"One large chocolate shake, please!" you say with a smile as you enter the ice cream parlor. You reach into your pocket to hand the demon standing at the register five dollars. "And keep the change."
"Coming right up." he replies. He notices Charlie follow you inside as the door swings open once again. He gives you a small smile and asks "You want two straws?"
"You know us too well." you say with a chuckle, as he turns around to begin making the milkshake.
Charlie looks like a kid in a candy store, looking around the ice cream parlor with an enormous grin on her face.
"You got us chocolate, right!?" Charlie excitedly asks, as she steps up to the counter to be with you.
"Yep, Dave's making it right now." you reply.
"Hey, how's it going, Princess?" he greets with a friendly smile, while scooping a few spoonfuls of chocolate ice cream into a blender.
"It's been great!" she replies. "We redeemed fifteen sinners today alone!"
"Wow, that's crazy." he says with a shocked expression. "Things must be really taking off over there at your hotel."
"Yeah, I'll say." you add. "We even rehabilitated one who was... a little less than enthusiastic about the idea when the Hotel first opened."
"Really? Who was it?" Dave asks, curiously tilting his head to the side. He turns on the blender to make the milkshake.
"Katie Killjoy! I still can't believe it!" Charlie says, practically jumping for joy in the middle of the ice cream parlor.
"That news anchor lady?" he asks. "Guess that would explain why they're hiring now, all of the sudden."
"Yep," you say, lovingly wrapping an arm around Charlie's shoulders. "So, we figured we'd stop by your place and celebrate for a bit."
"My door's always open to you guys." Dave says with a smile.
He opens the blender and pours its contents into a tall drinking glass. He then places two drinking straws inside the glass, one on each side of it. He puts the completed chocolate shake on the counter, saying "And here you go!"
Charlie excitedly picks up the milkshake and hurries off to find a booth for you both to sit in.
"You better hurry up before she finishes all of that." he jokes.
"I'm sure she's tempted to, but I don't think she will." you say with a small laugh, before turning your head and trying to find where Charlie ran off to. "I trust her, for the most part."
"'For the most part'." he repeats with a chuckle, before saying "You two are just perfect together."
"We're a match made in Heaven... or Hell, I guess, technically." you joke. "Thanks, Dave."
"Don't mention it. You two have a good one." he says, turning his attention to another customer standing at the counter.
"You too." you reply. You step away from the counter, and soon find Charlie sitting at one of the empty booths in the ice cream parlor.
Surprisingly, the milkshake appears untouched.
"Aww, you waited until I came over. You're too kind, Charlie!" you say with a smile.
"Yeah, and it was one of the most difficult things I've ever done." she mumbles. "I mean, just look at it! So much ice cream, whipped cream, and a cute little cherry on top. It just looks so good!"
You sit down across from her and say "Well, you need not wait any longer. Let's dig in!"
"Yes!" she celebrates, grabbing the straw closest to her and beginning to drink.
You take the other one and have a small sip of the drink as well. It's cold and super chocolatey, and you wouldn't have it any other way.
"That's so good!" Charlie says, her bright smile somehow managing to become even bigger.
"Dave makes the best shakes in town, that's for damn sure." you reply, before taking another sip.
Charlie continues to drink from her straw, and you do the same, with her eyes eventually meeting your own. She giggles, before giving you a loving expression. Her eyelids lower a bit, and she puts a hand to her cheek, with an adorable little smile appearing on her lips.
"You're so cute!" you say with a giggle, before attempting to return the expression back to her, making her laugh.
"You're not so bad yourself." she says, placing her hand back on the table.
"I'm glad to hear it." you reply, lovingly placing your hand on top of her own. You can see her cheeks begin to become flustered, but her eyes remain firmly on you.
You gently use your other hand to push the milkshake off to the side of the table, as you and Charlie begin to lean in closer, slowly closing the distance between each other's lips.
Just before your passionate kiss could begin, you hear the door behind you suddenly swing open with great force.
"Hey Charlie, you here!?" the familiar voice of Angel Dust asks.
She groans and rolls her eyes in annoyance, before leaning back in her seat. You do the same as she replies "Yeah Angel, what's up?"
He sprints over to your booth and is panting heavily. "Guys... I'm not trying to cock-block you or anything. This is actually really serious!"
"Why? What's going on?" she asks, with concern beginning to fill her voice.
"It's Lucifer!" he yells. "He's coming to the hotel!"
Her eyes widen in shock. "Oh no..."
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You all scramble into the limousine waiting outside the entrance to the ice cream parlor. Vaggie is already inside the car, presumably waiting for you.
Once everyone is inside the limo, Angel slams the door closed. Vaggie knocks on the window separating you all from the driver.
It rolls down slightly, and she yells "Take us back to the hotel, and step on it!"
"You got it." he replies, before the window closes again. The limo then begins speeding its way back to the hotel.
Charlie sinks back in her seat, a blank expression on her face as her mind is clearly racing with countless unanswerable questions.
"Dad's... visiting the hotel? Why?"
"No idea." Angel replies. "I saw him earlier today, and we just hung out for a little bit. I brought up how well the hotel was doing, and-"
"You did WHAT!?" Vaggie screams.
"We were just talking, I didn't think it was a big deal or anything." he says with a shrug.
"It's a pretty big fucking deal, Angel. He's never even seen what it looks like!"
"Look Vaggie, the last thing I expected him to say was that he wanted to come over."
"Did he say what time he was gonna show up?" Charlie asks.
"Nope. He only said, and I quote: 'I'd just love to see how my darling daughter's little business enterprise is coming along!'. That's it."
You put a hand to your chin and ponder for a moment. "With the way you worded that, it sounds like he might not even come over at all."
