Rapture - The Slow Fall

by Uros Osium

With the truth of Extermination brought to bear the youngest Seraphim makes a choice; if her sister thinks Sinners and the overpopulation in Hell is a danger, then let's solve it. She concocts a plan in record time through desperation and hope. But said plan is mostly good intentions and a wish. And we all know where good intentions lead...

15. Chapter VIII (III)

Chapter VIII - Part III

So the 'lesser' scenes are done. Onto the main bitch of this one! And as you may expect, it is not going to be short. This time the stream is going to go on for a while. There'll be a good number of questions, some stupid, some absurd, some serious and a few pertinent ones. And yes: It is going to be disorderly as the event is going to get sidetracked, doubts are still present and we are jumping from people that dit this for fun and some money to something a lot more serious without enough time to prepare. This is the first time the group is going to be interacting with the people at large, and soon their reach will only grow… So yeah, this encounter was not going to survive more than a few seconds before it derailed somehow.

It'll get better for everyone next time.

Possibly.

Also: No, no reactions yet. Today's stream will be a bit of a shitshow, but still small. This is not going 'Worldwide' yet, and the focus is going to land on the scene proper. However, live reactions to this mess will come, soon, I promise. Possibly some very small snippets in the next chapter.

On a side note: I really should stop pumping so much time in fanfiction and get my own stories together. I need to fucking get some of those out at some point. Won't consider myself a proper writer until it is done. Maybe get a few chapters here for people to see? Eh… Sorry about the mushings, but this has been eating at me and I wanted to vent a little. I mean, again: Another month writing over 50k words and it has been ONLY fanfiction o3o. Need to get ma shit together man.

In any case: Lettuce begin.

* Hell - Hazbin Hotel - Charlotte Morningstar *

Charlie was about to puke again.

Would she?

Could she?

"Stomach empty. Hurts."

She sure as fuck didn't have neurons to puke, or the capacity for it, but she really had the temptation to become dumber somehow. Dumb people don't have to deal with this shit. Dumb people were usually happy without having to force a smile or keep memories and feelings repressed when she saw some of the horrible shit going around.

Was she being mean? Was she just mean? Charlie felt mean, but this was getting to her. At least she wasn't human. A human would have developed a huge ulcer in two days.

Charlie felt nervous yesterday, but today it seemed WORSE. Yesterday she thought she was going to be in front of perhaps hundreds of human souls, many of which didn't even feel able to voice their comments. Today? Today thousands was a good round number, but perhaps tens of thousands would fit better.

At least if this was serious and her chain wasn't being pulled. Would humans do that? And by that she meant living, breathing humans. Charlie hadn't considered that. She had expected a few hardships at first, going slow, that kind of thing. She had expected to have more time to talk with Sarah, start on her redemption and all that.

Heck, she thought this would at least take a week or two of videos and skeptics before she had to do anything big at all! For once Charlie had expected NOTHING and instead she almost got tackled with the results! Suffering from success, even if it was still 'minor', was a thing, because this had worked far better than she had expected.

She wouldn't have to try and talk to the president, king or whatever, of a country, though. That would've made her just go to the edge of Hell and jump.

And yes, there was an edge. Ever expanding, but it existed.

Right now, talking to Vaggie, Charlie wanted to go to that edge and cut herself on it.

"So." She said after her stomach calmed down a bit. "He is gone again."

Because Alastor had done it, AGAIN.

Vaggie was sitting on their bed, at her side, with Charlie resting her head on her girlfriend's shoulder. The latina had a face that conveyed a message the Princess of Hell roughly translated to 'I am fucking done with his shit, but it is your call', and Charlie understood perfectly.

"Not like anyone but Nifty tried to stay this time." Vaggie tried to take some importance away from the fact, but both of them knew it wouldn't work.

Angel seemed more offput about going to Earth now than before. Whatever he had talked about with his brother made the spider demon more doubtful of appearing in front of a camera. For him that was a first, and he gave Charlie no explanations this morning.

He did promise to talk, soon, though.

Pentious was more or less the same way, though he admitted his reason had to do with Heaven. Why? He didn't say, not yet, but at least Charlie had a grasp there. It likely had to do with SOMEONE, but that was her more accurate guess.

Husk… just didn't want to talk. Charlie probably shouldn't have mentioned the veteran thing. Husk had left the kitchen early during breakfast and hadn't talked to her at all throughout the short time they had before today got busy. He hadn't even sent her a gruff glare.

Charlie thought it would work if she stopped pussyfooting around with him. Husk is a tough man after all. But this proved there was something else there. At least THAT was something.

Not much, but something.

Nifty… was just super eager now, and that wasn't good. So Charlie told her that, if she calmed down, she'd go with them.

Instead of calming down Nifty turned into the very image of an overdosed, still alive and functioning, but incredibly hyperactive, cocaine addict as she began to laugh and make plans out loud. After Charlie opened her mouth to deliver a simple 'You failed', she stopped, frowned and kicked at the floor.

At least she admitted she may be a bit too happy with the idea of getting to Earth. That was some kind of progress.

Or at least Charlie hoped so. Nifty was still a bloodbath waiting to happen one of these days.

She was a qualified therapist through her studying and training, but very few people in Hell knew how to fix a really broken mind. And, to be honest, Charlie never had the heart for those particular cases. Other than her early age angstiness, or bouts of anger, she was far too soft to face the really hurt people that had lost themselves to the pain or their actions. It wasn't because she was weak, but because her good nature would do more harm than good in such extreme cases.

Nifty was one such case, but she had gotten a lot better since the Hazbin Hotel had her around. Which is saying a lot about her mentality 'before' she got her.

It also hadn't removed the 'mostly' harmless sticker from her. That was going to remain in place.

But Alastor? Alastor just had a short talk with Charlie yesterday and admitted that Jack and him had gotten into an agreement. Nothing else was shared, but Charlie could only hope it wasn't nefarious. She knew Alastor wouldn't actively sabotage the Hazbin Hotel; it wouldn't be fun to him after all. Similarly, Alastor would not try to destroy this new project, partly because it was even a bigger funbag for him if it went the way of the Titanic.

His words, not Charlie's.

Charlie just hoped that Alastor would tell HER about his escapades at the very least! This was the second day in a row, god dammit!

"Did he at least promise to behave?" Charlie managed to bleat out, with Razzle and Dazzle, as always watching over her, coming closer to the bed to nuzzle their mistress. She wanted to let out a 'yay' at the fluffiness and all, but Charlie had no energy left.

"He promised not to break anything." Vaggie deadpanned. Well, that was the best Charlie was going to get! "In fact, he seemed to be in a genuine good mood." And this seemed to both pick her interest and make Vaggie hum in wonder. "I didn't ask why, I doubt he would've told me, but still…"

"If he is in a good mood then hopefully whatever he is going to do won't make things more complicated for any of us." Charlie decided that was the correct mindset to have. Alastor would do his thing, hopefully not bringing pandemonium with him as he did so, and everyone would be as happy as the smiling deer. "I don't have the stomach for it, but should we have some food beforehand?"

Vaggie grimaced. It was obvious to Charlie that her girlfriend was of the same mind there, even if she didn't show it. Vaggie was clearly uncomfortable and nervous, so eating wasn't going to help her.

Besides, Vaggie had to bring Charlie down a peg here. "I think breakfast is going to be enough for us all. Besides, what can we do with the ten minutes we have left? You have been fretting over everything since morning."

Oh. Yeah. It was almost time.

Charlie had been in her room for hours now.

"Shit." The Princess grimaced as she rubbed the bridge of her muzzle. "I am sorry about that."

"Hey, I have been able to spend most of the morning with you without all the crap we have been going through since, you know, Heaven and this happened." Vaggie squeezed Charlie with a gentle side hug. "Not complaining."

Charlie tittered at that. "You still had to step out a couple of times."

"Claudia and Gina had to tell you they were ready, didn't they?" And while she didn't sound bothered by it, Vaggie clearly hadn't enjoyed the interruption. It had been far too long (both for Charlie and Vaggie) since the pair had a few hours like this. "By the way, they'll be waiting in the lobby for us by now."

Charlie let out a tired breath. She really wanted and didn't want to do this. "Yeah… yeah I know."

Vaggie brought her hand from Charlie's side to her shoulder, with Razzle and Dazzle looking over at the pair. "Come on, hon."

Charlie grumbled. "I don't know how you can be more ready for this than me. Yesterday hit you hard. Today may be the same. You even want to arrange something with-."

"I want to find out who I am or could've been. I also don't want to force you to close some doors. I think I haven't been fair with all I have done." Vaggie spoke with firmness and love well mixed together. She had fucked up, so she was going to do better for Charlie AND herself.

Charlie couldn't be happier, even if the process could bring hurt here and there. Vaggie needed as much help as the others living in this Hotel. Even Charlie herself.

"Maybe I won't be able to open up to all in all ways, true." Vaggie made sure Charlie pulled away from her, forcing her girlfriend to sit up proper. Charlie didn't want to, but she knew Vaggie was doing it because they had to move soon. "Truthfully? I don't want to. But I DO want to know. I do want to stop being angry and afraid, as well as hating without reason. I have wanted that for a long time. And this? Is a good start."

Charlie sighed. Well, this was better than nothing. Much better. She just hoped it didn't end badly. "Just let me be involved, okay?"

"First we need to see if he'd be interested in at least talking with us." Vaggie pointed out. She had clearly thought about it going her way, but Charlie hadn't ever heard Vaggie thinking about what Lucien would be interested in. It was obvious the thought had crossed her mind just about now. "But that'll be for later, Charlie. In fact, if this ends up taking too long we may have to wait until tomorrow. We don't exactly have much time to spare left and I don't know how much we'll have AFTER.."

Charlie knew, she did. But this still bothered her. Groaning, Charlie got up, making Vaggie smile at her antics. She really didn't want to do any of this, but she also wanted to do it more than anything. This all was part of the plan after all.

Why did this have to be so complicated? Charlie really, really wanted for her time being more 'helping people' and less' being in front of a camera' kind of thing.

At least she had been talking with both Emily and her father for a while yesterday. She had prepared a few pointers in case particular questions came forth and learned a bit more about everything. It was a crash course, an emergency one, but it had helped her a lot. So hey, if nothing else, she made sure to be prepared.

Let's hope the 'plan' survives encountering the 'enemy'.

Spoiler alert? Charlie knew it wouldn't.

* Green Leaves City - Mayberry Household *

Charlie nodded as she walked down the stairs with her three companions. The news wasn't exactly unwelcome, or surprising. Honestly here, she preferred this to have gone this particular way after yesterday.

"So mister Blitzo will be out and about with his team then."

Claudia was quick to nod, though she didn't let it show that she was particularly downtrodden about it. From what Vaggie had shared with Charlie, the Imp secretary wanted anything, and I mean ANYTHING, more than being in front of the camera again.

"Indeed, Mistress." But Claudia allowed exactly none of that to show in her voice as the Imp revised her notes. "Apparently, as he said through his text 'Gt wiff somfin gon on. Be snippin jst 'n case'." The face of revulsion on Claudia almost made Charlie laugh. "By Satan I hate people that write like this man."

The Imp's eye twitched as he said that. Both Vaggie and Gina, walking behind them, couldn't contain their smiles at Claudia's whip like sways of her tail. The secretary was indeed ticked off.

"It is just the second day." Gina frowned. The Succubus was not pleased with having been the only one not yet working. The pout was gone within moments of Charlie appearing, but it was clear she wanted her new boss to have a different getup. "How can there be something going on already?"

Claudia clicked her tongue as they made it to the ground floor. "You never know." The Imp said with nothing more to add.

I mean, she wasn't exactly wrong, and Charlie knew that, with her luck, something was bound to happen.

Right now she was just happy that Mayberry was waiting for them around the corner.

"I hope none of you are as nervous as I am." Though the woman was clearly no better than Charlie, or any of the others. If her ashtray was any indication, she had burned through a whole pack in less than an hour. Even now she was killing her last smoke while nervously tapping with a hoof in a way that hinted at how soon there'll be a hole on the floor if she didn't stop. "Because I really need a boost of confidence here."

Charlie was quick to offer some hope, she felt it was the right thing to do. "Don't worry, Sarah. I am sure most of the attention will be on me, to be honest."

And that hope, along with Sarah's slight relief, died as quickly as Claudia could deliver the sad truth of it all.

"I am sorry to be a realist here, my ladies, but that isn't going to be the case." Those words got Mayberry to almost stumble in place while every other pair of eyes zeroed on the Imp. "We have two local demons; me and my companion here." Claudia motioned to both herself and Gina. "A Winner that fell to Hell through betrayal." A quick nod towards Vaggie made Charlie's girlfriend hiss through her teeth. "A Sinner that ended in Hell for a simple passion crime, even if it ended in a person's death." Mayberry didn't even care at this point, but she did frown at the reminder that, while brutal and lethal, her action hadn't been THAT bad. Still fucked up and deserving punishment, but not the worst. "And, yes, the centerpiece is you, Mistress. But, much as we may want it, attention will not rest solely on you. In fact the sole Princess of Hell may be an afterthought to many."

