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This was never supposed to happen. No one even knew how it happened. It was unheard of down here and taking into account that he wasn’t technically a complete animal made it all the more complicated.
No one saw the sign until it was too late. Even if they managed to find out early on, there was no known solution because this wasn’t supposed to happen! It shouldn’t have been possible in the first place.
They didn’t notice because he was always an enigma. He could be doing or saying one thing at some point and then do a 180 and do something that contradicts his whole point. Still, it didn’t mean no one felt guilty that they didn’t notice. Now being able to track just how long ago it started made it so much worse.
It started out like nothing. Alastor was strangely more quiet as he floated about the hotel. He wasn’t much of a social butterfly contrary to the belief. He hated large crowds as it did trigger his haphephobia, so he was just being his usual gentlemanly self. So while it was a bit unusual, it could easily be chalked up to his social battery being lower than usual.
Slowly the interactions trickled down to nothing and he disappeared for days at a time and then came back like nothing happened. Again it wasn’t unusual but the longer extensions were. But he looked and sounded fine whenever Charlie asked. He was still Alastor the faithful hotelier. He still interacted with the main crew, cracking jokes and cooking for them.
Then bit by bit Alastor ate less and less. There were times Alastor ate a lot and then ate nothing. There were times some residents found the overlord in the kitchen late at night nearly scaring them to their second death. They would say he’d just sort of stood in the middle of the room with a blank expression. When he seemed to notice them, he’d just cock an eyebrow with a look of condescension that sent them running back to their room.
Still he looked and sounded fine. Then it went from eating less to drinking excessively like he was thirsty 24/7. Like he was a thirsty man lost in a desert. Coffee after coffee, water after water. He no longer sat idly when he did so, always pacing back and forth. A few times his head would tilt and he’d pace in circles in the same direction his head was. The pacing didn’t last long as he’d stop, look around like he wasn’t sure where he was and then retreat back to his room.
By now everyone had noticed and was very concerned. There was no way they could just chalk it up to Alastor being Alastor. Even the people who disliked him became concerned. Husk would watch his boss cautiously anytime the sinner would sit at the bar, absentmindedly circling his glass of untouched rye.
Alastor’s eyes seemed glazed at times and when they weren’t he didn’t seem to recall any times he spaced out whenever the chimera asked. And if he ever seemed to go from spaced out to attentive in the same span of time, he’d seemed confused as to why he was at the bar.
Lucifer was now also keeping a close eye on the deer. At first he just believed the overlord was being his usual weird annoying self, but the fact that he didn’t pick fights with him did throw the king off. And whenever Lucifer poked and jab at Alastor, the sinner would just stare at him until the king felt uneasy. It was somehow worse than when he took the bait. Even Charlie, who was ecstatic that her dad and Alastor weren’t fighting, found it odd and unsettling.
Then came what had to be the worst day in their whole afterlife. Alastor was missing as per usual and the crew were in the foyer, tension a thick cloud drifting in the air. They were worried. They were scared. Alastor wasn’t himself at all.
He was no longer the mischievous, powerful radio demon who made dad jokes and cooked lovely meals every night. He was now a shell of his former self, drifting in and out of consciousness, unaware of his surroundings. He was losing weight, somehow getting thinner than he already was. Alastor was slowly killing himself and they had no idea why.
Suddenly there was a loud thud and shattering of glass from above and everybody leapt to their feet. It came directly from the side where Alastor’s room was. Charlie was the first up the stairs, clear panic in her wide eyes. Vaggie was close on her heels, summoning her angelic spear. The rest of the main sinners and Lucifer followed with a split second of hesitation.
By the time everyone had reached the top, Charlie was frantically attempting to open the door, key in hand but her growing panic was blinding her. Lucifer quickly took hold of the situation, opening a portal into the room. Stepping through, they were met with a horrifying sight.
The room was a mess, furniture splintered and smashed with broken mirror shards. Even the radio was on the floor crackling and popping from hitting the floor and inevitably smashing. The only normalcy was the bayou, but even then the table and chair were toppled.
