Charlie giggled silently, an evil grin on her face as she slowly crept up behind the Radio Demon. The demon princess was in the mood to tickle her radio friend. She had already gotten Vaggie, Angel, and Husk. Her next target was Alastor. Ohhh she was so excited.

The Radio Demon silently stood near the bar of the hotel, minding his own business as usual as he hummed a soft tune. Charlie was now inches away from the unsuspecting demon, her fingers wiggling with anticipation. Once the princess was close enough, she struck.

"Tickle tickle tickle!" she giggled as her fingers made contact with Alastor's sides. Alastor flinched and let out a small squeak but that was as close as the princess was going to get. Alastor slightly turned his head and raised his brow as he watched Charlie attempt to tickle him. He allowed her to try for a few more moments until he cleared his throat. Charlie tilted her head in confusion, squeezing his sides to see if this was a joke. The princess gasped. "You're not ticklish Al?" she asked in defeat. This time, the Radio Demon did laugh. "No my dear. I haven't been ticklish in a long time."

"Hmph!" Charlie said with a pout. She really thought she'd get them all. But then one of them just happened to be...not ticklish. How is someone NOT ticklish?

Alastor couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction when he suddenly got an idea of his own. "Oh Charlie~" Charlie raised her brow this time as Alastor slowly stalked towards. "What did I say about you not smiling?" Charlie opened her mouth to answer until she noticed the glint in his eyes. "Oh shit." she cursed, backing away a few steps. Alastor only stalked closer. "H-Hey Al. I-I know what you're thinking."

"You do, your highness?" he asked so casually, only a few steps away from her now. Charlie gulped and gave him a nervous smile and almost matched his. "Al, please don't I'm-AHHHHHH!" There was no warning from the Radio Demon. Alastor's hands struck the princess's sides and soon, Charlie was now a giggling mess.

Alastor couldn't help but laugh along with her. "Oh look at you. You're so ticklish princess."

"Nohohohohoho I'm nohohohohohohot!" Alastor didn't even bother to comment on her pathetic lie. Charlie tried and failed to push his hands away, but whenever she's make contact with them, Alastor would switch it up, attacking her armpits and her lower ribs.

"Goochie goochie goo. Who's our ticklish princess? Who's our ticklish princess?" Alastor began to tease as Charlie all but screamed when he moved to her stomach. "NOHOHOHOHOHOHO TIHIHIHIHIHICKLIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHING!!!!" Charlie cried as Alastor only laughed. "Oh but Charlie, you know it's only fair."

"NOHOHOHOHO IHIHIHIT'S NOHOHOHOHOT!!!"

"Yes it is. But I'll show you what isn't fair." Alastor replied before swooping up the giggly princess and placing her on the couch. Charlie giggled and wiggled to get out of the deer demon's hold, but he was stronger than he looked. "Hold her down boys." he said as she shadow grabbed her arms and tied them together above her head. Alastor smirked when he saw Charlie's scared but also excited face. "Please Al. Whatever you're doing, don't do it."

"And what makes you think I'd listen to you?" Alastor asked as Charlie only gulped. "B-Because I'm the Princess of Hell. A-As your princess, I-AHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Charlie didn't finish her threat, for her serial killer friend had already began to stroke his fingers all over the princess's belly. "Awwww, is the little princess's belly her most ticklish spot?" He didn't get an answer from her. Charlie only laughed freely, struggling to get out of his shadows' hold. Alastor silently commanded one of his shadow's to cover her eyes. Charlie screamed when she could only see darkness. "ALASTOR!!!" The Radio Demon slowly lifted the princess's shirt, allowing the cool air to make her shudder. "W-What're you doing?" she asked, but Alastor didn't answer directly. Instead, he only stroke his fingers on her bare tummy, making the princess really laugh her ass off. "I'm gonna get your belly~" Charlie knew that teasing voice all too well. He said it the same way he did when he and him made that deal. At this point, Charlie's struggles began to increase. "Al, no please! I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"There's no mercy in hell dear. Even you should know that." Alastor said before he engulfed a breath of air and slammed his mouth down on the princess's abdomen. Alastor's ears twitched when her high pitch scream went up an octave. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ALAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHASTOREHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!!" Charlie screamed for dear life, her arms tugging hard on the shadows. Showing some mercy, Alastor released the bind from her wrist, allowing the princess to attempt to push his head off. It was futile though for whenever she thought Alastor was finished, he'd blow another raspberry just to make her scream. It wasn't until the princess started banging on his head like a drum that Alastor decided to call it quits.

