The scene they walked in on in the Hotel Lobby was quite a mess. The amount of repairs that Lucifer was going to do on the Hotel was growing with each passing second, though they were going to need to start with picking the Hotel Residents up first. A quick survey of the room tells him the state that each of them were in, and it wasn't great. Angel and Husk were completely unconscious, laying in some rubble. Charlie and Vaggie were hanging onto each other, clearly injured but at least awake. Niffty was hanging from the remains of the stairs tangled in some wire, laughing wildly like she was enjoying the electric shocks it sent through her. The real draw of the room though was Leviathan.
The Sin of Envy looked almost like he was dancing with Lute, his hands tucked behind his back as he ducked and twisted to avoid the sword swiping at him. Lute, despite clearly taking on nearly the entire Hotel, looked relatively unharmed. Though Leviathan was wearing her down, he could see the beads of sweat gathering on her face that dripped down into her clothes. The wounds on her body were sluggishly bleeding yet she moved like she didn't feel a single one of them. Swinging her sword with that same reckless movements that an exterminator had.
He was questioning why Leviathan didn't simply pin her down with his shadows, but the moment that thought bloomed in his head… he learned why. One of her strikes came too close to him, Leviathan blocked the hit with the shadow. Though it gave him a moment to lean away, the sword cut clear through his magic like it was simply paper.
Lucifer narrowed his gaze. "How did she get her holy sword?"
"You didn't turn a human into a sinner, Lucifer. You turned an angel into a sinner." Michael stated, folding his arms across his chest as he watched the fight. "Humans gain their magic down here based on their crimes in the mortal realm. Her own now comes from her life as an angel. Her sword must be that physical manifestation." Great, a sinner who can summon an angelic weapon on demand, that was what Hell needed.
Sighing he turned his head toward Alastor. "We need to help Leviathan pin her down and then I need you to do the Radio Demon thing."
"The Radio Demon thing." Alastor parroted, an amused smile dragging onto his lips. "Of course, Sire."
Turning his head back to his brother he nodded his head in Leviathan's direction. "Go help slow her down. Once I can get a grip on her I can chain her down."
"Hm… very well. Though you might want to be quick." His gaze darts over toward Angel and Husk. "Holy wounds are quite deadly for sinners. You might want me to heal them sooner rather than later." Lucifer knows that, and he is unfathomably grateful that his brother intends on healing them at all. But stopping Lute does come first. If they can get her calmed down, bound to Alastor, then they'll actually stand a chance here.
They split up with a nod from the King of Hell. Lucifer took a position behind Lute, his cane held tightly in his grip as he started pushing his magic into it. Michael stepped up beside Leviathan and grabbed his arm, yanking him out of the way of another attack that might have landed a little bit too close for comfort. The Sin snapped his head up to the side, surprise filling his gaze as he took in Michael's face.
"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes."
"Still only know how to dodge, Leviathan?" Michael yanked the other behind him as he caught Lute's wrist, stopping her from cutting the both of them.
"Ah, you know, thought I would wear her down for you all."
"Right. It's not at all because your shadows are pathetic against holy magic."
Leviathan hummed at that and straightened up, tugging his arm from Michael's grip. Lute was struggling quite hard against the Archangel's hold, which she actually managed to free herself from when she swung her sword down. The tip of it dug right into Michael's hip and he dropped his hold on her, taking a few steps back. While she got the upper hand again, swinging her sword down at them, the two men leaned back to the side to avoid being slashed.
Lips thinning Michael snapped her gaze over toward the woman. "Are you trying to piss me off right now?"
Amusement danced in the Sin of Envy's eyes and he turned his head cheerfully toward Michael. "Swearing now?"
Snapping his head to the side the Archangel glared at him. "I'm starting to think I should have let her stab you."
"Wouldn't that have been so dull for you though?"
If their bickering served anything for him, it was an incredible distraction. Lute hadn't even noticed Lucifer behind her, or the few steps he had taken toward her with his magic fed onto the cane. When he was close enough to her for this to work, he raised the cane up and drew a pentagram in the air with the apple head. The golden magic wove together in front of him and with a final push of his magic, shoved the seal into the ex-exterminator. The magic hit her, pulsed in the air once and then split to form a set of golden chains. They wrapped tightly around her and yanked her right down to the floor of the Hotel.
Pinned in place, by the King of Hell himself, no matter how much she struggled or managed to cut at the chains, she wouldn't move. The level of control he had over the sinners in his domain was rather incredible. They could not, and would not, ever beat him. Which was something she realized quite quickly, given the frustrated scream she let out.
