AN: So yeah, really quick, I'm completely making up the lure for the Sins in this. A lot of it is going to be based lightly on HP Lovecraft or games like "Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem" because I'm sadly not creative enough to make everything up on the fly. The reason is I like the idea that the Sins existed before God made Eden, but he was the stronger being and drove the others away.
Chapter One
Tasty Little Nightmare
Belphegor glared at the clock on the wall above her office door. It was rare for her to take patients but when she did, she expected them to show up on time if not early. She expected people to respect her time, to understand that it was a fucking privileged to be seen by her when she could be sleeping and regaining her strength. It was insulting to her to have set time aside to see someone only to be stood up like an ugly nerd for a prank prom date, and Belphegor wasn't having it!
So what in Hell's name made Lucifer, King of Hell and Lord of Pride think she was going to let him book a time for his daughter's checkup only to stand her up?!
Now, normally she would deal with this sort of disrespect with a very heavy dose of PCP to the unlucky bastard and let him trip for a few hours. There was after all no better way of teaching a lesson to someone than a surprise acid trip. It had worked in the past after all, making the few people who had to see her understand to be in her office on the dot.
But somehow the idea of making the King of Hell experience massive hallucinations seemed more like she was asking him to level the Sloth Ring to the ground, rather than teach him a lesson. After all, he had created the Seven Rings of Hell so who was to say a doped-up Fallen Angel couldn't take it away?
Still...
"This motherfucker better have one hell of a good excuse!" Belphegor snarled as she summoned a portal to the Morningstar estate.
She knew better than to just appear in their home, the palace had many safeguards placed on it well before Charlotte's birth, but that didn't help her irritation from slamming her fist hard enough on the door to crack the wood. Once the door opened though, all her manners were gone with the wind as she zipped past the succubi who opened the door. He seemed to be yelling something akin to 'He's flying sheep' but Belphegor didn't care. She just wanted to give the man a piece of her mind and a lecture about respecting her time, king or not!
"Lucifer!" She yelled, her body losing its form for a second as her anger messed with her concentration. "Where are you? Come out you prick!"
Bel materialized in his office, expecting to find the man either bogged down by his seemingly endless stacks of papers and documents or rolling on the floor playing with his daughter. Instead, she found the room looking like a complete disaster zone and a very disheveled Lucifer pacing manically with a wailing baby.
To say Belphagor was shocked to see Lucifer in his haggard state would have been an understatement. She had seen him panicked, stressed, and even in the midst of a full-blown panic attack, but this was the first time she had ever seen the King look like he was going to shatter into tiny pieces. She actually dropped to the floor to stand as she watched the man desperately walk back and forth, trying to calm Charlotte down in his arms, his own face worn and aged with exhaustion.
"There there, Starfire. Daddy's here. Daddy's here," He sounded like he was pleading with the child, completely unaware that he was no longer alone with his daughter in the room nor had he heard Belphegor yelling at him. When Charlie just continued to wail, Lucifer looked like he was close to crying himself. "Oh, Starfire, please. You need to sleep..."
'What the fuck is going on here?'
Belphegor stared in confusion as the Healer side of her started to kick in. Moving quickly over to the pair, she placed a careful hand on Lucifer's shoulder to get his attention. Bel visibly grimaced as she felt the thick layer of grime on his skin, telling her that he hadn't washed in some time before noticing that he was oddly dressed in half his suit and half his pajamas. Even his golden locks looked dull and unkempt.
"What the... Bells? Wha' you doin' heres?" Glossy eyes with massive black bags under them turned to look somewhat at her, his speech slurred as his exhausted brain tried to form words.
"You had an appointment for Charlotte today. You didn't show so I came to kick your ass for it," Belphegor answered, her sand already drifting over him as she analyzed his vitals. "You look like shit."
"Appointmen'?" Lucifer didn't even notice the black dust covering him slowly, his arms constantly bouncing the baby in his arms to try and calm her. "Dats... next week."
"Lucifer it was today," Bel frowned as she shifted her attention to the princess. She looked equally haggard. "When did you last sleep?"
She watched the tired father stare blankly at her, his eyes trying to blink at the same time but failing miserably. Charlotte wasn't in a better state. The baby looked utterly exhausted with her baggy red eyes and tear-streaked cheeks. And judging by the salt rash on the apple-red cheeks, Charlie had been crying a lot.
