With the dinosaurs retreating, the group was at a loss for words. How were they going to respond to this out-of-place retreat? A counterattack would just bring them back to where they started. Angels are shown to be useless, so they can't rely on them. Leaving them alone is a danger to the survivors, so what was left? Alastor was pondering if eating the corpses was worth it, or if they carried diseases that would heavily inconvenience him. Nifty and Angel begin to clean up the mess when the sight of a greatly damaged woman slams the door open, causing it to collapse on the ground. They go to assist the woman, when they see it was Vaggie that survived the whole endeavor.
"Ugh, what-op BLEH!" The angel falls to the ground, her organs still in great distress while repairing. Vomit adds another layer of chaos to the floor. Lucifer helps Vaggie up as her body slowly repairs itself. Angel and Husker delve through their damaged inventory, hoping to locate something to deal with the pain. "Come on guys. Where's da first aid kit?" Lucifer begins to search the shattered remains of his new home, hoping to find something to mend these wounds. Vaggie reassured everyone that she was fine, as her flesh began to reform. Intestines ripped out halfway, dangling from her torn form are removed as the body replaces them. Everyone is perplexed by angels' natural traits, with many more questions flourishing from this assault.
The shattered structure of the hotel begins to shake, as the ground quakes. The crew suspects the dinosaurs are doing something drastic. It goes off again, panic begins to flourish. The shaking gets louder, the tension rising as Lucifer attempts to break the ice. "We're going to need a bigger boat." Angel was perplexed at his choice of quotes. "Really? Why? We're not in any water." The serpent's eyes lower concietly, as he is presented with a chance to salvage his moment. "It-it's a figure of speech. I mean, we appear to be in hot water here." Angel rolls his eyes as he aims his Tommy guns at the entrance, preparing for the worst.
Swaths of purple and white litter the front of the hotel, showing the staff they are ready for more. Then, Vaggie can see a faint yell, as if to grab her attention. It was…CHARLIE?! She was on the back of one of their biggest dinosaurs, towering even over the buildings that survived the onslaught. Such a marching mass was leaving the land they tried on in agony, as the blood of the fallen sank ever deeper into their prison. Before, these creatures wrought carnage across the ring. Now, they were charioting Charlie towards her home. What a peculiar sight of great timing, as the damage they inflicted was already on display.
The group welcomed their family back into their home, only for the dinosaurs to try and follow. Charlie orders them to wait, and they obey. Such a display of power was incredible to the demons. Lucifer and Alastor in particular were curious as to the nature of this relationship presented. Several questions filled the hotel, with Charlie was receptive to none of them. Her hands clasped on her head, trying to contain the voices within it. "No, I get it-yes, yes, I understand. Please, just wait. I'll-NONONONO, THAT'S NOT FOOD! HE'S IMPORTANT! YEAH YEAH YEAH (inhale)...just bring him over here-SAFELY! ha…wow, there's a lot of you." The voices soon quieted down in response to this outburst. Lucifer hugged his daughter, worried she was not right in the head, only to be surprised when she snapped out of her sudden hallucinations. "Hehe…I'm sorry, where were we?"
"Charlie, what happened?" "Oh that, well, I miiiiight have had my mind join their hive mind." "What's a hivemind?" Angel asked earnestly before Husk gave a basic answer. "Collection of everyone's thoughts." Angel gave a little realizing ooooh as Alastor tried to excuse her and him. "If you guys don't mind, Charlie needs some time to rest '' Attempting to coerce the crowd to follow his demands, it was annoying to the Radio Demon how Lucifer wanted to butt in. "I believe she'll be fine by my side." "I say she needs someone she can trust to be by her side." "OH! You think I don't deserve her trust?" "No, I think you've spent too long on a biscuit trip for it." Angel couldn't tell who was more likely to burn down the remains of the hotel, the two landlords bickering over who should ensure Charlie's safety or her hold over the beasts releasing.
As if the perfect moment to interrupt the squabbling came through, a flying dinosaur rushed in with a pink bundle of adorableness in its claws. Fat Nuggets survived the outbreak and was safely delivered to Angel Dust's arms. A sweet reunion of the porn star's hopes and dreams. He cooed and played with his pig, as he ran up the stairs to make sure his room was somewhat stable. Alastor uses the opportunity to teleport Charlie to his room without her father making a ruckus again. Surprised by all the swift changing of her environment, Charlie almost bursts into rage before the worry of millions floods her mind. Alastor appears to not be bothered by this change, seemingly happy she was simply quiet during the ordeal.
"Charlie, I hope you know what you're doing. Because I don't have any idea." Alastor appears to be agitated by recent developments and has every right to be. These beasts were shown to be powerful in Hell, and from their sounds, there was so much more. "Al, we don't-...I don't miss out on an opportunity to treat any sentient being with the mercy they deserve. True true, they did just ravage Hell like REALLY hard…but they are still alive! They understand their former ways don't need to continue down here." "And what happens when they get bored? When they learn they will be stagnant and barred from growth?" Charlie pondered this thought, her ideas spreading into the minds of the aliens. Then she conjured her answer. "This is the ultimate question. Once you go to heaven, where do you go now? Of course, the context is different. Heaven itself was shown to be a disorganized place, with no idea how their system works. But…we can make heaven here, our utopia! With the forces of the Tyranids, we would endure little resistance. Meaning we can focus all our efforts on rehabilitation! We'll start with re-educating these creatures, teaching them proper efficacy. Then-."