Leviathan breathed out a sigh and rubbed his temple, glaring down at Lute. "Never been so happy to see you, Lucifer." He nodded his head at that and smiled over at his friend. "When Seviathan said you unleashed a psychopath on them, I had actually thought he meant him." A brief wave of his hand toward the Radio Demon. Alastor only looked amused at this of course. "Not a crazy woman on a murderous rampage. I suppose that's far more terrifying."
"I healed your son, by the way." Michael stated, drawing Leviathan's gaze to him. He looked surprised, yet grateful at the same time. "I didn't know you got married. He looks… a lot like you when you were younger. I mean a lot. It's impressive."
"He's a part of me." The Sin replied, crossing his arms over his chest and motioning toward his body. "Literally. From my tail. I didn't get married."
Blinking, Michael ran his gaze along Leviathan's body. "That… is so weird."
"Alastor." Lucifer motioned down toward Lute and nodded his head at the Radio Demon. Their gazes briefly met, the smile that twisted on the demon's face looking manipulative and malicious in nature. As he made his way over to do as planned, Lucifer stepped away, quickly heading toward his daughter and Vaggie on the ground. Her wounds didn't look bad, but Vaggie looked like she was barely holding it together. Falling down beside them he took his daughter's hand and looked her over carefully. When he was satisfied Vaggie seemed to take the worst of the damage, he turned his gaze to her. "I haven't healed anything properly since my fall. If you don't mind being a test subject, I can try."
Though she narrowed her gaze, perhaps a bit distrustful or even doubtful, she finally nodded in acceptance. Lucifer let Charlie go to take Vaggie's hand instead and closed his eyes, focusing on the magic that still burned brightly inside of him and tried to will it to stitch the wounds on the angel back together. Thankfully, unlike Alastor, she was an angel herself. He didn't need to pull the holy energy from her and could actually instead use it to help heal her. This would prevent him from hurting himself the way he had when helping the Radio Demon.
It takes him only a few minutes and when he felt Vaggie feel properly put together, he took his hand back from her. Turning his head to the side he saw that Michael and Leviathan were helping Angel and Husk out of the debris they had fallen into. Seviathan had made his way into the room with Seir, the owl demon trembling against him and looking like he'd seen the depths of Hell itself. Satisfied they were all alright, he turned to Alastor.
The Radio Demon walked slowly around Lute, watching her closely, calculating in every single way. A new game had started for him and he was once again placing the chess pieces on the board. His gaze darted across her, taking in the sword that now laid in front of her and the painful chains that forced her onto the ground. The more she struggled, the tighter his seal would become. If she fought too hard, it would start shredding her soul. Hopefully she had some sense of self-preservation. When he looped back around in front of her again, the Radio Demon stopped and pressed his cane against the ground. Leaning against it he watched Lute with a cunning smile. "Well, it seems we have a deal to make, Lute." Her gaze narrowed up at him and Alastor grinned wider. "I assure you this is a good thing for your sake."
"Fuck you and fuck whatever you want."
"Well, see, you're not in a position to say that." Shrugging a bit Alastor straightened up and tapped his fingers against his cane. "Now, I'm happy to provide but you'll have to pull your end of this weight. Where in Heaven you had a high status, power and a flashy title. Down here, you have nothing. You are no better than a deer waiting for the hunter to strike. You are nothing, and you'll continue to have nothing by doing this." He leaned forward and widened his smile, all of his yellowed teeth showing. "Unless you make a deal with me."
Lute shook her head several times and Alastor raised his eyebrows at her. Humming quietly the demon leaned on his cane again as he spoke. "Allow me to make this clear to you. Down here, power is determined by the deals a demon carries. Either the ones you make with those more powerful than you, or the ones you make to own souls. You have none of that. The demons down here will eat you alive and enjoy every moment of it."
He can see the shudder that Lute gives at that and Alastor realizes he has her right where he wants her. "Now, I am one of the most powerful demons down here, and I can gladly boost your station." Swinging his cane around he tucked it behind his back and slowly reached his left hand down, the green magic swirling around him as he lowered his voice. "All it will cost is your soul."
"You want my soul?" She demanded and Lucifer had to agree. When he told Alastor to do this, he hadn't thought the Radio Demon would make a deal for the woman's soul. Why did he want that? What good did it do him? Well, he supposed technically speaking, this was the best way to control her. She certainly couldn't ever do anything like this again, hooked so strongly beneath the demon's control.
"Think of it this way, dear. If you manage to complete your rehabilitation, if you can actually get into Heaven, you'll get your soul back. If you actually want that. You're not off to a good start." That was putting it lightly. Alastor flashed her another wide grin, still waiting patiently. "Make the deal with me if you want to live still, Lute. Or has your fall from grace destroyed you? Made you this pathetic, waste of space with nothing left to offer? If you're this satisfied with being useless, I could just consume your soul right now on my Radio Show. Broadcast all your screams for Hell to hear."
