Alastor feels his lungs constrict inside his chest as soon as he sees the hated gloom of the familiar cavern Eve originally brought him to seven years ago - he'd hoped he'd never have to set foot back here again, truthfully. Hoped he'd just be able to tell Lucifer what he knew, and the elusive all-powerful King of Hell would strike Eve down, save Lilith, and free him in the process - a naïve plan of his, cooked up in desperation and his own ignorance in relation to the Morningstar Royal Family, but it was all he had at the time.
And yet…he's back. He's back, armed with the inability to die and a magical knife that can cut through magic that his shadow is currently hiding, rather than the knowledge he told Eve he was going to look for.
He may just be fucked.
Eve circles him, expression twisting into a scowl as she studies him - he uses her circling as an excuse to turn towards Lilith, taking the opportunity to see if anything has changed about her since he last saw her. No, she's still bound to a wall, arms still stretched out on either side of her by the magical bindings…still muzzled, to, the black magical construct secured over her mouth like a gag.
"Mm," Eve hums, pulling Alastor out of his thoughts as effectively as if she'd pulled on his chain, "there's something…different about you. I can't quite put my finger on it, though."
Thinking quickly, Alastor says "I got Hell's version of a sun tan, up in Pride Ring." To Alastor's surprise, there's a muffled snicker from Lilith's direction - right, that would be something Calliope would say.
Before Eve can react, though, a wave of power washes over everyone, breaking through the oppressive aura that seems to be the very air in the cavern.
Lilith's gaze goes wide, Alastor's breath catches in his throat - he knows that combination of powers, he's been swimming in it since Lucifer started living at the Hotel! - and Eve's expression twists into a furious glare. The next thing Alastor knows, his head strikes the ground and the side of his face is aching - she backhanded him, then. Not the first time she's done as much, true, but that makes it no less painful right this instant.
"You've been with that Peverell bitch!" Sitting up, Alastor sees Eve approaching, and she looks pissed off. Picking him up by the front of his shirt once more, she hisses out "So that's what's different about you. You've got hope, now. They're so good at that, did you know? Giving someone hope, hope that things will get better - until they disappear, until that hope dies a painful death." Drawing a knife - he doesn't know where she even had that thing, but he's not eager for Eve to find out he can't die and even less eager to test it out with Eve's chain still around his neck - she presses it to his neck and says "I should carve that damned hope straight out of your chest."
Deciding there's no possible way to convince Eve she's mistaken, Alastor shrugs and says "She showed up at the Hotel one day, months ago. Seeing as I was supposed to be learning about a magical barrier, the clearly magical woman seemed like a good person to ask." Alastor tilts his head, flashing Eve a grin even as he discretely glances at Lilith, and adds "It's not like I would've been able to make her leave anyway. She was quite alarmed to learn just what Extermination Day entailed, promptly made herself part of the Hotel."Eve shrieks in fury, throwing Alastor back to the ground, and eventually screams "NO! No, she was supposed to stay gone forever! Extermination Day was supposed to keep her busy! She said it would! That idiot Adam was supposed to keep them all damn well occupied with souls to recycle!"
Alastor's head snaps up in shock, even as he hears Lilith's sharp intake of breath - Calli told them all what Adam had said, that a mysterious woman had given him the idea to say the souls in Hell were uprising. Was that mysterious woman he couldn't remember…Eve?!
Was Extermination Day…nothing more than a ploy to keep Calli out of Hell?
Alastor carefully sits up, then says "Oh, well, it's all fun and games until Adam gets magically electrocuted." He hears a faint snort of laughter from Lilith, and Eve bursts out in hysterics on the spot. Alastor uses her distraction to push himself into a sitting position, pressing his back to the wall - right next to Lilith.
After a solid minute of cackling, Eve asks "She electrocuted him? Shame I can't torture that moron into a gibbering mess, but it certainly sounds painful. Well, I suppose Peverell has some use after all."
Lilith's voice sounds, muffled and gagged as she is, but the grunts and how she's jerking forward all point to her being absolutely outraged on Calli's behalf. It's the most Alastor's seen the blonde woman do in the entire time Eve's had him here, seems Eve hasn't managed to break Lilith's spirit just yet.
Eve narrows her eyes at the taller woman, and asks "A mere mention of that bitch has you thinking…what? She'll come here? She'll…save you? How long do you think it's been?" Eve gets right up in Lilith's face, and says "There's no escape. She isn't coming and never will. Chances are, she's forgotten-"
Getting so close to Lilith turns out to have been a massive mistake on Eve's part, as the blonde woman headbutts her hard enough that her nose breaks with a satisfying crunching sound. Alastor doesn't dare even glance towards Lilith's face, but all the time he's spent with Calliope has given him an idea of just what kind of expression is there.
