Chapter Text
Hell could be cruel- though that was to be expected.
Crimson skies, laden with smog, loomed over the sleepless cities of the Pride Ring; Heaven’s distant glow taunted the damned- forever out of reach. Neon flickers promised luxury in misery, for the right price.
Angel didn’t miss it.
He’d wasted over half an afterlife chasing short-lived highs and barely scraping by, only to find himself in the gutters again come morning. The change in trajectory wasn’t unwelcome- fragile second chances he probably didn’t deserve- but he’d savor them while they lasted.
Even so, mornings were a bitch.
“Alright! I’m up, I’m up!” He grumbled, untangling himself from a nest of limbs and sheets. The banging at his door finally subsided after a few choice words, moving on to torment the next poor soul down the hall.
Angel raked a hand through his mess of hair and fluff- good enough. People would pay to wake up to his bed head (in more ways than one, thank you very much.) Fat Nuggets gave an indignant snort as he hopped back into the disrupted bed.
“Well, sorry for disturbing your beauty sleep,” Angel cooed as the pig dissolved into snores. “Lucky bastard,” he huffed before carefully slipping into the hall.
Coffee. The only thing Hell could provide to make a shitty morning less shitty.
Angel curled into the parlor loveseat, cradling his mug while fighting sleep. The hotel slowly stirred to life around him, Husk eventually shambling in and nudging him for space. As Husk collapsed, Angel draped his legs across the cat’s lap with a playful smirk.
“Mornin’, sunshine-”
Rather than protest, Husk’s tail flicked lazily in response as he steadied his mug on Angel’s shin, ear twitching in acknowledgement.
The quiet was short-lived.
Niffty scuttled up the back of the loveseat- hands outstretched for Angel’s mug, which he narrowly yanked out of reach. She toppled to the floor with a huff.
“Hands off bug- you ain’t gettin’ mine after last time.”
As Niffty pouted, Charlie burst from the kitchen in a babble of half-formed ideas and vague plans; Vaggie trailed behind with a mix of focus and thinly veiled exasperation.
(For a moment, Angel finally understood how Charlie could be the devil’s daughter- though he didn’t care to know whether Lucifer was also a morning person.)
“Ain’t you chipper?” Angel grumbled, mourning the quiet days already lost to Charlie’s buzzing about ‘grand reopenings’ and ‘fresh starts.’
“I know it’s early,” she said apologetically, her energy untouched, “but if we want to put our best foot forward, we have to stay ahead of schedule!”
“...Not until you share whatever you’re huffin’.”
Caring about this stupid hotel- and everyone inside it- was going to be his downfall.
Husk stretched, fur bristling. “Not that I care, but wasn’t this shit Alastor’s idea in the first place?”
Niffty popped out of the kitchen, cackling as she clutched a sloshing coffee pot to her chest. Husk’s ear twitched in irritation before he sighed. “Just feels like you’d wanna drag him down here, too…”
Charlie paused, just long enough to scan the room. “That’s… a great point, Husk.”
“We’ll catch him up later.” Vaggie pressed a hand to her temple with a long sigh. Judging by her mussed hair and pinched expression, Angel gathered she was also a begrudging hostage of their resident early bird. “Let’s just get started.”
“He’s prolly out ruinin’ some poor bastard’s morning,” Angel waved a dismissive hand. “Y’know, the usual.”
As if on cue, a low thrum of static was punctuated by the shrill shatter of glass splitting the air. Interest piqued, Angel stood with flourish.
“I should’a put money on that one.”
Vaggie shot him a look before rushing after Charlie, who’d already torn off to investigate. Husk grumbled about rebuilding as he downed the rest of his drink.
The bay window lay in pieces as Alastor braced against an agitated opponent- animalistic ears twitching, fawn-like spots stark against the flush of their anger. His cane held them barely a foot away.
“There’s no need to throw a tantrum,” he hummed, cool and unbothered by their irritation. “My, quite an unexpected visit indeed. I had begun to believe you’d been slain by exorcists. My compliments, truly.”
“Imagine my disappointment,” they retorted with a cold glare. “Seven years of quiet, and suddenly you’re here… playing house with a bunch of misfits. It isn’t befitting of you.”
Alastor’s grin sharpened, eyes gleaming with condescension. “Perhaps we shall call it an old habit. A bit of a reminisce into the past, hm?” With a sharp pivot, he threw the newcomer backward into the iron gates lining the courtyard. “Would you not agree?”
The words struck a nerve.
“Don’t you dare!” Fists balled at their sides, the newcomer’s jaw tightened. “Why am I even surprised? How stupid of me to think- after all this time, you haven’t changed at all!”
Now separated by the length of the yard, neither moved to attack again.
“You wound me,” Alastor replied, brushing his coat of shards. “Perhaps I should be grateful you have not fallen to holy arms. Your persistence remains endearing, darling- truly charming.”
