A Ride Through Hell
Author's Note: Now that I've officially started another semester, chapter production may continue to remain slow, but it isn't about to stop as we reach Hazbin's first anniversary. Let's get right into it!
6:30 A.M. Room #2009
Douglas woke up in his bed to the sound of a couple heavy footsteps as well as a small metal sound. He moved his arms a bit, but his effort to make any movements at all wasn't working. Upon feeling the restraints on his wrists, he wakes up and instantly gasps at the sight of two rather small red goat demons holding him in place by his wrists. He has one shackle on each of his wrists and both goats have the other end of it. It isn't long before he glares at them.
"Who are you two and how dare you attempt to detain me?!" He fails to hold his frustration. The left goat speaks up.
"We were requested to capture you by our dear princess, Charlie Magne." He states in a slightly higher pitched voice than one would assume he has. Douglas glares further.
"I doubt that. First off, Charlie has no royal servants despite being from a royal bloodline, and given that she hasn't been willing to discuss things with me herself, I find it hard to believe she'd request an arrest on me." The goats face one another for a moment before the right one responds.
"That's where you're wrong little pal. My name is Razzle, and this is my brother Dazzle." He says in a slightly deeper voice, pointing to his twin. "We were Charlie's gift from her father as two former stuffed animals brought to life to serve her." He states. The holy teen rolls his eyes.
"Pretty poor effort she put in naming you two." He mumbles. Both of them frown.
"Look buddy, we're not about to let you kill Charlie and all of her friends. We're here to question you over the incident surrounding Lilith and Lucifer." Razzle responds. "WHOA!"
"WHA!" Both goats are pulled inward as Douglas firmly yanks on the chains. "OUCH!" They both react as they bonk horns. They quickly snap out of their daze and glare at the young warrior.
"Listen up midgets, next time you want to detain someone, make sure they're not as large as both of you combined. If you think I'm about to surrender to a couple three-foot pixies, you're gonna need more than your far inferior strength."
"Maybe we should've had Bethesda help us." The darker shaded goat states.
"That won't be necessary Dazzle, we can handle him alone." The lighter goat says before turning to Douglas. "You wanna try to escape us, we're not gonna hurt you. But I'd love to see you try." Douglas rolls his eyes.
"I will." He says as he attempts to teleport, failing. "Wait," He tries again, but it's useless. He then turns back to Razzle. "I see how it is, these shackles dispel powers." The lighter goat nods.
"You're correct pal. Though you may be physically stronger than us, you're not gonna get far if you take off with these cuffs on your wrists." Dazzle nods.
"That's right. But if you promise not to use any resistance, we promise not to hurt you. Deal?" The darker goat asks rather politely.
"Fine," Douglas says, frowning a little and glancing at the cage near his bed. "But do you mind if I take my pet Eden with me?" He asks as both goats frown a bit.
"Eden is not your pet," Razzle says as he opens the cage. "She is the former pet of the king and qu-Ow!" He shouts as the serpent bites his finger and then jumps onto Douglas's chest. "What the hell?!" He reacts. Both him and Dazzle's eyes widen.
"SSSS!" Eden hisses furiously at them both, defending the holy soldier, who smirks a bit.
"Now would you look at that, someone seems a little upset with your actions don't you think?" Douglas asks them.
"She… likes you?" Razzle asks with a surprised look on his face.
"You didn't hypnotize her, did you?" Dazzle adds. Douglas smirks and shakes his head, Eden shakes her head as well in perfect sync.
"Nope, Lucifer's pet is his memento to me." Eden nods as he says this.
"But why is she so obedient all of a sudden?" Razzle asks.
"She's my friend," Douglas says cutely to her as she licks his cheek. "If I wanted to kill her, I would've done it by now." Dazzle smiles a bit.
"I guess that's true." He mumbles. Douglas then faces them, frowning lightly.
"And how about Charlie? Don't you guys think I would've killed Charlie by now if I really wanted to?" He asks. Razzle raises an eyebrow.
