Broken Smile AU
Swearing ahead. I don't own Hazbin Hotel or it's characters
Chapter 4: Breaking News.
About an hour or so had passed and Charlie was still seated in her father’s room, the events and panic attack from earlier now gone although the stress and anxiety that lingered beneath the surface was still there. She sat with her legs crossed on the large bed that was covered in ducks…so…many…ducks. The blanket wrapped around her shoulders providing her with some comfort while her father had stepped out for a moment, giving her a little space. Sure he was there to comfort her and be there for her in her time of turmoil but he was also a little cautious, not wanting to over step…fearing he would push her away like he did Lilith…
The missing first lady was a sore subject for both of them, Lucifer had been so in love, two sparks in the night that merged into a burst of starlight…both of them dreamers that wanted more and to spread their joy and love across the cosmos…wanting others to share in their happiness and the freedom to be who you were…to not be held down by a destiny that was predetermined for you by beings that believed they knew what was best…the two lovers granting that freedom of choice and self to one person, leading to wickedness and evil to enter the world…for where there is chance for great good, there is chance for great darkness too…
And as punishment Lilith and Lucifer were condemned to watch their mistake manifest and spread like an infection throughout mankind…seeing the worst of the worst and beyond that. At first Lucifer tried, damn he tried, wanting nothing more than to prove and believe that what he had done was right…that this wasn’t all just some massive failure…and yet…after being reminded day after day the costs of free choice, seeing the filth and vial creatures that appeared in hell, he just couldn’t anymore…and along the way his despair pushed his beloved away…pushed Charlie away…
But now he had a second chance…an opportunity to find his own redemption and build a bond with his daughter, to not lose the last good thing he had left…and he was not going to do anything to jeopardize that…
And yet, despite the second chance they had gotten to be a family, there was still someone missing…
Charlie sighs softly as she takes out her phone, going through her contacts till she found her mothers, the picture still the same as it had been for the last 7 years, the princess signing softly as she hesitates. The two of them had been extremely close…her mother was always there, when Charlie first started getting her magic, when she went to school for the first time, her first dance, even when she broke up with her dickhead of a boyfriend many years ago…Lilith was always there, encouraging her and giving the young princess of hell guidance and strength when she needed it the most. They would spend hour’s just talking and spending time together, not a day went by when they didn’t speak to each other…
So the day Lilith disappeared during that very first extermination it had been a hard blow to Charlie…the poor girl now a lone in this realm of darkness and despair...
She stares at the screen of her phone before finally pressing the call button, holding the device to her ear, listening to the ringing tone, “Please mom…pick up…I-I need you…” tears well up in her eyes as the automated voice responded like it had done for the last 7 years; “The account holder on this line is unavailable. Or they’re avoiding you. Leave a message.”
*beep*
Charlie trembled trying her best to keep it together, everything was just so overwhelming and she didn’t know what she was going to do, how she was going to fix all this or even what she would do if the angels came back. Her people thought her to be a joke, a failure…despite her royal status she wasn’t seen in a good light by a lot of her people…no one listened to her or respected her…not like her mother…everyone adored Lilith and they were inspired by her and believed in her, their people following the queen of hell without question…they wouldn’t have said the things they said about Charlie to Lilith…they would’ve followed her mother’s dream…believed in redemption…her mother would’ve known how to handle all the bad publicity and scandals…her mother would’ve known what to do…she wished she was here…she wanted her mom back…
A tear runs down her cheek as she tries her best to hold it together while talking, “H-Hey, Mom, it’s me…again. I’m…I’m sorry to bother you…but I’m so overwhelmed right now. *sigh* Look, the hotel is full, which is great…but…the sinners are here for the wrong reasons…they, they want to kill angels, which is the opposite of what I stand for a-and I…I know you wanted demons to be empowered but…this is…this is the wrong way…” she stands up and walks over to the window, staring out at the city, her eyes falling on the angels tower that was still counting down, “I’m also scared…we’ve heard nothing from heaven a-and we have no idea what th-they are going to do after we killed so many of them the last time…I’m worried what Adam will do…I have no idea how you could stand that guy mom…” she rubs the back of her neck as her eyes moved over to what remained of Alastor’s old radio tower that had gone up when he first arrived in hell.
