Chapter 16: The Deal

The little child woke up in the morning and realized that the bed was empty. She sat up, rubbed her eyes and looked around, recognizing that she was not in her room.

Anya noticed that Fat Nuggets was still sleeping next to her, but there was no sign of Angel Dust in the room. Believing he was downstairs with the others, the little girl got out of bed and headed for the door.

As she ran through the hallways and began to quickly descend the stairs, she stopped and her smile fell. The spider was heading for the door again.

Even though she understood why he was leaving, Anya walked up to him and asked. - "Mr. Dust, are you leaving for your job, again?" -She saw that Angel was caught off guard by her voice, and turned to her.

"Well... yes, Anya. As much as I want to stay, I have a lot to do. But don't worry, I'll try to come back as soon as possible this time, okay?" - he declared, giving her a sad smile.

The little girl nodded at him, seeing in his thoughts that he really didn't want to disappoint her and would truly try to arrive as soon as possible. And then, he turned around, bidding her farewell.

"See you around, girl." - After a few seconds of silence, Anya murmured. - "See you around, too." - The spider looked at her once more, and opened and closed the door.

Anya stayed there for a few more minutes, until Charlie touched her shoulder. - "Ah, good morning, Anya. I was waiting for you. How about coming to have your breakfast at the table?"

The child looked at her, and nodded, wanting to distract her mind with something else.

She allowed herself to be guided by Charlie, to the dining room, and began to eat her breakfast made by Niffty. This time, it was a slice of cake filled with peanut butter and mango juice.

After finishing eating, Anya got down from the chair and went to her room to take a shower. She stayed in the bathtub for about 15 minutes, still thinking about how to distract herself until later.

After leaving and getting dressed, she went to the hallway, when she felt something carrying her and pulling her to the other side of the hallway. As soon as it stopped, she was dropped on the floor, and came across who she least expected to find on the way.

"Good morning, girl. I was hoping you had some free time so we could discuss business." - Alastor announced, smiling broadly when he saw her.

Anya felt very scared, but she had to take a deep breath to not lose her composure in front of him.

"Sir... do you want to discuss something with Anya?What did you sir want to discuss?" - she asked,as she stood up and trying to sound as serious as feared that Alastor would see right through her, and decide to kill her right then and there.

"Well, first of all, let's go inside, dear." - The Radio Demon snapped his fingers and opened the door to his room, watching the little girl reluctantly enter.

Anya heard the door close behind her as Alastor walked over to one of the two armchairs again. Quickly, she sat down in the other armchair across from him looked around uncomfortably, waiting for him to start talking to her.

And after a long, uncomfortable silence, the Radio Demon began to speak. - "So, I believe you must remember that I healed you of your measly injuries yesterday afternoon, right?"

The little girl nodded and commented. - "Yes, and Anya imagines it had nothing to do with anything else. Is Anya right?"

Alastor nodded again and continued. - "I see that having this ability to read minds helps you be much smarter, Anya. But it must also be a burden to have this power, right?" - He watched her, seeing her uncomfortable expression.

"So, does Sir Alastor want Anya's powers or something?" - she asked nervously. She heard the Radio Demon laugh loudly and declare. - "Oh, of course not, child. I already have my shadows to spy on others. Reading other people's minds would give me too much headache and drive me crazy."

Anya made a sour face at his comment, but quickly changed her expression when he looked back at her. - "But anyway, I wanted to propose a deal to you."

"A... deal?!" - the child questioned, imagining that he would want her soul. - "Yes, but don't worry, Anya. It's not a soul deal, it's more of a compromise." -he clarified, though he still wondered what would happen if he made such a soul deal with a still-living human.

Anya felt chills at hearing this thought of his, and shook her head from side to side, trying to come to her senses. - "So... what kind of deal would that be, sir?"

She saw Alastor smile darkly when he heard this, and then, he declared. - "It's quite simple, girl. I want you to be my eyes and ears." - that left the girl shocked. - "What do you mean, sir?!" - she questioned.

