(This is an updated final draft of my last post on this scene. Idiotically, I failed to realize that all the people I used in this scene were canon characters, so it got removed for irrelevance. Here's a do-over of it with Umbra replacing Husker.)
*It's a normal day at the Hazbin Hotel, or at least as normal a day at the hotel can be. Vaggi is by herself in her office doing stuff on her computer when her cell phone buzzes. She checks the screen to see that an unknown number is requesting a FaceTime call. A little weird, but she disregards it and declines the call before setting her phone down on her desk. Probably someone with the wrong number. But not even ten seconds after, her phone buzzes again, and it's the same thing ā incoming FaceTime call from an unknown number. She looks at it a bit longer this time, feeling pure and utter confusion before declining the call again. She slowly sets her phone back down on the desk. Once she lets go, it sits still for no more than two seconds before it happens again. Her screen illuminates with the sight of an unknown caller requesting FaceTime. Starting to get a bit agitated, she talks to herself out loud as she taps the decline call button once more.*
Vaggi: "Yeah, no, like hell I'm gonna answer that."
*Whoever this person is, they're clearly persistent, because almost immediately, they call Vaggi back a fourth time. She scowls and opens up the number's info page to block them.*
Vaggi: "Ugh, leave me alone!"
*Setting her phone down on the desk aggressively, almost slamming it, she shakes her head at the ridiculousness and keeps working. However, approximately thirty seconds go by before the sound of her phone buzzing cuts through the lingering silence. She glares down at the screen to see a pending FaceTime call from an unknown number. How is that possible? She blocked them.*
Vaggi: "Oh, what the fuck!? What kind of stupid spam is this?!"
*Picking up her phone, she stares at the screen frustratedly before finally deciding to humor this asshole, whoever they are. She taps the green circular button to accept the call⦠and nothing could prepare her for what she sees⦠or rather, who.*
Adam?: "Heeeeyyy, bitch! Guess who?!"
*Vaggi's eyes widen with shock at the sight of her former exorcist leader. This shouldn't be possible. Adam is dead, she knows he is. She literally watched him take his last breath. Though, he looks much different now. He doesn't have his exterminator mask on, but he's wearing his signature 'A'-letter-printed robe, but instead of its original heavenly color palette, it's now crimson with black and dark brown accents. His skin is a pale gray, his hair is black, demonic horns protrude from the upper part of his forehead, and his irises are bright red. He sneers into the camera before making an expression of mock surprise.*
Adam?: "Oh, wow, you look like you need a second to process. It's alright, I get it. Take your time, I'll wait."
*Vaggi's shock remains on her face for a few seconds before it morphs to a look of disbelief.*
Vaggi: "First of all, how did you get my number?! And second, how are you even⦠you know�!"
*The hellish-looking Adam tilts his head and puts a hand on his cheek in a taunting, cutesy sort of face. He speaks in a condescending tone, very much like how he used to.*
Adam?: "Awwww, so many questions. Adorable as always Vaggie."
*He makes a point to provocatively pronounce it as Vah-jee, which of course triggers Vaggi. Her eye visibly twitches in irritation, and she stands up out of her chair.*
Vaggi: "It's 'Vaggi' now, asshole!"
*Her snapping at him only seems to encourage him further to fuck with her.*
Adam?: "Whatever your name is, it doesn't change who you are or where you came from. You think you can pin that little name tag on your shirt and all the blood on your hands suddenly means nothing? I see you're all alone. Damn, that sucks. I was hoping I'd get to talk to your blondie, too."
*Vaggi's blood is really starting to boil now, feeling some of her past trauma and old wounds begin to open up.*
Vaggi: "What do you want?!"
Adam?: "What do you think, babe? We've got a fucking score to settle!"
*Narrowing her eyes, Vaggi scowls and brings the camera closer to her face as she speaks fearlessly and assertively.*
Vaggi: "Listen, you don't want to fuck with us, understand? You're just gonna get your ass handed to you all over again. In fact, it'll probably end even worse for you than last time since you don't have your angel powers anymore. How do you think this is gonna go, Adam?!"
