Redemption & Salvation First Drafts

by Josh Mystic

Title says it all. These are the original versions of my stories for this crossover concept. Reposted for everyone's enjoyment.

36. Seven Days

Day 1

The last of his free hours had finally come to an end, even though this was according to the time in Lucifer's circle he knew, what could be his final week as the Slayer started now. It is for this reason that he would rise from his seat and leave his den, for even though he was still questioning which decision was the best overall, regardless of what he chose he determined the best thing he could do now was to handle any remaining business. The first matter that needed his attention were the prisoners he kept, though to be honest there were only two he would allow a chance to speak, the third he never intended to see any ounce of freedom ever again. Yet as he went deeper into his fortress where most of the cells housed in its walls were kept, he would find that those two prisoners were already summoned, both sitting against the wall opposite from their doors.

"Hm? Oh there you are!" Sir Pentious greeted with a smile, "Your AI companion said he would speak to you about releasing us! So are we going to get collars like Katie now?" He asked.

Watching as both demons approached the doors of their cells with hopeful looks on their faces, the Slayer...had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. Vega hadn't mentioned he would personally interact with them, not that it was a bad thing of course, just something he wouldn't have expected his partner to do. But even so from the look on their faces in addition to the fact that they were in cells, it was clear that whatever exchange happened between them and Vega was enough to convince him they were ready. And while it might've shocked some people that was actually all

the Slayer needed to trust them, Vega had been his partner ever since he met the Maykrs, combine that history with how absurdly intelligent he was and there was no reason he shouldn't trust his judgement.

Still there was one problem, the Slayer hadn't requested that Vega should make more collars yet, so they had no way to help stabilize their souls for transit outside of these cells. Though it shouldn't take that long for them to be made as Vega was as quick as he was intelligent, so at most it would probably take him a few days to make them. Yet as he tried to contact him he was met with silence which caught him off guard, and it would happen again when he tried a second time.

"Is...something wrong?" Vox asked for both him and Sir Pentious, as the Slayer just stood there staring at them.

Huh, this was odd, the only times Vega didn't respond to him were when he was focused on running various simulations for combat purposes, or he was in conference with the Maykrs. But for some reason this didn't feel like either of those times, so he decided after raising a finger to convey to them to wait a moment, that he would go to the main terminal of his fortress and see what was going on.

"Um...what just happened?..." Vox asked his fellow prisoner, assuming that since he'd been here longer he'd know what that was.

"Don't know, usually the AI speaks for him, perhaps something's wrong?" He suggested.

Walking back up the several different sets of stairs though this time a bit quicker, he would reach the main terminal in less than a minute and begin checking to see what Vega had been keeping busy with. But to his surprise and frustration, he discovered that he not only contacted the others in Lucifer's circle, but he also went there not long after they returned to the fortress. Assuming that

the only reason he'd still be focused on them was due to the fact he broke his promise, the Slayer finally got his attention via the terminal by establishing a communication link. However, for the first few seconds when the AI connected there was total silence, for much like a parent catching a child sneaking a cookie from the cookie jar so too was the Slayer standing there with his arms crossed waiting for an explanation.

"...I'm sorry." He apologized out the gate as there was no reason to try and lie to him, "I did my best to keep silent per your request, unfortunately it is quite difficult when several pairs of eyes, all filled with concern and anger at the current situation, are staring at you demanding transparency." He explained.

Staring "angrily" at the console himself for a minute or so the Slayer couldn't keep up this charade any longer, though he was irritated Vega told them everything he was one of the few people he could never actually be angry with, not after everything they'd been through. Still this complicated things by a HUGE margin, because if there was one thing he learned better than any during his stay in Lucifer's circle, was that everyone there ESPECIALLY the Magnes were persistent. But before he could deal with that mess he needed to sort out the one he was currently focused on, illustrating that for Vega by bringing up the surveillance feed of the two cells on one of the screens.

"Ah right the prisoners, I assume you want me to construct two more collars for them to wear?" He asked earning a nod in response, "Very well, I will have them ready in-"

Suddenly he went silent, which never happened unless someone interrupted him, but after a few seconds he came back to explain.

"Forgive me, I was being requested by the others to inform them of why I had suddenly stopped speaking, which unfortunately means that they know I am talking with you right now, and all of them are demanding to see or speak with you, how do you wish to proceed?" He asked.

A part of him wanted to respond whether through Vega or by just going to the hotel, but there were still a few things he needed to do before that could happen, so he "told" him what to do.

"I see, I will inform them that you are currently preoccupied with other matters, I will do my best to keep them from pressing any further, however that will not be easy." He said as he too was well aware of their persistence, "I will also begin manufacturing the collars for you, by the time you take care of your other tasks they should be done." He told him.

Nodding again to show he understood he would then end their connection, unintentionally forcing the AI to face a VERY not happy group of Hellspawn.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE FUCKING ENDED THE CONNECTION?!" Angel Dust shouted

angrily.

By this time for them it was just a little after midnight, though thanks to some beverages Alastor brought back from the kitchen everyone was still feeling right as rain. Now normally they would question ANYTHING that he did, but considering he actually knew how to cook and the beverages themselves were good, they were able to let their guards down. This is how they planned to stay up for a LONG time, Alastor assured them that they wouldn't feel the health degradation of not sleeping for possibly this entire week, so long as they drank these concoctions he made for them.

Though they would still need to eat actual food and use the facilities of course, can't forsake the benefits of proper eating and hygiene just because you're not sleeping!

"Do you need me to repeat myself?" Vega asked sincerely causing him to sigh.

"No Vega it's just, why the fuck won't he let us help him?!" He asked.

"I understand your frustration, but the Slayer sees this as his problem and his alone, while he appreciates your want to help him I'm afraid he'll be rather steadfast in his refusal of it." Vega answered.

"Couldn't you just open us a portal so we could go talk to him? Then he'd have to deal with us." Vagatha suggested.

"This is true, however he is dealing with actual matters of importance and isn't just ignoring you, I believe he might get upset if we were to try something like that at this current time." He explained.

"So what else do we do then? The only way we get to do something is if we go to him or he comes to us, we pretty much have no other options." She replied.

"...Actually..." Lucifer spoke with closed eyes to gain everyone's attention, "There...might be another way we could do something, but there's just as good of a chance that it won't work." He said.

"So what it's a gamble?" Loona asked.

"Yes, but if it works then we might be able to bring this entire situation to a peaceful end, so long as both he and I are able to have a civil conversation with each other." He answered.

"Lucifer, are you suggesting what I think?" Lilith asked causing him to nod.

"I can try and reach out to Gabriel, and if I can't do so directly I can perhaps reach out to another of our siblings to see if they'll get him to speak with me, I know he hasn't been cast in the best light because of all this and I certainly made it seem like he's an ass, which he is, but I say that mostly as his brother and not necessarily because I think he's a bad person, incredibly stubborn, set in his ways, and so certain that he knows truly what is right and wrong..." He trailed off.

"Wow, I can FEEL the love just coming off of ya, feels like bourbon or whiskey in how it burns my insides like charcoal." Husk told him.

"Look, my point is that despite being an archangel he isn't perfect, I've been able to realize my personal faults and failures because of someone making me face them." He said.

"Yeah, cause if you didn't you'd be dead." Blitzo replied.

"...POINT. IS." He repeated just wanting to get through his damn statement, "I'm sure I can appeal to Gabriel's rationality, of course I'll need some time to try and reach out to my siblings, it has been countless ages since I've even spoken a single word to them, but surely all the tension from our family feud way back then has to be gone by now, I'll also need some time to think about what I'm going to say to him exactly as he'll just have a counter point at the ready for everything, but I'm confident if I can just talk to him as a person he'll listen." He explained.

"That does sound like a good plan, but it also sounds like it's gonna take a while for you to even give it a try, what do we do in the mean time?" Cherri asked.

"I believe I might have a suggestion for that." Alastor spoke stepping forward, "Luci, am I correct in assuming that you are going to use all the good that has come from the Slayer's presence as an argument?" He asked.

"Of course, wouldn't make any sense to leave that out, why?" Lucifer inquired.

"The whole reason our big silent friend came here was to ensure the sinful were redeemed, yet here we all are just standing around twiddling our thumbs worrying about him, a man who has killed creatures the size of entire continents by just staring at them for long enough, so I propose that our contribution to making this whole mess go away is to focus on the hotel, focus on getting things going faster than we have thus far, that way if your brother needs true undeniable proof of the good that comes from cooperating with the Slayer he'll have all he needs right here." He explained.

"Yeah that's a great idea Alastor!" Charlie exclaimed as a smile came to her face, "We could start by getting some more staff in here to show the hotel's up and running, we could show how much everyone's improved just by him being here, and we can even show him that Porn Studios is closed! Since ya know it WAS a pretty bad place, no offense Angel." She said while looking to the spider demon.

"Oh no offense taken, looking passed the fact it was Val's operation a lot of disgusting shit just went down there period, like I remember this one time-"

"Nope, we get it, we don't need a mental image." Katie told him as she put her hand over his mouth.

"Speaking of the hotel, I actually have an announcement to make regarding two new guests." Vega revealed.

"Wait really?" Katie asked while doing her best to look down at the collar, a confused yet curious expression on her and everyone else's faces.

"Sir Pentious and Vox have proved to me and the Slayer that they are ready to be allowed their chance at redemption, I am currently making two more collars for each of them to wear, once that is complete I shall deliver them to the hotel." He answered.

"Oh...my...gosh..." Charlie said slowly as once again a smile, though this one much greater than the last, spread across her face from ear to ear, "Do you know how AMAZING that is?! A well known crime lord and an Overlord staying at the hotel, this'll be huge for us!" She exclaimed just as a thought came to mind, "Unless you don't want Vox to come here Angel, you know cause of...everything..." She told him.

"Pfft nah I'm cool with ol tube fer brains staying here, don't get me wrong dude was a dick, but the worst thing he ever did to me was just being buddies with Val, all my fucking hatred for the Vs was for him and him alone, plus if he's proven himself to Vega and Will then I don't need anything else, if anyone's a good judge of who's an asshole or not it's him." He explained.

"Yeah likewise, snake boy was a pain in my ass but he was admittedly the fun kind, I really do miss giving him a hard time, will be fun to have him around again ESPECIALLY since he'll have to be SUPER DUPER nice to me." Cherri said giving her two cents on the matter, a sadistic grin present all the while.

"Great! So with them being okay that means-" Charlie was about to say, only to stop once she and everyone else saw Alastor.

Though he wasn't completely different, there was a very obvious twitch to his eye and a rather ominous aura now coming off of him.

"Um...are...you okay Alastor?..." She asked hesitantly as none of them had ever seen him like this. "...Vega, not that I'm questioning your judgement or the Slayer's by any means, but are you

ABSOLUTELY certain that this is a WISE decision? After all even if Vox was not the worst of those three they were still a tight knit group, perhaps he's just trying to work some kind of angle?" He suggested.

"Why do you only suspect Vox of this? Why not also Sir Pentious?" Vega questioned.

"Heh, while he was certainly smart enough to build his own contraptions and inventions, the fact is that snake was a few scales short of a new skin." He replied.

"I can attest to that." Cherri agreed.

"Vox on the other hand has both the cunning and the tact required to wield it properly, there's a very good reason he was successful down here and how he became an Overlord, all the while managing to be a constant thorn in my side." He explained.

"Ah, so you have a personal grudge with him, are you sure that isn't clouding your judgment of his capacity for change?" Vega asked.

"I'll admit, in such a case like this I am possibly not a completely unbiased judge, I'll even confess to the fact that Vox is the only one capable of making me lose my composure, to the point where I'll freely spout profanities." He answered.

"YOU SWEAR?!" Husk questioned in a shout, as he would've never imagined him of all people cursing.

"ONLY when he is concerned, however even with this knowledge I do still think my opposition to this holds merit, the three Vs as a whole were some of the most feared Overlords, not only for how much they controlled or how powerful they could be but because each brought something unique to the table, Valentino though horrid was a force of nature a commanding presence that entered a room and dominated it immediately, Vox was the brains behind their entire operation and although I despise him I do still acknowledge just how smart he is, then you have Velvet who was the wild card of the three, no one not even her own companions could ever guess what she might do." He explained.

"I see, you do make a valid argument Alastor, and given you know Vox more personally than either I or the Slayer your insight is very helpful, but still Vox has shown the fastest turn around for any of the demons who have been killed by the Slayer, even though it was Valentino who threw him out the window." Vega replied.

"Even faster than me?" Katie questioned.

"Your situation was much different miss Killjoy, you were directly interacted with by the Slayer and were given your ultimatum then and there, Sir Pentious despite being denied initially was given another chance because of how much progress you have made, but Vox so far has been the only demon imprisoned from this circle, who showed true guilt and sorrow for what he had done and what he has lost immediately, so with all of this information Alastor do you still oppose him being a guest at the hotel?" Vega asked.

"Yes, but mostly for my own personal reasons, as I said I do not call your judgement or the Slayer's into question, it is just going to be a bit difficult for me to get used to him being around here." He answered.

"But no incidents will occur correct?" Vega asked. "Not unless he instigates them." He answered.

"Excellent, then unless anyone else has any objections or issues they'd like to voice we can proceed with their residency." Vega stated.

"Oh! I have something to ask!" Nifty exclaimed while waving her hand. "Yes miss Nifty?" He inquired.

"Did Vox say anything about Velvet? Since she didn't die." She asked.

"Why do you care about that?" Angel Dust was the first to question, as everyone had that same thought come to mind when she said it.

"Because she just looked really sad during the broadcast when he died, she even attacked Valentino, so I just figured they were close." She explained with a shrug.

"That is true, from our interaction Vox does seem to be quite close with her, or at the very least he has a high opinion of her." Vega said.

"So he did talk about her then?" She repeated really wanting to know for some reason. "Correct." He confirmed.

An awkward moment of silence then befell the room as no one really knew how to continue the conversation after that, as they were all too fixated on the small woman's weird interest in the two Overlords. But then again she did seem to be rather passionate when it came to things relating to love or relationships, so maybe she just thought they were meant to be or something.

"...Anyway..." Lucifer spoke up to get everything back on track, "I will go home to begin preparing for my talk with Gabriel, while at the same time try to see if any of my siblings will help me." He said.

"Do you want me to come with you dear?" Lilith asked.

"I think it would be best if you stayed here hon, even though Tom and his crew have already done their promised coverage of the hotel, I HIGHLY doubt given all of our new guests and how much of a celebrity the Slayer has become, that we won't be getting even more residents as well as a visit from a few nobles." He answered.

"True, speaking of nobles what has been keeping Stolas and his daughter?" She asked now looking towards Blitzo.

"Funny thing about that, when we went to go see him he said he couldn't meet with us, told us to come back in a few days." He answered.

"Hm, that's odd, but it sounds like he may already be doing all he can to help bring more of the nobles on board, still be sure to check on him after today will you?" She requested.

"You got it." He replied holding a thumbs up.

"Well, it seems like we've got a plan figured out for now at least, is there anything else anyone wants to say before we get started?" Lucifer asked.

"I got one, how long till this shit wears off? Cause Lucifer can get started since he just has to go home, but we can't really do anything right now cause everyone else in Hell's asleep, so how long before we can join'em?" Cherri asked while holding up her drink and looking to Alastor.

"It's not keeping you awake in the same way as caffeine or sugar, all it does is make it so your body is...frozen in time so to say, at least in regards to needing rest, however if all of you want to go to your rooms and fall asleep you can." He answered.

"Oh, then g'night yall." She said with a wave as she headed for the exit.

With this information everyone besides Lucifer decided to do the same and go back to their rooms. Yet as everyone left the dining hall no one seemed to notice that Alastor, Nifty, and Husk all stayed where they were, all choosing to wait until the others' footsteps went away before speaking again.

"Know what? I'll give it to her, girl does know how to make good potions." Husk said as he looked at his drink, "How does she do the flavor part though? Like seriously usually potions taste like ass, but this shit tasted like apple." He questioned.

"I have absolutely no idea! I wasn't lying to you when I said I couldn't brew for squat, and I have no reason to watch over her as I know she won't betray us." Alastor responded.

"Yeah that's true, honestly feel really bad for her, I know she's as fucked up as everyone else down here but what she went through was real shit, the kind that makes you an alcoholic." Husk said.

"Speaking from experience are we?" Alastor asked.

"Fuck you." He answered immediately not giving him an inch into his past.

"Hopefully with Vox coming here soon it'll make her feel better!" Nifty exclaimed before a realization hit her, "Oh wait, they don't know she's working with us, and it'd be weird for her to just randomly show up to the hotel..." She said slightly saddened.

Noticing the swift change from joyful excitement to disappointment, Alastor with tightly shut eyes and gritted teeth gripped his cane before replying.

"...Or...we could bring her here after another day has passed...and I can think come up with an explanation..." He barely managed to get out, as every single fiber of his being hated the idea of doing anything nice for his rival.

"Wow, that looks like it would've taken a few years off your life, if that kinda shit still mattered." Husk told him.

"DO YOU REALLY MEAN IT ALASTOR?!" Nifty questioned far more excited than before.

"Yes, for while I do truly detest him I know it would help Velvet's recovery and rehabilitation if she could see him, so I'll make sure it can happen without too many questions being raised." He assured.

Letting out a squeal because this filled her with all kinds of happy feelings, even Husk in his jaded ways couldn't deny how cute she was in this moment.

"Glad to see you so happy dear, but now you and Husker best get back to your rooms before any suspicions are raised, I'll go and speak with Velvet and tell her about what's going on, as well as check up on her progress with the truth potion." He told them as he headed for the kitchen to leave out the back.

"Oh! I still need to talk to you about the potion I want her to make me!" She exclaimed as he went through the door.

"Seriously, why do you need her to make you a potion? What do you need one for?" Husk asked genuinely curious at this point.

"Can't tell, it's both a secret AND a surprise!" She answered quite giddily, before then heading to the lobby with a skip to her step.

"Aw come on Nifty enough shit around here's secret, just fucking tell me." He replied as he followed behind.

Over the course of this entire situation Gabriel hadn't run into any roadblocks, a few deceiving turns and shocking revelations but nothing that fully stumped him. Yet as he was nearing the end of the tome which held all of the information Pravuil had on Vega, he was met not with disappointment but merely confusion. While the Maykrs were certainly capable of making an artificial sentience, his history began rather spontaneously. The first sentence of the tome explained that his entire conception was a result of the Maykrs desire to aid the Slayer, and although that did make perfect sense it was how quick he was made that perplexed him.

Vega was just turned on so to say, his history didn't explain how he was made or what helped to define him as a sentience, no details on his programming or his design were present. And even when he asked for his brother to give him the tomes of the Khan and Samur, to see if he could maybe find a point in their histories when they built him, it read the exact same as his own where they basically just turned him on. So on top of everything else he was having to think about and mull over, he now was faced with the mystery of where Vega even came from, for there's no possible way that he just popped into existence.

"Have you found the knowledge you seek yet brother?" Pravuil asked from the main chamber, as his sibling had been reading those tomes for quite some time now.

"Unfortunately no..." He answered with a sigh as he finally closed it, "Despite going over every page and detail you have written as closely as I can, I've been met only with another problem that must be solved." He explained.

"Is there anything else I may do for you then? Any other records you wish to view?" Pravuil asked as Gabriel took his leave of the other chamber.

"While I am appreciative of the suggestion I'm afraid it will do me no good, if there are no answers or even simple clues to be found in the Khan or Samur's records, then the likelihood I'll find anything worthwhile anywhere else is slim to none, but this is something I will have to further investigate once I deal with the current issue." He answered as he now headed for the exit.

"Gabriel." Pravuil said to keep him from leaving just yet, "Although it mustn't be said, do try and keep a level head about all of this." He advised.

"Why do you feel the need to say such a thing brother?" Gabriel questioned.

"As the watcher for all creation I have seen everything, this of course includes any such incidents or moments in time that could be described as problems, even matters on cosmic or divine scales such as this one always tend to move at a faster pace than they should, which in turn causes those who are in the midst of it to not think as clearly as they normally do." He explained.

"What are you getting at exactly?" Gabriel pressed further.

"There is a saying common amongst most mortal races, those who do not learn from history shall repeat it, and if you have not noticed brother that is exactly what is happening here, though in place of Lucifer it is the ascended mortal." He said.

"What transpires now is in no way similar to what happened back then." Gabriel replied now turning to face his sibling.

"I am the scribe for all creation Gabriel, if anyone would be able to see how similar both events are it is me, both of these incidents started when an individual took it upon themselves to make a difference, it then escalated when they clashed against powers and others who stood firm in their ways and beliefs, and for both it ended in war with countless lives from all origins being affected severely." He told him.

"But this has not yet ended in war." Gabriel argued.

"Hasn't it? Instead of seeking some sort of middle ground with the ascended mortal you have given him a choice, you also incurred his fury when you said that you would have all of the denizens of Lucifer's circle eradicated indiscriminately, and as a final strike of the match to ignite the flames of war you said you would be willing to kill Lucifer and his family, our own brother and the niece we have never met." He countered.

Upon hearing that the archangel would fall silent though not because of realization, instead it was from guilt.

"...I...didn't mean that...I...would never..." He said softly.

"I know brother, you were lost in your emotions as the long awaited confrontation between you and the ascended mortal finally happened, which may I remind you has happened only one other

time." Pravuil replied.

"Yes, but that happened not long after we came to be, I should have far greater control over myself now, and yet that man managed to illicit those same burning emotions within me as Lucifer did back then..." He explained.

"Why do you think that is?" Pravuil asked.

"Because I was made by our creator to carry out justice, to ensure that the balance of all creation was maintained, the worthy rewarded and the wicked punished, so when Lucifer came forward with his ideas and notions of how things could be improved...and so many agreed with him...it felt as though I had failed in my only purpose for existing..." He answered as he closed his eyes, "Just like how I felt the moment he first appeared...when we all took notice of his culling of Doom's hordes...and especially when he finally brought the dark one to his end..." He admitted with a sigh.

"It is not my place to tell you anything Gabriel, or anyone else as I am but a scribe, but my position does allow me to offer every kind of perspective, so I hope given what has transpired you do not hold any anger towards me." Pravuil said.

"Of course I don't, but now I must rethink many things, along with doing something that has been long overdue." He replied as he turned back around and began leaving.

"Which is?" Pravuil inquired unable to keep himself from being curious.

"I am going to take some time to gather my thoughts and consider my words carefully, before finally facing the one person that I haven't in an eternity." He answered.

Day 2

"YOU HAVE A FUCKING MECH?!" Sir Pentious shouted with widened eyes and a slacked jaw, as both he and Vox stared in amazement at the technological behemoth.

The first day of the week had gone by rather quickly, with everyone everywhere all keeping busy with their own important tasks. Of course this was going off of the passage of time in Lucifer's circle, as well as the other circles of Hell and even Heaven itself. For while one realm was pure and the other was corrupt, the properties of both were shared and equal which helped to keep the management of creation running smoothly. But then you had the mortal realm, where the passage of time was reliant on a staggering amount of factors, less of course a portion of it was directly tied to one of the divine realms, such as the earth that was connected with Lucifer's circle and the Exterminators portion of Heaven.

Which is why time moved so much faster for the Slayer in his fortress, though Doom had chosen his universe and all the worlds within it to serve as their prey, and Urdak had of course been given it as well because of that fact, those aforementioned factors were what dictated how fast time went there. This is also how Sir Pentious and Vox's collars were already done and they were out of their cells, as when Vega said it would take a few days he was referring to their time and not Lucifer's.

"After everything I've seen, endured, and have learned about you and those things, this really doesn't surprise me too much." Vox admitted casually, though of course he was still awestruck by the mech's sheer size and advanced technology.

"Who cares about that, if you had this massive piece of machinery on hand why not just show up with it? I would have NEVER fucked with you if you did!" Sir Pentious exclaimed.

Taking a moment to make sure he was actually being serious, both the Slayer and Vox gave him some time to see if he'd answer his own question. Sure enough, as he didn't receive an answer he looked back to the mech, this time due to his initial shock now gone noticing how badly damaged it was.

"...Riiiiiiight..." He said with squinted eyes.

"Is that why we're out of our cells? Do you want us to help you fix it?" Vox asked. "Correct." Vega answered unexpectedly.

"Oh hey you're back." Sir Pentious said.

"Indeed, I apologize for my absence but seeing as how we needed to wait for your collars construction, I decided the best use of my time was to assist the others back in Hell, they're quite busy hiring staff for the hotel and further promoting the good it will do." He explained.

"Is Velvet staying there?" Vox asked, for while he had been told the Slayer didn't harm her he still didn't know what became of her afterwards.

"No, however on that topic no one can seem to find her, ever since the incident at Porn Studios she's not been seen, she's possibly in hiding." He answered.

"Damn it..." Vox cursed beneath his breath as he looked to the floor, "She's probably scared out of her mind after what happened, I really hope she's okay..." He said.

"Do not worry, once you help the Slayer in repairing his mech he will assist you in locating her." Vega assured him.

"Really? You'd do that despite you know...everything?" He asked.

"Of course, though there is the condition that she does become a guest of the hotel like you, do you think she'll agree?" Vega responded.

"If I'm there she definitely will, in fact she'll probably want to stay in the same room with me." He admitted.

"I don't mean to interrupt." Sir Pentious spoke up gaining their attention, "But how exactly are we supposed to get this massive machine fixed in a timely manner? I mean if you've had all the time in the world to get it done and it's still broken, which isn't an insult, how can we even with our combined intellect help you at all?" He questioned.

"Simple, given that the Slayer has been dealing with greater concerns than his mech being fully operational he has not had any time to focus on its repair, thus leaving all of it to me and the drones I have constructed to assist in this task, but with him now getting personally involved along with your aid as well as mine, I estimate that by tomorrow in Hell's time it will be in a nearly complete state, at which point all three of you will be able to take your leave as I will be capable of finishing the work alone." Vega explained.

"If that's true then we should get started, if we finish fast enough we might be able to leave when it's morning or noon, would be better to get there before its night and we have to wait till the day after to look for Velvet." Vox said.

Nodding in agreement the Slayer would walk away to lead them to a nearby elevator, which would take them down to the section of the fortress where they could then access the mech.

"Do. Not. Fail Us Again." The deep voice told Sir Pentious though in his mind, as its owner used the Lost Souls inside his own to communicate with him.

"I-I won't, just tell whatever those fucking things are not to get in my way, that smile they pulled the other day could have fucked us over if Vega saw that shit." He replied via his thoughts, as speaking aloud would truly be the worst thing he could do.

"...Ugh...I never thought I'd say this...but I wish Alastor were here right now..." Lucifer groaned as he laid his head on his desk.

