A/N: This chapter brings in a lot of connections/past background for Angel Dust and a fair amount of Italian is used as a result. Apologies in advance, and I've done my best to summarize or translate in the narrative flow, but direct translations are at the bottom note as always.

Chapter 9: White Rabbit

"So…you need some kind of connection…thingy?" Lucifer asked. His face was the picture of confusion as he stood across from Vince with one hand on his chin supported by the other holding the elbow. They were standing in the therapist's waiting room the next day while waiting for Emily to arrive and take him back to heaven for his little supplies trip.

"One of the best defenses we can give this network is a source that's not gonna be controlled by some randos or this Vox guy," Vince stated. "Which means that, ideally, I need you to set something up cause the only other options Charlie knows of are all owned by the locals. I was thinking as the, ya know, assumed ruler you would have access to something better." He shrugged slightly awkwardly. Maybe he'd been a bit presumptuous with this plan if Lucifer had no idea what he was talking about.

Lucifer tapped his chin in thought. "I mean...I don't really know anything about how all this technology stuff works. That was more Lil-" He stopped and cleared his throat before looking away, "Well it's really just not my forte."

"Maybe you could reach out to Uncle Ozzie or Aunty Bee?" Charlie suggested as she bit her lip. "I know they have options we don't have in Pride. Perhaps they could help explain what we need to do?"

"Ooo, great idea sweetie," Lucifer smiled and pointed at Charlie, "Ozzie does have a business he runs down in Lust that's 'online' so I bet he'd know!" He tossed his cane up and caught it with a grin before summoning his phone, "I'll give him a call real quick! I'm sure he's up by now."

Lucifer stepped off to the side of the room to make his call and Vince took a moment to just marvel at the new surreal nature of his life- well afterlife. He was gonna help build a wifi network to keep demons in Hell at bay, and he was getting assistance to do so from the devil himself. Not to mention that the process would also involve working with a demonic radio host that could control radio frequencies. His sister was never gonna believe him when she showed up decades from now and he told her about this.

Vince's face took on a wistful tinge thinking about her and his other siblings. He looked away to an empty corner of the room and blinked away the sting of tears. This was not the time. He could get emotional over his family later.

Thankfully a portal opened to his right to distract him, and Vince turned to see Emily's smiling face peek out and wave at everyone before she hopped on through. "Hey guys!" She grinned and met Charlie for a big hug before turning to Vince, "I'm so sorry if I got the incorrect items last time. I don't have much experience with modern human…stuff."

Vince waved her off, "It's no biggie. I was able to use it for something else instead. I just don't want you to feel like you've wasted your time or messed up when I'm probably just not explaining my needs well enough." He shrugged at the last bit. There was only so much he could dumb things down as you just got to a point where someone had to at least know what the base components were.

"Great news!" Lucifer exclaimed as he walked back over, "Ozzie said he can fit in a visit later tonight." He made an annoyed face at his phone, "Apparently he thinks it's hilarious that I don't know how to do something 'so simple', but whatever. This Internet thing is soon to be acquired!" He grinned proudly at everyone and Vince returned it with a soft one of his own. Those scattered and forced Sunday school classes as a child did not prepare him for a cute and adorable devil, but then he'd always hated attending so maybe he'd just missed that part while tuning it all out.

"Sounds great," Vince replied, "I definitely want to be here for that though, so what time should we be back by?"

"He said he could come by after dinner," Lucifer stated, "So any time before then just to be safe should work. I let him know he was welcome to join us here, and Ozzie said he'd think about it. Said he'd text me to give me a pick up time after he spoke to his 'froggy'...whatever that is."

Charlie clapped her hands in excitement, "Oh my gosh it's been so long since I've seen Uncle Ozzie. Eeee! I'm so excited! I'll have to let Jax know to prepare extra food!"

Vince started to ask when dinner normally was as his meals had all been delivered so far, but a sound behind Emily caught his attention. Apparently she hadn't closed the portal behind her, likely planning to quickly go back after getting him, and a new figure had fallen face first through it. They lifted their head to look about and Vince felt his eyes widen when he saw their face.

"Nonna?" he squeaked out embarrassingly.

She locked eyes with him, clearer than he could ever remember seeing them and filled with genuine relief, as she ran to embrace him in a tight hug. She was babbling in Italian into his chest and he did his best to try and understand her. He was still learning, so between the speed, tears, and muffled speech he was maybe catching every other word

Vince looked about the room to see three very shocked faces before him and two more peeking out from their office doors. There was a brief flash of movement in the portal again, but nothing appeared so he dismissed it as a trick of the weird double lighting it caused. His own shock finally subsided, Vince returned her hug and tried to sooth her with calming shushes and rubbing her back.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize I would be gone so long, or that it would upset you so much. Mi uhh, mi dispiace, Nonna."

"Soooo, who's this?" Lucifer asked.

Vince sighed, "She's my only family in Heaven, or at least the only one that hasn't reincarnated. I never met her before dying myself, but she's apparently been living in the long term ward since her death with her memory completely shot. Her name is Rosa, but the folks in my neighborhood suggested I call her Nonna as an honorific cause she's old enough to be my great grandmother based on her death date."

He frowned down at her, "I didn't know she'd gotten so dependent on my visits. My Italian is shaky on a good day, but thankfully she understands English perfectly fine. It's just my learning curve that's keeping me from understanding her fully. I have no idea how she got out of such a heavily monitored ward though." He looked at Emily but the angel, having just pulled her head out of the portal after looking back at the room beyond it, seemed just as confused as he felt.

"I had visited that ward last night, but I opened the portal in Sophia's office this morning just so I could be discreet. This is highly unusual," Emily stated as she walked over. "Ma'am, I'm not sure how you followed me, but you must let us take you back. This isn't a nice place to be for…well someone like you."

Vince felt Nonna tighten her grip around him and shake her head. Her muttering increased in speed, but was still barely audible as she continued to speak into his chest. He let out another sigh. So much for their plans. This was going to take all day if she slipped into one of her episodes.

Lucifer cleared his throat and walked over, "Let me see if I can talk to her. Signora, deve guardare da questa parte così possiamo sentirla."

