"Wow, this has been just so fun, but" The elevator doors opened. "I am afraid I have more important things to do. You know, literally anything else." And with that Velvette took off like someone had lit a fire under her.
"Well, that was rude." Mimzy scoffed, folding her arms. It was, but Charlie didn't really expect much from Velvette. Still, the fact that one of the Vees had actually helped her was not something to be overlooked. There was hope for each and every Sinner, in Charlie's mind, and Velvette was no different. The newest of the Vees may claim that her help was solely to wriggle a favor out of a Charlie, but the princess had taken careful note that Velvette hadn't even asked for anything until Charlie had thanked her.
"It wasn't very nice, no." Charlie shook her head. "But Velvette is busy." She stopped outside of the DamnWay building. She was hoping to catch Rosie, it had been a while since Charlie had seen her and she wanted to be sure the Cannibals had all gotten their gift bags. "And speaking of not nice, it has come to my attention that you like to start drama at the Hotel by making up wildly unfounded rumors."
"Sounds fake." Mimzy avoided eye contact by looking offended and turning away from Charlie. "But you know that Husk is having a torrid love affair with Cain from Cain Organics."
"That isn't true." Charlie happened to be one of the few who actually knew Cain. As it turned out, most of the Sinners knew almost nothing about him because of his anti-social ways. At the Hotel alone she had heard things from: He is secretly an Exorcist sending information up to Heaven; to he was on his way to marry Charlie's father and usurp her mother's throne.
"Oh, it totally is. I read it in an article." Mimzy insisted. She pulled out a magazine and on the dogeared page, was a badly photoshopped picture of Husk with a regular boulder and some roses. Charlie looked at the top of the page: "Gambling with your heart? Husk and Cain's Forbidden Romance." And under that was: An article by Mimzy.
"You wrote this."
"And it wouldn't have been published if it wasn't true." Mimzy insisted, ignoring Charlie's obvious skepticism. The princess flipped the magazine to the cover and tried not to roll her eyes.
"This is from Demonic Deets they publish literally anything. Last week there was an article stated that I was pulled out of a hat as a baby and that's how I was born."
"That sounds like something a hat-baby would say, I'm sorry princess, but news is news." Mimzy took her magazine back, clicking her tongue and shaking her head. "Plus, you can't argue with photographic evidence."
"That's just a rock in the picture." Charlie wasn't even going to address the poor photoshop attempts as that was the least of the problems at hand. "That wasn't my uncle. Mimzy," she sighed, unsure of why she was arguing this point, as the issue was mostly about the lying, but still it had to be said. "You know what Cain looks like. You're one of the few Sinners who has seen him in person." Cain famously did not like to interact with other Sinners, vastly preferring the company of Hellborns.
"I do?" Mimzy's eyes lit up. "How exclusive! Is he that little reddish thing that runs around and screams?"
"I..." Charlie opened her mouth and closed it again. "Okay I need a bit more detail in order to correct you because, no, it's definitely not Cain, but you either described Niffty or Angel's pig Fat Nuggets."
"Come on Charlie, I know who Niffty is." Mimzy looked appalled by the accusations.
"Okay then if it has hooves and is pink, and it's about this big," Charlie gestured with her hands to show the size. Mimzy had been at the Hotel for four months, but somehow Charlie was doubting her claim she knew who Niffty was. "It's Fat Nuggets. If it wears shoes, has one eye, and cleans: it's Niffty." Both were small, screamed, and in the red spectrum of colors.
"So, then who is Cain?" Mimzy had a blank look. To be fair, she hadn't really met Cain so much as she had just seen him in passing.
"Remember that night my dad dragged Adam out of the Hotel and Alastor came down with him and there was another guy? He was kind of average size, grey, horns, brown hair? Only one eye?"
"Hmmm..." Mimzy squinted.
"Remember? We were all on the couch? You had just come home from Gomorrah?" This really wasn't all that long ago, Charlie was a bit surprised Mimzy didn't remember more, as the whole night had been fucking crazy. Then again, it might not have been as memorable to someone like Mimzy who was only tangentially involved with the chaos. Maybe it was only weird for Charlie to see her father wrestling with Adam who was wrapped in a bedsheet and screaming for freedom because she knew her dad, and hadn't really seen him do anything quite so... strange. "He was wearing the black leather jacket?"
"Oh yes!" Mimzy's face lit up. "He was handsome! A man like that probably knows the right way to treat a lady!"
"That's my uncle." Charlie lips drew into a thin line. The idea of Mimzy throwing herself at her uncle was weird for a myriad of reasons, not the least of which was that her uncle had all the charm and charisma of a scorpion that was actively on fire. He was nice to Charlie and to her parents and that was about it. Any of the other royals that would attend her birthday parties would get five words out of him max, before he would melt into the floor to avoid conversation.
"Think of it! I could be your aunt!" Mimzy fanned herself with her hand.
"What about his very real love affair with Husk that you wrote about?" Charlie opened the magazine back to the article and pointed at Hell's most unconvincing photo.
"Oh foo!" Mimzy's bubble was burst and she gave a little pout. "Okay, so my sources might not be the most reliable."
"You have sources?" Charlie raised an eyebrow at her.
"Plenty! But I can't divulge them, journalistic integrity and all that."
"I thought you were a small business owner."
"I have lots of jobs! Being in DamnWay isn't cheap you know!" Mimzy didn't look upset, but rather, mildly annoyed by the question. Charlie actually didn't know the costs associated with DamnWay, but she could guess it wasn't cheap. Mary-Lu had quite the office, after all.
"But you enjoy it?"
"Oh yes! And thank you for taking me to this very important conference. I would have been invited on my own merits, you know, but my invite got lost in the mail."
"I thought they were emailed." That's how Charlie had gotten hers.
"Lost in the e-mail then. It's all the same you know." It really wasn't, but that didn't seem to matter. Mimzy was walking on air, despite the fact that her interaction with the DamnWay CEO had been minimal at most. Charlie didn't really get the appeal of it all, but it made Mimzy happy, and in the end that is what mattered most. When the Hotel patrons were happy, they were more open to Redemption activities! And despite Mimzy's ulterior motives, she had made some progress in that regard. Cherri had admittedly done better, but it wasn't a competition, and Cherri had Angel to help her. Having a friend already at the Hotel was a huge benefit when it came to making progress. Mimzy did have Alastor, technically, but Charlie didn't pretend to understand the nuances of their relationship. (Plus, when it came to Redemption Alastor really wasn't the best role model.)
"Oh Charlie! I thought you'd be gone by now!" Rosie called to her as she and Missi walked out of DamnWay's sliding glass doors. Rosie was helping Missi carry another of the giant glasses. Missi had one in each of her hands, and a third wrapped in her tail.
"Oh yes! We were leaving, just got distracted talking." Charlie smiled seeing Rosie. She was truly one of Charlie's favorite Overlords, given her help in fighting off the Exterminations. "But I was hoping I would catch you!"
"Me?" Rosie struggle to hold the glass as she put a hand to her cheek and batted her lashes playfully. "Well don't I feel special?"
