So… things didn't exactly end as well as Charlie had hoped.
She'd hoped to avoid bloodshed in the first place, from both demons and angels, but the Exorcists had made it very clear that that wasn't going to be the case. They had every intention to continue the Exterminations, and no amount of confused and agitated seraphim could change that.
Though the group moved a little bit away from the rubble of the hotel, it's hard to get the images out of her head. Rosie and her cannibals followed to help clean up (eat) some of the corpses strewn about before they departed, and Charlie wanted to remove herself from the wreckage to take a moment and breathe.
Looking at the remains of the Hazbin Hotel - not just her project, but her home - Charlie can't stop the flood of emotions at all of the losses. The building had been obliterated, yes, but buildings can be rebuilt. Lives, unfortunately, didn't work that way - once a life was gone, it was gone.
Charlie's heart is so heavy, knowing this could've been avoided but unsure as to what she could've done differently. Both sides of the fight have taken significant losses, and it's hard not to weep for those that won't wake again.
Adam, leader of the Exorcists and notably obnoxious First Man, had fallen from a combo of Lucifer beating him to a pulp and Niffty freely stabbing at his back - mostly the latter did him in, in the end. He was not Charlie's favorite person, but she hadn't intended for him to die in the fight. She'd even personally asked her father to spare him, but who could've predicted he'd get up and turn his back to the likes of Niffty?
And on the demons' side, Sir Pentious…
Oh, Sir Pentious…
Charlie's heart aches at the loss of her friend, knowing that he did it all for them. He'd tried his absolute best to attack the angels, firing up his ship with his Eggs and attempting a frontal assault. But Adam's angelic light had been too powerful, and he'd eviscerated Pentious in a matter of milliseconds . Just like that, their first real hotel guest and very dear friend was gone forever.
And… it hurts. It all really hurts.
But, as Princess of Hell, Charlie needs to compose herself and save that deep grief for another time. So she scrubs her arm across her face, wiping her reddened eyes and willing the tears to stay away until she can release them later, when it's more appropriate.
Right now, her people need her to be strong.
A hand meets hers, and Charlie turns to the loving eye of Vaggie. Her girlfriend is smiling softly, her expression showing nothing but support. Charlie gives a small grin back, not feeling her usual bubbly self (obviously), but getting some of her pep back just from looking at her beloved Vaggie.
"Sorry, sorry. I'm okay. I mean- as okay as I can be," she begins, rambling a bit. "I know I should be glad we won, and I am! Most of us are unharmed, and I'm so grateful for that. But I can't help but… I just…"
"You don't have to explain anything," Vaggie says, placing her palm on Charlie's cheek. "We all feel the same - or at least, I know I do. It's a bittersweet feeling."
"It is," Lucifer says. "But you did something amazing today, little lady. Don't forget that." The king gestures to the battlefield in the distance. "Because of you, they were able to fight back."
Charlie sweeps her gaze over her friends, looking meaningfully at each one. Vaggie, Angel, Husk, Niffty, Cherri… she's so grateful for everyone that's supported and stayed by her side.
Besides Pentious, though, she notes the absence of another - a certain Radio Demon that had been tasked with fighting Adam earlier on. Since the First Man reappeared later to attack Charlie, she'd feared the worst for her old-timey ally.
"Do… do you think Alastor…" she begins, but is cut off by a loud snort of indignation.
"No chance," Husk says, his rough tone colored by a little disappointment. "I'd know if the bastard ate it. He's still kickin'. Unfortunately."
Even though the cat demon is clearly unhappy with it, Charlie can't help but sigh in relief at the assurance. She wonders where Alastor is, however, since he hasn't returned, but at least he's alive. They can go look for him later if he doesn't turn up soon.
"Can't say the same for Pentious," Angel adds bitterly under his breath. "Can't believe he's just… gone."
Cherri huffs, crossing her arms. Her voice shakes with emotion as she gripes, "Yeah, the fucking asshole went and got himself killed. But… at the very least, the dickhead that took 'im out got what he deserved, too." A dark look reflects in her large eye as she adds, "I wish I could've stabbed him myself, though."
Niffty giggles, making stabbing motions in the air with her knife. "I'm covered in the bad boy angel's blood…" she mutters maniacally, placing her hands on her cheeks and smearing gold across her face.
