"Didn't you just hear me?" Mimzy pouted. Her neon pink irises scanned around the Hotel and its residents with a whiff of haughtiness, which was not as subtle as she thought. Aria noticed it almost immediately, and it merely made her eyes narrow even more with suspicion.
Mimzy then looked around again and furrowed her brows at the confused expressions on most of the crew's faces. "Why is everybody gawking?" She asked, before grinning and striking a pose. "Is it cuz I'm adorable?"
Alastor looked almost overjoyed in seeing Mimzy, which made Aria's eyes almost pop out of their sockets in shock. "Mimzy!" The deer demon greeted, opening his arms for a hug as he approached her.
"Alastor! Sweetie, dollface, so good to see you again! How've you been? Good? Good." Mimzy shimmied a little before giving Alastor an extremely tight hug as if they were old friends. "Mmmm!!"
Aria was stunned at how calm Alastor was being. Did he not notice how flirty Mimzy was acting with her tone and mannerisms? I mean, I know he is asexual, but how is he THIS oblivious?! She thought to herself. But even so, Aria chose to not interfere. Maybe she was overthinking things. Like she always did...
"Listen, I was in the neighborhood. I heard you were staying at this ritzy slob factory, and I figured I'd stop by and say hi, for old time's sake!" Mimzy continued to sway her hips, seemingly to charm Alastor. Her passive-aggressive tone in talking about the Hotel made Aria feel even more unsure of her motives in barging here without notice.
Alastor's grin was quite friendly towards Mimzy, Aria noticed. "Of course, sweetheart!" He said. "Everyone is welcome here."
"Oh, how nice!" Charlie beamed, approaching the two sinners with a warm expression. "So you two know each other?"
Mimzy nodded with a slight chuckle. "Oh yeah, we go way back." She said, putting her arm over Alastor's shoulders briefly, causing the tall demon to lean down before she let him go. "Ran in the same circles when we were alive. You know, this one used to frequent the club where I used to perform. He's the only one I knew who could pound whiskey like a sailor then keep up with me on the dance floor!" She bragged.
A little inner conflict was going on in Aria's head. A part of her wanted to accept Mimzy, since she was a very old friend of Alastor's. If they had known each other since they were alive, then their friendship would approximately be almost 80 years old. At the same time, though, the way Mimzy acted was making it hard for Aria to trust her. It was almost as if she was hiding something underneath a very well-played facade of wanting to meet up with Alastor.
As his ward, Aria couldn't help but feel...jealous? Protective? She didn't know. But what was clear was that she didn't want any harm to be bestowed on the only one she trusted her entire afterlife with.
"Oh, quite a talent, this gal. Ho ho!" Alastor hooted with laughter as a nostalgic feeling rose in his chest. "You should've seen her in her hayday!"
"Hey! Watch it, tall, dark and creepy. I'm still in my prime." Mimzy huffed, before the sight of Lucifer out in the open caught her gaze. "Oh, oh my stars! Is that Lucifer?"
In an instant, she harshly pushed Sir Pentious out of her way to greet the King of Hell. "Move it! Pleased to meet ya, your Highness." She flirted, before whispering to a somewhat annoyed Alastor. "Alastor, you gotta warn a girl when she's in mixed company."
Lucifer tried not to cringe at Mimzy's attitude and forced a smile. "Charmed, I'm sure." He muttered. Aria sighed in relief that there was at least one thing she could agree on with the King.
"As much as I'd love to catch up, Charlie and I have a tour to continue." Alastor then said, eyeing Lucifer with a hostile stare.
Lucifer then took his daughter by her arms and dragged her up front."I'm sure Charlie can handle showing me around. Alone-"
"Nonsense!" Alastor interrupted, pushing Charlie away from her father and dragging her forward even more. "We started the Hotel together, and we'll show it off together. Right, Charlie?" An amused smile crept up Aria's face again as she watched the ongoing beef between Alastor and Lucifer.
"Oh, right."Charlie said before leaving with Vaggie and Lucifer following behind her. At the same time, Alastor turned to Mimzy with a warm smile.
