They arrived at Lucifer's palace, it was a lot larger than they had given credit for. It was the living embodiment of lavishness beyond compare. It was beautiful and even Angel was starstruck by the sight of it,"Holy shit…it's huge…"
"Thanks for pointing that out captain obvious," Vaggie mumbled.
"Let's not get lost in the grandeur. We're here for one reason and one reason alone and that's to deliver the goods. Let's just deliver the products to Lucifer's kitchen and be on our merry way…"
"Sounds fine by me…" Angel said.
They approached the front gate where a few soldiers stood tall.
Charlie cleared her throat and said,"Delivery for his highness? I know we're a tad behind schedule but the ones who were supposed to deliver stayed home for the week. We're new at our jobs so can you please tell us where we're supposed to go?"
She could've swore she saw the soldiers roll their eyes at this before one said,"Head over to the back from the left. It's self explanatory from there."
"Thank you, we'll be over there right away," She nodded before leading the horses over to the back of the palace.
At the back of Lucifer's palace was a backdoor entrance. If Charlie had to guess, the royal kitchen was somewhere around there and the food storage was nearby. She then put the horses to a halt and parked near the entrance by the stairs before dismounting off the carriage with Angel and Vaggie, the former of whom still had Wiggles laying over his shoulder.
"Alright.." Angel said as he stretched his back out,"And we're here…Now what?"
"We deliver the packages, dimwit and then get out of here like Charlie said we do," Vaggie snorted,"Now come on, everyone needs to help out so we can get a move on…"
They headed to the back of the carriage(that had been extremely quiet during the entire ride). They peaked inside and saw everyone was sitting down quietly without making a sound. Niffty was even asleep, laying on Alastor's lap while he gently stroked her hair.
"So…Charlie said,"How was the ride everyone? Are you all OK? Because I didn't hear any fighting while I was driving and I wanted to be sure nobody died while I wasn't looking."
"Nothing happened, surprisingly,"Husk admitted,"For once, Alastor and Vox weren't at each other's throats. In fact, Vox hasn't spoken throughout the entire ride now that I think about it…"
Speaking of Vox…he looked like he had seen better days. He was curled up in a ball and was still as a statue. Charlie cringed before touching his shoulder,"Vox? Are you awake? It's time to get up."
Vox slowly lifted his head back up at her and Charlie nearly jumped, he looked like he hadn't gotten any rest in ages and he appeared exhausted beyond belief. He then said in a tired and monotone voice,"I've been wide awake, Charlie…I do not need a wake-up call thank you very much.."
"Oh…sorry. Do you need a hand getting up? You look like you need it;" Charlie reached out to grab his bandaged hand only for him to withdraw his hand, a glint of fear developing in his pale blue eyes.
"N-No thanks…" He muttered,"I can handle myself…" He staggered to his feet at a slow pace as he got to his face, stumbling a little as he tried to regain his balance. Velvet rushed over to his aid and grabbed him,
"Vox, you gotta keep your balance! You almost fell.."
"I'm fine…" He brushed off,"I'm just…tired.."
"Tired my ass.." She huffed,"This ain't just plain old tiredness, Vox. There's something wrong with you.."
"Tell me something I don't know," He chuckled as if to try and lighten the mood though Velvet's face remained serious,"Vel…I'm fine. I swear on it. Just…tired. Don't look at me like that, we've got work to do…"
Velvet sighed as she found herself forced to drop the subject,"Fine..Just try not to call, alright?"
"I'll try…"
"Hey Al," Charlie said,"Can you wake Niffty up?"
"I'm on it…" He then gently shook his friend awake,"It's time to get up darling. We've arrived at our destination…"
She yawned, her eyes creaking open as she groggily asked,"Already? Can I have five more minutes please?"
"Another time perhaps, but not now," He chided playfully,"I understand you want your rest my little darling but we have a job to do.
"Ugh…I'm coming…" She slowly rose upwards , rubbing her eyes irritably before standing up, Al following her lead.
When everyone stepped out, Husk's jaw dropped,"Holy shit! Where the hell are we?"
Charlie smiled nervously as she dropped the bombshell on them all,"We are currently at Lucifer's palace. It's really something, am I right?"
"Lucifer?" Vox asked, now jolting awake with a hint of fear in his voice,"Oh god…don't tell me he's here as well.."
"It only makes sense that he is. Besides, I don't know any other Lucifer's that would own a place as big as this…" Velvet said,"Though I gotta ask, Charles, why did you drive us here? Because this is not the place any of us had in mind when it came to making a delivery…"
"The guards told me to. They said this was where the packages were supposed to go. Apparently Lucifer's food reserves were getting low in their personal kitchen and he made a huge order for people to replenish them..and the cart we stole just so happened to be addressed to him."
Vox facepalmed,"Oh for fuck's sake! Of course the carriage we happen to steal just so happens to be the one that's addressed to the Devil himself! Wonderful, that's just what we needed. It's bad enough that we've run into almost every Deadly Sin in the book but now we're about to set foot into the head honcho's home. Fan-fucking-tastic!"