Eve takes her hand from her face, a hand that's now coated in blood from the bloody nose Lilith just gave her, and her gaze hardens at the sight before shifting to Alastor. "Alastor, tell me. Just how was Charlotte, anyway?"
Ah, yes, your favorite way to torture Lilith - info about the daughter you stole from her. "She's doing well, actually. Even better since her father started staying at the Hotel as well. The three of them were thrilled to be reunited after over a century apart."
Eve shrieks in absolute fury at that, even as Lilith relaxes in her bonds - he can only imagine what she's feeling right now, truthfully.
Relief that Lucifer's alright?
Hope that Calli will find them?
Satisfaction that Eve's plans have fallen apart?
Emily, Octavia, Loona, and Charlie all trade glances when Calli and Lucifer head outside to keep Warding the Hotel - they know Calli's been doing it on and off in her limited spare time, but now the both of them are acting like they think the Hotel is going to be attacked any day. And they aren't being subtle about it either.
Loona hums, then asks "So, do we wait for all here to break loose and enjoy the chaos, or do we see what they're up to before it does?"
Octavia, Charlie, and Loona trade looks, and then Octavia says "C'mon, lets go somewhere quieter than here. Portals are hard, so I need to concentrate." She has absolutely no idea how her dad can just open a portal as casually as breathing when it takes all her focus and a solid minute of concentrating to get so much as a peephole.
Stolas, in complete contrast to her total frustration, was absolutely delighted at her tiny peephole - it apparently took him months to get even that far, which was the reason he wrote down the spell in his Grimoire in the first place. It took him years to open a portal big enough that he could walk through it, so her being able to make a hole big enough to even see through is massive progress according to him. Octavia closes her eyes as soon as they get to Charlie and Vaggie's room, her hands starting to glow purple and a portal about as big as a compact hand mirror appears in front of them - it's clearly taking every ounce of concentration Octavia has, though, sweat beading on her feathers and her hands shaking as she holds them up. "That's…'bout all…I can get…"
The two adults on the other side of the portal are so engrossed in their conversation - mid-Warding, as Calli's currently holding her staff like a pencil - that they don't even notice the portal open up behind them. Right up until Charlie says "Dad? Aunt Calli?"
The two of them let out twin noises of surprise, Lucifer shooting out of sight of the small portal while Calli spins around and shoots a beam of green energy into it.
Loona quickly pulls all three of them down to the floor, narrowly avoiding the very deadly beam of magic, and the portal closes just in time for everyone to see Calli's horrified expression. Emily groans from the bottom of the pile, and says "So, they're really expecting something to happen…" That's all she could get from that one moment where they weren't about to be ripped apart by a beam of magic.
"So," Loona pseudo-casually asks, "new plan?"
All three of the other girls simultaneously say "New plan."
"Any ideas?"
"Nope..."
A green portal opens up mere moments later, and Calli and Lucifer come through at once in a near-cacophony of concerned questions.
Loona's the first to answer any of them, waving off the concerned hands as she says "We're fine, really. I pulled everyone out of the way in time."
Calli sighs in relief, saying "Thank fuck for that, Loona. Excellent reaction time. And, Via, great job on the portal…but, maybe don't sneak up on us like that. Surprising me usually never works out that well, is all. I could've killed you with that beam of magic, ladies!"
Charlie heads off what's likely a five-minute lecture on why they really shouldn't surprise Calli like that - the holes going straight through the walls to the other side of the hotel are proof enough, thanks - saying "Sorry, Aunt Calli. We just had a question?"
New plan, Charlie asks the questions while Emily tries to get a read on them right here.
They come out of that questioning with Calli and Lucifer telling them that they decided they should really finish getting the Hotel Warded at some point, the wave of power that could be felt all the way down to Sloth Ring was nothing they need to worry about, and no they unfortunately don't know where Alastor is or when he'll be back, but he has some business to take care of outside Pentagram City all of a sudden.
Once they're alone, Calli and Lucifer having fixed all the walls Calli hit and gone back to Warding, Emily says "So…they don't want us to worry, but they're super keyed-up. I don't get thoughts very much, but they're definitely expecting something to happen sometime soon. The wave of their combined powers we felt was definitely something to worry about, they certainly are…but, we probably aren't going to get any info out of them."
