The Rant has been moved to Chapter Six as of Chapter Seven's Posting.
Because people have felt the need to address an issue that's been happening with the reviews.
Something that should not even be happening in the first place.
People still wanna complain about how much of a dick John is, and I'm usually all for specifics, but at this point, I'm tired of it. We're only six chapters in and people want to leave paragraph reviews saying I've besmirched my own characters.
It takes time. And I'll be glad I can finally post the damn chapter. People will probably be disappointed anyway, but oh well. To be point blank, whether this changes your mind or not, John will be serving an antagonistic role for a good portion of the story. So even if I show enough of the good side he has left, overall you should be rooting for Charlie against him right now, like him or not.
If you don't like the fact that I have taken a character that's initial conception started when I was thirteen and have taken him in a direction I've never actually cared to explore for him before, then I don't know what to tell you. And if you hate him in this story because he has actually hurt characters you care about, good. If you continue reading because you care about any of the characters, Particularly Charlie, Vaggie, and Angel, even better.
And when the inevitable moment comes where something either kicks his ass physically or emotionally, whether you feel sympathy for him or are glad to see him get what he deserved, I want you to feel like it was well earned.
If this story isn't your cup of tea or it isn't what you expected, that's absolutely no reason to bash it because you're pissed at a character or even hate the story.
I even got three reviews in the span of two hours from a reader who liked the original stories, and I wanted to think he was trying to be constructive at first until he left this little gem.
"Also, f u for taking down the old one. Could have had the decency to keep that up. Most of us actually liked it"
That's copied and pasted from the review.
The only differences between the this one and the original Sinful Savior is that this one is in active development, the cover image has been switched, and the original has a big fat OUTDATED after the title.
All three are still available to read and remain mostly unchanged.
So to sum it all up, John will remain a hateable asshole with small glimpses of good that you can choose to see, and you don't need to be leaving any reviews on any of my stories if it's influenced almost entirely by another story.
Reviews about how much of a dick John is and how much people are ready to see him get his ass handed to him? Sweet! Give me more!
Reviews about how much of a mistake I've made with my own characters or because you don't like how this story seems like a stereotypical cliche edgy story after six chapters?
You can enjoy one and not like the other, and if you have what you believe is actual criticisms to give me, feel free. But enough with the petty crap about how much the entire story sucks if your only reasoning is entirely one thing.
If it can be fixed with further chapters and more of the story actually becoming clear, then by all means, feel free to make concerns valid. I will gladly take those into account.
But if your advice is to cancel a story after five chapters, then yeah, bye.
I genuinely say Congratulations to those who actually enjoyed the original stories, because I'm putting some thought behind continuing them.
I say congratulations to those who hated the story entirely because they don't like that the original was canceled.
Reasonable and valid concerns will be taken into account where applicable and warranted, and when breached respectfully, will be treated as such.
Whining will be flat out ignored, and where possible/needed, reported or removed.
Reviews containing both will be treated differently depending upon a variety of factors.
I'm done dealing with it when it reaches a point where people feel the need to leave reviews not because of the story, but because of said whining.
There shouldn't be any arguing or overall rudeness in the reviews, even when you're leaving a negative review.
I don't care how small the issue is to some people, it shouldn't reach that point anywhere, let alone in a section made for leaving constructive reviews on stories.
There, I've said my piece, now enough already. it's not even hurtful or enraging, just annoying at this point.
Massive rant aside, on with the story.
Additional Update:
"No one want's to read about an MC they are rooting against retard. It just makes them pissed and then they take it out on you. Can't handle it? Don't write dark fics than dickhead."
"wow okay you know what dude go fuck yourself, what kind of a dick do you have to be to actually say people are whining because they dont like your story, guess what bud if people are complaining about your story when they werent before maybe thats a you problem, and yeah maybe people should chill out a bit but calling them whiners and babys and ranting the way you did just proves your a petulent child who cant take criticism but guess what bud soon to be replaced no way jose, i am going to copy paste this rant and post it over and over with context so people can know what a child you are and stop reading our story"
Do I even actually have to elaborate?
Oh, and the second one pasted the rant in the reviews and literally skipped the entire beginning talking about the fact that this review in it's entirety is going to be moved to Chapter Six, so there's that. Including the precursors and any additional updates I feel the need to make. Not to mention he actually feels the need to bomb the reviews with further paragraphs like these.
This isn't some big potent response, it's the exact whining I'm talking about.
Sad part is the guy who wrote that second one made an single review before it that I had absolutely no problem with.
John: She's on her way back.
John: Make sure she doesn't set a single foot off the Hotel grounds.
Angel stared at the last received messages on his phone, his index finger gliding along the side of the device In apprehension.
John owning his soul was supposed to make things easier, so why did they suddenly get so much more complicated?
When John had texted him earlier that morning, it had guaranteed that the former porn star's day wasn't going to start off very well.
Choosing between one of the women who'd done more for him the he'd admit, or the guy who had quite literally freed him from a life of sexual slavery?