"You know…I hate to agree with Vox of all people but I can't say he's wrong in this regard. This is without a doubt the worst place we could've ended up," Al stated,"Luck is most certainly not on our side today…"
"So what should we do?" Niffty asked.
"I say we toss the packages out on the sidewalk and run for it," Vox retorted,"There's no way I'm stepping foot in Lucifer's home. If anything goes wrong, we are dead. No if's or but's about it. The only reason any of us were able to escape the other Deadly Sins are either due to luck or careful planning but I doubt Lucifer will let us slide so easily. He's stronger than them and if he gets his hands on us it will not be pretty..."
"What? Vox, we can't just leave. We've come this far, we can't turn back now," Charlie argued.
"And risk getting caught?" Vox retorted,"I understand you want to keep going to this so-called Tower, Charlie, but you do realize you're putting us all at risk here? If Lucifer suspects anything out of us, we are done for."
"Which is why we won't get caught. We'll merely do our jobs and then get out of here to avoid suspicion."
"Why even take the risk?" He argued,"Remember who we're dealing with, Charles. He is the Devil and I doubt all of us combined would be able to harm him. He is too powerful and we might not be able to wiggle our way out of this one if we venture too far into his territory…"
"Vox, I understand your reluctance, but I assure you that everything is gonna be alright. He won't suspect anything and we'll be out of here sooner than you realize. Besides, I doubt you're the only one who feels this way."
Vox's skepticism refused to wane, however Vaggie then said,"Vox, the rest of us are not all too excited to step in there either but it's likely the only way we'll be allowed to leave. Lucifer is expecting his delivery and if we don't give the man what he wants this whole realm could possibly be in danger. I don't want this whole world to suffer just because the Devil didn't get his treats on time."
"And the sooner we give the fucker his treats the sooner we can get out of here,"Husk reminded,"I completely get where you're coming from Vox, but if we don't want to end up on this bastard's bad side we should try appeasing him before we bail on this place for good."
He rolled his eyes,"Ugh…fine…But if this ends up backfiring on us you are not allowed to say I didn't warn you…"
"Hey, what about us?" Seviathan asked,"Don't tell me you're just gonna leave us behind like you did last time. We don't even get to experience anything…"
"Seviathan…you don't have legs…" Charlie deadpanned,"I get you and Helsa don't like being stationary but there's nothing we can really do about that. It's best you two stay behind until we can get you back into a more aquatic environment where you won't be as restricted."
"Easy for you to say…you're not the one being held back all the time..Even the blind man is allowed to go with you yet we can't…"
"Because Alastor can still sense his surroundings," Charlie added,"If he wasn't able to do that he'd be sitting out as well. I understand your frustration but it's in both of your interests to stay here. It's not like you're missing out on anything fun either. We're just delivering packages to Lucifer's palace. Hardly anything exciting. So just hang tight in here until we come back, OK? We'll be right back…"
Seviathan scowled at this, the bitterness he had felt over all these years bubbling to the surface upon being rejected,"Have it your way, Charlie…"
Charlie flinched at the venom in her ex's tone as he spat out that sentence. Even after all these years he still held her with contempt and it made her feel sad for a moment, remembering a time when she and him used to be friends and much more…
It had been such a long time ago and yet she sometimes reminisced on the days they were happy together, before Seviathan's arrogance and contempt for sinners outshined their love for each other.
Even after all this time, a part of her still loved him…yet she knew they weren't meant to be and it hurts seeing him glare at her with hatred. She could shrug off Helsa taunts and mockery but Seviathan's contempt for her tugged at her heartstrings.
She really did want them to be friends…but she feared the mockery Seviathan had been subjected to for losing her hand in marriage had taken its toll on him. It was no secret Seviathan was viciously mocked for ruining his chance at the throne and he had been made the laughing stock for years.
If the years of mockery and derision he faced from the denizens of Hell hadn't shattered their friendship, then Lucifer attempting to end his life for hurting Charlie's feelings sure did. She recalled having to protect Seviathan from her father's wrath and only just barely managed to convince him to spare his life.
She expected Seviathan to be grateful…yet he snarled at her and shoved her aside when she offered to help him to his feet before limping away from Magne's residence, his pride shattered along with the rest of his body.
That day was something neither of them forgot…and she feared that Seviathan was merely biding his time and waiting for a time to seek retribution.
"Hey, back off,"Angel sneered,"I don't know what you two have going on between you two and in all honesty, I couldn't care less. All I know is that you gotta start showing Charles some respect for letting you stick around this long. Do I make myself clear or do I need to repeat myself?"
"You make yourself very clear, Angel Dust…" He growled,"I do not need warnings. Now do us all a favor and go, the sight of you makes me sick."
"Suit yourself. Come on guys, let's get these packages inside…"
Everyone began carrying the packages out of the truck and carried as much as they could in their hands. Charlie then approached the front door and knocked, a maid answering the door as she said,"Delivery of Lucifer Magne."
"About time you arrived…Come inside, there is much work to be done. I am Lady Alyssa and our Lord has been expecting you for for quite some time. Is there a reason you all are late? You should've been here a while ago…"
"We're new," Charlie informed, stammering as she tried to avoid blowing her cover in front of the alternate version of her father's servant."The people who were supposed to deliver the package said they had to spend time with their families. Our employers said we had to deliver the package ourselves and we ran into some…traffic issues before we got here."