She felt a pain in her chest, a wave of grief hitting her again, “We…we lost some people during the fight…Sir Pentious died going up against Adam and…and do you remember Alastor? The radio demon who popped up nearly 100 years ago? He…he has been helping out around the hotel…he did a lot to help us…he became a part of the family but…but he’s gone missing again…no one can find him and I think…” her lip quivers as she thinks to the demons broken staff that sat in her room, “…I think something happened to him…I…I think he got hurt…really badly...Niffty is also gone too…we…well I hope that she’s with Alastor and that they are both ok…”
She walks back to the bed and sits down with a heavy sigh, feeling a hard weight on her shoulders, “I wish you were here…I’d love some…advice…maybe, if you have time…um, yeah.” She pulls her knees to her chest, hugging them tightly after wiping the tears from her face, “Anyway…uh, me and dad are talking again…he’s not so bad, and he…he misses you…so just…” she squeezes her eyes such, trying her damnedest not to break any further than she already has, “…just give me a call back…I really need you…we really need you. Uh, I love you…bye.”
She presses the end button and sets her phone aside. She hides her face in her hands and starts to cry softly, her tears slipping through her fingers as she feels herself being crushed under the weight of everything. She felt so alone, so hurt…for the first time ever she felt doubt about her dream; she had doubts about what she was doing…if it was even still worth it…
Just as she was getting lost in her head she felt an arm wrapping around her. Slowly looking up she sees her father’s face smiling gently at her, “Hey Char Char.” He summons a handkerchief with little duckies on it and gently cleans her face, this little act just broke the flood gates again and Charlie wrapped her arms around her father, holding onto him as tightly as she could. Lucifer returns the embrace without any hesitation, resting his head on top of hers, “Its ok my little duckling…its ok.” For the first time today a proper smile forms on the princess’s face amongst the tears.
Once she had calmed down a little her dad summons a yellow mug of hot coco with duck shaped marshmallows. She looks at the mug and giggles as she takes it while Lucifer beams with pride, thinking he had succeeded in cheering her up, “There’s that smile.” Charlie sniffles, “Thanks dad…for-for everything…” her father smiles as they sit in comfortable silence for a moment while Charlie sips her coco. She runs her fingers along the mug before sighing, “Dad how…how do you deal with all the stress of being in charge of things? How do you…cope with everything?” {Take note of every duck that filled the short kings bedroom…every single…yellow…duck}
Lucifer shrugs, “I don’t know. I just…manage somehow…” Charlie shakes her head with a small smile before looking up at the portrait of her family that hung on the wall and her smile disappeared, “Mom was always so good at all this…staying calm, being the voice of the people. Being the centre of attention with everyone looking to her…to follow her…Ignoring meaningless things…” she grips the mug, “…And people…” Lucifer’s expression hardens for a moment before a wave of sadness washes over him, “Yep…she was, uh, so good at that…” it was a sore spot, a real sore spot. She had become cruel and distant towards him in the last few years before she disappeared, for fuck sake she took Charlie from him for a long time…yes he loved her, Lilith was his heart…his everything…and yet she had abandoned him…and somewhere along the line, fell out of love with him…
Charlie can see the pain in her father’s eyes as she puts her hand on his shoulder, “You miss her don’t you…” she says this as more of a statement than a question. Lucifer looks away as he tries to smile, “Oh yeah…” he laughs softly as a tear runs down his cheeks, as it was said, he still loved Lilith but she was his heart…his love, “Every second…of everyday for the past…what is it, almost eight years?” he sniffles as Charlie squeezes his shoulder gently, before looking back at the portrait, feeling her mother’s eyes on her, staring into her soul, “I miss her too…Do you…think she would be proud of me?” her expression falls but Lucifer hugs her tightly before she can have the chance to cry again, “Oh honey, She’d be so proud of you. Are you kidding?” he smiles as he tucks some of her hair out of her face, “And hey, even if she didn’t, I’m proud of you…you are my greatest gift…my star…even if all of hell came down I would still be proud of you…” he kisses her forehead, “You can do this…the show much go on, Char-Char…and you were born for the spotlight.”
