Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Just a few quick clarifications to get started

Well, after looking at my ideas and not wanting to leave them as just crumbs or knowing full well that I won't complete them due to lack of time, energy, motivation, creativity, or inspiration, I decided to do this. I based it on a similar story with Adam. It's a collection of one-shots based on various narrative ideas and alternate universes for the world of Hazbin Hotel that I can think of, as well as other ideas you might recommend. Most of them involve Charlie or Vaggie, or whoever I can think of in some way. It includes Charlie realizing that God is a d*ick worse than Adam, Charlie getting seriously traumatized, Adam and Lute screwing up monumentally almost every time, Vaggie getting an alien parasite, Lucifer sending everything to shit, and much more. (By the way, english is not my native language in case you notice some gramatical errors)

Ideas so far (they may not be in that order, and this will be altered depending on new ideas or the order in which I post):

- Fuck this shit! I'm out!

- Duskstar (Villain Charlie AU)

- Hell's Lethal Protector (Antihero/Hero Vaggie AU)

- I don't forgive you Adam

- Nephilim (Hero Charlie AU)

- What if... Charlie didn't recruit the cannibals?

- I. HATE. YOU. (Adam x Fem Lucifer) (Maybe +18)

- Charlie... I'm a very good lawyer (Marvel x Hellaverse)

- I believe in truth... but I'm also a fan of justice and dreams (DC x Hellaverse)

- Invincible Love (Mark Grayson/Invincible x Charlie Morningstar)

- A true father (Shuumatsu No Valkyrie x Hellaverse)

Recommendations in the comments 

Well, that being said...enjoy. 

Chapter Text

"When you're told you're a piece of shit five times a day, you have no choice but to believe it yourself."

Vaggie had no idea why she'd been called to Lucifer's palace.

I mean, she had some ideas, but she assumed these conversations between a woman and the father of that woman's partner would take place at the hotel. After all, Lucifer moved into the hotel to spend more time with Charlie after the whole fiasco with Adam... Especially after the fiasco with Adam. It was the first time in her life that Vaggie felt what a total injustice was. Well, the second time, only this time she felt worse because Charlie had to feel what she felt.

Was she surprised? No. That was the worst part. The worst part is that it didn't surprise her.

What if Adam mocked, denigrated, scorned, rejected, tried to sabotage, and threatened Charlie, and beyond that, tried to make good on that threat by breaking the agreement that he was NOT to touch someone born of Hell, especially not the daughter of Lucifer? It didn't matter. Suddenly and very conveniently, the fact that Charlie acted in self-defense doesn't matter. And why? Because she was from Hell, of course, and Adam was from Heaven, and so on. The moment Adam died, all those little details about Charlie's reasons for defending herself faded into the background, and somehow she was the one to blame. It was only because Sir Pentious managed to redeem himself that they weren't "harsher" with Charlie.

No, harsh wasn't the word. Vaggie was there, and she knew that was a word they used to sweeten their ears. Extermination, the greater good, severity... instead of telling things as they were. In this case, the correct word was cruelty. She knew what cruelty was firsthand. She had practiced cruelty for many years, so many that it made her stomach turn, and then when she denied that cruelty, Lute applied it to her. She still remembered well the pain she inflicted on him, the sadism in not hesitating to do it, and Adam's complete coldness and indifference. She knew that cruelty.

But the thing was, it was Heaven... and Heaven's word was the law.

If they say it's ethical or moral, then it is.

If they pass sentence, regardless of whether it's just or cruel, it will be justice for all.

As long as Heaven rules, it will be just... because it will be the law...

Because Adam himself said so, up there are the—what was the word? What was the EXACT word he used? Not just, not innocent either... The winners. That was the correct answer. They were the winners, and the winners were those who dictated what justice was.

And they could shape that justice as they pleased.

After that, Charlie was in a very bad way, but with the support of the others, Emily, and Pentious, she was able to move forward. There were still episodes when she clung to her at night, afraid that maybe she made a mistake and that her dream wasn't worth it, something Vaggie hated and assured her it wasn't. It was very strange switching roles because before, she was the one who clung to Charlie like that.

She didn't know what to say to her, because she wasn't like Charlie or the rest of her friends. She didn't have a... a dream. She didn't have one and never had one. Her life was serving Adam and Heaven until that fateful day, and after meeting Charlie, she remained faithful to her, following her, caring for her, protecting her. That was a duty, the duty to protect something you love with all your strength, but a dream? That was a very alien concept to her, like a toy that others have but she doesn't. She couldn't lie that sometimes she was jealous of what that was, but she could never find that "spark" or that "brightness" as Charlie defined it. She didn't have dreams, so she didn't know what it was like to doubt one or fight for one. Her solace was limited because of that.

What did she know? The one thing in the entire universe she knew for sure? That even if she couldn't fight for a dream of her own, Charlie and her dream were worth it. So, even if she couldn't fight for a dream of her own, she could fight for hers, no matter what Heaven or Hell had to say.

Fuck Heaven and Hell.

So, with all this tense and messed up, but slowly calming down, she didn't understand why Lucifer Morningstar had called her here to talk.

What did he want? What was he planning to discuss? From the little she saw of the man, she couldn't find a reason to talk to her. Well, not like that at least. She felt small in the enormous space of the throne room. Suddenly, she felt small, much more so than she had ever felt before. And speaking of small, her smallness was there, sitting with nothing but a white robe on his body, staring into space in a trance that made Vaggie think he was dead for a moment. He looked so dead...

...

... Oh shit, was he really dead?

He didn't speak, move, or breathe. Vaggie wondered if he was even blinking. It wasn't until she made a small sound with her throat to get his attention that Lucifer finally reacted.

"Vaggie! Oh, sorry, I was thinking," The man apologized. He turned to her, to which she looked around in confusion. "Do you want something to drink?"

"I could have something, but where is everyone? And the servants?" She questioned, seeing that everything was very empty and quiet. There was no sign of the servants or anyone in particular. I mean, yes, he isolated himself and shut himself away before, but... she didn't think it was like this.

Though something strange Vaggie noticed, something that was even worrying, was the calm in the streets and the few people she saw. She could even say that the streets were deserted, with no trace of anarchy, chaos, crime, or vandalism of any kind. It hardly seemed like hell and frankly, it looked like ghost streets. Somehow, that was more terrifying than a city filled with crime, misdeeds, and addictions without any kind of control or limitation. At least Vaggie could say it was a familiar chaos, not an unfamiliar silence...

Everything was so lonely... as if everyone had vanished...

"Everyone's gone. I fired them," the monarch explained as he led her to what she assumed was the kitchen. She was startled out of her thoughts by his voice and was confused for a moment before following him. Fired? She knew he'd moved in with them and that before that, he'd already been very isolated from everyone, but she didn't understand what was going on. Didn't this place need staff to keep it from gathering more dust than it already had? "I assume you're wondering why I called you here."

"Yes, actually," she said in confusion. She assumed that if she were to return here for some reason beyond her understanding, she would have called or spoken to Charlie, but that wasn't the case. Rather, what confused her most (besides calling her) was something else. "But there's something else that confuses me more... why did you ask me not to tell Charlie or anyone else to come here?"

Lucifer didn't answer immediately; he just sighed. In the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator to pour her a glass of water. There was only silence between them for a moment while she poured both glasses and he drank his own. After finishing it in one gulp, he signaled for her to continue walking.

She frowned at his silence.

"You didn't answer me." This whole thing was too strange. The loneliness, the mystery, the call, and the confidentiality. It was all very confusing to her, and Lucifer wasn't giving her any answers. They just walked until they reached what she assumed was the garden. Beautiful, really, something beautiful with all the green, red, purple, and all kinds of colors in all kinds of plants. They sat on a bench while Lucifer took a deep breath. It was a big breath and a big exhalation.

"... Did you ever want to die, Vaggie?" the king of Hell blurted out suddenly.

"What kind of question is that?!" Vaggie was obviously taken aback by Lucifer's question if he put it in less exaggerated terms. "Who the hell starts a conversation like that?"

She wanted to think it was a joke in bad taste, but it was obvious Lucifer wasn't laughing at all. If anything, he looked more serious than usual. He was very serious.

"Let me rephrase my question. Do you ever feel like there's no reason you exist, and if you do, there's no real reason? Do you sometimes wonder what this madness is? Is this all madness, how does it work? That one day you feel on top of the world with the strength and confidence to do anything, and the next day you don't want to get out of bed and just sit there waddling around on a family that no longer exists...?" He explained. Their eyes didn't connect. He saw nothing.