"I figured as much," She replied,"Regardless, I'm glad you even bothered to arrive at all. Come inside, there's much work to be done here…"
"Coming…" Charlie then motioned for the others to follow her and they all stepped inside Lucifer's palace, an eerie feeling crawling down their backs as they entered the lion's den…
Alyssa led them to the Royal Kitchen and instructed them to put Lucifer's packages in a specific order as to not ruin any of the goodies inside. Alyssa instructed them to place the 'colder' foods inside of the underground storage and to meet back with her once they were done.
Charlie and Angel carried the large box down the underground cellar, working together to carry the larger boxes was too heavy to be carried by one person so they had to work together in order to lift it inside unlike the rest of the other crates coming from the outside.
The disguised princess grunted as she carried the heavy weight,"We're almost there, Angel…So close…"
"Thank god…" He grumbled,"I'm getting tired of carrying these stupid boxes around…"
When they got past the bottom step, Charlie and Angel shifted their movements a little, Charlie's arms wobbling. She wasn't used to carrying this much weight and the box was a LOT heavier than it appeared…
Charlie's grip loosened and she let out a scream when her side of the crate landed on her right foot,"ARGH!" She clutched her foot and bounced up and down on her uninjured one, muttering a mouthful of curses in the process.
"You alright, Charles?" Angel asked, dropping his side of the crate and rushing to her aid,"Can I see your foot?"
"No…it's fine…" She replied, swallowing the pain,"It's just a little bruised that's all.."
"You sure? I'm certain I can kiss it better…"
"Uh…Angel..I appreciate the thought but I'm fine….I just need a minute, I promise…" She then paused when she noticed something off about the lid,"Hey Angel..was this lid always this loose?"
"It was on tight when we first grabbed it," He mentioned,"I think the impact of the drop must've loosened the hinges a bit. In the very least it saves us the time of trying to open it up from scratch. Now…let's see what we're dealing with.."
Angel undid the lid to the basket and his expression went from curiosity to confusion,"Eh? What the fuck is all this?"
Charlie peaked her head out and gasped at the sight, her jaw dropping open,"Are…are those…"
"Candy apples?" They said in unison, both looking up into each other's eyes for a swift moment.
"Candy apples?" Angel repeated,"What the hell are candy apples doing in the King's personal delivery box?" He pulled one out of the container with a raised eyebrow, seeing they were all wrapped in some sort of plastic,"You know, Charlie,with how heavy this box was I expected it to be full of meat or something like that. Needless to say, Lucifer's blown my expectations by ordering an entire box full of candy apples. I know I shouldn't be surprised but hot damn this wasn't what I had in mind when I opened this damn thing."
"I wasn't really all that surprised. It really does sound like something he would do…" Charlie admitting, she had seen her father eat candy apples several times in her life. Carmel apples were his favorite ones from what she could recall.
It was his favorite treat to eat and she was certain if Lilith didn't reprimand him he'd eat it all for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Had he been a mortal soul he no doubt would've had a mouthful of cavities with the amount of candy apples he ate on a daily basis.
She never tried one, purely because her mother warned her how it would get stuck in her teeth and she took that advice to heart. It did make her sweet tooth ache whenever she rejected her father's offering of a candy apple yet she always declined in an effort to maintain her pearly white teeth as she had an image to maintain.
"How would you know what Lucifer would do, Charles? You never met the guy before…have you?"
"W-What? Of course not," She stammered,"It's just that…you know…he likes apples and I figured it'd only make sense for him to order a bunch of candy ones. It's kind of well known he likes apples since it's kind of what's known for…"
Angel looked skeptical before shrugging,"Eh, I guess you're right on that one. I just don't get why he needs this many. I understand he has an obsession but he doesn't need to order an entire crate of this shit. It's completely unnecessary."
"Well…you know, Lucifer…Always being over the top and all…" She giggled nervously.
"I'd say I'm surprised…but then again I think that would be a massive lie…" He admitted,"I cannot believe we seriously stole a carriage, disguised ourselves as the delivery men only to be tasked with putting candy apples in Lucifer's basement. What a fucking day.."
"I know. Let's just try and make it easier on ourselves and put everything where it needs to be. The sooner we finish the sooner we can leave this place once and for all."
"Fair enough. This place is honestly kind of creepy anyway. It's way too dark for my liking.." Angel said,"Let's try and make this quick. I don't wanna uncover any secrets or dead bodies that may be hiding in Lucifer's basement while we're down here. This place is giving me the creeps and I don't want to run into any problems, got it?"
"Got it. Let's do this, Angel."
The two got to work and began organizing all the apples inside of the grates into the cellar, working together in order to get their work done.
Angel wiped the bead of sweat from his forehead as he put the last apple away,"Phew! I think that's all of them! I think that means we can leave this creepy ass cellar. And if luck is on our side, the others might actually be done with their work assuming they weren't being a bunch of slowpokes."
Charlie smiled before feeling rumbling in her stomach. It had been a while since she had a meal and her stomach was choosing the most inconvenient moment to tell her to fill herself up.
