A New Birth

Chapter I

For the first time in their renewed relationship, former porn actor Angel Dust and the infamous Radio Demon Alastor had suffered their first horrible couples' fight.

It had all started when Angel had gone out to meet up with a former client. Once again, the session had taken a bad turn, and Angel's life was in danger. The client had been a friend of Valentino's and was trying to avenge his death by killing Angel. After Alastor had swooped in to save the day, it had gotten ugly back in his room at the hotel. Fueled by his rut, the deer had ranted at Angel that he was tired of his prostitution business and wanted to put an end to it. If there was one thing that Angel absolutely hated, it was being told what to do, especially by his lover. So, naturally, Angel had argued back. Their argument had reached an ear-shattering climax when Alastor had gotten aggressive and nearly morphed into his full demon form. He'd realized only too late what he had done, and as he tried to apologize, Angel left the deer's room in a rush, fleeing to the safety of his own pink hotel suite.

Weeks passed, and the two demons sadly grew apart. Angel continued to work and once again resorted to substance abuse to dull the pain from tearing himself away from Alastor. He was still upset about their argument, and refused to accept any form of apology from the deer. However, Alastor never gave up trying to make up with the spider; being in love with the former porn star had changed him in so many ways. He wouldn't rest until he knew for sure that his Angel Dust had fully forgiven him.

In the meantime, he still looked after Angel, making sure that his spider was well taken care of. So, when Angel left the hotel one evening to meet a client and hadn't come back yet, Alastor became worried as well as suspicious.

As the Radio Demon paced the lobby of the hotel, he repeatedly checked the time on his pocket watch. Angel was already three hours late.

"Where could that spider be?" the deer mumbled to himself. "He's never this late."

About thirty or so minutes later, the old telephone on the front desk began ringing shrilly. In less than a second, Alastor teleported across the room and yanked the phone off of its base, pressing the receiver to his ear.

"What is it? What do you want?" he demanded.

"Uh, hi," came an unfamiliar male's tenor voice on the other end. "Is this the Hazbin Hotel? Am I speaking with Alastor, the Radio Demon?"

"Ugh, this is hardly the time," Alastor muttered, putting his claws up to his temple. The deer was so stressed out, he almost raked the skin off of his face. "I do not need your useless prank calls, sir!"

"Listen, Alastor," the male went on. "My name is Mack, and I'm a friend of Angel's. I have your mate here with me. He's safe, for now, but he's badly injured. Can you come and pick him up? I don't want to risk moving him."

At the mention of his spider, Alastor froze into absolute stillness. A loud burst of radio static suddenly pierced through the speaker. The phone fell out of his hand, and it hit the desk with a thud. Barely a second had passed before the deer demon was teleporting again. He reappeared in a shabby, handkerchief-sized apartment above a dingy bar located in a run-down turf. With his microphone staff clenched in his fist, he quickly advanced on an imp who stood near the window, holding Angel's phone to his ear.

"Tell me where the fucking spider is, or you'll be my next meal!" Alastor hissed through his teeth, his eyes morphing into radio dials. He reached out and grabbed the imp by the collar of his shirt, lifting him clear off the floor.

The imp let out a shocked little yelp and dropped Angel's phone to the floor. "Okay, okay!" he squeaked, grabbing at Alastor's wrists. His eyes widened in horror. "I'll tell you everything, just... please, don't hurt me!"