"Look at you Rose!" Missi threw her head back and chugged one of her giant glasses. She tucked it under her arm, taking the giant glass from Rosie. "Moving up in the world! Chatting with a royal. Never pegged you for a Cannibal, Princess. You don't have the... you know..." Missi made a very poor attempt at lowering her voice as she leaned over to Charlie. "The look."
"Oh no. I am not." Charlie quickly shot that down. (Hopefully not too quickly, she didn't want to upset Rosie.)
"She's just a friend!" Rosie laughed. "She's not super into our cuisine. But she does love a good, violent brawl against Heaven!"
"Well... technically, actually: that's not exactly true-" Charlie didn't have a chance to finish as Missi let out a roaring laugh.
"Damn! I almost forgot that was you, Princess. That fight against those fucking birds was brutal."
"Birds...?" Charlie blinked. "You mean the Exorcists?"
"Fuck yeah I do!" Missi gulped down another glass, tucking it under her arms again, and used her free hand to pat Charlie on the back. The princess nearly stumbled from the force of the blow. "That shit was awesome."
"Well thank you for-"
"You shoulda come to my district! My girls live for a fucking fight. Next time though." Missi really didn't like to give Charlie the chance to finish her sentence. And now those words were stuck in her brain. Next time. Four months had already passed. Would they get the whole year till the next Exterminations? Or would the new leader of the Exorcists be flying down here in just two more months? How did any of that work? "That fight earned my fucking respect." Missi's voice snapped Charlie back to the present.
"We all just did our best. Had a nice time." Rosie smiled, seemingly unaware of any of the stress that Charlie was feeling. "We lost some good Cannibals, but we won in a different sense. We told Heaven to suck it." She said the words in the most, polite, sweet tone Charlie had ever heard.
"Yeah ladies!" Missi bent down, moving her giant glasses so they were wrapped securely in her tail. She wrapped an arm around Charlie and another around Rosie. "FUCKING SUCK IT HEAVEN!" She used both hands to flip her middle fingers upward toward the divine ball in the sky.
"Rosie!" Charlie jumped. Part of her expected Sera or maybe God to be calling directly to Rosie, ready to deliver divine justice. But no. It was just Carmilla. Charlie watched as Carmilla approached from an alleyway up ahead. Velvette appeared behind her, and quickly ran off in the opposite direction. Was Carmilla just meeting with each Overlord individually. Rosie's smile didn't waver as Carmilla strode toward her.
"Hey again, Carm! Funny seeing you again so soon!"
"Can we please speak for a moment?" She eyed Mimzy, Charlie, and Missi. "Privately?" Her tone was serious, but Rosie just giggled, she didn't seem all that bothered.
"Why not? It's been so long since you and I had a nice chat!"
"Thank you." Carmilla nodded her head.
"Sorry Missi, I am needed~" Rosie wiggled free of Missi's massive arm.
"Sure thing, Rose. We should go to another riot some time. Don't be a stranger." Missi let her arm drop. Rosie walked toward Carmilla.
"I'll see you later, Charlie honey."
"Oh, yeah... see ya!" Damn. Charlie still hadn't had the opportunity to ask about the gift baskets and to thank Rosie for the billionth time. Next time. She didn't expect Rosie to be so popular at these sorts of things.
"Thank you, Rosie." Carmilla gestured for Rosie to follow her and the two began to walk away. Missi finally lifted her weight off of Charlie's shoulder as she stood back up, stretching her arms out.
"Boo on those two."
"I wonder what that was about?" Charlie watched them leave. She wasn't as in tune with the Overlords as, perhaps, she should have been, given that she was a princess and they were a major part of Hell's volatile politics.
"Hard to say. Those guys have history together, dunno what it was, but I never got the impression it was good." Missi took her glasses back in her hands.
"History?" They hadn't seemed like they were on bad terms, at least, not to Charlie. Rosie seemed downright agreeable to going off with Carmilla. Surely if there was underlying animosity, Rosie would have resisted at least a little bit.
"Oh gosh!" Mimzy's eyes widened and Charlie could almost see the gears turning in her head. "I can't believe Rosie and Carmilla are ex-lovers!"
"N- no one said that." Charlie was quick to try and shut this down before it became a headline.
"I mean... fucking maybe." Missi shrugged. "I never could figure out what the fuck was going on between them."
"Would you like to be a source? I am a journalist as well as a DamnWay sales rep-" Mimzy turned to Missi and Charlie quickly pulled her to her side by the back of her dress.
"Mimzy, no."
"You are a feisty little thing." Missi laughed leaning down so Mimzy was at eye level. Mimzy backed up a bit. "I could eat you whole."
"Please do not do that." Charlie clapped her hands together quickly, only making Missy laugh harder.
"Don't you worry princess; I'm not looking to eat one of your little mascots or whatever they are."
"Patrons, actually. Hotel patrons... you know, for my Hotel that I run? It... um... it had a commercial and everything?" Charlie had been running the hotel for well over a year now and it still seemed as if no one really knew or cared about what she was trying to do. At least her dad seemed to believe in her, at least a little bit. He was letting her help with Adam after all. Though the lessons were typically very short because her dad only liked to bring Adam around when no one else was at the Hotel. Redemption was actually lot harder when Adam wasn't around full time, and the times she could work with him were often cut short.
"I will be honest, I thought you were doing like an underground fight ring. My money was on the chick with the bombs." Missi didn't seem all that perturbed by the correction.
"Nope. It's a hotel. We redeem Sinners so they can go to Heaven."
"Oh shit, does it work?"
"I mean..." Charlie didn't want to lie, "I think it will."
"So, I could go up there and become an Exorcist? Damn, that's a pretty sweet gig."
"T... that's not exactly the point."
"I knew I liked you, Princess. You got some good ideas. We'll chat more later. But I gotta head back to my district. Don't be a stranger!" Missi slapped Charlie on the back once more before taking off running back toward her area of Hell. The ground trembled with every thundering step.
"She seems nice." Mimzy watched her go without much of a reaction.
"Yeah, that was certainly... interesting..." Charlie craned her neck to see if she could catch a glimpse of Carmilla and Rosie, but she wasn't sure where they had gone off to. She liked both of them, they had each been instrumental in the defeat of Adam and the thought of them in some kind of argument concerned her. (But Carmilla had not seemed angry, and Rosie had been far from concerned.) "I hope everything is alright..."
"I mean, it's Hell." Mimzy shrugged. "Is anything ever alright? No. But you make the best of it. I use DamnWay products and gambling to cope. You use positivity and denial."
"I don't think I would say I was in denial per say..."
"Oh honey..." Mimzy patted Charlie on the arm. "What do you say we go back to the Hotel and brag about all the important people we saw today."
"Or we could just go back and tell our friends about our fun adventure!" Charlie tried to rephrase Mimzy's idea in more of a positive light. It was a work in progress, all of this was a work in progress. But she had her father's support. Even Adam seemed more open to the idea, though he was hot and cold with how he reacted. She would really need to work with him... more, and for longer periods of time to get a better hold on how he was feeling about her concept overall.
