Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Time…Space…Reality…All a linear path paved in the way of the multiverse in order to tell stories of all kinds. Stories of conflict and strife. Of love and heartbreak. Of longing and loneliness. 

Such a story is told repeatedly in the Hellaverse. Charlie Morningstar, the bright and shining princess of Hell, fought hard to end the conflict between Hell and Heaven. After fending her people off from the exterminations, she tried to show them the better way to salvation…redemption. But one sinner, Vox, decided to make his own grab for power. It was a conflict of ideals as much as it was power, but ultimately, Vox’s efforts were fruitless in the end. Blinded by his fanaticism and hunger for power and attention, Vox’s pedestal was forcibly removed from under him and only served to help prove Charlie’s point that there was a better way. The realms were finally unified.

But…what if the Princess didn’t have that chance. Long ago, Lilith had a dream…a dream of resistance. In that dream she envisioned sinners standing to the angels of Heavens. That dream, normally, would vanish alongside her for seven years. But in this reality…Vox took up the void where Lilith left and took it upon himself to convince the sinners to rise. Even when the exterminations came down, Vox was undeterred, for Lilith’s efforts showed him where true power lied. He constructed a weapon, The Might of Lilith, and convinced the sinners to rise. There, they learned their weakness, and a war began. Unfortunately for Adam, Vox was one step ahead.

Heaven would fall to them yet…and there was no princess to stop them…not until now.

Sloth…a peaceful ring. Its denizens under the pink sky were not all too hostile or keen on conflict. Whatever disturbed higher rings above did nothing to bother the various citizens down there. But there was sadness in the air…Belphegor was dead. It was a sudden event, but upon appearing in Sloth after engaging with the conflict in Pride all those years ago, Bel confirmed to most of Hell that Lucifer had fallen. No…not fallen…disappeared.

Lucifer had indeed gone into a slump when Lilith left, but none would suspect that he would condone the exterminations. Fewer expected that his own people would betray him for such. He couldn’t hurt them, and thus, he couldn’t defend himself. His daughter was also attacked…and now…she was in the hospital bed of St. An’s Hospital. Belphegor gave firm orders to her best medics that they would do everything in their power to keep her alive. When Belphegor returned to Sloth, a side of her body freshly bleeding after being hit with a mighty weapon, Belphegor reiterated those commands before succumbing to her injuries. She held onto her mortality as long as she could, but it wasn't enough.

And that is where this has led to. For seven years, most of the rings lacked their leaders. Only Asmodeus and Beelzebub remained, and they refused to acknowledge the conflict in Pride. Most of their comrades had already fallen to this mighty weapon the sinners made, and they wished for no more death. They only advise others not to engage, but most have already suspected what had happened. 

But that led to discussion and conflict. The princess of Hell, Charlie Morningstar, was still unconscious. Brutally hurt from the onslaught of sinners that came to her doorstep unannounced, unexpected, and armed with angelic steel; Charlie was rushed to the hospital in Sloth the moment Bel found out. And yet, she still lies asleep, stuck in a constant nightmare. A nightmare where her father was swarmed by the angriest that Pride had to offer, before being trapped by some angelic steel compartment. A nightmare that ended with her being stabbed in the heart….

But this recent nightmare, it started to ache the poor girl ... .this nightmare felt painful in a way that was not described. She went through the motions again within it, knowing that nothing she could do could change the outcome. When the sinners started touching her, beating her, she felt it. It ached across her body like it was the true event all over. Then came the stab through art, a sinner brandishing an angelic dagger after getting her caught by angelic crafted rope. It stabbed through her chest, cutting flesh, and she felt a pulse through her heart. A throbbing painful mess that jolted through her…jolted her awake.

From there, the Princess found herself in the hospital room, surrounded by machines. She wasn’t knowledgeable about machines, specifically the ones surrounding her in that hospital bed. She recognized the heart monitor, and the IV bag attached to her arm, and the tube that was stuck down her throat. It felt constricting, she couldn’t breathe. She forcefully tore it and the mask attached to her face through it off, leaving her gasping for air. Charlie felt panicked, suddenly no longer bound by an endless nightmare and firmly awake in present time. 

Charlie looked around her. A pink wallpapered small room with pink tiled floor. Basically everything was pink, from the sheets and pillows on her bed to the blinding light coming from outside. On the wallpaper and on the pillow sheets was a pattern of closed eyes, a symbol of Sloth. It seemed to be dawn at this point in time, and darkness was pouring into her room. Darkness that Charlie couldn’t stand being in.

Charlie started to try and get out of bed, before feeling a sharp pain in her chest. She started noticing the several wires attached to suction cups that littered around her body. Her arm, fresh with bruises and entrapped in a cast, was aching. And her leg, the left one, had pain extending to her foot. Removing the sheets revealed the reason. Running along her white skin and fur, her red hooves lined where toes on most would usually lie. But her left foot, her left hoof had a cast, for it had been split down the middle. It wasn’t the first time Charlie has had her hoof split; but it’s never, ever less painful when it happened.

Charlie realized that she was wearing a hospital gown, a pink one of course. She realized the cuts along her flesh and body that scarred but never healed. And she even noticed pain in her heart, like the dagger that stabbed it years ago still lingered. She felt it skip a beat as she watched her hospital room door open. From it, a Baphomet, a pink goat-like demon with a purple viper head for a tail alongside purple bat wings and curled purple horns. She, the fuzzy thing, jumped in shock at Charlie being awake.

“Charlie Morningstar!” She said with surprise, “You’re awake!” 

Charlie was a bit confused by the statement, but her mind was overwhelmed, only really capable of asking a single question.

“Where am I?” Charlie asked in a shaky voice.

“You are in St. Ans Hospital.” The little Baphomet said, the little candle on their head burning with a pink flame, “You had been out of it for quite some time.”

Charlie was still confused, and her thoughts were being drowned out by the sound of her beating heart. “What happened?” She managed to ask.

“You…well. You were attacked by angelic steel. It pierced your heart. You fell unconscious. We weren’t actually sure if you were ever going to wake up after that.” As the Baphomet talked, Charlie tried to move herself out of the bed, a headache flaring up and pain still flourishing throughout her body. She managed to wobbly get herself standing, but the pain in her hoof was still clear and caused her to limp.

“You shouldn’t be walking at this point in time.” Charlie ignored that warning, trying to move towards the counter near the door, tearing off most of the tubes and wires she felt she no longer needed. She almost fell but caught herself on the medical shelf and slowly inched her way to the sink. There, Charlie could see her face. Her long blond hair, almost ankle length, was disheveled and washed out in color. Her eyes, once vibrant with light yellow sclera with red irises, were dulled by her silver-grey eyelids drooping over them and the black of her eyelashes having faded to a dark grey. Now she had bags under her eyes, and white of her skin went pale. Her black lips were dried and felt crusty in her mouth. Her rosy, red cheeks were faded and her face felt worn and numb. She even seemed to have a chip on her left fang, most likely from the assault she underwent.

