Track 08: What Makes A Good Man? - The Heavy
Immaculara, 2.17;
Adam swept his wings forth, flinging himself to the side as he called his spear to his hand and smote the demons with a sweep of Light. He leapt into the sky, feeling blood dripping from his leg. He thought of the blood spilled by the Host and Innocent, volunteers though they were. He thought of the blood that might be spilled should the demons break through, and he wished his enemies to die.
Adam pulled his wings back, then swept them forward.
Silver dust raced forth, carrying with it feathers shaped like knives, daggers and arrows. They gleamed in the light of Heaven as they raced onwards, piercing through demons but leaving the Host and the Innocent untouched. "Sing!" He called to the Choir, "Sing of our defense, and their destruction!"
The angels lifted their heads and sang, notes of Purity ringing forth, resonating with the clouds and Radiance of Heaven. The demons screamed and clutched their heads, black blood pouring from their ears. Even the Not-Quite-Princes, larger than the base demons, recoiled from the Harmonies of Heaven.
All but one.
A tall, gentle and graceful yet twisted creature, lifted their head and seemed to…bask in the song, even as its carapace began to burn.
Then it turned to the other and struck it down with a curved sword of blackened rock.
The Hellportal, already wavering, snapped shut. The demons burned, screamed, and fell through the clouds to their death.
All but one.
The demon collapsed to the clouds but did not fall through. It began to claw towards Heaven, rasping out a desperate cry. "Adam!" It called, in a voice befitting a young woman, "Adam!"
"I am here, demon," Adam landed next to it, but not near it. He remembered Adama's cowardice. "You seek the First Man? You have found him, and your incursion has been found wanting."
"I seek not the First Man," the demon whispered, "I seek only my father."
"Have you come to decry me and my name? To tempt me?" He spoke softly, and with contempt.
"No, dada," the demon replied, carapace burning away to reveal a young woman, "I wanted…to see you one last time. To escape Hell, and die in Heaven."
"…Yevona," Adam murmured, sitting next to the demon bearing his daughter's face. "Why would you do this?"
"I come with messages, dada," she said, crawling towards him. He allowed her head to rest on his lap, and stroked her hair as he had done so many times before. "When Lucifuge did not return but his followers did, they spoke of a Man, taller than the rest who fought them off. I knew it was you. I claimed the souls they took as tribute for Lucifuge's consort, convinced two others that Heaven wouldn't be prepared for a smaller force. I'm glad you were, dada. I brought them back, to die in the Radiance of Heaven."
Adam looked afield. The gates had not been touched, but lives still had been lost if only a few. A few were still too many. "Tell me these messages, Yevona, while there is yet time," he smiled softly at her, and brushed her cheek, "What time we have, I would spend with you, my sweet."
Yevona gave him a tablet that spoke of the powers in Hell. Of the powerful Princes of Sin, representing each of the Deadliest of the Seven. Lucifuge had been Wrath, and already more had begun to rise. It spoke of those like herself, Archfiends, weaker than Princes but only just. Beneath them were the Overlords, who held dominion over many weaker souls. Of the basest, it spoke of demons born from the Pit itself, twisted mockeries of humanity; and humanity themselves, who sank to their knees in the muck of Sin and slathered themselves with it until they barely resembled who they were.
"Dada," she whimpered as her heart began to burn, "Before I go…can you tell me…what…what did I do wrong?"
"Oh my sweet," Adam whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead, "I cannot say. I know only this: you did not deserve Hell. No one does."
Adam did not lie. He knew why, but he could not speak it.
As she smiled her last and her body burned away, he knew of a question he wished to voice. He could not ask it. The answer would destroy him. Perhaps the destruction would be worth it.
In his heart, Adam called himself a coward.
…
"Did you sleep at all?" Charlie's concerned voice pierced through Adam's fugue, and it was only from long experience pretending to care in long meetings that he didn't jump and spill coffee, noticing that once again she'd put her hand on his.
"Fuckin' barely," he mumbled, rubbing his eye and taking a deep drink, shooting her a tired look, "You know how hard it is to sleep alone after nearly eight-thousand years of not? Pillows are no damn substitute for literally heavenly cuddles."
She grimaced. "Sorry," she said, pouring her own cup of sweet tea as she sat at the table, "No offense, but you could've brought an angel over for the night, right?"
Adam bobbed his head and grabbed a thin pastry sheet from the tray in the middle of the table, ladling scrambled eggs, spicy sausage and sour cream, then rolled it up. "Yeah, sure, I could've immediately, first night, called up one of my Babes for a booty call, and what would that do?" Despite having food in his mouth, his actual speech was unaffected, "My girls would see me looking for comfort and come running, then they'd start thinking 'oh wow it must really fucking suck down there if he's calling the first night' and then they'd insist on sticking around and then they'd naturally be hostile which would definitely not help the whole 'trust building' thing because the Sinners are supposed to be guests not prisoners and having a fucking warden stalking around would make things even more awkward and then it would just spiral outwards into a big mess where I'm somehow the bad guy for not wanting to sleep alone."
