Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The last thing he heard was a shot from a hunting rifle. So loud that it resonated inside his head for several more seconds before slowly fading into a static.

And then, Alastor woke up. He was laying on the ground. The sky was dark red color, not a single cloud obscuring it. And yet, there was no sun anywhere in sight.

He slowly sat down and looked around. He was on a complete wasteland. Not a single soul in sight, not a bird in the sky, not even a fly to broke the silence. Some weird pieces of junk were laying around in piles, and a few dry and dead trees were scattered lonely across the landscape. The whole place resembled a very desolate desert.

 When he turned around, behind him he saw massive, dark shapes of mountains looming in the distance. And on those mountains he noticed tiny dots of light. Almost like fireflies from this distance, but completely static.

What a strange place... Where even is he? His head hurt like hell. He should be dead. How is he still breathing? He looked at his hands and they didn't look familiar. His heart started racing in panic.

“What the fuck is going on here?” he asked himself.

He knew should get out of here.

He slowly got up from the ground, feeling his legs tremble a little. He felt like a baby deer standing on his own for the first time in his life – which was a pretty accurate comparison in his case, but he didn’t know that yet.

The only thing that came to his mind was heading to those little lights in the mountains. Maybe there are people there? Anything really would be better than that vast, open space. It made him a little nervous. He was worried vultures would appear any second now.

But they didn’t.

It was awfully quiet all around him. No wind, no buzzing of insects, nothing. Only his footsteps made any kind of noise. Never in his life has he heard such absolute silence.

He had no idea how much time passed since he started walking. It felt like minutes and hours all at once. He checked the pockets of his red coat to search for a watch – or whatever really – but he didn’t have anything on him.

Suddenly, when he was close enough to the mountain he heard something. A hushed, female voice, coming out from behind of a pile of junk.

“Hey! Pssst! You over there” someone was trying to get his attention. She waved at him. “Come here!” it was definitely a person, but he couldn't see her properly in the shadows. Oh thank goodness he’s not all alone in this place.

He squinted his eyes. He hesitantly approached her. She was wearing an eyepatch, had short hair that framed her face nicely, and her clothes were truly odd looking. They brought to mind a bird. However, Alastor was not exactly a fashion expert, especially in this unfamiliar place, so he made no comment on that.

“Are you hurt? Are you bleeding?” he heard concern in her voice.

“No, I don’t think so. Just a little stiff and mildly confused, truth be told”, he said quietly. Because if she whispers, she must have a reason.

She sighed with relief.

“Good. Then you can come with me and I will fill you in”, she gave him a gentle smile, beckoning him with a wave of hand to follow her. “We have a pretty good hideout. You will see.”

“We?” he asked, following her from the lack of literally any other option, finally vanishing from the view of potential skyborne threats.

She paused and looked at him from the corner of her eye. “Yes. We are a small team of random people with various talents and backgrounds, just trying to make ends meet here. But if you want to stay with us, you need to remember main two rules”, he faced him with all seriousness.

“Rule number 1”, she pointed her finger at him. “Be as quiet as you possibly can, at all times. Being loud in this place is deadly.”

He was about to ask why, but he figured he’s going to find out everything eventually, so he decided to be patient.

“I'll do my best”, he whispered. It’s going to be a little difficult for someone who has spent his whole life talking to a microphone, loud and clear for his listeners, but he will adapt. He has to.

”I couldn't ask for more”, she nodded her head. “As for rule number 2”, she pointed two fingers at him. “Don’t bleed. If you get hurt, you are getting exiled from the camp”, she said with a visible discomfort. “So if you are bleeding, you need to tell us.”

Alastor raised his eyebrows and blinked in surprise. He was speechless. For some reason the first thing that came to his mind were… horses. You know, if a horse breaks its leg, the only thing left to do is to finish the poor thing off.

They continued their venture into a weird, dark tunnel in the mountain.

“Be careful not to scratch yourself on the junk“, she whispered. Alastor was just about to ask her "what junk?" but then he realized...

Everything around them was trash. Old, broken pieces of items that he’s used to seeing on a day to day basis, but also some things that he didn't recognize whatsoever.

The mountains around them were just another enormous piles of trash.

“My name is Vaggie”, she glanced at him. It snapped him out of his shock.

“Alastor. Pleasure to meet you, even if in such unorthodox conditions”, he nodded his head.

Vaggie smiled at him gently.

“Welcome to Hell, Alastor.”

After going through quite a labyrinth of corridors built entirely of rubbish, they entered a small clearing, located in a valley between those enormous piles of trash.

Let’s be completely honest. Their hideout wasn’t pretty. In all truth, it looked like a camp of hobos. But it wasn’t the décor of that place that worried the most Alastor in that moment.

Because while Vaggie looked relatively normal, these other guys looked... horrific. One of them was a giant, four-armed moth with big red eyes and even bigger crimson wings that resembled a cape. Second guy had six arms and way too many eyes, bringing to mind an image of a spider. Third guy was sitting in a corner with a TV on his head, tinkering with something. Fourth guy was just a cat with wings. He was napping on a pile of cloth.

“Huh. What a… colorful bunch”, Alastor commented quietly, feeling eyes of everyone on him – except for the TV guy, who didn’t bother to look from his project.

“Oh yeah? Have you looked at a mirror recently, handsome?” the spider smirked mischievously at him.

Alastor opened his mouth to reply, but then he immediately closed his mouth and looked at his hand. Oh yeah, he forgot about this minor detail.

“I, in fact, did not look in a mirror since I’ve… arrived here, I suppose”, he replied.

The spider guy chuckled and took out a small make up mirror from his pocket and approached him. He was significantly taller than Alastor.

“Take a good look, sunshine. This is your new face”, he passed him the mirror.

Alastor opened the lid and immediately looked into a pair of crimson red eyes. He let out a yelp and quickly closed the lid again.

“Sorry, sorry. I did not expect… THAT”, he said, taking another look at himself.

He had no idea what the hell he’s supposed to be. Those tiny, pathetic looking horns resemble those of a young deer, but the whole rest of his appearance didn’t quite make sense to him.

“…why am I so red?” he asked out loud and passed him the mirror back.

“Beats me. It is what it is”, the spider patted his back gently. “The name’s Angel. Nice to meet you, Bambi.”

“Alastor… What’s a Bambi?” Alastor asked a little confused.

“Don’tcha worry about it”, he snickered. “You’ve already met Vaggie, yeah? The big guy weaving in the corner is Valentino”, he pointed at the moth, who looked at them and squinted heavily. “He’s not angry, he just can’t see jack shit”.

“Well, now I am a bit offended”, Valentino replied, but smiled with amusement. “Hello Al”.

“That guy napping over there is Husk.”

Husk opened his eye, looked at Alastor with mild interest, then he raised his hand for a second and then went back to sleep. Angel wrapped one of his many arms around Alastor’s shoulders and pointed at the guy in the corner.

“And our little engineer over there is Vox. Forgive him for not saying hi, he’s in his zone right now.”

Vox did nothing to acknowledge his presence. It’s probably for the best, really. Too much attention right now would probably overwhelm poor Alastor.

“So. Let's sit down over there and have a talk”, Vaggie showed him a big tent made out of an old sail and a broken mast. Angel went back to Valentino’s side, and while Valentino was weaving something, Angel was letting more thin, white thread out of his mouth. Gross… but useful.

Alastor and Vaggie sat down on two pillows that were probably another pieces of thrash, just cleaned a little and sewn back together with the same white thread Angel was making right now.

“Do you know what day it was, when you’ve last checked?” Vaggie asked, and that was a pretty odd question if he’s being honest. But at the same time, he had to give it some thought.

“It was… 17^th of November, 1933” he said calmly. “Is it not the same here?”

“Not really, no. Time here is weird. Well.. remember this date, because it is the day of your death, Alastor.”

He opened his eyes wider.

“…oh. So when you’ve said Welcome to Hell, you meant it quite literally?” he asked a little nervously.

“That’s correct. We are all in Hell”, Vaggie confirmed. “Where time doesn’t exist and you basically don’t need to do anything. You don’t ever need to sleep, or eat, or bathe… Although it is nice for some people to sometimes do those things. Remember that despite everything you are still a human”, Vaggie said with a hint of sadness.

“You never get tired, you don’t age, the weather here never changes. The only thing that changes is the never ending pile of thrash that falls from the sky once in a while”, said Husk, glancing at them from his little nest.

“What do you mean by time doesn’t exist here?” Alastor asked, glancing between the two of them.

“For example”, Husk turned onto his side and supported his head on his hand. “It means I’ve died in 1971, and somehow I’ve been in Hell longer than you. Where is the logic in that? There’s none. You just need to accept it.”

Alastor needed a second to process that information.

“Okay, I get it so far. Now, explain to me why do you have such peculiar rules?”

Vaggie was just about to answer the question, when suddenly, they heard something up the hill over their heads. But in all truth, it was hard NOT TO hear it.

Some guy just climbed to the highest point of the mountain and started yelling some nonsense.

“I AM NOT SCARED OF YOU ANYMORE! COME GET ME! I'M READY TO DIE!” he yelled so loud that his throat sounded sore already.

 “Oh fuuuck... that's exactly what you shouldn't be doing”, Vaggie hid her face in her hands.

Alastor covered his ears, wincing in pain. Oh dear Lord that’s so loud he’s going to go up there and kill him himself. Anything to make him stop.

But as he was thinking that, something impossibly fast flew over their heads, straight towards the yelling guy, casting a dark shadow over their heads for a fraction of a second.

And then the yelling stopped. Very abruptly so.

