Chapter Text
The screams from the day before finally subsided, everyone waiting with bated breath as the last exorcist flew through the portal back to heaven. Once it was all clear the power around the city gradually flickered back on, the last of the power in a particular hotel being the final building to come back to life.
In that same hotel the doors of the balcony opened, a woman with a light pink afro wearing a red suit slowly making her way out and looking down at the city for a few seconds; taking in the carnage. A single blood-laced tear ran down her cheek while she let a decent amount of fire surge into her left hand.
It flared brightly as she raised her hand, shooting the fireball towards the crimson sky and watching it explode; that being the final sign that everything was all clear.
As the city came to life the woman, who we will come to know as Charlie, remained outside for a few minutes before she made her way back inside; quick to wipe her tears away as she put on a smile and went downstairs to see off the sinners who hid in the hotel during the cleansing. Hopefully some will stay after she shows them the pamphlets for the redemption program the hotel gives, she thinks to herself as she came down to a partially filled lobby.
Either way, she still saved other sinners from the exorcist's blade, and if they didn't want to stay that was alright; she could always convince them as best she can with the help of her friend/co hotel owner. But whether or not she managed to get one more person to sign up, the outcome wouldn't deter her from her one and only goal:
To redeem at least one sinner to make the cleansings stop once and for all.
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1 week later
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"Come one, come all! A hotel that wants to help you become a better person!"
Charlie crowed happily, holding a stack of advertisements in one arm while waving one of them in the air. Her one winged friend Vaggi stood next to her, also holding a stack of advertisements while waving one around with slightly less enthusiasm, which wouldn't be a problem were it not for the fact that they'd been standing on that corner for about an hour and the only sinner that had stopped for them thought they were hookers.
It was also equally unfortunate because they were currently in the city of Pride, which had more sinners located there than the other rings. One would think that a few people would've stopped by to at least take a gander at what they were doing, but so far everyone was either walking past them not noticing them or noticing them and fully avoiding eye contact like they were the plague itself.
After trying (and failing) to hand an advertisement to a goat headed sinner Charlie sighed dramatically, slouching against the wall as she looked over to Vaggi; who'd set her papers down on the ground next to her before looking back at Charlie. "Mi amiga, I think its time we call it. You've still got that interview with the news we're supposed to go to."
"I know, I just thought after all of those people stayed at the hotel they'd have at least spread the word..!" Charlie complained, walking over to the parked limo and holding the door for Vaggi to climb in before she followed; giving a gentle order to the driver to head to the news studio. When they started driving however Charlie noticed Vaggi texting someone on her phone, scooting a little closer when noticing that familiar irritated wrinkle in her friend's brow. "Something wrong?"
Vaggi's good eye flicked over to Charlie, blinking a few times before sighing and stuffing her phone in the pocket of her skirt. "I... It's nothing. I was just texting Angel, wanted to see if he made it back to the hotel." Charlie hummed at this, hands resting on her lap. "Right... He did spend all night working at that studio... Did he respond? He hasn't answered any of my texts last night."
"No, I... Wait, he's typing."
The two women watched the typing indicator with bated breath, just for them to get his text:
Angel: yeah yeah relax omw back had to give someone a happy ending to get some change
Angel: now stop blowing my phone up unless you want pics
Vaggi's eye twitched.
Charlie felt her face warm up as the two simply sat with the text for a minute.
"Why do I even bother worrying." Vaggi sighed, putting her phone away while Charlie put on a small but relieved smile. "At least he answered! And besides, he's heading back to the hotel! For a second I was worried he ran into that friend of his again..."
"Uuugh, Cherri. Ese lunatico." Vaggi groaned, her one wing fluttering in slight annoyance at the thought of the cyclops demon. The two had only met once but that meeting had rubbed them both the wrong way. Charlie meanwhile didn't have any ill will towards the woman, but to say she was a bad influence on Angel would be sugar coating it.
While they headed to the studio the two eventually drifted to a different topic, mainly Vaggi helping Charlie remember what she would be saying on TV since this would be the one thing they could do that had the possibility of getting the hotel on everyone's radar.
Once they made it to the building Charlie took a second to psych herself up, telling herself that everything was going to go completely fine as she made her way through the backstage doors with Vaggi; stopping for a second before she went in. Everything's going to be fine... It's going to be more than fine...
No, everything would go BETTER fine...!, she told herself before putting on a determined face, fixing her bow-tie before straightening her posture and making her way inside.
Yeah, everything was going to be fine...
Is something that could be believed more easily were it not for the fact that they were in Hell.