Chapter IX - Part II

Time to get into a proper fucking interview! Fucking finally, eh? Well, whether interested or not, this is happening. We'll see a few secondary points of view from a few locations over the world as some people start watching, so reactions will start pushing in and the world will begin to speak about this.

Some of these other points in future chapters will be temporary locations (There won't be names or other stuff given), but the three more important ones that show up here (Because shit happens there later on, some stuff earlier, some stuff much later) will be named and the people described. Suffice to say: New people to see (though they will not appear much unless something in the overall idea in my head changes) and another somewhat long chapter (part) concluded.

That said, this will also mark the last chapter for a while (One to three chapters, depending on how it works out) before we see Hell's main cast again.

There are going to be a good number of questions asked and many that are answered. This time there won't be (or shouldn't be) a shitshow of disorder, shock or mistrust to keep this down, so everything will be flowing nicely. That will lead to an offer, and this offer will take time to materialize, which will be used for other parties to move their own little pieces around.

Some of these scenes need to be shown, though I don't know how much I do *want* to show, because some of this shit would be more interesting if you guys get to wonder about it for a while. At the very least I know that one chapter of 'intermission' will take place, but that is all I am sure of. I'll see just how much else I can fit in here.

Plus I am busy finding more work as a translator (Hey, I need to get moolah!) and working on Ouroboros since I want my sister to hand me two drawings for next month (Cos I'll be skipping updating that story next month so I can get that material first).

Anyway, let's get this rollin' o3o/!

* Earth - Green Leaves City - Mayberry Household - Jack *

Jack felt underdressed. Was he underdressed? Even his mom had picked one of her nicer sets, with the floral motif and warmer colors instead of the more drab and mute ones she had been using since her return.

Fuck it. Changing his usual style wasn't going to work. It wasn't him.

But he was still nervous.

Funny, because, no matter how much they try to hide it, Vaggie, but especially Charlie, were a bundle of raw nerves. They were quickly followed by Jack's mom, with Sarah being very close to biting through his nails and eating at the flesh of her fingers with how much she was chewing what once were claws.

Jack wasn't kidding; Sarah's claws now looked almost like normal nails with how much of a workout she had given them. Not exactly healthy, but better than hitting the bottle or smoking. Jack would compliment his mom with how much she tried, but every time he did Sarah leered his way.

Literal addictions from Hell were hard to beat.

"Jack. Are you okay?"

As soon as that voice and a very particular hand got a hold of his, Jack's world came back into focus. The young man quickly turned his head to face a worried looking Emily.

"My head was somewhere else." Jack said as he looked at his side.

Emily and him were already in place, Alastor was doing his bit (and Jack still didn't know if he had got the Radio Demon or not. The man had an impressive poker face), his mom was talking with Charlie and Vaggie while Claudia and Gina were going over something. The only two left were Lucien and Dom, and the two of them were on a voice call with someone.

"I just saw how most of you guys have gotten something new and flashy to show on camera today." Jack nodded towards his mom and her company, but didn't dish on Gina's efforts either. "I am not one hundred percent sure they all land, but then again I am not exactly an expert in fashion."

Emily looked at her lap. She still wore the same clothes she came with. Then again, a quick snap of the fingers and any possible imperfection (and there were never imperfections with her clothes) were gone.

"I wonder if I should try and change things myself?" That didn't mean the young Seraphim had no doubts.

"Of course not." Jack offered a smile as a counter. He didn't notice it but he held Emily's hand in a tight squeeze. "You look perfect, Emily, like you always do."

Whether he did it on purpose, or just by accident, the words made Emily blush for a split second. Neither registered it though, for Dominic let out a "It is time!" that got everyone moving.

No one saw the interaction and no one mentioned it. Though, had they seen it many would've thought of this to be nothing more than the usuall bull you'd find in a romantic comedy to make things more interesting or just downright stupid.

In truth? Jack quickly noticed that Dom had made the call far too early.

A certain shadow was chuckling as its owner leered in disgust at the human and angel.

Having a soul capable of messing with electronics was disdainful, but for sure far more palatable than watching what could have unfolded otherwise.

If Jack knew? Well, perhaps he would've had half a mind of altering his little arrangement with Alastor.

As it was, this was not the only group to get ready.

* Italy - Villavalde *

The sleepy town of Villavalde, in Italy was not well known nor often explored by outsiders. A decent place to live, but boring and very much isolated. It was a beautiful, picturesque place often sought by older people to retreat, or by younger individuals that sought themselves in a place of solitude and with quiet people.

Was it small? No, in fact it was quite a large place for a town. But it was also an area made by camaraderie and solid ties, something that lived through the ages and persisted to this day. Villavalde was known for that and its remote location, little else. Thus, as a rule, living here meant living in community with one another and bearing in mind that reputation was paramount.

But, as it always happens with things, time changes how everything works.

Did this mean that the solidarity and brotherhood of the city had been broken? No.

Then perhaps it was how remote the location was? Also no.

It was the once very religious credo of the town that had been broken. For the longest time Villavalde, once one of the more religious centers of its area, was now devoid of followers.

The city was lively. But it was losing its soul.

Atop a hill sat the singular cathedral of Villavalde and the highpoint of the town in every sense of the word. Both artistically beautiful, old as sin and the most remarkable spot of the town, 'Cattedrale di la Risurrezione', or 'Cathedral of Resurrection', had once been a bit of a local myth and the only reason Villavalde existed at all today.

The tale says that a hero or a noble of some kind (the myth itself was just that, a myth, and the stories had mixed so much that no one knew what was true no more) had been killed by brigands here. Said man was not missed, nor would he have been if things remained that way. After all, the 'protagonist' of this myth was nothing but a scoundrel that desecrated holy unions, honor, his own word and laughed on every moral and rule he could. What reason did he have? None, other than his own personal power. A corrupt man with far too many misdeeds to his name. As such it was no surprise that, at one point or another, in the middle of nowhere, as it was the spot Villavalde would later occupy, the man found his end.

Yet he rose again days later, but with nothing. His guards killed, his life ended along with his valuables and any interest of those once close to him to allow him back into his old life. So quick had the rumor of his death spread, and so willing were the people to believe what was arguably the truth, that this man found himself destitute and impoverished.

This little story takes a lot of turns and twists here and there after that. Some parts of it are pretty much incredible and impossible, as is usually the case with myths, but not so much when this place was erected.

At one point the cathedral held hundreds every day, sometimes thousands if outsiders dared traverse the perilous journey that brought them to Villavalde. Nowadays the poor thing is lucky to have a hundred or two grace its sacred interior every month.

But four souls were regulars.

Within the cathedral's walls one old man worked tirelessly for most of his life. A secluded post it was, but the white haired and bearded Father Luciano had lived within Villavalde for so long that it could very well be his hometown. The man, chubby, but not fat, with a jolly disposition, eyes as gray as his hair and round nose that children far too often liked to poke as if it was a toy back when families filled these walls, was perhaps one of the nicest, friendliest and most forgiving people within the town.

He was very ol fashioned however, not hard considering the man was pushing ninety but was still very spry, something he credited the Lord for. Of average height otherwise, and not exactly muscular, the priest stood vigil within these walls and tried his best to protect his flock and the town he came to call home.

And for the longest time he had felt like he needed no help to do so.

Yet years prior, when people began to leave, he asked for help. And the most recent event, three years ago, he asked for more support.

Twins came with his second call; Brother Frederico and Sister Anita, both of them of the Malfitano family that lived within the closest city. The twins were ginger, of average height, well groomed at all times, usually with smiles as big as Luciano and a disposition so cheery it sometimes made the otherwise jolly old man feel like his sugar levels were rising.

Frederico was determined to spend his life as a follower of the Lord; barely out of his twenties and he had already made it to deacon, yet he was determined to climb the ranks and have his own place and people to guide someday. He was a wiry man however, largely unimpressive, somewhat sickly, but always positive and forgiving, as well as much more used to the times. Frederico and Luciano often had discussions that involved sexuality, technology and other things that the old man largely didn't care about, or thought as just people being misguided or confused.

His sister, Anita, was more relaxed and also more exuberant. She believed that one day she would leave her habit behind and marry to ensure a large family, for her brother had no interest in perpetuating their line. Still, she was more than glad to take this chance and show her piety while helping people in need, never shy of offering a hand, even when she got hurt in the process. To say she was naive would be putting things very gently, but said naivete was one of the many charms of the long haired girls.

Both twins, with green eyes sparkling as they sat at the table shared with Father Luciano, were a stark contrast of the last person sharing their living space.

Sister Delizia Rosato.

A tall statuesque woman that left Anita, who still looked like a girl still waiting to become a woman, in the dust when it came to looks alone. Delizia was a tall woman that many would've thought would find work as an actress, or perhaps in adult entertainment, for her figure was ample in the right places and sumptuous in the rest. With eyes red as ruby, raven colored hair that fell down her habit like a cascade of darkness, the rumor that she was a demon in disguise had been one of the reasons for some people visiting the cathedral on the regular.

Because her personality was NOTHING worth sticking around for.

Strict beyond belief, with a husky voice that oftentimes sounded more like thunder the moment Delizia started screaming bloody murder when someone went over one of her many, many lines, and a hand firm and experienced with a ruler to punish adult and child alike. The woman, barely ending her twenties, had been raised in a truly strict convent, and as such had become an ogre of a woman in strength, character and approach to most things, with a covering of beauty easily broken by her usually sneering or stoic face.

An eclectic group that somehow managed to work together.

Not so much for this one activity.

