Chapter Text
“I don’t buy it,” Husk mumbles to Angel, when they’re heading over to the couches in the hotel’s lounge area. He grabs Angel by the arm and holds him back for a moment, yellow eyes narrowed in caution and glued to Alastor’s back. “He’s up to something, and I don’t think we should have any part in it.”
Husk is on edge.
Really on edge. And when Husk is on edge, Angel is on edge. Angel still isn’t sure of all of the details surrounding Husk’s outward dislike of The Radio Demon, but he knows that he’s never seen Husk look so uneasy around anyone else before. It doesn’t help that Charlie seems oblivious to the fact that she’s decided to trust a supposedly well-known “monster,” and she keeps insisting that Alastor is there to “help” them.
Apparently, Charlie explained “everything” to Alastor last night in their absence, which only makes Angel feel more anxious. He’d have liked the opportunity to explain himself, to pick and choose which information was handed over to this stranger carefully, but Charlie took the liberty of doing that for him. He doesn’t really understand why Alastor is here or what he has to gain from this, but he’s here now and Angel just needs to roll with that as best he can.
With the addition of Alastor to the hotel’s resident cast, also comes a small demon named Niffty who Angel finds charming and hilarious. She’s been tasked with cleaning the hotel and ridding it of vermin, which she’s already managed to make significant progress on. The hotel is visibly cleaner, and brighter, somehow. It feels more alive than it did just twenty-four hours ago, which only helps to fan the flames of hope burning inside of Angel’s chest.
Angel doesn’t give a shit who this Alastor guy is. He’s never been one to care about Hell’s politics or overlords or stupid demon deals, but now that his friend is in trouble, he has to care. They’re planning to go up against one of Hell’s most powerful overlords after all, so maybe they could use all the help they can get. Sure, Alastor is a blood-thirsty demon whose motivations are shrouded in mystery, but who in Hell ain’t? There’s no denying that this fucker has power, and power is something worth putting aside differences for.
It’s just a matter of convincing Husk that trusting Alastor is a good idea.
Angel swallows and tries not to let the frustration show on his face. “He says he’s here to help,” Angel supplies, but he knows that Husk won’t fall for it.
“Bullshit,” Husk hisses, the caution turning quickly to disgust as his glare darkens. “I’ve known this fucker for a long time, kid, longer than I care to admit. He would never let himself be downgraded to a service role for some doe-eyed princess unless there was somethin’ he wanted. We’re stickin’ our heads into the lion’s mouth by moving forward with this plan. Maybe we should think on it some more, come back tomorrow.”
Angel yanks his arm out of Husk’s grasp. “Tomorrow?” Angel’s voice is an angry whisper. “We ain’t got time to sit around and wait for nothin’ right now! Cherri is with Val, doin’ — I don’t even wanna think about what they’re doin’! You think I give a shit about some stupid overlord bullshit? Whiskers, you said you trusted me. Are you really gonna let some old-timey prick get the best of you?”
Husk stares at Angel, eyes wide, and Angel remembers in that moment that Husk still owns his soul. He shouldn’t be talking to his master this way, but since when has that ever stopped Angel from speaking his mind? Husk had been hesitant about this plan from the start, but that doesn’t mean that he can just change his mind the moment something changes.
“Angel, you don’t know this guy,” Husk insists. “He’s up to something—”
“I need you to believe in me,” Angel begs, cutting him off. “I ain’t got time to argue with you about this, and I ain’t gonna sit here and let you put this off because of some dick-measuring contest you got goin’ with Fancy Talk Creepy Voice over there. If you ain’t here to support me, go back to the casino and I’ll see you later.”
He doesn’t have time to play this game with Husk, not now. There’s a sense of urgency boiling in his belly that’s driving him forward, and he doesn’t want to lose sight of what’s important. He’s determined to try and make the most of this situation, Alastor or not. Angel’s spent his entire life and most of his afterlife making the most of shit situations, why should this be any different? Cherri’s soul is on the line and Angel can’t risk wasting time to avoid hurting peoples’ feelings. If Husk doesn’t want to help him, then maybe Alastor will.
Angel walks away from Husk, and heads over to the others who have thankfully been oblivious to their argument.
Angel sticks to his original gameplan of explaining his idea to Charlie. Nifty brings them a tray of tea and cookies to share while they talk, which feels a little bit like overkill, but Angel is more than happy to have something to do with one set of hands while his other two wring themselves together anxiously.
Alastor sits across from Angel and Husk and sips his tea with a smile on his face and his legs crossed in front of him. He’s just as impossible to read now as he had been that night at the casino, and Husk is practically vibrating with anger at Angel’s side. It’s a little bit funny, honestly, because the way Husk is acting with his ears flattened to his head and his hair standing on end makes him look like a pissed off kitten but Angel would never tell him that. He’s quietly seething, glaring daggers across the coffee table with his arms crossed and his shoulders slumped.
