Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A woman clad in black was rooted to the ground in front of the newly reconstructed Hazbin Hotel, her head locked onto the gigantic flashing apple looming down on her from on top the hotel’s blinding lightbulb-filled marquee. Her black satin-gloved hands trembled in tight fists at her sides.

Squeezing them tighter, she finally wrenched her gaze from the giant fruit fixture and, instead, fixated on the grin chiseled into the marble statue directly in front of her. The stone smile belonged to a demonic dragon perched on a rock surrounded by water, its head held high and adorned with an adorable little bow tie.

Encircling the statue was a small wall of peering red eyes and decorative, if eerily familiar, briar snaking underneath them. The woman noticed a plaque at her feet, just below another decorative apple. Bending down, she read the words etched into it.

She peered back up at the dragon and wondered if it was meant to be one of the fallen or merely a representation of them. Newspapers aren't as common these days, and she didn't own a television or phone, so she wouldn't know. She only saw the final moments of the battle televised on a crowded market street in the Industrial District through a blood-stained window.

It's when she learned the identity of the exorcists' leader and saw Adam's face for the first time in over 10,000 years.

Before she watched him die.

Letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding, she finally found her resolve to do what she came here to do. The woman stood and finally uprooted herself as she made her way to the hotel entrance.

As she leaned down to grasp the door handle, she stopped when she noticed her reflection in the opaque glass. Looking back at her through a pair of cracked sunglasses was a woman wearing a long, black scarf wrapped tightly around her neck, head, and face, hiding all her features and resembling a Gothic mummy.

Glancing upward, the woman saw that her black, wide-brimmed fedora was crooked. As she adjusted and screwed the hat tighter on her head, she realized this was a chance to make sure the rest of herself looked presentable. She stepped back, stood up straight, and examined her entirely black ensemble.

The woman fiddled with the collar of her loose-fitting button-down top and securely stuffed one of the dangling ends of her scarf into it. Looking at her sleeves, she pulled on them both to ensure they overlapped her elbow-length gloves before tightening the belt of her slightly oversized cigarette pants. Lastly, she tugged on her mismatched black socks and secured the knots of her worn-out ballet flats.

Not an inch of scarred skin showing.

Satisfied, she pulled the doors open and made her way inside the Hazbin Hotel, having to slightly duck under its door frame, only to be assaulted by even more apple-themed decor. The woman hastily looked around, trying to avoid staring at any of the more blatantly apple-shaped furnishings, until her unease was quickly overcome by confusion—she was alone.

What greeted her was an enormous and empty lobby. Directly in front of her was an elevator flanked by two grand staircases, with hallways beside them leading to the rear of the hotel. At the center of the room was a line of sofas shaped like an apple, with an old-timey radio sitting on a round table as its core.

She glanced up and saw that a balcony from the second floor overlooked the entire lobby, and the third, and finally the fourth, before a ceiling separated the rest of the floors above. From it hung a giant chandelier in the shape of another apple.

The woman snapped her head down and noticed in the corner of her eye a large painting of a dignified snake demon hanging over a fireplace. He was wearing a military uniform of some sort that reminded her of those worn by British military generals of the 19th century. He was also surrounded by what looked like...living eggs?

As she approached it for a closer look, she saw a plaque under it that read: 'Sir Pentious — 1888 - 2019.'

Saddened by seeing another memorial for a fallen sinner, she wandered back toward the entrance and wondered if the hotel wasn't meant to be open to the public yet. The woman had expected at least a handful of sinners, even if they were just employees, but it was just her.

She glanced to her left, back at the entrance's glass doors, and realized in horror that they were transparent from the inside. She cringed and spun her back to the doors, suddenly thankful that the lobby was empty and that, hopefully, no one had seen her act of vanity.

Putting aside her embarrassment, she saw a reception desk to her left. She cautiously approached it, still looking around for any guests or staff, and peered down to see a sticky note next to a bell that read, 'Don't go! Doing redemption lessons!! Ring bell, please!!!' accompanied by multiple cartoony arrows pointing toward it, with the note ending with a dash. And a name.

"Charlie Morningstar," the woman whispered. The tips of her gloved fingers gently grazed the name on the note.

She had only ever seen the Princess of Hell from afar through her scattered appearances on television displays and the incredibly rare occasions when she managed to witness her selflessly helping injured sinners after an Extermination. Not to mention all her efforts this past year trying to help redeem them.

The woman's friends had raised an incredible daughter.

In the past, she had considered approaching Charlie to ask about her father. Her mother. About her. However, the woman didn't want to risk drawing the wrong kind of attention to the girl or her family.

Dismissing the memories, she did as the note asked and gave the bell a sharp tap, with a ring that ripped through the air and bounced off the walls. As she waited for someone to appear, she looked to the wall behind the reception desk and saw rows and rows of room numbers with keys hanging beneath them.

She quickly realized that none of the keys were missing from the wall, with the exception of two. The woman couldn't help but feel sad for the prospects of the princess' hotel if those were her only guests.

With no one appearing still, the woman gave the bell another ring, a little harder this time. "Is anyone here?" she asked the air, her voice muffled by her scarf. She looked around. No response.

She bent down and leaned over the reception desk to check behind it, but a small black and white cat suddenly jumped onto the counter before she could even take a peek. With a surprised, "Oh!" the woman stood up straight, taking a small step back.

The cat looked up, tilting its head at her with its one giant yellow eye. Instantly, her surprise was replaced with adoration. The woman couldn’t help herself.

"Why hello there, little beastie," she said affectionately as she slowly bent down and extended the back of her curled, gloved fingers. An invitation that the feline gladly accepted, purring against the large digits.

"Such a precious girl," the woman cooed as she scratched behind the pet's ear. "You wouldn't happen to be the hostess, would you?" She checked the animal's collar with her free hand, inspecting the name tag, "KeeKee?" she chuckled.

A familiar voice she had listened to for decades suddenly spoke up from behind her, "Oh, the little beastie is just a temp." The woman stood and turned, looking down to see none other than Alastor, the Radio Demon. "Can't very well have a hostess that can't make conversation!" he said with jovial glee, a toothless smile affixed to his face.

KeeKee hissed at the Overlord and jumped off the counter between the two sinners. "Or one without any manners," he said snidely toward the cat, narrowing his eyes at KeeKee as she bounded down a corridor past the painting to the other side of the hotel.

"So, miss," his head snapped unnaturally back to her with an audible crack, "are you checking in?" he asked, casually leaning on the handle of his cane with both hands, his infamous toothy smile finally showing itself.

Shaking off the surprise of meeting this famous radio personality face-to-face, the woman responded, "I'm sorry, but no, I'm here to ask if it's possible to speak with Lucifer?" The Radio Demon's smile seemed to twitch and falter at the mention of Hell's King before it straightened and became even tighter.

Alastor began slowly circling the woman. "Oh my," he said, his cane striking the ground with each step, as if he were actually putting his weight on it. "Now, what reason would a lady, such as yourself, have to speak with our vertically challenged king, hm?"

Before entering the hotel, she had promised herself one thing: she wouldn't lie. Lies easily unraveled, and it never ended well for anyone. She knew that all too well. Not to mention, she didn't want Lucifer to think even less of her than he no doubt already did if she was caught in one.

Without missing a beat, "He was an old friend."

Alastor halted his pacing. "A sinner being old friends with Lucifer?" the Overlord mockingly scoffed, quirking an eyebrow up at the woman. "That's certainly hard to imagine, considering how he's talked about us 'lowly' sinners."

"Like I said," looking down unflinchingly into Alastor’s blood-colored eyes, "he was an old friend."

Alastor narrowed his gaze at the woman, even adjusting his monocle. He didn’t believe her. At least, that's the impression the woman was getting from his piercing glare as he inspected her.

Had he noticed all the stitches in her clothes? The blood stains that wouldn't quite wash out? Were her glasses concealing her dim golden eye well enough? Just as she was becoming unnerved by his scrutiny, the Radio Demon finally relented. "Well," he leaned against his cane again, hardening his smile to the woman towering over him, "I'm sure a meeting can be arranged if we speak with—"

A door down the same corridor KeeKee had disappeared into slammed open, with a woman in a distinct red tuxedo barreling out, trailed by the little temp hostess and a gray-skinned sinner with strikingly long hair tied in a ponytail with a red bow.

"Coming, coming, coming!" the blonde-haired woman shouted excitedly, waving a hand in the air at the woman and Alastor, as if she hadn't already gotten their full attention.

"Ah, speak of the devil's daughter herself! Charlie, my dear, there's no need to—"

Charlie ignored him as she vaulted over the apple-shaped sofa arrangement, barely missing the radio, rushed between the two sinners, and glided across the reception desk counter. The princess expected to coolly slide across to the other side, but, instead, due to her momentum, just ended up propelling herself straight into the wall just behind it, "Ack, shit!"

She crumbled to the ground, quickly showered by hundreds of dislodged room keys. The tall woman quickly leaned across the counter to ask if she was all right, but was beaten by the gray-skinned Sinner, who swiftly rounded the front desk. "Hon', you okay?" she asked as she helped Charlie up.

"Yup, yup! I'm fine, Vaggie!" Charlie said as she quickly stood back up, keys flying off her. "Are you sure?" the woman asked, standing tall and looking down at Charlie. The woman couldn't help but be reminded of the young woman's father, especially when she saw those same round cheek marks on that chalk-white face.

Charlie's eyes immediately snapped to the woman, soft red eyes glimmering. "So," still slightly out of breath, "are you here to check in, ma'am?" she asked, quickly straightening her twice-banded ponytail with an enthusiastic smile. A couple of keys fell from the ankle-length hair, clattering to the ground, with one landing in the palm of Charlie's hand.

Her eyes glimmered even brighter as she looked at the key.

Before the woman could answer, Charlie abruptly dangled them up to her face, standing on her tippy-toes, "Oh! Oh! This room has a fantastic view overlooking the Pride Ring." The princess hastily picked up another set of keys off the ground. "And this room is closest to the swimming pool! Yes, we do have a swimming pool now!"

Still listening, the woman took a moment to glance behind Charlie to see KeeKee picking up the fallen keys with her teeth and swiftly hooking them back onto the wall one by one with their corresponding room numbers. 'What an attentive hostess,' she thought, before refocusing on Charlie's pitch.

Listening intently as she talked about the hotel's many new amenities, activities, and spacious rooms, the woman finally found an opportunity to interject when the princess had to take a breath, "I'm so sorry, that all sounds lovely, but no. I came here to ask if I could speak with Lucifer."

Charlie’s breath and enthusiasm deflated out of her like a sad balloon and reinflated with confusion as she looked up at the woman. "You...wanna talk to my dad?" She set down a pair of keys on the counter, which KeeKee promptly snatched.

Before the woman could respond, Alastor piped in, "She claims to have been an 'old friend' of his," as he joined the two ladies behind the reception desk, flanking Charlie.

"Really?" Charlie perked up, leaning against the counter, cradling her head in both hands as she looked up at the woman like a curious child. "What's your name?" she asked, "Maybe I've heard my dad mention you?"

Moment of truth. She's practiced this in her head and out loud a hundred times. She knew it was a risk coming here so soon after Adam's attack on the hotel, but she didn't want to risk waiting any longer before Lucifer isolated himself from the rest of Hell again.

She took in a deep, steady breath. The priority was de-escalation. 'De-escalation.'

"I want to, and I will, but before I do, I need to give you further context for why I'm here and why I'm not here."

"And why is that?" Vaggie asked, crossing her arms with suspicion as she sized up the woman nearly twice her size.

The woman leaned down, closer to their eye level, and put both her hands, palms down, on the counter, making sure they were visible to the three as she spoke, "Because I believe, not that I would blame any of you, that if I were to tell you my name without such context, you would react...poorly."

She looked at the three of them, seeing that Alastor's eyes had narrowed slightly at her again, with Vaggie doing much the same. But looking at Charlie, she only saw a gentle smile and those curious eyes.

Focusing on the princess, the woman continued, "I'm only here to speak with your father, Charlie. Once I do, I'll leave, and...you'll never have to see me again." While Charlie's smile didn't falter, her eyes showed a sad shine of concern at such a declaration.

Taking another shaky breath, the woman moved on to the most difficult part and declared, "I also hold absolutely no animosity towards you, your father, or anyone else in the hotel for what happened to Adam and—"

She only heard the unfurling of wings before she felt something sharp prod her neck and froze. Looking to its source, she saw that Vaggie was now holding an angelic spear and suddenly had wings, which she used to shield Charlie and Alastor. The woman didn't even see the sinner—no, the exorcist, move.

Tried as she might, she couldn't do anything but tremble. All she could do was look at Vaggie's missing eye and that all too familiar X.

"¡Basta! Who are you!?" Vaggie yelled, gripping her spear tighter.

"Vaggie!" Charlie cried out, moving her wing out of the way. "No, Charlie, she walks in here in an obvious disguise," she pushed the spear into the woman's neck ever so slightly for emphasis, "one day after Adam's attack, and she's casually bringing him up!? I'm not taking any chances!"

With a trembling voice, the woman attempted to continue speaking, "I-I know that you were only defending yourselves—" But Vaggie pushed her spear deeper as she demanded, "I won't ask again."

The woman felt a trickle of blood leak from her neck and the all too familiar sensation of burning angelic steel.

She could hardly breathe.

The soft yellow of Charlie's eyes briefly flashed a deep and threatening red as she put a hand on Vaggie's spear and pulled it away from the woman’s neck. "Vaggie, stop!" With one hand still gripping the spear, Charlie used the other and gently cupped Vaggie's face, slowly turning it toward her.

Vaggie's one eye hesitantly looked away from the woman to Charlie, and her anger seemed to waver when she met the princess' eyes, soft again. "I know you're scared," she said, caressing Vaggie's cheek with a thumb, "but so is she." Charlie's eyes darted to the woman, and the exorcist followed suit, looking again at the black-clad guest more closely.

All the woman could do was stare back into Vaggie’s remaining eye, her singular gaze still full of fury aimed squarely at her. But the longer she looked, the more that fury began to thankfully wane. Vaggie’s eye looked down to the counter and finally seemed to notice the trembling throughout the woman's body, especially in her hands still glued to the counter.

Giving in to Charlie's touch and words, Vaggie pulled her spear away. Free from the threat of impalement, the woman immediately collapsed to her knees, muttering an apology as she grasped a hand to her throat, her hat nearly tumbling off her head.

Vaggie was still gripping her spear, aiming it at the woman, ready to strike if necessary.

Charlie quickly left the reception desk and slowly approached the woman. She spoke softly, "Can you tell us your name?" The woman turned her head to Charlie, still gulping for air. "We won't hurt you," she looked to Vaggie, "I promise." The grey-skinned woman, very reluctantly, lowered her spear to her side.

The woman tried to speak, "My name is," but choked, forced to take deeper, shuddering breaths to calm herself down. Charlie gently reassured her, "It's okay, take your time."

The woman took a moment and steadied herself, and finally answered—

"Eve. My name is Eve."

Alastor, who had thus far remained quiet behind Vaggie's wing, perked up with extreme interest at hearing the name. Charlie couldn't help but stumble back in shock. And Vaggie balked, raising her spear again.

"Eve? As in, Adam's wife, Eve?!" she yelled.

Eve's head snapped to Vaggie, her fear gone and her voice a shout, "I'm not his wife!" causing Vaggie to recoil. Realizing what she had done, Eve turned away to stare at the marble floor, ashamed, "Not…not anymore."

She looked to Charlie, "And as I said, my visit has nothing to do with him."

"I just want to speak with your father," she said, looking away from the princess as she wrapped herself in a tight hug on the floor, "and then I'll leave, I promise."

Quickly recovering from her shock, Charlie asked, "What…do you want to talk to my dad about?"

"I never got the chance to say goodbye to him or Lilith when we were all cast out of Eden. I want...I wanted to apologize for what happened. For what I did." She hugged herself tighter. "I've been trying to speak to them for millennia, and when I saw on the news that Lucifer was actually staying at your hotel, I saw it as my best chance for us to finally talk."

Eve continued wrapping herself in a tight embrace, too ashamed to look Charlie in the eyes, with her knees still splayed on the floor. But then, KeeKee came around from the front desk and approached her. The Second Woman was almost tempted to pet the adorable animal again, just for her own comfort, before KeeKee set down a pair of keys in front of her and rubbed against the woman's leg with an affectionate purr.

When Eve didn't dare touch the keys, Charlie picked them up instead, sounding out an approving hum. "Okay." Eve turned to see Charlie stuffing the pair of keys into her jacket pocket.

Eve was in disbelief at what she just heard. "'Okay'?" she hesitantly asked.

She was even more surprised when Lucifer's daughter extended her an open hand. "I'll take you to see my dad," she said. Under her sunglasses, a tear streamed down Eve's face.

The woman put one shaky hand on the front desk and the other into Charlie's welcoming hand. "T-thank you," her voice broke as the princess helped her stand. Eve leaned against the reception desk for support, her legs feeling like jelly. After reassuring the princess that she was fine, Charlie let her go and beckoned Vaggie to follow her toward the hallway they had run from earlier.

"Vaggie, can you take over the redemption lessons while I'm gone?"

Vaggie, still hastily following behind, her wings having long retreated into her back again, "Charlie—"

"It'll be for just a bit!"

"You know that's not what I meant."

Charlie stopped, spun around, and put her hands on Vaggie's shoulders. "I'll be fine, Vaggie. You saw her. Eve seems to really mean well, plus," she said, looking back at the tall woman, who's now gently petting KeeKee from head to tail, "KeeKee likes her."

Vaggie attempted to stifle a chuckle at that last criteria, "Okay, just...be careful, Babe."

"Of course." Charlie gave Vaggie a quick kiss on the cheek before she let Vaggie continue down the hallway without her.

Unintentionally eavesdropping on the two from the reception desk, Eve couldn’t help but be charmed by the display of love between the two. Alastor, conversely, couldn't be more repulsed.

"Well," a static-filled voice rippled through the air, getting Eve's attention, "as exciting as this has all been, I should return to my own duties as well," the Overlord said, leaving the confines of the front desk and approached Eve.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, my dear," he extended a hand, "quite the pleasure." Eve reached for it but was interrupted by Charlie. "Eve?" the princess asked, poking her head around a corner of the opposite hallway to the right of the reception desk.

"Oh, yes, coming!" Eve turned back to Alastor and graciously shook his hand. "Likewise." She felt a tingle of sorts run up her arm and down her leg, but paid it no mind, blaming it on her recently frayed nerves. She let go of Alastor's hand, but not before she caught him glancing down at her feet and saw a twinge of pain spread across his smile.

As the Radio Demon clutched at his chest, clearly in pain, Eve couldn't help but panic at the sight. "A-are you all right? Do you need—" Alastor waved off her concerns, seemingly recovered, although leaning more heavily on his cane than before.

"Don't worry yourself, my dear," he said, flattening and straightening his ruffled pinstripe coat that matched his eyes with his free hand. Alastor attempted to continue reassuring Eve, "I just had a bad piece of venison, that's all. A bit of heartburn," he answered her concern, softly thumping his chest to show no more pain, and ended his hasty excuse with a chuckle.

Eve couldn't help but narrow her eye at Alastor, seeing the creases of his smile still painfully tight. Before she could object, Alastor began to shoo her away, "Now, don't worry about me. I've delayed you from joining Charlie long enough, my dear!"

"Oh, yes, of course," Eve said as she hesitantly turned to follow Charlie down the hallway before looking back to Alastor one last time. "I do hope you feel better, Alastor." The Radio Demon's ears perked up upon hearing his name said, a genuine smile taking root on his grey-furred face.

As Eve made her way down the hallway where Charlie had rushed down, she saw her holding an elevator at the end of the corridor. Eve walked into it as fast as she could manage and turned to Charlie, apologizing, "I'm sorry for the delay. I was speaking with Alastor."

"Oh, no problem!" Charlie reassured her, waving off her apology as she pressed a button, "Now, onto my dad!" she declared. As the elevator doors began to close, Eve and Charlie could see Alastor standing in the opening of the hallway, still in the lobby, waving at them.

"Oh, by the way, Ms. Eve!" he shouted, his voice reaching them with an echo down the long hall.

Eve held the elevator door open. "Yes?"

The Overlord pointed to the top of his head, "Your hat is crooked!" and walked away, chuckling to himself as he waved goodbye, "And good luck!"

Eve retreated deeper into the elevator, her cheeks growing warm with embarrassment as she meekly straightened her hat. Charlie looked at her, confused, as the elevator finally closed.

Alastor's mind was reeling as he made his way to the elevator on the other side of the hotel. Eve, the Mother of Humanity, had just dropped into the palm of his hands! Alastor had thought her out of his reach! An unattainable goal thrust upon him as a cruel joke by the one holding his leash, like his forced employment at this ridiculous hotel that was almost the death of him just yesterday.

As he struck his spare cane to the floor with every forceful step down the hallway, craving to get to his radio studio as fast as possible, he passed a room filled with yells and laughter. The hotel's only guests and employees conducting yet another pathetically pointless redemption lesson.

Ignoring the chattering emanating through the door, Alastor was thankful to finally make it into the elevator. As soon as the doors closed after pressing the button for his floor, he began to clutch at his chest again. Leaning against the elevator door with his elbow, Alastor looked down at his feet and took another opportunity to make sure he wasn't casting a shadow.

His trick with Eve had taken a lot more out of him than he had expected, especially for what had always been a rather trivial trick for him. Adam's final blow against him appeared to have done far more damage than he was willing to admit, even to himself. The gash across his chest was still throbbing, even bleeding, despite his best efforts to stem the wound with stitches and bandages.

Frustrated with the mounting pain, Alastor punched the thick elevator door with such force that it caused a dent in the metal. But it also accomplished his short-sighted goal of breaking his hand. It would heal, of course, but he needed to feel a less divine pain for the moment. He needed to think straight, after all.

The Radio Demon couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh at the relief his shattered fingers brought him as he slowly curled them into a tight fist.

Yes, Lucifer staying at the hotel had definitely complicated his plans with Charlie, especially if she or her little girlfriend decided to yap to her father about the little favor she owed him. But Eve's arrival has just set so many more plans in motion, especially after he learns about the state of her relationship with her 'old friend.'

This will certainly be a challenge, but when has that ever hindered him? Besides, it only makes what comes next all the more fun.

Chapter Text

The silence in the elevator was excruciating for Charlie, who wanted nothing more than to fill it with an avalanche of questions for the woman standing beside her. Someone who was friends with both her parents. Someone who could tell her things she couldn't even dream of.

Unfortunately for Charlie, once the situation truly sank in, she was filled with too much gut-wrenching guilt to ask any of those kinds of life-changing questions.

