"Why are you wearing that?" Husk asked as he stopped at the foot of the stairs, looking Alastor up and down in confusion, openly staring at his wardrobe choice.

The Radio Demon was, much to the surprise of many, rather strict in his habits. He got up roughly the same time each morning, though that was assuming he went to sleep at all. Sometimes he would remain awake for days on end, plotting and scheming. He would then have his breakfast of the most beaten up and mangled deer corpse he could find, ship in at a pretty penny from the Wrath Ring; sure, it was road kill, but that didn't mean the Imps were going to give even him a discount. He would then do his daily rounds about Pentagram City, checking in on the different shops he liked to favor, make sure a few select souls were doing what was in his best interest (and thus their's) and other little odd jobs that only he understood. He'd then return, usually converse with Charlie for a while, before it would be time to do his radio show. At night there wasn't much known about his habits and Husk hadn't nailed down any true patterns there but he knew that Alastor did have them.

It wasn't just his day that was set in stone for the most part. Alastor tended to eat the same meals. He liked going to familiar shops. When he was seen walking about he liked to choose the familiar paths; when he didn't one knew because reports of demons setting themselves on fire or throwing themselves off of bridges increased.

But, most important of all, Alastor always wore the same outfit.

Every day. Like clockwork. Alastor wore the same suit.

"It is important that one have class in this world," he'd once told Husk when complimenting him on his outfit. Sure, it was while he was insulting the latest poor bastard that he'd ensnared and their poor sense of style but still…

And yet there he was, looking so radically different that it had Husk wondering what horrors and madness awaited him.

"This?" Alastor asked with a sharp smile, pulling on the inverse he was wearing. "Oh, I had Rosie make it up for me the other day. A perfect thing for me while working out this little mystery!" He adjusted the deer stalker cap he was wearing. "We are hunting some rather big game, aren't we? A serial killer-"

"Which isn't that unusual down here," Husk said.

But Alastor wagged his finger at the former Overlord. "No no no… you are quite wrong there, Husker. Yes, we get plenty of serial killers down in Hell, of course, but have you ever noticed that we don't actually hear about them? There are never any reports of the Burning Bog Strangler or the Billy the Gouger or the like. When there is a killer it is well known who did it, unless it affects one of the powerful. I actually have a theory on that!" Alastor smiled as he took out a magnifying glass and began to polish it. "You see, I believe that serial killers kill because on Earth they must repress a part of themselves. They are like the tea kettle left on the stove for too long… they must blast out some steam so they can go on living like anyone else. But down here in Hell? Why… there is no need to hide who they truly are."

He tilted his head and the world began to distort around him as his eyes glowed.

And just as quickly he snapped back to normal.

"So someone killing down here?" Alastor commented. "And not bragging about it? That is rather particular. And thus… my interest." He tossed the magnifying glass and deftly caught it, looking rather pleased with himself. "Today, I do believe, we finally have our breakthrough. I have looked over all the clues, made my deductions, and determined just where our prey is hiding. So now we might finally take him into our grasp and determine if he is someone we should be concerned with or someone that will prove to be disappointingly dull." With that he swept towards the door. "Come Husker, the game is a foot!"

"Do either of you do anything to help about here anymore?" Vaggie called out as the left. "Seriously!"

~MC~MC~MC~

Ishizu adjusting her face wrappings before continuing on, glancing up, not for the first time, to make sure that yes, the sun was blazing bright in the sky.

Even she, who had spent almost all of her life underground in the tombs, understood that normally one did not travel the desert during the day. The heat and the sun would destroy your body… and your mind. Illusions and mirages appearing thanks to the light dancing across the dunes and one's drought-addled brain. The sun baking your eyes and blinding you. Every step becoming all the worst because of the oppressive heat. No… it was far better to travel at night, when the sun was down and the moon was full.

When the moon was full.

Ishizu traveled during the day. She had to. It was the only time she was safe.

