4chan Hazbin Hotel story: Flu Season

from /hhg/ - Hazbin Hotel General Thread #244
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>Flu Season is not a fun season
>it comes to Hell twice a year: during the spring, when the weather changes from cold and ashy to Haboobs-fucking-everywhere, when all sorts of winds and windstorms kick up a lot of dust
>this is also known as "Allergy Season" to many
>...and during the autumn, when the weather gets cold and wet, bringing in a lot of storms and heavy, dirty rain
>the sudden drop of temperature brings out all sorts of ailments, which, while not deadly, can seriously fuck up a demons or sinner's day, week, or month
>the Hotel's staff and residents were no different, with all of them having a different sort of sickness to deal with - most of which seemed to be tellingly ironic, revealing itself to be yet another punishment:
>Charlie spent most of her time kneeling above a toilet, retching or coughing her lungs up, her voice hoarse and several octaves deeper because of it, and her body shaking from the chills
>Vaggie, ever the hothead, spent her days in the bed, slipping in-and-out of consciousness, delirious from a high fever
>Angel Dust's sickness coincided with his bi-yearly molting, leaving his throat hoarse, his sinuses blocked, his eyes inflamed, and his skin itchy from not only shedding its old skin, but from the rashes on the new one as well
>Alastor had completely lost his voice, and could barely move from the joint pains, his eyes now red not from his usual, eerie red glow, but from being inflamed, causing them (and his nose) to water non-stop, while his ears throbbed, lightly bleeding
>Husk's body also chose this time to shed his summer coat, leaving him to shudder from the cold and his own high temperature, his throat hoarse and his stomach too sensitive to accept any alcohol, forcing him to seek out warm places
>Niffty also had a high fever, which left her feeling lethargic and weak, while also making her sweat (and smell) like a pig
>with all of them out of commission, it was up to the anons to keep take care of them and keep things running
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>the anons have to take care of the hotel's finances, as well as take care of the others
>since almost everyone in Hell is sick, they have to jump trough some serious hoops to get things done - there are stoppages everywhere, and the few people who still showed up are doing sloppy work because of their illness
>Zagreus and Jugger are dealing with the paperwork
>Pockets is breaking the bank, now that he practically has free range on all of Pentagram's businesses - and in places were he doesn't, Keys comes in handy
>thanks to their own efforts, the many new labor unions in Hell prevent them from replacing other workers without it constituting as scabbing, so Stretch and Bratislav stay in the Hotel instead, caring for the infirm and doing the cooking, respectively
>Noir's detective business is up and running, while Crow, Bronson and Jacket has decided to offer their services for wet work - the three informing one another, so their respective jobs won't get tangled up in each other's
>Doc's making his own pharmaceuticals with Zap's and Sting's assistance (the latter also peddling the unrefined versions on the street), and Swinga's out doing "charity work", singing for various warlords to get money for the Hotel
>Mek's working as usual, while Athanasius stands on guard, and Postal's doing courier work
>Chan's clones are taking up work anywhere they can (as neither he, nor they have the same moral hang-ups as Stretch or Bratislav), while he himself is helping at the Hotel, his own headaches strangely absent, for once
>John is helping anywhere he can
>as is Gospel, though, he's primarily taking care of his daughters
>Dr. Mangle had opened up a clinic, separate from the Hotel's infirmary, where he's treating the high ranking demons (and robbing them blind, err, blindER, seeing that eye-inflamation seems to be a common symptom these days), while giving free prescription medicine and treatment for the poor (upon Charlie's demand)
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>Husk's grandson is also shedding his fur, but he only has the sniffles, so he can keep working (although, he goes to bed earlier than any of the others)
>and Doomguy makes a mean chicken soup (surprising everyone, since most of the others thought he lived off of MRI rations or the flesh of his defeated enemies), and also helps take care of the others
>speaking of which, the Flu Season has attracted a number of sudden "guests"
>Baxter's gills are completely gunked up and swollen, making it difficult for him to breathe in the open air - so they just decided to dump him in a tank full of lukewarm seawater, and keep him as a pet fish until he recovers
>Sir Pent and Cherri practically collapsed at the front door, as they rapidly and simultaneously came down with their respective illnesses
>Sir Pent's eyes are also inflamed, and his tongue is swollen, leaving him barely able to speak - and this is coupled with the fact that he's also shedding his old skin, and his entire body is covered in not throbbing, swollen eyes
>he's not a happy snake, but he's still doing better than Cherri, whom the flu had decided to treat extra-ironically... By giving her explosive diarrhea
>she spends most of her time on the toilet, wearing only a gown which she only needs to lift, since upon arrival, she nearly had an accident in her own clothes
>keeping her hydrated and finding food that stays inside of her is a daily challenge for the anons, particularly Gospel, whom she doesn't even want near herself, embarrassed to be seen like this by her own father
>666 News still airs - it seems Tom's mask also prevented him from catching anything
>but Katie's looking worse and worse, coming down with various symptoms while on air, much to the concern of Tom, who eventually starts hosting the show on his own - before also leaving to take care of Katie
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>Ashen one just thinks everyone has a curse, so he keeps pressing purging stones on everyone trying to help
>Too bad he can't cast any really helpful miracles
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>Rosie and Mimzy, who had decided to visit Alastor - and then stuck around -, have also came down with various illnesses
>Rosie's usually porcelain-white, smooth skin is now an angry red and lumpy with an unknown skin disease that also gave her joint paint, while she's itching all over
>worse still is Mimzy, who seems to have gotten both Charlie's and Cherri's sickness - so, she just locked herself up in one of the spare bathrooms, only opening it to receive food or medical supplies... And toilet paper.
>the others occasionally hear running water, but in most cases, it's just sickly sounds, and her moaning and retching
>while the anons appear to be immune to the Flu, they still take precautions: most wear facemasks or even full hazmat suits
>they refrain from using old-fashioned plague doctor outfits after they've managed to creep out the staff, and even each other
>it was deemed "bad for morale"

