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Chapter Text

He shouldn't have banished him.

He shouldn't have been there right when S̶a̶m̶a̶e̶l̶ Lucifer got his wings and halo ripped off as torn screech escaped his mouth, his tearful eyes filled with hurt and hatred towards everyone in the court. Towards everyone. Towards Heaven. Towards him and Their Father.

He remembered it too vividly, the look of shock and horror on Lilith's face even though she didn't even tries to do something about his punishment (he still hates her to this day for not even having a single reflex of protectiveness towards the angel she supposed to love but corrupted), Sera's cold and impassive stare yet he could feel another stronger feeling that she tried to suppress with a tough surface, as Uriel did the same. Jophiel crying in her brother's arms Raphael who displayed all of his wings, eyes and other angelic attires full on display. Both Ramiel and Gabriel looked utterly devastated at the scene but didn't moved an inch, almost as if a invisible force held him from getting closer to his brother.

But Azrael was probably in the worst state on the current.

He the most reactive among them which was very surprising for he was supposed to represent the virtue of patience. But this time, it was different. They were judging his brother guilty, they were maiming him and stripping from his archangel statue.

Two cherubs were restraining him, using their own holy magic to muffle his words therefore, despite how much he would scream or shout, only a breath of air would come out and be seen. It was utterly sad and maybe even cruel for Heaven itself but it was the only choice, trying to calm him for they didn't wanted to execute two archangels on the same day. At least not now.

And what was HE doing while all of his? Well he was holding the sword.

He was the one who ordered the other exorcists to banish S̶a̶m̶a̶e̶l̶ Lucifer. The grip on his own weapon got tighter, almost breaking it when S̶a̶m̶a̶e̶l̶ Lucifer cursed out everyone for what was happening but behind all of this raw and agressive anger, he could see a mix of other negatives emotions.

Sadness.

Confusion.

Guilt.

Betrayal.

He betrayed his own brother.

He didn't knew what happened next and he didn't knew if it was a few years, decades, centuries, eons that this judgement plagued his mind in the worst possible way. Infesting every good memories he had with his brother. S̶a̶m̶a̶e̶l̶ Lucifer's laughs were replaced by his screams before he fell. His innocent smile and cheerful personality would be distorted into sharp frowns and hurt faces, each time he would tries to ignore it, fate seemed to get even more unfair and would make his nightmares and negative thoughts even more vivid to the point that he couldn't sleep anymore.(not that he minded. Sure, he could get exhausted but archangels didn't need that much sleep. He could probably not close his eyes for a few times)

Paperwork and training didn't make it better.

Every time he would swing his sword to show the new training exorcists the art of swordsmanship, he could feel something weighting his blade, a muffled pleas in his ears as he would froze in place. It happened a few times but the most prominent is when he was sparring with Raphael who quickly retreated and put his own weapon back to his scabbard as he noticed how his older brother was shaking on his place, his eyes wide open and his skin devoid of color. During this time, he couldn't breathe, despite the fact that he was an archangel and didn't needed it, he panicked against his will. His mouth was slightly open, his lips shaking as if he wanted to speak but couldn't in either way.

Raphael started to speak but his voice got drowned by the pleas and more cries of pain. He wanted it to stop but it continued, getting even louder. He gripped his sword but his hand felt as if it was burning because of it. The bright and welcoming colors of Heaven started to hurt his already blurry eyes and the armor he wore felt burning iron overbearing his body.

As if he wasn't holy anymore.

h̶͚͋͊͌̉͟͠ę̶͔̝̲͙̱̮͋͗̇ d̸̗͐̏͊̾̍̑͡į̵̟̓̽̐̿d̸̯̻͕̬̐̅̋̋̌͌̏n̵͍̳̞̥͗̊͐̂̽'̸̲̠̟̂̓͜͡t̷̫̘̣̪̖̝͂͋̓̊͡ d̵̢̨̥͗́͆̆̈́͜͠e̴̛̞̎̓s̸̊͜è̴̮̟̽͐̉͆̉̒͟ṟ̴̋̓̾͠v̶̡͍̝͚̋͜͜͝e̴͖̥̪̖͂͠ḓ̴̨̯̭̰́ ẗ̸̢͍͙̉̃̃ȯ̶̘̈́̄ b̶̧̞̪͓͔̃̀̆̆͐ẻ̵̫̦ h̵̻̠̬̃ȏ̵̲̝̈̍̃͆͒l̵̢͕̳̮̹̘͋̾͠y̵̟͖͎̦̿͒͛̐̍͜͠ͅ a̵̮̺̝̗̦̦͒̏̍n̶̬̙͈̾̅͌̎̎̉y̴̢͍͉̗̮̰̖͑̇̋̆̕m̵̱̲͈̫̖̂͝ơ̴͙̣͌̈́͗́̐ř̴̺̀͒̀͟e̴̖͓̺̊.̴̡̢̛̱̟̞̆̀̂̀͂

He didn't knew what happened next but when he woke up, he was on his bed, his armor completely off and no sight of Raphael albeit a small sticky note was put on his night table saying that he should rest.

He have never such shame in eons.

Paperwork were less "reminiscing about his failure as a brother but a good general (well he hoped)" but it would still be torture to sit for hours, alone with your own thoughts and nothing else to make you forget about it except plain and boring papers. Everytime it was about Heaven's army, his mind would instantly goes back to that trial, acting as it own despite how he didn't wanted to think about it. Or when he would have another files about a new exorcist or angelic soldier, the weird symptoms would go back and he needed to hold his head in his hands in order for them to stop.

And the worse of all of that, he seemed to be the only one who couldn't move on from what happened to his brother. His other siblings were still doing their duties and go on with life. He knew he had to do the same too but he just couldn't. He was an archangel, even Heaven's general but he didn't had the strength anymore.

He couldn't go on another plaguing day. He couldn't take it anymore.

Then, out of the sudden, he wasn't in Heaven anymore.

He knew what happened. He knew he didn't fall (at least not in front of a trial). He knew where he was going, he knew where he was heading and it wasn't good at all, at least for him.

But he knew that it was for the best. He couldn't bring himself to plague more Heaven, His Father's sacred place with him and his negative thoughts. He wasn't allowed to.

So he took a... Break, if we could say that it that way.

He knew he would come back one day eventually. Just not now, nor today, nor the next few times.

He needed a break. A place where he could get rid of his unwanted poison.

He knew he would come back. He always do.

Chapter Text

Emily sensed that something was wrong.

Ever since Charlie's trial, she couldn't help herself but horrible, as if a weight got put on her shoulders, slumping her posture and, in some ways, her mind as well, a permanent frown now on her face and exterminations didn't make it better.

Of course, people noticed the change from her bubbly and bright attitude to a more reserved and stuck up version of herself and with the fact that it was caused because of what happened when the princess of Hell herself went to the court as it went horribly, well for her and the fallen exorcist. However, the only one who dared to talk about it with her was Sera, despite knowing full well how strained her relationship with her sister had become now, to the point where communication became a big deal.

Everytime she would try to talk with the younger seraphim, the older felt as if she was purposely trying to avoid her, except when they were on duties or meetings with the other cherubs and dominions. Aside from work, Emily wouldn't even tag herself once finished, not knowing that everytime she was going, a needle tucked in Sera's heart, for once feeling completely powerless against something.

How ironic. She was a the head of the seraphim and her weakness was not being able to talk properly with her own younger sister.

Today was like the other since this incident and after the failed extermination. Occasionally, Sera would check on the remaining exorcists as well as Lute and sees if she moved on. Despite knowing full well her character and what she have done, she couldn't help but feel a tad of guilt upon seeing the exorcist so worn out, both physically and mentally, an halo almost dimmed and a missing arm.

Emily didn't wanted to see her, for obvious reasons, but somehow, today, when Sera was about to go to the exorcists' headquarters, she almost gasped when the younger seraphim was sitting in front of Lute, listening to her with utmost respect while the other woman was waving her arm nearly all around her, as if she was almost acting what she was saying.

But then, out of the sudden, Lute abruptly got up from her chair. Sera couldn't discern properly the younger woman's face but she could sense at least how angry she was. Emily was a bit taken aback by the white haired woman's attitude but only flinched a bit before composing herself as her look hardened.

Sera instantly knew she had to interfere.

"What on Earth's name is going on here?" She asked. Lute instantly cracked her neck to look at the other seraphim in fury. Sera cringed a bit for she could heard the other woman's bone cracking when she turned her head but the exorcist calmed down when she realized who it was. Her angry behavior changed to her usual cold one.

"Oh, it's just you." She said. Emily leaned more to her side to view properly the angel Lute was talking to.

Sera swore that, for a fraction of second, the younger seraphim's gaze got cold before returning to a blatant one.

This was not the Emily she knew, nor she grew up with.

"I apologize for my quite late arrival for seraphim duties took a hold of me and I had to interfere first" she explained in a formal way in contrast of the harsh tone Lute.

"Yeah yeah quit yourself with your high and mighty talk, seraphim. Your-" she stopped a bit, knowing that in front of the head of seraphim, the exorcist couldn't call Emily whatever she wanted. "-dearest sister and I were having a small chat here but it has gotten a little bit... Heated and thanks to who." She spatted the last word and glared at the concerned one who only proceeded to blatantly crosses her arms and frowns a bit.

Sera wished she could remove that hatred look from the white haired woman in a violent way.

"Don't kick yourself about her attitude Sera." The eldest got back to reality as she saw Emily getting up, ignoring Lute's pinched look on purpose. "I was just merely talking to her but it seems that I need to get my leave, considering the circumstances. Now, if you excuse me, I have a few places that I need to attend. Sorry once again." She abruptly passed next Sera who reached out her hand and wanted to speak but no one came out.

That icy attitude. It sadly became an habitude ever since.

She sighed before looking at Lute who had an indescribable expression on her face, though the seraphim knew that behind that tough facade, she was hurt and still grieving.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Emily let out a heavy breath, running a hand trough her now dimmed white hair. This day was already tiring enough with the amounts of paperwork and meetings with the other angelic statues in Heaven and now, with the recent discovery that Adam, the First Man, was leading a clandestine exterminations who was hidden from the seven heavenly virtues, the place has been in a turmoil of messes and trials to find any other culprits who allied with him as they approved the blasphemous act.

As if Heaven wasn't a kerfuffle already.

Right now, the young seraphim clearly needed to stim out and rest a bit. Though she felt a tad guilty about lying to her sister in order to avoid her.

But to be honest if she could lie about secretly leading exterminations and slaughtering thousands of souls, she could hoax about being constantly busy.

Emily flew over the streets of the main city of Humility, wanting to far away from the blinding lights of the buildings and crowds, instead going to the less urban area. See, if in hell sinners couldn't leave the Pride ring, in Heaven, winners weren't allowed to come out from the circle of Humility though instead of transforming the entire place into a giant mall center or a buzzing city, a few winners did preferred to build a calmer villages on the borders.

But in either way, they weren't that much to disagree with that or build an entire modern city.

When the young seraphim landed on a few golden fields, she was surprised to see with one of the liege she was accustomed to visit an archangel.

Ramiel specifically. The virtue of kindness.

The said angel turned her head as her warm brown eyes met up Emily's and smiled a bit, waving. The liege she spoked with perked up instantly lit up and grinned widely as she opened her arms.

"Emily!" She greeted. The seraphim smiled and didn't hesitated to jump into her arms.

"Esther!" The other heavenly being chirped.

"Greetings Emily, it is a pleasure to meet you outside work." Ramiel said in her usual soft tone as she slightly bowed. Emily shyly smiled towards the virtue, feeling something warm spreading over her face as she smiled a little bit awkwardly, rubbing her neck and looking elsewhere.

Esther ignored Emily's attitude as she held the girl's hands, smiling brightly.

"How are you dear? I know that lately you've been very busy with all what's happening right now between Heaven and Hell. Do you need help? Perhaps you want to rest here? Or just a few snacks?" The liege asked numerous questions in which Emily couldn't help but snort a bit albeit it was of fondness.

Aside from Sera who was her actual sister, Esther considered her as the mother figure she never had. Being one of those fortunate people whose stories were craved in the Bible, a lot of winners respected her fully as a hard working woman and once the queen made of steel who saved her own people. Now, Esther didn't really left the political sphere but decided to let more renowned figures such as Moses or David to take care of important matters while she would be in charge of villages in Humility.

Just like the main elephant in the room: the illegal exterminations.

Emily tries her best to not think about that as she nodded weakly. "Yeah a bit of rest seems nice on the current" she admitted.

Ramiel nodded sagely at her words as she displayed her six gran wings. "Well, it seems that I need to take my leave now ladies for I have urgent meetings to attend as well" she excused herself before flying away.

Ugh. Work.

"... Yeah, some rest seems really nice right now." Emily admitted, still in Esther's arms who smiled fondly at the girl.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

"Now, I do apologize Emmy, I only have tea and tahinis but if you want, I think there's some leftover jam and-" the winner rambled on, opening her shelves in her kitchen while Emily sat in front of the counter, heavily sighing.

For the queen who saved her own people and have put their life at the front instead of her own, she was very humble about it.

And Emily didn't knew that she would rather have a house on the countryside than her gran palace in the middle of Humility.

But the seraphim didn't really minded that. On the contrary, at least she had a place to stay away and take a break from sometimes overbearing duties and her now complicated relationship with her sister. And plus, as much as she was delighted about Sir Pentious going to Heaven and thus being the first human soul from Hell to be redeemed, the following of Lute coming back with a devastated yet wrathful state about what happened to the exterminations, Emily's mood immediately got sour for harsh reality ripped her expectations on what Heaven was actually like and the sight of the ex sinner now overwhelmed her in such cruel and ironic turn of fate, her who wanted the hotel's success.

And to top it all, the thought of Sera made her heart aches and she didn't knew why.

Esther already stopped talking for a moment as she noticed how down the seraphim looked, frowning slightly at the unusual young girl's distraught attitude. The liege wasn't dumb, despite her lack of political interventions during these last few weeks, she knew what was the main thing going on currently on Heaven including Adam and his death. But if she had to be honest, Esther really didn't appreciated the First Man's attitude during his second living in Heaven, especially with how he treated her as if what she was assigned at birth determined why she wasn't supposed to be considered among the most renowned biblical lieges in the holy place's hierarchy. It was truly a shame that this excuse of a general was actually one of the most prominent figure of the sacred book that other ranks of angels didn't actually tried to correct his wrongs and, even dare she said, profane undoing.

Albeit, Esther felt in a really small part of her heart some pity towards the man who got stabber to death by a sinner with bug attributes.

"You seems a bit tense dear, may I know the reason if that doesn't make you uncomfortable?" The winner suddenly asked. Now that gotten Emily's attention who was drowning between her thoughts and the latest events, somehow making her shivers. She slightly jerked her head up as soon as she realized that the biblical figure was actually talking to her, concerned written on her face. It actually took a while for Emily a few times to put herself back in place before shooting back a small, unsure smile as she waved her hand, in a way to dismiss it.

"Oh you don't have to worry about it Esther, just a bit moody because of what is all currently going on with work and responsibilities."

"Also some family issues on the current..." Emily said that last part in her head. Esther didn't seemed that convinced when it came to her response but decided that if the seraphim wasn't apte of talking about it, she wouldn't push her for it was Emily's decision if she wanted to open up about it or not.

Overall, the two enjoyed each other's presence as always just like every time the other girl would come and visit her, discussing about random topics and friends, though this time, Esther made sure to use her words carefully for she didn't wanted to upset more the young seraphim.

Another thing and now it made Emily remember the weird, uncomfortable feeling she had ever since that day is that when she came back home, Sera was already there albeit the older knew her sister wouldn't tell her about her whereabouts as the younger directly went to her bedroom, feeling more trembling in her wings. She frowned but but only brushed it off as some sort of discomfort she had throughout the day, mainly during her and Lute's interaction.

But the next day, when Emily woke up, she was dumbfounded to see a small cluster of dull white ice next to her bed.

Chapter Text

Lucifer has never been prouder of his daughter Charlie until now.

Don’t come at him though, even if he really loved his daughter to the core, willing to shake the three living realms just for her, there were (rare) times where he really thought to himself where on earth did his little duckling got the 2% that he founded, to say the least, pretty much ugly to look at.

But aside from that, the rest of her was something Lucifer took a lot of pride in, for the embodiment of it, Charlie was definitely one of the things he embraced his sin the most.

Currently, he was sitting at the bar of the newly built hotel, looking at his daughter from afar talking with a small group of sinners with her girlfriend who wanted to take a peak in this whole idea of redemption. Ever since the failed extermination and the hazbin hotel’s successful fight against Adam, a few sinners have finally realized that the princess of Hell’s idea of redemption was actually a serious and concrete project and not just some delusional, childish idea from a naive royalty. They knew it the moment when even the big boss of Hell himself would stand by the hotel, more importantly on his daughter’s side, just to protect it.

And of course he would! Anything for Charlie!

He have already lost her and fucked up too many relationships before, he couldn’t afford to do the same mistake all over again.

“Care to share your thoughts with your incessant stare, your majesty?”

A static filled voice nearly made him jump, as he turned his head with a slight haste, meeting the malicious eyes and the Cheshire grin of Charlie’s hotelier, Alastor. The man was currently sitting next to the king (how the fuck did he even got there in the first place without Lucifer noticing him? Uh. Must be that freaky shadow magic again. Whatever), slightly leaning on the bar, a small shot of rye in his hand. Upon seeing the infamous Radio demon, Lucifer couldn’t help but roll his eyes, a tad annoyed, albeit he wasn’t in such nefarious mood therefore, unlike their first encounter (which was a partial fiasco, he had to admit it), he tried his best to act and keep it cool.

“What do you actually want this time, Alastor?” he asked, trying his best to not accidentally slip out a sarcastic tone or remark. The deer demon in question raised an eyebrow at the king as his permanent smile stretched a bit further, annoying the Sin eve more. He sipped on his own alcoholic drink, soft jazz playing around him.

“Oh my, can't a simple sinner just ask his excellence about his whereabouts in the morning? Or our absolute and mighty shortness feels too grumpy this dawn?” He said with a small hint of malice in his voice.

At his snarky remark, Lucifer this time couldn't help but growl a bit. At least, his incessant harassment was less prominent today, probably because it was morning therefore only the tip of the iceberg was shown.

Oh boy, he really wasn't excited to be at noon.

"Watch your tone, you-" he gritted out before getting cut off.

“Hey dad!”

A joyful and warm voice, contrasting Alastor’s fake static one, made him jump again slightly, though this time he smiled fondly when he realized that it was only his daughter Charlie calling him out, while Vaggie took care of the sinners who remained, watching a bit from afar before doing her duty. The nephilim doesn't seem to notice (or at least on her will) the tense atmosphere between Alastor and her dad alongside with their usual bickering as she went towards the other fallen angel, grinning widely.

