"Glad to hear you're doing alright, kid," the voice of Cherri Bomb was heard from a mobile phone. "Tell Angie I'll see him soon."
"You got it, Cherri," Lincoln Loud said. "Try not to get into too much trouble."
"Kid, when the fuck have I ever done otherwise?" Cherri replied with a chuckle.
"Sorry to give you all a scare last time," Lincoln apologized to the readers. "But now that I'm all better, I can finally get back to work and help Charlie run and improve this hotel. And once we figure out how to redeem the souls of sinners and send them to Heaven, then we'll be one step closer to figuring out how to send me home."
The white-haired human boy then ended the call. "Good thing Charlie and Vaggie got me one of these hellphones," he said to the readers and began changing out of his pajamas and into his bellhop uniform. Now that he was feeling better, everyone could stop worrying. It was time for another day of working at the hotel and help Charlie's dream become a reality, then perhaps he could find a way to return home to his family.
Once he had changed, Lincoln headed right down to the lobby. There he found Vaggie sitting in a chair, Angel Dust sitting on a couch, and both were watching Charlie nervously pace back and forth with KeeKee walking alongside her. Disturbed by this, the boy walked over to Vaggie to ask her about the situation.
"How bad is it?" he whispered.
The one-eyed manager looked at him with a frown.
"Oh, that bad." The young bellboy took a seat on the couch next to Angel and watched as his employer anxiously rambled on about the dire situation her home was in.
"Okay. So, the Extermination is coming in six months instead of a year," Charlie explained nervously. "No big deal, just a little setback. Nothing we can't handle. Just angels cutting our timetable in half. But who needs a whole year to save souls? Am I right?!" It was time to start panicking. "And next time when they cut the time in half again, and again, we'll just handle it, right?!"
"Yes!" Vaggie assured trying to calm her girlfriend. "We will."
"Try to relax, Charlie," Lincoln said. "If we put our heads together, we'll figure something out."
"Oh please," a skeptical Angel spoke. "You had less than half a chance when you started all this salvation bullshit. And now…" He was momentarily interrupted when his phone vibrated and he received a ton of threatening and insulting text messages from his boss. "Ain't no silver lining this time, toots."
"Sure there is." Despite how anxious she was feeling, Charlie still stayed a beacon of optimism. Something Lincoln still admired about her.
"I'm with Charlie on this," the white-haired, like-minded boy said taking the princess's side. "Back home, things don't always go right. In fact, they rarely do for me. But most of the time they all work out in the end."
"That's right," Charlie agreed with Lincoln. "We just… have to look a little harder for it."
Angel was still not convinced. "Well, while you're all lookin', the rest of Hell is goin' nuts." He held up his phone so they all could see the article he was reading. "People are already freakin' out about the news. Look at what's happenin' in the Doomsday District."
Just as he was showing them the article, a text notification from Angel's boss popped up which caught Charlie and Lincoln's attention.
"What is a donkey show?" the curious and confused princess asked reading the text.
"Nothin'!" the anxious porn actor replied and retreated his phone back. "My boss, Val, is just freaked out about the news too."
"What does he mean by donkey show?" Lincoln whispered to Vaggie.
"Trust me, you don't want to know, kid," she replied.
"Like I said, everyone's losin' their shit," Angel finished.
"Yeah, that's true," Lincon agreed. This started giving him an idea. "Sinners are desperate."
Vaggie had the same idea. "Maybe desperate enough to try anything to escape the Extermination?"
Charlie gasped as she realized what they were saying. Perhaps this was the silver lining she was looking for. "This is the perfect time to recruit more sinners for the hotel!"
"Cute idea and all," a still skeptical Angel interrupted. "But you really gonna go out in all of this?" He showed a recording on his phone of demons panicking.
"Well, it's not like people are just gonna show up on our doorstep."
Suddenly, there was a massive explosion behind them. Vaggie grabbed Lincoln to keep him safe. Everyone turned to see a huge hole in the wall.
"Show yourself, Alastor!" a sinister yet familiar-sounding voice called from outside.
"Wait, is that…?" Lincoln said recognizing the voice.
Outside, Sir Pentious and his Egg Boiz had arrived in his weaponized airship.
"Come and face…" the snake demon yelled, but then paused when no one came out of the hole he'd just made. He looked up a little to find the person he was looking for sitting on the second floor balcony peacefully sipping coffee. "Oh, there you are. Face my WRATH!"
"Who are you?" the Radio Demon casually asked.
"Who am I?" the insulted snake demon repeated. "Who am I?! I am the great Sir Pentious! Inventor, architect of destruction, villain extraordinaire!"
While the wannabe supervillain was boasting, Alastor turned himself into a fog and descended to the ground in front of the hotel entrance where he was joined by the others who had come out to see what all the commotion was about.
"Oh great, it's that guy again," Lincoln said not looking forward to a second encounter with the snake demon.
"Ooh, you tell 'em, boss!" one of the Egg Boiz cheered for his master.
Niffty appeared on Alastor's shoulder and gazed up at the boastful, self-proclaimed conqueror of Hell, starstruck. "Oooooo, he's a bad boy!"
"Ha! Well, if all that is true, you'd think I'd have heard of you," the unintimidated and unimpressed Radio Demon said putting the cleaning lady down on the ground.
"I attacked you literally last week," Pentious reminded him, to which Alastor coked his head in confusion.
"Alastor, do you know this guy too?" Lincoln asked catching on.
"We've done battle, like… 20 times."
"Well, you must have been really bad at this," the Radio Demon replied.
"Silence!" The snake demon finally had enough. "Now cower! For when I've slain you, the almighty Vees will finally acknowledge me as their equal!"
"Ooh!" Niffty exclaimed reappearing on Alastor's shoulder. "Wait, who are the Vees?"
"Oh, nobody important," Alastor dismissed.
While Alastor was preparing to deal with their uninvited guest, Lincoln had the same question Niffty had on his mind.
"Who are the Vees?" the young human asked Vaggie.
"A trio of very powerful overlords in the city," she answered.
"Overlords?" was the boy's next question.
"A powerful class of demons that rule over certain parts of Hell, each commanding a domain of influence that sinners submit to. Most of the city is run by overlords. They command respect from and instill fear in all lesser demons. Alastor there is an overlord."
"Whoa!" Lincoln exclaimed. He always suspected that Alastor was a very powerful demonic authority figure. Now that suspicion was confirmed. Then he looked up at Sir Pentious. "Is he–"
"Ha! He wishes," Angel responded with a chuckle.
"Overlords get their power from the number of souls they own," Vaggie continued. "Usually by making contracts and deals. They are unbreakable and give overlords full possession over people's souls allowing them to use them however way they want. Some overlords can form alliances and combine the number of souls each one owns to exploit and increase their own power and influence. One such alliance is the Vees, who have influence over the media industry; There's Velvette, the overlord in charge of social media; Valentino, the overlord of the adult entertainment industry; and Vox, the overlord of television and CEO of VoxTek Enterprises. Together they form one of the most dangerous trios you could ever meet."
Lincoln was both shocked and impressed by all the knowledge he had learned. The name 'Valentino' sounded familiar. He remembered hearing that name from the thugs who tried to drug Angel Dust and Cherri Bomb.
