Chapter Text
“She’s getting stronger,” Lilith remarks to her husband, Lucifer himself, as they observe their daughter in the estate garden.
Little Charlotte Morningstar, the Princess of Hell itself, the Daughter of the Devil Himself and the First Sinner, as well as the Heir of Pride and the Singular Nephilim, was just a child, not even a teenager, as she weaved her hands in front of her. Multicolored lights shone before her, and her eyes lit up at her own abilities. Charlie had learned well how to use her powers, both inherited and those she manifested, including the colorful display she made before her. Blues and greens and all the brighter, happier colors wove around her, shining brighter through the rainbow of hues as curious little Charlie wanted to see more the colors she had never even dreamed of while growing up in Hell.
“She’s wonderful,” Lucifer smiles proudly, but a frown crosses his face. “But you say it like it’s a bad thing…”
“She’s going to want to start walking the streets soon, to adventure. Humans are prone to wanderlust,” Lilith advises. “We need to teach her about deals.”
Lucifer’s eyes widen. “Wha…are you sure, sweetheart? She’s only a child, isn’t this all…too early?”
“The last thing we need is a sinner tricking her into a deal she doesn’t understand,” Lilith explains. “She needs to know the basics.”
“I…” Lucifer sighs. “You’re right. You’re right, as ways, my dear.” he smiles a bit. “We’ll tell her everything.”
~=~
They had told and taught her everything, every esoteric little thing about demons and deals. Charlie didn’t understand everything, but she was able to understand one thing: “don’t shake hands unless you’re offering the handshake!”
Now a teenager, though her actual age far greater due to her immortal nature, Charlie Morningstar skips through the streets of Hell. Not everyone may know who she is, but most sinners know better than to mess with a little girl happily skipping as though she’s not in Hell. Soon, though, Charlie’s skipping is interrupted by sobbing. She stops at an alleyway and tilts her head, walking down the alley.
At the back of an alley is a creature covered in scars and burns, a creature that must have spent centuries here in Hell, countless human generations. Charlie can feel the power radiating off of him, this was a powerful sinner. Not as strong as the power she felt from her Mother, but it was close- and here he is, sobbing in an alleyway.
“Why did I do it? Did I really want to do it? I didn’t mean to, I just wanted his love, but why did I do it? He was my brother, he was my brother-”
“Are you okay?” Charlie asks, and the creature gasps and sits up.
The creature is covered in feathers, a slender and fast creature. It’s not quite the style of a Goetia, there are strange white markings across the black feathers- satanic symbols that make him look like a dark reflection of the pictures of the Seraphim Charlie had seen. Charlie knew that Sinners look a certain way that’s symbolic, but she wasn’t sure what this could mean. The sinner’s red eyes narrow on his birdlike face, and his beak, sealed shut, doesn’t move when he speaks.
“Who are you?” the Sinner questions.
“I’m Charlie!” Charlie smiles innocently, then frowns and tilts her head. “Why are you crying?”
“I’m not, I…” the Sinner scoffs and buffs his feathers up, as though trying to look threatening. “Get outta here, kid.”
“Do you wanna talk about it?” Charlie asks, and the sinner seems to deflate from the lack of fear.
“...no.” the Sinner narrows his eyes.
“A lot of people are down here…” Charlie says, “but I don’t think they all deserve to be! I’ve met sinners who have made mistakes, who did a bad thing for good reasons, and who are…very sad they’re down here. Momma likes to meet these ones, to introduce them to Dad.”
“What’s your point?” the Sinner asks.
“If you made a mistake, you can go about life with a smile!” Charlie smiles wide. “Make the best of things! That’s what I do!” She says, not noticing a shadow fall over her. “Sometimes, people are nicer than you think…”
The Sinner flexes out one of two large wings, sending out some of his feathers, which are as sharp as obsidian daggers, and cut into the sinner about to snatch up the little girl! He’s forced back and gurgling on his own vile ichor as he falls to the ground.