"I'm... not sure," Lucifer murmured as he swayed on his feet. "Saturday?"
"Lucifer... it's Wednesday," Belphegor looked mortified at his confession. Four days without sleep was unthinkable to her and even then the insomniac King wasn't even sure. "Alright come on."
Urging him to follow, Belphegor used her tail to guide them out of the office and towards Charlie's nursery. It was worrying to see the man so unstable on his feet. She felt she had to be ready in case he would just suddenly keel over. But they managed somehow to miraculously safely reach the nursery. Not that the room looked better, toys were tossed left and right and the bedding was slightly torn as well. Pulling the king close, Belphegor pointed at the crib sternly.
"Alright, put her down," Belphegor sternly ordered as she watched Lucifer stare blankly at her before shaking his head. "Lucifer, I wasn't asking."
"She won't sleep," He whined in a small voice. It was moments like this when the Lord of Sloth was reminded that Lucifer was in fact much younger than her by a few eons. "I've tried. Whenever she drifts off a little she starts screaming and then won't sleep again."
Belphegor paused for a moment and pondered about how to best help her King. Despite being a Healer now, Belphegor didn't actually have the best experience in dealing with others unless she was ordering them around. Before the creation of Eden and Hell, Belphegor had been created by a being called Ulyaoth. If she were to describe him, he was something akin to a jellyfish with an arrogant and foul temper. He believed in order and control, hence why he had created her to try and control his domain without opposition, which had been a laborious and dismal time for Bel. Back then she also had no name as Ulyaoth firmly believed she was an object to be used and disposed of as he pleased.
Thankfully for all his wisdom, Ulyaoth's greed for power, another rival ancient's madness had destroyed him.
Not that it hadn't cost her dearly then. Her powers had diminished greatly once her creator's source was destroyed and she had found herself drifting about on Earth, desperately trying to gather herself back together until Lucifer had found her with Lilith. At the time she had barely been strong enough to appear as more than a speaking dust devil, covering in the darkness. To this day Belphegor wasn't sure why the fallen angel had pitied her, but he had allowed her to borrow some of his power, just enough to form a solid body before he invited her to follow him to his rings, where with time she regained her strength and he gave her a realm to govern.
It was also the reason why Belphegor didn't like the idea of pulling rank on the angel, but she knew something had to be done.
"Lucifer," Her voice turned stern, almost scolding as she held out her arms for Charlie. The angel looked confused for a moment before clutching his daughter close, his wings threatening to come out to cover them both like a protective cocoon. "Lucifer, I wasn't asking."
Taking advantage of his exhausted state, Bel forcefully took Charlie from his arms and put her down in the crib despite her whining. When she started to cry out for her father, Bel was quick to summon a bottle of water for her to drink and gently hushed the baby while blocking the now-worried father.
"Right then, so let's discuss what's going on here," Bel huffed, trying to get Lucifer to focus on her rather than the baby who was now drinking with several sniffles and hic-ups. "You said she wakes up upset, yes? Is this all the time or just when she has to sleep alone?"
"Why do you...?" Lucifer rubbed his eyes in frustration as he tried to gather his thoughts. "I mean.. yeah... the moment she starts to just drift off a little, she'll start crying and wakes up."
"Even if she's sleeping with you?" Belphegor asked, eyeing Charlie quickly as the little girl groggily fought against falling asleep. It made Bel frown because the baby was clearly exhausted and needed to sleep but she was actively fighting it,
"No... well I mean yes... kind of?" Lucifer answered groggily. He was so exhausted but he needed to take care of Charlie first, and to take care of her, he needed to sleep but-. "I've tried letting her sleep with me in our bed, in the rocking chair and she'll fall asleep faster but the results are the same. If I didn't know, it's like she's getting nightmares or something..."
"Did you say... nightmares?"
Unaware that he had piqued her interest, Belphgor turned to focus on Charlie, gently letting her sand cover the tired baby who grumbled at being touched. If it was a nightmare that was pledging the tiny baby, Bel was certainly interested in it. She had never had-
"Bel?" Lucifer's voice called to her and Bel felt herself stiffen. She knew that tone. She knew that Lucifer knew she was interested in these possible 'nightmares' that Charlie might be having and he wasn't a fan of her unique appetites. "Belphegor, what are you thinking?"
