Devil's Daughter's Advocate AKA What if instead of dying, Adam got proof that redemption is possible?
Adam grinned as he saw Lucifer's brat and Vaggie charging on the back of some large dragon creatures. "Oh, look who thinks they're badass now," he said in wicked amusement.
Lute chuckled, matching his energy. "The traitor came to die!"
With that, they both flew forward, ready to meet the Princess and the Turncoat head-on.
And they would have, if a beam of light hadn't come down between them, halting both sides from fighting.
"Wow, what the shit!?" Adam exclaimed in surprise.
The entire conflict paused, all looking up at the display and unsure of which side caused it.
"Stop fighting, everyone, please!"
"Emily?!" Charlie exclaimed in shock as the younger seraphim appeared in Hell, her voice carrying over.
"Emily?" Adam said with a glare. "The FUCK are you doing here?!"
"Stopping this madness!" Emily said, turning to him with a pleading look. "Adam! Please! You have to stop! Something just happened in Heaven!"
Adam stopped at that. "What happened?" he asked with an unusually serious voice, watching as Emily formed a portal in midair. "Did Lucifer come knocking?"
"A different ssssnake, I'm afraid," a familiar voice said as a very serpentine angel poked his head out.
"...Who the fuck is this?" Lute asked in annoyance.
"Wait, aren't you that snake fuck at this hotel?" Adam asked with a scowl. "What's with the paint job?
"...SIR PENTIOUS?!" Charlie exclaimed in happiness. "You're alive?!"
"Ssso it appearsss!" Pentious answered with a smile. "One moment I wassss gone, the next I was in this bright room with Miss Emily and a Miss Sera."
"...The fuck?!" Vaggie said in amazement. "Wait, are you saying...?"
"He went to Heaven! Charlie! You were right!" Emily exclaimed in joy.
"I...I was right? He...he actually did it...?" Charlie's eyes went wide in amazement, pride, joy, and so much else. She immediately flew Razzle over to the portal and hugged Sir Pentious. "I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!"
"Thank You But Please Be Careful! I haven't tried to fly yet!" Pentious pleaded, looking down in alarm.
"What Is This!?" Lute yelled out in outrage. "What you're saying is impossible! A sentence to Hell is Eternal!"
"Apparently not, Bitch," Vaggie said with a smirk.
"He died! Adam killed him, and he went to Heaven! Wings and all! What more do you need?" Charlie demanded with a glare.
"This is obviously some kind of demonic trick!" Lute denied.
"This isn't a trick!" Emily defended.
Their debating continued, but Lute was the only one yelling against Charlie and Emily.
The entire exchange went deaf in Adam's ears as he stared very, very intently at Sir Pentious, watching the exchange nervously.
With narrowed eyes, Adam flew forward, surprising everyone as he approached Sir Pentious.
Charlie screamed something at him in threat, but he didn't really pay any attention. He didn't pay any mind to the giant hell-beasts or even Vaggie pointing a spear at him.
Lute was calling, confused, alarmed.
Emily was right by Sir Pentious, looking at Adam with an uncertain look while the angelic snake was understandably nervous about being approached by his own killer.
"Pent, right?" Adam asked bluntly.
"Umm, Pentious, Sir," Pentious answered warily but honestly.
"You want to prove you're an angel?" Adam asked evenly.
There were some more voices but he really didn't care at this point. In fact, they were pissing him off.
"Shut the FUCK up, all of you! I'm trying to talk to this Penti-fuck!" Adam said before turning to the soul that was supposedly formerly a sinner, who shrunk back just a bit. "Anyone ever say your name is begging people to call you Pitious?"
Pentious smiled awkwardly. "Ssseveral timesss, yesss," he answered sheepishly. "H-how do I prove I'm an angel? I already have the wing and the lookssss."
"Yeah, but you can fake those to a point," Adam mused honestly. "Angels have gold blood."
"Oh, issss that all?" Pentious asked, considering biting himself but thinking against it. "Would you have a knife I could borrow?"
"Just a fucking axe," Adam said, pulling out his golden guitar axe, albeit not too quickly.
"Oh my," Sir Pentious said in surprise. Nonetheless, he leaned out towards the weapon and winced just a bit as he cut his palm lightly on the blade.
Golden blood seeped out.
"See! There's your proof!" Charlie said, almost smugly. Her expression grew surprised when Adam didn't immediately cuss or deny or ...anything.
He just floated there, staring at the golden blood on Pentious's hand.
"Adam?" Emily asked softly, moving to heal the wound. "You know what this means? Right?"
He didn't look at Emily. Instead, he looked right at Charlie and smirked.
Charlie was suddenly very confused by that smirk.
Later
Lucifer blinked at what he was witnessing from his place in the sky.
