Hazbin Hotel - A Dream of Redemption

Chapter 13: What a Dream...

As Charlie drifts off to sleep, she dreams of a place where everyone cares about each other and the environment. The world is filled with beauty and peace, and everyone is equal. Charlie thinks... Heaven. But then a massive red storm appears and wipes it clean, replacing it with the hell that exists today. She awakens with a start.

The next morning, Charlie sits in the lounge area of the Hazbin Hotel, sipping on a mug of hot chocolate and scrolling through her phone (aka a hellphone).

"You're up early, aren't ya?" greets Alastor as he walks through the front door.

"It's not that early. Also, I don't usually wake up that late. Anyways, where did you go out to this early?" Charlie replies quizzically.

"Oh, nowhere you need to worry about," Alastor chuckles and leans against the counter, his bright red eyes scanning the room. When he doesn't elaborate, she gets slightly annoyed, but she doesn't want to pry.

Later, Charlie and Vaggie are walking through the hotel lobby, chatting about their latest plans for the hotel. Then, they see Angel pacing, looking nervous. He greets you with a nod and takes a seat on a nearby couch. Vaggie notices Angel's nervousness and asks, "What's going on, Angel?" Angel hesitates for a moment before finally speaking.

Nothin'," Angel says, looking down at his hands. "Anyways, I'm going out." Charlie raises an eyebrow, sensing something is off as he walks towards the front door.

"Where?" She asks him.

He pauses for a moment before replying, "uh... nun ya, business." Then he struts out the door.

Charlie watches him go, her curiosity piqued. She turns to Vaggie and asks, "What do you think he's going to do?"

Vaggie shrugs and replies, "I don't know. But I'm sure he'll be back soon."

Niffty is shouting at Husk, who is slurring his words and looking drunk. Charlie makes her way over to the source of the commotion and sees Niffty holding a tray of broken dishes.

Vaggie annoyedly whispers, "This is why we shouldn't have a bar!" Charlie can't help but agree and exchanges a glance with Vaggie.

Husk stumbles over to her, his eyes bleary and his breath reeking of alcohol. "Hey there, boss," he slurs, "What's up?"

"Alastor!!" Vaggie yells angrily. A second later, he appeared from a shadow of himself that traveled the wall. Charlie jumps back startled as he suddenly appears behind her.

Vaggie verbally berates him, not that he seems to really care, "You. Why did you have to add a bar when you moved in? This is supposed to be a place that discourages sin, not some male-brothel-man-cave!"

Alastor cooly responds, "What's the problem?"

Vaggie, still fuming, replies, "This," she says gesturing to a drunk Husk, "Why did you have to summon your alcoholic 'friend' here? You practically knew this would happen!"

Alastor, indifferent, contemptuously says, "Well, this is supposed to be a place that rehabilitates sinners, isn't it? I mean, what would 'Heaven' even want with a bunch of drunk alcoholics?"

He stares at Charlie before continuing derisively, "But if you can't handle this, then I guess this isn't a very good hotel of redemption, and you don't believe you can do this?" As he says the last sentence, Charlie could swear that she detected a hint of condescendence and ambivalence. Vaggie can't reply, so it's up to Charlie.

She replies ardently, "Of course, we believe in redemption. That is my mission. We believe that all sinners have the potential to be better than they once were in life. And we are willing to do whatever it takes to help make that happen. But we also believe that this hotel is not just a place for rehabilitation but also a place for entertainment and enjoyment. We want to make sure that our guests want to stay here and find that being good feels good and is fun. And a bar, even if it's a little rowdy, is part of that. Plus, really, alcohol and drinking aren't that bad, only drunkenness."

Alastor responds irreverently, "Well, I don't know about your 'redemption' mission, but I do know that this place is turning out to be a bit of a disappointment. I mean, what are we supposed to do here? Actually, never mind, it's not like you would even know. But, whatever, it's your dream after all."

Then he snaps his fingers, and Husk disappears in a swirl of lights. Charlie stammers, "Wha- Where did he go? What did you do to him?"

He replies nonchalantly, "Just to his room, no need to worry." Then he struts off. Vaggie storms off. Angel is nowhere to be seen, probably still out on the town, doing who knows what. Hopefully, he's not in trouble. Leaving Charlie and Niffty in the kitchen to clean up the mess.