The train was almost empty but two sinners were present as they waited to reach their destination. They sat across from each other in complete silence while the roaring of rails went past them. This moment was never meant to happen; however, Uhlman's faith in his companions had created mistakes in the plan to fulfill their goal. Now they were paying for it by sending one of their own to the Hazbin Hotel.

Artyom stared at the man who broke his trust when they were both alive. Right now, his blood boiled and wanted to slay him on the spot for his sins. Countless lives did not need to suffer because of his petty loyalties. The Russian repressed his feelings on the matter for the sake of practicality but also to avoid being a hypocrite. After all, the hand of judgment had passed and seen fit to grant the traitor of their friendship a place in Heaven.

Pavel was on his phone and in his robotic disguise as a metallic thumb scrolled through the device. It would seem that he did not want a conversation with him but the facade was apparent whenever he twitched in his seat and his eyes stole a glance from him. Their past contained much-unresolved tension, enough for the former communist to speak his mind. "I can't mind my own business if you're staring at me, chuvak."

"How the Hell did you end up in Heaven?" He asked. It was a genuine curiosity that perplexed him the moment they met at the safe house, "It did not seem like you would find a place there."

"Lower your voice. Remember where we are. They don't know that."

He leaned forward in his seat and eyed the man with suspicion but heeded his words. "Are you going to tell me?"

"A lot happened in the Red Line after the attack on D6." His voice was saddened by the past while his gaze fell upon the floor, "Things kinda went to Hell when General Korbut died and I was being shifted from one command to the next. Then came the Nazis and their offensive - my duty was to help in the evacuation of the civilians but they constantly raided the platforms to gun us down. One of those days, I died in the arms of my comrades as we left a station behind."

"That's quite a noble death, even for you. It's a lot better than mine in some regards."

He did not expect to hear Pavel's story turn out that way but Artyom was at peace with it somehow. Even if he was betrayed by him, this revelation more or less redeemed the communist in his eyes.

"I suppose it will soften my view of you."

A chuckle was all he could muster as he leaned back in his seat. "Would you still forgive me? I may be a heartless bastard but betraying you did more harm to my soul than you would realize."

"It's not as easy as you would think," Came his answer as his reasoning was much more complicated than that. It was a lot harder to reconcile than it seemed. With the Dark Ones, it was merely their physiology that made it difficult to communicate with humans. However, Pavel was a different matter entirely since he made the conscious decision to go against him. "I had trusted you. We bled together and somehow you thought it was worth sacrificing my trust."

"There's a reason why I asked you to join us back then. You are and still are a good man. That is a quality rarely seen among our people but perhaps that was a good thing you didn't take up my offer. My ilk had fallen so hard that asking you to take a place in our ranks would diminish your character. For that… I truly want to say that I am sorry."

He could hear the honesty in his tone and it was now that the heartfelt apology was genuine. In another place and time, he would gladly shoot Pavel on the spot but the places and the times changed. No longer was he living in post-apocalypse Russia. Then he thought about himself, the same justification to kill the communist sitting before him was the same logic that made him slay angels that fateful day. "I accept and hold no grievance against you."

"Thank you," The man's expression seemed relieved by those words as a warm smile improved the mood, "Can we still be comrades… friends, again?"

"I'll see what I can do."

The train began to decelerate and ceased to a halt as their destination was close. Then a female voice announced their arrival through the speakers. "Platform has been reached. Five minutes until departure."

"It's time to see what my new home looks like," Stated Artyom as he rose from his seat and gave out his hand, "See you later."

His counterpart stood up and shook his hand as the conversation shifted to a different topic. "Make sure you keep up this facade, comrade. You're living under the roof of the princess of Hell. There is nothing wrong with being too careful."

"Understood."

Pavel remained on the train as he walked out the doors. Artyom turned around and quietly looked back at his teammate. No further did they exchange any words, only a mere nod of the head to say farewell. Then the doors began to close as the two saved souls moved on with their lives and the burdens of life being lifted off their hearts.

Driving through the streets of Heaven was quite a breeze. Hard for people to get in the way of the law-enforcing souls of society when the sirens are spurred into action. The revving of the engine brought fury to the car's exhaust, allowing the vehicle to rush past intersections and sidewalks with great haste. City lights reflected off Tony's windshield as he mused himself about his destination.

