The Eldritch Family was far from close, in a stark contrast to the Magne Family, who while flawed still cared for each other deeply, the Eldritch Family were fairly reserved and simply didn't care for each other all that much.

Sure, whenever they were in the public eye, they acted a bit closer but that was mainly for appearances. Once the cameras left, the Family returned to their normal attitudes. Appearances were everything in Hell and having good publicity was a top priority for those in power.

Obviously, they weren't without a few controversies, most notably Seviathan's...less than stellar relationship with Charlie, his former girlfriend.

Originally Charlie and Seviathan were in an arranged marriage and the plan was for Seviathan to become King, however Seviathan was rather...unkind towards her, especially when it came to Charlie's ideals.

Seviathan had a distaste for sinners and when Charlie spoke of helping them, he told her how absurd it was to help 'some lowly sinners' and to forget it, claiming that Redemption was impossible and that demons were lost causes who couldn't be helped.

Long story short...Charlie ended up cutting it off. Seviathan ended up snapping at her, saying that she'll realize he was right all along and that she'd come crawling back once it backfired in her face. Things went haywire, espically when he tried rekindling under the threat of his Father, Lucifer's wrath was an ire no demon wished to spark and he barely managed to get out of the situation with his life.

Costing them the throne was a large penalty and Seviathan was scorned for years on end,espically since most seemed to believe he was an abuser given how badly the breakup ended and his reputation never truly recovered.

The controversy was something their family never lived down and even centuries later. They'd never live it down and Seviathan was cast in a harsher light, and it seemed like he could never live that event down. Even after all the extensive PR, the incident remained a blemish many talked about during social gatherings.

Fortuantly, there were benefits of being part of Hell's elite. That being they had things many would kill for. A luxierous house, the best food and acess to the best of the best. Nothing was truly off limits so long as you could bribe a few people into compliance.

The only thing they really didn't have was a good view on relationships.

Their parents never spent much time with them, doing their bare minimum before clocking out and letting their servants do all the parenting.

Frederick and Bethesda simply weren't affectionate parents and often treated their children as afterthoughts at the best of times. Most of the time they were too preoccupied with their own lives to invest in their kids directly, preferring to leave the parenting to hired help, figuring throwing money at the problem would fix it.

Unless they absolutely had to be with Helsa and Seviathan at that moment, 9x out of 10...they just weren't in the picture.

There was nothing truly personal about their relationship. Their parents never sang to them at night, never hugged or kissed them on the matter.

Normally they wouldn't care, but when Seviathan had dated Charlie, he and Helsa felt something was off. They saw how Charlie got along with her parents, how they just showered her with affection and care.

When Seviathan and Helsa were over the Morningstar mansion, they saw Charlie calling her parents 'Mom' and 'Dad'.

The terms were foreign to them as they never referred to their parents with such terms, sticking to their first names and formalities. It was never 'Hey Mom and Dad, how are you two?' it was 'Greetings Lord Fredrick and Lady Bethesda, it's a pleasure to see you again, what is the reason you've summoned us?'

Helsa had always been jealous of Charlie and having a loving relationship with her parents only made the jealousy run deeper.

Charlie was the Princess of ALL Hell, she was richer than their family, she was stronger than Helsa and had more admirers.

She even had better grades than Helsa. Charlie was always the top of their class and passed with flying colors and no matter what Helsa did she only got a 99 while Charlie got a 100 on her tests. Whatever Helsa did, Charlie did it better and was praised to high heaven for it. It didn't matter what Helsa was doing, whether that be cheer-leading, academics, clubs, Charlie managed to come out on top no matter how much Helsa belittled and pushed her around.

No matter how hard she tried to tear her down, Charlie stood tall with the perfect family and perfect reputation. It was like an insult to her, and she hated every moment of it.

So Helsa did her best to compensate in areas that Charlie didn't focus on, like partying, sex and drinking and flexing her superior. Call her petty but Helsa was going to find a way to one-up Charlie in any way she could…

Course that meant a lot of times Helsa woke up in bed every morning with the worst hangover and today was no fucking exception.