Charlie blinked at him, a little impressed that he'd managed to say all of that in one breath while eating at the same time.
He took a gulp of his coffee. "So no. I'll get my cuddles eventually, but not before I'm certain it won't fuck with this experiment." He smirked sardonically, "Besides, it's me. Adam. The First Man. The-"
"The Dickmaster!" Charlie pumped her fist, smiling as his smirk became a bit more genuine, clinking their cups together.
"I can handle a little loneliness," he shrugged. There was something old there that Charlie decided not to poke for the time being.
The Princess looked thoughtful and even somewhat devious for a second, before smiling at him. "Not sure I appreciate this being called an 'experiment-'"
"-It fuckin' is, though," Adam pointed out.
"-But," she gave him a small, warm smile, "I do appreciate your thoughtfulness, Adam. Thank you."
Adam peered at her, peeling away skin and flesh and bone to see the Truth. There had to be something, some fuckin' scheme, some goddamn plot that would justify the daughter of his greatest enemies acting like she liked him. He'd done it several times to Charlie, and yet…
…Once again, she meant it.
The Princess of Hell, the Daughter of Lies and Infidelity meant what she fucking said.
How does someone like you exist?
"Yeah well, making my job harder ain't exactly on the top of my fucking To-Do List," he muttered, taking another pastry sheet (they called them crepes nowadays) and filling it with lightly mascerated fruit and cream. He heard a subtle, primal whine. Without looking up, he pushed the tray closer to her side of the table.
"Oh!" Charlie perked up, pleasantly surprised, "I was just about to ask…"
"Made too much," Adam grunted, "Old habit from when I had to make breakfast for the literal army of children I used to have."
How many of them did I have to kill in the end? Why don't I know the exact number?
"Actually, I had a question about that," they both looked up as Husk sat at the table, with a slightly sheepish expression, "Do you mind?"
Adam snapped his fingers and summoned a stack of small plates.
The cat demon smiled gratefully. "That's not what I meant, but the thank you," he ladled a serving of eggs and sausage into a crepe with some cheese, "It might be sorta weird, but I was wondering…so, how did you deal with all of the, uh…incest?"
Adam shrugged. "Not weird at all, I get asked that all the fuckin' time," he eyed the other Sinners trickling in, most of them looking interested in his words except for Vaggie, who tried not to and failed. He poured himself a bit more coffee as Nifty climbed up the back of his robe and settled on his shoulder. "You see my face, my skin? Notice how I don't really look like I'm from anywhere, but kinda look like I'm from fuckin' everywhere?"
Charlie nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! My m-mom had-has the same thing, though…different," she smiled weakly as Vaggie reached over to grab her hand.
"'Course The Whore would, so did Eve, in her own, superior way," the First Man bobbed his head, ignoring the frown the Princess sent him, "Our DNA, when we had it, was particularly…mutable. Like how two blondes can have a redhead kid, or two parents with blue eyes can have a kid with green eyes. Turned up to eleven, in our case." He grinned, eyes glinting with gold. "Father of All Humanity. Not some. Heh, imagine our surprise when our kids came out looking nothing like us. Or the kids before."
Vaggie frowned a little, brushing her hair over her eye patch. "Eve was the Mother of All Humanity, too," she pointed out.
"No shit," Adam said bluntly, "Of course, we loved our kids and believe it or not, the incest question came up before then. Holy shit, thank fuck our kids didn't share DNA because then we would've had to make their kids and goddammit if that wasn't a bridge too-fucking-far for us." He idly rolled a crepe filled with spicy sausage and sour cream and passed it to Nifty, who started chowing down while stroking the side of Adam's head. "Luckily, it was only our sets of twins that shared DNA, so no technical incest going on. It was only after The Flood that the kids split up and went off to make their own countries."
Husk sighed in relief. "Alright, that's good to know. That question's been bothering me for a while now."
"So what you're saying is…" Angel Dust started with a grin, "It wouldn't be weird if we did it? One more check in the box, and your list of reasons to resist is getting smaller…" He chuckled and waggled his eyebrows. "It's only a matter of time."
Adam flicked a strawberry at the pornstar, which bounced off of his forehead and would've landed on the table had Dazzle not jumped over the middle with a quiet bleat, catching the fruit in his teeth. Charlie turned to look over her shoulder and found KeeKee and Razzle once again eating from plates, along with a small pink and black spotted pig. The Princess turned a knowing smile on the First Man, who pretended not to acknowledge it.
"As interesting as this is, Sir Adam, I need to ask," Pentious spoke up after deep-throating a crepe filled with eggs and swallowing the whole thing, "…What is with you and the small one?"