He catches the way Lute grinds her teeth together at that, her hands clenching on the ground as frustration wells within her. No one likes to be told they're useless, but even more so for someone like her? Being told she's powerless and just waiting to be consumed was even worse. Lute was the type of person who put stock in power, in being the best, that's where the pride came from. To be like this, to be told she's no better than pebble in a large ocean, it would frustrate her more than anything ever has.
The room seems to fall entirely silent as Alastor waits for her response, his hand still held out and the green magic swirling around him. He sees her contemplate this, sees the way her mind tries to rationalize this, and realizes what everyone else already has. For her, there was no way out of this. As Alastor said; had nothing, and she would continue to have nothing unless she took his deal. She could try and form one with another demon, but someone would kill her before she even got that far. He's certain there's a long list of demons who would love to rip her head from her neck and consume her. And she has to know that herself.
Lucifer sees the moment that understanding dwells on her, the fact there was no way out of this, that no one was going to save her–that she couldn't save herself. It weighs on her, pulls her down, and she finally nods. A small one, that looked more like her dropping her head, but a nod. Lute moved a little bit and offered her hand out, which Alastor grabbed without a single bit of hesitation. The magic entwined with her own new demonic one, red merging with green, and the remains of the Hotel trembled as the deal with the Radio Demon was sealed.
Alastor pulled his hand back the moment it was done and wiped his palm on his coat. Turning away from Lute he swung his cane up behind his back and tapped it against his shoulder blades. "Now that this is taken care of, we need to repair the mess you made and find you a room. Since you'll be staying with us." There was no room for argument in his voice, and she didn't get an option. Not with Alastor possessing her soul now.
As the other made his way over toward them, Lucifer turned his head back around and set his gaze on his daughter. Charlie didn't look very pleased with the outcome of this, Alastor handled this by claiming Lute's soul was undoubtedly what she didn't want. However, to Lucifer, this was the best outcome. Keeping a grip on this sinner was going to be the most important thing. Especially if Michael wanted to make use of her. If somehow, Lute staying here, could prove Charlie's Hotel works, this was what he needed to do. She could be mad, she could be disappointed, but they would have this woman under control now.
"Charlie, are you alright? Did you get hurt?"
His daughter shook her head and leaned forward, pressing her forehead against Vaggie's shoulder. "No, Vaggie took the hits for me." Which doesn't surprise him at all. The angel was quite protective of his daughter. "The Hotel is in shambles again." And he can see, clearly, that she was blaming herself for that. Which wasn't right, none of this was her fault. If it was anyone's, it was Lucifer's. For not thinking before sending Lute down here. From what Seviathan said, Charlie had tried her best to talk sense into her and that just simply didn't work. That wasn't her fault, Lute was just a stubborn person. She was never going to talk sense into someone like that.
"We'll fix it. I'm here now, and I promise you we'll fix it." Lucifer pulled a smile onto his face for his daughter and tried to reassure her as best as he could. This much, at the very least, he could do for her. That was what it meant to be a father. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get back down here, but it'll be alright." Reaching his hand out he gently squeezed her shoulder and watched her nod her head against Vaggie's shoulder.
Pulling away from Charlie, Lucifer stood back up and turned toward the lobby of the Hotel, spotting his twin standing beside Leviathan again with a contemplative look thrown across his surroundings. Alastor had stopped near them, partly between where Lucifer was and the two of them, his head tilted to the side as he listened to the conversation that was happening. Making his way over toward the Radio Demon, he watched Leviathan turn his head over toward Michael.
"They build it from the parts that Lucifer creates. The Hotel runs off of magic, and some electricity. His magic doesn't work well with that and the Radio Demon abhors it. Or more accurately, technology. He seems fine with lights and outlets. I really don't understand it. Lucifer himself just never bothered to try and figure it all out." Leviathan shrugged and Michael gave a small hum at that answer.
"Seems like a waste of energy, or is there some bonding aspect at forcing yourself to do the manual labor part?" Michael kicked a rock and watched it roll across the ground. "He could literally build the entire place back up with magic. We created much more difficult things before. This is supposed to be some sort of rehabilitation thing and I guess doing the work yourself would hit a few of the virtues… it just also feels pointless."
"You should see them in envy then. What's that mortal saying? The blind leading the blind? They're certainly a hot mess trying to create the apartment complex."
"Apartment complex?" The Archangel parroted, turning to slowly look over at the Sin of Envy. "What on earth are you talking about?"
