It was another miserable day in hell, the faint screams of tortured souls mixed with the sound of crackling fires could be heard filtering across the pentagram, something that had long since become normal for the residents of hell. The only day it changed was extermination, the only day a deathly silence would fall as souls would hide, any bad blood forgotten as fear of the angels triumphed over everything. Thankfully for all the current residents they had just under a year before they'd have to worry about that.
Ellie sighed as she sat on her bed, head in her hands as she purposefully ignoring the static sound that indicated the radio demon's presence. It had been only a week since Alastor had arrived, but he'd quickly become integrated into the hotel and had seemed to pick her as his favourite person to torment, though she knew he'd argue it was in the hotels best interest for him to know all the goings on. She'd hoped allowing the demon to stay would have meant using her magic less, but it seemed she was doing it more to dodge the overlord as much as she could without suspicion.
"Good morning, Ellie, another glorious day in hell." Alastor cheered, his smile wide as he took in the fox demon who barely reacted, though her ears twitched to indicate she'd heard him.
"Hello Alastor." Ellie sighed back, knowing from their previous interactions during the week that he'd just stand there smiling until she responded. She lifted her head and eyed the demon, "You're more chirpy than usual."
"Nonsense! I'm always a delight!" Alastor retorted, waving his hand as he glanced around the room, "My my, your room is a mess… should I send Nifty up?" Ellie cast him a glare, already knowing Alastor knew she preferred to be left alone, especially these days.
"Don't push my hospitality, Alastor."
"Now, now old friend, no need for hostility." Alastor hummed, his smile transforming more into his bemused smirk as he eyed the fox demon. Ellie huffed glancing away as she pushed herself to her feet, walking past the demon to her door and slamming it closed, placing her shadow outside to guard.
"We can't keep playing this game Alastor." Ellie sighed, glancing over her shoulder at the demon who tilted his head at her, smiling even as his eyes filled with annoyance, "I'm not making a deal, I'm fine."
"You're dying."
"And you won't be able to save me even if we did make a deal." Ellie bit back, her tail flickering with flames for a moment before she took a breath, looking to the ground as she smirked, "Even if you could, I am not giving you that satisfaction." Alastor's eyes narrowed for a moment before a switch flicked and he turned waving his hand in the air with an easy smile.
"It's your choice dear."
"Mhmm…" Ellie hummed, crossing her arms as she turned to eye the red demon who was doing his best to not look too disappointed, "Come on old friend, you can't have thought I'd surrender so easily. Don't act too desperate. Makes me think you need my power."
"Just thought you'd like to escape the clutches of death." Alastor replied just as quick, not looking at her as Ellie chuckled, her tail twitching with amusement.
"Death has been hunting me for a long time, Alastor. It's not quite got me yet." Ellie smirked as she looked at her fellow overlord who still looked nonplussed as examined his claws, "I could still take you."
"Hmmm… old and senile, maybe I should put you out your misery." Alastor called over his shoulder, his smile becoming more playful as Ellie seemed to relax, looking more at ease and like herself than she had in the past few days since he'd arrived. Ellie shook her head a small laugh escaping her, seeing her mood improve the radio demon took it as a sign it was best to switch topic, "I promised Charlie a new advertisement and they've decided it to be on that newfangled picture box… want to come find some desperate souls to make scream?"
"Ooh, you tease," Ellie teased back, dark smirk dancing over her lips as she snapped her fingers and recalled her shadow, grateful for the distraction Alastor was offering, "That sounds like a glorious outing, it would be my pleasure to accompany you."
"Pleasure is all mine my dear!" Alastor cheered back, holding out his arm to the fox who smiled as she took it. Alastor cast one glance around the room before snapping his fingers, the two disappearing out the hotel to terrorise some unfortunate souls.
The screen turns static before it began to focus, colours eventually forming into figures. On the screen, a grinning fox-like figure could be seen stabbing her claws into the chest of a sinner, covering her in blood, she continued to stab the sinner before her attention was grabbed by a person holding the camera.
"Well, hello there, you wayward Sinner! Do you like blood, violence, and depravity of a sexual nature?" The fox figure nodded her head eagerly, "Of course you do, that's why you're in Hell!"
The scene widened and filled with other sinners as the voice over continued:
"But what would you say if I told you there was a place to stay that had none of that?"
The camera zoomed back in on the fox figure who tilted her head, one ear sticking up, the other one half down as she stared at the camera looking confused, blood covering her clothing. The scene quickly switches to the external of the Hazbin Hotel.
"Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel, a misguided path to redemption! Founded five days ago by Lucifer's delusional daughter, Charlotte Morningstar!"
The camera zoomed in on Charlie who waved nervously, Angel appearing behind her putting up two fingers behind her head before it quickly changed to clips of Charlie on the news and photos of her figuring out plans and tearing up at her father as the voiceover continued:
"Come place your fate in her inexperienced hands, as she tries to work through her daddy issues by fixing you!