Not to mention John was actually someone who cared.
But so did Vaggie, even if she was spectacularly bad at showing it.
In the end, Angel supposed there wasn't any real choice. John owned him, and regardless of how much he cared, sleeping under the same roof as an Exorcist was not something he'd just be okay with.
It was still a struggle for the Italian to wrap his head around that.
Vaggie was an Exorcist. A real one. One who had slaughtered thousands of demons without blinking.
Vaggie was also the Hotel's protector, who fought tooth and nail to keep it safe from the regular attackers that decided to test their luck.
But… she was also invincible . If she was an angel, then the one actually named Angel was under the impression that Charlie was the only person in the building with the capabilities to tame her.
Actually, that explained a lot. The couple had their moments, but the two were so different that it was hard to believe the two of them were together.
But… Charlie didn't know.
Just because one's patience seemed endless didn't mean it actually was, and Charlie had no love lost for the Exorcists.
So how was she going to react when she found out the girl she was dating was an Exorcist too?
The sinner wasn't sure even he was ready for the Princess' reaction. That was a lot of stuff to reveal, and none of it was going to be easy to process.
The spider was the only one who had currently occupied the lobby at the moment. Husk had taken off to occupy himself, since standing in front of a table all day could get pretty boring.
Niffty was a fun little broad, but she was a straight-up freak and Angel was just fine leaving her to go bug hunting.
And the former mafioso could care less where Alastor was. The prick had irritated him with enough questions.
As for Charlie… well, the Princess was either hiding away in her room worried or she was too busy dealing with something else at the moment.
His attention was brought back to his phone when another ding of a message sounded out.
A small smile crossed his face when he saw that John wasn't her messenger, but rather, a certain purple skinned succubus.
Vanessa: So how's freedom?
A small chuckle escaped the spider when he read the question.
Angel: Could be better. Haven't managed to get out of the Hotel and enjoy it yet.
Vanessa: At least your day is better than mine. Some squid guy got his hands on me as I was leaving.
Angel visibly winced. Even with how normal it seemed to be for her, it still didn't sit right with him how nonchalantly she treated it.
But there was no use in trying to argue with her, unfortunately.
Angel: You okay?
Vanessa: I can still walk, and I don't have to regen, so yeah, I'm fine. Just frustrated.
That should be an understatement.
Angel genuinely hated that he knew it wasn't.
She should be far more than just frustrated.
Angel: John gave me one of those buttons. Why don't you use yours?
Vanessa: I don't need help to live on my own.
Okay, the Italian supposed he should've seen that coming. It was Vanessa after all.
He wanted to argue further, try and get it through her head that she didn't have to put up with any of that now.
Considering she worked for John, she should be living in a mansion, not a dingy apartment in a rundown building in the middle of town.
Honestly, there were so many things that didn't make sense with the succubus that Angel genuinely struggled to figure out what was even worth arguing.
So… he did what he normally did.
He let it go.
Angel: Did you at least have fun with your date?
Vanessa: Yep :)
Well, that was a plus, he supposed.
The sound of the Hotel entrance being thrown open caught his attention.
Angel: Gotta go. Talk to you later tho.
That was the last message he sent her, before spider slipped his phone into his pocket as he stood off the couch and turned around-
Only to find a familiar Exorcist standing directly behind him.
"Jesus fucking Christ!" Angel was too busy questioning how she'd even managed to fucking clear that distance so quickly. "You trying to kill me again? Fuck…"
After his mini-tirade, the spider shook his head as he actually took in Vaggie's condition.
Her hair was frazzled, strands sticking out in places as her bow sat bent and wrinkled atop her head.
Her face was… the very definite dog defeated, her brow curves upward as her singular eye looked at Angel with… betrayal in them.
He actually jumped when his eyes landed on her hands.
"Fuck, what happened to you?" He asked, his eyes widening when he saw the numerous slashes on the inside of her hand, which was stained in her own golden blood.
"He took my soul."
Angel froze.
So… Vaggie had made a deal? That's… unexpected.
"You really think it's a good idea to make a deal when you still gotta tell Charlie?" He asked, raising a brow.
Vaggie's frown deepened.
"I didn't make a deal."
Angel instantly assumed she was lying in instinct, trying to cover her ass. But the longer he looked at her face, took in the sadness she could barely hide…
He found himself slowly believing her words.
"How the fuck did he take your soul?" Deal making was bad enough, but that just sounded ghoulish. "That's not how that power works, right?"
Vaggie was quite, her entire mood seemingly falling as her shoulders sagged.
"You don't believe me."
"Jesus, I didn't say that, Vags." Angel answered, bringing a hand up to his head with a sigh. "I'll probably need a drink anyway… want one?"
Vaggie's head drifted to face the wall of bottles behind the counter, cogs twisting a furiously in her head.
And then, an uncaring shrug answered him.
"Sure."
Her response was as dead as she looked.
