On The Darkness

By Lucifer Morningstar

From the private library of lucifer Morningstar (the super-duper extra-super duper most- secret library, the one that Charlie must never ever find out about)

There is a tale that no one tells, and this is for many reasons. The biggest reason is that there are so few who know it. Among those that do, they are often too terrified of what the tale is about. Even as I write these words, I know that this fear is justified. For my kingdom is built upon its back, as is the universe. When the Powers That Be commanded "Let there be Light", they didn't realize the darkness wasn't just nothingness. It was a being, a thing with power just as mighty as there.

Those few who know of it call it The First Evil. And they are right to do so, for it is sin in all its forms. No being exists that is untouched by it. After all, there is nothing in reality that does not have at least the potential for evil. But the mortals have given it a name, one it accepts. Rahab.

When I was a loyal archangel, I saw the might of this thing in action. I saw as it made the skies of heaven grow dark, its undulating form made of pure darkness assaulting Heaven. I saw countless Masterbolts unleash on its form and it only flinched a little. While no one but me shall ever read this tome, to put things in perspective, a Masterbolt is the equivalent of a heavenly thermonuclear bomb.

It was only the Powers that saved heaven. And perhaps they were what made it so endangered in the first place. When the Powers left Rahab came again, but he didn't do anything hostile. It shrunk itself to the size of an archangel and said it was sorry. It didn't realize what was going on, just that it was bright. Some fool of an angel tried shanking it with a dagger of heavenly steel, and while it did sizzle the darkness the creature didn't react like a beast. No, what it did was so much worse.

It made that poor, poor soldier see just how much of It was in Him. Rahab's power over sin is enough that, should he chose to, he can instantly break anyone by showing them just how bad they really are. Some mortals say that everyone's the good guy of their own story. But by that logic, everyone must also be the big bad of at least one other story. Rahab just makes you realize how bad you are or could be. I asked him once if there were limits, and surprisingly there are. The less of him is in a person the less affective that trick is, and if a person is completely consumed by him its useless. Though I've seen what he can do, mostly cause of what he did to the Nazis when they got here.

When the Angels began the Eden project, we needed his help. To make the Garden we needed to make a new realm, one equal to heaven. And only he had the sheer power. He kinda went overboard what with all those planets, but its not like we were gonna say anything. But when the Tree of Knowledge was made, well. The mortals say I came in taking the form of a serpent, but it was actually him. See, to make an entire realm you need to make something central to it. In this case, the tree.

He did warn us that if anything ate from the Tree of Knowledge his potential would be activated in it and all that followed. For ultimately, anything we crafted would be flawed, as we were not the Powers. But we arrogantly assumed that no one would eat from it if we forbade it. Oh how wrong we were.

When I and Lilith eloped and the First Man and Second Woman ate the apple, he was proven right. I was blamed for it all, which is unfair. I have realized that I was too prideful, but I can't be blamed for everything. Maybe ninety percent of it, but not all. The Apple did give knowledge, that's all. I do plan to make a children's story for my newborn daughter Charlie, one that paints me and Lilith in a better light.

He also is the one who made hell. I asked him for a realm of my own, and it turns out he anticipated the possibility of all of this would happen. Though for reasons I can't even begin to guess at he guessed it would Sera who mucked it all up (his own, sadly very accurate, words). Hell is a lot like the mortal realm, namely that only a very small part of it can be considered survivable. Of course, Rahab seemed to go all out in those hostile layers beyond the Seven Rings; and it is from those places that all mortals get their ideas of what hell looks like.

Rahab has seen my daughter Charlie, and he fell in love with her just as the Seven Sins have. That's why he showed me the truth of myself. He broke my pride, showed me how foolish I was. He said the reason he didn't do so with Lilith was that she was apparently too full of him to be realized. My own hope is that my beloved found a way to ward herself, because if he is right then, well, I can't bear to think of what it would mean. But I swear, I will redeem myself, if only by being the best father to my dear Charlie.

She won't be like her father. Not if I can help it.


(extermination day, 50 years before the Hazbin Hotels opening, gluttony ring)

A newly arrived demon by the name of Frenchie was in grave trouble. He had the supreme misfortune of being outside a safe area when the skies opened and the Exorcists came forth. These cruel angels now hunted the sinner like a dog, his speed and power turned from his love of cooking to just desperate survival.

