Lucifer watches as his brothers and the Winners - Heaven's Delegation, sent here on a mission, guests that were always going to be temporary, he knew this and that's what originally kept him sane - line up at the door after everyone's said their goodbyes and ensured they'll stay in touch one way or another.
Cherri and Riley traded phone numbers, same with Angel, Arackniss, and Molly, and even Alastor has one of Calli's two-way journals to write with his mother in - and according to Calli, the things will literally never run out of pages, a new one will form as soon as one of them gets to the end of the last.
A few weeks ago, he genuinely thought he'd be dead from heart failure by the time Heaven's Delegation finally left - or half the Pentagram would be razed to the ground from Calli's fury at Michael, that was always a distinct possibility he could see happening with crystal clarity - and now…now he genuinely doesn't want them to leave. Even if they did keep the scrying ball Sera had in her office, which would theoretically allow them to keep in touch. And they all gave him their phone numbers and started a group chat with Calli added in.
And Lilith's back now, though she's still slightly icy with Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael - he doesn't blame her, not really, if the roles were reversed and he was the one who'd been suddenly freed from captivity only to find that Lilith's extremely estranged siblings were at the hotel and miraculously on good terms with her, he'd still be suspicious at this point to. She's not automatically shoving him behind her with a hissed 'Run, Lucifer!' and reaching for the nearest moderately dangerous item, though, so there's progress on that front - last time, she broke a glass and leveled the jagged edges straight at Michael until Lucifer managed to talk her down, which only happened after he proved he wasn't armed and hadn't actually meant to startle her.
Still, what a difference a few weeks makes - he's gone from having a panic attack at the thought of them showing up to his chest constricting his lungs and a lump in his throat at the idea of them leaving. Leaving him, leaving for Heaven, he can't go back to his old home, even if he's no longer literally imprisoned in Hell-
Raphael's arms wrapping around him pull him out of his thoughts, and the slightly older Angel murmurs "We'll call, Luce. Every chance we can get. Fuck Sera and her reaction."
Lucifer feels a chuckle somehow slip past the blockage in his throat, and he mutters "Yeah. Fuck her." He once called Sera a friend, way back when - back before their Father disappeared, back before she grew distant, back before Humanity was created, back before all of it - and now he'd rather never hear her voice again. And, given Gabriel's revelation of her bringing Eve to Adam…it's not exactly any stretch of the imagination to think she was the one that originally brainwashed Eve. He does wonder if she knew he hadn't made Hell, though, knew she was punishing an innocent - knew she'd been found out and it was just a matter of time before Calli came for her no holds barred.
What happened to his once-friend? When did she change from benevolent to manipulative? Why did the Seraphim who wanted the best for everyone decide brainwashing Eve was the way to go?
After a long minute - and a boost to his mood by Emily - Raphael lets go of him as Gabriel squeezes his shoulder and Calli asks "Everybody got everything? Phones, clothes, various souvenirs? No, kids, you can't go through the portal with us, trust me you won't like it up there."
There's a chorus of disappointed sounds, even as Emily and Octavia herd them all away, and Michael shakes his head before saying "I don't know how you do it with sixteen children, honestly." He's exhausted just thinking about it.
Calli just waves a hand, and says "Adding me to that group chat granted it immunity to any communication-related orders between Heaven and Hell. Now, c'mon, let's get this shitshow on the road. If Sera's planning anything in regards to all the Winners here, I'm going to put a stop to it right then and there. Everybody got the pendants? Good, keep 'em out of sight under your shirts, just in case. What Sera doesn't know won't hurt her, in this case, and could potentially save you a crap-ton of pain. She sends you guys back down to Pride, make your way back here fast as you can, however you can. And I'm none too picky about how you get here, so long as you do get here."
Moses snorts, a grin forming on his face, and says "This is familiar. Do you reuse instructions for people often, Miss I-don't-care-how-you-get-out-just-get-out-alive?"
Calli rolls her eyes, and says "You didn't care how the slaves got out either, Moses. You've got no room to talk."
Gabriel frowns, saying "I feel like we're missing a few things here…"
Moses and Calli simultaneously say "Underground slave rescue group."
Calli adds "From what I know, the Bible doesn't mention the detail that the slavers didn't actually give a damn if their slaves died or not. Or how they died, bar plague that is." At all their looks, she shrugs, adding "What? It was a guerrilla war. War gets ugly."
"Yeah," Jesus says, trying to steer the conversation away from something that could so easily turn into some new horrifying revelation of Calli's past, "how 'bout we leave it at that..."
Angel suddenly says "One quick question I keep meaning to ask. Calli said Mary wasn't a virgin?" If anybody notices he's trying to change the subject and that's the first thing he thinks of, they'd better not mention it. Also, he is kinda curious.
Vaggie facepalms hard enough for everyone to hear it, and Calli rolls her eyes before saying "Yeah, I knew since about ten minutes into helping her through labor. Why?"
