“The Pilot is here!
Follow Alastor, the Radio Demon as he pursues his goals of taking over Hell and
messing with demons to keep his reputation intact. After seeing Princess
Charlie announce her plan to rehabilitate sinners at her hotel, he arrives at
the hotel to assist her. Along the way he meets porn film star Angel Dust and
Charlie’s devoted girlfriend Vaggie. While Alastor seeks out new forms of entertainment,
he also seems to have more sinister plans in mind.”
The scene started with black curtains opening to a silhouette
of a city. The words SpindleHorse Presents was written in white cursive before
fading away.
The building shadows were against a gray background with eye
designs on it.
A man with a radio voice sang a song.
“At the end of the tunnel, there’s
craziness.”
A figure of a person was falling downwards through the
darkness until ending at a tunnel of light. Shadows of demons falling into Hell
were shown: Baxter, Angel Dust, Sir Pentious, Niffty, Robo Fizz, and others.
“And to meet me, how often one dies…”
A silhouette of a human man with glasses and short hair
looked to the left, speaking from a microphone with one hand while using a
knife in the other. To the far left were cowering human silhouettes. A white smile shape was shown were the man’s
mouth was.
The man turned to the right in a running motion where a
shadow of a policeman, a hunter and a growling dog were staring at him. The dog
bared its shadow teeth and the two men aimed long shadow guns at him. Black
splatters appeared from near the shadow man’s head and the figure collapsed to
the ground.
“Yes my life is a game
Just a quest for fame…
And my foes all smashed up like
flies…”
White spinning silhouettes of Exterminators, weapons pointed,
flew around the shadow city, as a glowing pentagram was created in the center.
The shadow of the killer man appeared again, this time
growing shadow deer ears and little antlers. His eyes were glowing red and a
shadow staff appeared in his hand.
The killer stood small within the towering shadow of a man with
large antlers and glowing red eyes: his father. A woman wearing a dress and her hair in a bun, stood off
to the side with a hand on his shoulder: his mother.
“Why have I always been such a killer?”
“What can the reason be?”
Tentacles
and sharp mouths overtook the scene.
“I wonder if the world’s to blame
I wonder if it could be me…”
A spinning globe was surrounded by large watching white eyes.
Rising up were silhouettes of the Exterminators, grinning faces, xs over their
right eyes, stained with blood, holding swords and spears. One Exterminator
grinned as its white face, eyes, smile, and halo glowed in the darkness before
fading.
In Hell, a small planet had a glowing pentagram on it in the
crimson colored sky. “Fuck you Heaven!” and “cleanse!” were written in red
graffiti by a broken window. A paper with an Exterminator drawing blew away.
Other red signs read “Punishment” and “Your days are numbered,” in big letters.
Spears stuck out of dead demon’s mouths in the street. A light spun around from
a tower.
Another Extermination had ended. Dead bodies of demons and
horned creatures littered the streets. Some of them had spears through their
open mouths. Charlie had sadly strolled on her balcony and shot fireworks from
her finger to signal that it was safe. Everyone gradually emerged from inside
buildings and other hideouts. Already, turf wars were in full swing as demons
fought over new territory. Other denizens disposed of the bodies while the more
sinister ones ate them.
One sinister demon was tall and slender, with grayish skin.
He wore a red suit, red dress coat and wine colored pants. His shoes were black
with red hoof prints on the soles. The dress coat was dark red and decorated
with small vertical lighter red stripes. His undershirt was lighter red with a
black upside down cross design. A black bow-tie with a red center was below his
long neck. Finally, his thick hair was red and black, with fluffy deer-like
tuffs poking from his head like ears. Two small black antlers were between
them. He even had a red and black deer tail, which was hidden under the fabric
of his suit. An oval monocle was under his right eye, connected by a chain. His
large glowing red eyes and smile of sharp yellow teeth was enough to scare even
the toughest demon away…and for good reason.
He was Alastor, the Radio Demon, one of the most feared and
powerful overlords in Hell. Possessing supernatural abilities and shadow
manipulation, he had conquering many areas of Hell and defeated overlords who
had been in power for years. Using a red vintage style microphone staff, he
could broadcast his carnage and victories at will, hence why sinners called him
the Radio Demon. He thrived on domination, trickery, and deceit…always in
search for the next entertaining event. Alastor’s dark qualities were balanced
out by his love of music, dancing, singing, and the finer things in life.
Emerging from his underground lair in the shadow spirit realm
via portal, Alastor sang a merry song as passerby cowered when he approached.
It was around the same time when Charlie sang her lament.
“At the end of the tunnel, there’s
craziness
And to meet me, how often one dies
Yes my life is a game
Just a quest for fame
And my foes all smashed up like flies”
“Why have I always been such a
killer?
What can the reason be?
I wonder if the world’s to blame
I wonder if it could be me?”
“I’m always seeking power
Basking in light, for the show
My schemes match up to my dreams
No one else shall know”
“Some people mope and find sadness
I always laugh and show my grin
Some people fail and rest in their
sin
With that I’ll always manage to win
Believe me”
“I’m always seeking power
Waiting to hunt the gullible brown
deer
Again”
Several signs read “Welcome to Hell: population, a fuck ton.”
There were advertisements of drugs, food, casinos, weapons, and porn
everywhere. Demons of all shapes and sizes roamed the streets, one flying demon
caught a smaller one in its talons. Vox, Valentino and Velvet sat together in a
Porn Studios building. A scientist and a wild haired demon picked up weapons to
sell on the black market. Rosie crossed out the name “Franklin” on her emporium
sign with a grin. It was now Rosie’s emporium. More demons picked up the dead
remains and put them in shopping carts.
The clock tower rang out as the counter changed from 0 to 365
days until the next purge.
“Next
cleanse” was over the counter in fancy letters.
Against a black screen, the title “Welcome to the Hazbin
Hotel” appeared on a pink sign. A black winged key made up the letter T in
“hotel.” A red eye was in the circle of the key.
Sadly, the other characters didn’t get as much screentime as
they did in the original episode. Instead of Angel Dust and Cherri Bomb fighting
Sir Pentious in turf wars, we see Alastor and Vox in an intense argument before
blasting each other with electricity, moving wires and tentacles and exchanging
insults. The scene cuts to Angel Dust fighting Sir Pentious and the Egg Bois in
the background as Alastor shakes his head.
In fact, the blue demon that says “I’m alive!” gets
immediately run over…but by a different vehicle owned by the self-proclaimed
main character.
And it’s not Charlie.
Yep, the Radio Demon did have a car. A blood-red 1929 Packard
modified and slightly modernized. Thanks to magic, it could go at fast speeds
and even morph into shadow. It had regular tires instead of the typical wheels
for the model and a metal step to get inside (though Alastor didn’t need it).
The round headlights in the front hummed with bright red light, making them
look like angry eyes that could stare into your souls. At high speeds, black
radio dials would appear and move in the headlights. Since Alastor was so tall,
there was no square roof overhead, just nice leather seats inside and of
course, a car radio. Small Voodoo symbols decorated the sides of the vehicle
and sometimes glowed in the dark.
There was a metal grate in the front between the headlamps
and below that was a row of sharp yellow teeth, reminiscent of Alastor’s smile.
A little gold metal deer head was displayed and attached over the grate. The license
plate in the back read “RDO DMN 666” for Radio Demon 666. The car could also morph into newer vehicles
as illusions. It wasn’t uncommon for demons to grow envious when they spotted
the Radio Demon cursing around in a cherry colored convertible, sneaking around
in a burgundy limo, or racing around in a crimson Porshe.
That is until they saw the headlights and the Radio Demon’s
grinning face before facing a harsh crushing impact before seeing darkness.
Alastor would smirk like a bigshot with Rosie, Mimzy and
several demon women in their seats. Of
course, he would hold open the door for them when stepping in and out. He would
take them to clubs for dancing or to theaters at night. Other times, his shadow
would appear in the seat next to him and shoot people from the shotgun spot. It
was one of his classic jokes he liked to make.
“Ladies and gentlemen,
I’m opening the first of its kind! A hotel that rehabilitates sinners!”
The audience stared in
stunned silence after Charlie had finished talking. Not even the flesh-eating
crickets were chirping through the awkward quiet.
A bloodstained logo
“Radio Hack” was displayed above a window which provided a stack of dozens of
TVs inside. One demon watching had deer antlers and a flaming blue face, one of
the many cruel overlords. Crymini, the 90’s hellhound, stood with a little
demon wearing a jester hat upside down. Two hellhound twins stood nearby, one
with dyed red hair, the other purple. A neon sign nearby read “Bar” “Klub
Kanji,” and “used TVs.”
In a bar, dark demons
wearing cowboy hats were playing pool, not even paying attention. The lead
demon wore a cloth over his grinning face and had a large barrel gun for an
arm. His friend looked like a demonic bug, and another looked like a mustached
villain from an old film. Meanwhile in a bar, purple and blue dragon-like
demons sat and drank while casually watching the TVs overhead.
Charlie stuttered, “Ya
know…’Cause hotels are for people passing through…temporarily…”
A tattooed dark blue
reptile demon stood up and let out a loud laugh.
“Is this girl for real?
She thinks, you hear what she thinks? She…heh, heh, heh, oh she’s nuts.” The
demon walked away with a small lavender creature and a tall maroon being
wearing punk rock clothing and crazy neon hair.
Charlie added, “I figure
it would serve a purpose…a place work toward redemption!” She weakly added,
“Yay.”
With a tapping of his
shoes, Alastor walked and stopped right behind Crymini, the flaming deer
overlord and a demon with eyes and a couple mouths on his face. Hatchet, the
white skinned red-haired Zoophobia dragon, smartly left the scene.
He had heard of the
demon princess before, but he wasn’t expecting her to appear on TV. He
certainly never heard of an idea so crazy before. Making sinners good people
was even less likely than making pigs fly (which was one magic trick he could
do on occasion).
Charlie stared around
her, concerned. “Look, every single one of you has something good deep down
inside. I know you do.”
