Work Text:
The first hours after an Extermination were usually the quietest in all of Hell. Its inhabitants waited to be sure that the massacre was over and that they could come out of their hiding places. Each on his own worked to repair the damage, remove the barricades, sometimes check who had fallen during the attack… A sort of relative peace and truce where each sinner was content to lick his wounds and assess the damage, without looking for trouble elsewhere.
And oddly enough, the day after the Extermination was always the most chaotic and dangerous.
After the victims it had made, the surviving sinners would throw themselves on the remains of the massacre. They would all go hunting for what was now ownerless: weapons, equipment, drugs, premises, territory… Anything that could be salvaged, before someone else could get hold of it. And the main news channel in Hell was already broadcasting the fallout from the Extermination like any other normal day in Hell.
A red-clothed sinner chose that moment to reappear. Those who recognized him stared at him in surprise. After all, he hadn’t seen him on the streets of Hell in years… But then it was quickly followed by fear and dread, the sinners quickly moving out of his way and hoping not to be noticed by him.
The "demon" in question remained unfazed by the reactions he provoked, a permanent smile plastered on his face. He inhaled deeply the smell of burning, despair and depravity that reigned over his place, an atmosphere he had not seen for 7 years now...
It would seem very strange for any inhabitant of Heaven, but he appreciated finally having the opportunity to revisit Hell. The place was definitely more entertaining than Heaven. It always found a way to surprise you.
Like for example, the current reason for his visit.
After all, it was the first time that a sinner in Hell had managed to kill an Exorcist angel… And of course, Heaven was worried.
Ah! What a show, all that for a single little victim… Poor celestial beings who had just lost a soul, while Hell lost thousands every year…
But this hypocrisy only made him smile even more.
The one known as the “Radio Demon” here below continued on his way, happily humming a jazz tune he liked, the sound seeming to come from an antique radio (although it was emanating from the sinner himself). Even if he was supposedly here to investigate for Heaven, he could take his time. After all, they had never precised him how to proceed, or when they wanted their answers.
People really should be careful to be specific, when they made their requests…
One of his deer ears twitched as he heard an unpleasant voice announcing an upcoming exclusive interview with the princess of Hell herself. The "demon" stopped and turned towards the VoxTech store where many sinners were gathered in front of it so as not to miss the news broadcast on television.
Usually, he looked down on new forms of technology and preferred to ignore them. The broadcasting of images may have had the potential to be entertaining at one time, but in his eyes, the art that had once been behind it had been dumbed down over the years. They were nothing more than detestable noisy picture boxes that confused the brain. And it was even worse in the hands of the self-proclaimed overlord of technology.
However, this time, what he heard caught his attention greatly.
Somewhat reluctantly, he positioned himself behind the sinners huddled in front of the screens, his tall stature allowing him a good view of the images being broadcast.
The people of Hell were aware that they had a princess, but she had been seen so rarely that they didn't know much about her. And as a result, they didn't take her seriously, especially since their king and queen hadn't been very active in Hell for years. That she would show up today to talk about a new project on the news piqued the curiosity of the Radio Demon.
He listened as the Hellborn girl spoke with emotion about the Extermination that sinners suffered every year, how she had thought of an alternative to deal with the overpopulation problem in Hell, and then announced that she wanted to open a hotel to rehabilitate sinners. So that they could redeem themselves and join Heaven.
His face remained imperturbable and smiling, while the demons around him were either skeptical or mocking.
Alastor, the Radio Demon, may could have laughed at this far-fetched project and immediately label it as impossible. But Azrael, the Angel of Death, found himself very intrigued.
He had lived since the beginning of creation. For millennia, he had collected and guided the souls of mortals to the afterlife where they belonged: Hell, or Heaven. He had even witnessed the fall of an archangel, felt his fall through the path of flames and darkness to the circles of Hell… But he had never yet seen the opposite case: a sinful soul ascending to Heaven.
This thought had crossed his mind before in his long life, but he had eventually stopped thinking about it. The case had never happened before, so it was easy to think that it was impossible. It was the logical conclusion for everyone, and so everyone believed it.
However, Azrael was proud to say that he had never been like everyone else…
And when one knew as well as he did the paths existing between the different planes and connecting the world of the living and the realms of the beyond, one knew that it was better to keep an open mind about it. Azrael knew that these paths could often change and that many were still totally unexplored, even by him.
