Chapter Text
Charlie Morningstar’s sing song voice echoed through the main hall of the Hazbin Hotel.
“Today’s the day! It’s finally here! I’m so excited to bring her here!” She slid down the bannister of the main stair, taking in the line of a dozen sinners looking to sign up for redemption. The lobby was a snapshot of routines, Husk and Cherri were at the bar, Nifty was chasing rats while Baxter watched, and all the while their illustrious host stood watchful over everyone. Alastor sipped his tea, his ears perked up at the sound of a portal open, then a knock at the front door. Charlie flew to it and nearly tore it off its hinges.
“Emily! You’re here! Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel! I’ve got SO many activities planned and I can’t wait for how much redeeming is gonna happen now that you’re here!” Emily dropped her bags immediately and hugged her, Charlie continued talking on and on about her plans, Alastor listened intently. Of course he knew the seraph was coming, and of course he would be expected to participate, but of course he cared little for redemption, in fact the thought sounded like his own personal hell. He was lost in thought when he saw Charlie waving from the lobby below.
“Hm?” Alastor’s slightly distorted voice came through.
“Come down here and meet our latest guest!” He melted into a shadow and appeared behind Emily with an outstretched hand.
“Hello my dear, pleasure to make your acquaintance, I am Alastor, the host of this fabulous hotel.”
“I’m Emily, I’m one of the seraphim. Charlie told me so much about you, I can’t wait to get started! What you do here is so important for the future of Hell and Heaven!” She took his hand and the pure warmth surprised him and almost made him flinch, but he held firm, even as a nearby radio started screeching a sound only he could hear. His mind raced, what did this angel want with him, how could she even stand to touch him?
“A seraph, it is quite the honor,” he bowed low to hide the decibel meters in his eyes maxing out and spoke through his glowing yellow teeth. “I assure you the work we do here is exceptional, why you’ve seen the results of our labor firsthand!” At this point Charlie cut in again.
“There’s so much to see! Come on let me show you the rooms!” Charlie grabbed Emily’s other hand and the circuit between her and Alastor was broken. He was back to normal, a slight malfunction, he would iron it out later. His indifference to the angel’s presence had grown into something else, for the first time he was almost unsure about someone who had power over him.
Later in the day Alastor retired to his tower for his nightly radio show. He let the record spin as the tower boomed with the bass and the wail of the horn section gave the music its signature sound. Alastor didn’t hear the footsteps or the rustling of wings at his door but he did feel a presence approaching his fortress of solitude. Just then as if on cue the next track faded in a slow trumpet and trombone duet, and Emily appeared at his door.
“Sorry, Alastor, I knocked… a lot. I was… hoping to talk to you.” Emily stuttered out, her characteristic bubbly charm was somewhat muted, with fear or embarrassment Alastor couldn’t tell.
“Of course, Emily, come, sit down, how do you like your tea? What’s on your mind?” he strained to not ask any more questions like WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE or WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME THIS MORNING.
“4 sugars and milk, and for what’s on my mind, I’ve been going and meeting with the staff of the hotel one by one and trying to learn more about how I can help out! Sera thinks this whole thing is still uncertain but I want to do everything to see it through!” Alastor brought her her tea on a saucer with a spoon and sat across the room from her.
“I’m the host of the hotel! That comes with a lot of responsibility don’t you know. I do whatever’s necessary to make sure the hotel runs smoothly and efficiently, when the wheels start to squeak I’m what you’d call the grease!” He had to freeze his face to keep from completely losing himself over that stupid metaphor, comparing himself to something so dirty and utilitarian in the presence of one so pure and bright made him feel sick to his stomach. What was happening to him?
“That’s wonderful! Charlie is so lucky to have you here. How long have you been in Hell?”
“Sometimes it feels like just yesterday I woke up in this dark abyss of pride and misfortune. But no, I think it’s been around 120 years now, give or take of course.”
