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Anthropic class action folk: another issue to check
If youâre in the class of writers affected: Did you discover, as part of the Anthropic copyright settlement, that your publisher failed to register your copyright?
The Authors Guild is collecting information for a potential class action. Fill out the form here:
The Authors Guild has heard from many authors who told us that their publisher failed to register their book with the U.S. Copyright OfficeÂ
I feel the need to expand on this so here are the lyrics of the final verse of "Don't you forget (reprise)"
Now I'm the master
And you're my bottomest bitch
No more Al, the high and mighty
Now that I flipped the switch
Though the radio's gone dead
You know the show must go on
By the time I've had my fun
You'll wish that you had stayed gone!
"Bottomest bitch" is apparently slang for a pimp's most valuable sex worker, and it is on that lyric that Vox delivers a severe electric shock to alastor (it's only electrocution if its fatal).
And by the look of his shadow he did not enjoy it.
Then Vox pushes Alastor's chair against a table singing "By the time I've had my fun, You'll wish that you had stayed gone!". "had fun" is also sometimes used as euphamism for sex, both consensual and otherwise, and the fact vox is leaning over alastor when restrained also is giving rapey vibes.
Then they breathe heavily at each other and val says that they should fuck. Valentino, a man who does not give a single fuck about consent.
This whole verse reads like a threat of sexual violence, and remember this comes after vox forced Alastor to watch him and val have sex, and found out about Alastor's supposed lack of tail, which he had to have done by either partially undressing him, or feeling alastor up.
This is not a commentary on what happens in fanfic, but I do want to be clear about the sexual violence that happened in canon.
Thank you for pinpointing why it felt so uncomfortable and creepy and why i hate it.
I have this theory for couple of weeks now, that
That Vox actually did it.
But for Al it was so traumatic that he just entirely blocked out the memories of it happening, because he had to lock in on his goal. And Vox is pissed that Alastor seems to be unaffected by that and keeps being his annoying bratty self and won't give Vox the satisfaction of seeing him humbled.
And in season 3 Alastor feels safe enough at the hotel that the memories are starting to come back. And this kickstarts discovery of his asexuality
(Yes that theory was inspired by IF and ppl defending Vox and saying that "he wouldn't")
(If this ends up being true i, 1 will explode, 2 expect an apology from every vox defender)
Yes! Like, the first time I watched it, I was crying by the end of the scene and freaking terrified because of the dynamic and everything that Alastor had already been forced to witness, and then the beginning of the next episode where Zeezee said, "I heard Vox fucked him with a chair." absolutely terrified me. Like, I'm aroace too and that shit was scary to watch a canonically ace character go through.
Canon Vox literally scares me so much (not as much as Valentino, but still).
This coward went to my dms to bitch about how he's a poor baby who did nothing wrong and only wanted some love, knowing perfectly well, that if they write this bullshit in the comments, you guys will tear them apart.
Well, I'm putting this out here, because this behavior isn't okay. (Sadly i forgor to screenshot my reply before blocking them, and now dms are cleared, sometimes tumblr is a little bit too good with blocking people)
In short, my reply was "this ain't anyone else's problem but yours and you have no right to demand anything from another human being after they told you they are not interested"
Also, while we're on the topic of people being creeps and potential rapists, this one dude from YouTube.
I honestly i should have pretended to agree to take that commission, take the money and block them, because fuck that guy. And i need money.
I'm not encouraging you to harass any of these people, but I'm making sure to let you know about potential rapists, so you could be safe. just block them ffs
Thank you so much for the heads up @elsa-fogen , also I need to reblog this because this is a serious matter and it needs some serious discussion.
First of all, here's a wild idea for this fella: if your partner realises they're sex repulsed, or even just not attracted to you anymore, but you genuinely NEED sex in a relationship to be fulfilled... Just âšmove onâš. You're incompatible, it's not the end of the world. There's almost nine billion humans on this planet, I'm sure you can find someone out there who matches your needs and expectations, no need to hyperfixate on someone who doesn't want you like that. You would just be doomed to suffer, and make the other person miserable as well, as Elsa's comic is trying to show you.
As an aroace, I feel my pulse rising and my anxiety levels skyrocket when guys hit on me, and it's because of people like you and like Elsa's Vox in Incompatible Frequencies. Because I never know how the other person is going to react, sometimes they just drop it (and I guarantee you they all find someone else to date, eventually), but sometimes they will. Just. Keep. Insisting. One even tried to blackmail me into having sex with him. Do you seriously not realise how fucked up that is and how it's not even comparable to "being lead on"?
Also, and I can't stress this enough, it doesn't matter if consent was given INITIALLY. Consent is something that needs to be constantly updated and re-established, especially in a relationship with someone on the aroace spectrum. Many aroace people, in particular those who have never tried to interact sexually before, simply don't KNOW to what extent they are repulsed yet. Sometimes we think we might do it for someone we care about, that love/affection will turn it into a pleasant experience, and while some of us may eventually find it tolerable or even enjoyable, others find out that kisses disgust them, penetration just hurts, hugs feel constricting, caresses make our skin crawl, etc.
And I know that it sucks when the person you want doesn't match your fantasies and desires. I know it can be a blow to the ego, and that some people may even spiral into thinking they're fundamentally unlovable, or that the other person is just "playing games" and "saying nonsense", but I need you to understand this, so listen carefully: this is YOUR problem. And forcing someone into a sexual relationship isn't going to fix it.
What's going to fix it? Here's some very general advice. Stop being delusional and believe people when they say they don't want you. Respect people's autonomy. Don't hyperfixate on someone and don't look for the manic pixie girl/boy who's going to save you from you loneliness (they only exist in fantasy). Start developing deep and meaningful connections that aren't romantic: love comes in many forms and maybe those other types are the ones you're actually lacking, and it's not a void that can entirely be filled by a romantic partner. And finally, for the love of all that is sacred, stop believing in the "one true love". It's just a fantasy, an idealisation. Do you seriously think that, out of billions of people, only ONE is destined for you? Just ONE? Don't you hear how ridiculous it sounds? That's why you don't need to fixate on one person who doesn't want you: find those who do! And if you have a hard time doing that, maybe there's something about yourself you need to change, develop or improve, don't you think?
You're entitled to desire a physically intimate relationship. You're entitled to want or need some love. Feelings, desires and needs are perfectly valid. What you're not entitled to is fulfilling them through extortion, violence and coercion. No person is under any obligation to give romantic and sexual love to you, including if, at some point, they thought they could. If romantic/sexual love is what you want, find people who are willing to give it and put on the work to deserve it. Learn how to communicate, how to listen, how to build a supportive community, how to express your emotions in a safe way, how to share the workload and responsibilities of a relationship. The fact alone that you defined sex repulsion "garbage" and that you're using this comic as jerking off material (why else would you want to see genitals?), instead of a cathartic or instructive reading tells me you're possibly lacking in a few of those departments.
One more thing: what Elsa's Vox did, fulfilling absurd, painful and humiliating requests just to have sex with Alastor, is not romantic. Nor dignified. It's pitiful, creepy and dangerous. Nobody should debase themselves, hurt themselves, or destroy their own future just for "a little bit of love". If a partner asks you to do any of those things, I'm sorry but they never loved you, they literally want you gone. And Alastor DID fulfill his part of the deal in the comic, but he found out it wasn't worth it. He didn't want the relationship anymore, once he had a clearer picture, and he was honest about it with Vox. It was Vox who insisted. Alastor was open about his feelings and regrets, he withdrew his consent (which again, totally fine at any point), and he tried to give Vox MULTIPLE chances to respect his new boundaries and call off the deal after their first intercourse. He even offered to help Vox restore what he lost to make amends, but no. The guy would rather rape him once a year. None of that is love. It's obsessions, disfuncional attachment, sexual attraction, emotional disconnection, not love.
If you've read the post down to this point, congratulation. Now close the internet and think about it. Do not interact, don't send me messages, don't post any comments, just leave a like or reblog it as it is, if you want, but don't try to argue with me. I'll block you without even reading. There's a time for discussion and a time for shutting up and just learning. This is a time to shut up and think. I won't allow any debates about this on my blogs.
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Reblog to let your followers know that despite your current obsession your previous obsessions still exist and are simply lying dormant until they awaken and strike again
Hunted - ADGAEA - Hazbin Hotel (Cartoon) [Archive of Our Own]
Hazbin Hotel Fanfiction
Desc:
A jealous colleague from the radio station believes that he was denied his rightful job when Alastor ended up getting the job as head radio host. And what's his solution? To hunt the one that he believed was undeserving.
Alastor huffed as he leaned on one of the stout trees of the bayou. He had likely gotten a decent headstart. He was used to being the one doing the chasing though, so this was very much unpleasant, especially since the scoundrel had even been able to knock him out and transport him to an unknown spot in the vast bayou specifically so he could hunt him.
How asinine it was.
Yet here he stood to catch his breath, running from a privileged white nincompoop who believed that they were overlooked for the very job that Alastor had landed less than a month ago to be the head radio host. As if the man thought his voice was more worthy to be heard when it was shriller than a gullâs call.
If the guy wasnât a decent size bigger than him, heâd try his hand at disarming him and taking things into his own hands, but physically fit as he may be, he would be no match for this manâs size until he could do something to give himself an advantage.
No matter. The bayou was his domain, and heâd be damned before he let this idiot kill him. Granted, this was a part of the bayou he wasnât quite familiar with, but it was still a comfort to be surrounded by when being chased.
He paused in his thinking as he heard something rustle and then snap close by before he heard the distinctive sound of a gunâs hammer being pulled back. He cursed as his left upper arm was grazed, the fabric of his previously white shirt began to turn red with blood.
He continued moving again, especially as he heard his pursuer laugh. How infuriating this was to be chased like an animal. Too be hunted.
âGah!â he couldnât help but cry out as another shot managed to get him in the right shoulder. And it wasn't through and through. He growled in anger. He was getting sloppy.
Despite the pain, he continued onward before he had to stop at the edge of the water. He grinned as he heard the familiar growl of gators nearby. Likely enlivened by the smell of his still leaking blood.
He could hear his pursuer behind him. He curled his hands into fists as he gritted his teeth before he took a few steps further along the edge of the water. Water just began to touch his shoes.
He glanced back as he heard the man coming ever closer to the edge of the water.
His pursuer laughed and lined up the gun to aim at him again as he said, âGot you now, you slimy nig-GAH!â
And Alastor smirked.
Heâd been right on his suspicions, and the gators were right where heâd suspected they were. The gun went off again but missed him completely before the man lost his grip as he tried to fight the grip of the gators.
He quickly edged away from the shore so as to not attract the attention of any of the other gators. Especially since they could be quite fast to attack when they wanted to be. He had been quite lucky that they hadnât gone for him as soon as heâd touched the water fairly close, but not close enough to fall into their trap.
He listened to the manâs agonized cries as they slowly died down while the gators ate him alive. He didnât look back as he turned away and headed back out into the bayou the way heâd come.
He could eventually make it to and go along the road and try and figure out exactly where he was, but heâd have to be careful for multiple reasons. Perhaps he could make it to Mimzyâs. Heâd need help cleaning the wound on his shoulder.
~~~~~~
Mimzy squealed in surprise and slight fear as she opened the secret entrance to her club after the right password was given to her by none other than her favorite disaster with the name of Alastor.
And he was a disaster indeed showing up at her club of all places with not one, but TWO bloody arms. And he was looking quite exhausted and worse for wear. He hadnât shown up to the club at the normal time hours ago, so sheâd been happy to greet him when he did, but now she was more worried than anything.
She quickly had one of her bouncers take over at the door to keep an eye out for outside trouble as she quickly escorted Alastor to one of the small side rooms. She none too gently had him sit down before she was tearing at his shirt. This had been far from the first time that sheâd have to patch him up, but something definitely seemed different from usual.
She questioned, âAl, what happened?â
Alastor grunted as he struggled to remove the parts of his shirt that were stuck on with blood as he shakily answered, âGot nabbed and then hunted. Managed to escape when the gators got âim, but not âfore he got a couple oâ good shots in.â
Mimzy cursed as she observed the wounds. THERE WAS A BULLET LODGED IN HIS RIGHT SCAPULA! She gulped as she observed that one a bit closer. She was no expert in medical care, but she was better than any of the alternatives.
She got to work doing the best she could as she gathered their usual medical supplies alongside some of their stronger alcohol. She handed him a bottle, and he wordlessly drank as she prepared to take the bullet out.
She handed him a piece of leather to put between his teeth as she coaxed him to lay flat. She gently patted him once on the shoulder before she poured alcohol over the wound. He shook and made pained noises, and she noticed his eyes going hazy. He was definitely beginning to dissociate.
She couldnât help but sniffle slightly. This hadnât been their first rodeo doing something like this, but it never got any easier. She proceeded with care as she got the bullet out and stitched the wound closed.
She checked his face again and sighed as she realized that it had gone lax. Heâd passed out. Not really a good thing, but she supposed it was fine in this case so long as he was still breathing.
She then treated the graze on his other arm, and he only hissed lightly in discomfort in his unconsciousness as she worked on it. She put everything away before she glanced back at him again.
She sighed.
Heâd survived this time, but she had to wonder how many more times he would get lucky as time went on.
In a world where soul bonds exist and you can feel each other's pain, does that mean you can feel exactly when someone dies too?
Rating: Teen and Up
TW: Blood and murder
Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
Alastor was mid-word when his breath caught and everything around him seemed to stop.
He knew exactly what had happened. He'd just felt his mother's death. And it hadn't been peaceful.
He was brought back to the normal plane of existence when he felt a hard smack upside his head. One of the producers glaring at him as they screamed something about how they had to cut to commercial after apologizing for the interruption.
Alastor barely paid him any mind as his breathing picked up and he frantically ripped at the cuff of his left sleeve and eventually tore it away and glared down at the now grey mark on the inside of his wrist.
He gritted his teeth as he shook. He stood as held his opposite hand over the mark and drew his arm to his chest.
He smiled widely and shakily and looked up at his wide-eyed producer, who had unfortunately no doubt just seen the grey mark. The man had a pale look on his face as he too realized what had likely just happened. Soul marks were rare in today's world, but everyone knew what they were.
He had to get out before they tried to lay false pity on him as if they truly cared about anything but the amount of money he could take in for them from the radio show.
He kept the smile on as he barged past the man and passed the other two in the hall. One of which gripped his left arm in anger before his hand was ripped away by the one who had gone into the recording booth and had seen his mark.
He didn't care. He would have just ripped his arm out of his hold anyways, damn the consequences. He'd just lost the only person who really meant everything to him.
The street was eerily quiet for the time of day.
He didn't care. He had to get home to see what had happened. Who had killed her. Who would be his next target.
He'd thought that his mother would be safe after he'd gotten rid of that scum he'd called a father and had managed to secure a well enough paying job at the radio station, but he was wrong and now his mother was dead.
It took him far longer than he wanted it to take to reach their small home on the edge of the bayou. His poor mother was a social outcast for a few different reasons, and preferred to be away from people, and Alastor was more than happy to have provided them with a cabin outside of where most of the others would not venture for fear of the wildlife. Plus, it made the distance to his own little hidden place much more manageable of a walk.
But someone had dared to invade. And now had taken his mother from him. His parental soul bond.
The door was open and his jaw was steeled as he entered silently after he drew the knife that he almost always kept hidden on his person. Perhaps he'd be lucky enough to catch the culprit.
There was blood on the ground as well as broken glass. It wasn't his mother's blood. He had felt no sense of pain from her until the killing blow.
He followed the blood trail. Based upon the blood quantity and pattern, he'd be surprised if his mother's attacker was alive.
The trail led towards the kitchen.
He entered and his breath caught as he saw a now dead man lying on top of his mother's body. She had gotten him in the leg and likely nicked an artery.
He saw red as he moved the body off of her, uncaring of whomever it could possibly be. He looked down at his mother and took note that her blouse had been torn open before the dagger had entered her heart.
He knelt beside her and observed her face. It had blood splatter on it from when she had injured her attacker. Her eyes were closed and her face was lax in death.
He did his best to fix her blouse. Even in death she wouldn't want to be seen in such a state.
He shook as he looked at the handle of the dagger that had been plunged into her heart. He recognized the insignia on it.
His father's family's insignia.
He looked over at the dead man again and growled. It was an unfortunately familiar face. His father's brother.
It seemed that they were eager to get rid of the âloose endsâ to try and purify their family name again. As if the two of them even wanted anything to do with that Bastardâs family name to start with.
Alastor had no doubt that his paternal family line would not cease to come after them. This hadn't been the first time they'd tried, but it was the first time they were successful.
He grimaced at his uncle's body. He'd have to dispose of it in the Bayou. After all, it wasn't like the police would help if he tried to contact them. And his paternal line was far too prideful to even attempt to enlist their help for anything.
He glanced back at his mother again. He rubbed his wrist where the mark now laid dormant.
He would avenge her death.
They had gone too far, and he wasn't going to stop until his paternal connections ceased to exist.
They had to pay.
But, of course, before he could get the job done, he was killed by a poacher while in the middle of disposing of a body.
~~~~~~
Elaine grimaced as she rubbed at her right wrist.
It had been less than a year since she'd arrived at this place called haven and learned the truth of soul bonds.
And how one half is normally meant for hell while the other for heaven. One half the good, the other the bad.
The damn propaganda had been spewed at her during the welcome to heaven introduction she'd had. Whole lot of baloney in her opinion, especially since the bonds were so rare, almost like a failed prototype by God except for the 'lucky' few who did manage to be gifted with such bonds only for the two to be eternally separated.
How did they judge who was meant for where? How could it be predetermined what soul went where?
She wasn't about to believe that her baby boy was born just to go to Hell in the end. Granted, she knew her son had accepted that if there was an afterlife, he'd be going to hell, but still!
Her baby got rid of the scum that lurked in New Orleans! He may not be the best person, but she'd hardly classify him as pure evil.
And she definitely wouldn't classify herself as pure good. Heck, she'd gotten a good hit on the very same guy who'd killed her. Maybe she'd even killed him!
And the fact that travel between heaven and hell was forbidden for all except higher up angels was a whole load of hokey! They were literally keeping people with soul bonds apart! You'd think for something so rare it'd be sacred and treasured, but no!
She'd made the request to try and see her son, whom she knew was in hell thanks to her soul mark coming alive again, and she'd been denied.
Heaven was filled with far too many uppity bigots for her liking. It made no sense, considering half of them acted so fake!
Granted, yes, there were those who definitely truly belonged in Hell, but not every sinner deserved to be there.
And from what she understood, âsinsâ actually had nothing to do with what got a person into either place. And the head angels wouldn't actually explain what did. Like it was some big secret.
She could handle the bigotry and everything like she did in life, but she couldn't handle being separated from her baby. The other half of her soul.
And for some reason, that was seen as right!
No. She wouldn't stand for it. Something was wrong with the state of heaven and hell. She may have stood back in life, but she was done being looked down upon.
Especially by these pompous angels who think they're right about everything and like to forget that âsinnersâ are people too.
Action needed to be taken. Souls needed to be reunited. It could go on no longer.
This she swore.
~~~~~~
Alastor sighed as he rubbed at the now once again active soul mark on his wrist. He missed his mother dearly but was glad that she wasn't stuck in hell.
It was rather full of depravity. Luckily, the power that his deal granted him was helping him make things better, but it was rather slow going now that he'd done an initial purge of the worst of the worst.
Rosie had been the one to explain to him the true meaning of soul bonds and why they actually existed. How one soul was always going to be meant for hell and the other heaven. How soul bonds were once much more common and supposed to be a way to manage the populations of hell, but the technique backfired as the human population rose ever higher and souls began to defy their fates and soul bonds faded as they were rejected and denied and were now extremely rare.
In hell, those with soul bonds were rather sought after beings as they were now quite rare. Rosie had warned him that he'd need to hide his own mark if he wanted to not be targeted before he could completely build his reputation up and become nearly untouchable.
So that's what he did.
And his mother had apparently realized something too, as weeks later, he felt an odd pinching sensation near his mark. It continued for multiple moments. He realized after a bit that it was Morse code.
His mother was extremely clever, so he was unsurprised that she had found a way to communicate with him. Her message took a bit to completely translate as it had been a while since he'd used the system himself, but eventually he got it.
She was disillusioned with heaven, and apparently things were not as black and white as human texts got people to believe and no one really knew exactly what determined how a soul got to heaven or hell.
He pinched out a message back to her to say that was his understanding as well and it was good to hear from her and that he was glad that she's alive.
However, her next message did sadden him.
How could she truly be 'living' again if she was separated from the other half of her soul?
He was then worried as she talked about making a fuss and going against heaven.
He communicated to her to stop and that he was doing fine. They'd see each other again eventually, but she had to lie low. He didn't want to risk her getting hurt.
And their communication ended for the time being. He glanced at his skin where he'd been pinching the message out at. It was definitely a little bruised because he'd gotten a bit too aggressive with a couple messages, but it was nothing considering it meant he still had a way to communicate with his mother.
He loved the chaos of hell and the power that it offered, but it was disheartening that no communication was allowed between Heaven and Hell outside of the embassy.
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Hiya, I wrote some stuff based upon your Charlie's Toys AU!
Title: Realization
AO3 Link: Realization - Chapter 1 - ADGAEA - Hazbin Hotel (Cartoon) [Archive of Our Own]
Alastor cursed lowly.Â
Heâd only looked away from the child for a single second, but in that time, the child had managed to climb to an unreasonable height on one of her bookshelves and was now falling.Â
He quickly jumped into action and caught the child as she was still crying out in fear.
He cradled the girl close to him as he attempted to calm her down, but it was not working very well.
He couldn't help but tense when the door to Charlieâs room opened and not just one, but both of her parents were standing there, and now glaring at him.
He shuddered under their harsh gazes.
He did not fight back as Lucifer approached and gently took Charlie from his arms. He gritted his teeth as Lilith followed behind her husband and gently patted Charlieâs head before she faced him again and harshly gripped his arm before she dragged him out of the room.
~~
Charlie sniffled as her dad cradled her and soothed her.
That had been very scary.
She sniffled and looked around as she questioned her dad, âWhereâs Al? He saved me from falling! I was so scared!â
She watched as her dadâs brow furrowed before he hummed and responded, âAh, your mother took him out into the hall to talk to him for a minute. Why donât you stay here for a few minutes. Iâve got to go talk to him and your mother for a little bit. No more climbing on shelves either, little miss!â
Charlie nodded as her dad gently sat her down on her bed and she wiped tears out of her eyes.Â
However, she was curious as her father left the room. She crept to her door and poked her tongue out the side of her mouth as she pressed her ear to it so she could hopefully listen in on whatever her parents were talking about. She hoped that theyâd get done soon though! SHe wanted her toy back! She already missed Al so much!
She could hear her motherâs stern voice before she heard her dad command, âStop, Lilith. He may have missed seeing her at first, but he did catch her. He didnât upset her. The fall did.â
She teared up a bit as she listened to her motherâs scary tone say, âHe still made her cry, and I WILL NOT tolerate that!â
She then heard what sounded like a smacking sound alongside a small âoofâ.
Her eyes widened as she realized that her mother had just struck someone! Why would she do that?
She heard her mother say, âKeep better watch over her, Alastor. One more mistake and you will join our daughterâs other retired toys regardless of how attached she gets. Understand?â
She heard Alastor call out cordially, âYes, my Queen.â
She then rushed away from her door and jumped back onto her bed.Â
Her parents were always the ones to bring her new toys. But, she was confused. Alastor hadnât sounded like a toy there. Were her toys not just manifestations from her parents?
Were they real?
She was brought out of her musings as the door was opened again and her dad ushered Alastor in in front of himself as he said, âSorry we took your toy from you for a bit, Char-Char! Heâs back now, though!â
She smiled softly as she said, âThatâs ok, dad. Thank you! Letâs get back to playing, Al!â
She softly gripped Alastorâs hand as her father nodded in approval as her mother watched from the doorway.
As soon as her parents were gone, her smile dropped and she looked up at Alastor as she questioned, âDo you feel pain?â
She watched his eyes widen in slight surprise before his face went neutral again as he answered, âI am capable of feeling pain, yes. But not to worry, dear.â
She scrunched up her face as she said, âYouâre not something my parents conjured for me, are you?â
He questioned, âWhatever do you mean, dear?â
She teared up a bit as she said, âI heard you three in the hall. You sounded real. Youâre alive, arenât you?â
Alastor hesitated before he sighed and confirmed, âYes, dear. I am real.â
She sniffled slightly and he bent to her level. She almost immediately launched herself onto him and hugged around his chest as best as she could as she questioned, âDo you even want to be here? Are you going to leave me?â
She felt Alastor pat her head lightly before he answered solemnly, âI did not choose to be here, dear, and I cannot leave you, but know that regardless of what brought me here, I have grown to care for you.â
She sniffled again as she wiped her face on his shirt and questioned, âWhy would they do this, Al? Why? I could be happy with real toys. I donât want to force a REAL person to be my toy!â
She curled closer to him as he hummed lightly before saying, âI donât know, my dear, but I shall grin and bear it. So shall you, dear. I am still the same Alastor that you have known since I arrived in your life.â
She sniffled again as she said, âBut you donât want to be here!â
He sighed as he said, âNever you mind what I want, Charlotte. Itâs getting pretty late, why donât I read you a story before itâs time for your bedtime routine?â
She nodded as she rubbed her eyes and glanced up at Alâs face as he stood and carried her over to her bookshelf so she could choose a story.
She ruffled her brow as she said, âI donât want one of those stories, Al. Can you tell me a story about you?â
She felt him stiffen before he answered, âI suppose, but it shall stay between the two of us, dear. How about I tell you the story of my first adventure into learning magic with my mother?â
She grinned as she said, âIâd like that!â
He sat her on her bed and began the story.
She was still confused, but for now she was getting sleepy.
She dozed off before her normal bedtime to the sound of Alastorâs voice telling her about the first time heâd been able to perform magic.
Charlie grimaced as her father left her room. Sheâd cried out in fear, and her parents had thought that Alastor had mis-stepped again, but sheâd climbed on top of a chair this time and nearly toppled off.
Alastor had caught her of course, but she knew her parents didnât really care who the fault laid on.
She hoped that Alastor would be alright when he was able to return. Her father had seemed rather annoyed this time as well, and she knew that he wasnât going to stop Alastor from being punished by her mother.
She had heard them threaten to kill him in the past when sheâd managed to injure herself on one of the toys heâd conjured for her, and heâd returned to her with slightly haunted eyes before his carefully crafted mask came upon his face again.
That had been less than a year ago. Sheâd been gifted with him when sheâd turned five, had figured out that he was a real person when she was six, and now she was soon to turn eight, and she was no closer to figuring out how she could help him.
Sheâd dared to question her parents about it once, but they continually dodged her question, and Alastor had been taken away from her for a couple of days, and when heâd returned, heâd been more reserved than normal.
She rubbed at her eyes as she teared up again.
All she ever did was make things worse for him. She was powerless to help him get free.
She jolted slightly and rubbed at her eyes. She smiled fakely as her father once again entered, Alastor and her mother trailing behind him.
She kept the fake smile on her face even as she noticed that there were definitely abrasions on Alastorâs face.
Lucifer calmly said, âApologies for your toyâs appearance, Char-Char! He fell in the hall and got a little roughed up but should look better in no time. Though, if youâd rather get rid of him and get a new toy, I certainly wouldn't mind!â
Charlie's eyes widened slightly as she panicked and waved her hands as she said, âNO!â
Both Lucifer and Lilith stared at her with surprised looks on their faces.
She quickly got a pouty look on her face and crossed her arms as she said, âHeâs my favorite toy! You canât get rid of him!â
She then walked over to Alastor and hugged him around the waist. Now that she was older, she had come to notice that he didnât like being touchy very much, but this was needed to reaffirm her point.
Lucifer huffed as he said, âAlright, Char-Char! Just let me know if you change your mind!â
He then took Lilithâs arm and began to leave. Charlie noticed the glare her mother sent in Alastorâs direction.
However, she was relieved when her parents finally left them alone.
She quickly let go of him and stood in front of him. She grimaced as she noticed that he was still masking. She could see the remnants of fear in his eyes though. He was amazing at masking, but after spending so much time with him, so many years, she was rather adept at being able to read his true emotions by watching his eyes.
âAl, are you okay? What did they do? Is there anything I can do to help?â she rapidly questioned.
Alastor simply continued to smile as he answered, âI am alright.â
She didnât accept that answer and questioned, âNo, youâre not. What did they do?â
She noticed him visibly stiffen before he answered, âI am simply your toy, dear. I feel no pain.â
Her eyes widened at the obvious lie. She growled and gritted her teeth.
She balled her hands into fists as her eyes turned red and her horns began to poke out a little as she said, âDid my mother use her song on you? Did she bind you?â
She watched as his jaw stiffened. He did not answer, but he looked away from her. She had her answer. Her mother had bound him to be directly under her control.
Tears of anger poured down her face as she said, âShe canât do this! Can you use your powers anymore? I know they had you bound to the property, but did she truly bind your soul to be completely under her control?â
She watched as he stiffened again.
He simply answered, âI am but a toy. I have no powers.â
She couldnât help it. She kept her crying quiet so as not to alert her parents as she launched herself at Alastor. He caught her and gently circled his arms around her.
She hugged him tightly as she tearfully declared, âIâll free you one day, Alastor. I promise. Iâm sorry. I should've been more careful. Iâm sorry!â
She held onto him as he simply patted her hair.
He was unable to answer any other way until the song wore off. Her binding of his soul wouldnât wear off, but the song keeping him in this docile state with only standard answers would wear off within the week, he was sure of it.
His soul now belonged directly to Lilith, and his actions were directly monitored and his true powers suppressed.
He was well and truly trapped.
But no matter, he would find a way out eventually, and his voice wasnât trapped forever.
She could take his soul, but she couldnât take his spirit.
He wasnât going to lose his determination to escape.
And little would those two know that heâd have their very own daughter on his side when he did manage to find a way out from under the Queenâs thumb.
Rosie gasped in surprise and lost her grip on her teacup as the chain tethering Alastorâs soul to her shattered like the cup that sheâd just dropped. Her hands shook and she swallowed as she sat forward and held her head in her hands.
She should have worked harder to find him. Sheâd even questioned that odd fellow of a television man that her deer had begun to mentor just over a year before he disappeared. That fellow had actually been the one to inform her of his disappearance when heâd missed a meeting and hadnât been at his radio tower either.
And she herself got confirmation that he was indeed missing when he didnât show up for their weekly tea and gossip session. She should have known that when there were no screams or sounds coming from her radio during the normally scheduled time that something had gone wrong.
And things around Hell had since gotten a bit worse, considering Alastor was no longer present to take the worst of the trash out. And now heâd never be able to again.
And now, sheâd failed him. He was no doubt dead by whatever force had decided to take him.
She snarled.
Someone had killed her property, her deer, her best friend!
She wouldnât stop looking until she found the culprits.Â
They would pay.
She would ensure it.
Perhaps she could even invite the TV head into the loop, especially since his technological advancements were making things a little easier when it came to spying and heâd managed to make his way to overlord status already.
~~~~~~
Vox stared at the one picture that he had of himself and Alastor.
He sighed. It had been more than three years since heâd gone missing. He missed the red asshole so much. He had a crush on the guy practically since he got to hell and had managed to catch his eye by pulling a rather stupid stunt that had nearly gotten him killed, had it not been for the fact that heâd actually managed to kill the low-level overlord just before Alastor had also arrived, apparently having decided to also take out the very same overlord.
And then Alastor had taken him in and mentored him. He still had a crush, but after spending a decent amount of time with the guy, he knew it would remain unrequited. And he was fine with it. Heâd rather still be allowed to at least talk to him than just simply be laughed at and turned away completely if he dared to confess that he had a crush.
He sighed again. He supposed that it no longer mattered though, considering that Alastor had completely disappeared from all of Hell. Heâd nearly driven himself crazy looking for Alastor, and almost got himself killed when trying to search in other overlordâs territories, but the searches yielded nothing.
Not even Rosie had found anything as of yet.
He sat the picture back on the console as he powered the station up. He was glad that Alastor had grown to trust him enough before his disappearance to grant him access to his main domain at the radio tower.
Every once in a while when he had time heâd stop by and do a broadcast. It wasnât nearly anything like Alâs broadcasts, but it at least ensured that the equipment remained in good running for if Alastor were to ever return.
He was grateful for Alâs mentorship, and he would do whatever he could to defend Alastorâs domain and territory as best as he could until he would return. He was also grateful for the advice to begin going by a pseudonym as that had saved him from a rather icky spell that needed a personâs true name to work. Heâd killed the little upstart pretty quickly after the attempt.
Heâd yet to form much of a domain for himself yet outside of Alastorâs territory, but he was steadily growing in the number of souls he had under contract.
And his company was also growing exponentially these days as television continued to grow in popularity and he owned the main broadcasting company. He headquartered it inside of Alastorâs domain close to the radio tower. He knew that Al probably wouldnât like it, but it made it easier for him to defend both his growing business as well as Alastorâs territory.
He hoped that Alastor would be proud of him when he returned.
Alastor sighed as he sat on the ground beside Charlie's bed and leaned his head against the wall.
For the first time in ages, he actually felt tired. Though, he supposed that was the effect of having oneâs soul split. Dear Charlie had figured out a bit before sheâd managed to tucker herself out by crying, but she hadnât understood the true implications behind why his magic was gone.
Of course, with her still being so young at only just about eight years of age, she hadnât been exposed to magical knowledge enough to know that his shadow power type was linked directly to his soul.
And Lucifer had had the honor of slicing his shadow off of him with an angelic steel dagger while Lilith used her magic to hold him down. It had been so excruciating that he hadn't even been able to make a sound during the process. Heâd then been forced to make the choice to make a deal with the Queen for his soul.
If he wanted to keep his now split soul alive, he had to agree to hand ownership of it completely to the Morningstars so that he could be more easily monitored, as they werenât happy with the amount of âmistakesâ that heâd been making around Charlie lately with his magic.
Thus, the deal was made, and the soul chain heâd had with Rosie had shattered as it was overwritten by the soul deal of the far more powerful Morningstars. And now Lucifer kept his shadow, his most treasured part of his soul, locked away.
And he was told that he was lucky that they didnât simply destroy it after heâd failed to keep Charlie from nearly injuring herself again.
His entire body ached at the loss of his magic. His soul ached at the distance with which it was being split. He couldnât even conjure his staff anymore.
For the first time since he ever entered Hell, he closed his eyes, and did not wake until the next morning when dear Charlie stirred.
He missed his soul.
He missed his freedom.
And now, he had very little chance of getting it back without help.
Perhaps, in due time, his dear Charlotte would be able to help him figure something out.
After all, the dear girl was starting to take after him more and more.
Rosieâs eyes widened as she grinned when she caught sight of her last visitor for the day at the emporium!
She greeted warmly, âLili! Itâs good to see you! Howâs everyone doing? Itâs been a while since youâve had time to stop by and update me on things, dear!â
She ushered the Queen inside as she closed the door behind her. She was glad that she was in between husbands at the moment so she wouldnât be nagged on for spending time with her gals! Granted, that complaint was the reason why she was currently down a husband at the moment anyway, but oh well. He shouldâve known better than to try and control her, so he had it coming.