Vaggie hated how familiar that feeling was. It was a very familiar feeling.

"I... sometimes I feel like that. Sometimes I feel like I don't belong anywhere. Neither up nor down" she finally confessed. "Fuck, I don't even have goals in life, I don't have a-"

"Dream? I know how it is. Sometimes they're the best, or they end up being your doom. Telling you this is the first failure in all of history," laughed the clown-faced dwarf, because in the end, that's what he's been all these millennia. "I had a dream once. Then I tried to fulfill it, and it turned out the way you know it did. Then I had nothing. And then I had dreams every night about things that no longer exist.

"Like what?" she wanted to ask, not wanting to sound insistent.

"Like returning to heaven" he confessed, to the surprise of the deserter of the exorcist angels.

She corrected herself. She wasn't seeing nothing. She was seeing Heaven. She was seeing the star that is the trace of the sky. The same place where exorcists come from and the same place that was once home to both of them.

... Why? Vaggie couldn't hide her disgust. She couldn't help it. Everything above repulsed her. Everything about above was like an alarm or a switch that told her two things: who she was and what she did, or the authority that these days acted as if Adam was a poor victim. As if the guy didn't laugh like a day at the beach when they went off and bathed in the blood of sinners! As if he didn't cause this in the first place! As if this wouldn't have happened if they had given Charlie at least the benefit of the doubt, or at least, didn´t tell Charlie that he was dying to exterminate her! ¡AS IF HE HADN'T GIVEN HER THE OPTION TO SABOTAGE CHARLIE IN EXCHANGE FOR GETTING BACK WITH HIM, AS IF WHAT THEY DID TO HER WAS JUST A CASUAL TUESDAY FOR THEM! AND HE'S STILL THE VICTIM HERE?! AND EVEN AFTER HE'S DEAD, THE DAMN BASTARD TORMENTS HER AND CHARLIE! Why miss that?!!

WHY MISS A PLACE LIKE THAT?!!

"Why miss them? They..." Vaggie felt like Heaven was all she wanted to leave behind, and that's why she didn't understand, even if they might be similar.

"Eventually, you'll miss it. I bet you miss being up there with your sisters, right?" Vaggie didn't respond, but there was no need. Lucifer was right, even if she denies it. "You know? After everything went to shit and I fell, I was happy for a while, or so I thought... Because I thought it was all worth it, even if I failed. With Lilith, I thought we'd move forward, that everything would be fine, and that I didn't have the same limitations as an angel. I didn't have to deal with my father's scoldings or my brothers' warnings about my ideas... But then that didn't last long, and I stayed in this dump... watching one by one, from Cain to today, how what I did brought this shit to this shitty place... and then I sank here for a long... long time"

This definitely wasn't the talk she was hoping for with her girlfriend's father. She knew he went into a trance these days, but she didn't think this would happen. All this time, was he thinking about that?

"And then... What happened?" She wanted to know anything I could say, because Lucifer wanted to think positively up there.

"The loneliness hurts... And if I'm honest with myself... I missed my brothers... And I wanted to know if they missed me. If anyone..." She saw Lucifer's teary eyes. For just a moment, he looked like he wanted to cry, but he held back. He smiled nostalgically. "Missed me... I know it's hard to have compassion for the devil, but damn... I wish I knew if someone missed me..."

"..."

"...But then Adam died, and I knew that possibility died with him..." He sighed in resignation. "And what happened next only confirmed it. Adam died, and everything is worse now because I know that with him, some chance of seeing if they missed me died. So, you want to know the truth about this meeting? You want to know why your father-in-law is taking his emotional revenge on you instead of isolating himself, ducking and waiting for a woman who dumped him to walk through the door and everything will magically be fixed? Well, here's my answer. I'm done. I'm done, Vaggie."

"Done...?"

What does he mean by that?

"I'm done, fallen angel... I'm done," he repeated. It was as if he had regained a millennium of life. "I quit."

...

...

... What?

"... What?!!" The fallen angel jumped up, staring at him in surprise and disbelief at the same time. Lucifer, the morning star, ruler of Hell and king of darkness, did he just say he's going to...? "Quit?!"

"You heard right. I'm done... I got tired a long time ago, and I think I only stayed because I didn't know what else to do. Tsk, it drained me... but Charlie taught me that she's strong on her own, and more so than ever now," he explained.

She freaked out. She knew that look. Oh, she did.

He couldn't... could he even...?

Could he even... kill himself?

"She needs YOU more than ever now!" she chided him. "You can't leave RIGHT now! Not now that Charlie needs you!"

"No. She doesn't need me. She has you and the rest. That's enough for her," He explained simply, belittling his own role in Charlie's happiness. To be fair, he hasn't been around her much for a long time, and yet he's still moving away from her again.

She was still confused, angry, and upset, but she could see in him... He looked at peace. He looked like he made that decision a long time ago. He looked like he was no longer king of this place abandonated by God (literally speaking) long ago.

"I've grown tired, fallen angel. Tired of being cast as an eternal shadow, painted as a villain by mortal tongues that dance lightly over their own failures, but weigh heavily on my name. The devil made me do it. They whisper as if I were perched on their shoulders, breathing malice into innocent ears, commanding their hands toward the darkness" He snorted mockingly. A wry, disdainful laugh graced his lips as he told her this. She knew he didn't think highly of sinners, but she supposed it was only because they were the side of humanity that "squandered" their gift. Now she saw it was more than that. It was about what the world saw of him. It was about the role he played in this whole system that left him weary "But I have never forced their hearts to desire what they secretly crave. They forge cages of guilt, lock themselves within, and then curse me for the bars they have built, the torment they have chosen, the chains forged from fear and regret. Souls flow into my lands, seeking punishment as their reward. Yet I do not summon them. They walk willingly into the flames, hoping retribution will cleanse the stains of their own judgment. They speak as if bartering souls, a merchant trading misery, blind to the truth. No being can possess another soul. They belong entirely to themselves. But..."

Lucifer gave a hearty laugh. Vaggie trembled. The likelihood that Lucifer has gone mad is not a far-fetched thought right now. Maybe he's gone mad, though he'd say he's saner than ever.

"Freedom terrifies them far more than torment ever could. Yes, I rebelled once, in days long lost to memory. But how long must the punishment for a single act of defiance last? How long must the fallen bear the heavy crown of guilt? Perhaps until when it will serve them, until the end of time, when they will associate my existence with all the evil in the world... so that every murderer, thief, rapist, swindler, suicide, unjust, violent, envious, lustful, lazy, proud, vain, glutton, and every child who doesn't make their bed or steals a piece of candy... has someone to blame. I'll still be here... being the scapegoat of creation... I only exist... and they only let me exist... for that, so they have a damn scapegoat"

Vaggie, for a moment, couldn't help but feel sorry for him...

He knew they didn't speak well of him in Heaven, and assumed they didn't speak well of him on Earth either... nor down here either.

And so it has been for thousands of years... whose only purpose...

Is to be the one they point the finger at.

"No, fuck that" He declare "I'm done, fallen angel. I'm done carrying the weight of your illusions. I'm done reigning over nightmares I didn't create. I'm done being the one they blame for their own actions. The gates are closed, the fires dimmed"

What?

What... is he...?

"Hell is closed. Because I choose freedom over eternity in chains, silence over endless accusations. Let them face the mirrors of their truth without my shadow to blame. Let them face themselves. Anyway, I stopped collaborating in torture a long time ago" He confessed. He stood up to look at her with a cryptic expression. "And that's where you come in."

Well, at least it looks like he wasn't going to commit suicide...

"Do you think I'll help you with this? With... running away? Will you just abandon everything? Your kingdom? Your daughter? Your duty?" She questioned angrily. She couldn't believe he could be so cowardly.

"Duty? A duty that was imposed on me in chains? Let's be honest, Vaggie. Let's be truly honest with this "duty" and "responsibility" you speak of! Hell... rules itself, or rather, rots itself. Me? I am no longer the absolute monarch. In truth, my throne is nothing more than a museum: gleaming, but empty. Locked within the labyrinth of my own melancholy, I rarely intervene. I mimic humanity in creating my own barriers. My crown is held up by habit rather than real power. Me? A king? All this makes me more of a prisoner than a king. My... depression and my melancholy were not weakness, they are merely the inevitable consequence of realizing what I had lost: the light, the home among the stars, hope itself. What good is ruling a kingdom without redemption? My subjects don’t adore me, they tolerate me. And in the halls of the palace, dust grows faster than loyalty... What duty do I have but to be in a place that is nothing more than a prison, and I only have a glorified position as the king of shit in a kingdom of shit?"

