Two chapters in one day? YES! I was on a creative roll haha. And with this one I am rising some stakes again! Who doesn't love a love anxious Alastor?
For a demon facing coming doom in the form of a rapidly approaching extermination, Alastor is in a pretty good mood, walking down the streets towards Carmilla's headquarters as she called for a meeting of Overlords to discuss said coming event. He has no fear. Even if Adam has put a target on the Hotel itself. It doesn't matter! His darling bird will be safe. Surely she looks and voiced out she wants to protect the Hotel. The thought is adorable. As if he is going to let his darling fight. He is going to snatch her away, hide her away, and shield her from every upcoming bit of danger that dares come too close. She is not going to be on the front lines. Ha, silly love. She is probably going to pout but perhaps if he promises to keep the Hotel and its residents safe while she hides she will be more willing to listen. He has given her enough space. Even let her go to Heaven. Her being on the battlefield is where he REALLY draws a bloody line.
Out of the shadows, something emerges in front of him, none other than his fellow Overlord. Zestial. Dark. Looming. Ancient. A true pal! "Hark, Alastor. How fare thee this day? It has been an age since thou hath graced us thy presence. Some hath spun wild tales of you falling to... holy arms."
Alastor laughs as he walks down the streets, scaring the shit out of sinners left and right as they simply… walk and talk. "Oh, I just took a well-earned sabbatical, nothing serious. Though it's fun to keep everyone on their toes!"
The ancient Overlord chuckles. "There too hath been rumor of thy involvement with the princess and her recent flight of fancy. Tell me, how does thou fall in such folly?"
Alastor spins his cane. "That is for me to know. But please, do guess, I'd love to know the theories!"
"T'would be grander folly by far to assume the workings of your mind, Alastor. Thou hath been naught but an enigma since thy manifested in this realm!"
"Coming from someone as ancient as you, I take that as quite the compliment!"
Zestial humms before he cocks an eyebrow at the enigma he has known for many turbulent years. "There hath been rumor of thy follying with… holy sinning feathers."
"Ah~ The lovelies of even more spreading of rumors." He brushes his nails against his coat and observes his claws afterwards.
"It can not be be whisked a rumor when thy involvement with feathers hath been picturated. Tight embraces and kindred smiles as thou walk the streets. Thy new flight of fancy?"
Suddenly, Alastor's grin turns sinister wicked. "Lovely ain't she? An angel to be tainted. And entirely mine to play with." he sighs out as if delighting and reveling in memories. "One does need to keep entertaining company to keep occupied."
When Zestial only replies with a raised eyebrow, Alastor hopes his ruse holds strong. Hopes that it does not show that his neck is sweating. "Thou sure hath thy claws in the finest of souls."
Alastor laughs loudly as he swings his cane again. "Nothing less is good enough for my high tastes!"
Luckily, they arrive at the building, the subject drops. As they arrive at the right floor, he smiles genuinely at Rosie, who gives him a big grin in return and takes his seat next to her. "Hello deary, how are you fairing?"
Both knowing they can not openly discuss the real question behind it he simply grins widely. "Ready to do some talking!"
Carmille walks in, on the points of her dangerous sharp shoes, as she takes her place standing in front of the long filled table. "Welcome, Hell sovereign overlords. I've invited you all here because you represent the controlling powers of our city. Together, you own millions of souls. Souls at risk with the new Extermination schedule." She pounds her hand on the table. "We need to discuss what can be done to minimize the impact to our interest." Her eyes then fall on Alastor. "Alastor?"
"Yes, I know I've been absent some time. I'm sure you've all been wondering!"
"...Not really. But welcome back in any case."
Alastor's eyes widen in offense but then grits his grin and narrows his eyes. That is quite insulting.
"This year's Extermination was brutal, far more even than years past. We have assessed that about 16% of the population was lost With the angelic legions now returning soon, I think it prudent we-"
Suddenly the doors burst open, and in walks Velvette. One of the Vees. Talking loud on her phone and saying all sorts of uninteresting shit.
