Hazbin Devils

Chapter 3

"We're going where now?" Vaggie asked Razzle.

Razzle made a noise that confirmed what she had heard earlier. The man in the red coat was busy checking out an unopened wine bottle while not taking noticed of her confused expression. She had found it surprising that this human had little to no fear of them and was acting as if it was any usual day. As much as it intrigued Vaggie, she decided to let Charlie dig up the details later when they were in the hotel. For now, the king of hell had requested the human's attendance at his mansion just east of the city in a high-class suburban district. The ride was mostly a quiet one except for a few questions thrown out by the man. Her answers were short and concise as she did not feel like elaborating anything right now. She hated uncertainties, and this man had presented himself as one.

Vaggie had noticed a police SUV that was trailing them, but the chauffeur did not stop. In fact, the SUV looked like it was escorting the limousine as it kept a constant distance between them. The tinted windscreen blocked out the interior, so there was no telling who was behind the wheel. The ride to Lucifer's mansion took only 10 minutes as traffic made way for them and anyone who did not move out of the way was simply knocked aside.

As the two cars made it into Hellpeak Heights, traffic became considerably less and regular cars gave way to long-bonneted supercars and luxury highway cruisers. The streets were cleaner and the demons that graced the sidewalks were meticulously dressed and clean-looking. Lawns of other private mansions were designed according to the taste of individual demons, though they looked like they blatantly displayed the demon's vices with erotic sculpted hedges to statues of giant dollar signs to name a few.

Lucifer's mansion was hard to miss. It stood on a hill that was at the central part of the district with the Magne family statue located on the lawn in front of the grand entrance. As the two cars approached the main gates, the guards immediately opened lowered the bollards and opened the gates. While going up the sloped driveway, they passed by a leafless tree with a single apple-like fruit hanging from it. There were gardeners tending to it but it seemed almost like a futile attempt to keep the tree alive, if it was still alive.

By the time the two cars were parked at the entrance, Lucifer was already there to greet them with an excited look on his face. The limo door opened first, and he turned his head just in time to see the man in the red coat step out. The SUV's front passenger door opened next with the man in the blue coat stepping out as well. The two of them locked eyes onto Lucifer, who beckoned them to come closer.

"Ah, this is most lovely! Welcome to my humble mansion, boys," he said while shaking their hands enthusiastically, his hat almost falling off from the vigorous shaking.

"Uh, thanks, I guess," the man in the red coat said.

"I must say, both of you look a lot like Sparda. Since there's two of you, I'm guessing you're his sons?" Lucifer asked.

"Yes, we are. You know our father?" the man in blue asked in return.

"A good friend of mine. We first met two millennia ago. Your father was quite the looker, lemme tell you that."

The two looked at each other with awkward and confused expressions. One minute they were strangers in this new environment, now they were being greeted by a complete stranger who knew their father apparently. The one in red merely shrugged his shoulder while the blue one made a subtle gesture that resembled a shrug.

Lucifer had noticed their bemused looks and laughed. "Oh, where're my manners? Here I am rambling like I met you two forever. I'm sure you've a lot of questions, and so do I. Come inside, get some food while we talk." He paused a took a whiff. "And perhaps a bath later too. Let's get you out of those ugly drags as well. What're your names?"

"I'm Dante," the red one replied with a crooked smile.

"Vergil," the blue one said in a serious tone.

"Well, if I hadn't known better, you two must've walked straight out of Divine Comedy," Lucifer joked while leading the two into the mansion.

"Forgive me for asking, but how should we address you as?" Vergil asked.

With that, Lucifer stopped in his tracks, turned around, and gave them a toothy grin. "I'm called many names. The Shining One, Heosphoros, Helel ben Shachar, but you can call me Lucifer."

