It was a new day in Hell. Particularly at the Hazbin Hotel. Lincoln Loud; the hotel's sole living human resident, only bellhop, and now future messiah; was dressed in his uniform and heading downstairs to begin his duties. But along the way, he stopped when a big portrait caught his eye. It looked like a younger Charlie and two other people that were possibly her parents. One was a tall, curvaceous woman with long blonde hair, dark eyeshadow and lipstick, yellow eyes with violet irises, and a pair of horns sticking out of her head behind a tiara. She wore a long dark dress. This had to be Lilith, Charlie's mother, the Queen of Hell, and the real First Woman. The other was a shorter, slender man with white skin, a sharp toothy smile, short blonde hair, yellow eyes, and dressed in a white suit with a white top hat which had a snake and an apple on it. He held a staff with an apple on it. This had to be Lucifer himself, Charlie's father, the King of Hell, the Sin of Pride, the Devil, the Fallen One.

Lincoln gazed up at the family portrait wondering what to make of the people he saw in it. Just then, he heard a voice behind him that startled him a little.

"Those were happier times." The boy turned to find Charlie, accompanied by Vaggie, standing behind him.

"So, these are your parents in this picture," he concluded.

"Yep," the princess confirmed. Then she looked up at the picture with a mixture of happiness and sadness on her face as she remembered both wonderful and miserable times. "Those were better days. But they ended shortly after my parents separated and mom left."

"Where did she go?"

"I don't know. She's been gone for seven years. But I'm sure wherever she is, she's doing something really important."

Both Lincoln and Vaggie could tell that Charlie didn't truly know where her mother was or what she was doing but she was nervously hoping that was the case. Wanting to comfort their dear friend, the one-eyed manager put her hand on her girlfriend's shoulder while the white-haired boy took hold of her hand.

The demonic princess looked to her two closest companions and couldn't help but smile warmly and gratefully at their gestures. She knew they were both silently letting her know that they were there for her.

"Well, let's go downstairs," Charlie happily suggested.

The three of them began walking down the stairs toward the lobby.

"So, what are your plans for today, Charlie?" Lincoln asked.

"Oh, I have something I've been planning for quite some time," the princess answered with a hint of excitement in her tone. Whatever it was, it must be something really special if she's been planning it that long.

Later, in the lobby, the trio, with some help from Razzle and Dazzle, put up a big banner that read Happy First Week, Sir Pentious!

"That looks perfect!" Charlie said happy with their work. "I am so excited that Sir Pentious is staying at the hotel."

"Who would've thought?" Lincoln remarked still impressed at the fact a former enemy was now a new patron and friend.

"Pentious was just trying to take over the city with his weird steampunk bullshit a few days ago," Vaggie reminded everyone.

"Well, I haven't seen him try to pull any of that here," Charlie optimistically replied.

"She's right, Vaggie," Lincoln agreed. "He's already come so far. My opinion of him has changed dramatically since we first met. He may still indulge in his old habits, but he's slowly getting over them."

Just then, the aforementioned snake sinner came in rolling a new gun-shaped machine with his Egg Boiz riding on top of it.

"Very slowly," Lincoln said unamused.

"What the hell is that?" Vaggie asked.

"Oh, hello, purple female," the inventor greeted. "It's my new invention: the Skin Flayer 11,000! I'm really looking forward to shooting the other residents."

Guess it was true what they say: "old habits die hard".

"What? Why?" Charlie asked shocked while Vaggie glared disapprovingly. To think he was making quite the bit of progress.

"Angel hasn't been trying… anything has he?" Lincoln asked.

"No. It's just that everyone is being too nice," the snake demon explained. "Obviously, it must be a lie. I can sense they are planning to kill me, but when? How?"

"Pentious, I really don't think anyone… well, maybe Alastor and/or Niffty, but no one else has any murderous intentions for you." Lincoln tried to reason with him. "There is no need for all these weapons. Just relax, this is your new home and we're your new family."

"Aaaaahh!" Charlie cooed at the boy's sweet words while Vaggie smiled.

"Your words are comforting, prophetic child," Pentious expressed his gratitude. "But I must be prepared!" Then he noticed a couple new visitors enter the lobby. "Ooh! The new parts of my machine are here."

The visitors were two demonic women wheeling in big boxes. One was carrying a clipboard. She had a tall and thin stature, white skin, blonde hair with a short ponytail in the back, eyes with red sclera and white irises, and small black horns atop her head. She wore a long white lab coat, circular glasses with red lenses, long black gloves, and silver ballet shoes. The other was wheeling in the boxes. She was tall, had brownish purple skin, light pink curly hair, black lips, eyes with red sclera and white irises, and small black horns atop her head. She wore a sleeveless black crop-top, gray shorts, black fingerless gloves, light gray stockings, and black ballet shoes.

"Sign, please," the woman in white instructed handing the clipboard and a pen to Sir Pentious who eagerly signed it.

While the snake demon was signing the paper, the woman in white couldn't help but notice the strange-looking boy dressed in a bellhop uniform staring curiously up at her. She had seen many bizarre-looking demons before and was used to it by now, but there was something off about this child. Once Pentious was done, he handed the clipboard and pen back to the woman.

"Thank you for your business," the woman in white said. "Enjoy your Carmine purchase." With that, she and the other woman walked out of the lobby leaving Sir Pentious with his order.

"Carmine?" Vaggie exclaimed disapprovingly. "As in Carmilla Carmine? You are buying parts from an overlord?"

"Who's that?" Lincoln curiously asked.

"Carmilla Carmine is an overlord who is in the business of producing and selling weapons," Vaggie explained. "She is well-known for crafting weapons made from angelic steel."

"Angelic steel?"

"Sometimes Exorcists leave behind their weapons after an extermination. Carmilla collects them, melts them down, and forges her own weapons which she sells to clients."

"She's the top weapons dealer in Hell," Pentious added.

"Is she… okay?" Lincoln asked. He thought it would be best to know which overlords where the least wicked and dangerous. And since this was Hell, that was saying a lot.

"Well, my dear boy, that just depends…"

"Depends on what?"

"On how good your manners are."

That answer didn't really help the boy feel any safer.

"Okay, well, that stops right now," Vaggie declared and took Pentious's purchase away much to his discomfort. "You absolutely cannot build weapons in this hotel."

"Vaggie's right, Pentious," Lincoln agreed. "This is place of healing not fighting."

"Thanks, Lincoln," Vaggie said before turning back to the snake demon. "No one is trying to kill you. People are being nice because they want you to feel welcome."

Pentious peeked over his machine to find Husk downing a bottle at his bar and flipping him off, Angel Dust standing near the bar on his phone flipping him off, and Niffty dusting a table looking at him with a murderous grin and chuckle.

Lincoln gave a disapproving glare to the three for not helping Vaggie's case and making their newest resident feel even more unwelcome.

"I have my doubts," the snake demon said suspiciously.

"Well, it's true," Vaggie told him. "You have to trust us."

"But I don't," he replied folding his arms. Then he looked over at Lincoln. "Except him," he said pointing to the boy.

"Well, why don't we focus on that for today's activities?" Charlie suggested.

"That sounds like a great idea," Lincoln agreed.

"Not before we lay some ground rules," Vaggie interrupted. "No more building weapons, no more plotting against other guests, and you need to get rid of these things." She pointed to the snake demon's egg-shaped minions who were sitting on the boxes. Two of them were fighting over something which turned out to be a laser when they accidentally set it off and blasted a hole in the ceiling much to the one-eyed manager's frustration. "What did I just say? What did I just say?"

