Chapter Text
Disclaimer: Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss are the creations of Vivienne Madriano, and Hazbin Hotel is property of A2 Studios and Amazon.
Disclaimer: Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt is property of Studio Trigger, was property of Gainax, and was created by Hiroyuki Imaishi.
Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and its characters are property of Studio Khara and Hideaki Anno.
Disclaimer: DOOM is property of id Software, Bethesda, and Microsoft, and was created by John Romero and the inhuman computing entity known as John Carmack.
Here it is; the other side of Consequences of Hubris, continuing where Chapter 02 ended for the "Canon" timeline.
MUSIC I LISTENED TO WHILE WRITING
Halo 2 & Halo 2 Anniversary: Only A Star, Only The Sea, Cryptic Whisper, Peril, In Amber Clad, Trapped In Amber,
What Dream May Come (Rejected Ennio Morricone Score): Chris & Annie's Love Theme, Afterlife Begins, Road To Hell, Soul Mates/Communication Through a Painting, In The Cathedral, Flashback, Never Give Up, The Paradis city and Reincarnation Aim, A Family Reunited In Hell, Finale, The Dreamhouse / Oil Landscapes Relived.
Outlaw Star OST: Tsuki no Ie (performed by Akino Arai),
Silent Hill 4: Waiting For You (performed by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn).
Please note that listening to this music while reading the story is not a requirement. I simply provide this as a little something extra to help enhance the reading experience, if you the readers so wish to do so. Most of this music can be found and heard on YouTube or any number of anime soundtrack websites.
Sudden and Suspicious Disclaimer: I also advocate the purchasing and obtaining of official soundtracks through legal means.
Chapter Opening Theme: Kiri by Monoral
Tuesday Morning, June 04, 2024 AD, Red Ridge City, Pride Ring, Hell
First, there was darkness. It was very comfortable. But then, there was noise. That was not as comfortable. In fact, it was rather worrying. Soon, the darkness gave way to light as a pair of eyes slowing blinked open and their owner took in the sight of the mulch they were laying in. "What the...?"
"Uh... you gonna get out of there soon?" came a voice from nearby. Turning his head, Adam Kadmon, the first man created by the angels of Heaven, slowly looked up and saw a pair of imps in overalls and work hats standing nearby with pots of plants. "We kind of need to work here. It's nothing personal, but we've got a job to do," the taller of the two imps said in an empathetic tone.
"Where am I?" Adam asked as he slowly stood up, and soon found himself NOT towering over the imps like he should have. Oh, he was still taller than them by a good few feet, but he felt much shorter than before. Before he... wait a minute...
Adam quickly looked down and noticed the not-quite-clean-but-not-exactly-dirty robes he was wearing. He reached up with his hands, which were now a soft gray in color, and felt around his torso. There was no blood. He wasn't bleeding anymore. Well, that was one less thing to worry about.
"Um... you're in Red Ridge City," the shorter of the two imps said, breaking Adam out of his focus.
"Huh?" Adam asked as he looked at the imps again.
"You asked us where you are, and I just told you," the short imp said. "You're in Red Ridge City, located in the Pride Ring of Hell. And you're clearly not a Hellborn, so you must be a newly arrived sinner."
"Bullshit! I'm no sinner! I'm fucking ADAM! The First Man!" Adam retorted hotly.
"Good for you," the tall imp drolled sardonically.
"What, you want proof?! Look up at my fucking halo, motherfuckers!" Adam spat as he pointed up above his head. He then glanced up with a grin before frowning. He reached up and felt around for a halo, only to find nothing at all except his hair. "What?! Where's... oh, I must've lost it during the fight with Lucifuck," he muttered to himself.
"Uh-huh. Right, next you're gonna say that you have wings?" the short imp asked him with a knowing look on his face.
"Well, yeah! Can't you... see... them?" Adam asked as he tried to flex said appendages, only to discover that he could no longer feel any of those familiar sensations anymore. No muscle signals, no ligaments, no stretching flesh, no feathers...
He quickly craned his neck and looked behind himself through his peripheral vision to see that there was nothing coming out of his back. "No. No, this isn't happening," he muttered to himself in confusion and dismay. He then held up his hands to his face again and looked at them. They didn't seem to have any recognizable demonic attributes as far as he could tell.
