Chapter Text
When the lush violet skies of the night fell over Heaven, all the angels retreated to rest from their long day of joy and fun. The Seraphim were no different. At the end of each day, Emily and Sera would sit at their meeting room table and discuss the events of the day. Sera would often inform Emily of upcoming projects, of work that needed to be done to keep Heaven in its perfect condition. Emily would usually tell stories of what happened with each of the townsfolk: something notably funny that happened, a significant achievement, or a problem that she helped solve. Many times it was the only time they could spend together, with each of them being so busy. Sharing what had transpired for each of them had become an important part of their daily schedule.
However, Emily now found it harder to talk about the simple joys of Heaven’s residents. All she could think of were the thousands of other souls that suffered eternally, that were now due to be massacred. She and Sera hadn’t talked about it since the trial, but it still weighed on her mind. Goodness, the extermination had to be today, right? Today, or close to it. Just the thought made her feel more uneasy about carrying on her routine. They didn’t talk as much today as they usually would have. Sera didn’t question her reserved behavior. She knew the reason. Perhaps she was uneasy about the whole thing, too, but Emily really didn’t know anymore. All those years, Sera had carried on like nothing was wrong, and Emily had been none the wiser. How did her guardian really feel about the fate of souls in Hell?
A pillar of light burst up from the floor, interrupting Emily’s thoughts. A body rose up with it, landing on the ground a few feet from the Seraphim.
He stood up a few seconds later. “Wh-Where am I?” He whipped around, the hood behind his head wide open with surprise. He then seemed to notice the two angels sitting before him, turning towards them and waving awkwardly. “Oh. Hello.” The two Seraphim stared in shock for a few moments.
Emily squealed. This wasn’t any old soul. She recognized this one! He was part of the group she and the others had watched during the trial! He was a demon at the Hotel!
But he certainly didn’t seem to be a demon anymore. Instead of the dark colors he had been wearing in Hell, he was mostly in white and gold. A snake’s hood now resembled wings. And most tellingly, a glowing halo floated above his tall Victorian hat.
So…it really did work! She couldn’t believe it!
“Oh my gosh!” Emily ran up to the taller angel and clutched his hands, beginning to shake them up and down from excitement. “It’s–It’s you! You’re from the hotel! It–It actually works! Oh, my gosh!”
The snake smiled bashfully and looked away. “Hello?”
“Oh! Sorry for talking so much. I’m Emily! It’s nice to meet you.” She awkwardly let go of his hands and pulled away. She knew she could be a lot sometimes, but she was so excited it was hard to contain herself. “Charlie must be so proud of you!”
The newly arisen demon hesitated. “Um. I’m sorry…who?”
It took a moment for Emily to process this. But his face had genuine confusion in it. Something clearly wasn’t right. Dread started to creep into her.
“Do you…not remember the hotel?” She asked delicately.
He stopped again, bringing a claw up to his chin to think. “No, I don’t know anything of a ‘hotel’. In fact…” His eyes widened. “I don’t remember anything. Nothing at all.” He shrunk back with the realization.
Oh, crap. Oh, crap! How did this happen? What were they going to do? Emily could feel herself start to panic, but she figured it would be better to not have a panic attack right in front of this poor person, so instead she watched for Sera’s reaction.
Sera stood up, her posture perfectly composed as always, but Emily had known her her whole life, and could sense the edge of anxiety. “Hello. I am Sera, Head Seraphim of Heaven. While we welcome your arrival, you have interrupted a meeting between us, so we will finish our discussion, then come back to speak with you.” She sent Emily a look.
“Right! We have to, um…talk. About nothing too important! Heaven stuff, is all. Don’t worry about it. Please, um…Please wait here!” She waved to him before darting into the other room with Sera.
As soon as the door was closed Emily started freaking out. “Sera! He–He doesn’t remember! This is bad! What are we going to do? Charlie’s plan worked–but–”
“Shhh.” Sera gently cupped the younger Seraph’s face in her hands. Her voice was soothing, but Emily could tell she was just as concerned. “It will be alright. We’ll figure this out.”
Emily took some deep breaths, trying to gather her thoughts. “Sera, how did this happen? Do you know?”
“I don’t.” Sera turned back to the meeting room the new resident was now waiting in, with no idea who he was, or what he was doing here. “A demon has never ascended from Hell before. Perhaps this is…a side effect of that, somehow? Perhaps…redemption gives you a…blank slate, so to speak?” She shook her head. “I don’t know. But I don’t think it would be…wise to inform him of his origins, at least not just yet. To learn that you were once a damned soul of Hell would likely be…upsetting, especially if you did not know of…the growth that led up to being here.” She took Emily’s small hands in her larger ones and looked at the younger Seraph earnestly. “You understand?”