She needed to decide fast. Would she explain to him what she wanted to do and argue with him to allow her to 'treat' the symptoms? Or would she just pull a 'I'm older so there' move on him and ask for forgiveness later?
Decisions, decisions...
"Belphegor, if you are planning what I think you are, don't," Lucifer tried to pull her away from Charlie, growling as his hand passed through her. He felt his anger beginning to boil under his skin as his exhausted mind immediately started to go into protective mode. When Belphegor didn't move away from the crib, he started to call forth his demonic side, ready to issue a King's Command. "Belphegor, I said-"
Without warning, Bel turned around and zipped right up into the King's face, throwing him off balance. Lucifer jerked in surprise and stumbled back towards the rocking chair as the Being of dust and sand studied him for a moment as if she was making up her mind about something.
"Alright then," Bel casually answered as she huffed in annoyance. "I apologize, my King."
"Oh... well, alright then," Lucifer was surprised. Belphegor was usually not this easy to deter when she had set her mind to something. "I forgive you. It's just, you looked like you were-what are you doing?"
Belphegor didn't say anything as she held out her palm of her palm. Slowly line the bottom of an hourglass, a small pile of lilac-colored sand to collect. It was deceptively innocent and pretty looking and Lucifer's view better than to trust it. Nothing that came off Belphegor was harmless unless the being wished it to be. She was after all originally a weapon of control for an elder God now long forgotten if not dead. Looking at the dust in her hand, Lucifer looked back at Charlie who was cooing from her cot, trying to call him, before glaring at Bel.
"Wait, are you going to drug my daughter?!" Lucifer looked incredulous as he prepared to get out of the rocking chair, his horns slowly appearing as a threat. "Belphegor if you think I'm going to let you drug Charlie, you've-"
"It's not for the princess," Belphegor suddenly blew the dust right into the unsuspecting Lucifer's face. The King looked shocked for a moment as it hit him directly in the eyes, a look of betrayal clear on his face before he stumbled back into the chair, fighting the wave of sleep that fell crushing on him. "You're being irrational and need sleep. Don't worry. I'll take care of the princess."
Belphegor and Charlie watched as Lucifer tried to give a slurred growl out a command, fighting the good fight to stay awake but before long he was lying back in the rocking chair and slowly began to snoring loudly.
Belphegor had been lucky. If Lucifer hadn't been so exhausted and distracted at that moment there was no way her drug would have worked. And there still was a chance he would banish her to the void after this. It had been a risky gamble that he would see the benefits of her actions first before his rage would make him act.
"Hopefully he'll sleep a few hours from that," Bel mused before she turned to see the distressed infant trying to rouse her father with her cries. "Now then... what to do with you, my little Firefly."
Bel had to give it to her, she wasn't sure how to best deal with the baby. Normally she would just reuse the same trick as before, but the sleeping drug she had hit Lucifer was lethally potent on others and even then there was a high chance that he would wake up fast if he believed Charlie was in danger. Not to mention infants rarely reacted well to being doped and Bel wasn't going to risk her life and everyone else in Sloth's Ring to test it on the Princess, so Belphegor began to rock the child slowly to sleep.
Or rather, she tried to.
Every time Charlie would start to drift off to sleep, the baby would give a jerk and startle herself back awake.
"Like father, like daughter, it seems, so what is plaguing you, my little Firefly?" Bel peered into the scarlet eyes as the infant looked tiredly at him. "Very well, keep your secrets. I'll figure them out regardless..."
It was tempting to use the same trick on Charlotte as she had Lucifer, but Bel knew better. Infants had far weaker bodies than adults and while her sleep powder was almost harmless on beings like Lucifer and the other Sin, she wasn't willing to gamble with the Princess's health. But in order to help her, she needed the baby to sleep.
"Hmmmm, how do the nurses get the patients to sleep?" Bel mused before she started to recall some of the nurses discussing their children during breaks. It had been during one of her many naps in the cafeteria so none of them had noticed her. "What did they say... a warm milk and white noise."
Looking at Charlie, she doubted the baby was thirsty after having drunk all the water before, but white noise... that shouldn't be too difficult after all her whole body was made of sand which was perfect for making white noise. Settling the baby in her arms, Belphegor gently rocked Charlie back and forth, allowing her forever shifting body to make the soft sounds to ease her to sleep. Bel wouldn't sing for her after all. She had no voice for such things.