Another sigh forced its way past Angel's lips as he shook his hand, walking around the couch and making his way to the bar as he assumed Vaggie followed behind him.
He snagged the first bottle his hand reached, before two more hands retrieved a pair of drinking glasses and sat them on the table.
He popped open the bottle.
Vaggie just stared blankly.
He'd barely finished pouring the first one before Vaggie's hand lashed out with unexpected vigor, and she was ready for a refill before he'd even started to fill his own.
The spider stared at the angel in surprise. Clearly, she wasn't reacting well to the situation.
Not that he could blame her. Nobody did.
"He said I wasn't leaving with my soul anyway." Vaggie finally allowed some kind of info to slip past her lips as she glanced up at Angel. "He said I'm an Exorcist, so I don't get to walk Hell freely."
That… was fucking bullshit .
Exorcist or not, Vaggie had more than earned whatever freedom she'd managed to gain, even he knew that.
The only reason he even knew she was an Exorcist was because of John. The past couple of months, he'd thought she was nothing more than an iron willed and short tempered moth sinner.
"He smacked me around a bit." That caused Angel's eyes to widen.
He found himself unconsciously sliding the massive uncorked bottle over to the woman.
She took it without complaint, despite her insistence against alcohol when Alastor had put the bar in.
"Smacked you around… how?" Angel had heard plenty of the rumors. The only thing people knew for sure was that the Wraith was a psychopathic monster hellbent on torture, food, and destruction.
Obviously, when one sinks low enough, it's easy to believe they're capable of things they don't normally do.
He breathed a sigh of relief and flinched at the same time when Vaggie turned around, and all he saw was a bruise on her back through the two-inch hole in the back of her shirt.
"He pinned me down before he made me take the deal." Vaggie answered, turning back around and leaning against the bar as he gaze dropped.
After a few seconds of silence, Angel let a sigh escape him.
"Vags-"
"Why?"
At first, the question confused him, until she looked up at him with gritted teeth and a gaze filled with betrayal.
"I thought he was a good guy? So why?"
Angel actually felt a hint of guilt begin gnawing at him when she said that.
She wasn't wrong, he had said that. He'd meant it.
On some level, he still believed it… but clearly, he couldn't deny the depths of John's darkness either.
He'd spent plenty of time assuring both her and Charlie that his deal with John wouldn't cause any problems, that he wasn't a risk.
Hell, he'd even told Charlie what the behemoth had said about her.
And a day later, John somehow took Vaggie's soul.
The Italian felt like he'd lied through his teeth, and while that's nothing new for him, it didn't make him feel good when it was to someone he actually liked.
"I'm… I'm fucking sorry, Vaggie." He decided to forgo the use of the nickname, his brow wrinkling as he gave the angel a regretful look. "I didn't think he'd do all that to you."
"Well, now I have to tell Charlie I lost my soul." The woman averted her gaze with a sigh as her hands came up to wrap tightly into her hair. "On top of the whole Exorcist thing."
Angel didn't respond. He wasn't even sure how. Comfort wasn't something he was good at, and it actually ate at him that he was so powerless at the moment.
It didn't help that he'd been the one to send the one-eyed guardian to him in the first place.
He raised a hand, reaching it out towards the woman's shoulder.
He stopped short of actually meeting her red shirt, his hand hanging in the air.
His fingers closed, and he pulled the hand back.
It was safer not to push any boundaries at the moment.
"If it makes you feel better… it could be worse."
A mirthless chuckle escaped the former Exorcist as her eye flicked up, the barest trace of amusement on her face.
"You're an idiot."
"Fair enough."
Finally, some levity came upon the tense atmosphere as Angel cracked a grin.
Rather than try to share the bottle, the spider turned and grabbed another for himself, pulling the cork free and tossing it aside as he rounded the bar and took a seat next to the woman.
"I don't do this emotional bullshit. I suck at it." Angel admitted bluntly, glancing over at Vaggie with a sly grin and offering a friendly shoulder punch.
"You ever think that might be a part of the problem?" Vaggie asked, raising an eyebrow as her eye flicked towards her current company.
Angel shrugged.
"Meh. Don't mean I can't try, I guess."
He offered a small grin, before taking a large swig of the bottle.
The liquid burned his throat and there was a fire in his nose, but Vaggie grinned and decided to join him, taking a drink of her own bottle.
Two glass bottles hit the counter with a pair of relieved sighs, and the demons immediately felt relief as the alcohol began to kick in.
"I have until the Extermination to tell Charlie everything myself." Vaggie admitted, a sad look crossing her face as her hand left the bottle and joined its other one in hugging herself.
Angel's multicolored eyes found her expression, and he actually winced.
Vaggie wasn't supposed to look helpless.
"How… how are you gonna do that?"
"I don't know!"
Angel's eyes widened at the woman's outburst as her elbows slammed harshly on the table, her fingers squeezing the sides of her skull as her eye shut hard.
Her nose bunched up, and her gritted teeth were on display as her hands unraveled her already frazzled hair even more.
