Gingerly, Lucifer lowered Isobel's feet to the ground. She lingered in his embrace, arms wrapped around his neck. He hugged her in return and felt her overwrought muscles trembling like the rapid fluttering of butterfly wings. After a long moment she took a deep breath and stepped back.

"You saved me," she said.

"I don't know about that. It didn't look like you needed much saving. You had that angel on the ropes."

"I didn't mean from the angel." Isobel's eyes fell to the ground as if she was ashamed.

"Oh yeah," Lucifer tried to give her a reassuring smile, however even he was unnerved by the image of Isobel covered in black with blood red eyes ready to kill. "Things did get pretty intense, didn't they?"

She nodded, wringing her hands. Tears threatened again and her chin quivered as she used all of her will to stop herself from crying. It seemed like it was a losing battle.

Lucifer felt great compassion for her at that moment. She had been stripped of all of her bravado and left bare. This was perhaps the most genuine she had been with another person in a very long time. She simply lacked the energy to maintain her walls. He placed a comforting hand to her cheek, to which she leaned in, closing her eyes and sighing.

"You're going to be ok. You're home now." Isobel suddenly became aware that they were standing on the roof of the hotel. "I would have taken you directly inside, but I thought you might want a minute. Collect yourself, you know. And I would stay with you, but obviously there are some things that need my attention."

"I understand." She hugged him one last time. "Thank you for coming for me," she whispered and then watched him step through another portal. Isobel was left alone on the rooftop.

A buzzing emitted from her jacket pocket. As she pulled out her phone she could see a text message notification. She laughed. It was from Blitz and all it said was, did you make it?

She held up the phone taking a picture of herself with the Hazbin Hotel marquee behind her. She sent it with a message saying, I lived, bitch.

In the picture, Isobel looked tired and dirty. The only clean spots on her face were where her tears had made tracks, washing away the grime. But she was smiling.

Another buzz as Blitz replied with his own picture. In it he was winking and throwing up his middle finger, Stolas laughing in the background. She grinned and shoved the phone back in her pocket as she turned on her heel and sprinted for the rooftop door. She practically flew down the steps all the way to the lobby.

As she ran in calling for her friends, she found it empty. The television was still on though. It was playing a special news segment. Isobel didn't stop to watch, but she did glimpse footage from a helicopter.

She turned again and darted up the stairs. Next she tried her own room and threw open the door. It was just as she had left it, and also empty. Where were they? She raced down the halls calling their names with no response. By the time she got to Alastor's door she was feeling desperate and without hesitation she barged through.

Almost immediately, she stopped. It had never really occurred to her until that moment that she had never been inside Alastor's room before. A strange silence met her, one underlined by the ambient noise of a swamp. She walked forward stepping into a blue glow surrounded by the chirps of insects, the crunch of grass under her feet, and the smell of stagnant water. Lightning bugs lazily floated in and out of the shadows, and Isobel wondered at the melancholy beauty. But, alas, she was still alone.

She sighed heavily and ran her hand through the mess of her hair. Turning around she gasped, suddenly frozen in place. Alastor stood in the doorway peering at her with fierce eyes and sinister smile.

They held each other in an oppressive silence for a long moment.

"A good day to you, Isobel," Alastor finally said. His trans-alantic accent rang in her ears. She swallowed.

"And to you, Alastor."

"I see you've returned to us."

"Yeah, I know it took a while…"

Before she could finish Alastor crossed the distance between them in three long, brisk strides. His movement was so quick and abrupt that Isobel flinched back a step. But she was never quick enough to evade and he was suddenly so very close. His hands were in her hair, pulling her tightly into him. She smelled terrible, covered in the scents of foreign places and unknown people. However, as he brought her face to face, the familiar smell of her natural musk could be just barely detected.

His red eyes glared into the green of her own.

"I am now going to kiss your stupid, fucking face," he said as his ears bent back and he covered the last few inches between them. His lips met hers hard and ardent, almost painful, as he tried to eliminate any space between. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him with all the strength she had left welcoming the embrace.

There was a great clatter in the hall, the sound of stumbling footsteps and excited voices. Charlie appeared at the door, breathing heavy and wild eyed. She didn't hesitate, she just ran in, her arms outstretched and enveloped both of them in a tremendous hug. She cried loudly in Isobel's ear as Alastor tried to pull away from her, his face showing his apparent disgust. However, Charlie would not let him go and held both of them in her iron grasp. They all were then lifted from the ground as Angel Dust used his four arms to pick them all up to his full height and crush them.