Angel tries to give her an innocent look, tries and fails given the mischievous glint in his eyes, and says "Just curious, you did say you met them when she was already giving birth."
Calli glances at Jesus for a moment, then rolls her eyes as she apparently decides he can handle what she's about to say, and says "Joseph tried to leave to go get something, I never found out what though because Mary glared murder at him and said, and I quote, 'You put this kid inside me, now you get to help get them out.'"
There's a beat of silence, right up until Angel starts cackling like a madman. Because, yes, that's a very solid clue that Mary was no virgin.
"Well," Husk mutters, "that certainly explains why you didn't have the slightest clue he'd end up being Jesus...how did you end up being called Jesus Christ, then?"
Jesus just shrugs, saying "I haven't got the faintest clue, really. People just started calling me that one day. Eventually, one guy said a strange red-haired woman told him what the name meant, and it fit me perfectly…" He trails off, and everyone turns to stare at Calli in sheer disbelief, even as she slowly goes almost as red as her hair underneath the hand flattened to her own face.
After a long moment, she says "It was a common saying from my old world, same way all the magical people would swear by Merlin, Circe, Morgana, etc."
Loona snorts, adding "And you, right?"
"How the flip was I supposed to know it'd catch on like wildfire? Or that the farmboy I'd helped deliver would be so stubborn as to willingly let himself be nailed to a cross just to prove a damn point?"
She's just about to open up another portal when Gabriel suddenly says "Wait a minute…you didn't answer her question."
Calli looks over with a raised eyebrow, asking "What question would that be?"
Gabriel raises an eyebrow back at her, as she's never missed anything in the entire time they've been here, and says "You didn't say whether people swore by you or not."
"No," Calli says, too quickly to be quite believable, "nobody ever swore by Calliope Peverell, thankfully."
Azrael snorts, eyes gleaming with mischief, and leans on his scythe while sporting the biggest shit-eating grin. "Not Calliope Peverell, no...but they sure swore by Calli Potter in just a few generations." There's a beat of silence, until its broken by a sharp burst of radio static...and Angel Dust breaking down in gales of laughter once more.
Husk snorts, crossing him arms as he leans against the nearby wall, and says "I bet you hated that."
Every single time, without fail.
Fixing Azrael with a glare, she asks "Where'd you hear that name, exactly?"
Azrael grins even wider, and says "Magic. She told me ages ago."
Calli pinches the bridge of her nose, not quite hiding the way her eye is starting to twitch, and says "Calli Potter was a child the world failed at every damn turn, demonized by an entire society for daring to exist, and had to fight for every good thing that came her way. She died at seventeen in a clearing in the Forbidden Forest, and Calliope Peverell is who woke up afterwards because every Compulsion that was layered onto me was broken by taking a Killing Curse straight to the chest. End of story." Being 'Calli Potter' was exhausting at the best of times, she couldn't even get some Potions Ingredients without it being plastered all over the front page. And every single time she took Teddy anywhere, they'd be hounded by reporters, people asking for autographs, and one memorable time someone challenged her to a duel to avenge their Death Eater relative. She was thrilled to leave being 'Calli Potter' behind and take a new name, any new name. Peverell just made the most sense, after she learned that the Hallows had been real and she'd really become 'Master of Death' because of them.
Azrael hums, even as Angel's laughter dies, and asks "Did you pick that last name randomly? 'Cause, she said you've got, like-" He suddenly jerks down, cackling like a loon even as Calli pinches his ear and pulls him forward with the rest of the group leaving Hell.
"Alright, the Portal Express is ready for business, people! All aboard that's coming aboard, and all that!" She promptly puts Azrael in a headlock so he can't escape and opens the portal up, and everyone starts filing through - looking extra smiley, true, but they all manage not to burst out into laughter.
Once the portal closes, Charlie asks "Why would Aunt Calli pick a different last name? Is it like when Sinners pick a new name when they manifest down here?"
"Mm," Lilith hums, "probably. Could also have something to do with this story she told me once, way back when. As for why she never mentioned it…none of it has any kind of standing or importance in this world, so she wouldn't bother." One interesting thing about her long-time friend - if she deems something not important, it won't come up in conversation unless it's specifically brought up. And whatever importance that was attached to all those last names? Doesn't apply in this world, they don't mean anything to anyone here.
Angel picks himself up off the floor, and asks "Who wants to guess how many last names she actually has?"
Husk grins, and says "We can make a betting pool out of it all. Winner takes all."
Calli shakes her head in exasperation as the portal from the Hotel closes behind her, pinching the bridge of her nose and muttering "If chaos just spawns all around me, Az, you actively feed and water it…"
Michael clears his throat, asking "Why the name change?"
Calli just shrugs, saying "Peverell fit better, honestly. For a number of reasons. I never really bring it up because…well, it doesn't actually matter. None of any of that means shit in this world. And, no, I'm not going into an in-depth explanation of how Magical Britain was run just to explain why me having multiple last names I could technically use held any significance back then."