"Charlie, these are monsters! They eat people! That's what they've been trained to do! Who knows what else they can do?! They simply can't be trusted!" The princess stared blankly into Alastor's eyes, hoping the hypocrisy reached him before had to do something drastic. The Radio Demon's eyes widened, as reality suddenly got clearer. "I…just don't want you to get hurt. Uh-I…to serve my entertainment, of course! Charlie smirked, sensing a form of humanity from the cannibal. But she knew better than to push the overlord. She would simply remember this event for later. "Well, I do have a favor with a rather powerful friend. He'll give your boys housing until we can be sure they are truly pacified. Unless you have a better idea." It seemed like most often, Alastor was on her side and was actively supporting her. While she had objections to his suggestion, the immediacy and urgency of the issue made her complacent.
"Guys, we're going to…need to relocate you. It'll-it'll be temporary. I don't have a good idea as to how you'll fit in hell's circle of pride, but we'll find a way to integrate you all, I promise." It was a recent change that Charlie had an entire population practically on speed dial, and it was already giving her a headache. After much bickering, she heard a cosmic "We trust the Charlie." She then nodded at Alastor, ensuring he had everyone's best interests insured, including their new guests. He waltzed through his office and pulled out a very antique phone. Dialing in some strange number that causes the room to be covered in strange constellations, marked with violet-red demonic runes. Whoever Al was contacting, was old and sinister.
The circle of Sloth was in grave danger from strange dinosaurs, ravaging the land of its very little worth. But as much as it pained him to admit it, Phenax does recognize the importance of imps and hellhounds in the engine of hell. They are the ones responsible for running their vacation spots, their funny coffee shops with amusing drawings on the chalkboard, and their excellent drugs. The luxuries he has taken for granted were now under threat by this massive hoard of beings he can only describe as loathsome animals. The native forces combined with the Goetia's magic put up an impressive defense against this alien force, yet they could only slow the invasion for so long. Winged creatures small and gigantic ensured the skies were never safe, and many of the creatures on the ground carried weapons that either shot down the aerial support from the sky or embedded them with embryos that grew from the victim's body. Despite the efforts of communicating to the populous their desperate attempts at a plan, the bugs were better. A frontal horde with larger and tougher monsters was serving as the distracting force, as two smaller hordes began to encircle the target force, leading to its collapse.
Phenex rained down fire, trying to thin down the numbers in order to save their way of life. Assisting him in his sector of the sloth ring was Aamon, the raven wolf Goetia of fortune telling, who gave important surveillance to their legions on which points of weakness to strike first, opening the horde to be destroyed. Yet even with such great weaving through great perils to transmit the information, this individual skirmish ultimately ended with a draw, as the overwhelming forces of the dinosaurs were still more powerful than the royalties' most elite. Phenex knew his partner's conniving mind was up to no good, and every word that slipped from his beak was to further his goals. But considering the monsters' rampage through the 7th ring, their interests were aligned for now. The duo dove to rest after an unknown length of time and a seemingly infinite number of dinosaurs.
"Have you…knowledge of…our fates?" The Marquis' body ejected a puddle of what was once his breakfast that morning before he knew just how worse Hell could get. "It…can be won…the beasts…can be contained." Contained? He would prefer to simply kill them. But if this is going to be more efficient than simply keeping them on a leash. But if this works…what the here? His train of thought was interrupted by his phone blowing up. He was swift to silence the ringtone, as Aamon gave a good inspection to see if any of the dinosaurs heard them. As he hit the accept call button, he winced and cringed at the realization that HIM of all people was calling at this time.
"Phenex, you old rooster. How is my favorite songbird?" Under tense situations, the last thing the Goetia needed to hear was the static of a radio in his ear. Phenax erupted in rage, ready to strike down the damn demon even from a separate ring. The infernal rage summons a pillar of fire, alerting the dinosaurs to the location. Aamon was desperately trying to draw his fellow noble's attention before the fire sent him flying."AL, NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR THIS! I'M TRYING NOT-!" "To piss off a bunch of dinosaurs?" Phenax was not surprised by Alastor's deduction. The infection most likely spread throughout the rings, most likely with the Pride ring as the first. But that still raises the question: why was he calling? "Got a way to deal with them?" "Funny you say that. I've got a solution to blow your feathers. The princess of Hell actually can control them!" Music to his ears, someone can actually stop them! Then Phenax pondered, why hasn't she done this already?
