"Ah, nothing better than a nice wine on a pleasant spring day~" Valentino said with a contented sigh as he leaned back in his chair.
It'd been a long time since the moth demon saw anything of earth, and while a fair amount had changed, there were still two things that rang true like a church bell. The first was how even after all these years the world and everyone in it was just as stupid as he remembered, there were a few decent to meh folks sure but for the most part they were all grade "A" suckers. Which brought forth the second thing he discovered, that he still had his original powers. This is how he was able to sit so casually in a café only the elite of society had the privilege of dining at, it was also the reason why every rich bastard and bitch present were nearly killing each other just to kiss his feet.
All of the souls that resided in Lucifer's circle, whether they be natives such as Hellhounds or were humans sent there and turned into demons, essentially had two different sets of powers. One set was what everyone could do, simple things like donning a disguise in the event you ever went to earth, which explained why no one immediately freaked out when he showed up. The other set however depended entirely on the individual, which is how he was making them serve him as if he were a god. His power could be summed up sweetly as irresistible persuasion, sort of like a walking talking aphrodisiac that played on what you desired, what made you feel good, and what made you balls to the wall horny.
Even someone like Angel Dust who hated his guts couldn't resist it, hence why even when he was beaten within an inch of his life he'd take it with a smile. And this was only a small amount of pressure from his power, usually displayed in the form of pink smoke coming from his mouth.
With that much alone he could get the disobedient slut to do anything, including the only thing that made him worth shit. But very few people were aware of this information, even the spider demon himself wasn't entirely sure of how he got his way so easily all the time.
However at this moment there was only one person besides himself who knew all of this, and he was NOT amused with how the demon was using his time.
"Valentino." The Dark One's voice spoke within his mind as both their souls now inhabited the body, "What is the point of this? Why are you wasting our time?" He asked.
"It's been a while since I've had a nice bottle, a good view, and a well cooked meal." Valentino answered before taking a small sip from his glass, "Besides, you and I need to have a talk." He said afterwards.
"Hold your tongue, less you want your body to succumb to violent convulsions." The Dark One warned, assuming that this was an attempt to betray him.
"Whoa whoa whoa calm down there, when I say talk I mean actually talk." He assured while putting a hand to his chest, "I should've worded that better, because believe me I am grateful that you didn't turn me into a meat puppet like those other two fucks, and for the power you've given me." He said.
"Very well." The Dark One replied allowing him to continue.
"Thank you." He started with to show respect, "So here's the thing, ever since we got sealed I've been watching everything and everyone, this includes you of course but also the big gun wielding steroid that's keeping us from getting what we want, and I've gotta say you're going about it all
wrong." He said.
"Elaborate." The Dark One ordered.
"See, I get that you're all about being the most terrifying, sadistic, overall evil entity in existence, and TRUST me you are accomplishing that and then some, but while that works on everyone else it has no effect at all on the person who's kicking our asses." He told him as he looked up to the sky, "And the reason WHY that is, is because you keep throwing things at him he doesn't have to think twice about, just one big snarling monster after the other which he then tears apart with his bare hands, you need a different approach." He explained.
"What do you suggest?" The Dark One inquired.
"Simple, the Slayer is unstoppable because all that's in his way are things no one cares about, things that he can slaughter endlessly and not one soul will shed a tear for." He began as a sadistic fang filled grin appeared on his face, "But, if we put something in front of him that he can't kill and he does, it'll take that indestructible unstoppable douchebag and break him like a well worn in bitch." He said.
"Hostages won't work, he will do all that he can to keep from killing them." The Dark One told him.
"Yeah, which is why we ain't using hostages." He replied while swirling the wine in his glass ever so slightly, "It'll take me some time to get it all set up, but I promise you that it will work." He swore, "And on the plus side it will allow us to get into the circle without being noticed." He added.
"It must, the sacrifice of the Icon was our only way of escaping, but without it we have no force that can hold its own against him, if this plan of yours fails and we are captured again, there will be repercussions." The Dark One said.
And with that their conversation was over, the Dark One fell silent and drowned out the world around them for the sake of peace, where as Valentino resumed his relaxation and meal while thinking about his master plan.
Meanwhile, In Urdak...