But perhaps, the thing that truly horrified Charlie to the core, was that just barely underneath the hospital gown, just above her left breast, was a giant gash. A visible scar in her chest accompanied by cracks in her skin and flesh just barely patched up with stitches. This scar still felt fresh, like it only just started to heal over the damage that happened just over her heart. Charlie felt it with her hand, and still felt a slight twitch of pain from it. 

“Your heart was pierced by the dagger. The wound wouldn’t heal properly, and we think your heart hasn’t either. It’s still functional, but I recommend you keep your stress level down or it might skip vital beats.” Charlie could barely catch all of that as she looked in the mirror. Cuts across her face were present as well as a visible bandage wrapping amongst her forehead just barely hidden by her bangs. 

Rather shaken, Charlie turned to her doctor and asked, “What happened to me?”

“You almost died…You were swarmed by sinners in Pride and someone sent you down here for us to help you.” The Baphomet said, and while it was clear she was trying to comfort the shaken princess, Charlie was anything but calmed down.

“Where’s my dad?” Charlie said, tears nearly flowing into her eyes.

“He…hasn’t been found. The sins went to investigate and…they…most didn’t come back.” The Baphomet said. The news sent a quake of worry and pain through Charlie. The sins were like family to her. The thought of any of them hurt, let alone killed, was…overwhelming. She…she couldn't comprehend it.

“Is there anyone left?” Charlie asked, desperate for some kind of comfort.

“Not really. Even then they keep to themselves.” The Baphomet doctor said.

Charlie couldn’t fathom it. How could any of this happen? Why did any of this happen? Why was she here right now? How much did she lose from being stuck in that constant living nightmare for so long?

“How long have I been out for?” Charlie asked, now back to looking at the mirror above the sink.

“Seven years. You have been in a coma for seven years.” The doctor said, clearly saddened.

Charlie was shook by that news. For seven years, she had been living the same nightmare that nearly ended her life. Seven years, apparently, was how long her father has been missing. Seven years, she had been stuck in the hospital on what should have been her death bed, and yet somehow came through.

Charlie, ignoring her pain and worry, leaned down to grab the Baphomet by the shoulders, “Tell me what happened.”

“Well, since you got injured, Lucifer went missing. From there something happened in Pride that the sins went to investigate. They never came back. Um…I heard some talks about something involving Heaven, but I’m not well versed in Pride politics.” The Baphomet said, “But I don’t recommend going up there now! The sinners have gotten rowdy since then.”

Charlie didn’t listen. She needed to figure out what happened in her home. She needed to figure out what happened to Heaven. Was there a war? A conflict. All Charlie could remember was that 3 years prior to the attack, Heaven was doing exterminations. Charlie just recently opened a hotel that was supposed to redeem sinners and get them into Heaven. Yet, she was attacked by a swarm of them. And they apparently got worse? How? Charlie was frankly scared of finding out. She needed to leave, so she headed towards the door.

“Your majesty, you can’t leave in your current condition!” The Baphomet doctor yelled.

“I’ll manage. I just need to get to Pride!” Charlie said with a limp in her step. Her hoof still hurt, and honestly going out in a hospital gown was not a great look. 

“You need to stay! And Pride is too dangerous at the moment! The sins advise that anyone from the lower rings do not enter it!” The Baphomet doctor emphasized the last sentence. It made Charlie stop and whip her head around to look at the doctor, which honestly made the headache she was feeling worse.

“There are still sins alive?” That’s a relief.

“Only two. Beelzebub and Asmodeus but they don’t want anybody to enter Pride.” And that soured Charlie’s mood again.

“Look! Just, can you get me some clothes and maybe a phone? I need to get back to my home! I have to find my father. I have to fix…whatever happened!” Charlie asked.

“I can look into that, but your majesty, I implore you not to go back to Pride. It’s dangerous. Hell…Hell hasn’t been the same since you got hurt.” As the Baphomet said her words, Charlie stared into space as her thoughts went awry. They were rapidly appearing through her mind as dozens of different ideas and theories were moving through her mind. It was overwhelming, and her heart was moving rapidly as she thought of what became of her father. Then, she felt it stop…everything in her body suddenly stopped as she collapsed to the ground. A mere second, everything went blank before a sharp pain hit her chest.

Her vision, once blurry but now cleared, showed her now on her knees with a hand clutched over her chest wound. Her doctor ran over to her worried.

“You have bad heart palpitations. Your heart is skipping too many beats. When you get stressed, you risk the chance of that, and eventually pass out.” The doctor said, clutching her hooved hands around Charlie’s hand that covered the chest wound, “I would be unwise to go back to Pride in this state.”

“I have to!” Charlie yelled, “I need to see if my father is alright!”

“He might be dead, Charlie!” The doctor yelled back, and Charlie, knowing that possibility, could not accept that as truth.

“I can’t believe that! I won’t believe that! My father must still be out there! I need to find him.” Charlie felt her throat feel hoarse from that yell, and thus could only say, “please.”

The doctor, clearly conflicted, decided to make up her mind. “Okay,” she said, “But you have to do what I say.”

The Hellevator, a massive structure enabling anyone Hellborn to travel the various rings of Hell. Decorated in white and gold with apple imagery lining it, it was one of Lucifer’s proudest creations. 

It gave Charlie a flash of doubt through her mind upon standing outside of the entrance of it.

“Now, Pride is going to be quite hectic from what I hear, so please take caution when traversing it.” Charlie’s doctor said as she managed to break Charlie out of her trance in order to hand her things, which includes a few pill bottles, bandages, and pepper spray.

“If you suffer any heart conditions, seek attention immediately. And stay out of the spotlight. From what I hear, bluebloods like yourself aren’t as respected up there anymore.” The doctor said, grabbing one of her bags, “Not many will be up there to help you, so do be careful who you decide to align with.”

Charlie was confused as the doctor got into her ratty van and drove back to the hospital. But when hasn’t she been partially confused the since the very moment she woke up. Or, really, when she was attacked in the first place. It was hard recalling memories as she stepped into the loud, crowded lobby of the Hellevator.

 The various elevators of the Hellevator were like trains at a station, with stops along its way to the other wings with several lines of seats making up the inside of each elevator. This place was blocked off in access for all sinners, which was considered godsend for Charlie. She really was extremely nervous about going back to Pride, the same ring where she was assaulted into a coma. But she had to if she wanted to find her father. 

After getting her ticket, and waiting for her Elevator to Pride, Charlie left herself in the pool of her memory. Whatever she can scrounge out from the days leading up to her attack. Well…three years before hand her mother disappeared…that’s when she and her father stopped talking. The most recent point they seen each other was when she was assaulted, which was where he also got overwhelmed. Her father couldn’t harm sinners, and Charlie felt they attacked her so they could lure Lucifer into a trap where they could abuse that. But…that was a secret. Nobody knew that he couldn’t harm them…so how did they? 

