Hell Hath No Fury (ch5)

EARLY RELEASE FOR MY $30+ PATRONS! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Okay so I got this idea a few days before I actually started writing it and I think I had a better concept of it in the beginning, cuz as I started writing it I felt like it wasn't how I originally wanted it to be... I think I'm losing my touch akjsdhf Canon, please give us more content soon!

This is honestly just a sort of personal theory I work with here, but it's based around the popular fandom theory that Vaggie is a Fallen Angel. It might be confusing at first, but it's supposed to be, so just read till the end!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hazbin Hotel.

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															Chapter 5.

Something isn't right. Vaggie just knows it.

She can't quite put it into words, but there's just something about Hell that feels… off today. Way more than usual.

It's almost as if everything is skewed to some degree; the shadows of the buildings, the color of the sky, the thickness of the air itself. She doesn't like it one bit.

But the last thing she wants to do is cause unrest, especially with Charlie, so she just decides that she's going to be extra, extra cautious, and keep a closer eye than usual on things today.

Either way, Vaggie feels best to stay indoors.

She goes about her work around the hotel as per usual, trying to keep the others in line and on-task. And even as she goes about her day, things seem… strange.

Sometimes objects seem out of place.

Sometimes the others act differently.

Sometimes her own voice cuts out while she's speaking, so she isn't even sure of what she's said.

Before very much longer, Vaggie begins to wonder if it's only her who is experiencing these kinds of things, because no one else seems fazed in any way. Her head feels full and empty at the same time, swirling with an ache she can't decipher. She thinks she keeps hearing noises that end up being unheard by anyone else.

But she powers through, reminding herself that she'd promised to help Charlie achieve her dream in whatever ways she could.

She helps Nifty tidy up the rooms, and she helps Angel unpack and organize a shipment of food for the kitchen, all while keeping an ear open as to where Charlie is. She can't explain why, but so long as they stay indoors, Vaggie feels like everything will be all right.

It's just past noon as Vaggie is organizing things in the kitchen when Charlie scampers in to greet her.

"Hey, Vaggie!" Charlie twirls herself in to Vaggie's side and kisses her cheek. "Thanks for doing all this. Did you have lunch yet?"

"Not yet," Vaggie replies, bumping her forehead affectionately against hers. "I'm just finishing up. Care to join me for some food?"

"Actuallyyy~" Charlie hums. "I was planning on asking you the same thing! Y'see, I was thinking… Y'know how they're having that big promotion for the pub across town? Well, I was thinking maybe we could just happen to do a bit of advertising ourselves right where all those crowds are. I made flyers~" She pulls out a stack of colorful papers from seemingly out of nowhere and flaps them for her girlfriend to see.

Vaggie's shoulders slump, and a shudder runs up her back.

"Actually, hun, I-I'm not sure if that's a good idea… Not today-"

"But their promotion is only for today!" Charlie insists. "Those crowds aren't going to be there tomorrow. C'mon, whaddaya say? We could go grab some lunch afterward, just the two of us!"

Vaggie hates to burst her bubble, more than anything else. But she just doesn't have a good feeling about today.

"Sorry. I'm actually not feeling the greatest today, hun. I think I might stay in." Her hope is that Charlie will ditch the idea of leaving and instead offer to help look after her. But-

"Oh my gosh, are you sick, Vaggie?" Charlie puts the flyers on the counter and lifts her palm to Vaggie's forehead. "You do seem a little warm, I think. You're right, you should stay here and get some rest. Razzle can come with me. Don't worry, we'll be quick, and I'll leave Dazzle to stay and take care of you if you need anything."

Vaggie feels her hair get frazzled and start to stand on-end. It seems Charlie had really set her heart on doing this, and there's not much short of Vaggie faking some grave issue that can prevent her from going. Vaggie doesn't want to lie to her or hinder her project. So with a heavy sigh and a really bad feeling, she concedes.