"What? Not my little Egg Boiz," the former kingpin protested hugging his five minions. "They do my evil bidding for me."

"Do you want to stay here and redeem yourself?"

"Yes," the snake demon replied unsurely.

"Then no more eggs."

"All right, eggies," Pentious said teary-eyed. "You've got to go. I…" He sounded like he was about to cry. "Can't keep you anymore!"

"Okay, boss," one of the eggs responded unaffected and they all happily saluted.

"No, don't resist," Pentious said dramatically. "This is how it has to be!"

Vaggie wheeled away the boxed weaponry and led the clueless Egg Boiz away with her. One of the eggs lingered behind for a moment before running away to rejoin the others. Lincoln followed them. As he watched them leave, Pentious buried his face in his hands and burst into tears while Charlie gently patted his shoulder.

Melodrama aside, Lincoln couldn't help but feel bad for the former kingpin. Those egg-shaped minions were the only companions he had.

"Vaggie," the boy got his superior's attention. "No offense, I agree with most of the ground rules you set, but is it really necessary to get rid of these… egg… things?"

"They're not sinners, they're dimwitted, clumsy, and can't make themselves useful for anything. The only things they do is break things and take up space," she said listing the reasons she found not to keep them at the hotel. However, she lost her train of thought once she looked down at the boy's sad eyes. Despite all their negative qualities, to him, they were still living things with feelings. She sighed and tried to come up with something to say to help ease the sensitive kid's concerns. "Don't worry, I won't hurt any of them." This made Lincoln smile at least. "I'm going to ask Alastor to take care of them."

"Uhhhhh…" the boy responded, his concern returning ten times more.

"I'll tell him to be humane," she assured.

"Okay…" That still didn't ease his concern too much.

The aforementioned Radio Demon was in his room, sitting at a table, eating his breakfast (a deer carcass), and listening to jazz music.

"Alastor!" the sound of Vaggie's demanding voice interrupted the meal.

Alastor saw the one-eyed hotel manager, the hotel's only bellhop, and a small group of Egg Boiz standing in the doorway. Vaggie was staring at the Radio Demon looking like she wanted something while Lincoln was staring in shock and disgust at what the Radio Demon was eating.

"Do you mind? I'm in the middle of breakfast," he said.

"That's breakfast?!" Lincoln said appalled. "I'd hate to see what lunch and dinner will be."

"Pentious's eggs are all over the place, and I need you to get rid of them," Vaggie said getting straight to the point.

Hearing this, the sadistic overlord dropped his utensils and summoned his staff. "Well, in that case, I'd be delighted to!"

With his concerns for the little egg creatures confirmed, Lincoln stood between the Egg Boiz and the Radio Demon.

"Humanely!" Vaggie assertively told him causing Lincoln to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Well, that's a lot less fun," Alastor said in a slightly disappointed tone. "But I suppose I can take care of that on my outing today."

"Great."

"Where are you going?" Lincoln curiously asked.

"To attend an overlord meeting," the Radio Demon answered.

"An overlord meeting?"

"There comes times when the overlords of the city must gather together to discuss important issues and solutions to those issues, my dear boy. No need to worry, I'm sure it has nothing to do with you. You're our little secret after all."

"Well, good luck," Lincoln bid him farewell as he left the room leading the eggs away with him.

With Alastor and the Egg Boiz gone, Vaggie and Lincoln's attention turned back to the rotting deer carcass on the table.

"That looks disgusting," the manager remarked disgusted.

"Please tell me I don't have to clean that up," the bellboy said equally disgusted.

Later, Charlie, Vaggie, and Lincoln had gathered the rest of the hotel residents in the foyer for the day's activity. They had set up a stage with a banner that read "Trusting 101" hanging above it.

"Hi, guys. Thanks for coming," Charlie greeted everyone. "It's been brought to our attention that there may be a little… tension in the hotel."

As she was explaining the situation, Sir Pentious took the opportunity to wrap Niffty in his coils and pull out a ray gun with the intention of shooting her.

"Tension that can be counterproductive to what we're trying to do here," Vaggie added while snatching the weapon out of the snake demon's hand much to his annoyance.

"We think that this group could really benefit from…" Charlie continued. "Trust exercises!" she gleefully yelled jumping into the air.

"Trust exercises," Vaggie said less gleefully also jumping into the air.

"Trust exercises?" Lincoln said confused and staying on the ground.

"Ah shit!" Vaggie said falling to the floor.

"Vaggie, we rehearsed this," Charlie said helping her partner up before turning back to the group. "We're doing trust exercises."

"We'll be learning to trust one another and hopefully start forming friendships in the process," Lincoln wrapped everything up. "Any questions before we begin?"

"So, uh, what's with the whole… this?" Husk asked gesturing to the stage they set up. "I'm not about to put on some show for these fucking chumps."

"Oh, I will," Angel said resting his feet on Husk's lap. "But it's cash up front, and I know that one can't afford me." He pointed to Sir Pentious.

"Gross!" the snake demon responded in disgust. "I'd never think of it, spider!"

"You do know there's a kid here, right?" Husk asked the spider demon. "Don't think about pulling any of that shit."

"Looks like this is going to be harder than we thought," Lincoln said to his two employers.

"Right, well, let's get started," Vaggie replied. "Charlie?"

"Actually, I thought maybe you could take the lead on this one," the princess suggested. "I trust everyone, so maybe you know better about how to build it properly."

"What?" her partner responded in nervous surprise. "I don't know if I'm qualified…"

"Oh, come on. It'll be easy," Charlie reassured her. "I'm sure you can handle this."

However, Lincoln was observing his supervisor's facial expressions more closely. He could tell that she was not comfortable with this role.

"Uhh, no offense, Charlie," the boy spoke to his employer. "But I really don't think it's a good idea to put Vaggie in this position. Don't you think this is too much pressure even for her?"

"Don't worry, Lincoln," the princess reassured her concerned bellboy. "I've known Vaggie for three years. She's a tough girl."

Although it didn't ease his concern, her response did cause Lincoln to raise an eyebrow in suspicion. They've only been together for three years?

"Yeah…" Vaggie nervously said looking at everyone. All of them (with the exceptions of Charlie, Lincoln, and Niffty) were glaring at her. It was apparent they didn't have a lot of confidence in her. "Sure, I can handle this. No problem." Charlie gave her a big smile and two thumbs up. Lincoln gave her a friendly smile to let her know he would support her anyway he could.

Taking a deep breath, the hotel manager regained her composure. She was going to lead these trust exercises, the only way she knew how.

"All right, so we are starting with trust falls," she announced in a tone similar to that of a drill sergeant. "Each of you are going to share something vulnerable with the group about yourself and then fall backwards while the rest of the group catches you. Got it?"

"Oh boy," Lincoln nervously said. He could tell that this was probably not going to end well.

"Who wants to go first?"

"Ooh, ooh, me me me! Me! Me! Me!" Charlie excitedly pleaded while raising her hand.

Of course she would.

"All right, get on up here," Vaggie conceded.

Charlie ran up onto the stage and faced everyone.

"I love you guys," the teary-eyed princess said. "Like really, really love you."

Then she turned around, closed her eyes, folded her arms across her chest, and let herself fall backwards off the stage. Vaggie and Lincoln were the only ones who moved to catch her.

"Gotcha!" Vaggie said catching her girlfriend in her arms while Lincoln assisted in holding her.

"That… felt… good!" Charlie happily exclaimed. "Angel, why don't you go next?"