"I'm still gonna brag." Mimzy put her hands on her hips, puffing out her chest.
"Just think it over." Charlie sighed as she started making her way back toward the Hotel. Her day had certainly gotten an interesting start. It had been difficult even reaching the DamnWay building, the Doomsday District had been a fucking nightmare to traverse. Usually, it was a little inconvenient if something had worked the Sinners up into a frenzy, but this was worse. Perhaps it was just that Hell hadn't quite repaired itself as quickly as it typically did. It was just something that seemed so natural to Charlie as it was something that had been a constant since she could remember. Despite all the destruction, all the devastation caused by the Sinners, Angels, or Hellborns- Hell repaired itself. It was a simple, innate process. (The buildings and Sinner made structures were not repaired by Hell. That fell on the Sinners themselves. But things that her family had made, roads, landscape, even certain plants- would regenerate naturally over time.) To see it staggering was... concerning.
"It's such a hassle walking to and from the building." Mimzy wasn't exactly thrilled with any kind of long, tedious travel. From the looks of it, Hell's repair was almost finished. This wasn't the first time Charlie had noticed it being slower over the last few months, but this was by far the most obvious example. "Once I reach Premium Jade VP, Mary-Lu basically buys me a house. So, then I won't have to walk all this way just to see her!"
"That... seems a little too good to be true, doesn't it?" Charlie did want to believe in meritocracy, but in Hell it was incredibly unlikely.
"It's part of the compensation plan, you really should join under me, Princess. You would have such a big market that you could climb the ranks in no time."
"I won't be joining DamnWay, Mimzy, but thank you for yet another offer." Charlie gave her a sweet smile, Mimzy would pitch Charlie once or twice a week. But that was a small price to pay for one more chance at redeeming a Sinner.
"Your loss." Mimzy had to step out of the way as a Sinner ran screaming between them. That was par for the course when it came to the Doomsday District, so Charlie didn't really react outside of giving a friendly little wave that was completely missed by the panicked Sinner. "Watch where you're running, ya cad! You almost trampled me!" Mimzy, on the other hand looked annoyed.
"I am sure it was not meant maliciously." Charlie tried to calm her, but quickly picked Mimzy up as more Sinners scrambled past them, all in a bit of a fit.
"THE END IS NEAR!" And as quickly as they came, they were gone. Finally, a sense of normalcy had overtaken Charlie's unease. The Doomsday District Sinners were skittish at best, and that was putting things politely. Just seeing the princess was enough to cause a panicking mob to flee. Not that Charlie had ever given them reason to flee, but that was irrelevant. Her position alone was seen as a threat.
"Your end is near if you don't watch it!" Mimzy waved her fist at the vanishing mob as they fled and Charlie put her back down on her feet. "Honestly, the nerve of some people." She dusted off her dress.
"I'm just glad you weren't hurt." Charlie let out a breath.
"Oh please, if anyone was gonna get hurt. It would be those assholes." Mimzy waved off her concern.
"Let's just be careful." Charlie kept walking only to turn the corner and see none other than Vox standing in the Doomsday District looking at a completely decimated VoxTek store. He didn't seem to notice her as she approached. "Vox?"
"What the f-" he turned, spotting Charlie and instantly changed his expression to a wide, toothy smile. "Princess! How are you dear?" His entire demeanor shifted, back straight, chest puffed out, grinning from one side of the screen to the other.
"Um... hey, Vox, does Zestial know you're here?" Charlie was a bit taken aback, as Overlords were typically respectful of one another's territory. (That, and Vox looked like utter shit. Despite his charming smile and clean, well-pressed suit, he looked like he hadn't slept in days.)
"He does." Vox scoffed a bit at the mention of the other Overlord. "I just wanted to see the damage for myself." He gestured to what remained of the store in question. Charlie looked over at it as well. All the screens were smashed, there was still blood caked on the walls, the building itself was mostly intact, but everything inside was completely destroyed and going to fall on Vox to fix.
"Does this happen often?" Charlie couldn't really imagine that the Doomsday District was a super profitable location for easily breakable items.
"Usually like once a month, but it's been getting more frequent and a lot worse. I am starting to think the sales aren't worth it." Vox had his hands on his hips, surveying the damage. "I might just cut my losses and close this whole location."
"That's sad..." Charlie knew how important the vPhone was to most of Hell's population. Alastor hated the thing, but he hated literally anything Vox made so Charlie tried not to take his opinion into account when it came to technology.
"Yeah, can you imagine storming this place and not looting?" Mimzy clicked her tongue in disappointment. "That's just wasteful."
"Who are you?" Vox looked down at Mimzy with the same expression he might have if he were looking at a particularly annoying insect.
"Mimzy, the Princess's best friend!" Mimzy put an arm around Charlie. (Or rather, around Charlie's upper legs as that seemed to be as high as she could reach.)
"Oh. My apologies then." Vox's smile instantly returned. "The technological outages last night seems to have just put me in a bad mood. Hopefully you weren't too impacted, your highness?"
"I was asleep." Charlie assured him. She hadn't slept great admittedly, but she had missed all the chaos. She didn't bother correcting Mimzy. She liked to think of all the Hotel patrons as her friends, that much was true. And it did stop Vox from being rude to Mimzy. Politeness was a positive trait, even if it was superficial. (And with Vox, pretty much everything was superficial. Charlie wasn't that naive.)
"Well good, then at least I haven't caused you any inconvenience." Vox looked back at the mess for a moment before grabbing his phone. "You've reached Vox, how can I help you?" He muted the phone before turning to Charlie. "So sorry, one moment princess this is important."
"Oh of course!" Charlie hadn't really been expecting to have a full-out conversation with Vox, she had just been stopping out of curiosity more than anything.
"Good...?" Vox sounded confused as he talked to whoever was on the other line. Charlie tried not to eavesdrop as that was rude. But Vox was standing close enough that she could clearly hear his side of the conversation. "How was um... your thing with Mary-Lu? That's where you were, right?" Oh. He was talking to Velvette, most likely. Charlie doubted he was on a chatting basis with any of the other Overlords that had attended Mary-Lu's little gathering. "That's... nice." Vox sounded really puzzled by the call. "Is there a point to this, Velvette?" So, Charlie had been right about who was on the other line. "Ah fuck." Vox's whole face fell and for a moment Charlie saw real exhaustion in his expression. "I didn't send you the new one, did I?" Vox rubbed his eyes with the hand not holding the phone. "Sorry, sorry, I'll buzz you in." He looked over at Charlie beside him. "I can tell you in person." His eyes glowed for a moment as his focus seemed to be elsewhere. He took note of Charlie again and tried to clear his throat, straightening up a bit. But instantly his expression fell again. "... I can send the elevator for you." He put the phone away. Sighing heavily. "Apologies, again, your highness. However, duty calls."
"It's fine, Vox." Charlie gave him a little wave trying to reassure him. "Try and get some rest okay?"
