Chapter Text
"What happened?!" Angel shouted over the roar of the wind and the sound of a building collapsing into rubble, shrapnel tearing the sky as Pentious' eggs sent shotgun rounds his way, ones he could thankfully easily evade. "Where the fuck is Al?!"
"I- i don't know, he got hit hard by whatever that thing edgelord made was!" Cherri shouted back, providing him cover so he could duck down and avoid being point-range gunned. "I saw him fall down - i think he's gotta be hurt or some shit!"
"Fuck!" Angel hissed, pulling out the trigger of his grenade with his teeth before throwing it. The battle was ALMOST rinse-repeat of the status quo. Almost every battle with the dramatic snake demon went the same way.
...Except for this one, apparently. Because in this one, Alastor had intervened. And somehow been harmed.
Angel hadn't even known if Alastor could be hurt. Whelp, now he sure did.
He hadn't heard any screaming, or seen any blood. He just knew that Alastor had apparently collapsed after being hit by whatever... Invention thingamajig Pentious had made this tim, and not gotten right back up.
...That wasn't a good sign.
"Ok, can you keep covering me while i go check on him?" he shouted over the sound of explosions, hair flying into his face from the gusts of wind. "I wanna make sure he's not, like, dead or some shit! Or double-dead!"
"I'm pretty sure only angelic weapons can do that, but go ahead!" Cherri called back, dashing past him. He noticed with surprise that her hair had come out of it's tie and was now hanging loose past her rear, but shook away the interest to instead focus on making his way across the battflefield to his 'strawberry pimp'.
"You are truly out of luck my foolish friends, muahaha!" Pentious chortled with a very bad and very dumb villain laugh, grinning down at them. "That invention had the essence of an angel in it, so indeed, your foolish overlord friend may have faced his untimely demise!!!"
"What?!" Angel shouted, enraged, only to hit the floor with an 'oof' as Cherri pushed him aside to avoid a round of bullets.
"Ignore him, just keep moving!" she snapped, tone urgent and annoyed, and he nodded sharply.
He made his way over to what seemed like Alastor, lying immobile on the floor, somehow almost seeming swamped by his own jacket. Not a good sign. What, had his fucking legs been blown off or something? Jesus christ.
But as he got closer, he noted with confusion more... Irregularities.
Once chin-length red and black hair was now much shorter and a chocolate brown, and once grey-cashmere skin was a mid-tone shade that was decidedly more human, aside from the hands, which seemed burn scarred. The rest of him was swamped under his jacket.
...was this really Alastor? The fuck had Pentious' invention done to him???
With a huff of exasperation, he picked the much smaller and much more strange looking probably-Alastor up to sling him over his shoulder, and gestured to Cherri the general signal of 'let's ditch this scene'
She nodded, and they fled.
As he ran, he noted with interest just how small and light 'Alastor' was. It wasn't like he got many chances to pick Alastor up usually, considering the man's general aversion to touch, but... Yeah, this was definitely a kid he was holding right now. He had to be 10 at most.
He grinned when he saw that Cherri was brandishing Alastor's mic, and she tossed it for him to catch with a lower pair of hands, fingers curling around the cold metal, somehow seeping even through his rubbery pink gloves. Huh. It was also weird to feel, even through the extra layer, like it was tingling or buzzing.
Alastor grumbled something, and Angel noted that he was likely waking up, but didn't stop to check. He could still hear gunshots, and fighting off Pentious and his stupid egg army saddled with a kid taking up one of his pairs of arms didn't sound like enjoyable odds.
Cherri split off from him, and he saluted her desertion before moving his own way until eventually the sounds of battle were behind him.
The body over his shoulder groaned, and then jerked.
Angel didn't slow still, even though he knew he could take a break now without worry of Pentious taking his head off. After all, they were still surrounded by demons, and if someone saw Alastor in this state they may very well try something. Not that he figured anyone could recognise him like this. But better safe than sorry. So he just kept up the pace, bee-lining it back to the hotel.
Alastor was clearly quite awake and aware now, making sounds of discomfort and agitation as the spider demon jostled him, but surprisingly made no attempt to get free. At least none that Angel could tell were happening.