The camera followed the fox figure as it walked into the hotel and looked around, Razzle and Dazzle flying past sweeping as the camera panned around the front lobby.
"Here we offer fun things, such as somewhat functional staff…"
Husk collapsed drunk onto the bar as the fox laughed.
"and 24-hour pest control."
Nifty was seen chasing a beetle around the hotel with a large pin, the fox continuing to laugh until she pushed the camera away. The scene changed to show off the rooms before returning to the parlour where Angel Dust was sat.
"Custom rooms, and just look at this tacky parlour! Enjoy riveting conversation with our singular resident."
Angel threw up the middle finger to the camera as KeeKee dived to avoid part of the building that collapsed.
"Wow! All this, and more at the Hazbin Hotel!"
A rough sketch of the drawing popped up on the screen with some marketing stickers before changing to the actual external of the hotel, writing across the screen explaining they currently didn't have a working phone.
"Your last desperate attempt at salvation starts here!"
Alastor leaned over and turned of the television, a smile on his face as the advert came to a close. Ellie moved her focus from the tv to their viewers, tilting her head as she stared at Charlie and Vaggie with an excited smile, blood still dripping off her arms and clothes, having greatly enjoyed playing her part in the commercial. The two girls stared back, almost in shock at the advert that had just been played across the screen.
"So, what do you think?" Alastor asked, seeing neither of the girls they'd invited to watch had opened their mouth to give feedback. Ellie glanced at the tv before back at the two girls who continued to stare, seeming unable to react.
"I think we should have reshot the barely functioning staff part, but Alastor insisted me breaking character made it more genuine." She offered, trying to kick start what she was sure would be some applause, "Oh, and don't worry about the guy in the first scene, he owed me a debt."
The silence continued making Ellie and Alastor share a look, the formers tail twitching slightly at the lack of reaction while Alastor continued to grin, unperturbed by the lack of response. Deciding it best she handle it, Ellie opened her mouth, about to ask if everything was ok when Vaggie seemed to recover.
"I'm sorry. What the fuck was that?" The sinner shouted at the two overlords whose eyes narrowed slightly at the tone. Charlie glanced between the three before chuckling nervously.
"Uh, Yeah. One note, Alastor, Ellie, I mean, first off, thank you so much for making this seriously amazing, but um, maybe the tone is a bit off." Charlie critiqued, waving her arms around nervously. Both overlords narrowed their eyes further, Ellie's ears pinning back slightly, "We want people to want to come here. This makes it look, um..."
"Bad. The word you're looking for is bad." Vague bit out, glaring at the two demons who shared a look.
"Funny. I was going for hilarious." Alastor replied as Ellie nodded her head in agreement, ears perking back up.
"We wanted to have fun with it." The fox demon added, placing one blood covered hand on her hip and waving the other one in the air.
"It didn't explain anything about how we're trying to save demons from extermination, which is the whole fucking point." Vaggie pointed out to the overlords, who rolled their eyes, Ellie letting out a huff.
"Vaggie is right Ellie, Alastor, the commercial was to let sinners know we are trying to help them." Charlie added, more cheerily than her girlfriend who looked about ready to kill the two overlords.
"Well, my dear, I haven't been active in hell for some time, and everyone remembers me from my radio show, the proper medium to express oneself. But you insisted on this noisy picture box advertisement." Alastor explained, tapping the top of the television with his cane in mild annoyance as he continued to smile at the two women who watched on, "So, as Ellie so eloquently put it, we had a little fun with it." Ellie's tail flickered once more, smile over her face as Alastor tossed his cane from one hand to the other, looking mildly amused by Vaggies annoyance.
"Oh, fun? You had a little fun with it?" Vaggie questioned, moving to stand on the couch with hands in her hips so she was eye level with Alastor who cast a look over to Ellie who rolled her eyes, "Well, this is not what we want to represent us. When you showed up here a week ago, you told us you would help run this hotel. Instead, you're mocking us. Nobody's gonna wanna come to a place that powerful overlords like you two think is a waste of time."
Ellies ears pinned back slightly as she crossed her arms over her chest, glaring back at the sinner who huffed at sat back down Charlie looking around nervously as everyone seemed to be getting more worked up. After a moment the uninvited Angel Dust who was laying dramatically over the other couch raised his hand, clearly having an opinion. The group looked over at the porn star who was smirking with amusement at the ensuing argument.
"What?" Vague barked out seeing the shit eating grin over the face of the only guest currently staying at the hotel.
"If'n you're filming a commercial, can I suggest you take better advantage of the talented celebrity you have right here?" Angel called somewhat sultry as he sat up and began opening a bottle of alcohol with one hand while pointing to himself with the other three.