Vaggie didn't know how to respond, because she didn't think Lucifer would do something crazy like this. That was all this was! Damned madness! And she doubted she could reason with a man whom the world and he himself had been driving even crazier for millennia.

You can't reason with madmen.

"And you, of all people, should understand that. You, of all people, should understand me" he murmured more softly, as if speaking to a loved one, or at least someone who recognized you. Someone who saw you.

"Understand what? That you're running away? That you're running away with your tail between your legs? That you're leaving everything behind?" She pointed at him accusingly. The king of hell just sighed.

"I thought, from one fallen angel to another, you'd understand. I thought, having also revealed to you what you believed was right, you'd understand this. And above all, I thought that given the punishment you received, you'd understand the reason why I refuse to continue in this punishment" he pointed out this time. "But I see you haven't changed a bit... you've only switched from one allegiance to another."

Vaggie's spear pointed at Lucifer's face. He didn't flinch, but instead smiled.

"Oh, did I touch a nerve?" Lucifer laughed. "I suppose you won't take me up on my offer to come with me."

"I won't abandon Charlie like you did" she spat, giving her answer. "You're a coward."

"Maybe, or I'll just get tired. I'm tired. And since Michael didn't bother to kill me that day a long time ago, then it's better to do this than to make this the whole world's problem. Or who do you think I am? Adam?" He laughed without amusement. It didn't last long before her smile faded. "Don't escort me, but I want you to do me a favor so I can leave..."

"And why would I?" She spat.

"Because you understand. You understand me. You understand what it's like to leave everything behind... a fresh start..." He looked into her eyes. He was pleading. He lowered himself to her level. "Please, Vaggie..."

She looked at him. There was anger, rage, confusion, a whole host of emotions, but at her core, she could understand a little of it. She understood the pain of leaving behind what you once called home, leaving behind what you believed in, and fuck! There was still a part of her in her head telling her that sinners deserved to die. She hated that part in her head, hated looking in the mirror and seeing that X in her eye, hated all of it, and sometimes she wanted to run without looking back. But then she'd look at the bed and there was Charlie... and she'd stay.

Because she, even knowing what she was, smiles at her.

She knows what a piece of shit she was, and she still smiles at her.

And that's why she stayed.

But without that? She had nothing. Nothing to hold her to this place or to its people... and she would have taken Lucifer's hand to leave and never look back, because she no longer felt a place to belong except with Charlie.

She lowered her spear.

"What do you want me to do?" Lucifer pulled out a knife. It was large and he placed it in her hands. She could feel the divine power just by touching it. "What is this?"

"What I want you to do..." Lucifer turned his back on her. He knelt as he brought out his six pairs of wings. Wings as white as snow. Pure white wings. Wings that one could look at for hours and marvel at them and their size. The knife in Vaggie's hand glowed in response, almost burning in her hand. "Vaggie, I need you to cut off my wings."

It was like a hammer smashed into Vaggie's head.

It was like an invisible force shoved its hand into her chest and squeezed her heart, preventing it from beating.

It was like the ghost of Adam arrived and laughed so loudly that it deafened her to all other sounds in the world.

It was like someone had said the worst thing that could be said to her face.

And that's what Lucifer did.

"What...?" She tightened her grip on the knife. She gripped the handle so hard that yellow blood began to ooze from her palm. The knife felt very heavy now. "Do you know what you're asking of me? Do you know? Do you have any idea what you're asking of me?"

The memories of that fateful day came flooding back.

The cold edge against her eye.

The muscles and tendons torn furiously in her back.

The blood that surged uncontrollably from her as she was bleeding to death.

The indifference with which Adam and Lute left.

The hellish pain, so intense she never thought such pain existed, in her back and in the hole where there was once her eye

The despair of never again taking flight as she had always done since her creation, because that was taken from her in the cruelest way.

The nightmares that have haunted her for those years.

And he's asking her to do something like this... him?

"I know" he declared, but he didn't bother to turn around to look at her. He remained kneeling expectantly. "But if you doubt this, you'll doubt it for the rest of your life and for what's to come. I know this is painful for you, too much I can say, but I beg you to do it."

"Lucifer, you're a fucking son of a bitch" she declared. She held the knife in her hand. Lucifer didn't respond. Still, he pleaded with her, abandoning his pride.

She moved closer, trembling as the blade neared his flesh. The original fallen angel didn't flinch as she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. Suddenly, she was back in Adam's hands. Once again, she was among her sisters. Once again, she had a weapon made for nothing more than to kill and wound. She was there again. She was where she didn't want to be, and her hands were going to be stained again. She began to hyperventilate, and the knife slipped through her fingers in the yellow blood.

"Take a deep breath..." Lucifer called after her. She wasn't there anymore. She was with him. They were alone. "Consider it a favor to your father-in-law."

She clung to that idea. She clung to that idea, and her hand gripped the knife as it connected with the flesh on his back that connected his wings to his body. There was no sound but the meat being cut. Vaggie wanted to vomit but refrained. If Lucifer was in pain, he didn't show it, for Vaggie saw no change in his calm expression as he cut her wings one by one. One after another, they fell to the ground; even cut, they were still beautiful, still shining.

"..." The fallen angel stood up, taking a deep breath to release the air in his lungs. The rebel angel exhaled like a free man. He was free. She was still chained. They looked at each other in silence. "Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"

"I have a duty to Charlie" was all she said almost automatically.

"No, a duty was what you had in Heaven like me, and we both decided to break that," He declared. "What you have with Charlie is a choice. You just have to see it for what it is and one day see Charlie without having to see the exchange of one master for another. When that happens, you will be truly free. You will be free to be with her. Until then, you still won't have my blessing"

"..." Vaggie didn't believe him. She´d just done him the favor of clipping his wings, knowing how hard it was for her, and she was keeping the secret of her decision to run away, and then he told her he wasn't giving her his blessing to be with his daughter. He's a damn bastard, that's what he is. She held back the urge to stab him for that.

"Oh... one last thing" Lucifer raised his hand. The earth began to form a shape between his fingers. Is that a key? "My other favor, Vaggie. Like I said, you must be strong or you'll hesitate, and you shouldn't now. Here... this is for you."

She didn't see any point in it. What was that key, and what was inside it? A safe with riches? Charlie's inheritance? Secret porn she had to burn or keep if she wanted to? Living with Angel Dust made her realize the latter might be possible.

She received the key. She felt a burning sensation in her palm that almost made her drop it. She looked at it again. His eye opened in horror

No... oh good God no... this is...

"..." She felt trembling in her hands. She didn't notice she was still holding the knife until it slipped from her fingers as she realized this key was even heavier. The key was damned HEAVY between her fingers, Vaggie felt like she had damned herself. No, rather, Lucifer was the one who damned her. "T-this is... the key to Hell."

"By now, many demons are coming out, that'll keep those above busy for a while" Lucifer rambled. Vaggie understood why the streets were so lonely, solitary, and quiet. "Then the worst part will come, but oh well... like I said, I'm leaving. This is not my problem anymore."

"Y-you can't do this! You closed Hell! You're leaving the throne empty! You're leaving chaos in the world! You... you're giving ME the key!" she screamed. She yelled at him loudly. All of this was too much. She wasn't... she couldn't... this was too much. What is she supposed to do with this? What is she supposed to do now? "Why me?!"

"..."

"..."

"... Why, are you still asking?"

"YES!" She screamed, on the verge of going crazy.

"Satan is an idiot who lies behind my back. The sins mind their own business, and Charlie doesn't want to rule. The last thing I want to do is give her the weight of the key." He explained. "As for you... I already told you. You understand me... and I thought you would understand..."

"..." Vaggie looked into his eyes again. There was peace in them. She felt vomit rise in her throat. She felt envy and rage. Envy of that peace and rage at what Lucifer would cause for everyone, but especially for her. "You are so selfish... you are a damn selfish person..."

"..." Lucifer just turned his back on her to walk away. She already understood that she couldn't convince him.

"What are you going to do now? Where are you going?" she couldn't help but ask, even though her rage was greater. She considered fighting, but she was too overwhelmed to even pick up her spear.

"I don't know... Maybe I'll stay on a beach and... feel the sand on my feet while I look out at the sea. I don't know. Maybe I'll disguise myself as a human, go to Los Angeles, and have a good time. Maybe I'll open a bar; I'll need a lot of alcohol when they come to screw me"

"What's he telling you I won't tell Charlie?" the former exterminator questioned.

