Work Text:
Charlie tried not to waste time; once she’d explained the situation to the hotel guests—and then again to Alastor, the hotelier having been curiously missing for the first go round—she set everyone a task to make sure they were ready for their scheduled guests. She and Vaggie were hard at work in her office the next morning, coming up with an agenda for the week; she’d run everything through with Azrael and ask his opinion at the end of his stay, see if there were any adjustments he thought would better serve their purposes with Heaven. In addition to the daily activities she’d made sure to set aside free time for everyone and was mindful to adjust for Angel Dust’s work schedule. She and Vaggie were making copies of the finalized plan for the hotel residents in her office when a knock sounded at the door; Charlie looked up curiously, answering immediately, “Come in.”
Lucifer poked his head in, smiling at the sight of his daughter and her partner neatly folding brightly colored pages. “Hey sweetie; you busy?” he asked casually, not wanting to interrupt.
“Not at all; what’s up?” Charlie set her stack aside, giving her father her full attention. Lucifer seemed to cringe a bit at her earnest puppy eyes, almost as if he’d rather have been sent away; he twirled his cane absentmindedly as he responded, an elegant nervous tick.
“I have some things to handle with the Sins,” Lucifer began carefully, “and I was wondering…if you wanted to come with. You don’t have to!” He was quick to assure her, hands coming up with his palms forward as if to surrender. “I totally get it if you’re in the middle of something and can handle it on my own no problem, I was just thinking, you know, it might be good for you to have an idea of how things down here are run, but no pressure or—!”
“Dad!” Charlie cut in quickly, crossing the room to take his hands in hers. “It’s okay! Thank you.” She smiled warmly at the diminutive king, pleased to see the relieved slump of his shoulders at her interjection. “I’d love to go with you. Aunt Bee called while you were…away, actually. So I’d really appreciate being there.”
Lucifer relaxed, smiling warmly up at his baby girl. “Okay, great. We’ll head out in a few minutes, then. I’ll meet you out front.”
“Sounds good; I’ll finish up here and see you there!” Charlie smiled brightly as Lucifer walked away, closing the door softly before turning to snatch up Vaggie’s hands as she excitedly squealed and bounced in place. “Did you see that, Vaggie? He’s never invited me to meet with the Sins before!” she gushed excitedly. “He’s finally starting to trust me! Really trust me!”
“That’s so great, babe,” Vaggie enthused gently, squeezing Charlie’s hands briefly. “I’m glad that he’s inviting you out to business stuff now; it’ll be really helpful moving forward.” If there was another incident where Charlie was suddenly forced to step into her parents’ shoes and run hell again, if it was more than just a day next time, Charlie would need to know how to do these things. She only wished that was something Lucifer had considered before; it was no use looking back at what should have been done, though. At least things would be better in the future. “I’ll finish these up and pass them out; I can handle things here.”
“Thanks Vaggie.” Charlie leaned in for a soft, loving kiss. “What would I do without you?”
“Write everything in crayon, probably,” Vaggie teased affectionately, pulling back with a broad grin. “Go get ready; I’ve got this.” Charlie stole another quick kiss before skipping out of the office to freshen up.
🦥🎏🐝🪳❤️🔥😡
Charlie found Lucifer at the hotel entrance, the devil dressed in his full regalia, top hat and all with his longer hair tied back with a black ribbon at the nape of his neck. Charlie wondered absently if there was a dress code for this, absently straightening the collar of her jacket; as if sensing her concern, Lucifer reached out to take her hand gently. “You look fine,” he assured her warmly, making a small gesture with his cane to summon a portal for them. “Ready?”
Charlie took a careful breath before smiling brightly, squeezing his hand in return. “Ready!” The two stepped through into a cavernous red room, the space illuminated by cascading streams of lava which fell into an impossibly distant glowing pool capped with hundreds of flickering black candles, additional light provided by burning braziers. The level upon which the Morningstars stood was the highest, giving a clear view of the mostly empty space with its towering pillars and row after row of balconies that currently stood empty. Between their lofty position and the distant glow of molten rock were three more levels, each with only a few elegant seats of varying sizes and construction, the final level with just one massive chair; if not for the intensely ornate seat at the top level, Charlie may have mistaken it as a throne.