"Why don't you let the others help you settle in, and I'll be back before you know it." He gently put a hand on Mimzy's back before following Charlie to continue the tour.
Mimzy turned towards the bar and walked up to get a drink. "So, where can a girl dip the bill around here?" She shimmied herself to take a seat and greet Husk. "My my, is that Husker? Alastor still has you slinging hooch for him, I see. Classic! How've ya been, furball?"
Husk groaned in irritation as he cleaned a glass, rolling his eyes before answering her question. "Good. Until five minutes ago."
"Oh, don't tell me you're not happy to see me!" Mimzy pouted sarcastically before giggling like a pompous aristocrat. "You might hurt my feelings. Hey Niffty, whatcha been up to, girlie?"
Niffty was looking for bugs that were scattered around the floor. "Fighting bugs." She replied with her adorably demented grin. Mimzy looked down at the small cyclops with a hint of condescension. "And uhh, how's that going for ya?"
"They're winning." Niffty then pulled out a long knife with a sadistic smile, eyeing the bugs crawling around. "But not for long."
Aria approached the bar as well and noticed that Mimzy wasn't even paying attention to what Niffty was saying. "Uhuh." Mimzy scoffed, before Husk slid a drink towards her direction. "Thanks, pussy cat."
"Shut up." Husk groaned, leaving two more drinks on the other side of the bar counter for Angel and Aria before leaving.
Aria sat down in front of Angel and Sir Pentious to finally talk to Mimzy and see what her deal was. "So uh, are you and Alastor friends? Besties?" She questioned, tilting her head as she took a sip of her soda.
"Well, that's your word, not mine, but I think it fits. Why so surprised, girlie?" Mimzy smiled, indicating that she and Alastor might be more than friends, which Aria had a hard time believing.
Aria shrugged, continuing to silently observe Mimzy's attitude and mannerisms. "I just didn't expect him to have any of those kinds of relationships." She muttered before reluctantly holding out a hand for Mimzy to shake. "I'm Aria, Alastor's ward."
"Ward? Uhuh, oh yeah that's cool." Mimzy dismissively said, not even noticing that Aria had offered a handshake and was instead busy with checking her fingernails. "It's nice to hear that he's got a new playtoy to cure him of his boredom." She snorted.
The young lioness was surprised by Mimzy's words, and a bit hurt as well. Alastor didn't really see her as just a playtoy, right? Of course he didn't, he vowed to treat her like his own daughter. But then again, Mimzy had known him for almost a century. Pushing back all those thoughts, Aria sighed and merely nodded. "Yeah, I guess."
Angel noticed Aria's discomfort and put a reassuring hand on her head before turning the topic to something new. "Look, Alastor's been here a while and is still a big, creepy mystery. What's his deal?"
"Well," Mimzy started, an ominous glow coming from her eyes. "you probably heard the stories. He appeared in Hell suddenly, making a splash quicker than anyone had ever seen. At first, people wanted to dismiss him. But soon, overlords started going missing, and not small ones neither. We're talking heavy. hitters. No one knew what happened to 'em until these strange radio broadcasts started going out. All you could hear were agonizing screams. Every time an overlord went missing, there'd be a new voice screaming in the broadcast! That's when Alastor revealed himself as The Radio Demon. And anyone that would mess with him? Well, let's just say, his broadcasts never lacked new voices. That's the story most people know. But underneath it all..."
"He's a total sweetie!" Mimzy concluded her creepy storytelling and chuckled. "Put on some jazz and pour a couple fingers of rye and he becomes a kitten!"
Angel, Sir Pentious and Aria were all left spooked by Alastor's dark backstory while Mimzy didn't even seem bothered. "Oh, stop with the looks! He hasn't done any of that in a while." She reassured them before raising her glass. "Can I get another one of these?"
Noticing that Husk was nowhere to be seen, Mimzy frowned. "Oh, what a bluenose."
Aria looked down at her half finished soda before glancing up at Mimzy once more with a suspicious gaze. "But how do we know that it's his full story? I mean, Alastor is an enigma. There might be more to his history that no one knows about. How can we be sure that it's the truth?"
