Chapter Text
[Spring, 202X. Metro City]
“Hey, what’s wrong? You seem quieter than usual.”
“...... It’s my damn driver’s license. It says 'Porcupine' when it’s supposed to say 'Hedgehog'!"
Russell Ferguson has been through a lot. His job as an IT Technician went nowhere when the company that he was working for, Ziktor Industries, was absorbed by ENCOM, which later led to him being laid off for cost measures. Luckily his girlfriend, Zoe Trent, found him a new job.
Unbeknownst to him, his new job was to be a manager at a Metro City hotel that Zoe recently bought.
Moving out of Liberty City, away from his dad’s house to live in an apartment was difficult, given that Russell had to sell his prized collection of comic books just to buy an apartment near the hotel. On top of that, he has yet to get himself his own car, unlike his girlfriend, who has one (A pink Volkswagen Beetle).
It doesn't seem like he ever will, not until he renews his Driver ID.
“Oh don’t fuss,” said Zoe, "It’s probably because when most people think of Hedgehogs they think of—”
“Yes I am aware,” Russell interrupts, “It’s already bad enough when people used to mistake me as a Porcupine back then, but when that blue hedgehog from Green Hill came along, now all of a sudden that is what a Hedgehog is."
“He’s not that popular nowadays” Zoe remarks. “Good” Russell responds.
As they’re driving toward the destination, Russell sighs. “Why a hotel? I thought you were fine with being an online fashionista or whatever.”
“I still am,” she said, “That’s how I could afford the car and the hotel, but I decided to multitask. If you're worried, I bought the place for cheap, and with employees as well!”
Russell still felt uneasy. Surely it’s nothing to worry about. Maybe he’s just tired and perhaps maybe, just maybe, Zoe isn’t in over her head. Russell then attempts to look at the bright side, as he’ll be able to reunite with his old friends from high school.
He then noticed that Zoe took a detour which confused him. “Where are we headed?”
“The Quick Stop, Russell! Remember? I hope they still have those Chewlies gum.”
Russell rolled his eyes from Zoe’s excitement. He couldn’t understand why she was thrilled to see that store of all else, especially since there was also a Quick Stop back in Alderney. At least she’s stopping the car for a bit, he thought to himself, I’m feeling car sick all of a sudden.
— — —
Upon entering the store, Russell smelled the familiar scent of cigarettes and old newspapers. The whole store was that different from how it was before he moved with his dad to Liberty City.
The store was still stocked with junk food, cleaning supplies, fridges full of eggs and dairy products, and a massive bin of unsold Funko Pops that absolutely no one would want to get their hands on, even if they were free.
Russell grabbed some snacks and proceeded to walk to the register to get some cigarettes when he suddenly saw a familiar face.
It was one of his friends from high school, an Eevee named Alex Edwardson, who seems to be a clerk in this store.
“Hey Alex! It’s me, Russell!” He waved at Alex, hoping he would notice him.
“Russell? It’s been a while.” Alex said, waving back. Alex seemed very bored despite the reunion, though it wasn’t out of the ordinary, as Alex was well known for being stoic.
“Oh my god, Alex! I didn’t know you worked here.”, Zoe says in excitement, “What’s with the glum face?” “It’s nothing,” said Alex. “All I want is for my shift to finish. I got plans and stuff. How are you guys doing?”
Russell shrugs. “Pretty good. Liberty City was fun while it lasted. Though I’m still bummed out that you and everyone else didn’t join us.” Alex looked at Zoe with a blank expression. “I was fine here, Zoe.”
“So uh how much for the trail mix and a bottle of water?” Russell asked “5 dollars I think I don’t know” says Alex.
“Hey, have you kept in touch with the rest of the friend group?” Zoe asked, as she searched around for some Chewlies gum. “Eh, sort of. I rarely talk to people like Gabe or Roxanne, however I currently have Joey living with me as a roommate, you remember him?”
