"Unbelievable!" Karol huffed, "I can't believe that little… argh!" The imp woman grunted and huffed as she made her way into a nearby bar, plopping down in a barstool and slapped some bills on the countertop, saying, "Give me an Appletini. Make it snappy." The bartender just grumbled, rolling his eyes as he took Karol's money and trudged off to make her drink.

"Oh, what did I ever do to deserve this?" Karol bemoaned, "I know I wasn't exactly a good person back then, but I was just a kid myself. I mean I was only 25 years old; I had my own future to worry about! I didn't have the time or the money to take on a little kid… a stupid baby! Or, toddler? Whatever; the little bitch wasn't my responsibility!" "I hear you, sister." A voice chuckled; Karol turned and saw a sinner demon taking a seat in the barstool next to her, "Yo, barkeep! I want a Dirty Naval, please; make it fast." The second barkeeper sighed as he handed Karol her cocktail before taking the sinner's money and went to tell the head barkeeper her order.

"So, life's been cruel to you, too, huh?" the sinner woman hissed, "I feel your pain. They call me Jezebel. You?" "Karol," the imp woman sighed and spun her glass around to stir the cocktail before taking a sip, "Family fucking sucks sometimes. My bratty niece… she's got it good… too good for a kid who's never really worked a fucking day of her life! Is it so wrong for her to share some of that wealth and luxury with her family? Her only… real family?"

"Kids just don't appreciate how much easier they have it these days." Jezebel chuffed, "Even other sinners. Younger sinners; the ones who've been in Hell for maybe… half a decade. The system bends over backwards nowadays to help them. And what about us older folks who've been here for the last few decades? Nothing! And those of us who are well-off refuse to share the wealth. Especially when they owe you."

"So, who's your beef with?" Karol asked, "An ungrateful descendant? Bitter ex?" "The second one," Jezebel huffed, thanking the bartender as he handed her her cocktail, "The rich old bastard blew all his money and power chasing down a high, and then wasted what he had left on his so-called 'daughter.' That little brat should've been grateful she didn't wind up fucking homeless. But that apparently wasn't good enough. Because she just had to be the center of his whole fucking world; his whole fucking afterlife wasted chasing a dream that died decades before he even got to Hell."

Karol gave Jezebel a knowing look, smirking as she rested her chin on her hand and said, "This ex of yours… his name wouldn't happen to be 'Husker' would it?" Jezebel turned to Karol and a wicked smile stretched across her face as she nodded. "Well," Karol whispered, "What if I were to tell you that Husker's not nearly as broke as he wants folks to believe?" "Hmmm… go on," Jezebel smiled, scooting closer and leaning in to hear Karol better over the music, "I'm listening."

Karol took a moment to make sure nobody else was paying attention to them before snickering and said, "I happen to know for a fact that Husker's put an insane amount of money away into some kind of trust fund. Apparently, my slut of a niece got knocked up at just fifteen years old. Not long after pulling her out of school, Husker opened the account to help pay for the baby, but… well, I don't know what the fuck happened to the kid. But, it is clear that he, or she, or… it isn't anywhere to be found, and yet the fund is still around. And… it's still… growing."

Jezebel laughed bitterly and said, "He wouldn't have that money if it weren't for me. I got him back into the gambling game; I made that pathetic limp man what he was and what he is today. And he has the gall to just dump me… me! Can… can you believe that!?" Karol reached over and patted Jezebel's shoulder, flashing her an empathetic smile and said, "What do you say we work together to get back what we're owed? Split the trust fund money, oh, let's say… 55-45? I'll gladly take the smaller portion if it means getting anything at all. Plus, you deserve it, seeing as you've clearly had it way rougher; having put up with way more of their bullshit."

"Hahaha… oh, Karol," Jezebel sighed, "You're not half-bad… for an Imp. In fact, this just might be the start of a beautiful… alliance." Karol smirked, giggling as she and Jezebel did a toast and took a hearty sip of their cocktails. "Now then," Jezebel sighed, "Exactly what kind of plan did you have in mind?" "I say we keep it simple," Karol proposed, "We hit him where it hurts the most." Jezebel raised a brow curiously. "Uh… you mean, like… his nuts?" Karol slapped her forehead and groaned, "No, you ditz. His heart. Where does his heart lie? What does he love above all else? You know, besides his 'family'?" Jezebel thought it over for a moment, then smirked and said with a malicious chuckle, "The Yasmine Theatre."

"So, this is the Jackpot, eh?" Vaggie said looking up at the tall building, feeling genuinely impressed, "It's very… Vegas." "That's the whole idea." Husk chuckled, adjusting his bowtie as he slid out of the limo, "So, what do you guys think?" Husk beamed with a big smile on his face as he stood in front of the group and said, "Be honest, it's ritzy, right?"