"Oh, dear Michael, you have missed a lot up in those clouds." The grin that Leviathan got on his face was sharp and he watched the sin fold his arms across his chest as he leaned toward the angel. "Maybe you should leave that holy realm a bit more often. You do far too much up there. You always were the one that tried to take on every single task that you could. Eventually it was going to rip you apart."
There was certainly some truth to Leviathan's words. Words he himself had told Michael before at one point. His brother earned the title "the one most like God" for everything that he did do and he was always taking on more. Weighing himself down trying to be everything that he could be, much as father himself was everything. The universe, the natural order, the law, the creation. But the more weight that Michael put on himself, the more he struggled to balance it all. Stress, undoubtedly, was a bit part of the reason that he had started to break so much, struggling to see through the clouds at what he was meant to be doing it all for.
As he told his brother; when the lines start to blur and the wrongs become rights, you lose a piece of yourself. Michael could stand to take a step back and breathe, learn to live a little and have fun. Who knew that a place like Hell could actually seem less stressful than Heaven. Maybe, if he stayed in Hell and experienced more of it, he could see the value in it. That at least was something that Lucifer would like. Alastor had shown him the value in his realm, maybe Michael could learn too. He could change, just like they were arguing everyone else could too.
His brother crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his gaze slightly at Leviathan. "Diligence is a virtue. It's also just a good habit to have in life."
"Did I say become the Sin of Sloth?" Leviathan argued back, raising an eyebrow at him. "I said, learn to relax a little bit. When you experience more of the world around you, you learn. That is how progress is made, how things grow and develop. Life experience is only accumulated through encountering new situations. How can you know what Hell is like if you don't actually visit it?" He motions with his hand toward Lute. "Take her for example, you probably would have realized what was going on far sooner than now if you had simply left your office to see what the exterminators were up to. You keep control by knowing everything that's going on. There is value in knowledge, Michael."
A complicated expression crossed his brother's face, one that was clearly thoughtful as if he was actually listening to what Leviathan was saying. That, or playing back all of Lucifer's words along with it. He does believe he made some sort of progress in that room with his twin, made him hear him and consider his side of everything. Especially when Michael had then gone as far as he had to attempt to patch some of the situation back up, offering him an olive branch more or less with the contract and the ducks. Then Alastor's mom, bringing her had been quite the leap for his brother, seeing as he had wanted to gut her son not even a few days before that. They might be small things, acts of kindness that one would expect from an angel, but they had been grand gestures from someone like his twin.
They meant something to Lucifer, and he was incredibly thankful for what Michael had done for them. For what he was continuing to do even now, standing in this Hotel and patching up the people who had been harmed. He could have simply placed the chain back on Lucifer and left, but he hadn't. He had offered a hand and had not even made a single move to throw the chain back on him yet. He had been staying here, had been helping and was continuing to offer out what he could.
Being here alone was more than he could ever have hoped his twin would do. Michael won't change overnight, he won't just stop believing what he does because of a few words, but he was making an effort. One that Lucifer saw and wasn't about to take for granted. Wasn't going to tell him it wasn't worth doing or just brush it off. If he could take even the smallest amount of this and cling to it, hopefully nurture it into something grander, he was going to.
"Perhaps you have a point." Michael stated, a sigh slipping from his lips. He shook his head and turned it to the side again, settling his gaze on Leviathan. "I always thought you were the least tedious of the sins, pardoning my own brother of course."
The Sin of Envy gave a small hum. "Ah, what high praise from the Virtue of Humility. Now if you could humble yourself to lending us a few more hours of your time, I think we could use some assistance in repairing the mess your exterminator made."
Nodding his head, even if it was definitely reluctantly, Michael turned to set his focus on Lucifer. "Tell me what to do."
The last time they had repaired the Hazbin Hotel, Lucifer had been badly injured and passed out part way through the work. This time, not only was he perfectly fine, but they now had two Archangels of Creation and three Eldritch Demons to help speed the repairs along. As he had done last time, Lucifer created the pieces needed to repair the Hotel and had everyone break apart to different areas to start the repairs. There was a good part about all of this, the Hotel was still standing, so there was a distinct lack of actual repairs needed to get the place back up in working order. Most of it was internal, fixing the roof and the walls that Lute had thrown her attackers into, and those wouldn't take nearly as much work to fix as they had spent before.
Michael helped in creating what was needed to repair the Hotel, and even took to directing the residents on where they needed to actually be to help fix things. He was good and certainly pulled his own weight, even appearing as if he wanted to be here helping them and not doing it because he was asked to. Though he kept a close eye on his brother, he didn't feel any sort of animosity from him. Not even when he interacted with Angel and Husk, or even Niffty. The sinners that he resented, hated and had wanted to watch get destroyed.
