"I'm sorry, you want me to do what?!"
"It's just for a bit! No worries, I've done it lots of times too! Annnnnnnnnnd I have the perfect place so we can try it out."
"This is some bullshit, why should we even trust that you won't take him away to suck him off?"
"Loona?!"
"I meant your soul, duh!"
"Ah... well, that's reasonable, I think? Yet, it's not like I don't trust Charlie enough to not do something like that."
"I won't! Come on Loona. I promise I won't hurt him whatsoever! Say, why don't you come along too? Just in case."
"...fine. I will be watching."
Collin shook his head, his mouth currently stuffed with a very tasty steak. He was relieved to find out his new form didn't protest about meat consumption. In fact, he actually felt far more energetic after the first bites, which was a weird thing to feel. He was still unused with the idea of constantly feeding and the body changes made things twice as hard to understand. He really found himself often drinking water whenever he could despite not suffering from heat. Collin wished he knew why, despite so much fur, he wasn't melting in the depths of Hell. It seemed he was immune to the heat just like Loona, that or Hell wasn't really that hot at all as it was usually portrayed.
"But seriously, what is even there for him?"
"Well, I believe Collin could posses some high amounts of energy, as in, Heavenly type. I was thinking we could make some tests to see how much power you can unleash while in Hell. The effects tend to be far more devastating inside a Hellish environment."
"Woah, that sounds cool."
"No, that sounds crazy."
"Dude, you might even be able to shoot rainbows out of your ass! D.. pfff!...Don't you wanna find out?!"
As soon Loona said that she started laughing uncontrollably. Collin frowned, unamused with the joke, while Charlie giggled at the mental image of that actually happening.
"Hilarious..." He deviated his attention back to Charlie. "You were saying?" Collin asked dryly, even though he was internally glad to see Loona having some joy, even if at his expense.
"Oh! Hum... as I was saying, perhaps we should try out your range of skills regarding how attuned you still are with Heaven's energy. I'm... kinda worried you may have not suffered the expected effects of the transition from one realm to another."
"Expected effects?" Collin questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Well, I remember the mutation effects, but they were not that extensive like what happened with my colleagues."
"Well, usually, you're not supposed to be able to withstand Hell's environment without those particular changes. Otherwise the heat would be unbearable to you."
"Huh, that explains a few things." Collin scratched his chin distractedly. "Say, Loona, don't you have issues with temperature when going into the Human realm?"
"Collin!" Loona quickly shouted, her laughter dying immediately. The wolf blinked, not understand her sudden agitation before it clicked that he screwed up big time.
"Ops."
"Excuse me? You've been into the Human Realm?" Charlie frowned lightly towards the Hellhound, who seemed legitimately terrified.
"Huh, y-yeah, just a c-couple times." Loona stuttered her words, her nerves on the edge. "It was just for, errr, get a feel what it's like."
"I'm curious how, since such magic to travel to another realm would be quite... exclusive to certain Demons." The Morningstar crossed her arms, looking at Loona with some unexpected seriousness.
The Hellhound hugged herself, throwing a rather desperate glance towards Collin. The wolf grimaced, fully aware that this situation was his fault and it was up to him to make amends.
"It's kinda... my fault really." Collin said forcefully. He felt every inch of his body flare in protest with what he's doing. It is wrong, very wrong. Yet... he cares more about Loona than he cares about standing up to his own values, it was something he would need to learn to live with. "I wanted Loona to... understand... what Humans are like. She had a rather generic idea of what they tend to be, I wanted her to see them for what they are actually like."
Loona seemed stunned, giving him an incredulous glance as she realized that the Angel just lied to save her face. Collin remained neutral, trying his best to seem serene at that rather tense moment. Charlie blinked a few times, seemingly surprised before letting out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, that's... alright, I think? It's really not desirable, to put it very lightly, for anyone from Hell to ever venture the other realm, aside from Demons that have certain 'privileges' of course." She added with a frown. "As long there's no mass murders of any kind, they are allowed passage a few times."