"Fine," the porn star groaned and walked up onto the stage.

"This time everyone needs to catch him, okay? Unless you want me to hurt you," Vaggie threatened the rest of the group brandishing her spear to make her point.

"Something about myself, huh?" Angel thought for a moment. Then he got a devious idea. "How about this? I LOVE to suck–"

"I swear to fuck if you say dicks!" Husk threatened the porn actor.

Charlie covered Lincoln's ears.

"Popsicles, ya sicko! Get your mind out of the gutter." Then the mischievous spider demon fell backwards into the cat demon's arms. "But you know, dicks too."

With that, Husk dropped him to the floor.

"All right, new guy," Angel said to Sir Pentious. "You're up."

The snake demon got up onto the stage.

"I… don't want to live without my minions," the melodramatic former kingpin said with tears in his eyes. "Nobody catch me." He fell backwards and landed in the arms of Charlie, Vaggie, and Lincoln. "Damn it."

"That's great. Wow, you are slimy," Vaggie said in disgust as she put the snake demon down. "Okay, good job. Your turn, Lincoln."

"Me?" the boy asked.

"Yes, you," his superior confirmed.

"Go on," Charlie excited encouraged.

"Okay." The human boy walked up onto the stage and faced his demonic companions. "Well, back home, on Earth, there was this girl I knew."

"Oooo!" the other said in unison with peak interests.

"A girlfriend?" Angel teased.

"No!" Lincoln protested while blushing. "Just a… friend friend."

Sure," the spider demon replied unconvinced.

"Although, the day we first met, I did kiss her."

Upon hearing this, Charlie squealed at the adorable thoughts popping into her head. "Did she kiss back?"

"Actually, she gave me a black eye in response."

Everyone cringed upon hearing this.

"That's rough, kid," Husk gave his sympathies.

"But we still hung out," Lincoln continued. "Even after she moved to the city, we still stay in contact." He paused for a moment as the nostalgia from the memories he had with Ronnie Anne played in his mind. "I do miss her."

Charlie smiled as she could tell he was remembering that girl and that the memories were fond ones despite how their first meeting went. To her, young love was sweet and adorable. "You had lots of good times together, right?"

"Oh yes," Lincoln happily confirmed. "I'll never forget the times where she stuffed food down my pants, pulled my pants down in public, or stuck gum in my hair."

As Lincoln was going down memory lane with visible fondness on his face, the others were staring at him in shock and confusion. Then the boy turned around and let himself fall backwards off the stage. Everyone rushed to catch him before he hit the floor. After hearing all that, they thought he didn't need any more pain.

"Wow! Thanks, guys," he showed his gratitude to everyone. He didn't expect everyone to jump in to catch him.

"No problem, kid," Husk replied still looking a little disturbed.

"You okay, Lincoln?" Charlie asked concerned.

"Of course. Why do you ask?" the boy replied unaware of how disturbed everyone was by what he revealed.

"Well, you just told us all those things that girl did to you," Vaggie said.

"You mean Ronnie Anne? Yeah, good times," Lincoln replied once again going down memory lane with a smile on his face. "I really do miss her. When I get back to the living world, I'm definitely going to give her a call."

Everyone just stared at him in bewilderment. All that stuff sounded like bullying yet the tone of his voice and the expressions on his face implied that he enjoyed those times.

"I get it," Angel whispered to Husk. "He's one of those people."

"Okay," Vaggie said deciding it was time to move on from this weird topic and resume the trust falls. "Niffty."

The little cleaning lady wasted no time and scurried up onto the stage.

"Sometimes I kill mother bugs in front of their children as a warning to others!" she said with a look of great pleasure on her face.

The rest of the group stared at her, shocked, disturbed, and horrified by her sadistic nature. Then she threw herself off the stage, but everyone, including Charlie and Lincoln, immediately moved back letting her fall face-flat on the floor. That was too much even for them.

"Yay! Pain!" Niffty exclaimed happily as she got up, ran back onto the stage, and threw herself off again.

While everyone was disturbingly watching the crazy, cycloptic cleaning lady purposefully, and delightfully, continuously cause herself more pain, Charlie gestured to Vaggie to step away so they could talk in private.

"I don't know if this is really working the way we hoped," Charlie said. "Maybe we should–"

"Honey, you have to trust me here," Vaggie confidently interrupted. "I got this, okay? I'll figure something out."

Suddenly, Angel Dust appeared before the two women.

"If you're in the market for some ideas, I got just the thing for some trust building," the porn star proposed with a devious grin.

"I'm open for some new ideas," Lincoln said. The boy was up on stage with his arms wrapped around Niffty's waist struggling to keep her from continuously throwing herself off. "Anything would be better than this."

Vaggie sighed and decided to hear the spider demon out. She didn't trust him but had no other ideas. "What did you have in mind?"

Hopefully she wouldn't end up regretting this.


Meanwhile, Alastor was strolling through the city with the Egg Boiz in toe until he came across a familiar face; Zestial, an ancient and feared fellow overlord who spoke Early Modern English. Zestial was very tall and lanky with a spider-like appearance. He had gray skin and four green eyes. He wore a long black cloak with a large spider on the front and green and red spider web pattern interior. He also wore a big black top hat with a skull and green-and-maroon-striped feather on it. The two overlords chatted together while other demons ran, hid, and committed suicide in terror. Zestial was curious about the Radio Demon returning after a seven-year absence as well as his involvement with Hell's princess, all of which Alastor refused to divulge.

The two overlords soon reached the building where the meeting would be held. Alastor ordered the Egg Boiz to wait outside. However, one of them, Frank, accidentally stowed away in the elevator and was taken up with the two overlords. The three got off on a floor and were joined by many other overlords who had arrived including one with a skull for a head that had antlers and was engulfed in a blue flame, a huge lizard-like overlord with red skin and green hair, and Rosie, a tall, slender woman from Cannibal Town who wore a maroon and burgundy Victorian dress and sun hat. The overlords entered a room and sat around a rectangular table. With no place to go, Frank followed them into the meeting room and stood beside Alastor's seat. He was noticed by Rosie, who was seated next to Alastor. The egg waved nervously to the cannibal overlord who smiled, showing her sharp, pointy teeth in response causing him to hide behind the Radio Demon's chair. Then in walked a tall demoness with grey skin and big arms. She had long white hair that she kept into a pair of beehive-like horns on her head. Her eyes were red with white irises, dark eye shadow, and her lips were black. She wore a black and white ballerina-like outfit with shiny, metallic ballet slippers. This was Carmilla Carmine, the overlord in charge of angelic weapons development. Accompanying her were her two daughters, the same women who had delivered Sir Pentious's order earlier: Odette, the woman in white, and Clara, the brown-skinned woman. Carmilla walked to the head of the table to address the other overlords.

"Welcome Hell's sovereign overlords," she greeted them in a professional Spanish accent. "I've invited you all here because you represent the controlling powers of our city. Together, you own millions of souls. Souls at risk with the new extermination schedule. We need to discuss the can be done to minimize the impact to our interest." Zestial took his seat next beside her which she took notice of. "Zestial, so good to see you, my friend."

The elderly overlord summoned a teacup and a saucer. "Enchanted as always, Carmilla."

Then she noticed the Radio Demon showing a little surprise. "Alastor?"

"Yes, I know I've been absent some time," the Radio Demon bragged. "I'm sure you've all been wondering."