"Rest?" Vox laughed. "I assure you, your highness, I am quite well rested and alert!" He closed his eyes, his body crackled with electricity for a moment, before it stopped. He started coughing into his sleeve. He cleared his throat, shook himself, and then his body turned to electricity and he was gone.
"Wow he looks ready to fucking die, doesn't he? You think the Vees are looking for a replacement?" Mimzy looked after him with curiosity.
"I mean... he didn't look that bad. He just had a rough night with all the technical issues, that's all." Charlie had noticed his fatigue, but he didn't look nearly as bad as Mimzy was describing. "And I thought you were going to be under Mary-Lu, not join the Vees."
"Every girl needs a good backup plan. You know, in case something happens to the company."
"Isn't Redemption your backup plan?" Charlie wasn't so bold to assume that Mimzy was making Redemption her priority. After all Charlie had seen her participation in Hotel activities. She was no Pentious. (The thought of Pentious weighed heavily on Charlie's heart. He had made so much progress, and it was all cut so short.)
"It's like... plan C or D... or like Q. But it's definitely a plan." Mimzy pulled herself over the broken window into the abandoned VoxTek store. "Now come on and let's see if anything worth stealing survived!"
"Mimzy no!" Charlie quickly hopped over the broken glass, through the shattered window in pursuit of Mimzy, who- for such a small Sinner- could really move when she wanted something.
"Oh, come on! Free shit is free shit! And if there's extra. We could resell them!" Mimzy seemed to notice Charlie's disapproving expression because she rolled her eyes. "And ya know, put the proceeds back into the Hotel or something. We call it a Fundraiser! Then it's not stealing and reselling, it's: Charity!"
"No." Charlie sighed a little. She really didn't think there would be anything left for Mimzy to steal, but that didn't mean she wanted the Sinner pawing through shattered glass. And on the off chance that she did find something, it should be returned to Vox anyway.
"Where's your sense of fun?" Mimzy gave a little huff. "He's closing the location anyway, right?"
"He was only thinking about it."
"This could help the Hotel."
"It really won't." Charlie didn't actually like being inside the abandoned store. The flickering lights and shattered glass were nothing new. She was Princess of Hell. She had clawed her way through plenty of destroyed buildings. Not so much during her childhood as her parents were fairly protective of her, but as an adult, navigating through destruction was nothing new. Still. Something about this store, in particular, was making her skin crawl. At first it was difficult to tell why she felt so unsettled... but as she looked around, her eyes adjusting to the sporadic lighting, she realized the bloodstains she had noticed earlier, were not the random splatters she had once assumed them to be.
It was writing.
Did you hear that?
The question was written all over the walls in different handwritings... even different languages. (Charlie, of course, was able to understand any human language- it was the gift of being the Devil's daughter. The Tower of Babble didn't really affect her ability to communicate.) Even this wasn't all that strange for the Doomsday District. Bloody writing on the walls was almost a part of the atmosphere. But typically, the writing was something more akin to: The end is nigh! We're all doomed! Or: It's the end of days! This was a bit off-brand for the doomsayers.
The writing was clearly tilted all of it leading in the same direction, combining in one specific point on the ceiling. Charlie followed the writing with her eyes to where it converged, the letters morphing into something unrecognizable as they drew close to that center point. The words almost looked more like... symbols?
The edges of Charlie's vision started to distort, just slightly, as if someone were burning the edges of a film. It was almost unnoticeable at first, but the closer Charlie looked to the center of the writing, the worse the sensation got. There was a faint ringing in her ears, the distortion became worse, bleeding into the rest of her vision. The text became completely incoherent, the ringing slowly getting louder.
"Ugh, there is literally nothing here that wasn't destroyed or stolen." Mimzy's voice broke through the sound and Charlie was finally able to blink her eyes and shake her head. "Guess I wasn't the only one with a good idea."
"It looks like it was mostly destroyed." Charlie's mouth was dry, her tongue felt almost swollen in her throat. "I hope no one was too hurt."
"Judging by all the blood, I'm assuming multiple people were incredibly hurt. But they're Sinners, sweetie, they'll be just fine!" Mimzy chuckled almost as if telling a funny story. She put her hands on her hips, giving one last look over the destruction. "Well, this was a fucking waste."
"Please, can we just leave now?" Charlie felt ice under her skin, the hair on the back of her neck was standing on end. There was an uncanny sense of dread that had settled heavily into the pit of her stomach.
"Yeah, what a bust." Mimzy shuffled some of the glass around with her shoe as she examined the last bit of the store. Charlie felt a pressure in her chest as Mimzy walked beneath the ceiling where the writing merged. Charlie opened her mouth to speak, however, Mimzy stopped on her own, shivering. "Fuck it, let's get outta here." She rubbed her ears shaking herself.
"Thank you." Charlie couldn't leave fast enough. Her eyes traveled along the writing, one last time, the ringing started in her ears as she felt almost drawn to look back. But she stopped herself. She already had a rough start to the morning; she would feel a lot better if she got back to the Hotel. She could bake some cookies! Surely her friends would need a pick-me-up if last night had been so intense!
"Between you and me, Princess, that place gave me the creeps." Mimzy clambered back through the window with Charlie close behind. "You can tell Velvette didn't help at all with that design."
"I mean, it was just an electronics store, I don't think that's something Velvette usually oversees." Charlie didn't know as much about the Overlords as, perhaps, she should given her position. But working with Alastor was probably a good place to start. And she knew Cain. Cain was the first Overlord, after all. So that probably counted. (Though she knew Cain as more of a fun uncle figure, and hadn't really seen him in a political light- but the point stood that she knew him. And it wasn't like Cain interacted with the other Overlords anyway.)
"That is something I can suggest when Vox dies and I join the Vees." Mimzy patted Charlie on the arm.
"I don't think Alastor will want you to join the Vees." Charlie could think of a plethora of reasons as to why Mimzy wouldn't join the Overlord trio. But that was the first one that came out of her mouth. Mimzy was Alastor's 'friend' after all. (At least that was how it was presented to Charlie.)
"Are you kidding? If it meant Vox died? He would love it!"
"Vox isn't going to die."
"You don't know that."
"It's not nice to say Vox is dying, Mimzy."
"But it is nice to publish an article about it!"
"No! No, it's not." Charlie knew enough to know that any sign of weakness could cause a multitude of issues for Hell's already unstable political climate. While Charlie didn't love Vox- or really have any opinion on him outside of using his apps and technology- she didn't want to see any of her people getting hurt and a turf war was never pretty. "So, why don't you write an article about something else instead?" Mimzy looked thoughtful for a moment, contemplating Charlie's suggestion.
"You're right."
"Thank you." Charlie let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
"The article about Carmilla and Rosie's tragic romance will sell way more copies. And then I don't have to deal with Vox's stupid lawyers." Mimzy seemed to be speaking from experience. "He does not like it when I write about him."