Loona felt her face heating up tremendously. She's painfully aware that Blitzo is trending on very dangerous waters with his business, but it was not like anyone ever cared to give a fuck about what exactly he did to make those bold claims of taking revenge on the living. Imps were not really taken seriously by most Demons, and those who actually sought his services just didn't have any reason to spread around about a mass murder company, as long they got their revenge to happen.
Thankfully that whole thing was quickly forgotten, as Collin shifted the conversation back to daily routines during work hours and other trivial things that the Hellhound really didn't care about. Loona was distracted checking her phone again, feeling her agitation rise again as she received a message from Blitzo, warning her about a team reunion for tomorrow that she had the obligation of showing up. She groaned in dismay, sick of the whole thing about I.M.P. It was about time she decided to move from it, perhaps she could even find enough reasons to care about telling Blitzo she was also moving out of the house. Personally she preferred to just get out and leave a letter on the table or whatever.
Collin excused himself for the bathroom, he looked properly abashed about having to relieve himself. Loona couldn't help but chuckle at how silly he acted whenever his body demanded something from him. Which reminded her about telling him to start working out if he wanted to keep in shape.
As time went by Charlie and Loona were discussing the subject of her adoption contract. The Hellhound was very skeptical about Charlie's chances of aiding them on that matter, but she quickly put her doubts aside once the Demon girl quickly found the best way to nullify the contract. Although even if being the best way it surely wasn't the easy one, which involved Blitzo to an extent. Charlie was very adamant that, if Loona wanted to be set free, it would take Blitzo's word on the matter for it to fully take effect. Needless to say Loona was far from happy about it.
"This sucks but, if I can find a way out of it, I will give it a try. I just don't know how I will make it happen, without him losing it with me dropping from the job and house at the same time."
"I'm sure we will figure something out. Speaking of it, what exactly do you work as?" Charlie asked, expressing genuine interest. Loona shrugged.
"Reception. Blitzo runs a company for revenge killing and shit."
Charlie blinked few times.
"Uh, sorry? But how is that even possible? Unless we are talking about killing Hellborns. There's no way to profit on killing sinners, for obvious reasons."
Loona blinked, realizing she may have said more than necessary. She wanted to punch herself for being that careless, it was almost as bad as Collin's slip from earlier. Just then she saw Collin entering the kitchen at that very moment, a conflicted glance aimed at both of them. That was enough for Loona to understand that she needed to lie her teeth out of this matter.
"It's... how do I even say this? He has a job, that..." The Hellhound frowned. She was good at a few amount of stuff, making up bullshit out of nowhere so quickly wasn't really her thing. "It's... kinda like mercenary work, but more official business like. It's a bit hard to explain."
"Huh, okay? So you worked front desk? No issues there?"
Collin raised an eyebrow. He was somewhat aware that Loona wasn't the best receptionist ever, far from it. At least from what he heard from Moxxie and Millie. He never thought about how exactly the Hellhound would handle being the face of the Hotel, that all guests would first see on check in. Loona was being clearly hesitant about how honest she should be about her own performance at I.M.P.
"It was mostly phone calls, not much of a face-to-face thing. Thankfully." She added quietly. "I'm pretty sure I can look presentable if needed."
"Oh, that reminds me!" Charlie suddenly shouted, snapping her fingers rather dramatically. Two loud pops and a quick flash materialized clothing over the desk. Luckily none of it landed on the food. "Ops! Gotta remind of where to drop it next time. Hehe.. so, this is your uniforms! Pretty cool, right!?"
Collin slowly inspected the carefully tailored tissue. It was a perfect match for his body, although he was a bit worried with the clear lack of foot cover. His frown was quickly noticed by the owner.
"Is something wrong?" She asked worriedly. The wolf shook his head.
"Nah, is just... do we get shoes? I don't feel like walking barefoot if I'm about to work in a place like this. Is very informal."