For the most part he did stick close to Leviathan, the two of them working rather well together and combining their two forces for the repairs. Where his brother flew up to the higher places to reach, Leviathan passed him what he needed with the use of his shadows. Alastor and himself were doing the same thing, making use of the fact the angels could fly to reach the more difficult parts of the repairs.
At some point, within the first hour, Lilith did finally come home and her reaction to the Hotel being in shambles was rather comical. Apparently she had been in Gluttony with Beelzebub, and got caught up in talking to her old friend; she hadn't realized what was going on in Pride. She also apparently had Lucifer blocked on her phone and didn't even remember. Which explains why she hadn't gotten his text, though this information had frustrated him to severe ends to the point he wanted to shake her. They had a daughter they were trying to protect and she just had him casually blocked.
Instead of skewering her alive, as he was sorely tempted to do, Lucifer instead settled for putting her to work with Charlie and busying himself with repairing the roof. Partway into his work, Alastor climbed his way up to where Lucifer was and settled himself down beneath him, motioning for the King to make his way down and take a break. He glances toward the Radio Demon, to the light he was trying to reattach into the ceiling and then gave in. Flying back down onto the ground, he settled beside the other, leaning against the banister that overlooked the lobby of the Hotel.
Alastor held out a sandwich for him to take and Lucifer gladly accepted it with a soft smile. "Thanks, I thought you vanished for a bit. Where did you go?"
"Cannibal Town. No, you don't want to know what that's made with." Ah, well, as they say sometimes ignorance is bliss. Lucifer shrugged and took a bite out of the food, leaning over the railing to look down at the lobby. "Your brother is surprisingly useful when he lets himself be. He has made a decent amount of progress with Leviathan and the lobby itself is looking fine. Though his tendency to include wings and the color gold in anything he creates is just about as glaringly obvious as your fondness for apples and circus themes."
"I think that's a crutch of any of the Archangels." Lucifer stated, taking another bite of his food. Wings and the color gold have been their thing since they were little. Even God enjoyed putting a design for these two things in just about anything he created. Which should have been obvious with his creations in general. He never hated it himself, in fact when he was still in Heaven he probably did the same thing. After he fell, well, it turned into the things Alastor just mentioned and pentagrams.
He can't actually say when the 666 theme started following him. The number six had been his favorite number, why it got multiplied and turned into a sign of evil? He couldn't say.
Lucifer doesn't view himself as evil. He would admit he can be a bit of an enabler, which might be where his title as the embodiment of temptation came from, but in truth he just likes to have fun. He liked freedom, he liked choice, and he liked to enjoy himself. Which was what all of it eventually came down to, the things that he did and the choices that he made.
"I have had to remind him repeatedly that sticking wings on everything will deter Sinners from staying here." Alastor stated, drawing a snort from Lucifer, nearly causing him to choke on his sandwich. It wasn't too bad, despite the questionable meat it was made from. He really was tempted to ask for clarification with what it was.
Finishing off his food he wiped his hands with the napkin and tossed it into the air, allowing it to vanish into the trashcan beneath them. He leaned on the railing and looked down at his brother, watching the way he argued with Leviathan in the middle of the lobby. They seemed to be debating the color of the new check in desk from what he could pick up. Leviathan wanted green, Michael wanted blue, and neither of them realized that red was going to be what won. Charlie would always have her stuff colored red, never anything else. Not that he blamed his daughter, everyone had a favorite color and hers just happened to be that.
"It's getting pretty late, is Michael going to spend the night here?" Lucifer asked, turning his head to the side to glance at Alastor. "He hasn't put the chain back on my soul." He wasn't about to remind his brother of that, but it was curious that his twin wasn't itching under his skin to seal the devil back down here. Granted, he can only go as far as Heaven with just one off, but that was still Heaven.
One would think the last thing he would want was the devil capable of getting up there.
"I have not asked. I could send Charlie over there to offer, if you would like. It is not as if the Hotel doesn't have plenty of rooms for him to stay in here."
"Hm… I need to talk to Lilith before I retire for the night, so I can offer it myself." Lucifer tilted his head down toward his twin again. "I'll stick him in the Apple Tower. Are we sleeping in your room tonight?"
"That would be more ideal than returning to the palace." Though they had plenty of their things in the palace, he understood Alastor's unspoken point too. They had spent a lot of time there and with Lute being here now, the last thing they wanted was to be gone for any length of time. Alastor's deal with her would not keep her from causing trouble when he's not around. So for the time being, until she was less murderously inclined as she was, they were going to need to keep a close eye on her.
"Great." He nods his head happily and looks up at Alastor. "Give me a bit of time and we can head up there."