"I am thankful, dear Frederico, for your help with this." Luciano spoke with a slight cough. Yesterday had been cold and his window had opened while he slept. Poor Luciano was likely slightly afflicted, but he hoped to check something out. "My dear niece told me to check this, but she keeps forgetting I am not exactly able when it comes to technology."

Francisco chuckled as he made sure the laptop was ready. He wasn't really good with this, but his sister was good with directions as she had more experience with computers. Now, if she stopped being hyped about spending some time in front of the machine, then perhaps she would be the one setting it up.

Sister Delizia sneered at the thought. Sitting next to Luciano while the twins worked, the woman spoke. "I highly doubt your niece had a good reason to interrupt our work, Father."

"What work?" Luciano grumbled. Being sick, or at the doors of being sick, made the often happy man irritable. Perhaps it was his age? Perhaps it was how few parisians they had as of late? "Sister, this month has been all but devoid of the devout. I fear soon we may not be needed."

The usually angry or serious woman allowed her scorn to dissolve into worry. "Father Luciano…"

Luciano just waved her concern away with a cough. "Don't you worry dear. Things will be better… I may just be a bit down, what with this sickness and lack of attendance to our orations. Feeling… nostalgic, I suppose."

Before Delizia could expand on that, Anita perked up. "What made your niece call you, Father?"

Luciano hummed for a second. "Something about a young streamer that found proof of the afterlife?"

Delizia cared not to show manners as she snorted. "Preposterous."

"Perhaps." Luciano found it in himself to chuckle and hold coughs at bay. "But I thought we could humor her interest together. Besides, night will come soon and we have little to do."

"Father." Francisco finally stopped fiddling with the computer. "The laptop is ready and we do have a signal."

Luciano nodded. It had been a long time since he had checked to see if the internet still worked. "Okay my son. Now, my dear niece told me that the name of this young man was-."

* Green Leaves City - Mayberry Household - Jack *

"-Jack. We still have two minutes."

"I know we have two minutes." Jack drawled with a frown. "How did your computer get messed up?"

Dom looked just as sour as his friend. "I dunno, man. Let me check everything again. Last thing we want is for any of our machines to fail us."

Jack sighed as everyone else chatted among each other. At least this meant more people could join today, right? Then again, how far was today's stream going to get them? Jack was sure it wouldn't be that big of a change.

Sure indeed.

* Japan - Kusunoki City *

There are people that are together because they love each other.

There are people that are together because they need each other.

There are people that are together because they have no other choice.

And then there are people that hate each other SO FUCKING MUCH, that they NEED to be toghether.

Such was the case with three individuals in Kusonoki City in Japan. Hyper specialized, hyper autistic (when they were with each other) and beyond tired of living in what most would consider bumfuck nowhere, Japan.

The three musketeers? Iori Kuniyuki, Tano Saneatsu and Ide Setsuko.

Look, Kusunoki was not a bad city, but it was out of the way, and it was not exactly exciting. It was roughly one in the morning, perhaps two. There was no nightlife beyond a few bars and light entertainment that did not fit a city of this size, at all. Kusunoki was a little more than a city designed to work, sleep and pass the day. You'd think those weren't common in Japan where you either found rural areas that were sometimes out of a fucking samurai movie, or never resting cities that pushed forth with progress, technology and suicide rates that would make a mortician hot under the collar.

But there were 'calm' and 'forgotten' places like Kusunoki city. They weren't common, considering how hard it was to balance a middle point between 'future' and 'past' in Japan sometimes, but you could find them.

For a biology expert, a master designer in construction and technology scientist of the highest order, this place was career suicide.

And, for reasons we aren't going to delve into right now, the three idiots were at fault for each other being here.

Let's say this was a very interesting noodle incident, shall we?

"Fugn… hate you 'ssholes."

I didn't mention the bars for no reason, mind you. Japan doesn't exactly enjoy loudmouths, drunkards and so on, but some places relax their stances to certain displays. In the case of Kusunoki? The city had very little else to offer, and most bars were far away from the residential areas. Usually enough for people to be idiots FAR away from sleeping people, or at least far away to sober up enough so that you wouldn't yell next to some poor asshole's window.

And if you didn't? Well, Kusunoki DID have good police. Most regulars knew, even when inebriated, what not to do.

Iori Kuniyuki was the man that spearheaded the discovery of just how serious Kusunoki police took breaking the peace. That didn't mean he stopped, only that he learned. And this man was nothing if not a quick learner.

A short, fat, balding bastard with glasses hiding dull green eyes, he is the kind of piece of shit that you'd find in a netorare hentai or some crap like that, he even had the getup of an 'overweight uncle' right now. Only that, despite his chubby nature, the man had a lot of muscle under his fat, he was very sharp of wit and intellect and was determined to find the love of his life, no cheating or underhanded methods required. The man was a realist, and thought things like flights of fancy and perversions were disgusting beyond belief. He wasn't bad looking either, though he made the most disgusting face when he was drunk, partly because he was a crying, loud drunk, because he got flustered far too fast, and because when crying he also got a lot of snot coming out of his nose.

Simply put? When sober he could be charming, intellectual and a great conversationalist, if a bit too full of himself and always dressing with his lab coat as if to feel superior. When drunk or going out for a drink? He was a fucking pathetic wreck that looked like a hobo.

But he was also a petty little shit that couldn't forgive things as unimportant as forgetting to do the fucking laundry on the dot. Be five minutes late? The man WILL run with it for hours.

That led us to the second fuckhead.

"Then go back to that thing you call home and jump off the rooftop, dick."

Tano Saneatsu was more or less the opposite of Iori. A full head of long, black hair, unnaturally sparkling eyes that, if you knew about the otherworldly beings out there, could hint at his heritage being something special, and a figure far more androgynous than the man liked. Always too calm for even his own tastes, with a soft voice and somewhat distant demeanor, he got an eye for creation. Buildings, to be specific. And somehow this reflected in his formal, gray attire, straight and still sitting position and stony demeanor that, even during insult sprees, did not break his soft tone. When compared to Iori? He looked like the protagonist of a VERY gay manga.

Ironic, because the man was scared of the very idea of seeing someone else's cock. That, and for his straight face and soft voice, he would become a fucking wreck if he even so much as thought of a nipple.

Two for two on the weirdos' list.

Three isn't any different, except she was a woman.

And she just banged a beer can so hard against the counter of the bar they were at that everyone staying there thought they saw cracks on the wood.

"SHUT UP, FUCKING CUNTS!"

Yes, in Japanese things would've sounded differently, and perhaps with a completely different tone, but our dear writer knows two languages, bear with it.

Plus, funny.

Besides, when you see the average Japanese woman (Meaning dark hair, short stature and, in this case, light blue eyes) yelling atop of her lungs in one of the few places she could do it and be cheered by everyone, you know you have entered a very weird but entertaining place. Not that anyone would try to piss off Ide Setsuko.

See, Setsuko was fucking crazy. Clinically insane. Probably going straight to Hell for many different reasons, chief of which was her creating a robotic arm with the sole purpose to crush someone's ballsack.

She ALMOST succeeded.

The arm just squeezed the man something fierce. No permanent damage, except for those close to the man when he screamed… and his dignity.

The woman is special, okay?

Of the three present she was the only grown person to dress like a trashy teenager that didn't want to grow, which fit Setsuko to a T. She was a genius woman, capable of creating many technological marvels, but she was the mentality of a retarded toddler that SOMETIMES functioned like an adult, and no, that is no mistake. She did not sometimes act like a functioning adult, she just sometimes functioned as an adult. The order alters the product and her product is already altered to begin with. And despite this fuckfest that is Satsuko, the woman was still invaluable enough to remain in a good position.

Which was the same problem all three idiots had: They were far too good to be kicked out, but far too problematic to be anywhere important. And when put together? Well, they ended like they did today.

Angry, fucked over and plastered.

Yet somehow, once upon a time, these three had been real friends.

Funny how fights, anger, bad luck and a huge coincidence get people to be in the right place and the right time.

"You three, shut up." The owner of the bar, a grizzly man with a permanent frown and a face like that of a pug, was tired of these three. He only allowed them to become regulars because they brought a lot of coin. "I swear if you keep it up I will-!"

"You'll what, fuckface!?"

And you know what is funny about luck? Well, that it sometimes makes no fucking sense.

Take this place, for example: The owner was all funny like, having the large TV that his drunkards always glared at well placed for maximum attention (and to ensure the idiots looked at the bright lights instead of doing something even stupider while drunk). And said TV was connected to the owner's computer so he could get anything that interested his usual crowd instead of whatever was on this late in the morning.

Fuck, you could watch Gundam at this bar while being boozed out the wazoo. A lot of his regulars were nerds after all,a nd the owner DID like Gundam.

He may have a huge Gunpla collection at home. Shut up.

Then again, ignoring the raging nerd coefficient of this particular bar, luck probably had little to do with the owner smacking his computer and his search engine finding something no one here likely expected to see tonight. After all, luck matters little when Sinners are trying to pull the strings and bring even more people to watch what their master is helping with.

It was by the Agregate's hand that these three frenemies, and the rest of the bar, suddenly caught a particular stream coming from the United States, and not luck.

Luck, however, had to do with subtitles being on and these mongoloids not being too far gone yet. At least they could still read.

* Green Leaves City - Mayberry Household - Jack *

"Glad to see everyone has gathered on time."

