Hell Hath No Fury (ch2)

So I did it! I managed to whip up a chapter 2! Wanted to keep it Chaggie-centered, but I also tried out writing the other characters (as of the pilot) and it was so fun!

I originally planned to write the first bit of this from Alastor's perspective but then I realized I could probably never properly capture the internal workings of his mind or mannerisms in general so I just trashed it lol.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hazbin Hotel.

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															Chapter 2.

It hasn't even been a week since Alastor and his dysfunctional duo have come to the Happy Hotel. The place was already looking much cleaner and more professional than any other establishment on this side of Hell, and somehow they'd actually managed to get a new client at the hotel.

Naturally, Charlie had been absolutely ecstatic, singing and dancing her way around the place day in and day out, proclaiming that this demon was going to be their first major success story and would 'release the floodgates for waves of other demons who were seeking redemption.'

His sins included drug addiction and violent crimes, and so Charlie had prescribed him with a plan to help wean him off of his dangerous tendencies.

However, it wasn't three days later that Angel caught wind of the scent of a very specific and familiar drug coming from their client's room, and upon further inspection Nifty had found several packets of various substances under his bedsheets.

Vaggie witnessed him on the security cameras sneaking out of his room one night, and when she'd tailed him into town, she'd found him attending a sleazy night club. She'd wanted to try and get this guy back on track without letting Charlie know that he'd slipped, but when she'd confronted him that night in an effort to bring him back to the hotel, he'd just flipped her off and cursed her out, refusing to come back.

So now, Vaggie trudges all the way back, fuming with frustration. She can only imagine the annoying smirk on Alastor's face when he hears the news. After all, this is exactly what he'd come here to see.

But then she thinks about Charlie, and Vaggie's anger is doused as if a giant bucket of cold water has been dumped on her. She would've turned back to try and drag that creep back one more time if she wasn't already at the front doors of the hotel. With a heavy, heavy sigh, she takes out her keys and lets herself in.

She spots Alastor pestering Husk at the front desk as per usual, but when she actually listens, she hears he's testing out trying jokes or stories he might use on potential customers in order to 'charm' them. She'll never admit it, but he might actually be trying to help. Somehow. Even though she knows she can never trust him.

She turns away and searches the main lobby. Angel is holding Nifty up to a particularly high shelf so she can dust it off. Vaggie approaches them quietly, mulling over what she's going to say and how.

"Hey, uh, guys?"

Angel turns around with Nifty in two of his hands.

"Geez, finally! Where you been all night? I thought you were s'pposed to be the manager of this joint, huh? You been sneakin' around gamblin' or somethin'?"

"Shut it, Angel," Vaggie snaps back. There's a hint of warning in her tone, enough to make him take her seriously.

"All right, geez, lighten up a bit, babe. So anyways, where is our 'valued client'? He off and ditch us or what? Ha-ha!" Angel starts to laugh, but Vaggie crosses her arms and glares at him until it tapers off into nervous little chuckles. Angel clamps his mouth shut. "Uhh, wait, I-I was only kiddin'! You're not tellin' me he actually-"

"He did, actually," Vaggie growls. "And I'm pretty sure he's never coming back."

"Oh, that's just awful!" Nifty chimes in. "He was one of the only men here… It's really such a shame!"

Before she can start babbling, Angel gently turns her around and nudges her off until she spots another dusty corner and zips off to tackle it. With just him left now, Vaggie groans again.

"What are we gonna do? How am I supposed to tell Charlie that-"

"Tell me whaaat~?"

Vaggie whirls around as a familiar cheerful voice sings out. Charlie glides down the staircase railing and then twirls herself around as she lands.

Vaggie feels her heart sink into the pit of her stomach. She glances back to Angel, but he just looks nervously back at her before shrugging and slowly backing away.

Vaggie draws in a deep breath as her girlfriend dances her way over. The same bright and bubbly atmosphere that's been following her around for the past several days has gotten even brighter and bubblier somehow. There's nothing Vaggie hates more right now than knowing she's going to have to ruin it.

As Charlie finally reaches her, Vaggie opens her mouth to try and tell her right away. But Charlie leans in to kiss her sweetly instead, humming as she gives Vaggie a quick hug.

"This is just great, Vaggie~" she sighs. "We're really making progress with this guy! I can feel it! He's going to be our first redeemed soul ever! Soon enough, they'll be lining up outside our doors waiting for us to help them find salvation!"

"Charlie-"

"Where is he, anyway? I haven't seen him all day. Ooooh~ maybe he's off delivering flowers and candy to people to brighten their evenings~?"