Charlie chuckles nervously. She would never admit this, not to Vaggie or her dad or anyone, but despite truly not wanting casualties, she feels a slight sense of relief that Adam's gone, too. It isn't an overwhelming sentiment, and it's only in a dark corner of her heart she doesn't want to acknowledge, but it's there all the same. Like justice has been served.
Though it's only a tiny thought, she feels a tiny bit of guilt nonetheless. She shouldn't be happy at anyone's death, even someone like Adam.
Well, for now, there's no use dwelling on that.
They're still a bit away from the original hotel's location, having shifted away as a group, but there's no mistaking the familiar sight of a black and red bubble forming near the rubble. It's definitely a good sign regarding Alastor, but it still begs the question of what's going on.
"Guess that answers the where for the bellboy," Lucifer scoffs, "but… how about the 'why'?"
Charlie can't even begin to guess what the Radio Demon is doing over there, and honestly, it doesn't matter right now. The important thing is that he's alive, and that shield proves it.
And then a loud, shrill, bloodcurdling scream rips through the air.
Though Charlie has, naturally, heard many an agonized scream along the streets of her home, this particular cry feels different. It's nothing like a citizen of Hell dying horribly with the knowledge that they'll respawn a few hours later - in fact, there's a layer of raw terror and pain that can't possibly be reached by someone who knows they'll come back.
It sends a chill up her spine, an overwhelming pity shooting straight through her heart.
Looking at her friends, they seem equally puzzled, some even looking concerned themselves.
"What the fuck is happenin'?" Angel asks.
"It's Sir!" Niffty cheers. "He's doing something… baaaaad over there~"
Charlie's eyes snap back to the bubble, and she notes the screaming is, indeed, coming from that direction. And it's definitively not Alastor's voice.
Fuck.
Is there an Exorcist still alive? Is he fighting them? Charlie swallows hard, a deep chill tingling up her spine.
"I'm going over there," she announces, turning back to her friends. They don't look surprised in the least - which probably says something about her, but she doesn't know if that's a good or bad thing. "You guys… stay here. I… don't want to overcrowd Alastor."
And if he's injured, she seriously doubts he'll want anyone to see him like that - too bad Charlie's not giving him a choice with her.
"Be careful," Vaggie murmurs, giving Charlie's hand a confident squeeze.
"Mmmm… I don't know, Char-Char. I don't like the thought of you going into that bubble alone," Lucifer says with a frown. "You sure you don't need me to come with? The Bellhop can get over it if he has something to say."
Huffing in amusement, the princess shakes her head. "Thanks, Dad, but I want to at least try to help someone without any assistance." After a beat, she adds thoughtfully, "Though I do appreciate you stepping in with Adam."
Her father is clearly still hesitant, but he eventually relents with a nod. "Alright, I trust you. But just say the word and I'll teleport right over."
"Either way, we'll check on you in a few minutes," Vaggie asserts, not giving her girlfriend room for protest with an added, "from a distance."
Charlie chuckles and spares a loving glance Vaggie's way. "Sounds good. Thank you."
It's not a long trek to the portal, but the group had moved further away from the rubble than Charlie originally thought. By the time she makes it to the bubble, she realizes she should've probably taken up her father's offer for teleportation; placing her hands on her knees, she takes a moment to catch her breath.
At some point on the way, the screaming had stopped, but it's hardly comforting. If anything, the silence that follows is almost just as loud; there are endless possibilities as to why the screeches stopped, each idea more horrifying than the last.
More than anything, Charlie just hopes everyone on the other side of this shield is alright. It's a fool's wish, she knows, but she doesn't want to jinx anything with pessimism. After all, who knows? Maybe Alastor and the mystery person(s) have decided to play a game of chess instead to solve their differences!
(Who is she kidding? But it would be so wonderful, and a welcome change.)
Well, no use prolonging it. Bracing herself, she steps through the portal. Since it's not designed to keep her out, she's able to slip through it without any trouble, but she immediately freezes the moment she's on the other side.
The scene before her is gruesome.