Charlie smiled sweetly, feeling a fresh wave of confidence and more importantly, hope. She hugs her father again before standing up, “Thanks dad…for being here.” Lucifer holds his daughter for just a moment longer, hoping that he doesn’t fuck up this second chance he has to be in his daughter’s life…
With some renewed confidence Charlie makes her way back to the lobby, Vaggie was trying to deal with the new guests while Angel was keeping the reporters distracted and Husk well…he was still serving drinks…the princess would always be grateful for them, they had been there for during everything and still stayed despite the hotel being destroyed…they were her friends…her family…and she needed to step up and be there for them too…to be strong for them and to take charge…
“Everybody, listen up! I have an announcement to make!” she calls out as she makes her way down the stairs, suddenly the reporters turn their attention back to Charlie and almost crowd her again, “Charlie! Charlie! Over here!” they try their very best to get their questions out, raising their voices and pushing each other out of the way to get to the princess but she stands her ground, holding her head up high, she would not cower this time, she would not freeze up or fall under the pressure again…she would do what her mother would do…she would be what her mother would want her to be…
She takes a deep breath, calming whatever nerves still thumbed through her system, “This is the Hazbin Hotel. We do not kill angels here…so…everyone who isn’t here to be redeemed…please leave…right now.” she points to the doors, standing firm as the reporters look at her stunned, “Is that…it?” Charlie nodded with a stern expression on her face, “Pretty much yeah.” The reporters murmur amongst themselves some had the cameras rolling and snapping photos. Charlie looks to her friends, specifically Angel…he had been here from the start, he believed in being redeemed (or at least that’s what Charlie believed)…
“You have all gotten the wrong idea. The Hazbin Hotel is a place of peace…of second chances…a place to grow and to become better…” she smiles as she sees Vaggie smiling back at her, her support and the one that believed in her dream as much as she did, “And I believe in every sinner. You can change and be redeemed…you can earn your way to a better life…” she gazes back at the reporters and sinners, “…So if you believe in our dream, then you are welcome to stay…” she opens her arms in a welcoming gesture…but unfortunately the demons didn’t seem very impressed…
“Absolutely not...”
“This is stupid…”
“Fuck this shit…”
“If we hurry we can make it back to the Vee Tower before everyone else and get front row seats!”
And with that the reporters and any sinner that wasn’t there for redemption leaves the hotel, Charlie’s shoulders dropping as this was another blow to her spirit. She sighs softly as Vaggie walks over to her and wraps an arm around her girlfriend, “For what it’s worth babe, that was a good speech…they’ll understand eventually.” This cheered up the princess a little bit as she hugged the fallen angel, “Thanks Vaggie…”
“Just give em time honey.” A southern voice carries through the lobby as Rosie strolls in with a picnic basket on her arm, a big smile on her face. The dame had arrived just a few moments ago, same time she visited the hotel every day for the past few months. Charlie smiles as she steps down the stairs and rushes over the overlord, the lady opening her arms and hugging the young girl. They had grown quiet the bond, being there whenever Charlie needed some advice or just needed someone to talk to…it a small way it was like having her mother back or at least like having a great aunt.
Rosie lets her go after a moment and gives her a gentle pat on the head, “It seems like you had a busy day. Let’s go talk over some tea. I even brought those meat pies ya like so much.” She grins as she makes her way up the stairs with Charlie in toe, “Uh thanks…you promise they’re not made of um people?” Rosie giggles at the girl’s question as they both disappear from the lobby.
Upstairs on a balcony sat a small table with two chairs, the surface covered in a fine china tea set, red velvet cupcakes and meat pies that look…appetizing? That wasn’t the right word. Charlie was staring down at her cup of tea, still stirring the contents as her mind was elsewhere. Rosie who was seated in the other stool was watching the girl as she graceful sipped her own drink, a small smile covers her sharp toothed smile, “Something on your mind honey?” she asks as she sets her cup down and picks up a meat pie and took a bite.