Frenchie looked like nothing from earth, a short four armed creature with a spatula shaped tail that he could use to create meals and a surprising super speed that had seen him rise far. Many assumed he would become the overlord of French cuisine (despite his skill in all forms of food), but now all he would be was another body in the street. His mini-tornado form and climbing helped him keep ahead, but his hunters could fly and they had his scent.

Eventually Frenchie passed a strange pair of icons, ones ignored by him and his hunters. All three were new to the area, and so they could not have known that those sigils were a warning. This territory was not for grabs. Go No Further. And all in hell knew that if one crossed those sigils without the permission of the lord who ruled it, then they were as good as erased.

Frenchie was cornered by the two, their helms projecting images that fit the form of a demon better than any demon he had seen or met. They were about to bring their angelic weaponry down upon him when a roar was heard. Suddenly the half-light of hell was gone as the skies darkened. Then the darkness took a form like a Wyrm of old myths. The shadow-dragon spoke in a voice that brooked no argument, "Who are you that dares not only to enter my territory here in gluttony, but to bring angelic weaponry here? Why do you sinners dare defile the sanctity of this place?"

The Exorcists laughed at the thing while Frenchie could only think if he should choose the frying pan or the fire. The first of the two said, "We're exorcists, the best team of sisters in life and in death! And once we're done with this shrimp we'll kill you too." The dragons response was a single word, "Wrong."

The second exorcist, the quieter one, spoke up, "What exactly are we wrong about?" The dragon smiled cruelly, and both angel and demon felt like they were the mouse to this things cat, "In life, you were not the best of teams. You were good friends early in life, but your parents manipulated you. Turned you against each other. Remember your application Verity? Remember how you thought that your sister sabotaged you by claiming it was plagiarized. You wished to touch the stars, but your parents, so greedy were they, that they sabotaged your chances and blamed your sister."

The exorcists held onto their weapons, desperately, and Frenchie felt the alleyway get wider, purely so the dragon could circle as it spoke. Its focus was now on the first one, "Truly, remember the apartment. You worked so hard, saved every dime, so you could finally be free. To have something of your own, but your parents gave it to Verity. They stole everything you had worked for and there was nothing you could do."

Frenchie wanted to run, but it seemed like the dragon would stop him, and so he stayed still. Then the dragon said, "Do you remember the muffins. It was your seventh birthday Truly, and you despised the cake your parents made for you two. It was far too sweet, and the frosting was so very pink. But when you asked for a different flavor they claimed it was what Verity wanted. After all, you shared a birthday, and she was younger. So you sought to buy yourself some muffins and let Verity have the whole cake."

It continued and Frenchie realized that whatever this thing was doing wasn't just talk. It was somehow making these two realize how horrible they were in life and death. Like making ones sins visible and forcing the person to see them from an unbiased perspective. Such a power could be devastating, and Frenchie was seeing it action.

The dragon continued, "Verity wanted to buy them for you with her allowance, and you gave her yours because it would be a lot more than a few quarters. And Verity bought them and tied up the box herself. But when you opened the box, they were cupcakes. So full of wraith were you that you and your sister, once thick as thieves, became such bitter enemies . So much so that you would kill each other." Thay last line hit worse at the dark cold normal volume of voice than if it were roared, "Oh yes, you killed each other. Verity, you poised your sister, and Truly you stabbed Verity in the back. But it was only after you died that you realized some important details. Like how the bow was perfect in spite of Verity having trouble tying her shoes. Or that the frosting was just as sickly pink as that cake you forced down your throat."

The angels looked at each other, thinking the same thing. It was Truly who spoke, "How could you know all this, Sinner!" The dragon let out a mad echo-y cackle and said, "You don't seem to understand. I am no mere sinner. I AM SIN!" At this dramatic proclamation it charged and grabbed the angelic weapons the two had and stabbed himself. The darkness composing it burnt away a bit, but then with but a thought the holy steel cracked and rusted away. Verity and Truly could feel the grace rotting from the weapons.

