Here is part 2 of the prologue.
Also, a scene here is a parody and a little homage to Anchors Aweigh with Gene Kelly.
Enjoy
After being sucked through his sister's new teleporter, Lincoln found himself in a very strange, and red, place. Not to mention the giant pentagram looming in the sky.
"Where am I?" he asked himself as he began walking down the street observing his surroundings. "Is this Vegas? What kind of places does Lisa think people will want to visit?" Then he got out his cellphone. "Okay, let me just see where I... What?! No signal?!"
As the nervous boy turned a corner, he gasped in shock at what he saw. The street he had just turned on looked like it had been attacked. A few buildings were on fire, streetlamps were knocked over, and it looked like there were bodies lying on the ground. What could have happened here?
Lincoln cautiously made his way down this grim-looking street. He was scared that whatever might have caused all this damage might still be nearby. Then he stopped in his tracks after hearing a loud squishing noise. It was very close. He looked down and saw that he had stepped on one of the bloody bodies in the street.
"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" he screamed as he backed away from the corpse.
Much to his shock and horror, the body didn't look human. It looked like a humanoid alligator with horns and wearing clothes. What kind of thing was it?
Suddenly, something came crashing out of a nearby window. Lincoln looked over and saw what looked like two creatures fighting. A small slender creature with red skin, black and white striped horns, and a tail was on the back of a larger, portlier creature with green skin and googly eyes and was strangling him with some rope. The smaller creature had a murderous smile filled with sharp yellow teeth as he continued to throttle the struggling bigger creature who was gasping for air. What happened next, Lincoln did not expect.
"H… Harder!" the bigger creature managed to say with a smile of pleasure causing his assailant to start choking him even more.
This was too much.
Without a second thought, Lincoln turned and made a run for it. He didn't stop running until he was sure he was as far away from that strange and disturbing scene as possible.
"What was that?!" the boy asked himself officially freaked out.
Then he heard a strange crunching noise coming from nearby. He turned to see what looked like a group of people knelt down in the street around something. They looked human and wore classy old-fashioned clothing from the 1910s. He couldn't tell what they were doing but they seemed human.
"Excuse me?" Lincoln approached the group and politely asked. "Could any of you tell me where I am?"
Instantly, the strange crunching noise stopped, and the group of people all turned to look at the boy. What Lincoln saw filled him with absolute horror. The people he that were normal people had grayish skin, pitch black eyes, and smiles containing sharp pointy teeth. But in those smiles, was blood, flesh, and bones. Then he saw what they gathered around; another corpse, and from what he saw, they were eating it! There were even two children in the group participating in this horrifically grotesque scene.
Lincoln began backing away from this cannibalistic scene but then stopped in his tracks as he felt his back bump into something. He turned to find a tall figure standing right behind him.
It was a slim and dapper man with beige-colored skin. He wore a red pinstriped coat, long black dress pants, a bowtie, black gloves with red fingertips, pointed-toe boots, and a monocle over his right eye. He carried a cane with a vintage-looking microphone on it. He had a red cropped, angled bob-cut with black tips at the ends and two large, black tipped tufts of hair extending from the top of his head which resembled the ears of a deer and two small black antlers protruding from his head. His eyes were red with black pupils, and he wore a broad smile full of sharp, yellow teeth.
Lincoln stared up at the intimidating man with fear in his eyes while the man stared back down at him with that creepy smile. After a while, his pupils began to glow red, and the sound of radio static was heard.
Unable to take it anymore, Lincoln screamed and began running for his life. The creepy-looking man watched as the frightened boy ran away as fast as he could. Then he casually shrugged it off and went about his day.
Lincoln stopped in an alley to catch his breath and collect his thoughts. Who, or what, were those people? Where the heck was he?! Most of all, where was his family?
"What is going on here?!" the anxious boy asked himself.
"Well, what do we have here?" a sinister voice came from behind him that made him freeze.
Suddenly, Lincoln felt a hand grab his shoulder and throw him deeper into the alley. To his horror, he found himself surrounded by three vicious-looking creatures dressed like hoodlums. A couple had horns, one was furry, they all had sharp teeth and claws, a couple had tails, and they all had murder in their eyes.
"Looks like a little lost newcomer," one of the creatures said with malice in his voice.
"Shit luck for you, shrimp," another said to Lincoln in a taunting tone.
Lincoln wasn't used to hearing people curse where he came from.
"Let's see if he has anything on him worth a couple bucks," the third one said pulling out a switchblade. The others followed suit.
Poor Lincoln found himself cornered. Three vicious-looking creatures with weapons were closing in on him with murderous intent. Terror filled the boy's eyes as he wished for someone or something to save him. Suddenly, something fell from the sky and landed right between him and the fiends. It looked like a little red bomb with a black skull-and-crossbones painted on it.
