Chapter Text
Scratches covered the stone floor, overflowing with blood. They were the marks of a desperate attempt to escape, one that was reduced to feeble twitches and groans.
“Uriel, p-please…” Lucifer begged, spraying crimson from his lips.
Uriel’s hands stilled, stroking down Lucifer’s wings in a cruel mockery of a lover’s touch. “You have gone unpunished for too long, brother. When I am finished, you will not even be able to crawl to that whore you call a wife.”
The angel’s hands resumed their work, slowly and methodically breaking every bone in Lucifer’s wings. The king of hell fought back the darkness growing at the edges of his vision, arching his back in a fruitless attempt to throw off his attacker.
“Why now? You- you have all left me alone for so long. Was casting me out not enough?”
Uriel chuckled, ripping out a feather from his victim. “You have become too arrogant, too forgetful of heaven’s power. After I have finished here, I will destroy your whore, and your child as well. Then you will have nothing, and truly feel the pain of losing God’s love.”
More bones cracked and snapped, and one broke the skin of Lucifer’s wing. He bit his lip to stop himself from screaming, but he couldn’t stop a low groan of pain from escaping. “I’ll kill you before I let you hurt them.”
“Mmm, you’re doing great at that.” Uriel laughed. “You always were just a weak pretty boy.”
Something crashed through a window on the other side of the house.
Uriel’s head snapped up, and Lucifer could see just enough to watch his daughter run in.
“N-no! Charlie, get out of here!” Lucifer rasped out his warning before Uriel grabbed his hair and slammed his face into the floor. The king of hell’s nose broke immediately, gushing blood across the already soaked and tacky floor.
Charlie flinched, but then stood still and calm. “Uriel, I command you to step down. One of your heavenly soldiers has pledged to help me and my hotel for redemption, and one of my conditions was for my family and people to be left alone. That includes my father.”
Uriel snarled, but to Lucifer’s surprise, the angel let go of him immediately. “Damnation. I was hoping to finish Lucifer off before he made this deal with you. I take my leave, but be warned- the moment your hotel is proven to be a failure and heaven withdraws its support, I will return.”
As soon as the angel vanished from sight Charlie was at her father’s side, finally allowing tears to streak down her face. “We need to get out of here. Can you walk?”
Lucifer, with his daughter’s help, slowly and painfully got to his feet. “I can’t be beat that easily. Now, where is your mother?”
“She’s hiding at the hotel.” Charlie’s already pale face drained of color even further when her father started walking. “Stop! Your leg is broken. You can’t walk on that!”
Lucifer’s left shinbone was indeed sticking through his skin. He had a fuzzy memory of Uriel throwing his down the stairs, and making an attempt to land on his feet for a counterattack. So that was why it had buckled. Amongst all of his other injuries he must have forgotten. “It doesn’t hurt, I should be fine.”
“That’s… not good.” Charlie hesitated before looping Lucifer’s arm over her shoulder. “You really shouldn’t be walking, but I can’t carry you. Just keep your weight off of it, okay dad?”
Lucifer nodded, and the two slowly made their way out of their family mansion. It had sustained heavy damage during the king’s fight with Uriel, and many parts would have to be rebuilt entirely, with huge holes exposing rooms to the elements.
Eventually the two made their way outside and into a waiting limousine. As soon as the father and daughter were inside it sped away, destined for the Hazbin Hotel.
“I’m sorry Charlie.” Lucifer coughed, gasping as blood ran down his chin. “Your childhood room was completely destroyed. But I did save this.” Slowly and painfully, Lucifer pulled an old, worn teddy bear out of one of his coat pockets.
Charlie’s eyes filled with tears, and she cradled the toy to her chest for a moment. “You actually bothered to protect it, even while fighting for your life. Why?”
“Because I know that you care for it. And having this reminder of you, so close to me, gave me the strength to keep fighting even when it was clear Uriel was winning.”
Lucifer groaned, trembling on the seat. Charlie had done her best to position him comfortably, but there was only so much she could do when forced to choose between laying him on broken ribs, or on broken wings. He’d ended up semi-hunched sideways on the seat, broken leg awkwardly stretched out and wings splayed in unnatural angles.
Forcing back further tears, Charlie used a handkerchief to wipe some blood from her father’s face. It worked a little, but she mostly succeeded only in smearing it even further across Lucifer’s features.
“We- we’re almost back to the hotel. Then we can get the first aid kit, and wait for your natural magic to kick in and heal you. Just hold on a little bit longer.”
Lucifer looked at her, gaze hazy with pain. “There might be a small problem with that.”