Chapter Text
Wooooaaaow Weeeeeoooow Wooooaaaaooow
The sirens wailed in the distance as he ducked for a hiding place, his eardrums ringing with the symphony of destruction that was Hell on Extermination Day. It was his sixth—no, eighth….eleventh? (It’d been so long since his first he’d stopped counting)—Extermination day here; one would think he’d remember every time the fear that gripped his heart and made his fur prickle whenever he heard those sirens start.
He spotted an ajar door and dashed through it, closing it behind him gently so as to not notify any nearby angels of his location. The red pentagram moon shone through a crack in the window, giving him just enough light to tip-toe and hide underneath a suspiciously large couch that reeked of pee, sweat, and alcohol. He heard a whimper and spotted the glowing eyes of two Sinners huddled together in a half-open closet door. The cat demon had half a mind to get up and shut it for them, but the creak of the door snuffed out his plans.
Red light bathed the room in shades of crimson and made him aware of the screaming and squelching of bodies on the pavement outside. A winged silhouette appeared and he sucked a breath in through his teeth, praying to God or whoever the hell people pray to down here that no one made a move.
If they did, they’d all die.
Heavy footsteps thudded down near his face and he heard the sound of scraping metal. Scraps of wallpaper drifted down, landing on the ground in front of him. The cat flinched when shoes appeared in his peripheral vision. Glowing white claws sliced up the couch like salami and he looked into the glowing blue eyes of the angel of death.
“Heh-heh, t-time to die, k-kitty.” The angel’s bright blue smile glitched and it raised its hand, ready to strike him down. In a split-second decision, he swerved out of the way of its deadly claws; he summoned his wings to cover the closet door, pinned his ears back, and bared his teeth.
“You’ll have to try harder than that, scum,” He sneered, unsheathing his claws and preparing for a fight.
Gong
Gong
Gong
The bells signaling the end rang out across every Ring, and the angel’s smile melted into a grimace. “Looks like you won’t even get the chance. Buh-bye, li’l birdie.”
The heavenly being turned, and without another word, it flew away with the rest of its flock as the bells gong’d to a halt. He folded up his wings and moved away from the closet.
The broken radio lying on its side crackled to a start with an eerie green glow to it. Something distorted cackled until it smoothed down to a man’s hearty chuckle. “Ha-ha! That’ll be the end of the Extermination, folks! I hope all of you made it home in one piece or your finger might end up being served as a cake topping in Cannibal Towne! Ha-ha-ha!....”
He shut the door behind him and smoothed down his ruffled fur. He brought out his contact mirror and began applying a new layer of eyeliner. Being aware of his surroundings, he stepped over a dead body, but (unfortunately) his tail-feathers smacked its barely-attached arm, coating the tip of it with blood.
“Gross.” He shuddered, turning around and sitting down on a nearby bench he tried shaking off the blood from his poor tail before it ideally didn’t permanently stain his tail an ugly purplish-green color. He considered taking a short nap—the shoot yesterday was particularly long—but he was quickly shooed away as his mind reminded him of what other Sinners would love to do to a dolled-up Sinner such as himself.
The cat’s ear swiveled when he heard panting, and a loud clip-clop (of hooves). “Hello! Hi! Uh, you! Sinner!” He turned to see a tiny demon hunched over next to him, hands on knees. “’Cuse me. Oh, wow, that was a workout. How do Sinners travel without wings everyday?” The demon stood up and dusted himself off, eyeing the seat next to him. “Uh, mind if I sit there?”
Oh, no, please tell me this isn’t another demon begging for my attention. Nevertheless, he flipped on his “star persona” and smirked seductively. “Sure, sweetie, do whatever you want~”
The imp-guy sat on the bench and he got a good look at him.
He had a dark red, almost black, coat with golden (linked) buttons and dark gray bell bottoms. He wore a ridiculously large white hat with a red underside, stripe, and apple; there was also a golden-gray snake wrapped around the top and a grand golden crown. Red horns and droopy goat ears stuck out of blonde streaked-with-white hair. One of his ears had a nick taken out of it and a golden hoop earring. He was fidgeting with something underneath his sleeve, seemingly zoning out while his tail and golden-tipped hooves tapped on the ground.
