I happily skip down the streets of Hell, singing my contagious tune; this is the first time Dad has asked me to be an ambassador of Hell! I'm over the moon because I can finally get Heaven on board with my plan; I know they will hear me out. Vera sometimes talked to the Angel embassy as a teen, but those meetings immediately stopped. She was no longer allowed to go, and my mother and father had to resume the responsibility. I'm unsure what she did at one of these meetings because my Dad never told me the whole story. I yank open the pearly front doors and head inside the eerily muted hall. I give a long hello to see if anyone is around, only to receive silence in return. I sign a magical piece of paper and head into a room where a dude is grossly eating ribs. I kindly introduce myself as my hand slips through the angel's hand.
"Ha! I fucking got you! Did you see that? Good shit?" he asks the angel standing guard beside him.
"So, you're not really here?" I ask, already baffled by this man.
"No, one time I met with your bitch of a sister, and she broke my nose. I mean like, how could you make this dump even more of a bummer? It might have been cause I said something about her mom, but I don't know, man, I think she overreacted," I laugh nervously; Vera is actually a pretty calm and collected individual.
"There must have been a misunderstanding, I'm sure. I do apologize for her; she really didn't mean it. I think." I can feel my heart rate pick up.
"Don't apologize for her, sugar tits. You must be Lillith's other little hottie; sorry to break it to you. You can't beat the original. Your sister was really fucking hot, even when she was beating the shit out of me. Anyways, I heard she is still missing; shame, I would totally have tapped that," he shoves another rib down his throat as I hold back my curse words and restrain myself from telling him where he can shove it and try to get on with my plan to stop the extermination. I get stuck in a loop of never-ending chatter from this angel, who I finally find out is Adam. I finally got a chance to pitch my idea, which got shot down harshly, and to my horror, I found out they are moving up the subsequent extermination to six months from now.
"Why are you moving it up?" I try to demand in a panicked frenzy as he looks at me with his stupid, plastered grin.
"Well, we have finally figured out why we have to keep killing certain sinners over and over again, and we trace it back to a wannabe doctor demon called Vesper. That cunt is the first on our list; I tried to have her dealt with already, but it turns out the bounty hunters are just as useless as the rest of your precious little souls. We will have all of her clinics burned down very soon. So if you see her around, tell her that Adam is coming in more ways than one!" Adam grabs my wrist, and I get sent flying out of the room as my brain tries to catch up with what is happening. How did he manage to grab me at the end there? Adam put a bounty on Vesper? Why didn't she tell me she had a bounty on her head? Is that why security has been unbelievable over the last year? Getting in to visit her can become a chore by itself.