In the center of the room was a red and brown roe deer, stumbling about in a pile of glass. The most horrifying thing was how thin the mammal was, rib cage poking through. The fur was matted and flaked with dry blood from a large gash in the side. Everyone, especially Charlie, were sick at the gleam of a bone within the wound.
It wasn’t hard to figure out who it was. If it weren’t for the fact that an inhuman deer was in Alastor’s room, the one eye that was a radio dial was a dead give away. The yellow dial ticked violently as Alastor trotted in circles like he did in human form. The transformed overlord snorted and grunted, ears pinned back as saliva dripped past the snout.
Nearby the crew noticed Alastor’s shadow on the closest wall with an expression of pain and worry. They had long since learned that the shadow was sentient and not just the extension of Alastor. The shadow looked over, eyes widening and mouth opening in what seemed to be a silent scream. It was easy to decipher what it meant.
Alastor was in pain, and it was heartbreaking.
🦌📻
“What do you mean we can’t do anything?” Charlie cries, looking at her dad with a look of exasperation.
“I mean there’s nothing we can do,” Lucifer replies softly, hurt that he was causing his daughter such anguish.
Oh Charlie. She was such a sweet, selfless demon so of course she’d be the one most concerned about her friend. And as much as the snake didn’t like Alastor, he would never wish him or anyone to suffer the way he was.
“What’s wrong then?”
Lucifer sighs, glancing over to where Alastor was laid on the couch unconscious. The group had to sedate the unsettled deer in hopes to heal the wound. Doing so had made the overlord turn back to his human form and he was now sleeping. He looked the most peaceful anyone had seen in a while.
The snake watches as Niffty laid next to Alastor, mumbling something, tiny hands clutching onto the overlord’s sweater. Right. Lucifer had snapped Alastor into a different pair of clothing to not affect the gash. They couldn’t afford for him to get worse. Not like it’d help in the end. Lucifer sighs, looking back to Charlie as the rest of the sinners gathered around.
“He has cwd,” Lucifer starts slowly, wishing he didn’t have to deliver such a diagnosis.
“Chronic wasting disease. It’s a prion disease that affects mainly the cervidae family. And only deer from earth could get it, until now. I’m assuming Alastor may have gotten it from a deer he ate since it can only spread through bodily fluids. There’s no cure. The only way people have dealt with it is…putting the infected down.”
Charlie inhaled sharply, eyes welling with tears as Vaggie stepped up to comfort her. Lucifer looked away back to Alastor, unable to look his daughter in the eye. Pathetic really.
“Well then the solutions easy!” Angel suddenly piped up, drawing the other’s attention. (Aside from Niffty who was still nestled with Alastor, crying.)
“There’s no solution, I literally just said that,” Lucifer says with a cocked eyebrow.
“Maybe not upside, but here, we don’t die! We just get reborn, remember?”
Charlie’s eyes widened as she realized what the spider was insinuating and she quickly shook her head.
“No we can’t…would that even work? Who’s to say the disease won’t start up again? And what we’d have to let him die should this ever happen again?”
Now, Charlie was rambling and no one could blame her. Each scenario she came up with only thickened the cloud of tension, even making Vaggie wince. Soon, Charlie’s rambles trickled into radio silence as her tears finally fell. Once more Lucifer looked over at Alastor, mulling over their options which granted, weren’t much.
Alastor, like many sinners, was a sinner of pride and maybe even gluttony. But pride was definitely his main sin. He was powerful for a mortal soul having killed many overlords and somehow found a way to trap them into another dimension within his radio. And as far as Lucifer knew, he had never died. He was still running on his first life since falling into hell, and knowing him, the overlord would have a fit if he knew he died. But Alastor would die anyway and until then, he could be a huge target should word ever be let out. And honestly, Lucifer wouldn’t be surprised if one of their guests leaked it at some point already so…they had to be quick.
“How about we just speed up the process,” Lucifer said after what felt like an eternity of silence, not daring to look up to see Charlie’s look of dismay.
“It’s not because I don’t like him,” the snake quickly added, knowing everyone would jump to that conclusion. Not like he could blame them.
“Even I believe this is a fate worse than death. Plus if someone hasn’t already told someone outside this hotel, it won’t be long and we don’t need a target on our backs right now.”