"Not really," Carmilla bluntly replied much to the Radio Demon's offence. "But welcome back in any case." Then she resumed her discussion while examining a clipboard given to her by her daughter, Odette. "This year's extermination was brutal, far more even than years past." She looked to Odette signaling her to activate a screen to come down from the ceiling to show a slide to illustrate her point. "We have assessed that about 16% of the population was lost. With the angelic legions now returning twice as quickly, I think it prudent we–"

Suddenly, the door to the meeting room was kicked open and in walked Velvette of the Vees.

"Yes, I've got it handled, Vox," the social media overlord said on her phone not paying any mind to how distracting and disrespectful she was being. "I'll be sure to get a snapshot of the prick's face when I reveal it. Are you doubting me? Really? Me? That's what I thought. Yes, I know. They're all a joke. Thank you, V. See you soon. Kisses, darling." She hung up and took a seat at the end of table opposite Carmilla.

"Nice of you to join us, Velvette," the arms dealer greeted the Vee member unenthusiastically. "Will your… colleagues be joining?"

No. They have better shit to do than to listen to an old windbag who thinks she's though shit," Velvette replied disrespectfully. "I'm here to represent."

"Charming," Carmilla responded as the Vee member started recording her and adding poop emojis around her face. "With the exception of the other two Vees, and Madame Harriet, all of Pentagram City's overlords are gathered here today. So, as I was saying, we need to discuss–" She was interrupted again by Velvette raising her hand. "Yes?"

"On the subject of discussion…" the social media overlord said and suddenly threw the severed head of an Exorcist on the table in front of everyone. Golden blood dripped from its neck wound.

The other overlords gasped in shock and began muttering to each other. None of them ever thought this could happen; someone, somehow, had slain an Exorcist!

"Oh, tasty!" Alastor exclaimed as he examined the head.

"Where did you get this?" Carmilla asked narrowing her eyes. She looked very surprised.

We found it during Extermination Day," Velvette answered. "If these Holy Rollers can be killed, the game has changed." She stood up on the table. "We can take the fight to them. The boys and I have come up with a full assault plan."

Velvette found herself interrupted by the sound of Zestial slurping his tea loudly.

"If it be true thee and thy colleagues desire to war with such meagre proof," the elderly overlord said. "Thou art far more foolish than I be thought."

Velvette scoffed. Who did this old codger think he was talking to her like that?! "Meager proof? It's a dead fucking Exorcist. I'd say that's pretty fucking definitive. You going blind, old man?"

"We know not how this perished," Zestial replied. "Mayhaps t'was not by a demon's hand at all. If we rush to war without knowing, mightn't they purge all of Hell for daring an uprising?"

The other overlords muttered in agreement with Zestial much to Velvette's annoyance. However, she noticed Carmilla was looking away with a guilty expression on her face. This made her smile deviously as she got an idea. However, she still had something else to share with the others.

"So, the head of an angel isn't good enough for all of you?" the social media overlord taunted her fellow overlords. "Well, how about THIS?!"

She took out a bunch of photos and threw them onto the table scattering them everywhere. Everyone started gasping in shock once they got a good look at them. Alastor observed one and then his eyes went wide. In the picture was Lincoln!

"That's right!" Velvette proclaimed. "In these photos is a real honest-to-fucking-god human and he's right here in Hell! In fact, he's hanging out at the princess's crappy hotel."

"Mother, Clara and I delivered a shipment to the hotel earlier today and we saw that bellboy," Odette informed her mother. "As rude as Velvette is, she may be right. When I saw that kid, I could there was something not quite right about him."

"How is this possible?" Carmilla questioned.

"Don't ask me, I don't know. But I'm sure there's someone who does, and he's in this room right now," the Vee member replied looking over at Alastor. Soon all eyes were on the Radio Demon. "That's right, Radio Demon. You're also staying at that hotel, so you know too, don't you? Got anything to say about that?"

Alastor narrowed his eyes and glared at Velvette as she stared down at him with a shit-eating grin while taking pictures of his uncomfortable facial expression. She had him cornered. The rumors about him hanging out with Charlie at her hotel were confirmed by many so it would be extremely unlikely that he wouldn't know anything about the hotel's new bellhop being a human. He had given his word not to tell anyone outside the hotel about Lincoln, but it looks like some had found out on their own. Seeing no other option, the Radio Demon took a deep breath and regained his composure.

"Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag," he admitted with a smile and an unintimidated tone. "It's true, the new bellhop at the hotel is indeed a human child from the living world."

Everyone in the room, with the exception of the smug Velvette, gasped in surprise by the Radio Demon's confession.

"Alastor, when were you going to tell me about this?" Rosie said intrigued.

"How could a human possibly have made it to Hell from Earth?" Carmilla asked. This mystery had caught a lot of her attention and curiosity.

"I doubt even the likes of thee know how this child came to be in this realm," Zestial estimated. "T'is this the correct deduction, Alastor?"

"You got me there, Zestial," Alastor admitted.

"The princess must also be aware of this youth who has yet to pass, does she have any notion of his arrival in this realm?"

"Oh, she has her own theory on that."

"And what might that be?" Carmilla asked. She was eager to get to the bottom of this.

"Oh, this should be good," Velvette said.

Alastor now had everyone's undivided attention as they eagerly waited for him to explain the situation. The Radio Demon smiled maliciously as he prepared to tell them what he knew so far.


Elsewhere, Angel Dust was leading the rest of the hotel residents down the streets of the city to the place he said where they could work on their trust building. Lincoln wore his horned hoodie and walked beside Charlie and Vaggie. Along the way, he told the two women more about his family.

"Are they really twins?" Charlie asked.

"That's right," Lincoln confirmed. "They may look alike but they're as different as night and day."

"So, Lana is a tomboy who likes animals, mud, and eating stuff off the ground but is really nice?"

"That's right."

"And Lola likes dressing like a princess, winning beauty pageants, but is a nightmare if she gets mad?" Vaggie asked.

"Oh yeah," Lincoln confirmed. "You do not want to get on her bad side. Believe me."

"Doesn't sound like someone I'd want as mi hermana."

"Each of my sisters has their flaws, some more than others, but I wouldn't trade it for the world." A look of longing slowly formed on Lincoln's face. "I sure miss them."

Charlie and Vaggie noticed this and suddenly felt sympathy for their young companion.

"Don't worry, Lincoln," Charlie said comfortingly while gently placing her hand on the top of his head. "You'll see them again eventually."

This managed to get a little smile out of the boy.

"How much farther?" Husk impatiently asked.

"Cool your whiskers, we're almost there," the spider demon assured. "I'm sure you're really gonna like this place."

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Vaggie sarcastically asked.

"Excuse me, Charlie, Vaggie?" Lincoln curiously asked the two women. "Have you two ever thought of trying to promote your hotel on the news?"

"Actually, we did do that not too long ago," Charlie answered.

"That's great! How did it go?"

That question made the two women look at each other uncomfortably as looks of embarrassment formed on their faces.

Flashback:

Charlie was grappling with an angry multiarmed Katie Killjoy in the studio. The princess somersault kicked the news lady and then tackled her offscreen.

"WHY WON'T ANYONE HELP ME?!" Tom Trench screamed as he was engulfed in fire.

End of Flashback.

"Oh, that bad, huh?" a disturbed Lincoln said after listening to their story.

"Makes it even harder to go out in public," Charlie said blushing in embarrassment.

"Can't go near the news station either unless Katie decides to drop her restraining order," Vaggie added.

"Here we are!" Angel announced.

They all stopped in front of a strange-looking building.

"Angel, what is this place?" Vaggie asked suspiciously.