"Nice of you to join us, Velvette. Will your... colleagues be joining?" Carmilla asks, still calm even if her annoyance shows slightly.
"No, they have better shit to do than to listen to an old windbag who thinks she's tough shit. I'm here to represent." She sits down on the opposite head of the table, doing some filters on her phone on Carmilla out of boredom.
"Charming. So, as I was saying, we need to discuss-" Carmilla stops talking as Velvette waves her hand in the air. "Yes?"
"On the subject of discussion-" Without hesitation, she suddenly pulls out and throws the head of an exorcist angel onto the table. Shocking the Overlords who mutter their surprise.
"Oh! Tasty…" Alastor chimes in happily, actually wondering if he could get a lick..
Carmilla narrows her eyes. "Where did you get this?"
"We found it during Extermination day. If these Holy Rollers can be killed, the game has changed." She stands on the table to announce her brilliant plan. "We can take the fight to them. The boys and I have come up with a full assault plan-"
Velvette stops talking and she and the other overlords look at Zestial, who is sipping his tea loudly and aggressively to drown out Velvette.
"If it be true thee and thy colleagues desire to war with such meagre proof, thou art far more... foolish than I be thought." In the meantime, Alastor casually runs his finger over the head and puts his finger in his mouth. Hmm, tingly.
Velvette scoffs in disbelief. "Meagre proof? It's a dead fucking Exorcist. I'd say that's pretty fucking definitive. You going blind, old man?"
"We know not how this perished. Mayhaps t'was not by a demon's hand at all.-"
Velvette interrupts "Even if it was not by a demon's hand this time, the next time can be." She takes out her phone and grins. "Like I said, the boys and I have found an ace." She points her phone to the screen behind Carmilla and hacks into the system, overruling it and showing them a video.
Alastor feels his stomach drop and his skin actually pale. It is video footage. In the Vees building. Of Cattaleya. More precisely, how she tore everyone to shreds in the blink of an eye.
"This little sinner solely obliterated all of Vox's best guards. And you can actually see her taking her time with it as well. Look at her way of fighting. How swift she is. Dodging bullets and using fucking broken chair as javelins. Imagine this on the front battle line. Tearing through angels and making them piss their pants. They will think twice about coming back to Hell knowing we have this animal on our side. We don't need to fully defeat them. We just need to terrify them well enough for them to never return again."
"Velvette." Carmilla's eyes have not left the screen for a second. "Pause the video. Zoom in on her wings if you would so kindly."
Velvette is actually surprised by the request, having expected some more whining and bitching but listens anyway. Zooms in. On the wings. In battle, coated with blood and steel.
Carmilla doesn't move at first but when she turns around, her eyes are blazing. "Who is she?"
Velvette grins wickedly. "Ask Smiley Fangs over there. He is the one who has captured the birdy."
His blood freezes over as Carmilla raises an eyebrow at him. He desperately covers it up with a loud laugh. "Well, I do admit that that femme fatale has been residing in the same Hotel where I have been passing my time out of sheer boredom."
Velvette calls his bluff and now shows different footage. Pictures. Their first date. Their fucking first date. Videos. Them dancing and laughing. "That looks more than just residing in the same place, fussy ears."
Alastor tries to keep his composure but he is oh so bloody tempted to rip out the teenagers fucking tongue.
"This meeting is over. Velvette, send me those files. Alastor, I expect you in my office. It is not a request." She threatens with narrowed eyes before leaving the room, Zestial following her out.
"We just got here!" One of the Overlords says with a laugh before everyone starts leaving.
Alastor's nails dig into the arm rests of the chair as Velvette shoots him a challenging smile and even dares blow a kiss before she leaves. Her death is going to be slow and full of his favourite torture ways. Oh how his broadcast will be filled for hours. His snarl only lessens slightly as Rosie puts a hand on his arm. "Keep your cool. Give them nothing." She whispers her words of advice before squeezing his arm and leaving him alone, knowing this is a fight he is going to have to face on his own.
