Chapter 32:

Securing safety

To say the atmosphere among the guests and staff in the hazbin hotel was tense since Tempest's visit would be a gross understatement.

The staff was stressed, Alastor was exhausted, Vaggie was somehow still recovering from her broken ribs and Charlie's energy was spread thin, everyone was exhausted and anxious.

Whenever Charlie would head out, her and Vaggie would occasionally catch glimpses of the cruel, short overlord in the crowd as she glared them down.

Angel Dust would also periodically catch glimpses of her stalking him, keeping an eye on him with that cold, emotionless stare.

Not even Lute and Emily were safe.

Many a date was soured by the presence of the deep-sea demon lurking in the background.

It was clear as day to everyone, Tempest wanted them to know she was keeping a very close eye on them and that she was here to stay…..

It all came to a culmination when Charlie and Vaggie were out once again handing out flyers to promote the hotel.

The princess was just in the middle handing a flyer to a seemingly interested sinner when someone passed her and rudely bumped her aside with their shoulder, knocking the princess to the ground as she landed on her butt with a yelp.

Vaggie jumped to her girlfriend's aid as fast as her still healing ribs allowed her as she helped her up, before shouting into the crowd "HEY, CAN'T YOU WATCH WHERE YOU'RE FUCKING GOING?!"

The 2 of them would immediately freeze however when they stared into the red hot eyes of the sea serpent overlord, who just gave them a glare before disappearing into the crowd….

That was the final straw as that evening, an exhauster Charlie and Vaggie stumbled their way back into the hotel as they sat themselves down onto one of the sofas, both giving a deep sigh.

"I assume the 2 of you had yet another run-in with Tempest, dears?" The telltale voice of Alastor spoke up as he approached them.

Vaggie wanted to tell him off, but when the both of them looked him in the eyes, all parties were shocked by what they saw.

Both Charlie and Alastor were sporting dark bags under their eyes, Charlie from the anxiety of dealing with Tempest's encounters, Vaggie from the stress of trying to keep her girlfriend safe from the infamous deep-sea demon and Alastor from sheer exhaustion, having spread his powers thin as he had dialed up the security around the hotel up to 200%.

"My dear" the radio demon spoke up "I believe it might be time to perhaps inquire about possible protection from the other overlords…." To which Charlie nodded, before adding "Look…Al….i know you don't particularly get along with him….but I think it might be best to also get in touch with my dad.

With a deep sigh, Alastor had to reluctantly agree "Very well then. I'll try to get in touch with the other overlords, you get a hold of that darling father of yours…."

..

..

An emergency meeting was called into action as Missy Zilla, Rosie, Alastor, Velvette, Ashley, Zestial and Carmilla carmine were now sitting around a large boardroom table within the hazbin hotel…..at the head of the table was seated the king of hell, Lucifer himself, Emily, Charlie and Vaggie sitting on either side…..and at the other end of the table….to everyone's surprise…..sat Ink…..

"Greetings everyone, I'm glad every one of you could make it on such short notice" Lucifer spoke, addressing the present overlords.

He would continue "As you all have become aware, my daughter's hotel has become the target of….another overlord….one of your more…"vengeful" colleagues…"Tempest" I believe she calls herself"

By now, Vaggie would get up as she added "She seems convinced the person she is looking for is housed within the hotel, and as powerful as she is, we HAVE to ensure the safety of our patrons"

Clearing her throat, Carmilla Carmine would speak up "The hazbin hotel has the Carmine company's full support" after which, Zestial would add "Thou hast mine support as well"

Alastor smiled at Charlie "You already know my answer, my dear"

Rosie too piped up "Oh darling don't you worry your pretty little head, my cannibals are at the ready when you need them"

Missy Zilla too voiced her support, after which the princess and her partner looked at the anarchy overlord with baited breath.

Ashley just gave a smirk "He, come on Charlie, Vags, like you even need to ask. I've helped ya fight off a angelic onslaught, this should be fucking a cakewalk" as she got up and slammed her hands on the table excitedly "I'm in"

Velvette would grab a hold onto the anarchy demon's arm in a cute as she piped up "If my babygirl is in, I'm in too. It's the least I can do to repay what you guys have done for us"

Now, all eyes around the table fell on the last remaining sinner…..the baroness of blood…the overlord of senseless murder…Ink….