“That’s a long time, you must have seen so much!”
“Oh, I’ve seen plenty, I’ve seen overlords rise and fall and rise again, I even had a hand in a few of those falls, ha! Such a wonderful time, truly.”
“Wow you really are everything I heard about.” Alastor’s voice dropped and his filter strengthened, so his voice was a whisper of almost pure static.
“Am I?”
“All of that and more! I looked in to every sinner before coming here and you’re so mysterious, I didn’t learn much.”
“What did you learn?” The dials on his console twitched and his shadow contorted like it was wretching in pain.
“That most of the other sinners in the hotel are scared of you, and I wanted to know why.”
“You know why.”
“Alastor, have you ever thought about checking into the hotel, for real? If you start the path to redemption you’ll be a wonderful example for everyone else that even the Radio Demon can put the work in to be redeemed!” This was just enough to make Alastor’s unbreakable smile crack, he shot out of his seat and brought himself to his full height, antlers growing and the bright red X between his eyes in full view.
“Me, the Radio Demon, the most powerful sinner in hell, what makes you think that I would ever WANT to be redeemed, let alone that it was possible?” Emily hesitated but her wings unfurled and she floated to his eye level. Her angelic eyes opened and her light poured from every atom of her being, driving his shadow away and finally showing the Radio Demon that he was not going to intimidate her.
“Alastor, please, give it a try.”
Alastor did not know why, and did not know how, but the angel’s request rang entirely sincere. She hadn’t told a lie since she set foot in this sinful place, her intentions remained clear from the start, she truly believed that he could be happy, not as the guarded mass murdering fear inspiring Radio Demon who broadcasts the screams of lost souls for all the Pentagram to hear, but he could be happy as Alastor.
Emily’s feet planted on the floor. Alastor drew back into his normal form and stood straight and tall, hands folded on his staff.
“Fine.”
“Thank you for hearing me out. It’s getting late, I’m going to my room. Good night, Alastor.”
“Good night.” The words burned in his throat, as soon as Emily was out of earshot he caught himself coughing up static and hearing wining sounds from his staff. He concentrated for a second trying to sense the problem but the staff was functioning perfectly, it was him who was changed.
Emily rushed to her hotel room. Nifty had chosen the “bestest room with the bestest bugs” which turned out, surprisingly, to be no bugs at all and only a few small imperfections which Nifty was quick to clean up. For all the stabbing and rat blood, Emily thought, Nifty was quite good at cleaning up.
She unpacked her things and sat on the edge of the bed, taking everything she’d accomplished in. Husk seemed down in the dumps but she knew with time he’d come around. Cherri was over the moon to see her, their meeting was almost entirely Emily telling her about Sir Pentious. Even Baxter was enthusiastic since he’d spoken to Pentious personally and knew it was possible, and he’d started as the most cynical, apart from… him.
It was impossible to get Alastor out of her head. When they shook hands in the lobby she’d felt a coldness to him, like an icy biting wind shooting up her arm, and his permanent smile was intimidating. Everyone in the hotel had something different to say about him, he was simultaneously the topic she’d spent the longest on and gotten the shortest possible answers. She knew little about his origins, what he did, why he was even at the hotel.
Sera had warned her about Alastor before she even left for the hotel. She had seen the horrors he could inflict on anyone he chose and she feared seeing her sister get hurt, or worse, at the hands of the most brutal, sadistic, most feared sinner in hell.
Something drew her to him, and she wasn’t quite sure what.
All of this and more contributed to her sheer shock and awe at the conversation that took place. She stood up to the Radio Demon, a sinner who was almost evenly matched with Adam, a sinner who nearly obliterated Vox at the height of his popularity, and he folded to her. She was soon snug under the covers, hands over her heart, thanking the highest powers for the opportunity to help with the hotel and especially for keeping her safe with Alastor. She couldn’t guess what the future held but she knew she would do her best, and she hoped Alastor would do the same.