>people all over Hell are sick
>Velvet has a high fever, sniffles and coughs, and is bed ridden, looked after by Vox (another demon unaffected by the flu, due to his electronic nature), who also has to take care of Val (also molting, while having a whooping cough that prevents him from smoking and drinking, and painful sores and blisters on... Certain areas of his body - Flu season tends to serve him as a good reminder to keep screening his employees for STDs)
>over at I.M.P., both Blitzo and Moxxie had completely lost their voices, with Blitz being bedridden with muscle and joint pain, while his skin had become extra sensitive (to the point where even being in his pajamas is causing his body to itch - and his penis to be constantly erect)
>Moxxie, on the other hand, can barely see through his bleary eyes, and yet has turned to using sign language to communicate
>Millie's lethargic with fever, her body swollen all over from various inflammations, requiring her to spend her time in a tub full of cool water
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>with her syphilis seemingly being territorial and keeping other diseases out, Loona takes care of her coworkers, albeit begrudgingly (to hide her concern - she rarely sees them this weak, and it genuinely worries her)

>elsewhere, Stolas' family also go through their molting, forcing the more seasoned owl to be with and take care of his family
>he actually loves it, since he has all the time in the world, as any other contact he had has cancelled any meeting due to illness
>he just soldiers through his own symptoms, ensuring that his daughter's well-preened, had taken her medicine and drank enough water
>it may just be perversion, but he finds having sex with his wife while both of them are hot with fever and quite a few feathers short due to molting is one of the best things he ever does - they spend the night cooing and burbling like lovesick doves

>in Pandemonium, Lilith came down with a different illness - abdominal pain, stomach cramps, feeling weak with a high temperature, fatigue, bleeding
>from what she had heard, it's just like the "menstruation" that mortal women after her have to go through every month
>...she doesn't envy them, that's for sure - but she can't exactly pity them, seeing that she has to go through this for almost over month
>the only upside is that Lucifer - who's also unaffected by the Flu - is always thrown into a minor panic by this ("The Queen of Hell isn't supposed to be sick!") and fusses over her, practically non-stop - fixing her bed, making her the best meals, practically carrying her everywhere, and generally being more nurturing and worried than anyone would believe the devil is capable of
>he respectfully keeps his distance when she's in a foul mood, and is fully supportive when she needs him, assuring her that she's the most beautiful, gorgeous, sweetest and kindest there ever is, should there be any doubt clouding her day
>it takes a supernatural amount of self-control for her not to squee and keep hugging him