Work Text:
Given the state of most of the hotel, the bedroom Alastor had been set up in was surprisingly livable. Apparently they had already started to renovate some of the bedrooms, and apart from the slightly peeling wallpaper and the damp around the bathroom, it was hardly the worst he'd ever stayed in. Far from the nicest, but the stock market crash of nineteen twenty nine left a lot of people living in much more dire situations than this room in literal Hell.
Not that he minded much, the furniture was new and clean, and he would work a little magic to make it feel more like home soon enough. For now, he had a far more daunting and important task to undergo.
Humming absently to himself, he set up one of his vintage radios on the sturdy work desk, taking a seat and tuning his internal frequency into the device. He was a little apprehensive about making this call, knowing that he was going to be subject to a full interaction, and probably a lot of judgment for his decision.
He rested his head in his hand as he mentally scrolled through the bands of the radio, looking for a very familiar and specific frequency. It wasn't as easy to reach from down here in hell, the extended reach needed much more effort to find than usual, in heaven it had been an almost instant connection.
This Radio didn't have a microphone, not that he needed one to communicate through the airwaves, so he leant back in his chair and idly sketched and made notes in the planner Charlie had gifted him, until he finally was able to latch onto the correct frequency.
Sensing that his mother was within earshot of the Radio he had set up for her, he grinned and cleared his throat.
“Bonswa é byenveni (good evening, and welcome) (1), to a private broadcast for a very special lady. Alastor here, coming to you live from the Happy Hotel just outside of pentagram city.
He tilted his head, listening to the sudden quiet movements coming through the radio speakers, as his mother rushed over to take up the microphone.
“And what time do you call this, cher?”
Alastor chuckled at the mix of relief and irritation in her voice, tutting at her fussing until he checked his pocket watch and winced at how late it actually was.
“Mwen désolé (I'm sorry) (2), ma. I suppose time just… ran away from me.” It really had, with introductions, arguments, and them getting a decent amount of the foyer cleaned up, he hadn't realised how late in the night it had gotten. It didn't help that Hell's perpetual twilight made it difficult to realise when it had turned to night outside of the stained glass windows. “But I'm perfectly fine and well, there really is no need to be so concerned about me. You know Emily wouldn't have left me if she thought I was in immediate danger.”
“Of course I'm worried, you're literally in Hell , child. Emmy stayed for hours explaining the whole situation, but that didn't mean I wasn't anxiously waiting for your call.” Alastor sighed, remembering how worked up she had gotten the first time he'd moved away from her to work in the big city. This was a very similar situation really, just him moving a long distance away, to pursue a job that he was passionate about.
“I hope this ‘Charlie’ has been treating you well, at least.”
“Oh she has, ma, you'd really like her if you ever got to meet her yourself. ” He was sure that Charlie could win over his mother, with all her nervous energy, endless optimism, and passionate speeches about improving people's lives. “Perhaps some other time I'll introduce you two. But for now, rest assured that I feel I can trust her already, and you've always said I was a pretty good judge of character, haven't you? Given this is Hell, the hotel isn't actually that bad either, just a bit of a fixer upper.”
“How much of a ‘fixer-upper’? Cause in my day, folks only described things like that when it was falling apart and barely functional.” Doe accused, and Alastor had to admit, she wasn't far off with her assessment.
“It's very rough around the edges for sure, as is the guest.” He chuckled. “But I do see potential with a bit of hard work ahead of us.” He had faith they could make this work, preferably before that clock In the square finished its countdown, but he wasn't going to reveal any of that to his mother any time soon. The less she knew, the better, until something could actually be done about it.
“Potential in the renovations, or redemption?”
“ Yes, exactly! ” He laughed, not saying if he agreed with both, or just one of those statements. He hoped they could prove redemption was possible for the souls in this Hotel, of human souls in general, including himself if he was being honest.
“Well, I hope they've not got you working too hard running a whole hotel.”
“It's still early days. There's only one guest so far, and Charlie and her partner are the only other members of staff.” It was a nice small amount of people to start out with, if this was a successful hotel with a lot of guests it would be much more difficult. Being able to focus their efforts one on one or with small numbers would be a lot more efficient.
“And what are they like?”
“The princess's paramour is a very cynical and protective young lady. And the guest is just as much a work in progress as you can get.” He told her honestly.
Vaggie was practically Charlie's bodyguard, and Angel Dust wasn't the most approachable person. The sinners walls were far too strong and high to break down without him wanting to let anyone in, but he was here, and at least humouring their attempts.
“We've got a long way to go, but they're trying mother. They really do want to improve the lives of the poor souls who found themselves trapped down here.” Down in Hell of all places, where everything was supposed to be a punishment for their sins. The fact they were even trying meant so much.