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"Alastor? Have you seen Angel's speakers?"

When Charlie appears in his doorway, the demon in question is sitting comfortably on his couch, sipping a mug of black coffee and reading a newspaper (though Charlie isn't sure how he acquired it - the local paper has been out of print for weeks).

"No. But I've certainly had the displeasure of hearing them."

"They've gone missing. Do you have any idea where they might be?"

"Far away, I hope."

Charlie rolls her eyes and leaves to go consult the other guests. The deer takes a long draw from his mug.

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To Alastor's slight irritation, he only enjoys a few minutes of peace before the princess' voice echoes from the hall again.

"Oooh, Al...." Charlie sings.

"What is it, my dear?" the Radio Demon sings back absently.

"Nifty says she saw you with Angel's speakers yesterday."

"Did she?" He flips a page of his newspaper.

"Look, all I need to know is where you put them."

Long pause. "I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about."

"Alastor."

"Whaaat?" Though his eyes haven't left the page, his grin has widened slightly. "You think I'm lying?"

"You're always lying. That's your thing."

"...Touché."

Charlie perches on the sofa beside him.

"Are you gonna tell me where it is or not?"

"Fine. I'll be completely honest with you."

She perks up.

"I would honestly die a second death before subjecting myself to one more note of that infernal garbage."

Alastor's eyes flick up from his paper for the briefest of seconds, just to watch the bubbly princess' face fall into a delightfully exasperated scowl.

"You can't steal someone's stuff just because it annoys you!"

"On the contrary. That's exactly what I did."

Charlie narrows her eyes. "Alastor. You tell me where Angel's speakers are or else."

Alastor chuckles in spite of himself - Charlie's attempts to be intimidating never fail to amuse him.

"What's so funny about that?"

"My dear, I say this with the utmost respect and admiration for your many talents: there's a reason I tend to be the one called upon to scare off demonic threats."

Charlie huffs and crosses her arms. "Just because you're creepier and... more sadistic than me, doesn't mean I don't have ways of making you talk."

"Oh?" Alastor arches a skeptical eyebrow at his paper.

"So you better watch your step, Mister."

"Hmm. You make a compelling case." He flips another page. "Maybe I should tell you where Angel's poor excuse for music is."

Charlie brightens. "Really?"

"No."

The princess deflates.

He's right, of course: even if Charlie figures out a way to make herself legitimately threatening to the Radio Demon... he's the fucking Radio Demon. She may be the Princess of Hell, but she doesn't want to have to rebuild the hotel from rubble all over again.

The two sit in impassive silence for a few minutes - Charlie glaring at Alastor, Alastor staring stubbornly at his paper - until she finally stifles a sigh and slouches against the cushions. He's enjoying this, she just knows it. Sitting there with that stupid grin. He's probably been laughing to himself all night, imagining poor Angel waking up and finding his most prized possession missing.

She finds herself wishing she could make the old deer laugh himself sick sometime, just to teach him a lesson.

...Which is a horrible thought! Charlie's eyes widen, her brow furrowing in self-disgust. She could never bring herself to hurt Alastor, even via laughter.

