Chapter 17: Aftermath (Part 1)
Author's Note: I am very sorry that it took so long to publish the last chapter, and that apology is doubled by the fact that I did not finish it by the new year. I have no excuse, it was entirely my fault, what it boils down to is I need to manage my time better. I will try my best for this chapter to be out by the Hazbin Hotel Q&A on January 12th, though I am not certain I will be able to publish the entire chapter bloc by the series premiere on the 19th. After finishing this bloc of five chapters, or on the 19th, I will most definitely be taking a break to do a deep dive into the new series lore so I can make the most canonically accurate story possible, with some departures and additions I have had planned from the beginning. Although it is not possible for this story to completely adhere to the canon anymore, such is the fate of all current fan narratives, I will still endeavor to make this story and it's sequels as canonically accurate as possible, in addition to not repeating the mistakes I have seen in my previous chapters. I apologize if the dialog in this and previous chapters is no longer accurate to the character's personalities, this is the peril of writing a fan novel before the series has truly begun. Furthermore, I find accurate dialog to be the hardest part of the writing process. Thank you to all who enjoy this story enough to continue to follow it, please keep those reviews, and criticism, coming. Now without further delay,
The flames rose high into the evening sky, illuminating two figures that stood before them. The moth and the spider along with the still unconscious princess stood, or lay, in front of the remains of the dream that blazed brightly before them. All the standing couple could do was stare at the remains of the structure that had so recently been their home, taking in the totality of the damage.
The front end of the Hotel had been reduced to rubble, walls blown apart to give a clear view into the interior rooms of the building. The turret that had once rose over the eastern side had completely collapsed taking Charlie's room, and the lion's share of her possessions, with it. The western edge of the structure didn't fare much better, having been shredded by machine gun fire and not spared in the barrage of rockets. Fires grew in numerous spots throughout the devastation and in time they would raze any trace the Hotel had ever been there down to the foundation.
…
"At least we beat em' back."
The spider spoke first amidst the crackling of burning timbers.
"Yeah, at what cost? Angel, look at the Hotel. Look at what's left of the Hotel! Everything is, gone. We may have held them back, but we wouldn't have if it weren't for your friend's gang coming in right when they did. And you know he's not going to just let this go. It may take him awhile to re-build his gangs, but do you really think he'll let us be after everything he lost? He's a petty, arrogant, narcissistic piece of shit! Maybe he didn't get what he wanted this time, but there is no way this was a win. At all."
…
Husk again landed on the field of rubble that had once been the front lawn, carrying two bundles of charred hair and burnt skin.
"They're alive, but in bad shape."
He said as he gingerly laid them beside their charge, trying his best not to add to their suffering.
"Took most of the blast shielding Charlie. Good little goats."
Alastor chose that moment to walk over, with Nifty zipping in not long after.
"Oh no! Miss Charlie!"
Cried Nifty upon seeing her boss. Rushing to her side she produced Tafford's potion roll and administered a stimpack. The princess didn't stir in the slightest as the nicks, scrapes, and minor burns disappeared from her features.
"Don't forget these two, they need it more than her."
Husk chimed in as he moved to assist. While Razzle and Dazzle were tended to by the duo, Alastor approached and stood beside the Hotel's resident odd couple.
"My word, wasn't that just invigorating! Why I haven't gotten to cut that loose in just ages! Nothing like a good tussle to get your blood flowing!"
"Oh you would like this you pompous self aggrandizing ass! Of course you would! Only you would actually enjoy being attacked! Just because you have powers that let you mop the floor with Valentino's gangs doesn't mean the rest of us had an easy time of it! We barely survived and, if somehow you missed the giant pile of flaming rubble right in front of your nose, the Hotel is COMPLETELY DESTROYED!"
Upon hearing that Nifty snapped her attention up and felt her eye water.
"NOOOOO! All our hard work for nothing! Weeks and weeks of cleaning, and polishing, and cooking, and dishes, and so many quilts! All up in smoke!"
Wailed Nifty, distraught and incensed at having to watch helplessly as all her efforts burned in front of her. Somewhat surprisingly Husk walked up behind the little woman and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, it could be worse. The Hotel, everything in it, that's just stuff, things. What we just went through was real touch and go, any one of us could have got killed. The fact that we're all still here, I guess we still have lucky stars after all."