He had come to check on Charlie after hearing the Extermination had been mysteriously cut short. Which was strange, because he HAD been about to head over and help if Adam had crossed a line.
He was glad to see the Hotel was not in ruins. It was damaged, but not horribly.
But...why were the Exorcists HELPING repair the Hotel!?
So bewildered by the sight, he didn't notice the rock that knocked his hat off.
"HEY LUCIFUCK!"
Lucifer looked down, hatless and bewildered to see Adam on the ground standing with what appeared to be a snake-themed angel.
Adam grinned widely while pointing at the angel. "I FUCKING GOT ONE BACK YOU DUCK-FUCKER!" Adam said smugly, motioning to Pentious, who looked a bit sheepish at the action.
"...The fuck are you on about!?" Lucifer said as he flew down. "What the hell are you doing here, Adam? And why are your locusts actually...helping repair something in Hell, for once?"
Adam grinned at the King of Hell. "You're daughter somehow turned out not to be full of shit, despite her parents."
Lucifer narrowed his eyes. "I'm sorry, did you just...compliment my daughter? Are you Adam? I'm not sure you're really Adam," Lucifer said before looking at the serpent. "Wait, weren't you one of Charlie's hotel guests? Or staff? I forget who was which."
"Umm, yesss, your Devilnesssss," Pentious assured respectfully. "But it appears that I have been...redeemed."
"...I'm sorry, what?" Lucifer asked with wide eyes. "You mean, Charlie actually...?"
"Patched up the fucking shit-crack you and Lilith broke in Creation, yeah," Adam said with a grin.
Lucifer was still staring. "I'm not sure what I have a hard time believing more. That a soul actually got redeemed or you complimenting my daughter," he said honestly.
"So...how did this happen?"
"That is what I'm trying to figure out. I've talking with Sir Pent here-" Adam stopped suddenly. "Sir. Pent. I just fucking got that, Serpent. Anyway, I've trying to figure out how your daughter stumbled into this shit that was supposed impossible for over nine thousand years."
"I'm not ssssure if I'm being very helpful," Pentious said sheepishly.
"Nah, you're good," Adam assured. "I'm just sorry to rag you back down here so quickly."
"Wait, wait..." Lucifer said slowly. "Are you saying...you want to HELP Charlie now?"
"Obviously?" Adam said in annoyance, glaring at Lucifer.
"What? What are you mad at me for?" Lucifer asked in confusion.
"Oh, I'm mad at a lot of people. You. Lilith. Sera. Some other angels. You know, just about every fucking person I asked who told me this could never fucking happen," Adam said pointedly as he dropped the Lord of Sin.
"I never told you that," Lucifer said with a furrowed brow.
"You definitely didn't give me any damn reason to think otherwise," Adam said flatly.
"Dad!
Everyone paused as a blonde red blur slammed into the Devil. "Charlie!" he greeted, wrapping his arms around her. Vaggie approached the group too, eyeing Adam distrustfully, who ignored her. "I'm glad you're okay! "
"I'm better than okay, Dad!" Charlie said, motioning to Pentious. "Dad! It's possible! Really possible!"
Lucifer opened his mouth before closing it. He had still been in shock by the fact that he really hadn't...processed what this could mean. "Yeah, yeah it is, Kiddo," Lucifer said with a soft smile. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you."
"Not to interrupt waterworks?" Adam said, looking at Sir Pentious. "Pent, you should probably go to Emily and head back to Heaven. Sera might just pull something stupid if Ems isn't there to be the voice of reason."
"Oh. Certainly. I hope to sssee you and everyone again sssoon, Charlie!" Pentious said with a smile, hugging the Hell Princess briefly, who hugged him back energetically. He looked to Vaggie and cautiously gave her a handshake, which she returned with a small smile.
The group of four drifted into an awkward silence.
"So..." Charlie started. "Adam has agreed to help Emily advocate to Heaven for the Hotel. "
Adam held up a rock sign in response.
"He still hasn't explained that," Vaggie said flatly, suspiciously. "You took one look at Pentious and literally said "I'm in" and just acted like you haven't tried to kill any of us."
"I don't have to explain shit," Adam said bluntly.
"I'm sorry, but...did I hear that right before?" Charlie asked curiously. "You said everyone told you redemption was impossible? And that you...asked?"
Adam gave a very unamused stare. "Morningbrat, contrary to whatever you think? I didn't just roll out of bed one day and think it was a fucking wonderful idea to come down and slaughter sinners for shits and giggles."
"Really? That was the impression I got," Vaggie said flatly.
Adam glared at her darkly. "Keep talking, Vagina, keep talking."
"Vaggie. You have every right to be angry with him still, but please?" Charlie implored before giving Adam a strange look. "But...you do give off that impression."
"I don't exactly got a lot of other options in that, Charcoal," Adam said bluntly. "It's either I wallow in depress like a bitch, go completely numb from this shit, or just learn to enjoy it out of spite."
