Alastor's Missing

[lonelysmiles]

Two closed threads and one open starter for people looking for Alastor after the battle.

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Finding Alastor (Charlie-only)

[lonelysmiles]

Alastor hissed as he finished wrapping his stitch job. He tied off the bandage and put his magically-repaired-and-cleaned shirt back on, hands trembling as he fastened each button. However, he leaned back against the radio console to take a breather.

Cool and clammy skin. If his complexion wasn't already a bit gray, it'd undoubtedly look that way now. Classic shock symptoms. Given he'd nearly been cleaved in two by Adam, he supposed that shouldn't be a shock. (Ha! Listen to that pun!)

As much as he would've liked to have had a drink to numb the pain, he'd needed to be perfectly sober for sewing himself back together. But it was all right. He could take a moment to rest. Then he could figure out what to do next.

[minimorningstar]

Everyone had been tasked with finding survivors... and finding the dead. There were... so many dead. And after Alastor vanished from the battle with Adam, Charlie was scared that she'd find him amongst them, even with hearing from Husk that his Deal was still intact.

The radio tower collapsed on the ground was... probably the place to check, since she didn't find any sign of him around the rooftop or the remains of the rooftop. It took a lot of time to even find a way inside, with the way it was collapsed - but her business partner, her friend, might be here.

After finally finding a hatch and crawling in through half-collapsed doors, Charlie pushed her way inside, panting and then letting out a gasping, shaking breath as she caught the shock of red she was looking for.

"Alastor...!"

[lonelysmiles]

Alastor opened his eyes. (When had he closed them? And for how long had they been closed?) His smile widened at the sound of Charlie's voice, ears twitching fully upright.

"Ah! Good to hear your voice, my dear!"

He hated how exhausted he sounded, but what could he do?

"If you're here, I assume we were victorious! A shame I didn't see the grand finale!"

[minimorningstar]

Tears fell - she had no idea how she still had so many to shed - and she pulled herself into the room and walked to Alastor, getting back to her knees at his side and hugging him around the shoulders.

"I'm glad you're safe," she murmured, careful - she didn't know where he was hurt, but it must have been bad if he had to run away for his life. But... she just wanted to hold him right now, feel him alive and real, even if he felt shaky and clammy.

[lonelysmiles]

The injury went from his left shoulder to his right hip. There was basically nowhere she could possibly hug him without causing him pain.

However, he forced himself not to give any of that away. Instead, he reached up to awkwardly pat her hair.

"Now, now, darling. There should've been no doubt about that! Just another scar to add to my collection! No need for tears!"

[minimorningstar]

Not trusting herself with words, Charlie just kept a hold of him, tears soaking into the fabric on his shoulder. There were too many painful, conflicting feelings, but finding a friend alive instead of dead... that was grounding.

She should've done better. Planned better. Had someone with Alastor, to help keep him safe. She should've been fighting up there with him from the start, gotten over her reservations so much earlier. Should've, should've, should've - and now friends were dead and so, so badly hurt because of it.

[lonelysmiles]

Shoulda, woulda, coulda. Perhaps in some timeline she had. Perhaps in some timeline she hadn't had the support of Stolas and his family amongst others. Unfortunately, this was the one they were in, and she'd have to live with her mistakes.

"There there, my dear! I'm all right! Why, in a few more minutes, I'd be up and ready to rejoin the fight!"

She just kept clinging to him. It unsettled him. Why wasn't she saying anything?

Reassuring Bee (Bee, open to Tex)

[lonelysmiles]

Alastor stumbled for a moment as he arrived in Gluttony. Fortunately, everyone was more focused on Bee and the pups that had already arrived to take notice.

He weaved around medical staff to reach Bee's side and touch one of her hands.

"Hello, Sugar. Apologies for being late to your performance."

[makethathoney]

The little home was a bit abuzz with activity - there were already a few squeaking pups, held by Tex or by nurses. Bee herself is a hazy mess, to no one's surprise. The touch to her hand, the voice, the scent - Bee blinks a little, smiling as she catches sight of Alastor.