Alastor's laughing maniacally, bunches of black tentacles wildly undulating about, making it hard to distinguish a large figure lying on the ground nearby. It takes Charlie more than a few moments of squinting to realize it's a living being, their body forced down by a few of the tendrils wrapped snugly around it. Whatever - whoever - this is, it's painfully clear that they're not even able to fight back. This isn't a battle, but torture.
After hesitating for only a moment longer, Charlie approaches Alastor, her muscles tense and tight like she's still ready for a fight. It's then that she notices the horrid scene of scattered feathers strewn about haphazardly, and copious puddled amounts of (an admittedly pretty) gold. The source of the feathers - and blood - is most definitely an angel, and exactly who Alastor's victim is becomes horrifyingly clear once she gets close enough.
Though it's torn and soaked in blood, that dark blue cassock is impossible to mistake, and it's not the only clue that discloses the identity. All the familiar elements come together: the shock of brown wispy hair atop a bowed head… the dimly lit, crooked halo… the black gauntlet-gloves dug into the dirt…
Adam.
There's only one key feature missing from the First Man's body, and it's so striking in its absence that Charlie almost dismisses the rest of the similarities as coincidence - without that one very important piece, she almost writes this person off as some kind of weird Adam-lookalike. But it is undeniably him, just without something very, very vital.
His wings.
Adam's alive, but his wings are missing. They're near him, of course, but not… attached anymore.
The thought settles in Charlie's mind, but she can't really register the gravity of it all yet - not when there seems to be a still-active one-sided fight going on.
"Wh-what the fuck is going on here?" she demands, and the Radio Demon finally notices her.
"Ah, salutations, Charlie!" Alastor greets, his voice enveloped by static. His eyes are dark and there are long, sharp antlers jutting out of his head, his usual smile wider and more… Cheshire than usual. "You look relatively in one piece! Terribly sorry that we'll have to rebuild the hotel, but I take it there weren't as many losses on our side as his, hm?"
The princess's mouth hangs open like a freshly-caught fish, momentarily stunned to silence. Alastor's casual tone is unsettling, the way he's speaking like he's at lunch discussing the weather. Sure, Charlie's seen her fair share of gore in Hell, but it's still never fun to witness, especially when the cruelty stems from an ally.
"He's defending this hotel! It may be a bit more sadistic than I'd hoped, but he's doing it for me."
Her words a few months ago echo in her mind, how she'd so ferociously defended Alastor against her father's cruel assumptions about sinners - while the Radio Demon had been eating and torturing their enemies. This feels like a similar level of malice, like he's a pet cat bringing a particularly mangled carcass of his prey back to her.
As if he can read her mind, Alastor beams wider and twists a tentacle to force Adam's bruised face further into the dirt.
"Alastor, STOP!" The words are out of her mouth before she can register them.
The Radio Demon quirks a brow at her outburst, but she's too flustered to really respond. Though she wants to say more, words fail to form on her tongue, so she instead dares to place a hand on his arm in protest. Alastor doesn't outright flinch, but the twitch of the corners of his smile betray his uncomfortableness at the light touch - which is weird, but that's a concern for another time, when he isn't actively torturing someone.
"This… I-I don't… you can't…" Charlie finally stammers, meeting the demon's eyes with a deep frown. She wants to ask how Adam's alive, why Alastor tortured him, but she's a bit afraid of the answers. Alastor stares back at her for a few tense moments before the black scleras finally dissolve back into crimson, his antlers and stretched grin shrinking to normal size.
The shield surrounding them starts to crack, thin lines like spiderwebs trailing down from the top.
"I suppose I've had my fun," Alastor admits quietly with a sheepish shrug. "I'll finish this up and be right with you, then." His gaze shifts down to the eerily still Adam before he directs a shadow to wrap around the man's throat, obviously intending to wring his neck and snap it in a quick motion.
Adam makes a weak choking sound, his hands feebly scrabbling at the ground in reflexive protest. Charlie steps in front of the angel in a panic, blindsighted by the anger she feels. But she can't help it - she's always stood up for the weak, even if, right now, it's someone she detests.
"NO!" she roars, horns starting to poke through her hair. "Don't. Just - just don't." She doesn't know if she can pull the tentacle off Adam, but she thankfully doesn't have to try; her approaching rage must be enough to fully snap Alastor out of whatever bloodlusting trance he's been in, and he swiftly releases his hold on the angel.