He then craned his neck and pulled out his robes a bit to look under them, seeing his body looking completely human except for a gray skin tone. However, it was not as toned as it once was, and in fact it looked rather scrawny. After lifting his head up again, he rushed over to a delivery truck parked alongside the sidewalk, allowing the two imps to resume their job. He quickly found the closest side mirror and looked at it to see his reflection.
His face was the same as before, albeit slightly gaunt, but otherwise he looked identical to how he did in life and in Heaven. He then turned around and craned his neck to look at his back in the mirror. There were still no wings to be found, much to his disappointment... and growing horror as reality began to set in.
Adam stumbled a few steps back as the imp's words began to resonate. "I... I'm a... n-no! No! No, I... WHY?! It's not FAIR!" he screamed.
"Welcome to life," one of the imps muttered in annoyance.
"That... Lucifer must've done something to me... or that brat of his! That's it! That's... Lute..." Adam whispered as he remembered the final moments of the battle, with Lute's crying face being the last thing he ever saw. "Lute... To hell with-I mean... fuck!" Adam sputtered as he started pacing around in a circle.
"I gotta contact Lute..." he added to his muttering. He then stopped in his tracks and looked over at the two imps. "Hey! What's the fastest way to the Heaven Embassy in Pentagram City!?" he asked them urgently.
"Uh... speeding?" one of them replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Heh, good one," the other imp complimented him with a snicker.
Adam simply glared at them with a frown before he started walking away, figuring he wouldn't get any further help from them at this point.
Tuesday Morning, July 02, 2024 AD, The Grand Hall of Commune & Resolution, Pearl Gate City, Heaven
Slowly walking through the corridors of the facility, Archangel Michael came to a stop as he saw another Seraphim standing near an intersection. She was very tall, taller than Michael himself in his current form, with skin as white as snow, and hair the color of... ivory. It took Michael only a few seconds to recognize this individual. It was Lady Adina. She was the daughter of another Seraphim who had died during the Hundred Year War. Much of the Seraph's family, including her husband, had been killed off throughout that conflict, culminating in several of her own children being killed during the Final Siege, with only her son and his family surviving the war intact. "Lady Adina, what can I do for you?" Michael asked as politely as possible.
"I heard that you'll be having a meeting with Lucifer and his parasitic Hellspawn today," Adina said sweetly.
"Incorrect," Michael said flatly.
"Oh?" Adina asked him.
"I am having a meeting with Lucifer and my Hellborn niece," he corrected her with a firm glare.
Adina's sweet persona cracked only slightly at Michael's words. "I... see. My apologies. It would appear that I had been misinformed," she said with a faux apologetic tone.
"Apology accepted. Now-" "Although, I was wondering..." Adina interrupted him.
"Yes?" Michael asked her.
"How do you plan on punishing them for this unprovoked attack on Heaven? Certainly, you can't just let them walk away from it without reprimand, correct?" she asked him with a very thinly veiled grin on her face. Prior to the Hundred Year War, Adina had been one of the kindest and gentlest souls in Heaven. But after the war? After losing so much of her family and friends, she had changed. While she still had a kind persona towards those who were Heavenborn, her attitude towards ascended souls had... changed. It wasn't something that was blatantly obvious to the casual observer, but her interactions with winners were now slightly more reserved, and she never shook hands with anyone who wasn't a Heavenborn angel anymore either. While most other angels in heaven hadn't noticed this change, Michael, Jophiel, Gabriel, Raphael, Sera, Garterbelt, Mildred, and Adina's own surviving son had all noticed it. In fact, Adina's son was the one who had confirmed the change when bringing it to Michael's attention one evening in concern about a hundred years after the war had ended.
"Unprovoked?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow. "Lady Adina, I have viewed the scrying orb recordings of the meeting that I was rudely left out of back in May. And I can tell you, the only unprovoked attack was Adam's assault on the hotel," Michael said.
Adina's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before narrowing slightly. "Are you... really taking their side? After everything they've taken from us?" she asked him with venom in her voice. Michael narrowed his eyes in response.