"Maybe take a few more minutes." Alastor leaned forward on the banister himself, arms folded over it as he gazed with unconcealed amusement down at the lobby. Blinking at the demon he turned his own head down toward the ground, leaning into the other's side as he watched what was unfolding beneath them.
Michael had Leviathan's shadow wrapped around his shoulders, its head buried in his hair and appeared to be attempting to pry the creature off from him. Watching his normally calm and composed brother have a temper tantrum over the shadowy creature clinging to him was currently one of the most amusing things he's experienced all day. He pushed and pulled, attempted to claw the shadow off of him, and when that didn't work he snapped his angry gaze over toward the green clad sin.
Leviathan was laughing his ass off, and it was some of the most emotion he has seen from the Sin in years. His arms were wrapped around his waist, he was cackling wildly and he looked very much like he was enjoying every single second of this in which he got to torture Michael. When he finally managed to get a grip on himself, he straightened up and smiled brightly at the Archangel who did not appear impressed at all with this situation.
"Leviathan! Remove this creature from me!"
A chuckle fell from Leviathan's lips at that and he placed his left hand on his hip as he motioned with his right toward Michael. "It likes you, I can't help it."
"Don't bullshit me! I know you have more control over this thing than that!"
"It's so amusing to rile you up."
"Do you think I should go save him?" Lucifer questioned, not entirely sure which "him" he meant in this scenario. His brother might have an aneurysm at this rate or Leviathan would get stabbed in the chest. It was quite a bit up for debate which one was more likely to happen. Or quicker in all honesty.
Alastor hummed an amused sound beside him and shook his head. "No, this is entertaining and I am quite interested in knowing if the Sin of Envy will survive the encounter."
"Of course you are." He shakes his head though an amused smile does pull onto his face at that. "Very well then, keep an eye on them I'm going to go talk to Lilith." Maybe after that they would have figured out whatever this was and he could talk to Michael about spending the night here. Pushing away from the banister he turned to Alastor and grasped the demon's elbow, tugging him to face him. Once he had the other's attention he leaned up and pressed a quick kiss against his lips. Simple and soft, a single brush against him, and then the King was pulling back. "Don't get let them kill each other."
Alastor nodded his head, his hand moving to brush the back of his fingers along Lucifer's cheek. "Be careful around her."
"Don't worry, she hardly gets to me anymore." A light shrug of his shoulders and Lucifer turns away, making his way down the stairs to the side and toward where he knew Lilith and Charlie were working. They had taken on the task of fixing the ballroom with Seviathan and Seir. Angel and Husk were kind of bouncing around wherever they were needed, and mostly repairing the bar. Diving up the work, with the extra hands they had, certainly made things easier. Especially when Niffty was more of a .5 addition to their team, focused more on cleaning up all the debris rather than repairing. She was good at that at least, and it was certainly helpful, so Lucifer wasn't complaining.
It was nice to have so many people helping though, the last time they had to do this it had certainly gone slower. Though part of that was due to the fact that they had far more repairs to do than they did this time. He'll give Lute one thing, she was more focused on stabbing people than she was destroying the Hotel which was beneficial to them right now.
The ballroom was coming along nicely, the walls quite repaired for the most part now and the hole in the ceiling patched even if it wasn't fully fixed yet. Lilith had also taken to babysitting Lute and currently the ex-exterminator was painting the patch job done to the wall. Lilith and Charlie were easy to spot in the middle of the room, watching Seviathan and Seir work on repairing the chandelier that had fallen from the ceiling. Seviathan's shadows were holding it up for him while the owl demon wove his magic into it attempting to string the broken pieces together. It would be easier if they asked Michael to make a new one. Lucifer could try, but the electricity needed to run through that would make it go a bit weird.
Oh well, let them figure it out. It was good magical mental exercises for children.
Tucking his hands behind his back, Lucifer made his way over toward Lilith and pulled a smile onto his face. She turned to look at him and he nodded his head in the direction of the doors. Though she sighs he does get a nod in turn and she taps Charlie's shoulder to draw her attention toward her. "Your father needs to talk dear, I'll be back shortly. Try to make sure they," she motions toward Seviathan and Seir, "don't electrocute themselves or that your girlfriend murders the ex-angel."
"Oh, sure Mom! Hurry back soon!"
They should all really take a break, sleep and continue the repairs in the morning but he'll voice that after he gets this uncomfortable conversation out of the way. Lucifer snapped his fingers and opened a portal behind him to the Apple Tower, waiting for Lilith to fall in step beside him before heading toward it himself. The two of them stepped through the golden light and he closed the portal behind them, moving across the room to the chairs by the fireplace.
