Author's note: Where the previous chapter was a bit of a chort one, this chapter will be quite long since i thought splitting it up wouldn't do it justice, for it deals with some heavy topics, as well as the stakes being rather high
CONTENT WARNING:
This chapter deals with the results of substance abuse and is quite heavy.
Read at your own risk.
Chapter 8:
High as the heavens
Evening had quickly approached as Lucifer, his daughter Charlie, her partner Vaggie, Asmodeus, the king of lust and the social media overlord Velvette currently sat around the fireplace of the common area in the hazbin hotel.
"So…miss Velvette, if I'm correct, you were the one responsible for creating those AWEFUL love potions back in the day?"
Wincing at this, Velvette took a deep breath as she spoke "Yes….i'm afraid so….when I had some sense knocked into me, I eventually destroyed the formula in the hope no one could use it to hurt anyone ever again" she spoke, to which Charlie added "It's true, uncle Ozzie" followed by Vaggie "Yea we were there when she threw it in the fireplace"
Giving a smile, the king of lust looked over the short fashionista "You did the right thing, miss Velvette" to which the short overlord grumbled "It wasn't enough I'm afraid. I don't know how, but those fuckheads somehow deciphered my formula, and since I was still under THEYR branding when I still produced the stuff, THEY own the rights….so even "If" we were to sue them, we have no leg to stand on"
The tall rooster demon would shudder "So not only is the girl being pumped full of love potion, she is then forced to go against her nature and let herself be abused for others' entertainment?"
"I'm afraid so" Charlie winced as Vaggie added "All the while, Vox and Vallentino rake in the profits and fill their pockets….i hate to say it but her films are RIDICULOUSLY popular….even more then Angel's were when Val still owned his soul"
Using his cane, Lucifer would bonk himself against his own forehead a few times as he angrily grumbled to himself "fuck, if I'd only known this from the start. I should have NEVER given those fuckers her soul" as he snapped himself out of his self-loathing and turned to his daughter "I never even considered the idea she'd come to regret her action., If I'd known that, I'd have given her soul to you and send her to the hotel straight away"
"Dad" Charlie snapped back as she put her hands on his shoulders "None of us expected this…it was a complete surprise for us too when Vaggie found her at our doorstep….dwelling on the past isn't going to get us anywhere, we need to figure out a way to free her….she can't heal if he keeps…."
Charlie would wince at the idea of all the things the tall moth demon could possibly subject Lute to.
Vaggie would take the reigns as she stepped forward "The point is, we need to figure out a way to get the Vee's to let her go….willingly"
Velvette threw her hands in the air "For fuck sake, Charlie, you got 2 of some of the most powerful beings in all of hell on your side" as she turned to the king of lust and the ruler of hell "Can't you 2 just force him to give her up?"
Sighing, Asmodeus spoke up "I'm afraid it isn't that simple" to which Lucifer added "As owner of her soul, he can technically do with her whatever he wants. And knowing about him what we do now, he can threaten to kill her if we try anything" as Asmodeus finished "So unless we get him to give her up willingly, we're just plain shit out of luck"
Suddenly, the sound of static filled the air as the sound of somebody clearing their throat could be heard "If I may….ladies and gentlemen…." Alastor spoke up as he approached the group, before giving a narrow eyed glare at the short ruler of hell, followed by a condescending "….and Lucifer…" causing the king to grit his teeth together as he mumbled "uhg…just wonderful….the bellhop is here…"
Vaggie would pinch the bridge of her nose in annoyance as the radio demon approached "Alastor, we're not in the mood for your sadistic, fucked up idea of a joke"
Alastor's smile widened slightly "Who's joking?" before twirling his cane around as he spoke "I'm simply here to add my own 2 cents, as much as I enjoy watching these sinners struggle, my distain for the Vee's outweighs my desire for entertainment"
Raising an eyebrow, Velvette cocked her head slightly as her trademark sass spilled out "Oh yes, and what do YOU suggest, smiling fucker?"
His smile would tighten as his pupils became radio dials temporarily, making the lights flicker as he spoke "I'd say we…lure them into a deal…."