Charlie shagged at the end. She knew she was blowing smoke up Sarah's ass, but a distraction was needed for the woman! Though she wasn't fully lying either, Claudia made it clear she wasn't: The Princess of Hell would attract a lot more attention in the long run.

Even if she forgot one individual.

"We also have Emily." Vaggie pointed out. Between Charlie and the Seraphim, the others should get a lot less screen time. "Who, by the way, isn't here."

There was another hiss. This time it came from Sarah as the woman's whole body, from facial expression to the nervous tail twitch, including the way she let the air escape through her fangs, made it clear she was reminded of something she didn't exactly like.

"Emily 'broke' her neck."

And while the words made everyone snap to attention, the literal air quotes she formed with her free hand and tail made sure the others understood she wasn't being literal. Though Sarah almost used the hand with the ashtray to gesticulate. She wasn't that inattentive or easily distracted, she couldn't be. Caring for children as she did mandated otherwise.

So this all just meant Charlie had to ask. "When you say 'broke her neck', you mean…?"

"She was overly excited half an hour ago when she told me to stop helping the boys set up the final touches down in the basement so we could come here and wait for you girls." This made Sarah smile, though she frowned quickly. It wasn't that she disliked the memory, it was how she rubbed her neck. The eagerness from Emily was infectious and happy, but the result hadn't been pleasant, it seemed. "Emily all but tried to run up the stairs, but she didn't even bother to watch out for any danger, like having some crap still stuck to her shoes." Sarah shook her head. Charlie could understand. Slipping up because you were giddy, only to croak, was a stupid way to go… in her humble opinion. "She ran upstairs, slipped on the last step, fell backwards and proceeded to tumble down. Most of the impacts were on her head and neck area."

Vaggie groaned at the mental imagery, rubbing her neck just as Sarah did. Even Gina was doing so while Claudia looked positively uncomfortable. The only one not suffering from the same problem was Charlie, and only because she herself had been clumsy once.

1 - You don't dance, prance, sing and do all the shit she does without a lot of practice.

2 - That practice means you fuck up and hurt yourself a lot before perfecting it. Being Lucifer and Lilith's child doesn't make you immune to faceplanting.

So Charlie knew exactly how much that hurt. She also knew to be thankful to be her father's child, because even if Lilith was a Fallen human, Charlie was sure you could break her mother's neck and she'd die. Extremely morbid thought, yes, but considering her gothic, dark phase when she had been young, that kind of thought had been both mild and one of the million very fucked up things she had wondered about during that time.

But that was unimportant! What was important was the feeling of worry that brewed in her breast soon enough. Because errand thoughts were one thing, but Charlie's nature was overwhelming and far more imminent with its effect.

"Is she okay?" And yes, at any other time, with most other people, this question would be utterly retarded.

"For those that don't know: Emily cannot feel pain. Well, normally. After staying here long enough angels feel 'simulated' needs and the like. In this case? Simulated pain. But fake or not, it hit her hard enough for Emily to stop breathing for a whole minute.." Sarah finally began to walk away, putting down the ashtray on a table next to the dining room's entrance. "Still, that doesn't mean we didn't get scared. We all lost our shit for a collective minute as Emily fought down the pain and tried to breathe again. The rest of us, for a second, yes, even me, ran around like chickens that got their heads cut off until Emily managed to gasp for breath and let out a croak that sounded close to 'I am ok'."

Vaggie was quick to nod her head. "Angels do not know pain like mortals, hellborn or human. I explained it to Charlie as a 'programmed' response, in a way. It is as if they knew what it should feel like, but not know how it really feels, even when they SHOULD feel it." She let out a little hum. "Even then something as brutal as 'snapping one's neck' would at least knock out a heavenborn, or a Winner, for a bit, not just take their breath away. That is some good resilience."

Luckily for Vaggie, everyone involved in this already knew of her in one way or another. Jack and his friends, as well as Mayberry? Emily. Charlie's new help? Thank Charlie's dad, and likely her uncle Asmodeus, for no awkward conversations.

Now, when it comes to the humans' reaction to this revelation… Well, a teensy weensy little bit of worry was there.

For Vaggie more than anything.

"By the way." Mayberry seemed to read Charlie's mind. "While I won't pry and ask why you joined who you joined…" Unsaid went whether Sarah had any resentment or not towards Vaggie, but the woman's face was more than neutral enough to hide any feelings. "I'd like you to understand that is probably not going to be viewed very well by everyone else. The news about Heaven going to Hell and offing souls like they do didn't exactly seem to spark much love."

Vaggie didn't flinch or make a face, but Charlie saw her girlfriend didn't look happy, or at least she didn't look like it from the corner of her eye. "I know. That is a shit sandwich I am going to have to eat at some point." And she certainly didn't sound happy, go figure. "So better rip that bandaid clean off today."

Sarah seemed pleased with this. Charlie made a guess, one she was sure was very close to correct at least, and assumed Sarah would've been more than just 'bothered' if Vaggie tried to hide from this or deflect what was to come.

Considering the shit Sarah was going to have to endure herself, Charlie found it both petty, but also justified. She really couldn't fault the woman.

Besides, Vaggie had done some terrible shit visiting Hell for years. Charlie could accept it, forgive Vaggie even, but facts are facts.

No other comment was made until they got downstairs.

The first one to come out of anyone's lips was Charlie's, and it was simply. "Wow…"

Because there was a good chunk of childish wonder and happiness at the sight. It was the same place, sure, but there were numerous bean bag chairs, BEANGBAGS, of all things. Enough for everyone, true, and of various colors, but they were still beanbags. A large green screen sat behind said 'chairs', with a few cameras pointed so as to get a good angle of everyone that was meant to attend this.

There was also a table big enough for the six women that would be attending; Charlie, Vaggie, Emily, Sarah, Claudia and Gina all had microphones in place and a bottle of water prepared. On top of that, the six had a few screens ready to watch over those that would be talking with them and asking questions. It was still a relaxed setting, true, but prepared with care and planning to ensure good coverage and at least a good degree of comfort.

The only ones that lacked spaces there were Dominic, Lucien and, of course, Jack, who was missing right now.

"Yeah, I know it is not much."

Charlie jumped a little as Jack appeared from the other room. The sound of someone saying 'Hello' came through before the young man closed the door after Emily, who seemingly had accompanied him, got out the room.

"Everyone but mom said it would be perfectly fine." Jack shrugged as Emily waved 'hello' to everyone. "We have always done our streams in a more casual manner. Even when we got together to discuss shit, it was always casual stuff and the like. We had a few of these already so we only had to pick, what, four more?"

"Five! Dom brought the last one." Lucien called from his seat as he checked a few things on his screen. "One of the old bags got ruptured and you said we should have a few spares, remember?."

"True, true." Jack nodded. "Anyway. You girls ready for this?"

"Fuck no." Charlie found herself letting go of every single care in the world as she said this. Disturbingly enough, she was still smiling. "But if we don't do it now, then I doubt we ever will!"

"True." Sarah seemed far less giddy or neurotic about it. She just leveled a flat glare at her son. "And Jack? I meant it when I said we should have had something more formal."

That flat glare was returned in equal measure by the young man. "Do you want to break your ass on a regular chair for what may be half the day if questions keep coming?"

Sarah frowned for a second, but ultimately she just let out a sigh. "Fine. Whatever. Not like we are going to be speaking in front of fuck knows how many people interested in the AFTERLIFE EXISTING and shit."

Before both mother and child could get into an argument, as short as it would likely be, Gina found it in her to interject.

"Umm… if you don't mind?" Two heated glares turned to face the shy Succubus who, to her credit, didn't even 'eep'. "I don't like to be mean, but no one is going to care about the setting."

The frowns turned into grimaces. Again, the truth doesn't really care about feelings here.

But Gina wasn't done. "Even if they do? Right now this is a simple, informal, perhaps even friendly set for others to see. It will look like we are making light of it all, that is true. But would it be better to make this look as if it was the most important thing in the world?" At everyone's look of curiosity, from every human and human soul to demons and the one angel, Gina let out a sigh. "A lot of people are going to ask questions and be told many truths. But these aren't new truths. I mean, we are going to tell them things that were already here, facts that were believed to be myths. It is going to be a shock, it is going to cause change, but this will still be a small audience that will just start spreading the word. We aren't going to scare the whole mortal plane… yet."

Sarah eyed the Succubus warily. "And you think a more relaxed appearance is going to help much?"

"I have acted on street plays before working for Asmodeus." Gina spoke with a much shyer tone now. "I have been on the streets of Lust for years. I may be good with clothes and all, but I have had to read an audience and customers before. This is the same, just… on a bigger scale."

Claudia tittered. "Doesn't hurt that you are a human fan, eh? Got yourself some insider knowledge and all that."

"Ssssssshut up." Gina hissed, embarrassment clear on her cheeks.

That was a little bit of levity. Something Charlie considered to be sorely needed. A few laughs here, a chuckle there, and Vaggie patting the poor Succubus' shoulder as Gina pouted at the reactions she was getting.

She knew it couldn't last though.

The shadow hands just catching her off guard from behind and creeping her the fuck out were just a quicker reminder than she anticipated.

"Well now my dear." The voice of Alastor, transmitted through the shadow that almost perfectly mimicked his form, got everyone to focus on the copy of the man. "I would be delighted if this conversation went on any longer. Teasing each other always brings such fun to these situations." And, surprisingly enough to Charlie, Alastor seemed to be sincere with his words. Then again Chaos WAS his thing anyway. "But even as distracted as I am with doing my part of the agreement with good Jack over here, I have noticed the time."

Alastor wasted no time conjuring a facsimile of a clock with his eldritch powers. The hour was indeed little more than a couple minutes away. More than enough to sit around and get comfortable, but not enough to dilly dally.

"I will be watching, of course. But I have already compromised enough with Jack to allow him to film my actions." The Radio demon almost harrumphed, ears lowering in clear discontent. This came as a surprise to not only Charlie, but Vaggie. Both women knew Alastor had asked for something significant if he was willing to allow something like this. Alastor didn't seem to mind this discovery, his shadow's smile even grew if Charlie was seeing right. "So I am afraid I will have to rob you of my presence and allow simply my shadow to oversee things. I may chime in if necessary, but otherwise I will just supervise how this goes."

"Oh please, don't go. What will we do with your bullshit on our end?" Vaggie spoke in a monotone that almost cracked the attempt at remaining serious from everyone else's faces. "But seriously. You are behaving, right? Don't get Jack into any trouble."

"My dear! You offend me." Alastor chuckled as his shadow let go of Charlie, approaching the latina with a wider grin than usual. "We are just conducting a transaction here, nothing more. Besides, with all this technology on display…" Alastor's shadow, while not as easy to read as the Radio Demon himself, was clearly disgusted with the computers and cameras. Charlie could only guess how much he was restraining himself in that other room he was in, or why. "I guess you'd prefer someone like me, who tends to make them a little worse for wear, to be out of the way."

Vaggie narrowed her single eye at the shadow. "For now?"

"For now." Alastor said simply. "Once we have a more formal interview I may sacrifice my dignity to pose in front of those damned cameras, but not here."

Vaggie was clearly about to say something more, but Charlie was quicker to act and placate the Overlord. "And we are thankful for that, really. But since you need your concentration back and we have precious little time left…"

"Why, but of course, Charlie." Alastor's grin lost a bit of its predatory edge as he pushed his shadow back, allowing it to lose cohesion and solidity as it laid itself on the green screen. "And as said: I'll be here. Don't you fret, my little lady killer."

When Vaggie harrumphed and flipped Alastor off, only for the Radio Demon to chuckle at the act, Charlie guessed she got the best result she could hope for.

Other than that event, the next minute or so went by without incident. Well, other than Emily being far too happy about her beanbag being white, comfortable beyond belief, and almost being eaten by said chair.

Apparently Seraphim were a bit more dense than they let on, and losing concentration for a moment almost made Emily cry for help.

Surprise and a little fun aside, the moment of truth came far too quickly for most.

"Okay. Emily?" Jack's voice broke the light conversation that had been going at the table area.

Emily snapped to attention in a second. "Yes?"

Jack was fiddling with something on his end as he turned to face Emily. "Can you tell me if the screens are showing something already?"

It took a moment for Charlie to see, but soon the screens i n front of the group lit up. One in front of each two seats may very well be a bit of a reach, but it separated the pairs well enough. Charlie sat next to Vaggie, Sarah sitting a decent stretch away with Emily at her side, and on the other side of the table were Claudia and Gina, trying their best not to show nervousness.

By the way, Gina was doing a piss poor job at it. Surprising knowing where she came from, but this was her facing the human world at last. A bit of stage fright and just fanboyism was something Charlie expected (and she also hoped it would help Gina keep it positive if things got rough).

"They are on, Jack." Emily called out. "They aren't showing anything, though."

Jack hummed. "Gimme a sec." After a few clicks with his mouse and a small curse, Jack faced Emily again. "Now?"

Now things were different. As soon as Jack asked, a few faces materialized themselves in the previous blackness as the screens displayed Order's voice chat feature.

Four were the people that appeared, so Charlie gave them a quick once over.

