Max followed them home after spending a few hours at the old hotel. Its been a frequent visit whenever Charlie could for the past few months.
Charlie talked the entire way back.
"That was so fun!"
"I want to go again!"
"Did you see the big staircase?"
"Do you think we could fix it up?"
Her excitement was endless, bouncing from thought to thought like sparks from a fire.
Lilith smiled patiently as she listened, while Lucifer remained quieter than usual.
Max padded silently beside them, mostly hidden as always.
But the moment they entered the mansion, something felt… wrong.
Not dangerous.
Not hostile.
Just off.
A subtle tension in the air.
Max slowed his steps.
Charlie rushed ahead into the main hall.
"That was so fun!" she repeated again, spinning in a circle.
"That's good, honey," Lilith said warmly. "Now go to your room for a little while. Your father and I need to talk."
Charlie pouted.
"Aww."
"But okay!"
She hurried off upstairs.
The moment she disappeared—
Max realized what had happened.
He looked down.
The floor.
Lucifer had subtly softened the polished stone near the entrance, turning it just soft enough to hold impressions.
And across it…
Tiny wolf pawprints.
Max stared.
"…Crap."
So they knew.
Or at least they knew something was there.
He considered simply erasing their memories and resetting the situation.
It would be easy.
Clean.
Efficient.
But…
He was curious.
And before he could decide—
Lucifer spun and unleashed a blast of magic directly into the corner Max had been standing in.
The room shook.
Max reacted instantly.
"Beelzebub."
A gluttonous vacuum of energy opened in front of him, swallowing the blast whole.
The magic vanished.
Then Max dropped all stealth abilities at once.
He became visible.
A small black-and-red wolf pup standing in the wrecked corner of the room.
Lucifer and Lilith both immediately prepared more magic.
"Hey! Hey! No!" Max shouted.
He slammed a paw onto the floor.
"Anti-Magic Area."
A pulse spread through the room.
Every active spell collapsed.
Magic circles fizzled.
Energy vanished.
Lucifer blinked.
"What?! How!?"
He tried casting again.
Nothing happened.
Lilith stepped in front of Lucifer slightly, still calm but clearly ready to fight physically if needed.
"Who are you?" she asked.
Max sat down and raised both paws.
"Relax. I was literally sent here to help."
Neither of them looked remotely convinced.
Max sighed.
"Right. That sounded terrible."
He thought quickly.
"How do I explain this…"
He winced.
"I was sent by Charlie's future husband."
Silence.
Lucifer's eyes widened.
Then narrowed with murderous intensity.
"You were sent to stalk and groom my little girl?!"
Max recoiled.
"No! No no no!"
He waved his paws frantically.
"Absolutely not!"
"I was sent back to help slightly change her future so she doesn't get taken advantage of later."
Lilith put a hand on Lucifer's shoulder before he lunged.
"What do you mean?" she asked carefully.
Max exhaled.
"In the future, Charlie does great things."
He smiled softly.
"She stays kind. Hopeful. Brave."
"But…"
He looked toward the stairs where Charlie had gone.
"She's also too innocent in some ways."
"Too willing to help people who clearly don't deserve it."
"Too ready to believe everyone can be saved."
Lilith's expression changed.
She understood immediately.
Max continued.
"She was sheltered."
He glanced around the massive isolated mansion.
"Most of what she knows comes from books and from you two."
"My job is to nudge her thinking. Just enough that kindness doesn't become a weakness."
Lucifer crossed his arms.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"No," Max said honestly.
"I expect you to hate me."
That threw Lucifer off more than any spell.
Lilith studied Max carefully.
"How much longer will you be here?"
"A few weeks. Two at most."
"I only need to shift her direction a little."
He gave a small shrug.
"Then I disappear."
"I become nothing more than an imaginary childhood friend she remembers fondly."
Lilith's eyes softened.
"Can you tell us anything else?"
She hesitated.
"Is she happy?"
Max paused.
That question carried real fear.
Not cosmic concern.
Parental fear.
He answered gently.
"I'd like to say yes."
"She ends up with a very good man."
He coughed slightly.
"Mostly."
Lucifer scowled.
"But I can't tell you much more."
"If the future changes too heavily, things get… unstable."
That part was very true.
Lilith nodded slowly.
"Fine."
"You have two weeks."
"Then you leave."
Max bowed his head.
"Fair enough."
He started fading back into invisibility, then paused.
"One more thing."
They both looked at him.
"You should give her more real-world experience."
"She won't be your little girl forever."
The words hit harder than Max expected.
Lilith looked away.
Lucifer's jaw tightened.
Then Max vanished completely.
The anti-magic field dissolved moments later.
Lucifer immediately turned to Lilith.
"This is insane."
"He's hiding something."
"He's too strong."
"He knows too much."
Lilith remained thoughtful.
"Yes."
Then she looked toward Charlie's room upstairs.
"But he also loves her."
Lucifer froze.
Lilith continued quietly.
"Not romantically now. Not like that."
"But deeply."
"Protectively."
"He talks about her future like someone who has already chosen her."
Lucifer hated how much sense that made.
"I still don't like it," he muttered.
"I know," Lilith said.
She took his hand.
"But for now…"
"I trust my instincts."
Lucifer sighed heavily.
Then reluctantly nodded.
And somewhere unseen in the mansion, Max muttered to himself:
"…That went better than expected."
[A: what's your thoughts of an Avatar Story? One were the MC can't bend only 3 elements, and takes place 8 years after the last Airbender. Got inspiration from the little clips of the leaked movie (only some, I want to actually buy the movie to actually see it) and the bending 3 elements is because they always phrase that the Avatar can master all FOUR elements. Meaning its possible fir those to send 2 or 3 but are way too rare and didn't have the opportunity to try. Anyways enjoy]