Adam gasps as air returns to his lungs, but he's otherwise completely motionless on the ground. Charlie can barely stop her legs from shaking as her eyes rake over his body, her mind racing.
What can she do? She must be able to do more than just stand here and gawk. Adam's - Adam's bleeding out in a heap in front of her, and his fucking wings are gone. No, not just gone, they are completely torn off and in messy piles next to him. His back is a similar mash of gore, skin torn off in ugly splotches. Some tears in his flesh are so deep, there's the tiniest peek of his ribs underneath.
Tears blur her vision but she refuses to cry, as she isn't the one in agony right now.
A disgusting guilt snares her heart. Hadn't she just earlier thought Adam's death was justified because he'd killed so many? Does that mean she thinks he deserves this, too?
No! Of course I don't! No one does!
It doesn't matter who he is or what he did - he is in pain. The man is clearly suffering so very deeply, and that hurts her in turn. She wants to help more than anything, but she can't force herself to move, her stomach churning and bile splashing the back of her throat.
"Charlie?"
Oh, thank fuck. The moment the black and red shield bubble fully dissipates into thin air, she can hear and see the rest of the hotel crew quickly approaching. At least she's not alone in this - she couldn't ever expect them to help her with this, not after everything Adam did, but she at least has confidence they'll offer some insight. At the very least, she's not the sole person that's here, aside from his attacker.
"Everything okay over here?" Lucifer asks, leading the group as they begin to hurry towards her.
However, they almost simultaneously stop in their tracks the moment they notice the crumpled angel.
Everyone's stunned, but Vaggie in particular has gone pale. Her eye's glued to Adam but her gaze is so very far away, like she's in another world. It isn't hard to connect the dots, to understand just why seeing an angel with his wings ripped off is traumatic to Vaggie. Charlie wants to reach out and comfort her, but her feet feel frozen to the ground, stuck in the same place in front of Adam she'd defended him from.
"What's…" Vaggie's voice is so quiet. She's instinctively grabbed her spear, but her grip on it loosens in her uncertainty. "Charlie, is that…"
She trails off, but Angel Dust is quick to chime in and finish her thought. "Holy shit! Is that fuckin' Adam?"
Lucifer is equally baffled, hovering closer to Charlie and the angel. "Uh, y…yeah, yeah it is." He looks upon the beaten First Man and his severed appendages with a conflicted expression. "Well… most of him, anyway."
"Is he even still alive?" Husk asks distantly.
"Oh most definitely!" Alastor replies.
"Well what the shit happened!?" Cherri exclaims, her voice colored with glee. "And why was I not invited?"
"I happened upon our broken angel here, and the two of us made a deal," Alastor explains. "I brought him back from the brink of death, and in exchange… the wings needed to be clipped, you see."
"Did you fuckin' rip 'em out?"
"I did," Alastor says, and he sounds proud . "His screams were delectable."
"Oh fuck yeah!" Cherri cheers. "And now we get our chance to finish 'im off ourselves! Thanks, Radio Freak!"
Alastor's eye twitches, but he merely genuflects in acknowledgement.
Niffty's clutching her angelic dagger, a crazed look in her giant eye. "Hehehe… more angel blood… more, more, more…"
The Radio Demon gasps. "Why, my dear Niffty! Did you make all those lovely holes in his back?" He reaches down to pat her on the head, and she gives a pleased giggle. "His lungs were shredded to bits! Excellent job! I'm terribly sorry to have closed them up for my end of the bargain."
"We could always start over!" Niffty cries, jumping up and down excitedly.
With a distant chuckle, Alastor replies, "No, no - I think the fun is finished for now."
Charlie swallows down the lump in her throat, her own heartbeat pounding in her ears. Her friends' voices are muffled and low like she's underwater - how can they just stand there chatting? Adam's their enemy, sure, but he's Charlie's too - and yet she finds herself still stunned to silence at the state they'd found him in.
A hand on her back makes her jump. "Are you okay, Charlie?" Vaggie asks quietly, appearing at her side.
Shaking her head, the princess scrubs at her face in frustration. "I don't know what to do…"
"With him?" Vaggie asks, pointedly avoiding staring down at Adam.
