Calliope gets to the ground floor one the phone with Fate, saying "Tell me you didn't actively write this into existence, Fate, tell me you didn't. I lost the better part of two centuries with my two best friends and their daughter, time I'll never get back. So tell me this wasn't you being your usual sadistic self, Fate. I've still gotta track them down, and you still won't tell me where either of my friends are, I'm probably going to end up storming Heaven, beating down their front gate, and bashing some heads in - and who thought Adam of all people would be the person to make an ambassador to anywhere?! That idiot is more concerned with his dick than anything else! Thanks to him, my niece is all grown up and I've got no idea what she's like beyond the letters she's sent - somehow she still remembers me, I find out the whole family is basically a laughingstock down here despite the raw power all three of them wield, and now I get to play politics down here in Hell for the foreseeable future. You'd better be laughing your arse off, Fate, because I'm not leaving until this mess gets sorted out." Disconnecting the call angrily, Calli lets her hair down, changes her business heels to flats and her dress to casual clothing before getting out the letter and map Charlie sent her - apparently, she's in the big hotel on the hill overlooking the city.
Calliope's just about to start heading towards the hotel when a familiar voice says "Well, that was certainly a most entertaining performance you put on, Miss Peverell. Or, should I call you…Calla Lily?"
When Calliope turns to look, the red-haired demon with the massive smile from the Overlords meeting is standing in a shadow…surrounded by five of the same egg-like creature she noticed at the meeting.
There's also the tall, spider-like demon that was sitting beside him, who quickly gives her a hasty bow before heading off. She's already in a foul mood, he has no intention of risking his afterlife by offending her and getting wiped off the face of Hell.
A grin forms on her lips as she says "I take it you must be the famous Radio Demon. My thanks for sharing your towers this past week. I don't suppose you didn't hear any of the business call I was just on?"
Alastor falls into step with her as they start heading towards the hotel, and says "Think nothing of it, Ma Chère. Always a pleasure to fill the hours with quality broadcasts. I couldn't help but notice your owl is quite unique. Familiar, I take it?" Yes, yes he heard every single word, and with Zestial's warnings it makes a lot more sense than it would've. She quite literally interacts with deities that predate Heaven and Hell both, according to Zestial. Coming from the most ancient Overlord in Pentagram City if not all of Pride Ring itself...Alastor's more than inclined to believe him.
Calliope gives him a side-eye, one hand coming up to bury itself in glowing white feathers, and she nods while saying "She is. Her name's Hedwig." Silver-white armor phases onto Hedwig's body, looking transparent - as if half-there, like Calliope's magic is giving a warning and preparing to defend her Familiar.
"And a lovely creature she is, no less. Would be a true crime if anything should happen to such a beautiful thing as her."
Calliope hums, armor fading from Hedwig's body, and she asks "Do you live around here, then? Or are you just being a polite gentleman and walking me home?"
"Au contraire, Ma Chère, as it happens we're actually heading to the same location."
Calliope raises an eyebrow, and says "That seems unlikely. No offense, but the chances of us knowing anyone in common are astronomical."
Alastor chuckles, and says "So are the chances of Charlotte Morningstar's favorite Aunt being a figure spoken about in myths and legends."
Calliope stops dead in her tracks, and flatly asks "You know Charlie?"
"Quite well, as it happens. Shall we talk on the way?"
Charlie sighs in relief as Vaggie leans against her and Sir Pentious, Angel Dust, and Husk keep chatting amicably, when suddenly the door opens and Alastor's voice drifts over saying "-gained it by a technicality, Ma Chère. As it turns out, being a deal-making demon is quite the rarity down here in Hell. While I never saw the appeal in politics or defending one's territory from would-be invaders, making deals and collecting worthy souls is another matter altogether. Quite fun, really."
"Oh, we're going to get along fantastically. I never asked to be given all the Hallows, but what're you going to do, right? Can't change the past."
"Alastor," Vaggie calls down, "I see you didn't manage to get rid of the eggs."