"Huh? I thought Hellhounds didn't need those?" Charlie questioned with some surprise. Loona snorted, giving the wolf a frolic smile from the other side of the table.
"He has sensitive feet, that's why." She half joked, to which Collin threw an annoyed glance in return. "Of course we don't need them, but I think it makes sense if we gonna work here anyway. Also... look, I will use tuxedo just because I have to. Don't expect me to like it." She warned with a narrow stare towards the clothes at her side. "It looks fucking silly, but if I'm getting paid to look dumb I don't care much."
Charlie's smile dimmed a bit, clearly a bit bothered by the hound's indirect insult to her tastes. Collin sighed in exasperation at Loona's senselessness.
"Listen, how about we-
A sudden tremor shook the entirety of the room. Several objects dislocated around as few lamps started swinging lightly. The tremor was felt across the entire building, which immediately caused Charlie's phone to ring. She picked it up, puzzlement on her face that was reflected on the other two.
"Just what was-
Loona was interrupted as another tremor shook the room again. This time everyone was alarmed to something more dangerous, worried that the building's stability could be compromised.
"Vaggie?" Charlie asked as she picked the call. "What's going on?"
"What do you think is going on? That pretentious jackass is at it again!"
Charlie let out a long, exasperated sigh. She shook her head in disappointment once she understood the problem at hand.
"Well, what do we do? Alastor isn't here, nor is Angel."
"Don't care! Get down here to deal with him! Either that or I will kill him for good!"
"Alright, alright. I will be on my way." She relented before turning off her device. She looked at the baffled expressions of the other two with a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, this is kinda of a problem we're having with a... well, 'acquaintance' of Alastor. He also doesn't like Angel Dust very much. We've been trying to not get involved, but with the two being at the Hotel is kind of difficult to say the least."
"What problem is this we're talking about?" Loona asked with a raised eyebrow. "Should we get rid of him?"
"No, no, no! It's...well, I wouldn't advise, really. Not that I doubt your skills but... well, Sir Pentius has been very stubborn about proving he's the most powerful around. He has not taken lightly about getting handed by Angel and Alastor. He's a bit prideful and definitely vengeful."
"Great. One of those conquer types? What a piece of shit." The Hellhound rolled her eyes in dismay. "If he really challenged Alastor, how he is still ali... nevermind, dumb question." She quickly amended her own mistake while facepalming. "Even so, is he really attacking the building? Does he have a death wish? Or a desire for a very painful outcome to make more sense."
"Maybe we should go see to the matter?" Collin suggested, feeling antsy as the building shook a bit more violently this time around. "I rather not wait for all of it to go down."
"Sounds about right." Loona said in agreement.
"Huh, if you're sure. Sir Pentious can be a bit... wordy." Charlie tried to explain, although that excuse barely made any sense. "Well, let's go then." The Demon girl raised from her seat slowly, snapping her fingers swiftly. A small, brightly orange, oval shaped portal opened near the doorway. The blurry image of the outside area was displayed on its center.
"Nice, wish I could do those too." Loona commented with some appreciation. "Beats all the weird hand motions. Get your gun, we might need it." She added towards Collin. The wolf returned her request with a confused expression.
"Gun? Huh... I didn't exactly brought it with me." He replied hesitantly. Loona sighed.
"Can't you just conjure, summon or whatever?" She asked impatiently. Collin frowned for a moment, he slowly raised both hands and focused. At first nothing happened, but then a sudden flash of light blinded them briefly. Loona blinked once she saw what was on his hands. "Dude... that's like... a really big gun. I thought you were getting the pistol."
Collin grunted, slowly adjusting the assault rifle on his hands, the thing was far heavier than the pistol. He didn't see much point on using a regular weapon that would not really kill any sort of Demon. He pondered the weird attachments on the weapon, unsure of how they worked. He let out a sigh of disappointment, slowly adjusting the weapon to rest easily at his shoulder, the barrel aiming towards the ceiling for the sake of safety.
