Chapter 8 - Trust Building

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"Hi guys. Thanks for coming. It's been brought to our attention that there may be a little... tension, in the hotel," Charlie says as everyone is gathered in the lobby. Husker looks grumpy as fuck, Sir Pentious is holding Nifty with his tail, a zap ray of some kind is his hand, Angel looks apathetic, and Quin has a look of exhaustion. 

"Tension that can be counterproductive to what we're trying to do here," Vaggie takes away Sir Pentious' gun and, reluctantly, he sets Nifty back on the floor.

"We think that this group could really benefit from... Trust exercises!" Charlie exclaims.

"Trust exercises!" Vaggie was painfully out of sync with Charlie. "Ah shit."

"Vaggie, we rehearsed this..." Charlie lets out a sigh. They both put smiles on again and face the group. "We're doing trust exercises." 

"So, what's with the whole, uh, this?" Husker motions to the makeshift stage in front of them. "I'm not about to put on some show for these fucking chumps."

"Oh I will, but it's cash up front," Angel lays his legs over Quin and Husker's laps. Husker looks pissed, and fuck, even Quin looks annoyed. "And I know that one," he points to Sir Pentious, "Can't afford me."

"Gross! I'd never think of it spider," Sir Pentious looks at Angel with a disgusted look.

"Right. Well, let's get started. Charlie?" Vaggie motions for Charlie to begin.

"Actually," Vaggie's face immediately drops. "I thought maybe you could take the lead on this one. I trust everyone, so maybe you know better about how to build it properly." Charlie steps back into the group.

"What? Uh, I-I don't know if I'm qualified-" Vaggie stutters out.

"Oh come on. It'll be easy, I'm sure you can handle this," Charlie's enthusiasm is not mimicked by Vaggie.

"Yeah, um, sure. I can handle this no problem," Vaggie takes a quick breath. "All right, so we are starting with trust falls. Each of you are going to share something vulnerable with the group about yourself and then fall backwards while the rest of the group catches you, got it? Who wants to go first?" Quin refrained from letting out a small laugh. She sounds just like a drill sergeant.

Charlie raises her hand and begs to be picked. "Alright, get on up here." Vaggie motions to the stage.

Charlie stands on top of the stage. Quin quits listening as his mind wanders. He can't stop thinking about that dream. It's really fucking with him.

"Quin?" Vaggie is looking at him. 

"Huh?" Quin must've zoned out hard core, because it looks like almost everyone but him has gone.

"Sir Pentious nominated you to go next!" Charlie speaks with such enthusiasm that it starts to piss Quin off. 

"No thanks," is what Quin wants to say, but he holds himself back. He tries to think of the most basic thing he could say. He walks up onto the stage.

"I love to do drag," he says, hoping that was enough. He turns his back to the crowd, letting himself fall. 

Charlie catches him with a huge smile on her face. "That was great Quin! Good job!" Quin rolls his eyes. Charlie's smile droops a little bit.

"Nifty-" Vaggie says, looking at her. Before she can continue, Nifty runs onto the stage.

"Sometimes, I kill mother bugs in front of their children as a warning to others," Nifty speaks with such excitement it scares Quin. As she jumps, everyone steps back, letting her hit the floor. She smiles and runs up onto the stage to jump again. Charlie pulls Vaggie off to the side. While they're talking, everyone else just watches Nifty jump repeatedly off the stage, smacking her face into the floor each time. At some point, Angel goes over to Charlie and Vaggie.

Whenever the three of them return, they announce Angel has an idea for trust building.

...

"No bond is stronger than those formed through bondage." That's the motto of the place Angel brought everyone too. Of course it's a sex club. If Quin wasn't in such a bad mood, he may've found the whole situation they're in hilarious. Now, he just finds it annoying. Vaggie finds the idea stupid, and they end up leaving sooner rather than later, of course, to go do another trust building exercise. Because clearly, they're going so well.

...

Everyone is gathered on the roof of a building. Gunfire and yells can be heard from down below.

"This is how you learned to trust people?!" Charlie exclaims. She does not seem to be a fan of this.

"There is nothing stronger than the trust between comrades in arms." Vaggie sounds like a drill sergeant once more, although Quin doesn't find it as funny this time. "Buckle up buttercups, because today you boys become men." As she finishes her last sentence, an explosion goes off near by. She stares evilly at Sir Pentious. "You-"

"Wait! Wait! I can't fight without my minions!" Sir Pentious cries out. Vaggie shows no mercy and throws him down into the streets. 

"-are gonna survive together!" Vaggie starts walking towards Quin and Angel. "And you two-"

"D-Don't you even think about it-" Angel protests.

"Vaggie- Vaggie we can talk about this!" Quin tries to reason, but to no avail.

"-are gonna make this hotel work!" Vaggie throws both of them over the ledge and down into the streets.

Quin almost pulls out his wing instinctually. As he falls through the air, he starts to panic. How the fuck is he gonna land this? The ground approaches ever faster, and as he closes his eyes, ready to accept the pain this is about to cause, he falls into someone's arms. He opens his eyes to see Sir Pentious' face. 

"You... you caught me?" Quin looks thankfully at Sir Pentious. He sets Quin down.

"Don't think much of it, ra-" 

"Don't call me that," Quin's face changes immediately. Sir Pentious' face also changes, he almost looks sorry. Neither of them say another word as they both duck for cover. Angel makes his way to the group of two.

"How the hell did you get down here so safely?" Quin asks Angel, very confused.

"I have my ways," Angel smiles at him. "Now, let's kick some fucking ass and get outta here."

Took You Long Enough - OC x Hazbin HotelNơi câu chuyện tồn tại. Hãy khám phá bây giờ