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It's finally over. The last thing Michael saw were flames, finally putting an end to this horror that his father had started. Michael could finally rest.Well…not really.It seems like he wakes up in a very strange and brutal place, and he...is a furry? Wait, what?Michael looked around, trying to understand where he was and what was going on. He ran a hand through his hair and felt a pair of ears sticking out of his head.Bear ears.He also noticed that his hands were no longer purple. Now they are white. He has never been so confused in his life as he is now."Excuse me sir, what is this place?" Michael asked the first person who walked down the street. This person also looked strange. Just like everyone else here."Fuck yourself, dumbass." He replied rudely, without even looking at him. Michael blinked in surprise."Uh huh…Right. Yeah. Of course. You fuck yourself." Michael snorted, walking away.Walking along the sidewalk and looking around, he kept coming across dead bodies or even scattered body parts. "What the hell—"Suddenly Michael heard music and singing literally out of nowhere. Even more confused, he noticed a blonde girl running down the street and singing. And what's weirder is that no one pays her any attention unless they’re joins in the singing."I can hear all their stories, the lost and displaced!And I know that they're more of an acquired taste!But if I open the door and I give them a place!At my Hazbin Hotel…It'll be a happy day in Hell!""Excuse me, a happy day in what now?" Michael muttered to himself, hoping it was some kind of joke or dream.Unfortunately, this is all real.He looked in the direction where the girl ran from and saw a huge building in the distance. He could even see the big glowing ‚Hazbin Hotel’ sign from here."Fuck it." He sighed and, having no choice, headed towards the hotel. What else was he supposed to do with himself? From what he understood, he was in hell. It made sense, he was dead after all, and he definitely wasn't a good person.At least that's how he saw himself.After all, he killed his little brother, and bullying him day after day, how could he be a good person?He wasn't surprised to find himself in hell. No. But he is disappointed. He hoped that after death there was simply nothing. That he would be able to rest from this terrible life.And what the fuck is this hell where people sing? And why were there dead bodies everywhere? This is everyday life in hell?Wait. Can he die in hell? He'll have to find out.Michael was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice he was approaching the hotel. He shook his head and stared at the strange building for a moment, then sighed and walked to the door. Was he supposed to knock? How does it work in hell? He should enter here without knocking?He hesitantly opened the door, closing it quietly behind him once he was inside. He heard some voices, so he went towards them.He immediately regretted it."I’ve been a bad boy and I need a big, strong daddy to put me in my place…On the path to redemption!""Well, you come—""Ohh yes!""…To the right place.""Cut!"Yes, he definitely didn't come at the right time.He slowly started to back, but unfortunately for him, he was noticed."Okay, Angel, I need you to be…huh?" The white-haired girl looked at Michael and before he could blink, she was next to him, pointing some kind of spear at him. "Who are you?""Hey, hey, calm down!" Michael raised his hands in the air."Who. Are. You.""Pff. If this is how you welcome all guests at the hotel…" The bartender snorted in slight amusement. The white-haired girl froze for a moment and quickly lowered her weapon."Right! I did not think about it. Are you our new guest? Have you come to our hotel to find redemption?""Find…redemption? Wait, wow, slowly. What is this place?" Michael frowned."You don't know what this place is? Have you been here since yesterday or what?""Well…I've been here since today, to be more precise.""Oh. Oh! Okay, i get it. It’s fine. Let me explain then. I’m Vaggie, this is Angel Dust and Husk. And this is…Hazbin Hotel, a place where souls can seek redemption. You know, changing for the better to get to heaven.""What? Can a soul that is in hell end up in heaven? Is that even possible?""Uh…well, I think…? It hasn't worked out yet, but...we're working on it, okay?" Vaggie sighed heavily, and Michael decided to drop the topic. Would a soul from hell go to heaven? Impossible. But he didn't want to argue."Right, so… this is a hotel, right? So you can live here? For free or…?""Yes, for free. And if you want to try redemption, you can stay here.""Oh! You know…I can stay here." Michael shrugged. So the problem with a place to live is solved, easy."Great! Charlie will be happy when she comes back.""Who?""Ah, yes. Charlie created this hotel, she's Lucifer's daughter and she's my girlfriend""Lucifer’s…daughter?""Don't worry, she's very kind. Oh, Niffty and Alastor are also here in the hotel. You'll meet them when they get back here, I don't know where they are now""Hey! Since you're staying here...maybe we can get to know each other better, little bear? Hmm?" Angel winked at Michael, smiling flirtatiously. Husk rolled his eyes at this and started cleaning the glasses behind the bar.Yeah. Michael's stay at Hazbin Hotel will certainly be a very interesting experience.