But he’s here, and that means something. He didn’t turn and leave when Angel gave him the choice to go; he stayed to support Angel, because he loves him. It’s a testament to how much they’ve overcome together, Angel thinks, and he feels something like pride well up in his chest. When he met Husk all those months ago, he was closed-off and hardened against the very idea of intimacy. He’d been all business — telling Angel that he had a job to do, acting like it didn’t matter to him if Angel did what he was told or not. He’d treated Angel like he was just another dollar in his bank account, something easily replaceable and expendable. Now, Husk is different. He sees Angel’s value and he supports him, he sees him as a person and not just a soul on his chain.
“How are you holding up?” Charlie asks, pulling her legs up onto the couch to sit a bit more comfortably. She holds her mug of tea with both of her hands, like she’s hugging it for warmth. Absently, Angel wonders if the hybrid daughter of an archangel and the first demon of Hell bleeds hot or cold. He supposes that only time will tell.
“Better today,” Angel admits. He looks down into his own cup of tea and wishes that it held all of the answers. The dark liquid ripples with the slight shake of Angel’s hand, and he closes his eyes against the rush of anxiety he feels.
He’s taking a big risk with his plan. He knows that he is. But it’s Cherri they’re talking about here, the only friend that had ever stuck by him, the only soul who had ever cared enough about him to fight for him, and he owes her this.
Angel stops wringing his hands together to reach one over to place reassuringly on Husk’s thigh. Husk startles at the contact, eyes going wide, and he looks at Angel who smiles at him in quiet thanks. He knows that this can’t be easy, and he’s grateful that Husk is sticking it out for him anyway.
“Good!” Charlie says, smiling. “That’s good! Keeping a positive attitude will help us come up with a plan faster.”
Angel looks over at Husk, and Husk nods at him. He takes a deep breath. He can do this.
“Actually,” Angel starts, sitting up a little bit straighter. “We kinda came up with somethin’ already, and we were hopin’ that you’d be willin’ to hear us out.”
It’s Charlie’s turn to look surprised. Her eyes go wide and she looks over at Vaggie, who is sitting alone in one of the armchairs.
“We’re all ears,” Vaggie says, shrugging.
Angel bites down hard on the inside of his cheek. “I want Husk to bet my soul against Cherri’s in a game of poker,” Angel blurts out, to the predictable gasp of shock from Charlie. “I know, I know that it’s risky, but I think that it’s the only way to set her free. Val doesn’t want Cherri, he’s after me, and we all know it. This whole thing, it’s all just…” Angel takes another steadying breath. “It’s just another one of Val’s mind games. He’s tryin’ to hurt me, and he’s doin’ a damn good job, but we can outsmart him.”
Val may seem dumb on the surface, and in a lot of ways, he is, but beneath it all is a calculated overlord who managed to use the dried-up corpses of sex workers to climb his way to the top of the overlord ladder. Angel learned a long time ago not to underestimate Val’s cunning.
“Angel, no,” Charlie argues, like Angel knew she would. She’s earnest like that, predictable in how she cares for others. She wants to do good, she wants to be good, she doesn’t want to sacrifice others to achieve that. It’s one of the things that Angel likes about her. “That’s way too dangerous. We can come up with another way—”
“There ain’t no other way, Toots,” Angel says, cutting her off. “And we ain’t got time to think of anything else. I don’t want to imagine what kind of shit Val is putting Cherri through right now. You guys saw her last night, you saw how bad she’s doin’ — if we wait, there ain’t gonna be nothin’ left of her to save. Trust me. If anyone knows how cruel Val can be, it’s me. I was his favorite toy for thirty years.”
Beside him, Husk growls in anger. Angel tightens his grip on Husk’s thigh.
“Which is exactly why you can’t do this!” Charlie shifts her position, no longer comfortable with the direction of the conversation and therefore no longer comfortable sitting so relaxed. She throws her legs over the side of the couch and sets her mug down on the table, brows furrowed in frustration. “Angel, if he wins your soul back, there’s nothing I can do to save you.”
“He ain’t gonna win,” Angel assures her. “Husk is the best of the best, and he’s gonna keep me safe.”
“That’s not how card games work,” Charlie says, eyes wide as she looks around at the group of them. “You can’t seriously be thinking about—”
“I am serious.” Angel knows that he needs to stand his ground. It’s the same thing that Husk had said earlier, but Angel isn’t going to let them talk him out of this. “It’s the only way, Charlie. You said it yourself: there ain’t nothin’ you can do to interfere with demon contracts. The only way to help Cherri is by fightin’ fire with fire.”