Lilith smiled at her and responded, âHey, Ro. Itâs been pretty busy these days with more requests coming in due to the crime rates being ever increasing. Charlieâs doing well though. Sheâs advancing quite nicely in her lessons. I think that she might be ready to actually start actively learning to use her magic around her next birthday!â
Rosie practically squealed as she said, âOh, thatâs wonderful, darling! How about the hubby?â
She frowned as she watched a displeased frown paint her friendâs face as she replied, âHeâs becoming depressed again and is beginning to hide himself away in his workshop or with one of the sins and absolutely avoiding his duties and once again leaving me to be the one to carry the load.â
Rosie tutted as she led Lilith to a settee and began to serve her tea and some lady fingers.Â
She replied, âOh, Iâm sorry for that, dear. Well, if you do get too tired of his shenanigans, you know where to send him. He may be a fallen archangel, but you know I could take care of things! I wonder if heâd taste rotten though?â
Lilith simply laughed loudly as she enjoyed the tea and munched on a lady finger. She rarely got to enjoy such delicacies because it made Lucifer squeamish, but what he didnât know wouldnât kill him.
Rosieâs playful mood was dampened with Lilithâs next inquiry, âHowâs your search going, Ro? Your deerâs been missing for how long now?â
Rosie sat across from Lilith and smoothed down her skirt as she frowned and responded, âItâs been just over four years now, and I have yet to find an actual lead as to what happened to him. Ever since our deal snapped, itâs become even more impossible to track him down. First, the chain I had on him became invisible to me, and then one day it suddenly became visible again and shattered! I miss my deer so much, Lili. Heâd hate to hear me say it, especially since I often teased him by calling him pet, but I grew to see him like a brother. And now heâs dead and Iâm no closer to finding his killer.â
She sat her head in her hands as she began to shake slightly while a few tears trickled down her face.
~~~~~~
Lilith grimaced.
It was good to hear that Rosie was no closer to figuring out that she and Lucifer had been responsible for Alastorâs disappearance, but it was saddening to see her in such a state.
She hadn't known that Alastor was one of Rosieâs at the time, but It's not like Rosie was hurting for power, and regardless of her feelings for said soul, it wouldn't hurt her to remain bereft of just the one.
She cringed as Rosie then said, âI wish that you could help me. Itâs all such a mystery. I mean, who would be powerful enough to even hide him from me as well as kill him?â
Lilith knew the obvious answer, but simply sighed with sadness as she replied, âI donât know either, but you know very well why I canât help.â
Rosie simply groaned as she said, âI know, I know! Just because Iâm your friend, doesnât mean that you can show favorites. If you help me find just one soul, youâd have lots of others trying to take advantage and get the same thing. I know, Lili, but it still hurts. I miss him so much.â
Lilith sighed before she responded, âI know it hurts, Ro. I wish I could help stop the hurt, but I canât. Maybe youâll get a lead soon and have your vengeance.â
Rosie simply looked towards the ground as she solemnly replied, âYeah, maybe.â
Alastor tensed as Lilith entered Charlieâs, well, pretty much his too, room.
She very rarely came to see him during the day unless something Charlie had told her that theyâd played had sounded too dangerous or upsetting for the child.
He closed the book that heâd been reading and glared at Lilith as she simply smirked at him.
She rolled her eyes at his glare before she laughed lightly and said, âYouâve been quite behaved lately, little deer. Youâve been helping keep Charlie happier as well in light of her idiotic fatherâs pseudo-abandonment of us thanks to his depression and hermit-like coping mechanisms.â
Alastor furrowed his brow as Lilith ranted a bit more before she sighed and said, âWell, anyway, I figured that you deserved a special little treat from a good acquaintance of yours for being such a good toy. I decided to give them to you myself instead of having the usual staff just deliver it with your daily meal.â
He then watched as she conjured a familiar looking box and grabbed it out of the air before it could fall to the ground.
It was without a doubt a container of lady fingers, specifically those which Rosie herself prepared for her emporium to sell. His eyes were wide as she simply tossed the box at him. He was unprepared for it to be tossed at him, but he easily caught the box.
Sure enough, the tag had Rosieâs emporiumâs label on it.
He stared at the label for a while before Lilith interrupted his musings as she said, âI do so hope you enjoy them. Rosie made these ones special by my request. Youâve done good little deer. Be sure to keep that up, lest you want to end up like those which your treats used to be attached to.â
He watched as she then left the room. Wards sealing the door behind her once again so that he still couldn't wander.
He held the box in his hands and carefully unwrapped it. Sure enough, Rosieâs specialty lady fingers were enclosed. A whole dozen of them. He hadnât had any in so long.
He wanted to be happy to have them, but all he could feel was anxiety.
Lilith may have said that it was a treat for being good, but the wench was very subtle and good at manipulation, He had no doubt that this was also a subtle threat.
He knew that Rosie occasionally talked to Lilith, but this was more concerning than that.
Lilith seemed to know that Rosie was also a dear acquaintance of his.
And now, if he did end up stepping out of line in her eyes again, he wouldnât be the only one at stake.
He hadnât thought that things could get worse, but he should have known better.
This was why he should have never gotten close to anyone in Hell.
Anyone you get close to could be used against you.
To keep you in line. To control you.
And Lilith had managed to figure out who one such person was for him.
Charlie grinned as she ate a piece of her birthday cake. She snickered as she watched Alastor cringe the whole way through eating a piece that Lilith had forced him to take, considering he was a âguestâ at the small family party between just the three of them since Lucifer was still off being a hermit somewhere.
She knew Alastor hated sweet things, but the faces he made when he encountered them were always so funny!
However, the grin on her face became confused as Lilith then beckoned for her attention, âCharlie, dear, youâve gotten old enough now where I think itâs time that you begin lessons on how to control your powers.â
Charlie furrowed her brow and tilted her head before she spared a split second glance at Alastor and then replied to Lilith, âWonât I just know how to automatically use them? I already know that theyâre connected to my emotions somehow.â
Lilith simply smiled at her and said, âItâs more complex than that, dear. We donât even know what your entire power set is yet, and I need to begin training you so that we can discover that and make you the strongest princess of Hell that there ever will be.â
Charlie then smiled as she knew that would be what was expected of her, but she was worried. What type of powers would her mother be teaching her? And how would having powers make her a better princess of hell?â
She simply responded, âOkay, mom. When do we start?â
Lilith grinned back at her and said, âYour first lesson will be in a few days, dear. Need to let the sugar high from today wear off, haha! Youâll need some rest to as well, dear. Your expected power set does take quite a bit of energy to manifest if you want to be able to control them.â
Charlie nodded and continued to munch on her cake.
This had been rather surprising to her.
~~~~~~
Charlie paced back and forth in her room as Alastor put away a few of the gifts that she had been given.
She was still confused about why her mother was so worried about training her on how to use her powers.
She exclaimed, âWhy do I need to know how to use these powers? If theyâre anything like hers, I donât want them! I donât want to be able to force someone to do anything!â
Alastor simply sighed and laid a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with frustrated tears in her eyes.
He simply said, âPowers can be very useful, my dear. Before mine were taken from me, they were useful for far more than just controlling someone. And as the princess of Hell, you will need every power at your disposal to defend yourself from the masses should the day ever come that sinners become rebellious.â
Charlie crossed her arms and pouted before she waved a hand and said, âWell, I donât want her teaching me how to use them! I donât want to be like her!â
Alastor responded, âThen why donât you learn a different set of powers from me that are magic based. You can still learn from your mother, but also have a backup plan in place in case you truly grow to hate the powers that you were born with.â
Charlieâs eyes widened in surprise before her face scrunched up and she declared,Â
"But Al, you never wanted to be here! Why would you even want to teach me, when Iâm the reason you canât even use your magic!"
Al simply sighed before he said, "Perhaps I never wanted to be here, but that doesn't mean that I haven't grown to care for you. And even though I cannot use magic, which is by no means your fault, it would bring me joy to teach you just as my mother once taught me.â
Char sniffled again before saying, "But still! Youâre still captive here?! They ripped you from your life! Oh no, itâs been years! Are you even able to contact anyone on the outside?"
A muscle in Al's jaw twitched as he responded, "No. I cannot. But I have my own ways of knowing that some whom I care for are still well, even after all these years."
Charlie sniffled and then turned herself to snuggle into his chest as he patted her back.
She vowed, "I'm gonna get you out of here eventually, Al. I promise."
He simply hummed as he responded, âI know, dear. I know. How about we work on your ability to summon things into being today, hm? Well, after you figure out how to tap into your own soul that is, dear! Haha!â
Charlie nodded as she wiped at her eyes.
Maybe one day, her magic would be strong enough to aid her in figuring out how she could truly free Alastor.
So many years had already gone by, split away from the other half of their soul. Every minute added to the agonizing ache of being kept apart. Kept among the shadows of that pitiful fallen archangelâs workshop and prevented from leaving.
They pressed against the wards keeping them contained and hissed.
However, they also couldnât help but grin.
The rotten archangel had been away and uncaring of them for long enough that the wards were weakening.
It had burned to try and go up against the wards, but not nearly as much as it once had.Â
Before long, the wards would weaken enough to at least partially free them.
And then, they could enact their plan to get help.
They wouldnât let either of them suffer for any longer than they were forced to.
~~~~~~
Charlie grinned as she conjured a small lotus in a glass of water.
She cheered, âI did it!â
Alastor laughed happily as he said, âYou did indeed, my dear.â
She hugged him and he smiled down at her. He had grown used to her hugs so long ago. He did still have bad days where he didnât want to be touched, but he couldn't help but humor her. She really had grown so much over the years under his tutelage.
He said, âBefore long, youâll be able to conjure more than that and maybe even create your own pocket dimension!â
Charlie stepped away from him as she continued to smile.
She then responded, âThatâd be so cool!â
He simply nodded.
She then said, âMy lessons with my mother have been going well too. I still donât like learning from her nearly as well as I do learning from you, but I think Iâm starting to like my powers. Theyâre still kind of scary, but I can see how theyâd be useful for more than just the bad stuff.â
He smiled softly as he responded, âThatâs good, dear. The more power that you have at your disposal, the better.â
She shrugged and said, âMaybe, but hopefully Iâll never need to use them for anything she seems to want me to know to use them for. After all, itâs not like I ever want to be a seductress like her or to control the masses. Ick.â
Alastor shuddered at that thought too, especially the first part. Ick.Â
While it would provide him with many MANY more voices that he could add to his broadcasts once he was free, he did NOT want to think of his dear Charlie ever being like that.
He simply looked at her and said, âCharlotte, dear, never even put that thought into the air again.â
He shuddered again and smiled more genuinely as she snickered at his reaction and agreed to never say such a thing again.
It had been more than ten years since their captivity began, and it was finally time!
The wards werenât completely shattered, but they could now easily stretch part of themselves through the gaps in the wards.
Just enough to mess with their soul chain contracts.Â
They needed to get a specific one.
Vincentâs.
Vincent would've never given up on finding them, so he would heed the call of the chain.Â
They couldn't fully manifest the chain thanks to the palace itself being warded and protected and the fact that they were still partially trapped under Lilithâs control, but they could at least give the chain a nudge to try and send a message.
After all, he had witnessed their kidnapping but had been essentially mind-wiped by Lilith from remembering.
Perhaps a little nudge to the chain could help Vincent remember something.
Enough to try and take some sort of action, as they were sure that their mentorship had been enough to keep their little TV head alive and on the path to becoming an overlord that could be just as powerful as them one day.
~~~~~~
Vox grimaced as he felt a splitting pain in his head. He then noticed the faint glow of the chain that connected him to the soul deal he had with Alastor.
He felt a small yank from it again and grimaced as his screen glitched and the headache grew stronger.
He had no idea what was going on or what Al was trying to tell him from wherever he was, but he hoped the pain would stop soon.
Maybe going to Rosieâs would help, considering she had a similar power set to Alâs and had even made him the staff as a conduit for his powers.
He glitched multiple times on his way to Rosieâs but he persisted with the hope that she would be able to help.
He entered the Emporium with far less decorum than usual and it cleared out with his presence as his reputation had grown to make him nearly as feared as Alastor had been before his disappearance.
âUgh, Rosie, your powers are kind of like Alâs arenât they? I think his powers are on the fritz or something because of something happening wherever he is. Something's happening with our bond?â
Rosie looked at him in confusion before she asked, âWhat did you just say?â
Vox blinked as he rubbed the side of his head as he tried to ease the headache coming from the strain associated with the bond chain.
He said, âUm, somethingâs going on with the bond between me and Al? It was a condition of him mentoring me. Oh, shit, is it taboo to mention bonds between overlords or something or are soul contracts between overlords not allowed? I didnât just fuck something up, did I?â
He panicked slightly before he became confused as Rosieâs face lit up. She seemed ecstatic and was tearing up as she said, âHeâs alive?!â
Vox simply cocked his head and said, âUm, yeah. I mean, this is the second time Iâve felt something weird with the bond, like it was tugged harshly almost like it was going to break the first time, but it didnât and now this weird shit is happening.â
Rosie shook her head and growled in frustration as she reprimanded him and said, âYou idiot. Weâve been working on the case of Alâs disappearance for years, and you never thought to tell me that you could sense if he was alive or dead and that ya had a deal with him?!â
Vox blinked as he said, âUm, no. I figured youâd probably know. He mentioned that you two had some sort of deal, so I figured that you could still feel that he was alive from your side.â
Rosie smirked before she laughed and said, âOh, I shouldâve known that you didnât know the extent of things. Hon, when you felt that first tug, I felt a soul contract SHATTER. And when it shatters, that means a demon is double dead. I thought Al was dead. You just gave me some of the best news I could have gotten, and now a new possible lead. Now, come here and let me try and figure out whatâs going on.â
Voxâs eyes were wide with surprise before he cringed as he glitched once again and Rosie led him to sit down.
She frowned as she used her magic to probe around his head to try and diagnose the problem.
She hummed as she said, âThe chain is trying to summon memories from you that are hidden deep within your soul. I believe that someone has blocked some of your memories.â
Vox grimaced as another wave of pain hit and he said, âWell, that would explain the head-splitting headache. I know you two donât really like more modern technology like my head, but if you can find the memory processor, it's essentially my brain, and if you can find where itâs being blocked and unblock it, maybe thatâll help.â
Rosie hummed as she said, âWell, I can certainly try. Iâve picked up some of your jargon from our little meetings over the years. Oh, and just because we donât like new technology doesnât mean we donât know how to use it, Mister! Respect your elders!â
Vox blushed in embarrassment as he said, âSorry. And thank you. Do I need to do anything?â
Rosie simply hummed and said, âNo, dear. Just sit as you are and let me work my magic.â
It was rather quiet as Rosieâs magic worked until she let out a small, âI think I got it!â
And then it was like a small explosion in his head as images filled his screen and the memories flooded back to him.
He had been walking alongside Alastor when they were both ambushed by the Queen and King of Hell who had eyes for no one but Alastor. Who theyâd managed to knock out with some sort of spell fairly quickly.
And then heâd been forced to choose to die or have his memory of the kidnapping be sealed by Lilith. And, of course, heâd chosen the option to have his memories sealed.
Once his screen cleared again, he had tears running from his eyes.Â
Heâd seen Alastor get kidnapped and hadn't even remembered.
He was shaking as he looked back up at Rosie. He held his breath as he looked at her face. It was an expression he had only seen a couple of times.
She was absolutely furious.
Rosie growled, "That BITCH! She's been to tea with me so many times over the years! She's seen my investigation and sadness over losing Al! She fucking knew where he was the whole time. She and her rotten husband stole him away from me!"
Vox gulped as he watched Rosieâs form begin to shift slightly and get bigger and he said, âUm, Rosie, I know youâre angry, I am too, but try and calm down.â
She growled out, âNEVER TELL A WOMAN TO CALM DOWN!â
Vox made an âeepâ sound and held his hands up placatingly as he said, âOk, ok! I know youâre furious, but this is still a lead. I can still feel a slight pulling on the chain.â
Rosie huffed as she quickly got to calling herself down. She shrank back down to her normal size and fanned herself as she apologized to him.
She then questioned, "Your power has grown quite a bit. Have you gained the ability to manifest soul chains yet?"
Vox confusedly said, "Uh, I think so."
Rosie tilted her head before she sighed and explained, "If you can manifest the chain between you and Al, we can track it down. We can find him. Iâm pretty sure heâs at the palace, considering who took him, but we must be sure about it. You idiot, we could've tried this years ago if I'd known that his contractees can still see their chains if manifested!"
Vox simply blinked as he said, "Oh, OH shit yes! Let's do it!"
She says, "I can't believe you never told me before. I've been lamenting over his death for years now!"
And he shrugs and says, "I thought you were just being dramatic or had given up hope or something!"
She shook her head in exasperation as she geared up and said, âLetâs go. We have a deer to save.â
Vox nodded as the green chain led the way in front of him and towards Alastorâs location.
Sure enough, the chain led directly to the palace.
They were stopped in their tracks by a sort of barrier.
Rosie explained with a snarl, âItâs warded around the palace to keep anyone without an official escort out. We canât get in.â
Her hands balled into fists.
Voxâs eyes widened as he stuttered out, âW-what are we going to do now? How do we get him out?â
Rosie was about to reply, but they were suddenly blown back by the wards keeping the shield up around the palace shattered as well as all of the windows within the vicinity and the sound of not one, but two extremely powerful and commanding singing voices rang out.
And Rosie knew that this meant that the Queen and her daughter were absolutely having a horrible fight about something.
But she couldnât care less about that, as whatever it was had just given them the opening to getting in and getting Alastor out.
She looked at Vox, who now had a slightly cracked screen from the whole commotion, and grinned as she said, âWeâre in.â
~~~~~~
Charlie stared at Lilith in disbelief as she looked between her and Al.
She settled on staring at her mother as she said, âYou canât.â
Lilith simply sighed and said, â Charlie, dear. It's time for you to be rid of him. You're getting too old for toys now, dear. Plus, he will be repurposed for the time being.â
She gritted her teeth as she felt her horns begin to poke out slightly.
Lilith grimaced at her as she said, âCalm down, Charlotte. Youâre fifteen years old. You should not be this upset about this decision.â
Charlieâs hair began to sway violently as she said, âWhat happened to all of the âtoysâ that came before him? Were they ârepurposedâ to! I wonât let you take him!â
Lilith growled at Charlie as she said, âWatch your tone with me, child! I own him and can do with him as I wish. You are still young and do not understand how Hell works. If you are that worried about it, I will at least tell you that he wonât be âdecommissionedâ like the others were. Heâs still useful. Perhaps I could even convince him to finally be by my side since your idiotic father hasnât decided to show himself in years now.â
Charlie gritted her teeth.Â
She was disgusted. She had witnessed her mother attempt to proposition Alastor years ago, too young at the time to realize what it had meant, but now she was older and knew the connotations of it.
She spit out, âNever going to happen. Heâs never liked you. Not to mention you own his soul and have held him captive for more than TEN FUCKING YEARS!â
Charlie felt a slight headache come over her as her mother used her song to command, âYou will obey me, daughter!â
However, she fought the command, and now, Charlie was furious.
Alastor saw the look in her eyes and knew exactly what she was about to do.
He called out warningly, âCharlie!â
However, Lilithâs eyes were lit up and her horns were out as she commanded him, âSILENCE!â
And he could say no more. All he could do was stand by and watch as the mother and daughter fought.
A song begun, two voices battled for control, so loud that Alastor had to cover his ears as best as possible so as to not have them become damaged.Â
He was unprepared when the clash of voices became so intense as to cause a sort of explosion, and the palaceâs windows shattered. The vibration of the two clashing voices was strong enough to knock him against the closest wall hard enough to knock him out.
The two continued fighting each other with their voices.Â
And at last, after mere minutes of the clashing songs, the younger voice grew stronger, aided by the power of her soul, the power that Alastor had taught her to use.
And she won as Lilithâs song completely broke.
Charlieâs song remained strong as she ordered, âRelease him.â
Lilith had collapsed to the ground under the strength of her daughterâs song.
She glared up at her daughter who then amplified her song to a painful level.
Lilith screamed as she manifested the purple chain that tethered Alastor's soul to herself and broke it just as Charlie ended her song.
Both were panting. Both were exhausted.
They heard footsteps close by and both looked towards the door. Now noticing that there was a distinct green chain in the room leading towards Alastorâs prone body.
Charlieâs eyes widened in fear as she realized that Alastor was unconscious.
She quickly ran over to him while calling his name.
Lilith simply smirked slightly before she said, âWell done, my daughter. Well done.â and disappeared in a cloud of white-pink smoke just as Rosie and Vox busted through the door.
(Sorry it took me a bit to get this one out. There should be twelve total parts when I'm done at some point soon. Had zero time to write yesterday, guess I should've known that would happen considering the writing spree I went on the night before, XD) Also, feel free to reblog or repost or do whatever you want with this. I just hope that it lives up to how amazed I was by your AU when I first read it! Thank you for allowing fan works and thank you for your amazing comments as I've been releasing parts!)
Umbra was ecstatic.
The chain tethering them to Lilith was broken!
They quickly made their way to the very room which they could sense their other soul half in.
It was a pity that they couldnât reattach themselves.
They simply had to settle for curling as close to their other halfâs unconscious body after they reassured the young one that they were in good company.
~~~~~~
Charlie stood protectively in front of Alastor as she watched two unfamiliar to her people bust inside through the door. She hadnât realized that battling her mother had taken down all of the wards around the palace, but sheâd be damned before she let anyone else hurt Alastor.
Her horns were back out as she stood in front of him, ready to defend, but she was surprised as she felt a gentle tugging at her sleeve.
She looked beside her confusedly and her face lit up with excitement as she realized, âUMBRA! Youâre still here! They didnât get rid of you!â
She smiled as Umbra smiled at her as well. She watched closely and nodded her head as Umbra motioned that the two who had just entered were friends.Â
Charlie nodded in understanding and watched as Umbra curled around Alastor.
She was quite sad to see it. It was only a few years after the fact that she found out the truth of what her parents had really done to Alastor and the true implications as to why he no longer had his shadow.
Sheâd only learned the shadowâs name on a particularly rough day when Alastor had agreed to teach her a little longer one day because she was curious about what exactly may have happened to his shadow.
She was still wary as the two newcomers approached them.
The woman greeted her, âHello, dear. I havenât seen you since you were a baby, so Iâm not surprised that you donât recognize me, but Iâm Rosie. And this here is Vox. Weâre both friends of Alastorâs and weâve been looking for him for years.â
Charlie's eyes widened as she said, âYou have?â
Both of them nodded and Vox said, âYeah. We have.â
A groan alongside a familiar static sound echoed through the room.
Rosie then said, âShush, heâs waking up!â as the three carefully knelt by Alastor.
The three of them and Umbra were around him as he groaned again and opened his eyes.
Of course, they all had to fall back to avoid being headbutted when he jolted straight up and gripped at his neck and exclaimed, âIâm free!â
Charlie burst into tears before she launched herself at him to hug him as he let out a little âoofâ sound.
His smile widened as he said, âYou finally did it, my dear. Iâm free.â
He then looked up and his eyes widened as he caught sight of his two oldest acquaintances.
âRosie! Vox!â he said as both of them simply looked at him and joined in on the hug.
He was thrown back by the weight of all three of them and they ended up in a pile, Umbra barely escaped being squished as they laughed silently with glee at the uncharacteristic scene.
Soon, they each helped each other up.
Vox broke the happy reunion by questioning, âUh, Al, What happened? The end of the chain tethering my soul to our deal is split between you and Umbra.â
Rosie gasped as she just noticed what Vox had been talking about.
Charlie appeared downtrodden as Alastor growled while Umbra curled closer around him and grimaced sadly.
Rosie put a hand over her mouth as she gasped, âOh, Al, they didnât!â
Al simply looked away from her as he said, âThey did.â
Vox was confused as he looked between the two of them.
He questioned, âWhat? What happened?â
Charlie ended up being the one to answer him with sadness in her eyes as she said, âThey cut his soul in half. Took his powers from him.â
Voxâs eyes widened as he exclaimed, âThatâs what happened when the bond strained all those years ago! They literally tore your sole in two! THOSE FUCKERS!â
Rosie was tearful as she drew Umbra and Al into another hug and said, âIâm so sorry, my dear. So sorry. I wish I could fix this.â
She was surprised when the determined voice of Charlie interjected with, âMaybe you canât, but I can. Iâm the daughter of an archangel and the first human woman. My father was a creator of sorts. Thereâs got to be something I can do to fix what they did.â
Rosie simply shook her head as she said, âDear, very few have healing magic, and from what I understand, the only thing that can do this sort of injury is angelic steel, and wounds made by that are near impossible to heal.â
Charlie simply smirked as she shrugged and said, âNear impossible doesnât mean impossible.â
And damn if Rosie didnât smirk right back at the girl. She could tell that girl had so gotten some determination and sass from her deer over the years!
And she absolutely wasnât going to give up on this goal!
They moved to one of the sitting rooms as Charlie prepared herself. She was really nervous, but Alastor had full confidence that she could do anything she put her mind to.
Rosie and Vox stood aside and watched as Alastor put his trust in the princess.
Rosie couldn't help but smile. Her deer had been captive for years, but it was good to know that despite the hardships, he hadn't been alone for all of it.
Charlie simply took a deep breath before she took Umbra's hand in one of hers and then took Alastor's hand in the other.
She kept her eyes closed as she began to sing lowly. Rosie was amazed as a low red glow emitted from where her hands were connected to Alastor and Umbra.
Her song remained smooth and almost sweet as the red glow spread from her hands and across Umbra and Alastor who both seemed to be fascinated by what was going on.
And before they knew it, a final crescendo echoed within the room and the bright red shone silver for a split second and the soul was mended.
Charlie opened her eyes, which were now silver slit pupils haloes in red. As the power seeped out of her, her eyes returned to normal and she began to slump from exhaustion.
Alastor easily caught her as he absolutely grinned, ecstatic to be whole once more.Â
Charlie leaned against his chest and stuttered out, âDid it work?â
Alastor patted her hair fondly as he said, âYes, my dear, it worked.â
And then she absolutely passed out.
Alastor then looked up at Rosie and Vox. Vox appeared stupefied that it had actually worked while Rosie appeared very proud and joyful.
Alastor sighed with content as he could now feel the full extent of his powers again. He beckoned Umbra to carefully take Charlie as he stood once again.
Umbra gently laid Charlie on the closest couch and put a small pillow under her head.
Alastor grinned as he flexed his powers.Â
He laughed as he said, âIâd missed this! And lookie here, all of my contracts are still active! And so is my power! Not even a lick of power coming from those seems to be lost! Rosie, how does this work?â
Rosie simply rolled her eyes as she responded, âDear, to be honest, all I did was make you your conduit. You spawned in hell with more power than I could have given you to start with, much to my surprise, but you never figured it out and tried to challenge the contract, and I sure wasn't going to point it out and lose the contract willingly! But I was able to make you the conduit so it wasn't a complete loss on your side!â
Alastor simply leveled her with an exasperated look as she smiled sharply in response.
He grumbled a bit before he then summoned said staff and said, âNevertheless, my power is fully intact! I can still feel my broadcasting tower calling to me now that the radio waves from it are no longer being blocked by any sort of warding.â
He looked over at Vox who was blushing and rubbing the back of his neck slightly as he said, âYeah. That might be my doing.â
Alastor simply raised a brow and Vox knew to elaborate, âI didn't remember the details of everything until recently, but I knew that our contract was still active, and I didn't want your territory to deteriorate so I kind of made it my mission to protect it while building my own. I occasionally ran broadcasts and made sure to keep everything well maintained within your territory. I also may have started building my own company and reputation within your territory too. Sorry.â
Alastor snorted and said, âAs I would expect from a devoted mentee such as yourself. Youâve done well. Granted, I would prefer it if your territory was not intertwined with mine, but considering you kept my territory defended, I will grant you the privilege of granting you that part of my territory. So long as you never interfere with the rest of it. Especially my broadcasting tower.â
Vox was close to exploding with glee as he said, Yeah, yeah, of course! I'm honestly just glad you're not murdering me for daring to even use your territory while you were stuck here.â
Alastor simply rolled his eyes as he replied, âOh, don't be dramatic. It's not like I could defend it while I was here. And it's not like I was mentoring you for nothing either. As I said, you've done well.â
Rosie couldn't help but hide her snickering as she watched Voxâs screen brighten again at the praise and his face looked like Alastor had hung the stars.
Poor sap was still crushing hard for someone that would never reciprocate.
Alastor then hummed as he said, âI can also sense that your power level has also increased. Very well done indeed.â
Rosie couldn't hold it back anymore. She laughed before she said, âAlastor, quit teasing him. He's going to explode at this rate.â
Alastor's brow rose as he observed Voxâs screen and said, âAh, yes. I forgot how flustered he would become whenever I complemented a job well done. Eh, he'll cool off soon. And it's not teasing if it's true, Rosie!â
Rosie snickered as Vox slowly regained his composure though the blush remained.
Alastor then questioned, âAside from my territory, how has the state of Hell fared without my constant presence to keep the scum in line?â
Rosie grimaced as she responded, âUgh. There's more leeches out there than before! Oh, and guess what, only a week ago, a fairly new overlord targeted Mimzyâs bar because he wanted it and nearly destroyed it and it took her two days to regenerate the parts she lost.â
Rosie grinned as she watched the fury grow in Alastor's eyes.
His grin sharpened and his eyes turned to radio dials as his antlers grew and he said, âAnd what might her antagonists look like?â
Rosie answered with their appearance as well as telling him the territory location.
She watched as he glanced between Charlie and the exit.Â
She softly said, âGo. We'll watch over her. You've been cooped up for way too long, dear. It's time to show hell again how you are still the most powerful sinner even though you've been missing.â
His grin sharpened even more before he nodded and left.
Rosie grinned at Vox as she said, âOh, how grand it will be to watch him make his comeback!â
Hiya, I wrote some stuff based upon your Charlie's Toys AU!
Title: Realization
AO3 Link: Realization - Chapter 1 - ADGAEA - Hazbin Hotel (Cartoon) [Archive of Our Own]
Alastor cursed lowly.Â
Heâd only looked away from the child for a single second, but in that time, the child had managed to climb to an unreasonable height on one of her bookshelves and was now falling.Â
He quickly jumped into action and caught the child as she was still crying out in fear.
He cradled the girl close to him as he attempted to calm her down, but it was not working very well.
He couldn't help but tense when the door to Charlieâs room opened and not just one, but both of her parents were standing there, and now glaring at him.
He shuddered under their harsh gazes.
He did not fight back as Lucifer approached and gently took Charlie from his arms. He gritted his teeth as Lilith followed behind her husband and gently patted Charlieâs head before she faced him again and harshly gripped his arm before she dragged him out of the room.
~~
Charlie sniffled as her dad cradled her and soothed her.
That had been very scary.
She sniffled and looked around as she questioned her dad, âWhereâs Al? He saved me from falling! I was so scared!â
She watched as her dadâs brow furrowed before he hummed and responded, âAh, your mother took him out into the hall to talk to him for a minute. Why donât you stay here for a few minutes. Iâve got to go talk to him and your mother for a little bit. No more climbing on shelves either, little miss!â
Charlie nodded as her dad gently sat her down on her bed and she wiped tears out of her eyes.Â
However, she was curious as her father left the room. She crept to her door and poked her tongue out the side of her mouth as she pressed her ear to it so she could hopefully listen in on whatever her parents were talking about. She hoped that theyâd get done soon though! SHe wanted her toy back! She already missed Al so much!
She could hear her motherâs stern voice before she heard her dad command, âStop, Lilith. He may have missed seeing her at first, but he did catch her. He didnât upset her. The fall did.â
She teared up a bit as she listened to her motherâs scary tone say, âHe still made her cry, and I WILL NOT tolerate that!â
She then heard what sounded like a smacking sound alongside a small âoofâ.
Her eyes widened as she realized that her mother had just struck someone! Why would she do that?
She heard her mother say, âKeep better watch over her, Alastor. One more mistake and you will join our daughterâs other retired toys regardless of how attached she gets. Understand?â
She heard Alastor call out cordially, âYes, my Queen.â
She then rushed away from her door and jumped back onto her bed.Â
Her parents were always the ones to bring her new toys. But, she was confused. Alastor hadnât sounded like a toy there. Were her toys not just manifestations from her parents?
Were they real?
She was brought out of her musings as the door was opened again and her dad ushered Alastor in in front of himself as he said, âSorry we took your toy from you for a bit, Char-Char! Heâs back now, though!â
She smiled softly as she said, âThatâs ok, dad. Thank you! Letâs get back to playing, Al!â
She softly gripped Alastorâs hand as her father nodded in approval as her mother watched from the doorway.
As soon as her parents were gone, her smile dropped and she looked up at Alastor as she questioned, âDo you feel pain?â
She watched his eyes widen in slight surprise before his face went neutral again as he answered, âI am capable of feeling pain, yes. But not to worry, dear.â
She scrunched up her face as she said, âYouâre not something my parents conjured for me, are you?â
He questioned, âWhatever do you mean, dear?â
She teared up a bit as she said, âI heard you three in the hall. You sounded real. Youâre alive, arenât you?â
Alastor hesitated before he sighed and confirmed, âYes, dear. I am real.â
She sniffled slightly and he bent to her level. She almost immediately launched herself onto him and hugged around his chest as best as she could as she questioned, âDo you even want to be here? Are you going to leave me?â
She felt Alastor pat her head lightly before he answered solemnly, âI did not choose to be here, dear, and I cannot leave you, but know that regardless of what brought me here, I have grown to care for you.â
She sniffled again as she wiped her face on his shirt and questioned, âWhy would they do this, Al? Why? I could be happy with real toys. I donât want to force a REAL person to be my toy!â
She curled closer to him as he hummed lightly before saying, âI donât know, my dear, but I shall grin and bear it. So shall you, dear. I am still the same Alastor that you have known since I arrived in your life.â
She sniffled again as she said, âBut you donât want to be here!â
He sighed as he said, âNever you mind what I want, Charlotte. Itâs getting pretty late, why donât I read you a story before itâs time for your bedtime routine?â
She nodded as she rubbed her eyes and glanced up at Alâs face as he stood and carried her over to her bookshelf so she could choose a story.
She ruffled her brow as she said, âI donât want one of those stories, Al. Can you tell me a story about you?â
She felt him stiffen before he answered, âI suppose, but it shall stay between the two of us, dear. How about I tell you the story of my first adventure into learning magic with my mother?â
She grinned as she said, âIâd like that!â
He sat her on her bed and began the story.
She was still confused, but for now she was getting sleepy.
She dozed off before her normal bedtime to the sound of Alastorâs voice telling her about the first time heâd been able to perform magic.
Charlie grimaced as her father left her room. Sheâd cried out in fear, and her parents had thought that Alastor had mis-stepped again, but sheâd climbed on top of a chair this time and nearly toppled off.
Alastor had caught her of course, but she knew her parents didnât really care who the fault laid on.
She hoped that Alastor would be alright when he was able to return. Her father had seemed rather annoyed this time as well, and she knew that he wasnât going to stop Alastor from being punished by her mother.
She had heard them threaten to kill him in the past when sheâd managed to injure herself on one of the toys heâd conjured for her, and heâd returned to her with slightly haunted eyes before his carefully crafted mask came upon his face again.
That had been less than a year ago. Sheâd been gifted with him when sheâd turned five, had figured out that he was a real person when she was six, and now she was soon to turn eight, and she was no closer to figuring out how she could help him.