Adam glanced at Nifty as he handed her a fruit-filled pastry, the small demon smiling at him. "The Great Clean One understands Nifty," she said simply, leaning over to kiss his cheek. Adam's eye twitched and he took a deep draught of his coffee, but notably did nothing else, "We Purged The Great Unclean One with fire, and began to bring true cleanliness to Hell. Still, more filth remains…" Her eye narrowed and burned as she began to growl, "The cleansing must be finished! Purge and Purify! Scourge and burn! Cl-" Adam silently handed her a cup of coffee. "Oh, thank you."
The Sinners traded looks with one another and, as one, decided not to bring it up any more. Although the tiny maid looked a bit like a parrot sitting on the First Man's shoulder, which was adorable.
"Say, my dear hosts," Alastor began with his usual smile, "You wouldn't happen-"
Adam snapped his fingers and a small bowl of raw meat mixed with herbs appeared in front of the Radio Demon. "It's spiced pork tartare," he muttered, shooting Alastor a flat look, "Call yourself a foodie but only eat raw, unspiced meat? Please."
The Radio Demon tried a bite of the dish and gained a pleasantly surprised look. "Compliments to the chef," he toasted them with a tea cup, though not full of blood.
The Happy Few dug into their breakfast, and soon enough the day had properly begun.
"Alright, everyone!" Charlie cheered, clapping her hands and teleporting the entire group to the Hotel grounds. Instead of the driveway, fountain and such, it had all been replaced by massive green vines that seemed to stretch infinitely into the distance, "Welcome to a new day at the Happy Hotel! We got a little wild and freeform yesterday which will most likely happen again, but now we've got a schedule and planned events! First is…the Trust Maze!"
Adam stepped up, Nifty still perched on his shoulder. "Learning to trust another is like navigating a dark, confusing maze," he said flatly, as if he were reciting a passage from a book, "There's fear, confusion and frustration, but if you learn to lean on each other, you can make it out. Which is what you'll be fuckin' doing!" He snapped his fingers and the Sinners were grouped together into pairs.
The first pairing was Vaggie and Husk, the second was Angel Dust and Nifty, and the final was Alastor and Sir Pentious. The Radio demon seemed rather unperturbed, though his smile was a little less lively, and Pentious' Egg Boiz dug themselves into the Snake Sinner's pockets.
"Here's how it'll happen!" The Princess also snapped her fingers and items appeared in their hands. One of each pair had a compass and the other a map. "One of you has a map that only you can read, and the other has a compass only they can read! Together, you can navigate the maze and make it out! You just have to trust the directions you get! Simple, right?"
The fallen and the bartender traded small nods and subtle smiles, while Angel Dust seemed to be dreading the upcoming tard-wrangling of Nifty, who was breathing heavily as she looked at the Maze, while Pentious was attempting to glare a hole in the side of Alastor's head.
"Very simple," Adam nodded with a smirk, "You have until lunch time to make it out. If you don't…well, it's a not reality show or anything like that so I won't get to Eradicate you or whatever, more's the pity, you'll just have been wandering around in a maze for couple of hours like a bunch of complete fuckin' jackasses wasting your goddamn time. Don't bother trying to burn, tunnel, climb or otherwise leave the maze, it won't work."
"What about you guys?" Vaggie spoke up, eyeing the First Man warily, "You gonna teleport out and relax?"
"Nope!" Charlie chimed in cheerfully, holding up her own compass as Adam pulled a map from his sleeve, "We get to do it, too! This is gonna be so fun, you guys! Try not to enjoy yourselves too much!" She skipped up to Adam and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards an opening in the maze.
Before anyone could think to follow, the hedge seamlessly flowed together. Looking around and seeing more entrances, the Sinners split off into pairs and headed deeper into the maze.
"Alright, which way is the compass pointing?" Adam asked, studying the map.
"Uh, North?" Charlie muttered, looking at the needle, "I was wondering about that, actually. All compasses point north, so shouldn't we run into each other at some point?" She giggled to herself. "Hehe, puns."
"The best ones are pun-intentional," he added with a snicker, turning the map, "But no, not these ones, they just point towards the exit. Speaking of, which way?"
She eyed the glass dial, slowly turning on her heel before bringing a finger up. "That way!" She said confidently, looking up to realize she was pointing directly into a hedge wall. "Oh."
"Alright, I know where we're going," Adam nodded and set off, his long stride meaning that even at a slow pace Charlie had to jog to keep up. "Man, I can't fuckin' wait to turn this literal walk in the park to a death maze. Flamethrowers, spike pits, walls closing in…woo, that'll be fun! And we could even say it's all about trust under pressure or some shit, that'll work."