"Angel, you're a porn star." Vaggie shot down, not in the mood for Angels games after Ellie and Alastor's stupid performance.
"A famous porn star, I'll have the horniest sinners knocking these walls down to get in." Angel teased using his sultry porn voice making Ellie screw up her nose as Vaggie took a breath to calm down her growing anger.
"We are not filming a porn as a commercial." Angel almost seemed to mock pout before a playful smirk overtook his face once more.
"Why not? Sex sells, don't it? I swear if you film me going at it with Mr. fancy talk creepy voice here, you'd be rolling in participants willing to stay at this tacky hotel." Angel explained lifting an arm to point to Alastor who'd transported himself away from the television to between the couches. The radio demon didn't even look at the spider, his eyes narrowing slightly as he continued to smile.
"Ha ha. Never going to happen." Alastor bit out, shaking his head as Ellie chuckled.
"Or we could go for a round foxy?" Angel continued nonplussed as he winked over at Ellie who smirked, cocking her hip to the side as she stared down the spider.
"Oh honey, you couldn't afford this." Ellie winked back as she used her free hand to gesture to herself making Angel laugh. Ellie turned her attention back to Vaggie and Charlie, "Could we at least include Henry's death at the start? His wife probably deserves to find out somehow…" Charlie eyed Ellie and chuckled nervously, unsure if the fox was being serious, before diverting her attention to Angel.
"Angel, I appreciate you wanting to use your special skills to, um, attract folks to the hotel, but I really don't want to exploit you in that way." Charlie tried to explain gently, Angel shook his head.
"Oh, please, baby. This body was made to be exploited. I got the arms, I got the stamina, I got the legs. I got the lung capacity." He let out a laugh, "Oh, I got the legs. The gag reflex, the holes, the chest fluff everyone thinks are tits." Charlie nodded nervously at the list, her mind seeming to work a mile a minute to come up with an excuse when her phone suddenly rang. Ellie narrowed her eyes, glaring at the phone, already knowing exactly who would be on the other end.
"Hold that thought! I'll be right back." Charlie breathed, clearly distracted as she walked off to the side of the room.
"I could keep going all night, baby!" Angel cheered to her as he draped himself back over the couch and drank out of his bottle. Ellie hummed, walking around to stand beside Alastor as she watched Charlie talking quietly into the phone. Angel stared at the two overlords, a sudden thought popping into his head, "Hey, I have a question. If freaky face and foxy over there are so powerful, then why can't they just make people stay here?" Alastor glanced at the spider as Ellie continued to ignore the group as she focused on watching Charlie, her ears twitching as she strained to try and listen in.
"Oh, trust me," Alastor promised, a dark grin coming over his face as he half transformed into his demon form, "I can."
"Why do you think I'm here?" Husk called over from his position behind the bar, bottle in hand as he tried to clean the place up, Alastor reverting back to normal and watching with a bemused smile, "You actually think I'd be cleaning bottles and listening to you fucks bitch and moan all the time if he wasn't forcing me?"
"I like being forced." Nifty piped up, jumping up from behind the bar and poking a hand in the air. Husk shot her a look and shook his head.
"Keep that to yourself, Niff."
"What? You don't love being here with me, Whiskers?" Angel piped up, putting on a baby voice as he spoke to Husk, knowing it would rile the cat up.
"Call me Whiskers again and I'll jam that bottle down your throat." Husk threatened, holding his own bottle up in the direction of the spider who smirked enjoying the violent reaction.
"Kinky. Come on, keep talking dirty." Vaggie let out a sigh of annoyance as she got to her feet, fed up with the constant teasing from Angel. She moved, purposefully nudging Ellie who huffed, blinking a few times as she refocused on the group beside her rather than Charlie.
"Angel. Let Husk do his job. And, no, we can't force sinners to stay here. They need to choose to." Vaggie argued. Angel rolled his eyes.
"I'm choosing to be here, and I think it's all stupid. We're in hell, toots. That's kind of the end of the road, ain't it?"
"That's what I said." Ellie sang under her breath, her eyes glancing over the group as she tried to quickly catch up on the conversation.
"Well," Vaggie cut in, tossing a glare to Ellie who smirked and shrugged back, "Maybe it doesn't have to be. Just because nobody has made it out before doesn't mean it's not possible." Angel let out a light huff before leaning forward and placing a hand on Vaggie's shoulder.
"Hey, whatever means I can keep crashing here rent-free. Crack is expensive."
Ellie rolled her eyes at the pair, moving over to the bar and leaning over and plucking up a bottle. The fox demon hummed as she turned to lean against the bar, taking a drink as she cast her gaze over to Charlie who was become slowly more animated and excited on the phone. She took another drink as the girl poked her head around the corner, shouting for Vaggie who sighed and followed her girlfriend away. Ellie pursed her lips with frustration before shaking her head and focusing on the men around her, setting the bottle back on the bar counter. She glanced over at Alastor who was also watching the pair with interest.