“Yeah. The Pichu. Yeah I remember him.” Russell said.
“Well he’s not a Pichu anymore, he evolved not long after you guys left…..Speaking of which HEY JOEY! RUSSELL AND ZOE ARE BACK COME SAY HI!” In a split second, out comes a Pikachu leaving the Employee Restroom….by running out of the restroom and falling face-first onto the floor.
“Sup guys.” He says, as he gets up. “Glad you guys are back, the more friends the merrier….. man my face hurts.” Russell notices that Joey was wearing the same uniform as Alex. “Wait, you work here as well Joey?” he said.
Joey nodded. “Figured I’d just work alongside my close friend that I live with!”
“That’s cool. I guess.” Russell felt a bit envious towards Joey. He wished he could have lived in Liberty City with Zoe, but instead he had to stay with his dad. “How’s it been for you since we left?” Zoe asked
“It’s fine,” said Joey, with a hint of sadness in his voice. “A lot has happened to me, sure, but I’ve handled it well. I just have to look at the bright side more often. Heck, if karma exists, I’m due for some good karma.”
“Uhh….Joey?” said Alex.
“Yeah?”
Alex’s points at Joey’s pants. “Your fly’s down”
Joey blushes in embarrassment and quickly walks away to zip his pants up. Alex sighed. “Better this than how he was before you left.” he said. As Joey was busy fixing his pants, Russell and Zoe looked back at Alex. “What happened?” Zoe asked.
“I don’t feel like telling you guys that right now.” Alex said.
— — —
After buying some cheap snacks and conversing with old friends, Zoe and Russell drive off towards their original destination, the Morrison Moore Hotel. When they arrived, Russell saw just how much of a worrying decision Zoe made. The hotel was in shambles, the parking lot was worn out., barely any cars whatsoever, no lights were shown from the windows, and worst of all the sign was in disarray.
It just says “The Hotel”, the “Morrison Moore” part of the sign is covered with graffiti.
“Zoe, how cheap was the hotel?” He asked, as Zoe’s searching for a parking spot for some odd reason. “Not much, just a few grand here and there. It was cheaper than the car so……Just don’t worry about it.” Hearing Zoe’s response made Russell more distraught.
Just as they are about to enter the hotel, Russell notices what seems to be a large muscular man wearing a tight purple suit, sleeping near a dumpster not far from the entrance. Russell was tempted to bring it to Zoe’s when suddenly a woman appeared out of nowhere wearing a suit and a baseball cap.
“Oh hi, you two must be Zoe and Russell! You're just in time!” She says with a smile on her face.
“We’re actually 13 minutes late but sure.” Russell corrects the woman while looking at his watch. Russell tries to not give Zoe eye contact, as Zoe is currently staring at him with a mildly annoyed look on her face.
“You must be the previous owner, Christina McLean!” said Zoe.
Russell froze for a moment. “McLean? Wait, you're related to that guy on TV? Chris McLean?” Christina nodded. “Yes. As a matter of fact, I’m her cousin.”
“Are you aware about him getting himself arrested a while ago?”’ Russell asked.
“So anyways, here’s what’s left of the contracts that you have to sign.” She says to Zoe, handing her a munch of papers while ignoring Russell’s question. “Alright then, do you have a pen so that I can sign it?"
“Oh sure I….uh…..hmmm….damn I don’t have a pen.”
A moment of silence ensues.
“I mean you have an office, right? Just get a pen there.” said Russell. “Right, good idea.” Christina responds.
The three then enter the Hotel, where Russell finds out just how run down the place is. Like three steps away from looking as if it was abandoned. Christina’s office wasn’t any better, with her window’s being boarded up and the lights in the room always flickering. All the chairs are different from one another, so while Christina sits on a regular chair, Zoe sits on a stool chair and Russell sits on a bean bag.