"You hungry, Charles?"
"Yeah. Too bad there's nothing I can eat…"
Angel Dust narrowed his eyes,"I wouldn't say that…Especially not after we just finished putting Lucifer's candy apples away…" He then reached into storage where they put the candy apples and rummaged through.
"Angel..what are you implying?" She asked wearily,"What are you doing,Angel? We just put those away. We shouldn't tamper with that…"
"Says who?" He retorted,"There's no one here other than us, Charlie. There's no harm in having a treat for yourself."
"Angel…I understand you want to help but we could get in trouble…"
"It's just an apple, Charlie. We ain't gonna get in trouble over something as small as this," Angel then began removing the wrapper while she watched with great concern over her friend's actions.
"Angel, I don't think we should do this. Lucifer might find out and he'll get very angry if we meddled with his things, let alone eat one of them.."
"Is Lucifer in the room with us, Charlie?"
"No…"
"Then why do you care about upsetting someone who ain't even here to stop ya?" He asked,"Honestly, Charlie, I couldn't give less of a fuck about Lucifer or his opinion for that matter. As far as I'm concerned, he and all the other Deadly Suckers can choke on my cock for all I care."
"Angel! That's rude-"
"So what? You don't even know the bastard and his cronies have caused us nothing but trouble. I don't see the problem in saying he should go fuck himself. Especially after all you've been through, you deserve a treat for all the shit you put up with."
"You're so sweet, Angel but…I don't think I deserve this..I've done nothing to deserve anything like this."
"Bullshit,He said,"Fucking bullshit. You've been putting up with a near endless amount of shit ever since we've met. You've allied with people who've tried to put your life in danger without even holding it against them. You kept the entire group in line in moments where it would've fallen apart without you and made sure to keep us all focused on the goal despite the drawbacks. Your the only reason we even made it this far and I don't wanna hear shit about you 'not having done anything' to deserve the smallest reward for your efforts. You deserve way more than this and I'm sick of you pretending otherwise…"
The Princess was speechless for a moment before recovering her voice to say,"I…I appreciate your speech, Angel…But I want to ask why you care so much? I know we're all friends but this feels a little…heavy even for us.."
"Because I love ya, Charlie.."
"You…you what?"
"I love ya, OK?" He said in a far less collected voice,"I've been feeling this way for a while and I've been trying to get ya to understand but nothing seemed to work. You were always so painstakingly oblivious to my affection and I just wanted to tell ya that…I wanted to be more than friends with ya.."
"More than friends? Even more than best friends?"
"Way more…" He said,"You're the kindest and strongest guy I know, you always see the best in everyone, even the ones who would normally be deemed lost causes. You all gave us a chance, Charlie, I still don't understand why you believe us demons are worth saving but I'm relieved you gave me the chance even when I was being a dick…" Angel averted his gaze before lifting up the candy apple,"Come on, Charles, you deserve this. Take it…"
She stared at the candy, her lips salivating at the thought. She usually wasn't the type to get hungry over candy apples but it had been so long since she had anything in her stomach and it did look a lot more appetizing than it usually was.
Maybe it was just her hunger speaking but it looked absolutely scrumptious. Stars glowed inside of her eyes as the idea only made her even more hungry than usual. She reluctantly reached forward, recoiling her hand at the last second, internally debating what to do.
"Come on, Charlie…take a bite. You know you want to."
The temptation…it was like a natural calling and she found it hard to resist. She could feel her mouth watering, the curiosity of wondering what it tasted like slowly getting the better of her. She could imagine how crunchy and sweet it tasted, how delicious and juicy the delectable treat was and how wonderful it would be to have it all to herself.
Charlie reached and took the apple, grabbing it by the stick and taking a bite out of the crusty candy.. It tasted hard…yet sweet and sugary. The caramel was delightful and it felt as though she had entered food heaven with how scrumptious it was.
No wonder her father loved these. They were amazing!
"Woah…these taste so good. Angel, you should try it…"
"Eh, I"m not too big on apples," He admitted,"Not to mention that shit gets stuck in your teeth. I would rather not have to dig out caramel and sugar from my teeth right now."
"You sure? I'm willing to share!"
"Hmmm…" He looked at Charlie closely before a smug smile grew on his face,"Well, now that I think about it, I suppose one bite wouldn't kill me…"
She held up the candy apple, believing Angel was going to take a bite out of it only for him to ignore it entirely and move to kiss her, his tongue entering her mouth and pulling her body against his, his arms wrapped around her waist.
Initially, Charlie was surprised but melted into a kiss. She was a tad inexperienced but Angel seemed to know what he was doing, being gentle yet dominant. When they separated, both of them panting to catch their breath as he said,"Not bad…tastes pretty sweet. Wonder what the rest of you tastes like."
"Angel, that's inappropriate!" She exclaimed, her cheeks flushing up with red,"Angel, what even was that for? I thought you wanted the candy!"
"Why? You didn't like it?"
"It's not that…I just..wasn't expecting it.."