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"So this is your room, Michael." Vaggie opened the door and waved her hand towards the room."Thanks. And by the way, you can call me Mike." Michael entered the room and looked around. Not that bad, but he will definitely redo this room to suit him better later."Okay, Mike. I'm going back to record a commercial. Actually...I'll add a role for you in the script since you're already here." Vaggie smiled slightly and before Michael could say anything, she was gone.He sighed and shrugged, closing the door. He sat up on the bed and looked around the room again, starting to wonder what it would all look like. What will his life be like now? Will eternal life await him? He didn't like it at all.During his life he experienced much more than he would have wanted, and now what? When he was alive, at least he had a goal. Find his father and end what he started. But what now? He sighed and left the room, not wanting to think about it now. Of course, he didn't come at the right time again.As he was about to go down the stairs, he noticed Vaggie talking to some red demon guy. He watched them for a moment, frowning as they made a deal. This demon had obviously manipulated her and he didn't like it."Hmm, it's not nice to eavesdrop like that, isn't it?" This red demon now looked towards Michael with a wide smile."Maybe." Michael came down to them and stood in front of him. "Who are you?""Alastor! Pleasure to be meeting you, quite a pleasure!""Alright everyone! Let’s make a fucking commercial. Alastor?" Vaggie interrupted them and Alastor waved his hand. Suddenly the entire room looked like a professional recording studio."And I have to take part in this too, right? I could just watch—" Michael started, but before he could finish, he was pulled towards the bar by Angel."You already have a role, little bear!" Angel put the script in front of his face. Michael narrowed his eyes and moved away from the paper a little."Alright, alright…and stop calling me that.""Oh, but it suits you perfectly! Unless you prefer dadd—""Little bear, woah, how cool!" "Okay, guys, we're recording." Vaggie clapped, interrupting their conversation.And thank fucking God.They finished recording shortly before Charlie returned. Michael was curious what the princess of hell was like, he imagined various things, but he certainly didn't expect her to be...like this.At first she seemed a little sad, for some reason, but when she saw that they had a new guest in the hotel, she squealed with joy and literally threw herself at him, enveloping him in a hug. Michael's eyes widened and he was too shocked to even hug her back."Oh my God, welcome to the Hazbin Hotel! You'll love it here! What's your name? How long have you been here? Oh! Oh! Have you seen the entire hotel yet?""Woah, well…I’m Michael, I came here a few hours ago, and yes, I think I've already seen the entire hotel.""That’s amazing! Really! I’m so so happy, you chose the perfect place to change for the better!""Yeah…i think so." Michael gave her a slight smile. Her enthusiasm was so adorable, that he couldn't ruin her joy and simply didn't tell her that he didn't believe in any redemption."And that's not all! We recorded a new commercial." Vaggie said with a smile and Charlie brightened even more. There were even tears in her eyes."One of my best roles if you want to know" Angel smiled at her."You all are the best, truly, I love yo—""Shh, it started!" Angel interrupted her when their commercial appeared on TV.Unfortunately, it was immediately interrupted by sudden news. Everyone's positive mood dropped immediately when they heard that the extermination would be sooner than usual. Luckily, Michael already understood what was happening here because Vaggie had explained it to him earlier."But why…?" Angel asked the question that was on everyone's mind right now.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Okay. So the extermination is coming in six months instead of a year. No big deal. Just a little setback. Nothing we can’t handle. Just angels cutting our timetable in half. But who needs a whole year to save souls? Am i right? And next time, when they cut the time in half and again and again, we’ll just handle it, right?!" Charlie paced nervously around the room, trying to calm herself down rather than the others, although it didn't even work. Everyone here is just fucked.
"Yes, we will." Vaggie tried to calm her girlfriend down, but Angel interfered.
"Oh, please, ya had less than half a chance when you started all this salvation bullshit."
Michael, who was sitting next to Angel on the couch, looked at his phone. He raised an eyebrow at the mass of messages that continued to arrive. From some…Valentino. This messages definitely didn't look good, it even worried Michael a little.
"Hey, actually, I have a question. Can you just die in hell? I mean, I thought souls were immortal."
"Yeah, that's right. You can't just die here. These motherfuckers just have special angel weapons that if you get hit, that's...well, that's it." Angel grimaced at his own words and leaned on Michael's shoulder, starting to scroll through social media on his phone. Michael didn't mind as long as it was a purely friendly gesture. He appreciated it when others felt comfortable around him. During his life, this did not happen often.
"So…souls can only die at the hand of an angel. Interesting." he muttered.
"Okay, we just…have to try a little harder, right?" Charlie tried to think positively, but it was obvious that even she wasn't sure what she was talking about.
"Uh. Listen. Since everyone is panicked by this extermination, won't it be easier to convince them to stay at the hotel now?" Michael suggested, looking at the news Angel was scrolling through on his phone.
"That’s true. Sinners are desperate…maybe desperate enough to try anything to escape the extermination?" Vaggie picked up on Michael's idea, and Charlie immediately regained her enthusiasm.
"This is the perfect time to recruit more sinners for the hotel!"
"Cute idea and all, but you really going to go out in all of this?" Angel showed the girls his phone, showing them a video of what was happening among sinners following the news of extermination.
"Well, it’s not like people are just going to show up on our doorstep—"
At that moment, the wall of the building was blown and they heard a dramatic voice.
"Show yourself, Alastor! Come and face— Oh, there you are."
They all looked at each other and walked out in front of the building, watching as Alastor annoyed the snake guy by telling him he didn't know him.
"Who the fuck is this?" Michael was confused.
"He's such an idiot who generally pretends to be super evil. He's kind of shitty at it." Angel explained and shrugged.
"And he attacks Alastor.." Charlie added with concern.
