Everyone sits at the table, breakfast having ended about thirty minutes ago, trying to think of just what they're going to do about the Extermination Day in just a month. They've tried going the nonviolent route, tried getting Heaven to cooperate peacefully, and only Emily was actually interested in playing ball with them on that front - Sera, Adam, Lute…everyone actually involved with the matter either just didn't care - Sera - or wanted more unnecessary violence and bloodshed.
Point of fact, Vaggie's pretty sure Adam gets off on it.
Angel runs his fingers through the fur on his forehead, asking "Anyone got any ideas? Since, ya know, the nonviolent approach got laughed out of court until Calli lost her mind at them?"
Calli says "I could just kill them all. Depending on how I do it, I might put myself out for a day or so, but I could do it."
Charlie opens her mouth to object, but Vaggie says "Charlie, there's no changing Adam's mind."
Lucifer groans, saying "Don't I remember…"
Charlie mutters "Wasn't going to say that. I was going to say 'don't pass out over Adam, he's not worth the effort.'"
Calli says "Angels can be killed - it would take either very powerful magic or their own weapons, and we have access to both. What we don't have is access to several powerful magic users or a small army's worth of Angelic Weapons. Or a small army to wield those weapons."
Lucifer coughs, saying "And then there's me…"
Everyone turns to look at Lucifer in confusion, and Calli asks "What about you?"
Lucifer's gaze refuses to leave the table as he guiltily says "I may or may not have accidentally entered into a contract with Sera the night Charlie was born regarding the Exterminations…"
There's a heavy silence for a moment, up until Calli flatly asks "What?"
Risking a quick glance up reveals an expression on Calliope's face like he just decided to try and give himself a second head. Wincing at the sheer disbelief written all over her face, Lucifer quickly asks "You remember the night Charlie was born?"
"I remember you held your newborn daughter and your wings burst out of your back…"
Lucifer nods, saying "After Lilith had fallen asleep and you were rocking Charlie, I went to go make a call…to Heaven."
Calli nods, and Alastor says "Keep going…" As interesting as things just got today, Lucifer being bound by a contract to stay out of the Exterminations is less than helpful.
Running a hand through his hair, Lucifer says "I called her up, full demon mode, no less, and…and, for once, I guess she took me seriously. I told her that if any Exorcist hurt even one hair on her head during the Exterminations, they'd be dealing with the King of Hell. She just went all quiet for a solid minute, and then in this tiny little voice she said she understood…and then the contract appeared right in front of me moments before she hung up, both our signatures on it despite the detail that I hadn't even seen it until right then." They'd tried to stop the Exterminations before, they really had - they'd tried negotiating with Heaven, they'd tried fighting back...it never worked. Lucifer was grounded due to his lack of wings, and Lilith wasn't one for battle - her powers revolved around inspiring people with her siren song, leading the masses in some semblance of order even in Hell. It made her a brilliant Queen...but it also made her unsuited for battle despite her willingness to defend herself and him.
Ergo...they never managed to do much more than earn Heaven's scorn with each and every attempt.
Calli runs a hand down her face, and says "Emotions running high, you were in full-form…an agreement made in that much power has a good chance of being anchored in magic. Hence, the contract. Let me see it, I need to know just what we're dealing with here."
Alastor nods, saying "I've heard rumors of extremely powerful entities being able to just create binding deals like this…but I've never heard of one being created by accident." Honestly, he'd expect it more from Calliope and the strange mix of luck and utter chaos that follows her around.
Calli chuckles under her breath, and says "Remind me to tell you how I learned I can make magical deals…you'll either laugh your ears off or just shake your head at me." Calliope summons the contract once Lucifer manifests it, and they can all see the disbelief painting itself onto her face as she scans it. Handing it to Alastor, Calli deadpans "This is, without question, the most one-sided contract I've ever seen, Luci. And I saw Anthony's!"
Alastor nods his head in silent agreement as he scans the to-the-point contract. Lucifer isn't allowed to defend any of the Sinners in the annual Exterminations, cannot object to the practice…literally, the only concession was that no Hellborn Demons - which Charlie thankfully falls under - can be harmed in the event. After a long moment, he says "You do realize it specifies Extermination Day as an annual event, correct?"
Everyone stares at Alastor in surprise, and Charlie says "That means…if they come a second time this year…"
"If they come before exactly a year after they last came, yes they are in blatant breach of this contract. This Sera, specifically." And breaking a magical contract is universally avoided, the consequences have never been pretty.