Alastor says "Yes, well, they proved rather useful."
Vaggie shrugs, then says "I guess you can give 'em back to Pentious. By the way, who's-"
"AUNT CALLI!" Charlie's racing down the stairs and across the reception room like a streak of blonde lightning, tackling Calliope in a full-body hug attack that knocks her back a few steps. "You're here! You'rehereyour'rehereyou'rehere!"
Once Charlie stops spinning her around through the air, Calliope laughs and says "I said I would be, remember? Sorry I took so long, little flame." Smile dimming, she murmurs "You've grown up so much..."
Glancing around and very forcefully plastering her smile back on, she clears her throat and adds "Care to introduce me to everyone else? I've already met Alastor, so…"
Charlie leaps up and dashes over to the others, saying "Right! So, this is Sir Pentious, who really likes building machines and stuff, those are his eggs over by Alastor-"
Sir Pentious gives her a toothy smile, nervously waving a hand and saying "Hello, it's nice to meet you! Oh, my Eggies! GO CLEAN MY ROOM!"
"Angel Dust here loves popsicles and can drag Sir Pentious up ten flights of stairs-"
Angel Dust leans against the bar counter and gives her a grin, saying "'Sup, hot-stuff."
"Niffty's around here somewhere, and we're eighty percent sure she's harmless except to bugs most of the time- Niffty, no! That's my Aunt!"
Before anyone can react, Niffty's climbed Calliope's body and says "Hello! I'm Nif- eep!"
Calliope lunges forward, just managing to keep Niffty from flying into the far wall after her magic forcibly repels the small demon woman. Everybody stares in shock, seeing Niffty floating midair and glowing bright green, and Angel Dust breaks the stunned silence by saying "Fuck!"
Husk adds "No kidding…"
Niffty laughs, saying "That was fun!"
Setting Niffty down gently, Calliope says "Sorry about that…I don't really like being surprised that way is all. Unless I'm really comfortable with somebody, I don't much like being touched by them."
Charlie blinks as Calliope summons a chair from across the room to sit on, and says "But…you just let me hug you. And spin you around..."
Calli matter-of-factly says "And I've known you since you took your first breath. And your parents for far longer than you've been alive." At Charlie's still-confused and concerned look, she says "I can touch people just fine, Charlie. And I'm fine if I know it's coming, just please keep it brief until I've gotten used to everyone."
Vaggie asks "So, what was up with…you know…"
Angel Dust flatly asks "Why'd Nif float midair and look like she was possessed? And why'd she go flying in the first place? And the chair?"
"Ah, that. Easy, magic. It's not dissimilar to Alastor's shadow in that it seems to have something of a mind of its own."
Husk warily asks "Come again? You have magic that can just…do stuff all on its own?"
Calliope shrugs, a glass of lemonade appearing in her hand, and says "Best I can tell, it became at least semi-sentient when I was getting close to eighteen. Got really reactive to any thought I had or emotional outburst. 'Course," she adds with a shrug, downing about half the glass in one swallow, "it could be that it was always supposed to be like that but was bound. Who's she, Charlie?"
Charlie jumps when Vaggie puts a hand on her arm, not having heard her come down the stairs and over to her, and nervously says "Right! Aunt Calli, this is Vaggie. She's my girlfriend!" Please like her, please like her, please like her…
Calli very obviously sizes Vaggie up, doesn't say anything for a solid minute, then asks "You treat my favorite niece well?" She may be over a century late to do this, but she's at least going to try. And she's going to throttle Adam for making so much damn trouble.
Vaggie immediately nods, with Charlie jumping to give a detailed explanation of just how well Vaggie treats her, but Calli cuts her off saying "Good. Glad to meet you, and I wish you two the best." Charlie sighs in relief, and Vaggie's shoulders slump as she relaxes…right up until Calli adds "If you harm even a hair on Charlie's head, though, I'll vaporize you, angel."
