Hazbin Hotel: Another Adam

POV Charlie

And here it was, the place Angel had talked about… Valentino's studio. A huge building of black glass and chrome metal towered over the other structures of the Porn-Quarter, resembling the shape of a penis... Hmm… A neon sign in the shape of a stylized "V," intertwined with a heart and moth wings, vulgarly blinked pink and red.

I swallowed, feeling my heart pound nervously. The atmosphere here was… heavy. The thick air was permeated not only with the usual Hell-scents of sulfur and rot but also with something cloyingly sweet, intoxicating – a mixture of cheap perfume, lust pheromones, and some chemical crap that made my head spin slightly. Muffled moans, laughter, and snatches of some music drifted from within.

I arrived just in time. Filming hadn't started yet, but preparations were in full swing. A huge pavilion was flooded with the bright light of spotlights. In the center – a luxurious four-poster bed with a red velvet canopy; around it – cameras, lighting equipment, some incomprehensible structures. And people… that is, sinners. Half-naked, in revealing outfits, or completely nude.

Angel was lying on that very bed, wearing only a short pink robe, and was lazily discussing something with two huge, muscular sinners with horns and tails. They stood on either side of the bed, arms crossed, their faces full of anticipation. Guards? Or… participants in the upcoming "act"? The thought made me uneasy.

All of this is a bit disconcerting… I understand that such an industry is probably necessary here in Hell. So that sinners can release accumulated tension and aggression without real violence, just by watching a couple of videos of this kind… But still… I'm ashamed to admit, but I've never watched anything like it myself. For some reason, I always felt very awkward, as if I were peeping at the participants…

Nevertheless, I needed to talk to Angel's boss. Valentino, I think? I noticed him at the director's console – an incredibly tall, thin demon with the features of a giant moth. He was dressed in a red fur coat over a black suit and sported a fashionable wide-brimmed hat adorned with feathers and a golden heart symbol. Long, thin fingers with sharp claws impatiently drummed on the console. His face was almost motionless, but a cold, calculating glint burned in his small, beady eyes, and his lips were frozen in a smile. An aura of power, danger, and some… sticky lust emanated from him...

Other studio workers were crowding near the entrance to the pavilion. One completely naked bull-like sinner, with prominent muscles and long white horns, was being diligently smeared with some shiny oil by two assistants. A second "actress," resembling a cat with bright purple fur and a provocatively large bust, had just casually pulled off her bra, remaining topless, catching the lustful gazes of the film crew. It's disconcerting… Very disconcerting…

"Ahem… This is too much…" I whispered, more to myself, instinctively turning away from the scene. I need to focus! I came here on an important mission! Aggressive kindness!

"What the all-fucking fuck are you doing here?!" a whisper sounded right by my ear. Angel had instantly materialized beside me, grabbing my elbow and trying to drag me into the shadows, away from the center of the room.

"I am the Princess of Hell, Angel!" I straightened up, trying to give my voice firmness. "And I go wherever I wish!" I demonstratively waved my hand around the pavilion, trying not to look at the half-naked demons. "I want to ask for some time off for you at the hotel; where is your boss?"

"Ah, no-no-no-no-no! Don't even think about approaching Val!" Angel protested even more vehemently, literally dragging me further away, his voice trembling with panic.

"Angel!" Valentino's displeased, drawling voice came from the director's console. Undisguised irritation was audible in it. "Where the fuck are you stuck?!"

"Just finishing up!" Angel shouted nervously.

"Well, 'finish up' on camera!" Valentino replied.

"Just wait until I'm done working, and I promise, we'll discuss everything!" He opened a door to some room. "But right now, please, leave."

"O-o-oh, Your Highness… What a pleasant surprise…" Valentino's honeyed, insinuating voice sounded right behind his back. He moved absolutely silently and nonchalantly. Angel flinched, his face contorting in terror.