Calli chuckles coldly, still pissed at Sera's role in Lucifer's Fall and even all the times she disregarded him before then, and says "Good. But, having taken a look at this thing…" Turning to Lucifer, she gets very serious and says "Luci, if they break this contract…it could be taken as an act of war."
Holding up a hand to stop any objections, she adds "I know it isn't what anybody wants, I don't want a full-scale war between Heaven and Hell either. But, if Heaven's leaders keep refusing to go down the diplomatic route…we may not have any choice in the end."
Husk says "She's not wrong, there's only so much you can do when the other guys don't want to play nice to begin with.
Lucifer nods, saying "I know..." He never wanted to fight his family - and never wanted Michael to have a reason to come down and finish things - but he knows she's right.
Calli taking his hands in hers pulls Lucifer out of his thoughts enough to look up, and she says "You never deserved what they did, Luci, not your Fall or anything they did to you before it. It's time to stop letting them walk all over you, Luce, stand up for yourself!" Heck, stand up for all of Humanity in the process - Someone way up at the top decided to enslave Humanity, strip them of their Free Will, and the three who went and did something about it have been punished ever since.
All the human souls share identical glances, and Angel incredulously says "I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that the so-called 'good' guys brainwashed someone, picked an easy scapegoat, and it turns out the whole Extermination deal was…what, just another way to rub salt in the wound? What kinda good guys are they?"
Calli snorts derisively, saying "History is written by the victors…and nobody wants to write themselves as the villain."
Lucifer rubs at his temples, and says "We'll discuss the whole 'going to war' option more after we get some kind of plan for defending the Hotel in place."
Charlie says "Well, we can't just sit around and wait for Adam to come to us! Broken contract or no…he won't just stop."
Calli nods, saying "We need weapons, numbers…and, most likely, magic. I can handle the weapons part, the magic will take time, but I've got no idea where to get the numbers - because, truthfully, I can't think of a lot of people down here who would be willing to put their lives on the line when Heaven's been killing everyone off for centuries or more without some real good incentive. And involving the rest of Hell is a no-go, we do not want the other Sins getting involved with Heaven if we can help it."
Alastor hums, saying "I happen to have a good friend in Cannibal Town who may just be able to help us with that, as it happens. You remember Rosie, yes? She's the Overlord I was sitting next to at that meeting you attended."
Calli nods her head slowly, asking "The woman in the hat? Alright…you said she's got an entire town?"
Alastor nods his head, saying "Indeed! Rosie's District is rather aptly named Cannibal Town, quite probably the most civilized area of Pentagram City despite the name! Rosie herself runs an Emporium near the entrance, so she always knows when there's trouble around. We've known each other about a century now, she'll at least listen to what we have to say."
Calli nods her head slowly, saying "This…this could work." Clapping her hands together, Calli stands up while saying "Alright, then, we have some semblance of a plan! Pentious, you have any ideas for weapons you can build in a relatively short amount of time?" At Pentious' nod, Calli says "Order whatever, I'll pay for it. Yes, I've got far more than enough money for this, relax."
Alastor says "I can take Charlie to meet Rosie, ask her for some aid in the upcoming battle."
Calli grins, and says "Fantastic. Luce, you got any ideas to add?"
Lucifer shrugs, sheepishly saying "Not unless you can do something with, like, a million rubber ducks…"
Everybody stares at him in surprise, and Calli eventually says "You've got a million…know what? Yes, I can, bring 'em over. I'll think of something."
Vaggie asks "What about you, Calli?"
Calli grins, saying "I'm gonna go see just how much chaos I can cause in Heaven. Figured they have to have an armory in there somewhere - taking their weapons and using them hurts them and helps us." And then her mischievous grin turns slightly vengeful, and she adds "Plus, maybe I can project my memories of what happened with Eve all over the city. Let Sera and her cronies deal with that shitstorm for the next month. Luci, you want to donate a few memories? Let everyone see your perspective?"
Lucifer blinks, then shrugs and asks "Why not?"
Gabriel bursts into his, Raphael, and Michael's quarters, looking a combination of extremely confused and incredibly guilty, and Raphael asks "Gabby? What happened?!"
"I don't…don't go outside, guys."
Michael and Raphael exchange looks, and Michael asks "Why? What's going on?"