Nonna loosened her grip slightly and turned her head to look at Lucifer. He smiled pleasantly back at her before speaking again. Vince couldn't make out more than a few words of what they were talking about due to their speed. His name and something about travel? Family? It was well beyond his few months of scattered immersion lessons to say he knew for sure.

Lucifer's face started to shift to something a bit more reserved as they spoke, and he sent thoughtful glances at Emily several times. The two therapists had finally stopped eavesdropping in their rooms and were instead whispering to each other a few feet away behind the desk. While not pleased with this wrench in his day, Vince squeezed Nonna a little tighter. It felt like something bigger than an amnesiac making a jail break was going on around him, and it left him feeling off footed and out of the loop. A not too uncommon occurrence since he'd come to this hotel honestly, but those were mostly just miscommunications. This was something else.

Patting her shoulder with a kind smile, Lucifer turned from Nonna to address the room. "Well she uhhh…she says she doesn't want to leave Vince's side…but that she also won't go back to ummm her room. So yeah…" He trailed off to look at Emily, "I'm uhhh, not sure how you want to handle this."

Emily bit her lip and twisted her fingers nervously, "Oh I don't know why she's so upset. We take excellent care of those suffering from extreme life trauma. I don't visit the long term ward often, but everyone has always been happy when I do come by! I've never seen a reaction like this before! It doesn't make any sense. I don't want to force her back when she's so upset, that's so mean, but we can't just let her stay here alone while I escort Vince back."

"I can watch her," Ren spoke up and everyone turned to look at them. "I've only got planning and down time today so it would be no trouble at all to keep her company." They smiled kindly at Nonna and started to walk over. Vince felt her hand tense against his shirt as they did so. "That should give Vince time to get what he needs and for Emily to find out what happend."

"Oh that would be a great help," Emily sighed in relief, "Thank you so much, Ren. Maybe you could talk with her and find out more about why she's so upset? Or how she was able to follow me?"

Ren stopped a few feet away and shook their head, "I'm afraid I don't speak Italian." They looked to Lucifer, "Did you have plans today? Or could you stay and help translate?"

"Unfortunately I do have to go resolve some dispute Mammon has going on with one of his employees," Lucifer frowned, "Or former employee now I suppose, so I won't be back until later when I bring Ozzie by."

Ren hummed in thought, "Well that does make it a bit less productive, but I'm still happy to keep her company."

"Actually…I think I know a work around for that," Charlie spoke up timidly, "Husk said he knows a lot of languages, remember? So since he knows French, maybe Italian is one of them? I can go ask, but we'd need one of those charms to disguise her while she's out in the hotel as he's on desk duty today." She turned a pleading look at Lucifer. "Dad, would you be able to make one that could last until the evening? Please?"

Lucifer scoffed, "Well of course, sweetie." He smiled at Charlie before turning a questioning look to Emily, "Would that be okay with you? I know this is a bit of a slapdash plan, but she should be perfectly safe in the hotel. We can say she's a potential resident, and Ren can always bring her to their office if people get too nosy."

"I can also check in on them when I'm free, and she can eat with Vaggie and me at lunch if you're not back yet," Charlie smiled, making sure to shoot her winning smile at Emily and Nonna.

Emily bit her lip again in thought. Vince could tell the idea didn't sit well with her, and he wasn't thrilled either, but it seemed like a good bandaid measure for the moment. He definitely didn't want to leave her alone and unable to communicate. Vince pulled back to look down at Nonna. She had a thoughtful look and a small smile on her face as she inspected Charlie and Ren.

"Nonna," he spoke up and she zeroed in on his face with that startling focus again, "I have to go…shopping. Would you be okay with staying with some of my friends until I get back and then we can talk? Figure things out?"

She pursed her lips in displeasure. "Resto qui ad aspettare?"

Pretty sure he picked up on the right words, Vince nodded, "Yes you'd stay here and wait for me to come back." He gestured to Ren and they walked over to the other side of Lucifer and fully into her view. "This is Ren. They'd keep you company while I'm gone, and this is Charlie. She is the owner of this hotel. They're both very nice people and new friends of mine."

Nonna gave them both a small timid smile before turning scared eyes up at him, "E poi resto qui con, Vincenzo?"

Vince sighed, "I don't know if you can stay here with me." Nonna gripped his shirt again, "I'm working here for a bit and it's not a safe place to just…hang out." He could feel his resolve breaking and he turned a pleading look to Emily to which she gave a small nod before he looked back at Nonna. "We can talk about that later when I get back, but I promise that if you don't wanna go back to your…old room, we'll figure something else out, okay?"

"Bene," Nonna sighed and nodded her head. She looked up at Vince and gave him a loving smile before reaching up the short distance to tap his cheek with her palm, "Sei un buon ragazzo."

He felt his face flush at being called a good boy as he'd been almost forty when he'd died, but just ruffled his hair and shrugged. "Well I try to be, Nonna." He finally stepped out of her grip and passed her off to Ren. "Ren and Charlie will take good care of you while I'm gone. I promise."


Angel stifled a yawn as he stretched his sore and bruised body while he walked into the hotel. Late nights that bled into morning shoots always wore him down, but that's what his black out curtains were for. Well that and to keep out anyone trying to peep in on him. They gotta pay for that privilege. A few blissful hours of sleep and snuggles with Fat Nuggets though and he'd be ready to party by dinner.

Used to be he'd do a line of his name sake to help erase the events of a day like today, but he'd gone clean since before they built the new hotel and it shocked him to find he wanted it to stick this time. The first few months had been the worst with the withdrawals, but with Husk and Charlie's support and now Sophia's guidance, Angel felt like he might actually have a chance at seeing his Ma and Sis again one day. A grimace spread across his face as he thought of his twin sister. The last time she'd seen him had likely been at his funeral or maybe even finding his body after his overdose.

The next time he saw Molly, he wanted it to be with a clear mind and not a hint of drug addiction in sight. He was determined. He could do this. Val's bullshit smoke was out of his control, but that didn't last long term anyway. Angel had to start thinking of ways to break free of his contract to truly get free of that too, but after seeing Ashes' pimp come for her this week it had pulled on his own fears. He knew he'd need time to muster up the courage to remember his contract details again and see what he could do, if anything.