He took a second to light the fire, just for the sound it would cause and then tossed himself down into one of the chairs. Lilith took a moment to look around before she finally joined him, sitting down in the chair across from him and propping her arm up on the armrest. She tucked her head down against her hands and watched him impassively. "What do you want?" She didn't ask it heatedly at least, there was a rather bored edge to her tone which was something he could at least deal with.
It helped make him feel less anxious about this than he actually did, since he didn't know how she was going to take this. She had made it quite clear she didn't want him to break her contract to Michael, and at the very least he didn't believe that after what Michael said, his brother would continue to use Lilith against Charlie. Certainly not after all the Archangels, all of their brothers, had taken an interest in the Hotel. Wherever it went from here, if the Hotel failed, it wouldn't be because of Lilith ripping it down.
"My meeting in Heaven went well, as you can clearly see." More than well, he was elated with the way things turned out. "I proved my point, I dragged an angel down here, and I believe I made an impact on my brothers."
"I'm happy for you." She stated, and for a change–he actually believes her. She didn't smile, she didn't cheer for him or anything, but she didn't mock him either. Even if she didn't believe in him entirely, didn't love him or forgive him for what she believed he wronged her with, she was happy for him that he had managed this small thing. Small in her eyes but huge in his own. He doesn't need her to be overly happy for him or proud of him, Lucifer felt all of that himself and he knew that Alastor was too.
"Speaking of brothers and impacts." Lucifer sat up a bit in the chair and snapped his fingers, popping Michael's contract with Lilith into his hand. He waved it back and forth a few times before reaching over and setting it down on the stand beside him. "Michael gave me your contract with him. You don't have to stay here anymore with the intention of hurting and upsetting Charlie, of crushing her dreams. You don't have to break the Hotel for him anymore. You don't even have to keep your agreement with him." He motioned toward the golden paper and watched his ex-wife. "I can break it for you with that, but he said the choice of that was up to you."
Lilith didn't look happy about this. Her lips were pursed together tightly, her gaze kept darting between Lucifer and the contract, she almost looked like she was debating who she wanted to be more angry at. Him, or his brother for giving Lucifer the contract. He knew this would be the case, he had known she would look at this like some sort of betrayal, but that wasn't it. Lucifer didn't intentionally go up there to get the contract. Was he happy he did? Of course. He doesn't want Lilith to be used to hurt Charlie and he knows she doesn't want that either. But he didn't actively seek the contract out.
"I told you I didn't want you to get involved."
"I know, but what was I supposed to do, Lilith? Not say something about my own brother sending my ex-wife down into Hell to hurt my daughter?" He shook his head. "You know I wasn't going to let that happen, I couldn't. Charlie is to important to me. I won't pretend that it's fine for him to do that, and he needed to realize it wasn't alright either." Which, clearly, Lucifer did get across somehow. "The contract isn't broken, the choice is entirely your own."
Reaching over he picked the paper up from the table and rolled it up, wrapping it with a red ribbon to keep it bound. Leaning forward he offered the contract out for Lilith to take. "I don't need an answer right this second, and you can have the paper. Just let me know what you decide eventually, so that I know what I'm meant to do."
Lilith took the paper and he dropped his hand down, watching her turn it over in her hands a few times before feeding her own purple magic into it. The contract vanished from her hands, sent to whatever pocket dimensions she was capable of utilizing. "I would never have hurt Charlie, you know."
"Not intentionally," he agrees, smiling a bit, "but tearing her dream down would eventually have crushed her. You can't deny that. And we're going to have to tell her something, you know. So I can explain why I went up to Heaven to argue for an angel to be ripped from the clouds."
"I will not tell her the reason I was down here."
He figured that would be the case. "Was." His lips pressed briefly and Lucifer sighed. "Lilith, you know you can stay, right? Without the ax hanging over your head, without the stress Michael was causing you. You can stay, keep helping, be a part of what Charlie is doing." She can be her mother properly. "And if you really want to be in Heaven, you can work toward redemption with the others. Charlie wants you here."
Their daughter had all the love and admiration in the world for her mother, and they both knew there was nothing more that Charlie would want than having Lilith continue to stay here. It had crushed her when she couldn't reach Lilith anymore, when her mother stopped taking her calls. She had no one to talk to, not in the way she could Lilith, and it had hurt. She wants Lilith by her side, and she should be here. But he knows he's not going to be able to convince Lilith on his own. Maybe being freed of the obligation to rip the Hotel down and seeing the way Charlie was genuinely happy here, would be enough to change her mind on its own.