"Ugh…" Her eyes creaked open, The Princess slowly got up and rubbed her eyes."Fuck...my body hurts like a bitch…Stupid hangover…." Helsa then looked around, realizing she was in her bedroom

She mumbled before reluctantly trying to get up. Her vision was rather hazy, and her body felt like it had been hit by a truck, her walk with a slight stumble.

Bottles of alcohol were strewn across the room. Helsa lazily strutted toward the mirror as she stared at her reflection.

Helsa's locks were completely down and tangled as it flowed to her knees. One side was covering her eye completely and her lipstick was slightly smudged. One of her bra-straps was loosely hanging over her shoulder and her panties were barely staying on.

Her body had several hickeys on her neck and collar. Dark purple bite marks were embedded into her skin, visible even under her see-through pink robe.

She rolled her eyes,"Fucking hell, did that bastard seriously leave all these bite marks all over me? Great, now I won't be able to wear anything shoulderless like this. Damn bastard is probably happy with himself."

Helsa grumbled as she made her way out,"Ugh...whatever. I'll deal with it later…I'm hungry dammit."

Lazily Helsa moved out of her room, lazily trudging toward the kitchen as she began tossing the cabinet's shelves for what she was looking for. Her envious green eyes narrowed, twisting her lip with annoyance,"UGH! Where the fuck is all the beer? I swear we just had some the other day, what happened to it?"

"Don't you remember, Helsa? Or did you hit your head so hard that you forgot what you did last night?"

Helsa flinched before turning around, seeing her elder twin brother leaning against the wall. Seviathan still kept that outfit he wore in high-school despite it going out of date years ago and was adamant about 'keeping his style' despite it being centuries old.

He had remained relatively unchanged appearance wise since his high-school days and there was no physical difference despite it being several hundred years since he graduated. He still had that arrogant smile that would send chills down the undead's spine, grinning cockily.

Unfazed by her brother's sneer, she scoffed, "What do you want, Seviathan? I didn't see you come down here…"

"Does it matter? This is my house too, you know. You can't show any issue with me being in my own home, Helsa…"

"Whatever. I don't really care, I just want my fucking drinks since my body hurts, and I need a fucking beer…"

He chuckled, "Don't you remember what you did last night?"

"Barley. All I remember is sleeping with some random fuckface who left all these marks on me," She grumbled, "Why? What's it to you?"

"You drank like a fuckton of wine. You literally consumed the whole cabinet when you got home since you apparently didn't get enough drinks at the party you spent all night at. It's a miracle you didn't overdose yourself with the amount of alcohol you drank…"

"Tch! What do I look like? A weakling?" She scoffed, "Puh-lease. I'm not a pathetic idiot like some people, I can handle myself just fine…"

"I doubt your liver agrees…"

"Like I give a damn, my liver isn't gonna give out over a few drinks. I've been hung over several times over entire centuries, I'm not gonna give up now…"

"You're lucky our parent's genetics protect you from getting killed else you'd already be dead by now," He replied dismissively, "I'm being honest, Helsa, if you were any other demon, you'd be dead with the amount of alcohol you consumed."

"Well, I'm not 'any' other demon," Helsa said with her hands using quotations, "I'm Helsa Von Fucking Eldritch, baddest bitch in the Sector and no amount of alcohol is gonna put an end to me…"

"If only it did…" He grumbled, "It'd mean I didn't have to move your fat ass back to bed every night you decide to drink until you're unconscious..

"Keep dreaming Sevi, I ain't dying anytime soon and I'll be damned if it's by drinking." She teased before scowling, "Speaking of drinks...Mom and Dad are gonna need to buy more again…"

"No thanks to you gorging yourself like a pig…" He coughed.

"Oh, be quiet, a girl needs to treat herself, not like you'd know anything about that. I still don't get why it matters to you. Since when did you care abotu what happens to me? Don't tell me you've gone soft..."

"Tch, you wish. I simply like not having my view obstructed by my sister's unconsious form across the table. It doesn't help you sometimes don't even make it past the door. It's a miracle you even manage to wander your way back home."

"Because I'm perfect like that..."

"If you're living an embodiment of perfection then the word must've lost its meaning…" Seviathan tsked.

"Shut the fuck up, at least I have a life!" She growled, shooting him a glare as she threw an empty bottle at him. Seviathan tilted his head out the way, dodging without batting an eye.

