Alastor lay on the floor for a long time, slipping in and out of consciousness. It had been a very long time since he had felt this drained, this weak. The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. Weak. He wasn't weak, he was the Radio Demon, a powerful overlord one to be feared. He let out a rugged breath shifting lightly pushing to his hands and knees before moving to a sit.

He had been through a lot during his time in Hell, but this was easily in the top five worst experiences. His limbs felt heavy, every move sent a wave of protest through his body. He didn't want to believe it was possible to break out of a contract this way, every chain, every soul, ripped out at once. He knew why the King never made mention of such an ability, he would never sleep, sinners looking for anything to break whatever chain they were stuck under. Not to mention it would completely ruin Hell's economy. Souls were the greatest value currency in Hell, but if you had a way of breaking contracts so easily it would quickly shatter that value. A calamity to rival the great stock market crash of 1929. An entertaining thought if it hadn't only happened to him.

He took a few minutes sitting as still as he could trying to catch his breath, calm the panic stirring in the back of his mind, hands on his knees sitting with his eyes closed. How many souls? How many contracts had he lost? It was impossible to know an exact number, but regardless it was quite an unfortunate predicament. It would take years to get back where he was at only this morning. The only thing keeping his claws from pulling at his hair was the pure difficulty to lift them at the moment. Instead they dug into his palms, the blood dripping onto the knees, leaching into the fabric leaving an uncomfortable wet and cold patch on his skin.

He wasn't sure what had caused the king to flip so quickly on him, but it meant he didn't get a chance to make a deal. He owned the king nothing. Both a blessing and a curse. He was certain if he had had the chance he could have gotten some of the King's power, and if he could get the king to sign something it was likely we could have held onto it for the rest of eternity, a good leg up for his return to hell. Now he was even worse off than when he had originally fallen. There was truly no good that came from this. Being free of Lilith seemed like such a minor inconvenience now. He thought he had already hit rock bottom, he had no idea it had a basement. Figures; things never seemed to work out in his favour.

He looked over to his side to find he had taken the stupid little duck. He hadn't intended on it, he was dumped rather unceremoniously before he had a chance to put it down. He picked it up, getting a closer look at it. Black horns and blood red eyes. Why the king had tucked this particular duck in his bed with such care he didn't know, nor did he care. He chucked it across the room as hard as he could, ignoring the screams of protest in the muscles from the action. He watched it bounce off one of his chairs rolling slowly back to him stopping a few feet away sitting upright staring at him.

He glared at it with a burning hate. "What are you looking at?" He hissed, annoyed that it seemed to have returned only to mock him. Stupid duck. Had he had the strength he would have engulfed the thing in flames already. For now it would sit there. Its days were limited.

With a great effort he pushed to his feet slowly stumbling over to his bed where he fell harshly, not caring about his shoes at the moment. He lay an arm over his head trying to figure out his next move. He would have to eventually go back to Lucifer, something he was going to ignore for now, in the meantime he needed to do what he could to recover and regain whatever strength he had left. How pitiful.

He could only imagine the rumours that would start and once they started they would spread like wildfire. He could already see the nonsense Vox would be spewing to the masses. How had things gone so awry? He pushed the thoughts off deciding as much as he hated it, Lucifer was correct. He needed rest.

He took a few minutes to work up the will to sit up and take his shoes off. It would have been so much easier to just snap a fresh set of pajamas on, but that wasn't an option, so he begrudgingly shuffled himself over to his dresser to change. The whole ordeal took close to a half hour just because of how slow he was moving. By the time he was back in his bed he had worked up a bit of a sweat. He looked over to his shadow only now noticing it was not as present, it's form looking more vague and faint.

"Just a bit of a rough patch ole pal," he assured it

It nodded, remaining silent, moving to the door already knowing it was what it's master would ask. He'd insure no one would come in to disturb his master while he rested and recovered. He took one longing look back at the form tucked into bed, its eyes catching the small black blob on the floor as it took a quick sweep of the room. It recognized it instantly.

My duck!

It darted over to it, moving to pick it up, finding its hand passed through it. He frowned at his hand taking a second attempt to pick up his little friend. No luck. This hadn't happened before, unable to move things. He turned to say something to the form in bed before stopping himself. He shouldn't disturb his master for something like this. He frowned at the duck staring at him. Surely this was temporary. When his master had recovered, he too would recover and things would go back to how they were. For now he would keep guard of the door. He would be lying if he said he hadn't spent more time staring at the duck than the door. It wasn't like anyone ever really came in to see its master anyways.

