After Charlie had rallied up all of the cannibals, they started to train for battle like their lives depended on it, which was nothing but the absolute truth. Day after day, the cannibals and the residents of the Hotel practiced their skills and prepared themselves physically and mentally for the battle restlessly, with their hearts all pounding in synchronization of facing between the afterlife and eternal death.
Susan and a few other cannibals were perfecting their methods to stab and rip off flesh, while a few meters away, Vaggie was busy explaining the ways of penetrating exorcists in the perfect angle to swiftly kill them. Charlie was encouraging and motivating everyone to keep on going, and grinned widely when Alastor came from the lobby to look at everyone's progress.
"Alastor!" Charlie greeted, approaching him with so much excitement that she could very well explode into confetti. "You're joining in as well?"
Nodding, Alastor grinned as well and walked towards the massive group of sinners and cannibals. Charlie squealed happily and pumped her fists into the air, while Vaggie chuckled and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder to calm her down.
Aria came out of the lobby as well, with her hair tied up, ready as ever for her last training session before the actual battle. Once she noticed Alastor, the lioness demon tilted her head in confusion at the sight of him smirking cockily at something.
"Good afternoon, dad." She called out, smiling when she saw his fluffy ears perking up to the sound of her voice. When Alastor turned around, she walked towards him with her arms behind her back. "Whatcha looking at?"
Chuckling, Alastor shook his head dismissively and grinned down at her with a much softer smile. "Nothing in particular, my dearest. You needn't worry." He said, before reaching out to pet her hair affectionately. "Are you ready for a training session?"
Aria beamed in reply, her tail flicking around happily at the fact that Alastor was joining in as well. "More than anything else. Let's go!" She laughed, taking Alastor's hands and pulling him to a big area of space, where they could practice their combat skills once more. In response, Alastor laughed as well and followed his darling ward.
Meanwhile, Charlie watched everyone from the entrance of the Hotel. Sighing, she turned towards Vaggie, who had just come up to her with a small smile. "Oh, I wish my mom were here to see this." She admitted.
"The cannibals seem ready to fight." Vaggie commented, looking towards the bloodthirsty cannibals once more before looking towards Charlie again. "Are we?"
It was just then when Sir Pentious burst out of the doors of the Hotel, wearing a blue, Victorian-style British army uniform. He stood proud and tall with his outfit and approached the two women. "Fear not, damsels! I shall have the staff ready for victorious combat!" He proclaimed.
"And what in the world are you supposed to be?" Vaggie questioned, resting a hand on her waist while Charlie fawned over Sir Pentious' readiness for battle.
The snake demon gave the Princess and her girlfriend a salute, just like a general. "General Pentious, reporting for duty! I'll turn those rapscallions into soldiers in no time at all!" Sir Pentious bragged, being very sure of himself.
"Awh, thank you, Pen." Charlie said while Vaggie pinched the bridge of her nose.
After that, Niffty scurried towards them with almost too much energy in her tiny frame. "What can I do to help?" She asked with a maniacal grin, holding two dead rats in her hands.
"I'm glad you asked, soldier." Sir Pentious replied, leaning down to meet Niffty's eye-level before standing up straight once more. "The base needs fortifications. Reinforce the southern wall. Create a moat around the perimeter to stop a ground assault!" He ordered.
In response, Niffty dropped the rats and blinked up at Sir Pentious obliviously, having no idea what he had just said.
Seeing this, Charlie knelt down and handed a small blade for Niffty. "How about this? If you see an angel, stab it." She offered in a much simpler way so Niffty could understand.
Almost immediately after, Niffty's eyes landed on Angel Dust, who was leaning on a pole and talking to Cherri Bomb. She hastily scurried over to him in an attempt to stab him. "Stab! Stab! Stab!"
When Angel noticed her, he quickly climbed up the pole for his dear life. "Hey, hey, hey, hey!!" He yelled.
"Not him!" Charlie gently scolded just before Niffty got the chance to sink the knife into Angel's feet. She then ran away while giggling to find other things to stab.
At the same time, Aria spotted Angel holding on to that pole and averted her attention to him for a while, pausing her training session. "Hey Angel!" She called out, holding back a laugh. "You're a spider man, right? Do a flip!"
