Chapter 45: Whatever it takes
A/N: Hey everyone. So it seems there was quite a bit of mixed reactions with the last chapter and how Jenny reacted during Vaggie's trust exercise. A lot of readers didn't seem to like that and thought it was very out of character for her. I will agree she has been lashing out these last few chapters but fear not it'll be explained. Everything is written in a way that makes sense later on down the road.
I will say I do appreciate these kinds of reviews. I actually look forward to these reviews because it helps me improve the story. I'm not a professional writer so every bit of critique both good and bad is helpful. It helps me see what you guys enjoy the most about this story and what you feel doesn't fit and needs to be improved on. If it wasn't for your reviews and messages saying what you thought of each chapter we wouldn't get as far as 45 chapters. I didn't think this story would be this long, but thanks to you guys we've gotten this far. I look forward to your reviews because I just love hearing what you all think. I go back and read them when I need to brainstorm and when I'm having a bad day because they always put a smile on my face. Hearing these last reviews get angry with how Jenny acted makes me happy because it means you guys enjoy her. When you guys say 'Jenny would never act like this!' that means you guys pay attention to her and feel like she's actually from the show. I'm flattered that you guys like her so much!
Thank you guys for showing your support with this story. You guys are what make this story so special. It makes me want to do better so you guys get to have an enjoyable read.
Now with that out of the way, let's get on with the story!
Also there's going to be a few cameos in this chapter. My dogs will be introduced to the story! I know Viviziepop likes to add her cats as minor cameos in the shows so I thought why not do that with my story? Hope you guys will get a kick out of Muffin and Waffles!
Disclaimer: I don't own Hazbin Hotel or Helluva Boss. I just own my characters.
Song used: Whatever it take from the Hazbin Sountrack.
Enjoy!
/
Blitzo grumbled as he kept flicking off the filth that was stuck to his clothing. It was a pain in the ass trying to climb out from the sewers after Alastor opened up that manhole on him. Not only did he get covered in Satan knew what but he probably smelled awful too. Just perfect for going to the pound and rescuing those two kids.
"Fucking Bambi and his fuck ass bob haircut"
A couple of Sinners walked past him and snickered as they looked on their phones.
"You see that video of Jenny Nightingale beating the shit out of Vox?"
"Yeah. That thing was fucking hilarious. I wonder what he's going to do to her as payback"
"Probably will make her work for Valentino or something. That's what he usually does to people who piss him off. I'll pay big money to see her swinging from a pole"
Blitzo stopped dead in his tracks as he heard the Sinners talk about Jenny.
"She's pretty to look at, I'll give you that. Wonder how she would look in one of Val's movies? Think she'd make a bunch of sexy faces while someone is going to town on her?"
"I bet that voice of hers would hit a high note when she's down on all fours. I'm actually getting excited just imagining it"
"We should go visit that hotel she's staying at and-"
A knife went across one of the Sinner's throats as Blitzo slit it wide open, letting blood spray everywhere. The other Sinner freaked out over this sudden act of violence but he didn't need to think too long on it as the Imp pulled out his gun and blew his brains out. The Sinner with his throat cut fell to the ground, gagging on his blood. He looked up at Blitzo fearfully. The Imp had his crazy moments when it came to killing. But right now he was insane with bloodlust.
He knelt on top of the Sinner's body and tilted his head innocently.
"Don't you know it's not polite to talk about women like that?" he cooed.
He opened the Sinner's mouth and pulled out his tongue.
"You better watch that tongue of yours"
He cut the tongue out of the Sinner's mouth and smirked when the poor sap screamed in pain. He wasn't done yet. He needed to teach this punk some manners.
"So you wanna see Jenny act huh? Too bad you need to have eyes to see that"
He dug his claws into their skull and gouged out the eyeballs.
"Or ears to hear her singing"
He hacked away at their ears with his knife.
"And you think you're lucky enough to get in bed with her? She's engaged to a dickless wonder and his dick is bigger than yours"
He shot at the Sinners groin and blew his little member off like it was nothing. He stabbed the Sinner a few more times and covered the sidewalk with blood and gore. When there was nothing more than a pile of mush, he wiped his face and steadied his breathing. He stood up and looked at the sorry excuse of a Sinner who thought it was smart to slut shame a girl.
"No one will be good enough for her. I'll always make sure that trash like you stays away from her"
Killing pig headed guys might have been an overkill but he didn't care. When it came to Jenny he would go beyond being a friend. She never expected anything from him or asked anything in return when he needed her help and vise versa. He was so used to having to return 'favors' for help but she never wanted that from him.
"You don't have to give me anything in return for helping you out, Blitz. Friends help each other out because they want to. I'll always help you out because you've been there for me when I had no one else. I'll do whatever you need for the rest of my life because you gave me something I've yearned for since I was kid. I'll be by your side no matter what. I'll do whatever it takes to repay you back"
His claws curled into a fist. He had longed for an honest, healthy bond with someone since he was a kid. He never got it with his father, he ruined it with Fizz and his sister, he knew Millie and Moxxie were loyal because they were employed by him and Stolas…well that was a complicated situation. But with Jenny, he got the bond he had craved. She wasn't friends with him because she could get something out of him or because she was paid to. She stayed by his side because she treasured their friendship.
Even though she wouldn't feel or see him the same way he did, he would still defend her honor because he was a loyal friend. He would protect her no matter what.
Whatever it took.
/
Picking up a bottle of strong liquor, Carmilla swore in Spanish as she chugged the bottle. She kept kicking herself for losing her composure at the meeting. Velvette acted out on purpose to get a rise out of everyone and she fell right into the brat's trap. Now Velvette knew something was up about that severed head and she would use that to her advantage. Whatever the Vee's were up to, they would make themselves look good while they slandered Carmilla and her company. Just as payback for not helping them with their 'Angelic Security'
Zestial looked at his old friend with worry.
"Carmilla, what troubles thou? Losing thy composure is unlike thee"
The weapons specialist sighed and lowered the bottle.
"It's nothing, Zestial. Really"
Zestial tilted his head. He had known Carmilla for a long time and knew when she wasn't telling the truth.
"The felled angel…'twas by thy hand, was it not?"
Carmilla gripped the counter as reflex. Not looking at Zestial, she walked over to her desk.