Mr Maneas was already on screen. Dutifully, Libby and Mike were already online, but it seemed that there was one missing, as Scarlett either was delayed or something else had happened. Honestly speaking, Jack didn't mind. Scarlett had been a weirdo before working for Bluetube and her life as an influencer, and someone that was well known to be 'experimental' in her lifestyle (including drugs and sex, if rumors were true) had marked the woman far too much for many people.

Shit, if you take a look at Claudia, the Imp was even smirking (slightly) at the missing person.

"Miss Rees will take a few minutes to come by however." Maneas went on, but not before nodding towards Mike. "In the meantime I would like to ask if you don't mind giving us a chance to show a quick recap of yesterday and miss Emily's magic effect?"

Jack turned to Emily, something emulated by everyone else. The young Seraphim didn't seem put off though. "Of course, Mister Maneas. A few more minutes is no problem."

"Good, thank you." The old gentleman spoke with a slight smile. "It will also give us some time for people to join up. We are reaching numbers we thought wouldn't be possible yet."

Dominic called from his seat. "I read eight hundred thousand watchers! What the heck is going on?"

"We don't know." Libby had her usual frown in place. "Mike sent me a message earlier today. Apparently the videos began to spread yesterday night. Popularity and curiosity, even with our help, should not have risen THIS far."

Mike chimed in just then. "We think the numbers are likely to reach a million at the very least today, perhaps more."

Jack was floored. "I… hadn't checked on my videos, or anything, these last few days…"

Mr Maneas chuckled. "Well, let me tell you that you'll be making a pretty penny from this soon enough, young man." The old man looked at the side. "And more people are still joining in from all over. I wonder just how this exploded as it has. Even our best efforts should've been found as little more than a scam, pranks or what have you, no matter just how much media attention we tried to bring."

Which was true, and Jack knew this. People were, by nature, skeptical or superstitious, one of the two. Nowadays? The former. And even the latter would not want to check some rando for information, much less if a big corporation was backing said person.

What no one here knew was that the laughing shade watching this unfold had the equally smiling Alastor relying more and more orders and getting more reports of The Aggregate fulfilling his request. More locations were infected by the conjoined soul's efforts as Alastor pushed for ads, forceful connections and everything he could.

This only reinforced his hate for such technology. But he had promised to help Charlie and this was indeed part of their little 'deal' after all.

Mark his words though: He would collect on this.

* Florida - Glasslight City *

One such forceful connection was in reality little more than a nudge.

Florida was many things, known and unknown, and one of those unknowns was how Florida attracted a lot of supernatural things. More than most? Demons.

Glasslight City had a regular visitor that had left a… particular parting gift last time she was here.

Verosika and Blitzo had their 'itty bitty' spat here. A string of murders, open drug use and sexual misconduct were just the tip of the iceberg in this massive, floating and frozen shit show they left behind. And you know the worst part? No one in Glasslight city gave the faintest fuck.

The mayor was corrupt. The police were corrupt. Even the regular citizens were fucking corrupt. Glasslight City was a tourist trap designed to milk everyone from all they were worth and then some. Nine out of ten people here was the closest thing to a piece of shit that you could find, even more so than most people in this world. Glasslight city was, perhaps, the most beautiful but worst place in Florida. You'd prefer to go somewhere in the swamplands, even the swamp puppies would treat you better than the sex freaks, drug addicts and general assholes this place had to offer.

And then you had the 'weirdos'.

"Hey, Mordecai! Come here!"

"What is it, Rigby?"

Also: Don't make the obvious joke. It is old and these two had heard it a million times before.

First, a clarification: The 'weirdos' are little more than fans of the supernatural and monsters here on Glasslight. For a place made exclusively to enjoy the beach, have a massive nightlife sector and as much alcohol as you can get, with expensive restaurants and food areas as well as more refined entertainment for those that didn't like the more debased section of the city, having more or less 'normal' people readily marked them as 'weird' and 'unappealing'.

Which is the only way you'd understand how Mordecai wasn't hounded by many of the local sluts.

Mordecai Stone, as it turns out, was nothing like that particular cartoon bird. Well, other than his height. No, the man is a hulking beach bro with blond hair, blue eyes, perfect body, pecs for days and pearly whites that would make most women moist and most dudes envious of him. Almost like a Johnny Bravo knockoff, but with none of the douchebag, actually able to fight worth a damn and a gentle demeanor that almost made him stupid. To say that Mordecai was a follower and not a leader was not an insult, it was just a fact.

He was also very big on monsters. In fact the singular 'meatheaded' quality you could shove on this man was his desire to hunt a monster, for Mordecai was surprisingly smart (Just easily led astray) and preferred nonviolence at all times. Of course no REAL monster had ever been seen, at least until about a year ago when Verosika made an oopsie.

The hulking mass of beef got close to his friend, sitting at the beach bar with the bartender and some of the pair's buddies watching Rigby's laptop as Mordecai was urged to move faster.

"I thought we were going to watch that video you told me about tonight, not-."

"It is not that!" Rigby spoke quickly. "Come, move it!"

Remember the not making jokes part? Well, names aside, Rigby Higgings was a small man, not a dwarf, but very short. Brown hair, brown eyes, very feisty, VERY muscular and really fucking hyped about doing whatever thing got into his mind and caught his interest. A second generation Mexican abandoned by his mother to his father, the young man didn't exactly resemble anyone but his old man who, unsurprisingly, was also rather short of stature and high on musculature. On the flipside? His personality was likely more his mother's, or so he had been told.

Whatever the case, Rigby had one very important quality: The man was a unit, in both mind, body and heart.

See, Mordecai came from a family of money here in Glasslight, and like all others with money, he ran around with massive pieces of shit since he was young. Being easily convinced to do almost anything, more so because Mordecai liked to be a big softie and help his friends (or would be friends) whenever asked, he was slowly being groomed by his previous circle of 'friends' so he'd become the archetype of a fratboy destined to use and abuse others without any shred of sympathy.

Until Rigby came around, started hanging out with Mordecai, got himself fucked up physically when he comfronted Mordecai's would be friends, and finally started helping Mordecai become more assertive and self sufficient. The rest? Well, history in the making.

That didn't mean Mordecai left Rigby when he managed to get most of his affairs in order. It just means the two were bros till the end now. The massive man's loyalty solidified and his popularity ruined, Mordecai couldn't be happier to be an outcast.

Though sometimes he found Rigby's exuberance to be taxing. No one said all friendships were perfect.

Mordecai couldn't help but offer a smile as he made it to the group though. Rigby always made people crack a smile at least. "Okay, so what are we watching?"

Instead of answering, Rigby just got up from his seat and dragged Mordecai closer.

What did Mordecai see? The owner of Bluetube and some other people inserting another video in the recently started stream.

Mordecai didn't exactly care for Bluetube or its management, but everyone in the group seemed interested. Had he missed something? He had been out for a couple days and today he was meant to enjoy a day out with his buddies until night brought a binge watching with the bros.

So what was this vid-?

Wait, what were these people talking about? What was that woman doing with her hand? Wha-?

"SHIT!"

Mordecai was perfectly fine after the flash. Rigby? Not so much.

"Rigby!? What the fuck!?"

Apparently his friend was what Emily would've called an 'Esper', and what any other normal person would've called a mage. Either that, or at least magically sensitive.

Then again the group would soon learn more as they returned to the computer. Rigby took just a moment to get up and rejoin them all, with his eagerness having been bolstered instead of damaged.

* Green Leaves City - Mayberry Household - Jack *

"We have, in fact, reached a million… and the number is still rising."

There were other events like the one in Glasslight beach. Some were far more serious, as Emily had warned, though whether there were consequences or everything was safe was of no matter to Alastor at this time. In his mind? This was for Charlie's silly 'greater good'. Jack would've said something if he knew of course, almost everyone would, but they were all busy and maybe even a little scared.

One million pair of eyes, and the number was rising.

"Mmmhmmm, yes…" Mr Maneas looked at his screen, probably reading a private message or two. "The number seems to be slowing down somewhat, though."

Jack was thankful for that. He didn't know it, but this was the limit of The Aggregate. Had this been Hell, then they would've had more time to expand. Being Earth had made sure there was a limit to their ability. That, and none of the three souls creating The Aggregate were Vox; they were powerful for sure, but compared to the TV Overlord and his influences on technology, The Aggregate was, at best, a competent player.

Still, a million and some change, with more people coming in naturally at a much slower pace, would mean a good chunk of the world would start getting rumors and whispers about this. Today was going to be far bigger than expected.

Saying that Jack was feeling the pressure would be putting it mildly. A look around told him that everyone was on the same boat. In fact he could see Claudia, the Imp, looking rather pinkish, pale for her most likely. Many didn't show it on their faces, but this was a jump in viewership that went from 'Okay, no pressure, you can do it' to 'Oh my fucking god! I am going to be made a fool in front of the world!'. Ironic, considering anyone could see the previous videos, but Jack's viewership wasn't big enough (yet) to attract this many watchers.

In a way Jack was thankful. This would help Charlie, thus helping his mom and Emily, if not just about everyone.

But holy fuck was it scary!

"A welcome surprise however." Maneas returned Jack to the present with a kind smile as he clapped his hands. "That means more people will speak about today's event. So, how about we get ready? Our dear Scarlett should be here about-."

Scarlett did indeed choose that moment to join the call. "Sorry about the delay. Was making sure my old Order server got notified about this." The woman yawned, it looked like she had massive bags under her eyes too. "I have been spreading the world all day and night since yesterday."

Libby clicked her tongue. "Are you hopped on caffeine, Scarlett?"

