Chapter 10:
First man, next to fall…
Charlie was currently sitting on her and Vaggie's large bed in their shared penthouse room as the ladder was pacing back and forth anxiously after the both of them had witnessed Lute's picture.
"It's Adam alright, no doubt about it" Vaggie grumbled as she ran her hands through her hair in frustration.
Charlie was fidgeting with her hair nervously as she spoke up "But how? We SAW him die, Nifty stabbed him through the heart WITH angelic steel no less" as suddenly Vaggie perked up "Wait….what if…..he never died to get to heaven?"
This caught both Lute and Charlie's attention as the former spoke up "OF COURSE, he was ascended right away, no death…..which means that when he died….he passed divine judgment…."
"Wait…so you mean to say that he's now a…." Charlie was about to ask as Vaggie suddenly began to laugh loudly "ADAM, "DICKMASTER" HIMSELF….A SINNER, OH THIS IS TOO FUCKING GOOD!"
The irony suddenly hit Lute as well as she too couldn't help but chuckle "It….truly is cruel irony….the 2 people who hated hell the most, becoming its newest residents…."
At the mention of hate, Charlie would wince as she looked Lute's way with discomfort, to which the former lieutenant spoke "….well…."used to"…..never thought I'd ever say this….but I suppose hell has its charm….i guess you could say it grew on me" as she then gestured to her horns as she let her tail flick from behind her as she chuckled "literally" as she flashed the both of them a fanged smile, a genuine one.
The trio would talk more over the next few hours, as they had begun to move their conversation to the common room, gathering around the fireplace.
Standing before the fireplace, Lute would stare at the flickering flames inside as she swirled a drink around in a glass as Charlie spoke up "I…never got to ask….what was the point that changed your mind?" to which Vaggie added "Yea, not gonna lie, I'm kinda curious to know as well what caused you to consider things from our perspective"
Lute would sigh as she took a sip "I believe it was…..after my first year under…." She would shiver for a moment as she thought of the tall moth overlord "…."you know who"…..the things he subjected me to…..i don't know what exactly it was….but I would start to notice some of the other "actors" had….that same look in their eyes….when he lost his temper…." She took a few deep breaths as she steeled her nerves, trying her best not to let the memories upset her "That's when I first realized "Is that how they feel too?" …..and that's when I first started to wonder….how my actions…how Adam's actions….made them feel…I started wondering how I would have felt if I were in their shoes"
She would turn towards the 2 other woman "I once again saw all those faces before me…all the sinners that i…." she averted her eyes in shame as she swallowed a lump in her throat "…I just….couldn't see them as the monsters that Adam told me they were anymore….i saw….people….yes, people who fucked up….but they were still people…"
She would rest her gaze on Vaggie, giving her fellow fallen angel a compassionate look, but also one full of pain "And that's when I thought back to….your defecting…..and I realized…..you were right"
This caused the princess to ponder for a moment as she went over all the information she'd been given "But….if this was after your first year under him…why didn't you come to the hotel sooner?"
Sighing deeply, Lute would down her drink in one go as she put the glass down on a nearby side table before returning her attention to the flickering flames in the fireplace "Don't you think I didn't try? …..i was ashamed...but I did attempt on several occasions…..the first time, I got scared and turned back around halfway. The second time, I made it to the court yard…..but when I saw the memorial statue for the demon dragon….the one i…." her words caught in her throat as the memories of slaying dazzle came back to her "…I realized that statue was there because of me….i didn't dare face you…..so I ran back….like the coward I was…."
Unbeknownst to the former lieutenant, the 2 women were joined by the little goat demon, Razzle, who couldn't help but glare daggers at Lute.
"If I could turn back time…if I could undo everything….i would….in a heartbeat….but I can't take it back….and I'm going to have to live with that guild…." Lute spoke.
This caused the small demon to perk up, making a high chirp noise that caught Lute's attention, and as she turned around and let her gaze fall on Razzle, her eyes widened "He…..he was your twin….wasn't he…." As a tear began to roll down her cheek "What have i…" she would mumble as she stared down at her hands…..
"All this blood I have on my hands….i can never fully wash them clean….." she would stutter out, tho she was snapped out of it by a soft nuzzle against her leg, and as she looked down, the little goat demon would look up at her.
Slowly lowering herself onto her knees, she would look deeply into Razzle's eyes "I am so…..so sorry….." she managed to mumble out as she averted her eyes, tho in doing so, her gaze fell upon a vase, sitting on top of a nearby decorative dresser, housing a beautiful bouquet of flowers .