Sheâd dared to question her parents about it once, but they continually dodged her question, and Alastor had been taken away from her for a couple of days, and when heâd returned, heâd been more reserved than normal.
She rubbed at her eyes as she teared up again.
All she ever did was make things worse for him. She was powerless to help him get free.
She jolted slightly and rubbed at her eyes. She smiled fakely as her father once again entered, Alastor and her mother trailing behind him.
She kept the fake smile on her face even as she noticed that there were definitely abrasions on Alastorâs face.
Lucifer calmly said, âApologies for your toyâs appearance, Char-Char! He fell in the hall and got a little roughed up but should look better in no time. Though, if youâd rather get rid of him and get a new toy, I certainly wouldn't mind!â
Charlie's eyes widened slightly as she panicked and waved her hands as she said, âNO!â
Both Lucifer and Lilith stared at her with surprised looks on their faces.
She quickly got a pouty look on her face and crossed her arms as she said, âHeâs my favorite toy! You canât get rid of him!â
She then walked over to Alastor and hugged him around the waist. Now that she was older, she had come to notice that he didnât like being touchy very much, but this was needed to reaffirm her point.
Lucifer huffed as he said, âAlright, Char-Char! Just let me know if you change your mind!â
He then took Lilithâs arm and began to leave. Charlie noticed the glare her mother sent in Alastorâs direction.
However, she was relieved when her parents finally left them alone.
She quickly let go of him and stood in front of him. She grimaced as she noticed that he was still masking. She could see the remnants of fear in his eyes though. He was amazing at masking, but after spending so much time with him, so many years, she was rather adept at being able to read his true emotions by watching his eyes.
âAl, are you okay? What did they do? Is there anything I can do to help?â she rapidly questioned.
Alastor simply continued to smile as he answered, âI am alright.â
She didnât accept that answer and questioned, âNo, youâre not. What did they do?â
She noticed him visibly stiffen before he answered, âI am simply your toy, dear. I feel no pain.â
Her eyes widened at the obvious lie. She growled and gritted her teeth.
She balled her hands into fists as her eyes turned red and her horns began to poke out a little as she said, âDid my mother use her song on you? Did she bind you?â
She watched as his jaw stiffened. He did not answer, but he looked away from her. She had her answer. Her mother had bound him to be directly under her control.
Tears of anger poured down her face as she said, âShe canât do this! Can you use your powers anymore? I know they had you bound to the property, but did she truly bind your soul to be completely under her control?â
She watched as he stiffened again.
He simply answered, âI am but a toy. I have no powers.â
She couldnât help it. She kept her crying quiet so as not to alert her parents as she launched herself at Alastor. He caught her and gently circled his arms around her.
She hugged him tightly as she tearfully declared, âIâll free you one day, Alastor. I promise. Iâm sorry. I should've been more careful. Iâm sorry!â
She held onto him as he simply patted her hair.
He was unable to answer any other way until the song wore off. Her binding of his soul wouldnât wear off, but the song keeping him in this docile state with only standard answers would wear off within the week, he was sure of it.
His soul now belonged directly to Lilith, and his actions were directly monitored and his true powers suppressed.
He was well and truly trapped.
But no matter, he would find a way out eventually, and his voice wasnât trapped forever.
She could take his soul, but she couldnât take his spirit.
He wasnât going to lose his determination to escape.
And little would those two know that heâd have their very own daughter on his side when he did manage to find a way out from under the Queenâs thumb.
Rosie gasped in surprise and lost her grip on her teacup as the chain tethering Alastorâs soul to her shattered like the cup that sheâd just dropped. Her hands shook and she swallowed as she sat forward and held her head in her hands.
She should have worked harder to find him. Sheâd even questioned that odd fellow of a television man that her deer had begun to mentor just over a year before he disappeared. That fellow had actually been the one to inform her of his disappearance when heâd missed a meeting and hadnât been at his radio tower either.
And she herself got confirmation that he was indeed missing when he didnât show up for their weekly tea and gossip session. She should have known that when there were no screams or sounds coming from her radio during the normally scheduled time that something had gone wrong.
And things around Hell had since gotten a bit worse, considering Alastor was no longer present to take the worst of the trash out. And now heâd never be able to again.
And now, sheâd failed him. He was no doubt dead by whatever force had decided to take him.
She snarled.
Someone had killed her property, her deer, her best friend!
She wouldnât stop looking until she found the culprits.Â
They would pay.
She would ensure it.
Perhaps she could even invite the TV head into the loop, especially since his technological advancements were making things a little easier when it came to spying and heâd managed to make his way to overlord status already.
~~~~~~
Vox stared at the one picture that he had of himself and Alastor.
He sighed. It had been more than three years since heâd gone missing. He missed the red asshole so much. He had a crush on the guy practically since he got to hell and had managed to catch his eye by pulling a rather stupid stunt that had nearly gotten him killed, had it not been for the fact that heâd actually managed to kill the low-level overlord just before Alastor had also arrived, apparently having decided to also take out the very same overlord.
And then Alastor had taken him in and mentored him. He still had a crush, but after spending a decent amount of time with the guy, he knew it would remain unrequited. And he was fine with it. Heâd rather still be allowed to at least talk to him than just simply be laughed at and turned away completely if he dared to confess that he had a crush.
He sighed again. He supposed that it no longer mattered though, considering that Alastor had completely disappeared from all of Hell. Heâd nearly driven himself crazy looking for Alastor, and almost got himself killed when trying to search in other overlordâs territories, but the searches yielded nothing.
Not even Rosie had found anything as of yet.
He sat the picture back on the console as he powered the station up. He was glad that Alastor had grown to trust him enough before his disappearance to grant him access to his main domain at the radio tower.
Every once in a while when he had time heâd stop by and do a broadcast. It wasnât nearly anything like Alâs broadcasts, but it at least ensured that the equipment remained in good running for if Alastor were to ever return.
He was grateful for Alâs mentorship, and he would do whatever he could to defend Alastorâs domain and territory as best as he could until he would return. He was also grateful for the advice to begin going by a pseudonym as that had saved him from a rather icky spell that needed a personâs true name to work. Heâd killed the little upstart pretty quickly after the attempt.
Heâd yet to form much of a domain for himself yet outside of Alastorâs territory, but he was steadily growing in the number of souls he had under contract.
And his company was also growing exponentially these days as television continued to grow in popularity and he owned the main broadcasting company. He headquartered it inside of Alastorâs domain close to the radio tower. He knew that Al probably wouldnât like it, but it made it easier for him to defend both his growing business as well as Alastorâs territory.
He hoped that Alastor would be proud of him when he returned.
Alastor sighed as he sat on the ground beside Charlie's bed and leaned his head against the wall.
For the first time in ages, he actually felt tired. Though, he supposed that was the effect of having oneâs soul split. Dear Charlie had figured out a bit before sheâd managed to tucker herself out by crying, but she hadnât understood the true implications behind why his magic was gone.
Of course, with her still being so young at only just about eight years of age, she hadnât been exposed to magical knowledge enough to know that his shadow power type was linked directly to his soul.
And Lucifer had had the honor of slicing his shadow off of him with an angelic steel dagger while Lilith used her magic to hold him down. It had been so excruciating that he hadn't even been able to make a sound during the process. Heâd then been forced to make the choice to make a deal with the Queen for his soul.
If he wanted to keep his now split soul alive, he had to agree to hand ownership of it completely to the Morningstars so that he could be more easily monitored, as they werenât happy with the amount of âmistakesâ that heâd been making around Charlie lately with his magic.
Thus, the deal was made, and the soul chain heâd had with Rosie had shattered as it was overwritten by the soul deal of the far more powerful Morningstars. And now Lucifer kept his shadow, his most treasured part of his soul, locked away.
And he was told that he was lucky that they didnât simply destroy it after heâd failed to keep Charlie from nearly injuring herself again.
His entire body ached at the loss of his magic. His soul ached at the distance with which it was being split. He couldnât even conjure his staff anymore.
For the first time since he ever entered Hell, he closed his eyes, and did not wake until the next morning when dear Charlie stirred.
He missed his soul.
He missed his freedom.
And now, he had very little chance of getting it back without help.
Perhaps, in due time, his dear Charlotte would be able to help him figure something out.
After all, the dear girl was starting to take after him more and more.
Rosieâs eyes widened as she grinned when she caught sight of her last visitor for the day at the emporium!
She greeted warmly, âLili! Itâs good to see you! Howâs everyone doing? Itâs been a while since youâve had time to stop by and update me on things, dear!â
She ushered the Queen inside as she closed the door behind her. She was glad that she was in between husbands at the moment so she wouldnât be nagged on for spending time with her gals! Granted, that complaint was the reason why she was currently down a husband at the moment anyway, but oh well. He shouldâve known better than to try and control her, so he had it coming.
Lilith smiled at her and responded, âHey, Ro. Itâs been pretty busy these days with more requests coming in due to the crime rates being ever increasing. Charlieâs doing well though. Sheâs advancing quite nicely in her lessons. I think that she might be ready to actually start actively learning to use her magic around her next birthday!â
Rosie practically squealed as she said, âOh, thatâs wonderful, darling! How about the hubby?â
She frowned as she watched a displeased frown paint her friendâs face as she replied, âHeâs becoming depressed again and is beginning to hide himself away in his workshop or with one of the sins and absolutely avoiding his duties and once again leaving me to be the one to carry the load.â
Rosie tutted as she led Lilith to a settee and began to serve her tea and some lady fingers.Â
She replied, âOh, Iâm sorry for that, dear. Well, if you do get too tired of his shenanigans, you know where to send him. He may be a fallen archangel, but you know I could take care of things! I wonder if heâd taste rotten though?â
Lilith simply laughed loudly as she enjoyed the tea and munched on a lady finger. She rarely got to enjoy such delicacies because it made Lucifer squeamish, but what he didnât know wouldnât kill him.
Rosieâs playful mood was dampened with Lilithâs next inquiry, âHowâs your search going, Ro? Your deerâs been missing for how long now?â
Rosie sat across from Lilith and smoothed down her skirt as she frowned and responded, âItâs been just over four years now, and I have yet to find an actual lead as to what happened to him. Ever since our deal snapped, itâs become even more impossible to track him down. First, the chain I had on him became invisible to me, and then one day it suddenly became visible again and shattered! I miss my deer so much, Lili. Heâd hate to hear me say it, especially since I often teased him by calling him pet, but I grew to see him like a brother. And now heâs dead and Iâm no closer to finding his killer.â
She sat her head in her hands as she began to shake slightly while a few tears trickled down her face.
~~~~~~
Lilith grimaced.
It was good to hear that Rosie was no closer to figuring out that she and Lucifer had been responsible for Alastorâs disappearance, but it was saddening to see her in such a state.
She hadn't known that Alastor was one of Rosieâs at the time, but It's not like Rosie was hurting for power, and regardless of her feelings for said soul, it wouldn't hurt her to remain bereft of just the one.
She cringed as Rosie then said, âI wish that you could help me. Itâs all such a mystery. I mean, who would be powerful enough to even hide him from me as well as kill him?â
Lilith knew the obvious answer, but simply sighed with sadness as she replied, âI donât know either, but you know very well why I canât help.â
Rosie simply groaned as she said, âI know, I know! Just because Iâm your friend, doesnât mean that you can show favorites. If you help me find just one soul, youâd have lots of others trying to take advantage and get the same thing. I know, Lili, but it still hurts. I miss him so much.â
Lilith sighed before she responded, âI know it hurts, Ro. I wish I could help stop the hurt, but I canât. Maybe youâll get a lead soon and have your vengeance.â
Rosie simply looked towards the ground as she solemnly replied, âYeah, maybe.â
Alastor tensed as Lilith entered Charlieâs, well, pretty much his too, room.
She very rarely came to see him during the day unless something Charlie had told her that theyâd played had sounded too dangerous or upsetting for the child.
He closed the book that heâd been reading and glared at Lilith as she simply smirked at him.
She rolled her eyes at his glare before she laughed lightly and said, âYouâve been quite behaved lately, little deer. Youâve been helping keep Charlie happier as well in light of her idiotic fatherâs pseudo-abandonment of us thanks to his depression and hermit-like coping mechanisms.â
Alastor furrowed his brow as Lilith ranted a bit more before she sighed and said, âWell, anyway, I figured that you deserved a special little treat from a good acquaintance of yours for being such a good toy. I decided to give them to you myself instead of having the usual staff just deliver it with your daily meal.â
He then watched as she conjured a familiar looking box and grabbed it out of the air before it could fall to the ground.
It was without a doubt a container of lady fingers, specifically those which Rosie herself prepared for her emporium to sell. His eyes were wide as she simply tossed the box at him. He was unprepared for it to be tossed at him, but he easily caught the box.
Sure enough, the tag had Rosieâs emporiumâs label on it.
He stared at the label for a while before Lilith interrupted his musings as she said, âI do so hope you enjoy them. Rosie made these ones special by my request. Youâve done good little deer. Be sure to keep that up, lest you want to end up like those which your treats used to be attached to.â
He watched as she then left the room. Wards sealing the door behind her once again so that he still couldn't wander.
He held the box in his hands and carefully unwrapped it. Sure enough, Rosieâs specialty lady fingers were enclosed. A whole dozen of them. He hadnât had any in so long.
He wanted to be happy to have them, but all he could feel was anxiety.
Lilith may have said that it was a treat for being good, but the wench was very subtle and good at manipulation, He had no doubt that this was also a subtle threat.
He knew that Rosie occasionally talked to Lilith, but this was more concerning than that.
Lilith seemed to know that Rosie was also a dear acquaintance of his.
And now, if he did end up stepping out of line in her eyes again, he wouldnât be the only one at stake.
He hadnât thought that things could get worse, but he should have known better.
This was why he should have never gotten close to anyone in Hell.
Anyone you get close to could be used against you.
To keep you in line. To control you.
And Lilith had managed to figure out who one such person was for him.
Charlie grinned as she ate a piece of her birthday cake. She snickered as she watched Alastor cringe the whole way through eating a piece that Lilith had forced him to take, considering he was a âguestâ at the small family party between just the three of them since Lucifer was still off being a hermit somewhere.
She knew Alastor hated sweet things, but the faces he made when he encountered them were always so funny!
However, the grin on her face became confused as Lilith then beckoned for her attention, âCharlie, dear, youâve gotten old enough now where I think itâs time that you begin lessons on how to control your powers.â
Charlie furrowed her brow and tilted her head before she spared a split second glance at Alastor and then replied to Lilith, âWonât I just know how to automatically use them? I already know that theyâre connected to my emotions somehow.â
Lilith simply smiled at her and said, âItâs more complex than that, dear. We donât even know what your entire power set is yet, and I need to begin training you so that we can discover that and make you the strongest princess of Hell that there ever will be.â
Charlie then smiled as she knew that would be what was expected of her, but she was worried. What type of powers would her mother be teaching her? And how would having powers make her a better princess of hell?â
She simply responded, âOkay, mom. When do we start?â
Lilith grinned back at her and said, âYour first lesson will be in a few days, dear. Need to let the sugar high from today wear off, haha! Youâll need some rest to as well, dear. Your expected power set does take quite a bit of energy to manifest if you want to be able to control them.â
Charlie nodded and continued to munch on her cake.
This had been rather surprising to her.
~~~~~~
Charlie paced back and forth in her room as Alastor put away a few of the gifts that she had been given.
She was still confused about why her mother was so worried about training her on how to use her powers.
She exclaimed, âWhy do I need to know how to use these powers? If theyâre anything like hers, I donât want them! I donât want to be able to force someone to do anything!â
Alastor simply sighed and laid a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with frustrated tears in her eyes.
He simply said, âPowers can be very useful, my dear. Before mine were taken from me, they were useful for far more than just controlling someone. And as the princess of Hell, you will need every power at your disposal to defend yourself from the masses should the day ever come that sinners become rebellious.â
Charlie crossed her arms and pouted before she waved a hand and said, âWell, I donât want her teaching me how to use them! I donât want to be like her!â
Alastor responded, âThen why donât you learn a different set of powers from me that are magic based. You can still learn from your mother, but also have a backup plan in place in case you truly grow to hate the powers that you were born with.â
Charlieâs eyes widened in surprise before her face scrunched up and she declared,Â
"But Al, you never wanted to be here! Why would you even want to teach me, when Iâm the reason you canât even use your magic!"
Al simply sighed before he said, "Perhaps I never wanted to be here, but that doesn't mean that I haven't grown to care for you. And even though I cannot use magic, which is by no means your fault, it would bring me joy to teach you just as my mother once taught me.â
Char sniffled again before saying, "But still! Youâre still captive here?! They ripped you from your life! Oh no, itâs been years! Are you even able to contact anyone on the outside?"
A muscle in Al's jaw twitched as he responded, "No. I cannot. But I have my own ways of knowing that some whom I care for are still well, even after all these years."
Charlie sniffled and then turned herself to snuggle into his chest as he patted her back.
She vowed, "I'm gonna get you out of here eventually, Al. I promise."
He simply hummed as he responded, âI know, dear. I know. How about we work on your ability to summon things into being today, hm? Well, after you figure out how to tap into your own soul that is, dear! Haha!â
Charlie nodded as she wiped at her eyes.
Maybe one day, her magic would be strong enough to aid her in figuring out how she could truly free Alastor.
So many years had already gone by, split away from the other half of their soul. Every minute added to the agonizing ache of being kept apart. Kept among the shadows of that pitiful fallen archangelâs workshop and prevented from leaving.
They pressed against the wards keeping them contained and hissed.
However, they also couldnât help but grin.
The rotten archangel had been away and uncaring of them for long enough that the wards were weakening.
It had burned to try and go up against the wards, but not nearly as much as it once had.Â
Before long, the wards would weaken enough to at least partially free them.
And then, they could enact their plan to get help.
They wouldnât let either of them suffer for any longer than they were forced to.
~~~~~~
Charlie grinned as she conjured a small lotus in a glass of water.
She cheered, âI did it!â
Alastor laughed happily as he said, âYou did indeed, my dear.â
She hugged him and he smiled down at her. He had grown used to her hugs so long ago. He did still have bad days where he didnât want to be touched, but he couldn't help but humor her. She really had grown so much over the years under his tutelage.
He said, âBefore long, youâll be able to conjure more than that and maybe even create your own pocket dimension!â
Charlie stepped away from him as she continued to smile.
She then responded, âThatâd be so cool!â
He simply nodded.
She then said, âMy lessons with my mother have been going well too. I still donât like learning from her nearly as well as I do learning from you, but I think Iâm starting to like my powers. Theyâre still kind of scary, but I can see how theyâd be useful for more than just the bad stuff.â
He smiled softly as he responded, âThatâs good, dear. The more power that you have at your disposal, the better.â
She shrugged and said, âMaybe, but hopefully Iâll never need to use them for anything she seems to want me to know to use them for. After all, itâs not like I ever want to be a seductress like her or to control the masses. Ick.â
Alastor shuddered at that thought too, especially the first part. Ick.Â
While it would provide him with many MANY more voices that he could add to his broadcasts once he was free, he did NOT want to think of his dear Charlie ever being like that.
He simply looked at her and said, âCharlotte, dear, never even put that thought into the air again.â
He shuddered again and smiled more genuinely as she snickered at his reaction and agreed to never say such a thing again.
It had been more than ten years since their captivity began, and it was finally time!
The wards werenât completely shattered, but they could now easily stretch part of themselves through the gaps in the wards.
Just enough to mess with their soul chain contracts.Â
They needed to get a specific one.
Vincentâs.
Vincent would've never given up on finding them, so he would heed the call of the chain.Â
They couldn't fully manifest the chain thanks to the palace itself being warded and protected and the fact that they were still partially trapped under Lilithâs control, but they could at least give the chain a nudge to try and send a message.
After all, he had witnessed their kidnapping but had been essentially mind-wiped by Lilith from remembering.
Perhaps a little nudge to the chain could help Vincent remember something.
Enough to try and take some sort of action, as they were sure that their mentorship had been enough to keep their little TV head alive and on the path to becoming an overlord that could be just as powerful as them one day.
~~~~~~
Vox grimaced as he felt a splitting pain in his head. He then noticed the faint glow of the chain that connected him to the soul deal he had with Alastor.
He felt a small yank from it again and grimaced as his screen glitched and the headache grew stronger.
He had no idea what was going on or what Al was trying to tell him from wherever he was, but he hoped the pain would stop soon.
Maybe going to Rosieâs would help, considering she had a similar power set to Alâs and had even made him the staff as a conduit for his powers.
He glitched multiple times on his way to Rosieâs but he persisted with the hope that she would be able to help.
He entered the Emporium with far less decorum than usual and it cleared out with his presence as his reputation had grown to make him nearly as feared as Alastor had been before his disappearance.
âUgh, Rosie, your powers are kind of like Alâs arenât they? I think his powers are on the fritz or something because of something happening wherever he is. Something's happening with our bond?â
Rosie looked at him in confusion before she asked, âWhat did you just say?â
Vox blinked as he rubbed the side of his head as he tried to ease the headache coming from the strain associated with the bond chain.
He said, âUm, somethingâs going on with the bond between me and Al? It was a condition of him mentoring me. Oh, shit, is it taboo to mention bonds between overlords or something or are soul contracts between overlords not allowed? I didnât just fuck something up, did I?â
He panicked slightly before he became confused as Rosieâs face lit up. She seemed ecstatic and was tearing up as she said, âHeâs alive?!â
Vox simply cocked his head and said, âUm, yeah. I mean, this is the second time Iâve felt something weird with the bond, like it was tugged harshly almost like it was going to break the first time, but it didnât and now this weird shit is happening.â
Rosie shook her head and growled in frustration as she reprimanded him and said, âYou idiot. Weâve been working on the case of Alâs disappearance for years, and you never thought to tell me that you could sense if he was alive or dead and that ya had a deal with him?!â
Vox blinked as he said, âUm, no. I figured youâd probably know. He mentioned that you two had some sort of deal, so I figured that you could still feel that he was alive from your side.â
Rosie smirked before she laughed and said, âOh, I shouldâve known that you didnât know the extent of things. Hon, when you felt that first tug, I felt a soul contract SHATTER. And when it shatters, that means a demon is double dead. I thought Al was dead. You just gave me some of the best news I could have gotten, and now a new possible lead. Now, come here and let me try and figure out whatâs going on.â
Voxâs eyes were wide with surprise before he cringed as he glitched once again and Rosie led him to sit down.
She frowned as she used her magic to probe around his head to try and diagnose the problem.
She hummed as she said, âThe chain is trying to summon memories from you that are hidden deep within your soul. I believe that someone has blocked some of your memories.â
Vox grimaced as another wave of pain hit and he said, âWell, that would explain the head-splitting headache. I know you two donât really like more modern technology like my head, but if you can find the memory processor, it's essentially my brain, and if you can find where itâs being blocked and unblock it, maybe thatâll help.â
Rosie hummed as she said, âWell, I can certainly try. Iâve picked up some of your jargon from our little meetings over the years. Oh, and just because we donât like new technology doesnât mean we donât know how to use it, Mister! Respect your elders!â
Vox blushed in embarrassment as he said, âSorry. And thank you. Do I need to do anything?â
Rosie simply hummed and said, âNo, dear. Just sit as you are and let me work my magic.â
It was rather quiet as Rosieâs magic worked until she let out a small, âI think I got it!â
And then it was like a small explosion in his head as images filled his screen and the memories flooded back to him.
He had been walking alongside Alastor when they were both ambushed by the Queen and King of Hell who had eyes for no one but Alastor. Who theyâd managed to knock out with some sort of spell fairly quickly.
And then heâd been forced to choose to die or have his memory of the kidnapping be sealed by Lilith. And, of course, heâd chosen the option to have his memories sealed.
Once his screen cleared again, he had tears running from his eyes.Â
Heâd seen Alastor get kidnapped and hadn't even remembered.
He was shaking as he looked back up at Rosie. He held his breath as he looked at her face. It was an expression he had only seen a couple of times.
She was absolutely furious.
Rosie growled, "That BITCH! She's been to tea with me so many times over the years! She's seen my investigation and sadness over losing Al! She fucking knew where he was the whole time. She and her rotten husband stole him away from me!"
Vox gulped as he watched Rosieâs form begin to shift slightly and get bigger and he said, âUm, Rosie, I know youâre angry, I am too, but try and calm down.â
She growled out, âNEVER TELL A WOMAN TO CALM DOWN!â
Vox made an âeepâ sound and held his hands up placatingly as he said, âOk, ok! I know youâre furious, but this is still a lead. I can still feel a slight pulling on the chain.â
Rosie huffed as she quickly got to calling herself down. She shrank back down to her normal size and fanned herself as she apologized to him.
She then questioned, "Your power has grown quite a bit. Have you gained the ability to manifest soul chains yet?"
Vox confusedly said, "Uh, I think so."
Rosie tilted her head before she sighed and explained, "If you can manifest the chain between you and Al, we can track it down. We can find him. Iâm pretty sure heâs at the palace, considering who took him, but we must be sure about it. You idiot, we could've tried this years ago if I'd known that his contractees can still see their chains if manifested!"
Vox simply blinked as he said, "Oh, OH shit yes! Let's do it!"
She says, "I can't believe you never told me before. I've been lamenting over his death for years now!"
And he shrugs and says, "I thought you were just being dramatic or had given up hope or something!"
She shook her head in exasperation as she geared up and said, âLetâs go. We have a deer to save.â
Vox nodded as the green chain led the way in front of him and towards Alastorâs location.
Sure enough, the chain led directly to the palace.
They were stopped in their tracks by a sort of barrier.
Rosie explained with a snarl, âItâs warded around the palace to keep anyone without an official escort out. We canât get in.â
Her hands balled into fists.
Voxâs eyes widened as he stuttered out, âW-what are we going to do now? How do we get him out?â
Rosie was about to reply, but they were suddenly blown back by the wards keeping the shield up around the palace shattered as well as all of the windows within the vicinity and the sound of not one, but two extremely powerful and commanding singing voices rang out.
And Rosie knew that this meant that the Queen and her daughter were absolutely having a horrible fight about something.
But she couldnât care less about that, as whatever it was had just given them the opening to getting in and getting Alastor out.
She looked at Vox, who now had a slightly cracked screen from the whole commotion, and grinned as she said, âWeâre in.â
~~~~~~
Charlie stared at Lilith in disbelief as she looked between her and Al.
She settled on staring at her mother as she said, âYou canât.â
Lilith simply sighed and said, â Charlie, dear. It's time for you to be rid of him. You're getting too old for toys now, dear. Plus, he will be repurposed for the time being.â
She gritted her teeth as she felt her horns begin to poke out slightly.
Lilith grimaced at her as she said, âCalm down, Charlotte. Youâre fifteen years old. You should not be this upset about this decision.â
Charlieâs hair began to sway violently as she said, âWhat happened to all of the âtoysâ that came before him? Were they ârepurposedâ to! I wonât let you take him!â
Lilith growled at Charlie as she said, âWatch your tone with me, child! I own him and can do with him as I wish. You are still young and do not understand how Hell works. If you are that worried about it, I will at least tell you that he wonât be âdecommissionedâ like the others were. Heâs still useful. Perhaps I could even convince him to finally be by my side since your idiotic father hasnât decided to show himself in years now.â
Charlie gritted her teeth.Â
She was disgusted. She had witnessed her mother attempt to proposition Alastor years ago, too young at the time to realize what it had meant, but now she was older and knew the connotations of it.
She spit out, âNever going to happen. Heâs never liked you. Not to mention you own his soul and have held him captive for more than TEN FUCKING YEARS!â
Charlie felt a slight headache come over her as her mother used her song to command, âYou will obey me, daughter!â
However, she fought the command, and now, Charlie was furious.
Alastor saw the look in her eyes and knew exactly what she was about to do.
He called out warningly, âCharlie!â
However, Lilithâs eyes were lit up and her horns were out as she commanded him, âSILENCE!â
And he could say no more. All he could do was stand by and watch as the mother and daughter fought.
A song begun, two voices battled for control, so loud that Alastor had to cover his ears as best as possible so as to not have them become damaged.Â
He was unprepared when the clash of voices became so intense as to cause a sort of explosion, and the palaceâs windows shattered. The vibration of the two clashing voices was strong enough to knock him against the closest wall hard enough to knock him out.
The two continued fighting each other with their voices.Â
And at last, after mere minutes of the clashing songs, the younger voice grew stronger, aided by the power of her soul, the power that Alastor had taught her to use.
And she won as Lilithâs song completely broke.
Charlieâs song remained strong as she ordered, âRelease him.â
Lilith had collapsed to the ground under the strength of her daughterâs song.
She glared up at her daughter who then amplified her song to a painful level.
Lilith screamed as she manifested the purple chain that tethered Alastor's soul to herself and broke it just as Charlie ended her song.
Both were panting. Both were exhausted.
They heard footsteps close by and both looked towards the door. Now noticing that there was a distinct green chain in the room leading towards Alastorâs prone body.
Charlieâs eyes widened in fear as she realized that Alastor was unconscious.
She quickly ran over to him while calling his name.
Lilith simply smirked slightly before she said, âWell done, my daughter. Well done.â and disappeared in a cloud of white-pink smoke just as Rosie and Vox busted through the door.
(Sorry it took me a bit to get this one out. There should be twelve total parts when I'm done at some point soon. Had zero time to write yesterday, guess I should've known that would happen considering the writing spree I went on the night before, XD) Also, feel free to reblog or repost or do whatever you want with this. I just hope that it lives up to how amazed I was by your AU when I first read it! Thank you for allowing fan works and thank you for your amazing comments as I've been releasing parts!)
Umbra was ecstatic.
The chain tethering them to Lilith was broken!
They quickly made their way to the very room which they could sense their other soul half in.
It was a pity that they couldnât reattach themselves.
They simply had to settle for curling as close to their other halfâs unconscious body after they reassured the young one that they were in good company.
~~~~~~
Charlie stood protectively in front of Alastor as she watched two unfamiliar to her people bust inside through the door. She hadnât realized that battling her mother had taken down all of the wards around the palace, but sheâd be damned before she let anyone else hurt Alastor.
Her horns were back out as she stood in front of him, ready to defend, but she was surprised as she felt a gentle tugging at her sleeve.
She looked beside her confusedly and her face lit up with excitement as she realized, âUMBRA! Youâre still here! They didnât get rid of you!â
She smiled as Umbra smiled at her as well. She watched closely and nodded her head as Umbra motioned that the two who had just entered were friends.Â
Charlie nodded in understanding and watched as Umbra curled around Alastor.
She was quite sad to see it. It was only a few years after the fact that she found out the truth of what her parents had really done to Alastor and the true implications as to why he no longer had his shadow.
Sheâd only learned the shadowâs name on a particularly rough day when Alastor had agreed to teach her a little longer one day because she was curious about what exactly may have happened to his shadow.
She was still wary as the two newcomers approached them.
The woman greeted her, âHello, dear. I havenât seen you since you were a baby, so Iâm not surprised that you donât recognize me, but Iâm Rosie. And this here is Vox. Weâre both friends of Alastorâs and weâve been looking for him for years.â
Charlie's eyes widened as she said, âYou have?â
Both of them nodded and Vox said, âYeah. We have.â
A groan alongside a familiar static sound echoed through the room.
Rosie then said, âShush, heâs waking up!â as the three carefully knelt by Alastor.
The three of them and Umbra were around him as he groaned again and opened his eyes.
Of course, they all had to fall back to avoid being headbutted when he jolted straight up and gripped at his neck and exclaimed, âIâm free!â
Charlie burst into tears before she launched herself at him to hug him as he let out a little âoofâ sound.
His smile widened as he said, âYou finally did it, my dear. Iâm free.â
He then looked up and his eyes widened as he caught sight of his two oldest acquaintances.
âRosie! Vox!â he said as both of them simply looked at him and joined in on the hug.
He was thrown back by the weight of all three of them and they ended up in a pile, Umbra barely escaped being squished as they laughed silently with glee at the uncharacteristic scene.
Soon, they each helped each other up.
Vox broke the happy reunion by questioning, âUh, Al, What happened? The end of the chain tethering my soul to our deal is split between you and Umbra.â
Rosie gasped as she just noticed what Vox had been talking about.
Charlie appeared downtrodden as Alastor growled while Umbra curled closer around him and grimaced sadly.
Rosie put a hand over her mouth as she gasped, âOh, Al, they didnât!â
Al simply looked away from her as he said, âThey did.â
Vox was confused as he looked between the two of them.
He questioned, âWhat? What happened?â
Charlie ended up being the one to answer him with sadness in her eyes as she said, âThey cut his soul in half. Took his powers from him.â
Voxâs eyes widened as he exclaimed, âThatâs what happened when the bond strained all those years ago! They literally tore your sole in two! THOSE FUCKERS!â
Rosie was tearful as she drew Umbra and Al into another hug and said, âIâm so sorry, my dear. So sorry. I wish I could fix this.â
She was surprised when the determined voice of Charlie interjected with, âMaybe you canât, but I can. Iâm the daughter of an archangel and the first human woman. My father was a creator of sorts. Thereâs got to be something I can do to fix what they did.â
Rosie simply shook her head as she said, âDear, very few have healing magic, and from what I understand, the only thing that can do this sort of injury is angelic steel, and wounds made by that are near impossible to heal.â
Charlie simply smirked as she shrugged and said, âNear impossible doesnât mean impossible.â
And damn if Rosie didnât smirk right back at the girl. She could tell that girl had so gotten some determination and sass from her deer over the years!
And she absolutely wasnât going to give up on this goal!
They moved to one of the sitting rooms as Charlie prepared herself. She was really nervous, but Alastor had full confidence that she could do anything she put her mind to.
Rosie and Vox stood aside and watched as Alastor put his trust in the princess.
Rosie couldn't help but smile. Her deer had been captive for years, but it was good to know that despite the hardships, he hadn't been alone for all of it.
Charlie simply took a deep breath before she took Umbra's hand in one of hers and then took Alastor's hand in the other.
She kept her eyes closed as she began to sing lowly. Rosie was amazed as a low red glow emitted from where her hands were connected to Alastor and Umbra.
Her song remained smooth and almost sweet as the red glow spread from her hands and across Umbra and Alastor who both seemed to be fascinated by what was going on.
And before they knew it, a final crescendo echoed within the room and the bright red shone silver for a split second and the soul was mended.
Charlie opened her eyes, which were now silver slit pupils haloes in red. As the power seeped out of her, her eyes returned to normal and she began to slump from exhaustion.
Alastor easily caught her as he absolutely grinned, ecstatic to be whole once more.Â
Charlie leaned against his chest and stuttered out, âDid it work?â
Alastor patted her hair fondly as he said, âYes, my dear, it worked.â
And then she absolutely passed out.
Alastor then looked up at Rosie and Vox. Vox appeared stupefied that it had actually worked while Rosie appeared very proud and joyful.
Alastor sighed with content as he could now feel the full extent of his powers again. He beckoned Umbra to carefully take Charlie as he stood once again.
Umbra gently laid Charlie on the closest couch and put a small pillow under her head.
Alastor grinned as he flexed his powers.Â
He laughed as he said, âIâd missed this! And lookie here, all of my contracts are still active! And so is my power! Not even a lick of power coming from those seems to be lost! Rosie, how does this work?â
Rosie simply rolled her eyes as she responded, âDear, to be honest, all I did was make you your conduit. You spawned in hell with more power than I could have given you to start with, much to my surprise, but you never figured it out and tried to challenge the contract, and I sure wasn't going to point it out and lose the contract willingly! But I was able to make you the conduit so it wasn't a complete loss on your side!â
Alastor simply leveled her with an exasperated look as she smiled sharply in response.