"We can't just say yes to that and leave it. We're supposed to take you for a little ride in Frederick and Bethesda von Eldritch's car." Douglas's eyebrows scrunch a bit more.
"Why is that necessary? We can talk right here." He remarks. The goats face each other for a moment and then back to him.
"We were told to make sure we can share the story with the von Eldritchs since they were very close to Charlie's parents." Razzle states. Douglas grunts a bit.
"I don't trust them. Their son tried to kill me the other night." He mumbles. Dazzle raises an eyebrow.
"If he had, would Lucifer and Lilith still be alive?" He asks. Douglas's glare fades into a remorseful gloom.
"…Yes." He replies. Eden glooms and wraps around his neck gently. Suddenly he's pulled forward and his feet touch the floor. "Whoa!" Razzle pulled him onto the floor and Dazzle does the same with his shackle.
"Then we're authorized to take you to the destination for further questioning." The lighter goat states as Eden hisses at him. Douglas sighs.
"But why are these two present?" He asks.
"It's so you don't kill us without witnesses." Dazzle states. "Given that you've already admitted to killing a few residents of Hell, we cannot trust you without the two overlords to help contain you." Douglas sighs again, failing to really come up with a counterargument. Eden rests her head on his shoulder, making him smile a bit.
"Alright, let's go." He says in a more accepting tone. Dazzle smiles a bit as well.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Knox. As promised, we won't hurt you." He states. Razzle continues to frown.
"But we don't entirely trust you either, so don't think you'll just get to talk your way out of this like it's nothing." He adds. Douglas nods.
"I'm well aware." He remarks.
Happy Hotel lobby
After about ten minutes of walking downstairs, Douglas and the goats reach the hotel lobby. The first person they see is a grey woman with a distinguished physique and bright green eyes. She looks very similar to Lilith, though, far shorter. She has a smug look on her face Douglas can't help but frown at.
"Thank you, boys, you've been a big help." She says. The young warrior makes eye contact with her.
"Excuse me, who are you?" He asks. She suddenly teleports closer to him, a shadow fades out from where she was and reappears closer to his face, startling him a bit.
"I'm Bethesda von Eldritch." She says with a seductive look, causing him to frown harder. "I'd love to shake your hand, but I think these boys are doing such a good job." She states. Dazzle smiles a bit at her.
"Thanks, Lady Bethesda." He says sweetly.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of shaking hands with you," Douglas says, causing everyone's smile to fade except for hers. "What do you want with me?" She begins giggling.
"Why sweetie, me and my husband Freddy are waiting for you. It's been a long time since we've seen a genuine child, and we've made special room in our car for you." Douglas glares.
"Yeah, before we go anywhere, I need to be sure this is warranted." He states, causing her to giggle.
"That won't be necessary son, we've already taken care of that." She states.
"Whoa!" Both goat brothers lose their grip on their shackles as Douglas abruptly pulls his hands above them.
"I'm going to confirm this with Charlie before we go, got it?!" He says sternly, Eden glares at her as well.
"And why does that matter to you so much?" Bethesda asks, that smile still on her face. Both goats reach for their end of the shackles, but Douglas makes sure they can't reach.
"Because if this isn't warranted, you guys are kidnapping me!" He exclaims. "Now get out of my way and let me speak to Charlie!" He demands.
"Denied." Bethesda remarks.
"Fine!" Douglas says as he pulls his fist back. The goat brothers gasp.
"Wait, no!" Razzle exclaims.
"Don't!" Dazzle adds on. Douglas takes a swing at her, but she teleports behind him and grabs his shackle chain with a shadow hand.
"Whoa!" Douglas reacts as the hand pulls both cuffs together and binds them very well. He's pulled onto his back on the floor and his grip range of motion is entirely locked. "OW!" He screams as the back of his head hits the floor, Eden yelping softly as part of her body is squished below his neck.
"You've tested my patience enough you naughty child, my husband is waiting for us!" Bethesda says in a louder more demanding tone. Razzle puts his hands up towards her.