"I don't want her to know…" She admitted, soft sniffles escaping her as she tried and failed to suppress her budding tears.
Damn, this shit really was hitting her hard. He didn't exactly know how long Vaggie had actually been in Hell, but being an angel… well, whatever could traumatize a demon could do worse to anything from the Silver City.
Still, though…
"Don't she deserve to?"
Angel knew that was a stupid thing to say the moment the words left his mouth, but that didn't help the regret he felt when Vaggie's shoulders started trembling.
"I don't want her to hate me…" The bow-haired woman admitted, her voice a far cry from its usual tough and ready tone.
Angel found himself gnawing on the inside of his cheek.
He had never seen the Hotel guardian like this. In the time since he's known her, Vaggie was known for two things: bitching and fighting.
Not crying and whimpering.
It was a surreal sight, and the spider was admittedly unsure of what to do in the situation.
He felt partly responsible. He had been the one to send her into her predicament, and he hadn't expected it to turn out like this.
It actually made the Italian think a little more on the circumstances that had led him to now, anyway.
If John could be so cruel to Vaggie for nothing more than being an Exorcist…
What exactly happened during his trade with Val?
Vaggie's continued sobbing made it difficult for Angel to think of an effective way to handle the situation.
But after a moment… he sighed.
Despite his reservations, both left hands folded out and wrapped around the angel, pulling her into his side in a rather stiff hug.
The fact that she even let him must've been a good sign.
At least, he hoped.
"Look, anyone would be pissed in Charlie's situation, no doubt about that." A strangled whine was his response. "But come on… it's Charlie. She might get mad-"
"About what?"
Wide-eyed and admittedly terrified, both Angel and Vaggie spun around in surprise the moment they heard the voice of the topic of conversation.
Standing at the bottom of the steps, her red button up absent, was Charlie herself.
Her brow was furrowed in confusion, and a hand rested atop the banister.
She looked to both of them for an explanation.
"Uh…" Angel's head snapped between the two women, and against his better judgment, his first instinct was to try and cover for the already distraught woman. "Nothing."
Usually, the spider was better at deception, but considering who he was lying too and what he was lying about…
His hands found his hips, and he offered a nervous smile as he subtly stepped in front of the angel to block her oblivious girlfriend's view.
He could hear Vaggie trying to recompose herself and hide the open bottles behind him.
Unfortunately… Well, Charlie was naive, not stupid.
"What's wrong?" She was immediately walking towards the two, and Angel felt any ground he had quickly collapsing as the Princess brushed past him and walked up to her girlfriend.
When she place a hand on Vaggie's shoulder, the girl snapped her single eye towards her girlfriend, her demeanor being the very definition of nervous.
Charlie's expression softened, and her hands came up and gently pulled the other woman's head against her chest as her eyes shot to Angel for an explanation.
Angel opened his mouth to answer, but no sound came out as he realized what kind of position his big mouth had just put the Exorcist in.
The moment Vaggie was wrapped in Charlie's arms, that seemed to be the comfort she needed.
The former Exorcist let out a loud cry of anguish as she began to freely sob, whatever the day's events held catching up with her.
Charlie's hand softly stroked her platinum blonde hair, and her eyes actually hardened as their colors inverted.
Angel was unsure of what to make of it.
"What. Happened?"
Angel was compelled to speak… but his mouth remained closed.
On the one hand, he didn't want Charlie even more pissed at him, and Vaggie had kept a secret.
On the other hand… well, fucking Vaggie was currently crying her eyes out on Charlie's white shirt.
Charlie actually growled when Vaggie's hands tightened into fists, curling into her shirt.
"Angel…"
Charlie usually wasn't intimidating in the slightest, but Angel was pretty sure he'd never actually seen her this mad.
A pointed tail suddenly swung into view behind her, and that only added to his rising fear…
But luckily for the spider… Vaggie decided to speak up, albeit the words were slurred and hard to comprehend between the tears.
"I-I-it isnt-" A hiccup interrupted herself. "H-His fault…"
Angel let a sigh of relief escape her as Charlie's more demonic features slowly reversed as her eyes returned to their natural colors, before she allowed her gaze to fall down to Vaggie.
"What happened?" She asked once more, her voice considerably softer as a hand came up to brush Vaggie's hair out of her face. "Come on, it's okay."
"N-no, it's not…" Vaggie's voice was barely audible.
Charlie glanced down in confusion.
Angel closed his mouth, opting to simply watch the scene play out.
If Vaggie was going to tell her now … well, he supposed she wasn't in a sound state of mind anyway. Still, he felt a small bit of responsibility, and the spider would rather watch like an idiot than walk away and leave them alone.
Even if the entire situation made him uncomfortable.
But clearly, things weren't going to go as planned.
Vaggie raised herself off of Charlie, trying desperately to regain control of her emotions as the Princess looked at her in confusion.
But one look at those angelic features, and the former Exorcist simply couldn't take it.
The site was pitiful.
