Max is looking over a newspaper in shock, the front page showing a recent poll of people choosing whether or not they'll consider giving redemption a try, and surprisingly 5% of people said yes. "I don't believe it…"

Niffty pauses her dusting and looks at the newspaper. "Oh Max, I'm sorry, I know it must be disappointing after trying so hard." She places a hand on his shoulder.

"Huh? Oh no I was just surprised there were such nice newspapers in hell, they even have a page for the funnies!" He points to a little comic he was reading. "I admire that kind of dedication to a craft even when dead."

"Wait, aren't you sad about the poll?"

"Sad? Are you kidding me, I'm ecstatic! We should be celebrating! Come on, dance with me!" Max cheers as he takes Niffty's hands and shakes his shoulders and moves his feet in a happy little dance. Soon enough his little shenanigans caught the attention of the other hotel residents.

"Wow! What's got you feeling so peachy?" Angel asks as he stifles a snicker at Max's bad dancing, even though he couldn't help but feel a desire to join in.

"Didn't you hear the news? 5% of people interviewed said they want to give redemption a try!" Max says before giving Niffty a little spin, making the one eyed maid squeal in surprise before laughing heartily.

"Wait, isn't 5 percent a bad thing?" Husk asks, confused.

"Are you crazy? Our goal wasn't to get all of hell redeemed, that's the long term goal." He finally stops his little celebration dance and frees Niffty from his grasp, the cute demon giggling to herself and fixing her slightly messy hair from all the dancing.

"No, our short term goal was to get some people to join the hotel. Think about it, if we can get one person to be redeemed and go to heaven, we'll have our proof that the hotel works! Not to mention, the current population on Earth is like, 7 billion humans. How many have died and gone to hell? Likely even more. Even taking some out from the yearly purges, there's gotta still be millions residing in hell. If 5% of a million demons wanna give the hotel a try, that's still 50,000 demons saying they wanna try redemption! Now I'm not saying the newspaper interviewed a million people, but they still revealed some of denizens of hell want to give it a try, and it's with those few we are given, that we'll take the steps necessary to truly begin the endeavor, to redeem as many demons as possible so they may go to heaven!" Max yells out with enthusiasm, arms in the hair and head held high.

"Wow, he's right! We're gonna get more customers!" Charlie cheers before looking at Angel Dust. "Not that we don't love you Angel it's just, kinda hard to say we're successful with one resident."

"Ah don't worry about it, toots. I'm actually feeling pretty excited about this too. More customers means less of your attention focused on me and having me as the hotel's poster boy. Now I can take it easy!" Angel says as he lies on his back on the nearest couch.

"Well then, I believe this calls for a celebration my good fellows!" Alastor cheers out. "Why don't we throw ourselves a little party? It'll be a wonderful way to keep our spirits high before the guests start checking in!"

"That's a great idea! Uh…would anybody mind if I were to…invite my parents?" Charlie asks sheepishly. At that, everyone pauses only for Angel to recover first.

"Hey if you get to invite someone, I'm inviting Cherri then!"

"Oh no…fine! As long as you can make her swear not to use any explosives on the hotel!" Vaggie demands.

"Don't worry about it, she prefers using them on jackasses that deserve it, the hotel is safe."

"In that case, go ahead and invite your parents my dear! This will be a great way to rub your success in your father's face!" Alastor encourages.

"Nononono, I'm not doing this to gloat…okay maybe a tiny bit, but I just want him to see how far we've come…plus it's been a while since my mom and I chatted."

"Um, should we tell them about the, me being a human thing?" Max asks, a tad nervous.

"Oh don't worry, my dad likely told her already, she'll probably want a word with you but trust me when I say she's a sweetheart and won't lay a finger on you."

"And don't worry about Cherri, she could care less." Angel adds.

"Well, if Cherri is someone you trust then I don't mind. As for your folks Charlie, they raised you into the great person you are today, so what the heck, the more the merrier!" And with that, the celebration was underway.

With the help of some shadows Alastor summoned, the party was ready to go in no time. Max was surprised by the large variety of food being served, and that hell can have such a happy air to it, just goes to show you how being surrounded by friends can make a big difference.

He saw Angel chatting with his close friend Cherri, took in just how open he seemed to be the cyclops demon and made a mental note to put some trust in her. If Angel had someone that close to him, Max wanted to make sure they could stay close, redemption or not.

Charlie's parents arrived and the whole room was tingling with demonic energy. Max had to try his damndest to keep calm and collected as he politely introduced himself to Charlie's mother, Lilith Magne. It's not often a human meets a succubus and lives, thankfully Lilith seemed more interested in taking the time to tease Charlie and Vaggie of their relationship, Max unable to stop a chuckle from escaping him when he saw how red the cute couple's faces were getting.

