Foreword

Salutations! Good to be back on the air ~

This fanfic has been nesting in my brain for a while. It needs to be released into the wild so that I can have my brain back to myself.

It was inspired by an amazing artist called The Mad Oryx ( The_Mad_Oryx on X/twitter). The first two panels of her current RadioStatic/Vox&Al comic sent my brain down a rabbit hole that turned into a fully fleshed out, novel-sized fanfiction idea: this one. Our stories are going in different directions, but her art is where mine began. Feel free to head over and give her some love.

I'm a little out of practice - it's been at least 5 years since my last attempt at fanfiction, so the first few chapters might not be perfect. Just bear with me, please :)

There will (of course) be smut, but as with most of my stuff the story is definitely not going to be 100% horny demons at all times. Horny is good, but I like my horny buttered with a lot of depth. None of my sex scenes has ever just been for the sake of the sex, there's always more at play underneath the surface.

First things first, I just want to say that I'm aware that canonically Alastor is Ace. I think it's important that Ace folks get their representation (as Pan myself HH/HB is the first fandom I've found that has representation for me, so I get it), but for the sake of this fanfic, Alastor is at the very least Demisexual, so for that reason I guess you should consider this story sort of AU.

This story is written while we're waiting for Season 2 of Hazbin, so I'm working from the viewpoint of using what we know of the characters so far. I will be delving into a few plot points that may differ from what Viv has in mind for the future, but hopefully I will get some of it right. It's difficult to write for characters whose stories haven't been fully told yet, so for my sanity I'm taking a few leaps, lore-wise. Even if Season 2 releases while I'm still working on this, I'll be sticking with my original plan. My big thing is characterisation and character voices, so I hope I do a decent job with those.

We're going to be going a little deep into Al's backstory here. It's difficult to give you a heads up about trigger warnings without spoilers, so just be aware there might be some uncomfortable flashbacks.

I will put trigger warnings at the top of any chapters that need it. I know there are going to be a couple, but nothing more triggering than things we've seen on the show itself.

Apart from the next chapter (which I intend to start working on as soon as I post this), The maximum I'll be looking to write is one or two chapters a week. My life is pretty hectic. My apologies.

In any case, please leave me a review if you like a chapter. It makes me unbelievably happy.

Oh - and I do tend to go back and edit earlier chapters if I feel like the dialogue isn't quite sitting right. I'll give a heads up if anything drastic gets moved around.

Prologue

"Are you Serious?!"

Vox's inner office echoed with the incredulous sound of his voice, the low overhead lights flickered as he slammed his curled fists down on the desk, static fizzing angrily from his fingertips.

Across the room, Carmilla Carmine stood beside the doorway, a look of cold calm on her face. She crossed her arms, staring into his eyes threateningly. Beside her, Rosie gave a wan smile.

"We are deadly serious." She said darkly. Vox felt the anger forming a ball in his chest. "The feud between you two is out of control. I've heard grievances from seven different Overlords just this month. It ends today."

Vox's eyes darted to the plush leather armchair on the other side of the desk. His fists curled tighter as he stared at the grinning face, the glowing eyes, the stupid ears. Alastor was leaning back in his office, tapping his fingers slowly against the armrest, staring at the wall of blank screens behind Vox's head. Vox gritted his teeth and let out a bitter, angry laugh

"So your solution is to bring the son of a bitch here? Straight into my fucking office?"

Alastor sighed, the sound hissing with radio-like static. He removed his long, sharp fingers from the armrest and held up his cane, apparently examining it in boredom.

"My dear Vox, believe me when I say I'm as happy to be in this…" He trailed off for a second, his eyes flickering up to meet Vox's with a fleeting moment of sinister joy, "...dilapidated hole as you are to have me here, but the ladies really were most insistent."

"Dilapidated?" Vox's voice distorted with frustration. The lights gave another flicker, "Oh fuck you – like you and your shitty hotel are any-"

"Suficiente!" Snapped Carmilla, her eyes burning hot red in warning. She took a few steps towards the desk, her heels clicking loudly on the black tiled floor. "Gentlemen, you both hold the rank of Overlord, your actions should carry a sense of decorum. Brawling in the street, bickering over broadcasts… these things bring all of us into disrepute."

Alastor raised his eyes from the cane in his hand and sat forward a little. Vox was still standing, fists still balled against the desk.

"My dear Carmilla, this really isn't necessary." soothed Alastor, flashing a charming smile. "I'm simply having a little light-hearted fun!"

Carmilla turned towards him with a withering look. Apparently unaffected, he continued to smile. Her eye twitched.

"Fun for you, Alastor, not for others." She sighed. "Rosie, tell him."