"Goddam it Fox, your getting blood all over the booze." Husk barked out, seeing the bottle Ellie had just set down covered in bloody fingerprints. Ellie glanced back at the cat before sighing, clicking her fingers causing a purple mist, in an instant she was clean, and the bottle had been replaced.
"Happy?" She questioned with a tight smile and raised eyebrow, her ears and tail twitching briefly. She could see Husk preparing to respond with some witty comeback when her attention was stolen by the sound of Charlie beginning to sing.
I can do this! Somehow, I know it!
I'll get Heaven behind my plans!
"Charlie, hold on..." Vaggie cautioned as the princess continued to twirl around the lobby.
There's just no way I could blow it.
Not this once-in-a-lifetime chance!
"It's just a meeting." Vaggie continued, moving after Charlie who slowly twirled her way closer to the exit, everyone else unable to hide their amusement with the girl.
To change their minds
And touch their hearts
Or... whatever angels have!
"This could be bad..." Charlie turned to look back at her girlfriend, Ellie and Alastor sharing a look of suspicion as they both tried to work out what was going on. Charlie came over and grabbed Vaggies hand twirling her around the middle of the lobby as she continued to sing.
Cheer up, Vaggie!
This could be swell!
Something tells me that today will be a happy day in Hell!
Charlie released Vaggie who continued to spin with the momentum before she dived out the front door. Alastor and Ellie headed to the door, Angel dust and Nifty following all smirking at the girl as she continued to twirl down the street towards the burning pentagram city.
"Okay, but just don't... sing to them." Vaggie called after getting her bearings, only to pause when she saw her girlfriend was now missing.
Angel Dust turned back to look at Vaggie still drinking from a bottle but his face filled with amusement at the events that had just transpired.
"That bitch is halfway down the street!" He called, taking another drink. Vaggie placed a hand over her face.
"Is she—?"
"Oh, she's dancin'!" Angel nodded with a smirk, pointing out the door in the direction the singing princess had gone.
"Ugh, no..." Vaggie groaned. Ellie chuckled before shaking her head.
"As fun as this has been, I'll be back later." The group looked at the fox who's tail twitched as she began walking away from the hotel.
"Where you goin?" Angel shouted out after the fox demon who twisted to walk backwards a dangerous smirk over her face.
"To see a wife about a dead husband."
Ellie near grunted as she arrived back in her own den, a small hideout she'd created what felt like eons ago, hidden deep within of the border zones, close to Camille's district. It was purposefully hidden away, somewhere she didn't have to worry about business associates finding her, or worse, angels.
"Fuck." Ellie grunted hunching over further as she twisted her claws into the walls, clenching her fists, leaving behind marks, the same marks that littered the walls.
The past seven years had been miserable, brutal even. She'd lost souls to the angels. Her magic had begun draining, causing her pain whenever she used it. She'd kept it hidden as much as she could, knowing if it was revealed she was losing ground, someone would swoop in and either put her out her misery or steal her territory. She wouldn't allow herself to look weak. Not now. She'd already decided.
She only had to last until the next extermination.
Ellie lifted her top, glancing down at her midriff before closing her eyes letting out a huff. Wounds from the blade of an angel littered her sides. Her early deals when she'd first appeared in the pentagram led to most of them. It had been foolish to make a living out of hiding people, promising to protect people, but she'd had to do it, it had been the only way to keep the small respect she'd had when she'd first arrived.
"Love the décor."
Ellie spun around at the crackly voice of Alastor, her tail bursting into flames and claws instantly coming out as she glared heatedly at the demon.
"Get the fuck out." She hissed, doing her best not to engage in a fight but desperate to get rid of the demon from her space.
"You're getting slower." Alastor sang as he stalked around her, backing the fox to the corner of her own space.
"Alastor, I play nice for those in the hotel but don't think for one second I would hesitate in killing you." Her tail flickered slightly, ears twitching as she tried to maintain her fierce aura. Alastor tutted, twirling his cane around as he continued to look around.
"Now now, you can stop with the theatrics dear." Alastor hummed, eyeing Ellie whose eyes narrowed further, "Just wanted to check in."
"Alastor." Ellie growled in warning before huffing when she saw the radio demon just continue to smile with amusement, she extinguished her flames and allowed herself to morph back to her usual self, "I've already said no."
"Hmmm." Alastor agreed, moving his attention back to the room as he took in all the items Ellie had acquired during her time in hell. Ellie tilted her head, taking in the demon, her mind moving a mile a minute as she tried to work out why exactly he was here, why he was so interested, so different to before. It took a while before it clicked.
"You're on a leash." She breathed, laughing as Alastor tensed, his antlers growing as he began to enter his demon form, nonplussed Ellie continued on, "The great radio demon has his hands tied. Oh, how the mighty have fallen."
