Charlie's Thanksgiving Quest
I own nothing
Charlie fidgeted as she waited outside her father's office. She was worried she had done something to upset him considering how serious he sounded on the phone. The door opened ominously, and she went in and saw Lucifer sitting at his desk. "Charlie take a seat" he said, motioning to the chair opposite of him. She did so and her father wasted no time "now you are most likely wondering why you are here" he said. She nodded and he continued "you see sweetie it is approaching the human holiday of Thanksgiving, a time when people in the human country called the United States celebrate by families gathering to eat a traditional dinner" he explained.
"The main dish of this holiday is turkey and turkeys like all living things possess soul energy. As the population of the US grew so too did the number of turkeys eaten until inevitably the critical point was reached. The soul energy of all those turkeys coalesced into a great beast, a beast fueled by hunger. When it was born it went on a rampage across Hell, devouring thousands of demons. Entire armies fell to its hunger before it fell into a hibernation."
"A year later it had awoken and again it went on a rampage before falling asleep, it is a cycle that has repeated for years."
Charlie was surprised by this "why didn't you destroy it" she asked. Lucifer sighed "believe me sweetie I would if I could however the nature of the beast's birth connected it to gluttony, as long as gluttony exists it will exist, even if it is killed it will rise again next year." Charlie nodded at this; sin can be powerful, especially in Hell. A question came to her mind "wait how come I've never heard about a rampage by this beast" she asked. "Because we found a way to halt it" Lucifer said.
He pressed a button on his desk a wall slid upwards revealing a single cornstalk. Charlie of course was confused "uh you stop it with corn" she asked. Her father chuckled "oh this is no ordinary corn sweetie; this corn was enhanced with powerful magic to satiate the beast's hunger" he explained. "Now every year the corn is offered to the beast so it doesn't eat its way through Hell; normally I do this because Father decreed that it is the leader of Hell's responsibility" her father sneered "and you know He always has a way to get you to do what He wants." After taking a deep breath to stop an angry rant he continued "but seeing how you are my heir I think it's high time you do it" he said, Charlie's eyes widened "huh."
Later Charlie returned to the hotel carrying a small basket with the corn. Vaggie sat up from a couch in the lobby and approached her "Charlie, what did your dad want" she looked down and saw the basket "what's with the corn" Charlie sighed and told her about her assignment. "why does Heaven care if a monster rampages through Hell" Vaggie asked "apparently they're worried that if it eats enough demons it'll get strong enough to break through the barrier separating the afterlife and the living world" Charlie explained. Vaggie gained a steely look in her eye "well I'm coming with you" she said. Charlie's eyes widened "but Vaggie this'll be dangerous, what if it eats you" she asked, her voice full of worry.
"I'll be fine, besides I'm not gonna stand by and do nothing while you face a giant monster, I'd be a shitty girlfriend if I did" Vaggie said. Charlie couldn't help but smile, suddenly a voice spoke up next to them "well this sounds like quite the adventure" Charlie and Vaggie yelped as they turned and saw Alastor. Vaggie growled "could you NOT sneak up on us" Alastor laughed "I could my dear but what would be the fun in that." Charlie had a hand over her chest and took a few deep breathes to calm her racing heart, once she calmed down she addressed the Radio Demon "hello Alastor, could you watch the Hotel while we're gone" she asked. "Actually, princess I was thinking of accompanying you on this journey" Alastor said.
The couple were surprised by this "say what" Charlie asked. Alastor chuckled "I've heard stories about this Thanksgiving Beast and I've always wanted to get a look at it, but between my usual schedule and a certain annoying tv overlord I never had the time, but this seems like the perfect opportunity" he explained. "You can count me in" another voice chimed in. they saw Angel Dust sitting at the bar "you want to help us" Vaggie asked, making no effort to hide her skepticism. Angel shrugged "eh it's more helping me, Val's being an especially big pain in the ass lately and I figured this would be a good excuse to get away from him for a bit" he explained.
An hour later they were in Charlie's limo, Alastor had roped in Husk and Nifty to join them. Nifty joined because she thought it would be fun and Husk joined because Alastor had cashed in another favor the cat had owed him. Also joining them was Cherri Bomb, she joined simply to hang out with Angel. They were currently on the outskirts of Pentagram City and in the distance a mountain could be made out. Half an hour later the limo came to a stop, they exited and saw a forest with a dirt road cutting through it.