"Come in and see," the porn star replied and opened the door leading everyone inside.

Once inside, their eyes widened in shock when they saw the interior.


Back at the overlord meeting, Alastor had just finished explaining things to his fellow overlords. Many were speechless at what they heard.

"A prophecy…" a confused Carmilla questioned. "About someone who will appear in Hell and will bring balance to the afterlife? And the princess believes it's this… boy?"

"Believe me, I also found the idea most improbable," Alastor said.

"This is quite the bizarre anomaly," Zestial pondered. "Never before has a human from the living world made it into Hell. If only Madame Harriet were here. She may have a better chance of uncovering the answers we seek."

"That spooky old crone?" Velvette scoffed. "She's been out of town for seven years."

"Whether we believe in this prophecy or not, I suggest this matter be carefully examined."

"We will have another meeting in two weeks," Carmilla announced. "Alastor, I recommend for that meeting, you bring the human with you so that we may judge him for ourselves."

The other overlords voiced their agreement. Many of them were eager to meet the human child that the princess believed to be this prophetic savior.

"I'll see what can be done," the Radio Demon agreed.

"Suppose we discover something peculiar," Zestial suggested. "Perhaps this little one may hold the solution to our current predicament."

Suddenly, the sound of Velvette's hysterical laughter echoed in the room.

"Are you fucking shitting me?!" the social media overlord said. "None of you can seriously be considering this?! This whole thing sounds just as ridiculous as that rundown hotel for rehabilitating sinners. What's next, a happy-go-lucky talking sponge who lives in a pineapple under the ocean?! Have we all forgotten the fucking severed angel head? Need I remind everyone that wars are won with weapons not cheap hotels and weak, scared little brats." There was a moment of silence. No one said anything in agreement with her. "Oh, I get it," she said condescendingly. "So Grandpa is too pussy to fight, so I guess there's no point, right?" Zestial narrowed his eyes. "Oh, what's the matter, Fossil?" Velvette taunted getting up in his face. "Too senile to make a real power grab for–"

You better show some respect! Carmilla sang angrily coming to her old friend's defense.

Check your behavior

No one speaks to Zestial that waayyy!

Did you expect us

To sit back and take your…

Insolent, brazen displaaayyy?

Carmilla hated how arrogant and disrespectful Velvette and her colleagues acted towards everyone and Velvette hated how she and Zestial never treated them with the respect she believes she and her partners were entitled to.

Sorry group attending

Since when are overlords too scared to fight?

You're long past trending

Sorry bae, but I ain't swiping right

We're coming up with a plan of attack

But I can't believe some of you are actually considering this crap!

You think this kid can change all of it?

To me, he looks like some worthless, little shit! She emphasized by stomping on one of the pictures containing the boy.

You lost your relevance!

We can't act without more intelligence Zestial sang in disagreement.

Carmilla and Velvette continued to be at each other's throats until the female Vee member decided it was time for her to strike where it would hurt.

Oops! Did I strike a nerve? Velvette sang defiantly to the angry weapons dealer.

'Cause when I brought out the angel's head

Couldn't help but observe

That your wrinkled face was turning red!

And why are you avoiding war?

That's what the guns you sell are for

Thanks to my being respectless

One thing I'm starting to suspect is…

You know why this angel's headless!

Do you have a disclosure?

This meeting's over! Carmilla declared.

Both women glared at each other while the others stared at them in shock and concern.

"That was a productive meeting," Alastor said breaking the silence.

"Fine," Velvette said casually and made her way to the door. "Safe travels back to the nursing home fuckers!" she said flipping off the other overlords before opening the door. "Kiss my ass!" Then she was gone.

"What the hell? We literally just got here," the big lizard-like overlord said.

"Mother?" a concerned Odette said to her mother but before she could say anymore, Carmilla raised her hand to stop and assure her she was fine. However, this did not reassure either of the sisters or Zestial.

"Alastor, remember to bring the boy for the next meeting," Carmilla reminded the Radio Demon before she, Zestial, and her daughters got up from their seats.

The rest of the overlords left the room one by one. However, Alastor noticed Carmilla, Zestial, and her daughters enter another room together.

"Well, that's interesting," he said suspiciously. "You, little egg creature, I have a job for you," he addressed Frank.

"Oh. Yes, boss," the Egg Boi happily said ready to serve.

"Follow them," Alastor commanded.

Frank saluted and scurried into the other room after the two overlords who did not leave.


Meanwhile, the rest of the hotel residents arrived at the place Angel Dust had led them. The spider-like porn star looked quite satisfied with himself, Charlie and Lincoln looked incredibly shocked, and Vaggie looked very angry.

"Angel! What the actual fuck?!" the one-eyed manager said.

Turns out he had led them all to BDSM sex dungeon which was filled with other demons doing all sorts of things to each other.

"No activity requires more trust than BDSM, baby," the porn actor explained. "No bond stronger than those formed through bondage. That's their motto."

Sure enough, there was a poster on the wall which said the exact words and showed two demons in BDSM outfits.

"Wow!" Lincoln said both aghast and appalled.

"Angel, love the enthusiasm," Charlie complimented while also looking very uncomfortable. "But, umm, uh… Hmmmm." She was unable to find the right words due to being distracted by certain situations in the room.

"What makes you think anyone would be into this?" Vaggie questioned.

They suddenly hear purring and look over to find Husk getting a massage and enjoying it.

"Husk?!" Lincoln exclaimed surprised.

"You know, I don't hate this," the satisfied bartender said.

"I'm ready to punish some bad boys!" Niffty said wearing a dominatrix outfit and holding a wand with a heart on it much to Husk and Lincoln's discomfort and shock.

"Never mind, I'm out," Husk said getting up and leaving as soon as he saw his tiny psychotic coworker.

"Wait for me," Lincoln said following the winged cat demon.

Suddenly, a demon appeared behind Charlie and started massaging her shoulders. The princess tried being polite, but soon other BDSM-wearing demons started gathering around her making her feel more uncomfortable. Eventually, Vaggie swooped in to rescue her girlfriend and pull her away. But then Lincoln found himself getting attention from the other demons in the room who started gathering around the boy.

"Uhhh… guys?!" he called to his friends.

"No! He's too young for this!" Charlie cried grabbing her youngest employee and pulling him away from the group.

"That's it!" Vaggie angrily declared. "Lincoln, wait outside!"

"Yes, ma'am," the white-haired kid complied and ran out of the room.

"I can't fucking believe I let you drag us here, Angel. This is disgusting."

"It's no big deal, Vaggie," Charlie tried to assure her partner. "You know, maybe I can just help–"

"No. I told you you could trust me, and I'm not going to let you down," she insisted. She was determined to see this through no matter what. "I just need to teach them the way I was taught." An uncharacteristically creepy smile formed on Vaggie's face as she got an idea. She believed she had come up with the perfect trust exercise for everyone.

Later, they all found themselves standing on the rooftop of a building of a half-destroyed street staring at a violent turf war being waged down on the streets below.

"THIS IS HOW YOU LEARNED TO TRUST PEOPLE?!" Charlie shouted. She couldn't believe her girlfriend came up with this idea.

The other hotel residents looked just as shocked as the princess. This was NOT something they expected from Vaggie.

Lincoln turned his utterly mortified gaze from the turf war to the confident-looking hotel manager and stared at her in bewilderment. Just what was her life like before this?

"There is nothing stronger than the trust between comrades in arms," Vaggie said in her drill sergeant style voice. "Buckle up, buttercups, because today you boys become men!"

