Hazbin Hotel: Boardroom

On the third day, no one wasted any time in getting to the board room for the vote. The subject had not only been discussed by everyone there, but the other residents as well. Charlie had made it clear, even if it was their vote, everyone's opinion on the subject mattered. Those opinions had ranged from fear to outright rage and in some cases, check outs. Charlie had begged and pleaded but there were just some minds you couldn't change. Once everyone was seated in the boardroom, Alastor took up his stance at the head of the table, Lucifer at the opposite end, sitting up straight in his throne rather than his usual casual position. He was as on edge for this decision as anyone else.

"Well then!" Alastor began with a clap of his hands "We all know why we're here so we may as well get to it. The matter of Caine being allowed to stay at this hotel will be decided by a majority rule. No ties, no abstentions. Yours truly will kick things off of course" with a flourish of his hand placed upon his chest he proudly announced his vote "I vote yes of course!" he laughed along with his laugh track, no one else finding the situation remotely amusing. He put both hands on his Caine, tapping it on the ground as he waited for the outcome. Everyone was either deep in thought or glancing straight at the table ahead of them.

Husker took a drink of his morning coffee and whisky before speaking up. "I've seen this guy. He's dangerous, he's scary and he's done things so terrible I can't even mention them." he groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose before continuing "But Alastor is right. If we actually do this, he won't be a threat anymore. So yes" Across from him Angel was waiting for Husker's answer before casting his own "Fuck it, we do this or we don't, we're no worse off than when we started this shit. I say do it" Vaggie was fuming and almost launched out of her chair "I can't believe you two!" Hearing the two yes votes had broken her composure "He could walk in here right now on a whim and kill us all! Absolutely not! No way!" she looked desperately to Charlie for support in this.

Charlie wasn't looking at her, but at her father as if they were having a mental conversation, his eyes just as focused on hers. He knew how important this was to her, he knew what she was trying to do. She had to follow her heart always on this. Even after all the hardships they'd gone through, she'd been right, and she would be again "We have to try. Even if we fail, we have to at least give it our best shot. Yes" Vaggie crossed her arms and sat back in her chair, her hair falling down over her face, clearly upset. "YES YES YES!" Niffty bounced around in her chair, hand waving in the air "The baddest of all bad boys! YES!" Alastor gave her his usual endearing smile "Only counts as one, Niffty dear" He then let his eyes land on Lucifer.

His mind flashed back to that day. "I would stop at nothing to get what I want, and neither would you in my position" were words that haunted him to this day. That voice haunted him, those eyes, one eerily white, the other dark and full of hate. The preceding war had made Lucifer's rebellion in heaven look like child's play. There'd been a moment, a brief moment when he was at his lowest and he'd almost given up. The enemy had been at the gate. It was looking bleak and hopeless. He hadn't even had the strength to go down swinging, despite Lilith's insistence that they should. When a messenger had come with a formal armistice and cessation of all hostilities, he'd wept and had almost started believing in miracles again. What had it all even been for? He'd never know. "Charlie…. Honey…. I believe in this place as much as you do, you know that. But I'm afraid one day you're going to learn the hard way that not everyone can be redeemed. I can't agree to this. No '' Charlie's eyes were full of hurt but she couldn't say anything, not when he looked like this.

"Well, I say yes and if Pentious were here, I bet he would too" Cherri crossed her arms as if daring anyone to argue with her. To everyone the matter seemed settled, but then one by one they all looked at Emily, hers the last vote and truthfully the only one that mattered. If Emily didn't think Caine could be saved, then her recommendation wouldn't go to Sera for review. The radio demon remembered what Carmilla had told her and his eyes shined bright as they zeroed in on the seraphim. She felt everyone's gaze and she took a deep breath before confessing what she'd done "I went to see him the other day" She could have heard a pin drop as everyone froze in their seats. Then all at once they started to raise their voices at her "Are you insane? He could have killed you! What were you thinking!?" Disdain came at her from every side of the table. She held her hands up and pleaded with them "Please! Let me finish…"

As they reluctantly settled, she continued on "I had to know, wanted to look into his eyes and see if he was genuine in his request. I think he is; I think he truly wants to change and be better. He's just scared. After thousands of years, it can be hard to change your ways." She couldn't get the look in his eyes out of her mind. Or the feel of her touch against his hand. She closed her hand and held it against her breast at the memory. "I vote yes, and if we do this, then I'm going to make it my personal mission to see to it he can change" Charlie was caught off guard for sure. She hadn't expected this from Emily, someone she considered to almost be a twin to her. Over the last couple years, they'd bonded like sisters. She believed the conviction in Emily's voice, and the determination in her angelic eyes. But she was as scared as everyone else.

"Excellent! Well with a vote of 7 to two it seems that the motion passes!" he picked up his cane and banged the table as if he had a gavel. All throughout the meeting, everyone's attention had been on each other, waiting for each other's vote. No one had been looking up at the domed ceiling of the conference room. It wasn't until Alastor was wrapping up the meeting that Husker got an uncomfortable feeling. Like they were being watched. When he caught site of a shadow passing over the carpet from above, he looked up and his eyes shrunk to white dots. Angel at a glance had noticed this "Husky…?" he whispered, but Husker didn't answer, causing Angel to follow his gaze and then he too almost went white. One by one, everyone started to notice something was wrong and followed the gazes turned upward "Holy shit…." Cherri Bomb spoke for everyone. The window was flanked by dozens of ravens. "He's here" Lucifer whispered, though in the deafening silence his voice carried.

Alastor dissolved into darkness, Lucifer's magic surrounded him as he disappeared and Emily flew out of her chair, everyone else running to follow. They kept going till they reached the second-floor landing of the lobby where Alastor and Lucifer were standing. Once everyone came to a stop at their side, they froze at the site before them. The entire lobby was covered in the dark little birds, every surface, every place they could perch. Every beak and two black eyes were turned towards them. At the center of it all stood Caine, Diablo perched on the top of his walking stick. "I thought I'd save you the trouble of sending me a message" his voice invaded their heads and minds, the birds not even flinching. Everyone covered their ears except for Alastor and Lucifer. The king stepped forward, clutching his staff so hard he heard the wood strain "You threaten this place after you asked for help?" He asked incredulously, ready to defend Charlie at all costs. "I made a deal, and part of that deal was that failure to comply would be met with vengeance" Vaggie was ready with her spear, putting herself between Charlie and the potential threat of the overlord.

Cherri was watching carefully, but when Angel almost stepped forward to join the fray, Husker stopped him, shaking his head. This wasn't a fight they could win. Before anything could get more intense however, Emily flew up into the air and down onto the staircase, standing between everyone else and a fight. "We took a vote. Not everyone is comfortable with you being here, but some of them took a chance on you. We decided you can stay. Everyone deserves a chance at redemption. Even you Caine" There was a small army before him. An exorcist, an overlord, a fallen archangel…. but his eyes were all for Emily. The same determination and strength she'd shown him before. Truthfully, she was the only reason he was here. "So be it" He lifted his cane and when it came down against the floor with a mighty crack, every raven around him took to the air and stormed around the room as they began filling out the doors and windows. Everyone except for Alastor, Lucifer and Emily dove for the floor and covered their heads. When the noise quieted, they looked up and saw only Caine and Diablo left "Don't worry, they won't go far"

From the folds of his cloak he produced a broken drone, tossing it out onto the floor at the foot of the stairs. "They caught this contraption flying around outside. I believe you're being watched." He dropped it on the floor, the little red light still blinking and one of the rotors still trying to move. With a cackle he lifted his cane and pierced the machine, watching it die at his feet.