In fact, she quite likes his laugh - it's a little maniacal, sure, and certainly hard to truly enjoy amid the gory contexts that typically trigger it. But if she knew a way to make him laugh at something other than another person's expense, she'd probably do it all the time... it's just that the things that make him laugh also tend to make Charlie nauseous.

Once again, the princess finds herself completely baffled by her own subjects. How one could be so tickled by anything that goes on down here - the pain, the violence, the gore...

Charlie tilts her head. She may have just gotten an idea.

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If Alastor had happened to cast a quick glance down the couch, the smile creeping across Charlie's face would've been enough to give him real pause.

But since he is instead stubbornly focused on his paper, he is completely unprepared for the fingers that suddenly begin crawling oh-so-gently up his side.

To her initial disappointment, Charlie finds at least three layers of fabric dampening her touch, and aside from a subtle flinch at first contact, Alastor himself remains perfectly still.

But then a low buzz of radio static swells around them. As she probes up his ribs, she can hear a soft crinkle of paper as his grip tightens.

"Charlie..." His voice is oddly clipped.

"Mm?" Charlie takes one glance at his face, and her smile deepens - even Alastor's signature grin can't mask the effect. He's still technically staring at the paper, but his eyes have gone wide and blank. He opens his mouth to continue just as her fingers reach his armpit - and his jaw quickly clamps shut. It's clearly taking everything in him not to squirm.

"Got something to say, Al?" She starts pinching back down his ribcage.

"Mmph!" The giggles start in his chest, bubbling up and fighting to escape through clenched teeth. Soon his shoulders are shaking with the effort of holding them in.

"...Maybe about the location of a certain object?"

No response. The radio demon just curls forward a little, hiding his face in his paper.

Taking advantage of this new posture, Charlie slips her other arm around behind him, and gives a good pinch to both sides of his slender waist.

The demon straightens right back up with an audible gasp and tiny squeak of surprise (that he quickly tries to cover with a cough).

"Charlie! Are you s-seriously trying to-"

"Are you seriously ticklish?"

"No!"

In response she delivers another series of pinches to the same spot. His posture crumples again, until finally he loses his grip on his paper and twists to face her.

"No?" she giggles. And squeezes him again.

"Stop that!" He fumbles at her fingers, trying to pry them off his sides.

Instead Charlie swaps her hands, wrapping her fingers around his waist with both thumbs resting lightly on his stomach... and begins digging them right under his lower ribs.

That finally does it. He flinches back with a little snort, followed by soft but utterly helpless giggles pressed shyly into his hands.

"Awww!" Charlie coos.

"Keheh- f-fuckin'- heheh! - quiet!" His voice cracks amusingly on the last word.

There are about fifteen different things Charlie is dying to say as Alastor goes to pieces with laughter, but she can't think of anything that wouldn't risk embarrassing the poor guy - and humiliating him is the last thing she wants to do. The fact that Alastor hasn't instantly dissolved into shadows (or cursed her across the room) hasn't been lost on the princess; she is NOT about to jeopardize this moment by making him uncomfortable enough to do so.

That said, she is conducting an interrogation here.

"What was that about not being ticklish?"

His clutching at her wrists becomes more frantic. "Don't-!"

Alastor hyperventilates a couple times, trying to get ahold of himself - but then she continues squeezing down the sides of his belly, and he can only collapse into even worse laughter.

"I think I know just how to get you to talk..."

"Nohoho- ahagh, Charlie! Shihihit!"

Charlie shifts onto her knees for better leverage, gives him a gentle push backward, and pins him (surprisingly easily) against the couch. Her snaggle-toothed grin looms over him...

For a split-second, Alastor gets a flash of what his victims must've seen moments before they debuted on his show.

But he's pretty sure this isn't quite how they felt about it. He's already shaking with anticipatory giggles, grinning back at her wider than ever. And the giddy panic behind his eyes quickly forms an unlikely union with defiance.

"Do your worst, my dear."

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To be continued... pt. II is already in the works, so stay tuned!!

Until next time - hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! 💕