“What is it that you want, short king?” The cat demon didn’t miss the eye twitch by the other, who seemingly snapped out of his trance and dug through his pockets and handed him a neatly folded up paper.
~~~
(Note: We are not responsible if our receptionist eats your meagre supply of friends, or if our maid steals your belongings or damages you. We are also not responsible if you go deaf hearing rubber ducks quacking 24/7—don’t ask.)
Come to the Hotel for Hazbins if you’re interested in atoning for your sins and eventually (hopefully) going up to Heaven! You’ll be able to see angelic loved ones again and/or be safe from Exterminations.
Call us at XXX-XXX-XXXX if interested or just shout “I HAVE RUBBER DUCKS” as loud as you can. I’m sure our manager will come running.
**waiter/waitress needed**
Current staff members are….
~~~
He scanned through the list of members, deciding to humor this poor guy. “So….you are who on this list?”
“Well,” The demon began, counting on his hand. “I’m the manager, recruiter, aaaand—”
“—the King of Hell, Lucifer Morningstar,” The cat demon finished for him. “Weren’t you the one who signed the Extermination Contract in the first place? Why the sudden change in heart now?” He folded up the paper and passed it back to the King.
“Well, I, um….I wasn’t thinking clearly then, my marriage was breaking up, etc. But….I can make up for my past poor decisions now. Sooo….are you up for it? Will you join us?” His red eyes got big and sparkly.
“Sure, I’ll be your waiter,” I’ve got just the perfect outfit for that one; one of my movies involves a waiter outfit anyway. “So this’ll send me up to Heaven, no strings attached?” And Val won’t be able to do anything?
“Sure it will, um….” Lucifer hesitated, clearly messing up on his name.
“Husker.”
“Ah, yes. We do redemption activities every day—or every day we can and you’ll be our first patron! We offer free room and board at the palace….”
When people say Lucifer had magic, he had magic.
A whole freakin’ palace, just for him! (Well, most of it.)
Still, inviting anyone into your house must be a risky gamble, even for the Devil from the Bible himself. From the point five seconds he’d interacted with him, this five-foot-tall demon must be inviting anyone he meets off the streets and into his Hotel. With how populated the Greed Ring was, he wouldn’t be surprised if the King woke up one day and found his crown stolen or his royal bedsheets or something.
Husker followed Lucifer through the grand palace doors; his tail stiffened when he heard a long, drawling sqqquuuueeeaaakk.
He glanced down and picked up a half-inflated, grinning rubber duck off of the floor. Come to think of it, there were a ton of rubber duck piles everywhere. Drawers, bags, you name it….they were all (poorly) hiding more and more of the squeaky bath toys.
Yet, Husker couldn’t resist asking. “What’s with all the rubber ducks?” He tossed the still-inflating rubber duck in his paws into a nearby pile.
It hit the other yellow birds and he didn’t miss Lucifer’s eye twitch. “Well, I, um, really, really love rubber ducks. Have you SEEN them? There’s nothing more adorable than these li’l guys.” The King cooed, picking one up and enthusiastically squishing it.
“What his Majesty means to say is, he’s got extensive rubber duck knowledge and would love to chat about them for hours on end. Although, sadly, there isn’t enough time in our mortal lives for that.” Said a voice; this one was deeper and had a more French-Southern crackle to it; he sounded like he was talking out of an old-timey radio.
Lucifer’s smile was blinding as he abandoned the rubber duck he was messing with and turned to the voice’s owner. “Oh, Al, guess what? We have a GUEST.”
He glanced around the King to whoever he was talking to; “Al” was a deer demon reading some kinda book behind a desk, looking incredibly bored despite never dropping his smile.