And admittedly, it tugged at Angel's heartstrings in an unfamiliar way.
Eventually… he found himself letting out a sigh of frustration as she shook his head and made his way forward.
"Look," When he placed a gloved hand on Charlie's shoulder, the Princess turned back to him, her eyes now begging for an explanation he couldn't give. "It has not been a good day for her and a lotta shit is catching up with her."
"That doesn't explain-"
"Stop." Angel didn't miss the annoyed glare in the slightest when he planted a finger over her lips. "I get it, you're worried, and you don't like seeing her like this. So get up to your bedroom and get her outta this emotional crap, and then just listen. Alright?"
He wasn't in the mood to sit here and explain to Charlie, nor was he ready to watch an entire conversation play out that should be kept entirely private.
Angel Dust didn't do emotional .
Charlie stared at him in surprise for a moment, and even Vaggie had paused her words to look at him in shock.
It took a second too long for his liking, so he didn't feel a single ounce of shame quite literally pushing them towards the stairs until Charlie eventually lifted Vaggie into her arms and began to carry her herself.
The spider watched, and once they disappeared, he let a sigh of relief escape him.
"I'm finishing the fucking bottle."
A Few Hours Later
Well, the day hadn't been too bad, in John's opinion. It had mostly been his routine of checking the daily activity of various properties and supplies.
There had been the quick return to the city to deal with the Exorcist, though, but that had been over just as quickly.
He'd give her credit. She had balls and didn't back down when faced with a superior enemy. He could smell and hear her fear, of course, but the one called Vaggie was definitely brave.
Not to mention she actually managed to keep her distance when he started swinging at her. It would've been hilarious when she started panicking if the angel hadn't been genuinely pissing him off.
Of course, if he'd wanted, it would've been over immediately, but a small part of him had actually enjoyed the challenge while it was there.
Since even before he'd died, the amount of people who could stand their ground against John Gallagher remained few and far between.
A good many who could were probably somewhere down in this shitpit.
Still, he'd come to enjoy a good challenge since he'd died. When he was alive, cutting loose was no more than an annoyance, not a fun fight. But since his fall to Hell, the behemoth had found himself no longer shackled by that chain.
Every single sinner in Hell was down there for a reason. John would decide for himself if they deserved his cruelty.
Senseless killing went pretty high on that list. Considering up until he'd come around, the only being with the capability to stand up to the Exorcists was the king himself and maybe the Sins. The only reason they started the Exterminations was for amusement.
Adam said as much, and that little silver haired bitch thought she'd try to prove a point.
A small smile crossed the behemoth's face as he remembered the scars she'd gained from trying to fight him. He'd admit, he looked forward to their next inevitable fight in a couple months, because Lute always managed to prove she could offer a challenge.
John so far hadn't seen any reason to go past that. So long as her attention was focused on him and not indiscriminate murder, she could return home after every annual feeding so long as she was smart enough to not get grabbed.
Still… an Exorcist. Right under his nose.
Admittedly, the fact that was the case irked him. He could track anything once he caught a scent, it was just a matter of coming across it if he lost it.
Of course, it wasn't like he could've known in the first place. All Exorcists despised anything regarding Hell, so the very last place he'd ever expect to have to look for one was down in the infernal realm itself.
Hell, he never expected he'd have to keep tabs on one in the first place.
But for better or worse, Pentagram City was John's home now, and he'd be damned again if he'd let an Exorcist walk around freely.
He knew enough about what they were, he'd been the only one in Hell to fight back and win in… well, history, if what Lucifer had told him was to be believed.
Of course, he was aware that the Exorcist was apparently the Princess' partner, and that had made him think on his decision.
But in the end, a hellborn and a sinner was no different, and Lucifer couldn't man up and care that Heaven was blatantly disregarding the pact.
The Princess herself was the only one truly off-limits. The rest of them?
Well, the archangel had said it himself.
He hoped they would all burn.
Admittedly, Lucifer in general touched way too many nerves with the behemoth. His own father was a lousy man, and knowing just how badly The Devil had botched parenthood really aggravated John.
The man was an archangel and the King of Hell. The Devil himself. And contrary to what the Bible would have you believe, the sorry bastard had spent most of Hell's history inside his home wallowing.
The Devil wasn't the root of all evil. He was just pathetic.
And John genuinely wished he could say differently, because he knew the story. It wasn't exactly a secret.
But nonetheless, Lucifer Morningstar was useless as a functional adult, let alone a father or a king.
Either way, The Princess might trust the woman, but John didn't. And he would not have someone going around Hell when they had a history of slaughtering demons.
There were far too many demons in Hell for him to care about all of them. But when it came to his territory…
Well, you were safe from the Exorcists at least. Not much else.
Nonetheless, after that whole ordeal, John had been content with simply remaining at home and going about his day.
That wasn't what happened.
No, instead, Vanessa had yet again foregone the use of her emergency button, and now sat on his couch with an ice pack on her face and an annoyed behemoth staring her down.