“Hey Char-char! How you doing? You seems to be in a really good mood today.” Lucifer noticed, feeling just as giddy as Charlie, probably less but still, he empathized his daughter’s positive energy and even more when she started to slightly bounce on where she was standing, hands shaking in enthusiasm.

“Oh dad you don't know how many clients and sinners who are interested in the hotel we currently have now! After the failed extermination, a portion actually wants to look furthermore into that idea of redemption. And they got hooked on! Oh and there are some who even look upon Angel Dust because he still stand for that idea! And even Vaggie-” Charlie stopped her rambling in the middle of a squeak, obviously in too much glee for her physical body to actually follow properly her hyperactive mind. Lucifer couldn't help but actually feel her contagious joyful mood as he automatically started to grin widely from ear to ear, laughing lightly though in a supportive manner and not with mischief.

“Why, that's a wonderful duckling! I’m so glad that your project is getting the recognition it deserves!” he replied, enthusiastic. He was about to add more until Alastor decided that it was the right moment to butt in the conversation. He slightly slided on the bar counter, obviously on purpose, feeling more delight when Lucifer actually glared down at him (could he even glared down? Ha! That man couldn't even reach his shoulder!)

“My! It sure is something to celebrate about my dear! Perhaps with all of what is happening, you can help you with anything? After all, as your assiduous hôtelier, it's only fair that I assist you since a certain relative couldn't even bring themselves to be there." he chirped up.

At those lasts words, something in Lucifer snapped as he felt his tail rattle at that act, his eye twitching.

Oh hell no he wasn't going to let that fucker do that in front of him?!

“Oh! Now that I actually think about it Al, there's a few things that I-”

“-need assistance in?? I can do that for you duckling!” Lucifer immediately cut off, slightly pushing Alastor off the counter, smirking inside, triumphant when he felt Alastor’s smile getting strained as he threw daggers from his eyes towards the short king. He ignored and continued. "After all, I am the KING of Hell! I can land you more aids than a tacky bellhop!" He argued through gritted teeth.

Charlie looked at the exchange, slowly feeling a tad uncomfortable at the sight of it. She awkwardly chuckled, rubbing her neck.

“Oh well you see-”

She got cut off again when Alastor didn't hide it anymore and aggressively put (more like hit) on Lucifer's head with his elbow. Meanwhile, the fallen angel was practically boiling in silent rage because of the overlord.

“-you can also ask your loyal chum Charlie! you know who supported you when someone else couldn't.” the deer demon didn't hesitate to add as he bared his teeth at the man below who hastily removed the sinner's arm, pointing an angry finger at him. “Oh you fucking piece of-!”

Charlie was about to calm them down until the doors were suddenly slammed open. The three residents turned their heads to see an enthusiastic Niffty with a wide grin and a variety of papers in her right hand meanwhile her left had a dusty broom. The nephilim let out a sigh of relief as she went towards the small cyclop, a bit glad to get away from the two.

She really needed to do something for their constant bickering and passive aggressive acts.

“Oh hey Nif! You seems to have some letters with you, I can guess it's for us?” She asked as Niffty giggled manically. For anyone, she was probably plotting something nasty but for the rest of the hotel, it was a normal laugh for she was only in a quite joyful mood.

Partially.

The maid waved the envelopes in question in her hands, bouncing slightly on where she stood. “Got those little things with the mailman! He was so nice to me, he left his bag on the porch and let me get all of those!” She said, a bit too excited.

Charlie winced. She knew that she surely needed to talk with the poor mailman unless she wanted to deal with an angry post who wouldn't want to send them letters anymore. She thanked Niffty and hesitated a bit to take the letters until the small sinner slammed them in her hand, almost startling her before the short lady scurried to Hell-knows-where, broom and needle in hands. Charlie looked at her going away, meanwhile her dad quietly judged the cyclop, mildly concerned. Alastor only looked at her, an indescribable expression on his face as usual. In the end, the princess shrugged before checking the words in her hand.

On the meanwhile, Vaggie had already finished guiding the remaining potential clients as she went towards her girlfriend.

"Hey Char-char" the ex-exorcist greeted, a small smile on her yet tired face. Charlie looked up from the letters though when she saw her girlfriend, she beamed lightly as she hugged her. That slightly startled the smaller woman but she nonetheless responded with the same action however with less energy.

Lucifer felt giddy when he saw the two displaying their affection. After a few months of battling with himself when it came to Charlie's relationship with a fallen angel, specifically an exorcist, the Sin finally accepted and aknowledged the fact that Maggie really meant no harm towards Charlie. Sun above, he even scolded himself a bit when he was skeptical towards her but he knew that ever since Seviathan, he couldn't bring himself to let his child be in another relationship with a catastrophic ending.

By the meantime, Alastor dissipated himself in the shadows as he reappeared next to the duo. Charlie was already used to him appearing out of nowhere however the manager slightly jumped as she glared at the deer demon. Vaggie was about to scold him but the man was faster as he stood next to Charlie, examinating the papers as well.

Lucifer would have gladly shoved this fucker but he didn't wanted to act even more like an idiot. He only huffed slightly on his chair.

Overall, it was the usual as she quickly took a glance at it: a few ads dressed as relatives from the outskirts of the Pride ring, complaints, bills for the food and electricity, depraved photos and love letters from Angel Dust’s fans that Charlie definitely didn't want to even take a look at.

Well, it was the usual and the princess was about to put the letters in her pocket, not before tidying them up a bit.

Until one of the envelope fell on the ground and before Charlie could crouch down to take it, the seal of it surprised her. She quickly forgot the other letters as she inspected it, not before putting the rest on a nearby table, feeling even more confusion the more she looked at the envelope, frowning slightly. Alastor looked over her shoulder, also raising an eyebrow.

Vaggie seemed to notice the change of expression on her girlfriend's face as she got closer, not before narrowing her eyes at Alastor.

"Is everything alright, hun?" She asked, slightly concerned. Charlie perked up at that statement as she shook her head.

"No yeah I'm fine Vaggie! It's just..." She trailed off, lifting a bit the letter in her hands so the two others staff member of the hotel could see it as well. There was a mix of surprise and confusion on their faces but the only thing Charlie was sure is that the two weren't thrilled upon noticing why the princess in question was skeptical. Vaggie was the first one to speak.

“Is that-?”

"I think it is what we are all thinking dear." Alastor finished rather ominously, his smile slightly growing crooked and tight. Charlie widened her eyes slightly when she realized that it was actually real.

"Oh shit-" she muttered under her breath, not really knowing how should she feel. Still, a sense of worry overtook her.

“Hey dad?” Charlie called out, as Lucifer looked up from his phone, slightly titling his head to the side.

"Yes Charlie?" He asked, getting also confused when his daughter gave him directly the letter, putting it next to him. He looked at Charlie, raising an eyebrow as she coughed awkwardly before speaking, weirdly averting his gaze as she rubbed her neck.

Now that got him puzzled. Why, Charlie of ALL people, was the one who was reluctant to talk to him??

"Is everything okay? What's wrong duckling? I-"

"I think she wants you to read the letter she specifically put next to you, your majesty" Alastor pointed, almost making Lucifer get an heart attack again as the taller man suddenly appeared next to him.

He restrained himself from actually pointing a middle finger at the Radio demon. Instead, he glared at him before muttering something among the lines of "I knew it asshole" before he took the envelope.

Alastor's smile got wider.

The king ignored the walking Cheshire cat grin next to him as he thought to himself a few questions. An actual letter for him? No it was impossible, unless if it was probably an erratic fan since he knew the sins weren't that old-fashioned. Hell, even the goetias were getting slowly familiars with modern technology though some of them would still send one of the servant to deliver him a letter.

Not by a maid in a tacky hotel on an hill, away from Pentagram City.

"Maybe it's just a fan who think that I'm still living in the Middle ages." He tried to joke with himself, smiling slightly.

However, when he inspected it furthermore, his golden blood instantly got cold, his hopes shattering.

That bright shining seal that could blind someone, the soft dreamy blue envelope and the name "Samael Morningstar" engraved with gold on it only meant one thing.

It was a message from Heaven. And it was addressed to him.

"Why would they want to check on us now? Especially after our fiasco from last time?" Vaggie hastily asked, growing a tad suspicious upon that sudden call. Charlie understood that her girlfriend was iffy towards what the above wanted, especially after learning her backstory, but still, it was Heaven and even if the way they treated her and Vaggie was... Pretty much unorthodox for people who were supposed to belong in the Pearly gates, it wasn't actually THAT bad!

Well half bad.

.... No mostly bad.

Okay it was catastrophic but hey there was a zoo! Plus the welcoming song was groovy!

Kind of.

"Don't you think probably it was for your and Charlie? After all, I'm pretty sure you know how Heaven works according to your past interactions with its resident, isn't it?" Alastor piped up, smiling widely when the ex-exorcist raised an eyebrow at him, crossing her arms in distain. Charlie put a reassuring hand on Vaggie's shoulder as she spoke at her place, knowing that she wasn't fond of her hôtelier as the feeling was pretty much mutual.

"Actually, we have been able to be in touch with one of the seraphim through devices and facetime Alastor-" the concerned one didn't hid his disgust as he scoffed, lightly frowning and rolling his eyes. Charlie continued anyway with less enthusiasm. "-And as much as we all know here about your dislike towards modern technology, it is more easier than waiting in an empty building for a few words. Right Dad?" The princess asked and eagerly turned her head, ignoring Alastor's judgemental glare, smiling brightly. However, her mood got dimmed down at the sight of her father.

Lucifer was slightly shaking on his seat, gripping with such strength the delicate envelope in his hands that it was surprising it didn't got torn on the spot. His eyes were wide as a plate and his breathing erratic. His gaze was unfocused but when it landed on the letter in hands, a rush of mixed hatred and dread wrapped in his insides, twisting in his guts. The three residents turned their heads to look at the short king, all concerned in different level.

"Papa? You good?"

"Sir?"

"Your majesty?"

That tore the short king out of his thoughts.

"Sorry I-I-" he inhaled sharply, the air growing suffocating in his lungs. "-I need to go-" he justified quickly before disappearing in a poof of red smoke, making the two women backing away a bit. Charlie coughed up the remaining crimson particles stuck in her throat as Vaggie waved her hand to dismiss the remaining mist, both of their eyes were shut to not get a few inside. Alastor still stood on his place, impassive at the King's quirky exit.

The princess looked at where her father was sitting, more worry filling her.

"What just-" Vaggie said, too stunned to speak. Charlie bit her lips, hesitant to ask.

"Do you think he's alright? I've never seen him so... Distressed before." The nephilim said. Alastor shrugged as he slightly twirled his cane, humming through his thin smile.

"Pretty sure His Majesty felt a tad overwhelmed with... Whatever that letter was. After all, it's not an everyday occurence that the above wants to speak with the King of Hell in person, mmh?" He titled his head towards Charlie who still didn't seemed convinced.

She was about to suggest that maybe they check on him until a loud crash could be heard not from afar.

Vaggie instinctively took her spear (Charlie never knew how on Hell her girlfriend would carry her weapon around without anyone noticing), on alert as Alastor's demon form started to show itself, his grin growing crooked and his eyes turning into radio dials. Charlie turned her head to see that their wall have gotten destroyed again and this time, a batch of shark like sinners emerged, their guns and weapons out.

"WHERE THE FUCK IS THAT BITCH OF MIMZY!" One of them shouted across the large room. Charlie eyed them with judgement as she sighed, rubbing her face, obviously not wanting to deal with that in the morning.

However, when she was about to actually try to deal with the unwanted guests with a calm and pacific manner, a black infused green magic shot through one of the anthropomorphic shark, lifting him up in the air before tearing his body in two, his screams filling the air. That alerted the other intruders whose numbers grew when other sharks started to appear.

Alastor's antlers grew as Vaggie barred her teeth, charging her spear at the attackers with rage. Charlie was still standing, watching as the two fought the sinners, wide eyes before groaning in tiredness, exhausted.

Great! What a really great way to start the day! And she thought her father and Alastor's bickering would be the main issue!

Oh well. Time to kick asses again.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Lucifer didn't knew that he actually teleported himself back in the castle, in his rubber ducks filled workshop, instead of his assigned room in the hotel but not that he particularly cared about it.

As soon as he felt the floor beneath his feet, he instantly collapsed, using the wall as a support. He tried his best to stand up but his legs were wobbly and heavy, almost not responding to him. His breathing was erratic, irregular and short, impossible to fill his lungs properly without making him choke. His vision wasn't better: fuzzy, blurry, fuck even sway filled with black dots and his head was spinning, making him feel dizzy.

All because of that damned letter.

With an amount of efforts that was enough to make anyone pass out, Lucifer pushed himself furthermore on the wall so he could stand up, his other free hand clutching onto his chest, wanting to tear off his excessive clothing. In the end, after what felt like an eternity, the king was able to ground himself more until exhaustion was the only thing he felt.

A fluttering sound caught his attention as he looked down and saw the blue envelope falling slowly on the floor.

The golden words written "Samael Morningstar" on full display, almost taunting him.

He wanted to burn that shit to ashes.

"Why the fuck do they want to send me of all people a message." He thought to himself, growing even more confused and angry towards whoever decided that it was the perfect time, after so many eons, to ruin he happiness he tried so hard to have with a single useless paper.

The fact that they also still used his old name instead of the new and current one either showed that Heaven was still stuck in the old ass time or just didn't cared to change since the whole king of hell thing.

And the latter didn't know which one was worse.

"So when I send them news and updates, these bitches doesn't give a flying fuck but when they do it-" Lucifer grunted in annoyance and stopped midway when he realized how messed up that whole situation was.

He remembered when the first centuries he fell and accepted Hell as his new territory, he was still grieving, even Lilith couldn't fully reassure him despite her gentle, loving figure during that time, and tried his best to stay in contact with Heaven, anyone, his siblings. Numerous times he have sent them words, questions about their wellbeing and whereabouts, anything, just ANYTHING to make him know that they were still out there, not fully angry towards what he have done and that they still wanted to keep in check with their older brother.

But in each letter sent, the only thing returning was the crippling depression and tears, filling his neverending bleeding heart, nothing else nothing more.

The amount of nights where he silently cried himself to sleep, the amount of days where he would lock himself in his workshop, mindlessly working on rubber ducks to exhaustion because none of the people he thought was family was there at his lowest.

The amount of gold he poured endlessly in the pit who got worse when Lilith left him, no one was there to stop the flood.

Heaven have truly ditched him and left him with his mistakes with no chances of justifying himself.

And now, out of nowhere, they somehow decided to send him a letter, after a hundred one he sent with no avail. And he couldn't even be sure if it was a response or they deliberately decided to ignore the cuts he have written inside.

Slowly, ever slowly, he lifted the blue envelope with shaky power, glaring at it, as if it would go away and pretend that this never happened, that he could go back in the hotel and talk with his daughter while fighting that annoying ass of a radio demon.

But it didn't.

In the end, with his telekinesis, he put the envelope back in his hands, his hurt expression instantly turning into a cold one. He then finally spoke out loud, not sure anymore if it was for himself, whoever listened to him or the void.

"If you can just ignore me for how much long, then I'm pretty sure I can do the same, dipshit." He spatted before throwing it as far as he could with his shaky body.

The envelope didn't obviously landed far away, though it was near the trashcan. He was tempted to take it and crumble it before lighting it on fire before throwing the remaining outside.

But, for once, he resisted.

Instead, a red mist wrapped him and took him out of the castle and to his daughter's hotel.

He could ignore it for now. And Heaven could wait, like the wannabe virtue they were.

Chapter Text

A knock on the door.

"Ma'am Jophiel?"

Followed by silence.

Something that was unusual or eerie during this specific period in the holy place.

"Nirvana", one the most prominent and famous studios of Heaven have just finished filming an ad for the new perfume that was currently trending with the holy place and the main actress of it retired herself after a few shots who weren't that successful except the last one.

Say, the main actress wasn't just any averagely known figure they picked up on social medias or a doll face like cherub that anyone would fall in love with but the literal, actual and well known Archangel of beauty, Jophiel. The company was already a cash flowing one and well known for their high expectations and goals so it wasn't that all surprising if one of the virtues was also working on the commercial but the masses didn't actually know that for perfectionists, it was fighting with nail and tooth until their figurative and physical state collapse.

That doesn't mean the Archangel Jophiel was the type to exhaust her celestial bones until her own feathers would feel heavy on her wings' flesh however, there where those moments of surmenage accompanied with a bad timing for a sensory overload, let's just say the walking ticking bomb of emotions nesting on eggshells finally exploded and of course in the middle of another shooting.

And here's another problem: No one knew what to do when the model had her meltdown. Of course they didn't knew that this would happen, when hiring one of the original Morningstar, they didn't excepted that of them would actually react badly and it wasn't even on a failed attempt or whatsoever, it was... Just because of a few bright lights.

But after hindsight, did they actually make it too much? It wasn't everyday someone could witness this and did an archangel even needed to be taken care of? Or could they heal themselves? Or on the contrary, they actually needed to be more pampered and looked on??

Almost everyone in the studio would have be shut down, asking those questions that they never considered before if it wasn't for the exception of an heavenly being with a heart pin in his brown hair and clothed with plain a white short sleeved shirt and black pants holding a clipboard in hand who went to the backstage, specifically in the archangel's room.

Actually, he was just like Jophiel except he was the Archangel of love but employees and workers in Nirvana didn't suspect that a lambda manager's assistant is Chamuel Morningstar or, in some texts and other choices of words, Camael. Plus, his disguise made him pretty much unrecognizable and thus, it wouldn't make sense that people would be able to connect the dots between these two identities unless they have stalked or knew the archangel too well which wasn't that many or anyone at all except his siblings.

Right now, Chamuel has put aside the bumble bee-esque sounds roaming and buzzing in the studios or in other rooms except the backstages as he waited patiently in front of Jophiel's door, crossing his arms while lightly tapping his foot. There could be a chance that she wasn't probably inside but instead trying her best to calm down or plaster a smile solid enough to be believable for a few hours or, if she was lucky enough, the whole day and an afternoon in a nearby bathroom but Chamuel had a sharp hearing and if it was for the slight shuffling of a sheet accompanied by a thud, he would have thought about checking the second option.

"Ma'am? Can you hear me?" He asked again, more concern evident in his words. Jophiel herself already knew that her own sibling was in Nirvana, working undercover but she didn't actually know where they were nor what was their costumes or other appellation of it. Another thing is that she didn't really know who it was hence Chamuel preferred to be formal for now as to not overwhelm her even more. Plus, it was also just in case if one of the staff accidentally stumbled next to him and actually realize that two even more powerful than the average heavenly entity was inadvertently working with them.