"Word of advice, kid, stay away from the Vees," Angel said. He was being unusually serious about this. "Don't trust any of them, and especially don't make any deals with them. It'll be the biggest regret of your entire existence."
In the amount of time he'd gotten to know Angel, Lincoln had never seen him talk to him this seriously about anything. It sounded as if he was speaking from personal experience. Just who are the Vees and just how bad were they?
The V Tower, a tall, cylinder-shaped tower with 3 LED lights shaped like Vs at the top. It was the headquarters of the dreaded Vees and the base where they were able to spread their influence all across Pentagram City through commercial advertisements, social media trends, and adult films.
Vox, the defacto leader of the trio, was making his way up the tower to deal with an issue.
Vox had a tall and slim figure. His head was a flat-screen television monitor that projected two red eyes and a big mouth full of sharp cyan teeth. His skin was dark navy-blue, and he had sharp, cyan claw-like fingers. He wore a navy-blue tuxedo with thin cyan stripes and lining worn over a red and black striped waistcoat with a red bowtie. He also wore gray shoes with cyan laces and toes. On the top of his head was a black top hat with a red broadcast symbol and two antennae sticking out the top.
He had just talked with Velvette, one of his fellow Vees, and heard that their partner, Valentino had thrown a tantrum and ripped her best fashion model limb from limb.
Velvette had a short and slim figure with brown skin and long curly red and dark hair with white swirled streaks which she wore in a variety of styles. She had red eyes with white irises and black lips. She wore a variety of clothing but one thing that was always constant was her skull earrings. She always carried her phone with her and spoke in an English accent.
After complaining about his boy toy's tantrum, she sent Vox upstairs to deal with the piss baby. The CEO made his way up to the room of his partner, who was still very much upset.
Valentino was tall and slender with lavender skin, red eyes, and mouth full of light red teeth with a single gold fang. He had four arms. He wore a red top hat with a zebra-printed hatband with zebra-printed antennae poking out like feathers. He seemingly wore a long red coat with zebra-printed fur on the edges and hearts around the collar. He also wore four black gloves and a pair of heart-shaped glasses. He also had a Hispanic accent.
All the Vees were considered ruthless overlords to work under, but Valentino was probably the worst one. He was a pimp who abused the souls under him mercilessly. Not even those serving his partners were safe from him. But there was one particular soul he enjoyed toying with, abusing, and desired absolute control over more than any other.
Vox was greeted by two moth demons who opened the doors allowing him to enter their master's room. He entered to find a big cloud of red smoke sitting on a couch and the silhouette of his partner laying within it.
"Fucking finally!" the enraged four-armed overlord said sitting up and throwing a glass onto the floor. "Kitty, another drink!" he ordered a harlequin-like robot. "Can you believe what that piece of shit did?" The robot handed him his new drink. "THE UNGRATEFUL WHORE!" Then he threw it at the door.
An unamused Vox stepped aside to avoid getting hit by the glass.
"Which whore are we talking about this time?" the TV demon asked.
"Fucking Angel Dust!" the furious pimp demon replied. "Who the fuck else would I be talking about?! That fucking slut walked out on me! ME! I fucking made him! Without me, he's just a bag of meat with some mildly entertaining holes."
"Angel quit?" Vox asked looking at his phone.
"NO! He didn't fucking quit! It's worse! He MOVED!" Val yelled taking Vox's phone and throwing it at the wall, breaking it, much to the latter's annoyance. "He thinks he can just walk in here, work, and then go home somewhere else? Can you FUCKING believe that?! He thinks he can run off and shack up with Lucifer's bimbo daughter!"
"Angel is living with Lucifer's daughter now?" Vox asked a little surprised.
"YEAH! That bitch Chuckie or Chandler, I don't know, something mannish like that," Val answered while searching through a closet. "She's got this hotel and – which of these makes me look sexier?" he asked holding up two pistols.
"What are you doing, Val?" Vox asked nervously with a chuckle. "You're not going over there."
Vox enjoyed the power, and other things, that came with them, but Valentino could be very difficult to deal with. He had a terrible temper and often threw tantrums if he didn't get everything his way, which often put their reputation at risk.
However, Val was too busy loading his gun angrily. "That slippery twink is going to remember who owns him. I'm gonna fuck everyone in that rancid shithole, I swear to god!"
"VAL!" Vox furiously said grabbing his partner by the collar to get his attention before calming down to speak with him civilly. "Think about it. Our brand is perfection, and what do you think chasing whore around town will do for our image?" he asked taking his partner's gun away.
"Um… fuck it up?" a confused Val answered.
"Right! Do you want people thinking you can't control your employees?"
"No!"
"Exactly! And hey, you still have him under contract, he isn't going anywhere. So… you should…"
"Do nothing?"
"Great idea! Now that's why they pay you the big bucks."
The TV demon managed to calm his aggressive partner, but the latter still wasn't satisfied.
"I really wanted to shoot someone," Val complained getting out a cigarette holder.
"Well, let me call up the lowest earners this month," Vox offered lighting the cigarette with a spark from his fingertip.
"Oh, you know me too well," the multiarmed pimp chucked both affectionately and sadistically as he took a puff from his cigarette. However, he had more to inform his partner about than just an unruly porn star. "You know, Angel isn't the only one spending time at this ratty hotel with the devil's princesa."
"Oh? Who else is there?" Vox asked not following. "Someone who owes you money?"
Val chuckled. He had no idea. "Someone who owes us much more than money… the Radio Demon is there."
Hearing this made Vox's eyes go wide and his head spark with electricity. He scratched the desk he was at, deep.
"What did you just say?" he asked tensely turning to his partner.
"You heard me."
"Alastor… came back…" Vox said as he walked over to Val. His voice was beginning to drip with rage. "And he is with Lucifer's daughter… and that wasn't the FIRST FUCKING THING YOU TOLD ME?!" he screamed with fury as he grabbed his partner's collar.
"Hey, killing Alastor is your kink," Val responded unintimidated.
The pimp demon turned on one of the video monitors. The TV demon teleported closer to the monitor to get a closer look where he saw the Radio Demon at the front entrance of the hotel doing battle with Sir Pentious's airship.
The scene was being captured by a VoxTek Voyeur spy drone in the area. Alastor had summoned some giant tentacles to attack the snake demon's ship all the while laughing maniacally as his foe screamed and pleaded for mercy much to the amusement of Angel Dust and the disturbance of Charlie and Lincoln.
"Um… Alastor," Charlie said trying to get her partner's attention. "I think he's had enough."
"Nah, he's got a few more hits in him," Angel disagreed.
"Come on, this isn't a fair fight," Lincoln said. At this point, he couldn't help but take pity on the wannabe conqueror.
Eventually, Sir Pentious fell out of his ship and landed face first on the ground in front of everyone.
"Thanks for another forgettable experience," the Radio Demon said mockingly.
"Thank you…" the seemingly defeated Sir Pentious replied. "For letting your guard down!" Then with one quick movement, he used his tail to tear off a small piece of Alastor's coat. The snake demon cackled triumphantly before being silenced by an ominous antlered shadow looming over him. "Oh shit!"