Because that's all it was. At one point, it had horrified John to know that Vanessa preferred her daily life to a much safer life.
After dealing with her stubborn nature for so long, it was just annoying at this point.
"You showed up here three days ago asking for help in breaking a vicious cycle."
Vanessa refused to meet his eyes.
His crossed arms twitched, and he was unsure of if his biceps had tensed or if his hands had clenched.
"I'm fine."
"You look like a mini-me. The difference is that mine aren't actual injuries."
The succubus was covered in a bunch of different cuts, and something told him that the octopus his men were currently looking for had hooks on his fingers.
Mainly considering how specifically placed they all were.
Vanessa glowered at him, and went to cross her arms, only for her eyes to widen as a pained shout escaped her.
Her bruised cheek was immediately forgotten, her ice pack dropping to the ground as her hand lunged for her shoulder.
John found his eyes rolling in annoyance as he uncrossed his arms and thumped his way closer to the couch, plopping down on the couch and gently twisting the succubus so that his back was to her.
The moment his eyes hit her shoulder, her frowned.
"You just dislocated your fucking shoulder." John would admit that he was a little too rough with setting it back into place as she shot him a glare following a high-pitched squeal of pain.
She only looked as annoyed as he did.
"That hurt , you fucking jackass."
"Then maybe you'll fucking learn." John growled as he stood to his feet, shaking his head and trying to quell the familiar rage that was building as he roughly made his way to the bathroom.
He'd need a replacement door delivered some time tomorrow, but he was more concerned with the stinging pain lancing up his elbow when he knocked a rear facing spike against the door.
He grumbled quietly to himself, and took a quick glance back at Vanessa to make sure that she hadn't noticed.
He caught her eyes for a split-second before she looked away and pretended she wasn't looking.
That was what John really hated.
Vanessa was the closest friend he had in Hell, and even she was afraid of him.
He knew he was intimidating, he wasn't stupid… and of course his temper wouldn't help, considering how shitty he could get at times.
But that was the thing he missed the most. When his friends knew that they didn't have a single thing to fear from him.
Hell, she could hit him upside with a frying pan. It'd certainly piss him off, and they'd definitely be screaming at each other, but not once would she ever be in true danger so long as she was in his presence.
He'd promised her that.
He kept his promises.
He ignored the already dying pain in the elbow as he turned and walked into the bathroom, gently planting his hands on his sink as he brought his gaze up.
His lips curled into a dead smile as he took himself in.
Outside of the gashes, horns, and skin color, he didn't look a single bit different to when he was alive.
A mockery of his old self.
That sounded about right.
He'd died when he was seventeen… that was four years ago, and yet it felt like it was so much longer.
He hated when Vanessa did this. She knew he actually cared, but she made him watch her get hurt all the time.
The behemoth's loyalty was endless, but his patience couldn't have been thinner.
After having dealt with it for so long… the hurt was only dulled by anger or annoyance.
That seemed to be a recurring theme in his life after death.
When Vanessa had arrived at his apartment, it had startled him as it always did when this crap happened.
Vanessa stumbled in, barely anything that could be called clothed covering her purple skin, and she had bruises and cuts all over her, not to mention a few particularly deep bruises in a couple different intimate places.
As usual, he'd been worried and concerned, and she'd told him what happened as if it had been nothing more than an inconvenience.
After making her let him check her over when she refused any proper medical care, he swiftly offered some replacement clothes she'd stashed away in his closet and retrieved the ice pack for her sore cheek.
Oh, yeah, and her tail was gone right now. So there's that.
At this point, the only thing John had left was looking forward to some personal time with the next sorry bastard ending up in Slaughter Factory.
It… it hurt. It hurt in a way he knew was wrong, and once again, thoughts about cutting off their relationship began to rear their ugly heads.
But, as usual, they were gone as quickly as they came. He was in Hell, he could afford to loosen his morals a bit.
No children, though. Teenagers cut it close enough as it was, and John still refused to go for anyone below fifteen because of his discomfort.
He didn't love her, per say. Not in the way he loved Nea, and certainly not in the way he had loved Maddie.
But he did care for her, and seeing anyone he cared for in this position always fucking hurts.
Though, as they say, karma's a bitch. And there's plenty of that to be had in Hell. Even for him.
A harsh knock on his door entered his ears, breaking him from his thoughts as his head visibly rose.
He wasn't expecting visitors today. And with the one he already had, he couldn't say he was excited for more company at the moment.
With a heavy sigh of frustration, he pushed himself from the sink and jerked around in a fluid motion, and he caught Vanessa looking a the door curiously as John made his way to the door.
His large hand came down on the handle, and he pulled the door open with a slight grunt.
Another grunt immediately followed when something proceeded to slam itself into his stomach…
*CRACK*
"OW!"
To little effect.
The behemoth stood up straight, his eyes widening in surprise as he glanced down at his attacker, and his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
Hopping around in the hallway outside of his home stood the Princess herself, and she was aggressively trying to massage her right hand,
Contrary to her usual appearance, a pair of dark horns poked through her hair and her eye colors were inverted.