The first one, on the top left corner of the screen, looked like a middle aged man; brownish, buzz cut hair, serious expression, slanted, nose, bushy eyebrows and mustache, finishing his features with dark brown eyes and, from what Charlie could see, strong features and generally strong build. The man just looked like the kind of person you'd find yelling at some recruit more than anything else. The room he displayed looked professional and very orderly while the man himself seemed to quickly go from looking every single girl over to focusing on the figure to the next figure.

Said man next to him was a blonde, much older gentleman. Whereas the first one was likely around his thirties, Charlie could easily tell this man was roughly in his fifties, probably midway to sixty. He had solemn features, but tried to at least appear nice and approachable. Short, stubby nose, green eyes, trimmed beard, apparent short stature and a relaxed but still formal shirt on him. He looked grandfatherly, with the shown room displaying a crucifix, various family photos and a few paintings, displaying a much larger place than the first man for sure.

Next came a woman with very long hair in a two tone color of black and white, black lipstick, a lot of makeup and generally coming off as a stereotypical gothic woman with her getup, piercings and more. The woman was clearly beautiful, with very soft, rounded features and light, almost white, blue eyes. She was apparently Asian, if the hints and a few features on her face weren't misleading her (at the very least she looked mixed, or so Charlie thought), which probably correlated with the shorter height, if Charlie wasn't mistaken. That aside, the room she was in looked gloomy as all get out, and Charlie could see very little beyond the woman herself.

Finally came the last figure, another woman. Dark chocolate skin, straight black hair down her back, very formal, if not downright conservative clothes, a stern expression that spoke not of firmness and discipline, but outright dislike at the idea of being here, all of this matted with piercing amber colored eyes, a slight, barely masked scowl on her face and hands clearly seen drumming her fingers on the table she was sitting in front of. Her room was utilitarian, decor was almost nonexistent. All Charlie saw with this one was a person uninterested, or just unhappy, when it came to being her.

First thing that came to Charlie's mind? Cool beans. We are fucked.

Pessimism aside, the others seemed to think the same. At the very least two, if not all, of those present would be a problem in some way. The first stream had an air of oppression about it that came with the unknown. This one had pressure mounted because there were people clearly unhappy, doubting, or extremely critical facing them.

A snap of the fingers and shit would hit the fan something fierce. Helping Sarah's redemption would be much harder if, say, humans in large groups began to make their lives impossible.

Charlie could always go back to Hell with Sarah, but that would separate her from Jack, and Jack himself could be in a tizzy (if we are being very generous). She hadn't expected things to look this grim, nor did she want to keep thinking negatively, but for some reason the first thing to come to her were images of an aftermat with this event going down the drain in a way that made Charlie's previous failures and humiliations, whose number was far too high (and intensity far too strong) for her to remember without a shudder.

The feeling of a hand squeezing hers made Charlie look at her side.

Vaggie didn't look more confident than she did, but Charlie felt a smile return to her simply thanks to her girlfriend at least trying.

If this was going to become a shitshow, then they'd face it together.

"Greetings." The voice of the first man came through. It was gravely, stoic and very much no nonsense in his tone. "I gather the stream has begun?"

This made the girls all look at Jack, who replied. "It has been online for a hot second, Mr. Poolside. We are on BlueTube with your moderators already."

"Good, dood." The first man, revealed as Mike Poolside, gave a curt nod. "And they aren't 'my' moderators. We all work for Mister Maneas."

The older man let out a quick chuckle. "Don't be so formal, Mike." Said 'Maneas' as he cleared his throat. "Hello to all those taking part in this stream, and those of you to come. Some of you may know me; I am Myron Maneas, current owner of Bluetube." A chorus of 'Hello Mr. Maneas' came from everyone, both out of respect and inertia. "Most of you probably know about Mike Poolside, one of Bluetube's key administrators, thanks to him being the face of the site and public speaker." Maneas motioned to the man with a nod. "But perhaps less known to many is Libby Palmer, the head of human resources."

There was a very quick and curt nod from the sharply dressed woman. Her black hair nearly didn't move, but her eyes sure as hell didn't as she glared at the non human (or previously human) members of this conversation. "An honor to be here, sir." Her voice was soft and pleasant, but her tone was not. It was obvious she was anything but happy. "I only wish it hadn't created such chaos among our people. If this is no hoax, even if it is, we are going to be short handed for a while."

This made Mr. Maneas grimace. "I can understand that. I myself am… affected, by the event. The possible revelations have caused a stir." And with how he said it Charlie knew her group wasn't going to have a positive start in many minds. "But this was important to tackle. Miss Rees?"

Two tone hair moved as the last woman, and participant of this conversation, began to speak. "Yes, Mr. Maneas." The woman cleared her throat as she looked at the six strong group. "My name is Scarlett Rees; previously an influencer, now I advise Bluetube with trends and general popular topics. Yesterday's little video has exploded, and by now the lowest predicted number of viewers, at least twenty thousand to fifty thousand, should be crowding today's stream."

"Forty five thousand and counting." Dominic called out. "I didn't think things would grow like that." And, despite his size, the young man was looking the most nervous out of the three friends.

Charlie, thankfully, was already as pale as she was going to get.

"Yes, yes. This event deserves nothing less." Mr. Maneas said with a small harrump. "After all…" And the moment he turned his eyes to face Charlie, the Princess of Hell felt that just being white as chalk was probably not enough. "We have some claims to substantiate."

The old man probably couldn't do shit to Charlie even if he tried. But have you ever had someone pierce you with a glare that just said 'Well…?' in a way that made you feel that answering incorrectly would end your life one way or another?

Because Charlie had, and the effect never got any better.

"It is nice to meet you all. So I will be the first to say my piece. I doubt anyone watching hasn't first seen the video, but just in case: My name is Charlotte Morningstar." But one thing Charlotte, Princess of Hell, had learned over the centuries. "I am the daughter of Lucifer Morningstar and Lilith, the first woman. I am the princess of Hell and heir to the Low Throne." Was that there was a moment to be gentle and friendly, and a moment to be blunt, hard and press the attack. Still, she did give a smile at the end. "But I'd prefer to be called Charlie, if you don't mind."

Starting with anything but blunt force here would do her no favors.

Indeed, the silence that permeated the conversation for a few seconds spoke to the significance of her statement. A tall claim, a massive bull, blatant lies… All of those were apt descriptions of what many were saying in the chat and what Charlie knew those present in the conversation were thinking. That they thought that way didn't matter, because thinking it did would not help Charlie any, even if she felt like that day at 666 news all over again.

At least Killjoy wasn't here. That would've been like a kick to the ovaries.

"... I see." Mr. Maneas grumbled. "So… you are to tell me that Hell and Heaven do exist." The man sounded grumpy, but there was a thin lipped smile on his face. "Makes one feel good to be right." But that turned quickly into a more neutral expression. "If you can prove it."

There were murmurs of agreement on Maneas' side. Charlie could just sigh at the obvious problem.

"I guessed that would be one of the first things you'd ask for. But I have a question of my own." Charlie waited for the four people watching her to stop muttering and give her all their attention. "What could I do to convince you of what I claim?"

"Nothing." Libby was the one to be curt and direct. "Your claims are outrageous. The stream you all tried to make could've been easily edited and-."

"Dear Libby." Mr. Maneas frowned at the woman. "I'd like to remind you that you had watched most of the video minus the key event that miss Emily produced for us." The old man nodded Emily's way, making the Seraphim give out a nervous smile. "You changed your tune AFTER watching it in full."

Libby pursed her lips for a second. "That may be so, Mr. Maneas, but these claims are no less outlandish now than they were before."

There was a small lul in the conversation as the four on the other side of the call argued for a moment. None of the women had a single urge to voice their opinion here, mostly because the wrong word could make things fly off the handle in a lot of ways. All the while Jack and his friends were clicking and writing like mad. Apparently the stream needed a lot of moderation, or there was a ruckus already ongoing.

In fact Charlie had to grimace at a few curses coming through. It seems Jack's followers had been well behaved despite some comments, but things were getting rough here.

So… why not risk it a bit? Charlie was sure she could get this right. Thanks to her dad, it should be simple.

"I… could do something."

Those words seemed to halt even the chat as Jack and his friends turned to face her.

"I need a bit of concentration, but I can show you Hell… Well, a particular spot." Charlie spoke, attracting the attention of even the girls around her. Emily looked slightly worried at her for a second. "Don't worry Emily. It'll be a moment, nothing more. I doubt I can do like dad even if I wanted to. I just got a quick lesson yesterday, just in case."

While Emily looked relieved, almost everyone else looked either concerned, skeptical or… interested?

"Hmm…" Mr Maneas hummed. "A sufficiently impressive visage, I expect?"

Charlie grimaced. "Eh… no. The view is… uh…"

Vaggie tsked, then let out a chuckle. "You are going to show you our room's view of Pentagram."

"Vaggie!" Charlie pouted for a second. "Come on!"

A loud cough could be heard, making the two look back at the screen.

"You were named Vagatha, correct?" Mike asked in curiosity as he eyed the woman. "One of the followers of the AncientEncoder,the user called 'EarlTheEarglove', called you Vagatha, if I remember right."

Vaggie grimaced, but she did nod. "Vagatha Arroyo Rivera, yes." Charlie saw the pain on that name, but Vaggie managed as best as she could. "I… suppose I should make it proper, shouldn't I?" A quick look at Charlie, one that prompted a simple nod, got Vaggie to sigh in resignation. She would need to share this sooner or later, considering she was going to be there with Charlie at all times. "So let me make a proper introduction after I left as I did yesterday: I am Vagatha Arroyo Rivera, as I said before, though I… Yesterday got to me a bit, so I didn't get to share everything. So let me tell you that I will be with Charlie at all times for I am Charlie's partner in more ways than one: I am Charlie's girlfriend and the manager at her hotel to rehabilitate Sinners."

"Girlfriend?"

"Scarlett, keep it in your pants."

Those were the reactions of Scarlet and Libby respectively. One looked interested, far too much for Vaggie's sake if Charlie could gauge her girlfriend's reaction correctly.

I mean, the look of 'I am going to murder you' was pretty clear. Then again Charlie didn't like the longing that Scarlett had written all over her face. Was Charlie going to get fans or something? She sure as fuck hoped not, not like this at least!

And hey, Libby may've looked at her as if she wanted nothing to do with Charlie, but at least the woman shut the other up quickly.

Vaggie wasn't done yet though. "Other than that, I have a… more dire confession to make." A shaky breath was all Vaggie managed here. Even when Charlie tried her best, offering support to her girlfriend and squeezing her hand under the table, earning a look of appreciation in the process, it didn't put Vaggie's heart at ease. "I wasn't here yesterday when this was shared, but I am aware all of you know about souls being killed off by Heaven. I hope that was clear?" When all she got were simple nods and long stares, Vaggie nodded. "Okay, good, I… suppose. So…" She took a deep breath. "I can confirm that is true. In fact I can do more than that: I, Vagatha Arroyo Rivera, WAS one of the many human souls that went to Heaven and partook on this."

Now, that? That was a silence. It felt eerie even when it came to the Chat, something Charlie couldn't see but was clearly dead as a doornail and silent enough to hear a pin drop.

If nothing else, and this was Charlie trying to see a silver lining here, this made sure to get everyone's attention.

Mr. Maneas' look seemed to have hardened. "I see." And while he sounded gentle enough, this was clearly pushing some buttons. "First, Charlie."

Charlie felt her heart on her throat. Was this how all went to hell? And not the *correct* hell mind you. "Yes?"

"I am sorry about this. We have started this in a haphazard way. Our fault." Maneas had some stinkeye leveled Libby's way as he said this, much to the shame of the woman. "So we have deviated a bit. And now this…" He gesticulated at Vaggie with his hand. "It brings up more questions, perhaps accusations too.. But I'd like for you to present that vision, or portal, of yours, then we can have everyone else on your side introducing themselves. Maybe that'll bring some order to this little mess. So, if you please?"

"Oh!" Charlie looked at the others quickly. This had clearly almost gone off the rails right from the get go, so Charlie just got eager nods from everyone else present. "Yes, of course! Now, as a little, uh, warning? Well, a few."

Charlie took a second, a breath, and tried to collect herself. She wasn't about to mess it up. She knew she was about to ramble, so she stopped, took that moment to concentrate and clapped her hands together gently. This was to start focusing on what she wanted to do as well as to calm her racing heart. If she did things well enough, then she could get this going.

"Every Ring, be it Pride, Wrath, Gluttony, Greed, Lust, Envy and Sloth, all have their own light, okay? The Rings are all huge, ever growing. Magic fuels them, so they are all different, and one of those differences? The light." Charlie began to separate her hands while placing her arms on the table. A red light began to emanate from an arc of light that formed a small, almost imperceptible, circle. "Pride, where I live, has a red sky. Pentagram city also produces a much brighter light, even at night, than many other places in Pride. Considering the time of the day it is, the vision may be blinding at first, depending where the portal aims. This is a bit of a first for me."

Sadly in this case, Charlie wasn't sure about the situation over there. If the sky was clear? Then she may as well flash someone, depending where she landed the portal. Again; Charlie wasn't exactly practiced with this ability.

As in: She knew dick all. How to use it? Sure. How to not land herself in molten lava if she tried to go to wrath? NOPE!

The voice of Mike came through, almost breaking her concentration as the portal between her hands expanded, clearly making those watching either nervous or curious. "And the other warning? Or warnings?"

