"What the hell is this place?" Damien muttered as he looked up at the hotel before him.
The hazbin hotel as it were was definitely Avant Garde in the architecture department. Parts of the building seemed to be made up of repurposed vehicles or entirely different buildings and on the right side there was a radio tower complete with a broadcasting booth jutting up into the sky.
The woman from earlier got out of the limo and brushed past clearly not in the mood to chit chat.
"You go on ahead I have to get the groceries to the kitchen and start putting together stuff for the grand opening" She held the Door open and pointed inside., "your things are waiting for you at the concierge. husk should be there to give you your room key."
"Do you want help with that? I feel kind of bad about keeping you waiting earlier." Damien rubbed the back of his head embarrassed, "four hours is a really long time."
The demon looked surprised, and her stern gaze softened, "I would definitely accept the extra set of hands, Especially after you wasted half my working day, but you look half dead and I don't want Charlie to jump to conclusions."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I'll just catch you next time I need a little help. Four hours for four hours. Sound good?"
"That's fine with me."
Damien nodded and entered the hotel. There were portraits lining the entry way featuring human looking demons and a couple had the moth demon who he was just talking to with one of the more reoccurring demons. The girl with blond hair and rosy cheeks, Are they friends?
The wallpaper was red like almost everything down here it seems. Whoever the interior designer was, must have had a thing for apples. Wasn't a spot in this hotel where you wouldn't be able to see one. Apples on the wallpaper, apples on the pillars, hell there were even apples in the stained glass on the front door.
He was able to find what he assumed to be the concierge. It must be dual purpose considering the attached bar and countless bottles of liquor on display. Behind the counter was a winged cat wearing a top hat playing a game of solitaire and drinking from a whiskey bottle that was definitely not as fancy as the rest of them. Pinned to his suspenders was a nametag that read Husk.
"Excuse me my name is Damien I was told to check in."
Without even looking up from his game the cat thing reached under the counter and slapped a room key on the bar, "You're Damien huh, room thirteen. The bastard insisted on giving you that one. God knows why."
Damien thought about asking what he meant by 'bastard' but decided against it and decided instead to go straight to his room. He picked up his belongings and went to the third floor. Upon reaching door thirteen he used the key and Quietly slipped inside. It was your standard hotel room, nothing special, But he felt like he could finally take a breather. He took off the pendant and decided that a shower was the most important thing on his to do list before bed. After which he had no trouble drifting off into a dreamless sleep.
Hearing someone knock on his door he rolled over and groaned. Through his blurry vision he could see the faint glow of the alarm clock on the nightstand.
6:00 am. He had gotten more than eight hours of sleep, but it still didn't feel like enough. Getting up the knock came once again echoing through the dark room. He put on the pendant to don his disguise and made sure he was at least wearing pants.
At the door he quietly looked through the eyeglass. on the other side was a human? She wore a very clean red tuxedo and was looking over a notecard excitedly and mouthing words as if rehearsing. Definitely too energetic for his liking this Early in the morning.
Just as she went to knock again he opened the door startling her. the notecard falling to the floor.
"What?" Damien asked, hoping to get this over with as soon as possible.
"Hello, you must be Damien, I'm Charlie the owner of the happy hotel."
She made a grand gesture to the building around them and beamed with pride.
Her smile wavered and she let out a bit of a nervous laugh when her gaze met his. Damien just stared back waiting for her to get to the point. She seemed to be struggling to remember what she was going to say or maybe she was regretting coming up here in the first place seeing as she obviously woke him up trying to introduce herself.
"Are you Damien? I was told there was a hellhound staying here in room 13."
"Uh yeah that's me. Is something wrong?"
"Oh, it's just I've never seen a hellhound with- you know what never mind."
Damien kicked himself realizing that yet another had seen him without glasses. shouldn't have opened the door. He didn't like having to lie, it's something he was never ever any good at. But that's exactly what he needs to learn if he's going to maintain his cover.
"Yeah, no I get that kind of reaction a lot. Don't worry it's just a rare birth defect."
"Ah ok! Are you enjoying your stay so far?"
"I've only been here for one day."
"I know but I thought I'd ask."
"Ok then, was there a reason for your visit or are you just here to say hi?"
she suddenly perked up, "oh right!"
She gave him a brochure. Looking through its Damien could see that it was handmade and instead of photographed pictures it had colored in doodles of the hotel's activities. most of which make this hotel sound more like a psychiatric hospital.
"I don't know if Mephistopheles told you or not, but our aim is to solve the overpopulation crisis in hell by redeeming sinners. that way there won't be any more exterminations. because I believe that inside of every demon is a rainbow."
Damien cringed at the last line, "sounds good but I'm not a sinner so I don't see how that applies to me."
"Well even if you're hell born, I want to be transparent about the rules of my hotel. It's only fair that I hold you to the same standards as other guests. However, what you do outside hotel property is your own business."