Slowly, Charlie nods. The sight of the detached wings just continues to make her queasy, and she desperately searches her mind for a solution.
Okay, basic conflict resolution. She's studied this, had to know it very well to get the hotel started.
So.
The conflict: the wings are detached, and there are two gaping holes in Adam's back where they used to be.
What does she have to work with for a solution? She doesn't have access to medical items for any serious procedures right now, as she's sans hotel. The nearest hospital is miles away, and it's a stretch to assume they know how to treat angels in the first place.
Hold on- before she even thinks about closing the wounds, could the wings be reattached? That would solve a lot of the problems. And it would probably be possible to do with… magic…
Wait, that's it!
"Dad!" Charlie exclaims, lighting up suddenly and snapping out of her stupor. "I know how to fix this! You can put his wings back on!" She still doesn't want to touch the wings, lest they break further, so she just points at the mess energetically. They're in a few separate pieces, but it shouldn't be too hard for the literal King of Hell to reattach them. "Your magic can do that, right?"
Lucifer is taken aback by her request, frowning. "I- Look, Charlie, I… I can try, I think, but…" He bites his lip, breaking eye contact for a moment as he ponders. "Should I?"
Charlie blinks in disbelief. "What do you mean by that? I know what he did, but… you can't think he deserves this?"
"I never said that. I just thought… maybe this is some sense of justice, and I shouldn't interfere with it." Lucifer looks unsure, rubbing his arm and sweeping his gaze over the fiery environment. "He savagely attacked the hotel - he hurt you. I don't want to see anyone suffer, so we shouldn't draw it out whether we choose to kill or spare him… But… for the wings-"
"But nothing, Dad!" Charlie snaps. She stands up again, facing her friends with a hardened stare. Each one of them meets her gaze, a range of emotions from anger to indifference coloring their eyes. "Look, everyone - I'm not saying he doesn't deserve some kind of consequence for all he's done, but… surely this is too far? Surely even he's entitled to the appendages on his own body?"
Vaggie flinches at her words, and Charlie wants to kick herself for phrasing it that way. No one should have parts of their body taken away - Vaggie, especially, but that also extends to Adam.
Everyone else looks unsure, like they're torn between animosity towards the First Man and aversion to cruelty - after all, they're sinners, not monsters. Charlie believes in her friends - well, most of them - to not stand for something as heinous as permanently crippling and disfiguring someone. She hopes, at the very least, that they won't actively prevent her from doing what she must.
"Even if His Majesty is amenable to the idea, I'm afraid reattaching them won't be possible," Alastor chimes in, a pleased gleam in his eyes. "You see, Mr. First Man here agreed to my terms. We struck a deal - ergo, the wings are my property."
"A deal for those?" Angel stares pointedly at the pieces of feathers and bones littering the ground. "Why the fuck would you want his wings?"
"I don't!" Alastor exclaims joyfully, clasping his hands together. "I don't, but he was willing to give them up to save himself from death. So I wanted to see how much I could make him regret that choice!" His voice trails off into a burst of laughter, the sound wicked and crazed.
"Fucking insane," Husk mutters under his breath. If Alastor hears him, he doesn't seem to care.
Charlie shivers, quite uncomfortable with Alastor's… enthusiasm. She's grateful to the Radio Demon for all that he's done for her - helping her get the hotel started, protecting it during the battle with the Exorcists… but right now, she's a bit wary of him.
And she certainly can't agree with his most recent choices.
She wants to keep Alastor as an ally and sort-of friend, as he's quite the powerful overlord, so she doesn't voice her disturbance. Instead, she closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and mentally counts to ten.
When she reopens her eyes, she turns to her father.
"Does that mean you can't reattach them, even with magic?" she asks, pointedly ignoring Alastor.
Lucifer nods, his gaze fixed on the broken angel before them. It seems his earlier moment of vindication is past now; there's only sadness in his eyes now. "I'm sorry. I made it a rule very early on in Hell to give my inhabitants freedom to make their own decisions with each other, and I could not interfere with deals. The terms and conditions are strictly between the two that made it. The Radio bastard's right - they're his now."
To prove his point further, Alastor snaps his fingers, and glowing violet chains show themselves, large cuffs wound tightly around Adam's discarded wings. The ends of the links are firmly clutched in Alastor's claws, and he gives them a slight tug for emphasis.