The exhaustion of the day seeping in as he walked further into the hotel, Angel went to simply wave at Husk as he walked past when people at the bar this early caught his eye. It was Ren and some unknown woman sitting there talking with Husk. She had that freaky 'too human' look like that new Sinner he'd seen Charlie giving the tour to some time this week. Always in search of some juicy gossip, Angel drew on his wells of stamina to keep him up a little longer as he detoured to pull up to the bar instead.

Husk had a weird sort of polite smile on his face that Angel only saw him use around the Winners. Very 'customer service', if out of practice, but it was the speech that caught his ear as he got closer. His face melted into a flirty grin as he sat at the bar, head propped up with one of his upper hands as he leaned onto the bar top. "Oo Husky, you didn't say Italian was one of ya languages. Yous been holding out on me, caro mio?"

Husk smirked and rolled his eyes, "Well you never did ask after that group session, so I don't see how that's my fault." He began pulling the ingredients for Angel's usual drink, so Angel turned to get a look at the newbie. She kinda resembled that new guy as well, but had a dress on like from when he was alive. He'd not seen anyone in that style in decades outside of a drag show. Maybe it was influenced by thoughts of his family just now, but it gave him a pang of homesickness to see it worn in earnest that he thought he'd long outgrown.

"So who's the broad? Another new sign up?" He smiled, "Ya gots a name doll face?"

The woman went from relaxed to tense as he spoke, and quickly turned to make eye contact with him. "Perché parli così?"

Angel raised an eyebrow at her, "It's just hows I talk, what's it to yas?"

She blushed and apologized for being rude before grabbing a napkin and pen near her own drink and bent over it to draw. Angel thought it was weird behavior, but kinda sweet. Sinners didn't usually act this nice and one dressed as she was usually meant they'd been around long enough to learn English by now.

He snuck a glance at Husk and Ren, "So what's her story then?"

Ren sighed, "It's complicated."

"Ain't that the fuckin truth," Husk scoffed and then looked around the lobby before leaning in to whisper at Angel. "Don't tell the new guys, but she's a Winner stowaway. Snuck in when Emily got here. Ren's keeping an eye on her while I'm acting as translator until Emily and that Vince guy get back."

Angel sat up and waved both sets of his arms back and forth, "Woah, woah. woah. Wait a goddamn second, are yous telling me she ran away from Heaven?!"

Ren shushed him and Husk growled, "I just told your ass to keep this quiet!"

"Well excuse me if it's a big fuckin' shock ta hear someone wants ta leave the place I've been working my ass off to get in ta," Angel aggressively whispered as he leaned over the bar top at Husk.

"It's not what you think, she's not a typical Winner," Ren stated before setting their hand on the woman's shoulder. "Not that there's anything wrong with you. You just have a…unique case."

The woman paused in her writing to take a sip of ice water before mumbling something about how Ren could just say she was broken as that's all anyone else did. Angel raised an eyebrow at that and looked at Husk, knowing the man understood her too.

"Okay, then explain why the little birdie thinks she's broken enough to not wanna be in Heaven," Angel said as he gestured to the Winner.

Ren sighed again before quietly explaining how she wasn't actually trying to leave Heaven and about the long term residents in the Calming Homes. How they often had severe cases of memory loss and were kept in an isolated area to keep them from being overwhelmed by others while they worked through their trauma. Apparently this lady, Rosa, was one of their oldest residents as most eventually regained enough of their memory to leave with family, or choose to reincarnate rather than stay in Heaven as an empty shell of their former selves. Her name tickled at Angel's memory, like he'd heard it before, but it was a pretty common Italian name so he figured that's all it was and brushed it off.

"Well she ain't acting like no empty shell," Angel pointed out. Rosa was still focused on her writing or whatever and was moving the pen very slowly, but Angel couldn't see what was on the napkin.

"Not now, no," Ren agreed. "We don't know what happened to trigger this, but it's potentially a fierce love for her suddenly absent family member. Love can be a very powerful motivator, and as far as I know she has no other family in Heaven. Sophia and I have some theories, but for now," they shrugged and gestured to Rosa. "We're keeping an eye on her until Emily and Vince return. We've also been trying to figure out how she slipped out, but she just says she was following the nice angel that knew where Vince was. Rosa is insisting she doesn't want to go back to her old room, so we'll have to figure out a solution tonight. "

Husk scoffed, "I can't blame her. Sounds an awful lot like she was being kept in a gilded cage." He raised an eyebrow at Ren, and Angel was surprised to see that they didn't attempt to refute the statement. Merely tilted their head in acknowledgement before humming in thought. Angel took a sip of his drink and exchanged a wide eyed look with Husk. Sounded like something fishy was going on in Heaven to him no matter how Ren was denying it. This was reminding him a bit too much of those asylums from when he was living.

"Bene!" Rosa gleefully declared as she held her napkin up before presenting it to Angel, "Parli così, sì? Cos'è questo?" She smiled widely and Angel startled at the napkin being shoved in his face as he grabbed it. Poorly drawn as it was, he'd still know that landmark anywhere.

"Wait, you weren't askin' why I talk like this cause it was weird. Yous was askin' cause it sounds familiar?" Angel asked. Rose blushed again as she nodded and said yes. Then jabbed at the napkin and asked what it was and why did his voice make her think of it.

"This here's tha Statue of Liberty, doll. In the good old Big Apple herself," Angel explained and Rosa wrinkled her brow in thought, "Maybe yous was from there, like me? Or had some family there?"

Rosa looked away and clenched her hands in her lap. Tears started welling in her eyes as she shook her head and she got up from the bar to go sit on one of the couches. Legs pulled up and arms wrapped around her knees. Angel set the napkin down and looked back at the other two. Husk was looking at the gal with pity, but Ren had a thoughtful look on their face as they tapped their chin.

"You look like you got an idea brewin," Angel remarked as he finished off his drink, "So spill."

