A Husk of His Former Self (Husk x slimsadie.k Fanfic)

When Cultures Collide

"Rise and shine! It's time to wake up!" Niffty's high-pitched voice rang out as she firmly knocked, very close to the outside of Sadie's door. "Charlie has food waiting for everyone!"
Sadie opened her eyes, only remembering where she was because of Niffty.
"I don't remember ordering a wake up call," she loudly replied. "I'll be up in a few minutes."
"Alrighty! I'll tell the Princess." And with that, Niffty giggled before scampering away.
Sadie let out an exasperated sigh. So...she really was in Hell. It wasn't a dream. She actually had died and arrived here...and she still couldn't remember how.
A couple minutes passed before another familiar voice was heard through the door, "Morning, toots." Angel yawned. "I suggest ya get up pretty soon. Charlie'll be hounding on ya to get up. Something about a 'routine', I think."
Sadie could almost hear him rolling his eyes as he also walked away.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to get up and get dressed in her clothes from the day before. She reminded herself to ask Charlie about something else to wear.
On the way out the door she noticed a mirror, so she stopped in front of it to see if she looked as bad as she felt. Almost as soon as she saw her reflection, she let out a brief scream and then covered her mouth. She did not look at all like she knew herself to look.
She had been so tired the night before that she had forgotten to do anything but go to bed, and now she wished she had taken the time to have a glance at the mirror.
Sadie had her normal hair that was split down the middle in black and blonde, but also had dark horns sprouting from her hairline. She was much paler than her normal self, too. Her eyes were black, and her irises were bright white. Fangs protruded from her mouth, and she noticed her finger nails were long and sharpened.
Her outfit consisted of snug yet too-big-for-her black shirt and ripped jeans. When she looked down, she was wearing tall, high-heeled boots.
Almost as soon as Sadie had processed what she now looked like, Charlie burst through the door. The Princess seemed disheveled this morning, like she had gotten no sleep and spent the morning working.
"What happened?" Charlie quickly asked, her eyes darting around the room to identify any trouble.
"What happened to me?" Sadie whirled around, uncovering her mouth. "I don't look like this!"
Charlie glanced over her, raising an eyebrow before giving her a big smile. "I thought you knew how you looked last night, so I didn't say anything!"
"No?" Sadie's response came out almost as a question. Of course she didn't know she looked like this.
Just then, Alastor was passing the room and noticed the commotion. He peeked in before striding inside.
"Good morning, my dear. I couldn't help but see the situation. Is something the matter?" He grinned, tilting his head slightly.
Sadie simply motioned to herself nervously. She didn't know how else to communicate that this wasn't normal.
"Ah, yes. You see, all sinners change appearance the moment they get to Hell." He softly laughed. "It's just one of the charms of coming here!"
"Charms? You seriously think this is charming to me?" Sadie scowled, honestly baffled that he would think that.
Alastor paused. "Yes."
"I'm sure he didn't mean that." Charlie shuffled over to her and offered a hand. "Let's go get some breakfast in us, and then we can talk about this."
Sadie hesitated before realizing that freaking out wasn't going to help the situation at all. "Alright." She took her hand.
Charlie nodded and led her out of the room and down the stairs, motioning for Alastor to follow, so he did.
The trio was met with the aroma of breakfast foods and the sight of a table filled with a morning buffet. It truly looked nice for being a Hell-made meal.
Sadie withdrew her grasp and shifted her gaze to Charlie. "Did you make all of this?"
"Yes! I thought your first day should start with a bang, so I decided to get up early and start on a breakfast buffet. Usually there's only a few food choices," Charlie explained cheerfully. She then went over to the display and adjusted the position of a few serving plates.
"That's awesome!" Sadie smirked. "I can't thank you enough." She paused. "So, where do I sit?"
Alastor nodded to the bar a few feet away. Angel and Husk were already sitting down, while Niffty was nowhere to be seen.
"We're eating at the bar?" Sadie questioned, sounding confused.
"Yup!" Charlie replied, going back over to her. "We don't have an actual table yet, sadly. But feel free to sit down next to Husk, and I'll tell you guys when everything is ready."
"Okayyy..." Sadie shrugged it off and made her way to the bar, where she cautiously sat down.
She tried to give Husk a grin, but he just scoffed and took a swig of the booze he was holding.