He had rich dark brown skin with pale brownish-yellow freckles; his teeth were yellowish-orange, bordering on brown. His hair was dark red and curly, with black tips and swoopy bangs; it was tied back in a bushy ponytail. He had large black antlers and ears, with several chunks taken out of the latter (many nicks looked like teeth marks or bites). His vest was gray with white sleeves and a black bowtie. There were also glowing red scars peppered on his face and neck. The demon’s piercing, bloodred eyes flicked over at them and he sized him up, closing his book shut as the adult film star approached him.
“Heh, nice to be meeting you, my deer~”—He snickered internally at the deer joke—“my name is Husker.” The cat demon winked, fully aware of the deer’s sudden tension and the static buzzing in the background growing louder.
Al put his book on the counter and rummaged around underneath the desk, muttering something in French before pulling out a pad of paper and a weird-looking pen. He adjusted his monocle and stared at him.
Husker frog-blinked before realizing that the deer demon wanted him to speak. “OH! Um, I’d like a room and a job here? I wanna be the waiter. No need for clothes, I’ve got some.”
Al merely scribbled something down on the paper. “And what more? Any decoration requirements? Luggage? Speaking of luggage, where is that blasted intern I hired earlier?” The deer glanced around and tapped his pen on the paper.
“Oh, um, nothing specific. If my room could look like a casino, that’d be great. No luggage, by the way.” The demon wetted his lips, flinching at the manufactured taste of the sweet lip gloss he was forced to wear.
The deer demon stood up and dusted himself off, rising to his full height. He was taller than Husker—certainly taller than Lucifer; when Al walked out from his desk, he noticed black-and-red hooves and a red-black-white tail poking out from under his vest. He plucked a cane off of the wall; it had a long black staff and some fancy gold microphone in the middle of an intricately-cared frame with a star-like support system (likely a microphone, but not one he’d seen before).
As the demon led him, alone, through the tacky red, rubber duck-splattered hallways, puzzle pieces clicked into place in his head.
“Aren’t you the guy who has the radio show? You, uh, always play jazz music, right?” The cat couldn’t stop himself from blurting out loud.
Almost as if on cue, said music genre began playing softly in the background. The radio host warmly chuckled, twirling his cane. “Ah, it’s always nice to hear the general public still has some taste that isn’t those mind-numbing videos online.” He hummed contently.
Being a part of those “mind-numbing videos online”, Husker took personal offense to that. “Oh, I don’t listen to you. My boss’ boyfriend does; I can hear him cranking it all night.”
The demon’s eye twitched and the jazz abruptly stopped. “Ah. I see. Who is your employer again? Is that mafia imp Crimson from the….” He eyed him, predatory ruby eyes catching on the hints of green covered in blue on him. “Greed Ring.” Al finished.
You could tell a lot by a demon just based on their look. Every Ring had a specific color associated with it, and even a newbie to Hell would soon learn. His boss insisted on pretending that his Sin was Lust, as it was the only way he’d be allowed access into that Ring, but he had been greedy in his previous life.
“No. It’s none of your beeswax anyway, jackbass.”
Husker noticed light up ahead and they entered a sort of entertainment room, clearly a remodeled ballroom. A grand staircase took up nearly an entire wall, practically dripping with gold and red. On one side, an actual dance room surrounded by stray tables and chairs. The other side housed a decent sized bar with an impeccably clean surrounding. Rows upon rows of bottles—alcohol, he assumed—lined the walls, all arranged neatly according to size.
There was a demon standing there on the counter, sipping a mug of coffee that said, “Don’t talk to me once I’ve had my morning coffee”. She had pink skin and pinkish-red fire blazed around her pink-and-black horns. She had tiny pink-and-black wings and wore a white sweater with green overalls and a mini yellow bow with two cute pom-poms in front. Her shoes were black with blue soles and the overalls only went to partway down her thigh. Her pink-red tail flicked around behind her. All around her body were golden hoops: two on her horns, one on her tail, and two around her neck.
And the employee shining the glass behind the counter next to her….
Husker groaned.
It was Ángel Du$t.