There was a massive explosion of green smoke, and the kingpin was sent flying far away into the distance.
"Wow!" Lincoln exclaimed shocked. If the Radio Demon would do something like that for a slight that small, just imagine what he would do if someone really pissed him off. "Remind me to handle your clothes with extra care."
"A wise decision, my lad," Alastor replied. "Well, it looks as though I need a visit to the tailor."
"Really?" The rip in his coat was barely noticeable.
"Best of luck, chums."
"Wait, you're leaving?" Vaggie stopped him. "Alastor, we need your help. We need you to do your job."
"We need a wall," Angel reminded him of the big hole in the wall left by Sir Pentious.
"It won't look appealing to potential customers," Lincoln added.
"Of course!" the Radio Demon agreed. "Can't let my new project fall into disrepair already. What would the papers say?"
With the snap of a finger, Alastor conjured up some black ink demons in hardhats and carrying construction tools and then was off.
Taking an interest in the muscular of the demons, Angel shoved Vaggie aside, gently nudged Lincoln out of the way, and walked over to the demon and started flirting.
"Hey, sweet cheeks," the horny spider demon said flirtatiously. "Whatcha doin' later? I love me a man with a giant… tool."
"See?!" Valentino complained while watching the scene on the monitor. "Look at how he flirts with that guy, and he's not even paying!"
"Um… Angel," Lincoln said. "I think you should just let these guys do their work. Besides, I'm not even sure they're entirely sentient."
"Oh, Lincoln," the porn actor said affectionately patting his young friend on the head. "It doesn't matter whether they're real or not. What matters is how big they got it. Right?"
"Uhh… I guess…" the boy replied uncomfortably. He didn't understand exactly what he was referring to, and considering what kind of person he was, he didn't think he wanted to know.
"That's right, squirt," Angel congratulated him with a little kiss on the forehead. "Keep thinking like that and we'll make you a man in no time."
Despite the porn star trying to be genuinely nice, he was just weirding the poor kid out.
"Look at that!" Val angrily said noticing his prized star interacting with a boy dressed in a bellhop uniform. "Is he into kids too and he didn't tell me?! That fucking shameless SLUT! Think of all the films we could have made if I had known THAT!" Then he started focusing more on the boy. "Who is that little runt? Is this all his fault? I'm gonna kill his whole fucking family! Vox? VOX!"
But Vox wasn't paying attention to Val, Angel, or the boy. His fury-filled eyes were focused only on the sight of Alastor walking away from the hotel. The screen glitched making it hard to get any details of the Radio Demon, but it was him without a doubt.
"THAT FUCKER'S BACK!" Vox declared.
"Yeah, I thought he was gone for good too," Val said with a grin.
"It's been seven years!" the TV demon said.
"You still pissed he almost beat you that time?" Val teased and pinched his partner's cheek.
"Uh, fuck you!" he snapped.
"Just saying."
"Things have changed a lot since he left town."
"That's for sure."
"I gotta send a message of who's REALLY in charge of things NOW!" Vox declared with a diabolical smile.
With that, the CEO began leaving the room to head down to his surveillance room.
"Well, good luck with that," Val bid his partner farewell.
However, on the way, Vox looked back at the monitors. Not to see his hated rival, but to take one last look at the bellboy on the screen. He didn't what it was but there was something about that kid that felt off to him. That could wait. Right now, he had something more important to deal with.
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, after dealing with an intruder and the damage he caused in the process of being repaired, it was time for the hotel residents to focus back on how to recruit more patrons and speed up the redemption process. Unfortunately, neither would be easy.
"Now that the damage is being repaired, it's time to get back to thinking about how we get more sinners to join the hotel," Vaggie said.
"I have an idea," Lincoln announced. "Back home, I'm known as the 'Master of Convincing'."
"Ooh!" Charlie was intrigued. "So how does it work?"
"The key to convincing is to use your strengths. For me, it's dressing professionally and having a well written speech handy."
"Ohh! I think I get it," Charlie seemed to understand. "Come on, Vaggie. Let's go out there and recruit more patrons!"
"Well, if all else fails perhaps we can use their fear and desperation to survive the Extermination to convince them," the one-eyed Spanish woman remarked.
"Do you need me to come too?" Lincoln asked.
"No thanks, Lincoln," Charlie replied. "Why don't you stay here today?"
"After that incident that one night, we think it would be safer for you to stay at the hotel for the time being," Vaggie said.
"But what if you need my help to convince sinners?" the boy asked. It felt it would be more helpful if he went with them.
"Don't worry, Lincoln," Charlie assured him. "You just be prepared to serve them when we arrive with them. Bye."
"Good luck," the white-haired bellboy reluctantly bid the two women farewell as they left the hotel in search of more patrons.
With Alastor gone to the tailor and Charlie and Vaggie out looking for more patrons, the only company Lincoln had were Angel Dust, Husk, and Niffty. Angel sat on a couch looking at his phone, Husk was drinking at his bar, and Niffty was chasing a bug.
"So, do you guys need anything?" the boy asked the other demons.
"No thanks," Angel responded.
"I'm good," Niffty said still trying to catch and kill her prey.
"Looks like today's gonna be slow. So, why don't you take a break, kid?" Husk suggested.
"Alright, I'll be back soon," Lincoln said and left to head up to his room.
In his room, Lincoln changed into his normal clothes and sat on the bed in his room. He decided to turn on the TV to pass the time. Perhaps he could find something family friendly to watch. He began surfing the channels until a Breaking News report came on. But instead of Katie Killjoy and Tom Trench, a man with a flatscreen tv for a head appeared on 666 News.
"Top of the hour, and we're discussing a certain has-been who has been spotted cavorting around town after a 7-year absence!" the tv man announced in a fast paced and musical-sounding tone. "Did anybody miss him? Did anybody notice? More on tonight's program!"
This had to be Vox, Lincoln thought. One of the dreadful and powerful Vees he had heard about. After noticing a poorly drawn and very degrading drawing of Alastor, it was apparent he was using this time to slander the Radio Demon on public television.
"So, the Radio Demon is back in town! Why is he hanging around? What does that mean for your family? Well, handily, I've got good news! He's a loser, a fossil, and I don't mean to sound hostile, but the demon is a coward!"
Lincoln was not impressed by the tv demon's performance in the slightest.
"You can take that as gospel! Pulling my viewers? Impossible! I'm visual, he's barely audible! Stop giving him the time of day! Don't listen to a word he'd say! I hope he had a nice vacay, but he should have stayed away!"
Lincoln sat shaking his head disappointedly. And he thought Sir Pentious was pathetic.
While he hid in radio the tv demon sang.
We pivoted to video!
Now his medium is getting bloody rare!
Hell's been better since he split
Where's he been?
Who gives a shit?!
"Salutations!" Alastor's voice suddenly came from the radio in Lincoln's room much to the boy's surprise. "Good to be back on the air!"
Vox glared over at the radio from the tv. It was as if he could feel it through the television.
"Yes, I know it's been a while since someone with style treated Hell to a broadcast," Alastor said also in a musical tone. "Sinners rejoice!"