"I'd suggest keeping that detail to yourself." Alastor growled; his eyes glowing as he twisted and glared down at her. Ellie smirked.
"Touchy, touchy, Alastor." She purred before chuckling, her tail flickering with a hint of flames, "No wonder you're desperate for a deal, you want some big guns to help you out." There was a long pause after her goading, Alastor seeming to debate his options. Seeing his more docile reaction to her goading, Ellie backed down, knowing the radio demon wouldn't likely take much more before he'd decide to attack, no matter how friendly they were or how much he needed her. She leaned against the wall, sliding down to sit on the floor, her ears drooping, "Don't worry I won't say a thing. Believe it or not, I understand."
There was a long pause, Ellie doing her best not to let out the chaotic laughter she could feel building, the irony of the situation not lost on her. Here they were, two of the most prominent demons who'd been feared and revered throughout hell… both now tied down. All the two of them had going for them at the moment was their reputation, manipulation and what little wiggle room they could create in their situations. They were the centre of a shit sandwich.
Ellie could feel the cold glare of Alastor as he continued to remain in his demon form, clearly still debating killing her. Her mind was running a mile a minute as she tried to out manoeuvre the demon in front of her. She was the eldest, had been in hell a long time, so the advantage was naturally with her, she'd walked among many a fearsome demon and outlived them all, Alastor while a threat would be unlikely to outthink her. The fox picked up her tail, brushing a hand over it as she hummed in thought, a smirk coming to her face before glancing up at the radio demon. Silently, Ellie braced herself before opening her mouth.
"Let's make a deal."
"A what now?" Alastor called, quickly shrinking back to his usual size, his attention clearly taken with the offer but a slight hesitation in his smile indicating he was cautious in the change of attitude. Ellie shook her head in amusement.
"Come now Alastor, I know what you want and I'm willing to give it. I'll help you as long as I can, my magic at your disposal." Alastor hummed, tossing his cane from one had to the other as he considered the offer.
"And what do you want in return." Ellie hummed, glancing down at her tail before climbing to her feet, tail flickering behind her as her ears perked up once more, putting back up the confident mask.
"You can't take any souls from the residents of the Hazbin Hotel," Alastor lifted an eyebrow, Ellie rolling her eyes and waving her hand, "Aside of course the ones you already own, I wouldn't ask you to give them back."
"Rather cheap price." Alastor commented, his tone indicating a hint of suspicion. Ellie chuckled.
"Alastor, I don't think you realise how low I am on magic." Ellie admitted, knowing it was in her best interest to downplay the deal, "I do require time to build up energy. Of course, I'd prefer for my sake that isn't broadcast to the whole of Hell." She could almost see him debating, "I do give the best deals to my business partners."
"Business partners? And here I thought we were friends." Alastor teased, before holding out his hand. The fox demon wasted no time before sliding her own hand into his, the two of them glowing a mixture of green and purple as their magic sealed the deal. Once the glow had died down, Ellie frowned, feeling a light burning on her side. Alastor was quick to look away as she lifted her top, uncaring about the eyes in the room, her attention quickly taken by the wound that had been previously a severe power drain now healed up to the stage it had been when it had first been inflicted.
"Call it a gesture of goodwill." Alastor shrugged, glancing back over as Ellie pulled her shirt down. The fox stared at him, confused.
"Why?"
"Why? Can't have my latest investment dropping dead can I, my dear?" Ellie shook her head, letting out a laugh.
"No, I suppose not." She offered, before giving him the most genuine smile she'd given in years, "Thank you." Alastor seemed to pause for a moment, unused to genuine thanks for a deal. He was about to respond when Ellie's ears pricked up suddenly a frown coming to her face, "I'm being summoned."
"By who?" Ellie frowned for a moment, before smirking only to frown and look at Alastor, her tail flickering back and forth as she realised her constraints.
"You'll have to give me permission, I think it's Vaggie but I can't control my magic." Alastor smirked.
"By all means, my dear." Ellie rolled her eyes but smiled non the less, lifting her hands and clicking her fingers, teleporting the two of them back to the hotel.
Ellie smirked, leaning against the back of the chair that Alastor was currently sat in, feeling so much more like her old troublesome self. She'd had some strange looks from Vaggie at her quick appearance back at the Hotel after being called upon and the fact Alastor had arrived with her, but she'd quickly distracted the girl, asking if she'd come up with a new advert idea yet, the annoyed glare that had been dished out in return had been the only confirmation required to let Ellie know the woman was clueless. Still, Vaggie was determined and had rounded them all up, getting the group set up in the lounge.
"Okay, so, Charlie is dealing with something very important, so while she's gone, we are making a new commercial. One that represents her vision and what we're doing here. So, we need a camera." Vaggie explained to the group in something more akin to a war briefing before turning to the two overlords, glancing between them in almost debate before settling on the one more suited to advertisement, "Alastor?"
