Disclaimer: Hazbin Hotel is created and owned by Vivziepop. I own nothing, this fanfiction is just for cookies and skiddles, bits and pringels and whatever rhymes with shit and giggles.
It is the day everyone is able to recall, whether they'd like to or not. Explosions, blood and vile language flowed under the enormous pentagram. The battle was brutal and many souls perished, leaving the local population either shaken, insane or as in mangled corpses rotting on the streets. While Hell rarely ever encounters anything that it would consider repulsive, the smell of rotting flesh, guts and pus going on for days on end was definitely not something its citizens were used to.
And it was a glorious time indeed" Said the Radio Demon, concluding his reminiscence with a grin that could be heard in his voice.
This was followed by silence on the other end of the radio broadcast. Especially in one particular hotel lobby, where a group of people had been listening intently.
Silence broken by Angel Dust. "Didn't Al say he was gonna promote the hotel?" With a questioning gaze he looked at Charlie, but instead caught sight of a quite vicious looking salvadoran.
However, before someone could blow off their steam or answer, Alastor was heard finalizing his little broadcast. "This show is now sponsoring Hazbin Hotel, a venture that I, myself, am invested in." He then continued on to the sales pitch. "Wanna take a shot at the gates of Heaven? Well then come on by and please, do try your best." The sentence ending with the lowest of static sounds, the signal was then terminated.
This time the silence was broken by a "Jesus Christ." The exclamation came out of the mouth of a now somewhat less steaming but more depressed Vaggie. She had dropped her head into her arms.
Angel, Husker and Niffty glanced at one another before shrugging and dispersing, the last continuing her cleaning while the cat and the spider went over to the bar.
Charlie however stayed on the sofa, next to Vaggie.
"Come on now" Said Charlie reassuringly. She shifted closer to half embrace her girlfriend. "At least he did advertise the hotel. You know what they say, any publicity is good publicity!" She said with a faux cheer, trying to sound as convincing as possible.
Vaggie raised her head from hands and turned to Charlie, locking eyes and showcasing just how convinced she was.
Truthfully both of the girls had been skeptical about Alastor's attempt at actually hyping up the hotel. However, Charlie, while being naive about many things, understood that change doesn't happen immediately, hence the more sympathetic approach. That, and she wasn't prone to throwing knives.
Charlie's statement had also convinced people across the room.
"Riiiiiight" Came the truly encouraging call-out from the bar. All eyes and one pointy object went towards the cat.
Having ducked, Husker slowly rose from behind the bar desk. Seeing the two ladies approaching, he put his paws in front of him in an attempt to pacify them and preserve himself. Even Charlie looked a bit miffed.
Angel, sitting on one of the stools, came to the rescue. "Hey Vag" He addressed, turning to her. "Isn't this animal abuse?!" He accused with an offended voice and even more menacing finger.
"You're fucking useless, you know that" The cat grumpled loudly.
The spider was clearly about to return with a comment about his 'usefulness', but Husker cut him off by attending to the now closing in ladies.
"Look, I'm just saying" He phrased cautiously while raising his paw to indicate Charlie. "Your presentation wasn't much above his" This caused the women to stop, visibly surprised.
Husker, seeing his comment had unintentionally struck true, felt the need to actually ask something important. Easing his stance with sigh, not feeling like himself at all, the cat voiced his mind. "Are you sure it's a good idea to have Al helping with this project?"
While slightly surprised at Husker's concern, Charlie took his question seriously. This was something she had thought about a lot ever since meeting the infamous demon. Still, no matter how hard she pondered on it, she always came to the same conclusion. The point of the hotel was to give aid to anyone who needed it, whether they could be considered deserving of it or not.
After a couple seconds of taciturnity, Charlie simply answered "Yes."
While this time she was indeed convincing, there were still some doubts to be voiced. Like "How do you know he won't just spell everyone into the abyss?" A question that Vaggie liked to repeat.
"Vaggie, we've gone through this already." Charlie responded. "Besides, I've spoken to Al about using his magic while working here and he agreed to 'not spell everyone into the abyss'." She finished her defense with finger air quotes.