And then they heard quiet

bonk

bonk

bonk

growing louder and louder, until finally

a decapitated head rolled from the hill and landed in front of Alastor’s feet, spilling a lot of blood around them.

Vaggie immediately covered her mouth with her hand and looked at Alastor with slight panic, shaking her head slightly. The rest of the people from the camp froze in place and also covered their mouths, not moving an inch. Alastor followed their lead.

After a moment of complete silence, they’ve heard soft flapping of wings, and immediately something landed just next to their tent. It was another weird looking person.

From his head grew two big, red horns, and from his back grew six giant wings. His hands were black, and he had a pair of red hooves and tail that immediately made it obvious for Alastor who that is.

It's the devil.

He was wielding a scythe bigger than his entire body (which surprisingly wasn’t that big, and yet it didn’t made the situation any less terrifying). The blade was covered in fresh blood.

The devil slowly turned towards them and for a brief moment from his mouth slipped a thin, snake-like tongue. His eyes darted towards the growing pool of blood.

“There you are”, he said calmly and immediately approached the head. “Don't run away from me like that”, he squatted in front of the head and started touching it with is black fingers. The eyes and mouth of the deceased were wide open in anger and pain, so the devil closed them and picked the head up. For a moment, he stayed in place, completely still.

Listening.

His eyes were… so empty. The white of his eyes were yellowish in color, but his pupils were milky white. He must’ve been completely blind, or else they all would’ve shared the fate of the loud fella.

Good thing Alastor was skilled at remaining completely still and silent. He enjoyed hunting when he was alive. Now, he is the game. For the moment when the Devil stood next to them, he looked at him carefully, curiously. Of course he was afraid because his life was hanging on the line, but at the same time he was extremely intrigued. What did he deduce? The devil is blind, but relies on his other senses.

That's why they have to be quiet – because the sound attracts him.

And that's why it's better not to bleed – because blood makes it easier for him to find you. That’s how snakes’ tongues work, right? They catch different smells… Alastor was pretty sure that was the case.

And as Alastor sat there, slowly becoming convinced that he can actually hear the beating of his heart,

the devil spread his wings and flew back for the rest of the body.

And then he left.

And that’s the other thing. These wings were terrifyingly quiet for something so large. You couldn't hear them unless he was already right next to you.

And by then it’s already too late.

They have stayed completely silent like this for about 2 minutes after the devil left, until finally all of them uncovered their mouths and breathed in relief.

“So... Does that answer your question?” Vaggie looked at him, still a little shaken.

“Well. I believe so”, Alastor looked at the sky, and then at the splatter of blood at his feet.

One mistake and you’re done, he thought, swallowing his saliva nervously.

“Have we just saw the devil?” he asked to be sure.

“Yes. That was The Fallen. The first denizen of Hell. The King of Sinners”, Vaggie said and looked at the sky through the hole in their tent.

It all started in Eden. When the Devil decided to give people a gift of free will, against God's wishes. For that crime, he has been banished into the depths of Hell. For a really long time nobody has seen him. Many believed he simply didn’t survive the fall.

But as Hell grew in population, more crowded and more polluted, he showed himself.

The Reaper.

He started slaughtering any sinner that he came upon, no questions asked, until finally the Hell became the place it is today.

Quiet.

Lifeless.

“Covered in Heaven's trash”, she sighed, finishing her story. “That was him just now. Our best guess was that he went mad from isolation. Although I'm not sure what happened with his eyes.”

Alastor thought for a moment. “I'm not a doctor, but strong enough head trauma might result in eyesight loss”, he commented. “If he hit his head when he fell, that might have been the case”.

“Huh... I actually didn’t know that”, she admitted. He looked at him suspiciously. “How do you know that?”

“Let’s just say I’ve seen it first hand”, Alastor placed his finger on his lips and winked at her. Vaggie was not surprised. She’s surrounded by sinners after all.

“Anyhow... That's it. That's what the rest of eternity will look like for us…” she intertwined her fingers and fiddled her thumbs innocently. “unless…?” she smirked and looked in the direction of the TV guy. “...our plan work.”

Alastor looked in his direction as well. He looked idiotic with a TV set for a head. “What's the plan?” he asked quietly.

“Well... it's a bit of a work in progress”, Vaggie smirked and looked over at him. Let's just say we have figured out a way to kill the Devil”.

Chapter Text

“It’s a bit complicated, I won’t go into details for now, but in time we will tell you, I promise”, Vaggie sighed and tucked her hair behind her ear.

“Is it even possible to kill him?” Alastor asked himself quietly. “Surely they are not the first to try fighting back, right?”

Eventually, he realized that he’s a bit too tired emotionally to ask himself those questions. Or ask them for that matter. Simply too much happened and too much information for one day.

“If you want to take a nap, I can show you another good spot”, Husk offered, reading his expression. “Nobody will bother you there and it's pretty well hidden. This one is mine though”, he patted the cloth he was laying on. Then he rose from his little nest and took him to one of the deeper caves in the wall of debris. It was filled with more torn pillows that Angel has very carefully sewn back together. It looked relatively cozy, compared to what he had seen so far, but still, Alastor felt like a hobo while laying there, surrounded by heaps of thrash.

The only sounds surrounding him now were quiet tinkering of Vox, delicate whispers of his new allies and his own breathing.

He was lying there and analyzed the whole situation. He noticed that his ears were picking up sounds a little better than usual. Sounds that he has never paid attention to while he was alive. Apparently, these are perks of becoming a deer after death.

In the meantime, Lucifer flew over a lake of lava. He felt the heat rising and caressing his feathers, and that was his cue to drop the headless corpse. The body fell right in the middle of the lake and made a very satisfying flop noise before bursting into flames and slowly sinking into the molten rock.

Lucifer had his lair near that lake. It was located in a cave inside the outer wall of the Pride Ring – because even Hell isn't infinitely big and has walls. It resembled a giant circle, surrounded by an additional lava moat. Fortunately, it wasn't an issue for him since he had wings, but without them he wouldn't be able to enter his little cozy cave.

The moat was a great way to keep sinners away from his stuff. As an additional security measure, he has built a fence of pikes with heads impaled on them. The lava’s heat dried them up nicely and they didn't smell anymore. The view wasn't an issue for Lucifer of course, but it was used as an example for other little pests to keep out.

The message was loud and clear.

No one in their right mind would even venture there.

But let's remember that Alastor was not exactly a man of sound mind – not while he was alive and not after his death.

After taking a short, very light nap, Alastor realized that he’s hearing faint music. Very, very faint. Someone was undoubtedly playing the fiddle somewhere far, far away from their hideout. He was so intrigued by this phenomenon that he decided to go for a little walk around Hell to find the source. He has decided to ask his companions if they would mind.

Vaggie looked at him with concern.

“You know, it's... fine, I guess. But if the devil finds you, you may not have anywhere to hide”, Vaggie warned him. “So please remember rules 1 and 2… I would hate to see you get caught.”

“Unless he tries to save his skin by selling us out to the big guy”, Alastor heard an unfamiliar voice. Vox has not spoken once since Alastor got here, not even raised his head from the project. His voice sounded a little echoey, coming from within the TV on his head.

Alastor raised his eyebrow and approached him.

“May I ask where this assumption comes from?” he asked, leaning over his slouched back, casting a shadow.

Vox slowly lifted his head and looked at Alastor. That was the moment Alastor has realized that Vox is in fact NOT wearing a TV on his head – because he’s unfathomably ugly, or perhaps especially shy.

The TV WAS his head. It was pretty chunky, heavy looking TV. It had a button, cute little dials and two antennas on top. And on the bright screen, his face showed annoyance.

“Because we are in Hell, dumbass. You can't trust just anyone you meet here”, he said it more to Vaggie than to Alastor, glancing at her from his spot. “And, you know, we just admitted to a total stranger that we are planning to kill him. No big deal, yeah?” he looked at Vaggie annoyed that she spilled the beans so quickly.

“Well, I didn't tell him how, so his words would mean nothing to the old prick anyway”, Vaggie replied, also annoyed that he raised his voice. “Dial down Vox.”

Vox buzzed quietly and surely, he turned one of his dials, and a little bar on his face showed up, saying “VOLUME - - -”.

“Well, my dear friend, it didn’t occur to me to seek our dear devil, since I have assumed that any kind of dialogue with that creature would render me dead on the spot”, he chuckled quietly, leaning even more over Vox. “So don't worry about it, otherwise you'll start snowing”, he said with a wide smile o his face.

Valentino, the moth man, began to laugh quietly at this insult.

Vox frowned in response and went back to work. “Suit yourself. But don’t count on anybody to go looking for you if you get lost”. He couldn't think of any good insults related to deer... He certainly has something to think about while Alastor is gone.

Alator shrugged.

“Well, I didn't expect it anyway. Thank you for having me. I'll try to return safely, but if I fail, it was nice to meet you”, he bowed slightly to them and left the hiding place.

He was walking for a while, trying to follow the distant sound of the fiddle. Finally saw what he assumed was an exterior wall of Hell and an enormous lake of lava. The place was pretty far away from their hiding spot. His hearing must be great since those five outcasts didn’t catch the sound at all.

The melody was coming out of a big cavern in the rock. The walls of the cave provided wonderful acoustics for the sorrow melody. So full of emotion. Alastor has never heard music like that.

“Interesting”, he thought and decided to investigate. He slowly walked closer to the shore of the lake. He was not easily deterred by human heads impaled on stakes. He rested his hands on one of the naked, dried skulls and leaned on the pike, reveling in the music. He closed his eyes and for a long time didn’t pay much attention to his surroundings…

…until he noticed something slightly unsettling.

