Hazbin Hotel: Another Adam

All this time, I'd been frequently experimenting with Light. It turned out to be far more interesting than just shooting lasers. I even learned to change my body, albeit not drastically – I couldn't transform into someone else yet – but basic things like hair and skin color came to me without problems. And I changed my wings like gloves, thankfully they weren't part of my physical body but rather an embodiment of my Light, its visible form. Thanks to Adam for this strange metamorphosis.

So I worked a bit on my appearance before the sortie into Hell. Firstly, to hell and back with those angelic white-and-gold colors – in Hell, with such an outfit, I'd glow like a Christmas tree in a junkyard. I replaced them with more practical tones: black, rich red, and a bit of dark green for accents. The most common colors there, as I'd managed to notice from the local inhabitants.

I changed my hairstyle a bit, carelessly slicking my hair back, and dyed the irises of my eyes bright red, a color similar to Charlie's eyes – a rather vibrant shade. I created clothes for myself: something like a thick black jacket with a high collar, comfortable pants of the same color. I decided to make my wings look like bat wings – large, membranous, with visible bones. I know most local demons have different wings, if any at all, but it seemed to me that this would add gloom and style to the image. Screw canon.

Lute, when she saw me in my new guise, first froze, then almost fainted on the spot, pressing her hands to her mouth. Good thing I warned her in advance about my experiments with appearance, otherwise, knowing her character, she would have definitely tried to hack me to pieces on the spot, mistaking me for some particularly brazen demon who had wandered into Heaven. She's quite the hot stuff, if you know what I mean. Her reaction, however, confirmed – I looked convincing enough.

But now, the time has come, time to move out. It even became interesting how the same Stolas, an aristocrat to the bone, would react upon seeing a strange, unknown demon from whom, despite all the disguise, a faint aura of Light probably still emanated. I hope my light protection works well enough not to get busted prematurely. Heh, I'm suspiciously playful today; is it the excitement acting up, or what?

I open a golden rift of a portal on some dusty, deserted wasteland in the Greed Ring – judging by the stench and general desolation, this place is suitable. I calmly step out, the portal collapses behind me with a quiet hiss, and I head towards the distant lights of the Loo Loo Land amusement park.

What is this Loo Loo Land? Essentially – a cheap, dilapidated parody of Lucifer's amusement park, which he once built in Hell for his little daughter. The name, of course, was changed to something similar-sounding so Charlie's daddy wouldn't sue the hell out of the owner – Mammon, one of the Deadly Sins, responsible for Greed. The prices here, judging by a quick scan of the net, are absolutely exorbitant, the rides are constantly breaking down, safety regulations – an empty sound. Typical hellish business, in short. Everywhere stinks palpably of burnt grease, cheap alcohol, and some mixture of sweat and blood. Lovely (I'm gonna puke now).

I wandered around the park for a bit, pushing through the clamoring crowd of assorted imp-demons. Carnival music blared from everywhere, mixing with drunken shouts and screams from the rides.

At one of the shooting galleries, I noticed a familiar couple from the cartoon – Millie and Moxxie.

The small imp with white hair and a little suit was excitedly firing a toy gun at ugly apple-shaped figures. He seemed to be hitting them pretty well, but the cunning, vile imp shopkeeper was clearly cheating, holding the targets with a hidden button under the counter, preventing the imp from winning the grand prize – some plush piece of crap. A classic hellish money scam.

I decided to help the poor fellow a bit, for laughs. When Moxxie's next plastic projectile hit the target squarely, I discreetly used a tiny particle of Light to literally tear the cardboard target apart from the inside. The shopkeeper nearly choked on his cigar, Moxxie let out a surprised squeak, and then shouted joyfully, pointing a finger at the prize. I, without turning around and maintaining a bored expression, walked on until I stumbled upon a shabby building with a sign "House of Fun." I'm afraid to imagine how imps have fun here (You'd better not know how they have fun…). I recalled that in the cartoon, Stolas's daughter, Octavia, ran away here. Decided to check – my intuition didn't fail me. I quickly found her in one of the semi-dark halls with strange eyes on the walls; she was sitting curled up on a rotating apple, quietly crying.

POV Octavia

Tears blurred my vision. This stupid Loo Loo Land… Why did Dad even drag me here? I curled up on the rotating apple, away from the thundering entrance, just wanting to disappear for a couple of minutes. All this noise from the park outside, the screams of some jerks, the moronic music – it all mixed with their shouts in my head. Dad's excuses, Mom's accusations… I buried my face in my knees, hugging them. I felt so pathetic, so lonely. Nobody cares about me.