Pure evil, something that many souls claim to have seen or experienced at a point in their lives. Yet in these cases they were describing the actions or behavior of another individual, rather than referring to an entity or energy that truly deserved such a description. But for a small group of individuals, who stood side by side to form a circle, what they stared at with an assessing gaze was in their minds the only thing truly worthy of being referred to as such.
"Incredible, simply incredible." Samur spoke, being the first to do so after several minutes of silence, "All of this unrefined corruption, somehow safely contained within the parameters of a soul sphere, although I know it is our adversary who created it I still cannot contain my fascination, apologies." He told the others.
"It's alright Samur, no one here thinks ill of your amazement." Vegas assured as he gently placed a hand on the sphere, "To think, after all this time and all the plans he concocted to try and defeat us, he managed to come up with something so brilliantly devious, I too find it hard to keep myself from complimenting him." He admitted.
"Forgive me father." Gabriel spoke up to gain his attention, "But I don't see why this is so perplexing, was your power not also housed in a similar way?" He asked.
"Yes, but only after a machine was created that could accomplish such a thing." Vega answered while pulling his hand away from the sphere, "But as I understand both the Wretch and Sir Pentious were given the task of creating new inventions, yet neither of you made anything that could have lent itself to this correct?" He inquired looking to both demons as he did.
"No, I can safely say I never made any device that would allow this." The Wretch replied.
"Likewise, most he had me do was work on the Icon and a new type of demon to try and kill him." Sir Pentious replied while pointing to the Slayer.
"Hmm...there is another possible explanation..." Samur said with a hum, his mind quickly forming a theory by the second, "The purpose of the machine isn't to separate father's soul from his power, for he could do that on his own without any complications, but to ensure that as Vega he wouldn't be detected not a single trace could remain, taking that much of a soul's power leaves it in a state that goes beyond ethereal, he would still exist but would be no more than what most deem a ghost." He explained.
"The machine served as a body in a sense, making sure that what remained would be safe and you would know where it was at all times." The Wretch said.
"Correct, however in his case it was far more extreme as all we needed was his sentience, but we can all see and feel the only thing the Dark One put into this sphere was his power, his memories and every other aspect that makes him who he is remains intact." He told them.
"But he would still need a vessel since his power is gone right? Or am I just not understanding what the fuck you're saying?" Sir Pentious asked.
"No you are correct, he would need something for his soul to reside in now that he cannot create a form on his own, and I believe we all know who he used." Vega answered.
"Who? Don't you mean-" Sir Pentious was about to question, but stopped mid sentence once he realized what he meant, "Ooooooh right, that mother fucker..." He said with a growl as anger quickly filled his being.
"It does make sense, we found no trace of Valentino in the keep at all, nor any signs of his soul." Gabriel mentioned.
"So our assumptions are right, the use of the Icon to absorb energy and unleash the Hell Wave wasn't to try and kill them, it was to breakthrough the barrier surrounding Doom so they could escape." The Khan said.
"Well that's just fucking awesome, does that mean those two could be anywhere then?!" Sir Pentious asked.
"No, that wouldn't be possible." The Wretch answered while crossing his arms, "The blast was evenly distributed between Doom and Lucifer's circle, if the direction of the energy was completely random that wouldn't have happened, however Doom had been separated from the rest of creation so the Dark One and his arcanists couldn't conjure a new portal and escape." He explained.
"If that's true then how did they pull this off? How could they so perfectly direct and divide the
energy?" Sir Pentious inquired.
"Shouldn't you know the answer to that?" The Khan questioned, finding his lack of knowledge of the Dark One's plan strange.
"Hey, I only knew whatever either bastard told me, and my instructions regarding the Icon at first was to create a design for the demons to follow to turn him into a cyborg basically, but then as we were nearly finished I was told to make it into a giant bomb, I had NO idea what it was actually going to be used for I swear." He told her.
"And we believe you." Vega responded instead of the Khan, "But you do raise a good question, one that no matter how many different ways I look at it, only has one potential answer." He said.
"So...you do know?..." Sir Pentious asked.
"Only as a hypothesis, not in fact." He answered, "You see, there is a crucial detail we haven't acknowledged up until now, something that none of us considered because it never held relevance, but what if the answer lies not with the Dark One or Valentino but Hell itself?" He suggested.