This was not going to be good.

"You…" Vaggie said advancing on Sir Pentious first and hoisted him up over her head. She was surprisingly strong for a woman her size. The former supervillain's pleas fell on deaf ears. "Are gonna survive together!" Then she hurled off the building and down into the turf war below much to everyone's shock.

"Vaggie, what are you doing?!" Lincoln yelled.

"And you…" she then turned to Angel Dust. Despite his protests, she grabbed the porn star and hurled him off the building. "Are gonna make this hotel work!"

"Have you lost your mind?!" Lincoln couldn't believe what he was witnessing. Vaggie was one of the most sensible and level-headed residents at the hotel, that was what he respected most about her. But now she was acting completely the opposite. She didn't seem safe to be around right now.

A scared Husk took the opportunity to grab Lincoln and sneak away to avoid either of them getting tossed off the building as well.

Vaggie turned her attention to an excited Niffty begging to be the next one to be thrown off. The mad manager lifted the small cleaning lady up ready to chuck her off the roof.

"Vaggie! No!" Charlie yelled snatching Niffty out of her partner's hands. This was going too far.

"This is the only way they'll learn, Charlie," Vaggie defended her actions.

"No, it's not," Charlie argued putting Niffty down. "There are other ways. It just takes time."

"Time we don't have."

While the two women were arguing, a dissatisfied Niffty kept trying to get their attention and be thrown off the building. When they continued to ignore her, she decided to throw herself off instead.

While Charlie and Vaggie were arguing, Lincoln and Husk were sitting in a hall together.

"Okay, that woman is clearly not right in the head at the moment," the catlike bartender said.

"It must be all the stress from having to lead today's activities," the boy deduced. "I knew this was a bad idea."

"What should we do now?"

They both heard the sounds of Angel and Pentious struggling outside.

"MY KINGDOM FOR A MINION!" they heard the snake demon scream.

"Let's go help the others."

Back on the roof, the princess and her partner were still in a tense discussion.

"How many exterminations will have gone by before these idiots get their shit together?" an upset Vaggie asked. "How many times do we have to watch your people be killed before we make headway? How many of these things have to happen before we see any sign that Lincoln is the One the prophecy spoke of?" Then she sadly turned away from her girlfriend.

Charlie looked concernedly at her girlfriend. She was starting to see how this whole thing was affecting her.

"Vaggie…"

"I took charge today and it all went sideways," Vaggie said ashamed. "I'm supposed to make your dreams a reality. I'm supposed to protect you. And with Lincoln here, him too. I'm supposed to never fail you." She walked over to the edge of the building and stared sadly down at the warring street below.

Lincoln and Husk made it down to the street where the turf war was being waged. Angel and Pentious were struggling to survive the chaos while Niffty wasn't.

"I BLAME YOU FOR THIS, YOU CRAZY BITCH!" Angel shouted up at the building they were thrown off.

"So, how are you chumps doing?" Husk asked.

Suddenly there was an explosion which sent Sir Pentious and Niffty flying through the air till the snake demon landed at their feet face flat on the ground while the cleaning lady landed safely on top of him.

"Could be better," Pentious replied.

Lincoln observed the warzone for a moment. Then he got an idea.

"Hey guys," he got the others' attention. "I think I have a plan on how to survive this."

"No offense, kid," Angel replied doubtfully. "But this is a war and we don't really have time for–"

"I'm open for anything as long as I can get out of this alive!" a desperate Sir Pentious interrupted.

"Okay, listen up," Lincoln said as he began to explain his strategy.

While they were discussing how to survive their new trust exercise, Charlie and Vaggie were still trying to resolve their issue.

"You didn't fail me," Charlie insisted trying to cheer up her upset partner. "Vaggie, you're not–"

"If I can't help you, what's the point of me?" Vaggie asked sadly.

"Vaggie, don't say that!" Charlie was shocked to hear what her girlfriend just said about herself. "You do so much! It's–"

But the sad one-eyed manager raised her hand cutting her off. "I'm sorry. I'd like to be alone for a minute."

Realizing there was nothing she could say to convince her girlfriend otherwise, Charlie sadly started walking away. At that moment, Lincoln arrived on the roof accompanied by an exhausted Angel Dust carrying Sir Pentious over his shoulder, whom he then dropped on the ground.

"Made it!" the tired porn star said expecting some congrats. "Gotta say, kid, that plan you came up with really saved our asses down there."

"That's why they call me the Man with the Plan," Lincoln proudly boasted.

However, Charlie wasn't in the mood to congratulate them at the moment. "Let's go home, guys."

"Ugh! I just walked up all those stairs," Angel complained.

"Charlie, is everything okay?" a concerned Lincoln asked taking note of her somber expression, but he received no answer as the princess walked through the door and down the stairs.

Angel began dragging Pentious back down the stairs, but Lincoln stayed behind and took notice of Vaggie standing by herself sadly staring down at all the destroyed buildings around her. He didn't know what happened between the two women while he was down there helping the others survive the turf war, but it obviously made them both upset. He wanted to know what it was but could tell it wasn't the right time, so he followed the others back down the stairs leaving Vaggie by herself.

A little later, everyone was on their way back to the hotel. Lincoln noticed that Charlie and Vaggie were looking very down and keeping distance between each other. This was very concerning considering how close those two were.

"Charlie, what's wrong?" the boy asked the princess.

"Vaggie does so much for this hotel," she explained. "But no matter how much good she does, it's never enough. She always thinks she's failing at something and beating herself up over it."

"Why?"

"Oh Lincoln, even I don't know the answer to that. I wish I did. If only we could get more people to come to the hotel, or see some progress in the redemption process, or…"

"Or see any sign of me being the One," the white-haired boy finished her sentence. Now he understood what was going on. It saddened him to think that he was partially to blame for this. If he was supposed to be this prophesized chosen one, then why hasn't he done anything to show it? "I'll supposed to be this destined hero, but I haven't done anything to show it."

It disturbed Charlie to see her youngest companion looking so down as well.

"Lincoln, this isn't your fault," she tried to assure him. "These things are hard. We just need to…"

However, it was clear she wasn't getting through to him. Before coming to Hell, Lincoln felt uninteresting and overlooked. However, this situation he was in wasn't really making him feel better. In fact, it was likely making him feel worse because while none of his sisters were around to take the spotlight, he wasn't truly doing anything special or spectacular. Made harder by the fact that he was all these people had to count on. The poor boy felt completely useless. These people took him in and he didn't know how to properly repay them for their generosity.


After the meeting, Zestial took notice of Carmilla's state of emotion. She had been acting extremely stressed ever since Velvette showed that severed Exorcist head. Her daughters looked very concerned as well. Frank, the Egg Boi who was hiding in the room with them, watched as the weapons overlord poured herself a drink before deciding to drink from the bottle.

"Carmilla, what troubles thou?" the dark spiderlike overlord asked. "Losing thy composure is unlike thee."

"It's nothing, Zestial, really," she assured her old friend.

"Is it the boy of the prophecy… or the felled angel…" he questioned. "'Twas by thy hand, was it not?"

"Let's not talk about it."

"Mom, maybe he should know," Clara suggested.

"Nobody should know," Carmilla said. "I did what had to do. I am not discussing this."

It was true. Carmilla was the one who slew the angel, and she was desperate to make sure no one knew about it. Her reason for this secrecy was because she knew that if anyone knew then the armies of Hell would surely wage war against Heaven and there was no telling how many would die. She would be at risk of losing the ones she loved dear: her beloved daughters and her old friend. She explained all this in song form. She would keep them all safe by keeping this secret.