Charlie tries to smile but anyone who walked past could see it was straining and as it expected it fell just moments later, “I don’t know if I can do this…so much has happened and despite what we did to protect hell from the angels, everyone still thinks what I’m trying to do is a joke…and…and I don’t even know if the excersists are coming back...” she stares at her reflection in the tea that swirled in her cup, “I wish my mom was here…” she looked out over the pride ring. Rosie reaches over and rests her hand over Charlie’s and gives it a gentle squeeze, “Pumpkin listen to me…” she rests her fingers under the girls chin and lifts her head gently, “…you can do anything you set your mind to…and more importantly, you don’t let anything break that spunky little spirit of yours…” Her words ease Charlie’s heart a little, enough for her to smile.
“There’s that dazzling smile. You’re never fully dressed without one…” the overlord says as she picks up her cup taking another long sip.
“…you’re never fully dressed without a smile…”
Another thing that lay heavy on the princesses heart, “Have you…have you heard anything from…from Alastor?” she asks softly. Rosie’s whole demeanour shifted at the mention of the missing demon, gripping her tea cup as she lets out a long sigh, “I wish I had news honey but…unfortunately…” she turns her gaze to the empty radio tower that has remained silent for the last few months and Charlie could tell from the woman’s expression that she had come up empty handed again…
Charlie clenches her fists, “Do you think he’s…do you think he’s dead?” she hated to think that way or to even suggest that another one of her friends had lost their lives but all signs were leading to…Alastor being dead…
But Rosie shakes her head, “I don’t believe that for a second…I would know if he had perished sweetie—“
“But how do you know?? No one has been able to find him! It-It’s like he just…vanished…” she stands up and starts pacing back and forth across the balcony, “He…he would’ve come back by now…right? I came to help us and-and he did so much for us! He must’ve cared about us…about me…because…why else would he have come here…” she leans against the railing, doing her best not to fall back into despair…not to fall back into the guilt that was eating away at her.
Rosie goes quiet for a long while…turning away before finally letting out a heavy sigh, “My dear…there is something you should know about Alastor…” Charlie slowly looked back at Rosie, watching the overlord stand up, her expression stern and yet…sad, “There is a reason why he was here to help you and this hotel…and that reason is—“
“BREAKING NEWS!! BREAKING NEWS!!”
The Television that had been off and practically broken suddenly blared to life…in fact every screen whether it was a phone, a computer, a TV, they all turned on…
The two ladies on the balcony peered inside, watching the live broadcast coming all the way from the Vees tower…
Cameras are flashing and filming on the steps of the large multi floored building, every reporter in the city was there as the music starts playing as the doors to the grand entrance opens and the 3 media demons stroll down the red carpet all the way to the podium with several microphones attached to it. The crowd cheers as Vox has a massive grin on his face as well as Velvette…Valentino is posing and smirking as he waves at the reporters. The leader of the group waves to the audience, soaking up all the attention as he steps up to the podium, “How we doing tonight Pentagram city?!”
The sinners and reporters shout and scream their response, cameras flashing as well as phones. Vox chuckles as he straightens his lapel and adjusts his new tie, “As you all know today is a very special day. We’ve been working on something big for the last few months and you all have been frothing at the mouth to know what it is, am I right?” he grin only grows as the crowd cheers, “Yeah you do.”
He grabs on of the microphones and walks around the podium, “Well the wait is finally over!” the sinners go crazy as everyone else in hell is glued to their screens, including the guests and staff of the Hazbin Hotel. “Now, before we get to the main event, my associates and I have put plans in place, had sanctuary’s built for those who wish to be protected from the oncoming Extermination, since the princess doesn’t seem to give a shit about those that want to fight back!” a video of Charlie telling her people to leave her hotel filters onto the screen…
“What the fuck?! That’s…that’s not true!” Charlie shouts at the screen as she storms towards it.