"You've watched a lot of these spy things, right? So you know how the wiretaps work, right? I simply want you to act as a wiretap for me, and tell me any relevant information, both inside and outside the hotel, understand?"

Anya thought for a bit longer, then asked. - "Like, classified information or something?" - The Radio Demon nodded at her in response.

"Exactly, little girl. But promise me you won't tell anyone about this, understood?" - he announced, a dark aura surrounding him. The girl just nodded, while cringing and swallowing hard.

The aura disappeared and Alastor then smiled friendly at her. - "Great." - and then he stood up and walked a few steps towards Anya. He then extended his hand, and a green aura appeared between them. - "So, we made a deal, little Anya?" - he asked, still staring at her.

Anya looked between him and her hand, a little hesitant. The sight reminded her of when Angel Dust had reached out to her when he had met her in the alleys.

After taking a deep breath, the little girl began to extend her hand to him, to accept the deal, when an abrupt knock on the door was heard, interrupting them. -"Alastor, you're there? I wanted to get some ideas about the hotel." - Charlie's voice was heard on the other side.

Anya withdrew her hand back, trembling that the princess would discover she was there. The Radio Demon calmly announced. - "Yes, of course, my dear. I will meet you in a few minutes."

"Ah, okay. I'll see you later then." - with that, Charlie's footsteps were heard, until she walked away completely.

With that, they both turned back to face each other. - "Where were we? Oh, yes..." - Alastor extended his hand again, hoping she would shake it as soon as possible.

Anya looked back at her hand and the door, expecting someone else to interrupt. But seeing that no one else would probably see, she turned to the Radio Demon, who was still waiting patiently for her.

Seeing that there was no other way out, the little girl took a deep breath again and began to reach out to him again. Just as she was about to touch his hand, another knock on the door occurred.

"Sir, are you there? Do I need to clean your room or something?" - Niffty's voice was heard from the other side of the door.

Anya feared that the Radio Demon would get angry, but to her surprise, he addressed the little cyclops calmly. - "Of course, my little darling. I'll let you in right away." - He started walking towards the door, while the child tried to stay still in the armchair.

Out of nowhere, black tentacles grabbed her and pulled her under the seat the moment the door was opened.

After entering, Niffty looked around and asked. - "Was it just me, or did I hear something?" - Alastor quickly gave a brief laugh and he declared. - "It was just you, my little darling."

Anya felt herself fall onto a soft surface, and after looking up and regaining her senses, she realized she was back in her room.

And then, she realized that Alastor teleported her to the room, so that Niffty wouldn't see her there. The girl began to wonder why Alastor didn't want them to find out that they made a deal? Was it dangerous enough for Alastor to worry about being caught with it?

Her thoughts were interrupted when a knock on the door was heard. And from her thoughts, Anya realized it was Vaggie. - "Oh, girl? Are you in there?!" - she questioned, almost out of patience.

Sweating coldly, Anya quickly replied. - "Yes, Anya is here, Miss Vaggie!" - she quickly slid off the bed and ran towards the door, just in time for Vaggie to open it.

She sighed, as she looked uncomfortably at the child. - "Well, lunch is ready. Do you want to... come eat or something?" - she asked, with an expression that clearly said she didn't know how to deal with this.

The little girl nodded awkwardly, and began to follow Vaggie out of her room and into the dining room, while hoping she could ignore what happened.

Anya didn't know how much time had passed, but she had returned to her room and thrown herself on the bed, hoping that things wouldn't get worse.

But by a twist of fate, she felt those tentacles again on her wrists and ankles, and through her mouth. Before she knew it, she was pulled down again and fell somewhere else. And unsurprisingly, she was back in Alastor's room.

He was drinking a cup of coffee in his armchair when he noticed her lying on the floor. - "Ah, Anya. I didn't see you around. Why don't you sit down and let's get back to our business, my dear?"

In response, the girl just sighed and laid her face on the ground. This wasn't over yet, from what she could see.

02/18/2025: And here ends another chapter. And sorry for the delay, because I was a bit tired and sore, but I wrote whenever I could. But here it is. I hope it was good and sorry for anything.