"Y'know… I think I'll be all right for a little while. I wanna come with you, hun."

Charlie pouts a little.

"Vaggie, what did I tell you about worrying about me so much? I'll be fine with just Razz. You need to take it easy."

"It's not that bad," Vaggie insists. "I can come with you, Charlie. I want to."

Charlie looks down at her with a tiny bit of scrutiny, but she can't keep a serious face for long before a smile blooms.

"Okay. We won't stay that long, I promise." Charlie picks up her flyers in one hand and Vaggie's hand with the other as they head for the door.

And so, Vaggie leaves the hotel - the last thing she'd wanted to do today, with the last person she'd wanted to risk doing it with.

The second they step outside it feels as though some invisible wind hits her, trying to push her back. She tightens her grip on Charlie's hand. Charlie pauses and gives her a curious look.

"Vaggie? Are you sure you're okay?"

Vaggie grits her teeth, but doesn't let it show.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Let's just do this quickly."

"Okay." Charlie steps in a little closer to her, letting go of her hand in favor of looping her arm through Vaggie's elbow now.

They head for the other side of town, and as they go Charlie gives a smile and a flyer to everyone she passes. Most of the papers get torn up right in her face, but Vaggie can tell she's trying not to let it bother her.

"That's why I made so many," she chuckles.

And in spite of all the weird feelings Vaggie has been experiencing, she can't help but smile at Charlie's optimism. She just makes sure to veer Charlie away from aggressive-looking demons and give her a reassuring pat on the back whenever one of them shreds her flyer.

They stop walking a little ways away from where the pub is, and Charlie begins speaking to demons passing by.

Vaggie keeps an eye on the crowds, her fingertips in midair ready to summon her spear if need be. She glares and snarls at any demons that mutter or insult Charlie, but doesn't lunge at any of them or cause a scene.

She just can't shake this awful feeling. Something isn't right. For every second they spend out here, it feels like there's a mounting pressure being added to her shoulders.

It probably hasn't even been ten minutes when Vaggie's senses begin to jumble. The cackling of demons, the smell of booze, the throbbing in the back of her skull-

"Vaggie…?"

Charlie's soft, worried voice pulls her from her daze. Vaggie blinks, and suddenly there's a stinging behind her covered left eye. She puts her hand to it, wincing.

"Charlie… we need to go… We need to get out of here-"

But her warning comes too late.

It all happens so quickly.

The sky opens up, showering Hell in a bright, blinding light as the fluttering of wings descends upon them. The slicing of spears break the air as they rain down from above.

The demons of Hell shriek in terror, scattering and colliding with one another in the fray. Within seconds, there are already bodies in the streets, and blood pooling on the sidewalks.

Vaggie hears Charlie's petrified gasp as she pulls Vaggie into the shadow of a nearby building. A scream rises up from the din of confused shouts.

"Angels!"

Howling, spitting, wailing sounds erupt throughout Hell as Heaven's army ambushes them without mercy. They laugh as they take aim and hurl their spears into the bodies of the damned, putting an end to them once and for all.

Vaggie's left eye burns in their presence, the presence of her former people-

"Vaggie!" Charlie cries. "Angels! The Angels are here! B-But how? We just had our purge a few weeks ago! Wh-What's going on-?"

In the buzzing jumble of thoughts plaguing Vaggie's mind right now, one stands out above all others.

I have to protect her.

She bites down hard on her lower lip to get ahold of herself, quickly materializing her own spear and pushing Charlie back behind her.

"We need to get inside," she growls. "Now."

"But-" Charlie peers out from over Vaggie's shoulder. "They… They ambushed us… They shouldn't even be allowed to do that! How is this possible-?"

"Charlie, listen to me-"

"The yearly extermination is something all demons know about a-and can anticipate and prepare for, but… they're just killing us for fun now!"

"Charlie, please just-" She cuts off with a gasp as a spear comes shooting past them. Vaggie presses Charlie back against the wall as the blade ends up piercing through a demon who had been trying to escape. It topples him to the ground and he doesn't get up.