“Most of us belong here, kid, myself included.” the Sinner stands tall and walks over. “You should run along. I don’t know what someone like you did to wind up here, but you should learn to keep faith out of your mind when it comes to us.” the Sinner starts to walk, and Charlie follows him like a lost duckling.
“Well, you don’t have to deserve it forever!” Charlie smiles. “People can change!”
“For the worse,” the Sinner scoffs. “Those sinners you said before? The kind who didn’t deserve to be here? As soon as they get here and they realize that nothing matters, they fall in with everyone else.”
“There have to be some good people…” Charlie says. “Like you! You saved me!”
The Sinner scoffs. “I…just didn’t wanna have to see whatever he was planning to do with you. Of the things he could do with a defenseless kid, none of them are savory.”
“I’m not defenseless!” Charlie stomps her foot with a pout, and the Sinner looks back, seeming amused. “And you don’t seem like a bad person!”
“You don’t even know me.” the Sinner says.
“Well, let me introduce myself!” Charlie holds out her hand. “Princess Charlotte Morningstar! Let’s be friends-” Charlie is cut off as her hand alights with blue fire. It’s a bright, beautiful, and alluring hue…but Charlie gasps and quickly puts it out. “That’s not what I meant!”
The Sinner stares, his eyes wide. “You…you’re a sin. You’re Lucifer’s daughter.” his eyes go wider, if even possible, his hand reaching his forehead. “Lucifer has a daughter? For how long…?”
“Are you okay?” Charlie asks with a frown, and sighs. “Listen, I know I’m Lucifer’s daughter, but that’s my point! You’re one of my subjects, and I care about all of you! I just want to help! It doesn’t have to be a deal or anything, but…” she holds out her hand, not alight. “Will you accept my help?”
“How could you help me?” the Sinner asks hesitantly.
“Well…hm…” the blue fire returns as Charlie speaks. “I could talk to you! Whenever you’re feeling upset, you simply need to call, and I’ll be there! I’ll be there to talk, and we could be friends! And in exchange, um…you could do the same for me!”
“Your deal…is just to be friends?” the sinner asks with disbelief.
“Yep!” Charlie smiles. “So, what do you say?”
The Sinner looks at her hand…and chuckles. He takes her hand, and the deal is struck. “Hm…so that what it feels like. I’ve never actually made or accepted a deal before…I was always worried of falling deeper into this pit…but I guess there’s no getting less than where I am.”
Charlie smiles, she can already feel her positivity and confidence wrapping around the Sinner like a blanket.
“Now, what’s your name?” Charlie asks curiously.
“How rude of me,” the sinner’s eyes betray a small smile. He bows. “It is an honor to meet you, Princess. I am Caine.”
~=~
As Charlie grew up, she made deals rarely, and learned to primarily make them with demons who didn’t know who she was. That was no different in this latest instance. Charlie was humming to herself, skipping through hell. Even fully grown, the Sinners who know of her keep their distance, and even those who don’t aren’t certain they want to fuck with such a person. After all, with her contracts, Charlie has been able to let some of her “true traits” shine through, with her horns small but a permanent part of her visage.
It was on this day, though, that Charlie heard a grunt and a growl. She saw, on a mostly empty street, a single sinner had just thrown away another Sinner he’d just killed before he could regenerate- but he looked to be running.
The sinner is wearing some pretty snazzy clothes, but they’re all dirty, he has a red “X” on his forehead, and a mouth full of yellow teeth contorted in a snarl. He then gasps as he sees Charlie, and seems to square up for a fight.
“Oh! I don’t want to fight,” Charlie smiles a bit, then gets a concerned look on her face. “Are you okay?”
“I…” the sinner narrows his eyes. “You aren’t with Ripper?”
Ugh, had she wandered into Jack the Ripper’s territory? That’s disappointing. It’s rare to find anyone nice here.