"Now there's no confusion on what belongs to who," Alastor says cheerfully, chuckling under his breath. "I'll do away with these for now - they're so u̸g̵l̷y̴," he adds with a blare of static. Gesturing with one hand, a large shadow appears and snatches the wings, tightly wrapping itself around them and sinking away into the ground. Where he's going to take them, Charlie can only guess, but it isn't on her list of priorities right now.
At the very least, she doesn't have to look at the chunks of meat, feathers, and bones anymore.
So no wings. Okay. The deep gashes can still be treated.
"Hey, whatever we're gonna do wit him, we better choose fast, cuz he's gonna kick the bucket any minute," Angel points out.
Vaggie sighs, muttering in Spanish under her breath. "I can't believe I'm going to grant him a quick death," she mutters, lifting her spear over his prone form.
Charlie places her hand on her girlfriend's arm. "Vaggie, no," she says firmly. "We can't— not after all that. We can't just kill him."
Cherri Bomb laughs bitterly. "We can't?" she barks with an indignant snort. "Bitch, I know you didn't forget what this fucking piece of shit did to us. To fuckin' Pentious."
It's easy to hear the hurt in her voice, and Charlie understands - Sir Pentious is (was) important to them all - but she's not about to let anyone use her dead friend as a means to justify an execution like this.
"The reason we fought back in the first place was never to slaughter, just defend," she snaps. "I do not believe in killing someone who's already beaten, who can't fight back - and I doubt Pentious would, either."
Cherri narrows her eye, her sharp teeth gnashing together. "Still doesn't explain helpin' him! What, ya gonna play Candy Striper and nurse 'im back to health? Get 'im on his feet again to lead the next Extermination?" Her fists clench at her sides as she marches over to Charlie, squaring against the princess with pure anger in her giant gaze.
"No! I- I don't know if he'll want to be redeemed , and I can't even think about that right now! The future's just so- so fucking uncertain, but all I can really think about is getting him to stop bleeding out!"
"Bitch, why?"
"Because I don't want to see anymore deaths!" Charlie yells, her own rage boiling over. She can feel her horns sprout from her scalp, her tail lashing as it splits out from her back. "Fuck, after everything today, you think I'd want to see more people die? Hell no! It's not that difficult to understand, is it?"
Her words linger in the air for a moment, the tension between everyone - mostly Cherri and Charlie - thick and heavy. Angel, in particular, is watching his two closest friends argue, and seems unsure as to whose side he's on.
"This is fuckin' bullshit," Cherri finally gripes, throwing her hands up and stomping away from Charlie. She kicks dirt Adam's way, but only manages to get a few pebbles on his lower back - not helpful, but not very harmful, either. "I'm out. Angel, gimme a ring when your mates get cool again. If they ever do."
Angel scrubs one of his hands across his face. "...yeah, a'course. See you around, then," he says, waving her away with all four arms.
She flips them all off, stepping away and disappearing into the distance. Charlie watches her go, feeling a bit regretful that they couldn't see eye-to-eye (no pun intended). Hopefully one day Cherri will understand Charlie's reasons, but it'll depend on the cyclops demon and how much kindness she wants to open her heart to.
Perhaps, if she does find that kind of compassion, it will bring her back to the hotel, and on the path to redemption.
Charlie can only hope so.
Vaggie clears her throat and stares towards the ground, making the princess jump and snap out of her thoughts.
Right. Bleeding angel, remember?
"Babe, are you absolutely sure about this - that you want to give him more mercy?" Vaggie sounds… distant, like she's trying to keep her tone cold, but it's easy to hear the nervous timbre of her voice. Charlie doesn't believe for a second that she's as heartless as she's pretending to be.
"Is it really mercy if he's stuck down here ?" Angel points out. "I know it ain't mercy for us."
Vaggie groans into her hands. "I guess not. Plus, I guess death's too easy a way out."
Charlie sighs in relief and thanks her girlfriend with a quick peck on the cheek. She lets herself smile at the blush that spreads across Vaggie's face before tearing herself away and getting back to business.
She kneels down again, this time close enough to touch the fallen angel.