"Let's not talk about it"
Her daughters looked at her sadly.
"Mom…maybe he should know" Clara said.
Carmilla gave her a harsh stare.
"Nobody should know. I did what I had to do. I am not discussing this"
Frank poked his head from behind the plant he was hiding behind and listened to what they were saying.
"But mom, this shouldn't be hidden. This might stop the upcoming Extermination" Odette pointed out.
"You're not the only one who caused harm. That girl Charlie Morningstar is looking after was able to harm them too. We can do something if we asked for her help"
"You heard what Alastor said. No one knows what that girl did" Carmilla argued.
"As much as I'm curious about how she harmed Lute, I won't risk the chance of finding out about her powers. She hasn't done it since that day so we have no proof aside from videos from a few phones. We don't know if what she did could harm Sinners as well. If we were able to make weapons with that supposed blood of hers that could harm angels and Sinners do you have any idea how dangerous things would become in the Pride Ring? The Vees may be willing to get a quick cash grab without doing research but I'm not stupid like they are"
"But mom"
"No more. I will not get dragged into this mess. We suffered greatly from the last Extermination and we haven't recovered from that still. I will not get my hands dirty any further"
She stepped away from her desk and went over to the window to stare out at the city. For being the best weapon specialist, there were moments where she felt powerless and lost. Moments such as these. What could she do that wouldn't cause things to go from bad to worse?
Zestial went over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"What weighs on your soul, old friend?
I implore you to share the load.
If it was thou who slew the angel
Why not let your strength be known?"
Carmilla closed her eyes tightly.
"I always thought…
That I would keep blood off my face
But when that thing attacked, I had to act
To cross that line and keep them safe.
But if anyone knew, then all of Hell would rise to war.
And who's to say who'd survive the fray?
I might lose the ones that I was killing for!"
She turned to her daughters and pulled them close.
"So I~~~~~
I'll be your keeper.
Do whatever it takes,
I'll make the mistakes,
I'll keep you safe and keep this secret"
Blitzo walked along the streets of the city as he made his way to the dog pound. He looked up at the red sky as he thought of Jenny and their bond.
"When I saw your face
You made me feel
Like a stranger in a brand new place.
And it felt so good
To be understood.
But there's so much I wished that I could say"
He climbed over some wreckage and jumped over fallen buildings as he continued on. He looked so sad yet determined as he continued to sing.
"So I~~~~~~
I'll be your armor
Do whatever it takes,
I'll make the mistakes,
I'll spend my life being your partner"
Back with Carmilla, she continued to sing her part of her struggles.
"And I don't know
What we might face.
But I know I can't replace you
So I'll do anything to save you"
Blitzo scaled up a building as he looked out across the city.
"And I will try to make your dreams come true"
"Whatever we go through" Both Blitzo and Carmilla said at the same time.
"I know I~~~~
I'll be your keeper" Carmilla said.
"I'll be your armor" Blitzo said.
"What ever it takes
I'll make the mistakes"
"I'll make the mistakes.
Whatever it takes"
When Blitzo finished singing his song, he stood on top of a car and clutched his closed fist to his heart with his head hung.
The driver poked his head out and glared up at him.
"Hey asshole! Get off of my car!"
Blitzo glared at the driver.
"Fuck you! I'm trying to have a serious moment here!"
The driver honked his horn at him. Rolling his eyes, Blitzo hopped off the car and stormed away.
"Can't even have a fucking musical number around here"
/
Alastor waited outside with the other egg boys. They kept themselves busy by playing in the trash and finding random things.
"Trash is fun!"
Alastor rolled his eyes. So long as they didn't bug him, he didn't care what they got into. They better not touch him afterwords though.
Frank came out of the elevator after he was able to sneak out of Carmilla's office.
Finally, now to get some dirt on Carmilla.
"So, what did you hear?"
Frank scratched his head as he tried to remember what he heard.
"First, the old guy was all 'you're not yourself, you're the one who killed the angel' a-a-and then she was all 'whatever it takes' and then-"
"No, no, what was that last thing you said?" Alastor said. He leaned in and got real close to Frank.
The egg tilted his head.
"She killed the angel?"
Alastor scratched his chin in thought.
"Interesting"
So that was why she tried to shoot down Velvette's desire to find out who killed the angel. She was behind it. But why would the weapons specialist want to hide that she killed an angel? That seemed out of character.
But what did it matter? Now that he had some solid dirt, he might be able to find something useful with this information. Perhaps find a way to protect themselves with the upcoming Extermination?
He gave Frank a big, scary grin. Who knew such an annoying pest could be useful?
"Let's keep this between us, shall we?"
Frank nodded.
"Ok, boss"
"Good. Now let's head back. I've babysat you all long enough and I need to get rid of the headache your annoying voices caused to create it"
They walked away from Carmilla's office. Alastor's ear twitched as he thought of something.
"One more thing…did she or Zestial mention anything about Jennifer?"
"The pretty lady from the hotel? Yeah they talked about her" Frank said.
Alastor's eyes glowed as he looked at the egg.
"What did they say?"
Frank shrugged.
"Well, one of the girls said the knife lady should talk to the pretty lady and they could work together. The knife lady didn't seem to like that idea and said she wasn't stupid like the Vee's. Said that the pretty lady's blood might be harmful to Sinners and she doesn't want to find out"
Alastor hummed in thought. So Carmilla wasn't going to unexpectedly visit the hotel like Vox did. That's good to know.
"What a relief. I was starting to worry she might want to snatch away my favorite source of entertainment. That would have been foolish on her part"
Since Carmilla was smart enough not to bother Jenny, he would keep her secret…for now. She had her reasons for keeping the severed head a secret and he had his reasons for lying about Jenny's blood.
No way he was going to share his favorite little firecracker.
/
Meanwhile, Blitzo finally made it to the pound where the warden lead him down a series of halls.
"I'm surprised you were the one who ended up adopting those two. Didn't think you had that kind of money on you to own not only Loona but two Corgis as well" she drawled.
Blitzo gave her a disgusted look. Despite being a hellhound herself, the warden seemed to treat all the hounds that were here as if they were pets.
"How about you just act like you're happy that you got paid instead of wondering where the money came from" he said.
