The three of them trudged into Alastor's tower. Charlie had originally planned on going to the penthouse before someone - no one could remember who - reminded them that the penthouse had been toasted. Even through the exhaustion it made her smile; Alastor hadn't protested. She frowned as she looked at him. He was holding his remaining arm to the wound where his other arm had been.

Hopefully it would grow back. Sinners in Hell had one thing going for them: they never truly 'died' unless it was from Angelic weapons. They would come back from even the smallest speck of themselves. …but Alastor's arm was lost to a deal. A deal that Charlie had partially destroyed. Would the strings regenerate too?

She hoped he didn't hate her for that. Losing a piece of yourself like that all because someone was too angry to think…

Alastor led the way up the stairs. The bed was still in the middle of the main living area. He said wearily, "This is where we part ways, my brides."

Charlie was confused. "Wait. I thought that we-"

"Please, let us take things slowly." He was giving his - his enslaver's - version of a frown. He admitted, "I've never…done anything like this. I need time to adjust. To get used to it being… us ."

"Take all the time you need," Vaggie said, smiling.

"Yes!" Charlie enthused. "We've waited a year of engagement. What's a few more?"

"Yes, I suppose we do have time to figure everything out, don't we?" Alastor tiredly laughed and made his way up the stairs. "Good night, my dears."

"Good night." Charlie watched him until he was gone.

"C'mon, Char. Let's get some rest." Vaggie led her to the bed where the two of them flopped down. The feel of the ballgown shifting under her vaguely reminded her that her cherished outfit was destroyed.

The softness of the bed swiftly brought her into the depths of sleep. Her last coherent thought was of Alastor, pained with the stump of his arm wrapped in the dress. And his words… The loss of the dress was nothing compared to what they'd gained.


Charlie was roused from her sleep by the smell of food. Delicious food. It smelled like pancakes. Pancakes, bacon, and… She sniffed more heartily. Oh, there was definitely some oatmeal in there.

She sat up from where she was snuggled into Vaggie's back and neck. Vaggie was still fast asleep. Charlie wasn't surprised; Vaggie had to dodge and weave an out-of-control Alastor. All Charlie did was play dress-up and sing.

Charlie had no idea how everyone knew the lyrics that only existed in her head. It was one of her very few 'powers'. Spontaneous singing. Amusing, but ultimately useless.

Getting up carefully so as to not wake Vaggie, Charlie quietly made her way for the kitchen. She went through the dining room this time, surprised to find the radio was gone. The soft tunes she could hear led her towards the kitchen still. She made it to the doorway to find an interesting sight.

She wasn't surprised that Alastor was cooking. What she was surprised by was the fact that 1. he was dancing rather heartily and somewhat goofily to the music 2. the food was still being balanced by him without tentacles save for one which 3. was at the spot where his arm should have been.

Charlie gulped. That didn't look good. Maybe it really was gone.

It was then that Alastor noticed her. He jovially said as he stopped dancing, "Ah! Good morning, Charlie!"

"Good morning. This was a really good thing to wake up to," Charlie said, leaning against the doorway and sniffing exaggeratedly. "I'll never understand how you can do all this."

Alastor chuckled. "My mother taught me a good deal. I can't cook as well as she did. My food is but a shadow of hers."

That made Charlie have a few prickles of discomfort at the mention of his mother. The last mention was the whole murdering Alastor bit. How could a mother do that to their child?

"How are you doing?" Charlie asked, her eyes traveling back to where a shadow tentacle was replacing his arm.

Instead of an immediate 'good!' or anything like that, he gave it some actual thought. He finally said, "I'm as well as I can be."

Charlie dared, "And…your arm?"

Alastor looked at the stump. "I'm afraid it won't come back."

"How do you know?"

"Because it was part of my deal." Charlie cringed, expecting the golden threads and collar to appear from nowhere again. She relaxed a few seconds later. He assured her, "Sidestepped vague mentions will not trigger any of the numerous clauses. I was as careful as I could be with wording."

"I'd be surprised if you weren't," Charlie said. She cringed as she asked, "So, uhm, are you upset because I lost my temper? And did…that." She didn't dare touch the stump.

"Actually, I think it's a great thing to have happened." Alastor stopped cooking to look at his good arm. "For the first time in years, I feel somewhat free. The threads are gone from this arm." He flexed it. "I feel like I can do a few things that I actually want to do and am not forced to do."