Vera P.O.V:
Alastor and Vaggie spent time trying to film a new commercial while Helia helped me sort out the hospital clinic; he has been quiet since Alastor apologized to me. I asked that they leave us out of this commercial this time. He has been peacefully organizing chemicals and books for me while I get my pristine desk sorted out; it's very weirdly hushed. Usually, we talk about random things like which is better, Waffles or pancakes? If you could be a different species, what would you be? We have done many stupid BuzzFeed quizzes, like what percent of Christmas spirit are you, or we know the name of your next lover based on your Mc hellva's order.
"What is Alastor to you?" his question catches my attention immediately as I pick a box off the ground and start unloading its contents.
"He is a close friend of mine, I have known him for a long ass time, and he helps me out of tough situations. Same as Rosie, the three of us overlords have always been close," I answer his inquiry, not thinking too deeply about it. I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear and tighten up my ponytail in an attempt to keep things out of my face.
"Do you like like Alastor? Like more than just a friend?" Helia asks me flat out as he approaches my desk and puts down the book I was holding. His gaze wasn't menacing but burning for an answer.
"Alastor is like a mentor; he is someone I can talk to without stress. If I were in trouble, I could go to him for help or advice-"
"I want to be the person you come to if you need help. I want to be the person you can talk to without stress. If you are in danger, I want you to call me first," he asserts, placing his hands on the desk and looking at me with a seriousness I haven't seen from him before.
"I mean, I already do most of those things, you silly goose; you're literally doing my chores for me right now," I think Helia's soul leaves his body a little as I try to figure out why he is acting like this all of a sudden. Our conversation gets interrupted by Vaggie, who comes in to tell us that the commercial is about to film and to gather in the living room. I take Helia's hand and guide him over to the living room. We sit on the far couch adjacent to Alastor, who looks pleased with himself. Charlie is almost in tears because of the effort they put into trying to promote the hotel properly.
"Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel—" Vaggie's voice is cut off as Channel 666 news breaks the broadcast, much to everyone's displeasure.
"Breaking news in Hell today: we have just received word from the Heaven embassy that the next extermination is happening sooner than ever before. And to add a giant cherry on this fucked up dessert, we have also gotten word that Vesper, the head of our medical system, is first on the chopping block in six months. Do you know what this means, Tom?"
"No, I do not."
"It means we are royally fucked, and we will not be getting any more second chances once that bitch is dead." Helia squeezes my hand as a ringing noise overtakes my ears and clouds my head. My phone started vibrating like crazy with dozens of calls from Rosie, Carmilla, Soran, Blitz, Loona, and many other friends, including Vox and Velvette.
My head feels like it's full of fog as I try to process everything all at once. Was Adam the one who posted the bounty, the one whom Blitz couldn't find any information about? Why is that prick constantly raising my blood pressure? They are going after the healthcare system this time; they are going after my hospital and my staff, everything I have worked on for decades, they are trying to take away.
Everyone is talking to me all at once, but I can't make out anything of what they are saying. Alaster's hair is standing on edge as some of his shadows grow restless while Niffty is clinging to my leg and crying into my thigh; she's kind of acting like I've already died. It's constantly ringing in my head; I'm starting to feel light-headed, and even things feel fuzzier. Helia gets in front of me and gets everyone to back away as he crouches down to my eye level.
He doesn't say anything but slowly pulls me into a hug. I nuzzle my chin into his shoulder. He smells like fresh laundry with a hint of citron and is warm and soft. As he wraps his arms tightly around me, my senses slowly return to me. I didn't even realize that my breathing had picked up its pace or my heart rate had started to hit a worrying pace. My chest feels tight and uncomfortable.
"I won't let them touch a single hair on your head," Helia mumbles under his breath. I feel tears pool in the corner of my eyes; I am overwhelmed.
"What are we going to do? We can't let them just kill Vesper. Sinners need to know that extermination is not the end, Hell is not the end, and we need Vesper to keep sinners alive until we can prove that redemption is possible. If they kill her, there will be no more doctors willing actually to keep sinners alive. I doubt any of those malpractice doctors will actually do their jobs if they weren't under a contract," Vaggie crosses her arms as concern laces her tone and voice.
"They will not be killing her, simple as that," Alastor chimes in. I slowly let go of Helia as he helped me get off the couch. Everyone waits for me to say something, anything about my new destiny.
"I think we should go to Ozzies for a drink," I clear my throat, looking at everyone who mirrors each other in utter confusion. Husk is the only one to let out a cheer of approval as he starts pre-gaming.
"You just found out that someone wants you dead in six months, and you want to go to a club?" Vaggie asks with a tone of disapproval as she crosses her arms, and her foot starts tapping the ground like a wild hare.
"Yes, Vaggie. This is something we can only figure out after a while. Let's go out for the night and have a good time and think about the heavier shit in the morning after we throw up," I put more confidence in my voice this time as she doesn't push any issues about needing to set good examples or how we all have to stay sober to get redemption.
"A splendid idea, my dear! We are all living for today; a celebration is in order!" Alastor lets off a confetti cannon as everyone heads off to their rooms to get changed. Charlie sticks behind as she comes over to speak with me.
"I am so so sorry. I promise I will try to find a way to fix this. No! I know I will fix all of this. We will not worry about this today; we will solve this problem tomorrow." She hugged me for the first time since I have known Charlie as Vesper.
She pulled me into a firm Charlie hug, and much like Helia's hug, my anxieties started to melt away with her touch. "I will get everyone ready and meet you at the hospital, and we can all head in from there. We will live for tonight!" Charlie declares, running off to get her own stuff done. It was just Helia and myself; I walked over to him and rested my forehead against his chest. He places a hand on my head.
"Everything will be just fine; I would bet my soul on it." I nod slowly as he gently pats my head.
"Shall we get going? I've never been to Ozzie's, and I'm excited to see another ring of Hell." Helia walks alongside me as we get in the car, and he starts driving back to the hospital. I don't like driving too much, and Helia has happily driven me wherever I need to go; he gets full out of the car whenever he needs to take the girls somewhere or get food.
"I guess you have only seen the pride ring; the lust ring is something else," I have some minor flashbacks to some occasions from my youth; I spent a lot of time there meeting all kinds of sinners and sometimes getting up to no good.
" I heard that Ozzie's is almost impossible to get into. Are we just going to walk in like we own the place?" He turns to me in question as I give him a sly smile.
"I may not own the place, but a close friend of mine owes me a lot of favours." We arrived at the hospital, where most of my staff and the girls were waiting for our arrival.
"Did you see the news?" Soran rushes over to me as I nod grimly. The girls run up to me with tears in their eyes as I bring myself down to their eye level to try and comfort the poor kids. They were sobbing so hard as I tried to reassure them that nothing was going to happen. Everything would be okay; it just doesn't seem like it right now. Helia and I take the girls back to the apartment and get them settled in front of the TV or with some toys as he heads to get showered and changed. I quickly send out a few text messages to Rosie and others.
I head back to my own place and open my closet; a while ago, I asked Velvette to make me a wardrobe, and she delivered. She made me around a dozen different dresses, all in beautiful styles. I chose a short one, not too puffy or like a wedding gown. (Photo at start of chapter, credits to the original owner). I place my hair into twin buns with the flower pin and put on some light makeup to bring the whole look together. I hear a knock at my door as Helia walks in wearing a nice tux with a dusty purple shirt and a black coat.
He stands at the door, staring at me for what feels like forever. I stand there admiring his appearance. Somehow, his hair remains flawless; he just got out of a shower, yet his hair is fluffy and soft. His gaze is warm, like caramel melting ice cream.
"You look stunning. I mean, you look like a princess who just walked out of a fairy tale." His soft smile made my knees weak as he held out his hand for me to take. He walked me down the stairs, and we met everyone else at the front door.