Alastor closed his eyes and snapped his fingers, a flash of green in Vaggie's hand transforming into a camera. Ellie let out a light chuckle, seeing the camera Alastor had created was a folding-type old camera from the 1930s that was pretty much useless for what they required. Vaggie stared at the demon unamused.
"A video camera?" Vaggie prompted, Ellie glancing down at the radio demon who glanced backup at her, letting out a hum of disapproval before clicking his fingers again, the camera turning into a video camera that had clearly seen better days. Ellie rolled her eyes at the radio demon, clicking her own fingers creating a purple mist around the sinner's hand and repairing it as best she could. Vaggie didn't seem put off and turned to the rest of the group, a determined smile over her face.
"Alright! Let's do this!"
The group followed after the woman, Angel and Husk looking as if they'd rather be anywhere else while Niffty just looked happy to be included. Ellie smiled and shook her head at them, moving to take a seat on the couch as she glanced over at Alastor.
"This is going to be a disaster." She offered, her own smile turning more devious as Alastor seemed to smirk at the thought.
"I do believe you're right my dear, it will be delightfully entertaining." Ellie turned her gaze to the bar as Husk and Angel got set up by Vaggie who pulled out a script she'd obviously been working on while the two senior demons had been away. It was a few moments of discussion later that Vaggie stepped back, holding up the camera.
"And…Action!"
Ellie and Alastor smirked as they watched Husk carefully reads the lines from the script, holding it dangerously close to his face as he read.
"Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel. Can I help with anything?" Husk asked robotically before lifting his head to look at Angel who glazed lustfully across the bar.
"I've been a bad boy, and I need a big, strong daddy to put me in my place…on the path to redemption!" Ellie held in her laugh as the spider climbed onto the bar, actively flirting with the barkeep who groans with annoyance before burying his face back into the script.
"Well, you come—" Husk read.
"Oh, yes!" Angel groaned.
"to the right place." Husk continued unamused. Ellie chuckled.
"They're making me look like a professional." She commented to Alastor who was watching on with delight at the failure in front of him. He tilted his head in light agreement as Vaggie jumped in and stopped recording, offering critiques to both of the men who argued back and fore. Ellie and Alastor continued to watch on, the fox snapping her fingers and producing a side table with two hot coffees, both demons reaching out and taking their mug, Alastor's reading 'Oh Deer', Ellies with 'Oh for Fox sake', both sipping loudly as they watched the ongoing chaos with glee.
Vaggie placed a hand on her head as Husk and Angel continued to argue, glancing briefly back at the two elder demons, a glare coming over her face as she watched them smirking back. She opened her mouth to offer comment when Niffty ran past, the short sinner attempting to stab bugs with a large needle. The white-haired sinner chased after the smaller one, gently grabbing the huge needle off her and trying to grab the girl's attention.
"Alright Niffty, Niffty. Niffty! Your line is "We have the cleanest rooms", okay?" Vaggie smiled, placing her hands on Nifftys shoulders, ensuring she kept the cyclops attention.
"Got it. I'm ready." Nifty nodded, putting on a sweet smile as she got to her feet. Vaggie pulled out the camera.
"Action!"
Ellie's head tilted, one of her ears perking up in confusion as she watched her small friend freeze, no words coming out as she stared unblinkingly into the camera. The fox demon glanced at Alastor who smirked into his mug, telling her he knew this would happen. The group watch on as Niffty continued to stare, the silence beginning to unsettle the group before Vaggie yelled cut and pulled the camera down. As soon as the camera was down, Niffty blinked and began giving happily.
"How was that?" She asked, unaware of her seeming stage fright. Vaggie glanced at the rest of the group who shrugged.
"Well, Niffty you actually have to say the line, so let's roll again." Vaggie offered, the cyclops nodding her head eagerly in agreement, "Action!"
Ellie let out a snigger as Niffty froze again, staring blankly into the lens of the camera once more. Hearing the laugh, Vaggie let out a huff of irritation but continued filming in hopes Niffty would snap out of it. Angel glanced at the older demon once before moving close to Vaggie.
"You're doing great, Vagina." He mocked whispered making Ellie cackle and Alastor's smirk turn into a more amused smile.
"Cut!" Vaggie yelled, before running a hand through her bangs as she tried to re-centre herself, "Alright, uhh maybe we can try to fix it in post."
"Do you even know what that means?" Angel called. Vaggie twisted back to the spider, glare back over her face.
"I'll figure it out!"
Ellie eyed Vaggie with amusement, the fox demon lying across the couch dramatically as she and the sinner watched the segments of terrible recordings Vaggie had spun together, the younger sinner groaning with her head in her hands, feeling frustrated by the commercial but at least grateful for the company.