'Now this should be interesting. rules in hell' Damien flipped to the last page of the brochure and did a double take at the sheer amount of small print crammed onto this one sheet of paper. Everything you'd expect not to be allowed in a hotel was there but made up only about a quarter of the page. everything else ranged from small things like no unauthorized spell usage to something as extreme as no Crucifixions on hotel grounds.
She nodded and picked up the note card from off the ground., "Well that's all I had for you. If your feeling hungry Breakfast is served at eight, today Al is making pancakes! Nice meeting you Damien!"
Damien looked down at the new clothes he had found in the closet. then into the mirror. your average black suit with a red tie. And like your average suit it was uncomfortable, even more so with all this fur.
"I look like a god-damned accountant."
He had unpacked his own clothes prior to finding the suits in the closet but he wasn't sure about I.M.P.'s dress code. They were all blue jeans and T-shirts so they wouldn't fall under business casual. Looking back at the clock he figured it was probably time to head out and go on his way.
The hallways were completely empty and quiet as he headed towards the elevator, but he couldn't help but feel like someone was watching him. The feeling subsided when he boarded the elevator and the doors closed behind him. When the doors opened again the lobby appeared before his eyes and the first thing he noticed was the imp talking to the concierge. It was Moxxie.
"Moxxie?" Damien approached the counter and gave him a quizzical look.
"It would seem that there's no need to call his room thanks though husk." moxie turned and looked Damien up and down. "Nice to see you in better shape today."
"Yeah, well some sleep and a set of clothes that aren't torn to shreds would have that effect."
"I see." the imp sighed unamused, "let's get going, Blitz is picking us all up at Millie and i's apartment."
The apartment wasn't too far away and after about seven minutes they had crossed the border into imp city another two and they had reached the small apartment building. Boarded up windows and wedged between two monolithic skyscrapers it definitely could use a remodel. Damien went to lean against one of the lamp posts by the road.
"We will meet here every morning. Blitz is the only one with a vehicle, so we ride share."
Damien nodded the two waiting in silence until Millie came out with a jubilant smile.
"Hey Damien, you ready to kick some ass today?"
Damien choose not to respond and went back to scanning the surrounding area careful not to make eye contact. He was keen to observe how the inhabitants interacted with one another. The red glow from the pentagram seems to work well enough lighting the entire ring. If it weren't for the non-human aspect and the strange day and night cycle it would be just like any other city.
Moxie gave him a look of annoyance and checked his watch, "Blitz is running behind as per usual."
Damien's ear twitched as he picked up the sound of tires screeching then a red and black van nearly toppled cornering into the street before smashing into the next lamp post merely feet away from him.
Behind the wheel was Blitz slamming the rest of an ice coffee.
"Sorry guys the coffee shop was swamped. I got you guys some, but the drink carrier went flying a couple turns ago."
Moxxie opened the side door to reveal Loona, fists clenched in anger and soaked from the coffee cups at her feet. she pushed the sunglasses that were falling from her face in place and started typing away furiously on her phone.
Damien's eyes narrowed as he recognized the glasses. and got in next to her while the other imps found the leftover seats and they started moving.
"Aren't those My glasses?" Damien reached out to grab them before his hand was forcibly slapped away.
"Not happening I need these for the massive hangover I've got."
"Why the fuck are you drinking that much if you have work in the morning. Either way that's not my problem." He made a second attempt to get them back which ended in the same result.
"Then what was your deal yesterday. you seemed hungover yourself. pretty hypocritical if you ask me" Loona sneered.
"I hadn't slept for two days prior." He figured it was worth a shot and decided to tell a bit of the truth. "I also need those so I won't get any unwanted attention, we hellhounds aren't exactly known for green eyes!"
the imps stared at Loona expectantly. waiting for a response. She just glared daggers at Damien refusing to back down.
Millie bumped gently elbowed Moxxie, "you got an extra pair right Mox. Is it alright if Damien borrows them? I don't think Loona's going to be reasonable."
Moxxie shrugged and pulled the bodyguard glasses from his lapel, "here, just be careful with them the lenses are polarized."
Damien took the glasses and put them on, "I'm not trying to be an ass, but I was told explicitly not to let anyone see my eyes."
"For fucks sake idiot it's not like you can go on forever with them glued on to your face. that's just stupid!"
she brought up her hand and pointed at his chest. Looking down she then flicked him in the nose.
"You're stupid! Why the fuck would anyone give a shit if your eyes don't match every other hell hound in existence that won't stop them from finding other reasons to make fun of you. Can't let anyone see your eyes! Bull fuckin shit!"
Damien couldn't find it in him to even get upset about that. 'I cannot believe I fell for that childish trick.'
There was a sigh from Moxxie and if reaction of blitz was anything to go by it wasn't good.
"Oh, goodie were about to hear a full blown Moxxielogue. thank you, Satan, for this wonderful cursing."