It may have been so focused on its little ducky friend, it didn't notice the door slowly creak open. A single eyeball widening in shock taking in the room and the form lying on the bed, the very faint but still there, hum of radio static, before it closed so quietly not even the clicking of the door could be heard.

…

Alastor was glad he felt well rested when he finally awoke. The aching of his limbs was also gone, though he still felt drained. He never really thought about how much power he had accrued through the years and now it was painfully obvious. He had done well, that he knew, you didn't have people fleeing your presence if you hadn't, a proud accomplishment until it was quickly shattered remembering he had lost it all.

He sat up rubbing his hands down his face, swallowing a groan as the events of the past day came back to him. How dreadful. He turned to see how long he had slept for but his eyes caught sight of something that caused a growl to reverberate up his chest. His eyes narrowed at the duck that had somehow moved off the floor and now sat next to his clock.

"Very funny," he muttered unamused.

His gaze moved to the door, finding it lacking a certain shadow. Someone must have slipped in and thought it'd be funny to move the duck onto his bedside table. A frustrated breath whistled through his nose as he slipped out of bed to get ready for the day. He was going to have to talk with his shadow, again. While he never explicitly told it to stand guard at the door, it should have known, especially since if something happened to him, it would cease to exist.

Once set for the day he turned to give the little duck another glare. His eyes shifted to the clock, finding it was not day, but night. He had no idea if he had slept for a few hours or a day and a half. The thought left him feeling a bit uneasy. If the latter, someone very well could have snuck in and he'd be none the wiser.

His gaze slowly swept his room looking for any signs of something else being out of place, but nothing was moved. There was no proof of anyone being here aside from himself. A small unsatisfied hum escaped him as he looked back to the duck.

He turned to the door, hand out to grab the handle but something stopped him. No, he couldn't just walk out like the day was like any other. Husk and Nifty would know and he knew Husk well enough to know, he'd not care to keep it to himself. No, he couldn't risk running into someone. The more he thought about it, the more his chest burned with anger. It was likely most of Hell would know, he owed a lot of souls and there was nothing keeping them quiet now. He grit his teeth before turning his back to the door making his way into the bayou.

He would admit, as much as hated the idea of going back to Lucifer, he wasn't dreading it as much as he made it seem. There was too much going on in Hell and though he was never one to push things off, the ability to leave Hell to deal with all this fallout later was a welcoming thought. Sure there was still work to do on the mortal plane, but it wasn't anything compared to the mess he had found himself in here. There may have been the added bonus of reconnecting with Ellen. He wouldn't admit he needed her because he didn't, but damn it she made things feel easier. He was looking forward to being able to clear his thoughts, something she had an unnatural ability to do. Perhaps she'd have some ideas to remedy some of his current plight.

The lateness of the night would ensure he eliminated the possibility of running into anyone, though with the short walk down the hall it wasn't likely anyway. Maybe it was a slight to the King of Hell. It was likely the man had long gone to sleep and waking him up in the dead of night would surely annoy him. Serves him right, the little prick.

He took his cane and knocked forcefully on the door refusing to leave until the door was opened. He didn't even give the man a chance to fully comprehend who had awoken him, brushing by him, letting himself in.

"I do believe I am ready for this grandiose adventure." He twirled with his arms out conveying a vibrancy the king could not fathom this early in the morning.

"Now?" Lucifer blinked slowly, seemingly not fully awake.

"Why of course! Easier to appear from the darkness than at midday."

The king squeezed his eyes closed trying to shake the lingering sleep from his head. "Right okay well, just give me a sec, " he said through a yawn.

Alastor planted his cane down and watched the shorter man slowly shuffle around the room gathering a few odds and ends things.

"I suppose it's good I arrived so early. I should be there by noon at this rate," he chided.

Lucifer just waved him off, too tired to find a retort. At least when this was done he didn't have to deal with the deer for a while.

Alastor watched as the king didn't bother hiding yet another yawn. He knew he owed the king no favours having not struck any actual deals, but he was curious as to what he would have asked for. The king seemed to believe he was still owed and the sinner was looking forward to watching the reaction he would have finding out it was all for nothing.

After a few minutes of watching the king fumble around he seemed to be awake enough to finally converse.

"Okay so you're going up there to help Ellen deal with this Dolion guy and get your kid back. Ellen has no idea how or where to find this guy so hopefully you can help with that."

"Sounds easy enough."

Lucifer glared at the sinner, an accusatory finger pointed in his direction. "No funny business."

Alastor's grin pulled high. "Whatever do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean," he retorted, his tone warning.