"Yeah, and he’s kind of shitty at it too."
They watched Alastor and Sir Pentious's conversation, until suddenly the snake guy mentioned Vees.
"Vees? Who are they?” Michael sighed. He was starting to get annoyed that he didn't know anything here.
"These are some of the most influential and powerful overlords. Vees from their names - Vox, Valentino and Velvette. Vox specializes in technology, Valentino in the porn industry and Velvette in social media. And they…well, you don't want to deal with them." Vaggie explained as Alastor and Sir Pentious could be heard fighting in the background.
"Yeah, especially with Valentino. This is my boss." Angel rolled his eyes.
"Oh, i get it."
Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by a loud explosion accompanied by some green smoke. They looked surprised at Alastor, who now stood alone, with a satisfied smile, and said that he had to visit the tailor.
"Wait. You’re leaving? Alastor, we need your help. We need you to do your job." Vaggie stopped him as he was starting to walk away.
"We need a wall." Angel added.
"Of course! Can’t let my new project fall into disrepair already. What would the papers say?" Alastor snapped his fingers and several people appeared behind him to rebuild the wall. Angel immediately approached one of them and started flirting with him.
The rest, having nothing else to do, returned to the hotel. Michael didn't know what to do with himself, he had no responsibilities here. He sighed and walked over to the bar, sitting on one of the chairs. He wondered if he could drink and eat now. Since it looks like he has a new body now, does he have his organs back?
"I'd like something weak, do you have any?" He looked at Husk, who immediately pulled out a bottle and handed it to him. "Ah, no, I don't need the whole bottle."
"Well, you look like you needed."
"Why do you think so?" Michael raised one eyebrow.
"You look like shit, yesterday and today. I assume you look like this every day?"
"Oh, thank you. I'm trying." Michael snorted and Husk smiled slightly. "Ehh. What is life in hell like for an ordinary sinner? Is it possible to find a job here or something to have some purpose in... anything?"
"Listen…hell is something completely different. You won't find a normal job here. Any job, even a seemingly ordinary one, will not suit you. You don't seem as crazy as most people here, so I assume any job in hell would be unappealing to you."
"Great." Michael groaned in irritation and finally grabbed the bottle that Husk had offered him earlier. He took a hesitant sip of alcohol. Yes, so he can drink. So he can eat too. He couldn't remember the last time he had anything other than chewing gum in his mouth.
"Yeah. What job did you do on earth?" Husk asked casually. Technically he wasn't interested, but he had a surprisingly good conversation with Michael. He’s the first person he meets here who isn't annoying, horny, loud, or insane. It even made him a little curious about what he had done to deserve hell.
"Oh, well…i worked as nightguard in the pizzeria. Actually, not once. And at the end of my life I opened my own pizzeria."
"Any family business or do you just like pizza?"
"Yeah…you could call it a family business." Michael took a sip from the bottle, staring at a spot on the wall. He hated talking about his family. The very word 'family' made him grimace.
Talking about hell and family. There is one thing that worries him very much. Where is his father? They both died in the same way, it's impossible that his father didn't end up here. What if he survived? This thought made Michael tighten his grip on the bottle he was holding.
His thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. Charlie and Vaggie are back.
"So, how’d it go?" Angel, who had also just arrived, asked them.
"Not a single new recruit." Vaggie sighed heavily.
"And Alastor had a musical number with Vox." Charlie added.
"And we had to walk back here in the fucking dark because of it."
"But ugh…no new recruits!"
"Yeah…Well, who would want to use their last days not fucking and fighting?" Angel commented, and right after he said that, everyone heard a loud knock on the door.
Vaggie went to open the door, and moments later an argument could be heard. Charlie immediately went to see what was going on, followed shortly by Angel. Michael rested his head on his hand, leaning his elbow on the bar counter where he was still sitting.
After a while, Vaggie, Charlie and Angel returned with a new guest, who turned out to be Sir Pentious. Michael raised one eyebrow at this sight. From the looks of Angel and Vaggie, they didn't think it was a good idea either. Only Charlie was excited and happy, starting to show him everything.
"Babe, you don’t have to show him every detail." Vaggie stopped her.
"Sorry, I’m just so excited to have our second real guest!"
"Uh, second? What the hell am I then?" Angel crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well, you’re an important part of our family here, Angel. But you, um, uh…"
"Constantly make us look bad, sexually harass the staff, and have literally never once tried to improve?"
"What she means is, it’s just nice to have someone really interested." Charlie smiled and turned to Sir Pentious, not realizing that this made Angel feel sad. But Husk and Michael saw it. The bartender muttered something under his breath and began to clean the glasses, and Michael sighed and walked over to Angel.
„Hey, Angel, since when have you been here? You are the first guest here, right?”
"Ah, yeah, I was here even before Alastor showed up." Angel smiled, puffing out his chest proudly.
"That’s cool."
"You know what, let me show you something! We don't have to look at...eh, this." Angel waved his hand at the new hotel guest who was being chatted up by Charlie. Michael shrugged and allowed Angel to put his arm around him, and push him towards the stairs, leading him somewhere.
They stood in front of a door that was covered with photos and pink neons. Angel opened the door, letting Michael inside.
"Is this your room?"