With all of that said and there being nothing else he can add, Lucifer stood from the chair and stepped around it. He got about halfway toward the middle of the room when he heard Lilith speak again. "You know, I meant it." Pausing he turned to glance over at her. "I am happy for you. All of it. Not just Heaven. But you do genuinely look happy, you know. I haven't seen you this happy since you were still in Heaven." Her eyes dart away and he sees the way she presses her lips together again, the slight shake of her head. "Maybe it frustrates me a little bit that it took him to bring that out in you."
Does she mean Alastor? The Radio Demon did, indeed, make him incredibly happy. The time that they spent together was some of the greatest he's had in a while. All the little things that they've gotten to do together, the dancing and playing music, the visiting of other Rings, feeding the ducks and visiting Cannibal Town. All of it meant the world to him and he really wouldn't give any of it back. He wouldn't trade the joy that spending time with Alastor gives him for anything. All he hopes, genuinely wants, is for it to be mutual and he's near certain that it is. Alastor seems to enjoy being with him.
"Alastor showed me that there's more to Hell than the suffering we inflict upon its residents." A smile pulls a bit onto his face and he averts his gaze from his ex-wife, looking out the large windows that cast a wide view into the Pride Ring. "I think you need that too now. You know, Alastor has a friend I think you'd like. Her name is Rosie, she's the Overlord of Cannibal Town. Maybe you should go spend some time with her. I think she'll enlighten you on a few things." Turning his head back around he smiled at Lilith and then snapped his fingers, opening a portal back down into the lobby. "Remember, Heaven doesn't have your daughter in it, Lilith."
Whatever choice she makes, he wants it to be with the best interest of herself but also Charlie. That is all that matters with the path she took. If it made herself happy, but also that she took into consideration their daughter. He thinks, truly, that if she goes and seeks out Rosie that it would be the best situation for her. Rosie was a remarkable person who could give great advice. She was also someone he believed would be a true friend to Lilith. Well, as long as they never let Rosie know that Michael and Lilith attempted to kill Alastor. Not that he thinks Lilith was entirely a willing participant in that. Not that she was entirely unwilling either, everyone is in Hell for a reason. Lilith was no exception. She could be as petty and vindictive as everyone else, and she certainly gets some enjoyment out of harming others. Whatever extent of that there might be.
When he finally gets through the portal and back down into the lobby, he notices a few things. First, that it was abnormally quiet. No bickering, no swearing, no throwing things around. He doesn't even hear the music from the radio that Alastor did have playing earlier. Far to quiet. The second thing he notices is that both Michael and Leviathan are still standing and unharmed. Physically, anyway, mentally might be a different story.
Michael still had the shadow clinging onto him, it's arms looped tightly around his neck and it's face still buried in his hair. Noticeably now, it appeared to be petting him. His brother had an expression on his face that said he was murdering Leviathan over and over in his head, repeatedly and in various exciting ways. The Sin of Envy himself was still smiling pleasantly at his brother, looking for all the world like he genuinely believed he was an innocent party in all of this.
Eldritch demons. There is something about them, they just seem to enjoy causing chaos in others.
Shaking his head Lucifer started making his way over toward his brother and Leviathan, smiling gently as he tucked his hands behind his back. He watched the two of them a moment before darting his gaze up toward the second level of the Hotel. He spotted Alastor still standing there, watching the scene beneath him with that same smile on his face. He nodded his head at Lucifer when their gazes met and the King smiled back brightly. When he reached his brother's side he lowered his eyes back down and tilted his head at his irritated twin. "Hey, are you staying the night? I have a room I can put you in."
Michael, with his gaze still narrowed at Leviathan, sighed heavily. "Sure. Seems I'm being held prisoner anyway."
Leviathan snorted at that and rolled his eyes. "So dramatic and so petty."
"Lucy, how valuable is this Sins friendship to you?"
"Yeah, I'm going to let you two sort that out on your own." Spinning in place he started quickly making his way over toward the stairs off to the side. He climbed them quickly to the second level and made his way over toward Alastor, reaching his arms back out for the Radio Demon again. He was caught quickly, his arms encircling around Alastor's neck as he leaned into him, the other's own arms wrapping back around his waist.
The smile he earns is pleasant and warm, comforting in the most intimate way he's ever imagined one can be. "Are you done with your errands then?"
"More than done. Someone else can show Michael to the room, if he even makes it that far. Leviathan might kidnap him."
"How entertaining that would be." Of course it would be for him. Lucifer laughed and leaned forward, tucking his head against Alastor's chest. "I think we've earned a well deserved rest, Sire, I'll take us up."
What domestic and endearing words those absolutely were to hear. Lucifer tightened his hold on the Radio Demon slightly and nodded his head, feeling the shadows consume the both of them and yank them away from the Hotel lobby.