Angel snickered in reply and did a flip as he landed on the ground once more, pointing a finger gun at Aria while winking at her. Aria grinned once more and gave her best friend a thumbs up. "Yeah! Not bad!" She praised.
Everyone was then called to gather at the entrance of the Hotel for a slight respite and a very short meeting. Holding her spear in her hand, Vaggie eyed everyone in front of her and commanded them all with the authority of a drill sergeant.
"Listen up, sinners! We've got 24 hours before the Extermination begins. Let's get to work."
Afterwards, the cannibals and sinners trained even more vigorously. Vaggie taught the cannibals about the anatomy of Exorcist angels and where to strike them for best damage. Sir Pentious was in his lair, putting all his focus on his machinery as his Egg Boiz assisted him. Cherri Bomb perfected her explosive attacks with her bombs, while Husk threw out his cards for Angel to shoot so they both could polish their aim. And with all that was going on, Alastor assisted Aria in training her raw strength by wrestling her with his tentacles.
Everyone was doing their best to prepare and fight for their lives and for their home as well. They worked for hours on end, with both excitement and fear boiling inside all their hearts for the upcoming war that will decide their fate.
When evening fell, Charlie rallied all of the cannibals and sinners together once more for one final meeting. Holding Alastor microphone staff in her hands, the Princess stood on a stool and started her speech. "Hello?" She asked, testing the mic for a second before clearing her throat. "I want to thank everyone for coming. Even the people who aren't staying here yet... Cherri."
"Look, I can't resist a fight, okay? Especially when I get to tag team with these idiots!" Cherri laughed, wrapping her arms around both Angel and Aria. All three of them smiled widely and looked at each other like close siblings.
Charlie then returned her attention to the rest of the crowd and continued on with her speech. "Tomorrow, the Exorcist angels will face a Hell ready to defend itself and win!" She declared, punching her fist into the air ardently.
"Yeah! Yeah, we will! Tell 'em, baby!" Vaggie cheered on.
"Yes! And we are- we are going to win!" Charlie went on, before her face fell a little bit. "But in case we don't, I want you all to know that getting to know you has been the biggest honor of my life."
Sir Pentious, Angel, Husk and Aria looked on with soft smiles on their faces as they watched Charlie give out her speech. Alastor watched with an unreadable smile, while Cherri Bomb looked like she wanted to die of boredom.
"Whatever redemption really means, I know you all tried. I have seen the good in all of you. And it's... I'm just... I love you all so much, and live tonight however you want because-"
"We're all gonna die!! Hahahahaa!!" Niffty suddenly interrupted Charlie with an unhinged cackle, breathing heavily after she screamed out.
To ease up the awkwardness, Vaggie clapped for Charlie and chuckled nervously. "Alright! Let's give it up for not dying! Love not dying. Drinks?"
____________________________________________________
That night, everyone celebrated the night before the battle with a few drinks in the Hotel's bar. They all had a good time together, living the night however they wanted. Amidst all the laughter and conversations, a peaceful atmosphere lingered between all those sinners, knowing that this might be the only chance they have left in appreciating what they have in the present.
Sir Pentious popped up in the middle of the group and held out his drink. "Here's to being alive today, and not dying tomorrow!" He said as everyone clinked their glasses together, chugging their drinks happily as if they hadn't a care in the world ever.
Meanwhile, from the mezzanine, Alastor and Niffty watched the rest of the group with a somewhat fond gaze.
"Ah, the celebratory night before a courageous last stand." Alastor rested his chin on his palm, leaning on the railing. "It's been a surprising thrill to witness these wayward souls find connection. Ah, almost makes one sentimental, eh Niffty?" He then asked, looking towards Niffty.
The small cyclops was sitting on the railing, dangling her legs while looking up at Alastor. "I really like them, Alastor." She replied. "They let me put on roach puppet shows without booing!"
"Ah, an enjoyable collective to be around." Alastor nodded in agreement before looking down at the small group of sinners once more. "I admit, one could get accustomed."
