"Charlie! Where are you?" Lucifer called out with a smile, cupping a hand near his mouth to amplify the volume.

Recently his daughter had gotten into the habit of hiding from him whenever it drew near to bed time, and while most might be annoyed by their child doing such a thing, he enjoyed it more than anything else in the world. For while being the king of Hell did come with many perks and benefits, he did unfortunately have just as many responsibilities and tasks he needed to do every single day. So when he was finally able to put down his pen, leave the near suffocating confines of his office, and go see his beautiful wife and darling daughter, he relished every second he had with them.

"Charlie~ I know you're somewhere~" He mused as he walked around, making sure to look at every object he passed by with extra attention.

Continuing to explore the halls of his home he would soon find himself entering one of its many storage rooms. For some reason places like these that most children would be hesitant to enter, his bright and beaming daughter absolutely LOVED to do the opposite. Which proved to be the case in this instance, for once he entered the room and began looking around at the countless things that littered the space, he could hear from somewhere close by the unmistakable giggle of his princess.

"Chaaaaaaaaaaaarlie~" He called out again with a grin, dragging out her name as to make her giggle more, "I know you're in here~ Do I REALLY have to come and get you?" He asked playfully.

Waiting a few seconds to see what she might do, soon he could hear the sounds of little feet scurrying across the floor, as well as the shuffling of some of the cloths and blankets that covered some of the objects. Feeling his already present grin grow in size he began stalking the rows of items like a predator, looking between all the cracks and crevices she might be squeezing into.

"You know, the longer you hide from me the worse it'll be~" He warned her as he began wriggling his fingers, "The tickle monster doesn't like it when you hide like this~" He told her.

However, instead of hearing the usual giggles a "threat" like that would illicit, he was met with a surprising silence.

"Charlie?" He asked a bit more serious as he straightened himself, now beginning to look about the space more intently.

Though there was nothing in any of these rooms that could potentially be harmful to his child, there still were some things whether they be paintings or perhaps statues that were rather inappropriate. So while he knew she wasn't suddenly hurt as she would be crying if she were, he believed she had come across something that she hadn't expected to see. Now admittedly concerned as to what she might've found he began moving with a slightly hastened step, trying his best to recall what exactly was stored in this particular room. Thankfully he wouldn't need to search for too long, as after he reached the center of the clutter he looked in every direction possible to try and spot her, catching but a slight glimpse of the bright golden hair that grew from her head.

"Charlie! There you are!" He exclaimed with some relief, as with a relaxed sigh he walked over to her.

As he approached her and began to see what had caught her attention however, every bit of warmth in his body was replaced by a chilling cold. Standing there against the wall was a statue, one that was made in the earliest days of his circle's creation, to serve as a sort of propaganda to inspire his legions. But as time passed by and their collective desire to bring down Heaven burned itself out, this statue along with all other relics of that ancient time were stowed away. Yet for some reason, as he now looked at it with his daughter, it seemed to be giving off an unsettling aura.

"Daddy?" She suddenly spoke bringing him out his thoughts, "What is this?" She asked.

"This...is a knight Charlie, you know like the ones from your stories." He answered hoping that would be enough for her.

"But why does he look so different?" She questioned.

"It's just how his armor is made sweetie, all knights have different armor." He assured.

Having that same silence return as he waited to see what she would do, the moment he saw her reaching out to touch it he immediately lunged forward and grabbed onto her arm.

"Daddy?" She asked as she now looked to him, confusion and a small bit of fear present in her eyes from his sudden action.

"It's best if you don't touch that Charlie." He told her surprised by how he had acted himself, "This statue is very old, meaning it is very valuable, we wouldn't want to get it dirty or even damage it would we?" He asked. Hoping that response would be enough to get her to leave it be, he felt his heart begin beating to its normal rhythm as she nodded her head.

"I'm sorry daddy." She apologized as he released her arm, having felt as though she had done something wrong.

"No no no sweetie! There's no need to be sorry, we just have to be careful when coming into these rooms, everything in here is very sensitive to touch and movement, even the slightest interaction could unintentionally destroy something." He explained as he then picked her up into his arms, "Say, mommy's busy getting herself ready for bed, why don't you and I go to the kitchen and sneak some ice cream before I take you to your room?" He suggested.

"REALLY?!" She practically shouted in his face as her own lit up like a star, causing him to throw back his head in laughter.

"Indeed! We'll even add some sprinkles and whatever else you want!" He told her causing her to squeal in excitement.

Happy to see his little girl's normal enthusiasm and happiness return they then took their leave of the room. But just before the door was fully closed behind them he looked back at the statue one last time, almost as if to be certain it would stay where it was.

.

.

.

"S-Sir?"

It had been several hours since the meeting had ended, all of the demons present were gone to no doubt see their families and friends, leaving Lucifer and his staff to deal with the aftermath. But it wasn't just the remains of one of their own that needed to be attended to, for in light of their current situation and the plan he proposed, he informed his staff he wanted EVERYTHING from storage to be brought to his throne room. And while at first his staff were confused by this, unsure as to why he wanted a bunch of statues, paintings, and other fairly valueless things to clutter the royal space, as the last of the items were brought forward they then knew why.