They also had angelic steel, which they had to have gotten from somewhere. Exterminations maybe? They only relatively recently started, much to her chagrin, and they were sloppy at keeping their weapons on them during the exterminations. But, who supplied them? There really were not many who cracked at how angelic steel functioned at that point. Maybe that woman…Carmilla? But she didn’t seem like the type to encourage attacking the royal family. Who else? 

There was that one sinner. Sorry, sinners, they were a trio, called the Vees. Charlie didn’t pay much attention to what they did, but Charlie did know Vox, who kept appearing on channels across Pride and even on websites and streaming. Maybe he had something to do with it. Charlie did know that Vox did not like her and that Vox misinterpreted her mother’s dream as a call for violence.

Did this lead to whatever happened with Heaven? What exactly happened with them? Charlie remembered vaguely about a call for an uprising, but Charlie didn’t think it was possible. Even if she didn’t or did want a war, the fact of the matter was that it wasn’t possible. Heaven was too strong…weren’t they? 

At this point, Charlie was getting nauseated by her thoughts, so much so she didn’t notice that she, alongside only like three to four imps was on the elevator to Pride. She was snapped out of it, by the presence of one of the screens changing channels in the elevator. One to a channel of a red background and swirling black lines, a lightning bolt in the middle.

“Welcome to the Pride Ring.” The audio said, “Operated by the Voxtek cooperation. Trust us with your power.”

The screen went off and suddenly Charlie was confused. When did a sinner based cooperation operate an entire ring? That was a Sin’s job. What was Voxtek? Wait…Vox! That was the company he owned. Why was he running a ring? Was this a delusion by him? Was it simply just a flex of power? What happened to her home?

The elevator came to a stop, and Charlie flung herself into the crowds of the lobby, pushing and shoving through to see the other side; to see what became of her home.

It was more terrifying than she could’ve realized.

Instead of vibrant red, it was oppressive blue and purple lining the buildings. While still populated by those strange red eyes, it was clear that Hell has changed from her last stop in Pride. Strangely, a lot of demonic imagery Charlie remembered was replaced by angelic representation…but none really feeling like it came out of Heaven. There were images of Angels in chains, angels on strings, angels being bloodied and beaten. The buildings themselves, seemed to have been outlined but angelic steel, fortifying them. There were neon signs advertising, “Angels! Free to Use! Fuck Em! Trust Us!” And the most graphic, “Wings for Sale!”

Charlie looked around her. Screens lined each and every window, posters of the three Vess were displayed loud and proud along with posters of Vox with “Resist” being the tagline. And worst of all, Charlie could see angels involved with almost all of them. 

Velvette. Smallest of the Vees, youngest too. She was known for her fashion and dress variety, and also potions. Cheddar brown skin molded onto a plastic, doll-like body she customizes almost every day with only a few things remaining consistent. White iris eyes with bright red sclera and slit pupils, almost always having burgundy eyeshadow and black lipstick accompany it, with a black strip in the center of her mouth being clearly visible. Her hair was always desire red, usually accompanied by a white swirling streak somewhere on the sides and dark-navy blue insides.

In the poster Charlie decided to focus on, Velvette was wearing her hair up in a short but relatively big bun with a white swirl on the sides and a white streak on her bangs, the dark-navy blue part of her hair sticking out in a swirl off to the side of her head, complete with white skull earring. She was wearing a white dress, complete with feathers lining it that seem to operate with winged sleeves and feathers making up a skirt. She was wearing blue leggings that met with white healed shoes with small wings on the outsides. The poster itself advertised “New Designer Set! Feel like an Angel! Wear their wings!”. From there, Charlie could see two angels, which look nothing like the exterminators she had seen before.

 Exorcists they were called. Wore grey and black outfits with horned helmets with led white faces. They were terrifying, almost looking as demonic as the demons they killed. Here…These angels looked vastly different. One was clearly female, blue skinned with dark purple hair that looked like it had been pulled, her halo shining blue instead of exorcist black. The other looked like an axolotl, with pink skin and red frills with a halo glowing orange instead. Both were on the ground, Velvette standing over them or standing on the neck if the female angel was concerned, with only feathered nubs where wings once were. Oozing out of their backs was golden blood.

Valentino. The overlord of film…if you could call what he makes that. He was a porn maker, with no regard for creation or proper treatment of his stars. Ozzie, Charlie’s uncle, always refused to allow his films into the lower layers of Hell out of spite for his utter regard for the sin of Lust. He may think he embodies lust, but he truly embodied pride and wrath. A tall man, somewhat muscular and broadly shouldered, with lavender skin with cerise pink eyes that lack pupils and irises. He almost always wore gold rimmed, heart shaped sunglasses with cerise lenses. His mouth was lined with similarly colored teeth to cerise, with a singular golden fang to the left. Wearing long black healed boots, he wore a full length coat of red with zebra print lining the front to bottom helm. Four arms decorate his body, sharing the sleeves of the coat with white fur at the wrists with black gloves. At the sides of his coat are three white stripes on both hips and a heart design on his back. The coat is pinned only by a gold chain and a gold love-heart shaped broach fastened at the breast, underneath the large white neck fluff decorated by small red love-hearts that covers his neck line. Completing his look, a red top hat with a wide, asymmetrical zebra-printed hat-band, where his with moth-like antennae stick out; the right appears like a large white with black heart-striped feather while the left appears smaller and lacking the white areas.

He is nearly always seen with a large pink cigarette pipe blowing out pink smoke, like he did in the poster Charlie saw. In that poster, he was surrounded by three female angels who scantily clad and also looked very much uncomfortable being in such suggestive positions. The angel to his right, on her knees with a hand on his chest, had purple skin with violet hair, one massive ponytail extending to her back that was almost like another hand was forming at the end. She was wearing a pink skinny looking bikini and seemed to have bruises along her body, with the poor woman holding back tears as she looked down with her purple eyes with white dots for pupils. Another angel off to Val’s right had orange skin and red lips alongside bushy orange hair, having a hand with red nails on the other side of Val’s chest while Val had his bottom hand gripping the underside of her chin. She appeared to have wings and antennae like a bee, with even a bee-like abdomen being seen as she was leaned over. The final angel, located right between Val's legs with a terrified expression, had pink skin with cotton candy hair (In that it literally looked like cotton candy) with a cone sticking out of her hair. All three very much looked like they didn’t want to be there, and seeing the tagline, “Use Angel Sluts! Become a One Time Star and Fuck One Live! Supplied by Valentino!”

It was disgusting, as were the various film posters surrounding it. “Angel in Hellish Takeover”, “Angels Meet Full Demon Force,” and probably the most disturbing, “Exterminating Angel Ass”. All of which had angels, somewhat even entirely naked, on the covers. Not demons dressed as angels, real genuine angels, downright beautiful women being put into suggestive situations seeming against their consent and will. And judging by the content depicted on the front cover, and the angel’s expressions ranging from clearly terrified to basically awaiting coming pain, they probably were dragged into these situations against their consent. Stripped of their dignity and humiliated, treated as nothing but trophies. But…how did Valentino ever get access to angels?