Darting her eyes to Eve again, whose staggering height forced her to hunch in the elevator, Charlie couldn't help but fixate on what she was wearing now that it was just the two of them. From her wide-brimmed hat down to her shoes, Eve was donned entirely in black. Not dissimilar to something a recently made widow would wear.

Despite what Eve had told her about not blaming them for Adam's death, she was still clearly in mourning. Looking downward, to Charlie's further dismay, she saw Eve absentmindedly rubbing her ring finger.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck, we killed her husband yesterday and I'm just standing here gawking at her like an asshole!' Charlie couldn't take the silence anymore—she had to say something.

"I'm sorry about Adam!" Charlie blurted out, her whole body stiffening with clenched fists and screwed-shut eyes, as if she had just torn off a painful bandage. Eve jolted at the shouted condolence, her head bumping against the elevator ceiling, before looking down at a panicking Charlie.

"I convinced my dad to spare him, and he did, he really did, but things got out of hand, and I-I know you must still be grieving because, of course you would be, and—" Charlie continued to blabber before finding the courage to look Eve in the eyes. "I'm just so sorry it ended the way it did, I—"

Before the princess could say another word, Eve had knelt and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Charlie. It’s okay," Eve spoke, her voice hushed and laced with a soft, motherly tone, totally unlike her meek demeanor in the lobby.

"You don't have to apologize to me for what happened to Adam. And…while I have been grieving, I've been grieving for the man Adam used to be, not the man he…" Eve suddenly grew quiet, her grip on Charlie's shoulder tightening ever so slightly.

Before Charlie could ask if Eve was all right, she abruptly released her and stood to face the elevator doors again. "I've been grieving the man I loved, not…not the monster he became." Her voice was sullen, her motherly tone gone, as Charlie saw the woman's gloved hands squeeze into trembling fists.

While a small part of Charlie was relieved that Eve saw Adam for what he was, the princess couldn't help but wonder if she had only learned of his true nature recently. Eve's anger felt far too fresh. "Did you...not know he was the Head Exorcist?" Charlie asked delicately.

"No," Eve answered curtly as she turned away from Charlie, taking a deep breath and exhaling, her fists unclenching, her shoulders slouching. "Not…not until he died."

Considering how the Exterminations were hidden from all of Heaven, even from a high-ranking seraphim like Emily, it wasn't surprising to Charlie that Eve was kept in the dark, too. "I'm so sorry you had to find out that way. But, after you talk with my dad, I can take you to see him—his grave, I mean, if you want."

Eve slowly turned to face Charlie in disbelief, "You...gave Adam a grave?" But her voice immediately swelled with panic, "Is his body still here? Heaven didn't take him?!"

Charlie happily, and very quickly, reassured Eve, "Yes, yes, and not yet, but don't worry! Dad said we should expect someone to take him back any day now."

Eve was stunned. "I don't…I don’t know how to thank you, Charlie. I would be…more than grateful if you could take me to see him before I leave."

"Of course!" Charlie nodded happily.

While she felt much better about the whole situation, the princess couldn’t help but wonder.

Charlie had assumed Heaven knew Eve was here, even thinking she was the one picking up Adam's body, but her being surprised it was still in Hell at all dashed that idea. 'Is Heaven keeping her that much in the dark or does Heaven even know she's—'

Before Charlie could finish her thought, the elevator stopped with a chime as its doors opened. "Ah-ha, here we are. My dad's office is just down the hall." Charlie bounced out of the elevator, filled with renewed vigor, as she encouraged Eve to follow her down a finely carpeted hallway.

In the office of Lucifer Morningstar, the King of Hell was sitting in his only slightly oversized apple-shaped swivel chair in front of a balcony window, cradling a depressed Razzle in his lap. The small demon still mourning the death of his other half, Dazzle.

As Lucifer looked down at him, thoughts of reconjuring Razzle's brother bubbled to the surface again. After all, both of them came from his magic. It'd be literal child's play. But that dream of getting Dazzle back always ended the same way: It wouldn't really be the same Dazzle.

It wouldn't be the same little goat who conspired with his twin to steal sweets from the pantry, the same pest that would try wearing his hat when he thought he wasn't looking, or the one who'd secretly play with Charlie in the garden late at night when she should've been in bed.

No, that Dazzle was gone. Forever.

Saddened again by the reality of Dazzle's death, Lucifer lazily looked from Razzle to the mountain of neglected paperwork on his desk, and his mood soured even more. Ever since he returned to the public eye after a nearly eight-year absence, the other Sins (minus Satan, of course) immediately offloaded their problems, disputes, and complaints onto him.

These just happened to be the freshest batch.

Spewing a raspberry of frustration, Lucifer got up from his office chair, still cradling Razzle, and brought him to the demon's personalized perch hanging high on the wall. "Sorry, Razzle, but Daddy needs to get at least something done today."

As Lucifer encouraged him to his finely furnished perch, Razzle sighed and reluctantly flew to it. He landed with a thud on his side, his head hanging lazily off its cushioned edge as he overlooked his creator's new sanctum.

Lucifer flew up and scratched between Razzle's horns, the little demon's favorite spot. "I know. I miss him, too, buddy." Landing back on the ground, Lucifer turned to his desk and couldn't help but deflate just looking at it. 'Fuck, really wish Lilith was here right now. She loved dealing with all this bureaucracy crap.'

But before Lucifer could even take a single step toward his desk, he heard the distinct pitter-patter of footsteps outside his office door. Two sets of pitter-pattering, in fact. Inching closer to it, he even started to hear the sound of muffled voices, one of which he knew belonged to his daughter.

Leaning an ear against the door, Lucifer could hear his sweet little girl speaking to someone. "Oh, before we go in, I should prep my dad first. He isn't the…biggest fan of surprises." Followed by three knocks that sounded like drums against his ear.

Lucifer panicked, teleporting to his desk in a swirl of red smoke.

He cried out, "O-one sec!" as he hastily looked at the piles of papers and grabbed the nearest handful to make himself look busy. As Lucifer settled in his chair, he squinted at some complaint from the Sloth Ring about...chilly weather? Whatever, it didn't really matter to him what it said as long as it made him look embroiled in paperwork.

Satisfied with his facade, Lucifer called out, "Come in!"

His door opened a crack, with Charlie quickly slipping inside before immediately shutting the door behind her, seemingly trying to hide whoever else was outside his office.

"Heeyy, Dad," his daughter strained before she looked up and more sweetly greeted Dazzle's grieving twin. "Are you doing okay, Razzle?" She received a sad but solemn smile and nod from the little demon.

Coughing to get his daughter's attention, Lucifer decided to be a bit mischievous and slyly asked, "Heeyy, sweetie." Charlie met his gaze. "So, what's this about me not being a big fan of surprises?" He felt like his daughter also needed a bit of a reminder that doors have ears just as much as walls do.

Charlie cringed, "Oooh, you heard that. Well, I mean, I remember you being pretty freaked out when I called you a couple of months ago." Lucifer mindlessly nodded as she continued, "And when I introduced you to Vaggie." He kept nodding. "Annnd when I told you I wanted an audience with Heaven." Still nodding.

Horribly mortifying moments Lucifer has regretted ever since, but instead of admitting his tendency to overreact to new information that challenged his self-imposed status quo and distant relationship with his strong-willed daughter, who reminded him too much of his abruptly absent wife, all Lucifer could muster was a deflective, "Uh-huh, uh-huh, vaguely. Soooo, what's this new surprise I won't like then?"

"Well, I don't know how to put this in a way that won't make you freak out, so I'll just…rip off the band-aid!" Sucking in a deep breath, Charlie blurted, "Eve's here to talk to you!" The words spilled from her mouth, accompanied by stiff jazz hands and an incredibly forced smile plastered on her sweet and panicked face.

Charlie was clearly bracing for an explosive reaction from him that didn't come.

In an attempt to break up this awkward silence, Lucifer decided to speak up first. "Okay…? Not seeing the surprise here, sweetie. What, is she…a new guest at the hotel? …Employee? You need me to, what, sign something?"

"No, Dad, I mean, Eve." His daughter emphasized that name again, as if that name could ever hold any significance to Lucifer beyond a single pers—

"You know…from Eden?"

The papers Lucifer was pretending to read immediately burst into flames and fell to ash on his desk, revealing a mortified face.

"Oh. Oh! That Eve. Alright, okay, that's, uh, that's fuckin' super." His eyes darted to his door before they locked back onto his daughter. He pointed a shaky finger at it and wheezed, "Is that...is that her standing outside?"

Charlie could only respond with a very strained, "Yeeeaah," through her teeth.

An anxious laugh escaped Lucifer's throat, "Ha, fuck. Uh, well, tell her I'm not here!"

Charlie approached her father's desk, her voice oddly quiet, "Dad, you're the one who let me in. And if you could hear me outside, she can definitely hear you, especially right now." No, Charlie wasn’t being oddly quiet. Lucifer was being stupidly loud, a habit he still hadn’t gotten control over. Hopefully much quieter, he hissed, "Right, that makes sense, okay, um, well..."

He could just...leave. Disappear in a puff of red smoke without a word or awkward reunion with Eve, but then she would know he ran away. By the pit, Lucifer wished more than ever that Lilith was here.

Seeing no other avenue of escape, Lucifer slammed his head into his desk with his face buried in his papers, and uttered a defeated and muffled curse. After a few seconds, he weakly asked his daughter, still face deep in his pile of burdens, "Okay, how pissed off is she?"

"Not...at all?"

His head shot up with a permit stuck to his forehead, "Really?" The document slowly peeled off. "She's not mad about Adam?"

"Well, she's really sad about Adam, but she made it clear to us in the lobby after a bit of…miscommunication that she doesn't hold his death against us."

Lucifer had moved on from panic to complete confusion, his elbows moving onto his desk, not caring what piles of papers he knocked over, and asked his daughter with a shrug, "So...why's she here?"

Charlie's mood brightened for the first time in his office, becoming even giddy. "She wanted to talk to you about how she left things with you and Mom! She said she's been trying to contact you guys for millennia and—"

"Wait, 'millennia'? She said that? Millennia?"

"Uh-huh, so, I think it’d be a great chance for you two to reconnec—"

Lucifer abruptly stood from his desk, his brow furrowed. This can't be Eve. "Charlie, what does this woman look like?"

Looking unnerved at her father's sudden seriousness, Charlie stammered, "Oh, well, I...don't…know." She attempted to recover when he gave her an incredulous look, "I mean, she's as tall as Adam, thin, and clearly human...shaped, but she's wearing all black and covering her whole…head, so I…couldn't tell you exactly what she looks like. But! I think she's just in mourning and—"

Leaning toward his daughter, pushing aside even more papers, Lucifer persisted, "Did you see a halo? Wings?" He had to be sure.

"N-no," Charlie nervously responded, rubbing the back of her head. "I just thought she was hiding her halo under her big hat and her wings in her back, like you and Vaggie can."

Getting closer to her father, Charlie leaned over his desk, as if to share a secret with him. "Actually, I've been thinking. I don't believe Sera or Heaven actually knows she's here." Lucifer couldn't really be bothered to listen to the rest of Charlie's words. "Maybe Eve might…have snuck…down here?" He was too caught up in rapturous laughter.

"Dad?"

As he had his last chuckle, Lucifer plopped back into his chair. He couldn't have been more relieved. "Whoo! Charlie, you can not give your old man a false alarm like that. Haha! Liable to give me a heart attack!" He facetiously thumped his chest.

"What are you talking about?"

With a forced cough, Lucifer nonchalantly leaned an elbow on his desk, looking at his daughter with bemusement, "Look, Charlie, this woman is obviously a fraud. If the real Eve really wanted to talk to me or your mother, she could’ve at any time. Easily. I mean, shit, we tried talking to Eve forever, only for her to hide behind Sera."

"It was always, 'Oh, Eve's not available' or 'Call back another time' and 'I'm sorry, Lucifer, she can't come to the crystal ball right now,'" Lucifer uttered, mocking Sera's holier-than-thou tone and inflection with each recollected excuse.

Lucifer slouched back into his chair, dejected, "The last time we tried talkin' with her was when you were born to ask if she'd want to be—look, it doesn't matter now." He spun around in his chair, ignoring an exasperated Charlie as he looked down at Pentagram City through his balcony window.

As Lucifer spoke, he sank deeper into the leather of his seat. "The point is that your mom and I just…gave up. And, I mean, after Eden, we shouldn't've been surprised Eve didn’t wanna talk to us."

Lucifer's self-pitying was interrupted when he was spun back around by his vexed daughter. "Well, this Eve says she wants to apologize for what happened in Eden and how things ended between you guys. So, I think it'd be great if you at least heard her out, Dad."

Charlie continued her frustrated rebuke, "If she's lying, fine, we can…politely ask her to leave. But if it is her, Dad, wouldn't you want the chance to make up? To be friends again?"

Lucifer was tempted to laugh at such an absurd possibility. He still couldn't imagine this person being the real Eve, and even if she was, Eve forgiving him and Lilith for anything they put her through was nothing but another dream doomed to crumble. But looking up into his daughter’s pleading eyes, his cynicism relented, "Okay, fine, sweetie, fine."

Charlie bounced back in excitement, pumping a fist in the air with a triumphant, "Yes!" as she made her way to the door. All while Lucifer looked on with trepidation.

Eve knew for millennia that Lucifer and Lilith never wanted to speak to her again, but to have that fact shouted from Lucifer himself was something she wasn't quite prepared to hear. Her breath hitched as she tried to keep her composure, threatening to cry for the third time today.

As tears welled in her eye, Eve slipped a gloved hand under her sunglasses to catch them before they fell, all while berating herself. 'Pathetic.' All Eve could think was how foolish she had been for coming here with the delusional hope that Lucifer had changed his mind or that he'd even give her the time of day.

Eve began her slow trudge back to the elevator, contemplating whether she should even bother seeing Grammer before returning home like she planned. She would have to miss seeing Adam, too, which stung.

Just as Eve was about to round the corner, she froze when she heard Lucifer's office door creak open. She nervously turned around and saw Charlie slip out, speaking cheerily, "Okay, Eve, he's—Eve?"

Eve grew horribly ashamed when Charlie caught her in the middle of running away. Like a coward. Taking tepid steps back, pawing at the wall, Eve stammered, "I-I'm sorry, it was a mistake for me to come here. It'd be best for everyone if I-I just go."

Frantically motioning for Eve not to move, Charlie pleaded, "Wait, wait, wait, please!" She quickly poked her head back into her father's office, "Just—just give us a second!" before slamming the door shut and rushing down the hallway to her.

"Eve, what's wrong?"

"I know he doesn't want to see me. It's better if I—"

Charlie, crestfallen, "You heard him, didn't you?"

All Eve could do was guiltily nod.

Charlie let out a frustrated groan, muttering, "Damn it, Dad." She inched closer to Eve, "I'm so sorry you heard that. My dad can be an…insensitive jerk. Believe me, I've experienced it first hand, but he's just…just…"

When Charlie couldn't quite form the words, her shoulders shagged, and she let out an exhausted sigh as she stared at the floor in front of Eve. Charle finally craned her head up, looking embarrassed, "He…just thinks this is a trick and that you're not actually…you."

Eve's sense of dejection was washed away by a tidal wave of confusion at the thought of Lucifer thinking she was…a fake? As if anyone in all of Hell would want to pretend to be her of all people.

"What?" Eve uttered, completely baffled at the idea.

"I know, I know, but I'm sure you'll be able to clear it up with him if you two just…talk." Charlie clasped her hands together tightly, begging Eve, "Please?"

While Eve was relieved that Lucifer hadn't tried to turn her away out of resentment but paranoia, she still hesitated as she stared at his door. But when she looked down into Charlie's pleading eyes, her fear relented.

If Charlie were there for her reunion with Lucifer, then…maybe there'd still be hope. "I'll stay," Eve promised, fastening her wide-brimmed hat to her head.

Hand to her chest, Charlie let go of a captive breath, "Thank you."

Eve continued, "And I'm sorry for trying to…run off without telling you. That was horribly shameful of me."

"Well, just don't do it again," Charlie winked. The attempt at lightening the mood managed to get a chuckle out of Eve, "Of course."

With a smile, Charlie spun around, and the two walked back to Lucifer's door. The princess quickly rapped on it, "We're coming in!" and opened it without waiting for her father's permission this time.

Charlie stepped inside first, holding the door open for Eve. She was about to follow, but hesitated when she saw Lucifer's apple-shaped chair hastily swiveling to face his balcony window. Doubt plagued her mind again. 'He doesn't even want to look at me.'

However, seeing Lucifer's daughter staring at the back of her father's chair with a disappointed glare reminded Eve that she still had Charlie in her corner. Pressing forward, Eve ducked under the doorframe and entered Lucifer's lavish office.

Charlie closed the door behind them and sat at a workbench directly to their right. It reminded Eve of the one she had in her shed.

While she always kept hers organized and free of any clutter, Lucifer's was littered with tools, and what appeared to be...rubber ducks? Eve couldn’t help but smile at Lucifer's fondness for his favorite creation, which had endured all this time. 'At least that hasn't changed,' she fondly thought.

Left of the workbench was another door, but Eve could only guess where it led.

Stepping further into the office, Eve noticed the decor wasn't entirely themed around apples like she was expecting. Instead, an effort was made to have the office look more like the interior of a circus tent.

The edge of the domed ceiling was lined with decals of big tops, with metal poles lining the wall as if they were holding up the ceiling. Even the shade of Lucifer's desk lamp mimicked a circus tent. In fact, the bookshelf to the left of Lucifer's desk was the most normal-looking thing in his office, with its frame hugging the curved wall. Stacked to the brim with ancient tomes of various sizes.

Glancing back at Charlie, the princess only gave Eve a silent but encouraging double thumbs up with a gleaming smile and beaming eyes. Stepping forward, Eve gathered what little courage she presently had to speak, but before she could utter a word, she was interrupted by a…bleat.

"Bahaa."

Eve's head snapped behind her left, and what she saw stunned her: Lazily lying on a perch embedded in the wall was an adorable goat staring back at her with vertical pupils. Eve had completely missed it in her blind spot when she walked into the room.

With Lucifer temporarily forgotten, Eve approached the beautiful creature, realizing both that it was a 'he' from the size of his impressive horns and that he wasn't just a goat. He was a dragon, too! Adorned with leathery wings and a reptilian tail. And on top of that, he wore a little suit with a red bowtie!

Eve was captivated.

Now practically inches from the demon, his roost reaching her shoulders, he lifted his head to look at her curiously. Eve greeted him with a small wave and a whispered, "Hello." The little demon only tilted his head in response before lying his chin back down on the edge of his cushy resting place, his eyes still fixed on her.

It wasn't until Eve wondered if he'd get along with Pan that she realized she didn't know his name. And unlike KeeKee, this dapper demon didn't have any sort of identification on him. She pondered if this might be the perfect 'ice breaker,' as her son once called it.

Eve glanced over her shoulder at Lucifer's desk, his chair still facing the balcony, and asked aloud, "What's…what's his name?" Holding her breath, she waited until a voice she hadn't heard in over ten thousand years finally spoke.

"Razzle."

"It's a lovely name." She paused for Lucifer to continue the conversation, but was met with more silence and his unmoving office throne.

Sucking in a breath, she approached his desk, "I know…I know me being here isn't what you wa—" His chair suddenly spun around, causing her to stumble back. But there he was, in all his glory: Lucifer Morningstar.

His chalk-white face was the same since the Garden, with his slicked-back blonde hair under his big white top hat. But that's where the similarities ended. She had seen his new look in magazines from decades ago, but seeing it in person was something else.

Instead of blue cheek marks, they were a rosy red, like his daughter's. In place of a simple blue ribbon decorated with a winged eye wrapped around his top hat, the ribbon was red with a golden snake coiled around it, along with a shining crown and…an apple. Finally, he no longer wore a billowing robe but a ritzy white and red-accented suit adorned with golden buttons and a popped collar. He even had a black bowtie.

Eve could see where Charlie got her taste in suits.

Glancing downward at his clasped, gloved hands, Eve quickly realized in horror he wasn't wearing gloves at all—it was his skin. His charred black skin. Eve continued to stare in silent shock until she saw what could only be a wedding band on his left pinkie. It managed to lessen her horror, knowing that at least he and Lilith were still together. She hoped.

When she finally looked into Lucifer's eyes, they were no longer the comforting blue she remembered in Eden but a harsh and threatening red, now narrowed at her.

Lucifer leaned on his desk, drumming his fingers on the hardwood surface, before relaxing into his chair. He casually leaned back and demanded, "Okay, let's see your face."

"Dad!" Charlie shouted. Eve stepped back and meekly asked, "Is…is that really necessary?"

"Yeah, so that I can actually see who you say you are."

"I-Isn't my voice enough?" It had been thousands of years, but she didn't think her voice had changed that much.

Lucifer answered dismissively, "Nah, easy to fake with the right kinda magic these days."

Her fear of being unmasked in front of Lucifer was swiftly forgotten, as Eve was suddenly overcome with a familiar sense of annoyance.

Eve, hands on her hips, her fears and anxieties put aside, fired back. "Well, wait, by that logic, wouldn't a face be just as easy to fake with magic 'these days'?" It was almost nostalgic having one of their old disagreements again, like in the Garden, with Lucifer as stubborn as ever.

He stood, sticking out an accusatory finger at Eve, his mouth agape, ready to hurl back a rebuttal he couldn't conjure. He quickly snapped his mouth shut as his finger shamefully curled back into his hand. "Okay, well, then tell me something only the real Eve would know!" Lucifer sat back in his chair, looking smug, clearly thinking he had finally cornered her.

Which he had.

Even on Earth, Eve's memory wasn't what it used to be, with her time in Eden the first to fade. And it had only gotten worse since she's been in Hell. She didn't have any of her journals with her either.

Eve desperately tried to recall any kind of anecdote that would satisfy Lucifer, but he wasn't giving her the chance to think, as he snidely derailed her. "Hey, I don't have all day, sweetheart."

Unnerved by Lucifer's gaze, Eve quickly found the floor to be a more preferable sight. She tried thinking of any story from their time together in Eden, but the only one she could remember with any true clarity was their last time together.

Taking in a deep breath, looked back up at Lucifer. "When I ate the apple," but she was forced to swallow, her mouth having gone dry. She tried again, but Lucifer's judgmental look made that difficult. So, she closed her eye and kept it shut, which seemed to help since the words finally came out.

"When I ate the apple, I choked on it."

Eve heard leather violently tearing and wood splintering. Her eye shot open, and she saw Lucifer's nails—claws—deeply embedded into the arms of his chair, cotton spilling from them as his intense grip threatened to tear both arms off their hinges.