Soon enough everyone was seated at a large table, a great amount of food served for everyone to enjoy. Before anyone could dig in, a spoon was tapped against a wine glass by Lucifer himself. "Before we partake in this meal, there is something I'd like to say." Charlie already braces herself, not wanting to let herself be demoralized.

"When my little princess said she wanted to help all the hopeless sinners down here be redeemed, I thought of it as more insane than the ramblings of men driven mad by witnessing me in my true form." Vaggie nearly bent her fork in half as she listened. "I was unsupportive, a naysayer, I even mocked her plans a few times…and because of that I have to say…I'm sorry sweetheart." Everyone paused at that, Lilith looking at her husband proudly. "I should know better than to try and cruelly crush the dreams of those I love, hell I had my own father cast me out of heaven just for sharing my own ideas!"

"Uh, didn't you start a war?" Max couldn't help but interject.

"Oh please, it was just a family spat. Anyways, instead of belittling my dear daughter, I should have sat her down and talked to her, maybe I could have been more understanding…but shoulds and coulds are meaningless, instead, what I will do…is give my support and blessing." He looks over to Charlie and his once mocking grin was a more gentle smile. "Now, I'm not gonna suddenly drop everything and sponsor you billions of dollars, no I want you to continue to work your hardest. You already changed the opinions of many in hell, I have a feeling you'll catch the attention of many more."

"Well, to be fair I had some help along the way." She smiles at her close friends here at the hotel.

"Yes, you gathered quite the ragtag crew of yours. Now I must warn you that using the human to lie about your redemption process was quite the underhanded move, one I quite respect! Whether your idea of redemption works or not is all up to you in the end. You won't have to worry about me meddling in any of your work…but if you ever wanna take the time to give your dad here a visit, well don't hesitate…except for Saturdays!" He then wraps an arm around Lilith. "That's mommy and daddy time.~" Lilith just lightly bats his arm with an amused giggle. "Now then, let's dig in!"

With the meal over and the party slowly winding down, Max took the time to look over the many various characters he's come to know. It seemed so calm and peaceful, like an image of what hell could really be like…he hoped his next action wouldn't change things too much.

He walked over to Lucifer with a goal in mind. "Mr. Magne? I need to talk to you privately."

"Mr. Magne? Hmm has a nice ring to it, but I think I'm more used to my first name being used. Lead the way!" Lucifer kept a big smile on his face as he followed the human to a more deserted part of the hotel, the room that he helped Niffty with before it was closed off for reconstruction. It was stable now thanks to the workers Charlie hired, but it would serve its purpose today.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me. I just want you to know beforehand that when I do this, it's nothing personal." Maxwell looks somewhat sad as he says this, but steels himself for what's to come.

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about. What's going on?" Lucifer asks curiously before a doorway of shadows opens in the nearby wall and Alastor steps out of it.

"Well to put it lightly…Max is here to kill you!" He places a hand on the human's shoulder, making him scoff and roll his shoulder to shake it off.

"I'm just upholding my end of the deal." He pulls out the gold gun and loads the eerie bullet Alastor enchanted. "To shoot one person of your choice outside those who are part of the Hazbin Hotel."

"Hmm, I thought you'd know better than to shake hands with a deal maker." Lucifer's eyes narrow at Max.

"I decided to take a gamble, one I feel quite confident in. Say cheese." Max lifts his arm and takes aim before pulling the trigger.

BANG

Alastor looks on gleefully only for his smile to temporarily melt into a frown. The bullet hit true, right in between the devil's eyes, but it's completely flattened like his skin was titanium. "…that wasn't supposed to happen."

Max chuckles as he spins the pistol before holstering it in his pocket. "Well, the deed is done. I fulfilled my end of the deal."

"Now hold on! The bullet should have blown a hole into his head, what happened?" Alastor demands, his smile back but shaky and frustrated looking.

"Oh? Did Maxwell not tell you everything about the gun I gifted him?" Lucifer asks in a smug manner. Alastor looks to Max for an explanation.

"You saw it for yourself during our first act, the gun cannot harm it's owner. What I didn't tell you, is that that nullification applies to previous owners, i.e, Lucifer Magne." He gives a self satisfied smile at Alastor. "I never lied once, I just didn't give you all the information."

Alastor clenched his fist, not appreciating his own words being used against him only to feel a threatening aura from Lucifer. "Now then, about your little assassination attempt." The two stare each other down, an unholy miasma filling the room as Max could barely breathe through all the demonic energy, his veins glowing again as he can feel himself begin to transform, only for the evil auras to fade away as fast as

they appeared and the two powerful demons began laughing cheerfully like good pals.

"I must say I'm impressed. Using the human against me was quite the devious plan."

"If only I knew the weapon you gifted him was enchanted to be harmless to previous owners. Oh well, not all deals end in my favor."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" Max interrupts the two. "Do you two have some kind of strange rivalry to keep on trying to kill or one up each other?"