The answer…on a billboard depicting the final member of the Vees…Vox. Sporting a flat-screen television for a head, with the monitor projecting eyes with bright red sclera, narrow cyan pupils and different-colored outlines - black for his right and cyan for his left - with his left eye wide open and contain endlessly growing black concentric circles, the pupil becomes a shivering cyan-colored electric bolt. He had a wide grin filled with jagged, cyan-colored teeth and a meek little black top hat with red and blue designs reminiscent of a broadcast symbol and radio wave symbol; with two antenna sticking out, the left in a zigzag. The rest of his body was organic, with dark navy-blue skin with sharp, cyan claw-like fingers at the end of his hands. Normally, he wore a navy-blue tuxedo with the jacket sporting coattails, red-trimmed cyan lapels, thin cyan stripes and cyan lining, worn over a red-and-black-striped waistcoat which itself is worn over a collared bluish-white dress shirt with an upside-down broadcast symbol and a rather large, red bowtie. Combining that with the dark navy blue slacks, heeled dark gray dress shoes with cyan-colored laces, toes, and tips on the heels.

The billboard had a blue background with Vox to the side gesturing to an ad for…” The 7th Anniversary of the Take Over of Heaven. Join the Voxentennial Party and Trust Us with the Fight Against Heaven!”

Charlie was speechless. Heaven had fallen? Hell was at war with them? And Vox was the one leading them. All of this over the course of 7 years?!

“What the fuck happened to my home?” 

Chapter Text

So, Charlie had learned some…things about what Pride was up to these days. 1: Voxtek was everywhere. You couldn’t escape it, and every piece of technology belonged to them. They owned televisions, phones, computers, delivery services, tv shows, news sites, drones, streaming services, security programs, candy, popsicles, drinks, clothes, vehicles, cereal and more. To evade them and their eyes would be foolish. Thankfully, Charlie managed to keep one of the pink blankets from her hospital room in Sloth. It was very musty, but it formed a functional hoodie that hid her face and that was enough. She needed to get back to her estate, the Morningstar Estate, in order to find something to wear other than the hospital gown. Especially since her hooves were still hurting and having nothing but a very thin gown with a few bandages sprinkled throughout your figure does not help with trying to keep yourself hidden or at least warm.

Anyway, what she also learned was that 2: Angels were in fact being imported from Heaven into Hell. Seemingly against their will. They were products, or treated as one, as far as Charlie was aware. Novelties from a hostile takeover, the thought of which disgusted Charlie. She always wanted to visit Heaven, thinking about all the ways it could be bright and colorful, and she knew that it probably would not be like that if the Vees got their grimy mitts on it. Though how they managed to actually get up there, let alone bring other souls down here was a mystery.

The most Charlie sees them is inside establishments, treated as workers like waiters in restaurants or chaperones in shops. But very infrequently, mainly because nobody shuts the blinds to any windows, angels of all shapes, gender, and beauty would be used as…sex objects. Sometimes, they would be bound by chained collars on their necks, demanded by those who held those chains to strip or do…sex. If they did not comply, like a few poor angels Charlie saw through windows or in alleyways, they would be threatened with blades of angelic steel. Judging by that alone, it would appear that angelic steel actually did hurt angels, a fact that Charlie never thought was possible. She thought they were invincible. And yet, these angels cowered from the threats and complied with tears in their eyes. Sometimes their captors would still harm them with angelic steel, digging into wounds that gushed with golden blood that Charlie thought looked alien. Some angels apparently had this commonly happened to them and had scars all over their body from such treatment. Most souls could heal from any sort of damage, and Charlie could assume it was the same for angelic ones as well, but Angelic steal bypasses any known form of weaponry. They wanted these souls to suffer.

And that led to the third thing she learned. Angels weren’t people. They were property. They were trophies. An object used to show how powerful you are. They are such a commodity; their wings, cut off from their bodies, are sold in stores at ridiculous prices, and their mere feathers fetch a worthy price. If you had an angel, that commanded respect. And from what she knew, the Vees had tones of them. And they willingly leased these poor souls out whenever they please to be used and abused by the sinners of Hell. 

Charlie never felt afraid walking through her home before. Or at least as afraid as she was now. It was common sense to exercise caution in Hell on account of it being…well…Hell. But she never felt panicked whenever sinners approached her like they did now. She never felt terrified of her own people before, but after seeing even commoners having angelic steel weapons nearly made her heart stop at the fact that, if any so decided, they could assault her right then and there. Send her back into a blackout that she may never wake up from. Sinners were always brash people, but it seemed like these seven years have robbed them of any sort of fear. They used to fear Heaven, they feared the exterminations; but the ability to take out their anger on these angelic souls robbed that fear from them. They were without any sort of fear holding them back, especially since they knew they couldn't be punished for their deeds anymore.

She did not feel safe in the streets, but if she played her cards right, she could reach her home up at the Morningstar estate. Well, her former home. The hotel. It was technically an estate that the Morningstars, and by that we me she, owned. Even if it was ransacked, and Charlie certainly doesn’t feel like she would feel safe up there, there had to be some sort of clothing still left for her to use. Hopefully…seven years left a lot to happen, especially in a crowded place like Pride.

Walking around towards her place, off towards the edge of Pentagram City, she noticed a significant landmark not seen near the center of the city. Before, it was a Heavenly Embassy, a part clock tower-part meeting room–part church that Heaven used to interact with Hell. Now, it was a big, tall navy-blue office building with bright cyan windows that went straight up; shaping itself to be a thin V with the sides of the building stretching outwards while the inner parts were filled with a complex of blue windows. Near the top was a demonic looking antenna with a red jagged halo that sparked with blue electricity. Extending from the sides of the building, cyan blue panels that extend outwards that looked like wings, red lines cutting through the panels. Surrounding the place, a fenced off area filled with shipping trucks and shipping crates; and, at least that what Charlie thought they were, sinners lining up to sign up for the fight against Heaven right at the front door of this building. Whatever mark of oppression Heaven had here in Hell was gone, and it was clear Sinners ruled here now. While Charlie was glad to no longer see that Embassy, for the clock tower that counted down the days before the sinners of Hell met their doom was absolutely not something they liked, the new oppressive building sent chills down Charlie’s spine.

Instead of being a clear sign of judgement day, a representation of the slaughter that plagued Hell for three years, it was now a sign of oppression, control, and tyranny. It was a reminder that the Vees were in control. A reminder that Vox was in control. The new blue of Hell signified it. The poor angels forced to their knees at the depraved requests of sinners proved it. And the posters and commercials of the Vees airing all over the place reminded of it. The Vees were not to be questioned, and suddenly, that attack that nearly cost Charlie her life and perhaps even cost her father his didn’t feel random. It felt targeted. As if they didn’t want anyone leading their new Ring sized cult astray.