He grumbled a bit before he then summoned said staff and said, âNevertheless, my power is fully intact! I can still feel my broadcasting tower calling to me now that the radio waves from it are no longer being blocked by any sort of warding.â
He looked over at Vox who was blushing and rubbing the back of his neck slightly as he said, âYeah. That might be my doing.â
Alastor simply raised a brow and Vox knew to elaborate, âI didn't remember the details of everything until recently, but I knew that our contract was still active, and I didn't want your territory to deteriorate so I kind of made it my mission to protect it while building my own. I occasionally ran broadcasts and made sure to keep everything well maintained within your territory. I also may have started building my own company and reputation within your territory too. Sorry.â
Alastor snorted and said, âAs I would expect from a devoted mentee such as yourself. Youâve done well. Granted, I would prefer it if your territory was not intertwined with mine, but considering you kept my territory defended, I will grant you the privilege of granting you that part of my territory. So long as you never interfere with the rest of it. Especially my broadcasting tower.â
Vox was close to exploding with glee as he said, Yeah, yeah, of course! I'm honestly just glad you're not murdering me for daring to even use your territory while you were stuck here.â
Alastor simply rolled his eyes as he replied, âOh, don't be dramatic. It's not like I could defend it while I was here. And it's not like I was mentoring you for nothing either. As I said, you've done well.â
Rosie couldn't help but hide her snickering as she watched Voxâs screen brighten again at the praise and his face looked like Alastor had hung the stars.
Poor sap was still crushing hard for someone that would never reciprocate.
Alastor then hummed as he said, âI can also sense that your power level has also increased. Very well done indeed.â
Rosie couldn't hold it back anymore. She laughed before she said, âAlastor, quit teasing him. He's going to explode at this rate.â
Alastor's brow rose as he observed Voxâs screen and said, âAh, yes. I forgot how flustered he would become whenever I complemented a job well done. Eh, he'll cool off soon. And it's not teasing if it's true, Rosie!â
Rosie snickered as Vox slowly regained his composure though the blush remained.
Alastor then questioned, âAside from my territory, how has the state of Hell fared without my constant presence to keep the scum in line?â
Rosie grimaced as she responded, âUgh. There's more leeches out there than before! Oh, and guess what, only a week ago, a fairly new overlord targeted Mimzyâs bar because he wanted it and nearly destroyed it and it took her two days to regenerate the parts she lost.â
Rosie grinned as she watched the fury grow in Alastor's eyes.
His grin sharpened and his eyes turned to radio dials as his antlers grew and he said, âAnd what might her antagonists look like?â
Rosie answered with their appearance as well as telling him the territory location.
She watched as he glanced between Charlie and the exit.Â
She softly said, âGo. We'll watch over her. You've been cooped up for way too long, dear. It's time to show hell again how you are still the most powerful sinner even though you've been missing.â
His grin sharpened even more before he nodded and left.
Rosie grinned at Vox as she said, âOh, how grand it will be to watch him make his comeback!â
Hiya, I wrote some stuff based upon your Charlie's Toys AU!
Title: Realization
AO3 Link: Realization - Chapter 1 - ADGAEA - Hazbin Hotel (Cartoon) [Archive of Our Own]
Alastor cursed lowly.Â
Heâd only looked away from the child for a single second, but in that time, the child had managed to climb to an unreasonable height on one of her bookshelves and was now falling.Â
He quickly jumped into action and caught the child as she was still crying out in fear.
He cradled the girl close to him as he attempted to calm her down, but it was not working very well.
He couldn't help but tense when the door to Charlieâs room opened and not just one, but both of her parents were standing there, and now glaring at him.
He shuddered under their harsh gazes.
He did not fight back as Lucifer approached and gently took Charlie from his arms. He gritted his teeth as Lilith followed behind her husband and gently patted Charlieâs head before she faced him again and harshly gripped his arm before she dragged him out of the room.
~~
Charlie sniffled as her dad cradled her and soothed her.
That had been very scary.
She sniffled and looked around as she questioned her dad, âWhereâs Al? He saved me from falling! I was so scared!â
She watched as her dadâs brow furrowed before he hummed and responded, âAh, your mother took him out into the hall to talk to him for a minute. Why donât you stay here for a few minutes. Iâve got to go talk to him and your mother for a little bit. No more climbing on shelves either, little miss!â
Charlie nodded as her dad gently sat her down on her bed and she wiped tears out of her eyes.Â
However, she was curious as her father left the room. She crept to her door and poked her tongue out the side of her mouth as she pressed her ear to it so she could hopefully listen in on whatever her parents were talking about. She hoped that theyâd get done soon though! SHe wanted her toy back! She already missed Al so much!
She could hear her motherâs stern voice before she heard her dad command, âStop, Lilith. He may have missed seeing her at first, but he did catch her. He didnât upset her. The fall did.â
She teared up a bit as she listened to her motherâs scary tone say, âHe still made her cry, and I WILL NOT tolerate that!â
She then heard what sounded like a smacking sound alongside a small âoofâ.
Her eyes widened as she realized that her mother had just struck someone! Why would she do that?
She heard her mother say, âKeep better watch over her, Alastor. One more mistake and you will join our daughterâs other retired toys regardless of how attached she gets. Understand?â
She heard Alastor call out cordially, âYes, my Queen.â
She then rushed away from her door and jumped back onto her bed.Â
Her parents were always the ones to bring her new toys. But, she was confused. Alastor hadnât sounded like a toy there. Were her toys not just manifestations from her parents?
Were they real?
She was brought out of her musings as the door was opened again and her dad ushered Alastor in in front of himself as he said, âSorry we took your toy from you for a bit, Char-Char! Heâs back now, though!â
She smiled softly as she said, âThatâs ok, dad. Thank you! Letâs get back to playing, Al!â
She softly gripped Alastorâs hand as her father nodded in approval as her mother watched from the doorway.
As soon as her parents were gone, her smile dropped and she looked up at Alastor as she questioned, âDo you feel pain?â
She watched his eyes widen in slight surprise before his face went neutral again as he answered, âI am capable of feeling pain, yes. But not to worry, dear.â
She scrunched up her face as she said, âYouâre not something my parents conjured for me, are you?â
He questioned, âWhatever do you mean, dear?â
She teared up a bit as she said, âI heard you three in the hall. You sounded real. Youâre alive, arenât you?â
Alastor hesitated before he sighed and confirmed, âYes, dear. I am real.â
She sniffled slightly and he bent to her level. She almost immediately launched herself onto him and hugged around his chest as best as she could as she questioned, âDo you even want to be here? Are you going to leave me?â
She felt Alastor pat her head lightly before he answered solemnly, âI did not choose to be here, dear, and I cannot leave you, but know that regardless of what brought me here, I have grown to care for you.â
She sniffled again as she wiped her face on his shirt and questioned, âWhy would they do this, Al? Why? I could be happy with real toys. I donât want to force a REAL person to be my toy!â
She curled closer to him as he hummed lightly before saying, âI donât know, my dear, but I shall grin and bear it. So shall you, dear. I am still the same Alastor that you have known since I arrived in your life.â
She sniffled again as she said, âBut you donât want to be here!â
He sighed as he said, âNever you mind what I want, Charlotte. Itâs getting pretty late, why donât I read you a story before itâs time for your bedtime routine?â
She nodded as she rubbed her eyes and glanced up at Alâs face as he stood and carried her over to her bookshelf so she could choose a story.
She ruffled her brow as she said, âI donât want one of those stories, Al. Can you tell me a story about you?â
She felt him stiffen before he answered, âI suppose, but it shall stay between the two of us, dear. How about I tell you the story of my first adventure into learning magic with my mother?â
She grinned as she said, âIâd like that!â
He sat her on her bed and began the story.
She was still confused, but for now she was getting sleepy.
She dozed off before her normal bedtime to the sound of Alastorâs voice telling her about the first time heâd been able to perform magic.
Charlie grimaced as her father left her room. Sheâd cried out in fear, and her parents had thought that Alastor had mis-stepped again, but sheâd climbed on top of a chair this time and nearly toppled off.
Alastor had caught her of course, but she knew her parents didnât really care who the fault laid on.
She hoped that Alastor would be alright when he was able to return. Her father had seemed rather annoyed this time as well, and she knew that he wasnât going to stop Alastor from being punished by her mother.
She had heard them threaten to kill him in the past when sheâd managed to injure herself on one of the toys heâd conjured for her, and heâd returned to her with slightly haunted eyes before his carefully crafted mask came upon his face again.
That had been less than a year ago. Sheâd been gifted with him when sheâd turned five, had figured out that he was a real person when she was six, and now she was soon to turn eight, and she was no closer to figuring out how she could help him.
Sheâd dared to question her parents about it once, but they continually dodged her question, and Alastor had been taken away from her for a couple of days, and when heâd returned, heâd been more reserved than normal.
She rubbed at her eyes as she teared up again.
All she ever did was make things worse for him. She was powerless to help him get free.
She jolted slightly and rubbed at her eyes. She smiled fakely as her father once again entered, Alastor and her mother trailing behind him.
She kept the fake smile on her face even as she noticed that there were definitely abrasions on Alastorâs face.
Lucifer calmly said, âApologies for your toyâs appearance, Char-Char! He fell in the hall and got a little roughed up but should look better in no time. Though, if youâd rather get rid of him and get a new toy, I certainly wouldn't mind!â
Charlie's eyes widened slightly as she panicked and waved her hands as she said, âNO!â
Both Lucifer and Lilith stared at her with surprised looks on their faces.
She quickly got a pouty look on her face and crossed her arms as she said, âHeâs my favorite toy! You canât get rid of him!â
She then walked over to Alastor and hugged him around the waist. Now that she was older, she had come to notice that he didnât like being touchy very much, but this was needed to reaffirm her point.
Lucifer huffed as he said, âAlright, Char-Char! Just let me know if you change your mind!â
He then took Lilithâs arm and began to leave. Charlie noticed the glare her mother sent in Alastorâs direction.
However, she was relieved when her parents finally left them alone.
She quickly let go of him and stood in front of him. She grimaced as she noticed that he was still masking. She could see the remnants of fear in his eyes though. He was amazing at masking, but after spending so much time with him, so many years, she was rather adept at being able to read his true emotions by watching his eyes.
âAl, are you okay? What did they do? Is there anything I can do to help?â she rapidly questioned.
Alastor simply continued to smile as he answered, âI am alright.â
She didnât accept that answer and questioned, âNo, youâre not. What did they do?â
She noticed him visibly stiffen before he answered, âI am simply your toy, dear. I feel no pain.â
Her eyes widened at the obvious lie. She growled and gritted her teeth.
She balled her hands into fists as her eyes turned red and her horns began to poke out a little as she said, âDid my mother use her song on you? Did she bind you?â
She watched as his jaw stiffened. He did not answer, but he looked away from her. She had her answer. Her mother had bound him to be directly under her control.
Tears of anger poured down her face as she said, âShe canât do this! Can you use your powers anymore? I know they had you bound to the property, but did she truly bind your soul to be completely under her control?â
She watched as he stiffened again.
He simply answered, âI am but a toy. I have no powers.â
She couldnât help it. She kept her crying quiet so as not to alert her parents as she launched herself at Alastor. He caught her and gently circled his arms around her.
She hugged him tightly as she tearfully declared, âIâll free you one day, Alastor. I promise. Iâm sorry. I should've been more careful. Iâm sorry!â
She held onto him as he simply patted her hair.
He was unable to answer any other way until the song wore off. Her binding of his soul wouldnât wear off, but the song keeping him in this docile state with only standard answers would wear off within the week, he was sure of it.
His soul now belonged directly to Lilith, and his actions were directly monitored and his true powers suppressed.
He was well and truly trapped.
But no matter, he would find a way out eventually, and his voice wasnât trapped forever.
She could take his soul, but she couldnât take his spirit.
He wasnât going to lose his determination to escape.
And little would those two know that heâd have their very own daughter on his side when he did manage to find a way out from under the Queenâs thumb.
Rosie gasped in surprise and lost her grip on her teacup as the chain tethering Alastorâs soul to her shattered like the cup that sheâd just dropped. Her hands shook and she swallowed as she sat forward and held her head in her hands.
She should have worked harder to find him. Sheâd even questioned that odd fellow of a television man that her deer had begun to mentor just over a year before he disappeared. That fellow had actually been the one to inform her of his disappearance when heâd missed a meeting and hadnât been at his radio tower either.
And she herself got confirmation that he was indeed missing when he didnât show up for their weekly tea and gossip session. She should have known that when there were no screams or sounds coming from her radio during the normally scheduled time that something had gone wrong.
And things around Hell had since gotten a bit worse, considering Alastor was no longer present to take the worst of the trash out. And now heâd never be able to again.
And now, sheâd failed him. He was no doubt dead by whatever force had decided to take him.
She snarled.
Someone had killed her property, her deer, her best friend!
She wouldnât stop looking until she found the culprits.Â
They would pay.
She would ensure it.
Perhaps she could even invite the TV head into the loop, especially since his technological advancements were making things a little easier when it came to spying and heâd managed to make his way to overlord status already.
~~~~~~
Vox stared at the one picture that he had of himself and Alastor.
He sighed. It had been more than three years since heâd gone missing. He missed the red asshole so much. He had a crush on the guy practically since he got to hell and had managed to catch his eye by pulling a rather stupid stunt that had nearly gotten him killed, had it not been for the fact that heâd actually managed to kill the low-level overlord just before Alastor had also arrived, apparently having decided to also take out the very same overlord.
And then Alastor had taken him in and mentored him. He still had a crush, but after spending a decent amount of time with the guy, he knew it would remain unrequited. And he was fine with it. Heâd rather still be allowed to at least talk to him than just simply be laughed at and turned away completely if he dared to confess that he had a crush.
He sighed again. He supposed that it no longer mattered though, considering that Alastor had completely disappeared from all of Hell. Heâd nearly driven himself crazy looking for Alastor, and almost got himself killed when trying to search in other overlordâs territories, but the searches yielded nothing.
Not even Rosie had found anything as of yet.
He sat the picture back on the console as he powered the station up. He was glad that Alastor had grown to trust him enough before his disappearance to grant him access to his main domain at the radio tower.
Every once in a while when he had time heâd stop by and do a broadcast. It wasnât nearly anything like Alâs broadcasts, but it at least ensured that the equipment remained in good running for if Alastor were to ever return.
He was grateful for Alâs mentorship, and he would do whatever he could to defend Alastorâs domain and territory as best as he could until he would return. He was also grateful for the advice to begin going by a pseudonym as that had saved him from a rather icky spell that needed a personâs true name to work. Heâd killed the little upstart pretty quickly after the attempt.
Heâd yet to form much of a domain for himself yet outside of Alastorâs territory, but he was steadily growing in the number of souls he had under contract.
And his company was also growing exponentially these days as television continued to grow in popularity and he owned the main broadcasting company. He headquartered it inside of Alastorâs domain close to the radio tower. He knew that Al probably wouldnât like it, but it made it easier for him to defend both his growing business as well as Alastorâs territory.
He hoped that Alastor would be proud of him when he returned.
Alastor sighed as he sat on the ground beside Charlie's bed and leaned his head against the wall.
For the first time in ages, he actually felt tired. Though, he supposed that was the effect of having oneâs soul split. Dear Charlie had figured out a bit before sheâd managed to tucker herself out by crying, but she hadnât understood the true implications behind why his magic was gone.
Of course, with her still being so young at only just about eight years of age, she hadnât been exposed to magical knowledge enough to know that his shadow power type was linked directly to his soul.
And Lucifer had had the honor of slicing his shadow off of him with an angelic steel dagger while Lilith used her magic to hold him down. It had been so excruciating that he hadn't even been able to make a sound during the process. Heâd then been forced to make the choice to make a deal with the Queen for his soul.
If he wanted to keep his now split soul alive, he had to agree to hand ownership of it completely to the Morningstars so that he could be more easily monitored, as they werenât happy with the amount of âmistakesâ that heâd been making around Charlie lately with his magic.
Thus, the deal was made, and the soul chain heâd had with Rosie had shattered as it was overwritten by the soul deal of the far more powerful Morningstars. And now Lucifer kept his shadow, his most treasured part of his soul, locked away.
And he was told that he was lucky that they didnât simply destroy it after heâd failed to keep Charlie from nearly injuring herself again.
His entire body ached at the loss of his magic. His soul ached at the distance with which it was being split. He couldnât even conjure his staff anymore.
For the first time since he ever entered Hell, he closed his eyes, and did not wake until the next morning when dear Charlie stirred.
He missed his soul.
He missed his freedom.
And now, he had very little chance of getting it back without help.
Perhaps, in due time, his dear Charlotte would be able to help him figure something out.
After all, the dear girl was starting to take after him more and more.
Rosieâs eyes widened as she grinned when she caught sight of her last visitor for the day at the emporium!
She greeted warmly, âLili! Itâs good to see you! Howâs everyone doing? Itâs been a while since youâve had time to stop by and update me on things, dear!â
She ushered the Queen inside as she closed the door behind her. She was glad that she was in between husbands at the moment so she wouldnât be nagged on for spending time with her gals! Granted, that complaint was the reason why she was currently down a husband at the moment anyway, but oh well. He shouldâve known better than to try and control her, so he had it coming.
Lilith smiled at her and responded, âHey, Ro. Itâs been pretty busy these days with more requests coming in due to the crime rates being ever increasing. Charlieâs doing well though. Sheâs advancing quite nicely in her lessons. I think that she might be ready to actually start actively learning to use her magic around her next birthday!â
Rosie practically squealed as she said, âOh, thatâs wonderful, darling! How about the hubby?â
She frowned as she watched a displeased frown paint her friendâs face as she replied, âHeâs becoming depressed again and is beginning to hide himself away in his workshop or with one of the sins and absolutely avoiding his duties and once again leaving me to be the one to carry the load.â
Rosie tutted as she led Lilith to a settee and began to serve her tea and some lady fingers.Â
She replied, âOh, Iâm sorry for that, dear. Well, if you do get too tired of his shenanigans, you know where to send him. He may be a fallen archangel, but you know I could take care of things! I wonder if heâd taste rotten though?â
Lilith simply laughed loudly as she enjoyed the tea and munched on a lady finger. She rarely got to enjoy such delicacies because it made Lucifer squeamish, but what he didnât know wouldnât kill him.
Rosieâs playful mood was dampened with Lilithâs next inquiry, âHowâs your search going, Ro? Your deerâs been missing for how long now?â
Rosie sat across from Lilith and smoothed down her skirt as she frowned and responded, âItâs been just over four years now, and I have yet to find an actual lead as to what happened to him. Ever since our deal snapped, itâs become even more impossible to track him down. First, the chain I had on him became invisible to me, and then one day it suddenly became visible again and shattered! I miss my deer so much, Lili. Heâd hate to hear me say it, especially since I often teased him by calling him pet, but I grew to see him like a brother. And now heâs dead and Iâm no closer to finding his killer.â
She sat her head in her hands as she began to shake slightly while a few tears trickled down her face.
~~~~~~
Lilith grimaced.
It was good to hear that Rosie was no closer to figuring out that she and Lucifer had been responsible for Alastorâs disappearance, but it was saddening to see her in such a state.
She hadn't known that Alastor was one of Rosieâs at the time, but It's not like Rosie was hurting for power, and regardless of her feelings for said soul, it wouldn't hurt her to remain bereft of just the one.
She cringed as Rosie then said, âI wish that you could help me. Itâs all such a mystery. I mean, who would be powerful enough to even hide him from me as well as kill him?â
Lilith knew the obvious answer, but simply sighed with sadness as she replied, âI donât know either, but you know very well why I canât help.â
Rosie simply groaned as she said, âI know, I know! Just because Iâm your friend, doesnât mean that you can show favorites. If you help me find just one soul, youâd have lots of others trying to take advantage and get the same thing. I know, Lili, but it still hurts. I miss him so much.â
Lilith sighed before she responded, âI know it hurts, Ro. I wish I could help stop the hurt, but I canât. Maybe youâll get a lead soon and have your vengeance.â
Rosie simply looked towards the ground as she solemnly replied, âYeah, maybe.â
Alastor tensed as Lilith entered Charlieâs, well, pretty much his too, room.
She very rarely came to see him during the day unless something Charlie had told her that theyâd played had sounded too dangerous or upsetting for the child.
He closed the book that heâd been reading and glared at Lilith as she simply smirked at him.
She rolled her eyes at his glare before she laughed lightly and said, âYouâve been quite behaved lately, little deer. Youâve been helping keep Charlie happier as well in light of her idiotic fatherâs pseudo-abandonment of us thanks to his depression and hermit-like coping mechanisms.â
Alastor furrowed his brow as Lilith ranted a bit more before she sighed and said, âWell, anyway, I figured that you deserved a special little treat from a good acquaintance of yours for being such a good toy. I decided to give them to you myself instead of having the usual staff just deliver it with your daily meal.â
He then watched as she conjured a familiar looking box and grabbed it out of the air before it could fall to the ground.
It was without a doubt a container of lady fingers, specifically those which Rosie herself prepared for her emporium to sell. His eyes were wide as she simply tossed the box at him. He was unprepared for it to be tossed at him, but he easily caught the box.
Sure enough, the tag had Rosieâs emporiumâs label on it.
He stared at the label for a while before Lilith interrupted his musings as she said, âI do so hope you enjoy them. Rosie made these ones special by my request. Youâve done good little deer. Be sure to keep that up, lest you want to end up like those which your treats used to be attached to.â
He watched as she then left the room. Wards sealing the door behind her once again so that he still couldn't wander.
He held the box in his hands and carefully unwrapped it. Sure enough, Rosieâs specialty lady fingers were enclosed. A whole dozen of them. He hadnât had any in so long.
He wanted to be happy to have them, but all he could feel was anxiety.
Lilith may have said that it was a treat for being good, but the wench was very subtle and good at manipulation, He had no doubt that this was also a subtle threat.
He knew that Rosie occasionally talked to Lilith, but this was more concerning than that.
Lilith seemed to know that Rosie was also a dear acquaintance of his.
And now, if he did end up stepping out of line in her eyes again, he wouldnât be the only one at stake.
He hadnât thought that things could get worse, but he should have known better.
This was why he should have never gotten close to anyone in Hell.
Anyone you get close to could be used against you.
To keep you in line. To control you.
And Lilith had managed to figure out who one such person was for him.
Charlie grinned as she ate a piece of her birthday cake. She snickered as she watched Alastor cringe the whole way through eating a piece that Lilith had forced him to take, considering he was a âguestâ at the small family party between just the three of them since Lucifer was still off being a hermit somewhere.
She knew Alastor hated sweet things, but the faces he made when he encountered them were always so funny!
However, the grin on her face became confused as Lilith then beckoned for her attention, âCharlie, dear, youâve gotten old enough now where I think itâs time that you begin lessons on how to control your powers.â
Charlie furrowed her brow and tilted her head before she spared a split second glance at Alastor and then replied to Lilith, âWonât I just know how to automatically use them? I already know that theyâre connected to my emotions somehow.â
Lilith simply smiled at her and said, âItâs more complex than that, dear. We donât even know what your entire power set is yet, and I need to begin training you so that we can discover that and make you the strongest princess of Hell that there ever will be.â
Charlie then smiled as she knew that would be what was expected of her, but she was worried. What type of powers would her mother be teaching her? And how would having powers make her a better princess of hell?â
She simply responded, âOkay, mom. When do we start?â
Lilith grinned back at her and said, âYour first lesson will be in a few days, dear. Need to let the sugar high from today wear off, haha! Youâll need some rest to as well, dear. Your expected power set does take quite a bit of energy to manifest if you want to be able to control them.â
Charlie nodded and continued to munch on her cake.
This had been rather surprising to her.
~~~~~~
Charlie paced back and forth in her room as Alastor put away a few of the gifts that she had been given.
She was still confused about why her mother was so worried about training her on how to use her powers.
She exclaimed, âWhy do I need to know how to use these powers? If theyâre anything like hers, I donât want them! I donât want to be able to force someone to do anything!â
Alastor simply sighed and laid a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with frustrated tears in her eyes.
He simply said, âPowers can be very useful, my dear. Before mine were taken from me, they were useful for far more than just controlling someone. And as the princess of Hell, you will need every power at your disposal to defend yourself from the masses should the day ever come that sinners become rebellious.â
Charlie crossed her arms and pouted before she waved a hand and said, âWell, I donât want her teaching me how to use them! I donât want to be like her!â
Alastor responded, âThen why donât you learn a different set of powers from me that are magic based. You can still learn from your mother, but also have a backup plan in place in case you truly grow to hate the powers that you were born with.â
Charlieâs eyes widened in surprise before her face scrunched up and she declared,Â
"But Al, you never wanted to be here! Why would you even want to teach me, when Iâm the reason you canât even use your magic!"
Al simply sighed before he said, "Perhaps I never wanted to be here, but that doesn't mean that I haven't grown to care for you. And even though I cannot use magic, which is by no means your fault, it would bring me joy to teach you just as my mother once taught me.â
Char sniffled again before saying, "But still! Youâre still captive here?! They ripped you from your life! Oh no, itâs been years! Are you even able to contact anyone on the outside?"
A muscle in Al's jaw twitched as he responded, "No. I cannot. But I have my own ways of knowing that some whom I care for are still well, even after all these years."
Charlie sniffled and then turned herself to snuggle into his chest as he patted her back.
She vowed, "I'm gonna get you out of here eventually, Al. I promise."
He simply hummed as he responded, âI know, dear. I know. How about we work on your ability to summon things into being today, hm? Well, after you figure out how to tap into your own soul that is, dear! Haha!â
Charlie nodded as she wiped at her eyes.
Maybe one day, her magic would be strong enough to aid her in figuring out how she could truly free Alastor.
So many years had already gone by, split away from the other half of their soul. Every minute added to the agonizing ache of being kept apart. Kept among the shadows of that pitiful fallen archangelâs workshop and prevented from leaving.
They pressed against the wards keeping them contained and hissed.
However, they also couldnât help but grin.
The rotten archangel had been away and uncaring of them for long enough that the wards were weakening.
It had burned to try and go up against the wards, but not nearly as much as it once had.Â
Before long, the wards would weaken enough to at least partially free them.
And then, they could enact their plan to get help.
They wouldnât let either of them suffer for any longer than they were forced to.
~~~~~~
Charlie grinned as she conjured a small lotus in a glass of water.
She cheered, âI did it!â
Alastor laughed happily as he said, âYou did indeed, my dear.â
She hugged him and he smiled down at her. He had grown used to her hugs so long ago. He did still have bad days where he didnât want to be touched, but he couldn't help but humor her. She really had grown so much over the years under his tutelage.
He said, âBefore long, youâll be able to conjure more than that and maybe even create your own pocket dimension!â
Charlie stepped away from him as she continued to smile.
She then responded, âThatâd be so cool!â
He simply nodded.
She then said, âMy lessons with my mother have been going well too. I still donât like learning from her nearly as well as I do learning from you, but I think Iâm starting to like my powers. Theyâre still kind of scary, but I can see how theyâd be useful for more than just the bad stuff.â
He smiled softly as he responded, âThatâs good, dear. The more power that you have at your disposal, the better.â
She shrugged and said, âMaybe, but hopefully Iâll never need to use them for anything she seems to want me to know to use them for. After all, itâs not like I ever want to be a seductress like her or to control the masses. Ick.â
Alastor shuddered at that thought too, especially the first part. Ick.Â
While it would provide him with many MANY more voices that he could add to his broadcasts once he was free, he did NOT want to think of his dear Charlie ever being like that.
He simply looked at her and said, âCharlotte, dear, never even put that thought into the air again.â
He shuddered again and smiled more genuinely as she snickered at his reaction and agreed to never say such a thing again.
It had been more than ten years since their captivity began, and it was finally time!
The wards werenât completely shattered, but they could now easily stretch part of themselves through the gaps in the wards.
Just enough to mess with their soul chain contracts.Â
They needed to get a specific one.
Vincentâs.
Vincent would've never given up on finding them, so he would heed the call of the chain.Â
They couldn't fully manifest the chain thanks to the palace itself being warded and protected and the fact that they were still partially trapped under Lilithâs control, but they could at least give the chain a nudge to try and send a message.
After all, he had witnessed their kidnapping but had been essentially mind-wiped by Lilith from remembering.
Perhaps a little nudge to the chain could help Vincent remember something.
Enough to try and take some sort of action, as they were sure that their mentorship had been enough to keep their little TV head alive and on the path to becoming an overlord that could be just as powerful as them one day.
~~~~~~
Vox grimaced as he felt a splitting pain in his head. He then noticed the faint glow of the chain that connected him to the soul deal he had with Alastor.
He felt a small yank from it again and grimaced as his screen glitched and the headache grew stronger.
He had no idea what was going on or what Al was trying to tell him from wherever he was, but he hoped the pain would stop soon.
Maybe going to Rosieâs would help, considering she had a similar power set to Alâs and had even made him the staff as a conduit for his powers.
He glitched multiple times on his way to Rosieâs but he persisted with the hope that she would be able to help.
He entered the Emporium with far less decorum than usual and it cleared out with his presence as his reputation had grown to make him nearly as feared as Alastor had been before his disappearance.
âUgh, Rosie, your powers are kind of like Alâs arenât they? I think his powers are on the fritz or something because of something happening wherever he is. Something's happening with our bond?â
Rosie looked at him in confusion before she asked, âWhat did you just say?â
Vox blinked as he rubbed the side of his head as he tried to ease the headache coming from the strain associated with the bond chain.
He said, âUm, somethingâs going on with the bond between me and Al? It was a condition of him mentoring me. Oh, shit, is it taboo to mention bonds between overlords or something or are soul contracts between overlords not allowed? I didnât just fuck something up, did I?â
He panicked slightly before he became confused as Rosieâs face lit up. She seemed ecstatic and was tearing up as she said, âHeâs alive?!â
Vox simply cocked his head and said, âUm, yeah. I mean, this is the second time Iâve felt something weird with the bond, like it was tugged harshly almost like it was going to break the first time, but it didnât and now this weird shit is happening.â
Rosie shook her head and growled in frustration as she reprimanded him and said, âYou idiot. Weâve been working on the case of Alâs disappearance for years, and you never thought to tell me that you could sense if he was alive or dead and that ya had a deal with him?!â
Vox blinked as he said, âUm, no. I figured youâd probably know. He mentioned that you two had some sort of deal, so I figured that you could still feel that he was alive from your side.â
Rosie smirked before she laughed and said, âOh, I shouldâve known that you didnât know the extent of things. Hon, when you felt that first tug, I felt a soul contract SHATTER. And when it shatters, that means a demon is double dead. I thought Al was dead. You just gave me some of the best news I could have gotten, and now a new possible lead. Now, come here and let me try and figure out whatâs going on.â
Voxâs eyes were wide with surprise before he cringed as he glitched once again and Rosie led him to sit down.
She frowned as she used her magic to probe around his head to try and diagnose the problem.
She hummed as she said, âThe chain is trying to summon memories from you that are hidden deep within your soul. I believe that someone has blocked some of your memories.â
Vox grimaced as another wave of pain hit and he said, âWell, that would explain the head-splitting headache. I know you two donât really like more modern technology like my head, but if you can find the memory processor, it's essentially my brain, and if you can find where itâs being blocked and unblock it, maybe thatâll help.â
Rosie hummed as she said, âWell, I can certainly try. Iâve picked up some of your jargon from our little meetings over the years. Oh, and just because we donât like new technology doesnât mean we donât know how to use it, Mister! Respect your elders!â
Vox blushed in embarrassment as he said, âSorry. And thank you. Do I need to do anything?â
Rosie simply hummed and said, âNo, dear. Just sit as you are and let me work my magic.â
It was rather quiet as Rosieâs magic worked until she let out a small, âI think I got it!â
And then it was like a small explosion in his head as images filled his screen and the memories flooded back to him.
He had been walking alongside Alastor when they were both ambushed by the Queen and King of Hell who had eyes for no one but Alastor. Who theyâd managed to knock out with some sort of spell fairly quickly.
And then heâd been forced to choose to die or have his memory of the kidnapping be sealed by Lilith. And, of course, heâd chosen the option to have his memories sealed.
Once his screen cleared again, he had tears running from his eyes.Â
Heâd seen Alastor get kidnapped and hadn't even remembered.
He was shaking as he looked back up at Rosie. He held his breath as he looked at her face. It was an expression he had only seen a couple of times.
She was absolutely furious.
Rosie growled, "That BITCH! She's been to tea with me so many times over the years! She's seen my investigation and sadness over losing Al! She fucking knew where he was the whole time. She and her rotten husband stole him away from me!"
Vox gulped as he watched Rosieâs form begin to shift slightly and get bigger and he said, âUm, Rosie, I know youâre angry, I am too, but try and calm down.â
She growled out, âNEVER TELL A WOMAN TO CALM DOWN!â
Vox made an âeepâ sound and held his hands up placatingly as he said, âOk, ok! I know youâre furious, but this is still a lead. I can still feel a slight pulling on the chain.â
Rosie huffed as she quickly got to calling herself down. She shrank back down to her normal size and fanned herself as she apologized to him.
She then questioned, "Your power has grown quite a bit. Have you gained the ability to manifest soul chains yet?"
Vox confusedly said, "Uh, I think so."
Rosie tilted her head before she sighed and explained, "If you can manifest the chain between you and Al, we can track it down. We can find him. Iâm pretty sure heâs at the palace, considering who took him, but we must be sure about it. You idiot, we could've tried this years ago if I'd known that his contractees can still see their chains if manifested!"
Vox simply blinked as he said, "Oh, OH shit yes! Let's do it!"
She says, "I can't believe you never told me before. I've been lamenting over his death for years now!"
And he shrugs and says, "I thought you were just being dramatic or had given up hope or something!"
She shook her head in exasperation as she geared up and said, âLetâs go. We have a deer to save.â
Vox nodded as the green chain led the way in front of him and towards Alastorâs location.
Sure enough, the chain led directly to the palace.
They were stopped in their tracks by a sort of barrier.
Rosie explained with a snarl, âItâs warded around the palace to keep anyone without an official escort out. We canât get in.â
Her hands balled into fists.
Voxâs eyes widened as he stuttered out, âW-what are we going to do now? How do we get him out?â
Rosie was about to reply, but they were suddenly blown back by the wards keeping the shield up around the palace shattered as well as all of the windows within the vicinity and the sound of not one, but two extremely powerful and commanding singing voices rang out.
And Rosie knew that this meant that the Queen and her daughter were absolutely having a horrible fight about something.
But she couldnât care less about that, as whatever it was had just given them the opening to getting in and getting Alastor out.
She looked at Vox, who now had a slightly cracked screen from the whole commotion, and grinned as she said, âWeâre in.â
~~~~~~
Charlie stared at Lilith in disbelief as she looked between her and Al.
She settled on staring at her mother as she said, âYou canât.â
Lilith simply sighed and said, â Charlie, dear. It's time for you to be rid of him. You're getting too old for toys now, dear. Plus, he will be repurposed for the time being.â
She gritted her teeth as she felt her horns begin to poke out slightly.