"Hah" Vocalized Husker. He had picked up a bottle and was making a return to intoxication. "Doubt that'll last." He stopped mid gulp at the sight of the many inquiring eyes.
The winged cat hadn't meant to take the spotlight again and due to it was getting increasingly uncomfortable. He just wanted to land the night in the bottle. "Did you make a deal about it?" He finally asked.
Thinking back, Charlie gingerly told Husker that they hadn't.
"Then it's like I said." He concluded.
Planning on becoming content by fading in the background with the company of liquor, the cat started on another sip. Instead, an idea hit him.
Stopping the mouth of bottle just before his, Husker added- "It's like askin' Miss Anal over there to not bring his guns everywhere, much less use them."
"Guns?" Asked Charlie and Vaggie simultaneously. Confused, they now brought the spotlight to Angel. He had the expression of a spider that was about to become a smear via rolled up newspaper. "Didn't you say you got rid of them after the last turf war?"
Eyes going around the room only to land back on the girls, Angel enunciated "Yes… I said that." Sensing the coming berating, he turned to the now faintly smirking Husker. "I'm not useless, but you sure as hell are a snitch!" Husker was now taking that sip.
Standing up to continue, Angel was once again interfered.
"You will gather every weapon you have access to-" ordered Vaggie, pushing her red face right in the middle of Angel's mug "-and put them on this table right here." She turned the apex of her forefinger towards the poker table.
"You have half an hour"
"Wha'!?" Dumbstruck, Angel scrambled for a way out. "You can't just-" He still didn't want to lose his place at the hotel. "I mean…" it wasn't something he was gonna admit though. Finally coming up with something, he stoically declared while crossing his arms "I can't" He then elaborated "The guns I have are all around but none are here at the hotel."
Seeing Vaggie hesitate, Angel was starting to feel relieved. Almost giddy.
"What about the ones in your room?"
Apparently Niffty was done cleaning and had decided to enter the stage with her innocent inquiry. While being such a small, harmless looking thing, Angel thought that she truly deserved to be in Hell.
Charlie, being the first one to turn back towards Angel, began. "ANGEL…"
Swiftly turning in the direction of the staircase, the spider conceded. "Half an hour, I. AM. ON IT." Emphasizing the words and picking up his pace, he quickly disappeared upstairs.
The tense air lasted for a couple seconds longer. Exhale from Charlie brought it to an end after which she turned her gaze to Vaggie. The salvadoran of the group was still fuming but tried to keep it together. Charlie took a step towards her.
"Hey Vaggie, why don't you settle down for a bit." Charlie suggested while putting her hand on Vaggie's shoulder. "In the meantime, I'll look over our progress on the hotel plans and see what still needs to be done. You just relax, okay?"
Successfully appeasing her, Vaggie agreed. She went back to the couch while Charlie decided to begin with Niffty's work. Starting to track her down, Charlie wasn't surprised when she found the little cyclops wasn't where she had just been mere moments before.
Half an hour and one minute later
The clacking of hooves could be heard nearing the hotel's grounds. Coming closer to the entrance, the radio's most famed star began to hear noises coming from inside. Loud noises.
"ANGEL, YOU BETTER HAVE GATHERED THEM ALL BY NOW OR I'LL KICK YOUR ASS SO HARD THE PEEK OF MY FUCKING FEET WILL COME OUT FROM THE OTHER SIDE!"
"Making me work with one hand isn't gonna make me go faster!" Came the reply. "Or, well… with gathering things!"
The Radio Demon was at the door, his palm on the door's handle but hesitated to open it. Hearing the ruckus turn into an argument about how many appendages spiders have, followed by even more demoralizing jabs, Alastor debated whether he should even bother. He never was one for the perverts.
Despite this, Alastor's intrigue about the unfiltered drama raised the corners of his lips again as he twisted the handle.
Now opening the door with vigor, the Radio Demon caught a glimpse of Angel in the end of the hall. He was carrying a large bag to the hotel's lobby.
Making his way towards that same destination, Alastor heard the bag land on a surface. Rounding the corner, he saw familiar faces surrounding the poker table which was now occupied by the said container. He continued onward.
Angel opened the bag which caused the cloth to spread along the length of the table. Having sauntered over, Alastor could see a pile of different firearms being on display where the bag had been.