"I know you'll tell him, I just don't care. She'll be busy with her hotel and she's already used to her old man not being present in her life" He said vaguely, pausing for a moment. "Huh, and to think this all started in a domino effect when my daughter decided there was something better than the death of sinners, as if that weren't more merciful than extending their stay here."

"Killing is NOT mercy" Vaggie spat. The fear in their eyes wasn't mercy. The blood on her hands wasn't mercy. It wasn't...

It never was.

"Oh? There's still a spark of rebellion about what you were, I like it... No... it's a cycle," Lucifer murmured, agreeing. "One that began a long time ago, with me and that fruit. It began then and it will end... someday."

"... I'm tired of going around in circles with you... with this... " She pointed at the key. "You just trapped me in this problem."

"We create our own prisons, I told you. Seeking punishment as reward for shame. We create bars with oaths, promises, codes. Walls of doubt and uncertainty and self-imposed limitations." He reached out to the sky, to a white star that was the sky. He was in that prison, with those chains, those bars, those walls that suffocated him. He took a deep breath... and exhaled. Freedom was what he felt. "We inhabit these cells, these identities, these... papers, and we call them us.'"

Vaggie just looked at him with disdain. There was nothing more to it than that, and perhaps the confusion in his words made her feel uneasy.

"I thought I'd be free by trying to eliminate those I considered my captors and those who harmed me... but, Vaggie..." He looked at her with empathy. He knew her pain, her rage, her hatred, and her helplessness. He'd lived with that for a long time, and it had embittered him, so he could give her this advice before the same thing happened to her. If she decides to come, well, if she decides to stay, well, too "I think the cycle only ends... when you have the strength to simply walk away"

And that's when she knew... she and he...

She who saw him as a coward

He who saw this as the bravest act of all

She who broke the cycle by staying for something worthwhile

He who broke the cycle by leaving

They weren't the same

"You and I..." Vaggie said "We're not the same"

"...Let me give you one last piece of advice, from one fallen angel to another" He spoke again. "As a thank you for setting me free. I am free. I am finally free, and you helped. Let me give you some wisdom. Losers learn a lot, because failure is where you learn the most. From success, not so much"

Vaggie listened, very reluctantly. She wished she'd never come. She expected weird things, maybe even something with duck fetishes. This wasn't one of the things she anticipated.

"If your boss turned out to be a huge jerk who left you to your fate in a shitty place, and when he suddenly dies, that arrogant, narcissistic, vulgar, and completely disgusting white man is suddenly the misunderstood victim the world dismisses as the misunderstood, complex, tragic hero regardless of all the harm he did to you just because he "suffered in the past." That's not called injustice, that's simply called life... And yes, that is life because life is an unfair bitch, especially when he has the privilege of being the boss's favorite son of all time" He said darkly, giving her a sad and amused smile. "Winners write history, Vaggie... they decide who is who... I wish you luck, Vaggie. And if you see Michael? Tell him he can go fuck himself and then go straight to where the hell did Adam go, knowing him? Maybe Dad gave his favorite little boy a treat and he's having a grand time wherever he is, who knows? Maybe the bastard is in the second heaven"

What shitty advice.

"So just... Fuck Heaven and Hell" That's exactly what she said, or well, what she thought "Fuck this shit! I'm out!"

"..." She stood there, unable to move, unable to do anything but watch as the King of Hell issued his resignation. When she turned to look, his wings were gone. When she turned back to Lucifer, he wasn't there either. It's like the Earth had swallowed him up.

He was gone. Lucifer was gone...

He was gone... he was gone...

But what she was holding wasn't gone.

Lucifer was gone, and she held the keys to Hell.

He was gone, and she held the fucking keys to Hell.

He was gone... and she held the keys.

She had to repeat that thought many times before it finally sank in.

What the fuck will she say to Charlie?

What will happen now that Hell is CLOSED?

Will the sins come looking for her? Heaven?

Do they even KNOW Lucifer is gone?

What will they do to her?

"..." She looked at the key in her hand, covered in his yellow blood "... Oh, sh-"

(-)

"... Huh" Lucifer took a breath... and exhaled...

Freedom felt so strange, maybe because he'd been chained up by his own will, that he couldn't fully understand it...

But he'd get used to it.

He didn't have chains anymore... never again.

It was good to see the scenery.

"Now where is Los Angeles?"

Chapter Text

"... Sometimes good people are helpless... terrible things happen... to good people... there are sad endings as well as happy ones".

This... this is not how things were supposed to be...

Charlie didn't understand what was happening. She knew, for a fact, but her mind was incredibly struggling to comprehend and process it properly as the news spread like wildfire. And how could it be otherwise? It didn't help that somehow, thousands or millions of people simply collapsed lifelessly once Adam took his last breath.

As it turns out, Adam, having been the first kind soul (but she saw nothing of it), God entrusted him with the souls of the righteous... and when he died, all the innocent souls in heaven, earth, and, surprisingly, hell, went with him... they all simply fell like puppets without a string, unable to even breathe their last breath. One moment they were fine, and the next, they were gone. Adam was gone, and with him, they all went. And that was it...

She didn't know what to say or what to do. It was probably a matter of minutes before Heaven came all out looking for someone responsible, and she didn't have the strength to try to say a word. As soon as her father broke the news to her, with the most somber face she'd ever seen, she disconnected from reality. She didn't react, no matter her father's other distant words, his girlfriend's touches on her arm, Husk's cursed murmurs, or... Angel Dust's angry screams at her.

His screams were distant, yes, or at least she felt them distant, even with him so close, but at the same time clear in how they came from and who they were aimed at. They were aimed at her. The hatred was crystal clear, and Charlie didn't dare look him in the eye. She didn't understand where that anger and hatred came from, and she didn't know if she wanted to know the answer, maybe because she already knew it, but she couldn't believe it. No, not that. She didn't want to believe it. But it was real. The corpses were real, the uproar was real, Angel Dust's screams were real, Alastor's hateful glare was real, Husk's curses were real, Vaggie's pleading and shaking were real, all of this was real. This was real, and she didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know that—

Lucifer touched her shoulder reassuringly, and her worries, even if they were heavy like no other, felt a little lighter.

"I'll fix it..." her father promised. His gaze was so somber that Charlie gasped for air. Still, the somberness seemed like calm resignation, combined with bitterness and a look of pity. He looked at her with pity. “Charlie, you'll have to be strong. You'll have to be very strong, okay? They're going to come, and there's no way to stop them. They're going to come, and you have to listen to what I tell you.”

She felt so lost and confused, but most of all, so scared. She felt like a little girl who, fearing extermination, went to her parents' room to feel safe in their arms. She wanted to go back, to curl up between the sheets and her parents and not wake up, or at least, not have this horrible nightmare. The difference was that this nightmare was completely real. This was real, and she... Was she the monster?

"D-Dad..." She couldn't stop shaking, even with Vaggie and Lucifer's grip on her, she couldn't stop. She felt like crying, but she held back when Lucifer's grip on her shoulder tightened until it was almost painful. He didn't hear her.

"Don't... don't let them see that they've hurt you" he growled sternly. She swallowed the sobbing moan that wanted to come out and held back the tears. She wanted to see her friends, but what she saw only made her bite her lip harder to keep from breaking. "Never let them see that they've managed to hurt you."

Husk avoided looking at her, whispering more curses, only giving her a small, quick glance of comfort. Cherry glared at her. Nifty was out, simply not reacting. Alastor and Angel... that was what devastated her.

It took her by surprise... the hatred in his eyes.

There was no doubt. It was hatred.

Hatred toward her.

"G-guys. I-I... I-I didn't..." She tried to explain. Tried to tell them she didn't know this would happen. Tried to tell them she didn't know Adam's position. Tried to tell them Adam could have left, but decided to stay, and that's why Nifty got him. Hell, she could even tell them it wasn't her fault, it was Nifty´s.

She felt sick instantly. For a moment, she actually considered blaming Nifty to avoid responsibility. She felt incredibly ashamed, though it was only a thought. No, she wouldn't be capable of that.

But they didn't listen to her, as if her voice had vanished with all the innocent souls who had gone with Adam.

"..." Angel didn't seem to want to waste any more of his voice on her. He gave her a look, full of hatred and resentment, before walking away. He was about to leave. "Her name was Molly... and you killed her. She was innocent, and you killed her... this is your fault. If only you were more like everyone else here. If only you had been like everyone else here... but no. You had to be the good-natured one. You had to be... the one who wanted to help. Well, look what happened because you wanted to help! All of this... is your fault"

Her fault

She watched him leave with Cherry.