The freshest addition to the collection.

“Wait, I know this guy”, Alastor realized, losing his balance a little and in the process damaging the very delicate structure of the already damaged skull. The skull fell loudly onto the ground and shattered into pieces. The pike that he was leaning on almost stabbed his throat, but it was the least of his problems.

Because

the music

stopped.

Alastor slowly turned his face towards the cave.

The blind man was standing in the depth of a cave, his back to the entrance, so for a second Alastor was only able to see his silhouette.

But then he quickly turned around and a pair of glowing, piercing eyes loomed in the darkness of the cave. He put the instrument away and grabbed his scythe, immediately flying towards the source of the sound he had just heard. He landed swiftly on top of a rock and listened carefully. He even tried to smell something with his snake tongue. Alastor saw him even closer than before and instinctively covered his mouth.

The demon crackled his neck, straightened up and started gently tapping the dull end of his scythe against the ground on his path – very similar to the way blind people use their canes.

Alastor was starting to slightly panic, as the blind king was getting closer and closer to him, and in that moment, he looked at his own shadow that has been there this whole time, in front of him – burning lava lake is a great source of light. But only now he noticed an odd detail about it: the shadow was not only looking back at him… it was also smiling mischievously.

The shadow moved on its own, as it placed its finger on its “lips” and slowly started stretching behind the walking man. And suddenly, it opened its jaws wide like a snake and started playing some weird, cacophonic sounds. It sounded as if someone turned on the radio behind the devil’s back.

“What?” Alastor thought.

“What?” Lucifer said and turned around. Instinctively, he stabbed his scythe into the ground where the shadow was making noises. The shadow didn’t care at all. It was a shadow after all. Instead, it moved a little to the left and changed the repertoire. It started playing back at him the song that Lucifer was playing just a minute ago… just in a little more upbeat style, as if mocking him.

The devil was so surprised that he flinched, and then he froze in place for a second. And then he started curiously swaying his tail to the sides.

“Music?” he whispered and picked up his scythe, walking closer towards the music, trying to find the source. He was certainly a curious creature.

At this moment, Alastor wasn’t sure what to do. It was the perfect opportunity to quietly flee and survive this encounter.

HOWEVER.

Now that he had discovered his abilities, he was curious about them more than he was scared of the monster in front of him.

Also… he wanted to take a closer look at this creature.

He focused his will, and the music slowly changed to some jazz song he used to adore when he was alive. Also, he commanded the shadow to move a little further away. So he can control it.

“Hey… Where are you going little bird?” Lucifer asked calmly, approaching the source of the music a little faster. “Did I scare you? Your song is very pretty”, he picked up his scythe. “Sorry little one… I just wanted to know how you do it...” he chuckled quietly. „...unless I finally went insane and the music is only in my head?” he asked himself and stopped in place, trying to figure out what’s going on.

Alastor smirked mischievously. He focused a little harder and after a moment he projected his own voice from the shadow.

“You're certainly crazy. You’re talking to yourself after all. Or maybe you’re just so desperately lonely you want to hear someone’s voice?”

Lucifer tensed and then his tongue slipped for a second from his mouth. He aggressively tried to stab the shadow again.

“Something tells me it won’t work~” Alastor spoke through the shadow and placed it somewhere else.

Lucifer looked confused, but then he frowned and started growling. He even checked the blade to see if there was blood on it. There wasn't.

“So, you came here to mess with me?” he looked annoyed. “You are going to regret it, birdy”, he growled and spread his wings as hard as he could and started flapping it so hard that Alastor felt wind blowing into his face... and dust. A lot of dust in his face and eyes. Also, some skulls flew off their pikes. Lucifer created a small tornado with his wings.

Alastor tried to bear through it, but quickly decided it was a bad idea. Using the fact that shattering skulls and howling wind made some noise, he started slowly backing out, trying to hide behind a pile of trash. Also, using his power slowly made him tired again. He knew that he needed to persevere and escape.

His shadow appeared on the stone where the devil was standing earlier and began to play music. “You missed. Maybe you'll get me here?” he teased him.

The devil flew towards the sound and landed with his hooves on the rock. His tongue was nervously smelling the area.

“You are starting to piss me off, birdy!” he exclaimed and grabbed the scythe with both of his hands. He took a massive swing and after a split of a second,

he not only destroyed the pile of rubbish that Alastor was hiding behind,

but he also cut through a solid rock he was standing on a second ago.

It was so close to cutting through Alastor's ears that it made him sweat a little. “

Too close. Okay, I think that's enough playing with fire for today.”

The devil landed on the ground, aggressively panting some smoke out of his mouth, trying to figure out if he finally removed the little pest.

“Very well. I shall take this as my cue to leave. Until next time… your Highness~” he hummed and tried to calm down his nervous breathing by taking a few slow, quiet breaths. His shadow slowly reclined back into his body, turning into his natural form.

Suddenly everything went silent. Alastor waited for a few seconds for the Devil to leave, so he could safely escape.

After he stopped hearing anything, he slowly leaned to the side to peek out of the trash pile and

HOLY FUCK HE’S STANDING RIGHT HERE.

He regretted everything. He should’ve left while he had a chance. He covered his mouth instinctively and stopped moving.

Lucifer rested his black hand on the wall, millimeters away from Alastor’s head and scanned the area around him with his tongue. He took a small step forward and turned his head directly at Alastor.

The deer man started sweating. He looked into his eyes. He was almost certain he was going to die right there and then.

He was standing so close that he could see the fog in his eyes, and it somehow did nothing to make his eyes less piercing.

Finally, the Devil gave up. He walked away, swishing his scythe to check his path. He checked his fence and noticed some of the skulls were gone. He mumbled something under his breath.

“Filthy sinners… I will get that little singing birdie… it will pay…”

He kept mumbling as he jumped into the air and flew back to his cave.

But truth be told, as much as Lucifer didn't want to admit it... it was almost fun. Annoying, but stimulating at least. He’s never had his prey escape him like that. Maybe he can play cat and mouse with it a little longer.

Alastor waited a moment longer, feeling that his legs were weak, and his heart would soon jump out of his chest. His nose started bleeding a little, and when he noticed that, he started panicking. But Devil didn’t seem to be interested in coming back to him. He found a piece of cloth to wipe his nose and after he felt a little better, he exhaled and slowly, carefully returned to the camp. Of course, he isn’t going to admit that he broke ALL POSSIBLE RULES. Or that he discovered his new skills for that matter.

He was probably the only person in Hell who was able to talk to the king and live to tell the tale. But he won’t tell it. Not now. Not yet.

BECAUSE. He has powers now. And if he has powers... probably other folks have them too. So, unless they tell him first, he will keep quiet until absolutely necessary.

They probably have much more secrets than him anyway. What’s this special method of killing the devil he’s not aware of yet?

For a brief moment he remembered the strength with which the devil destroyed that solid boulder and a pile of junk, almost cutting his ears off. He subconsciously brushed his hair with his fingers, gulping quietly.

Okay, maybe devil isn’t that easy to kill.

Chapter Text

After that, they didn't see the Devil for a while. They could work in peace on their little project. While Vox was building... whatever it was he was building, Angel was producing a looooong thread of silk, that was then weaved by Valentino and Vaggie into a thick rope. Husk was their lookout. He had wings so he was able to fly over their camp and keep an eye out for trouble. Valentino could technically do it, since he also had wings… if his eyesight wasn’t so shitty he couldn’t see his own reflection.

Alastor knew that his skills could be useful to them, but he didn't say anything. Of course, he helped as best he could. He wanted to gain their trust. Valentino showed him how to weave. He also mentioned that this rope is going to be weaved into a net. Vox glanced at them, still not happy that they were letting Alastor in on the plan, but didn’t say anything. Sometimes Vox left the camp to look for some useful parts. Technically they were surrounded in every direction by parts, but he had to agree that doing so outside of the camp was the safest for the team, since it made noise to some degree.

And then, one day, while they were working quietly and Husk was resting on his favorite spot, they saw the shadow over their heads. And before they could react in any way, it was already too late...

The Devil landed on the pile of thrash and listened intently.

He didn’t really hear anything. It was merely a coincidence that he decided to land here. And yet even now he didn’t let his guard down. He jumped off the pile and landed on the ground in front of him very swiftly, his hooves making a satisfying sound while walking. He put his hand on the wall of junk and started gently scratching it with his claws, looking for something interesting. Something different.

Not only was it making a very unpleasant sound

but also, Vox was sitting in his path, his back leaning against the wall, cornered.

Vox squeezed his mouth and eyes into a very thin line, trying not to make any noise while the devil tapped his head with his claws.

Admittedly, Lucifer thought it was just another piece of junk laying around, so he didn’t pay much attention to him and went by.

And Vox would’ve got away with it

but

the monster accidentally hit his face with his tail

and Vox got scared by the sudden sensation of pain, also accidentally, shocked him with some electricity.

Lucifer jumped surprised. “Oh!” he blinked and turned around. “What was that?” he quickly investigated the source. He touched the TV screen again and tapped at it. He moved his face closer, almost pressing his ear to the surface.

“...you are buzzing. Why are you buzzing, little box?” he asked and squatted in front of the TV, grabbing it with his hands and carefully inspecting the object.

The rest of Vox's body was directly under him, laying in such straight line that it was a miracle he didn’t touch Lucifer’s hooves. Although his tail was whipping very dangerously in the air and to the sides, ready to hit him anytime – it’s just a matter of time before he does and realizes what’s going on.