"You missed, sister…" He chuckled, "Guess your aim is quite lousy. Can't say I'm surprised by that one…"

"Fuck off, Seviathan!" Helsa hissed, "I won't miss next time! You're lucky I'm hung over else I'd break this bottle over your damn head, and I doubt you'd be laughing…"

"Sure, you will…"

"Whatever. I'm getting my drinks…" Helsa pulled out her phone, but Seviathan then said,

"I wouldn't bother, Bethesda and Fredrick are out on those 'business' trips. They aren't answering the phone," He informed nonchalantly as he scrolled through his phone.

"How do you know?"

"What do you think I've tried doing? They've been going out on business trips for half a year, and they almost never answer their phone. Can't even get a small text, I wonder if they even look at their text messages."

"Of course, they do…" Helsa grumbled, their parents never really answered their texts. Oftentimes, Helsa and Seviathan had to do things for themselves. Sure, they were adults, and their parents didn't need to watch their every move, but they didn't like having to do things themselves that their parents realistically should've done before….

"You ever think Charlie has to deal with this?"

"What do you mean? "Seviathan asked, sounding bitter, "What about Charlie?"

"You think she has to deal with Lucifer and Lilith just ignoring her and not acknowledging her existence when they're needed?"

"Doubt it," He said, "Charlie always seemed to speak rather fondly of them when we were dating, constantly talking about how they showered her with affection…."

"Lucky bitch," She growled, "It's not fucking fair, how come she gets the parents who actually give a shit about her while ours go on business trips for almost an entire year and take forever to do what we ask them to do?"

"Hell, if I know, probably just our luck. Only good thing is that we don't really need them anymore…'' He admitted, "Why? Are you jealous of her?"

"Course I fucking am, that bitch has everything I don't have, and she gets to prance around with her head in clouds while I work for my reputation! I do everything I'm supposed to and yet SHE gets to be on top because Charlie is 'Lucifer's Daughter' and gets to act like a fool with no repercussions but if I make the SLIGHTEST mistake, I'm gonna get shit for it…"

"Welcome to the fucking club, Helsa…" Seviathan said with a growl, "Trust me, we're gonna be dealing with this bullshit for as long as we're alive. And I doubt we're gonna die anytime soon…"

"Yay, I'm so fucking excited. Can't wait to be stuck living knowing that Charlie can do whatever the fuck she wants with the most loving parents imaginable while ours can't even get us fucking wine…"

The elder twin made a face; he wasn't jealous of his ex in the way Helsa was, but he couldn't deny his sister's point. Charlie was basically living the dream and her parents actively gave a fuck about her while Fredrick and Bethesda...just left everything to the servants.

Not that the servants did a bad job or anything, they did their best, but they couldn't substitute proper parental figures.

"Hey Helsa?" He asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think our parents care about us?"

Helsa wasn't quite sure how to answer. It sounded easy saying 'yes' or 'no' but that'd mean Helsa had a concrete answer when she really didn't. And judging by Seviathan's expression, he wasn't quite sure either…

"Hey Helsa?"

"Hm?"

"Do you love Bethesda and Frederick?"

"I mean...do you?"

He shook his head, "No, not really. I can't recall ever 'loving' those two in my entire life. Sure, I can tolerate their presence a bit more than usual, but I never felt any fondness towards them that went beyond the surface. It's like we're nothing more than strangers living under the same roof."

"Yeah, I can't recall loving them either. Hell, I can't recall loving anyone in my entire life. It simply never occurred to me and honestly...love sounds like way too much fucking work for me. One night stands are one thing but a relationship? Fuck no."

"It's not worth it," He said, "Trust me, relationships aren't worth the trouble. You're better off not getting involved in that shit…"

"Hey Seviathan?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think they'll ever love us?"

"Do you?"

Helsa didn't answer and neither twin said anything. There were no words left to say and the discussion had already decided it's answer despite nothing being exchanged. Deep down the twins knew the truth and figured that some things were better off left unsaid as the silence and misery prevailed.

'I need a damn drink…' Helsa thought to herself before groaning upon remembering...

They didn't have any goddamn drinks...Guess that meant she'd have to get more...one way or another...

In the meantime, Husk grumbled as he was once again whisked away from whatever he had been doing to a familiar place. Alastor's Radio Tower. He had been summoned countless times and he already knew Al's shtick by now.

