-Location: Pentagram City, Hell-
[James' POV]

After I found the flyer for that Happy Hotel place, I quickly fixed up my back and drove off to find the place. I've currently been on the road for only ten minutes and I've gotten strange looks from the local residents who looked like demons. It was really weird to be in Hell and see what it really looked like. It was even weirder to see that it looked basically just like the real world, just darker and a bit more chaotic.

Suddenly I hear an explosion go off in the distance and turn my head to my left to see the residue of an explosion in the distance.

"What the hell is going on over there?" I question, trying to not crash my bike.

"It's an ongoing turf war. Happens constantly in Hell and I'd advise that we don't go out much once we have our energy back. I SERIOUSLY want to burn some souls right now. Hell is just lucky we can't transform right now."

"Noted," I say and continue on my way to the Happy Hotel.

After another five minutes I eventually come across it and get close enough to where I can park my Panhead Chopper. Once it's parked I hop off and walk up to the door. I stop right in front of the door and look down to see a doormat that says "WELCOME" on it.

"Heh. Funny," I say and look up back at the door.

I grab the door handle and push the door open to see a hotel lobby with a color scheme of red, black, and yellow. It was actually nice but there wasn't really anybody in sight.

"Must've just opened," I say and walk into the hotel.

After a few steps I hear the excited pitter-patter of feet and look to see a quickly approaching female demon with long blonde hair, snow white skin, yellow sclera, and rosy red cheeks. She wore a red tuxedo with a white undershirt and black bowtie, black dress pants, and black heels. I immediately recognize her as the girl Charlie Magne from the flyer.

"Hi there!" she greets me. "It's great to finally have a guest here! I'm Charlotte Magne! You can just call me Charlie."

She sticks her hand out for me to shake and I slowly took it, weirded out by all the joy and optimism in her voice and attitude.

"James Ryder," I tell the girl with hesitation. "Nice to meet you Miss Charlie."

"No need to call me "Miss"," Charlie tells me. "It's just Charlie."

She then gasps as she seems to finally take in all my looks.

"Holy cow! Are you really a human?!" Charlie asks me in shock and awe.

"Er, yes?" I say in uncomfortableness since the demoness was really close to my face. "Can you please back up? You're in my bubble."

"Hm?" Charlie questions and then realizes how close we were and blushes. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I just got really excited since I've never seen a human in person before."

"It's fine, Charlie," I say with a small chuckle. "I completely understand."

"Great!" Charlie says. "Um, question. How DID you end up in Hell? Since, well, you know."

She motions to my very human looks and I realize what she means. It's gonna be very easy to spot me since I look NOTHING like the demons of this place.

"Yeeeaaah, I was riding my motorcycle when suddenly this fiery portal opens up and I'm suddenly crashing in Hell," I say. "Literally. I crashed when I arrived here."

"Oh! Well, I'm sorry to hear that," the white skinned girl tells me. "Did you say motorcycle?"

"Yeah," I say. "A Panhead Chopper. One of my.... "ancestors" had one and decided I should have one as well to keep a part of him close to me."

"That's... really sweet of you," Charlie tells me with a smile. "... Okay, um, since you'll be staying here for the time being I should get you checked in. Follow me!"

Charlie then excitedly walks off and I follow her to a check-in counter that had what seemed to be a very bored kitty behind it.

"Hey Husk!" Charlie greets the cat. "I would like you to check our new guest in, please."

"Husk" looks over to me and I give a small wave at him. He looks at me in slight confusion before looking back at Charlie and speaking.

"Why?"

"Uh, because it's you job, silly!" Charlie says and I can start to see her become a bit nervous. "Remember?"

Husk looks at Charlie in a very bored manner but then looks at me before sighing in defeat.

"Alright," he says as he grabs a pen placed near him, "what's your name humie?"

"James," I say. "James Ryder. Y, not I."

"Alright. And since you're obviously not demon, how did you end up here in Hell?" Husk asks me after scribbling my name down.

"Riding my motorcycle when I get sucked into a portal and ended up here," I inform cat.

"And what sins and or crimes have you committed?" Husk asks me after a moment of writing.

"Murder, lying, arson, assault, light theft, aaaaaand going WAY pass the speed limit," I tell Husk and Charlie looks at me in shock which makes me look at her. "What?"

"You, erm, killed people and burned things?" Charlie asked me.

"I only killed those who were guilty and deserved death," I stated. "I'm what you call an anti-hero. And yes, I burned things. Fire was a part of my gig. A BIG part."

"Heh heh, can you promise to not kill anyone and not to burn this place down?" Charlie asks me, completely nervous.

"... I'll try," I say with a smirk. "No guarantees though."

"Phew, that's all I need from you," Charlie tells me.