Charlie hesitantly nodded. At least he wasn't angry. Trying to change the topic, she exclaimed, "I'm hungry! How soon will all that be done?"

Charlie knew how to read Alastor better, so she was able to pick out the mild relief at the change. "It's almost ready, my dear! Why don't you go wake our dearest Vaggie up so we may begin eating. And answering questions."

Yes, questions. Charlie had many of them. Alastor could likely only answer a few. It sounded like the deal he made had many, many clauses, one of which was to not talk about it. How obliquely could he reference it to satisfy questions?

She obediently went into the main living area to wake Vaggie up. Once she got to the bed, Charlie smiled. Vaggie had rolled over and was now cuddling a pillow.

How to wake her up? Charlie would normally vote for sudden tackling that led to giggles. But they couldn't spend too much time cuddling or sliding into some personal comfort. Instead, Charlie walked around the bed and leaned into Vaggie's ear.

"Bacon and pancakes," Charlie said as sexily as she could.

"Hm?" Vaggie turned back around to face Charlie. Her nose was twitching as she asked, "Bacon and pancakes?"

"Oh yes. Hot, steaming bacon and soft mounds of pancakes," Charlie murmured.

"Nnnn." Vaggie crawled forward until she was right up against Charlie's chest. "These are my favorite soft mounds."

"Pffffft!" Charlie swatted Vaggie as she stood back up. Her voice was back to normal as she said, "Come on! Let's go eat! Alastor cooked up a good breakfast."

"Alastor?" Vaggie's eye opened wide. "That wasn't a dream?!"

"No." Charlie cradled her fiancee's face. "We broke through ."

"Wow," Vaggie breathed, leaning against Charlie. "I can't believe…"

"Come on," Charlie repeated, helping Vaggie up from the bed. "Let's dig in."


"This was really good," Vaggie said, licking the last of the grits off her spoon.

"Yeah!" Charlie ate the last bite of oatmeal.

"Thank you!" Alastor beamed. This time it was a fake smile.

"You can relax, Alastor," Charlie said reassuringly, reaching out and taking his hand. His hand twitched like he was going to pull away before relaxing somewhat. It was clear he had to put in effort to do it. She smiled at that.

"It's rather hard. Habit and all. Not used to touching like that. Soft and without purpose save for comfort."

"You'll get used to it and like it," Vaggie assured him.

"Perhaps," Alastor said. "As I mentioned, I've never done anything like this. These… feelings in me…" He shook his head. "I don't understand."

"It's okay to not understand quite yet!" Charlie rushed. "It's new to you. It'll take time for you to figure things out. We're fine going slow."

"I'm afraid it will be very slow," Alastor said honestly.

"Again, that's fine." Vaggie reached over and placed her hand on theirs. "Feelings can't really be rushed."

"Good to know." Alastor wiped his mouth with his shadow tentacle and sat it down next to his plate. "Now, I believe we should go into the living area. I'm sure you two have many questions."

" YES! " Vaggie and Charlie said at the same time. Alastor's fake smile shifted into a real amused one.

"You two…" He shook his head and stood. "I will answer what I can."

They all went into the main living area. With a wave of his hand the bed was replaced by the loveseat and couch. There was no table between them this time.

"Who did you make a deal with?" Vaggie asked before they'd even sat down. "Lilith?"

Alastor's ears went down as the golden collar appeared and pulled on his neck. "I can't answer that question," he managed to choke out before the collar vanished.

Charlie and Vaggie looked at each other. It looked like they'd have to be careful with what they asked. At least it wasn't the strings this time.

"I have a question of my own," Alastor said, zeroing in on Charlie. He asked, "Why butterfly wings? Shouldn't they have been Angel wings considering your father only has Angel wings?"

Charlie paused. She hadn't even thought about that. The idea hadn't even popped into her head! She noted, "I have no idea. Maybe it's because I'm Hellborn?"

"If that were the case, then shouldn't they have been bat wings or something similar?" Vaggie asked.

"I really don't know," Charlie said with a shrug. "Maybe it was because of the song? Maybe?"

"Hm." Alastor seemed to have an idea of some sort.

"Why do you think so?" Charlie countered.

"I have an idea but I can't tell you," Alastor replied.