The interior of the mansion was nothing short of spectacular. The gothic interior was decorated with red carpets adorned with mythic sigils and pentagrams while family portraits hung from the walls by the grand staircase. One of the portraits was scratched up and torn in several places with only Lucifer's picture remaining intact. A red crystal chandelier adorned with crystal human skulls with inverted crosses marked on their foreheads hung from the vaulted ceiling, it's soft red glow that added to the otherwise dim hall. Several butlers passed them by with pizzas in their hands. Dante watched and nodded his head in approval as they walked past him quickly. Lucifer was rambling away at something which he was not paying attention to, and it seemed like Vergil was doing the same as his eyes wandered about the place as if examining for secrets.

Lucifer led them up an elevator which brought them to the topmost floor where Lucifer's private floor was. Both brothers swore that it looked more like a 5-star hotel than a personal mansion with the amount of decoration it had. Two pretty demon maids were stood by both sides of the elevator entrance and they bowed as Lucifer passed them by, which he paid no heed. Both had looks of surprise and intrigue when they saw Dante and Vergil, but they made a face when they caught a whiff of their body odour. It was exactly this problem that the king of hell wished to address first before he invited them to his living room. Dante attempted a friendly smile and did finger gun gestures at them like he wanted to impress them, but the maids only managed to return awkward smiles back.

"Dana, Lana, get the baths ready. Get them some of my finest outfits as well and put theirs to wash," Lucifer said authoritatively.

"Yes, your majesty," both replied in unison.

While the two maids went ahead and took a left turn at the end of the corridor where the baths were located, Lucifer turned his attention to the brothers. "What'd you think so far?" he asked.

"Gotta say, this isn't a hell I was expecting," Dante admitted.

"What were you expecting then?"

"Well, where we're from, it's not so – how do I put it – not so much like the human world. Here, it's like we never left the human world at all."

Lucifer chuckled. "Well, what can I say, I'd like to think I've done a pretty great job in cultivating a more…cultured underworld. If that made any sense."

"But why? What exactly is the purpose of mimicking the human world?" Vergil asked, curiosity lacing his voice. "Isn't hell supposed to be a place of eternal suffering for the wicked?"

"You know," Lucifer said while tapping his chin, "I never really gave that much thought. I mean, who really cares, amirite?" he remarked jokingly while elbowing Vergil's arm.

"I don't get it."

"Haha, yeah, neither do I. But seriously, while I made sure that my demons are less…feral, the cities you see and the cultures you experience in hell are all from the human world. Sinners sent to hell often keep their memories and culture, just a tad bit more twisted," he said while making a pinching gesture.

Dante stood akimbo. "So, what you're saying is that not all demons are –"

"Full demons, correct. Sure, you'd see demons everywhere, but not all of them are born in hell. Many are human souls-turned-demons. My lovely wife is an example," Lucifer said proudly.

The brothers were not sure what to say at that point, so they continued following Lucifer until they were at the baths. Golden toilets and silver ornaments adorned the interior. Dante wanted to laugh at the extravagance, but his brother's stern stare kept him quiet. The two maids presented the two a towel each and those seemed like the only two things that were plain. But boy were they soft and warm.

"I'll leave you two to clean up. If you need a haircut or a shave, Dana's pretty good at it," Lucifer said as he gestured towards the taller of the demon maids.

With that said, he left the baths. The two maids bowed respectfully and went out as well, but they took positions by the entrance instead. As sudden as things seemed, the brothers were at least grateful to finally get a warm bath after months of fighting through their underworld. They discarded their clothes and went into the shower stalls. Dante wanted to challenge Vergil to a sing-off, but again, his brother wanted none of it. Only when he tossed water into his stall did the elder brother react accordingly, challenging him to a water duel. Of course, since they were guests there, they decided not to go wild just yet and finish up as soon as they were done.

Out of the steaming stalls, Dante's long hair was finally grime-free. Vergil immediately swept his hair back and flexed his shoulders. The younger brother went to the mirror to check himself out while the elder went to see what was in the wardrobe. He grimaced at the choice of clothing and called his brother over, and he too voiced his disapproval. Much to their chagrin, the clothes Lucifer's maids provided were exactly the same as Lucifer's minus the white suit and bowtie. They were not about to wear their usual clothes, and even if they wanted to, they were nowhere in sight, presumably taken to the laundry. Besides, they did not fit as both were taller than him.