"Good call on not making any promises. We both know that you wouldn't keep any if you did."

"Ease up, Zarathos," I tell the Spirit of Vengeance. "I now that. Can we at least TRY to keep the killing down?"

"Fine."

"Thank you," I say and see that both Husk and Charlie are looking at me funny. "What? Got something on my face?"

"Aight, just gonna write down "insane"," Husk says and writes some more on his check-in paper.

"Nope, not insane," I say. "I just have a supernatural parasite living in me."

"PARASITE?! APOLOGIZE!"

"Calm down, Z," I tell the Spirit of Vengeance. "It's just a joke. Don't need to get your bones in a twist."

"Fuck you."

"Do it yourself, coward," I tell Zarathos.

"... Just be quiet and don't speak to me ever again."

I bellow in laughter and hear Zarathos grumbling in my mind as I laugh. Once I finish I look to see Charlie looking at me like I had a second head and Husk just seemed to just stop caring as he drinks some booze.

"You can stop looking at me like that," I say. "I'm gonna look like I'm talking to someone who isn't there so get used to it."

"Okaaaay then," Charlie says and takes my hand as she leads me somewhere else. "Let's go introduce you to the others!"

As we walk to the lobby I hear a sudden yell of anger and then see a humanoid spider figure in a white and pink striped suit running away from a grey skinned female demon with long, white hair and a large red X in replace of her right eye.

"GET BACK OVER HERE ANGEL DUST SO I CAN KILL YOU AGAIN!" the white haired girl shouts as she chases the spider.

"Not happening, bitch!" the spider known as Angel Dust says as he runs pass me and Charlie.

"Hey! Woah! Ease up Vaggie!" Charlie tells the angry girl as she gets in her way, trying to stop her from killing the spider. "Just calm down."

"I AM CALM!" "Vaggie" tells Charlie. "AND I'LL BE EVEN CALMER WHEN THAT BASTARD DIES FOR A SECOND TIME!"

"Vaggie, calm down," Charlie tells Vaggie and motions to me. "Can't you see we have a guest?"

Vaggie, who was still wearing a face of anger and hatred, turned to me and looked at me.

"And who are you?" she asks me.

"Name's James Ryder," I inform the grey girl. "Nice to meet you, Vaggie."

"Only my friends call me Vaggie," Vaggie tells me. "You can just call me Vagatha since you are OBVIOUSLY not my friend."

"Yeesh. Great hospitality, VAGATHA," I say sarcastically. "A swell way to greet your first guest."

Vagatha just rolls her eyes and grumbles and then looks at me.

"You sound familiar," she tells me. "Do I... do I know you?"

"Don't think so," I say and bring my hand out for a handshake. "Nice ta meet ya."

"Uh-huh," Vagatha says and ignores my hand. "What're the chains for?"

"Oh. These old things?" I ask and grip the chains wrapped around my body. "They're my weapon. It's more useful than you think."

"Right. And how many people have you beaten with them?" the demoness asks me in non-belief.

"Lost count," I state honestly.

"In all honesty I did too."

Both Charlie and Vagatha looked at me in slight shock. The shock was more on Vagatha's face since Charlie already knew I killed people for a living, she just never knew how much.

"Yeah," Vagatha says and turns to Charlie. "He hurts you or anyone here, I'm killing him and then killing him again when I find him again in Hell."

I simply only smirk at the threat and I can hear Zarathos laughing his nonexistent ass off. I knew why. It's because neither of us can die, so Vagatha here is gonna need at LEAST a holy weapon to take me down.

Anyways, Vagatha then walked off somewhere else and I speak once she's gone from sight.

"Well she's a doll. Must be fun at parties."

"Heh heh, yeah. About Vaggie," Charlie says. "She isn't very trusting of others, especially men. She has... bad memories of them."

"I see," I say. "Anyways, care to introduce me to everyone else?"

"Oh! Sure!" Charlie says. "The guy that ran pass us was Angel Dust, our first patron. Then there's Alastor and finally-"

"Hi there!" a small and hyperactive female voice says from below me.

I look down to see a small cyclops girl with a dress on and red hair. She also had a childish smile on her face.

"Hi," I greet back. "You are?"

"I'm Nifty!" the girl says. "Are you a man? Wait! What's a human doing down here? Sorry, that's rude. Talk later! Bye!"

Before I can even answer any of Nifty's questions she speeds off in a blur and goes to clean.

"Oookaaaaaaay," I say and turn to Charlie. "What's a child doing here?"

"Oh. Nifty?" Charlie questions. "She's not a child. She's actually in her twenties. But, I can see why you mistook her for a little girl."

"Yeah," I say. "And you said something about an Alastor? Where is he?"