"Oh FUUUUCCCCKKKKKK!" one of the hoodlums screamed as he and his cohorts' faces became etched with fear.
KABOOM!
The alley was engulfed in a big red explosion that sent Lincoln flying up into the sky screaming. He grabbed hold of a floating advertisement balloon with the word VoxTek printed on it. The frightened boy danged from the balloon as he surveyed the world around him from a higher vantage point. Red buildings and sky, crazy and freakish-looking people, carnage and chaos, this truly was a place he (and probably no one in his family) had ever heard of.
Then he noticed where the bomb that sent him into the sky came from. He saw what looked like a young woman with white skin, pinkish blonde hair tied in a half-ponytail, and one red eye with a yellow X-shaped pupil. She wore a red crop-top with a black X on the left breast, a red miniskirt, ripped black leggings, a red shoe on her right foot and a red boot on her left foot. She had red freckles, red tattoos on her arms, and a mouth filled with sharp yellow teeth. She was jumping from rooftop to rooftop throwing gleefully throwing all sorts of bombs and grenades at what looked like a scary-looking mechanical blimp that was firing all sorts of weapons at her.
Lincoln suddenly found himself drifting closer and closer to the deadly-looking airship.
"Is that the best you got, old man?!" she mockingly taunted the attacking ship. "Just wait, I've got a few surprises for you!"
Inside the airship, at the helm, was a cackling man with a snake-like appearance. His skin was charcoal grey, his eyes were red with black pupils, he had yellow fangs sticking out of his mouth, his tail was black with yellow stripes with numerous eyes running down it, and he had a black and yellow cobra hood with four more eyes within it. He wore a pinstriped charcoal grey jacket, a bow tie with an eye in its center, and a large charcoal grey top hat with a big eye in its center, a mouth with sharp yellow teeth, and a pair of goggles. He was surrounded by small egg-like minions wearing similar suits and small black top hats assisting him and operating the machines.
"You won't win this time, Cherri Bomb!" the snake man declared to his enemy.
"Plasma cannons are locked and loaded, Boss," one of the egg creatures informed his master in a simple-sounding voice.
"I know all your little tricks by this point. Nothing will surprise the Great Sir Pentious!"
Just then, he stopped his monologue as the sight of a small boy hanging from a balloon being dragged along the window of his ship caught him by surprise. Once the boy was out of sight, he continued his assault.
"Fire the plasma cannons!"
Lincoln continued to hold onto the balloon as it drifted away from the battle. But this didn't ease his anxiety by much. He desperately wanted to know where the Heck he was and how to get back home.
His family must be wondering where he was, and he had a magic performance to show off.
Soon Lincoln found himself drifting to the edge of the mysterious and chaotic city. On the outskirts, standing atop a hill, was a tall building. At the bottom of the hill, was a gate and a two-way path leading from the gate entrance to the entrance of the building. On the ground between these paths was a large pentagram.
What was with all the pentagrams?
The building itself looked several stories high. Above the entrance was a sign that read No Vacancy, but only the word 'Vacancy' was lit up. Sticking out of the building's right side was what looked like a sunken ship, sitting on top of its lower left side was a carousel, and sitting in the middle above the vacancy sign was a train. On the right side near the top was what looked like a radio tower, and on the very top was a big lit up sign that read Hazbin Hotel.
Once he was close enough, Lincoln let go of the balloon and landed on the roof of the building. He peeked over the edge and saw he was several stories from the ground.
"Well, this has been a crazier than average day in the life of Lincoln Loud," he said to the readers. "I think I've had just about enough of… whatever this place is. I need to get back to Royal Woods. Maybe if I climb down this place and get back to the ground, I can hopefully find someone with at least a sliver of sanity who can tell me where I am and how to get home."
The nervous, but determined, white-haired boy began his descent by climbing in through one of the building's many windows. He found himself in an empty single bedroom. He crept over to the door and turned the handle. It opened out into a hallway filled with many doors to many more rooms. He snuck through the hall past many doors trying not to make a sound. He didn't know what things might lurk behind these doors and how many, and considering what he experienced back in that city, he didn't want to find out. Then he came across some stairs leading downward and quietly began walking down them. He must have passed quite a few floors after a couple minutes.
"Angel, will you get out here?!" he heard an angry-sounding female voice as he approached the next floor.
Lincoln stopped in his tracks and peeked behind a corner to find a woman facing one of the doors to a room. She looked human, yet there was something about her that didn't feel quite human. She had a slim figure and grayish skin. She had long light hair that reached her knees with a red bow in the back. Her right eye was pink with a black pupil, but she had an eyepatch with an X on it over her left eye. She wore a red blouse, a choker, a dark miniskirt, long gray fingerless gloves, and thigh-high stockings.
