Lucifer turned to Alastor ready to ask if he wanted to discuss the breaking of the contract, but as soon as the sinner saw him, he disappeared into shadow, leaving the king alone with the rest of his glass of wine.

He let out a long breath before turning to the now empty room. Well that didn't go as well as he'd hoped, but at least, he didn't have to worry about Lilith coming to hunt him down later. She would have if he had shattered that contract, he'd be the only one that could do such a thing, a bit difficult to lie about.

He placed his glass down on the table beside him, eyes looking at the stained carpet. Poor Simon was probably going to send a good week trying to get the wine and blood stains out of it. He pressed his lips together for a few moments mentally debating before snapping his fingers cleaning the mess. No doubt Lilith would keep the poor mole sinner busy enough, might as well take this off his to do list.

Feeling slightly better he waved a portal open back to his room in the hotel taking one last look at the sitting room before leaving it behind him. It would probably be awhile before he saw it again.

…

Alastor didn't know why, but he had slipped himself to Ellen's room. Perhaps it was the discussion of her, his mind lost in her. His shadow was going on with bubbly excitement about all that had been revealed with Hell's monarchs, but he ignored it, his own thoughts elsewhere.

It was bad enough Lilith had made a fool of him, forcing him to divulge intimate things, but in the presence of the king as well? He shook his head in disgust. There was no way he could come back from that, his pride never having taken a hit so hard. Permanent humiliation. He couldn't silence the man, a frustrating reality. He shook the thought. He was now going to have to try harder to find other ways to get under his skin.

His ear twitched to the sound of something being knocked over. He turned to find his shadow had knocked the green mp3 player on to the floor. It chittered happily about the music and his time dancing with her. He gave his shadow a glare but moved to put it back on the desk. His hand paused a moment before he changed his mind, instead putting it in his pocket. His shadow gave him a cheerful smile. He sneered in response to its overly happy demeanor. He may not like most of what was on it, but there were a few pieces he did enjoy. Not that he would admit it.

He turned back to take a sweeping look of the room. It looked the same as the day she left, clothes thrown haphazardly on the back of the chair, papers scattered across the desk, her messy penmanship scrawled across some. He avoided coming in here, the sights and smells too comforting, too lived in, too real, too empty.

He had never understood how she could live with such chaos. He had been annoyed that she brought it to his room when she basically moved in, but now it felt familiar and he hated that it brought a small twinge of pain to his chest. He had to wonder why he had tolerated such things. It seemed when it came to Ellen, he let a lot more go then he would like to admit. Give an inch, they take a mile, so they say.

He quickly stepped out into the hallway trying to recenter himself. His afterlife was falling apart at the seams and though he still carried on like that wasn't the case, for once, the facade was getting difficult to uphold.

However this ended, he vowed he would never let Rosie talk him into 'love' again. It was turning out to be quite the pain.

For a moment he turned back to his room looking longingly at the door. The day had already been a chaotic mess and he'd be lying if he said he didn't just want to curl up with a good book and rest.

He made his way down the hall to Lucifer's room fighting the urge to knock. The sooner he dealt with him the better, but he wasn't exactly in a hurry to be in his presence again especially after their last encounter. A frustrated breath whistled through his nose, finally caving after mulling it over for a few moments, knocking with his cane. He'd get this out of the way so he could get to his good book sooner.

No words were exchanged when he opened the door and saw the sinner standing on the other side. Both men knew why he was there, though he was surprised he was invited in.

The room was more ridiculous than he thought. Little rubber ducks were littered everywhere, practically filling the room to the point it was hardly traversable. What a sad little man. He thought. He was going to make a comment but decided to remain quiet for now. How sad, he was now going to be at this man's mercy. He tried not to think about that.

"She wasn't lying," Lucifer said, finally breaking the silence.

"Hmm?"

"About breaking all of your contracts. Any contract you signed as the primary with the exception of hers, all break too. It's all or none."

His smile pulled tighter. He didn't think she would lie about such a thing, but that price was too steep. "Then I kindly decline. She assumes it will be done, that should be good enough."

Lucifer gave him a look, shaking his head. "We both know that's not the case. And I am not sending you into the living world if someone else has your soul."

"It sounds like you've decided this a while ago." He narrowed his eyes at the King wondering how he came to this conclusion. If the King was going to send him willingly it would make things much easier. He wasn't going to complain about it, he now no longer had to ask, simply follow along and see how far he could take this.

Lucifer rubbed the back of his neck, turning away from his gaze. "There's a lot that's been going on behind the scenes."

"Do tell." He cleared a spot for himself to sit, brushing ducks onto the floor not caring if they ended up underfoot. "I presume there was a reason I was not privy to this knowledge beforehand."

Lucifer glared at the sinner, his tone turning dry. "Yeah, I don't like you. Or trust you for that matter."

Alastor rested his hands on his knee. "Ah yes, back to the childish behaviour I see. Can't say I'm surprised."

"I'm not the one that has a problem talking about intimate matters."

"It's not a problem, simply not a respectable topic to be discussed in mixed company."