"...Okay, he's lost me." Sir Pentious said with a confused expression.
"I as well am unsure of where you're going with this father." Samur admitted with great curiosity.
"When a soul is sent to either Heaven or Hell they are cast into a specific section based on who they are as an individual." He began.
"Wait, does that mean people from other earths could be sent to my circle?" Sir Pentious asked.
"Indeed, however they would have no way of knowing that was the case unless someone proved it to be true, or if the devil or another high ranking official in the place they're sent tells them, but they'd never have any reason to do that." He answered before continuing his explanation, "Now as I was saying, when a soul goes to either realm and is sent to the section that suits them the best, this is when the very energy of this place becomes a part of them, which allows them to draw upon it and use it in whatever way they can." He revealed.
"This also explains how in certain instances their new forms are vastly different from what they were previously, such as you being turned into a snake with eyes spread across your whole body." Gabriel added while gesturing to the demon.
"Yes, and it could also be the answer to the mystery we're hoping to solve, for if Valentino's soul still possessed the unique energy of Lucifer's circle they could have used that as a way to establish a connection via the Hell Wave, allowing them to escape." He told them.
"That is incredible father." Samur complimented with a look of astonishment, impressed beyond words that he was able to think of that so easily.
"Never forget where your intelligence comes from Samur." He responded with a smile while lightly tapping his head.
"If what you're saying is true though father, then that means both Valentino and the Dark One are in Lucifer's circle right now hiding somewhere among the populace." The Khan realized.
However no one would say anything in response to this revelation, for the Slayer gained their attention when he suddenly turned around and walked away.
"What the, where the fuck are you going?!" Sir Pentious questioned. "Hunting." He replied just as he reached the door that led out of the room.
"Slayer wait!" The Wretch called out which managed to get him to stop, "We have no idea where they are AND we have no means of finding them, without his power the Dark One cannot be tracked and any energy we could search for that is in the demon's soul are present in the population, looking for them at this time would be no different than wandering around a dark room hoping to find a torch." He told him.
"I don't care..." The Slayer replied not even bothering to look over his shoulder at them, "They're out there somewhere...planning something...I can find them quickly if I waste no time here or elsewhere..." He said.
"Slayer, I do not mean to be rude or to insult you, but do you REALLY not grasp what will happen if you do that?" Gabriel questioned, "Think about this carefully, if you return to Lucifer's circle chaos will inevitably ensue, everyone including the Sentinels and the Exterminators will be be sent into a frenzy, which in turn will alert the Dark One and Valentino causing them to escape somewhere else which would make finding them even more difficult!" He explained.
"The only way they can escape is through a portal...when that happens we will detect it..." The Slayer countered before slowly turning his head towards them, "Give me a single good reason why I don't just draw them out immediately and end this by leaving..." He requested.
For the next few seconds everyone was quiet, for all of them were taken aback by how the Slayer spoke to Gabriel. It wasn't disrespectful, nor was it angry, both his tone and how he had delivered those words made it seem like he was challenging the archangel. This is why Vega felt the need to be the one to respond, doing so by first moving away from the soul sphere and coming closer to him.
"Will." He spoke in a soft volume and comforting tone to try and help him relax, "I understand how you feel, how badly you want this fight to be put to rest." He told him.
"If that was true you wouldn't be trying to keep me here..." The Slayer replied.
"That's not what I'm doing, if you want to you can leave right now and I promise we won't stop you." He said.
Hearing that the Slayer immediately acted by taking a step forward, which caused the door he'd been in front of to finally open.
"But." Vega spoke again which kept him from taking anymore, "Before you go I want you to think about the others." He requested.
"Why?..." The Slayer asked.
"Because I want you to imagine how they will feel if the first thing you do when you go back isn't to see them." He answered, "Up until now they thought they'd never get to see you again, and just as it seems like that is going to change and things are looking up disaster strikes in the form of something they've never seen." He continued.
"Your point?..." The Slayer questioned.
"They're scared, they're confused, they only know as much as Lucifer can tell them which has been given to him by myself and Samur, but because we are needed here alongside the Khan, her predecessors, and even Gabriel, don't you think they deserve to be attended to by the one person who they want to see more than any?" He asked.