Even with an entire day spent alone Lucifer had nothing to show for it, less one were to count the sea of crumpled up paper that formed a layer atop his floor. As for why the devil was actually yearning for the aid of radio demon, it stemmed from the fact that since last night he hadn't slept a single wink. So with bags under his eyes, a pen nearly broken from overuse, and a body that begged him for the sweet release of death, he remained there hoping the right words would finally come to him.

"Lucifer?" The voice of his wife would call followed by a knock at his office door, "Sweetie are you in there? And if so are you okay?" She asked.

"Your husband has died I'm afraid...all that remains in his seat is a corpse waiting to be collected..."

He tiredly replied.

Hearing his office door open after that, followed by a surprised "Oh my." from his wife when she saw all the paper, he still kept his head down even as she walked over to him.

"Have you slept at all?" She asked once she reached him, having to be a little careful as to not trip over the wads.

"No...I've been doing my damnedest to try and figure out what I will say to him, so I thought the best thing I could do was write it down and read it to him to make things far less awkward, and now I am the king of paper..." He answered.

"Well, it's a good thing I brought this in here then isn't it?" She asked as he heard her set something down on his desk in front of him.

Looking up just barely to see what it was his eyes widened the moment he did, for his beautiful, caring, considerate wife had delivered him a delicious looking meal.

"Oh my god..." He muttered as he sat upright, his stomach growling so loudly that you could actually hear it.

"Wouldn't that just be oh my creator?" She asked, only to burst out laughing at the look he gave her in return.

"I've already got enough to deal with trying to think of how this meeting with Gabriel will play out, I don't need to worry about the rest of my family, especially not my parent." He told her as he reached for the tray his meal was on and pulled it closer.

"I'm sorry dear it was just so perfect..." She replied whilst wiping a tear from her eye. "Glad to see one of us is in good spirits..." He muttered before then digging into the food.

Watching in amazement at how quickly he was eating the meal, it donned on her that he truly mustn't have had anything to eat at all yesterday.

"Lucifer, I get that you're worried and you want to do this as well as possible, but please don't do so at the cost of your health." She said with genuine concern.

"We're only going to get one chance at this Lilith, I have to make sure I don't fuck it up horribly." He replied, though it was pretty hard to make out as his mouth was full of food.

"I understand that, but it won't help us at all if I have to drag you there myself because you're at the brink of death." She argued.

"...Actually...if I WERE to work myself to near death that would allow me to speak with Azrael more easily..." He realized.

"LUCIFER!" She shouted at him angrily.

"Well she IS the embodiment of death itself! What better way to get her to see me other than croaking? Or at least getting close." He asked.

Completely befuddled that he was actually suggesting this, Lilith to assert her authority as his wife and the queen of Hell went to his side and smacked him upside the head.

"OW!" He shouted out as she had given that slap her all, even went so far as to bring her arm

behind her for maximum impact.

"We have enough to deal with Lucifer without you trying to speak to your sister by nearly KILLING YOURSELF." She told him whilst crossing her arms, "But seeing as how this is driving you to a point of absolute lunacy I will personally contact her, while you continue working on what you will say to your brother." She said.

"What? No dear that won't be necessary I swear I'll-"

Immediately going quiet when he saw the look she was giving him, the last time she looked so stern and angry was when Charlie was a little girl, as around the time she learned to speak she picked up a VERY colorful vocabulary from him.

"...So...I'll finish up my meal and get back to work, while you'll try and reach out to Azrael, that sounds good to you right?" He asked nervously.

"It sounds perfect, in fact I'll go do that right now." She decided before heading out of the room.

Wincing as she did for she slammed the door as hard as she could, knowing well this would not be the last he'd hear about it he let out a sigh.

"I swear, when am I going to get my turn to be angry with her? In all of our years together she's never once done something I can get on her case about..." He whined before returning to his meal.

(Meanwhile...)

"Why are you smiling all of a sudden?" Loona asked, as out of nowhere Blitzo now adorned an ear to ear tooth filled grin.

"I don't know, I just got this random surge of joy, almost like something somewhere happened that I'd be happy about." He answered.

To the surprise of everyone in their group, as they were eating breakfast Stolas actually called Blitzo and asked if he could come over as soon as possible. Now they would've been concerned that something might've been wrong because of that, but seeing as how spoke as loudly as possible and seemed overjoyed, that quickly dispelled any worry they could've had. Still it was rather odd, not necessarily because Stolas wasn't the type to get excited or passionate about something, because Blitzo knew VERY WELL that he was, but they had no idea why he'd be so elated. But whatever the reason may be they were about to find out as they drew closer to his manor, already noticing from where they were that the gates were open.

"Man, he really was expecting us to just drop everything and come running huh?" Loona said as they approached.

"Yeah, even for Stolas this is a little strange, but then again he's rich and they are fucking weird..." Blitzo replied able to speak entirely from experience on that one.

Walking through the open gates and up to the two front doors, just as Blitzo raised his hand to knock on one of them they were flung wide open.

"THERE YOU ARE BLITZY!" Stolas shouted in glee before picking him up in a hug, even going so far as to do a few spins with him in his embrace.

"That is by far the happiest person I've ever seen..." Loona said with widened eyes.

"STOLAS...WHAT...THE FUCK..." Blitzo barely grunted out as the owl was squeezing the air right out of him.

"Oh Blitzy you're going to be SO happy with the progress I've made! With Octavia's invaluable help of course!" He replied, apparently not planning to release the imp anytime soon.

"Where is she by the way?" Loona asked as she looked around, noticing how despite the abundance of his staff being present she was nowhere to be seen.

"She's currently in her room handling a few things, such as making sure our cause has a prominent online presence! I didn't even know you needed such a thing but she did! I'm so proud of her!" He exclaimed while squeezing Blitzo even more.

"Would you hurry up and start telling us what the fuck you're going on about Stolas? AND WILL YOU PLEASE STOP CRUSHING MY BONES?!" He requested.

"Aw, but I thought you liked when we cuddled? You always say my feathers are quite soft~" Stolas replied with a slight purr as he nuzzled him.

"Ooooookay, if this is gonna turn into a sex thing I'm leaving." Loona told them as she turned to walk out the still open door.

"No no no there won't be anything like that happening, at least not right now, even though this overwhelming joy and pride I feel is making it rather hard to control myself." He assured her.

"Great, we at least know something now, but can you FINALLY just spill the fucking beans please?" Blitzo requested again.

"Of course Blitzy." He replied while releasing him and setting him down onto the ground. "Thank you, gonna have to see a chiropractor after this..." Blitzo muttered to himself. "Now then, the reason why I am so giddy and why I called you both here, is because I have

managed to convince EVERY noble in Pentagram City to not only sponsor and support the hotel,

but they are also willing to get behind the whole turning Hell into a Heaven plan as well." He revealed causing their eyes to widen.

"Y-You're serious?" Blitzo asked as he grabbed onto him, then pulled him down so they could look into each other's eyes, "Don't bullshit us Stolas, because if you're telling the truth then this is FUCKING HUGE!" He exclaimed.

"Blitzy I'd never lie to you, tease you and savor you yes, but never lie." Stolas assured as he gave him a quick kiss.

"Holy shit, how...how did you manage that? Were they really that scared of the Slayer?" Loona asked.

"Scared? Oh no dear scared isn't even in the same zip code of what they were feeling." He answered.

"How terrified we talking here Stolas? Piss your pants scared or I just lost twenty pounds due to all the shit that came out of me scared?" Blitzo asked.

"You know that board game where you pull out pieces until they all fall down?" He asked in return, receiving a nod from both of them, "Well it was like that, I made but ONE call to one of them and

by the time I hung and started to enter the number of the next, my phone nearly caught fire from how fast I was receiving incoming calls and text messages." He explained.

"Damn, word spreads THAT fast among the noble class?" Loona questioned.

"Indeed, the moment anything scandalous or simply juicy happens in this part of the city everyone knows about it in seconds, so when I told the first noble about my affiliation with lord Lucifer, who was directly affiliated with the Slayer, and how he asked me to convince them to also lend their resources and aid, well, I didn't need to lift a finger more." He told them.

"Stolas, I never thought I'd say this, but I actually want to kiss you." Blitzo said causing him to blush and grin.

"Oh Blitzy you flatter me! While I do appreciate the credit it truly does all go to the Slayer, it wouldn't have been nearly as easy as it was had he not killed Valentino and Vox, that pretty much showed everyone in Hell who they would be fighting against." He said.

"Speaking of those two what about the other Overlords? Have you been contacted by them at all?" Loona asked.

"No I'm afraid not, while all of the noble class is willing to throw themselves and everything they own at us the Overlords have all gone into hiding, even businesses they own or are associated with have been closed, all except for Rosie." He answered.

"Really? How come she's the only one sticking around?" Blitzo asked.

"If I had to wager I would say it's because of the radio demon, it's no secret she and him are quite close with one another, she might feel much safer than everyone else because he's also involved in this." He suggested.

"We'll have to ask him about it later then." Loona decided.

"Yeah, but for now we should focus on how much help Stolas has been! And how much help you're going to continue being right?" Blitzo asked.

"Of course Blitzy, besides it being the highest of honors to be in direct service to lord Lucifer, I'd still be willing to help just to have you shower me with praise." He answered.

"Alright, I can't take anymore." Loona said as she turned around again.

"Wait, before you go." Stolas said to keep her from leaving, "I have one more thing I'd like to tell you, as well as ask you something too." He revealed.

"What is it?" Blitzo asked.

"First the good news, I and the other nobles shall be lending our staff to the hotel, it is a very large building after all with many things that need attending to, this is our way of helping out immediately." He answered.

"Holy fuck." Loona said for both she and Blitzo.

"Holy fuck indeed, you're going to have a tidal wave of new employees by the end of today, but with that being said that leads me to my question, which is can me and Octavia still meet him? I know you said we could but given all that has happened I assume his schedule's quite full?" He inquired.

"You don't know the half of it Stolas, but considering how much of a help you've been things will probably clear up before too long, so you have my word that once things are a bit calmer you two can meet him." Blitzo assured.

"Oh thank you Blitzy, that's going to make Octavia so happy!" He exclaimed. "She really wants to meet him that badly?" Loona questioned.

"Yes surprisingly, after watching how quickly, efficiently, and brutally he dispatched Valentino and his goons she and her friends have been so eager to meet him, at least that's what she'd told me in her own special way." He replied.

"Huh, yet another interesting reaction to the scariest man ever." She said.

"Well like I said we need to wait for things to calm down a little before we can schedule him for any meet and greets, but when we do they'll be the first ones!" Blitzo promised as he too now turned to face the door, "But we better get back there and make sure the place hasn't burned down yet, see you later Stolas." He said with a wave.

"Goodbye Blitzy, I'll call you later!" He replied as he waved himself.

"You know, you've gotten a lot friendlier with him over these last few days." Loona noticed as they headed for the gates.

"Don't get me wrong Stolas is still clingy and mushy and just an overall freak." He replied. "But?" She inquired expecting there to be more.

"Thing is...when we were all here and you guys were going to leave me behind...I dunno...it kinda stuck with me or something stupid like that, not trying to sound like a fucking greeting card or anything, but it just made me realize that I could lose you guys at any moment if I'm not careful, and despite the fact he can be a pain in my ass and NOT in the sexual way, it would suck if Stolas also wasn't around, and that's as much as I'm ever going to say about that!" He explained.

Only a slight bit surprised at what he said Loona felt a small smile come to her face, as it seemed like her father was actually growing as a person, if only just a little for now.

(Elsewhere...)

When people think of potion making they usually think of witches, with their big black pointed hats, broomsticks, and cauldrons filled with bubbly brew. But the truth was potion making was not too dissimilar from cooking, which is exactly why Alastor was so frustrated he didn't have a natural knack for it. The only major difference between the two crafts was magic, and while Alastor certainly did have that in surplus, it was his lack of control that kept him from being good at potion making. For the only times he ever used it was mostly for summonings, much like when brought Nifty and Husk to the hotel, and that required very little precision or finesse.

So when you try to make potions you have to have a level of focus and control much like a surgeon, otherwise you ran the risk of creating something that could explode violently at any moment. However despite these well known risks and dangers of potion making, the Overlord Rosie felt no fear of having them be made in her establishment, solely because the person making them was a true master. Velvet, one of the three Vs though perhaps just the one V now, was currently living rent free with Rosie in her place of business and residence, partly because it was at Alastor's request but also because she agreed to make her potions to sell. Though speaking of the recent events that led to her being alone, in addition to how shockingly timid and frail she had

become, this caused Rosie to temporarily close her doors to customers.

Of course this didn't apply to Alastor and any of his close associates, who were sitting down with the two women within her establishment having a conversation.

"So, who wants to go first?" He asked as he looked to everyone.

"You're the one who called this meeting shouldn't you go first?" Husk questioned.

"I was just being polite, in case anyone had anything they'd like to put forward before I talked about my business." He explained.

"Unfortunately for us your business is ours too, because you just had to drag us into this mess..." Husk told him.

"Aww it's not that bad." Nifty said in Alastor's defense which seem to offend him.

"Oh come on Nifty!" Husk exclaimed as he pointed to the radio demon, "This guy has all of us working behind everyone's backs, and while I wouldn't care too much if it was just the imps, or Katie, or Angel and Cherri, we're also doing it to the king and queen of Hell itself, and you know the other guy." He said, showing enough courtesy to not mention the Slayer directly for Velvet's sake.

"Honestly I think it's quite exciting!" Rosie chimed in with a smile.

"No offense lady you're not the one standing at a check in desk surrounded by these people all day." He replied.

"True, but it's not like we're hurting anyone with what we're doing." She argued.

"Even so people typically don't like to be secretly given potions instead of normal drinks." He said before looking towards Alastor, "Speaking of, how long are we gonna be doing this shit exactly?" He asked.

"Until we get caught." The deer demon answered simply.

Feeling the last string of his sanity finally snap in two, Husk began to gently beat his head against the table.

"Should we move onto something else while Husker has his moment?" Alastor asked completely unphased by it.

"Didn't you have something important to tell us dear?" Rosie asked in return.

"Ah yes, as a matter of fact I did! Thank you for reminding me." He replied before looking to Velvet, "You in particular are going to love this." He said with a smile.

"I-I am?" She questioned.

"Apparently, and this comes DIRECTLY from the word of the man himself, both Sir Pentious and Vox have proven they deserve a chance at redemption, by tomorrow I assume or perhaps the next day they will arrive at the hotel." He revealed.

"R-Really?..." She asked with widened eyes, tears already beginning to appear.

"Yes, and as such I was thinking you too could finally become an official resident, you and Vox

could even share a room together so you can catch up and have each other close by." He answered.

The moment he finished his sentence Velvet would leap out of her seat and over the table, sending both her and him to the floor with a loud crash. But before he or anyone else could say anything she would hug him and start to cry, barely able to say over and over again how thankful she was. Now normally Alastor was not the biggest fan of physical contact, and things like emotions while not scary or alien to him did tend to make things awkward, less of course they were his own. Yet he

did not push her away or demand that she stop, he knew how hard this whole experience had been for her, so he felt it was about time she got to be happy again.

"My my Alastor, I don't think I've ever seen you be so calm when someone suddenly hugs you." Rosie told him cheekily as she and Nifty watched on, Husk still banging his head against the table.

"Yes well, we are all living in a very special time so very special things are bound the happen, though given what she's endured and how much help she's been, I feel like she should be aloud one rather wet hug." He replied as he looked down at her, "With that being said..." He trailed off.

"I'm on it." Rosie said as she got up to get him a new jacket, for by the time Velvet was done that one would be soaked.

"I'll make sure to clean it for you when we go back to the hotel Alastor." Nifty told him.

"Thank you Nifty dear that would be most appreciated, though speaking about you we must discuss that request of yours once we get back." He replied as she nodded in agreement

It had only been a day since Gabriel replaced the melted candle in his private chamber, and yet because he had been in said chamber for that entire day it was already halfway melted. Though neither one would admit it he and Lucifer had many things in common, that was actually part of the reason why they were always on each others nerves so much back then. For example, when

Gabriel refuted Lucifer's suggestions on how things could be improved, that was no different from when he did the same to his daughter when she came to him with her idea for the hotel. And now, because both were stubborn mules who believed they knew everything, they were unknowingly at the same time sitting at their desks trying to figure out how to start a conversation, as well as what would be said during it.

Sadly Gabriel had no one he could go to for advice, unlike his brother who had his wife, his daughter, and probably a few others he could ask for assistance. He could try to ask one of their siblings for help, but he knew that'd just open an entirely different can of worms that would need to be dealt with. Though the ONE thing he was certain he had to avoid being brought up, was how during the meeting he had basically said he'd be fine with Lucifer and his family dying, that would definitely cause the whole interaction to implode.

"This is impossible..." He breathed in a sigh while tossing a wadded parchment to the floor, not caring where it landed as there was already a sea of them around his feet.

Putting his face in his hands and letting out another breath, no matter how many different ways he approached this it never felt right. The first few attempts he tried to begin by apologizing, though he knew no amount of apologies could make up for the past. Then he tried approaching it with some levity, in ways like "Long time no see brother!" or "Sure has been a while.", which lasted about a minute before he realized how stupid that would be. After that he just tried writing whatever came to mind, literally any idea he could put to paper none at all were rejected, he truly was at that level of desperation.

"...Do you require assistance?..." A woman's voice would whisper in his ear, though unlike most he was not surprised by this.

"Azrael please..." He replied, knowing well given how their last interaction went she'd be keeping an eye on him.

"I don't think I've ever seen you waste parchment like this brother, then again I can't recall a time I've ever seen you apologize." She said.

"I will give you every single possession I have to my name if you PLEASE leave me be..." He offered, as this was already difficult enough without her teasing him.

"Not a chance, this is LITERALLY the first time in history the great Gabriel has finally started to show regret for his behavior, instead of justifying it by saying something like IT'S FOR THE BALANCE or I DO WHAT I DO BECAUSE THERE IS NO OTHER CHOICE!" Se replied, "Which

by the way I wanted to ask you about, why now of all times are you choosing to reconsider your actions? What was the final straw to break those radiant wings of yours?" She asked.

Taking a moment to gather himself and think about his response, while he could just say it was due to Pravuil's insight there was a lot more to it than that.

"When I first started this investigation, I assumed all I might find is a radical mortal who managed to persuade a faction of Heaven into following his heretical beliefs, but each bit of information I have come across though certainly capable of being deemed as treason, has shown me a few aspects of creation that I have been blind to." He answered.

"Such as?" She inquired.

"Initially I assumed that perhaps our creator had a hand in this, an instance in where they work in mysterious ways or whichever way you want to phrase it, but despite going over not only his history but also of his lineage, I found no signs of divine contact that would elude to the possibility this was all planned, his purity and his resolve are entirely his own, the best possible result from his upbringing and the history tied to his family specifically, I never could have imagined any mortal race of producing someone such as him, one willing to sacrifice and give all that he must to do what is needed." He explained.

"While that is fascinating Gabriel it doesn't exactly clear anything up, what about any of this has managed to open your eyes and rattle you to this degree?" She questioned.

"During the meeting, his companion Vega stated he would be willing to stand against us no matter what, for to him our methods and overall management of creation in his own words had failed." He replied simply, hoping she would be able to realize what he was saying.

And it seemed as though she did as silence suddenly came between them, for as she thought about his words the more it donned on her what this was actually about.

"...Gabriel...you know that it isn't true right? You haven't failed at your task." She told him after a few minutes.

"Haven't I sister? Though me and Lucifer are not the only reasons for the war back then we certainly did the most to ensure it would happen, then after it came to an end and Doom was now its own circle no matter what I tried it could not be stopped, so I simply left it to the

Maykrs who had yet to be assigned a circle of their own, and now after all this time after all my efforts it is not a Heavenborn who is sorting out creation's issues, but a mortal wielding nothing more than his fists and his guns, I the archangel of justice have completely failed in my purpose...and it has made me wonder if perhaps the Slayer is my replacement..." He admitted while clenching his fists out of frustration.

Left speechless by everything he was saying she had no idea he was doubting himself so severely, that he of ALL their kin would ever be capable of feeling such emotions. This is why even as he stood from his seat, extinguished his candle's flame, and began to walk out of his chamber that she couldn't say a word, not even when he spoke one last time.

"Azrael, I am going to see the Maykrs, I am tired of these thoughts and feelings swirling inside my soul like a ravenous storm, I am going to confront them and demand they share with me all they know, not because I am angry or because I want them to admit treason, but because I must know everything they do to be certain of whether or not this has all been a part of a greater plan, or perhaps I truly have lived beyond my usefulness." He told her as he left the chamber.

Mortals are capable of creating many wonderous things, whether it be architectural wonders or amazing works of art, their imaginations were always so fascinating to explore. Yet as the Exterminators walked through carefully cut stone halls, their guide being one of the infamous Sentinels they had heard so much about, they had to admit that they were possibly the most impressive mortal race in creation. At first glance their civilization and traditions may seem primitive, given their fixation on honor through combat a few other things. But as their guide answered their questions while they were being taken to their leader, they realized just how sophisticated and advanced they were in practically every respect.

And to be honest it was pretty intimidating, for although the Maykrs of course did play some hand in their history, a bulk of what they had accomplished was done on their own, along with the aid of someone else who their guide refrained from saying too much about.

"This is where I shall take my leave." He would say as he came to a stop, two massive doors standing in front of him, "King Novik is waiting for you inside." He told them.

"Understood, and thank you for answering our questions as we followed, I'm sorry if it bothered you." Gretta replied.

"Not at all, you have earned the trust of the Maykrs and have become our allies, it only makes sense that you be given our history." He assured.

"About that, will the king tell us more about our other partner? The one you were pretty vague about." She asked.

"He will, though it would be best if you allowed him to say what he needs to before asking any questions." He answered.

Nodding to show she understood he gave them a salute to his chest before leaving. Once his footsteps were no longer heard the two doors would slowly open on their own, allowing the group entry into what they assumed was sacred ground. But even if it wasn't sacred or holy to them in some way, it still was clearly important due to how ornate and official everything looked.

"This place looks like something out of one of those mortal shows, like the one about the

kingdoms or whatever." Felicia whispered to her group as they all were in the front, before they and the others began ascending a long pathway of stairs.

"I wonder what the king is like?" "He's probably the coolest of them all." "Apart from the Slayer of course." Malak, Manic, and Mark all whispered together.

"Remember guys just keep calm, even if he looks like the most badass dude in the universe do not freak out." Gretta said though loud enough to where everyone could hear her.

Reaching the top in short time they came to what was clearly a throne room, though what was strange was that the throne at the opposite side of the room was empty.

"Is he not here yet?..." Sonia whispered confused.

Almost as if he were waiting for someone to ask that, torches that lined the room all began igniting one by one with light blue flames. Watching in amazement and wonder the Exterminators would feel chills go down their spines once it ended, for as the last two torches were ablaze in the presumed empty throne a ghostly figure appeared.

"That...was so...cool..." Elizabeth whispered with widened eyes, a reaction and sentiment that they all shared.

"Greetings Exterminators, I am pleased that we are finally meeting, even more so that it is under circumstances that do not involve violence or tension." He spoke as he rose from his seat, "I am King Novik, current active leader of the Sentinel people, though I only still have this authority as he is not here." He told them,.

"Wait...are you saying that the Slayer is also a king?" Gretta questioned.

"Correct, although we brought him here under the order of the Maykrs, treated his wounds, and began training him as one of our own, the fact is that he was an outsider, as such we assumed that whatever they saw in him would not come close to the warriors in our history, but of course he would prove us wrong." He began as he approached them, "Besides fighting against the legions of Doom and protecting us from their onslaught, as we learned of his past and saw his feats for ourselves, only a fool could deny that while he may not have been born a Sentinel, he embodied the very spirit and resolve that we strive to obtain over the course of our lives, it was an inevitability that he would become one of our rulers." He explained.

"Just when you think he can't get anymore badass..." Felicia said in disbelief.

"So, if he's your king then why isn't he here? Or rather why did he not choose to just live with all of you? I understand he has his personal crusade but it sounds like as your king he'd have a life of luxury, anything he could ever want or dream of he'd have and he'd never need to want for anything ever again." Gretta replied.

"Very true, but even if he did not have his self given quest to purge the wicked from creation, the rage and pain that burns him can never be dispelled, even if he were to accept this deal that has been offered to him he would never find peace." He explained.

"So the Khan has already informed you of that?" She asked.

"Of course, the moment you arrived in Urdak and your matters for the time being had been settled, she sought an audience with me and our other ally to go over these new developments." He answered.

"Speaking of your ally who or what are they? I don't mean to be rude your majesty but even the Khan and Samur were hesitant to say too much about them." She said.

"I promise you it is for a very good reason, one cannot simply describe them with mere words, they must be seen in their entirety to be understood." He replied as he headed for the stairs, "Follow me and I shall take you to them, and once you lay your eyes upon them you will have no further questions." He assured.

Growing a bit concerned at just how enigmatic this person or entity was, the Exterminators would be guided yet again through the structure to another set of twin doors. Though unlike the doors that stood in the entryway to the throne room or the others they had seen on their tour, these were the only ones that made them feel uneasy. The reason why was due to their size, while the other doors were also quite large it made sense given the general architecture of their world, but these felt like they were built for a very specific purpose.

"Are they ready to meet with our new allies?" King Novik asked the guards who stood at attention. "Yes sir." One simply answered before both then stepped to the side.

Slowly the entrance would open as the doors were drawn inward, and as they did the Exterminators were met with a darkness that seemed endless.

"Stay close to me all of you, do not wander." He told them before heading in.

Taking that instruction very seriously they all stayed as close to him and each other as possible, to the point where there was almost no space between each of them. Flinching slightly at the sound of the doors closing, once they were shut soon all that could be heard was their footsteps. Thankfully however it would not just be King Novik's ethereal body that provided some light to the darkness, much like before as they ventured deeper torches began lighting themselves. Yet these ones burned with blue and red flames together, casting a purple light that for some reason felt strange to them, almost as if it were otherworldly.

But soon they would understand why that was, as well as why the Maykrs and the Sentinels were so secretive about this final ally, for when they reached a chamber which had been illuminated by the flames, surrounding them completely were three massive creatures that they had never seen before.

"Holy fucking shit..." Gretta muttered in a mixture of shock and slight horror, voicing her and everyone else's shared thought.

"These are our gods who we have pledged our loyalty and service to forever, they are known as the Wraiths." King Novik informed them.

"Greetings Exterminators, we have much to discuss." They spoke in perfect unison. "W-What are you?..." Gretta barely managed to stutter out.

"All shall be made clear in due time, which is why it would be best for you to get comfortable, this will be long." They responded before proceeding to enlighten them.

