A Husk of His Former Self (Husk x slimsadie.k Fanfic)

One Hell of a Day

  Sadie's vision was clouded over with deep, blood-red crimson. She had no idea where she was, or what happened to get her there. She couldn't even remember anything that happened before the red. All she knew was that she couldn't see for the moment.  That fact began to make her nervous. What if she couldn't see again?
  She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. Fortunately, the dark red color was replaced with the nothingness of black.
  She was afraid to reopen her eyes, however. Nothing said that her vision would return to normal when she did. So she took a deep breath and reasoned she would forever be blind if she didn't open her eyes, anyway.
  She began to count backwards from three. 3...2...1. And she opened her eyes.
  What she saw, she couldn't immediately process. It almost seemed like she was in a crimson colored waiting room, complete with chairs and a secretary's desk. That's when she looked down and realized she was sitting in one of the chairs.
  Sadie frowned to herself. How did I get here? she thought. And where is here?
  She stood up and glanced around before deciding secretaries usually know about why people are in waiting rooms, so she walked over to the desk's counter and gave a little cough.
  "What is it?" a raspy female's voice asked from behind an old computer. Sadie could tell it was old because it didn't look like the computers she was used to; it was box shaped and made an annoying humming noise.
  "Um, yeah...where am I?" Sadie questioned, trying to get a look at the woman over the computer monitor.
  "This might be hard to hear, but it's not as if I care," the stranger scoffed. "You're in Hell, toots." She peeked at Sadie from the side of the machine.
  The first thing Sadie noticed was that the person definitely was not human. She looked more like a humanoid insect, and that was enough for her to believe that she actually was in Hell. And then she started to panic.
  "What?" she exclaimed, her eyes wide. "What do you mean I'm in Hell? I can't be dead! How did I die?"
  "Well, the fact that you can't remember how you died means that it was an instant death, I can tell you that much. Unfortunately, the way a person died is classified, so I have no idea how you died. Fortunately, you'll remember how it happened sooner or later. It'll come to ya." The secretary gave her a smug grin before looking back at the computer screen.
  "B-but...how is it fortunate that I'll remember how I died? What if I don't want to remember how I died? What if it was traumatic or painful...or both?" Sadie pushed herself into a brief jump with her hands on the counter to get another glimpse of the insect-like being.
  "Join the club. Like I said, you'll remember in time. You don't have a choice." The woman didn't take her gaze off the screen.
  Sadie raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't seem fair."
  "Since when was Hell fair?"
  "I..." she trailed off. The lady had a point. "Then where in Hell am I?"
  "Where everyone first goes when they first get here: HQ."
  "Headquarters?"
  "Hellquarters. That's all the information I can give you. There's a brochure on the table next to the exit. It'll tell you everything else you need to know." The woman nodded to the right.
  "Where's everyone else?" Sadie asked, glancing around.
  "In other death lobbies," the lady replied.
  "I don't think I belong here, there must have been a mistake." Sadie sounded like she was close to crying at this point, and who could blame her?
  "I said there's nothing more I can say. Now get lost, before I have to call security," the woman almost growled, immediately pointing to the exit.
  Sadie was going to protest but decided this lady didn't seem like the conversational type, so she sniffled and hugged her arms to herself before making her way to the lobby's exit. Before she went out, she grabbed a pamphlet.
  Almost as soon as she opened the door, some sort of humanoid creature rushed past, and another followed suit. They went by so quickly that she couldn't make them out.
  "I don't have the money!" the first one shouted, disappearing around the corridor's corner.
  "Then how the fuck do you explain where a million bucks went overnight?" the second one demanded, chasing him out of sight.
  Sadie could instantly tell that Hell wasn't at all what humans thought it was. So far, there was no lake of fire or tortured souls. No throne of skulls with a red, horned devil sitting on it. No endless screaming. But still, she was barely ten minutes into being there. Not to mention all she saw of Hell so far was a waiting room and a hallway.
  She hesitated before sighing and shuffling out of the doorway and through the hall. The corridor itself was lined with other doors, and each door's number began with 666.