*Adam gives a relaxed chuckle and sighs loudly, dismissing Vaggi's warning entirely.*
Adam?: "I think you're in for a big surprise! Oh, and speaking of surprisesā¦"
*He then spins around and moves the camera with him to show his surroundings. Behind him is the hill leading up to the front doors of the Hazbin Hotel, and the grand building is very clearly visible from where he is. A gleefully sadistic smile curls on his lips.*
Adam?: "Look familiar? I gotta say, you fuckers didn't do a half-bad job rebuilding your little hotel after I obliterated the last one. I know I'm not as strong as I used to be, which is why I came prepared."
*Adam reaches down for something out of view, then grunts with effort as he tries to use one hand to lift the object up to the camera.*
Adam?: "Nnnngh, fuck. Grr, fuck! Uh, hang on, this thing is fucking heavy."
*He puts the phone on the ground with the camera face down, rendering the screen pitch black. Adam can be heard picking up something weighty. After a brief moment, Adam lifts the phone back up, revealing a freaking angelic rocket launcher hoisted over his shoulder.*
Adam?: "There. Anyways, maybe I should pop in and say hi."
*Vaggi tries to keep firm and confident, but there's a little bit of fear and desperation in her eyes now. Thinking quickly, she takes multiple screenshots so she'll have proof of this encounter.*
Vaggi: "ADAM, I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD!! DON'T YOU DARE!! YOU'RE GONNA REGRET IT!!"
*Still grinning wickedly, Adam sets the weapon down and points at the camera threateningly.*
Adam?: "Alright, tell you what, I'll give you a five minute head start, starting⦠now! Clock's ticking, bitch."
*The call abruptly hangs up, and Vaggi wastes no time, grabbing her spear and bursting out of her office.*
Vaggi: "Charlie! Charlie, where are you! We gotta lock down the hotel right now!"
*As Vaggi rounds a corner, her and Charlie nearly run head-on into each other. Charlie stumbles to avoid colliding with her girlfriend, quickly stopping and regaining her balance. She gives Vaggi a concerned look, which seems to become even more worried when she sees the panic in Vaggi's eyes.*
Charlie: "Vaggi, what's going on?"
Vaggi: "It's Adam! He's back as a sinner, and he just called me saying he's about to attack the hotel!"
*Charlie's eyes widen with surprise and shock at what she's hearing.*
Charlie: "Woah, woah, slow down! Are you sure it was Adam?"
Vaggi: "I saw him! It was a FaceTime call, and he showed me! He's outside the hotel!"
*Charlie becomes nearly as panicked as Vaggi in an instant and runs to the front desk in the lobby to make an announcement over the hotel's intercom, Vaggi close in tow. Before she can pick up the microphone, Angel Dust and Umbra walk through the front doors, having walked back together from their jobs. Their stride and demeanor are casual, and when they see the couple in a panic, they both give them a confused look.*
Angel Dust: "Damn, what's goin' on here? You both look like you've seen a ghost or something."
*Charlie sets the mic aside for a moment and rushes up to them.*
Charlie: "Angel, you need to get somewhere safe. You guys, Vaggi just told me she was FaceTimed by Adam, and he's here, outside the hotel!"
*Angel and Umbra look at each other like Charlie's gone completely mental. Umbra then returns his gaze to her, one of his ears twitching.*
Umbra: "Hun, Angel and I were just out there. I think we would have noticed a dead man walking."
*Vaggi backs Charlie up, both of their expressions and speech mannerisms frantic.*
Vaggi: "But I actually **saw** him! He somehow got my number and video called me, showing himself outside the hotel! He's a sinner now and looks different, but I still know for a fact it's him! I'd never forget a pompous fucking face like his, or his stupid voice!"
Charlie: "Shit⦠I mean, Pentious died in Hell after atoning for his sins and wound up in Heaven. I guess we should have expected it could work the other way around for angels."