Alastor, meanwhile, also sat down to wait for breakfast. He immediately seemed to act interested in his surroundings, as if this was an exciting thing for him.
After a few moments, Charlie came over to the bar, wiping her forehead with her sleeve. "It's ready, so dig in!"
Angel bolted up and went to the buffet, while Husk took a second to actually get up. Alastor also stood up, but slower and more properly than the other two.
Sadie hesitated but got in line for food. She couldn't wait to eat; She hadn't noticed how hungry she was until she smelled the meal. Actually, she hadn't really eaten since she had appeared in Hell.
"Now this is what I call a buffet!" Angel exclaimed, grabbing food randomly off the display with his four arms. "We've gotta take in new patrons more often!"
"It's not like she's anything special, so I don't get why ya had to make a special meal for her," Husk grumbled.
"Rude this morning, aren't we?" Alastor motioned to Sadie. "That's no way to treat a lovely belle like herself."
"Hey!" Charlie folded her arms, noticing the familiar pet name Al had used for Sadie.
"My apologies for being civil towards our guest!" Alastor sarcastically responded. "Would you like me to be rude, Princess?"
"Of course not! Just get some food and stop sweet talking Sadie." She frowned, moving her hands to her hips.
It took a few minutes, but soon enough everyone had grabbed some food and was sitting at the bar, eating the delicious delicacies.
When Husk attempted to drink his alcoholic beverage, Charlie shot him a disapproving glance.
"Would you be so kind as to not drink at the breakfast table?" she sweetly asked.
"Whatever," he mumbled, rolling his eyes. "This is a bar, but I guess I've gotta do whatever her majesty wants." And with that, he flung the bottle behind him with a loud crash.
"That's the spirit!" Charlie beamed at him before she continued eating.
"So...your name is Husk?" Sadie questioned him between bites.
"Pretty much." He shrugged. "I'd confirm what your name was, but it's not like I care. So why bother?" At this point, he was more picking at his food than actually eating it.
"Don't let him get to ya, lil lady," Angel told her. "He's just like this because he knows he won't get a gal."
"Shut up!" Husk growled, slamming his fist on the table. "That's none of your damn business! Try me."
"Oooh, I'm so scared." Angel snickered. "Try that threat on me again and you're dead, kitty."
"I'll fuck you up!" Husk quickly stood and pulled Angel up to his face by the collar.
"Can we please stop arguing? This is supposed to be a nice first meal here for Sadie!" Charlie requested, sounding nervous.
Alastor got up and went around Sadie to stand by the two in question. "Put the spider down, Husk," he demanded in a calm yet threatening way. "I'm sure you don't want to know what I'm like when I want to win a discussion.
Husk immediately let go of Angel. "Sure. Sorry, Al. Got a bit carried away." He glanced down, suddenly docile.
"Shitty gamblers," Angel muttered, brushing himself off. "This is why I don't get into gambling."
"At least I don't work for a pimp." Husk grinned, eying the porn star. He sat down and took a bite of his food.
"Hey, it's fun work. Ya get paid to have a good time." Angel also sat back down to eat.
Alastor snapped his fingers, and his own food disappeared. He then turned on his heel and started for the front door.
Charlie rushed to stand in front of him. "And where do you think you're going?"
"To see an old friend," he answered, innocently taking a look at his fingertips.
"Are you sure?" she pressed on, sounding suspicious. "You're not going to cause any trouble, are you?"
"Ha! Of course not. No one would dare defy the orders of a Princess." He gently pushed her aside. "Now, I have to be on my way. Goodbye." And with that, he left the building.
  Charlie simply shook her head and turned around to clean up her plate.
  Sadie quickly stood up and held out her hand for the plate. "Let me take this to the kitchen. It's the least I can do." She smiled.
  "But you barely ate anything! Besides, you're a guest. You shouldn't have to clean up after anybody." Charlie raised an eyebrow, a hand on her hip.
  "I'm not very hungry," she explained. "And isn't everyone here basically a guest?" Sadie frowned, motioning to the other people in the room. "You described the others as employees, but it seems like they also eat where the guests eat, and they sleep here."
  "I mean..." Charlie paused in thought. "Sure, I guess you're right, but it's your first real day here. Just sit down and Angel will help me." She glanced at Angel Dust with a sweet expression. "Won't you, Angie?"