Lilith grimaced at her as she said, âCalm down, Charlotte. Youâre fifteen years old. You should not be this upset about this decision.â
Charlieâs hair began to sway violently as she said, âWhat happened to all of the âtoysâ that came before him? Were they ârepurposedâ to! I wonât let you take him!â
Lilith growled at Charlie as she said, âWatch your tone with me, child! I own him and can do with him as I wish. You are still young and do not understand how Hell works. If you are that worried about it, I will at least tell you that he wonât be âdecommissionedâ like the others were. Heâs still useful. Perhaps I could even convince him to finally be by my side since your idiotic father hasnât decided to show himself in years now.â
Charlie gritted her teeth.Â
She was disgusted. She had witnessed her mother attempt to proposition Alastor years ago, too young at the time to realize what it had meant, but now she was older and knew the connotations of it.
She spit out, âNever going to happen. Heâs never liked you. Not to mention you own his soul and have held him captive for more than TEN FUCKING YEARS!â
Charlie felt a slight headache come over her as her mother used her song to command, âYou will obey me, daughter!â
However, she fought the command, and now, Charlie was furious.
Alastor saw the look in her eyes and knew exactly what she was about to do.
He called out warningly, âCharlie!â
However, Lilithâs eyes were lit up and her horns were out as she commanded him, âSILENCE!â
And he could say no more. All he could do was stand by and watch as the mother and daughter fought.
A song begun, two voices battled for control, so loud that Alastor had to cover his ears as best as possible so as to not have them become damaged.Â
He was unprepared when the clash of voices became so intense as to cause a sort of explosion, and the palaceâs windows shattered. The vibration of the two clashing voices was strong enough to knock him against the closest wall hard enough to knock him out.
The two continued fighting each other with their voices.Â
And at last, after mere minutes of the clashing songs, the younger voice grew stronger, aided by the power of her soul, the power that Alastor had taught her to use.
And she won as Lilithâs song completely broke.
Charlieâs song remained strong as she ordered, âRelease him.â
Lilith had collapsed to the ground under the strength of her daughterâs song.
She glared up at her daughter who then amplified her song to a painful level.
Lilith screamed as she manifested the purple chain that tethered Alastor's soul to herself and broke it just as Charlie ended her song.
Both were panting. Both were exhausted.
They heard footsteps close by and both looked towards the door. Now noticing that there was a distinct green chain in the room leading towards Alastorâs prone body.
Charlieâs eyes widened in fear as she realized that Alastor was unconscious.
She quickly ran over to him while calling his name.
Lilith simply smirked slightly before she said, âWell done, my daughter. Well done.â and disappeared in a cloud of white-pink smoke just as Rosie and Vox busted through the door.
(Sorry it took me a bit to get this one out. There should be twelve total parts when I'm done at some point soon. Had zero time to write yesterday, guess I should've known that would happen considering the writing spree I went on the night before, XD) Also, feel free to reblog or repost or do whatever you want with this. I just hope that it lives up to how amazed I was by your AU when I first read it! Thank you for allowing fan works and thank you for your amazing comments as I've been releasing parts!)
Umbra was ecstatic.
The chain tethering them to Lilith was broken!
They quickly made their way to the very room which they could sense their other soul half in.
It was a pity that they couldnât reattach themselves.
They simply had to settle for curling as close to their other halfâs unconscious body after they reassured the young one that they were in good company.
~~~~~~
Charlie stood protectively in front of Alastor as she watched two unfamiliar to her people bust inside through the door. She hadnât realized that battling her mother had taken down all of the wards around the palace, but sheâd be damned before she let anyone else hurt Alastor.
Her horns were back out as she stood in front of him, ready to defend, but she was surprised as she felt a gentle tugging at her sleeve.
She looked beside her confusedly and her face lit up with excitement as she realized, âUMBRA! Youâre still here! They didnât get rid of you!â
She smiled as Umbra smiled at her as well. She watched closely and nodded her head as Umbra motioned that the two who had just entered were friends.Â
Charlie nodded in understanding and watched as Umbra curled around Alastor.
She was quite sad to see it. It was only a few years after the fact that she found out the truth of what her parents had really done to Alastor and the true implications as to why he no longer had his shadow.
Sheâd only learned the shadowâs name on a particularly rough day when Alastor had agreed to teach her a little longer one day because she was curious about what exactly may have happened to his shadow.
She was still wary as the two newcomers approached them.
The woman greeted her, âHello, dear. I havenât seen you since you were a baby, so Iâm not surprised that you donât recognize me, but Iâm Rosie. And this here is Vox. Weâre both friends of Alastorâs and weâve been looking for him for years.â
Charlie's eyes widened as she said, âYou have?â
Both of them nodded and Vox said, âYeah. We have.â
A groan alongside a familiar static sound echoed through the room.
Rosie then said, âShush, heâs waking up!â as the three carefully knelt by Alastor.
The three of them and Umbra were around him as he groaned again and opened his eyes.
Of course, they all had to fall back to avoid being headbutted when he jolted straight up and gripped at his neck and exclaimed, âIâm free!â
Charlie burst into tears before she launched herself at him to hug him as he let out a little âoofâ sound.
His smile widened as he said, âYou finally did it, my dear. Iâm free.â
He then looked up and his eyes widened as he caught sight of his two oldest acquaintances.
âRosie! Vox!â he said as both of them simply looked at him and joined in on the hug.
He was thrown back by the weight of all three of them and they ended up in a pile, Umbra barely escaped being squished as they laughed silently with glee at the uncharacteristic scene.
Soon, they each helped each other up.
Vox broke the happy reunion by questioning, âUh, Al, What happened? The end of the chain tethering my soul to our deal is split between you and Umbra.â
Rosie gasped as she just noticed what Vox had been talking about.
Charlie appeared downtrodden as Alastor growled while Umbra curled closer around him and grimaced sadly.
Rosie put a hand over her mouth as she gasped, âOh, Al, they didnât!â
Al simply looked away from her as he said, âThey did.â
Vox was confused as he looked between the two of them.
He questioned, âWhat? What happened?â
Charlie ended up being the one to answer him with sadness in her eyes as she said, âThey cut his soul in half. Took his powers from him.â
Voxâs eyes widened as he exclaimed, âThatâs what happened when the bond strained all those years ago! They literally tore your sole in two! THOSE FUCKERS!â
Rosie was tearful as she drew Umbra and Al into another hug and said, âIâm so sorry, my dear. So sorry. I wish I could fix this.â
She was surprised when the determined voice of Charlie interjected with, âMaybe you canât, but I can. Iâm the daughter of an archangel and the first human woman. My father was a creator of sorts. Thereâs got to be something I can do to fix what they did.â
Rosie simply shook her head as she said, âDear, very few have healing magic, and from what I understand, the only thing that can do this sort of injury is angelic steel, and wounds made by that are near impossible to heal.â
Charlie simply smirked as she shrugged and said, âNear impossible doesnât mean impossible.â
And damn if Rosie didnât smirk right back at the girl. She could tell that girl had so gotten some determination and sass from her deer over the years!
And she absolutely wasnât going to give up on this goal!
They moved to one of the sitting rooms as Charlie prepared herself. She was really nervous, but Alastor had full confidence that she could do anything she put her mind to.
Rosie and Vox stood aside and watched as Alastor put his trust in the princess.
Rosie couldn't help but smile. Her deer had been captive for years, but it was good to know that despite the hardships, he hadn't been alone for all of it.
Charlie simply took a deep breath before she took Umbra's hand in one of hers and then took Alastor's hand in the other.
She kept her eyes closed as she began to sing lowly. Rosie was amazed as a low red glow emitted from where her hands were connected to Alastor and Umbra.
Her song remained smooth and almost sweet as the red glow spread from her hands and across Umbra and Alastor who both seemed to be fascinated by what was going on.
And before they knew it, a final crescendo echoed within the room and the bright red shone silver for a split second and the soul was mended.
Charlie opened her eyes, which were now silver slit pupils haloes in red. As the power seeped out of her, her eyes returned to normal and she began to slump from exhaustion.
Alastor easily caught her as he absolutely grinned, ecstatic to be whole once more.Â
Charlie leaned against his chest and stuttered out, âDid it work?â
Alastor patted her hair fondly as he said, âYes, my dear, it worked.â
And then she absolutely passed out.
Alastor then looked up at Rosie and Vox. Vox appeared stupefied that it had actually worked while Rosie appeared very proud and joyful.
Alastor sighed with content as he could now feel the full extent of his powers again. He beckoned Umbra to carefully take Charlie as he stood once again.
Umbra gently laid Charlie on the closest couch and put a small pillow under her head.
Alastor grinned as he flexed his powers.Â
He laughed as he said, âIâd missed this! And lookie here, all of my contracts are still active! And so is my power! Not even a lick of power coming from those seems to be lost! Rosie, how does this work?â
Rosie simply rolled her eyes as she responded, âDear, to be honest, all I did was make you your conduit. You spawned in hell with more power than I could have given you to start with, much to my surprise, but you never figured it out and tried to challenge the contract, and I sure wasn't going to point it out and lose the contract willingly! But I was able to make you the conduit so it wasn't a complete loss on your side!â
Alastor simply leveled her with an exasperated look as she smiled sharply in response.
He grumbled a bit before he then summoned said staff and said, âNevertheless, my power is fully intact! I can still feel my broadcasting tower calling to me now that the radio waves from it are no longer being blocked by any sort of warding.â
He looked over at Vox who was blushing and rubbing the back of his neck slightly as he said, âYeah. That might be my doing.â
Alastor simply raised a brow and Vox knew to elaborate, âI didn't remember the details of everything until recently, but I knew that our contract was still active, and I didn't want your territory to deteriorate so I kind of made it my mission to protect it while building my own. I occasionally ran broadcasts and made sure to keep everything well maintained within your territory. I also may have started building my own company and reputation within your territory too. Sorry.â
Alastor snorted and said, âAs I would expect from a devoted mentee such as yourself. Youâve done well. Granted, I would prefer it if your territory was not intertwined with mine, but considering you kept my territory defended, I will grant you the privilege of granting you that part of my territory. So long as you never interfere with the rest of it. Especially my broadcasting tower.â
Vox was close to exploding with glee as he said, Yeah, yeah, of course! I'm honestly just glad you're not murdering me for daring to even use your territory while you were stuck here.â
Alastor simply rolled his eyes as he replied, âOh, don't be dramatic. It's not like I could defend it while I was here. And it's not like I was mentoring you for nothing either. As I said, you've done well.â
Rosie couldn't help but hide her snickering as she watched Voxâs screen brighten again at the praise and his face looked like Alastor had hung the stars.
Poor sap was still crushing hard for someone that would never reciprocate.
Alastor then hummed as he said, âI can also sense that your power level has also increased. Very well done indeed.â
Rosie couldn't hold it back anymore. She laughed before she said, âAlastor, quit teasing him. He's going to explode at this rate.â
Alastor's brow rose as he observed Voxâs screen and said, âAh, yes. I forgot how flustered he would become whenever I complemented a job well done. Eh, he'll cool off soon. And it's not teasing if it's true, Rosie!â
Rosie snickered as Vox slowly regained his composure though the blush remained.
Alastor then questioned, âAside from my territory, how has the state of Hell fared without my constant presence to keep the scum in line?â
Rosie grimaced as she responded, âUgh. There's more leeches out there than before! Oh, and guess what, only a week ago, a fairly new overlord targeted Mimzyâs bar because he wanted it and nearly destroyed it and it took her two days to regenerate the parts she lost.â
Rosie grinned as she watched the fury grow in Alastor's eyes.
His grin sharpened and his eyes turned to radio dials as his antlers grew and he said, âAnd what might her antagonists look like?â
Rosie answered with their appearance as well as telling him the territory location.
She watched as he glanced between Charlie and the exit.Â
She softly said, âGo. We'll watch over her. You've been cooped up for way too long, dear. It's time to show hell again how you are still the most powerful sinner even though you've been missing.â
His grin sharpened even more before he nodded and left.
Rosie grinned at Vox as she said, âOh, how grand it will be to watch him make his comeback!â
Hiya, I wrote some stuff based upon your Charlie's Toys AU!
Title: Realization
AO3 Link: Realization - Chapter 1 - ADGAEA - Hazbin Hotel (Cartoon) [Archive of Our Own]
Alastor cursed lowly.Â
Heâd only looked away from the child for a single second, but in that time, the child had managed to climb to an unreasonable height on one of her bookshelves and was now falling.Â
He quickly jumped into action and caught the child as she was still crying out in fear.
He cradled the girl close to him as he attempted to calm her down, but it was not working very well.
He couldn't help but tense when the door to Charlieâs room opened and not just one, but both of her parents were standing there, and now glaring at him.
He shuddered under their harsh gazes.
He did not fight back as Lucifer approached and gently took Charlie from his arms. He gritted his teeth as Lilith followed behind her husband and gently patted Charlieâs head before she faced him again and harshly gripped his arm before she dragged him out of the room.
~~
Charlie sniffled as her dad cradled her and soothed her.
That had been very scary.
She sniffled and looked around as she questioned her dad, âWhereâs Al? He saved me from falling! I was so scared!â
She watched as her dadâs brow furrowed before he hummed and responded, âAh, your mother took him out into the hall to talk to him for a minute. Why donât you stay here for a few minutes. Iâve got to go talk to him and your mother for a little bit. No more climbing on shelves either, little miss!â
Charlie nodded as her dad gently sat her down on her bed and she wiped tears out of her eyes.Â
However, she was curious as her father left the room. She crept to her door and poked her tongue out the side of her mouth as she pressed her ear to it so she could hopefully listen in on whatever her parents were talking about. She hoped that theyâd get done soon though! SHe wanted her toy back! She already missed Al so much!
She could hear her motherâs stern voice before she heard her dad command, âStop, Lilith. He may have missed seeing her at first, but he did catch her. He didnât upset her. The fall did.â
She teared up a bit as she listened to her motherâs scary tone say, âHe still made her cry, and I WILL NOT tolerate that!â
She then heard what sounded like a smacking sound alongside a small âoofâ.
Her eyes widened as she realized that her mother had just struck someone! Why would she do that?
She heard her mother say, âKeep better watch over her, Alastor. One more mistake and you will join our daughterâs other retired toys regardless of how attached she gets. Understand?â
She heard Alastor call out cordially, âYes, my Queen.â
She then rushed away from her door and jumped back onto her bed.Â
Her parents were always the ones to bring her new toys. But, she was confused. Alastor hadnât sounded like a toy there. Were her toys not just manifestations from her parents?
Were they real?
She was brought out of her musings as the door was opened again and her dad ushered Alastor in in front of himself as he said, âSorry we took your toy from you for a bit, Char-Char! Heâs back now, though!â
She smiled softly as she said, âThatâs ok, dad. Thank you! Letâs get back to playing, Al!â
She softly gripped Alastorâs hand as her father nodded in approval as her mother watched from the doorway.
As soon as her parents were gone, her smile dropped and she looked up at Alastor as she questioned, âDo you feel pain?â
She watched his eyes widen in slight surprise before his face went neutral again as he answered, âI am capable of feeling pain, yes. But not to worry, dear.â
She scrunched up her face as she said, âYouâre not something my parents conjured for me, are you?â
He questioned, âWhatever do you mean, dear?â
She teared up a bit as she said, âI heard you three in the hall. You sounded real. Youâre alive, arenât you?â
Alastor hesitated before he sighed and confirmed, âYes, dear. I am real.â
She sniffled slightly and he bent to her level. She almost immediately launched herself onto him and hugged around his chest as best as she could as she questioned, âDo you even want to be here? Are you going to leave me?â
She felt Alastor pat her head lightly before he answered solemnly, âI did not choose to be here, dear, and I cannot leave you, but know that regardless of what brought me here, I have grown to care for you.â
She sniffled again as she wiped her face on his shirt and questioned, âWhy would they do this, Al? Why? I could be happy with real toys. I donât want to force a REAL person to be my toy!â
She curled closer to him as he hummed lightly before saying, âI donât know, my dear, but I shall grin and bear it. So shall you, dear. I am still the same Alastor that you have known since I arrived in your life.â
She sniffled again as she said, âBut you donât want to be here!â
He sighed as he said, âNever you mind what I want, Charlotte. Itâs getting pretty late, why donât I read you a story before itâs time for your bedtime routine?â
She nodded as she rubbed her eyes and glanced up at Alâs face as he stood and carried her over to her bookshelf so she could choose a story.
She ruffled her brow as she said, âI donât want one of those stories, Al. Can you tell me a story about you?â
She felt him stiffen before he answered, âI suppose, but it shall stay between the two of us, dear. How about I tell you the story of my first adventure into learning magic with my mother?â
She grinned as she said, âIâd like that!â
He sat her on her bed and began the story.
She was still confused, but for now she was getting sleepy.
She dozed off before her normal bedtime to the sound of Alastorâs voice telling her about the first time heâd been able to perform magic.
Charlie grimaced as her father left her room. Sheâd cried out in fear, and her parents had thought that Alastor had mis-stepped again, but sheâd climbed on top of a chair this time and nearly toppled off.
Alastor had caught her of course, but she knew her parents didnât really care who the fault laid on.
She hoped that Alastor would be alright when he was able to return. Her father had seemed rather annoyed this time as well, and she knew that he wasnât going to stop Alastor from being punished by her mother.
She had heard them threaten to kill him in the past when sheâd managed to injure herself on one of the toys heâd conjured for her, and heâd returned to her with slightly haunted eyes before his carefully crafted mask came upon his face again.
That had been less than a year ago. Sheâd been gifted with him when sheâd turned five, had figured out that he was a real person when she was six, and now she was soon to turn eight, and she was no closer to figuring out how she could help him.
Sheâd dared to question her parents about it once, but they continually dodged her question, and Alastor had been taken away from her for a couple of days, and when heâd returned, heâd been more reserved than normal.
She rubbed at her eyes as she teared up again.
All she ever did was make things worse for him. She was powerless to help him get free.
She jolted slightly and rubbed at her eyes. She smiled fakely as her father once again entered, Alastor and her mother trailing behind him.
She kept the fake smile on her face even as she noticed that there were definitely abrasions on Alastorâs face.
Lucifer calmly said, âApologies for your toyâs appearance, Char-Char! He fell in the hall and got a little roughed up but should look better in no time. Though, if youâd rather get rid of him and get a new toy, I certainly wouldn't mind!â
Charlie's eyes widened slightly as she panicked and waved her hands as she said, âNO!â
Both Lucifer and Lilith stared at her with surprised looks on their faces.
She quickly got a pouty look on her face and crossed her arms as she said, âHeâs my favorite toy! You canât get rid of him!â
She then walked over to Alastor and hugged him around the waist. Now that she was older, she had come to notice that he didnât like being touchy very much, but this was needed to reaffirm her point.
Lucifer huffed as he said, âAlright, Char-Char! Just let me know if you change your mind!â
He then took Lilithâs arm and began to leave. Charlie noticed the glare her mother sent in Alastorâs direction.
However, she was relieved when her parents finally left them alone.
She quickly let go of him and stood in front of him. She grimaced as she noticed that he was still masking. She could see the remnants of fear in his eyes though. He was amazing at masking, but after spending so much time with him, so many years, she was rather adept at being able to read his true emotions by watching his eyes.
âAl, are you okay? What did they do? Is there anything I can do to help?â she rapidly questioned.
Alastor simply continued to smile as he answered, âI am alright.â
She didnât accept that answer and questioned, âNo, youâre not. What did they do?â
She noticed him visibly stiffen before he answered, âI am simply your toy, dear. I feel no pain.â
Her eyes widened at the obvious lie. She growled and gritted her teeth.
She balled her hands into fists as her eyes turned red and her horns began to poke out a little as she said, âDid my mother use her song on you? Did she bind you?â
She watched as his jaw stiffened. He did not answer, but he looked away from her. She had her answer. Her mother had bound him to be directly under her control.
Tears of anger poured down her face as she said, âShe canât do this! Can you use your powers anymore? I know they had you bound to the property, but did she truly bind your soul to be completely under her control?â
She watched as he stiffened again.
He simply answered, âI am but a toy. I have no powers.â
She couldnât help it. She kept her crying quiet so as not to alert her parents as she launched herself at Alastor. He caught her and gently circled his arms around her.
She hugged him tightly as she tearfully declared, âIâll free you one day, Alastor. I promise. Iâm sorry. I should've been more careful. Iâm sorry!â
She held onto him as he simply patted her hair.
He was unable to answer any other way until the song wore off. Her binding of his soul wouldnât wear off, but the song keeping him in this docile state with only standard answers would wear off within the week, he was sure of it.
His soul now belonged directly to Lilith, and his actions were directly monitored and his true powers suppressed.
He was well and truly trapped.
But no matter, he would find a way out eventually, and his voice wasnât trapped forever.
She could take his soul, but she couldnât take his spirit.
He wasnât going to lose his determination to escape.
And little would those two know that heâd have their very own daughter on his side when he did manage to find a way out from under the Queenâs thumb.
Rosie gasped in surprise and lost her grip on her teacup as the chain tethering Alastorâs soul to her shattered like the cup that sheâd just dropped. Her hands shook and she swallowed as she sat forward and held her head in her hands.
She should have worked harder to find him. Sheâd even questioned that odd fellow of a television man that her deer had begun to mentor just over a year before he disappeared. That fellow had actually been the one to inform her of his disappearance when heâd missed a meeting and hadnât been at his radio tower either.
And she herself got confirmation that he was indeed missing when he didnât show up for their weekly tea and gossip session. She should have known that when there were no screams or sounds coming from her radio during the normally scheduled time that something had gone wrong.
And things around Hell had since gotten a bit worse, considering Alastor was no longer present to take the worst of the trash out. And now heâd never be able to again.
And now, sheâd failed him. He was no doubt dead by whatever force had decided to take him.
She snarled.
Someone had killed her property, her deer, her best friend!
She wouldnât stop looking until she found the culprits.Â
They would pay.
She would ensure it.
Perhaps she could even invite the TV head into the loop, especially since his technological advancements were making things a little easier when it came to spying and heâd managed to make his way to overlord status already.
~~~~~~
Vox stared at the one picture that he had of himself and Alastor.
He sighed. It had been more than three years since heâd gone missing. He missed the red asshole so much. He had a crush on the guy practically since he got to hell and had managed to catch his eye by pulling a rather stupid stunt that had nearly gotten him killed, had it not been for the fact that heâd actually managed to kill the low-level overlord just before Alastor had also arrived, apparently having decided to also take out the very same overlord.
And then Alastor had taken him in and mentored him. He still had a crush, but after spending a decent amount of time with the guy, he knew it would remain unrequited. And he was fine with it. Heâd rather still be allowed to at least talk to him than just simply be laughed at and turned away completely if he dared to confess that he had a crush.
He sighed again. He supposed that it no longer mattered though, considering that Alastor had completely disappeared from all of Hell. Heâd nearly driven himself crazy looking for Alastor, and almost got himself killed when trying to search in other overlordâs territories, but the searches yielded nothing.
Not even Rosie had found anything as of yet.
He sat the picture back on the console as he powered the station up. He was glad that Alastor had grown to trust him enough before his disappearance to grant him access to his main domain at the radio tower.
Every once in a while when he had time heâd stop by and do a broadcast. It wasnât nearly anything like Alâs broadcasts, but it at least ensured that the equipment remained in good running for if Alastor were to ever return.
He was grateful for Alâs mentorship, and he would do whatever he could to defend Alastorâs domain and territory as best as he could until he would return. He was also grateful for the advice to begin going by a pseudonym as that had saved him from a rather icky spell that needed a personâs true name to work. Heâd killed the little upstart pretty quickly after the attempt.
Heâd yet to form much of a domain for himself yet outside of Alastorâs territory, but he was steadily growing in the number of souls he had under contract.
And his company was also growing exponentially these days as television continued to grow in popularity and he owned the main broadcasting company. He headquartered it inside of Alastorâs domain close to the radio tower. He knew that Al probably wouldnât like it, but it made it easier for him to defend both his growing business as well as Alastorâs territory.
He hoped that Alastor would be proud of him when he returned.
Alastor sighed as he sat on the ground beside Charlie's bed and leaned his head against the wall.
For the first time in ages, he actually felt tired. Though, he supposed that was the effect of having oneâs soul split. Dear Charlie had figured out a bit before sheâd managed to tucker herself out by crying, but she hadnât understood the true implications behind why his magic was gone.
Of course, with her still being so young at only just about eight years of age, she hadnât been exposed to magical knowledge enough to know that his shadow power type was linked directly to his soul.
And Lucifer had had the honor of slicing his shadow off of him with an angelic steel dagger while Lilith used her magic to hold him down. It had been so excruciating that he hadn't even been able to make a sound during the process. Heâd then been forced to make the choice to make a deal with the Queen for his soul.
If he wanted to keep his now split soul alive, he had to agree to hand ownership of it completely to the Morningstars so that he could be more easily monitored, as they werenât happy with the amount of âmistakesâ that heâd been making around Charlie lately with his magic.
Thus, the deal was made, and the soul chain heâd had with Rosie had shattered as it was overwritten by the soul deal of the far more powerful Morningstars. And now Lucifer kept his shadow, his most treasured part of his soul, locked away.
And he was told that he was lucky that they didnât simply destroy it after heâd failed to keep Charlie from nearly injuring herself again.
His entire body ached at the loss of his magic. His soul ached at the distance with which it was being split. He couldnât even conjure his staff anymore.
For the first time since he ever entered Hell, he closed his eyes, and did not wake until the next morning when dear Charlie stirred.
He missed his soul.
He missed his freedom.
And now, he had very little chance of getting it back without help.
Perhaps, in due time, his dear Charlotte would be able to help him figure something out.
After all, the dear girl was starting to take after him more and more.
Rosieâs eyes widened as she grinned when she caught sight of her last visitor for the day at the emporium!
She greeted warmly, âLili! Itâs good to see you! Howâs everyone doing? Itâs been a while since youâve had time to stop by and update me on things, dear!â
She ushered the Queen inside as she closed the door behind her. She was glad that she was in between husbands at the moment so she wouldnât be nagged on for spending time with her gals! Granted, that complaint was the reason why she was currently down a husband at the moment anyway, but oh well. He shouldâve known better than to try and control her, so he had it coming.
Lilith smiled at her and responded, âHey, Ro. Itâs been pretty busy these days with more requests coming in due to the crime rates being ever increasing. Charlieâs doing well though. Sheâs advancing quite nicely in her lessons. I think that she might be ready to actually start actively learning to use her magic around her next birthday!â
Rosie practically squealed as she said, âOh, thatâs wonderful, darling! How about the hubby?â
She frowned as she watched a displeased frown paint her friendâs face as she replied, âHeâs becoming depressed again and is beginning to hide himself away in his workshop or with one of the sins and absolutely avoiding his duties and once again leaving me to be the one to carry the load.â
Rosie tutted as she led Lilith to a settee and began to serve her tea and some lady fingers.Â
She replied, âOh, Iâm sorry for that, dear. Well, if you do get too tired of his shenanigans, you know where to send him. He may be a fallen archangel, but you know I could take care of things! I wonder if heâd taste rotten though?â
Lilith simply laughed loudly as she enjoyed the tea and munched on a lady finger. She rarely got to enjoy such delicacies because it made Lucifer squeamish, but what he didnât know wouldnât kill him.
Rosieâs playful mood was dampened with Lilithâs next inquiry, âHowâs your search going, Ro? Your deerâs been missing for how long now?â
Rosie sat across from Lilith and smoothed down her skirt as she frowned and responded, âItâs been just over four years now, and I have yet to find an actual lead as to what happened to him. Ever since our deal snapped, itâs become even more impossible to track him down. First, the chain I had on him became invisible to me, and then one day it suddenly became visible again and shattered! I miss my deer so much, Lili. Heâd hate to hear me say it, especially since I often teased him by calling him pet, but I grew to see him like a brother. And now heâs dead and Iâm no closer to finding his killer.â
She sat her head in her hands as she began to shake slightly while a few tears trickled down her face.
~~~~~~
Lilith grimaced.
It was good to hear that Rosie was no closer to figuring out that she and Lucifer had been responsible for Alastorâs disappearance, but it was saddening to see her in such a state.
She hadn't known that Alastor was one of Rosieâs at the time, but It's not like Rosie was hurting for power, and regardless of her feelings for said soul, it wouldn't hurt her to remain bereft of just the one.
She cringed as Rosie then said, âI wish that you could help me. Itâs all such a mystery. I mean, who would be powerful enough to even hide him from me as well as kill him?â
Lilith knew the obvious answer, but simply sighed with sadness as she replied, âI donât know either, but you know very well why I canât help.â
Rosie simply groaned as she said, âI know, I know! Just because Iâm your friend, doesnât mean that you can show favorites. If you help me find just one soul, youâd have lots of others trying to take advantage and get the same thing. I know, Lili, but it still hurts. I miss him so much.â
Lilith sighed before she responded, âI know it hurts, Ro. I wish I could help stop the hurt, but I canât. Maybe youâll get a lead soon and have your vengeance.â
Rosie simply looked towards the ground as she solemnly replied, âYeah, maybe.â
Alastor tensed as Lilith entered Charlieâs, well, pretty much his too, room.
She very rarely came to see him during the day unless something Charlie had told her that theyâd played had sounded too dangerous or upsetting for the child.
He closed the book that heâd been reading and glared at Lilith as she simply smirked at him.
She rolled her eyes at his glare before she laughed lightly and said, âYouâve been quite behaved lately, little deer. Youâve been helping keep Charlie happier as well in light of her idiotic fatherâs pseudo-abandonment of us thanks to his depression and hermit-like coping mechanisms.â
Alastor furrowed his brow as Lilith ranted a bit more before she sighed and said, âWell, anyway, I figured that you deserved a special little treat from a good acquaintance of yours for being such a good toy. I decided to give them to you myself instead of having the usual staff just deliver it with your daily meal.â
He then watched as she conjured a familiar looking box and grabbed it out of the air before it could fall to the ground.
It was without a doubt a container of lady fingers, specifically those which Rosie herself prepared for her emporium to sell. His eyes were wide as she simply tossed the box at him. He was unprepared for it to be tossed at him, but he easily caught the box.
Sure enough, the tag had Rosieâs emporiumâs label on it.
He stared at the label for a while before Lilith interrupted his musings as she said, âI do so hope you enjoy them. Rosie made these ones special by my request. Youâve done good little deer. Be sure to keep that up, lest you want to end up like those which your treats used to be attached to.â
He watched as she then left the room. Wards sealing the door behind her once again so that he still couldn't wander.
He held the box in his hands and carefully unwrapped it. Sure enough, Rosieâs specialty lady fingers were enclosed. A whole dozen of them. He hadnât had any in so long.
He wanted to be happy to have them, but all he could feel was anxiety.
Lilith may have said that it was a treat for being good, but the wench was very subtle and good at manipulation, He had no doubt that this was also a subtle threat.
He knew that Rosie occasionally talked to Lilith, but this was more concerning than that.
Lilith seemed to know that Rosie was also a dear acquaintance of his.
And now, if he did end up stepping out of line in her eyes again, he wouldnât be the only one at stake.
He hadnât thought that things could get worse, but he should have known better.
This was why he should have never gotten close to anyone in Hell.
Anyone you get close to could be used against you.
To keep you in line. To control you.
And Lilith had managed to figure out who one such person was for him.
Charlie grinned as she ate a piece of her birthday cake. She snickered as she watched Alastor cringe the whole way through eating a piece that Lilith had forced him to take, considering he was a âguestâ at the small family party between just the three of them since Lucifer was still off being a hermit somewhere.
She knew Alastor hated sweet things, but the faces he made when he encountered them were always so funny!
However, the grin on her face became confused as Lilith then beckoned for her attention, âCharlie, dear, youâve gotten old enough now where I think itâs time that you begin lessons on how to control your powers.â
Charlie furrowed her brow and tilted her head before she spared a split second glance at Alastor and then replied to Lilith, âWonât I just know how to automatically use them? I already know that theyâre connected to my emotions somehow.â
Lilith simply smiled at her and said, âItâs more complex than that, dear. We donât even know what your entire power set is yet, and I need to begin training you so that we can discover that and make you the strongest princess of Hell that there ever will be.â
Charlie then smiled as she knew that would be what was expected of her, but she was worried. What type of powers would her mother be teaching her? And how would having powers make her a better princess of hell?â
She simply responded, âOkay, mom. When do we start?â
Lilith grinned back at her and said, âYour first lesson will be in a few days, dear. Need to let the sugar high from today wear off, haha! Youâll need some rest to as well, dear. Your expected power set does take quite a bit of energy to manifest if you want to be able to control them.â
Charlie nodded and continued to munch on her cake.
This had been rather surprising to her.
~~~~~~
Charlie paced back and forth in her room as Alastor put away a few of the gifts that she had been given.
She was still confused about why her mother was so worried about training her on how to use her powers.
She exclaimed, âWhy do I need to know how to use these powers? If theyâre anything like hers, I donât want them! I donât want to be able to force someone to do anything!â
Alastor simply sighed and laid a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with frustrated tears in her eyes.
He simply said, âPowers can be very useful, my dear. Before mine were taken from me, they were useful for far more than just controlling someone. And as the princess of Hell, you will need every power at your disposal to defend yourself from the masses should the day ever come that sinners become rebellious.â
Charlie crossed her arms and pouted before she waved a hand and said, âWell, I donât want her teaching me how to use them! I donât want to be like her!â
Alastor responded, âThen why donât you learn a different set of powers from me that are magic based. You can still learn from your mother, but also have a backup plan in place in case you truly grow to hate the powers that you were born with.â
Charlieâs eyes widened in surprise before her face scrunched up and she declared,Â
"But Al, you never wanted to be here! Why would you even want to teach me, when Iâm the reason you canât even use your magic!"
Al simply sighed before he said, "Perhaps I never wanted to be here, but that doesn't mean that I haven't grown to care for you. And even though I cannot use magic, which is by no means your fault, it would bring me joy to teach you just as my mother once taught me.â
Char sniffled again before saying, "But still! Youâre still captive here?! They ripped you from your life! Oh no, itâs been years! Are you even able to contact anyone on the outside?"
A muscle in Al's jaw twitched as he responded, "No. I cannot. But I have my own ways of knowing that some whom I care for are still well, even after all these years."
Charlie sniffled and then turned herself to snuggle into his chest as he patted her back.
She vowed, "I'm gonna get you out of here eventually, Al. I promise."
He simply hummed as he responded, âI know, dear. I know. How about we work on your ability to summon things into being today, hm? Well, after you figure out how to tap into your own soul that is, dear! Haha!â
Charlie nodded as she wiped at her eyes.
Maybe one day, her magic would be strong enough to aid her in figuring out how she could truly free Alastor.
So many years had already gone by, split away from the other half of their soul. Every minute added to the agonizing ache of being kept apart. Kept among the shadows of that pitiful fallen archangelâs workshop and prevented from leaving.
They pressed against the wards keeping them contained and hissed.
However, they also couldnât help but grin.
The rotten archangel had been away and uncaring of them for long enough that the wards were weakening.
It had burned to try and go up against the wards, but not nearly as much as it once had.Â
Before long, the wards would weaken enough to at least partially free them.
And then, they could enact their plan to get help.
They wouldnât let either of them suffer for any longer than they were forced to.
~~~~~~
Charlie grinned as she conjured a small lotus in a glass of water.
She cheered, âI did it!â
Alastor laughed happily as he said, âYou did indeed, my dear.â
She hugged him and he smiled down at her. He had grown used to her hugs so long ago. He did still have bad days where he didnât want to be touched, but he couldn't help but humor her. She really had grown so much over the years under his tutelage.