Charlie grimaced. Yeah, that. "Pride is home to the Sinners. Human souls. They cannot go to any other ring because, well, they are confined there. Human souls that fall to Hell CAN become very powerful, sometimes too much. If they were allowed to travel the Rings, it could result in more than just a fight between former humans and demons, you see." She made a face. That always felt wrong, but she also recognized all of Hell would suffer if Sinners were to spread as they were. Case in point: "And Pride, while it is my home, doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Gang wars, general turf wars, explosions, general foul language and more… Those are things you may have to watch for, if we are lucky."

"This stream was marked as mature for a reason, miss 'Morningstar'." Libby huffed, clearly annoyed. But even her clear mistrust wasn't enough to stave the curiosity brewing in her soul. "I doubt we'll hear or see much…"

Hear? Surely not. Unless Charlie truly fucked up, they wouldn't hear anything from the city. The Hotel was far away enough.

But see? Well, Miss Libby didn't keep on yapping because the first thing they saw the moment the portal opened was an explosion… and a building toppling over.

"Oh boy…" Charlie sighed. "That is the 'War Zone'. I don't need to tell you why those blocks got the name…"

And she really didn't. While the portal showed a lot of Pentagram (It had opened next to Charlie's favorite spot, only a bit to the side, thus not showing everything), it was aimed towards the War Zone; a constant wasteland of a district section that was generally used to settle scores and fight. It also had some of the more valuable resources (and quick regenerating at that) of Pentagram.

Don't let that information trick you. The War Zone was complete and utter shit. You couldn't get mining or harvesting equipment there, nor could you make an exploitation or anything else. The groups fighting there went in, killed each other, got what they could and left. Constantly.

Every. Fucking. Day. It was where Vaggie took everyone during her 'exercise'.

It was a testament to Hell's engineering that the people living there had buildings to live in remade every damn day, or week at the latest. They serve as houses, of course, as well as business, but also cover. The War Zone had the most 'I don't give a fuck' spirited people of all of Pentagram. They were also the hardiest motherfuckers around, but not the most powerful. The War Zone was basically a collection of mercenaries and messed up people that had no problem being friends one day, killing each other the next, being friends again, then working together and against another formed band the day after that one.

Prooooobably not the best thing to show. But it wasn't all there was to see, of course.

The Cannibal district, with its Victorian theme. The central area, focused on modern and postmodern architecture. The no nonsense and more manufacture and work related section controlled by Overlord Carmilla. Pentagram's own 'Little Italy' with families and groups of organized mafia and correctly themed abodes. A much older and grandiose section controlled by Zestial. The ruckus partition was managed by Zeezii and her love for glam, rock, nightclubs, drugs and general parties… She even managed to get the Embassy in a perfect frame for a few seconds.

Yes, the portal did not allow to see much, but Charlie managed to inch it around and show a good chunk of Pentagram City the moment she got some control over the thing. She almost let it slip (And she did NOT want to know what would've happened. Could it dig a hole through the world until it reached the core? Fuck, that would've ended things very quickly), but after that little scare she managed to give everyone watching a show.

In more ways than one when, before ending her spell, a couple of winged Sinners managed to slam themselves against the hotel. They were clearly drunk, high and fucking, so everyone got a good look at a couple Sinners at… Well, not their worst, but this didn't exactly help Charlie.

She needed to thank Alastor later. The reinforced glass had been his idea.

"Oh come on!" Vaggie all but yelled as she threw her arms into the air. The rest of the girls present, even the guys, didn't manage much more than to cringe. "One fucking day! One damn fucking day! Is that much to ask for? One day without shit, OR PEOPLE, being thrown at the hotel!?" The latina rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Al menos no han traspasado la puta pared."

There was an unimpressed harrump coming from the screens. It came as a surprise to Charlie when she saw the one doing that was Scarlett. "I had hoped for something… more."

"Admittedly, it looks relatively normal." Mike spoke, a grimace on his face. "Minus those two flying… things, the many gunshots and explosions in some areas and all that. It appeared to be an anarchist's paradise."

"Those flying figures." Charlie rubbed the bridge of her muzzle as she spoke. Of course SOMETHING had to go wrong. Not the worst, but come on. "Were Sinners; former humans, now in soul form. The body is real, mind you, but created by the soul, so it is accurate."

Beyond the shock of thinking back to a pair of figures high and fucking SLAMMING themselves against reinforced glass, the four humans taking part in the call looked shocked for a very obvious reason: The figures were anything but human looking.

And no, she hadn't seen exactly how they looked. Charlie had purposefully averted her gaze when it happened.

"Former humans?" Mr. Maneas' look hardened. "I thought most would look like Miss Mayberry over here." When all attention landed on Sarah, the woman seemed to go still, only for Maneas to speak again. "Speaking of which, and considering what we just saw as a 'likely' real display of magic, at least for those more skeptic." Libby was the only one to roll her eyes at this, clearly knowing who her boss was talking about. "Care to elaborate on your side, young lady?"

The 'young lady' remark made Sarah crack half a smile, at least getting her to break from the stupor. Charlie was about to encourage her, but Sarah managed to speak without more prompting.

"I suppose it is only fitting. More so if we have to get to the questioning part of this." Sarah let out a grunt as she got herself comfortable. She wasn't going to spout shit otherwise, considering this was going to get her in hot water with some of the locals the moment news spread. "My name is Sarah, Sarah Mayberry. Many of the locals here know me, and the news probably has told all of you more than enough, still… Two years ago I was a teacher at one of the local schools, particularly the one that cares for most of the children in the suburban area I lived in, a school by the game of 'Green Garden', specialized in children from 5 to 10." Mayberry took a second, and Charlie knew she was looking back at those years she had worked there. She grimaced in the end, clearly recalling how it all went down. "As I bet most of you know by now, it didn't have a happy ending. I will not defend myself: I killed my husband, now ex-husband, fuck him very much. I gave that man the best years of my life, I did all I could to please him, I begged the man to start a family with me considering how much I *THOUGHT* we loved each other… All for him to have been cheating on me for a while." Though this made Sarah chuckle. "Funny. Had I done nothing Martha would've likely killed him for me."

Scarlett was the one of the four present to ask. "Come again? Last I heard the woman you attacked and nearly killed had died in a tragic explosion. Not only that, but Martha had been doing a lot of public events for a while. All eyes on that city had been following her every move." And, being someone focused on social media and trends, this Scarlett woman had made sure to be informed. "Disgustingly saccharine life aside, other than the cheating, I see no reason to call her out on something YOU did yourself."

"Oh yeah, I did it alright." Sarah frowned. She clearly had feelings and words to say about what she did, but she kept it simple. "I only have a modicum of regret, and none lands on that asshole that cheated on me. He got off lightly." Charlie hissed through her teeth. That was not exactly something someone trying to get redeemed should be saying. "But I am sorry I lost my composure like that. I am sorry I likely traumatized the kids I took care of. I am even sorry about Martha's family for fuck's sake!" At this point Sarah almost smashed the table in with a fist. The slamming sound making some of those present flinch. "But that bitch was FAR more rotten inside than I ever was, and ever will."

Libby seemed to frown for a second before trying to voice her opinion. "Adultery is a grave offense, but-."

"Miss Martha is in Hell." Emily piped up quickly. "She was, most likely still is, a cannibal." The news, while hard to believe, did at the very least shock the four humans enough to stop any more comments for a second. "From what little we learned about her? She probably killed people for years, probably before she had a family of her own. Apparently Martha knew about the afterlife, and she had been trying to gain enough kills and deeds to gain power when she arrived in Hell." Emily frowned at the thought. "Ritual killing, sacrifices shall we say, don't exactly open the gates of Heaven for you."

Sarah grimaced. "Okay, so I wasn't going to say that because I didn't want everyone to know what Martha shared with her children, Emily." Mayberry threw Emily a half hearted glare. Emily cowered slightly, mostly because of the shame that went her way. "You did nothing wrong, but now they are going to think about the kids too. Ginger is a sweetheart despite the clear mental problems she has inherited from her mother and Junior is damn smart, if perhaps with too big an ego for his age."

Emily just looked down as she spoke. "Sorry about that. But I don't think it would be fair to judge you on a spur of the moment decision if they don't know everyone's sins here. I will not say Martha doesn't have good qualities… somewhere… I mean, I don't personally know the woman. But considering what I learned about her?" And while Emily wanted to think so, it was so damn hard! Again: From what she learned of the woman? Having a lamp made of human bone was the most normal thing in her house. "I don't think it is fair that you will be judged from killing one person and harming another while Martha got praised for her actions, or pitied after her death." The young Seraphim made a face. "While I don't like the idea of them dying like they did, they did reap what they sowed. No party was innocent here and all they can do is what YOU are trying to do: Seek redemption for their actions."

Mike cleared his throat again. The sound was likely going to be common through the conversation it looked like. A quick glance at the four humans on the other side of the screen made Charlie notice many looks she could only describe as 'uncomfortable'.

"While we went ahead and you answered a question we had in store already." This Mike said with a little bit of a huff escaping him. Clearly no one expected this particular stream to be orderly in any way, but still it seemed to grate at him. "We also got questions about you and if all angels look as human as you do. Considering we aren't exactly going to have any order here, we can go ahead with the presentation and get an answer while at it."

Emily had a small blush on her face at that. "Yeah… I suppose there was no way to make this go easy on us." She let out a little 'heh', then turned ever so slightly serious. "But are people really asking me about my appearance?"

"There are many religious and curious people out there." Mr. Maneas chimed in. "The descriptions of angels and demons seem to be… very creative, compared to what we are seeing now."

Emily let out a low 'hummm'. "Well, that is true. Though most of those descriptions aren't really incorrect." When she saw the old gentleman giving her a look of curiosity, Emily opted to make things clear. "Most angels have a more 'primal' form, so to speak. Biblically accurate, if you want to use more human terminology. An Ophanim, for example, has a humanoid body with a detached head that looks like various golden wheels with eyes, fire, wings and all that. At least with their more 'relaxed' look, like I have now." To her this was normal. To those knowing the Biblical description of angels, it was somewhat normal. For regular people? This was a small mindfuck. "If they opted to change into a more powerful and less constricting body? The human-like lower body would disappear, they'd take only the form of their 'head', and they would also grow in size enough to, in most cases, dwarf humans in general."

Mr. Maneas seemed interested, so he urged her. "And what about you? You are a Seraphim, after all. The description we have has to do with-."

"Eyes and wings, I know." Emily grimaced. "I don't like my 'full form', so to speak. Not like I hate it, but…" She made a face. "I can show you a partial form, though?"

The four humans on the other side of the call shared a few looks before giving a nod. Charlie saw Emily grimace. She hadn't looked unhappy when she first appeared in front of her and Vaggie back when they visited Heaven… but she had also been generally happy and ignorant of many things back then too.

Perhaps this action had been uncomfortable in the past, but now it was bringing more than just mere discomfort. In spite of this, Emily was willing to sacrifice, so she let a low light emanate from her as she changed her appearance.

Hiding her wings was now impossible in this form, partial as it was. With her skin becoming so white it seemed to emit light, head turning slightly oval shaped and bald, adding to a third eye growing on her forehead, Emily's face, or head in general, was likely throwing off a lot of people off, if what Charlie saw the moment Jack and his friends began clicking away was any indication. It didn't help that Emily's wings grew from her head, that her halo was now apparent, with *another* eye on its front, or that some kind of music seemed to be emanating from Emily's body now that her appearance was radiating the power contained within Emily's soul.

To top it off, a larger, more detailed, almost terrifying, eye was growing out of her chest, around the belly area. Somehow it seemed to be… 'more', here on Earth, than on Heaven. As if it was trying to pierce those it looked at, to see through them somehow. Whether it was a normal effect or not, Charlie didn't know, but it likely didn't matter to those watching. And, luckily for them, and for Emily, none saw the disappearance of her legs, most likely turned into another pair of wings under her dress, or the growth of many more eyes around the edges and bottom of said dress. That there were far more changes you couldn't see under there was obvious if you, for example, noticed the feathers growing out of her 'dress's' neckline, if it was a dress anymore in this form.

To Charlie this was fine. To Vaggie it felt weird, Charlie could tell. Sarah, Claudia and Gina all looked uncomfortable.

An speaking of uncomfortable? Uncomfortable was the silence that fell on everyone for a moment or two. Emily's wings seemed to flap by themselves, even when it was clear that she didn't want them to. Charlie could see Emily's tentative smile fall ever so slowly as the seconds went by.

"Hey, Emily."

Jack didn't seem to want that to happen.

"You look perfectly fine, alright?" He called from his seat after having clicked something that made him smile. If Charlie had to guess, he had just banned someone and was feeling a vindictive happiness to go along with everything. "But if you aren't happy, change back. Be as you want. You proved your point well enough."

Charlie saw Emily's smile returning, along a golden blush that lasted for a second, but was visible if you were looking at the young Seraphim. "Thank you, Jack." It didn't take her more than the blink of an eye to turn back, her form now more relaxed. "I'd prefer to remain this way then."

While another short bout of silence came, Mr. Maneas killed it quickly. "That was… impressive."