Eve didn't even dare meet his eyes again, quickly turning back to Razzle, unsure if Lucifer was angry or not with her answer. 'M-maybe it wasn't enough?'

She decided to continue the story. "I…must have swallowed it wrong, so I was left standing there, hitting my chest with my fist, trying to get it down my throat," she extended the back of her curled fingers to Razzle's neck, hoping he wanted some affection in this dire moment and help distract her.

The little goat didn't object, and Eve gently scratched at his neck. "And then you, still coiled around a branch as a snake, started laughing. In fact, you laughed so hard that you turned back into yourself and immediately fell into the briar and bog under the tree." Eve couldn't help but let out her own laugh, recalling the immediate karmic retribution vividly.

"So, I started laughing, which only caused me to choke on the apple even more." She smiled, quickly forgetting to whom she was telling this story, "Then Lilith started patting me on the back to try and help me swallow the stupid thing."

Eve moved to scratch between Razzle's horns. "When you managed to finally crawl out of the muck, soaking wet with cuts all over yourself, you started patting me on the back, too." She let out a small giggle, knowing what happened next. "So, after I finally managed to swallow it, you asked me, 'What was wrong? What happened?!' And I said, 'It tasted like ash!'"

She abruptly stopped scratching Razzle, to his disappointment.

The bitterness of what should have been a sweet memory between her two dearest friends was finally taking hold. "Then…after we all had a good laugh, I..." Eve realized she was crying and had to wipe away tears again. Pushing through, she tried to finish the story, "I felt cold—"

Before she could continue, the sound of shattering glass ripped through the office. Frightened, Eve slowly turned her head to Lucifer and saw his six glorious wings unfurled as he stood rigid from his now toppled chair halfway through his balcony window.

"Eve?" Lucifer choked out, his eyes wide as yellow dinner plates.

She meekly answered, "H-hello, Lucifer."

Lucifer said nothing back as he walked around his desk toward Eve, trampling on papers. He casually took off his top hat and coat, casting them aside as they vanished into light. She couldn’t help but take reflexive steps back, her voice quavering, "I know y-you and Lilith didn’t want to ever speak to me again, but I—"

Eve suddenly felt herself being embraced in a tight hug. Lucifer's head buried in her shoulder as he squeezed her tighter and huffed, "Who the fuck told you that?"

For a fleeting moment, Eve felt happier than she had been in nearly eight years. It was like a dream. But before she could reciprocate Lucifer's hug, he abruptly broke it off, and reality came crashing back down. Hovering away from her, Lucifer demanded, "No, seriously, who was it?"

Eve became confused. 'Is he really pretending they didn’t tell Cain—'

"Was it Sera?" Lucifer asked through gritted teeth.

'What.'

Lucifer continued, riling himself up, "Fuck, so much shit is starting to make sense now. Oh, the next time I see that bi—" Finally snapping out of her dumbfounded stupor, Eve practically shouted, "No, Cain told me, not Sera!"

It was Lucifer’s turn to be confused, "Cain?" His bewildered reaction only fueled Eve's irritation.

"Yes, 'Cain'! He told me that neither of you ever wanted to see or speak to me again." Her hands clenched into fists so tight her nails risked breaking through her gloves and into her skin. Eve whimpered, "T-that you rightfully blamed me for us all being cast out of Eden."

"The fu—What?! Eve we'd never say anything like that! Nothing in Eden was your fault! Nothing! We've been trying to talk to you since you died!"

Eve's legs began to grow weak, and her breathing became labored as she tried to blink away tears. This had to be some sort of…sick joke from Lucifer at her expense for what she did.

"T-this isn’t funny…"

"Eve, I swear on my life, I'm not—I'm not messing with you! Cain never even mentioned you!"

Eve refused to believe that Cain would lie to her. She turned to Charlie to see if she had the same look of disapproval aimed at Lucifer when he was childishly ignoring her, but all Eve saw was the princess eying her with the same look as her father.

Lucifer spoke again, catching Eve's attention. He was delicate with his words, like she was the one spouting nonsense, "Eve, you need to talk to me. Does Sera know you're here? Do we need to—"

Eve couldn't take it anymore and just exploded, shouting at the top of her lungs to the point that her voice became hoarse, "Why do you keep bringing up Sera?! Why would she ever give a damn about me anymore?!" She clutched one hand to her chest, the pain becoming unbearable, "This isn't funny, Lucifer, stop it! Please!"

"'Anymo—'? Did those assholes throw you out?! Look, I'll call Sera, and we can sort this out and—" Eve screamed, "I wasn’t cast out! You know I wasn't! Where did you think I've been all this time?!"

In the blink of an eye, Lucifer's eyes turned a ghastly red, horns shot out from his head, and he flew into Eve's face, shouting back, "In Heaven with Adam! Where the fuck else would you have been?!"

Eve stumbled back, nearly falling over herself, terrified at seeing Lucifer domineering over her with burning eyes that could sear her flesh, dagger-like teeth that could snap her bones, and sharp horns that could skewer her.

Horrified at what he had done, Lucifer fluttered away from a trembling Eve as the red and fire from his eyes vanished. His horns retracted back into his head and he pleaded, "Fuck, Eve, I-I didn't mean to—" Lucifer landed back on the ground, looking up at her, "Y-you have to tell me what's going on, Eve, please!"

Eve stared through Lucifer as he continued talking, seemingly pleading with her. But all Eve could hear was her heart and lungs thundering in her ears as her vision became clouded by tears.

'"In Heaven…with Adam?"'

If what Lucifer said was the truth, then that would mean—It would mean Cain lied to her. That her son had lied to her. All this time. Eve felt like she was in a nightmare and that, at any moment, a horrid infestor demon would spring forth to mock her suffering and drag her into deeper torment.

Clutching her chest tighter, it felt impossible for Eve to breathe, and her scarf wasn't helping. But when she even thought of tearing it off, she became terrified. 'He can’t see me like this. He can't see me like this!' She screwed her eye shut at the rising pain of a migraine as her other hand gripped her head.

The shouting around her only got louder as Eve tried to retreat, but was stopped when a sinner tried grabbing her arm. She immediately lashed out, smacking them away with the back of her hand. They let go, but in her retaliation, she tripped over her foot and painfully crashed her back against a stone wall.

Eve felt a searing pain in her scars as she slid down the granite prison and became prone on the ground.

Head pounding, chest tightening, back burning, she felt like she was going to die again. That at any moment, they'd drag her away again to do every manner of horrors to her. It always ended the same way, no matter how she pleaded with them.

As the shouts became murmurs, Eve curled into herself on the floor, still gripping her chest and head. All she could think was the same two useless words: 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorr—'

"Baahhaa!"

Eve's eye snapped open, the familiar and comforting sound breaking through her panic-induced delirium.

Slowly collecting herself, her head and chest still pounding, Eve remembered where she was and turned her ailing head up to Razzle's perch on her right, but it was empty. Looking downward, she found him hovering in front of Lucifer's daughter in the middle of the room, his arms outstretched protectively.

Behind the flying goat, Eve saw Charlie looking at her with worry and a hand on her cheek.

She heard another bleat, "Bahaa!" but it wasn't Razzle. Confused, Eve slowly turned her head to the left and found the true culprit. A large billy goat stood before her on four legs, shuffling his black hooves on the carpet. As her breathing calmed, she noticed the cute red tufts of fur on his chest and his…bowtie.

Glancing up at his face, with those round, rosy cheeks, Eve realized that this goat was none other than Lucifer.

He bleated another, more exaggerated, "Baaahhhaa!" which caused a laugh to get caught in her throat. Eve couldn't help but laugh even more at the absurdity of the situation as he began to trot in place. It was like the two of them were in the Garden again.

Except they weren't.

They'd never feel the warmth of Paradise again. Because of her.

As Lucifer smiled triumphantly at getting her to laugh, his victory was short-lived as her bout of laughter turned into gasping sobs. With a frown, Lucifer slowly approached Eve, giving a quiet bleat before she suddenly latched onto him, burying her face into his soft, thick fur.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything! I'm sorry for the Garden! For Michael! I-I'm—" In a flash of light, Lucifer was himself again, his arms around Eve in a tight hug as she continued to cry into his shoulder, holding him fiercely.

The two stayed locked in their embrace until Eve's loud sobs turned into quiet weeping.

Gingerly breaking off the hug, Lucifer put both hands on her rigid shoulders and tried to reassure her. "Eve, listen to me. You don't have a single goddamn thing to be sorry for, do you hear me?" Lucifer's eyes pooled with tears, refusing to fall, as he looked at Eve. "Not a goddamn thing."

As Eve stared into Lucifer's red eyes, she realized it didn't matter what color they had become. They were still the eyes of her best friend.

Eye flickering to the ground, scattered with books and papers, Eve saw her hat among the chaos and panicked. She broke from Lucifer, pawing at her face, ensuring her sunglasses and scarf hadn't gotten loose before scrambling for her hat, but Lucifer got to it first.

He desperately asked, "Eve, please tell me what's going on. I swear, I won't get angry again." He offered Eve her hat, "I promise."

Eve slowly reached for it, and as soon as she grabbed its brim, Lucifer let go. It was only after she shuffled to sit up straight and hastily screwed the hat back onto her head that she realized she was in front of Lucifer's bookcase.

Sitting on the carpet, all Eve could do was feel embarrassed at how she must have acted in front of her friend and his daughter. 'Pathetic.'

Something moved in the corner of Eve's eye, and she saw Lucifer sit in front of her, cross-legged. Charlie came closer, too, sitting just beside her father with Razzle lying in her lap. The little demon still narrowing his eyes at Eve.

All four sat in silence, with Lucifer and Charlie waiting for Eve to speak.

But what Eve wanted to say, what she wanted to know and so desperately ask, she wasn't sure how to without sounding like she was accusing Lucifer of anything. Like she was putting any blame on him or Lilith for what happened to her.

Not managing to think of the how, Eve asked anyway. "Did you…did you and Lilith really think I was in Heaven…all this time?"

"Of course we did."

No hesitation. Not a shred of doubt in his voice. He really believed it. He really believed she was in Heaven all along. Eve couldn't help but audibly sob, crying all over again. Except she wasn't weeping in sorrow. No, Eve couldn't be happier.

"T-thank you."

Unsettled by Eve's tears of joy, Lucifer asked, "For…for what?"

"F-for believing I was still a good person."

Snatching both her hands, Lucifer stared directly at Eve, "You are a good person, Eve!" He shook them for emphasis, "You are!"

Eve weakly responded, "But I know that can't be true."

"How do you figure that?"

"When I died, I woke up here."

Lucifer let go like she caught on fire. "You…you woke up in Hell?" His hands latched onto his knees. Eve shamefully nodded, and his grip only tightened.

Her friend was barely holding it together, his eyes darting in every direction in thought, "W-why didn’t you…" Lucifer was doing everything within his power not to let his wrath control him like he promised. "Why didn't you come to us as soon as you got here?!"

"I-I was so ashamed. I already ruined everything with the apple and my family. You and Lilith had each other. You were happy. I didn't…I didn't want to ruin that, too. So, I just...tried to keep to myself.”

As Lucifer continued to reel from this revelation, Charlie hesitantly interjected, "What do you mean you 'tried' to keep to yourself?"

Eve froze. She messed up. She didn't mean to say that.

She clung her knees to her chest and hugged them tightly, hiding from their gazes. "Eve?" Lucifer asked nervously. Eve didn't want to tell him.

Her whole body began to shake. She never even told Cain what had happened to her, but she didn't have to. He saw what happened to her, and ever since he saved her, he always looked at her like...like she was some great guilt.

She didn't want Lucifer to ever look at her like that. For anyone to look at her the way her son did.

Eve pleaded, "I-I don't want to talk about it."

But Lucifer's daughter couldn't help but push. "Eve, we just want to—"

She knows they only want to help or understand, which made her feel even worse, but she didn't want them to help or understand if it meant them treating her like all her suffering was something for them to shoulder or treating her like some terrible burden. "Charlie. It doesn't matter anymore. Please."

Charlie winced at the harsh rebuke, which stung Eve.

Glancing at Lucifer, she was startled to see that his eyes had turned that ghastly red again. His red claws had even dug into his knees to the point that she could see shining golden blood marring them.

"Eve?" Her attention returned to Charlie, who tried encouraging her to continue. "What happened after...?"

Swallowing, "My son—" Saved her. "—found me."

"He took care of me. Taught me how Hell worked. When I realized he was an Overlord. That he had connections with you," Eve's attention focused on Lucifer, "I finally thought…I finally thought to ask him if he could tell you and Lilith I was here. That I wanted to see you both again, but then he told me—"

"A bunch of bullshit." Eve flinched.

"Dad!"

Lucifer averted his gaze with a scoff, his eyes still burning red with a death grip on his knees.

Charlie gestured for Eve to continue. "So, every few years. Decades. Centuries. I'd ask him if you had changed your minds, and you—he told me you…hadn't."

Eve became quiet again, prompting Charlie to ask, "Are you…still living with him now?"

Shocked at Charlie's ignorance, Eve snapped her gaze to Lucifer, silently judging him on why his daughter wouldn't know something so...so fundamental to the history of Hell. But all he could do was look away, ashamed. So, Eve mournfully corrected the princess, "No, Charlie, Cain…Cain was killed in The Great Purge."

Charlie continued to show her ill teachings of Hell's history, with her not even registering the name. So, Eve gave another, more familiar one.

"The First Extermination." The princess gasped, gripped by embarrassment and shame. It hurt Eve to see Lucifer's daughter like this, but at least she's learning this history now.

"Wait, you weren't—you weren't with him when that happened, right?" Lucifer interjected. Eve weakly nodded, which prompted Lucifer to finally unlatch his claws from his knees and drag them through his hair in a panic, spatters of golden blood slicking it.

He sputtered, "That was ground fucking zero, h-how did you survive?!"

Eve's voice couldn't muster any emotion to that question. One she's already asked herself for millennia with no satisfying answer. "I don't know. I truly don't. I was on the other side of his castle when they attacked, trapped under rubble. When I finally freed myself, all I could do was...watch him die."

By this point, Eve felt like she had no more tears to give. She was just so tired.

"And all I could do was run." She gripped her legs tighter. "Ever since then, I tried talking to the both of you, I really did, but either people recognized me or realized who I was or—" Lucifer's broken voice cut her off, horror etched on his face, "Or I ignored you…like…I ignored…every sinner."

Lucifer's horns began to poke through his head as he strained to stop them from sprouting. He buried the palms of his hands into his reddened eyes as they started to leak. "Fuck," Lucifer whimpered.

The dam finally broke as tears streamed down his face. "Eve, I…I am so sorry. I'm so fucking sorry." He was on his hands and knees now, begging. "If I knew you were here, if we knew you were here, we would've protected you. We would've loved you." He drove his forehead into the carpet at Eve's feet, "I'm the one that should be sorry, not you!"

Eve scooted away, unsettled by Lucifer prostrating himself, not expecting him to be the one apologizing, especially like this. As he continued to weep, she reached out a hand to try to comfort him, but before she could, he abruptly shot up. His horns and the red in his eyes were gone, replaced with an incredibly forced smile plastered on his face. "B-but it's okay, now! You can stay here! With us!"

Scrambling away like she was poisonous, Eve exclaimed, "No! If sinners found out I was here, Charlie’s hotel—"

"Would survive." Eve's eye met Charlie, who stood up. "How can I claim to strive for redemption when the person in front of me deserves it, maybe more than anyone else in Hell, and not offer them a place at the hotel?" Charlie reached into her pockets and pulled out a pair of room keys. The same ones that KeeKee had dropped in front of Eve.

Eve turned away, muttering, "I don't...I don't deserve this."

"Eve, please," Lucifer spoke. He was, thankfully, no longer groveling at her feet but standing and extending her a hand, "Let me try and make up for…for everything."

As she looked at his hand, all Eve could think about was returning to her lonely cabin, knowing that her friends had actually missed her all this time. That this was a chance for her to rekindle what she had lost so long ago. With her choice clear, Eve grabbed on.

Lucifer hoisted Eve onto her feet with a single flap of his wings, like she weighed nothing, before landing on the ground again. He beamed, "Perfect, where are you living now? We can have all your stuff brought over." His shoulders stiffened as his smile became even more forced, "You…are living somewhere now and…have stuff, r-right?"

Just looking into his eyes, Eve knew this act Lucifer was putting on was already unraveling. So, she quickly reassured him, even a little pride leaking into her voice, "Yes, I've actually been living in my cabin in the forest south of Pentagram City."

Lucifer cringed, still holding that fake smile, "A cabin? Cool. Cool." Eve didn't appreciate his condescending tone. She was proud of her cabin.

Charlie seemed to realize her father's folly and butted him aside, "H-hey, how about you get yourself settled in, yeah?" She gingerly placed the pair of keys into Eve's hand. "Then, when I catch up, you can tell me exactly where your cabin is and what you need from it. Sound good?"

Surprised by Charlie's sudden interruption, Eve could only humbly accept the keys as she put them into her pocket. "O-of course." But Eve realized that if she were to move into the hotel, she'd be leaving Pan all alone. "Does your hotel allow...pets, Charlie?"

The princess cooed, "Oh, of course we do! We'll sort out how to get 'em here, don't worry."

Charlie addressed the little demon fluttering near her, "Razzle, can you help escort Eve to her room?" But he looked apprehensive at the idea, glaring at Eve, causing her to wince and left to wonder what she had done to earn his ire.

The princess stepped between Eve and Razzle, scolding him. "Hey, I told you, I'm fine, okay? Just, help her, please? For me?" Razzle huffed before nodding his head and flying to Lucifer's door.

"Okay, so, Razzle will guide you to your room and show you how everything works, and he'll be a perfect gentleman, right?" Charlie stressed her last words as she stared down Razzle, who responded with a well-intended, if nervous, salute as he held the door open for Eve.

Before Eve followed Razzle, she bent down and surprised Lucifer's daughter with a hug, "Thank you, Charlie, for…for all of this." Stunned at first, the princess quickly hugged Eve back with a happy hum. In her hug, Eve looked to Lucifer, leaning against his desk and barely holding it together.

Breaking off her hug with Charlie, Eve addressed him. "And Lucifer…" His head snapped to her. "Can we talk later? Just…just you and I?"

A real smile, to her relief, crept back onto his face. "Yeah, I'd…I'd like that a lot, Eve."

Although Lucifer couldn't see it, Eve smiled back and turned to follow Razzle through the door, bidding father and daughter farewell.

As soon as the door closed, Charlie couldn't help but raise a hand to her cheek again. It didn't hurt. Well, it did a little, but she was more shocked being struck by Eve than anything. Seeing someone so utterly terrified was far worse than any pain she might have felt.

She was sure Razzle would do as she asked, but after holding him back from retaliating against Eve, she couldn't help but still feel a little worried. And all because Charlie made the stupid mistake of grabbing Eve at the exact wrong moment.

Eve didn't seem to remember what she did either, so Charlie thought it best to stay that way. There was no need to burden her with that when no real harm was done.

But Charlie's idle thinking was halted when she heard her father curse at the top of his lungs, followed by an explosion of glass, metal, and drywall. The princess spun around and saw her father's balcony window sporting a new, desk-sized hole.

Eve couldn't have left sooner.

Her father's wings, horns, and claws were on full display as he was thrashing his office, destroying anything he could touch as he hurled the bookcase Eve had fallen into aside. Worried that Eve might still be close enough to hear this commotion and get the wrong idea, again, Charlie tried to calm her father down, "Dad, stop!"

Lucifer continued his wrathful rampage in his office as he addressed her, "She was here, Charlie!" He delivered a swift kick to the downed bookcase, splinters of wood and torn pages of books flying through the air, before grabbing his ruined desk lamp off the ground. "She was here the entire fucking time, and I didn't know!" He threw it into a far-off wall, shattering it into pieces.

He spun to face Charlie, "And whatever in the Hell happened to her happened under my fucking nose!" Lucifer stumbled, collapsing onto his knees as he faced his ruined balcony. Tears streamed down his face again. Clasping his head, he whimpered, "I should've known…"

Charlie wavered at seeing her father so...vulnerable as he muttered admonishments to himself. She hadn't even seen him this distraught since Mom left them. Although Charlie never actually got the chance to see that, since he decided to shut himself away in the family mansion when Mom left. But Charlie wasn't going to let that happen.

'Not Again.'

Kneeling to her father, "Well, you know now, and you can be here for her now." Lucifer looked up at his daughter as she continued to speak, "That's all that should matter, Dad. You can’t shut yourself away again. Not from Eve." She sat down beside him and looked out the window. "And not from me."

Gaining more confidence in her voice, "And Eve asked to talk to you again. So, while I get her things with Vaggie, maybe you two can talk about…other stuff without me being in the room. A chance for you two to really reconnect."

Lucifer could only let out a small laugh as he wiped away the last of his tears. As he relaxed, his horns and wings slowly retreated back into his body. "You're so much like your mother," he said with utmost reverence, still staring out the window.

Charlie was stunned, "Really?" She hesitantly asked, "In...what way?"

"You're able to pull my head outta my ass with just a few words." That left her unsure of what to say next. Lest she ruin such a rare moment with her dad, she just sat with him and continued to enjoy the view of Pentagram City, as newly arrived sinners fell from the sky like meteors.

Charlie sat and watched Hell replenishing its population by the second, until she absentmindedly touched her cheek again. Suddenly, she felt another hand with hers and quickly realized it was her dad's. "Lemme just," Lucifer muttered, as golden magic sparkled around his fingertips. After a moment, he pulled his hand away. "Tada."

Charlie pressed on her cheek and felt that what little pain remained vanished. She couldn't help but think back to Eve's breakdown. Guilt eating at her, "I...shouldn't've grabbed her."

Her father surprised Charlie by pulling her shoulder to shoulder with him. "Hey, hey, you were just trying to help, Sweetie. Plus, I'm the one who caused her to freak out in the first place."

"But, you did fix it." Charlie reassured him before she asked, "How...did you know turning into a goat would help?" Lucifer sputtered out a laugh, "Yeah, that was…that was just something I pulled outta my ass. I thought it might help snap Eve out of…whatever was happening to her."

"But why a goat?"

Lucifer became excited, "Oh, Eve loved it when I turned into animals in the Garden, especially goats. They were her favorite. Still are, thankfully." A warm and genuine smile crept onto her father's face, "At least that hasn't changed."

And with that, Charlie had just learned something new about her dad. Without thinking, Charlie crushed him in a tight hug. "I love you, Dad." Lucifer, surprised, hugged her back, "Oh, I love you, too, Charlie."