"Oh no no no" Vaggie immediately cut him off "Absolutely NOT happening, shitass" she spoke as she crossed her arms and glared him down as Velvette added "Did you forget that those 2 bloody HATE your stinking guts? Sure Val is dumb as shit, but he's smart enough as to NOT shake hands with the likes of you"
Alastor just shrugged "Fine by me, you could instead struggle while the poor little birdie deals with the consequences of her actions she so rightfully got herself into….but I best be on my way" he smirked as he wandered off, while Vaggie rubber her temples as she groaned in frustration "Uhg…I swear that fucker drives me up the wall, Ese idiota absoluto"
Overseeing the scene, Angel dust was leaning against a nearby wall as he pondered for a moment, before slinking away as he made his way towards the bar.
Plopping down on a barstool, Husk would approach him "I know that look on your face, legs, you're hatching a plan"
"It's more a concept….i wana help Lute get out of her deal…..Horns deserves her second chance…"
Hearing this, Husk leaned his elbows on the bar "Hmm….ya know, 2 heads are better than one in this case" causing the spider to perk up "Wait you serious?"
Husk just smiled "Ya heard me, Legs. I got your back, we'll think of something" bringing a smile to the ex-pornstar's face…..
"Thanks Husky…."
..
..
Another day had gone by, which, in Lute's case, meant another grueling "shoot" for the fallen lieutenant as she stumbled her way back into the lobby of the hazbin hotel, her joints aching and her head pounding as whatever the pimp overlord forced her to consume had begun to wear off.
Stumbling towards a pillar, using it to desperately hold herself up, Lute felt her whole body scream at her as she just wanted it to stop, she'd be willing to do ANYTHING to make it stop, as for a second, she pulled out a small zip-lock bag she was given not long ago by the tall moth demon as she considered taking another one of those brightly colored pills…..anything to make her forget….well….everything….
..
..
Staring at the ceiling, Angel Dust couldn't help but feel….uneasy….
When Lute was once again summoned to the studio by Vallentino, the ex-pornstar couldn't help but approach her as he told her "As soon as you come back, give me a ping, ok?"
It had been several hours after the estimated time of return, but the spider demon's phone remained silent, which caused an uneasy feeling to form in his gut.
Throwing in the towel, Angel got up, threw on some comfy shorts and a quick T-shirt as he made his way towards the lobby.
As he made his way down, he would periodically look down on his phone, in the hope a message from Lute would pop up, telling him that she simply forgot to respond because she was tired, but every time….nothing….
That was until he arrived in the lobby…in the dim light, things were hard to make out, but even with the little light he had, he was able to make out a shape on the ground near one of the pillars.
But once he stepped closer and his eyes adjusted, his heart sank "LUTE!"
Angel Dust rusted to her side as the fallen angel was on the floor, convulsing and foaming at the mouth as her eyes had rolled up into the back of her head.
Gathering his strength, he hoisted her up bridal style as he ran as fast as he could, making his way to Charlie's room as he used his lower set of arms to ram on the door "CHARLIE, VAGGIE, OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR"
The 2 residents of the penthouse suite would open the door, annoyed at first, but the second they laid eyes on the convulsing angel, their eyes went wide.
"Bring her inside" Vaggie spoke out as Angel brought her inside, laying her down on their bed as Charlie began to try and ring up her father.
"What the fuck happened?!" Vaggie barked, to which Angel Dust would yelp out "I don't fucking know, I found her like this in the lobby!" as he hugged himself, pure panic and desperation in his voice.
Within mere moments, Lucifer had made his way to the hotel and together, the group would eventually be standing at the entrance of the sloth ring, some demons blocking the way, glaring down the tall spider demon .
"You might have gotten a free pass from lord Asmodeus to travel to lust, but here in sloth, the rule still stands! NO SINNERS, go back to the pride ring!" one of them barked up as they barred the way for the ex-pornstar, who was exchanging glances with Charlie, Vaggie and Lucifer who were on the other end, having been led through, as Vaggie was currently carrying Lute in her arms.
"RULE OR NOT, SHE'S LIKE A FUCKING SISTER TO ME. SO I'M COMING WITH HER, WHENEVER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, FUCKHEADS!" he angrily barked out.