Despite that, her expression was twisted in pain as she hissed, trying to massage the hand that John was fairly certain she had broken.
The entire situation was so sudden and surprising that the Overlord actually stood at his door, looking down at the Princess in disbelief.
By all rights, he should be dead. Gone for good.
He wasn't sure if it was a good thing that he wasn't.
He decided to wait for Charlie to finish her admittedly funny dance of pain, before she finished it off with a growl as she turned to glare at him.
"I want Vaggie's soul back."
…
That's what this whole debacle had been about?
John frowned, and his expression switched to a deadpan gaze as he stared down at the Princess in annoyance.
"No."
"I'm not asking."
"Sounds like a 'you' problem."
He didn't care who it was, nobody was going to make him do anything.
He wasn't anyone's slave.
"You didn't give her a choice!" Charlie snapped, jerking a finger up and waving it aggressively in the behemoth's face. "You just intimidated her!"
"Oh, hey, ain't she the pot calling the kettle black." Like the Exorcists didn't do that to Hell all the time?
He didn't care who the woman was, the answer was a big fat no.
"If you don't, I'm gonna…" She trailed off as she tried to think of a valid threat, and it took her long enough that John had time to cross his arms and look down at her like a disappointed parent.
When the silence continued, he broke it.
"You'll what?" He challenged, raising an eyebrow. "Break your hand again?"
The Princess glowered at him, an audible growl of anger slipping from her throat as she looked up at him.
"I can talk to my dad."
John promptly leaned back into his apartment, grabbed the house phone he kept, and promptly offered it to the Princess.
"Be my guest."
The Princess looked absolutely baffled that the threat hadn't worked, and it was admittedly amusing to see the way her surprise showed, even on her more demonic features.
A sigh followed that, and Charlie's more demonic features faded into non-existence as she brought a hand up to her head.
"Vaggie has spent the last three years helping to stop the Exterminations." She pointed out, her shoulders rising and falling with every breath. "Leave her alone."
"I don't give a damn if she's been volunteering at the homeless shelter." Standing at his door was starting to get a bit boring, and the behemoth turned around mid sentence and stepped back into his penthouse. "She's an Exorcist, and she'll be kept on a leash till I have reason to believe it's not needed."
"You don't think there isn't a reason now?" The Princess stepped inside, aggravation still loud and clear in her voice as she too stepped inside without a second thought.
He heard Vanessa let a gasp of surprise slip free, but other than that, he kept his attention on his new guest.
"I don't care if she's your fucking girlfriend." John answered bluntly as he shut the door behind her, before making his way to the couch and taking a seat next to Vanessa. "She's an Exorcist, and I neither know her nor give two shits about knowing her."
At some point or another, John had lost the royal hier's attention as her gaze drifted over to Vanessa in horror.
The succubus simply gave a distrustful gaze in response.
Of course, John wasn't stupid. He had a pretty good idea of what was going through the Princess' head.
So when her head snapped back to him with fury in her eyes, John rolled his own in annoyance.
"Did you-?!"
"No."
He wasn't going to let her even voice it.
Charlie's mouth clamped shut, and her eyes hardened as she decided to drop that subject for now.
"Vaggie hadn't done a thing to you-"
"Except try to kill me."
He knew he was just frustrating the Princess even more every time he interrupted. But considering he felt everything he said was valid… well, suck it up, buttercup.
"That was years ago."
John raised an unamused eyebrow. Did she really think that was going to work?
"Yeah, four years." John retorted with a mirthless chuckle. Charlie was optimistic and hopeful, but she didn't have a bone for negotiations anywhere in her skeleton.
Not that this was negotiable in the first place.
The princess continued to hold his stare, as if she could simply somehow force him to give her what she wanted. Clearly, she wasn't happy about the fate that had befallen her lover.
He didn't blame her. But he also didn't give two shits.
"Look, today ain't been the best, and the last thing I care about is your feelings over your caged angel." John spoke with frustration sizzling in his tone, shaking his head as he opted to swipe his TV remote. "You want to have a conversation about this? We can plan it, or you can drop by later on and catch me at a better time."
Those were really her only choices. Just like her father, Charlie's full potential was limited by her own mind, and she wasn't any more dangerous to him than… well, anyone else, really.
He respected her, and he did admire her, but that didn't excuse her of the fact that she'd shown up at his door and tried to knock the wind out of him.
Right now, John was just as annoyed by the usually bubbly princess as he was any other annoyance.
Unfortunately, Charlie was as stubborn as her father, and she crossed her arms and planted a foot on his carpet with a sneer.
"You're disgusting."
"Welcome to Hell, how can I help you?" He offered a cheeky grin as the woman let loose another growl of rage, and her horns once again poked into view as her hands tightened into a pair of shaking fists.