Alastor had plastered the biggest facade grin on his face as he arrives in Carmilla's office. Zestial and both her daughters present as Carmilla watches the footage of Cattaleya, his Dove, on another big screen. His heart is pounding out of his chest. "I wouldn't have thought you would be so interested in a single soul with a bit of moxy and flair in her appearance! Truly, for you to actually think Velvette's words to have a sense of logic in them has me astounded! Of all Overlords I would have expected you to-"
Carmilla slams the bottle of alcohol she had been drinking down on the table. "Cut the nonsense talking. It is not distracting me. You will be quiet and only speak to reply to my questions. You would be wise to obey."
Alastor clenches his cane as he leans on it a bit. Knowing that if he picked a fight here and now, he would not win.
"Tell me everything you know about her."
"Well, everything is quite a bit. You see, we have been at times intimate in sharing stories. Oh! She has an exquisite taste for the finer cuisines and more exotic-"
"Useful stuff, Alastor." She growls out, straightening up and folding her arms behind her back as she begins to walk towards him. "What is her name and since when is she in Hell?"
"Cattaleya, graceful in name as in movement. I believe she has fallen some months ago? Longer perhaps? Just a little while after the last extermination. Who can tell! I don't count."
"How do you link to her?"
"I found her."
"And you say she resides in this Hazbin Hotel?"
"She does. Where I also live and reside next to the Princess of hell."
She is right in front of him, leering at each other. "Why are you sheltering and keeping an angel?"
Alastor laughs loudly but Carmilla does not care. Does not falter in her stare. "Oh Carmilla, you are just as blinded by her mere appearance as the rest of Hell. She may look divine. But she is a sinner like the rest of us. True, a very lethal one with sharp instincts and claws but an angel? Are you so desperate for a fighting chance that you are seeing angels now?"
"No, you all are blinded. Do not see." She struts back towards her desk and pulls something out. "Tell me, what does this look like?" She throws the head of an angelic spear at Alastor's feet.
He picks it up and makes a thoughtful sound. "Is this a trick question? Anyone can recognize Angelic Steel."
"Apparently, not." She walks back to him and takes the spearhead out of his hand. "Now,-" She throws the spearhead into the screen. "- compare the two." The spear is lodged in, the image on the screen, a paused one, zoomed in on Cattaleya's wings. Her feathers. Covered in steel. The same shimmer as the angelic spear. The same steel.
His whole world whips upside down so quickly that his grin falters and his ears actually droop.
"The steel on her wings was not there in the beginning. But when she began to fight, when her eyes began to glow, the steel manifested. Coming from the inside of her feathers and skin. So it is not simply a coat she has adorned herself in. Her claws actually hold the same shimmer but more subtle. Are you truly trying to make me believe that you did not notice? That you were not hiding her for the sole reason of having an angelic plaything? What other purposes do you have for her?"
His feet move on his own, slowly taking him closer to the screen. Closer to what his eyes are deceiving him to see. He hopes it is a deception. He hopes it is not true. "She bleeds red…" Is all he says. Angels bleed gold. She bleeds red. She can't be. She can not be. Heaven can not truly have accidentally misplaced an angel…
"You truly did not see?" Carmilla asks with a raised eyebrow.
"No…" Suddenly he whips around, his grin strained and his eyes can not hide the slight panic that rises at what Carmilla might be planning. He can protect her from angels. But protecting her from multiple Overlords who might ally up to gang against them might not go well for them. The risks grand. "She doesn't know either. She doesn't. She thinks she is a sinner like all of us here. There is no malice inside of her or intention to side with Heaven."
Carmilla watches his composure break with calculating eyes, recognizing the truth for what it is. "Would she ally with us then? No matter how you look at it, Velvette might be right. If we can utilize her, rally an army to stand behind her, we might have a protecting chance."
"I will not have her at the front lines!" He snarls out, unable to hold it back.
"Do you have a deal with her?"
"No-"
"Then she is free to make one." Carmilla's eyes turn sharp. "Let your Princess know that I accept her invitation to the Gala. Knowing this Cattaleya resides there she surely will be present. Otherwise, I will find her anyhow. You are dismissed."
And like that, even more weapons are pointed their way.