"No-!" Charlie's voice is already choked with sobs. Vaggie can feel her trying to scramble free to help the poor soul, but Vaggie has no choice but to keep her back.

"Charlie, no-! It's too late-"

"But I can help some of them!" she wails. "Let me go, Vaggie! I can help them!"

"No!" Vaggie hisses with vehemence that matches her love for her. "Charlie, just because you were born in Hell doesn't mean you're immune to their spears!"

"I don't care! I'm the Princess of Hell, Vaggie! I have to help my people!" With a desperate cry, Charlie shoves past her girlfriend and rushes out into the chaos.

Vaggie screams.

"Charlie, don't-!"

But Charlie has already taken her true form; her legs extending like those of a faun, her horns growing long and sharp from her forehead, her fangs filling her lips as her eyes turn red, two massive black wings sprouting from her back as her hair comes loose into a fiery yellow spiral. She charges straight into the heart of the massacre, shielding what few remaining demons she can with her own body, deflecting the blades thanks to her immense demonic aura.

But Vaggie knows even that won't last forever.

She charges forward after her, but there isn't much she can do when their attackers are all coming on wings from above. Vaggie can only lunge to counter their spears with her own.

By now, a handful of demons have begun to counterattack, flying high or using their own weapons to take down a few angels. But more often than not, the few successful attempts end up being suicides.

She sticks close to Charlie, defending her above all others, shouting orders to any straggling demons. Charlie uses her claws, teeth, and wings to shatter the attacking spears and manages to spare a few demons' lives. But in retrospect, when compared to the amount of bloodied bodies littering the streets, it really isn't much.

All the while, the princess cries out in agony at the Angels.

"Why are you doing this-?!"

And the Angels just laugh.

Vaggie can hardly look up without being blinded by their white light while her left eye continues to send searing pain through her head.

It's then when she hears… a familiar voice. One she'd known all too well back when she'd been in Heaven.

The Queen Angel.

In spite of the white light surrounding them, the Angels are black and gray in appearance, and she is the darkest of them all. The red mark over her eye is the deepest scarlet, the bloodiest. Her grin is more wicked and twisted than all the demons in Hell put together.

Vaggie collapses to her knees in pain at the sight of her, dropping her weapon. Most demons are forced into submission in the presence of the Angels, but especially demons who are Fallen Angels themselves. Bearing their mark, Vaggie is forced to bow, to shrink into the shadow of the Queen. She hears Charlie call out for her from a distance.

"Vaggie-!"

"No-!" she chokes. "St-Stay back, Charlie! You can't win… not against her…"

Vaggie can't even open her good eye anymore. She can only envision the Queen of Angels in her mind as she feels her descend. Her distorted laugh comes again, and then is accompanied by her jarring voice, as if every language in the world is being spoken at once.

"Well, well… what have we here? One of my own, I see…"

Vaggie shakes her head, clutching at her hair.

"No… I'm not one of you monsters-"

"I remember you," the Queen rumbles. "Such a shame to have lost such a skilled fighter. And now you turn your blade upon me and your old allies?"

"You people… were never my friends-" she spits, glaring up at her with as much hatred as she can muster. The Queen simply laughs.

"You poor thing. I almost feel sorry for you. Now that you have betrayed me and are a part of this realm, only one fate awaits you. Perhaps I should put you out of your misery, once and for all. It shall be an act of the utmost mercy…" She raises her hand, and a long, sharp spear appears in her claws.

Vaggie shakes her head, but she can't move.

"No-" she chokes. "Just- leave us alone-"

"Vaggie!"

With a gasp, Vaggie looks up, in spite of the immense agony it causes her. Charlie is being restrained by several Angels, all with their spears pointed at her. Charlie thrashes in their grip. Their fingertips burn her with light where they touch her.

"Let me go!" Charlie snarl. "Don't you dare hurt her, do you hear me?!"