Day 3

"Beginning stress tests...systems operating with no error...battle systems calibrated...argent

distribution network functioning...no hardware issues detected...neural link and interface performing optimally...running all tests again with new parameters and specifications...all have come back positive...I will continue to run tests and make adjustments when needed over the week, but it appears that your mech is finally back to its original state." Vega informed the Slayer and his two assistants.

Letting out a cheer that they were finally done Vox and Sir Pentious gave each other a high five in celebration, while the Slayer just nodded to show his approval. Though it had been several days since they started their work and it was tiring even with the lack of bodies, both demon geniuses had to admit that this was the greatest experience of their lives. Never had they seen such advanced technology that appeared so simple in design but was incredibly complex, nor had they ever imagined the programs and systems Vega had given them to work with would have ever exist.

These two learned more in just a few days in the Slayer's company than a million years in Hell, though they of course swore that if they were to ever use this new knowledge for themselves it would not be for weapons.

Because ya know, the moment they tried to even make a pistol or even a fancy shiv he'd immediately hunt them down and bring them right back here.

"I never thought I'd actually be able to work on a real mech, I mean sure I built myself an airship and everything, but it is nowhere close to be as streamlined in design as this thing is." Sir Pentious said.

"Indeed, think of all the things I can make for my company now, how advanced Hell will be because of this, all of which will be non harmful, completely user friendly, and reasonably priced." Vox replied directing his statement towards the Slayer.

"So long as it isn't used for the production of any form of weaponry, or vehicles that could cause significant levels of damage to the city, the Slayer will be perfectly fine with anything you may create." Vega assured them.

"That's good, but now that we're done that does mean we are going home right? Or is there some other jaw dropping piece of technology you'd like us to work on?" Sir Pentious asked.

"No, the Slayer shall go make the preparations to return to Lucifer's circle, while he does you are allowed to explore his fortress." Vega answered.

"Wait really?" Vox questioned as he found that hard to believe.

"Not once over the entire duration of the mech's repairs did either of you do or say anything that would've made him suspicious, you have proven you can at the very least be trusted, however there are certain rooms that you will not have access to as they are personal to him," He explained.

"Still, that's...really nice of you, to let us have one last look around this place, thanks." Sir Pentious said.

Once again nodding in response the Slayer would leave them alone to go configure the portal, as well as prepare for the reception they would get when they arrived.

"So, where should we go first?" Sir Pentious asked his fellow tech savvy demon with a clap of his hands.

"I'm probably just going to stay here until the portal's ready." Vox answered.

"What? Why? We have most of this fortress to explore! Why stay here and just look at the mech

that has been our entire lives for days?" He questioned.

"I need to think about what I'm going to say to Velvet when I see her, not everyday you die twice and still get to hang around." Vox explained.

Wanting to question him more because he found his reasoning ridiculous, a strong burning sensation from within him urged the snake demon to leave it at that.

"...Right, of course, friends and all that, I'll let you think then." He replied before slithering away.

"This is your best chance, do it now or there will be consequences." The voice told him.

"Yes I know, but we still have to be careful as Vega is monitoring everything, we mess with the wrong thing and then we're both fucked." Sir Pentious whispered back.

Leaving the bridge that they had been using to get a good view of the mech, he would go up the nearby stairs and arrive at his destination immediately. For right next to the stairs was a beast of a machine, and while for the longest time neither he or Vox could determine its purpose, after countless times of trying to get an answer from Vega he had a pretty damn good guess.

"This has to be connected to the soul harvester..." He thought as he approached its backside, "He and the Slayer have been upfront about everything else in this fortress except for this machine, meaning it has to be of great importance to warrant such secrecy." He reasoned.

Taking one quick look around himself to make sure that neither Vox or the Slayer were nearby, he placed one hand on the rotating Sentinel battery used to power the apparatus.

"Alright, this is where you two do your part." He whispered.

Watching as the Lost Souls though in their most basic form as energy transferred from his hand to the battery, for only a few seconds would they still be visible before disappearing into the machine completely.

"Finally...I'm free..." He breathed with a sigh of relief.

Sadly this would immediately prove to be false, for the moment he said that an intense but brief surge of pain coursed through him.

"Do you think us so naïve to send BOTH of them into the apparatus?" The voice questioned as he hunched over.

"B-But our deal..." He tried to reply only to cover his mouth to keep from screaming, as another horrid surge was sent through him.

"That we did, but you are worth less than an imp of our kind, so easy to control, why would we waste such a useful pawn?" It asked him.

Feeling that same fear he had when he was summoned back to the cell nearly a week ago, tears came to Sir Pentious eyes as it donned on him the true nature of his situation.

"P-Please..." He whimpered out so tired of the pain.

"Hurry now, the Slayer's preparations will not take long, if he catches you here he will put you back with us, and you wouldn't want that would you?" It asked.

Feeling his eyes widen at that notion, though he still was terrified and had no idea what he was going to do, Sir Pentious composed himself and took his leave of that area.

"Good pawn." The voice praised him as he headed for the hub.

Staying silent as there was no point in saying anything else, once he arrived he waited patiently for the Slayer to be done.

"I'm surprised that you are here Sir Pentious." Vega spoke to him from the Slayer's suit as he entered, "I assumed Vox would be the first to finish his exploration of the fortress." He admitted.

"I just...am suddenly really homesick...so I want to go back as soon as we can..." He replied though in a quiet way.

Noticing how different he was from just a few moments ago, before the AI could ask him if something was wrong Vox would appear and take over the conversation.

"Are we ready to leave yet? I've got a sudden burst of courage to face Velvet after figuring out my greeting, and I want to head out before it disappears and I become a nervous mess!" He exclaimed.

"You have remarkable timing, the transporter is now ready." Vega responded as the gateway finished forming.

"We shall see each other again." The voice spoke one last time, bidding farewell to its tool for the time being as they all stepped through the portal it created.

A Few Minutes Prior...

"FINALLY! I'VE GOT IT!" Lucifer shouted triumphantly as he stood from his seat.

Only taking breaks to shower, use the restroom, or to have a meal with his wife to try and get on her good side again, Lucifer spent the entire day continuing to mull over what he would say. As for Lilith's assistance which was to try and contact his sister, to his dismay it turned out that the two hit it off instantly. Much like her husband Lilith spent the entire day talking with Azrael, only taking breaks for the same reasons he did. And while this certainly was a good thing as it meant one of his siblings liked or in this case loved his wife, it was also horrible because he KNEW they spent a lot of that time talking about him.

But of course his wife didn't share any details regarding that, in fact she barely said much to him outside of their shared goal, as she was still pretty upset at what he had suggested yesterday. Yet that along with his wife sharing who knows what with his sister wasn't enough to keep him down, for as he looked at the two and a half pages he held in his hands, he only felt the sweet and succulent taste of victory fill his being.

"Now all that's needed is to speak with Gabriel, hopefully they haven't forgotten that with all their gossip about me." He said as he headed for the door.

Quickly though not forcefully opening and closing his door, the devil didn't want to waste a single moment even though they still had four days until the Slayer's deadline. Unfortunately as he approached the throne room, which was where Lilith had decided to try and contact Azrael, he could hear both women laughing quite vigorously.

"Fuck." He thought simply with a sigh.

Reaching the doors that led into the room he would just as before open and close them swiftly as he entered, which did not go unnoticed by his wife and her visitor. Though visitor was a bit of a strong word, for although Azrael could manifest in other places outside of her domain, that was not needed for this and so they were communicating via a portal.

"Oh Lucifer, have you finished preparing what you're going to say?" She asked him as he approached.

"Yes! I have written exactly what I want to say to him! And while it's no Shakespearean masterpiece or orchestral suite composed by Bach, I do still believe that it is some of my personal best work ever." He answered.

"Good to see you haven't lost that your sense of dramatics Luci." Azrael's voice commented from the rift, causing both of them to laugh once more.

"...Yes...that is...good..." He replied with a forced smile as he hated this, "Anyway, we should probably get things moving along now to stop another war from happening, a war that would already have a clear victory, because the is rage in its purest form." He suggested.

"Oh what's the rush dear? I haven't even shown your sister any of our photo albums, as we've been far too busy talking about...other things." Lilith replied.

"Again, a war that would span countless ages, a lot of bloodshed, and one very angry man stomping his way across Heaven." He repeated.

"Well...about that Luci..." Azrael spoke only this time her tone was far more serious, which caused him to sigh.

"Let me guess, Gabriel denied the meeting with me?" He assumed.

"Actually...it's the exact opposite dear." Lilith replied instead of his sister, which caught him by surprise, "You see, when I tried to contact her yesterday at first there was no response, so I waited a bit to give it another try and this time she answered, that's when she explained why she couldn't the first time, it was because she was in the middle of talking with him." She explained.

"Okay, and what came of the conversation?" He asked.

"Well, there's good news and bad news, the good news is that he actually was working on what he would say to you, as it turns out your brother Pravuil made him realize a few things, so he decided too that perhaps he was being a bit rash about all this, unfortunately that's where the bad news comes into play, he shared the reasons behind his behavior with your sister, and he told her that the reason for all of this is because he feels as though he's failed, and that he is no longer capable of serving his position." She answered.

Taking a few seconds to process this information, both women were surprised that when he responded it wasn't with disbelief, but rather a smile and a laugh of his own.

"Alright, I'll admit, you nearly had me there." He said as his laughter came down to a chuckle, "For a second I thought you were being serious, but there's no way Gabriel would ever have any self doubts, I know we haven't seen or spoken to each other in so long, but if there's one safe bet I'm always willing to make it's that he is as certain of his judgement as I am that I like apples, but again that was a good way to get back at me for what I said yesterday well played." He praised them.

However they didn't respond to him, instead they kept silent as Lilith held a straight face, with a saddened expression to accompany it.

"...This...isn't a joke?..." He asked as it finally hit him.

"I wish it were Lucifer." Azrael spoke again only this time using his full name, which added more credibility to this being legitimate.

"But...this is Gabriel we're talking about, the whole reason me and him fought with each other so much is because of how stubborn he is! He never once claimed to be wrong even when he most certainly was! There's...there's just no way that he...of all people..." He slowly trailed off as he tried to argue, as this really was one of the most shocking things he'd ever heard.

"It does make sense though Lucifer, at least when you think about how these feelings could've happened, or rather who could've caused them." Lilith said.

"Look, I know the Slayer's scary and all, and yeah sure he's pretty much at the top of the boy scout pyramid, but Gabriel is the peacekeeper, the manager of creation, the upholder of the balance and whatever other titles he's given himself by now! How could his own brother not cause such doubts to occur but the Slayer has?" He questioned.

"It is because of that fact Lucifer, ignoring how young you both were way back when compared to how mature you both are now, the fact is you are of divine origin, you are not a mortal who has managed to become a god like the Slayer, that is the core of Gabriel's issue, the fact that it wasn't a holy or unholy being to incite this much change, but a mere mortal man who has acquired power over the course of his crusade, he wasn't made to serve any purpose he chose this path for himself, and if he could do it then what is keeping another random mortal soul from doing the exact same?" She explained.

"What about God? Surely our creator our PARENT has reached out to him right? To assure him that his doubts are unfounded and he does serve a purpose?" He asked.

"They're not responding." She answered worsening his shock, "As you know our parent's sanctum is guarded by their personal Seraphim, any contact even from us must first be approved by them before it is allowed, but the Seraphim have stated that our creator isn't available at this time, that they wish to be alone and that we sort out our issues." She answered.

"That...makes no sense...they've never not responded to us...not unless..." He began to say only to stop as a realization hit him, "AZRAEL! I NEED TO SPEAK TO GABRIEL RIGHT NOW!" He shouted.

"Lucifer?" Lilith asked in surprise as that was unexpected.

"PLEASE AZRAEL! I MUST SEE GABRIEL THIS INSTANT! TAKE ME TO HIM!" He

insisted.

"Lucifer what has gotten into you?" She questioned just as taken aback as his wife was.

"The only time that God has refused to respond to any of their children is when we have hurt them severely, when we have done something that made them feel betrayed, that is EXACTLY what happened to me when I struck Gabriel and started the war! And it continued after I was cast from Heaven and Hell was created!" He explained.

"You...you don't think that Gabriel is...being cast out do you?..." She asked him sincerely, as that thought hadn't occurred to her.

"I don't know, but that is why I need you to send me to him right now! I need to make sure he doesn't say or do anything else! Please Azrael!" He insisted.

Choosing to not say more as he might actually be onto something, she made her rift bigger to allow him passage into her domain.

"I love you dear." He said quickly as he gave his wife a kiss, "I promise I won't take too long, and I'm sorry for yesterday!" He added before stepping inside.

Watching as the rift immediately closed once he was in, Lilith sat there still reeling from what her husband had proposed.

"...No...there's just no way..." She said to herself as she looked down at her lap, "There hasn't been a fallen since then...it just...it would make no sense..." She continued to say in disbelief.

(Meanwhile)

"Got any fives?" Angel Dust asked as he looked at his cards. "Nope, go fish." Katie answered.

"I thought we were playing poker?" Cherri questioned.

"Honestly I'm just saying whatever card game shit comes to mind cause I'm so bored." He admitted as he put down his cards, "Speaking of which, blackjack." He told them.

With the influx of new staff members that showed up yesterday as a gift from the nobles of Hell, the Happy Hotel FINALLY looked and functioned like a proper establishment. There were plenty of maids and other cleaning staff to make sure everything was tidy, the kitchen was now up and running all day with chefs and servers, and the lobby had plenty of people to interact with the guests and help them with whatever they needed. This still however barely scratched the surface of the help given by the rich and powerful, the pools, salon, rec room, spa, and every other freaking amenity this place had to offer was also fully manned and running now. Yet despite all of this these three were bored out of their fucking minds, but it wasn't just because the Slayer hadn't been there for a while, it's not like they were leeches and he was their blood bank.

The reason why they lacked their usual energy and personality is because they now had to be mindful of how they acted, the hotel was at full force so they couldn't do everything they did before. This meant no raiding the kitchen for its best booze less they were Husk, no talking openly about how they wanted to bang the Slayer though that was more of Cherri and Angel's thing, and of course they were not allowed to be rude or aggressive towards anyone even if they SO had it coming. The price for doing the right thing was the freedom of a big ass building with no one around, a space where they could just be reasonably dickish if they so felt like it.

This didn't mean that they regretted doing their own parts to ensure this outcome of course, they were happy that Charlie's dream was coming true and some real good was finally happening, but they were still bored out of their skulls.

"We could go to a bar somewhere and have a good time there?" Cherri suggested.

"We could, but would we be able to keep ourselves from getting shit faced?" Katie asked. "Nope." They both answered immediately.

"Exactly, and given that we're not out of the woods just yet we need to be sober, but once this whole mess gets sorted I personally will buy the first round of the heavy shit, in fact I'll even ask Husk if he can get us some more of whatever it was he served me." She offered.

"Damn that sounds great, but shit, why does Heaven have to be such a dick?" Cherri questioned as she leaned back in her seat.

"I think it's just the one dude who's a dick, least it seemed that way from how Lucifer was describing him." Angel Dust replied.

"Do you guys think he'll actually be able to talk to him? Or do you think they'll cause another big bang?" Katie asked.

"Hopefully he will, also is the big bang actually how the universe was formed? Like did God just snap their fingers and that was it?" Cherri questioned.

"You know that's a good question, in fact that should be the first thing we ask Will when he gets back, if anyone would know it'd definitely be him." Angel Dust said.

"Actually, the Slayer does not know the origins of creation, at least not yet." Vega suddenly spoke from Katie's collar.

"There you are Vega! Finally!" Cherrie exclaimed with a sigh of relief, "You barely said a word yesterday man, we thought some shit had gone down!" She told him.

"My apologies, I was assisting in the repair of the Slayer's mech alongside Sir Pentious and Vox." He replied.

"...Did you say mech?" All three of them asked.

"The repairs were able to be completed within a timely manner, hence why I have contacted you, for in just a few moments they all will enter the lobby via the Slayer's portal." He explained.

"Seriously, the Slayer has a mech?" They continued to speak together, not wanting to let that bit of info be ignored.

Sadly this would have to be continued on a different day, as to his word just a few seconds went by before a familiar portal appeared in the lobby. They along with everyone else who was present would keep silent as the Slayer stepped through, though only the trio weren't shocked when they also saw Vox and Sir Pentious appear. The silence would continue after this however even when the portal closed, neither the people nor the former Overlord and gang leader saying anything.

"It appears that the hotel received a surplus of new staff since yesterday." Vega would speak, but only to the Slayer through the inside of his helmet.

Thankfully the silence would come to an end as someone new stepped into the lobby, having done so because she noticed the sudden lack of noise.

"Is everything alright out here?" Charlie asked as she stepped out of the dining room, having been in there just to make sure breakfast ran smoothly.

Looking around the lobby to see what had caused everything to come to a stop, she unintentionally would let out a high pitched squeal once she saw what it was.

"WILL!" She exclaimed with glee before running over and hugging him, "EVERYONE! WILL'S BACK!" She shouted out.

In response to this a sudden abundance of hastily moving footsteps would be heard, followed by the sight of Vagatha, Millie, and Moxxie appearing from the dining hall, while Blitzo and Loona

who had been relaxing in their rooms came from the ground floor hallway. And even though they didn't approach him as fast or as excitedly as Charlie did, once they saw for themselves that he had in fact returned they did hurry over, all giving their own response to his arrival.

"Bout time you showed up big guy." Vagatha said with a smile and crossed arms as she walked over.

"We've been worried sick about you ya know!" Millie exclaimed as she and Moxxie hurried over. "What's Heaven like? Is it really a silver city on clouds?" Moxxie asked unable to hid his curiosity.

"Is Gabriel as big of a tool as Lucifer made him out to be?" Blitzo asked as he and Loona came over at the same pace as Vagatha.

"If he is, did you punch him in the face?" The Hellhound added to his question.

Doing what he did best the Slayer just stood there and let them all say or ask whatever they wanted, all the while Charlie continued to hug him.

"Wait a second..." Vagatha would say after about a minute passed, before she then looked to the trio who were still seated nearby, "Why aren't you three getting in on this? In fact why didn't you say something before Charlie?" She asked.

"He has a mech." Angel Dust answered for them.

"You have a mech?" They asked all together like the trio did, as it shocked them just as much.

"Don't know why you're asking him when he's not gonna say anything." Vox spoke up, doing so before Sir Pentious could.

Upon hearing his voice everyone now finally noticed the other two, who had been standing there not saying a word because it would've been weird.

"Oh right, you guys were gonna come back with him." Millie remembered.

"YO egg boy!" Cherri exclaimed to get his attention, "Been a while right? In fact I'm pretty sure the last time we saw each other there was actually TWO of you." She joked with a grin.

To her surprise though he didn't immediately respond with some terrible comeback, in fact he actually looked...kinda upset.

"Dude, what's with the long face? What you ashamed to be wearing a collar or something?" She asked now being serious.

"Watch it." Katie warned her.

"I wasn't saying there was shame in wearing one just asking if HE was ashamed by it! You rock it girl." Cherri replied.

"Uh huh." Katie sounded in response.

"I'm just tired." Sir Pentious said while looking off to the side, "After all we have done nothing for the last couple of days but repair his mech." He explained.

"True, while an engaging experience it was quite taxing, even without corporeal forms." Vox agreed.

"Alright, I've had enough, how much other cool shit are you keeping secret?" Angel Dust asked the Slayer with an accusatory point of his finger, "Because I've still yet to see this fortress and now we learn you've got a fucking mech?! What next you got a nuke launcher or some shit?" He questioned.

"We can talk about that later Angel, what we SHOULD talk about is how you've been ignoring us!" Charlie exclaimed as she finally ended her hug, only to reveal she had an angry expression on her face, "We learn from him and Katie that you were taken by creatures who sound like grim reapers! Then when dad explained it we learn about everything else you've been dealing with and didn't tell us!" She scolded.

"He didn't want to burden you with his problems miss Charlie, especially not when this is something that he can handle." Vega replied.

"That's not a good excuse!" She exclaimed while crossing her arms, "You've done more for us than we could've ever asked for! Plus there's all the other stuff like saving my life at the studio, killing Valentino for Angel Dust, giving Katie, Vox, and Sir Pentious a chance to be better people, and a bunch of other stuff!" She argued.

"Even so, the choice the Slayer is faced with is one he must consider carefully, as either decision he makes will have irreversible repercussions." He said.

"You never did tell us about that." Vagatha pointed out, "I mean you told us he was meeting with Gabriel, and you did tell us that he would have to make a choice, but you didn't go into detail as to what that choice was." She clarified.

"At the time he requested that I refrain from sharing too much, so it is still his decision of whether or not I share that with you." He replied.

"Please Will we just want to help you, I know you want to handle this on your own but we are here to do whatever we can! There's no reason you have to be alone." Charlie told him.

Waiting in expectant silence at what he would do, the Slayer would ball his hands into tightly clenched fists as he debated if it would be wise to tell them. Sadly though whether or not he would have agreed didn't matter, for everyone's attention would be drawn to the front of the hotel as its doors were flung open.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLO EVERYONE!" Alastor greeted loudly in his typical showboat fashion, "I'm so sorry to have not been around yesterday! As are Husker and Nifty, BUT it is because we've got a special surprise for all of you!" He exclaimed before turning around to look at something.

"Alastor this isn't the best time for-" Charlie began to say, only to stop mid sentence once they saw what his surprise was.

Approaching the entryway slowly would be the one V who hadn't been killed, but as she came to a stop and everyone got a good look at her, they noticed how different she was. She kept her head down and looked insanely nervous, she fidgeted in place and acted like she was about to burst into tears because of it. So despite the fact they knew it was Velvet, there was no way it wasn't, everything about her just seemed like someone doing a VERY good cosplay as her, and was frightened by the reception. But it wouldn't be Charlie who would speak to her first, nor Vega or any of the others, it was Vox who would approach her and be the one to greet her.

"Velvet?" He questioned stopping just a foot or so away, "Is that...really you?" He asked.

Upon hearing his voice the doll demon immediately looked up from the ground, where her eyes would remain locked onto him for a solid minute.

"V-Vox..." She said in disbelief, even though she knew he'd be here because Alastor said so the prior day, it was still hard for her to accept that her best friend was back.

"Are you okay Velvet? I heard about what Val did to you after he threw me out the window and I WHOA!" He exclaimed as he was tackled to the ground.

Crying as loud and as hard as a newborn would Velvet clung to him just as tightly, completely at the mercy of the overwhelming joy that filled her from head to toe.

"I THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN!" She shouted as she buried her head into his chest, "I'M SORRY! I SHOULD'VE STOPPED HIM! I WAS JUST SO SCARED AND I WASN'T

THINKING! I'M SO SO SORRY!" She apologized.

Shocked to his core by how she was acting as this was a side of her he didn't even know could exist, Vox did the only thing he could do to comfort her by returning the hug.

"Hey, don't say that shit okay? You couldn't have stopped him or saved me no matter what you might've tried, if anything you could've gone out the window with me and I'm glad you didn't, I'm honestly just relieved you weren't killed or severely hurt." He told her.

Unable to respond due to how hard she was crying and wailing, Vox closed his eyes and began patting her back letting her get as much of it out as she needed.

"...You're welcome." A static laced voice whispered in his ear startling him, but once he realized who it belonged to he felt a smile come to his face.

"Thanks, I owe you one." He whispered so no one else would hear.

"This...this is so sweet..." Charlie said as she began tearing up, unable to keep herself from being swept up in the moment herself.

"You gonna need some tissues hon?" Vagatha asked with a smile.

'N-No...I'm...yes." She replied as she could feel the waterworks building up.

"I suppose you'll have to wait until later to tell them." Vega said to the Slayer, receiving a nod in response.

It's funny just how quickly the tide can turn in anything, whether it be war or something far less serious like a board game, the entire perception of how things will play out can change in an instant. But if there was one thing that the Khan Maykr and Samur assumed was certain, one thing they believed wouldn't change or be affected in any major way, was Gabriel's feelings and stance regarding everything they had done. Yet here they were, ever since yesterday when the archangel first arrived in their domain they have done nothing but talk with him. Though unlike all the other times they actually felt they could be fully transparent with him, whether it was due to his reason for coming to speak to him or just how conflicted he clearly was at the moment, this was not the same Gabriel who they had been dealing with up to this point.

Unfortunately for the archangel however the answers he was looking for didn't seem to exist, even with his word being given to them that there would be no punishment for being completely truthful, everything they said only worsened his distress.

"I'm afraid that is all we can share with you great angel." The Khan told him with a sympathetic expression, "We have shared with you our full history, and we give you our word that our actions as well as the Slayer's have not been under the order of our creator." She promised.

"And Vega...you too know nothing about him?..." He questioned just to be absolutely certain.

"Correct, when the first of our kind came to be the basis for his design was bestowed to us by the creator's Seraphim, we simply refined it and developed it into Vega when we began to aid the Slayer, we have tried to reach out to the creator since then but much like you we were denied, and we have nothing but theories as to why this may be." She replied.

"Every answer I have found only leads to more questions...every riddle solved creates another...but the one constant in all of it is me...that is why I believe the reason for our creator's silence...their refusal to see I or my siblings is because there shall soon be an exile...and it will be mine..." He said with closed eyes.

"Surely that isn't the case, there hasn't been an exile since the war, and while we have butted heads great angel nothing you have done has even come close to warranting such punishment." Samur replied.

"Though I have yet to carry out any action and have only used my words or thoughts, given how distraught our creator was when the war began, how their creations used their free will to be at each other's throats, it makes sense to me that they would act far sooner than they did previously to prevent another war, as Pravuil said to me those who do not learn from history shall repeat it, and all I have found and have been met with since the Slayer first appeared, leads me to the conclusion that I have been nothing but a fool..." He told them.

"So it is true." A new voice suddenly spoke from behind him.

Feeling his eyes widen for he knew who that voice belonged to, Gabriel and the Maykrs looked passed him to find a portal made by Azrael, and standing in front of it was Lucifer.

"Lucifer?!" Gabriel questioned as he turned to face him, "Why are you here? Why has Azrael allowed you to be here?" He asked.

"Because I was informed of what has been going on through our shared acquaintance, but where as he has become my ally it seems he is your enemy, hence why I had my wife reach out to our sister to see if she could bring us together, in the hope that I might be able to diffuse this situation peacefully." Lucifer explained before looking to the Maykrs, "Forgive me, I've only met with one of you once and I know this is your domain, but could you perhaps leave us alone so we may speak as a family?" He requested.

"Of course, it is also a pleasure to finally meet you lord Lucifer, I thank you for being so hospitable to our champion." The Khan replied with a bow of her head, before she and Samur took their leave.

Smiling at how polite she seemed Lucifer returned his focus to his sibling, who stood there staring at him and the still open portal.

"Gabriel..." He began as he came closer to him, "I know that this is the first time we have spoken or even seen each other since this all started, but still I can't believe what is happening." He admitted.

