Chapter Text
Zoe should be in the front desk as usual, but instead she’s currently in the parking lot washing her pink car.
As she was washing her car, one of the employees, Dot, walks in smoking a cigarette. She seems disgruntled.
“So me and the rest of the employees/siblings were wondering when we’ll get our paychecks?”
Zoe was wondering what she needed to do before the end of the day. “Oh Ummm I might be able to pay you guys in two or three weeks.”
“Not a fan of that, since we last got paid around two months ago.”
“Oh well that’s unfortunate. I should probably write you guys some checks.”
Dot nodded. “So why exactly did you want to be in charge of a hotel?” she asked.
“If I’m being honest, it’s just to make my resume look good, especially when I become a fashion designer or fashion model for hire.”
“I’m not sure if that was a bright idea, but then again the hotel has been doing a little better under your leadership.
“It has? That’s great, but I couldn’t have done it without Russell.”
“Like I haven’t seen any gross homeless guys loitering here in the parking lot anymore so that’s neat. Though I’m still adamant on hiring more people as well.”
“Yeah I keep forgetting that.”
After Zoe finished washing her car, the two went back inside the hotel towards the main office. Tons of paperwork, scattered on the desk, had to be organized, which Zoe wasn’t planning on doing.
Zoe grabs the checkbook that was in the desk’s drawers, and starts writing the checks for Dot and her siblings. As soon as she finished preparing the checks, She happily hands over the checks to Dot. Dot was quite pleased to receive her paycheck, however her face turns to confusion upon reading the checks.
“Uh, this amount was less than my last paycheck.”
“Wait really?”
“Yeah this amount isn’t enough, like we have to deal with buying food for the hotel, carrying people’s luggage, and cleaning every hotel room which isn’t easy with this hotel having four floors. Don’t get me started with the customers.”
“Well I’m sure with the way things are going for the hotel, your next paycheck will definitely be increased.”
Suddenly, the lights in the room started flickering. In fact it seems like it was happening throughout the whole hotel. After a couple of seconds, the lights went right back to normal.
“Awful timing,” Zoe comments, “Now someone has to check if there’s something wrong with either the electrical grid or the lightbulbs or maybe both.”
Wakko runs into the room, with bits of glass on his clothes.
“Uh hey all of the lights were flickering and some of them exploded,” he said.
“Yeah we noticed.” said Dot, with an annoyed tone.
Dot handed Wakko his paycheck before the two of them left to clean up whatever mess was made in the hotel.
Zoe checks the drawers again to see the sticky note that Christina gave to her. Since Zoe knew Russell was occupied on the front desk, Zoe thought it wouldn’t hurt to decipher the poor handwriting to uncover Christina’s real phone number.
— — —
While business is booming for Morrison Moore Hotel, the same can’t be said about the Quick Stop.
There are barely any customers that walk in the store, leaving Alex to chat with Joey to pass the time.
“I honestly don’t think what the Bay Harbor Butcher did was justified,” said Joey.
“I think one of Zoe’s employees might disagree.” Alex replies, twiddling his thumbs from boredom. Nothing much is going on, to the point where Alex was genuinely considering leaving the store for a bit, especially if Jennifer wasn’t busy.
“Hey Alex, ever noticed that we’re seeing less and less humans as time passes?" asks Joey.
“Well now that you mentioned it… I did see a news article about it.” Alex responds.
“Almost all of them are in complete panic mode because more of them are being reported as infertile. I’m pretty sure in terms of the total population on Earth, only fourty percent are humans.”
“Yeah I think I never noticed because in Metro CIty, there's an even number of humans and anthros.. Or maybe there’s more humans here.”
“Wait don’t you mean furries?”
“Furries are people pretending to be anthros.”
“Really? I feel like they’re interchangeable. Well, do you think they’ll find a way to save themselves?’
“I feel like the humans will think of something stupid like kill everyone that isn’t human or something like that.”
“WOAH dude that’s just messed up! Not every human is an asshole!” said the surprised Pikachu.
“Yeah I know," said the Eevee as he shrugs, "There’s plenty of good humans, and there might have been some awful anthros that can give us a bad name, but think about it. We’re not the ones that made the atom bomb, white phosphorus gas, and the damn pokeball."
“Okay the creation of the pokeball is messed up, but think about it: how can a police officer arrest a Gengar or a Vaporeon?”
“I dunno Joey. They’re not even using the pokeballs exclusively for Pokemons, they’ve used it on Digimon and worst of all the regular anthros that don’t even have any powers.”
“I guess that makes every anthro a Pokemon.”
“...okay so if 40% is human, the 60% is anthros, right?”
“Kind of: Thirty percent is anthros (which also includes the lizards, fishes, and birds), fifteen percent are the Pokemon, and the other fifteen percent is the Miscellaneous. Digimon, Koopas, Yoshi’s, Robots, Cyborgs, and the rare Human-Animal hybrids, like people with cat ears or something.”
“What about Mobians?”
“They’re not that different from regular anthros. Except some run fast… I think.”
Suddenly a man walks in, and unbeknownst to Alex, it was Niko Bellic.
“Ah great, it’s that guy again.” said Joey, who unbeknownst to Alex, knows who he is.
“Sorry for yelling at you, I’m just gonna buy some drinks,” he said.
Niko heads towards the drinks aisle, while Joey watches with suspicion. Though Alex couldn’t care less, he ultimately decides to ask Joey what was up between him and the stranger.
“So what’s his deal?”
“It’s a long story, I bumped into him, I spilled coffee on him which led him to yell at me before shoving me like a jerk.”