"Please take it easy Lady Bethesda." He requests. "Charlie wouldn't like it if we hurt him." But it was too late, the young warrior begins to cry lightly as the pain from crashing goes through his head.
"Ow…" Douglas says quietly as tears roll down his cheeks. He can't hold them in anymore. But finally, Charlie steps out, facing them with a confused look.
"What is going on here?" She asks. Just before Douglas can speak up, the dark lady steps in front of him, releasing the hand on his chains.
"This stubborn boy is resisting arrest despite being told several times not to resist." She says with an impatient tone. Dazzle frowns a bit.
"Hey, this kid was an orphan for several years, wasn't he? Maybe cut him some slack." He says in Douglas's defense.
"Well let him resist all he wants," Charlie tells her. "If those chains block his power, you have no need to hurt him." Bethesda shrugs.
"I guess we can live with that." She says as the shadow hand reappears and pulls Douglas back on his feet by his chains. "Let's go now." She requests.
"Wait!" Douglas shouts, stopping her. He faces Charlie with a few tears in his eyes from both pain and disbelief. "Charlie, are you honestly okay with this?" He asks. The princess sighs and glooms.
"I'm very sorry Douglas, but I need to allow this." She says in a depressed tone. "I've arranged for you to spend some time with my ex-boyfriend's parents, and if Razzle and Dazzle find you're guilty, you'll be spending your eternity in the palace dungeon." She states, causing him to gasp loudly.
"WHAT?!" he yells loudly.
"Silence!" Bethesda says as she roughly tugs the chains, hurting his wrists a bit.
"Ow!" He yelps lightly.
"You heard her sweetie, now how about you accept this fate?" The dark lady asks, regaining her smug smile. Douglas can't believe this.
"And if I'm innocent?" He asks. Charlie thinks for a moment.
"If Razzle and Dazzle fail to confirm your guilt, I'll have Frederick drop you back off later tonight and we'll talk about it from there." She states. "But until then, you might as well accept this interrogation, and pray that you're not convicted by tonight." She says as she turns around.
"That's it? You're gonna put my fate into their hands?" He asks. Charlie opens a door and frowns a bit, but she doesn't face him.
"Yes. This time you'll learn what it's like when someone else decides your fate." She says before entering the room and closing the door behind her.
"Fine, let's go." Douglas says with a blank tone as he lowers his hands. His headache is beginning to fade. As Dazzle grabs the twisted chain, Razzle faces the lady.
"Lady Bethesda, if I may restate something critical. You remember the deal we made?" He asks. She rolls her eyes.
"If you don't want me to discipline this boy, then he'd better behave himself." She says as she turns around. "Now let's get to the limousine." Douglas's eyes light up a bit.
"A limousine?" Eden slithers onto his shoulder and smirks cutely.
"Yeah, royal demons have cars with class." Razzle answers. "You'll be in the back of the car while we ask you a series of questions." They both walk him out to the car and he glances at the driver. Another fish man with a very similar structure to Seviathan's, but he's almost a foot taller and his skin tone is dark grey, and his eyes mirror that same bright green in Bethesda's.
"It took you guys long enough, what's the holdup?" The man asks. Bethesda enters the car in the passenger's seat as Razzle and Dazzle open the doors for Douglas.
"This boy did a little more resisting than originally expected." She states with an evil smirk. "But I managed to discipline him a little more. He knows the consequences now." She states, irritating Douglas deeply, but he manages to keep his composure.
"Who the hell are you?" He asks.
"The name's Frederick!" The man says in a hearty tone before turning toward him. "And you must be Douglas!" The holy soldier flinches.
"You know my name?! I don't remember saying it on the 666 News!" He exclaims. The taller man chuckles.
"My son told me about you. He says the King actually liked you." He then faces the road. "Now isn't that difficult to believe?" He asks. Douglas nods.
"In all honesty, yeah it is." He agrees. "I didn't expect him to be endearing." Bethesda giggles a bit.
"It's a shame you took his life before you got somewhere. Charlie is a sexy little demoness." She says in her seductive voice, causing him to glare.