Lucifer finally looked up, surprised to see Charlie with a pondering expression, tears having dried up. The rest of the crew remained silent, shifting with uncertainty.
“Do sinner’s respawn where they die?” the princess finally asked.
“No…the only good thing about dying really. No, they spawn far away from their death place as a…safety measure should whoever or whatever killed them still be there.”
“So we have no idea where he may end up? This place is the safest place to respawn but…I don’t want sinners to jump at the chance.”
No one had to ask what Charlie was insinuating. Imagine that, minding your own business and suddenly a clad of red falls in front of you? Look at that it’s the Radio Demon. It wouldn’t be hard to string together what happened. What better chance to kill an overlord than when they’re disoriented from their second not-so-permanent death? You’d be a fool to not take it, especially if you live at the bottom.
“Then we’ll watch the sky,” Vaggie suddenly said, startling everyone.
The fallen angel grimaced, knowing her response was strange. At least coming from her. As strange as it was to hear Lucifer not wish such disease even on who he deemed his worst enemy. Vaggie sighed and continued her explanation.
“Three of us have wings. The rest of you can stay on the ground. We’ll go to the different sections and keep an eye out. Should be obvious to separate each fallen person, especially with how red he is. If Alastor respawns away from us with wings, just call us.”
Vaggie shifted her eyes over to Lucifer, making him stiffen a bit like he knew what she was about to suggest.
“You can teleport so I figure it’d be best to send you his way.”
“You want me to…catch Alastor?”
Vaggie nodded and Charlie was already looking like she was back to her usual perky, optimistic self. And Lucifer knew he already lost when his daughter turned on her puppy eyes when she realized how hesitant he was.
“Alright. Guess we’re saving this asshole.”
🦌📻
Alastor the Radio Demon beaten by a horrible prion disease. The only disease known to the deer family and Alastor just so happened to be born into the body of a deer. What luck.
Husk never particularly liked Alastor, I mean…why would he? The sinner was a malicious deal maker of an asshole. Someone who he lost to greatly. Someone who was better at gambling. Or maybe he was getting too risky. Husk didn’t know.
But whether or not Husk liked the prick wasn’t important. Husk knew he wasn’t the most unlucky soul like a certain spider demon he had grown fond of. Alastor was just a stick in the mud of overlords that could and did much worse to those they owned. The chimera knew he should be more grateful his stupidity landed him in Alastor’s claws.
What was important was to find Alastor before another denizen found him and if Husk knew anything, sinners would do the worse things when one is unconscious and he’d never wish anyone to be subjected to such treatment. Much like he’d never wish anyone to die like Alastor was. He couldn’t imagine slowly losing control and all consciousness while still alive. To live on like some zombie with nothing left to remember.
Husk slowly circles in place, keeping a sharp eye for a certain red deer falling. He didn’t stay when Vaggie pumped poison into his system. Charlie had wanted to put Alastor down in the most humane way possible so the traditional way seemed to fit the best. He hated the asshole but it didn’t mean he particularly wanted to witness one of his boss’s death. (I’m starting to doubt you hate him Husker)
Husk’s ears suddenly twitch back and he spins around to see a portal spawn and a familiar red and brown figure plummeting. Unfortunately the overlord was miles away. Husk curses as he shoots for Alastor, dialing Lucifer’s number at the same time.
Once frantically yelling Alastor’s coordinates to a startled snake, Husk focused on being a backup if Lucifer failed. Not that he doubted the king but he wouldn’t put it past him to decide to dip out.
To his credit, it did seem like Lucifer took a bit longer to open a portal but soon enough he saw a blur of white and red swipe by Alastor. Only then did the cat calm down and followed after the king to the safety of the hotel.
It didn’t take long for everyone to reach the place, waiting anxiously for Alastor to wake and properly get his bearings. Since he was unconscious when Vaggie put him down, it was unclear when he would wake up. Luckily it didn’t seem long if the growing twitches and furrows of Alastor’s brows were anything to go by.