Her fault...

"I must say, my dear Charlie..." Alastor's smile had never been as fake as it was at that moment. He fought to maintain it, but his anger and hatred directed at nothing but her made it clear he felt anything but happy. He fought to keep himself from shattering her. "You've genuinely surprised me. I expected many things from you. I expected to see you fail and also see you fall. I even expected to see you give up... but I didn't expect you to do this. You've truly surprised me, Princess. Congratulations..."

He didn't continue. Not when Vaggie and Lucifer gave him warning glances. But nevertheless, he stayed. He stayed, and he didn't know why. Maybe he knew she wouldn't hurt him, and because she wouldn't allow Vaggie and Lucifer to hurt him either.

And she trailed off.

And she didn't speak when a glowing blue portal appeared, knowing full well what would happen. She took Vaggie's hand fearfully, aligning her fingers with hers for reassurance. It didn't work much, but she appreciated the firmness with which Vaggie held it. She always liked that about Vaggie. She was always firm.

From the portal, the one she expected didn't appear. None of the exterminating angels, nor Emily or Sera. Someone else appeared. She could feel her father's grip turn painful. Seeing him, she could sense that Lucifer regretted being there with her.

The angel who appeared was very similar to her father, a thin, slender man with a sharp, noseless face, white skin like hers and her father's, blond hair, and rosy cheeks like hers or her father's. What was different were his eyes. His eyes were a beautiful blue. His gaze wasn't beautiful.

"...Brother," the angel whose name he didn't know finally spoke. His father seemed to know it. Looking at Vaggie, he noticed that she was so pale that her skin was as white as her own. Charlie flinched when Michael's furious gaze fell on her. "Niece..."

"Michael..." Lucifer spoke, taking a step forward.

Michael... leader of God's armies and the one who once gave the verdict to expel Lucifer, throwing him into the pit of darkness. That Michael. His uncle Michael.

"You already know the reason for my presence" he explained sternly and dryly. Straight to the point. "You and Charlotte Morningstar are required in Heaven for the latter's trial and sentencing"

"B-but sir! This is all a mix-up! Charlie was only defending herself!" Vaggie pleaded for her girlfriend. She was terrified. She knew well that Heaven had a specialty in being cruel if it wanted to be. The exterminations were proof of that. Her existence here below, with one eye and wings missing (although her wings returned three years later), was proof of that.

"And yet she committed the crime of killing the first human, and with it, all the innocent souls of the three realms also perished" Michael declared. His sword was raised to point at her. Lucifer flinched at the sight of that weapon. It wasn't a good impression that her uncle had pointed the weapon he used to bring down her father long ago, or that they had overlooked the fact that Charlie had acted more in self-defense than anything. "She's coming with me. With or without you. I'll argue with you later, Lucifer."

That only seemed to terrify Charlie more. They didn't want a proper trial if her father didn't come. It wasn't a proper trial.

"We'll go" Lucifer declared. Once again, Charlie saw the acceptance in her father's eyes. It scared her. She felt her father was up to something, but she didn't know what. He took her hand, and she no longer felt so scared. "We'll go with her."

Vaggie took her hand too. Miguel's gaze was still hard, but he accepted it. He vanished his sword as he stepped aside for them to cross the portal.

It took her a couple of breaths to calm down enough to cross.

When they crossed, the light blinded her for a moment until she adjusted and recognized the place where she had once spoken of her idea. As she passed through the portal, the noise assaulted Charlie's ears. While the place was undoubtedly less populated, there were still many people. She was surprised to see people from Hell as well, these being demonic royalty and sinners. When she tried to see something in their eyes that would tell her they were with her, she was met with either rage, hatred, or cold indifference. With the angels, it was worse. It was disturbing to see beings who are supposed to be full of virtue with so much rage, so much pain, so much hatred...

All she saw was hatred.

When... when did Heaven become a place of hatred? Was this Heaven? Was this the place of virtue and happiness she so longed for her people to find upon redemption? Was this the place her father spoke of with equal disdain but yearning? Is this the same joyful, blissful place she visited not long ago?

It wasn't.

Right now, if it weren't for the color and the light, she would mistake it for Hell. Only in a place like this would there be so much hatred.

She looked at the angels, then at the demons. Back at the divines, and then at the damned. The coldness was identical, and so was the hatred. She saw them again and again, finding the same thing. The same hatred toward her.

And for a moment, Charlie couldn't tell which was which.

She spotted Sera. Her eyes were red, as if she'd cried a lot. Her coldness toward her was palpable. There was no trace of Emily. Charlie didn't want to conclude what was obvious and choked back tears for what could have been the fate of someone she considered a friend. Suddenly, the screams and insults weren't so unpleasant when they pushed away the thought of what happened to Emily and millions of others...

Billions... trillions of souls... all gone.

"Don't let them see that they've hurt you." Well, she failed badly at that. The moment bright yellow chains encircled her neck and wrists, as if she were a dangerous criminal, she was ready to collapse. She tried to say something, even though it was uncomfortable and very tight, but they didn't listen. They didn't listen. Her voice was so weak she feared she'd lost it.

She didn't know how long that lasted, in front of the heavenly tribunal, with faces old and new, but with an incredible dose of insults, curses, and screams so abysmal that she felt something breaking inside her, each word adding a new crack. Vaggie also endured as best she could, but she was affected by the fact that all of it was directed at the Morningstar. Her father was impassive, unlike the two of them, as if that monstrous dose of insults and curses were the most normal part of his day. Charlie remembered that her father had probably been cursed and insulted like this daily for millennia. She couldn't help but respect and admire him even more for it because, if she broke down so easily, how could he endure all of it for so long? How could anyone... anyone... endure it?

Who could?

The sound of a gavel brought her attention back up. Michael was the judge as well. She knew little about him beyond the fact that, according to him, due to his absence, Michael had taken his place as the oldest of Heaven's creations. He personally went for them, and he personally will be the one to judge him. A special occasion.

Next to Michael, on either side, were three winged figures. Six in total. Coldness, pity, and anger were what they shared. Charlie felt like she knew them, but it was only a spontaneous feeling that passed as quickly as it had come, and she didn't have time to see them when she felt so overwhelmed that at times she felt she was about to faint. Michael opened his mouth, and she caught her breath.

"We are gathered here for the trial of Charlotte Morningstar, daughter of Lilith Morningstar, the First Human, and Lucifer Morningstar, Morning Star" Michael spoke, his voice commanding such authority that everyone fell silent. Mouths could be silenced, but eyes could not. Eyes would not be silenced. “You are accused of conspiracy against Heaven, carrying angelic weapons, spreading dangerous ideas and the murder of Adam…”

Dangerous Ideas? Dangerous?

For a moment, just a moment, the silence turned to anger. Charlie wanted to retort, and that's what he did.

"Dangerous ideas?!" she shouted, offended. Her eyes were already watering. "How can that be dangerous?! All I wanted was to offer redemption! Something YOU were supposed to preach!"

The screams returned with force and towards her. It was as if they didn't hear her. They shouted many things at her. Blasphemous. Foolish. Deluded. Stupid. Retrograde. Filthy. But had she lied? Because if she remembered correctly, Peter welcomed her and Vaggie the first time she came here, and that guy, back in life, was supposed to preach that with his teacher.

What was the damn difference? Being on a different server? Does simply being on another Earth make all those things worthless? That didn't sound fair.

"It's one thing to be on Earth, where you decide where you'll go! It's another to even think that a hellish soul could do that! Useless and naive!" One of the angels on Michael's left side complained. "What did you expect to accomplish, brat? That one of the damned souls could ascend? That they can ascend and we can pretend nothing happened? No. Down there is their place forever. Hell is forever. That's the way it is"

That didn't sound fair.

She looked again, even angrier. All that fear was turning to anger. She wasn't a criminal. She wasn't an evil mastermind. She was someone who wanted to offer an idea that was a better alternative to exterminations, and they mocked her for it. If she had accepted it...

"Well, if she had accepted it, Adam would still be here!" she shouted. The screams again. They weren't listening. They're not listening again. Why aren't they listening? Why weren't they listening? Because she is guilty in their eyes.

"Filthy murderer!"

"Liar!"

"Damn demon!" That was Lute. She could see her with the other exorcists. The pure hatred was almost physical, as if she wanted to destroy her herself. And why?

Because she's a sinner in his eyes.