"Whatever. They'll be out of my hands. Those two have been a real handful. Muffin seems to be a real scatterbrain and is all over the place while Waffles bit three of my guards hands off when they got too close to him. They need a good whack on the nose"
Blitzo growled. He would never lay his hands on a kid, let alone Loona. He had been beaten as a kid and that still traumatized him.
They reached the cell where the two kids in question were in. The warden unlocked the cell and opened the door a fraction.
"Get in before they get out. Muffin is super fast and a bitch to get back"
"Yeah, yeah. Now beat it so you don't scare them" Blitzo snapped.
He slipped into the cell and made sure the warden walked away. When she was gone, he looked at one of the corners of the room where sure enough two little corgis were huddled. The bigger of the two had a tricolored face with a white diamond patten along his snout while the smaller one had an all black and white face with tan colored ears. The girl hid behind her brother while he snarled at Blitzo.
Blitzo held his hands up to show he meant no harm.
"Easy there, I'm not here to harm you"
He knelt down so he wouldn't look intimidating and so he would be eye level with them. His fatherly side kicked in as he tried to appear gentle.
"Are you guys Muffin and Waffles?"
Muffin poked her head out from behind Waffles. Her little ears dropped slightly to cover her eyes.
"W-who are you?"
Blitzo put on a big grin.
"I'm Blitzo. I'm…a friend of Hugo's"
Hearing Hugo's name, their ears perked up.
"You know Hugo?" Muffin asked.
Blitzo nodded.
"Big, giant gargoyle with a scar along his face and talks with a deep British accent? Used to be a soldier in WW2? Kinda has a mouth and grumbles a lot."
Muffin perked up when this stranger described Hugo.
"He knows Hugo, Waffles!"
Waffles pushed his sister back and glared at the Imp.
"How do you know Hugo? You can't be his friend. We've never met you before"
"That's true. I recently ran into him. He came to this hotel I work at that is ran by Princess Morningstar. He mentioned he was trying to find two little Corgis named Muffin and Waffles. Seems like this place was giving him a hard time trying to get you two out so he asked for my help since my daughter came from this place and I was able to get in here" Blitzo explained.
Waffles snarled and backed further into the corner.
"Lair! You're just trying to get us out of here so we can go to some rich, royal family who will treat us like toys! That's what everyone has been trying to do when they see us"
Blitzo pulled out the bandana Hugo gave him and handed it to Waffles.
"You recognize this scent?" he asked.
Their noses picked up that familiar scent of their guardian that came from the cloth. They would know that smell anywhere.
"It's Hugo!" Muffin cried.
Waffles still looked at Blitzo with narrowed eyes.
"Just because you have that doesn't mean we should trust you" he said.
Blitzo nodded in agreement.
"That's true. I'm a stranger and you shouldn't trust or talk to strangers" he agreed.
"But I promise I'm not here to hurt you or take you somewhere bad. You guys want to go back to Hugo, right? If you want to go back to him, you're gonna have to trust me and come with me…that is unless you'd rather stay here still"
Muffin and Waffles looked at each other. Hugo always told them not to talk to strangers or go with them. But if they stay here, someone else would try to adopt them and they would never see him again. They didn't want to disobey their guardian's orders but they didn't want to stay here either.
Waffles looked back at Blitzo.
"You promise you're taking us back to Hugo? This isn't a trap?"
Blitzo held put his pinky.
"I pinky swear that I'm taking you back to your guardian. Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a bullet between my eyes"
You couldn't be more serious than a pinky promise. Promises were binding and they couldn't be broken no matter what.
Biting his lip, Waffles gingerly walked over to Blitzo and linked pinkies with him.
"Get us out of here" he pleaded.
Blitzo ruffled the boy's head and gave him a gentle smile.
"You got it, kid. Let's blow this joint!"
Muffin came up to him. She tugged on his sleeve with an innocent look on her face.
"Do you know Princess Morningstar?"
Blitzo nodded. His smile was a bit strained as he thought of Charlie. She was still on super thin ice with him thanks to this whole situation and everything in general. But the kids didn't need to know what.
"I sure do. I work as a bodyguard for this hotel she's running. That's where Hugo is staying at right now"
Muffin's eyes sparkled with delight.
"We get to meet a princess?!"
"Ummm, sure? She'll be at the hotel when we get there. I take it you like princesses?"
Muffin nodded eagerly.
"Well, the sooner we leave here, the sooner you can meet Charlie"
The little girl squealed with delight and threw herself at Blitzo. The imp caught the girl and patted her on the back as he smiled. Seeing kids be innocent and happy about simple things softened his heart. They shouldn't have to face harsh things just yet. They deserved to be happy and carefree.
He stood up and offered his hands to the kids.
"You guys ready to go?"
The nodded and took his hands.
"Ok, let's go on a little adventure!"
He took them out of the cell and walked along the long hallways. A couple of hellhounds snarled and barked at them as they walked by, angry that they were still locked away while these two kids got out. Muffin shrank closer to Blitzo in fear. Waffles tried to look brave but he gripped the Imp's sleeve on reflex. The imp squeezed their hands and gave them a gentle smile.
"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you guys. It might be a little scary starting off on a new journey but it's always worth it in the end"
Feeling a bit more safe the three of them left the scary dog pound and headed on their little adventure to the hotel.
/
The gang returned to the hotel feeling more disgruntled and bitter than they did at the start of the trust exercises. It was obvious that Charlie, Vaggie and Angel's ideas of forming better bonds with each other did the opposite of what they were trying to do.
They really didn't want to try Jenny's idea because they were just done with the day. But since the human went out of her way to come up with something for them, it would have been rude to push it aside. They would just get this stupid game over with so they could be done with the day.
Loona looked at the group. While she could give two shits about this exercise, if she was going to stay at this hotel she wanted the tension to be resolved with everyone. This bickering was giving her a fucking headache.
"How about we take a mini break before we start Jenny's game. I think we need a breather after that Turf War" she said.
Everyone was puzzled when they heard the Hellhound speak. Why did she care about taking a break? She didn't want to participate to begin with.
But then again, they were feeling drained with how the day has been so a break didn't sound like a bad idea.
They shuffled over to the parlor to sit down and veg out. Loona grabbed Jenny, Charlie and Vaggie, holding them back.
"We need to have a little talk"
She ushered them to one of the other side rooms so the tenants wouldn't hear their little chat. It was time they got an outsider's perspective to how everyone felt about this hotel.