A light bulb went off
into her head as she smirked. “Maybe I’m not getting through to you…”
Vaggie face palmed,
knowing what was coming next. “Oh no…”
Charlie snapped her
fingers and her bodyguard demons appeared. One sat and began to play a grand
piano.
Alastor stood behind two
hellhound twins wearing crop tops and a hanging jester. Next to him was a
poster that showed him in his demon form terrorizing the circus, demons trapped
within flames inside the tent. His army of voodoo horned imps carrying knives
and skulls on pikes surrounded the tortured sinners. The words were bold and
full of warning: “BEWARE HIM!” “DO NOT FUCK WITH HIM!” In tiny letters off to
the side on the wall read: “for a good time: 666-373-9494.”
Alastor tilted his head
to the side in curiosity. His shadow appeared off to his right, morphing into a
snarling wendigo deer-like creature. He couldn’t help but tap his foot and hum
along as she sang.
He even started to sing
to himself, making his own version of the song.
“Inside
of every demon is a lost cause
Inside
of every sinner is a foolish failure
Inside
of every godforsaken drug addicted manic…”
Dude,” moaned a stupid
demon with a boar head, “I’m trying to watch the show.”
“Here’s
a show I’ll give you,” Alastor thought as he snapped his
fingers and sent the boar flying through the air and into a lava pit.
“They’ll
turn around
Dead
in the ground
With
just a little time
Down
at her crappy hotel…”
He did feel a bit
unnerved at the part where she cuddled with a dog and then threw the dog away.
After Charlie had
finished singing, Alastor laughed out loud. That was quite the performance he
had seen! He particularly enjoyed Charlie’s demon transformation and her
conjuring of fire for the special effects. And he had to admit that she was a
good singer too, despite her ridiculous idea.
But his favorite part
came up next.
In the blaring red
lights, Charlie and Katie fought each other on the desk. Katie was in her
insect demon form, crawling on her hands and limbs. She briefly held Charlie
down, who dodged and then leapt at Katie, knocking both of them off the table.
“She’s
pretty and has a feisty spirit,” Alastor thought.
“Why won’t anyone help me?”
Tom Trench yelled as flames rose from his body.
“You’re on fire, Tom
Trench!” Alastor exclaimed, while laughing at his own joke.
Befriending the
princess, and doing something different seemed like a good idea. He glanced
over at a faraway Happy Hotel building.
He knew where he would
go next.
After following the
white limbo to the hotel in his car, he got out and made his way up to the
double stained glass doors with the apple designs on them. Upon further
inspection of the hotel, he noticed it was a unique design if not a bit under
wear and tear. From the Titanic-like ship off to the side to the hanging
carousel that made up a balcony…and perhaps his favorite part, the circus tent
overhang in the front decorated with eye designs.
He had never actually
met Charlie before but he heard that she was powerful and different among the
demons. For one, she was born in Hell, and two, she was the daughter of Lucifer
and Lilith, king and queen of Hell.
He would have to tread
carefully around members of the royal family. Though he thought of them as
amusing, he knew how powerful they were.
Sweat formed on his
forehead and he found himself glancing around.
Why was he suddenly…nervous?
Somebody like him
couldn’t afford to let any sign of weakness show. Of course He wanted to make a
good first impression, plus he was sort of curious as to why she would pursue
this rehabilitation idea. His nervousness faded away when he imagined Charlie
as naïve. Maybe he could easily trick her and not have to be caught by anyone?
The best thing he could
do for the moment was be polite and offer to help. As any good charmer and
manipulator knew, first impressions and the process were everything…
And a nice big smile was
the crème de la crème.
Puffing out his chest, he knocked on the door.
It was a very slow
“Shave and a Haircut knock.”
The knocking from
outside interrupted Charlie’s thoughts. She opened her eyes.
An ice cold feeling of dread spread through
her veins. No other demon would ever do that kind of knock.
Unless…
She tentatively reached
out her hand to the door handle, and quickly pulled it open.
Sure enough, the most
feared demon in Hell was standing right outside her door. A couple of shadow
spirits poked their heads through.
Charlie’s face morphed
into sheer terror, eyes wide as saucers.
Yes, there she was,
right in front of him. Alastor opened his eyes as they glowed red, a radio
sound emitting from him. His eyes dilated playfully as he raised a finger in
greeting.
“Hell…”
The door abruptly
slammed shut.
Brief silence.
Charlie opened it again…
“…oooo!”
Slammed it again.
Alastor could hear
Charlie’s muffled voice from inside.
“Hey Vaggie!”
“What?”
“The Radio Demon is at
the door!”
“What?!”
“Who?” asked Angel.
“What should I do?!”
Charlie asked.
“Well, don’t let him in!”
Vaggie said.
A growl formed in
Alastor’s throat.
He stood there, shocked
in front of the stained glass door, smile still plastered on his face, hand and
curved claw in the air.
“Well…
that was…rude,” he thought. “Usually people are too sacred to answer when I come by. Or they rush
to try and please me because they know I could slaughter them at any time. I’ll
just wait here then…or maybe break this door down…”
He had been turned down
not once but twice by her! If she had been an average demon, she would’ve been
a bloody heap on the floor. The princess should know better than to reject
anyone like that, especially a prideful demon like himself.
Any offense to his pride
would not go unnoticed.
Charlie opened the door
again.
“May I speak now?”
Alastor asked, hiding his anger.
“You may,” said Charlie.
Alastor held out his
right hand to her, which briefly glowed. He half expected her to reach out and
shake it right away…which would’ve proven her naïve nature…but instead she just
stood there.
“Alastor, pleasure to be meeting you,
sweetheart, quite a pleasure.”
He eagerly grabbed her
wrist and leaned his face close to hers before strutting inside. Charlie stood,
dumbfounded, her hand still out.
“Excuse my sudden
visit,” he went on, “but I saw your fiasco on a picture show and I just
couldn’t resist. What a performance!”
Audience cheers came
from his staff as he turned around.
“Why I haven’t been that entertained since the stock market crash of 1929!”
He bobbed his head side
to side and burst into laughter. He glanced back at Charlie who was by the
door. “So many orphans!”
A sharp spear was
suddenly pointed at him. He froze in fear, his smile still on his face.
“Stop right there!” It
was Vaggie.
She swore in Spanish
under her breath: “Carbon hijo de perra!
(Son of a bitch!) I know your game. And I’m not gonna let you hurt anyone
here, you pompous, cheesy, talk show shitlord!”
Alastor’s eyes narrowed
and glowed. He made a low noise of warning.
“You
have a lot of nerve to stand up to me like that, girl,” he
thought. “You don’t know anything about
me, and you certainly aren’t going to stand in my way.”
Alastor merely laughed
slightly and nudged the weapon away with his fingers. Charli and Vaggie were in
front of him.
“Dear, if I wanted to hurt anyone here…”
He added in a low creepy
tone, “I would have done so already.”
His red eyes briefly
turned to red radio dials and radio static filled the room. He tilted his head
slightly, letting his chaotic magic roam. Vaggie and Charlie were frozen in
fear as they caught glimpses of red Voodoo symbols, static, and warped reality.
Then just as quickly,
the noise and magic ceased and Alastor shook his head, eyes back to full red. For
a brief moment, they had been small red pupils inside black sockets.
“That
scare should teach them to remember their place,”
he thought.
He bowed. “No, I’m here
because I want to help!”
Charlie was sure she
hadn’t heard him right.
“Say what now?” she
asked, eyebrows raised.
“Help!” he responded
with another laugh, leaning in close before moving back.
He held up his
microphone staff.
“Hello?” he asked with a laugh. “Is this thing
on? Testing, testing…”
He tapped it and a
glowing red eye appeared in the center. “Well, I heard you loud and clear!” the
microphone responded, eye shaking in fear.
“Um…you want to help?”
Charlie asked.
Alastor appeared behind
the demon girls, hands on their backs, switching from a shadow to his regular
self. Both Vaggie and Charlie flinched.
“With…” he mentioned in
an imitation of Charlie’s voice,
“…this ridiculous thing
you’re trying to do!” finishing in his normal voice. “This hotel!”
Charlie could hear the
call bell ding twice on the table, even though no one was there to ring it.
“I want to help you run
it.”
“Uh…why?” Charlie asked,
confused.
Alastor laughed again.
“Why does anyone do anything? Sheer absolute boredom! I’ve lacked inspiration
for decades!”
He placed his elbow on
an annoyed Vaggie’s head.
“My work became mundane...lacking
focus…”
He then shoved Vaggie aside.
She was clearly an inferior little doll he could push around.
“…aimless!” he
continued. “I’ve come to crave a new form of entertainment!”
He laughed again.
Charlie looked downcast.
“Does getting into a fist fight with a reporter count as entertainment?”
Alastor laughed again.
“It’s the purest kind,
my dear! Reality! True passion! After all, the world is a stage! And the stage
is a world of entertainment!”
Charlie brightened a
bit. “So, does this mean that you think it’s possible to rehabilitate a demon?”
Alastor help up a hand
and laughed. “Of course not. That’s wacky nonsense! Redemption, oh the
non-existent humanity! Nononono, I don’t think there’s anything left that could
save such loathsome sinners!”
He glanced at Vaggie and
Angel Dust sitting on the sofa, mischief in his eyes. They would be fun to mess
with.
“The chance given to them was the life they
lived before; the punishment is this!”
He spread out his arms, turning away. “There
is no undoing what is done!”
His eyes glowed red,
pupils constricted. There really was no way to change the past. All the sinners
were destined to suffer in a matrix of pleasure, illusion, and the threat of a
second death. For Alastor, every demon was a lost cause…and paradoxically, that
also included him.
He had dealt with authority
figures before in his previous life…those racist religious folk who believed
that God and the elite had complete control over his fate and the fate of
everyone else. Now here it was again, in the form of God, the angels, Vox, Lucifer
pretty much anybody he hated. It wasn’t his fault he killed and ate all his victims.