Libby seemed less taken aback, but this time the woman didn't look constipated as she spoke. "There was some kind of music. It felt… strange." In fact she looked downright curious. "It… I think my heart is racing?" And terrified, her expression held a lot of fear to it.

"Angels have the magic of song in them. Some more than others, this is true. The more powerful the angel? The more effect it has on a human soul, body and mind." Emily said, her pep very much back in full swing. "Even Winners, humans that ascended to Heaven, are all attuned to it. I have been told it is the same in Hell too. Creation is a song in itself after all, but my job requires it just as much."

Scarlett let out a click with her tongue. It seemed she hadn't enjoyed the song much, or at all. "Right. Would you go ahead with your introduction and remind us, then?"

"Oh, of course!" Emily cleared her throat as she tried to compose herself. Even Charlie had forgotten about this part for a second. "My name is Emily and I am a Seraphim. My work is bringing happiness to the souls in Heaven; helping them connect with family, bringing them to places they'd like, making sure their hobbies, ambitions and so on are fulfilled… I'd like to be clear and admit I am not the ONLY Seraphim of Joy, as my task is called." And Emily found herself needing to explain this. If Charlie was to hazard a guess, it had to do with her being on Earth for this long, with her stay still being far from over. "Angelic tasks are forever, but much like Hell, Heaven expands over time, only slower. I have been alive almost as long as humanity, but even I alone wouldn't be able to tend to all of Heaven."

Mike and the others were quick to nod, some more interested, or eager to know, than others. But this curiosity had to have proper manners first. "Thank you for sharing all of this, and for answering probably quite a few questions while doing so." With that done, he quickly switched focus to face the two proper demons in the room. "And what about our last two ladies?"

Scarlett showed her hand again as she pointed out. "One of them at least is not exactly a lady, Mike."

"Scarlett, for fuck's sake." Libby let out a curse down her breath, but loud enough to be heard. "Tact, woman!"

While Scarlett was being swiftly chastised, not that the woman seemed to care much (she went so far as to tell Libby to 'go fuck herself'). Apparently order was secondary to some people in lieu of these revelations.

Charlie had expected something akin to this, to be perfectly honest. It was preferable to, say, full on infighting, but still within expectations.

At least no one had called them fraud at any point and it looked like that wasn't going to happen at all, so the attention was on them and things weren't yet reaching a true boiling point. Though some of the things said here were likely to spawn far more invasive questions, and possible backlash, even if today went well.

One day at a time, Charlie thought.

"Gentlemen and ladies." Claudia brought the bickering to an end by being just done. She looked the part, too. "While normally I would find it funny that a few humans were discussing what I have between my legs." No, she wouldn't. She couldn't care less, in fact. Charlie was sure of it considering just how little Claudia liked attention. "You can treat me like a woman. It is the way I have been treated most of my life and that is fine with me." Her eyes lit up for a second before she pointed out. "But I hope we don't devolve into some stupid talks and questions because of this, or I will be most displeased."

The chat exploded, either that or Jack and his friends began clicking furiously for some reason. Charlie didn't envy their job on all of this much. She did have to hide a small chuckle at the four humans on the screens, though.

Until Scarlett opened her mouth. Then Charlie just let out a laugh the moment Claudia chewed her out.

"If you are going to ask about my sex, I will render judgment on you." Claudia spoke as darkly as she could, which Charlie still found cute enough despite the promise having very real and very dangerous (possibly) connotations.

Scarlett shut her trap for a second, then seemed to rethink it and decided that it was worth it. "Are Imps all intersex?"

There was silence for two heartbeats before Claudia rendered said judgment. "I don't like you. Please never approach me in person." This seemed to deflate Scarlett really fast, making the woman pout. Incidentally, it made everyone else laugh. "And the answer is: Of course not."

"Like Imps needed more ways to be fertile." Gina spoke in jest, but she quickly realized she had fucked up the moment Claudia turned her he ad sharply to glare at her. "What? It was a joke!"

"Do you want me to embarrass you, the LITERAL SUCCUBUS, in front of the whole world?" Claudia narrowed her eyes. "I will do it. Just push your luck."

"By Satan, woman!" Gina raised her arms in defeat. "I was just making a joke!"

Claudia went from angry looking to having a lopsided smirk the moment she got Gina's reaction. "So was I."

This seemed to stun Gina for a moment. But even if Gina was shy and easily flustered for a Succubus, she was still a demon, and the simplest answer, as well as the only fitting one here, was flipping Claudia the bird.

So she did that, with both hands.

"Asshole." Gina fumed. "Go ahead with your introduction, get all the attention you want."

The fact that Gina was right with the attention Claudia brought to herself seemed to wipe that smile off the Imp's face. Claudia saw this as duty however, for it was exactly that, so she endured with the most neutral expression she could offer the camera.

"I suppose that is fair. It may also answer questions on the humans' end." Claudia took the water bottle from the table to take a small sip. It seemed that this simple act got curiosity out of most present. "Don't tell me none of you expected me to drink water?"

"Should we?" Mr. Maneas asked with a tight frown. "To be honest, while there were many questions, repeated questions, about Succubi after seeing one in real life." Maneas hinted at Gina with a quick glance. "There were more than a few directed to Imps. Considering the differences between the two individuals seen in the video and, yes, your sex."

"Of course." Claudia let out the most refined and collected groan she could as she put the lid back on the bottle. "I suppose I should introduce myself first, then give you a lesson next." Her tail acted like a wip behind her, making sure it wasn't misunderstood: She wasn't exactly happy right now. "My name is Claudia Rustborn, I am an Imp. When it comes to the hellborn, my kin are at the bottom in most cases. You may find a few nobles among us, but primarily you will find menial workers, primary jobs, slaves…"

Libby seemed infuriated the moment the word 'slave' was spoken. "Slavery is legal in-?!"

"It is Hell." Claudia snapped back, calmly, but sharply. "That alone is not a correct summary as to WHY there are slaves, but let me finish first."

A pointed look made Libby shut her mouth. Though, much like Scarlett, it was clear the woman had a topic or two that were very touchy in one way or another for her. Luckily for all involved, and poor Jack and his friends, things calmed down as Claudia resumed her introduction.

"I was, until recently, one of the many secretaries of Lucifer. He was my master and the reason I am alive today. Considering Lucifer is usually… tasked with so many things, a small army of those in my position is always required to keep everything orderly." Charlie thanked the stars that Claudia was, at the very least, quick witted enough to make sure nothing slipped. It wouldn't do for humanity to know her father was, well, 'special' in so many ways sometimes, or that he suffered from a long lasting depression. It may build familiarity and sympathy, but also backfire. "Now Lady Charlotte is my Mistress, as I am tasked to her service by order of her father. As such my voice is the one most of those trying to contact lady Charlotte will hear first."

"As for Imps." Claudia made a small pause as he laid her hands on the table. This topic seemed to be, in a way, unusual for her. "As said, we are the bottom rung of Hell. There is no derision, there is no shame. It is only the truth. Consider the Ring of Wrath: An expanse of fertile land, volcanic areas, deserts and so on, our home. A Ring ruled by Lord Satan. A ring that is the farmland of Hell." At this Claudia sent a pointed look at the four humans on screen. "A Ring that, at bare minimum, holds no less than thirty billion Imps."

A chorus of 'Whats!?' was heard. Not all came from the screens. Even Sarah herself seemed surprised. Charlie was the only one that didn't look to be shocked. Heck, even Emily's eyes had widened.

"Every single Ring of Hell is, at the very least, around the surface area of Earth right now. Probably bigger. And not all of them have large surface water formations. It is also important to note that all Rings, or well, most of them, considering Sloth has a large expanse of its territory composed of floating islands, have a lot of land BENEATH the surface." Claudia went on despite the clear surprise she had delivered. "Not all demon species are as prolific as Imps, mind you. And while I said 'thirty billion', that is only the official number. Many Imps do not bother joining the census. Thirty billion probably only counts those forced to mark themselves as 'alive': Land owners, head of a family, etc. Now consider those people usually have children, generally from two to four if they are conservative, while families with at least twenty children living in their land IS possible, and more than that number is not as rare as you may expect."

Charlie saw the eyes of every human in the room as they did the math. Even the former humans were clearly thinking about Imps in a much different way.

Because, if you wanted to be nice, Claudia had delivered a simple fact: Imps, on the lower scale of things, didn't number thirty *BILLION*. They probably numbered close to five to ten times that, if not more.

And Claudia had been nice enough to not mention the fact that every single Ring had a solid Imp population.

If it weren't for Hell's nature and the regular infighting and turnover of many jobs, Imps would overrun the place. It was a sad thing, in a way, but it was also Imp nature to have short, sometimes miserable, lives. However, as it had been proven time and time again, Imps having an easier time made them extremely miserable.

Simply put: Imp nature was to burn bright and burn fast in most cases. Only outliers could enjoy it in any other way.

"Imps are everywhere." Oh well, there goes that. Charlie's face fell a bit as realization dawned on everyone else. "Most live short lives, many commit stupidities big enough to be enslaved or indentured if they aren't killed outright. It is our lot, and it is in our nature to accept it." Claudia shrugged, clearly unbothered. "Now, as for sex? You should first understand that Hell is chaotic, transformative. Potions and spells are more effective than technology when it comes to making a body turn into something else. For demons? That can mean many things, and this becomes more apparent depending on the species and how many of that species there are. For example, look at my horns." Claudia pointed at the broad white bands on them. "Broad white means male. My hair, also white, means the same thing. Thin white stripes, mostly black horns, is a female signal, and the hair, too, should be black. There are many combinations that can happen, and many of them hint at an intersex nature; Hermaphrodite, shemale, etc. As far as demons go our species is the easiest to read when it comes to sexual dysmorphism." Gina got back to sitting normally. "You can find intersexed individuals in all species of demons. It is more common than on humans, and perfectly safe, unlike some of your cases. For Imps like me? It is more common thanks to population density and our chaotic nature. And for those curious? I am what you'd call an hermaphrodite, or futa, or whatever. Simply put? I have both sets of gonads."

It was surprising how little of a fuck Claudia gave as she delivered what she did. Almost everyone was recoiling at the numbers while a few people were blinking, frowning, or, in the case of Mike Poolside, looking through some papers.

"Well." The man let out a shaky breath. "That has answered a good number of questions we had in store." Mike tried to offer a smile, breaking his formal expression for a moment. He was clearly nervous. "Just, uh, a quick personal question, but… Hell is not looking to come over here as a whole, right?"

"Of course not!" Charlie almost fell off her bean bag as she pushed her body forward. The rush of adrenaline and fear was almost immediate. If humans thought Hell invading was a possibility, then forget a disaster just for her: Everything would go to shit! "We are here just to help, I swear!"

Suspiciousness and doubt were her only answers. That is all she saw on the humans' eyes. She couldn't fault them, really. Charlie would've had doubts if this was the other way around and she had been born a human, on Earth.

She didn't know it, but the shadow watching over them began to chuckle. No one needed to know about how frail the barriers between the mortal world and Hell truly were right now. Or how thin they'd become in time.

After all, humans numbered, what, around eight billion? Seven? Being told that ONE species of demon had, at the VERY least, your numbers beat five times, was a cause for concern. A sapient, intelligent, and naturally malicious (not evil, Charlie would defend this no matter what) creature that could use tools and weapons at that. Now if you make it the worst possible outcome in numbers? Panic would be the BEST possibility out of that revelation.

Now Charlie was somewhat thankful of this having picked up from what she had expected, but only on a small(ish) scale.

"My Mistress is not lying." Claudia came to support Charlie, something that made Charlie breathe once more. "Besides, the bargain that allowed us to visit Earth was made to grant Miss Mayberry and a few others access to the mortal plane. If we were to move too many people, then Heaven would get involved."

Vaggie nodded quickly at that. "We don't want that to happen. It would mean war at worst, and that is not our intention."

"Other than what it would mean to everyone here, I'd prefer if Heaven began to reconsider things and act differently." Emily spoke up, her face expressing turmoil if nothing else. "The image I had of Heaven has been tarnished, but I still have hopes."

"Besides." Gina decided to enter the conversation too. "It'd be very bad for Hell if we did that."

A welcome distraction, for Charlie that is. Because everyone quickly turned their attention to Gina.

Charlie had never seen a Succubus want to disappear more when a crowd focused on her. In fact Charlie had NEVER seen that happen. By nature Succubi crave attention, but again, there are outliers.

"Can you elaborate?"

Libby was the one to ask this, looking at Gina with something more than just critical eyes. It was obvious that Gina particularly was a sore spot for the black woman. Why? Charlie didn't know, and clearly the woman wasn't going to share.

"Well, for one? That could spell the death of my species." Gina began with as much calm as she could muster, which wasn't much at all. "First let me introduce myself properly: My name is Gina, Gina Silvercrest, though my last name is… self made, to be honest." Gina blushed at the thought. She knew humans, the internet, and what many would say about her. "That is not important though! What you need to know is that I am a Succubus; a pleasure demon from Lust. I was a street performer, a bit of an artist, until Asmodeus hired me as a designer thanks to my costumes and other creations. Now my contract has been handed to Princess Charlie, so I work for her and will be taking care of her wardrobe, designs and more."