"Not exactly what I had in mind. I need to attune better how I summon things. Perhaps I'm not being very specific with my intent." He reasoned with himself, feeling rather unnerved by having something so violent resting at his shoulder.
"If you don't want to use it, just give it to me." The Hellhound said, noticing his discomfort. Collin's eyes widened slightly.
"You know how to use an assault rifle?" He asked, bewildered that the Hound actually has any sort of heavy weapon experience. She let out a rather ominous chuckle.
"Sure do. Can't really take part on I.M.P if you don't know how to use weapons. Basic stuff." Collin slowly moved to surrender the gun to her, but the sudden raised hand from the Hound took him by surprise. "Actually... keep it with you for now. You do need to learn how to use it, this might be a good time."
"W-What?! Now?!" He blurted out in shock. Loona nodded with a rather creepy smile. "Shouldn't we do this sort of learning when not dealing with a dangerous situation?" He tried to reason, looking extremely nervous.
"Nah, near death experiences will make you learn quicker."
"That makes no sense!"
"Hey, hey! Can you two argue later? The place is starting to shake a lot, we better get down quick." Charlie admonished, her face a mix of worry and anxiety as she felt the tremors increase exponentially. "I will see you soon." She added before leaving through the portal.
"Relax Collin, using guns is simple enough, just don't worry if you go slightly deaf on your first time."
"Deaf?!" He questioned fearfully. Loona shrugged.
"It will get better later. Chill." She said before rushing through the portal without sparing another glance at him. Collin couldn't help the exasperation he felt regarding Loona's vagueness.
The wolf held his breath as he crossed the portal. The feeling was alien to him, unlike when Loona's portal made him feel like floating, Charlie's portal made him feel like being squeezed tight, then that strange pressure finished once he was on the other side.
He looked around and recognized that they were at the front of the Hotel. What he did not recognize was the gigantic, strange mechanic spider structure that loomed nearby, two huge chimneys emanating constant plumes of smoke as it remained still on its six rusty legs. At the front was a rather oval shaped cabin with transparent windows, which made clear to see who was at the Helm of such weird contraption.
"What even is that?" Collin asked himself as he warily approach the spot were Loona and Charlie were standing. Not much further, near the Hotel's entrance, were Vaggie and Husker. One looking infuriated while the other seemed mildly bored.
"Look, we already told you they are not here. I really don't know why you're being so insistent." Charlie said with a rather apologetic tone, her head looking all the way up towards the cockpit of the spider machine. Collin could easily see the outline of what he assumed was some sort of snake creature, who seemed very well dressed, although outdated, for such an intrusive occasion. Somehow the creature seemed to be able to hear Charlie's words clearly, for the sound of his frantic voice came right after, amplified by his own mechanisms.
"Ha! You take me for a fool?! I know he's hiding there! Have you finally admitted that I'm a threat to you, Alastor? Come out and let's settle this like proper gentleman. I look forward to decorate my new invention with your blood!"
"Is this guy for real? He looks one of these bad cartoony villains Humans do for kids and shit." Loona commented quietly, her eyes studying the giant iron spider with slight fascination. "I gotta say it looks cool and all, but it's still dumb and looks about to break with a good hit." She looked at Collin standing at her side. "Say, why don't you try shooting one of the legs? Maybe it will crack and detach. That gun can pack a good punch on this rusty pile of shit."
"You want me to attack, even if he hasn't really done anything yet?" Collin inquired with worry. Loona snorted, her hand pointing towards several cracks showing on the Hotel's lower walls.
"He sure started it, I say we break his toy before he ruins our new home." She stated seriously, to which Collin couldn't help but agree. He clumsily adjusted the rifle into an offensive position, carefully placing one finger on the trigger as he slowly released the safety switch. He wasn't sure how to work all the attachments, but the scope surely would help him aim better.
"Have you ever tried using one of those before?" Loona asked calmly as she watched him work the weapon so hesitantly. He shook his head.
"Nothing this powerful. What you think I should do?" He asked with a touch of anxiety.