"What a dated voice!" Vox retorted.
"Instead of a clout-chasing mediocre video podcast."
"Come on!"
Alastor must have caught the news and returned to the hotel. Now he must be in his radio tower countering his rival's slander.
"Is Vox insecure, pursuing allure? Flitting between this fad and that. Is nothing working?"
"Ignore his chirping!"
"Every day he's got a new format!"
"You're looking at the future! He's the shit that comes before that!"
Lincoln was starting to enjoy this musical conflict between the demons that represented the two most well-known mediums of electronic entertainment. He looked forward to seeing who would come out on top. Though he had a feeling it would be Alastor in the end; Vox was freaking out and he wasn't.
Is Vox as strong as he purports? the Radio Demon sang.
Or is it based on his support?
He'd be powerless without the other Vees!
"Oh, please!"
Lincoln could barely hold back his laughter. THAT was a good burn!
And here's the sugar on the cream
He asked ME to join his team!
"Hold on!"
I said no, and now he's pissy! That's the tea
Lincoln was at a loss for words. THAT was it! The decisive final blow!
"You old-timey prick! I'll show you suffering!" At this point, Vox was done singing and playing around. He was mad. Beyond mad, furious!
"Uh oh, the TV is buffering!" Alastor responded unintimidated by his rival's threats.
"I'LL DESTROY YYYYYYYYOOOOOOOUUUUUUU!"
Vox got so mad that he overloaded everything electronic and caused a citywide blackout with the exception of the hotel. The tv set in Lincoln's room went out leaving only the radio working.
"I'm afraid you've lost your signal!"
But the Radio Demon wasn't done. He had one more ominous message to send.
Let's begin!
I'm gonna make you wish that I'd stayed gone!
Tune on in
When I'm done, your status quo will know it's race is run!
Oh, this will be fun!
With that, the Radio Demon ended his broadcast with one last sinister laugh. Somewhere, Vox was freaking out knowing that his rival was still as popular and powerful as he was last time.
"Well, looks like Radio killed the Video star!" a satisfied Lincoln remarked with a chuckle. Then the moment faded. "Man, I miss Luna and Luan."
Later on, Vox called the rest of the Vees for an emergency meeting. They all sat at a meeting table while Kitty, Valentino's robot harlequin, was serving them drinks. The room also had vicious-looking plants and the walls were aquariums with techno glowing sharks swimming around. While Vox explained the situation, Velvette scrolled through her phone and Val was decorating his gun.
"Two things: we have a problem and something else," the tv demon said. "First, Alastor is getting close to little princess Morningstar, so our main concern now is ensuring no deal is ever struck between Lucifer's BRAT and that smiling freak."
"Well, how exactly are we supposed to stop it?" Velvette asked.
"Put something inside them," Val suggested. "That's how I get the bitches to behave."
"Well, maybe someone on the inside isn't such a bad idea," Vox said. "Do you think Angel would?"
"That lanky prick won't even return my calls."
"Second, take a look at this," the tv demon said taking out a remote and hitting a button. A tv monitor appeared on the table and on it was a screen capture of Angel Dust talking with Lincoln. "Zoom in." Vox hit another button and the screen zoomed in more on the boy's face.
The other two Vees were confused at what their leader was trying to show them.
"It's a scrawny bellboy," Velvette said. "So what?"
"I remember that runt," Val commented.
"Something about that bellhop seems… off to me," Vox explained. "I can't quite put my finger on it. Despite his unimpressive appearance, I feel he may be someone we should keep tabs on. There must be something about him that has caught the interest of Alastor and Princess Morningstar."
"Wonder how he'd look in leather," Val pondered.
"He looks like just another one of those losers waltzing about out there," Velvette said.
"Maybe. But when it comes to the Radio Demon, I don't gamble with maybes," Vox declared. "So, our secondary concern is to find out who that little runt is and why Alastor and the princess are so interested in him."
"And how are we going to do all this?" Velvette asked.
Vox stood up and began walking around the table trying to think. "We need someone who Little Miss Bleeding Heart would take in."
"Someone pathetic, desperate, with no direct ties to us?" Velvette suggested.
"I employ every down on their luck loser this side of Hell," Val informed. "Who the fuck is left?"
Then Vox got an idea. He knew such a person Velvette described who could be perfect for the job.
"I think I have… just the one," the tv demon announced with a sinister smile as two sharks swam ominously around his head.
Lincoln finished his break, changed back into his bellhop uniform, and headed down to the lobby to see if anyone needed him for anything. He arrived to find Niffty still chasing after the bug and Husk and Angel Dust were having an argument.
"I told you to stop hiding your damn drugs around my bar!" the catlike bartender yelled.
"And I told you to stop shedding on the couch!" the spiderlike porn actor yelled back. "Seriously, use a brush to get all that fur and not let fall everywhere!"
Lincoln looked back and forth between the two arguing demons.
"I swear the only reason I stay here is because that smiling freak isn't giving me a choice!"
"The only reason I'm staying here is because it's rent-free and it finally has some company that's… packing a little more junk!"
"I wonder if either of them have noticed I'm here," Lincoln said to the readers.
"Don't say THAT in front of the kid!" Husk yelled angrily.
"What, you should feel flattered, I finally found a pussy that I like," Angel remarked and laughed at his joke.
"Yeah, they have," Lincoln told the readers.
Just then, Charlie and Vaggie returned to the hotel. However, neither of them looked happy. The princess threw herself face flat on the couch and groaned in exhaustion and frustration. This was a sign that their search for new patrons had not gone very well.
"So, how'd it go?" Angel asked while looking through his phone.
"Not a single new recruit," Vaggie sighed in disappointment.
Lincoln lowered his head. It would seem his advice didn't help. The people of Hell sure were a tough crowd.
"Yeah well, who would want to use their last days not fucking and fighting?"
"There's more to life than… those two things, Angel," Lincoln said.
"Funny thing about life, kid," Angel replied. "When it's over, you end up down here, and that's all anyone can do for all eternity or until Extermination Day."
"Wouldn't you rather use your almost immortal existence to try and find a way to make things better?"
"Well, it's not like anything like that is gonna come knocking on the door."
Suddenly, a knock at the door was heard. Vaggie walked over to the hotel's front door and opened it, only to find… Sir Pentious standing right outside.
"Why hello, my dear," the snake demon greeted her with a smile.
The response was a sudden punch in the face. The wannabe kingpin fell to the ground when the hotel manager got out her spear and pointed it at him.
"Wait, wait, wait!" he pleaded. "I come in peace." He made the 'peace' sign with both hands.
However, Vaggie was not convinced. Within the past couple weeks, this guy had tried to attack the hotel twice and she was not about to let him try it a third time.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded.
"Vaggie, what's the problem?" Charlie appeared at the door with Lincoln beside her wondering what her girlfriend was up to. Then she noticed she was with the intruder from earlier. "Hello again," she greeted him politely.
"You again?!" Lincoln greeted less politely. "Haven't you suffered enough punishment for one day?"
"I didn't come looking for a fight," Sir Pentious insisted getting back up. "I… I heard that you're helping people. People who want to be better?"