"Hold your tongue, Adina," Michael said coldly. "I have no patience for letting the past dictate every action we take in the future. The extermination treaty clearly states that Hellborn demons are pardoned and not to be attacked unless they attack first, and Adam chose to attack the residence of a known Hellborn, which deliberately put said Hellborn at risk of injury and/or death at the hands of Adam and his exorcists, when they had drawn no blood nor made any threats against him or Heaven," Michael said.
"That girl used cannibal sinners," Adina hissed.
"And she will answer for that," Michael replied. "But, it's also worth noting that her idea still worked. The purpose of her hotel was proven to be possible."
"So that snake proved that it's possible, but... willingly letting sinners have a chance to enter Heaven to begin with? It's complete madness," Adina spat.
"And yet it is a truth we must live with. For Heaven's grace to be eternal, it must extend to all who have earned it, no matter how long it takes for them," Michael retorted. "Besides, you and I both know Princess Charlotte is not the first person to desire the redemption of sinners," he added.
Adina simply rolled her eyes. "Yes, but Lord Joshua failed when he tried, didn't he?" she asked snidely.
"He was never given the chance. Lucifer banned him from Hell after his first visit," Michael explained to her. And he banned him for the dumbest and pettiest of reasons. "So, you can't say that he failed when he never really had the chance to try in the first place."
Adina let out a snort and rolled her eyes in response. "I just have one more question, though," Adina soon said.
"Yes?" Michael asked her.
"Are Mildred and Garterbelt permanently reinstated in the Exorcist Forces, or are they just filling in until a new commander can be found?" she asked him.
"We're weighing our options right now," Michael said, knowing where this line of questioning was going.
"I could step in, you know. I'm more than capable of handling the paperwork and eliminating threats to Heaven. I was once part of Heaven's standard army, after all. I'm an excellent candidate. With me in charge, we could actually bring order to the chaos that is Hell," Adina said.
"As I said, we're weighing our options. Nothing has been decided yet. Now, if you'll excuse me," Michael said before turning and walking away from the younger Seraphim.
Adina simply glared at his back as he walked away. One day, she promised herself, she would convince Michael and the other angels to see reason and bring order to chaos, to finally put and end to the threat that evil posed to goodness. One day, Michael, you'll see reason and do what needs to be done.
Friday Morning, July 05, 2024 AD, Exorcist Headquarters, Heaven
The Main Archival Office
"... frowned upon. And that's why we were benched," Panty Anarchy explained nonchalantly as she spun around in her chair. The recently reinstated Captain Mildred Roanoke stared at the exorcist with mild disappointment, and not just because she was wearing casual clothes instead of the standard uniform. While blue jeans and a white T-shirt looked nice on her, it wasn't proper attire when on duty.
"I can see why no one brought this to my attention sooner," Mildred said wearily.
"So, with Adam gone, does that mean Lute's gonna be in charge now?" Panty asked her.
"Garterbelt and I are weighing our options right now. Still, benched or not, I would prefer to see all exorcists in proper uniform when on duty," Mildred said sternly.
"Whatever you say, Ma'am," Panty said flippantly. As soon as her chair stopped spinning as it came to an abrupt halt seconds later, Panty found the inertia catching up to her. "Whoa!" she let out in surprise.
"Private Panty Anarchy," Mildred started as she turned the chair to face her, "I expect that you will comply with this order starting on Monday of next week. If not, then you will be placed on cleanup duty by yourself for the next month. Am I clear?"
"A-Affirmative, Ma'am," Panty said with a slight hint of nervousness in her voice and a sheepish expression on her face.
"Thank you," Mildred then said sweetly before letting go of the chair and walking away. She quickly exited the room and began searching for Panty's sister, Stocking Anarchy. Given what she had been told by Panty and other exorcists, Stocking would most likely be found near the cafeteria or perhaps sparring outside. Given how it wasn't even noon yet, Mildred decided that it would be best to check outside to see if Stocking was sparring.
Eventually, as she passed the infirmary, Mildred stopped when she heard the noise of someone retching and throwing up. Stepping back over to the door of the infirmary, Mildred listened closely as she heard the noise yet again. Opening the door and closing it behind her as she stepped inside, Mildred noticed Lute hunched over a bucket near a washing station, while the Chief Medical Officer, a golem-type exorcist from Garterbelt's time named Aletta Silverstein, was crouched next to Lute, keeping one hand on her back, slowly making circular motions to help comfort her superior.