Charlie was failing to hold back tears. Tears of horror for how far her home had fallen from its morals. They were loose morals, but any shred of decency Hell had was gone now. She was horrified at the idea that Heaven, while having sent down the slaughter, but a place for the innocent souls of the living who have done such good in life were now being forced into sexual slavery, mutilation, humiliation and more simply because Hell was tired of the exterminations. And those tears would flow at full force when she got to her old estate, or at least a place she used to own. Past the gate, she saw it...

It was an old hotel, but one very dear to her heart. One that she, her mother, and her father used to have as sort of a getaway from the intensity of Pride. Once Charlie’s mother disappeared like…god it’s about a decade now, it fell into disrepair, especially since Charlie’s father fell into a slump. Once Charlie raised enough money (Which may or may not have something to do with a very reluctant Mammon) she got the place up and running. Or at least it was supposed to…until she got attacked. The same year she opened that hotel, meant for all the eager sinners ready to better themselves and be redeemed in order to get to Heaven, she was brutally attacked. And that attracted the attention of her father, but he couldn’t save her because that would harm the sinners.

Charlie wasn’t sure how her father got that curse, but he couldn’t do anything to sinners that could hurt him. Charlie didn’t know if they themselves knew that, but considering they had a compartment that Charlie narrowly managed to see before she passed out from her injury and beating, then they somehow figured it out. But…how? That was a secret even the highest of Hell that wasn’t a Deadly Sin didn’t know. But somehow they figured it out, and they must have attacked her to drawn him out. Why? Well, considering Vox and Vees seem to rule supreme, Charlie could only guess they didn’t want competition.

The holdover from this memory persisted through Charlie’s mind as she looked at the broken remains of her once proud Happy Hotel. A hotel meant for redemption, now in dilapidated ruins. The hotel stood tall, seven stories total but the top of the building was clearly affected by a fight, as the sign displaying the name of the hotel was shredded scrap at this point with only H, A, P, Y, H and L still remaining on it, the bulbs that once lit the letter signs having busted long before. The yellow windows of the hotel have long since been shattered, with the outside having been taken over by the black lines and red eyes, oozing into cracks and clearly causing damage to the hotel. It was now a rusty dark crimson color as arrow signs that once decorated the front of the hotel have fallen off, along with the giant sailing ship that was attached to the side. It fell on its side, leaving a massive hole in the side of the hotel. The carousel on the other side of the hotel also looked smashed to bits, and the overall hotel was vandalized by graffiti, posters, and those weird eyes. The radio tower on the top had fallen off with only the former metal holding it remaining, the neon sign saying “HOTEL” was hanging on for dear life with no light remaining in it; the entrance was trashed with the doors torn off its hinges and the “Vacancy” sign rotting on the ground near the now overgrown flowerbed that once looked like a pentagram but now was just overrun with thorns and weeds. 

All in all, Charlie hated how the Hotel looked now. She devoted so much of her time trying to plan out a place suitable for all sorts of sinners needs, then having to compromise with a lack of budget and knowledge on upkeep, and a lack of staff; then awaiting eagerly to find some sinners to join her hotel and help her prove redemption was possible. She really only wanted the best for her people, and they decided to…decided to….

Charlie felt her heart stop and it nearly made her collapse to the ground before she narrowly caught herself from hitting the concrete. She was merely standing outside the gate to her hotel, which had been victim to the invasive eyes and vines. She felt dizzy, and was gasping for breath. The heart had only stopped for a few mere seconds, but it felt like an eternal blackout that caused her to see visions of the thing that caused her this pain she was feeling now. God…what did she do so wrong? Why did they act so violently against her? She only wanted to help them, and her reward was a crack in her skull, a split in the hoof, a cast on her arm, and a heart that would stop if her thoughts overwhelmed her. A part of her wanted to believe there was still good in them, but the scars on her body prevented her from truly going far in that belief.

Charlie’s body wasn’t in the best shape still, and perhaps leaving the hospital so soon was not the brightest idea. From what Charlie could remember, her memory got scattered; Her head was subjected to a major blow that pierced a part of her skull. Charlie couldn’t remember what caused it, so it must have happened after she blacked out from being stabbed in the heart. It wasn’t some major split in the head, but it was certainly something that caused intense bleeding. However, her arm she did remember got subjected to a brutal stabbing by a knife and then bludgeoned by a bat infused with angelic steel. That’s what the blue cast on her arm was, though it appeared to be near the later stages of healing. She could still move her fingers and hand fine, and perhaps she could even remove the cast, though she was going to be safe and keep it on.

The split hoof was annoying her now, as it still flared up with pain. Split hooves were not something that healed easily and it appeared that the doctors did all they could to at least get it to heal. It was bandaged now which was a relief but Charlie was walking on a painful limp for the time being and severely regretted not getting any crutches or even at least a walking cane. And given the uneven ground in Charlie’s home and the fact that she needed to move around the crowded streets of Hell, she was putting way too much weight on it and the pain was starting to bite her in the ass.

She could really use Razzle and Dazzle right now. They were loyal pets/servants/little fluffballs that Charlie loved and trusted. And now, thinking about it, Charlie had no idea what happened to them. When she was overwhelmed, Razzle and Dazzle tried to help, but she was stabbed before they had a chance too. They seemed confused and frightened if Charlie could remember, and now the condition of her little goat boys was a mystery that she couldn’t bear. Her heart was skipping beats again, feeling like it was about to fly out of her chest while wounds that festered near it flared up in pain. Charlie had to clutch that side of her chest in a vain attempt to ease it as she tried to speedwalk up the uneven gravel.

Once she got to the entrance of the hotel, she found it ransacked. Pictures she cherished of her family on the ground broken or burned, furniture smashed and thrown about, wallpaper torn off with bullet holes scattered throughout. The most glaring bit of damage was that in the middle of the lobby, there was a hole in the ceiling from the very top of the hotel. 

The blinding daylight of Hell poured through the hotel into the middle of the lobby, shining onto something that stopped Charlie in her tracks. Something that nearly made her scream, causing her to cover her mouth before any sound came out. It was a massive corpse, one of a dragon, that seemed to have been rotting for a good long while. It appeared that the skin and flesh had long since started rotting with only a few bits of rotten flesh and skin encompassed by faded red fur still remaining on the body. The corpse had a wing sticking up, reduced to bone with the membrane ripped apart. The corpse was mostly bone at this point, was swarming with flies and rats, and was indented into the floor. This thing was slammed from the ceiling into the ground by something large. That may explain why the lobby was trashed.

The dragon was one Charlie knew, especially with the clear triangle tipped demon tail having rested near the entrance, broken in several places. This was Razzle, one of her two goat boy body guards. He must have been forced into a full demon state, probably filled with anger and rage. Could…could this have happened when she was attacked? Were…were they trying to protect her? Or were they filled with vengeance and anger? Regardless, Razzle lied dead on the ground, and has been that way for years it seemed. 