His legs can't bring him back to the Hotel fast enough. He thought he learned what fear was after meeting Cattaleya. After starting to love her. But this, it goes beyond that. Because this is mixed with the grave insecurities of… Everything.
An Angel. She just can't be. Can she? Has she been lying like Vaggie has? Is this a way to infiltrate Hell for some form of new sport? No. He quickly shakes that thought away. Her heart is real. Her laugh is. Her sorrow is. Everything she has shown him. Real. She doesn't know. But is it because she forgot? Or is she planted here by Heaven? Does Heaven know?
Does he… Tell her?
No. Definitely not. He does not know how she would react if he did. He just needs to keep it quiet. He opens the door to the Hotel. He needs to keep an eye on her and protect her. He walks into the lobby. He needs to keep Heaven and Carmilla and the Extermination away from-
"Hello, Darin. How was your meeting?" Her bright blue eyes smile at him as she puts the playing cards down.
His Angel.
He pulls up his biggest smile, even if his ears droop a bit and walks to her, holding her tightly. Nuzzling his nose in her hair. "Hello, my Dove. It went well. Quite boring and long as usual."
"Troublesome. How about I make you a cup of coffee and we go relax with a bit of music in your room? There is this song you keep on playing occasionally and I can't get it out of my mind."
"Lovely." He says, hoping she did not hear the slight shake at the end before he kisses her.
No matter what she is. She is here. She is Cattaleya. And she is his. And he is not going to lose this.
"Kuso."
"Darling, swearing in Japanese won't help either. It does have a nice ring to it. Like a cute sneeze!"
Cattaleya breathes out through her nose and relaxes her fingers, moving her fingers over the keys and… Makes the piano cry out ugly again. "This is a frustrating device."
Alastor snickers at her misfortune. She always does things so flawlessly. Perfectly. So seeing her fail so miserably at playing the piano is a secret, well, not so secret great delight. "There is nothing wrong with the device. Your fingers are just doing strange spastic movements!"
She glares at him which has him biting his lip not to burst out laughing. "Watch me." She grumbles as she restarts the song. Actually going strong and steady when-
"CATTALEYA WE HAVE A LETTER!" The door is thrown open aggressively, the Princess of Hell screaming her message out as Cattaleya's hands slam against the keys.
"FUZAKENNA!"
"Oh, bless you." Charlie says sweetly which has Alastor howlering out in laughter. "But Catty~ Heaven send us a letter!" She holds up the golden envelope. His laughter scratches to an abrupt stop.
Vaggie runs into the room as well, out of breath a bit as Charlie had taken a mad man's run away.
Cattaleya shoots up from the piano bench. "Open it!"
Alastor can't help but feel a bit sick by her enthusiasm. Her eyes just as glued in anticipation on the envelope as the other ladies.
Charlie opens it but then pauses. "I just want to say, whatever is in this letter. I am so grateful to have you all by my side. Giving me support… I love you guys."
Vaggie melts visibly and Cattaleya smiles but is slightly more anxious.
"Okay. Here it goes." Charlie opens the letter. "It's from Emily." Both Vaggie and Cattaleya smile in hope at each other, the good seraphim in their opinion. "Should I just read it all?"
"Yes!" Both women say in unison.
"Okay okay!" She clears her throat. "Dear Charlie and companions, I am writing this letter to say and tell you that I have not forgotten what you have shown me. What you have revealed. Since your departure I have had many discussions and quite heated arguments with fellow angels regarding Hell, the Extermination and the judgment of Souls. I stand behind you. And I am doing everything in my power to stop what is coming but Sera is not easily swayed. I might not be able to stop the coming extermination but I am sure that we can figure something out after. So stay safe. Please stay safe. We just need more. More of you. More so that others can see what you have shown me. More plans of how we can stop people up here from fearing Hell attacking without us needing to exterminate you. Know you have made this my fight as well and I will fight from this side of the line." Charlie's eyes are full of tears and she speaks in a weak emotional voice as Vaggie holds her. She sniffs hard and gathers up her voice again to read the final paragraph. "Concerning Cattaleya,-" Said woman blinks, not having expected to be mentioned. Alastor feels dread come over him. "- I have not forgotten you either in my negotiations with Sera. Your story, your life, your bravery and strength is worthy of our world. You redeemed yourself the second you lost your life. And we will look at others like you differently from now on I hope. You have a place with us if you wish to have it. You only need to send the word. Stay strong. Sweet kisses, Emily."