“Oh, no! I’m just a passerby.” she looks as the blood trail. “What did you do to make him so mad at you, though? His MO tends to be young women, even around here…and he tends to do his own dirtywork.”
“I died today,” the Sinner says, “don’t know much, and thought it’d be easy to topple him…”
“Oh, ambitious!” Charlie applauds politely. She may not like Overlords, but when it comes to someone like Jack the Ripper, she can’t exactly complain.
“As it turns out, it’s hard to die a second time.” the Sinner growls. “But if I had the power, I would…RRGH!” he punches a wall, making it crack. The Sinner clearly has a lot of power, he just doesn’t know how to use it, and he’s unaccustomed to failure.
“Hmm…I might be able to help with that.” Charlie smiles, deciding to put on the mischievous, dealmaker charm she’d become fond of using.
“What do you mean…?” the Sinner questions.
“Wayward sinner, I am Charlotte Morningstar,” she reveals her true form for a few moments, hovering a few inches off the ground and reaching out a hand engulfed in blue flame. “I can supply for you a conduit of power, a link to me that will make you more powerful and amplify your own powers. I’ll even give you a way to deal with Sinners…not kill them, but death’s not the worst things can be. I can turn you into something very powerful.”
The Sinner seems allured by the look of the deal, more intrigued by what the deal is rather than what it offers, but he hesitates.
“What’s the catch?” he questions.
“Hm, good question!” Charlie innocently returns to her normal form, her hand still alight in blue flame. “First off, you have to get my permission whenever you go after someone. I’m fine with people like Jack the Ripper or other deplorable overlords like that, the people that are truly beyond salvation, but the more innocent I want to be left alone.”
“Salvation…?” the Sinner questions under his breath before Charlie continues.
“Also, could it kill you to be a bit more positive? I mean, I get this place is bad, but it’s your home now, you could try to make the best of it…” Charlie shakes her head, clearly a bit frustrated with all the negativity in hell lately. “In any case, what are your skills? What can you offer?”
The Sinner seems to hesitate to share too much about himself, but… “I had a radio show on earth. It was popular.”
“There we go! Entertainment!” Charlie smiles. “The other stipulation of my deal is that you must provide entertainment for the people of Hell! We could use someone to broadcast music.”
“Hm…if that’s all, then fine.” the Sinner grins wide and takes Charlie’s hand, the power shining outward as the deal is struck. “I promise you, Princess, I will adhere to our deals most loyally.” the wide grin becomes a permanent fixture.
“And for my end of the deal…” Charlie snaps her fingers, creating a staff with a microphone on it. “Declare your name, Sinner, and accept this connection to me.”
“I am Alastor,” the demon grips the staff and grins. “Now, if you excuse me,” his voices becomes filled with static, “I have an old man to rip apart.”
~=~
Well, people can change alright. They can change, have fun, and have regrets…and Charlie certainly regrets giving Alastor that power. His idea of entertainment is quite clearly not what Charlie had in mind, and while he didn’t add more souls to his screams that Charlie didn’t approve of, that didn’t limit the deals he could make and the different penalties he could place on them.
Some days, Charlie considers taking that staff and snapping it over her leg, but she’s decided it’d be best to leave him be. She’s made a mistake, and now she has to live with it.
Right now, she’s walking in the aftermath of Extermination Day, several years after Alastor rose to overlord status. Personally, Charlie was uncomfortable with how many people she’s made deals with over the years have become overlords, and only slightly more comfortable that such people have also been…disposed of, either by extermination or otherwise.
On days like this, Charlie mourns those she’s lost to extermination. There have been dozens of Sinners that meant well, believing that the exterminations are their chance to fulfill an unspoken promise to Charlie, to save the realm she loves.
But today, Charlie sees something she had never seen before. Golden Blood.
Holy blood.