Ren sent them a side glance before looking back at Rosa. "There's…something Sophia and I have been discussing. We've been talking about memory loss in the afterlife recently, but we don't have more than subjective information so…" They tilted their head towards Rosa and Angel squinted, not understanding what they were implying.

"So you wanna use this poor woman as your test subject?" Husk asked with no small amount of surprise. "I gotta say, I expected better of you lot than to use somebody like that."

"No, no," Ren insisted with a dismissive hand wave, "We've merely discussed that advocating for her stay while Vince is here setting up the network could help confirm or deny things. That'll only take a few weeks, according to him, but she's already showing more spark than she has in decades according to Sophia's knowledge of her case."

Husk frowned, "That seems like a big ass risk for someone in her state. I know they got you two on that schedule with escorts, but if she could wander out of Heaven, then what makes you think she wouldn't slip her guards here?"

"Well we already told Baxter earlier a tale about her possibly checking in," Ren started, "I'm sure something could be built on that, but you're right that it would be a short term risk."

Angel tuned them out as they kept talking about the broad. He frowned as he thought about the implications of what Ren was saying. If there was a memory issue caused by trauma in Heaven that got people stuck in an asylum-like hospital, and it could be so bad that they didn't stay…His mouth felt dry thinking at the possibility that his Ma and Molly might not even be there if he did make it up. Being in the mafia hadn't exactly been all sunshine and rainbows for any of his family members. If they were in that place, would they even remember him? Was he doing all this betterment bullshit for nothing?

He gripped his glass tighter while his lower set of arms clutched against his aching heart. "So what kinda memory problems are yas talkin' about?" Angel interrupted as he attempted to keep the quiver of emotion out of his voice. "You and Sophia seem fine, so it's not everyone…right?"

Ren was quiet for a lot longer than Angel would've liked before finally replying, "No. It's not everyone. Someone like Rosa here had to suffer something terrible in their life to make them forget everything when they arrived. It's fairly common for the brain to block out the memory of traumatic events to cope, but it can go to extremes with violent deaths. The vast majority of souls are very happy, I assure you, and we help the ones that need some extra assistance adjusting to their new afterlives in the Calming Homes before they move out and establish themselves in one of the many neighborhoods. Those in long term care however don't seem bothered by the memory loss, and clearly she is now, but Sophia and I think it's worth giving her the opportunity to try and recover more. Perhaps more harm was being done by babying her than letting her mind make new connections and move on, but the angels make those decisions, not us therapists."

Angel turned to look at Rosa once more and saw she was now examining the radio Smiles had put on the table a few weeks back. "Hey I wouldn't mess with tha radio toots." Angel advised her, "I don't think we gots anything playin' that ya wanna hear." Angel struggled to remember what Al's morning broadcasts were like, but he rarely caught them so he was coming up empty.

Rosa had looked at him and then back at the radio before taking a deep breath and pointing at it. "Radio?" She slowly pronounced it, mimicking his speech pattern.

Angel smiled and nodded, "Yeah, 's what I said. Good job, toots."

She smiled and then furrowed her brow as she ran a hand over it again, "Vici- no." She gritted her teeth and Ren walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay," they said, "I know it's frustrating, but if you try to force things you could make th-"

"Sì, sì- no," she interrupted with the energy of someone who's been told that many times. She frowned and gestured at Angel, "No, sì. Come sì dice?"

He looked at her confused, not sure what she wanted him to tell her what to say when Husk spoke up, "I think she wants you to say the word 'Yes'."

Still confused, Angel looked back at Husk, who just shrugged, before he turned back to Rosa and did as she asked. Rosa slowly and carefully repeated the word to herself a handful of times until it sounded surprisingly natural considering she'd only been speaking Italian so far. Maybe she really had been from his part of the world, or perhaps knew people in Heaven that were. Angel fidgeted with his drink as the thought occurred to him that she might know his family if they'd been kept in the same place as her. He tried to think of a way he could try and ask her or Ren about it, but his tired brain kept drawing a blank as he watched her odd behavior.

Rosa clapped in delight before ignoring Angel's earlier warning and turned on the radio. A slow jazz song was playing and Rosa leaned back into the couch with a pleased sigh as she closed her eyes to listen. Her hands mimicked playing piano keys against her thighs along to the music.

"Interesting," Ren mumbled. One hand over their mouth as they observed Rosa. "I wonder if…" They trailed off and Angel was gonna ask what they were thinking when Alastor began broadcasting.

"Well that concludes our morning segment, dear listeners! Be sure to tune in this afternoon as the tea is piping hot, hot, hot! And it's not just here in our devilishly delightful Pentagram City, but down in Greed Ring as well! Death, betrayal, confessions of love, and more await! Until then, stay tuned and let the lovely Janice delight you with her killer song selections."

'Butcher Pete' began playing after he signed off, and Angel could feel his eyes roll up inside his head. It might not be from the roaring twenties, but would it kill Smiles to play something from the last decade? The weird Winner lady seemed to like it just fine as she happily tapped her feet to the music, so Angel turned back to Husk and took a sip of his drink. He needed to know if this broad could know his family without giving too much away. Thinking back on the start of the conversation, he finally got an idea.

"So who's this Vince guy ya both keep mentioning?" He asked. "Another Heavenly guest I'm guessing? Since ya said she'd made her jailbreak lookin' for 'em an all."

Husk hummed in confirmation as his gaze swept over the lobby for any potential eavesdroppers, "Princess has brought in a wringer to get the hotel its own network free from Vox's manipulations, if what I'm hearing is true."

"Ha!" Angel scoffed, "I'll believe that when I fuckin' see it." He took another sip of his drink, "What does he got some kinda blessed connection that'll keep demons out?"

"I ain't even gonna pretend to understand how any of that shit works," Husk frowned at Angel's own phone before he shrugged, "but they are getting the tech from Heaven, so it might be something like that. Guy is a newbie too so maybe that'll give 'em a leg up as well. Knowing newer tricks than Vox and his cronies."

Angel shrugged, "I ain't gonna hold my breath even with that. Vox can do some freaky shit." He frowned and downed the last of his drink. Val was always making eyes at Vox whenever Angel saw them together, and while he knew he shouldn't care after all the years and pain with Val, it still stung to see how far he'd been discarded.