"Oh, fuck…" the spider whispered. He instinctively took a step forward, trying to hide me.

"Welcome to my humble abode of sex," Valentino completely ignored the frightened Angel, gently pushing him aside with his palm. He approached me closely, his tall stature forcing me to crane my neck. He took my hand with his cold, clawed paw and brought it to his lips, but instead of a kiss… he ran his long tongue over it, leaving a sticky pink liquid that apparently served as his saliva and, it seemed, slightly stung my skin. Ugh, how disgusting!

"No, thank you," I tried to pull my hand away, smiling nervously and feeling a chill of revulsion and fear run down my spine.

"Mmm, what a specimen," Valentino continued to devour me with his little eyes, licking his lips. "Wouldn't you like to participate?" He smoothly circled behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders, lightly embracing me. "I would make you a star… We would both become richer than your 'papito'," he was in front of me again, his face so close I could feel his cloyingly sweet breath.

"Fuck that!" I couldn't stand it and jumped back from him as if scalded. Disgust overcame politeness. "Oh, ahem… sorry… I came to aggressively-kindly talk about Angel." Finally, I gathered my thoughts. Angel, behind Valentino, was desperately waving all four hands and shaking his head, silently begging me to shut up. "Later, of course… I don't want to hinder creativity…"

"Well, then," Valentino momentarily cast a withering glare at Angel, full of unconcealed anger, but then immediately put on a mask of cloying politeness, looking at me. "Then make yourself at home, Your Highness… And enjoy the show." He bowed slightly and walked over to his director's chair, roughly shoving the frozen Angel towards the bed on his way. "Alright, let's reshoot this crap!"

"Action!" squeaked a small, fussy sinner resembling a cross between a cat and a bat, covered in black fur. He, apparently, served as the scriptwriter or assistant director.

Filming began. I tried not to look at what was happening on the bed, feeling my cheeks burn with embarrassment and disgust. It was all… wrong. Humiliating. Both for Angel and for those brutes. But I couldn't leave. I had to wait until the end and talk to Valentino. For Angel's sake.

While this nightmare was going on, I noticed another demon in the corner of the pavilion. He looked… sad? And lonely. Tall, thin, with gray skin and one large red-yellow eye in the middle of his face. He had small dark wings on his back, a tail, and sharp spikes on his head. He silently and intently moved a long microphone on a long pole, trying to catch the moans and lines of the actors, but at the same time, he was clearly trying to stay away from the main action. His single eye expressed universal longing and weariness. I felt sorry for him.

"Oh, hello!" I approached him, trying to speak as friendly as possible. "I see you work here… Hard work, probably? Wouldn't you like to rest a bit? Change of scenery? Live with us at the Hazbin Hotel, for example? By the way, we offer completely free accommodation and three meals a day!" I smiled at him my most encouraging smile. "And it's fun at our place! We have games, activities, we sing songs! And in the mornings, at 8 o'clock (Author's note: in the original, this happens at 5 o'clock… Charlie, dear, normal people are asleep at 5 AM...), we have a trust exercise…"

"Stop!" Valentino's furious roar sounded. Filming abruptly stopped. "What the fuck is going on over there?!"

"Oh, sorry, are we being too loud?" I got flustered, seeing Valentino drilling me with an angry stare. The one-eyed demon, who hadn't said a word this whole time, silently and quickly retreated somewhere into the shadows, taking his microphone with him. "I just wanted to tell him about the Hazbin Hotel!"

"Not at a-a-all, princess," Valentino winced as if he'd eaten a whole lemon but tried to maintain a semblance of a smile on his face. "It… doesn't bother me at all…" He shifted his gaze to Angel, who had frozen on the bed in an awkward position, and now he no longer hid the hatred in his voice and gaze.

"You know, this scene is too cruel," I continued unexpectedly, approaching Valentino, feeling a bit more confident. "If you accept help with the script, maybe I could write something…" Saying this, I awkwardly waved my arms and my foot caught on a thick extension cord lying on the floor. I stumbled and fell, yanking the cord… There was a crackle, a shower of sparks, and flames erupted where the extension cord had been.