  When she finally got to the end of the hallway, she exited it through a set of double doors that led to what seemed to be an ordinary side alley you would see in any big city. A dumpster ten feet away from the doors topped it off.
  By now, you can imagine that Sadie was very confused. She woke up in a crimson waiting room before being told by a rude insect-looking secretary that they were in Hell, only to find that the place sinners first arrive after dying led to a very normal looking alleyway.
  She had to sit down and figure this out, except there was nowhere to sit but the ground. So she sat on the pavement next to the doors and curled into her knees.
This can't be right. This has to either be a prank or a dream...or both; a prank within a dream, she thought. I can't have possibly died. I can't realistically be in Hell. And even if I did, Hell absolutely wouldn't be like this. But...what would explain why the secretary looked the way she did? I don't think even my imagination could think that one up.
  After a few moments of reasoning with herself, Sadie couldn't see any way that this wouldn't be Hell. She determined that she did die and this is where she ended up. That's what started her existential crisis of figuring out why she went to Hell instead of Heaven. To her recollection, she was a pretty good person. She never did hard drugs, tried not to cuss when she could, didn't sleep around with multiple people...among other things. This and more made her begin to wonder what the hell she did to deserve Hell.
  Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden deep male voice, "Hey! Whaddaya moping around for? The Princess is giving some updates about the Cleansing!"
  Sadie glanced up at the voice's owner, who seemed to be a horned, furry creature. A demon, she realized.
  "Cleansing?" she mumbled, evidently new to the concept.
  "Well, duh! Every once in a great while, this place gets overpopulated with sinners, and angels descend from Heaven to get rid of the surplus. It's called the Cleansing, and it ended a few hours ago. You must be new, to not fucking know that. C'mon, there's a television shop just around the block. We'll be able to see her news broadcast from there." The demon darkly smirked.
  She came to the conclusion that she'd be able to find out more about her situation if she listened to what the Princess of Hell herself had to say. So Sadie cautiously stood up and followed the stranger as he led her along the sidewalk. It was hard not to notice the odd-looking beings populating the streets. From horns, to wings, to tails...they had it all.
  The duo soon arrived to a storefront that held old television sets. Other demons and what she assumed to be sinners crowded around the shop's front window to hear what the TVs had to offer.
  On all of the television screens was a young lady that didn't look too far off from a human, but obviously was not a human. The framed words around her showed that she was on the NEWS, and she wore a big smile. She had a great fashion sense, too, wearing some kind of red and black suit.
  "I have an idea," she was saying. "After this horrible Cleanse, I have decided that sinners shouldn't be subjected to being mass murdered just because Hell is overpopulated. Now, we can't stop the angels from cleansing Hell, but we can help prevent it."
  "Is this the Princess?" Sadie tilted her head at the demon that had brought her here.
  "Yeah, but everyone calls her Charlie. You'll learn that she is not to be respected soon enough," he explained.
  "Why's that?" She pursed her lips. She hated that she had just got to Hell and people were already exhibiting rude behavior towards one of their rulers.
  "She's wacko. She thinks everyone has good in them, even in Hell. She also wants to take away everyone's fun by encouraging them to be better. Not to mention she acts like she's the most innocent person out there. I mean, c'mon...how could the daughter of Lucifer himself be innocent? There has to be something she's hiding," he chuckled to himself. "Everyone has a bad side."
  Sadie looked back to the screen. He was right...for the daughter of Satan, she sure seemed like the happy-go-lucky type.
  "How do we prevent it?" Charlie went on, "We rehabilitate sinners!"
  "See?" He scoffed. "A complete nut job."
  "What's so bad about rehabilitation?" She frowned, folding her arms.
  "You're one of those people?" The stranger scowled, suddenly seeming disgusted with her.
  "What do you mean?" she snapped.
  "Forget it, you're on your own. Good luck in Hell, bitch." The Demon laughed and strode away.
  Sadie shook her head and decided it wasn't worth it to follow him, so she focused her attention on the TV once more.