"After today's events, I feel it's safe and easy to say that you three suck ass when it comes to running this hotel" she said flatly.
The girls gave Loona a weary look. Of course the hound would have something negative to say about everything.
"Loona" Jenny sighed.
"Ah, ah! I'm speaking on behalf of everyone here and saying what they're thinking so don't argue with me" Loona said.
"It's true. You three aren't on the same page with running this place and it shows. You all have different ideas, you all think you know what's best for this place and it's obvious you three don't really trust each other. Kinda ironic since we've been doing trust exercises all day"
"But we do trust each other" Charlie insisted.
"No you don't and frankly I don't think they trust you either" Loona said.
"Take this morning for example. Pentious went straight to Jenny for help instead of you when Vaggie tried to get rid of his minions. He should have gone to you since this is your hotel but he didn't because he didn't think you would side with him since Vaggie is your girlfriend and you're a pushover. They might have decided to move on with this whole incident with Hugo but you still put them in danger by not checking his background. You can say sorry a million times but that doesn't mean it make things better"
She turned her attention to Vaggie.
"Who the fuck would think going to a Turf War would be a good idea to bult trust with each other? Aside from Hugo none of the group has really fought in a big battle. You've been negative about this hotel since I've been here. You didn't like how Bambi made that first commercial? No shit! He's not taking this place seriously so why would you have him film something when he's known to hate modern technology? And don't be pissed off that the commercial you made got clipped because of the news. There are other ways to promote this place besides tv. There's literally dozens of social media platforms that you could have used for this place. You treat everyone like idiots instead of trying to understand them. Instead of talking with Pentious and explaining there's no weapons here your first thought was to get rid of his minions as punishment. Instead of trying to help Angel Dust curb his drug problem, you get into fights and egg him on. How can anyone trust you when you're being strict all the time and fighting with them?"
Vaggie looked away in shame. Loona then turned her attention to Jenny.
"And you…you have had a bug up your ass for the last few weeks and you're taking it out on Charlie and Vaggie"
Jenny scoffed and crossed her arms.
"No I'm not" she argued.
"Bullshit" Loona spat.
"I get it that you were pissed off at Charlie with the whole Hugo situation and you have every right to be mad but cussing and lashing out is going way overboard for you. You chew Blitz out all the time when he acts like this. You even almost went Southern on Vaggie earlier threatening to beat her with a belt with the Turf War. And with this whole taking over the exercise thing. When I mentioned you should take over, I didn't mean sabotage the thing! Why would you listen to me over Charlie anyway? This isn't my hotel! You've been doing your whole 'I need to fix everything' when you feel like things aren't going your way. That may work with Blitz since he can be a dumbass but these two are not…to an extent"
Charlie and Vaggie gave Loona a dirty look but the hound ignored them. She wasn't done grilling out the person who she considered to be a mother to her.
"What is going on? The only time you lashed out and acted like this was shortly after your grandma died. This isn't like you, Jen. You're better than this. What could you be bitter an angry about?"
Jenny gripped her sleeves.
"You're right. I am angry. And you wanna know why? Let me ask you this. What month is it?"
"umm, April?" Charlie asked slowly.
"That's right. I've been here since Halloween so that means I've been down here for six months. Half a year I've ended up in Hell and still no way of getting back" Jenny said.
"There's always been one roadblock after another. Find a way to get back home? No problem, I'll find Blitz since he has that book. I find Blitz only to learn that a cult was hired by someone to kidnap me. I can't go back home yet because we don't know who this mysterious group is. But wait! The person who was from that cult got killed and should be down here! Great, now I can find out who hired them so Blitz can kill the group that is still out there. What's that? We have info about this cult person but we haven't found her yet? Oh well, guess we'll find her later. While you're waiting Jenny, why not help out with the hotel? It's not like you're in a rush to get back home or anything"
Tears fell from her eyes the more she spoke. All the anger and frustration she kept bottled away because of this whole situation had finally reached the top and came pouring out.
"I promised I would help out with the hotel in return you would help me find a way home. I have gone above and beyond on my end. I've defended you from Katie Killjoy, I chewed Vox out when he insulted you, I tried to have everyone who is staying here give your idea a chance and help them out. I've done my part but I haven't seen you trying to help me. You claim you're looking into stuff but you never give me any info. Not even bad news or that you haven't found any new leads. Nothing. You've been so focused on getting this hotel up and running that I feel like you put my situation on the backburner. Angel Dust has been trying to find out where Martha is so we can interrogate her but the person who promised she would help me has been remote silence for months. I'm helping you reach your goal but I've noticed you haven't been really helping me. Do you get why I've been so angry with you guys?"
Charlie had a few tears in her eyes as well when Jenny spoke. Vaggie looked away in shame. The human was right. While they made sure Jenny was safe and kept her secret while she was down here, they didn't follow up on the other end of their promise. They were so focused on this new Extermination Day and making this hotel work. They wanted to get Sinners out of Hell but they weren't trying to get their human friend out of Hell as a result. Instead of finding Martha they focused on finding more tenants.
Of course Jenny would be angry with them. She helped them but they didn't really help her.
Some friends they were.
"You're right…we have fucked up with this" Charlie admitted.
"But I didn't forget my promise to you. I have been trying to find info about Martha but it's been really tricky finding out where she is. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to upset you with lousy information. I should have told you what was going on so you knew I was still helping you"
She couldn't bring up the newspaper article Blitzo gave her. The one where they called off the search for Jenny. She knew the human wouldn't be able to handle such awful information.
"And you're right about Hugo. Him wanting to stay here shorty after Vox came here should have been a huge red flag but I didn't pay attention to it. I just wanted to prove Adam I was right and show him this hotel would work but instead I just proved everyone here they were right and I was being an idiot. I'm supposed to keep everyone safe here and I almost put them in danger. I'm so sorry"
"I have been strict about everything but I meant well" Vaggie said.
"I was raised in a very different environment than you guys. I should have talked it out with everyone and tried to come to an understanding than start fights. Charlie can be nice and friendly with everyone but someone needs to be harsh and real when people don't take this place seriously. But…I need to understand where they're coming from too. I'm sorry I pushed everyone to fight in that Turf War. I should have seen if anyone knew how to fight first"
Jenny wiped her eyes. She had every reason to be angry but if Charlie and Vaggie were willing to admit their faults with this situation, then she should too. How else would they trust one another.
