Redemption lies within

Hazbin Hotel

With the sound of the doors opening followed by the sounds of his footsteps on the floor of the hotel, Joshua had made it back after finding a place to wash off the excess sewage that had covered his clothes and gauze; what Joshua had managed to find in any useful capacity to wash off the filthy, was surprisingly a water fountain in the midst of some vintage looking town with peculiar looking sinners.

It was just his luck however after washing himself off and exiting from the fountain, that the water turned blood red at the sound of some clock signaling an hour had passed. A macabre scene unfolded in front of him as he dodged several sinners diving into the bloody fountain to cover themselves in the stuff and drink from it. A fight and then some devolved amongst the crowd as the sinners fought tooth and nail to partake in the hedonistic ritual of bathing and drinking from the bloody water.

Even he wasn't exempt from the turmoil of fights as he resolved to leave from the town of what was more than likely a cannibalistic district of sinners, seeing as how he saw several demons feeding on corpses along the way out.

More than a few times, Joshua had to fire rounds of his m1911 pistol into the skull of a cannibal sinner from lunging at him and sinking their teeth into him.

Shaking his head of looking back on what he had to go through in cleaning himself off to return to the hotel, Joshua shut the door behind him before briefly noticing the crates sitting not far from the entrance of the hotel.

"Joshua." Vaggie's voice prompted the burnt sinner's attention over to the foyer. She stood beside a couch that was being lazed on by Angel Dust while in the distance past a doorway to the kitchen, Charlie dipped her head through the door to see one of the residents had finally returned back in time for dinner.

Vaggie gave Joshua an annoyed look as she tapped her foot with her hands on her hips, "Listen, I get you want to help defend the Hotel to the best of your ability, but-" She then gestured to the crates that were beside the front doors, neatly stacked atop each other, "Isn't this going overboard? We want sinners to feel welcomed, not fearful of approaching the hotel!" she remarked while putting her hand back on her hip.

"Perhaps." Joshua replied back to Vaggie as he walked in through the foyer with a calm gait, "But all they would need to do, is walk up to the entrance and not entertain the thought of invading the property with hostile intent." he argue back while reaching his lone table and chair beside the fireplace of the foyer everyone would retreat to to relax at the end of the day.

Vaggie slackened her arms beside herself while giving Joshua a deadpan look as she bent forward in exhaustion in having to deal with the burnt sinner's incessant need to safeguard the hotel with extreme prejudice. "What kind of life did you even experience?" She prodded with a sarcastic tone, "Some Apocalyptic Wasteland" Vaggie scoffed at the idea.

As Joshua sat down on his wooden chair next to the table with a pile of guns on it, Joshua slowly looked back at her with an inscrutable gaze, he neither denied it or affirmed it, as he wasn't in the mood at the moment to fully disclose what sort of place he was from….that, and it was more of personal question of where and what point in time on his Earth he was from.

If the topic was pressed upon more, he'd discuss it, but so far, he didn't see the need unless Charlie decided for the residents of the hotel to disclose a little bit of their previous lives.

For now though, he supposed he'd entertain Vaggie's question with an answer, "While I don't see anyone else here discussing their past much, I do not think it is that prudent for me to divulge what my life was like until the issue is needed." Joshua spoke calmly while resting on the wooden chair he sat on.

"...I suppose that's fair…" Vaggie remarked while rubbing her arms uncomfortably and looking to the side in some shame. Some sinners didn't want to reminisce on their deaths, and many have chosen to outright forget their former lives on Earth.

"Yeah, no kid'n." Angel Dust interjected as he lounged on the couch he sat on, using his upper arms to placed them behind his head to rest on, while crossing his lower arms over his fluff chest, he gave Vaggie and annoyed look, "Listen toots, I get you're curious about mister burnt bacon over there." He thumbed at Joshua, while earning a pointed look from the man, "But a lot of sinners don't exactly have fond memories of their deaths."