  "Uh...yeah, sure. As long as I get free rent." Angel shrugged casually. "Lemme finish eating first, though. I'll meetcha in the kitchen when I'm done, Char."
  "Actually, it's Charlie, but I'm sure you meant to say that." Charlie shifted her gaze back to Sadie and gave her a grin. "Maybe after you get settled in? Thanks so much for the offer, though!" At that, she grabbed her own plate, Sadie's plate, and Husk's plate before turning on her heel and striding into the kitchen.
  Sadie saw no reason to argue, especially since Charlie was now gone, so she sat back down and glanced around; Everything in the hotel's lobby seemed to be themed a dark crimson, with various symbols, other colors, and 1920's era furniture around the place.
  "Do you like the bar?" Angel suddenly asked her, finishing up his breakfast.
  "What?" Sadie questioned, thrown off by his abrupt curiosity. "The bar?"
  "Yeah. I thought the hotel needed it." After a moment, he frowned. "Actually, Al did...but I voted to keep it up when the Princess of being wholesome wanted to take it out. Do ya drink booze at all, toots?"
  "Oh, um...not really." She thought of asking him the same thing, but felt like it was a stupid question. After all, he was an adult film star...and he did want to keep the bar up.
  "You're kidding." Angel laughed, staring at her in disbelief. "You're in Hell, babe. Ya had to drink the stuff at one point or another when you were alive."
"No? Not really. I really didn't drink any booze when I was..." she paused, "...alive." Sadie lowered her voice with the last word, sounding almost hesitant. She still couldn't believe that she was dead.
Angel took notice of her nervousness and grinned slightly before putting an arm around her shoulders. Before she could push him off, he said, "You seem pretty nervous, lady. Tell ya what...havin' fun usually cheers me up. Whaddaya say to a day out? We can go wherever ya heart desires."
"I don't have any money, though..." She frowned, twiddling her thumbs. "And we really don't have to. I'm fine in my room."
"Nonsense! Ya have to learn to let loose and have fun, kitten. C'mon...I'm sure the Princess won't notice." Angel shifted his hold on her to her hand and began pulling her towards the front door.
"Kitten?" was the only thing Sadie could think to say. She kind of stopped walking and just stared at him.
"Y-yeah?" He also stopped and turned to look at her. "What else do ya expect me to call you?"
"My name? I have a name, yanno. It's-" she started, but got cut off.
"Sadie. I know, I know." Angie rolled his eyes, folding his arms. "Geez, ya don't have to get so offended."
"Thanks," she mumbled. "For calling me my name, I mean. Anyway, I don't really want to go out at the moment. Is it alright if I get used to the actual hotel before I go out on the town? This has been a lot to take in."
Angel just raised an eyebrow like she was crazy. "Sure, sure. Whatever ya want. Just know I tried with ya so the Princess doesn't get on my back for not trying." He scoffed and walked away towards the back, where the kitchen was.
It got awkwardly quiet, with only Sadie and Husker in the room...but it did give her time to look over some of the paintings decorating the walls, so she began shuffling around from painting to painting. Some of them were of sinners and demons she'd never seen, and others seemed like pictures humans would've taken for souvenirs on a trip.
One really caught her attention, though: a painting of the Princess with a couple other demons. One of the demons was a man with a white top hat and a crisp suit, while the other was a tall, proper-looking lady with a dark tiara and a flowing dress...and if Sadie had to guess who they were, she'd say they were-
"The rulers of Hell," Husk interrupted her thoughts. "Lucifer and Queen Lilith; Charlie's parents. One hates her and one despises her."
She turned around, nervously rubbing her arm. "Aren't those the same thing?"
"What? Hating and despising?" He paused. "Yeah, they're the same. What's it to ya?" He scowled.
"N-nothing!" She looked down for a moment before shifting her gaze to Husk again. "So, uh...why don't they like Charlie?"
"Her plan sucks. That's all there is to it. The King and Queen don't like it, so they don't like her." Husk took another swig of booze.
"That doesn't seem very fair." Sadie glanced at the painting again. "Charlie seems like a great person."