"Now, why do I say that it would be bad for Hell to basically invade Earth?" Gina hummed, this was more her speed. Not so much talking to the public and all that, Charlie knew the Succubus wanted OUT of that one. But what you could boil down to basic roleplaying and thinking scenarios? Gina could do that, happily even. "Well, you thought it was weird for Claudia to drink water, right? I can do the same, not so strange. But, unlike Claudia, I would die of thirst if I drank as humans do, or die of hunger even if I ate normal food. I need something else."

It surprised no one when Scarlett was the one to speak her piece. "Sex, of course. You are a sex demon, you said so yourself."

"Not sex. Lust. Though, yeah, they usually go hand in hand." Gina corrected, but she didn't seem as offended by Scarlett's… well, everything. At least not as much as Claudia. "Succubi and Incubi need LUST to survive. We can feed on other demons' lust, or Sinners, but to keep us alive, properly I mean, we need human Lust. It is what our kind was meant to consume. A portion of Lust harvested by any and all Succubi is shared with those that cannot procure it themselves to keep us all alive." And instead of being put off, this seemed to make it easier for her to go on. "But it is important to state that the act cannot be forced either. While, yeah, Succubi and Incubi can inflame desires, they cannot force their own desires on humans, despite what myth may tell you. If the Lust is forced, unwanted, it is more akin to poison to us, not even a drug. Feed a Succubus a good dose of forced Lust and you are killing here then and there."

Libby had turned into a more pensive, not just offended or angry, position. "So if Hell were to invade Earth…"

"Humans have never coped well when unhappy. And they rebel easily. You may think that sex with Succubi that are way hotter than me, or Incubi, would be a dream… but even that, if forced, would just be deadly to us." Gina shook her head quickly after explaining that. "And we aren't the only ones. Many demons need humans alive to keep themselves going, even if they don't know it. I had to learn a lot of old lore and tales as a performer. 'Conquering the mortal world' is something only an idiot would want. We want humans to stay strong, because if they weaken, we grow weaker with them."

Mr. Maneas seemed to nod, a very pensive frown and expression on her face. "That is illuminating indeed." He cleared his throat for a moment, then asked. "Anything else you'd like to share about your species?"

"Well, other than we can fly?" Gina showed her small, black wings. "I know without magic these wings wouldn't do a thing, but with magic they work perfectly well." She let out a chuckle. "Also? Technically speaking we are poisonous. Our tails are another erogenous zone, and it has an hormonal injector to induce a sex craze. It is generally used on lovers only, and with care. Too much can kill humans and demons alike." This seemed to make Scarlett's eyes go wide, while others looked at Gina with new eyes, or just fear. "Oh, yeah! Succubi and Incubi generally refer just to 'Succubi' for the species. This is mostly because lust demons are, mostly, female."

Mike was the one to ask, more intrigued than anything else. "Why is that?"

"Because male humans have been the ones usually in charge and with the right resources to keep a visiting Succubus safe and well fed." Gina shrugged. This was, admittedly, boring and common knowledge. Even Charlie knew it. "Simple natural selection. Our species evolved to attract men above all else, with the male side doing the same for women. We also don't reproduce as much as you'd think. I'd say there is a one to one equivalent with humans. If I knew more about my own species', well, everything, I could tell you, but I am not that kind of nerd."

"I am." Claudia was seemingly proud to say. "And you are correct: Through most of Hell's history the Succubi population has rarely exceeded that of humans. In fact it is usually correlated to humans."

"Hmm…. I see, then let me check." Mike started flipping through a few pages. "We have answered the question, or well, request for everyone to have a proper introduction, even if we derailed it. We have also been shown Hell, and the fact that, yes, there is magic, so that is two more. Heaven, of course, exists, and apparently it *IS* killing souls, so that is two more."

That last one made Emily wince. Charlie had the desire to go there and hug her, but she remained in place after Vaggie sent her a look. It wouldn't be good PR to have an emotional moment now. It would also most likely not help Emily either, even if Charlie wanted to believe it would.

"We got a lot of questions answered about Imps, some about Succubi, though some of these we are NOT going to ask." Mike looked disgusted for a second. "Whoever was in charge of these questions needs a reprimand."

"Hey!" Scarlett seemed miffed, telling just about everyone who had made the list.

"Not surprised there." Mike drawled, almost disgusted. Libby was far less subtle about it, not bothering to hide from the camera. "We also got hints about human souls, or Sinners, a few things about that rehabilitation program of yours, some things that had to do with Miss Mayberry and a few other miscellaneous things…" Mike let out a tired sigh. "I'll admit, this has been a shitshow. I shouldn't say it that way, but it has been. We all came unprepared and with nerves frayed." He let out another hum. "Mr. Maneas, would you like to ask some of those questions yourself? At least let's have some of the pertinent points voiced."

"Of course." Mr. Maneas nodded, putting his hands together as he faced Emily first. "We'll have some of the minor questions after the fact, but I have a few that those of the faith have been asking. As a Christian myself, I'd like to know the answer to those questions too." The old man brought forth a small list. "First: Evolution. Is it real?"

Emily pursed the side of her lips a bit. "Yes and no."

This clearly didn't satisfy anyone. So Maneas urged her. "Can you explain further?"

"God designed the final product, like humans." Emily went and did as asked, though she was careful when wording it. "But that was in the Garden of Eden. Earth is a different place. God had the final product and allowed things to develop 'naturally', but He did give nudges so this world would be similar to Eden, if with a few differences. In the case of humans? Their previous, uh, 'models', did exist and grow normally, and God pushed things a bit faster when He left Adam and Even on Earth after their expulsion from Eden." Charlie could swear she heard Emily say under her breath. "Please don't make me tell you that caucasian was the only human design planned. I know how overly sensitive humans are nowadays and this is going to make a lot of people explode." That alone made Charlie sweat bullets.

Luckily for the both of them, Maneas seemed to find what was shared to be enough. So, avoiding that minefield, Mr Maneas asked the next question.

"Second: Heaven." Emily twitched at this. Maneas either didn't notice or he opted to ignore it in favor of the question. "It is said to be perfect. But if it is perfect, why is it sending angels to destroy human souls in Hell? What is the real purpose?"

The young Seraphim frowned for a second. "I was told, after I found out, that this was done because Hell had a chance to mount another rebellion against Heaven." And the words did not wipe that frown from her face. In fact the answer only made the frown deepen. "That in itself is absurd. Demons, at best, come to Earth to corrupt humans."

"And out of necessity." Gina reminded the group quickly.

"And out of necessity." And while Emily didn't exactly like it, she would admit that Gina had a point there. "Though in some cases it is for business, pleasure, or because someone is psychotic." That small list? She didn't agree AT ALL with. But again, relatively normal. "It has been like that for a long time, as long as humanity has existed, really. Angels, supposedly, hadn't been interfering for a while, instead leaving mortals to make choices for themselves. However, that, too, seems to have been a lie I was fed."

"That does answer another question, meaning 'Does Hell have any influence on Earth'." Maneas pointed out as he crossed something on the paper he held. "But not the main question."

"Again: Rebellion, supposedly." Emily huffed. "I also heard from Charlie that, originally, this was painted as a way to curb the overpopulation problem."

Libby seemed to perk at that. "Overpopulation?" Clearly the woman had been crunching numbers in her mind. "If one Ring, Wrath, could 'supposedly' hold up to half a damn trillion Imps or more. Then just how many human souls are there?"

"Unknown." Claudia was the one to answer. "It is simply impossible to count them. Hellborn, all of us, have an expiration date. Imps can live for a thousand years on average, probably a few thousand under the best conditions. But with all the violence and accidents? A hundred, like a human, is already a miracle."

"Succubi can live longer on average, but Lust demons aren't exactly exempt from Hell's regularly scheduled brutality." Gina shrugged, clearly as comfortable with this topic as Claudia was, much to the humans' clear dismay. "We all can die. Sinners? Not due to age, no."

"Sinners can only be killed with angelic weapons." Vaggie used this moment to intercede, summoning her own spear. The witheish angel steel somehow humming and shining unnaturally in the human world. Charlie felt a pang of nervousness before Vaggie sent it back. "Angelic steel, like that of my spear, is one of the few things that can disrupt a Sinner's form, or even damage the most powerful demons of Hell. It could even kill Goetic demons, former angels."

Sarah was the one to chip in and give her two cents. "But Sinners cannot die otherwise." Though the woman didn't sound happy to do so. "We can be used, abused, killed, eaten alive, ripped apart, overdose willingly or against our will and more. It doesn't matter." Mayberry shuddered, clearly remembering past events in Hell. "Your body recovers. At worst? Your soul forms a new one from nothing. The more you have to reform, the more it hurts. The pain is constant sometimes. If you don't have food? If you don't have water? Then that is literally what happens." She hugged herself in place, Emily inching closer to give the woman support. "Hell is not made to be happy as it is. And Sinners cannot go anywhere but the first ring, Pride, as Charlie told you. So all the misery goes there and it is a common sight."

"To make it bearable there are many societies in Pride. You can even find humans that have taken root since the beginning of your species." Charlie was the last one to add to this conversation. She was not about to admit to the human world that she, the Princess of Hell, knew so little about her own people. But Sinners? That was her expertise. "Many end there because they did horrible things, yes. But a lot of people end in Hell because…" She didn't want to say it, so Emily took the chance.

"Heaven doesn't know WHY or HOW a soul gets to Heaven." She spoke with finality and a hardened expression. "Sarah made a mistake, yes, but she should've been given a chance to atone. Instead she was sent to Hell."

"And the real monsters in Hell take advantage of people like Sarah." Charlie got some of that fire she always had inside to finally show up. "It is true that Pride is overpopulated. Tens, if not hundreds of thousands of years of human souls. They have their own societies there, big and small. Human souls, unlike demons, can gain a lot of power as I told you. One way to do this is by making Deals, signing Contracts, creating Pacts and so on. They take the power of other souls, of other people. Those souls, those Sinners, that make said Deals and control others? They become Overlords. Some of them are good, some are bad… But it is because of that, because of that power, that Sinners cannot go to other Rings. This is one rule that changed from when Hell was young." She hated that part, because saying the truth hurt. "Because now, if a powerful Sinner went to any Ring? Then ignore the numbers. Wrath would be the first Ring to be severely damaged by the most powerful Overlords hoping to control it, to control Hell… So, in a way, I understand why Heaven is nervous."

Maneas looked pensive for a moment, clearly wanting an answer, as well as to say a few things, but it took him a moment to decide. "So you are saying Heaven is not completely out of line with this?"

"I still believe everyone can be better, even after having lived two hundred years in Hell." Charlie was resolute in her own answer however, needing just a second to deliver. "But I also know that some people will never *want* to be better, to become better. I also know a lot may decide to remain in Hell even AFTER becoming better peopl. Heaven is… is not perfect. I thought for the longest time that it was, but they rejected me when I went to tell them about redemption, about my hotel, my idea to help people." And while this was saddening, Charlie did not falter. "But many people in Hell have those dear to them in Heaven. Many Winners have families that became Sinners for just the smallest thing. All of those people that may want to reconnect, that may want to at least better themselves, instead dying a second, permanent death, without a chance to atone or see their loved ones again." Charlie was becoming incensed, and it showed as the tip of her horns showed, her fangs and eyes changing to fit her darker side as her hair untangled for a moment. Then, as if a switch was flipped, she calmed down. Or better say, she forced herself to. "The punishment doesn't fit the crime in many cases, and Hell is built in a way in which real unrepentant people will always benefit. I cannot accept that."

"So, to resume." Maneas took a more neutral stance as he tried to summarize. "Hell is full of dangerous people, the scum of the Earth in some cases. But there are also many good souls down there." While most of those present nodded, even Jack and his friends seemed to do so too, mostly because of their connection to Sarah, the ones within the call were more skeptical. Maneas kept on with her summary despite any possible doubts. "And you say that Heaven doesn't know how the souls are filtered?"

"If they know, I haven't been told." Emily frowned. "I asked my sister, Serah. Or Seraphiel, if you wish to look at some of the human myths about her." The frown seemed to deepen. "I never understood why humans called her 'Angel of Silence', but considering how she managed to keep this hidden for so long…"

"I admit that such secret keeping from someone that serves God to another servant of the almighty is… worrying, if nothing else." Mr Maneas' own frown covered his features. "I see no reason for an angel to keep such a thing in the dark if telling her own flesh and blood was the right thing to do. I can only think of it as a reason to create friction between the two of you."

Libby didn't seem happy either as she spoke. "To keep your personnel happy and working a leader must make hard decisions. But this kind of act, if any of this is indeed true and not something else…" Also, just as clearly as before, she wanted to remain skeptical. It would likely take something like bringing her to Hell, or Heaven, in person for that nut to crack. Those kinds of people were the ones Charlie thought to be the more difficult, perhaps dangerous, to the plan. "But if indeed it IS true? Then it would be no exaggeration to say this kind of reveal would mean a revolution of some kind. And if kept hidden for who knows how long? Then revolution may be too kind."