Silence overtook the group again. Seconds dragged into minutes as almost the entire group stewed in a combination of unpleasant emotions.
Nifty sat on her knees and silently wept in anger and despair.
Husk knelt beside her and continued to offer what comfort he could. But behind his stoic expression, fears and doubts flared like the fire that steadily consumed the building. What would happen to them now?
Mercifully, the princess herself remained senseless throughout, she was least deserving of the misery that pervaded most of the group.
Vagatha felt a strange cocktail of emotions stir within her. Hollowness and despair at the loss of Charlie's dream. Rage, both towards Valentino for obvious reasons, and at herself for failing to prevent it. Trepidation for the future, as she too considered where they would go from here. And, strangest of all, relief. Yes relief, because though Valentino had destroyed the Hotel, he had not succeeded in the objective of his terrible assault. Despite her anguish at seeing her best friend's hopes burn in front of her, despite the uncertain future they all faced, the man she loved was alive and now stood at her side.
Only Alastor retained his trademark grin, which seemed to widen and deepen as he cast his eyes over the rest of the group.
As for Angel Dust, he knew only one feeling in this moment. Guilt. All pervasive, all consuming guilt. It welled up from within him, stirred into existence by the lingering threads of his conscience, filling his entire soul. So like, but so different from, the drugs and various poisons he frequently drowned himself in. But there was something about this that made it uniquely worse than any crash he had ever endured. The knowledge that this was all his fault.
Had he done things differently, found another way, given in and gone to the studio, then none of this would've happened. Angel Dust was no stranger to making bad choices, and less familiar with facing the consequences, but the all important difference now was that it wasn't just himself he had hurt, but one of the best friends he had ever known, and the greatest love he had found since arriving in this infernal pit! Of every bad choice he had ever made, none carried consequences of this magnitude. Not even when he had died, and found himself in hell.
He had put them in danger.
He had crushed their dreams, their hopes for the future.
He had so nearly been responsible for their second deaths, or consigning them to a fate even worse.
No one else, just him.
"Angel"
He heard as a hand was placed on his arm. Looking down to his right he found the hard set face of his girlfriend.
"Don't think I don't see that. The way your looking at everything. I know what your thinking, and I'm telling you right now, this was not your fault! You didn't bring those thugs here to wipe us out, it wasn't you who wanted to kill us all, and you weren't the one who pulled the trigger on the rockets that destroyed the Hotel! You didn't do this, it was that irredimible pedazo de mierda subhumano sin valor boss of yours! And if you even think of beating yourself up over this I'm going to punch you!"
But then he looked to the dust and ash that caked her face, her beautiful features marred by cinders, lined by her own tears. As much as he wanted to believe her, he simply couldn't.
"*Sigh* Vags as much as I really, really, appreciate you saying that, your wrong. If I had just given in when Val wanted- OW!"
Just as she promised, the moth delivered a mean right hook into the tall arachnid's side when he began to berate himself.
"Then you'd be locked in that hellhole of a studio for who knows how many years, fucking and sucking until that sin polla culo morado was satisfied. And we both know he is never satisfied."
*CRACK!* R-R-R-R-*squeak* CRASH!*
The lovebirds were interrupted by the Hotel itself, as another section of the eastern wall came crashing down.
"Hate to break up this little pity party we got going on, but seriously what are we gonna do about this? We can't just sit around stroking our pride, so what's our next step?"
Stated Husk, being the voice of reason.
"I, don't know. All our money and stuff was in there, and I don't know anywhere else we could go. Charlie's parents would probably take her and her bodyguards back, but the rest of us…"
Said Vagatha, half to the group and half thinking out loud. Before anyone else could offer thoughts or suggestions, Alastor stepped towards the building.
"Ah, this whole day has been positively delightful! A brisk constitutional in the morning, and by the afternoon I'm tearing piles of hooligans into ribbons! Then there was the opportunity to flex my mystical muscles to an extent I so seldom get to these days, and take in the display as those bumbling brutes throwing themselves away so vainly! And finally getting to savor a display of undiluted misery as it played out before me! To witness the death of hope and the blossoming of despair! Divine, simply divine! Why that was just the cherry this day needed!"