“Was the coffee hot?”
“I’ll be honest, it was scolding”
“Yeah it would’ve been weird if there was no reaction.”
Joey nodded. Eventually Niko came back to the register holding two bottles of soda to purchase.
“Okay that’s gonna be five dollars and eight cents” said Alex.
“Wait shouldn’t it be four dollars?” asked Niko.
“No?” replied Joey with a confused look. “It’s always been 2.50 plus taxes for every twenty ounce bottle of soda, no matter what brand.”
“I mean I knew the crap people buy from gas stations is expensive but still. How much for a two-liter then? Five dollars?”
“No, they cost around two dollars.”
Niko’s jaw dropped. “WHAT?! That can’t be how that works.”
“I’m sorry sir but that’s just how that works,” said Alex, “If I were you, I’d take the two-liter.”
“I wish I could, but I’m buying a regular soda for me and grape soda for my step-daughter. I hate grape soda but she loves it so….”
“Does your daughter hate regular soda? Like RC & eCola?” asked Joey
“Well no but-”
“Then buy the two liter regular soda, and if she really wanted grape soda then tell her to suck it up.”
“I’m not gonna do that!!”
“Then you’re paying five dollars and some cents instead.”
“This is…. What do you call it? ‘Highway Robbery’!" exclaimed Niko.
Joey sighs. “The twenty ounces cost that way because it’s the price you pay for convenience. Since it’s more convenient to carry around a small bottle than a large bottle, the company that makes and sells the sodas makes the ones that are smaller more expensive.”
“...screw this! I’m just gonna buy only the grape soda.”
“Alright then…. eugh.”
“‘Eugh’?
“I don’t like grape soda.”
“WELL I DON’T REMEMBER ASKING YOU WHETHER OR NOT YOU LIKE GRAPE SODA!!” shouted Niko at Joey.
“Whatever. It’s gonna be 2.54.”
Niko proceeds to grab a fistful of cash and coins from his pocket and slams it on the counter. “Keep the damn change.” he mumbles before finally leaving.
“Jokes on him, he gave me four dollars.”
“Put it in the tip jar, Joey.”
— — —
While Zoe is in her office, presumingly reorganizing some paperwork, Russel is busy in the front desk, something that he doesn’t like doing.
He prefers organizing and also supervising the only three employees in the hotel, not dealing with customers always asking him if he knew the man on the wanted poster. The charm of that wore off fast to the point he needed to put in a note on the poster that said “We don’t know him, stop asking”.
Right now he’s just doing the usual routine, helping out guests and drinking unhealthy amounts of coffee, when a man walks up to him seemingly upset.
“Uh hey you’re the porcupine that gave me a room.”
Already off to a great start.
“I’m a hedgehog, sir. Is there something that you need?”
“Yeah I’m here to complain about something. I wanted a room with one bed, not two! I mean what am I gonna do just shove the beds together to make one huge bed? And there’s mold on the roof too!”
“Well I guess I can find a different room-”
“Also when I went to the bathroom, there was some weirdo in purple already in there. That’s enough for me to give this shithole a one-star rating. I mean what kind of hotel even is this if it can–”
“Waitwaitwait what? A ‘weirdo in purple’?,” said Russell. He can’t be referring to Maxx? Russell thought to himself. “Does he look like him by any chance?” he asked the disgruntled guest, pointing at the poster behind him.
“Yup.”
“Which room!?”
“Room 305, I think?”
Russell ran out of the front desk out of panic frantically dashing upstairs towards the third floor. Finally he ran through the hallway of the third floor until he found the room he was looking for, however he was hesitant to enter the room.
This wasn’t some ordinary homeless guy, the Maxx has a wanted poster for a reason. Sure, he only attacked other criminals, but what’s stopping him from hurting Russell?
Before he entered the room, he quickly went to the nearby supply closet to grab a shovel to defend himself. Now that he’s armed, Russell now decides to open the room.
To his horror, he saw The Maxx standing in front of him. He hit Maxx with the shovel right against his chest, however it seemed to have no effect on the large man.
“I’m in the hotel, right?” asked Maxx, seemingly unfazed.
“Uh yeah? Where do you think you’re in right now?”
“Mind’s a bit hazy, One moment I was being chased by the Isz back in the Outback, the next I'm in this strange hotel. I have to find Susie… or maybe I should find Julie instead?”
“Can you leave now?”
“Quick question: Since when can animals on Earth talk?”
“Alright I’m calling the police.”
The Maxx shoved Russell aside as he exited the room. Thankfully the Maxx was headed towards the exit.
Russell runs downstairs and heads straight towards the main manager’s office where Zoe is currently at. To Russell’s disappointment, nothing was organized.
“What are you doing?” he asks Zoe.
“Deciphering Christina’s number in case we need it for later.” she responds.
“Oh okay…. How’s the progress?”
“Slow. I’m a fashionista darling, not a detective.”
“It’s so off putting when you call me that. You're not forty years old.”
“I have to have a quirk or two.”
The two headed back to the front lobby, however Russell quickly realized since neither he nor Zoe were in the front desk in the lobby, lots of people were at the lobby waiting for their rooms. Russell assumes that Yakko was probably busy helping with his siblings, meaning that no one would’ve been able to attend to any of the customers. Some have even left out of impatience, including the guy that found Maxx in his room.
That feeling that Russel had on the first day at the hotel came back, and he feels it’s not going away until they hire more workers in the hotel, like he and Zoe should’ve done in the first place.