  "So, how does rehabilitation help prevent overpopulation, you might ask. Well, that's what I'm here to tell you!" Charlie smiled. "I have a theory that if you really want to change your ways and actually do change your ways, whatever God is up there will take mercy on those people and let them into Heaven." She paused, her expression becoming nervous. "In fact...I have a song about how I think we could do it!"
  A few of the creatures around Sadie snickered in disbelief, but she didn't see what was so funny about what the Princess said.
  Charlie cleared her throat and began on a pretty decent musical number about how sinners could turn around and better their lives if they just tried. What really interested Sadie was the ending of the song, when Charlie sang something about a hotel called the Happy Hotel.
  According to the Princess, the hotel was where she planned to help rehabilitate people. And then she mentioned she already had an experimental patron named Angel Dust.
  After an abrupt cut to another news story, it was revealed that Angel Dust was actually currently involved in some kind of turf war.
  This time, almost the whole crowd watching the televisions laughed out loud. Some left, mumbling to themselves that the hotel would never work, and that it was insane to try.
  The fact that so many sinners were doubtful of Charlie and her idea annoyed Sadie even more. This was part of the reason that led for her to decide that she wanted to find the Happy Hotel, no matter what people thought of it. She already felt like she didn't belong there, so why not? Not to mention maybe she could earn her rightful place in Heaven if she went.
  So she immediately turned on her heel and spotted a taxi not that far down the road. Sadie flagged it down and got in.
  "Got money?" the pig-like taxi driver asked in a gruff voice.
  "There's money in Hell?" she questioned in return, her brows furrowed. Then she remembered what the first creature she saw had said when she got out of HQ.
  "What do you think motivates most of the stuff that happens in Hell? Did you just die, kid? If you think like that, you're not gonna fucking make it down here." The driver softly laughed in an entitled manner, which peeved Sadie off.
  She remained composed as she answered with, "Yes, in fact...I am new down here. I don't think I belong here, so I'm trying to get to the Princess' new hotel." She made sure to ignore his attitude.
  "You mean the Happy Hotel? Ha...so you're one of those people." The guy shook his head, turning the ignition off. "Look, get out. Not only do you support Charlie, but ya don't got no money."
  "What does it matter if I support Charlie? Aren't people supposed to support their leader?" Before he could reply she added, "And what do you mean 'those people'? Someone else said that to me, earlier. Is it because I'm not a sinner like you?"
  "Everyone's a sinner in this place, dollface. How else do ya think you got here? You're just as shitty as everybody else in this literal hellhole...get used to it." The man scowled. "Now are ya going to get out or am I gonna have to force ya you to get out?"
  "Well I'm certainly not going put up with your crap. I'll just walk." Sadie shrugged and got out of the vehicle without arguing.
  She watched as the hog guy turned the car back on and drove off without another word.
  It was right then that she regretted not pushing him to drive her; she had no idea where the hotel was, she didn't know how far it was, and she definitely didn't know how long it would take to get there by walking. Her legs would probably be sore to the point of burning if she had to walk for more than an hour or so. She also realized that most people in Hell would probably just laugh at her if she tried to ask where the hotel was, and she didn't want to deal with that.
  She had certainly gotten herself into a pickle...and a big one, at that. Even if she was brave enough to deal with Hell until she found the hotel, she wouldn't know where to start. So she simply stood at the edge of the sidewalk where she was when she left the car for a few moments, attempting to think her situation out. That's when she felt a tap on her shoulder, and she whirled around.
  A humanoid, canine-like creature was standing there, baring his teeth. "You probably know what I want from you, so the only thing I want to know is this: Are ya going to come quietly, like a good whore, or are you going to kick and scream?"
  "Wh-what?" Sadie stammered, not totally processing what was happening.
  "Are you going to come quietly?" he repeated, this time with an extremely impatient tone.
  "Come where?" she almost whispered.
  "Are you really that dumb, bitch? Yanno what? No one would care if they heard a girl screaming for help, anyway. C'mere." And with that, the stranger reached for her arm.
  It was then that realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She kind of danced in place for a moment, trying to decide whether to fight back or run.