Charlie huffed as Adam stopped before several split-offs, each seemingly leading deeper into the maze. "I'm not sure about that, but I admit it sounds fun as long as no one actually dies," she held up the compass and pointed to her left, "That way." The First Man consulted his map and they went down the rightmost path, the Princess breathing hard as she tried to keep up, smiling even as she did, "You know, it makes me happy you're so into this, Adam! I know part of it is the 'entertainment' thing, but I'm glad you're contributing so much! I really appreciate you getting over your grudge!"
She ran into his back and bounced off, falling on her rear as she looked up. Adam had turned to her, golden eyes flat and boring into her skull, looming over her.
"'Getting over my grudge?'" He echoed, an edge of sarcasm in his tone despite the blankness of his features, "Since when, the fuck, did I get over my…grudge?"
Charlie gulped, realizing a bit too late that she may've said the wrong thing. "I-I mean…you're helping me right now?" She waved a hand at the hotel grounds, "I'm their daughter, you know? I-"
"Oh I fuckin' know you're their daughter, Princess," Adam practically snarled, eyes darting over her features, "Every time I see you out of the corner of my eye, I think that twink motherfucker snuck up on me somehow. Every time you do that little hair flip, I see Lilith. Believe me, I'm very fucking aware of who and what you are. And understand this: I. Hate. Your parents."
"But, why?" She couldn't help but ask, thoughts filled with her childhood storybook, despite the revelations she'd had.
"Why?" He whispered incredulously, even as his eyes began to glow, "Why?" He breathed deeply, squeezing his eyes shut with a grimace, "…You don't know. You can't know. You can't even conceive of what they took from us. What they ruined. With their Pride and their Ego, they…destroyed Perfection. Not just for me," he gestured sharply with a finger, somehow encompassing all of reality with the movement, "Everyone. Hell…wasn't supposed to exist. Sin wasn't supposed to exist. Everything that happened since…The Fall, everything is m-their fault."
Adam growled under his breath, running a hand through his messy hair like he was tempted to tear it out. Instead, he spun on his heel and began to walk off.
Charlie scrambled to her feet and ran after him, nearly slipping in the depths of the dark, foggy maze. "Adam, wait!" She caught up to him, reaching for his arm and instead snagging his wide sleeve. His eyes snapped towards her with burning anger in those gilded irises. "I know, now, that you still hate them-"
"There is no one in existence who hates them more," he murmured, voice somehow deeper, softer. There was a clicking sound, a rasp and clatter, the noise of dried bones rolling over one another.
Estuans interius.
Charlie shook off the shudder that went down her spine. "-I get that," she swallowed thickly and met his eyes, "So…why are you helping me? If you hate them so much?"
Adam looked at her, his face softening a bit. "…Because you aren't them," he said simply, "I don't hold to that 'Sins of the Father' shit. I've seen too many kids raised by 'good' people turn into vile bastards and too many kids raised by vile bastards become good people to judge a person on their parents. What they do matters more than who they are. And you, Charlie…you have balls."
The Princess frowned and looked down at herself and experimentally squeezed her thighs together. "No I don't!" She protested, before squinting thoughtfully, "Unless you mean eyeballs…"
He snorted and rolled his eyes and she smiled. "You've got fire. Gumption. Whatever you want to call it. You stood on the tower closest to the portal, saw the Eradicators pouring through, and you asked us to go home. Heh." Adam shook his head, "Even when I explained what the fuck was actually happening- still my bad, by the way -you still had the guts to jump in front of me to tell me your plan. First you had my curiosity, but then you had my attention."
Charlie laughed quietly. "I almost didn't, you know? You were- still kinda are -the scariest thing to me. But…if I really meant what I said, I…had to say it to your face, you know? Or mask." She checked her compass and frowned. "Oh, it's pointing behind us now."
"Yeah, the maze shifts and the compass changes directions after a while," he replied, checking the map and changing direction, Charlie still holding his sleeve as she jogged after him, "See, Charlie, that's why. Conviction is easy if it's never tested, just ask your fucking shit parents. That you wanted to test it, against me of all people…guts, as I said. That Fucker, the Whore…they wouldn't have done that."
She frowned a little, but couldn't help but smile at the compliment. "So, what would you've done if I hadn't?"
"The exact fuckin' opposite," Adam said bluntly, "Imagine if you'd had your daddy try to call me out of Heaven like I'm a dog or something. Ooh boy, I'd be pissed. You think I'm bad now? Just wait til I actually try."
She grinned, breathing hard as they turned a corner, "Maybe even…sang a song about how…much I suck?" Charlie huffed and wiped her face on her sleeve. It wasn't hot, but all the movement and the thick mist had her dripping with sweat.
"Oh fuck yes," he smiled, looking down at her and frowning. "Alright, hold on." He stepped in front of her and knelt down with his back towards her, "Much as I enjoy you being all sweaty and panting in my ear-"
…What the fuck did I just say?