"I'm not here to find sex partners, I'm here for an entirely different reason!" He shouts. Frederick starts the car.
"Well tell it to the goats. We're not interested in hearing what sin led you to Hell." He says as he rolls the middle window up to block sound from the back half. He then smirks to his wife. "This kid will be a good one for sure." She giggles at him.
"Oh, won't he be so proud once he gets a look at this boy?" She asks. Both goat demons put on their serious faces as the car begins moving.
"Okay, now that we're here, we better start the questioning." Razzle insists. Eden hisses at them a bit, but Douglas signals to the seat beside him.
"No Eden, it's alright." He comments, causing the serpent to face him curiously. "I don't trust them, and they don't trust me, but please don't feel the need to protect me until threatened, because they did promise not to hurt me if I didn't resist." Dazzle gives him a thumbs up.
"That's true. If you don't fight with us, we won't fight with you." He says as Razzle nods.
"That's the deal we made." The lighter goat reaffirms. Douglas smiles lightly as the serpent slithers onto the seat next to him.
"Alright, then what may I tell you?" He asks. Dazzle glances at Eden.
"First of all, I'd like to ask how you got Eden, and why she's so loyal to you." He states. The young warrior nods.
"She was found in Heaven the other day and I was given her by my summoner," Douglas answers as Eden hisses softly. "However, seeing that she was willing to risk her life for the safety of her owners, I felt no motivation to smite her." Eden smiles cutely at him.
"That's very kind of you." The darker goat remarks, smiling lightly. Razzle isn't long to back him up with another question.
"And to that, I'd like to ask why you kept her. Has she ever bitten you?" He asks. Douglas closes his eyes.
"She was only doing the honorable thing, protecting those she cares about. I wanted to keep her because she's been banned from Heaven, and she doesn't have another person to take care of her." Both goats pause and glance at each other.
"Heaven?" Razzle asks. "We assumed you were a living exile from Heaven as well."
"If I was, would I have holy powers?" Douglas questions. "Didn't you guys put handcuffs on me to dispel said power?" Razzle lowers his eyebrows.
"We didn't know for sure it was holy power, we just assumed it was some form of elite force we couldn't otherwise interfere with." Dazzle glooms a bit.
"Though, that's the problem Mr. Knox." The darker goat states. "The king and queen are dead now, and their killer was another holy person." Douglas pauses.
"Yeah…" He says lightly. Razzle frowns a bit harder.
"So why don't you tell us about that night? The other night you went to the palace?" Douglas nods. "For what reason? Were you invited?" He asks. Douglas sighs deeply and shakes his head.
"No, my motive was to kill king Lucifer." He shamefully admits. Dazzle gasps.
"Seriously?! Is that a confession?!" He reacts worriedly as Douglas holds his cuffed hands out.
"Not at all! I'm just saying that was my initial goal when I entered the palace!" He throws out. Razzle sighs with slight disappointment.
"I should be angry, but I admire your honesty. You would've lied about your motive if that wasn't your motive, wouldn't you?" The lighter goat asks.
"Yes sir. I went in with the intention of killing him, but I can confirm there was over an hour-long gap in time between the moment I entered and the moment we fought, and I was with the king almost the entire time." The goats face each other.
"So you're saying you spent time with him, time that wasn't part of combat?" Dazzle asks. Douglas nods.
"I can confirm I was on friendly terms for the first hour. Lilith came out to and asked me to try Lucifer's apple juice." He glances toward his snake. "Eden was with Lilith during that time." Eden nods.
"So you met both the king and queen before any fights started?" The darker goat asks.
"Yes sir. No pumpkins were thrown until some time after I drank the juice." Razzle gives a blank frown.
"I'm gonna guess the cyanide juice almost killed you?" Douglas nods. "You're not a spirit, are you?"
"Nope, I'm a living being who hasn't faced death yet." He clarifies. Dazzle gives him a confused look.
"What's your reason for being in Hell if you're still alive?" He asks. Douglas glances behind them for a second to make sure the von Eldritchs aren't listening.