Lincoln raised an eyebrow in suspicion. Something didn't feel right about this. However, Charlie gasped in amazement and excitement. For her, this was it. This was the opportunity she was looking for. A new patron for the hotel!
"You heard right!" she excitedly confirmed. "Welcome to our home of healing, our resort of restoration, our–"
"Are you fucking nuts?" Angel appeared at the door and interrupted. "This chump was trying to kill us like literally 6 hours ago."
"I'm afraid I'll have to side with Angel on this one, Charlie," Lincoln said taking the porn actor's side. "Failed attempt or not, attempted murder is still attempted murder."
"And now you wanna bring him in here to live with us?"
"Absolutely," Charlie defended Pentious and her decision. "This place is about second chances, and who deserves one more than this slithery… slippery… special little man?"
"Aren't you supposed to protect this place?" Angel asked Vaggie. He never thought he'd actually want her assistance for anything.
Vaggie was still just as distrustful of the snake demon as Angel and Lincoln were. However, looking at Charlie's big puppy-dog eyes begging her to give Sir Pentious a chance was too much for her.
"I guess he's not much of a threat without the war machine," the one-eyed hotel manager said. Lincoln frowned at her in disagreement while Pentious's hood lifted up with delight. "Or even with the war machine." Lincoln nodded, he could agree with that, while Pentious's hood collapsed in depression.
Charlie was so happy she hugged her girlfriend, lifting her off the ground and twirled her around before setting her back down. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Vaggie smiled as Charlie released her and went over to give their new guest a proper welcome.
"Sir Pentious! Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel!"
"Oh no darling, thank you," he replied. "You won't regret this."
As Charlie and Vaggie lead their new patron into the hotel, Lincoln and Angel watched him distrustfully.
"I give you a week," the spider demon said. "Tops."
"I give him a day," the boy said.
The two followed soon afterwards.
Charlie was now giving their guest the grand tour of the hotel, which she was really excited about.
"So, this is the bar and the bartender," she showed him the bar and Husk who was in the middle of drinking a bottle. "This is the curtain," she showed him the curtain to the hall on the second floor. "And this is the new wall after you broke the last one," she showed him the repaired wall. "This is–"
"Babe," Vaggie said grabbing her girlfriend to calm her down. "You don't have to show him every detail."
"Sorry, I'm just so excited to have our first real guest!"
"Uh, what the hell am I then?" an offended Angel asked.
"Well, you're an important part of our family here, Angel," Charlie explained. "But you…"
"Constantly make us look bad, sexually harass the staff, try to toxically influence Lincoln, and have literally never once tried to improve?" Vaggie bluntly finished Charlie's sentence.
"What she means is," Charlie said trying to put it tenderly while also looking over at sir Pentious, who was looking at what looked like a digital watch on his wrist. "It's just nice to have someone interested for once."
As Charlie walked over to continue the tour, she failed to notice how downtrodden Angel looked. He may not show it, but deep down he did care about her and hearing Vaggie's comments and Charlie's unintentional dismissal of him hurt more than they thought. Lincoln seemed to notice this and looked over at the porn star with sympathy.
"Over here we have our maid, Niffty," Charlie introduced Sir Pentious to their cleaning lady, who was playing with KeeKee.
The little one-eyed girl gasped when she saw the snake demon. "The bad boy is back!" She leapt onto his chest, grabbed his collar, and stared directly at him with a creepy smile. "Never leave me again!"
"We're about 80% sure she's harmless," Charlie assured.
"I'm going with 75%," Lincoln said.
"And here we have our cute, reliable, little bellhop, Lincoln Loud," Charlie happily introduced the boy.
"Hi, we've met," Lincoln bluntly greeted. "When you attacked Angel, Cherri, and me."
"Oh! That was you?" Sir Pentious said. "What a coincidence."
"Now Lincoln, be polite to our guest," Charlie insisted.
The boy sighed and tipped his hat. "I will use the best of my skills to provide you with excellent service."
"That's very nice of you," the snake demon replied. "Funny, we rarely see child sinners down here."
"Oh, he's not a sinner," Charlie corrected.
"What?!" the confused kingpin responded.
"He's a real live human!" she said excitedly.
Hearing this caused Pentious to gasp in complete shock and disbelief.
"But try to keep that a secret, okay?" Charlie whispered.
"Okay," he reluctantly agreed. Then he turned to the young bellboy. "Well, I look forward to learning more about you small… human… child."
"Me too," Lincoln replied making himself sound polite but hiding his suspicion.
"Now, over here we have–" Charlie attempted to continue the tour but suddenly came face-to-face with Alastor. "Oh! Alastor, our gracious facility manager. You've met our newest guest, Sir Pentious."
The snake demon waved to the Radio Demon.
Ah yes, you're the one who ruined my coat!" Alastor said recognizing the new patron. His eyes glowed red with murderous rage. "I definitely remember you now."
Both Sir Pentious and Lincoln looked very nervous. After all the attempts on the Radio Demon's life, it appeared the kingpin finally managed to do something to finally make his foe remember him. Although, now it might have been better for him if he hadn't.
"Well, I guess this is a great time for your first lesson: how to apologize," Charlie said trying to lighten the mood. "The first step to becoming a better person is to admit when you are wrong. Why don't you give it a try?"
The princess nudged Pentious closer to Alastor. However, this did not make him feel any less nervous. In fact, it made him feel more.
"Go on. We're right here," Lincoln said trying to make their new guest feel safer. Although, the boy didn't know how they would be able to stop Alastor from doing… anything.
"Yes… um…" the snake demon spoke. "Mr… Radio Demon, sir, please forgive me for attacking you and ruining your very lovely coat… here." As a token of apology, he handed over the small piece of fabric he tore off earlier.
"Ah-Ho! Not many people have been able to take even this much off me," Alastor replied sounded a little impressed as he accepted the gift. "It must have meant quite a lot to you."
Then he set the piece of fabric on fire right before the snake demon's eyes. All Charlie and Lincoln could do was hope he felt relieved that that's all he would do to him.
Later, Charlie, Vaggie, Lincoln, Angel Dust, and Sir Pentious were all gathered at the fireplace to partake in an introductory activity for their new patron.
"Now, with a new resident, I think it's important we all get to know each other," Charlie told the group. "So we are going to play a little game. Everyone, follow me. My name is Charlie!" She clapped her hands twice. "I like to sing!" Clap, clap. "And when we get to know each other it's the greatest thing!" Clap, clap. Then she gestured toward Lincoln inviting him to go next.
"My name is Lincoln!" the boy said clapping his hands. "I have ten sisters!" Clap, clap. "And although I really love them, life can be full of blisters!" Clap, clap. Then he and Charlie gestured toward Sir Pentious to go next.
However, the snake demon did not participate immediately and just stared at the boy in shock. "Ouch!" After a moment, he finally decided to participate. "My name's Sir Pentious!" Clap, clap. "I like to build!" Clap, clap. "And despite my stupid Egg Boiz, I think I'm very skilled!" Clap, clap. Then the three gestured towards Angel, who was looking at his phone, to go next.
"This is stupid," the porn star said uncooperatively.