So, a path leading a soul from Hell to Heaven… Why not ?
But obviously, despite Princess Charlie’s optimistic air, her people were far from being convinced by her idea.
Azrael watched with a mixture of pity and amusement as the young demoness proudly announced that she already had a client. Then said client was caught on camera engaging in a turf war, contradicting all the “progress” he was supposed to have made. Finally, the princess got into a live brawl with the presenter, while her colleague caught fire for some reason. His predatory smile became more genuine.
Lord, he hadn't seen something this entertaining in a long time !
The broadcast eventually cut off and the demons scattered. But Azrael stayed where he was, thinking.
As interesting as the Princess of Hell’s plan was, its chances of success were slim at best, and practically non-existent at worst. The sinners were clearly not interested, nor convinced. And for all her spitefulness, Katie Killjoy had made a very valid point : there was no evidence that this was possible. He doubted Princess Charlie even knew exactly what she was doing.
But for the Angel of Death, even if this path did indeed exist, he was not sure that Heaven would accept this novelty so easily. The celestial inhabitants tended to be so uptight…
In short, the project of Lucifer’s daughter seemed rather doomed to failure.
However, Azrael found himself going into a dark alley and using his shadows to appear on a nearby roof, in search of the famous “Happy Hotel”. First thing to change once arrived : this name simply not very sales-oriented.
Usually, the archangel could do the same trick with light, but he had found an equivalent to use with his demon disguise. It was just as interesting to move in light form as it was in shadow form. The two were similar, but with a slightly different feel at the same time.
His smile widened as he spotted the lone silhouette of the huge, dilapidated hotel on top of a hill, a little away from the main city. The Angel of Death was tempted to spread his wings, but he thought better of it. You never knew who was watching…
So instead, he used his shadow powers to quickly sneak through the city, before ending with a walk to the hotel, which was far from impressive in its current state. There was definitely work to be done.
Yes, the redemption of sinners to allow them to reach Heaven seemed like a hopeless project… But Azrael had several reasons for trying this experiment.
First, now that someone had proposed the idea and actively wanted to carry it out, he would be unable to continue his life and work on Earth without asking himself questions about it: Could it work? How could it be done? What were the plans to make it happen? He wanted to know.
Then, he was here on an unofficial mission for Heaven anyway. Why couldn't he take advantage of it to do other projects on the side? The only reason he had agreed to do this for Sera anyway was to regain some of Heaven trust, and for them to finally stop breathing down his neck.
He probably shouldn't have taken so long in Hell, during his last mission...
And finally, maybe a small part of him hoped that Princess Charlie had actually found a solution to the Extermination that Heaven couldn’t refuse.
Azrael had kept his eyes closed for too long on this subject. This disrespect for his work was going to stop. This disrespect for life and death, had to stop.
Oh, and also, watching this optimistic and naive princess of Hell try to redeem unmotivated sinful demons could be very entertaining…
But the Angel of Death couldn’t just offer his services.
An archangel wasn’t supposed to be in Hell. It could be seen as a provocation from Heaven, another reason for the demons to be angry with the angels (in addition to the Extermination). And if he acted like he was, Heaven would eventually hear about it, and they probably wouldn’t let it go. They were already a bit wary of him, and they wouldn’t like him getting involved in personal projects in Hell…
No, Azrael couldn't show up at Charlie Morningstar's door… But Alastor could.
After all, the Radio Demon could be driven by boredom and the desire to entertain himself in a new way… He was powerful enough to be useful to the princess and actively help her in her project (and God knew how much she needed it). And being a very powerful Overlord with a reputation like his would be an excellent form of protection for the hotel against other demons. And while Heaven knew that he was using a disguise to operate in Hell, they had no idea what it was. The Radio Demon and the Angel of Death could be two different entities in their eyes.
Yes, it was the perfect plan.
Smiling brightly, Azrael —or rather Alastor, in this case— stopped in front of the front door, straightened his bow tie, and knocked on the door. He waited patiently, his hands behind his back, observing the front of the Hotel of Redemption.
He had a feeling that great things were going to happen here.
And that he was going to have a lot of fun…