Dazzle didn’t seem to be anywhere. Even amongst the trash, the debris, the various smashed China, souvenirs, portraits and cobwebs, Dazzle didn’t seem to be anywhere. Razzle himself looked like his chest was torn out, and he was just left to die. Charlie couldn’t help but fall to the ground on her knees in tears. She loved her little goat boys and seeing one of them dead with the other nowhere in sight right after knowing that this spot, this place was what robbed her of seven years of her life and her own father, it was overwhelming. She couldn’t handle it. Her mind started racing. She could only cry while her heart beat badly and started hurting her chest again. Sweat began to build on her body and cause her clothes to get all sticky to her skin. She hated the feeling, and tried to get up, but ended up wobbling on her two legs in pain and with a lack of breath.

Her breathing was getting shallow. Her sobs and heartbeats were robbing her of energy. She felt her dry lips crack and the salt of her tears once they hit her mouth. Her thoughts were overloaded with everything she remembered and felt, with no way to handle it. At this moment, her heart stopped again, and she could only slowly descend to the ground while leaning on a torn up chair in the lobby. Her heart picked up again before she got to the ground, but the temporary blackout; the blindness and sweat, the tears and dehydration, Charlie couldn’t handle it anymore. Charlie curled up and cried.

She did not know how long she cried. But she just needed to let out tears. She needed this, but what she really wanted was something, anything she remembered. Seven years of her time had passed, and she was alone with nobody she knew. She could just go back down to the surviving sins, but how could she know what she knows now? Knowing that these Vees took away so much of her life and for what? Revenge against Heaven? A reason to bully, abuse, and rape angels?

She needed to do something, but what? What could she possibly do? First, she needed to calm down. Looking into the pink bag at her side, something that the doctor gave her before she left, she found several medicine bottles. She never bothered to remember them, believing she could tough the pain out, but that didn’t work. Shuffling through, there seemed to be a bottle for pain relief, which Charlie gladly took knowing that she just couldn’t go with her chest and foot pain anymore. Taking a few pills was a lifesaver. But that wouldn’t help much with her heart beats causing her to black out. Thankfully, there were some anxiety meds in the bag as well. Charlie couldn’t bother remembering any names for the things, but she did not, the pills being her auntie Bel’s “Calming Pills”.

After ingesting as much medication as she desperately needed, Charlie turned her head towards Razzle’s corpse. A reminder of her failure. She could’ve done something. She didn’t have the limitation of not hurting sinners like her father did. She isn’t bound by some curse saying she couldn’t put her people in their place. She could’ve done something…and just didn’t. It was no secret Charlie didn’t like hurting others, especially to exercise authority. She never wanted to inflict harm unless she absolutely had to…she just thought she could talk them down…and got stabbed in the heart for it. 

Charlie curled up again, not to cry but to think. What could she do? The Vees were far too powerful, and directly trying to take them down would do far more harm than good. They had numbers, a cult of an entire ring of sinners to their name, and Charlie was not ready to confront a horde again. Charlie was thinking, but it wasn’t doing her any good. Charlie was never really much of a planner, especially with something as stressful as taking down three overlords that managed to conspire an uprising against Heaven. But before she could drown in her thoughts again, she heard a noise by the stairway. 

Stepping out of the shadows, a small cat-like figure emerged. She had scruffy, mostly black colored fur with white patches, a white heart-shaped face, half of a white heart-shaped mark on both of her pointed ears, white front paws, and white at the tip of her very long tail. She had a singular eye sporting a red iris and yellow sclera, and had a red collar around her neck with a circular gold tag hanging off of the front. Her appearance gave Charlie something she hadn’t felt since she woke up. Pure joy. Joy that brought her to tears.

It was Keekee, somehow having survived the initial onslaught onto her hotel, and also having lived in a damaged one for seven years. Keekee was a pet that Charlie loved, a pet intrinsically tied to this hotel and became its key. Everything the Hotel was, Keekee was also. But now, the hotel was a mess, and Keekee was definitely in unkept condition.

But Charlie didn’t care how dirty she was, or how messy her fur was, she needed to hug her demon cat! She needed to hug something familiar, something she knew and loved. She got up from the floor, nearly tripping over herself, and limped over to Keekee with open arms.

“Keekee!” Charlie squealed, allowing the cat to jump into the princess’ arms, spinning her around before Charlie bent down to the floor on her knees. She cuddled that cat with tears flowing from her face, and Keekee was purring in mutual love and joy. Charlie put the cat down and let it scamper and sit in front of her, looking at her as if she was asking where she’d been.

“Sorry, Keekee. I was…hurt for a while.” Charlie said, pulling down a bit of her hospital gown to show the big chest scar. Keekee looked at it in concern.

Charlie decided to get up from the floor, now looking at Razzle's corpse. “What happened?” Charlie asked, knowing Keekee wouldn’t be able to give an answer. Charlie turned her head to the cat on the floor, who summoned the huge mouth on her tail which started licking her paws.

“So…Keekee!” Charlie called upon her cat who banished the tail mouth away and looked up at her owner, “I kinda need my clothes. Is there any around here that hasn't been taken?”

After some consideration, Keekee started levitating, flying towards the stairway to the upper level and landing near the top, beckoning Charlie to follow. Charlie tried to step around the various gaps in the stairs and potentially faulty floorboards so as not to injure herself further. Proceeding to follow Keekee through the broken and vandalized hotel, Charlie realized where Keekee was leading her. The cat was leading her to her bedroom. Unfortunately, the door for it was ajar. 

Stepping inside, it was exactly what Charlie feared. It was ransacked. The window looking over the city was smashed apart, wallpaper and pictures were torn off the walls, graffiti cursing her name and damning her from being heir to the throne, and furniture was torn apart and scattered. The red royal bed that always felt too big for Charlie was torn apart, with the bedsheets and pillows having long been taken away leaving a dirty mattress so damaged the springs were coming out. Walking inside, Charlie accidentally stepped on a misplaced picture…one of her and her mother standing on opposite sides of her father, who was sitting in a fancy chair. All three smiling, unaware that they would be pulled apart from each other.

Charlie’s gaze lingered on the photo, before light tapping could be heard from the other side of the room. Charlie lifted her head and saw Keekee pawing at the closet, urging Charlie to come over and open it. Strangely, the closet was not damaged like the rest of the room, only with a few bullet holes ingrained within it. Keekee floated over to Charlie as she approached, transforming into a black key with a head that had a pink eye with a black heart pupil and wings. Charlie spotted a lock near the closet and decided to use the key to open it. After a solid click, Keekee transformed out of Charlie’s hand to allow Charlie to open the closet.

Opening it up, it was very much almost entirely empty, almost looking ransacked as much as the rest of the hotel. But hanging off of the hangers were two outfits that Charlie was surprised remained. One was a dress of red, a blouse usually tightened by a light yellow strap around the torso and buttoned up with two sets of golden pins and black string. There were frills around the torso area with a light white line near the end of the ruffles. The ends of the dress was tipped with white. The dress went over dress slacks, light brown ones that went down to her feet. Underneath the dress were a pair of white healed shoes, decorated with black winged, red eyes with slit pupils not unlike the eyes that infested her hotel. Topping it off, was a gold colored bow with a red ruby center.