“Do you somehow still work?” he pressed the button at the bottom of Vox’s head and turned his face off. “Oh. That’s the button that stops the buzzing”, he nodded in understanding and pressed the button again. Vox started sweating nervously when he started playing with his other knobs. “Now you are buzzing louder... and now, quieter...” Lucifer hummed, smiling to himself, happy to find a new toy.

He touched the TV all over, but when he started playing with the antennas, it was too much for Vox. He let out a very embarrassing moan, making Lucifer flinch. Vox knew he needed to save this somehow.

He has decided to use the skill that brought him here in the first place: he started talking.

“Welcome ladies and gentlemen! My name is Tom Trench and welcome to... "Happy New Day"! Your go-to source for the latest news, weather, and everything you need to start your day right!” he pretended to be a TV announcer in a typical morning show. He looked unbelievably nervous, digital beads of sweat streaming across his face.

However, Lucifer seemed to buy it. He blinked in surprise and slowly sat down on the ground, resting his cheek on his hand and listening to the very improvised show with curiosity. He smiled genuinely. Finding stuff like that was one of very few joys of his life here.

“He must be really desperate for any kind of stimulation”, Alastor thought and decided to save Vox even though he was usually getting on his nerves.

His shadow elongated and slowly climbed onto a nearby pile of garbage. The rest of the crew watched him with questioning looks and almost jumped when loud music started playing from that direction. Lucifer of course recognized the song immediately. He quickly jumped onto his feet and grabbed his scythe tighter.

“Hello again, your highness. Did you miss me?” the voice echoed from the trash pile.

“Again?” Vaggie frowned.

The demon started growling and turned the TV off, making Vox shut up. Vox tensed even more, because now he couldn’t see anything either.

“I'm sorry little box, I don't have time to play with you right now. There is a PEST I need to destroy”, Lucifer took a big swing of his scythe, destroying their tent and almost cutting off Husk’s tail. That's when Alastor decided, it will be best to lead the monster away from the team, or else he will destroy fruits of their hard labor…

…or worse, kill someone.

The shadow began to move further and further from the camp, and Lucifer followed it.

The further away the shadow was from Alastor’s real body, the dizzier he felt. His owner tried his best to stay conscious, but it was harder and harder to focus his attention on moving and playing music. Eventually he passed out, falling into Vaggie’s arms. A drop of blood dripped from his nose and onto the ground.

The silence filled their camp.

They were safe, but not for long.

Vox quickly turned his face back on. „We need to get the fuck out of here. Now”, he said seriously.

“You think he will be back soon?” Angel asked a little nervously.

“DUH. Even if he doesn’t come back for this fucker, he left his "little box" here!” Vox yelled, his face turning bright red from embarrassment that he had to call himself that out loud. He quickly covered his mouth and took a deep breath. Hell must be a difficult place for people with strong emotional reactions. “He's going to be back. We have to make sure we are not here by then.”

“When he realizes not in the same place it was before, he's going to be pissed”, Angel pointed out.

“He's also going to be pissed if he finds out a grown ass man is sticking out of the box”, Vox pointed at himself. “I’m choosing the scenario where I’m not here to experience that.”

“Fair point. Let’s get out of here”. Valentino said and walked up to the unconscious Alastor. „We are taking him too, right?” he poked him with his finger to check if he’s alive. (He was.)

“Yeah. His powers are useful. And he saved our asses, even though he didn’t have to”, Vox said, grabbing a toolbox and packing his stuff as quickly as he could. „Someone needs to help me carry the machine. We can wrap it in the sail, so it doesn’t fall apart on the way.”

“I’m on it Voxxy”, Valentino prepared the sail and used all four of his arms to pick up Vox’s invention and place it on the fabric.

„Well then, I guess I can carry the deer boy”, Angel said and took Alastor in his six arms. „Husker, can you grab the rope for me?”

„On it”, Husk took the whole big coil of rope that Angel was weaving and Vaggie helped him pick up the net.

They’ve gathered only the most important stuff and went to look for a new hiding place. They’ve left so many memories in that place, Husk’s favorite napping spot, Angel’s pillows…

Fortunately, Vaggie remembered to take her spear from the hiding spot. It’s their only hope after all.

Lucifer followed the music, but the further he went, the more it resembled static more than a melody. Eventually it stopped completely, and he stopped with it. He touched the ground in front of him and smelled it, but didn’t sense anything yet again.

“How do you do it, little bird?” he whispered, but received no answer. He spread his wings and flew back to the place where he left the little box.

“It was definitely here. That’s where I broke the mast… so why isn’t it here?” Lucifer talked to himself, more and more distressed. He smelled the air and slowly moved towards the little droplet of blood that was on the ground. He remembered the smell from his hideout. He found a piece of cloth lying around there, right after his first encounter with the little bird. So, it was his blood… he HAS a physical form.

That’s when he realized that he had become a victim of yet another cruel joke. He felt so, so stupid. He just started shaking from anger.

The crew heard a sky tearing roar, and when they turned around, they saw a wall of flame in the place their old hideout used to be.

„...R.I.P to all those pillows I’ve sewn”, Angel sighed and followed his companions with Alastor in his arms.

„You'll make more at the new hideout, baby”, Valentino said gently, carrying a giant piece of metal as if it was merely a toy. Vox found it incredibly impressive

and also, incredibly hot.

They walked for hours, glancing nervously at the sky, before they found a different valley between mountains of trash – perfect for a new hiding place.

They tried to make the layout the same as it was before, to make it a little bit more like home. However, they had hard time figuring out how to build their tent without a mast. For now, they folded the sail into a little nest, put it nicely in the corner, and then put Alastor on it, so he can finish up his nap in peace.

Angel couldn't pass up the opportunity and started petting his ears gently.

His ears twitched adorably in response.

„Angel, leave Alastor and help us here”, Val mumbled – only a little jealous.

Vox was still a little nervous after this whole incident. He was so shaken that he didn't start working on the machine immediately like he normally would. He was just standing over it, looking at it with his hands on his hips.

Devil's hands... all over his head. He could feel his breath on his screen... his claws, scratching him almost too hard... It was all he could think about. He should stop. It wasn’t that scary after all…

…

Maybe even kinda hot…

…

He was admittedly a little touch-starved, but it will change when Lucifer finally bites the dust.

Alastor woke up just as Vox returned to working on the machine. “Shit... My head”, he muttered quietly and slowly sat up.

Vaggie was weaving the rope nearby with Angel. The whole incident made them even more determined to finish their mission as fast as possible. Seeing that their little hero woke up, she put her work to the side and approached him.

„I have some questions for you, Mister...” she said visibly annoyed. “Hello again, your highness. Did you miss me? What the fuck that was supposed to mean?” she growled at him.

He looked at her innocently.

“Ah. That”, okay, now he has to come up with a lie so that it wouldn't seem that he provoked the demon on purpose. „Well, when I was going for a walk, he suddenly appeared! In fact, I was seconds away from death”, he pressed his hand to his forehead. “And then, miraculously, my own shadow separated from my body. Thanks to this, I managed to distract him. I have the ability to transmit my voice through that shadow, but also to project music, not unlike a radio. And as soon as the opportunity came, I escaped, barely!” he said, looking at her innocently. “I simply had no other choice, you have to believe me”.

Vaggie pondered for a second. „Let's say I believe you. For now. Because... you have saved Vox's ass. All of our asses, really. And that kind of stuff doesn't go unnoticed here. So... thanks, in the name of the collective.

„Thank you Alastoooor”, Angel smiled at Alastor. „I also know other ways to say "thank you", deer boy~”

Alastor shuddered.

“Tino taught me how to say it in spanish, for example”, Angel winked and showed him his tongue. “What were you thinking?”

“...nevermind”, Alastor shook his head and looked at Vaggie. „We're all in this together. It would be heartless of me to let one of us die”, he said surprisingly softly.

Vaggie sent him a gentle smile and nodded. She went back to work.

Meanwhile, Lucifer after letting off some steam, went back to his cave. He was truly embarrassed. Not only he was made a fool out of, but also that little fucker SAW him doing all of that. He will not recover from that

as long as that creature still breathes.

He will make him bleed again.

Alastor needed just a moment to recover from his spontaneous nap. When he was ready, he stood up and approached Vox.

„Are you okay?”, he asked carefully. It was a good opportunity to bury the hatchet.

Vox looked at him a little surprised by his question, but then his eyes drifted off to his shoes.

„That was… weird”, he admitted. „I've never seen him smile like that... when he was playing with my face, I mean”, he mumbled. „Although, he is pretty weird to talk to a TV.”

„I don’t think there are many opportunities to talk to somebody, when you have a compulsion to kill everyone that breathes a little too loud around you”, Alastor hummed. “Also, you didn’t really answer my question.”

Vox squinted his eyes and sighed. “…I’m fine. Thanks for asking. And you?”

“Right as rain, thank you very much”, Alastor immediately took it as an invitation to sit down next to him. “What are you building? In a few simple words, please”, he rested his head on his hands and smiled at him disarmingly.

Vox hesitated for a second, but then he made a decision.

„It's going to be a catapult” he said, but then he decided to use even simpler words. „A machine that throws stuff at veeery long distances... veeery hard”, he smiled at him mischievously.

“I’m not that dense, I know what a catapult is”, Alastor raised his eyebrow. “Are you going to throw net at him?”

Vox looked at Vaggie. She gave him a thumbs up. He looked back at Alastor.

“Kind of. We re going to throw the net and also an angelic spear. It's going to be one Hell of a bullet. One shot. One opportunity.”