If certain people hadn’t pushed him over
the edge…
He glanced over when he
heard Charlie’s voice.
“So then, why do you
want to help me if you don’t believe in my cause?” Charlie asked.
Alastor smirked and
looked at Charlie over his shoulder. “Consider it an investment in ongoing
entertainment for myself!”
He pulled her close to
him with his arm and twirled her around in a quick dance. Charlie narrowed his
eyes at him and gave him a look. He ignored her. “I want to watch the scum of the world struggle to climb up the
hill of betterment! Only to repeatedly trip and tumble down to the fiery pit of
failure.”
His eyes glowed red and
his left eyebrow raised slightly. Just the thought of having the fates and
lives of demons in his hands was enough to get him excited…or perhaps even
aroused.
“Right…” Charlie began,
slowly removing his clawed hand from her shoulder. Alastor’s hand flinched at
the sudden touch.
Alastor chuckled and
took her aside for a walk. “Yes indeedy! I see big things coming your way, and
who better to help than I.”
He impressed her further
with some charm and making his staff appear in his hand.
Vaggie walked up to Charlie
and pulled her aside.
“Charlie, listen to me.
You just can’t believe this creep! He isn’t just a happy face! He’s a
dealmaker, pure evil! He can’t be redeemed! And is most likely looking for a
way to destroy everything we’re
trying to do.”
Alastor drummed his
fingers against his palm, listening in on their conversation with a grin.
“I…” Charlie began. “…we
don’t know that. Look…I know he’s bad, and I know he probably doesn’t wanna
change, but the whole point of this is to give people a chance! To have faith
things will be better! How can I turn someone away? I can’t. It goes against
everything I’m trying to do. Everything I believe in.”
Alastor stared in
fascination at a family picture on the wall. It showed Lucifer dressed in
white, Lilith in a dark purple dress, and Charlie as a little girl wearing a
brown and white dress in the middle. The picture border consisted of branches
and yellow eyeballs and a dried rose in the upper right hand corner.
“Such
a lovely portrait! A picture of perfection! It’d be such a shame if something
awful were to happen to them…”
“Just trust me,” Charlie
added placing comforting hands on her girlfriend’s shoulders, “I can take care
of myself.”
Charlie,” warned Vaggie,
“Whatever you do, do not make a deal
with him!”
From a distance, Alastor
opened up the palm of one hand, claws curled inward, hand glowing. From his
viewpoint it looked like he was grabbing onto both girls. They glanced in his
direction, worry on their faces.
“I’ll
have these two in the palm of my hand…”
“Don’t worry, Charlie
replied to Vaggie. “I picked up one
thing from my Dad…” she spoke in a manly voice, “Ya don’t take shit from other
demons!”
Gathering her courage,
Charlie marched over to the Radio Demon.
“Ok, so…Al. You’re sketchy as fuck, and you
clearly see what I’m trying to do here is a joke. But I don’t.”
Charlie turned away. She
was so close and so vulnerable.
Red Voodoo symbols
floated around Alastor as his eyes glowed.
“If
you could stay turned around so I can knock you out…” he
thought.
Charlie narrowed her
eyes at him suspiciously and the symbols vanished.
“So
close,” he thought in frustration as she turned around to
face him.
Charlie continued. “I
think everyone deserves a chance to prove they can be better. So, I’m taking
your offer to help. On the condition that there be no tricks or voodoo strings
attached.”
Alastor twirled his cane
and held out his hand. “So it’s a deal then?”
Flashes of eerie green
light surrounded him, electricity snaking up the walls.
“Nope!” Charlie yelled,
holding out her hands. The energy stopped. “No shaking! No deals!”
Alastor’s eyes constricted.
“She rejected my deal,” he thought. “This will be more challenging than I
expected.”
He walked forward a
step.
Charlie continued. “As princess of Hell, and heir to the throne,
I uh, hereby order that you help with this hotel, for a long as you desire.”
A moment of pause…he
brushed his hair back.
“Sound fair?” she asked.
“Hmm. Fair enough. Cool
beans.” Alastor shrugged, walking on and making his cane disappear. Charlie
breathed a sigh of relief and even did a thumbs up.
Alastor stopped and
spotted Vaggie off to the side. How pathetic she was, frowning like that. He
smirked in a way outside observers would describe as lecherous. He tickled her
under her chin with a finger.
“Smile, my dear! You
know you’re never fully dressed without one!”
Alastor hummed happily
on his way, while Vaggie growled in disgust and rage.
“So…where is your hotel staff?” Alastor asked.
“Uh, well…” Charlie
began. Alastor peered at Vaggie through his monocle. “Oh ho ho ho, you’re going
to need more than that.”
He walked over towards
Angel.
“And what can you do, my
effeminate fellow?”
Angel grinned. “I can
suck your dick!”
Alastor could almost
scream in disgust after hearing that.
“Ha! No.” Alastor
deadpanned.
“Your loss,” Angel said
with a slight laugh. Alastor summoned his cane.
“Well, this just won’t
do!” Alastor exclaimed. “I suppose I can cash in a few favors to liven things up!”
The spell came easily in his mind: “dife sèvitè, reveye.”
He snapped his fingers
and a fire sparked to life in a small circular fireplace. Animal skeletons
decorated either side of the wall. The wall and fireplace were repaired.
A dark figure plopped
down onto the chimney floor.
Alastor walked over and
picked up the creature with his hand. A large single yellow eye was revealed.
Angel, Vaggie, and Charlie peered at the creature. In a puff of smoke and a squeak,
the creature revealed herself. A cute cyclops girl was wearing a pink dress
with a poodle on the front, her short wide hair dark magenta with a streak of
yellow.
“This little darling is
Niffty!” Alastor introduced, before dropping her. She landed on her feet. She
was an adorable little thing.
“Hi! I’m Niffty!” she
greeted with a wave. “It’s nice to meet you! It’s been a while since I’ve made
new friends!” She laughed slightly and her pupil grew smaller, darting in
circles.
“Why are you all women?”
she asked. “Have any men here?! I’m sorry, that’s rude.” She missed the fact
that Angel was male, for obvious reasons.
She briefly picked up
Charlie, while Vaggie held her spear defensively at her.
“Oh man, this place is
filthy!” she exclaimed, running around and lifting up couch cushions. “It
really needs a lady’s touch, which is weird, because you’re all ladies, no
offence.” She chewed on a black spider she found, then rushed toward some
stained glass windows.
She darted around, using
a dust ruffle to clean them. “Oh my gosh, this is awful! No, no, no…Nope!”
She raced around,
removing cobwebs, then poking at a piece of a voodoo doll. Well, it was
actually a live blue beetle doll that Alastor had stabbed with a clothing pin
for Niffty to play with. Alastor looked amused, while the others stared in
disbelief.
“So
fortunate of me to have met her in Hell. A former chimney sweeper in the 20th
century. Heard she died from too much smoke. Services are still good! Though, I
didn’t give her much of an option to begin with…” he thought.
Meanwhile, at a casino,
a cat demon placed a joker, an ace, a 2, and a fourth card down on the table.
He had black and white fur, wore a black top hat and had red wings with card
suits decorated on them. He also had long red eyebrows and wore a red bow tie.
“Ha!” he declared in
triumph. “Read ‘em and weep, boys!”
He suddenly felt himself
being forcefully pulled out of the room through space and time.
“Full…whoa!”
“Transpòte ganbadeur la.”
He ducked as a curtain
of red energy surrounded the existing space. Voodoo symbols flashed in the
background along with eight yellow eyes, a creepy voodoo skull and a purple
skeleton of a worm-like creature. Another voodoo skull with horns appeared for
a moment not too far from tan ghost-like spirits with creepy faces and a row of
jagged teeth.
The cat demon figured he
must have had too much booze to drink.
“…the hell?”
As the images faded, he
soon found himself at the hotel bar, not in the previous room at the casino. A
large “Come and play Blackjack” sign took up much of the wall behind him. Most
peculiar, the gray wood walls were missing halfway up, replaced by the red
themed décor of the hotel. Husk was sitting in a portion of the casino he was
in. It felt like he was in a house with no roof surrounded by the outside
world.
“What the fuck is this?”
He saw Alastor and
pointed an accusing claw.
“You.”
“Ah, Husker, my good
friend!” Alastor cheerfully greeted. “Glad you could make it!”
Husk could have at least
been polite for once, but Alastor decided to let it slide.
Alastor’s head briefly
had the appearance of large antlers sticking out from either side. When he moved
it, it was revealed to be an antler skull with glowing green eyes hanging in
the background. Snakes were wrapped around one of the white curtains supporting
a bar stand. “Big Booze,” “Welcome” and “Big Soul” signs were placed overhead
on the stand. Neon green card suits consisted of the designs at the bottom of
the stand.
“Don’t you “Husker” me,
you son of a bitch!” Husk spat, and swiped Alastor’s hand aside from his
shoulder. “I was about to win the whole damn pot!”
Husk stared in anger as
the stacks of money and chips on the table vanished in static.
“Good to see you too!”
added Alastor.
Husk face palmed. “What
the hell do you want with me this time?”
Alastor grabbed hold of
him, startling him so much that cards fell from his hands.
“My friend, I am doing
some charity work, so I took it upon myself to volunteer your services! I hope
that’s okay.”
Husk was taken aback.
“Are you shittin’ me?!”
“No, I don’t think so,”
Alastor replied. He casually brushed off his sleeves.
Husk shoved the Radio
Demon off him. “You thought it would be some kind of big fuckin’ riot just to
pull me outta nowhere? You think I’m some kinda fuckin’ clown?”
“Maybe.”
Audience laughter
emitted from the microphone.
“I ain’t doin’ no
fuckin’ charity job,” Husk protested.
Alastor appeared next to
him, startling the cat demon. “Well I figured you would be the perfect face to
man the front desk of this fine establishment.”
He pointed toward the
bar stand with the staff. The sound of audience clapping came from his radio
staff.