Then the Dragon exhaled, and instead of fire it was a mist. One that stripped away arrogance, the delusions of righteousness that all who indulged in sin but could not accept it clad themselves in. The Dragon spoke, "Random thing, but your parents went here. You killed them the first time out as exorcists. Doesn't matter how much they deserved it, Parricide is still a crime and a sin."

The Dragon then looked up as the clock in Pride tolled its bell and the exorcists flew away, "Now you have a choice to make. Flee with the cowards who commit genocide and call it justice. Or prove yourself worthy of those wings." The sisters looked at each other and simultaneously they pulled off there own wings, a noisy rip filling the alley.

"Holy Shit! I didn't mean that!" The alleyway snapped back to normal and instead of a dragon a vaguely snake like noodle thing of shadow was there panicking, "Oh no, that's a lot of Ichor." He noticed Frenchie and said, "You! You go to the manor at the center, ask for Scorps. Tell her we have two wingless pigeons, and that it's a anti-Samael situation. They'll know what it means." Frenchie nodded and sped off, leaving Rahab, the First Evil, alone with two dying angels.

He knew very little about angels really, but he did know from experience their wings were connected to major arteries. Having an angel's wings cut off, or worst ripped off, was practically a death sentence. It was like how a jugular cut was for most beings (including angels). In his crueler moments he made a game of pulling the wings off the angels sent to kill him. Verity spoke weakly, "Adam." Truly continued, "We're sorry." They both were slipping into unconsciousness, something Rahab knew was really bad. So he did what he could.

As the First Evil, he could take the form of any who had Sin in there hearts. It was more difficult to assume the shape of a being with less of him in them (as in Sin, get your mind out of the gutter). So the fact that becoming Adam was as effortless as becoming Adolf Hitler was (it was one of Scorps experiments) was highly disturbing. In the voice of the self-proclaimed main man Rahab said, "Hey, c'mon girls, ya did good. Its just a nick. We'll be up and partying in no time."

The fallen angels had smiles as they slipped into unconsciousness. And fortunately for them, Scorps had just arrived. A genius alchemist from the ancient Chinese dynasties, the scorpion lady took little time in doing some actual medical aid to the sisters. Rahab looked over to Frenchie and said, "You looking fir work by any chance? My last chief kinda got killed, I wasn't involved, but I do need a new one." Frenchie shrugged and said, "Sure, why not."


(present day, opening of the Hazbin Hotel)

Frenchie never thought he'd become the being most trusted by what essentially was the embodiment of evil, but it turned out that Rahab had quite an appetite. Now the shadow thing was searching for something frantically. Rahab spoke, "Het Frenchie, did you see where my Encounter Suit went?"

Frenchie remembered the first time he saw his boss in the encounter suit, it was soon after those two sisters, now fallen angels, were formally rescued. Apparently Rahab, despite being Evil, was a surprisingly moral guy, and didn't want to terrify everyone all the time. So he had the Encounter Suit made to disguise him as a normal demon. Frenchie spoke, "I'm pretty sure you left it in the closet. I mean, you only really have that for the suit."

Rahab nodded, "Ah right, thanks." Frenchie knew he could question his boss and did so, "Sir, I thought you disliked going out just after extermination day. Something about too many upstarts trying to shank you." The shadow noodle thing slipped into the suit and muttered, "This is always so tight." Then louder he said, "Well todays an exception. Today my niece Charlie formally opens her Hotel and begins a grand experiment in redemption. I'm gonna be popping over for a visit and maybe help out." He walked out the door and said, "Be back later." Then he vanished in a dramatic flash of smoke.

Author notes

My first ever mature rated fic. This is an AU for Hazbin Hotel for fun.

Thanks to Siamesephoenix for beta reading and letting me use some of their concepts.

In this version of hell, sinner and hellborn can travel into any of the rings. Though only the first seven. Not that most realize there are more. Also, the hellborn are not spared from the extermination.

Rahab is an actual demon, a sea-serpent said to have existed before God. This Rahab is based more on The First Evil from Buffy. His default look, ie the one he takes in his domains, is the snatcher visually, while his form when fighting is the shadow dragon. His encounter suit (ie the look he has for at least 90% of this story) will be described next chapter. But like the First Evil can take the form of any dead being, Rahab can take the form of anything period.

Frenchie is based on Frenchfry from Lilo and Stitch