Alastor began to wonder. „It's sounds risky.” he said finally. “What is a angelic spear?”

“A spear wielded by angels, duh. You said you weren’t dense”, Vox smirked.

“Oh, fuck you”, Alastor rolled his eyes. Vox chuckled.

„Well… It's our only shot. We can’t keep living like that. Our crew used to be so much bigger than now”, he sighed and grabbed a screwdriver. „But having a bigger crew is risky. More people equals more noise. That’s why I’m unwilling to take more people in”, he made a pause. After a moment of silence, he continued. “I feel like this is not how hell was supposed to look like, you know? I keep having those dreams that Hell is a big, loud city, like New York. Ever been there?”

„No. Not in New York, but I know what you mean. I grew up in New Orleans. I know what a big, noisy city means”, he admitted.

„Yeah... and there is certainly enough trash to build something like that! All we need is some time and tools and… But we can't build anything loud while this motherfucker is around. I can't even use a hammer for fuck sake!” he started to get a little loud, so he needed to consciously calm himself down. He took a deep breath. „Forgive me, I have some anger issues.”

"I’ve noticed”, Alastor smirked. „But I get it. This silence is killing me too.”

„Oh yeah? When I was alive, I used to be a TV host. I was talking all day, every day. Do you know how long it took me to learn how to whisper?”, Vox sneered.

„Well, when I was alive, I used to be a radio presenter. That's why I know it must have cost you a lot”, he admitted.

Vox looked at him with sympathy.

Honestly, they vibed together. Vox was tinkering with his catapult while listening to Alastor talk about his show. It was honestly pretty entertaining.

And somehow, The Reaper haven't shown himself for a pretty long time. Alastor counted at least 30 Valentino's beauty naps, so it might’ve been a month... but who knows honestly, it’s not like they have calendars here.

“Guys”, Vox wiped his hands in a cloth. “It’s ready”, he grinned. “Let’s get this party started.”

Chapter Text

“It looks pretty impressive for something that has been built out of literal garbage”, Alastor glanced at Vox. “Good job.”

 Everyone nodded in agreement. Vox grabbed a rope and started pulling the catapult. Wheels slowly turned, but only after adding unreasonable amounts of oil to stop them from making screech noises. Valentino walked over to him and started pushing the vehicle behind him. Angel helped.

They moved the catapult into an open field.

Vox placed a piece of metal of similar shape and size to the spear inside of the catapult’s bucket, and catapulted it for a test shoot. And it flew... and flew... and flew... who knows how far. Vox squinted, trying to see the horizon.

„The aim is pretty good. If we shoot a spear out of it, it might pierce him straight through”, Vox said with pride, watching the piece of garbage disappear in the distance.

„So what you’re saying is, we might never find it again?” Vaggie looked at him with hesitation.

“Then let's make this shot count”, he looked at her with determination and reached his hand towards her. Vaggie passed him her spear and took a deep breath.

„Angel”, he reached his hand to the spider demon.

Angel gave him the net, neatly folded into a ball. It was heavy as fuck, with metal parts that acted as weights at the edges. Vox tinkered for a few moments, assembling everything on their places. „So... now we need to lure him here and... take a shot”, Vox knew the latter is gonna be his task. He swallowed a bit nervously.

„I think with my powers I’m the man for the former”, Alastor said with pride. “I will simply put on a nice song on. Even if we die, at least we will die with jazz in the background!”

“Woah, thanks for believing in our mission, jackass”, Husk mumbled. “Feel a lot better.”

“You’re very welcome~ So, is this the final spot? Are we sure?”

“Yes. I gave it a lot of thought”, Vox crossed his arms on his chest. “There is plenty of open space to see him coming, and also, potentially see where he falls if we hit him”, he said, already looking pretty nervous. „But if I miss… Yeah, the plan B is to lure him away from here. And if I survive this, I will recover that stupid spear”.

„Ready when you are, Al.”

Al concentrated hard and at once a black shape appeared on a hill nearby. Jazz spread throughout Hell.

Lucifer wasn't doing anything particularly interesting, so when he heard the familiar tune, he smiled a bit.

„Finally. I knew you would come back”, he whispered and grabbed his scythe. He spread his wings and flew straight towards the sound. „ Let's fucking go, little birdy!” he laughed. And honestly, he was kind of happy to be here. His massive wings covered the sky in darkness, and the scythe gleamed in the scarce light of Hell’s sky. He looked magnificent, and the whole team knew that no matter the outcome, they will remember this sight for the rest of their lives.

Alastor smiled slightly. He has decided to rile him up even more. The melody trembled for a moment, but then it started playing again, intertwined with the melody that Lucifer was playing on the fiddle.

The rest of the team has hidden among the piles of trash, but they had a sneaking suspicion that these don’t make them very safe either way.

Lucifer started spinning his blade of death with one hand, but he didn’t move from his spot. Now he knew that attacking the source of the melody won’t do anything, so he waited patiently of a different kind of sound. Even a tiny rustle of clothing would be enough to...

But he heard a noise he didn’t expect. Click. And then a weird swooshing sound of something piercing the air in front of him. He had almost no time to react, only instinctively covering himself with his arm and the largest of his wings, but he was not prepared for the burning pain he felt

in his wing,

in his arm,

in his chest,

and in his back.

The spear pierced him as expected, but didn't actually left his body. The momentum however pushed him in the air, removing him from their field of view.

The only thing they heard was quieter and quieter shriek of pain. Both spear and net hit him, and carried his body somewhere towards that labyrinth of junk.

Vox was staring in the distance with eyes wide open. He did it. He fucking did it.

„YOU FUCKING DID IT VOXY!!” Angel yelled, for the first time since they've met. Because for the first time, it was safe to do so.

Alastor kneeled on the ground because he felt a little dizzy and removed his shadow and music from the view. They surely hit him, but one thing was still on his mind.

„Have we killed him or have we just wounded him? We need to find the body to be absolutely sure”, he said, looking at the crew.

„I agree”, Vaggie nodded her head. „And when we find him, we need to use the spear to cut his head off. This is the only way to kill him” Vaggie said and touched her back. “I wish I had my wings now… I could just fly over there and finish the job”, she sighed deeply.

„Let's spread. One of us is sure to find him” proposed Husk.

So they split up to find and kill Lucifer. Valentino picked up Angel and flew with him over the junkyard to maybe find him from the sky. Husk did the same thing, while Vox, Vaggie and Alastor searched the ground.

Valentino and Angel were the one to find the scythe, but they didn't find the owner nearby. He must've dropped it while falling. And while everyone were searching frantically around the perimeter, Alastor casually went in a straight line, not really having much strength to go faster.

First the smell hit him. Something warm and metallic. Almost like blood, bot not exactly. There was something else to it.

Secondly, he heard noises. Struggling. Sobbing. Quiet cursing.

And finally, he saw him. The Devil was laying on the ground, the spear stuck in the ground at an angle. Lucifer was pinned to the ground like a butterfly in someone's private collection. His hand and wing were pierced in place, covering his body and making it difficult to move. The net didn’t make things any better. He was bleeding very generously, and yet he still tried to set himself free from his binds.

Somehow his face was visible from behind all these feathers. He was crying. His horns became significantly smaller, and his tail was whipping frantically, desperately.

But then he froze in place. He heard footsteps. Fear showed in his eyes. Right in that moment, he resembled a wounded bird, approached by a cat.

He knew it was over.

Alastor didn't think he would be the one to find Lucifer. And yet. He checked around to see if anyone else from the group had come, and not seeing anyone, he slowly approached the wounded creature.

„Calm down, Your Majesty. Sudden movements is the last thing you need right now”, Alastor spoke in calm voice, slowly moving closer.

Lucifer recognized his voice immediately. It's impossible to forget, really. His eyes moved directly in Alastor's direction. He couldn't see him of course, but his eyes moved organically, instinctively, and so he was staring into his soul, breathing heavily and baring his teeth like a cornered animal.

„I knew it was you”, he whispered and coughed some blood. “So it was your plan all along? Humiliate me and then… finish me off?” he shivered.

Alastor kneeled next to him to investigate how bad the damage is. It was pretty bad, but according to Vaggie, he won’t die unless his head is removed.

“How about we have a little chat?” Alastor spoke, looking at his face. Surprisingly, his expression softened, and after a moment of silence, he received a response.

“…sure.”

Alastor slowly placed his hand on the spear, making the demon quiver in pain.

”It looks really bad”, he admitted, removing his hand from the weapon. “Tell me, what are you willing to offer in return for sparing your life?”

The demon flinched at his question. „I’m not going to beg you for my life, if that’s what you were hoping for. If you want to kill me, do it.”

Even in such pathetic state, he looked very dignified. Alastor thought that he looked quite beautiful even. Truly a fallen angel. Covered in golden blood and tears. His eyes hopeless and empty.

And tired.

So tired.

„You know…” Lucifer spoke again, with great struggle. “I always thought that… if I dutifully clean Hell of all sinners... then maybe... when my death comes, Father will at least speak to me one last time. And say: “Good job, child. You may rest now” “, Lucifer slowly turned his head and looked at the sky. „Maybe the sky would open and someone would take my corpse back home. That.. maybe they won't let me rot in here for the rest of eternity” he squeezed his eyes tight, making more tears fall. „Can you look at the sky for me? I can’t… I can’t see it.”

Alastor looked at the sky. It was dark and still, as always.

“I…”, Alastor looked at Lucifer. “I don’t think anyone is coming.”

Lucifer opened his eyes and nodded his head in understanding.

“Thank you.”

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence between them.