“With your charming
smile and welcoming energy…”
Alastor spread the
corners of Husk’s mouth upward into a demonic smile of yellow teeth. Husk
frowned seconds after he let go.
“…this job was made for you!”
Alastor strutted over
toward the bar stand, the soles of his shoes revealing red hoof prints as he
walked.
“Don’t worry, my
friend,” Alastor continued, “I can make this more welcoming…if you wish.”
With a curve of his
fingers, a green bottle of cheap booze appeared on the counter.
Husk stared with wide
eyes, suddenly very thirsty. He swore he could hear the sound of a slot
machine.
“What, you think you can
buy me with a wink and some cheap booze?!” He took the bottle on anger. “Well
you can!”
He immediately guzzled
it down and walked away.
“Too
easy,” thought Alastor.
By this time, Charlie,
Vaggie and Angel Dust had arrived to see what the commotion was about. Vaggie
rushed toward the bar, furious.
“Hey, hey, hey, hey!”
yelled the moth demon. “No, no bar, no alcohol. This is supposed to be a place
that discourages sin! Not some kind
of…mouth, brothel, man-cave…”
Angel lunged himself
into her, knocking her to the floor.
“Shut up! Shut! Up! We
are keeping this.” He pointed at Husk with multiple gloved hands.
He slid up to Husk.
“Hey,” he said in a flirtatious voice.
“Go fuck yourself,” Husk
deadpanned, drinking his booze.
“Only if you watch me,”
Angel retorted.
To make matters worse
for Husk, Charlie leaned in close to him, excitement and red stars in her eyes.
“Oh my gosh! Welcome to
the Happy Hotel! You are going to love it
here!”
“I lost the ability to
love years ago,” Husk replied, gulping down more booze.
Alastor walked in, an
ever-present grin on his face.
“So, what do you think?”
Charlie ran over to him.
“This is amazing!” she beamed.
Alastor’s eyes blinked
rapidly at the sweet sight of Charlie rubbing her cheeks and smiling at him. He
could watch it all day.
“It’s okay,” Vaggie said
from nearby, arms crossed.
Alastor laughed and
pulled the two girls close to him. “This is going to be very entertaining!”
He shoved Vaggie again
and his laughter mixed with the sound of an old radio.
Alastor conjured fire in
his hand…Charlie stared in wonder at the flames and the voodoo symbols. He
threw the flames in the air, distracting Charlie from him shoving aside her friend
hard. Alastor then changed his attire with magic. He now wore a fancy red suit
with a white undershirt and a black bow tie. A red top hat appeared on his
head, complete with small spikes along the black band and two needles sticking
out from the top. He twirled Charlie around in a dance, the princess looking
stunned. Pointing his finger over her head, he transformed Charlie’s outfit.
Her blonde hair was now short and wavy. She wore an elegant black and red
dress, black gloves, a pink hat with a small black bow and black heels. She
looked like a dapper lady from the early 20th century.
Charlie stared at her
conjured clothing in amazement.
Vaggie was on the floor,
fuming.
Alastor began to sing as
he danced with Charlie, a new spring in his steps.
“You
have a dream
You
wish to tell
He turned to the fuming
Vaggie on the floor, letting her know that he thought Charlie’s idea was silly.
“and
it’s so laughable…”
He turned back to
Charlie.
“But
hey kid, what the hell!”
Alastor picked Charlie
up and threw her into the air. She yelped in delight and landed gracefully next
to him. Two glowing apples and a skull with deer horns flashed in the
background.
Reality had been altered
to the Radio Demon’s liking. The entire room was lit in psychedelic colors.
Voodoo symbols and shapes were etched in every nook and cranny, including a
pair of pink claws reaching for the door. Alastor and Charlie waltzed in the
spotlight as electro swing music began to play in the distance. The
all-encompassing noise, though, was the signature radio-static sound.
Charlie found herself
sliding down one of the apple-etched railings, Alastor leading the way. They
landed on the lower floor as Alastor continued his reprise.
“Cause
you’re one of a kind
A
charming demon belle!”
Deer statues and painted
antlers were everywhere.
Back at the bar stand,
Husk sat looking bored. Vaggie hissed at Angel grabbing onto her shoulder,
while Niffty stared in wonder. Alastor snapped his fingers and their outfits
changed as well.
Angel was wearing a neon
pink suit, Husk a pink bow tie, Vaggie a dark dress, with her hair now smooth
and long, and finally Niffty, with a cute top hat with small flowers.
“Now
let’s give these burning fools a place to dwell
(Take
it, boys!)”
Alastor snapped his fingers
once more and shadowy imps rose to life from a hole in the ground. The happy
spirits played a trumpet, a tuba, and a drum set. Charlie snapped her fingers
to the beat, while Vaggie watched with worry. She reached out to her friend but
was pulled away by Alastor. He enveloped the group into a tight hug with a
laugh, followed by glowing images of dark spirits staring at them. Niffty
watched in amazement, but not the other three.
“Inside
of every demon is a lost cause…”
Alastor pulled Husk and
Angel close again. He rubbed Angel’s head with a white hat and went on his
merry way. Husk gave him the bird as he left.
“But
we’ll dress ‘em up now with just a smile!”
(With
a smile!)
Vaggie stood, annoyed in
the spotlight. Using his cane, Alastor added a feathered peacock hat and a
white fox fur to her outfit. She looked ridiculous. Then out of nowhere, he
slapped her butt.
Vaggie seethed in rage
after he walked away.
Alastor danced some
more, kicking a horned skull to the side. In the background, Niffy happily
swept up the bits of bone.
“And
we’ll chlorinate this cesspool
With
some old redemption flair
And
show these simpletons some proper class and style!
(What’s
in style? Oh!)”
He made his way to the
circular fireplace, where he waved his staff. Shadows arrived to join the
party, including a shadowy version of himself, with large antlers and fangs. He
made it disappear in a poof, then snuck toward Charlie. He led her in an upbeat
dance, spinning her around, helping her match her steps to his. Charlie blushed
when Alastor toyed with her cheeks. As Charlie was led away, Vaggie stood in
the background, horrified and disgusted. What was happening to her friend?
Charlie and Alastor
laughed as they danced, the princess locked in a happy trance. Alastor was in
his element, his pupils dilated, a joyful demeanor.
Maybe this could turn
into something more? Could it even be…love?
“Here
below the ground
I’m
sure you’re plan is sound!
They’ll
spend a little time
Down
at this Hazbin Ho…”
Alastor was about to
finish his song, when an explosion burst apart a window behind him. He stood
frozen, pupils constricting, his body going alert.
Whatever, or whomever
had interrupted his song was going to pay dearly.
Niffty
stared in amazement, shouting “Whoo!” before she was blasted backwards, the
door hitting her in the face.
Alastor’s
spell soon wore off and everyone was back in their regular clothes. Alastor,
Husk (still drinking), Niffty, Charlie, Angel, and Vaggie, peered out of the
hole to see what was going on. Vaggie had her weapon at the ready.
Looking
skyward, the group saw a cracked blimp in the air. It had a small random band
aid with a sad face on it along the rim. A familiar snake villain popped out of
his hideout.
“Ha!”
Sir Pentious laughed. “Well, well, well, look who it is harboring the striped
freak! We meet again, Alastor!”
Apparently,
he was also rivals with Alastor.
But
Alastor simply asked, “Do I know you?”
The
snake boss looked disappointed. Then he said in anger, “Oh yes you do! And this
time, I have the element of…surprise!”
The
villain raced toward his pink velvet chair and pulled a lever. A metallic
cannon lowered to the ground. The cannon fired up with pink energy as pink
smoke appeared around them.
“He
laughed manically. “I’m so evil!”
Then
he added, “I have an Egg army!”
“Well,
we have an Alastor,” Charlie responded.
Alastor
snapped his fingers, red tendrils of smoke rising from his hand. The weapon
froze in mid fire and a fiery portal opened up below the blimp.
A
horde of black tendrils rose from the hole, latching onto the ship. One tentacle
ripped off the cannon and threw it into another smaller portal, causing it to
explode in pink smoke. One of the tentacles had already smashed a hole in the
large round window.
Sir
Pentious looked on in shock as his Egg Bois slammed against the wall (one of
them read #Ouch.) One of the eggs cracked open, spilling out yellowish brains
and small organs among the stains of yok. Sir Pentious and another minion were
thrown against the wall.
“Whoa,
whoa, whoa!” he screamed before he was slammed against the ceiling by a black
limb.
“Oh,
that hurt!” he cried.
Sir
Pentious screamed as he was dragged along the floor and lifted up slightly. He
was held in place, surrounded by the wrapped up tendril. At once, the tendril
shrunk and squeezed the helpless snake. The Egg Bois ran around screaming as
black cracks appeared on the floor and walls.
From
the outside, more black tendrils were closing in. Red voodoo symbols appeared
around the blimp.
“Ede m 'sèrviteur.”
Four
horned shadowy spirits with red auras floated around, wearing toothy grins.
The
tendrils were now wrapped around the entire blimp, holding it in place like
thick black vines.
Red
radio waves filled Alastor’s eyes as he circled his fingers and worked is
magic. Voodoo symbols appeared all around him as he altered the state of
reality. Radio static consumed the air.
The
vines thickened and completely enclosed the blimp. The spirits swooped around
it in excitement, with echoing shrieks. The aura around the tendrils glowed a
fiery yellow, the same color as the portal rim.
“Kalfu! Destriksyon pa bra nwa.”
Alastor
closed his four-fingered hand which began to glow. A red drop of blood fell
from his glowing hand. The tendrils proceeded to crush the blimp. Pink rays of
light shot from the center and the blimp exploded in a loud BOOM!
Pink
smoke spread everywhere as the spirits sped away. The tendrils broke into
severed bloody pieces that rained down to the ground. Alastor smiled
victoriously, while behind them, the group of five stared in utter terror and
shock. (Save for Niffty who had a small smile on her face).
Alastor’s
angry, bloodlust eyes spoke volumes.
“And stay out of this hotel and from my
friends you pathetic excuse of snakeskin.”