"Yeah? Well in Hell a great person is considered garbage. Why do ya think they call it Hell?" he replied, not even looking at her. "All the sinners and crooks of Earth land down here, eventually. They don't want no happy-go-lucky gal to tell 'em what to do and what not to do."
"I mean, yeah, but-"
"But nothin'." Husk's tail twitched angrily. "If you're gonna live down here then ya gotta get used to the truth."
The room went silent again. She looked at him and he gulped down more of his drink.
It was beginning to sink in that she was in Hell. Not just metaphorical Hell, but the actual Hell itself.
Just then, Niffty scurried out of the kitchen and halted beside Husk. "The Princess would like you to help in the kitchen! Goodbye!" And with that, she rushed back to where she came from.
Husker grumbled to himself before standing up and unsteadily beginning to make his way to the kitchen.
After a moment, Sadie walked up to him. "Do you need help? You seem sort of..." she trailed off.
"Drunk?" He shot a glare her way.
"...yeah, that." She looked him in the eye to show that she was trying to be friendly and non-judgmental.
He growled under his breath for a second and leaned against the wall. "I'm not gonna let some random girl off the street do this to me!"
"Do what to you?" She subtly tilted her head, confused.
"Tell me that I'm drunk, 'cause I'm not." He looked away from her, mumbling to himself.
"But you are," she pointed out, "and Charlie doesn't want you to drink, so I think that you need some help getting to the kitchen. So where is it?"
"Where's what?" he snarled.
"The kitchen."
"And why would I tell ya? It's not like I'd say where it was just 'cause you're so damn pretty." Husk looked at her, scowling, seeming to not have realized what he just said.
It took Sadie a moment to process the situation, and she blushed when she did. "Pretty?"
His eyes widened as what he said hit him like a ton of bricks. "...what? I'm not allowed to like a gal I just met?"
"I didn't say that." She looked him over.
"But you're thinking it!" he snapped. "Get away from me...I have a job to do." He turned and continued his attempt at getting to the kitchen.
Sadie realized it was probably the alcohol talking, but she still felt pride in the fact that a guy she just met liked her. Of course, he most likely wouldn't remember what he said the next day, so she'd keep this moment to herself...she was sure he'd never say what he had said if he was sober.
"Uhm...are you sure you don't need any help?" She grinned, quickly going to his side, again.
"I'm sure, so buzz off." Husk sighed, and Sadie stopped following him.
All of a sudden, a loud bang was heard, and she whirled around on her heel to see what made the startling noise; the younger lady with pale hair that she saw the day before was standing in the hotel's entranceway. Sadie thought she remembered the Princess telling her that the stranger's name was Vaggie.
  "Charlie!" Vaggie shouted, looking furious. She rushed past the two in the lobby and went straight to the door in the back.
  Sadie wanted to follow her, but thought she should supervise Husker until he got to the kitchen.
  Luckily, it wasn't silent for long because Charlie was following Angel and Vaggie back out soon enough.
  "He said he was sorry! Can't you forgive and forget? I'm sure he didn't mean what he said yesterday," Charlie pleaded to Vaggie.
  "He's a pervert!" Vaggie growled. "I'm not gonna take his treatment! He either apologizes without that lousy, smug smirk...or he gets out!"
  "She's not gonna take my apology, Princess. I better leave her some room to go through those tough female emotions..." Angel Dust gave a sarcastic pout, directing it at Vaggie.
  "Stop walking, and let's talk this out!" Charlie stepped in between the two and tried to give them her best smile, even though Sadie could tell it was forced.
  Vaggie stopped in her tracks and folded her arms, looking away from the adult film star. She said nothing.
  "And why should I talk it out with her, huh?" Angel questioned, also stopping. "I mean, she's only gonna rain on my parade."
  "Please, just take a couple of deep breaths...then we can figure this out. Deal?" Charlie asked, calmly brushing her hair out of her face.
  There was a very painful silence before Angel shrugged and put his hands on his hips. "Fine. At least I'm getting free rent."
  Charlie turned to Vaggie, her smile widening. "Please? Do it for me? We can get some ice cream afterwards."
  "Are you seriously going to bribe me with ice cream?" Vaggie scoffed, shifting her gaze back to the Princess. "That's the most childish thing you've said to me."
  "We can get a banana split...I know you like those." Charlie motioned Angel and Vaggie closer to each other.