Thankfully though, because she was so exhausted, Charlie soon drifted off to sleep and Bel returned her to her bed. Now that she was asleep, Bel could really show her talents when it came to dreams and nightmares.
It wasn't unreasonable for Lucifer to be worried when Belphegor had shown interest in Charlie's nightmares. There had been a time when she had been called the Baku by humans, a monster that devoured dreams. And it had been in the early years, when Hell was merely in its infancy, all of them had struggled to form rules and laws to govern each ring. It had been especially hard for Beelzebub, Asmodeus, and Mammon, who had all been young children then as well. So Lucifer had been forced to call upon her, Leviathan, and Satan to aid him in teaching their fellow 'Hellborn' denizens who were in charge.
And by the ancient ones, had she been a terribly messy eater. Those had been dark times.
Of course, with time, she had perfected her methods so that her meals weren't left as puddles but as apathetic drones that lacked any drive to do much in their lives beyond whatever minimal task they were given. The perfect little worker bees so to speak. So it made sense that Lucifer, God's favorite Angel, and Dreamer, had been greatly unnerved when he had witnessed Belphegor feast on the dreams of their enemies, so she didn't blame him that he was afraid of her being near Charlie now. Though it was insulting to think Lucifer thought she would treat her little niece the same way she would an enemy of the realms.
And Bel knew there were better ways of extracting nightmares.
"Alright Firefly," Bel whispered as Charlie's eyes finally shut and her breathing evened out. Allowing a bit of her sand to sweep into the Princess's ear. Belphegor closed her eyes in concentration. "Let's see what this nightmare is all about..."
* * * Hazbin Hotel * * *
In the world of dreams...
Charlie whsuccubiered as she found herself once again in the scary place. It always started the same. First, it was quiet and cold as her mother would set her down and walk away. Then the lights would start flashing as something massive and alien would yell at her all sorts of things she didn't understand. Whsuccubiering, she tried to look for Mommy and saw her standing not too far away, arms open for her. Charlie tried to crawl away from it, but the creature would suddenly reach out after her and wrap a painful tentacle around her leg, pulling her farther from her Mama before covering her in freezing darkness.
She would feel like she was falling suddenly, the world flashing in uncomfortable blurs of figures and shapes that she could recognize when she would suddenly stop, hitting the ground a little too hard for comfort. Again Charlie whsuccubiered in fear as she looked around a room she didn't recognize, the towering gray walls seeming to swoop in over her like a cage. There was the strange lady again who was yelling and shaking another form that looked like a broken doll. Charlie didn't like the woman, she looked like she was a rag doll that had been caught in the acid rain of Hell, the stuffing straining to escape at the stitches. The rotting woman suddenly tossed the broken doll to the side and rushed at Charlie with a fierce roar only for a large spider to suddenly appear above Charlie, hissing angrily at the woman as two of its long legs started to wrap Charlie up in neon green web before tucking her close to it's body. Charlie closed her eyes unhappily as the pair seemed to fight, snarling in a language she didn't quite understand.
The web wasn't scary though. She felt safe in it.
But she didn't want the spider to hold her. She wanted Mommy and Daddy. She wanted their magic to wrap around her like it always did, covering her with love and protection. She didn't want the webs that were holding her tightly, she wanted Daddy's wings. She wanted Mommy's gentle hands. She wanted...
Then she felt it, the magic that was like Mommy's but not.
The magic felt twisted and violent, ripping into her core with the ferocity of all the things that go bump in the night. It ripped at the walls and shattered the windows. She felt the spider shift nervously as the wall splintered and crumbled like her little block towers before she felt pain in her arm and tried to scream.
Her ears hurt from the noise. They were hurting badly and she wanted Mommy.
But Mommy wasn't there.
Instead, something that looked like Mommy clawed its way into the room, skin scorched and black and eyes blazing with fire. Charlie recalled one of the stories her daddy had told her before bedtime where a dragon had appeared and tried and eat the princess before the knight could save her. Daddy always said she was 'his princess' as did a lot of other people when they saw her. Not that Charlie really understood what being a 'Princess' meant.
