Hazbin Hotel Season 3

Chapter 1: Show Them

Charlie gritted her teeth as pain shot through her left leg. Vaggie glanced at her as Charlie leaned on her. "Shit, you okay?"

"Yeah." Charlie winced again as they walked through a particularly bumpy road. "I think I might have hurt my leg a bit while escaping through the vents." She shuddered at the memory. Angel was there, but it was still so dark and cold. So, so cold. "Sorry. I'm slowing us down."

Vaggie wrapped an arm around her waist, helping her walk steadily. "Don't be. It's fine, just don't... don't hurt yourself." Her voice broke on the last word. "God, Charlie. I was so scared when you weren't there in the morning. I thought you had–"

Charlie broke her sentence down the middle by looking her square in the eyes. It hadn't even been that long since she had seen her, but being with Vaggie felt so safe. She didn't want to leave.

"I'm fine now," she said gently, swallowing tears, wiping away the memories of her fear. She gripped Vaggie's hand like it was her only anchor to the world. "You're here. That's all that matters."

Vaggie squeezed her hand, seemingly unable to talk. But it was more than enough.

"If you lovebirds are done smooching over there," Angel called out, "we're almost there, so keep your eyes peeled for any sinners high on crack." Something glimmered in his eyes. "Trust me when I say that none of them are going to be particularly welcoming towards us, especially now that they know about us 'harboring' Adam." He made quotation marks around the words and Husk scoffed.

"He's the fucking first man," the bartender muttered. "Not like he can't take care of himself."

All the positive, sweet emotions in Charlie's stomach started churning into something sickening. Lucifer, who was walking behind her quietly, reached out to place a hand on her shoulder.

"What are you planning?" He asked, nodding towards a nearby clock tower before Charlie could respond. It read 11:53 in flashing, bold letters and her mouth turned dry at how little time was left.

"I don't know," she admitted, her voice hoarse. They were close enough that she could see the slowly forming crowd. It was large, a sea of bodies that stretched on further than she could see. Lucifer had managed to teleport the hotel gang as close as he could get them to LuLu World without passing out from exhaustion, but it was still a long walk there. She could feel the seconds ticking away, breathing down her neck, singing softly, time is running out...

"Whatever it is, we have your back." Emily promised, offering a small, reassuring smile that brought Charlie back to Hell, enough for her to remember to breathe.

Her ribs ached as her lungs expanded, but she relished the small pain. Everyone else had gone through so much. Her pain seemed insignificant. And all for me, she thought with a rush of guilt and shame as she glanced at the still bleeding cut on Vaggie's wings and Husk's injured arm. I'm the princess of Hell, and I was taken down by a dart. A. Fucking. Dart.

"Even though I don't really like Adam," Molly added. "No offense, but why exactly did you let him into your hotel?"

Charlie's eyes shut and Vaggie answered for her, all while rubbing comforting circles on her hand. "It's because the point of the hotel is that everyone can be redeemed. Everyone. That includes Adam."

"And he's just as much of a part of the hotel as the rest of us," Charlie said firmly. Her voice was stubborn and unrelenting, as if expecting someone to protest. To her surprise, no one did. Pride bloomed in her chest. In the corner of her eyes, she saw Sir Pentious stiffen and turn away slightly, and she remembered what he had been through. Because of Adam.