"We… Actually did it." Cattaleya says in pure disbelief. They have started a revolution. Lit up a spark that will turn to a flame which in turn will set the world, the status quo as they know it, ablaze. And not only that… She laughs. With tears suddenly streaming down her face. Not knowing why. Perhaps… Relief? That it is seen? That this is the confirmation she didn't think she needed? She is not a sinner. She is not tainted. She is judged without actions. And that judgment gives her a place in Heaven. "Sorry, I am just… Glad."
She looks back at Alastor and her heart drops. While she felt pure bliss… He looks like he had lost the battle. His hands are behind his back and his ears flat on his head, head low and to the side, trying to hide his face with his hair. "Alas-" He takes a step back as she reaches forward to touch him. Knowing that if she dared touch him now that he would break. She wants to go. He feels it. Those tears can not mean anything else. He should not keep her here if that is the case. But he wants to. Fuck everything he wants to. He wants to turn back into that fucking bastard he had been when they had first met. That bastard would have crushed her dreams, her feelings and just kept her. Locked her away. He should. He should. But she would resent him. And she would-
"I am not going." His head snaps up, trying to search for the lie, the deceit to soften the blow. But there is none. "I've told you before." This time when she reaches out, he lets her touch his cheek. "This is where I belong. You are my Heaven. I am not giving this up for the world. I am not even close to tempted to accept. I belong here. And I will live here, laugh here, cry here, fight here and love here. You actually think quite little of me and what we have if you think I would exchange you for some marble floors."
He holds her tightly, relieved to hold her for another day. "This is becoming quite a song on repeat. You terrifying me and having to calm my anxiety down." He mumbles against her head.
Cattaleya giggles. "Welcome to Love." She pulls a bit away and grins at him. "I am so good at it though."
Alastor smiles fondly at her but there is still a gnawing in the back of his mind. One crisis feels diverted, but another is still leering in the shadows. One that will be trying to sway his angel away in two days. And she doesn't even know it.
That evening when Cattaleya is already lounging in bed and Alastor, for once psychically, is changing into his sleeping pants, she asks. "Darin, will you tell me what is still bothering you?"
Alastor sighs out through his nose as his ears droop slightly lower. "You are a curse, you know that? Before your arrival no one ever managed to crack my smile or see through my expressions."
"That sounds more like a you problem." She says with a teasing grin which makes him chuckle. She pats the empty space next to her and he crawls in, getting covered with the sheets afterwards. "Talk?" He groans and buries himself deeper into the covers but she just slides down as well. They lay nose to nose on their sides when the words come.
"Ridiculous as it might be, this year's extermination… Worries me. I am one of the most powerful Overlords in this realm and yet-" He brushes a piece of hair from her face. "- I have never felt so vulnerable. Losing you in any shape, way or form…"
"I understand. I feel the same way. Having something to live for is meaning you have something to fear losing as well. But it also means you have something to die for as well. Fight for. There is strength in that."
He frowns slightly. "Fight for?" She nods. "When the extermination comes, you will fight?"
"Of course! I don't know if you've noticed but I know my way around a blade. I told you before, I am willing to bleed to protect this. To protect this place. To protect what we have built. I will forever fight for that. No matter how. I'll truly do anything. Whatever is necessary. Whatever gives us the advantage. Though I am not afraid. I have you and you have me. We just need to have each other's backs." Her smile is one of determination. One of pure love. Fearlessness. A warrior.
And that is when realization hits him. He shouldn't have been afraid of Carmilla. Shouldn't have been afraid of Heaven. He should have been afraid of Cattaleya and what she would do to protect him. What deals she would make. And will make if given the opportunity.