"I am not sure anyone appreciates being written about in a gossip magazine." Charlie tried to reason with Mimzy. This might be a good opportunity for a lesson, even a small one, about empathy. "Especially when it's something negative. How would you feel if someone made up things about you and published them for all of the Pride Ring to read?"
"Free publicity. I would be flattered."
"You could write something about the Hotel." Charlie suggested.
"I have been! All about the spicy love-lives of the other patrons. You saw my earlier article."
"I sure did..." Charlie gave a soft sigh of defeat. "I was thinking something along the lines of how we help Sinners be better people. It might get us more patrons!" She wasn't really sure how many people read that trashy magazine, but Charlie would try anything to spread the word. Once she proved the Hotel worked, she had no doubt that Sinners would be lining up in the streets. But it was a slow process, and the earlier the Sinners started, the further they could be in their progress by the time that Charlie had her definitive proof.
"That feel-good fluff isn't news, honey." Mimzy patted Charlie on the arm as if apologizing to her answer.
"Princess?" A voice distracted Charlie from her brick wall of a conversation with Mimzy and Charlie realized that Zestial had almost materialized in front of them. (He did move rather silently.)
"Oh! Zestial! Hi!" Charlie wasn't sure why she was so surprised to see him, given that she was literally standing in his district. But the suddenness of his appearance had caught her off her guard. (She was probably still shaken up from the ruined store.)
"How fair thee, your highness?" He gave an elegant, fluid bow.
"I am well. Thank you." Charlie returned the bow with a curtsy of her own. Zestial was a bit old fashioned (and that was putting it nicely).
"I seeth thee has't new robes. 'Ti's not thy usual compliment extern."
"Oh no, it really isn't my usual look." Charlie laughed, rubbing the back of her (still expertly styled) hair. "Velvette sort of... helped me with my wardrobe." That was the simplest and nicest way of phrasing it.
"Velvette..." two of Zestial's glowing green eyes narrowed and the other two widened in a bemused look. "I shouldst has't known. You behold lovely, dear princess."
"Aw, thank you!" It was different, but different wasn't always a bad thing. And Charlie liked to hold to the idea that at least a small part of Velvette helped her to be nice. Maybe it was deluded to think that she was being anything other than selfish, but Velvette hadn't actually asked Charlie for the favor until after Charlie had thanked her.
"Princess, I pray the question is not perceived with mal-intent, prithee, what brings thee here?"
"Just passing through." Charlie hoped she hadn't given Zestial any reason to be suspicious of her. She had caused a bit of commotion just by walking around the Doomsday District, but it was hard not to, in her defense. Even as she just stood talking to Zestial on the street, a Sinner passing by flung themselves through a solid window with a terrified shriek, shattering it.
"Ah, yes. Apologies for the chaos, your highness. We hadst a particularly... rowdy night."
"Yeah, I heard. I saw Vox here earlier." Charlie was almost hesitant about bringing up the other Overlord on the off-chance Vox was lying about having Zestial's permission to be in his district. However, if Vox was lying, Charlie felt Zestial should still know he was here. Oh fuck- she hoped she wasn't starting some sort of new turf war.
"Ah yes," thankfully, Zestial seemed well aware of the other Overlord's visit. "Surveying the damages. We has't did discuss the possible complete closure of his location here due to frequent... incidents."
"That store was pretty messed up." Charlie thought about the ringing in her ears, the way her vision seemed to blur and distort when she looked at the walls. She shivered. "It might be for the best."
"Princess, thee behold as if't be true thee has't seen an unholy apparition."
"I mean we're in Hell. We're all unholy apparitions if you think about it." Charlie gave an awkward laugh. She really needed to work on her poker face. Zestial had read her expression so easily. (Though Zestial was one of the Overlords her family was on better terms with, from what she could recall. She didn't know as much as she should about her place in Hell's hierarchy.)
"Forsooth, 'tis true I supposeth." Zestial gave a small chuckle, but Charlie had a feeling it was more out of a desire to appease her, than it was out of any sense of genuine amusement.
"Hey, what exactly happened last night?" Charlie had heard tidbits from the Overlords that Mary-Lu had drafted into her little photoshoot. But it might be nice to get another perspective.
"A riot." Zestial didn't sound all that surprised by her question. "One of many across Hell from what I knoweth. They hath seemed centered 'round VoxTek locations. Perhaps a new vPhone dropped?"
"No, I definitely would have known if there was a new edition." Charlie shook her head. She wasn't as big on social media as some of her friends, but there was no way she would have missed a vPhone drop. When those came about, every single platform from TikVox to Slither was stuffed to the brim with annoying ads about all the new features.
"Then I knoweth not, princess." He gave a small shrug of his shoulders.
"I just hope no one got too hurt. There was a lot of writing in blood on the walls..." Charlie knew Sinners would regenerate eventually, but that didn't mean she wanted them to get hurt in the first place. They were her people, after all.
"Ah yes... those gents shall doth yond when a feeling of great... paranoia befalls them. Yond is to sayeth, once a day at the very least."
"Oh, well that makes me feel a little better." Charlie let out a sigh of relief. At least the bloody writing was normal. If she could coax a Doomsday District resident into her Hotel, that would be the first habit they would need to work on fixing. "Because it gave me a headache when I looked." She let out a relieved laugh. Zestial's expression changed, only for a moment he looked... concerned? Maybe Charlie had just imagined it.
"Aye, it doest... occur. Tis nothing with which thee shouldst concern thyself. But bid me, Princess? Has't thee seen Carmilla about?"
"Last I saw her; she was talking to Rosie." Charlie wasn't that surprised he was asking about Carmilla. Zestial and Carmilla has been allies for as long as Charlie could remember.
"Rosie," his eyes narrowed for a split second before his default expression returned. "Very good. Alas, I am afraid I wilt taketh mine leave. Doth be careful, Princess. And if thee runneth into ado in the Doomsday District, summon me, and I will gladly assist."
"Oh, yeah. Thank you." Charlie gave another curtsy as Zestial took his leave, swooping past her, into the ever-present shadows. She couldn't be sure, but it seemed as if he was heading in the direction of the ruined store.
"I didn't understand a word that guy said." Mimzy watched him go. "But damn if he didn't sound charming."
"He's kinda old fashioned." Charlie didn't really have an issue understanding him, but she wasn't surprised others might. Many of the older Sinners- her uncle included- adapted their dialect as languages evolved. However, Zestial had made the conscious decision to keep his speech (mostly) unchanged.
"Is he single?"
"I have no idea." Charlie barely knew about the political relationships between the Overlords, the intrapersonal aspects of their lives was completely unknown to her. She couldn't even look up an answer as news on the Overlords was overflowing with gossip just as unfounded as the stuff Mimzy made up. The Seven Deadly had a similar hoard of gossip articles, her dad- especially- suffered from an influx of made-up bullshit that would circle around Hell. Even Charlie would see the occasional article or drama video about how she was involved I'm a love affair with someone she had never met before. That came with the territory of being a royal in Hell.
"I bet I could make a great second in command for a guy like that." Mimzy looked thoughtful. "He looks like he knows how to treat a lady with respect."