"Molesto Hijo de Puta!" Apparently, she could speak Spanish. "Would you hurry up; the others are waiting!"
"Alright, bitch!" a feminine-sounding male voice came from inside the room. "Cool your tits!"
Out of the room came a tall, slender man with four arms. His body was covered in white fur, and he had a large patch of it on his chest that made it look like he had breasts. His eyes had red pupils, but the right eye was yellow while the left was black. He also had three red dots under each eye. He had pointy white teeth but one of them was gold. He wore a pink and white striped suit-blazer, a bowtie, a choker, a dark miniskirt, long thigh-high heeled boots, long red gloves on his top set of arms and long white gloves on his bottom set of arms.
"So, what got your taco in a twist today?" he taunted the angry woman.
"Very funny," she sarcastically replied. "Just come down to the lobby, Charlie has some things she wants to say to everyone."
"Whatever."
Lincoln watched as the two entered an elevator and descended downward.
"Great, who knows how many of these "people" are in this place. Can't use the stairs anymore, or the elevator. There must be another way I can take without risk of being caught."
As he thought for a moment, Lincoln noticed an open dumbwaiter in a wall. It looked just big enough to fit him. He climbed in, grabbed the rope, and began carefully lowering himself down. If this worked out, then everything should be okay from here on.
Many strange-looking creatures were gathered in the hotel's lobby aside from the one-eyed woman and the fluffy spider guy. There was a catlike man with wings who stood behind the counter of a bar drinking from one of the bottles. His fur was dark and white. He had long red eyebrows. His eyes were black with yellow irises. His wings had dark feathers decorated with red and black stripes with red and white dots. He wore black pants with suspenders, a red bowtie, and a black top hat.
Another was a tiny girl with white skin, one large red eye, sharp yellow teeth, skinny black limbs, and red hair. She wore a red dress with a white apron. She ran around gleefully trying to stab a bug with a needle.
The last person looked like a slender young woman with white skin, long blonde hair that was held together in a big ponytail by two bands, and yellow eyes with red pupils. She wore a red tuxedo with a black bowtie.
"Okay, when Alastor gets back, we'll all be ready," the tuxedo woman addressed the others.
Right on cue, the front door opened and in walked the man with the creepy smile Lincoln bumped into earlier.
"Alastor, you're back," the tuxedo woman welcomed with delight.
"It's about time," the one-eyed woman bitterly remarked.
"So Smiles, anything happen while you were out?" the spider guy asked in a flirtations tone.
The man known as Alastor thought for a moment. "Nothing of great importance," he answered in a voice that sounded like it was coming from a radio.
"Okay, before we begin, let's take roll call," the tuxedo woman said excitedly. "We have Alastor. Vaggie," she looked over to the one-eyed woman. "Angel," she looked over to the spider guy. "Husk," she looked over to the winged cat man at the bar. "Niffty," she looked over to the one-eyed girl chasing the bug. "And I'm Charlie, but you all know that."
The man known as Angel rolled his eyes. Was there really a need for that.
"Okay, I know this week has been a bit… uneventful," Charlie explained in an uneasy tone. "The redemption process has been a little… slow. But I don't think it's anyone's fault."
"I don't know about that," the woman known as Vaggie disagreed shooting a glare at Angel who responded by flipping her the bird.
"The reason I've gathered us all here is so we can come up with ideas to help make this hotel more interesting to people," Charlie explained.
"I have an idea," Angel announced.
"Great. Let's hear it, Angel," Charlie replied delighted.
"Here we go," Vaggie said unenthusiastically. She knew what he was about to say.
"I say we should make an advertisement that says anyone who becomes a patron of this hotel will receive a free room, free drinks, and a free night of getting it on with yours truly for as long as they want," Angel said lying down on a couch in a suggestive pose while caressing his own body. "So, what do you think?"
Vaggie facepalmed. This was exactly where she knew it was going.
"It's a… good thought, Angel," Charlie said trying to be as sincere as possible. "But let's hear what others have to say before we make a decision."
"You're wasting an opportunity, baby."
"Anyone else?"
"Me! Me! Me!" Niffty said excitedly, raising her hand.
"Okay, Niffty."
"How about we offer some entertainment?" Niffty suggested.
"That's a great idea, Niffty," Charlie complimented.
"What kind of entertainment?" Vaggie asked suspiciously.
"We roundup as many bugs as we can find, train them to be fighters, and then pit them against one another in fights to the DEATH!" Niffty explained with pure sadistic joy.
Everyone, with the exception of Alastor, just stared at her in either disgust or shock.