The seats on the tiered levels held the only current occupants of the grand room; there was so much shouting and bickering going on that the royal family went entirely unnoticed, Charlie watching on in concern as Lucifer crossed to knock the cobwebs off his throne. “Whew, I really haven’t been here in a while, huh?” he commented lightly as he plucked up the rubber ducky in his seat, giving it a little squeeze and grinning at the resulting squeak. “Excellent.”
Charlie winced slightly at the high pitched sound and the way it echoed around the abruptly silent room; a quick glance down showed the Sins had lost interest in fighting each other, all of them staring up at them in slack jawed surprise. The Princess took a quick, shuffling step closer to her father, offering the group a brief wave. “Hey, everyone. Are we late?”
“Charlie!” Beelzebub was the first to greet them, ignoring decorum to fly up a level and pull the Princess of hell into a tight hug. “Good to see you, girl! It has been too long, sweet thing; look at you!” She held Charlie at arm’s length with her lower arms, the top set gently pinching her cheek and ruffling her hair. “You’ve gotten so big!”
Charlie chuckled, automatically moving to fix her hair after the Sin’s affectionate touselling. “It’s good to see you too, Aunt Bee,” she answered earnestly before she was abruptly caught up in strong arms and cuddled against a broad, fluffy chest.
“You are so right, Bee; our little Charlie is all grown up!” Asmodeus cooed, clutching her so close and tight that the princess was fairly certain she heard her spine cracking. “I could have sworn it was just yesterday you were heading off to college and look at you now: a business owner! You know, Charlie, I’ve got plenty of experience in hospitality—“
“Aw no you don’t ya fucking HONK ! If anybody is going into business with Charlie it’ll be fucking ME!” Mammon had crawled up the wall to the counter that served as a desk for Beelzebub, Asmodeus and Belphagor, standing atop it with his upper arms crossed and lower fists propped on his hips. One shifted from that stance, pointing an accusatory finger at the Sin of Lust. “Don’t you even think about stealing from me again, ya HONK !”
“Could we get back on track here?” the deep, gravelly voice of Satan spoke from below as Asmodeus set Charlie back on her feet. His multiple eyes flicked to where Lucifer waited upon his throne and inclined his head in a small bow. “Your majesty. Thank you for joining us.”
“Mmhm.” Lucifer looked supremely unimpressed, literally looking down at the six lower sins. “I understand you had some questions for me.”
The three sins who’d leapt up to greet Charlie returned to their rightful positions, Ozzie and Bee glancing at each other before the Sin of Lust chose to speak. “Yeah, uh, that’d be me. About the blockade you’d set up before—what was that about? I know it’s down now and I appreciate that, really I do, but I was just wondering—why?”
“Yeah,” Mammon chimed in, scowling up at the king of hell. “That set back a lot of my shipments, too—it’s bad for business! Can’t meet demand if I don’t have my supply, and I demand to know what stopped my supply!”
“We also wondered about that,” Leviathan admitted, one head nodding as the other spoke. “Our people can feed off other Hellborn, like Ozzie’s, but living mortal souls are often so much more ripe—to be suddenly cut off without warning, it caused something of a panic.”
“Is it going to happen again?” Beelzebub questioned, expression and tone concerned. “I’m sure you had a good reason, Lu, but you really spooked us.”
Lucifer sighed, head dropping back to rest against the imposing chair at the highest rank as the Sins peppered him with questions and concerns. This was the last thing he wanted to do after such a long day before, but it was better to get them taken care of now. “There were some concerns regarding…heaven,” he stated after a long moment of consideration, mindful of how much information to give. “I handled it.”
Satan perked up at the admission, his eyes narrowing on the ruler of hell. “Is that why you have a new form?” He questioned, smoke escaping his muzzle as he rose from his large seat, wings spreading minutely, nostrils flaring like he scented blood in the water. “Were you killed?”
Lucifer snorted back a laugh, rolling his eyes as a small smirk crept over his lips. “Why’re you so interested? You wanna have another go, tough guy?” His eyes flashed crimson as he looked down at the sin, smile anything but kind despite his playful tone.
Satan tucked his wings back, bowing his head in deference. “No, no, my lord,” he assured, keeping his eyes down. “Call it a curiosity, that’s all.”