Camael wasn't sure what would be their reaction but it was better safe than sorry.

In the end, after waiting for a good few minutes, the archangel felt that it was enough for him to enter inside the room, not before warning the one inside it. Without further ado, he opened the door.

Overall, it was the typical decor of any Hollywood backstage and rooms for any stars and celebrities except it had angelic motifs and touch of different yellow hue, from slightly pastel, even white to straight up bright albeit it was only a small portion. Aside from the vanity, there was a simple lemon flavored couch glued to the wall, a small ball of sheets was sitting on it, occasionally shifting back and forth slightly but stayed still on the soft cushions.

If it wasn't for the short curly hair that faded at the tip, Camael wouldn't have guessed that it was Jophiel, putting aside the room's design.

With the softest smile he could plastered on his face, he cautiously when towards the other archangel as he sat down next to her, barely touching her shoulder as to not frighten her furthermore.

"Hey" he started, being as gentle as possible. "What got you so bummed out?" He asked, no hint of malice in his voice.

It took a moment for Camael to get a reaction from her but slightly, ever so slightly she poked out her heard, her eye who was visible out of the sheet glaring at him. Chamuel smiled furthermore.

"Hale."

Hale was the name that Camael picked up for his camouflage in Nirvana. He liked the name rolling out of his tongue, plus he liked the meaning behind it, healthy and good looking, even though he didn't considered himself as a healer, he considered love as a fuel, something that everyone, platonic or not, could use as a natural medicine, a coping mechanism if used well, a link for strengthening emotional support.

But after all, who was he to tell, being a healer, a pillar of marble was Raphael's purpose and duty.

Which, now that Camael thought about it, he hasn't seen his brother in a while...

But that wasn't the current situation that mattered at hand right now. The mass of wrapped blankets started to wriggle a bit next to the archangel until the woman's head fully emerged from it. Her own eyeshadows stained slightly the corner her eyes while the pigment of her yellow blush started to fade out. Her hair was also a mess but, as the beared of the title "one of the most beautiful archangel", of course her appearance would have been a sweet eyestrain in a gawking way.

For the first few seconds, she hasn't moved nor said a word until a small, barely present, mischievous smirk appeared on her face as she finally spoke, her voice a tad raspy.

"You still kept that weird wonky nickname of yours?"

It tooks Camael a while to process what she actually just said before he widened his eyes and lightly punched her on the side. Albeit there was no harm intended nor actual force in his fist, he pouted slightly, huffing at her snarky remark.

"Hey! You said that it was good when I told you I would use that name!" He slightly scolded her. Jophiel's small smile widened a bit more. "Cammy, you already know that when I said that, it was out of from pure sarcasm."

The concerned one only proceeded to roll his eyes, soon finding himself to laugh at her propos and even more, his own joyfulness contagious as Jophiel soon followed him, albeit with less energy and more with a las feeling lingering.

It didn't tooks that much time, in fact it was only a few minutes after, for the feminine archangel to slump back on her velvet couch, drowning again in her sheets and sour mood.

Chamuel titled his head to the side, his smile slowly faltering before it became a thin line, both eyebrows frowning slightly as he looked at her. However, when he was about to speak up again, trying to come up with another way to confront her state, the archangel of beauty was faster, asking with a still a tad hoarse voice coated words.

"What are you even doing here-?"

"Just wanted to check on you, Joy. Is that a crime?"

The concerned one huffed slightly, even though it seemed more like a sigh of resignation. Camael, nonetheless, didn't backed down as he ever slowly and gently put his hand barely next the sheets that shielded Jophiel from the outside world. The woman was not really the one to be easily open to other people and less when she wasn't having it, emotions and feelings speaking or just meeting others but Chamuel was still persistent. Not stubborn. Persistent was a better word and he was really one, mainly to help other and relatives.

"Jophiel I just want to check on you." He admitted, his eyes showing his empathized bummed out feeling, mirroring with Jophiel. The latter only scoffed lightly, shrugging her shoulders although her gaze still hasn't met the other's.

"It's nothing really. I'm an archangel I can deal with it."

"You know what I mean." He said, rather harsh with knowing it but Jophiel continued, hers still firm on her own conviction but it felt more like she was already getting irritated by Chamuel's continuing presence.

"They were just a few lights. I can handle it but it's just I was more tired than usual today-" Jophiel was about to continue but Chamuel was already getting impatient as well, his own feelings starting to grow tumultuous because of his empath ability increasing.

"Jophiel, don't start pulling out those excuses on me, you already know it won't work." They said, tense. Jophiel glared at him intensely, her lips quivering and, for a moment, Camael really thought that she was going to snap at the other.

But then, instead, she tooks a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying her best to not escalate quickly as she buried herself furthermore in her small makeshift nest, not wanting to add anything else.

Somehow Chamuel felt even worse with that kind of reaction.

An oppressive and awkward silence settled between the two heavenly beings, both of them hesitating if the other would talk or themself. In the end, Chamuel was the one who broke the silence first, sighing heavily before.

"Listen Joy I-... I'm sorry I really didn't wanted to get on your nerves but I just want to help." He said before adding other words, with more pleading coating his words. "Please. Can I at least try to do something? For you?" He insisted slightly, his once persistence fading throughout the time.

Jophiel thought about his question for a short while and was about to answer until he cut her off again, slightly deadpan.

"Except telling me to go away. At least something I can do right now before you throw me out."

"Dammit." She muttered. Chamuel shrugged.

"You heard me."

The silence was still unbearable for the two but this time it was shorter. In the end, Jophiel gave up at trying to be reculant towards him but still, it tooks strength for the archangel to eventually speak up.

"Can I have some water-? Just a small bottle." She asked, her voice barely audible.

Chamuel looked at her, his eyes a bit wide but didn't minded it. Of course, as someone whose powers where just powerful enough, he could snap his fingers and make water appears but he thought to himself that it could be more appreciated if he tries to find one normally since he wanted to walk a bit as well.

"Alright if you say so-"

"But please."

Jophiel's suddenly interrupted them almost made him jump as he looked at her, a bit confused but still, they listened to what was she going to say...

... Even if what she said after somehow made them feel a needle stuck in their heart.

"After that just leave me alone. I really don't want to deal with- I really don't want to deal with anyone right now." She said, now fully hiding her entire physical being inside her sheets.

They knew that she didn't meant any harmful undertone in her sentence but Camael felt a slight weight in his stomach, an unpleasant feeling of uselessness wrenching his guts. Obviously, he felt stupid for feeling like this but it was stronger than him and for a fraction of second, he was about to get really upset.

But then, with hindsight, if it meant helping his sister, than he wouldn't mind.

He shouldn't mind.

"... Of course."

And they left, closing the door without any words.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

The archangel of wisdom sat on the floor rummaged through the mountains of papers and scrolls that was in her office alongside with the library, slightly tense and frowning.

The exterminations! How come she have never heard of it? And the fact that the actual head of the seraphim hid that cruel method from the virtues since how many years?? Centuries or eons even???

She was the archangel of wisdom. The archangel of knowledge and closely related to the Heavenly Council, Hell even one of the seven virtue, someone who was supposed to be all knowing and who was able to depict everything and be a powerful being but then if she didn't even knew about these barbaric ways, how can she even still considered herself as enough for this title? And moreso, if Sera hid it away from prying eyes for a long time now, that only emphasize how unworthy the more she thought about-

No. She was worthy of it and that's the reason why she was here, working her ass off, totally not on the verge of a breakdown with a brain as gushy as mud because she have found nothing about the exterminations. Totally not because of that.

A b s o l u t e l y n o t.

... Okay clearly she needed a break.

Uriel grunted, pinching in between her eyes, massaging it slightly, feeling yet another headache incoming as she let go of the papers who were gripped tightly in her hand as she sighed heavily, stress gradually leaving her as she realized how actually exhausted and hungry she was.

"I should probably summon a cereal bar or a bottle of red bull before continuing.." she thought to herself.

However, when she was about to get up to stretch herself, a small black flame suddenly materialized itself in front of her, slightly startling the archangel. Uriel raised an eyebrow before the flame changed its form to a more rectangular one until a dark purple lunch box appeared and almost fell on the floor if it wasn't for the woman who catched it.

At first, she raised an eyebrow in confusion, looking closer at it before she deadpanned, clearly not having it.

Obviously, she knew about the one who gave her this and, normally, she would either laugh a bit or smile at the gesture but the amount of works she had to do today really took a toll on her.

"Azrael, I'm really not in the mood right now." She said out loud. Not that long after, a figure emerged from the ground, wrapped in a black mist until an archangel with long white hair and black wings stepped forward, their arm crossed on their chest, a slight sight of disappointment on their face.

"It is not about your mood or whatsoever, Yuri. You didn't touched food for so long it's now as cold as Antarctica before climate change." Azrael said, raising an eyebrow at Uriel who slightly glared at him, not only because of the nickname but also because she definitely didn't wanted him to come.

"I thought you were the virtue of patience. Why did you even came when I told you I was still working?" She asked. He shrugged.

"Just because I'm that doesn't mean I shouldn't jump on when my siblings doesn't even know how to take care of themselves." He answered, just as nonchalant.

Uriel grumbled under her breath but, nonetheless, couldn't help but bring the lunch box close to her because of the divine smell. Azrael couldn't help but chuckles a bit as he sat next to her, leaning on a pile of old leather books as the other archangel opened the lunch box and widened her eyes, seeing a variety of Korean like dishes. Azrael couldn't help but smile fondly at his sister.

"I've decided to prepare a new one since the last was really not it. Don't worry about the temperature, you can wait a bit because I'm pretty sure it's still hotter than Australia."

"I still don't know why you keep doing Earth and its problems related jokes or metaphors these last few weeks." Uriel said, summoning chopsticks as she took a piece of kimchi. Azrael only hummed.

"When you constantly deal with Death lingering around mainly because of humans' stupidity, might as well use some dark humor to cope. With limits of course." Azrael added the last part as he smiled furthermore when Uriel ate a piece of the meal and hummed in approval, pleased of the savory taste of Azrael's cooking. She shallowed before continuing, her eyes darting away, her tone almost nostalgic.

"Mmh. You reminded me of the time during the ten plagues in Egypt where you accompanied me and kept making jokes all around because of the numerous deaths." Uriel piped in, a small, soft smile on her face yet at the same time restraining herself to not shake her head at the memory.

"Well, technically you were the one who would check if the door have lamb's blood while I shoot the kid." Azrael said almost as a matter of fact, smiling in false innocence.

Uriel almost choked on her meal as she glared at her bother, her joy being ephemeral after that propos. She narrowed her eyes at him before letting out a sigh, rubbing his eyes behind her glasses.

"For Mother's sake Azrael, I said take them, not shoot them!"

"Knowing the context of it, pretty sure these two are the same thing, am I wrong-?"

Now that caught Uriel off.

"Well- uh- i-" The archangel of wisdom was about to pull up another stunt but upon realizing that she let out a huff of resignation.

When the angel of death seemed to observe that his sibling didn't had anything else to say, he couldn't help but laugh at her attempt. Obviously, not out of malice rather a begnine teasing.

"Either way you understood what I was trying to say."

"Yeah. Of course."

And despite it, Uriel didn't fought back the small crack of smile that creeped out up on her face.

Soon, a silence settled between the two. For a the primary few minutes, it was decent until the atmosphere gotten thick, shifting unto something more awkward and unbearable to handle even for the toughest shells.

Unfortunately, Azrael's question only added more unwanted salt to the elephant in the room.

"It has been almost a week since I didn't saw you coming out of the library."

Uriel was playing and poking her remaining teokkbokki, contemplating the metaphorical voie in front while her consciousness tried to process fully what her brother was implying.

For a fraction of second, she felt her own golden blood running out but then she tried to calm herself down, her appearance as neutral as possible to not betray her inner growing turmoil.

"It's because of work. Exterminations have been such a bum in the butt I have extras now." She replied as Azrael made a sniffled up noise of understanding, his expression going on a small degree of sour.

"To be honest, I know you're like those librarians that have so many knowledge but still, I have no ideas how is your job and those exterminations are related."

Oh boy where does Uriel would even starts to answer that.

Because first thing first, not a lot of people weren't aware of that, not even her own siblings but Uriel is actually, indirectly in that case, member of the Heavenly council. There were no veiled explanations, she was the wisdom, the pillar or logics and techniques in some perspectives and, as much as it was overly frustrating how it was bright on the face that Sera was the one behind the exterminations therefore the main culprit, she needed to be neutral first and thus it was a necessity to provide concretes informations and notions about the yearly slaughter alongside with its participants, which are, in that case, exorcists...

... And that led to the second thing which was another whole problem: the case itself was a total mess. It was certain and official from now on that exterminations were illegal and weren't even supposed to work in the first place but that was EXACTLY the issue! How could Uriel even work on a registered crime case when it has no written traces and registered laws concerning it and even less files! And THAT was infuriated Uriel the most because in juridical way of speaking, that meant that exterminations had nothing in it aside the exorcists?? No registered informations or official connotations, it couldn't just be that easy.

And let's not even talk about the exorcists themselves who, most of them, doesn't even have any assurances and official identities in Heaven.

And for informations as well, the victims or the one who were involved in the case are only citizens from Hell and if it was for Heaven's case, it was the one who were put on the trial which wasn't... The best thing.

And the only person the archangel could think of was Emily which was also not... The best thing. And no. She won't elaborate.

Oh and Adam too. He was already a whole problem by himself and now that he died, the problem got worse...

"... There are reasons why it's linked. Trust me." Uriel decided to put simply in the end, not feeling ready to dump all the reasons and whatnot to her sibling as she went back to her files.

The virtue of patience frowned slightly at their sister's response, knowing easily that Uriel actually had the answers, she always had them, but just didn't felt to talk about it.

But nonetheless, he respected Uriel's choices of words, as long as she didn't tried to hide bigger and darker secrets nor crucial informations that risked to be compromise in the current situation, as he sighed slightly in small content before he finally got up, ruffling his wings slightly.

The feminine archangel bit his lips, knowing her brother would leave her be again... But a sudden question that made her froze in mixed emotions was itching her as she decided to impulsively ask it out loud.

"Do you think he received our letters?"

The temperature of the room suddenly dropped as Azrael himself felt a weight dropping all the way down to his throat and stomach, as he only stood, immobile, his back turned to Uriel as his mind tried to process the following words.

After what felt an eternity, frozen in time, he spoke up, his tone almost betraying his doubtfulness.

"He's the king of Hell now, Uriel. Pretty sure he is busy with his duties."

It wasn't the best response to it obviously and Uriel didn't even seemed that convinced with his words as she muttered something under her breath but, knowing it would go if he added anything else, the angel of death let out a quick goodbye as he disappeared in a black mist.

Uriel only hummed, going back into putting her nose in the numerous papers and written laws.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Lucifer didn't knew if he was just woke up from a nap or coming back from the deads.

In either way, he felt as if he got ran by a truck three times before being crushed to death by five elephants. To say the least.

And it's very precise I know.

In either way, to summarize it up, Lucifer really felt like shit almost like the first time he died.

Which was agonizing mind you. Unfortunately for him, it was not a quick painless death but the exact opposite: slow, full of agonies, emotions now blurry and mixed with the blood that kept pouring out of his own body, his heart ripped off his chest and destroyed until it was just pieces and shreds of flesh as he was forced to watch it.

A bit gruesome he had to admit.

And now he felt as if the sensations of his first time were coming back to haunt him. Or probably they just want him to go back through all of this again. Who knows.

Unfortunately for his miserable and pathetic life, Lucifer had already planned activities and his day and therefore, as much as he has gotten familiar with it, he was busy.

Like trying to fucking get up for example.

In the end, after what felt like countless attempts, the king let out a groan of frustration and tiredness, clearly feeling that today will be those days where his body and mind wouldn't cooperate.

"Oh for the love of-"

He rubbed his face with his wobbly hand before lazily snapping his fingers for... Well he didn't knew what was actually the reason on why he should even use his magic.

Well. Might as well just use it for everything.

After he felt somewhat satisfied with his wishes, he finally snapped his fingers before he got engulfed in a red and golden mist as it dissipated after a while, leaving him now in a new pristine usual white and red suit and hat, as he got up and stretch himself, putting on his best shiniest smile as he only readjusted his clothes.

NOW he was ready!

Wait. There was one thing left.

Lucifer frowned when he remembered it as pulled out one his drawer and pulled out a small bottle of medicines, filled with pills whose names were "HaPpY pIlLs"

The devil couldn't help but glare intensely at it but he knew he needed them to at least function like a normal person even if the name was so disgusting.

Reculantly, he poured almost an handful of those medicines in his hand, admiring their horrendous glory before chugging all of them down in one go.

Father above that tasted horrible just like always.

After he felt ready and not forgetting anything, he took another breath before teleporting himself to the hotel, this time taking longer than usual.

But he didn't cared.

"Hello everyon-!!" Lucifer didn't had time to fully finish his dramatic entrance that he felt a bone crushing bear hug encasing him as he lightly choked out.

"Augh-! W-wh-??"

"Fucking thank God dad you're finally here!" Charlie's worried voice rang out as she then gripped her father's shoulders, extreme care and concern written all over her face. "Are you okay?? What happened?? You didn't responded to my texts!"

As the nephilim continued to list all of her unanswered questions, Lucifer couldn't help but slowly frog blinking in incompréhension. Why on earth was she worried about him? Did his not so discreet exit really scared the life out of his daughter?

"C-charlie I'm fine! See? You don't have to worry about me dramatically leaving this morning." He said, chuckling awkwardly, trying to run off the uncomfortable atmosphere.

Unfortunately for the short king, it only got worse when the rest of the hotel's residents looked at each other, all mixed emotions at his propos while even Alastor seemed to frown slightly despite his wide grin.

Lucifer's stomach dropped as he tried to fix whatever he tried to say. "Y-you know when I disappeared like poof! Gone in a smoke h-hehe-"

"Dad?"

"Yescharlie-?"

The hotel's owner looked at her father, mildly concerned and conflicted if she actually should address the elephant in the room. But then, in the end, it was probably for the best.

"Yo- you were gone for 6 months- that sudden disappearance it was months ago-"

At the aveu, Lucifer's face became livid as he almost let go of his apple cane.

Ah. So that's why something fell off when he arrived, a few things a few changed.

Yeah. A few.

"Hahha-! Uh-" the king tried to laugh off but it was obvious he was pushing it before he immediately added, as if his words would compensate his unexplainable absence. "W-well you know Char-! Being the king and all that stuff-!" He made some intelligible noises before he straighten up his back all of the sudden. "Anyway! It's fine like I've said before! Completely okay! So Uh- what was-" he curses himself mentally for being such a fool in front of sinners. "What was the thing that you were trying to say Charlie-?"

