Chapter Twelve: First Meetings and Interrogations

Most of the guests came out, having heard Charlie and Vaggie coming back. Vaggie was a bit tired and was being convinced to get some rest before dinner.

"Hello, my dears! How did your… You seem to have a new guest… And he looks very much like you." Alastor said, looking at Evan. Understanding slowly dawned on Alastor. He'd heard of Evan. He'd never met him, but he tended to avoid him where he could. Alastor was powerful, but he was hardly almighty, and his powers tended to work best in blitz attacks since they tired him out to use them.

"This is my older brother, Evan." Charlie said excitedly. She had missed her brother a lot. She knew that he got up to trouble. She knew that the trouble he caused, especially amongst the Overlords' turfs were a large part of the continued tension between Evan and their father. But she loved her older brother.
"And… Who are these… I'm sure upstanding citizens of Hell?" Evan asked, a skeptical look on his face.
"Oh! Well, this is Angel Dust… He was my first guest. We helped him off the streets and helped buy out his contract with Valentino." Charlie said happily.

"Angel Dust… The porn star?" Evan asked.
"Ah ah! Former porn star." Charlie said proudly. Evan smirked.

"Well… He may be a former actor, but I can assure you he's not a former star." Evan said, the meaning of his comment crystal clear. Angel blushed slightly, caught between annoyance at his aspersions towards him and his casting doubt on Charlie's program. Charlie seemed to take it in stride though.

"Well, anyway… This is Vaggie… You know her. This is Alastor. He's a supporter of our cause. He brought in a few more guests and has stayed to lend his name to our cause." Charlie said.

"Alastor… You're the Radio Demon." Evan said, his tone becoming cold and businesslike.

"I'm sure that a powerful Demon such as yourself has everything you could want in Hell… What is your interest in my sister's program?" Evan asked cautiously. While he knew he had little to fear from Alastor's powers, he knew that the Radio Demon was incredibly dangerous regardless.

"Ah, my friend… My purpose here is the same as my purpose everywhere. Seeking and cultivating ongoing entertainment! Hell can become incredibly dull. The same monotonous goings on day after day, year after year, decade after decade! This Demon takes over this turf and is instated as the new Overlord. That Demon starts a turf war against them and is taken down. Eventually, this Demon is taken down themselves and a new Overlord is put in their place! What excitement can I derive from watching the same things happen over and over again?" Alastor asked cheerfully. Evan nodded suspiciously.

"And what entertainment do you think you'll cultivate here?" The Demon Prince asked. Alastor sighed.
"I really must confess, my purpose here has changed slightly. I still don't believe redemption is possible. I still think it'… Unlikely at best." Alastor said, his grin fading slightly.

"But on another note… The Demons here are happy… For now. And as far as I know, they're safe. I have a wide information network, primarily to help me obtain more fun in Hell. When a turf war is about to start, you can be almost assured Alastor won't be out of the loop!" Alastor said cheerfully, his smile coming back in full. But aside from that, whether or not they eventually face the disappointing, devastating, soul crushing realization that redemption is impossible, they're happy now." Alastor said. He normally didn't lie to people. Normally, he didn't have to.

He was easily powerful enough to take on the likes of Valentino, Sir Pentious and certain other Overlords and win. But Evan was different.

"Is it true that you have engineered the takeover of more than a dozen turfs in Hell by new Overlords?" Alastor asked. Evan nodded.

"Yes. It's true. In some ways, I'm a political and social engineer. I collect tithes from those that I put into power and I take down those that I don't like.

"It's fun to see Overlords squirm, trying to curry favor with me. Whether they want to expand their territory, destroy rival Overlords or simply continue their rule, they think that by sucking up to me, their job will be easier." Evan said. Evan was tall and slender, like his mother, standing about 6'4". He was shorter than his mother by a few inches, but much taller than his father, and he looked a lot like his frankly. Charlie took more after her father in appearance. But Evan had a slow, smooth voice, similar to his father's and a cunning look in his eyes like both his parents.