"What exactly are you referring to? My existential crisis or the silence of our creator?" He

asked.

"Both." Lucifer answered as he held up the papers in his hand, "I thought I'd come up with exactly what I wanted to say to you, but after learning about this...I don't think it would be fitting now." He said.

"...You...actually prepared for this?" He questioned.

"Of course I did and I know you probably did too, I mean for fuck's sake Gabriel the last things we said to each other were insults and that we were no longer brothers, it's not like I could just show up all of a sudden and say something like hey, how's it been hanging in Heaven bro?" He replied, which managed to make his sibling chuckle.

"That was actually something I had considered...I wasted many parchments trying out different versions..." He admitted.

"Heh...even after all this time we still share a fairly similar mindset don't we?" Lucifer asked.

"That may be more accurate than you think, seeing as how our creator's Seraphim all state that they do not wish to see anyone...I may soon join you in Hell..." He replied.

"You know, if this had happened before now I probably would be enjoying it, but when the Slayer first arrived I was terrified beyond belief, I was scared to think that my wife and child were going to slaughtered and it would be MY fault, because I not only failed as an angel but as a devil and thus I would finally face the punishment." Lucifer explained as he put his hand on Gabriel's shoulder, "But he didn't just kick down the doors and start shooting, he gave me one chance to make a difference to save not only myself and my family, but everyone else in Hell along with their friends and families too, since then things have only been improving all because I was willing to acknowledge that I had made many mistakes, and considering the fact I'm standing here now instead of lying as a corpse, I think the same results can happen for you too brother." He said.

For the next several minutes they remained like this, Lucifer wanting his words to bring some form of comfort or hope to his sibling, while Gabriel fought with himself to assume that his brother knew what he was talking about.

"Let's say you're right Lucifer...say that by relenting and accepting I am at fault...that I have made more than one error in my lifetime...do you really think that by just allowing the Slayer his freedom to do as he sees fit...to no longer try and condemn him for his actions...that I may prove to our creator I have not lost sight of both myself and my position?" He asked.

"I know it's scary Gabriel, even if we ignore the Slayer entirely it is not easy to become better than we are, to realize that we were not always right or absolute about every choice we've made, the only thing that makes you and I different in this moment is that I've had all the time to realize this on my own yet didn't, you're having to deal with it all at once and that isn't fair to you, which is why I want us to finally be a family again, and like a family be there to help each other rise back up when we fall." Lucifer answered.

As he listened to his words Gabriel was left awestruck by his sibling, to think that despite their history his brother would be so mature and compassionate was amazing. So much so, that for the first time EVER in their entire lives, even when they were both angels and war did not loom on the horizon, Gabriel would pull his brother into a hug. This didn't surprise Lucifer though, for the truth was if Gabriel hadn't done it he was going to, this tension and alienation from both of them had gone on long enough, so this was long overdue.

"...That...that is so beautiful..." Azrael spoke from the portal while sniffling, on the verge of tears despite not having a body.

"You just HAD to ruin the moment didn't you?" Lucifer asked as they ended the hug, both brothers looking to their sister.

"Oh I'M sorry I'm happy to see us being a family again! EXCUSE me for getting just as emotional as you two!" She replied.

"That is true, this is the first time we've acted like we did when we were first made, before our responsibilities were given out and our positions made clear, this lack of formality is...nice." Gabriel admitted.

"SEE! He's getting emotional too!" She argued.

"Okay okay I'm sorry." Lucifer apologized as he raised his hands, "Though, now that we've got this particular ball rolling it's only a matter of time until word spreads, soon we'll have the biggest family reunion in history." He realized.

"True, so it would be best if we sorted out our current business before that happens." Gabriel suggested.

"Does this mean that you want to go back with Lucifer then? Because if so I'm coming with you, it wouldn't be fair if you got to meet our niece before I did considering I helped make this

happen." She pointed out.

"That's right, my niece..." He said as he looked to the ground, that thought not having come to him until she mentioned it.

"Oh? Are we feeling nervous again Gabriel?" She questioned.

"Oh leave him be Azrael, he's got enough to sort out and deal with, though at least now he'll have us to help him." Lucifer responded.

"That I will." He agreed causing smiles to appear on both their faces.

"Alright alright come on you two, if we keep getting mushy like this then we'll be here forever, let's get this mess sorted out first THEN we can have a group hug." She told them.

Nodding in agreement her siblings would listen to her and enter the portal together. Once they were through and it was sealed the Maykrs would come back out, having only just left their sight so they could eavesdrop.

"So, what do you make of this Samur?" The Khan inquired.

"I'll be honest with you, no amount of calculations or wild assumptions could have led me to think this was a potential outcome." He admitted.

"Likewise, here we were thinking the only way this could end was in another war, not to say I'm disappointed of course it is a good thing that no violence shall come of this, but even so all of our contingencies and preparations..." She trailed off.

"Are practically for nothing now." He finished her sentence.

"Yes, should we inform the Exterminators and the Sentinels immediately? Or should we wait until

we are absolutely certain this shall come to a peaceful end?" She asked.

"We've spent so much time readying ourselves for the worst possible outcome, I do think it would be reckless of us to assume that no further shocking developments shall occur." He answered.

"Agreed, we will wait until the dust has finally settled and we all can breathe easy before making a decision." She stated.

You know that rush of excitement and joy you would feel on Christmas morning as a child, when you woke from your bed and ran to the living room to see all of the presents Santa left you? Well, that exact same feeling filled every Exterminator in this very moment, as they all stared with widened eyes and gaping maws at the Sentinel armory. For after their meeting with the Wraiths was over, and they bombarded the celestial gods with a mountain of questions, which they were happy to answer, the Wraiths offered them complete access to the Sentinel's weapons and armors, as a show of trust and acceptance. This included the armory where the items were stored, the forge where they were made, and the training hall where Sentinel men and women all clashed fist or steel against each other in practice.

But of course the first place they went to was where all of their new "toys" were kept, they wanted to see just how mind blowingly awesome these guys could make their armaments.

"It's...it's beautiful..." Gretta said softly as a tear came to her eye.

"I'm glad to see all of you can appreciate our craftsmanship." King Novik replied still serving as their guide.

"Look at that axe!" "Holy shit is that a LASER FLAIL?!" "LOOK! They have the Slayer's shotgun model! We can get our own!" Were a few of the things that they all said as they stared towards the walls.

"Now that you are our allies you will have access to our weapons, you will also be able to train under the mentorship of our commanders, and in case you want a set of your own we can make you armor that resembles ours, or if you prefer make new versions of your current masks and preferred weapons using our resources and technology." He told them.

"S-Seriously?! That's...insanely generous of you..." Gretta replied.

"Hey, what's that over there?" One of the Exterminators asked as they pointed to the other side of the room.

Moving all of their gazes to that spot the Exterminators saw something that seemed to be a case of some kind, though it had a peculiar design to it that made them unsure.

"That is where we keep the Slayer's original armor, when we forged for him his current set he wanted it to be preserved, so we crafted a special case to house it for him." King Novik answered.

"You mean the armor he wore back on his home world right?" Gretta questioned.

"Correct, however as he continued to prove himself to us and eventually earned the right to be crowned, it has become a valued artifact for our people." He explained.

"That does make sense, after everything he's accomplished." She said. "Could we see it though?" Another Exterminator asked.

"Normally we would not show it to outsiders, but seeing as how we shall be fighting alongside one another in the coming conflict, I suppose you have just as much of right to view as any Sentinel does." He answered.

Getting excited from his response they all followed him across the room, no longer able to look at anything else as their curiosity of what the armor looked like took priority. But once they reached the case and King Novik walked up to open it, when it was fully opened and they could take in every detail, they felt all emotion leave their bodies. For although the armor was as cool as they had hoped, and it was certainly far different than the armor he had now, they noticed just how badly it was damage. Large pieces of it were either gone completely or possessed massive gashes in the metal, the pants though looking sturdy had patches and stitch work that had been done repeatedly just to keep it together.

Then there was the final piece of the whole set, the helmet, it was the one that was by far the worse for wear, the reason why they assumed is because all the demons he fought while wearing it must've tried going for his head. It was covered in countless scrapes and scratches, the visor too was heavily scuffed and looked worn out to all hell, and there were several parts where it was obvious a breach of some kind had happened, but was welded shut and back together in a way that was barely serviceable.

"There's another reason this armor has come to be revered by us." King Novik spoke as they continued to stare, "When we saw the full power and strength of the forces he had been fighting for so long singlehandedly, without our training, our technology, or even intervention from the Maykrs, that is when we realized the power he wielded all on his own, how else may one explain with his armor in this state could he have survived? How else was he able to continue fighting with in the moment repairs such as this? The only possible answer is that while his armor does aid him, as do his guns and blades and other armaments, even if he were stripped of all these things he would be unstoppable, and this armor is proof of that fact." He explained.

Remaining there for a few moments longer eventually they all would look away, as nothing more could gathered or noticed about the armor at that point. But as King Novik closed the case Gretta would approach him with a request.

"Your majesty, you said that we could be trained by your commanders correct?" She asked. "That I did." He answered.

"Then considering we will be fighting alongside your people and the Slayer, I think it would be best if we spent these next few days doing just that, all we've ever had to do is kill demons which was hard at all given our weapons, but now we will actually have to hold our own and I don't think we can in our current state, plus we wouldn't want to be a burden or a liability on you." She explained.

"I understand, if that is truly what all of you want then it can be arranged, we will provide you rooms and serve you meals with the others are undergoing training, however I must warn you that we will not hold back, though you may be Heavenborn we do not give special treatment to anyone, you will be put through the same exhaustion and pain as everyone else has, are you prepared to endure that?" He asked.

Not even needing to discuss it as they all were quite certain, a unanimous nod of their heads would be the only response he needed.

"Very well, I suggest you spend the rest of today doing as you please, whether that be exploring our city, our world, or even learning more of our history and culture, for the moment the sun rises after

this night there will be nothing but training, eating, and sleeping." He told them.

"Yes sir!" They all exclaimed together, while doing the salute that they had seen the Sentinels do.

Day 4, First Half

A soft mattress, freshly cleaned sheets, a couple of fluffy pillows, and a nice warm blanket were things that if combined together, resulted in a blissful slumber that could last the entire night. Sadly many people take this sort of thing for granted, as it's just a part of their everyday lives so they never need to think about it. But for the Slayer who was actually sound asleep in one of the rooms on the ground floor of the hotel, he truly appreciated just how nice this was. And while most people would assume it's because of the tragedy that is his life, and that certainly did play a part in it, the last time he slept was when he was imprisoned in a sarcophagus by the demons, so yeah this was a SIGNIFFICANT improvement.

Sadly he was still incredibly cautious, hence why when he took off his armor he put it in a nearby chair that faced his door, so Vega could alert him if someone came in. Which was actually a reasonable concern, as the entirety of the previous day had basically been spent with him having to deal with the hotel guests, who of course still revered him like he was a celebrity, though to be fair he kinda was now. Yet that's not where it ended ooooooooh no, for you see any single moment he had to himself he was approached by Blitzo, Moxxie, Millie, and Loona who had apparently worked up a sales pitch for his merchandise. We're talking cups, mugs, t-shirts, plushies, pillows both normal and body, action figures, and countless other ideas, which he had to respect for the effort and creativity that went into them.

Hopefully though since that was how he spent the entire day that this one would be different, he still expected people to approach him asking for photos or autographs, which he admittedly enjoyed doing.

"I am sorry to wake you from your slumber." Vega spoke, which due to his readiness to jump into action at any moment instantly woke him, "But there are several people coming to see you, and I think you can guess as to who they are." He explained.

Not even needing to question that or take a second to wonder, the Slayer got out of the bed and began putting his armor on at such a fast rate, that if there were some kind of record for getting dressed he'd definitely have it.

"Helloooooo, Will?" Blitzo called from outside of the room while knocking on the door, apparently now feeling familiar enough to use his name, not that he had problem with it, "I know you're probably dreaming of cutting demons in half with your chainsaw or ripping out their spines with your bare hands, but we have whipped up some prototypes that we'd REALLY love to show you!" He exclaimed.

Doing one quick check to make sure every piece of his suit was on properly, the Slayer then walked over to his room's door and opened it. To his surprise Blitzo had actually undersold the amount of work they had accomplished, they didn't just have like one or two prototypes of their proposed merchandise, but literally one for every single thing they had pitched. Though to be fair it was all craft store quality, in fact he was pretty sure that they stole a bunch of the hotel's stuff during the night to make this, but he still admired their persistence and enthusiasm.

"Okay, so first thing's first we've got the mugs that I'm particularly proud of that we want to show you, because nothing sells better than mugs it's a well known fact!" He said as he held them up.

Gently grabbing them so he wouldn't accidentally break each one, these mugs only served to be concrete evidence that they had just looted the hotel, due to the clearly hand painted on words and pictures. For the most part the words were just phrases like "Slay The Morning!" or "I love coffee with my demon slaying!", where as the pictures were attempts at recreating his helmet or the weapons that they had seen thus far.

"Now I know what you're thinking, looks like some preschooler hopped up on pixie sticks and glue did them right? To be fair I WAS pretty excited when I was painting them, but I PROMISE you that when we start making the official ones they'll look MUCH better." He assured before looking to Millie and Moxxie, "Alright, your turn." He said.

"So, what do people buy just as much as novel and commemorative mugs?" She asked as they stepped forward.

"Coffee to put in them?" Vega asked.

"Well, yeah sure, but also matching t-shirts!" She exclaimed as she and her husband held up two of them.

Looking at the articles of clothing these actually had some craftsmanship to them, even if they were clearly made from sheets that had been sewn and stitched into shirts. Starting with the one Millie held up it had the phrase she suggested initially "I Survived The Slayer!", where as the one Moxxie held had "My Best Guns Are These!" with two arrows on both sides pointing to where the arms would be.

"While they are both good, the Slayer finds Moxxie's to be quite clever." Vega told them. "R-Really?" Moxxie asked in surprise before his wife hugged him.

"I told you it was a great idea honey bun!" She exclaimed as a blush came to his face.

"Out of curiosity, did you apply both phrases and the arrows to the shirts with markers?" Vega questioned.

"Yeah, unfortunately we're nowhere near good enough to try and stitch the letters on, and even if we were there wasn't all too much material for us to use..." Moxxie replied embarrassed.

"I see, well then, what did you make miss Loona?" He asked as it was now her turn.

Not responding with words but just by showing him what she had, Loona held up a rolled up piece of paper before letting it unfurl so he could see what was on it. To both Vega and the Slayer's surprise however they saw an image that was so grotesque, so horrifying, so disturbed in every conceivable way, that there was only one word that came to Slayer's mind as a result, METAL.

"Miss Loona, did you draw this yourself?" He asked.

"Yeah." She answered simply as she looked off to the side, "I just based it off of the art from some of my albums, and considering how hardcore you are when it comes to killing and shit, I dunno just seemed like it'd be pretty on brand for you, but you probably think it's too much right?" She asked.

"On the contrary, your picture is the best thing the Slayer has been shown thus far." He answered causing all of their eyes to widen.

"Wait...really?" She questioned.

"Indeed, the Slayer is an avid lover of many different genres of music, though his favorites consist of many sub genres found in Rock N' Roll and Metal, as a result in his fortress he has a collection of records and posters inspired by this kind of music, he even owns three custom made guitars that he built himself." He explained.

"Holy fuck that's awesome!" She exclaimed as the biggest smile anyone had ever seen from her appeared on her face.

Immediately realizing how unusual her reaction was, Loona quickly returned to her normal self and acted like it never happened.

"Uh, I mean, that's pretty interesting, figured you'd just like to hear the sounds of guns shooting or whatever." She said.

"He does enjoy that as well, in fact he has actually created his own genre of music that combines the sounds of combat and weapon fire with instruments, his current name for it is Melodic Mayhem." He replied.

Once again a smile would appear on her face in addition to her ears perking up, only for both to go back to normal quite quickly as she was prepared for it this time.

"Melodic Mayhem huh?...Pretty decent name..." She complimented trying to keep her cool, "You know though, if you make your own music we could use that as a form of merchandise, that is if you'd be willing to record and sell it." She suggested.

"If you believe that people would actually be interested in the sounds of high caliber rounds being dispelled at one per second, happening in rhythm with a variety of guitar riffs and heavy drum beats, then he would be more than happy to give it a shot." He replied.

"Oh yeah, I know a SHIT ton of people who'd actually be willing to kill just to hear a sample of that." She assured as she gestured for him to follow her, "Come on, breakfast is probably being served right now, we can talk more about it while we eat." She suggested.

Nodding to show he agreed with that the Slayer followed behind her as they both headed for the dining hall, seeming to ignore the still present imps. However the trio wasn't upset by this at all, their minds were far too frazzled thanks to what they had just witnessed.

"Did...did Loona ACTUALLY get excited about something?..." They all wondered, as this truly was one of the most shocking things to ever happen in their lives, to the point it rivaled the Slayer even.

(Elsewhere...)

"Aww, she's so cute!" Azrael exclaimed as she looked at baby pictures of Charlie.

When the trio returned to Lucifer's home in his circle a series of events happened. First there was Gabriel and Lilith's introductions to each other, then Azrael appeared in her true form which Lilith actually wasn't upset by, in fact she actually thought it was incredibly unique which helped to make her more comfortable. After that the rest of the day was spent trying to figure out what could be done to help Gabriel, and although there were a number of things they decided on, the first and most important was to make peace with the slayer. But that would be done later today, for right now they had a far greater matter to attend during their breakfast, which was going through family photo albums.

"She is isn't she?" Lucifer asked with a doofy grin, as he just loved looking at how precious his daughter was when she was little.

"Hopefully she has taken more from her mother's personality than yours, I'd hate for there to be someone else as nonsensical as you." Gabriel said jokingly.

"I will have you know that she has a personality that is entirely her own, she is nothing like me!" He exclaimed proudly.

Upon hearing that aloud he would fall silent as it had sounded better in his head. To his misfortune however they would not give him a chance to back pedal or explain himself, as his siblings and even his wife burst out into laughter.

"...You know what I meant..." He told them though quietly as a hot flash of embarrassment hit him.

"Oh...we do dear..." Lilith replied through her chuckles as they calmed down, "But if there is one thing you two share it is that you act before you think." She said.

"That is true, like remember back when our creator gave you that flaming sword and warned you to be careful? The FIRST thing you did was start waving it around to be a show off, next thing you know your wings are catching fire." Azrael recalled which caused Gabriel to laugh once more.

"I remember that! He ran around screaming for someone to douse him!" He exclaimed as he chortled.

"Well, at least you're in far better spirits than you were yesterday brother." Lucifer noticed as he crossed his arms.

"That's true, in fact I can't even recall the last time you laughed like this." Azrael added.

"Well...I have all of you to thank for that, though there is still much we need to do it feels like I can finally breathe easy again." He replied.

"On that matter, do you think the Slayer will be willing to see you again? Even after what happened during the meeting?" Lilith asked.

"I do, if not solely because he was willing to listen and consider the offer I gave him...still, I would appreciate if I could stand behind you." He requested.

"Gabriel, are you ACTUALLY scared of the Slayer?" Lucifer asked with a cheeky grin.

"Allow me to respond with a different question, are you afraid of garbage disposals Lucifer?" He asked.

"Of course not." His brother answered.

"And yet despite not being afraid of them you aren't trying to shove your hand into one now are you?" He questioned.

"...You know, that might be one of the best ways of summing up the Slayer I've ever heard in my life." Lucifer admitted.

"Thank you, but you do see my point, that while I am not afraid of him I still don't want to just walk into the building and demand I see him." He said.

"I do, but there is something else we need to talk about, and that is you Azrael." Lucifer replied.

"Me? Have I done something wrong?" She asked.

"No, but I'm afraid you can't go out looking as you do, not that there's anything wrong with your true self of course just that...well...even for Hell it is rather...scary..." He explained.

"Do you think the same Gabriel?" She asked now looking to him.

"While I personally don't think your visage is unsettling sister, the fact is my current form was made to be more approachable not just to mortals but all Heavenborn as well, and while it has no doubt been a VERY long time since he's shown his true self, I assume you agree with me Lucifer in that our true original divine forms are a bit much for most to handle." He said.

"That I do, in fact when this all started I nearly transformed before Lilith and Charlie, though given I am no longer divine it is much different than before." Lucifer replied.

"But I have never had to take on a different form, for me it is either my true self as I am now, or just an ethereal nothingness spread across my realm, I wouldn't even know where to begin." She admitted.

"If you'd like you could base it off of me, I would have any problems with that." Lilith suggested.

"I would, out of everything in this life I would never want to see it is my sister looking like my wife, you can use her as a basis but please make appropriate changes." Lucifer requested.

Deciding that this was probably her best shot at figuring out what she might look like, Azrael focused on Lilith and slowly began to transform. From resembling a serpent she turned into a humanoid shape, and per Lucifer's wishes she made sure it had her personal flair applied to it as to avoid looking like a clone of his wife. For starters she was MUCH taller than Lilith, and while that would make discretion nigh impossible, they knew she'd be firm on being that height as it was similar to her true self. She would also keep her skin the same shade of deep black that it was, with the traces of purple energy that course through her also remaining.

This brought them to the final details of her new body, long pure white hair that reached down to her lower back, accompanied by matching white pupils and irises so eyes could be seen.

"Did it work?" She asked as she kept staring at Lilith, in case she was still transforming.

"I must say sister, for your first ever transformation into a new state of being, this is very impressive." Lucifer complimented.

"Agreed, I'm proud of you Azrael." Gabriel said.

"Aw, thanks you two, there's still some details I probably need to work out, but for now this will do just fine." She replied now looking down at herself.

"On that front come with me." Lilith spoke as she got up from her seat and grabbed onto her hand. "Is something wrong dear?" Lucifer asked as his wife began taking her away.

"Even though her upper and lower sections do not have any detail to them, I don't think it'd be wise if we let her walk out naked, so I'm going to get her some clothes." She explained.

"Oh, yes that is a good idea." He agreed as they left, leaving him and his brother alone to talk to each other and finish up their breakfast.

(Back At The Hotel..)

"...Okay, this is getting old." Angel Dust said with crossed arms, as he and the others all looked at the Slayer from the check in desk.

Though this was the calmest other people have been so far, there was still a decent sized group surrounding him as he sat in a chair in the lobby. Now if he were anyone else, literally ANYONE else in the entirety of Hell and beyond, he would've been able to show just a LITTLE bit of aggression to get them to back off. Sadly that was one luxury he probably could never have again, if he were to even step towards them a bit too hard it could give the wrong impression. So until someone figured out something he just had to deal with it, which he was actually okay with given how he has spent the majority of his life, but for his new friends and colleagues it was aggravating.

"Are we being selfish?" Charlie asked.

"What do you mean exactly hon?" Vagatha questioned.

"Think about it, Will has been through so much and now that he's not only able to relax, but he has people wanting to see him and take pictures with him we're getting jealous." She explained.

"Pfft, speak for yourself." Katie replied as she crossed her arms, "The only reason I'm miffed is because Tom still hasn't shown that damn documentary yet, I mean sure he's shown the interview, but the point is I've been wanting to talk with Will about going back to the studio and making sure it finally happens." She said.

"So you're calling him Will now too huh?" Vagatha asked.

"He said it was okay if Angel did it so I don't see why not, plus Blitzo and them were doing it all throughout breakfast." She answered before taking a look around, "Speaking of which, where are they?" She asked.

"Considering that they wouldn't stop talking to him about merchandise, I'm guessing they're back in one of their rooms thinking up more ideas." Angel Dust suggested.

"Hey." Husk spoke from the floor behind the desk, earning their attention, "If you guys are gonna keep yapping away could ya maybe do it not here? I'm trying to sleep." He told them.

"...You do realize you're meant to be working right?" Vagatha asked.

"Look, after the last few days I've been through I need a couple hours of me time, so just let me pass out in a booze induced coma for a bit and I'll be sure to man my station after." He replied before laying back down.

"Man, the difference between you and Nifty is incredible." She said which caused a new question to come to mind, "Actually, where is Nifty? Usually she hangs around you." She noticed.

"Seeing as how the hotel has guests now she's probably darting around making sure shit is spick and span." He replied.

"I also haven't seen Alastor anywhere, though he's probably avoiding everyone since he doesn't seem to sociable, at least not with groups." Charlie mentioned.

"Cherri's off messing with Sir Pentious since he's back." Angel Dust chimed in, since it seemed like they were doing a roll call.

"Vox and Velvet are probably still in their room catching up." Katie suggested joining in as well.

"In fact, the only people who are usually here but aren't is yer folks Charlie, do you think they were able to reach yer uncle?" He asked.

"Don't know, I've tried calling and texting them a few times but they haven't responded, so they must still be busy." She answered.

"ALRIGHT YOU BUNCH OF LUNATICS BACK OFF!" The voice of Blitzo suddenly shouted, followed by several exclamations of "Hey!" or "What the fuck man?!".

Looking back to the group that surrounded the Slayer they all saw the lanky imp and his crew pushing or shoving them away, though they made sure to be as gentle as possible.

"Was that necessary?" Vega would ask once all four of them stood in front of the Slayer.

"Just a moment." He would quickly say before turning back to the still remaining group, "LISTEN UP! You all have been hounding the Slayer since he got back! Not to mention a few days ago when you all first got here! Now I know all of your panties and boxer shorts are just burning red hot for him, but the man needs some space!" He exclaimed.

"Oh really? Then how come he hasn't told us that?" One of the guests questioned.

"Well...you see..." He stalled for a moment so he could whisper to the Slayer, "Look big guy, I promise this isn't just so we can pitch ya more shit, I actually have something important to talk with you about so could ya maybe help me out here?" He asked.

"The Slayer would like to apologize for the rather rude behavior of his associate here." Vega spoke addressing the group, "However he has done so because a matter of importance pertaining to the hotel has arisen, and although you may find it hard to believe he and those with him do work here, so may the Slayer have five to ten minutes alone with them so he can help them with the issue?" He requested.

Watching in amazement at how calm and cooperative everyone suddenly was when they heard that, they all gave their own responses to that before taking their leave for the time being.

"Holy shit, that actually worked." Blitzo said just before a shadow cast over him.

"Though you are not in any danger, the Slayer would like to verify that you were being honest with him, and this wasn't just a ploy to continue discussing merchandise." Vega informed him as the Slayer stood from his seat.

"Of course I was being honest! What you think I'd try bullshitting you after all this time? Do you think so low of me?" He asked with sad puppy dog eyes.

"Not at all, but you have been rather persistent in marketing his image." Vega pointed out.