"Oh, it's definitely… something, alright." Lucifer hummed as he and Alastor stepped out. "Indeed," Alastor nodded, "The place has definitely gotten some… rizz over the years." "You don't even know what that means, Al. And it's always had rizz, you just never gave enough of a shit to see it." Husk huffed, crossing his arms, "Now come on, let's get inside before Hazel and the others show up."

The others exchanged looks before following Husk through the hotel and made their way through the staff-only passages until they arrived at the door leading into the backstage area of the theatre; Husk scanned his access card and waved the gang inside. Charlie gasped as she looked around and saw all the old magician equipment, giggling in excitement as she trotted over to a wall of saws and said, "Hey, Husk, can you saw me in half?"

"Hahaha… uh, maybe some other time, Charlie," Husk chuckled, shyly rubbing his neck, "I… well, it's been a while since I performed. Not since the original theatre… well… besides, a lot of this equipment is quite old. Not entire sure it's all exactly safe for use anymore."

"Yeah, but, was it ever safe?" Lucifer asked as Husk reached up and grabbed one of the saws, inspecting the teeth. "In the hands of someone who knows what they're doing, yes," Husk nodded, "Still, it helps to have suitable equipment. A lot of this stuff is antique; better suited for a museum than the theatre."

"So why not just scrap this old junk?" Alastor asked, "Make some room for, you know… newer, better junk?" "It's not junk!" Husk snapped, "It's… it's not junk. And a lot of this old stuff is actually quite valuable. I actually have a few folks coming by later next month who want to buy up some of this antique equipment. In fact, one fella in particular's claiming to be a collector, an admirer of the classic magician style. Says he wants to restore some of this 'old shit' for his in-house magic museum."

Husk reached into a bin and grabbed a plastic wand and flower pot, waving the wand over the pot and tapping the edge before dipping the wand inside and pulling it out fast to manifest a bouquet of plastic flowers; Charlie giggled and clapped as Husk handed her the arrangement with a smile. "Nice to know there are some folks out there who still appreciate the classics." Husk said with a sad sigh, "Now, come on, we've got a party to prep."

Charlie looked at Alastor and Lucifer with a shrug as Husk limped away, placing the fake flowers and plastic wand down on a nearby table and chased after Husk with Angel and Niffty following close behind. Vaggie grabbed the little flower pot and smiled, giving a little chuckle as she felt the flowers' feathery petals and fabric leaves. "Oh, come now, Vaggie. Don't tell me you enjoy this… juvenile stuff." Alastor huffed. "Yeah, come on, Vaggie," Lucifer groaned, "It's just… isn't it a little… lame?"

"Maybe it is." Vaggie smiled, "But, it's got a certain charm to it, too. I mean, Charlie sure seemed to get a kick out of it." Lucifer huffed, crossing his arms and pouting as Vaggie continued, "Plus, seeing Husk smile like that… how many times have you guys seen the man smile lately? Like, really smile?" "Tsk… well, I suppose so." Lucifer groaned, "Still, there's a reason nobody's into that old crap anymore. It's the 21st Century! Hello, the 1900s called, they want their cheesy magic shit back."

"Wow… I see where Charlie inherited her loving personality from." Vaggie said flatly, placing the fake flowers back down on the table and crossing her arms as she shot the fallen angel an unimpressed glare. "I'm going to go see what I can do to help the others set up before the birthday girl shows up; you guys can stay back here and continue acting pissy if you want." Vaggie paused, turning to Alastor and said, "By the way, Alastor… how'd that apology go over?"

Alastor narrowed his eyes and growled; Vaggie just scoffed and shook her head before walking through the curtain to join the others in the main theatre area. Lucifer turned to Alastor and said, "Hey, Al… how'd you like to help Husker give this place a proper upgrade? Seeing as how you effectively own this place now… just say the word, and I'll take care of the rest."

Alastor contemplated Lucifer's offer, rubbing his chin thoughtfully before letting out a heavy sigh and said, "Ugh… no. Trust me, the offer is… very tempting. But, I'm already in hot water as it is with Husker and his followers; tampering with the theatre now would only serve to put me even more out of their favor. Not to mention… ugh… Rosie is still quite sore with me."

"Yeah, well, that I can understand." Lucifer grumbled, "Alright. But, hey, if you ever change your mind," "I know how to find you." Alastor sighed. "Come on, let's go see what we can do to help." As the two moved to join the others, they heard a commotion coming from beyond the curtain followed by a loud crash and Husk shouting, "What the fuck!?"