"An admirable sentiment. I like your moxie, Evan." Alastor said. Evan nodded, sitting down.

"You know, my sister is very important to me. We may not always agree, but those who would see her harmed are not likely to be on my good side." Evan said, making a none-too-subtle hint to Alastor that if he had intentions to harm Charlie or her hotel, that he'd better be on his guard. Alastor chuckled.
"Oh, trust me. If I had wanted to hurt her… I would have done it already. My sole purpose is entertainment." Alastor said. The truth was, he was beginning to doubt whether that was true.

He was starting to enjoy being here. Aside from the likelihood of redemption being a thing, aside from the likelihood that all of Charlie's guests would be devastated when they realized that they weren't going anywhere, they were happy, and Alastor was starting to feel a strange sense of family that he'd never felt on earth. He'd had a wife on earth. He'd had a young son and a daughter on the way. She was born after he died. Frankly, he felt they were better off without him. However they turned out, he didn't really care. Alastor had never really loved his family. His wife just helped him blend into society.

Frankly, sex was not something he was interested in and he didn't like being touched. It turned out that his wife was in Hell too. She found out about his being a serial killer and not only didn't say anything, but actively worked to hide his murders. She lied to the police and actively worked to deceive people. She ended up in Hell just like he did. They hadn't run into each other… Yet.

Evan nodded, reminding himself to be wary of Alastor and to suggest to Charlie that she should keep an eye on him. For the time, he sat down as Alastor went to the kitchen and started cooking dinner. Vaggie was starving again already and Alastor could tell by the hungry gleam in her eyes. He would enjoy having dinner with his sister. It had been ages since he'd been able to do that. Far too long, in his mind.

-0-

"Your name is Delta, correct?" Lucifer asked a young Nessian Hellhound. He'd only recently been transmuted, within the last fifty years when the Hellhound he was set to replace died in a fight.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Delta said calmly. Lucifer always took the liberty of renaming or naming in the case of natural Nessian Hellhounds, his servants. Their new names marked them as his property and through a magical ritual that bound them to their new names, it severed them from their old lives. He could have also made them forget their old lives. But that did more damage than it was worth.

"Tell me everyone outside the palace that you have contact with." Lucifer said calmly. He wanted to know which of his servants was passing information to Evan, and if they were passing information to anyone else as well. Lucifer would immediately know who it was. He could read auras and would know if someone was lying right away.

"N-no one, Your Majesty." Delta said. Lucifer's eyes narrowed.
"Tell me the truth, Delta." Lucifer ordered, his eyes glowing with displeasure. Delta shivered.

"I-I contacted my mother. She's sick and my sister and brother got in contact with me, Your Majesty. I'm sorry for my lapse of judgement. But it's looking like she won't live much longer and I want to be able to see her one last time before she passes." Delta said nervously. Lucifer contemplated for a long moment.

"Your family lives in the Envy Ring, correct?" Lucifer asked.

"Y-yes, Your Majesty." Delta said anxiously. Lucifer nodded, thinking about it.

"I know your family was important to you. Do you agree that contacting them without permission was a serious lapse of judgement on your part?" Lucifer asked.
"Y-yes, Sir." Delta said defeatedly, afraid that his mother would die without him being able to see her again. Lucifer nodded.

"Good. You're fired. I'm going to wipe your memory of your time serving under me and strip you of your powers." Lucifer said calmly.

"At that point, you will be dropped off back in the Envy Circle and you may go back to whatever life you had before." Lucifer said. His punishments were harsh, but fair in his mind. Delta sighed. Lucifer called in Zillah, who brought him down to the Laboratory. Stripping someone of their powers and memories, especially fifty years of memories was painful, and that was putting it lightly. His screams would be heard throughout the palace. While Zillah was outside, she sent the next servant in.

"Your name is… Echo, correct?" Lucifer asked. Echo nodded, sitting down, rubbing her arm anxiously.
"I-I…"
"Sh…" Lucifer said, holding his finger to his lips. She went silent immediately.