"Well, not revolution." Emily ventured, fidgeting at the idea. "But a lot of people are very unhappy. I have 'friends' in Heaven, or, well, more like many Winners I talk to regularly, that help me and I help them. Even a few heavenborn, pure angels. But no real 'friends', you know? Few really try to be friends with a Seraphim, much less an Archangel." That rambling, Charlie thought, was very much familiar. Then again, this topic had clearly hit Emily in a bad way. "Point is: No one is about to go and start a fight. But protests and a lot of anger? That was beginning to spread when I left to talk with Charlie about this plan."

"Yes, the plan." Maneas crossed a few more things from his list. "Redemption."

Mike was the one to press. "Redeeming Sinners in Hell. But you brought Miss Mayberry back from the dead, in a sense."

"Awesome thing, by the way." Scarlett pointed out as everyone else looked at her funny. "What? She may not be THAT heavily modified, but the change is incredible."

Vaggie frowned at that comment. "The changes have to do with your death, among other things. It can take many forms."

Vaggie rubbed her abdomen at the thought. That pain hadn't been the worst, not the one he inflicted on her, no. Charlie knew, for she had asked yesterday, just as they were sharing, how she had felt. It was something Charlie knew Vaggie needed to share.

It was something that brought her a lot of grief, pain and tears, but something that had to be let out.

And the description? Knives. Pins and needles. And not just 'a cut' or 'slight discomfort', but more like flesh being torn and needles driving themselves like a hot knife through butter as they melted through her muscles, organs and even bones. It had been a few seconds of internal bleeding as her malnourished, heavily alcohol poisoned and underdeveloped body finally gave up.

A horrible memory.

And one that she wanted no one else to see. Vaggie had shared it with her and that was what mattered. After that Charlie's girlfriend went away for a smoke, something Charlie knew Vaggie was trying to curb, but sometimes a little bit of poison is the better medicine.

"Sinners like me." Sarah looked at her hands, her voice breaking Charlie's focus away from her thoughts. "We look as we do, partly because of how we died. We all tend to have 'Death Marks', the point where our soul escapes the body. The wound that killed us."

Sarah lifted her head to show hers. A ugly X, distorted and burnt. Unlike what movies portray, a good way to end oneself was not putting a gun in your mouth.

It was putting it right under your lower jaw, next to the throat. Aim up, make sure the thing is going to go through as much grey matter as it can, and then.

Click.

Charlie shuddered at the dark thoughts that crossed her mind. She was thankful when Sarah lowered her head.

"But other parts of our new bodies take form depending on our actions and desires." Sarah motioned to herself. Or, more specifically, her skin. "A Succubus like complexion. Purples, pinks and the like, that is a trait primarily held by Lust. Those that knew me were aware that sex, excess and the like weren't my thing. But I wanted them." Sarah's admission caught no one by surprise, not after hearing WHY she wanted what she wanted. "I wanted to have a family, I wanted closeness with my husband. I got neither. He cheated on me, he wasted our money and he barely cared for Jack." The frown in her face was growing as her hair began to unravel. Charlie thought this could get out of hand, but, much like Charlie had done, Sarah forced her temper to simmer. "I would've done anything, pleased him in any way… but he threw it all away."

"Now I have this." Sarah lifted her tail and legs both, uncaring if she flashed someone as she changed positions to land her lower body almost completely on the table, almost throwing shit around. "The legs of a damn animal, the tail of a demon, the horns of the damned, eyes of brimstone, a temper that doesn't want to go away, so much baggage I could stop a train with it and a couple addictions I got into while in Hell because life there is SHIT." Sarah returned to a more normal position, but now everyone looked her way. Jack and his friends, Charlie and her group, everyone in the chat… "I hate it. I hate what I became, in every way of the word."

Mike was the one to open his mouth. A couple times at that. He didn't seem to find the words, at least until he asked the question. "Then why didn't you answer the Princess' call? I doubt she didn't make her plans public. The hotel for redemption, I mean."

"Oh, she did, many times." Sarah chuckled, making Charlie pout. "Sorry dear, but you know what I told you."

"Yeah… that almost everyone thought it was a sham or a trap." Charlie groaned. "Not like I have the best track record."

This made those in the call eye Charlie with doubt. "In telling the truth or…?" And of course, it was Libby the one to doubt.

"Bringing results." Charlie admitted, even if it hurt her. "And, let me be honest with all of you, I know most people in Hell know I could kill them like nothing. I AM the child of Lilith and Lucifer. I know I am strong. I just HATE to use that strength." She let out a tired sigh. "When I was younger I hurt a lot of people. As a kid I was… nicer, I suppose. I remember me being, well, a child. But as I said yesterday, I was estranged from my father for the longest time… Early in my life that meant a lot of anger." Charlie let out a little snort. "I had so much edge I could probably cut creation with it." But that mirth died quickly. "I hate how I was… but that is what most remember. That, and how I have failed at almost everything I have tried. Worse: Now everyone sees me as a kindhearted, weak idiot they can make fun of."

Mr. Maneas returned to that grandfatherly look of his. "I see. So you too, like many others, wanted to atone? And t hat makes Sinners, and demons, see you as weak?"

"I made mistakes. I cared for little beyond myself. Now few take me seriously." Charlie admitted with a nod. "I then tried to make up for it all. I just got hurt along the way. Even with my power and all I could do, no one respects me." She sent Vaggie a look of mixed feelings. Hurt and love. They had talked about it, reconciled, but lies still sting. Vaggie nodded in understanding. "Even Vaggie, someone I spent three years with, that shared everything with, didn't tell me all she was until recently, after she had no choice."

The room was silent as they waited for her to go on. Even those in the stream seemed to cease their actions for a moment. "That doesn't mean I have given up, or that I cannot forgive." And Charlie delivered by holding Vaggie's hand, giving her a reassuring squeeze. A wound could open, yes, but it also can close and heal. "I know why Vaggie did what she did, even if she was wrong, and she admits to her fault, as I do mine. I know why people don't trust me, or think I can succeed, considering my own father failed and Heaven never seemed to give him, or me, a chance."

As she spoke, with her soul burning, Charlie faced Maneas with a glare intense enough to make the old man smirk. He clearly noticed that the woman in front of him wasn't going to give up unless someone beat her to a pulp.

Even then they may not stop her. Charlie at least felt exactly as Mr Maneas saw her.

"But now I have people that joined my hotel. People that either want to get better, or at least support me one way or another. I have friends, found family. I have people that HAVE become better, either a little or a lot." Charlie indeed felt the burn and excitement of it all. Because she knew this could work and, with nothing really negative having happened, she could consider her first step a solid one. "I will not close my Hazbin Hotel. We will work here, with Sarah, to show that redemption WILL work. That all you need is to be earnest and sincere. There are more people for all of you to meet, things to share. But the most important? The most important thing I wish to share is this: Hell can become better. Hell will be better. And if Hell can do that, so can all of you."

This particular point was very important, and Charlie wanted to stress it. "I will give my life to help those that need it. But now that you know that the afterlife exists? Now that the world will slowly, but surely, be aware of it? I want all of you to think very carefully about who you want to be. I will force no one, I will threaten no one, but I wish for all of you to know that, if you really don't want to change, it won't matter how much I try to help." And it hurt to admit this. Charlie wanted everyone to be happy. Perhaps, in a way, this was what her grandfather felt. What God felt. But unlike Him, or perhaps far too much like Him if Charlie gave Him the benefit of the doubt, she had been around those that suffered long enough to at least understand. "So please. All I want is for you to spread the word and, well, try to be better people?"

Libby, as was usual for the woman, seemed unconvinced. "So you are telling me you are doing this for no personal gain?"

"Not at all. I have a selfish desire to help, I will admit that." Charlie was many things, but she knew that innocent was not one of them. Not fully at least. "That, and I wish for the yearly Exterminations to end. I don't want Heaven to visit Hell anymore, not like that. Or worse: For them to do as they say and make more frequent visits."

This made Libby double down. The woman didn't ignore the mention of Heaven attacking souls more often, but she seemed determined to push against Charlie. "So you admit that this IS for personal gain, even if it is altruistic in a way."

"I am not a saint. I doubt I could be and I won't try." Despite this, Charlie found herself chuckling at the thought. "But selfish or not, I cannot let this go on. My mother has been… missing… for a while, but she was the one to teach me how humans are. How they are limitless in their potential, be it for good, or evil." Charlie squeezed Vaggie's hand again, and her girlfriend sent her a small smile of support in return. "I will keep my positive thinking and hope for most, if not all, of you to be good. I could do nothing and allow more and more Exterminations, but that would kill me inside."

Pursing her lips, Libby asked the obvious. "Why pick Mayberry for this?"

"Jack." Emily answered for everyone, making Charlie, and everyone else, look at her. "There are many that go to Hell for small offenses, but most get lost quickly in their own anger and their simple Sins become bigger. Anger at their situation, at Heaven, everything… They even lose hope to ever see their loved ones. I admit I found Sarah's information by chance, perhaps by mistake, but I saw the things she still had, the hopes, her actions in life." Emily offered Sarah a smile that seemed to warm the poor woman's heart. "I knew she would work for redemption, more so if she had the one ray of sunshine back in her life." Emily looked back at the people in the call. "And if redemption is shown to work? Not only will Extermination day be gone, but other people will come to the Hotel, more people will work to become better and see their loved ones again. Death, an ultimate death, won't be the only thing to look forward to."

"She is also, and I am sorry to phrase it like this, much fresher than those that came to me first." Charlie interjected. "Other than those helping me, both of my friends, and residents at the hotel, have been in Hell for around a century or more. Sarah's acts are fresh in her mind, and her addictions or problems don't have such deep roots." It felt wrong to say, and Sarah looked embarrassed, but it was the truth. "The next Extermination, and the only chance we were given, is set for the new year. I am ashamed to say it as it is, but the time limit I was given might be too much to help people with far deeper and more complex problems than Sarah."

Mike Poolside took a second to intervene. "So you truly believe in this?" He asked with a hint of surprise. "That you can help someone redeem themselves and give those in Hell another chance?"

"I do." Charlie spoke with firmness and decision. "I believe everyone can be better, that I can help them. But even if I can, most will not care, not when punishment from Heaven is a constant fear."

"Don't you think that is being far too positive for someone like you?" Scarlett chimed into the conversation with a raised eyebrow. "Position and power aside, you did say that your father, and Heaven itself, did not do anything with redemption… And from what Lucifer mentioned before, Purgatory isn't around anymore."

Emily bit her lip before explaining. "I don't know what happened to Purgatory. All records of the place just… stopped many millennia ago. My best guess? No one took care of the place after more and more souls just piled in."

"It is possible." Claudia added in her two cents. "Records when it came to the influx of human souls are detailed, even if most Sinners want to hide from the administration. Numbers are all over the place, yes, but we HAVE to keep tabs on them." The Imp made sure this was clear. And considering what everyone had shared about Sinners, Charlie knew the humans in the conversation would understand why. "At one point in time, back when humanity was not as densely populated as it is today, it was a lot easier, even if the administration was slopier. Still, there was a huge influx of millions upon millions of souls at one point, a true unknown that may now have an explanation."

"So what?" Libby asked, either confused or offended at the mere thought. "You mean to tell us that what most would call 'limbo', or the place in between Hell and Earth, just… stopped existing?"

"I mean to tell you that we don't know." Emily frowned at the clear accusing tone. "My sister would, but she is telling me nothing. And I am not going back to Heaven so they can find an excuse to keep me from coming back."

Mr. Manewas frowned at this too. "Would they do such a thing?"

"I'd like to say I trust them, but I don't, not anymore." Emily admitted with clear shame and regret in her voice. She hated to think this way, but she had been made to. "They may do so, thinking it is for my own good, but I want to help." Emily hardened her voice here. "Even if it costs me."

"I see. That is commendable, Emily." Mr. Maneas took a deep breath before announcing. "But with this said, and a good deal of regret in my part. I think we are done with the heavy questions."

Scarlett, Libby and Mike all turned to face their boss, with Mike being prompted to ask. "Boss? Sir, we still have an extensive list, and more people are sending superchats and-."

"And we have also been extremely invasive and combative. Though I doubt anyone would really fault us for the skepticism and ample doses of both doubt and fear. This is not to say we forget all other questions sent to us." The old gentleman pointed out. "All I do ask is for you to note all these questions we are receiving, we may have been too harsh on our end. That, and I think we need a more orderly way of going about it." Maneas spoke calmly, but he also allowed no rebuttals. "I think we can take it at a slower pace. Most of the questions we had left were about Lucifer, Lilith, the first humans, personal questions for everyone… I presume to say nerves are frayed on both sides now. So how about we take it slower and ask simpler things?"

Charlie let out a sigh of relief. This had, in so many ways, gone far better than she had expected. So sure, why not?

"Of course! We can share, well, almost anything." And Charlie said 'almost' because there were many things they probably didn't know, or could be sensitive. "So if it helps people understand and bring more awareness, you can ask."

Besides, this way they all could get used to this for the next day. Hopefully after a few days to recover or-.

"Perfect." Mr Maneas nodded with a smile. "Then we can go a few rounds this way, ask about general things about Hell, leaving Heaven for another day. That way we learn some necessary things, prepare everyone and tomorrow we can bring the heavy hitters again. After all, people are going to come flocking and we can't stop at just today's meeting."