"Uh-huh. Right…"

"Any respectable gentleman would know how to conduct themselves in such company. Being royalty one would assume you'd be wise to these matters. Evidently not. I suppose I'm not surprised," he sneered back.

Lucifer opened his mouth but it closed with a look of dissatisfaction. He took a few moments before he tried again. "You have no idea the shit storm this is going to cause."

"Then why do it," he asked simply.

"Cause if I don't help you get up there, the living world and everything in it is in some sort of danger."

"Well, isn't this interesting?" Alastor watched as the King slowly wandered toward his workbench at the back of the room. If he was needed in the mortal realm then he had some leverage to make some demands, this was turning out to be better than he thought.

"So you need me for your little do-gooders plan then."

A frustrated breath escaped the king of hell. "Yeah well, make it a short trip and kill that Dolion guy quick."

Alastor hummed in displeasure before turning to look at his nails. "I'm afraid I can not, as much as I would love to be the one to do him in, it can not be done by my hands. I can only hope to get the pleasure of watching."

The king turned on him quickly. "What?! Why the heck would Death need you there if you can't kill him?"

"Oh, I've been specially requested? How delightful!"

Lucifer's glare narrowed at the sinner, his tone not hiding his annoyance. "It's the only reason you're going."

Alastor hummed indifferently before standing and working his way around the room taking in the piles of ducks, occasionally picking one out to get a closer look.

Lucifer rolled his eyes but pressed on. "Ellen already knows most of what's going on so you'll need a quick briefing before you go so we're all on the same page."

"I'm sorry, how could she know of all this?" He picked up one with a silly propeller hat. He flicked the propeller watching it spin for a few seconds before tossing it back into a pile with disinterest.

Lucifer took a seat at his workbench, eyes watching the Radio Demon slowly work his way around the room. He did notice his little nemesis was not where he'd last seen it, on the floor by the bed. His rude wake up call didn't give him the chance to move it after he scrambled clothes on.

"Death kept her around after she died. She saw and heard everything up until Dolion left. Apparently she needed to see him before going back."

Alastor paused, mind working on piecing together what was going on with the information he had gathered. It seemed Lucifer was very open and with the knowledge he wasn't capable of lying meant he could pry for whatever information he wanted. An opportunity he wasn't going to pass up.

"And you knew I would traverse to heaven, how exactly?"

"Ellen figured that one out."

Not a surprise she did, however how the king had conversed with her in the mortal realm was a different thing. He wasn't aware such a thing could be done. He was collecting a lot of information and when he had time he was going to have to do some more digging. For now, he would continue compiling what he could, making a mental note on all the things to look into later.

An eyebrow raised into the red hairline. "You've conversed with her since her death?"

He leaned back against the desk, his gaze moving around the room to the usual spots the little demon duck would appear. "Yeah, a week or so ago, she was looking for you, but you weren't here so I was next in line I guess. She came up with this whole plan to get you out of heaven and back here. Turns out you made your own. Thanks for that," he finished sarcastically.

Alastor turned from the two oddly familiar looking ducks on the king's bedside table to his claws, his expression back to a neutral tight lipped grin. "So you two have devised a whole plan on how to find and kill Mr Tucker, yes?"

Lucifer sat up. "Uhh no. You're the murderer, that's your job." He waved the two ducks to him, placing them on the workbench behind him, giving Alastor a dirty look. He saw the humoured look in the sinner's eyes upon finding them. There was nothing wrong having a little trinket to remind him of his daughter and her girlfriend Maggie..no wait, Vaggie!

He was expecting the sinner to make some sort of slight about having them, but it seemed the overlord had already moved on to something else.

Alastor straightened up, arm crossed comfortably behind him. "It can not be my job."

"Why not?"

The overlord rolled his eyes, annoyed to be explaining it again to the oaf. "As I have said, I can not harm the man by any means."

"Why? That's like…you're whole thing."

"Contract. And that's about all I can say about it."

"So get someone else to do it."

"Not possible. It must be done by some else of their own volition." Alastors eye got caught on a duck tucked into the bed, resting on one of the pillows. He tilted his head to the side confused. He tucked these ridiculous little things into bed?

"So your plan is to just wait for someone else to take him out?"

He waved a hand over his shoulder dismissing the concern. "Oh I already know who will be that man's undoing, they'll just need a bit of gentle guidance. Maybe a few unfortunate circumstances to befall them, not of my doing of course." He waved a tentacle out to collect the duck that had been so lovingly tucked in. All black with horns and red eyes. What a funny looking thing.

"Who?"

He tucked the duck behind him as he turned to face Lucifer, his grin wide, tone jovial. "Why my dearest of course! There is reasonable cause, it is her child too that was taken and she'll want him back safely in Hell where he belongs. I doubt the pompous suit will just hand him over. There will be a battle and she will have to kill him."

Lucifer sat up looking at the sinner with a blank face. "You're kidding right?"

"I am not."

"She won't do it."

He flicked his wrist, rolling his eyes at the statement as he slowly worked back the way he had come. "She's killed before this isn't all that different."