"I'm sorry for lashing out too. I should have talked about what I was feeling instead of bottling them up and exploding because of it. And I'm sorry I was going to hit you with my belt, Vaggie"
Vaggie smirked.
"I'll admit that took me by surprise. Didn't expect that from you. I'll give you credit since it's hard to surprise me like that"
"I'm known for surprising others apparently" Jenny joked.
"That was funny you threw those masochists off the building" Charlie added.
Jenny made a face at the thought of the freaky group.
"Yeah, now that I think about it. I think those freaks enjoyed it a little too much"
The girls chuckled a little at how silly everything had been. Loona looked at them and smiled a little.
"So we all good? We all aired out our problems we have with each other and came to an understanding?"
The three girls looked at each other. While they still needed to fix some of the issues they had with one another, they all knew that they meant no harm to one another. It was just a bunch of misunderstandings that could be resolved with talking.
"Yeah, I'd say we're good" Vaggie said.
"Good. Now hug it out and let's finish the day off" Loona said.
"You three are the glue to this place so you need to stick together to make this work"
The three girls went into a group hug. They might have messed up but they were still friends. And they would help each other fix their messes.
"Now let's go see what Jenny had in mind for our exercise!" Charlie said.
Jenny stayed behind and looked at Loona with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm impressed you fixed this issue. You usually stay out of situations like this"
Loona shrugged.
"Sometimes in order to fix things, you need an outside perspective. I learned that from the best"
She gave a human a little smirk.
"I do pay attention to you. Just don't tell Blitz that"
Jenny snorted. She gave the hound a quick hug.
"Thanks, Loonie"
Loona wrapped her arm around Jenny and gave her a hug as well.
"Yeah, yeah. Now go show these dumbasses how a class is really done"
Jenny sighed dramatically.
"I should have never told them I was a teacher. I knew this job would haunt me for the rest of my life"
"You should have taken that stripper job like your teacher suggested. Least they get paid better" Loona joked.
"If they had offered a 401K I would have" Jenny deadpanned.
/
Everyone was weary with what Jenny had in mind for her class. They had gone to a BDSM club and got thrown into a Turf War. They had just about enough of this trust building bullshit. But they were morbidly curious to see what Jenny had put together.
The human looked at the group. She could tell everyone was on edge because of today but because of how she had been acting lately too. Since she resolved everything with Charlie and Vaggie it was time to do the same with the others.
"Alright, so before we do the activity I put together I think it's my turn to owe you guys an apology. I have been acting short and lashing out these last couple of days and that hasn't been fair to you guys. Just have a lot on my mind lately"
Hugo slowly raised his hand. Jenny raised an eyebrow.
"Yes?"
"You shouldn't have to apologize, ma'am. I'm the reason behind it"
The gargoyle walked over and approached the human. His wings sagged as he looked slightly nervous.
"I um, I just wanted to say I've terribly sorry. We know why you have been angry and it's my fault. That was very wrong and messed up of me to put cameras in your room to spy for Vox. Thinking with a clear head it's no wonder why you be furious with everything. Everyone has a right to their privacy. I don't expect your forgiveness but you deserve an apology regardless"
Jenny looked out of the corner of her eye to see Charlie mouth 'just go with it'. No one could know the real reason why she had been angry this whole time. If everyone thought she was angry because of the whole Hugo situation she would roll with it.
"Uhhhh, yeah! That's why I've been angry! It was really scary that you did that" she said quickly.
Hugo slumped further in shame.
"I don't know how to repent for what I have done. Whatever you ask of me, I shall do it. It's the least I can do since you all have been kind enough to rescue Muffin and Waffles for me. I did mean it when I said I'd offer my soul contract"
He pulled up the contract again and offered it to Jenny.
"As punishment, I'll be your servant from here on out"
Jenny laughed nervously and slowly pushed the contract away.
"You know what? I'm in a forgiving mood so I'll let bygones be bygones this one time. After all the Christian thing is to give people seconds chances"
"Some of the higher ups in Heaven would say otherwise" Lue muttered to himself.
"Anyway. Let's back on track"
Jenny turned back to the group and crossed her arms.
"So this day has been…interesting"
"More like idiotic" Husker said.
"Tomatoe, tomato. Anyway, it's obvious everyone is still having a hard time trusting each other. Going to a BDSM club and a Turf War probably wasn't a great idea to build trust but it did bring up something vital about this class. If you're put in a weird and scary situation with others, I'm sure you would hope that you would help each other to get out of that, right?" Jenny pointed out.
Everyone mumbled and nodded a bit.
"So with that in mind, I'd like you to follow me out in the back so you can see what I had in mind when it comes to trusting each other"
She lead the way as she made it out back to where Tony built her little exercise. Everyone was surprised to see an obstacle course built in the back. It looked like a small version of the city with the buildings and random cars and falling structures scattered here and there.
Jenny turned to the group and put her hands on her hips.
"One of the best ways to trust someone is to help each other out in a sticky situation. The Turf War was an overkill but Vaggie had a point. This new Extermination Day has everyone scared but it doesn't have to if others work with each other. That's why we're going to have a mock extermination here"
She looked at Angel, Husker, Loona and Lue.
"Remember when we got stuck with the last extermination? We were able to survive it because we stuck together and helped each other out. Lue hid us while the angels were out on the streets. When that didn't become safe anymore, Husker showed us the backroads to safely get back to the hotel. When we ran into Mei, she was able to get to safety because we stuck together as a group and that in turn lead her to stay here at the hotel. When I was being chased by Lute, I was able to hold out because Loona had my back. By sticking together and helping each other out it, we were able to survive the extermination…even though it was my fault we were in that situation"
"Least she admits it finally" Angel muttered.
"So in spirit of that, you guys are going to be split into two groups. The challenge is to cross one end of the course to the other while the 'angels' are attacking you. In order to pass this challenge you all must cross the finish line together. In order to survive you need to work together. Whoever passes the challenge and survives wins. Sound interesting?"
Everyone was surprised by this activity. This actually sounded fun and wasn't insane at all.
"Alright, we'll give it a shot. What do we get if we win this challenge?" Angel asked.
