because they want to and they're filled with regret," she agreed. "But you don't feel any and you don't apologize. You are the way you are and you want to stay that way. And that's OK with me."

Alastor felt himself melt figuratively and quickly turned his gaze away to stare at a point on the wall. His soul twisted with affection for this young girl who, in the space of a few sentences, had made him feel integrated, accepted. He'd never experienced this before from someone who didn't share his ideals. He felt a hand on his arm. He didn't look at it, still fixed on the wall in front of him.

"Give him time to get over it," she said, gently. "But on the other hand, don't force your relationship to be like it was before. You've changed the rules, so let him do the same for you. You've shown him your limits, let him show you his. Like, I'll stop flirting with Dad and on your side, if it bothers you, you talk to me about it instead of pulling me apart."

Alastor's eyes widened at this statement.

"I didn't do this because he made inappropriate comments to His Majesty!" he protested, turning to her. Charlie smiled patiently, raising an eyebrow, clearly not convinced. He wanted to continue, to explain and prove her wrong, but his stomach sank when he felt a powerful presence coming down the corridor.

"Gotta go." he said, calmly, as he evaporated into his shadows. Charlie didn't hold him back, watching him do it with mild amusement.

With this new information in mind, Alastor reflected. To carry out his plan, he would need everyone at the Hotel to be in his pocket. Of course, the only one who mattered was Charlie. She'd made it clear that she didn't mind his behavior. He was grateful for that, and it made him sick at the same time. How could she accept who he was while wanting to change Hell with her ridiculous Hotel project? It was beyond him, by far.

Still, if he was to keep Charlie in his pocket, he felt obliged to get on well with the rest of his reconstituted family. So the first step was to befriend Angel. Charlie had told him to give him space, time and patience, so that he could come back to him with new insights into their relationship. Alastor, however, was not a man to leave control to someone else. So he tried to coax the Spider Demon into forgetting this dreadful misunderstanding. Over the remaining days, he literally imposed himself on Angel, following him down the corridors to ask him if he wanted anything, making him breakfast, offering to accompany him when he went out to protect him. This didn't seem to have the desired effect. At first, the Spider Demon was horrified. Then, as time went by, he seemed to become irritated by these attentions. He was becoming increasingly incisive and, while this was a welcome development (Alastor knew how to handle anger better than fear when he wanted to argue with someone), it was unexpected. What was it about being helpful that brought him this reaction? Didn't Angel see the effort he was making to please him? It was a little vexing.

Finally, one day, Angel snapped. As they stood alone in a hotel corridor, the Spider Demon turned abruptly to the Overlord, who had just offered to bring him a blanket.

"Stop taking the piss!" he exclaimed, which surprised Alastor.

"I beg your pardon?" asked the Radio Demon. This made Pornstar grit his teeth.

"Stop with all this bullshit and leave me alone, asshole!" he shouted. The Radio Demon didn't have time to protest as he continued, tears in his eyes. "What the fuck are you doing to me, with your bullshit attentions, when the only thing I want is for you to leave me alone?! Hell, you don't even know me well enough to know what I really need! But besides, it's not like you give a shit! If you're doing this, it's just to look good for Charlie!"

He wiped away a tear that was running down his cheek, but those eyes were ablaze with fury.

"What do you think, I'm going to forgive you for almost killing me while I was chatting with your beloved little King? Fuck you, Smiley. I don't care if Charlie tells me we have to accept you as you are because you're part of our family! I had a family once, fucking mobsters, and hell, even they didn't do that to one of their own! You're a psychopath, an egomaniac and a sick bastard! You don't care about other people! You don't care about me! I thought we were..."

He paused, breathing heavily as he continued to wipe his watery eyes. Finally, he clicked his tongue and turned around.

"Never mind." he whispered. "I don't even know why I'm talking to you."

Alastor froze in place as Angel walked away. The Radio Demon then evaporated into his shadows to return to his apartments, pensive. He'd made the situation worse and, quite frankly, he was getting tired of it. Human relations were frankly too complicated. Too bad he wouldn't have the Spider Demon's affection. In any case, it had little impact on him, now that he thought about it. Why had he convinced himself that he had to get along with the Hotel members to have Charlie in his pocket? He seriously wondered.

