Chapter 13: Fourth Day in Hell

And once again, Anya woke up, and sighed. She didn't know how much time had passed since she ended up in Hell and arrived at the hotel. To her, it seemed like a long time had passed, but something told her that it wasn't.

But she decided not to think too much about it for now. The girl quickly got out of bed, did her daily cleaning routine again, and made her way all the way to the dining room to have her breakfast.

She met Charlie and Niffty again, who were happy to see her well that morning. And then, they served her pancakes to cheer her up again. Anya felt that this day would be very great.

After that, she went to the lounge, where she found Angel Dust lying on one sofa, while Husk was sitting on another, with a tired and grumpy expression, as if unexpected.

She then walked across the room until the feline noticed her. - "Ah, good morning, Anya. I see you woke up feeling more energetic today. Did you sleep well?" - he asked, smiling slightly.

Angel heard this and turned to see the child, and his surprised expression changed to a smiling one. - "Hi, Anya. How are you?" - he asked, getting her attention.

Anya smiled at him and lay down on the floor, starting to draw on some sheets of paper that were already there on the floor, along with crayons. - "Anya is fine. This time, Anya slept well, compared to yesterday." - she replied.

This left the spider confused. - "What do you mean?" - he asked, followed by a response from Husk. - "She didn't sleep all night last night. That's why everyone is happy that she woke up well today."

With that explanation, Dust looked down briefly, upset and worried. - "Gee, I didn't... I didn't know that..." - he muttered.

Anya saw in his mind that Angel thought that his absence could have been the possible cause of this, making the child feel bad for him. She then stood up and walked to him.

"It's okay, Mr. Dust. Anya just had a stressful day. That's why Anya didn't sleep well last night." - She tried to reassure him, smiling. It seemed to work a little, but the thought of guilt was still in his thoughts.

The little girl looked at Husk, who simply thought that Angel must just be worrying about her since he was her legal guardian, which she nodded slightly at him in response.

And then, Anya decided to think of something that could cheer him up or free him from that feeling of guilt. - "And by the way, did Mr. Dust bring anything for Anya?" - she asked, trying not to sound too demanding.

With that, Angel Dust gave a slight facepalm as he remembered this.

"Shit, I forgot about that, girl. I'll be right back." - He declared, as he got up from the sofa and left the and Husk shared a brief glance at the spider's abrupt departure.

"Sometimes he can be a little forgetful, depending on the circumstances. But while he's gone, girl, answer me a few things." - the feline explained and declared, making the child look at him nervously.

But instead of speaking, he asked her in his thoughts. - "You waited for Angel last night, didn't you? He told me about it earlier, before you arrived." - Anya just nodded in response, and then came another question.

"You… have you read his thoughts again?"- His expression showed slight fear and concern. The little girl nodded slightly again and assured. - "Anya only saw glimpses of his memories and some inner thoughts, but nothing more."

"What kind of glimpses?" - "Like, shadows of different people, nothing more. Anya didn't even know how to decipher these people, and from what Anya understood, Mister Dust doesn't seem to have a good job."

She saw Husk sigh and rub his forehead as he whispered to her. - "Well, unfortunately, girl... this kind of matter you can't understand right now. And I can tell... it's complicated even for most of us here. I hope you try not to explore his thoughts too much. Try to control your power or something, okay?"

Anya was confused by that, but nodded and declared. - "Anya will try to learn to control it." - She stood up and joined the two fingers on her left hand and placed her right hand on her chest.

"Control what, girl?" - Angel Dust's voice invaded the room, taking the girl by surprise. She looked around, sweating nervously. - "Control... my... sleep schedule?" - she lied, hoping Angel would believe it.

The spider briefly looked at her suspiciously, but decided to shrug it off. - "Okay then." - He sat back down on the sofa and patted its side lightly, signaling for Anya to sit there.

The little girl walked and climbed onto the couch and directed her gaze at him. Angel sighed in slight nervousness and gave a smile. - "Well, everyone will judge me, but fuck it. I brought you this, Anya."

Dust then revealed a medium-sized rectangular gift box, which he had hidden behind his back with his second pair of arms. Anya took the gift box from his hands and looked back at the spider, who nodded encouragingly for her to open it.

