Chapter Text
Ranboo twitched. The ground beneath them was hard and cold. Ranboo’s head pounded, and his mind was fuzzy. He slowly opened his eyes. There was so much red. The buildings, the sky, and just about everyone walking past wore some kind of red.
“Where the hell am I?” They muttered to themself, sitting up. He felt weird. That’s the only way they could describe it. He looked down at his hands and held back a yelp. They were claw-like and there was fluff on his wrists, he had an extra set of arms, too.
Okay, what the fuck was going on? They tried to stand, but had to put their hand on the wall to keep balance. His legs were long and thin, difficult to stand on. He looked at his reflection in the window of some little store.
He was some type of insect. A butterfly, he thought. He was still split in half between black and white, and his eyes were similar, but they were purely one color, no pupils or anything. He had large wings on his back, colors the opposite of his eyes (green eye, red wing, ect.) He had antennae, and was easily ten feet tall, maybe taller. He still wore his gray suit, the only difference was an extra pair of sleeves.
He continued to look around until he spotted it. A sign on one of the many red buildings said “welcome to Hell!” Now that Ranboo looked around more, that was quite obvious considering the giant pentagram in the sky.
He was in Hell, actual Hell! What about Limbo? Or had he imagined it…hadn’t he died before? Didn’t Sam….? Their memory was too fuzzy, he couldn’t tell if that had actually happened, or if this was actually happening. Were they just hallucinating?
Suddenly, some small impish demon ran into them, knocking them off balance. He yelped as he fell, long limbs that they weren’t used to tangling together. “Watch it!” the demon hissed before running off. Ranboo sat up and sighed. This wasn’t a hallucination, was it?
They slowly stood up, grasping the wall for balance. This was so weird! He tried to rack his mind for what had happened before they’d gotten here, but couldn’t find anything. What did they remember? Tubbo and Michael, he couldn’t forget them. They remembered Tommy, and Phil and Techno. He remembered L’manberg, or at least its existence…hadn’t something happened to it? And he remembered a mask with a smile on it that unnerved him. But why? What did the mask mean?
‘Screw it, just keep walking’ they thought, starting to walk and trying to keep balance. His antennae perked at the sound of voices on a TV that he’d walked by. He back-tracked slightly to watch. Some lady named Katie Killjoy was talking about the Hazbin Hotel, which was apparently run by the princess of Hell to redeem sinners. Huh, that definitely wasn’t on his Bingo card today.
Anyway, they decided that their best bet was to go there. Too bad it was on the other side of Pentagram City (which he’d learned is what this city is called). They started walking, getting more and more used to his stilt-like legs. Eventually a tall building came into view. It didn’t seem that different from all the others, red and bright lights, but he had a feeling that that was the hotel.
He walked up and knocked on the door. He still wasn’t used to having four arms. The door opened and golden light spilled into the night. A woman wearing a red tuxedo-jacket was standing in the doorway. Her eyes lit up when she saw them.
“Hello! I’m Charlie, and welcome to the Hazbin Hotel!” She said, opening the door wider and gesturing for Ranboo to step inside.
He was immediately bombarded by the sound of many demons talking. Their antennae flicked and drooped slightly, the sound far too much for them. It was a nice place really, it was still a bit messy though. He looked around and spotted a bar.
A winged cat demon was serving drinks while a fish-like demon sat there, clipboard sitting beside them, although they weren't drinking anything. Another demon was there too, Ranboo got a sense of deja vu when seeing them. They were a purple hoodie, and had a tail with a yellow star shape at the end, floating rings circling it.
“So, this is where sinners come to be redeemed, right?” Ranboo asked, fidgeting with their hands.
“Yes! Are you new to Hell?” The princess asked, with a sympathetic look on her face, but her smile didn’t leave.
“Uhm, yes actually. I heard of this place on the news and thought I'd check it out. I don’t really have anywhere else to go..”
“That’s alright! You’re welcomed here,” she said, looking at him kindly.
“I’m Ranboo, by the way,” he told her.
The hoodie-wearing demon at the bar jerked around towards them, mouth slack and all four magenta eyes wide.
“Ranboo!? You’re in Hell?” He said, antennae flicking.
Ranboo paused for a moment, not knowing what to say. Then, a small bit of his memory came back.
“Purpled? Is that you?” They asked, looking at the odd looking demon.
“Yes! I didn’t think you’d end up here,” Purpled said, long purple ears flicking slightly. Purpled had gray skin, a purple mask pattern over his eyes and purple speckles all over his body. He had four arms, and weird looking wings on his back. He had four pure magenta eyes and purple and black antennae.
“You two know each other?" the princess asked, looking quizzically at the two.
“Uhm, yeah, when we were alive,” Purpled said, shifting slightly.
Ranboo somehow hadn’t even thought about the fact that they were dead. It sent a shiver down his spine. He decided he’d unpack that later.
“Well, how about I show you to your room! Follow me,” Charlie said cheerfully, guiding Ranboo towards the stairs. Ranboo waved goodbye to Purpled before following. They’d have to talk to him tomorrow.
They went up the stairs and down one of the long hallways, passing by many hotel residents on their way. Eventually, they stopped at a door.
“This’ll be your room! Here’s your keys and breakfast will be ready in the morning. Feel free to personalize your room any way you like,” Charlie said, handing Ranboo the keys to their room.
Ranboo nodded. “Thank you,” he said, wings fluttering a little. He still wasn’t used to those.
“No problem! Have a good night,” Charlie said, walking off. Ranboo unlocked the door and headed inside. They turned on the light and looked around.
It was cozy, not too big and not too small. He sighed, suddenly exhausted. He turned the lamp on next to the bed and turned off the light. He basically collapsed on to the bed, sighing.
This had officially been the weirdest day of their life. Or afterlife, he supposed. Again, he’d have to unpack that later.
He reached over and shut off the lamp, he wasn’t sure why he’d turned it on in the first place. They shut their eyes and decided that they’d deal with everything tomorrow. For now, he just needed some sleep.