Filling away the info and making plans to corner this Vince guy for info, Angel stood to leave the bar and finally go to sleep, but stopped at the sudden crackle of radio static behind him. He turned to see Alastor just finished forming from shadow behind the couch Rosa was sitting on and was giving her a curious head tilt and once over.

"Well now, what new sorrowful Sinner has graced us with their presence?"

Rosa seemed to think his voice was coming from the radio still and between that and the static decided to smack it on the side as if she was trying to fix it. Alastor's eyes narrowed and Angel sat back down. No way was he leaving someone who could help him connect with his family in the same room as that psycho.

An idea came to him for a bit of fun before bed, and Angel spoke up in Italian to let Rosa know the radio wasn't busted, just that the person behind her had a funny voice cause he worked there. She gave him a startled look before smiling and turning to look behind her. Alastor looked at Angel with annoyance, and Angel smirked back knowing the man didn't speak a lick of Italian. He'd have to make a point to speak to Husk only in Italian next time the guy was being a prick. This was gonna be fun.

"This is Rosa," Ren introduced her from their place by the couch, "Rosa, this is Alastor. He's one of the staff members here."

The therapist went on to explain Rosa's memory situation in very broad terms. They added that she had arrived with Emily but she was being relocated from her old residence and would not be staying for long. Angel had to exchange raised eyebrows with Husk at how impressed he was at the not quite a lie the explanation was. Alastor seemed to take all this info in stride while he eyed up the woman in a way that Angel immediately didn't like. After what happened with Ashes the other day, he didn't trust the asshole not to mess with her.

Rosa had stood while Ren spoke and waited till he was done to offer a quick curtsey in greeting before saying she was pleased to meet him and some other nice crap. Angel was more focused on the subtle annoyance on Alastor's face, likely from not understanding her, though his eyes had lit up at the word 'radio'.

Alastor smiled, "I'm afraid I cannot understand a single word you've said, my dear, though perhaps our mutual friend would be willing to translate."

Bait taken, Angel smiled as he leaned back against the bar, "Yeah, she says to fuck off and that your radio show sucks ass."

Rosa gasped and turned a confused scowl at him, before looking back to Alastor to assure him she said no such thing. At Alastor's polite but annoyed look, she stopped speaking and balled up her fists before sitting back down. Her arms wrapped around her chest and she frowned down at the ground.

A pang of guilt washed through Angel and he crossed his own arms in annoyance. He'd only meant to piss off Smiles. Getting on Rosa's bad side was probably not the smartest thing when he was hoping to pump her for info about his family, but he hadn't expected the broad to look so hurt by the prank.

"Fine," Angel sighed, "She actually said she's pleased ta meet ya and then something about yous being on the radio. I wasn't really payin' attention though." Rosa looked back up at him with a hurt smile and Angel did his best to give her an apologetic one in return. He supposed it was kinda cruel to lie like that when she could understand but couldn't refute him.

"Well it's always a pleasure to meet a fellow radio enthusiast," Alastor declared as he did his freaky shadow teleport to the other side of the couch instead of walking like a normal person. Rosa startled at his sudden shift before she stood to move to the far edge of the couch near the bar. Angel had thought it was to get away from Alastor, but was surprised to see her smile when he took up a seat at the other end

"Now with our translator secured," Alastor sent Angel a lidded look that had made him roll his eyes. He would not be playing babysitter to all of this for much longer, thank you very much. His exhaustion was telling him Husk and Ren would keep Alastor on good behavior just fine without him. "Tell me my dear, is there something in particular that you wished to discuss about my broadcast? Perhaps to compare it to the ones you listened to before your arrival here?"

Angel dutifully translated that she only listened to the end, but that she could not remember the last time she had heard someone speak on it with such a familiar sound to their voice. She then bit her lip and stared at the radio and Alastor's eyes lit in curious delight as he asked if she had perhaps remembered something more from her time as a result.

Rose blushed and muttered something Angel didn't quite pick up before walking around the table to face them all. His eyes widened as she adopted a ready position pose used in old dance numbers and put on a charming smile.

"Today's performance is brought to you by Philco Radios. Your trusted manufacturer for all your wireless technology needs." She recited in clear English with an accent similar to Smiles' radio voice, but with a mocking intonation to it. She smiled at their surprised faces before dropping it and blushing again as she walked back over to sit down on the couch.

Angel blinked rapidly, "What the Hell was that?"

"Did interacting with the radio spark a memory, or did it have to do with Alastor's voice?" Ren asked. Their eyes lit up in surprise, and Rosa nodded happily in response as she gestured to both the radio and Alastor. Alastor seemed just as pleased if the wide eyes on his face were anything to go by. Probably thought he could take sole credit when he'd not even been in the room when Rosa had turned it on.

Ren hummed thoughtfully but didn't say more. Angel could only guess it was because they didn't wanna share their memory loss theories with Alastor, and hey, who could blame 'em?

Alastor began to play snippets of various songs and ad jingles from his time using the radio on the table and watched Rosa's various reactions to them. Angel continued to translate but he frowned unhappily as he watched them interact. He really was torn about having this lady stick around cause Alastor was already treating her like some shiny new toy to entertain himself with. Sure he felt bad for her and hoped her memory kept improving so he could see if she knew his family, but if Smiles could do what he did to Ashes, what would he try to get away with around a good and trusting person that had no memories?

For the first time since Heaven had decided to approve of Charlie's hotel, Angel wasn't so sure that it was a good idea to have these Winners hanging around.


"I'm sorry but I'll need Seraphim approval for the rest of the items on your list," the angel behind the desk smiled apologetically. "These are rather unusual items and the system has flagged that it will cover quite a lot more than the private residence you are currently residing in. It is therefore beyond the scope of a reasonable request. I'm sure you understand, and I apologize for the inconvenience this may cause you."

Vince sighed and ruffled his hair. He agreed that it made sense, and that he too would have found someone needing enough equipment for a private network that was over one hundred thousand square feet odd as well. Not wanting to put stress on Emily again over getting the correct items, he thought for a moment before turning back to the angel.