"So much caffeine." Scarlett giggled to herself and, as if to drive the point home, she downed what appeared to be half a can of energy drink. "So let's go!"

There were various grimaces, but at least Mike remained serious enough as he brought up a list. "Ignoring the obvious breach of decorum, we are all together. That said, I hope you do not mind giving newcomers a roll call of those present."

A chorus of 'of course' and 'I don't mind' and other similar answers came about. Jack wasn't surprised, after all this was meant to be the proper interviewing stream. As such Maneas and his team began their presentation, quickly getting to the main event that were those that came from Hell.

Theatrics were a given, and Mike made it look as grand as he could. "With us today we have veritable demons and denizens of Hell. First of all, Charlotte Morningstar, daughter of Lilith, the first woman and Lucifer Morningstar, King of Hell."

Charlie offered a smile. Jack saw her about to wave to the camera, but she thought better of it. She apparently wanted to be more formal. "I am grateful to be here and thankful for you to have me."

"And we are glad to have you." Mike nodded quickly before addressing the next member of the group. "To her side we have her girlfriend, Vagatha Arroyo Rivera; fallen angel residing-."

"Not fallen."

Everyone had to do a double take then, everyone but Charlie.

Mike managed to find the will to finally ask. "Excuse me?"

"I was not thrown out of Heaven by a proper angel." Vaggie explained. "I was betrayed in Hell. Any angel properly excommunicated has physical changes to them. In my case it has just been Hell's energies getting to me. I do not look much different than I once did and I am unable to grow horns or have any other 'corrupted' effects on me." Vaggie looked as if thinking about something. "At least that is what Lucifer told me. I asked Charlie to let me have a conversation with him. This has been a… a topic that has been nagging at me from the first day of my stay in Hell."

There was a moment of silence as everyone looked her way. Jack didn't know how this topic managed to get out and break the order SO FAST, but apparently this was going to be normal.

Vaggie seemed to notice as she blushed, coughed into her hand and spoke again. "A-anyway. Thank you for having me."

"... sure. Thanks for the clarification. At least I guess this will be one question off the list." Mike chuckled, but it was clear the man and everyone on his side hoped for no derailment today. "That said, we also have Claudia Rustborn, a representative of the Imp species."

"Also Mistress Charlie's secretary." Claudia gave a quick bow, or as quick (and as much of a bow) as she could in her position. "I hope to be of help with any questions you have."

"We are sure you will." Mike offered a quick smile before signaling to the next. "To her side is Gina Silvercrest, a fellow representative, this time of the Succubi race."

"Greetings everyone." Gina offered a bright and cheery face, but Jack had seen her skin become ashen a moment ago when the numbers were being spoken. At least the Succubus was a good actress. "I hope everyone likes Princess Charlie's attire as well as mine. I went through a lot of effort to make them."

"It is certainly something alright." Mike chuckled. "It calls to mind a certain Wonderland."

"Oh! You got it so quickly!"

Mike blushed for a second but shook it off. "Of course. But let's continue shall we? After all, we also have a Seraphim with our dear Emily here."

Emily gave a quick nod and a brief but beautiful smile that came oh so naturally to her. "I am glad to be here. I hope more and more people see this and we can all work together."

Mr Maneas was the one to speak here. "Of course we will my dear, or at least that is the idea." Maneas had a hopeful smile, but Jack could see it in the man's eyes. He was old and had seen a lot of things happen. He was aware that this would bring conflict sooner or later. "And to prove this to those viewing us we have young Jack Mayberry and his adoptive mother, and aunt, Sarah Mayberry; our first Sinner."

Neither Jack nor his mom said anything. The two of them were happy (and uncomfortable enough) with gently waving at the camera. Jack was used to his face being on a video, but this was perhaps too much attention. And Sarah?

Well, her dirty laundry was now going to be public worldwide.

"So, now that we are together and our viewers have been awarded some time to get their bearings and learn of the news, we shall start." Mr Maneas motioned to Mike. "My good Mr. Poolside, would you do the honors?"

* Meanwhile, in Italy - Villavalde *

The twins Federico and Anita were aiding Father Luciano and Sister Delizia. Both had been subject to the effects of magic working to open their eyes as intended and allowing its full effects on those sensible to its use. For a second it looked like Luciano had stoped breathing, but the elderly man quickly opened his eyes again, gasping breaths clear and recovered from whatever malady had tried to assault him through the day.

Still, the old man was short of breath, and Sister Delizia looked to have been more affected; red of face, sweating and clearly having trouble doing something as simple as sitting down.

Such hardships did not mean they hadn't been paying attention.

"So if this is true… A Nephilim? And Lilith is not the mother of monsters, but the first human woman?" Luciano spoke, both curious, doubtful and with a critical eye.

Delizia, both much harder by nature and with even less patience now, almost let out a growl. "Monsters is what they are, Father."

"Now, now, Del, my child." Luciano tried to calm down his ever furious charge. Perhaps she had been sent here to help, but it was just as true that she was here to see if Luciano could help temper the woman's fire. "We must see more. Perhaps inspect the other two videos later."

Of the twins it was Federico the one to speak. "But Father. There are demons and the condemned if this is indeed true, and on Earth no less!"

"True." Luciano frowned at this. Still, no matter how devout a follower and how much he believed, this was the first piece of solid proof he had that his faith was indeed true. Luciano's duty was to hear, guide and help. As such he needed to see what was going on. "But they are also making this public. Whether they are trying to corrupt, extend their grasp or conduct any nefarious plot, we must see."

Anita tentatively spoke her question. "And after that, what do we do, Father?"

"Once we hear them?" Luciano chewed the inside of his cheek for a second. "Then I will need to make a call. I may not be close to the Pope, but we have exchanged pleasantries a few times. He knows I am someone that takes my job seriously. He will let me speak my piece."

Which is to say, those still unaware of the truth would likely get to know it, at least within the church.

* Back to the Mayberry Household *

Jack saw Charlie get ready the moment Mike mentioned her. "Charlie, as you offered to clear things up for us, and as many have asked this. We'd like you to tell us about your family and your position in Hell, if you'd be so kind." He did make a clarification here. "And for those that have yet to see the first video that will be in our links? Charlotte and her father, Lucifer, were both present in the first video of the three that make this playlist. I invite everyone to see it in full after today's stream."

Completely expected question, and likely NOT that common. But since this was as basic as it could get, Jack saw Charlie making sure that smile of hers did not falter. It was obviously something she was prepared for but still bothered her.

They had shared just enough things together for Jack to know that Charlie's family was a sore subject. At least Mike had made sure everyone knew about Lucifer's first appearance.

Charlie wasted no more time. "Of course. Let me offer a visual aid. I will do this with as many questions as I can."

A snap of her fingers made a small light appear in front of her. A miniature representation of Lucifer, first golden in color, soon fully formed, was made whole close to the camera. Charlie even made a little show of using a finger to make the figure float.

More interesting to many would be the next figure she conjured, that of her mother.

Lilith was a statuesque woman; much taller than her husband, taller even than Charlie, probably nearing 6 feet if not more. She had beautiful hair; long, blonde locks that were, at the very least, calf in length and could easily be compared to flowing honey, for it indeed seemed to move naturally in the air even when Charlie was trying to make the image still, probably a natural ability of her mother expressed even in such a 'doll'. Much the same, her eyelashes were long, while her eyes looked to have yellow sclera and slit pupils which, apparently, was a common influence of hell, while when it came to the irises they were first magenta for a second, then white, as if she had the ability to (and likely indeed could) change the color at will. With makeup of plum color for eyeshadow and dark magenta lipstick, she had both an inviting visage and one that looked almost condescending, as if looking down at the viewers.

The woman was dressed with an extravagant golden tiara adorned with small red jewels, though this seemed to be not nearly enough as she also had a white pearl choker around her neck that needed to be topped off with a sparkling magenta mesh dress with a sweetheart neckline that almost left nothing to the imagination. Those dark colored opera gloves though? Very pretty, Jack had to admit.

As an added bonus? Charlie made a pair of large horns grow out of her mother's head. Or had she? Because Charlie looked about to frown before the horns' shape changed every few seconds. The only consistent thing about them was their magenta coloration. At least when they were present, as in the span of half a minute a few of the times the horns 'changed' they decided just to disappear.

Charlie just ended up letting out a sigh and giving up. "Sorry about that. My mother is… very particular about her appearance. Things like horns, or even her eye color and shape? She may use magic to change at will."

"You won't see me complaining." Scarlett was far too quick with her words, not her brain, as she clearly was thirsty for Charlie's mother.

And Charlie did not take kindly to this. "I suppose she'd find that to be a compliment, and my parents are no longer together, so she is free to do as she pleases." She did begin gently enough, but her eyes quickly turned red. "However I'd expect those comments to be kept TO YOURSELF, miss Scarlett."

While Charlie's warning made it clear that this was a topic to be threaded with a lot of care, the mention of the separation of her parents likely made far a much more important connection with many.

* Coincidentally in Florida - Glasslight City *

"I understand how that feels." Rigby nodded grimly.

Mordecai and most of his friends grimaced. The bartender, having spent far too much time with these guys, also knew about Rigby's problems. "That woman hasn't called in two years now, eh kid?"

"Good riddance." Rigby spat on the sand. "Get me something to drink, okay? This topic left a foul taste in my mouth."

"Fouler than Hell being real?" One of his buddies asked.

"Right now I am on the Princess of Hell's team, so you tell me."