While others would have become lost in the shifting sands Ishizu had no problem with that thanks to the Millennium Necklace. It was showing her the way, constantly feeding her little visions of what would happen if she took a wrong turn. That was the danger of traveling the desert: it changed.

She knew that so many looked at the sands of the desert and assumed that it was utterly unchanging. They saw the lack of life and believed that nothing ever happened in the desert… or too it. Those people tended to die in the sands, not ready for them. Because the desert wasn't static. It was always changing. Always moving. Great hills of sand would rise and fall, growing larger and larger… and then shrinking down. Where once there was a flat plain there would suddenly be a thousand hills. Great boulders that one might use as landmarks would be buried and new ones appear.

It was why their father had forbidden them from leaving their home. Marik thought it was to keep them prisoners but Ishizu understood with age that he had wanted to keep them safe! Even they, the children of the desert, could get lost in it if they didn't respect the lands. He had understood that until they truly understood the desert they would never be safe in it.

Yet another thing Marik had twisted.

Ishizu didn't have that concern though. The Millennium Necklace was guiding her. It allowed her to see the proper future, one where she made it to her home.

'Home,' she thought to herself. 'Can it truly be home for me? Even with it being empty of my family… can I know peace there after I have failed the Pharaoh?'

She had been cursing herself ever since Shadi had revealed her mistake. She had never considered that the Millennium Items were bonded with their bearers even after death. But it made complete sense… it was why she herself was drawn to the Millennium Necklace; she was the reincarnation of one of the ancient priests, after all. But she had never even thought about the fact that Edwin Chaos might take the Millennium Key with him into the afterlife.

'I should have,' she thought darkly, and not for the first time since she'd had revealed that horrible truth. 'I should have seen this coming and done… something to part him with the Key.

Ishizu knew that Shadi had wanted her to regret killing Edwin Chaos. She had heard it in his tone when they had spoken. But she would not. The man was a menace and a threat. One only had to see how he had altered the lives that he encountered! Joey Wheeler was supposed to be the Pharaoh's loyal follower… like a pet. Someone the Pharaoh could teach but who would never have hopes of greatness. Instead Joey now saw himself as moving up the ranks, daring to hold himself near the same level as the Pharaoh! Tristan Taylor was no different than a porter: a background figure that moved through the world, providing support when one snapped their fingers. Now he, like Joey, was trying to become a duelist!

And Tea Gardner…

Ishizu frowned at that.

The whispers that she had joined with Selene… that Moon had made the girl into a god… that was troubling. Ishizu didn't believe the rumors but… but…

She shook her head and patted her canteen. It was not quite time for her to get a drink; she was keeping careful track of every sip she took, to ensure that she didn't drain her water too quickly. There was enough to get to the tombs, spend a day there, and then return. There should have been water casks that she could refill but she didn't want to risk that they had been contaminated. She had tried to peer ahead with her Necklace but there were too many variables and it was too small of a thing for her to detect.

That was the problem with her Item: it did the large, world sweeping events just fine… but the smaller things it had grave problems with.

She shook her head and continued on. She wasn't that thirsty anyway.

'There must be something in my father's records that will tell me how to separate Edwin Chaos from the key,' she thought. 'Something that will allow me to take the item from his soul and return it here. Find the proper person to give the Millennium Key too.' Not that she knew WHO she could trust with it… so far those who had been given items had been not the best selections (which only showed that Shadi was wrong about Edwin). Pegasus. Bakura. Edwin. She of course was destined for the Necklace and Yugi Muto was good enough for the Puzzle; he would have been better if he had remained weak willed and not grown courage. Her brother… well, he shouldn't have claimed the item at all, she could see that now. And the Scales… what had Shadi even done with the scales? They were supposed to weigh one's soul and yet here he was, handing out items to Pegasus and Edwin Chaos? 'The Pharaoh's enemies…' she thought.

She pushed such thoughts aside. There would be time for that later. For now she needed to travel the last few hundred feet… she was close.