While Charlie would have loved to stay in this moment, she promised Eve that she'd catch up with her. Breaking off the hug, she stood up and declared, "Okay, I think Eve and Razzle made it to her room by now. So, I'll see what she needs from her cabin."

As Charlie was about to leave her dad's office, she looked back and saw him still slouching where his office desk used to be and staring out into Hell's horizon. "Talk to Eve while we're gone, Dad. Please?"

"Yeah, I will, Sweetie." And she believed him. Smiling, Charlie exited her father's office, gently closing the door behind her.

She pulled out her phone and texted Vaggie as she headed to the elevator.

CHARLIE (9:50): Hey, how are the lessons going without me?

CHARLIE (9:50): You didn't throw anyone off a building again,
right? ;^)

But she immediately regretted that joke.

CHARLIE (9:51): Kidding. )^: I'm sure you're doing great!

VAGGIE (9:51): Lol, all good

VAGGIE (9:51): Lessons are going fine

VAGGIE (9:51): Cherri and Angel are actually having fun

VAGGIE (9:51): Even Husk got into it for a sec

VAGGIE (9:51): Nifty just being...Nifty

Charlie was overjoyed, before Vaggie sent another text asking the obvious question.

VAGGIE (9:51): What happened with Eve? Everything good??

CHARLIE (9:52): It was...a lot. I'll fill you in later. But when
you're done, can you swing by room 320?

Several seconds passed as three dots continued to appear and disappear next to Vaggie's name, until finally—

VAGGIE (9:53): Why?

CHARLIE (9:53): Because we have a new guest who
needs help moving in! :^D

Not even a second passed before Charlie's phone furiously rang.

Chapter Text

As Vaggie waited for Charlie to finish speaking with the hotel's newest...guest, she mindlessly polished her spear, rubbing away at a persistent black stain marring its tip. Scrunching her long, narrow nose in frustration, the angel couldn't stop thinking about her heated phone call with her girlfriend.

She tried to convince Charlie that Eve staying at the hotel was a bad idea, that they didn't know enough about her, and that it was too soon after pushing back Adam's exorcists. But no, her girlfriend insisted that this woman needed their help and that she was a good person.

Charlie even offered her father's glowing approval of Eve, as if that meant anything, but Vaggie made damn sure to keep that to herself.

There was just no getting through to her.

She loved Charlie. She did. She loved everything about her. Her passion, her creativity, her optimism, and even her blind faith in people's inner goodness. She loved all of her. But that last quality always worried Vaggie.

The angel would forever be thankful that Charlie took a chance on her in that alley and even more thankful for looking past her former life as an exorcist...but Charlie took a chance.

She was lucky.

And she was lucky again with...Pentious, a man who originally checked into the hotel as a spy for Vox.

Charlie could only take so many chances before she ran out of luck and the wrong person came along and took advantage of her boundless kindness to hurt the hotel or, more importantly, hurt her.

Before Vaggie could sink deeper into her worries, the door beside her opened, with Charlie looking intensely at her phone as she walked out. "Okay, I got our list! It's not too much stuff, either!" The princess said cheerily as she closed Eve's door and put her phone away.

Vaggie disappeared her spear, and Charlie spoke, "I'm so sorry again for making you wait out here. It had nothing to do with your call, just, you know, with what happened in the lobby...between you and Eve."

The angel sighed, "It's fine, Charlie, I get it." As much as Vaggie wanted to be in the room with her, she did get it.

Upon hearing Vaggie's answer, Charlie's mood brightened as she marched toward the elevator, exclaiming, "Then let's get going!" Only then did Vaggie realize the princess was without her small scaly companion. Looking from Eve's door to Charlie, Vaggie asked, "Is...Razzle not flying us there?"

The princess stopped, and her shoulders sagged, "He's still...processing Dazzle's passing." She looked over her shoulder at Vaggie with a shaky smile that stabbed into the angel's guilty heart, "So he'll just be keeping Eve company for now."

'Stupid! Of course he'd still be mourning!"

Charlie didn't blame her, and Razzle shockingly didn't either, but Vaggie couldn't help but continue blaming herself for getting the demon-goat's twin killed. Dazzle only died because that crazy bitch Lute was after her.

"Besides," Vaggie snapped to attention, Charlie's voice quieting her guilty conscience, "this is a chance for my girlfriend to show off how strong and fast she is by flying us there." The princess flirted, gliding a gentle finger under Vaggie's sharp chin, before she paused and reaffirmed in a softer, less flirtatious voice, "I mean, if you're up for it?"

Invigorated, Vaggie cracked a smile and answered her girlfriend by sweeping the princess off her feet as her angelic wings exploded from her back. Charlie released a giggle as she wrapped her arms around Vaggie, who walked them into the elevator.

Ready to help Charlie to the fullest, despite her many, many reservations, Vaggie asked, "Okay, might as well tell me everything Eve told you." Leaning her girlfriend toward the elevator buttons, Charlie quickly pushed the one for the ground floor and excitedly began to recall everything the Second Woman had told her.

🍎

Cradling Charlie in her arms, Vaggie soared to the other side of Pentagram City faster than any angel or demon in Heaven or Hell, as she expertly weaved around apartment buildings, past the Heaven Embassy, and evaded newly arrived sinners plummeting from the sky like fireballs.

Gliding over the border of the Industrial District, the pair finally reached the demonic forest that encircled Pentagram City. In what would've taken more than an hour on Razzle, it took half the time, maybe even less, for Vaggie, surprising even herself. All the while, Charlie had the time of her life, her twice-banded ponytail now disheveled, as if subjected to Lu Lu World's fastest rollercoaster.

As the two hovered over the dense forest, Vaggie recalled that Eve had told Charlie (who told her) that the cabin would be under a radio tower a few miles into the forest, disguised as a tree, between the pentagram point bordering the Industrial District and Cannibal Town.

'The antenna should be peaking just above the treeline,' Eve had said, according to her girlfriend.

"You see it?" Vaggie asked, her eye not catching anything out of the ordinary.

"No."

Vaggie continued to hold the two aloft as they scanned the horizon. Slowly lowering themselves closer to the trees, the princess finally spotted something in the distance. "Maybe we're not deep enough—wait. Oh, oh, there it is! I think that's it!" she cried, feverishly pointing to Vaggie's left.

"Where—" she followed Charlie's finger, narrowing her remaining eye, "Oh, I see it." 

As the two got closer, it became obvious this was not the home-made antenna strapped to a tree that the two were expecting. Instead, it was a 200-foot-tall triangular mast made of steel grids painted black and meticulously covered in broken-off bristles and branches to help blend it in with the surrounding trees.

But what captured Vaggie and Charlie's attention in the first place was the unique antenna adorning the radio tower. Its shape was oddly violent to the angel in particular, giving her a deep sense of unease just looking at it—three jagged branches on each side of the metal rod, all stabbing toward the sky.

Before she could dwell any longer on its shape, Vaggie looked down and became absolutely dumbfounded at what she saw. "Holy shit," she muttered. Charlie had only given Vaggie a vague description of Eve's cabin, but what she was looking at was not some dinky hovel; it was a fucking compound.

The cabin was the size of a house, with a lavish garden in the back, and a 'shed' the size of a fucking barn. Her girlfriend echoed the same shocked sentiment as Vaggie, peering down and clearly admiring Eve's home.

As Vaggie slowly lowered themselves to the forest floor, evading the many wires tethering the tower to the ground, the angel surveyed the perimeter and noted that it wasn't cleared of trees, with many still scattered across the property. Some even jutted out of Eve's cabin and barn.

The former exorcist quickly realized that it must have been an intentional layer of security. After all, it'd be a dead giveaway to anyone flying over this section of the forest if there were an empty patch of trees. And anyone lucky enough to even find their way down here would dismiss it as abandoned.

She couldn't help but begrudgingly admire Eve's dedication to keeping herself hidden.

Landing in front of the cabin porch, Charlie leaped out of Vaggie's arms and shouted for the whole forest to hear, "This place is amazing!" The princess spun around, taking it all in as she continued to gush about every little thing, but Vaggie couldn't help but be even more suspicious.

No matter how long Eve had supposedly been in Hell, she couldn't have possibly built this place by herself. Unless Eve was hiding any powers, Vaggie could only come to one conclusion: 'She had help.'

"Okay, so..." Charlie's voice got her attention again, and she saw her girlfriend straightening her hair as she scrolled through her phone. "The first order of business is to turn on the generator, which is..." Charlie turned to the radio tower, "Under there!" she pointed.

Beneath the massive spire was a small insulated shed, no higher than Charlie's shoulders, latched shut with a big yellow padlock. A slanted, metal sheet covered in twigs and branches acted as its roof. Vaggie noted multiple pipes feeding out of it and into the ground, along with a vent at the front.

As they approached it, Charlie dug into her pocket and took out a keychain Eve had given her. Flipping through four colored keys, Charlie unlocked the door with the yellow one.

Inside was the generator, reaching Charlie's waist. It looked old, but store-bought, with various modifications made to it. On the left interior wall were two boxes, one with buttons, dials, and various wires that snaked out of them both and out of the shed, presumably into those pipes outside, no doubt powering the rest of the compound.

Above the generator was a small, unlit lightbulb.

Charlie muttered, "Eve said to," she looked at her phone again, "turn the red valve right." She did as instructed, "And pull the cord." She gave it a good yank. Nothing. Gave it another. Nothing again. "Well, she mentioned we might have to give it a few tries to get it going."

One more yank, and Vaggie couldn't stand it anymore, gently shooing her girlfriend aside, "Let me give it a try, Babe," and gave it a more forceful pull. Nothing again. "Charlie, I'll deal with this." Pull. "You just start gathering everything we came for." Pull.

"All right, I'll start with her workshed and meet you inside," Charlie said, giving Vaggie a shoulder hug and kissing her on the cheek before walking off.

Alone with her thoughts again, Vaggie contemplated who could have possibly helped Eve put this place together.

'Was it Heaven?' Pull. 'Her showing up just a day after Adam's attack was convenient as hell.' Pull. 'Plus, she's Adam's wife. Anyone who was married to that asshole can't be any better, but...' She stopped. 'Adam avoided mentioning her whenever possible—even got mad as hell whenever anyone tried. And he always bragged about how much he slept around.' Pull. 'And he hit on us all the time.'

Vaggie was getting frustrated. She fiddled with the red valve, flipping it back and forth, before pulling the cord again.

'Maybe a deal with an Overlord?' Pull. 'She did seem pretty unintimidated by Alastor. Was he only pretending not to know her?' Pull. 'Or is she more powerful than she's letting on?' Pull. 'Although.' She stopped again. 'Her fear seemed...pretty real.' Vaggie's grip tightened on the cord as images flashed through her mind of Eve collapsing to the floor, shaking, and grasping at her neck. She shook the memory and guilt away, 'No. No, she could've easily been acting.' Pull. 'Making herself just seem helpless.'

Another angry pull. Nothing. Again.

Vaggie finally had it with this thing and shook it furiously, yelling at it, "¡Trabaja, pedazo de mierda!" She knew it wasn't empty! She could hear the damn gasoline sloshing around inside, which only angered her more. Realizing that giving in to her wrath wouldn't get her anywhere, she stopped and took a breath.

'Eve told Charlie we just had to turn the red valve right and pull the cord.' She put her hand on the valve, flipped it left, and gripped the cord. 'So, maybe.' Vaggie flipped the valve right and immediately yanked as hard as she could. The engine finally came to life with a rumble, and the lightbulb flickered on.

But before Vaggie could celebrate, she heard Charlie scream from the cabin. Panicked, the former exorcist's wings shot from her back as she summoned her spear and hurriedly flew to the cabin door, slamming it open, ready to fight.

"Charlie! Are you—"

But instead of an exorcist or a Demon attacking Charlie, Vaggie found her on the ground shrieking with laughter as a black goat, its legs marred with white fur, like socks, was climbing all over her, poking its head into her jacket.

'So, this must be Pan.'

Relieved, Vaggie put her spear and wings away, walked over to the farm animal, and shooed it off her girlfriend, "Hey. Off."

The goat snapped its head to her and did as she said, only to stare at her strangely, like it was confused by her presence. It approached her, its head no higher than her knees, and sniffed Vaggie before backing away.

For Vaggie, seeing an actual goat after being around Razzle and Dazzle for so long was odd, especially with its horizontal pupils drilling into her as it tilted its head side to side, inspecting her from every angle.

Its lips curled upward, showing its teeth as if it were offended by something in the air. The goat snorted, reared back, and headbutted Vaggie in the shin, trotting off with a bleat.

Yelping in pain and hopping on her good leg, Vaggie gripped her shin as she shouted at the goat, "You fuckin' brat!" It wouldn't bruise, not that it could, but it still hurt.

Charlie finally picked herself up from the floor, no longer amused.

She marched over to the goat and scolded it. "Hey, that wasn't nice, Pan." It almost looked guilty as it followed her girlfriend's wagging finger. The princess kneeled to scratch at the side of the goat's head, continuing her soft scolding of the animal. "Vaggie's nice! And if you do that again, I won't feed you your favorite snack."

As Vaggie finished rubbing her shin and stood, she asked, "Favorite snack?"

"Yeah, Eve asked me to feed Pan some dried fruit when we got here." Charlie walked to the back of the cabin as she muttered, "Just need to find 'em."

As Charlie searched, Vaggie finally had the chance to examine the interior of Eve's home. It was the definition of 'cozy' and far more flattering on the inside than the outside, even with a giant tree in the middle of the living room. But examining the sanded-down floorboards and twelve-foot-high ceiling, Vaggie realized the cabin was deliberately built around the tree.

Directly to her left, an old and comfy-looking couch sat in front of a coffee table, itself in front of a radio stand with an accompanying record player. Underneath it were three shelves, each filled with an extensive collection of records.

To her right was the other half of the cabin—three doors for three rooms. Two bookcases flanking the middle.

In the back of the cabin was an open kitchen with a refrigerator, oven, stove, and sink. Above the counters were several cabinets that Charlie was inspecting, before the princess finally declared in triumph, "A-ha!".

With the horned menace not far behind her, Charlie walked over to Vaggie and handed the angel some dried fruit, "Here, Vaggie, you feed her."

"Charlie, I don't think—"

"Come ooon, it'll show her you're a friend!"

Vaggie looked down at the goat staring at them both, its tail wagging in anticipation. The angel sighed, "Okay." She got on a knee and extended an open hand with the treats.

After much apprehension, the goat finally sniffed the dried fruits in Vaggie's hand and nibbled them up. The angel was expecting the goat to bite her, but, thankfully, all it did was leave her hand covered in drool.

Then it did something unexpected.

The goat gently pushed its head affectionately against Vaggie's knee, getting an adorable coo out of Charlie, "Aww, see? Friends!" Satisfied, the animal trotted off and clambered onto the couch, letting the women have run of the place.

As Vaggie wiped the drool onto her skirt, Charlie announced, "Okay, we should split up and—Oh, wait! Duh, I totally forgot to text you the list of stuff, hang on. I hope there's a signal out here." The princess thumbed at her phone, sending Vaggie the list, "Annnd, sent! Yeesh, barely a signal out here."

Vaggie's phone buzzed in her skirt pocket. She took it out, seeing Charlie's text.

"I already got everything in her shed, so I'll get everything else in Eve's bedroom and bathroom, while you get everything in the kitchen, living room, and basement," Charlie dug into her pocket and pulled out the colored keys, tossing them to Vaggie, who effortlessly caught them. "You'll need the green one."

As Charlie opened the door to Eve's room, she said, "Just put everything on the kitchen table, and I'll do the rest," before leaving Vaggie alone in the living room. After the angel scanned the list, which was smaller than expected, she got to work.

Vaggie went to the kitchen first and threw all the perishables out the window, which 'the animals' would supposedly eat. But as she was in front of the sink tossing vegetables and fruit, she got a good look at the backyard and Eve's garden.

It was filled with strange flowers of all shapes and sizes, unlike anything on Earth or in Heaven. Most of them looked beautiful, in their own hellish way, while others seemed more liable to kill you and turn you into mulch.

Rightward, past the fruits and vegetables (which Vaggie was shocked Eve was even able to grow), there was a gravestone overgrown with vines and flowers under a small tree. She squinted, but couldn't get a good enough look at whose name was written on it.

Charlie mentioned that Eve lived with Cain before he was killed, so maybe it was some kind of symbolic gesture for her son? Or all her children? Who else would it be for?

Moving down the list, she quickly plucked romance and fantasy novels off the living room bookshelves and put them on the kitchen table. Alongside the novellas, she set down the record player and boxes of vinyl.

According to Charlie's text, the only thing left was a suitcase in the cellar, which could be accessed under the rug in front of the refrigerator. Vaggie moved it aside to reveal a long hatch, which she opened and carefully descended.

The light from above was barely visible as she neared the bottom of the stairs, where the angel saw a light switch. She flipped it on, and the cavernous basement was illuminated by green, red, and blue Sinsmas lights lining the ceiling, snaking down the endless hallway.

She was supposed to follow the green lights, but Vaggie couldn't help but peek into the room to her immediate left, where the red lights led. Passing it, all she could see were stacks of...something leaning against the walls in the weak crimson glow of the room.

Ignoring it, for now, the green trail led Vaggie to a storage room further down the cellar hallway on the right.

Flicking another light switch, the room lit up with shelves of rations, spare parts, first aid, and so much more lining the walls. It felt like Vaggie stepped into a doomsday bunker rather than a storage room.

As she perused the shelves, Vaggie saw dozens of labeled boxes that caught her interest. Many belonged to Eve, but just as many had the word 'Hatch' scrawled on them. 'The hell? For the...basement?'

Dismissing the boxes, Vaggie continued to search the storage room until she noticed a large metal crate with a green lock in the far corner. Using the green key, Vaggie popped it open to find a large leather suitcase. She lifted it out and onto the ground, surprised by its heavy weight.

She quickly noticed that, unlike the crate, the suitcase wasn't locked.

As Vaggie stared at it, she began to rationalize that it would only be reasonable, of course, for her to ensure they weren't bringing anything dangerous into the hotel. Especially when Eve never actually clarified what was in it to Charlie.

Vaggie quickly unlatched the suitcase and found it filled to the brim with...books? No, not books, they were more like journals, of various ages, sizes, and colors, each with names on the covers, and all individually wrapped in plastic.

While she didn't risk opening any one of them from their transparent sealing, she quickly looked through the covers for anything suspicious or incriminating. One especially thick journal at the top of the pile that caught her eye had 'Hatch' on it.

'Wait,' she looked behind her at the boxes on the shelf. 'Was that for a...person? Maybe the one who helped her build this place?' She pulled out the rest of the journals, neatly piling them beside the suitcase.

She dug deeper, seeing many strange and familiar names on the covers, not understanding why Eve would be writing about all these people. After taking out over a hundred journals and reaching the bottom, she saw the final names, and it finally clicked who these journals were about.

'Cain.'

'Abel.'

'Adam.'

Vaggie was stunned as her gaze turned to the massive pile of journals, "Are these all...her children?"

She knew Adam and Eve had children, obviously, how else did humanity populate the Earth? But for Eve to dedicate a journal to every single one? She didn't even remember Adam talking about them. Oh, he'd never shut up about being the Father of Humanity, but never once did he name-drop Abel or any of his other offspring in Heaven.

The angel couldn't help but feel embarrassed as she pinched her brow, creasing her thin, long eyebrows in frustration. "God, what the fuck am I doing?"

As she was about to put them all back the way she found them, she glanced at the other journals still in the suitcase. One was dedicated to 'Eden,' another to 'Lilith,' and the last was for...well, the angel was so confused that she needed to pick it up and narrow her eye at the name.

"Who the hell is 'Samael'?" As the angel contemplated the name, Vaggie realized...Lucifer's name wasn't among the journals. She wondered why Eve would leave him out if they were supposedly such good friends, but then it hit her as she held the book, 'No way, Charlie's dad?'

After wondering if Charlie knew, Vaggie quickly dismissed the potential revelation, placing the book back at the bottom of the suitcase. She quickly packed the rest of them, the one titled 'Hatch' back on the top, and closed it, carrying it out of the room to make her way back upstairs.

Looking right, she saw the blue lights continue down the corridor into the darkness. Vaggie ignored the inky abyss, heading left for the stairs, but stopped at the foot of the steps when she saw the red room again. She peered up at the opening of the hatch, not hearing Charlie.

She had time.

Setting the suitcase outside the door, Vaggie flicked the room's light on, revealing paintings leaning against the walls. All of them surrounded a shelf of art supplies in the middle of the room. The paintings were all uncovered, except for a big one in the corner covered in a dark sheet. The ones she could see just depicted various beautiful landscapes.

But the longer and closer she looked at them, Vaggie couldn't help but feel a...tug toward them. No, they weren't just paintings of forests or prairies, but...a garden.

The Garden.

She gasped, "Holy shit."

The angel didn't know how, but deep in her soul, she knew just by looking at them.

Her suspicions of Eve were totally forgotten as Vaggie pondered whether the woman herself had painted these. It'd be the only explanation. Who else could depict the Lost Paradise aside from Adam, Lucifer, and Lilith? It's not like any angels in Heaven (including Adam) bothered even to try.

It felt like Vaggie was bearing witness to lost history and noticed more paintings were stacked behind one another.

Wanting to see more of the Garden, she flipped through them like a catalog, row after row, lost in thought. She saw more vibrant trees of impossible height, beautiful animals and creatures of myth, unimaginable flora not unlike Eve's garden, Charlie—

"What the fuck?!" Vaggie yelped and staggered away from the paintings, hitting her back against the shelves, knocking down paint brushes, buckets, and easels to the ground. 

Shocked back into reality at what she saw, the angel hesitantly looked at the painting again and confirmed that it was Charlie, but...much younger than she'd ever seen the princess, with her hair only reaching her shoulders and wearing an outfit ripped straight from the '70s.

She was depicted kneeling on the ground in bell-bottom jeans, offering a helping hand to an injured sinner as chaos and corpses surrounded them, with Razzle and Dazzle flanking her as cherub-like figures. Every aspect of the painting, from the framing to the composition, lighting, and colors, portrayed Charlie as nothing but divine.

The top right corner of the piece even had a title, just two words: 'Their Miracle.'

Vaggie's worry boiled over, her suspicions of Eve returning a thousandfold. Her mind was on fire, 'Has Eve been...watching Charlie? For how long?! All this time?! Why? Was she doing it for herself or...for someone else? Has she written about her, too?!'

She quickly began flipping through the rest of the paintings in the room, thankfully not finding any more with her girlfriend. The only ones that stuck out were portraits of Charlie's parents in the Garden, one of a man in a cave, a foreboding Seraphim with a face obscured by dozens of angelic wings wrapped around their head, and paintings of...Imps?