“Look, it doesn’t have to end like this”, Alastor started removing loose feathers from his face, which made Lucifer flinch slightly in surprise. “I can’t say I particularly want to kill you... The problem is, I don’t think I have any other choice. You are killing people. You are a danger to me and my companions. But it doesn’t have to be like that, right?” he was talking patiently, like if he was speaking to a child. ”We just want to live our afterlife with dignity. My friends… They have plans and dreams to make this place a little better”, he added quietly. And then he asked a crucial question. “Why are you doing all of this?”

Lucifer had to give it some thought before he answered.

“I don't really know why I do it. Nobody asked me to. I just... I felt that... maybe that's my purpose here. I don't know what else am I supposed to do in my state. I don't know what they could do either… in a shithole like this”, he sighed.

„Believe me, people here have amazing ideas”, Alastor chuckled.

Then Lucifer opened his eyes wider, and Alastor’s ear twitched. Both of them heard footsteps.

Lucifer faced his direction. He sensed his hesitation. „Little birdie… you have to make your choice. You either kill me now or wait for them to do it. If you want to let me go, this is your last chance. I'm not promising you anything though”, he said with coldness in his voice.

Alastor looked in the direction where footsteps were coming from. And then he looked at Lucifer.

He knew what he should do. And he already hated himself for it.

He started untangling him from the net and threw it to the side. He grabbed the spear tightly in both of his arms and pulled it out of Lucifer’s body. Lucifer let out a muffled groan of pain, and then he stood up on his trembling legs.

„Run. Hide. I'll find you soon and we'll continue this discussion”, Alastor helped him get up.

Lucifer was not able to fly in his state, and was still bleeding severely, so he squeezed the wound on his arm and quickly started running away towards the labyrinth of trash, away from the approaching footsteps – leaving an obvious trail of blood behind him.

And he did so in the last second, as Vaggie burst into the scene, panting for air.

„Holy shit... that's... that's a lot of blood. Where is he? Thank fuck he didn't take the spear”, Vaggie looked at the trail of blood, and then at Alastor.

Quick Alastor, LIE.

„I really don't know, my dear, I’ve just gotten here as well. I was just about to follow that blood trail over there”, he pointed and gave her a good look. “You look a bit out of breath. How about you leave it to me? I will make it quick”, he smiled mischievously.

Vaggie didn’t hesitate. She passed him the spear. “We have no time to loose. Go, before the trail goes cold”, she said confidently, trusting him with her whole heart. “But if something goes wrong, send you shadow to us, we will join you.”

Alastor nodded and ran after Lucifer.

Lucifer ran. And ran. He meandered the labyrinth of various trash and junk. And by that I mean, he was stumbling face first into walls, leaving more blood marks around the area. He didn’t know when to stop. He didn’t know where he’s going. At this point he was fueled by pure adrenaline.

He was desperate to escape. They had an angelic spear. He doesn't understand it. Was Heaven somehow involved in this?

He felt weaker by the second. Wounds made with angelic weapon burned him to the very core.

“I need to… I need to find.. it”, he thought, his mind getting a bit cloudy.

When he turned another corner, someone screamed in terror. Nobody ever expected the Devil to come from the ground, so he really gave this poor soul a heart attack.

“There it is”, Lucifer spoke.

He jumped at the unfortunate fella and bit right into their throat. The person fell to the ground, but was unable to scream anymore, as their throat was torn to shreds, their blood gushing uncontrollably from the damaged artery.

"I haven’t promised him anything”, Lucifer thought, drinking the life essence out of his victim, already feeling his own wounds hurting less.

Alastor heard an unfamiliar scream and followed it. When he reached the scene, he witnessed Lucifer tearing open this poor person’s chest and pulling their heart out.

He gulped quietly. Maybe it wasn’t the best moment to talk to him, but he made that risk anyway.

„Your highness...?” he said uncertainly.

Lucifer turned his face to him and growled at him audibly. His eyes red and white, his wounded arm and wing twitching with every second.

„Don't talk to me right now”, he said and without hesitation bit into the heart he was holding.

The golden blood on his hands and face mixed with the red one, flowing out of the pulsing organ. Alastor looked at him in awe. There was something beautiful in his brutality, something that made him unable to look away. He looked simply breathtaking.

So he stood in silence and watched as Lucifer devoured his victim's heart. For a moment, Alastor wished it was his own heart.

When Lucifer was done eating, he sat down heavily on the ground and took a few breaths. Slow, trembling breaths.

„I used to be able to do it normally... I mean... heal... But I can’t anymore”, Lucifer wiped his face with his wrist, which did absolute jack shit to clean his face.

Alastor put the spear aside. „Can I come closer to see your wound?” he asked.

„Haha... which wound? I have plenty of them to show you” Lucifer joked, but then nodded as he slowly spread his damaged wing. He winced in pain.

Alastor came closer and touched his wing at non-hurt spot first, showing him that he was close. Only later did he look at the wound that was slowly healing. He saw threads forming inside, creating a complicated net of muscles, nerves and other tissues. It was slowly covering the open wound like a patch.

“How did you find an angelic spear?” Lucifer asked finally. He believed this isn’t something that Heaven would just casually throw away.

„The spear belongs to Vaggie. She mentioned something about wings, so I assume she might be a fallen angel, just like you.”

“Just like me, huh…” Lucifer closed his eyes and rested his head on the wall behind him.

After a moment of silent watching the wounds heal, Alastor decided he probably shouldn’t touch them. He sighed.

“You know they won't stop until they kill you, right?”

“Perhaps.”

“…you are surprisingly indifferent to the thought of being assassinated, Your Majesty”, Alastor’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

Lucifer just laughed at the comment. Alastor moved a little closer and placed his hand under Lucifer’s. It moved slightly in surprise, but didn’t escape his touch. So he took his hand in his and started gently petting it.

“Listen. I believe that you are simply a lonely, abandoned soul, and after years and years of being isolated from society, you need someone who will listen to you. So? Here I am: a sinner who's not afraid to face you. I would say this is once in a lifetime opportunity for you”, Alastor chuckled.

Lucifer’s face turned to him. He allowed him to play with his hand. It was nice.

“You know… Heaven was fine but... what I really miss is Earth. You used to live there, right? You know firsthand how beautiful it is.”

Alastor thought about this for a second. Beautiful is certainly not a word that came to his mind when he thought of Earth. “That’s one way to call it, yes”,

 Lucifer chuckled. “It surely changed while I was gone”, he opened his eyes. “Sometimes when I close my eyes... I can still see Her. Her radiant smile. And in complete silence, I sometimes hear her singing.”

“Who was she?” Alastor asked a little confused.

“Her name was Lilith. She was the first woman. And let me tell you, I would fall 1000 times more if it meant I could be with her forever. But… it wasn’t meant to be. They... they’ve killed her... they’ve killed my Lilith... to punish me”, his voice trembled. His words were chaotic and shaky. He forgot what it feels like to talk to someone.

So she was Lucifer's love. Poor guy. So the exile wasn’t even the worst part about all of this.

„I know what it's like to watch someone you love die in front of your eyes. Maybe not exactly the love of my life, but I saw my mother being murdered by my father. I think the pain might be comparable”, he said gently. “We can both agree this punishment was too harsh for you. So why would you do the same to those who come here? You could create a truly amazing place here.”

Lucifer listened to him with sadness in his eyes. And at the end he frowned.

„I can create jack shit”, he replied a little aggressively. „I used to create a lot of things... I used to DO a lot of things. I can't do them anymore. I can't even SEE anymore. I don't even remember what a bird looks like...” he turned his face away from him and took his hand away.

“Hey, hey, calm down”, he said, seeing that he was getting angry. ”You can learn these things again”, Alastor spoke softly. I can help you "see" everything again, just in a slightly different way.”

Lucifer turned back to him, a little confused, but intrigued.

“I used to know a blind person. I made an interview with her for my radio broadcast. She was that really sweet, charming girl, always smiling, certainly we won’t meet her here”, he chuckled. “Her name was Charlie.”

“Charlie…” Lucifer repeated softly. “That’s a lovely name.”

“She taught me a lot about the world from the perspective of a blind person. I feel like I could give this knowledge back to you.”

Lucifer gave it some thought. And after a moment of silence, he placed his hand back on his hand.

„Little birdie... I'm starting to worry about your head”, he said suddenly, giving him a slight smile.

„Did you hurt it too when you fell? What are you even doing right now? You helped in an assassination attempt against me, and now you are betraying your companions by helping me. What is your goal? What are your reasons?” he squeezed his hand a little harder. „What do you want so much that you are willing to risk your life for it?” he looked at him with an intense look on his face.

Alastor looked at their hands and started petting it again. „Maybe. I’ve died from a gunshot to the head, maybe it changed something in my brain. Not that it was much better during life either, haha”, Alastor hummed with a smug smile.

“Weirdo”, Lucifer let out a short chuckle.

„But… answering your questions. I heard you playing the fiddle.”

“Obviously.”

“Beautiful, but very sad melody. I thought that maybe there is something more to you than what we know already. I helped them, because they’ve helped me, and I owed it to them. That was their main objective, and I felt obligated to take part in this as well”, Alastor sighed. “But now I just feel like you need help much more. And I want to help you, really, I do. But you need to stop killing sinners, really. That’s becoming a problem.”

Lucifer looked away, but then Alastor gently grabbed his chin and raised it, so he would face him again.

“How about we get to know each other a little? Build some trust, if you will”, Alastor offered. He grabbed one of his hands and placed it on his head. The man looked honestly surprised and worried of what was happening, but when he touched his ears, Alastor saw his eyes widen.