Before Vagatha or anyone else could respond he continued,
"But that brings us back to now. Yes, the building is in a sorry state. Hardly fit to take in any wayward souls in it's current condition. And I was so looking forward to putting my feet up with a nice glass of whiskey and a good book this evening. No, no, no, this will never do. Not at all."
The radio demon said as his eyes became dials and his antlers grew once more. A curtain of shadows enveloped the crumbling remains that had once been the Hazbin Hotel. Fires were instantly extinguished as it passed over them, as a horde of Alastor's allies manifested and made their way inside the shadows. Nothing is seen inside the dark veil, but the noise of renovation and construction rises over the whole area, forcing the others to cover their ears. Gradually, the general outline of the building changes and steadily smooths out. After this goes on for a few minutes with no signs of stopping,
"HOW LONG IS THIS GONNA TAKE?"
Husk shouted over the clamor of construction.
"Just relax my dear Husker, this is only the beginning."
He says as he reaches up and swirls his index finger in a circle.
Elsewhere, on a lakeside pier
Vox and Velvet walked down the landing heading for a gangplank that led to Vox's sailing yacht some yards away. At least that's what he called it, but a normal vessel with a mast tied to the stack does not a sailing ship make.
"So he actually got beat by the radio demon and a handful of bag boys? When he was being backed up by damn near all his gangs and shelled out the cash to hire N51? LOL! What a loser!"
"I know right! Much as I hate to admit it, the radio demon can hold his own, I'll give em that, but when you have almost ALL your muscle going up against a few blue collars, if you can't pull off a win with that you start to question if your even an overlord!"
"Oh yeah, he's so fucking pissed! So it's nice to get away from all the bitching he's doing today."
"Damn right! Just because Val got his ass handed to him doesn't mean we can't enjoy our day on the water."
The pair were almost at the gangplank when they noticed a churning, bubbling noise coming from somewhere nearby.
"What's that?"
Asked Vox. Unfortunately his question would be swiftly answered by an enormous whirlpool forming directly beneath his yacht, sending the crew into a panic.
"What the fuck!"
Shouted the overlord as the ship was slowly but surely pulled beneath the agitated surface of the lake. As it went down lower and lower the sailors onboard began to abandon ship, those on deck jumping for the safety of the dock, and some braving the waters themselves in an attempt to get away from the doomed vessel. It wasn't long before the entire ship was pulled below the waves, the crow's nest disappearing with an audible *Blip*.
"RRRRRUUUAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!"
Roared Vox in a rage. Kicking the ground and swinging at air, shouting incomprehensibly and zapping at the water, electrocuting the sailors within, the second Vee's tantrum raged on for around fifteen amusing minutes.
"FFFFFFFUUUUUUUCK! AAARGH! WHAT THE HELL IN THE SEVEN RINGS DID THA- VELVET!"
As Vox first broke into his hissy fit, he didn't notice his companion train her phone's camera on him, nor the mischievous smile that crept to her face.
"VELVET, DON'T YOU DARE-"
"And, post."
Meanwhile, at Alastor's studio
Darkness. Quiet. Stillness. In a little used room some ways away from the light and bustle of the broadcasting booths racks upon shelves of extra mics, chairs, and assorted spare parts sat in neat orderly rows. In one moment nothing changed, everything sat in silence as it had for who knows how long. But in the next, shadowy portals appeared in several places throughout the room, along walls, in the ceiling above high shelves, and directly beneath crates.
Small doll like creatures, shadows that floated over the room, and black inky tendrils emerged and grabbed up boxes, crates, and all manner of supplies and equipment. In just minutes the shadowy specters retreated back into the dark openings from whence they came, seeming to have gotten everything they needed. Suddenly the door bursts open revealing the squat form of a distinct imp to flail about with a flashlight, searching for the source of the suspicious sounds he heard just moments ago.
At that same moment, across the city
All across pentagram city resources were being pulled in from everywhere, seemingly at random. Some lumber here, drywall there, a few reams of wallpaper from somewhere. Small thefts that weren't noticed, or really cared for, happened simultaneously across the entire city. Individually they would likely have been forgotten, but as materials went missing from evidently everywhere at once, social media began to fill with reports of absent supplies.
I'd like to thank the jackass that swiped the two-by-fours I needed to finish framing my coke room!
Anybody seen my box of nails? I was setting up a shelf for my vibrators, I will not just throw them in some closet!