"Oh. Well, he isn't here right now," Charlie tells me. "But I can introduce you two when he-"

BOOM!"

The front doors suddenly swing open and me and Charlie turn to see a tall man in all red with a wide, toothy smile.

"I'm baaaaaaaack~!" the man says as he steps into the hotel.

"Hi Alastor!" Charlie greets the man. "How did your errand go?"

"It well, my dear!" Alastor tells Charlie and turns to me. "And who might this be?"

Now that he's up close I can see his looks. He wore a full red suit, a dark red bowtie; had red hair styled into what seemed to be deer ears, and red eyes that seemed to glow on their own.

"Alastor, this is James. He's our first guest!" Charlie says happily. "James, this is Alastor!"

"Nice to meet you, old chap!" Alastor tells me. "Hmmm. You seem to be human. Why is that?"

"Because I am one," I say. "I got sucked through a portal and ended up here."

"Oh! Then allow me to help you back home!" Alastor tells me and offers me his hand which is now glowing green. "I can help you back to the mortal world, but you would have to do something for me."

I look at the red demon's hand before smirking and grabbing it, making the demon smile wildly.

"Great! Now all you have to do is- GAH!" Alastor starts to say before he feels the intense increase of my grip on his hand.

"Let me tell you something, AL," I say to the red suited demon and turn to where my back and his stomach are against each other. "I. DON'T. TAKE. SHIT..."

I lift Alastor off his feet and slam him into the floor in front of me, making his back shoot up in pain.

"...FROM DEMONS ANYMORE!"

Charlie gasps in shock and goes to help Alastor back to his feet.

"Alastor! Are you okay?" she asks as she helps the red demon to his feet.

"I'm fine, my dear," Alastor says and turns to me. "So... no deal?"

I scoff and roll my eyes.

"Take that as a no," Alastor says and chuckle. "Not gonna lie, that was very surprising. And it hurt as well."

"James! Apologize!" Charlie orders me.

"No," I say. "I don't need to apologize to a man who wanted to make me a puppet."

"You seem to speak from experience," Alastor says.

"That is business that isn't for you to know," I tell the demon and turn to Charlie as Alastor just walks away. "Sorry. I just HATE manipulators."

"It's... it's okay," the demoness tells me. "Just please restrain from doing something like that again, please."

"I'll try," I say and smirk.

"Good job. I don't trust that guy and they shouldn't either. Don't know why they have him here."

I just shrug my shoulders and yawn.

"Think you can show me to my room?" I ask Charlie. "I could really use some sleep."

"Er, sure!" Charlie says and pulls out a key from her pocket. "Follow me."

I nod and she walks off with me right behind her. After a few minutes of awkward silence (which was more awkward for Charlie and not me), we make it to my room. She inserts the key and opens the door to reveal a room that follows the rest of the color scheme of the hotel.

"Here's your room!" Charlie tells me.

"Thanks," I say and step into the room. "Looks homey. I can get used to this."

"Sooooo... how long do you think you're gonna be here in Hell?" Charlie asks me. "Cuz you can stay here as long as you need to."

"I don't know," I say in all honesty. "Could be a few days, or maybe even months. I'll have to wait until I find a way back home."

"Well, I hope you can find a way home," Charlie says. "This isn't the safest place for humans."

"Don't worry, Charlie," I tell the blonde demoness. "I don't really plan on leaving this place much unless it's needed, so I'm gonna be as safe as I can be in Hell."

Charlie nods and smiles. Then she suddenly hugs me and I'm slightly taken back. I haven't hugged anybody since... since that girl from Korea hugged me which was two months ago. After a good thirty seconds, Charlie finally let go and looked at me.

"Sorry," she apologizes. "It's just... I'm just really happy that you're here, James. WAIT! Not like, here in HELL but, uh, shit..."

"It's okay," I tell Charlie and pat her head a few times. "I know what you mean. I'm glad I'm here too. Life WAS kinda getting boring on Earth, so a change of scenery is a welcomed change in my opinion."

Charlie smiled widely and bounced up and down a bit before calming down.

"YAAAAAAAAAWWN!" I yawn and stretch a bit. "I think I'm gonna sleep now. See ya later, Charlie."

"Of course! You should get some sleep," Charlie says and then realizes something. "Oh! And before I forget! Here!"

She tosses me my room key and I snatch it from the air with a grateful smile.

"Thanks Charlie," I say. "See ya around."

"Sweet dreams!" Charlie says and leaves my room.

I look at the door for a moment before turning around and heading to my bed as I take off my leather jacket, boots, and denim jeans. I stretch and yawn once more before slipping into bed, wearing nothing but my boxers on.

"Night, Zar," I tell the Spirit of Vengeance.

"Night, James."

And with that, my eyes close and I slip off into dreamland.