At first, the concerned one didn't responded and Lucifer was fearing that she would still insist on his unresponsiveness but then she composed herself (she was way better at it, unlike him) as she also smiled back, except her own as was not as strained as his.

She knew how to keep her blood cold.

Once again. Unlike him.

"Oh well actually I wanted your opinion if you wanted to do a specific trust exercise? For- you know- knowing the rest of our residents-?"

Once more, the suggestion went through the sin's head and it tooks a short moment surprisingly to process it before he grinned at his daughter, pushing his doubts as he tried his best to answer with the happiest tone he could muster.

"Oh of course! Why not Charlie?? After all, I really want to see your friends!" He said enthusiastically much to Charlie's relief as she dragged her father to the rest of the hotel's lobby where fortunately, everyone was just minding their own business, except a certain radio demon who stared at the king with disdain and suspicion.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

They still haven't found Samael yet. How??? He was literally not moving for a long time and when they were about to find him he was just gone!

It wasn't fair!

But oh well. The good news is that they finally knew how to track Samael without getting caught physically and therefore it was just a bonus point for them.

Obviously they won't give up. Absolutely not! Not right when they were so close.

Oh Samael really didn't had to worry. They would catch him soon. After all, it's their little Morningstar! And they would anything for him!

A̴̚͟n̸̬̓y̵̦͆t̷̹͒h̵̬͋i̷̖͊n̴͇͌ḡ̴͇.̵̫̇

Chapter Text

"A-archangel Ramiel ?!" One of the cherub doctors that got out of the charity hospital exclaimed in surprise before bowing hastily and respectfully in front of the woman. The archangel in question only smiled at them with her usual calm aura as she raised a hand to let them know it wasn't necessary to do such an act.

The cherub raised their head as they instinctively got up, coughing up awkwardly. "Sorry- I-I-" they stuttered, blushing a bit. Ramiel only chuckled lightly.

"It's fine, no need to act as if I'm all high and mighty. After all, didn't our Father almighty who art in Heaven, say that only He is the only one who we must bow down and worship?" She explained. The cherub was still clumsily trying to come up with something, their actions uncoordinated as Ramiel only laughed lightly, no hint of malice in it before continuing.

"But. I'm actually here for a reason." She clarified. Hesitating a bit, she continued. "Is he here? And yes I'm talking about him in particular." She changed the subject, emphasizing on the last word. The small heavenly being widened their eyes a bit before they nodded, albeit a hint of uncertainty flashed through their face.

"Y-yes-! I-I think he's tending the remaining exorcists." They said before muttering slightly the last part, a bit wary. "At least, he tries... He's even more stressed than before and I think it's really starting to take a toll on his own wellbeing."

Ramiel's gaze switched into a sad one as she sighed heavily. "Just- tell me where he is, alright? I will try and talk to him." She insisted.

The cherub nodded again as they gave her the directions inside the hospital. Inside, the archangel could smell a peculiar mixed scent of medicines and patchouli albeit she was sure that it won't be long before iron starts to meddle with it, with the masses of injured exorcists entering in and out during these last few days.

Ramiel thought about the cherub's instructions before heading forward, going up to the third floor where she could hear more voices giving orders as sounds of boxes shuffling accompanied it. Not a lot of people came in this specific area of the hospital except when it was an urgence or in that case, a sudden wave of patients. The ones who worked and operated here were mainly doctors and nurses who had more experiences or studies than the average. Plus, they also had an advantage compared to the others since the one and only healer archangel Raphael have spent most of his time here, giving the fact that it was the main hospital who wasn't private in the circle of humility but also it was busier than in the other areas in Heaven thus the virtue was more active here, especially with the recent events.

Another information that Ramiel knew is the fact that he mainly preferred to operate in a large room, hence when she noticed a double almost sealed door at the end of the corridor where a specific motif of a sigil was engraved on, the archangel didn't hesitate and opened it.

A few exorcists without helmets were sitting or laying on the hospital beds, encased in bandages while others held themselves with crutches, groaning in pain, cursing under their breath or out loud. A brunette with his hair tied into a semi bun was checking on each of them, eye bags present under his eyes and at this close of snapping.

"Cumina, you need to be more careful when you get up or run! You should still use your crutches no matter what and stop trying to use them as a makeshift sword for the love of anyone here!" He said out loud, exasperated as he rubbed his eyes. The exorcist Cumina, only proceeded to snarl at him and was about to protest until Ramiel spoke.

"Raphael?" Her voice echoed through the room. Almost every exorcist looked at her, wide eyes as the concerned one also reacted, surprised to see her.

"Ra—miel-?" He asked, stumbling a bit on his words. One look exchanged between the two was enough for Raphael to know the rest of her sentence. He took a deep breath before speaking out loud again.

"I will be back. Don't try and make a mess while I'm out!" He instructed the exorcists before he dragged the other archangel outside the patient room. As soon as the two were out, the man stood in front of the other, crossing his arms as he frowned at her.

"So. What do you want." He snapped at her. Now, Ramiel felt even more concerned about his own health and wellbeing.

Clearly it was probably not in other heavenly beings' business to check on actual archangels but hey, first thing first Ramiel was just like him and despite being not that much close to him like Gabriel or even Zadkiel, she wanted to care, and second, Raphael, ironically, really looked like shit to say the least.

"I just want to see if everything's okay right now." She explained, keeping a calm demeanor. Raphael raised an eyebrow at her before shrugging, waving his hand around.

"Meh. As much as I really don't want to be with those-" he said, almost spitting the therm to talk about exorcists before sighing heavily, showing clear signs of tiredness, running a hand through his hair. "-I have to tend them and hopefully, some of the soldiers would be in a somewhat decent shape when-"

"You know I'm not talking about them, Raphael." Ramiel reminded, her tone slightly more commanding. Raphael looked at her, wide eyes before frowning and looking away, grumbling under his breath. She insisted, her tone more worried.

"Raphael, it has been a while since your siblings saw you. Since I saw you and when I have the time now to see, you really look like you would pass out in any moment-"

"But I won't. I'm an archangel."

"You KNOW what I mean-!" She exclaimed, frowning before rubbing her eyes. Raphael stood in front of her, his eyes showing a small hint of guilt for making one of the kindest beings in the holy place worry about it. Worry about him of all people. However, before she could add anything, Raphael cut her off, trying to shake off the oppressive feeling inside his guts.

"Ramiel, you don't HAVE to worry about me!" He pressed on, accentuating his words as ve continued. "I was assigned for healing for a reason. It is my duty to take care and restore the well-being of other people!" He explained to her. Ramiel still didn't seem convinced at all but the other archangel ignored her as he continued.

"And let me guess. You're just gonna wing it, hoping for the best while holding yourself with coffee and cereal bars?" Ramiel mocked with unusual coldness in her voice before continuing, getting closer as Raphael couldn't help but snarl at the unwanted closeness.

"Ramiel-"

"Or you're gonna just assume that you are immune just because you're a medic?"

Nonetheless, when the feminine archangel realized that the other was at this close of throwing her more than just harsh words, which she suspected anything sharp in this hospital, she calmed down, muttering moud enough for only him to hear. "Sorry, I didn't mean to dump all on you."

An oppressive silence soon settled as she sighed before continuing, ignoring on purpose the disapproving look on Raphael's face.

"Listen Raph- I don't care about whatever you think of me worrying for you- or something along those lines." She paused before continuing her tone less harsh yet more demanding. "But the only thing I want from you is to actually take care of yourself in any way. You can't just proclaim yourself to be a healer if your main obstacle is your own body."

Said Raphael looked away, feeling aversive towards her propos before he eventually spoke up, iffy with hindsight. "I'm going to be fine. I swear." The feminine archangel glared even more.

Ramiel was really not having it and was about to snap again some senses to the other before he got faster, putting his hand up as to let her know he was the one to speak now, his words laced with ice.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have more important duties at hand if you are not going to spill out anything else that is actually worth my time."

And, once again, Ramiel didn't even have the time to be properly offended by what he had said that the healer already stormed off to the room where the still injured exorcists were waiting for him.

The kind woman stood on her place for a while before she huffed out loud, not caring that her feathers ruffling was catching attention from the other cherubs and doctors who worked here.

"God-damnit." She muttered before disappearing as well.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

"What a stubborn man.." Ramiel though to herself, not even feeling like flying to go to the countryside of Humility, probably joining Esther or Emily.

Gosh, why was he so hard on everyone??

Of course, Ramiel could understand that these last few days were overwhelming for some while even obnoxiously horrible for others because of the revelation about the exterminations but did Raphael really had to be all stuck up and harsh with anyone aside from the hospital? HE was the virtue of kindness, not her! Him taking care of the injured wasn't definitely not an excuse to just neglect himself and tire his own being to the point of exhaustion.

And knowing the stamina of an archangel compared to a mere winner, the fact that Raphael seemed on the verge of passing out each time she would visit him was extremely worrying to say the least...

W̸̩͑h̶̲͝y̴̢͝ d̷͓͡ĩ̴̩d̷͓͗ i̸̭̽t̸̥̉ h̵̝̑a̷̛͈ḏ̷͆ t̵̠̑õ̸̗ b̴̙̈ę̷͐ s̴͙̚o̸̝͐ d̴͍̉i̴̧͂f̷̻͊f̸̯̈́į̷͠c̸̨͠ù̶͔l̴͚̏t̶̻͘-̸̦̐!̸̯̀

"Hey Ramiel!"

A sudden voice calling her name out made the archangel slightly jump in surprise before the concerned one turned her head to look at the one whose voice belonged to the latter.

A slightly wavy long haired brunette was smiling at her, walking towards the other as Ramiel couldn't help but raise an eyebrow albeit she smiled at him, landing on the ground to be at Gabriel's level, slightly flapping her wings.

Despite not really being that close, the two archangels had a few common points such as their care for each other or even their optimistism and it seemed that today, Gabriel felt joyful enough as he spoke again, his tone as light as his own wings.

Ramiel's own smile tightens ever so slightly.

"How are you by the way? You seemed a bit on edge when I saw you." He inquired, tilting his head to the side. Ramiel sighed barely, waving her hand around, her voice as soft as she could mutter.

"Oh nothing that is threatening. I am fine, just merely checking on a few people during my walk." She answered casually as Gabriel couldn't help but perk up at her words as she continued, her tone betraying a bit her emotions before she continued.

"One of them being the orphanage as well as the injured ones in the hospital."

At that statement, Gabriel couldn't help but frown, a burning thought lingering in his head as he couldn't help but ask, his tone hesitant.

"Is he... Is he still working there-? Not like I want him to not help others! But- I'm just concerned if he-" he stumbled a bit at first until Ramiel cut him off, already anticipating what he was about to say.

"His nose is deeply buried in tending the exorcists and is getting even more reclusive throughout each day."

Gabriel grunted at the aveu, running a hand through his hair in exasperation.

"By my mother's name, don't tell me-"

"Yup. Overworking again."

Gabriel facepalmed and something inside Ramiel's mind almost felt bad for the messenger of God.

Thus, like the kind archangel she was, the feminine heavenly being smiled warmly at the other. "You seem really distraught by it. Even worse than I am." She quipped.

Gabriel bit his lips, unsure if he should actually address his own issues concerning his brother. After all, Raphael always seemed to be the most overworking person the messenger of God have seen during his living in Heaven and he KNOWS it because he was there for eons, waaaaay older than the majority of the other heaven borns that resided in the holy place thus when he was saying that the virtue of kindness couldn't just take a break, it was true.

And sadly true. And that was the thing that made him extremely worried.

Eventually, he chose other types of words, however still going in that direction of topic.

"I hope he's fine at least. You know, with the whole doctor job and all of that. At least- does he eat or even rest from time to time-?" Gabriel recently asked in the last part with a hint of uncertainty, his smile strained.

And soon he faltered when Ramiel shook her head.

"From my observations, he doesn't even seem to do both of them."

Gabriel groaned under his breath. Of course!

However, when he was about to add anything else, Ramiel added something else to her sentence, her tone still as gentle as ever as she smiled softly.

"But I've already told him to actually take care of himself. Not as a tip but as an order. Obviously not in a harsh way."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at her conviction and the other feminine archangel swore she could feel deep within the other that he wasn't that reassured.

Barely called trusting by her propos.

Ha ha.

She instantly spoke again, cutting the virtue of diligence who only frowned furthermore.

Father above, why was this man already sour this half day??

"You don't have to worry about it or him, Gabby. I got it under control and if it really gets severe, I will inform you, right?" She asked, her tone even more insisting as Gabriel couldn't help but be even more iffy.

Nonetheless, he agreed but it was rather because he didn't wanted to bother Ramiel about it. She seemed tense.

"In fact..." She suddenly said, lending out an ear, as the other heavenly being perked up at her words.

She smiled wider before continuing.

"I think someone is trying to find you. They seem to be in need of help." She concluded, frowning again as she leaned ever so slightly on her side, as if she wanted to listen furthermore to her surroundings.

Gabriel pursed his lips. Of course, he knew about Ramiel's ability to hear anything and anyone within numerous miles and meters away but the timing of it was-

"Yup. Clearly an issue with two winners. Something among the lines of- wait hold on a second- a small miscommunication."

At the therm, Gabriel's surprised expression turned into an almost deadpan one as he shook his head in almost disbelief.

"Ugh I swear these winners... Where are they exactly? That far?"

"Not really. Around the marble buildings." Ramiel answered as Gabriel hummed. Okay, it wasn't surprising and maybe it wasn't that weird.

"Okay. Uh right alright. Thanks Rams! See ya!" The brunette said before leaving, almost running slightly in the opposite direction.

Ramiel watched as Gabriel went furthermore away from her before sighing softly. She was glad that, at least, one of Raphael's siblings still cared for him and his well-being despite his stuck-up and almost hermit-like attitude. She was ESPECIALLY glad that Gabriel didn't consider her as some sort of replacement, a second option for "the virtue of kindness" because golly! She would be so furious!

And Ramiel, when angry, wasn't really pretty.

Her fists loosened up a bit until she unfurled her wings again and flew away, searching for Emily.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

It was windy and yet, somehow, an unsettling warmth started to course through Lucifer's being, making him even more uncomfortable. Usually, he wouldn't mind because he was already used to it although knowing himself, the weather was a roulette wheel depending on his own conscience and today, it seemed agitated.

Samael, on the other hand, didn't seem to be bothered by the bizarre weather.

Instead, he merely looked above then around as his gaze landed on Lucifer. He spoke up, his voice carrying no hints of emotions.

"It's getting worse."

Lucifer only shot him a death glare, clearing not having it.

"What is it. Are you here just to annoy me again or what."

Samael only shrugged.

"I'm just trying to take care of this physical body since someone else couldn't do it properly even though it's their job."

"Fuck off." The king of pride spat.

"I can't unfortunately. Just like you I'm stuck." The other argued back.

An tense awkward silence filled the mind they were. Soon enough, Samael spoke up again. Despite the lack of emotions evident on his face, his tone however carried a lingered sense of reminiscing.

"You're thinking about Eden again."

Lucifer flinched slightly. That was a low blow.

"It's none of your business."

"Technically it's my business too."

"I hate you."

"I know."

Lucifer took a deep breath, clearly realizing only now that it was fruitless to try and argue with- whoever Samael was. The latter only waited patiently for the devil to gather up his words again. However, upon noticing that Lucifer didn't seemed to have anything else to say, he continued.

"You already know the mere concept of thinking about it would just hurt you furthermore. You need to leave it behind, it's the past now."

Lucifer couldn't help but grumble under his breath, growing even more irritated with each passing seconds with this thing, especially when he looked exactly like him, let alone a brighter and softer, almost pastel-like palette on his clothes.

"Wow. Thank you so much for your totally not obvious advice, as if I already didn't know that dipshit."

Samael only raises an eyebrow.

"I'm pretty sure you're aware that I'm saying that to you because, despite constantly trying to tell yourself to move on, you just can't. And this lack of control towards simple but painful memories overcome your own thoughts and emotions as you're sinking even more. I'm the main proof of it.”

"As if I didn't knew that too already.." Lucifer wanted so badly to say but the sin of Pride was already aware that it would be useless and more or less like a stupid attempt of gaining a bit of ego back.

Something he experienced too much it was pathetic how he knew how it would end if he tried an attempt.

Instead, Lucifer just gritted his teeth, keeping himself silent.

An oppressive silence filled the air, making the latter uncomfortable but, fortunately, Samael spoke up, looking at the sycamore trees that remained in the fog, as if they were in deep thoughts.

Which was partially right.

"Mhm. Charlie is talking about her trust exercises and is going to ask your opinion."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow at him but still kept his mouth shut while the other continued, nodding slightly.

"I think you should go now. Unless you want people to know about us."

If only the King could punch him right in the face.

Nonetheless, Lucifer reculantly agreed as he took another deep breath and closed his eyes.

Soon, the heavy feeling that settled in his chest started to dissipate, not fully left but still a good amount of chuck went away, as the fog did the same. The trees were blowing away and the unsettling warmth became a familiar sensation of hot sulfur running through his charred skin as he slowly opened his eyes once again.

This time as "Lucifer."

The sound of old radio playing softly in the lobby then went back in his ears while he felt the couch's pillows on the side he leaned on.

No one really spoke but there was still a teasing remark there and there between Angel Dust and his friend- what was his name- Hurley-? Something along those lines.

"So dad! What do you think?" Charlie's eager voice rang out as he snapped his head at her, wide eyes in surprise.

But his daughter's bright smile was infectious and he couldn't help but mirror it too.

"Of course I think it would be a good idea Char!" He said, nodding approvingly as the nephilim bounced on her feet, clearly giddy and excited for her concept.

Lucifer didn't even notice that Alastor raised an eyebrow at him in suspicion, too focused on his own bundle of joy.

Vaggie, on the other hand, was frowning during the entire time the princess was speaking as she slightly bit her lips in uncertainty.

The latter tilted her head to the side, no hint of malice on her expression or whatsoever although confusion was obvious on her face. "? What do you mean by that Vaggie?"

Somehow, Lucifer noticed that Vaggie's uncomfortable expression got furthermore accentuated as she also seemed hesitant to answer.

"O-oh- uh well you see-" she stammered as the nephilim resolved the puzzle pieces in her head before widening her eyes in understatement.

That, probably, her girlfriend was not the kind to just spill up her entire emotions or that she, ironically, had trust issues which weren't that easy to be handled and resolved.

Or-

"Oh Vaggie it's completely normal to feel that way don't worry!"

Vaggie cringed slightly as Charli continued, still beaming and not noticing how recoiled the manager was.