Sniffling, I lifted my head – I needed to wipe my eyes before my mascara smudged completely. And froze. In the dim, intermittently flashing light of this damn attraction, someone was standing…

A guy. Looked about my age, maybe a little older. The first thing that caught my eye was his hair. Ashy, but with a strange, almost silvery sheen in this dim light. Neatly slicked back. His skin – pale, almost white, it seemed almost transparent in this flickering light.

Then my gaze fell on his eyes. Bright red. Not just red, like many demons, but specifically glowing from within, like two smoldering coals or sinister light bulbs. His pupils were gray, almost indistinguishable in this frightening radiance. He looked… calm? Somehow even detached, as if everything happening around, including me, didn't concern him at all. It even seemed to me there was a slight mockery in his gaze. His icy calm against my own turmoil made me somehow uneasy.

Horns grew from his head. Not huge bull-like ones or ornate ones like some demons have, but short, almost black, slightly curved back. They didn't look particularly threatening, more like they just… completed his image.

Behind his back, something large, massive, loomed dark. Wings. Resembling bat wings, huge, currently folded. Dark, almost black, with clearly visible bones covered by a dense membrane. They almost blended in with the thick shadows of the corner where he stood.

He was dressed in something dark – a thick jacket with a high collar, black pants, it seemed. On the shoulders and collar of the jacket, I noticed some red stripes or inserts. Several belts, resembling a harness worn by mercenaries or military types, crossed his chest, only the design was unfamiliar. And also this strange red sign on his right shoulder – a circle, with some complex symbol. A sigil of some kind? I'd never seen anything like it.

He didn't move, just stood and watched. Not exactly at me, but rather… as if through me? Or maybe just observing this whole freak show that was this park and, probably, my entire life. From his stillness, this strange calmness, and those terribly glowing eyes, I wanted to curl up into a ball again and hide. Just another weirdo in this stupid world.

"Who are you?" my voice came out sharper than I intended. "Get lost."

The stranger calmly, even somewhat lazily, approached me and, to my surprise, smiled slightly – quite kindly, without any threat. And then, completely uninvited, he sat down on the edge of the same rotating apple where I was sitting.

"So, should I introduce myself or get lost after all? Make up your mind," he chuckled. His voice was even, a bit low.

"What do you want? And who are you?" Tears dried up instantly, replaced by suspicion and irritation. The last thing I needed was to cry in front of some stranger.

"Me? Beelze... Hmm... Call me Tatsumi…" he stumbled a couple of times, as if remembering something or picking a name on the fly, and said it with a strangely pensive look.

"I don't give a damn what your name is!" I blurted out. "Who are you and why are you here? Are you one of those mercenaries? Hunting my father?"

"Father?" he raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Oh no. Just noticed you looked sad, so I decided to come over, cheer you up a bit, or something like that," he waved his hand vaguely in the air, as if unsure himself of what he was saying. "It's not right for pretty girls to cry." And he looked me straight in the eyes again with his glowing red lights.

"Don't make me laugh!" I felt my cheeks start to burn. I rarely received compliments. Almost never. "What do you really want from me? Speak!"

"Oh, well, what do you want to hear? Some terrible secrets? Plans to kidnap Princess Goetia?" he sighed theatrically.

"I want to hear the truth! Or do you think you can just walk away after spouting all sorts of mysterious bullshit?"

I began to gather Darkness around my palms, concentrating it, preparing to entangle this insolent fellow in shadows to interrogate him calmly. Usually, I wouldn't even pay attention to some strange demon, but this one… he was somehow wrong. He looked like a sinner – too individual, too unusual for native Hell-dwellers, who usually look alike within their species. But sinners can't leave the Pride Ring! So who is he? What is he hiding?

"Don't do anything stupid, little crow," he said just as calmly. There was a soft click of his fingers – and I felt all the Darkness I had gathered with such effort just… disappear. Dissolve. As if it had evaporated or recoiled in horror from something.

"What… what did you do?!" I stared at my empty hands, then at him.

"Me? Oh, nothing special. I just don't like it when people use all sorts of magical crap against me, you know," he waved his hand vaguely again, as if it were customary for him.

The situation was extremely strange. We were still sitting on this stupid apple in the hall with a Nasty Eyes. From the side, it probably looked like two teenagers chatting sweetly… Or not just chatting, but… Damn it!

I felt my face flush again. Having just jumped to my feet, I awkwardly plopped back down in my seat.

"So… what do you want… Tatsumi?" I forced myself to say this, obviously, fake name.

"I told you: I saw a cute little bird who looked very sad, so I came, like a knight on a… black horse? To rid you of your sadness. And anyway, you didn't even introduce yourself, and you're already jumping down my throat! Grouch!" He demonstratively turned away and puffed out his cheeks. It was so ridiculous and unexpected that I couldn't help but snort into my fist, stifling a laugh. This guy was walking absurdity.