He had just received a call about a murder that seemed related to the ongoing investigation of the missing weapons. It had to be important as he had spent the past few nights trying to piece together the evidence of the files that one officer gave to him. As much as he wanted peace to concentrate, the Angel of Death had given him several duties to perform in his station. This was just another day at work, hopefully.

The man turned around the corner and found a hotel where several cars from Purgatory were parked outside of an entrance of a hotel. Employees from the department were present, keeping the crowd of civilians and news reporters from entering. As he arrived on the scene and slowed his car to a halt, one of the reporters turned around and approached his vehicle.

Tony stepped out of the car and walked over to the entrance; however, he was beset on all sides by reporters asking him questions about the murder scene. Despite their insistence, he resisted the urge to tell them the truth before the men and women of the department accosted his pursuers.

Inside the lobby was just as busy as outside. Teams of investigators and evidence collectors entered or left the elevators. Yet, they were not the only ones present as a member of the hotel staff was talking with the investigators on the far side of the room. Their conversation was enough to incite his attention as he walked past his peers and greeted those he passed.

When he arrived, the investigators nodded their heads in their direction and departed as the brown-haired woman in a blue shirt turned to him. "Are you here for the bodies?"

"Yes, it's related to some of my work but I came here as soon as possible," He answered as his hands rested in the pockets of his jacket, "When did you find them?"

"About an hour ago. One of the maids was cleaning up when she arrived on the fifth floor and found the hallway look like a war zone. I told her to lock the entire level and I called your department to look into it. I did everything I could to keep things quiet but somehow it spilled to the news outlets."

He hated when the reporters were doing everything they could to get their hands on the scoop. It always meant that someone with enough media power could start questioning and insinuating the purpose of his organization. Tony had to keep his investigations to his chest if he wanted to ensure their success. "You did what you could but we'll take it from here. Just assure the other guests that they do not interrupt the crime scene."

"I understand," She genuinely answered, "If your people need any refreshments our cafe is open 24/7."

"Appreciate it."

Tony looked over his shoulder to see another elevator open with several investigators walking out. He quickly made his way inside and pressed the button before he slowly ascended to the crime scene. Silence overtook him as he pondered about the perpetrators. Of all the places they would kill him at, why would it be a hotel? It's a public location that attracted relatively wealthy guests; yet, what was the motive? Did they not have a quiet place to kill or were they that desperate?

A bell rang as the doors opened. He stepped into the hallway and took a moment to bear his surroundings; however, the woman's description was not enough to convey the scene. Carnage was all he could see as the walls were wrecked in bullet holes and blood. Several dozens of bodies were strewn across the floor, staining the carpet. It was rather difficult for him to make a step without ruining the scene with his shoes.

Investigators in biohazard suits had carefully inspected the scenery as Tony looked to his right to see a ruined room door. It was here that he realized that this hallway had been turned into a kill zone before the fighting finished. One of the men in the hallway noted his presence and pointed toward the room where the gunfire supposedly came from. "Sharpe and his team are taking a look at the victim's bedroom."

"Thank you," He answered before carefully proceeding to the real source of this bloodshed, "It's a good thing I didn't eat earlier."

When he reached the doorway, a man in a Napoleonic-era uniform squatted over a corpse on the opposite side of the room. His hand grasped his chin while staring at the body in silence while other investigators inspected the room. What was truly surprising about this scenery was a massive heavy machine gun placed behind the bed where the body was.

"Sharpe?"

The red-haired man rose and turned to face him while his hands reached for his pockets. "So they sent you. I didn't expect this to earn the attention of the higher-ups."

"Unfortunately, this relates to my case," Tony answered as he walked to the opposite side of the room to find a man in the uniform of Heaven's army lying lifeless. He recognized the man's face, the officer who had visited him with the briefcase of evidence, "It looks like someone tried to silence him and succeeded."

"Aye, but he took some bastards with him. Now that's soldiering. How did you know him?"

The confidentiality of his investigation was necessary and he couldn't tell anyone the truth. "He willingly came out to become our informant; however, his pursuers knew he would. Said it was his last act of vengeance before they came for him."