"Oh pssh. You ask too many questions, kid. Look at you, so concerned for the man. Isn't that so cute?" Mimzy cooed, seemingly taunting Aria and pinching her cheeks a bit too harsh for her liking. "I've known him before he became the Radio Demon, sweetie. No one knows him better than I do. So don't worry your pretty little head about him!"
Both Angel and Sir Pentious grew concerned when Aria growled a bit as Mimzy released her cheek. Even a bit of her fur was pinched off by how forceful Mimzy was. "Hey, easy now." Angel warned. Aria rubbed her cheek before getting up from her seat.
"You know, I'm just gonna... take a nap." She mumbled, heading off towards the parlor to lay on the couches. As Aria was walking, Mimzy merely giggled and rolled her eyes.
"See ya later, lion cub."
___________________________________________________
"Aria, no!"
"Help!"
------------
"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE THEM?! YOU LITTLE BRAT!"
"You should've been in their place, Aria."
-------------
BAM. BAM. BAM.
Loud, obnoxious thuds shook the Hotel to its foundations. Aria woke up from her slumber with a startled growl when the Hotel shook once more, causing her to fall off the couch. Her fur was damp with sweat and her pupils were shrunken from fear.
"Apa sih?!" She yelled frantically, hearing angry voices and a battering ram attempting to ram the front door open. She could tell that there were multiple demons outside, and they were armed and extremely pissed.
"Mimzy!" One voice screamed. "We know you're in there, you lousy leech!!"
The person in question immediately winced sheepishly, knowing that her cover was busted. "Oh, brother." She cursed underneath her breath.
In the distance, Lucifer opened up a portal for himself, Charlie and Vaggie to return to the lobby as the demons outside continued to ram the front door endlessly. It irritated Aria's ears, causing her to hold her head in discomfort.
"What's going on?!" Charlie questioned before all eyes turned to Mimzy, who was taking cover while cowering down on the floor.
Aria's eyes flickered from yellow to red in rage at the sight of Mimzy still smiling even though she had put the Hotel in danger. "Speak now. Or I'll rip your tongue out." She threatened, baring her fangs and claws.
Mimzy squeaked in fear and hid behind the bar counter before peeking out to look at Charlie, Vaggie and Aria. "I maaaaaaay be in trouble with some loan sharks. I may or may not have borrowed 50 grand from them, aaaand I may have also stolen a car... and crashed it... into the loan shark's girlfriend, but she had it coming!!" She admitted, which infuriated Aria to no end.
Before she could even respond, however, the windows and the walls of the Hotel were barraged by fireballs. Charlie and Vaggie screamed as the Hotel started to crumble. Niffty stood horrified at the sight of the destroyed windows while Angel Dust scooted back to his seat to shield himself from the fireballs.
"My windows!" Niffty cried.
"Ah! We're under seige!" Sir Pentious screamed, dodging one of the fireballs. "Take cover!"
Aria stood still. All she could hear were the crackling fire, the chaos, the screams of her friends in danger. Soon, the noise that surrounded her turned into white static. Memories started to flash through her eyes as she succumbed into the darkness of her mind.
They were so familiar...too familiar. The fear of the death of the ones close to her crept up her fur like darkness, fueling her entire body with fright, sadness, and most of all, anger. Finally, something snapped inside her like a twig, causing her to lose all sense of morality and sensible thinking.
Her eyes turned blood red once more and her vision became blurry with tears. In a flash, her body grew larger, and her horns protruded from the crown of her head as she let out a terrifying, ground-breaking roar. Everyone in the Hotel was silenced as they watched in terror.
"ł ₭₦Ɇ₩ ɎØɄ ₩ɆⱤɆ ₮ⱤØɄ฿ⱠɆ ₳ⱠⱠ ₳ⱠØ₦₲, ₥ł₥ⱫɎ. ₦Ø₩ ₣₳₵Ɇ ₮ⱧɆ ₵Ø₦₴ɆQɄɆ₦₵Ɇ₴." She snarled before delivering a harsh slap to Mimzy's face with her elongated tail as a temporary punishment.