She then took a deep breath and began to unwrap the gift box. Upon opening it, Anya's face lit up in surprise. - "This is a..."

She put her hand in and withdrew it, revealing a medium-sized gun. Husk was shocked by the gift the girl had received.

"... a silenced pistol." - She exclaimed, a sparkle in her eyes and a wider smile on her face.

Angel Dust smiled, pleased that the little girl liked the gift. - "I'm glad you liked it, Anya. I heard you liked silenced pistols, so I brought you one." - Then, his expression turned serious. - "But remember. Only use it in case of self-defense. If someone tries to hurt you or kidnap you again and I can't be around, you use it, okay?"

Anya looked back at him and nodded. - "Anya promises, Mr. Dust." - She declared, saluting him in response.

The spider smiled at her in response. And then, he said. - "Great, now how about keeping it in your room? We don't want any trouble with Charlie and Vaggie, right?" - with that, the child put the gun back in the gift box and carried it running to her room, while shouting at him. - "Thank you, Mr. Dust!"

As soon as he was sure that Anya was no longer around, Husk started talking to Angel Dust, in a clearly not happy tone of voice.

"Are you crazy, Angel?! How can you give this kind of gift to a child?! What if she has an accident trying to handle it and dies?! How will things turn out for her and you?!"

In response, Dust rolled his eyes and stated with a wry smile. - "Relax, Kitten. This pistol has a safety catch. So, there's no way Anya can unlock it without knowing how to do it. And like I said, it's only for self-defense. I can't risk another kidnapping in my absence, again." - this last part was said in a very serious tone.

The feline held back an angry sigh and simply crossed his arms, while continuing to look disapprovingly at the spider.

Anya opened her room door and walked in, walking towards her commode and putting the gift box in the bottom drawer.

She then jumped for joy for she received a silenced pistol, which she used to see spies use in her favorite series. But then, she thought, now all she needed was a television so she could watch those same series. But of course, she couldn't ask Angel Dust for that, so her other option would be to ask Charlie.

Of course, before that, she had to take a nice bath in her bathtub and put on some clean clothes.

After that, she left her room, but was surprised by another person, who was already in the hallway at the exact moment she left her room.

"Oh, good morning, dear. How are you? You haven't told anyone about our conversation, have you?" - Alastor greeted her, followed by another stat sound at the last part.

The girl cringed in fear, but shook her head sideways in denial. With that, the static disappeared, and the Radio Demon smiled friendly at her. - "That's good to hear, child. I don't want they to think I'm trying to spend time with you or anything. So keep it to yourself if you know better, Anya."

With that, he left and disappeared from her sight, leaving the child somewhat terrified, even more so since he had spoken her name for the first timein that threatening tone of voice.

She then shook her head from side to side, regaining her senses and then she started to go down the stairs again. She returned to the lounge, and thought it strange that Husk and Angel Dust were very quiet. She knew that the feline would not want to think too much at that moment, given his expression, but with the spider it was different.

Angel's thoughts clearly showed the discussion they had when she left. As soon as he saw her, his annoyed expression changed to a smiling one again. - "Ah, Anya. It took you so long. What did you think of your gift?"

Despite finding his behavior strange, the girl smiled and declared: - "Anya loved it. How did Mr. Dust know Anya liked that type of weapon?"

Dust smiled and replied. - "I just assumed, dear. And by the way, would you like to go to an ice cream shop with me? I thought you would like to try new flavors they have there."

Anya sighed in excitement again and waved again. - "Yay, Anya wants to go try ice cream!" - she announced excitedly.

With that, the spider lightly clapped her hands and got up from the sofa and declared. - "Cool, then let's go, girl." - with that, the child ran to the hotel door, still celebrating, while Angel started to follow her.

As soon as he heard the hotel door open and close, indicating that the two had left, Husk just sighed and commented to himself. - "I don't know how she can trust this guy blindly."

02/09/2025: Well, another chapter of writing the routine. And by my calculations, there are 3 days left chronologically until the events of the series begin. And when that happens, remember: most of the chapters will be from Anya's perspective, but there will also be a few paragraphs from the perspective of the main cast, in some chapters. And tomorrow, another chapter will come out, which will be the last one of the year.