"Can you leave the requested items under my name or something so when Emily–"

"Seraphim Emily?"

He smiled tightly, "Yes. Seraphim Emily. She brought me onto her project as she doesn't quite grasp all this earth technology, so can you leave the list in the system that way she doesn't have to struggle when she does come to approve it and you can simply fulfill it for her? It would be a big help."

The angel smiled in what felt like a condescending manner as they replied with a simple 'of course'. Given he was just a normal guy, Vince did not doubt that the angel didn't believe that he would know one of the high Seraphims, but surely as a fellow resident of heaven he could be given some benefit of the doubt. It's not like he'd never seen Emily before all this…he just hadn't met her properly or knew who she was.

Vince thanked them for their time and put the tech he had been able to acquire into a suitcase he'd picked up before coming here. It was very Mary Poppins like as he could keep adding stuff inside and it would never run out of space or get heavy. Handy for the person needing to carry around several hundred feet of wires, an entire PC, a router, and various other components.

He smiled and waved goodbye as he left the tech fabricator's building before he began the trip back to his house so he could pack for his extended stay. Depending on if Emily could acquire the equipment he needed after she rejoined him or later on her own, he felt it best to follow the old scout motto of 'be prepared' and added an extra week's worth of clothing and a few other personal items to his mental packing list.

Vince walked a few blocks off the main promenade of heaven and caught the tram headed to his district just in the nick of time. He'd been given several options on where he could set up his home after being shown around, and on a whim he thought it might be fun to look into his roots and stay in the equivalent of 'Little Italy' that many of the beings of Italian American descent had formed together. His own father had moved away for college and had never gone back to New York, so he'd often wondered at the close knit community he had missed out on based on the stories he'd heard at family reunions. He could move any time he changed his mind of course and hey, now he had a magic suitcase to pack everything in if he did.

Like all things in Heaven, the trip to his neighborhood was quick and efficient, and the weather was sunny, warm, and pleasant. He idly wondered if they had thunderstorms in Hell. They'd hardly ever happened in California, and certainly never happened in Heaven, but he'd been missing them ever since he moved from east coast to west coast back when he was alive. He'd have to ask Charlie or Lucifer later, but he kinda hoped they did.

The tram came to a gentle stop just outside of his neighborhood and he thanked the driver with a smile and a nod as he got off and began the short walk to his home. The entire area was modeled after the old brownstones in New York City. The loud energetic life that was bursting from every street of it had done more than any grief counseling session to help him fill the large family sized void in his chest. If he closed his eyes he could almost pretend he could hear his own family in the cacophony of voices.

A few familiar faces he'd come to know over the last few months waved and shouted a happy greeting as he passed, and Vince did his best to reply in equal affection without getting sucked into a conversation today. It was the one skill from his life in a large family that he'd immediately had to dust off after moving in, but the verbal dance now brought fond memories more than bittersweet ones. He thought he'd been successful at dodging them all until he almost ran straight into the sweet fuzzy face of one of his next door neighbors, Molly.

"Oh sh- err sorry, Molly," Vince corrected himself as he grabbed her arm to steady himself and her. "I'm in a bit of a rush and didn't see you there."

While the afterlife form your soul manifested was apparently based on things from your life on Earth that brought you joy, or were related to other close family members, there were angels in the Calming Homes to help instruct you on how to tweak it to whatever you preferred. As a result there was, unsurprisingly to Vince, quite a large amount of attractive people in Heaven.

He'd been perfectly happy with looking like he always had still, but it had taken him a few months to get used to the amount of anthropomorphic forms that a solid portion of the population in Heaven chose to present as. Molly was one such being, though asking exactly what she was still felt entirely too personal, so he'd just left it as 'fuzzy droopy eared cat-like person' in his head and moved on.

Cats of course didn't have two sets of legs, long blonde hair, or yellow and white fur on Earth, but then what did? Maybe some kind of insect he'd never seen? Ultimately Vince figured if it made her happy then who was he to judge.

Molly laughed and brushed off his apology. She then smiled teasingly at him and shook a disapproving finger, "Ah ah, Vincenzo. Parli solo in italiano. Riprova!"

Vince groaned and he ran his hand down his face; which just made Molly giggle. He had finally admitted to Molly and her mother, Ruth, a few months back that he had never been taught Italian growing up and had trouble communicating with his only family here as a result. They'd both been quite surprised and had put the entire neighborhood on immersion language lessons for the foreseeable future to help him learn his heritage. It was a sweet gesture that he'd loved, but a little trying when he was on a time limit today.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't uhhh look? Looking. I wasn't looking out for…you? Uhh people," Vince attempted to cobble together something natural sounding (tenses and verb conjugations often tripped him up still), and Molly smiled encouragingly at him to continue. "Can't talk…now. Busy help Miss Sophie."

"Sophie? Your doctor friend?" Molly asked and her gaze flickered down to the suitcase at his side. She gasped in delight and clasped her hands to her chest, "Oh my goodness, is your nonna finally coming home?! Oh Vincenzo, I'm so happy for you both!" She leapt forward and gave him a big hug while he was still trying to translate what she'd said. "I'll let my mother know, and we'll throw you both a big welcome home party! Oh this is so exciting!"

Vince smiled at her enthusiasm. The overwhelming kindness around every corner had been the first thing to really solidify that this was heaven and not a fever dream after he'd arrived. His pragmatic nature could never give him a dreamscape so unbalanced as all of this.

Fairly sure he'd translated what she'd said correctly, he winced and patted Molly's back to have her release him as he tried to think of a good cover story. He'd forgotten that the mother daughter duo had been so invested in his Nonna's recovery and joining the neighborhood as she was from around their time. Though you wouldn't know it from the bright pink and black romper with matching boots Molly was wearing today.

"No party uhh now, but she is very well! The doctor wants me to…live with her. They want to help get good quick," Vince said as he continued on the walk to his house. Molly followed along and nodded understandingly. "I get clothes and…things? for a long stay. Then home and, yes, a party if you want." It was as close as he could get without outright lying or sharing about the hotel project, so it would have to do.