Oh well. Less effort for him, so no complaints here.
"Almost back, Al" he huffed semi-comfortingly as he spotted the large billboard in the near distance, reading 'Hazbin Hotel!' in bright LED's. "Just hang in there. Don't, like, die on me or something"
There was no response, but Alastor's grip tightened on him.
As tired as he was, his legs gave out in exhaustion when he flung the entrance door open.
Husk's head jerked up from the bar as Angel unceremoniously dropped his charge like a sack of potatoes, grinning guiltily at the pained sound he made before seemingly stifling it, scarred hands moving to cover his mouth. Angel noted that his glasses had fallen off of his nose (no monocle?) so he picked them up with one of his hands to hand them back to him, not looking over as he grinned up at Husk.
"Hey! So, uh, shit happened!" he dropped Alastor's mic.
"I can see that, thanks" Husk snorted around his bottle, before his eyes narrowed at the boy next to Angel. "Er. Who the fuck's that?"
Alastor flinched violently at that, still not getting up from where he was half-curled on the floor.
"Alastor. At least i think so" Angel chortled at the cat demon's expression. "Yeah, i feel that way too. Y'know Pentious, the big stupid snake asshole me an' Cherri fight for shits an' giggles? He did something to Al with one of his stupid new inventions. Said it had something angelic in it"
Husk was clearly processing all of this, placing the bottle back heavily down on the bar counter. "He looks like a kid. Like a human kid"
"He sure does. And i haven't a fucking clue how to turn him back. So yeah" Angel threw his hands up in exasperation, only to pause as Alastor yelped and scrambled back away from him, crimson eyes wide behind his cracked glasses.
"Hey. Al? What's wrong, you alright?" he frowned, giving him a once-over, checking for blood. "You got an injury i don't know about or something?"
Alastor said nothing, still staring up at him doe-eyed, face pallid and hands digging into the hardwood floor beneath him.
Angel felt confusion flood him even as a niggling thought prodded at him, told him he knew what was going on. But when he followed that train of thought, his mind just went blank.
What the hell.
"He's clearly scared of you, moron" Husk scoffed. "He's shaking like a damn leaf"
"Scared of me? Doubt it." Angel rebutted, even as he knew Husk was right. Alastor had gone pale, shuddering, mouth pressed tightly shut even as he was clearly preparing himself to be hurt. Shit, did he look that freaky and threatening to a human? Ouch.
"Guess he really is a kid now" he mumbled, running his hands through his hair. "Fuckin' Hell, this is some weird shit. Hey Al, can you talk? You haven't said anything so far"
At first it seemed like the brunette hadn't heard him, but he slowly forced himself to stop shaking, inhaling slowly before closing his eyes and responding in an unnaturally quiet voice.
"Oui. Ah can talk. Tuz want moi to?"
Huh. Cajun accent. Unexpected, but cute. Angel blinked. "Did you ask me if i want you to? Because, Uh. I mean, it's your choice if you wanna. But it'll be a hell of a lot easier if you talk more"
Alastor nodded. "Compris." He was speaking at such a low volume that Angel could honestly barely hear him, and his hands had began to shake badly again.
"Jeez" the spider demon ran a hand down his own face, pouting. "Why'd this have to happen. Why'd Pent have to go and get semi-competent for gods sake? And where did he get shit from angels - if he's telling the truth on that."
"Bitch about your problems later, i think you've got a more urgent issue" Husk pointed out, and Angel huffed.
"True. Aight Al, we should probably store ya in your room so people don't see ya. You gonna, uh, get up?" he tilted his head at the young boy still on the floor.
Alastor's eyes widened and he scrambled into a standing position, and Angel noted with curiosity that he was covered in bruises. He wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed before. Were those from the fight? There had been a shitton of rubble and all that crap flying around...
"Do you remember where your room is? Cus I'm guessing not"
Alastor paused before shaking his head.
"M'kay, i figured as much. Whelp, just follow me then" the spider demon beckoned him to follow as he began to ascend the staircase, though he quickly turned to yell at a very tired looking Husk. "Ey, tell Cha and Vag what happened when they get back from wherever, would ya? Capiche?"