“A curiosity. Cute.” Lucifer straightened, glowing eyes locked on the draconic figure. “Well, since you’re curious, let me remind you: none of you can kill me. Not in any way that matters. And if any of you tries to pull such a stupid stunt,” he rose from his throne, taking a step forward to lean against the low wall at the edge of his level, “I will rip you apart in ways so twisted and painful that you’ll wish you could die. Understood?” The lava in the room seemed to cool, the light dimming until the brightest source was Lucifer’s glowing scarlet eyes.
All of the Sins appeared to have taken his words to heart, even the lighthearted queen of gluttony somber and still beneath his glowing gaze, murmurs of assent rippling through them. Satisfied, Lucifer stepped back from the edge; the room responded to his shifting mood, brightening once more. “Good. Now, as I was saying—Charlie and I have reached a new agreement with Heaven. I didn’t want any distractions while we developed the plan in case anything went wrong—I wanted everyone where they would be safest should Armageddon have begun.”
Satan’s large hands flexed into fists, his gaze remaining downcast for a moment longer before he seemed to force himself to look up again. “How close did we come?” he questioned, tone softer than before.
Lucifer grit his teeth for a moment before letting out his breath in a puff. “Too close,” he muttered before shaking his head as though to clear away his thoughts. “In any case—Pride will be playing host to my siblings over the coming weeks. It shouldn’t affect Hellborn at all, but if that changes—you’ll be the first to know.”
Charlie wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be doing; she stood beside her father’s throne, wringing her hands together as her eyes flickered between each of the Sins and her father. There was something going on here, something she didn’t understand; she had thought that tagging along would mean she’d get more answers, not more questions. After a tense silence, she decided she wouldn’t learn anything by standing silent. “Dad? What’s…Armageddon?” She sounded the word out carefully, tongue feeling clumsy as it juggled the strange set of syllables.
Lucifer’s brow tensed for a moment, the fallen angel silent before gesturing down below. “Satan. You take this one.” That was one benefit of having the Sins around, he supposed; he wouldn’t have to do everything himself.
Satan’s wings spread a bit, the movement creating a small wind that caused the black candles in turn to flicker and flutter, his chest puffing up as the Princess of Hell looked upon him. “It is an ancient prophecy, your highness,” he explained in measured, resonant tones, “speaking of the end of all things as they are. It claims there will be a final great battle between the forces of Heaven and Hell which will determine who has the right to rule all in each realm.” He leaned forward, hands resting on the level behind his throne, the differing height making the massive being look for all the world like a child leaning upon their parent’s desk. “If the time is coming, Lord Lucifer, my armies will—“
“No!” Lucifer cut Satan off abruptly, eyes flashing crimson and flame flickering on his breath before he calmed himself. “No, Satan. It isn’t necessary—it isn’t time.”
The sins glanced amongst themselves, hesitant and uncertain before Beelzebub questioned gently, “How can you be sure?”
Charlie’s gaze turned to her father, studying him closely as she tried to determine if he was bluffing or not. The idea of some kind of war between Heaven and hell—something that could result in the end of everyone’s current existence, something so much bigger than the former Exterminations—was horrifying beyond comprehension. How long had the prophecy been known? When had her parents planned on telling her about all of this?
Lucifer didn’t answer for a long moment, refusing to meet any of their eyes before a soft sigh passed his lips. “So long as I have a say in this,” he explained, voice firm and certain, “it isn’t going to happen. Maybe one day it’ll be beyond my hands, but that day isn’t today. Now that that’s all out of the way,” he stood, absentmindedly brushing dust off his clothes as he dropped the little ducky toy back into his seat, “Charlie and I have more work to do at the hotel.”
“Did you want any help with that?” Beelzebub asked, buzzing up to eye level with the Morningstars. “I don’t know what you’ve got planned, but I can throw a hell of a party!”
“Yeah,” Asmodeus chimed in, smiling brightly from his position. “I wasn’t kidding with my offer earlier; I’d be happy to help out!”