Another brief period of silence took the room as the Slayer seemed to consider the question, which helped relieve some of the tension in the air.
"...Fine..." He answered but remained where he was, "But if anything happens..." "You'll be the first to know." Vega assured before he could finish his sentence.
"Hey! What about me?" Sir Pentious called out as he put a hand to his chest, "Don't I get to go back? I'm sure everyone's missing me too!" He asked.
"I'm afraid not." The Khan answered causing him to look at her, "You must remain here so we can examine your soul and give you treatment." She explained.
"BUT I'M FINE!" He shouted with his arms thrown out to his sides, "I'M NOT IN ANY PAIN AND I'M NOT TIRED! I JUST WANT TO GO HOME!" He told her.
"Of course, but you wouldn't won't to go back unless you were entirely certain you were ready correct?" She asked.
"Well...yeah." He answered.
"And you wouldn't want to put the others in danger, in the event there actually is something we need to treat right?" She inquired.
"...No..." He replied though in a nearly inaudible volume, as by that point he accepted his fate.
"Very good, if you'll please come with me I will take you to where we are treating all of the patients of the Hell Wave personally." She offered.
"Sure...that sounds great..." He accepted with a defeated sigh and slumped shoulders.
"I'll come with you." Gabriel volunteered as he walked over to them, "I can lend my aid with the affected and check on Azrael." He explained.
"I and the Wretch shall stay here, to continue studying the soul sphere and see if we can't use it somehow." Samur decided, receiving a silent agreement from the demon in the form of a nod.
"Well, it appears we all have something to do." Vega said before opening a portal and going through it.
Following behind him as the Slayer knew it led to Lucifer's circle, once it closed the Khan, Gabriel, and Sir Pentious also took their leave, allowing the Wretch and Samur to begin their work.
A Short While Ago Inside Lucifer's Circle...
Talking to someone after they've experienced something traumatic is difficult, a fact that Lucifer unfortunately had experience with. When Charlie was nearly hit by the falling spotlight in the channel 666 studio and was sent into an intense state of shock, no matter how hard he tried he
couldn't think of a single thing to say to her to make her feel better. But whether it was because he had that incident to draw from, or because he wasn't as in shock now as he was then, this time he felt like he could speak to and have a conversation with Millie and Moxxie, who were in a similar state.
"...Look." He spoke to get their attention, which thankfully worked as both Imps moved their gazes towards him, "There's a lot of things I could tell you right now, that it's going to be okay, that the shock will subside soon, and everything will be back to normal by tomorrow or the day after, but we all know that's complete bullshit that only actors say on tv shows and in movies." He said while leaning back in his seat, "Instead I am going to answer every question you have because I know you have some eating away at your souls, so whenever you are ready just let them out." He invited.
"Really? Any question at all?" Moxxie questioned. "Mhm, nothing is off limits." He assured.
"And you'll be honest right? No beating around the bush or sugar coating everything to make it sound better?" Millie asked.
"Total transparency." He promised.
Taking a moment to exchange a look between themselves as if to silently figure out what they were going to ask, once they decided what the best questions could be they returned their focus to the devil.
"Are Husk and Azrael okay?" Moxxie started things off, both he and his wife having concerned looks on their faces.
"Both were taken to Urdak for more treatment, so both will be fine." He said. "That's good, but it didn't answer my question." Moxxie replied.
"No, it didn't." He agreed with a sigh, "The truth is while they WILL be fine there is no doubt about that, their current conditions are fine...and critical." He explained, having hesitated to say the second one.
"W-Which one is critical?..." Millie asked with a slightly shaky voice, tears already forming in her eyes for she feared the answer.
To both Imps horror though Lucifer didn't say anything, but only because he had no reason to. The truth is those two couldn't be any more different than each other when it came to what they were, Azrael was simply put a child of god while Husk was just a normal man turned into a demon. Even so they hoped that it wasn't him who was critical, but only because they knew no matter what happened Azrael would come out okay. This is why for the next few moments a pause in their conversation happened, as Millie couldn't keep herself from crying and Moxxie did his best to comfort her, all the while Lucifer waited until they were ready to continue.
"I'm...I'm sorry..." She apologized followed by a few sniffles.