"I'm here to kill the overlords." He states, causing both of them to gasp. "I have no problem sharing that with you because Charlie already knows."
"Why?!" Razzle asks loudly, showing some light fear. Douglas closes his eyes.
"Please understand my reason for being here isn't by choice. I was offered this task by God and accepted it." Dazzle nearly tears up.
"Why'd you accept that task? Did you come in here thinking it would be fun to destroy souls?" He asks with a breaking voice. Douglas sighs.
"I never thought about it. I only started thinking about it after losing souls of people I could tell cared about me." He makes eye contact with the brothers. "I took the task believing it was my destiny to rid Hell of the strongest beings to purge them as potential threats to the elite angels in Heaven." Dazzle proceeds.
"So… you're killing overlords to protect the angels in Heaven?" The young warrior nods.
"If I hadn't taken this task, it would've been given to someone else. I felt the fact that I was personally requested to do this meant I was the only one who could manage it. I was the most likely to succeed." He then pauses for a few moments and glooms at the floor. "And since I've lived the last eight years with no family, I felt this was the only legacy I'd ever have a shot of achieving." Razzle and Dazzle gloom at each other.
"I understand your pain Douglas," Razzle says as a tear rolls down his face. "I've known Dazzle for many years, and I genuinely love him." Dazzle sheds an emotional tear.
"I love you too Dazzle. I'm glad to have you as a brother." He remarks. He then faces Douglas again. "But… you're not after Charlie?" He asks.
"Absolutely not. I have no intention of killing Charlie, nor do I plan on ever hurting her." He states. Razzle raises an eyebrow.
"But… didn't you kill Charlie's parents?" He asks. Eden hisses loudly as the holy soldier closes his eyes.
"About Charlie's parents, this is an important testimony."
Happy Hotel
Charlie sits alone in her office. She reads the daily newspaper in solitude as the others manage the hotel. In time, Vaggie enters the room.
"Hey Charlie, what are you doing in here?" She asks.
"I just need some alone time. I've been going under a lot of stress lately." The princess responds, her eyes pointed toward the newsprint. Vaggie raises her eyebrow.
"Is it about Douglas?" She asks. Charlie nods.
"Yeah. Now that my parents are gone, I'm not sure what to do with him anymore, so I had Razzle and Dazzle talk to him."
"And where are they now?" The purple girl asks.
"With the von Eldritchs," Charlie remarks. "I told them to be back around 7:00 tonight, with or without Douglas." Vaggie's eye widens a bit.
"Without Douglas?" She asks. Charlie's pupils glance to her girlfriend.
"If they disagree with Douglas's alibi, he won't be returning. He'll spend the rest of his eternity in the palace dungeon." Vaggie facepalms.
"But why Charlie? If you're giving Douglas that potential fate, what are you doing here?" She asks. "If he's out there in questioning, why are you not hearing his answers?" The princess sighs.
"Because I'm not sure if I can trust him anymore. I wanted to, but he's pushed it too far." She points to a page in the newspaper, showing three dead imps. "You see these three souls?" Vaggie glares.
"Those are the Immediate Murder Professionals!" She then makes eye contact with the demoness. "Are you really angry at him for killing them?" Charlie sighs and flips the page.
"He also killed Katie Killjoy. That's four people in one day." She adds. "I lost trust after the deaths of my parents, but this just shows me he has no intention of ending his killing spree." The purple cyclops facepalms.
"Look Charlie, I understand how you feel about Douglas. But don't you think it's a bit extreme to leave him with the von Eldritch parents?" She asks. "Those people are very shady." Charlie shakes her head.
"They're good people who were fond of me when I was a child, and their son Seviathan was my first romantic partner." The princess tells her, receiving a light frown from her girlfriend.
"And how'd that turn out?" She questions.
"Not great," Charlie admits. "But I can assure you that as long as Razzle and Dazzle are with them, things will be okay." Vaggie smiles and nods at that statement.