His “co-worker”.
The spider didn’t appear to see him and he pretended to ignore him too, and it succeeded until he had to go down later, for a “family dinner”.
Al led Husker to his room, passed him the keys, and disappeared into the shadows with his toothed smile glowing.
Eventually, he got tired of winning nothing but rubber ducks and decided to explore his room. True to his word, Al had it tailored directly to Husker’s preferences. The walls were painted a dark color and there were slot machines built into the walls. Every single one of them always ended up in him winning, but the only prize was rubber ducks. The floor was a dark carpet with faded spade patterns and the bed was a normal one, with a plush, fluffy gray comforter and the bed was arranged in a circle, like a cat bed if he supposed. The pillows were equally as fluffy and when he sat on it, it was a water bed. Ironic, really, considering that cats hated water.
On the walls, he knew that the paint had recently been applied, but he could see the imprints of drawings on the wall. A poorly drawn rendition of the King and the absent Queen holding hands with goofy smiles and red hearts, and two little girls on either side of them were there; along the walls he could also see the same little girl, the one by the King, drawn along the wall as well, many drawings with the King and the girl alone.
Once he got bored of this, he decided to go down.
But there was one problem: there were two doors. He supposed one was likely just a closet, but no harm in trying either one of them.
Husker took the one closest to him; it revealed a musty, dimly lit hallway. Night must’ve come faster than he thought, ’cause this hallway looked different than he remembered. As the Sinner ventured downward, he noticed that the hallway was splitting off into an intersection.
Shoot. Now which way do I go?
Oh, well, left can’t hurt.
The cat demon walked out of the hallway, growing increasingly more on edge as he couldn’t find the end. The lights were flickering now and the hallway got increasingly more dirty. His ears perked up when he heard a scuttling sound and Husker whipped around, golden eyes narrowed and slitted in fear.
His breath hitched when he saw a creature standing at the edge of the hallway.
It had many long, lanky black arms that bent in weird ways. Crimson liquid dripped from its chest and eye, staining its glowing, creepy white smile. Its singular orange eye was laser-focused on him; the cat demon heard a cracking sound as its hand shot out with a glint of silver to stab a bug nearby.
Husker let out a scream and backed slowly away, his heart pounding like crazy. He knew it was Hell—plenty creepy, unsavory characters here—but nothing ever seemed to prevent him from being startled by the other Sinners there. He heard the clip-clop of hooves and Lucifer appeared, sans hat, with frazzled blonde hair.
They paused and looked at each other and then at the grinning creature. The King burst out laughing and a ball of golden fire appeared in his palm .HE shone it at the creature and revealed a cutesy-looking girl with a black-and-white dress, curled reddish-orange hair, and two red spots on her white shirt. Antennae stuck out of her bangs; they were greenish-gold.
“Husker, this is Niffty; she’s our maid. You wandered accidentally into her cleaning tunnel. She gets her own since at least one of the staff members here finds her annoying. I suppose you can use these, but you might get lost,” Lucifer scratched the side of his head and disappeared in a swoosh of white and-dark-red. “Follow me back to the Welcome Center.”
He was never so glad as to see the bored face of Ángel as Husker was set outside. “Alright, awesome. Time for, uh, your first—” Something rang in his pockets and the King pulled it out. “Oh, uh, sorry, I gotta….t-take this.” Lucifer shuffled away, a stressed look on his face as he disappeared behind the staircase.
~~~
“Al….
….AL….
….ALASTOR!”
His voice made the red-haired deer snap his neck with an irked smile; his whole body turned around when he realized the owner of the voice. Lucifer gestured for the Sinner to come over and paused while he waited for the two to be within talking distance.
“My sister called, Al. She wants a ‘civilized’ meeting with me.” The King said, digging his claws into his exposed bicep. “And she says, ‘You can’t bring any pet Sinners with you, either.’” He rolled his eyes and summoned his hat with a snap of his fingers.