"Hey, Adam?" she calls, placing her hand featherlight on his shoulder. "Can you hear me?"
Adam, who up until this point had been completely unresponsive, gives the tiniest noise of discomfort as he involuntarily twitches away from the touch. His face is pinched in pain, even in his unconscious state. Pressing her fingers to his throat, she gauges his pulse, and has mixed feelings once she finds it. On one hand, he's still alive, but on the other… it's a weak and fluttering heartbeat. His body is clearly holding on to life as best it can - but he's very obviously running out of time.
Lucifer cautiously steps towards his daughter. "Charlie, be careful being so close. As long as he's not dead, he could still be dangerous…" His tone implies he doesn't really believe what he's saying - and Charlie can see right through it.
"He's harmless like this, and you know that," she sighs. "Look, since we can't reattach the wings, we'll have to stop the bleeding," she explains, brushing some stray feathers off Adam's back.
What to use to soak up the blood, though?
Fuck, she's not wearing her usual jacket. Of all times to just be in a sleeveless dress! She turns towards her friends, rapidly examining their outfits to see if they have anything that can be used as a bandage in a pinch, and locks her gaze onto her father.
"Dad, can you… um…" She points to his long coat, still pristine and white despite the fight. "Can I use that to clot the blood?"
Lucifer again looks troubled, but Charlie's pleading expression must have been effective enough. He sighs, quickly removing the coat and using magic to slice it into strips. "Here, I'll help," he mutters, crouching next to her and beginning to place the scraps of fabric in a row along Adam's back. Charlie, in turn, presses them into the wounds - as gently as she can, but firm enough so that it soaks up the blood. The first few pieces are completely soaked through with gold, but the blood finally begins to clot as she continues to dab at it. Eventually, it's slowed enough that she can wrap some pieces around his torso and secure them in place.
The rest of her allies are wordless behind her. She's grateful for their respect and their trust in her - even Alastor is not interfering with her directly trying to undo his 'work'.
Adam has slipped back into complete unconsciousness, wilted and lifeless even as they touch and shift him. His face is pale and sweaty, his cheeks flushed with the telltale signs of a fever. But one thing at a time, Charlie has to remind herself. Once the wounds are treated and he's somewhere safe, they can work on any other afflictions.
After some time, Charlie sits back on her heels and wipes her brow. "Okay… I think that should do for now." It's… not perfect, but they seem to finally get the blood to clot a little, the latest fabric pieces not soaked through after already soiling so many.
Charlie wonders if her hands will be stained gold forever now. It sure feels like it, the substance so thick and unending. It seeps off her fingers and she has to fight the urge to wipe her palms off, knowing that would just smear it. It's also tinting her father's gloves and the sleeves of his dress shirt, and there's no doubt they've ruined both their outfits permanently - not that such a thing matters right now, but it's still something Charlie can't help but note.
"Now what?" Lucifer asks.
"Now… now we'll have to get him somewhere safe, I guess." Something told her that the brimstone-covered dirt of Hell isn't the best for such deep wounds.
But where can they even go? Charlie somberly looks back at the remains of her beloved hotel, trying to imagine where to begin cleaning it up and rebuilding.
"I can't believe it's just… gone," she murmurs sadly. Her home, her project, all her hard work… it had been utterly decimated in a matter of minutes by the same man she's trying to save now. "I… I'll have to start over." The thought is devastating, as she doesn't even know where she'd begin …
Thankfully, the King of Hell has other plans.
"Don't you even worry about the hotel," he assures. "It'll just take a few minutes of angelic magic-" A little flaring spark of power blossoms in his palm at the word 'magic', and she gives her father a gentle smile. "-to rebuild it from the ground up. Bigger and better than ever!"
She throws her arms around her dad. "Thank you," she murmurs. "I'll… join you as soon as I can."
Lucifer returns the hug just as tightly, letting go only once Charlie pulls back. "No, you stay here and keep an eye on this dickweed. We'll need a room for his dumb ass to occupy for the foreseeable future, so I'll make sure to make one for him."
"But Dad, I can-"
"Shh, Char-Char. I'll take care of it - there's very little I can't accomplish in my own home, you know." With that, he winks, spreading his wings and propelling himself upwards, twirling a bit as he reaches for the sky.