"After all, everyone is gonna participate so you won't feel alone!" The princess tried to reassure although she didn't realize that her own solution was apathetic.

And if it wasn't for Lucifer's blood running cold, he would have felt bad for Vaggie.

So. Samael was actually kind enough to warn him about what was happening but didn't want to actually tell him what was about.

Just great. And Lucifer was about to look at the bright side.

What a fucking bastard.

"But it's okay!" Charlie piped, clearing up her throat as she went in the middle of the lobby, boasting her chest. "How about this?? I will start first so y'all would actually feel more comfortable with sharing stuff!"

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you see the context, Lucifer finally understood what the exercise was about as the remaining colors on his already pale face went away.

Oh. So this trust exercise was about sharing things about yourself.

Ha.

Haha.

H a h a.

H E L L N O.

Using the snake on his hat, the king tried to look around frantically, searching for an exit.

Sadly for him, it already began and it was too late to go back, whenever physically or escaping in his own mind.

Lucifer gulped down when Charlie started to speak.

"Alright!" The princess called everyone before taking a deep breath, her voice less loud and booming although it was still affirmative.

"As you all know everyone, I am Charlie! And one of my favorite things to do is singing-"

"I think it was pretty obvious toots." Angel Dust piped in, smirking although it was not put of malice as the concerned one widened her eyes before chuckling awkwardly.

"Y-yeah I noticed it too- but still! Any type and variety of singing is fine by me!" She rambled soon after.

Lucifer couldn't help but smile fondly at the acquired but already knew information, aware that this trait of the nephilim was associated with her mother Lilith, who loved singing not only for her people but also for her own family, especially her little star, whenever she wanted to sleep or just sing with her mother in general while Lucifer would just film them or goes along with it.

At the memory, the king couldn't help but feel a pang of nostalgia at it although it was easily shadowed again by the oh so familiar pessimism of him including the plaguing, toxic thoughts, blocking his own happiness and joy.

Because no matter how he wanted to be proud of his daughter and think about Lilith without thinking about how he messed up everything, his mind was hammered with incessant thinking and train of mind.

What about him-?

"-Well Vaggie is obviously my girlfriend! She has helped me through so much during my life and did so much for this hotel! I owe you so much Vaggie!" Charlie finished her speech with a heart formed by her own hands at said Vaggie, wide smile as the concerned one couldn't help but blush deeper, her eye wide as she looked away although she returned the smile albeit with less enthusiasm and more awkwardness.

What a cute couple.

"As for Angel Dust!-"

As if Lucifer's level of stress wasn't already at his paroxysm, he felt sinking deeper in a haze of blur and frantic beating heart rate when he realized that not only it was about sharing personal things about yourself but ALSO giving your opinion on each member-

Well-

Lucifer really wanted to die right now-

The idea was very tempting.

"-I'm really proud of how dare you've overcome since you came here as our first client." Charlie said with emotions, smiling fondly at the spider demon who just jumped slightly, caught off guard before he meekly yet genuinely sent back a somewhat identical smile to the princess.

"Why thanks Char." Angel replied, sending finger guns towards her, now smiling widely with his iconic and familiar one.

Charlie's already huge grin got so high it was reaching her goat ears while Lucifer was getting desperate, even if he knew that since he was the last one to speak since he recently crashed and came in to settle down, wanting badly to get away as far as possible.

"I need to find a way here. And QUICK." The Sin of Pride kept thinking to himself, unintentionally holding his sleeves' cuffs tighter, not noticing that Alastor was staring immensely at him for some reason.

Maybe he could try and simulate another- no no no that was an asshole move, even coming from him and, knowing how fucked up his mind was, he knew there was a high possibility that he would black out again for a half a year.

Which wasn't pretty if he had to be honest.

And if he actually tried to tell Charlie about it-? Ugh! But then again that felt so wrong to just go towards his daughter, whom relationship with him was fragile enough, and- what the fuck should he even say??

"Hello Charlie! You know I was thinking of just, you know, not doing the exercise! Why? Because I don't want to fucking do it. Yeah I love you but no."

Yeah no. It wasn't going to work.

He was in such a train of thoughts he hadn't noticed that Charlie had already finished talking about Husk, whom she considered as a great adviser as the said cat demon appreciated the compliment in his own way, and Niffty, the little cyclop lady being- too eager to be the one who killed Adam.

"-As for my dad-"

Lucifer wished he didn't saw how the giddy and bright face of Charlie suddenly dimmed down as she looked at him. Trying to shake away the uneasy and almost unbearable growing turmoil in his stomach, the king of Hell tried his best to smile at her, encouraging his daughter to continue.

The nephilim bit her lips, unsure and Lucifer almost feared she would just ignore him, leaving him as a foreigner, an outsider between all those people, even fucking Alastor, who have already created such strong bonds why would they even need him he was a fraud nothing he-

"W-well he saved me!" Charlie snapped him out of reality as she finally found at least something nice to say about him as he composed himself at it, trying his best to keep up his shaky awkward smile

The princess seemed reluctant to continue as she added one last somewhat positive remark, her voice less affirmative.

"And he helped me rebuild the hotel-" she eventually finished, leaving a bitter taste in Lucifer's mouth, resisting the urge to feel a tad hurt by how little she thought.

Then again, he was the one who was at fault here in the first place.

Ouch.

"Oh it was no problem Char-char!" The king waved his hand around as he could faintly hear a chuckle from the deer demon, barely audible, as the king snarled at him under his breath, his snake glaring at Alastor.

The latter's Cheshire grin only got wider as Charlie clapped her hands together, ignoring the small passive aggressive interaction between her father and her hotelier, her energetic demeanor back.

"Alright! That's how we will proceed when it comes to the exercise, I hope everyone understands!" The princess exclaimed as she looked at her girlfriend, who looked back with a bit of confusion and apprehension.

Vaggie resisted the urge to flinch when the princess held her hand at her, smiling brightly.

"I think maybe that you should start Vaggie !" Charlie exclaimed as the ex-exorcist faltered slightly.

Lucifer would have tried to take her place if it wasn't for his- uhm- you know what nevermind he'll only shut up and say nothing, hoping he wouldn't put on a worse pity party than he already imagined.

In the end, Vaggie took a deep breath as she got up from her seat, albeit with less energy than her partner as she went towards the center of the lobby while Charlie was slightly bouncing in her place, all beaming with excitement.

The other lady cleared her throat.

"Uhm- hi. My name is Vaggie as you all know. And no, it's not pronounced Va-gee." She emphasized her last words, scrunching her face, especially at Angel who couldn't help but snort under his breath as he nodded quickly, even if it didn't seem to be that genuine.

Vaggie sighed, resigned as he continued.

"My favorite thing is to do- actually one of my favorite hobbies is dancing. I don't really have a specific one in mind, any kind is fine by me." She explained.

Lucifer made sure to note and remember his piece of information at the back of his mind alongside her name.

Right. Yeah. Vaggie.

Okay, he was going to make sure he remembers this time!

It was between when the concerned fallen angel was talking- fuck what was his name again- Hank??? Hunk? Anyway when she was talking about him and the cyclop lady that was reaaaally creeping him out that he felt his phone somehow vibrating in his pocket that he perked up, fortunately with no one noticing his slight shift.

However, when he checked on it, he frowned. Phantom vibrations again? Why has it become much more frequent with him these last few days??

But then, it struck him and the king had to restrain himself to smile at his own found idea.

Turning on his phone back again, he scrolled through his contacts' list, pretending to look through a distant number that called him inadvertently.

"Uhm- Char? Can you excuse me for a moment? I need to-" he checked his phone once again as Charlie looked at her father, tilting her head to the side in curiosity and Lucifer didn't miss the slight frown on her face.

That detail almost made him regret his decision.

However, the snarky remark from Alastor made him change his mind.

"Is His Majesty really that unavailable or what?" The deer piped in as Lucifer glared at him hardly, stiffing his lips into some sort of grimace, knowing full well what the Radio demon was trying to imply.

Unfortunately, even Charlie seemed to be on his side as she added more fuel. "Wait- it's true dad! It has been a while since I didn't saw you participating in those types of exercises with us!" The princess said as a matter of fact, even pouting slightly.

But did Lucifer even participate in those trust exercises in the first pla- you know what? He will go along on what she said and make him think he actually had the will to do these quite tiring activities because he didn't want to hurt furthermore his bundle of joy.

And the puppy eyes she was currently using was almost enough to make him resign and apologize for wanting to actually leave the residents.

However, fortunately for him, an idea popped in his head as he widened his eyes and restrained himself to sigh in relief in front of everyone.

"I-I'm sorry Char even I wanted to participate in this sharing process." The king ignored the slight cough from Alastor as he continued. "But I have a solution for this! How about this? I'm going to directly participate right now and- I'll leave after-" Lucifer faltered when he realized that his supposed good idea was not a good idea at all.

In fact the stupidest he had for a while and that said a lot about him.

Fuck.

And, of course, it was too late for him to go back through his words because Charlie's eyes shimmered again. Oh, if it wasn't for the circumstances and his stupid self, he would have warmed at the sight.

"Wait- that's actually great! I'm glad that you are finally able to work with us!" The princess slightly bounced again in her place, much to Lucifer's mixed feelings of joy and dismay.

When, eventually, Charlie calmed down a bit, everyone went silent again, all eyes directed towards the short king.

Father above that was stressful-

No. You know what? Lucifer was the king of Hell for a reason. He already talked many years ago in front of the entirety of Hell. The entirety! And all of that without Lilith's help mind you! A few sinners would not be an issue for Lucifer!

Except they were sinners.

And that they already had their own little family going on where he just decided to settle in even though the moment he choses to do that was unfortunate.

And that they are not just mere sinners. They were Charlie's friends which made him even more anxious.

Uh.

Maybe he should stop thinking about it at this rate and just dive in.

"Alright then.." He softly mumbled before taking a deep breath, smiling with his sharp teeth.

"Hello everyone!! Well- sinners in that case- ahem anyway-! As you all probably may know now I'm Lucifer Morningstar, the head honcho of Hell and-" shit what was he supposed to say?? Oh yeah, his opinion about the rest of the hotel's members.

Well. Wouldn't that be fun?

"-And about my daughter!" He said a tad too enthusiastically, the concerned one widened her eyes as her lips went stiff.

Lucifer tried his best to ignore her reaction, much to his slight disappointment as he continued.

"My lovely daughter! I'm so proud of everything you do. The one who changed my heart. I love you more than anything." He said the following words tearfully, earning a surprised look from Charlie before she actually mirrored her father's expression.

"Oh dad.." She said as Vaggie slightly patted her back, a less emotive yet still joyful for the father and daughter duo.

Lucifer's heart swelled. The king could have just used all of his time to speak about how much his daughter meant to him and that she was his light even during the darkest of time but he knew he didn't have the mental strength to do that all day long.

And instead, his eyes shimmered again when he saw the fallen exorcist next to Charlie, who seemed to catch on him seeing her as a slight blush of shyness creeped out on her face, widening her eye slightly.

Father above she was really a nice lady isn't she?

"As for you Maggie; you're such a fierce and strong woman. No wonder why Charlie had something for you, you're such a fervent friend and determined!"

Vaggie was almost showing silent joy until she actually smiled awkwardly, rubbing her neck.

"Uhm- sir? Actually it's Vaggie." She responded as Lucifer frog blinked, his lips pursed together before he coughed up quite loudly, earning a judgemental look from Alastor not from afar.

"Oh uh right. Sorry." He apologized clumsily.

Fucking hell he should really work on remembering names. How come he had a clear memory on how he fell but then forgot to properly register Charlie's friends' information.

Uh. Well, he'll see that later.

Because right now, his main concern was the rest, whom he didn't even connect with as much as the couple.

And they weren't even that really close to him anyway, imagine the spider or the cyclop.

Just great.

Well maybe he should start first with the tall lanky pink demon with four arms, despite him growing a bit uncomfortable with his incessant sexual jokes and- honestly just anything that radiated explicit energy coming from him.

Just like he thought before, Angel Dust's ever present smirk widened furthermore. Lucifer gulped slightly at the display, really wishing that the spider would not push it.

"W-well uhm- what an interesting fellow for sure-!" The king finally managed to spur out as Angel Dust slightly raised an eyebrow at the aveu, still grinning before slightly chuckling at Lucifer. "Well thank you short king." The sex worker almost purred. That instantly made the short king in question stiffen a bit as he tried his best to ignore and go on with the others.

Well, only two remaining! Husk (that's it! Hask was his name!) was actually the most sane resident here and-

Uh-

The cyclop lady-

Well-

"By his Mother's name, why did Charlie had to have such crazy friends out of all sinners scurrying out there-" Lucifer thought to himself before clearing the throat, this time making sure he wouldn't stumble upon his words. Meanwhile, Vaggie frowned furthermore at the king's attempts to be attentive to everyone but obviously having difficulties with it as Charlie winced slightly, still trying her best to smile to cheer up her father.

"Husk right there is a really nice guy! I really appreciate him." Lucifer said, silently cheering inside when he managed to get an actual opinion on someone. And someone that actually enjoyed the presence!

Now that made the concerned cat demon a bit surprised when he realized that the king of Hell himself complimented him as he widened his eyes but Niffty was faster than him as she quickly went in front of the bartender, slightly jumping on her frantically, giggling maniacally.

"What about me? Me? Me??? I want to know!" She said impatiently, to the point when she leaped towards Lucifer, climbing him like a tree before looking at him dead in the eyes, her grin taking half of her face. Lucifer's already omnipresent anxiety skyrocketed when the short lady clinged to him aggressively like the first time. He widened his eyes and stiffen furthermore like a goat who got ironically startled by a car.

A few oppressive seconds passed until Lucifer eventually managed to find his voice, a bit strangled but a clear, nervous chuckle was finally able to come out.

"Uhm- I-i like you too-?" The sin said clumsily but, fortunately, that seemed to be enough for the maid as she cheered and laughed out loud before crawling back to her place, all giddy.

Well. It would have been wholesome if it wasn't for the fear in the eyes of almost every hotel's residents towards Niffty.

Excepté Alastor.

And of course, Lucifer had to remember this annoying walking tampon as he internally screamed.

Charlie also seemed to realize the sudden shift of tension that settled when she saw both of her fathers looking eyes at each other as she slightly frowned in distress, biting her lips as the princess expected the worse...

... Only for her dad to just roll his eyes sassily at the deer, his tone less than joyful.

"He has a radio podcast I guess."

"Show. Radio show." Alastor corrected dryly, his voice cold and sharp. Lucifer only squinted his eyes, feeling even more irritated at the deer's attitude.

"Same thing." The king argued back, looking at his nails, feeling a sense of pride when Alastor's own static magic flares up.

Thankfully, Charlie seemed to realize that it would escalate quickly if not handled right now thus the princess immediately stepped up, her smile strained slightly as she tried her best to chuckle through the awkward atmosphere.

"Okay okay Uh- alright! Thank you so much dad for your participation!" The nephilim said, still nonetheless gleefully, patting her old man at the back as Lucifer smiled softly at his daughter, slight crinkles present at the corner of his eyes.

"Of course duckling, anything for you. Now, if you'll excuse me..." He trailed down, not waiting any seconds after to disappear in a swirl of red smoke and glitters.

But the king, however, doesn't miss the almost inaudible comment of Alastor, judging his exit too tacky as he wished that, at least, he would give him the middle finger before leaving.

As soon as he arrived in his hotel's room (not in the castle for once. Thankfully), Lucifer collapsed on the floor, breathing irregularly, gripping his clothes. His wings twitched under his shirt which made him slightly wince. Taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes, the Sin of Pride let out his six flying appendages as he wrapped himself around it, succumbing into his mind's twisted functioning.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

The meadow he was in was dull and grey. Almost nothing grew except a few rare spider lilies sprouting there and there. The sky was white, as if it was going to rain and a dark spot fell softly from it, resembling ashes. A single yew tree was standing, its own leaves getting dry and frail as a figure laid below it.

Samael.

Said figure noticed Lucifer watching him as he frowned slightly before getting up, although he didn't move from his spot.

"That excuse with the ringing phone again?" He asked, crossing his arms in dissatisfaction. Lucifer huffed in annoyance, despite the latter reculantly going towards Samael as his own wings puffed up behind his back.

"You know I couldn't bring myself to get close to that piece of shit once more, despite trying my best to reconnect with Charlie." He then added with more venom in his voice the following words. "And thanks to whom I couldn't concentrate even more because I was in the middle of dissociating?"

Samael merely shrugged, indifferent.

"Once again, I wasn't even supposed to be here and yet here we are."

The leaves of the yew tree started to fall as one of them landed on Lucifer's shoulder and head. The king brushed them and he was about to argue again.

Until Samael frowned furthermore, his voice now commanding.

"You took those disgusting pills again, didn't you?"

That took the King of Hell a bit back because of the sudden cold, and almost scolding demeanor but he didn't recoil. Instead, he leaned more onto a defensive position.

"Why are you even bringing this up?" He said through gritted teeth.

Unfortunately for him, Samael was clearly not in the mood to be neutral as he stepped up, approaching Lucifer more much to the other's dislike for it.

"Because you are already aware those happy pills you keep chugging on are made from angels' ashes and mold that grew on hellborns' carcasses. They are dangerous and they are eating YOUR insides!"

"But it's okay i'm-"

"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙪𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚!" Samuel suddenly snapped, the dusty ground with dead grass below the two started to crack at his furious words. Even Lucifer widened his eyes in alarm as he stepped back in intimidation, the sin not anticipated Samael to get easily angry.

However, the latter only took a deep breath before gaining his cold and deadpan expression once more, although wrath was still present in his eyes.

"Lucifer. I am fully aware you're stubborn and I should not interfere. But we're both trapped in this body and if I keep having a vessel that tries to dig his own grave..."

His tone took a darker tone, his somewhat calm voice unsettled the fallen archangel.

"... Then, at this rate, I would prepare the tombstone myself."

And with those final words, the meadow Lucifer was in swirled violently, making the king fall in a mad spinning and that almost made him throw up when he brutally came back to reality, his wings quivering and hiding, almost shielding his sweaty and shivering form, too shocked to move or process what happened. His brain felt like mush as if it got thrown into a grinder as millions of ants attacked his limbs, numbing everything.

Lucifer choked out of the sudden, feeling a brick blocking his throat and preventing him from breathing as he gripped tightly his shirt, on where his rapidly beating heart was at, making his vision sway.

Was he having a panic attack?? Was this another trick Samael pulled on him???

He was-

He didn't felt-

𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙚.

NO.

He needed a distraction. And q u i c k.

His first instinct was to immediately grip his quivering wings, not wincing at the violent grasp as if he didn't feel the appendage.