"So that means you did like it, eh? I've got more where that came from. I'm a man with all sorts of talents if you know what I mean. Normally I don't offer to show others my talents if they don't pay but I'm willing to make an exception for you. Those I truly like are open for a freebie…"
"Angel..I…"
Suddenly, footsteps stormed down the cellar and Vaggie turned up at the bottom with an angry look on her face,"CHARLIE! It's been over an hour, what the fuck are you two doing down…here…" Her face fell at the sight of Angel and Charlie being so close together, their lips coated with red substance while Charlie still had the candy apple in one hand."You have got to be fucking kidding me…"
Charlie quickly separates herself from Angel and stammers nervously,"Uh, Vag, I swear, this isn't what it looks like! Angel and I were just…sharing…yeah…sharing.."
"Don't listen to him,"Angel said,"It was exactly what it looked like."
"ANGEL!"
"What? There's no point in hiding it, besides, I'm pretty sure Vaggie ain't fooled by your little act. It's pretty obvious what we were doing honestly. Cat's out of the bag, no use in trying to cover it up."
Vaggie rolled her eyes,"Look, I don't really care if you have a thing going on or not but can you save that shit for later? The rest of us have been working while you two have been…doing whatever you were doing down here…"
"Hey, we were working,"Angel added,"We just happened to finish. It was getting kind of boring so we decided to have a bit of fun and help ourselves. Wasn't like we were hurting anyone…"
"Doesn't matter. The rest of us would like to get out of here and we can't if you two are fooling around. Now come on, let's get out of this stuffy cellar."
"Fine…" Charlie sighed before following Vaggie up the stairs, doing her best to ignore Angel's smug smirk from behind, sweat trickling down her face. She could feel his eyes staring through her and at certain…parts of her body and her heart threatening to burst out of her chest.
She cursed her carelessness, now beyond thankful Vaggie had arrived in that moment to stop them. Had she not come to check on them, Angel might have got carried away and he would've found out the hard way that she wasn't a man.
Angel liked her primarily because of the male persona she put on. Originally it was only so she could get around Hell without alerting her parents but ever since she landed inside of this world, the persona had more or less become a part of her, like a mask she adopted to hide her true self.
She wondered…would he still like her if he knew who she truly was? Not just being a female, but the Princess of all Hell itself? Would he keep those feelings or would he lose interest entirely…
It wasn't beyond possibility he'd lose interest, it was well known Angel Dust was gay and he no doubt wouldn't appreciate being led on like this. It wasn't intentional and had Charlie known where it would lead, she would've told him she was a girl by now but she had gone in too deep to fall back now…
She knew she couldn't keep it a secret forever…but she sure as hell didn't want to face the music now. Not after the incident with Angel in the storage room. Her body still felt numb and she was a tad lightheaded from the kiss…
Not to mention her teeth felt a bit sticky, especially in between her gums. She could feel it in her tongue, there was something wedged in there, something hard and rock-like in texture…
'Definitely gonna need to floss after this.' She thought to herself, making a mental note to brush her teeth later when she got the chance in order to get the excess candy off. Last thing she wanted was to get cavities all because Angel wanted to satiate her.
When Charlie, Vaggie and Angel met up with the others, everyone appeared to be waiting for them, leaning on objects boredly. Vox noticed them coming and said,"About time they showed up. I was beginning to think the cellar swallowed them whole or something."
"Took you guys long enough," Husk huffed,"I thought I was going to die of old age by the time you guys showed up. What took so long? Was the package that big and heavy that you had to be down there for that long? And what's with the red stuff on your faces?"
"Uh…" Charlie stammered,"Me and Angel got kind of hungry and we…ate some of the candy apples that Lucifer ordered." Not quite what happened but Charlie figured stretching the truth was better than telling them the full story.
"Are you kidding me?" Vox hissed,"You fucking rummaged through Lucifer's shit!? Are you trying to get us in trouble? We could've been gone by now had you just stopped fucking around!"
"Calm the fuck down, Vox," Angel scoffed,"The bastard has plenty of them in storage. Won't kill him if he misses out on a few."
"To you it may not be a big deal but that prideful jackass will see it differently," Vox scowled,"The bastard hates it when people touch his shit. If he founds out, we're fucked. So I suggest you wipe that candy shit off your faces so we don't get in trouble."
"Yeah yeah, whatever…" Angel muttered before wiping his face, Charlie following after,"Fucking drama king…"
"So now what?" Al said,"We delivered all the packages. Does that mean we can leave this place? Niffty and I are tired of this place and would like to leave…"
"Trust me, the feeling is mutual,"Husk said,"I'm tired of all these corridors and fancy shit. I just wanna chug a beer and go home already."
Everyone seemed eager to leave this palace, however they all paused when they heard unfamiliar humping from behind. They all tensed up as Charlie whispered,"Uh…who is that?"
"I have no idea…" Vaggie said,"Be on your guard…"
The closer the steps got, the more ominous they became. The humming became louder, the melody calm and collected as can be.
When the person stepped into the light, their eyes widened when they saw an all too familiar face(with the exception of Alastor who merely stood back at the ominous presence he realized all too well).
"Oh my god…it's him.." Velvet heaved,hiding behind Vox out of sheer terror.
"Lucifer…" Vox muttered taking a step back in horror at the sight of the King of Hell himself.