  She must have taken too long to think, because he roughly grabbed her and tried to push her into an alley.
  With a rush of pure fear and adrenaline, she pulled him closer via his grip on her arm and firmly bit his hand.
  The pervert let out a string of curses as he let go from the pain, and she made a run for it.
  "Lousy slut! I bet you weren't that fun in bed, anyway!" he called after her, conveniently not deciding to chase after her.
  After a solid few minutes of sprinting, Sadie looked back over her shoulder. He was nowhere to be seen, so she slowed to a halt and leaned against a brick building to catch her breath.
  "What the heck? What did get myself into back there?" she muttered under her breath to herself. "Was I really just about to be..." she trailed off, the last word too unimaginable and frightening to say out loud.
  Just then, a larger being came out of the entrance of a building in front of her, began to pass her, and then backed up.
  "Are you alright?" it said in a younger male voice.
  Sadie refocused her gaze and glanced up at the creature's face. It was rather pointy, with red, white, and black splotches almost painted onto it and horns at the top.
  "What would you care? People in Hell are crazy!" She slightly stepped back, now on edge from everything that had happened to her so far.
  "Whoa, whoa! Easy, easy. I'm not going to hurt anyone unless you pay me to do it. Hurting people is my job, not a hobby." The man chuckled, extending his weirdly humanoid hand. "The name's Blitzo, but you can call me Blitz, and who are you?"
  Sadie hesitated but accepted his hand and shook it. "...Sadie." She paused. "What do you want?"
  "I never said I wanted anything. I just noticed that you seem to be out of breath. Did something happen?" Blitz withdrew his grasp and smiled.
  "Oh, uh. Yeah, but why would it matter to you?" She tilted her head skeptically.
  "I can already tell you're new here just by talking to you, so you must be pretty shaken at this point. Hell is pretty fucked up, I know. Do you have a place to sleep, yet?" He raised a brow.
  "...no, not really." She shook her head.
  "Not really? Well, which is it...yes or no?" His grin slightly faded.
  "No, I don't. But I have a plan on where I want to go to sleep."
  "And where's that?"
  "Some place called the Happy Hotel. Have you heard of it?"
  "Are you kidding? The news about it is everywhere!" He almost giggled. "And I'm guessing you don't have money, since you're newer to the place."
  "Yup." Sadie nodded.
  "Lucky for you, I'm here! You probably don't want to walk for two hours, so I'll offer you a ride." He beamed at her.
  "Wait...really?" She looked around, almost expecting that his generosity was some kind of trick. "You're not pulling my leg, are you?"
  "I swear on the Pentagram. Cross my heart and hope to die." Blitz motioned over where his heart would be.
  "You're already dead," she pointed out, quick to see the flaw in what he said.
  "You get my point," he answered, annoyed. "You accepting the ride or what?"
  "I mean...sure. What could go worse than actually being in Hell?" Sadie glanced at the cars parked next to the curb. "Which one is yours?"
  "The Ford." He pointed to a specific vehicle and went around the front to get in.
  She climbed in the passenger side of it, and was surprised to find that there were no seat belts.
  "Where are the buckles?" she demanded, almost panicked as he also got in.
  "There are no seatbelts in Hell. Learn to live on the wild side, kiddo. You'll have a lot more fun!" He started the car and they were almost immediately on their way to the Happy Hotel.
                                        -•-
  About a half hour or so later, the two arrived in front of the Hotel. It was actually pretty big and it looked decent from the outside.
  "Here's your stop, Sadie. Although I don't fully believe in the rehabilitation shit, I'll wish you luck. People are allowed to believe what they want, even if the rest of everyone disagrees," Blitz said, looking at her.
  "Oh...well, thank you. I really do appreciate it. And thanks for the lift, I don't know what I would've done without it." Sadie gave him a big smirk and got out of the car.
  "No sweat. Now I have to get going, there's a meeting at IMP I don't want to miss. Ciao!" And with that, Blitz left down the street.