"I'd rather die than embarrass myself," Vergil remarked. "We should ask them to get us different outfits."

"Yeah, don't wanna get caught in this tacky thing," his brother nodded in agreement. "Lemme see if I can get us something normal".

Fortunately for them, the maids were accommodating to their request, and they came back with two shirts and trousers. Dana had offered to give Dante a shave and haircut but he had a feeling she wanted to do something more, so he declined instead and opted to just shave himself in front of the mirror. He could not cut his own hair, so he opted to sweep it back like his brother, which also earned him Vergil's stare and ire. Nevertheless, he decided to just let it slide for the time being.

After they were done, the maids led the two to the living room where Lucifer and Lilith were both seated by the fireplace and sipping apple cider. Both stood up to greet the brothers and Lilith shook their hands before her husband gestured for them to take a seat. As much as Vergil detested the choice of foods available, he was hungry so he dug in on the pizzas and caramel apples. Dante on the other hand knew exactly what he wanted.

"Oh man, you have no idea how long it's been since my last pizza," he said happily while downing his tenth slice.

"I take it you must really love them," Lilith laughed while pouring another glass of cider for Lucifer.

"He thrives on them," Vergil said.

"Indeed," Lucifer remarked. "Funnily enough, Lilith and Charlotte love pizzas too, especially the ones with pineapples."

Dante waved his hand dismissively. "It don't matter as long as you don't put olives in mine."

"I suppose you'd like to know how we end up here, Lucifer?" Vergil interjected.

"Every little detail if you don't mind. I'm sure you two have some interesting adventures," Lucifer said.

Dante held up his finger and swallowed the pizza he was chewing. "I can start from here."

When Vaggie made it back to the hotel, she saw that Charlie was busy teaching Angel how to paint a picture. He had a blank expression and merely nodded to Charlie's questions. While her girlfriend was not much of an artist, she at least tried. Their only patient, however, was not even trying. His circles seemed to always end up as formless blobs. Despite that, Charlie maintained her smile and continued to encourage him.

"Hey Vaggie," Charlie said with a wave.

"Hey babe," she replied and gave her a hug.

"Wait, where's the human?" Charlie asked when she noticed Dazzle closing the door after they came in.

Vaggie rubbed the back of her head. "Well…apparently your dad wanted to see him, and get this, there was another human."

"Wait, what?!" Charlie exclaimed with widened eyes. Even Angel could not help but turn his head to listen in on their conversation. "How'd you know?"

"Your dad's lackey had followed us, had another white-haired guy with him too. I didn't get a good look at his face."

"So, dad was…expecting them? I don't understand," Charlie said thoughtfully.

Angel raised an eyebrow. "How'd that guy who saved me look like?"

Vaggie looked at Angel with a wry smile. "I don't think he's your type."

"Pft, please, the only types I don't like are those who don't have a stick in between their legs. I think you'd qualify," Angel shot back.

Vaggie frowned but did not say anything. At this point, she was already used to Angel doing his own thing and saying some shit she did not like. She doubted he was even trying to be a better person but for the sake of her girlfriend, Vaggie did not voice her doubts about it. Charlie had worked hard for this and she wanted to continue supporting her. Angel would normally be out at this hour doing his own thing, most likely strip-teasing or drinking at some bar somewhere in town. The injury must have done a number on him to make him stay. Maybe she should hit him more so that he stayed put, she thought.

Charlie did not seem to pay Angel much heed, still looking thoughtful and probably thinking about the human situation. However, the more she thought about it, the more worried her face looked. She bit her lower lip with worry and went to look for her phone. Vaggie was about to ask what she was going to do, but her girlfriend had already dialled in her dad's number.

"You know, your dad arrived here the same way too. But I for the life of me can't remember how. I only remembered something about one Azazel stealing his sword or something," Lucifer said while rubbing his temple as if trying to recall the story.