"Lieutenant Silverstein?" Mildred asked.
"Yes?" Aletta replied as she stood up with a crisp salute.
"Stay focused on her," Mildred said, curtly nodding her chin towards Lute. "Still, is she okay?" Mildred then asked her.
"I'm not sure. She came here about an hour ago complaining that she had been feeling sick two mornings in a row now," Aletta explained. Mildred raised an eyebrow at this.
"What happened that led to her current state?" Mildred asked as she knelt down and placed a hand on Lute's head to check her temperature. She didn't seem to be sweating or showing signs of a fever. Her skin felt normal to the touch.
As Mildred pulled her hand away, she looked over Lute's folded-up wings at Aletta.
"I think it was my food," Aletta said.
"Your food?" Mildred asked as Lute heaved once more, and a wet sound was produced from the bucket beneath her. "That's it, just get it out of your system," Mildred said softly to Lute.
"Well, she didn't eat any of it. I missed breakfast this morning, so I was heating up a meal in the microwave when Lute came in here," Aletta explained. "While she was explaining the symptoms of whatever bug she's caught, my food was done, and after I took it out and removed the cover, she just started... she got queasy and then grabbed the nearest bucket to throw up. She's been like this for fifteen minutes now."
Mildred nodded her head and looked up over at the counter near Aletta's desk, where her breakfast meal lay untouched. In terms of her material makeup and powers, Aletta was a healing-type golem, one who had remained in the Exorcist Forces from the time that Garterbelt was in charge up through Adam's tenure. Neither she nor any other golem-type exorcist had the power to make food just simply appear on the spot the way that a Seraphim could.
"Anything else of note?" Mildred asked her.
"Nothing really, although..." Aletta trailed off before standing up and motioning for Mildred to follow her as they stepped away from Lute. "Lute was extremely close to Adam while he was still alive," Aletta whispered to Mildred. "It was never a secret that the two of them were in a relationship, so... I think, um... we should call Lord Raphael and set up an appointment for Lute with him," she finished.
"But, Adam was an ascended soul," Mildred whispered. "I don't think what you're suggesting is possible. Ascended souls can't do that," she added as she glanced over at Lute.
"I'd rather be safe than sorry," Aletta whispered with a serious expression on her face. "Besides, I don't have the necessary equipment to properly examine her and determine if my suspicions are correct or not. At least Raphael has the resources to be thorough."
"We should ask Lute first," Mildred whispered back.
Aletta shook her head. "No, she'll refuse out of pride. She's stubborn that way. Trust me, I've known her long enough. We'll have to order her to see him, and then one of us will probably need to accompany her just to make sure that she actually goes," she explained. "I recommend you for the job."
"Alright," Mildred whispered back in agreement. "You make the call to Raphael. Let me know when the appointment is, and I'll make sure Lute gets there on time."
Sunday, July 07, 2024 AD, Red Ridge City, Pride Ring, Hell
A Grocery Store
With a grunt, Adam closed the door of the soda cooler and loaded up the empty crates onto his u-boat* before pushing it through the aisle towards the entrance to the back room. He saw a female imp pushing a shopping cart while her two children trailed behind her, both of them arguing with each other about a game or something. Adam wasn't really paying much attention to their conversation, instead focusing on just making sure he didn't ram the u-boat into anyone by accident.
Following his initial rebirth as a sinner Adam had attempted to make his way out of Red Ridge City and into Pentagram City, hoping to reach the Heaven Embassy and contact Sera. He had managed to leave the city without any major injury by the end of his first day, but once night fell and he was somewhere beyond city limits, climbing up a hill, he was quickly attacked by one of Hell's wild beasts, some kind of bat-like creature. He hadn't seen the attack coming until it was too late. The next morning, he woke up back in Red Ridge City, this time in an alley.
So, that sucked.
After dying two more times, the second death being caused by a stray bullet from a gang fight, and the third death being a result of yet another wild Hellbeast attacking him once he ventured outside the city at night again, Adam decided that he would just take public transport.