Charlie frowned. That stupid deal!

"Is there anything you can tell us that isn't blocked by the deal?!" Vaggie asked, frustrated.

"Yes, there is plenty to discuss!" Alastor straightened up. "Such as where I was for seven years!"

Charlie blinked. She hadn't ever really thought why he was gone, or where. It was one of those mysteries that she never questioned. She queried, "Where were you?"

Alastor growled out his answer. " Heaven ."

Charlie and Vaggie both gasped. Vaggie asked, "How the Hell did you end up in Heaven?!"

"I was summoned. Trapped, really." Alastor took a sip of tea that Charlie didn't notice he'd had in his tentacle. When had that gotten there? "I was forced to endure that horrible place for far too long. My captor wouldn't let me go back until I made a deal with her." He snorted. "Security up there is too lax. That holy barrier, though… I was prevented from killing, from making deals, from everything . And no one even noticed!"

"Well, yeah. It's Heaven . No one suspects anything," Vaggie said with a roll of her eyes.

"It was terrible. I never want to be there again."

No wonder Alastor had no interest in being Redeemed! He had already experienced it and hated it.

"So, the person you made a deal with is in Heaven?" Charlie asked.

"I'm not sure if she's still there," Alastor admitted.

"She can go back and forth between Heaven and Hell?" Vaggie boggled.

Alastor was about to answer when the collar and strings reappeared. This time they at least let him stay sitting instead of pulling him into the air. As he had said, his right arm was free of the strings. He choked for a few seconds before they vanished again. Rubbing his neck, he said, "I can't say one way or the other."

"Okay." Charlie thought for a minute, then had a question. "Why did you suddenly want to marry me? Us ?"

Alastor's smile grew strained as he said, "I suppose you should know all about that."

"Uh, yeah," Vaggie agreed.

Alastor looked like he was steeling himself as he explained. "Initially, it was an insurance policy. I really didn't think about it until I was combing through my deal's wordings. It was like a flash of inspiration. It would be a good check in balance with the deal."

"What does Charlie have to do with your deal?"

"I very much cannot disclose that," Alastor apologized.

"So, you made us have to marry you to make sure you would be okay and for the political power?" Charlie asked. She would only admit to herself that she was hoping that he cared for them from the very beginning.

" Initially ," Alastor repeated. Now he was leaning forward, his head in his hand. "I'm not sure when things started changing. The most obvious, the thing that made me realize, was when that news reporter hit you, Charlie." He pulled his hand away and clenched it. "The pure rage I felt at her touching you, hurting you . I haven't been that angry in a very, very long time. And then you were able to talk me down . You convinced me not to eat her, simply by asking ."

"That scared you, didn't it?" Charlie knew the answer.

He nodded. "Fear and I are not that well-acquainted. Feeling it beside the other feelings, because of those feelings. I indulged anyway until…" Again, he rubbed his neck. "Then I tried to take it back. Take it all back. And then you two, that mock-up of the penthouse, with myself added…I almost burst from affection, which made the fear bloom until I couldn't control it anymore."

"It's okay," Charlie soothed. She dared to reach across the space to take his hand back in hers. "It's scary, when you can't figure out your feelings."

"Why the black rings? You can't expect us to believe it's only for sucking out our souls if we don't go through with the wedding," Vaggie commented.

"Ah yes. The rings." He looked down at his own, still dug into his finger. "They do have pact magic in them that will do that. The other reason…again, it's related to Charlie. You see, if one of us dies, the other two will too. Theoretically."

"What do you mean 'theoretically'? It's kinda something we need to know for sure," Vaggie grumbled.

"The pact magic for that deal is complicated. I've never done anything so intricate before. Pulling a soul out of someone is one thing. Pulling three souls out and extinguishing their lives is another thing entirely," Alastor explained.

"So you needed your own ring to connect us," Charlie said slowly, trying to understand.

"Yes."

"That explains that. But what about me? Why trap me too?" Vaggie asked.

"That one is petty," Alastor admitted. "I didn't want to have to do anything sexual with Charlie and I thought it would be funny if your soul got pulled out and destroyed because of course you would refuse."

"Of course," Vaggie said sarcastically.

"Alastor, it's very brave of you to have told us all of this," Charlie said proudly.

"You would think so, wouldn't you?" Alastor looked directly at them. "Do you have any other questions?"