"Uh, Al? I can't just-." A feminine voice was heard from Al's side, that sounded an awful lot like the voice from 'Inside Every Sinner is a Rainbow'. Oh shit, that princess of Hell. We're doomed. He could hear a muffled shut-up, implying Alastor was trying to regain control. "So, what will it be, old pal? Ready to do your part?" "Ha! That bitch couldn't keep a whore on a leash! What makes you think I'll-AH! Oh SHIT!" A large dinosaur had launched itself from the building Pennax used as cover and roared in his face. Truly, a terrifying moment that can shake a man straight to his soul. The dropped phone is making noises in the distance, in which Phenax can make out a "Charlie…remove the beast…lovely." Mere seconds after making out the message, the beast backs off, giving the Goetia time to reassess the situation. The sounds of rifles and spells were silenced, not through victory or defeat, but from a silent ceasefire. The beasts stopped their assault. And it had to be linked to Charlie, given the evidence. He picked his commoner phone off the ground and prepared for whatever crazy plan the Raido Demon had conjured.
"What are your demands?" "Advertisement for the Hazbin Hotel project." "Ha! Like you can-" "I asked for advertisement dear, not faith in the project itself." "Eh…that's more Amdusias' role, but I'll see what I can do." "And the labyrinth?" "What about it?" "That will be where our guests will be seeking refuge for now." Phenax was almost taken aback by this demand. There was no way these things could just LIVE in a pocket dimension. "Are you serious?" "I presume you have a better plan? Much less any at all?" The fire Goetia growled at the condescension but submitted to the logic. He made a few calls, and the remaining forces soon whisked away the neutralized swarm into a separate level of Hel: the Labyrinth.
One Tyrannid was pacing its cell, pondering its choices in life. Wait, why? It was a servant of the hive, talented for their legendary resistance. And yet, it didn't know what to do. Its entire purpose was to neutralize untamed biomass and assist in its conversion into purity. But they don't need food or water. And they now see the prey as living beings, the Charlie calls them people. So would the species simply stagnate, only to grow if someone was stupid enough to fight their superiors? What purpose would it serve?...it? No, "it" would not work. The Charlie has taught us to value ourselves, and what better way than to start with yourself? A name, some title that separates this one from the hive. Me…me am…I…I am…this one began to cycle through multiple words, in an attempt to flush out a name it should wear. Shoulder, buckle, scum, metal, treads, bolter, Imper, priest, astra, yonder- wait, that's it! Astra! This one would be Astra! This one jumped and roared after finding the perfect way to be itself, a name. Astra!
The cheer of finding a title this one could claim for itself was something shared among his family, their own individual discoveries echoing throughout the hivemind. They were indeed the Tyranid hive, but they were also more. Astra was pondering just what to do next since he discovered himself when his stomach began to disturb him. How strange, he never had issues regarding dietary functions before. As he tried to breathe slowly to possibly assist in removing this disturbance, his stomach was getting worse. Something was actively moving, something that didn't belong. With the feeling of bursting traveling through the collection, he knew it was trying to get out. His sides began to open, as blood and guts began to spill, along with something else. A humanoid shape was gasping for air, as it crawled out of the beast, a face of horror as its journey of freedom came across a different barrier.
Cries of desperation filled the room as it banged its healing limbs against the walls. It had survived the belly of the dinosaur, and now it was in another labyrinth. Acids that once pushed the humanoid into a puddle of never-ending agony were finally being removed by the mass coming back faster than it could dissolve. The figure looked back at Astra, also healing from its wounds at inhuman speeds. It resorted to picking up some of the broken ribs to bash open the walls, with little success. The improvised weapon snaps into multiple fragments after several attempts to destroy this infuriating wall. Soon the hole in the Tyranid's stomach was fully healed, and Astra gave a simple request.
"Please don't cry, prey." The creature continued to thrash and whine, spewing unintelligible nonsense as it banged its recovering appendages on the wall. As it gurgled in confusion, the prey screamed even louder. "Please don't cry, you scare me," It would not alter its speech, it was surprising how unbearable the beast was. No consideration as to what the feelings of others are. Then Astra had a wonderful thought: he extended his arms open wide and slowly approached the prey. The Charlie spoke of how all it takes was a little bit of…" love" to warm someone's heart. If Astra showed this creature love, then maybe it would stop screaming.
The creature turned toward Astra, and rather than embrace the friendly act with equally open arms, began to attack him. Broken limbs launch shards of bone at Astra and dig into his exposed belly. Ear-shattering screams echo in his mind, almost drowning out the pain as the prey attempted to dig the spearhead of marrow where a hand was yet to emerge into its neck. How painful, and after all Astra tried to do for the prey. He extended kindness and empathy, and it ended like this. Prey does not deserve empathy. He grabbed the prey's mangled arms and ripped them out, seeing the golden ichor that covered the floor. He then bit the entire head of the prey, wiggling the best until its neck was snapped. Hopefully, the prey would learn to stay dead.
It wasn't just Astra however, the entire hive was dealing with a terrible case of indigestion. Every Tyranid was dealing with the angels trying to break free. Generally, the larger forces were able to subdue the celestial threats and return to consuming them. While the smaller ones were actually able to kill their more fragile in comparison threats. The labyrinth soon turned into a bloodbath, where the unrelenting nature of the Swarm had to deal with an enemy that could return and emerge from right inside them. There was no longer any certainty that any of them could get better, as Charlie could only stand by as the screams of angels and Tyranids alike filled her mind. As she attempted to settle this issue, she looked at Vaggie and begged her: "Get your people out of there!"