Panic ensued: actors and the film crew scattered with screams, while Angel remained sitting on the bed, clutching the sheet and whispering in terror, "Shit, shit, shit…"

"Oh god! Do you have a fire extinguisher?!" I rushed to the source of the fire, trying to fix my mistake. I grabbed some rug lying nearby and tried to beat out the flames with it. "I'm so sorry for ruining the shoot. Goodness, I'm sorry!" The rug, as luck would have it, turned out to be made of some highly flammable synthetic material and immediately burst into flames in my hands. I threw it away, quickly took off my jacket, and began to frantically beat the fire with it, trying to extinguish it. "I'm sorry, please, I'm sorry."

At that moment, Valentino, who had been just standing there, watching my frantic efforts with icy calmness, took a step forward. Huge wings, resembling those of a moth – dark red with lighter patterns reminiscent of hearts – unfurled behind his back with a soft rustle. A sharp, powerful flap – and a strong gust of wind instantly snuffed out the flames, leaving behind only smoking remnants of equipment and the acrid smell of burning.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," meanwhile Angel, finally snapping out of his stupor, quickly threw on his robe and hurried towards me.

"God, I'm so, so sorry!" I truly felt terribly guilty for this mess. "I'll clean everything up! I…"

"Don't trouble your pretty little head," Valentino again hid his anger behind a mask of politeness. He approached me and playfully flicked my nose with his finger. "We have staff for that… Angel," he shifted his cold gaze to the guiltily frozen guy beside me, "let's go to the dressing room for a minute…"

I wanted to object, to say that Angel wasn't to blame, that I had caused all this… But guilt literally rooted me to the spot. I couldn't utter a word.

Valentino put his hand on Angel's shoulder and led him towards an inconspicuous door in the corner of the pavilion. Angel walked as if to his execution, his shoulders slumped, his head drawn into his shoulders. They entered the room, and the door clicked shut quietly behind them. I was left in the middle of the wrecked pavilion, feeling like a complete idiot…

View from the Side

"Val, I didn't know that…" Angel began as soon as the door closed. But he wasn't allowed to finish. The sound of a sharp slap echoed, so strong that Angel flew against the wall.

"Val, I…"

"Did you really think I'd let Lucifer's runt protect you?" He pushed Angel, who flew into an armchair that stood in the middle of the room.

"Val, please… I'm sorry that…" Angel backed away behind the armchair, but Valentino casually tossed it to the other end of the room as if it weighed nothing.

"You brought her here to protect yourself?! To protect yourself from ME?!" Reddish-pink smoke began to manifest on Angel's wrists, after which Valentino grabbed the spider by the neck and threw him forcefully onto the sofa, pressing down with his hand.

"Ow! Val, don't…"

"You think this little princess will get you off work?!"

"No! No, I didn't even think! No! No!" Angel was thrown across the room again, and crying out, he fell to the floor.

"You know she's powerless!" Again, reddish-pink smoke began to form, taking the shape of chains and a collar around Angel's neck. Lifting the spider by the chain, Valentino materialized the contract Angel had once signed and held it up to the porn actor's face. "You are MY PROPERTY! Or have you forgotten already?!"

Angel looked with pain at the signature he himself had put there in the past.

"No…"

"When I say 'to me,' you say…" Valentino's voice became insinuating.

"…Yes, Valentino…" Angel answered, barely audible.

"When I say 'you'll fuck twenty guys before lunch,' you say…" Valentino knelt beside him, whispering in his ear.

"…Yes, Valentino…" Angel's voice trembled.

"When I say 'GET THAT FUCKING BITCH OUT OF MY STUDIO'! You say… YOU SAY!!!"