Lute would slowly get up as she approached the vase and took said flowers.
"What was his name?" Lute asked as Charlie would softly speak up "Dazzle…..my dad made him and Razzle for me when I was very little…."
Nodding, Lute would slowly make her way to the courtyard of the hotel, followed by Charlie, Vaggie and a still apprehensive but curious Razzle.
Standing before the very statue she had hid under all those weeks ago, Lute would gently lay down the bouquet of flowers near the front paws of the statue as she looked up at its face "If only I'd seen the truth sooner….this could have been avoided…." As she placed a hand on its chest "I am so sorry…..but I promise, I will honor you….."
..
..
Ever since Emily started getting more involved in the rehabilitation process, she had sort of become a defacto "therapist" among the staff and team, together with a few other angels who had willingly joined the cause.
The young seraphim was currently in the middle of slowly wrapping up a session with Lute, who was laying on a nearby sofa in her "office"
"You see, there IS a difference between guilt and shame" she spoke as she took a few notes.
"And those are?" Lute asked, lying on her back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. In the 60 minute session they had, the young seraphim had given the former lieutenant much to think about as she slowly absorbed this new information.
"Well you see" Emily began "Guilt can lead to positive change, where shame can result to self-loathing. It can be counterproductive to what you're trying to do" as she gently put a hand on Lute's arm "You can feel guilt for your past actions, but at some point, you have to let go, especially when people have forgiven you, or else it will turn into self loathing and it'll eat you up inside…..it'll just end up hurting you….which can stunt your emotional growth"
Giving a deep sigh, Lute closed her eyes "Why do you always have to be right?" to which Emily hummed before speaking up "Well it's kinda my job here" before making a few more notes "You did wonderful today"
They would wrap up the session as Emily led the fallen angel out of her "office" which really was one of the rooms of the hotel that Charlie had retrofitted into a makeshift office for the seraphim, as she spoke "Now Lute, remember our mental exercises I've taught you, ok?"
Lute would lower her head and shake as she smiled "Yea yea, I'll do them" and it wasn't long until she was once again found in the lobby, where she approached Husk behind the bar "Hey, you got that fancy ass espresso machine fixed?"
The cat demon, who was currently in the middle of polishing said machine, gave a smirk "Why? Feeling like finally giving coffee a shot?"
Plopping onto a barstool, she smirked "Yea….can't avoid it forever or Angel is gonna give me an earful. Don't wana disrespect his heritage" to which Husk gave a hearty chuckle "Yea, Legs is very particular about a "proper Italian coffee" but I "like" to think I finally got it down" as he began preparing something for the fallen angel.
A little while later and Lute had something she learned was called a "latte" in front of her as she joked "They call that a coffee? This is more milk then coffee" as Husk responded "Don't let Angel hear ya say that, that's practically sacrilege in his book" as he put down the sugar pot before he spoke "Another tip by the way, don't EVER cut your spaghetti around him….you'll thank me later"
It was at this point that a slow knock could be heard on the front door of the hotel.
As the knock was heard, everybody in the lobby would turn their attention to the door curiously as Charlie would happily strut towards the door with a spring in her step as she sang "comiiiing" clearly eager about this possible new mystery guest.
"Hellooo and welcome to the hazbi-…." She eagerly sang out as she opened the door, tho she cut herself off as her face dropped and she slowly craned her neck up, the color draining from the red dots on her cheeks before violently throwing the door shut as she pushed her back against it, shock in her eyes.
Raising an eyebrow, Vaggie would approach by now "What's wrong babe?"
Swallowing a lump in her throat, she stuttered out "The overlord of senseless murder is at the door"
This caused several patrons of the hotel to stumble out of the lobby in a hurry, Husk's eyes to widen and Alastor's grin to grow slightly bigger "Ahhh right on time!"
"WHAT?!" Vaggie angrily yelped as the radio demon approached the door, casually picked Charlie up and set her aside and opened the door.
"ALASTOR, DARLING!" the person on the other side of the door would exclaim in excitement as slowly, the tall, imposing shape of the black widow overlord, Ink would step inside, Alastor greeting her with open arms "Ink, my dear, how's things on your side of the pentagram? It's been ages"
Cocking her hip and crossing her arms in a playful manner, the tall, imposing female demoness widened her large fanged grin as she spoke "You can say that again, old friend. Casually just disappearing for 7 years and "NOT" tell your bestie? I'm hurt, Alastor" the mock tone in her voice clear as day as she playfully gave the radio demon a poke on the chest.