"I thought you were joining the Vees or taking over DamnWay." Charlie didn't know why she was asking, as none of these seemed like likely options. And really Mimzy should have been putting her focus in Redemption, but that would come with time. Charlie had no doubt once Angel was Redeemed and she had solid proof of the Hotel's success, that Mimzy would immediately refocus her energy to make it into Heaven.
"Options, Princess. A girl needs to keep her options open."
"Right, well I think your best option is Redemption with the Hotel."
"That's just because your bias. I get it. You have a pet project. I have them too." Mimzy patted Charlie on the arm again, this time looking almost empathetic.
"Yeah... thanks." Charlie wasn't really sure how to react to Mimzy's new-found understanding. Unfortunately, she didn't have a lot of time to process the exchange as she heard a loud sound from behind her. She turned to see smoke wafting up in the direction from which she had just come. She should keep going, but curiosity had been her vice as of late, and she found herself walking quickly toward the billowing grey cloud.
"Wait! Where are we going?" Mimzy almost fell as she scrambled to follow Charlie. "You can't leave me here!"
"I wasn't going to." Charlie assured her as she helped Mimzy get steady on her feet before walking back toward the source of the noise. "I just wanted to be sure everything was okay."
"It's Hell is it ever okay?" Mimzy had to really hurry to keep pace with Charlie's much longer stride. Charlie didn't really give her an answer as she came upon the source of the smoke. The VoxTek store in which they had been standing only a half hour or so before, was now up in flames. Zestial stood in front of it, watching the fire blaze causing his already long shadow to look enormous as it fell over the building behind him.
"Zestial!?" Charlie called to him uncertainly as he seemed rather focused on the flames. He didn't respond for a moment, all four of his eyes narrowed as firelight illuminated his slender face. Charlie waited a moment longer before speaking again. "Zestial, what happened!?"
"Ah, Princess! Seeing thee again so soon tis almost comical."
"Did... did you blow up the store?" Charlie had a good feeling that she knew the answer, but she had to be sure.
"Aye." Zestial's gaze went back to the flames. "The shoppe did need to be destroyed. I hast nary a choice in the matter."
"What the fuck!?" There was a crackling sound as the air surged with electricity. Vox materialized in a flash, looking like he had left in a hurry. "Zestial!?" He turned to face the other Overlord."
"How fair thee, Vox?" Zestial smiled at him, seemingly unconcerned with Vox's apparent distress. (Charlie assumed Vox had been sleeping prior to his arrival. He looked far more disheveled than she had ever seen him. Vox always seemed to take the utmost care of his appearance.)
"How fair- are you fucking kidding me!? My store is on fire!" Vox gestured to the flames and Zestial turned his head, smile widening visibly.
"Aye. 'Twas by mine own hand."
"WHY!?" Vox took a deep breath, trying to visibly calm himself. "We had an agreement, Zestial. Remember? We shook on it and everything."
"Thy shoppe wast endangering mine own people."
"It's a fucking store! The only danger it posed was to their wallets. Jesus fucking Christ what's wrong with you!?" Vox had a hand on the side of his monitor shaped head as he surveyed the rising flames with obvious dismay in his expression.
"Nay." Zestial's eyes narrowed as he looked back at Vox. "Thou art falsing."
"You know?" Vox turned to look back at him, his expression going from shock to annoyance. "For once in my life I'm not. I'm telling the goddamn truth. It was literally just a store."
"Coystrill! Yond shoppe was brimming with dark charm!"
"YOU THOUGHT THE INTERNET WAS A FUCKING EVIL SPELL, YOU ANCIENT PIECE OF-" Vox was angry enough that the crimson blood was starting to drip out of the corner of his mouth. He stopped himself mid rant, taking a deep breath. "Sorry, Zestial," he put on the most unconvincing, sleazy smile that Charlie had ever seen. "I am just a little overwhelmed right now. We're on good terms, remember?"
"We were. However, I doth not associate with those that bring the Eldritch to mine doorstep." Zestial stood firm, making unwavering eye contact with Vox who sighed, massaging the top of his screen, closing his eyes for a moment.
"I didn't graduate from an Ivy League school to put up with bullshit from a man who thought a Polaroid camera would steal his essence." He was grumbling quietly, but Charlie could hear him so she had no doubt Zestial heard as well. Vox finally looked up. "It was a phone store."
"It brought paranoia and ruin onto mine people."
"It's the fucking Doomsday District!" Vox was becoming increasingly frustrated and Charlie could see it in his body language as he turned away from Zestial taking a few steps and finally turning back. "Paranoia and ruin is literally your brand!"
"Thee shouldst be wary of thy temper. I tooketh behoveful actions to assure the District's safety."
"You are making it very hard not to freak the fuck out on you right now. I hope you know that." Both of Vox's eyes were narrowed, he was frowning, arms crossed over his chest, jaw clenched.
"Hey now," Charlie wasn't about to be witness to a brawl between Overlords. The Doomsday District had taken enough of a hit last night, they didn't need any more damage and a full out fight between Zestial and Vox might level the place. "Everything was already destroyed inside the store, right?" She tried her best to downplay the raging inferno to her left.
"That was true." Vox replied. He and Zestial were still glaring each other down without much relief.
"And you just told me you were thinking of closing the store!" Charlie was making small amounts of progress. She could turn this into a lesson later on the power of de-escalation.
"That was a passing comment, not a fucking permission slip for this shadowy technophobe to nuke my goddamn building! That shit is expensive to build!" Vox's fists clenched a little tighter.
"Okay, I get that!" Charlie scooted in between the two, holding out her hands to keep them separate. "Zestial, maybe apologize for burning down Vox's expensive store."
"Nay."
"And he should have to pay me back for the damages." Vox either didn't hear Zestial's refusal, or simply didn't care. (Which was a far more likely option.)
"Now wait a second," Charlie was starting to worry that the situation was getting worse, "you also had a technological failure last night that did incite a riot in Zestial's territory. I am certain the damages were not cheap for him either."
"Tis true." Zestial looked quite satisfied with Charlie's assessment.
"Yeah, but that wasn't my fucking fault! I am looking into last night's incident." Vox protested. "it's the fucking Doomsday District anyway! You could drop a fucking hat and start a riot!"
"Right! I know that." Charlie had no idea if that was true or not, but she would just have to accept it at face value. "But there was damage nonetheless. So why don't you both just apologize to each other and try and work out something new? Maybe a fire proof store?"
"I cannot allow those who partake in such abominable magics to spread their dark intent across mine own realm."
"You thought the fucking rotary phone was a magical implementation of great evil! You called Thomas Edison a witch!" Vox was at his wits end.
"He was a witch." Zestial's smirk made it impossible to tell if he was being honest in his grievances or was simply just fucking with Vox.
"Why don't you both take a bit of time to calm down?" Charlie suggested as she tried to block the locked eyes of Vox and Zestial with her head. "I think we're all a little flustered thanks to the chaos from last night."