Charlie groans, saying "I know Aunt Calli doesn't want me to worry about these things, but…but it feels like she treats me like a little kid, sometimes! I love her, don't get me wrong, but…"
Loona shrugs, saying "You said she had to leave when you were a little kid, right?"
Charlie nods, pinching the bridge of her nose, and says "Yeah. Thanks to that idiot, Adam. But…you don't think she still sees me as that little kid at times, do you?"
Emily says "Well…maybe everyone seems like a child to her? I mean, she's over ten millennia old, right? After a while, it has to make everyone seem young, no matter how old they actually are."
Loona lets out a low growl at the implication, and Octavia says "That…unfortunately, that makes way too much sense. Any other suggestions?"
Charlie groans, then says "Maybe we could go to my uncles? And they could talk to them?"
Loona says "That's probably our best bet. My dad won't let me anywhere near anything he deems too dangerous, and I'm more than willing to bet it's the same with you, 'Via."
Emily hums, then asks "As likely as it is that they'll listen…what are the chances that Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael will tell us anything?"
All four share a look, and Charlie groans before saying "Almost none. And Aunt Calli soundproofed the rooms when the Hotel was rebuilt, so good luck trying to hear anything through the door."
Loona hums, then asks "What if I slip my phone under the door while they're talking?"
Emily says "I could at least know what they're feeling, soundproofing doesn't block my Empathic abilities."
Everyone shares a look once more, and Octavia says "Well, it's the best we've got. I seriously doubt they'll be too distracted not to notice a portal in the room, not even if it's way up high."
Charlie asks "What if I 'accidentally' leave my phone in the room…while it's on a call with one of you?"
They all trade looks again, and Emily says "Alright, that's the best we've got."
Octavia pulls up Charlie's contact, then asks "Everyone's phone is charged, right?"
Charlie and Loona check theirs, and Loona says "Mine's half-gone. Anyone else?"
Emily says "Don't have one, sorry. Apparently this tv-headed guy on the other side of the city can and will hack in at a moment's notice if he wants to." And she'd likely be an immediate target. Loona grimaces at that, and Emily adds "I know, it's annoying. Apparently, he's absolutely obsessed with Dad."
Charlie decides to unpack Emily's casual title for Alastor at a much later date, and says "I've got high-grade protection software on mine, best of the best. And my battery's at ninety percent."
Octavia says "So's mine. Alright, so we charge our phones up now, we start a call after dinner, and you find some way of leaving yours with the two of them and hope they don't find it."
Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael all glance at Loona as she leads them to Lucifer's bedroom door - yeah, they immediately caught on to the detail that something is going to go down soon, just like the girls did, but they don't know anymore than anyone else about it. Sera hasn't said anything to them, they haven't gotten any communications from Heaven...if they learned that Heaven's planning something, it's news to the three of them.
After a moment, Michael asks "You're sure they'll even…" Even…what, really? Confide in them? None of them have heard anything from Heaven about any impending attack, and there's every chance that Calli will clam up if she decides Heaven doesn't need to know anything of their preparations.
Loona just shrugs, and says "Well, they won't tell us anything. Charlie's already caught on to the detail that Calli will do literally anything so Charlie doesn't have to worry about things."
Michael winces, and Gabriel says "Noticed that…up in Heaven." And, he really did - she obviously suspected he was up to something, but didn't say a word about it in front of Charlie. Even purposefully kept her voice down about the potential of him Falling her so Charlie didn't hear. He can absolutely believe Calli would keep something to herself so Charlie wouldn't worry about it when there's nothing she could do about it.
Michael knocks after a moment, and Charlie opens the door. Blinking for a moment, she says "If you need to talk to Dad and Aunt Calli, I'll just get out of your way."
She quickly squeezes by, with Loona asking "Want to see what everyone else is doing?"
"Yeah! Let's see who's in the lobby!"
As soon as they're three hallways down, Loona quietly asks "Hid your phone?"
Charlie nods, saying "It's hidden in the sheets."
They get to the right room, and 'Via says "We're good, got the call muted so they won't hear anything we're saying. And it sounds like we're getting to the good part."
Michael's voice asks "What's going on, you two?"
Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael all glance at one another as soon as Charlie leaves the room, and Gabriel eventually says "So…she's definitely up to something, but…"
Michael sighs, running a hand through his hair, and says "But, we've all noticed you two are worried about something. As much as you've said we weren't good at hiding the fact that we didn't trust you back before, you two aren't being subtle at all about…whatever it is you're panicking about. What's going on, you two?"