“Worry about your own rings,” Lucifer ordered firmly, taking Charlie by the arm to begin to guide her away. “Figure out how to handle yours before you butt into mine. Bee, have you fixed your foster system yet? Belphagor, found a better way to keep track of your pharmaceuticals? Mammon, have you done… anything about the corruption in Greed? Have you at least got them working for you, directly?” The Sins shrank back under his glare, feet occasionally scuffing over the stone floor, none of them willing to meet his gaze. These were Sins, ancient manifestations of urges and desires, acting like chastised children before a disappointed parent. “That’s what I thought. You’re capable of more than this; do better.”
The devil turned his back on the lower sins, guiding Charlie through a portal back to his suite at the hotel with a steady hand at her elbow. The Princess waited until the portal faded to address her father, doing her best to keep any accusatory tone from her voice. “You know you didn’t have to be so harsh with them. Maybe some…gentle encouragement next time?”
Lucifer sighed, taking off his hat and tossing it haphazardly toward his bed as he moved to his desk and the multiple artifacts piled up there. “They’re hundreds of thousands of years old; they don’t need me holding their hands,” he refuted, one hand absently reaching into a pocket dimension to begin pulling out various planks of wood. A light tap of his booted toe on the floor pulled up an elegant cream workbench; without a backward glance, Lucifer began reshaping the planks to suit his needs, neatly tracing out elegant dovetails and piecing them together.
Charlie hesitated in her original place, rocking on her heels as she tried to decide if she was welcome or not; she finally caved to her urge to support and defend, stepping up next to her father’s bench. “Everyone needs help sometimes; there’s nothing wrong with wanting support.” She waited a moment to see if Lucifer would respond to the statement; when no answer was forthcoming, she ventured to ask, “What are you making?”
“A new lockbox.” Lucifer gestured with his elbow toward the artifacts on his desk. “These things are too dangerous to just leave lying around, even with the wards on this room and the hotel; it isn’t safe.”
“There are wards on the hotel?” The information took Charlie by surprise, though she wasn’t sure why; Lucifer was protective of her, it made sense he’d take this step. “What do they do?”
Lucifer shrugged one shoulder almost absentmindedly. “Just the basics: prevent people from coming in uninvited, restrain curses placed on the building itself, alert me if there’s any kind of major threat here. Keekee does that too: if you were in any kind of real danger, she’d notify me.”
Charlie hummed softly in acknowledgement, turning the information over in her mind. She thought back to when Alastor had first arrived, knocking at the door and requesting entry rather than barging in. Then he’d let Niffty and Husk in himself, and she’d brought in Sir Pentious and Angel Dust. Cherri Bomb was harder to explain, but she and Angel were friends; it was entirely possible he’d invited her over at some point or another. Then the two of them had unknowingly brought Joel in, and Vaggie had summoned Michael… Did her interview announcing the hotel on 666 News count as an invitation? Could anyone who’d seen walk in unannounced? “When did you put the wards in?”
“When we rebuilt the hotel.” Lucifer neatly slotted the newly trimmed pieces together, passing a heated hand over the seam to burn them and seal them into place. “There were wards on here from before, way back when your mom and me used the old place for—well, all kinds of things, but they were pretty faded by the time you moved in. The new ones should be much better.”
Charlie was infinitely curious about the wards and how they worked, if she would be able to do anything like that herself. Maybe it would be better to start small; protect something little rather than try to spread it over an entire multistory building. “What kind are you going to put on the lockbox?”
“Mostly just locks.” Lucifer had begun on the next side, his sharp nails cutting through the wood. “Curses, too; punishments should the wrong people try to get inside, ways for me to track anyone who tries. And strengthening spells, of course, so the wood doesn’t break.”
“Hm.” As Lucifer fit the next piece into place, his daughter asked, “Wouldn’t it be easier to start with metal, then?”
The devil shook his head. “Metal is fine for little details like hinges or something decorative, but organic absorbs magic better. It’s—“ He paused for a moment, trying to think of how to explain. “Magic is a kind of energy that feeds off the caster’s life force or soul, if they have one. Something that was alive remembers how to hold and channel it; things like metals, especially refined ones, have to be forced to channel it. It can work, but it usually doesn’t last very long.”
“What about crystals?” Charlie hopped up to sit on Lucifer’s desk to continue watching him work. “I thought crystals were great for magic.”