Lucifer felt soft hair under his fingertips, but then he touched his ears, and he felt even greater joy.

„What do you feel?”, the deer-man asked.

„Oh my... are these...” the demon started touching his ears. „These are your ears...” he whispered in awe. He touched them from the tips to the very base of his skull. Alastor felt his claws slightly scratching on his skin – it felt surprisingly good, but he will never admit that. „Are you a puppy? Oh... wait... there is more”, he brushed his horns with his fingers and started investigating thoroughly their structure. „You are... a deer I think”, he realized, touching the tips of the horns. Then he started playing with the base. “Your horns are itty bitty tiny~” he chuckled, honestly delighted.

„Yes...” Al replied a little embarrassed. “Somehow fate made fun of me and I'm part deer. Why? I have no idea”, he admitted and took his hands away for a moment. Lucifer wasn't very happy about that, but it was doing weird things to Alator’s head and he had to stop it immediately before something happened. “But look, you managed to figure it out even without sight. So it's not that bad, right”, he chuckled and then looked at his wound, which was not bleeding anymore, but still looked pretty raw. “So what? Will you let me be your guide?”

Lucifer scratched his head. Okay, maybe he had a point. “Fine, fine, I accept your offer. Not that I have anything else to do right now”, he said and his wounded wing shook a bit in pain. „They are not bleeding anymore, but it's still badly damaged. I can't fly home in this state.”

„Maybe that's better. You would draw attention to yourself, and you are supposed to be dead”, he admitted and sighed quietly. „You will stay here for a while. This is a really good hiding place”, he added and started to wonder how to convince everyone that Lucifer is truly dead. He started massaging his temples in concentration.

„Maybe he’s right, maybe I am completely insane. Why am I doing this to myself again?” he thought, glancing at Lucifer. He had no idea. He just believed that’s a correct thing to do.

“How many people do you consider friends?” Lucifer asked suddenly.

“Five. Let’s be fair, I don’t really care about the rest of Hell, but specifically those 5 people are close to me”.

“I see”, Lucifer hummed. “Well, I don’t, but I understand”, he said and started plucking some loose feathers from his wings. Those big, nice ones.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

He put one of them behind Alastor’s ear.

„Make sure your companions wear them as trophies of their todays victory. I can't promise you I won't kill anyone ever again, but I can at least try avoid hurting those who you consider friends. If I smell my own feather on them, I will know who they are.”

“Oh, that’s clever”, Alastor admitted, taking the rest of the feathers and putting them to the side. They were splattered with angelic blood. They looked truly spectacular. “How about I tell them I killed you, but that you were standing on the edge of a lava lake, and your body fell into it and those feathers are all I managed to pick up on my way back? At least they won't look for the body”, Alastor said finally.

“You know… at this point, I don’t see why they wouldn’t believe you. No monster, no problem, right?” Lucifer chuckled. “Wait, I have an idea! Cover your ears.”

Alastor raised his eyebrows but quickly did as he was told.

The deafening roar of pain teared through the whole Hell.

Alastor covered his ears as best he could, but the roar almost deafened him. He looked at Lucifer a little uncertainly. „…talk about realism. Well, now I'm going to take my leave. I need to tell them that you're gone”, he said, collecting feathers and a spear.

Lucifer stretched. “Alrighty. I’m going to find a cozy little nook and take a nap in there.”

„Alright. Goodnight then, your Highness.”

“Goodnight, Little Birdy.”

Chapter Text

Alastor slowly returned to their camp. As he was walking, he had another idea.

“I came out unscathed after a fight with a beast of such power? That’s very unlikely”, he thought and looked at his own claws. He dug them into his arm and scratched himself very hard, to drawing blood and tearing his coat open. “There. That should do the trick.”

The trail of blood that Lucifer had left behind him smelled truly intoxicating. It was easy to follow it back to the place where Lucifer landed, and then find his friends by the sound of friendly chatter.

He entered their hideout and looked at everyone with a calm expression.

„It is done”, he spoke with great gusto and made a dramatic pause. “Ladies an gentlemen, the devil is dead.”

Then, he told them a full of suspense tale about tracking the beast back to its cave, then of heroic battle between the two of them, during which he got scratched and whipped by his powerful tail, and finally about Lucifer’s ultimate demise in the lava pit. Everyone listened with great interest.

„I picked those on my way back. I thought they could make for great trophies. To show everyone who got rid of this monster”, Alastor handed each of them a feather, hoping that they bought his story.

„Holy shit...” Angel took a big feather and investigated it in awe. „Guys. We have killed Lucifer!” he yelled. Everyone flinched a little at the sound of his name. „What? He's dead, we don’t need to watch our tongues anymore”, he shrugged his arms and put his feather in his hair. „It would look dope on your hat Tino.”

Valentino agreed, watching it with a wide grin.

Husk just took his and gently placed it among all of his other feathers.

Vox slowly twirled the feather in his hand, and finally tied it to his antenna.

Vaggie looked at the feather, still a little shocked. They made it. It was unimaginable. Alastor walked up to her and placed a feather in her hair.

„It's also your victory. Enjoy it”, he admitted and looked at his arm. Damn, he really went to town on it, huh? He should patch it up.

Vaggie looked at him carefully. He didn't even think that the golden blood on his clothes and in his hair made his story even more true.

“Dude, you need to take a bath”, Vaggie chuckled. “You look like a Golden trophy yourself.”

He looked at himself.

“Oh. I didn’t even notice, but you are correct”, he admitted, amused. “Is there such luxury in Hell?”

There were a few sources of water in Hell. The nearest one was a giant, bottomless lake with clean, dark water. Sounds promising? Well, unfortunately, there has been a rumor that there are giant, eldritch monsters at the bottom, and so far nobody was willing to risk it and verify that information. But the sole thought of swimming in the lake made people’s minds slowly fill up with fear and anxiety…

That’s why Alastor remained on the shore, washing himself and his clothes. Angel helped him stitch up the sleeve and Vox build a simple clothes dryer. As Alastor’s clothes were drying, and his fur as well, he was laying on the ground in his underwear, a little further from the lake, thinking about what he have accomplished so far.

Meanwhile his companions were cheerfully playing volleyball with a ball they found in the trash and somehow fixed. Vox however seemed to be a little wary towards water, so he decided to keep away from that activity and sat down nearby  Alastor.

„I'm going to get some shuteye”, he leaned against a rock. “It’s been a while since I felt safe enough to do that”, he hummed. “Goodnight Al.”

“Goodnight, Vox”, Al replied and looked at the sky.

Vox turned his screen off and crossed his arms on his chest.

After a while however, Alastor noticed that the rest of the pack started gathering around their TV friend. They sat down in a circle around Vox.

„Psst... Al...” Angel whispered. „Come ‘ere... you need to see this”, he waved his arm at him.

Al looked at them confused. What’s happening? He slowly moved closer and took a seat next to Angel.

„Watch what happens when Vox goes to sleep”, Vaggie gently reached towards the screen and pressed the button that turns the screen on.

And inside, there was a... movie?

The star of that movie was Vox. His screen was intense blue color. He looked very sad. On the other side of the screen, there was another Vox with a bright red screen an angry expression. They were standing in an empty room, illuminated by both blue and red lights. And in the background was playing a very dramatic music.

“We shouldn't have done that”, said Blue Vox with digital tears flowing on his face. “We shouldn't have killed our King! Now we are sure to bring Heaven's wrath upon ourselves”, he said dramatically.

Red Vox slapped him on the face, and the Blue guy let out a very embarrassing sound.

“You are just saying that because he gave you a boner!” he growled. “Grow up ya virgin!”

“That's not it, I swear!” cried Blue.

“Wouldn’t be the first time, you pervert”, Red slapped him again.

“Don't treat it too seriously”, Vaggie whispered towards Alastor. „His dreams usually don't have much sense. But they are pretty entertaining to watch”, she chuckled.

“Just like real television then”, Alastor hummed.

„We call it Inner life of Vox” Angel waved his hand dramatically. „I used to keep a book that contained all the episodes we've seen so far. But... we had to stop doing that”, he whispered an saddened a little. “They were too loud and… someone got hurt.”

„Shhh...” Valentino shushed him. „Maybe they will start making out again”, he was probably the most invested in the show.

Angel leaned towards Al and whispered. „Sometimes there are other people there... but they are all being played by Vox” he chuckled.

And right on cue, Vox-Lucifer appeared on the screen.

„I liveeee!”

„AAAAAH!” both Voxes screamed in fear, hugging each other,

And the team had to try very hard to stifle their laughter at the image.

It was dumb. It was incredibly dumb… and yet, there was something so compelling about it that Alastor couldn't tear himself away. He had to admit it was fun. Especially in a place like this, where there isn’t much to enjoy. It was also pretty informative. He learned that Vox had a long lasting battle against himself and his sexual drive towards both Valentino and Angel (those two seemed to know about it as well – and they genuinely loved it).

The show continued for a while until Vox started to wake up. And suddenly everyone turned around and started pretending they were doing something else. As if they hadn't been staring at his face for the last hour. Alastor also stood up and started putting on his now dry clothes.

He was surprisingly okay with everyone seeing him almost naked. At first it was uncomfortable, but then he saw everyone’s naked asses and the whole tension jut disappeared. Honestly nobody cared that much anymore. They were all freaks in Hell after all, they have been freed from the shame of the First Man.

They've spent some relaxing time near the water, and when they were all well rested, Vox started to work on his new project. He had a lot of ideas how to fix this place.