Jenny hummed in thought.
"How about….whoever wins, I'll have to do one favor for each other the winners? If you win I have to do an activity you guys like to do since you did my activity. What do you think?"
A bunch of shit eating grins appeared on a couple of faces when they heard that.
"Oh I'm for sure going to play this now. You're on, bitch" Angel said as he cracked his knuckles.
"Not so fast. I didn't tell you the other half of the challenge. Tony!"
Tony and his guys poked out from behind the mock buildings holding paintball guns and water ballons filled with paint. As an added bonus they had paper wings and halos taped to them to make them look like angels.
"You have to cross the course while the 'angels' hit you with their 'holy weapons'. You don't want to get hit otherwise that means you've been 'exterminated'. If you get hit by a bunch of paint before you cross the other end, you lose" Jenny finished.
"Oh fuck yeah. Now we're talking! It's on!" Hugo cried.
Jenny looked at Charlie and Vaggie. She might have highjacked the class but she wanted to see what the princess thought.
"What do you think, Charlie? This ok with you?"
Charlie had huge eyes as she looked at Jenny's game in pure awe. She was too excited to play this that she didn't care Jenny took over.
"Me first! Me first! Me first!"
"This actually isn't a bad idea" Vaggie admitted.
Gaining their approval, Jenny looked back at the group.
"Alright guys. Let's team up"
/
"This is rather exciting. I've always wanted to see these kind of games in person" Stolas said cheerfully.
He was sitting up on the sideline with Jenny, Charlie and Vaggie. The groups were made after they pulled straws to see which team was together. Group one consisted of Angel Dust, Loona, Husker, Mei and Lue. Group two was Nifty, Hugo, Pentious, Millie and Moxxie. They flipped a coin to see who would start first and group two was the winner.
"Don't fuck up, fatty!" Loona said.
Moxxie gave Loona an annoyed look. He would show her. Hugo was on their team so they had a better chance of winning.
Charlie held up a flag and signaled for Tony to get ready.
"Ready. Set. Go!"
She waved the flag. Right away Tony and his guys fired off their paintball guns at the team. Pentious screamed and slithered across debris and fallen objects to avoid being hit. He had the advantage of being a snake and could slip into small areas. Nifty laughed as she scurried around, trying to clean things up. Hugo picked her up and grabbed a fake rock she had and threw it at one of Tony's guys to distract them. With his bigger frame he was able to act like a tank and plow his was through debris that blocked their way. Mille and Moxxie tag teamed as paint balloons were thrown their way. Millie caught them before they could splatter and handed it to Moxxie who threw it back at the 'angels'.
Overall, group two was doing a pretty good job. However that quickly changed when they got near the end of the course. They thought they were going to win but Tony and his guys had other plans in mind. They gathered near the end and had their guns and balloons all aimed at them.
"Surprise attack!" Tony cried.
They all fired at once planning on coating them in paint. Hugo quickly gathered his teammates and wrapped his wings around them, protecting them from the attack. He got completely covered in paint and was a rainbow of colors. By the time Tony stopped his attack, there wasn't a trace of Hugo's gray skin present.
"God damn" Jenny muttered.
Hugo didn't falter and carried his team across the finish line. While group two lost because Hugo got 'hit' they still passed the course.
Everyone cheered them on anyway. Even though they lost, they still worked as a team. Hugo acted like the soldier he was and didn't leave his men behind.
"Way to go group two!" Jenny cheered.
Pentious looked sad.
"But we lost" he said.
"Group one still hasn't gone yet so you haven't lost. And part of this game was to work together which you did. You all made sure no one got left behind and protected each other" Vaggie pointed out.
Group two felt a bit better when they heard that. It felt nice helping each other out. They looked at Hugo with admiration. He took the brunt of that last attack and made sure they didn't get hit.
"Thank you for protecting us" Pentious said.
Hugo looked serious as he stared at his team.
"Sometimes in war it's more important to save your troop than to win the battle" he said.
"I'll preach to that" Millie said.
Now that group two finished the course, Tony and his men were set up for group one.
"You can do this, Loonie!" Jenny cheered.
Loona rolled her eyes but blushed a tiny bit. Charlie held the flag up again.
"Ready. Set. Go!"
Just like before, Tony didn't hesitate to fire at group one as they entered the course. Loona's ears perked when she heard a sound to her left. She grabbed Mei and pulled her out of the way as a paint balloon landed where the lamb was standing.
"Keep your eyes open!" the hound barked.
Angel jumped at a light post and swung around it with ease as if he was dancing around a pole. He spun out of the way when a few paint balls were aimed at him and flipped off with grace and ease.
Husker pulled out a deck of cards and flung them at a couple of balloons before they could hit Lue.
"Now we're even from Extermination Day" he said.
Lue made a face. Getting saved by paint wasn't the same as killing by an angel but it was the thought that counted.
Everyone used the skills that they knew best to help each other out in the obstacle course. When they neared the finish line, Tony and his guys were waiting for them with another surprise attack.
They all fired at once, ready to turn group one into a masterpiece. Before that could happen, Mei pulled out her katana and slashed through the balloons of paint. She let out a war cry as she swung her blade back and forth, deflecting the balloons and paintballs that were aimed at her team. Her arm became a blur as she moved with speed. Finally Tony gave up when he saw they weren't going to land a hit on Mei and backed off. When Mei lowered her blade, she showed that not a single spot of paint landed on anyone. Everywhere around them was coated in paint but not them.
With the final attack out of the way, group one hurried to the finish line.
Everyone cheered including group two. That was insane. Who knew that quiet Mei could have a hidden streak like that to her? Maybe she didn't need help on Extermination Day after all?
"Looks like group one is the winner!" Charlie cheered.
Angel Dust pumped his fist in victory.
"Fuck yeah! I'm going to have so much fun making Toots my bitch for a day. This is better than drugs"
Pentious jumped up and down with Mei. He was excited that his best friend did so well.
"You were marvelous! I'm glad that katana I made for you worked so well!"
"Yay!"
Jenny looked at the group. It seemed they were getting along better now that they worked together as a team. There were still a few hiccups they needed to tend to but not everything would be fixed at once.
"This was so amazing!" Charlie said.