But here was a dragon and there wasn't any Mommy or Daddy or Knight to save her.
The dragon towered over the three of them, making even the tall spider seem small as it scuttled away from the lady before moving her to hold her towards the dragon. Was the spider giving her to the dragon to be eaten? Charlie didn't want to be eaten by the dragon! She wanted her mommy!
Suddenly there was pain and Charlie looked at her arm to see specks of glittering blood popping up like painful little pearls. The spots hurt but it was the blood that started her more. And as if the scent of her blood egged the dragon on, out of nowhere it turned and attacked the mean lady. The spider barely managed to move out of the way as the dragon tore into the lady, ripping her apart as the air filled with rage, pain, and screams.
Charlie was scared!
She was scared! She was scared and she wanted her Mommy. But Mommy wasn't there and soon the dragon would turn on her and-
"It's all right Little Firefly," A strangely familiar yet foreign voice called to her. Charlie was loudly wailing as she struggled to get free from the webbing that was keeping her trapped when a little ball of light appeared before her. "Goodness me, such a... nasty little dream... so unworthy of our princess."
Hiccuping, Charlie tried to touch the light when it made a loud 'POP' sound and burst into an array of sparkling lights and confetti, revealing her Mommy and Daddy smiling brightly at her, arms open and ready to receive her. Charlotte instantly reached out for them, the spider slowly changing into a tall thin man with a top hat and neon green eyes.
"It's all right, Starfire," Charlie instantly clutched onto Daddy's shirt as he and Mommy brought her close into a hug. "We've got you. Daddy's here now. The monster's gone away."
"Our sweet little Spitfire, don't cry," She felt her Mommy lean down close to kiss her tears away and Charlie sighed in happy relief as the tension in her tiny body slowly drifted away. Peeking behind her, she saw the dragon was gone, banished by the light her parents gave off. "Nothing is going to harm you, Darling."
"Not while we're around." Daddy added, peppering her cheeks with kisses as well.
Charlie giggled as her Daddy brought out his wings.
* * * Hazbin Hotel * * *
In the waking world, Belphegor softly smiled as she watched the babe relax on her chest, a thin line of murky green light slowly being pulled out of the tiny ear. It slithered in the air slowly, like a magician's ribbon being pulled until it formed an egg-sized ball in the air.
It had been interesting to see what had had the little Princess so frightened. It of course hadn't been easy to understand, the baby's memories fragmented after all according to what was and wasn't interesting for her, but Belphegor had gotten the gist of things. However, what was interesting about the nightmare was the dragon. True it was a warped version created from a child's perceptive, but Belphegor had seen enough of its form to recognize Lilith. And given the color of the orb, this wasn't just the fanciful dreams of a child's imagination, but a terrifying memory, Belphegor knew that Charlie had been exposed her her mother's rage.
The question was just, when and why?
There were players in the dream Bel didn't recognize, the spider and rotting woman for one. Had they been servants in the home? But then the room they had been in wasn't one she could recall seeing in the manor either. And then there was the flashing blob from the start...
"What did you and Mommy get up to while Daddy was away?" Bel pondered as she watched the last of the nightmare gather into an orb.
She watched it for a moment before the tiny sphere seemed to shutter and try to zip away, sensing the danger it was in. It fluttered about the nursery like a hummingbird, trying to desperately escape the small room. Belphegor merely chuckled as she moved Charlie to rest in a little whirlpool of black sand before giving chase. The tiny orb didn't stand a chance as it fled, zipping frantically about like like an oversized firefly while Belphegor chased it. She knew she was being cruel, she could easily have caught it the moment it manifested a form but where was the fun in that? Sure she was lazy but sometimes well... even the fattest of cats enjoy a good hunt.
But soon all good things must come to an end, and as the tiny orb started to tire, Belphegor captured it firmly in her grasp. It struggled in her hold, a last desperate attempt to escape before she brought it close to her face, her maw opening wide as she readied to feed.