"-This'll be easier on both of us if I carry you," he finished, not acknowledging the heat in his face.
"I-I, uh," Charlie licked her lips and tried not to think about what he'd just said, "Are you…sure? Much as I'd like to ride you-" Her eyes went wide.
What the fuck did I just say?!
"-I wouldn't want to get your robes all sweaty," she hurriedly finished, trying and failing not to think of herself, Vaggie and the man before her all…sweaty.
"It's fine," Adam said gruffly, "Not like I can't get clean in a snap."
She gulped and nodded, carefully climbing between his wings and wrapping her arms around his neck, her legs going around his torso. "Alright, so…" Despite it all, she didn't feel remotely childish riding on his back, the warmth of his body seeping through his robe, "Uh, that way."
He grunted and set off, his long legs eating the distance easily. "So, next maze, do you want to keep the pairs as is until they can get out regularly or swap them around?" Adam grinned at the thought of what the other pairs were getting up to, especially Angel Dust with Nifty and Alastor with Pentious.
"I think we can swap Vaggie and Angel Dust around, I don't like the thought of pairing Alastor up with someone whose soul he owns," Charlie frowned at the thought, her grip tightening on the compass.
"Mm," Adam growled more than hummed, the vibration making her tingle. He checked the map.
"That way," she pointed, and he nodded before taking another path. Charlie looked at the side of his head and couldn't resist the urge. She leaned in and sniffed his ear. "…Hey, you smell pretty good, Adam!"
"Thanks," he said without blinking, "You smell pretty good too, Charlie."
"Really?" She took a whiff of her shoulder and found that it didn't smell like much, besides a hint of sweat. "What do I smell like to you?"
He hummed, rounding a corner. "…I'd say something like…peaches, or some sort of fruit and maybe…cream? Something light and sweet. With a hint of something…smoky."
Charlie bobbed her head, that sounded like a good smell to have. Wait…"Is the smoky smell brimstone?" Brimstone smelled like sulfur, and sulfur smelled like farts, which was a bad smell to have.
"No, more like sweet woodsmoke, almost like…" Adam trailed off, and she didn't need to see his eyes to know that they had taken that disquieting glaze.
She sniffed his ear again, loud enough that it made him jerk in surprise. "Well, you smell like…clean moss and stone, I didn't know clean stone had a smell, kind of a grassy, pine-y, tree-y scent with…I think it's called musk?" Charlie shrugged as best she could in her position, "Honestly, you smell a lot better than I thought you would."
"…Okay, and what kind of smelly bastard did you think I was?" he asked, with amusement plain in his voice, "And if you did, why'd you sniff me?"
"Well…stale and sweaty, I guess," Charlie answered a bit bashfully, "Not for anything bad, I just figured your robe was really warm. As for why…" She tried not to duck her head or blush, "…I'm a woman, I'm allowed to be mysterious. That way."
She failed.
"Right," Adam chuckled lowly, "Keep your secrets, then." He turned to the right, and they were suddenly transported from the maze to a balcony jutting from the hotel overlooking it. "Oh hey, we made it through."
"I knew we would!" Charlie chirped and looked around, rather impressed with the scenery. There were a pair of chaise lounges, all white leather and yellow oak, with a table in-between that held a tea service of a pot, teacups, saucers, sugar and milk bowls, plus a plate of what looked like lemon-creme shortbread cookies. "Ooh, this is fancy…A little too fancy, actually." She shot him an amused look, "…There a reason why?"
He smirked as he sat on one of the lounges, pouring himself a cup of tea as he picked a couple of cookies and placed them on the saucer. "How else are you supposed to point and laugh at the groundlings as they scurry about without the proper high-class bullshit?" He poured a cup with an exaggerated smarmy grin and English accent, "Would you care for some tea, Missus Morningstar? These silly buggers might not make the deadline, pahahaha! As expected of peasants!"
"Indubitably, Sir Adam," she replied with an equally pompous tone, ruining the effect a bit by giggling. With a snap of her fingers, Charlie threw up a screen displaying the other pairs as they went about their task. "Oh, Husk and Vaggie are getting close to the end!"
"Naturally," Adam bobbed his head, "They're the most level-headed of this group of fuckin' whackadoos. Us and them are gonna end up being the anchors here, Alastor and Nifty are gonna be the main problems."
"Yeah, Angel and Nifty really haven't made all that much progress," the Princess frowned, tapping her chin as she watched the dots representing the Sinners move through the maze, "And Alastor and Pentious, well…we knew that was gonna be a bust."
"Tard-wrangling Nifty's gonna be an issue, I think I'll have to stick it out with her before anyone else can make progress," the First Man muttered, sipping from his teacup which looked positively tiny in his hands.
"It almost sounds like you're volunteering," Charlie pointed out with a victorious smirk.