Though their assumptions were for the most part accurate, as most of the items were things you might find in a gallery somewhere, a handful of them held actual significance and meaning. Such as the statue he had been staring at in silence for the last five minutes, for while at first glance it might not seem special, as they looked at it more and noticed the finer details, they realized it was a holy warrior from the first crusade.

"Sentinels..." Lucifer muttered beneath his breath as he slowly stepped closer to the statue, "I thought we were done with you, I thought that we would never see your kind again, yet there he was sitting across from me, bearing your mark..." He recalled as he thought back to the Slayer, and the all too familiar red symbol present on his helmet.

"Sir? Are you okay?" The same member of his staff spoke again, as their ruler seemed to be completely lost in the trappings of his mind.

"Yes I'm fine, just thinking about the past..." He replied as he placed a hand on the statue's chest, "Tell me, are my wife and daughter on their way?" He asked.

"Yes sir! Though both lady Lilith and princess Charlie were preoccupied with matters in Pentagram city, so it will still be a few moments before they arrive." Another one answered.

"Good...that's...good..." He answered with a small smile, as after what he had seen today it made him grateful they were okay, "Thank you for your service everyone, and thank you for bringing all of these old relics here, you're all dismissed for the day, please go and be with those you care about." He told them.

A bit surprised by how their master was acting, though nowhere near brave enough to try and learn why, they all simply responded with a collective "Yes sir!" before leaving him alone.

"You made the right choice." He thought to himself as his hand slowly balled into a fist, "I hate having to put so much pressure on Charlie, even more than she already has, but this is our only chance at saving everyone...or at the very least us..." He reasoned.

Whether or not it was due to his semi separation from reality, or perhaps his family were simply closer than he thought, he only needed to wait a few minutes longer before the doors to the room were flung open by his panicked spouse and child.

"Lucifer!" Lilith shouted in relief as she ran over to him, wrapping her arms as tightly as she could around his person, "Is everything alright? We were told that something terrible happened!" She exclaimed.

For a few seconds after she spoke all he could do was stare at her, for he truly had no idea how we was going to explain this entire situation to them. But as he felt his hand be held by his daughter, who clearly could see the uneasiness in his expression, he knew the longer he went without speaking the worse their worry would be.

"Let me sit down and I'll explain everything." He told them causing his wife to release him from

their embrace.

"Explain what Lucifer? What in Hell has happened?" Lilith questioned as her husband slowly walked over to his throne, before then practically falling into the seat.

"Lilith, do you remember when we were first cast down here? When this realm was little to nothing?" He asked her.

"Of course I do." She replied.

"And do you remember what it was like back then? How we were so focused on bringing down Heaven itself?" He asked.

"Lucifer what is the point of these questions? You know very well I remember the earliest days of our circle, as well as the ambition we shared with the others, what does any of this have to do with why me and Charlie were told to come here as soon as possible?" She countered with her own question.

"Look at the statue behind you, both of you." He told them.

Confused as to what was going on they simply did as instructed in the hopes they would finally get some answers. But as both women's eyes fell onto the statue, the only thing they received was a sickly feeling.

"Is that...the knight?" Charlie asked, as for a brief moment a memory from her childhood flashed in her mind.

"...Lucifer...why is THAT here?..." Lilith asked him slowly before turning around to face him again, "Why the FUCK is that statue here and not in storage!?" She shouted as anger quickly filled her form.

"Because Lilith, our past has caught up to us." He told her as he closed his eyes, "After this year's extermination was over I was greeted by a Seraphim." He revealed causing her eyes to widen.

"A Seraphim?" She questioned, as the thought of such a high ranking angel coming down to Hell sounded impossible, "Why would an angel of that caliber visit our circle? or ANY circle for that matter?" She asked.

"Simple, to deliver a message, as well as warn us of our imminent destruction." He answered.

"Lucifer you're scaring me." She told him as she walked over with fear rapidly replacing her anger, "What do you mean by destruction? Is Heaven planning to kill us all?" She asked.

"No, Heaven must follow the rules and laws established by God, but if someone who wasn't of Heaven's creation were to seek our end, then they'd be fully allowed to do so." He explained.

For a moment his words confused her, as the thought of someone other than Heaven and its angels even attempting to kill a resident of any of the circles seemed ridiculous. But then a memory from the back of her mind came rushing forward like a tidal wave, causing her knees to buckle and her to fall to the floor due to the sheer fear it brought with it.

"Mom?!" Charlie shouted in concern, as she now was able to break away from staring at the statue in order to attend to her mother.

"Y-You can't mean him, you can't, you just can't Lucifer!" Lilith shouted in a panic as tears began

to form in her eyes.

"What's going on? Why are you so scared mom? Who is he?" Charlie asked in a rapid fashion, as she was the only one present who didn't know what they were talking about.

"I'm afraid I do Lilith." He replied.

"BUT IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! THERE'S NO WAY THAT CAN BE TRUE! THERE'S NO REASON

FOR HIM TO EVEN BE HERE!" Lilith shouted louder now on the brink of having a complete mental breakdown.