The biggest thing with Charlie was that she was like a child. When she didn't get her way, she'd stomp her foot and huff and puff until she either got what she wanted or realized that it was useless.
As the seconds ticked by, she realized quite quickly that the behemoth was completely serious.
"There has to be something I can do to convince you to let her out."
A rough, heavy sigh ripped its way through John's windpipe as his eyes went wide irritation.
"Good fucking lord, can't you take no for an answer?"
"Not when it comes to my girlfriend being made into a slave."
"A prisoner, not a slave." John clarified as he turned his eyes back to the TV, smiling slightly when Gunsmoke came onto the TV. "Besides, it's not like I'm keeping her here. She ain't to leave the Hotel."
Charlie actually snarled . Like a feral predator, ready to attack.
"Let her go or I swear to god , I will fucking end you."
John actually cracked an amused smile at that. That would be hilarious.
That smile slowly faded when he saw that Charlie wasn't gonna give in, as she stood there shaking, her hair defying gravity as her entire body shook with frustration.
The behemoth narrowed his eyes, and a frustrated snarl overtook his own features.
The Princess wanted to start a fight?
Fine by him.
"Ness, you may want to get out of here." John warned, his angry eyes never leaving Charlie's own rage-filled form.
But the succubus shook her head, and Charlie's frustration faded quickly when the teen leveled a gaze at her.
"I'm not going anywhere." Vanessa assured, her eyes adopting a rather harsh glare at the Princess as she bared her own teeth.
She wasn't intimidating, especially in her current condition, but something about Vanessa's reaction have the Princess pause in a way John didn't understand.
"You have an Exorcist at your Hotel, and you haven't done a meaningful bit of good since you've been trying."
…
Holy shit, Vanessa had some bite.
He knew the succubus wasn't a fan of the Princess, not many were, but even to John that had seemed a bit harsh.
Charlie actually recoiled, her demonic features once again fading away as she gave the teen a look that would make one think she'd been slapped.
But Vanessa wasn't done.
"Half the entire city lives in peace , and that's more peace than you've been able to manage in your life. And you call him disgusting?"
John's eyes widened as he realized that this was less Vanessa making a point and more Vanessa venting a lot of frustrations on the poor Princess.
He understood a lot of those frustrations, and he'd be lying if he said he was happy with Charlie at the moment.
That was the only reason he remained quiet.
"At least he can keep people safe."
"B-But-"
"Enough." John's voice bellowed out, causing both demons to once again turn to him, surprise and slight fear in their eyes at the volume. "If you don't mind, Charlotte, I have a friend I need to watch over. So if you don't mind…"
His hand gestures to the door, his meaning perfectly clear.
Charlie looked hesitant to leave, but John wasn't in the mood.
"You have shown up at my place, tried to cave my chest in, and you've threatened me to boot." Fingers came up, listing them off as he kept his blue hues locked on the heir. "Even if this wasn't about an Exorcist, one thing you need to get through your thick skull is that Hell isn't a fairy tail."
"I know that-"
"It'll be a Happy Day in Hell!" John immediately interrupted her with a recited line from her latest street performance. "There's rapists, pedophiles, and murders all over the streets to put lightly, and the only reason you get to sing without an issue is because you're Lucifer's daughter." He admittedly found himself growling the words out as he slowly stood to his feet, his massive frame lumbering over Charlie. "You want to whine and cry because I own your girlfriend's soul? Welcome to Hell."
"I was raised in Hell." Charlie pointed out, trying to show some resolve as she crossed her arms and met the behemoth's gaze. "I think I know it a lot better than you think."
"And yet you're too fucking stupid to put your damn foot down when you need to." John pointed out, ignoring the look of shock that crossed her face as he crossed his own arms in annoyance. "I'm done with this conversation, we're just going in circles. Get the fuck out before I drag you out."
At the threat, Charlie's eyes narrowed.
"You wouldn't dare."
John raised an unaffected eyebrow.
"Try me."
Charlie continued to stare at him. After a moment, her eyes slowly began to widen as the realization that he was completely confident in his words began to set in.
"Y-you… you're a monster…"
"I've been a monster since I was fifteen." John pointed out with a shrug, sitting back down on the couch as his hand found his remote once more. "Now… all I do is let the beast out more."
Charlie continued to stare, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to think of some way to salvage the conversation.
"B-but…"
"No. You wanna talk, we can talk at a later date." John interrupted without even looking at her, smiling slightly when Fairly Odd Parents came up on his TV. "You've pissed me off enough. I ain't saying it again."
Charlie stood rooted in her spot for a moment… but finally, to his relief, she turned and began to make her way towards the door.
As she opened it, however, her eyes turned back to John one last time.
"Angel said you wanted my Hotel to succeed." At that, both John and Vanessa snapped towards the heir in surprise, finding her glaring at the behemoth with a look of loathing. "I'm not happy to know he was full of it."
And without another word, Charlie left.
The door slammed shut with a loud bang… leaving an annoyed succubus, and a behemoth with a lot more to think about than he'd thought.