'Dad…' Charlie thought nervously.
The King of Pride stood there proud and tall with pale skin and bright blonde hair. He had pink blush stained on his cheek and an almost innocent face that would've deceived most had it not been for his snake-like brown eyes that glowed with malice. He wore a white and red outfit like the Lucifer they knew only it was more regal and old fashioned to fit what the times, carrying an apple cane in his left hand.
The predatory smile on his face was enough to shiver down their spines as a cloud of fear choked the air.
"Hello there, I am Lucifer Magne, pleasure to meet you,"He greeted, grabbing his hat and doing a small courtesy bow,"I didn't expect to see anyone else in the kitchen at this time. Are you the delivery folks that I requested earlier? I was informed you were late but I didn't expect you to stay THIS long…"
"Yeah, we are," Charlie informed,"We just finished up with everything..Hope you weren't too upset about us being late. Ran into some traffic problems, you know that sort of thing? Hehe…"
Lucifer narrowed his eyes at Charlie, looking her up and down before saying,"You…you look familiar. Do I know you?"
"U-Uh…no? You must've mistaken me for someone else.."
"Strange…you do look a lot like my daughter…"
"Must be a coincidence!" She piped up,"Identical strangers are a thing you know…"
"Hmph. I suppose you're right. I'll brush it aside for now…" He shrugged,"Such a shame too, I always wanted her to come back. Maybe my eyes are deceiving me after all this time but for a moment, I swore I saw her in you…."
Charlie blanked, she wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. Especially since Lucifer actually looked upset….
After some careful thought, she opted…to remain silent. It was probably better that way anyhow…
The former TV Demon cleared his throat,"No offense your highness. We're… sorry about your personal problem but we better get going. Our jobs have been fulfilled and it's for the best that we take our leave. Wouldn't want to bother you anymore than we have already."
"Oh no, there's no need to rush. I'm alright with visitors. Besides, it has been a while since I've seen anyone new around here. I haven't seen faces quite like yourselves before. You must be new around here…"
"I understand that but we really should get going. We're a tad late behind schedule and we have other deliveries to do and we can't do that if we're cooped up in this palace…"
"That can be saved for later,"Lucifer dismissed,"There's no need to worry about being behind schedule. Just say the King needed to have a word with you…erm…What's your name again?"
Vox tensed up,"Um..Vincent…My name is Vincent.."
Lucifer narrowed his eyes,"Ah Vincent…I swear I heard of that name before. I believe a coworker of mine had a few complaints about someone who went by that name. You wouldn't know of him now would you?"
"O-Of course not. Why do you ask?" He asked in an edged tone, doing his best to hide his fear.
"Oh no reason, Vincent. I was just messing around," He chuckled,"Say, why don't you and your little group of pals follow me for a group tour? I promise it'll be something that'll peak your interest…"
"I'd rather not.."
"Don't be shy, Vincent,"Lucifer chuckled darkly,"A little adventure never hurt anybody. So why don't you be a dear and shake on it? I won't bite…"
The King outstretched his free hand and smiled..no…smirked in his direction, his snake-like eyes glistening up like a predator eyeing it's prey. It was like the bastard was messing with him purely for the sake of it all while hiding behind an affable mask.
"Well Vincent? I'm waiting…"
Vox reluctantly outstretched his good hand in an attempt to shake on it. Lucifer seemed ready to grab his hand only to unexpectedly grab Vox's injured hand, the former TV Demon's eyes widening when he touched the sigil.
He gasped before trying to pull his wrist away,cursing at Lucifer's iron grip. His heart was pounding. Lucifer stared at him for a moment before his smile grew even wider than before,"I cannot say I was too surprised. The moment I heard your name I knew something was up with you. And to think you had the nerve to come into my palace. Did you think I wouldn't figure you out? That I wouldn't see the mark?"
"The mark?" Vaggie asked,"What the fuck is he talking about Vox? What mark?"
Lucifer chuckled,"Oh, you didn't tell them did you? Well then, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to reveal the truth after all this time. After all, it seems none of you were aware of THIS being here!" He then tore off the bandage on Vox's arm, causing him to let out a pained cry in agony.
"ARGH!"
Everyone's widened when they saw the sigil of Greed on the back of his hand, a sigil that Charlie knew all too well. Her jaw dropped as she said,"Vox..you didn't sign yourself to Mammon did you?
Vox didn't respond, merely looking away to avoid the judgemental glances from his allies. His silence spoke volumes and Angel Dust growled,"Why you fucking traitor! How dare you! Have you been working with that bastard this entire time!?"
"What!? No!" He shot back,"I was just…"
"Just what? Using us so your boss could catch us? What the hell is your problem, Vox!? Charlie stuck up for your ass and you threw us all to the curb!"
"That's not what I did at all!"
"Then what were you trying to do, Vox?" Charlie asked,"Just tell us why…"
"I thought we were friends, Vox…You should've told me…" Velvet said,"Why didn't you say anything? Why?"
Vox opened his mouth yet no words came out. He couldn't say anything even if he wanted to. The looks of betrayal, anger and hatred in the eyes of his allies forced him to stay quiet and he merely turned away in response…
"For all the stubbornness Mammon told me about, you're surprisingly submissive once everything around you crumbles. Tell me, did you ever plan on telling your allies that you were bound to Mammon? Or were you just hoping it'd be swept under the rug?"