A
sharp pain throbbed on his hand and bags appeared under his eyes. Magic had taken
some work from him…and it also made him hungry.
“Well,
I’m starved!” Alastor exclaimed, turning around to face the group, happy again.
“Who wants some jambalaya?” He spread his arms out. “My mother once showed me a
wonderful recipe for jambalaya! In
fact, it nearly killed her!”
He
laughed as he led the way back to the hotel. The others followed.
“You
could say the kick was right out of Hell!”
He
added while laughing at his own joke, “Oh, I’m on a roll!”
From
up above, the hotel looked like a mashed-up haunted house. An old dark train
was perched on a balcony, with some monstrous faces carved in. A ship,
reminiscent of the Titanic, was leaning upwards against the building as part of
the structure. An old carousel served as part of the upper balcony and windows.
Skull designs decorated the small windows in a row. Finally, on top of a giant
yellow eye, was the sign “Happy Hotel” supported by pillars of worn wood.
Alastor
continued, “Yes, sir, this is the start of some real changes down here! The
game is set! Now…”
He
glanced up and pointed his finger toward the sign. Pink electricity shot out
and made contact with the sign.
The
sign now read “Hazbin Hotel.”
“Stay
tuned,” he finished with a low
sinister laugh.
Alastor’s Shadow
(Rotsala) and Alastor’s Microphone (Dave) have been a part of the Radio Demon
since he arrived in Hell. Nobody except Alastor knows their actual names…and
their names are ones they gave themselves. After Alastor made a deal with Kalfu
and evil spirits in his human life and shortly after his death, he was granted
with enough raw power to topple dominant overlords and spread terror to the
denizens of Hell.
Alastor’s shadow was
born of dark Voodoo magic. He first remained in human Alastor’s subconscious as
dark matter (courtesy of Kalfu’s magic and Alastor’s mother wishing for Alastor
to not be alone after death)… until he was free when his owner died. After
gathering some ingredients and retrieving Dr. Facilier’s spell book, Alastor
painfully separated his shadow from himself. After briefly feeling vulnerable in
the dark, and almost attacking Alastor, the shadow submitted to him and became
his body guard and companion. He helps Alastor control the other shadow demons
and acts as a second in command in battle.
Like Dr. Facilier’s
companion, Alastor’s shadow has a mind of his own and manifests as a dark apparition
of Alastor’s most sinister thoughts and desires. He usually makes growling and
cackling sounds (like Facilier’s shadow) but can communicate telepathically
with Alastor. He frequently appears as a tall dark man with Alastor’s tuff
ears, a wide grinning mouth, and glowing eyes. His eyes and mouth can change
color from deep red to bright blue, to yellow and anything in between. He can
switch between an Alastor form and a more sinister wendigo-like form with large
fangs and a rack of antlers extending from his head. Alastor can also see
through his shadow’s eyes, thus he also acts as a spy. Alastor’s shadow gains
strength by eating the shadows of other demons, preventing them from moving and
making it easier for Alastor to kill them.
Alastor’s microphone staff
is a living part of him. The radio voice that comes from it is actually a radio
version of his human voice. It first manifested as a non-magical microphone
staff decorated with golden antlers around it that human Alastor had made to
show off his famed radio host status. Alastor had used a bit of magic to gather
more listeners around their radios. Sadly, it was broken and burned after his
death. A dark entity merged with the red vintage microphone staff created for
Alastor by the dark spirits/Loa. The microphone spoke “I heard you loud and
clear!” in the first episode. Like Alastor’s shadow, the microphone has a mind
of its own.
The microphone staff has
a single red eye that glows when it is turned on. The microphone is what allows
Alastor to broadcast his murders…the eye shines a light from the microphone. The
microphone has other unique powers that could be an extension to Alastor’s many
Eldritch powers of tentacles, teleportation, portals, blood magic etc. When the
staff plays music mixed with static and demons stare at it too long, they can
become hypnotized, eyes turning to red radio dials. Powerful radio waves can be
blasted from the microphone with three taps of the staff to the ground. These
waves can push demons back and blast their eardrums and brains. Alastor can
swipe the staff to make things appear, as shown when he used it to make
clothing appear on Vaggie. When Alastor goes full demon/wendigo form, the staff
is used to mimic voices, sounds, and music to lure victims in (like Siren Head).
But the microphone’s main purpose is to assist Alastor in his broadcasting.
Without those two
beings, Alastor would’ve had more of a challenge taking over areas of Hell…and
it’d be far less entertaining!
Chapter One: That’s Entertainment
“Well
ladies and gentleman, Happy New Year and happy survival to all the lucky ones
out there! The twenty four hours of the Extermination have passed and man, was
it quite the show! The princess is shooting fireworks from the balcony as we
speak, which means it’s safe to head out and try to claim new territory. Though
if any of you sinners go near my radio towers, you’ll wish that the
Exterminators had ended you right then and there. I hope you enjoyed this long
and lovely broadcast. Until next time! Stay tuned.”
Alastor’s microphone
soon blinked off from its glowing red state. The microphone let out a low
mechanical groan of relief. Sure it was the microphone’s job to allow Alastor
to broadcast massacres and music whenever he wanted, but even a device needed
proper rest after a while. The microphone closed its single red eye and faded
to sleep.
Alastor had spent the
majority of the time broadcasting from within his lair, located underneath Hell
and in the realm of shadow spirits. It had gotten the nickname “Deer Den,” by
other sinners, though he liked the name as well. Soon though, he quietly
arrived to the surface via portal to enjoy the finale of the screams, shrieks,
and slaughters of the Exterminators cutting down demon after demon. Turning
around from the wall-length glass window he glanced back toward a darkened
corner of the studio.
“It’s alright, you can
come out now,” he said in a radio voice.
A brief slither of movement
in the dark space.
“Come on,” he coaxed. “No
Exterminators, nor angelic spears to hurt us.”
Ever so quietly, the
darkness inched forward to reveal a head poking out from within the wall. Out
emerged Alastor’s shadow. He stood the same height as Alastor and had the same
fluffy deer ear tufts and tattered dress coat that he wore. He even had a deer
tail and antlers branching out from his head. The antlers shrank back as he
opened his blue mouth an inch. There was a row of sharp dark teeth, and his
eyes glowed blue. A chittering sound mixed with static emitted from the shadow
as his eyes looked around for any sign of danger. There was only his owner
standing in front of him.
“Good,” said Alastor as
he looked at him. “Come along, we have work to do.”
The shadow obliged and
pooled into the floor out of sight as he followed Alastor out the door.
As Alastor was walking,
the shadow briefly floated up into the air, surveying the scene. There were
bloodied bodies everywhere. Many of them had weapons pierced through their
skulls or spilled organs. Alastor may have been a little hungry, but he was
humming happily along the street instead, keeping an eye out for any useful angelic
spears. He found one and happily plucked it from a horned demon corpse. The
spear vanished in his hand, reappearing back in his lair.
Alastor ignored the brief
pangs of hunger from his stomach. Just the smell of blood and decaying flesh in
the air was beginning to make the demon’s mouth water a little as he hummed.
His shadow, on the other
hand…
The sound of crunching
came from behind the Radio Demon. Alastor’s ears flicked before he turned
around. He cleared his throat and glared.
The shadow was on his
knees in front of a dead demon, his mouth chewing on flesh and muscle like a
starved wolf. He saw Alastor and froze, a piece of flesh falling from his
mouth. It looked like a child being caught in the act of stealing a snack.
“What do you think you’re
doing? You’re supposed to be looking for spears and watching my back.”
The shadow let out a
deer bleat mixed with static. His voice sounded like snippets of different
voices together.
“But
I’m hungry!”
“There are more
important things to focus on, dear fellow,” he said. “You’d be wise to learn
some self-restraint.”
Reluctantly, the shadow
wiped his mouth and hovered closer to Alastor.
“That’s better, now let’s
be off.”
They soon arrived at one
of the looming radio towers. The top of it had a blinking yellow eye that
always peered in every direction like an all-seeing eye. It was constantly
humming and retaining energy that lurked within the metal beams. There was a
nearby cabin that served as one of many studios that Alastor had made for
himself. It reminded him of his family’s summer cabin back when he was alive.
“Go make your round,”
Alastor ordered. The shadow flew into the air, searching above and below for
any intruders. There were no signs of any demon trying to cross the boarders or
break in. After a few minutes, he returned by his owner’s side and chittered in
affirmation.
With the areas clear and
safe, Alastor made his way further into Pentagram city, his shadow vanishing
again.
With his shoes clacking
against the pavement, Alastor walked over behind a flaming blue deer overlord
and Crymini, the Hellhound. Charlie was on TV, talking about her plan to open
up a hotel to rehabilitate sinners.
Alastor stood behind two
hellhound twins wearing crop tops and a hanging jester. Next to him was a
poster that showed him in his demon form terrorizing the circus, demons trapped
within flames inside the tent. His army of voodoo horned imps carrying knives
and skulls on pikes surrounded the tortured sinners. The words were bold and
full of warning: “BEWARE HIM!” “DO NOT FUCK WITH HIM!” In tiny letters off to
the side on the wall read: “for a good time: 666-373-9494.”
Alastor tilted his head
to the side in curiosity. His shadow appeared off to his right, morphing into a
snarling wendigo deer-like creature. He couldn’t help but tap his foot and hum
along as she sang.
The shadow stared in
curiosity as well, his mouth open in hunger. He was anxious to witness Alastor
mess with other demons again. He just hoped that if he happened to kill some that
he’d get a good share of the meat. Sharing Alastor’s love of singing and music,
the shadow swayed his body from side to side, even trying to sing along.
After Charlie had
finished singing, Alastor laughed out loud. That was quite the performance he
had seen! He particularly enjoyed Charlie’s demon transformation and her
conjuring of fire for the special effects. And he had to admit that she was a
good singer too, despite her ridiculous idea.
But his favorite part
came up next.