Aria burst through the doors and roared once more before attacking the loan sharks in full power, ripping off their heads with a single bite and sinking her claws into their chests. She spat out their blood and continued on with her big massacre. "ł ₩łⱠⱠ Ɽł₱ ɎØɄ ₳ⱠⱠ ₣ⱤØ₥ Ⱡł₥฿ ₮Ø Ⱡł₥฿!" She roared.
The loan sharks tried desperately to fight back the young lioness, but the last things they saw were either her fangs, or her claws. Guns were fired and fireballs were cast, yet none could catch up to the predator.
It was as if someone had put a spell on her, and she was in a trance, murdering anyone that was in her way in cold blood. Her body seemed to be on auto-pilot mode, and her outfit was soon stained completely with blood and gunpowder. Aria was ruthless, just like Alastor.
Aria mercilessly continued to kill them all before a bigger, more dangerous aura covered the Hotel with an ominous green glow. All the remaining loan sharks looked up along with Aria, frozen in horror from a familiar, static-like voice.
"Į̸̗͒͒t̵̻̽̓'̶̱̎͑s̶̰̖͌ ̸̪̎t̴̬͂͆͜ḯ̵̞̝̕ḿ̶̳é̴͕̖͗ ̶̧̲͑̄I̵̡̛̤̍ ̶̧̄ȑ̵̯̜̄e̸̝̜͊̈m̸̨̆̀i̷̳̭̿n̵̠̲̏d̵̰̈́̈́ ̷͓̿e̸͓͒͑v̴͔͉͠ȩ̴̣̏r̷͓̬͒̑y̶͔̯͘ö̵̟̜́́n̴͔̲͛͐e̴̢͛̋ ̸̼̥̉ẅ̴̺͕́h̵͓̭͝y̴͔̜̑ ̸̪̌I̷̦͂̓ ̴̡̍á̷͓͂ͅm̷̢̬̉ ̵̠̲͆̑h̴͍͇͆͛e̷̜͊̕r̶͈͉͗e̵͓͌.̶̨͋ ̶̘̀͘A̷̞̗͋ ̸̛̤̠͝r̸̨̩̋͛e̶̺̦̿̀m̴̨̬͛͝i̶͚̋̈ṋ̶̫͊͒d̸̺͕̿e̸͋̾ͅͅr̸͓̩͑̋ ̵̳̀͋ṱ̶̈́ọ̴̯͐ ̴̞͂ą̵̲̋l̷͎̦̕ḽ̶̍̕,̴̯̺̿͂ ̶͙̀͂n̷̤̬̈́́o̷̠͐̀t̸͓̥͠ ̷̠͎̇͘t̶̠̀͜o̴͉̊͗ ̵̨̡́͋m̶̞̰̅̔e̵̘͆s̵̼͠s̷̖͌̄ ̶̗̪̓ẇ̴̡̫̀ì̷͕̅ţ̵̔ḥ̷͂̿ ̸̭̈t̸̯͠h̸̯̐é̶̝́ ̶̭̘͛͛R̴̼͙͂a̴͚͝ͅd̸͚̂̓i̸̹̤̾ó̶̰̜͆ ̵̧͓̈͊Ḓ̶̂e̸͉̬̽m̵͔̰̊ỏ̵̫̲ń̷͇̮!̷̠͇̍"
"Alastor!" Aria sighed in relief, her eyes turning back to yellow for a moment before they returned to blood red once she focused on the loan sharks again. Moments later, black, inky tentacles shot out of the Hotel. One smashed the catapult, and another killed off three loan sharks all at once. Alastor then came out of the Hotel, his body growing into a massive, gigantic size before he started his own bloodbath.