"Who are you both talking about? What is going on?!" Charlie repeated, as not knowing what they were talking about was just as concerning as her mother's reaction.

"We are talking about the Slayer Charlie, and how he has come to kill us all." He said answering her questions finally.

"The Slayer?" She questioned, as she had never heard of anyone in Hell who went by such a name.

"He is the most closely kept secret across the circles, every devil and high ranking demon knows his name, and for so long we have kept his existence hidden from our people as to not cause a full blown panic." He began to explain as he then rose up from his seat, "But now that is no longer possible, for the circle the Slayer was focused on is now nothing more than a mass grave, because he single handedly slaughtered every living thing within its domain." He revealed.

"NO! NO IT'S NOT TRUE! IT'S NOT TRUE!" Lilith shouted out in a sob, her fear causing her to be sent into a state of denial.

"LISTEN TO ME LILITH!" He shouted in return, the sheer volume and intensity of his voice managing to scare both of them, "IT IS TRUE! I HAVE SEEN IT FIRST HAND! BOTH FROM THE SERAPHIM AS WELL AS THE SLAYER HIMSELF WHEN HE KILLED A DEMON IN THIS VERY FUCKING CASTLE! AND NOW THAT HE HAS KILLED EVERY DENIZEN OF DOOM HE IS HERE TO FUCKING. KILL. US!" He insisted.

Being at a loss for words both women were completely silent, though it wasn't from this shocking news but instead what they were seeing in front of them. Whether or not he had intended to do so Lucifer as he shouted transformed, not entirely to the point where he was fully different, but his true devilish visage was beginning to reveal itself. Thankfully he seemed to notice that their shock was focused on him rather than his words, so not wanting to scare them any further he took a minute to calm himself down before continuing to speak.

"I'm sorry...I didn't...I didn't mean to shout like that...I'm just...I'm just so fucking scared..." He apologized as he then buried his face in his hands, "I always thought this day would never come...I thought the lords of Doom would be capable enough to keep that horrid monster busy in their realm for eternity...but now he is at our doorstep and I just...I don't know what to do..." He admitted.

Feeling tears of his own begin to form for the second time that day, before he could begin sobbing much like his wife was he felt his arms be grabbed onto by the hands of his daughter.

"You don't need to be sorry dad." She told him as their eyes met, "I don't really know what's going on, nor who or what this Slayer is, but it's clear that whatever is happening is overwhelming, and even the king of Hell itself can be overwhelmed from time to time." She said as a small smile came to her face, "Remember what you were like when you first started playing instruments? Almost every day you were banging your head against the wall out of frustration, saying fuck this stupid

shit and fuck that fucking guitar." She reminded him.

Having such a memory be mentioned even at a time like this Lucifer couldn't stop a smile from coming to his face, as well as the few embarrassed chuckles that followed.

"She's right Lucifer." Lilith spoke, as she got to her feet while dragging an arm across her eyes to wipe away her tears, "You shouldn't apologize for being scared, after all I just had a fucking panic attack." She said in a somewhat joking way, as to try and improve the mood some more.

"Thank you, both of you, I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you in my life at times like this." He responded causing them both to smile as well, "But there is another reason why I asked you both here." He admitted as he looked to his daughter, "You see the Seraphim, besides showing me the aftermath of the Slayer's carnage also presented me with a choice, to either seek redemption or to embrace the end, however when the Slayer was here it was revealed that WE would have to come up with a plan, to try and redeem the countless sinful souls that make up our people." He explained.

"You...you don't mean..." Charlie said, as it soon donned on her and her mother what he was implying.

"I'm afraid I do sweetie, in order to keep the Slayer from sending us all to extinction, we need your hotel." He told her.

"B-But the hotel isn't ready yet! We still have so many things that we need to do! A-And everyone thinks that it's just a joke! There's no way we can convince them to give it a chance so quickly!" She argued.

"You leave that to us honey." Lilith said as she moved to stand beside her husband, "Your father and I will make sure the hotel gets the publicity it needs, and that the people are...persuaded into giving it a chance." She told her.

Even though she trusted her parents more than anyone else there was still so much about this she didn't know, so she couldn't keep herself from worrying and being doubtful. But whatever was going on was clearly important, possibly the most important thing that had ever happened in Hell's history, and so trusting that her parents would do all they could to help she turned around and ran out.

"I'll go back to the hotel! To make sure everything will be ready!" She shouted back to them so they knew where she'd be.

"We'll join you shortly dear!" Lilith shouted back to her before she then looked to her husband, "So, I'll go and handle the media and the PR, while you handle how to deliver this news to everyone without causing them to lose their minds, sound good?" She suggested.

"Yes, I think that would be best." He agreed.

With that settled the king and queen of Hell set out to do what was needed, but not before they shared a long and passionate kiss, for they realized just how lucky they were to have each other. But as the royal family of Hell were now busy trying to save themselves and their people, elsewhere in space and time the very figure who they feared more than any was also busy, preparing his arsenal for a potential second cleansing.