He didn't feel it twitching uncontrollably.

He didn't feel it when he started to pluck out the first feather he saw, making his wing almost jump.

He didn't feel it when he continued to automatically pull out more feathers in sight, line an automat whose mission was to eradicate any impurity.

His wings were white.

White but from what?

He wasn't pure.

He never were.

His wings were liar.

An illusion.

Something not real.

They were telling lies.

Liars were impure.

He didn't notice the sight and feeling of angelic blood that stuck on his hand like flytrap. He didn't feel when almost all of his upper wings were devoid of feathers, all red and swollen from the harsh grip.

He didn't feel the tears that threatened to spill and the brick in his throat that grew bigger.

He didn't feel the swooning sensation in his head.

He felt nothing.

He didn't feel-

He couldn't-

Lucifer fainted, his bloodied wing twisted in an horrid way that would make him regret his decision the next few days.

Chapter Text

Vaggie slumped herself almost entirely on one of the bar stools, leaning on the counter as she ran a hand through her hair, the other holding a shot of vodka. Today was like every other mundane one and yet the fallen exorcist felt more drained than usual. Was it because of the last exercise? Sharing something about yourself was a bit of a tremendous task if you weren't used to it.

Especially considering the whole argument that she and Charlie had months ago.

Somehow, despite the two who already knew that a couple's life would have ups and downs, mainly Vaggie, that one specific dispute they had still lingered around, haunting and taunting.

Was it because it was about her? Was it the fact that she used to be an exorcist?

Vaggie almost flinched at the realization. She was the one fucked up, didn't she-?

For her own defense, talking about herself, or just revealing anything personal in general, was never her forte. She really loved Charlie, more than anything. Really, Vaggie could freeze Hell itself just for her.

But, if she had to be realistic, the one who shared the most was always Charlie. If she has an idea for the hotel? The princess would say it right away. Any insecurities she has or family problems? It would take a few times but, eventually, she would confess to Vaggie.

Charlie was always the one who talked in the relationship and Vaggie the one who listened.

Charlie was the bright sun that would shine to anyone while Vaggie was the moon who preferred to be in the shadows and follow behind.

Charlie was the one who could admit, after a few times with herself, and assert who she was, something that she inherited from her father.

Prideful enough to divulge who she was and her own purpose in life.

A pride that, sometimes, Vaggie longed for.

Because she was a hellborn who wanted to connect with Heaven to save her people. And Vaggie was the exorcist who fell because she failed at her sole duty and goal in life.

Vaggie only had to do one thing and she failed miserably at it, making her hate herself even more for being so useless.

That feeling of self hatred she grew accustomed to.

But who was she before? Yes an exorcist, a murderer but before all things, she used to be a winner, a human soul. A young woman named Agatha who had parents that were constantly missing to the point where her aunt practically raised her, which was ironic enough because she owned an orphanage where Agatha would be at ease, probably because she also felt like an orphan herself.

Maybe that's why she joined the army? Exorcists, or at least the vast majority of them, either didn't have that many relatives who arrived in Heaven which explained some of their unhinged personalities, almost like Lute, or were heavenborns orphans that decided to enroll in.

Either way, aside from her edgy like past and the reason why she started to kill demons for no real... Holy like reasons, something else crossed her mind upon reminiscing Heaven once more.

The two people who also raised her and taught her values she still held now when she arrived in Heaven.

Naomi and Ruth.

These two women, Vaggie swore they were the reason why Heaven was truly living its name.

Aside from their perpetual devotion and worship for God, which sometimes made the latina woman uncomfortable, they were just the sweetest person Vaggie ever saw and had in her life, both when she was human and when she was a winner. When her days filled with training sessions and tiresome military tasks ended, Vaggie used to go to their house and sit with the entire family, laughing together while they would prepare some snacks either from their origins and even sometimes a few dishes from her own country, El Salvador.

That's one of the things she missed from Heaven. The way Ruth and Boaz would dance together in the kitchen while her mother Naomi would sing along. The way Naomi had always accepted Vaggie with open arms when she had a specific bad day with the exorcists or with her self esteem issues in general. The way Ruth cared for her and practically adopted Vaggie as her own daughter.

Because the fallen exorcist wasn't dumb. She hasn't seen her parents nor her aunt's name in St Peter's book and knew what happened next.

Now that she was actually thinking about it, Vaggie have never told them about her... Libido. Well, in her defense, she herself only discovered recently, in her fallen case, that she liked women, specifically tall, blonde and badass kind.

Very specific.

And the fact that in Heaven, although it was less strict from the last time Vaggie went back to the heaven's gates with Charlie that ended in disaster, Chasity was such a promoted virtue all around alongside with purity culture that really didn't helped her issues about hating herself furthermore when she realized that she wasn't "normal".

Vaggie didn't noticed she started to tighten her grip on her cup.

Another surprisingly good thing about Hell, which made it more a bearable place than the other realm aside from the free therapy which just consisted of bashing the shit out of any sinners passing by when angry.

which made it more a bearable place than the other realm aside from the free therapy which just consisted of bashing the shit out of any sinners passing by when angry.

Being gay or straight or whatever was something as simple as eating an apple. No one would really give a shit about what you were actually. Died as a loser, always a loser and that was it. No matter what ethnicity you were, AFAB or AMAB, tall, short or whatever. Once you fell, you were on your own and it was your turn to try and get your shit together.

And Vaggie was sure grateful that she stumbled upon this weird circus tent full of outcasts and the worst to the best, no in between, of the afterlife of humankind.

Or, in short, the Hazbin Hotel.

Now that made Vaggie think about something else, closely related.

It has been a while since she didn't felt any pain since she fell here.

Well. It was a vague and confusing thought if no one, which was true, knew what she was thinking about.

You see, the first few days for the ex exorcist in Hell were ironically the worst in her afterlife. I mean, her eye got gouged out in the most violent way possible as her wings were ripped in such a gruesome way she was almost ecstatic when they grew back. With a lot of pain and bubbles of blood coming from the gash wound but she was still ecstatic. And when Charlie found her the first time but didn't have any idea what the rest of her ache extended aside from her empty eye socket, Vaggie didn't want to make the princess of Hell know that she was an angel but got herself brutally maimed.

Which led to her biting her lips as to suppress her pain during nights, fighting for her entire being to not twitch over her back feeling as if her skin was melting and peeling like a rotten fruit with a thousand needles and nails trying to scratch it until it was red and swollen. Charlie, before she found out about her true identity, thought that Vaggie was a sinner who just arrived in Hell and instantly got mauled as the concerned one carried with this lie to cover up her burdens of fallen angel because she dared to show mercy.

How fucking ironic. Really.

But this pain in question wasn't just about a physical scale. The worst part was always the psychological sequels that followed after dich violence.

How many times have her thoughts turned back on her like everyone else in the exorcist army when she felt at her lowest already? How many times her heart ached when she looked up at the tainted glass window where Heaven stood like a light a moth without wings like her couldn't reach? How many times she felt like the worst scum from the three realm, wishing sometimes Lute have aimed at her heart instead of her eye? How she wished to tear off her own skin to remove this discomfort and unbearable, weightening feeling of disgust towards what she was and what she has done?

There were so many things Vaggie has done in the past and killing thousands of the same people as her girlfriend was by far the worst, to the point of self-awareness in the least satisfying way possible.

In fact, the ex exorcist really thought that this was actually the real punishment in Hell. Not the ripped wings. Not the look of disapproval Charlie gave her that time. Not anything else or rejection.

It was that haunting feeling of burden and molten lava churning her guts. The amount of terror, anxiety and anger she felt just mixed together to make her constantly feel at the bottom of God's shoe, if not crushed entirely. That feeling that settled in her insides like a vice, gripping at her remaining optimism or want to live fully, replaced with tremendous fear of nothing and everything. A sensation of feeling the only one who was left during the forgiving days of Christ when he died for the World's sins. A heavy weight put on her entire being that just numbed her in every way possible to the point where the constant joke that Angel Dust kept doing about her looking like a grandma because of her white hair and eyebags were partially true in a few aspects.

The feeling of being an outcast, the black sheep between depraved rams. The ugly duckling between ravens who have already been with each other for so long.

In a place of outcastes, Vaggie was still not fitting there.

And suddenly? Everything was gone.

Well. Not really actually. The white hair, eyebags, cranky attitude still stayed. Obviously.

But that weird, horrendous feeling of being nothing else than four limbs with wings, angry at everyone eventually died out until, gradually, Vaggie felt... Somewhat okay.

To put it in the best way she could do.

Vaggie wondered if it was caused after the fact that she had a new perceptive when it comes to what she needed to fight for. Love and strength to root for others instead of hatred and building revenge and thirst for blood. Or was it about something more mundane if not absurd? I mean, Vaggie thought herself actually feeling at home in this hotel, no matter the problems and pet peeves that everyone had, small or big and to the least obnoxious to the most annoying.

She felt... At home. A home with drunkies and broken parts but still a home. And Vaggie actually felt herself smiling slightly at it.

A home...

A broken one... Where eyes were everywhere...

W̷̥͝h̷͎͐̎e̶̲͕͡ŕ̸͈̦ė̷̱̉ e̶͕͎̕͠y̵̮͇͆e̴̳̚s̵̺͡-̷̯̽͆

Someone sitting next to her made her eye widen slightly, startled until she relaxed enough when Angel Dust spoke up.

"Hey toots, are you okay there?" The arachnid demon asked, swirling his own cup of whiskey.

Vaggie, at first, didn't look at him but guessed from habits that he was wearing his typical golden tooth grin or a teasing expression.

What she didn't expect however, when turning to face the porn star, was to see an actual, and somewhat, concerned expression and genuine curiosity, looking at her without any undertone of ongoing sex jokes about her name or whatsoever.

That destabilized Vaggie for a few seconds before shaking her head, not wanting to let those lingering thoughts getting all mixed up with her nostalgia.

"... I'm fine. Just thinking about the past a bit." She eventually admitted, not eager to make direct eye contact with the spider demon. That didn't made the porn star in question falter though.

"Uh yeah. I understand." Angel Dust managed to mumble out, loud enough for her to hear as he also looked away, quite awkwardly.

But this was nothing compared to the next following seconds of heavy and downright uncomfortable silence that settled on the empty bar.

Where the fuck was Husk anyway?? Just when Angel was finally available, the cat just disappeared. Ugh.

Thankfully, Angel was the first one to break the thin, somehow warm ice between the two as he spoke up, his tone still surprisingly hesitant. Almost... Vulnerable.

"Uh... Vaggie? Can I ask you something?"

The way he kept using her actual name instead of some variant of vagina or nickname close to innuendos really made Vaggie grow more concerned.

"Shoot." The ex exorcist simply said, with her trying to lean more on the bar as if to shake off the unusual conversation the two have, not filled with teasing or snarky compliments there and there with undertones. Just... A simple question.

Well. Even the simple question seemed to not make Angel Dust feels ever so slightly more comfortable.

For a moment, the gay spider hesitated before he spoke up, his voice fumbling on a few words.

"When you were like- you know- a angel- I don't know a chick with wings-"

As much as Vaggie appreciated that he actually tried his best to not be too straightforward since she still struggled a lot to accept the fact that she once used to be in the same team as those who slaughtered his kind in the first place, it was still making her uncomfortable with the implication, no matter how it was said or the metaphor. Nonetheless, she let him continue, swallowing her slight pump of anxiety stuck in her throat.

"Were you like- were you a winner, well the opposite of a sinner- a winner or... Wait. Was there even Heaven- born with the Big Man upstairs?" Angel Dust suddenly asked, his gaze clearly showing that he would likely bury himself alive in embarrassment if it wasn't true.

Luckily for him, Heaven Borns did exist.

"I never interacted that much with them." Vaggie started. "Only a few rare ones enrolled in the Exorcists' army. But, to be honest, don't be fooled by that. They are actually more annoying despite not being that much of assholes. They were already born in Heaven so they don't really accord that much attention to ethics as much as winners do." She explained as much as she could do, knowing that there were exceptions with the rules.

Like some hellborns being sweethearts. While heavenborns can act like absolute bitches.

"And you were-" Vaggie couldn't bring herself to let Angel finish as she quickly added, her voice almost wearing a thin tone of dryness.

"A winner. Well- used to be one I guess.." She quickly added at the end, almost regretting immediately when she felt more gasoline fueling the awkwardness between the two.

And, of course, Angel had to simply say an "Oh" before going silent again.

Just great.

Now Vaggie felt the need to ask in return what was slightly bothering her.

"Angel?"

"Yeah?"

"Not to be rude or anything but-" She stopped for a few seconds at her words, genuinely not wanting to feel like criticizing everything and everyone about everything they said. She was sometimes judged for it, that's why. Biting her lower lip slightly, she chooses her words carefully before continuing. "-I don't think you really want to know my past or- whatever it was linked with it." She tried her best to explain.

Vaggie saw for a brief moment the flicker of uncertainty that went past Angel Dust's gaze, the slight bite of his bottom lip indicating more than just barely hidden uneasy. However, the spider soon plastered back hus usual grin on his face, leaning on the counter.

"What? I can't ask and be curious about my favorite vaginectomy's life?" He teased on.

Vaggie merely deadpanned at him, raising an eyebrow, clearly seeing through his tough and flirty guy persona.

And she was right about it for the pornstar, during a few seconds, didn't yield but soon let go of his facade before slumping slightly on his chair, groaning slightly in resignation.

Damn Husk for passing down his knowledge on how to read him like an open book.

"Alright you won." Angel complained, mumbling under his breath as Vaggie couldn't help but smile, triumphant.

"I knew it."

At that, the taller demon rolled his multiple eyes, now a playful smile appearing for a brief moment before he made himself comfortable on his seat.

And, after a meaningful silence, he spoke.

"Actually, I wanted to know if- you know since you're– you used to be winner and all of that, maybe- I don't know- maybe you knew a girl named Molly?" He asked hesitantly, although a hint of hope was glistening among.

Unfortunately, much to Vaggie's own disappointment of not being able to help someone, she shook her head.

"Sorry- I have no ideas who she is." She said truthfully, feeling more down upon realizing that this "Molly" must be someone really important for Angel Dust for him to falter down instantly, frowning deeply as he mumbled under his breath.

However, before he could actually say anything else, the two hotel's residents got startled when they heard the voice of the princess of Hell out loud, screaming in both delight and surprise.

"HOLY SHIT VAGGIE GUESS WHAT—" Charlie said with a screech.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Something that Lucifer loathed the most was to be forever alone.

But wasn't he already doomed to be this way from the start? That fear was ironic, if not almost pitiful and downright pathetic.

How the mighty really have fallen. Him, the Morningstar, the bringer of light, one of the first original virtues and archangel ever created, He who created and settled down the seven rings and ruled Hell with the first woman who became the current most powerful sinner known to anyone.

And he lost all of that prestige in a snap of fingers. From a Gran throne to a desk, excluded from everything and with only vision which were rubber ducks.

What a fucking pathetic thing he was. Really.

And somehow, despite loathing those incessant thoughts that plagued his mind, they kept him company, a parasite that made sure he wouldn't feel alone again, a leech that was not going to leave him alone, even if Lucifer would be the one who die first.

Because, in his mind, being alone was worse than a million spears piercing his celestial body.

As he gazed from the highest balcony of the hotel, the king let his thoughts linger and wander around, his absent look clearly showing his state of nostalgia or reminisce.

The Garden of Eden.

The golden pillars of his home.

The white and gold tones of Heaven and the small laugh of his youngest siblings, in their glistening robes, playing hide and seek or other games that soon human children would do on their own in their turn.

Jophiel’s cute as button face.

Camael's radiant personality.

Uriel's outstanding intelligence.

Azrael's ability to calm even the most stressed seraphim.

Gabriel's optimistic attitude.

Raphaël’s curiosity.

Michael...

Lucifer shook his head vividly, somehow feeling an unwanted and uncanny shiver going through his spine at the thought of his twin.

But why—

"Well. Isn't that oh so our gracious king I see there moping around?" A familiar, static and sarcastic voice rang out, startling Lucifer the slightest.

However, he really wasn't in the mood to bicker or try and pick a fight with Alastor of all people right now. Not when he was feeling miserable. Not when he was at this close of either burn down the nearest building, rip off his arms and wait until it came back or just dig a hole and bury himself inside for forever.

So, instead, he simply stood still, turning his back at the Radio demon, his wings still droopy and head slightly hung low, staring off into the distance.

Unfortunately, that didn't seem to convince Alastor who merely scoffed at the king's attitude, earning a low growl from Lucifer.

"Charlie was actually getting worried." The deer started, his tone getting sharp with his grin. "She thought that you're going to disappear for another 6 months. Really putting the stress on your beloved daughter." He cackled at his own words, watching in delight when he saw Lucifer's grip on the rails getting tighter.

God damn it, where was Samael when you actually needed him to go away from the real world??

It took a lot of his willpower to not add more fuel to the fire, feeling a migraine coming in as he eventually rasped out, loud enough for Alastor only to hear.

"I will talk to her directly later. Now go away." Lucifer almost spatted, going straightforward, hoping the overlord would understand his tone and words combined.

But, apparently, Alastor decided to be the little shit now, despite being the same height as a fucking building for imps.

"Oh? Is that so?" He quipped in, even daring himself to step forward, his smile getting somehow tighter as his eyes squinted in almost disgust if not downright superiority and Lucifer, despite all, felt outraged that a sinner thought himself above the king of Hell.

Alastor then stopped trying to grin too much. Still, a mocking smirk was plastered on his face. "Is that actually a promise?" He continued, before mindlessly looking at his nails. "Or it's just an excuse to go away from your duties once again? Neglecting everything as a king–" Lucifer clenched his fists in anger at the taunt but what the other man said.

"–And even as a father! Pretending to care about your dear daughter—"

"Ÿ̵͉̗͕̤̯͈͈̣̿̽̀͑͘̕ǫ̵̛̛̬̱̘͛͛͗u̷̡͍͎̅́͟͜ͅ k̷̺̦͐̂̉̀̚̚͠ę̵̦͔̾̓̓̀̀̆̊̐e̸̟̭͈̯̪͍̹̺͑̀̽̔̅̀̑͒p̵̧̡̪̙̫̖̜̌̐͟͝͡ C̷̛̜͔̪̼̺̀̌͆̆̓̕͡h̶̲̱̩̘̤̻̞̻̍̄̔̔̀̚͝á̵͚̫̹̪͕̝͆͟r̴̡̤͇̯͓̆̐͆̈́͆͊l̶̡̻̭̲̦̖̽̐ị̶̖̎ȩ̵̝̙̞̿̈̎͛͠ o̷̖̳͎͕̞͊͒̀̿̇ͅu̴̞̠̱̗̙̒ṭ̴͐̑̆͌̈͠͝ ô̸̺̕͝f̴̣̺̼̱̈̚ t̵̢̬̰̠̦̟͐̃̅͘ḩ̴̩̟̠̣́̈i̸̢̜͚̫̪̍̀͑̌͊̅̕s̶̥̉̂͌̌̚͝͝ y̷̧̯͍̖̮̞͕̌́̿͌̐̔͡ŏ̴͖̩̓̈́̕͝u̷̡͚̲̼̖̤͛͂̔̿͂̑̏͟͝ B̴̟̦̞̠̤̈́͂͝İ̵̼̪̐T̶̟͉̜͈͆̅̑̀̚C̵̦̜̋͛̅̅̓Ḧ̷̛̹!̸̟͈̔̆͑̉̐̒͠͠"

The king howled out loud, finally facing the deer demon, his eyes glowing red with his teeth gritted in contained emotions.