There had to be something more here!

Flipping through the last row, she froze when she saw Adam's unmistakable silhouette and LED grin against the blood-red sky of the Pride Ring as he soared through the air in his white and gold robe. A division of exorcists followed behind him in formation as he sent a ray of holy light through a building, scattering sinners. Looking at the title, it read: 'Conquest.'

She pulled the painting back to look at the next one behind it and saw an angel she'd never seen before.

He had golden wings like Adam's, but with a different uniform and fitter build. Clad in red shining armor and a knight's helm, he towered over sinners as he violently butchered and bisected them with a longsword. All while he was surrounded by equally unfamiliar exorcists helping him in the slaughter. 'War.'

The next was a thinner angel, cloaked in black with a veil covering his face, but just as imposing as the last, as he battered sinners to death with twin flails attached to a staff. His golden wings slicing through a crowd of fleeing sinners, scrambling away in terror into the spears of exorcists. 'Famine.'

The final painting depicted a landscape of rubble and flames, the shadow of a ruined castle in the distance. The fire illuminated a figure wearing a sickly green robe, standing alone atop blood-stained boulders shaped like a giant. His golden wings unnaturally large as they escaped the boundaries of the frame. Covering his face was something akin to a plague mask, its dark, empty sockets peering at Vaggie. 'Death.'

These three angels were Adam; they had to be.

There was never anyone else who had led the exorcists besides him, she was sure of that, and he made damn sure to remind every exorcist of that, too. But since the Exterminations were always kept such a big secret in Heaven, there was never any documentation, let alone paintings, of these eras and old uniforms.

History that Heaven definitely wanted forgotten.

All Vaggie could think about seeing these paintings was that Adam's cruelty truly spanned thousands of years. Slaughtering people year after year—for fun. It made her all the happier he was dead.

The painting in the corner was all that remained, and it made Vaggie the most nervous. The only one deliberately hidden. If Eve wasn't ashamed of hiding any of these paintings, what could this one possibly be?

Steeling herself, Vaggie pulled the sheet covering it, revealing a portrait that filled the angel with dread.

🍎

Since they came here, Charlie has had so much fun learning so much about Eve, like how she painted, like her dad, and even had a workshop in her shed, also like her dad! And it wasn't like the princess was trying to snoop, but she couldn't help herself!

Everything here told her at least something about her hotel's newest guest and her father's oldest friend.

For instance, the first thing that caught Charlie's attention in Eve's room was a saxophone tucked in the corner, "Oh my gosh, she plays?!" The princess inspected it, but saw it was covered in dust. "Aw, I guess she stopped."

Charlie realized she was getting sidetracked and gently slapped her cheeks, "Focus, Charlie! A saxophone was not on Eve's list!"

Putting on a serious face, Charlie began collecting Eve's clothes from her drawer, laying them one by one on top of it, then everything else in her humble closet. Looking at the neatly folded pile of garments, she couldn't help but notice how...run down they all looked. She also realized that Eve didn't have a swimsuit for the pool either!

"Well, that could be a fun excuse to go out shopping. Oh! Maybe we could make a girls' day out of it with Cherri and Niffy, too!"

Putting aside her excuses for bonding and thoughts of Eve's potential taste in fashion, Charlie extended her hands over the large pile of clothes and intensely thought, 'Eve's room,' while picturing an empty space on a carpeted floor. Below the clothes, a white, circular portal opened, and they slowly sank into it, disappearing from the room in a glow of light.

Her plan with Eve was simple: she'd use her portal spell to transport all of Eve's things directly to her hotel room in a very specific spot. Of course, Charlie typically only used this spell to retrieve objects, like stacks of papers and such. However, sending things places has always been a little more...unreliable.

For instance, Charlie sent a bottle of wine back to the hotel, only to come back and learn that she had opened a portal under a pile of dishes Razzle had just cleaned, toppling them all to the floor along with the bottle. She felt just awful when she came home to that!

But, as long as Eve kept moving her stuff out of the way before Charlie sent the next thing on the list, everything should be fine.

With the clothes gone, Charlie retrieved Eve's personal items from her desk next.

An old Rubik's Cube, pens, and other writing utensils were piled onto the drawer. But the most important item on her desk was a curious red book. Without a cover, Charlie was curious to see what it was about and flipped through it, but when she saw cursaive handwriting, she immediately snapped it shut.

Was that Eve's handwriting? Was Charlie holding Eve's journal?! While tempted to take another peek, she resisted the urge and quickly sent it away with the rest of Eve's belongings.

"Annnd bedroom, done!"

Charlie looked around Eve's room one last time, mentally noting if she had missed anything, until she saw the bookcase. Taking a closer look, it seemed like they were all non-fiction, as opposed to the books in the living room.

She, again, resisted taking any off the shelf (Eve didn't mention taking any other books from her room), but it couldn't hurt to look at the titles. The ones on the top of the shelf appeared to be pretty old self-help books, with some not even having the title on their spines.

But, the ones that popped out the most to her were...interesting, like 'I'm Fine - You're Fine,' 'Disposable Women,' and 'The Ethical Whore.' The last one had Charlie especially curious about its contents, but at least it seemed like Eve had been trying to improve herself on her own.

The rest of the books made Charlie flashback to her homeschooling days, with the bottom half of the shelf filled with history books, textbooks for math, and even a stack of science magazines. She also had one for engineering!

The princess slowly became saddened—reminded of her late inventor friend, Pen. Charlie knew for sure the two of them would've gotten along great.

She went to open the door to the living room when she noticed that Eve had another door in her room. So, she decided to take a quick peek and, "Oh my gosh!" It opened to the bathroom! This cabin was just getting better and better!

Light beamed through the semi-opaque window, which reflected off the porcelain shower, sink, and toilet. Out of everything in Eve's home, Charlie was most impressed that she had plumbing all the way out here.

She put the toilet seat down and began the process again, placing all manner of toiletries from the list onto the seat. The last thing was a bag in the medicine cabinet above the sink. It was leather and heavier than Charlie expected, packed tight with...something. She hoped deep down it was just makeup.

Placing it with everything else, she sent them away to Eve.

As Charlie closed the cabinet door, she felt an odd texture against her thumb. Upon closer inspection, Charlie realized it was dried paint. She scratched at it without thinking, chipping a large piece away to reveal a mirror underneath.

"The hell?" She murmured, stepping back. Charlie was puzzled. The mirror didn't seem...broken. Why cover it? Did Eve...not want to look at herself? Or maybe she just didn't like the form Hell gave her? She knew that was a very common complaint among sinners.

'Oh no! Was that why she was wearing a mask the whole time?' Charlie hoped that they'd be able to get Eve out of her shell if that was the case.

With the bathroom done...that was it! All that was left was to send off everything Vaggie had gathered on the kitchen table, but before Charlie left the bathroom, she realized that another door led directly to the third mysterious room.

The one Eve didn't mention.

Curious, she opened it, revealing a second bedroom, which was bare with only a few empty waist-high shelves and a sheetless bed.

A very...small sheetless bed.

For a child.

A thousand thoughts rushed through Charlie's head, and it came to a screeching halt when she peered out the window and saw a grave. Hugged by flowers and vines, it had a name engraved on it. "Hatch?" Charlie looked back at the small bed, and the temperature in the room abruptly dropped.

She was in a dead child's room.

In an instant, the princess was in the living room, her back to Hatch's door as she slowly sank to the floor. This trip to Eve's cabin suddenly became a lot heavier than she had anticipated. As Charlie sat, stewing in her guilt at having invaded Eve's privacy so harshly, Pan approached and laid her head on the princess, bleating.

"Aw, Pan, did you notice I was down?" Charlie gave the goat a good scratch, receiving a loud bleat in response as Pan embedded herself deeper into her lap. It made her remember how her dad managed to calm Eve down.

She asked Pan, "Do you do this for Eve when she's down?" Only getting a bleat for an answer.

The princess looked up, expecting to see an amused, if concerned, Vaggie, but the living room was empty. "Vaggie?" But looking at the kitchen table, piled with stuff, it seemed like Vaggie had gotten everything. So, where was she?

Gently scooting Pan off her lap with an extra scratch, "Thank you, Pan," Charlie got up and sent everything away. After a few minutes, it was all gone, but still no Vaggie. She didn't see the suitcase, so was Vaggie still getting it?

She thought Eve's instructions were easy enough. Not that she thought Vaggie couldn't follow them, of course, just that something might've gone wrong.

Charlie walked over to the basement door, still open, and called out for her, "Vaggie? You okay down there?" No answer.

Worried, the princess decided to go down herself to see what was holding up her girlfriend and immediately saw what appeared to be the suitcase sitting outside a room. "Vaggie?"

She stepped inside and briefly marveled at all the paintings leaning against the walls before noticing her girlfriend staring at a large portrait. She walked over, concerned, "Vaggie, are you all right?" As Charlie approached her, she quickly understood why the painting transfixed the angel.

Sitting on a familiar couch beside an Imp was a tall human woman in a red sundress. Her arms and legs were bare, marred by whitened scars across her brown skin. Equally scarred hands craddled a tiny, black baby goat in her lap, its little legs a faded white.

But what shocked Charlie, and no doubt Vaggie, was the woman's face.

A distinct, long, narrow nose was between sharp eyes with irises shining a remarkable gold. Her lips formed a hesitant, but genuine smile as she stared into Charlie's eyes, her thin, long eyebrows relaxed. A look that was uncannily familiar to the princess.

"Holy shit, is...is this Eve?!" Since she was a child, Charlie had expected the Second Woman to look similar to her mother or even Adam, but, instead, "She looks like...you."

Charlie turned to look at her girlfriend and saw she was trembling. In fact, she looked downright fucking terrified. "Vaggie?" She slowly reached out a hand and gently touched the angel's shoulder, "Are...are you okay?"

Vaggie's shoulder sagged at her touch, seemingly snapping the angel out of a trance. She attempted a stuttering response, "I-I'm fine, Charlie, I'm..." before shrugging away her girlfriend's touch and fleeing the room as fast as possible, yelling, "No. No! I'm not fucking fine!" 

Charlie shouted, "Vaggie, wait!" She gave chase, ignoring the suitcase on her way out, and climbed the stairs after her girlfriend. As she ascended, she saw Vaggie pacing in Eve's living room, mumbling to herself, "¿E-es por eso que estaba obsesionado conmigo?" entirely oblivious of Charlie or Pan at her feet, who looked up at the angel, bleating with worry.

Vaggie gripped her head and shouted in frustration, her back to Charlie, "Why the fuck do I look like her?!" Pan backed away at the sudden shout, her butt hitting the back of the couch.

Charlie knew Vaggie wasn't asking her, but as she cleared the stairs, the princess attempted to answer anyway, "W-well, she's the Mother of Humanity, so it's bound that...some of her descendants could end up looking...a lot like her?" But with every word, even Charlie knew she didn't sound convincing. Even she knew this was an unbelievable and unsettling coincidence.

"This is...this is wrong, Charlie." The angel finally turned to face the princess, looking more distraught than Charlie had ever seen her. "We can't let her stay at the hotel!"

"Vaggie, I won't turn Eve away just because she looks like you! It's...it's a bit weird that she does, but that doesn't mean—"

"She has paintings of you, your parents, and Adam down there!" Vaggie began pacing again, not even looking at Charlie as she continued her tirade. "Not to mention a suitcase full of journals! She's probably been spying on you and your family for who knows how long!"

"But my dad-"

Vaggie marched up to Charlie, exploding, "Hasn't seen or heard from her in over ten thousand fucking years, Charlie! For all he knows, she's a completely different person now! Who's been who knows where this whole time!" The angel began to hyperventilate, "What's she been doing? Who's she been talking to?! A-and who the fuck helped her build this place?! Cause she sure as shit didn't build it by herself!"

"But none of that should mean—"

"I almost saw you die, Charlie!" Vaggie screamed.

The princess was left stunned as she watched tears pour down her girlfriend's eye.

"I almost saw you die as I was pinned, being fucking useless, while Adam strangled you! And now his god damn wife shows up the next fucking day out of nowhere?! It has to be some sort of trick or some...some kind of plan from Heaven or—"

Charlie embraced her in a hug, her hand caressing the angel's head to her chest as Vaggie cried into it. "I just...I just want to protect you," Vaggie muttered into Charlie's jacket, staining it with tears as she wrapped her arms around the princess.

"I know you do, Vaggie. You've always had my best interest at heart." The princess gently held Vaggie's face, wiping her tears away with her thumb. "Have you...been feeling this way since yesterday?"

Vaggie didn't have to say anything as she turned away from Charlie's touch. "Oh, Vaggie, I'm so sorry. And all day, I've just been..."

Touching her forehead to Vaggie, Charlie admitted, "Since coming here, I...do have questions about Eve and you certainly have a lot, too." She looked into her girlfriend's puffy eye, "So...maybe we can just ask Eve those questions, together?"

Vaggie croaked, "Yeah, that...that sounds simple enough," letting out a small laugh, as if the solution were that easy. The angel looked Charlie in the eyes, rubbing her face, "Sorry for...all the yelling."

"It's all right, just...don't bottle up anything from me for my sake, okay?"

"Yeah."

"Do you need a second?"

"Y-yeah, I think so."

"Well, we're not in a hurry to get back. So..." Charlie plomped Vaggie onto Eve's couch, "You sit and relax, and I'll get the suitcase," and marched back into the cellar.

🍎

As Vaggie sat in the middle of the couch, emotionally exhausted, Eve's pet came over and jumped on.

Tired, Vaggie asked, "What? Did I take your spot?" She hoped Charlie was right about the goat being a friend now, because she was not in the mood to be headbutted again. Instead, she cuddled up to the angel, her head in Vaggie's lap with a soft bleat.

"Oh."

Guess Charlie was right. Vaggie hesitantly touched Pan's neck and began petting her. "I guess you're not so bad." A small part of her wondered if Pan was only being so affectionate with her because she looked like Eve.

She stopped scratching, and Pan tapped her thigh with a hard hoof. 'Okay, maybe not that affectionate.'

"Heh, you're a little attention hog, huh?" Vaggie resumed her scratching, and Pan bleated in appreciation. "God, I'm gonna have to fly you back, too, aren't I?"

She heard a camera shutter and saw Charlie standing across the room with her phone aimed at the two, grinning from ear to ear, "Told yooou."

Vaggie smiled as Charlie came over and sat beside her on the surprisingly comfy couch. Her girlfriend's excitement didn't last as she fiddled with her phone, laying it on her lap, and asked, "You're...not going to be the only one against Eve staying...will you?"

"I didn't tell anyone else she was here, but Charlie, Pentious died yesterday." 

"I-I know, but that had nothing to do with Eve; that was all Adam! She wasn't even mad we killed him! Honestly, from how she talked about him while I was alone with her, she seemed to hate him as much as we do."

"And do you think that will matter to everyone else?"

"It should! I mean, they're your friends, now, right? You used to be an exorcist who killed sinners," before guilt took hold of Vaggie, Charlie quickly gripped her hands and assured her, "but I also know you've regretted it ever since we met. And everyone in the hotel has accepted your past, me included!"

The princess let go and slouched deeper into the couch, "I just...think it's unfair to condemn Eve for Adam's actions and not give her a chance."

Vaggie let out a breath, 'There's that word again.' If Charlie was so willing to take another chance like this, it only made sense for the angel to take that chance with her. "We need to be careful."

Charlie's face brightened, "Of course! Yeah!" She stood from the couch, "Maybe...we could also introduce her to everyone in a controlled setting! No secrets, no misunderstandings! I mean, Alastor already knows, and he seemed fine with her! This will work!"

She frantically began to text someone, "I'm just gonna tell my dad we're on our way back." She looked to Vaggie, "Are you up for flying us back, or do you need more time?"

Vaggie stoof and stretched, "I think I'm good now." She picked Pan up, who complained with a small whine, leveling the goat's face to Charlie, "But are you up for carrying this little gal?"

The princess put her phone away and snatched Pan from Vaggie's arms, cuddling the goat, cheek to cheek. "Of course I am! Oh, I can't wait to introduce you to KeeKee and Nugget, Pan!"

Chapter Text

CHARLIE (12:03): [A photo of Charlie's girlfriend petting
a goat on a couch]

CHARLIE (12:07): We're almost done at Eve's cabin.
Have you talked to her yet?

CHARLIE (12:14): We're leaving now. Pleeeease tell
me you talked to her, Dad! :(

LUCIFER (12:15): Oh sorry was busy talking to Eve

LUCIFER (12:15): Still am!!!! 😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎

CHARLIE (12:15): Great! :D I hope you two really
reconnect after all this time! See you soon!

That last text was from over an hour ago.

Meanwhile, Lucifer was standing outside Eve's hotel room holding a plate of pancakes, having not spoken to her since she was in his office. So, yeah, he lied to his daughter. Not great, not great.

But—

It'd soon not be a lie...just as soon as he knocked on Eve's door. And talked to her. Alone.

However, Lucfier struggled with the first step as his clenched fist was frozen only inches from the door. He pulled his fist back, again, to nervously adjust his bowtie for what must have been the fifth time in the last five minutes, before his knuckles returned to hovering in front of the door.

Lucifer wanted this to be casual, so he wasn't wearing his more regal coat or top hat again, leaving him with his light red-and-white striped waistcoat and his slicked-back blonde hair exposed.

All he had to do...was fucking knock. His thoughts berated him for his hesitation and cowardice, 'Just knock, asshole. She's already seen you at your worst!'

Lucifer looked at the plate in his other hand and saw that the pancakes were about to hit the critical point of no return, when the syrup would turn them into a mushy, gross paste.

Using that as his excuse, 'Fuck it,' he finally knocked.

He rapped on the door in the tune of 'Shave and a Haircut,' and coughed, announcing himself, "H-hey, Eve, it's...it's me! Lucifer! I'm here for that...talk?"

"One moment!" Eve responded, her voice muffled by the door, as he heard her shuffling around inside.

When it opened, Lucifer braced himself to see Eve's face for the first time in millennia, but instead, he was greeted by that same black scarf wrapped around her head and those same cracked sunglasses obscuring her eyes. In fact, she hadn't changed out of her clothes at all since the last time he saw her a few hours ago.

At least she wasn't wearing her hat. So...progress?

Composing himself, "I...brought you some pancakes! I thought you might be hungry."

She stepped aside to let him in, "Lucifer, you didn't have to."

"Hey, it's the least I can do after..." Lucifer coughed again and quickly changed the subject, "So, have you settled in yet?"

He walked confidently into the lavishly decorated hotel room and saw Razzle perched on the large wardrobe in the corner, lazily watching him. To the left of it was a ceiling-high window overlooking Pentagram City, and in front of it was a table with four chairs, large enough for Eve, on each side.

To his right, its head hugging the wall, was an enormous queen-sized bed. The thick duvet was stripped from it and draped over the dresser mirror behind him. But Lucifer paid it no mind. On the dresser sat a large, old record player, with boxes of vinyl beside it and her large-brimmed hat on top of them.

The only things in the room that Lucifer could infer belonged to Eve—absentmindedly wondering how they got here without Charlie.

Shutting the door, Eve answered, "Oh, yes! I've already packed away everything Charlie sent. Were you the one who taught her that wonderful spell?"

Lucifer thought, 'Oh, yeah, duh, magic.' He asked her, "What'd it look like?" as he inspected the record player, which he discovered doubled as...a radio. He frowned, reminded of that grinning freak.

Eve recounted, "A white glowing circle appeared on the floor, and my things rose from it."

Lucifer impulsively answered, distracted as he poked at the radio, "Oh, Lilith taught her that one," but no sooner had he spoken his wife's name than he regretted it, freezing in place.

He heard Eve sitting behind him on the thin silk blanket covering her bed as she spoke, "I've been...meaning to ask." He really didn't want her to. "Are you and Lilith...okay?" And she did. Fuck, the exact conversation that Lucifer wanted to put off as long as possible, and he walked right into it.

Lucifer sat next to Eve and put the plate of pancakes on her nightstand. He twiddled his thumbs in his lap and asked her with a nervous laugh, "What...have you heard?"

Eve stared at the carpeted floor, "Mostly just rumors I hope aren't true," before her gaze locked onto him. "They aren't, right? That is your wedding band, yes?" she asked, pointing at the golden ring on his left pinky, which Lucifer craddled to his chest.

"Yeah," he responded, saddened as he held it close.

Eve, almost pleading, "So? Are you two okay?"

Lucifer forcefully sucked in air through his nostrils and answered, "I...thought we were fine...for a while. There was a lot of...separation between us the last two centuries." He snapped his head to Eve, hastily clarifying, "Not divorce, just, you know, not spending as much...time together." His head sank, "It was...it was my fault. And then she just...left."

Lucifer was surprised at how easily that all spilled out, but...he was talking to Eve. Aside from Lilith, she was the only one who ever gave him the time of day and really listened.

Still seated beside him, Eve rubbed her knees anxiously, "Lilith...would go on walks alone outside the Garden...wouldn't she?" It sounded like she wasn't quite sure, genuinely asking him.

"Uh-huh," he answered.

Eve continued, more confidently, "And she would be gone for...sometimes weeks at a time, right?"

Elbow on his knee, he leaned his head on his hand as he remembered, "Yeah, it always sucked waiting for her." He wasn't quite sure where Eve was going with this until he felt gloved fingers touch his other hand on the bed.

He looked down and saw Eve's larger hand eclipsing his, and then up to her as she comforted him, "But while you waited for her, I kept you company." Even with the mask, he could tell she was smiling.

Lucifer's heart beat faster at her words and touch, and all he could do was smile back and wish more than ever that he could see her face.

When Lilith was gone and Adam was busy naming the newest animals, plants, or whatever in the Garden or speaking with Sera or the other Seraphim, Eve would spend time with him. She'd listen to his ideas, try and contribute some of her own, play games, or just talk for days.

And when Lilith came back, they'd do all that together.

"Yeah," Lucifer said wistfully.

Eve gently squeezed his hand, "But more importantly, Lilith always came back."

He wanted to hope again, he really did. "But it's been almost eight years, Eve. I just...it gets harder and harder to believe she'll ever come back."

Eve released his hand and swiveled her body toward him, her knee knocking against his, "Did she tell you anything before she left?"

Lucifer sat straight at hearing Eve's unfamiliar stern voice, as if she was about to scold him, "N-no, one day she just...left. No goodbye, no explanation, no letter, no nothing."

She prodded him, "And do you think that's like her? To just leave you for good? To leave Charlie for good?"

He was mortified at the suggestion, "No! She loves Charlie more than anything! She wouldn't've just abandoned her!"