* Again at the Mayberry Household *

"We will be more tactful, I promise." Libby glared at the other woman, making Scarlett wither away under her scornful eyes. "In the meantime, could you please tell us about your parents and yourself? Bring light to some of Hell's history."

"Of course. Let me tell you about my father, his fall and how he met my mother." Charlie cleared her throat as she began. "It is a bit long, so please, bear with me."

Her voice slowly turned slightly more melodic, either intentionally or through some kind of natural magic. Either way, it was captivating and Jack could swear he SAW things as Charlie spoke.

"My father is, as we have already mentioned, Lucifer Morningstar. While it seems many consider his previous rank in Heaven to have been that of a Seraphim, my father was in truth an Archangel. There are many tales and rumors about what he did or did not do, and I haven't been told much, though one thing I can clear is that ALL angels could help God with creation by bringing suggestions or creating things themselves, so long as my Grandfather approved of them. This process had to pass a veto by other angels however; Seraphim and Archangels mostly, and for some reason my father's ideas were generally frowned upon.

Apparently this was not rare, for angels, as Emily can tell you, are somewhat limited in their freedom. They, unlike humans, cannot just 'develop' interests, at least not most of the time. They are made for a task and they excel at that task, no matter what it is. But they are not 'free thinkers', at least not most of the time. My father? He was. He was a dreamer, a hopeful and a creator that could go from topic and idea to a new one in the blink of an eye. As far as Heaven and the regular angels were concerned, this was a defect.

God, in the meantime, was finishing Creation. Earth and Eden were two different places, with Earth being a world where 'evolution' occurred 'naturally', just with nudges of God here and there, while Eden had the final form of many of His creations as He intended. It is there that many angels made their own offerings, requests and recommendations to God in hope to have them approved. When it came to my father? The only thing he was allowed… were ducks.

Not complaining, I like ducks. And please don't think of ducks as satanic now that you know.

Anyway, one of God's greatest and most adaptable creations was, of course, humans. While humanity was made to grow naturally on Earth, in Eden God created the final product, the first man: Adam. However, as He had done with all other creatures, God sought to make a companion to Adam, an equal, and someone that would help produce more pure humans to populate Eden with. With that in mind, God created my mother, Lilith.

There… was a problem.

Adam, well, he is a dick. I know some of you will be mad at me, but you must understand: God does not create anything or anyone in His image, this is something humans tell themselves to feel more important. God made humans CLOSE to angels, which is as close as you can get to God. And, with my father as proof, God's creations aren't always perfect.

Then again, Adam was perfect for a human designed to live on Earth more than Eden. He was made to be domineering, self assured, cocky and ready to take on any problem. As such my mother, Lilith, would have been the one to take domestic duties and care for the young and the wounded as a compliment to Adam. It was meant to be an equal partnership with division of powers.

But my mother did not see it as such, and Adam's personality broke no compromise. So she fled his presence and God made it clear that if Lilith did not come back, then she would be replaced. Every species needed a pair, and while not perfect, Adam was to be hers. When she refused completely God let her be, but told her that Adam was, thus, not for her any longer. Instead, accepting her rejection, God took a fragment of Adam and madeEve; the mother of humanity.

Now, it is important to understand something: God had promised all His children that humanity would be given complete freedom. But His actions spoke otherwise. Without Lilith having true freedom to do as she pleased and Adam the freedom to learn from his mistakes, humanity was pushed by God to be as angels are: Limited and subservient to God Himself. In a way it would've been good: None of you would have been able to do 'wrong' and you all would have abstained from vices and evils, but also would have been unable to create as you see fit, for creation was the duty of God and a gift to the angels, not to mankind.

Lilith was aware of this, and Lucifer, worried about the woman left to fend for herself, hurried to meet her for the first time. They quickly connected as Lilith adored Lucifer's creativity and gentle nature while Lucifer found Lilith's gentle suggestions and coaching to help focus on a task instead of being all over the place. Those were just a few of the things that made them click together, and over time they found more and more, quickly falling in love.

But the situation in Eden could not last. Many angels had doubts of God changing His mind like this. It had never happened before. Had he seen something that should not be in Lilith and decided to back away?

Lilith thought it not fair. If she and Adam had been made to be free, and she truly was free to do as she pleased, then why was Adam denied and Eve made subservient? With that question in mind Lilith made a plan: See, the apple was indeed real, and God had created such a fruit as a clear test for His children. He expected neither Adam nor Eve to go for them, but Lilith had enjoyed the fruit without problems before. As such she considered the idea, then shared it with my father.

Lucifer took off and invited Eve towards the fruit when Adam was off. After Lilith's rejection Adam was not fond of her, and he was aware of Lucifer's attachment to the woman. Thus, Eve was chosen, and over time Lucifer planted the idea of being more than she was, of both Adam and her being MORE. All I know is that Eve tried to get Adam to consider the possibility, but as he ultimately rejected the idea, it was only Eve the one to approach the Apple Tree of Eden and pluck a single fruit for herself.

This gave humans true Free Will, freedom of choice and thought, but also displeased God.

Adam and Eve were cast down from Eden and into Earth. Meanwhile, He sought to punish Lilith and Lucifer for tampering with His plan. It was not a suggestion, not a request, but an ACTION taken against HIS will. I know not how enraged He appeared, but I am aware that Lucifer and Lilith both considered this to be an abuse of God's power, something that many others in Heaven were in agreement with.

A fight broke out. My parents and their allies were cast down to Hell; the land created by the first Sin of Man. And there, in Hell, Lucifer became King and Lilith, as his wife, became Queen."

"And that is a resume of it all." Charlie took a breather and a gulp of water after she was done. She hadn't noticed how almost everyone looked her way, or the imagery created by her singsong voice as she recanted it all. "Now, before anyone says it: No, I don't think my parents are 'the good guys' in this." Though Jack could see Charlie DID believe so, although not for reasons she did not speak of. "For all I know humanity would've been better without full free will. But then again, humanity wouldn't have 'been' humanity if that was the case."

Mr Maneas seemed to be pondering something. "And how long ago was this?"

"I don't know, neither does my father." Charlie couldn't help but shrug. "While Heaven was there at the advent of creation, time did not flow in a line back then. In fact neither did Hell's time work like you all understand. It wasn't until, uh, around a hundred thousand years or so? I am not sure now, but my dad said it was a big number and I had been talking with him for nearly twenty hours straight when I learned of this, so pardon me. But yeah; until around a hundred thousand years, time in Heaven and Hell was nowhere near the 1:1 ratio of today. Most of the time in Heaven things were slower, while in Hell it was faster. So for all we know my dad is 'technically' older than creation thanks to that."

Jack thought about it. Could that be why Hell had grown more than Heaven, as Emily had told him in many ways that both lands were alive and expanding, or could it be something else? Though the time distortion sure helped Hell having more population than Heaven.

"I see." Mr Maneas wasn't satisfied, but at least it was something. "And you did say you were two hundred years old?"

"More or less." Charlie blushed. "Hell or not, it is still not nice to ask a lady her age."

"Of course, of course, pardon me." Maneas chuckled. "Though… you are an only child?"

Charlie frowned and looked at Vaggie. It was as if she was asking her if it was smart to tell them all something. The two shared a look which, as Jack would come to learn at some point, meant to 'share, but just a bit'.

"As punishment for their deed, my parents could not have children… easily." And again, Jack would learn of this later, and then call it a massive understatement. But that would come in time. "Let's… let's say this is a topic I'd prefer to keep private. Please?"

And while she did not say more it was indeed clear that, no matter what anyone thought, it would not come close to just how nasty the truth was.

"I am sorry, I hope I didn't bother you with that question. It wasn't my intention." When Charlie said 'It is ok', Maneas nodded and instead changed topic. "Setting that aside, I'd like to ask. Is your mother a Sinner?"

Charlie shook her head. "No, my mother is a 'Fallen Human'. Think of them as 'immortal' humans with a hint of corruption from Hell and more able when it comes to magic. My dad made sure to shield her from their fall during the banishment."

"Oh. So she is technically still a human?" This question came from Scarlett. Luckily it didn't seem to be a perverted interest of her, instead being more genuine.

"Yes, just magically gifted and ageless. Also: More hard to damage or kill." Jack thought Charlie making this point known was weird, until she explained. "Fallen Humans cannot become Sinners, it is part of the whole process. As such their material form become much sturdier, since they would not have an afterlife."

Mike Poolside was taking notes, probably to use later as notes on the video among other things. "That is interesting. But then… That means your parents were together for hundreds of thousands of years." Mike made a pause. This was clearly related to another question he had been given, but now it was warped with the knowledge granted to him. Should he ask? Jack saw the man's internal struggle, but in the end this WAS an interview, and information sharing was necessary. "What I mean to say is: What happened for your parents to split?"

Charlie grimaced, but she answered the question. "Millenia upon millenia of problems, not exactly with each other, or at least not ONLY that. Eternity is… a long time." Jack shuddered as he saw Charlie's tired eyes. Clearly the Princess, Vaggie and his mom had all thought about how much time 'forever' meant. "Both my parents tried to help Sinners for a long time, but there was no success. Dad was pushed time and time again, with Sinners not caring and Heaven not hearing him out. At some point he stopped ? She never stopped. She sang, she inspired, she kept on going, trying to better Hell. I suppose at some point these differences just became too much."

A few nods were shred among those present, in call or in person, before Maneas asked another question of the many they had in store. "This delivers us a perfect segway; Charlie, what can you tell us about Sinners."

Sarah tsked. "I thought I had given a good explanation yesterday." And Jack could understand his mom's anger. "We are the people that fucked up and were sent to Hell."