From over at the bar where Husk had silently cleaned a few glasses, the cat sinner lifted his brow while expressing a deadpan look at Angel, "Speaking from experience?" he questioned Angel.

With a pointed look of his own, Angel glanced back over at Husk with a challenging look and smirk, "And what, you saying your life wasn't shit that led you to here?" he teased.

Before the situation could devolve any further into a heated argument of how traumatizing their deaths were, as it wasn't a topic she wanted the residents to divulge unless they really wanted to as part of their rehabilitation, Charlie stepped into the foyer from with the kitchen while some flour covered her black apron she wore over her shirt. "Hey hey!" She tried to get everyone's attention, "how about less of this, and we can work on a new activity!" Charlie urged the residents with a kind smile.

Earning everyone's attention, Vaggie was the first to speak with a look of surprise, "Already? At this time of day?" she prodded her partner.

"Er…yeah!" Charlie answered while her finger was raised in declaration of the idea, "Tonight, we can work as a group to make spaghetti from scratch for the night, it'll be a hands-on group effort!" She proposed her idea with an excited look.

Silence permeated the foyer, earning some blank looks from the residents, before Angel stood up with an annoyed look, "Oh hell no, I'm not about to see another dish of my people get butchered, move aside princess." he grouched out as he stomped towards and passed a surprised Charlie, "Where's the-, You put too much salt in with the flour Charlie!" Angel's voice echoed out from the kitchen.

While Charlie had a surprised look on her face, and Vaggie giving her a bemused look, Angel Dust's voice continued to echo out from the kitchen along with sounds of cupboards being opened and pots being arranged. "Niffty, what are you doing in there?" Angel asked after making the sound of opening a cupboard.

"Killing the roaches!" Niffty's voice rang out.

"...hand me that spoon, would'ya?"

"Okay!"

While the chaos ensued within the kitchen, Husk looked over at Charlie with a curious look as he made himself a drink of orange juice and vodka. "Did you have anything in mind to go with the spaghetti?" He asked nonchalantly.

With a haphazard shrug from Charlie, she looked back at Husk with an unsure look. "I was thinking that while some would help make the spaghetti, the rest would help peel potatoes to make a nice side dish of potato skins."

At the mention of potatoes being part of the dish, Angel was heard opening the kitchen pantry before an unearthly scream rang out, "rrgh! Rrgh, rrgh! Whhheeeereee'ssss the Fucking soil!"

"...I've had worse." Angel's voice echoed out, "Niffty, I need some help over here."

"With a knife!?" Niffty was heard letting herself out her cupboard, and asked.

"With a knife." Angel replied back to her.

While the sounds of slicing and unearthly screams echoed from the kitchen, with a nervous smile, Charlie simply excused herself back into the kitchen, leaving the rest of the occupants of the foyer to themselves for the time being.

After a few seconds passed while the sound of chaos echoed from the kitchen, Joshua chose to let his thoughts be known as he inspected one of his pistols that was lying on the table next to him, "Not surprising about the potato plant." he mused while inspected the pistol's chamber via the slide as he pulled it back, "There is a nickname for the spud I remember hearing about, something about it once called the Devil's potato." Joshua remarked, earning a bemused look from Vaggie in the process.

Later that night

After all that was said and done, the little activity of making dinner as a group effort had devolved into killing off the majority of the spuds to prevent them from destroying the hotel; The potato skins were off the table, thus that left spaghetti as the only meal viable with some tomato sauce.

The real surprise of the whole ordeal, was Angel's incessant need to instruct how to properly make spaghetti, to the point of making sure it came out as 'Al Dente'.

For Joshua, as he retreated to his room for the night, it was the first time he had the dish, so it was an experience in itself.

Letting out a soft sigh, he allowed himself some reprieve as he sat down on his bed and hunched himself over to begin taking his boots off. While he made the process of getting himself ready for bed, Joshua thought back what Angel Dust had said about the residents of the hotel having fond memories of their deaths.