"Hey, sister gets it, and she's pretty calm around me," he shrugged, nibbling on a cookie and frowning at the display. "…This isn't as funny as I thought it would be," he sighed, looking at the screen showing the pairs walking around, "I mean, death maze is gonna be awesome, but this is just a bunch of people walking around…like jackasses."
"Yeah…" Charlie frowned slightly, turning to look at Adam, "Want to play a game instead?" She summoned a checkerboard onto the table between them.
"Why not?" He shrugged and downed his tea before turning to the board and making the first move, "…You know, games are also kinda boring if there aren't any stakes."
"Isn't gambling a sin?" She asked, making her own move and taking a bite out of a cookie and humming, "Mm, tasty."
"Not bets, just losing money and dignity and whatnot," Adam muttered, moving another piece, "You'll find a lot of Sins, even major ones, are bad because of excess, not existence. Learning how to moderate is the key."
"Mmhm," Charlie nodded, taking one of his pieces, "So, low-stakes is okay? Favors would be alright, right?"
"Long as they aren't weird," he bobbed his head, smirking as he jumped a piece over two of hers in quick succession, "Haha! Suck it!"
"You little…!" The Princess pouted at him, then grinned victoriously as she jumped three of his pieces and landed her own in his backline. "Ha! Queen me, bitch!"
He growled under his breath, and the two focused on their game until… "What?! How did you beat me?!" Adam slapped a hand to his face as Charlie jumped on her lounge to dance victoriously, "Come on, man…"
"That's goin' on the trophy wall, oh yeah!" She hopped off of the chair and loudly slurped her tea with a smarmy grin, "Alright, and for my winnings, you…have to hug whoever leaves the maze next! With your wings!"
He looked up at her, his golden wings rustling as they twitched, and again, he almost seemed nervous. "I, uh, with my wings?" Adam brushed his hand over his gilded feathers, "That's…kind of a lot to ask, you know?"
Charlie tilted her head curiously. "…It is?" She asked innocently.
He gave her an incredulous look before thinking back. "Oh right, you don't have wings," he muttered, running a hand through his hair, "That still sucks, by the way. Flying is the best part of having wings, and wing-hugs are a close second…and, well…"
The Princess thought back. She'd only seen Adam wing-hugging his angels…who were his lovers. She remembered, far back when she wasn't even a century old, she'd seen her mom and dad with their wings out and hugging…and she suddenly realized something. "O-oh," Charlie breathed, recalling the feeling of his wings and arms wrapped around her, "Wing-hugging is something lovers do, isn't it?"
Adam shrugged a shoulder, not exactly meeting her eyes. "Not just lovers, but it is, well…" He looked up, gold irises meeting red. "…Intimate." There was a flush of gold under his skin, and Charlie felt her face burn.
They looked away from each other. "O-okay," she coughed into her hand, "Just regular hugs, then."
There was a moment of awkward silence.
"Soooo…." They both jumped as a loud pop rang out, Vaggie and Husk appearing out of thin air. "Ohthankfuckadisctraction! Hey babe, good job, you're the second group to make it out!" Charlie quickly hopped over and planted a kiss on her fallen girlfriend.
Husk looked up at Adam as the First Man walked up to him. "…You aren't going to kiss me, are you?" He asked flatly.
"Nope," Adam nodded, then pulled the cat demon into a hug. "Good fuckin' job."
Husk's hat nearly fell off as his eyebrows shot up. "…Okay, thank you." He looked around Adam and saw the checkerboard. "…Lost a bet, huh?"
"Yup," the First Man nodded, turning to the fallen, "Alright, bitch, let's get this over with."
Vaggie shrank back, pushing Charlie in front of her as a shield, "Uh, no, thanks," she realized what she'd done and her brain visibly fried as she tried to decide what to do.
Charlie spun the fallen around in front of her. "Too bad!" She cheered, pushing her girlfriend into Adam's arms before pulling Husk into a hug herself. "Hugs for everyone!"
Vaggie tried not to sink into the warmth of Adam's robe. She failed. She tried to hate how nice it felt to have his arms around her. She failed that, too. She tried to hate how she failed at the second. She succeeded. "A-alright, enough of that shit," she slipped under one of his arms and flopped down on a lounge, snatching up a cookie and biting into it as if it owed her a blood price.
"So, checkers?" Husk asked, pouring some of his flask into a teacup, "I'm more of a cards kinda guy, but I'm not bad. Not exactly a four-player game, though."
"Well I got a fuckin' topical board game," Adam smirked, snapping his fingers and summoning a game of Sorry! "We've still got an hour and a half before time's up, so might as well."
As they played, taking great pleasure in each other's setbacks and casually booing their progress, Charlie looked up and met Adam's eyes. The easy, casual conversation was still there, but she couldn't help but feel that something was getting in the way. She couldn't help but feel it was the other people. Adam gave her a small smirk and knocked one of her pieces over with a chunk of cookie, which she flicked back at his head.