  She folded her arms before moving them to straighten her shirt's collar. She then held one arm to to herself, rubbing it awkwardly. She had no idea why she just suddenly felt so nervous, but she definitely did.
  She bit her lip and turned around to look over the outside of the hotel; It was red, which seemed to be Hell's choice of color, and tall. Many windows lined the building and she noticed one giant eye topped it off. The entrance featured some sort of disheveled tent or tarp draped over two twisted pillars leading up to the front doors.
  The whole sight was difficult to describe in one word, so she didn't bother to try. Instead, she made her way up to the entryway and hesitated.
  Was she supposed to knock? Logic would say no, since this was a hotel. Hotels were usually open to the public...so, there would be no need for knocking.
  Sadie lifted her hand to turn the doorknob, and was surprised when the door was flung wide open before she could.
  "If you're not going to keep that pervert away from me, I'm not going to stay here for a second longer!" the young woman who apparently was the one who opened the door shouted back over her shoulder.
  Even before the stranger turned around, Sadie  knew she was more human than the rest of the creatures populating Hell. She showed no signs of claws, talons, horns, fur, or tails. She also had long, grey hair, and a slim figure.
  The girl jerked around to storm out of the Hotel before quickly realizing that someone was at the door. She stopped in her tracks and instantly gave Sadie an unamused look.
  "There's someone wanting in the hotel," she informed whoever she had been talking to behind her. "Have fun dealing with her." And with that, the clearly irritated new person pushed past Sadie and went on her way.
  "A patron?" a familiar perky female voice questioned from just inside the building.
  "Let me greet her, dear. It's the least I can do," another voice, this time a younger male, answered.
  Before Sadie knew it, a stylish man with a red suit and antlers appeared in her view. He gave her an unnaturally wide grin, and adjusted his crimson tinged monocle. "Hello, young lady! I'm guessing it's safe to assume that you're here for rehabilitation and new experiences!"
  "Well, uhm-" Sadie began, but got cut off by this new stranger.
  "Of course you are! Ha! And you're new, to boot!" He offered his hand.
  "How did you know that?" She deliberately ignored his gesture, unsure of his flashy personality.
  "Why, you have the smell of someone who just died." He withdrew his gloved hand without batting an eye. "Now, won't you come in? I'm sure you've had a difficult time, being recently deceased and all."
  "Wait, can I at least get your name first?" She frowned, feeling uneasy about him. He was way too straight forward for her liking.
  "Oh! Where have my manners gone? Forgive me. You may call me Alastor." He gave her a proper bow, fancy hand motion and all, before straightening himself up again.
  "Do you work here?" Sadie raised an eyebrow, her tone curious.
  "My, my! You're an inquisitive young lady, aren't you? Why don't I show you inside? I'm sure you'll be absolutely entranced by the innovative decor." Alastor stepped aside to let her in, motioning inside.
  She stared at him for a moment before mustering up enough courage to actually step into the front corridor. The door loudly shut behind her, causing her to flinch.
  "I see you're easily startled. It's very understandable, it being one of your first days, if not your very first day, in Hell." He snapped his fingers, and a crimson microphone appeared in his hand. "Follow me, dearest. It would be wise not to lag behind." The demon turned and strode further into the hotel, evidently trusting her to follow.
  The only reason she didn't change her mind about her plan right then was that the hall wasn't too long, so she was able to spot what looked to be Charlie in the front lobby. The Princess gave her a wave, which was enough for Sadie to follow Alastor into the first room.
  "Hiya! I'm not sure if you know who I am, so I'll introduce myself. I-" the Princess started, but was then interrupted by Sadie.
  "I know who you are. You're Princess Charlie, the girl who started this hotel." Sadie smiled, happy to see a friendly face in this crude place.
  "Oh, well, yeah! You're right about that, but I really don't like to be called Princess. Feel free to call me Charlie. What should I call you?" Charlie slightly tilted her head.
  "Sadie. It's super nice to meet you." Sadie extended her hand, and Charlie gave it an animated shake.