Razzle and Dazzle stayed behind to watch the limo while the rest went in. after ten minutes of walking Angel groaned "god for a job stopping a monster from going on a rampage it's been pretty boring so far." "Don't let your guard down Angel" Charlie replied, "my dad said there are a lot of dangers along the way, he didn't say what though, said it would be better to learn for myself." Angel scoffed "yeah right" suddenly an arrow hit him in the shoulder "FUCK."
Skeletons dressed in native American clothing charged out from the trees shouting battle cries while more arrows were fired at the group. Angel pulled out the arrow and summoned his tommy gun, spraying attackers with bullets. Husk cursed and summoned a CAR 15, shooting skulls with the accuracy of a seasoned war veteran. Alastor summoned tendrils to catch arrows and send them back though a few managed to get through. Cherri bomb threw an explosive sending bones flying "well Angel you wanted excitement" she said.
Angel growled "yeah but I didn't want to be a pin cushion" he yelped when an arrow hit him in the ass "hey, this is one of my biggest money makers dickheads" he yelled, pulling the arrow out. Husk grunted as a tomahawk was thrown into his back, he quickly turned and shot the thrower "fuck, we're too exposed" he said. Vaggie stabbed a skeleton through head, another charged her with a club but was destroyed by a fireball from Charlie. Nifty zipped around with a knife, slashing the legs of skeletons.
Things took a turn for the worse when two arrows managed to hit Alastor, one in the gut and one in the neck. He let out a staticky hack as he pulled them out. His distracted state made his tendrils less effective and allowed more arrows to get through. Cherri prepared to throw another bomb, but an arrow hit her in the shoulder causing her to drop it. A skeleton tackled her to the ground, her attacker grabbed her hair and pulled out a knife.
Before the skeleton could get their trophy Husk slammed the butt of his rifle into its face, it fell to the ground and Angel finished it with a stomp. Husk Hauled Cherri back up then turned to Charlie "we're getting bogged down, we need to push through." Charlie nodded "everyone get moving" she ordered, it became a mad dash as they did their best to avoid or block projectiles and killed any skeletons that got in their way. The attack tapered off before stopping completely. They continued until they were sure they were safe and stopped to rest.
"Is everyone okay" Charlie asked, getting confirmations from everyone in return. Everyone had made it out though there were injuries. Husk sat down to catch his breath and let Nifty pull the tomahawk out of his back. Angel sat next to Cherri, though he looked uncomfortable due to still being sore from the arrow and Cherri looked slightly shaken from almost getting scalped. Alastor rubbed his throat and coughed to clear it, spitting up some blood.
Angel sighed "well the Fellowship of the Corn's quest ain't off to a stellar start" he said. "No shit" Vaggie snorted, eyeing a hole in her skirt where an arrow went through. Husk hissed as Nifty applied some antiseptic to his wounds "almost like being back in Nam" he said. Charlie checked to make sure the corn was alright then addressed the group "we got caught off guard, we'll need to keep our eyes and ears open from now on" she said. Angel hissed as Nifty applied antiseptic to his shoulder, though he preferred to apply it to his ass himself "no shit, what even were those things."
Alastor hummed "they were most likely constructs born from the beast's power, like Charlie's goat friends" he said, "the beast most likely created them so it's sleep wouldn't be interrupted." Husk groaned after taking a swig from his flask "so there's probably more ahead" he said. Charlie looked toward the mountain before turning to face everyone "listen if you don't want to do this you can go back the limo" she said, not wanting to drag them into more danger. Alastor chuckled "my dear we're already too far in to quit now" he said. Vaggie nodded "I'm with you all the way hon."
The others agreed, not keen on going back to face the skeleton natives.
They took a break to rest and recover, Alastor conjuring some food and drinks to enjoy; of course, they were nonalcoholic. The last thing they needed were members of their party too tipsy to fight. Soon they continued and after half an hour Charlie checked the map her father provided and determined they were halfway to their goal. Suddenly Husk spoke up "you see that" he said, pointing to the sky. Everyone looked and saw smoke "is that a campfire" Nifty asked.
"What maniac would camp out here" Vaggie asked. "There are a few demons that prefer solitude, some to avoid the extermination and others simply don't like civilization" Alastor chimed in. "Well it's in the direction we're going so we'll find out soon enough" Charlie said. After another ten minutes that climbed over a small hill and were surprised by what they saw. Ahead of them was a small town from colonial times.