The other outfit was an outfit Charlie was familiar with. She had multiples just like it. A red tuxedo-jacket with darker red lapels and inner cuffs, shoulder pads, and a small white tag located on the left side. She usually wears this over an untucked, long-sleeved, high-collared white dress-shirt that has two black buttons and dark gray cuffs with yellow buttons. The dress pants were colored in a slightly darker shade than the jacket, and the footwear located underneath the clothes are heeled, white saddle shoes with black toes and tips of the heels. 

But the main thing that caught Charlie’s eye was a box, a red box you would usually store files in. Keekee sat next to the box, almost urging Charlie to open it. Thus, Charlie bent down to open it, and found something that brought her into awe. Her tiara…her crown, perfectly preserved aside from a bit of dust and a few scratches. Something extremely valuable to her. Her presence as a Morningstar was in this crown. Black base with a rim that would fit nicely atop her head, decorated with a series of spikes, 3 on each side and increasing in size before meeting with the largest in the center of the crown. The 3 center most spikes, the middle being the largest, were decorated with diamond shaped red rubies. The tips of those three spikes were also decorated with silver, making them stand out even more.

Charlie looked upon the tiara in sorrow. This…this was all she had to show as princess of Hell. What did that mean anymore? Vox had it in his iron grip. Pride was his, and no sinner would follow her after very nearly killing her. And the rest of Hell meant nothing with Vox in control and in the process of conquering Heaven. With most of the sins dead and Hell in fear, what was there for her to rule while this tyrant was in control.

She needed to do something. That was the thought she had in her head while looking out of the bedroom window, seeing a big blue blimp with Vox’s ugly mug stapled onto it. That was the thought she had while overlooking the city with her tiara close to her chest. That was what she thought knowing that in the city she saw before her, dozens if not thousands of angels were suffering because of the Vees. She had to do something….she needed to do something…she would do something.

Seeing the blimp again, it had the same ad that she saw on the billboard she saw when she came back to Pride. “The 7th Anniversary of the Take Over of Heaven. Join the Voxentennial Party and Trust Us with the Fight Against Heaven!”, it said with the same exact posture of a smiling Vox. Charlie knew the only thing she could do was to take down Vox. And her journey to start…is at that gala. Charlie walked over to the window with Keekee by her side now staring at the massive tower lit up by the neon of three Vs.

“Keekee, what I have to do will be the most dangerous thing I have ever done in my life.” Charlie said, turning to her demonic cat, “But if I want to set things right, I need to go to that party!”

Charlie put her tiara on her head, trying to keep her heart steady for one of the most intense things she would ever have to do.

If you were to ask imps on what they felt about the whole takeover of Heaven thing, they would give you the stink eye. Imps don't meddle with Sinner affairs; they just go for whatever is convenient and dip out when it isn’t. Imps don't work for themselves, and they sure as Hell don't care about anything pertaining to angels.

Now, the death of the sins of Hell being brought up, that gains you attention. And not the good kind. The sins were respected, and hailed to by them. Especially Satan. You bring up their demise by that bastard Vox, Imps would swarm your ass.

If you asked the owner of I.M.P. about it all, he'll yell at you to get the fuck out his office. He hated Hell politics these days. Too much wining and bitching, and it made business slow. It was all Vox this and Vox that! This imp couldn’t care less about that stuck up overlord, and it sucked that he was robbing him of business.

The business? Killing people of the living world via sinner demands. But nowadays sinners seem content with just abusing angels. The fuck was with that? This is Hell! Their punishment! And now Vox is going to give them paradise without them so much as lifting a finger. It was infuriating.

The imp in question was named Blitzø, a red skinned with white burn marks of various sizes that covered parts of his forearms, chest, and his tail, as well as most of the right side of his face. With red irises and a heart-shaped skull symbol on the center of his forehead, this I.M.P. ran these offices. At one point, business was booming, and then the whole takeover of Heaven thing happened. They still get customers, but most of the time their attempts at advertisement got drowned out by Vox’s whole “Resist” shit. 

Blitzø, bored out of his fucking mind, sat in his office chair. He had fairly broad forearms and hands, and a long narrow head, out of which extended large, curved, black and white striped horns. He also had black spines on his head and upper back, as well as on his tail; which also ended in a triangular point that had a black spot at the tip. It was a typical appearance for all Imps, for they were natural to Hell unlike sinners and now angels. 

Blitzø never got the appeal of taking over Heaven. No hellborn in Hell really did. Sure, they didn’t like angels all too much, but it wasn’t for any preestablished reason. It was more aversion than actual bleeding hatred, and the thought of taking over Heaven was never on any Hellborn’s mind. But sinners, oh boy! Around 11 years ago, King Lucifer authorized exterminations on their populus, with hellborns demanded by the king to be spared. Then, 3 years in, King Lucifer was overthrown, with Vox taking his place as “ruler” of the Pride Ring. That’s how it has been for like seven years at this point, even when they started their Heaven takeover. Blitzø couldn't care less about the new leader as much as how the old one just vanished. Even if he couldn’t harm sinners, no way the big dick of Hell would just die to them. That’s pathetic.

Blitzø was rather irritated with nothing to preoccupy his attention. Weeks ago, Stolas and his family of Ars Goetia abandoned Pride. Many Hellborns did once Vox took over but their departure was a thought of concern. Sure they still interacted, at least used to, but man did Blitzø not take to having to go down to the Wrath Ring to actually see Stolas and continue their stupid little exchange a bit well. At least…until Stolas gave him an Asmodean Crystal. They haven’t spoken much since then. 

Before, little exchange revolved around the Grimoire of the Ars Goetia, which Blitzø needed in order to access the living world. Fortunately or unfortunately, now there was no need for it with an Asmodean Crystal, which did the same thing and also made the process legal. Yeah, it wasn’t exactly in the law of Hell for unregistered Hellborns to go to the living world. Of course what law matters now that the surviving sins pussied into hiding and a sinner is now overtaking Heaven?

The crystal sat snug on the yellow decoration of his left glove. He wore elbow-length black fingerless gloves featuring large, rounded yellow decorations on the upper side of them on both arms. They went well with his tattered slate gray collared coat with red buttons down the breast, black knee-high boots matching the shape of his pointed feet with boot-like heels, and the red skull charm around his neck. If Blitzø wanted to, he could rub the crystal on his arm in order to make a nice portal to the living world. It didn’t take more than that. But that wasn’t the point.

The point was, Stolas bailed on him. Though the owl prince did attempt to convince Blitzø to escape to Pride with him, the imp wouldn’t budge and Stolas left all the same. It wasn’t about just their relationship though. Apparently Stolas thought that things were getting too heated in Pride to stay, and worried for the safety of his family if they did. Yeah, the Vees killing off most of the sins sent shockwaves through everyone in Hell, with the royals getting chicken feet in the idea of coming anywhere near Pride.