“Crystals are great for storing magic,” Lucifer corrected. “Think of them like batteries: they can hold onto the magic, but they aren’t good for much else. The natural shape they form, with all the different facets and faces, makes it harder for the magic to get out: think of it like a hall of mirrors with magic being like light. It bounces around inside, but not much escapes. People who don’t have much power in and of themselves can use crystals to store theirs away or use someone else’s strength to amplify their spells: that’s why they’re used so often in lower spellwork.”
Charlie’s legs swung idly back and forth, considering the new information and tucking it away in her mind. She watched her father crafting the planks together in silence before asking, “What kind of wood is that? It’s pretty.”
“I’m actually using a few different kinds,” the devil explained, tapping the top of the box with his knuckles. “They all serve different purposes; they’re naturally suited to hold different magics. The top and bottom are palo santo to defend against malevolent energies, both from the objects themselves and from anyone trying to find them. The sides and back are alder and ash to aid in strength and protection. The doors will be rowan wood for added defense and to balance out the energies inside. Of course that’s all just a bonus; it’ll be my magic that really does the trick.”
“Huh.” Charlie leaned forward a bit, watching as Lucifer seared strange symbols into the wood with a burning hot fingertip. “How come you never taught me any of this stuff?”
Lucifer’s brow furrowed, focusing more on the question than the sigils he drew. “I guess…because you never asked? Maybe?” He didn’t sound sure of the answer at all. “I’m not like you, Charlie; I didn’t ‘grow up’. I didn’t have the milestones like you, no ruler to gauge life by. This sort of thing wasn’t in any of the parenting books either…. I guess I sort of thought that when you were ready, you’d let me know.” He set the cabinet he’d been making aside, turning to give his daughter his full attention now. “That was…short sighted of me. I’m sorry, Charlie, I should have been paying more attention.”
The princess hopped down from her perch, pulling Lucifer into a loose hug. “You’re sharing with me now,” she assured warmly, “that’s what’s important.” She wouldn’t lie and say she hadn’t missed this, that the lack of attention hadn’t affected her at all, but she was growing to understand her father better now. Hopefully, they would both be better moving forward. She squeezed him a little tighter, savoring the comforting sensation of his strong arms around her waist and his head against her chest before she pulled back.
“I should probably go check in with everyone,” the princess stated softly, “but I really, really appreciated spending time with you today. We should do it again, Dad. Soon.”
“Absolutely,” Lucifer agreed immediately, gently tugging Charlie down to press a quick kiss to her cheek. “Go talk with your people, do what you need to do; I’ll be right here if you need me.” Lucifer turned back to his workbench, setting about finishing the cabinet he was making as his daughter crossed the room.
Charlie looked back fondly from the door, smile soft and warm as she took in the sight of the fallen angel bent over his station, nimble fingers diligently at work. As she turned to leave her eyes caught something reflective upon the floor; a more direct look showed a small puddle of reddish brown, surface oddly wrinkled and visibly tacky. It took Charlie a moment to realize that it was a dried pool of blood.
The realization was startling; how had that gotten here? Who could it belong to? The only people who should have been in this room were Charlie, Vaggie and Lucifer. The latter two bled gold and Charlie was sure she would remember if she’d started bleeding; a quick pat beneath her nose clarified what she already knew: it wasn’t her blood. Her gaze flicked back to Lucifer, trying to glean any sort of information she could from his turned figure. He must have sensed her hesitance for the devil turned back to her, expression soft and curious. “Something the matter, sweetie?”
Charlie hesitated, barely restraining herself from looking back at the blood, not wanting to reveal that she’d noticed if it was something he’d wanted to keep from her. “No, no, everything’s fine!” she answered quickly; maybe a little too quickly, guessing by the doubt in her father’s eyes. “I just—I love you, Dad.”
All doubt left Lucifer’s face, leaving his expression open and warm and filled to bursting with happiness at the statement, eyes crinkling with his smile as he looked back at his baby girl. “I love you, too,” he assured gently. “Love you always, Charlie.”
The Princess of hell returned the smile, doing her best to cover up her doubts and worries so he wouldn’t see, and quietly stepped out of the room. She felt awful for questioning her father, wondering for even an instant what he may have had to do with the reason for that blood; he trusted her, loved her, she was sure of it. They were closer now than they’d ever been before. But just maybe, Charlie mused as her eyes picked out another tiny drop of sinner blood in the hall, maybe that wasn’t close enough.