It looked abandoned with many buildings in various states of disrepair, in the center was a house that looked to be in livable condition, the smoke they saw earlier originating from the chimney. "Well that's fucking ominous" Cherri said, voicing everyone's thoughts. Charlie sighed "this is probably a bad idea, but we should cut through, the faster we get this done the sooner we can go home" she said. Everyone couldn't argue with this, especially since the tree line was close to the town's edge and if they looked carefully, they could see things moving through the trees.
After five more minutes of walking they entered the town, the sounds of their footsteps on the cobble road echoing eerily. Everyone was on high alert, keeping an eye on every window, door, and corner. Fifteen minutes later they reached the center of town and the lone house loomed over them. They saw a man sitting on the porch, he wore clothes typical of colonial times and had grey skin with pieces of skin missing. He lifted his head to look at them; his left eye was missing, thick stubble, and it seemed his nose had rotted away.
"Hello" he called out, his voice raspy. "Uh hi" Charlie replied, surprised that he didn't seem hostile. He stood and approach them, stopping at a waist high fence around his house "you must be here to feed the beast" he said. Charlie nodded "yeah" she looked around "are you all alone here, you're the first person we've seen in this town." "There were others" the man said, "the beast ate them all, I was the only survivor."
"Huh surprised ya stuck around" Angel said. The man shrugged "I was never really a people person, in life and death" he said. "Well you lot should be on your way, the beast will be awake soon" he said, walking to his house. "hey, what's your name" Charlie asked. The man paused as he opened the door Liam, Liam Bridges" he replied.
"Well if you want somewhere else to stay; I run a hotel in Pentagram City, I opened it to rehabilitate sinners so they can get into Heaven" she said with a kind smile. Liam chuckled "it's a nice thought dear, but if everything I've been through doesn't earn me the Lord's forgiveness, I doubt anything will, still thank you for the offer." He entered his house and the group moved on; Charlie had a sad look on her face "he must be lonely out here" she said. Husk shrugged "eh some people prefer being alone."
After another hour of walking they had reached the base of the mountain, along the way had encountered skirmishes with more native skeletons but not as bad as the first encounter. Angel groaned "oh God we gotta walk up a fucking mountain" Alastor chuckled "come now my effeminate fellow, a little exercise won't kill you." after half an hour they were halfway up the mountain when Husk heard something "did anyone else hear that" he asked. Everyone listened and heard gobbling and it was approaching fast. Suddenly something fast blew past them, knocking over Nifty and slashing Husk's stomach. "FUCK" Husk yelled, the slash wasn't deep, but it still hurt.
Everyone looked up and saw a flying creature, it had the body of a dragon covered in feathers and the head of a turkey. Soon the more came and circle the group "seriously, fucking turkey dragons" Cherri groaned. One swooped down and nearly bit off Vaggie's head. They suddenly felt the mountain rumble "oh no, the beast is almost awake" Charlie gasped. The group rushed up the mountain while fighting off the turkey dragons.
After another half hour they reach the top, a massive pit was in the center. The mountain shook like an earthquake and the beast arose. Simply put it was a giant turkey, but massive spikes were spread throughout its body, its eyes were a blazing red, and its beak was filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth. The beast roared at them, the power of its roar pushing back, Nifty held on to Husk to avoid being blown away. Charlie held up the basket, the beast's eyes zeroed in on it. It lowered its head and opened its beak. Charlie tossed the corn in and the beast swallowed it.
The beast appeared more docile now, Charlie couldn't help but pet its beak. The beast did nothing and Charlie smiled "hey big guy, you probably aren't happy about the way you were born" she said. The beast snorted and Charlie continued "but you were born from a holiday that brings happiness to millions, that has to be worth something." The beast snorted again then lowered back into the pit, falling asleep until next year. Their objective achieved the group returned home.
Angel groaned as he soaked his feet in the lobby "fuck me, mountains are hell on your feet" Cherri sat next to him enjoying a bottle of whiskey. Everyone was in the lobby resting from the day. A knock was heard at the door and Charlie went to answer it, everyone heard a happy squeal and she returned with someone. Liam Bridges smiled at everyone "don't suppose you have a vacancy."
AN: Hey everyone hope you enjoyed my Thanksgiving story. Stay safe and have a happy Thanksgiving.