Just then, Niffty hopped on top of Alastor's shoulders and placed a hand-made crown made of dead roaches and sticks on top of his head. "I dub thee, King Roach." She playfully bowed towards him before hopping onto the railing once more.
"Oh, to understand your twisted little mind. Haha!" Alastor chuckled. He then started to cackle like an idiot, with Niffty doing the same thing. It seemed like they did understand each other's twisted minds well.
Once they finally stopped laughing, Aria walked up to them and leaned on the railing as well. "Hey, whatcha laughing about?" She asked, resting her cheek on her palm before noticing the crown of sticks and roaches on Alastor's head. "Did Niffty give you that? I like it."
"Yes, yes she did. Quite a talented little thing, isn't she?" Alastor nodded, adjusting the crown and grinning down at Niffty. "Always bringing a smile to everyone's face with her creative ways of entertainment."
Niffty then crawled on top of Aria's shoulders and put another crown of roaches on her head too, making the lioness demon laugh. "And I dub thee, Princess Roach." The cyclops demon proclaimed, bowing her head to Aria as well.
"Awh, you're the sweetest!" Aria beamed, opening up her arms for Niffty to hop into. She embraced the small cyclops and nuzzled her cheek with her own before letting go of her. Once she had been let go, Niffty went off to go and clean the cobwebs on the corners of the ceilings once more, leaving Alastor and Aria together alone.
After a moment of comfortable silence, Aria looked towards Alastor with a slightly excited grin on her face as her tail started to swish. "I could smell the romance downstairs already. Do you see that, dad?" Aria asked, chuckling while pointing at Sir Pentious and Cherri Bomb. "Look at him go, so nervous while talking to her. It almost makes me feel emotional."
"Hm." Alastor hummed, causing Aria to snicker since he sounded like an airhorn. "I was never the one to engage in romance, but I'll admit, it's fascinating to watch. How people can find their significant others even in a place such as this."
"I was never interested in romance too. So are you asexual, like myself?" Aria asked, to which Alastor tilted his head in confusion.
"Pardon?"
"Yeah." The lioness demon nodded. "You know how Angel Dust likes men, so he's called gay or homosexual, and Vaggie likes women, so she's called a lesbian? There's actually a group of people who find no interest in uh... relations at all, called asexuals. So if what I'm assuming is true, you're just like me. Ace."
"Well, that's quite an interesting fact, my dear." Alastor looked around, pondering for a moment before accepting this new title of his. "I can get used to that."
Another moment of comfortable silence remained in between them before Aria broke it once more. "Ah, I almost forgot. Niffty isn't the only one who prepared a gift for you, dad." She said, manifesting a small box and presenting it to the surprised deer demon.
Alastor looked like a deer in the headlights for a few seconds. He was shocked that someone other than Niffty actually cared about him so much that they were willing to give a gift to him. "Aria, you didn't need to-"
"No, I insist. " She shook her head and placed the box in Alastor's hands. "I made this by myself, and you really need it now. I promise you won't be disappointed."
Alastor's smile was thin with emotion as he reluctantly, slowly opened the box. Inside was a beautiful, black rimmed pair of glasses with red accents, and an eyeglass chain that shimmered gold. Another thing that was inside the box was a small pendant with a picture of Alastor's mother in it.
"Ohh..."
"I've noticed that you were squinting a lot more than usual recently." Aria explained as Alastor looked at her, frozen in shock at her thoughtfulness.
"And since you have a lazy left eye, I thought that a pair of glasses would help you better than a monocle. I styled it to better fit the cultures of your time, and I'll admit, it was fun to tinker with it. And as for the pendant, I made it so you can carry Abigail with you, wherever you are. I wanted to give these to you today because... just in case things don't go as we expect them to be, we'll remember each other."
Alastor continued to stand still, not moving an inch. He then blinked a few times, his smile as thin as ever.
When she noticed that Alastor hadn't reacted yet, Aria became a tad worried. "Uhh, well...do you like it?" She asked, tilting her head in concern.
"Like it?" Alastor repeated, his grin returning with full force and a slight quiver along with it. "My dear, this is positively the greatest gift anyone has ever given to me! Oh- I can't even explain how much I adore these!"