“And you’re just fine with this?” Charlie asks Husk, point-blank. Beside him, Husk shifts, yellow eyes glancing up from his hunched over position to look at Charlie. Husk holds her gaze for a moment before he sighs and shrugs.
“Ain’t no sense in tryin’ to talk him out of it,” Husk says, sounding tired. “If Angel thinks this is the only way, then I wanna hear him out.”
Charlie opens her mouth to speak, but she’s cut off by the sound of Alastor snorting.
“You know,” Alastor chimes in, setting his teacup on the ceramic saucer with a scrape. His smile is ever-present, but his eyes are dark and sinister. “If you had asked me what I thought would change in Hell during my seven year sabbatical, I’d never have guessed that Husker, The Gambling Demon, would have gone so soft.”
Husk growls and sinks lower into the couch, his claw tapping angrily against the upholstery. He doesn’t fire back the way that Angel knows he wants to, and Angel feels a pang of appreciation at the fact that Husk is working hard to keep his cool on Angel’s behalf. He has to make sure to thank him later.
“I ain’t gone soft, ” Husk says, his voice low but steady. “I just got other priorities now.”
“Mmm,” Alastor hums. His brows shoot up and his gaze stays trained on Husk, like he thinks Husk is something amusing. He tilts his head to the side in a condescending way, the way someone might do when they’re talking to a child. “Of course, my mistake. I guess I foolishly thought that you cared more about your reputation than you did about silly fantasies like ‘redemption.’ After all, you certainly cared more about your reputation when you were willing to bet your own soul for the chance to save it.”
Alastor is knowingly provoking Husk to get a rise out of him, and it’s glaringly clear to everyone in the room. Angel doesn’t understand what this bastard’s game is, why he’s so set on making Husk’s experience in this conversation so fucking miserable, but he’s done sitting here and letting it happen.
“Hey, Alastor?” Angel says, before Husk can reply.
Alastor’s eyes flash before they flick over to look at Angel. “Hm?”
“Do me a favor, will ya? Shut the fuck up,” Angel says, much to Charlie’s audible dismay. From her chair, she makes an uncomfortable squeaking noise while Vaggie does nothing to hide her impressed snort.
“Oooooohkay,” Charlie chimes in, getting to her feet. “I’m sensing some tension among the group, and I don’t entirely think that it has much to do with the task at hand so maybe we should—”
“Oh, my deepest apologies, Princess,” says Alastor, letting his eyes close as he lifts his cup of tea to his lips again. “I just wanted to make sure that everyone was as invested in the hotel as you and I are.”
Husk says nothing. He broods beside Angel with his arms crossed and glares at Alastor, which is better than Angel would have been able to do if their positions were reversed. Angel stops scrubbing his hands together so that he can rest one of them reassuringly on Husk’s thigh in a silent thank you for keeping his cool.
“Husk’s priority isn’t the hotel,” Vaggie says, contributing to the conversation for the first time. Angel shoots her a look because what the fuck, Toots, I thought you was supposed to be our side!? But then she says, “His priority is Angel, and that’s more than enough for me to be convinced of his loyalty and investment.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Charlie agrees, beaming at her girlfriend. “We all have the same goal in mind, and that’s to find a way to help Cherri Bomb out of her deal with Valentino. She’s going to be the hotel’s very first project. The first soul we save. This is important.”
Angel feels like he might cry. He’s so lucky to have found an opportunity in Charlie and the hotel. He’s so lucky that he’s managed to change his life for the better, that he’s actually able to make steps forward instead of being paralyzed in fear like Val wants him to be.
Charlie wants to help save Cherri. Angel has an exorcist and the literal Princess of Hell on his side. There’s no way they can lose.
“We just gotta find a way to get Val to agree to play Husk in a game of cards,” Angel explains. “Val may be an idiot, but he ain’t as stupid as people think he is. He ain’t just gonna agree to something like this when it’s obvious what we’re planning. We gotta be smart about this.”
Charlie sits down in her chair again, and places her hand on her chin thoughtfully. “I think you’re right about that. We can’t force him to bet Cherri’s soul, either. We need to make it feel worth it to him. We need—”
“What you need, ” Alastor says, smug, like he knows better than everyone in the room, “Is a show.”
All heads turn in Alastor’s direction. He finishes his tea and sets the cup and saucer down on the table in front of him before slowly and dramatically giving all of his attention to Angel.
“Let me interview you on my radio show,” Alastor suggests. “You can call out that lanky, pathetic excuse for an overlord on air and humiliate him in front of all of Hell’s denizens. Then I’m sure he won’t be able to turn down your challenge. He might even challenge you himself. Reverse psychology.”