"And you don't know my name?" I asked, calming down a bit. Maybe he was sent by someone the family knows?

"Even if I do, that doesn't stop you from introducing yourself, does it?" Tatsumi turned back, without the silly offended pout.

"…Octavia. My name is Octavia." I paused. "For friends, just Via."

"Cute. Nice to meet you, Via," he smiled slightly again.

"Um… Me too," I muttered. I never had real friends. I only interacted with peers at official receptions, with children from other aristocratic Goetia families, knowing full well that when the time came, I would most likely be forced to marry one of those pompous pricks…

"Did you know that if you talk things out with someone, it can get easier?" he asked unexpectedly. "You can't find psychologists here in Hell with a torch in broad daylight, but just talking to a random stranger can be no less effective. Just saying." And he winked his glowing eye at me.

"And you seriously think I'm just going to start sharing… my deepest secrets with you? With the first person I meet?"

"Well, why not? Do you sense any danger from me? A threat?"

I listened to my feelings. Apart from strangeness and a kind of… otherness, I felt nothing. No aggression, no evil intentions.

"Um… No."

"No? Strange," he rubbed his chin. "Well, anyway, I'm stronger than you, as you've already figured out. In Hell, unfortunately, that's a decisive factor. And if I wanted to do something bad to you, I would have already done it, you understand."

"Well, thanks, that's reassuring," I snorted. The argument was so-so, of course, but there was something to his words.

We were silent for a couple of minutes, listening to the distant hum of the park and the creak of the rotating apple.

"Family problems, huh?" Tatsumi broke the silence again.

"How do you know?!" I snapped. "I mean, no! It's none of your business!"

"Sigh, I get you," he sighed, looking somewhere at the wall. "I myself have… well, like, a dozen different 'parents,' if you can put it that way. But I only communicate normally with one 'mother,' and even then, we have a purely business relationship, can you imagine?"

"How's that?!" I stared at him. A dozen parents? A business relationship?

"Exactly, I'm shocked myself," he nodded. "And then another 'father,' you could say, stole my girl a couple of… years ago, and now they have a little daughter running around. Fucked up, right?"

I couldn't help but giggle. Compared to his story, my problems seemed… well, not so exotic.

"Heh, compared to you, mine are nothing special… It's just… just my parents are fighting badly again."

"Shitty," he nodded sympathetically. "How are you feeling?"

"Um… Well… fine, I guess. Why?" I wasn't used to anyone being interested in my feelings.

"Just curious. Go on, if you want."

And I, not knowing why myself, started talking. About Dad, about his… affair with that little imp, about Mom's fury, about their endless scandals, about how tired I was of being caught between two fires…

"Well… It started about a year ago…"

POV Adam (MC)

Phew, I was mentally exhausted.

Octavia, or Via, as she asked to be called, turned out to be a really sweet girl under her prickly shell. Very young, vulnerable. But with her parents, of course, she was terribly unlucky. A classic high-society drama, only in a hellish setting.

All the time during our conversation, I wasn't idle – slowly, imperceptibly, I was filling the space around us with soft Light, creating something like a protective dome, dispelling the oppressive atmosphere of Darkness of this place and simultaneously scanning the area. I clearly felt Stolas's presence somewhere nearby – he was darting all over this damn House of Fun, clearly looking for his daughter. However, I managed to create various obstacles in his path – false corridors, suddenly appearing walls, winding routes, and similar petty annoyances made of Light. So I had time for a calm conversation.

And, strangely enough, I was even having some fun. Talking to her turned out to be quite easy once she relaxed a bit and stopped seeing me as an enemy. Even though at first she puffed herself up and snapped back, over time we got to talking, and she even gave me her phone number. Progress!

True, at first, I had a little mishap with the name. When she asked what my name was, the first thing that popped into my head was my old nickname from my past life – "Beelzebul." And this appearance, by the way, I partially copied from my avatar back then, with a few modifications. However, Here, in this world, Beelzebube was alery real and very influential figure - The Sin of Gluttony, One of Seven Deadly Sins. If I had used her name, they simply wouldn't have gotten it or would have taken me for a crazy impostor. I had to improvise urgently. So I just blurted out the first name that came to mind – Tatsumi. And the strangest thing is, this name, for some unknown reason, felt so… familiar, so right… As if I had worn it before. Creepy stuff. I'll have to dig through the remnants of Adam's memory later (which is unlikely to yield results) or my own, if it ever fully returns.