As Joshua finished untying his shoes, he pulled them off from his feet and felt the freedom of his feet meet the air. Sitting back up straight to relax for a bit on his bed, Joshua continued to think back on what the Porn Star had said.

…Just because he didn't partake in the proclivities of hell, didn't mean he wasn't wholly unaware of who he interacted with.

Back to his previous thought, Angel Dust's comment resonated somewhat within Joshua's mind. It made him think back on his own final moments before his death.

While he sat on his bed, Joshua turned his head to glance out his window to think back on his death. Never once since his time in hell did he actually take the time to ponder back how he died, as it would not do to focus on the past too much; but now that the thought persisted in his mind, Joshua could not help but dwell on it.

Flashback

Zion Canyon

Bodies littered the ground, all of which were of raiders that had sought to plunder the lands of the park, to rape and pillage the people of the land, and for their trespass upon the land with evil intent, the raiders now find themselve bleeding out to death or having already died from the bullet riddled holes in their heads.

A lone man, wrapped in bandages and gauze, limped with a tired gait. The lone survivor of the entire mess of the attack from the raiders held his bleeding stomach, while the bandages on his arms were red from bullet riddled holes.

"Hrn." Joshua let out a strained gasp as he felt his aged and withered body struggle to obey him as he slowly limped passed piles of bodies, all of which were raiders and ne'er do wells that came to reap the lands of good his people and family.

It had been more than thirty years since the White Legs incident, and since then, He and the tribe's people along with what remained of his family, had managed to make Zion Canyon their prosperous home. It was a clean place, one of the very few places that was not irradiated, especially the water source.

Especially the water source. The lord provided them with seasons of abundant crops, their faith in the Holy Father not left unwanting.

Now here he was, the oldest man of the tribes and family, most have taken up calling him The Elder, Elder Graham, or simply Grand Elder. The titles mattered little to him, for he was the shepherd of his flock, and he would guide them with the scriptures of the faith. Joshua didn't know how old he was now, but if he had to guess, he was pushing into his late eighties to nineties.

It was already a miracle that Joshua managed to live this long, but he likened it to some favor granted to him by the lord, for keeping the faith and watching over his people.

Letting out another grunt as he stepped over a body of a raider, not far into the distance, he could see the new settlement of Canaan. Calling it New Canaan at the time seemed redundant, so he and Deniel had agreed on simply naming their new Settlement Canaan in honor of their former home.

Thinking back about Daniel, the missionary lived long enough to see their new settlement finished for generation to live on in, before passing away peacefully at the ripe age of seventy eight.

And now here he was, an older man than Daniel at a very advanced age, one that could not keep up with his intent. The spirit was willing, but the body was old, and there was only so much he could do until a mistake was made.

At least he was able to defend the settlement from the raider attack, that was all he could ask for in the end from the lord. The strength to defend his home one last time so that his people and faith could live on with prosperity for generations to come.

With an aged and emaciated arm that matched his age, Joshua reached out to lean against a post of the fence that led to the entrance of the settlement, of which had its doors closed and concrete walls all armed with barbed wire and flamethrowers.

One of the sentries atop the wall had taken notice of him and moved to open the gate, "The Elder has returned from victory!" the sentry's voice rang out after opening the doors.

The sounds of doors opening and clamoring voices echoed from within the settlement, Joshua on the other hand let out another strained gasp as he slowly pushed himself off from leaning on the fence post, and limped on in through the settlement gate, already there was a crowd forming around him as he struggled to walk on his own legs.

Thin as they were, his legs never gave out on him even in the heat of the moment in the battle against the raiders. The few that survived, had escaped with their lives with fear in their eyes.

As Joshua continued to trudge on through the settlement, a few villagers of Canaan offered to lend him aid in walking, while others panicked when they saw the state he was in. "Someone, get him some medical aid!" one of the people cried out, only to be rebuffed by someone else with a saddened look, and remarked that medical aid didn't exactly work that well on his body.