Vaggie watches in horror as the Queen Angel directs her attention instead to the Princess of Hell.

"No!" Vaggie shouts. "Charlie, don't-!"

"If you hurt her-" Charlie snarls, up at the Queen, white hot breath seething from between her teeth. "I will kill you… That's a promise."

"Charlie, stop! You don't know what you're saying-!"

"Quiet, traitor," the Queen grunts. She lifts a hand to silence Vaggie, all but stealing the voice from her lungs. "The royals are speaking."

Vaggie tries to get up, tries to shout something - anything - to get her away from Charlie. But her angelic mark puts her under the complete control of the Queen, even here in Hell.

She can only watch as the Queen approaches Charlie, the same wicked smile ever-present on her face. Charlie reflects it with equal spite.

"Awfully courteous of you," she snarls. "To only address me when you have me restrained."

"I see those teeth of yours aren't just for show, Your Highness. You have quite the big mouth to keep them in."

Vaggie watches the Queen lean close to Charlie, and her heart nearly seizes in terror. She still can't move or speak.

"Tell me," says the Queen. "What is my little traitor to you?"

Charlie doesn't falter in her presence. She lifts her chin and glares directly into her face.

"Vaggie is my girlfriend."

The Queen chortles deeply.

"How sweet. Then I suppose the best way to punish her… would be through you, isn't that right?"

No!

Vaggie tries again to scream, to break free of the invisible chains, but to no avail. The Queen must sense her plight and lifts the suppression, but only from her voice.

"That," she coos. "Would be fitting punishment for a traitor, would it not? To make you watch as I pierce her through?"

The Queen raises her hand, and Vaggie watches as her own spear responds, flying into her grasp.

"Stop it!" Vaggie screams. "Y-You can't do this! If you hurt her, you'll be declaring war on Hell!"

"Then I suppose you would rather take her place?"

"Yes!"

"Vaggie, no-!" Charlie struggles in the grasp of the Angels, but their hands have burned her significantly by now, causing her to grow weaker. Slowly, the Queen turns herself away from Charlie, and back to Vaggie again. Vaggie remains on her knees, but lifts her head.

"Please, Your Highness. If you must kill one of us, then… let it be me."

"Vaggie, no-!"

"How sweet," the Queen murmurs. "I suppose you think you're being noble. But won't killing you hurt your little princess more than anything else?"

"I-"

"After all-" the Queen sneers. "It's you whom I've come to punish, traitor."

With this, the Queen Angel turns back to Charlie. Vaggie's heart drops as the villain raises her arm, pointing Vaggie's own spear right at Charlie. Vaggie writhes against the unseen weight keeping her down.

"No! Please-! Y-You can't-!"

"Oh, but I can, dear. And I will."

"No! Charlie-!"

By this point Charlie has been burned to her knees, her wings gone limp and her horns shrinking defenselessly. She lifts her head wearily, her eyes red and scared.

"Vaggie… I'm sorry-"

"No! Stop-!"

But the Queen Angel raises her spear and laughs.

"Remember this, child: an Angel treacherous enough to be cast from Heaven and instead made to join the pits of Hell deserves the ultimate punishment."

She pulls back her arm-

"No…"

-And throws.

"No-!"

"Vaggie-!"

Charlie screams out her name, and in that split second, Vaggie breaks free from her invisible chains. She leaps forward and spreads her arms wide as two large white wings unfurl from her back, shielding the princess just as the tip of the blade pierces through Vaggie's chest.

"Vaggie-!"

Vaggie's eyes fly open as she jolts up in bed, throwing the covers off herself in a disarray. Charlie is awake and alert at her side, already reaching out to hold her. Vaggie looks around wildly, finding herself in the safety of hers and Charlie's room in the middle of the night. There's no fighting going on outside, no Angelic invasion…

It was… just a nightmare…

Vaggie heaves for breath as the terror slowly drains from her veins, though the images of the Angels' smiles and their bloody spears are still fresh in the front of her mind. But the biggest relief of it all is that Charlie is all right, though she's understandably frantic right now. Vaggie is currently being hugged for dear life as Charlie peppers soft kisses on her forehead.