"True." Maneas nodded. "And I don't want to insult your effort. I just wish for Charlie to explain."

"Sure. Let me give you some extra visual aid."

The images of her parents banished, instead Charlie formed three new visages.

The first one was of an almost human Sinner. The biggest difference was a closer resemblance to the Succubi race; elf like ears, spaded tail, fangs. This one lacked wings however, and his legs were spider-like. Other than that? As close to human as many Sinners got. The biggest difference between the others and him? His death mark was a massive cut going down his face, and it was easily visible too.

The next one was slightly more abnormal. This one had a taur body; meaning her lower half was that of a non anthropomorphic animal, with the most known one being a Centaur. In this case her lower body was that of a millipede, with various extra arms on her torso, an exoskeleton instead of skin and segmented face, but she still had humanoid features, including said face, even if it looked like a fragmented mask.

Now the last one was damn ugly, at least to Jack; it was bulbous mass of eyes, purplish flesh, tentacles and he did not want to try and define other parts of the thing. It looked like its main eye, as all others in its body were much smaller, was on the 'front' of the bulbous thing, looking up, at the sky, wherever this thing was. As inhuman as it can get.

Charlie offered a thin smile. She knew these weren't the best examples, but they would do. "All these, like Sarah, three are former humans, or Sinners."

* The reaction of a very drunk biologist in Japan - Kusunoki City *

Iori pointed at the screen.

"Look at that." The short man almost fell off his seat. "The large woman. Her body is that of an 'Archispirostreptus Gigas'! And that man with spider legs? They are from an Orb Weaver spider." Iori produced a pencil and paper from somewhere in his person. "The features mesh seamlessly with the body! How? Is it because these people are dead and Hell is exerting influence on them?!"

His 'friends' groaned, and some of the regulars felt a headache incoming. Iori was spouting comments left and right from the moment he could see everyone for what they really were, and this moment made it worse. It was still much better than those patrons that were looking at the bulbous mass with longing eyes.

Japan and tentacles had a peculiar history together.

The owner thought for a second about just cutting his losses and sending everyone home, but he, like many across the world, was just as enraptured as almost all watchers.

* Back with Jack and the others *

"All Sinners, as Sarah said yesterday, have forms that they dislike; part of this has to do with the manner of their death, their actions in life and so on. Sometimes it has to do with phobias or general dislike, sometimes it is given at random but the Sinner develops a general distaste for some parts of their body. Either way, it is 'physical', but also a manifestation of the soul. As such a Sinner cannot truly die unless heavenly means, or REALLY powerful magic, are used."

Maneas nodded, but his eyes were glued on the creatures in front o f the camera. "And you said this wasn't always the case, right? Human souls at one point came to Hell as they were?"

"Yes, dad told me that a LONG time ago humans came to Hell as they had been in life. Although generally they developed ashen or blue skin as a clear mark of their deathly state." Charlie explained with, well, not a smile, but as close as she could get. "However at some point that changed. His best guess is the time when Purgatory, Limbo, or however you want to call the space between Heaven, Hell and the mortal world, was erased."

"Yes… That is still something I have to come to grips with." Maneas let out a long suffering sigh. There was something there that bothered the man, other than the fact that someone (most likely God) just snapped a realm out of existence just because. "But back to Sinners: They live just in Pride?"

"Indeed." It was Vagatha the one to speak. "Sinners aren't always bad people, and I should know after my time… dealing with them." She coughed in her hand, and Jack saw clear disgust on her face. Some memories will never go away. "But Sinners can be really powerful. While hellborn could easily do away with them if so desired, there is peace because, thanks to ancient magic, Sinners are confined to the Pride Ring."

"There are ways out." Charlie pointed out. "So Sinners can go to other Rings, but much like having children, or even changing their appearance (that one is somehow even harder for some), it is a very rare boon." This required further explanation, so Charlie offered just that. "You see, hellborn grow in power very quickly; they learn and adapt to their abilities very quickly. However, when compared to a human soul's power? They may need a LONG time to be close, and a lot longer to surpass it. Even weak Sinners, thanks to their pseudo immortality, can be a problem to those native to Hell."

"And speaking of power." Mike intervened to keep the questions going. "You wish to redeem Sinners and help Hell, Heaven and the living world. Does a Sinner's power reflect on their Sin? What crimes they committed in life and such."

"I can tell you it doesn't." Sarah said with a grumble. "Oh, sure, mass murderers and the like usually get a boost, but it is not that simple. From what I learned there needs to be intent, certain preparations and, in some cases, luck. I am very weak when it comes to Sinners, and here on Earth I feel as if I was normal again…" Jack grimaced when his mom looked at herself with disgust. He hated when she did it. All Jack wanted was for his mom to be happy, and her body right now was doing the opposite. "Well, as normal as I can be looking like this." She let out a grunt. "But no; your sin doesn't determine how strong you can become, or are, when you land down there. It may 'help', but again, like most things in Hell, it is up to chance."

"Sarah is right." Emily added her two cents. "From another, uh, friend, I found out that one must prepare their actions, conduct rituals or even use magic while on Earth to ensure all your, egh, 'sins' bear fruit." This clearly made the angel feel wrong. She didn't want to distribute this information, or perhaps 'aid' evildoers in their deeds, but she felt it was necessary to share it. "Besides, many 'sins' may be mistakes, big or small, with lesser or more dire consequences. Things people didn't really want to do, like Sarah during her outburst."

"I still say 'fuck you' to that asshole." Sarah growled, but she calmed herself quickly enough. "But I also recognize I went too far. He can rot in Hell for all I care, but it is true this is not who I want to be."

"So you DO want to change for the better." Libby seemed to still retain her harsh gaze when looking at Sarah. "But are you truly repentant of your actions? Many of those sending us questions think that may not be the case."

"I killed my ex-husband." Sarah growled, this time loud and clear. "And I would do it again. I spent a decade with a cheating bastard that was using me to have a comfortable life, someone who never cared for me and knew very well how starved I was for love. He neglected my Jack, he knew how fragile of a mental state I had and that all I wanted was a proper family!" Jack saw his mom's hair begin to flow as her eyes turned solid red. "Tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing. I FUCKING dare you."

*A nun has something to say in Villavalde *

"..."

"Could you repeat that, sister?" Father Luciano asked. Not angrily, of course not. He was just surprised.

"I side with the Sinner." Delizia spoke with no little amount of regret.

"That is surprising." Luciano relaxed his stance against his seat. "Could you tell me why?"

"The sanctity of marriage is absolute." Delizia said this with conviction and zeal. "It surprises me, if this Charlie speaks true, that the Lord of Hell itself held a marriage going for millenia, if not perhaps millions of years, whereas us mortals are having a harder and harder time doing so for a measly hundred years." In fact she looked utterly disgusted. "An accidental action, as in being drugged or forced? I am sure Heaven could ignore, and so could I, so long as the perpetrator is punished. But if what this woman says is true and she was fooled for at least ten years?" Delizia brought her ruler out. "Death may be too light a punishment for that man."

'Ah,' Luciano thought, 'that is the kind of thing I should stop. But is she wrong?'. It was hard for the old priest to find fault in Delizia's words. To betray someone you swore to love for as long as this man did…

Old forms of punishment could be seen as barbaric nowadays, but some had merit. Of course Luciano was a man that advocated for forgiveness and redemption, something he was surprised to hear the Princess of Hell, and even her father, had either attempted or were attempting at the present.

But he was also a man that understood that, at some point, punishment was needed. If not the afterlife, while you were alive. Because there are rules to live with one another, and breaking them should, and must, have consequences.

During this exchange the twins could only look on, unsure of what to say.

* Back to the interview *

"Ladies, please, peace." Maneas spoke gently, but his tone was meant to be taken seriously. "Charlie, if you would. Do you think that Sarah could prove that redemption is possible? And could you expand on your plan to achieve this?"

"Gladly." Again, Charlie allowed her creations to 'poof' out of existence, instead bringing a recreation of her Hazbin Hotel to bear. "This is the Hazbin Hotel. An old property of my father. When I started formulating this plan I, well, did my best to remodel it. Sadly it had been in disrepair for too long, and the property is all I got. No money, no support, no nothing… I now know it is because dad already tried redemption once and didn't want me butting heads with Heaven, but I persevered."

"It should be mentioned that Heaven is unaware of how a soul gets to Heaven." Emily spoke softly of this topic, but even after a week it was obvious this still stung a lot. She didn't know just how many people watching this were screaming incredulous 'WHAT's as loud as they could. "My job was to be a Joy Bringer; I help people be happy and comfortable. I was unaware of just how much we don't know. It is likely that only God knows how it works, but I cannot say."

"So we also don't know if redemption works either." Vaggie took this as her cue to speak again. "Instead Heaven uses people like me: Winners, or souls that make it to Heaven, to form the Exterminators. We are 'angels of vengeance'; women working under Adam, the first Man, that go down to Hell full of anger at the wrongs caused to us. We kill Sinners once a year to 'cull the population' and stop them from gaining power." Again, Jack saw the disgust in her face. "Or I did that, until I grew a conscience."

"I wasn't aware of any of this. Only that Exterminations took the souls of many, something I thought unfair." Charlie regained center stage as Vaggie finished her piece. "My mother had… left. I don't know where she is, but shortly before I took charge of the Hazbin Hotel, just weeks after the divorce, she disappeared… But that doesn't mean her dream of helping disappeared with her. She likely left because she needed time. A lifetime of living with my dad and being together, finally broken, was too much, I suppose. I…I can understand." And it obviously still stung. "So I took over for her. Mom always believed that Sinners could be better, and rehabilitating a soul was sure to show it was possible. I also know MANY Sinners like Sara: Those that made a mistake, or want to become better. But I am also aware it is very hard and usually a slow process."