"Ǐ̸̜͇̜̂̏̏̑̄̀͝͝ͅ ̵͙̭̠̈́̀̈̇̍̈́͛͠ͅw̴̛̤̦̘̜͙̖͉̯̍́͒̈́͜i̸̧̘̲̰͕̪͍̇̾͠l̶̡̪̞̘̏̎̓͐̎̽̚͝l̷̐̊̐͌͂͘̚͜ ̵̛̖̈d̷̢̮͚̭̳̹̅́̎̈̚͘ę̶̨̢̩̳͓͖̻͊̽̔͒̌̚͠v̴̡̠͓̪̝̊́͊o̴̢̼̼̗̜̲̫̊̈̇̇͆͗̕ȕ̶͈̗̆͛̈̓͘͜r̸̡̢̦̤̦̱͈͆͗̊̓̌̀̚ͅ ̴̺̹̊̈͂̌̀͒̾̓́̕e̸̗̙̍͂̅́á̴̛̜͙͑̉̿̾̏̈́̓̕c̴̨̟̖̳̙͈̓̂̒̑̀͂͊̚h̶̡͚̩̩͎̿ ̸̢̡̲̖̤̱̟̌̉͊̈́́̄̄̋̒̈́ä̶̢͚̼̪̪́̀̈́͆͋ͅṅ̵͍̥̻̮̋͒̆̿̔̃͝d̴̡͓̥͕͈͍̥̭̮͛̋̌̄̈́̅͆͝ͅ ̷̯͈̱̒͒̓e̵̛̯̭̙̪̗̅̏̏̿̔͝v̵̧̦̮͑͛͑̒̒̀͛͘̚͝ͅè̴͙̒́̃̇͒̚͝r̸̲̪̝̳̬̳̿͆̕y̵̫̮͎͙̺͕̻̆ͅ ̴͕͎̫͙͒̐̊͌̈́̕͜͠͝o̷͔̩̰̺̾͊̿͊̉̈́̕̚̕͠ͅn̵̠͇̗̻͕͔̹̂̓͑̾̓̀̚ē̶̲̭̾̓̋̐̆̎͝ ̷̛̛̩̦͖̮̻̭̯̙͗̆̊̏̋̚o̷̹͙̬͆͌̋͐́̔͘͘͝f̴̨̛͓̭̮̼̮̊̅͂͂̆̈́͆͠ ̵̢̧̮̪͇̱̞͙̂́͝͝y̷̦͎̝̣̔͗́̆̓̂̋̚̕ó̸͎̦̰̟͇͇̓̿͗͠͝ú̶̧̩͉̹̱̼̆́!̶̖͙̪͇̰̪̞̭̕" He screamed.
Soon, both the guardian and his ward started their terrifyingly monstrous killing spree, with Aria throwing fresh bodies for Alastor to eat whole. They made a deadly duo, and finished killing off all the loan sharks in just a matter of two minutes.
Once all of their victims were devoured by Alastor and killed off by Aria, both of them returned to their usual forms and sighed. "Oh, I missed getting to let off steam!" Alastor grinned, swinging his staff around before turning to face the crumbling Hotel.
"It was quite a fun experience for me too. I haven't been able to kill so many demons at one time before." Aria beamed, looking up towards Alastor with a grateful smile. However, this time he did not respond.
Just then, Mimzy had the guts to come out of hiding and approach Alastor as if she didn't cause any of the mess. "Oh Alastor, what a fantastic show! Bravo, as always. Thanks for helping lil' old me out of a tougher spot, you're always such a pal!" She clapped, ingratiating the deer demon so much it made both him and Aria feel sick.
A railroad debris almost fell on Mimzy, making her back away in surprise. "Oops. Hehe." She giggled. "Sorry about the mess, but I'm sure the little bug can take care of it for you."
"No." Aria snarled, finally having enough of Mimzy's empty words. "What you did was unforgivable, Mimzy. You caused my friends to be in danger, made the Hotel a mess, used Alastor to cover up for you like he's your slave and now you think everything's going to be fine with a simple sorry?! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" She finally roared out, before Alastor put a firm hand on her shoulder.
"That's enough, Aria." He commanded in a strict tone, which silenced Aria instantly and made her look away in shame that she had lost her temper. Alastor then turned to Mimzy with an annoyed smile. "But my ward is correct. You should go, Mimzy. Now."
Mimzy was shocked that Alastor was really trying to send her away, but her ego didn't allow her to back down. "Oh, pfft. Alastor, you're such a kidder, you!" She teased. "Hah, you are so funny!"