Heaven just accepted their privilege, and everyone took it for granted. No one tried to improve themselves or change, because they'd already earned their paradise. There was a vague threat of being cast out, but since no human soul had ever seen it happen, it was more of a fairytale to frighten people into behaving, rather than a tangible threat most believed could actually happen to them.
“It sound like you've all got your hearts in the right place. This really means a lot to you, dosent it?” Doe let out a long sigh. “I just don't like you down there, where I can't look out for my little boy, and make sure you're staying out of trouble. I wish you'd let me help you.”
Alastor looked down at the journal in front of him, at one bulletpoint in particular that he had circled and underlined to remind himself to look into. Absently tapping his pen against the page, he bit his lip and debated if it would be a good idea to bring it up or not.
“There actually might be something you can do for me, if it's not too much trouble…”
On one hand, she'd may have, or be able to get the information he wanted. But on the other hand, getting her involved could be dangerous. “That girl that is always with Adam. Do you know anything about her?”
“I'm afraid not, honey. She sticks to him like glue, and doesn't really talk to anyone outside of Adam and his groupies. Why? Is there something shady about her?”
There was no way he was telling her that Adam was essentially the leader of a murder cult , one who routinely slaughtered hundreds of innocent sinners every year, and most likely that girl was his second in command. That was his secret to keep, at least for now, until he learnt how and why this all came about. ‘Population control’ sounded like a cover story rather than a legitimate reason, one that the citizens of hell seemed to accept because there was nothing they could do to stop it.
“I don't know.” He lied. “I was hoping you could maybe find that out for me? Any sort of information about her, or the group she belongs to would be a huge help to me. But only if you can be discreet , about it.”
“ Alli . You think your mother married a journalist and didn't pick up a thing or two?” He could hear the smirk in her voice even before she started laughing. “A few choice words in the gossip circles, and I'll have people singing like a canary, don't you worry ‘bout that.”
“I'm being serious, mother. I'm the one being reckless here, and I'd hate for you to get in trouble on my behalf.”
“Now, don't you go worrying about me. And you hush about me being a hypocrite right now.” Even without being able to see him, Alastor chuckled at the fact she could probably clearly picture the eye roll he'd given her for said hypocrisy. “It's a mother's job to worry about her babies. And it's the kids' job to trust their parents to do right by them.”
Alastor had to bite his tongue to resist the urge to point out his other parent, who definitely hadn't been worthy of his trust, and clearly didn't have either of their best interests in mind. He wasn't going to start another argument about it right now, so he had to hold his tongue.
“Should be a bit of fun playing investigator anyhow.” She continued. “You know me, always love a bit if gossip with the girls. I'm sure Emmy would be happy to help too if I asked her.”
“I don't want Emily to know about this. She's helping with the hotel, and I've very grateful for that. But Adam and that girl wasn't part of the deal I made with her. She could get in trouble with Sera, and that's the last thing I would want to happen.” The moment Sera found out, was the moment he was a condemned man, and he wouldn't ever be able to return to heaven. Emily might share the same fate as him if Sera thought she was a threat to her secrets.
“ Please , Fai atansion.(3) (Be Careful)” He warned, specifically using the same words and warning tone that she had used on him countless times as a child, to emphasize that it wasn't something to take lightly. “I'm being serious, mother. Promise me that you won't put yourself at risk, or tell anyone else about this.”
“You're really worried about this aren't you?” Doe asked, her voice softening as she heard just how scared Alastor was for her. “Are you already in trouble? What's really going on down there?”
“Don't ask me that, mother.” Alastor groaned, preferring not to outright lie to her if he could help it. “I'm not in trouble, as long as I don't get caught. But, if I am, I don't want them to have a reason to drag you down with me.”
“Okay then. Alright. I'll be as subtle as I can be. You can trust me, baby, I'll do right by you.” She promised, clearly concerned for him, and rightfully so.
“You always do, manman.” Alastor assured her with a soft smile, one he hoped she could hear in his voice. She'd never done anything to intently hurt him, and he knew that wasn't going to change.
However, he also knew how stubborn she could be, and there was no taking back his request now, even if he wanted to. She'd help him with almost anything, but he didn't like to ask anything of her, she'd been through enough bullshit with his father. He refused to be a burden to her the same way he had.
“Now. Enough with the serious talk. I want you to spill some tea! What's Hell actually like down there? How does this hotel of yours look? Is Lucifers daughter anything like him? Come on now, don't leave your poor mother guessing.”
Alastor laughed and settled in for what was probably going to be a very late night gossip session. It was nice being able to do this with her despite the distance. In life when he'd left her, there were often full months between when they could talk, and even then it was usually via telegram and letters. He really needed to find a way to thank Emily for extending his reach and making this possible.
With a thought, the radio began to quietly play an old favorire song of theirs as background noise while they talked, and if he closed his eyes, it almost felt like he was at home.