At some point, I felt a sharp flash of fire somewhere above us. It was time to bail. I hurried to politely end our conversation, in which Octavia was just pouring her heart out about another parental scandal, and I mostly nodded along and threw in encouraging remarks.

A cynical thought flashed through my mind: this is interesting material for research! I'd like to check if a born demon, like Octavia, who personally hasn't committed any particular sins other than the fact of her birth in Hell, could theoretically atone for… well, not sins, but her very demonic nature, and get into Heaven? Sounds like a dissertation topic. I should, when opportunity arises, get hold of a couple of other test subjects from the Goetia family, maybe even invite Octavia herself for an "experiment" later… who knows, something interesting might come out of it…

Ahem, returning to the current moment. As I was about to leave, I advised Octavia to still listen to her father's explanations, however clumsy they might be – sometimes it helps. After which I said goodbye, gave her an encouraging smile, and stepped into the nearest passage, instantly transporting myself from the stuffy House of Fun to the same dusty street outside where I had initially appeared. Looked around – no one. Excellent. Opened a shining portal to Heaven, stepped into it, and from there – immediately created a second portal leading to the Pride Ring, which spat me out in a dark alley right next to the I.M.P. office.

The I.M.P. building looked exactly as shabby as in that cartoon from my past life – a run-down, unsightly high-rise, squeezed between other equally gray and dirty structures of Imp City. After climbing to the seventh floor via a stinky staircase (the elevator, naturally, wasn't working) and finally finding the worn-out door with a crookedly daubed "I.M.P." logo, I stopped in front of it. Concentrated again, filling the space inside the office with invisible Light, scanning it. So… Aha, I feel one living creature inside. Judging by its form and aura – a hellhound. Loona? Looks like she's on duty alone in the office today. Perfect.

Without entering through the door, I quietly teleported into one of the adjacent rooms – some cluttered closet, which definitely had no one living in it. Lucky that the closet door had a small window of frosted glass. Peeking through it, I confirmed my suspicions. At the desk in the main room sat that very hellhound from the cartoon, the goth she-wolf Loona, and… well, let's just say, she was satisfying herself, boredly scrolling through something on her phone with her other hand. Right at her workplace. Classy, can't say otherwise.

Well, to hell with her; I have Lute, so all these hellish beauties don't interest me in the slightest. Hmm… And an idea for a little prank just popped into my head.

I quickly scanned the closet, but the grimoire, naturally, wasn't there. So, it's somewhere in the main room. Trying to move absolutely silently and not reveal my presence, I again used Light teleportation, moving right behind Loona, into her blind spot. Surveyed the room. It was a bit embarrassing, of course, that she was so engrossed in… well, you know. But business first.

And I got lucky again: on the table, right in front of her, next to her phone, lay that very voluminous, battered Grimoire of Stolas. Bingo! Now the main question: how do I discreetly take it? Heh, of course, I already have a plan. And this is going to be fun.

I focused on the book, scrutinizing its form, feeling its aura, after which, using Light, I recreated its exact copy – just an empty shell, similar in appearance, but without any magical properties inside. Probably. Who knows what Light is truly capable of?

Now for the hardest and most amusing part – the switch. I could have just teleported the fake in place of the original, and the original – into my hands. Quick, effective, boring. No, we'll go another way!

By the way, funny thing: Loona, as a hellhound, should have an excellent sense of smell and super-sensitive hearing, right? But she doesn't sense or hear me at all, which, you'll agree, is strange. I'll have to test this during training with my Exorcists; maybe I'll switch my class to assassin?

At that moment, a rather loud, sexual moan escaped from Loona – looks like she was close to finishing. Heh, I hope my little joke will be to her liking. Or not, which would be even funnier.

I timed it for the peak moment, when she would be maximally distracted by sensations, after which I quickly but discreetly leaned towards her sharp, furry ear and quietly whispered right into it:

"Good girl…"

And then, to add effect, I lightly bit the tip of her ear. For a second, she was in a complete stupor – the mix of shock from the unexpected voice and touch with her own sensations clearly caused a short circuit in her brain. After which she abruptly jumped up in her chair, knocking it over, and with a wild, bewildered gaze, stared at the spot where I had just been standing. However, I, of course, was no longer there. In that very second of her confusion, I teleported outside the building, having managed to lightning-fast swap the real Grimoire with my fake. And a moment later, I opened a portal directly into my room in Heaven and stepped into it, clutching the heavy, ancient tome that smelled of sulfur and old age in my hand.

Heh, excellently done! Operation "Grimoire" was successful and even included elements of entertainment. Now I can study the trophy. I wonder, how does Lute feel about dogs anyway? Because I kinda liked it...?