Calli and Lucifer trade looks, clearly trying to decide whether or not to tell them anything, and Raphael asks "Was it something about Heaven? Did Sera call, or-"
Lucifer immediately shakes his head, making three chairs for his brothers to sit in and pulling himself and Calli onto the bed, and says "No, it's…Heaven has almost nothing to do with this. Either way, it's definitely a Hell problem now." Calli gives Lucifer a resigned look, but doesn't do anything else other than run her hand down her face for a moment. They're really doing this, then.
Gabriel asks "Almost nothing…Eve?"
Calli nods, saying "Eve. We…well, 'found' isn't quite the word for it. But, we know she's down here. How long she's been down here…who knows, but that's not the problem. It's…it's not good." After a moment, she flatly adds "Actually, it's all a fucking disaster, an absolute perfect shitstorm."
Michael groans, and asks "How bad?"
Lucifer says "Bad. Really, really bad, Michael. We're not even sure how strong Eve is, but Alastor said she's a shapeshifter, supernaturally strong, and completely, utterly batshit insane. Something, maybe the mind control, maybe resentment and hatred because she was mind controlled, maybe something Roo did to her…it drove her insane over the millennia."
Calli adds "She hates Heaven, according to Alastor she'll stop at nothing to see the place razed to the ground."
Gabriel cautiously asks "Don't…you know, you hate Heaven? Or, at least, the people at the top of Heaven?"
Calli snorts, saying "Sera? Yeah, I hate her guts, but you don't see me wanting every man, woman, and Heavenborn child dead because of the shit she's pulled. Eve, though…much as I understand her anger, her desire to get revenge, I can't let her get her way. She wants to free Roo, from what we've gathered, and that will do nothing less than doom this entire reality."
Raphael swallows, terror running through him at the mere idea of that thing getting free, and asks "But that's impossible, right? You trapped Roo forever…right?"
Calli nods, saying "I'd have killed her if I could, but it's not possible. Aside from the detail that she and your father are both immortal, they're very necessary to keeping reality intact. Remove one or the other…and it'll be catastrophic. So, I sealed Roo away at the very bottom of Hell, destroyed the entire eighth Ring of Hell, and used the Fidelius Charm to hide the only remaining path down there. And then I wiped the knowledge of that path from my own mind, just for good measure. Nobody is walking down to her, and you can't make a portal to somewhere unless you either have the exact location or you've already been. There's no way to get to Roo unless you have me, and that's not happening unless there's a very special set of circumstances. But Eve…she's got Alastor and Lilith…"
Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael all suck in simultaneous breaths, and Michael rasps out "What?!"
Raphael shakes his head, saying "No, we- he was just here, just a few days ago, how could she…?"
Gabriel incredulously asks "How could she have them? Alastor and Lilith? If Lucifer's the King of Hell, then…"
Lucifer runs a hand down his face, scrubbing at his eyes for a moment, and says "Yeah, Lilith was- is my Queen. Eve ambushed her when she was alone, best we can guess. It was a few years after Calli had to leave to help Death with all the mortal souls piling up…she went to Sloth Ring, going to see Belphegor about…something, Gods I can't think of the details right now. But, when she came back…I should've known it wasn't really her, should've known something was wrong, but…"
Calli shakes her head, saying "She was there for all of five minutes, Lucifer, you said so yourself. Just enough time to take Charlie and say she didn't want to see you again…" Leaping to her feet, Calli runs both hands through her hair while saying "Dammit! If I had been there…" She promptly puts her fist through the nearest inanimate object, which happens to be one of the walls - it doesn't make her feel any better, unfortunately. Punching Eve out likely would, but Eve's not here.
Gabriel glances at Raphael for any kind of support, then asks "You mean, Charlie was…?"
Lucifer nods, leaning back on one hand while the other rubs at his temples, and says "Yeah, Eve stole Charlie away and I never had a clue."
"You," Raphael starts, "you guys freed her, though! Why would she…?"
Calli snorts, sitting back down next to Lucifer, and says "Yeah…and then we left her. We didn't have any kind of choice in that matter, but we left her…and the detail that we left her is all she knows. Lucifer's Fall isn't common knowledge in Hell, I made sure word of his actual state never reached anyone's ears. Far as pretty much all of Hell knows, we came down here of our own choice and set up shop. And, as much as that was the necessary choice back then…it's coming back to bite us now."