Charlie’s blood runs gold. Angels are supposedly invincible- no demonic weapon can harm them. Charlie and her Father have experienced that firsthand, as invincible as the creatures that attack their lands, and Charlie follows the trail, sending down some fire to vaporize the blood in an instant. She doesn’t want any curious or ravenous sinners interfering with her investigation.
Within this alleyway, a figure is slumped against a trash can, sobbing and bleeding. Golden blood pours from her, and this former angel has had her wings ripped out, an eye missing, and her halo missing. Her armor betrays her role as an exorcist.
Charlie bites her lip. This is an exorcist, an enemy of her people, someone who has slaughtered countless…but no demon can harm an angel.
Perhaps angels can harm each other.
Considering this, Charlie sighs and picks up the barely conscious girl.
“Please don’t hurt me…” the barely-living woman whimpers in her arms.
“It’s okay!” Charlie assures her. “I’m not going to hurt you. Let’s get you somewhere safer…”
Charlie escapes to her home, ditching the wings and destroying the blood as she goes.
~=~
Vaggie felt sore all over. She opened her eyes…her eye, and slowly sat up. She’s in a bed, somewhere soft and safe. Sitting up, she sees that the place is dark, in reds and blacks, similar to the red sky outside. She’s in hell…of course she is. Looking down at herself, she sees her armor is gone, and someone has taken the time to bandage her.
The door opens, and Vaggie flinches as she prepares to see whatever demon stands in the doorway.
“Oh, you’re awake!” a kind-looking woman steps inside. Vaggie is hesitant, but the girl’s smile truly seems innocent.
“Why…?” Vaggie can’t finish her questions, simply because there are too many.
“Because you were hurt.” the woman walks forward. “Now, um, Miss Exorcist,” the woman puts her hands together, “I’m not gonna pretend I know how or why you ended up down there, in such an injured state. But rest assured, I’m the only person in all of hell that knows about you! So you won’t be hunted down for revenge or anything.”
Vaggie stares at the woman blankly.
“Right, introductions! You’re probably wondering why a sinner would bother. So, um, I’m not a sinner! I am Princess Charlie Morningstar, and you’re in my home.” she smiles kindly.
Vaggie flinches and grips the blanket tightly. “I’m in the home of the Morningstar…?”
“Don’t worry! My Dad is always busy in his workshop nowadays,” the woman says with a small amount of bitterness, “Ever since Mom…well, in any case, I’ve basically got free reign of the place.” She sits on the edge of the bed. “So, now we should discuss what comes next.”
Vaggie gulps nervously, terrified at what things this woman may demand for repayment for rescuing her off the street. What scares Vaggie even more is that she’s desperate and afraid enough to do whatever she needs to survive…
“So, I’d really prefer it if you didn’t try to become an overlord or anything. I’m not gonna let you loose until you’re fully healed, during which I’ll be glad to tell you all about the pentagram!” Charlie explains. “It’s a lot, and I’m not too certain on everything myself, and I’m sure it’s nothing compared to Heaven- oh, I wanna know all about Heaven by the way, I’ve always been so curious, but it never seemed right to ask Mom, Dad, or Auntie…or the rest of my Aunts and Uncles, for that matter.”
“You don’t… want anything?” Vaggie asks. “No kind of repayment? For saving me?”
“I mean, I’ll take what you offer to be polite, but no, I don’t need repayment.” Charlie smiles. “Um, but I think I’ll keep the spear, at least until I’m sure you won’t be going around skewering my people. I may not like them all, but they are my people, and I am against the exterminations.”
“O-of course.” Vaggie nods quickly.
“So, you know my name, what’s yours?” Charlie asks.
“I’m…I’m Vaggie.”
“Well, Vaggie,” Charlie holds out a hand, not alight in any flame, to shake Vaggie’s. “I’ve never been friends with an angel before!”
“Friends…” Vaggie smiles a little bit and shakes her hand. “I think I’d like that.”
Maybe this won’t be so bad,
Vaggie thinks to herself.
A fresh start…