"Fuck me" Husker exclaimed, though the way he said it made it unclear whether he actually saw the guns or some colorful entity summoned by alcohol.
Bending his back forward, intruding on more than one sinner's personal space, Alastor introduced himself.
"About to greet some neighbors?" He asked, examining the weapons.
This got confused looks from everyone, except Charlie who just cheerfully went: "Oh, hi Al, didn't see you there."
Giving back a polite smile and a nod, the intrigued demon now turned to follow Vaggie as she started to rummage through the weaponry.
"A revolver, a pistol, a tommy gun, tommy gun, tommy…" Now switching her focus to a very innocent looking Angel, Vaggie seeked for an understanding. "Just… why?"
Dropping the act and crossing his hands, again, Angel started to explain. "Well, as you might notice, there are six Thompson submachine guns…"
"I meant why do you-" Vaggie wanted to correct, but Angel talked over her.
"There are six because-" dragging out the word, he added a bit of mirth in his voice. "They were supposed to be presents" Opening his arms to indicate everyone gathered, Angel determined- "To you guys!"
A mix of bewildered reactions, ranging from 'what' to 'fuck', played on the faces of those present.
Now losing brain cells, Vaggie continued her line of questioning while facepalming. "Was there ever a moment that you got a complete grasp on what we're trying to accomplish here?" Her voice raised considerably toward the end.
If Angel noticed the quickly rising frustration in Vaggie, he ignored it. "But…!" He said, twisting his facade into that of a baby. "I thought we'd all look really cute carrying our own pair of tommys!"
"Well you're an idiot!" Expressed Vaggie, quite freely too, having slammed her fist into the table. No one attempted to deny this as they wavered to join in, the exemption being Alastor who simply agreed with the statement.
While continuing her tantrum, Vaggie picked up the last unreviewed gun: A hunting rifle. "For what fucking reason would you need all this weaponry?!"
Angel thought about it. Then he figured it out. With a snap of his fingers, he said: "For protection"
"Like you'd care about protection!"
With what followed, even Alastor caught onto the bawdy theme. Smiling, though not so politely anymore, the Radio Demon decided he'd have enough. Pivoting around and putting a lot of will in not hearing the slander that was flowing as if from a breaking dam, Alastor began walking away.
However, upon hearing a knocking sound, he stopped.
Charlie had noticed Alastor's departure. She had intended on going after him, but didn't as he came to a halt. What he said though, truly shook her.
"Ladies…" The Radio Demon announced jovially with a hint of authority. He rotated back towards the group, ceasing their focus and the quarrel amidst them. "And Husker." This earned him a single toast.
Now basking in the warm glow of the spotlight, Alastor spun his staff along his fingers with a flare. He stopped it so it was pointing directly to the front door, during which he was grinning like a maniac.
"We have a guest."
Alastor wasn't the only one wearing an expression of ecstasy. While the others were dumbfounded, Charlie practically bolted to the door. This made those left in the dust share a glance. Turning back, they were even more stumped when they saw that only Alastor's outlined shadow remained. He too was gone.
Stopping at the door to take a breath, Charlie checked and prepared herself for the new potential client. Alastor appeared shortly after and chose to stand behind her.
Putting a lid on her sparkling emotions, Charlie half turned so she could look at the grinning demon. "Remember," She said with a hard glare. "You will not inflict sorcery or other spooky voodoo tricks upon the guests."
Alastor's excited grin switched into a respectful smirk. Adding a bow for emphasis, he answered "Of course my dear."
Reassured, Charlie took another breath and faced the door once more. She then made contact with the handle and with pressure, opened the passageway.
Where a 'welcome' mat should've been located, a very much humanoid figure stood. It was a man, lean and skinny, with a slightly disheveled, yet stylish dark suit; one without a tie. He was taller than Charlie but shorter than Alastor. The sinner's only demonic attribute seemed to be his yellow eyes.
After meeting the gallant smiles, both from the princess and the looming tall thing, the stranger addressed them both.
"H-hello" He said confidently. "Are y-you the people trying to resurrect demons from damnation?"
Charlie, about to shake the newcomer's hand, got sidelined by Alastor who jumped at the first chance.