Eve gripped Lucifer's shoulders, "Of course she wouldn't, because Lilith isn't a coward," she declared, as if it were a law of the universe. "If she wanted to end your relationship, she would've made sure you knew it was over."

That sounded...a bit specific, prompting Lucifer to ask, "How would you know that?"

Eve let go of Lucifer's shoulders and stared at the wall, "Adam once told me how Lilith broke off their...engagement. I don't remember the details, but she was...incredibly blunt, to put it politely." She let out a smaller, sadder laugh at the memory.

Her head turned back to Lucifer as she snapped his hands into hers, holding them up between the two like a shared, unspoken prayer, "So, if she didn't tell you, to your face, that you two were through, then she left for a reason, and if she left—"

"She'll come back," Lucifer uttered aloud, having reached such an obvious epiphany. It was so obvious that he felt guilty he hadn't reached it sooner.

"And I'll be here waiting with you," Eve said as she gave his hands an extra squeeze, "Like old times."

"Old times," he muttered.

Lucifer broke away from her touch, his hands covering his face, as he became overwhelmed by Eve's kindness. How in one small conversation with her, she gave him hope again. Hope he didn't deserve, especially from her of all people.

Without thinking, he asked aloud, "Why don't you hate us?"

Eve was breathless, "What?"

He couldn't bear to look at her as his voice rose higher and higher, "We...I ruined your life. I convinced you to eat the apple to give you and mankind free will, and...and all it did was fuck everything up. We all got cast out, humanity ended up wasting it, and worst of all," he finally found the courage to look her in the eyes, "you were condemned to this shithole because of us, and you were..." Lucifer froze, not daring to speak of Eve's breakdown in his office, what she screamed and whimpered, and the horrors they implied.

He let the words die in his throat, resigning his eyes to the floor, "I just...I don't understand."

Neither spoke for what felt like hours, until Eve broke the silence, "When you offered me the apple, you told me it would anger Heaven." She clasped her knees tightly, "We just...didn't know how angry they would be," her voice wavering.

Lucifer looked into her eyes and saw his guilty reflection in them as she continued, "To blame you would be...to absolve myself of a mistake I made with you." She ruefully laughed, "It would be denying the very free will that you gave me." A cruel joke.

She touched his leg, "Besides, you didn't ruin my life, Lucifer, you helped spark it anew."

Genuinely confused, Lucifer asked, "What do you mean?"

"The apple. It brought Adam and me closer together, like you said it would!" Eve recounted with glee as she shook his leg, excited at sharing this news with her friend.

But it wasn't happy news to Lucifer, 'Oh. She...she remembered that.'

"I know you two never got along in the Garden, but Adam...we were so happy together on Earth. Being with him was some of the best years of my life," she snatched up Lucifer's hands into her own again. He saw his wavering eyes reflected back in those black sunglasses as she said, overjoyed, "I couldn't be more thankful to you both."

Lucifer was lost in thought, 'They were...actually happy together?' but before he could ask for any elaboration, her happy demeanor vanished as she let go of his hands, her voice draining as she continued, "And I...I ruined my life all on my own. I can assure you, Lucifer, I...condemned myself to this place."

That was bullshit, Lucifer argued, "No way, if Adam, of all people, could get into Heaven, you should've been a fuckin' shoe-in, Eve!"

"It makes me happy you think that, it really does, but...regardless of how you felt about him, Adam was a better man back then."

Lucifer couldn't help but carry on with his indignation, "Oh, come on. Adam? Really?"

He could only imagine the glare she sent him through her sunglasses as she rebuked him, "He was, Lucifer." Eve's voice cracked as her hand gripped her heart, crumpling her button-down top, "Adam gave up Eden for me."

Lucifer was stunned, "He...what? No, but...I thought...he wasn't cast out with you?!" He couldn't believe an asshole like Adam would ever willingly give up Paradise.

"Michael only banished me. Adam never actually broke the rule. He told me he was offered a new wife so they could...try again, but he refused! He wanted me." She croaked out, "He chose me!" as she banged her chest.

Her fists tightened at her sides, her voice laced with hot anger, "I know he turned into a monster, but he...he was a good man once!" Her head sank, "He was."

Sadness doused her anger as she gazed up at the ceiling, "Everything fell apart after he died, and I...set a terrible example for my children." Eve met Lucifer's eyes, "That's why I'm here, Lucifer, not...not because of you. So don't burden yourself with my mistakes."

Lucifer was speechless. He never knew Eve to be of so many words, or so full of fire, and the only response he could give to her was a pitiful apology, with him still reeling from her and Adam being happy together on Earth.

Then he felt immense guilt at being...disappointed she wasn't miserable with him all that time? What the fuck was wrong with him?! And her talking like it made up for everything that happened after she died made him feel even worse.

"Do you still feel responsible?" She asked, obviously noticing his grimace.

"Of course I do!" he accidentally shouted. Hurt, not angry.

Moments passed before Eve got up from the bed and knelt before Lucifer, their eyes level with one another.

Eve asked, "Did you know any of this would happen?" He furiously shook his head, "No, of course not!" Her face inched closer to his, "Did you have the best of intentions when you offered me the apple?" He nodded, "I did." She was even closer now and asked him one last question.

One question that Lucifer couldn't answer...quite as fast as the last two.

"Did you trick me into eating it?"

Eve had made it sound like she had asked him the dumbest question with only one possible answer. It just...wasn't the one she thought.

Lucifer quickly hugged her, hoping she wouldn't see his face when he told her—

"No."

After all...it wasn't really a lie. Not...not anymore. 'Asshole.'

She pulled away from his hug and reassured him sweetly, "Then there's no reason for me to hate either of you."

He wanted her to blame him. For something. Anything. "I should have known you were here."

"How?" she asked.

"Because I'm...because I'm the King of Hell! This is my domain! I should've—"

"How, Lucifer?" she asked again.

When he couldn't respond, Eve sat back on the bed beside him, "Lucifer, you already told me you and Lilith thought I was in Heaven. Why would you even think to look for me in Hell?"

His whole body sank, "It's just...the thought of you here, all this time, while we were just..." playing royalty.

Eve gently laid on her side, facing Lucifer, "It wasn't...all bad." After a moment, he hesitantly joined her, lying down on the bed and staring into those black reflections hiding her eyes. "I won't deny that there was...pain, but the memory of that pain has...mostly faded. Truthfully, it was mostly just...lonely."

The confirmation of her having suffered at all in this vile place made him sick to his stomach and sink further into the bed, his eyes darting away from Eve. "But, Lucifer," she placed her hand on his again, not wanting him to look away, "in these last fifty years. I've been happier than I've been in a...long time."

"Really?" he asked. 

"Really," she answered, giving his hand a small squeeze.

Lucifer flopped onto his back and stared at the ceiling, still holding her hand, relieved that at least her entire duration in Hell hadn't been filled with abject misery. That she somehow found some scrap of happiness in this pit.

Distracted, he glanced downward and saw the pancakes on the nightstand.

Lucifer shot up from the bed, breaking off their touch, "Ah, damn it!" He grabbed the plate, "Uh, I can make you a new batch that aren't so soggy."

Eve became nervous, "Lucifer, i-it's fine, I'm not—"

He interrupted her, still fixated on the plate, "Or are you more of a waffle gal? I can—"

She sat up with haste, "Lucifer! I'm fine! I..." only for Eve to go quiet and retreat into herself for the first time since he walked into the room. Her shoulders sagged as she stared at the floor. She quietly said, "I don't...need to eat."

He asked her, "Aren't you hungry?" He had hoped she'd at least lie, but Eve just sat in silence, not answering him. Lucifer disappeared the plate of pancakes in a flash, concerned, "Eve, is...there a reason you don't want me to see your face?"

He put a hand on her leg, but she turned away from him, gripping herself in a hug.

Fuck, he overstepped, "I...I don't care what you look like now! Everyone who comes down here changes," he sputtered. Lucifer hated seeing her like this when she had been brimming with vigor he had never seen before just seconds ago.

"I mean, even if you had a pizza for a face, I'd still think you're pretty," he confessed.

Eve chuckled, thinking he was just joking. "Thank you, but I just...don't want you looking at me with different eyes." She looked over her shoulder, "Can you...let me be selfish? At least a little longer?"

Well, he made her laugh at least, and she wouldn't hide her face forever. Lucifer, more than satisfied, answered, "Yeah, Eve. I...I can wait."

"Thank you."

Wanting to change the uncomfortable topic as quickly as possible, for both their sakes, "Uh, do you need anything else? I can get anything you want," he snapped his fingers, "just like that," sparks flew in the air.

Eve relaxed and looked around the room.

She stood and examined the side of the bed, then the foot of it, clearly pondering. She asked, "Is it...possible I could have a little ramp at the foot of the bed for my pet goat, Pan? She's...getting a little old, and I don't want her exerting herself trying to jump on it."

He fluttered into the air, effortlessly gliding to the foot of the bed and asked, "How big is she?"

Casually, "Oh, no bigger than Razzle." In the corner of his eye, at the mention of his name, Lucifer noticed the little demon making stink eye at Eve. He gave him one back, causing Razzle to sheepishly stop.

Lucifer looked back at Eve as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation, "Okay, any other details?" he asked.

She actually hummed in concentration, thinking, which hurled him back in time to when they collaborated on creations in the Garden. He unconsciously formed a toothy grin on his face.

Eve spoke, "It needs to be a ramp, not just stairs up to the bed. And it has to be carpeted for traction." She turned to him, "That's all."

Lucifer looked up at the demon-goat, still looking sorry for itself on the wardrobe. He gave him a little whistle, "Hey, need you for reference, Buddy." Razzle quickly perked up and flapped to attention in front of him. Lucifer gave him a little scratch and pointed, "Stand over there," at the corner of the bed.

Razzle stood there on two legs.

"Sorry, four legs, Razzle," he corrected, holding up four fingers.

The little demon did as he asked, "Better."

He backed away in the air, using his hands to frame an invisible painting that fit Razzle and the foot of the bed.

Lucifer got ready to snap his fingers, deciding to be a bit theatrical, "Okay, and a one, and a two, and a wha-bam!" He snapped and, in an explosion of red smoke and sparkles at the end of Eve's bed, a ramp appeared, "Ta-da! Haha."

He landed on the ground and gave Razzle a scratch between his horns, "Such a good job." Eve knelt beside him and tried to pet Razzle, too, but that only caused the little demon to abruptly fly back to the wardrobe.

Lucifer saw Eve's shoulders sag in disappointment, which prompted him to glare at Razzle, a look that told the demonic goat that he'd get a scolding later.

Eve stood and began silently inspecting the new piece of furniture.

Her hand glided over the carved imagery of goats prancing in a garden on the side, surrounded by flowers and trees, and felt the green carpeted ramp mimicking grass that led up to the bed. But she suddenly grew still, her hand resting on the hardwood creation as she stared at one particular part.

"Do...do like it?" Lucifer asked as he nervously drummed his fingers together, concerned with her lack of reaction. 

But then he saw where her attention was: the shiny ruby apple embedded in the corner of the ramp. His heart dropped into his stomach as he looked around the room, suddenly aware of all the apples scattered everywhere on the wallpaper, furniture, and even the carpet.

He grabbed his head, ready to tear it off from his neck in a panic, his mind reeling in insults at himself, 'You asshole, piece of shit, what the fuck wrong with you?!'

Lucifer quickly flew next to her, pleading, "It's the apple, isn't it? Look, I-I can fix it!"

He spun in the air, looking at what he could only imagine were horribly painful reminders to Eve, "I can fix all of it! Change the whole place," and got ready to snap his fingers again, but Eve stopped him, holding his hand like she had extinguished a lit fuse.

Eve tried calming him down, "Lucifer, it's fine, really." She lowered his hand, and subsequently, him, "I'm just...confused." He was back on the ground, looking up at Eve, who continued, "When I thought you and Lilith hated me, a part of me thought...you were mocking me with it."

Horrified, Lucifer tried to apologize, "Holy shit, Eve, I never meant—"

"I know that now, I know. It's just...why then? Why remind everyone of our...greatest mistake?" Eve asked.

He's never really had to verbalize or justify why he went so hard with the whole apple-theme. Lilith knew exactly why he did it without even telling her. She even approved of it. He couldn't give less of a shit what the rest of Hell thought.

Lucifer explained, "It was...for a few reasons. After Michael put me and Lilith on trial and cast us down into Hell, he and the rest of Heaven never let me live it down. Every meeting. Every visit. Every rebuke or fight. I was forever the guy who fucked everything up." Sucking in air, he tried conjuring an air of confidence, "So I decided to...embrace it. Use it as an excuse to reinvent myself."

A flap of his wings, he lifted himself back to Eve's eye level, "But it was also because it was our connection to you, Eve. It wasn't ever to mock you, it was meant to mock them, Heaven," he pointed straight up, "and the rest of those self-righteous assholes."

Lucifer gently grabbed Eve's hands and asked, "Did you...see the apple in front of the hotel?"

Eve gave a sad chuckle, "The big one?"

"Y-yeah, did you...see what was under it?" he asked nervously, hoping she noticed.

"Under it?" Eve whispered as her head looked to the floor in thought. After a moment, she muttered, "A plant? No," and gasped, looking back into Lucifer's eyes, "A lily." Eve let out a shaky laugh, "Lilith?"

"Yeah. It was my tribute to both of you. But if you hate it and want me to change it, I can! Really!" Lucifer said, ready to snap his fingers again.

Eve assured him, "Lucifer, it's okay, especially now that I know why you did it," before going quiet again. She hesitantly asked him, "But this reinvention of yours. Is it also...why you changed your name?"

'Oh.'

He felt ashamed when he said, "I just...couldn't stand the way Heaven said mine anymore."

Lucifer saw Eve's shoulders sag slightly as she peered down at the carpet. He tried to think of what to do to fix this and had an amazing idea, one that could help bring them closer together again. Make it really feel like old times.

He rubbed the back of his head as he tried to act more casual, "Well, when it's just you, me, or Lilith...you could...call me by my old name."

"Oh, Lucifer, you don't have to indulge me like that if it makes you uncomfortable. I do like your new name, I do!" Eve sounded genuine, but she deserved this.

Lucifer gently gripped her shoulders with a big, toothy smile, "But I wanna indulge you," before becoming embarrassed as he admitted, "And I always...liked how you said my name."

He waited for her response, but she stayed silent as she stared at him. He noticed her breathing becoming more labored until, suddenly, for the first time since their reunion, she hugged him.

Snatching him out of the air, she cradled his head to her shoulder. As her gloved fingers became entwined in his hair, she cried out, "I've missed you, Sam!" Eve held him tighter, like he'd disappear, "So much."

He hugged her back, "You, too, Eve," as his six wings enveloped her like a blanket.

Lucifer wasn't sure how long they had been hugging each other before Eve's door opened and his daughter loudly announced, "Look who's here!" as a small black goat trotted into the room.

He quickly fluttered away from Eve's embrace and landed on the floor, composing himself as he addressed his daughter, "C-Charlie, hey!" desperate for her not to get the wrong idea. But from her unperturbed smile, it seemed like she didn't.

"Pan!" Eve knelt to the slowly charging goat and lifted the animal into the air like a child. "Oh, how's my little faun doing?" she cooed as she nuzzled Pan and turned to his daughter, "Thank you, Charlie."

"Happy to help," she said with that wonderful smile of hers.

But while Eve was busy situating Pan in her room, Charlie turned to him and discreetly asked, "Hey, Dad, can I talk to you real quick?" pointing an urgent thumb behind her at the door.

Confused, "Oh, uh, sure?" He turned to Eve, "Hey, I'll be back in a sec."

"Take your time," Eve said as she guided Pan up the ramp Lucifer had created, who bleated out happily.

Popping outside the room with his daughter into the hallway of doors, he saw Charlie's girlfriend. As soon as the door clicked shut, he asked, "So, there a problem?" 

Charlie quickly answered, "No! Well, not exactly."

'Damn it, I didn't mean it!' Lucifer's thoughts cried out.

His daughter continued, being as gentle with her words as possible, "It's just that when we were at Eve's cabin, we found some...things that made us curious. And we thought...maybe we could ask Eve about them?"

"Like what?" he asked, barely hiding his incredulity.

"Like..." Charlie pulled out her phone, swiped at it, and handed it to him, "This is Eve, right?"

On the phone's screen was a marvelous portrait of a woman he instantly recognized. He took in every detail as his hand holding the device began to tremble.

Her brown skinned face spattered with freckles, the subtle dimples in her shy smile, that curved bridge of her long, narrow nose, and those beautiful, sharp golden eyes staring back at him—Eve's most striking features.

However, he also saw the scars that littered her arms and legs and even some on her face, especially a nasty one on her right cheek. And her hair! The black, tightly coiled locks that used to flow to Eve's knees were now cut inches short! He gripped the phone tighter, internally bemoaning its loss, 'Eve loved her hair! Why would she cut it?!'

But besides that, Eve...seemed fine!

Lucifer wasn't aware he was crying as he said, "It's...it's her! It's really her! I mean, her hair's a lot shorter and she has...scars here and there, but that's Eve!" He looked up, "Where the fuck did you find—"

His eyes caught Charlie's girlfriend...Vaggie! That was her name! And he grew confused, looking back at the portrait, and to her again, until it dawned on him, "Oh! Oh!! Holy shit!" and laughed the hardest he had all day. Not mocking laughter, of course, but that of relief.

But it's not like Charlie and Vaggie could tell.

"Fuck! That's what freaked me out when I met you!" Lucifer practically shouted as he showed the former Exorcist the phone, unintentionally shoving it inches from her face, "You look like Eve!" He didn't take notice of her discomfort as he looked back at the device, "God damn, and I thought I was being a fuckin' weirdo. Man, that's a weight off my mind."

He looked back up at a glaring daughter and a disheartened Vaggie, whose arms were even more tightly crossed.

"What?"

Charlie stepped closer, clearly trying to hide her frustration with him, and asked, "Don't you think it's a little...odd?"

Lucifer didn't see the problem, "Why? Vaggie obviously just inherited Eve's good looks." He held up a high-five to the other angel, "Am I right?" She did not give him a high-five, forcing him to poorly recover from this blatant blunder by smoothing his hair back with the same, unslapped hand.

Charlie cringed at his answer and insisted, "But it's more than that, Dad."

He stared back down at the phone, still entrapted by Eve's face, "What do you," her still very...human face, "mean?"

Lucifer stepped away from the girls as his thoughts intensified.

Eve didn't want him to see her face. She had already made that clear, but she looked fine! 'Yeah, she has scars now, but Eve was never that vain...right?' Lucifer gripped the phone tighter, inspecting Eve for any other clues until he noticed the small goat in her lap. It was Pan.

She looked like a kid, and Eve had mentioned her getting old. 'Damn it, how long did goats live for, again?' he pondered. This painting couldn't be older than maybe...fifteen years? Maybe? So...did something happen to Eve in that time?

The pit in his stomach returned as Lucifer unknowingly asked aloud, "Why's she still bothering with a mask?"

"See?" his daughter said, snapping him out of his thoughts, "Questions like that."

Lucifer turned around, contemplating what to do next. He just ended his talk with Eve on a...really, really good note. He didn't want to fuck that up by asking her a bunch of invasive questions! But...Charlie got him curious, too.

He gripped the door handle and turned to Charlie and her girlfriend, "Okay, okay. But only if she's fine with it and just..." he faced the door, "avoid asking why she's still hiding her face. She's...sensitive about it."

Leaving the two confused, he tried to open Eve's door, only to realize they were locked out. "Opps! Haha, almost forgot," after subtle red magic swirled around the handle, it opened.

Charlie passed him into the room, "Hey, Eve!" as Vaggie trailed directly behind her.

"Oh, Charlie! I can't thank you enough for all you've done," Eve said, as she scratched Pan, who stood shakily on her giant bed.

"I couldn't have done it without Vaggie's help," Charlie claimed as she stepped aside, showing off her girlfriend with a toothy smile.

Lucifer saw one of Eve's feet flinch back, as if she were forcing herself not to step away. He frowned at that.

Eve greeted the former Exorcist, politely, but clearly nervous, "Oh. H-hello again."

Vaggie awkwardly waved, "Hi, uh." The angel rubbed her shoulder before Charlie gave her a silent 'go on' gesture. The angel stood at attention, her hands behind her back as she tilted her head up to Eve. Her voice strained, "I apologize for how I...conducted myself in the lobby," her eye darted to the ground, "I have no excuse."

Eve seemed to relax and even stepped toward Vaggie, "You were just protecting Charlie. Weren't you?" Vaggie's look of surprise appeared to be enough of an answer for Eve, "I understand."

Totally lost, Lucifer asked the obvious, "I'm sorry, what's happening?" before pivoting to question Charlie's girlfriend, "What'd you do?"

Before Charlie could defend her, Eve did it instead, telling him, "It's nothing, Lucifer," and turned to the angel and asked, "Right?"

All Vaggie could do was hesitantly agree, "Y-yeah." Lucifer narrowed his eyes at the former Exorcist, but if Eve said it was nothing...then it was nothing.

"Eve?" Charlie asked.

"Hm?"

His daughter approached her, twiddling her thumbs nervously, "While we were in your lovely home, we had some...questions we thought we could ask you?" Charlie's eyes darted to him briefly as she stipulated, "If you don't mind, that is?"

Eve sighed, "I...thought you might have questions," and walked to the table in front of the window. She sat, inviting the other three to join her with a gesture, "I'll try and answer the best I can."

Once everyone was seated, Charlie asked, somehow even more nervous, "When I was collecting your things, we saw a...grave in your backyard. Can you...tell us who 'Hatch' was?" Lucifer couldn't recognize that name at all.

Eve's shoulders sank as she stared down at the table, "My son. He was...killed in the Exterminations several years ago."

Charlie gasped, covering her mouth, "Oh, Eve, I'm so sorry."

Eve lifted her head to his daughter, appreciative, "Thank you, Charlie. But I had him for over fifty years. Some parents...aren't fortunate enough to have even that much time with their children." Her eyes met the hardwood table again, "Every year I had him was a blessing."

Lucifer's eyes softened, realizing that Hatch must have been her source of happiness all these decades.

Charlie chimmed in, "Fifty years? So, you adopted him?"

"Yes," Eve confirmed, "I found him under rubble alongside his...parents during a turf war."

Lucifer blurted out, "What in the hell were you doing out during a turf war?"

When Eve sank in her seat at the question, Lucifer hastily said, "N-not that you have to answer that."

She relaxed, "Thank you, it's just...something I'm not proud of."

Vaggie finally spoke up, less anxious than when she entered the room, clearing her throat, "Did someone help you build that cabin? It was...a lot bigger than we expected."