"This is not stupid!" Charlie said in a pleading tone clapping her hands. "It's just a game!" Clap, clap. "Lincoln and Sir Pentious did it well so now please try to do the same!" Clap, clap.
But the spider demon was still not impressed. "I am too sober for this."
"Well, get used to it and learn how to play, this is gonna be your whole day!" Vaggie remarked clapping her hands.
Lincoln couldn't help but chuckle. That was good.
A little later, they were trying another activity.
"Okay, now we are going to start developing good relationships with one another by saying nice things about the other," Charlie instructed. "Vaggie, you say something nice about Angel, and Angel, you say something nice about Vaggie."
Both Vaggie and Angel glared at one another. From their first meeting they had never gotten along. Vaggie didn't like how annoying and uncooperative Angel was and Angel didn't like how bossy and uptight Vaggie was. Neither one could think of anything nice to say about the other.
"He's… furry," Vaggie bluntly said.
"Her new outfit… looks okay," Angel also bluntly said. "The old one made her look like a whore."
"You SON OF A BIT–" a furious Vaggie yelled and was about to attack Angel before Charlie stopped her.
"Come on, guys," the princess pleaded. "How hard is it to say something nice about someone else? You just find something positive about them and put it in words." She turned to the one she knew could do this easily. "Lincoln, why don't you say something nice about Vaggie?"
"Well, you have nice long hair, you speak Spanish beautifully, and honestly you're the only person I can relate to in this place," the boy complimented.
"Careful, kid. Kiss that ass too much and you'll disappear," Angel teased.
"You only needed to say one thing," Vaggie told him. However, she couldn't hide her appreciation. "But thanks."
"Good," Charlie congratulated her bellboy. "Now say something nice about Angel."
"He… maybe a little… odd at times," Lincoln said trying to put it lightly. "But I know underneath all that chest fluff is a big heart."
"Thanks, kid," Angel said with a warm and genuine smile.
Charlie couldn't get over how sweet that was. Even Vaggie had to smile after hearing that.
Sir Pentious himself found that genuinely heartwarming but put on a straight face before anyone noticed.
Sometime later, Charlie organized a skit for a few of the residents to perform. Angel wore a hat and trench coat, Pentious wore a child's sailor suit while licking a large lollipop, Lincoln wore a spotted puppy dog costume, and everyone else sat around watching the performance.
Angel did not like the role he was given for this skit. However, Lincoln felt the porn star had gotten the better end of the stick than himself. The boy was mortified with the role he had gotten.
"Oh, I'm a bad man on the street who never got enough hugs," Angel unenthusiastically read his script. Where's an innocent kid I can sell crack to?" Then he broke character. This script sounded messed up, even for him. "Wow, who wrote this?"
"It's great right?" an impressed Charlie asked. "Keep going!"
Why did he even have to ask?
"Hey you," Angel resumed.
"Who, me?" Pentious exaggeratedly replied with puppy dog eyes.
"Yeah. You look like a kid who could use some… Devil's Dandruff? Oh, for fuck's sake."
"Not me! I have to go home and study! Right, Fido?"
After a moment of silence, the snake demon gently nudged Lincoln to let him know that was his cue.
Lincoln looked over to Charlie and Vaggie with a frown that yelled 'do I have to do this?'
Charlie smiled with excitement and Vaggie smiled with amusement as they both eagerly waited for the boy to say his line.
With a deep, heavy sigh, Lincoln gave in. "Arf, arf."
This managed to get a small snicker out of the equally miserable Angel.
Charlie cooed over her young bellhop's performance while Vaggie took pictures of him on her phone.
"Send me the pics later," the princess whispered to her partner.
"Once again, I'm forced to humiliate myself for the well-being of others," Lincoln complained to the readers. "No wonder I feel more at home."
"Come on, kid," Angel resumed his miserable performance. "It'll make you cool like me… the crackhead."
"The only cool thing here is to say no to drugs!" Pentious said in a mockingly-sounding tone. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to not have sexual intercourse before marriage!"
Lincoln facepalmed at hearing the last part. What the literal hell did Charlie think Heaven's standards were?!
"Yes! Oh bravo! Bravo!" Charlie proudly applauded the snake demon's performance. "Wow, Pentious! At this rate, you'll be redeemed in no time."
An expression of sadness and hurt spread across Angel's face at hearing this. The hotel finally gets a new patron and in no time everyone starts thinking he may have a better chance of achieving the hotel's goal than the first patron.
"I… I'm going to bed," the porn actor sadly announced and began heading upstairs as he listened to Charlie compliment and congratulate Sir Pentious even more.
Lincoln was the only one who seemed to notice how sad the spider demon was and sympathetically watched as he left the room.
Later that night, Sir Pentious was in his new room talking to the device on his wrist which was revealed to not be a digital watch but a communicator with which he could contact Vox with.
"Well, what is it?" the tv demon asked.
"I'm here to let you know I've successfully infiltrated the hotel as you instructed," the snaked demon informed.
"Good. Did you plant the cameras yet?"
"I'm about to do that, but first I thought I'd inform you of something interesting I've just learned: the bellboy working here is an actual, living, breathing human."
"A human?!" the tv demon exclaimed in disbelief. "Are you fucking sure?"
"I'm positive," Pentious confirmed.
"This is interesting. Alright, let me know when you've planted the cameras. Do this and we may put in a good word for you."
"Yes, sir," the snake demon excitedly acknowledged. This was it. His chance to finally climb the social ladder and be on the same level as the most powerful overlords of Hell.
Angel Dust was walking down the halls of the hotel, unable to sleep after listening to a series of voice messages left by his boss, Valentino. The messages flipped back and forth between a friendly, apologetic tone to a barrage of screams threatening violence. After all that, he needed a drink. On his way, he came across Lincoln who was dressed in his pajamas.
"What are you doing out of bed?" he asked.
"I couldn't sleep," the boy replied. "And you?"
"Same. Just headin' down for a drink."
"Mind if I join you?"
"I guess not."
The two walked down the hall together.
"Angel, I know some of the things Charlie said earlier might have hurt your feelings," Lincoln said. "But don't take them too hard. She doesn't mean to–"
"Don't worry about it, kid," the spidery porn actor assured. "It's nothing. Really."
But the white-haired kid still looked up at him with concern. The spider demon put on a warm smile to help ease his worries. Despite how depressed he felt, deep down Angel was really glad that someone like Lincoln was there to take notice and care about how he felt.
They both went down to the bar where Angel grabbed a bottle from one of the shelves and started drinking. Lincoln stayed by his side to keep him company. Just then, Angel noticed something slither in the shadows out of the corner of his eye.
"Something wrong?" Lincoln asked.
"Thought I saw something," the porn star replied suspiciously.
They both crept through the hall to find the door to Charlie's office had been opened. They peeked inside to discover Sir Pentious trying to set up a small camera in one of the bookshelves.
"Pentious?!" Lincoln whispered. "What is he doing?"
Angel took a good long look at the camera he was using and realized it was one manufactured by VoxTek.
"You slippery little shit!" the spider demon said furiously bursting into the room startling the suspicious snake demon. "You're working for the Vees?!"