"Yeah, Azazel did the same with me. Dante should've kept an eye on my back," Vergil said while looking at his younger brother.

Dante shrugged casually. "Not the worst thing to happen to us. Just be grateful we weren't separated for too long."

"What do you two plan to do after this?" Lilith asked.

Vergil drew his sword out and examined the blade. "I'm unsure. For some reason, Yamato lost its ability to open portals. Without it, Dante and I cannot leave this dimension."

"Didn't you help Sparda before, dear?" Lilith asked her husband. "You borrowed Stolas's book back then."

At that, Lucifer rolled his eyes and sighed. "I don't wanna deal with that horndog again. Besides, he loaned that book to an imp. A fucking imp! Can you believe that?"

"Is that supposed to be a bad thing?" Dante asked.

"Well, no, but I'm not about to get caught mingling with lowborn imps. Father forbid that you talk to Stolas too," Lucifer blurted. "You can't imagine the sort of things he says to you. Brr!"

"Then we have no choice. If this book is the only way back to our hell, then it's something we must borrow," Vergil said while sheathing Yamato.

Lilith shook her head. "I think you won't be seeing Stolas this time around. He's away on a holiday with his family at the moment. Not sure when he'll be back."

"What about the imp that has his book?"

"You can try meeting Blitzo, but Imp City is a long way away and it's unlikely he'll give it up for any reason unless Stolas is involved."

"Hmm, I see."

Lucifer smiled and stood up. "Well, since you boys will be here for a while, why not find a place to stay for the time being?"

"I think that's a great idea," Lilith said with a nod and smile. "Why not stay a while? You're our honoured guest after all."

However, Vergil shook his head before Dante could say something. "Your offer is gracious, but I'm afraid we don't belong here. Who knows what sort of adverse effects we can cause or how demons here would react to our presence?"

"But you aren't pure human, yes? If you're anything like your father, surely you can do that – what's it called again?" Lucifer trailed away while trying to think of the term Sparda mentioned before.

"Devil Trigger? Yeah, we can do that, but we can't keep it up forever," Dante explained while Vergil nodded in agreement. "If you have a costume though."

"Don't be foolish, Dante," Vergil growled.

Lucifer laughed heartily and raised his glass at them. "You two are overthinking it. If you're fully human, they'd smell you from a mile away. You owe your stealth to demon blood, boys, and I'd say you fit right in. Sure, they'll look at you funny, and hey, you have my permission to beat the shit out of 'em."

"Would it be wise?"

At the same time, his younger brother and Lucifer stood up and did a sort of weird gesture and said 'Welcome to hell' in unison, to which the king of hell patted Dante's shoulder. "I like this kid," he said.

Before the conversation could continue, Lucifer felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and saw that it was his daughter and answered the call.

"Hey dad," her daughter greeted.

"Hey sweetie," he replied while walking towards a window while Dante and Vergil continued talking to Lilith whom went on to talk about Charlie and her hotel. "Let me guess, you wanted to ask about the humans?"

"How'd you know?"

"I've been your dad for more than 200 years, dear, I think I know what makes your mind tick."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Charlie replied with an awkward chuckle. "Listen, one of them saved Angel and –"

"That would be Dante. Yeah, we were just talking about it. Seems like your type if you ask me," Lucifer said.

"Dad!"

Lucifer merely laughed at his flustered daughter. Charlie made a quick 'hrmph' noise and continued their conversation.

"Anyway, are they safe? Were they hurt?"

"Oh, don't you worry, Charlotte, Dante and Vergil are safe". At that moment, an idea popped into his mind. "How is redeeming demons going so far?"

"Well, not so great. Nobody seems to interested…but I'm not giving up. I know deep down, there's good in them. You told me before that God made humans good, right? There must be some buried in there."

"And that's something I really regret saying," Lucifer muttered. He cleared his throat and said, "Charlotte dear, would it be fine if Dante and Vergil stayed over at the hotel for the time being?"