"Indeed we are my good fellow!" He stated while shaking the strangers form through the handshake. Letting go, Alastor then stepped up next to him and looped his hand behind the guest's back, his palm landing on the suit-covered shoulder.
While pushing the man into the hotel interior, the generously grinning host continued. "The name's Alastor and it's my pleasure to welcome you into our humble establishment! I'm not the creator but the sponsor of this hotel and one of the very people to oversee that your stay in this fathomless pit will not be overstayed!"
Evidently seeing the little confidence the stranger had deteriorate, Charlie pried Alastor off of him. "Stop it Al!" She commanded.
Successfully inducing Alastor into letting go, Charlie initiated the proper greetings. "Yes, our goal is to redeem demons from hell. I'm guessing you're looking to join our program?"
After receiving a timid but affirming nod, Charlie continued on to introducing herself while resuming to lead the guest further inside. Alastor followed close behind.
Arriving at the official lobby, Charlie saw that only Vaggie had stayed to greet the guest. "And this is Vaggie, the second in charge of our service"
A loud, static filled cough was heard. Charlie however, ignored it and focused on scouting out the others. She spotted Angel at the sofa and subtly waved him over.
Rolling his eyes, Angel rose from his comfy spot. Feeling the length of the day, he dragged himself next to Vaggie to meet the new arrival. In an effort to please the hostess, Angel also went for the proper introduction.
"Gay pornstar and a lesbian hothead, at your service" He said this with one hand on Vaggie's shoulder and the other three on his chest.
"Actually" Charlie said with a slightly forced chuckle. "He's another guest" She told the abashed stranger while indicating Angel.
Wanting to move the presentation along, Charlie then pointed at the empty bar. "Also, we have an employee who runs the bar over there." She then continued cheerfully while stepping forward and turning back to face the new guest. "He also covers the gambling and is somewhat of a magician too! He can be a little grumpy but you can tell he's got a deep and caring heart."
During this recital, behind Charlie, Husker appeared from behind the saloon the way a vampire would rise from a coffin. His facade also matched that of an undead, down to the foaming mouth and splayed eyes.
Charlie had slowed her speech to a halt after seeing the guest go downright pale. Switching her focus back to the bar, Charlie understood why. She quickly springed on the newcomer, blocking his view and began steering him away.
"You know," Charlie said while the sound of a slacked cat hitting the floor emanated throughout the lobby. "We're still adding finishing touches so maybe I'll just show you to your-"
"Are those… guns?!" The stranger asked, pointing at the poker table. Stopping, Charlie and all those conscious turned to gaze at the table. And, surely enough, there was a respectable arsenal to be ogled at. Charlie gave Angel a look, which got the universal 'whatever' gesture in return.
Apparently, it hadn't occurred to anyone to put them away after having been brought out in the open.
Needless to say, this was not the way Charlie had wanted her first arriving guest to see her hotel. This stranger obviously lacked the hardened stomach that Hell usually required. Suspecting he might have deceased only recently, Charlie had hoped it would make it that much easier to redeem him.
This hope however was quickly extinguished as Niffty's head appeared just above the poker table's surface. She placed one, now clean, handgun on the table and picked up another that needed cleaning. As her head disappeared again as she sat down on the chair behind the table, Charlie knew how it looked.
"And you have a child maintaining them!?" Came the questioning squeal.
While the others were just now grasping at the perspective the new guest was receiving, Charlie tried to rationalize the situation. "No, she's actually-"
"L-look," The stranger said hesitantly, starting to back away from Charlie. "I wished to get out of this place, out of Hell I mea-" accidentally backing into Alastor, who gave a toothy smile in response, the stranger continued to walk in reverse out of the gathered group. "B-but I don't t-think this… program is for me either." Stopping for a moment as if to evaluate the situation, the ex-guest then turned tail for the exit.
"Wait!" Charlie yelled while running after him. "You didn't even tell us your name!"
The forever-to-be stranger had reached the door and in a heartbeat, was out. Charlie had followed him to the exit, but stopped at the doorway. She just watched as he increased the distance between himself and the hotel.
Truly disappointed, Charlie took a deep breath to steady herself.