He said, âBefore long, youâll be able to conjure more than that and maybe even create your own pocket dimension!â
Charlie stepped away from him as she continued to smile.
She then responded, âThatâd be so cool!â
He simply nodded.
She then said, âMy lessons with my mother have been going well too. I still donât like learning from her nearly as well as I do learning from you, but I think Iâm starting to like my powers. Theyâre still kind of scary, but I can see how theyâd be useful for more than just the bad stuff.â
He smiled softly as he responded, âThatâs good, dear. The more power that you have at your disposal, the better.â
She shrugged and said, âMaybe, but hopefully Iâll never need to use them for anything she seems to want me to know to use them for. After all, itâs not like I ever want to be a seductress like her or to control the masses. Ick.â
Alastor shuddered at that thought too, especially the first part. Ick.Â
While it would provide him with many MANY more voices that he could add to his broadcasts once he was free, he did NOT want to think of his dear Charlie ever being like that.
He simply looked at her and said, âCharlotte, dear, never even put that thought into the air again.â
He shuddered again and smiled more genuinely as she snickered at his reaction and agreed to never say such a thing again.
It had been more than ten years since their captivity began, and it was finally time!
The wards werenât completely shattered, but they could now easily stretch part of themselves through the gaps in the wards.
Just enough to mess with their soul chain contracts.Â
They needed to get a specific one.
Vincentâs.
Vincent would've never given up on finding them, so he would heed the call of the chain.Â
They couldn't fully manifest the chain thanks to the palace itself being warded and protected and the fact that they were still partially trapped under Lilithâs control, but they could at least give the chain a nudge to try and send a message.
After all, he had witnessed their kidnapping but had been essentially mind-wiped by Lilith from remembering.
Perhaps a little nudge to the chain could help Vincent remember something.
Enough to try and take some sort of action, as they were sure that their mentorship had been enough to keep their little TV head alive and on the path to becoming an overlord that could be just as powerful as them one day.
~~~~~~
Vox grimaced as he felt a splitting pain in his head. He then noticed the faint glow of the chain that connected him to the soul deal he had with Alastor.
He felt a small yank from it again and grimaced as his screen glitched and the headache grew stronger.
He had no idea what was going on or what Al was trying to tell him from wherever he was, but he hoped the pain would stop soon.
Maybe going to Rosieâs would help, considering she had a similar power set to Alâs and had even made him the staff as a conduit for his powers.
He glitched multiple times on his way to Rosieâs but he persisted with the hope that she would be able to help.
He entered the Emporium with far less decorum than usual and it cleared out with his presence as his reputation had grown to make him nearly as feared as Alastor had been before his disappearance.
âUgh, Rosie, your powers are kind of like Alâs arenât they? I think his powers are on the fritz or something because of something happening wherever he is. Something's happening with our bond?â
Rosie looked at him in confusion before she asked, âWhat did you just say?â
Vox blinked as he rubbed the side of his head as he tried to ease the headache coming from the strain associated with the bond chain.
He said, âUm, somethingâs going on with the bond between me and Al? It was a condition of him mentoring me. Oh, shit, is it taboo to mention bonds between overlords or something or are soul contracts between overlords not allowed? I didnât just fuck something up, did I?â
He panicked slightly before he became confused as Rosieâs face lit up. She seemed ecstatic and was tearing up as she said, âHeâs alive?!â
Vox simply cocked his head and said, âUm, yeah. I mean, this is the second time Iâve felt something weird with the bond, like it was tugged harshly almost like it was going to break the first time, but it didnât and now this weird shit is happening.â
Rosie shook her head and growled in frustration as she reprimanded him and said, âYou idiot. Weâve been working on the case of Alâs disappearance for years, and you never thought to tell me that you could sense if he was alive or dead and that ya had a deal with him?!â
Vox blinked as he said, âUm, no. I figured youâd probably know. He mentioned that you two had some sort of deal, so I figured that you could still feel that he was alive from your side.â
Rosie smirked before she laughed and said, âOh, I shouldâve known that you didnât know the extent of things. Hon, when you felt that first tug, I felt a soul contract SHATTER. And when it shatters, that means a demon is double dead. I thought Al was dead. You just gave me some of the best news I could have gotten, and now a new possible lead. Now, come here and let me try and figure out whatâs going on.â
Voxâs eyes were wide with surprise before he cringed as he glitched once again and Rosie led him to sit down.
She frowned as she used her magic to probe around his head to try and diagnose the problem.
She hummed as she said, âThe chain is trying to summon memories from you that are hidden deep within your soul. I believe that someone has blocked some of your memories.â
Vox grimaced as another wave of pain hit and he said, âWell, that would explain the head-splitting headache. I know you two donât really like more modern technology like my head, but if you can find the memory processor, it's essentially my brain, and if you can find where itâs being blocked and unblock it, maybe thatâll help.â
Rosie hummed as she said, âWell, I can certainly try. Iâve picked up some of your jargon from our little meetings over the years. Oh, and just because we donât like new technology doesnât mean we donât know how to use it, Mister! Respect your elders!â
Vox blushed in embarrassment as he said, âSorry. And thank you. Do I need to do anything?â
Rosie simply hummed and said, âNo, dear. Just sit as you are and let me work my magic.â
It was rather quiet as Rosieâs magic worked until she let out a small, âI think I got it!â
And then it was like a small explosion in his head as images filled his screen and the memories flooded back to him.
He had been walking alongside Alastor when they were both ambushed by the Queen and King of Hell who had eyes for no one but Alastor. Who theyâd managed to knock out with some sort of spell fairly quickly.
And then heâd been forced to choose to die or have his memory of the kidnapping be sealed by Lilith. And, of course, heâd chosen the option to have his memories sealed.
Once his screen cleared again, he had tears running from his eyes.Â
Heâd seen Alastor get kidnapped and hadn't even remembered.
He was shaking as he looked back up at Rosie. He held his breath as he looked at her face. It was an expression he had only seen a couple of times.
She was absolutely furious.
Rosie growled, "That BITCH! She's been to tea with me so many times over the years! She's seen my investigation and sadness over losing Al! She fucking knew where he was the whole time. She and her rotten husband stole him away from me!"
Vox gulped as he watched Rosieâs form begin to shift slightly and get bigger and he said, âUm, Rosie, I know youâre angry, I am too, but try and calm down.â
She growled out, âNEVER TELL A WOMAN TO CALM DOWN!â
Vox made an âeepâ sound and held his hands up placatingly as he said, âOk, ok! I know youâre furious, but this is still a lead. I can still feel a slight pulling on the chain.â
Rosie huffed as she quickly got to calling herself down. She shrank back down to her normal size and fanned herself as she apologized to him.
She then questioned, "Your power has grown quite a bit. Have you gained the ability to manifest soul chains yet?"
Vox confusedly said, "Uh, I think so."
Rosie tilted her head before she sighed and explained, "If you can manifest the chain between you and Al, we can track it down. We can find him. Iâm pretty sure heâs at the palace, considering who took him, but we must be sure about it. You idiot, we could've tried this years ago if I'd known that his contractees can still see their chains if manifested!"
Vox simply blinked as he said, "Oh, OH shit yes! Let's do it!"
She says, "I can't believe you never told me before. I've been lamenting over his death for years now!"
And he shrugs and says, "I thought you were just being dramatic or had given up hope or something!"
She shook her head in exasperation as she geared up and said, âLetâs go. We have a deer to save.â
Vox nodded as the green chain led the way in front of him and towards Alastorâs location.
Sure enough, the chain led directly to the palace.
They were stopped in their tracks by a sort of barrier.
Rosie explained with a snarl, âItâs warded around the palace to keep anyone without an official escort out. We canât get in.â
Her hands balled into fists.
Voxâs eyes widened as he stuttered out, âW-what are we going to do now? How do we get him out?â
Rosie was about to reply, but they were suddenly blown back by the wards keeping the shield up around the palace shattered as well as all of the windows within the vicinity and the sound of not one, but two extremely powerful and commanding singing voices rang out.
And Rosie knew that this meant that the Queen and her daughter were absolutely having a horrible fight about something.
But she couldnât care less about that, as whatever it was had just given them the opening to getting in and getting Alastor out.
She looked at Vox, who now had a slightly cracked screen from the whole commotion, and grinned as she said, âWeâre in.â
~~~~~~
Charlie stared at Lilith in disbelief as she looked between her and Al.
She settled on staring at her mother as she said, âYou canât.â
Lilith simply sighed and said, â Charlie, dear. It's time for you to be rid of him. You're getting too old for toys now, dear. Plus, he will be repurposed for the time being.â
She gritted her teeth as she felt her horns begin to poke out slightly.
Lilith grimaced at her as she said, âCalm down, Charlotte. Youâre fifteen years old. You should not be this upset about this decision.â
Charlieâs hair began to sway violently as she said, âWhat happened to all of the âtoysâ that came before him? Were they ârepurposedâ to! I wonât let you take him!â
Lilith growled at Charlie as she said, âWatch your tone with me, child! I own him and can do with him as I wish. You are still young and do not understand how Hell works. If you are that worried about it, I will at least tell you that he wonât be âdecommissionedâ like the others were. Heâs still useful. Perhaps I could even convince him to finally be by my side since your idiotic father hasnât decided to show himself in years now.â
Charlie gritted her teeth.Â
She was disgusted. She had witnessed her mother attempt to proposition Alastor years ago, too young at the time to realize what it had meant, but now she was older and knew the connotations of it.
She spit out, âNever going to happen. Heâs never liked you. Not to mention you own his soul and have held him captive for more than TEN FUCKING YEARS!â
Charlie felt a slight headache come over her as her mother used her song to command, âYou will obey me, daughter!â
However, she fought the command, and now, Charlie was furious.
Alastor saw the look in her eyes and knew exactly what she was about to do.
He called out warningly, âCharlie!â
However, Lilithâs eyes were lit up and her horns were out as she commanded him, âSILENCE!â
And he could say no more. All he could do was stand by and watch as the mother and daughter fought.
A song begun, two voices battled for control, so loud that Alastor had to cover his ears as best as possible so as to not have them become damaged.Â
He was unprepared when the clash of voices became so intense as to cause a sort of explosion, and the palaceâs windows shattered. The vibration of the two clashing voices was strong enough to knock him against the closest wall hard enough to knock him out.
The two continued fighting each other with their voices.Â
And at last, after mere minutes of the clashing songs, the younger voice grew stronger, aided by the power of her soul, the power that Alastor had taught her to use.
And she won as Lilithâs song completely broke.
Charlieâs song remained strong as she ordered, âRelease him.â
Lilith had collapsed to the ground under the strength of her daughterâs song.
She glared up at her daughter who then amplified her song to a painful level.
Lilith screamed as she manifested the purple chain that tethered Alastor's soul to herself and broke it just as Charlie ended her song.
Both were panting. Both were exhausted.
They heard footsteps close by and both looked towards the door. Now noticing that there was a distinct green chain in the room leading towards Alastorâs prone body.
Charlieâs eyes widened in fear as she realized that Alastor was unconscious.
She quickly ran over to him while calling his name.
Lilith simply smirked slightly before she said, âWell done, my daughter. Well done.â and disappeared in a cloud of white-pink smoke just as Rosie and Vox busted through the door.
(Sorry it took me a bit to get this one out. There should be twelve total parts when I'm done at some point soon. Had zero time to write yesterday, guess I should've known that would happen considering the writing spree I went on the night before, XD) Also, feel free to reblog or repost or do whatever you want with this. I just hope that it lives up to how amazed I was by your AU when I first read it! Thank you for allowing fan works and thank you for your amazing comments as I've been releasing parts!)
Umbra was ecstatic.
The chain tethering them to Lilith was broken!
They quickly made their way to the very room which they could sense their other soul half in.
It was a pity that they couldnât reattach themselves.
They simply had to settle for curling as close to their other halfâs unconscious body after they reassured the young one that they were in good company.
~~~~~~
Charlie stood protectively in front of Alastor as she watched two unfamiliar to her people bust inside through the door. She hadnât realized that battling her mother had taken down all of the wards around the palace, but sheâd be damned before she let anyone else hurt Alastor.
Her horns were back out as she stood in front of him, ready to defend, but she was surprised as she felt a gentle tugging at her sleeve.
She looked beside her confusedly and her face lit up with excitement as she realized, âUMBRA! Youâre still here! They didnât get rid of you!â
She smiled as Umbra smiled at her as well. She watched closely and nodded her head as Umbra motioned that the two who had just entered were friends.Â
Charlie nodded in understanding and watched as Umbra curled around Alastor.
She was quite sad to see it. It was only a few years after the fact that she found out the truth of what her parents had really done to Alastor and the true implications as to why he no longer had his shadow.
Sheâd only learned the shadowâs name on a particularly rough day when Alastor had agreed to teach her a little longer one day because she was curious about what exactly may have happened to his shadow.
She was still wary as the two newcomers approached them.
The woman greeted her, âHello, dear. I havenât seen you since you were a baby, so Iâm not surprised that you donât recognize me, but Iâm Rosie. And this here is Vox. Weâre both friends of Alastorâs and weâve been looking for him for years.â
Charlie's eyes widened as she said, âYou have?â
Both of them nodded and Vox said, âYeah. We have.â
A groan alongside a familiar static sound echoed through the room.
Rosie then said, âShush, heâs waking up!â as the three carefully knelt by Alastor.
The three of them and Umbra were around him as he groaned again and opened his eyes.
Of course, they all had to fall back to avoid being headbutted when he jolted straight up and gripped at his neck and exclaimed, âIâm free!â
Charlie burst into tears before she launched herself at him to hug him as he let out a little âoofâ sound.
His smile widened as he said, âYou finally did it, my dear. Iâm free.â
He then looked up and his eyes widened as he caught sight of his two oldest acquaintances.
âRosie! Vox!â he said as both of them simply looked at him and joined in on the hug.
He was thrown back by the weight of all three of them and they ended up in a pile, Umbra barely escaped being squished as they laughed silently with glee at the uncharacteristic scene.
Soon, they each helped each other up.
Vox broke the happy reunion by questioning, âUh, Al, What happened? The end of the chain tethering my soul to our deal is split between you and Umbra.â
Rosie gasped as she just noticed what Vox had been talking about.
Charlie appeared downtrodden as Alastor growled while Umbra curled closer around him and grimaced sadly.
Rosie put a hand over her mouth as she gasped, âOh, Al, they didnât!â
Al simply looked away from her as he said, âThey did.â
Vox was confused as he looked between the two of them.
He questioned, âWhat? What happened?â
Charlie ended up being the one to answer him with sadness in her eyes as she said, âThey cut his soul in half. Took his powers from him.â
Voxâs eyes widened as he exclaimed, âThatâs what happened when the bond strained all those years ago! They literally tore your sole in two! THOSE FUCKERS!â
Rosie was tearful as she drew Umbra and Al into another hug and said, âIâm so sorry, my dear. So sorry. I wish I could fix this.â
She was surprised when the determined voice of Charlie interjected with, âMaybe you canât, but I can. Iâm the daughter of an archangel and the first human woman. My father was a creator of sorts. Thereâs got to be something I can do to fix what they did.â
Rosie simply shook her head as she said, âDear, very few have healing magic, and from what I understand, the only thing that can do this sort of injury is angelic steel, and wounds made by that are near impossible to heal.â
Charlie simply smirked as she shrugged and said, âNear impossible doesnât mean impossible.â
And damn if Rosie didnât smirk right back at the girl. She could tell that girl had so gotten some determination and sass from her deer over the years!
And she absolutely wasnât going to give up on this goal!
Hiya, I wrote some stuff based upon your Charlie's Toys AU!
Title: Realization
AO3 Link: Realization - Chapter 1 - ADGAEA - Hazbin Hotel (Cartoon) [Archive of Our Own]
Alastor cursed lowly.Â
Heâd only looked away from the child for a single second, but in that time, the child had managed to climb to an unreasonable height on one of her bookshelves and was now falling.Â
He quickly jumped into action and caught the child as she was still crying out in fear.
He cradled the girl close to him as he attempted to calm her down, but it was not working very well.
He couldn't help but tense when the door to Charlieâs room opened and not just one, but both of her parents were standing there, and now glaring at him.
He shuddered under their harsh gazes.
He did not fight back as Lucifer approached and gently took Charlie from his arms. He gritted his teeth as Lilith followed behind her husband and gently patted Charlieâs head before she faced him again and harshly gripped his arm before she dragged him out of the room.
~~
Charlie sniffled as her dad cradled her and soothed her.
That had been very scary.
She sniffled and looked around as she questioned her dad, âWhereâs Al? He saved me from falling! I was so scared!â
She watched as her dadâs brow furrowed before he hummed and responded, âAh, your mother took him out into the hall to talk to him for a minute. Why donât you stay here for a few minutes. Iâve got to go talk to him and your mother for a little bit. No more climbing on shelves either, little miss!â
Charlie nodded as her dad gently sat her down on her bed and she wiped tears out of her eyes.Â
However, she was curious as her father left the room. She crept to her door and poked her tongue out the side of her mouth as she pressed her ear to it so she could hopefully listen in on whatever her parents were talking about. She hoped that theyâd get done soon though! SHe wanted her toy back! She already missed Al so much!
She could hear her motherâs stern voice before she heard her dad command, âStop, Lilith. He may have missed seeing her at first, but he did catch her. He didnât upset her. The fall did.â
She teared up a bit as she listened to her motherâs scary tone say, âHe still made her cry, and I WILL NOT tolerate that!â
She then heard what sounded like a smacking sound alongside a small âoofâ.
Her eyes widened as she realized that her mother had just struck someone! Why would she do that?
She heard her mother say, âKeep better watch over her, Alastor. One more mistake and you will join our daughterâs other retired toys regardless of how attached she gets. Understand?â
She heard Alastor call out cordially, âYes, my Queen.â
She then rushed away from her door and jumped back onto her bed.Â
Her parents were always the ones to bring her new toys. But, she was confused. Alastor hadnât sounded like a toy there. Were her toys not just manifestations from her parents?
Were they real?
She was brought out of her musings as the door was opened again and her dad ushered Alastor in in front of himself as he said, âSorry we took your toy from you for a bit, Char-Char! Heâs back now, though!â
She smiled softly as she said, âThatâs ok, dad. Thank you! Letâs get back to playing, Al!â
She softly gripped Alastorâs hand as her father nodded in approval as her mother watched from the doorway.
As soon as her parents were gone, her smile dropped and she looked up at Alastor as she questioned, âDo you feel pain?â
She watched his eyes widen in slight surprise before his face went neutral again as he answered, âI am capable of feeling pain, yes. But not to worry, dear.â
She scrunched up her face as she said, âYouâre not something my parents conjured for me, are you?â
He questioned, âWhatever do you mean, dear?â
She teared up a bit as she said, âI heard you three in the hall. You sounded real. Youâre alive, arenât you?â
Alastor hesitated before he sighed and confirmed, âYes, dear. I am real.â
She sniffled slightly and he bent to her level. She almost immediately launched herself onto him and hugged around his chest as best as she could as she questioned, âDo you even want to be here? Are you going to leave me?â
She felt Alastor pat her head lightly before he answered solemnly, âI did not choose to be here, dear, and I cannot leave you, but know that regardless of what brought me here, I have grown to care for you.â
She sniffled again as she wiped her face on his shirt and questioned, âWhy would they do this, Al? Why? I could be happy with real toys. I donât want to force a REAL person to be my toy!â
She curled closer to him as he hummed lightly before saying, âI donât know, my dear, but I shall grin and bear it. So shall you, dear. I am still the same Alastor that you have known since I arrived in your life.â
She sniffled again as she said, âBut you donât want to be here!â
He sighed as he said, âNever you mind what I want, Charlotte. Itâs getting pretty late, why donât I read you a story before itâs time for your bedtime routine?â
She nodded as she rubbed her eyes and glanced up at Alâs face as he stood and carried her over to her bookshelf so she could choose a story.
She ruffled her brow as she said, âI donât want one of those stories, Al. Can you tell me a story about you?â
She felt him stiffen before he answered, âI suppose, but it shall stay between the two of us, dear. How about I tell you the story of my first adventure into learning magic with my mother?â
She grinned as she said, âIâd like that!â
He sat her on her bed and began the story.
She was still confused, but for now she was getting sleepy.
She dozed off before her normal bedtime to the sound of Alastorâs voice telling her about the first time heâd been able to perform magic.
Charlie grimaced as her father left her room. Sheâd cried out in fear, and her parents had thought that Alastor had mis-stepped again, but sheâd climbed on top of a chair this time and nearly toppled off.
Alastor had caught her of course, but she knew her parents didnât really care who the fault laid on.
She hoped that Alastor would be alright when he was able to return. Her father had seemed rather annoyed this time as well, and she knew that he wasnât going to stop Alastor from being punished by her mother.
She had heard them threaten to kill him in the past when sheâd managed to injure herself on one of the toys heâd conjured for her, and heâd returned to her with slightly haunted eyes before his carefully crafted mask came upon his face again.
That had been less than a year ago. Sheâd been gifted with him when sheâd turned five, had figured out that he was a real person when she was six, and now she was soon to turn eight, and she was no closer to figuring out how she could help him.
Sheâd dared to question her parents about it once, but they continually dodged her question, and Alastor had been taken away from her for a couple of days, and when heâd returned, heâd been more reserved than normal.
She rubbed at her eyes as she teared up again.
All she ever did was make things worse for him. She was powerless to help him get free.
She jolted slightly and rubbed at her eyes. She smiled fakely as her father once again entered, Alastor and her mother trailing behind him.
She kept the fake smile on her face even as she noticed that there were definitely abrasions on Alastorâs face.
Lucifer calmly said, âApologies for your toyâs appearance, Char-Char! He fell in the hall and got a little roughed up but should look better in no time. Though, if youâd rather get rid of him and get a new toy, I certainly wouldn't mind!â
Charlie's eyes widened slightly as she panicked and waved her hands as she said, âNO!â
Both Lucifer and Lilith stared at her with surprised looks on their faces.
She quickly got a pouty look on her face and crossed her arms as she said, âHeâs my favorite toy! You canât get rid of him!â
She then walked over to Alastor and hugged him around the waist. Now that she was older, she had come to notice that he didnât like being touchy very much, but this was needed to reaffirm her point.
Lucifer huffed as he said, âAlright, Char-Char! Just let me know if you change your mind!â
He then took Lilithâs arm and began to leave. Charlie noticed the glare her mother sent in Alastorâs direction.
However, she was relieved when her parents finally left them alone.
She quickly let go of him and stood in front of him. She grimaced as she noticed that he was still masking. She could see the remnants of fear in his eyes though. He was amazing at masking, but after spending so much time with him, so many years, she was rather adept at being able to read his true emotions by watching his eyes.
âAl, are you okay? What did they do? Is there anything I can do to help?â she rapidly questioned.
Alastor simply continued to smile as he answered, âI am alright.â
She didnât accept that answer and questioned, âNo, youâre not. What did they do?â
She noticed him visibly stiffen before he answered, âI am simply your toy, dear. I feel no pain.â
Her eyes widened at the obvious lie. She growled and gritted her teeth.
She balled her hands into fists as her eyes turned red and her horns began to poke out a little as she said, âDid my mother use her song on you? Did she bind you?â
She watched as his jaw stiffened. He did not answer, but he looked away from her. She had her answer. Her mother had bound him to be directly under her control.
Tears of anger poured down her face as she said, âShe canât do this! Can you use your powers anymore? I know they had you bound to the property, but did she truly bind your soul to be completely under her control?â
She watched as he stiffened again.
He simply answered, âI am but a toy. I have no powers.â
She couldnât help it. She kept her crying quiet so as not to alert her parents as she launched herself at Alastor. He caught her and gently circled his arms around her.
She hugged him tightly as she tearfully declared, âIâll free you one day, Alastor. I promise. Iâm sorry. I should've been more careful. Iâm sorry!â
She held onto him as he simply patted her hair.
He was unable to answer any other way until the song wore off. Her binding of his soul wouldnât wear off, but the song keeping him in this docile state with only standard answers would wear off within the week, he was sure of it.
His soul now belonged directly to Lilith, and his actions were directly monitored and his true powers suppressed.
He was well and truly trapped.
But no matter, he would find a way out eventually, and his voice wasnât trapped forever.
She could take his soul, but she couldnât take his spirit.
He wasnât going to lose his determination to escape.
And little would those two know that heâd have their very own daughter on his side when he did manage to find a way out from under the Queenâs thumb.
Rosie gasped in surprise and lost her grip on her teacup as the chain tethering Alastorâs soul to her shattered like the cup that sheâd just dropped. Her hands shook and she swallowed as she sat forward and held her head in her hands.
She should have worked harder to find him. Sheâd even questioned that odd fellow of a television man that her deer had begun to mentor just over a year before he disappeared. That fellow had actually been the one to inform her of his disappearance when heâd missed a meeting and hadnât been at his radio tower either.
And she herself got confirmation that he was indeed missing when he didnât show up for their weekly tea and gossip session. She should have known that when there were no screams or sounds coming from her radio during the normally scheduled time that something had gone wrong.
And things around Hell had since gotten a bit worse, considering Alastor was no longer present to take the worst of the trash out. And now heâd never be able to again.
And now, sheâd failed him. He was no doubt dead by whatever force had decided to take him.
She snarled.
Someone had killed her property, her deer, her best friend!
She wouldnât stop looking until she found the culprits.Â
They would pay.
She would ensure it.
Perhaps she could even invite the TV head into the loop, especially since his technological advancements were making things a little easier when it came to spying and heâd managed to make his way to overlord status already.
~~~~~~
Vox stared at the one picture that he had of himself and Alastor.
He sighed. It had been more than three years since heâd gone missing. He missed the red asshole so much. He had a crush on the guy practically since he got to hell and had managed to catch his eye by pulling a rather stupid stunt that had nearly gotten him killed, had it not been for the fact that heâd actually managed to kill the low-level overlord just before Alastor had also arrived, apparently having decided to also take out the very same overlord.
And then Alastor had taken him in and mentored him. He still had a crush, but after spending a decent amount of time with the guy, he knew it would remain unrequited. And he was fine with it. Heâd rather still be allowed to at least talk to him than just simply be laughed at and turned away completely if he dared to confess that he had a crush.
He sighed again. He supposed that it no longer mattered though, considering that Alastor had completely disappeared from all of Hell. Heâd nearly driven himself crazy looking for Alastor, and almost got himself killed when trying to search in other overlordâs territories, but the searches yielded nothing.
Not even Rosie had found anything as of yet.
He sat the picture back on the console as he powered the station up. He was glad that Alastor had grown to trust him enough before his disappearance to grant him access to his main domain at the radio tower.
Every once in a while when he had time heâd stop by and do a broadcast. It wasnât nearly anything like Alâs broadcasts, but it at least ensured that the equipment remained in good running for if Alastor were to ever return.
He was grateful for Alâs mentorship, and he would do whatever he could to defend Alastorâs domain and territory as best as he could until he would return. He was also grateful for the advice to begin going by a pseudonym as that had saved him from a rather icky spell that needed a personâs true name to work. Heâd killed the little upstart pretty quickly after the attempt.
Heâd yet to form much of a domain for himself yet outside of Alastorâs territory, but he was steadily growing in the number of souls he had under contract.
And his company was also growing exponentially these days as television continued to grow in popularity and he owned the main broadcasting company. He headquartered it inside of Alastorâs domain close to the radio tower. He knew that Al probably wouldnât like it, but it made it easier for him to defend both his growing business as well as Alastorâs territory.
He hoped that Alastor would be proud of him when he returned.
Alastor sighed as he sat on the ground beside Charlie's bed and leaned his head against the wall.
For the first time in ages, he actually felt tired. Though, he supposed that was the effect of having oneâs soul split. Dear Charlie had figured out a bit before sheâd managed to tucker herself out by crying, but she hadnât understood the true implications behind why his magic was gone.
Of course, with her still being so young at only just about eight years of age, she hadnât been exposed to magical knowledge enough to know that his shadow power type was linked directly to his soul.
And Lucifer had had the honor of slicing his shadow off of him with an angelic steel dagger while Lilith used her magic to hold him down. It had been so excruciating that he hadn't even been able to make a sound during the process. Heâd then been forced to make the choice to make a deal with the Queen for his soul.
If he wanted to keep his now split soul alive, he had to agree to hand ownership of it completely to the Morningstars so that he could be more easily monitored, as they werenât happy with the amount of âmistakesâ that heâd been making around Charlie lately with his magic.
Thus, the deal was made, and the soul chain heâd had with Rosie had shattered as it was overwritten by the soul deal of the far more powerful Morningstars. And now Lucifer kept his shadow, his most treasured part of his soul, locked away.
And he was told that he was lucky that they didnât simply destroy it after heâd failed to keep Charlie from nearly injuring herself again.
His entire body ached at the loss of his magic. His soul ached at the distance with which it was being split. He couldnât even conjure his staff anymore.
For the first time since he ever entered Hell, he closed his eyes, and did not wake until the next morning when dear Charlie stirred.
He missed his soul.
He missed his freedom.
And now, he had very little chance of getting it back without help.
Perhaps, in due time, his dear Charlotte would be able to help him figure something out.
After all, the dear girl was starting to take after him more and more.
Rosieâs eyes widened as she grinned when she caught sight of her last visitor for the day at the emporium!
She greeted warmly, âLili! Itâs good to see you! Howâs everyone doing? Itâs been a while since youâve had time to stop by and update me on things, dear!â
She ushered the Queen inside as she closed the door behind her. She was glad that she was in between husbands at the moment so she wouldnât be nagged on for spending time with her gals! Granted, that complaint was the reason why she was currently down a husband at the moment anyway, but oh well. He shouldâve known better than to try and control her, so he had it coming.
Lilith smiled at her and responded, âHey, Ro. Itâs been pretty busy these days with more requests coming in due to the crime rates being ever increasing. Charlieâs doing well though. Sheâs advancing quite nicely in her lessons. I think that she might be ready to actually start actively learning to use her magic around her next birthday!â
Rosie practically squealed as she said, âOh, thatâs wonderful, darling! How about the hubby?â
She frowned as she watched a displeased frown paint her friendâs face as she replied, âHeâs becoming depressed again and is beginning to hide himself away in his workshop or with one of the sins and absolutely avoiding his duties and once again leaving me to be the one to carry the load.â
Rosie tutted as she led Lilith to a settee and began to serve her tea and some lady fingers.Â
She replied, âOh, Iâm sorry for that, dear. Well, if you do get too tired of his shenanigans, you know where to send him. He may be a fallen archangel, but you know I could take care of things! I wonder if heâd taste rotten though?â
Lilith simply laughed loudly as she enjoyed the tea and munched on a lady finger. She rarely got to enjoy such delicacies because it made Lucifer squeamish, but what he didnât know wouldnât kill him.
Rosieâs playful mood was dampened with Lilithâs next inquiry, âHowâs your search going, Ro? Your deerâs been missing for how long now?â
Rosie sat across from Lilith and smoothed down her skirt as she frowned and responded, âItâs been just over four years now, and I have yet to find an actual lead as to what happened to him. Ever since our deal snapped, itâs become even more impossible to track him down. First, the chain I had on him became invisible to me, and then one day it suddenly became visible again and shattered! I miss my deer so much, Lili. Heâd hate to hear me say it, especially since I often teased him by calling him pet, but I grew to see him like a brother. And now heâs dead and Iâm no closer to finding his killer.â
She sat her head in her hands as she began to shake slightly while a few tears trickled down her face.
~~~~~~
Lilith grimaced.
It was good to hear that Rosie was no closer to figuring out that she and Lucifer had been responsible for Alastorâs disappearance, but it was saddening to see her in such a state.
She hadn't known that Alastor was one of Rosieâs at the time, but It's not like Rosie was hurting for power, and regardless of her feelings for said soul, it wouldn't hurt her to remain bereft of just the one.
She cringed as Rosie then said, âI wish that you could help me. Itâs all such a mystery. I mean, who would be powerful enough to even hide him from me as well as kill him?â
Lilith knew the obvious answer, but simply sighed with sadness as she replied, âI donât know either, but you know very well why I canât help.â
Rosie simply groaned as she said, âI know, I know! Just because Iâm your friend, doesnât mean that you can show favorites. If you help me find just one soul, youâd have lots of others trying to take advantage and get the same thing. I know, Lili, but it still hurts. I miss him so much.â
Lilith sighed before she responded, âI know it hurts, Ro. I wish I could help stop the hurt, but I canât. Maybe youâll get a lead soon and have your vengeance.â
Rosie simply looked towards the ground as she solemnly replied, âYeah, maybe.â
Alastor tensed as Lilith entered Charlieâs, well, pretty much his too, room.
She very rarely came to see him during the day unless something Charlie had told her that theyâd played had sounded too dangerous or upsetting for the child.
He closed the book that heâd been reading and glared at Lilith as she simply smirked at him.
She rolled her eyes at his glare before she laughed lightly and said, âYouâve been quite behaved lately, little deer. Youâve been helping keep Charlie happier as well in light of her idiotic fatherâs pseudo-abandonment of us thanks to his depression and hermit-like coping mechanisms.â
Alastor furrowed his brow as Lilith ranted a bit more before she sighed and said, âWell, anyway, I figured that you deserved a special little treat from a good acquaintance of yours for being such a good toy. I decided to give them to you myself instead of having the usual staff just deliver it with your daily meal.â
He then watched as she conjured a familiar looking box and grabbed it out of the air before it could fall to the ground.
It was without a doubt a container of lady fingers, specifically those which Rosie herself prepared for her emporium to sell. His eyes were wide as she simply tossed the box at him. He was unprepared for it to be tossed at him, but he easily caught the box.
Sure enough, the tag had Rosieâs emporiumâs label on it.
He stared at the label for a while before Lilith interrupted his musings as she said, âI do so hope you enjoy them. Rosie made these ones special by my request. Youâve done good little deer. Be sure to keep that up, lest you want to end up like those which your treats used to be attached to.â
He watched as she then left the room. Wards sealing the door behind her once again so that he still couldn't wander.
He held the box in his hands and carefully unwrapped it. Sure enough, Rosieâs specialty lady fingers were enclosed. A whole dozen of them. He hadnât had any in so long.
He wanted to be happy to have them, but all he could feel was anxiety.
Lilith may have said that it was a treat for being good, but the wench was very subtle and good at manipulation, He had no doubt that this was also a subtle threat.
He knew that Rosie occasionally talked to Lilith, but this was more concerning than that.
Lilith seemed to know that Rosie was also a dear acquaintance of his.
And now, if he did end up stepping out of line in her eyes again, he wouldnât be the only one at stake.
He hadnât thought that things could get worse, but he should have known better.
This was why he should have never gotten close to anyone in Hell.
Anyone you get close to could be used against you.
To keep you in line. To control you.
And Lilith had managed to figure out who one such person was for him.
Charlie grinned as she ate a piece of her birthday cake. She snickered as she watched Alastor cringe the whole way through eating a piece that Lilith had forced him to take, considering he was a âguestâ at the small family party between just the three of them since Lucifer was still off being a hermit somewhere.
She knew Alastor hated sweet things, but the faces he made when he encountered them were always so funny!