* * * Hazbin Hotel * * *
Lucifer felt himself clawing himself back to the surface of consciousness. It felt like he had been floating in the water, suspended between being fully asleep and just awake. Forcing one eye open, he groggily wondered why it was he felt he should be angry. Had he had a fight with someone? Was it Mammon or Leviathan? No, he was certain that wouldn't have put him to sleep so why was he-
A flash of muddy green followed by black and teal streaks made Lucifer pause as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. He groggily watched as Belphegor's sand shot about the room, darting after the green ball as she struggled to keep a single specific form. He then realized that the dusty bitch was playing with her food. It was rare to see the entity doing so nowadays, but he did recall during the darker times, it was Bel's favorite form of torture. After all, what was more terrifying than watching a ravenous being eating your dreams and inspirations in front of you, feeling slowly your soul lose its will to do anything beyond what it was ordered to?
But who's dream was she-
"Ch'rli'?" Lucifer gurgled the name.
He groggily turned his eyes towards his little girl, terrified at the idea of her seeing her Aunt showing her ravenous side. He let out a sigh of relief as he saw Charlie laying in a whirl of sand safely asleep and completely unaware of what was going on. However, as soon as he was certain she was safe, Lucifer started to claw himself fully out of his groggy state and stumbled his way over to Charlie, gathering her protectively in his arms as his middle wings unfurled and covered her in protection.
"Give me one good reason Belphegor as to why I shouldn't banish you from Hell?" He snarled in rage, his form shifting to display his horns and tail.
Belphegor however didn't hear him, her eyes focused on the orb as she grinned manically at it. This was normal for her when she had gotten ahold of a particular interest dream or nightmare. Lucifer felt his stomach turn as he watched the Lord of Sloth slowly stretch the dream out like taffy, indifferent as it still whither and writhed in a desperate panic while Bel's mouth grew four times in wide and opened like a neon hole surrounded by jagged edges. Thinking fast, he tucked Charlie's head close to his chest, pressing one ear over his heart and covering the other.
He hated it when Belphegor ate.
Like a ghoul that was half starved, Belphegor bit down into the middle of the nightmare, the greenish shade jerking and sputtering in pain as she tore a chunk out of it. He wasn't sure if Charlie could hear it, being half angel, but Lucifer grimaced as he heard the dream let out a terrified dying shriek of pain that felt never ending to him. He knew Belphegor didn't hear it, he had asked her once, but then again she might be blocking it out as she believed she was a 'polite' eater.
Greenish slim-like blood and drool rand from down her lips as she continued devouring her meal, and it was only when a few remnants were sucked from her fingertips, did Belphegor realize that he was awake. Allowing herself to drift to the floor, Belphegor knelt before her king with a less-than-shameful look.
"I had hoped you would sleep longer than ten minutes, my Lord," She sighed, realizing she was most likely going to get yelled at. "My apologies."
"I ought to banish you completely for this little stunt." Lucifer snarled, making Belphegor pale. Perhaps she had underestimated his protective nature when it came to the princess.
"I only did it for the Princess's sake. You were exhausted as was she. And you're negative energies were feeding off one another," Belphegor calmly explained through her shifting sand was broadcasting her nervousness for anyone to see. "I needed you not to interfere while I... extracted the nightmare from the Princess."
Lucifer was still growling until he felt Charlie shifting in his hold. Looking down between his wings, he felt his heart warm at the sight of Charlie finally sleeping. The little girl had twisted a little to tangle her fingers in his flight feathers, a happy sign of contentment leaving her lips before her thumb found its way to her mouth to suckle.
"I... take it she hasn't slept this calmly in a while?" Belphegor gently asked, knowing that one wrong move would lead to her being deleted from existence, something she very badly wanted to avoid.
Lucifer felt conflicted. He knew Belphegor wouldn't willingly harm Charlie, but he could still remember the days when Bel would rip the dreams out of Hellborn minds, often leading to them screaming and bleeding in ways he didn't know were possible. He had been afraid that Charlie wouldn't understand what her Aunt turned doctor was doing and get hurt in the process. However, looking at his little girl, she clearly having a peaceful dream, clearly, Bel had used a more... peaceful method.
"If it helps, she's dreaming of you and the Queen," Bel offered, hoping maybe to calm the fallen angel a little more. After all, a little buttering up never hurt anyone. "She clearly loved you both dearly."
Lucifer gave Bel a rather annoyed look. He had to admit it was nice that Charlie was finally sleeping again. And yes, he had to admit had she not drugged him, he would have interfered in her trying to remove the nightmare which could have hurt Charlie. But still...