Putting things together, Lincoln realized what was going on and he was just as mad as his friend. "You're a spy!" he accused the slithery kingpin. "I can't believe you'd do this to Charlie after she was so nice to you!"
"It's not what it look like," the nervous Pentious pathetically denied.
"I fucking knew there was something shitty about you," Angel accused.
"I don't know what you're talking about," the kingpin arrogantly brushed off the accusation. "Whore bug!"
That was IT! That was all the spiderlike porn actor could take. In a rage, Angel tackled Pentious to the ground and began punching and wrestling him. Lincoln attempted to help by going for the tail and the eyes all along it.
"Cut that out, brat!" the snake demon angrily yelled as he encased the boy in his coils and began to squeeze him.
"Get your filthy FUCKING coils off him!" Angel yelled and continued to grapple his opponent forcing him to release the boy.
"Get your aggressively average body OFF OF ME!" Pentious demanded and unleashed his hypnotic gaze upon his two adversaries momentarily stunning them.
After breaking free of the hypnosis, both Angel and Lincoln began advancing upon the traitorous snake demon who was now corned.
At that moment, both Charlie and Vaggie entered the office room having been woken up by the scuffle. The former wore a pair of red pajamas and her hair was messy and unkept while the latter wore a white negligée.
"What's going on?" Charlie yawned.
"This little bitch is a traitor!" Angel informed then pointing to Sir Pentious. "And he tried to hurt Lincoln!"
"Preposterous!" the deceitful snake demon denied. "I would never betray you. You are my best friends." Then he hugged the two women.
Charlie smiled at hearing his words while Vaggie glared at him unconvinced with her spear ready.
"Then how do you explain this?!" Lincoln challenged and pointed to the shelf where the camera was. Angel lifted a book to give everyone a better look.
With the undeniable proof before them, the snake demon's deception had been revealed much to Charlie's shock and Vaggie's rage. Realizing his cover had been blown, Sir Pentious flew into a panic and tried to contact Vox on his wrist communicator while also trying to escape the room through a closed window which was locked unfortunately.
"Abort! Abort! SOS! Agent Pentious in need of immediate evacuation!" he screamed fearfully.
Vox picked up the call and heard everything. "Pentious? Wait… you were caught?! It hasn't even been a day!" Of all the lame, pathetic, idiotic ways to fuck up a simple job!
"Please! You've got to get me out of here!" the snake demon desperately pleaded while everyone in the room watched him angrily and unamused.
"I can't believe we thought you could handle even something this simple!" the tv demon cruelly berated his failure of an inside man. "Do us a favor, if they don't kill you, go ahead and do it yourself! You MISERABLE FAILURE!"
Although he was still mad over the wannabe supervillain's treachery, even Lincoln thought that was brutal.
The snake demon turned back to the people he had deceived with tears in his eyes, much to Lincoln's surprise. Instantly, the boy saw him for what he truly was all along. He was a sinner who had been trying for decades to take over Hell and be seen as the greatest of demonic overlords, but despite his inventions and army of minions, he could never even come close to holding a candle to any of the current or previous overlords. But the worst thing about that was he knew it, and it hurt! Deep down he was just a sad, lonely old man desperately craving some positive recognition. He had no idea how much Lincoln could relate to that. At that moment, most of Lincoln's anger faded away and he felt so sorry for the wannabe conqueror of Hell.
"Just make it quick I guess…" the sad snake demon sobbed taking off the wrist communicator and lying on the ground preparing for his end. "Not that I deserve it."
Charlie also felt pity for him while Vaggie and Angel looked ready to give him what they thought he deserved.
"Gladly," an angry Vaggie said readying her spear to put him out of his misery.
"Wait," Charlie intervened. She walked over to the heartbroken snake demon and extended her hand. "Pentious?"
He looked up and saw her staring down at him with a warm and forgiving smile.
It starts with "sorry" the princess sang compassionately much to the tearful kingpin's surprise.
Charlie continued to sing how one simple sorry is the first step on the path to forgiveness. Lincoln watched with a warm smile of admiration. For a demon, this woman's kindness and compassion were boundless.
Who could forgive a dirtbag like me? Pentious sang still unconvinced of his worthiness.
I don't deserve your amnesty
Can't we just kill him? the still unforgiving Vaggie and Angel sang together and closed in on the snake demon with spear and dual tommy guns ready.
Shoot him and spill his blood?
"That's an option you could choose," Charlie said.
Works for us
Having had enough, Lincoln defiantly stood between the deadly duo and the fearful Pentious protecting the latter much to the two formers' surprise.
But who hasn't been in his shoes? the boy sang.
It starts with "sorry"! He extended his hand and helped the surprised snake demon up.
Sorry Pentious was surprised. He didn't think this kid would also be so quick and willing to offer forgiveness.
Dig down deeper and say one sincere "sorry"! Charlie sang.
I'm so sorry!
And your journey's underway! Lincoln sang.
As the three sang together, Sir Pentious felt his tears dry and his heart lift. The people he sought to please had turned their backs on him, but surprisingly the people he tried to trick were starting to accept him with open arms. Perhaps staying at this hotel wouldn't be so bad.
It'll take time to cover your/my vast multitude of sins! all three happily sang together while holding hands.
But "sorry" is where it begins!
It starts with "sorry"!
"I hated that song!" a voice said. Everyone turned to find a very disappointed Niffty standing in the doorway in her pink negligée. "Why are you so lame?!" She then kicked Pentious in one of the eyes on his tail before leaving. "Not a bad boy."
"Good first day," Charlie sighed. "Let's get some rest."
Then she and everyone left the room to go to bed. However, Alastor had been lurking in the shadows. The Radio Demon walked into the room and picked up the wrist communicator Sir Pentious had dropped. With a spark, he turned it on and Vox's face appeared on the device's little screen.
"WHAT?!" the tv demon asked. Then he saw the face of his hated rival looking at him.
"You'll have to try harder than that next time, ol' pal!" the smiling Radio Demon taunted.
The last thing he heard as he crushed the device was Vox's scream of rage. With that done, Alastor retreated back to the shadows chuckling.
As the rest of the hotel residents were walking down the hallway back to their rooms, Angel noticed Lincoln was whispering something to Charlie and pointing over at him.
"Really?" she asked looking quite distraught.
Lincoln nodded in response.
"Angel!" Charlie called and walked over to the porn actor. "I want to apologize for anything I said that might have hurt your feelings or made you feel like you were a liability. You are our first patron and I'm sure you will be able to redeem your soul very soon."
The spider demon was surprised by the princess's sudden apology. He looked over at Lincoln who smiled warmly and gave him a thumbs up. Instantly, he realized what had happened and smiled back gratefully.
"Don't worry about it," Angel assured her. "Everything's fine."
Then Lincoln walked over to talk to their official new resident, Sir Pentious.
"How are you doing?" he asked.
"Fine. All things considering," the snake demon replied. There was still a little guilt and shame on his face. "Lincoln, is it? I… I know we haven't gotten off to a good start, but…"
"Don't worry, I understand," the boy interrupted the apology. "I know what it's like to feel like you're less important than everyone else, but that shouldn't stop us from trying to be better. You've got the makings of greatness in you, Pentious. With the right motivation, you could really put all your talents to good use in spectacular ways. Maybe this hotel can help with that."
