Half-empty pizza boxes were strewn across the table in the dining hall and in the center, Vaggie had a small pile of index cards she was passing out to all of the Hazbin staff. Nifty was working on cleaning up the mess, circling the table like a shark as she tidied up the remnants of their meal.
A storm was creeping its way into Pride Ring, limiting Vaggie's group activity to an indoor-only event. Charlie was geared up for this exercise, thankful for a breath of fresh air amongst the dreary dealings of Sir Pentious' funeral, the training with Alastor and the deal that came with it.
Sitting in the back of Charlie's mind was a seed of worry that began to sprout; how was she supposed to repair Alastor's staff? She'd made yet another deal with the radio demon and she didn't know how she was going to uphold her side of the bargain.
"Uh, Cherry, do you want to play? It's meant for the staff to get familiar with the hotel but if you want in, I can give you a card," Vaggie suggested, offering the cyclops a card. Cherry hadn't checked herself into the hotel, she'd been pretty dead set on continuing her damnation in the flights of sin but she stuck around after Pentious had passed; Charlie took that as a sign she was starting to find interest in the hotel, maybe not as a resident but in the very least she enjoyed the group.
Cherry, who was busy on her phone, had casually draped one of her legs across the arm of her dining chair and shrugged her shoulders before reaching out her hand in acceptance. "Sure, why not? Angel's out busy suckin' dick for Val and I'd rather not get out in this shit storm. Sounds fun."
Charlie pondered why the cyclops didn't think to just teleport home if she didn't want to stick around, but maybe she really did enjoy their company. Or maybe she didn't know how to teleport. She shelved the thought away and decided to ask Alastor about that at another time.
Vaggie made her way over to Husk who was polishing off a bottle of cheap whiskey, insisting he join them in their team-building exercise. "Husk, you're an integral part of this hotel and I don't care if you're forced to be here against your will, you're playing whether you like it or not," Vaggie said gruffly as she slid a card across the table towards him. "It'll be fun," Charlie sang out with a coaxing smile. Husk growled under his breath, shooting Alastor a deathly glare before he accepted begrudgingly, swiping the card off the table and crumpling part of it in his clawed fist.
"Ooh, my turn, my turn!" Nifty bounced on the balls of her feet, excited to play her part in the exercise. She scurried up to the angel and accepted her card, her eye glistening with anticipation and a thin, sharp-toothed smile stretched across her face.
The rest of the cards were passed out, even Alastor took a card without complaint, which surprised Charlie as he always seemed to slither his way out of most group exercises shared at the hotel.
"Alright, so this is a little scavenger hunt I came up with. Charlie and I both thought it would be a good idea for us all to get more familiar with the new layout of the hotel. We're gonna group up in pairs and try to figure out different riddles that'll help us explore different rooms. Each card has a different riddle so our groups will go on different excursions. Charlie, you go first," she pulled out a Ziplock baggie with small slivers of paper and opened it up, offering it to the princess.
Charlie sifted through the pieces and drew hers, "Vaggie!" She beamed a smile at her best friend while Vaggie pulled Charlie's name from the bag and turned to Nifty who reached in and pulled hers. "Husker!"
The cat demon twitched his ears as he tried to hide his disapproval, but his face still held the same sour scowl. Vaggie removed Nifty's name, which left Cherry and Alastor.
"Okay everyone, choose ONE of your cards to work with for the hunt. I wanted to give you all the option to choose between two riddles, so have at it."
Once all pairs grouped together, Charlie turned towards Vaggie with a hopeful smile, eyeing the other groups as they disbursed from the dining hall. "Vag I can't believe you actually took the time to do something like this for us. You've really come a long way since this hotel opened and I really appreciate what you're doing here."
She thought back to the talk she had with Rosie in Cannibal Town, just days before the extermination. It seemed like years ago that she'd confided in the overlord her complicated feelings about Vaggie and the budding distrust between them.
"If there's anything I've learned, it's that words are cheap, but actions, they speak the truth. So, what have her actions said?"**
Seeing Vaggie put forth mountains of effort since the angelic reveal in Heaven was enough of a show that convinced Charlie where her heart's true intentions were. It was wild to believe Vaggie once held the title of an Exterminator but that was laid to rest in the past after she put her life on the line for Charlie just days ago. And maybe Rosie was right, maybe Vaggie truly wants redemption for herself too.
"Of course, Charlie," Vaggie smiled apologetically, "I know things haven't been the greatest around here for the last few days and it's the least I could do to liven things up." She cleared her throat as she viewed her card. "Well, it's kinda pointless for me to lead our group since I'm the one who made up the riddles. How about I let you lead?" The angel passed off her card and the princess studied her options.
"I'm a flat surface, sturdy and wide, With cushions to cradle you, side by side. My purpose is comfort, to soothe and relax, As skilled hands work out every ache and tax."
"I'm high up and out of reach, A place where dust likes to breach. Seldom used, yet always there, Holding items with great care. Cans and boxes, bags galore, Forgotten treasures from the store."
Charlie had to give it to Vaggie for putting in the creativity for these riddles but for the first few riddles of this game, these seemed a little too easy. Still, her excitement didn't waver.