"Yeah, but we didn't come here to admire it. We came here to admire him!" Angel walked over to the bed and lifted the pig into his arms, presenting him to Michael with excitement. This little pig must mean a lot to him. "It’s Fat Nuggets."
"He’s sweet." Michael smiled slightly. It was interesting to see this side of Angel, he seemed so sincere now. Michael didn't doubt that what Angel was like on a daily basis was part of his character, but he could sense the acting in him.
"I know." Angel chuckled and sat on the bed, placing the pig on his lap. "Hey, let's take a selfie. I have selfies with everyone in the hotel."
"Well, why not." Michael sat down next to him and Angel took out his phone and took a few selfies of them.
"Oh, you look handsome, mmm." Angel commented, looking at the photos they took.
"Thanks, i guess."
"Oh, come on, first Alastor, then Husk, now you? Everyone rejects me here." Angel dramatically wiped an invisible tear from his cheek.
"Wait, you were flirting with Alastor?" He looked at him in disbelief.
"What? He’s handsome! But, you know, I think he's asexual or something."
"Ah, that’s cool, i think."
"You too?"
"What? Ah, no, no. I'm just not interested in that sort of thing, and besides, on earth, I've had bad luck with this shit."
"Ouh, details! Give me the details. I love hearing about other people's love dramas."
"Em…I'm not sure if I want to talk about it."
"Come on, you are in hell! Whatever happened to you on earth is nothing compared to what shit will happen to you here."
"Oh, you really think so?" Michael laughed and shook his head. "Well, then...I liked a some guy once. We worked at the same job. I thought he liked me too. Well, I didn't have time to find out, because his frontal lobe was bitten off and—"
"Wait what?!"
"Funny story, really, don’t you think?" Michael smirked at Angel's surprised face.
"Now I want to know more details about your life on earth! Holy shit."
"Maybe someday."
Suddenly the door opened and Charlie stood there, looking at them with an excited smile.
"Listen guys, come to us! I came up with something great!"
"Alright then." Angel sighed and put his piggy on the bed. The three of them went downstairs, seeing Vaggie and Sir Pentious sitting on the floor. Michael and Angel joined them, and Charlie stood in the middle of the circle they had created.
"Now! With a new resident, I think it’s important we all get to know each other, so we are going to play a little game. Everyone, follow me. My name is Charlie. I like to sing. And when we get to know each other, it’s the greatest thing!" Charlie started the game, clapping after each sentence. When she finished, she pointed at Sir Pentious.
"Em…My name’s Sir Pentious. I like to build. And despite my stupid Egg Bois, I think I’m very skilled."
Now Charlie pointed at Angel, who didn't seem eager to play this game.
"This is stupid." He muttered.
"This is not stupid it’s just the game!" Charlie sang out, clapping. "Sir Pentious did it so well so now please try to do the same!"
"I am too sober for this. Mike, your turn."
"Excuse me? Absolutely not."
"Well, you two, get used to it and learn how to play. This is going to be your whole day." Vaggie clapped, and Angel and Michael simultaneously groaned in resignation.
"Fuck, fine. My name is Michael. I prefer Mike. And I like chewing gum." Michael clapped and Angel snorted in amusement.
"Well…you should include a little more information." Vaggie sighed.
"It's good! I'm glad you tried it, Mike. Now your turn, Angel!" Charlie smiled enthusiastically and Angel sighed heavily.
It was hard to get through this game, but they didn't know what the next one was yet. Once Charlie gave them some scripts, they knew they were going to spend the rest of the day on this shit.
But hey, what wouldn't you do for Charlie? Destroying her enthusiasm would be a crime.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It’s been a week since Sir Pentious moved into a hotel, but also since Michael moved in here. So there are now two banners hanging in the hotel - „Happy first week, Sir Pentious!” and „Happy first week, Mike!”, which was really nice of Charlie.
But not everyone gets along with each other. Everyone in the hotel, except Charlie, does not trust Sir Pentious, because he appeared here only because of cooperation with Vees. Because of this, sometimes awkward situations occur.
Michael, on the other hand, already gets along with everyone except Sir Pentious and Alastor.
With the Radio Demon, the problem is that Michael doesn’t trust him, and Alastor also keeps the distance between them, sensing Michael’s unfriendly attitude.
They don’t argue, but just ignore each other. If they’re already talking, they tease each other and Charlie has to separate them so that teasing doesn’t turn into arguments.
So when Charlie gathered them together, they knew they would have to survive through another stupid game. Only Alastor, who had a meeting of the Overlords, was not here.
"Hi, guys. Thanks for coming. It’s been brought to our attention that there may be a little…tension in the hotel."
"Tension that can be counterproductive to what we’re trying to do here." Vaggie added, taking away the gun from Sir Pentious, who was pointing it at Niffty.
"We think that this group could really benefit from…trust exercises!"
"So, what’s with the whole, uhh…this?" Husk pointed to the wooden scene in front of them. "I’m not about to put on some show for these fucking chumps."
"Oh, I will, but it’s cash up front." Angel put his legs on Husk’s lap, who was sitting next to him. Michael sitting on the very side of the couch next to the bartender, just watching them. "And I know that one can’t afford me."