Vaggie glances around the lobby to see that everyone else is now looking their way. Angel is hanging back and pretending not to notice what's going on. Alastor has turned his attention away from Husk - who has turned his full attention to his flask - and now tuned in to the main conversation.

Vaggie seethes at the thought of Alastor getting his first taste of satisfaction at Charlie's expense. Gently, she takes Charlie's hand and turns her away from the radio demon, guiding her a few paces away into the common area. She sits her down on the couch, trying to think of the best way to do this. Charlie is too busy beaming about everything to catch on to the vibe.

"Wow! This place is really looking amazing! Oh! We should invite our client down here for a game night!"

"Charlie-"

"Not gambling games of course. We could do something like… oh! How about charades? Or we could do that one where-"

"Charlie!" Exasperated, Vaggie raises her voice a little, startling her girlfriend. She reaches out to rest her hands on top of Charlie's shoulders. "Sorry. But, hun, you've gotta listen to me."

Charlie blinks.

"O-Okay… What's up?"

Vaggie tightens her grip on her shoulders, but in the end she can't bear to look Charlie in the eye when she finally breaks the news.

"Charlie… our client is… gone…"

The princess tilts her head.

"Gone…? Oh no, did someone kill him? I mean, it might be a little tough to find out wherever he re-spawns down here, but I'm sure we'll relocate him eventually! Of course he can still continue his treatment free of charge-"

"Babe, no. Not 'gone' like that…" Vaggie heaves a sigh, heart clenching as she finally lifts her gaze to Charlie's. "He's… relapsed… Indefinitely. I… don't think he's coming back to the hotel, hun. I'm really sorry."

By now, Vaggie can tell everyone else is staring in their direction from all around the lobby, but Charlie's gaze is the only one she cares about. Her eyes which are usually so big and round and full of wonder slant downward now, sinking in dismay.

"W…What? He left…? B-But he was doing so well-"

"I know," Vaggie tightens her grip on Charlie's shoulders. "I thought so, too. But apparently he was sneaking out all along, gambling, finding drugs… It was probably just a matter of time."

She hates this. She hates this more than she hates all of the scum of Hell piled together. Vaggie can see the exact second when the joy leaves Charlie's eyes, feel the exact second when her shoulders slump in what will most likely be the first defeat of many.

"So… that means the hotel programs weren't effective," Charlie mutters. She leans back, just enough to slip free of Vaggie's grasp. "I'll... have to come up with some better activities to keep clients engaged-"

"Charlie, no," Vaggie stops her. "The programs are flawless. You've worked so hard on everything. It's not the hotel's services that are bad. It's just that… some people don't really want to change. Some of them really can't be redeemed. I mean… this is Hell, after all. These are the worst of the worst we're talking about."

Part of her expects Charlie to start crying right then and there. But to her surprise-

"You're right."

"..Huh?"

Charlie is looking up at her now with a smile that Vaggie can't fully read. All she knows is that it's definitely fake.

"You're right, Vaggie," Charlie repeats herself. "You'd told me from the beginning we'd have to expect some failures with this business. It's like what Angel said: 'You win some, you lose a few hundred.' A-And I'd rather not have a few hundred failed clients, but… if that means we can redeem even one, then… maybe it'll all have been worth it."

She says these things, but Vaggie can't see her expression anymore. Charlie turns away so her hair is hiding her face.

"Charlie-"

"We'll just keep doing what we're doing," she says, getting up off the couch rather quickly. "That's all."

"Charlie, wait-"

But her girlfriend is already hurrying away.

"I guess I should… burn all his paperwork then. Client privacy and all that…" She straightens up suddenly and raises her voice. "Everyone, keep doing what you're doing! We'll get a new client before you know it!" And with this, she scurries up the nearest staircase and out of sight.

Vaggie slowly gets up from the couch in an effort to follow her, but stops. The others begin to convene in the lobby around her, aside from Husk who stays put at his bar. Vaggie keeps an extra keen eye on Alastor to ensure he isn't going to follow Charlie, but he stops at the bottom of the stairs and not a step further.

Angel is the first one to break the awkward silence. He whistles and clears his throat as he makes his way to Vaggie.

"Sooo… she took that pretty well, right?"

"Yeah. Almost too well…" Vaggie crosses her arms and puts a hand to her face. "Damn it. I thought we were on that guy to make sure he couldn't sneak anything..."

Husk cuts in with a grunt from across the room.