He pretended Angel didn't exist for the next few days. Frankly, it was a lot easier for him, and the Spider Demon seemed to be doing just fine too. Granted, from time to time, he did keep an eye on Angel to see how he was doing. What's more, he always made sure to hide in the shadows when he was chatting with other people, to see if he was recovering quietly from their unfortunate experience. He then noticed many things about the Spider Demon that he'd never seen before. In particular, the way he behaved every time he came home from work with Valentino. He seemed exhausted, abused both physically and mentally. As far as Alastor was concerned, he had it coming. After all, he'd signed a contract with that stupid butterfly. He was nothing more than meat on probation.

Nevertheless, he didn't like seeing Angel in this state. Not that he felt pity, no, no. He wasn't that kind of man. What bothered him, really, was that another Overlord had a member of their circle under his control. At least, that it was so visible.

One evening, as he sipped whisky in his office, he reflected on the image this gave the Hotel: we give you a chance to achieve redemption and we protect you, except from other Overlords, of course! It was not a flattering image for his reputation. If the Radio Demon couldn't even defend one of its residents against the physical and psychological abuse of the other Overlords, then how was he the most powerful of them all?

His eyes fell on a small voodoo talisman lying on his table. It was round, with protective symbols on its surface. His mother had given it to him when he was a child, to protect him from evil. His heart clenched for a moment at his mother's bright smile and her voice rising in his brain: "It will protect whoever wears it! It's up to you to decide who needs it."

Of course, he knew it wasn't true. It'd never protected him while he was alive. Yet, down here, perhaps it could fulfill his mission? He grasped it with his slender fingers and took a long look at it. He then began to breathe magic into it, giving precise instructions to the shadows he accumulated in the lines of the symbols. Finally, as fatigue began to overcome him, he sent his shadow into Angel's room on a whim. He took another sip of his drink and went to bed, without another thought.

A few days later, in the middle of the night, when he was back in his apartments, he heard a knock. Surprised, he went to the peephole he'd installed to see who it was. His astonishment increased when he saw Angel. The Spider Demon looked uncomfortable and held an object in his hand. The Radio Demon opened the door, raising an eyebrow in silence. He didn't even greet him: strangely enough, given the time of day, he didn't want to welcome him or tell him to leave. Angel licked his lip and, with a glance at his hands, seemed to understand Alastor's silent question. He opened them and showed the talisman.

"I." he began before being cut off by hesitant breathing. The Radio Demon was content to stand still as the Spider Demon continued. "I got this from you a few days ago, without a note or anything. I know it's from you because your shadow gave it to me. I didn't know what it was and since I was pissed off at you, I left it on my bedside table. Today, I don't know why, but I put it around my neck. I went to work and... Valentino... He didn't like it. He ... He wanted to ... He wanted to hit me. But suddenly, a shadow came out of the talisman and overpowered him. As soon as it was no longer a danger, it disappeared. He wanted to try again, but it reappeared and foiled him."

He licked his lip before looking into his eyes.

"What the hell?" he asked, but his voice had no trace of annoyance, only incomprehension.

"I cast a spell on this talisman to protect you specifically from Valentino's attacks," replied the Radio Demon. "It's a charm my mother created for me when I was alive, and it followed me until my death. It was supposed to protect me and she told me to pass it on to whoever needed it." He shrugged. "I'm clearly not concerned with it anymore, so I might as well give it to someone weaker than me."

Angel stared at him for a long moment before whispering, "Thank you."

Alastor was confused.

"I didn't do it for you," he clarified. "I have to protect my reputation, and the fact that you came home beaten every time you returned from work only tarnished it. At least now we know I can counter that pathetic director's abuse."

The Spider Demon didn't take his eyes off him and, against all the Radio Demon's expectations, there was almost attachment in his gaze. He couldn't understand why.

"And that's all you, Alastor," he said in a breath. This surprised the Overlord: it was rare for the Pornstar to call him by his first name. "Good night." he said with a slight smile as he began to walk away.

The Radio Demon began to close his door, purely confused by this conversation, before he heard Angel say to him:

"If you have a concern about relationships, come to me. I can help."

Alastor froze in surprise as the Spider Demon moved away, disappearing into the shadows of the corridor.