"You are all absolutely insane" She spoke sternly "You have no idea of just what she is capable off, don't you?" before she got up and out of frustration, left deep claw marks into the table "She is more than just a sinner, OR an overlord, she is a force of nature, she is the unstoppable force to the immoveable object that is the universe…."

Lucifer's face would scrunch up his face in a annoyed scowl as he raised a singular eyebrow "If you are so against the idea of fighting her off, when why did you come here anyway?" he spoke in an annoyed tone.

Her stern face broke up into that all too familiar smile "Why, entertainment of course" she said as she playfully tapped her chin "All tho I have to admit….there IS strength in numbers, correct?"

Vaggie would interrupt the spider overlord in a frustrated manner "Are you with us or not?"

Shrugging, Ink just smirked "Not going to lie, I like the idea of taking that walking platter of sashimi down a peg…..sure, why not? I'm in"

Sighing, Vaggie began to walk around the table with her all too familiar "drill sergeant" voice "AAAAAAAALRIGHT EVERYONE, first of all, we need to figure out just WHY and HOW Tempest is so powerful" after which Charlie added "Yea, I mean, sure she is a strong overlord who owns many souls, but she just seems to have an edge over others" as she gestured to her partner "Vaggie is somehow still recovering from the broken ribs she gave her and she's a former exorcist" to which Vaggie nodded and added "There's something about her that makes her stronger than the average sinner and we need to figure out what"

At this, Velvette raised her hand "Rosie said she came falling from the sky, right?" Vaggie and Rosie would confirm this.

"Well, since we now know she originally came from heaven, maybe it has something to do with that?"

"Holdup a sec" Ashley piped up "If that were the case, then how come she's so powerful and I don't have that same power? I came from heaven too"

"Well" Emily spoke "How long have you been in heaven?"

Ashley tapped her chin in thought "Uhhh…4 and a half minutes?"

Vaggie nodded before finishing Emily's question "And how long has Tempest been in heaven?"

Ashley cocked her head "According to you guys, about 100 years?"

Vaggie gestured to her with her hand "Well there ya go, there's your answer" as Emily added "Yes, it might be that since she'd spend so long in heaven, her powers have been infused with angelic energy, which might explain why she can hurt someone like Vaggie, who'd normally only can be harmed by angelic steel"

Vaggie nodded "Yea, even when Velvette broke my nose during our sword training, it had healed within a few days…..my ribs however…."She ran a hand over her still bandaged side "Yea, this might take a while" before returning to "drill sergeant mode "Alright, so we need to obtain a sample of the water she summons so we can study it and either confirm or debunk our theory"

Closing her eyes with a cocky chuckle, Ink would just pull out a small vial as she tossed it across the table, causing it to roll and only come to a stop at Charlie's hands at the end of the table.

"And….why exactly do you have this?" Charlie would ask nervously while Vaggie gave her a suspicious glare.

Ink just shrugged "Ever heard of "know your enemy", darling?"

The princess and her partner would exchange a look as they shrugged, Vaggie saying "well….she's got a point really"

Carmilla would take the vial as she handed it over to one of her daughters, Odette "My dear, could you run some tests and diagnostics on this?" to which the blonde Carmine took the vial and begun to take some notes on her clipboard "I'll run some test later today, with a bit of luck, we'll know more in a few days"

"Good" Carmilla spoke "That leaves the matter of the hotel's protection" as she turned her attention to the princess "Is our carmine security system still operational since the battle of 3 years ago?"

When Charlie got visibly uncomfortable, Vaggie took over "We'll run some benchmarks to make sure it'll be in top notch condition in case Tempest decides to lash out"

Ashley gave a wide grin "You got my axe on your side too, guys" to which Velvette added "And I'll have all of sinstagram on high alert. If the fish bitch makes a move, we'll know within minutes"

Ink would lean onto the table with her elbows, resting her head on her hands "That still leaves one issue…"who" is she looking for?" she said with that eerie smile as she cocked her head in an unnerving way.

The sound of slurping caught everyone's attention as everyone turned to the source of the noise, being Zestial sipping his tea "Thy requires an investigation, I hereby humbly offer my services to uncover the identity of thyne culprit"

Unbeknownst to them, a figure anxiously observed them through the crack of the door as Pablo stood there, mumbling to himself….

"….i got to tell them….they deserve to know…."