'It will be good to see my home again, if only for a short while… and all alone,' she thought. 'I will search my father's books and scrolls… he had the most knowledge of the Millennium Items.'

When she had claimed the Necklace she had been in such a rush to find her brother and get him to see reason that she hadn't looked over her father's records. She regretted that know; her reckless speed then had cost her valuable time now. Which was always the case, she had come to find.

It didn't matter. She would set things right.

Arriving at a spot of sand that looked like any other spot of sand she got onto her knees, the Millennium Necklace almost pulsing in delight at returning to its home. It had been in the tombs for thousands of years before Ishizu had claimed it, watched over by her family. This was more its home than her's, she realized, and she felt that it was pleased to return. Digging through the sands she found the stone door and pulled it open, grains falling down into the darkness below. Ishizu slowly lowered herself into the darkness, making her way into the tombs.

'I will need to light some of the torches,' she thought as she finally reached the floor. 'The light of my item serves me well but-'

She froze.

The tomb was in ruins.

The floors were a shattered wreck, with stone not just merely broken but different pieces picked right up and driven into the earth below to create a mishmash of rocky pieces jutting out all over. Hallways that led to the living quarters had been caved in, rubble filling them and making it impossible for her to reach them. The walls that her father had commanded her and Marik and Odion to work on for hours every day, to paint and repainting the hieroglyphics that told of their family's history, had been smashed and scuttled, left to slowly crumble with only a few bits of painted rock to show that they had once been anything other than piles of useslessness.

Ishizu lifted her hand to her mouth and saw that it was shaking.

'How… how could this…' she thought before she moved towards the one entrance that remained clear of fallen stone. No ceiling crashed down into it to block the way or cave in that left it a gritty mess that one could never hope to get through. That didn't mean there was no damage, however; the walls were covered in cracks that hadn't been there when she'd last walked the halls of her childhood home and she could see upon the ground-

Ishizu froze.

She had been hoping that it was just a natural disaster. The earth had trembled and with no one there to deal with the stress fractures and the like the place had begun to come apart. But looking at the walls she could see how the gouges cut into the rock weren't mere cracks… but paths made by finger tips. The deep craterous dents the result of a fist pounding into the stone. And in the floor, driving right into the stone, were the clear markings of two sets of bare feet moving along the way.

'The Greek Gods loathe footwear,' her mind whispered, dredging up that odd little fact from the depths of her memories. Her footfalls became all the quicker, nearly stumbling in the marks left on the stone by beings who WANTED her to know they had been there. For there was little doubt that if they had wanted it to be a secret they could have ghosted through the tomb. No… they had willed themselves to be heavier, to make it so that their bare feet sank into the stone like it was sand. To let her know that they had walked the halls of her home, invaded it without any worry about being discovered, and continued down the path to-

Ishizu came to a stop… and sank to her knees.

Her father's library. The largest part of the tombs. The collection of all the knowledge he had gathered… and all those before. Every tombkeeper had taken time to add to their great library all the knowledge they had gathered. Not just about the Pharaoh and his battle against Zorc but all of human history. It was to be their grand gift to the Pharaoh and all those that would come after him of his line: the greatest collection of knowledge in the world.

Once, when they had been numerous, the tombkeepers would send out Collectors to gather up the books and scrolls of knowledge to be properly cared for. The cool, dry air of the tombs helped preserve them… as did keeping them an utter secret. As the library of Alexandria had burned down her family's library had remained. As the Dark Ages took over Europe and the knowledge of the ancients was lost her family's library had remained. As colonialists had stormed across the world, ripping away prized possessions and carting them off to the British Museum where, to this very day, the thieves refused to return them… her family's library remained.

Such secrets were kept there. The recipe for Greek Fire, the weapon that could end wars. The detailed process for creating Hel Steel, which was claimed to have allowed for the forging of Thor's Hammer. The lost designs of Leonardo Da Vinci to create towers that would never crack or break. The records of King Arthur's final speech. Maps to King Solomon's Mines. The formula that would turn straw into gold, as written by the mage Rumpelstiltskin, who had been so cruelly portrayed as a scheming goblin and baby thief. The true history of Marco Polo and what he had discovered in the East that left him so terrified he had lied about so many of his journeys. The teachings of priests of Shambala.