"Anyway…" an uneasy Charlie attempted to get the ball rolling again.
"It doesn't matter what ideas we come up with," Husk bluntly said in a gruff voice. "This place is supposed to offer redemption to sinners, but no one has ever redeemed themselves. No one is going to waste their time trying to accomplish something that hasn't been proven possible."
"That is why we need to find something that will convince them is worth a try," Charlie replied optimistically.
"She's right, Husker," Alastor agreed. "If we don't convince people to try, then how can they not fail miserably?"
And there it is.
While everyone was arguing in the lobby, Lincoln was still in the dumbwaiter carefully lowering himself down.
"You know just because something hasn't been done before, Alastor, doesn't mean it's doomed to fail," Charlie disagreed. "You might be surprised one day."
"Oh my dear, I assure you that after all that I have experienced, nothing surprises me."
Suddenly, the rope to the dumbwaiter broke causing it to fall. Lincoln screamed as he descended rapidly down the chute. Then suddenly…
CRASH!
The dumbwaiter broke through the ceiling and crashed onto the floor of the lobby. Lincoln stood up coughing and brushing himself off. Aside from some bruises, he was lucky to be alive. Or not. He looked up to see that everyone in the room was now staring at him in silent surprise, including Alastor.
Everyone's attention was now focused on the small, unexpected guest who had just seemingly come out of nowhere.
Lincoln stood frozen and anxious as he felt all eyes trained on him. His plan had not gone as hoped.
"Uh… I was just… leaving…" the nervous white-haired boy stammered. "Bye."
He decided to just make a break for it and run toward the front door. He was just a few feet from it when…
"Oh, no you don't!" an angry Vaggie declared blocking his path.
"Yikes!" Lincoln yelped before turning and running away. Unfortunately, that path was blocked by Niffty.
"Wanna be friends?" the one-eyed girl asked creepily with a toothy smile.
"Eep!" Lincoln ran another direction, only for it to be blocked by a certain spider-like man lying on a couch in a suggestive pose.
"Hey," Angel said in a playful tone.
"AAAAARRRRRGGGHHHH!"
Lincoln began backing away, only to be stopped in his tracks by something behind him. He looked up to find a very familiar and terrifying site.
"Well, didn't expect to see you again," Alastor said looking down at the boy with a creepy grin.
Lincoln darted away only to find himself trapped in a corner. The frightened boy began hyperventilating as the strange-looking people began closing in on him, cutting off any route of escape.
"Everyone stop!" Charlie shouted and got between the group and the boy. "You're scaring the poor thing." She looked over at Lincoln who still looked quite frightened. It didn't sit well for her heart to see someone as small as him like this.
"Alright, hon," Vaggie calmly said. "But we still need to ask him some questions. Like how did he get in here?"
"Wh-Where's here?" Lincoln nervously answered the question with questions of his own. This was probably his best chance of getting some answers and making some sense out of all this. "Who are you?"
Everyone stared at him with confusion written on their faces.
"You don't know?" Charlie asked surprised at the boy's question.
"Yes," Lincoln confirmed without hesitation. He didn't care if it sounded confusing to them for some reason, he needed to know.
"I guess he must've recently arrived," Alastor said.
"Hate to tell you this, kid," Vaggie tried to explain as gently as she could. She knew the answer would turn the kid's whole world upside down, but she didn't know how else to put it. "But do you know that bad place that your parents used to tell you about where bad people go when they die?" Lincoln nodded nervously but also a little confused. "Well, this is the place."
Lincoln blinked twice. "Wait, so what you're saying is this place is…"
"Yep, welcome to Hell, kid," Husk confirmed taking another swig of his bottle.
"H-Hell?" Lincoln's eyes widened. "Like literal Hell? Fire and brimstone Hell?"
"That's a common misconception actually," Charlie corrected with a cute chuckle. "After Dad took over, he really cleaned up the place and made it a much better place to live in and even call home." Sounds of explosions, screaming, and swearing were heard outside.
Hell. Lincoln was literally in Hell. The place where those who have committed the worst sins imaginable go as penance for their actions, doomed to a fate of eternal suffering upon their deaths. If this really was Hell, then that would mean…
"So, if this is Hell," Lincoln said wanting to make sure. "Then that means you people are…"
"Yep." Angel knew what he was going to say. "We're demons, shorty."
Niffty popped up showing her creepy-as-Hell smile.
Demons. Lincoln was in the presence of actual demons. If all this was true, then that could only mean…
Everyone prepared for the freakout they knew was coming.