Alas, Blitzø stayed, for his business relied on these gullible sinners: Even though someone else was taking advantage of their gullibility. His employees' morale was starting to wane though, as even they started to get antsy about the whole Vox thing, but Blitzø isn’t going to be turning tail because of a lousy overlord who got lucky. At least, he thinks it was luck, he wasn’t really paying attention to events up to that point.

As he spun his little golden flintlock pistol around on his finger, Blitzø’s thought process was interrupted by the turning of his office doorknob. From it, another imp put his head through. Same red skin, same long tail with the same type of triangular tip, and the same type of curvy black and white horns. But he did have white freckles on his cheeks, and white pointy hair leads up to his horns. He also had yellow sclera with black slit pupils, and lanky digitigrade legs ending in a pair of red cloven hooves. He wore a navy-black coat with red buttons and white cuffs, black pants a white shirt that had a black turtleneck, a large red bowtie, and fingerless gloves. This was Moxxie, and Blitzø was exactly keen on listening to whatever bullshit he had to say.

“Sir?” Moxxie asked.

“What, Mox? Can’t you see I’m busy?” Blitzø asked with an irritated voice.

“We have…well someone who wants to see you.” Moxxie said in a subdued voice.

“Tell them to fuck off!” Blitzø wouldn’t admit it, but he was still quite salty about the breakup with Stolas. Sure, it's been like years since he last talked to them, and it wasn’t really a breakup because you need a relationship for that, but Blitzø was still salty for some reason.

“Well…it’s kinda important.” Moxxie said, trying to put a small smile on his face that read ‘Please get your ass out here, this is important!’

“Who is this guy anyway?” Blitzø’s question was answered when Moxxie swiftly swung the door open to reveal the customer. The man wore a popped-collared, red-lined and red-striped dark purple-blue coat with coattails, pointed shoulder-pads and red cuffs with black cufflinks. He also wore black pants and dress shoes. His head was dark blue with red and white head feathers sticking out from tufts on his head, separated by a tall, red-banded black top hat with red lining, a heart emblem near the center and a red top at the tip of the hat. He had neon green-colored eyes and mouth on his main head, and a thick mane of cyan hair, in which were two additional faces of a ram and a bull on the right and left sides, respectively. He had quite the slender build with his legs acting birdlike, alongside a tail composed of washed out blue feathered tuft tipped off with dark navy blue. Completing his look was ivory gloves covering long fingers. His appearance sent Blitzø backwards out of his chair in shock.

“Oh my, Satan!” Blitzø said as he fell out of his chair and then struggle to pick it back up in order to climb into it again while trying not break eye contact with the figure, “You’re highnes–sinful—sinni—Royal Big Man! Ozzie! Asmodeus! What brings you here?”

“Hi Blitzø,” Asmodeus spoke in a suave voice, turning his head to Moxxie to silently communicate to the imp to leave them alone. Moxxie left and shut the door, allowing Oz to walk towards Blitzø.

“I know we haven’t spoken in a while, but…I need your help.” Asmodeus said honestly.

“Um…for what? Unless there is someone we can assassinate, we can’t really do all too much for you.” Blitzø said, finally having gotten back into his chair and displayed a nervous, toothy grin.

“Tempting, but we ain’t ready for that step yet.” Asmodeus conjured a fancy chair of blue behind him to sit in, leaving him only slightly above the eye level of the imp while sitting.

“Um, so what are you here for?” Blitzø asked, not expecting to have sin come into his office today. Asmodeus' side, scrunching his nose up with two fingers while trying to figure out how to word what he wanted. Eventually, he got the idea of what he wanted to say.

“So, you know Vox, right?” Asmodeus asked.

“Um, the narcissistic tv guy who keeps taking over all my cable channels? Yeah, what about him?” Blitzø asked, now confused and curious.

“Well, you remember that around 7 years ago, my friend Lucifer and his daughter, and my niece, Charlie Morningstar got attacked by droves of sinners who somehow found out that their king couldn’t harm them. Well, Charlie got taken to the hospital down in Sloth, but Lucifer vanished. You remember that right?” Asmodeus spoke, and Blitzø reluctantly nodded because frankly he forgot Lucifer even had a daughter. She never really mingled with Hellborn shit and never left an impression.

“Well, then me and my Sin brothers and sisters went to confront Vox. We got slaughtered.” Asmodeus explained with a somber tone, “Now, me and Bee are all that is left. Poor Bel, she was holding on for so long just to see if Charlie could wake up. But she passed away from her injuries last week.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Blitzø asked.

“Well, considering those Vees were the cause of the massacre, no doubt because of their aspiration to take over Heaven, I have half a mind to think that they were responsible for what happened to Lucifer!” Asmodeus said.

“What if Lucifer is just dead?” Blitzø said, correcting the position of his bobbleheads.

“Hah!” Asmodeus did a mock laugh, “Lucifer wouldn’t die to just some average sinners! And plus, no overlord in Hell can have that much power! They did something with him, and I want to find out what that is.”

“So, where do we fit into this?” Blitzø asked, wondering where this conversation was headed.

“Glad you asked! I need you all to help me gather information to take down Vox!” Blitzø looked at Asmodeus like he was crazy. Sure, Blitzø didn’t care about the overlord, but that did not mean he was going to get into a fight with him.

“Look,” Blitzø tried to say as sincerely as possible, “We’re assassins, not spies! And Vox is someone I would not like to be stuck in a room with.”

Asmodeus sighed. “Blitzø,” Asmodeus spoke in a somber voice, “Me and Bee have been trying to keep Hell calm and under control for years since my sin brothers and sisters' deaths 7 years ago. But since Bel died, I realized that neither me nor Bee can handle it anymore. And with Vox trying to take Heaven, having Pride under his iron fist, this place had fallen into a despair that I cannot salvage alone. If Luci is alive, and somewhere, then they have to know! And maybe things can go back to normal.”

Asmodeus sat up, summoning a flyer for the Voxentennial Gala, “Vox and the Vees are hosting a Gala later this afternoon. I want you to scope it out. Vox is a showboat as far as I know, so your best bet at finding things out there.”

“This will be incredibly dangerous for us. I don’t know.” Blitzø had to admit, out of all the crazy shit his company did, this would be the thing that would put them, if not all of Imp City, at risk. Imps were looked down upon by sinners, and no doubt saw their kind as obstacles. Give them one reason, and they will blow the city to smithereens. 

“Look…I know how dangerous this is. But this affects all of us. You are the only ones I can trust with this. What do you think will happen when Vox does manage to conquer all of Heaven? Not good things for us, I’ll tell you that!” Blitzø looked down at the flier again as Asmodeus spoke, then backed up at the rooster, “Look, go there, check the perimeter, wait out for anything interesting. Find nothing, you bail! But if I’m right…we could finally be able to take down Vox!”

Blitzø stared at the flier Ozzie gave him for a while, managed to reluctantly crank out, “Fine! But you know, a couple of Imps surrounded by a bunch of rich bitch sinners and overlords in fancy dresses ain’t exactly going to…blend in.”

“Oh, leave that to me!” Ozzie said with a devilish grin.