Sure enough, Alastor’s eyes peeled open to reveal dazed pink and red eyes. A similar state from when he was stuck in his zombie-like trance. It caused everyone to hold their breath with anticipation. No one wanted to think about what they would do should their plan not work.
Alastor blinks a few times with confusion as everyone sighed with relief. He was back. The hazy blankness was gone. Whether or not it stayed that way was another thing.
“Wha-”
Alastor slowly sat up with a groan, flinching when Charlie held out a glass of water. The overlord scans his surroundings, piercing each Hazbin with a suspicious look before he took the cup. It couldn’t hurt. His throat was tremendously dry after all.
“Alastor, how are you feeling? You can hear me right?”
“Yes I can hear you, dear. You are quite loud,” Alastor grumbled, static rising as his ears flicked back.
“Oh sorry! I just-”
“Why are you all here?” Alastor interrupted, glancing around again with clear confusion despite his tight smile.
Charlie shared a few looks with the rest of the crew, most looking away after a bit. None of them wanted to break the news to the radio demon. He was unpredictable.
“Well…” Charlie says slowly, voice going a pitch higher as she dragged the word.
“What’s the last thing you remember? Before waking up?”
Alastor’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. After staring the princess down for a few minutes the overlord hummed, thinking back.
“Hm, I was going through applications for this hotel in my room of course. Though not sure how or why I’m down here. Pray tell, dearie.”
Charlie winced, chewing on her lower lip nervously.
“Do you recall ever forgetting moments? Like maybe you’re in your room and then appear in the lobby despite never using your powers?”
“What’s with the questions?”
Charlie sighs, rubbing her arm before glancing at Lucifer with a pleasing look. The snake shifts with uncertainty before nodding.
“Alastor. You died-
Lucifer was promptly interrupted by a loud piercing screech of a record making everyone flinch and take a step back.
“W̴̨̲̪͊͋̐́h̴̭͈̓̈́ä̷͔̬͎͖̪̺̪͍́̿́͛t̶͔͖̘̭͐͋̈́͊̉̓͛̚?̴̺̤̦̋̊͂” Alastor snarls, voice laced with heavy static that made it near impossible to hear the word.
“You were suffering from a prion disease,” Lucifer continued, gritting his teeth. Now wasn’t the time to start a fight with the overlord.
“A chronic wasting disease only known to deer. Somehow you got it. We suspect one of the bucks you ate had it.”
Alastor stares Lucifer down, eyes flickering to radio dials. His ears laid flat against his head, rigid and tight. His smile was the widest, sharpest anyone had seen.
“Ä̴̰̰̪͋̈́̍ ̵̪̪̼̎̇̒̇̓̂̚͝w̴̤̟̟͍̪̹͖͈̭̓̒̓̓̌̈́̑̕a̶͉̠̻̝͎͖͎̫͎̙̾̌̓̅̈́̇͗̿̈́̋s̵͍͆̃͘͝ẗ̶̢͙̭̣̰̪̱͈̲̼͍̉̀͑̂͆́͌͘͝͝ì̷̺̞̲͚͍̼͉̼̽̅n̵̢̢̠͓͕̟̯̝̰̺͗̅͋͝͝g̷̫̲̠̮̙͙̗̭͐͋̚͝ ̶̦͙͋̇̎̔͆̄̅̄̀̕͝ḑ̶̥͚̃͆̽̂̄͋͜͜͝i̶̛̮̜̦̽̀͗̂̾̿̈́͂ͅs̵̬̘͂͊̊͛̈̈́̈́̽̍͝͝ͅe̴̜̝̗̯̥͈̙̗͋̇̏́͘á̷̙̼̌͌̕͝s̸̥̗̰̺̯̳̄͋̌̓̄̈́͗e̸̼̩̣̤̺̳̻̬͍͎̦͐͆.”Alastor hisses, eye
twitching.