Velvette strolls over to Vox as he hands her a microphone, the doll demon posing for the camera’s before speaking, “It seems Morningstar has no desire to build an army to protect us but rather wants us to change everything about ourselves and become her perfect little pussy sucker bitches…to cower like the little cunt that she is when the angel fuckers come back!” an image with the hashtag ‘Pussy princess’ with an image of Charlie cowering and crying spreads across every social media platform, phones pinging all across the circle of hell.
Vox takes the microphone back, “This is your leader ladies and gentlemen! A coward! An angel fucker! Someone that thinks they know better than the rest of us!” he shouts and everyone seems to agree with him.
Charlie pulls at her hair, “No, no, no, no! That’s not true!” Rosie steps closer and rest her hands on the girls shoulders to try and calm her down.
Vox straightens up, his expression turning serious, “We don’t want a leader that believes they know what’s best for us or tell us who we have to be! You deserve someone who puts your best interests first! Who will protect you! Someone who will stand up for you and for all of hell!”
“VOX! VOX! VOX!”
The crowd cheers and the overlord can feel his ratings already climbing, he raises his hand to calm the sinners down, “This isn’t about me…this is about all of us, you amazing people and my partners, Velvette and Valentino…” he gestures to the other two Vees who smile and wave at the crowd…he looks at them both, giving them a small wink, a signal they had planned before hand. They nod and step back, heading over to the doors to they had emerged from a few moments ago…
Vox goes back to crowd and stands tall…it was now or never…
“But we can’t do this on our own…” he states and the reporters and sinners murmur amongst themselves before turning their attention back to the CEO of VoxTech. “For a long time our media empire has been…incomplete...film…television and of course social media…we have led you through every trend, every era, every event and have pushed out industries into the future…
…but one has stubbornly stayed in lost in the past…a fossil that we thought long gone…” a smirk crosses Vox’s face…
Rosie narrows her eyes…
Everyone in hell leaning in closer to the screen…
“…but he is back and better than fucking ever! After years of feuding and fighting…after being the biggest pain in my ass personally…the Vees empire is finally complete…although ha hah ha we can’t call ourselves just the Vees anymore!” Vox lifts his arm in the air, the giant tarp that had been covering the sign at the top of the tower falls away…atop the building instead of 3 V’s…was now just ‘AV’s”.
“Ladies and fucking gentlemen, allow me to introduce our newest member of our media kingdom! You know him…”
Charlie’s eyes widen…
“…You fear him…”
Rosie covers her mouth with her hand…
“…the big bad radio demon himself…ALASTOR!”
Confetti canons go off, shooting out a mix of blue and red as Velvette and Valentino yanks the doors open and standing there in the doorway was the man that had been missing for the past few months…he wore the same red suit but now sported a black dress shirt with the top button undone, his hair shorter with a curl to it, his monocle replaced with a square on with blue glass…but the most unsettling was his face…his smile hidden by a blue mask with a holographic grin covering the fabric…his eyes mismatched…one held a soft red iris while the other one was cyan blue…
If any demon held something in their hand it was immediately dropped upon seeing the radio demon…Charlie and Rosie gasping loudly…
The audience goes nuts as Alastor walks down the red carpet with his hands held behind his back, he held his head high, his eyes narrowed in almost a glare as he reaches Vox’s side, the TV headed demon smirking like a kid who just cleared out a candy store, wrapping his arm around Alastor’s shoulders, his blue claws gripping his the red guys arm as the camera’s flash wildly as everyone was trying to snap a photo. The red haired demon clearly tense and looking like he was on the verge of snapping despite the neon blue smile on his face…
Velvette and Valentine return to the podium, the doll demon standing on Alastor’s side while Valentino stood beside Vox, the 3 of them grinning as the posed for photos…
Charlie was speechless and Rosie…she was stunned, shocked, a look of horror in her normally empty eyes…disappearing in a swirl of golden light…
Charlie rushes to the door to go find Vaggie but suddenly (if things couldn’t get any more crazy), a glowing purple portal opens in front of her and the last person she expected popped out with a smile on her face, “Charlie!”
“EMILY?!”