"Oh, yes," Eve's voice brightened, "it wasn't impressive in the least when I found it abandoned eighty years ago, but thankfully, Hatch's family pitched in to help fix it up and expand it. They really helped make it a home for Hatch and me."

"Wait, Hatch's family?" Charlie asked, confused.

Lucifer leaned in, similarly confused and intrigued. It's not often that a whole family ends up in Hell together, but if Eve had adopted Hatch, these sinners could've done the same with each other. 

Eve explained, "It's a...long story, but when I adopted Hatch, I...unintentionally kidnapped him from his relatives." She chuckled weakly, "But we quickly came to an understanding, and...we've been close ever since. I was actually planning on visiting Hatch's uncle today before you invited me to stay."

"Oh no! I hope I didn't mess that up for you!" Charlie worried.

Eve waved her hands in reassurance, "Oh, no, no, I was just going to drop in on him. I can put it off for another day. But you can join me, if you wish. I'd love to introduce you."

Charlie clasped her hands together in excitement, "I'd love to! Could Vaggie come along, too?"

Eve was hesitant, "I'm...sure if I vouched for her, Grammer would be fine with her coming, but I don't think the rest of the family would be as...welcoming."

"Oh," his daughter responded, her shoulders slumping a bit.

"I'm sorry," Eve said, trying to ease Charlie's disappointment, "Were those...all your questions?"

Charlie took her phone out, "Well...we found your paintings in the cellar."

Lucifer was dumbstruck, "Wait, that was..." He turned to Eve and asked, "You paint?" She sank in her seat before nodding, not looking his direction.

His daughter continued, "They were all...really, really good, but we saw that you have a painting of...me."

"I-I do?" Eve asked with genuine confusion.

Charlie swiped at her phone until she handed it to Eve, who immediately balked upon seeing it, a hand to her mouth, mortified, "Oh, god. I'm so sorry, this was..." she slid the phone back to Charlie across the table too fast for Lucifer to see it, "I'm so sorry, this is so embarrassing. You must think of me as some sort of voyeur."

Lucifer quickly snatched the phone from his daughter's hands, eliciting a small, "Hey!" from her. Looking at it, he expected something terrible from how ashamed Eve seemed to be of it, but...it was just a wonderful landscape painting depicting his daughter...helping a sinner?

'Hang on,' he thought. He squinted at the painting and realized it was a much younger Charlie.

"Hey, Sweetie, how old are you in this? And where is this?" Lucifer asked his daughter, but he already had a feeling he knew the answer to both as he held the phone.

Charlie quickly snatched it back, "It was...maybe fifty-ish years ago?" she answered as she nervously drummed her fingers on her phone. "And I was just...helping out sinners after an Extermination."

"What?! Charlie! That's dangerous!"

"I had Razzle and Dazzle!" she protested, showing him the painting again, feverously pointing to the two little demons, "See!" His daughter leaned back into her seat, "Plus, Mom knew what I was doing."

Guilt struck him, "She...did?"

Charlie turned her attention back to Eve, reassuring her, "And Eve, it's okay! I really do like it. But is there a...story to it?" Vaggie leaned forward, more interested than she had been since they all sat.

Eve's head tilted down to the table as she began rubbing her ring finger nervously, "It was...the first time I saw you in person. It was several years before I found Hatch. But it was one moment I couldn't forget."

Charlie leaned forward, "Why didn't you introduce yourself? I would've helped you."

She gave a sad chuckle, "I know you would have, Charlie, but I just..." Eve sucked in a shaky breath, "While you were trying to help as many sinners as you could, I was...pilfering their corpses not thirty feet away." She turned to Lucifer, "That's...that's why I was out during a turf war," before sequestering her gaze to the table again, "It was...a better opportunity for valuables to barter and sell. And I was so ashamed. I just didn't want to bring you trouble."

Charlie asked, "But you were just doing that to survive, weren't you? There's nothing to be ashamed of in that."

"I could've just starved," Eve's fists squeeze in anger, "it's not like sinners can die of starvation anyway." Before Lucifer or any of them could address that horrifying implication, she sputtered, "B-but I've stopped doing it since I found Hatch. I wanted to—needed to set a better example for him." 

Eve looked up, seemingly awaiting another uncomfortable question. Lucifer thought they were finally finished, until Vaggie hastily asked, "Why do I look like you?"

As Lucifer was about to reprimand the angel for bringing that up so bluntly, Eve answered, "I'm sorry, you look like me? I...I don't understand."

That quickly shut him up, as Vaggie verbalized their collective confusion at the table, "You...haven't noticed?"

Eve had receded into her seat, as if believing she had answered the angel's question wrong.

Charlie interjected, "Eve, when I was in your bathroom, I saw you had your mirror...painted over." His daughter looked behind her at the dresser, "And...I noticed you covered that mirror, too." She faced Eve again and asked, "Is there a...reason for that?"

After a few seconds of silence, Lucifer couldn't wipe the mortified expression on his face, especially when Eve tilted her head in his direction, clearly looking to him for help. But he couldn't find any words to intervene.

Eve sighed, "I don't...like looking at myself. That mirror you saw was only for Hatch's benefit, so when he was gone...I didn't have a use for it." She leaned her head on her hand, laughing, "I guess it's been so long I've...forgotten what I look like." But her head snapped up, directed at Vaggie, "W-wait, how do you know what I look like?"

"You had a painting of yourself," Charlie said, who swiped through her phone again and showed it to Eve.

"M-may I?" His daughter handed Eve the phone, who cradled it in her hands, a gloved thumb caressing the photo of her self-portrait. Eve looked up at Vaggie, and after a few moments, she said, "I...see the resemblance now." She handed Charlie back her phone, "But, no, Vaggie, I don't know why you'd look so much like me. I'm sorry."

More awkward silence passed until Eve spoke again, "Can I...ask you a question?"

The angel shifted uncomfortably in her chair, her eye darting to Charlie before addressing Eve, "It's...only fair."

Her hands splayed on the table, with one finger tapping the table nervously until Eve asked, "Are you an Exorcist?"

"I was," Vaggie couldn't meet Eve's gaze as she answered.

"What do you mean, 'was'? Isn't that...what you are?" Eve asked, confused.

"I'm...it was...a job. A title Heaven gave me," her voice laced with guilt.

Eve's fingers curled into her palms, not quite fists, "A...job?" Her eyes fixed to the table, "H-how did you stop?"

"It took longer than it should have for me to realize that what I was doing wasn't protecting Heaven, or even dispensing real justice—just endless cruelty for the sake of it to those deserving and those...not so deserving. I was caught sparing a sinner and," Vaggie reached for her missing eye, "got punished for it." She turned to his daughter, "I would've died if Charlie hadn't found me."

Eve's hands clenched into fists on the table. "You...showed mercy?" she muttered and trembled. Her shoulders rose and fell faster and faster, as Lucifer could hear her ragged breathing.

He tried to comfort her, "Eve?"

Her voice broke as she spoke, "It's just...I've never..." fists shaking on the table. "I've encountered hundreds of thousands of Excorsits since I have been here, and not once did any of them ever show me or anyone else a shred of mercy. For so long, I thought they were all just...just horrid constructs made by Heaven."

"And, all this time," Eve suddenly struck the table with a balled fist, rose from her seat, and yelled, "All this time they were capable of showing mercy and chose not to?!" Eve lifted her head and saw Vaggie's devastated face. Eve's breath hitched, and she stumbled back into her chair, "I didn't mean to yell, I didn't—"

A small bleat echoed through the room as Lucifer, only now noticing Pan was by her feet, clearly trying to comfort her. Lucifer stood, following the goat's lead, and put a hand on her shoulder, gently rubbing it. She reciprocated his gesture, gently patting his hand, "Thank you, I'm—I'm fine."

He saw that Charlie was doing much the same for her girlfriend before the angel composed herself and addressed Eve, "I'm sorry for...everything we've done to you."

"Why are you apologizing? You're not them. You actually stopped. Y-you showed mercy," Eve shuddered. She reached across the table and held Vaggie's hand, "Thank you," her voice still shaken but kind, shocking the angel.

Lucifer sighed in relief, thankful this ended on a relatively good note again. He asked, not hiding his frustration, addressing the whole table, "So, okay, that it? We finally done with this whole Q&A session?"

Charlie wiped away a stray tear with a finger, "Y-yeah." She got up from her seat, "I was hoping to introduce Eve to everyone else in the hotel, but we can—"

Lucifer shouted, "What?!" and got up from his chair, "You were just going to tell everyone in the hotel about her?!"

"Dad, it's not like we can keep Eve a secret forever! It's better if we tell everyone now," his daughter argued.

"But-" 

"Charlie is right," Eve spoke, stopping their back and forth. "How many would 'everyone' actually be?" she asked Charlie, happily surprising her.

"Oh, just five people!" she answered, excitement leaking through.

Eve stood, "Then we might as well get it done now."

Lucifer fluttered in front of her, "Eve, you don't have to—"

She stood taller, managing to look down at him, "I won't be kept in an ivory tower, Lucifer."

Recalling how she had lived with Cain for...who knows how many centuries as Hell's biggest secret, no doubt confined to his fortress all that time, Lucifer realized he would be doing the same. "I didn't mean..." he hovered away from her, "Of course, Eve, what...whatever you want to do."

Lucifer thought he had ruined their time together since he walked into this room, especially after he didn't back her up when Vaggie asked about her face, but before his thoughts could spiral any further, Eve caressed his cheek with her gloved hand, "Thank you for understanding."

Charlie coughed, getting Eve's attention, "When we're done...I can take you to see Adam."

His thoughts plagued him again, 'Wait, what? Adam?! She wants to see that douchebag's grave?' He was thankful Eve didn't see the sour look on his face.

Eve released him and approached his daughter, "I'd appreciate that."

As Charlie made her way to the door with her girlfriend, she took out her phone, "Everyone should be in now, so I'll just text them to join us in the auditorium."

After Eve picked up Pan, she and Lucifer joined them outside in the hallway. As they walked down the hallway, Razzle flew past them to join Charlie and Vaggie.

Eve asked, "Lucifer?"

"Yeah, Eve?" a bit more pep in his voice.

She was hesitant, hugging Pan tighter to her chest, "When...I was in your office, did I say or...do anything while I wasn't...in my right mind?"

Lucifer couldn't help but sound a little nervous with a laugh, "Why do you ask?"

Eve lifted her head to the little goat demon, "I thought Razzle and I were getting along, but then after that, he's...kept his distance from me." She looked down at him, "Did something happen?"

Fuck, what was the play here? Lucifer glanced at the back of Charlie's head, who didn't seem to hear Eve's question over her conversation with her girlfriend. So, no help there. Eve clearly didn't remember anything, and his daughter didn't bring it up in his office either. Charlie seemed to be of the mind that they...shouldn't tell Eve...right?

That made the most sense.

What would even be the point? To make Eve feel even shitter about herself? He mentally mocked that idea, 'Oh, yeah, Eve, I almost forgot to mention, you backhanded my daughter across the face while you were having a mental breakdown in my office, sorry!'

So, instead of telling Eve the truth, he gave her a...summation of it, "You...just gave us a real scare, Eve. That's all."

They kept walking, her silence becoming uncomfortable until she timidly said, "Okay."

Lucifer couldn't help but fear she didn't believe him.

Chapter Text

Each arduous step down the marble hallway brought Alastor closer and closer to the backstage door of the hotel's auditorium. He would have been here earlier, but, unlike every other slave to modernity in this hotel, he lacked a wireless telephone, which meant he wasn't part of this 'group chat' or whatever it was called that Charlie had made with the rest of the hopeless occupants.

Thankfully, Niffty, dependable as always, helpfully informed him of this get-together where the princess would introduce a new and 'special' guest at the hotel. She had hoped it would be an 'actual' bad boy, but he was sure the dear would be disappointed again.

After finally reaching the backstage door, Alastor paused to compose himself. He straightened his suit and posture, gritted his teeth into a harder smile, gripped his replica cane, and walked right in.

Behind the closed curtains, the stage was illuminated by dim spotlights, where he could see Charlie conversing with Lucifer and her short-tempered ex-Exorcist, all of whom hadn't noticed his arrival. But across the stage, squatted down petting a small goat, was Eve, still clad in black.

Alastor resisted using his cane, wanting to draw as little attention to himself as possible as he made his way to her. This was too good an opportunity to miss. He was soon behind her, with the woman still unaware of his presence.

"Hello, again, my dear," he greeted, surprising her.

"Alastor! Hello, to you, too," she greeted back as she finished dotting on the farm animal. "Are you feeling better?" she asked, readying to stand, but before she could, Alastor extended a...helping hand.

"Oh, I believe I'll catch my second wind soon enough," he said.

She reached out with one of her gloved hands, "Thank you," and grabbed onto his. As he helped Eve stand, Alastor felt the strain and pain of his scar, still vying to rip itself open again. However, through the pain, the Radio Demon managed to take back what he had given Eve hours ago in the lobby.

Up her leg and through her arm, the inky blackness of his shadow returned under his feet unseen, and in an instant, a flood of memories of sights and sounds from the past few hours filled his head.

All of them delicious.

While his shadow couldn't read the thoughts or see through the eyes of whoever it was attached to, it could still observe and listen to whatever transpired around them. However, it had its limits, which sadly meant that while Charlie, Vaggie, and Lucifer were privy to Eve's exact appearance behind her mask, Alastor was not, as his shadow couldn't glimpse the painting they were all gawking at without getting caught.

Eve hadn't even removed her mask when she was in her room, which was frustrating. He couldn't tell if the woman was just that self-conscious or paranoid.

All he knew, for now, was that Eve mysteriously shared the face of their resident former Exorcist. Or rather, it was she who shared Eve's face.

Again, delicious.

Standing tall above him, Alastor peered up at the Mother of Humanity and asked, knowing full well the answer, "So, Eve, it seems your talk with Lucifer went well?"

"Better than I could have ever hoped," Eve affirmed.

"And here you are about to debut in front of the rest of our guests," Alastor said. "Nervous?" he added, as he feigned nudging her with an elbow.

"A little. I'm not...good with crowds, but a handful of people should be fine," Eve responded.

"Oh, the lot of them are pussycats, one quite literally!" he reassured with a chortle, "And I'm certain they'll warm up to you. After all, they already somehow warmed up to that one despite her foibles," he added as he pointed his cane at Vaggie between Charlie and Lucifer.

But that seemed to finally get their attention, with the three across the stage now staring at them, or more specifically, him. It took no time for that insufferable king to march over in his stupidly large top hat and tacky coat, "And what the hell are you doin' back here?"

Putting on the most faux politeness possible, Alastor answered, "Why, I'm simply saying hello to Eve and giving the Second Woman some words of encouragement!"

Lucifer couldn't help but sputter, "Wha-how do you know—"

"He greeted me in the lobby when I arrived, Lucifer. He already knows who I am," Eve interjected.

"He what?!" Lucifer shouted, staring daggers at him. 

"Yes, Lucifer, I kept her company until Charlie came running along. And I must say, she's a sheer delight," Alastor grinned, eliciting a snarl from Lucifer.

As if it wasn't already a breeze getting Lucifer's goat when it came to Charlie, now he had a whole treasure trove of new ways to do it.

Speaking of, "Al, you made it!" Charlie called out as she and her little angel approached.

"Oh, I wouldn't miss it," he replied. He spun his cane in the air before driving it into the stage floor and asked, "So, are we getting this introduction on the road?"

"Yup!" Charlie said as she gave a thumbs-up to her remaining drake off stage, who pulled on a lever.

The curtains pulled apart like the Red Sea to reveal an endless wave of seats that could fit hundreds of sinners in the room. There were even several balcony seats. No clearer sign of Charlie's borderline insane optimism for her dream than her thinking she could ever fill this room to capacity.

It also only added to the hilarity of their 'audience,' consisting of just Niffty, Angel Dust, Husker, and the spider demon's bombastic compatriot, all surrounded by empty seats. It couldn't be a better allegory of Charlie's hopeless pursuit of redemption.

"Hey, guys! So glad you could make the time to come on such short notice!" Charlie announced, her voice echoing throughout the auditorium, as she gleefully waved to the four sinners.

"Why the fuck didn't I get a welcome like this?" the pink-haired one whined, as she lazily hung her feet off the seat in front of her, looking bored.

Husker chimed in, too, "Why are we doing this in this big ass theater instead of the rec room downstairs?"

Not wanting to be left out, Angel pointed at the stage, "What's with the goat?"

And last but not least, Niffty, who stood from her seat and screamed out, "Is that a bad boy?!" which caused Eve to take a hesitant step back.

Charlie motor-mouthed through each of their questions, "Oh! We can give you one later! I wanted to break it in before tomorrow's lessons! That's our guest's pet, Pan!" The goat let out a loud bleat. "And this isn't a bad boy, Niffty, sorry," which caused the little demon to plop into her seat, crossing her arms in bitter disappointment.

"Who this is..." the princess stepped aside, "...is Eve!" and gave her the spotlight.

"Hello," Eve greeted the four sinners with a stilted wave. 

"And Eve, that's," she pointed from left to right, "Niffty, Angel Dust, Husk, and Cherri!"

However, Charlie's introduction of Eve went over like a flat tire, with only Angel reacting with an awkward, "Uh...hi?" and a wave back.

It seemed the lot didn't understand what made their newest guest 'special.' Although he can't blame them entirely, after all, who would expect the Mother of Humanity to check into this hotel as a guest?

Charlie was waffling with an explanation to ease them into her identity, but Alastor had no time for that and bluntly gave them the proper context: "Ahem, 'Eve' as in Adam's ex."

A chorus of overlapping shouts from the four rang out in the theater, showcasing its excellent acoustics.

"Why would you let this cunt in?!"

"Charlie, are you insane!?"

"Are you high?!"

"Can I stab her!?"

Charlie tried to quell their panic, "No, Niffty! And guys, guys! She's one of us! Eve's a Sinner."

Husker was in disbelief, "Get the fuck outta here."

"What, they kick her outta Heaven?" Angel jabbed.

It was Eve's doppelganger who defended her first, "No, Eve's been here since she died, like all of you."

Incredulous, to the point of properly sitting in her seat, Cherri asked, "So, you're telling us this cunt," as she pointed at Eve, "survived...what, thousands of Exterminations? And we haven't heard shit about her?"

"Yes," Eve spoke, causing their audience to flinch, reminded that she was still standing before them. She picked up her goat, craddled it in her arms, and said, "I've kept to myself."

Charlie stepped forward, "I called you all here because I trust you and because me, and Eve, thought you deserved to know she was here. This place...this place you all helped defend with your lives is someplace I want everyone to have a chance to change themselves and find redemption. And I want to give that to Eve, too."

The princess sucked in a breath and exhaled, "If any of you have any concerns about her being here, we can talk through it together and—"

With a raised hand, Angel Dust asked unprompted, "So, was there a lot of incest at the start on Earth or—"

Husk smacked the Sinner's chest with the back of his paw. The immature sinner half-jokingly whined, "What? When am I gonna get the chance to ask—"

"That's a misconception," Eve actually answered, stunning everyone.

Charlie, who had been ready to scold Angel, turned around and asked, "Wait, really?"

Eve cleared her throat, "When my children reached maturity, something similar to my creation happened, giving them a partner. But it stopped happening after the fifth or sixth generation, I think." She mumbled to herself about a particular 'book' being closer than most.

Realizing everyone's eyes were locked onto her, she uncomfortably shuffled in place, "But, no, there wasn't any...incest."

"Huh," the spider demon sounded, leaning back in his seat, surprised that his joke of a question received a legitimate answer.

Vaggie stepped forward, aggravated, "Can we please be serious? Does anyone have any actual concerns or questions?"

Trying to come up with a better question to save face, Angel asked, "What's with the mask, you hidin' somethin'?"

Eve held Pan closer to her chest, "I'm self-conscious about my appearance."

"If you are a sinner, you're among your fellow freaks. I mean, shit, I'm a fluffy tarantula, he's a cat with wings, she's an albino cyclops, and that one's a walkin' cockroach," pointing at each.

"I am?!" Niffty cried out, ready to stab herself. But before she could, her knife was snatched away by Angel, who casually tossed it into the row of seats behind them.

"You can't be that much worse than any of us," he concluded with a shrug.

In the corner of his eye, Alastor saw Charlie with a proud smile on her face.

Husker leaned on the seat in front of him as he stared at Eve, but pointed a claw at Lucifer, "Didn't he fuck you over with the apple?"

While Lucifer had an annoyed grimace on his face, Eve appeared unperturbed by Husker's assumption. "Lucifer's my friend. He warned me of the risks, and we made that mistake together," was all she said, which seemed to satisfy his pet well enough and give the short king a smug smile.

Cherri shot up, "How do we know you ain't just here to avenge that dead piece of shit?" She didn't even have to say the former Head Exorcist's name.

The timber in Eve's voice shook, "He was responsible for perpetuating the Exterminations that have killed hundreds of millions, including my son, so, no, I'm not interested in...avenging him. I know that all of you were just defending yourselves and that his death wasn't...intended...by most of you." She seemed to relax, "Besides, the Adam I knew...died on Earth a long time ago."

"And we're just meant to believe you? How do we know you ain't just bidin' yer time till we let our guard down?"

Charlie stepped before Eve, defending the woman, "Even if she was here for that, which she definitely isn't, Eve couldn't hurt anyone if she tried."

"How the fuck would you know that?"

Both Lucifer and Charlie couldn't help the discomfort that formed on their faces with the princess' slip-up. It's not like the two could just admit that Eve had given the princess a good smack with all her strength in a hysteria-driven panic, leaving only a sore cheek for her traumatized effort.

As for Eve herself, well, her reaction was...interesting, with her gaze suddenly focused on Charlie as the princess continued to waffle her words, "I...look, just trust me, please. Eve isn't here to hurt anyone."

The woman's head turned to Lucifer after hearing his daughter's desperate words of reassurance, and Alastor couldn't help but drum his fingers on his cane and smile harder in thought, 'Oh, looks like Eve is an observant one.'

Regardless, Alastor was getting tired of this back and forth, "As Charlie dear has said, this hotel is meant for redemption, yes? What better way to test its...merit than helping redeem the very first sinner? Hm?" He slammed his cane to the stage, "How about we put it to a preliminary vote? Get a feel for the room, yes?" 

Before Lucifer or anyone else could object, he raised his hand and asked their audience, "Show of hands, who has an issue with Eve staying with us in this lovely hotel?"

The only one he was truly aiming to shut up was Cherri. He already knew everyone on stage would raise their hand, with Charlie's hand already feverishly raised. Vaggie raised her hand shortly after Charlie, but whether it was to support her girlfriend or because she was actually fine with Eve staying, he didn't care.