"Eh, you got me there, but seeing as how we're no longer killing people for money we gotta find a new income somehow!" He replied going back to his old self, "Now, about that important business I needed to talk to you about, see the thing is in exchange for ALL this staff we've acquired, as well as a few other things I can't think of right now, I promise Stolas, you know the noble I'm in with?

That he, his daughter, and her friends could all meet with you! And seeing as how you've got no issues with that kind of thing I thought it'd be okay!" He explained.

"Wait, I thought that Stolas was happy to-" Moxxie began to say, only to be sent to the floor as

Blitzo swiftly hit him in the stomach with his elbow.

Watching as the poor imp writhed in pain and wheezed while his wife attended to him, the Slayer having more than two functioning brain cells could see that this was, as some of the others might put it, total bullshit. But to be fair he made a very good point that this didn't bother him at all, so even though he didn't approve of him jabbing Moxxie in his gut, he still nodded his head to show he was on board.

"Great! Glad to see we're all set! Also I may have called him before we came to see you so they're probably-" Blitzo began to say, only to be stopped as they heard the doors open and they saw Stolas coming in, "Here already!" He exclaimed while gesturing to the entrance.

"So that is what Stolas looks like." Vega noted, as right after him another owl demon who they assumed to be his daughter came in, accompanied by an assortment of other demon teenagers.

"Blitzy!" He called out once he saw the imp, only to switch his focus to who stood next to him, "Oh my." He said.

"Whoa..." His presumed daughter and her friends all said at once. "Hey Stolas! Come on over!" Blitzo invited with a gesture.

Accepting the invitation this new group though excited still approached slowly, as this was the first time any of them had seen the Slayer in person.

"Man...he is really is just as awesome as he was on TV..." One of the teenagers said which earned a nod from the rest.

"That is kind of you to say." Vega spoke.

"You're Vega right?" Another one asked, remembering that from the interview that was broadcasted recently.

"That is correct, and just in case you are wondering I am in fact an AI, I am not someone sitting at a desk somewhere simply speaking to through the Slayer's suit, my sentience is entirely digital." He explained.

Being sent into a variety of excited whispers among themselves, Blitzo decided to take over to help get this moving along.

"So! You wanted to take pictures with him right Octavia?" He asked addressing the owl demon. "Yeah, that is if you're sure it's no trouble." She answered though directing it to the Slayer. "Not at all, would you all prefer to take a picture one at a time or in a group?" Vega asked. "Could we maybe do both?" She suggested.

"Of course." He replied causing smiles to come to all of their faces.

Thankfully Blitzo had been mindful enough to get a camera of his own, though it was probably because one of his "ideas" was to start charging people for these pictures. But that was something the Slayer could question him about later, right now the teens all took their turn getting a solo picture with him, before eventually all coming together for group shot.

"Alright, everyone got their spot?" Blitzo asked receiving several nods in response, "Great, just stay

still and...perfect!" He exclaimed as he took the final picture.

With all of them taken the teens would huddle around him so they could see how they turned out, which allowed Stolas to approach him unnoticed.

"Excuse me, may I have a word? I promise it will be quick." He requested. "Do you want a picture as well?" Vega asked.

"Oh no no no, at least not right now." He answered with a chuckle, "You see, as Blitzy has no doubt told you by now all of the new staff has been given by the noble class, and while they did so willingly without the promise of anything, I was hoping I might bring them here so they could meet you, just so their nerves will be eased and they won't have to fret over the idea you might come to kill them." He explained.

"That is reasonable, it would also be beneficial in general as the less people are afraid of him the more easily it will be for them to cooperate." Vega replied.

"Glad to see you agree." He said with a smile.

Sadly this would be the end of this pleasant experience, for once more the front doors were opened which drew all attention to them. But it wasn't that occurrence in of itself that brought everything to a stop, it was who was seen entering the hotel that did it. The first two people seen were Lucifer and Lilith, but behind them were two faces no one but the Slayer and Vega recognized. Even with Azrael taking on a more "normal" form there was no mistaking the aura she gave off, and of course Gabriel hadn't changed at all as he had only been in such a form as far as they knew. However no words would be spoken or exchanged even as the seconds turned to minutes, eventually though something did happen and it sent everyone's stomachs into their throats.

The Slayer, as slow and as intimidating as he possibly could, walked away from Stolas and the others to that side of the room, his eyes focused on the archangel all the while.

"It appears as though archangel, that the previous meeting was not actually the last." Vega spoke as the Slayer stopped just a few feet away.

"Yes, but hopefully the outcome of this one shall be to both our liking." He replied.

Day 4, Second Half

Gabriel and The Slayer, two figures who held great power and were unaffected by the passage of time. One wielded the might of Heaven itself along with a spear that he would use to impale the heretics of creation, the second wielded nothing more than his bare fists to carry out his fury, with his armaments merely being an extension of that wrath. If these two titans were to fight, with the former shedding his current form to reveal his true self and unleash the power brought with it, a single clash against one another could be enough to distort the very fabric of reality around them. This was something the Slayer was actually used to, having fought similar beings of equal or even greater power such as the Icon Of Sin, the twin sisters known as The Mother Of All Demons and The Resurrector, The Spider Master Mind, and of course The Dark One himself.

But for the demons and even the royal family that knew Lucifer's circle as home , they all waited with baited breath outside the dining room to see what would come from this meeting. The reason why they were alone excluding the "presence" of Vega in the dining room was by Gabriel's request. He did not want anything to get between them whether that be person or position, there was no more ceremony to this situation, he wanted himself and the Slayer to just be who they really were, no wasted words, no nonsense, no bullshit.

"...I can feel it you know." He spoke after five minutes of silent staring as both sat at opposite ends, "That rage of yours, even from the other side of the room I can feel it, though I cannot discern how much of it is for me and how much is what you carry always." He admitted.

"Why are you here?" Vega asked.

"I have come to speak with you, and I know that must seem underhanded or a betrayal of our previous agreement, but I assure you there is no scheme happening here, no angels shall be coming down to begin a slaughter, I am not here to offer you more than what I have already promised, I have come here as a result of my own self reflection and my conversations with my siblings." He answered.

"This is a far different attitude and personality than what we were shown during the meeting." Vega noted.

"Yes, and there is a reason for that, a reason that while not justifying my actions or my behavior is still an explanation, whether or not you think it is worthwhile or that it is good is up to you, and as to not waste any time I shall be as brief as possible." He replied before closing his eyes, "The truth is Slayer you threaten me, not with your rage or even your actions, instead it is the fact that someone like you can even exist at all, your power is nothing special as I, my siblings, and of course our creator have equal or greater power depending on who we look at specifically, but the fact that you are a simple mortal, not a blessed one or perhaps one associated with a long set prophecy, or even one made by our creator to serve a purpose, before encountering the Sentinels and Maykrs you were entirely normal in both body and soul, yet despite this you have done things that no other could ever accomplish, even me." He explained as he opened his eyes to look at him again, "That is why I have had such issues with you, it is even one of the reasons for why I and my brother held so much

animosity for each other, I was made to be the keeper of peace, the judge of creation to sort out the wicked and see them punished, but here I am sitting across from an ascended mortal who has done more than I ever have, which has made me question the very worth of my existence." He told him.

A few seconds more of silence would go by as he waited for either Vega or the Slayer to do something, but when a response did come it was the one he knew he would get. This wasn't to say that it was good, far from it in fact, but it didn't surprise him given how their last interaction went and what had been said during it. What he did was grab onto the table, and as easily as if it were one of the smaller ones nearby or even a chair, he threw it to one side of the room yet it managed to not break even as it hit the wall. After that however is when things went from tense to dire, as now with no table between them the Slayer was upon the archangel in seconds, grabbing him by his throat and applying just enough force to make sure he stayed in his seat.

As for the others, when they all heard the incredibly loud sound of the table meeting the wall they all rushed to the door to enter, but by the Slayer's intention he had thrown it to that side to block it, keeping them out as he did what he needed to.

"SLAYER!" He heard the voice of Lucifer shout out along with everyone else's, all of them doing their damnedest to push the table away from their side of the door, "DON'T HURT HIM PLEASE! I KNOW THAT MAY SOUND STRANGE ESPECIALLY FROM ME OF ALL PEOPLE! BUT PLEASE I'M ASKING YOU TO NOT DO ANYTHING TO SEVERE!" He said.

The truth was Lucifer and the others could EASILY move that table, but given its length and how much it covered the wall because of it, they wouldn't be able to do so without damaging said wall in the process. So as the Slayer stared into Gabriel's eyes with his hand around his throat, all they could do was try and shove or push it out of the way, hoping they might get in there to diffuse this situation.

"Do you plan to kill me Slayer?" He asked still completely calm. "That depends on the next few moments." Vega answered.

"What will determine my survival?" He asked.

"Your responses to the following." Vega answered before saying more, "The Slayer is angered by what you just told him for two reasons, the first is that even if you are regretful of what you said during the meeting, even if it did truly stem from these doubts you have about your abilities and how well you've served your position, it still does not excuse the fact that you were willing to massacre all of the people in this circle regardless of how severe their crimes were, or if they even committed any crimes period, you also were willing to kill those who have either suffered well enough to pay for said crimes, or in the case of the truly innocent such as the children of these demons and natural Hellspawn, everyone to you was an acceptable and unavoidable casualty." He explained.

"Yes, and I am deeply regretful of that as you said. " Gabriel replied honestly, "Now tell me, what is the second reason?" He inquired,

"That you were willing to kill even your own brother and his family, though killing the countless souls that live here indiscriminately is just as inexcusable, one would assume that mercy would be shown to them given their familial ties to you, but you did not even hesitate to add them to the corpses that would cover the ground, this especially enrages the Slayer." Vega told him.

"As it should...although I caught a glimpse of her before we came into this room I still have yet to properly meet my niece, I only know her name and what my brother and his wife have shared, I will not claim I did not mean what I said or that it was misunderstood, I accept the burden that comes with it until I can finally confess to my brother's face, as well as the danger it puts me in by angering you, which is why I make this request despite you having every reason to ignore it and do what you believe is best, please, give me a chance to make proper amends for all that I have caused with my actions, allow me to be the angel of justice I should have been this entire time, and should I stumble even once then I will allow you to strike me down, just as you would have allowed yourself to be bound in chains by my sister's servants." He responded.

Even with the sounds of the others still trying to get into the room to intervene filling the air, for Gabriel and the Slayer nothing existed but them. Whatever happened next could cause any number of outcomes. From the possibility of his siblings seeking revenge for their brother's death including Lucifer, to the optimistic outcome where if he spared him everything just worked out. It all depended on what the Slayer did with his hand, for the archangel looked at him with a gaze that did not waver, he was ready and willing to either live or die here and now.

This however did not keep the Heavenborn from breathing a sigh of relief as he let him go, for although he hated him he still knew that Gabriel was no liar, everything that left his mouth was truth and that did mean something. But he would take what he said to heart, if at any moment he so much as said something spiteful or hateful towards anyone, he would feel the horrid agony of his wings being torn from his back and a blast of lead incinerating his insides.

"Thank you Slayer..." He spoke as the other walked over to the table, "I promise by every merit I have to my name and position, you will not come to regret the mercy you have shown me here today." He assured.

Instead of having Vega say something in response he would give one of his own, a final look towards the angel from over his shoulder that served as a warning, which he understood loud and clear. And so with their situation currently settled he grabbed onto the table and moved it out of the way, allowing the others to finally push open the door and run in.

"GABRIEL!" Lucifer shouted the moment he was in, the sight of his brother alive and unharmed causing him to exhale a breath of relief.

"I am fine Lucifer, there's no reason to be so frantic." He replied as he rose from his seat.

Before anyone else could say anything more to him or try and speak to the Slayer, Lucifer would do so first as he turned to him and grabbed his hand to shake it.

"Thank you for not reducing my brother to mush, I know you had every reason to but still, thank you." He said as he shook it.

Much like before Vega would not speak for him at all, the Slayer just nodded his head slowly before pulling his hand away. Watching him walk by them and out of the dining hall no one dared to try and stop him, this was a side none of them had seen since he initially arrived or when he went to see the three Vs, which immediately made them all worry.

"Gabriel, what happened?" Lucifer asked as he turned to his brother, some of the others doing the same while the rest kept watching the Slayer leave.

"We were able to come to a truce, albeit one that has a gun pointed between my wings at all

times, ready to fire the moment I so much as sneeze too loudly or bump into someone accidentally, but still it is a truce." Gabriel answered.

"Really? That's what he wanted from you?" Lilith asked.

"I suggested it, that seemed to me to be the only proper agreement that should be reached, after all this entire mess is my doing, it wouldn't make sense for me to be given a more lenient punishment than him." He explained.

"Well, that does make sense, even so you better not screw this up, we're finally working through our family issues and tension and it would suck if that was all for nothing if you get yourself killed." Lucifer told him causing him to chuckle.

"I already conduct myself in as best of a manner as possible brother, though given how I have fallen so to say, I agree that now more than ever I need to do better than I have." He agreed with a smile, which caused his sibling to do so as well.

But before either of them could continue the conversation someone else would step forward, it being the one person who he was honestly just as worried about facing as the Slayer. For a few moments both she and him stood there simply looking at each other, neither of them really sure how to initiate what would be their first ever interaction. Thankfully neither would have to, for Azrael's wisdom on social interactions from having observed mortals for so long gave her an idea, and thus she too stepped forward to join her brother's side.

"Hello Charlotte, or Charlie if that is what you prefer." She greeted as she put a hand to her chest, "I am Azrael, death incarnate, and one of your many never before seen or spoken to relatives, and this thickheaded but honest and faithful figure is another of those relatives." She introduced before looking to him, "Want to take it from there?" She asked.

"Er, yes, thank you sister." He answered as he looked back to his niece, "I am Gabriel, archangel of justice and the keeper of order for all of creation, though given what you have heard of me recently I probably do not seem so fitting of that title, but I promise you that I-"

At the point she couldn't hold back anymore, his niece rushed forward and pulled him into a hug, tears already leaking from her eyes due to the overwhelming joy she felt.

"It's nice to finally meet you..." She barely managed to whisper to him as she buried her head in his chest.

Though taken aback by how comfortable she was already to act this way towards him, it didn't keep him from wrapping his arms around her and returning the embrace.

"I...feel the same way..." He replied causing her to cry more.

Looking down at her and how happy she seemed brought a small smile to his face, which grew just a bit more when his sister joined in on the hug.

"This is so sweet..." Lilith said just as she heard someone sniffle, making her look to her side, "Lucifer? Are you..." She trailed off as she noticed her husband tearing up.

"...Not...a...word..." He replied as he wiped them away immediately, which made a smile appear on her face too.

...

...

...

...Lost Souls...such a curious demon...considered to be the lowest of Doom's legions...yet they are useful for so many purposes. Some demons such as the Pain Elemental use them as weapons...others use them as distractions or as the perfect ambush predator...but one purpose they serve has never been used to its fullest potential until now. Despite appearing as floating skulls they are entirely ethereal...their method of attack is meant to be a complete invasion of another soul...they channel all their energy into one violent outburst and unleash it all at once...since their creation this has only served to help in the creation of the possessed...but now it was for something greater. For in reality there was no limit to how much energy one could hold...if given a source such as Doom or something similar it could use that to increase its power...thus changing what would be comparable to a simple fragmentation grenade...into something akin to an artillery shell.

But what was needed was greater than even that...this one Lost Soul needed to build up enough energy capable of destroying an entire fortress...perhaps not entirely...but enough to leave it crippled and in ruin. So now it remained idle...pulling in the energy that surrounded it slowly...its source would never dry so as long as it was patient it would gain all that it needed...and given how long it had been waiting for this moment...how its masters had waited as well...this was an easy thing to accomplish.

Day 5

Given everything that has happened up to this point, you'd think that atmosphere of the Happy Hotel would be normal or even happy. Sadly since yesterday there was only one kind of atmosphere that filled the building, one so cold and quiet it was like Hell had actually frozen over. For the first time in what felt like an eternity now the Slayer was avoiding everyone, but this wasn't like when he stayed on his fortress these past few days, not even close. This was far more like when he first came to Hell and met Charlie and Vagatha for the first time, where he looked at them and the lobby with a soldier's gaze, assessing the situation and how much force he may need to use.

And while he wasn't standing or sitting in the lobby giving people that stare, the fact was he hadn't left his room at all since the day prior, in fact after his meeting with Gabriel that was the last anyone saw him period. But due to curiosity and growing concerns Katie asked Vega via her collar if he was even still there, to which he confirmed he was. So even though everyone still went about their day, enjoying the hotel's amenities or working if they were staff, they couldn't keep a constant icy chill from settling on their bodies.

"What do you think he's doing in there?" Vagatha asked, she and the others all gathered around the check in desk.

"I have no idea, this isn't like when he showed up with Val or even when he fought snake boy, this is...a really creepy vibe." Cherri answered.

"How's he doing by the way?" Vagatha asked assuming she would know.

"Eh, he's been hold up in his room though there's nothing weird going on there, I did kinda piss him off SUPER badly yesterday before, ya know, THIS." She answered while gesturing to the air.

"Maybe we should do something? Like obviously nothing too crazy or weird, just something small and nice like a home cooked meal?" Nifty suggested.

"Do you think he likes jambalaya? Because I could whip him up some of my mother's recipe, it'd put the pep right back in his step it would! Might even light his mouth on fire!" Alastor replied.

"I actually haven't seen him eat anything at all come to think of it, so I don't know." Vagatha replied before looking to Katie's collar, "Yo, Vega." She beckoned.

"Yes?" He responded.

"Would the Slayer like jambalaya? Alastor here says his mom's recipe for it would help improve his mood, which would also get the hotel to stop feeling like a warzone after the shooting's stopped." She asked while explaining her question.

"I can't answer that, as the Slayer has never consumed anything in my presence." He admitted.

A moment of silence occurred when he said that, as the gears in everyone's heads slowly turned to reach a shared question.

"...Vega...he's centuries old right?...I mean I know he's immortal and everything but still he's like a fuck ton older than any of us, that's true isn't it?" Angel Dust asked.

"That is correct, while it is difficult to determine his exact age at this point given how much time he has spent across several realms, dimensions, and worlds, it can safely be estimated that his age may even be greater than universes that came to exist not too long ago." He answered.

"And you met him before he became immortal right? Along with the whole god part?" Angel Dust questioned.

"Yes, though our meeting was not immediate, I was introduced to him after he gained control of his rage and was no longer a danger to himself and others, this was about the time he had been given the first design of his current armor, not long after is when he ascended." He explained.

"Okay, so if I got this right then, you're telling us that it has been centuries possibly even millenniums since he's eaten or drank anything, like even just water or a cracker, that is what you're saying?" Angel Dust continued to press wanting to be absolutely certain.

"Correct, the last meals he ate were during his time with the Sentinels, however as part of their training the meals were few and were honestly quite scarce, you mentioning a water and cracker is actually close to what he and the other Sentinels in training received." He revealed.

"...I swear to fucking god everything we learn about him just makes his life sadder and sadder..." Angel Dust said as he crossed his arms, "I can't believe Will has gone this long without tasting anything good, food, beer, hell even something like bubblegum or a mint, why hasn't he eaten anything?" He asked.

"He never needed to after he ascended, as you all know the process didn't just grant him immunity to the passage of time, it made it so he never tires, care only be lightly wounded, removed any determinable limitations to his physical abilities, and so forth." Vega answered.

"Hey, maybe that's what we could do for him then!" Millie exclaimed with a grin. "I already said I'd make him something." Alastor reminded.

"No no that's not what I meant, at least not just that, I mean that we've been scratching our heads trying to figure out how we can repay him for everything he's done for us! All the good he's brought to Hell and everything else! We should just throw him a HUGE party like a MASSIVE banquet! We'll have decorations and food and music and everything else that a big party should!" She explained.

"That's...a really good idea Millie." Vagatha complimented causing her grin to grow.

"Hate to be the one to burn down this idea like a Californian forest." Katie spoke as she crossed her arms and looked at the imp, "But how exactly do you expect us to do this without him knowing? I mean obviously Vega won't say anything, right?" She asked taking a pause so he could respond.

"No." He simply answered.

"Just making sure, anyways even with Vega not blowing the whistle on this Will is the single most vigilant person to ever exist, the moment a lot of foot traffic starts happening to get it all setup, or if he decides to come out at any point and we're in the middle of something we can't hide, he'll be onto us and not only will it ruin the surprise of the party, but he'll probably insist we stop or something like that." She explained.

"This is a likely possibility." Vega confirmed.

"Then we just need to get him out of the hotel is all, like tomorrow so we can have it all setup by the time he gets back later in the day!" Millie responded.

"We could tie five hundred chains around him all connected to high powered locomotives, and they would explode long before he budged a centimeter., the only way he's getting out of that room is if he has a good reason, or if someone just pesters him enough to do it." Katie told her.

Upon saying that everyone had the exact same person come to mind including said person, which is why he wasn't shocked when all eyes fell onto him.

"First of all thanks for thinking of me as the first choice." Blitzo said with a flattered smile, "However I am a SALESMAN, and while I can SELL anyone anything from murder to mugs, PERSUADING people is a whole different story." He told them.

"How? Like actually how? Persuasion is the very essence of being a salesman." Angel Dust said.

"True, but there is a VERY important difference, persuading people is when you convince them of something, keyword there being CONVINCE, where as being a salesman is just pointing out the fact that their life sucks and everything they own sucks and they as a person suck, BUT if they buy what you're selling then it'll suck just a teensy eensy little bit less, and unfortunately there's nothing here in Hell I could possibly hope to sell him on that would be good enough for him to leave." He explained.

"Huh, that is actually a really solid point." Katie complimented. "I do have my moments." He replied with a grin.

"There's gotta be something though right? I mean we don't just have clubs, bars, and sex stores here in Hell, we do have some normal stuff like malls, arcades, movie theaters, a bunch of perfectly reasonable things that he definitely hasn't experienced in a long time, plus we could use the argument that he hasn't really been around the city yet, just mostly to the news station and a few other places, all of which ended in murder." Vagatha argued.

"Oh fer the love of fuck..." Husk grumbled as he just barely popped up from behind the desk, still intent on sleeping on the floor, "If it'll get you assholes away from my desk so I can sleep, may I remind you all that the two spiders standing here are his closest pals, if both of them just insist on giving him a tour for some shit like Angel's way of paying him back for the Valentino thing, while Katie says it'll help to make him more of a regular face in Hell so people don't swarm him like fucking flies on crap, then I'm sure he'd fucking be all for it." He told them.

"Man, everyone's on a roll today, nice thinking Husk." Vagatha praised.

"Your praise ignites a small spark of pride within me, too bad by the time I got done saying that it was already drowned." He replied before laying back down, "NOW PLEASE LEAVE MY FUCKING DESK ALONE AND LET ME SLEEP." He demanded.

"Okay, so we'll get him out of the hotel tomorrow morning and take him around the city for the day, while everyone else gets everything all set up, that pretty much the plan?" Angel Dust asked.

"Seems like it, unless anyone else has got anymore suggestions?" Vagatha asked.

"Not a suggestion but a question." Alastor asked with a slightly raised hand, "Why are we waiting until tomorrow to do it? I mean breakfast is still going on and the day is young, we could send him out there right now and get things underway!" He suggested.

"We could do that, unfortunately there is one person in particular who'd be pissed at us if we left her out of the planning, and she's going to be gone all day today so we have to wait till tomorrow." She replied.

As if on cue Charlie appeared from the ground rooms' hallway, practically skipping with excitement and glee with each step she took. But before any of them besides Vagatha could ask anything they saw trailing behind her Gabriel and Azrael, who thanks to their unusual appearances had not set in for them that they were related to her.

"She's spending the day with her aunt and uncle." She explained as they watched the unusual trio head for the doors.

"Oh yeah, that makes sense." They all said together, not even really needing to question it given Charlie's personality.

"Admittedly this may be to your advantage, it gives all of you an additional day to prepare for the banquet, and for miss Killjoy and Angel Dust to plan out what they will do to keep the Slayer occupied as you get it ready." Vega said.

"That is true, plus we'll be able to tell Lucifer and Lilith about it, even though they're nowhere near as peppy as Charlie is they'd still be pretty upset if they learned we left them out of this." Vagatha replied.

"Quick question, do you think I should call Stolas? I bet we could REALLY get this thing to be something spectacular if all those rich assholes helped out, we might not even need to pay a single dime! Since Stolas can just say it'll get them in good graces with Will." Blitzo suggested.

"When did you start calling him Will?" Angel Dust asked.

"Oh we all do, I mean how could we not since we're plastering his face on everything." He answered while gesturing to his group.

"Eh, fair enough." Angel Dust replied with a shrug.

"Anyway." Vagatha spoke to get them to focu, "That's a great idea Blitzo, the more help we have for this the better it'll be, just make sure when you call Stolas that he tells the nobles to wait a day, it'll all be pointless if they start sending us like a band or more staff to help out today and the Slayer sees it." She told him.

"Gotcha!" He replied before walking away to go call the owl demon, Loona, Moxxie, and Millie all following behind him.

"Guess we should go get started on our part too." Katie suggested as she looked to Angel and Cherri, "Wanna go do it in the spa? No reason we can't relax while we think." She said.

"FUCK YES!" They both shouted in excitement.

Watching that unusual trio head for the elevator to go to the floor the spa was on, that left Vagatha alone with the three people she had interacted with the least.

"...Bye." She plainly said before going off to find Lucifer and Lilith.

"Aw, I thought she would stick around with us." Nifty said while watching her leave.

"It's best that we're left alone, now we can go find Velvet and continue discussing our plans, in fact this party idea has given me one of my own..." Alastor admitted with his typical cheshire grin.

"Please tell me it has nothing to do with me..." Husk begged from the floor.

"Oh come now Husker, don't act like this isn't exciting!" Alastor replied as he grabbed onto his foot.

Literally dragging the poor, tired, and honestly pretty deflated feline out from behind his desk, they along with Nifty would venture deeper into the hotel to find the other member of their personal band of misfits.

(Elsewhere, A Few Hours Later...)

The last two weeks of Lucifer's circle had been the most interesting in its entire history, and up until now there was only one person to thank for it. But as Charlie spent the day with her recently met uncle and aunt on a tour of the city, all of its citizens had two more faces to add to that. The one that got their attention first wasn't too surprising, yes she was remarkably tall and even by Hell's standards looked unique, but due to her pitch black skin and crazy long white snow hair, she did seem like someone who belonged there. Then there was the second one, who despite having a

body that seemed to be human just fairly well built, was clearly neither human nor demon.