"Gross! I’d never think of it spider!" Sir Pentious grimaced when Angel looked at him.
"Right. Well, let’s get started. Charlie?" Vaggie interrupted them.
"Actually, I thought maybe you could take the lead on this one.” Charlie smiled enthusiastically. „I trust everyone, so maybe you know better about how to build it properly."
"What? Uhh, I don’t know if i’m qualified, uh—"
"Oh, come on. I’ll be easy. I’m sure you can handle this."
"Yeah, um…sure, I can handle this. No problem." Vaggie sighed and began to march in front of them, starting to speak in drill sergeant tone. " All right, so we are starting with trust falls. Each of you are going to share something vulnerable with the group about yourself and then fall backwards, while the rest of the group catches you. Got it? Who wants to go first?"
"Ooooh, oooh, me me me! Me! Me! Me!"
"All right. Get on up here."
Charlie entered the stage and smiled tenderly.
"I love you guys. Like really, really love you." She said and turned her back to the rest, falling into Vaggie’s arms. "That…felt…good! Angel, why don’t you go next?"
"Fine." Angel entered the stage without enthusiasm.
"This time everyone needs to catch him, okay? Unless you want me to hurt you." Vaggie directed her weapon towards the rest until they approached the scene.
"Something about myself, huh? How about this? I love suck—" Angel started, but Husk quickly interrupted him.
"I swear to fuck if you say dicks—"
"Popsicles, ya sicko! Get your mind out of the gutter." Angel threw himself into Husks arms, who caught him. "But you know, dick’s too!"
Husk immediately threw him to the ground, and he groaned, massaging the places with which he hit the floor.
"All right, Mike, you’re up." Angel smirked, and Michael sighed heavily.
When he entered the stage, he cleared his throat, wondering what to say. He had just realized that his whole life was just suffering and he couldn’t remember ever doing something for himself. He didn’t even know what his hobbies were, because he didn’t have time for such things. He liked to watch his favorite series in TV on earth, but that’s nothing important.
"Uhh…I like…emm…"
"Come on, Mike! You can do this." Charlie encouraged him.
"I had a robot in me." Michael said without a second thought and fell from the stage straight to the ground, because no one caught him due to the shock. "Shit!"
"You what?!" Husk looked at him in disgust.
"What is this kink? I haven’t tried yet." Angel blinked, surprised.
"What? Wait, no! Heavens, no! Not like that." Michael got up from the floor, massaging the places with which he hit the floor. "I mean, literally in myself. Inside me."
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Vaggie looked at him confused.
"It’s a long story." Michael waved his hand.
"Oh, we have time." Sir Pentious decided, and the rest nodded. Michael sighed heavily.
"I was scooped. My insides were scooped and animatronic came in their place. He wore me like a skin until I rotted and vomited him." Michael explained as if he was talking about something completely normal, and the rest were looking at him in horror. "What?"
"What? What?!" Vaggie embraced Charlie, who froze.
"What the fuck, Mike." Husk said the first thing that came to his mind after hearing it.
"That’s how you died?!" Angel recovered from the shock.
"Oh, no, I lived after that. I died in the fire I caused myself. Well, with a little help." Michael explained and shrugged, and the rest opened their mouths wide in horror. "What?"
"You know what, I don’t want to know anymore. I need a drink." Husk muttered as he went to the bar, and the rest still didn’t know what to say.
"Ooookay, break." Vaggie ordered, taking the traumatized Charlie from there.
When everyone recovered from the shock, they finished the game without asking Michael any more questions.
Later, after Angel’s failed attempt to use BDSM to trust each other, they ended up on the roof of the building, in the middle of Vaggie’s even worse idea.
"This is how you learned to trust people?!" Charlie shouted in disbelief, pointing to the battle taking place here.
"There is nothing stronger than the trust between and arms. Buckle up, butter cups, because today you boys become men!" Vaggie shouted in drill sergeant tone. "You…are going survive together!"
"Wait, wait! I can’t fight without my minions—" Sir Pentious tried to save himself, but Vaggie threw him off the roof into the middle of the fight. She did the same with Angel and Michael. Husk quickly went down the stairs, and Niffty threw herself off the roof as Charlie stopped Vaggie.
"Well, we have no choice, let’s go!" Angel took out his guns and threw himself into the middle of the fight. Sir Pentious also tried to fight, although he wasn’t doing well.
Michael froze. He looked around in growing panic, not even knowing how to fight. He never did such things on earth, the only harm he ever did...
His brother.
He looked as Angel shoots some guy in the head, that immediately splashes. Michael began to breathe heavily, stepping back instantly.
„Come on, guys. Let’s give this little man a lift. He wants to get up close and personal!”
„Why don’t we help him get a closer look? He will love it!”
„Hey guys, I think the little man said he wants to get Freadbear a big kiss!”
„On three! One…two…”
Memories appeared before his eyes. He grabbed his chest, still stepping back. He was starting to run out of air.
Suddenly, he felt that someone grabs him by the arm and pulls him to some place. When he was placed on the stairs, he looked up with an unconscious look, seeing Husk in front of him. The bartender put his hand on his shoulder, and Michael focused on his calm breath, slowly calming down.
