Selena had returned down stairs. She was in the process of summoning more minions to help Niffty when her phone began to ring. She had figured she summoned enough to help Niffty so she stopped and answered her phone. The caller ID read "Lucifer". "Hello. Been a busy bee, have we? Come to me. We need to talk." The phone went dead.
"Sorry, Niffty. Hopefully this is enough."
"It's fine, girl. Go do your thing."
Selena teleported to the king's office. Lucifer was wearing a set of reading glasses, going over a mountain of paperwork stacked on his desk. "Ahh. There you are." He looked over the glasses and gave Selena a wide grin. "Congratulations on your successful redemption attempt. I never would have guessed. To be honest, I'm not sure I believe it." He signed the paper he had in hand.
"Thank you. I'm happy to see it's working so well so far. Apparently a third of the redemption rebellion remains."
"About that. People are missing throughout Hell. I take it it is your deity's responsibility?"
"From what I can tell yes."
"Well that complicates things, dear. How am I supposed to know who is missing and who is redeemed? It's going to make the next census difficult. I hope you have something for it." He continued focusing on the paperwork in front of him.
"Neana keeps a record of every soul that enters her Heaven. All you have to do is ask."
"So you're telling me that I need to confer with you to keep a tally of my own people?" He had an eyebrow raised, clearly annoyed at the implication. She simply stared at him.
"I'm telling you that I don't know another way. If you have a problem with it, old friend, then I suggest you get your britches out of a bunch. For your people clearly mean more to you than your own daughter." Selena had a dark gleam in her eye. She was clearly annoyed with Lucifer's antics.
"Never say that again!" He stood at his table and slammed his hands on the desk. Papers went flying from the action. "You know Charlotte means so much to me. I would never!"
"But you have. By telling her she was nothing. By telling her that her dreams were stupid. By refusing to support her yourself. You chose your people over your own daughter simply because you fear what an image change might mean. What it might mean to be a doting father. She hates herself and doubts herself because of you. It wouldn't hurt you to tell her you're proud of her. But then again, a King cannot be happy to lose his citizens when it shows his accumulated power." She looked at her nails.
"How dare you! You know better than to overstep your bounds!" Lucifer was seething! His aura began to decay the papers on his desk. His eyes glew with a reddish tint. His voice deepened. Within a moment, his aura vanished.
Selena's fur was standing on end. "When it comes to Charlie, I will overstep any and all bounds. You should know that by now. Your daughter is working her ass off to offer hope to the hopeless. To inadvertently start a war. She is completing her dream while you sit at a desk and act in disgust at her actions! She's successful! That alone should have been a reason why months ago you came to visit to show your pride, but within the span of a year, nothing. Not a word of promise has crossed your lips to your daughter! You send me to look after her as if that was enough! Some father! Some King!" An imp entered the door accompanied by Lilith. The tall woman heard the words fall from Selena's lips and looked to her husband.
"She's right, Luci. We haven't been good parents since last year. Perhaps it's time to step up and show Charlotte we're proud of her. After you sort out the mess of these missing denizens." Lilith shifted her weight to her right heel and held a hand on her hip.
"Fine." He sat down thoroughly upset. Lucifer cleared his throat. "Fine." He muttered. Lilith walked over to him and lovingly brushed her fingers down his shoulder.
"No need to be grumpy, Lulu. Selena has always kept us in check as parents, rulers, and friends. She always has had our best interest at heart." She placed her head atop his.
"I fear that is less of the case these days, Lilith. I have my own interests at heart." Selena walked closer to the desk. "Of course, all I care about is declaring war on God. Or have you forgotten, Lucifer?"
He sighed. "I have not. We will go to war with you. I recall: he attempted to hurt Charlotte last Extermination Day."
"He did what? Luci, why didn't you tell me?" Lilith grabbed his cheeks and pulled. Selena chuckled at the scene. The two bickered for a moment.
Selena held her head. Something was nagging and producing a headache. She went further into her thoughts. "Selena, I take it Lucifer wants to know who's taken. I will give you a list." Neana voiced. The nagging went away, but the headache remained. Has it really been so long since they needed to converse like this?
Selena waved her hand. "Neana heard your request. Here's a list of all she has accepted into her Heaven and will be accepted today." A piece of paper appeared as Selena waved her hand. She grabbed it and handed it to Lucifer. He grabbed the paper quickly and looked over the piece. He began to hum in understanding as he corrected his census.
"That'll do. I expect these reports weekly, Selena. As much as I hate to get along with a deity, I need to remember my purpose for doing so. Charlotte. I take it this deity sees Hell as a necessary part of her intergalactic plan?" He got up and put on his coat and top hat. Selena nodded. "Well then. I will need to talk to her about this. I take it she'll schedule me in at some point soon. For now, let's go see my precious apple pie." He snapped and all three appeared in the lobby of the hotel. "Charlotte!" Charlie poked her head out of her office.
"Dad? Mom? What are you doing here?" She walked towards them. Husker perked up from behind the bar, and Alastor came out of whatever god forsaken hole he was hiding in. Angel was sitting on the couch in the lobby.
"Hey, hun? We need more supplies for the–" Vaggie came walking out of the kitchen. The arms holding whatever notepad and pen had dropped.
"Charlotte, dear! Congratulations on this thing." Lucifer rolled his hand to encompass what in fact the thing was.
"Thaaaanks. What are you doing here? I thought you didn't believe in my cause."