From the pure white garb that adorned his body, to the glowing blue eyes that peered from the shadows of the hood that hid his face, you'd have to be blind and deaf not to realize what he was. Sure there were no radiant feathered wings sprouting from his backside, nor did he shine like a lightbulb in a darkened basement, but everything about his appearance, the way he spoke and interacted with others, and his general aura was so pure and elegant. Despite this however it didn't manage to ruin their day with Charlie, even with every pair of eyes nearby immediately staring at them at all times. Because this was the first time for both ancient beings where they had ever done something normal, they weren't focused on dealing with matters of great importance, making sure all of creation ran like a well oiled machine, they were able to focus on being with a member of their family they had never met until now.

Yet with that being said she didn't act like she was a part of their family, which as strange as it may sound was a wonderful thing. She was so full of energy and life no matter what they did or talked

about, even when they walked through or saw the less pleasant side of the city she managed to make it sound magical. Unlike them, her parents, or the rest of their large and somewhat awkward family she hadn't been bogged down by an innate purpose, though born as the princess of Hell she could do whatever she wanted, which is a luxury even now they rarely got. But maybe that would change soon, with the Slayer and the Maykrs reshaping the overall order of existence they might get to have more moments like this, where they could just be people and not entities of a higher order.

Of course it was still far too early to believe this could be the case, a number of things may still happen before they could fully let their guards down, but for now they chose to ignore that and focus on this moment.

"So? What did you think?" Charlie asked with a smile as they headed back to the hotel.

"I'll admit, your father has managed to create the least repulsive circle of Hell, and I know that sounds like a backhanded compliment, but even if we ignore the horror that was Doom the other circles are...less than accommodating." Gabriel answered.

"It is rather surprising just how willing Lucifer has been to allow such a normal circle to exist, no specific divisions focused on punishing a particular sin, no lower levels where the worst are cast into darkness, I honestly am both proud and impressed by this." Azrael answered.

"Aw, that's so nice of you to say! You should definitely tell that to dad when we get back." She suggested.

"I don't know if we've returned to that level of familiarity just yet, but I will tell him how much we've enjoyed today." He replied.

"Oh come now Gabriel you two hugged each other, I say the emotional barriers you both erected have been torn down by now, giving him a slight bit of praise for his work as a devil won't make things weird." Azrael insisted.

"YOU HUGGED?!" Charlie questioned as her eyes widened in awe.

"...Thank you for this Azrael..." He replied just before his niece began her verbal bombardment.

Unable to keep an amused smirk from appearing on her face, the angel of death watched in delight at the sight of her fairly stoic brother trying to deal with their energetic niece. Sadly of all the archangel's powers super speech was not one of them, he could barely answer one question before three more left her mouth, which progressively wore down his serious demeanor.

"I...uh...well...Azrael..." He said trying to keep up with her, looking to his sister for help as this was her fault.

Taking a second to debate on whether or not she should, she knew that his ability to socialize with others was on par with that of a young child's, so she decided to show him a little mercy.

"Charlie dear." Azrael spoke to get her niece's attention, "Since you have spent the whole day with us perhaps you should save these questions for your father? After all I bet he's just dying to hear how today went." She reasoned.

"Oh that's a great idea!" Charlie replied which brought the assault of questions to an end.

"Thank you." He said to her in a whisper, not wanting their niece to hear and get the wrong idea.

"You owe me~" She mused in reply, which made him wonder if this was actually the best decision.

Continuing the rest of the way in silence, once they reached the hotel and approached its doors Charlie came to a stop, followed with a turn so she could look at them both.

"So um, there's something I've been meaning to ask you both, and I really didn't know when I could or if I should so I kept putting it off, but now since we're about to head inside and that'll be the end of our day together I figured I better do it now, is that okay?" She asked just wanting to be sure.

"Of course Charlie, I highly doubt anything you could ask us would be something we can't handle, we have been around since the beginning of everything you know." Azrael assured.

"Right, that makes sense, still what you said earlier about being too familiar because this is all happening after so long made me a little nervous." She replied directing that towards Gabriel.

"It's different with your father Charlie, we are brothers who've been strangers to each other for a very long time, but even though we're just getting to know you and we'll probably spend quite a few more days together before we start to feel like a normal family, you do not need

to feel nervous about asking us anything, being fully transparent is sort of our family's creed going forward as it stands." He told her.

"Alright, that makes this a lot easier to ask then." She admitted while taking a deep breath after to fully ease her nerves, "Okay so, what I wanted to ask is...can I call you by different names?" She revealed.

"Do you mean nicknames?" Azrael questioned.

"Yeah, like how I call my girlfriend Vaggie even though her name's Vagatha, I just like to give people names that feel special you know? To show them how much I care." She explained.

"What did you have in mind?" He asked.

"Nothing weird, least not to me, but I don't know how you'll feel about them, I'm stalling aren't I?" She asked receiving nods from both of them, "Sorry, here goes, I want to know if I can call you auntie Az and uncle Gabe!" She exclaimed while closing her eyes, not wanting to see their reactions.

Keeping them shut as the next few seconds of quiet passed by, she would open them immediately as she was picked up from the ground in a hug.

"I love it!" Azrael exclaimed happily while hugging her tightly, "I didn't think I'd ever get a nickname from any of my siblings, but to think my own niece who I've only known properly for a day wants to give me one, oh it just fills me with so much joy!" She told her.

"Really? You mean that?" She asked receiving a nod in response, "Oh wow, thanks auntie, that means so much." She said as a smile came to her face, "What about you uncle?" She asked now looking to him

Not sure as to how he should respond as this was the first time anyone had ever wanted to give him a nickname, before he could even speak he received a glare from his sister, one that warned him to say the right thing otherwise there WOULD be consequences.

"...Well...I've never been called Gabe before...but if it helps us to feel closer and to feel more like a family...then I have no issues with it..." He answered while keeping his gaze on his sister's

stare.

Unable to keep herself from squealing in delight that they both were okay with their nicknames, she would finally return her aunt's hug while said aunt kept looking at her brother, making sure he didn't say or do anything to ruin this touching moment.

(Meanwhile, inside the hotel...)

"...Have you actually dragged him around all day?" Vox asked as he and Velvet looked down at the hotel's doorman, who was still being held by his foot by Alastor.

Even with the size of the hotel one might assume it wouldn't have taken them the whole day to find the two overlords, but that's exactly what happened. Of course they stopped by the two's shared room on the ground floor first, but unfortunately they weren't there so they then checked the dining hall, where again neither of them were found. And since they knew for a fact they wouldn't be without the other this started the hunt, they checked every floor, every amenity, even did a second go around to make sure they hadn't missed them, before finally going back to their room where they had just returned themselves. Apparently they had decided to speak with Lucifer and ask what became of Porn Studios after the unpleasantness, to which he revealed that he personally acquired the property and all of its connected business ventures.

The reason why is because Porn Studios was both a large chunk of property in addition to being one of the biggest monopolies in Hell, and he decided the best thing to do would be to make sure no other overlord got it. This is where their day long absence happened, for they asked if it would be alright if they went back there, even though by this point it had been fully emptied and cleaned, just so they could figure out what they might do next, to which he agreed.

"He refused to move less I did so, and he hasn't made a single complaint have you Husker?" Alastor answered followed by a question, as he looked down to the grumpy demon.

"Only because I've been completely numb for years." He replied. "See? He's fine!" Alastor assured as he looked back to Vox.

"...Yeah...fine's the word I'd use..." The tv demon replied as he and Velvet kept looking at him.

"D-Do you need me to make you a potion?" She asked, her stutter while still present was much better than before.

"If it won't kill me then no." Husk answered just staring at the ceiling.

"Speaking of potions my dear, do you have the two I requested?" Alastor asked getting back on topic.

"Hm? Oh r-right! Sorry I forgot." She admitted as she walked over to one of the beside tables, "I got them done last n-night, but it was so late I f-figured you'd want to wait until today to g-get them." She explained as she opened the drawer.

Reaching in she would pull out two separate bottles, one being quite large and containing a liquid that had the color of a strawberry, the other the size of a small flask which contained a liquid that resembled milk.

"I m-made the adjustments you wanted." She informed as she brought them over to him, "The truth potion will n-now work without inducing slumber, I c-couldn't do so without removing that trait entirely, sorry." She apologized.

"That's quite alright, so long as the drinker still spills their beans without realizing it then it is exactly what I want." He replied as he took it.

"A-And here's yours Nifty." She said handing the second bottle to the small woman. "Thank you!" She replied with a smile as she hugged it excitedly.

"Wait, you made her a potion?" Vox asked, for although he had been informed by her of what Alastor was planning, he didn't know that she had requested a potion of her own.

"Indeed she did, after Velvet and I had a discussion about it of course." Alastor answered for her. "Why does she need a potion?" He questioned.

"I'm afraid that's rather private, less of course Nifty wants to ruin her own surprise." Alastor said as he looked down at her.

"Nope! Sorry, you're all just going to have to be surprised like everyone else!" She exclaimed with glee.

"Which is total bullshit given what I've put up with." Husk said, genuinely upset that Alastor knew but he didn't.

"Trust me Husker you're going to want to stay in the dark until the big reveal." He assured with a cheekier than normal grin.

"On that topic, what exactly are planning to do with that amount of the potion Alastor?" Vox asked as he crossed his arms, "One drop of it alone is enough to make someone reveal a majority of their secrets, but that whole bottle could get them talking for hours maybe even a day, while not innately harmful the information that can be gathered with its use is concerning." He explained.

"I know you and I have history Vox and none of it pleasant, but you have my word nothing nefarious is being concocted for the use of this potion, if anything it'll help clear the air for everyone here in the hotel!" Alastor exclaimed.

"How so?" He inquired.

"Simple, tomorrow we are all going to be working together to throw the Slayer a party, Angel Dust and Katie will get him out of the hotel early in the morning, giving us the entire day to set it all up, and at a certain point I shall offer my own contribution to the party, by adding this deliciously made potion to the beverages." Alastor explained.

"You wanna fucking spike the entire hotel?!" Husk shouted in question, his and the other's eyes all widening from shock.

"That I do, if we are to help everyone come to terms with their inner demons, no pun intended, they must face them without realizing it, give them the chance to back away and they'll run for the hills! However once everyone gets their beverages and takes a sip there'll be no more secrets, no more lies, in short the truth shall set them free!" He replied.

"And how EXACTLY do you plan to do that without them catching on? The moment someone takes a sip and starts letting out all the skeletons in their closet, they'll know something's up and this little plan of yours will end with you and Will standing in a room together, all the while he's loading two shells into that double barrel of his!" Husk told him.

"Again that is very simple, I shall wait to add the potion to their drinks after they've arrived and everyone has a glass, this will be possible when I propose to Charlie that we have a moment in the festivities where everyone can say something nice about him, and so when everyone's standing or sitting all eyes looking towards the stage we'll setup, I'll use my shadow to go around with the bottle adding a drop to everyone's drink." He explained.

"And then once the first person starts speaking the truth the rest will follow, like throwing one stick of dynamite into a crate full." Vox said.

"See? Even he understands my plan! And since everyone will be gathered in one place we won't have to worry about missing anyone, just one big pulling of the band aid and we are set!" He exclaimed.

"A-Alastor." Velvet spoke to get his attention, "W-Will I get blamed for this? A-After all they'll learn afterwards that it was a p-potion that did it, and I am known for my potion making." She asked.

"Velvet my dear, of course not." He answered as he put a hand to his chest, "This is my scheme, and while I could throw you under the bus that is not the kind of person I am, I do not hide the fact that I am a devious scamp wanting to entertain himself, I promise that once the realization hits everyone and fingers start getting pointed, I will stand before all of them with my arms spread wide and a boisterous ME to be shouted aloud, I wouldn't dare do such a thing to you after how much you've helped me, and what you've also been through, that kind of cruelty is the exact kind I despise." He assured her.

Hearing that caused two different reactions, the first being a smile of gratitude from her while the second was amazed looks from the others. For while they knew Alastor in spite of his sinister side was polite when he wanted to be, this was a show of compassion that had never been displayed by the demon, at least not to their knowledge. Then again the fact he helped Velvet at all was amazing in of itself, perhaps buried beneath that unnerving cannibal with a static voice there was a genuinely kind and caring individual. But there was also the fact that the Slayer existed, so for the moment they would have to wait to find out if this was his true self, or simply a product of not wanting to be the space marine's next kill.

"Now, unless any of you have anything more to say or something you'd like to discuss, I think we can call this meeting to an end." He said.

"I got a question." Husk asked as he finally got to his feet, "Are we gonna have to drink that potion? Not like we don't got secrets of our own ya know." He mentioned.

"True, but it wouldn't be fair of me to include you in this spectacle given how much you've all helped me as well, except for you of course." Alastor replied while looking to Vox.

"I'd rather have my screen smashed to pieces before I drank anything you gave me anyway." He told him.

"Well, that's something at least, I'd definitely fucking kill you if you made me share my problems." Husk said.

"Aw but Husker, that's the whole point of this hotel!" Alastor exclaimed as he wrapped his arm around his shoulders, "We're meant to face our issues in the hopes of going to Heaven! Don't you want that?" He asked.

"I thought you wanted to turn Hell into Heaven? Or was that just bullshit?" Husk questioned as he

gave him a quizzical look.

"No not at all, but still I assumed you of all people would want to sober up and be a better person." Alastor reasoned.

"...No." He told him coldly before breaking free of his embrace and leaving.

"Aw come on Husk! You can tell us anything! We're your friends!" Nifty called after him as she followed.

"I ain't telling you shit especially, since you won't tell me what the fuck's in that bottle." They heard him reply.

"IT'S A SECRET!" She shouted.

Laughing in delight at how well they all got along, Alastor followed after his companions to join in on the merriment, leaving the two Vs alone.

"You know, he's not such an asshole, still a prick, but not that bad of a person." Vox admitted.

"R-Really?" Velvet asked with widened eyes, surprised he'd be willing to say such a nice thing about the radio demon so soon.

"He made sure nothing happened to you, he didn't take advantage of you, and he actually seems to care about you and those two, again he's still a piece of shit whose existence I loathe, but I can start to tolerate him." He answered.

"That's wonderful!" She exclaimed before hugging him, as Alastor had become a friend to her after everything he's done, "I'm glad that you two might start to g-get along." She said.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, all I did was admit he has some good to him, not like I'm wanting to go on a romantic date with him or anything." He replied with a smile, as seeing her so happy made him happy too, "Though now that we're alone again, I think we should talk about earlier." He suggested.

"O-Oh yeah, I almost forgot." She admitted as she released him, "But do you think he'll w-want it?" She asked.

"No way to know until we ask him, but considering it'd be an even bigger fuck you to Val than beating him to death, I'm pretty confident Angel Dust will literally jump for joy when we tell him we want to give Porn Studios to him." He answered.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Soon...the lost soul shall be ready...and when it is...we will begin anew...starting with the world where it all began..." The deep voice spoke out to the void, receiving a response in the form of a near infinite number of fire filled gazes, some red, some green, some even blue, but all starved for freedom.

Day 6

It had been a very long time since the Slayer looked over his gear with a slow meticulous gaze, examining every inch of his guns' barrels or making sure every modification was functioning properly. But with the possibility the archangel was not truthful, he needed to make sure he was prepared for an indescribable battle. For while he had traded blows with horrors who wielded great power, and he did have knowledge of how beings of divine origin worked thanks to the Maykrs, even the Khan if she were to unleash her full strength didn't come close to Gabriel. Then he had to consider what weapons he might use, he always wondered if the flaming sword was real, or other described holy artifacts like the grail and the ark of the covenant, and if they were how many more existed in addition to how many might he wield himself.

He couldn't afford to take chances now, this was just as important of a time as was the final push against the Dark One, a single mistake or lack of guard could mean all the difference, he may even be forced to brandish the most powerful of his arsenal.

"Forgive me for interrupting." Vega spoke though he just kept focusing on his weapons, "But I felt I should inform you that you are about to have visitors, and surprisingly it isn't Blitzo and the others." He told him.

Despite having that particular detail mentioned it didn't earn his attention, he continued to go over his weapons even when his new visitors spoke out to him.

"Hey Will!" The voice of Angel Dust called out followed by a few knocks, "Come on big guy we know you're in there! We just wanna see ya, but not in a weird way promise!" He assured.

"Really? THAT'S what you decided to open with?" The voice of Katie questioned, surprising him as he figured it be Cherri who was the other person.

"What the hell else was I gonna say? Like actually what the fuck could I possibly say other than we wanted to see him?" He asked.

"How about something that doesn't sound so clingy?" She suggested. "Oh yeah? Then why don't YOU try?" He countered.

"Fine." She replied before presumably taking his place next to the door, "Listen Will, I get that you're probably waiting for Gabriel to fuck up so you can kill him, and based on what we've heard I completely understand why, between us he sounds like a dick, but you can't just stay in there until you can trust him, otherwise you're going to be in there forever and you know that as much as we do, also you have this really weird ability to change the atmosphere around you and ever since you've been in there the hotel has felt like a morgue, so could maybe consider coming out here?" She suggested.

"Wow, I'm impressed, you were doing pretty well there right up until the point you decided to insult him." He told her.

"HOW did I insult him? I'm just stating fact! There's no way he doesn't know how he affects the air around him based on how he's feeling!" She argued.

After that the two spiders would begin to bicker with one another, debating on who had the better approach and why the other's sucked. This went on for about a minute as the Slayer did his best to ignore them, but as they kept going with no signs of stopping he knew he'd have to get involved. Storing away his weapons and rising from his bed he walked over to the door and opened it, and by doing just that he was able to get them to stop.

"Oh, hey." Both greeted in unison as they composed themselves.

"Congratulations, you've got his attention now." Vega responded as the Slayer crossed his arms, "But now he's wanting to know why you both have come here." He told them.

"Oh come on Will, do you really think we're here for any other reason than to see you?" Angel Dust asked.

A moment of silence immediately occurred as he asked that question, as by this point both of them should know nothing got passed him.

"...Alright fine, you caught us." He spoke again with an eye roll, "While we did want to see you we figured that you might want to get out of the hotel for a while, you know since Gabriel's here with his family and you obviously don't like him, plus to our knowledge you've not been given a proper tour of the city yet! So what better way to kill some time and to keep from killing ol' keeper of the peace, than by finally seeing what Pentagram City has to offer with your two best pals?" He asked.

Even though he believed what Angel was telling him the Slayer still looked to Katie, because he knew she had to have her own personal reason for doing this.

"When he came up with this idea I figured it'd make for good PR, even though all of Hell is practically worshipping the ground you walk on there's still a lot of work to be done, and by exposing you to the city for a day we can sort of normalize you, not entirely of course because this is YOU we're talking about, but maybe enough to where everyone won't flock to you like sheep to a shepherd." She explained.

With the truth now revealed the Slayer took a few moments to consider this. On one hand even though it seemed like Gabriel wouldn't be a problem he still wanted to be ready, but on the other he could understand how his sudden reversion to his old ways made everyone uneasy. Then there was also the fact that the original set time of one week would be over at midnight tomorrow night, so realistically if Gabriel did want to do something he'd have to do it today, as this would be his last chance to utilize the element of surprise. But since he'd be in the city where a full scale assault would begin, perhaps this would allow him to kill two birds with one stone, he could make them and everyone else happy while also being near the epicenter of the attack, thus able to protect everyone the moment it happens.

So with this in mind he felt he was safe to accept their proposal, even doing so himself by giving them a thumbs up rather than having Vega say anything.

"Alright! That's what I'm talking about!" Angel Dust exclaimed as he put a hand on his arm, "I promise I'm gonna show you all the best spots in the city, and I also promise that none of them will involve sex." He assured.

"We should probably get breakfast first though, if we're going to be walking around all day I definitely want to eat something now rather than waiting till lunch." Katie said.

Nodding in agreement to that the Slayer would lead the way towards the dining hall, allowing the two spiders to follow behind.

"Gotta say, your improv skills are impressive." Katie complimented him in a whisper as they walked.

"You weren't bad either, we make a pretty good bullshitting team." Angel Dust replied in the same volume as they exchanged a quiet high five.

(A Few Minutes Later, In The Dining Hall...)

Despite all of the terrible things that have happened to him in his life, the Slayer wasn't the kind of person you could call paranoid. There was a fine difference between paranoia and being prepared, if he were paranoid he'd still assume all of the people he's come to know were out to kill him, which he knew for a fact wasn't true. Yet out of every event in his life for him to be paranoid about, whether it was back on mars, when he ran through corpse filled city streets, when he marched across the countless plains that made Doom's domain, the one place he never thought it would be was a hotel dining room. But that's exactly what was happening as of right now, after he refused Katie and Angel Dust's insistence on eating something, which by itself was pretty strange, once they all sat down he began to notice how unusual everyone was acting.

While they were talking among themselves and they all sat together in their personal groups, this was by far the most normal he had ever seen the people in Lucifer's circle act. Even the aforementioned devil and his family were acting abnormally mundane, despite the fact that Gabriel and Azrael were present, and not a single person was making a big deal of it or acting nervous in any way. All of this made him think of what could be the cause, obviously he assumed right out the gate it was him since he hadn't been seen for nearly two days, but he pushed that aside as neither the guests nor Blitzo and his group had approached him at all. Then he considered the possibility that they may just be trying to keep the peace, ready to intervene or divert his attention if something happened between him and the archangel.

But once more he pushed that aside as he was very doubtful, even if say Lucifer "suggested" that the guests help out, it wasn't likely they'd be willing to get between him and Gabriel. This ultimately left him with one conclusion, that whatever was going on must've had something to do with Katie and Angel Dust suddenly wanting to take him out for a day in the city, but it was the why behind it all that he just couldn't figure out.

"Hey, you okay Will?" Angel Dust asked as he lightly nudged him with his elbow, "You got a thousand yard stare going on, which is actually weird since yer usually focused on something." He said.

"He's thinking." Vega replied.

"About?..." He questioned, slightly dragging out the word as he did. "I cannot clarify." Vega told him.

"What? Why not?" He asked.

"You do realize you just asked the same question right?" Katie responded while leaning forward, so she could look passed the Slayer at him, "He just told you he can't clarify, so you try asking him for clarification regarding that, did you REALLY think you'd get an answer the second time?" She inquired.

"Okay, then why can't you clarify? Is it because you don't know how or because Will doesn't want you to?" He asked, clearly intent on getting some kind of answer from him.

"The latter." Vega answered.

"Aw how come? You know you can talk to us about anything Will." He said. "Again, I cannot clarify." Vega repeated.

"Might as well give up." Katie said as she readied a bite of her meal on her fork, "It'd be easier to just walk all across Hell and back, would be quicker than getting him to say anything when he doesn't want to." She reasoned before putting it into her mouth.

Knowing that she was right he relented and returned to his own meal, though he did still feel a little annoyed that he didn't get a straight answer. After a little while things would get interesting again, for as they neared the end of their breakfast they were approached by the most unlikely people in the entire hotel.

"Excuse us." The voice of Vox spoke from behind them to get their attention, "But if we may have a moment of your time we'd like to talk with you about something." He said.

Looking over their shoulders the trio found the dapper tech demon standing there as if he were about to do a sales pitch, while behind him was Velvet who did her best to hide as she was still unsettled by the Slayer.

"You want to talk to him?" Katie asked as she pointed to him with her thumb, "I figured after everything you'd be trying to see as little of him as possible, especially you." She said while pointing to Velvet.

"Actually we weren't referring to him, we were addressing you." Vox corrected as he looked to Angel Dust.

"Me? Really?" He questioned as he pointed to himself.

"Yes, we have something important to tell you, when you're finished eating we'll be in the lobby." Vox explained.

With that said the two Vs departed, leaving the trio all to wonder what this was about. Though instead of discussing amongst themselves of what they each though it could be, Katie and Angel finished what was left of their food so they could just hurry up and find out. Once they were done they would all rise from their seats and head straight for the lobby, not needing to deal with their silverware or plates thanks to the abundance of staff ready to serve.

"My, that was quick." Vox said as he and Velvet saw them come out, both sitting nearby on one of the couches.

"You can't just say shit like that man and NOT expect us to hurry up so we can find out what the fuck is going on!" Angel Dust exclaimed as they walked over.

"I suppose that is fair, especially considering the history we've had." He admitted.

"Yeah, speaking from an outside perspective you guys were the besties of the pimp who beat his ass, so it's a little weird to just casually stroll and say let's chat." Katie told him.

"Again that's fair, but what we have to say while not excusing what you went through, or the fact that we didn't do anything about it or the other shit Val did to the rest of his employees, I think will still help us to leave that in the past so we never have to think about it again." He explained.

"Oh really? Let me guess, you're giving me Porn Studios?" Angel Dust asked with a light chuckle.

Expecting them to say something like no or not exactly, as both Overlords just looked at them silently they realized that may actually be what was happening.

"...Wait...no fucking way..." He said after a few seconds, causing Vox to stand from his seat.

"Again Angel, there's nothing we can do to make up for what happened to you, and while we're not just trying to get in your good graces with this, since neither me or Velvet want the property or its connected businesses, we decided the one person who deserves to have it should be you." Vox explained.

"But...but...but what about Lucifer and Lilith? I-I mean surely they've got something to say about this right? A-After all they're the king and queen and Val WAS an Overlord, this isn't just some gang turf that's being given away here this is an enterprise, a VERY lucrative enterprise! Surely they wouldn't want to just give it away to anyone...right?" He asked.

"We've already talked it over with them, in fact we asked if it would alright if we went there yesterday to make sure it was still in good condition after the altercation, and to our amazement it not only had been cleaned out completely but all damages had been repaired, it is ready and waiting for a new owner to move in and get things going again, or if you want to do something else with it then you can." Vox answered.

"But...I mean...this is WAY too sudden! I-I'm just a pornstar! All I know how to do is fuck and get paid! I-I don't know how to run a business, let alone something as massive and as widespread as that!" He argued.

"Are you sure about that? We know quite a few times you tried to do business for Val that had nothing to do with sex, whether it was a drug deal or just putting some up and coming porn peddler in their place, you tried to show him you could offer your skills as a former gangster during your life before Hell in your family's syndicate, but Val didn't give two shits about that, to him your hands were better off gripping things that weren't gun and knife handles, so this could be your chance to fully put that side of you behind and embrace the side you always tried to get Val to see." Vox reasoned.

"Yeah okay sure I was a gangster in life, but still I only know how to shoot people and make sure some greasy asshole understands how good of a deal he's getting, shit like managing employees, making sure bills and crap get paid, advertising and what not, I know jack shit about any of that stuff!" He exclaimed.

"...He's right." Katie said catching them off guard, "Angel here may know a thing or two bout how criminal empires work, but since we know he's not gonna try and do some shady shit, partly because that's how Val ran things and the other because he's trying to clean his act up, he can't rely on using tactics like blackmail or threats to make sure other people do things for him, just throwing all of this on top of him is really unfair." She explained.

"Yeah see she gets it! Thank you Katie." He replied with a smile.