Husk, seeing that Michael was okay, walked away from him, running into the middle of the battle, joining Angel.
Michael sat down on the stairs, grabbing his head and pulling his hair. He closed his eyes, feeling tears in them. The memory of his brother’s shattered head stood before his eyes. His blood on his own hands and then that terrible sound in the hospital. The sound of the machine that kept his brother alive. The sound, indicating that the boy's heart had stopped beating.
And all it’s Michael’s fault.
"Mike…?" Michael heard Angel’s voice. He looked ahead, seeing Angel dragging Sir Pentious and Husk following them.
"I’m sorry I didn’t help you fight." Michael whispered, afraid that his voice would break down when he spoke louder.
He wiped tears from his cheeks, turning his head to the side, avoiding their gaze. He felt terrible shame that they saw him like this.
"Are you stupid or something?" Angel dropped Sir Pentious on the floor, then sat down on the stairs, next to Michael. "What happened?"
"Nothing, I’m fine." Michael muttered.
Angel sighed and put his arm around him, hugging him tentatively. Michael froze for a moment, but then relaxed.
He closed his eyes, enjoying the comfort he felt for the first time in his life.
"I’m sorry." Michael sighed, moving away from Angel. He is still ashamed.
"Oh my god, stop apologizing! Are you afraid to fight? Look, I can teach you how to use guns."
"Oh...thank you. I think it will be useful here, although I would rather not use this skill." Michael sighed. "And I’m not afraid to fight at all, I just..."
"Hey, no one judges you here. Without my minions I was defenseless and look how it went for me." Sir Pentious pointed at himself. He leaned against the wall, getting up from the floor a moment earlier.
"Thanks…" Michael smiled slightly, seeing understanding from everyone here. He felt weird about it, but it was really nice. "Do you know why I came here? To hell."
"I’m thinking about it from the beginning." Husk nodded.
"Well...when I was a teenager, I was...awful. I had a younger brother. I liked bullying him and...I once came up with...a prank. You know, my...my father and his friend ran a pizzeria together where animatronics entertained childrens. They stood on stage and...you know, they had such big mouths. I came up with the idea to put my brother's head in the mouth of one of the animatronics. It was supposed to be funny. I didn't know it was unstable. I didn't know it would crush his head." Michael said in a breaking voice.
Angel, Husk and Sir Pentious looked at him with their eyes wide open. Angel first recovered from the shock and, being closest to Michael, he again put his arm around him and wanted to hug him, but his hand was quickly rejected.
Michael got up from the stairs, clenching his jaw.
"No. Don’t feel sorry for me."
"Mike. We are your friends. Maybe you see yourself as a monster, but we don’t. Besides, we all did just as terrible things as you." Husk put his hand on Michael’s shoulder.
"It’s my fault, I killed him. You don’t understand—"
"No one says it’s not your fault." Husk interrupted him and Michael looked at him in a surprise. "Yes, you fucked it up. You did it, even if you didn’t want and were not aware of the instability of the animatronics mechanism. But you know what?"
"Everyone makes mistakes. Your mistake cost your brother’s life, but that doesn’t make you a monster." Angel added.
"Exactly. You think what you did is unforgivable. But you came to a hotel whose goal is to redeem souls. It doesn’t hurt to try, yeah?" Husk smiled slightly.
"I…I think so." Michael tentatively admitted, looking at his friends who were smiling at him.
His friends. He has friends. True friends.
"Oh, hey guys! We’re going back to the hotel, Vaggie needs to be alone for a while." Charlie came across them as she came down the stairs. This made Michael realize that they were sitting on the stairs of the building from which they had been thrown earlier.
"Alright! I need a drink." Michael sighed and the rest agreed with him. Charlie smiled, seeing that they were getting along.
They returned to the hotel in a better mood.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Angel, what the..." Michael stared at the TV with a grimace.
"Ya know, this performance won me a 'Sex-x-x-i' award!"
"It's, uh...very...honest? Oh." Charlie tried to be nice while covering her eyes, and Vaggie looked at Angel in annoyance.
"Ew. Okay, enough of that. Angel, what the fuck?"
"What? You said it was "Show n' Tell" day. I'm showing you my best film, and i'm telling you that it scored me a win over that bitch, Tiffany Titfucker."
"You know, not a very convincing interrogation scene." Husk joined the conversation, cleaning glasses behind the bar.
"Alright dickhead, what makes you think you have any right to insult my work to my fucking face?"
"You really going to sit there and act like these scripts ain't hot garbage?"
"Fuck you! This is classy art."
"That's bullshit." Husk now approached Angel. "You get drunk and bitch about them all the time. Everyone likes to bitch to the bartender. I know everything about you and these motherfuckers at this point. That one...that one is an insecure buffon whose lonely ass watches you idiots sleep! Princess, is a bleeding heart who wants to solve everyone else's problems, except her own."
"Whaaat, noo. I— What? Pfff, no, no."
"Mike, he blames himself for literally everything, and he doesn't sleep at night, walking around the hotel."
"I don't—"
"This one judges everyone and everything because she hates herself." Husk pointed at Vaggie, then turned to Niffty. "And Niffty...yeah, you don't even wanna know what her deal is."
Suddenly Angel started laughing.