"That asshole? Hah! He wasn't even sneakin' shit no more. I caught him tryin'a steal my booze a couple nights ago. He's fuckin' lucky I didn't get my claws on him."

"He what?" Vaggie yelps. "Husk, why didn't you say something?"

"I did," he shrugs. "I said, 'Get your fuckin' hands off my stash, you sleazy son of a bitch.'"

"I meant to me!" Vaggie snaps. "If I'd known sooner, maybe I could've stepped in."

"Oh!" Nifty pipes up. "That reminds me! I feel like I was supposed to mention that I found a couple more bags of illegal substances in the client's room."

"Oooh, what color bag was it in?" Angel asks.

"I believe it was pink. With little swirls on it!"

"Oh-ho-hoo, that's the good stuff. At least our man had taste."

Vaggie can't believe what she's hearing. The dismay she'd been feeling about having to break the news to Charlie turns into a boiling rage now.

"Seriously?!" she shouts. "All of you are acting like this is all a fucking joke! Can't you all at least try to do this properly? For Charlie's sake?"

Everyone else grows quiet now. Angel and Nifty look a little dejected and almost apologetic, while even Husk stops drinking for a second to lower his head.

Alastor has been watching silently all the while. His usual unnerving smile is still present, but his brow has raised in mild interest now.

Vaggie huffs and lowers her tone, trying to keep control of herself.

"I know this isn't exactly what everyone here wants to be doing right now... But you're here anyway, and it would be really nice if we could give Charlie just… one victory for a change. So for her sake, can we please try to take this a little more seriously?" She looks to Nifty first. "If you find something that isn't supposed to be somewhere, please let me know, okay?"

Nifty raises her feather-duster to her forehead in a salute.

"Yes, ma'am!"

Next, Vaggie turns to Angel.

"And dude, can you please not joke about this kinda thing? If a client came in here and saw how flippant you are about drugs or whatever, they're never going to take anything we do here seriously."

Angel pouts a little and crosses two of his arms, but then shrugs with the others.

"Yeah, sure, fine. Whatever'll make you quit yellin' all the time."

"I know," Vaggie says. "And I'm sorry about that. I'm just... trying to make things work around here. But I'll try to get better at keeping my cool. I promise. That,-" she turns now to look over at Husk. "-along with better communication skills would really help us out."

Husk's ears perk up for a second, then flatten again as he mutters something into the lip of his bottle.

"Yeah, whatever…"

In spite of his unenthusiastic response, Vaggie knows he's gotten the point.

"Okay?" she says. "So on that note, let's keep our eyes and ears open for any new potential clients. If we all really work together, I'm sure we can break a few bad habits, to start."

With this, their little gathering breaks up for the time being. Husk starts to rearrange his booze bottles in a more tactful manner instead of keeping them in plain sight, while Angel goes to help Nifty clean up their failed client's room.

That leaves Vaggie now with the last person in Hell she'd ever want to talk with.

Alastor is staring right at her, with that chilling, ever-present smile of his. She accidentally catches his eye, and now knows there's no escaping. She groans, then starts making her way over to him.

"Okay, listen, if you're going to start bragging about how you were right about demons being irredeemable, just please keep it out of earshot of Charlie. I get it that that's the whole reason you're here in the first place, just to watch people fail, but-"

"That was quite a speech, my dear," he says, as if he hadn't heard a word of what she'd just been telling him. Vaggie cuts off, narrowing her good eye up at him.

"Yeah, well, unlike some people, I actually believe in what Charlie is trying to do here. I wanna make this work in her favor."

"Hmm. Now I don't recall ever saying I wouldn't also draw entertainment from this hotel's successes, now did I?"

Vaggie snorts. "What are you playing at?"

"Playing?" he laughs. "Why, I'm playing the very same game as you, my dear! We're rolling the dice of Chance here; it's got a million sides, but only one of them is the winner!"

"Don't try to act nice," she snarls. "You said it yourself. You're only here so you can enjoy people's struggling."

"Indeed, I did say that," he admits, adjusting his monocle. "However, as I previously stated, I never once said I wouldn't also be entertained by observing someone succeed at this hotel. Granted, there are two very different kinds of entertainment one might receive upon witnessing success versus witnessing failure. I simply tend to favor the latter, but that doesn't mean I gain no earnings at all from the former."

"Right," she says, still not trusting him as far as she could throw him. "But you're still not going to lift a finger to seriously try and help us, right? You're just going to take a back seat and abstain and enjoy whatever happens."

"Hmm. Yes, I suppose that just about sums it up! Ha ha ha!"