"Is it helping?" Sharpe asked as he looked at the machine gun that was placed perfectly to look at the hallway, "Seems an awful lot for a misplaced sinner and above my paygrade if you ask me."

"He gave us some progress, I'll state that. Do we have an identification on the bodies?"

The investigator shook his head as he stepped around the body and stood across from Tony. "On their person? I wish. We're sending fingerprints to Doctor McClintock and our database should have them but it will take time."

"Good, this might be their great mistake." He replied while gazing upon the victim one more time, "We'll get them."

Money was never a problem for the Princess of Hell and thus she could afford the renovations to her hotel ever since Alastor arrived. The only practical limit was the number of hands working for her and the willingness of sinners who wanted to be redeemed. Vaggie and her servants were essentially the only people who helped her manage since she left the palace. Then there was the number of interviews with sinners on the street that needed a bit of convincing; yet, it took a serious amount of effort to get their first 'guest' to help in this quest for redemption. That changed when their limousine stopped scouting for scattered souls and enticed a homosexual porn star with a bit of hard cash to help in her efforts.

Angel Dust seemed like a perfect candidate and all that Charlotte Magne Morningstar could do was shape him up for the interview with the Channel 666 News Network. Get him to avoid clashes with their fellow sinners or the average Hellborn and encourage the spider to engage in more noble acts of goodness on behalf of their everlasting soul. Unfortunately, the plan did not go as intended and Angel missed the interview, only to showcase his mobster roots before the camera. Perhaps she was too optimistic about reforming his behavior this early in the process but the princess was able to adjust.

The heiress to the dark kingdom decided the best way to start a change in the appearance of the hotel was to make sure that the rooms looked nicer. Alastor's introduction of Nifty has done wonders for the building's cleanliness but now the changes had to come in something more sophisticated than cleaning off the dust. Charlie walked into the living room with Angel Dust and Husker carrying a newly-bought flat-screen tv. She looked over her shoulder to see that the former was not pleased with moving anything around but this was a good start to making up for his mistakes. The latter was disinterested in doing anything not involved with gambling and drinking alcohol.

"Put it on the stand. We'll figure out the wires after dinner." She said as the sinners carefully placed the flatscreen in position. Once it stabilized, the two departed from the living room and made their way toward their respective rooms. So long as they didn't do anything to burn down the building or cause everyone trouble, the princess wouldn't pry into their closeted affairs.

A red and yellow blur ran past her as a small bug-like person performed her daily dusting. Nifty was always good with that but how she could be cheerful at cleaning up for so long was its form of disturbing thoughts. At least with Alastor, his form of sadistic insanity was understandable. Nonetheless, it helped the hotel look much better since the day of the Purge.

Charlie was about to make her way towards the more refined areas of the hotel but soon she heard the front door knocking. She could see the vague figure through the painted glass as their tall shadow towered over and crept into the main hallway. It was brief but the princess felt a chill on the back of her spine, even the Radio Demon didn't leave that kind of impression on her when he arrived. Her reaction to him was out of surprise that someone even came to him but this was completely different. She was genuinely scared of the stranger outside her door.

Her eyes trailed to the building's belongings placed on the side of the hallway. Her girlfriend's angelic spear was placed against the wall so it would become her weapon in case the outcome turned for the worst. With the polearm in hand, she cautiously walked over to the doorknob and anticipated the stranger's arrival with caution. The only form of courage in her heart was the lessons that her father taught about standing up and taking charge.

When cold brass touched the fingertips, a semblance of resolve took over, allowing the heiress to turn the mechanisms and encounter the person face-to-face. This sinner came in the form of a soldier with a uniform meant to camouflage with a lush green environment; however, it now contrasted against the crimson red that dominated this dark realm. His body was covered by a wreath encased in pitch darkness. A helmet was strapped to his head while his face was locked away behind a gas mask, where only the eye sockets revealed a hint of blue flame within.

She tightened the grip on her weapon as she greeted him with reluctance. "Hello there."

The stranger raised his head and slowly brought out his hand from his side to wave at her. His foreign accent caught her off-guard. "Are you miss Morningstar?"

"Yes, could I help you with something?"