"You've been working for me for… Over 300 years, correct? You've served me since before Charlotte was born." Lucifer said, taking the time to set the tone of the meeting and run a few baseline questions to get a reading on her.

"Y-yes, Sir." She said.

"Good, good. What was your name before you came to work for me?" Lucifer asked.
"Tsuki." She said. Lucifer nodded.

"And you're from the Sloth Ring. Is your family still alive there?" Lucifer asked.
"As far as I know, Sir. I haven't had contact with them since I came to work for you." She said.

"Good, good. And you haven't had contact with anyone else outside?" Lucifer asked. Different Hellhounds required different tactics to interrogate them. Delta was a tough individual, so a tougher interrogation wouldn't make him shut down. Tsuki was more sensitive and needed a more conversational touch.

"No, Sir. I miss my family and I miss my friends. But I haven't talked to anyone outside the palace." She said. Lucifer nodded. He sensed no lies coming from her.

"Very good. You may go." Lucifer said. She nodded, hurrying out and sending in the next Hellhound.

"And what is your name?" Lucifer asked as a rusty furred Hellhound walked in. He had a black eye and a swollen lip. He was bleeding.

"My name is Night. Sorry about how I look. I was sparring when I was called here." Night said in a gruff tone. Lucifer nodded.

"Please, sit." Lucifer said calmly as Night sat down. Lucifer talked to him for about five minutes to start.

Then, he began the questions.

"I have learned that at least one member of my Hellhound staff has been passing information to the outside. I'm sure that you know the penalty for such insubordination." Lucifer said, using veiled threats in his case. He could tell that Night was a difficult Hellhound to cow. He had been with Lucifer, one of his head bodyguards for over 700 years. He was from the Wrath Ring.

"I do." Night said calmly. He didn't seem worried and Lucifer could tell that he was innocent.

But all steps had to be taken.

"You aren't passing information to anyone outside the palace, are you?"
"I'm not. My family is dead by now and so are my friends and loved ones. I have nobody but your family." Night said calmly. It seemed like he didn't even care that much about his old life.
"Good. You may go." Lucifer said.

Night nodded, leaving and sending the next Hellhound in.

-0-

"Damnit, Charlie! Do you even realize how sheltered you are!" Vaggie shouted, slamming her fist on the table, cracking it in a long, wide spider web of cracks.

"Whoa! Hey, Vags… Take it easy, Toots!" Angel Dust protested.

"Shut up, you has been whore!" Vaggie snarled.

"You've never had to work a day in your entire 250+ years of life! You've never had to fight just to survive! You've never had to worry about where you would go during an extermination!

"You've never had to eat out of trash cans or do something disgusting just to make sure you had somewhere to sleep or something to eat! You think you can redeem these people!" Vaggie demanded, gesturing to everyone else there.

"You don't even understand them! You never have! You never will! Because why would you have to! You're the fucking Princess of Hell! Your father is the king of Hell! A demon would have to be psychotic to even think of harming you! You got the money for this hotel from your parents.

"You're powerful and damn near invulnerable! What the fuck do you know about the life Angel or me or Husk or Pen have lived? Sure, you listen to us talk about them during therapy! Sure you know intellectually what we've gone through. But you can't empathize with us if you haven't been there!" Vaggie snarled. She was in a particular mood and she wasn't taking any of Charlie's boundless and right now Vaggie felt, unwarranted and unearned optimism.

"Go out into Hell and live on your own in the shoes of a common Demon for four months! Then come back and tell me that you understand us! Go on! Do it!" Vaggie snarled.

"Vaggie! Are you out of your mind?" Evan demanded.
"I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU ROYAL PIECE OF SHIT!" Vaggie screamed insanely. Charlie whimpered, transforming into a common Demon, a Hyena Demon. She left the Hotel, walking randomly for hours until she found herself quite lost. Fortunately, Evan had taken note of her new appearance.