Lucifer would casually approach the 2 demons from behind "Gentlemen….perhaps I can clear this misunderstanding, he is with us" The king kindly gestured to Angel Dust as he addressed the 2 demons before slowly shifting into his demon form "So it'd be wise to let him through, lest I remind you both who you're dealing with"
As they broke out in a nervous sweat, the 2 guard demons exchanged a glance as they both gulped and stuttered out "O-of course, y-your highness" as one of them turned to the spider demon "Y-you're free to go….mister Dust" to which Angel just angrily spat out "Damn fucking right you are!" as they made their way to, what Lucifer described was THE BEST hospital in the sloth ring….
Eventually, the fallen angel was laid to rest in a hospital bed, an IV-drip hooked up into her arm as she was currently unconscious.
"She's lucky" a female, goat like demoness with a candle on her head spoke, making notes on a clipboard "I'll be honest, we have limited knowledge of angel anatomy so we don't know what kinda effect this could have possibly had on her, but from the looks of it, you got her here just in time"
Angel Dust would look at the doctor with worry in his eyes "So…she's going to be ok…..right? Please tell me she'll be ok" as Charlie and Vaggie looked on, both their faces full of concern.
"She's going to feel like shit….but she'll live…" the goatish doctor smiled "we're currently flushing the remnants of the drugs out of her system" as she took a few looks at her clipboard "whatever was given to her was strong stuff….and she'd taken allot of it…she was lucky you found her"
"Of course that fucker got her hooked on drugs…" Vaggie angrily grumbled under her breath as Charlie spoke up "How….how long do you think she's been using this?" any idea?"
The goat like woman once again flipped through the notes on her clipboard "Her blood results suggest…..a while…She'd already build a strong tolerance to it, so she needed a ridiculous dose to feel the high…..we estimate she's been on this stuff for one and a half year now"
Angel Dust's face would drop as he slowly walked to a nearby trashcan, stay silent for a while, before suddenly giving a scream as he kicked the thing to the other side of the room, surprising the princess and her angelic partner.
The female demoness would approach the tall spider demon as she put a hand on his arm "I take it you care allot about her, sir Dust?"
He wouldn't say a word; instead he'd just slowly nod.
Clearing her throat, the goat demoness managed to get the ex-pornstar's attention as she spoke up "I can assure you, sir, she's in good hands. We'll take good care of her, and we'll contact you when she comes back to consciousness…"
"Oh no, none of that shit" Angel Dust just spoke up sternly while shaking his head "I ain't leaving her side, I'm staying" as he approached the unconscious angel on the bed "Ya hear me, Horns? I'm here for ya….sis…."
Taking a deep breath, the goat demoness turned to a nearby nurse "Nurse, perhaps you could fetch a blanket for mister Dust?" as the other demon would nod, tho before leaving the room, the doctor once again spoke up "And perhaps a coffee?" as she exchanged a glance with the tall spider, who just smiled "….yea…that's be really appreciated…."
..
..
Pride ring, hell:
..
..
As Charlie and Vaggie once again arrived in the pride ring, accompanied by Lucifer, Cahrlie was currently in the middle of a phone call with Angel Dust "And please contact us when she wakes up, ok?...alright….stay safe, Angel….alright…..we'll see you at the hotel again soon….yes….and tell her we said hi…..ok…bye…."she solemnly hung up as Vaggie put a hand on her shoulder.
"You….think that could have killed her?" the princess spoke up.
Vaggie sighed "I don't know, babe….i don't have any experience with drugs, and I'm definitely not planning to…like…ever…."
Furrowing his brow, Lucifer spoke "There….was a chance….i'm not going to lie…we don't know how much she got in her system….at the very least, it would still have messed her up….."
..
..
St. An's hospital, a undetermined time later, sloth ring, hell:
..
..
A pounding in her head was the first thing Lute felt when she slowly began to drift back to consciousness as she felt a weird stinging in her left arm.
Forcing herself to open her eyes, it took a few minutes for her vision to adjust and the world to stop being blurry as eventually, a hospital room came into view….and as she started to make out her surroundings, her gaze would fall on her left arm, where she quickly learned the origin of the weird stinging as she became aware of the IV-drip currently hooked up to her, the needle of which having that familiar angelic steel glow.
She lifted up her arm to rub her aching head, or well, she tried, but when she wanted to raise it, she wouldn't succeed at first, tho as she tried more forcefully a second time, the limb finally responded as she felt just how weak she was, her arm shaking as she rubbed her forehead.
"What…what happened…." She croaked out, her voice hoarse and her throat sore, as something began to stir in the corner of her vision.