"Hah... you look sweatier than me," Bee laughed, rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand. "Three out, four to go - waiting on the next one," she added. "Red blanket is Alkaid, orange is Mera instead of Merak, and yellow's Dubhe. W-working on green now, hah."

[lonelysmiles]

"I imagine by the end of this, I'll look positively immaculate compared to you, my dear," Alastor told her. "Though I suppose I'll pass that along in the 'pupdates' that Charlie requested."

He pulled out his handkerchief to wipe away the sweat.

"Tell me where you need me, Sugar."

[makethathoney]

"Pupdates~! Fuck, I love that..." Bee giggled, shifting to get comfortable and mimicking the gesture of wiping away sweat, though she was just using the towel laying on the pillow behind her head. "Bel's got me for the messy part... grab whichever pup the nurse has, they've been whimpering a while."

[lonelysmiles]

"Sadly, I can't take credit for it. That was Charlie's idea!"

He pocketed his handkerchief again.

"And I'll go see which goddaughter or godson needs some extra attention. About time I met them!"

[makethathoney]

While Alastor steps aside, Bee lays her head back and groans - long way to go, still.

The nurse with the fussing pup has already set a half-suckled baby bottle down, and has the little chocolate-brown pup bundled in a red blanket draped over a towel on her shoulder to be burped. The baphomet seems a little-- perplexed? To see the Radio Demon... even if she'd been told to expect him. It's surreal.

"Got the little first girl here," she informed, still gently but firmly patting the pup until she gulped and let out a little burp. "She's got some fragile still-soft moth wings, mind when you hold her," she added.

[lonelysmiles]

"Understood. Should I hold her under her belly so there isn't any pressure placed on the wings or is holding her like a normal baby safe so long as I'm careful? I've never held a baby with wings before."

Placing a baby on their stomach didn't hurt them. It was one way to calm a cholicky baby, after all. However, none of the newborns he'd handled previously had been 100% human and lacking extra appendages.

The baphomet was probably used to his loud and exuberant persona when performing. However, right now he was "off the air", the natural static that surrounded him a light buzz.

Return to the Hazbin Hotel

[lonelysmiles]

With the arrival of his godchildren and after giving Bee plenty of time to assess for herself that, yes, he really had survived (though he'd hidden his injuries so she wouldn't be worried on top of the stress of seven new puppies), Alastor returned to where the Hazbin Hotel had once stood to see what needed to be done. A shame he hadn't gotten a hit of Bee's royal jelly to rebuild the place from the ground up like how he'd done renovations six months ago.

Oh. What's happening here?

[herewardbound]

The time since the battle had been, not to put too fine a point on it, Hell. Goro hadn't emerged unscathed, suffering a nasty wound to his right arm that was still healing, still in a sling.

And he'd come out relatively unscathed. Blitz and Kai were both in hospital still. Denji and Poppy and Octavia had all been, blissfully, unharmed. Reneé... she'd been removed, he'd been told, by 'a family member', and Igor had assured him she was on the mend, but...

Everyone was alive. There'd been a few casualties, of course, but... nobody he'd known well. Was it selfish to feel relief that 'his' people had lived, when others had died?

Probably. But he was allowed.

He was still helping where he could. One hand incapacitated made things hard, but at the very least he was putting that magical breakthrough to work, low-power as it was.

When the familiar face arrived on the scene, though... he turned to look, and breathed a sigh of relief. He'd known, of course, that Alastor was alive. Known that he'd have felt it if anything happened to change that. It was still a relief to see him, alive and if not well, at least ambulatory. "Alastor." A pause, as he considered his words. "Charlie said you were injured, though she didn't say how badly. People were worried."

[lonelysmiles]

"Charlie's fussy. We all know that. I'm on the mend even with helping Bee and Tex with their new litter the past few days!"

Which was technically true. It was just healing slowly. No big deal.

He looked around at how things were shaping up. It was very...modern. Too modern for his tastes.

Uncertainty gnawed away at his gut but he refused to show such things.