In the blaring red
lights, Charlie and Katie fought each other on the desk. Katie was in her
insect demon form, crawling on her hands and limbs. She briefly held Charlie
down, who dodged and then leapt at Katie, knocking both of them off the table.
“She’s
pretty and has a feisty spirit,” Alastor thought.
“Why won’t anyone help
me?” Tom Trench yelled as flames rose from his body.
“You’re on fire, Tom
Trench!” Alastor exclaimed, while laughing at his own joke.
Befriending the
princess, and doing something different seemed like a good idea. He glanced
over at a faraway Happy Hotel building.
He knew where he would
go next. His shadow vanished again.
After following the
white limbo to the hotel in his car, he got out and made his way up to the
double stained glass doors with the apple designs on them. Upon further
inspection of the hotel, he noticed it was a unique design if not a bit under
wear and tear. From the Titanic-like ship off to the side to the hanging
carousel that made up a balcony…and perhaps his favorite part, the circus tent
overhang in the front decorated with eye designs.
He had never actually
met Charlie before but he heard that she was powerful and different among the
demons. For one, she was born in Hell, and two, she was the daughter of Lucifer
and Lilith, king and queen of Hell.
He would have to tread
carefully around members of the royal family. Though he thought of them as amusing,
he knew how powerful they were.
Sweat formed on his
forehead and he found himself glancing around.
Why was he suddenly…nervous?
Somebody like him
couldn’t afford to let any sign of weakness show. Of course He wanted to make a
good first impression, plus he was sort of curious as to why she would pursue
this rehabilitation idea. His nervousness faded away when he imagined Charlie
as naïve. Maybe he could easily trick her and not have to be caught by anyone?
The best thing he could
do for the moment was be polite and offer to help. As any good charmer and
manipulator knew, first impressions and the process were everything…
And a nice big smile was
the crème de la crème.
Puffing out his chest, he knocked on the door.
It was a very slow
“Shave and a Haircut knock.”
The knocking from
outside interrupted Charlie’s thoughts. She opened her eyes.
An ice cold feeling of dread spread through
her veins. No other demon would ever do that kind of knock.
Unless…
She tentatively reached
out her hand to the door handle, and quickly pulled it open.
Sure enough, the most
feared demon in Hell was standing right outside her door. A couple of shadow
spirits poked their heads through.
Charlie’s face morphed
into sheer terror, eyes wide as saucers.
Yes, there she was,
right in front of him. Alastor opened his eyes as they glowed red, a radio
sound emitting from him. His staff
turned on with a red glow. His eyes dilated playfully as he raised a finger in
greeting.
“Hell…”
The door abruptly
slammed shut.
Brief silence.
Charlie opened it again…
“…oooo!”
Slammed it again.
Alastor could hear
Charlie’s muffled voice from inside.
“Hey Vaggie!”
“What?”
“The Radio Demon is at
the door!”
“What?!”
“Who?” asked Angel.
“What should I do?!”
Charlie asked.
“Well, don’t let him
in!” Vaggie said.
A growl formed in
Alastor’s throat.
He stood there, shocked
in front of the stained glass door, smile still plastered on his face, hand and
curved claw in the air.
“Well…
that was…rude,” he thought. “Usually people are too sacred to answer when I come by. Or they rush
to try and please me because they know I could slaughter them at any time. I’ll
just wait here then…or maybe break this door down…”
He had been turned down
not once but twice by her! If she had been an average demon, she would’ve been
a bloody heap on the floor. The princess should know better than to reject
anyone like that, especially a prideful demon like himself.
Any offense to his pride
would not go unnoticed.
Charlie opened the door
again.
“May I speak now?”
Alastor asked, hiding his anger.
“You may,” said Charlie.
Alastor held out his
right hand to her, which briefly glowed. He half expected her to reach out and
shake it right away…which would’ve proven her naïve nature…but instead she just
stood there.
“Alastor, pleasure to be meeting you,
sweetheart, quite a pleasure.”
He eagerly grabbed her
wrist and leaned his face close to hers before strutting inside. Charlie stood,
dumbfounded, her hand still out.
“Excuse my sudden
visit,” he went on, “but I saw your fiasco on a picture show and I just
couldn’t resist. What a performance!”
Audience cheers came
from his staff as he turned around.
“Why I haven’t been that entertained since the stock market crash of 1929!”
He bobbed his head side
to side and burst into laughter. He glanced back at Charlie who was by the
door. “So many orphans!”
A sharp spear was
suddenly pointed at him. He froze in fear, his smile still on his face.
“Stop right there!” It
was Vaggie.
She swore in Spanish
under her breath: “Carbon hijo de perra!
(Idiotic son of a bitch!) I know your game. And I’m not gonna let you hurt
anyone here, you pompous, cheesy, talk show shitlord!”
Alastor’s eyes narrowed
and glowed. He made a low noise of warning.
“You
have a lot of nerve to stand up to me like that, girl,” he
thought. “You don’t know anything about
me, and you certainly aren’t going to stand in my way.”
Alastor merely laughed
slightly and nudged the weapon away with his fingers. Charli and Vaggie were in
front of him.
“Dear, if I wanted to hurt anyone here…”
He added in a low creepy
tone, “I would have done so already.”
His red eyes briefly
turned to red radio dials and radio static filled the room. He tilted his head
slightly, letting his chaotic magic roam. Vaggie and Charlie were frozen in
fear as they caught glimpses of red Voodoo symbols, static, and warped reality.
Then just as quickly,
the noise and magic ceased and Alastor shook his head, eyes back to full red. For
a brief moment, they had been small red pupils inside black sockets.
“That
scare should teach them to remember their place,”
he thought.
He bowed. “No, I’m here
because I want to help!”
Charlie was sure she
hadn’t heard him right.
“Say what now?” she
asked, eyebrows raised.
“Help!” he responded
with another laugh, leaning in close before moving back.
He held up his
microphone staff.
“Hello?” he asked with a laugh. “Is this thing
on? Testing, testing…”
He tapped it and a
glowing red eye appeared in the center. “Well, I heard you loud and clear!” the
microphone responded, eye shaking in fear.
The microphone didn’t
take kindly to be shaken out of its stupor.
“Um…you want to help?”
Charlie asked.
Alastor appeared behind
the demon girls, hands on their backs, switching from a shadow to his regular
self. Both Vaggie and Charlie flinched.
“With…” he mentioned in
an imitation of Charlie’s voice,
“…this ridiculous thing
you’re trying to do!” finishing in his normal voice. “This hotel!”
Charlie could hear the
call bell ding twice on the table, even though no one was there to ring it.
“I want to help you run
it.”
“Uh…why?” Charlie asked,
confused.
Alastor laughed again.
“Why does anyone do anything? Sheer absolute boredom! I’ve lacked inspiration
for decades!”
He placed his elbow on
an annoyed Vaggie’s head.
“My work became
mundane...lacking focus…”
He then shoved Vaggie aside.
She was clearly an inferior little doll he could push around.
“…aimless!” he
continued. “I’ve come to crave a new form of entertainment!”
He laughed again.
Charlie looked downcast.
“Does getting into a fist fight with a reporter count as entertainment?”
Alastor laughed again.
“It’s the purest kind,
my dear! Reality! True passion! After all, the world is a stage! And the stage
is a world of entertainment!”
Charlie brightened a
bit. “So, does this mean that you think it’s possible to rehabilitate a demon?”
Alastor help up a hand
and laughed. “Of course not. That’s wacky nonsense! Redemption, oh the
non-existent humanity! Nononono, I don’t think there’s anything left that could
save such loathsome sinners!”
He glanced at Vaggie and
Angel Dust sitting on the sofa, mischief in his eyes. They would be fun to mess
with.
“The chance given to them was the life they
lived before; the punishment is this!”
He spread out his arms, turning away. “There
is no undoing what is done!”
His eyes glowed red,
pupils constricted. There really was no way to change the past. All the sinners
were destined to suffer in a matrix of pleasure, illusion, and the threat of a
second death. For Alastor, every demon was a lost cause…and paradoxically, that
also included him.
He had dealt with
authority figures before in his previous life…those racist religious folk who
believed that God and the elite had complete control over his fate and the fate
of everyone else. Now here it was again, in the form of God, the angels, Vox,
Lucifer pretty much anybody he hated. It wasn’t his fault he killed and ate all
his victims. If certain people hadn’t
pushed him over the edge…
He glanced over when he
heard Charlie’s voice.
“So then, why do you
want to help me if you don’t believe in my cause?” Charlie asked.
Alastor smirked and
looked at Charlie over his shoulder. “Consider it an investment in ongoing
entertainment for myself!”
He pulled her close to
him with his arm and twirled her around in a quick dance. Charlie narrowed his
eyes at him and gave him a look. He ignored her. “I want to watch the scum of the world struggle to climb up the
hill of betterment! Only to repeatedly trip and tumble down to the fiery pit of
failure.”
Off to the side, his
shadow appeared and cackled.
Alastor’s eyes glowed
red and his left eyebrow raised slightly. Just the thought of having the fates
and lives of demons in his hands was enough to get him excited…or perhaps even
aroused.
“Right…” Charlie began,
slowly removing his clawed hand from her shoulder. Alastor’s hand flinched at
the sudden touch.
Alastor chuckled and
took her aside for a walk. “Yes indeedy! I see big things coming your way, and
who better to help than I.”
He impressed her further
with some charm and making his staff appear in his hand.
Vaggie walked up to Charlie
and pulled her aside.
“Charlie, listen to me.
You just can’t believe this creep! He isn’t just a happy face! He’s a
dealmaker, pure evil! He can’t be redeemed! And is most likely looking for a
way to destroy everything we’re
trying to do.”
Alastor drummed his
fingers against his palm, listening in on their conversation with a grin.
“I…” Charlie began. “…we
don’t know that. Look…I know he’s bad, and I know he probably doesn’t wanna
change, but the whole point of this is to give people a chance! To have faith
things will be better! How can I turn someone away? I can’t. It goes against
everything I’m trying to do. Everything I believe in.”