Gabriel hums, then says "Let me guess…something about politics." She's stated multiple times she hates politics, and spent 40 years strongarming Britain into a better state than it was when she was growing up. The multiple last names making her politically powerful makes too much sense for that not to be the case.
Calli rolls her eyes, nodding after a moment, but is spared answering by Sera rapidly approaching. Sera lands, looking frazzled and extremely annoyed, but Calli immediately says "This is everyone that went down to the Hotel, Sera. I did a headcount three separate times just to be sure. None of them have been corrupted or anything, I checked for that to. Now, is there any actually viable reason you came all the way down here, or were you just going to try and throw your weight around once more? Because, as I'm sure you remember, that doesn't work with me."
Sera grits her teeth, looking for all the world like she wants nothing more than to attack Calliope right then and there.
Calli gives her a sharp twist of her lips, and says "Do it, then, Sera. Try and hurt me, just because you don't like what I have to say." She almost wishes Sera actually would, it would give her the perfect reason to give her tenfold what she had done to Lucifer.
Gabriel can practically hear her say 'Prove you're no better than some of the worst of humanity' as he steps between them, and says "There's no need for anything. Thank you for the portal, Ambassador Peverell. Are you going to be taking Azrael back with you, or will he be staying here?"
Azrael shakes his head, standing upright as Calli finally lets him go, and says "I gotta get back to work, actually. So many souls to collect all the time, after all. Later, Songbird, call me if you need anything."
Once Azrael leaves, Calli turns back to Sera and says "Don't even try it, Sera. You couldn't beat me back before Extermination Day, and now? Now, I wouldn't break a sweat in the…what? One minute it'd take me to overpower you?" She knew Emily said the drain was an active thing, knew Sera was losing strength - had known it the instant she stepped into Heaven when she went and rescued Emily - but she's still losing strength even now! She'd almost be sympathetic to Sera's current predicament, running Heaven and needing to keep up the impression that everything is perfectly fine to both the general populace and the Council, if she didn't deserve every single minute of it.
Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael all trade glances, wondering just how weak Sera's actually gotten since they've been gone - none of them are particularly sensitive to powers that aren't their own, unlike Emily who could tell that Sera was getting weaker and weaker as time went on. It's not much of a surprise that Calli can immediately tell Sera's even weaker than the last time they met face-to-face - her 'you look like shit' comment was a jab at it that Sera definitely caught, if the look on her face was anything to go by - but they are wondering just how far it's gotten and how strong Sera will be by the time it ends.
If she'll have any strength left by the time it ends - will she even be alive when the magic of the broken contract has finally decided she's been punished enough?
And…will Calli decide the magical punishment for the broken contract will be enough?
They wouldn't put it past her for even an instant to decide whatever happens to Sera isn't enough - to be fair, though, the consequences of Sera brainwashing Eve are ridiculously far-reaching. Lucifer's Fall, the eight months it took for him to be at a point where they weren't worried he'd spontaneously end up dead from injuries, infection, or being corrupted, Eve going mad, Roo getting her claws into her, manipulating Adam into starting Extermination so Calli would be stuck outside Hell for a potentially indefinite amount of time, kidnapping Lilith, kidnapping Charlie, sending Lucifer into a black pit of depression when she did so, stealing Calli's number so there was no way for him to get in contact with her - and, oh, that was a really bad revelation for both Lucifer and Calli, that Eve swiped both sets of Calli's number from where Lucifer had them and ripped them up in front of Lilith down in that cavern - the list of things that happened because of Sera's interference goes on and on.
To the point that, when written down, the list is literally six feet long and counting - and is likely going to get a lot longer, the more time Calli has to do some digging in regards to what else Eve was up to in the past ten thousand years.
Thankfully, Sera forces a 'No.' out of her mouth and turns to fly back to her office - apparently, she knows she's not strong enough to take Calli on right now.
Rolling her eyes, Calli turns to Gabriel and says "You three need Asylum from her holier-than-thou stupidity, give me a call. If you don't get the chance, we'll be on the lookout for any new arrivals from Heaven in Hell, and Azrael will be doing the same on Earth. She pulls any kind of stunt, we'll know."
Raphael chuckles, and says "Will do, thanks for the offer."
Calli flames away once it's clear Sera isn't going to try anything right this instant…only to see everyone's made a full-fledged betting pool on how many last names she actually has and what they were for, with Husk keeping track of who has how much money down for what.
Raising an eyebrow at it all, Calli looks around at everyone, then asks "If nobody guesses right, do I get all the winnings?" She's only half-joking about that, she does need to get Emily set up with a bank account at some point for if she ever ends up on Earth and everybody looks fairly invested in this.
Everyone bursts out laughing at that, right up until Angel takes a better look at her expression and says "Oh, shit, she's serious."