Alastor took the pendant in his hand, holding it delicately with the utmost caution and kissed it before putting it into his pocket. Then, after teleporting the glasses away to his room, he pulled Aria into a tight embrace, hiding from her the tears that were forming in his eyes. In response, the lioness demon immediately hugged back and buried herself into Alastor's arms.
"Thank you, Aria. My dearest daughter." Alastor whispered, being careful not to let their roach crowns poke each other's heads. He then planted a kiss on Aria's forehead and scratched her ears affectionately. It was as if all those years of him being a powerful Overlord and a serial killer meant nothing to him then. All he could see was her. The highlight of his afterlife through the past six months. He felt so elated that three, special little words slipped out of his mouth subconsciously, surprising both Aria and himself.
"I love you."
Aria's heartstrings were pulled once her ears picked up those words that came from Alastor. Her ears then flattened against her head, and her lip quivered as she started to cry. No one had ever said that to her ever since she was orphaned. And strangely in that moment, Aria was reminded of her biological father too. So in response, Aria hugged Alastor even tighter and sniffled quietly, so no one could hear her.
"I...love you too, dad." She murmured, both to Alastor and her biological dad, wherever he might be.
___________________________________________________
After the night of celebration, everyone had retreated to their rooms to rest well and sleep. Aria had already retreated to rest in her room half an hour before the partying stopped, and since her room was next to Angel's, her ears perked up when she heard the sound of Charlie sniffling.
Without her noticing, Aria opened her door just enough to see the Princess sobbing into her arms out of fear and stress. It was just then when Vaggie came, and so the lioness demon had to hide herself well to not get caught.
"Charlie?" Vaggie gently called out. Charlie turned towards her for a moment before turning away once more, hugging herself.
"I'm sorry..." She murmured. "I'm, I'm just so scared. What if we don't make it out alive? What if we lose?"
Aria held back a sigh in sight of Charlie's concern. It was true- what if Heaven wins, and they lose their lives? She shuddered at the thought of eternal death. Lights out forever. That sounded horrifying, even the thought of it.
Then, her head perked up when Vaggie started to sing softly, to encourage Charlie further as her partner.
"You've, already done so much," Vaggie hummed, approaching Charlie. "So many lives you've changed, so many souls you've touched."
Aria watched on from her room as Vaggie led Charlie further away, into the dim light of the lamp on the wall. Ambiance lit up the dark hallway, moving Charlie to look into Vaggie's eyes and gently squeeze her hands. "And in the end, if it's only me you saved..."
"There's something that I've been dying to say..."
The emotional, romantic moment made Aria feel a bit awkward for watching them like a weirdo, but she couldn't help herself. Even though it was a private moment between Charlie and Vaggie, she decided to give them a gift as well. Something that would repair their relationship fully after what had happened a month prior.
Slowly, Aria put one hand on the wall and transferred her powers to the couple, enhancing their voices and assisting them with falling in love with each other even more. Charlie and Vaggie held each other's faces as the ambiance in the hallway caressed their souls and bound them together.
"More than anything, more than anything," they sang together in a beautiful, heartfelt duet. "Need you to know I love you more than anything. More than anything..."
After their song, Charlie and Vaggie shared a deep kiss, which gave Aria the sign that it was time for her to finally close the door and go to sleep. As much as she had loved helping them out, her asexual-ness could barely handle the sight of them kissing, even though it was sweet. Laying down on her bed, she looked up towards the ceiling and sighed.
She had never felt so calm ever. Not in life with Birsha, and not even in the few days prior. This felt like the small drizzle that came before the storm.
All that had happened ever since she came down to Hell had led to this. New friends, new powers, and a new identity. She wondered if her parents would be proud of her despite everything that she had done, and if they'd still recognize her if they were there with her.
"If I die tomorrow, mom and dad?" She said to no one in particular, closing her eyes and using her imagination to see her parents standing in front of her. "I just wanna say... Love you. And thank you for saving me. I hope I made you proud."
Burying herself in the sheets, Aria sighed once more and let herself drift off to a dreamless sleep.
(Update)
I got ahead of myself and forgot to put this thing so ENJOY MY LOVELIES <3 TRADING CARD ARIA