"Ja vohl" the cat demon responded sarcastically, rolling his eyes to take a swig of gin. "Make sure Al doesn't get killed or some shit. I don't care about the grinny fuck, but the fallout of that is gonna be a pain in the ass"
"Will do" Angel chuckled, before continuing to climb the stairs. Alastor followed silently behind him, always a few paces back, head bowed, quiet, never saying a word. Frankly it was kind of unsettling.
"Hey, what's with the silence?" he eventually asked flatly, arching a brow as they approached Alastor's room. "The you I'm used to never shuts up"
Alastor's face twisted into confusion at that, but cleared up into something... Apologetic.
"Désolé. Ah juzt don't know what ah should say."
"That's fine. You must have no clue what's going on. Hell, i barely do myself" Angel scratched at the back of his neck sheepishly. "I can explain it in a sec, but we need to hole you up in your room for now so no one disembowels you or some crap like that"
Alastor didn't much seem to understand, still, but went pale at the gorey half-threat and nodded.
"Here we go' Angel unlocked the door and made a grandoise gesture. "Stay in here for a bit. Trust me, ya ain't gonna want to come out until we got all this sorted out. That alright?"
"Ah don't truzt you" Alastor seemed to say without thinking, only to freeze.
Angel sighed before snorting with amusement. "That's pretty fair. Y'know what, i should prolly explain all the shit that happened. Do you remember anything from the fight with Pentious?"
"Non"
"Hm. Well, uh, first off, you're in Hell right now. If this is like a literal age regression thing then you probably only have memories of being alive, yeah?" Angel grinned sheepishly.
Alastor just looked increasingly confused and slightly alarmed. "...Oui?"
"To put this shit simply, you're not meant to be, like, a kid right now" Angel poked him in the forehead and frowned when the brunette flinched badly, but didn't comment on it. "You're an adult. Like a demon adult. And this ain't 1930 or whenever you lived, cus i think Earth is on year 2020 or something right now. I guess just imagine that you've been teleported to your future or something"
Alastor blinked.
And then. "Ah am really in 'ell?"
"Yeah. That must be kinda freaky, right? You're like, 10. Actually, how old are you?"
"Neuf ans."
Angel squinted. "Sorry, i really don't speak French"
Alastor went florid with visible humiliation and ducked his head. "Piteux. Uh, sorry. Ah am nine... years old"
"Dang, so yeah, a lil kid. Sucks" Angel straightened from where he had been bent down slightly. He had already been slightly taller than Alastor in demon form, but now that the other man was just a human, and a child no less? He almost doubled him in size. It was ridiculous - no wonder Alastor flinched from him. He must look fucking terrifying.
He honestly was finding it hard to beleive that this was Alastor, as any version of him, even a child one. If he were pressed to imagine up Alastor as a child, he would imagine someone openly violently and sadistic, and probably way too much energy. Niffty with a knife and sadistic tendancies, basically. Maybe quite charismatic, although less good at it than his older self.
But this wasn't even remotely close.
This Alastor was visibly anti-social and uncomfortable with talking, was scared enough to flinch from him (that part was understandable, but still) and even had a different voice than Angel had anticipated. He had yet to show even slight amounts of violent behaviour. Angel had dropped him like a deadweight the second he got back to the hotel, and he could've sworn that Alastor had barely even made a sound. Hadn't even gotten back up, made as little sound as possible. Like he was used to being dropped or something. It was weird.
"Zo... Tuz... you're ah demon?"
He broke from his reverie to see Alastor giving him a curious look. He nodded.
Alastor's face broke into a strange sort of smile, like he wanted to grin but was suppressing it. Not quite a smirk but not quite a grimace, either. "Oh. 'ow doez dat work? Can tuz die?"
Ah. Well, there was some of that bloodthirst he was expecting finally poking through. Speak of the devil, almost literally.