"Heh." The demons were caught off guard as Lincoln began chuckling. "Okay, you got me, Luan!" he called out for his prankster of an older sister expecting her to jump out and have a good laugh at his expense. "I gotta admit, this might your best prank yet." This was not the reaction any of the demons were expecting. "I don't know how you managed to rig Lisa's invention to send me to a part of Royal Woods where you got so many people to dress up in these very convincing costumes, but here it is. You really outdid yourself this time. Now come on out so I can get mad at you, we hug it out, and you pull the same thing weeks from now."
"What is this, some shitty sitcom?" Husk had to say something.
Angel couldn't help but chuckle, he found the kid's denial funny.
"Luan?" Lincoln called again, a little more desperate this time. "That's your cue. Where's the incredibly lame pun already? You're not still mad about that one April Fools' Day sabotage, are you?"
And now it was sad.
Vaggie shook her head pitifully at the boy's painful denial.
"I'm afraid this is no prank, young man," Alastor said bluntly. He was getting tired of this. "This place is Hell and you're its newest resident."
"No." Lincoln shook his head, still in denial. "No. That can't be right. If it was, then that would mean I'm… dead?" He felt his stomach churn when he said that. "I can't be dead. And if I were, there's no way I'd end up in Hell. I'm not a bad person! I've never done anything wrong!" He paused for a moment and realized that wasn't exactly true. "Well, nothing worth going to Hell for, right?"
Angel scoffed. "Sure you didn't, squirt," he sarcastically agreed.
Lincoln couldn't believe his absolutely horrible luck. Worst luck in the universe. He had somehow ended up in Hell itself and was now at the mercy of a group of scary-looking demons. Worst of all, none of his family or friends knew and no one was coming to save him.
"No! No, no, no, no!" the frightened boy cried. "This has to be a dream! Come on, wake up, Lincoln! Wake up!" He started pinching his arm and slapping his face in a desperate attempt to wake himself up from what he hoped was all just a bad dream.
The demonic hotel residents all watched with painful sympathy at this pitiful scene. Eventually, Lincoln had to face the facts: he was wide awake and in Hell. Believing his situation was hopeless and losing feeling in his legs, the poor boy sat down and hugged his legs.
"If you're going to eat my flesh and/or rip out my soul, please make it quick," he pleaded preparing himself for the worst.
"What do you say, Husk? A leg or a wing?" Angel joked much to the cat demon's disgust.
"Angel!" Vaggie yelled disapprovingly.
"I'm just kidding."
"Can't you see he's scared enough as it is?"
Charlie approached and crouched down to gently put her hand on the trembling boy's shoulder.
"Look, I know you're scared," she said in a soft and gentle voice to calm him down. "But I promise, no one here is going to hurt you."
Lincoln lifted his head and looked up at her. His eyes met with hers. There was no sign of malice or deceit in her eyes. She offered him her hand to help him up and as a sign of trust. Lincoln was hesitant to accept, but he felt this woman was someone he could trust. He took her hand, and she helped him up on his feet.
"So, what happened, kid?" Angel asked. "Get hit by a truck?"
"Ripped apart by the neighbor's dog?" Niffty asked excitedly.
"Uh… what?" Lincoln didn't understand what they were asking such disturbing questions.
"Alright, can everyone shut up for a moment," Vaggie demanded. "I want to check something." Ever since Lincoln appeared, she had this strange feeling that something was off with the boy. Was it his unusual appearance, even by demon standards? She didn't know. She walked over to the boy and took hold of his arm. She held his wrist between her fingers and her thumb. Her eye widened as she came to a realization. "Holy shit!" She released his hand.
"What is it, Vaggie?" Charlie asked concerned.
"This kid, his skin is warm, and he has a pulse." The one-eyed woman couldn't believe what she was saying, but she couldn't deny the facts. "He's still alive. He's still human!"
Everyone gasped in complete shock. Even Alastor couldn't help but look surprised.
"So, what we have here is a living, breathing human child," Alastor concluded staring down at the nervous and confused boy.
Charlie's face lit up and she let out a squeal like that of an excited little girl. "Oh Vaggie, he's so… cuuuttte!" She had never seen a human before, one that was still alive at least. She approached the kid and knelt down to get a closer look. Lincoln uncomfortably took a few steps back.
"How is this even possible?" Vaggie asked unable to wrap her head around this discovery.
"This has become quite interesting," Alastor said intrigued.
"What's going on?" a confused Lincoln asked.
"Never has a live human ever appeared in Hell before. You've become quite the intriguing mystery, young Mr… who are you again?"
"Oh shit! I completely forgot; we haven't introduced ourselves!" Charlie realized she had forgotten some very important formalities. She calmed down and approached Lincoln again. "Could you please tell us your name?"
Lincoln's parents had taught him never to give his name to strangers, it looked like he didn't have a choice in this bizarre situation. "Lincoln… Lincoln Loud."