"You weren't kidding! Wow, kitten's got claws! Meow..."
"And you! Don't get me started. I see right through you and all this bullshit and how fake you are."
"Oh, me? Fake? Wow, I had no idea. Guess that's why I'm an actor, dumbass. And— Hold that thought." Angel's phone suddenly started ringing. He stepped aside, looking a little stressed during a conversation. When he finished, he started walking straight to the door. "Well, uh, looks like Val needs me for an...uh, emergency shoot."
"Uh huh, sure." Husk commented and Angel stopped halfway to the door.
"You know what? Fuck you. I don't give a shit what some drunk ass bartender thinks about me. So why don't you just crawl back to whatever cave you came from, porn critic."
"Angel! You can't leave yet, we haven't finished our exercises for the day." Charlie tried to stop him.
"I'm sure you'll manage without me."
"There isn't much time left for the hotel to prove itself!"
"Dollface, it's my job. I know you want to fix everything, but unless you can fix my boss, there's nothing you can do." Angel left and Charlie leaned against the door.
"Uuugh, why is this so haaard? What am I doing wrong?"
"Well, I mean...you're the princess of Hell. You don't really use the power that comes with that, which I love about you, but maybe you can...I don't know, command a little more...authority." Vaggie placed her hand on her shoulder.
"But that's so mean..."
"It's not mean, exactly. It's...uh, aggressive kindness."
"Okay! I could be so aggressively kind to Angel's boss...that I convince him to let Angel spend more time at the hotel!"
"Oh no, no, no. Wait a minute. I'm not sure this is a good idea." Michael cleared his throat, listened this from the very beginning.
"Why not?" Charlie looked at him confused.
"Are you sure it's safe? I mean, Angel's boss doesn't seem to be the type to compromise. Besides, it's his job, he definitely won't be happy if you just go there."
"But what will he do to her? Charlie is the princess of Hell, she has the right to go there." Vaggie shrugged.
"I have a bad feeling, okay?" Michael rolled his eyes and Charlie put her arm around his shoulder, smiling warmly.
"Don't worry, Mike. I'm sure everything will go well!"
"Ughhh, if you're really want to go there...maybe I'll go with you?"
"Ohhh, that's a great idea!"
"Wait a minute, Charlie can get in there, no problem, but will they let you in?" Vaggie crossed her arms.
"I'll just wait for her, I won't go into the studio. I just have a really bad feeling, I don't want her to…well. I'll go with Charlie just in case." Michael sighed. Charlie reminded him a bit of his little sister, before she died. He wasn't there for her when she needed him, and now when he sees Charlie...he just want to protect her.
"Okay, let's go then!" Charlie grabbed Michael's arm and pulled him towards the door.
When Michael and Charlie entered the Vees tower, they had a little trouble with finding Valentino’s studio. They were spinning for good few minutes in the corridors, getting a side eye from the employees right from the start.
"What a fucking huge building this is, maybe let’s ask someone for directions, huh?" Michael frowned when they were in the same place for the third time.
"Maybe you’re right." Charlie laughed nervously and approached the first person they met. Fortunately, this person showed them the way.
They finally got to Valentino’s studio, and Charlie showed Michael her thumbs up with a smile, before opening the door and going inside.
Michael sighed heavily and leaned against the wall, looking around the corridor. He felt like he was being watched, but no one is here. He didn't feel comfortable with it.
"Hello there, are you lost or just looking for a job here?" Suddenly he heard a voice. He turned towards him and noticed a man with a TV instead of a head. Well, he’s already seen stranger things here.
"No, none of that. I’m just waiting for someone. May I ask…who are you?”
"Well, of course! I’m Vox, you have to be new here if you don’t know me, isn’t?" Vox laughed briefly, approaching Michael. He seemed polite, but something was wrong with him.
"Yeah, that’s right."
"And even though you are here for such a short time, you have already such contacts. Admirable.”
"What are you talking about?" Michael frowned.
"You came here with the princess of Hell herself, it’s rather a valued contact, don’t you think?"
"How do you know who I came here with?"
"Oh, you can say…that I know everything."
"Right…"
"Why don't you tell me your name?"
"Michael."
Vox had been smiling all over the conversation so far, but when he heard Michael’s name, his smile widened.
"Well then, Michael, I think we will meet again soon." Vox nodded and walked away, leaving Michael alone in the hallway.
It was a strange meeting. Very strange.
Michael didn’t want to meet more similar people here, so he decided that probably nothing would happen if he left for a while. Recently he got a phone and already had the number of everyone from the hotel in his contacts, so he wrote to Charlie that if she leaves earlier and he will not be in front of the studio, she should write to him.
He found a way out of the building and went outside, looking around. Sometimes he wondered if he would ever meet someone he knew here. His relationships on earth were quite…unique, so he expected that most of the people he knew could be here too.
His reflections, however, did not last long when he heard the sound of the message shortly afterwards. Charlie asked him to come back, but she didn’t add any emoji’s to the message and it worried Michael, so he returned quickly to the building and found the Valentino’s studio faster than ever.
"Oh God, Charlie…what happened?" Michael found her while she wiping her tears.