"But if he were to have a partner..." She continued which he didn't expect, "Someone who knew EVERYTHING there was to know about the corporate scene, how people think, what they want, and how you can threaten them while still keeping it relatively legal, then this would actually be a golden opportunity, again though assuming he'd have a partner..." She trailed off as she looked to the side.

"...Holy shit...Katie...are you?..." He questioned with widened eyes, slowly putting two and two together.

"Am I what? Suggesting that you and I could team up and maybe give this a shot? Since you currently don't have any kind of work and I'm also unemployed, and thus we could combine our talents together to do something incredible? Is that what you're thinking?" She asked.

"But I thought you wanted to get your spot back at the news station? You know be the face of Hell's number one and pretty much ONLY source of information?" He asked.

"Oh I do, believe me I'd love to get my spot back as the head of the station and have my face put on every television, but that was before this was suddenly plopped right in front of us on a silver platter like a well roasted pig." She answered before she moved her gaze to the floor, "Though...there is also the possibility that maybe...you know hypothetically...that I want to help you be successful because of how nice you've been to me...specifically with something pretty personal...that could also be a factor..." She admitted, though in a far softer tone and volume.

It would still be a very long time before Katie felt comfortable enough to let her guard down fully, to show other people besides Will and now Angel the other sides she had to her. But she felt brave enough to do it now even with Vox and Velvet being right there, as she genuinely didn't want him to pass this up. Sadly the former news anchor would come to regret this decision, as the former prostitute/pornstar rushed her and pulled her into as tight of a hug as he could manage.

"I FUCKING LOVE YOU!" He shouted from the top of his lungs, even managing to lift her up from the ground because of how happy he was.

For a moment her old self threatened to make an appearance, even though she and him had hugged not too long ago she still didn't like such public displays of affection. And whether it was because the Slayer was there, because she remembered that previous exchange between them, or maybe just maybe she was becoming a better person, she made sure that didn't happen.

"Gee, do one nice thing and suddenly people start hugging ya..." She muttered to herself with an eye roll, which was betrayed by the proud smile that appeared on her face.

"I suppose this is something that we'll be doing today?" Vega inquired.

"Oh shit right our day out!" Angel Dust realized as he let her go, "I mean, we don't have to go check it out today, we could do that tomorrow since we already planned to show you around the city." He said.

"We could, but it is obvious you are excited about starting your own enterprise with miss Killjoy, the Slayer would not be bothered if you wanted to go there first so you two can look around the premises and start coming up with ideas of what you might want to do." Vega replied.

"Really? It wouldn't be a problem at all? Because you'd probably just stand around while we did that, and that'd be pretty boring and everything." He argued.

"Seeing as how he would have spent today still inside of his room going over his arsenal in the event Gabriel should try something, before the two of you arrived and offered to conduct this tour, combined with how significant this is for you both as well, this won't be no issue." Vega assured.

Upon hearing that Angel would issue his second hug of the day, unable to keep from doing so as he was so overjoyed.

"You are the best Will!" He exclaimed as he did, "You guys are seriously the best friends I've had

since Cherri!" He complimented before his eyes widened, "Oh fuck, Cherri, she's definitely gonna want in on this!" He realized as he let go of the Slayer and ran back into the dining hall, only to pop his head back out a second later, "You guys don't mind if she comes along with us do you?" He asked.

"I'm fine if he is." Katie answered. "He is fine." Vega answered.

Letting out an excited squeal almost on par with Charlie's the elated spider demon disappeared back into the room, where a few moments later they would all hear the mono eyed woman shout out: "NO FUCKING WAY!"

(Sometime Later, At Porn Studios...)

"Holy shit...holy shit...holy fucking shit...this is real...this is actually fucking real!" Angel Dust exclaimed as he looked around the room.

When Vox had told them the entirety of the building and its rooms had been cleaned, oh boy he REALLY meant it. In fact, as Angel, Katie, Cherri, and the Slayer looked around at the place, it honestly didn't even in the slightest of ways resemble the former business. The floors were so clean you could see perfect reflections in them, all of the furniture had been removed as there was NO bleach strong enough to cleanse the history stained in them, and any traces of the "fight" that happened here were gone completely. In every way, shape, and form this building looked like it had just finished construction, the only thing that remained from its previous life was the tasteless neon sign that hung on the front, as Lucifer wasn't sure if Angel would want to make his business sex related or not.

Though even if he did, it was still a pretty safe assumption that only Valentino liked that god awful thing.

"I cannot believe this is ours now, this is so awesome!" Cherri exclaimed alongside him. "Hold on, ours as in yours?" Katie questioned.

"Well duh, OBVIOUSLY I'm gonna be in on this, what do you not want me to be?" She asked.

"Of course not, but Cherri this is an actual business, and if we want it to be successful we can't have our model be based around blowing things up, as fun as that may be." Katie answered.

"Pfft, I know THAT, you think I'd do anything to ruin this for my best friends?" She asked. "...Friends?" Katie questioned.

"Uh yeah, did you seriously think we weren't besties by now?" She responded.

"Why the fuck would I, the only times we've talked to each other is when we've held meetings with the others, when we were playing cards, and when we were in the spa yesterday!" Katie argued.

"True, but not many people get to see all this." She said as she took a moment to gesture to herself, "And walk away with their bodies still intact, we all shared a rejuvenating facial girl on TOP of a mud bath and massage, that right there is the very definition of bestie." She explained before walking over to her, "Plus, Angel told me bout the moment you guys had, top it all off by the fact you OFFERED to help him run an enterprise, and I basically see you like a sister now." She whispered.

"Really?" Katie whispered back.

"Damn straight." She replied with a smile as she patted her arm.

"Hey! What're you two talking about?" Angel Dust asked from across the room, now noticing how they weren't reveling like him anymore.

"Oh nothing, just girl stuff." Cherri answered as she walked over.

Staying where she was as those two began going back and forth as to what "girl stuff" meant in that context, just like before Katie couldn't keep a smile though this one of joy from coming to her face.

"You're continuing to impress the Slayer with your progress miss Killjoy." Vega suddenly spoke from behind her causing her to jump.

"FUCK!" She exclaimed as she had been somewhat lost in thought.

"Oh, my apologies, I thought you heard him approach you." He said as she turned to face him.

"No, it's fine, I was just thinking about something is all." She replied before she crossed her arms, "However that is something I've been meaning to talk to you about." She admitted.

"What exactly are you referring to?" He inquired.

"Miss Killjoy, come on Vega you and Will have known me longer than nearly everyone at the hotel, the only exceptions being Charlie, her family, and her girlfriend, why are you still addressing me by my last name? Why not just call me Katie?" She asked.

"I assumed that's what you preferred." He answered.

"I mean, maybe when we first met sure it was nice, but now after everything that's happened I think we can drop the formalities, especially since I'm calling him by his name now, it only makes sense that you being the stand in for his voice should do the same for me." She explained.

"True, very well, I will start addressing you by your first name from now on." He said. "Thank you." She replied another smile coming to her features.

"HEY GUYS!" Cherri called out as she and Angel were in another room.

Going down the hallway that her voice had come from the two would soon enter a massive space, which given what this place used to be they assumed was meant for a set of some kind.

"Think of ALL the stuff we could do in here now that people won't be fucking everyday!" She exclaimed as she looked towards the ceiling, "In fact, I'm pretty sure we could put a couple of special lights in here, maybe make it some kind of club or something." She suggested.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves Cherri, we still don't have any real direction going forward, we also need to look into the other businesses Valentino had and figure out what to do with them." Katie said as she and the Slayer walked over.

"I can tell you about those ya know, I may have been used for sex but that doesn't mean I didn't know what he was doing." Angel Dust offered.

"Please, maybe once I know I can start to get a picture of what we might be able to do." She replied.

For the next few minutes Angel Dust would go into an incredible amount of detail about the various other revenues of cash flow Valentino built up, which immediately proved there was somehow a lot more ways to hate the bastard. While none of it was the most disgusting and horrendous things a person could be involved in, if there was even the slightest possible chance there was some good to him, everything Angel said stomped it out. Not all of it was bad, things like manufacturing weapons or drugs and selling them for cheap because they were shit, or a few strip clubs which despite offering "special" dances for the big spenders, were still meant to be mostly look and not touch establishments. But then you had anything that stemmed from Porn Studios, specific niche markets for the really weird and disgusting stuff, again nothing so obscene that even he would've be disgusted by it, but still just far enough to where you instantly empathized with the poor people he made do those kinds of things.

"...Okay..." Katie spoke once he was finished, doing so in a way that really summed up how uncomfortable that was, "I think we can do something with the drug operations...maybe turn the weapon manufacturing into something else...but the rest of that shit...just no." She said.

"I mean considering everyone who had the same job as me is now staying at the hotel, I don't think we need to worry bout those anymore." He replied.

"Pardon me." Vega interjected to get their attention, "But may I offer a suggestion?" He asked. "Of course, the floor's yours." Angel Dust answered.

"It seems to me that the best use of this opportunity to start anew would be wasted if you held onto anything from the previous operation, even though this is Hell and part of our reformation allows for the people to still partake in such activities as drug use, if you want to make sure no trace of Valentino remains you shouldn't use any of his businesses for your own." He said.

"While that is a good idea Vega and I do honestly mean that, the problem is we need something to get us started, as it stands even I am coming up blank." Katie replied.

"If that is the case then maybe miss Cherri is our best bet for coming up with a solution." He suggested.

Now when he said that they expected her to say something, but instead she took a quick look around the room just to make sure there wasn't some other kind of demon named Cherri around.

"Wait, you're serious? You think I'M our best bet?" She asked after a few seconds while pointing to herself.

"Your idea for using this room which was a former porn set as club shows you're able to think in a very creative way, as such your imagination for the countless possibilities could produce something all three of you can agree on." He explained.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea!" Angel Dust exclaimed with a grin, "I mean if Katie's gonna take care of the corporate side of things, and I'll handle like the money and the schmoozing part of it, makes sense that you'd be our...creative director! Or some other fancy title like that!" He reasoned.

"I'll admit, out of everyone here you're not only the most colorful but also the most sporadic, and I mean that in the best way possible, so if anyone can come up with a solid idea it would be you." Katie joined in.

"I just said that off the top of my head though, I mean shit guys, it's a whole different thing when

there's suddenly a bunch of pressure!" She argued.

"There's no pressure, we're not demanding that the first thing you say be THE ONE, just start saying all the stuff you can think of and we'll go from there." Angel Dust told her.

Looking to all of them and their expectant gazes, Cherri would let out a sigh in defeat while closing her eye to focus.

"Alright, give me a second here..." She requested as she began tapping her foot, "Hmm...like I said a club wouldn't be the worst thing, in clubs you can charge for all kinds of shit like admission, booze, food, etcetera, but then again gets real noisy real fast, plus we'd have to do a lot of remodeling and install a bunch of shit, so that's probably not good...we could maybe use these studio spaces for offices maybe? But ya kinda need a business before you have offices...can't turn this place into a mall, least not without getting people to set up shops and shit...movie theater would also be a dud cause again lot of remodeling...honestly the fact that this place is meant for recording shit makes it kinda hard to think of what else we could do with it, less of course we started our own like TV studio or something and made our own shows..." She admitted.

That's when it clicked for all of them, like the flick of a switch or a bolt of lightning striking an antenna. They had the space, everything was already designed and made for it, though the place had been cleaned out they were sure they could get the equipment back, and with Katie's experience and mastery over running a station practically all by herself, this was IT.

"Cherri...you are a fucking genius!" Angel Dust praised as he ran over and hugged her, "We can turn Porn Studios into something WAY classier! We can actually make legit tv shows and movies for people to watch and buy! We can be the Hollywood of Hell! This is our ticket to fame and fortune without having to suck any dicks!" He exclaimed.

"Or by blowing up entire city blocks!" She added.

"And with my experience, skill, and ability to put the fear of god into any dumb son of a bitch who tries to backtalk us, we can get this place up and running in no time!" Katie said as she walked over to join them.

"But what would we call it? I mean obviously we can't keep the name, if only so we can get rid of the stupid fucking sign." Cherri pointed out.

Taking a moment to think on that, slowly but surely they all moved their gaze over to the man who made this possible, who just stood there in his usual stoic manner.

"...Slayer Studios..." All three said together followed by tooth filled grins, "SLAYER STUDIOS!" They repeated in a zestful shout accompanied by a high five.

"Are you sure you want to name your business after him?" Vega asked for both the Slayer and himself.

"Of course! I mean without Will none of this would be happening! It only makes sense that you be included in on this, that is if you don't mind." Angel Dust answered.

They all waited anxiously as he seemed to take a moment to think it over, but the moment he held out his hand and gave them a thumbs up, another wave of excitement washed over them.

"FUCK YEAH THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Cherri shouted as she held her hands up in the air, "Just picture it, a new far more tasteful sign on the building, big green letters for Slayer Studios, with an explosion outlining it in blood red, or maybe we could have like a shotgun or

something, the possibilities are endless!" She exclaimed.

"Maybe we could even have Will star in some stuff! You know like action or horror movies where just lays waste to everybody! And since this is Will we're talking about he could easily do his own stunts and everything! Again if that's okay with you." Angel Dust said, only to pump his fist into the air when the Slayer gave another thumbs up.

"You know, Blitzo and them have been on top of the whole merchandising thing, we could bring them on as our marketing team." Katie suggested.

"YES! ONE HUNDRED PERCENT YES! Have you SEEN the shit they were able to make out of stuff they just got from around the hotel? Think of what they could make once we get everything up and running!" Cherri exclaimed.

"Oh shit you're right! We should give them a call and tell'em!" Angel Dust replied.

Watching as he and Katie went to go stand beside Cherri since she was the only one with a cellphone, the Slayer for just a moment had a small smile come to his face, as it had been a very long time since he'd seen anyone as happy as they were.

(Later, In The Center Of Pentagram City...)

When Angel Dust said he was going to take him on a tour, he meant every single word of that statement. After they got done sharing the news with Blitzo and Co, who were flattered, happy, and excited to be included in this, the trio of demons would show the Slayer a side of Hell he didn't know could exist. All he had seen thus far was some of its inner buildings but mostly the slums, excluding the news station of course because that was special. But once they got closer to the heart of their home it was as if he'd been sent back in time.

Bright lights filled his vision as did the sounds of thriving commerce and distractions of all kinds, even in a place like Hell it was possible for simple joys and pleasures not pertaining to the sexual variety to exist. From countless stores that sold a myriad of different wares, to theaters or restaurants that offered all kinds of entertainment, to specific businesses like arcades or shops specializing in a particular product, there was no end to it all. This though did bring an obvious question to mind, if Pentagram City had so many wonderful things to offer why were the middle and outer sections so...not as good? The answer was exactly what you would assume, the nobles and the Overlords controlled EVERYTHING, up until now it was all one big game of monopoly where you wanted to have as many properties as possible.

But as of now things were looking to finally change, in their own ways the noble class even without Stolas giving them a nudge in the right direction, were starting to improve the life of the city's citizens. Sure it was by simply bringing down certain prices or allowing for a more varied clientele, but even small steps like these were progress. Of course they still wanted to get on the Slayer's good side as MUCH as possible, hence why when the four of them stepped into one of their businesses they were allowed whatever they wanted free of charge. Now this really didn't mean anything to him as there wasn't anything he wanted, but you best believe his companions were going to milk this like a golden diamond studded cow.

In their defense they knew to not go TOO overboard, as there was a clearly defined line between taking advantage of this unforeseen perk and abusing it. The Slayer in his ever vigilant ways even had Vega remind them of it too, much like a parent telling their child to not put too many things into a shopping cart. Still they made sure to have as much acceptable fun as possible, whether it be getting some new jewelry, trying out super expensive wine at a classy bar, or sample what the best chefs in Hell could offer. Eventually this would all come to head with their final stop on their

tour/unexpected shopping spree, with them all trying on clothes and seeing what they wanted, while the Slayer did the only thing a man like him could do in this situation, sit in a nearby chair and watch their stuff.

Again though it didn't bother him at all, what most might find ordinary, boring, or even annoying he found relaxing, as it helped him to think back to much simpler times.

"I must admit, if at any point someone had told either of us this was something we would be doing eventually, I might assume they were insane." Vega said to him via the inside of his helmet so the others couldn't hear, "It's hard to believe that we've come so far, that after all the fighting we're finally able to let our guards down to this degree, and once we have determined whether or not Gabriel is plotting something, which I don't believe he is personally, then maybe we can consider the possibility of relaxing, as it truly seems the worst is behind us." He told him.

Unfortunately the Slayer could give no response to that, for while he did want to believe Vega was right that this was all finally over, deep down in the core of his soul he just couldn't bring himself to accept that, not until every last thing had been sorted out.

"Alright Will, ya ready to be blown right out of that armor of yours?" The voice of Angel Dust asked from one of the changing booths, as all three of them were ready to show off their outfits.

Watching as the booth curtains were pulled back and they stepped out, the first thing that came to his mind when he saw them was...suspicion. On the left there was Angel who was wearing a full body black dress with four sleeves for his additional arms, complimented by fluffy fur cuffs at the end of each. Now, if that was the only thing the Slayer noticed about his appearance it wouldn't be odd, but he wasn't one to overlook even the slightest new detail, of which there were quite a few. Besides the new dress Angel at some point in the booth had applied makeup to himself, how that worked exactly given he was covered in fur the Slayer didn't really know.

And while the amount of makeup wasn't extreme or what might be considered trashy, a lot of effort had still gone into its application. From dark eyeshadow and liner that went perfectly with his snow white self, to pink lipstick that was the right level of glossy, it ended with just a nice touch of blush to give his cheeks a little red. In fact, as he looked at Katie and Cherri he noticed the same thing, besides their new clothes they had clearly "prettied" themselves up, and he had no idea why. But as said this was ONE of the few strange things, and as he looked to Cherri and Katie to take in their attire he began noticing a theme.

The explosion happy demon wore a short black and red dress that ended at her thighs a little bit above the knees, which made sense as he assumed she wouldn't want something that kept her from moving as much as she wanted. This didn't mean her legs were exposed though, she had thigh high stockings that were also red and black as that was the color scheme she was going for. Top it all off with the surprise of her letting her thick head of hair down completely, instead of having some of it tied back in a pony tail, and she struck a perfect balance between elegant and chaotic beauty.

Last but certainly not least on the right was Katie, who out of the three gave off the strongest aura of class. Like Angel she too wore a full body dress, however it differed by being ruby red, being cut up the sides so you see her legs, and although he could not see it was also open in the back. As for any additional details those came in the form of accessories or jewelry, from gold bands around her wrists, to a beautifully made gemstone necklace, and earrings that shined like stars, she was the very definition of a knockout. That is, for everyone other than the Slayer, who truly might honestly be the only person in the entirety of existence who could look at these three, see how much effort they had put into looking so nice, and feel as though he was being lulled into a false sense of security just to have some kind of trap sprung on him.

"So? What do you think huh?" Angel Dust asked as he showed himself off, "Aren't we the three sexiest people you've ever seen in your life? Go on be honest." He said.

"...I'm not sure I should tell you what he's thinking." Vega replied cautiously.

"Oh? Is he actually turned on by us? Is the stoic solider finally having some feelings stir in that well toned body of his?" Cherri questioned.

"Not exactly." Vega replied.

"Oh come on Vega just tell us what he's thinking, we're all adults here we can take it." Katie insisted.

"Very well, but please do not shoot the messenger." He requested, taking a brief pause to consider how to word this as best as possible, "The Slayer finds your new appearances to be...slightly concerning." He revealed.

"...Huh?" All three sounded together, as that was definitely not what they were expecting.

"You see, as these clothes will be given to us at no charge he knew you would pick out rather expensive outfits, and while these certainly do meet that description they're also similar in how proper they are, almost as if you're planning something." He explained.

As they heard that the three demons couldn't keep surprised expressions from coming to their faces, which IMMEDIATELY started causing red flags to pop up in the Slayer's head.

"W-What? No, this is just the first time any of us have gotten to shop for clothes this expensive, so we figured why not go all out, r-right Katie?" Angel Dust asked.

"That's right! In fact even with my salary as the top news anchor in all of Hell I couldn't afford clothes this nice, at least not genuine originals only really good knockoffs." She answered.

"And I've never found any kind of dresses or shit that I liked, but leave it to these nobles and their stores to have something even I think is nice, it's just one big coincidence is all..." Cherri said followed by a nervous chuckle.

"That doesn't explain the makeup, nor how each of your accessory and jewelry selections are perfectly chosen to compliment your attire." Vega pointed out.

"Uh...well...ya can't expect us to get all dressed up and NOT put on the finishing touches! I mean that'd be like baking a cake and not adding the frosting!" Angel Dust argued.

"Yeah exactly! I mean you might not get this since you're just rocking that armor, WHICH IS COOL AND AWESOME NOT SAYING IT'S BAD OR ANYTHING! But ya know when you

dress to impress ya gotta accessorize properly..." Cherri reasoned, slightly panicking in the middle there as she didn't want to insult him.

"See Will? You're just thinking about it too hard, we're just wanting to look nice because we can, nothing else is going on that'd be ABSURD." Katie assured.

First he was suspicious, then he was on alert, but at this point the Slayer's mind was going into full lockdown. Even if he wasn't the hyper vigilant super solider that he was, you'd have to be a few shells short of a full serving of buckshot to not see what was going on. Though he didn't know what they were planning, or why they felt the need to dress up for it as much as they were, he could tell they wanted to keep it a secret as much as possible. And it's for this reason that for the first time in

his life, he decided the best course of action he could take was none at all, for whatever this was they were putting a lot of effort into it, which he respected and was grateful for.

"You're right, he's sorry." Vega told them after a few seconds. "Wait, really?" They asked together.

"Yes, old habits are hard to let go of especially in his case, he knows you three wouldn't be up to anything, or if you are he knows for a fact it's nothing dangerous, so he apologizes for not reacting properly to your new appearances." He answered.

"Oh, well then, thanks Will." Angel Dust said earning a nod in response, "But with that being said, what do you really think of how we look?" He inquired.

"He thinks you all look nice." Vega replied causing smiles to come to their faces. "Really? You're not just saying that for him or something?" Cherri asked.

"No." He simply answered.

Feeling all of their smiles grow bigger the three of them huddled together, whispering to each other to talk about it and probably some other things, leaving the Slayer to return to his duty of looking after the rest of their purchases.

(A Short While After...)

"Will...are you sure we can't help you with that?" Katie asked as they walked beside him.

Even with access to top of the line products and goods, the trio still did their best to buy things in moderation as to not be greedy or go overboard. Unfortunately by the time they were done shopping they still had a pretty sizeable haul, which they were worried they would have to call Charlie and ask her to send her family's limo their way. That's when the Slayer decided to remind them that they had a literal god among them, as he was able to carefully assort everything into a pile, that he then easily lifted with both of his arms to carry. That's how they were able to go back to the hotel on foot, and with Vega providing him with an actively updating map of their surroundings and any people nearby, this removed the risk of him bumping into anything.

"While your concern is appreciated Katie, this is quite literally nothing to him, it's almost like he's carrying air." Vega answered.

"Weight's not the issue here though Vega, we're the reason he's gotta rely on you so he doesn't run into anything, so we wouldn't mind carrying some of the stuff." Angel Dust replied.

"Again, while this is appreciated it isn't necessary, besides you shouldn't feel bad for enjoying yourselves, that was the whole point of accepting the generosity of the noble class after all." He stated.

"As always willing to help but never willing to be helped, you are an infuriatingly nice person you know that?" Cherri asked.

"He is aware of this." He answered.

Letting out a collective sigh that he wouldn't let them carry even a single thing, they knew if they tried pressing this anymore it'd just end up with them going in circles, so they decided to move on.

"Say, out of curiosity big guy, how come you didn't buy anything?" Cherri asked.

"Because there was nothing that he saw that was of interest to him, and not solely because of its high quality or how specific each store we visited was." Vega answered.

"So what are your interests then? Besides being the baddest badass whoever badassed?" She questioned.

"He enjoys music though mostly rock n' roll and metal, working with his hands which is not exclusive to his arsenal's maintenance, reading books with his favorite genres being science fiction, horror, and supernatural, video games, and collecting figures." He explained.

"Hold the fuck up." Angel Dust said as he looked at him befuddled, "YOU, the guy who could punch a hole in the fucking universe, likes to collect figures and shit?" He asked.

"Indeed, in his fortress for example he has an entire shelf dedicated to figures he made himself, all of which are of the demons of Doom, he created them as sort of a way to rub his victory over them in their faces, as these once terrifying creatures had now been made into rather cute toy like objects." Vega answered.

"That is the single most amazing way to rub salt in someone's wound I have ever heard..." He replied as a grin came to his face, "How come you've never told us this before? What other amazing details are you hiding huh? Let me guess you're an artist?" He asked.

"Actually yes." Vega answered.

"Oh come on no fucking way!" He exclaimed.

"I'm afraid so, the Slayer is an artist in two ways, the first being that he composes his own music with the use of instruments he made himself, which he then combines with recordings of his weapons to create an original genre." Vega explained.

"If that's the first one what the hell is the second?" Katie questioned. "The other is far less detailed as it is painting." He revealed.

"Whoa, you actually paint? The big bad Slayer of Doom paints in his spare time?" Cherri asked.

"He's only done it once so far, and it took him a great deal of time to finish as he didn't want to make any mistakes." He answered.

"Damn, must've been a pretty special painting if that's the case, what was the focus?" Katie asked. "Him and Daisy." He answered.

Upon hearing that they all felt their hearts drop in their chests, for even though he seemed perfectly fine in telling them that, they still had just unknowingly walked onto a landmine.

"Oh shit...Will...we didn't mean to..." Angel Dust tried to apologize, only to be stopped as Vega spoke again.

"The Slayer does not want you to say you are sorry, if he didn't want to answer the question he wouldn't have given me his permission." He assured.

"Still, we know that's a pretty rough thing for you to talk about, even after everything we know now, we should've realized given how much time ya spent on it that it was something important."

Cherri reasoned.

"It's quite alright, the truth is that picture was painted for two reasons, the first of course being how much he misses her and wishes he could see her again, the second is because he keeps seeing her from time to time, even though she isn't there." He replied.

"Like a hallucination?" Angel Dust questioned.

"Correct, even though he knows it isn't real, that it is simply a product of his trauma and mental state, he still can't keep himself from thinking it is her sometimes as she seems so real." He explained.

In that moment a memory came back and hit Katie like a wrecking ball, but just for her as she was the only one in their entire group who knew this.

"Holy shit...those piles of pellets back in his fortress...that was food for Daisy..." She realized with widened eyes as she looked to him, "I can't fucking believe it's taken me this long to put that together...this is way worse than Vega's making it out to be..." She thought with a deeply concerned expression.