"Your aunt, dumpling, made it apparent that we have been lacking in the past year. You have succeeded. Oh! I'm so proud of you, my darling apple dumpling." Lilith walked up to Charlie and pinched her cheek. "To have succeeded where no one believed you would takes strength. I'm sorry, dear, that I have been too busy with my songs to visit. But now was as adequate a time as any." She pet Charlie's head. Charlie's face lit up. She smiled the biggest smile her face was capable of .
"Thanks, Mom." She put a hand on Lilith's petting arm.
Lucifer cleared his throat. "Your mother's right, my little pie. We came to show you we were proud of you. This has created new problems for my Hellish kingdom. No thanks to you, of course." He smiled. Charlie's bright smile dropped.
"Thanks, Dad. Now I know you are busy so thanks for stopping by."
"Nonsense, my dear! Introduce me to this hotel of yours!" Lucifer took a jovial step. He had earned a harsh glare from his wife.
"Well, only if you're interested." Charlie nervously tapped her fingers together. Her father said something indiscernible to the crowd and was led off by Charlie.
"So that's Charls' daddy-o, huh?" Angel asked. It earned a nod of agreement from Selena. "What a dick!" Selena shushed Angel as quickly as she could.
"He is Lucifer, you know. Besides, in all my time, people who have been so bold as to say that within his earshot either get tortured or laughed at depending on his mood. Behave, Angel." She warned.
Alastor came up to her. "So, my dear, you said something to get him to come here. How did you manage that?" He had an eyebrow raised. "From my understanding, Lilith has a hard time getting him to do what she wants. And she has become a master at it." He chuckled.
"Easy. I accused him of being a bad parent." Alastor raised his eyebrow again.
"You got away with that?"
"Not really. No. He wanted to rip me to shreds. I didn't know dead paper could decay any further." She laughed. "He wouldn't hurt me unless I attacked him first. After all, neither of us know which one is stronger. We like it that way. So we leave him alone. And he leaves us alone. At least in the combative sense."
"Fascinating, apple pie! To think you wouldn't have accomplished this without Selena!" It earned a slap on his arm from Lilith. "Well it's true, isn't it?"
"Yeah. It is." Charlie seemed disheartened. "So what did you think of all the work we put into this place? Pretty great, right?"
"It'd be great if you did it yourself, apple pie. Without the help of Alastor or your aunt. But, hey, redemption is possible. I guess you win that one, right?"
"Riiiiight." She seemed so upset. She was rubbing her shoulder and looked absolutely defeated.
Selena stepped in. "Enough with your backhanded comments, Lucifer. Be proud of her. I couldn't have done anything without Charlie stepping up first. Besides, you were supposed to be here showing your pride and being an actual father. Now you've made matters worse. GET OUT!" Selena's voice deepened much like it had when she first met Alastor. Oh how times had changed. She produced several flames by accident. They had felt her emotional stir and had come to obliterate her enemies. She grabbed Charlie and pulled her to her. Alastor heard the faint sound of crying coming from her direction. No. This weakness would not do. Not by his charming demon belle. He had found himself becoming protective of Charlie since Selena had gone on and on about the princess. He felt that if he were to love Selena, defending the people she loved came with the territory.
"I recommend you leave as well." He stood next to Selena with his hand on Charlie's shoulder. His shadows grew tall. A faint whispering was heard.
"You dare defy me?!" Lucifer stood with his cane in hand. His aura increased. The pressure coming off of him felt suffocating.
"No. But I will protect my cub from your harsh words whenever you dare to be rude to her." Selena growled.
"Your cub? Have you forgotten she is my daughter?"
"When you act like this, yes." Selena pulled Charlie closer.
"Stop." Charlie whispered against Selena's chest.
"How dare you?! I have given you everything! You have no right to act this way!"
"STOP!" Charlie screamed. She tore herself from Selena's chest and faced her father. Her horns sat atop her head, her eyes' sclera were red, her tears streaming down her face, and her presence magnified. "I can't get a compliment from you, Dad, without you tearing me down. Do you know who has believed in me since the beginning? Who stood there with me when I thought you wanted nothing to do with me? Selena! She treats me like you never did! So please leave. Do as you must for your kingdom, but leave me out of it. It's not like you care to begin with."
The heartbreak on Lucifer's face was without equal. "But, apple pie, I love you."
"Then act like it! Starting today! Don't treat me like a sinner demon but a daughter." She was breathing heavily. Her tears quietly streamed down her face.
Lucifer started laughing. "It's about damn time you stopped taking shit from other demons!" Everyone was confused. "I will leave if that's what you want, apple pie. But I'm glad you finally stood up for yourself." He brushed a tear off her face. "Remember: if you can stand up to me, then you can stand up to anyone." He and Lilith vanished into red smoke.
Selena, Alastor, and Charlie blinked for a moment. Talk about whiplash. "Was he testing me this entire time?" Charlie looked at her hands.
"I have no idea. But I think your father will have more respect towards you now. So that's a good thing."
"Forget about this harrowing day, my belles! I will whip up my famous jambalaya for the night! How does that sound?" Alastor looked at them expectantly.
"That sounds great, Al." Charlie was wiping the tears from her face. A hiccup escaped her lips. "I'm- I'm going to take a moment. To wrap my head around this. Let me know when dinner is ready." Another hiccup escaped her, followed by another. Selena grabbed her and pulled her into a big hug. She felt Charlie relax into it. "Thank you, Aunty. For always believing in me."
"No problem, my love. Anytime you need reassurance, I'm here for you." She kissed the top of Charlie's hair and let her go. Charlie sniffled and headed into her office. Vaggie quickly followed.