Angel Dust immediately leaps over the bar counter, and peeks out over it while saying "Woah, hold up a minute! They just said she's taken, I won't-"
Calli glances over to him, lemonade filling back up - and sprouting a small umbrella, much to Alastor's amusement - and says "I wasn't talking about you. Your name is Angel Dust, she's an angel."
My, my, Alastor thinks, this just got interesting.
Charlie chuckles nervously, asking "What?! No, that's- what would make you think that, Aunt Calli?"
Calliope says "I'm a Nephilim, half-demon half-Angelic being. Honestly, not sure what rank of Angel, and it doesn't really matter to me anyway since I'm never up in Heaven unless I absolutely have to be. I can sense Divine and Demonic Energy." Raising an eyebrow at Vaggie, she adds "You didn't tell her, then?"
Charlie glances at Vaggie, only to see an expression of shocked horror painted all over her face. "Vaggie?"
Vaggie shakes her head, taking a slow step back followed by another, and Charlie asks "It's…it's true? Aunt Calli is right?"
Vaggie says "I used to be, but…I'm not anymore. Haven't been one of them for years, long before we got together."
Calli waves a hand, and an ornate black chair with red cushions appears out of thin air behind Vaggie. "Well, best sit down and start talking. Let me guess…fallen?"
Vaggie shakes her head, then says "Not quite. I…I was an exorcist, at one point. I'm not proud of it, but I was told that it was my holy duty to quell the Sinners before they could rise up and overthrow Heaven. That's what Adam tells everyone, and it's drilled into them all day after day by Lute, his second-in-command. But, my last Extermination…there was this kid, couldn't have been more than ten years old when he died." Running a hand through her hair, Vaggie blinks in surprise when a glass filled with liquid appears on the arm next to her. Downing half of it, she says "I…I couldn't kill him. I lowered my spear, told him to get inside and keep hidden until everyone left. Lute saw me, ripped my wings off, and carved my eye out with a knife she had on her. Called me a traitor, said if she ever saw me again she'd kill me. It was maybe two years after that when we met, Charlie. By that time, I'd long since stopped thinking of myself as an Angel when I saw all the horrible things they did for two years to souls who weren't even trying to rise up against Heaven. I didn't mention it because I didn't want to lose the first person who looked at me and saw me rather than my fighting ability or my missing eye, and after we got together…I thought it just wouldn't matter what I was before when who I am now was- is so different."
Plus, there's the little detail that Angels, even Fallen ones, aren't particularly popular down here. She got used to keeping it a secret, and then...it just never came up.
There's a heavy silence for a moment, but then Charlie drops to her knees in front of Vaggie…and throws her arms around her long-time girlfriend, starting to cry - ugly-cry, at that. Calliope walks over to Charlie, sits down next to her, and starts rubbing her back while saying "Tragic. Apologies if it sounds like I don't care, I've just gotten kinda numb to tragedy after a few millennia. You want your eye back?"
Vaggie blinks, one hand buried in Charlie's hair, and asks "You can do that? You would do that for me? How did you even know…did you know I was an Exorcist?"
"Uh, yeah. I've met angels enough times, Vaggie - too many, to be honest, as the rest of them up there are generally sanctimonious arseholes. Add to it, the detail that you have a weak Angelic Aura, like a more diluted version of Luci's, and it's pretty hard to miss that you're Heavenborn. Also, that spear of yours is Angelic, I can sense the enchantments from here." Before anyone can say anything, though, there's a buzzing noise from Calliope's pocket. When she takes the object out, it's an all-black phone.
Husk asks "What's wrong?"
"Work call, one moment everyone? Vaggie, we'll talk more about that healing spell once I'm done with this." Pressing the accept button on the screen, she walks over to the fireplace and says "It's me, find her? Great, what's she saying so far?" Calli makes a few noises to indicate she's listening, then suddenly lets out a humorless laugh that sends chills down most everyone's spines as the flames briefly turn green, and says "Those fools, never threaten the children of an arms dealer. You'd think some so-called saints would know better than to test a mother's love. Seems her shoes are as sharp as her mind. I've got an update, to - though, with the angel's soul you've found, you may know everything I do. They come down every year to kill all these souls, that's what's causing the backlog of rebirths needing to happen. It's been going on for centuries. And, apparently, shite-head Adam is the one responsible for it. It absolutely reeks of his special brand of toxic stupidity. Thankfully, though, Charlie has an idea that just might get Heaven to consider an alternative - yeah, apparently they never thought of opening diplomatic relations."