Vox scowled at him before hissing,"Let me go, Lucifer…"
"I don't think I will. After all, you are a wanted man and given the rest of your company, no doubt in my mind they are too. I've been receiving quite a few complaints about certain individuals running into my comrades one way or another only to cause trouble and become fugitives. And I can tell you are the ones we've been looking for just by the way your expressions are…"
Angel's eyes then darted to the side.
"And don't think of escaping. I have the entire palace surrounded. You won't get far. Besides, I've heard just about you all to know that you cannot be allowed to roam free. You are all too dangerous and this little chase has to come to an end. I suggest surrendering to your fates, else things might get a bit bloody and I doubt any of you want that.."
"Charlie…what do we do?" Velvet asked, everyone else giving her uncertain looks.
Charlie tensed up at the pressure, her eyes darting at her father and at Vox. Realistically, they stood no chance against Lucifer, much less his entire army. They couldn't run away either and there was no way they'd get all the way to the carriage in one piece.
She took a deep breath before putting her hands up,"Guys…put your hands up and surrender.."
They all seemed a little shocked at her willingness to give up but they all quickly followed after and put their hands up.
"Wise choice, young man.." Lucifer snickered before saying,"Guards! We have several imposters posing as delivery men here. Deal with them accordingly as they are the elementals that the other Deadly Sins have been telling me about. Go through all precautions before putting them in their cells, understand?"
"Yes sir…" They all began apprehending the others and putting them in inhibitor chains to suppress their powers. Angel Dust scowled when one of them took Wiggles,"Hey! Get your hands off my pig!"
"Sir, what should we do with this pig?"
"Hmm…put him in the pen. Perhaps we can make a meal out of him at a later date when he's bigger. He's a little small to eat…"
"NO! WIGGLES!" Angel stretched as he tugged on his chains violently,"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE HURT MY PIG! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
"Guards, please take them away. His screams are getting a tad annoying," Lucifer dismissed and they all began the others away.
Angel then looked at Charlie,"Charles…this is part of your plan right? You're gonna find a way to get us out, not you?" When Charlie did respond, he nervously stammered,"Charlie..please tell me you have a plan…"
Once the others were out of the room, Vox saw one of the guards approaching him with a chain to suppress his powers and Lucifer nodded as a way to give them permission to do so.
The former TV Demon pulled the chain on his wrist in vain before snarling,"Now what? Are you going to throw me in a cell like the rest of them? Because if so, you better stop wasting your time. We both know I'm not going anywhere…"
"Oh about that, Vincent. You see, since your Mammon's property I decided to give you a special cell in the dungeon since he was expecting you soon. It's a bit farther away from all the others and he personally requested this and I'm not one to deny his wishes.."
Vox's eyes widened before he started trying to free himself,"No! I won't go!"
"I wasn't asking if you wanted to go, Vincent, I was telling you where you were going to go" Lucifer said,"Now don't look so sad, Mammon will be so happy to see you. He's told me so much about you and he's been missing you for quite some time. He'll be so happy to have you again. Guards, please take him away…"
Vox shouted,"HEY! LET ME GO! STOP! DON'T DO THIS!" His pleas fell on deaf ears as he was dragged away into his cell at the bottom part of the castle before being shoved inside. He let out a grunt in agony as he rubbed his head,"Ugh…fucking assholes.."
He then looked around, the cell was dark and pretty small all things considered. There was a restroom, a bed and a small windowsill with an iron bar, giving him a small teasing glimpse of the outside world…
"Fuck…" He grumbled before sitting on the bed, it was uncomfortable and stuffed with straw. Shit was clearly made with the most bare-bones material out there and he wasn't fond of sitting in this cell until he rotted,"Now look at what you've got yourself into, Vincent. Just wonderful…"
As he had his head buried in his hands, he snapped out of his trance when he heard someone enter the cell. He jumped when he saw Mammon inside the cell with his trademark grin on his face.
"How did you-"
"Teleportation," He admitted,"It's one of the perks of being someone as powerful as I am. You can teleport anywhere you want so long as you have the location in mind."
He growled,"Figures. Well, I hope you're happy because you caught me. After all this time on the run, you caught me. Are you finally satisfied or do you still wish to torment my thoughts after all this time?"
"Oh Vincent, you're such a funny card, you know that?" He snickered,"I barely did anything to tell you the truth. Sure, I plagued your thoughts and all but this outcome was your own fault. Had you been a bit wiser and not sold yourself to me perhaps you and your friends would be free."
"Shut up! Just shut up!" He hissed,"Are you here to rub it in my face or are you actually here for a reason because I'm not going to sit here as you mock me endlessly."
"And what are you going to do about it?" He asked,"No really, what exactly are you going to do about it, Vincent? You have no power here. The chain suppress your abilities and not only that,but your friends can't help you..or rather, they won't help you."
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb with me, Vincent. It's fairly obvious where I'm going with this. After all this, do you really believe any of your former allies will come to your aid after you sold them like this?"