He unlocked the door to his house, Molly shook her head fondly as he did, and he proceeded inside so she could follow. There were a lot of 'Earthly habits' he'd been told time and time again he'd lose as the years went on. Safety routines were the ones that got the biggest looks of amusement as it apparently took everyone a while to accept that no one here wanted to hurt anyone and they weren't needed anymore. Right now he was glad for it as he'd need every bit of human suspicion for the project he was heading back to.

Molly closed the front door behind her as she continued to follow Vince, "Alright, now that we're inside I'll gives ya a bit of a break." She grinned with a teasing glint before winking, "But don't tell my Ma, capiche? She'd give me an earful that I'm lettin' ya backslide or somethin'."

Vince chuckled and ruffled her hair, which she squealed indigently at, before continuing upstairs to pack. "Your kindness knows no bounds, but seriously thank you. I'm in a rush to get back so my brain power for translating is low."

He tossed the suitcase on his bed and Molly laid down beside it, idly kicking her many feet as she watched him gather various clothing and personal items. "Do yas really have to rush off? I was thinkin' we could film some little 'Meet tha neighbors' videos for ya to share with your nonna. Ya can show'em to her while ya stayin' together. That way she'll know we're ready made friends here!"

Vince paused in his packing to consider her suggestion, remembering how scared and nervous Nonna had been that morning. Supposing she didn't relapse, she probably would want to come live with him here, and knowing the friendly faces of the neighborhood probably would be a big help with her lack of memory. That actually reminded him of something else, and he dropped the clothing into the suitcase before looking down at Molly.

"I think that's a great idea," he told her and she grinned back up at him, "We'll definitely film a few before I run off. You said you had some memory issues when you arrived too right?"

Molly waved a dismissive hand, "Oh sure. Most of us do. Comes with transitioning your soul or somethin' I think. Like, I still don't know what happened to my Pa, but I's gots my Ma so I must'a had one ya know?" She commented casually, "I used ta think he must've just outlived us, but it's been decades so he must've gone…well ya know." Molly shrugged one shoulder and pointed towards the floor.

That seemed…rather callous and very detached to Vince. He was no stranger to having a lackluster parent, but he still loved his father and wouldn't be so…blase about him ending up in Hell if that happened one day. That weird feeling that had come over him that morning with Nonna was back in fullforce, and he pulled his cell out to make a folder for the videos Molly wanted to record in order to disguise his unease.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Did you ever have any siblings?" He asked, trying to sound casual, "You said in the past it was just you and your mom, so I didn't wanna pry, and while it was pretty uncommon for my parents to pop out all five of mine nowadays, weren't big families more common back when you were on Earth?"

Once they'd started getting to know each other better, Vince had often found himself falling back on the same habits he had with all of his younger siblings when he teased Molly. Even though she was clearly the older one in this situation, having died over half a century before he did, she just gave off younger sister vibes. Something he'd never gotten from friends that were only children, so where were her siblings?

Vince glanced up at her and felt a chill run down his spine as he saw that same glazed look that had lived on Nonna's face till this morning pass over her eyes. Molly shrugged and blinked slowly as she propped her head up in her hands, "No, not that I can recall. Was always just me. Though I bet havin' a brother would be swell."


"Oh, this is all so strange," Emily said as she paced in the therapist waiting room, "All the staff and paperwork claim that Vince checked Rosa out of the ward the same day Sophia went to recruit him. I know that can't possibly be true. He was with either Sophia or myself all day once he left, but that's what all the proof says. I've no idea how she actually ended up here today."

Charlie bit her lip in worry and exchanged a look with Vaggie. They'd been theorizing in their free time today on how this could have happened and Charlie was pretty confident that Emily wouldn't like their ideas. They were having a little meeting to decide how to handle the surprise guest and this wasn't great news. She heard Vince mutter off to the side that 'something is rotten in Denmark' but her focus was on Vaggie. She sighed and nodded and Charlie returned it before looking at Emily.

"Soooo I know this might be hard to hear," she said, "but have you thought that…maybe Sera might be behind this?" Emily stopped her pacing to look at Charlie with wide eyes. "She's not exactly been the biggest fan of the hotel and redeeming Sinners after all."

"That is true," Emily sighed, "But she's been so supportive since the council agreed to give it a trial run. She promised she wasn't keeping any more secrets from me after your trial, but I'll admit it shook my faith in her to my core." She clasped her hands to her chest and looked at the floor in quiet thought before looking up at Rosa. "You're certain you don't remember anything about who helped you this morning?"

Rosa shook her head and spoke while Ren nodded and explained that when he'd spoken to her with Husk's assistance, she'd only remembered a nice angel taking her to where Vince was. Apparently she added more this time as her eyes widened and she looked at Vaggie and Emily before blushing and mumbling something that made Vince chuckle.

"She said she's sorry but that all the angels in Heaven basically look the same to her." he tilted his head at Vaggie, "Which is why she's flustered as she thinks she insulted you both."

Vaggie snorted and smiled at Rosa, "No offense taken ma'am, I promise. You've been suffering from memory issues for a long time, so I'm sure that didn't help." Rosa nodded but kept her gaze down in embarrassment. Vaggie turned to Emily, "I think it's also possible that Lute is behind this. I can't imagine she's been happy about the hotel being a success, and she lost a lot in the battle."

Sophia nodded in agreement, "That's a good point. Didn't you also say you had a troublesome exorcist patient when we arrived in Heaven? Was it this Lute person? It's possible that they saw us then."

Emily tapped her chin in thought, "They have been one of the more problematic patients, so that's very possible." She sighed, "I'd certainly selfishly prefer it to be her over Sera. As far as I know, Sera may not love the project but she's been earnest in giving it a try and working with Lucifer on the embassy."

Charlie hummed in thought, "That's true. Dad hasn't always looked happy about how it's coming along, but they have been making slow progress on future plans. His last update was that they were going to scout out a new location I think."

"Well no matter who it is they are clearly not following protocol," Emily frowned, "and if it is Lute, then I worry for how long it's been going on. I have my suspicions that I've been kept busy just so I cannot assist more with the project. It is possible whoever orchestrated today's event," she gestured to Rosa, "has also been involved in all that as well, but Lute shouldn't have that kind of authority over the Calming Homes."