"Yeah. I figured."

"Ah, yes," he goes on. "But even I may stray from the path of true abstinence every now and again. It may just so happen that I might interfere with your schemes in your favor."

Vaggie can't really explain what happens next, but his eyes almost seem to… soften.

"After all," he says. "That princess of ours truly does have such a wonderful smile. It would be a sinful shame to see it vanish altogether."

Vaggie doesn't say anything. She can't read him again. She can't tell if he's really being genuine, or if he's only planning on helping Charlie succeed so he can crush her hopes and dreams himself at the right moment.

As Vaggie gets lost in her own mind, Alastor promptly pulls her back into reality with a comment.

"Now then, isn't there something you'd like to do about that…?" He angles his staff toward the staircase.

Vaggie blinks.

"What do you mean? About what?"

"Oh, you can't be serious! You can't possibly mean to tell me that you don't hear the anguish of your better half? I must say I am a master at reading smiles if nothing else, and that one, my dear, was the most phony of them all."

Vaggie gasps.

"Charlie!"

As soon as she pieces his verbal riddles together, she doesn't waste another second. Vaggie hurries past Alastor without a second glance, rushing up the stairs as quickly as she can go.

The hotel is rather sizable, and Charlie could be anywhere, but Vaggie feels she at least knows her girlfriend well enough to predict where she'd be right now.

She hurries all the way up to the top floor, to the hallway of their shared room. She doesn't even bother to knock before pushing her way in, because she already knows Charlie won't be inside the room. Rather now, she quietly makes her way toward the stained glass doors leading out to the balcony. She stops on her side of the doors and pauses to listen.

For a long moment, she hears nothing.

But then, it's just the tiniest sound, the smallest, thinnest, most defeated little sob she's ever heard.

Vaggie's heart aches.

"Oh, Charlie…"

She slowly pushes the door open outward, feeling a bit of resistance and knowing Charlie must be on the other side. As soon as Vaggie steps out and closes the door, Charlie sags back without its support. But Vaggie is already crouching down to catch her, hugging her tenderly from behind. Charlie sniffles, lifting her head slowly and peering up past her hair.

"Vaggie…?" She wipes her eyes a few times, trying to straighten up. "This- uh, this isn't what it looks like. I-I'm not-"

"I'm sorry, hun." Vaggie sits down fully now, a silent statement that she doesn't intend to leave. Charlie sniffles again, sagging back against her chest.

"No… I'm the one who's sorry… I should've been honest with you…"

"It's okay." Vaggie gives her a little squeeze and kisses her cheek. "I'm all ears, Charlie."

The princess sighs, and Vaggie feels a shudder run through her, as if she's trying to stave off more sobs.

"I just… I dunno… for some reason, I really thought things would work out… Pretty naive huh? Of course it wouldn't go so smoothly with just our first client…"

"It's not your fault," Vaggie murmurs. "If anything, it was mine. I was way too lax with managing those guys and keeping an eye on our client. If I'd been more thorough-"

"Things still would've turned out this way," Charlie says. "You were right, Vaggie. Sometimes… sometimes we can do everything right, but some people just… won't change… will they?"

Vaggie looks sadly up at her and shakes her head.

Charlie sighs again. "Yeah. Guess that makes sense. We are in Hell, after all…"

They shift a little bit into a more comfortable position. Vaggie sits up and pulls Charlie in to her side, keeping one arm around her back and the other on Charlie's hands in her lap. Charlie rests her head on Vaggie's shoulder, huddling up close to her. A moment passes between them, and they can hear the usual chaotic sounds of Hell echoing up from below them. Charlie sniffles again.

"Was it always like this…?" she wonders. "Up there, I mean. When you were alive, were people always so horrible, Vaggie…?"

Vaggie flinches just a little at the mention of her past life. Charlie must notice, because she nestles up a little closer, hugging her waist in apology. Vaggie brushes her cheek against her girlfriend's head.

"Yeah," she sighs. "There were plenty of people who were just… awful. Who'd just never change no matter what. It didn't matter if they were hurting other people or animals or the planet or themselves. As long as they're hurting something, it makes them feel better. Somehow…"

She feels Charlie sigh, feels the breath deflate from her body.

"But… there were good people too, right…?"

"Of course there were," Vaggie replies softly. "There were people who were as kind as the worst of the worst were evil. People who would give their last penny to help someone else. People who would give up everything they owned. People who would die trying to protect something or someone… But let me tell you, I think Hell is a lot fuller now than Heaven ever will be."