For some reason, the Radio Demon just found him...utterly entertaining. Husk doesn't really see why, he was far from lively and was about as fun to hang around as dry cardboard. His interests were fairly mundane and unlike Alastor who just thrived off of attention, Husk preferred being left alone.

They were more or less polar opposites and Husk genuinely disliked Alastor due to the negative impact the bastard left on his life. Husk's life was always awful and when he fell in Hell, it plunged further down the rabbit-hole of awfulness once his liver gave out from the years of abuse from the overindulgence of alcohol.

This only increased tenfold when he met Alastor. He ran into the fucker at a bar one time, Al scared off all the people inside except for him and Husk hadn't taken the hint to flee right away, being more bemused by his presence if anything.

This turned out to be a mistake, because Alastor quickly took interest in him and kept prodding him, trying to claim his soul in a deal in exchange for protection from the dangers of Hell.

Husk flat out rejected Al, something the Radio Host hadn't expected. He figured Alastor was used to people chucking their souls at him with a few silver-tongued words, so Husk being immune to these charms had caught him off guard.

Still, this did little to deter him as he kept pestering Husk, choosing to teleport him out of nowhere at his leisure and no matter how often Husk told him not to do so, Alastor did it anyway. Over time, Husk's rage turned into annoyance as he had grown used to the pattern, still not appreciating being taken away from his poker game right when he was sealing the deal.

"I swear to fucking god, Al, you better have a good fucking reason for bringing me to your STUPID tower again!" He hissed.

"Now now, Husker, there's no need to be upset-"

"You fucking teleported me when I was about to win the damn pot, fuckface! Now give me one good reason why I shouldn't be pissed at you because I doubt, you're gonna find one…"

"Can't I just talk with a good friend of mine?"

"First off asshole, I ain't your goddamn friend, second of all, don't you have OTHER fuckers to pester!?" He asked, "Go find some of your other fuckers to be your friend and stop bothering me!"

"But Husker, who else will I find that's able to put up with me? Every other demon down the streets cowers in fear at the mere sight of me, I can't exactly get friends if everyone's running in the opposite direction at hearing my name ..."

Husk facepalmed, he had almost forgot about Alastor's reputation.

That damn reputation of Alastor's ending inconvenienced anyone who associated themselves with him, Husk included (albeit unwillingly). The moment people thought he and Al were friends, people became even more distant and while Husk did appreciate being left the fuck alone, he didn't like not being able to join poker games since people thought he was Alastor's lackey.

At first, he tried to ignore it and thought it'd go away but over the years, Husk began noticing people were staying away from him on the streets. They weren't running or screaming bloody murder, but they did keep their distance from him, like they feared he'd get mad and pounce on them.

"Do you seriously not have any friends Al?"

"Do you?"

"Fuck no," He said, "I don't do 'friends' Al, I got tired of relationships years ago and I sure as hell am not doing with you or anyone else in this hellhole. My life is already fucked enough, I don't need 'friends' dragging me into their bullshit because they wanna fuck around."

"But don't you get lonely?"

"Booze and poker make loneliness a non-issue, maybe you should try it?"

"You know I don't like alcohol and I'm not good at poker…"

"Have you tried learning or asking around?"

"Who's going to tolerate me long enough to teach me again? You remember who I am, don't you?"

"Oh right, I forgot…" He rolled his eyes in response. He almost forgot they weren't regular people anymore...almost…

"Something on your mind?"

"What's it to you?" He asked roughly.

"I was just wondering, you seemed...concentrated…"

"I was just thinking about how much I fucking hate being down here…" He growled, "Because not only am I surrounded by the scum of Earth all day and night, but I have to fucking sit here and watch as a gazillion crimes are committed day to day without anything being done about it…"

"Hm...I take it that you don't like injustice do you, Husker? I never thought of you to be the sentimental type…"

"I ain't sentimental, just hate fucking being around assholes all day," Husk said, "I know you don't understand since you find suffering funny, but I really hate this shithole. Every damn day I wish I could actually leave, and I'd want nothing more than to drop off the face of this hellhole if I was given a shot…"

"You're not thinking of-"

"Relax, I ain't going out on Extermination. Calm your tits, fuckface. Believe me, I thought about ending it several times, but I just didn't have it in me to do it. Don't know what's keeping me back but I think my heart's ability to hang on being the only reason I'm still 'alive' down here…."