Claudia allowed her mistress some reprieve by taking over. "Mistress Charlie took a long time learning psychology to help her clients. However, she has taken a slower, perhaps 'childish' approach to many problems." Jack did his best to take this seriously, but Charlie's pout was priceless. "Games, songs, sharing moments, etc. Not the worst, but a very simple and non confrontational method. Then again Mistress expected to have results within a year of helping someone willing to change themselves. Heaven declared their yearly raid was instead going to be moved to once every six months."

Charlie nodded quickly. "It may sound ineffective, but I can assure you it ISN'T. Our first guest has made great progress, but he has been in Hell for a long time and is deeply troubled. His recovery is spectacular, and he is doing GREAT, but my methods could not cure decades of addiction and mental afflictions in such a short time."

Libby, of all present, seemed the more doubtful. "Hmm… And was this 'progress' checked on by Heaven?"

"We saw it." Emily was quick to nod. "A quick check of the Sinner's past and present was offered before we went to assess things. I was one of those present, and Charlie managed to show us how her friend had put himself in danger to protect another Sinner, his selfishness and self control that he would not have proven mere months before. It is true that he was far from redeemed yet, but her actions proved that, even in Hell, people can change for the better. It is just… slow. And the number of Sinner rises very fast."

There was a consensus here. Charlie could do it, everyone wanted to believe this much at least. But it also hinted at how pressed for time she was.

Not everyone was happy with that.

* In Glasslight City there were more than murmurs of anger *

"Seriously? Time is the biggest fucking factor?" One of Mordecai's friends grumbled out loud.

"Sounds to me like bullshit." Another spat.

The bartender came back to the conversation with some of his own insight. Having been around long enough, the man knew of this. "It isn't. It is political talk."

Rigby made a face the man's way. "You are shitting me, right?"

Mordecai shook his head. "Barman is right." Sadly, Mordecai knew far too much of this. "Remember, my parents are hoity toity and I have had to learn a lot of crap. Of course we aren't about to murk people over stupid shit, but pressuring others for results when it comes to time?" He made a face. This left a foul taste in his mind. "That is another thing altogether."

Everyone present here, and in many areas over the world, wondered if it was indeed true, and not a simple exaggeration, that Heaven put souls to rest just because they were in a hurry to solve a problem.

And they didn't even do a good job at it if there was an excursion to kill who knows how many people that NOW was going to be TWICE a year.

* Back to the house, another point was being made *

And that topic was brought up by a surprising source.

"That may be." Scarlett surprised everyone by looking truly serious. "But what about the hellborn? I may be interested in… uh… particular topics, but the fact that there is at least HALF a trillion Imps in just one Ring, one of SEVEN, has made many users ask about this."

Claudia was the one to start this topic off. "As we said yesterday, hellborn are more interested on humans being free and safe."

"That may be true." Scarlett still seemed abnormally determined on this. "But who is to say what could happen? You all also mentioned that demons are, by and large, more chaotic, perhaps more violent, than humans. More than that: We have a Succubus here that said that demons can easily access the human world. Many of the original watchers are at least worried."

"Well…" Before anyone could stop her, Charlie opened her mouth. "Honestly… Now that we have a portal that connects Hell with Earth, that kind of thing should be easier."

Every single location in the world had at least a pair of eyes on this stream.

Every single country just entered a countdown that would culminate with the ones in power downright shitting themselves.

And a lot of people, those in Villavalde, Kusunoki, Glasslight and every other area with eyes on this, was now sweating bullets.

Claudia turned to Charlie with a face as flat and unimpressed as she could muster. "Mistress."

Charlie gulped. "Yes?"

"You are meant to reassure people." The Imp's monotone 'you fucked up' voice only made Charlie try to dig herself deeper into her beanbag chair. "Not make the world AFRAID."

"Sorry!" Was all Charlie managed to squeak.

Mr Maneas cleared his throat. "So… anyone could just summon a demon right now?"

Gina managed to find her voice and, sadly, it didn't help. "Or perhaps even a Sinner."

It, in fact, fucked shit up.

Libby inched closer to the camera. "We were told Sinners, dead humans that may very well be VERY dangerous, were trapped in the Ring of Pride. A question had been made if they could escape, but I thought we had this answered before." The ebony woman glared at Gina with such intensity that the Succubus almost promised to be a nun if Libby stopped. "Explain."

"W-well, now that there is a portal DIRECTLY connected to Pride, Earth IS connected to the barrier that keeps Sinners in place." Gina cleared her throat. "Succubi must learn about portals, their magic and so on. Since I worked for Asmodeus I was made privy to many details, just in case. Of course that also means that I know HOW portals work, and I assure you that, if someone summons a demon by accident, the hellborn will stay on Earth, probably stranded unless they have a means to return. Sinners? The laws binding them to Hell will bring them back unless, like Sarah, they have been made an exception."

This explanation seemed to relax not only those present, but many of those watching. It was nowhere near a calming moment, but at least many would be reassured.

However, the one silent through this whole stream did not want this to derail. In fact he was willing to throw himself at the wolves right now.

"I have to ask." Jack voiced, almost kraken gas he spoke, but fully committed. "What does this matter?"

Even his friends at the computers had to turn and look his way.

Maneas, having seen the most, recovered fist. This was a shocking question (After all Jack was asking why would it be important if, say, a mass murdering cannibal made it to a schoolyard), but Maneas seemed willing to entertain the young man.

"Could you elaborate, young Jack?" Maneas asked gently, but with an intent look to him.

"Sure. Remember what we talked about yesterday?" Jack waited a second, then elaborated. "About the Rings and their function."

Maneas thought for a second before nodding. "Of course. But why is that important?"

"Let me enumerate." And Jack did just that. "Pride is the capital: The Low Throne of Hell is there, deceased humans live there and most of the nobles stay in a massive landmass that is composed of metropolis, cities, towns and villages that can range from caveman eras to something out of fucking Cyberpunk." Jack lifted a finger. "Next comes Wrath, which is the breadbasket of Hell. It has an ungodly amount of Imps to its name, a lot of people murder each other there, but generally it was described as the wild west on steroids. Cool place if you don't mind rough and tumble people." Another finger came up. "Gluttony seems to be a massive fucking kitchen in a subtropical biome where you make anything from healthy to the most unhealthy food, parties and general 'vive la vida' kind of atmosphere with a Sin that seems to be chill as fuck." Third finger. "I probably don't need to speak much about Lust."

Gina tittered. "I mean, so long as you see sex, sex jobs, sex toys and other such things as normal? It is a great place to be. Besides, it is not ALL sex." The Succubus got a few looks her way. "It is not! It is a LOT of Lust, but there are a lot of beautiful views, secluded places for lovers and such. It is not our fault that Succubi culture welcomes policules and general free love. We NEED it to survive. Only the truly privileged Succubi and Incubi can live a monogamous lifestyle." Gina huffed. "And by the way; Lust is the fifth ring."

"Shit, my bad." Jack cleared his throat. "That means the fourth was… Greed?" A quick look at Charlie got him a nod and a thumbs up. "Thank you. But… I think Greed may be the only place I don't like? I mean, Charlie, you did a great job yesterday trying to be nice, and Claudia has a lot of info and details, but come on. Greed sounds like a huge nuclear waste disposal facility turned into a money making, heavily industrialized wasteland."

Claudia had the balls to sip on her water as she said. "Accurate. It also sports most of the criminal underground of Hell." Tith the biggest 'I don't give a fuck' look on her face.

Clearly the Imp did not like Greed much.

Jack seemed of the same mind. "See? Sorry to whoever runs the place, but Greed sucks balls."

Somewhere deep in Hell Mammon could swear his ears were ringing.

"But that leaves us with two more Rings: Envy and Sloth. And you know what?" Jack opened his arms and motioned at what was meant to be the house as a whole, if not more. "Envy sounds like a place with a lot of karens, male and female alike, but also like a normal ass suburb. Sure, mostly water based, but if Charlie wasn't lying or exaggerating its good qualities, then the place is probably the third more relaxed Ring in Hell. That leaves THE most chill, which is Sloth, the place where you unironically go to get yourself medically treated."

The humans on the other side of the call had been patient, but once Jack made it to here Libby was quick to jump at him. "And that proves, what, exactly?"

"That all these demons are people and want to live a normal(ish) life." Jack slammed his fist on the table, making those close to him jump slightly. "Just like angels are, just like Winners and Sinners are. My mom here is trying to redeem herself and Charlie is bringing us knowledge that the afterlife exists. Whether it is EASIER or HARDER for angels and demons alike to make it to Earth is not the problem. It just doesn't matter. That we DID NOT KNOW about this until a few days ago, that we did NOT have a permanent portal to Hell in our world, did not matter." The young man pointed a finger at the camera. "Demons and angels could come here at any point. This just streamlines the process. And in exchange? We learn that there IS something after we die. We learn that we HAVE to watch what we do. And we learn that not all we *thought* we knew about Heaven and Hell IS true."

All over the world people had to mull these words over.

Demons, angels and dead souls. They all existed and had their desires, wants and needs. Some were likely massive dicks, some were most definitely dangerous, but there were also many that had the chance of being good people.

And Jack was right: All of them (except Sinners) could make their way here without much hassle.