"Why do you say that?" Angel asks.
"Well... you said he 'would love to', so maybe he doesn't have any actual plans to come over."
"God, I hope he doesn't." Charlie replies, looking at you with a sad, but somewhat hopeful gaze.
"It seems like he's been out to get us ever since we first opened. He'd rather have everyone down here just burn and suffer, instead of at least having a chance at redemption."
"Well, like you said, we saved fifteen people today. If he does actually end up visiting the hotel, maybe just showing him the numbers could convince him that redemption works." you say.
"It'll take a Hell of a lot more than that!" Angel says with a laugh, while you and Vaggie look up at him simultaneously and glare.
"What?" he asks. "I'm just being realistic. I mean, he's the friggin' Devil, after all."
Vaggie sighs. "As bluntly as Angel put that, he may have a point."
"He's been down here for thousands of years. He's used to seeing constant pain and suffering, and he's totally cool with 'cleansing' the population every year. It'll probably take... a lot, to convince him."
Charlie puts a hand to her forehead in annoyance. "You know, you guys constantly talking shit about my dad isn't exactly helping me calm down."
"We're not trying to freak you out or anything. I'm not, anyway." Vaggie says, before looking at Angel for a second with a frown.
"We just... want you to be ready."
"And plus, he's your Dad. He might not agree with the idea, but I'm sure he still loves you." you add. You put a hand on Charlie's shoulder for support and give her a smile. "Everything's gonna be okay, hon."
The limousine suddenly stops, and the small window separating you all from the driver cracks open slightly.
"Uh, Boss. You might wanna take a look at this." the driver says.
"What's going on?" Charlie asks, sitting upright.
The driver points a finger up at the hotel, and you all peer out the window.
You can see smoke billowing up from one of the windows in the building's lowest floor, and an orange glow coming from inside.
You hear her gasp. "It's on... f-fire?"
Angel puts a hand on your own shoulder and says "Looks like you spoke too soon."
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As you all run up to the hotel's main entrance, you see Alastor standing at the front door, waving an arm to get your attention.
"No need to be alarmed, everyone! Everything is completely under control!"
"Yeah, bullshit!" Vaggie shouts, running past the Radio Demon. "I bet your buddy Lucifer is in here somewhere!"
"Lucifer... w-what are you talking about?" he asks in confusion, as you follow Vaggie inside.
"Where's the fucking fire extinguisher!?" you yell, frantically looking around. "It was here on the wall, just this morning!"
"Niffty has it because-" Alastor begins.
"Because Dad's trying to set the hotel on fire!? Why didn't you stop him!?" Charlie asks, tears welling up in her eyes as she follows you and Vaggie inside.
"But I-" Alastor begins again.
"Wow, you really fucked up this time, Al." Angel says, following after Charlie.
"But I... don't even know what I did..." the Radio Demon mumbles to himself.
As you follow Vaggie deeper into the hotel, you can see the room where the smoke and flames are originating from: the kitchen. The smoke and heat from the fire is increasing in intensity, and the light from the flames is getting much brighter now.
"Alright Lucy, you son of a bitch!" you call into the room as you near the kitchen doorway. "Your days of crushing Charlie's dreams are-"
You immediately stop talking when the scene in the kitchen becomes clear to you. Niffty and Husker are standing around the stove, spraying it with two fire extinguishers. Lucifer is nowhere to be found.
"...over." you finish your sentence. The flames are soon extinguished, and the smoke dissipates.
Everyone gathers around the scorched stove, revealing a half-melted pan sitting on top, with some charred and completely inedible food inside of it.
"What... what happened?" Charlie asks.
Alastor walks inside the kitchen to join everyone else.
"I was trying to tell you all, before you rudely interrupted me. Multiple times!" he says, folding his arms in mild annoyance.
Vaggie growls. "Okay, you creepy talk show shitlord! You have our complete, undivided attention. What happened here?"
"Niffty here was trying to make some of my mother's famous jambalaya!" he says, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
He pauses, and looks down at the demon in question. "And clearly, things didn't work out too well... Maybe next time, my dear."
"I'll do my best, Mr. Alastor, sir!" she says with a confident smile.
"So..." you say, attempting to put the pieces together. "Lucifer wasn't here?"
"Why do you guys keep bringing him up? Is he trying to redeem himself or something?" Alastor asks. "Certainly seems out of character for him to do something like that."
"No," Charlie says. "He... might be coming over, sometime today. Just to visit, I think."
"TODAY!?" Niffty exclaims in shock. "I haven't even started cleaning the lobby yet. Gotta go!"
Like a bolt of lightning, the little demon is here one moment, then gone the next.
Husker grumbles. "I... guess I should probably hide my drinks too. I don't want anyone touching my fucking booze, even Satan himself."
The alcoholic cat-demon wanders off, presumably heading back to the bar.
"So this was all just a little... cooking mishap then." you say.
Alastor nods. "That's correct! I'll definitely keep a closer eye on Niffty, though, to make sure it doesn't happen again."
You look up at Charlie. "Guess we were overreacting a bit, huh?"
She giggles. "Just a bit, yeah."
"Hell, at this point, I doubt he's even gonna show up-"
A deep-pitched, unsettling voice suddenly speaks up from behind your party of friends.
"Ah, Charlotte, there you are!"
Everyone slowly turns around and looks up at the source of the voice. A tall figure, wearing his characteristic bright white top hat and suit looks down upon you all with an enormous grin, with his razor-sharp teeth on full display.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, my dear!" he says, holding an arm out presumably for a handshake.
Niffty sprints back inside the kitchen. "Guys, he's here!"