"I didn't mean to!"
"Unintentional or not, they most certainly see it differently. They think you're a traitor, Vincent, and we know that traitors aren't thought of too kindly even around these parts. It must hurt, doesn't it? Knowing that those who truly considered you a friend can no longer look at you? Even the ones that didn't trust you most certainly won't now. Any chance at gaining their trust has been obliterated and it's all your fault.."
Vox scowled,"It's your fault, Mammon!"
"You should know better than to blame your failing on someone else, Vincent. You're a bit old to be pointing the finger at someone who merely offered you what you wanted. It was your choice at the end of the day and everything you did was of your own accord. You have no one but yourself to blame for where you are."
He fell silent for a moment, uncertain what to say before asking,"So what now? Am I just going to stay here for the rest of my life?"
"Oh no, we'll work something out with Luci since you and your friends still caused a lot of trouble and committed a fair few crimes against us. I'm not certain what will happen to your friends, Luci usually kills people who upset us but I'm more..merciful in that light. I won't kill you, Vincent, after all, I believe you've suffered enough given how none of your allies can even look you in the eye anymore. And to think you did it all for that siren girl. You know she don't love you, don't you? She's just using you to get what she wants…"
"How would you know? You don't know her! Quit making shit up, Mammon!"
"I'm not making anything up. Tell me, Vincent, why do you think her parents gave her and her brother up to me? It was an arrangement in order to keep the fact she was messing around with some peasant boy a secret. And I read her diary, Vincent, her parents showed me the full print. She thinks you're a fool for falling for her and you're not the first. She's done this to many men over the years, you are just her latest victim. You've fallen right into her trap and you didn't realize it."
"No..that can't be true. Why would she save me if she was just trying to use me?"
"To make you think otherwise of course. She was just curious to see how interesting you'd be. All those times she was being nice to you? Making you comfortable and perhaps even flirting with you? It was an all act, because no matter how warm her smile is, that siren's heart is colder than ice itself. What you've seen of Helsa is what she wants you to see…"
Vox felt his heart break with each word, he couldn't believe it yet it did make sense. He always had his suspicions on if Helsa really cared for him but he always shoved them aside in favor of basking in her presence…
The fear that Mammon might have been telling the truth was what got him and he thought back on all the times they had together, wondering if it was all a lie…
"You realize it now don't you? It was all a lie, Vincent, a lie that you were so desperate to believe despite the signs," He stated,"I suppose the phrase 'love makes you do crazy things' is true in this regard. You ignored all the red flags in hopes of getting a girl and look where it got you? Not only do you not have the girl but you've lost the trust of everyone you've ever known. Was it truly worth it, Vincent?"
He didn't respond, merely looking away with a mix of emotions flaring up in his eyes.
Hurt.
Anger.
Shame.
Hate.
Brokenhearted.
In a hoarse voice he asked,"Why are you telling me this, Mammon? There's nothing in it for you to tell me about any of this. What's your reasoning other than rubbing in what a fool I was?"
"I figured telling you the truth would break your spirit, but most of all, it would get you to stop obsessing over that girl that you did all this for. Especially since by now, the guards have already taken her and her brother away just like the rest of your all, we still have a deal with Vincent, and I can offer you many things that she couldn't dream of…"
His voice dripped with venom and hate, "I don't want whatever you're selling, Mammon…"
"Are you certain?" He inquired, stepping closer and grabbing Vox's chin teasingly,"I can see it in your eyes. You're tired…you want the pain to go away, don't you? I can help you with that, Vincent. You just need to let me. I can make all your problems go away with the snap of my fingers..."
Vox's eyes were weary, as if he were exhausted of this situation, of this world even. For a moment, he didn't show any reaction to Mammon's words and he would've thought Vox hadn't heard him until he noticed Vox subtly spreading his legs apart.
He wasn't taking any direct actions but Mammon could see the blonde was inviting him to try him, albeit in a 'go and get it yourself, asshole' way. It was an act of defiance and defeat at the same time, as if Vox knew he couldn't fight back against him but still refusing to give Mammon exactly what he wanted.
Regardless, the Greedy Lord accessed the situation accordingly, quickly shoving Vox to the bed and began attempting to dominate the kiss only to feel a sudden pain in his lips as if he had been bitten. Momentarily he was taken aback by Vox's boldness to bite him, sinking his teeth into his lips and chuckling mischievously at the blood drawn.
Mammon smiled,"My, you've grown quite bold haven't you, Vincent? You were never this feisty. Has that confession done something to your physique to make you more reckless than before? Or were you always this way and merely sought to hide it."
"Fuck you.." He growled boredly,"Just get on with it, will you? I'm not getting any younger and I'm tired of waiting for you to get to it. I'm not going to let you walk all over me like the other times.."
"Oh Vincent, Vincent,you know that's not how it works down here. We'll go at the pace I desire. And don't look so angry, you know you love my touch no matter how much you deny it. Perhaps I need to remind you of those times…"
"I'd like to see you try…"
He grinned,"Challenge accepted…"
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Enigmus-288: Lucifer is a dick, no surprise there and this chapter kind of proves it. Lucifer is an ass and I'm making that pretty clear here and now.