"Are you absolutely sure it's gone?" Belphegor nodded her head. Sighing Lucifer gave Bel one last hard glare. "Belphegor... this is the first and last time you ever pull shit like that again. If you do-" Lucifer allowed his anger to show as not only where his tail and horns out, but the countless eyes he possessed from his angelic form sprouted to glare as the Sin. "-I will make you wish your master had forced you into battle."
Bel bowed deeply for her king, the weight of his absolute command rippling through her being, binding her will to his command.
"I understand, my King," She answered. When she roused from the floor again, she was more than happy to be met with a clearly calmer but still tired King. "I must say it's succubiressive though. That douse I gave you should have killed a herd of elephants. I'd dare say it only worked as long as it did because you were exhausted."
Lucifer sighed as he moved to the rocking chair once more, unwilling to try and untangle Charlie from his feathers. She looked so peaceful now, with no frown on her face or tears or even tension in her tiny body. And given the last few days of sleepless nights, maybe, when he had gotten some sleep too, he would probably admit Belphegor had done the right thing.
Only just maybe...
"You should get some rest as well, my Liege," Belphegor suggested, pointing towards the rocker once more. "You're both exhausted and I'm sure our little Firefly would be thrilled to wake up to find her father there."
"Is that a doctor's order?" Lucifer asked, a lopsided grin on his face as he slowly made his way back to the chair. The idea of napping with his daughter was very appealing.
"Merely a suggestion from one loyal friend to another," Bel answered. It seemed the anger had passed and the king had forgiven her as much as he was willing to do. "May you both have pleasant dreams..."
"Hey, what was it about?" Lucifer asked as he settled into the chair, the rest of his wings coming out to cocoon himself and Charlie like a blanket. "The dream... nightmare. What was it about? I can't imagine what she could have been scared of."
Bel paused as she pondered what she should tell him. Should she say that the dream involved Lilith's demonic form? Was she willing to risk a laborious game of two thousand redundant questions as to how that would have happened? Was she even willing to suffer the likely argument and fight between the couple that would follow?
The answer was a resounding no.
"Children sometimes see things differently from adults. A shadow to us may seen like a monster to them. Perhaps a nightlight will help?" Bel answered before a massive yawn warped her face. "It's hard to say with ones so young."
It had been exhausting getting two royals to sleep and hunting the nightmare. And what a delicious nightmare it had been. She could still feel her mouth metaphorically water at the memory of the flavor. As she headed to the door she paused for a moment.
"Rest well my King and Princess," She gently smiled, trying to discreetly wipe the remains of her meal away. "And do call if Charlie has any more... nightmares. I'm more than willing to... deal with them."
And with that, Belphegor slipped out of the room with a slightly wicked grin.
Who knew that a baby's nightmares could be so tasty?
AN: Sooo yeah... nice going Lilith. You scared you're baby girl going all Mama Bear. This chapter was a challenge to write because I wasn't sure where to place the POV for in the dream sequence. It was also fun to think of another way for Belphegor to be able to harm people without killing them, and giving I 'm imagining her a lot like Sandman, I figured why not have her be a Dream Eater.
And while the concept of eating dreams isn't new, I like the idea that it doesn't make someone brain dead or a zombie, by it just does it so you don't care.
As for how Belphegor eats these dreams. I wanted it to be that in her mind, she's eating them the same way we would a grape, when in actuality it's more like watching a ravenous beast ripping it apart. Sort of akin to something from the old freak shows or something out of Juni Ito's collection.
Some of this story was inspired by the amazing art of aogs47777 ( /dude47777) who has drawn the most effing cute versions of baby Bee, Ozzie and Mammon I have ever seen. Please send them some love. Seriously, their art is absolutely amazing.
I can't promise I'll go into details of how Lucifer met the different Sins or how Hell got set up by him, but I do plan to pepper it in here and there, explaining why it is that most of them respect him as their king despite being older than he is. Because in the words of LadyofHazel "Lest We Forget": "Demonkind do not obey just because you wear a crown or sit on a certain kind of chair."
I would heavily recommend this story as well, though be warned, it can get a bit graphic at times.
Ulyaoth belongs to Nintendo.
Fast question for everyone out there: What sort of nick name do you think Ozzie should have for Charlie? I've been playing with Giggle Bug because him saying Love bug makes me feel like someone's in the background ready to dial 911.