“̵̧͔̯̥̥͓̫͋̓̓͘͜͠A̸̡̧͎̹͓͇͌̿́̅͝ ̶͚͖̫̣̹̰̤͙̼͙̐̉̊̌̆͑́̾̕ͅs̷̩̞͔͚̪̮͒̐̆̉̈́̂̀̐́͝l̸̞̅̀̆o̵̧̨̪͈̩̦̩͂̆̀́̄̽͊̽̒̍͊́̂̕w̴̨̢̨̧͍̤̫̙̟̠̳̥̭̉̐̕,̴̛̮̩̥̪̩̠̞͑͂̓͌̐̔̃̀́̑̊̐̐̚͝͠ ̶̞̺͔̬̔͛͝g̶͓̖̙͎̫̪͓͋̈́̀́͊̋͠r̷͎͈̱̯̭̺̺̓̔͛̅a̵̮̫̯͔̭̻̳͗̑̌̇͗̈́̎́͜͝ͅd̴̪̱͈̠̯̱̼̓͆̏̃̎̾̋̈́̅̒͌͝ͅu̶͎͕̭̙̤̯͇͒͂́̈́̃̂͠ą̵̮͇̯̭̼̬̯͖̗̠͈̘̭͍͇͂̂̅͆̉͊̽̏̋̑̏͐͒̕̕̚l̸̢̨̧̧̹̗̪̹̺̦̗͓͆͋̈͑́̈́͑̅̌̃̈́̚͝͠͠͠ ̶͇̲̥͚̠̫͖͙̩̥̙̖͆͋͗̍̏̒̑̊̏̇̿̃͛̔͊̈́̂d̶͈͎͙̯̰̯͔̘̰̯̜͎̹̍̐̒̂͐̾̅̂͊̋̋͗͜ẹ̶͇̲͓̳̝͈̱̠͔̿͒͊̀́͆̄͘̕a̶̙̣̒͗͒͒̾̀̐̿̔͑̍̃̕͝t̸̲̅͊̑́̉̌́͗̚͘͝ḧ̴͉͚̝̌̊͂̽̍͂̚̕͠.̵̡̛̤͔̰͎͉̱̤̩̥͍́͂̒̅̃̅̚ ̵̠̾D̴̨̪͉̼̤̭̻̲͚̼̞̘̰͓̋͋̊́̆̀̽̊̊͜͜ͅḯ̷͍̤̳̞̦̘͇̠̾̉͊̎́͗ͅd̵͖͙̜͎̫̘̻̀̎̅́̏͆̏̿̎̕̚̚͘̚͜ͅ ̵̪̅̋͋̿͛͛̾͆̂͆̋̈́̋͘͠͝ẙ̶̩͉̠̱̥̤͔̤̅͗̂̇ô̶̳̘̰͛̄̎̽û̸̳̤̗̳̰̖͚̥̿͂̓̈́ ̴̨̧̢̢͉͍̰̲͖͎̌̿̈ͅk̸̢̛͕̖̮̗͓̘̦̙̅̀̊̒̒̒̈̇̌́̎̕ï̵̱̟̼̤̳̯̣̮̖͙͖̜͓͓̃͐͆̾̇͑̿̉̌̆́̈̆l̸̨̞̰̻̰̮̖̥̀͘ļ̵̨̰͙͇͙͔̋̈́̒̈́̾̀̿͑́̏͘ ̷̠̝̪̲̟̠̞̤̯͇̬̤̈́̔͜m̶̨̢̨̡̪̬̮̥̥̰̗̑͒ͅȇ̴̦͕̦͙̮̬̘͑́̎̽͌̍?̵̢̹̰͛̇̋̽͂̂͘”̴̡̯͈̪̮͙͕̯͍̑͂̆̕
The spike in tension from everybody was enough to tell Alastor. The sinner abruptly stood up with a slight falter that went unnoticed by most of the Hazbin. Except those who had learned to read him. Alastor inhales deeply, running his claws through his hair and ears. Doing the motion seemed to calm the deer as his ears perked back up, tall and alert. His smile relaxed to one of cool indifference.
“I must get going, my deers. I have some work to do.”
No one protested or attempted to stop the still agitated Radio Demon as he summoned his cane. With a spin and a grin the overlord strolled out of the hotel. It wasn’t long until they heard what Alastor meant by work as the radio nearest to them crackled to life, screams filling the foyer, replacing the dense cloud of tension.
A broadcast to remember.