Chapter Text
“Motherf*ckers!” Squeak. “Pieces of sh*t!” Squawk. “Good for nothing collection of c*nts!” Squeeaakkk. “I should f*ck them all... wait... up! sh*t, f*cking dammit! f*ck them all up!”
The King of Hell seethed with rage, squeezing the life out of the poor, innocent rubber duck in his hands. He let out another long, drawn out, frustrated scream before tossing the duck at the wall where it ‘squeaked’ and joined the smile pile that had started from this morning’s outburst.
To put it lightly, the meeting with the Deadly Sins had gone all sorts of sideways. Somehow, the group of them had caught wind of how the last extermination had ended. If Lucifer got even an inkling of who leaked the information down to the other rings, he would drown them in the Lake of Fire with his own two hands. The six bastards had started demanding answers from their King – demanding the King of Hell! Could one imagine such a thing?! Lucifer sure couldn’t.
He my have let the denizens of the Pride ring do as they so pleased without much hand in how the powers fell to be, but when it came to the Seven Deadly Sins, he had always maintained order. So, when the meeting had gotten out of hand so quickly, it had nearly made Lucifer’s head spin at the audacity of their pure disrespect.
“Your Majesty, the other sins and I know about the last extermination. Namely, what sent the Exorcists back to Heaven with their tails between their legs.” Asmodeus. Sin of Lust and ruler of the fifth ring.
“Well, actually, Exorcists don’t have tails,” Lucifer had acted quite uninterested in what he was saying. Though a small bubble of panic started deep in his stomach.
“Your spawn found a way to kill Angels? Don’t you believe that information is pertinent enough to call an emergency meeting?” Mammon. Sin of Greed and ruler of the fourth ring.
“She’s my daughter.” Lucifer corrected, his gaze narrowing as he shifted a bit in his seat at the head of the long table. He could sense that this was not going to be a meeting; more of an intervention.
“What she has done could mean war for all of us! If Heaven declared war on Hell, we’re f*cked! You’re the only one who would even stand a chance because you’re from there!” Beelzebub. Sin of Gluttony and ruler of the third ring.
“Watch it, Beelze.” Belphegor. Sin of Sloth and ruler of the seventh ring.
“Your Highness, I think all of us are simply confused as to why you helped her in her endeavor that may well have doomed us all? We’ve been told that you got her the meeting.” Leviathan. Sin of Envy and ruler of the sixth ring.
“My daughter asked something of me, as such, I got her a meeting into Heaven. What of it? She’s my child, not a dog, I don’t keep her on a leash.” Lucifer said softly, trying to keep his outward composure despite the pure rage that consumed his insides like Hellfire.
“Maybe you should. Reeling her and her little rehab project in is he only way to ensure Hell’s safety. Especially after being pinned for Adam’s death.” Satan. Sin of Wrath and ruler of the second ring. Lucifer’s only neighboring ring, and his sworn eternal enemy. f*ck that guy.
“Excuse you?” The room tensed; the air seemed to freeze as Lucifer looked to Satan with a hatred so deep that it was rooted in his very being.
“You need to control Charlotte.” Satan said, already angry, but when wasn’t he?
“Don’t you speak her name. Not in front of me.” The quiet rage in his tone seemed to suck the oxygen out of the air as no one dared to meet his gaze; even Satan backing down as he looked upon him. Remembering in the moment just how powerful a fallen Seraphim was.
Needless to say, the rest of the meeting had gone just as awful. Their complete lack of respect or regard for him, his status, his power. Of course it got to him, he was Pride after all. He stormed around the room, under eyes dark from lack of sleep. He had been pacing all night. Charlie had told him that he wasn’t allowed to show up until he calmed down. Which, arguably, was probably for the best. He had tried, really tried to get himself together. But the Deadly Sins had rubbed him in a way that was all sorts of wrong.
He picked up another duck, letting out a string of colorful language before tossing it at the wall as hard as he could manage, it ricocheted into his desk, the sound of metal clamoring to the floor as he flinched from the sound. He looked towards the spilled collection of tools and spare parts, though a golden glint is what caused him to walk towards the mess. Bending down, he picked up the two halves of a snapped, golden ring.
(Y/n)’s halo... (Y/n).