“Endearing,” they scoffed, teeth clenched. “After everything I’ve-...” They faltered, chest heaving as they tripped over the weight of racing thoughts.
Angel sighed, slouched against the courtyard pillar, unimpressed. He couldn’t be bothered to track the back-and-forth of the pitiful fight across the yard.
“So, uh, what’s the deal with this one?” he asked with a yawn. “Another friend? Contract with a bad attitude? Must be somethin’ if they’re still standin’ there.”
“I ain’t his fuckin’ keeper,” Husk huffed with indifference, though unease crept in with the reminder of Mimzy’s visit. “If I kept track of every person he’s crossed, I’d have half of Hell… and then some.”
Angel snorted. “Just wonderin’. Figured there’s a reason they haven’t been hung like a string’a Christmas lights.”
Vaggie opened her mouth to scold, then faltered when her eye caught the yard. “Shit, wait- Charlie!”
But the princess had already darted across the lawn, skidding as she planted herself at the edge of the confrontation.
“Hi! So, so sorry to interrupt… this.” She gestured with frazzled energy, her smile strained. “Buuut, we did just rebuild, so maybe tone it down just a teeny tiny bit? Please?”
Neither spoke, and so Charlie offered a hand to the stranger. “Okay, how about this… Hi! I’m Charlie and-”
“Save it. Everyone in Hell’s heard about you and your… Hazbin Hotel… since the last extermination.” When Charlie didn’t lower her hand, their guest sighed at the roadblock. “Right,” they uttered and extended a hand, “I’m-”
“Leaving.” Alastor cut in smoothly, expression demanding their silence at once. “I will be seeing you out now-”
Before he could corral them from the courtyard, Charlie gave a rare stern look- either tell what’s going on, or stop trying to stir the pot.
The swarm of static in the air grew unbearable; Angel fought chills down his spine.
Charlie murmured something too quiet for him to catch, but it seemed to land. The stranger eased with an ear twitch as they finally looked from Alastor to Charlie with intrigue. Alastor’s grin became painfully taut in a way that made Angel uneasy.
Yet, the Radio Demon was silenced- for the moment.
“Why don’t you come in for a moment to… recollect?” Charlie brightened once more as she gestured to the hotel. “Alastor will… fix the window! So we can all take a minute to wind down, yeah?”
Their visitor raised a brow. “...If you insist?” Whether Charlie actually heard was unclear, as she was already reaching for their wrist.
“Great! That’s settled then.” She looked pointedly at Alastor. “The window?”
“As good as new.” The garbled buzz in the air dissipated with a crackling pop as Charlie briskly guided the newcomer toward the hotel.
Husk side-stepped out of their way. Niffty was not so lucky, bowled to the ground as they breezed past, her eye wide as she faceplanted into the carpet.
A pause hung between those remaining on the stoop as Charlie vanished with the stranger. Tense looks were exchanged until Vaggie finally threw up her hands.
“What the fuck was that?!”
“Ah, an interrogation, is it?” Alastor’s chuckle grated like a needle across vinyl. “I cannot say that I’m surprised, but surely I need not recount every monotonous detail of my affairs. Dreadfully dull.”
“Cut the shit. Pentious was thrown halfway across Pentagram with fewer words.” A loaded pause followed, no one daring to touch it. “You hardly laid a hand on this one- so who are they? And what do they want?”
“What they want is of no concern to you,” Alastor said, suddenly sharp and flat. The shattered bay window slotted itself back together in a green flare. “They are no threat to the hotel, rest assured.”
“For someone who talks so much, you never say anythin’ useful, do you?” Angel muttered, crossing his arms and leaning against a pillar.
“Their interruption was- admittedly- unexpected,” Alastor hummed, twisting his cane in thought. “However! They will not be staying long- mark my words.”
“Real fuckin’ reassuring,” Husk growled, ears twitching.
Alastor stepped inside ahead of them, bustling Niffty to her feet.
She scampered off, muttering about bugs (and the apocalypse? Angel decided to shake that one off for his own sanity.)
Into the tension, Angel forced a chuckle. “Right, I mean, Charlie’s not gonna just take in any ol’ sinner because they picked a fight with Al. If that were the case, I’d be due for a rain check any day now-”
Fragments of radio channels scraped the air; shadows crawled across the walls. Alastor tilted his head slowly in Angel’s direction- a silent challenge to even try.
“On second thought, eh, I’ll just assume she took me in for my good looks.”
Charlie practically flew down the foyer stairs with their bewildered visitor in tow.
“Great news, guys!” She brimmed with more energy than before, and Angel wished farewell to whatever peace they’d had left, already anticipating her next words.
“We had a little talk, smoothed things over, and…” Charlie skidded to a stop at the foot of the stairs, beaming with a grand gesture to the newcomer. “Everyone, meet our newest resident… you!”
Into the abrupt silence, Angel groaned.
“It’s too fucking early for this.”