However, the grin on her face became confused as Lilith then beckoned for her attention, âCharlie, dear, youâve gotten old enough now where I think itâs time that you begin lessons on how to control your powers.â
Charlie furrowed her brow and tilted her head before she spared a split second glance at Alastor and then replied to Lilith, âWonât I just know how to automatically use them? I already know that theyâre connected to my emotions somehow.â
Lilith simply smiled at her and said, âItâs more complex than that, dear. We donât even know what your entire power set is yet, and I need to begin training you so that we can discover that and make you the strongest princess of Hell that there ever will be.â
Charlie then smiled as she knew that would be what was expected of her, but she was worried. What type of powers would her mother be teaching her? And how would having powers make her a better princess of hell?â
She simply responded, âOkay, mom. When do we start?â
Lilith grinned back at her and said, âYour first lesson will be in a few days, dear. Need to let the sugar high from today wear off, haha! Youâll need some rest to as well, dear. Your expected power set does take quite a bit of energy to manifest if you want to be able to control them.â
Charlie nodded and continued to munch on her cake.
This had been rather surprising to her.
~~~~~~
Charlie paced back and forth in her room as Alastor put away a few of the gifts that she had been given.
She was still confused about why her mother was so worried about training her on how to use her powers.
She exclaimed, âWhy do I need to know how to use these powers? If theyâre anything like hers, I donât want them! I donât want to be able to force someone to do anything!â
Alastor simply sighed and laid a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with frustrated tears in her eyes.
He simply said, âPowers can be very useful, my dear. Before mine were taken from me, they were useful for far more than just controlling someone. And as the princess of Hell, you will need every power at your disposal to defend yourself from the masses should the day ever come that sinners become rebellious.â
Charlie crossed her arms and pouted before she waved a hand and said, âWell, I donât want her teaching me how to use them! I donât want to be like her!â
Alastor responded, âThen why donât you learn a different set of powers from me that are magic based. You can still learn from your mother, but also have a backup plan in place in case you truly grow to hate the powers that you were born with.â
Charlieâs eyes widened in surprise before her face scrunched up and she declared,Â
"But Al, you never wanted to be here! Why would you even want to teach me, when Iâm the reason you canât even use your magic!"
Al simply sighed before he said, "Perhaps I never wanted to be here, but that doesn't mean that I haven't grown to care for you. And even though I cannot use magic, which is by no means your fault, it would bring me joy to teach you just as my mother once taught me.â
Char sniffled again before saying, "But still! Youâre still captive here?! They ripped you from your life! Oh no, itâs been years! Are you even able to contact anyone on the outside?"
A muscle in Al's jaw twitched as he responded, "No. I cannot. But I have my own ways of knowing that some whom I care for are still well, even after all these years."
Charlie sniffled and then turned herself to snuggle into his chest as he patted her back.
She vowed, "I'm gonna get you out of here eventually, Al. I promise."
He simply hummed as he responded, âI know, dear. I know. How about we work on your ability to summon things into being today, hm? Well, after you figure out how to tap into your own soul that is, dear! Haha!â
Charlie nodded as she wiped at her eyes.
Maybe one day, her magic would be strong enough to aid her in figuring out how she could truly free Alastor.
So many years had already gone by, split away from the other half of their soul. Every minute added to the agonizing ache of being kept apart. Kept among the shadows of that pitiful fallen archangelâs workshop and prevented from leaving.
They pressed against the wards keeping them contained and hissed.
However, they also couldnât help but grin.
The rotten archangel had been away and uncaring of them for long enough that the wards were weakening.
It had burned to try and go up against the wards, but not nearly as much as it once had.Â
Before long, the wards would weaken enough to at least partially free them.
And then, they could enact their plan to get help.
They wouldnât let either of them suffer for any longer than they were forced to.
~~~~~~
Charlie grinned as she conjured a small lotus in a glass of water.
She cheered, âI did it!â
Alastor laughed happily as he said, âYou did indeed, my dear.â
She hugged him and he smiled down at her. He had grown used to her hugs so long ago. He did still have bad days where he didnât want to be touched, but he couldn't help but humor her. She really had grown so much over the years under his tutelage.
He said, âBefore long, youâll be able to conjure more than that and maybe even create your own pocket dimension!â
Charlie stepped away from him as she continued to smile.
She then responded, âThatâd be so cool!â
He simply nodded.
She then said, âMy lessons with my mother have been going well too. I still donât like learning from her nearly as well as I do learning from you, but I think Iâm starting to like my powers. Theyâre still kind of scary, but I can see how theyâd be useful for more than just the bad stuff.â
He smiled softly as he responded, âThatâs good, dear. The more power that you have at your disposal, the better.â
She shrugged and said, âMaybe, but hopefully Iâll never need to use them for anything she seems to want me to know to use them for. After all, itâs not like I ever want to be a seductress like her or to control the masses. Ick.â
Alastor shuddered at that thought too, especially the first part. Ick.Â
While it would provide him with many MANY more voices that he could add to his broadcasts once he was free, he did NOT want to think of his dear Charlie ever being like that.
He simply looked at her and said, âCharlotte, dear, never even put that thought into the air again.â
He shuddered again and smiled more genuinely as she snickered at his reaction and agreed to never say such a thing again.
It had been more than ten years since their captivity began, and it was finally time!
The wards werenât completely shattered, but they could now easily stretch part of themselves through the gaps in the wards.
Just enough to mess with their soul chain contracts.Â
They needed to get a specific one.
Vincentâs.
Vincent would've never given up on finding them, so he would heed the call of the chain.Â
They couldn't fully manifest the chain thanks to the palace itself being warded and protected and the fact that they were still partially trapped under Lilithâs control, but they could at least give the chain a nudge to try and send a message.
After all, he had witnessed their kidnapping but had been essentially mind-wiped by Lilith from remembering.
Perhaps a little nudge to the chain could help Vincent remember something.
Enough to try and take some sort of action, as they were sure that their mentorship had been enough to keep their little TV head alive and on the path to becoming an overlord that could be just as powerful as them one day.
~~~~~~
Vox grimaced as he felt a splitting pain in his head. He then noticed the faint glow of the chain that connected him to the soul deal he had with Alastor.
He felt a small yank from it again and grimaced as his screen glitched and the headache grew stronger.
He had no idea what was going on or what Al was trying to tell him from wherever he was, but he hoped the pain would stop soon.
Maybe going to Rosieâs would help, considering she had a similar power set to Alâs and had even made him the staff as a conduit for his powers.
He glitched multiple times on his way to Rosieâs but he persisted with the hope that she would be able to help.
He entered the Emporium with far less decorum than usual and it cleared out with his presence as his reputation had grown to make him nearly as feared as Alastor had been before his disappearance.
âUgh, Rosie, your powers are kind of like Alâs arenât they? I think his powers are on the fritz or something because of something happening wherever he is. Something's happening with our bond?â
Rosie looked at him in confusion before she asked, âWhat did you just say?â
Vox blinked as he rubbed the side of his head as he tried to ease the headache coming from the strain associated with the bond chain.
He said, âUm, somethingâs going on with the bond between me and Al? It was a condition of him mentoring me. Oh, shit, is it taboo to mention bonds between overlords or something or are soul contracts between overlords not allowed? I didnât just fuck something up, did I?â
He panicked slightly before he became confused as Rosieâs face lit up. She seemed ecstatic and was tearing up as she said, âHeâs alive?!â
Vox simply cocked his head and said, âUm, yeah. I mean, this is the second time Iâve felt something weird with the bond, like it was tugged harshly almost like it was going to break the first time, but it didnât and now this weird shit is happening.â
Rosie shook her head and growled in frustration as she reprimanded him and said, âYou idiot. Weâve been working on the case of Alâs disappearance for years, and you never thought to tell me that you could sense if he was alive or dead and that ya had a deal with him?!â
Vox blinked as he said, âUm, no. I figured youâd probably know. He mentioned that you two had some sort of deal, so I figured that you could still feel that he was alive from your side.â
Rosie smirked before she laughed and said, âOh, I shouldâve known that you didnât know the extent of things. Hon, when you felt that first tug, I felt a soul contract SHATTER. And when it shatters, that means a demon is double dead. I thought Al was dead. You just gave me some of the best news I could have gotten, and now a new possible lead. Now, come here and let me try and figure out whatâs going on.â
Voxâs eyes were wide with surprise before he cringed as he glitched once again and Rosie led him to sit down.
She frowned as she used her magic to probe around his head to try and diagnose the problem.
She hummed as she said, âThe chain is trying to summon memories from you that are hidden deep within your soul. I believe that someone has blocked some of your memories.â
Vox grimaced as another wave of pain hit and he said, âWell, that would explain the head-splitting headache. I know you two donât really like more modern technology like my head, but if you can find the memory processor, it's essentially my brain, and if you can find where itâs being blocked and unblock it, maybe thatâll help.â
Rosie hummed as she said, âWell, I can certainly try. Iâve picked up some of your jargon from our little meetings over the years. Oh, and just because we donât like new technology doesnât mean we donât know how to use it, Mister! Respect your elders!â
Vox blushed in embarrassment as he said, âSorry. And thank you. Do I need to do anything?â
Rosie simply hummed and said, âNo, dear. Just sit as you are and let me work my magic.â
It was rather quiet as Rosieâs magic worked until she let out a small, âI think I got it!â
And then it was like a small explosion in his head as images filled his screen and the memories flooded back to him.
He had been walking alongside Alastor when they were both ambushed by the Queen and King of Hell who had eyes for no one but Alastor. Who theyâd managed to knock out with some sort of spell fairly quickly.
And then heâd been forced to choose to die or have his memory of the kidnapping be sealed by Lilith. And, of course, heâd chosen the option to have his memories sealed.
Once his screen cleared again, he had tears running from his eyes.Â
Heâd seen Alastor get kidnapped and hadn't even remembered.
He was shaking as he looked back up at Rosie. He held his breath as he looked at her face. It was an expression he had only seen a couple of times.
She was absolutely furious.
Rosie growled, "That BITCH! She's been to tea with me so many times over the years! She's seen my investigation and sadness over losing Al! She fucking knew where he was the whole time. She and her rotten husband stole him away from me!"
Vox gulped as he watched Rosieâs form begin to shift slightly and get bigger and he said, âUm, Rosie, I know youâre angry, I am too, but try and calm down.â
She growled out, âNEVER TELL A WOMAN TO CALM DOWN!â
Vox made an âeepâ sound and held his hands up placatingly as he said, âOk, ok! I know youâre furious, but this is still a lead. I can still feel a slight pulling on the chain.â
Rosie huffed as she quickly got to calling herself down. She shrank back down to her normal size and fanned herself as she apologized to him.
She then questioned, "Your power has grown quite a bit. Have you gained the ability to manifest soul chains yet?"
Vox confusedly said, "Uh, I think so."
Rosie tilted her head before she sighed and explained, "If you can manifest the chain between you and Al, we can track it down. We can find him. Iâm pretty sure heâs at the palace, considering who took him, but we must be sure about it. You idiot, we could've tried this years ago if I'd known that his contractees can still see their chains if manifested!"
Vox simply blinked as he said, "Oh, OH shit yes! Let's do it!"
She says, "I can't believe you never told me before. I've been lamenting over his death for years now!"
And he shrugs and says, "I thought you were just being dramatic or had given up hope or something!"
She shook her head in exasperation as she geared up and said, âLetâs go. We have a deer to save.â
Vox nodded as the green chain led the way in front of him and towards Alastorâs location.
Sure enough, the chain led directly to the palace.
They were stopped in their tracks by a sort of barrier.
Rosie explained with a snarl, âItâs warded around the palace to keep anyone without an official escort out. We canât get in.â
Her hands balled into fists.
Voxâs eyes widened as he stuttered out, âW-what are we going to do now? How do we get him out?â
Rosie was about to reply, but they were suddenly blown back by the wards keeping the shield up around the palace shattered as well as all of the windows within the vicinity and the sound of not one, but two extremely powerful and commanding singing voices rang out.
And Rosie knew that this meant that the Queen and her daughter were absolutely having a horrible fight about something.
But she couldnât care less about that, as whatever it was had just given them the opening to getting in and getting Alastor out.
She looked at Vox, who now had a slightly cracked screen from the whole commotion, and grinned as she said, âWeâre in.â
~~~~~~
Charlie stared at Lilith in disbelief as she looked between her and Al.
She settled on staring at her mother as she said, âYou canât.â
Lilith simply sighed and said, â Charlie, dear. It's time for you to be rid of him. You're getting too old for toys now, dear. Plus, he will be repurposed for the time being.â
She gritted her teeth as she felt her horns begin to poke out slightly.
Lilith grimaced at her as she said, âCalm down, Charlotte. Youâre fifteen years old. You should not be this upset about this decision.â
Charlieâs hair began to sway violently as she said, âWhat happened to all of the âtoysâ that came before him? Were they ârepurposedâ to! I wonât let you take him!â
Lilith growled at Charlie as she said, âWatch your tone with me, child! I own him and can do with him as I wish. You are still young and do not understand how Hell works. If you are that worried about it, I will at least tell you that he wonât be âdecommissionedâ like the others were. Heâs still useful. Perhaps I could even convince him to finally be by my side since your idiotic father hasnât decided to show himself in years now.â
Charlie gritted her teeth.Â
She was disgusted. She had witnessed her mother attempt to proposition Alastor years ago, too young at the time to realize what it had meant, but now she was older and knew the connotations of it.
She spit out, âNever going to happen. Heâs never liked you. Not to mention you own his soul and have held him captive for more than TEN FUCKING YEARS!â
Charlie felt a slight headache come over her as her mother used her song to command, âYou will obey me, daughter!â
However, she fought the command, and now, Charlie was furious.
Alastor saw the look in her eyes and knew exactly what she was about to do.
He called out warningly, âCharlie!â
However, Lilithâs eyes were lit up and her horns were out as she commanded him, âSILENCE!â
And he could say no more. All he could do was stand by and watch as the mother and daughter fought.
A song begun, two voices battled for control, so loud that Alastor had to cover his ears as best as possible so as to not have them become damaged.Â
He was unprepared when the clash of voices became so intense as to cause a sort of explosion, and the palaceâs windows shattered. The vibration of the two clashing voices was strong enough to knock him against the closest wall hard enough to knock him out.
The two continued fighting each other with their voices.Â
And at last, after mere minutes of the clashing songs, the younger voice grew stronger, aided by the power of her soul, the power that Alastor had taught her to use.
And she won as Lilithâs song completely broke.
Charlieâs song remained strong as she ordered, âRelease him.â
Lilith had collapsed to the ground under the strength of her daughterâs song.
She glared up at her daughter who then amplified her song to a painful level.
Lilith screamed as she manifested the purple chain that tethered Alastor's soul to herself and broke it just as Charlie ended her song.
Both were panting. Both were exhausted.
They heard footsteps close by and both looked towards the door. Now noticing that there was a distinct green chain in the room leading towards Alastorâs prone body.
Charlieâs eyes widened in fear as she realized that Alastor was unconscious.
She quickly ran over to him while calling his name.
Lilith simply smirked slightly before she said, âWell done, my daughter. Well done.â and disappeared in a cloud of white-pink smoke just as Rosie and Vox busted through the door.
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Hiya, I wrote some stuff based upon your Charlie's Toys AU!
Title: Realization
AO3 Link: Realization - Chapter 1 - ADGAEA - Hazbin Hotel (Cartoon) [Archive of Our Own]
Alastor cursed lowly.Â
Heâd only looked away from the child for a single second, but in that time, the child had managed to climb to an unreasonable height on one of her bookshelves and was now falling.Â
He quickly jumped into action and caught the child as she was still crying out in fear.
He cradled the girl close to him as he attempted to calm her down, but it was not working very well.
He couldn't help but tense when the door to Charlieâs room opened and not just one, but both of her parents were standing there, and now glaring at him.
He shuddered under their harsh gazes.
He did not fight back as Lucifer approached and gently took Charlie from his arms. He gritted his teeth as Lilith followed behind her husband and gently patted Charlieâs head before she faced him again and harshly gripped his arm before she dragged him out of the room.
~~
Charlie sniffled as her dad cradled her and soothed her.
That had been very scary.
She sniffled and looked around as she questioned her dad, âWhereâs Al? He saved me from falling! I was so scared!â
She watched as her dadâs brow furrowed before he hummed and responded, âAh, your mother took him out into the hall to talk to him for a minute. Why donât you stay here for a few minutes. Iâve got to go talk to him and your mother for a little bit. No more climbing on shelves either, little miss!â
Charlie nodded as her dad gently sat her down on her bed and she wiped tears out of her eyes.Â
However, she was curious as her father left the room. She crept to her door and poked her tongue out the side of her mouth as she pressed her ear to it so she could hopefully listen in on whatever her parents were talking about. She hoped that theyâd get done soon though! SHe wanted her toy back! She already missed Al so much!
She could hear her motherâs stern voice before she heard her dad command, âStop, Lilith. He may have missed seeing her at first, but he did catch her. He didnât upset her. The fall did.â
She teared up a bit as she listened to her motherâs scary tone say, âHe still made her cry, and I WILL NOT tolerate that!â
She then heard what sounded like a smacking sound alongside a small âoofâ.
Her eyes widened as she realized that her mother had just struck someone! Why would she do that?
She heard her mother say, âKeep better watch over her, Alastor. One more mistake and you will join our daughterâs other retired toys regardless of how attached she gets. Understand?â
She heard Alastor call out cordially, âYes, my Queen.â
She then rushed away from her door and jumped back onto her bed.Â
Her parents were always the ones to bring her new toys. But, she was confused. Alastor hadnât sounded like a toy there. Were her toys not just manifestations from her parents?
Were they real?
She was brought out of her musings as the door was opened again and her dad ushered Alastor in in front of himself as he said, âSorry we took your toy from you for a bit, Char-Char! Heâs back now, though!â
She smiled softly as she said, âThatâs ok, dad. Thank you! Letâs get back to playing, Al!â
She softly gripped Alastorâs hand as her father nodded in approval as her mother watched from the doorway.
As soon as her parents were gone, her smile dropped and she looked up at Alastor as she questioned, âDo you feel pain?â
She watched his eyes widen in slight surprise before his face went neutral again as he answered, âI am capable of feeling pain, yes. But not to worry, dear.â
She scrunched up her face as she said, âYouâre not something my parents conjured for me, are you?â
He questioned, âWhatever do you mean, dear?â
She teared up a bit as she said, âI heard you three in the hall. You sounded real. Youâre alive, arenât you?â
Alastor hesitated before he sighed and confirmed, âYes, dear. I am real.â
She sniffled slightly and he bent to her level. She almost immediately launched herself onto him and hugged around his chest as best as she could as she questioned, âDo you even want to be here? Are you going to leave me?â
She felt Alastor pat her head lightly before he answered solemnly, âI did not choose to be here, dear, and I cannot leave you, but know that regardless of what brought me here, I have grown to care for you.â
She sniffled again as she wiped her face on his shirt and questioned, âWhy would they do this, Al? Why? I could be happy with real toys. I donât want to force a REAL person to be my toy!â
She curled closer to him as he hummed lightly before saying, âI donât know, my dear, but I shall grin and bear it. So shall you, dear. I am still the same Alastor that you have known since I arrived in your life.â
She sniffled again as she said, âBut you donât want to be here!â
He sighed as he said, âNever you mind what I want, Charlotte. Itâs getting pretty late, why donât I read you a story before itâs time for your bedtime routine?â
She nodded as she rubbed her eyes and glanced up at Alâs face as he stood and carried her over to her bookshelf so she could choose a story.
She ruffled her brow as she said, âI donât want one of those stories, Al. Can you tell me a story about you?â
She felt him stiffen before he answered, âI suppose, but it shall stay between the two of us, dear. How about I tell you the story of my first adventure into learning magic with my mother?â
She grinned as she said, âIâd like that!â
He sat her on her bed and began the story.
She was still confused, but for now she was getting sleepy.
She dozed off before her normal bedtime to the sound of Alastorâs voice telling her about the first time heâd been able to perform magic.
Charlie grimaced as her father left her room. Sheâd cried out in fear, and her parents had thought that Alastor had mis-stepped again, but sheâd climbed on top of a chair this time and nearly toppled off.
Alastor had caught her of course, but she knew her parents didnât really care who the fault laid on.
She hoped that Alastor would be alright when he was able to return. Her father had seemed rather annoyed this time as well, and she knew that he wasnât going to stop Alastor from being punished by her mother.
She had heard them threaten to kill him in the past when sheâd managed to injure herself on one of the toys heâd conjured for her, and heâd returned to her with slightly haunted eyes before his carefully crafted mask came upon his face again.
That had been less than a year ago. Sheâd been gifted with him when sheâd turned five, had figured out that he was a real person when she was six, and now she was soon to turn eight, and she was no closer to figuring out how she could help him.
Sheâd dared to question her parents about it once, but they continually dodged her question, and Alastor had been taken away from her for a couple of days, and when heâd returned, heâd been more reserved than normal.
She rubbed at her eyes as she teared up again.
All she ever did was make things worse for him. She was powerless to help him get free.
She jolted slightly and rubbed at her eyes. She smiled fakely as her father once again entered, Alastor and her mother trailing behind him.
She kept the fake smile on her face even as she noticed that there were definitely abrasions on Alastorâs face.
Lucifer calmly said, âApologies for your toyâs appearance, Char-Char! He fell in the hall and got a little roughed up but should look better in no time. Though, if youâd rather get rid of him and get a new toy, I certainly wouldn't mind!â
Charlie's eyes widened slightly as she panicked and waved her hands as she said, âNO!â
Both Lucifer and Lilith stared at her with surprised looks on their faces.
She quickly got a pouty look on her face and crossed her arms as she said, âHeâs my favorite toy! You canât get rid of him!â
She then walked over to Alastor and hugged him around the waist. Now that she was older, she had come to notice that he didnât like being touchy very much, but this was needed to reaffirm her point.
Lucifer huffed as he said, âAlright, Char-Char! Just let me know if you change your mind!â
He then took Lilithâs arm and began to leave. Charlie noticed the glare her mother sent in Alastorâs direction.
However, she was relieved when her parents finally left them alone.
She quickly let go of him and stood in front of him. She grimaced as she noticed that he was still masking. She could see the remnants of fear in his eyes though. He was amazing at masking, but after spending so much time with him, so many years, she was rather adept at being able to read his true emotions by watching his eyes.
âAl, are you okay? What did they do? Is there anything I can do to help?â she rapidly questioned.
Alastor simply continued to smile as he answered, âI am alright.â
She didnât accept that answer and questioned, âNo, youâre not. What did they do?â
She noticed him visibly stiffen before he answered, âI am simply your toy, dear. I feel no pain.â
Her eyes widened at the obvious lie. She growled and gritted her teeth.
She balled her hands into fists as her eyes turned red and her horns began to poke out a little as she said, âDid my mother use her song on you? Did she bind you?â
She watched as his jaw stiffened. He did not answer, but he looked away from her. She had her answer. Her mother had bound him to be directly under her control.
Tears of anger poured down her face as she said, âShe canât do this! Can you use your powers anymore? I know they had you bound to the property, but did she truly bind your soul to be completely under her control?â
She watched as he stiffened again.
He simply answered, âI am but a toy. I have no powers.â
She couldnât help it. She kept her crying quiet so as not to alert her parents as she launched herself at Alastor. He caught her and gently circled his arms around her.
She hugged him tightly as she tearfully declared, âIâll free you one day, Alastor. I promise. Iâm sorry. I should've been more careful. Iâm sorry!â
She held onto him as he simply patted her hair.
He was unable to answer any other way until the song wore off. Her binding of his soul wouldnât wear off, but the song keeping him in this docile state with only standard answers would wear off within the week, he was sure of it.
His soul now belonged directly to Lilith, and his actions were directly monitored and his true powers suppressed.
He was well and truly trapped.
But no matter, he would find a way out eventually, and his voice wasnât trapped forever.
She could take his soul, but she couldnât take his spirit.
He wasnât going to lose his determination to escape.
And little would those two know that heâd have their very own daughter on his side when he did manage to find a way out from under the Queenâs thumb.
Rosie gasped in surprise and lost her grip on her teacup as the chain tethering Alastorâs soul to her shattered like the cup that sheâd just dropped. Her hands shook and she swallowed as she sat forward and held her head in her hands.
She should have worked harder to find him. Sheâd even questioned that odd fellow of a television man that her deer had begun to mentor just over a year before he disappeared. That fellow had actually been the one to inform her of his disappearance when heâd missed a meeting and hadnât been at his radio tower either.
And she herself got confirmation that he was indeed missing when he didnât show up for their weekly tea and gossip session. She should have known that when there were no screams or sounds coming from her radio during the normally scheduled time that something had gone wrong.
And things around Hell had since gotten a bit worse, considering Alastor was no longer present to take the worst of the trash out. And now heâd never be able to again.
And now, sheâd failed him. He was no doubt dead by whatever force had decided to take him.
She snarled.
Someone had killed her property, her deer, her best friend!
She wouldnât stop looking until she found the culprits.Â
They would pay.
She would ensure it.
Perhaps she could even invite the TV head into the loop, especially since his technological advancements were making things a little easier when it came to spying and heâd managed to make his way to overlord status already.
~~~~~~
Vox stared at the one picture that he had of himself and Alastor.
He sighed. It had been more than three years since heâd gone missing. He missed the red asshole so much. He had a crush on the guy practically since he got to hell and had managed to catch his eye by pulling a rather stupid stunt that had nearly gotten him killed, had it not been for the fact that heâd actually managed to kill the low-level overlord just before Alastor had also arrived, apparently having decided to also take out the very same overlord.
And then Alastor had taken him in and mentored him. He still had a crush, but after spending a decent amount of time with the guy, he knew it would remain unrequited. And he was fine with it. Heâd rather still be allowed to at least talk to him than just simply be laughed at and turned away completely if he dared to confess that he had a crush.
He sighed again. He supposed that it no longer mattered though, considering that Alastor had completely disappeared from all of Hell. Heâd nearly driven himself crazy looking for Alastor, and almost got himself killed when trying to search in other overlordâs territories, but the searches yielded nothing.
Not even Rosie had found anything as of yet.
He sat the picture back on the console as he powered the station up. He was glad that Alastor had grown to trust him enough before his disappearance to grant him access to his main domain at the radio tower.
Every once in a while when he had time heâd stop by and do a broadcast. It wasnât nearly anything like Alâs broadcasts, but it at least ensured that the equipment remained in good running for if Alastor were to ever return.
He was grateful for Alâs mentorship, and he would do whatever he could to defend Alastorâs domain and territory as best as he could until he would return. He was also grateful for the advice to begin going by a pseudonym as that had saved him from a rather icky spell that needed a personâs true name to work. Heâd killed the little upstart pretty quickly after the attempt.
Heâd yet to form much of a domain for himself yet outside of Alastorâs territory, but he was steadily growing in the number of souls he had under contract.
And his company was also growing exponentially these days as television continued to grow in popularity and he owned the main broadcasting company. He headquartered it inside of Alastorâs domain close to the radio tower. He knew that Al probably wouldnât like it, but it made it easier for him to defend both his growing business as well as Alastorâs territory.
He hoped that Alastor would be proud of him when he returned.
Alastor sighed as he sat on the ground beside Charlie's bed and leaned his head against the wall.
For the first time in ages, he actually felt tired. Though, he supposed that was the effect of having oneâs soul split. Dear Charlie had figured out a bit before sheâd managed to tucker herself out by crying, but she hadnât understood the true implications behind why his magic was gone.
Of course, with her still being so young at only just about eight years of age, she hadnât been exposed to magical knowledge enough to know that his shadow power type was linked directly to his soul.
And Lucifer had had the honor of slicing his shadow off of him with an angelic steel dagger while Lilith used her magic to hold him down. It had been so excruciating that he hadn't even been able to make a sound during the process. Heâd then been forced to make the choice to make a deal with the Queen for his soul.
If he wanted to keep his now split soul alive, he had to agree to hand ownership of it completely to the Morningstars so that he could be more easily monitored, as they werenât happy with the amount of âmistakesâ that heâd been making around Charlie lately with his magic.
Thus, the deal was made, and the soul chain heâd had with Rosie had shattered as it was overwritten by the soul deal of the far more powerful Morningstars. And now Lucifer kept his shadow, his most treasured part of his soul, locked away.
And he was told that he was lucky that they didnât simply destroy it after heâd failed to keep Charlie from nearly injuring herself again.
His entire body ached at the loss of his magic. His soul ached at the distance with which it was being split. He couldnât even conjure his staff anymore.
For the first time since he ever entered Hell, he closed his eyes, and did not wake until the next morning when dear Charlie stirred.
He missed his soul.
He missed his freedom.
And now, he had very little chance of getting it back without help.
Perhaps, in due time, his dear Charlotte would be able to help him figure something out.
After all, the dear girl was starting to take after him more and more.
Rosieâs eyes widened as she grinned when she caught sight of her last visitor for the day at the emporium!
She greeted warmly, âLili! Itâs good to see you! Howâs everyone doing? Itâs been a while since youâve had time to stop by and update me on things, dear!â
She ushered the Queen inside as she closed the door behind her. She was glad that she was in between husbands at the moment so she wouldnât be nagged on for spending time with her gals! Granted, that complaint was the reason why she was currently down a husband at the moment anyway, but oh well. He shouldâve known better than to try and control her, so he had it coming.
Lilith smiled at her and responded, âHey, Ro. Itâs been pretty busy these days with more requests coming in due to the crime rates being ever increasing. Charlieâs doing well though. Sheâs advancing quite nicely in her lessons. I think that she might be ready to actually start actively learning to use her magic around her next birthday!â
Rosie practically squealed as she said, âOh, thatâs wonderful, darling! How about the hubby?â
She frowned as she watched a displeased frown paint her friendâs face as she replied, âHeâs becoming depressed again and is beginning to hide himself away in his workshop or with one of the sins and absolutely avoiding his duties and once again leaving me to be the one to carry the load.â
Rosie tutted as she led Lilith to a settee and began to serve her tea and some lady fingers.Â
She replied, âOh, Iâm sorry for that, dear. Well, if you do get too tired of his shenanigans, you know where to send him. He may be a fallen archangel, but you know I could take care of things! I wonder if heâd taste rotten though?â
Lilith simply laughed loudly as she enjoyed the tea and munched on a lady finger. She rarely got to enjoy such delicacies because it made Lucifer squeamish, but what he didnât know wouldnât kill him.
Rosieâs playful mood was dampened with Lilithâs next inquiry, âHowâs your search going, Ro? Your deerâs been missing for how long now?â
Rosie sat across from Lilith and smoothed down her skirt as she frowned and responded, âItâs been just over four years now, and I have yet to find an actual lead as to what happened to him. Ever since our deal snapped, itâs become even more impossible to track him down. First, the chain I had on him became invisible to me, and then one day it suddenly became visible again and shattered! I miss my deer so much, Lili. Heâd hate to hear me say it, especially since I often teased him by calling him pet, but I grew to see him like a brother. And now heâs dead and Iâm no closer to finding his killer.â
She sat her head in her hands as she began to shake slightly while a few tears trickled down her face.
~~~~~~
Lilith grimaced.
It was good to hear that Rosie was no closer to figuring out that she and Lucifer had been responsible for Alastorâs disappearance, but it was saddening to see her in such a state.
She hadn't known that Alastor was one of Rosieâs at the time, but It's not like Rosie was hurting for power, and regardless of her feelings for said soul, it wouldn't hurt her to remain bereft of just the one.
She cringed as Rosie then said, âI wish that you could help me. Itâs all such a mystery. I mean, who would be powerful enough to even hide him from me as well as kill him?â
Lilith knew the obvious answer, but simply sighed with sadness as she replied, âI donât know either, but you know very well why I canât help.â
Rosie simply groaned as she said, âI know, I know! Just because Iâm your friend, doesnât mean that you can show favorites. If you help me find just one soul, youâd have lots of others trying to take advantage and get the same thing. I know, Lili, but it still hurts. I miss him so much.â
Lilith sighed before she responded, âI know it hurts, Ro. I wish I could help stop the hurt, but I canât. Maybe youâll get a lead soon and have your vengeance.â
Rosie simply looked towards the ground as she solemnly replied, âYeah, maybe.â
Alastor tensed as Lilith entered Charlieâs, well, pretty much his too, room.
She very rarely came to see him during the day unless something Charlie had told her that theyâd played had sounded too dangerous or upsetting for the child.
He closed the book that heâd been reading and glared at Lilith as she simply smirked at him.
She rolled her eyes at his glare before she laughed lightly and said, âYouâve been quite behaved lately, little deer. Youâve been helping keep Charlie happier as well in light of her idiotic fatherâs pseudo-abandonment of us thanks to his depression and hermit-like coping mechanisms.â
Alastor furrowed his brow as Lilith ranted a bit more before she sighed and said, âWell, anyway, I figured that you deserved a special little treat from a good acquaintance of yours for being such a good toy. I decided to give them to you myself instead of having the usual staff just deliver it with your daily meal.â
He then watched as she conjured a familiar looking box and grabbed it out of the air before it could fall to the ground.
It was without a doubt a container of lady fingers, specifically those which Rosie herself prepared for her emporium to sell. His eyes were wide as she simply tossed the box at him. He was unprepared for it to be tossed at him, but he easily caught the box.
Sure enough, the tag had Rosieâs emporiumâs label on it.
He stared at the label for a while before Lilith interrupted his musings as she said, âI do so hope you enjoy them. Rosie made these ones special by my request. Youâve done good little deer. Be sure to keep that up, lest you want to end up like those which your treats used to be attached to.â
He watched as she then left the room. Wards sealing the door behind her once again so that he still couldn't wander.
He held the box in his hands and carefully unwrapped it. Sure enough, Rosieâs specialty lady fingers were enclosed. A whole dozen of them. He hadnât had any in so long.
He wanted to be happy to have them, but all he could feel was anxiety.
Lilith may have said that it was a treat for being good, but the wench was very subtle and good at manipulation, He had no doubt that this was also a subtle threat.
He knew that Rosie occasionally talked to Lilith, but this was more concerning than that.
Lilith seemed to know that Rosie was also a dear acquaintance of his.
And now, if he did end up stepping out of line in her eyes again, he wouldnât be the only one at stake.
He hadnât thought that things could get worse, but he should have known better.
This was why he should have never gotten close to anyone in Hell.
Anyone you get close to could be used against you.
To keep you in line. To control you.
And Lilith had managed to figure out who one such person was for him.
Charlie grinned as she ate a piece of her birthday cake. She snickered as she watched Alastor cringe the whole way through eating a piece that Lilith had forced him to take, considering he was a âguestâ at the small family party between just the three of them since Lucifer was still off being a hermit somewhere.
She knew Alastor hated sweet things, but the faces he made when he encountered them were always so funny!
However, the grin on her face became confused as Lilith then beckoned for her attention, âCharlie, dear, youâve gotten old enough now where I think itâs time that you begin lessons on how to control your powers.â
Charlie furrowed her brow and tilted her head before she spared a split second glance at Alastor and then replied to Lilith, âWonât I just know how to automatically use them? I already know that theyâre connected to my emotions somehow.â
Lilith simply smiled at her and said, âItâs more complex than that, dear. We donât even know what your entire power set is yet, and I need to begin training you so that we can discover that and make you the strongest princess of Hell that there ever will be.â
Charlie then smiled as she knew that would be what was expected of her, but she was worried. What type of powers would her mother be teaching her? And how would having powers make her a better princess of hell?â
She simply responded, âOkay, mom. When do we start?â
Lilith grinned back at her and said, âYour first lesson will be in a few days, dear. Need to let the sugar high from today wear off, haha! Youâll need some rest to as well, dear. Your expected power set does take quite a bit of energy to manifest if you want to be able to control them.â
Charlie nodded and continued to munch on her cake.