Vaggie would muttered "Uhg of course those 2 are friends" before grumbling angrily under her breath in Spanish as Charlie approached the tall spider demoness "Miss Ink…ehm….y-you came to…s-seek redemption?"
Locking eyes with the princess temporarily, the spider demoness almost looked like a predator sizing up its next meal, putting Vaggie on edge over the safety of her partner, before Ink's demeanor shifted to something more casual, releasing a hearty laugh "YOOOHOHOHOHOHO, "Me"?! Redemption?! Oh dear don't be preposterous, I'm having too much fun down here!" as she gave another mocking laugh, causing Charlie to slump her shoulders.
"No, no…..I am simply here to…..deliver something…." As the tall demoness gestured to the door "Now come, my pet…don't be shy "man-thing"….don't you want to be reunited with your "top-girl"?"
As she said this, a figure slowly walked inside, 2 large, red bat wings tucked under his arms as he sported a long, spaded tail, grey skin and a yellow toothed, horned head that reminded everyone of an all too familiar exorcist general's helmet.
"GUESS WHO'S BACK, BITCHES!" He spoke as he stepped in, making the "rock" horns with his fingers as he eyed Vaggie in particular "And hey to you too "Vaggiesaurus" "
This would enlist more angry spannish grumbling from the one-eyed angel who had begun to pull at her own hair as Lute, at the bar, was muttering to herself "You got to be fucking kidding me….."
"Don't tell me you're leaving him here" Charlie spoke, her voice sounding pleading as she looked up at the tall overlord with discomfort.
Ink just gave the princess an eerie smile "I thought this hotel was all about second chances" as Charlie swore she could see a hint of sadistic joy in her eyes "Wasn't "everyone" welcome here?"
By now, Vaggie approached the tall, spider like woman as she grumbled under her breath, before stopping a few steps shy in front of the tall lady as she began to bark out "I can see now why Alastor and you get along so well, you both have the same fucked up, sadistic sense of humor…you think this is funny, bitch?!"
The next thing that Ink did made everyone on edge as for the first time since ever appearing in hell….she dropped her smile…..
This send shivers across the collective spines of all the guests…even Alastor's eyes widened as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he muttered under his breath "….oh fuck….."
A tense, uneasy silence hung in the air for a good few minutes as Ink and Vaggie were in a stare down.
Slowly, Ink turned herself fully towards the fallen exorcist as she slowly bend forward, the 2 of them now being face to face…..before she spoke….matter-of-factly, and no emotion behind her voice "…no…."
It would remain absolutely silent for a few more minutes, so quiet in fact that you could hear a pin drop…..
Before suddenly, Ink's face would once again break open into that familiar, eerie smile "…I think it's HILARIOUS!"
Before she rose to her full high again as she rested one hand on her hip, held the other hand next to her face and laughed loudly "YOOHOHOHOHOHO!"
The tall spider demoness would turn towards Alastor as she gave him a wave "Alastor, darling, we GOT to catch up somewhere next week. I'm certain you have PLENTY of tales to tell" to which the radio demon fixed the lapels of his coat and stepped closer "Ink, my dear, you're not staying?"
Ink would put one of her long, sword like, clawed fingers under his chin as she cocked his head up to look her in the eye "Darling, I would LOVE to stay and chat, tea, crumpets, the whole shebang ….but…"
She would suddenly look at the open door of the hotel as a hungry, predatory look overtook her face as her mouth began to water "…..you could say that I'm…"Having an old friend for dinner"…" as she cocked her head slightly in a unnerving manner, as the faintest sound of cracking bone could be heard.
Her demeanor would once again abruptly shift to something more pleasant as she patted Alastor on the head "Any way, I shall be off now, tallyho, my darlings" as she strutted out of the building.
"Ah, such a charming woman" Alastor spoke with a certain fondness in his voice, to which Vaggie spoke up "Excuse me, Alastor,….what….THE FUCK….WAS THAT?!" before everyone would slowly turn their heads into the direction of the new sinner in their midst.
"You're looking fucking badass, dangertits" Adam would smirk as he shot Lute the fingerguns, who just barked back at him, bitterly…
"Let me make one thing clear, Adam….i….am NOT….your fucking "dangertits"…"