Unfortunately, he had no money. And since he wasn't going to beg people for change, he knew that he had only one recourse; he had to... he had to get a job. It was humiliating for him, but since he also needed a place to stay until he had enough money to afford every public bus he might come across, he realized that he had no other options. He also needed clothes, and food. Unlike angels in Heaven, who didn't really need to eat unless they were on the low end of the totem pole... or on the high end but also pregnant, pretty much everyone in Hell required food, be they sinners or Hellborn.
Oddly enough, though, Adam found that familiar, given his time living on Earth before ascending to Heaven. Unfortunately, given his more scrawny build as a sinner, he needed to actually build up muscle, and that also meant buying food, which in turn meant that he needed a job to secure a steady source of income... at least until he could make his way to the Embassy in Pentagram City. Until then, however, he would bide his time and work at a Hellborn-run grocery store.
It wasn't the worst job he could have gotten in Hell, he quickly realized once he learned about city sewage maintenance and waste disposal. It wasn't very glamorous either. That being said, he wasn't exactly about to get his face plastered everywhere while he was still scrawny and defenseless. He had seen televisions and phones playing footage of the battle at the princess's hotel, and his face had been visible.
He had no desire to get recognized right away by Hell's sinner population until he was certain that he could adequately defend himself. That also meant he would need to save up money to purchase a knife or a baseball bat or even a gun to protect himself. At least the Hellborn didn't seem to care about his identity. If any of them recognized him, they didn't make a fuss about it or show any signs of giving a shit.
As Adam entered the back room and pushed his u-boat over to the soda skids to take them off, he started wondering how Lute and the other surviving exorcists were doing. He hoped Lute was among the survivors. So far, he hadn't seen any other reborn exorcists walking around, but then again, would they even look familiar as sinners? Would he even be able to recognize them in the first place? Given just how old his soul actually was, he figured that he counted as an Old World Sinner, which explained why he still looked so human, but the other exorcists? He wasn't sure how being reborn as sinners would affect their physical appearances.
Shaking his head to get rid of those thoughts, Adam returned his focus to his work as one of his coworkers, a rather tall male imp wearing glasses, pushed a loaded u-boat through the doors out onto the shopping floor. He then noticed another of his coworkers, a somewhat pudgy female Hellhound whose name he couldn't remember, stacking a u-boat of her own while humming some tune. He then quickly refocused on his own work and the day went on.
Monday, July 08, 2024 AD, Raphael's Primary Medical Center, Pearl Gate City, Heaven
Sitting on the edge of the examination table/bed, Lute listened as Raphael paced around the room while looking at the results of her test. Mildred was currently leaning against a wall nearby. "Well?" she asked him impatiently, hoping to mask her nervousness with aggression. "What's wrong with me?" she asked him.
"Your general attitude, for starters," Raphael quipped with a smirk, causing Lute to briefly roll her eyes in annoyance. "Well, all of the blood tests are done. Congratulations, Lieutenant," Raphael said as he finally walked over and handed the test results to Lute. "You're pregnant."
Lute's eyes widened with a gulp, suddenly feeling as though the wind had been knocked out of her as she processed Raphael's words.
"When do you think conception occurred?" Mildred asked Raphael from her spot by the wall.
Raphael looked over at her. "Based on what I could sense, I'm thinking it likely happened just a few days prior to the Early Extermination," he replied.
Lute finally regained her bearings and looked at the papers in her hands. Lute remained completely silent for the next 90 seconds, before she started to cry. "A-Adam!" Lute cried as she held her hands, and the papers, to her abdomen.
Mildred walked over and placed a hand on Lute's back, slowly rubbing it up and down to comfort her. "I'm... I'm sorry, Lute," Raphael said to her. "Finding out that you're pregnant so soon after the death of the father... yeah, I'm not really helping when I say things like that," he finished before shutting his mouth. I really miss Tahlaran, he thought to himself.
"Lute, why don't you take the rest of the week off and get yourself sorted out," Mildred suggested to her.
"I... [hiccup] I cant!" Lute protested.
"Yes, you can," Mildred said sternly. "In fact, if you won't take time off willingly, then I'm going to force it. You have no idea how much time saved up you have, do you? Well, I do," Mildred said.
"Lute, from this evening through next Sunday, I'm putting you on vacation for personal time. You need it. Garterbelt and I can handle everything until you return. In the meantime, you need to figure out what you plan to do about your current... situation," Mildred continued firmly.