"What did I do, Mike...I think I ruined everything? No, no, I don’t, but…I...I don’t know." Charlie hid her face in her hands and Michael gently hugged her with concern.
"What happened?"
"I accidentally caused a fire in the studio, Angel’s boss got mad and...because of this Angel is in trouble!" Charlie hugged him back and Michael felt an unexplained hatred towards Valentino. He had more and more reasons to think how terrible a man he is, and he hadn’t even met him yet.
"For sure going back there is not a good idea, I think we should go back to the hotel. When Angel comes back, we’ll talk to him."
"Maybe you’re right. You were right even with the fact that it’s not the best idea to come here. I just wanted to help and..."
"Hey, you had good intentions. The situation with Angel’s boss is just more serious than we thought, it’s not something we can just go and solve. It’s not your fault that it turned out like this, okay?"
Charlie looked at him with teary eyes but with a smile.
"And you’re right again. Let’s go back to the hotel and I’ll think about an apology to Angel. Do you think he will be happy with the drawings expressing how sorry I am?"
"I don’t know, but you can try and we’ll find out."
When Angel returned to the hotel, he looked like he had just experienced some of the worst moments of his life and Michael feared that this might be true.
Michael sat at the bar and talked to Husk when Angel sat next to him and put his head on the table with a bang.
"I need a drink. The hardest you can make."
"Hmm. You look like shit." Husk started preparing him a drink and Angel raised his head from the table and smiled, obviously insincerely and it was visible.
"Pff, not possible. Just a long shoot, nothing new." Angel chugged his drink and put the glass on the table with a bang. "Ugh, I said a strong one."
"Excuse me? Didn’t realize this was a ‚drinking to forget’ kind of night."
"Oh, I forgot! You’re the wise old bartender who’s seen it all. Get the fuck over yourself and pour me a real drink."
"Angel, look, getting drunk is not a good way to deal with your problems." Michael sighed and Angel snorted with amuse.
"Trust me, I have many other ways, little bear. Besides, how do you deal with your problems, huh? You are certainly an example of a healthy response to the problems that happen to you, don’t you?"
"At least I had someone to talk to, at least on earth. You keep everything in you and—"
"And who was it? You never mentioned having friends." Angel looked at him with interest.
"Well, it’s not really...it wasn’t human. It was a little animatronic, his name was Helpy. He wasn’t with me for long, but...yeah."
"Cute and all, but if he hasn’t been with you for long…you also kept everything in you before." Angel crossed his arms on his chest and drank another drink.
"It’s not the point, I meant you can just talk to us, right, Husk?" Michael looked at the bartender who muttered something under his breath.
"Well, I’m talking to you now and I really need a stronger drink. What the fuck is that, huh?" Angel snorted and knocked the glass onto table, and Husk irritatedly began to wipe the spilled alcohol.
"Look. Mike is right and I don’t think you understand that. If you got a problem, you’re not going to find the solution at the bottom of a bottle. I should know, I’ve been looking there a long time."
"Oh sure, and where should I look, hmm? In your bedroom, maybe? Under the covers? Maybe we can go and look together."
"Don’t even start."
"Oh, come on, I bet I can make those wings flap!" Angel started moving closer to him and touch his wing.
"Stop!" Husk pushed him away from him. "Fucking Christ! You can cut the act already. It’s never going to work on me. So all you’re doing is making an ass out of yourself with this fake bulshit."
"Call me fake one more time, motherfucker! I dare you!"
"Fake."
"Fucking asshole!" Angel, when he started to rise from his seat, suddenly hit his head and fell to the floor. "Arrgh! God!"
"Ya done?"
"You know what?! You would be fucking lucky to get a chance to fuck me! You know how much I’m worth? Your know how many people would kill to have Angel Dust come into them? Fuck you! Have fun being a lonely piece of shit." Angel ran out of there and Michael stretched out his hand towards him as if he could stop him in this way.
"Woah— the hell? Angel, where are you going?" Vaggie passed Angel, and was almost knocked to the ground by him.
"Out!"
"Husk, what did you do?"
"Made him a drink. And why me?"
"Well, you can't tell me it was Mike who made him angry like that." Vaggie rolled her eyes, and Charlie suddenly came to the room.
"Oh no! He looked really upset."
"It’s just Angel. He’ll be fine." Husk waved his hand.
"I’m not so sure…I really messed up at the studio today and he got…ugh, it was…it wasn’t good, okay?"
"Sounds like someone should go after him." Vaggie looked at Husk, who didn’t look like he was concerned about this situation. "Someone named Husk!"
"Oh you gotta be fucking kidding me! Why don’t you go if you’re so worried?"
"Because I’m not the one who sent him storming out. You caused it. You drag him back."
"No! No…don’t force him back. Just make sure he’s safe. I pushed too hard earlier and…I only made things worse. Look, he’ll come back when he’s ready. I just don’t want anything to happen to him until then." Charlie looked really worried about Angel and this situation. Michael approached her and put his hand on her shoulder. She smiled lightly at him.
"Remember when I told you it wasn’t your fault?"
"Yes but...it wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t go there, right?" Charlie sighed and Husk reluctantly went out to look for Angel. "Now, If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go write one hundred apology letters and a lesson plan for tomorrow about…boundaries."