Von Eldritch Limousine
"So that's what happened?" Dazzle asks. The holy soldier nods.
"That is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." He pledges. "And if you believe otherwise, you can also take this into account; I didn't master the Seiken Sword until yesterday." Razzle taps his chin.
"Those wounds did look kinda big for a gunshot. A sword would've made more sense." He admits. Douglas smiles lightly and gives both goats a hopeful look.
"So what do you say guys? Guilty or not guilty?" He asks, certain of his fate. Eden slithers onto his shoulder, smiling next to him.
"Well, we'll still have to give you a trial with Charlie herself." Dazzle states before smiling. "But if you were expecting us to take you to the palace dungeon, you've convinced us otherwise." Razzle begins smiling as well.
"That you have done. And now we'll keep our end of the promise and let you out of this car." He says before the car stops. "Whoa, wait a minute." Both goats look towards the front seat.
"We're here." Frederick says as he and Bethesda exit their seats. Dazzle glances out the window to see a huge mansion outside.
"What do you mean we're here? This isn't the right address." He retorts. Bethesda opens the back right door.
"It's the address we were told to take him." She says as Frederick reaches in and grabs Douglas's chain.
"Hey! You keep away!" Douglas exclaims, sliding back to the other side of the seat. Eden gives them a protective hiss.
"Honey, would you kindly pull this uncooperative boy out of the car for me please?" He asks. Bethesda casts her shadow arm over his chain and yanks forward.
"Whoa!" Douglas shouts as he's flung out of the car and lands on the cement sidewalk firmly. "Ah!" He yelps painfully. Both goat brothers immediately exit the car and accidentally slam the door on Eden.
"SSS!" Eden taps on the glass window but fails to get anyone's attention as she watches them start to drag the young warrior by his chains.
"What do you think you're doing?! This wasn't what we promised Charlie!" Razzle confronts.
"Silence!" Frederick shouts as he firmly sucker punches the lighter goat in the nose.
"OUCH!" Douglas gasps as the goat demon steps back and aids his now bleeding nose. Dazzle grabs Bethesda on the shoulder and turns her to face him.
"This wasn't part of the plan! We agreed no one would get hurt!" He says in a sad and scared tone. Bethesda slashes him across the face with her sharp nails. "OW!" Dazzle falls to the side as blood escapes his cheeks.
"Plans have changed!" She says as Frederick opens the mansion door.
"This guy has been waiting for this, and it's going to be the most exciting sacrifice yet!" He says in a rough tone.
"No, no, no! Guys, help me!" Douglas desperately calls out as Bethesda starts to drag him into the mansion. Razzle gets up and grabs his spear.
"Unhand that boy!" He demands as he runs up to the door, but the last thing he sees is the image of Douglas being dragged backward with a terrified look in his eyes before the door slams shut. "NO!" He firmly slams his hoof on the door. "No, no, no, no, NO!" He then leans his face into his arm.
"Douglas…" Dazzle says in a shameful tone as he lightly steps up to his brother.
"I can't believe it. We failed him." Razzle says hopelessly. "Why?" He mumbles as he begins to weep. The darker goat pats his brother on the back.
"Razzle, don't blame yourself." He says.
"Th-then, wha-what are we su-supposed to do?!" He asks, sobbing between words. Dazzle frowns with determination.
"Let's pray dear brother."
"Pray?" Razzle asks in a questioning tone. "But… God doesn't listen to people from Hell." Dazzle sighs.
"Well right now it's all we can do." He says as he sets his spear down and kneels.
"…Okay." The lighter goat demon says, joining his brother and bowing his head towards his locked hands. Within moments, a small gleam of light appears over them both.
Author's note: And that's where this one will end. Apologies on my part for going slowly. My new semester has started, and my free time is limited. I hope not to go too slowly, but I do promise this story will be finished no matter how long it takes me. I hope you enjoyed my portrayal of Razzle and Dazzle since I wasn't originally planning on using them. Any reviews I receive motivate me, so feel free to critique my story so far if you'd like.
Deceased:
None