Alastor made a face, "But if you could leave...where would you go?"

"Hell, if I know," He shrugged, "I don't really know. I hate Hell...I hate Earth and I... don't know jack about Heaven but I doubt it's all that great and even if it was, I know damn well I don't belong up there with the prissy angels. I just want to go somewhere without all this afterlife bullshit for a while since I'm sick and tired of waking up at night and thinking about how my life has been wasted…"

"So, you don't know?"

He scoffed, "I mean, where else am I going to go? Chicago? I don't know where I'd go if I had a chance but as long as it's not here, I'd see it as a fucking improvement given how awful this world is."

"I'm aware our world isn't all that great, but it does have its negatives and positives. As long as you have power you should at least be safe from the other denizens of Hell...well...most of them," Al admitted, "Still, I wish someone told me that I'd be feared for decades to come. It's almost been an entire century and people still run away from me."

"No shit they do, you literally overthrew overlords who were in charge for centuries and you think that shit will just go away?"

"Of course not, I just didn't think that the craze would last this long. I was hoping it'd die down so I could make friends, but even new sinners are beginning to know how I am through rumors and what-not…"

"Do you miss it?"

"Hm?"

"Being alive?"

"Sort of," Al said, "I like having powers, but I do miss having lots of friends. Back in my day I had countless and now...I have at best a handful…"

"So why don't you talk to them?"

"Well, I talk to Niffty but Rosie and her friends are busy most days and Mimzy has her own personal life, and I can't disturb her."

"If only that excuse worked for me…" Husk grumbled, Al ignoring this snide comment in return. "Figured you'd say as much. Always knew you were a lonely bastard, but I guess that confirms it…Still don't get why you want me around."

Al looked away for a split second, "Hey, misery loves company you know?"

"I'm already fucking miserable, so I don't think being in the company of person I don't like is gonna make it better...In fact, it just made it worse…"

"Sorry. You feel that way, do you wish to chat about it?"

"Fuck no, I've got enough problems and I'm done talking. I just wanna hit the sack and go to bed…'' He grumbled before standing up and leaving. As he left, he ran into Niffty on the way out, "Oh hey, Niffty. What's up?"

"Oh nothing. I'm doing fine. Wait, have you and All been hanging out with each other? OMG! Does that make you two best friends now?"

"Err...no…" He said, "Not really friends. Al just teleported me here again because he got fucking lonely and I need to take my leave and go home…"

"Oh...OK...Well, are you sure you don't wanna stay? I'm certain Al would want you to stay here for the night. He won't protest and-"

"I'll pass, Niffty. I'm a loner and I prefer being by myself. It's just how I roll…"

"Oh...Well, I hope you enjoyed yourself, goodbye!"

"Hmph. Bye…"

When Husk left, Niffty approached Al and saw him gazing out the window with a solemn look.

"Hey Al, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, darling. I'm just...a bit exhausted…"

The cyclops seemed worried, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Did you wear yourself out?"

"No, life is just taking its toll on me. Reliving the same boring experience has gotten rather old and I've missed being the social and active young man I used to be."

"What do you mean?"

"Back when I was alive, I had friends, popularity and everyone adored me. Now..well...I'm still popular and I do have people who adore me, but most of the time they fear me if anything. And friends? I have barely a handful and with the exception of you, the others barely ever talk or spend time with me."

"Oh...I'm sorry Al... I know what it's like to want more friends. It's alright…" She then gave him a small hug, "Even if the others aren't here, I'll be your best friend forever…"

"That's nice dear...I just…"

"Just what?"

"Want something different to happen for a change...Just once, maybe then I'd get a chance to make friends of my very own one day. Maybe even rub it in Vox's face to show him that I have a circle of friends as well."

"Wow, really?"

"Yes really…" He said as he pat her on the head. He then wearily turned to the window and sighed as his mundane life passed through his fingertips like strands of hair, time slowly ticking by as it had been for the decades since Alastor's death, the mundane and boring life he led slowly eating him up from the inside for years to come….