Alastors teeth were now on full display as he circled the king, eyes staring down at him half lidded. "I'm afraid you'll have to be a bit more specific."

Lucifer turned to follow the demon circling him, his arms crossed his chest annoyed, knowing he would have to be very detailed. "That favour you owe me. You're not going to cause problems up there. No deal making, no killing, no torture and no magic and do not for the love of all things unholy, show anyone your demon form." His glare hardened at the demon, who seemed to be taking this all in suspiciously well. "No funny business," he repeated.

"Hmm. Well that would make this trip quite a bore. How am I supposed to find my entertainment now?"

"This isn't a little vacation Alastor. No one can know you're there aside from Ellen and I." He pressed his lips together. No, there was that other girl. What was her name again? "And well her little human friend I guess," he added.

Alastor quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? We have someone else in on our little do-gooders team do we? How Interesting."

"That would be Ellen's doing." He clapped his hands together refusing to elaborate further, ready to move on with the actual work. "Now. Earth is a big place so where am I dropping you?"

"What?"

"Well you know where she is from right? City, state or whatever."

Alastor thought back to all he could recall knowing about his wife. The list was embarrassingly short. He thought she wouldn't have fared much better, but that was quickly pushed aside. She knew a lot about him. He could recall one thing.

"Canada?" He finally offered.

"Yeah I'm going to need more than that. It's the second largest country by land mass, that's still a large target."

Alastors eyes widened in surprise. Canada was still closely tied to the British Commonwealth the last he had heard, the place barely claiming their own independence. Had it really been that long since he had read into earthy affairs? He did greatly enjoy reading about the wars, the Great War was something he still vaguely remembered, which was later coined World War I. Terribly disappointing he had missed the second one.

He shook the thought trying to piece any other information he could that may help narrow down his search better.

"Ontario. She mentioned her family camping throughout the province." It was a voice that swirled him. He didn't bother addressing the shadow, repeating its words to Lucifer who nodded, working on tweeking something on his workbench. He had no idea how his shadow knew this. It seemed the two really did spend a bit more time together than he thought. There was a small pang of hate towards his shadow at the thought of it knowing her better, but he pushed it aside. Right now it was still working in his favour, but there was going to be a time he would have to hound his corporeal counterpart for the knowledge it had collected.

Lucifer turned, a gold orb floating in his left hand. "Alright so to narrow it down a bit I put you somewhere near the center of the province. Population is greater in the southern part so I would suggest you start there. If you're lucky she'll be close by." With his other hand he waved the Radio Demon out of his way as he moved around the room looking for a spot where he could put the portal without having to move ducks out of the way. "Now I know I've never directly asked, but seeing as you are a bit better than the average sinner-"

"A bit?"

Lucifer ignored him, eyes locking on a spot next to the bed that would be clear enough for the portal. "-You can shift to a human form right?"

Alastor let out an amused huff, leaning forward on his staff. "That seems like an important piece of information to have well before going to all this effort."

Lucifer rolled his eyes, he didn't know why he bothered asking. In order for this to work he would have to be able to. He gently dropped the orb and watched as a portal opened up. Alastor made his way over and before he could step through Lucifer threw his arm out blocking him, his glare stern.

"This isn't a revolving door, so once you're there you're stuck until this is all done. You can get sucked back here if you are weakened enough so don't over do it with your abilities. Now change, you aren't going like that."

The demon rolled his eyes and disappeared his cane before being engulfed in a cloud of green smoke.

Lucifer had never once thought about what sinners looked like alive. From now on it was going to be a never ending curiosity. The only human man he had ever seen was Adam and from what he saw there, he wasn't impressed.

As the smoke cleared he had to remind himself to blink. His mouth may have been agape but he was too shocked to care. This is what he looked like alive?

Standing in the place of the Rdio Demon was a slightly shorter (though he was still standing well above the devil) scrawny young man. He was still dressed to impress though nowhere near as formal. Dark brown slacks with a matching vest on a white dress shirt. The black bowtie wasn't a surprise, nor the gloves now that he knew the reason he wore them. He hadn't imagined Alastors' eyes could ever look soft, but the warm brown hidden behind a pair of thin glasses begged to differ. After a few blinks he quickly pulled himself together, eyes darting away quickly hoping he hadn't been caught gawking.

"Better?"

The fact that Alastor bent down, his grin stretching wider would imply he did notice him staring rather intently. At least his teeth looked whiter, though the smile being pulled so high looked unnatural.