"You have no reason to be sorry, plus you're just reacting the same way everyone else will." Lucifer told her.
"Speaking of the others, were they affected by what happened?" Moxxie asked, "I mean, how big was it and how far did it reach?" He added for clarification.
"No, the Hell Wave thankfully only impacted the center of the city and some of the surrounding area, not trying to make light of those hit by it of course but it could have been much worse." Lucifer answered.
"That's a relief." He said with a smile as it was nice to hear something good, "They're all waiting for us at the hotel right?" He asked.
"Oh yeah, the moment this happened everyone rushed over there just so they'd know where we all were, and the moment you four couldn't be found is when the panic set in." Lucifer answered.
"I bet you Blitzo's gonna hug us the moment we go in." Millie said as a smile of her own appeared.
"Pfft, you kidding? That lunatic will probably rush out of the building before the limo stops and jump through the window to see if we're okay." Moxxie replied.
"I thought he made fun of you though?" Lucifer questioned with a raised brow.
"Yeah, but he really does care about us." He told him before adorning a serious expression, "But don't you EVER tell him I said that, if he thinks I know he cares about us he'll get all clingy and mushy, which he already is but it'll get worse I just know it." He said.
"My lips are sealed." Lucifer promised with a gesture of locking his mouth, "Do you two have any more questions?" He asked.
"I do." Millie answered while raising her hand, "You said that thing was a Hell Wave, and while I'm not sure I understand what that is exactly the first thing it makes me think of is Doom, which leads me to wonder if this has anything to do with Will and whether or not he's okay, so...is he?" She asked.
"I...actually can't answer that." He replied while moving a hand to the back of his head, "But only because I myself have no idea, I mean I know he isn't dead because OBVIOUSLY, but I assume that when you ask if he's okay you mean overall, so while physically he's unchanged there's...well...a lot of other ways he isn't okay." He explained.
"What do you mean?" Moxxie inquired wanting to know more.
Unfortunately this would be the end of their exchange, for not a second later they felt the limo stop which meant that they were at the hotel. And before they could even attempt to say one more word, or perhaps the driver could roll down the separator to tell them they arrived, the outlandish claim Moxxie made but a few moments ago actually came true.
"MY BABIES!" Blitzo shouted at the top of his lungs as he crashed through one of the windows, landing right on top of the married couple, "I'M NEVER LETTING YOU TWO OUT OF MY SIGHT EVER AGAIN!" He carried on while squeezing them in his arms.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?!" Both Moxxie and Lucifer shouted in a mixture of rage and shock.
"Blitzy!" Stolas called out before showing up as well, but like the well mannered sane person that he was he opened one of the doors instead leaping in like a psychopath, "Don't be so rough with them! Lilith told us that they're still in recovery!" He said.
"JUST LET ME HAVE THIS STOLAS!" Blitzo shouted back before squeezing them tighter. "B-Blitz..." Millie barely squeaked out while rapidly tapping his arm with her hand, her face
changing from red to blue as more air was forced out.
Thankfully an unexpected angel of mercy appeared to save the two from his clamp like hugging, doing so by reaching in through the window, grabbing onto one of his horns, then pulling him out and away from them.
"Alright, that's enough." Vox told him as he held him up in the air so they could be at eye level, "Honestly WHAT compelled you to do that?" He questioned.
"What? Can't a guy be happy that two of the people in his life aren't lying dead in a hole?" Blitzo responded while crossing his arms.
"Of course he can, but jumping through the window of a limousine and nearly breaking their necks with a hug is an entirely new type of insanity." He said.
Keeping him in the air like that to make sure he wouldn't do anything else so they could get out of the vehicle, once Lucifer helped the two Imps through the door opened by Stolas they were met with a proper welcome.
"Dad!" Charlie exclaimed before rushing into his arms, eyes shut tightly while her own arms wrapped around his torso.
"It's so good to see you sweetie." He told her as he hugged her back.
"I'm glad to see you're okay dear." Lilith greeted as she walked over as well before joining the embrace.
"Hey, how you two holding up?" Cherri asked as she and the others from Slayer Studios approached Millie and Moxxie.
"We're okay, really tired and weak in the knees but that'll pass after some rest." She answered. "Yeah, which you two are going to get plenty of." Angel Dust told them.