Alastor stared in
fascination at a family picture on the wall. It showed Lucifer dressed in
white, Lilith in a dark purple dress, and Charlie as a little girl wearing a
brown and white dress in the middle. The picture border consisted of branches
and yellow eyeballs and a dried rose in the upper right hand corner.
“Such
a lovely portrait! A picture of perfection! It’d be such a shame if something
awful were to happen to them…”
“Just trust me,” Charlie
added placing comforting hands on her girlfriend’s shoulders, “I can take care
of myself.”
Charlie,” warned Vaggie,
“Whatever you do, do not make a deal
with him!”
From a distance, Alastor
opened up the palm of one hand, claws curled inward, hand glowing. From his
viewpoint it looked like he was grabbing onto both girls. They glanced in his
direction, worry on their faces.
“I’ll
have these two in the palm of my hand…”
“Don’t worry, Charlie
replied to Vaggie. “I picked up one
thing from my Dad…” she spoke in a manly voice, “Ya don’t take shit from other
demons!”
Gathering her courage,
Charlie marched over to the Radio Demon.
“Ok, so…Al. You’re sketchy as fuck, and you
clearly see what I’m trying to do here is a joke. But I don’t.”
Charlie turned away. She
was so close and so vulnerable. It took all of the shadow’s restraint not to lunge
at Charlie and sink his teeth into her.
Red Voodoo symbols
floated around Alastor as his eyes glowed.
“If
you could stay turned around so I can knock you out…” he
thought.
Charlie narrowed her
eyes at him suspiciously and the symbols vanished.
“So
close,” he thought in frustration as she turned around to
face him.
Charlie continued. “I
think everyone deserves a chance to prove they can be better. So, I’m taking your
offer to help. On the condition that there be no tricks or voodoo strings
attached.”
Alastor twirled his cane
and held out his hand. “So it’s a deal then?”
Flashes of eerie green
light surrounded him, electricity snaking up the walls. The shadow’s eyes
turned green, his smile growing wider.
“Nope!” Charlie yelled,
holding out her hands. The energy stopped. “No shaking! No deals!”
Alastor’s eyes
constricted, and the shadow moped in the distance out of sight. “She rejected my deal,” he thought. “This will be more challenging than I
expected.”
He walked forward a
step.
Charlie continued. “As princess of Hell, and heir to the throne,
I uh, hereby order that you help with this hotel, for a long as you desire.”
The shadow and the
microphone hid in laughter. Her request was so vague, it left room for so many
loopholes. That meant that Alastor could leave and betray the hotel whenever he
saw fit.
A moment of pause…Alastor
brushed his hair back.
“Sound fair?” she asked.
“Hmm. Fair enough. Cool
beans.” Alastor shrugged, walking on and making his cane disappear. Charlie
breathed a sigh of relief and even did a thumbs up.
Alastor stopped and
spotted Vaggie off to the side. How pathetic she was, frowning like that. He
smirked in a way outside observers would describe as lecherous. He tickled her
under her chin with a finger.
“Smile, my dear! You
know you’re never fully dressed without one!”
Alastor hummed happily
on his way, while Vaggie growled in disgust and rage.
“So…where is your hotel staff?” Alastor asked.
“Uh, well…” Charlie
began. Alastor peered at Vaggie through his monocle. “Oh ho ho ho, you’re going
to need more than that.”
He walked over towards
Angel.
“And what can you do, my
effeminate fellow?”
Angel grinned. “I can
suck your dick!”
Alastor could almost
scream in disgust after hearing that.
“Ha! No.” Alastor
deadpanned.
“Your loss,” Angel said
with a slight laugh. Alastor summoned his cane.
“Well, this just won’t
do!” Alastor exclaimed. “I suppose I can cash in a few favors to liven things up!”
The spell came easily in his mind: “dife sèvitè, reveye.”
He snapped his fingers
and a fire sparked to life in a small circular fireplace. Animal skeletons
decorated either side of the wall. The wall and fireplace were repaired.
A dark figure plopped
down onto the chimney floor.
Alastor walked over and
picked up the creature with his hand. A large single yellow eye was revealed.
Angel, Vaggie, and Charlie peered at the creature. In a puff of smoke and a
squeak, the creature revealed herself. A cute cyclops girl was wearing a pink
dress with a poodle on the front, her short wide hair dark magenta with a
streak of yellow.
“This little darling is
Niffty!” Alastor introduced, before dropping her. She landed on her feet. She
was an adorable little thing.
“Hi! I’m Niffty!” she
greeted with a wave. “It’s nice to meet you! It’s been a while since I’ve made
new friends!” She laughed slightly and her pupil grew smaller, darting in
circles.
“Why are you all women?”
she asked. “Have any men here?! I’m sorry, that’s rude.” She missed the fact
that Angel was male, for obvious reasons.
She briefly picked up
Charlie, while Vaggie held her spear defensively at her.
“Oh man, this place is
filthy!” she exclaimed, running around and lifting up couch cushions. “It
really needs a lady’s touch, which is weird, because you’re all ladies, no
offence.” She chewed on a black spider she found, then rushed toward some
stained glass windows.
She darted around, using
a dust ruffle to clean them. “Oh my gosh, this is awful! No, no, no…Nope!”
She raced around,
removing cobwebs, then poking at a piece of a voodoo doll. Well, it was
actually a live blue beetle doll that Alastor had stabbed with a clothing pin
for Niffty to play with. Alastor looked amused, while the others stared in
disbelief.
“So
fortunate of me to have met her in Hell. A former chimney sweeper in the 20th
century. Heard she died from too much smoke. Services are still good! Though, I
didn’t give her much of an option to begin with…” he thought.
Meanwhile, at a casino,
a cat demon placed a joker, an ace, a 2, and a fourth card down on the table.
He had black and white fur, wore a black top hat and had red wings with card
suits decorated on them. He also had long red eyebrows and wore a red bow tie.
“Ha!” he declared in
triumph. “Read ‘em and weep, boys!”
He suddenly felt himself
being forcefully pulled out of the room through space and time.
“Full…whoa!”
“Transpòte ganbadeur la.”
He ducked as a curtain
of red energy surrounded the existing space. Voodoo symbols flashed in the
background along with eight yellow eyes, a creepy voodoo skull and a purple
skeleton of a worm-like creature. Another voodoo skull with horns appeared for
a moment not too far from tan ghost-like spirits with creepy faces and a row of
jagged teeth.
The cat demon figured he
must have had too much booze to drink.
“…the hell?”
As the images faded, he
soon found himself at the hotel bar, not in the previous room at the casino. A
large “Come and play Blackjack” sign took up much of the wall behind him. Most
peculiar, the gray wood walls were missing halfway up, replaced by the red
themed décor of the hotel. Husk was sitting in a portion of the casino he was
in. It felt like he was in a house with no roof surrounded by the outside
world.
“What the fuck is this?”
He saw Alastor and
pointed an accusing claw.
“You.”
“Ah, Husker, my good
friend!” Alastor cheerfully greeted. “Glad you could make it!”
Husk could have at least
been polite for once, but Alastor decided to let it slide.
Alastor’s head briefly
had the appearance of large antlers sticking out from either side. When he
moved it, it was revealed to be an antler skull with glowing green eyes hanging
in the background. Snakes were wrapped around one of the white curtains
supporting a bar stand. “Big Booze,” “Welcome” and “Big Soul” signs were placed
overhead on the stand. Neon green card suits consisted of the designs at the
bottom of the stand.
“Don’t you “Husker” me,
you son of a bitch!” Husk spat, and swiped Alastor’s hand aside from his
shoulder. “I was about to win the whole damn pot!”
Husk stared in anger as
the stacks of money and chips on the table vanished in static.
“Good to see you too!”
added Alastor.
Husk face palmed. “What
the hell do you want with me this time?”
Alastor grabbed hold of
him, startling him so much that cards fell from his hands.
“My friend, I am doing
some charity work, so I took it upon myself to volunteer your services! I hope
that’s okay.”
Husk was taken aback.
“Are you shittin’ me?!”
“No, I don’t think so,”
Alastor replied. He casually brushed off his sleeves.
Husk shoved the Radio
Demon off him. “You thought it would be some kind of big fuckin’ riot just to
pull me outta nowhere? You think I’m some kinda fuckin’ clown?”
“Maybe.”
Audience laughter
emitted from the microphone.
“I ain’t doin’ no
fuckin’ charity job,” Husk protested.
Alastor appeared next to
him, startling the cat demon. “Well I figured you would be the perfect face to
man the front desk of this fine establishment.”
He pointed toward the
bar stand with the staff. The sound of audience clapping came from his radio
staff.
“With your charming
smile and welcoming energy…”
Alastor spread the
corners of Husk’s mouth upward into a demonic smile of yellow teeth. Husk frowned
seconds after he let go.
“…this job was made for you!”
Alastor strutted over
toward the bar stand, the soles of his shoes revealing red hoof prints as he
walked.
“Don’t worry, my
friend,” Alastor continued, “I can make this more welcoming…if you wish.”
With a curve of his
fingers, a green bottle of cheap booze appeared on the counter.
Husk stared with wide
eyes, suddenly very thirsty. He swore he could hear the sound of a slot
machine.
“What, you think you can
buy me with a wink and some cheap booze?!” He took the bottle on anger. “Well
you can!”
He immediately guzzled
it down and walked away.
“Too
easy,” thought Alastor.
By this time, Charlie,
Vaggie and Angel Dust had arrived to see what the commotion was about. Vaggie
rushed toward the bar, furious.
“Hey, hey, hey, hey!”
yelled the moth demon. “No, no bar, no alcohol. This is supposed to be a place
that discourages sin! Not some kind
of…mouth, brothel, man-cave…”
Angel lunged himself
into her, knocking her to the floor.
“Shut up! Shut! Up! We
are keeping this.” He pointed at Husk with multiple gloved hands.
He slid up to Husk.
“Hey,” he said in a flirtatious voice.
“Go fuck yourself,” Husk
deadpanned, drinking his booze.