"I understand Damien. You'll come to realize Loona's just an overgrown brat without a shred of empathy. It's not your fault. Hopefully with a hangover she'll just keep to her desk, not that any work will get done as a result. Then she will wake up hungry, so just keep an eye on any food you pack before she scarfs it down. Especially avocado salad! I try to maintain a healthy diet but no matter what she still calls me names an-"
Moxxie droned on his words fading into white noise. Damien closed his eyes trying to shut out the barrage of words until Loona's growling brought his attention back to the conversation. Moxxie must have said something to really piss her off.
"Hey, you better watch it that's my daughter you're talking about. a baby Weiner haver like you wouldn't know a thing about raising a child on your own. "Blitz pulled the van into imps parking space.
"Adoptive daughter." Loona groaned.
"Honestly blitz Moxxie has a point I think obedience school could really help your hellhound. Maybe we can send both of em' so they can learn to be on friendly terms." Millie said putting a hand on Moxxie's shoulder.
Both Damien and Loona turned at the statement. "Fuck that!"
"One I ain't your fuckin dog and two I'm not the one going out of my way to be difficult. I've been real cool about everything all things considered." Damien pinched the bridge of his nose trying to keep his composure before he said something that would really start some shit.
"Alright that's enough! were here get your asses out and into that office. Loony you take as much time as you need" blitz closed the door. "And Damien first things first we need your picture taken for your id. Luckily you're already wearing a suit, so you don't have to wear what Loona picked out last night."
"Oh yeah? what did she have in mind?" Damien was honestly curious.
He caught a bundle of fabric thrown from the van and he unfolded it to discover a rather itchy looking wool sweater. It was ugly to boot. He rolled his eyes and followed the others inside.
Once in the conference room Blitz had Damien pose in front of the whiteboard so he could get a picture with his phone. After that he went into what was on the agenda for today, writing it out in .
"Alright M you know what to do. After your classes with Damien we will be selecting our hits for the day. And you! " he pointed at Damien with the marker, "Will be shadowing M&M on one job per day unless stated otherwise; after which you'll be Manning the phones with Loona or just doing shit that needs to be done around the office. And I better not find you sleeping on the job, or drinking on the job, or-"
"Anything your daughter does on the job?" Damien interjected.
"Uh huh, those words exactly!" Blitz said unfazed, "Since you're not my hellhound I don't have to worry about disciplining you, I'll just call Mephistopheles and he'll sort it out."
"Pfft more like you don't have to worry about him throwing a temper tantrum at the slightest inconvenience." Millie scoffed, "If only you'd discipline your own hound so we wouldn't need two people doing a job that only takes one."
"One more fucking word about Loonie and I'll start throwing hands!" blitz pointed at the door, "hop to it bitches!"
With supplies packed Moxxie, Millie, and Damien stood in the lobby deciding what location to portal to when Loona barged in and bee lined for the break room and slammed the door causing Moxxie to cry out in anguish.
"Nooooooo! My avocado salad! Bless you Loona I was looking forward to eating that!" tears streamed down his face, "looks like were eating at McMammons for lunch."
Damien was starting to get really annoyed at this point, "what the fuck is that bitch's problem?"
"She got pretty heated yesterday and got into a big fight with blitz. She thinks she's being replaced because there's another hellhound in I.M.P. It might take a while for her to come around. Blitz is trying but she likely has trust issues from being locked up most her life."
"She didn't grow up with blitz?" Damien asked, looking back at the breakroom door.
Millie nodded, "Please be patient Damien. I know it won't be easy, but imp is a family and even if we don't get along a most of the time we try to be there for each other when it matters. You might only be here for a year, but I personally hope that we can trust each other in the same way at the end of it. Right mox?"
Damien looked at the female Imp not entirely convinced.
Moxxie wiped his eyes before thinking out loud, "I suppose it's somewhat feasib- Ow!"
Moxxie rubbed his shoulder where Millie had punched him. "What? I'm just saying this is just a career to me. Same goes for Damien I assume, he'll probably be moving on with his life after the year is up."
Millie gave him a stern look and crossed her arms.
"I'll get the portal" moxxie sheepishly opened the book and started reciting the incantation.
Back at Hazbin hotel
Charlie and Vaggie sat in the dining area of the was just the two of them for now. Charlie yawned and put her chin in hand. The small breakfast she had gotten herself was starting to go cold.
"I was hoping the new guest would have joined us for breakfast."
Vaggie mopped up some of the left-over syrup with the last bite of her pancakes and finished her meal, "Damien from room 13?"
"Uh huh, by the way did you notice anything off about him?" Charlie started eating her breakfast since it was clear Damien wasn't going to be attending.
"He does seem odd for a hellhound. Apologized and offered to help with something. He also seems to be a different breed with green eyes."
"Yeah! the eyes look just like a humans' eyes, don't they?"
"Sure, if you say so Hun." Vaggie laughed, "just because they're green doesn't mean they're human eyes."
"No, I'm serious they had white sclera, green irises, and round pupils. the whole deal."
"Well, I wasn't really paying that close attention. just have to wait until he gets back to settle this debate then huh?"
Vaggie smiled and sipped her coffee. Charlie ate in silence.
'They were a humans' eyes I'm sure of it!'
A/N: End chapter 3