“Pet Sinners? Preposturous!” The tall demon cleaned his monocle on his sleeves and turned away towards the group of tiny Sinners clustered near the bar. “Oh, well, I suppose I’ll watch them all on my own, again.” He sighed exaggeratedly.
Lucifer elbowed his business partner and scoffed, “Whatever, a-hole. But….thanks, anyway.”
He adjusted his hat and stepped forward, feeling something warm blooming in his chest; the Sin took a deep breath.
“Oh, please tell me you’re not about to—” The deer began.
“I can do this, somehow I feel it,” Lucifer sang, ignoring Alastor. “I’ll get Heaven behind my plans~”
“Luci, hold on—” The poor deer reached forward, but the demon was already bounding away.
“There’s no way they’ll do this, but I’m sure they’ll give me a chance!” He looked out the cracked-open window at the burning crimson landscape that was his Kingdom.
“It’s just another problematic meeting,” His friend huffed.
Lucifer grinned and winked at him as he stepped closer to the window with a mischievous look on his pale face. “Aw, cheer up Al, this could be swell! Something tells me that today’s gonna be a happy day in Hell!” He took a running leap out the window.
“Uh, did he seriously just—?!” Alastor’s eye twitched. “Please tell he isn’t—”
Mid-drink, Husker glanced out the window and back with a red-tipped grin. “Oh, he’s dancing.”
“Ugh, no—”
“There’s a weird fuzzy feeling that wafts through the air. Every person so revealing (of friendship) it’s hard not to stare! A realm so appealing, it beats anywhere. If you don’t mind the smell~” The King’s hoof squished and sank into the collapsing hole that was a dead Sinner’s stomach. He wiggled it frantically, thinking he could magically get it off.
“It’s a happy day in Hell! Hey, mister!” Lucifer waved at a Sinner smoking on a bench.
“Go die!” The guy snarled, flipping him off.
“There’s an endless trash fire that’s burning my soul~” A rabbit demon pushed open some windows, fire burning along their back and on their arms.
“Hello!” He waved.
“Got a ton of barbed wire to shove in a hole.” An imp cackled, sneaking away with a large bag on their back.
“Ah, that’s not very nice.” The goat Sin tutted.
“Doing what is required, we all have our role.” A large guy practically jumped him, wielding a large bloody axe.
“I’m not doing well~” Some guy sang in the background.
“ANOTHER STUPID DAY IN HELL.” Many Sinners chorused, immediately dispersing once their part was over.
“If I can show them the dream I’ve dreamed: that any soul can change! From the evil to the straaaange….”
The radio in a torn-up building let out a feedback screech and Al’s voice rang out: “They’re bloodthirsty and de-ranged!”
Lucifer tapped the top of the radio twice with the tip of his (newly summoned) cane before continuing on his journey. “I can hear all their stories, the lost and displaced. I know they’ve all got an….” He spotted two Sinners joyously feasting on another Sinner’s corpse. “acquired taste. If I open the door and give them a place….in my Hotel! It’ll be a happy day in Hell!”
The King hopped on the back of a van marked, ‘I.M.P.—Immediate Murder Professionals’. He hummed a tune the whole time and held onto his hat as his jacket flapped in the wind.
“From the studio, where the cinephiles go to watch award-winning reality shows!” He hopped off, landing on his hooves in front of his business partner’s favorite place in Hell: “To the Cannibal Towne, where they don’t wear a frown and—holy DUCKS, oh my gosh, why?!”
Three cannibals were just casually ripping apart a dead demon or two, chowing down like one would on a steak or an apple. Some stuff flew out in his direction and he flinched back too late.
“And I don’t give that….brains got in my I-hi-hi~!” Lucifer wiped desperately at it and, once satisfied, tipped his hat to the ladies before shuffling away as fast as he could. The Angelic Embassy was just a few meters away….
“I know that I can spare them from Heaven’s genocide!....I can do this!”
(“There’s an endless trash fire that’s burning my soul.”)
“I’ll get Heaven behind my plans~ There’s a small chance I could blow it!”