"No, sinners come back. This is very different," the king corrected.

"Tucker will come back, and I'm sure he'll fit right in down here when he does." His grin pulled wider at the thought, the air around him popping with static just thinking about all the things he was going to do to that man. "I look forward to showing him just how callous Hell can be."

"She's not going to kill anyone. Especially on earth. I mean even if we tell her-"

"-no, no. She can not know. It must be her decision alone, anything else falls into it being coerced or influenced."

He leaned forward, head in his hand trying to find the logic in this plan. "How is she going to just decide she's okay killing the guy?"

Alastor turned his attention back to his nails, not wanting to continue arguing with the devil. "I'm not entirely sure as of yet but I'm certain I'll find a way."

Lucifer just glared at Alastor. The radio demon was good at a few things, deals and contracts were probably his specialty, this was not something that would be useful here. That left his next best skill. "You're going to manipulate her into doing it?

"I can not, but a river cuts through rock not because of its power, but because of its persistence."

Lucifer sat quiet for a bit, finally understanding, there wasn't going to be another way. It was probably the reason Death insisted Alastor be there, to be the hidden force driving her to this outcome. He let out a sigh shaking his head. It still wouldn't make it any easier for her. "She's not going to be okay after this."

"I will be there to ease that burden," he replied earnestly.

"Yeah, for a little bit. What about for the rest of her life? That's something she's going to carry forever, probably even after death."

"The end justifies the means. I'm sure she'll eventually understand. She is an intelligent woman."

He turned to look at the Radio Demon, a defeated look on his face. "And when she finds out you played her like any other sinner here?"

Alastor noted the king didn't say 'if' but 'when' meaning he knew Ellen would likely find out they had been conspiring behind her back. He finally turned to look at the king, his voice full of conviction but hidden in the eyes was a flash of something else. "She will be absolutely devastated. I imagine she won't want to see me again afterwards, which will be for the best. I refuse to believe this will end in some carefree fantasy. She will end up in heaven where I will not see her again. It's better this way."

Lucifer pushed to his feet, abruptly approaching the demon. It was one thing to have to go behind Ellen's back to do this, but for him to really think this was what was best for her, was wrong. The poor girl had been through enough already, her life a mess now and it seemed like Alastor didn't even care. He acknowledged this would crush her and he was just okay with it? He knew Alastor was a heartless bastard sometimes but this was beyond cruel.

He pressed his glowing gold hand to the chest of the Radio Demon pulling out a thick black tendril with many chains woven into it. Every deal he had all wrapped into one cord wrapped around the golden colour he recognized as Lilith's. This was going to be painful, shattering all the chains at once, not to mention it would greatly drain the sinner, losing a large portion of his power. There was a small tug of resistance but Lucifer didn't care to be gentle, not after how carefree Alastor spoke of ruining the life of someone that was supposed to be important to him. A large, harsh pull and Lucifer snapped it, a bright light filling the room as Alastor hissed out in pain, falling to the floor in a heap.

"Better for her or better for you?"

Lucifer hadn't expected an answer, forgetting he still had some of the wine in his system. Perhaps it was better this way. It would give him time to think about it. He had no choice but to be honest.

"Better for me."

"Yeah. Well maybe for once you should think about what she wants and what's best for her," he replied coolly.

He waved a portal below the demon, dropping him back into his own room. He leaned through the portal glaring at Alastor curled up on the floor clutching his chest. "You'll need a few days to recover before you go anywhere so rest up, when you're done we can talk about that favour you owe me."

He was pretty sure he had heard a growl but if there was anything else mentioned afterwards he didn't hear it through the sound of the portal closing.

He started a frustrated march around the room, eyes peeled looking for his little ducky friend. He needed someone to vent to and that silly little duck was the best listener. It had grown on him even though it started off as one of his least favourites, the ugly duckling if you will. It also seemed to have the ability to help work things out, push forward, bring luck, an impossible thing for a rubber duck to do, but he'd take any help he could get at this point. Placebo or not.

Husk bolted up from his drunken stupor, the sudden loss of weight in his chest the only thing keeping him from believing he was dreaming. He watched the tight green chain shatter to dust before his very eyes and his cheeks pulled a grin so wide it hurt. There was only one way this would have happened, and if he found out who had done the bastard in, he would send them flowers.

Nifty darted into the room with a look of panic on her face. Before she could ask what was happening Angel barged through the front doors, phone waving in the air.

"You guys gettin' this?"

"Yeah."

Charlie and Vaggie worked their way down the stairs as Angel flipped on the television in the lobby where they just caught Katie Killjoy and Tom Trench getting cut out, replaced with Vox grinning particularly larger than usual.

Charlie looked at all the faces in the room confused at the commotion before she turned to the T.V where Angel, Nifty and Husk had now circled.

"What's going on?"

"I think ya gotta see this, toots." Angel waved to two over as Vox started going on about the Radio Demon, clips of people getting interviewed before being shoved aside for the tv demon to continue his rant. It was impossible to miss the news ticker scrolling across the bottom of the screen repeating a single phrase, 'The Radio Demon is dead.'