"Well, Lincoln. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to the Hazbin Hotel!" Charlie happily greeted the white-haired boy.
"The Hazbin Hotel?"
"Yes. A place where sinners can check in and rehabilitate their souls so that they can be worthy of earning a place in Heaven."
There was a long moment of absolute silence that filled the room.
"A hotel… in Hell… where demons can redeem themselves… and go to Heaven?" Lincoln tried to see if he understood that.
"Yes," Charlie confirmed with a smile. However, this was a rather nervous smile. In the past, she had been met with laughter and ridicule for her idea, and now she was afraid this young human would do the same.
Everyone prepared for what they thought was about to come.
"Does it work?"
Once again, not quite the reaction they were expecting.
"Well… not yet exactly," Charlie uneasily admitted. "We're still trying to work out the kinks." It was time to change the subject. "But anyway, let me introduce everyone living here. This is Vaggie, the hotel's manager," she introduced the one-eyed Hispanic woman.
"Hey," she bluntly greeted. She didn't look like she completely trusted the kid.
"This is Alastor, our facility manager."
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, young Mr. Lincoln," the creepy smiling demon greeted.
"This is Husk, our concierge and bartender."
"Don't bother me," the cat demon said chugging a bottle.
"Niffty, our housekeeper."
"Nice to meet you," the one-eyed girl greeted. "I'm always excited to make new friends. You wanna be friends? Do you like killing bugs in many painful ways?"
"Uhhhhh…" Lincoln was a little creeped out by her disturbing question as well as the disturbing smile she had when she asked it.
"Here is Angel Dust, our first patron."
"Nice to meet ya', short round," the spider guy greeted. "You ever sneak a peek at any Playboy magazines your pops keeps hidden?"
"Uh… no," Lincoln denied.
Angel responded by raising an eyebrow with a mischievous smile. He wasn't quite convinced.
"And I am Charlie Morningstar," Charlie introduced herself. "The hotel's owner and Princess of all of Hell."
"Wait!" This caught Lincoln completely by surprise. "You're a princess?"
She nodded her head with a proud smile.
Lincoln had never seen a princess who wore a tuxedo before, but a princess was a princess. As not to seem disrespectful, he bowed to her. "Uh, nice to meet you, Your Majesty."
Charlie was caught off-guard by this display of respect and happy tears started forming in her eyes. She couldn't control herself any longer. She grabbed the boy and pulled him into a tight hug.
"You are just the sweetest thing ever!"
"Well, at least he has manners," Vaggie remarked.
"Indeed," Alastor agreed showing some intrigue. This child was becoming more and more interesting by the minute.
After a while, Charlie finally released Lincoln from her tight hug allowing him to breath again.
"So, does this mean your dad is Satan?" he asked.
"Lucifer, actually," Charlie politely corrected. "Satan is more of an uncle to me."
"Okay, if we're done with introductions, can we get one thing cleared up," Vaggie interrupted. She still had some questions that needed to be answered. "How did you get here in the first place?"
"Well, it all started when I accidentally busted my sister's new invention," Lincoln explained. "She had built a teleporter that would allow people to travel to different places without the need for airplanes."
"Your sister must be quite the technical genius," Husk commented.
"And she's only five."
Hearing that caused the bartender to spit out his drink. "What?!"
"Anyway, when I tried to fix it, a portal opened up and sucked me in. The next thing I knew, I was here in Hell."
"How would a human know how to build a machine that could open a portal to Hell?" Vaggie wondered.
"I don't think that was her intention. She's not really the religious type."
The demonic hotel crew began pondering to themselves. So far this was the strangest thing to ever happen in the history of Hell. What could this mean? What should be done about it? Was there anyone who had answers?
"Excuse me," Lincoln timidly said getting everyone's attention. "I'm really glad to have met you all and grateful that you haven't done anything bad to me, but would it be possible for someone to help me get back to Earth?"
The white-haired boy looked up at them with pleading eyes. The demon folk looked back down at him, but their facial expressions turned quite grave. Alastor still had his smile, but his eyes said what he was really feeling.
"Is something wrong?" Lincoln didn't like the looks on their faces.
"Look, Lincoln," Vaggie said. She really didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. "We don't know exactly what it was that brought you here to Hell."
"I told you it was my sister's invention."
"Yes, but you also said she never intended it to be used to travel to other worlds like… well, this. This can only mean that something else, something you didn't know about, played a part in this."
"Like what?"
"We're not sure. What I'm trying to say is… is…"
"You're up shit creek, kid," Angel finished the sentence. This was becoming too painful to watch.
"Angel!" Vaggie did not appreciate him interrupting so bluntly.
"What? You were taking too fucking long, bitch. Just say it already and get it over with."