As Christina hands Zoe a pen, Russell looks back at Zoe. “Is there no way to turn back?” he asked. “Obviously not,” Zoe said, “I already paid her, it’d be rude to change my mind. I’m just signing the paperwork that I’ve yet to sign.”
“Did you at least read the paperwork?”
Zoe sighs in frustration. “Russell, I have it handled. Before you know it, we’ll have this hotel filled with guests and not just a few homeless people and some roaches.”
“Love your enthusiasm!” said Christina, as Zoe finishes signing the papers.
“But Zoe, we have to, like, repaint all of the walls, remove all the wooden boards on the windows, not to mention hire some employees to help us out.”
“We have plenty of employees, Russell.”
“Well, how many?” Russell asks. “You have three, but I’m sure you’ll manage,” said Christina.
“THREE?!” shouted Russell.
“Yes, just three,” she says, “But it’s not a dealbreaker. They’re great at their jobs and they’re also siblings so the teamwork is remarkable. All you need to worry about is paying them. Besides, this place ain’t that huge.” Zoe then hands over the signed papers to Christina. Christina precedes to throw the papers into her briefcase. “Well now that that’s done, you two are now the new owners, or hoteliers, of this hotel. Havefunbye.” Christina suddenly power walks towards the fire exit. “Woah wait hold up,” Russell stopped Christina, “Can I at least get your phone number?”
“What?”—she sighs—”Okay fine, sure. But I won’t always be available.” She grabs a nearby post-it note and starts writing on it. She then hands over. She then leaves but then stops herself before exiting the building. “Oh one last thing. You should probably remove that purple eyesore next to that dumpster. Guy’s a nutcase.”
With her gone, Russell slunk back on the bean bag with regret growing within him. “Zoe, maybe we should’ve gotten a lawyer. Like this has to be a scam. Look, the phone number on the note is just a bunch of chicken scratch!"
“It’s not. If anything, this is our golden opportunity. We could advertise this place to my fanbase on the internet. All we need to do is put a little elbow grease and we’ll be set for life. Tourism has been through the roof since Metro City opened a nearby waterpark, so we should be fine.”
Russell stood from his chair. “I doubt it Zoe, especially since that waterpark you’re referring to is a damn Action Park. Now where’s the employees?”
— — —
Russell walks out onto the parking lot to see the large purple man, now awake, arguing with what seems to be a group of triplets. By the looks of their attire, it appears they’re the employees that Christina was referring to.
“Um hey are you the employees?” he asks one of the triplets.
“Indeed. Why? You need somethin’?” The tallest of the triplets asks. “Well you see, I’m Russell Ferguson, one of the new owners of this hotel. My girlfriend, Zoe Trent, bought this place because I guess she was super interested in managing an entire hotel with my help.”
“Wow. I knew that Christina bitch was gonna ditch us, but not this soon. I’m one of the employees, Yakko Warner, and these two are my siblings, Wakko and Dot.” The two shake hands. “Well nice meeting you Yakko.” said Russell. “Say who’s that man in the purple sui—”
“I AM THE MAXX,” said the man in the purple outfit, “GUARDIAN OF THE OUTBACK!”
“....What?” Russell looked at him with utter confusion. Upon closer look, the man’s face was shaped like a lampshade, he’s got yellow thorns on each of his hands, and his bandaged feet were massive.
“Well Maxx, I suggest you leave this property if you're not gonna book a hotel room. I have a bad feeling you might disturb upcoming guests at the hotel.” said Russell. Maxx just stands there, glaring at Russell, when one of the triplets throws an empty can at his head. “HE SAID GET LOST!!” the triplet shouted. Maxx turns away from Russell, muttering to himself, as he walks away.
“Dot, I know it worked, but I do not recommend throwing things at him,” said Yakko, crossing his arms, “He’s like….twice my size.”
“Well I’m going inside, you guys uhhhh….go back to work I guess.” says Russell. As he went back inside, the triplets followed him.
Think positive thoughts, Russell thought to himself, Maybe I can work with this.