"Princess, do you honestly think this is fucking acceptable? He literally burned down one of my buildings I paid for because his people threw a riot! How the fuck is that fair!? I seriously question-" Vox was mid-rant when he hunched over and started coughing again. He covered his mouth, taking a moment to catch his breath. "Fucking fuck, I don't have time for your shit right now." His voice sounded a little hoarse.
"Then begone." Zestial took a visible step away as Vox started coughing.
"This isn't over." Vox narrowed his eyes once again.
"It very much is." Zestial seemed to get the last word as Vox's phone went off in his pocket. He rolled his eyes, flipping the middle finger toward Zestial as he turned around and pressed his other hand to the side of his head.
"This is Vox. Fucking Christ, Velvette, I stepped out for two goddamn seconds." And with a crackling sound, Vox vanished again.
"Apologies, Princess." Zestial pulled Charlie back, gently, by her shoulders before grabbing a jug of foul-smelling liquid from beneath his cloak and pouring it over the area where Vox had once stood, making a trail of it lead close to the fire. The flames caught and almost instantaneously, the liquid was set ablaze.
"I do think you and Vox will need to work this out at some point. Just promise me it won't result in a turf war? Pretty please?" Charlie didn't know Zestial that well, but like Carmilla, he was one of the Overlords with whom her parents had seemed more acquainted. Perhaps that held some sort of water.
"Nay. For a turf war, Vox wouldst need to be allowed back upon mine turf. Fare thee well, Princess." He tilted his feathered hat toward her before swooping into the shadows and vanishing once again.
"Ooooo, I am just stumbling onto all the juiciest drama today!" Mimzy's voice brought Charlie's attention back to her companion. (It seemed Mimzy didn't talk much when Zestial was around- apparently due to the fact that she didn't seem to understand him.) Charlie had been so focused on stopping a possible fight, that she didn't realize Mimzy had a DamnWay brand notebook and pen in her hand and was vigorously taking notes. "Vox is dying and Zestial is poisoning him!"
"That is not what you should take out of that conversation." Charlie didn't even know how Mimzy had gotten such an idea. "Vox is not dying, first of all. And Secondly, Zestial had nothing to do with him feeling badly. Even though we don't actually know that he is feeling badly because that isn't something we can prove without asking him." The coughing was probably a pretty good hint, but Charlie knew that assumptions were not going to help anyone.
"But he's totally dying and Zestial caused it." Mimzy chewed thoughtfully on her pen. "It says so right here in my notes."
"Right. Because that is something you made up. Which is why you wrote it down."
"I only write what I see, Princess. And these eyes don't lie."
"I'm not saying you're lying, just... Maybe... misinterpreting events."
"It's called subtext, Princess, and with you being a business owner who works with people, you'd think you'd understand such a simple concept."
"I feel like misinterpretation is still a better word to use here." Charlie countered as she and Mimzy started back on the path toward the Hotel. "Vox is going to be fine. Sinners can't be killed unless it's by an Angelic weapon."
"And that is why Zestial was definitely concealing an Angelic weapon in his cloak. I can tell that sort of thing from experience."
"I don't think that's true."
"Charlie, Charlie, Charlie, bless your heart." Mimzy shook her head and clicked her tongue in disappointment as she followed Charlie back toward their home. "You poor, innocent little thing. Think about it: Zestial is best friends with Carmilla- possibly even her lover. Carmilla sells what? Angelic weapons. And now, mysteriously, Vox is dying? You see the connection here, right?"
"No. Also, once again: Vox is not dying." Charlie reminded her politely.
"And now Rosie is involved?" Mimzy looked to be deep in thought. "I wonder how she connects to all of this."
"I don't think any of this is actually connected."
"Obviously Rosie knows about Carmilla's plan to help Zestial get rid of Vox- you know, because they're lovers! She must have been trying to pay Rosie hush-money! THAT'S why they wanted to talk in private!"
"Why is Zestial trying to kill Vox, exactly?"
"Please, Charlie, try to keep up." Mimzy looked a tad annoyed. "Because you saw how they were arguing. There is clearly some kind of long-standing animosity between the two of them! Also, Vox may or may not be a witch. I was a bit unclear on that whole point when they were fighting because, as cute as he is, I can't understand a fucking word Zestial says. He's one of those boys that's better seen and not heard."
"That's not very nice." Charlie wasn't going to argue with Mimzy on this point any longer as it seemed clear to the Princess of Hell that some forces could not be defeated with even her regal might, one such force- apparently- was Mimzy's dedication to make shit up based on completely random bits of evidence.
"He's trying to kill Vox. That means I don't have to be nice." Mimzy assure her. Charlie gave up for the moment. She had learned to choose her battles and only continued to debate Mimzy this long out of an (apparently misplaced) sense of hope that she might listen to reason... this time.
They reached the Hotel without much incident. Of course, Mimzy was still in a great mood as she burst through the door with Charlie behind her. Vaggie was instantly on her feet to greet her girlfriend, but came to a stop looking at Charlie's outfit in confusion. "Is that... new? Because I absolutely do not remember you dressing like that this morning... or... ever for that matter."
"Velvette made it for me." Charlie took Vaggie into her arms, hugging her tightly and giving her a tender kiss. God it was nice to be home. "You like it?"
"It's not your usual style, but I would be lying if I said you didn't look drop dead gorgeous." Vaggie put a hand on Charlie's cheek. "But you look great in anything, so I guess that's a bit of a loaded question."
"Aw, you're too sweet." Charlie nuzzled her cheek playfully.
"This was quite the adventure. I have so many articles to write I don't even know where to start!" Mimzy let out an excited squeal before bolting up the stairs, nearly bumping into Angel Dust who was on his way down.
"Jesus Fucking Christ, watch it will ya?" Angel dodged out of the way before going back to looking at his phone.
"What go into Mimzy?" Vaggie watched her go before turning back to Charlie. "I'll be honest, I didn't expect her to be in this good of a mood after being straight-up ignored by what's-her-name for God knows how long."
"Mary-Lu." Charlie sighed. "Her name is Mary-Lu. And we did a lot more than that photoshoot. Did you know Mimzy writes for the 'Demonic Deets'? Because that was news to me."
"The gossip magazine?" Vaggie raised her eyebrow. "No but now that you've said that; I can totally see it."
"Ugh." Angel Dust let out a frustrated groan as he flopped onto the couch, kicking up his legs and stretching his back. All the while he was still glued to his phone. Charlie gave Vaggie another little squeeze before making her way to Angel.
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, it's just-" Angel finally looked up from his phone, eyes scanning Charlie from tiara to expensive heels. "Damn bitch, you look fucking amazing right now. You and bitch-tits going out?"
"No, Vaggie and I don't have anything planned. But I might keep this dress for the next time we do." Charlie did like the way Vaggie's face seemed to flush when she saw Charlie dolled up. (It might not hurt to ask Velvette for more fashion tips in the future, just for special occasions.)
"You should. You look like someone should pay you to step on them." Angel gave a nod of approval.
"Thank you, but what was it that was making you upset?" Charlie appreciated the compliment, but she didn't want it to distract her from possibly helping Angel. "If you want to tell me, that is."