All had been kept by her family.

Before her lay the broken shelves, reduced to little more than kindling. Not a single tome or scroll remained. All had been taken… she prayed, for the good of humanity, that they were merely stolen and not destroyed.

And carved into the high ceiling was a single message.

WELCOME HOME

~MC~MC~MC~

Edwin suddenly looked up, brow furrowing.

"What's up?" Angel asked; the two of them had ended up finding each other in one of the lounges that Charlie had built in the hotel at Edwin's suggestion, arguing that it made no sense for everyone to always gather in the lobby, or tuck themselves away in a half finished room because Charlie kept getting distracted and never finished. She and Vaggie had buckled down with several of the others to get it done and Angel had to admit the results were rather nice. The lounge was tastefully done, following the deep red color scheme of Hazbin. There were plenty of couches and chairs to lounge in, perfect for flopping down upon and relaxing. He hadn't found one yet he couldn't get comfortable in. There was a record player that was filling the air with soft jazz music, which Angel, Edwin, and Charlie had all argued was the best to relax to as it allowed the mind to focus. It got rid of the silence that could drive one crazy but it also was just subtle enough that it didn't overwhelm.

Edwin, from where he had been sitting with a laptop, glanced over at Angel, who was just as surprised he'd spoken up.

While he still didn't fully trust the man that held his soul Edwin had proven to be a far better leash-holder than Valantino, giving him FAR more leeway than most. But what had really gotten him to actually speak his mind to Edwin was how he treated Aria. Not that Angel had met the Hellhound… oddly enough they always kept just missing each other or there were in such a large group that he didn't get to talk to her. But he knew of her, as the rest of the hotel had spoken of the hellhound and how Edwin was highly protective of her. Not in a 'I need something from you' way or 'You belong to me' way. But rather as how the true and proper alphas protected their packs. It made Angel begin to think that maybe, just maybe, Edwin was being honest when he said that he would release him soul. That he wasn't just another smooth talker claiming one thing and doing another.

"I just felt something," Edwin muttered. "Something… familiar… but also… annoying?"

"Ah, an ex is coming to visit then," Angel said.

That made Edwin roll his eyes. "I don't fear my exes."

"Then you aren't paying attention," Angel teased. That got another look from Edwin but he then began to chuckle.

"Admittedly I did break both their hearts."

"Ya only had two girlfriends?" Angel asked.

"Three, but I didn't actually dump the last. And I don't do flings," Edwin admitted. "I know, I know," he waved his hand dismissively, "there is nothing wrong with them and in fact are probably a good thing to have, so long as everyone understands what they mean. I just can't get behind them. I build too many connections."

Angel almost made a comment about how he could teach Edwin a thing or two but, much to his own surprise as anyone else's if they knew his thoughts, kept the comment to himself. In part because he didn't want to anger Edwin… despite being more comfortable around the man there were still questions concerning just how far he could push.

Second?

Angel worried he might say yes.

"But yeah… familiar but… annoying."

"Oh!" Charlie said as she entered the lounge. "Is one of your exes coming to visit? That's how I feel!"

Edwin shot her and Angel a look. "I really don't want to know, do I?"

"Probably not," Angel admitted. "How's it goin', Charlie? Heard you and Miss Sourpuss had a lot of meetings."

"I doubt its that sour, considering how much Charlie likes it," Edwin said.

Angel let out a laugh at that while Charlie blushed. "Edwin…" she whined.

"Sorry, sorry," he said, bringing his fingers up to his face, running them along his beard… and Angel bit back a snort as he made a V with his index and middle finger, purposely spread to go around his lips, tongue darting out casually. Charlie wasn't blind to what he was doing either and she let out a gasp that had Angel nearly falling off of his chair.