"What she means is…" Charlie took over. "We would help if we could, but something like this has never happened before. We don't know how to get you back home. I'm so sorry, Lincoln."
Silence followed right after. A look of utter despair formed on Lincoln's face as the realization that he was essentially trapped in Hell and no one knew how to get him back. He couldn't go home, see his family or friends, or even perform the magic show he had planned, possibly ever again. Slowly, he turned and walked over to the bar. He sat up on one of the stools and buried his face in his arms as he rested them on the counter.
The hotel couldn't help but feel sympathy for the poor boy's plight. Husk would offer him a drink if he wasn't underage. The usually crass Angel Dust couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid. Even Niffty looked sad. Vaggie looked at Lincoln with a sad frown, he was a lost child in Hell unable to return home.
He had no idea how much she could relate.
For Alastor, he looked like he was handling this a little better than everyone else. Sympathy wasn't one of his major character traits. Often he found amusement in the misfortune of others, no matter their age. However, for some reason he couldn't help but feel some shred of pity for the kid.
Charlie, on the other hand, looked like she was about to start crying. She felt so bad for him. He was just a child who had the unfortunate luck of winding up in Hell before his life even expired, and from what little time they spent together, she believed he wasn't a soul deserving of being here. It wasn't fair. She walked over to the bar to see if she could try and cheer him up.
"Lincoln," she said softly and gently put a hand on his shoulder.
The white-haired boy lifted his head and looked up at her. She noticed that there were already tears in his eyes, who could blame him. Trapped in Hell with demons of all sorts of different shapes and sizes and very dangerous, most would not think twice about threatening the life of a child for kicks. He didn't care how crazy if was back home or how much he was neglected; it was his life. Listening to Luna's jams, enduring Luan's puns and pranks, helping Leni with her designs, playing with Lynn despite how rowdy she was, helping Lucy write poems, making Lisa's favorite sandwiches, having fun with the twins, tucking lily in bed, eating Dad's food, reading Mom's novels, video chatting with Lori and Ronnie Anne, and hanging out with Clyde and the rest of their friends.
He would never be able to do any of that ever again.
How could he get it all back?
"Just because something has never happened before doesn't mean it's not possible," Charlie said. "Despite what everyone else tells me, I still believe a soul in Hell can redeem itself and be able to go to Heaven. Who's to say a live human who winds up in Hell can't find a way back to Earth?"
Lincoln knew what she was trying to do, and he appreciated it, but they were just hopes and beliefs without concrete evidence. That wasn't enough for him. Realizing this, Charlie decided to try another approach.
"You know, whenever I'm feeling down, I like to sing and dance. It always cheers me up," she said gently wiping the boy's tears away.
"I'm not sure that will work for me," the boy politely declined.
"Well, there's one way to find out," the princess replied optimistically. "With a little advice from the great Gene Kelly."
"Here we go," Vaggie said. She knew what was coming.
You may think that nothing gets better with a little song and dance the princess sang.
But you may just learn to like it if you give it a chance
You could laugh and sing and dance as gaily as an elf
But just in case you don't believe me, why don't you try it yourself
"Will you try?"
"If you show me," Lincoln reluctantly agreed.
"I'll show you."
"Okay."
1, 2, 3, 4 Charlie tapped her feet.
1, 2, 3, 4 Lincoln copied her movements.
1, 2, 3
1, 2, 3
La-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la
"You see?"
"It's easy!"
Charlie took Lincoln's hand and they both walked out into the middle of the lobby, doing a little tap before and when they got there. Charlie showed Lincoln a little tap dancing, but when the boy tried to repeat, he slipped and landed on his rear. The princess covered her eyes to avoid making him feel embarrassed, then grabbed the collar of his polo and helped him back on his feet.
Next, the two started tap dancing a little slower before speeding it up. This time Lincoln was able to keep up. Also, he started looking much happier. The two skipped and tapped to the left staying in perfect sync.
Charlie did a little tap dancing while Lincoln skated on the floor between her long legs. Soon the two started tap dancing together until Charlie reached between her legs, grabbed Lincoln's hands, and threw him in front of her. He did a somersault in the air before landing on his feet.
Next, the two leaned back and held themselves off the floor with one arm while kicking their legs out, switching arms with each kick. After that, the two stood up. Charlie crouched down allowing Lincoln to jump over her. Lincoln did the same. After some more tap dancing, Charlie allowed Lincoln to run up her left leg and take a seat on her right arm. Then she flexed her arm making the boy bounce over her head onto her other arm and then back again until he hopped off and back onto the floor.
After helping the kid back on his feet, the two performed some hopping moves. Soon the two were hopping up and down in place. Lincoln defied a little physics by laying on his side in thin air. Noticing this, Charlie pulled him down and set him on her left side. Next, the two performed some skipping moves before returning to where their dance started.