Alastor did get a kick out of Lucifer raising his hand and seemingly hating every second of it, no doubt wishing he had come up with this idea first.

Niffty, well, she'd agree with him on anything, as she jumped in her seat, waving an arm in the air.

Then there were the last three. Hands unraised, still mulling over the decision, and one already decided.

He gave Husker a nudge, squeezing a fist behind his back and with an unseen green glow, caused the former Overlord to feel a flinch of pain, forcing him to raise his paw in the air—the two exchanging glares.

With that, Angel followed Husker's example, leaving Cherri the odd one out, and no one liked being that. Either she'll storm out, capitulate, or worst of all, persist in this time-wasting discussion.

But classic peer pressure won out, with Cherri finally relenting, "Gah, fuckin'...fine!" and raised her hand, "Bunch of cunts," she mumbled, angrily crossing her arms.

"Oh my, then, it's decided!" he said in mock shock and gave the lady of the hour a slight bow, "Congratulations, Ms. Eve."

Angel Dust asked, "So...we all keep this a secret or...?"

Lucifer insisted, "Let's just avoid advertising it, m'okay?"

Practically hopping with joy to centerstage, Charlie concluded this little get-together, "Thank you all again so much for coming, and I hope you all get to know Eve and become fast friends while she's here!"

She turned to Eve and spoke in a lower voice, "I can take you to see him now."

"Thank you," Eve whispered.

Charlie began escorting her out of the theater through the backstage exit he had used, with Lucifer and Vaggie following the two.

And with that, everyone was cleared to leave, with Niffty skittering up the aisle and zooming out the main entrance. Angel Dust and Cherri weren't far behind, with only the spider demon halting to ask Husker, "Hey, you comin'?"

The former Overlord replied, "I'll be right behind ya," and finally got up from his seat, "Just gonna have a talk with Alastor."

Husker took his time walking to the stage, clearly making sure Angel and Cherry had left before he spoke. "Didn't have to twist my arm, I would've voted for her to stay."

"Oh, really?" Alastor asked, looking down at him.

"Yeah, really," he talked back, using his wings to ascend onto the stage. Husker found the nerve to march up to Alastor, "Because I actually believe in Charlie, until like you, you—" and poked him in the chest, his smile involuntarily flinching in pain.

Husker balked and halted his attempt at a verbal assault, "The hell's wrong with you?" The fact that this disgraced Overlord, of all demons, was the one asking him that annoyed Alastor to no end.

"Oh, concerned for my health, Husker?" Alastor asked, as his demonic power channeled through him, his eyes turned a hollow black, and his horns sprouted more threatening branches, making it unmistakably clear he wanted the cat demon to drop it.

He did, taking a hesitant step back, "N-nah," before regaining his footing in the conversation faster than Alastor would like, "Just wonderin' why you want Eve at the hotel so bad."

Annoyed at his persistence, he decided to give Husker an honest answer, "Oh, rest assured, my furry friend, my intentions with Eve are nothing nefarious." Alastor became engulfed by his shadow, telling Husker as he sank into the stage, "The last thing I want is for harm to befall that woman."

And before his pet could talk back, he was gone.

Moments passed as he flung himself through the shadows, eventually rising out of the darkness inside his radio tower. But as his shadow dissipated from his person, he choked out blood, spattering the floor red. He retreated not a moment too soon, it seemed.

He heaved, gripping his chest, "Damn it," and looked at his now blood-stained hand. Alastor stumbled to his desk, letting his faux cane clatter to the floor as he threw off his pinstripe coat, ripped off his bow tie, and sat in his chair.

Even with his shadow returned to him, Alastor had overexerted himself in intimidating Husker.

Alastor quickly ripped open his dress shirt and looked down to see that his green threads holding his wound together had snapped and loosened again. Adam's attack ran deep, slicing through his pectoralis major and nearly cutting his ribcage open.

Each heartbeat pumped out more and more blood from the wound, gushing out, but due to his nature as a sinner, he wouldn't bleed out and likely not even die of this injury, but he would never recover his former strength if he didn't find a way to heal it for good.

On his bloodied desk was his true cane, still in two broken pieces thanks to the Head Exorcist, and a half-empty bottle of hard vodka. He took a quick swig from it before pouring it onto his wound, gritting through the pain.

He touched his clawed fingers together as green sparks jumped between them and generated renewed threads of magic.

Alastor ripped out the old ones, which crumbled into nothingness in the air, before he began threading new ones into his wound. As he did, he distracted himself from the pain by thinking over all the information he had gained from his trick with Eve.

For one, he now knew why he could never find the woman after seven years of searching for her. Eve had been a damn hermit living deep in the Pentagram City forest by herself for eighty years.

Alastor wouldn't admit it to anyone, not even himself, but he unconsciously avoided exploring the forest encircling the Pride Ring. He had a...bad experience, once in life, something he'd like to avoid happening again in death.

But it seemed that he wasn't the only one who had trouble keeping track of Eve, with Lucifer baffled as to how her arrival in Hell could have slipped his notice.

As he stuck a claw into his outer wound, inserting another green thread into his flesh, he tried to contemplate how he could apply anything he had learned to his present situation.

The woman was not untouched by Hell, considering her breakdown in Lucifer's office, with her pleas for them not to hurt her and muttered apologies to no one as she curled up on the king's floor. It was clear that someone, likely the very early denizens of Hell, had tortured Eve when they found out her role in introducing sin to Earth, only to be saved by her son, Cain.

She was obviously quite vulnerable, and aside from Lucifer, Eve didn't have any other friends in Hell, except for her adopted son's family. He could use that, perhaps by endearing himself to her and gaining some sort of advantage over the vile woman who has chained his soul.

With the green thread driven through the last hole, he tugged hard, and his wound closed up again with a squelch, the last gushes of blood spurting out. Snapping the end of the magical strand, he collapsed into his chair.

However, the most precious piece of intel he gained from Eve and Lucifer's heart-to-heart was by far the most delicious of all. He couldn't help but form a manic grin on his face, despite the pain, as he laughed at the sweet irony.

The Father of Lies was a horrid liar.

Alastor could picture the moment when Sam couldn't even look his friend in the face as he lied to her, his shadow capturing the fallen angel's guilt-riddled expression perfectly as his head was nestled on Eve's shoulder.

He let another laugh out and took another drink from the bottle, 'That I can definitely use.'

But anger stirred within him again as he stared at the source of his power, still broken in two—all thanks to that cursed woman who had confined him to this hotel. Alastor gripped the bottle harder and slammed it back down onto his desk.

With effort, he attempted to fix his cane again, as his radio tower quickly became filled with a sickly green glow as the Radio Demon worked.

Chapter Text

Charlie and Eve, who cradled Pan, exited the back of the hotel. Her girlfriend and dad stayed behind for...obvious reasons, which Eve thankfully didn't seem to mind. Vaggie had said she'd work with Razzle to help restock the kitchen, while Lucifer vanished with a quick goodbye to the two, telling Eve he'd see her later.

They trekked down a cobblestone walkway to a garden that her dad had conjured yesterday when rebuilding the hotel. Honestly, despite her father's best efforts, it didn't compare to the one at Eve's cabin, with her sheer variety of plants and their vibrant colors. 

Maybe she could ask Eve if she wouldn't mind helping make this garden more lively.

Past a small pond with a rubber duck floating in it and rows of neatly trimmed bushes, the two made it to the outskirts of the garden and stopped before a fresh burial mound adorned with an unmarked stubby stone slab.

While she begrudgingly promised Rosie's people the exorcist corpses for their help, she felt that letting Adam's body be devoured, too, was a step too far, since she had intended to spare him before Niffty got...overzealous. However, some of the Overlord's followers had already gotten to him before she could stop and talk them down.

So, Charlie just decided to...avoid mentioning that Adam was missing an arm.

The princess spoke, "I'm sorry, it's not much."

She was thankful that her dad, albeit very begrudgingly, put (or more like stuffed) Adam's body into a coffin and let him be buried back here until someone from Heaven came for him.

"It's okay, Charlie," Eve said as she gently put down Pan, who went to graze on some nearby weeds.

The woman knelt on the ground and began tidying the grave, picking it of loose leaves, rocks, and evening out the dirt on top of it. Feeling she was intruding, Charlie told Eve, "I'll...give you some space."

When Eve didn't respond, continuing to tidy Adam's resting place, the princess took several feet back and observed from afar. Watching her, Charlie couldn't help but become confused and even angry at how Adam ever had someone like Eve in his life. Someone so kind, and considerate, and devoted, despite everything he's done and everything she's been through.

A small part of her even wondered if that was a factor in Eve's creation and why her parents offered her the apple.

After a few minutes, it seemed that Eve was satisfied and proceeded to just...lie down on her side on top of Adam's grave. Charlie could hear Eve murmur to herself, or to him, as she lay there motionless. But the princess couldn't make out what she was saying. Most of the words sounded sad, some angry.

More time passed, and Eve slowly picked herself up onto her knees again, moving as if whatever unheard conversation she had with Adam drained her. She collected the pebbles and stones she had moved and began stacking them on top of his makeshift tombstone.

And as she did...Eve sang a song. Her pitch uneasy.

"Down by the river, flowing down east," Eve delicately placed stones on top of each other.

"It's sure to deliver, all manner of beast," another stack of equal size.

"Some that make you shiver, others we might feast," her voice wavering, Eve stacked a smaller pile.

"The current can be a giver, or make you...deceased," she finished, clearly crying now through her words.

Four piles of rocks sat on Adam's grave, two taller mounds flanking a pair of smaller ones. Eve stood and stepped back, sniffling and catching her breath as she lifted her sunglasses to wipe one of her eyes.

Charlie stepped closer, not knowing what else she could say besides, "That was...a nice song."

Wistful in the moment, Eve told her, "It was for our children. A way to...educate them." She adjusted and tightened the sunglasses on her face and sucked in a breath, "I wanted to teach them about the world. You know, being wary of animals. What berries were safe to eat."

She gave a sad laugh, "Adam...suggested we make them into songs." Eve's shoulders sank, "It's...the only one I remember. It was meant to warn them about the river near our cave."

The princess was surprised that Adam would be the one to come up with such a level-headed idea. As if reading her mind, Eve said, "I know it's hard to believe, but he was a good man."

Eve rubbed her temple through the scarf wrapped around her head, "During...during our first weeks on Earth, after we couldn't find any more berries or fruits, we had to hunt...like the animals did. When we managed to find a deer and kill it," her voice hitched, "he couldn't stop crying. I just...I don't know what could have caused him to become," she gestured to his grave, "this."

Eve stuttered, "Maybe...maybe if I-I were there with him, in Heaven, he wouldn't've—"

Charlie couldn't contain herself, "Hey, you can't blame yourself for what he chose to do and what Heaven let him do."

Her words seemed to sink in for Eve, who turned to her, "Thank you for keeping me company, Charlie. I...know you had every reason to despise him."

The princess shuffled her feet nervously as she stared up at Eve and said, "I won't lie. He was awful and he killed one of my friends, but..." and looked down at the grave, "I really didn't want him to die."

"I know, Charlie, but like I said to your friends," Eve bent down and picked up Pan, "I already buried Adam a long time ago." She hefted the goat closer to her chest and turned to make her way back to the hotel, and stated, "I think now, I just...want to go to sleep."

She turned and followed the grieving woman, "Oh, of course, we can save the tour for tomorrow."

Walking past a line of windows facing the garden that showed one of the hotel's best features, its giant swimming pool, the two entered the rear of the hotel, a hint of chlorine permeating the air.

As the two waited in front of an elevator, Eve put Pan down. The only sound that broke the silence between them was the goat's hooves on the marble floor. Neither spoke, with Charlie unsure what to even talk about without it being awkward or forced.

Then she heard another noise accompany the clattering of hooves—a tapping. Charlie looked down and saw that Eve was repeatedly smacking one of her ballet flats on the marble.

"It's...it's a long elevator, huh?" Charlie pressed the button again, letting out a nervous laugh, believing Eve was getting impatient.

The woman snapped to attention, not realizing what she was doing, "What? No, I wasn't..." She stopped tapping her foot and balled her fists instead. Eve shakily took a deep breath and hesitantly, but calmly, asked, "Charlie?"

"Yeah?"

"Did I hit you in your father's office?"

Charlie froze, her gaze trapped by her metal reflection in the elevator doors. She could also see in the reflection that Eve was turned to her and staring directly at the princess. It took all her strength to turn and meet Eve's gaze. It was clear that whatever expression Charlie had on her face wasn't helping the woman, who was trembling like a leaf.

Evading the topic wasn't an option at this point, and Charlie pleaded, "Eve, it...it was an accident, I shouldn't have—"

Eve gasped in horror, a hand covering her already veiled mouth, as she stumbled back.

Charlie desperately tried to reassure her, "Eve, it's okay—"

"No, it isn't! It's never okay, Charlie! It doesn't matter if it was an accident!" Eve gripped her head in panic, "God, I'm—" She slumped against the nearest wall for support, "I thought I was better. I should be better than this!" Eve shouted, her fingers digging into her scarf.

Pan trotted over to Eve and attempted to comfort her, while Charlie tried to do the same. She had reached out to console Eve with a touch, but quickly remembered how this all started and pulled her hand back.

The princess inched closer to Eve and tried to put on the most reassuring voice she could, "T-that's what this hotel is for, Eve. Whatever problems you're facing, whatever you're going through, we'll...we'll all be there to help you. Every step of the way."

The elevator finally arrived with a ding, and the doors opened. Eve pulled her hands from her face and looked at Charlie, her breathing labored, "I...I don't ever want to hurt you again."

"And you won't," Charlie reassured her, with the most genuine smile she could muster.

Eve reached out a hand to touch her, but pulled it back, clearly afraid. Instead, she stood from the wall and simply told Charlie, "Your parents are so lucky to have you."

The princess' cheeks warmed at the compliment. "And I'm lucky to have them," she said with an even wider smile and turned back to the elevator, pressing the button to open the doors again.

They both walked inside, Pan hopping in with them.

🍎

Eve walked down the hallway leading to her room with Pan in her arms, escorted by Charlie. Down the hall, she saw Lucifer, who had again abandoned his hat and coat, waiting outside her room and waving an eager hand at both of them.

But at the moment, she was angry with him.

The princess seemed to sense the tension emanating from her and decided to give them space, telling her, "I'll...let you two talk, I'll see you tomorrow, Eve!"

"Thank you, Charlie," Eve said.

She watched the girl power walk back down the hall, as if trying not to make it obvious she was trying to leave as quickly as possible. When she was far enough away, she continued her march to her room and straight into Lucifer.

He attempted to greet her, "Hey, Eve, I—"

But she put Pan down and cut him off, glaring down at him as she accused him, "You lied to me."

Lucifer lost even more color in his face than she thought possible as he panicked and stuttered, "A-about what?"

She took a step closer, "Why did I have to hear from Charlie that I hit her in your office?!"

His eyes bugged out and, flustered, he tried to explain himself, "Fuck, Eve, it's just...when you didn't remember and Charlie didn't bring it up, I thought—"

"Yes, she didn't, until I asked her and she told me the truth," she took another step toward him, "but you lied to me!"

Putting up his hands, as if trying to deflect her angry words, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just didn't know how it would do any good telling you!"

"I don't care! I don't want you to ever lie to me again, even if you think it's for my own good!" Her voice became desperate, "Please."

Lucifer stood straight, clearly impacted by her pained plea, "I-I promise. I won't...lie to you again."

Hearing those words gave Eve some relief, "Thank you."

"And I'm...sorry for not backing you up when Charlie's girlfriend brought up your...appearance," Lucifer apologized, rubbing the back of his head as he avoided looking directly at her, "Especially after..."

Eve sighed, her words not hiding her exhaustion, "I understand. This has all been...very strange. But I...I won't hide," she raised a hand to her face, "this forever from you."

Lucifer smiled at her before his eyes widened in remembrance. He cried out, "Oh, shit, yeah," and slapped his forehead. "I actually wanted to give you this," he said, digging into his pocket and pulling out a phone.

He handed it to her, "Didn't know if you had a phone or not," as she held it, he fluttered up and tapped on the screen, "Charlie's number and mine are already in it, so if you ever need any help or...someone to talk to, you just give either of us a call, okay?"

Eve flipped the phone over and saw that the cover depicted a cute cartoon goat with its tongue sticking out, eliciting a smile from her.

Grammer and her son had always offered to get her a phone, but she just never saw a use for it. After all, she could already use her ham radio to contact them, and every time she heard Hatch talk about the Voxnet, it sounded like a headache.

But...everything was different now.

She held the phone to her chest and told him, "I will...Sam."

He had a toothy grin on his face at hearing his name again. As his feet touched the ground, he peered up at her and asked, "So, you're turning in early?"

She could only nod, "It's...been a long day."

"Holy shit, it really has been, huh? And it's only past lunch," he mumbled to himself. "And you're sure you're not hungry?"

"I'm fine, Lucifer, really. I'll just have a big breakfast."

"I'll hold ya to it!" he said, snapping a finger gun at her with a wink.

With an uncertain smile, Sam added, "Then I'll leave you to it, but before I go, I wanted to ask...what do you think of her? Charlie?" he asked, eyes glimmering in anticipation for her answer.

Eve beamed, "She has her father's whimsy and her mother's determination. She's wonderful."

Sam's smile became more confident, and he told her, "See you tomorrow, Eve," before he flew up to hug her and disappeared in a swirl of red smoke. Eve reached a hand through it, the smoke weaving around her fingers, and then it was gone.

Eve sighed and looked down at Pan, "Are you ready to turn in?" and got a bleat in return.

She stuck her new phone in her pocket, took her room key out the other, and opened the door. After Eve entered, Pan barreled into the room and onto the bed. But Eve remembered how Sam had opened her door without a key and didn't want to be caught off guard, so she locked the door.

But...would locking it be enough?

Eve stared at the door, nervously tapping a foot, before she decided to take extra precautions. She took a chair by the window, jammed it against the door, and gave it a good shake to ensure it was securely in place.

Satisfied, she turned on the lamp by her nightstand and closed the curtains before she went into the bathroom.

Eve flipped on a light and began to undress.

She removed her loose-fitting button-down top and then her elbow-length gloves.

The woman looked down at her right hand and flexed it, staring at what was once her ring finger, replaced with a homemade prosthesis strapped to her hand. Made of polished wood, she had devised a way to have it flex with her other fingers. However, it was purely aesthetic and not all that durable.

And it itched terribly.

Eve undid the straps on her hand, removed the wooden replacement, and gently rubbed at the irritated stub. She then traced her fingers up her arm and over the many scars she had collected over the millennia, some deeper and uglier than others.

Then came her bra and her pants, leaving Eve with just her sunglasses and scarf loosely wrapped around her head. The woman moved to take them off, but hesitated, as she looked at herself in the mirror.

Instead, Eve propped the bathroom door open and turned off the bathroom light, leaving herself in the dark with only her nightstand lamp across the room just barely illuminating her path to the shower. Eve faced it, finally removing her sunglasses and unraveling her scarf, leaving both on the counter with the rest of her clothes.

Eve sat in the shower, her knees curled to her chest, as she let the warm water strike the six large scars on her back. She glanced down and saw that the water had started to take on a sickly black tint as it swirled down the drain. As she watched, Eve actually began to nod off, her head sinking deeper into her knees, until she heard Pan trot into the bathroom, her hooves clicking against the tiled floor.

She saw Pan's head poke over the edge of the shower's tub as the goat tried fruitlessly to clamber in with her.

Eve asked, "Aw, do you need a shower, too?"

She hoisted Pan into the shower with her, letting the goat get soaked, which finally motivated Eve to clean herself.

The woman stood, laved herself in soap, and washed her hair with shampoo, the suds stinging her back, before rinsing herself off. Then she took care of Pan, scrubbing more shampoo into her thick fur before letting her get doused.

Finished, Eve carried Pan out with her and set her on the floor, but before she could dry the goat off, the animal shook out her fur and clopped off into the room, still soaked.

"Pan!" Eve shouted, but deflated as the goat continued to ignore her as it pranced around in the room, no doubt feeling refreshed. She called to her, "Just stay off the bed!"

Eve dried herself off with a towel, her back to the large mirror.

But as she was about to leave, she paused under the doorway. Her right hand left gripping the frame as she tapped a finger against it. Eve had promised Sam that she wouldn't hide her face from him forever.

So, shouldn't she know...what exactly she's going to show him?

Eve pawed at the light switch and turned the bathroom lights on, still frozen under the archway.

She took a deep breath and walked back in, her eye drilled into the floor as she did, her hands shaking. Eve gripped the sink's counter for support, still terrified to look at herself. It had been...years since she last did.

Ever since she arrived in Hell, Eve had always felt...she still didn't know how to describe it. It wasn't that she thought she was ugly, not in the traditional sense. It was more of a...revulsion. Eve wanted to avoid looking into the face of the person responsible for everything going wrong.

Eve always wondered if Hatch...knew that. Felt that. Perhaps that's why he encouraged her at every turn those last few years to paint that self-portrait, because he didn't see what she saw, and he wanted her to see it too. And, she remembered it working...for a short time.

Until Hatch died.

When he was put in danger because of her, and how Eve failed to save him, before the same exorcist who killed him cut her down, too.

The giant scar on her face was a testament to her failure—a scar she never dared to look at after Grammer had saved her on his impromptu operating table. After she had to stare down at Hitch's lifeless body, who had bled out hours before she awoke from the grip of death.

Eve screwed her eye shut at the memory and slowly tilted her head up at the mirror. She felt sick, but...she had to do this. She had to confront this eventually. Just once.

She opened her eye and gasped, as she finally saw the scar she's only felt for years.

A blackened chasm that tore through the entire left side of her face.

Eve reached out to touch it with a trembling hand, beginning at her chin. She traced it up over her split lips, across her cheek, through her empty and fractured eye socket, and stopped at her chipped skull.

'This was what he'd see?!' she thought as she began to weep. Her legs quickly gave out, and she collapsed to the bathroom floor, her legs splayed out on the wet tiles. She turned her back to the counter, hiding from her own reflection.

It was worse than she could have ever imagined.

She hugged her knees as she continued to cry. Eve could only dread the look of pity and the undeserved guilt in Sam's eyes if he ever saw this face. She berated herself for ever telling him that she'd show him.

'Why did I say that?!' she shrieked in her head as she dug her fingers into her skull. 'If he saw this, would he ask to see the others, too?!' The scars on her back began to throb.

A loud "Bah!" echoed in the bathroom, and Eve looked down at Pan, who was trying to wedge herself in her lap. She picked the goat up and hugged her, burying her face into Pan's fur and asking through tears, "What am I going to do?"