"Oh when you live in hell for so long, you try to find different ways to entertain yourself." Lucifer explains.

"Honestly, scaring the millions of resident sinners can get a little old after a while, Lucifer here knows how to keep things interesting!" Alastor adds.

Max just deadpans at the two powerful beings and just sighs. "To think I was a pawn in your little rivalry." Eliciting some possibly mocking laughter out of them.

The next day everyone was in a lighter mood, the party was great, the Hazbin Hotel had a bright future ahead of it, and Max was free from any deals and thankfully suffered no consequences for shooting Lucifer out the face. Things were looking up for the human.

"Breaking news!" And of course Killjoy had to own up to her namesake. "Lilith Magne is distraught as the unthinkable has occurred! The lord of hell, Lucifer Magne, has been reported kidnapped!" At that, everyone in the hotel froze as they took in the newscaster's words. A ringing was heard and Charlie immediately picked up her cellphone and answered, hearing her mother's voice.

"Mom! Tell me it's not real, tell me dad is just playing a bad prank!" She pleads to her mother. Max can only look at her from afar as he wonders if the bullet he used had some delayed effect, but that wouldn't make sense, why would he disappear then without a trace?

"Detectives combed over the Magne household and found a ransom note that they believe was written by…those of a heavenly persuasion." Not even the newscaster could keep herself calm as a shudder escaped her just from reading that. "The note states, 'Denizens of Hell, shut down the redemption process and kill the human looking demon. If neither are done within 48 hours, then a new extermination will begin, and no one will survive.' All this newscaster has to say is this…I blame that stupid princess for her asinine idea! Now you have fucking angels thinking it'll work and pissed them off! Oh if I see her face I'm gonna-!" The TV channel is quickly changed by Max, not wanting to hear another word as he looks at Charlie, who wasn't even giving the TV the slightest attention, tears flowing from her eyes as she listens to her mother on the phone, trying her hardest not to break down.

"This…this can't be real. Why, why is this happening?" She mutters to herself, Vaggie wrapping her arms around Charlie and allowing her to sob on her shoulder. Max looks at the others and sees them dealing with the news in their own ways, most looking distraught. Max is quiet, his mind blaming himself for this, saying if he never stuck his nose into this, none of this would have happened. If he never made such a scene then the hotel wouldn't be at risk. If he never went to hell then he'd never have caused Charlie's father to have disappeared from hell…wait a minute.

"No…Lucifer is still here." Max mumbles, catching the attention of the others.

"Uh, what are you talking about?" Angel Dust asks while he holds Fat Nuggets for comfort.

"Anyone correct me if I'm wrong but, Lucifer was banished from heaven by God himself, banished to hell where he could never escape. If that's the case, then whatever divine bastards kidnapped him can't have taken him too far. Sure hell is a big place, but the lord of hell being guarded by angels isn't something you just miss, there's gotta be a way to find him and save him."

"Wait wait wait, this is crazy talk. You're saying you wanna scour all of hell and on the off chance you find him, fight angels, likely those crazy Exorcists, who could destroy us with their holy weapons? It's insane. Not to mention Lucifer has gone to the human world plenty of times, who's to say he's not being hidden there?" Husk points out.

"There's gotta be some way to find him, I just know it. I'm not giving up now! We just need, just need…"

"-the Immediate Murder Professionals!" A song could be heard on the TV, Max turning around and seeing some imps jump in and out of a portal connecting hell and earth. The one named Blitzo, the O is silent, stating how they hunt down people on Earth for pay.

"…if they can find anyone…then they gotta be able to find Lucifer!" Max shouts out, hope in his eyes and a plan forming in his head.

"Hmm, I think I've seen that kind of spellbook before." Alastor says before snapping his fingers. "The Goetia Demons! They're not like Overlords, they're on a different hierarchical level."

"Alright then, I gotta get in contact with those imps. And just hope they don't see me as another target." Max pulls out his phone and takes a picture of the commercial displaying their address and phone number.

Charlie looks at Max and nods resolutely before giving Vaggie a kiss on the cheek and dashing to her office. Some clattering noises are heard before she sprints back out and hands Max a large stack of money.

"Huh? Charlie I can't-"

"Yes you can. If money is their language then money is no object to me. If you really think they're the key to finding my dad…then I trust you Max." She gives him a big hug, Max hugging her back before pocketing the money. "Alastor, can you take him to that address?"

"Of course my dear!" He taps his staff twice on the floor and a red vortex opens up.

"Alright, I got my mission then. Stay safe everyone, please protect the hotel as best as you can, but if in the end you have to choose between yourselves and the hotel, then I ask you please get yourselves to safety first." Max smiles at the demons he got to know before looking to the vortex. "Next stop, I.M.P."