"Look at me! I'm dancing!" Lincoln said proudly, earning applause from the rest of the hotel crew.
Now it was time for the climax. Charlie stuck her leg out and started spinning. Lincoln managed to duck a few times to avoid getting hit, then he started jumping over a few times. Then he landed on the princess's leg and they both spun together until she stopped, and he jumped back onto the floor. The two performed a couple jumping jack moves combined with spinning. Finally, the two scooted along the floor with their knees close to the ground before standing up and taking a victory pose together.
The room erupted with applause from the rest of the staff.
Lincoln was now feeling much better.
"Thanks, Your Highness," the white-haired boy said extremely grateful.
"Please, call me Charlie."
"If you think there is a way to get a soul from Hell into Heaven, then could a soul also find a way to Earth?"
"I'm positive," Charlie replied enthusiastically and gave the kid a hug. "Now if there was just some way we can…" Then she got an idea. "Lincoln, how would like to stay here at the hotel until we figure out a way to get you home?"
"Whoa hon, hold on a sec," Vaggie interrupted in a disagreeing tone. "This is a place for sinners to have a chance to rehabilitate themselves. Technically, he's not a sinner, not yet at least. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to allow a human to stay here."
"But Vaggie, where else can he go?" Charlie argued in a pleading tone. "We can't just leave him to fend for himself, it's dangerous out there. Please can we keep him here? Please?" She turned on the puppy dog eyes.
"Yeah Vagina, have a heart," Angel taunted her.
Vaggie rolled her eye, took a deep breath, and then relented. "Alright."
"Yay! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Charlie exclaimed delighted. She hugged her hotel's manager and gave her a kiss on the cheek to which Vaggie smiled and blushed at.
Lincoln looked back and forth between the two women as he realized what was going on between them, and he liked it. These two weren't just friends and coworkers, they were girlfriends.
"But since you're not a sinner, you can't be an official patron," Vaggie said to the boy in a commanding tone. "So, if you're going to stay here, you're going to work for it. We already have one annoying freeloader," she said glaring over at Angel Dust who flipped her off. "So what can you do?"
"I have an idea," Charlie announced. "Follow me, Lincoln."
She took the boy's hand and led him away.
After a few minutes, the princess returned to the lobby with a big smile on her face.
"Ladies and Gentledemons, allow me to introduce…" she announced excitedly. "… our new bellhop!"
She stepped aside to reveal Lincoln who was now dressed in a red bellhop coat and hat, dark grey pants, and dark brown shoes.
"Nice duds, squirt," Angel complimented.
"Welcome to the hotel," Husk said.
"We're going to have so much fun!" Niffty said excited.
"Happy to be included," Lincoln said with uncertainty, but with a little hope.
"I'll be looking forward to seeing where this goes," Alastor voiced his interest.
"Well, I think we've all had enough fun for one day," Vaggie said rubbing her eye.
"Time for bed, everyone," Charlie announced.
As the rest of the hotel staff were heading off to their rooms to turn in, Charlie led Lincoln to the room where he would be staying.
Later that night, in her own bedroom which she shared with Vaggie, Charlie was doing some late-night research. The two women shared a king size bed, Vaggie was sleeping on the left side while Charlie was sitting on the right surrounded by a dozen books and reading every single one of them trying to find something that could give her a clue on how to make her hotel work and help Lincoln. Sleeping at the foot of the bed was a one-eyed black and white cat named KeeKee.
Charlie looked through book after book but found nothing of value. She groaned in annoyance.
"There has to be something in these books that can help," she said to herself. "He's just a little kid. Cute, sweet, someone like that really doesn't deserve to be in Hel–" then suddenly, it hit her. She got an idea.
The princess got up, walked over to the bookshelf and started grabbing and throwing books onto the floor until she found the one she was looking for. She returned to her spot on the bed and began skimming through the book. She skimmed back a few pages when she believed she had gone too far. She gasped in surprise when she started reading a certain page. She continued to read with a look of pure excitement on her face.
"Could it be?"
"Vaggie?" she gently shook her girlfriend to wake. "Vaggie, wake up!"
"What is it, hon?" she asked yawning.
"I think I might have figured out the answer to our new bellhop's situation. Look at this." She held the book in front of her one-eyed lover.
Vaggie read what was in front of her for a moment until her sleepy eye went wide at what she had just read.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Not 100 percent, but I have this feeling…" Charlie admitted.
"I don't know." Vaggie had her doubts about the hotel but still held hope. This however, seemed a little too farfetched for her. "It could be just a bad coincidence. I mean… he's just a kid."
"I know, Vaggie. But if this is true, he could be… the One."