And the fact that Alastor's smirk didn't bulge away only annoyed him furthermore.

"Oh? Did I strike a nerve?" Alastor said as a matter of fact, clearly enjoying this. Normally, Lucifer would argue back or reply with a snarkier insult but these last few days were really taking a toll on his physical and mental health, despite being literally the fucking king of an entire hellish circle.

"No." He said hastily and abruptly, even making the radio demon take aback. Lucifer took one step closer, jabbing an accusatory finger at him.

"Are you even there on Charlie's behalf or you came here just to fucking annoy me??" The king asked coldly. Despite the circumstances, Alastor couldn't let himself be seen as somehow intimidated by the Sin's sudden outburst.

Scoffing, the sinner rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. Wait- didn't the dude actually have a radio stick or whatever his weird shit was–?

"I think your answer is already clear your majes—"

"𝘼𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝘼𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧." Lucifer cut him off, almost spatting his request.

He barely noticed how a small inch of Alastor's shoulders flinched at the order nor the gradual shift of realization or even surprise seen his crimson red eyes.

Lucifer couldn't care less.

"You know what? I'm gonna see her. Now." He said abruptly, stomping his way back to the hotel, shoving Alastor out of the way, on purpose or not no one knows, his horns already appearing but soon shrank back on his skull, not wanting to escalate himself into something else.

Once again, ignoring the indescribable gaze of Alastor who trailed down his back, his smile shaky and yet sharp.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

It was either that or they would let this irksome deer continue his horrendous taunts.

How dare he insult Samael in such way?! He was the first fallen angel and now the king of Hell! Who did this worthless sinner think he was!

No one should even speak to Samael except them á̴̤̙̯̩͝n̸͉̥̬̈́̅͑͝d̸̨̯͓̝̞̾ ò̶͔͖̐́ͅǹ̶̳̈́l̶̛̞̾̅͠͝y̸̹͍̼̭̒͘ t̸̫̳͋͆͊͌̿h̸͇̘̹̗͒͋͝ë̷̖̭́͒̿͑̿m̸̺͍̗͍͙͗͝ a̴̦͖̋͗̈́l̷̨̝͇̅ȯ̶̡̲͖n̴͇͖̬͎̐̑̀͋e̶̯̚. They were still kind enough to let this scum even be near Him even though He already said numerous times He said He despised this sinner.

And now they completely understood. This petulant parasite needed to pay!!

Í̴͍̱͖͟ẗ̶̨̼́͐͠ͅ'̵̠͙̜̩̱͋͒̽͐s̶̰̦̮̞͚̾̚ t̸̻̼̥̻̱̆̈́͠h̶̺̓̈́̇e̶̥͌̏̉͡ o̶̪͔̝͌̚ṅ̷̖͉͒l̶͖͛͌̀̂y̷̖̣̼̒̈́̒̂͒ w̶̫͔̰̲̲̾͘͡͡á̶̖̞͇͌͑̕̚y̸̳̩̝͊̾̆̀.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

"How is Emily doing?" Esther asked, putting down her cup of tea on the table of the meeting room. Sera was halfway her own until she immediately frowned deeply, gripping the china slightly.

At first, the head of the seraphims wanted to talk with Esther, knowing the liege was alors known for being a good confidant. Emily was mainly the one who sought the Jewish queen the most, whenever she needed to think a bit or when she was tense because of work at the Heavenly court.

And now, a new case just appeared in Emily's schedule when she would visit Esther: When she clearly didn't want to deal with Sera.

Well that made her celestial heart clench at the acknowledgement.

So now, her curiosity took a hold on her as she decided to see it herself and invited Esther herself for a small talk in the meeting room where she and Emily would sometimes share drinks, discuss about lastest changes in the constitution or, in the rarest times, would bring up daily life subjects if worse gossips.

Despite Sera thinking that she should never do any such thing. She was a being of light after all.

But what she didn't excepted, and obviously didn't wanted, is to get a lecture from someone who once was made from clay instead of comfort her, the ɦɨɢɦɛʀ ɮɛɨռɢ.

Sera blinked a few times, feeling a shiver down her spine.

"She's... Still trying to process it. But overall she's okay." The seraphim finally managed to say.

Esther eyed her with suspicion.

"Uh uh. Emily is still trying to process it even if it has been almost eight months since she heard the news." She argued back.

Sera's blood started to boil slightly at the jab.

"For someone who used to be a human among many others, you're permitting too much when you speak." She gritted out as clear as she could, ignoring the confused expression from the other woman's face before it reverted back into a somewhat neutral one as she crossed her arms.

"If I actually wanted to boast, I would have already screamed multiple times that I was the queen of Jews who saved her own kind and whose history is in the sacred texts." The liege in question argued back before returning the fierce glare Sera gave her earlier.

"And stop trying to change the subject. We both know the reason why you called me in a place only dedicated to seraphims."

Sera instantly froze at the commanding tone before her jaw tightened, already bracing herself for what was about to come.

Partially.

"Those... Solutions were harsh but it was that or Heaven itself would be in danger." She defended herself, quite agitated and to add it, the way Esther was scrutinizing her physical appearance.

"Was there really no "solutions" to protect Heaven to the point you had to resort to violence?"

"It was either that or Hell would take advantage of us." Sera answered quickly and quite hastily, betraying her growing conflicted feelings. Esther even noticed her fists became tighter, shaking.

"Hell surely has its own hierarchy. It can't be just some kind of wild pit full of thorns and blood, limbs hanging out-"

"And what do you even know about Hell?? Whatever sinners are, they are still ruthless, murderers and the worst of what humankind has become!"

Esther knew Sera's own inner emotional turmoil was getting the better of her and the queen knew she should stop herself here and now. However, there was something at the back of her mind, a voice, an instinct that was keeping her from restraining her own thoughts.

Sera called her for a reason after all.

"The Heavenly council is there for a reason, seraphim. And, considering your own protocol and way of working at the hierarchy, isn't it better to actually address your concern surrounding Hell's uprising?" She suggested calmly.

Even if her whole body tensed up when Sera slammed her hands on the table.

"And I actually tried to do this but I just couldn't! Why did you think I would reduce myself to using such cruel solutions?! Killing thousands of people and blood constantly on my hands?!" The seraphim lost her temper, her celestial eyes appearing as her six wings unfurled behind her as a display of intimidation or anger.

"But why—"

"𝙉𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙!" She bellowed, numerous voices all echoing at once. Her angelic form slipped in and, for a fraction of second, Esther actually felt herself flinching at the powerful display, looking up at the seraphim with bewilderment.

But before the discussion would have escalated quickly into something much more severe, Sera seemed to realize what was happening. Her eyes around and on her face widened in shock and slightly horror at what she had just done. Slowly, but surely, her celestial body retracted itself until she was back into her usual form, her hands shaking at the ωяαтн she just emitted.

With a heavy sigh that seemed to sound like a painful cry, she slumped on the table, putting her hands on his face as she shook faintly, still in shock.

Esther still sat on the opposite side of the furniture, her own expression showed her conflicted feelings about what just happened.

Then, with a quite shaky grip, she stood up, her voice as calm and controlled as she could do. "Your trial still hasn't happened yet thus you can still ponder and meditate about the choices you have made or what you exactly want to tell me."

She took a pause before continuing. "Until now, I think the best for you is to let you deal and manage with all of this."

"You can always talk to me, whenever you're ready..." Esther muttered under her breath, hoping and at the same time not that Sera heard her as she walked away from the meeting room, gently closing the door behind with the still shaken up seraphim, alone.

Unfortunately for her mental steel, as soon as she was alone in the blue navy corridors and golden motifs of the building, Esther instantly collapsed. Sitting quite violently on the carpets, she rubbed her face and groaned in exhaustion with even a bit of concern, the small dispute also took a toll on her.

This was getting seriously bad.

Esther wasn't a heavenborn and let alone as old as time just like Seth but she was around enough to know what happened eons before the dawn of humanity even appeared. The rebellion, the archangel Samael, the fall of the watchers–

No. Sera would have a trial. Despite being a higher heavenly being, she will be judged and sentenced.

Sentenced for war crimes, diffamation and keeping secrets against Heaven.

And knowing how the holy realm, although ρєяfє¢т, was very strict when it came to rules and Esther feared for the worst.

Because the scheme was repeating itself all over again: an angel gets higher in rank, starts to cross their own lines of morals and drift from the right path, goes against what Heaven has been trying to achieve. Only in the end to end up in the same fate, the darkest pit of their own demise.

Esther shuddered at the thought. This realm has already lost too many of its people, the liege couldn't bring herself to let this happen again, even if she was a simple winner compared to the load of seraphims and thrones that constituted it.

The archangel of wisdom, Uriel, included.

"Sera, I hope you have a few cards up your sleeve for this." The biblical queen whispered to herself, clearly worried for the head of seraphim.

Sera had to win this trial or else the heavenly realm would go deeper than the seven rings and Esther's guts were telling her that this would only get worse the more time would go on.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

"Heeeey uh Hank–?"

"Husk."

"Oh right yeah. Husk." Lucifer fumbled already, toying with his sleeves as the cat bartender was minding his own business, reading a book on the bar counter. The king coughed up quite awkwardly before continuing.

"Have you Uh- have you seen Charlie, by any chances?" He asked.

However, before Husk could even assimilate the question, a familiar, chirping voice rang out.

"Oh dad you're there! Hey!!" Charlie said enthusiastically. That made her father jump a bit startled as he looked at her, chuckling more fondly. Lucifer also noticed the way Vaggie was bregugindly following behind, her body tense as she looked everywhere except the Morningstar.

Now that picked the Sin's curiosity.

"Char-char! I was just looking for you!" The king answered with equal enthusiasm.

Charlie grinned even more, even jumping on her own place. Someone was VERY happy today.

"And I was also looking for you! Eek!! Dad I have BIG news! And good on!!"

Lucifer didn't even had time to answer his daughter that she announced the so called joyful news.

But, unfortunately, it wasn't at all, at least for him as his blood ran cold at the aveu.

"We are going back to Heaven! They are now interested in our project of redemption and invited me and Vaggie to talk about it!" The princess was almost vibrating with joy, even Husk slightly flinched at how loud she was but was still deep focused in his book.

So that's why Vaggie seemed so uncomfortable.

"O-oh- Well- that's Uh- great! Duckling it's so good that y-you got invited!" Lucifer managed to grit out, outside.

But, inside, he felt his stomach drop at the knowledge. Charlie was going back to Heaven again. And, this time, they were the one who wanted her.

Precisely.

About something that concerned all of them.

Just her and Vaggie.

He didn't knew if it was him or Samael who was speaking in his mind but, either way, for once, the two have agreed on one thing.

"Fuck. This isn't good.”

Chapter Text

Alright I know it has been a veeeery long time but really, I got caught in a lot of events like moving to another country because Madagascar was on fire (in every sense possible) and I started my first year at uni, artistic and writing projects and a whole ass videogames in mind

Also a whole uprising there and family members passed away but still

I just watched the trailer of season 2 of Hazbin Hotel and honestly—i can't wait. I'll tell you directly I got severely spoiled by the leaks but I prefer to not say anything (because it was brutal—)

And even if I said before that I will not acknowledge what will happen after, I'm kind of... Curious to see if I will incorporate some aspects of season 2

Because I finished half of the structure of the fanfic and I'm a bit pissed off because of own self lmao-

But yeah, this fic was mainly because of the first season and all that but would you still be interested with me continuing it? Once again, I'll probably just adapt a thing or two but all the lore about the seven heavenly virtues and all of that will be kept

PLEASE COMMENT‼️‼️I want to know your opinion if I should continue or not 🥲

Anyway that was about it (the next chapter is almost done, just a huge rock of writing block is pestering me so it will take ages again) and thanks for giving me your time I really appreciate it 🥹🙏🏾

Chapter Text

Lucifer paced around anxiously in his hotel room, tugging again at his wings in distress. Although, this time, he wasn't in the mood for causing himself actual harm and preferred to not pluck out any feathers. Still, every time he thought about what happened recently, his feathery appendages would twitch, an invitation to harm more. An instinct. A mechanism.

And the more he was walking around, the worse his thoughts became as one affirmation circled back and forth in his mind.

Heaven. Going back to Heaven. Charlie was going back to Heaven. Because they wanted to. They asked her to come.

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧.

As if he got threatened by a gun, Lucifer recoiled at himself, curling into a ball as his fists got tighter. Fucking Hell, why was he acting with such fuss?? He got casted out eons ago, just barely after the creations of Adam and Lilith. His scars were partially a second skin at this rate, the memories blurred with his occasional nightmare. And to add on top of it all, his little (actually very tall) Char-char already went there once and met Sera, surely.

So why Lucifer was so fucking scared?? There was no reason to be. It didn't concern him, it concerned his nephilim. His purpose in life. The only person worth fighting for. After the last extermination known in Hell, they wanted Charlie.

His greatest pride and joy. His beloved daughter. His—

Lucifer sucks out a breath, inadvertently letting out a quivering whimper.

They wanted her..

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

The king was back in the meadow without noticing it sooner.

Samael waited for the king, sitting in front of a tea set although the liquid presented seemed poisonous, a foxglove in hand and a cup of tea in the other.

"Someone was expecting my arrival." Lucifer eventually managed to say as Samael took a sip of the beverage in question, the usual coldness in his eyes still unsettling, even for the Deadly Sin.

"Obviously." Samuel responded, taking a sip off his cup. "You were in such a frenzy of tumultuous emotions, I already knew it would only be a matter of time before you eventually come back here."

Lucifer hated how Samael was right in every aspect.

Setting down his cup but the foxglove was still in hand somehow, it wasn't long before the entity added. "I'm not mocking you if you think that way. In fact, what can I mock about your attitude or everything in general at this point?"

"Was this supposed to be a backhanded compliment or just a plain fucking excuse?" Lucifer accused before the other one cut him off dryly.

"Either way, I'm not here to seek any of your... Poisonous ideas." Lucifer noticed the irony that Samael was toying softly with one of the foxglove's petals as he spoke the last words before he continued. "Every emotion inside of you already smells horrible and rotten. Anger, fear, sadness, regret, anxiety, even a bit of jealousy." The entity listed in, his neutral voice not changing the slightest as Lucifer felt a growing sense of shame each time the other... Thing would list something about what he was currently feeling.

"And I suppose I shouldn't have to guess what you are currently feeling right now." He mused.

"Oh come on! Fuck you!" Lucifer exclaimed, irritated as Samael shrugged.

The king of Hell sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair before begrudgingly admitting and venting... Partially.

"I just— don't understand the reason why Heaven decided to be such a dick to do this when the hotel is partially at peace. No. Not really at peace but when everything seemed to spin around and go downward for—for me!"

"And going perfectly fine for Charlie." Samael continued as Lucifer grunted in exhaustion, albeit he didn't want to sit in front of him. Paradoxically too agitated to stay still. "What? Her goals have already been set and concrete. Building back the hotel and getting sinners to book in. Now, a few are actually interested. Unlike your mindset of just living in dullness day by day, hoping for a change."

Lucifer bristled at the last jab, also ignoring the way the normally ashy green grass was crunching hollowly under his boots as he paced back and forth, his frown getting deeper.

"But still! WHY does Heaven have to pull this NOW of all time?? Not during exterminations, not when Charlie already tried to convince heaven's embassy, not when-"

"Probably because Charlie actually owns a hotel who fought against a bunch of fanatics. Have you forgotten during your 6 month nap?"

Lucifer's eyes went red at him, clearly not in the mood for any bickering on the current. However, Samael merely rolled his eyes at the king's petulant behavior.

"What is it again with that look? I am being serious." He added, taking a sip from his cup.

The already sad and gloomy atmosphere got even more grey, ashes falling from the endless sky as the Sin of Pride wrinkled his face in slight irritation and disgust. His wings quivered behind, puffing at the temperature's drop.

"You really do start to act like this fucking annoying walking tampon now." Lucifer eventually gritted out. Samael couldn't help but frown, raising an eyebrow at the other. Lucifer fumbled again, now realizing his words as a golden blush peeked on his rosy cheeks. "I-I mean—you know who I am talking about! That—Alexander? Alucard??"

"You mean Alastor?" Samael corrected, judging the King silently as the latter waved his hand in frustration.

"Whatever. What I'm trying to say is that you are just as unbearable as him. Constantly reminding me about my insecurities or mocking my efforts and dismissing my..." Lucifer, at first, accused but, gradually, he lowered his voice. His angry expression changed to unsure if not, downright, intimidated by who knows what.

However, Samael's permanent deadpan expression shifted into a creepy and unsettling smile, his foxglove swishing at the wind.

"About your what ? Can't you bring yourself to admit about your mental illnesses?" The entity taunted as Lucifer's already agitated form grew horns and a tail who swished furiously from behind. For fuck sake, Lucifer literally admitted that he won against depression when he was in his office! Alone! Why when he is with others, he can't just–stars above, he couldn't say it. Something was holding him back. He—

Lucifer abruptly stopped himself. He soon became dreadful, and even stiff scared, when he noticed ice creeping from Samael's seat as well as on the ground, dangerously getting close to him. The short king knew he should do something about it and flee but he had already experienced this before. What would happen if he would fight it or not let it consume him first before madness.

Without knowing, his six wings shielded his figure, closing his eyes tightly, fearing for the worst, already anticipating the searing pain and agonizing cuts that ice left on him.

However, everything suddenly stopped just as mysteriously and Lucifer dared himself to peek through the red and white feathers.

Samael took a sip of his beverage, completely indifferent at what just happened as he got up, letting go of his foxglove and tea cup. He merely waved his hand around, rolling his eyes. The neutral and mildly annoying marble face of apathy back on track.

"But that's not the main topic. Stop drifting off." The entity scolded, earning a dumbfounded look followed by a heavy silence from his interlocutor.