“Only if you watch me,”
Angel retorted.
To make matters worse
for Husk, Charlie leaned in close to him, excitement and red stars in her eyes.
“Oh my gosh! Welcome to
the Happy Hotel! You are going to love it
here!”
“I lost the ability to
love years ago,” Husk replied, gulping down more booze.
Alastor walked in, an
ever-present grin on his face.
“So, what do you think?”
Charlie ran over to him.
“This is amazing!” she beamed.
Alastor’s eyes blinked
rapidly at the sweet sight of Charlie rubbing her cheeks and smiling at him. He
could watch it all day.
“It’s okay,” Vaggie said
from nearby, arms crossed.
Alastor laughed and
pulled the two girls close to him. “This is going to be very entertaining!”
He shoved Vaggie again
and his laughter mixed with the sound of an old radio.
Alastor conjured fire in
his hand…Charlie stared in wonder at the flames and the voodoo symbols. He
threw the flames in the air, distracting Charlie from him shoving aside her
friend hard. Alastor then changed his attire with magic. He now wore a fancy
red suit with a white undershirt and a black bow tie. A red top hat appeared on
his head, complete with small spikes along the black band and two needles
sticking out from the top. He twirled Charlie around in a dance, the princess
looking stunned. Pointing his finger over her head, he transformed Charlie’s
outfit. Her blonde hair was now short and wavy. She wore an elegant black and
red dress, black gloves, a pink hat with a small black bow and black heels. She
looked like a dapper lady from the early 20th century.
Charlie stared at her
conjured clothing in amazement.
Vaggie was on the floor,
fuming.
Alastor began to sing as
he danced with Charlie, a new spring in his steps.
“You
have a dream
You
wish to tell
He turned to the fuming
Vaggie on the floor, letting her know that he thought Charlie’s idea was silly.
“and
it’s so laughable…”
He turned back to
Charlie.
“But
hey kid, what the hell!”
Alastor picked Charlie
up and threw her into the air. She yelped in delight and landed gracefully next
to him. Two glowing apples and a skull with deer horns flashed in the
background.
Reality had been altered
to the Radio Demon’s liking. The entire room was lit in psychedelic colors.
Voodoo symbols and shapes were etched in every nook and cranny, including a
pair of pink claws reaching for the door. Alastor and Charlie waltzed in the
spotlight as electro swing music began to play in the distance. The all-encompassing
noise, though, was the signature radio-static sound.
Charlie found herself
sliding down one of the apple-etched railings, Alastor leading the way. They
landed on the lower floor as Alastor continued his reprise.
“Cause
you’re one of a kind
A
charming demon belle!”
Deer statues and painted
antlers were everywhere.
Back at the bar stand,
Husk sat looking bored. Vaggie hissed at Angel grabbing onto her shoulder,
while Niffty stared in wonder. Alastor snapped his fingers and their outfits
changed as well.
Angel was wearing a neon
pink suit, Husk a pink bow tie, Vaggie a dark dress, with her hair now smooth
and long, and finally Niffty, with a cute top hat with small flowers.
“Now
let’s give these burning fools a place to dwell
(Take
it, boys!)”
Alastor snapped his
fingers once more and shadowy imps rose to life from a hole in the ground. The
happy spirits played a trumpet, a tuba, and a drum set. Charlie snapped her
fingers to the beat, while Vaggie watched with worry. She reached out to her friend
but was pulled away by Alastor. He enveloped the group into a tight hug with a
laugh, followed by glowing images of dark spirits staring at them. Niffty
watched in amazement, but not the other three.
“Inside
of every demon is a lost cause…”
Alastor pulled Husk and
Angel close again. He rubbed Angel’s head with a white hat and went on his
merry way. Husk gave him the bird as he left.
“But
we’ll dress ‘em up now with just a smile!”
(With
a smile!)
Vaggie stood, annoyed in
the spotlight. Using his cane, Alastor added a feathered peacock hat and a
white fox fur to her outfit. She looked ridiculous. Then out of nowhere, he
slapped her butt.
Vaggie seethed in rage
after he walked away.
Alastor danced some more,
kicking a horned skull to the side. In the background, Niffy happily swept up
the bits of bone.
“And
we’ll chlorinate this cesspool
With
some old redemption flair
And
show these simpletons some proper class and style!
(What’s
in style? Oh!)”
He made his way to the
circular fireplace, where he waved his staff. Shadows arrived to join the
party, including his own shadow, with large antlers and fangs. The shadow grabbed onto his shoulders and
grinned, his mouth and eyes blue. Alastor made him disappear in a poof, then
snuck toward Charlie. He led her in an upbeat dance, spinning her around,
helping her match her steps to his. Charlie blushed when Alastor toyed with her
cheeks. As Charlie was led away, Vaggie stood in the background, horrified and
disgusted. What was happening to her friend?
Charlie and Alastor
laughed as they danced, the princess locked in a happy trance. Alastor was in
his element, his pupils dilated, a joyful demeanor.
Maybe this could turn
into something more? Could it even be…love?
“Here
below the ground
I’m
sure you’re plan is sound!
They’ll
spend a little time
Down
at this Hazbin Ho…”
Alastor was about to
finish his song, when an explosion burst apart a window behind him. He stood
frozen, pupils constricting, his body going alert.
Whatever, or whomever
had interrupted his song was going to pay dearly.
Niffty
stared in amazement, shouting “Whoo!” before she was blasted backwards, the
door hitting her in the face.
Alastor’s
spell soon wore off and everyone was back in their regular clothes. Alastor,
Husk (still drinking), Niffty, Charlie, Angel, and Vaggie, peered out of the
hole to see what was going on. Vaggie had her weapon at the ready.
Looking
skyward, the group saw a cracked blimp in the air. It had a small random band
aid with a sad face on it along the rim. A familiar snake villain popped out of
his hideout.
“Ha!”
Sir Pentious laughed. “Well, well, well, look who it is harboring the striped
freak! We meet again, Alastor!”
Apparently,
he was also rivals with Alastor.
But
Alastor simply asked, “Do I know you?”
The
snake boss looked disappointed. Then he said in anger, “Oh yes you do! And this
time, I have the element of…surprise!”
The
villain raced toward his pink velvet chair and pulled a lever. A metallic
cannon lowered to the ground. The cannon fired up with pink energy as pink
smoke appeared around them.
“He
laughed manically. “I’m so evil!”
Then
he added, “I have an Egg army!”
“Well,
we have an Alastor,” Charlie responded.
Alastor
snapped his fingers, red tendrils of smoke rising from his hand. The weapon
froze in mid fire and a fiery portal opened up below the blimp.
A
horde of black tendrils rose from the hole, latching onto the ship. One
tentacle ripped off the cannon and threw it into another smaller portal,
causing it to explode in pink smoke. One of the tentacles had already smashed a
hole in the large round window.
Sir
Pentious looked on in shock as his Egg Bois slammed against the wall (one of
them read #Ouch.) One of the eggs cracked open, spilling out yellowish brains
and small organs among the stains of yok. Sir Pentious and another minion were
thrown against the wall.
“Whoa,
whoa, whoa!” he screamed before he was slammed against the ceiling by a black
limb.
“Oh,
that hurt!” he cried.
Sir
Pentious screamed as he was dragged along the floor and lifted up slightly. He
was held in place, surrounded by the wrapped up tendril. At once, the tendril
shrunk and squeezed the helpless snake. The Egg Bois ran around screaming as
black cracks appeared on the floor and walls.
From
the outside, more black tendrils were closing in. Red voodoo symbols appeared
around the blimp.
“Ede m 'sèrviteur.”
Four
horned shadowy spirits with red auras floated around, wearing toothy grins.
The
tendrils were now wrapped around the entire blimp, holding it in place like
thick black vines.
Red
radio waves filled Alastor’s eyes as he circled his fingers and worked is
magic. Voodoo symbols appeared all around him as he altered the state of reality.
Radio static consumed the air.
The
vines thickened and completely enclosed the blimp. The spirits swooped around
it in excitement, with echoing shrieks. The aura around the tendrils glowed a
fiery yellow, the same color as the portal rim.
“Kalfu! Destriksyon pa bra nwa.”
Alastor
closed his four-fingered hand which began to glow. A red drop of blood fell
from his glowing hand. The tendrils proceeded to crush the blimp. Pink rays of
light shot from the center and the blimp exploded in a loud BOOM!
Pink
smoke spread everywhere as the spirits sped away. The tendrils broke into
severed bloody pieces that rained down to the ground. Alastor smiled
victoriously, while behind them, the group of five stared in utter terror and
shock. (Save for Niffty who had a small smile on her face).
Alastor’s
angry, bloodlust eyes spoke volumes.
“And stay out of this hotel and from my
friends you pathetic excuse of snakeskin.”
A
sharp pain throbbed on his hand and bags appeared under his eyes. Magic had
taken some work from him…and it also made him hungry.
“Well,
I’m starved!” Alastor exclaimed, turning around to face the group, happy again.
“Who wants some jambalaya?” He spread his arms out. “My mother once showed me a
wonderful recipe for jambalaya! In
fact, it nearly killed her!”
He
laughed as he led the way back to the hotel. The others followed.
“You
could say the kick was right out of Hell!”
He
added while laughing at his own joke, “Oh, I’m on a roll!”
From
up above, the hotel looked like a mashed-up haunted house. An old dark train
was perched on a balcony, with some monstrous faces carved in. A ship,
reminiscent of the Titanic, was leaning upwards against the building as part of
the structure. An old carousel served as part of the upper balcony and windows.
Skull designs decorated the small windows in a row. Finally, on top of a giant
yellow eye, was the sign “Happy Hotel” supported by pillars of worn wood.
Alastor
continued, “Yes, sir, this is the start of some real changes down here! The
game is set! Now…”
He
glanced up and pointed his finger toward the sign. Pink electricity shot out
and made contact with the sign.
The
sign now read “Hazbin Hotel.”
“Stay
tuned,” he finished with a low
sinister laugh.