"...Spite?" Lucifer asked with a raised eyebrow. "You enjoy killing them out of spite?"
"I enjoy my fucking afterlife out of spite," Adam said flatly. "You got to ruin my life, like fuck you get to make my afterlife miserable."
Lucifer almost winced at that.
"Look, I don't know what to tell you, Bitch. I didn't start this shit WANTING to kill off my descendants."
Charlie blinked and blinked again. She knew Adam was the First Man, but she never really comprehended that he was the ancestor of every sinner in Hell. That made the entire concept of him leading the exterminations so much more morbid, but also...complicated by his own claim having not wanted it to be this way originally.
"Now if we're done bitching, we got a lot to talk about," Adam said flatly. "That includes you, Pipsqueak."
"Me?" Lucifer asked in confusion. "I mean, I'm glad to help Charlie, but why in Here would you want my help?"
"You're the fucking King of Hell, it's time you start acting like it, you limp-dick," Adam said with a scowl.
"So, does that mean you'll be sopping the exterminations?" Charlie asked curiously.
"Kind of," Adam said honestly. "Believe it or not, I actually had plans for this."
"You had plans for if redemption was possible?!" Charlie asked in amazement.
"You had plans?" Vaggie and Lucifer asked in sync.
"I will punt you both to the lowest ring of Hell," Adam warned in annoyance. "But yeah, I had fucking plans. Used to be all I thought about after a bad E-Day. Before I learned how to enjoy this shit."
Vaggie looked unconvinced but curious. Lucifer looked uncertain. "Adam?" he asked. "Be honest, you really think this'll go over smoothly in Heaven?"
"Oh, not a fucking chance,' Adam said casually. "Luckily, your kid here has me, so that opens a few doors."
"Like what?" Charlie asked curiously.
"Charlie? I'm literally older than Sin. I spent a lot of fucking time with the oldest angels before Hell became a problem," Adam said bluntly. "If you had come to me with some damn proof of this in that first meeting, I would have had you a meeting with the Archangels in about ten minutes."
"The Archangels?" Lucifer repeated in surprise. "As in...?"
Adam gave him a blank look. "Raph still worries about your pale ass and Mike's hands still hurt sometimes."
Lucifer stiffened with wide eyes before looking away with an old, pained look across his visage.
"Dad? Are you...okay?" Charlie asked, not sure if she needed to scold Adam or just comfort her father. "Were you...friends with them before?
Lucifer took a breath, leaning on his cane. "I'll...explain later, Charlie, "he said, forcing a smile.
Adam raised an eyebrow but didn't poke the wound anymore. "Anyway, do we want to talk details or not? Cause I lost my appetite after I made the cannibals NOT eat the bodies."
Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "Is that a joke or did I miss something?"
Adam grunted, waving them to follow him to the hotel.
However, the trio lingered behind him as they walked.
"Sir, please tell us if this is a good idea? Or a bad idea? Or how the fuck we're supposed to take this, please?" Vaggie requested Lucifer.
Lucifer sighed. "Adam can be an asshole, but he's honest. If he said he's on your side, he is. And I guess it's a given that he got close with many of the angels in Heaven," he said with a neutral tone, trying to hide some tender pain.
Charlie looked at her father with a worried look. She was glad for the support, and what this meant. Adam on their side might be the greatest boon they could ask. She just wasn't sure what that meant for the future. He was still rather unapologetic about everything he had done. His entire reasoning for not giving her a chance before was her lack of evidence. Which was reasonable in a way, even if his delivery wasn't ideal for her.
"Hey, Princess and the Fallen Fuckheads! You coming or not?" Adam called over his shoulder impatiently. "Hell's not going to empty it's own damn self."
End of Chapter
So...yeah. I have always retained that NOBODY, in Heaven or Hell, is wrong to doubt Charlie's plan. No one has been redeemed in ten thousand years, yet she is asking people to consider the project seriously before proving it can work.
Just because she was right about redemption, doesn't mean everyone else was wrong to doubt it.
But in the spirit of that, in canon? Adam died before Sir Pentious got to Heaven. So, he never got to see it was really possible. This idea explores the idea that if he had proof? He would have jumped on Charlie's bandwagon in an instant and showed her all the secret routes to make this shit go smoother.
Naturally, there are still going to be a lot of problems. Reluctance of some parts in Heaven, the discovery that Angelic Steel is a threat to the angels themselves, sinners obviously not trusting the exorcists, and the entire hotel having to deal with Adam as a regular presence.
Also, yes, I'm of the opinion that exterminating his descendants was never Adam's ideal solution, but it was the only solution they had and he's learned to enjoy it as his own coping mechanism. Yes, he learned to be sadistic just to deal with what he had to do.
PS My beta gets credit for the title.