"It's your body, so the choice is ultimately up to you," Raphael chimed in.
"I...I'm keeping it. It's... it's all I have left of him," Lute said tearfully. "I can't... I can't get rid of that," she added in a pained croak.
"Alright then, I'll start preparing your checkup schedule for the duration of your pregnancy, to ensure that everything goes smoothly," Raphael said before he turned around and walked over to pick up his data tablet.
Looking down at her abdomen, Lute took a deep shuddering breath as she began to realize just how much her life was going to change from now on.
Chapter Ending Theme: Stay And Drown by Finger Eleven.
Preview Of Next Time!
"So, let me get this straight," Cain began as he kept his eyes on the road while talking to his father and the other exorcist-sinner he had picked up while stopping for gas after leaving Red Ridge City. "You genuinely thought that you could threaten and attack the property of Hell's princess, the property of INFERNAL ROYALTY... without any resistance at all? You actually thought... for fuck's sake, you ACTUALLY THOUGHT THAT!? YOU ACTUALLY BELIEVED HER PROPERTY WOULD BE EASY PICKINGS!?"
"Shut up already," Adam grumbled as he crossed his arms.
"Hey! She rallied an army of cannibals!" Peppermint cried in protest. "I mean, you just learned about what happened to your mother because of cannibal sinners a while back, so how can you be okay with this!?"
"I never said I was okay with cannibal sinners, but whose fault is it that the Princess felt threatened to the point that she decided to rally them in the first place?" Cain asked her with a shit-eating grin. "Huh? Care to answer that one?" he asked as they soon entered a tunnel that slowly began to slope downwards on an incline beneath a mountain.
"Sh-Shut up," Adam snapped angrily.
"Hn. Crybaby," Cain muttered in response. "Never could admit when you were at fault for anything, on Earth OR in the afterlife."
"I swear, if you weren't driving right now..." Adam trailed off.
"Can you both PLEASE not drive each other to murder while we're still on the road? At least wait until AFTER we've gotten inside the Embassy before you start tearing each other's limbs off," Peppermint requested with a frustrated sigh of exasperation. "You're supposed to be grown adults, for fuck's sake," she muttered to herself in annoyance.
Author's Notes:
For the record, Alternative Consequences will only update sporadically until Consequences of Hubris is finished. I'm just putting this out here to get the ball rolling.
Why does Adam look like a regular human as a sinner in this story?
Well... the first reason is that the majority of other stories featuring Adam as a sinner tend to have him retain an appearance similar to his exorcist outfit, with horns, wings, etc... and sometimes a few additional appendages like a tail or he'll be similar to modern sinners with an animal motif... and I wanted to stand out by doing something radically different from everyone else.
What I wanted to do here is show Sinner Adam as a reflection of what he is without any of the power given to him by Heaven. I want to show him as being literally just a man who is now less powerful than everyone around him, which is a direct contrast to what he was in life and in Heaven.
His tall and imposing height and muscular build? Gone.
His great physical strength? Gone.
His scary mask? Gone.
His beautiful and powerful wings? Gone.
Everything that made him an intimidating powerhouse in Heaven is now gone, leaving him on the same level as the very sinners he once slaughtered. He is now relatively weaker than he ever was in life and/or up in Heaven, and he lacks any means of hiding his face, thus forcing to him remain exposed to the world and everyone around him. Where he was once a powerful predator, he is now vulnerable prey.
Also, Adam was one of the earliest human souls to exist, which technically makes him an Old World Sinner in this story's universe, and as detailed in Consequences of Hubris, Old World Sinners retain mostly human appearances that are physically close to how they appeared when living on Earth, with only a few exceptions depending on the circumstances of their deaths.
*U-boat is a common term for a type of cart that can carry large loads of grocery product, due to it having two large handle ends sticking up. Giving it a "U" shape. I use them all the time at my workplace.
Also, look at who isn't dead in this timeline! That's right, Miss Anarchy herself! And, yes, she and Stocking, and Scanty and Kneesocks, still retain their origin from the main story, Consequences of Hubris.
As always, please be sure to let me know what you think of the chapter and/or story so far in the comments! They're always appreciated!