  "Fine..." Vaggie huffed and glanced at the porn actor.
  "Say you're sorry, Angie," Charlie instructed him. "And mean it."
  "...I'm sorry. I promise I won't say offensive things to ya anymore," he mumbled distractedly.
  "You call that an apology?" Vaggie turned to Charlie, almost fuming with pure annoyance.
  "Vaggie." Charlie frowned, nodding towards Angel. "He said he was sorry."
  Knowing she wasn't going to change the Princess' mind, Vaggie looked to Angie and scowled. "I accept your apology."
  "There! Now that wasn't too hard, was it? Why don't we finish cleaning up breakfast and help Sadie get comfortable?" Charlie grinned and walked over to Sadie. The duo followed.
  Sadie softly smiled, glancing at Vaggie. "So you're Vaggie? Charlie told me about you. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand.
  Vaggie hesitated but took it and gave it a weak shake. "She told you about me? I bet it was all good things, knowing her." She withdrew her grip.
  "Actually, all I know about you is your name." Sadie looked her over; Vaggie really was stylish...maybe even more so than Alastor. She giggled and glanced back over at Charlie. "Why did you come over here? I thought you needed to clean the kitchen."
"Well I was thinking that you should meet Vaggie before we did anything else. She's my best friend and the co-founder of this hotel!" Charlie gave a little, excited jump.
Sadie nodded and went quiet for a moment before taking another peek at Husker, who was weakly leaning on a wall...she then looked at the group again and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Maybe you should let Husk take a little nap? He's seems a bit...uncoordinated, if you catch my drift."
"He's always like that," Vaggie piped in. "You should've seen him yesterday, before you got here."
"The poor sucker could barely stand up," Angel added, looking smug. "At least I haven't had the drink for a whole week."
"But you blew it by being involved in a turf war!" Vaggie almost shouted, glaring at him.
"Erm...why don't we get going on the kitchen? We'll catch up more, later." Charlie nodded towards the kitchen doors before shifting her gaze to Sadie. "Sadie, you can do whatever you want. We'll be sure to send Husker to his room for a few hours." She then turned on her heel and headed to the kitchen, and the other two followed.
"Yo, feline." Angel stopped in front of Husk while Vaggie and Charlie went ahead. "The Princess says you can go take a nap."
"What?" Husker basically snarled. "I'm just fine! I can do the fucking dishes!"
"Yeah? Heh...tell me that when you lose your breakfast in the garbage can. I'd suggest doin' what she says; ya know you won't win an argument with her...but do what you want. Don't blame me if ya fall asleep on the floor." And with that, Angel Dust joined the others in the kitchen.
  As Husk let out a string of curses under his breath, Sadie cautiously went over to him.
  "Heya," she mumbled. "Are you still not wanting help? I can walk you to your room, if you want."
  After a moment of uncomfortable silence, he let out a guttural sound and stood up straighter...as straight as he could. "Fine...I didn't want to help those numbskulls, anyway."
  So Sadie escorted him to his room, even if it was a slow and almost painful process.
                                         -•-
  About two hours later, Sadie was sitting on her bed. She was reading Hell's version of that Home & Gardens magazine nobody reads. It was filled with tips and tricks on how to set your lawn on fire using a flamethrower and how to trim your bushes using a chainsaw...nothing that she'd use for everyday tasks.
  Just then, someone knocked on her door, so she carefully closed the magazine and set it aside before getting up to open the door.
  "Greetings, my dear!" Alastor cheerfully said as soon as the door was open. "I understood from the Princess that you had nothing to do, so I wanted to invite you on a stroll!"
  "A stroll?" Sadie echoed, confused. Why would Al want to take her on a walk?
  "Why, of course! A stroll would help you to get to know where everything is around Hell, not to mention it would give you fresh air. What do you say?" He grinned, his eyes charmingly half-lidded.
  "I mean..." she trailed off, unsure. He was right; she really had no idea where anything was, and it was super boring in her room. Something didn't seem right about him, however.
  "We don't have all day, darling!" He offered his hand in a gentlemanly manner.
  She hesitated, nervously sucking in her cheeks, before taking his hand.
 

((This was a fun chapter to write! I'm loving this, so far. Why does Alastor want to take Sadie for a stroll? Stay tuned for Chapter 3 to find out! 😁