At that point, he could hear sparkles in her voice. "Oh, yes, I was actually thinking about it! I owe Dante my thanks after all, and Vergil can stay too. At least letting them stay at the hotel will keep them safe."

"Oh ho, I doubt you'll have to worry about their safety."

"What do you mean, dad?"

"I'll let you folks get to know them, you'll understand. In the meantime, I'll send them over to the Happy Hotel in a bit."

"Alright, dad. Love you."

"Love you too, dear."

He sighed after disengaging the call. Lucifer loved Charlotte very much and he had hoped she would one day rule hell as he did. To this day, he claimed ignorance as to where she got such compassion from, though his own conscience already knew the answer. Only buried the light but did not remove it, he reminded himself. Not to mention her mother used to be a human and humans always got condemned to hell for a variety of reasons, even those who lived good lives. A single huge mistake equated to damnation.

Taking a deep breath and relaxing his mind, he put on his smile and turned around to walk back into the conversation. By that point, Lilith and Dante were laughing at some photographs of Charlie when she was a baby while Vergil seemed disinterested. He was chewing absentmindedly on something while trying to look like he was agreeing to what Dante had said, even though his brother just suggested that Charlie smiling used to remind him of them smiling just like that when they were younger. When Lucifer approached them, they looked up at him.

"What did Charlie want, dear?" Lilith asked.

"Well, we just found a place for them to stay," Lucifer replied while gesturing at the brothers. "Seems like Charlie was expecting Dante since he saved Angel Dust, and Vergil can stay too."

"You mean the hotel? Sweet, I could use a vacation," Dante remarked.

Lucifer smiled at him. "You're free to treat our hell as your home, for the time being that is. Or you can stay as long as you want, I'm not gonna stop you. If you want to see Stolas, my only advice is to be careful of him."

"We'll keep that in mind," Vergil said.

With another call for Dana and Lana, the two maids entered the hall and bowed. They also had neatly washed and folded clothes in their hands, the brothers' original clothing. How they managed to clean and dry it so quickly was beyond them, but at least they got their clothes back, and it was dirt and smell-free. Still, Vergil did not appreciate the lavender smell while Dante was asking if his coat was dry-cleaned.

Though they wanted to return the shirts and jeans they were wearing, Lilith had told them to keep it as a gift. Lucifer found himself unsure of what to do next. Moments before, he was happy to see at least the sons of Sparda drop by, even if their circumstances were a bit unfortunate. He thought of them as honoured guests. Now, he felt something weird in him, like he did not know what else to talk about. Ever since their arrival, he had a tingle at the back of his head which he easily ignored. Now, the feeling got stronger. The last time that happened was when he tried to rebel against heaven…

Big change. It was always big change. But why the feeling now?

After Lilith had given them each some money, both husband and wife saw them off. When the limo had left the gates, Lilith's expression became one of worry. She turned to look at Lucifer. "Is something wrong?"

"Have you ever gotten weird feelings before, like you're having a sense of impending danger?" Lucifer asked.

"I…can't say that I have, dear. What's going on?"

Lucifer contemplated telling her his thoughts, specifically that about Dante and Vergil, but he ended up dismissing it instead. Again, he just put up a smile and assured her that he was just overthinking things. Laughing it off, he went back into his mansion while humming an old tune.

Well, this one turn out to be dialogue-heavy, and written during sleepy nights no less. I am definitely not thinking straight and I apologise for any mistakes made. Still, I want to thank you folks for following and commenting on Hazbin Devils this far. As usual, if you got any suggestions, feel free to suggest!

As asked by Ghostly in the reviews, here's how it is:

1. May or may not happen, but it's a good idea to have!

2. Dante and Vergil certainly can't take down demons as normal in Lucifer's hell, but they'll find a way eventually.

To other questions: yes, Addict is acknowledged, and at some point, Dante / Vergil would probably have a little 'talk' with Valentino. And no, Nero is not involved in this as I want this story to be focused on Dante and Vergil only.