The fox demon had been a presence in Vaggie's life since she'd arrived in hell, or well she thinks she had, it was hard to confirm. After her… abrupt… arrival in hell, she'd met Charlie, who'd been so full of hope and ideas, it hadn't taken long before the girl had managed to convince her to stay in the happy hotel. At the time, Vaggie hadn't thought much of it, the place had been empty and still seemed to be in the middle of construction, but Vaggie swore she'd seen the shadow of a fox tail swishing around the corridors long before Ellie made her presence known. The fox demon had been the first official business partner, Ellie approaching her and Charlie late one night, clearly eager to help start up the hotel for some unknown reason. It had been concerning when the demon hadn't explained her actions. Charlie and her both knew the fox demon couldn't be trusted, she was an overlord, known for causing chaos, and continued to appear almost out of thin air whenever her name was mentioned – which while helpful unsettled Vaggie. The young sinner knew better than to trust a demon, especially one as powerful and dangerous as Ellie.
The fox demon, unaware of her companion's thoughts, chuckled at the scene of Niffty as it played on the screen on the television that had seen better days. It hadn't been too long after Nifftys fifth take that the rest of the group had begun to dwindle off. She'd stuck around to the end, offering opinions to help, which she could admit hadn't gone down the best with the younger sinners.
"Seems like you're having a bit of a trouble there, hmm?" Alastor commented as he appeared from the shadows, making Vaggie jump slightly while Ellie remained unsurprised having sensed his shadow hovering around.
"Ugh, este pendejo… Why are you even here?" Vaggie glared at the red demon, the constant condescending comments Alastor had made through her hours filming not helping her mood with the overlord.
Ellie moved her legs, twisting so she was upside down, her ears flopping to the floor as Alastor took a seat on a couch next to her, smiling easily at the stressed-out sinner.
"For the entertainment." Alastor shrugged, his shadow morphing so it was stood behind Ellie's legs appearing as if it was laughing, "I came here because I love seeing wasteful souls struggle to accomplish something meaningful and fail spectacularly, like you are doing now. Good job!" Alastor cheered. Ellie glanced at Alastor and smirked before releasing her own shadow, her fox double tagging his deer inspired one before scampering off across the room. Alastor's shadow seemed to smirk with amusement before taking off after it. The two overlords shared a look of amusement, Alastor getting to his feet as the two tried to see who could get the other to break focus first.
Vaggie, unaware of the silent game, almost growled as she pushed herself to her feet. Plucking the camera up from the side she directed it towards the two overlords. Ellie hummed, moving to stand up, her ears pinning back as she felt the built up of Alastor powers, hearing him messing with the frequencies.
"And here is Alastor, the egocentric piece of shit that… Ugh!" Vaggie began to rant when the camera seemed to shock the girl, making her drop it. Ellie glanced down at the camera as it hit the ground, letting out a puff and an unamused glance to Alastor as a green and purple twist of magic spat out the camera, the item now truly dead.
"I wouldn't try that, my dear." He began, pointing to his face, "This face was made for radio." As Alastor explains, he began to enter his demonic form, his pupils turn into the shape of radio dials, as he played around with the frequencies once more. Ellie rolled her eyes at the display before smirking as her shadow jumped on his, patting it on the head before returning to her once more, the clear winner of the distraction contest. Alastor cast her a glance, a hint of amusement in his gaze to which she replied by giving him a light flick of her tail.
"That's it!" Vaggie called, marching over to Ellie and Alastor, seeing the two overlords' amusement and taking it as them laughing at her, "I don't care who or what you are. If you're staying here, you're going to make this work, because it won't be so "entertaining" to watch over an empty hotel, will it, shitass?" Vaggie finished, returning to her chair. Ellie let out a light chuckle at the statement and lightly nodded her agreement as Alastor seemed to take a moment, his smile slightly tense before he shrugged.
"Fair enough. I'll tell you what. Let's make a deal." Alastor offered, glancing over at Ellie as if searching for a reaction. The fox demon rolled her eyes, waving her hand in induction she wasn't worried. They had a deal.
"Pfft, you think I'm that stupid making a deal with a demon like you?" Vaggie questioned, bringing the radio demons full attention back to her.
"Not for your soul, just a simple deal. I do this for you, and you never ask me to engage with this frivolous television technology ever again." Alastor offered, holding out his hand. Ellie eyed the radio demon, before deciding to throw him a bone since he'd done her an extra favour.
"Or…Charlie can come back to absolutely nothing. Your choice." Ellie sang turning her back on the sinner, her tail flickering mischievously as she smirked back over her shoulder at Alastor whose smile widened. It didn't take long before Vaggie responded.
"Fine."
The young sinner bent down and picked up the camera before coming over and placing it in Alastors hand. There was an eerie green glow that filled the room, only for it to quickly disappear with clap of his hand, the lounge quickly lighting up and becoming almost like a film set.