"We might want to get their necks checked out first thought, after what this whack job pulled." Vox suggested still holing onto Blitzo.
"I WAS WORRRIED!" He shouted in his defense, "And could you PLEASE put me down now?" He requested.
"You gonna jump through anymore windows?" Vox asked.
"No I'm not gonna jump through anymore windows." He repeated in a somewhat mocking tone.
In response to that the Overlord let go and dropped him on his butt, eliciting a loud "Ow!" from him as a result.
"In his defense all of us were worried about you two." Stolas spoke up on his behalf, "Even those three couldn't keep from pacing about out of concern." He revealed while pointing to Loona, Octavia, and Katie.
"DAD!" Octavia shouted as her cheeks became flushed, which also happened to Loona but she simply kept silent and averted her gaze.
"WHY would you tell them that?..." Katie questioned with a groan while throwing her head back.
"Oh come on girls, this isn't the time to be shy about how we feel!" Velvet exclaimed, "What's really important is that they're safe and everything is okay." She said.
"Ahem." The voice of Alastor sounded loudly from behind them all, gaining everyone's attention.
Looking to the radio demon everybody noticed two things immediately. The first was Nifty who stood beside him, her eye as wide as it could be and filled with as much worry as she could muster. The second was how Alastor didn't have his trademark grin, not even a smile or smirk in its place could be found.
"I hate to interrupt all of the hugging and joyful reunions, but where is Husk?" He asked.
Hearing that question all eyes went straight to Lucifer, for none of them had realized the feathered feline wasn't with them until Alastor pointed it out.
"I'm...afraid he won't be joining us...for a very long time..." He answered sadly while closing his eyes and lowering his head.
"No..." Nifty spoke up softly as water began filling her eye, "You're lying...Millie and Moxxie are okay...so Husk is too...why are you lying?..." She asked.
"I'm not lying, how the Hell Wave affects a person's body and soul is a case by case situation, because of this that means-"
"YOU'RE LYING!" She repeated though by shouting this time, "HUSK WAS WITH YOUR SISTER! SHE'S THE ANGEL OF DEATH! SO HE HAS TO BE OKAY!" She insisted.
"And yet she's not with us either." He countered which took everyone by surprise, "Both of them along with several others were taken back to Urdak, where they are going to stay until they make full recoveries, I'm afraid though that the likelihood of us getting to see them is slim to none." He explained.
"BUT WE'VE BEEN THERE BEFORE! WHY CAN'T WE GO BACK NOW?!" She questioned
demanding a better explanation than that.
Unexpectedly it wouldn't be Lucifer who'd be the one to give it, instead it was Alastor who spoke to her after he placed a hand gently on her shoulder.
"Nifty." He said to get her to look at him, "I know you want Lucifer to tell you something that'll make sense of this, but it's clear that he is just as confused about what's happened as we are, so what he's telling you now is truly all that he can." He told her.
"W-WHY ARE YOU SO CALM ABOUT THIS?!" She asked as her voice began to tremble, which coincided with her body starting to shake, "H-HUSK IS HURT AND WE C-CAN'T SEE HIM!
WHY AREN'T YOU UPSET?! DON'T Y-YOU CARE?!" She shouted at him.
"Of course I do, but getting mad at Lucifer and shouting at the top of my lungs won't change anything, and if it won't work for me I'm afraid it will be the same for you." He answered.
At that point she couldn't hold out any longer, her tears began falling and her knees gave out from beneath her as the pain and sadness came out. However Alastor made sure she didn't hit the ground, he caught her in his arms and held her close to himself as he began crying uncontrollably. Over the next couple of minutes that's all that transpired, Nifty sobbing without end as the others all tried to process this news themselves. But that's when it happened, something that instantly changed the mood of the moment and dispelled any sadness they or even Nifty felt.
The two massive doors at the front of the hotel were pulled opened slowly, which got their attention due the sound they made from how heavy they were. And when they looked to see who was coming out their hearts stopped, their breaths held in, and a cold nearly freezing sensation was felt from their heads to to their toes. Although he still wore the Maykr armor which was now covered in blood, ash, and various scars of battle, there was no mistaking who the figure was. The Slayer, Will, had come back to Lucifer's circle.