"Why, you gonna test that out?" he grinned. "Gonna stab me with your mic?" he looked pointedly at the mic lying on the floor. He was only teasing. He knew that if future Al could tolerate him enough to not kill him at the mildest irritation, then past Al surely had that too. And Alastor had never responded that badly to him sarcastically egging or encouraging him in the past.
Instead of the reaction he was expecting, that not-grin immediately fell off of Alastor's face, and he went ashen.
"Non non non-!" he yelped, backing up from Angel, eyes wide. "Ah won't-!"
"Angel Dust?" Charlie's voice called up from downstairs, and both of them froze, heads whipping to face the doorway. "Um, Husk gave me a very... Strange recounting of what he says just happened. Could you come... Elaborate on what he said, please?"
"I'm pretty sure that whatever he said was accurate, toots!" Angel called back, cupping his mouth, not missing how Alastor reacted to his shouting by backing away from him slightly. "An' i'm afraid that i can't come down, sorry! You can come up, though!"
"Um, okay?" Charlie laughed nervously. "Just a moment!"
"Ok Al, imma need you to calm down more" Angel frowned. "I dunno why you freaked out at my joke but you need to settle down a bit. Being on edge about everything ain't helping us."
Alastor just withdrew further back.
"I mean, i don't even know why you got so freaked. You were the one asking about death in the first place!" Angel pointed out, exasperated, before running a gloved hand down his face. "Man. I shouldn't be getting annoyed. I'm just so used to older you and the dynamic we've got going on now. Sucks that that's all been reverted to nothing now. An' I dunno if we can even reverse this"
No response. Oh well.
A knock on the door, and there was the princess of Hell in all of her blazing glory and whatnot, hands politely held behind her back.
Only for her to choke on air.
"I-is that a HUMAN?"
"Uh. Yeah. Didn't Husk say that?" Angel laughed nervously, putting a smirk on. Charlie was just gawking at him, gesturing rapidly to Alastor.
"H-he did, but-!" she brushed her fringe back anxiously, fingers shaking "I didn't quite believe it! How did this happen? Gosh, I've never even seen a human before-"
"It happened because of Sir motherfuckin' Pentious" Angel interrupted her, expression sour. "Bastard did something to Al and now he literally doesn't remember anything"
"Oh dear" Charlie winced. "Is there, um, any way we know how to turn him back?"
"Not a fucking clue princess, my best guess is just to go beat the shit outta that snake and demand that he makes a solution. Or maybe ask your dad, i dunno. Maybe he knows about how angel shit works"
Charlie nodded, humming as she rubbed her chin, before her attention was caught by Alastor again, who was pointedly looking at neither of them and pulling at the oversized sleeves of his older self's jacket. "Is he going to stay here while we try and fix this? I mean... It's safer than a lot of places, but if someone breaks into his room for whatever reason, or wind of this gets out..." her face was filled with warning. Angel nodded bleakly.
"Guess we'll just have to get someone to watch him while we do our shit. You think Husk an' Vag will be up for that?"
"Husk i don't know, but I'm sure i can convince Vaggie to!" Charlie's lips perked up optimistically, and she reached toward Alastor, seeming to want to pat him on the head. A little condescending, frankly. "See, we'll get you back to normal in no ti-"
Alastor yelped and jerked back away from her, raising his arms to cover his head, knocking her hand away from him, both his mouth and eyes wide open even as he didn't say anything. He was staring at her like a cornered animal does a predator, the red of his eyes almost seeming to flash.
The princess of Hell immediately backed away, hands held up in a placating manner, expression open. "I'm really sorry if i startled you! I know this must be suuuper freaky if you really don't remember anything. I promise I'll be more careful next time!"
Alastor was still silently staring at her, and his expression morphed from sheer unadulterated terror to something unreadable. He lowered his arms, but his body language was clearly closed off and defensive.
And then a shaky "S-s'il vous plaît, ne me touche pas"
Of course, Charlie didn't understand French. "Er, sorry, what???"
"A-ah meant ne me frappe p- ah" Alastor winced, seeming to realize that he still wasn't making sense. "N-nevermind. U-um, ignore moi"
As he continued to speak to Charlie, Angel let confusion swamp his mind.
What the hell was up with lil' Al?