He nodded his head. "I saw your interview with that news channel. Is it true that you have a hotel meant for redemption?"

Charlie's head perked up and felt touched that somehow that disaster still managed to attract people for redemption. Her stomach was filled with butterflies as the mood shifted thanks to that simple musing. "Are you interested in joining my attempt to redeem sinners?"

"Yes."

"Then I welcome you to the Hazbin Hotel," She eagerly greeted as her shoulders relaxed from the tense anticipation earlier, "Come inside so I can get you acquainted with the rooms and staff."

The princess stepped aside and gestured for the stranger to enter. After he walked in, she immediately closed the door and placed her blessed spear in the corner with a collection of umbrellas. Then rapidly walked ahead of the man to lead him into the first room.

"Here at this hotel, my sole purpose is to make sure that this place is comfortable to sinners as much as possible. I want to do away with the formal lobby where you'll be brought to a check-in desk. Instead, this building is supposed to be an isle of peace for every single person who stays here."

He let out a slight chuckle. What caused him to come to that reaction? Is this his way to mock her? She would receive her answer when he voiced his thoughts, muffled under his gas mask. "It is funny that you should mention the hotel experience since I don't have a clue about what you're talking about."

"You've never been to a hotel?" Asked the heiress, curious about what he meant by that. "Do you care to explain?"

"I am a post-apocalypse survivor. The only hotels were abandoned ones filled with supplies."

So he was one of those sinners. Most of them and the overlords were typically from a mortal world that wasn't caused by an apocalyptic event that destroyed most, if not all, of society. Not common to find in Hell but his stay would be another nice addition to her colorful personality.

"What's with the furniture?"

Her attention shifted away from him as she looked ahead to find the flatscreen and its stand shifted from its original position with Nifty nowhere to be seen. She was going to have a talk with her about making sure the furniture goes back in her quest to cleanse the building of its filth. "I am making some renovations and moving stuff around. The latest purge made a mess with the whole building."

"Ah, I understand," He acknowledge while slipping his hands reached for his pockets, "If I am going to stay here, is it possible for me to bring my work home?"

"What do you do for a living?"

He shifted his body to confront her about the matter. "I work for the Immediate Murder Professionals by fixing their weapons."

"Wait, you work for the Hellborn who kill people in the mortal plane?" The princess was taken aback by that piece of information. She had seen their commercial on television now and then. Thanks to their poor position in Hell's social structure, it was difficult for their kind to make any decent money for themselves. Charlie always thought it was another desperate attempt to get rich but didn't think much of it. "They're an actual business? I just thought it was an elaborate scam."

"So did I before I did a bit of research and checked them."

Footsteps clicked against the floorboards as Charlie turned to her left to see the other latest guest exit a room and joined theirs. The sinner with horns had her eyes focused on an assortment of papers placed in a manila folder, not keeping with her surroundings, and her blonde hair was slightly disheveled. "Mrs. Morningstar, I sorted out those legal documents you had earlier. Thought it would be-oh. Railtracer, what are you doing here?"

"Do you two know each other?" She wondered as the man turned around to see the woman in the glasses, "He just came in and I was introducing him around the place."

"We've met once in a park but that's it."

Railtracer spoke up as if he was relieved to see Mrs. Mayberry. "Some imp stole her purse. I brought it back."

"Are you here to stay at the hotel as well?" Questioned the teacher as she closed the folder and placed it at the side of her white shirt, "Is it personal?"

"Slightly. Had some renting issues and this seemed like the best place."

The meeting was far more fruitful than she imagined. Even though these two were mere acquaintances, the princess seemed to have thought of a far more interesting idea of inviting people to come. She could always try to advertise the hotel as usual but also use word-of-mouth to entice a few people here and there to try her idea. Being the daughter of Lucifer had its perks since she had all the money in the dark kingdom to make those kinds of experiments.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Railtracer called her. "Ma'am, is there something on your mind?"

"Sorry," She apologized with a smile on her face, "Something came into mind and I forgot I was supposed to introduce you to every part of the hotel."

Then Mrs. Mayberry voiced her opinion. "No offense, your highness, but let me introduce the Russian around. It seems like you have something on your mind."

"It's fine."