Gabriel runs a hand through his hair, and says "Sera still can't get a hold of Calliope, Azrael didn't see fit to give her number to the Seraphim before leaving…but I think Calliope might have made a surprise visit up here."
Michael and Raphael trade surprised looks, and Raphael slowly asks "What makes you say that?"
"Because every single reflective surface in the entire city is now playing back scenes that happened ten thousand years ago. Adam and Lilith's creation, Adam's…poor choice of words to Lilith, Calliope taking her from the Garden…Eve."
Raphael and Michael quickly exchange horrified looks, and Raphael makes a mirror appear - when they all look into it, they see not their own reflections but Lucifer standing in front of Eve with a confused expression on his face as he asks "And you're just-just…what, fine with him treating you like garbage?!"
Eve nods her head, eyes slightly glazed over and a dreamy smile on her face, and says "Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"
"He told you to- are you sure you're alright? You look a little…distant? You sure you don't want to sit down or something?"
Eve promptly drops to the ground, dropping the bundle of clothing she was folding in the process.
Lucifer just stares at her in confusion, asking "Um…why did you just drop down like that?"
Eve tilts her head slightly, confusion edging into the dreaminess of her expression, and she says "You said to sit down. Was I not supposed to do that?"
Lucifer's expression turns to horror for a moment, and he says "Know what? How 'bout I let you finish up all this," he snaps his fingers, and the dropped clothes float into the air, free of dirt and perfectly folded, "and come back when you're less busy? Say, in a week or so?" Lilith was never like that from the minute he met her, she would've just rolled her eyes at him - there's something very wrong with Eve, he's sure about it. Maybe Calliope will know what to do?
The scene changes to Lucifer landing outside a simple cottage, sitting in front of a treeline and facing a vibrantly-green field.
Gabriel recognizes that cottage after a moment, that was Calliope's cottage ten thousand years ago.
The door swings open when Lucifer gets within three feet, and he calls out "Calli, Lilith, I'm back! Anyone home…I'm not about to get pranked, am I?"
Lilith comes to the door, beautiful face lighting up at the sight of Lucifer, and says "Calli's baking, it smells amazing. Calls them…cookies?"
Lucifer sniffs, then says "She can call them whatever she wants, that smells divine. Calli's...she's in a good mood, then? I've got a question for her."
Lilith throws her arms around him as he leaps up the three steps, and they head in as she asks "Calli's good, though Hedwig is out hunting right now. How was the Garden? I don't particularly want to go back, but it seemed nice when Calli was leading me out."
Lucifer grimaces, saying "Garden's still nice, and all - everything's growing well. Adam - that's his name, apparently - is just the same as you described…maybe worse, now that he's got a new wife. Eve, she's called."
"Poor girl...you think he took the name from what Calli said I should strike at if I saw him again? The...Adam's Apple?"
Lucifer laughs for a moment, saying "You know, he just might've. And, Lils...'poor girl' doesn't begin to describe it. I think there's something wrong with her. Hey, Calli! got a question for you!"
Raphael bites his bottom lip at the sight of Lucifer and Lilith, and Michael quietly says "Fuck, they…they were really happy, back then."
Gabriel nods his head, wanting to turn his head away yet also completely unable to do so - he fucked that up, and he knows the exact moment he did. When he went to the cottage and just did as he was told rather than telling them what was going on - he could've said he needed some extra time to find a place he'd never been to before!
By the time the entire projection is over - rather, by the time it just seems to restart - Raphael's crying once more, Gabriel's got his face buried in his hands, and Michael's holding the both of them close as he tries to stay strong - because one of them has to not break down right now, and Raphael's been crying for the past five minutes while Gabriel looks like he's about to start any minute now.
If this is Calliope's idea of revenge on them…she did an excellent job of it.
If it's her idea of noninvasively shoving it into everyone's heads just how unjust Lucifer's punishment was…she's still doing an excellent job of it.
If she's trying to start a manhunt for Adam…well, that's going in full-swing, if the detail that he's currently hiding on a secluded rooftop they happen to be able to see is anything to go by.
And, if she just wanted to cause a shit-ton of chaos up in Heaven as retribution for Lucifer's Fall - or even just for shits and giggles, because who knows if that's what she's into - she managed that just fine, to.
Calliope, meanwhile, invisibly makes her way through Heaven, silent Point Me Spells leading her deeper into the stronghold-like building - seems the armory is better-hidden than she thought. She set the memories to repeat a few times, so hopefully she'll be out before they end.