"I mean it." Alastor continued, looking towards the side with his hands behind his back. "You deliberately brought danger to this place just to have me clean up your mess. I can't have that here."
That's what I just said. Aria groaned inwardly, continuing to glare at Mimzy, who was still trying desperately to win Alastor over so he could forgive her.
"But you love taking care of me! What? You don't actually give a crap about this tacky place, do ya?" She said. Every word was just becoming more infuriating to hear. She then tapped her finger on Alastor's chest between every word she said just to tease him even further. "Come on, I know you, you heartless. Son. Of. A. Gun."
Alastor had enough and casually moved her finger away from him before moving to stand in front of her with his staff in front of him. Aria moved to his side with her arms crossed, her tail flicking around, and her ears pinned to the back of her head.
"You are welcome if you actually want to give redemption a shot." Alastor reprimanded before booping Mimzy's nose. "But I think we both know that's not really your style. So you need to leave."
Seeing this, Mimzy showed her true colors and raged. "Ugh, fine! Who needs ya? Have fun with your little princess and your little hotel. See if I care!" She said, flipping him off before stomping away.
After that whole clown show, Aria and Alastor returned to the Hotel just in time to see Charlie and Lucifer having a heartfelt father-daughter moment in the form of a duet. It was like calm after a storm, where they found peace even in the midst of chaos. Following behind Alastor and Niffty, Aria looked on as Charlie managed to convince Lucifer to finally accept and support her dream.
She smiled, although she was a bit envious towards the Princess' relationship with her father. She never got a chance to experience it with her own parents in life, but she was happy that Charlie had a better relationship with her father than Aria did with her parents...
The moment the song ended, Lucifer concluded that Charlie was allowed to go to Heaven and host a meeting there. "Okay, I can get you the meeting but once you're in Heaven, I can't go with you. Will you be ok?"
"I'll be fine, dad." Charlie responded with a sweet smile.
Lucifer nodded, feeling pride swell in his heart as well as a bit of worry. "That's my girl. Good luck, kiddo." He sighed before turning into a sangria-red mist and disappearing from the lobby.
Something stirred inside Aria when she saw that scene. Her ears drooped low as she looked towards the ground, while memories flashed by her vision once more. Faint scraps of mystery, and a forgotten childhood.
"Aria."
Alastor's voice snapped her out of her thoughts in an instant. She turned her head towards him with a smile once more. "Yes, Alastor?" She asked, noticing that his voice seemed a lot stricter than usual. "What's wrong?"
"Don't ever do that again." He warned, causing Aria to be confused about what she did wrong. The massacre? Being emotional? Her ruthlessness?
"What?"
"I mean that you must never lay a hand, or tail, on Mimzy ever again." Alastor scolded, his smile now tight and firm. "Do you understand?"
"Mimzy?! But Alastor, you said it yourself! She deliberately caused danger to the Hotel and put all our friends in danger!" Aria protested, gesturing to all the rubble that was left from the attack of the loan sharks. "You know that she came to you only because she needs you for something. Why are you letting her do that?!"
"Enough!" Alastor raised his voice just a little, but it was enough for Aria to shut her mouth like a terrified cub. "Aria, I am very disappointed in you. Don't ever question me unless I allow you to, do you understand me?" He repeated.
Aria's mind couldn't help but flash back to an old memory of hers once Alastor raised his voice.
"I am disappointed in you. You failed me, Aria. What would Mommy and Daddy think, hm?"
"You miserable brat! You can't do anything right!"
"You should've been in your parent's place that night. It should've been you!"
"Who could ever actually care for you after what you've done?"
...
...
...
"...Understood."
"Good." Alastor lowered his voice, seeing how terrified the young lioness was. But he refused to apologize, since he was merely disciplining her. "Never raise your hand towards a lady. And especially never to yourself. Understood?"
Aria merely nodded, frozen like a statue in fear. She shouldn't be afraid of a few words, but...
Alastor sighed and placed a gentle hand in her hair again. He couldn't be mad at her for too long. "Get some rest, my darling. Today must've been very hard for you."
___________________________________________________
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