(“Why is there barbed wire in my sleeping hole?”)
“I’ll be sure to get Heaven to change their minds—”
“And touch my PARTS!” A slug demon interrupted, green ooze gushing from their mouth and getting all over his suit.
“Uhhh, no thanks….” Lucifer declined politely, edging away with his arms waved up in surrender. He used magic to get rid of the ooze, but the stains were still there, although barely visible. “I’ll just….fulfill my destiny!”
(“Your loss, weirdo.”)
“Something tells me that today’s gonna be a happy day in He-e-e-ell!” He pushed open the doors to the Embassy and stood there, feeling proud of himself.
The walls shone with an ethereal glow, sheets of shiny angelic steel arranged into beautiful mosaics depicting his (not-so-beautiful) Fall from the colorful paradise that was Heaven. One would think all these angelic steel would’ve been stolen or damaged by the masses, but none of his subjects would dare to take any; it was like a deadly flower, pretty to the eye, but deadly in every other way.
In this grand hallway, his confidence packed up and ran away, leaving him with nothing but the anxiety his sister’s call had sparked earlier. His own voice echoed, as if mocking him:
“Hello?”
“Anyone there?”
“I’m….here for the meeting?”
A golden paper suddenly appeared in front of him, as well as a glowing quill. Lucifer’s diamond-shaped red eyes flicked over the terms and he signed on the dotted line. The paper and quill disappeared and in a flash of white light, he appeared in a new, brightly lit room. The King had to cover his eyes, adjusting to the light slowly before removing his hands entirely.
In front of him was an oval-shaped, smooth wooden table with many padded blue seats surrounding the table, all equal-sized. The walls had immaculate murals of Heaven and no windows, clearly wanting the viewer to believe they were up in that paradise rather than the cesspit of Hell. At the end of the table, his two sisters were there.
Seraphiel—Sera, for short—was still as tall as ever, dwarfing this whole room, seeming to fill every inch of space while filling none at all. She wore—from the waist up—a sleeveless white turtleneck with a pastel-blue stripe that ended partway through her midriff, with black gloves and eyes along the side of her arm. The tips of her gloves were claws of pure holy steel—just a step above angelic steel, enough to seriously wound the King of Hell if he wasn’t careful. She had some sort of mask on—the horns were black with thin white stripes like a female imp’s—and glowing white eyes and mouth. Her halo loomed above her head, bright and unflickering. Her blue wings were tucked close to her, one pair covering her thighs and another pair resting at the sides of her face like ears.
His younger sister, Emiliy, was standing behind her, wearing a similar mask except with corkscrew-like horns. She had her hands behind her back, but he assumed she had the holy steel claws as well. Her gloves were black and went all the way up to half her bicep, exposing half a shoulder. Her shirt had a scale-like pattern on the upper part up until the giant blue eye on her chest. Below, her shirt was white and lasted up until her black belt and jagged-edged white skirt with purple lining and eyes. Her boots were gray and her wings looked clean and healthy, just like all the other angels. Her purple wings were covering her face and the half-lidded blue eyes looked irritated to be there; the two free pairs were resting at her side.
“How nice of you to finally join us, Lucifer.” His older sister finally spoke up, gesturing for him to sit down. The demon ex-angel did so, a nervous grin plastered on his face. “So….you said you wanted to talk about your Hotel?”
Just hearing the words “want to talk about your (blank)” in the same sentence never failed to excite him. He took a big inhale and slammed a box of rubber ducks he’d made just for this. Both angels flinched at the sound.
“DO I?!” Lucifer coughed and cleared his throat, suddenly wishing his hat was a little bigger. “*cough cough* Okay, so, I bet I don’t have a lot of time so here it goes *ahem*. I know Hell’s population is out of control, but the Extermination is taking a toll,” He grabbed some Sinner-inspired ducks and pretended to hit them with angel-inspired ones. “And it must be annoying to schlep all the way here. But if they join you in Heaven”—he mimed the Sinner ducks going into “Heaven”—“that trip disappears! It’ll be a happy day in—”
“Wait,” Sera chuckled, holding up a hand and stopping the King mid-lyric. “Let me stop you right there, save us both precious time~”
“But—you need to listen—”
“If what you’re suggesting is letting them climb up the ladder, oh they’d rather cross the pearly gates?” Her tone went high and mocking before returning back to her usual pitch.