"Is it possible that someone else could interfere there without you knowing?" Ren asked. They were leaning forward in their chair, elbows propped up on their armrest and hands linked together to support their head. "Is there anyone else that could have the authority that you do?"

Emily shook her head, "There's not supposed to be no. My primary responsibilities are to assist in the daily operations by inspiring Joy and Happiness in the residents in Heaven. To soothe the souls that we receive into their eternal paradise. It's just Sera and myself in charge of all daily operations beyond that. The Heavenly council could try I suppose, but why would they?"

"You did say the vote was a close one," Charlie shrugged, "Maybe the ones that don't like the hotel are working together to get us shut down?"

Emily pouted, "Well it's not very virtuous of them if they are."

"I mean…if humans can justify all their many wars in the name of a righteous or religious cause, then I'm sure angels are just as capable of it." Vince added. He shrugged when all eyes turned to him, "I've maybe heard some not great things about these exterminations since joining on so ya know…seems plausible is all I'm saying."

"Well whatever it is I will be looking into it," Emily declared. Squaring her shoulders and standing up straight, "I will find out who's been meddling with our project and see that they get put before judgment by trial. For now, let's focus on where Rosa is going to stay."

Thinking back on the day, Charlie had found Rosa to be very sweet, and wanted to help her out. Seeing her as another lost soul she could help get better like the Sinners in her hotel. Vaggie was more suspicious about her being some kind of trick from Heaven to mess with things, but Charlie thought that if she was then she must be a victim in it too as the woman was too kind to be anything so manipulative. Ren and Sophia were in favor of allowing her to stay and had presented a pretty good case during lunch that had finally swayed Vaggie over. Citing the recovered memories could eventually lead to her giving them more information as to what had happened this morning and get to the bottom of if someone was trying to sabotage the hotel.

Charlie told Emily that if she was willing to let Rosa stay then they would be happy to keep an eye on her. They also shared their cover story idea that Vince would be introduced as taking on the maintenance position Charlie was still trying to fill, and that he had brought his nonna with him in hopes that losing her memory during the last extermination would give her a shot at getting redeemed.

Emily still wasn't thrilled with the idea of such a vulnerable soul staying in Hell, but feeling unsure who in Heaven she could trust Rosa to instead with their current suspicions, Emily reluctantly agreed to Charlie's plan. Charlie was just assuring her that everything would work out great in the few weeks both Winners would be there when one of Alastor's distinct knocks sounded at the door. Realizing that her Dad must be back with Uncle Ozzie, Charlie practically skipped over to the door to open it.

"Charlie," Alastor said with his trademark grin, "Could you perhaps spare our newest employee? Your father has returned with his guests to get this network business started."

"Of course!" Charlie beamed and gestured for Vince to come on over. Rosa seemed to want to follow along but Ren held her back and spoke softly to her. Seeing her reminded Charlie that they would need a new charm and turned to Alastor.

"Actually, Al, while you're here could you make Rosa's charm permanent?" she asked, "My dad made her one this morning, but we've decided she'll be staying with us for a bit so she needs a new one."

"Why, I would be delighted," Alastor replied as he walked into the room and Rosa smiled as she approached him. She held out the bracelet Lucifer had made for her that morning, but Alastor dismissed it as he conjured a simple necklace chain with a music note charm on it. Charlie was pleased to see he only needed a few drops of blood this time and was very gentle with acquiring it before he gave her the finished charm.

Rosa put it on happily while Vince translated that she thanked Alastor for all his help and company today. Charlie had no idea he'd helped the poor woman so much and grinned brightly. Maybe her suggestion that he talk with the therapists on better ways to help their guests had gone well after all! Everyone said it would never happen, but Charlie held fast to her secret goal of one day getting the vicious Overlord redeemed.

Alastor brushed off Rosa's praise, "Nonsense, my dear. It was an entertaining romp down memory lane for myself as well." His little audience laugh track played and Alastor's grin widened when Rosa giggled at his pun. "I look forward to your refreshing company as our newest guest here."

"Actually," Charlie winced, "Rosa will only be staying with us for a short time due to her special case. Just until Vince finishes the network, or maybe less if things go well." She smiled, picturing how much of a success her hotel would be if it helped not just a Sinner but a Winner as well.

"I see," Alastor replied with a side glance her way. He hummed in thought as he looked back at Rosa. "Well I shall simply enjoy your company for as long as I can. It is stimulating to have such pleasant company in the hotel for once." Rosa blushed and Charlie beamed at his kind words. More confident in her decision to allow Rosa to stay, even if it meant extra guard duty on their part, if it put Alastor on the right path.


Translation Notes:
Italian - English
mi dispiace - my bad/I'm sorry
nonna - grandma
Signora, deve guardare da questa parte così possiamo sentirla -
Ma'am, you need to look this way so we can hear you
Resto qui ad aspettare? - I'll stay here waiting?
E poi resto qui con, Vincenzo? - And then I stay here with, Vincenzo?
Bene - good/okay
Sei un buon ragazzo -
You're a good boy
caro mio - my dear
Parli così, sì? Cos'è questo? -
You talk like this, yes? What is this?
sì - yes
Come sì dice? - How do you say?
Parli solo in italiano. Riprova - You only speak in Italian. Try again.

I think the flow in trying to avoid using Italian more than I already did made the last scene suffer, but between my mental state with my dying cat and just life being busy I just can't see how to fix it right now. I'll likely edit it in the future, but I didn't want to hold the chapter as I wanted to give the update that I'll be taking a minor break as I'm putting my cat down this week and I just need time to recoup from that along with other life distractions.

Hopefully you all enjoyed the last of the Winners being brought on and look forward to seeing how exactly they're connected to Angel Dust's family and redemption. They're also my vessel/entryway for fully exploring how extreme the Heaven amnesia topic could go and what it means for those in Hell when they find out about it.

Next chapter will be in like 2-3 weeks most likely, and will be an interlude with some povs that may help give more info on motivations and forces I've been hinting at.