“What’s in it for you?” Husk asks, before Angel can react to the suggestion.
Alastor’s eyes narrow, but his smile doesn’t waver.
“Whatever do you mean?” Alastor asks, feigning innocence. “Can’t I do this out of the kindness of my heart?”
Husk snorts. “No.”
“Husk, come on,” Charlie butts in, looking anxiously between them. “If Alastor wants to help out, I think we should let him. He’s a part of this hotel, too, and he wants to see it succeed.”
“Yeah, and I’m still tryin’ to figure out why he agreed to be part of this hotel,” Husk replies gruffly. He moves and sits up a little straighter, eyes glued to Alastor’s face. His distrust of The Radio Demon is palpable with the darkness in his expression, and Angel can practically feel the hatred radiating off of him.
“Fine,” Alastor says, his tone shifting a bit to something more curt and less playful. “If my original answer isn’t enough to satisfy you, I’ll rephrase. I’m doing this for the fun of it, Husker. For the entertainment of it all. You want to know why I’m so eager to participate in your silly little antics that normally I’d consider myself far too busy for? It’s because the time I spent away from this dreadful city was frightfully boring, and I’m in need of something fun. And frankly, I find this whole ordeal to be absolutely hilarious.”
Husk growls again and Charlie makes a face, but Angel only feels relief at Alastor’s honesty. He seems like he’s being truthful about “entertainment” being his motivation, at least on the surface. Husk doesn’t seem to believe him, but it’s good enough for Angel. If Alastor has some ulterior motive for wanting to help, it’s none of Angel’s business and he doesn’t care. “I’m doing it for the laughs” is as good a reason as any, and Angel is willing to accept that.
“Let’s do it,” Angel says, cutting through the bullshit.
“Angel,” Husk argues, but Angel just puts his hand up to stop him.
“Let’s do the interview.” Angel doesn’t have time to waste on diplomacy or stupid overlord drama. His best friend is in danger and it’s his fucking fault, the least he can do is jumpstart the process of saving her instead of sitting around to listen to old men bickering about the politics of Hell. “What do I gotta do?”
Alastor’s eyes glow for a moment and his expression darkens, but once again, that smile never wavers. Angel feels a sudden chill in the air that makes him shiver, and his stomach sinks as he starts to wonder if maybe he’s making a mistake by trusting this guy.
Alastor’s energy is odd, and unlike anything else Angel has ever experienced. There’s something ancient about him, even though from what Angel can tell, they were very likely alive at the same time. Everyone in Hell is a piece of shit, but Alastor? Alastor feels —
Evil.
Real evil. Evil in a way that makes Angel feel like they’re not even living in the same universe.
“Excellent,” Alastor sneers, and his eyes flash green. “I have a radio tower attached to this hotel—”
“You what?” Charlie interrupts.
Alastor ignores her. “—We can conduct our interview there. I’ll set the broadcast to reach the entirety of the Pride Ring, this way we’re sure it’ll reach our target audience.”
“You can do that?” Vaggie asks, unable to keep the awe from her expression or tone.
Alastor laughs, and the sound makes Angel’s stomach churn. “Oh, my dear, I can do much more than that.”
That same chill creeps through the air once more, and this time Angel is sure that he’s not the only one who feels it. The others all look uneasy, like they’re doubting this plan, like they’re unsure if this is the right way to move forward.
“Interview me,” Husk says, addressing Alastor. Angel turns to stare at him, confused.
“Whiskers, what—”
“It should be me,” Husk says, still looking at Alastor and not at Angel. “He’s not gonna give a shit if Angel tries to taunt him, that’s what he wants. If it’s me, he’ll bite. Bein’ an overlord is just a dick-measuring contest anyway. If he feels like his reputation is challenged, he won’t have a choice. Put me on your stupid radio show, and we’ll watch the bastard squirm.”
Angel blinks, stunned to silence because — yeah, actually, that’s a great idea. Husk doesn’t trust Alastor, that much he’s made very clear, which makes Angel think that he’s probably suggesting this as a way to keep Angel safe.
Angel takes a deep breath and looks around the room. Everyone here wants to help him. Everyone here believes in him. It makes him feel like maybe, just maybe, they’ll be able to pull this off.
“Oh, I love a plot twist,” Alastor sneers, nostrils flarings. He stands and his expression darkens in a giddy way as green light pulses through the room, that same, ancient chill from before giggling like distant laughter deep inside of Angel’s bones. “It’s been a while since I’ve had the honor of hosting an overlord on my radio show with their soul still intact. This will be fun.”