A part of her wanted to mention this to Cherri and Angel, as she figured they should know it wasn't just because of simple grief. But then the logical part of her mind argued against that, for besides it being reckless it was an invasion of his privacy which she had no right to do. Still as this sank in with her she felt worse and worse, for if he was seeing Daisy to such a believable degree that he could sometimes forget she isn't actually there, what else did he just deal with all the time without any of them knowing about it? Sadly she wouldn't get anymore time to think about it right now, nor would Angel or Cherri be able to ask him some more questions, for as they turned the next corner the hotel was just up ahead, signaling the end of their day out.

Going the rest of the way to its front doors in silence, the Slayer noticed how the closer they got the better their moods were, though they did a decent job of acting normal.

"Is there something you'd like to tell him?" Vega asked once they reached them as they all came to a stop.

"What would make you ask that?" Angel Dust questioned.

"He just wanted to be certain that there was no other surprises left for today." He replied.

"Oh please, you think we have nothing better to do than just surprise you over and over again?" Cherri asked.

All three of them would feel a little nervous when he didn't respond, once again fearing that he may be onto them. But as he set everything down next to him and reached for both doors' handles, they braced themselves for what immediately came after he as he pushed them open.

"SURPISE!" Countless voices all shouted out at once, the sheer volume of it nearly being equal to a detonation from his rocket launcher.

Looking inside there was so much to see, from the abundance of people all standing together in the lobby and how nicely they were dressed, to the countless decorations ESPCIALLY the massive banner that read "Thank You!" that hung at the back of the room. Then you had things like a small stage that had been setup as well, the band that stood atop of it ready to play music, and so many other details that all spelled out clear as day, PARTY.

"This is precisely what we were expecting." Vega told him via the inside of his helmet, as he didn't want the others to know they had figured this out.

"Welcome back Will!" Charlie exclaimed as she hurried over, "And also, welcome to your party!" She added as she gestured to the room and everyone else.

"When did you plan this?" Vega asked, though making sure to do so without sounding rude. "Actually this was Millie's idea!" She answered.

"Really? That is very surprising, we assumed you would have been entirely responsible for this." He admitted.

"Well...I maybe did a FEW things..." She said while looking off to the side.

"Don't be so modest hon." Vagatha spoke up as she walked over, "Even though Millie and the rest of us had come up with the idea yesterday, the MOMENT we told her about it she got everything in motion, all the decorations, the band, making sure everyone had something nice to wear, she did the organizing we just helped make it happen." She explained.

"Vaggie..." Charlie whined with an embarrassed smile.

"That is why Angel Dust and Katie wanted to take the Slayer out today correct?" He asked.

"Yup, needed you gone so we could get everything ready, and now that you've seen it what do you think?" Vagatha responded.

For the next full minute everyone waited in silence to hear what Vega would say, for even though they knew the Slayer would appreciate their effort, they were still worried that he might be uncomfortable. But then he did something so unexpected, that even his AI companion could have never seen it coming. He reached up, took off his helmet, held it under his arm, and with a small but easily seen smile he used his free arm to give them a thumbs up. Seeing this everyone let out a massive cheer, so loud and so passionate that for a moment it managed to shake the hotel itself.

This in turn was the signal for the band to start playing, for not only was their surprise a success but he was actually happy, and for them that was the best thing they could have hoped for.

(A Few Minutes Later...)

If the Slayer was treated like a celebrity before, now he was being treated like a king. Admittedly he actually knew what that felt like, after all he was a properly crowned leader of the Sentinels, so that comparison was actually 100% accurate. Everyone from the guests of the hotel, to every noble in Hell who had been invited, and even the staff who wanted to make sure he didn't need anything crowded around him. But his group didn't get upset at this or try to but in, for they knew they had the entire night to spend with him so they were fine letting everyone else get their fill.

Though if they were being honest there was another reason, that small smile the Slayer had when he took off his helmet was still present on his face, and from the looks of it they were optimistic it might stay there for the rest of the party.

"Man, is it wrong of me to say how weird it is seeing him happy? Because I don't mean that in a bad way it's just...so new I guess?..." Angel Dust asked, he and the others as usual hanging out near the check in desk, with the added addition of Charlie's family this time around.

"No we get exactly what you mean, but it's the best kind of weird, the kind that makes you all excited and happy." Charlie answered.

"Still I hope it doesn't take them too long to get plastered or tired, what's the point in throwing this party if we don't get to hang out with him?" Katie asked.

"Katie...are you...jealous?" Lilith questioned, nearly everyone looking at her with a surprised expression.

"Is it REALLY that shocking that after all the time we've spent together, all the things he's done for me, that I wouldn't consider Will a friend? And a damn good one at that?" she replied.

"She does make a valid argument, I never thought I'd be throwing a party in celebration of the source of many of my nightmares and anxieties, yet here we are standing but a few feet away from him and I'm as cool as a cucumber." Lucifer said.

"What about you uncle Gabe? Did you ever think things would work out so well?" Charlie asked.

"Not in my wildest dreams Charlie, but that isn't to say I'm not happy, both for myself and him." He answered.

"YOU'RE happy for Will? Well fuck me and call me Sally would've never seen that coming!" Angel Dust exclaimed.

"I don't see why I wouldn't be, yes I was an adversary of sorts to him up until now, but it is because of my brother Pravuil that I was able to begin seeing the error in my judgment and actions, and it is thanks to Slayer's mercy that I've been given a new chance to finally deal with them properly, in addition to mending my relationship with my kin." He explained.

"Speaking of, just how many more relatives do you guys have? I mean obviously most of you are angels, but are there any more devils like Lucifer who are also your siblings?" Cherri asked.

"As a matter of fact yes, while not every devil is a part of our family for some only appeared when a new circle was needed, all of the devils and circles that existed during the war were our brothers and sisters." He answered.

"Geez, how big is your fucking family?" She questioned.

"You don't want to know./You don't want to know./You don't want to know." All three siblings said together, as it would take just as long as this party was going to last to go through their family tree.

"Yeesh, your family sounds just as bad as mine." Blitzo admitted. "Same." Angel Dust said.

"I didn't know you had a family sir, or if you did one you'd want to talk about." Moxxie replied.

"And that's exactly how I like it Moxxie." Blitzo said as an idea came to him, "But you know what I do want to talk about? All of our merchandising ideas!" He exclaimed.

"Oh no you don't, you're not ruining this for Will." Katie told him.

"Ruining? I'm doing this FOR him! I mean look some of the nobles have started to back off! So what better time to start kissing some properly pampered ass than right now? Plus if you come with we may be able to get some investors for Slayer Studios~" He mused.

"...Damn, you are a good salesman." She replied causing him to grin.

Watching as she and the former murderers for hire all went to start rubbing elbows with the noble class, once they were all gone they noticed that besides them, a few other notable people were missing from the festivities.

"Wait...where's Husk?" Vagatha asked as she looked behind the desk, "He's not sleeping here anymore, or trying to I guess." She said.

"Now that you mention it I don't think I've seen him at all today, along with Nifty and Alastor." Charlie realized.

"Oh no..." Lucifer muttered as a shiver went down his spine.

"Something wrong brother?" Gabriel asked.

"The one person who shouldn't be missing IS, and now I can feel every muscle in my body tensing up..." He answered.

"Oh Lucifer there's no need to be so dramatic, I think enough time has passed to where we don't need to be suspicious of Alastor anymore, yes he has a reputation and there are plenty of rumors, but he's been nothing but helpful and as such he deserves a little more trust than you're giving him." Lilith told him causing him to sigh.

"Maybe you're right, I mean if I can feel completely safe around the Slayer of all people while reconnecting with my brother after all this time, then surely I can find the willpower to assume Alastor isn't up to anything." He replied.

Using that impeccable timing of his the front doors were flung wide open which managed to get everyone's attention, and stepping through them as dapper as could be was the radio demon himself.

"HELLO EVERYONE!" He exclaimed through the mic on his staff so they all could heard him, "I am SO sorry to be so fashionably late! But I had to make sure my associates were all properly dressed!" He explained.

Almost as if this were rehearsed, which knowing him it probably was, Husk would be the first to appear as he walked up next to him, the only thing different about him being a long red dress tie around his neck instead of the usual bow. After him however did not come the short housekeeper they were expecting, instead it was the overlord Rosie who was dressed to match Alastor. And while her appearance wasn't the most shocking thing in the world, it was unexpected enough to get the nobles talking among themselves, as well as bring back those suspicions Lucifer had.

"Great, everyone's seen my fancy tie, can I go get drunk now?" Husk asked him.

"Not yet! There's still one more person who has yet to join us! And she is the most fashionably dressed of us all!" He answered before lightly hitting the base of his cane against the floor.

In a flash a massive torrent of fire came from the ground and shot high into the air, but no one was concerned because they all knew it was nothing dangerous, less Alastor wanted to get himself killed by the Slayer. But as it continued to burn in place no longer ascending, they would see a small black mass form at the bottom, which the others in their group knew was Nifty. Or at least that's what they thought, but soon that mass grew until it was about the same height as Angel Dust or Katie.

"Alastor, what are you summoning?" Lucifer questioned no longer able to keep silent.

"Oh come now Luci, surely even with all that has been happening you haven't forgotten such a familiar face so soon have you?" He asked in return.

Confused by what he meant they all felt their jaws drop and their eyes widen as the figure stepped out of the fire, for as it turned out, it actually was Nifty. Her appearance was pretty much the same in terms of her hair, eye, and skin color, with the only major differences being the clothes she was currently wearing and well, ya know, SHE WAS TALL NOW. On the matter of her clothes though they were very different from what she normally wore, consisting of a white band around her neck and a long blue dress with white polka dots, she looked like a fifties version of Cinderella.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, and Slayers alike, I present to you Nifty as you've never seen her before!" Alastor exclaimed as the torrent of flame dissipated.

"Hi everyone." She greeted calmly with a smile and a small wave. "Nifty...what...how?" Charlie asked, being the only one able to do so at the moment.

"Well, I just figured since everyone else was changing why shouldn't I? Especially since this is a LOT closer to how tall I was when I was alive, I mean not EXACTLY cause ya know if I was this tall when I was alive everyone would be freaking out, but still, better than being as short as I was." She answered.

"That still doesn't explain how this is possible." Vagatha joined in as they all were slowly processing this.

"You have me to thank for that." Rosie said while raising her hand, "The poor girl was feeling so different since no one was as short as her, except for maybe those two imps, so Alastor being the considerate soul he is reached out to me and asked if I had a potion that could remedy this problem for her, to which I said yes, but only if I could be invited to this magnificent party." She explained.

"Yup, so, how do I look?" Nifty asked as she did a small spin to show herself off completely.

A moment of silence came over the entire room as she waited for any response, and although she was happy with how it turned out, she did still feel a little nervous when no one seemed to want to say anything. But much to her full name Cherri would be the one to break the silence, doing so in a truly explosive way.

"GIRL YOU LOOK FUCKING AMAZING!" She shouted as loudly as she could. "R-Really?" Nifty questioned as a hopeful look came to her face.

"FUCK YEAH YOU DO! DOESN'T SHE EVERYONE?" She continued to shout, now turning her attention towards the party.

Given that more than half of the people there didn't even know who this was, only an assortment of confused mutters and whispers were heard as a response. This in turn caused Cherri to summon one of her bombs, throw it high into the air, detonate it which resulted in a very loud and colorful controlled explosion, before she then looked back to them.

"RIGHT?" She asked them a second time with a rather twisted smile, hoping for their sake they weren't stupid.

Thankfully they weren't, with that message being received they all either applauded her for some

reason or said a variety of compliments, which was enough to please her and Nifty. "Aw...thank you..." She said quietly as a blush came to her face.

"Well then, now that we've made our grand entrance I believe the festivities can resume, right maestro?" Alastor asked addressing the band.

Realizing that they too had completely stopped during all of this the musicians began to play again, which slowly after that display got the party back into full motion.

"See? I told you it would go well." Alastor whispered as he walked up beside her, "Now why don't you go and show yourself off? Maybe try and find Velvet to thank her for the potion? Or even try and talk to the reason why you wanted to do this?" He suggested.

Nodding in response the new vertically upgraded Nifty headed into the crowd, making sure as she did that her dress didn't get ruined.

"THAT'S what she wanted the potion for?!" Husk questioned as he and Rosie walked up to join him, "It wasn't some shady fucking thing or some other shit, all she wanted was to be taller, Why?!" He asked.

"Husker, do not tell me that all that alcohol consumption is beginning to eat away at your brain? Maybe seeping into your eyes a little bit too?" Alastor said.

"What the fuck does that have to do with this?" He responded.

Rolling his eyes at just how blind his associate was, Alastor pointed towards the center of the room since he could see it himself. There he saw the Slayer surrounded by whatever nobles had yet to have some kind of chat with him, as well as Nifty who was making her way towards him.

"...No." He said in disbelief as it finally clicked. "Yup." Alastor replied.

"But...I thought she just...I mean...she always gets excited over practically any guy..." He muttered.

"That she does, but after everything she's seen and learned about him, I'm afraid our little romantic housemaid has found her prince charming~" Alastor mused as he patted him on the back, "Let's just hope that this story doesn't end like the original did! Especially since the crows here in Hell are MUCH more vicious than the ones on earth." He jested followed by a laugh.

"What just happened?" Vagatha questioned, as she and the others back at the check in desk were still watching this unfold.

Instead of responding with any words Lucifer would suddenly walked away, catching them all by surprise.

"Honey?" Lilith said as they watched him take his leave.

"I'm going to get a drink, I'll be back when I'm basted." He replied with a wave of his hand.

"Oh no, last time he was like this he started singing showtunes in his boxers..." She muttered before following after him.

"Heh, guess some things never change." Gabriel said with a chuckle.

"Wait, you mean he did that in Heaven?" Vagatha asked immediately, both she and Charlie looking to him with expressions of intrigued surprise.

"Just because Heaven is divine does not mean it is not without luxury, such as the best wine you'll ever taste." He answered.

"Ooooooooh you HAVE to tell us more." Vagatha said, wanting to hear ALL the embarrassing stories they had to share.

"I don't know...Lucifer would be quite cross with me..." He replied in a somewhat playful way.

"PLEASE uncle Gabe! I've never heard of ANY stories from when dad was in Heaven!" Charlie begged with big wide puppy dog eyes.

"If you won't tell them I certainly will, I've been WAITING for a chance like this to embarrass him." Azrael told him.

"Very well, it seems I am outnumbered three to one." He relented which made them all smile.

The next two hours of the party went by in a flash, but only because everyone was enjoying themselves so much. Katie along with Blitzo and the others were actually successful in getting the nobles to listen to them, sure Stolas lent his assistance in doing so and they did "bend" the truth a little on how much the Slayer was involved, but hey results don't lie. Alastor and Rosie would also chat with the nobles and anyone else they felt like, for although this was the Slayer's party it was hard for them not to act like hosts. Angel Dust and Cherri actually took their leave of the check in desk just as Gabriel began sharing stories, for they had noticed how Nifty seemed quite intent on spending her time with the man of the evening, so they wanted to make sure she didn't try anything.

That just left Lucifer, Lilith, and Husk, all of whom managed to run into each other at the table setup for the food and drinks, with the latter being forced to help the queen of Hell keep her husband from getting schnockered. Eventually though the "main event" of the party was ready to happen, which most of the people could tell once they saw Charlie get up on the stage.

"Excuse me, if I could have your attention please." She requested via a microphone that had been setup in advance, "Thank you, now as you all know this party was put together to celebrate the one person who has done more than anyone to help change Hell for the better, and it is for this reason that we would like to say a few things to further show our gratitude for his actions." She explained before looking to the Slayer, "So Will, could you please come to the stage?" She asked.

Nodding in response everyone stepped aside so he could easily get up there to stand beside her on the left.

"The people who will be speaking first will be my parents, as they were the first to speak to him and introduce him to the rest of us." She explained as she looked to them next, "Mom, Dad, could you please come up here?" She requested

Making sure they were both presentable they then made their way to the stage, making sure to take their glasses with them as they planned to make a toast. But before they did, when the focus was still on Charlie and the Slayer, neither they nor anyone else saw a shadow of some kind put something into their drinks. And as they now stood to their daughter's right, all eyes looking to them and they back to the crowd, this same shadow would begin applying that same unknown substance to everyone's drinks, doing everything its power to not be noticed.

"Thank you Charlie, that was a wonderful introduction." Lucifer praised his daughter as she stepped back so he could have the mic, "Now, I know that even in light of recent events most of you here still have very little idea of who our friend is exactly, and that is entirely on us as we assumed by this point a documentary put together about his life would've aired by now, but again those recent events happened and while they certainly helped to show just how powerful he is, it didn't do much to help clear the mystery of his identity, where he came from, or even why he's helping us with the hotel and a yet to be revealed project me, my family, and our associates are also working on, but all of that will be talked about later, as we're here to sing his praises not to give you all a history lesson." He said which managed to get a few laughs, "However it's rather hard for me to praise him, not because I feel he doesn't deserve it, but because this has all happened so fast, it's only just now approaching three weeks since he first arrived and yet so much has changed, but as my daughter said it has been for the better and that much I am able to admit." He continued before looking towards the Slayer while raising his glass, which prompted everyone else to do the same, "So, before I allow my wife to say her part of our shared praise we'd like to give a toast to the man who has impacted all of our lives in some way, to the Slayer!" He exclaimed.

With that shared sentiment spoken they all took a sip from their drinks, letting a few seconds go by so they could savor the moment.

"Here...we...go..." Alastor said quietly with a wicked smile, watching in excitement as Lucifer stepped back to join Charlie while Lilith took his place at the mic.

"Thank you Lucifer that was a wonderful toast, and a wonderful beginning to this portion of the party." She began with a glance back to him, before turning back to face the crowd, "Now then, where do I begin with praising the Slayer?...Oh, I know exactly where." She said as a smile came to her face, "The first thing he did that helped me and my husband to feel more comfortable around him, more certain that he was here to help us and not kill us all, was during Charlie's interview when this all started which is where he saved her life, or at the very least kept her from being seriously injured." She explained as a slight frown came to her face, "Though to be honest...if I hadn't hired Blitzo and the others to try and kill Katie on the air that probably would've never happened..." She admitted.

The moment those words left her mouth practically everyone either gasped in shock or were frozen stiff, as their queen had just casually confessed to an attempted assassination.

"You...did...what?!" Lucifer questioned in disbelief causing her to look back at him.

"Oh come on honey you KNOW how much I hated her back then, are you REALLY surprised that I tried to get her killed on live television?" She asked.

"I have something to confess too!" Blitzo exclaimed from the crowd causing all eyes to go to him, "I have ABSOLUTELY no fucking idea what I'm doing at any point in time! I just bullshit my way through life HOPING to be a big shot, truth is even though she did hire us to kill Katie I actually looked up to her! She was the kind of boss I always DREAMED of being some day!" He explained before looking to Stolas, "And as for you!" He exclaimed while grabbing onto him and pulling him down to his level, "I fucking LOVE your stupid dorky love dovey ass!" He admitted before kissing him passionately.

After that the ENTIRE room turned into an absolute batshit crazy free for all of confessions, with everyone saying whatever secrets or hidden feelings they had no matter how deep they were buried.

"I always act like I don't care and that I hate everyone and that everything sucks, but the truth is I just have no idea what the fuck is going on at all with me and everything else and so I insult the

people I care about because I have no idea what the fuck else to say!" Loona exclaimed.

"I never wanted to be an assassin, it's not that I can't hurt people or that I don't enjoy it at all, I just don't want to hurt nice people or people who were just associated with the assholes who came to us to kill them!" Moxxie exclaimed.

"I only have a country accent because I heard a song when I was little and I liked it so much I wanted to sound like the singer, so I just kept talking with it until it stuck but I also liked how it made me unique since I'm the only imp in Hell who has it!" Millie confessed.

"I act like nothing bothers me and that I'm fine all the time but the truth is I just want to CRY, because between my family and my career and every stupid fucking thing I've ever done in my life I am a fucking train wreck of emotions and problems and I just want to be fucking happy and horny!" Angel Dust confessed.

"I try to be as colorful and as punk as possible because otherwise I feel like I'm just boring and nobody will notice I'm there if I don't!" Cherri admitted.

"I only tell my girlfriend not to start singing a lot of the time because I'm afraid she'll want me to join and I can't sing for shit!" Vagatha admitted.

"I know! That's why I was planning to surprise you with singing lessons that I wanted to sign us up for so we could sing duets!" Charlie replied to her.

"I LOVE WILL!" Katie shouted out.

Truly being shocked by what was suddenly happening, as the Slayer watched everyone continue to share more and more about themselves he eventually landed on the check in desk, where he saw Gabriel and Azrael struggling to not do the same. Sadly whatever was causing this was powerful enough to force even them to speak the truth.

"I'm honestly sad a lot of the time because everyone everywhere is afraid of death, so they treat me like I am some terrifying monster without even getting to know me, do you know how HARD it is to go your entire life constantly hearing from so many different souls how much they fear or hate you?" Azrael asked nearly on the verge of tears.

"I TOLD THE SLAYER DURING THE LAST HEAVENLY MEETING THAT I WANTED TO KILL ALL OF YOU! INCLUDING MY BROTHER AND HIS FAMILY!" Gabriel

shouted.

"You...what?..." Lucifer questioned with widened eyes as he stepped forward.

Given the chaos that was only getting worse as time passed, the only one to hear him was the Slayer. Now one might wonder WHY the devil was unaffected, despite the fact he too unknowingly drank the mysterious liquid that had been added to their glasses. The reason is because said substance was the truth potion Alastor wanted to use, it was designed to make whoever consumed it share every secret or hidden feeling and desire they had, which Lucifer already did. Over the course of these last two weeks he confessed his involvement in causing Doom, he revealed to his daughter and Vagatha all he knew about the Slayer's past, the only thing left he had to say would've been his regret over his actions which started the war in the first place, but he and Gabriel already settled that.

So despite having drank the same potion as they all did he had nothing left to be honest about, that is, until he heard what his brother just said. And the Slayer knew this, because for the first time in

his life he felt a rage much like his own begin burning inside someone else. But before he could try and keep Lucifer from doing anything the devil would grab the microphone, remove it from its stand, and as loudly as he could screamed:

"SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

To the Slayer's surprise that actually managed to work, even though the effect of the potion was still active they all went quiet and looked towards the stage. But it wasn't just because of how loud or angry Lucifer had sounded, for if there was one emotion powerful enough to cause any one soul to freeze it was fear, which is exactly what they felt as they looked to him. Noticing their terrified expressions he looked towards the devil himself and discovered he was partly transformed, which was the real reason they had stopped. Long horns sprouted from the top of his forehead and went high into the air, his teeth all changed into dagger like fangs, his eyes were completely red with his irises turned bright yellow, and the nails on his fingers had become claws.

"I do not know what the fuck is going on...I do not know why all of you are suddenly saying these things...but the ONE THING I do know is that I am FUCKING PISSED!" He shouted at them as he balled his free hand into a fist, almost breaking the mic with the other as his anger worsened, "And I, as the king of this circle, as the king of all of you, and as the first of the fallen DEMAND that I be given an explanation behind everything, RIGHT. FUCKING. NOW." He demanded.

Deciding he would need to intervene to keep this from escalating any further, the Slayer was kept from doing so as a sound came from his helmet. And as he took it from beneath his arm he could see a message was being displayed on his visor, but once he read was it said his whole body went cold causing him to drop it. Hitting the stage with a fairly loud thud due to its weight this earned Lucifer and everyone else's attention, yet as they saw the expression on his face the mood shifted completely.

"Will?" Lucifer spoke in a far calmer tone, as seeing the horrified look on his face it washed all of the anger out of him, "What's wrong? Has something happened?" He asked.

For the first time though the Slayer didn't respond in any way, he didn't nod, point, or even look at him or anyone else. But that's when they realized it, whatever had caused this reaction from him came after he looked at his helmet, so as Lucifer bent down to pick it up and see what appeared on his visor, he discovered the following message:

Warning, Immediate Attention Required, The Fortress Of Doom Has Sustained Severe Damage, Administrator Vega Has Been Removed From The System, 95% Of All Subsystems And Generators Have Been Destroyed Including The Soul Harvester, All Stored Souls Have Been Released.

Day 7

When a mortal world has been touched by even the smallest amount of corruption, pure unrefined sin that ravages all it reaches, the affected area much like an infected wound must be treated immediately, to prevent it from spreading and getting worse. However unrefined sin was a rarity these days, as all the circles regardless of how they chose to conduct themselves, were careful to ensure the energy of Hell itself was always monitored and never misused. But then there was Doom and its ruler the Dark One, as they both were made from this unrefined sin he believed that was the only state it should be in. This is why even when the Slayer entered the portal to fight on their turf, to keep them busy so they would not continue their advance on his planet, the sad truth

was that it was already dead.

But due to the Dark One and his minions needing to shift their focus to this impudent mortal the corruption of earth did end, so while he could not keep all life from dying he still prevented them from taking it into their realm. And after so much time had passed life began to return, of course it was only animals and vegetation as humanity would take millions of years to happen again, assuming they even would. Sadly this second chance for his home was already snuffed out, for the moment The Fortress of Doom crashed into its surface from orbit, the now freed demons of Doom were quick to work. It took less than an hour for them to kill everything they could find, a few more to begin erecting Gore Nests and blood pools to increase their power.

And once enough of both had been made the most gifted of their arcanists gathered together, Summoners and Archviles all channeling their energies in perfect unison caused a rift to be torn open, allowing them access to their domain. This is when the Dark One's soul would return to where it belonged, once inside he began to bring to life the cursed realm. Every single corpse he reformed through his power he granted new souls to double their numbers immediately, while using the blood and viscera accumulated in the mortal world to give those who had been trapped with him new bodies. In a single instant Doom had returned, with not only a vastly larger army but a permanent connection to the mortal realm as well.

This however was not only devastating to the unsuspecting worlds that filled this universe, as it meant they could begin their hunt across the stars and continue to grow even more. With no restrictions or limitations anymore the Dark One could begin the assimilation, which in turn would cause his power to become greater than ever before, enabling him to finally break through the holy barriers of Heaven and begin their final conquest to control all of creation. But what of the Slayer, why hadn't he appeared the moment this happened to fight them, to try and get them imprisoned again and prevent this outcome before it could be possible? Unfortunately the truth was he couldn't have, the only means he had to cross dimensions was in his fortress, and by the time any other greater power or domain noticed what had happened, all that has been described was already complete.

The Slayer for the second time in his life had lost everything to them, his world, his fortress, and even his most trusted companion, just as before there was nothing he could have done to stop it. So now, as the world fully transformed to match the hellish terrain, as the demons both old and new came together to begin erecting or repairing strongholds and temples, there was no denying that Doom had returned.