He sighed in contempt of himself, of the entire situation. The metal in his hands reminding him of the fallen angel that he hadn’t seen in... oh my, has it really been a week? He had been so distracted by the meeting – followed by his rage that he had allowed the girl to slip his mind. He wondered why he hadn’t called her number, at least to check in, see how she was fairing. Oh, because he didn’t have it. Wait, did she even have a phone?
As his thoughts found their way to (Y/n), he found that he missed her... oddly enough. She was easy to talk to. Respectful and sweet, a true... well, angel. Though, naturally his pure thoughts grew dark as he considered that, as the sins had said, Charlie’s actions had put them all in danger. Charlie, who (Y/n) saw in Heaven during that fateful Council meeting. All of it led to that morning a week ago, watching her be tortured then disregarded as scum. (Y/n) being cast out had stemmed directly from Charlie’s stand against Heaven.
No. He adjusted his thoughts. Heaven was the enemy. It was their corruption that had led to all of this. Pitting them against each other is what the Angels wanted, if Hell argued among itself then they only had to catch them off guard. Lucifer took a deep breath, his grip tight on the halo in his hands as he reminded himself:
Heaven is just f*cked-up.
(Y/n) sat on a couch in the lobby, biting her nails with anxiety and worry as Charlie paced in between her and the fireplace. Vaggie sat to her left in her own chair, her gaze trained intently on the flames in the hearth. Angel Dust and Husk at the bar as usual, though there was no banter being had, the room was tense with nerves.
“Where could he be? You don’t think he went and did something crazy, do you?! I don’t think I’ve heard him that mad in a long time... he wasn’t even that angry fighting Adam!” Charlie spoke faster than her mind could filter the thoughts she was spewing. No one tried to stop her, knowing she needed to let it all out somehow. Her ranting was better than sitting in silence.
“That Satan guy is a real asshole, and he lives in the ring next to dad! What if he finally got fed up and decided to kill him? Oh no, what if he’s hurt? Maybe he’s just hung over... maybe he slept in? Oh, f*ck! And where in the ever-living f*ck is Alastor?!” Charlie’s eyes glowed red for a moment, her horns peeking through as her hair waved out with a flourish. Her fear seeping into anger as she tried to take deep breaths and calm down.
Then the doorbell rang.
Charlie was at the door in a second, flinging it open to find Lucifer looking as dashing as ever. Though he clearly hadn’t slept and his hair was a bit more disheveled than usual. (Y/n) had stood up, walking closer but staying back a bit as she frowned. Anyone who had spent more than a few hours with him would know that he had given all he had to scrap himself together to come see Charlie.
“Dad!” She flung her arms around him, falling into his arms and starting to sob out of nowhere.
“Charlie, sweetie...” he said softly, shushing her as he stroked her hair. Though as he hugged her, he looked over her shoulder, making eye contact with (Y/n) a sad smile coming to his face at the sight of her. She returned the small gesture before he pulled Charlie away from him gently.
They settled in, using the sitting room in the lobby. Charlie sat hip-to-hip with her dad on the couch as she held his hand, tears still pricking the corners of her eyes. He wrapped his arm around her in an affectionate side hug as he started to tell them what exactly had gone down with the Deadly Sins. (Y/n) stood across from them, leaning on the fireplace as she listened, brows furrowed the entire time. He assured them that he was fine, and begrudgingly explained their concerns – and disrespect – which is what had made him so mad. The way they had addressed it all was completely out of line and very unlike their usual proceedings.
“Did you come up with any solutions?” Vaggie asked after he finished, he shook his head.
“It was all speculation, unfortunately. I can’t form a solution when I don’t know what problem I’m being presented with in the first place.” Lucifer huffed.
“Did they mention (Y/n)?” Charlie looked to him; he felt a small lump from in his throat.
“No, they didn’t seem to know about anything past the extermination. Which means whoever is informing them isn’t as close to me as I thought. Perhaps even some random demon one of them paid to infiltrate the Pride ring.” He said annoyed. The idea that this information could be so easily passed around without his knowledge was a stinging paper cut to his ego.
“Dreadfully late, I know,” the sound of static filled the air as all of them turned, Alastor materializing from the shadows behind them.
“Alastor, where were you?” Charlie said, standing from her spot beside Lucifer. She turned to him, crossing her arms.
“The meeting with the Overlords simply ran over, darling. My sincerest apologies,” he said, bowing slightly as she rolled her eyes.