Or not. Charlie groaned internally, but she was also ecstatic. This had been far more positive than she expected. Hard in some ways, but just bringing awareness of Hell, Heaven and their situation was going to be an ordeal on itself.

So Charlie knocked on wood, literally in this case. With some luck things would only improve and no nasty surprises were in store.

Though perhaps this was going to be draining enough for Vaggie to forget about approaching Lucien today? Well, perhaps. Charlie could see Vaggie looking his way a few times. Part of her thought she was looking for a distraction, and another side of Charlie was acutely aware that Vaggie knew just how precarious this all was. If she wanted to give this a try, if she wanted to fully discover all she was, she would likely need to pounce as soon as she could and with utmost care.

Charlie turned to face the screen in front of her again, paying attention to the first, simple, question coming her way.

Whatever happened, she just hoped everyone present was going to be careful. Much as she wanted to believe nothing was going to happen, Charlie was sure someone was going to try and screw them over, or something would try and hurt them.

Again, that pessimism made a comeback. But this time? It wasn't just pessimism. It was her luck and just how many problems tried to seek her out.

Charlie didn't care in this instance. This was going to work, no matter who it bothered or angered. She knew it would.

* Hell - Von Eldritch Residence *

"Are you sure about this, Helsa?"

A mess of cables and digitized technology had infiltrated the noble house of the Von Eldritch. The blue infection like wires and solid light had made its way through the vents, taking care to unmake anything that went the wrong way. Magic only touched the strange, cutting edge technology on the surface, helping mask its signature, and ensuring this was a short lived foray.

The invader knew the risks, but he also was acutely aware of a tone shift in his current target and focus. Things had changed somehow and knowledge was not sparse, no… it was nonexistent! Only the sighting of a new angel in Hell, one that stayed for a very short time, was forthcoming.

And that wasn't saying much.

But this… This had been a stroke of luck and a hint to follow. Something or someone had thought it prudent to tell him, so he was going to risk it if it brought him closer to his goal.

"Indeed, dad. I am still watching it on my phone as we speak."

The first voice the sensors caught was that of Frederick Von Eldritch, the patriarch of the family. The second? His daughter, Helsa. The technology couldn't get closer, much less to a vantage point where it could form a camera of some kind. 'Hearing' was all it could do now.

"I caught wind of an angel in Hell, and not a fallen one." Helsa spoke again after a pause. "I was surprised to hear Charlie had been with her, that Lucifer had been out and about."

"And now you say she has gone to the living world?" Frederick asked his daughter.

"Twice now, at least. Once with her father. Again, they may have done more." Helsa confirmed. "Apparently they have enlisted the aid of a human that is helping make Hell public knowledge, as well as her damn plan of redemption."

"Hah!"

That last voice's owner was Seviathan, the heir of the Von Eldritch family, and a massive piece of work. Whether it was his nature or the corruption brought by his station, money and power, it was unknown, but Seviathan had fame for being a playboy, a suave man with great charm… and a manipulator that hurt anyone he pleased without rhyme or reason.

A chaotic being befitting the description of an eldritch, incomprehensible, being.

"Seviathan, shut up." And, as many knew, he was at odds with his father. The harshness of Frederick was enough to make it clear. "Or are you really willing to go against Lucifer, in person, just to antagonize your EX fiancee?"

"And why not?" Seviathan spoke with clear contempt. "Look, Charlie is a fun gal and all, but come on dad! She is a weak willed, soft hearted idiot. We may have grown togetherl, sure, and her dad IS Lucifer, but she went from being a naive child to an edgy teen, then a naive adult. You really couldn't expect ME to support that bullshit."

"I expected you to be more tactful. To perhaps learn to love… or let her down gently." Frederick's voice was usually suave, masculine and with a contralto hint to it. Now it was reverberating, cold and very much full of hate. "Not to abuse her, almost break her and nearly get us all killed. You may not appreciate Lucifer, but he IS a friend and he helped us greatly. What you did nearly made ALL of Hell, us included, a wasteland."

"Pfff." Seviathan clearly didn't seem to care. "And what could that old coot do to us? We are Outsiders, dad, we-."

A rough crunching noise, and the echo of something crashing against a wall, nearly made the technology spying on the house retreat. The structure, otherwordly and magical, nearly came down after whatever disaster struck it.

"You seem to be quite capable of growing your ego, not your brain, son." Frederick was beyond cold now, almost sounding disgusted. "Still trying to get those barriers down? Thinking you can bring the Outsiders here and be lauded as a hero?"

"Of course I can!" Another crash, this time softer, but still powerful, was felt through the house. "And you should help me, dad!"

"I am not going to let the more powerful Outsiders through, you dimwit!" Frederick's voice returned to normal, but it was no less irate. "Do you know what would happen!? We would be made slaves, Sev! We are little more than scouts for the Outsiders. To them, to the proper monsters out there, we are disposable! Shit, you and Helsa are even LESS than disposable. You two were born here. You are *food* at best." The growl on the man's voice grew. "Why do you think all Eldritch entities but the few more fanatical aren't trying to do 'their job'? Why do you think our population has grown in Hell instead of clashing against its forces? Because most of us aren't stupid enough to try and bring our own killers here!"

There was a moment of silence as gulps could be heard and fear rattled the technological network. The one watching could only wonder just how powerful a 'proper' Outsider was, or what they could do.

Said watcher usually didn't favor anyone but himself. But right now he'd back Frederick any day of the week.

Anything to stay alive. He still had a lot of shit to do, a lot of stuff to get and power to gain.

"Dear. Your father is right."

That was the last member of the family: Bethesda Von Eldritch, the matriarch.

"You too, mom?" Seviathan growled under his breath. "You cannot be serious."

"Dear, I am the brains here." Bethesda chuckled, tittering as the sensors caught her husband embracing the woman. "At least when your father decides to just be the muscle when someone tests his patience. So let me tell you that, with all our years living here, we much prefer this freedom than what our greater kin would force us to do."

"I cannot believ-!" The voice of Seviathan caught for a second. "We have a duty to bring our kind into this realm, mother."

"And that duty is the only reason we aren't going to stop you. Or kill you." The voice of Frederick was once more cold, but mostly filled with resignation. "We were made for that purpose. All the Eldritch creatures here were made with one task and one task only: Bring down the walls that impede them. All else is inconsequential. If you want to go ahead? Then go ahead, you nimrod. We won't stop you, we CAN'T… but we won't help you."

"... Fine." Seviathan hissed through his fangs in a way that made his voice sound distorted. "Helsa, you coming?"

"Are you actively retarded?" Helsa's voice was full of mockery. "You think I'd trade my comfortable living for a chance at being some big shot against a much likely chance of being a fucking slave or FOOD for some elder being?!" The younger heiress to the Von Eldritch house tittered. "Go fuck yourself, Sev."

"..." Stomping could be heard as Seviathan walked away, fumming. "You all can be cowards all you want. Me? I am going to do what was expected of me and get rewarded for it. If I feel like it I may even let all of you take part in my ascension. BYE!"

A loud slam was heard, followed by the sound of wood being splintered.

"That fucking child." Frederick grumbled a few moments after Seviathan left. "He inherited far too many of my bad traits."

"You don't have bad traits, my love." Bethesda purred against her lover's ear. "Just unrefined ones, way back when. Seviathan will come to his senses… Or he'll die." And while pain clearly painted Bethesda's words, she had accepted this as truth. "What about you, Helsa?"

"I am not fucking helping that idiot, so I am with you on this, mom." Helsa huffed. "I just don't like Charlie being this stupid."

"You know you could've kept being friends with her." Frederick pointed out. "That your brother didn't like Charlie as we hoped he did, for some stupid reason, didn't mean you couldn't keep a good relationship with a childhood friend."

"Yeah, well, it didn't suit my needs. And I sure as fuck didn't do it to be on Sev's good graces." Helsa huffed, likely waving away her parents' concern. Both Charlie and her brother could go fuck themselves, depending on Helsa's own needs. "Charlie wanted to be a goody two shoes after getting out of her darker phase. Me? I care about MYSELF and my image, thank you very much. And Sev? Sev has gone and spent too much time with that Cthulhu cult. Like that asshole would give a shit about a fucking Hellbreed." Helsa made a short pause. Something on her phone clearly caught her attention. "Though I may be interested in something topside. So I may get to… reconnect."

"Will you antagonize Charlie, dear?" Bethesda spoke softly, yes, but the one watching knew this was a warning. "We'd prefer if you, well, we know you will likely not mend the relationship. We'd prefer it if you did, but if you don't, just don't make it worse."

"Promising nothing on my end." Helsa broke no compromise. "But we'll see. Speaking of which. Do you want me to keep an eye on this, just in case?"

"If you would." Her father asked, though it was more like a non direct order. "Just be careful. Strong or not, even we may fall to humanity if something happens. I would prefer that, if the worst outcome took place, you took care of yourself, dear."

"Like you need to tell me twice." Helsa huffed, but she soon spoke with a much softer voice. "Thanks, dad."

"You can be an utter bitch." Frederick chuckled, and this was no insult, not between them. "But you are my daughter, just as that damn retard is my son. Make sure to stay safe and hightail it if things become hairy. Lucifer would understand if he was in my shoes."

"I will." The sensors picked the remaining family members sharing a quick hug, a rarity when they were in public. "I'll take a bit to get prepared. I am not going to the mortal world without a proper way out and a plan."

Bethesda let out a gentle hum as the embrace broke. "Take what you need, honey. Just remember the golden rule."

Helsa chuckled as the technology and the one watching began to recede. "Help those that benefit us. Screw those that hinder you."

The last thing the one spying heard was Frederick praising his daughter. "Good girl! Now get ready to mess shit up. And bring souvenirs!"

* Fun Facts and Notes *

'The Glowing One' is designed after one of the seven species of robots in one of my original works. Being specific, 'Glowing Ones' are those that work with an artificial mixture similar to nuclear power (Nobles/Military commanders and leaders in high positions), only stronger within this universe. Their 'children' are floating spheres before they grow up to have a humanoid chassis. The other two designs, that of 'The Glowing One's' brother and sister, represent a robot powered by electricity (Low nobles/Merchant and researching caste) and a steam powered bot (Multipurpose workers) respectively. The other four designs? Solar powered (Lowest caste workers/Maintenance, menial jobs) and Fuel based come first (Mid caste, mostly warriors), with two more that are much rarer. I'll just say that the ones near the top are powered by plasma (Generally rulers and leaders), basically small suns… while the ones on top have an even more powerful power source (secret :3).

I'll also say that I wanted to give Alastor more souls to play with, and thought that something technological would fit the bill for him to fuck with a certain TV headed Sinner. That, and it would come in handy in the future, so I used designs I already had around. That, and I wanted someone to be nice to Alastor because he can be an asshole, but as we saw with Nifty, he can also be nice… somewhat.

Anyway, I thought it was time to have Charlie and Vaggie reconnect a bit, even if things still sting somewhat. Also fitting for things to move forward with at least Claudia, with Gina having her own time later, and Vaggie clearly wanting to leave behind some of her past and heal. I won't spoil things here, but I made some things clear in AO3, well, the comments anyway, since I have been playing how this story will grow in my head. That will likely not change now since it has solidified, but implementing it may go in various ways since putting it on paper seems to go whichever way it wants.

I mean, the stream was supposed to be more orderly when I envisioned it. Guess what didn't happen?

Not only that: I wanted to add a ton more. I wished to make the stream indeed long, more detailed and in depth, with so many questions and interactions… But this chapter, if I was to push it all in one single upload, would be around 45 to 46 THOUSAND words long.

I may have gone overboard, but fuck it. Still, I had to fucking force myself to stop.

I hope the little 'reveal' about Uther came as a bit of a surprise if nothing else, though those that like to question shit in books may have noticed that there was no fucking way a rando news reporter would've known about Vagatha just because. He was, and technically still is, friends with Vaggie's dad, and he'll at least be there when they meet again.

Similarly, I hope Tobias' section was entertaining. Cambions and Nephilim alike are likely things in a world with Heaven and Hell, even if their parents have to go to extreme lengths for them to be safe [Which translates to them NOT being Cambions, or Nephilim… for now, so when I crafted the story I thought it was only fair for them to have a role in how things will play out. Of course they'll take some time to get rolling, like most other things in here, but they all will be part of this on the sidelines and small parts of this or that chapter.

Now, about the Von Eldritch.

Originally I was not planning on using them this early. In fact I hinted in AO3's comments at the Von Eldritch probably not being in 'The Slow Fall' at all. But, honestly, I backed myself into a corner with a few of the rare moments that are set in stone in this story already. I could not explain what would happen without other players twisting things around, big players at that (Not necessarily other Eldritch from the Cthulhu Mythos, but entities with different powers than the usual demon and the like), and it wouldn't make sense for Heaven to fuck that kind of shit up.

So while I had plans for Helsa and Seviatan (Mainly) I decided to say ' Fuck it!' and threw the table out the window. So now they will appear earlier than expected, or well, Helsa will. Seviatan's assholery will take more time to make itself apparently.

Beyond that? We'll see how this goes next month, because holy fuck this was a small ordeal. I REALLY hope I can make the next chapter a bit more bite sized, because this story cannot keep pushing my sanity like this.

That is all. Take care people \o3o/.