It was alright, though.
Immaculara, 2.18;
"This information is very useful, Adam," Metatron spoke, his many eyes fixed on the tablet Yevona had presented the First Man. "Forewarned is forearmed, after all."
"Indeed," Adam nodded, leaning against his spear. The cost of the day had been high, though far lesser than the previous invasion. "Please, remember that Yevona, my daughter, brought this to us at the cost of her life."
"It will be recorded, that I swear," the Scribe of Heaven bobbed in place before disappearing into the Council Chambers.
"Adam, you should remember that she became twisted by Sin and invaded Heaven," Raphael interjected with a frown, his eyes filled with sorrow, "Her actions cost lives, not just her own."
"I am very aware of the actions of my children," the First Man said stiffly, his hand tightening around the shaft of his spear, "And I am very aware of the consequences."
The Seraph of Healing sighed and nodded. "You are right. I am still…overwhelmed. My apologies." He too, departed the Council Chambers.
"We will continue our training tomorrow, Adam," Michael spoke, lightly running his fingers over the blade of a sword of Pure Light, "But for tonight, you must rest. Twice Heaven has been invaded, and twice you have stood as a bulwark before our enemies. I would stand beside you and cast our enemies from the Pit whence they came, but only if you may still stand. Please."
Adam nodded to the Seraphim and turned to depart, using his spear as a walking stick even as his wings of silver trailed along the ground. The Golden City was quiet in the dark of the night, even after the battle that was had that day.
Adam's own abode, though sprawling and holding many rooms and beds, was painfully cold and empty. He set his spear aside and sank onto the bed he had once shared with Eve, long too large and empty.
Once upon time, he would wake every morn to the face of his wife in repose. Once upon a time, he would fall asleep every night to the warmth of her arms. Once upon a time, not a day would go by that he did not taste the sweetness of her lips, embrace the softness of her flesh, and gaze into the loving light of her eyes. Once upon a time, their home had been filled with children, adult and child, and lovely, noisy chaos.
On Earth, their home and the city that had been built had long washed away in the Flood.
In Heaven, long had it sat, still and empty.
As he had so many times before, Adam clutched the pillow his wife rested her head on, and buried his face in the fabric. "I am so sorry, my love," he whimpered, hoping she may yet hear him, "I could not save you from sickness, though I promised. I could not meet you in Heaven, though I promised. And I could not save our children from Sin, though I promised. And now…when they should have been welcomed, I must repel our children from Heaven. When they should have lived forever…they must be slain by their Father. And all I wish…is to look into your eyes once more. I wonder if Falling to meet you would be worth it. I curse myself that I cannot."
He looked up from the pillow, upon his cold and empty home.
And Adam wept, for he was alone.
A hand touched his shoulder, and Adam was no longer alone. He turned his gaze up, and met the sorrow-filled eyes of Seraphiel. "First Harmony, why do you grieve? Your daughter's soul returned to the Well, to be cleansed and reborn…is that not joyous?"
"No, Sera," Adam answered even as she dried his tears, for he knew that she did not. "Her soul will no longer be as it was. even if she were to earn The Reward, she would not be as my daughter…I have lost her twice."
"I am so sorry, Adam," the Seraph whispered, her hand on his cheek, "I too feel sorrow for the lives that have been stolen, yet I cannot understand the depths of such. You and I are adrift in a sea of grief, and I would not have us drown." She knelt before him and kissed Adam gently, her lips as soft as the clouds of Heaven, "Would you cling to me, as I would to you?"
Adam gladly took her into his arms, for he loved her dearly. Sera disrobed before him, the dark of her skin glowing in the light of the moon, and once more he was struck by her beauty.
He held her tight, as she did he, and he drank of her lips and sighs as if fine wine.
"Let our sorrowful voices join as one and our bodies the same, that we sing of harmony and joy," she murmured, the softness of her flesh pulling him in to her, "Let us find pleasure together, so that, if only for this night, our world should be right."
…Right.
…Right?
"-Alright everyone! Maybe you didn't finish the maze, but you made a good effort!" Charlie announced cheerfully, "And now, Adam has something for you…right Adam?"
The First Man blinked blearily and looked around. They were in the library, around a table with all the Sinners. Angel Dust seemed more than a little frazzled while Nifty was strapped into a booster seat, and Alastor had his ever-present smile while Pentious was still trying to bore a hole into the side of his head.
…When did we leave the balcony?
"I say, why so glum, chum?" The Radio demon chuckled, "You seem a bit out of sorts, First Man."
Adam grunted. "I'm disappointed, Period Piece, Pentious," the former merely arched an eyebrow while the latter shrank under his hood, "I mean, fuck, man, I knew you'd fuck it up somehow, but I'd kinda hoped you'd actually work together just to troll me or something, not…well, not even try like you did. I set the bar as low as it could go, and you still managed to clonk your head on it. Bravo, chucklefucks."