His vision began to swim while his eyes struggled to stay open. So this was how it ended for him? In all honesty, Joshua was content with the fact he was able to defend the settlement, this time, there were no children, mothers, nor elderly lost in the attack. The only thing lost was an old man, an old man that would probably go down in legend of killing an entire roving raider band to the near last man.

Joshua continued to limp with some help walking towards the center of the settlement, and as he did, from out of the nearby church, his…well, he took him in under his wing. The adult was a late teen at the time when Joshua found the kid amongst a different roaming gang of raiders.

Amongst the adult raiders, he spared the young lad, there was still a chance for the teen to change, and he did over the years after Joshua took him in. Sure, he could have spared the raiders as well, but their eyes already hinted that they had their hearts set in their ways of life, the young teen's eyes did not, and thus Joshua took the chance to shepard the boy into his flock and teach him the faith and lessons on life.

After a time, the boy became a man under his teachings, and took up a new name of his choosing to signify his new life amongst the Canaanites and Tribeman.

"Old man!" Jacob called out in distress while Joshua limped towards the center of the village with the aid of his people.

"Jacob." Joshua returned back in an aged voice reflecting his state of being, "It is good you listened and heeded my wishes." he said, as he almost tripped over himself from his weak legs.

Finding himself having almost fallen if it weren't for the fact that the people kept their grip on him from falling to the ground too harshly, Joshua now found himself lowered down to lie facing up while the people let Jacob tend to him and gave the two of them some room.

"Why didn't you let me help!?" Jacob asked in more distress as he looked at Joshua's bleeding body. "We-we could have prevented this!" he said with panic in his voice as he looked into Joshua's aged eyes.

Joshua slowly looked up at Joshua through his swimming vision, "Then who'd shepherd the flock?" he asked rhetorically, earning a look from Jacob as his pseudo-son strangled back a sob.

"Jacob." Joshua breathed out as he felt his life leaving him as he lay in the arms of the man he took in so many years ago, away from a life of raiding innocent lives and living a more moral and just life.

"...yes?" Jacob answered after choking back a sob.

Joshua blinked slowly as he looked to the heavens above, before his vision began to swim more before he found himself seeing a vision of himself walking through a river, he could almost feel the wetness of the water.

"-man…Joshua!" Jacob's voice brought him momentarily back to seeing himself reach up to the sky, his pseudo-son gently grabbing his aged and bandaged hand.

Joshua blinked again and looked directly at his protege, "Jacob, you will carry on the faith and duties in my stead." He implored the man had guided throughout his waning years of life, earning a hasty nod from Jacob. "Welcome those that find wanting but take heed against the silver tongued and vile people, for the world is filled with those that seek to pillage and plunder." He instructed, earning a nod once more from Jacob.

Joshua slowly breathed in and out, already he could feel his body going cold, before a warm feeling of a presence comforting him. "I've lived a long life, longer than most that could ever ask for…" Joshua's voice became ragged as he felt a dissonance from his body.

He heard crying in the distance, no doubt his hearing was failing him as he saw the people around him weep as he breathed his last breath, before his vision failed him and a bright tunnel greeted him.

Present

Joshua's thoughts returned him back to the present while he hung his vest over the nearby wooden chair as he stood, before walking over to the window to close the curtains of the room Charlie had offered him as his living space.

He dearly hoped his protege Jacob was faring well, as well as the people and tribes people. He did his part in ensuring the future of Canaan, taking in an underling was just part of it since he had no way of siring a child of his own.

With a tired yawn escaping his mouth underneath his gauze, Joshua walked back to his bed and settled into it. There was much to do in helping Charlie and her Hotel, and there was no use in worrying over the Settlement of Zion now that he was dead.

AN: I am entirely unsure about this chapter...