What the—you know what? Why was Lucifer even questioning this?? He should already be used to that.

He should.

A silence once again followed, clinging like a parasite. Samael continued his speech. "To answer your question, truthfully: Heaven has likely called Charlie because of her accomplishments. I mean, not everyone can just fight back an entire army. And the one from Heaven on top of that. Surely, the angels above are therefore more interested in that naphil."

Lucifer eyed the entity with disdain. Charlie wasn't just some naphil, she was his daughter, a Morningstar and one of the most powerful hellborns in the seven rings!

Nephilim were giants, impulsive and self-destructive inbred. Lucifer has lived long enough to realize that, during that time where angels fell like arrows in the red sky. They stood up among the scattered corpses, similar to intimating towers who bore their piercing gaze on him and Lilith. During that time when the Queen was still omnipresent and still grieving. When angels would fall like arrows in the sky. When nephilim still populated what would soon be the seven rings.

As much as Lucifer did try his best eons ago to be empathetic with those who dared themselves to fall and join him in his dismay, the king was never fond of those progeny. They weren't the problem, no of course not! Well– partially they were a sore eye for the Sin of Pride, a reminder of the deformity he brought upon both Heaven, Earth and Hell. Lilith did find them captivating in their ways but it didn't take that far to consider them as her children, the almost obsessive energies coming from the fallen watchers were already enough to make the couple both know it was better to never engage with them ever again.

And both Lilith and Lucifer were right about this. Soon and very soon, they have been proven right. Lucifer's instincts were actually right about not sparing glances at them until they completely destroyed each other.

And Lucifer hated how Samael could just casually compare his little star to those brutes.

"Charlie isn't just some "naphil", Samael." The short king almost spat, daring himself to remove his wings from his face in a defensive manner. The entity quirked an eyebrow, the only muscle twitching on his hard stone facade. Lucifer exhaled a sharp breath, unsure of that reaction but, nonetheless, continued, despite the uncanny shiver going down his spine not from cold but more as if a centipede ran through his skin.

"She is—the princess of Hell." His tongue felt clumsy in his mouth, the feeling of chalk rubbing it. "A Morningstar and the future heir of not only the Pride ring but the entirety of Hell. She is–" A heavy breath, fog coming from it, as if he was inside an iceberg. His fingers were clammy and rigid, unable to move without feeling numb on the nails. Samael's impassive look soon shifted into what seemed to be realization.

"—my daughter and the future queen." He tried to say but only a pitiful gargled out from his throat.

"Daughter—"

"You seem—bothered." He merely stated as if it wasn't obvious enough already. Lucifer glared at him but then his eyes went wide in panic as his hand flew to his chest, his claws digging in the red and white stringed suit.

That seemed to ignite even more mirth in Samael as he dared himself to get up and taunt his other half, titling his head to the side, an unhinged smile plastered on his face.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue, S̵͚̿a̸̺͝m̶̪̽a̴͇̔è̶̜l̶̟̅?"

Lucifer almost choked on his own saliva. The fucker!

"D-dont'—" The Devil gritted his teeth in discomfort, almost in humiliation, as he tried his best to maintain his composure despite the numb and aching feeling now gaining on his sagging wings. "Don't even try to bring out 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 you—"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence that he doubled over in pain, groaning loudly as he clenched at his stomach in distress, his knees buckling on the icy floor as his body started to shiver, much to his dismay for a celestial corpse was never meant to be vulnerable even around extreme temperatures.

"Mhm?? What was that? I didn't hear the rest of your words." Samael titled his head too much, similar to an unhinged owl who took pleasure in other people's misery.

Lucifer huffed loudly, his eyes widening in horror and wrath amidst the painful clinging in his chest he was currently feeling. The king couldn't help even get up or put down one of his hooves, as if invincible chains dragged him down even more, forcing him to stay on his knees. On a vulnerable position. On a submissive one.

"Mhm. Funny. You don't want to repeat it again. Why so? Is it because you can't bring yourself to admit it again?" Samael taunted, an attempt to rub and tug at sensitive cords. "For being the prince of liars, you sure have difficulty masking your own deceit."

"Shut up—!"

"Why do you feel such pain when talking about Charlie as the future heiress? Is there something you can't bring yourself to admit about her? About yourself??"

His voice became distorted.

"Oh and for your record, S̵͚̿a̸̺͝m̶̪̽a̴͇̔è̶̜l̶̟̅, it's your God damn name and it always will be. No matter how many times you will try to change it. No matter how much you try to berate me with this, you know full well that "Lucifer" is not who you are."

"W-what do you even kҜ几ㄖ山—ᏥႶᏫᏇ!" Lucifer didn't even bring himself to realize how horrible his voice seemed to become, as if he wasn't the one speaking.

The king was in too much pain and felt ice numbing him from the inside to bring himself to care.

"The "Lucifer" you want is idyllic. Look at you and the state of you. Only because you tried to say that Charlie is the future heir." He snorted slightly. "As if she isn't already at this rate. To be honest, she has made better decisions than you."

Lucifer didn't like where it was going, with Samael's voice hissing in his ear, scratching at his brain like velcro.

"Trying to protect her own people, despite their nature. Saving souls with a clear bleeding golden heart." Samael then used an accusatory tone. "However, you, on the other hand, clearly didn't do shit. The only thing you prided yourself in was building back the hotel and saving your daughter."

Something was wrong. Samael never expressed Lucifer's deepest shame and regrets in the first place. How the fuck—

Samael only smiled wider, making it worse.

"Which is debatable since you only decided to move your ass when she was on the verge of dying. Mhm, I wonder what it says about you as a father. Your king statue was already worthless but this just adds more into your good-for-nothing nature."

"Which is probably the reason why Lilith left you. She saw how much of a horrible person you truly are."

It was the moment that the iron taste of golden blood flooded in his mouth that Lucifer realized the absolute shit hole he was into.

And that was actually real.

All of this was actually real.

"Maybe you were right along." Samael mused in an eerily calm voice, as if the King of Hell wasn't literally throwing up blood and twisting his guts from the inside below him. The entity stated it as if it was the simple weather. "For once, I was on your side."

I was. I said. I think. Can this thing just stop thinking on its own??

"You should have dug that dagger deeper."

Lucifer widened his bloodshot bulging eyes despite the tremendous agony he was going through, thousands of nails digging in his core and burning him from the inside.

"If that helped somehow with your issues and mental health. If this cowardly act helps with your delusions."

Samael smiled wider and Lucifer felt his own body splitting apart. Literally.

Stop. He wanted all of this to stop. Stop. Stop it. STOP IT.

"Such a shame the king of Hell had to take such a pathetic route. Really showing your true nature huh? A fraud—"

He couldn't breathe.

"A nobody—"

"Sto—op—"

"Maybe you can finally rest—"

"—op!! I said stop–!" Lucifer finally screamed, raw with pain, anger and outrage. His bent wings unfurled with a breathtaking rage as his horns emerged in such fury, his porcelain skin cracked.

Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.

S̷̤̘̬̪̬̠̪͕͇̈́͒̅̀̅͊͌͌͆̈̀̚̚͟H̷̨̞̬͉̹̗͖͉̰̜̦́̆͊͟͜Ú̸̧̺̱̞̥͙͍̖̀̕͝T̶͍̬͍͙̙͈̗̼̩͎̤̐̀̉̒͌ͅ U̵̬͊̊̎͑̄͠͡P̴̢̛͔̻̲͍̳̲̻̩̣̮̈́͛̈̓̀͐̈́̐͘͠͝

Did he die a second time or did he faint?

Either way, his entire body was sore and yet felt light at the same time, as if he floated on a heavy cloud. His heart rate slowed slightly as his breathing went back to normal. His eyes burned up to the back of his skull who pounded heavily. His limbs were jerky and uncoordinated but, despite all, his wings were somehow still fluttering and feathery, brushing his sides.

As if what just happened was just a dream.

An agonizing dream of torture.

But one thing was sure: something was wrong. First, Samael went completely silent, as if he wasn't even there in the first place and those moments were...rare.

Second, whatever Samael did, it was an asshole move.

Because when he woke up, he happened to be face to face with Alastor, of all people.

Said deer demon looked at him as if Lucifer grew a pair of legs on his forehead. He was sitting in front of the table of his bayou, the remnants of a deer's carcass laying on the wooden texture.

Lucifer removed his six wings from himself, looking around vaguely but on alert, as if he just woke up from a battlefield. His haunting gaze immediately landed on the radio demon who still hadn't moved or even spoke a word.

That didn't help that Lucifer's horns were still flaring up while his breath was smoking fire.

And it was when he felt a bit more conscious that the king realized where he was and immediately frowned, his demon form subduing slightly but his expression hardened.

"W-what—how—?" He asked out loud, not understanding his surroundings.

That was until he saw Alastor and then used an accusatory tone.

"Y-you! What the fuck are you doing here in my room??"

Alastor seemed to get out of his own paralysis when the king spoke because he immediately tensed up in turn, his already tight smile getting more defensive and sharp.

"Your energetic flames managed to be more noisy than you apparently." The deer demon merely stated, dodging the question, as he got up. Lucifer didn't even have the time to ask furthermore about the context as Alastor immediately raised his hand to shush him. "AND for your own information, my constatation is correct because, actually, you're in my room."

At first, the information hadn't fully registered in Lucifer's mind until the mist in his head dissipated and immediately got dreadful and ashamed.

Because he was right.

He was in Alastor's room.

God damn it.

The Sin stammered, his already haunted gaze seeming to get worse as he finally got his voice back, hoarse and almost in a craze.

"W-Weeeelll..." He trailed down, trying desperately to come up with a good explanation. He suddenly coughed a bit, an attempt to keep his cool as he rolled his eyes, his wings slightly shielding him.

"O-oh uh surely, it's just my own magic doing its own thing and fucking me while I sleep. Or—whatever."

Lucifer didn't bother to catch on to the slightly disgusted face Alastor was making at him and the words he just uttered as he immediately got up, almost regretting it as he felt dizzy for a few moments, and smoothened his striped shirt. "Now. If you excuse me, I'm going to—uh—catch some zzz. Sleeping uh—you know."

"... It's 11 am."

"It's called "taking a nap" bitch." Lucifer growled in annoyance before turning his back and walked to the door, ignoring the sigh Alastor made at his departure.

How... Odd it was. The way the Radio demon didn't seem that annoyed when he left, or bitter, just... Tiredness. Exhaustion even.

But Lucifer didn't linger on. Odder things were happening. Just like the fact that he landed in ALASTOR'S ROOM. OF ALL THE GOD DAMN PLACES THERE WERE IN THIS DAMNED HOTEL.

Did Samael play another sick game with him but decided to step up on his whims?

Or did Lucifer's powers were too much?

Or Samael...

O̷͖͕͒͒̽̀̉r̶̰̲̬̹̲̲̀̽̉̔͂̕ͅ

Lucifer jolted, as if a trail of ice suddenly creeped up his spine.

Not now.

He hadn't—He didn't have the time for this.

He didn't want to think about it.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Emily wasn't dumb, that was for sure.

She was fully aware of what was happening, especially with Sera and how... Yeah she isn't going to lie, their relationship was lower than the seven rings of hell.

Since when was the last time she and Sera had an actual, healthy interaction? Because of this whole mess, Sera was busy on her own case and... The elephant in the room.

So much it actually brought the six heavenly archangels together. At least, closer than they usually were.

But no one should know about this and that infuriated Emily. The big secret already got revealed by the public and, even if they forgot it two weeks later after the exterminations were exposed in a not so subtle way, the heavenly council didn't wanted to make it known that the literal archangels were implied in those affairs but mainly because they were almost as vacant as their mother.

It was not because of the virtues themselves but rather what they did during the last eons, which was almost nothing and it was better to keep it hidden under the radars.

For now. To pour more powder in the cannon.

But enough of that, since that was just another bothersome aftermath coming from all of this. Sera was immediately called by the heavenly council who considered her act as "irredeemable" and "traitorous" ironically. How dare she decided on her own without any meetings with them?? Was the speaker of God even aware of the act she done wrongfully so?

Emily couldn't blame them for being as ignorant as her when it came to the whole deal about exterminations. What she just wished was for them to understand the emotional and personal layers this whole ordeal. Alright, she was... Not talking to her! Right now! And for the following days but she was working on it!

Why even bothering about the whole scandal of hiding ugly parts of Heaven when they do the same and don't consider how many souls perished? Hundreds? Thousands?? Maybe even half of the population??

They were all responsible of that.

Sera was not alone. Heaven failed in it and Emily may have—

No no no she just didn't know, she had nothing to do with it! Lute did!

And where was she anyway—??

"Uhhh Emmy?"

The seraphim jolted slightly on her seat as she stared at Saint Peter, who looked at her with a frowned expression. Emily felt herself blushing in slight embarrassment as she realized that she zoned out in the middle of their talk that ironically aimed to make sure Emily’s mind would wander away a bit from what happened these last few days. Even Abel proposed that the two of them would go without him, worried that his statue as the head of the army would be a bi too much for Emily.

And, at first, she was doing well!

Until she started to think about it again and continued to spiral into worse scenarios that were really just stretches like what would happen to Pentious and why there were ices all around her damn house—

“Emily, you wanna talk about it?” Saint Peter’s voice softened as the concerned one gripped her cup of coffee with too much sugar in it.

In the end, she sighed and preferred to let it out, not wanting it to eat her from the inside.

“It’s just—” She started, averting his gaze even more. “Sera doesn’t seem to understand that the solution to all of this mess is right there. Communication! Or at least, trying to understand others around her AND those who actually suffered from it like Charlie and her friends!” She put her cup down and sighed heavily, slightly rubbing her face. “But instead, she just shuts herself in and I'm sure she is going to lose herself that way…”

Saint Peter listened to everything she said, humming all along before asking in return, raising an eyebrow as he stirred in his latte. “Soooo… It’s mainly related to those hellish exterminations, right?”

Emily was about to answer that it was obviously about those but then the keeper of the gates continued. “Or maybe you are more upset about her reaction towards it—and towards you.”

At those words, the seraphim gripped her cup tighter, her expression going pinched. As much as the question rubbed her in the wrong way, he was right. Sera grew more distant and detached toward her each moment they actually met each other outside of their home. And even their domestic moment became shorter since the elder seraphim’s trial was still on the plate which meant she couldn’t really hang out with her.

Not even hanging out, Emily just wants to check on Sera but also on the hotel but her words always fall on deaf ears, as if she was just talking to a wall.

And that hurt her even more.

“... I don’t really know anymore at this rate.” She half-admitted, looking down at her beverage with slight sadness.

Saint Peter frowned even more but said nothing as the waiter came with the bill.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

“I need to go back to the gates Em, feel free to crash whenever you want.” Saint Peter told her as the two flew above the city of Humility. Emily only hummed but, before leaving, the saint stopped her on her tracks. Confused, the seraphim was about to ask until her friend added with a more caring tone. “Also, I understand your frustration, with everything that is going on but—I don’t know, try to persist? Sera is your sister after all so I’m sure if you actually make her know that the both of you need to talk, do it.” He said with a smile. Emily wasn’t still entirely convinced however, she still smiled softly at him before the two hugged each other tightly.

“Thanks, Pete.”

“That’s the least I could do.”

As soon as the two parted away, Emily’s smile fell and, soon, she grunted to herself. “Come on Emily, you can’t just mop around and be sad all day. You are supposed to bring happiness, that’s what you are known for here!” She slightly berated herself in her thoughts.

Okay, she needed to think about another distraction. Wait… What about the orphanage! She doesn’t usually go there and when she realized that most exorcists came from it, she was even less thrilled.

But… It was the perfect opportunity for her right?? Bringing joy and light to small heavenborns and winners alike that didn’t had the best living years and died young—

Emily boasted her chest, her energetic joviality back. Yes she will go there! After all, who doesn't want to spend their afterlife with rainbows and happiness!

Unless they discovered a genocide—

Emily pushed those thoughts away before flying off to the distance.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

To think that Emily would find Chamuel of all angels among the orphans was a stretch but that was actually the case.

She widened her eyes as the archangel saw her first and beamed brightly while he was braiding an exorcist’s hair. He spoke softly to the said soldier who only nodded as he flew to the seraphim, his radiant and warm energy enough to light up the grand building even if they were all just in a relaxation room for any ages and any heavenly species.

“Emily! What a surprise to see you here! Any reasons for this particular visit?” Chamuel asked as Emily tried her best to match his own energy despite still being a tad upset from her hangout with Saint Peter this afternoon.

She preferred to push it all aside as she smiled softly in return.

“Hey Cammy! Sorry, I felt a bit bummed out today but I just wanted to come in and say hi!” She answered as she looked behind him and widened her eyes even in surprise.

Most of the people here today were exorcists but none of them had their helmets and some even without their uniforms. Some were chatting with each other while others were doing activities on their own or with their sisters in arms like knitting or wing grooming.

One of them even waved at Chamuel and whispered to him a joke that actually made him snort before he playfully punched the other angel as she flew away.

Seeing them being so… Soft and friendly between each other like a family was almost off putting to Emily, especially knowing that Lute was among them, bloodthirsty and sadistic. As if exorcists weren’t genocidal soldiers.

Almost… Human.

“You… Actually take care of exorcists?” Emily asked before thinking how clumsy her question was as she internally cringed inside. Luckily, Chamuel didn’t seem to mind as he only shrugged. Emily also noticed another soldier with a heavenborn child near her hip following her.

“Everybody needs caring in one way or another. Despite their acts and how people perceive them, most of them in the end just want love or doting, even just for a little bit.” He explained and the seraphim mentally facepalmed herself. Of course, Chamuel was like that, he is the archangel of love and virtue of peace after all.

But, nonetheless, she couldn't help but feel… Strangely odd and warm at the same time when the child she saw earlier with the exorcist asked for Chamuel’s attention as the latter cooed at the little being while he blabbered with the exorcist who held him close to her like it was her own child.

That thought made Emily uneasy, how many of these Exorcists were mothers or sisters and had to kill others like them or saw their families getting brutally murdered in the riposte—

The sounds of doors slamming open made everyone jump as two soldiers entered, one out of breath while the other seemed deep in thoughts and… Clearly not happy.

Chamuel was the first to ask, worry sketched on his face as he instinctively went to them, as to check if they had any injuries or whatsoever.

“What happened? What’s wrong??” He asked as the exorcist who was fighting for breath finally managed to somewhat regulate her breathing. Still, she kept wheezing as her friend glared at her.

“Climena, don’t you dare, it’s private—” She warned but said Climena took a deep breath before yelling in distress.

“Lute went missing! We have no idea where she is and no traces of her!”

And just as Emily thought her day wouldn’t get worse.