At the hotel, Vaggie sang to herself on the outside of the hotel about how when Charlie took her in and made her feel like she had a place where she was understood and belonged. However, she had many things she hadn't told her girlfriend that she wished she could. She would devote her life to being Charlie's partner and protector.

Inside the hotel, Lincoln walked down the halls alone singing to himself as well.

When I looked into your eyes the boy sang.

I knew I was in for a big surprise

And you saw some kind of potential

Made me feel so special

But I wish I knew what it is I need to do

So, IIIIIIIII…

I'll be your savior!

Do whatever it takes!

I'll make the mistakes!

I'll devote myself to helping your cause

And I don't know what we might face Carmilla sang.

But I know I can't replace you

So I'll do anything to save you

And I will try to make your dreams come true both Lincoln and Vaggie sang together.

Whatever we go through All three of them sang at the same time.

I know IIIIIIIII…

I'll be your keeper! Carmilla sang.

I'll be your armor! Vaggie sang.

I'll be your savior! Lincoln sang.

Whatever it takes! All three sang together.

I'll make the mistakes!

Whatever it takes!


The atmosphere at the hotel was melancholy. Charlie sadly looked down at the lobby from a balcony on the floor above it. This day was supposed to be about learning to trust others but instead it turned into a disaster of a day. Vaggie went nuts from the pressure of leading this activity and Lincoln felt a great deal of it was his fault for not living up to the prophecy. Plus, a couple of their patrons nearly got killed in a turf war.

"Hey," Vaggie appeared beside her.

"Hey," she greeted her back.

Vaggie joined her girlfriend and looked down from the balcony.

"I'm sorry I got so crazy today," she apologized.

"No, no, I'm sorry," Charlie apologized taking her girlfriend's hand. "I'm sorry I put pressure on you."

"How's Lincoln?" Vaggie asked. "I heard about what happened after that turf war incident."

Then they heard the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway behind them. The source of the sound was revealed to be a glum Lincoln who had arrived to join them in looking down from the balcony.

"Look, Lincoln, we–" Vaggie started to apologize but the boy raised his hand interrupting her.

"I know this is Hell, but this is too unfair," he spoke. "You're both trying so hard to help sinners become better people but it's not enough. The princess is doing everything she can, her partner is also doing everything she can, but what is the One doing? How is he supposed to help? Is he supposed to fly through the air like a bird, walk on water, or turn rocks into gold?" He sadly lowered his head. "I don't think those aren't tricks I can do."

Charlie and Vaggie looked at each other then turned their attention back down to their glum little bellhop. It was clear that Vaggie wasn't the only one who was feeling the pressure.

"Lincoln, don't beat yourself up because you can't find the answers on your own," Vaggie tried to consol the boy.

"Yeah, we work as a team," Charlie added. "I guess I just thought all this would be easier, but we'll figure it out, together."

However, this didn't seem to cheer Lincoln up at all as he still had his head down. They heard him make a couple sniffling sounds. Was he about to cry? Suddenly, he grabbed his right hand tightly and started growling with an intense look on his face. Was he angry or in pain?

"Is something wrong?" Charlie asked concerned.

He didn't answer and continued holding his shaking hand which was starting to worry the two women. Slowly, Lincoln turned to Charlie and held out his shaking right hand to her while making a concerning groaning noise. She stared at it to see if there was anything wrong. Suddenly, he whipped his hand, and a red rose appeared between his fingers much to her surprise. She looked at him to find the intense expression was now replaced with a warm smile. Realizing what he just did, the princess smiled back at the adorable little magician.

"I guess this will have to do for now," he said offering Charlie the rose.

When she accepted the flower, a string tied to it started coming out of the kid's sleeve. Lincoln moved his arm over to Vaggie. As he did, a string with tiny rainbow flags emerged from his sleeve. Once his hand was close to Vaggie, he whipped it again and a white rose appeared between his fingers. The manager accepted the rose and found that the other end of the string was tied to it.

Both women stared at the gift in amazement. They turned their attention down to the young man who wore a happy smiled on his face. Smiles formed on their faces as well. Then all three of them shared a warm happy laugh together.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Charlie announced. "Vaggie, look what your exercise did for everyone." She gestured down to the parlor where the rest of the residents were hanging out, laughing, and talking about the day they had. However, the conversations were more positive than what you'd expect.

"And then, when that buff guy started beating the shit outta you!" Angel said to Sir Pentious.

"Yes, with the dismembered arm!" the snake demon recalled with a chuckle. "Yes, that was particularly unpleasant." Now the memory wasn't so funny to him anymore.

"I liked that part," Niffty said.

"Well hey, at least you can take a beating like a champ," Husk complimented their newest patron while drinking a bottle. "You did okay, new kid." He gave the former kingpin a congratulatory pat on the shoulder.

"Really?" Sir Pentious was nearly at a loss for words. It had been ages since he received a genuine compliment before. "Oh, well, I suppose I did get into a little of the old rough and tumble today." He chuckled proudly while Angel and Husk exchanged amused smirks. "And thank you for pulling me out of there," he expressed his genuine thanks to Angel Dust.

The porn star gave him a playful slap on the back and all four of the demons broke out into hearty laughter. However, the three men stopped when they noticed Niffty's laugh had divulged into maniacal cackling much to their disturbance.

"But the one we should really be thanking is young Lincoln Loud," the snake demon said catching the eavesdropping boy by surprise. "It was his plan that helped us all survive that."

"Never thought a kid his age could come up with such a well-thought-out strategy," Husk agreed.

"And he isn't even a teenager yet," Angel added.

Lincoln smiled warmly down at the happy demons as he heard them sing his praises. Looks like he wasn't completely useless as he thought.

"Well, how about that?" Vaggie said surprised and pleased.

The one-eyed manager turned to their young bellboy and ruffled his hair affectionately.

Then the front door opened and Alastor walked in accompanied by the five Egg Boiz.

"Alastor, failed to get rid of the eggs, I see," Vaggie greeted the Radio Demon. However, because the trust exercises had gone better than she expected, she was not particularly anger about it.

"Yes, well, the little monsters proved to be rather useful," he said hiding a look of sinister intent. Frank had told him earlier what he had heard about Carmilla being the one who killed the angel and decided to keep that information to himself until an opportunity would arise for him to use it for his benefit. "By the way, I'm afraid I have some rather distressing news: it seems our security is a bit… lacking."

"Why do you say that?" a confused Charlie asked.

"Because apparently the Vees have discovered our special resident's little secret and exposed it to the rest of the overlords in today's meeting."

"WHAT?!" Charlie and Vaggie shouted.

"WHAT?!" the rest of the demonic residents also shouted.

"I'm afraid it's true," Alastor said maintaining a calm composure. "There will another meeting in two weeks and Carmilla Carmine has requested I bring the boy to it."

"Oh, boy," Lincoln nervously exclaimed. He did not like the sound of that.

"Why?" a suspicious Vaggie questioned.

"Because I was forced to tell them about the prophecy," Alastor explained. "And now they want to meet the boy and judge him for themselves."

Vaggie let out a stressed groan. The idea of Lincoln having to face all those powerful demons did not sit well with her. Angel was looking very anxious. The possibility of his boss, Valentino, attending that meeting crossed his mind. The thought of the young boy meeting him scared the spider demon… greatly.

"Don't worry, I'll be there and keep him completely safe," Alastor reassured everyone.