  "Of course! I'm glad you could make it here. The more people who want to change their outcome, the better. I'm sure you'll probably want a look around the place, but only after I introduce you to some Hazbin Hotel staff members! It wouldn't be too fun to not know the people you'll be living with for who knows how long, right?" Charlie pulled her by the hand to a sofa before letting go. "Make yourself comfortable while I go grab everyone. I'll be back in a jiff!" And she hurried upstairs.
  Sadie gently sat down on the sofa. At this point, she was too new to Alastor to know how to interact with him without offending him, so she decided to keep quiet...that is, until he spoke first.
  "What a lovely day it is, wouldn't you think? Now how could you deny such a lovely evening pentagram?" He leaned into her personal space with a way too enthusiastic smirk.
  She just ignored him...she didn't want to encourage his rude behavior.
  To her surprise, he respected her response by straightening his posture once more and going silent.
  In less than five minutes later, Charlie came back downstairs with what looked like a humanoid spider.
  The duo went over to an area of the room that housed a bar, and they quickly rushed back over to Sadie soon after with another being. This other person seemed quiet, so she didn't really think to look at them.
  Charlie gave a suppressed squeal of joy before nudging the spider guy forward. "This is Angel Dust, but he's fine with being called Angel. Angel, this is Sadie. She'll be staying here at the hotel. Don't scare her away by being...you."
  "It's no skin off my back, sugar." Angel winked at Sadie, grinning. "A pleasure to meet ya, doll."
  "You too," Sadie replied, nodding. "I love your outfit."
  "It's nice to finally meet a gal with fashion sense." He quietly laughed.
  "And this-" Charlie continued, "-is Husker, but everyone calls him Husk." She motioned to the second creature, who looked a lot like an anthropomorphic feline.
  "Husk? That's a super neat name." Sadie glanced at Husker, feeling slightly nervous that she'd offended him when he rolled his eyes and took a swig of some booze he was holding in his hand-like paw.
  "He's like that," Charlie was fast to explain. "And you just missed Vaggie. She was the one that was shouting when you got here. I'm sorry for that, by the way."
  "What happened to upset her?" Sadie asked, genuinely wondering.
  "Heh...I happened to her. She doesn't take well to small talk," Angel piped in, wearing a smug expression.
  "That wasn't small talk, Angel, and you know it." Charlie gave a forced smile before seeming to realize something. "Oh, Niffty! I almost forgot."
  "Let me." Alastor looked around before calling out, "Niffty! There's a new visitor! Why don't you come and meet her?"
  It got quiet for a moment before a messy-haired, short female creature came sprinting up to them out of nowhere.
  "Oh my goodness! A new patron? It's so very amazing to meet you!" She said, forcing Sadie into a hyper handshake. "What's your name? Oh, let me guess! Priscilla? No, that's too old. You seem young. Oh, what about Olivia? I bet you that's your name."
  "Uh, um...no, that's not my name. My name is Sadie." Sadie pulled out of the handshake, rubbing her hand.
  "Sadie! Such a beautiful name!" Niffty giggled, blushing. "Well welcome to the hotel! You're gonna have an amazing time, here! Now I have to go, there's so much cleaning to do. Bye!" At that, she ran away from the group without another word.
  "She's...something," Sadie pointed out, letting out a nervous chuckle.
  "I'll have to agree with you on that one. Alastor is the one who hired her, actually...everybody just went with it." Charlie shrugged. "So...now that you've met everyone, I can show you to your room. You're probably mega tired from getting dropped in the middle of Hell."
  "Can't argue with that," Sadie agreed, ironically yawning. Now that she mentioned it, she really was exhausted.
  "Come with me, the room is upstairs." Charlie started to make her way to the stairs, so Sadie followed. "I can give you a tour, tomorrow."
  "Sleep well, dear. You'll certainly have a full day, tomorrow!" Alastor called after them.
  Angel and Husk simply sighed and went their separate ways...but little did Sadie know that Husk's gaze had lingered on her for longer than she was aware of before he had gone on his merry way...

((Annnd...I'm done with the first chapter! I really hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. 😁 I can't wait to see what happens next.