Alastor, now deeply uncomfortable, slithered out of the group hug in his shadow form. He reappeared by the door and gesturing with his cane said, "Would you all be so kind as to get out?" They barely heard him and didn't actually leave until he started taking violent action.

Charlie and Angel wanted to hear everything that had happened to Isobel since she was taken by Enki. They took her to the lobby where they were met by Vaggie and Husker. Vaggie had made Isobel a sandwich which she took gratefully, though she still mourned the loss of her ice cream cone. She ate while trying to relate all that had happened. She had been gone for just over a month, but it felt like an eternity. She could have stayed there all night talking to them, but eventually her fatigue became too much to ignore.

She eventually made her way back to her room and into the shower. She stayed there for a long time, allowing the not-quite-hot-enough water to run over her as if it was washing away everything from the last month. She didn't leave until she felt clean. It took some time.

As she stepped out of the bathroom still dripping and wrapped in a towel, she found Alastor waiting for her. Though little was said between the two, he had barely let her out of his sight the entire evening and was practically always within arms reach. He sat on the bed reading, long legs crossed and monocle perched just so. It was a scene she had witnessed many times, but it felt different now. There was much to say, she knew. She wanted to tell him how much she missed him, or the truth about her feelings, but she didn't quite understand that truth herself and words failed her.

Instead she just smiled as she crossed to the far side of the bed where she sat gazing out the window over Pentagram City's twinkling lights, and began to brush her hair. It felt like it had grown about two feet in the last month. Of course that was impossible, but it now hung fully to her waist and felt heavy under the weight of the water. She couldn't remember the last time it was so long.

Alastor's hand caught her own as he was suddenly behind her. He delicately took the brush from her fist. His fingernails softly scraped against her neck as he pulled her hair over her shoulders and down her back. Silently he began to brush.

"I heard," she said. "That you all may have had some trouble while I was gone. Something about an Overlord running amuck, or something."

He laughed as if it was nothing but a trifle.

"I admit, tempers were high after your untimely departure. Decisions were made." He paused remembering his explosive reaction. He allowed his anger to get the better of him, but he had always hated when others dared to touch his things, let alone steal them. "Perhaps not the best decisions. But it's not all bad news. My outburst allowed me to gain a few new acquisitions."

"More souls to add to your tally?"

"Fear is a useful tool." He smoothed her hair and swept it over her shoulder. She laid down on her side still facing the window. Never had a bed felt so warm and inviting. She could have fallen asleep instantly if it weren't for the sensation of Alastor's nails on her bare back as he lightly traced the shape of the black spots that ran down her spine.

After her fight with Enki, the black had receded some, but it was clear it would never go back down to how it was before. Now the majority of each hand and foot was covered and a streak ran almost uninterrupted the entire length of her back. It was just as well. Isobel knew she had no hope in avoiding it now, and Alastor was still enchanted with the change.

"I must ask you a question," Alastor said at length. Isobel was almost asleep and did not have much interest in questions. "When that angel came for you, you had entrusted your soul to Charlie."

Her eyes shot open, suddenly wide awake. He wanted to know why she had given her soul to Charlie and not him. He didn't sound angry, though. Could he possibly feel hurt that she chose someone else? Was it even possible that she could hurt him in that way?

"If you remember," she said. "The last time we spoke to each other, you were quite angry with me. You kind of stormed off." She hesitated. That wasn't the real reason, and she knew it. She rolled over to face him and was surprised at how close he was. "The truth is, though, I gave Charlie my soul, because I knew she would give it back."

Alastor could not argue. He knew she was right, of course. If she had given her soul to him, he would have never let it go. She would have been his forever and a chain would have been neatly strung about her neck. It was something he still yearned for.

"What a clever thing you are," he said, flashing his wicked smile.

She grinned too and said, "oh, how I missed you," as she pulled him close. She kissed him, but he did not reciprocate. As she abruptly pulled away, he met her with a kind of suspicious look. "What's wrong?"

"You smell strange," he said. Even after her shower she still smelled of the places she had been and the people she had been with. Isobel seemed appalled.

"What?" She recoiled. "Are you saying I stink?"

"No, just strange." How could he explain it to her so she would understand? Her human olfactory senses could barely smell anything after all. "Not how you normally smell. I don't like it." He moved away from her, getting up from the bed.

"Well, fine." She rolled back onto her stomach, obviously annoyed. "Wouldn't want to offend your precious nose. Whatever, give it a few days and I'm sure I'll smell like the hotel again. You weirdo."

But Alastor didn't want her to smell like the hotel, he wanted her to smell like him again and he didn't want to wait a few days.

All at once Isobel felt his long fingers grab her by the hips and drag her to the edge of the bed.