"Er, Sir Adam," the Snake Sinner spoke up, "You…you do realize this bastard," he jacked a thumb at Alastor, who nodded his head, "Is my- one of my archnemesises, right? Expecting us to work together-"
"Bit of a hard sell, yeah? Almost like…that was a lesson of some kind, holy shit," he clapped his hands to his cheeks and gave them an exaggerated look of surprise, then dropped it. "Yeah, no fuckin' duh, slithery boy. It was a metric to see if you'd actually try, succeeding or not was a moot point. If you're only gonna try when it's easy, then you aren't actually trying, are you?" Adam took a second to rub his eyes.
…I'm so tired.
"Anyway, here," he slid a simple leather bound book in front of every Sinner, including Charlie, "These are your 'Redemption Journals.' Write whatever you want in them, we won't read 'em, but you have to make at least one entry a week. I'll fuckin' know if you haven't." Adam shrugged, "And hey, if this whole experiment bears any kinda fruit, maybe they'll use the journals as future lessons or some shit. Could be part of history, who knows?"
The Sinners, some of whom had been eyeing the blank journals with distaste, had actually perked up at the thought.
"Alright, everyone!" Charlie clapped her hands, giving them all a bright smile, "I know you might want to get started on your first entry, but first- Adam?" The First Man had turned away from the table, padding away almost silently.
"Gonna take a nap," he muttered, rubbing his eyes, "If you need me for something…don't."
Adam ignored the whispering from the table as he found a couch and flopped down on it, his feet hanging over one arm while his head was propped on the other, staring up at the ceiling as he crossed his arms behind his head. The couch was comfortable, the air was moving, and all he could smell was old and new books. It was the perfect place to nap, as he'd designed. All it was missing was a soft body to hold.
Maybe I'll actually sleep this time?
He closed his eyes and tried to rest.
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(message from the future: 'cause FF sucks, this story's mostly been posted on AO3 and is up to chapter 11. It's also up to 14 on my P-atreon.)
A/N:And here comes the second day at the Happy Hotel which leads into the next arc: fuckin' group therapy for everyone!
You get a tragic backstory, you get a tragic backstory, everyone gets a tragic backstory!
And therapy, too.
So the next Arc is going to be a little different in that the framing device for most of the chapters in it will be taking place from the POV of that character's journal. Also, it'll culminate in a bit of a time skip, but not a huge one, while also summarizing some of the stuff that was skipped over in a way that the character would summarize it. Otherwise I'd have to write out every day of about a year a chapter and no one wants that, least of all me.
It's all about that deep shit. Deepening bonds of trust! Deepening interpersonal relationships! Deepening backstories! And I mean that, everyone is gonna have to confront something about themselves and learn to grow…almost like I'm actually trying to write redemption arcs that aren't just enabling and forgiving their worst habits, holy shit!
And yes, Nifty does make the best parrot.
Honestly, the scene in the maze was supposed to be more tense where they fell into awkward silence, but as I was writing it I was like, 'wait, that's not what this Charlie would do' and instead it became a scene where their relationship got even better! These two just bounce off of each other way too well, I swear.
Plus, obviously, Adam's backstory and yeah, he and Sera have gone at it before and likely will again. Only man in Heaven who treats the angels with familiarity, maybe they get to thinking about these 'pleasures of the flesh' and who would they go to find out about that? Well, the one they trust the most, with the most experience. Plus, I just like the idea.
And yeah, that's one of things I realized when I started writing this: If Adam was the only one of his family to end up in Heaven, being a defender against the forces of Hell…how many of his children did have to kill?
Oh boy, ten thousand years is a long time to get traumatized, isn't it?
Next time, we get Charlie's Diary POV.
Big thanks, as always, to NSG for being the MAN, why not give his works a peek and tell him I sent you?
And thanks to everyone in the discord, my own and The First Man Collective.
Biggest thanks, of course, to you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to more; if you did, why not comment or review and let me know what you thought? Whatever you do, I hope you have a good day, and a better summer.
Stay Awesome!
~Soleneus
P.S.: Honestly, I've slowed down a bit, though not out of a lack of ideas, the gravy train is still full of fuel (chapter 9 is already done and chapter 10 is close) but because work has been kicking my fucking ass. It's hard to write when your hands/entire body is cramping after what's basically an eight-hour long endurance workout.
If there is one true, all-devouring beast…it is The Consumer. They do not care for your excuses, your fatigue or things that aren't your fault, all they want…is to consume.
Ugh.
Hope your summer's been going good! Basically a month left before we start transitioning to Fall weather, which…christ, it feels like this year's just flown by.
I'm OLD T-T
Stay Awesome Some More.
~still Soleneus