(Y/n) looked to Lucifer, who’s face had gone immediately sour. A deep frown adorning his features as he drew in a breath, letting it out slowly as he listened to Charlie fill Alastor in. Clearly Alastor’s presence disturbing him greatly as he was still struggling to keep his cool from the meeting with the sins in the first place, still slightly on edge. As Charlie finished, Alastor seemed to notice; of course.
“So, the Deadly Sins are at an unrest, hmm? Suppose that’s what you get when you put someone with such an inflated ego at the top.” Alastor tossed his microphone from side to side nonchalantly as Lucifer whipped around so fast he nearly lost his top hat.
“You tacky little f*ck. You have no idea what it is to rule. You Overlords think you have a f*cking clue about presiding over people. You’re all jokes!” Lucifer seethed as Charlie looked at him worriedly. (Y/n) remembered Charlie telling her more about the tension between the two men. The demon and angel nearly going fist-to-cuffs for who was more like a father to her... despite Lucifer quite literallybeing her father.
“Well, at least the full force of Heaven isn’t looming over our heads.” Alastor hummed walking around the couch as Lucifer’s eyes followed his every twitch.
“If Heaven decides to declare war, then we are all f*cked, buddy,” the King said through clenched teeth.
“Decides? Why, have they not already?” Alastor said looking to (Y/n). Her stomach dropped as she looked to him confused but mostly concerned. She wanted no part in this. Lucifer followed the demon’s gaze, the air around him shifting as he felt himself stop cold.
“Me? What has this got to do with me?” (Y/n) shook her head.
“Am I the only one whose deciphered their code? Oh my! Well, in that case, I’m honored to break the news to you! Our darling little newly fallen angel is Heaven’s declaration of war.”
The room froze. No one spoke or seemed to breath as (Y/n)’s face dropped, she felt blood rush from her head as she got dizzy with realization. Lucifer was like a statue, though sitting beside him, Charlie swallowed the lump in her throat at the unfathomable rage that seemed to drip from his aura.
“What... what are you talking about?” Vaggie broke the silence, looking to (Y/n) and then Alastor.
“Well, this is proving more entertaining than I thought! Allow me to dumb it down, then. By casting (Y/n) out of Heaven, they have sent a message. A very particular one. That anyone who dares to defy Heaven’s rule shall be cast out. So they can be slaughtered with the rest of the demons they sympathize with when they finally make their move. Checkmate.” Alastor said, his tone dropping as the entire room looked to (Y/n).
“No, I was on the High Council, there was no talk of such plans. It’s not true... it can’t be...” (Y/n) said, stumbling slightly as she leaned back against the stone. Her mind spinning as she shook her head in disbelief. It couldn’t be true... could it?
“Still defending your holy kind? After everything they’ve done? Noble indeed... or perhaps,” he said, tilting his head as static began to fill the air. “You aren’t truly fallen? Maybe... you’re here on their behalf. Feeding information back to them...” he suggested as (Y/n) face twisted in disgust and shock. How dare he... how dare he?!
“You think I’m a double agent? The took my wings... they snapped my halo,” her eyes began to glow slightly red as she felt her fury build.
“Yes, yes! An extravagant show of pageantry! Of course, only such dramatic acts could be used to convince the King to take you in like an injured animal.” Alastor stalked forward, growing larger than his already towering height as his antler’s began to stretch, his eyes turning black and his smile growing as demonic energy surged around him. She couldn’t stop the look of fear that flashed upon her face in reaction to such horrible power. Just as Lucifer couldn’t help but see it.
The next few seconds happened so fast that no one could comprehend it. All they could see was the current, paralyzing scene before them.
Lucifer had appeared in front of (Y/n) as if he had been there all along. Hunched in a defensive position, fingers twitching, a sign he was using everything he had to hold back. His wings outstretched as far as they could possibly go, the large and imposing powerful appendages. His usually pale-yellow eyes had gone completely scarlet, glowing, his pupil a slit so small it was barely visible if not for the piercing yellow iris around it. His breathing was shallow, shaky as his eyes conveyed his lethal intention to an intensity so visceral that his clenched jaw, exposing his sharp teeth, didn’t have to. His entire being bathed with a divine light, though there was nothing comforting about it.
He could have floored the entire building with a mere blink; and he would.
The whole room stared, utterly petrified. No one dared to move a muscle. Lucifer proving exactly why angels had to coin the term; be not afraid.
