When Vox managed to track down the hotel, he could see the large letters illuminated with glowing lights. He looked back at the flyer and up at the hotel,"It could be better...but it's better than nothing I suppose.'
Vox took a step forward and sighed,'Here goes nothing.'
He knocked on the door,nervously putting an arm behind his back. He did his best to appear well dressed and stable, but when some parts of your face was cracked and your suit was torn and had blood stains on it, it was fairly hard to look normal.
Behind the door, Charlie, who was a late sleeper, was getting a glass of water in her pj's, wearing a tube top and shorts. She was about to go back to her room, but when she heard knocking she paused.
'Who could that be? It's like 1:00, why would anyone be up this late?' Most demons were asleep by now, and while Charlie didn't get as tired due to her genes, she still found it odd someone would be knocking at this time of night.
Charlie knew that if Vaggie was up, she'd tell her to NOT open the door, however considering Vaggie was asleep like the rest of the inhabitants, Charlie had nobody to tell her otherwise.
Still Charlie decided to be cautious, preparing to slam the door if it was anyone who might pose a threat. She was only going to do it if she had to, so she was going to give this person a chance.
Charlie soon walked to the door before opening it."Hello?" She paused when she realized the person at the door was taller than her. She looked up, quickly recoiling upon seeing who it was.
There were plenty of people Charlie would assume would be at the hotel. Low-level imps who were desperate, middle class demons. But her expectations were blown when seeing the TV Demon standing in front of her, though upon closer inspection it was obvious he was leaning to the side to support himself.
Charlie smelled the scent of blood, seeing the stains and tears on his suite.
"Vox?" She asked. She had heard of Vox from her Father, but she had never seen him up-close before. All her intel about Vox came from her parents or Vaggie, the latter of whom propped him up as this overly powerful overlord who could shut down all the power in hell itself if angered.
So when Charlie saw Vox look like an emotional and physical wreck, it wasn't how she pictured her first live encounter with Vox being like. He looked less like a scary overlord and more like a terrified person if anything.
"Yes? Is this 'Happy Hotel? Did I come to the right place?" Vox already knew that, but he was trying to seem a bit more in tune with his usual self and look normal and not like he had multiple wounds on him.
"Yup! This is the right place! Did you come to check in?"
"Yeah…"
"Oh...Honestly I kinda wasn't expecting that. Was kind of thinking you were gonna try to sucker me into some weird deal for my soul or something like the last guy, but I guess not!"
"Uhhh…" Vox had no clue what she was talking about but decided to skip past it for now.
"Don't worry about that, let's just try to fix you up and get you checked in!" She grabbed Vox's hand and dragged him inside, much to his displeasure.
"Ack! Watch it!" Vox wasn't exactly appreciating the fact he was getting dragged around like a rag-doll.
Charlie decided to get Vox checked in first before anything happened. Charlie's face changed the moment she brought Vox inside, as both of them saw EVERYONE standing there.
Vaggie, Husk, Nifty, Angel Dust and Alastor. All of them were standing right there, and their expressions gave the indication they didn't take too kindly to Vox being present.
'Oh no...NOT HIM!' Vox cursed,'Of all the people, it just had to be Alastor who coincidentally lives in the place I plan on staying. Are you kidding me? My luck is abysmal! And Val's toy is here too! Great!'
'Uh-oh..' Charlie thought.'This is gonna be a problem.' Charlie nervously smiled,"Hey guys…...uh...what's up?"
"Oh don't 'What's up' us! What the fuck, Charlie!?" Vaggie shouted.
"Hey Vaggie, chill! What's with you?"
"Oh I don't know, the fact you brought ANOTHER overlord into our hotel. Why did you think bringing the TV DEMON here was a good idea!?" Vaggie had pulled out her spear, looking ready to use it.
"Not to mention you brought my rival into my business affairs," Alastor pointed out."I do not like demons getting involved in my deals, and Vox being here is obviously going to be a problem. I suggest you take him out so we can forget this ever happened."
"Woah woah woah! Hold it! Guys, this is a HUGE misunderstanding. Vox isn't here to sabotage or do any business with the hotel, at least not the kind you're thinking about."
"Then why is he here?" Husk asked."I mean, no one just shows up while everyone's asleep for no reason."
"Cause he wants to check in?"
"And why would we do that?" Alastor asked,"This sounds pretty suspicious to me. I know Vox much better than you do. I'm not certain what he's planning, but I have the feeling he's trying to get into your good graces by playing a gazelle gambit."
"I don't know,Al. Vox's injuries don't seem like they could be faked...Hell he smells like blood and I ain't even close to him," Angel said.
"It may be, but this could easily be some type of ploy. I don't buy this, this is clearly some type of trap. He's clearly here to cause problems and I say we get rid of him before anything happens."
"Alastor! We can't treat patrons like nuisances just because you have a personal grudge with one of them! You and Vox may have your issues, but can't you set it aside? Besides, LOOK at him him! He's in terrible condition, he can't harm us if he tried!" Charlie exclaimed.
"Hmph, not now, but whose to say when he's healed? If you allow him to stay, he'll no doubt try to cause problems for us. Not like I'm the only one who doesn't like him, we're all distrustful of him. And I'm the only one who knows what he's capable of."
Vox narrowed his eyes.'This is ridiculous. If I wanted to harm these people, does Alastor think I'm dumb enough to do so while Charlie is here? She'll kick my ass, especially in my weakened state.'
Vox was ready to defend himself, but Charlie did it for him."Look, I get it. You guys don't like Vox because he's an overlord and Alastor and him have bad-blood between them. However, Vox came at the door and requested to be part of our hotel, and I'm not one to reject demons willingly signing up for rehabilitation. Regardless, Vox is a paying customer and you guys can't just decide to kick him out because you don't like him. Who likes who is not important when it comes to managing this hotel! And while I may not like Vox, I'm not going to stand here while everyone gangs up on him! Got it?"
Surprisingly, everyone agreed, albeit reluctantly. Vox stood back for a moment, nodding his head at Charlie as a silent thanks.
"Don't worry Vox, I won't let anyone try anything. You can count on me!"
Though it was obvious that Alastor and Vaggie weren't fans of Vox being present, though it didn't seem they could do much about it.
Charlie didn't seem like she was changing her mind about Vox staying, so all they could do was silently glare at the TV Demon with contempt. Even while smiling, you could tell Alastor was not happy about this.
'Damned TV...he's got to be after something, this has to be some kind of trick. I know you, Vox. You always try to one-up me. I'll find what you're after...and make sure you pay for ruining my entertainment.'