“Sorry, I don’t have much time. Heaven’s going into lockdown cause, you know you guys killed a bunch of the excersists and Adam was nearly killed and now Sera is worried about hell wanting revenge and Heaven doesn’t want any more death but is really scared of what’s going to happen next. Anyway, long story short, Pentious was redeemed and he is in heaven now. YAY! But don’t worry, I’ll be back again as soon as I can but yes, your hotel totally works. Congratulations! Bye!”
And with that Emily was gone as fast as she arrived…leaving Charlie with only one thing to do…
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
The end of the day came faster than Vox had predicted as he led Alastor to the top floor where his penthouse was situated…the reporters had been like vultures and his ratings had improved with 20% and it was still climbing. He had left his other two associates behind to party and celebrate the announcement…as for him…well he had other plans…
He opened the doors to his suite and Alastor walked through without a word, the TV head grinning like crazy as he closes the door…making sure it was locked before letting his expression dropped to something else as he pulled his tie loose…slowly turning to face the radio demon who had only taken a few steps before going still, his whole body tense like a bow pulled tight…if you looked closely you could see the tremors running through him, his ears twitching…
Vox tosses his tie to the side before removing his suite jacket, “Finally…it’s just the two of us…” a cable emerges from his back, taking the blue piece of clothing and goes to hang it up as the overlord steps over to the other, standing behind him as he grips the deer demons shoulders…the red heads eyes flying open…
In heaven…
“…sorry for leaving you so suddenly but I had to go see Charlie.” Emily states as she floats beside Sir Pentious as the two of them were making their way down one of the streets of heaven. The serpent fiddles with his fingers as he tries to smile, “That’ssss alright my dear…I jussst wisssh I could’ve gone with to ssssee my friendssss.” His expression saddens but the angel puts a hand on his shoulder, “I’m sorry but I had to get a message to Charlie as quickly as possible.”
Sir Pentious sighs, “I understand…” he looks around noticing the numerous restaurants and eateries they were passing, “Where exactly are we going?” he asks curiously as Emily perks up, “Well since you were feeling a little lonely I thought getting something to eat! Plus I wanted to introduce you to a lovely lady who gives the best advice and makes the most amazing food! Though it can be a bit on the spicy side.”
The reach a corner café, the places name, “Adelle’s kitchen”…
“She has been here for a long time and she always has a smile on her face…and—oh…” there was a closed sign hanging in the door, the angels eyes widen a little as she smacks her forehead, “I completely forgot!” Sir Pentious raises a brow, “What issss it?” Emily sighs, “She’s not here at 12 everyday…she leaves for an hour at this time and goes to stand at the front gates…”
The serpent looks at the little café, looking through the widow at the New Orleans inspired decorations. He turns to his new friend, “If I may assssk my dear…why doesss ssshe do thisss?”
Emily rubs the back of her neck, “It’s a bit of a sad story…she passed when her son was really young…she waits for him at the gate hoping he will eventually show up…but…it’s been nearly 90 years since she her death and…” the young seraphim fiddles with her fingers, “…I’m worried he may have ended up in hell…and if he did and we were…uh…killing those sinners…if he was one of them…”
She floats down and sits on the bench that stood before the café…Sir Pentious can see the sadness on the girls face. He smiles a little and sits beside her, resting his hand over hers, “Well I wasss in hell for a long time…perhapsss if he did end up down there, I could possibly know him.” this seems to cheer the angel up as she grips Sir Pentious’ hands, “Really?!”
He hisses as her grip was a bit on the tight side. She quickly lets go, “Oh sorry. Got a little excited.” He rubs his hands, “Itsss quite alright my dear…”
She hears someone approaching from the distance…a winner dressed in an old fashioned yellow Sunday dress…she had dark skin with white freckles dusting her the skin under her eyes, chestnut curls framed her face so gently, her lips curled in a warm smile…unfortunately nasty scar lines run over her cheeks…she had a set of white feathered wings that was lightly covered in brown spots…
Emily stands up and waves at the woman, “She said her sons name was Alastor…named after her father…” with that she flies over to the lady to greet her…
Sir Pentious eye twitches after hearing that name…and responded the only way he could…
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