Charlie raised a fist and shouted, "to the spa!"
Meanwhile, tucked at the heart of Pride Ring rested Hell's palatial kingdom. Tall, dark spires twisted into the skies like hands reaching towards the pentagram that hung just out of reach. The palace was sprawled over miles of brimstone, its grandiose settlement a marvel to any passerby. A crowd of demon reporters had swarmed around the gates of Hell's Pride Palace but the group had slowly started receding as the storm clouds above began its slew of acid rain.
Lucifer had nestled himself back into the confines of his chambers, looking over the clutter of his suite in disgust. Mounds of rubber ducks piled high in his quarters, projects that lay unfinished and forgotten. At the far end of his room, his project desk stood trashed with balled up blueprints and pencil shavings, his wire basket full of ideas that were once the musings of dreams.
Lucifer trekked his way past the waves of ducks and towards his desk, sliding his crowned hat off his head before sinking into the chair in front of him, shuddering out a long sigh. His eyes cast upon one of the family murals on the wall, his favorite, a close shot of him, his beautiful wife and daughter in a warm and candid embrace, well before separation found its way in. Lilith had been gone for almost eight years now, leaving Lucifer to bear the crown of disappointment, resentment and demonkind alone.
"Lucifer, you know how important this is."
He closed his eyes and leaned back, whisking himself away from the present and back to his last embrace with his wife. They were standing at the courtyard in front of the palace, sunset falling just past the horizon. Lilith cupped his cheek and wiped away the tears that flowed without his permission, another perfect thing making a grand exit from his life.
"Charlotte must be protected at all costs. If I stay here, there's no chance at saving demonkind. Adam is willing to spare her life if I am pulled from the front lines of Hell," she whispered, looking longingly at her husband. She smoothed out his shoulder pads and tugged at his lapels to wiggle out the creases. "You knew when you found me that we were destined for greater things. I know it doesn't seem like that now, Lucifer, but Charlotte is proof of that."
Lucifer peeled his eyes open to stare at the ceiling, his eyes stinging and dewy.
Lilith was right, she'd always been right. Though Lucifer had fumbled his dream and ended up damning himself and all he loved to Hell, Charlie had made honest efforts to save the people that were cast to eternal damnation. She held hope despite the dismissals from Heaven, despite the years and years of exterminations they'd lived through, and her friends that were lost in the last fight against the Angelic Army. Surprisingly, that became the source behind her determination. She'd owed it to them.
Charlie found the hope that Lucifer had lost from her strides towards her hotel, towards redemption, and it made him so proud. Yes, most of Hell found her tactic to be laughable at best, but she'd implored her entourage of misfits to join her and their intent made for a promising beginning. But this resulted in the inevitable end of Adam, unhinging all of the protection Lucifer and Lilith hoped for their daughter Charlie. The strategic pieces of their game had been wiped clean and Charlie was now an open target to the masses.
Adam. The news of his death turned Hell into a craze of chaos, knowledge that angelic beings can be hurt and even killed. There's been no knowledge of how, but the idea had turned most of Hell's population into a rabid frenzy, gossip spilling all over the news and setting an edge on the political agenda.
Lucifer got up from his chair and dragged himself to the window and peeked out between the slits of the thick privacy curtains, watching the group of reporters trickle away from the front gates of the palace. He spotted Katie Killjoy's blonde bob ducking into a boxy news truck before he withdrew from the curtains, a crack of lightning shooting out over the distance and the low drum of thunder following shortly after.
Since Katie's recap of the extermination, her crew of reporters made Lucifer a hot topic in the media and had been flocking his property hoping to get even a second's worth of his time to create a juicy bit to add to their newscast. Truthfully, he was due for a discussion with Heaven's embassy and had no answers for the waves of reporters knocking at his gates. Nothing that he hadn't already answered. The mixture of pride and shame swirled in his stomach at the thought of Charlie picking up the pieces of the dream he'd left behind. He shouldered the weight of his self-loathing, Lilith's abandonment, his guilt for unexpectedly throwing the weight of his shattered dreams on his daughter only to be the face and leader of yet another holy war. None of this would've happened if he'd just…
Lucifer felt the swirl of nausea turn into a boiling anger, his hands shaking uncontrollably. Looking out across the hoards of ducks, his horns began to sprout from his head and he let his anger flow, rubber and sharp squeaking flying into the air around him. Bam! Thwap! Each plow of his hands resulted in another shower of ducks and his eyes welled with tears. Swoosh!
The sharp ring of his cell phone broke him from his tantrum, it was a tone he hadn't heard in years. He reared his head back and his horns retracted instantly, his demeanor flipping like a switch. Frantically, he slid across the sea of ducks and fled for his work desk towards his cell phone.
His breath caught in his throat and he fumbled his phone upon seeing the name and the face lit up on the screen. After a moment of juggling, he finally secured it and swallowed the hard lump in his throat. The ache in his chest heaved before he answered, his voice cracking.
"Li-lilith?"
Author's Note: ** quotations from Vivziepop's Hazbin Hotel. I don't take credit for any of her work in any instance.