"So where do you need me?"

Never mind that Charlie wanted him not to work on the hotel physically or magically.

[herewardbound]

He gave that some thought. Charlie had given specific instructions, but...

He'd seen the Palace. Some of it, anyway. "Could you give me a hand raising this beam, actually? I'm working with one arm, and while I'm making progress on the magic front, levitation's still a bitch and three halves."

[lonelysmiles]

"Certainly!"

Alastor snapped his fingers, easily wreathing the beam with his powers and raising it into the air.

"Where do you need it?"

[herewardbound]

"Right here's fine," he pointed, raising a drill and screws. "Thank you."

After a moment, once it was set in the frame, he knelt by it, setting to work. "Reneé was worried about you, and upset she couldn't come. She's still recovering, but... she wanted me to let you know she's glad you're okay. We both are."

[loserandboozer]

Alastor was back.

He'd known the Radio Demon was still alive, even before Charlie had confirmed it -- how could he not? He hadn't abruptly lost his power in the middle of a fight that would have killed him.

But that was the damn problem, wasn't it. He wasn't sure exactly how much of a draw on his boss it was, to provide for the Deal that'd led to him landing in his hands, but... It wasn't nothing. And no matter how conflicted he was about the man, he wouldn't want him to die. Not like that.

"Hey, boss. Al." There's a long pause. It grows awkward before he fills it, "I'm -- glad you're alright. Happy endings, right?" He laughs humorlessly. What is he doing?

[lonelysmiles]

"Ah, Husker! Good to see you, too!" Alastor chirped.

He still didn't know what to think of Husk's earlier apology. Or...this. The humorless laugh potentially implied that he really wasn't happy to see Alastor at all.

Like usual.

But it was what it was. If nothing else, Husk would be grateful to still have his powers given Alastor was essentially his battery pack.

"I see you've set yourself up quite nicely! It's very..." He fumbled for a word that wasn't disdainful. "...clean! Niffty must be thrilled!"

Like much of the new hotel, it was quite modern. None of the warmth and personality of handcarved wood. Minimalist to the point where if Husk left tomorrow, anyone could step into the role of bartender and not look out of place. Making people interchangeable, almost superfluous.

He hated it.

"How about filling me in on what's been happening?"

1/2

[loserandboozer]

That's something he can answer with a lot less reserve. "Well, after the hotel came down, our demonic head honcho offered his support in rebuilding the place. Provided materials and some magical assistance in getting it together in a hurry."

Husk stares at the place and shakes his head a little. "A little, ehhh, sterile for my tastes, but ehh, we can make it more homey with time." By the end, he's smiling, though he doesn't notice. "Kinda got used to the old bar."

2/2

[loserandboozer]

There's another pause as static fills his head. It's hard to work out how to talk to Alastor now, after he'd nearly died for them. Whatever his reasons might have been... "Shit, how do I say this... I, uh... We were worried about you. I wasn't sure you'd appreciate me coming to poke around for you, so I left it to Charlie."

"...I have a hard time liking you, because you're a reminder of all the shit I did to people as an overlord, and of the ways you've treated me better than I did them." Even if not always better, some portion of his mind reminds him. He can take comfort in never having pulled someone away from a poker game.

(Admittedly that's more out of respect for the game than his underlings.)

[lonelysmiles]

"I'd hope so! I didn't have a lot of room to work with but I figured you'd appreciate something built to your specific tastes!"

The old bar had been made for Husk. Anyone else behind it would have looked out of place.

However, he said nothing more on the subject, instead listening to Husk.

"There was no reason to worry. You and Niffty would have known immediately if I'd ceased. Not to mention you'd suddenly be without your battery pack! Ha!"

One foot tapped the floor. Not impatiently but like the nervous pawing of a deer that wasn't certain if it should flee or stand its ground.

Husk didn't like him. Alastor had never expected him to. He did own the cat's soul after all. Hearing him speak so openly to him...it made him wonder when the other shoe was going to drop.

There was always another shoe waiting to fall, but it hadn't yet. It made Alastor antsy.