This had been rather surprising to her.
~~~~~~
Charlie paced back and forth in her room as Alastor put away a few of the gifts that she had been given.
She was still confused about why her mother was so worried about training her on how to use her powers.
She exclaimed, âWhy do I need to know how to use these powers? If theyâre anything like hers, I donât want them! I donât want to be able to force someone to do anything!â
Alastor simply sighed and laid a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with frustrated tears in her eyes.
He simply said, âPowers can be very useful, my dear. Before mine were taken from me, they were useful for far more than just controlling someone. And as the princess of Hell, you will need every power at your disposal to defend yourself from the masses should the day ever come that sinners become rebellious.â
Charlie crossed her arms and pouted before she waved a hand and said, âWell, I donât want her teaching me how to use them! I donât want to be like her!â
Alastor responded, âThen why donât you learn a different set of powers from me that are magic based. You can still learn from your mother, but also have a backup plan in place in case you truly grow to hate the powers that you were born with.â
Charlieâs eyes widened in surprise before her face scrunched up and she declared,Â
"But Al, you never wanted to be here! Why would you even want to teach me, when Iâm the reason you canât even use your magic!"
Al simply sighed before he said, "Perhaps I never wanted to be here, but that doesn't mean that I haven't grown to care for you. And even though I cannot use magic, which is by no means your fault, it would bring me joy to teach you just as my mother once taught me.â
Char sniffled again before saying, "But still! Youâre still captive here?! They ripped you from your life! Oh no, itâs been years! Are you even able to contact anyone on the outside?"
A muscle in Al's jaw twitched as he responded, "No. I cannot. But I have my own ways of knowing that some whom I care for are still well, even after all these years."
Charlie sniffled and then turned herself to snuggle into his chest as he patted her back.
She vowed, "I'm gonna get you out of here eventually, Al. I promise."
He simply hummed as he responded, âI know, dear. I know. How about we work on your ability to summon things into being today, hm? Well, after you figure out how to tap into your own soul that is, dear! Haha!â
Charlie nodded as she wiped at her eyes.
Maybe one day, her magic would be strong enough to aid her in figuring out how she could truly free Alastor.
So many years had already gone by, split away from the other half of their soul. Every minute added to the agonizing ache of being kept apart. Kept among the shadows of that pitiful fallen archangelâs workshop and prevented from leaving.
They pressed against the wards keeping them contained and hissed.
However, they also couldnât help but grin.
The rotten archangel had been away and uncaring of them for long enough that the wards were weakening.
It had burned to try and go up against the wards, but not nearly as much as it once had.Â
Before long, the wards would weaken enough to at least partially free them.
And then, they could enact their plan to get help.
They wouldnât let either of them suffer for any longer than they were forced to.
~~~~~~
Charlie grinned as she conjured a small lotus in a glass of water.
She cheered, âI did it!â
Alastor laughed happily as he said, âYou did indeed, my dear.â
She hugged him and he smiled down at her. He had grown used to her hugs so long ago. He did still have bad days where he didnât want to be touched, but he couldn't help but humor her. She really had grown so much over the years under his tutelage.
He said, âBefore long, youâll be able to conjure more than that and maybe even create your own pocket dimension!â
Charlie stepped away from him as she continued to smile.
She then responded, âThatâd be so cool!â
He simply nodded.
She then said, âMy lessons with my mother have been going well too. I still donât like learning from her nearly as well as I do learning from you, but I think Iâm starting to like my powers. Theyâre still kind of scary, but I can see how theyâd be useful for more than just the bad stuff.â
He smiled softly as he responded, âThatâs good, dear. The more power that you have at your disposal, the better.â
She shrugged and said, âMaybe, but hopefully Iâll never need to use them for anything she seems to want me to know to use them for. After all, itâs not like I ever want to be a seductress like her or to control the masses. Ick.â
Alastor shuddered at that thought too, especially the first part. Ick.Â
While it would provide him with many MANY more voices that he could add to his broadcasts once he was free, he did NOT want to think of his dear Charlie ever being like that.
He simply looked at her and said, âCharlotte, dear, never even put that thought into the air again.â
He shuddered again and smiled more genuinely as she snickered at his reaction and agreed to never say such a thing again.
It had been more than ten years since their captivity began, and it was finally time!
The wards werenât completely shattered, but they could now easily stretch part of themselves through the gaps in the wards.
Just enough to mess with their soul chain contracts.Â
They needed to get a specific one.
Vincentâs.
Vincent would've never given up on finding them, so he would heed the call of the chain.Â
They couldn't fully manifest the chain thanks to the palace itself being warded and protected and the fact that they were still partially trapped under Lilithâs control, but they could at least give the chain a nudge to try and send a message.
After all, he had witnessed their kidnapping but had been essentially mind-wiped by Lilith from remembering.
Perhaps a little nudge to the chain could help Vincent remember something.
Enough to try and take some sort of action, as they were sure that their mentorship had been enough to keep their little TV head alive and on the path to becoming an overlord that could be just as powerful as them one day.
~~~~~~
Vox grimaced as he felt a splitting pain in his head. He then noticed the faint glow of the chain that connected him to the soul deal he had with Alastor.
He felt a small yank from it again and grimaced as his screen glitched and the headache grew stronger.
He had no idea what was going on or what Al was trying to tell him from wherever he was, but he hoped the pain would stop soon.
Maybe going to Rosieâs would help, considering she had a similar power set to Alâs and had even made him the staff as a conduit for his powers.
He glitched multiple times on his way to Rosieâs but he persisted with the hope that she would be able to help.
He entered the Emporium with far less decorum than usual and it cleared out with his presence as his reputation had grown to make him nearly as feared as Alastor had been before his disappearance.
âUgh, Rosie, your powers are kind of like Alâs arenât they? I think his powers are on the fritz or something because of something happening wherever he is. Something's happening with our bond?â
Rosie looked at him in confusion before she asked, âWhat did you just say?â
Vox blinked as he rubbed the side of his head as he tried to ease the headache coming from the strain associated with the bond chain.
He said, âUm, somethingâs going on with the bond between me and Al? It was a condition of him mentoring me. Oh, shit, is it taboo to mention bonds between overlords or something or are soul contracts between overlords not allowed? I didnât just fuck something up, did I?â
He panicked slightly before he became confused as Rosieâs face lit up. She seemed ecstatic and was tearing up as she said, âHeâs alive?!â
Vox simply cocked his head and said, âUm, yeah. I mean, this is the second time Iâve felt something weird with the bond, like it was tugged harshly almost like it was going to break the first time, but it didnât and now this weird shit is happening.â
Rosie shook her head and growled in frustration as she reprimanded him and said, âYou idiot. Weâve been working on the case of Alâs disappearance for years, and you never thought to tell me that you could sense if he was alive or dead and that ya had a deal with him?!â
Vox blinked as he said, âUm, no. I figured youâd probably know. He mentioned that you two had some sort of deal, so I figured that you could still feel that he was alive from your side.â
Rosie smirked before she laughed and said, âOh, I shouldâve known that you didnât know the extent of things. Hon, when you felt that first tug, I felt a soul contract SHATTER. And when it shatters, that means a demon is double dead. I thought Al was dead. You just gave me some of the best news I could have gotten, and now a new possible lead. Now, come here and let me try and figure out whatâs going on.â
Voxâs eyes were wide with surprise before he cringed as he glitched once again and Rosie led him to sit down.
She frowned as she used her magic to probe around his head to try and diagnose the problem.
She hummed as she said, âThe chain is trying to summon memories from you that are hidden deep within your soul. I believe that someone has blocked some of your memories.â
Vox grimaced as another wave of pain hit and he said, âWell, that would explain the head-splitting headache. I know you two donât really like more modern technology like my head, but if you can find the memory processor, it's essentially my brain, and if you can find where itâs being blocked and unblock it, maybe thatâll help.â
Rosie hummed as she said, âWell, I can certainly try. Iâve picked up some of your jargon from our little meetings over the years. Oh, and just because we donât like new technology doesnât mean we donât know how to use it, Mister! Respect your elders!â
Vox blushed in embarrassment as he said, âSorry. And thank you. Do I need to do anything?â
Rosie simply hummed and said, âNo, dear. Just sit as you are and let me work my magic.â
It was rather quiet as Rosieâs magic worked until she let out a small, âI think I got it!â
And then it was like a small explosion in his head as images filled his screen and the memories flooded back to him.
He had been walking alongside Alastor when they were both ambushed by the Queen and King of Hell who had eyes for no one but Alastor. Who theyâd managed to knock out with some sort of spell fairly quickly.
And then heâd been forced to choose to die or have his memory of the kidnapping be sealed by Lilith. And, of course, heâd chosen the option to have his memories sealed.
Once his screen cleared again, he had tears running from his eyes.Â
Heâd seen Alastor get kidnapped and hadn't even remembered.
He was shaking as he looked back up at Rosie. He held his breath as he looked at her face. It was an expression he had only seen a couple of times.
She was absolutely furious.
Rosie growled, "That BITCH! She's been to tea with me so many times over the years! She's seen my investigation and sadness over losing Al! She fucking knew where he was the whole time. She and her rotten husband stole him away from me!"
Vox gulped as he watched Rosieâs form begin to shift slightly and get bigger and he said, âUm, Rosie, I know youâre angry, I am too, but try and calm down.â
She growled out, âNEVER TELL A WOMAN TO CALM DOWN!â
Vox made an âeepâ sound and held his hands up placatingly as he said, âOk, ok! I know youâre furious, but this is still a lead. I can still feel a slight pulling on the chain.â
Rosie huffed as she quickly got to calling herself down. She shrank back down to her normal size and fanned herself as she apologized to him.
She then questioned, "Your power has grown quite a bit. Have you gained the ability to manifest soul chains yet?"
Vox confusedly said, "Uh, I think so."
Rosie tilted her head before she sighed and explained, "If you can manifest the chain between you and Al, we can track it down. We can find him. Iâm pretty sure heâs at the palace, considering who took him, but we must be sure about it. You idiot, we could've tried this years ago if I'd known that his contractees can still see their chains if manifested!"
Vox simply blinked as he said, "Oh, OH shit yes! Let's do it!"
She says, "I can't believe you never told me before. I've been lamenting over his death for years now!"
And he shrugs and says, "I thought you were just being dramatic or had given up hope or something!"
She shook her head in exasperation as she geared up and said, âLetâs go. We have a deer to save.â
Vox nodded as the green chain led the way in front of him and towards Alastorâs location.
Hiya, I wrote some stuff based upon your Charlie's Toys AU!
Title: Realization
AO3 Link: Realization - Chapter 1 - ADGAEA - Hazbin Hotel (Cartoon) [Archive of Our Own]
Alastor cursed lowly.Â
Heâd only looked away from the child for a single second, but in that time, the child had managed to climb to an unreasonable height on one of her bookshelves and was now falling.Â
He quickly jumped into action and caught the child as she was still crying out in fear.
He cradled the girl close to him as he attempted to calm her down, but it was not working very well.
He couldn't help but tense when the door to Charlieâs room opened and not just one, but both of her parents were standing there, and now glaring at him.
He shuddered under their harsh gazes.
He did not fight back as Lucifer approached and gently took Charlie from his arms. He gritted his teeth as Lilith followed behind her husband and gently patted Charlieâs head before she faced him again and harshly gripped his arm before she dragged him out of the room.
~~
Charlie sniffled as her dad cradled her and soothed her.
That had been very scary.
She sniffled and looked around as she questioned her dad, âWhereâs Al? He saved me from falling! I was so scared!â
She watched as her dadâs brow furrowed before he hummed and responded, âAh, your mother took him out into the hall to talk to him for a minute. Why donât you stay here for a few minutes. Iâve got to go talk to him and your mother for a little bit. No more climbing on shelves either, little miss!â
Charlie nodded as her dad gently sat her down on her bed and she wiped tears out of her eyes.Â
However, she was curious as her father left the room. She crept to her door and poked her tongue out the side of her mouth as she pressed her ear to it so she could hopefully listen in on whatever her parents were talking about. She hoped that theyâd get done soon though! SHe wanted her toy back! She already missed Al so much!
She could hear her motherâs stern voice before she heard her dad command, âStop, Lilith. He may have missed seeing her at first, but he did catch her. He didnât upset her. The fall did.â
She teared up a bit as she listened to her motherâs scary tone say, âHe still made her cry, and I WILL NOT tolerate that!â
She then heard what sounded like a smacking sound alongside a small âoofâ.
Her eyes widened as she realized that her mother had just struck someone! Why would she do that?
She heard her mother say, âKeep better watch over her, Alastor. One more mistake and you will join our daughterâs other retired toys regardless of how attached she gets. Understand?â
She heard Alastor call out cordially, âYes, my Queen.â
She then rushed away from her door and jumped back onto her bed.Â
Her parents were always the ones to bring her new toys. But, she was confused. Alastor hadnât sounded like a toy there. Were her toys not just manifestations from her parents?
Were they real?
She was brought out of her musings as the door was opened again and her dad ushered Alastor in in front of himself as he said, âSorry we took your toy from you for a bit, Char-Char! Heâs back now, though!â
She smiled softly as she said, âThatâs ok, dad. Thank you! Letâs get back to playing, Al!â
She softly gripped Alastorâs hand as her father nodded in approval as her mother watched from the doorway.
As soon as her parents were gone, her smile dropped and she looked up at Alastor as she questioned, âDo you feel pain?â
She watched his eyes widen in slight surprise before his face went neutral again as he answered, âI am capable of feeling pain, yes. But not to worry, dear.â
She scrunched up her face as she said, âYouâre not something my parents conjured for me, are you?â
He questioned, âWhatever do you mean, dear?â
She teared up a bit as she said, âI heard you three in the hall. You sounded real. Youâre alive, arenât you?â
Alastor hesitated before he sighed and confirmed, âYes, dear. I am real.â
She sniffled slightly and he bent to her level. She almost immediately launched herself onto him and hugged around his chest as best as she could as she questioned, âDo you even want to be here? Are you going to leave me?â
She felt Alastor pat her head lightly before he answered solemnly, âI did not choose to be here, dear, and I cannot leave you, but know that regardless of what brought me here, I have grown to care for you.â
She sniffled again as she wiped her face on his shirt and questioned, âWhy would they do this, Al? Why? I could be happy with real toys. I donât want to force a REAL person to be my toy!â
She curled closer to him as he hummed lightly before saying, âI donât know, my dear, but I shall grin and bear it. So shall you, dear. I am still the same Alastor that you have known since I arrived in your life.â
She sniffled again as she said, âBut you donât want to be here!â
He sighed as he said, âNever you mind what I want, Charlotte. Itâs getting pretty late, why donât I read you a story before itâs time for your bedtime routine?â
She nodded as she rubbed her eyes and glanced up at Alâs face as he stood and carried her over to her bookshelf so she could choose a story.
She ruffled her brow as she said, âI donât want one of those stories, Al. Can you tell me a story about you?â
She felt him stiffen before he answered, âI suppose, but it shall stay between the two of us, dear. How about I tell you the story of my first adventure into learning magic with my mother?â
She grinned as she said, âIâd like that!â
He sat her on her bed and began the story.
She was still confused, but for now she was getting sleepy.
She dozed off before her normal bedtime to the sound of Alastorâs voice telling her about the first time heâd been able to perform magic.
Charlie grimaced as her father left her room. Sheâd cried out in fear, and her parents had thought that Alastor had mis-stepped again, but sheâd climbed on top of a chair this time and nearly toppled off.
Alastor had caught her of course, but she knew her parents didnât really care who the fault laid on.
She hoped that Alastor would be alright when he was able to return. Her father had seemed rather annoyed this time as well, and she knew that he wasnât going to stop Alastor from being punished by her mother.
She had heard them threaten to kill him in the past when sheâd managed to injure herself on one of the toys heâd conjured for her, and heâd returned to her with slightly haunted eyes before his carefully crafted mask came upon his face again.
That had been less than a year ago. Sheâd been gifted with him when sheâd turned five, had figured out that he was a real person when she was six, and now she was soon to turn eight, and she was no closer to figuring out how she could help him.
Sheâd dared to question her parents about it once, but they continually dodged her question, and Alastor had been taken away from her for a couple of days, and when heâd returned, heâd been more reserved than normal.
She rubbed at her eyes as she teared up again.
All she ever did was make things worse for him. She was powerless to help him get free.
She jolted slightly and rubbed at her eyes. She smiled fakely as her father once again entered, Alastor and her mother trailing behind him.
She kept the fake smile on her face even as she noticed that there were definitely abrasions on Alastorâs face.
Lucifer calmly said, âApologies for your toyâs appearance, Char-Char! He fell in the hall and got a little roughed up but should look better in no time. Though, if youâd rather get rid of him and get a new toy, I certainly wouldn't mind!â
Charlie's eyes widened slightly as she panicked and waved her hands as she said, âNO!â
Both Lucifer and Lilith stared at her with surprised looks on their faces.
She quickly got a pouty look on her face and crossed her arms as she said, âHeâs my favorite toy! You canât get rid of him!â
She then walked over to Alastor and hugged him around the waist. Now that she was older, she had come to notice that he didnât like being touchy very much, but this was needed to reaffirm her point.
Lucifer huffed as he said, âAlright, Char-Char! Just let me know if you change your mind!â
He then took Lilithâs arm and began to leave. Charlie noticed the glare her mother sent in Alastorâs direction.
However, she was relieved when her parents finally left them alone.
She quickly let go of him and stood in front of him. She grimaced as she noticed that he was still masking. She could see the remnants of fear in his eyes though. He was amazing at masking, but after spending so much time with him, so many years, she was rather adept at being able to read his true emotions by watching his eyes.
âAl, are you okay? What did they do? Is there anything I can do to help?â she rapidly questioned.
Alastor simply continued to smile as he answered, âI am alright.â
She didnât accept that answer and questioned, âNo, youâre not. What did they do?â
She noticed him visibly stiffen before he answered, âI am simply your toy, dear. I feel no pain.â
Her eyes widened at the obvious lie. She growled and gritted her teeth.
She balled her hands into fists as her eyes turned red and her horns began to poke out a little as she said, âDid my mother use her song on you? Did she bind you?â
She watched as his jaw stiffened. He did not answer, but he looked away from her. She had her answer. Her mother had bound him to be directly under her control.
Tears of anger poured down her face as she said, âShe canât do this! Can you use your powers anymore? I know they had you bound to the property, but did she truly bind your soul to be completely under her control?â
She watched as he stiffened again.
He simply answered, âI am but a toy. I have no powers.â
She couldnât help it. She kept her crying quiet so as not to alert her parents as she launched herself at Alastor. He caught her and gently circled his arms around her.
She hugged him tightly as she tearfully declared, âIâll free you one day, Alastor. I promise. Iâm sorry. I should've been more careful. Iâm sorry!â
She held onto him as he simply patted her hair.
He was unable to answer any other way until the song wore off. Her binding of his soul wouldnât wear off, but the song keeping him in this docile state with only standard answers would wear off within the week, he was sure of it.
His soul now belonged directly to Lilith, and his actions were directly monitored and his true powers suppressed.
He was well and truly trapped.
But no matter, he would find a way out eventually, and his voice wasnât trapped forever.
She could take his soul, but she couldnât take his spirit.
He wasnât going to lose his determination to escape.
And little would those two know that heâd have their very own daughter on his side when he did manage to find a way out from under the Queenâs thumb.
Rosie gasped in surprise and lost her grip on her teacup as the chain tethering Alastorâs soul to her shattered like the cup that sheâd just dropped. Her hands shook and she swallowed as she sat forward and held her head in her hands.
She should have worked harder to find him. Sheâd even questioned that odd fellow of a television man that her deer had begun to mentor just over a year before he disappeared. That fellow had actually been the one to inform her of his disappearance when heâd missed a meeting and hadnât been at his radio tower either.
And she herself got confirmation that he was indeed missing when he didnât show up for their weekly tea and gossip session. She should have known that when there were no screams or sounds coming from her radio during the normally scheduled time that something had gone wrong.
And things around Hell had since gotten a bit worse, considering Alastor was no longer present to take the worst of the trash out. And now heâd never be able to again.
And now, sheâd failed him. He was no doubt dead by whatever force had decided to take him.
She snarled.
Someone had killed her property, her deer, her best friend!
She wouldnât stop looking until she found the culprits.Â
They would pay.
She would ensure it.
Perhaps she could even invite the TV head into the loop, especially since his technological advancements were making things a little easier when it came to spying and heâd managed to make his way to overlord status already.
~~~~~~
Vox stared at the one picture that he had of himself and Alastor.
He sighed. It had been more than three years since heâd gone missing. He missed the red asshole so much. He had a crush on the guy practically since he got to hell and had managed to catch his eye by pulling a rather stupid stunt that had nearly gotten him killed, had it not been for the fact that heâd actually managed to kill the low-level overlord just before Alastor had also arrived, apparently having decided to also take out the very same overlord.
And then Alastor had taken him in and mentored him. He still had a crush, but after spending a decent amount of time with the guy, he knew it would remain unrequited. And he was fine with it. Heâd rather still be allowed to at least talk to him than just simply be laughed at and turned away completely if he dared to confess that he had a crush.
He sighed again. He supposed that it no longer mattered though, considering that Alastor had completely disappeared from all of Hell. Heâd nearly driven himself crazy looking for Alastor, and almost got himself killed when trying to search in other overlordâs territories, but the searches yielded nothing.
Not even Rosie had found anything as of yet.
He sat the picture back on the console as he powered the station up. He was glad that Alastor had grown to trust him enough before his disappearance to grant him access to his main domain at the radio tower.
Every once in a while when he had time heâd stop by and do a broadcast. It wasnât nearly anything like Alâs broadcasts, but it at least ensured that the equipment remained in good running for if Alastor were to ever return.
He was grateful for Alâs mentorship, and he would do whatever he could to defend Alastorâs domain and territory as best as he could until he would return. He was also grateful for the advice to begin going by a pseudonym as that had saved him from a rather icky spell that needed a personâs true name to work. Heâd killed the little upstart pretty quickly after the attempt.
Heâd yet to form much of a domain for himself yet outside of Alastorâs territory, but he was steadily growing in the number of souls he had under contract.
And his company was also growing exponentially these days as television continued to grow in popularity and he owned the main broadcasting company. He headquartered it inside of Alastorâs domain close to the radio tower. He knew that Al probably wouldnât like it, but it made it easier for him to defend both his growing business as well as Alastorâs territory.
He hoped that Alastor would be proud of him when he returned.
Alastor sighed as he sat on the ground beside Charlie's bed and leaned his head against the wall.
For the first time in ages, he actually felt tired. Though, he supposed that was the effect of having oneâs soul split. Dear Charlie had figured out a bit before sheâd managed to tucker herself out by crying, but she hadnât understood the true implications behind why his magic was gone.
Of course, with her still being so young at only just about eight years of age, she hadnât been exposed to magical knowledge enough to know that his shadow power type was linked directly to his soul.
And Lucifer had had the honor of slicing his shadow off of him with an angelic steel dagger while Lilith used her magic to hold him down. It had been so excruciating that he hadn't even been able to make a sound during the process. Heâd then been forced to make the choice to make a deal with the Queen for his soul.
If he wanted to keep his now split soul alive, he had to agree to hand ownership of it completely to the Morningstars so that he could be more easily monitored, as they werenât happy with the amount of âmistakesâ that heâd been making around Charlie lately with his magic.
Thus, the deal was made, and the soul chain heâd had with Rosie had shattered as it was overwritten by the soul deal of the far more powerful Morningstars. And now Lucifer kept his shadow, his most treasured part of his soul, locked away.
And he was told that he was lucky that they didnât simply destroy it after heâd failed to keep Charlie from nearly injuring herself again.
His entire body ached at the loss of his magic. His soul ached at the distance with which it was being split. He couldnât even conjure his staff anymore.
For the first time since he ever entered Hell, he closed his eyes, and did not wake until the next morning when dear Charlie stirred.
He missed his soul.
He missed his freedom.
And now, he had very little chance of getting it back without help.
Perhaps, in due time, his dear Charlotte would be able to help him figure something out.
After all, the dear girl was starting to take after him more and more.
Rosieâs eyes widened as she grinned when she caught sight of her last visitor for the day at the emporium!
She greeted warmly, âLili! Itâs good to see you! Howâs everyone doing? Itâs been a while since youâve had time to stop by and update me on things, dear!â
She ushered the Queen inside as she closed the door behind her. She was glad that she was in between husbands at the moment so she wouldnât be nagged on for spending time with her gals! Granted, that complaint was the reason why she was currently down a husband at the moment anyway, but oh well. He shouldâve known better than to try and control her, so he had it coming.
Lilith smiled at her and responded, âHey, Ro. Itâs been pretty busy these days with more requests coming in due to the crime rates being ever increasing. Charlieâs doing well though. Sheâs advancing quite nicely in her lessons. I think that she might be ready to actually start actively learning to use her magic around her next birthday!â
Rosie practically squealed as she said, âOh, thatâs wonderful, darling! How about the hubby?â
She frowned as she watched a displeased frown paint her friendâs face as she replied, âHeâs becoming depressed again and is beginning to hide himself away in his workshop or with one of the sins and absolutely avoiding his duties and once again leaving me to be the one to carry the load.â
Rosie tutted as she led Lilith to a settee and began to serve her tea and some lady fingers.Â
She replied, âOh, Iâm sorry for that, dear. Well, if you do get too tired of his shenanigans, you know where to send him. He may be a fallen archangel, but you know I could take care of things! I wonder if heâd taste rotten though?â
Lilith simply laughed loudly as she enjoyed the tea and munched on a lady finger. She rarely got to enjoy such delicacies because it made Lucifer squeamish, but what he didnât know wouldnât kill him.
Rosieâs playful mood was dampened with Lilithâs next inquiry, âHowâs your search going, Ro? Your deerâs been missing for how long now?â
Rosie sat across from Lilith and smoothed down her skirt as she frowned and responded, âItâs been just over four years now, and I have yet to find an actual lead as to what happened to him. Ever since our deal snapped, itâs become even more impossible to track him down. First, the chain I had on him became invisible to me, and then one day it suddenly became visible again and shattered! I miss my deer so much, Lili. Heâd hate to hear me say it, especially since I often teased him by calling him pet, but I grew to see him like a brother. And now heâs dead and Iâm no closer to finding his killer.â
She sat her head in her hands as she began to shake slightly while a few tears trickled down her face.
~~~~~~
Lilith grimaced.
It was good to hear that Rosie was no closer to figuring out that she and Lucifer had been responsible for Alastorâs disappearance, but it was saddening to see her in such a state.
She hadn't known that Alastor was one of Rosieâs at the time, but It's not like Rosie was hurting for power, and regardless of her feelings for said soul, it wouldn't hurt her to remain bereft of just the one.
She cringed as Rosie then said, âI wish that you could help me. Itâs all such a mystery. I mean, who would be powerful enough to even hide him from me as well as kill him?â
Lilith knew the obvious answer, but simply sighed with sadness as she replied, âI donât know either, but you know very well why I canât help.â
Rosie simply groaned as she said, âI know, I know! Just because Iâm your friend, doesnât mean that you can show favorites. If you help me find just one soul, youâd have lots of others trying to take advantage and get the same thing. I know, Lili, but it still hurts. I miss him so much.â
Lilith sighed before she responded, âI know it hurts, Ro. I wish I could help stop the hurt, but I canât. Maybe youâll get a lead soon and have your vengeance.â
Rosie simply looked towards the ground as she solemnly replied, âYeah, maybe.â
Alastor tensed as Lilith entered Charlieâs, well, pretty much his too, room.
She very rarely came to see him during the day unless something Charlie had told her that theyâd played had sounded too dangerous or upsetting for the child.
He closed the book that heâd been reading and glared at Lilith as she simply smirked at him.
She rolled her eyes at his glare before she laughed lightly and said, âYouâve been quite behaved lately, little deer. Youâve been helping keep Charlie happier as well in light of her idiotic fatherâs pseudo-abandonment of us thanks to his depression and hermit-like coping mechanisms.â
Alastor furrowed his brow as Lilith ranted a bit more before she sighed and said, âWell, anyway, I figured that you deserved a special little treat from a good acquaintance of yours for being such a good toy. I decided to give them to you myself instead of having the usual staff just deliver it with your daily meal.â
He then watched as she conjured a familiar looking box and grabbed it out of the air before it could fall to the ground.
It was without a doubt a container of lady fingers, specifically those which Rosie herself prepared for her emporium to sell. His eyes were wide as she simply tossed the box at him. He was unprepared for it to be tossed at him, but he easily caught the box.
Sure enough, the tag had Rosieâs emporiumâs label on it.
He stared at the label for a while before Lilith interrupted his musings as she said, âI do so hope you enjoy them. Rosie made these ones special by my request. Youâve done good little deer. Be sure to keep that up, lest you want to end up like those which your treats used to be attached to.â
He watched as she then left the room. Wards sealing the door behind her once again so that he still couldn't wander.
He held the box in his hands and carefully unwrapped it. Sure enough, Rosieâs specialty lady fingers were enclosed. A whole dozen of them. He hadnât had any in so long.
He wanted to be happy to have them, but all he could feel was anxiety.
Lilith may have said that it was a treat for being good, but the wench was very subtle and good at manipulation, He had no doubt that this was also a subtle threat.
He knew that Rosie occasionally talked to Lilith, but this was more concerning than that.
Lilith seemed to know that Rosie was also a dear acquaintance of his.
And now, if he did end up stepping out of line in her eyes again, he wouldnât be the only one at stake.
He hadnât thought that things could get worse, but he should have known better.
This was why he should have never gotten close to anyone in Hell.
Anyone you get close to could be used against you.
To keep you in line. To control you.
And Lilith had managed to figure out who one such person was for him.
Charlie grinned as she ate a piece of her birthday cake. She snickered as she watched Alastor cringe the whole way through eating a piece that Lilith had forced him to take, considering he was a âguestâ at the small family party between just the three of them since Lucifer was still off being a hermit somewhere.
She knew Alastor hated sweet things, but the faces he made when he encountered them were always so funny!
However, the grin on her face became confused as Lilith then beckoned for her attention, âCharlie, dear, youâve gotten old enough now where I think itâs time that you begin lessons on how to control your powers.â
Charlie furrowed her brow and tilted her head before she spared a split second glance at Alastor and then replied to Lilith, âWonât I just know how to automatically use them? I already know that theyâre connected to my emotions somehow.â
Lilith simply smiled at her and said, âItâs more complex than that, dear. We donât even know what your entire power set is yet, and I need to begin training you so that we can discover that and make you the strongest princess of Hell that there ever will be.â
Charlie then smiled as she knew that would be what was expected of her, but she was worried. What type of powers would her mother be teaching her? And how would having powers make her a better princess of hell?â
She simply responded, âOkay, mom. When do we start?â
Lilith grinned back at her and said, âYour first lesson will be in a few days, dear. Need to let the sugar high from today wear off, haha! Youâll need some rest to as well, dear. Your expected power set does take quite a bit of energy to manifest if you want to be able to control them.â
Charlie nodded and continued to munch on her cake.
This had been rather surprising to her.
~~~~~~
Charlie paced back and forth in her room as Alastor put away a few of the gifts that she had been given.
She was still confused about why her mother was so worried about training her on how to use her powers.
She exclaimed, âWhy do I need to know how to use these powers? If theyâre anything like hers, I donât want them! I donât want to be able to force someone to do anything!â
Alastor simply sighed and laid a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with frustrated tears in her eyes.
He simply said, âPowers can be very useful, my dear. Before mine were taken from me, they were useful for far more than just controlling someone. And as the princess of Hell, you will need every power at your disposal to defend yourself from the masses should the day ever come that sinners become rebellious.â
Charlie crossed her arms and pouted before she waved a hand and said, âWell, I donât want her teaching me how to use them! I donât want to be like her!â
Alastor responded, âThen why donât you learn a different set of powers from me that are magic based. You can still learn from your mother, but also have a backup plan in place in case you truly grow to hate the powers that you were born with.â
Charlieâs eyes widened in surprise before her face scrunched up and she declared,Â
"But Al, you never wanted to be here! Why would you even want to teach me, when Iâm the reason you canât even use your magic!"
Al simply sighed before he said, "Perhaps I never wanted to be here, but that doesn't mean that I haven't grown to care for you. And even though I cannot use magic, which is by no means your fault, it would bring me joy to teach you just as my mother once taught me.â
Char sniffled again before saying, "But still! Youâre still captive here?! They ripped you from your life! Oh no, itâs been years! Are you even able to contact anyone on the outside?"
A muscle in Al's jaw twitched as he responded, "No. I cannot. But I have my own ways of knowing that some whom I care for are still well, even after all these years."
Charlie sniffled and then turned herself to snuggle into his chest as he patted her back.
She vowed, "I'm gonna get you out of here eventually, Al. I promise."
He simply hummed as he responded, âI know, dear. I know. How about we work on your ability to summon things into being today, hm? Well, after you figure out how to tap into your own soul that is, dear! Haha!â
Charlie nodded as she wiped at her eyes.
Maybe one day, her magic would be strong enough to aid her in figuring out how she could truly free Alastor.
So many years had already gone by, split away from the other half of their soul. Every minute added to the agonizing ache of being kept apart. Kept among the shadows of that pitiful fallen archangelâs workshop and prevented from leaving.
They pressed against the wards keeping them contained and hissed.
However, they also couldnât help but grin.
The rotten archangel had been away and uncaring of them for long enough that the wards were weakening.
It had burned to try and go up against the wards, but not nearly as much as it once had.Â
Before long, the wards would weaken enough to at least partially free them.
And then, they could enact their plan to get help.
They wouldnât let either of them suffer for any longer than they were forced to.
~~~~~~
Charlie grinned as she conjured a small lotus in a glass of water.
She cheered, âI did it!â
Alastor laughed happily as he said, âYou did indeed, my dear.â
She hugged him and he smiled down at her. He had grown used to her hugs so long ago. He did still have bad days where he didnât want to be touched, but he couldn't help but humor her. She really had grown so much over the years under his tutelage.
He said, âBefore long, youâll be able to conjure more than that and maybe even create your own pocket dimension!â
Charlie stepped away from him as she continued to smile.
She then responded, âThatâd be so cool!â
He simply nodded.
She then said, âMy lessons with my mother have been going well too. I still donât like learning from her nearly as well as I do learning from you, but I think Iâm starting to like my powers. Theyâre still kind of scary, but I can see how theyâd be useful for more than just the bad stuff.â
He smiled softly as he responded, âThatâs good, dear. The more power that you have at your disposal, the better.â
She shrugged and said, âMaybe, but hopefully Iâll never need to use them for anything she seems to want me to know to use them for. After all, itâs not like I ever want to be a seductress like her or to control the masses. Ick.â
Alastor shuddered at that thought too, especially the first part. Ick.Â
While it would provide him with many MANY more voices that he could add to his broadcasts once he was free, he did NOT want to think of his dear Charlie ever being like that.
He simply looked at her and said, âCharlotte, dear, never even put that thought into the air again.â
He shuddered again and smiled more genuinely as she snickered at his reaction and agreed to never say such a thing again.
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