The moment she tried to turn her head towards the movement, her stomach did a flip, making her regret her decision almost immediately as she brought her vision back to staring straight ahead, tho her question to what the movement was would quickly be answered when she heard the telltale voice of the tall spider demon, Angel Dust, who gasped "HORNS!" as he jumped up from the chair he seemingly fell asleep in, threw the blanket that was draped over him to the side and rushed to her bedside.
"Angel?..." she choked out "Where….am i…..what happened? My memory is…..fuzzy….." Looking at her, trying to keep his emotions in check, Angel Dust would squeak out "You've….b-been out for 5 days, Horns…." Before he'd suddenly grab her into a tight hug as the ex-pornstar almost yelped in her ear "DON'T YOU EVER FUCKING DARE SCARE ME LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN!"
"I'd….do my best….if I know what happened…." She said, confused as Angel Dust pulled away to look her in the eye "Lute….you don't remember a thing?" to which the fallen angel shook her head, tho not too fast as to not upset her stomach.
Sighing, Angel dust looked her in the eye as he spoke "You almost overdosed, Lute…..how fucking long has that fucker been forcing you to use ecstasy?"
Lute furrowed her brow, worried and confused "Is….that what it's called?" as she felt a pit form in her stomach "I…..i don't know when it began…..it's…..it's the only thing that makes…..the days in the studio…."
"I know" Angel Dust cut her off "…..it's the only thing that gets you through those days….i know cuz that fuckhead got me down the same spiral….my method of torture was coke….." as he pulled the fallen angel into another tight hug "Horns…..you're….you're like a fucking sister…..i thought I'd almost lost you…"
Feeling her hold on him weaken, Angel dust let go of her to look at her with concern, tho when he saw her face twist into pure discomfort, the tall spider demon would not waste a second as he rushed to the corner of the room, grabbed the trashcan and quickly ducked back towards the bed ridden angel, who would grab the edge with both hands as her stomach proceeded to turn itself inside out and release all its contents into the receptacle as Lute retched loudly.
Gripping the trashcan so tightly it caused her knuckles to turn white, Lute would cry and sob as she felt as if we threw up every last meal she'd ever eaten as she cursed and pleaded "WHYYYYY….UHG….MAKE IT STOP…."
Angel Dust would sit aside her on the edge of the bed, holding up her hair with one hand as he'd gently rub her back with the other "Yea should have figured that'd come eventually…well better out then in, right?" he awkwardly spoke as he tried to comfort the fallen angel…..
..
..
Pride ring's hellevator, hell, later that day:
..
..
Angel Dust would slowly emerge from the building housing the hellevator as he was currently on the phone with Charlie "Wel…no…..well she's awake now…..no they're keeping her for a few more days to monitor her…yes she should be out somewhere next week…..alright…..yes, see you soon girls" as he hung up and began to make his way towards the hotel.
His hands in his pockets, Angel kept thinking to himself as he walked his way towards the hazbin hotel, tho when his gaze would periodically glance into the direction of the Vee tower, he could suddenly feel his blood boil.
Once the tall spider had reached the hotel, his mood had shifted as he made a B-line for the bar and plopped down "…..i need a drink…..a strong one…." He spoke, not making eye contact.
Raising a single eyebrow, Husk would look at him, before saying "…..top shelf?" to which Angel Dust nodded.
Husk poured the tall spider demon his drink, who quickly downed the thing as he slammed the glass back down "That fucker got her hooked on ecstasy …Husk, we NEED to figure a way for her out of the deal, FAST!"
The cat demon would sigh "I know Legs, but I'm not exactly bursting with ideas"
Angel would reach over the counter and grab Husk by his suspenders as he pulled him closer "Don't you fucking get it Husky?! She could have fucking died! If she stays with him, he IS going to kill her! It's not a matter of "if" anymore, but a matter of "when" !"
Husk wanted to angrily pipe up and give the tall spider an earful, but when he saw only fear and concern in his eyes, he softened.
"We'll get her out of there, Legs, but working ourselves up over it isn't going to help, It's just going to make us reckless! We have a better chance coming up with an idea if we keep our heads cool" to which Angel sighed "I know…..you're right….sorry Husky….." Husk would sigh
"You're forgiven, Legs…we'll get her out….."