He moved away from the scrutinizing eyes, clearing his throat and setting a glare on his face. He wasn't going to let this guy get the last laugh. "Yeah fine, just wipe that stupid smirk off your face, humans don't like it. And remember, no funny business."

Alastor turned his back to the portal slowly walking back into it, the grin turning to one of the smug variety. "I have lived a life before, I know how to blend in. Though it is quite fortunate you had no favour to call upon to keep me from participating in said funny business. I look forward to creating a little homely chaos and fire." His laugh was cut suddenly as he slipped from the realm.

Lucifer wracked his brain to reassure himself that Alastor was wrong, but no evidence appeared. He had no way of ensuring Alastor didn't tear the human world apart for the sheer entertainment of it. Ellen. Ellen would surely keep him in check. He let out a small breath. Yes, Ellen would make sure they kept a low profile and she could keep the demon in check...except until Alastor found her, he was unsupervised. The devil groaned. Where the hell had his duck gone? He really needed someone to rant to now.

…

Lucifer rubbed his eyes still tired from the rude wake up call in the middle of the night. His cup of coffee was doing him no favours. He brushed his fatigue aside as he watched Charlie come into the kitchen and the crestfallen look on her face and hair all askew put the coffee to shame.

"Hey Charlie, how are…things?"

Her eyes quickly shifted up with a flash of surprise before they were flooded with pain. It made his chest cease. She had been really upset about something, the redness in her eyes made that evident.

"Oh hey dad. I umm…" There was a pause as she reached for a mug, helping herself to her own cup of coffee. "You haven't heard the news, I guess."

He tilted his head to the side.

"Alastor he…" She wasn't able to finish the sentence before tears spilled from her eyes, the cup in her hands starting to tremble. She sucked in a big breath trying to push through and Lucifer didn't dare rush her.

"Alastor's dead."

"What?" Where the hell did this come from? Lucifer's face twisted in confusion. He obviously knew it wasn't true, he saw the asshole less than five hours ago. He didn't want Charlie being upset about this let alone shedding tears over that ass hat, but he couldn't tell her about breaking the sinners contract without going into everything else that was going on. He shook his head. And why did people think he was dead? Surely it was just nonsense to get a rise from Hell. What did the youngsters call it nowadays? Fake news? Click-bait?

"No, I'm sure he's just-"

"There are hundreds of sinners all confirming it, Husker included. All of the souls he owned were all returned; that would only happen if he…" she couldn't finish.

He now understood why everyone thought he was dead. He'd never let souls go on mass. Lucifer was momentarily glad Charlie was lost in her grief, staring a hole into her mug. It meant she didn't see the grimace on his face. Why didn't he think about that? He had lost his temper with the sinner, ripping the contracts out without thinking. Man Alastor must have been pissed. No wonder he was awoken at some ungodly hour. That of course only fueled his concern about Alastor's parting words. He really had no control of the sinner and if heaven found out… Fuck. Alastor must have known the amount of problems he could cause being on the mortal plane. No wonder he had been in such a chipper mood.

He pressed his lips together trying to find something that might make his daughter feel better. He fumbled out with, "Well you know sinners, they all come back, I'm sure his wise cracking ass will be back before you know it."

It was a stupid response, even if she did believe it, that only bought him a few days. After that there would be no explanation for his absence.

Charlie shook her head, taking a seat, still not having touched her coffee. "Vox put a hefty reward out on Alastor's body. The past two days, Hell has been a mess looking for it and no one has come across anything."

Of course the stupid deer hadn't been gone for a full day yet and there was chaos left in his wake. How the heck was he going to fix this? Wait…why did he care? It's not like he cared about the sinner. He absentmindedly took a sip of his coffee. He fucked up. If the two had talked, Alastor would have gotten something for his 'troubles', but he kinda shafted the guy, he at least owed it to him to try and fix his reputation while he was gone. If that was even possible. Fuck, this was just getting worse and worse by the day.

"He can't come back without a body," she sniffled.

"Can't find it if there isn't one," he mumbled to himself behind his cup of coffee.

"What?"

He looked up to find Charlie staring at him eyes wide, her cup of coffee forgotten in front of her.

Fuck.

AN: Hey all! We've finally got Alastor headed into the mortal realm and with the promise of causing chaos. XD I'm so excited to finally start sharing this part of the story!

On a completely different note, I have just discovered AO3 ( I know I'm a bit late to the party) So I'm thinking I may start posting there as well. Lemme know your thoughts, and when/if I do, I'll let you guys know so if you'd prefer to follow along there you can. Hope you guys have a great weekend and like always;

Cheers!