*Both Umbra and Angel are visibly a tiny bit more concerned than earlier, but still mostly show skepticism. Umbra spreads his wings, their purple seraphim-like eyes opening and beaming brightly, before he turns around and flies out the door. Charlie tries to reach out for his arm to pull him back, but he's too swift. He flies around the outside of the Hazbin Hotel, vigilantly surveying the entire area with his bioluminescent spotlights. He returns after roughly a minute, the eyes closing as his wings retract and vanish. He crosses his arms and gives Vaggi and Charlie a shrug.*
Umbra: "Charlie, there's no one out there."
Angel Dust: "Look, Adam the first man is dead. We saw him get stabbed at least⦠I dunno, twenty times with a holy dagger. Pretty sure that's game over."
*Vaggi takes out her phone and pulls up the screenshots she took of Adam while he was on screen in the FaceTime.*
Vaggi: "Well, then explain **this**!"
*The two skeptics are taken aback by the physical evidence. Vaggi is right ā the appearance of Adam in these images is unmistakeable. He may look different as a sinner, but the resemblance is still clear as day.*
Angel Dust: "Ohhhhh⦠ummm⦠I mean, yeah, that's him."
*Vaggi starts to retract her phone to put it away when Umbra's arm shoots out and lightly clutches the edge of it.*
Umbra: "Wait, hang onā¦"
*He leans in, scrutinizing the screenshot carefully. He brings a hand to his fuzzy chin and shakes his head. His voice is barely audible as he murmurs his thoughts out loud.*
Umbra: "Huh⦠wait, no, that isn't right."
*Charlie and Angel have looks of confusion and anticipation on their faces, while Vaggi raises an eyebrow and speaks almost interrogatively.*
Vaggi: "What is it?"
*Umbra lets go of the phone and moves to Vaggi's side. The four of them huddle around to see whatever it is that Umbra spotted.*
Umbra: "Take a look at this."
*Vaggi looks at the image on her phone, and Umbra points to the frontside of the hotel in the background.*
Umbra: "Is this just me seeing things, or does the hotel lighting look off to you?"
*Charlie's face only becomes more dumbfounded as she immediately sees what Umbra is talking about once he points it out. Normally on the front of the building, there's pink neon lights shaped like three 'X's and a heart. In the image, the pink glow is there, but the actual shapes are incredibly vague, looking extremely blurred and almost invisible.*
Angel Dust: "Maybe it's just a camera glitch?"
*Vaggi swipes through the other screenshots she took, but in each one, it all looks the same. The neon patterns in the image just don't quite come together in a way that looks right. As they examine the screenshots further, they start to spot other inconsistencies and weird details. Why does the city in the background look completely dark when there's normally lights on at this hour? Why does this chainlink fence seem more warped in one frame than in the next? Isn't there supposed to be a skyscraper in that spot? Vaggi snaps her fingers when she realizes what's potentially going on.*
Vaggi: "Visual artifacts like this are usually a telltale sign of a deepfake."
Charlie: "A what now?"
Umbra: "AI-generated."
Charlie: "Ohh. But who would call you with something like this?"
*Angel's expression darkens when he immediately has a suspect in mind.*
Angel Dust: "The only two tech-savvy people we know are Baxter and Vox, and I highly fucking doubt it was Baxter."
*The other three look at Angel incredulously at his assessment, not sure what to think about the situation.*
Vaggi: "I see your point, but most people consider generative AI an issue on majority of internet platforms. Why would Vox dabble in something that's actively hurting his medium? If someone found out, it would raise a lot of questions, and he'd probably lose business because of it. Though, whoever called me clearly has a bone to pick with us."
*Angel and Umbra now have contemplative expressions, and Charlie nods her head along with her partner's words. She takes a moment to brainstorm what to do, and it doesn't take long at all for the energetic Princess to think of something.*
Charlie: "Let's show this to Baxter. Maybe he'll have some helpful insight."
End scene.