He drew a very good likeness of her so that they could find her later. Vaggie slowly came down from her rage and realized what she'd done. She collapsed on the couch in tears, realizing that Charlie would be beaten and killed if she hadn't been already. Even Vaggie had never seen the true extent of Charlie's powers. Nobody in the Hotel had except for Evan, who had sparred with her many times and though he never needed to use the full extent of his powers, she 9 times out of 10 did when they sparred together.

"She-she's going to die… And it's all my fault." Vaggie sobbed.

"We have to go get her!" Vaggie said urgently.

"Now, now. Hold on. We definitely need to take it in turns to keep an eye on her. Not because she's not powerful enough to handle herself, but because she's innocent enough to think that she can get out of any situation by talking about it. I for one think that while your words were unnecessarily harsh, Vaggie… They may have ultimately helped her. I think that this foray may make her better equipped to deal with the sinners that she claims to be able to help.

"Selene, Lupa and Lorcan, I want you to go out and track her down. Keep yourselves hidden, and unless you see her genuinely in trouble, don't make yourselves known. She must be anxious enough as it is. But use your judgement. This is a learning experience for her. But it shouldn't be a deadly one for her. She can experience the struggles of the underclass without potentially facing death. But she should believe that she could die. Which of you are good at acting? Have you taken acting classes as part of Lucifer's private army?" Evan asked skeptically.

"Actually, I'm good at acting. And so is Lupa." Selene said calmly, taking the picture of Charlie's Hyena form and going out with Lupa and Lorcan, showing the picture around. By nightfall, they found Charlie, but were staying out of sight of her to not alert her to their presence.

-0-

"Skara Dibriakond. Age?" Lucifer asked.
"530." Skara said.
"Height?"

"5'7"." Skara said.

"Is your fur light silver?"

"Yes." Skara said.

"Are both eyes golden?"

"No."

"Is one eye golden and one eye blue?" Lucifer asked.

"Yes."

"Good, good." Lucifer said.

"I've discovered that at least one of my Hellhounds has been passing information to the outside. Now, regardless of whom they are passing information to, that's a very serious offense and is deserving of death." Lucifer said calmly. Skara tensed slightly. How had he found out? Had Evan betrayed her? No. He wouldn't do that. He loved her. He would never tell his father, whom she knew he was tense with at the best of times about their relationship, about how she gave him information.

"I-I see…" Skara said stiffly. Lucifer nodded.

"Yes. It's a very serious crime. Information that comes from this palace is expected to remain strictly confidential. I've interrogated most of the Hellhounds here and all of the Created Ones. Now, I have only to interrogate about 15 or 20 members of one of the Families." Lucifer said calmly.

"And as you know, I always get the information I seek." He said. She was starting to tremble slightly. He could see the anxiety and fear in her eyes.

"Why did you do it? Why did you pass information to Evan? Of all the people you could have passed it to, he's not the worst since he's at least family. But the point remains that if you can't be trusted not to pass it to him, who has been away from the palace for over 100 years, you can't be trusted to keep it secret from common Sinners or other Demons. I'm afraid that I'm going to need to fire you. As you may know, Nessian Hellhound powers can't be stripped from a Natural Nessian Hellhound… Not without killing them. So your punishment is execution through the stripping of your powers." Lucifer said.

Skara tensed, growling in fear. Lucifer nodded and called in Night and Eclipse, two of his oldest Created Hellhounds, ordering them to take Skara to the dungeon to await execution. All the fight seemed to drain out of her as she was taken away and put down in a cell that was designed to suppress her powers.

Fortunately for her, Evan could sense her anxiety and fear and realized that something bad must have been happening to her.

"Excuse me, Ms. Vagatha. While Charlotte is of course a major concern of mine, it seems that something important is going on at the palace that requires my attention. If you'll pardon me, I really must excuse myself." Evan said. He knew that Charlie was in good hands between the Nessian Hellhounds and Vaggie and Alastor. He was sure that ultimately, she had little to nothing to fear with them watching her.

He headed out, going back to his own stronghold, which he used the money that he got from taxing dozens of Overlords who were under his thumb and began working on some elixirs that would aid him in getting into and then getting out of the palace unnoticed.