"Yeah, that makes us feel SO much better," a doubtful Vaggie sarcastically replied. Then she turned to plead with her girlfriend. "Charlie, we can't let this happen. We're talking about the kid having to face the biggest and baddest overlords in all of Pentagram City."

"I think that decision is entirely up to Lincoln, himself," she replied.

Both women looked at the boy waiting to hear what he thought was right.

"I'm a little nervous about meeting all those overlords," the boy said. "But if it helps with the hotel, I'll do it."

"A wise decision," Alastor complimented.

"Vaggie, this may not be as bad as it looks," Charlie said optimistically. "They know about the prophecy now. If we can show them that Lincoln is the One, it could generate some support from some of the overlords of the city."

"But how can we convince them that he could be the One?"

"Because he is the One," Charlie replied gently placing her hand on the boy's snow-white head. She smiled down at him to help him feel more confident and less nervous. "I know he is."

"Very well," Vaggie conceded deciding to trust her girlfriend. She turned back to the Radio Demon. "Alastor, why don't you give the eggs back to Pentious?"

"Really?" the snake demon said, his eyes tearing up with joy.

"Yeah. After today, I guess I can trust you with them. But seriously, no more weapons."

"Ahhhh! My eggs! Yay!" the emotional snake demon scooped his beloved minions into a hug. "It's so good to have you back."

Lincoln watched this touching reunion with a warm smile.

"Now go clean my quarters this instant!" Pentious then ordered them.

"I can do that, Sir Pentious," Lincoln offered running down from the balcony to the lobby.

"Oh no, dear boy," the former villain politely declined. "You've already helped out so much today."

"It was nothing," the boy insisted. "When you live in a house with ten sisters, you learn how to make plans like I did today."

"I suppose…" Pentious said scratching his chin. "Wait! I have an idea!" He turned to his minions. "Eggs, when you're not serving me, I want you to assist young Mr. Loud around the hotel when he's performing his duties. That is an order."

"Alright!" They all saluted their master before turning to the human bellhop. "Lead the way, boss."

"Okay…" Lincoln responded awkwardly. "I'm not really your boss though."

"Maybe things will move faster than you think," Charlie optimistically said placing a hand on her partner's shoulder.

"Oh, Charlie! Vaggie!" Lincoln called returning to the lobby. "I had a little idea for another trust exercise, but I guess since everyone's already learned to trust one another, I guess there's no need for it."

The two hellish girlfriends looked at each other curiously before deciding to take a chance.

"Let's hear it," Vaggie said.

"Okay," Lincoln replied smiling excitedly. "Does anyone know where a good arcade is?"

A little later, the group arrived at a local arcade. There were demons playing all sorts of different games, having seizures, and raging when they lost.

"Wow! Look at all the pretty lights," Niffty said.

"You ever played video games before, Charlie?" Angel asked.

"I have but I'm not really good at them," the princess answered. "You?"

"I like them sometimes, but I don't really get them."

"Same here," Husk agreed.

"About the only thing worse than those obnoxious television sets," Alastor voiced his distaste.

"Guys, over here!" Lincoln called his friends.

The boy (wearing his horned hoodie) was playing a dance battle game and dancing to a K-pop song, and he was doing really well.

"Wow! You're good, kid," an amazed Angel complimented.

The other hotel residents (except Alastor) were also impressed. However, Vaggie didn't look quite as impressed as they did.

Once the song was done, Lincoln took a bow as his demonic companions applauded his skilled performance.

"Anyone care to challenge the Master of Dance Battle?" the boy confidently challenged.

Before anyone knew it, Vaggie had walked up onto the game's second player station and was dancing to a Bubblegum Pop song. She was playing just as good. When it was over, she stood triumphantly with her head high as her girlfriend cheered.

Lincoln stared up in awe at how unexpectedly good his superior was. Soon, that surprised expression morphed into a competitive smile. Vaggie also wore a competitive smile as well. The expressions on their faces said the same thing: "Worthy opponent, I found you at last!"

Lincoln pressed a button on the game and the two skilled gamers began dancing intensely to the song Through the Fire and Flames by DragonForce while everyone watched their friendly competition in awe and excitement. Many of the arcade's other patrons had stopped what they were doing and had walked over to watch what looked like the competition of the century, some were even taking pictures and recording with their phones.


Over at the V Tower, Velvette had just finished telling her two male partners how the meeting went and what she learned about Hell's little human resident. Vox was rolling on the floor laughing hysterically nonstop.

"Careful, Vox," Velvette warned him. "You might break your screen again or piss yourself."

"I don't mind either one," Valentino said.

The tv demon got up and wiped a few tears from his eyes. He was exhausted from all the laughing but still managed to wheeze out a few chuckles.

"I can't help it," he said. "It's just so… Fucking… STUPID!"

Vox teleported over to a monitor screen and opened an image of Lincoln on it. Then he burst into laughter again.

"Oh yeah! He's definitely the One who bring balance and fix all this shit!" he said sarcastically.

"So, what now?" Velvette asked.

"Well, Carmilla is hiding something, and Alastor must be desperate if he's allying himself with the princess and that little human," Vox replied calming down.

"What about the boy?"

"We'll ignore him for now," the tv demon said. "Unless you're some idiot who actually believes that bullshit prophecy, he's probably just some random, worthless little nobody who had the unfortunate luck of ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time after all."

"I could find some uses for him," Val said with a devious smile to which Velvette scoffed in disgust.


After the arcade, it was late, and the group was heading back to the hotel. Both Lincoln and Vaggie looked exhausted after their competition.

"You got some killer moves, Vaggie," the boy complimented his superior.

"Thanks, kid," she replied. "You're not so bad yourself."

"Video games were one of the things that helped develop my friendship with Clyde."

"Who?" Charlie asked.

"Clyde McBride, my best friend back home." Lincoln pulled out his phone and pulled up a picture of a dark-skinned boy with glasses around the same age. "Here he is."

Everyone gathered around to get a good look at the phone.

"Ahhh!" Charlie cooed. "He's adorable!"

"Interesting," Alastor said as he observed the picture. "The world certainly has progressed greatly since I've been gone. In my day, most of us didn't form companionships with folks of certain… color. But don't think that I'm prejudiced. To me, it never mattered what someone's ethnicity or gender was, everyone was a potential victim."

"Okay…" Lincoln replied uncomfortably and put his phone away.

"That was a really great idea, Lincoln," Charlie complimented.

"From now on, if you have any ideas that you think might help, don't hesitate to share them," Vaggie added.

"Thanks, guys," the boy relied happy at the compliments.

After returning to the hotel, everyone decided to turn in. Sir Pentious and his Egg Boiz was in his room getting ready for bed.

"How was your day with Alastor, my minions?" the snake demon asked.

"It was awesome, boss," Frank answered. "I went to this meeting and there was a knife lady, an old guy, and a dinosaur!"

"That's nice," Pentious said resting his head on his pillow.

"And the knife lady killed an angel! And I was not supposed to talk about it."

After delivering what he heard to Alastor, the Radio Demon ordered the little egg creature to never tell anyone else about it.

"Oh, I'm so sure and maybe you'll meet Martians tomorrow," his master humored him not believing a word of it. "But now it's time for sleep."

"Hey, boss," Frank had one last question to ask. "Do you really believe that kid is the One?"

"I do. I bet my soul on it," Pentious answered but this time he sounded more genuine. Then he opened his arms and his minions all rolled in to cuddle with him. "Good night, Eggies."


Word of Warning: the next couple chapters will be quite emotional.