Jenny's smile faltered a little. While it was fun, she realized it was shitty of her to take over Charlie's class like that.
"I'm sorry I highjacked your class, Charlie. I should have talked it over with you before I did anything"
Charlie shook her head.
"Don't worry about it. It worked out in the end. This just showed the staff need to trust each other too in order to make this hotel work" she said.
"But maybe we should get together and have a meeting about what classes we should do and who will be in charge of them from now on"
Jenny nodded in agreement.
"And maybe see what everyone is looking for in this hotel. If they want to make this work, we need to see what will work for them. Redemption is different for everyone so a certain method might not work for someone but it will for the other" she pointed out.
"Probably a good idea. And make a list of ground rules that everyone needs to follow" Vaggie pointed out.
The hotel still had some kinks they needed to iron out but they would take care of that.
"Well, what did you guys think of this trust exercise?" Charlie asked.
"I think we're still not done" Stolas suddenly said.
He smirked a little when he saw everyone was confused.
"The tenants played the game…but I noticed the staff haven't gone through the course yet" he pointed out.
"Since this was their idea, it's only right that they play too"
Everyone slowly had grins appear on their faces.
"Yeah…you're right" Husker said.
"You want us to trust each other, might as well lead by example"
Jenny, Charlie and Vaggie looked at each other. It never occurred to them that they should play the game as well. But Stolas had a good point. If the gang wanted to take this hotel seriously, the staff needed to lead by example.
Shrugging, they decided to do one more round.
"Alright. We'll do a bonus round" Charlie said.
"This day just got even better" Angel said.
The group scurried over to the seats and chuckled when the girls made their way to the obstacle course. Stolas held up the flag and motioned for Tony to get ready.
"Ready. Set. Go!"
The girls quickly ran through the course as Tony's gang threw paint at them. Everyone laughed as the girls screamed and scurried away from the attacks. It was hilarious when one of them screamed when a balloon splattered too close to them.
One of Tony's guys dropped a can of paint from his perch. The bucket fell and landed on top of Charlie, coating her in bright yellow paint. Everyone froze in shock. Jenny quickly covered her mouth with her hands and snorted. Charlie slowly pulled the can off of her head and narrowed her eyes at the human.
"Are you laughing at me?"
Jenny quickly shook her head but she continued to snort as she fought the urge to laugh. Charlie wore a shit eating grin.
"You think this is funny, huh? How about this?"
She wiped off a glob of paint from her face and smeared it on Jenny's. The human yelped at the sudden attack. Vaggie started to laugh at Jenny's face. The human glared at her then smirked. Lathering her hands with the paint, she went over to her and covered her face in paint as well.
Vaggie gasped then grabbed paint herself and attacked the girls with it. The three of them forgot about finishing the course. They were focused on covering each other with paint. Angel grabbed a can of blue paint.
"I think you need to add a little more color to your wardrobe!"
He flung the blue paint at them. He laughed when they got coated. That laugh quickly turned into a scream when they charged after him and tried smearing the paint on him. Tony grabbed another can of paint and aimed it at the group.
"Paint fight!"
Everyone got covered in paint as they threw colors at each other. Loona tried dunking Moxxie's head in a paint bucket. Stolas quickly thew his hat and cape off as he joined the fun. Despite how crazy this day way, he really enjoyed being part of the group. It gave him a chance to forget the stressful situation he had to deal with at home and his title as a Goetia prince. Here, he could just be Stolas and let his guard down.
Everyone laughed and screamed as they covered each other in different colors. It seemed Charlie's class worked out in the end. They ended up learning to trust each other and know when to have a good time.
Slowly this hotel was doing wonders.
/
After the paint fight was over and everyone got cleaned up, the group all hung around the parlor sharing stories about their lives and what they did when they lived.
"How did you know how to use a sword like that? That was some pretty impressive skills you showed out there" Hugo said.
Mei blushed at the compliment.
"I learned how to defend myself in the brothels. There were a lot of shady guys who would try to sneak in when they couldn't afford to spend the night"
"You gotta do what you gotta do to defend yourself" Lue agreed.
"I should teach you guys how to defend yourself in combat. It was obvious you guys were rookies out in the Turf War" Hugo said.
"You'd do that?" Pentious said.
"Of course. I used to train the new cadets when I was in the army. You can't have scrappy newbies fighting off the Germans" Hugo said.
Vaggie smiled as she watched everyone be at ease with each other.
"Guess today was a success after all"
"Just a few issues here and there. But nothing is ever perfect" Chalie agreed.
Alastor came back just then with the egg boys in tow. Pentious's eyes sparkled when he saw his beloved minions.
"My eggies!"
He lunged forward and hugged his minions close.
"Oh how I've missed you!"
Jenny gave Alastor a lopsided grin.
"You have fun babysitting?" she joked.
Alastor rolled his eyes.
"I wouldn't call it fun…but they were rather useful"
He wouldn't tell them what he found out about Carmilla. He was going to save that bit of info for when he needed something. It was always good to have a few aces up your sleeves.
He gave Jenny a pointed look. He went out of his way to defend her at the meeting. Part of him mostly did it because he didn't want the Vee's to have her…but another part of him knew she didn't deserve to be treated like a shiny new toy. He still wondered why he was defending this annoying firecracker though.
"Now then. I believe it was agreed upon that if I brought the egg minions back I would get my final record?" he said.
"I brought them back safe and sound. Now it's your turn to uphold your end of the bargain"
Jenny rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. Hang on"
She went upstairs where she hid the record and came back down with it.
"Hope you don't mind but I listened to it a few times. I really missed hearing this music"
Alastor rolled his eyes and took the record.
"Who could have caught your attention that you tried to hold my record hostage?"
He raised an eyebrow when he saw who the singer was.
La Vie en Rose by Edith Piaf.
He recalled a certain conversation she shared with him when they went to Cannibal Town a while back.
"My grandma had a huge record collection when I was growing up. There was this one record she had from a French singer named Edith Piaf that I loved. I would play this one song over and over again to the point where it wore down"
Alastor looked at the record for a moment longer then handed it back to her.
"You know what? Keep it"
Jenny was puzzled by his sudden change of mood.
"Huh?"
Alastor shrugged and tucked his hands behind his back.