"How about this?" She stole a glance at her wristwatch before focusing her gaze upon the princess, "I'll introduce Railtracer around the rooms and you could introduce him to the staff. That okay?"

Charlie had to admit that this woman was surprisingly helpful despite her placement in Hell. "Go ahead. We'll meet again around lunch."

No orders were issued for the rest of the day but Pavel knew that Uhlman had something planned for the future. Sooner or later he would receive a call that they had a mission to conduct for that special assignment they were tasked with. It wasn't if the Department of Purgatory could find their targets, only how long it would take before they did find them. Still, it meant that he had some downtime for himself.

The former communist officer strolled through a massive mall with multiple levels filled with hundreds of stores. Anyone unprepared to travel could find themself lost in this vast expanse of greed, gluttony, and lust. Much worse were the egregious prices of some of the products and services being offered to a curious customer. Either one had to be desperate to make such a purchase or lavishly rich to not even worry about the price tags.

Pavel and his crew had a budget assigned to their safehouse that could deal with Hell's disaster of an economy but everyone had to be frugal with their spending. Spending it all in one sitting would be counterproductive in their operations; much worse, the experience of having to make special deliveries from Heaven via Isra would suck the life out of an investigator. After all, pizza topped with Hell hog meat was a rare delicacy among those in the department.

He made his way into the food court with hundreds of sinners and Hellborn alike attending the dozens of brands that were present. All had their tempting meals that could fatten someone for the rest of the year. His stomach growled as he walked past the lines from one counter to the next with the hope of settling on a peculiar taste.

The Russian paid so much attention to the menus that he failed to see what lay in front when someone yelled in surprise. Taken aback by his inattentiveness, the pretending sinner looked in front to find a succubus sitting on her knees. Clothes had been scattered and the young lady immediately reached for every fallen dress and jewelry to be placed back into their bags. Yet, the brunette was easily recognized by the secret saved the moment he took a knee to help her out.

She expressed annoyance at the moment while flipping her hair over the shoulders and revealing black crosses hanging upside down from the ears. "Watch where you're going, pal!"

"Kiki?" Pavel openly pondered as he grabbed a purple dress and placed it in one of her bags, "Sorry about that."

"Wait, you're the guy I shagged a while back?"

It was quite difficult to know how his fake robotic form could convey his feelings on the matter but embarrassed was perhaps the best word to describe it. Especially, the part where he remembered the acts of pleasure done to keep him busy. He had plenty of experience with women and enjoyed the time spent with them when the former Red Line officer was alive. "Yes, that was me. I see you went shopping."

"Verosika's orders," She answered while showing one back full of make-up and perfumes, "Girls need someone to buy some 'necessities' for an upcoming party. What about you? How have you been since you left?"

"Nothing much. Just doing a few odd-end jobs here and there. Just got my friend invited to the Hazbin Hotel."

The moment he mentioned the location's name it garnered attentive eyes not just from the succubus sitting across from him but those around. Kiki's face brightened with a smile and let out a slight chuckle. "You do realize what you just said? I hope this is some kind of elaborate joke you're playing on this friend of yours."

"You could say that," Then he rose from the floor and gave his metallic hand out to her, "Ma'am?"

"Appreciate the gesture."

She took his hand as he helped her off the ground along with her shopping items. It was nice to encounter and have a conversation with her. Maybe he should set a date for the future? The Hellborn deserved to receive something in return for that hour stand Verosika put them two without care or consideration. "This might be out of place but would you care for a drink?"

"You're offering?" Kiki was taken aback by the question as she led him away from the lines and towards the table area, "Was my time worth it?"

"That's partially it but I feel like you properly deserve something in return for dealing with me. Your friend never gave me an actual genuine chance at you know trying to ask."

Her free hand reached for her pocket and brandished a white card between her fingertips. Then handed it into his palm with a laugh. "You're a sinner I'm beginning to like. Call me on a Friday, I'll set something up. See you then."

He paused and stood while she departed from his side. Perhaps it was a shock that he managed to return the sexual favor with something genuine but his mind was glad it had come to this.

SilverExcel115: It's good to know I am not the only one who found that moment cute.

retrogunner7: Interesting speculation.