Nothing had changed, except awareness of the truth.

If Jack could see those watching, he'd be aware of how many people were coming to think about this in a different way. Fears had not gone away of course, but questions were arising, and those that wanted to know more were interested in at the very least hearing more from those living in Hell. Many even wanted to see demons and angels and hear their viewpoints.

But no one listening made any daring (or stupid) movement to achieve this, with most people glued to their screens as Jack went on.

"I am not going to say there will be no difficulties and problems." Jack concluded with a much more relaxed stance. "But that is a problem for the future. We have Charlie here trying to help people, alive and dead alike. Emily wishes to do the same. Everyone on this side of the screen wants to help. I am not going to say I am selfless either. I want my mom to be safe wherever she ends being."

Sarah could just coo at this. "Aww hon." And she made sure to be careful while resting her head on his shoulder. A bit embarrassing for Jack, sure, but Sarah didn't give two shits. "Thanks for thinking of your old ma."

"Always, mom." Jack had to fight through the blush and the giggles of every girl present AND his friends. "Point being: Emily says Charlie's methods work. They may not 'redeem' a soul in the way of going to Heaven. Or perhaps they will? Who knows. But this would make Hell a better place and stop people from perma dying." The laughs died down as Jack faced Vaggie. "And, sorry about this Vaggie, but I am going to have to throw you under the bus here."

The woman sighed. "Yeah, I guessed today was going to be the day we speak of this in detail."

"I mean." Jack shrugged and nodded towards their setup. "I am sure that the questions about the hotel and redemption would come before we, well, you, got asked about Exterminators in detail." He then gestured to Charlie. "And Charlie already gave a little bit about her parents besides."

Charlie just waved with a small smile. "I wouldn't mind telling more if anyone asks. Just, please, in moderation."

Scarlett and Libby both seemed to frown at this, but Mr Maneas looked to be in accordance.

"I concur, much as it surprises me." Maneas spoke with a level of grim determination not shown before. "I would be lying if I said I am not afraid of a demon incursion, even if Hell's own princess swears on their behalf."

"And I do." Charlie was firm on this. "To all those viewing us: Demons are indeed far more… combative, than humans, true. But what Gina spoke of, that they all need you alive and well to survive, is true." She did bit her lip here. "But I cannot promise there won't be troublemakers. Demons and humans are very much alike."

"And that is the problem." Mr Maneas grumbled. Then again, if someone was 'just' as bad as humanity, it could be managed. "But I would be remiss if I did not admit my true fear: That my belief and loyalty to Heaven may have been misguided. Not in that it is not real, for it is, but in the fact that the land promised to us has been mismanaged and left to stagnate." With those words Maneas glared at Vaggie and Emily alike. "As such I would like to indeed keep going and bring forth the questions many of our viewers sent about Heaven. More importantly: The questions that ask about this Extermina-."

"Sir?"

Maneas paused, and everyone looked towards the interruption. Said person being Mike of all people.

"Yes?" Maneas looked with curiosity as Mike lifted a finger. The man had been talking through the phone for a hot minute apparently. "Who may be calling now? Is it something personal?"

"No, sir." Mike hurriedly told the one on the other side of the call to wait. "Apparently someone by the name of 'EarlTheEarglove' has a particular friend in the media industry."

"Earl?" Jack perked up quickly. Dom and Lucien were quick to react too. That name was familiar, of course. "He is one of my regulars."

Mike nodded to both Jack and the one on the phone. "Well, he seems to be acquainted with the top brass at the local news network there in Green Leaves. I got asked if you'd be willing to go in person for a proper interview that would be televised across the country."

Jack bit his tongue. Even Sarah looked to be fuming. Both of them were more than aware of what the channel had done to Sarah's reputation. Not that the woman hadn't murdered THAT too.

"If you are willing, we will postpone further questions for three days. That is, if you are also willing to travel, sir." Mike asked Maneas, though his question was directed at everyone on his side.

Maneas didn't look opposed, but he also didn't look happy. Understandable. There had been another interruption and the people, he included, wanted to know more.

But this was meant to happen.

Such discoveries weren't made to go about smoothly. In fact, Maneas, much like Jack, were both expecting something bad to happen. Only in Jack's case the idea of talking with people at the local network was the bad news, for now at least.

Sarah surprised Jack, and likely everyone else, by volunteering. "I don't like it, but I can do it."

Jack turned so fast he almost got whiplash. "Mom?"

"I am not going to be nice about it." Sarah grumbled. "And I will be petty." She crossed her arms and looked away. "But I will do it. I am here to try and help, am I not?"

It took Jack a second to recover from this, but in the end he frowned, huffed and accepted it. "If you are okay with it, so am I, I suppose."

Maneas seemed to mull it for a second before nodding. "I guess that will be fine then. This will make it easier to spread it locally and in other countries. Three days will also make sure more people hear about this after… How many eyes do we have on us, Mike?"

"One million two hundred seventy thousand at least, sir." Mike echoed. "But I must ask, sir. Who will remain here in the meantime?"

Maneas thought it for a second, then quickly said. "You and Libby can stay. I know you'd prefer to stay close to your family and Libby has made it clear she doesn't want to go near demons, for now at least."

"I just don't trust them, sir." The woman spoke. "But if you want me instead of Scarlett…"

"Oh no! No taking it back!" Of course Scarlett was more than happy with the result. In fact there was a certain young woman out there by the name of Emberlynn that have been watching this and was now trying not to scream in envy. "I am willing to take a trip, boss!"

"Perfect." Maneas quickly looked at those on the other side. "Everyone else is okay with this? I know this break was not planned, but…"

Charlie was more than happy. She had quickly thought it over and it made things easier for one particular reason. "It is perfect, Mr Maneas. In fact one of my friends, our first tenant, asked to come over next time. He has… well, he has a favor to ask, and making sure the whole country hears him out should make it easier. Besides, if anyone wants to ask his opinion about the hotel you could have someone else's word to weigh in."

"He is also a troll and works in the adult industry." Vaggie spoke with the most dead tone she could. The idea of having Angel over wasn't a pain before, but now he was going to be on literal TV.

The latina hoped he wouldn't do something stupid.

"We'll be wherever we are needed." Claudia volunteered. "But I recommend Miss Scarlett to keep her distance."

Gina chuckled as Scarlett lifted her hands in surrender.

"Perfect. No, that is a lie." Maneas sighed on camera, his hands covering his face for a second. "I would've preferred for this to go as planned. There are still so many questions to ask, details to explain… But it is urgent that we get more and more people to see this. To have local media helping would help more than many think."

Sarah cleared her throat. "I am only doing this to help, Maneas. While I committed a crime and I made mistakes, and you won't see me denying that, this city dragged me through the mud without a care as to WHY I did it."

Jack wanted to hug his mother so much, but Emily took his hand on the other side. Sarah had to let this out of her chest.

"I expect people out there to hate me, perhaps even attack me, no matter what I say. The moment I make my return known my family and friends will be at risk." Sarah turned to face Charlie. "I am thankful for your help, Charlie, and I will continue to aid you. We have security measures in place, and I thank you for this."

"What secu-?"

Sarah cut Maneas mid stride. "But I trust you understand this step is perhaps too quick, right? If Jack gets hurt, and the only way to protect him is me leaving, I know what I will choose."

Charlie and Vaggie shared glances. Neither woman could demand more of Sarah. So Charlie made a promise she knew she could keep. "Jack will be safe from everyone here, Sarah, I swear. At worst the people will have a problem with you, and if that is the case I know you would much rather get beaten publicly than putting Jack in danger."

Jack rose up from his seat with a yell in his voice. "Now wait a se-."

"Jack, sit down." Sarah didn't turn his way, but her voice had a tone that made Jack obey. "Charlie, I would do that and more for my son." Sarah looked so determined it even managed to move a few of the viewers that had been cold on her until now. A bear mom had its appeal. "But again: If it is too much, I will prioritize Jack. I am willing to go through anything, but not to have Jack suffer through the same thing."

"Do not worry, Miss Mayberry." Maneas spoke, making Sarah grimace. "We'll contact local authorities to offer some support if needed. If you are willing to keep offering your support to Miss Charlotte's efforts and help everyone in the process while also bettering yourself, then you deserve nothing less than feeling safe at the very least."

"Yes, we are all with you, Sarah." Charlie spoke with a bright smile and hope in her voice. "Every day things get better and more people learn of this. You are helping so many already. The least you can have is our support to try and make everything better."

Everyone said something similar, some with a bit more effusion than others. At least Jack could be thankful with the knowledge that everything from demons to angels, or at least some of them, had their hopes behind his mom.

And he truly hoped his mom could find a level of peace. But he was also aware that this would come with more problems sooner or later.

"Then, no objections?" Maneas asked with a quick glance at those present showing no problems, questions or any attempt at pushing this event back. "Then, much as it saddens me to cut things short, we should leave it here."

Thus ended the stream, but it had worked as intended.

A million souls, and then some, had seen today's exchange. Far shorter than many would've thought, but still illuminating.

So many had opened their eyes, seeing the world in a new, colorful way. Learning that Heaven, Hell, and perhaps other places, were all real. Learning that demons and angels were a thing, and that souls were, in fact, part of themselves.

And soon most of them, if not all, would watch the previous two videos. Soon that million and a quarter would turn into two, and then three, with many more hearing about it all.

Soon… people would start to prepare. For not all eyes welcomed what they saw.

* End Notes *

Did you really think I wasn't going to have this stream messed up? HAH!

Anyway, see you guys next time.