“Well, uh—” He fumbled for an explanation—heck, anything—but Sera hopped on the table and kicked his box off, scattering the squeaking rubber objects around.
“Sorry, Luci, but there’s no defyin’ their fates ’cause Hell is forever whether you like it or not! They had their chance to behave better (including you) now they boil in the pot!” The older angel sneered and glanced over at Emiliy, who matched her expression; the two were just like a well-oiled machine. “The rules are black-and-white, there’s no use in tryin’ to fight it! They’re begging for their lives until we kill ’em again!”
“Really? I mean, I think—”
“Just try to chillax, Luci, you’re wasting your breath. Did I hear you imply that they don’t deserve death? Are they Winners, are they Sinners, it’s cut-and-dry.”
“Well, actually,” Lucifer grunted as he set the rubber ducks on the table, arranging them neatly and trying to pick one to prove his point. “if you take a look—”
“Fair is fair, an eye for an eye, yeah! When all said and done~” Sera sang louder, just to drown him out.
“Said and done~” Emiliy chorused in the background.
“There’s the question of fun~ For those of us with divine ordainment….EXTERMINATION IS ENTERTAINMENT! Bow now now guitar solo heck yeah!”
As his sister continued with her guitar solo, he stared, wide-eyed, processing. A seraphim, saying she enjoyed the suffering of others? He was kicked out of Heaven for less! (Well, technically, it was worse in hindsight, but still….!)
How could she say something so sadistic?
How can I use that to my advantage? A tiny voice whispered in his head.
“....Hell is forever whether you like it or not,” The elder clapped along with the beat. “They had their chance to behave better now they boil in the pot!”
Silver exorcists melted out of the walls, surrounding him. “Where’d you people come from?” Lucifer tittered, horns elongating and eyes glowing red as he was more protective of his box.
“’Cause the rules are black-and-white, there’s no truth in trying to fight it! They’re burning for lives until we kill ’em again!” In a burst of angelic energy, she summoned a hecka-cool-looking guitar and solo’d on it. “Frickin’ HELL IS FOREVER and it’s meant to suck a lot! So give up your dumb endeavor ’cause you don’t have a shot!”
He growled at the mock angels and got them to back away; he watched Sera smirk at him.
“Long as I’ve got your (limited) attention, I guess I should probably mention that we’ve made the determination….to move up the next Extermination!” His sister shoved a calendar page in his face. “Couldn’t wait a whole year to slaughter you little runts! You’ll be so weak when we’re back in THREE MONTHS!”
With a well-placed kick to the chest, Lucifer was tossed out along with his ducks, struggling to catch his breath. He panicked when he realized the doors were closing on him. “Wait, Sera!....Ugh, shoot!”
….
Just a few more blocks and he was home free.
For now, it was just a long stretch of land until his palace came into view, so he was walking. He didn’t feel like flying right now, so they’d all understand if he was a little late, right?
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw fog and turned around. Pentagram City was blotted out but he could identify the figure approaching him.
“No….it can’t be….Lilith?”
….
…
..
.
~~~
Her little sister came into the room with the data from the latest Extermination. It was quite a boring thing, sorting, so that’s why she made Emiliy do it instead.
“How many’d you get today?”
“Got a good 275 today, ma’am.”
“Awesome! Pound it, dangerwings!”
They stood in comfortable silence for a while until she broke it. “Anything new?”
The angel wordlessly projected an image on screen of a decapitated Exorcist, frozen in her death throes.
“It seems like the Sinners may be getting too brave, especially with what’s happening with their King.”
“Ah. Then that means I know a certain Hotel that’ll pay the price….”