Chapter Text
Second time’s the charm!
Emily felt even more motivated than she did last time, albeit still very nervous. She would drop in for some surprise therapy, get that guy to talk about whatever his past was, lift the weights off his shoulders! This time, she wouldn’t be alone either, so things would surely be less weird!
“I don’t know if this is a good idea,” Abel stammers. “I mean, I’m the son of Adam and all, the guy in charge of the exorcisms and purging, what if they hate me? Couldn’t Sera have sent someone more qualified?”
“No way!” Emily retorts, steadily approaching the theater after taking a portal down to Hell. “You stopped Lute from sabotaging everything! If you hadn’t stepped up, so many sinners would have perished for good! I’m sure Maestro will understand.” In the midst of fluttering, Emily notices some unfamiliar cars parked… along with a horse made of cactus parts.
Wait, didn’t Maestro say he was inviting other overlords over the next time Emily came to visit? Did he know she was coming? Or was it just a coincidence?
The man at the door isn’t there, but it’d be rude to just let herself in, so Emily knocks and waits patiently.
The servant didn’t open the door, but to Emily’s surprise—
“Oh! Well if it isn’t… Emily, right?” Alastor greets her.
“Alastor, yes? What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the hotel?” Emily asks the radio demon.
“Well, there’s an overlord meeting going on at the Maestro’s little theater, and I’m required to pop in whenever those happen! But he tends to use it as an excuse to just show off his new compositions.” Alastor laughs. “It’s quite ridiculous! He has his own fans, why does he need us to act as an audience? Though, he has been talking quite a bit about you!”
Emily winces, her freckles turning a different color from her blush. “Oh, has he? Uh, what is he saying?” She then remembers Abel is still with her, and immediately regrets asking.
“He’s been blabbering and arguing with Zeezi on how we should be playing nice and welcoming you to stop by more often.” Alastor then emits some mild radio static. “Speaking of which, I really should pay her and the others back for the way they talked about me when I was pretending to be captured…”
“Leee~eeet’s not do that! Okay?” Emily shimmies past him, witnessing various overlords. Two of them watching Maestro and Zeezi have their argument while two others stand off to the side.
The ones on the sidelines, one resembling a ballerina and one resembling a spider, notice Emily. The latter grins at her, taking a bow. Knowing well enough manners, she curtsies back and Abel bows in turn before they approach Maestro, trying to play the piano in the middle of his bickering.
“Uh, hi!” Emily forces a smile. “Good to see you again, Maestro!”
Startled, Maestro slams the wrong note. “Emily? I didn’t expect to see you again after last time.”
“You didn’t?”
“Yeah, you didn’t? You’ve been going on about her!” Zeezi barks.
Maestro coughs. “I mean, I didn’t think you would…”
“Didn’t you say something about planning to invite other overlords so they can thank me? Or my suggestion of future therapy sessions?” Her words cause Zeezi to glare at Maestro, who now looks uncharacteristically sheepish. Prick and Hatchet can hear what’s being said and start laughing.
Desperate to change the subject, Maestro notices Abel behind her. “Who is that?”
“This is Abel!” Emily happily introduces him, flying next to her fellow angel. “Since he also helped out, I thought it would be nice to—”
“He’s the guy that chased off that Exorcist angel!” Hatchet points out while slinking over to them. “He did a pretty good job too, telling that bitch to back off! I woulda shanked her for that disloyalty!”
“Oh, uh, thanks? I think?” Abel chuckles.
“Take it as a compliment from someone who’s a devout Satan worshipper, you didn’t do half-bad despite being known as the ‘good son’!” Hatchet slaps Abel on the back and starts laughing.
Already the air is pretty awkward. And it got worse once Dominique stepped through the entrance. This time, they wore a loose-fitting, tan men’s suit, donning a braided ponytail, and they had company with them.
“Dominique,” Maestro notices. “This is supposed to be an overlord meeting, why did you bring him?”
Attention is directed to the sinner in a gas mask with perfectly combed, blonde hair. The guy looked a bit sad and miserable as Dominique held him with their arm ringing around his.
“Tom has been having a hard time lately at work,” Dominique explains. “I wanted to get him some drinks and unwind, and… your music is relaxing, sir. When you want it to be, that is—”
“Ain’t he just gonna snitch whatever happens here over to the Vees?” Prick spits, lightly jabbing Dominique. “Y’all know better than to let a news anchorman workin’ for Vox to hang around us! Especially with angels in our company! Who knows what kinda lies he’ll spread!?”
The mention of Vox leaves Emily shuddering, but… her inherent faith in others came through first. If someone was working for Vox and having a hard time, maybe they really needed the support? Although, it was Maestro’s gathering, and it would be rude to impede.
Emily passes a glance to Maestro, and he looks back at her.
“I see… I want nothing to do with Vox, but if he needs space…”
“Gramps, you can’t be serious right now!” A playful nickname from Zeezi, but her tone is rather serious.
“Hold on!” Emily finally interjects. “Um, as someone who was also nearly killed by Vox… I think we should give him a chance at least. If he’s frustrated at his work, taking it out on him isn’t going to help things, right? Maybe we should hear him out, and encourage him to terminate his employment?”
While Abel nods along, Maître just scoffs and laughs. “You really have no idea how contracts with overlords work do you?” The servant mutters, putting down a platter of snacks on the table that Zeezi rushes over to demolish.
With that, Maestro continues playing, relenting while Dominique brings their guest to the side for drinks. Emily watches the pair, endeared by the act of kindness, then turns to Maestro. “Sorry if you weren’t expecting me! I decided I was going to pick up directly where we left off!”
“Is that so?” Maestro keeps his eyes closed, memorizing the composition he made by heart. “I’m normally not willing to talk about my history in front of others, I hope you realize.”
He seems a little more distant compared to how welcoming he was last time. He also keeps passing glances at Abel, who by now got dragged off to the side by Hatchet and Prick, both who ask him about his brother.
Oh! It must be because there are so many people here. Maybe he’s embarrassed or nervous with the crowd? More focused on his performance? That’s Emily’s first thought, but then she notices Alastor’s shadow close to her and Maestro…
Well, unlike Charlie, Emily kind of knew time and place and how to set boundaries. Especially after her experiences with Sir Pentious where she needed to give him space to adjust rather than bombarding him.
“Alastor,” she says, “do you mind?”
“Mind what?”
Emily pouts. “Not using whatever history Maestro has hidden for your entertainment?” She got more than enough info about the radio demon from Vaggi and Lucifer.
“My dear, that is not the entertainment I am getting from here tonight. I could care less about whatever murder story Maestro has hidden under his tailcoat!” Alastor cackles. “As a staff member of the hotel, I’m just making sure he won’t try anything unsavory. Looking out for your safety! After all, I would never hear the end of it from the others if something happened.”
Maestro twitches and stands up from the piano bench. The piano continues playing through his power, akin to a poltergeist taking control.
“Yes well… my antlers will always be bigger than yours, radio demon.”
And then Maestro just leaves with that as his sole retort, with Alastor looking totally unfazed.