“Okay.” She supposed that made sense. “But what do we tell him now?”
“We tell him that he is Heavenborn. Created to assist you with your duties. I know you desire someone to do your work with. You can accustom him to our world, and be his friend, which I know you have the capacity to do.”
Emily nodded. “Okay! Let’s go back and, um…catch him up to speed.” She didn’t really like the idea of lying to him, but it was better than…what Sera said. Distressing him with the knowledge of his former life. The two angels opened the door to the meeting room, where this new predicament waited. He looked…nervous. And almost sad. It stung Emily’s heart to see him that way. Losing your memory must be really scary.
“Hello again,” he hissed again. What had his name been? Something snake-like, but she couldn’t remember. “Have you, um…have you figured out who I am?”
“I apologize for causing you apprehension,” Sera began. “You’ve been created to help Emily with her duties as Seraph.” She gestured at the younger angel, who smiled and hoped it looked natural.
“But…” he pointed at Emily. “If I’ve just been created, why did she act like she knew who I wasss?” The last word was accentuated with a suspicious hiss.
“OH! Um…I thought you were someone else. You look, um…familiar. Sorry! No, I’ve…never met you before.” Emily had never had to lie about something this important before. She hoped it didn’t show, and that he would believe her, because otherwise they would have a lot of explaining to do.
“Okay.” He seemed like he accepted it. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss Emily. Madam Sera.” He bowed to each of them with a flourish, removing his tall hat with it. “I, um…don’t have a name,” he added awkwardly when he arose.
“Sir Pentious!” Now she remembered. Sera tensed ever-so-slightly. Oops. Would it have been better if she hadn’t told him his real name? It seemed all right to her, and she didn’t know if she could have thought of a better name. But perhaps it would awaken some memories. Would that be a good thing or not? Sera didn’t seem to think so.
“Sir Pentious.” He tested it. “Respectable, yet…descriptive! This is acceptable. Thank you, Miss Emily.” His earnest smile made Emily feel happy that she’d told him his name, even if he didn’t know that it was his name.
Sera walked up to him, her figure towering over him. “Since your purpose is to assist the Seraphim with their duties, you will be staying here, in one of our spare bedrooms. Emily can show you there. Tomorrow, she’ll show you around the city.” She gestured at Emily, smiling with affection while still keeping a poised demeanor. “You will probably be doing more with her than with I, so it’s best the two of you get accustomed to each other.”
“This is going to be so much fun!” This wasn’t a lie. Even if he didn’t remember it, he was the first redeemed human! Showing him around and spending time with him would be exciting! No one else knew it, but Sir Pentious was the most significant new resident of Heaven. Thinking about it that way, Emily felt a little bad that she couldn’t tell him how amazing it was that he was here, but it was still awesome that she could get to know him.
And with that, Emily and Sir Pentious left the meeting room, with Sera following behind soon after.
“Good night, Emily. Sir Pentious. I will see you both tomorrow,” Sera said before heading off in the opposite direction down the hall. The pair headed down the hall to Sir Pentious’ new room. Emily decided to choose one near hers, so that she could be close at hand. She’d never had someone live just down the hall from her. Maybe they could have sleepovers! But tonight, they both needed to rest. They would have a busy day tomorrow.
After a bit of walking, Emily opened the door to her guest’s new room. “Good night, Sir Pentious. See you tomorrow!”
He slithered into his new room, looking around at the white and blue walls, feeling the plush comforter on his bed. This all must be so unfamiliar to him, Emily thought. When was the last time he slept in a comfortable bedroom? Maybe he did at the hotel. The hotel which he now didn’t remember. Gosh, he didn’t remember anything! Every time the thought came back to the forefront of her head, it upset her.
“Sssee you tomorrow, Miss Emily. I, ah, look forward to it.” He smiled awkwardly again and closed the door to settle into bed.
Emily knew Sera had said not to tell Sir Pentious what happened, but she hadn’t said anything about Emily finding out for herself, right? There was so much she didn’t know about him, most importantly how he ended up here. If Sera didn’t even know, it was definitely worth looking into. Seems like she had a new project. Show around Heaven’s newest angel, and, perhaps in secret, find out what happened to him. She was only doing it for herself, right? So it wouldn’t be a problem. No big deal. Right?