The elevator ride was relatively short, as everyone was pumped up for a nice night out. Even Vaggie looked more relaxed. She was definitely checking Charlie out but not trying to be too obvious about it. Niffty was going on about how she would find all the bad boys at Ozzie's. Having all of them around makes it easy to forget about my impending doom. We arrive at the front door, and security recognizes me and allows us entry regardless of their list.

"Well, I'll be damned! Vesper!" Asmodeus approaches me and happily scoops me up into a bear hug as his hearty chuckle fills the room. I could feel disdain from Alastor as Admodeus squeezed me tighter; I hate to break it to you, Alastor, but hugging is for all friends, not just you and me. "I'm surprised to see you; please come in, all of you. I have just the right table for you tonight," he guides us to some VIP booths as everyone stares at me in confusion; I don't blame them.
I spent a lot of time travelling around and meeting various people. The countless friends I have made over the decades make it easy to find familiar faces. I could feel the crowd watching my every move, everyone's eyes on me, pity-filled stares. The events of today slowly crawl back into my headspace as I do my best to block out the thought of Adam.
"How come you seem to know everyone in Hell? First, you knew the freaky face, and now you are the owner of Ozzies?" Angel nudges my shoulder.
"What? I have helped Asmodeus on a few occasions when he needed medical care. I spent six months working on a project just for him," I explain to my group as we make our way to the designated booth. When Fizz got hurt after a freak accident at the circus, he was put under my care. It was before he met Asmodeus, but Soran and I spent just over six months creating flexible limbs for him and helping him rehabilitate. It was a lot of work, but I'm happy that he pulled through.
I had known Asmodeus before and helped him in a few situations, but he told us to stop by anytime when he found out about Fizz and what we had done. We will always be welcome at Ozzie's.
"Vesp! How are you, Doc?" Fizz approaches the table with a bouquet of purple iris flowers and places it in a vase in the middle of the table as he happily takes my hand.
"I'm doing well, all things considered, Fizz. How have your arms and legs been? Is there any discomfort at all? Have your limbs been moving slowly? If they have, I can take a look and ensure everything works flawlessly for you." I trail off, getting sidetracked as he returns a big grin and lightly taps the top of my hand.
"Tonight, you are our guest, not a doctor. For a change, we will be taking care of you and your table tonight. Please enjoy the show, and if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask," he hops away as the lighting starts to dim.
"You are well connected; colour me impressed," Vaggie compliments me as some drinks arrive for all of us.
"How do you know so many people?" Charlie asks, and everyone turns to me for an answer. I feel my face burning again.
"When I was trying to find myself, I spent a lot of time just meeting people. It was through these connections that I was able to get the hospital running. I got the funding I needed by treating sinners' illnesses and helping those in need. I found the staff in the most random places and made deals with them so they could work as doctors again. Everything fell into place, and I made many good friends along the way. Including all of you," I blush, a little embarrassed to say it out loud.
"Awe, how cute, more booze!" Husk throws back another bottle as we all turn our attention toward the stage, where two familiar imps are playing a cute little love song. Helia sneakily gets an arm around my shoulder as we listen to Moxxie plays his guitar. I lose focus of the performance when someone in particular catches my eye—someone who I haven't seen in a long time.

Dear Charlie,
What do I even say? All the time I thought I had left may have been cut quite abruptly in six months. I thought medics were supposed to get a pass in war! I don't even have any defensive or attack magic, and I can't heal anymore. I'm useless at this point; I don't think I could do anything if I were attacked for real. Maybe wave a white flag and beg for your finest pardon. One thing is for sure: I will get Adam's blood for Helia, even if I have to die to get it. I may need to talk to Dad, or this is just plain old cruel fate, and the string is tied.
We will live for today and worry about death tomorrow. I love you, don't you ever forget that. Charlie. Even though these letters may end soon, I know you will be just fine without me here. You are on your path, and you will get there with or without me.

Love Vera,

(Sorry for the long ass chapter, I hope your eyes are doing alright)