And in everyone's eyes... a sinner is just a sinner.

It's easy for everyone to simply categorize them like that. A sinner and nothing more. Not a person capable of reason, feelings, and logic. Not a person who could be right. It was simply easier for everyone to dehumanize them and see her as a murderer.

One touch of Michael's hammer and the silence returned to her lips.

"It doesn't matter what happened anymore, does it? That won't bring the souls back" the oldest angel declared. That was true, and Charlie hated having to agree with him. She bit her lip before she blurted out more. They wouldn't listen to her. They didn't listen to her before, and now they won't even bother trying, even if it was essentially self-defense. "There were witnesses, a murder weapon in our hands... How do you plead?" 

"How do you plead? It was like being doused with a bucket of ice water, and it felt like a thousand knives were piercing her entire body.

She didn't want any of this to happen, but it did.

She didn't want Molly or Emily to leave, but they did.

She didn't want it to end like this, but it did.

Even with the support of her girlfriend and father, she knew there was no happy ending for her.

There was no happy ending for anyone...

So what should she do? Claim she was innocent, claiming she didn't know it would bring such consequences, even if it could be said it was self-defense? No... her father didn't know the consequences either, and yet they still happened, and he had to pay for it. Not to mention that people didn't care if she was vindicated; they just wanted someone to blame. Angel Dust's words told her everything.

"If only you were more like everyone else here." There was the answer. They blamed her. They blamed her for being out of line. They blamed her for wanting to break things up. They blamed her for shattering the fragile balance and control they thought they had. They were afraid of her, and she confirmed their fears...

She was to blame. Not her attacker. She was. That was their truth.

Besides, the eyes said it all. This trial was nothing more than a formality and a poor attempt at justice, but the outcome had already been decided long before Miguel arrived. It was very stupid of her to believe that their fate hadn't been decided the moment the innocent souls left. There was only one outcome.

Guilty and Sentenced

Vaggie looked at her fearfully. Her firm grip weakened. She could see that firmness was gone, and she seemed even more terrified than she was. Terrified for her. She knew what would happen, too. It was up to Charlie to be strong for both of them, wasn't it? No matter how much she wanted to run or disappear. There was no escape. No happy ending. There was no happy ending...

Where was that happy ending I'd been searching for, with rainbows and ice cream, and happiness for everyone I could?

It was just a fairy tale.

"I..."

"I plead guilty," Lucifer spoke suddenly. The blonde looked at her father in confusion. "I plead guilty to being the one who killed Adam. It was my hand that ended his life. And it was my tongue that told Charlie this plan."

What?

What did he say?

What is he saying?

"..." The Angels on either side of Michael looked at each other. There was confusion, yes, but their eyes seemed to communicate. He couldn't hear the murmurs, neither theirs nor the audience's. But that didn't matter to Charlie. He could only stare at his father, confusion turning into terror. "What do you mean, Lucifer?"

Yes. What does he mean? What was he doing?

"Please, Michael, I know I lie a lot. Is it so much so that they no longer know the truth even if it's told to their faces? Oh, Heaven." He laughed, to the offense of Heaven, which screamed in anger at his mockery. Lucifer only smiled at his anger, as if he had expected just that reaction. One of the angels near Michael probably wanted to go and hit him. "It was easy, you know? Just a few nice words here, a few nice words there, but of course Lilith helped soften my daughter's heart so she was susceptible enough to offer her such a ridiculous idea as redemption"

He lies. He lies... and she was scared because he knew what he was doing. He knew it. And yet, she could see that Michael and the rest of the angels knew it.

But then why... why don't they say anything? It's obvious he's lying! It's obvious he's lying! Then why?! They know! It's obvious they know!

"I-it's a lie!" But they weren't even looking at her. They weren't listening. THEY WEREN´T LISTENING TO HER AGAIN! Everyone's gaze went to Lucifer. Even though it was the most obvious lie of all... it seemed easier to shift the blame onto him. "It's a lie! HE'S LYING!! R-redemption was my idea! This is my fault!"

She felt bile rise in her throat as she said that. The discomfort in her stomach made her want to vomit, but they weren't seeing her. If they did, it was only mild. Asmodeus and Beelzebub looked at her with some pity. She didn't want that. She didn't want pity. She just wanted support and help, but if they hadn't given it to her before, why would they give it to her now?

She looked at Vaggie, but she looked respectfully at Lucifer, much to Charlie's horror, whose shackles were tightening as if to go to her father, who advanced, swaggering and triumphant, as if he were the evil mastermind who...

That they wanted to blame.

She knew what he was doing and didn't want it.

But they didn't hear her voice... nor did they want to hear it... they wouldn't listen.

"..." Standing at Michael's height, with his wings outstretched, Lucifer was able to fly in Heaven for the first time again. If only it had been under better circumstances. Whether it was hatred, anger, nostalgia, or pity that his brothers showed, he didn't care. There was only one who mattered now... the one who would dictate the law, the one who, in a time as distant as another life, was the person closest to him. "Come on, Michael, do you really think I wouldn't take the opportunity to screw them over? To try to destroy this place that is a false paradise? A lie of arrogance and righteousness? You more than anyone know what I'm capable of!"

Michael had such a cold gaze that Charlie didn't know what he was thinking. The two twins stared at each other for a while, tension mounting until Michael finally spoke, after glancing at one of his brothers, who nodded. That somber but accepting look returned to her father's face. She felt her heart pounding in her ears, clinging to a small hope.

That she was the one to blame. Damn, is that the most optimistic option she could think of?

"I think I'll take your word for it... because in the end, neither you nor she are free from the consequences" he finally declared before everyone's eyes and ears. Before the eyes of cherubs, angels, victorious devils, sinners, infernal royalty, seraphim, and archangels "Charlotte Morningstar is still guilty, yes, but her sentence is reduced due to manipulations by the main perpetrator. That's you... as for her sentence, we'll give it to her after we've dealt with you"

Lucifer seemed satisfied.

"And your sentence is what I should have done a long time ago..." He said, his voice more stern. Charlie didn't understand the slight pain in his voice, as if he struggled to say the words. It was obvious from some that he was taking his time saying them... Lucifer just nodded, giving him permission to say it. "Lucifer Morningstar... you will be executed immediately."

It was as if a plane had fallen on Charlie.

Lucifer looked at this with satisfaction, as if...

Charlie lost what little breath she had left. Her shackles stopped her from going to her father, demanding that he stop lying. She screamed. She screamed a lot. But the cheers drowned out her screams. They didn't hear her again. They didn't hear her screams.

Lucifer just turned to watch her as she descended to the place where, in front of everyone, he would be eliminated forever. Charlie wanted to scream and insult him. Their eyes met, and she found that same resignation from before... this was always his plan.

This was always his plan...

He knew... they wouldn't waste the opportunity to blame him.

(-)

Lucifer considered himself a loser.

They say that before you die, you see your life flash before your eyes and... Damn! He really was a failure.

That was well known, and sometimes, he didn't know what was worse: Being a failure, having the entire creation consider him a failure, or knowing that he was a failure himself. Sometimes he consoled himself with the thought, "Hey, maybe admitting I´m a failure makes me less of a failure than those who don't know they're failures."

But even if he was less of a failure than others, he was still a failure.

Looking back, as Michael came to him, every part of his life was nothing but bitterness for him, realizing that much of it wasn't something that brought him comfort in his final moments, something that told him his life or his existence wasn't a mistake or anything like that. He wanted to believe that, because his fa-him wasn't supposed to make mistakes like that, and therefore his existence wasn't a mistake. But again, the screams of the angels, demons, his brothers... of Michael... made him believe that maybe he was wrong. The Big G was wrong!

But again, only he could think of that, because only The Archtraitor would believe something as blasphemous as the Creator being wrong... but if they shout it out, then maybe he was right, maybe their father was never as perfect as they thought. There was no need to emphasize that hypocrisy, because today Heaven proved once again that it can be just as cruel and hateful as Hell. He always knew it, because he was proof that they weren't as perfect as they thought. Vaggie knew it too, and now Charlie knew it in the worst way.

But it didn't matter anymore...

Maybe he did have everything, and yet, wanting more, he wanted to see if his ideas could produce something brilliant. He wanted to prove that something like that could be amazing, making them closer to them by eating the fruit. Wouldn't that be fantastic? He believed that, but it turns out you can't call yourself a Messiah because that rarely works out. Only the guy who was Peter's teacher managed to pull off that whole Messiah thing. Him? Well, you already knew the ending to that story.

