Do You Want to Know? - Hazbin Hotel

Chapter 48: Recite

"Now what do we have here...?"

The radio demon thought, at first, that he was hallucinating. After everything that had just happened, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. He had been drugged, hypnotized, stabbed, dragged around by his hair and threatened with death. He had just barely managed to get away from his decades-long closest friend that had snapped and decided to kill him. He had been fleeing down one alley after another trying to avoid being re-caught by the overlords that wanted him dead.

And now, somehow, in a back alley in some random corner of the Pride Ring, he just so happened across the fucking queen. Alastor stood there, staring into the glowing eyes of the Queen of Hell, wondering how in the seven sins this managed to happen. Was this real? It had to be. The agonizingly painful stab wound in his back was proof enough. So why in the ever living fuck was the all-powerful Queen Lilith in an alley in some dirty corner of Pentagram City?

But it didn't matter why she was there. What mattered was that she was standing right in front of Alastor while he was injured, powerless, and bound with angelic rope. The queen bent down to his height and gently brushed the hair out of his eyes. He didn't dare move. He didn't even dare breathe. "My my, is this the famed Radio Demon himself? How peculiar..."

She stepped to the side and peered around to see Alastor's hands bound behind his back, covered in blood. With a smile that the radio demon immediately recognized as one he should be afraid of, she said, "Looks like you could use some help." She circled Alastor slowly, like a shark locking on to its target. "And you're gonna get it from the Queen of Hell herself. How lucky you are!"

The radio demon was stunned at this turn of events, once again wondering if this was some figment of his imagination. It was all too much. The searing pain in his back made it hard to breathe, hard to think. After everything that had happened, how the fuck was he supposed to react to this? The queen stood there in front of him and waited with a smile. Finally, Alastor said, feeling monumentally defeated by the day's events, "Yes. You're quite right, Your Majesty. I could absolutely use some assistance."

The same glow that was in the queen's eyes was now surrounding them, growing enough to turn the entire alley a light lavender color. She smiled and said, "I think perhaps we can help each other out, then. I hear you're rather fond of making deals. I'd say now's a fine time for dealmaking, hm?"

Fuck. The Queen of Hell isn't going to just ask for a deal for no reason. Why would she? She could have anything she wanted. What the fuck would she want from Alastor? Whatever she was going to ask was going to be big, but what other option was there? A cannibal child could kill him in this state. Saying no to the ruler of all demons wasn't exactly in the cards right now.

The radio demon attempted to swallow his fear long enough to hide the desperation in his voice. "What could a sinner such as myself offer that Her Grace cannot attain?"

She chuckled, and her smile looked dangerous. "Well, I can't show all of my cards right away, now can I? But let's say I might need a bit of help in the future. A favor or two. What's a favor among friends?"

Alastor stepped back a bit, wanting so badly to run. All of his instincts were screaming at him to get away. But he knew better. There was no other choice. Still, through his pain, he said quietly, "We... We aren't friends."

The queen laughed as her lavender glow grew even brighter. "We're about to be."

xxxxx

It had been one week since the Vees were removed from existence, and things were busy at the hotel. All of the thousands of souls that were contracted to the Vees were suddenly freed from their bindings when their respective overlord was killed, including Angel and Gater. The entire hotel planned to have a celebration for their newfound freedom, but then everything suddenly changed.