"First, don't use your clavicle to sustain the weapon, unless you want a fracture as soon you fire the first shot." She pointed out severely. "There's a hand grip on that, you need to hold firm on it, it will help control the recoil, it will have some powerful kickback, especially if you're auto firing."
"Auto firing?" He questioned, puzzled at what that even meant. Loona sighed. She never thought she would be in a situation that she would need to teach anyone about how to use a weapon. Patience isn't really a thing she has, but with Collin it would require some effort from her part.
Unless...
"Gimme that!" She shouted, taking the gun away from his hands abruptly.
"Wha..." Collin was taken aback. Yet, before he could say anything, the Hellhound shifted around, aiming the gun towards the gigantic iron monster.
"Just watch how I do it. You said you can learn from just seeing it, right? Then pay attention!" She said before unleashing bullets into one of the spider's legs, hitting at one of the joints.
Collin's ears quickly bounced back at the deafening sound the rifle produced. He gritted his teeth as the muzzle flashed nonstop, he watched as Loona shifted her feet around, legs bending slightly, her hands firm and arms pulling down, holding the power of the kickback. He was astonished by how brutally she engaged the spider. Few bullets were enough to crack one legs off, the ease of it made the Hellhound engage the other legs in quick succession, rushing at a rather frightening pace.
"What?! What are you doing you Demon dog!? How dare you attac- NO! STOP IT!" He shouted in horror, realizing three of the legs were torn out of the main structure rather quickly. "Dammit you damn eggheads! I told you to use fresh steel!" The uneven balance became noticeable as Sir Pentious felt everything around him shift to one side slowly. "Stop it now!" He quickly assaulted his panel, activating whatever weaponry he could to finish of his attacker.
Two small turrets protruded from the belly of the spider, slowly rotating to engage Loona, who was running around for better angles. She saw the turrets coming out, but paid them no mind, still shooting the few bullets she has left on the fourth leg. That last attack was enough to collapse the entire thing. The turrets fired, but their aim was throw off once the spider tilted to the side, crashing onto the open ground. One of the chimneys suffered major damage, resulting on an explosion that detonated one of its main engines. Several pieces of metal flew all over the place, alongside other strange materials.
Charlie was stunned, looking in awe at the destruction caused with ease by the Hellhound. She watched as Loona slowly walked back towards them, a rather smug smile on her face, the rifle laying on her shoulder without a magazine attached.
"Yeah, had to be quick on it, not enough ammo. Would've been more fun." She said casually, returning the weapon to a dumbstruck Collin. "Don't forget to summon ammo next time." Loona added with some mirth. "I hope you learned something."
"Huh, I hope so." Collin replied numbly. He just took notice of Vaggie and Husker being at their side.
"Hey, how come you want to work reception? You sure are more qualified than desk job." Vaggie said, looking mildly impressed and somewhat pleased. Loona shrugged. "Well, at least I can count on someone else to deal with pretentious jerk whenever he comes around." She pointed at said Demon as he struggled to come out of from the cockpit through the cracked windshield. "This won't be the last time he will come here to take a piss, I will tell you that much. Also, you might just have made an enemy of him. He won't forget this any time soon."
"So why don't we just kill him?" Loona asked again, although more insistently. "I have enough pain in the ass to deal with, I don't need another one."
"Don't look at me, ask Miss Forgiving over here." Vaggie replied while looking at Charlie, who returned the stared with an apologetic smile. "If it was on me, he would be turned into a nice pair of boots by now."
"Whatever. Let's go back inside. I got better things to do than dealing with another lunatic." The Hellhound slowly turned around, grabbing Collin on her way back with a gentle pull of arm. "Come on, you and I have a lot to talk about. I'm sure Charlie can handle the 'diplomatic' part here." Loona added before they went out of sight.
Charlie couldn't help the dread she felt once she turned her attention back to the crash site, seeing a rather irate and slightly injured Sir Pentious make his way straight at her.
"Oh, boy. This is going to be one of those days."