"Vaggie? Vaggie? A-Are you all right?"

Vaggie exhales, shuddering at the afterimages.

"Yeah… I'm… I'm fine, hun…"

"You're shaking." Charlie pulls the blankets back up over Vaggie and herself, pulling Vaggie closer against her chest. Vaggie leans into her, slowly wrapping both arms around her waist.

"It was just… a really bad nightmare. That's all."

"Thank goodness that's all it was. You scared me half to death!" Charlie whimpers. "I woke up and you were just thrashing around and crying out…" Charlie rests her chin on top of Vaggie's head. Vaggie nuzzles closer into her collar.

"Sorry. It was a pretty bad one."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"…No. Not really."

"Okay..." Charlie gives her a warm little squeeze. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Vaggie squeezes her back.

"Yeah. Me too, hun."

As things begin to calm down, Vaggie's mind wanders back to what she'd seen in her nightmare. She can't imagine if the Angels could ever manage to attack Hell outside of the yearly purge, if the Queen herself ever came down here, if they ever tried to hurt Charlie because of what Vaggie did-

She shakes her head, trying to dislodge the thoughts. Instead, she breathes in Charlie's familiar scent. Vaggie's never been able to give an exact name to her smell, but if she had to guess what rainbows smelled like, Charlie's scent was probably that.

She feels Charlie's fingers running gently through her hair for a while, feels the soft rhythm of her heartbeat against her ear.

Vaggie holds her as closely and adoringly as possible. Once the last of the images have gone from her head, she lets out a sigh.

"Thank you, Charlie. I'm all right now. Let's go back to sleep."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Charlie eases back and looks her over with worried eyes.

Vaggie nods. "I'm fine now. Honest."

"Okay." Charlie presses a sweet little kiss against Vaggie's left eye. Vaggie's heart throbs whenever she does that. It almost makes her feel like she's being absolved of all her sins.

Gently, they lay back down together in each other's arms. Charlie cradles Vaggie's head against her chest lovingly and kisses her hair.

"Don't worry. I've got you tonight, Vaggie. I'll protect you from all those nasty nightmares!"

Usually it's Vaggie who's always trying to defend her, but in this case she'll gladly take the protection.

"Thanks, Charlie."

"Don't mention it. Just get some sleep."

"You, too."

"Love you."

"Love you."

Vaggie closes her eye and nestles up against Charlie's pulse. She'd always feared the Angels might come to punish her one day. Vaggie would be eternally damned if she ever let them lay a finger on Charlie.

Surely they would know that hurting the Princess would mean a fate worse than death for Vaggie to suffer. It's bad enough she'd made so many enemies when she was alive, but even in Heaven she'd managed to turn the Angels against herself.

And now - down here in Hell of all realms - is the only place she's ever found people she could call her real friends. Few as they were, but it was still something.

And, she'd found the love of her life, and of her death.

All of Heaven and Hell could rise up against her if they want to, but she'd never stop protecting and loving Charlie even after her dying breath. Hopefully, it'll never have to come to that.

But for now they're both safe, and they're together.

And that might just be the greatest miracle she's ever known.

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A/N: My favorite loophole to doing crazy/AU/impossible scenarios is to just have it all be a dream in the end haha.

There's a lot we still don't know about Vaggie and if she's actually an Ex-Angel or not, and if Charlie knows or not. And I'm not sure if there's actually a Queen Angel, but I just figured there could be, based off the images the pilot showed us. I just needed a bigger, more threatening presence to intimidate and punish Vaggie and/or Charlie, just to explore the possibility that Vaggie might have a past that'll come back to haunt her (and her girlfriend) in Hell one day.

Also... eyepatch/scar kisses... gimme.