Pentious stared down at the boy looking for any sign of deception in his friendly, reassuring smile. When he found none, the snake demon started tearing up again and hugged the white-haired adolescent.
"Dear sweet child!" the former kingpin sobbed. "You are too good for Hell!"
The others observed this sweet scene with warm satisfaction. Although they still didn't fully trust the former wannabe villain, both Angel and Vaggie couldn't help but enjoy the tender moment. Charlie smiled. Despite still being a human, Lincoln had already proven that there was a lot more to him than it seemed in such a short amount of time. He seemed to be able to form a friendly bond with almost every demon he encountered. However, the princess's smile faded as she came to a decision.
"Wait everyone," she said getting everyone's attention. "Before we all go to bed, I would like us all to gather in the lobby. You especially, Lincoln. I have something very important to tell you."
Lincoln and Pentious were confused as to what the princess wanted while Vaggie and Angel on the other hand had a pretty good idea. The boy and snake demon began making their way to the lobby while the manager and spider demon stayed behind.
"Is it time?" Vaggie asked her girlfriend.
Charlie nodded with a serious expression.
"I'll get the others."
Over at the V Tower, around the same time, Vox had called another emergency meeting with his two partners.
"This had better be good, Vox," an ornery Valentino said. "It's not easy keeping this face beautiful without sleep."
"Then you must not get enough of it," Velvette remarked looking at her phone. Her comment earned her a glare from the partner she just insulted.
"You remember the mole we sent to spy in the princess's hotel?" the tv-headed demon asked his cohorts.
"He fucked up, didn't he?" Val guessed.
"That's putting it lightly."
"I told you he would," the pimp demon bragged. "That slithery idiot couldn't handle that explosive bitch; how would he be able to handle something like this? On the plus side, Velvette now owes me 50 bucks."
The sole female member of the trio shot an annoyed glare at her partner who grinned smugly at her over his victory in their bet.
"That's not the only thing I need to talk about," Vox said getting back to business. "Pentious may have failed miserably in his primary objective, but he did manage to succeed in his secondary objective."
"He found out who that bellboy is?" Velvette asked.
"Well, who is the little shit?" Val asked getting impatient.
"He's… a human!" Vox revealed with a sinister grin.
"What?!" Velvette exclaimed surprised.
"No fucking way!" a shocked Val denied.
"I know, I was surprised myself," Vox continued. "I always suspected there was something out of place with that brat the moment I saw him and now it makes sense."
"But how could a living, breathing human be able to find his way down here?" Velvette asked curiously.
"Better yet, what about him draws the attention of Lucifer's daughter and that smiling old-timey prick? I suggest, in addition to getting rid of Alastor, we focus our efforts on learning more about Hell's new unusual resident. Who knows. He may be the key to our rise to ultimate power!" Vox declared with a smile that promised terrible things for the future. Then he turned to Val. "Oh, by the way, after Vel pays you the 50, you owe me half of that."
"ARGH! Fuck this day!" the pimp demon complained over his loss in his other bet.
Back at the hotel, almost all of its residents had gathered in the lobby, even Razzle, Dazzle, and Fat Nuggets were there. They all sat around waiting for Charlie to arrive.
"Mind telling me what the fuck's going on?" a tired Husk asked Angel.
"I think she's finally going to tell him," the porn star whispered while pointing at Lincoln.
"Well, it's about time," Husk replied and took a swig from a bottle.
"So, what is it that she wants to tell us?" Sir Pentious curiously asked the group's youngest member.
"I don't know," a confused Lincoln answered.
Vaggie watched the boy with a nervous eye. How would he handle what Charlie was about to tell him? Well, one way to find out.
After a while, the princess finally arrived carrying a book in her hands.
"Thank you all for attending this very important meeting," she said. "Especially you, Lincoln. This meeting is about you."
The boy was surprised.
"Now, I know most of you still probably remember the day Lincoln first arrived at this hotel. It was quite an unusual day; a live human finding their way into Hell isn't something you see every day. On that same day, I did some late-night research in hopes of finding a way to help return him home and came across this book." She held up the book she was carrying.
Lincoln didn't recognize the book. It was different from the one about Hell's history. He wondered what it was and what connection Charlie believed he had with it.
"Lincoln," the princess turned to the white-haired boy who stood up and approached her. "You've told us that it was one of your sister's inventions that brought you here in the first place, correct?"
"Yes," he confirmed.
"Did it ever occur to you that maybe it was something else that may have brought you here and not a bad coincidence?"
"What do you mean?" He was confused and starting to feel nervous about where this was going.
"There is a section in this book that my mother read to me a long time ago," Charlie explained opening the book. "I had almost forgotten about it until I met you."
The princess flipped through the pages until she came across the section she was looking for and read it out loud.
After the fall of Lucifer and the creation of his dark realm, many unfortunate souls would find themselves sentenced to that realm to suffer for eternity or until their very existence was brought to an end.
Dark times would follow. Angels would become demons and demons would become angels.
The already fragile stability of creation would soon shatter, and all would descend into Chaos when Darkness and Light engage in their Final Battle.
However, one day, One soul will arrive in Hell during these dark times.
One who is not worthy of such a fate.
One who will inspire change for all.
And on that day, when Heaven and Hell Shed Tears, balance will be restored.
When she was done reading, Charlie closed the book and turned to face Lincoln who had just heard everything.
"Is that more about Hell's history?" the confused boy asked.
"It has more to do with Hell's future than it's past," Charlie explained. "It's a prophecy. Before she left, my mother believed that someday the One would arrive in Hell and bring much needed change. I believe that if he stays at this hotel, it will help inspire hope in sinners and bring out the good that I know is deep down inside them."
"Have you found that person yet?" Lincoln asked not quite putting two and two together.
"Yes, I have," Charlie confirmed staring down at him.
After a moment, Lincoln looked around at the other residents. Vaggie was also staring right at him. Alastor kept his gaze trained on the confused boy as did Niffty who was sitting on the Radio Demon's lap. Husk was also staring in his direction and so was Angel Dust. Sir Pentious was confused about who they all meant. He guessingly pointed over to Husk, but Angel corrected him by grabbing his hand and turning it toward Lincoln. After finally getting it, the snake demon's eyes widened and his jaw dropped in utter shock.
Soon realization hit Lincoln as he realized why everyone was looking directly at him. Could it be? Could they all really think he is…
"Hold on!" the boy said. "You… think I'm… But… That can't be true! I'm just a middle schooler from a big family in Royal Woods, Michigan. I'm not that special!"
"I don't believe that!" Charlie disagreed kneeling down and placing her hands on his shoulders. "Lincoln, you are more special than you think you are. I know it. You have some hidden potential and watching you work around the hotel and befriend everyone here has proven that to me more and more. Something chose you specifically and had you brought here for a reason, and I think this is the reason." The more Charlie explained it, the more Lincoln's eyes widened. "Don't you see? It's you! You are the One!"
Now Lincoln knows about the prophecy. The question now is how will he handle it? Will he let it go to his head or will he feel pressured into doing the impossible?