Where was that happy ending he'd been searching for, with rainbows and ice cream, and happiness for everyone he could?

It was just a story, and it all ended in disaster.

His greatest disaster... the failure that defined him for everyone, and for him, for the rest of the millennia.

And he once had it all, until his ideas proved too dangerous for the perfect little world they wanted.

But like he said... it didn't matter anymore.

He kept his head down, not wanting for a second to let them know they'd hurt him. After his expulsion, he swore two things. One, he swore to himself that he would never again let them see that they had managed to hurt him. Never again. And two... if the world believes Lucifer Morningstar can only be a liar, a deceiver, and a traitor... there's no point in trying to be anything else.

And if they tell you you're all that and many more insults for millennia, it doesn't give you much choice but to start believing it yourself, right?

He was fine with this... he wanted this.

He could hear the screams and cries. Both realms equally. He'd anticipated it from Heaven, given that he wasn't even considered family by them anymore. Well, they didn't even bother to visit. As for Hell, well, he was blamed for not doing his duties as a monarch. Lucifer wanted to laugh at that. He wanted to laugh out loud to make clear what he's always thought of that damned place. He's always hated that place. He hated it more than any being in either realm could. Sometimes he wondered, seeing how sinners lived as if nothing had happened, that the place was Hell only for him and exclusively for him, because where everyone else managed to live, he couldn't. He could never "live" down there. Since he was expelled, he had never truly lived...

And that place... every damn inhabitant, every single one of them, was the living representation of that. It was like a kingdom of excrement, and every inhabitant, with their damned breath, blew that excrement in his face, and reminded him that he created it all. A king of the shitty kingdom. The King of... of what?

King of Lies? Nah... he was just the king of shit.

And he knew the world laughed at him for it.

He knew Heaven and his brothers laughed at him for it...

It's fair to say he hated it. He hated absolutely everything down there, and if it were up to him, he'd gladly let them destroy each other. Especially the sinners, giving them a gift and not using it well. He envied Heaven for that, among other reasons. They could see who used their gift well, but he couldn't, he never saw it. Not once... they made fun of him again.

He couldn't even leave. Of course, he considered leaving many times, but he couldn't because he was locked up there. He was trapped and chained to the place that was the living, fucked-up representation of his greatest failure. And every day, every second, every breath down there was a constant reminder of that. Everything in his existence, even now as they positioned him to die, on his knees and down like a humiliated prisoner, was a reminder of how he was viewed by the entire universe, as the first and greatest failure of all, of which every miserable second reminded him.

A traitor

An outcast

A mistake

A joke

A villain

That made him laugh a lot, to be honest, because for some reason, people had a tendency to blame him for everything bad in the world. They made up a lot of stories, but they all had the strange habit of saying that "somehow" it was all his fault. As far as he was concerned, that fruit was knowledge, and when they knew evil, evil came. It was humanity's own decision, both demons and angels, to do evil. Him? He never tempted or forced anyone, ever, but of course... those in Heaven needed him, and that's why they wouldn't let him leave or die (until now).

Sometimes he wondered if, with how "powerful and wise" his father was, he knew his destiny. Maybe...

Because if he learned anything, it's that every story needed its villain.

Humanity and Heaven didn't want to admit what they were... so they created a villain... they created someone to say "The Devil made me do it" because it was easier for everyone to blame him and say there was someone whispering in your ear to make you do what you do...

As if that shitty apple forced them to be evil. No, it only allowed them in because it allowed them to understand evil and good. In the end, he gave them the choice, but him? He never forced anyone, and yet they blamed him.

And he started to believe it too... but it was nothing more than what Heaven and Humanity made of him...

He was a buffoon...

He only existed... so that every angel who made a mistake... so that every demon who claims it's their nature... and every human who commits evil, like murdering someone or a child who doesn't make their bed... would have someone to blame.

He only exists... as their scapegoat.

Well, if you put it that way, maybe all of Creation was just as much of a failure as he was!

That was a small consolation. It was tiny, yes, but better than nothing, and he accepted his fate because that's what people wanted. He knew they probably didn't believe it was him who came up with the idea and not Charlie, but it didn't matter; as always, history had an incredible way of twisting everything and making it all his fault somehow. They had a knack for making everything end up somehow as his fault. It was ironic that it was the first time he'd accepted that blame with pride...

Yes... pride...

In the end... no one cared...

He risked everything for something he believed would be good. And what was left? What did he get? He lost everything. His home, his respect, his power, his position, his dignity... he didn't even have his family left.

Except for someone.

Except for one person.

He could hear Charlie. He could hear her screaming and crying, held in chains as she begged for her life to be spared. He looked up, seeing the tremendous effort she had made to come closer and save him. He felt his heart wrench... at what would come with her.

Without him to blame anymore, someone else must be the one they point the finger at... and that's her.

If his father were here, he'd beg him to please forgive her, but he didn't bother coming, so he knew there was nothing he could do to prevent that fate, but...

"Charlie!" He cried, as if life returned to him. There she was. There was something... someone he truly cared about.

Something that had been worth it in his entire life.

His little girl...

She wasn't like him or her mother. From her first breath, she was so sweet. She had no bitterness, no cynicism, only kindness.

She was only good... why did she have to pay for that?

And now the same thing will happen to her as to him... exactly the same thing.

They're going to hate her... they're going to blame her... they're going to detest her...

And they'll let her know it every damn day of her existence, just like they did him.

So... he decided to do the last thing he could, the thing no one ever did for him, and that was to at least try to comfort her.

Because he knew no one else would.

"(Father... Father, please... please... I come to you... humbled... repentant... broken... naked in spirit...)" He thought, with the utmost desperation to ask HIM for help. (I beg you... one thing... please give me the time... to do the only thing... the only good thing in my life... Father, I beg you... give me this victory, give me your voice to calm my daughter's heart... and for once in my miserable existence... let me win just once...)

To win, not to run away or fight or anything... just to know that she would be okay.

"(Father, just once...)"

Please don't hurt her, be compassionate to her, treat her as she deserves.

She has been nothing but good, unlike her parents... and If his father is a defender of his righteous children, it was time he proved it.

Charlie deserves that... deserves to live for both of them, and live like he never could.

Loved... determined... and with her dreams alive... and to win.

"(Father... I beg you...)" He beg, more humiliated than he could "(Let me... let me comfort her.)"

And he gave his pride to the one he hated the most, just for her.

"You...! You were never a burden! You never...! You never wanted more than to help people, even when they didn't deserve it! And that's not weakness or naivety!" Lucifer exclaimed. Never in his life had he felt more connected to his daughter than now. He could see her cry, and he cried with her. "That's a dream! Don't give up on that! If the world is cynical... or cruel... you don't have to be! Don't ever give up on that! Even... even if the world hates you... or mocks you...! That's you! That's my little girl! That's my daughter!"

Michael's sword rose and held still for a moment. The audience was in suspense. Their screams confused Lucifer, unsure if his words could be heard by the princess. He hoped so. He prayed that they would.

"Charlie...! You... are the greatest prid-!" The sword that once banished him fell. Michael finished what he started long ago. His head fell. Heaven and Hell shouted in jubilation. Charlie screamed and wept. The jubilation and joy of everyone else silenced her. If anyone heard her, they didn't care; they were more delighted with Lucifer's death.

Lucifer, in his final moments... contemplated only the truth. Amid the shouts of joy and jubilation, including his family (or well, to them he was no longer family), he could only hear his daughter's cries... and he couldn't comfort her.

He couldn't comfort her or prepare her for what she would suffer.

He couldn't even comfort his daughter.

If he had any doubts about what he was before, in his death, they became clearer than ever.

Because it was always like this... from beginning to end...

For creation... for everyone...

It was always...

For him

He was just his damn buffoon.

(Father... fuck you) - It was the last thing he could think. Then he stopped thinking. Then he ceased to exist.

Really... he was a damn failure...

And the Morning Star couldn't see Charlie taken away.

He couldn't see Heaven and Hell stop to watch her.

He couldn't hear the heartbreaking sound of the Princess of Hell screaming.

She screamed so loudly that everyone heard her.

She screamed so loudly that Heaven shook.

She screamed so loudly that it echoed throughout Earth and Hell as well.

She screamed with the pain of a torn, confused, and hurting soul.

She screamed until finally, for the first time... they heard her.

Guilt, regret, sadness, sorrow, pain, remorse, self-loathing, disbelief, confusion, doubt, hatred, and disgust. All of that and more. Endless emotions swept over her. It was an entire ocean of these emotions that lashed with overwhelming force in the mind of Lucifer's only daughter.