Charlie feels the warmth of her father's love and support as he flies towards the rubble. The moment is fleeting, however, as a static-filled voice blares next to her.
"I think I am going to join His Majesty," Alastor declares. "If you're going to undo all my hard work, I'd rather not be witness to it."
"Alastor, wait." Charlie frowns, realizing she's finally going to have to confront the issue. "I know you were protecting us - thank you for that - but this… this was too far. I'm not going to let you hurt Adam again. Not when he's helpless." She firmly locks gazes with the Radio Demon, not breaking eye contact as the horns poke through her hair. "So please - just leave him alone from now on. Your deal's over. Let me handle it."
Alastor's toothy grin shrinks a fraction and he reflects her stare. Much like with Cherri, there's a crackling tension that returns to the air - or maybe it's just literal static this time - but Charlie doesn't back down.
After a few more seconds of tense silence, he finally concedes with a respectful nod. "Very well. Should you choose to keep Adam here, I will not hinder his recovery - but I will not help, either. And I reserve the right to continue to protect the hotel if he poses a threat."
Charlie nods. "Yeah, of course! That's perfectly reasonable."
"Then I'll take my leave and go assist in the hotel's rebuilding." Alastor waves a hand, his body enveloped by shadows as he teleports away.
Charlie lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding, her shoulders slumping in relief. That takes care of one conflict, at least.
Unfortunately, her relief doesn't last long.
"Uh, Charlie…" Husk's low tenor chimes in, and he points with a claw to their unconscious charge. "We got a leak."
The princess's eyes snap back to Adam, noting with alarm that Husk is right - the makeshift bandages are now soaked in gold, thin lines of blood beginning to trail down the angel's back. She crouches down next to him again, her brows knitting together in concern.
Fuck, what was she thinking? Of course she couldn't properly stanch two huge gaping holes - two chunks of him have been removed, and strips of Lucifer's coat were supposed to hold and be the solution?
Her dad's too far away now, fussing about the hotel grounds and carefully inspecting the land. Besides that, Alastor has reached him, and the two almost immediately start bickering in some stupid sense of rivalry that she still doesn't understand. There's no way to catch her father's attention quickly enough, and she doesn't know if Adam would survive her running to him and back. She's afraid to test how long she can be away to ask for healing magic.
So she has to deal with this mess herself - but how? Her face falls into her hands, a frustrated groan escaping her.
"Hey kid - here."
She glances up, seeing Husk still peering down at her. A bottle of whiskey is in his claws, and he gives it a little shake for emphasis.
She stares at the bottle, dumbfounded.
"For disinfection," Husk explains. "It'll hurt like a bitch, but there's really no alternative right now. We have to sew up the holes."
Niffty jumps up and down. "Ooh, ooh! I keep an extra sewing kit! Here!" She pulls the kit from… somewhere, presenting it to Charlie like an offering. "I use some of the needles to stab the roaches."
With a nervous laugh, Charlie takes the sewing kit, and the whiskey, and stares down at the mess before her.
"Thread up, Princess," Husk snarks.
"What, you're doin' field medicine now?" Angel groans. "Damn, hope this is all worth it."
Honestly, like she'd told Cherri Bomb, Charlie doesn't have a plan for Adam yet. She doesn't know if there is something to gain from saving him - and she doesn't even want to think about redemption yet. But… she also doesn't care, because the pain and fear in the earlier screams - not to mention the way the eccentric First Man is now eerily silent and still - is enough to twist her heart and push her forward.
"I guess we're doing this…" she murmurs to herself.
Vaggie kneels down next to her. "This is… hard," she admits, fidgeting with the hem of her dress. "I hate him, that's no secret, but… I also don't know if I believe that this is what he deserves." She looks to Adam's bleeding form, at the pieces of him missing, and sighs.
"I understand this is… personally upsetting," Charlie replies, "and I don't blame you for being uneasy! You don't have to help at all, Vaggie. I just… I need to try. I'll never forgive myself if I turn my back on anyone in need."
Her wonderful, perfect, beautiful girlfriend smiles. "Of course I'm gonna help - for you, of course. We're a team."
Charlie flashes as confident a smile as she can, and clenches her fists. "Well then… let's get started."