Michael asks "How did she even get to Alastor? We've all been here this whole time! And why would he even go with her if she's this…"
"Psychotic?" At his nod, Calli says "She waited until everyone was busy with meetings. Snuck in as one of Alastor's oldest friends. As for why he went with her when he knows exactly what she's like…he didn't have a choice in the matter. She's had him trapped in a contract she tricked him into for the past…nearly eight years now."
"Shit," Raphael says, "that's…you think she took him back to wherever she's got Lilith?"
Calli nods her head, and Michael says "That…that certainly explains why you guys didn't say anything. If Eve wants to free Roo and destroy the world…"
Calli scrubs at her eyes, asking "How could I? How can I look Charlie in the eye and tell her that her entire childhood since she was taken from Lucifer was spent with someone who wasn't actually her mother? How can I tell her that, had I actually been here like I was supposed to be, Lilith would almost certainly still be here and she'd have grown up with both her parents in her life? How can I tell Emily that a psychotic madwoman out for any and all Angelic blood currently has Alastor in her clutches and I couldn't do shit to keep him safe from her? Or that I can't even find them now, since my Point Me spells aren't working - wherever Eve has them, it's either magically shielded or she's somewhere that's supposed to be impossible to find unless you know exactly where to look. And, trust me, neither is the better option. I can't tell them there's nothing to worry about when, gods, when I can't think about any of this for more than maybe five seconds at a time. They'll catch on immediately that I'd be lying through my teeth about not being scared - of course I'm scared! This whole mess is absolutely terrifying! We've got a psychotic, shapeshifting madwoman out for all our blood, only she knows why Charlie is still alive since she had her for over a century, she wants to unleash reality-ending evil, and I can't even find her!"
And then, much to Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael's utter shock, she suddenly buries her face in her hands and starts sobbing quietly - none of them have actually ever seen Calli cry. They've seen her rage, they've seen her fight, and they've seen her work herself to the bone…but break down in tears? That's a first.
Lucifer puts his arms around her, pulling Calli to his side, and quietly says "She's been searching since before Extermination Day for Eve, and now…" Now, several months of trying to solve this gigantic mess herself later, it's all spilling out.
Charlie comes by her tendency to let things pile up and then boil over naturally, as it happens - straight from Calli. Calli's breaking point just happens to be much harder to reach most of the time.
It's when he starts murmuring to her that Raphael unfreezes and sits down next to her. Lucifer blinks at him in shock when he wraps his arms around her, and seems to lose all brain function when Gabriel pulls the three of them to their feet and joins in on the hug. And then Michael's arms wrap around the four of them easily, his wings cocooning them all, and Lucifer decides to just go with it for the moment. He can figure out why all three of his brothers are actively attempting to make Calli feel better later - as he's just now figured out, he's missed being in his brothers' arms.
Missed Michael's wings shielding him from the rest of the world, missed Raphael's voice in his ear and Gabriel's fingers running through his hair. Just like Calli misses the family she lost to time, he's missed the family he lost to Sera's actions.
They eventually end up back on the bed, Michael just lifting all four of them up and sitting down…and then he blinks, squirming a bit before reaching down and pulling a phone out from under him. "Who's is this?"
Calli, Lucifer, Raphael, and Gabriel all look at the phone, and Calli wipes at her face before reaching for the phone while saying "Charlie's. She must've left it by accident when…" Calli's face promptly drains of all color when she takes it and the screen lights up.
Raphael slaps a hand over his mouth when he sees what she's looking at - the call-in-progress screen - and Gabriel's jaw drops when he sees it as well.
Lucifer facepalms when she shows him, then mutters "Well, shit." Looks like they don't have to worry about how to tell Charlie or Emily things aren't actually as great as they want everyone to think.
Calli hiccups, then says "I don't know whether to be really freaking proud of you ladies or really freaking upset at you ladies, and right now I'm in no headspace to figure it out. Get over here and get your phone back, Charlie."
Two minutes later, Charlie and Emily come running through the door and flying-tackle the group to get in on the group hug just before breaking down in tears themselves. At least they have the brilliant idea to just blame everything that Eve's done on Sera - if she hadn't brainwashed Eve in the first place, right along with Falling Lucifer, then she wouldn't have decided to get revenge on everyone.
It makes Calli and Lucifer let out weak chuckles…it also makes Calli say she'll handle Eve somehow. She's not sure how, but she will.
At least now Charlie has her answer about why Calli doesn't tell her some things - if she's scared, then everybody else will be fucking terrified if they know what's good for them and she doesn't want that for anyone.
And, frankly, if Calli's scared about something, then it's something truly terrifying and they're all likely fucked.