"Consider it as a reward for beating up Vox the other day. That's my gift to you for entertaining me"
Jenny looked at Alastor then back at the record. A big grin appeared on her face as she held the precious item close.
"Thank you!"
Alastor smirked. It was nice to see her have a real smile on her face for a change instead of that fake one she had worn recently.
Blitzo decided then to appear at the hotel. He acted over the top and dramatic as he entered the hotel. The kids laughed as he went over the top and acted silly.
"Da da da da! Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel!"
Hugo jumped up when he saw Muffin and Waffles. Blitzo really got them out of there!
"Kids!"
At the sight of their guardian, the Corgis got all teary eyed.
"Hugo!"
They ran into each. Hugo pulled them into his chest as they cried with relief.
"I'm so sorry I got separated from you two! It must have been so scary"
Waffles quickly wiped his eyes, trying to be brave.
"We thought we wouldn't see you again" he said quietly.
Hugo patted his head and looked at the boy sadly.
"I tried to get you guys out of there. I just needed a little extra help. That's why I went to the princess for help"
He couldn't explain that he was tricked into spying on Charlie. They were too young to understand what he did was wrong.
Muffin peeked up from being buried in Hugo's shirt and looked up to see Charlie. Her eyes sparkled when she saw her. She pointed at Charlie with excitement.
"It's the princess!" she cried.
Hugo quickly lowered her arm and gave her a stern look.
"What have I said about pointing at people, young lady?" he said.
Muffin pouted as her ears flopped.
"That it's not polite" she said.
"That's right. Proper ladies don't point or yell at people" Hugo reminded.
Muffin puffed her cheeks out in a pout. She hated getting scolded. Everyone thought it was cute though.
Hugo stood up and held the kids by their hands. He had them face the group so he could introduce them.
"This is Muffin and Waffles. My wards"
Muffin, being the little kid that she was waved like crazy while Waffles gave a small wave.
"I'm Waffles. Nice to meet you"
"I'm Muffin! I'm three!" she held up three fingers to clarify how old she was.
Everyone was super quiet. Then all of a sudden everyone gushed when they saw how cute they were. A couple of the girls squealed and had sparkles in their eyes.
"Oh goodness! They're so cute!"
"They have such stumpy little legs!"
"Look at those fluffy butts!"
"Don't look at their butts, they're kids you sicko!"
Overall, everyone couldn't get enough of the little cuties.
Waffles looked at Hugo.
"Are we staying with the princess?"
Hugo bit his lip. The deal was he would leave when Blitzo got the kids out of the pound. Since the imp followed his end of the deal, it was his turn to do the same.
"Actually, we're-"
"That's right. Charlie offered you guys a place to stay when she heard your home got destroyed by the Exterminators" Jenny suddenly said.
The gargoyle looked at the human in shock.
"Huh?"
Jenny shrugged with a small smile.
"No one is heartless enough to kick a couple a kids out on the street. And you apologized for what you did and meant it" she said.
"Plus, I think no one is going to let these cuties get away now that they met them"
Everyone nodded as they continued to gush over the little corgis. Hugo looked at Charlie hopefully.
"Would it be alright if we stayed here? Just until I find a proper place for us?"
Charlie nodded.
"I will never turn children away. But no more spying shit" she warned.
Hugo had a huge grin appear on his face. He would repay everyone for their kindness in some shape or form.
"Thank you so much"
Muffin cheered when she found out she was staying with a princess.
"I'm gonna live with a princess! I'm gonna live with a princess!"
Blitzo went over to where Jenny was sitting and sat down next to her. He purposely hip checked Alastor out of the way as he did so. The Radio Demon glared at the Imp.
"So I take it you had a fun day?"
"Ehhhh, it was interesting…and weird" Jenny said.
"Angel thought it would be a brilliant idea to go to-"
"Um, Jenny?" Stolas said.
He had a nervous grin on his face and pointed to the window of the hotel.
"They're back"
Jenny looked at what Stolas was pointing at and threw her head back.
"Oh for fuck's sake!" she groaned.
The masochist trio managed to find her again and had their faces pressed against the window. They got excited when they saw how pissed off she was getting.
"God damn those freaks are persistent" Loona said.
Alastor and Blitzo raised an eyebrow at the odd trio.
"Care to elaborate what's happened while I was gone?" Alastor asked.
"We ended up going to a BDSM club for part of the class and that freaky trio won't stop following Jenny" Loona clarified.
Blitzo's eye twitched while Alastor made a radio scratching sound effect. They slowly turned to Moxxie and Husker. The two targets pointed at Angel signaling it was his fault.
Jenny groaned and buried her face in her hands.
"Get them out of here. If I do it they'll just get excited and keep coming back" she said.
Blitzo jumped up gun in hand. Alastor stopped him by holding his hand out.
"I got it. Times like these require good old southern discipline"
Everyone jumped back when he pulled a shotgun out from his jacket.
"Since when do you carry a gun on you?!" Vaggie screamed.
Alastor rolled his eyes.
"I was from the south when I was alive. You figure it out" he said flatly.
"Now if you'll excuse me I need to get dinner ready. I believe man-which is on the menu tonight"
He strolled out the door to the sounds of screams as the masochist trio ran away when they saw the shotgun. Blitzo hurried after him with his own gun drawn.
"Oh no you don't asshole! I was hired to be bodyguard so I'll take care of it!"
Shots could be heard as the two of them tried shooting at the crazy trio.
"Well, at least we can trust them to keep the hotel safe, right?" Charlie tried to joke.
Everyone just looked at her tiredly.
Yeah, everyone learned to trust one another. There were still a few things that needed to be resolved but they knew that they could count on each other.
This trust was going to be tested in a few months when Adam came back for his surprise visit.
/
A/N: If anyone is from the south, please don't be offended by the shotgun joke. I know Alastor is from New Orleans and there is bunch of fanart of him having a shotgun in his human form.
So this is the end of episode three of the show. We're going to have two more chapters out for the rest of the year and at the start of the new year I'll tackle episode four. With how serious the subject matter is for it, I didn't think it would be a good idea to work on that so close to the holidays. That's just me though. I'll talk more when we get to it though cause I'll be having quite a long note explaining how this subject will be tackled.
I hope you enjoyed meeting my dogs! I feel like Corgis make things better with how random they can be.
Please let me know what you guys thought of this chapter!
Take care!