"Now then!" Alastor called as he snapped his fingers, a film crew with cameras and microphones appearing from thin air while also transfiguring everyone bar Ellie and himself into 50s style clothing. Not to be outdone, and feeling the need to add considering their deal, Ellie also snapped her fingers, a few Ink demons conjuring up in bursts of purple mist to act as additional background characters. Vaggie glanced around, suddenly feeling a lot more hopeful.
"Alright everyone, let's make a fucking commercial."
Ellie hummed as she leaned against the wall, her tail twitching happily as she watched on. Vaggie easily took charge, getting everything in place as she began putting together the commercial her and Charlie had clearly visualised. Her head tilted to the side as Alastor moved to lean beside her, both overlords watching on with interest as the ink demons Ellie and Alastor had conjured got to work, doing exactly as instructed. Ellie looked up at her business partner, a hint of suspicion in her gaze.
"That was a rather cheap deal, Al." She hummed, looking back over at the scene, "Makes me think you've got something up your sleeve."
"Does it?" Alastor hummed, not looking at the fox but his smile transforming into a more mischievous smirk as he watched on. Ellie chuckled.
"Oh, I did miss your presence in hell." She huffed, shaking her head, "Certainly keeps things interesting." Alastor looked down at the fox whose tail was twitching with amusement.
"Glad to be of service." Ellie hummed before a devious smirk came across her face, she looked up, meeting his gaze head on.
"You know, we'll need to get this advert on the television, I hardly think Vox will listen to us, so, how about we… ask the station directly… I made a bit of an impression last week but accompanied with your delectable presence I think we may have enough sway to get it played." A dark grin came over the radio demons face, perfectly matching the deviousness over Ellies.
"Oh, my dear, it would be my pleasure."
It had been a long and strenuous afternoon for Charlie, who was feeling more and more depressed about the events that occurred as she trudged back to the Hazbin hotel. The meeting with the angels had not gone as planned and she was unsure how she was going to break the news of heavens decision to her friends, never mind the rest of hell. The weight of heavens decision sat on her shoulders, dragging her down, her only hope she could somehow manage to redeem a sinner before the next extermination, maybe convince them that people could change after death.
The princess of hell reached up and pushed open the door, doing her best to try and cover the worst of her disappointment. She'd only just managed to slip inside and close the door when Vaggie ran over, pulling her into a hug.
"Charlie! How did it go, did they listen?" Vaggie questioned, smiling over at her girlfriend who smiled uneasily.
"Oh, they sure did hear it But…"
"Oh come here, we have something exciting to show you." Vaggie cut in excitedly, eagerly grabbing the princess's hand and leading her to the lounge where everyone was currently gathered.
Ellie, who had been sitting crossed legged on the floor close to Alastor with her tail over her thighs, lifted her gaze when she heard the incoming footsteps. She immediately zeroed in on Charlie, able to tell just from a glance that the girl was upset. Her ears that had been sitting neutrally, perked up slightly, her hands tightening into fists as she fought the urge to get answers and get even. Ellie forced herself to return to petting her tail.
"Alastor and Ellie pulled some strings and it's about to air." Vaggie continued, gesturing for Charlie to take a seat.
"I pulled a few limbs too, hahaha!" Alastor offered, making Ellie cackle lightly with amusement at the reminder of their afternoon. Charlie glanced around the group.
"Wait, the commercial? You all made a new one?" She asked, clearly touched.
"Yeah, one of my better performances if I do say so myself." Angel offered, smiling at the girl who beamed back, tears in her eyes as she looked over the group.
"That's... that's amazing."
"Sshh, it's starting!" Angel called to the girl, everyone's head twisting to the screen, smiling when they saw the screen flicker with the start of their advertisement.
"Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel,"
Ellie let out a growl of annoyance as the TV cuts to the News report, Angel, Vaggie and Charlie joining her by letting out shouts of complaint. Alastor smirked and patted the fox demon on the head, making Ellie lift her hand to bat the radio demon away, her annoyance overtaken quickly by amusement as she huffed lightly in his direction.
"Breaking news in Hell today! We have just received word from the Heaven Embassy that the next Extermination is happening sooner than ever before." Ellie's head snapped to the screen, her eyes wide, as Katie Killjoy continued, "Do you know what that means, Tom?"
"No, what does that mean, Katie?" Tom Trench responded.
"It means we're all royally fucked!" The demon called, her eye twitching before the screen flickered to the clock tower that quickly reduced from 358 days to 176, the background filled with screams of sinners from all over hell. Ellies ears began twitching, making her wince, she quickly lifted her hands and pulled them down as far as she could, trying to ignore the pain.
"Wait, what? Why?!" Angel called, perfectly vocalising the thought of every sinner in the room who all continued to stare with dread at the new countdown.