"No worries darling," Said the ever convivial voice of the Radio Demon. "I'll handle it."
Alastor had evidently followed along with the chase and, as Charlie twisted herself to see his exuberant expression, she noticed the rifle he was wielding.
The hunting rifle. From the weapons pile. Which barrel was now pointed directly at the shrinking form of the fleeing stranger.
With shock, adrenaline and a mild pleading scream, Charlie launched at the rifle. Because of their height difference and the distance of the leap, Charlie only managed to grace the weapon, lifting the barrel slightly.
During which, Alastor took his shot.
Floundering for balance, Charlie soon stabilized herself. Ignoring the reverberating sound of the gunshot, she immediately looked back out the door, checking for the stranger's well-being.
And she found him. On his knees, grasping at his throat while dark, crimson liquid spilled out onto the driveway leading to the hotel grounds. Charlie watched in horror as his body eventually flopped down on the ground, unmoving.
After a moment of total silence, Charlie addressed Alastor.
"How could you!?" She shouted, her eyes turning hellish and her teeth sharpening. The hotel's other occupants, minus the cat, were now arriving at the scene but Charlie didn't care. "You promised you wouldn't hurt the guests!"
Alastor, however, was unfazed by Charlie's readily growing horns. With half lidded eyes and ever steady smile, he stated: "I promised no such thing."
Seeing as Charlie was about to commit a murder of her own, Angel decided to jump in to try and defuse this bomb.
"I mean…" he said cautiously, capturing the focus of the two most powerful beings in the vicinity. Tip-toeing around the maddened princess' feelings, Angel recited. "He promised not to use magic," Pointing at the corpse in a growing pool, he finished with: "And that was made by a… capitalistic progress."
Vaggie's flathand landing on the back of Angel's head went disregarded by both powerhouses as they faced each other again.
"You really shouldn't blame me, dear Charlie" Alastor declaimed calmly to the displeased hostess. "After all, I would have hit his knee if it wasn't for you disturbing my shot."
Taking a moment to recognize where the blame actually lay, Charlie's wrath began to abate. With every second her face reverted back to normal, the sinking feeling in her stomach grew.
Vaggie, even before seeing the turmoil within Charlie, had some comments of her own to make. Addressing Alastor, she noted: "And bringing out a hunting rifle to cripple the leaving guests was your idea of a good service?"
Responding to the inquiry, Alastor's smile widened. "Well it's a definite motivation to stay, don't you think?"
While definitely incensed by the response, Vaggie didn't bother to continue the conversation. Instead, she went to give solace to Charlie who now seemed to be close to crying. Together, they left the others at the door and went upstairs into their room.
"That was not your fault Charlie" She comforted while they were walking. Hugging each other while doing so, Vaggie continued. "Remember what you said earlier: In a couple of days, the hotel preliminaries will be ready and everybody's gonna love it."
Opening their room door, Vaggie and the slightly elevated but still dejected Charlie stepped in. Now closing the entry, the pair did their best to try and put the day behind them.
Author's notes: So... eah. My first ever written fanfiction.
I'm meaning to continue this story, so this chapter was to basically set the stage for how I view each character. What the story will be, well... *takes a cookie and dramaticly dips it in coffee* ...no idea. Though, I do plan on making this story episodic, meaning, they defently relate to each other, but there propably won't be a single massive plot. In a nutshell: For funsiez.
Also, this is something I do on my free time, so updates will be shrouded in mystery. However, If I ever do just fold like a waffle and stop altogether, I'll mention it.
Please do let me know your thoughts. Was it good? Bad? Did the characters seem canonically correct, cause that's what I was going for (hope you could tell). Was the pacing okay, were there enough descriptions, was Angel perverted enough, did I write sentences that never seem to end, cause... it happens. For real though, any feedback will be appreciated.
PS. You can find me on Ao3 aswell, under the same name. I'm new to both sites so I'll apologize in advance for the future dummy acts I might commit as a newbie.
Edit: Some little nitpicks for clarity. Also, I want to mention that there will actually be a story, not just episodic mania. Of course, I could just replace my earlier message with this but since I've already written all this... eah. Plus, it goes to show what I mean by commiting dummy acts.