"L-listen, Val, she's always getting into something, I'll get rid of her! Just don't touch her…"

"I've killed bitches like you for less shitty attitudes!" Valentino's voice filled with anger again, and he threw Angel to the floor. "You're lucky you bring in revenue! Now you get rid of her, and then you'll be filming all night! Clear?!"

"Yes… Val…"

"Good," honeyed notes reappeared in Valentino's voice. The dressing room door opened.

POV Adam

I stood outside the building and listened. Listened and saw everything that was happening behind that door. Rage seethed within me, threatening to erupt. I wanted to kick down that damn door, burst in there, tear that Valentino to pieces, incinerate him with Light, make him suffer. But I restrained myself. With enormous effort.

Why did I restrain myself? The answer was simple, though unpleasant. Canon. That same goddamn canon from the cartoon: I remembered this scene, remembered that it was precisely after this episode that Angel finally managed to open up a little to Charlie and Husk, that this became the beginning of their… well, not friendship, but some semblance of mutual understanding. If I had intervened now, killed Valentino – I might have saved Angel from this specific incident, but in doing so, I would have broken something important in his development and his path to possible redemption. And in Husk's development too. That would have been wrong. Or was I just looking for an excuse for my reluctance to kill?

Should I kill Valentino? After everything I'd heard and seen? Yes, fuck, I wanted to! Very much! This bastard was an exact copy of Asmodeus in his essence – the same kind of sadist, manipulator, reveling in his power and others' suffering. Perhaps a "lower pipe and thinner smoke," but… I didn't want to. Again. That irrational fear, that revulsion towards myself, towards the Godkiller within me, which I thought I had conquered, reared its head again. I remembered who I had become in my past life. Remembered that euphoria of revenge, bought at the cost of billions of lives. I was a murderer. The most terrible murderer in the history of my home world. And I was terrified of becoming him again. Of crossing that line again...

And what should I do? Just stand by and watch as this unfortunate guy is tormented? Allow this Valentino to continue his bullshit?

The dressing room door opened, and Valentino came out, looking as if nothing had happened. With one hand, he casually dragged Angel behind him, who was holding his cheek; a huge bruise was already forming under his eye. Valentino pushed him towards the bed.

"Alright, boys, get your asses on set! We're reshooting everything!"

At that moment, Charlie couldn't take it anymore. Seeing Angel's condition, his deadened gaze, the bruise, the rough way Valentino treated him… Something changed in her.

Her eyes flashed with red fire, her pupils turned golden, the whites of her eyes filled with blood. Small red horns sprouted on her forehead, and a thin tail with a heart-shaped tuft at the end appeared. She transformed into her "true" form.

"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN TREAT HIM LIKE THAT?!" Her voice was full of righteous anger, and she strode resolutely towards Valentino, who only lazily turned at her shout with a smirk on his face.

"Charlie, stop it!" Angel suddenly stood in her way. His face was contorted with anger… or was he just acting out anger very well? He literally pushed Charlie back.

"Angel, what are you talking about?.." Charlie looked at him with fear and incomprehension. Her fighting spirit vanished instantly.

"Charlie, get lost!" Angel pointed a finger towards the exit. His voice was sharp, angry. "I didn't ask you to come here! I asked you to leave! And you didn't listen! You ruined everything!"

"But… I just wanted to help…" Charlie's voice trembled, tears welling up in her eyes again.

"And you didn't help!" Angel shouted expressively, his hands shaking. "You want to help me?! Fuck off from here!" He pointed to the door again. "Right now! And let me finish my work!"

"I… I didn't…" Charlie was no longer holding back her tears; they streamed down her cheeks. But Angel glared at her angrily again.

"I didn't mean to… Forgive me…" she whispered and, bursting into tears, ran out of the pavilion door.

"Good boy," Valentino chuckled contentedly, approaching Angel and authoritatively putting an arm around his shoulders. He stood with his head bowed, motionless.

Fuck. How I want to kill this scum…