The smile on Alastor's face fell a little. He turned towards the other Overlord loitering next to the door and tilted his head inquisitively.

"Et tu, Rosie?" He asked softly.

Rosie had been standing with her hand on the door, apparently reluctant to be here or to get involved. She seemed to be trying to blend in to the background, though her paper-white skin against the black walls and fluorescent lighting made her glow like a ghoulish beacon. Her coal black eyes softened into a guilty and apologetic smile and she stepped slowly towards the Radio Demon sitting in the centre of the room.

"Alastor, honey." She said, crouching down next to his chair so that they were face to face. She reached out a parchment-coloured hand and patted his own. "You know how much I adore you, but this can't go on. Remember that fight you two had in the Doomsday District last week?"

Vox began to grind his teeth as he watched the pompous ass raise his eyes to the ceiling, as though trying to remember.

"Hmmm… I'm afraid I don't really recall…"

Rosie stared at him deadpan. "Sweetie, you took out half a city block."

Alastor's eyes lit up and he let out a chuckle. "Oh yes! I do remember something like that."

"Oh you ancient, unbelievable PRICK." unleashed Vox, snarling. "You took out at least half a dozen Voxtek employees!"

Alastor flashed him a smile and shrugged. "Really? Only half a dozen? I guess I must have been sloppy that day!"

"...In any case." Interjected Rosie loudly, placing herself carefully between the two men, breaking eye contact. "You caught a shipment of mine in the crossfire, honey. Two hundred of the finest sautéed frontal lobes, up in smoke. Not to mention a coupla' promisin' delivery boys. You know how hard it is to find good delivery boys in Cannibal Town?"

Alastor's face softened as he looked at the distraught face of his friend. He reached out and placed his other hand on top of hers consolingly. She smiled halfheartedly, squeezed his fingers and stood up.

"The Cannibal Queen isn't the only one." Continued Carmilla as Rosie retreated back to the door. She began pacing in the space between the desk and the chair, the click of her heels loud and sharp in their ears. Both Vox and Alastor's eyes followed her as she paced, but while Vox's eyes burned with fury and indignation, the Radio Demon simply seemed vaguely entertained. "Other Overlords have had similar losses in the past month… including myself -" Her voice lowered to a threatening whisper, "- and Zestial."

Vox froze. The rage that had been burning in him smothered in a layer of ice, and he slowly sat back down in his chair. Alastor's face remained unmoved, apparently unaffected by this information. The only indicator that anything had changed was that his ears had snapped backwards, lying suddenly flat against his head.

"The Pentagram is still recovering from the last Extermination." Carmilla continued, her voice once again matter-of-fact and business-like. "We simply cannot afford the losses that this petty fighting entails. Therefore, the Overlords unanimously decree that the feud between the Radio Demon and the Vees must be concluded. Today."

There was a moment's silence.

"Look -" Vox put a hand to the side of his head, rubbing the edges of his screen as though warding off a headache. He tried to recover himself from rage, putting on the best 'down to business' he could muster. The smile he summoned looked slightly unhinged. He could feel Alastor's gaze on him again, but did his best to ignore it. "my dear Carmilla, even if I wanted to strike a deal with… that freak over there… I can't possibly do that without the agreement of Velvette and Val."

"Your fellow Vees are fully aware of what's happening here." Said Carmilla dismissively, "They're being taken care of upstairs, but from what I can gather, they're just as bored of this squabbling as the rest of us are."

Vox raised his eyes to the ceiling with a glare, wishing the look could penetrate the many floors of the tower above and burn holes in their fucking faces.

"Look fellas, nobody wants to get involved with another Overlord's business," Came Rosie's voice from the back of the room. "it ain't the done thing, but this whole situation is gettin' outta hand."

"Exactly." Agreed Carmilla. "You will both stay in here until you can come to an agreement. Zestial is waiting just outside the door, should you think of starting another fight." She took another long, slow glance at each of them in turn, her eyes burning with sincerity. Alastor merely smiled back, his ears still tight against his head, an eye twitching slightly. Vox blinked.

"Aha…" he let out a humourless attempt at a laugh. "Zestial… in the building, huh?"

"I wouldn't take too long either. Zestial's a busy demon. And he certainly won't be happy if either of you leaves before this is over. Come, Rosie."

The Cannibal Queen allowed Carmilla to exit into the dark, screen-lit room beyond, the sharp sound of her footsteps echoing into nothingness. Rosie stood in the doorway for a moment longer, hollow eyes flicking from the look of barely contained anger on the glowing screen, to the slightly fixed smile of Alastor.

"Good luck, boys." She said in a small, slightly worried voice, then turned and bustled out to join the other Overlords.

The door closed behind her with a definitive click, leaving only the hum of electricity hanging in the air.