Charlie sighs and sniffles again, too defeated to say anything else. But Vaggie hugs her a little closer, rubbing her hand up and down her back.

"But y'know… even some of the worst people on the planet when I was alive managed to right some of their wrongs. I've heard of plenty of people trying to become better. And even if they didn't always succeed… I think just the effort of trying says a lot."

Charlie wipes away the last few of her tears, blinking hopefully up at her.

"You mean it…? You're not just saying that to try and make me feel better…?"

Vaggie smiles softly and cards her fingers through Charlie's hair.

"I am saying it to try and make you feel better. But yes, I also mean it. For every person who doesn't want to change… I'd say there's at least one who does. Who knows? Maybe we can give them the push they need. That guy just wasn't our case to help, but maybe the next one will be."

"Yeah…" Charlie finally straightens herself up a little bit, and the spark returns to her eyes. "You're right, Vaggie. It's a shame we couldn't help him but… maybe we're meant to help someone else first. Fate can work in strange ways, right?"

Vaggie's heart swells with warmth for her. She reaches out to cradle Charlie's face in her hands and kisses her sweetly.

"Yeah. Really strange ways."

Charlie giggles.

"Kinda like how I met you, huh?"

Vaggie blushes a little, heart fluttering at the sound of her laugh.

"Lemme tell ya, after the shitty life I had, coming to Hell and meeting you was the best thing that ever could've happened to me, hun."

"Is it really all that bad up there?" Charlie wonders.

"Not all that bad. But mostly."

"Then I'm glad we're both here now."

"Me, too."

Vaggie can tell her girlfriend is feeling better now, because Charlie initiates the next kiss. Vaggie smiles into it until she pulls away to find Charlie back to her old self.

"Welp, there's no use crying over spilled milk!" she declares. "We'll just have to be on top of our next client even more thoroughly to make sure they succeed! And I'd say we at least helped that last guy out a little bit, right? I mean, just admitting that you have a problem and trying to seek help is something, right?"

"Right." Vaggie gets to her feet and helps Charlie up. Charlie kisses her nose.

"Thanks for coming to check on me, Vaggie. I really appreciate it."

Vaggie dips her head, running her fingers one more time through Charlie's hair.

"You can talk to me about anything, okay, Charlie? I mean it."

"I know."

Together, they head back inside, hands entwined, and make their way back downstairs to the main lobby. Everything is about as in-order as it can be. Charlie sucks in a deep breath and puffs up her chest.

"All right, everyone! Our last client may not have been our first success story, but the next one just might be! So let's get this place in tip-top shape! We could be getting another knock at our door any minute now!"

Charlie dips down to give Vaggie one more little kiss before prancing off to go help Angel with something.

Vaggie watches her go, relishing the fuzzy feeling in her chest for as long as she can until a shiver slithers down her spine. She turns to find Alastor in her shadow, grinning as always.

"Well, well, well," he says observantly. "Our dearest princess seems to be back in high spirits again."

Vaggie scowls, but remembers she'd said she's going to try and be a little less angry all the time. So she lets it all out in a sigh and turns to him.

"Listen, I'll thank you for telling me she was upset, but this does not in any way mean I owe you. Got it?"

He narrows his eyes just for a second before shrugging.

"Fair enough. Just this once I suppose the return of Little Miss Charlie's smile will suffice as payment. Just do try not to let her frown quite so much. It truly is a shame." With this he turns and heads off.

Vaggie glares after him. Something about him still rubs her the wrong way, but she can worry about him some other time.

For now, she follows Charlie to begin making preparations for their next potential client, and possibly Hell's first-ever redeemed soul.

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A/N: First of all, I'm not sure how demons 'dying' again in Hell actually works in canon yet or if that's been revealed at all, but I'm just gonna run with this idea for now that they probably just re-spawn again somewhere nearby just as they were and continue doing their thing.

Second, no idea how Vaggie's human life was or how she met Charlie at this point, so I just wrote it in a vague way that lets you assume. I think it's cute how Charlie has never seen/met a live human before, and I think she'd ask Vaggie about them a lot.

And lastly, man it was fun writing the boys and Nifty! (I think Angel would definitely hold up Nifty to help her reach high spaces). And at this point we still don't know how Al refers to Charlie in canon, so I figured he'd be respectful at least and say "Little Miss" or something like that. But I do really wonder if he's only trying to help Charlie so he can crush her dreams himself...

I have another chapter coming! And I realize it's a little... similar to this one in terms of hurt/comfort but oh well...