"It's nothing big." Angel assured her looking back at his phone, his expression returning to annoyance. "It's fucking Val. He's barely called me for anything these last few months but now he's been texting me over and over again about last night's episode of 'Love after Death'."
"Oh? I didn't know he liked that show." Charlie was trying to be polite and not let her dislike of Val seep into her voice. She wanted Angel to feel safe talking to her.
"He doesn't. He says all of Vox's shows are shit. And he's mostly right. Except for Real Housewives of the Greed Ring. That show is fucking fantastic." Angel put the phone down, rolling his eyes. "I didn't watch the fucking episode. For one thing: I don't even watch Love after Death. And for another: I was in fucking bed."
"Is he mad that you didn't watch it or something?" Charlie couldn't imagine a situation in which Angel would be forced to watch a melodrama for work, but she didn't dare interfere less she upset her friend.
"He says he's disappointed which is fucking weird." Angel made a face. "I told him if he's that upset about it, he can have Vox send me a copy- not that he will. That Flat-Face fucker hates me." He smirked. "It's cause I'm prettier than he is." But his face instantly fell again. "But then Val was all: Oh no Angel, if you missed it, art can't be recreated or whatever. So, I was gonna ignore it, but fucking TikVox is going NUTS with people talking about how the episode is fucking transcendent. So, now I'm legit curious, ya know? I message Vox directly to ask and the fucker leaves me on read. Which he always does because, like I said, he fucking hates me."
"I don't think Vox hates you." Charlie had no idea how Vox felt about Angel, but it was hard to imagine anyone could hate him. "He's just... really busy right now. I saw him on my way back and he was arguing with Zestial."
"Oh fuck, really?" Angel perked up. "Did you record it? I bet that shit was hilarious."
"Well no... they were just talking about a store that got destroyed. Well... more like... arguing." Charlie gave a little shrug.
"Did Vox do his whole: I know better than you because I graduated from an Ivy League school, thing? He uses that shit on Val ALL the time when I hear them fighting." Angel laughed.
"He did mention his school." Charlie nodded.
"Miskatonic University." Angel snorted. "And don't you dare pronounce it wrong or he will fucking go off for like ten hours. He thinks he's hot shit because his parents probably paid a lot of money so he could brag about wasting years of his life in a stuffy fucking building surrounded by other pompous rich bitches. Who won the fight? Was it Zestial? I'm hoping it was Zestial."
"There was no fight." Charlie wasn't sure if there wouldn't be one later- but for now things had been left alone. "Vox accused Zestial of being paranoid and burning down his building- which he did do. And Zestial accused Vox of being... Eldritch? I think was the word... and also a witch." Eldritch... Charlie had heard the word once or twice before, but she had never been clear on the exact meaning.
"Eldritch?" Alastor's voice made Charlie and Angel both jump. "You don't say! Why that IS quite a fight."
"Alastor!" Charlie caught her breath. "How long have you been here?"
"Who knows? I truly am a man of great mystery."
"He walked in just a minuet ago." Vaggie replied flatly. Alastor's eyes narrowed for a moment, but his smile never wavered.
"And now I must head up to my room! I have much to do." He started up the stairs. Charlie watched him for a moment before biting her lip.
"One second guys." She gave a wave to Angel and Vaggie before running up the stairs after Alastor. "Hey!" She called to him as he had his hand on his bedroom door. He stopped, turning to look back at her.
"Hello!" He greeted her with the same enthusiasm he always used.
"You um... you went to a riot with Rosie last night?"
"Indeed! It was far superior to her original plan. A picture show? Can you imagine? Where's the creativity?"
"Y... yeah." Charlie gave a nervous laugh. Despite all the time he had been around, all the things he had done for the Hotel, Charlie still felt discomfort around Alastor. That smile could be disarming, but it could also be unsettling.
"Is that all?"
"When Zestial called Vox... Eldritch... what did he mean, exactly?"
"HA!" Alastor gave a single laugh but stopped the moment he saw Charlie's expression. "Oh dear, you're being serious." As if to emphasize his point, his little 'Oh Deer' mug materialized in his hand and he took a sip from it, never losing his smile. "I would have thought mommy and daddy would have discussed this with you. Then again, that is probably expecting too much from your dad, especially."
"Alastor." Charlie narrowed her eyes.
"No, no. I am simply saying that your father doesn't like competition. And who provides a bigger competition than beings who believe in direct interference with humans? Heaven and Hell are hands off. But The Elders, those responsible for eldritch magic? They love helping humans, living or dead. I can see where it might step on your father's tiny, little toes."
"They... help humans?" Well, that sounded really nice of them. But Charlie lived in Hell, she knew there was always a catch.
"This is all purely theoretical, Charlie dear." Alastor laughed. "It's just things I heard while I was on Earth. I doubt they're even real. I don't think Heaven would allow big magical beings to give gifts to living humans. It goes against their whole- we're the best thing ever motif." He wiped his gloved hand on his suit jacket as if buffing his claws. He examined his work, the glove hadn't really been dirty to begin with, not that Charlie had seen. But now it was definitely clean. "And Zestial being a paranoid old fart who thinks that the radio is borderline sorcery, is most likely just getting senile in his old age. If you ask me... he's been in power a bit too long. I worry the stress of it is getting to his head." Alastor's smile widened.
"I just-" Charlie was cut off as her phone started to ring. "Fuck. Hold on." She fumbled for her phone seeing: DAD across the screen. She immediately answered, turning around to face away from Alastor. "Dad?"
"Hey bitch!" Lucifer's voice sounded surprisingly cheerful. (Though she really wasn't sure why he felt like he had to greet her like this every time.) "I need your help for something, are you busy?"
"Help?" Charlie repeated. "Is this another lesson for Adam?"
"No, no, no, no, no." Her father quickly shut down that suggestion. "I mean... kinda. But it's not a Redemption lesson. It's more like... proving a point. Can you come to the house? If not, it's fine, but I would love your input."
"The house?" Charlie had only been inside twice since her father had promised her that he would make it available to her. And she hadn't made it past the foyer. (His excuse was that Adam now lived there, and he didn't want Charlie to have to put up with Adam's bullshit in her childhood home.) "I can actually go in? Not just stand awkwardly at the door?"
"Yeah, you can actually come in. In fact, you'll sort of have to." Her father didn't sound as avoidant as he usually did on the phone.
"I can be there." Charlie couldn't pass on this opportunity. "I'll leave as soon as I change clothes." No way she was going to go to see her dad dressed like this.
"Perfect! Love you, crabapple! I'll see you when you get here!"
"Love you too, dad." Charlie smiled, hanging up the phone and turning back to face Alastor... he was gone. Ah well. Charlie had to get ready anyway. She could always talk to Alastor after. But for now, it was time to see what her dad wanted.
A/N: Actually somewhat on time tonight. Look at me. :D I'm just happy to be home after traveling. I hope you all read Mimzy's very-real-not-made-up articles. She works very hard on them.