My bulbs are gone! The weed hall won't get finished on time without them, so whoever stole em' better bring em' back RIGHT FUCKING NOW!
These and other posts came flooding in, and before long anyone with a smartphone was aware of the wave of unusual thievery that had swept over the city. Eventually even dumps, scrap yards, and old battlegrounds were affected, with strange forces stripping the places of steel, glass, and any other materials they could get their hands on. Something very weird was going on. Some strangeness here and there was a daily occurrence in pentagram, but that was usually isolated to just a few people or places, not the entire city. But for all the speculation by the masses of the damned, not one of them looked to the steadily burgeoning shadowed mass where the Hazbin Hotel once stood.
Back at the Hotel
The cloak of shadow that covered the building remained in place, although certain things could be discerned from it's present shape. It was taller than it had been even an hour ago, maybe even taller than the Hotel had been previously, but that was debatable. It was also more symmetrical now, though not perfectly so. The veil had expanded outward slightly suggesting the entire structure was being rebuilt. But by far the most glaring difference was the strange bulge that now protruded from and dominated the building's right side. When it had first appeared it was accompanied by the sounds of rushing water and maybe some screams which were quickly silenced. Everyone was starting to grow impatient, tired of just standing around holding their ears while waiting for something to happen.
Finally the sounds of construction abated and the group were able to lower their arms. Watching as Alastor's grin reached it's zenith he reached out his arm and,
*Snap!*
With a snap of his fingers the curtain of shadow lifted, and an incredible sight greeted the eyes of the group. It was like an entirely different building! With widened eyes they took in the sights of the new and improved Hazbin Hotel. While the new Hotel wasn't necessarily larger than the old one, it certainly looked the part, with cleaner lines and a simplified exterior that made it easier to take in. The most obvious feature was the ship that jutted from the right side of the building, different from the one present before. Unlike the last ship, this one was oriented differently, and possessed a crow's nest that could make for a good lookout spot.
Overall the building had much greater symmetry, though as seen before, it was not entirely so. Though most of the Hotel looked completely different, some elements of the original design were present. Chiefly the train that sat on twisted tracks that wrapped around the entire building, but also a carousal that hearkened back to the one that made up the structure of the old turret. Speaking of which, in the space once occupied by that feature, stood a radio tower. Made of haphazard black steel supports, and somehow having moss grow off of it despite just being built, an entire studio stood ready to broadcast at the radio demon's whim. Large illuminated signs completed the transformation, with a number of arrows pointing towards Alastor's tower, and a large 'Vacancy' sign above a front entrance that wouldn't look out of place in a theater.
…
…
…
"Whoa."
"Yup."
"Uh-huh."
Mind. Blown. This was the only accurate way to describe the mental state of the group. For the next few minutes all they could do was stand astonished and take in the new sight before them. They had all seen the radio demon's power firsthand, and heard more from legends and stories, but they had never heard of him doing anything like this. This, this was in a league of it's own. To take what was little more than a pile of rubble and turn it into this massive and obviously luxurious hotel, just how powerful was this man that stood beside them?
*Yaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwn*
"Well this has been a remarkable day, probably the best I've had all month! But I do believe it is time for me to turn in, tootles everyone."
He said with a stretch as he walked to the newly restored entrance. The rest of the group could only shift their gazes to the new Hotel, to the man who had built it, and back again, baffled at how he could remain so casual after such an immense display of power. But it wasn't long before Vagatha and Husk came to their senses and snapped everyone else out of it. And it was with swirling emotions and spinning heads that they carried an unconscious Charlie, plus two goat men, into the Hotel for some much needed rest.
Some time later
A battered old jeep pulled up through a mostly clear street, with little trace left of the wrecked cars and abandoned war gear that had been there not long before. What happened? There was a maze of wrecked cars, discarded weapons, and debris that crowded the street before the chase. So what had cleared all of that in so short a span? What could clear so much wreckage that fast? As he stopped his vehicle in the middle of the street, the armored figure dismounted and craned his gaze skyward, looking up at the shining beacon the Hotel had become. But unlike his confounded compatriots, he was somehow able to express his opinion without difficulty, even if it was only two words.
"That's … better."
Small Edit: Added in line breaks I forgot to put in last night.