"Do I even want to know?" Vaggie asked as she entered.

"Not at all, Sweetie," Edwin replied and Angel decided that for all the glee being brash could bring there was something to Edwin's sneakier humor.

"What the fuck is-"

"Nothing, nothing!" Charlie exclaimed, zipping over to Vaggie and grabbing onto her arm. "It's… an ironic nickname! Like calling a fat guy skinny or a tall guy shorty? You know? Because you are so not sweet."

"By the way," Angel suddenly said, "I'm doin' a grocery run later… ya need anything? Breath mints? Mouth wash?" Charlie blushed again before moving behind Vaggie… and making a cutting motion with her hand against her throat.

"I'm. Good." She ground out and Angel shrugged.

"So," Edwin said, looking at Vaggie, "how did the meetings go with the potential leasers?"

Vaggie narrowed her eyes before deciding that to just continue on as if nothing had happened. "Well enough. Think we found a sinner demon interested in opening an arcade. And that Hellhound friend of Aria's, Bianca, seems like she'll work out real well. Apparently business is competitive in the Gluttony ring when it comes to restaurants…"

"Makes sense," Edwin stated. "So my jewelry store, the arcade, and a restaurant. That's a good start."

"And the card shop!" Charlie declared and Edwin face fell into an intense glower. "Oh, come on Edwin, it won't be that bad! The card shop is going to give plenty of demons something to focus on that isn't dangerous or deadly."

"Charlie… I died thanks to a tournament."

She blinked at that.

"Did you ever mention that to us?" Vaggie asked. "I think you did but I can't remember."

"Maybe." He sighed. "Okay, so technically I died because a deranged cult member stabbed me in the back while I was working to free a boy she had kidnapped but there was still a tournament involved!"

"So ya ain't gonna be signin' up for the Hellfire Gala?"

"The… what now?" Edwin asked.

"The Hellfire Gala," Vaggie stated. "That's the tournament that Cecelia Pegasus is throwing to comemorate the first Booster Pack for Duel Monsters."

"…of course it is," Edwin muttered. "Wonder what sort of horrific event will happen at this tournament?"

Charlie moved to pat Edwin on the shoulder. "Aw, don't be like that, Edwin! I'm sure it will be fine! You make it sound like its going to be a disaster automatically! And do you know what causes disasters?"

"Card games."

"Being a pessimistic grouchy grouch!" She said, reaching over and forcing his cheeks up so it looked like he was smiling. "You have to go in there with a positive attitude! March in there looking for a good time, instead expecting the worst! I know you can do that!"

"…you and I haven't spent a lot of time together, have we?"

Charlie giggled at that. "Maybe the tournament is the perfect place for us to do that! We're square our shoulders, hold our heads up high and say-"

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEY SLUTS!" a short blond man in a white suit declared, slamming the door of the lounge open.

"Not sure how good that will work," Edwin muttered.

"Dad!" Charlie exclaimed, hurrying over to the King of Hell. "You can't burst into rooms and declare people are sluts! Its offensive!"

"As a slut," Angel Dust called out, "I would like to inform you that we have no problem with you using that word, your grace."

"Good to know… whoever you are!" Lucifer said before giving Charlie a hug, making her squeak like a chew toy. "Oh Charlie, it has been too long!"

"Well, I have been busy with the hotel…" Charlie stated.

"Yeah, that," Lucifer said in a tone that made clear he didn't think the hotel was worth the time or effort. But at once he perked up again. "Listen, I came here because I have some exciting news!"

"What's that?" Charlie asked before shaking her head. "Oh! Where are my manners! Dad, let me introduce you to everyone."

"Yes, of course!" the King of Hell said, sounding just as excited as his daughter.

"This is Vaggie. She's my girlfriend."

"Oh!" Lucifer said, startled. "You like girls too! That's great!" And that he didn't say in the 'I'm saying its great but it isn't' tone. Rather he was saying it in the, 'I should have known that and now I know and I am trying to not make this bigger than it is' tone.