Charlie waits until Calli gets off the phone, and asks "Adam? Like, the Adam I had to meet with before, Adam?"
Calli shrugs, saying "Probably, Chars, he's always been a very special brand of self-absorbed stupid." She was never sure if he got that from the Angels that were always so intent on grinding Lucifer's spirit to dust or if he fed into it, or perhaps some combination of the two, but it's supremely annoying. She'd have thought they would've learned after they banished her two best friends to Hell right in front of her not to mess with those she cares for...yet, here they are.
"Yeah," Charlie says, rubbing the back of her head, "I could tell. He was a jerk. How long have you known him?"
Calli shrugs, saying "Lost track ages ago, but I'm older than him so…since he came into being?"
Husk flatly asks "What now? You're older than the first man alive? You look like you're in your twenties."
Angel Dust adds "Like, 'older than he was when he died' older, or…"
"No, I existed before him. I'm immortal, can't die, don't age, etc."
Husk stares at her for a moment, sees Alastor staring at her intently, then says "I'm too sober for this."
Angel Dust immediately says "You and me both, Whiskers. What've you got back there that's strong enough for this to not sound completely insane?"
Vaggie asks "So…what is it that you actually do? Your first letter to Charlie said you got busy with work…?"
Calli leans against a nearby coffee table, saying "Oh, yeah, that. Well, technically, my job is to be Death's link to the mortal world, make sure no souls are left where they shouldn't be. I also keep Fate entertained - we came to an arrangement, you see. She stays amused, this world goes on. It's part of why and how I find myself in the craziest of adventures out of what seems like sheer chance. Though, lately, I've been splitting all my time between helping D get caught up with the overload of souls that need to be fast-tracked in the rebirth process and making sure the mortal realm is simultaneously not falling to shite and is still entertaining enough to satisfy Fate. Luckily, she is easily amused and likes to watch my antics and adventures whenever I'm not helping D process souls." Unluckily, Fate's a bit of a sadist. She may not actively force people to do horrible shit to one another, but she makes all the possibilities in the world - however they still, according to her, have the free will to choose. And them choosing the worst choices possible is all the more amusing for her.
"Whiskers, what's the strongest shit you've got back there?"
"I'm getting it out right now. Way, way too sober for this…"
Vaggie asks "So…how long has that been going on? A few centuries now?"
Calli shrugs, saying "Lost track sometime last world."
"Last world?!" Everybody gapes at her, bar Alastor who's microphone's music promptly turns to static - even he's surprised, he's just got enough control over his expression to not immediately show it.
Calli shrugs once more, plucking the straw, umbrella, and lemon piece out of her lemonade, and casually says "I was born in 1980, but that was the 1980 of the last world. When I was nearly eighteen, I walked to my death without knowing I'd come into the magical possession of three artifacts called the Hallows, and willingly let myself be hit in the chest with a Killing Curse. I was later told, after my best friends died of old age, that my willing death had activated their potential and I was no longer human."
Of course, Death picked when she was at the end of the hard bender she went on when Ron and Hermione died of old age and she still looked like a young twenty-something adult even two-hundred years later to tell her this, and reveal the transformation she'd gone through which had been hidden under a prolonged subconscious use of her magic generating an illusion for everyone including herself of her former human appearance, and she'd first thought it was an alcohol-induced hallucination…until she took a look in the mirror and had blood-red hair and Avada-green eyes.
And Hedwig was back, that was pretty definitive proof that something big had changed.
After a moment, Calli claps her hands together and asks "Who wants to hear some piano? And, Charlie, where the here are Luci and Lils?!"