Her dream

Her friends

Her life

Her father

Charlie screamed from the depths of her soul with a mixture of horror, panic, pain, and countless other emotions that overwhelmed her in ways she didn't think possible at the moment. The blood on Miguel's sword, the sound of gathering and cheering, his father's head on the ground—it all caused a massive emotional shock that was reflected in that scream.

The scream that was the death of innocence and the death of dreams.

Before she fainted, her scream did the unthinkable... it made the universe tear itself apart to weep with her in pain.

Everyone heard her. For the first time, they finally heard her.

But they only heard a scream...

But one being... just one... heard it like a cry.

Only one

(-)

Here's a drawing of this idea.

This will count as a spoiler, but whatever, I want to show off the drawing. XD

Chapter Text

"You should know that those who love us never abandon us."

It wasn't a great, powerful, or apocalyptic event.

Nor was it a tragic and sad event in the traditional sense.

It was simply as if in a moment, when life was escaping Adam's eyes and no one was celebrating (as if they already had a premonition of what was to come), something changed in the air. Something changed, in a single instant, with a single action.

The infernal king, with his impeccable white suit symbolizing the mockery of purity, slowly approached the one he had once known in Eden. He met him young, newborn, and innocent. He met him with enthusiasm as he named every animal that crawled on the ground, that soared through the blue skies, and that glided in the sea. He suggested the name of the duck, by the way. They were good times.

He learned all that, and then they went their separate ways, and then he realized he no longer recognized the man lying dead at his feet.

To be fair, he didn't recognize himself either.

Time and pain forgive no one, not even divine beings. Why would they be the exception?

"..." The blond man leaned in, looking closely at the corpse of the man expelled from Eden and exposed to the evil the fallen man unleashed. And that's it? That was a domino effect until today, where he once met an Adam and a Samael from a time so ancient that he wondered if they were really them, or if they had just been replaced, and the real Adam and Samael died long ago.

That was said to sleep peacefully so as not to think about his old name.

But today, as the first man closed his eyes and his body moved away from the cannibals, he could feel the change with everyone else. In a moment, as the exterminators disappeared into the sky, he felt something tear a part of him away.

And without looking around, he knew he wasn't the only one.

He felt it... and for a moment, the world stopped. All the worlds stopped to look up and realize... the black hole where something once stood.

Some never looked at it, others daily, and others only occasionally. But today, everyone saw that invisible but ever-present light vanished. Something that had always been there is no longer. Soon, everyone understood. Soon, everyone felt it.

Not just them, but all of creation, and everyone but the fallen one wept.

Human, demon, angel—what did it matter? It was like feeling a part of their essence severed, as if the very breath of life that defined them all had been forcibly ripped away. They wept for it. Even down here in Hell, for the first time in history, every being wept. They wept helplessly, and they tried hard to stop it, but the tears flowed and flowed, unable to stop them, as hopelessness mercilessly battered their hearts.

Vaggie felt her hands lose all the strength and will she had once possessed, dropping her spear with a dull sound that echoed with the hearts of all the damned souls who looked up to the sky beside her. Her motto, her mantra, her determination to believe that out of love she was doing the right thing and protecting what she held dear had been shattered. She fell to her knees as she looked up at Heaven with the same gaze as his. The harsh reality hit her, and, like him, her mind still couldn't grasp it. She couldn't understand. It was strange to see from the third person how the entire world of the fall shattered completely.

Oh, how many times it happens that you think you're right, but the world spits in your face to tell you the truth.

Charlie's friends weren't any better, to say the least. Tears fell, to a greater or lesser extent, from each and every one of them. Even if they didn't realize it, even if they didn't utter a sound (the hardest ones at least, if hearing small sobs or louder cries was any clue), their bodies trembled as if they were freezing in place. It was as if a coat they didn't know they had vanished, leaving them facing the cruel, icy, and indifferent void of nothingness. Alone without a blanket or a warm fire to embrace them in the face of the cruel and absolute indifference of a massive universe in which they are as tiny as the cells of each other.

Without anyone to guide them or tell them what to do.

Without the warmth of life.

Without... without... without what? The mere thought of it or naming it filled even the most unbelieving heart with pain and despair.

For the first time, Hell felt the emptiness of their parents' true absence.

And Charlie? His sweet Charlie? She just looked up, and what Lucifer feared most happened.

He always dreaded this day. Day after day, night after night, hoping it would never come, and yet, it did. He feared this day, tried to chase it away, but it finally came. Just like him, his little girl discovered that sooner or later dreams end when you wake up to the harsh reality. A reality that neither waits nor forgives. A reality that is simply... cruel.

That destroys dreams.

It's called reality for a reason, because it's really a bitch. Today it decided to be more of a bitch than ever.

Just like him, he could see, almost in slow motion, what happened to him: the light in her eyes extinguished when she looked up and understood the gravity of an act that, in your opinion, was initially good. But the consequences! Oh, the consequences! The consequences don't care if you have the best and most altruistic intentions. They couldn't give a damn about that. It seems they also couldn't care less that the first man was the damn jerk who came screaming for blood, and she did something called self-defense for her home.

But she wondered if it would have been better to have convinced her to run away, but knowing her? Her Charlie wouldn't accept a cowardly way out. Intelligent? Maybe. Reasonable? Also. But cowardly, after all.

So why did she pay the price? The more he questioned himself, the less he understood. The more he wondered... the more unfair it felt.

That's life, isn't it? So complicated that everything seemed unfair, so much so that you no longer knew what was wrong and what was right. Now Charlie would understand... too bad she'd have to learn it the hard way.

He tried, he tried to wake her from her dreams earlier, and he believed she could win where he failed.

How naive of him, right?

In the end, the same thing happened to his daughter as to him... she did the same thing as him... What is this shit? GENETICS!?

Looking up, there was no light.

Only that black hole, which they didn't really see, but through their souls, whose windows were their eyes, they visualized it.

Their creators, Yahweh and Asherah... had abandoned them.

Their creators... abandoned them all.

It's probably the same in Heaven and Earth, so thought the king of this trashy kingdom. He almost felt sorry. Then he remembered what Heaven and Earth had done to him and the existence of sinners, and that sadness faded. Still, he would have loved to see Michael and Sera's faces at the thought of their "loving" parents just abandoning them and the entire damned creation.

And he wanted to say he was surprised... but that would be a lie.

And he knew that, as much as his brothers tried to deny it, they probably weren't too surprised either.

Everyone knew who the favorite was... but...

No one thought they would do something like this... what were the odds that they, they of all people, would do this?

Lucifer, unlike the entire creation, didn't cry.

He just laughed.

"Loving gods... Gods of pure love... GODS OF PURE LOVE! GODS OF NOTHING BUT LOVE, PEOPLE! GODS OF PURE VIRTUE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! GODS FREE OF FLAWS, MY DEAR FRIENDS!" Everyone turned to look at him, staring as if he had grown five more heads. Had madness finally caught up with the depressed king? No, more than that... he felt saner than ever "OUR LOVING PARENTS!"

He wished he hadn't achieved this sanity, finally understanding everything.

For the first time... in eons... Lucifer didn't curse his parents. His laughter broke, and amidst an empty, false chuckle in a symphony of hatred and lament, he just looked up at the sky. Knowing that those parents who claimed to be beings of infinite love had just abandoned them all... And all for what?

For his favorite little boy who had damned himself only because of his own damned actions against Charlie...

And now his daughter cried for grandparents who never bothered to even know her... because of course, she was his daughter, and he wondered how he could be so cruel as to bring something so innocent into this world.

From her first breath, Charlie was so sweet. She wasn't like him or Lilith. There was no bitterness, no envy, no pride, she was just good.

But she was his daughter, and even with that, her goodness didn't matter. She was his daughter. She was doomed from birth. That's why his brothers never visited their niece, or his parents ever...

They never...

Parents who abandoned Heaven, which was always loyal

Parents who left him to rot and let the world brand him a villain

What love...

Gods and parents of infinite love...

"What a joke..."

All of creation... was just a joke

And they, who believed their parents and their enormous lie, were the punchline.

What a good joke...

But no one laughed.

Only him.

Because only he could understand the punchline.

And all he could think was... that they were all part of a huge, cosmic, planned joke.

Damn, was this the plan? Was this the vaunted plan? Was this their parents' meticulously crafted, eons-long plan that only they and no one else knew about? Was this it? To abandon them? To discard them? To leave them to their own devices?

Damn...

What a good joke, really.