It was all in how he rolled his Rs.

Vaggie went in for a handshake but Lucifer hugged her instead, causing her to gasp. "I am so glad Charlie has someone in her life she can trust and love! That's very important, you know, very important. There are those that say I lost my touch when Charlie's mom went off to deal with things but… they are wrong, aren't they?" he let out a fake laugh while Vaggie began to flail her arms desperately, face turning blue.

"Yeah… heheh," Charlie said, prying Lucifer off her girlfriend. The moment she did Vaggie collapsed, gasping for air. "So, the hotel is going good-"

"Uh huh, sure. Heard you got three whole residents." He looked at Angel and Edwin, the former merely smirking while the later kept his face utterly relaxed.

"Actually its only, uh… two." Charlie grimaced at that. "I mean, we have a lot more but the Egg Bois I don't think count… Vaggie, did we ever decide if the Egg Bois count?"

Vaggie let out a wheeze.

"I think we decided they didn't count." She gestured at Angel Dust. "But… we do have two guests. This is our first, Angel Dust!"

"Right… you're the one that likes to swallow, right?"

"Every time!" Angel said. "You and the missus enjoy watching my videos?"

"For fuck's sake, Angel," Edwin muttered under his breath.

Lucifer merely stared Angel down a long moment before turning his attention to Edwin. "And you are the other guest? At least your dressed nice. Never hurts to be dressed properly, I taught Charlie that."

"Good lesson but no, I'm not a guest. Edwin Cerberus, sire."

That made Lucifer blink before he laugh, blushing deeply. "No… no no no. None of that, please! I… I might be king but…"

"Edwin, my dad is like me!" Charlie assured him. "We are very down to earth! Or Hell. You know."

Lucifer nodded. "Totally. Completely. All for respect but no need for the titles, you know?"

"You'd age another year, if you aged, hearing them all," Edwin stated.

That caused the King of Hell to perk up. "I like that! I like that a lot. Mind if I use it?" He held out his hand but Edwin just stared at it. "Uh… this is where you-"

"I don't make deals," Edwin said, which was the biggest fucking lie Angel had ever heard.

"Oh… oh!" Lucifer started at that. "That… this isn't a deal. I uh-" Edwin finally smiled and held out his hand, which Lucifer happily shook. "Cerberus… hey, you aren't the one that makes those Millennium Eyes, are you?"

"The very same," Edwin stated. "That's why I'm here. Charlie let me stay at the hotel while I get settled in Hell and now I'm setting up a shop." He then added, "and I am paying for my room."

Angel scoffed at that, thinking it was rather silly that Edwin was wasting his money on his room when Charlie would let him stay for free. But Lucifer seemed rather pleased with that bit of news and shook Edwin's hand a bit harder.

"Good… glad to hear that!" He finally let go and clapped his hands. "Alright, introduced to everyone, now I can share the news! Charlie, have you heard about this amazing new game called Duel Monsters?"

"I have!" Charlie said excitedly. "I bought some packs the other day-"

"And some more… and some more…" Edwin said dryly. Angel didn't get why he was being so insulting… everyone at the hotel had been scrounging up extra cash to buy new packs. Angel himself had changed what deck he was going to run three times now, based on what cards he managed to draw.

"Oh, you have to show me your collection!" Lucifer said, nearly vibrating. "I should have brought my binders!" he bemoaned.

"You play too, dad?!" Charlie exclaimed.

"I do! I heard about it and I'm hooked… I didn't realize that you played too! Kinda ruins me introducing you to the game but at the same time it makes things better because now we can be excited together that I got you all spots in the Hellfire Gala!"

"You did?!" Charlie exclaimed.

"Course I did!" Lucifer said, puffing up his chest.

Angel was shocked… and delighted. "Hey, that's awesome!"

"Thank you sir!" Vaggie declared.

"Yay," Edwin said dryly only for Charlie to sweetly elbow him.