„We could clean up the metal here, and then melt it in a furnace near the lake of lava. But it's better not to build anything wooden over there…”

His first step to making a better place for them to live in… was building a house. A nice house for all six of them. Because even if they don't have to be together anymore, they went through so much that it would be impossible to separate now. Besides, there wasn’t really anywhere else to go yet.

„That’s such a good idea. I'm tired of sleeping on the ground”, Tino said, stretching intensely, arching his back so far that something popped satisfyingly. He massaged the spot. “It would be nice to have a place where you can sleep in peace.”

“Yeah. Sleep and not only that, right?” Angel walked over to Valentino and started massaging his sore spot. “All in all, some privacy might be good”, he traced his back with his finger and Valentino purred, pleased with the sensation.

Vox looked at them and his screen slowly turned bright pink.

“I’m going to note down your suggestions”, he walked away. Totally not having a boner.

Angel and Tino looked at each other knowingly.

And so they agreed to build a house for themselves. Together.

Vaggie was a little distracted. Sometimes she glanced in the direction of the scythe they found while looking for the Monster. They didn't know what to do with it, so... they kept it. Maybe it will prove useful one day, or maybe it will be just another keepsake, like feathers.

„Who knows, maybe if we try hard enough, we could start canalization system using the lake... anything is possible. He have more than enough material to work with”, Vox looked at the pile of trash almost proud.

Alastor of course helped with the construction. There was a lot of work to do and Vox still was coming up with new tasks. He had no idea how much time went from the moment he said he will meet the devil again...

The devil, whose name he learned was Lucifer.

He should probably go and check on him.

“I’m taking a day off. I need to be alone for a while”, Al said, putting his jacket back on. Angel has repaired it nicely for him. „I'll try to come back soon”, he said before leaving their small camp.

“Okay buddy, have fun”, Vox waved his arm at him.

That was easy.

It wasn't that hard to find the hideout. The golden splatters of blood never disappeared from the walls, and it looked almost eerie when you knew what were you looking at.

Before entering his lair, he started playing a melody quietly to let him know that it was just him, and that he was nearby. And then he went inside, not really knowing what to expect.

He looked around. The body of that one unlucky sinner has disappeared somewhere mysteriously. He stood there for a while, playing the melody and waiting for the monster he has befriended.

For a long time nothing happened. Alastor started getting a little nervous, thinking that maybe Lucifer escaped somewhere, or maybe he died for real.

Suddenly, he felt someone’s hands on his waist... and then on his left wrist. He slowly turned his head and looked at the culprit. Oh, thank lord it’s just Lucifer.

…

Wait actually, no. Because Alastor has just remembered that he was bleeding from his left arm not that long ago and now he got a little nervous, because Lucifer started slipping his tongue against Alastor's sleeve.

„You are hurt”, the Devil whispered. „What happened?” he asked with something resembling concern, but was also a little distracted by the smell of blood on his arm. His tongue tickled the barely uncovered skin of his wrist, brushing it gently with those two split ends.

Alastor hated to admit it, but it was terrifying and exciting at the same time.

„The official version is that YOU happened”, he said quietly, but without removing his hand. He was a little afraid that if he did that, he might’ve lost his whole arm. “But the truth is, I did it myself to make our story even more believable. And it worked! Everyone believes that you are dead… Lucifer.”

Lucifer’s hand tensed visibly on his wrist, and his eyes darted directly at Alastor's face. He retracted his tongue making a serious expression. Alastor could swear he heard a scratching sound of a record player. For a long moment Lucifer was silent, and the upbeat jazz melody played by Alastor only added a sense of dread to the scene.

“What... did you just call me?” he asked quietly and moved swiftly in front of him. He waved his finger towards him, inviting him down. “Don't be scared... say it.”

How was he supposed to not be scared? He felt like he’s about to die! Well, it would be rude to refuse a direct order from his king. He leaned towards him and looked at his face for a moment. The anticipation on his face was truly adorable.

“Lucifer”, he finally said.

There was a really unsettling emotion showing on Lucifer's face. He slowly touched Alastor's face and tangled his fingers into his hair.

“Again…” his tail long tail started whipping behind him. He seemed pleased.

Alastor gently placed his hands on Lucifer’s face.

“Lucifer”, he spoke softly, caressing his cheeks. Lucifer smiled.

“Do you have any idea how long it's been since I've heard my own name?” a short laugh escaped his mouth.

“Well, if you’re going to be weird about it, I guess I won’t call you that anymore”, Alastor said, feeling a little uncomfortable with his face so close to Lucifer’s.

“No- wait…” he moved away from him. “I like it! Sorry…” he cleared his throat. “Anyway, come in, come in... Welcome to my temporary hideout! I have mapped this whole area while you were gone. However, it would’ve been MUCH easier with my scythe...” he clapped his hands. “SO. What happened to it?” he smiled in anticipation.

„Ahhh. Yes, your scythe. Yes, yes, we have found it… Which is precisely why I can't return it to you”, he said a little uncertainly, while Lucifer’s expression immediately dropped from hopeful to annoyed. “But! Along the way, I found a suitable replacement, since I figured it could be an issue”, he assured him and reached inside his coat. He took out one of those foldable canes for blind people, and gently placed it in his hand. ”It's a special cane that blind people use on Earth.”

Lucifer started investigating the shape, slowly figuring out on his own how to unfold it. He checked its full length, its shape, texture... it was quite nice honestly. Nicer than a scythe.

“Can you tell me a little more about blind people on Earth?” Lucifer asked. “Maybe we could apply that to my situation as well”, he started tapping the cane around.

“Let’s see… The first thing that comes to mind is a guide dog. A dog especially trained to help a blind person move around an unfamiliar are.”

„Ah… So that's your role then?”

Alastor deflated like a balloon.

„That’s not how I would phrase it. I have a different role! My goal is to show you that that you can also enjoy life without sight… and also without mauling people”, he said and let him look at the cane in peace. “After that we can think about getting your powers back.”

“Well, it’s worth a shot”, Lucifer used his cane to walk around his new, provisory lair. Alastor followed him curiously.

„Also, we are building a house... for our little group. So we wouldn't have to sleep in a mountain of garbage anymore. So I thought that after we're done, maybe I could try building you a small cottage, too”, he suggested. “You know, in a nice, secluded area… or maybe if you become a little more socialized, you can live among humans?”

Lucifer glanced at him.

”Thanks for the offer, but I have my cave. It's quite cozy on the inside, you would be surprised”, he touched the wall with the cane, and then placed his hand on it. „Maybe I will take you there one day. For now, I have found a nice a hole in he ground in which I've been sleeping”, he walked over to show him. When he found the spot, he gestured at it dramatically. „Ta-dah! See? Totally incognito! And-and I cover myself with this junk over there, so I’m totally undetectable. Look!” he said excitedly and entered his hole.

As you can imagine, it didn't quite cover him… at all. His horns were sticking out, his wings... let’s just say he was fully visible.

Alastor shook his head, a little amused.

„A really good idea, but quite poor execution. It needs some polishing. If you don't want a cabin, we can try to make this cave of yours even cozier”, he said. He approached him and begun to build a nice sleeping area for him, where he was finally completely covered and also had something resembling a pillow and a blanket. While looking for suitable materials, Alastor not only managed to dig out a whole ass couch from the rubble, but also a radio.

“Hm. Doesn't seem to work. But I think I can fix it”, he said.

“May I take a look?” Lucifer said and reached his grabby hands. Alastor rolled his eyes and handed the item to Lucifer.

”Be careful, it's delicate.”

„What even is this?” the demon asked, touching the radio carefully, pressing it against his ear, smelling it with his tongue.

„This is a radio. On Earth it was used to listen to various broadcasts, often including music. When I was still alive, I worked on one of such broadcasts. I had my own show even! My voice could be heard throughout the entire state, all thanks to this device”, he said with pride, almost as if he was the inventor of that thing.

„OH! Is this how you make music for me?” he asked with excitement.

The way he phrased it... it was so... innocent. Alastor played music for him. Not to annoy him. Not to spite him. But as a gift. Alastor felt his heart tighten a little. He looked away and cleared his throat.

„Kind of. It's a bit complicated”, he admitted, scratching his neck.

“It’s okay. We have time”, Lucifer climbed onto the couch, curled his tail around himself and rested his chin on his knees.

Alastor took a seat in front of him and told him about the way he discovered his abilities and how they actually work.

„And that's why you were never able to hit me. But to be fair, if this was my actual, physical body, you would’ve hit me every single time”, Alastor admitted.

„It's fine... I shouldn't have done that anyway”, Lucifer started tracing a thread pattern on the couch with his claw. “I would be sad if the music stopped playing suddenly... And yet, I couldn’t stop myself. I felt like you were mocking me... and it irritated me. You have no idea how much I hated you for that. I was ready to rip you limb from limb...” he sighed. “…but the music was nice, not gonna lie”, he looked down and caressed the radio he was still holding.

“Duly noted”, Alastor sweated a little.

„Maybe we should disassemble it and see what's inside? We could see what's broken.”

„That's a good idea. I was going to do it in my own spare time, but if you want to help, I can’t see why not”, he said with a smirk.

“I can’t see either”, Lucifer said and started laughing at his own joke.

Alastor groaned quietly. “Okay, I fell into that one.”

They sat on the ground and started disassembling the radio to see what was inside and how to fix it. Alastor passed each part to Lucifer and described what it is and what does it supposed to do.

Lucifer touched every piece, examining it carefully with his fingers and sometimes with his tongue.

„I used to do that to sinners I’ve slayed. It got boring pretty fast”, he commented suddenly.

Alastor needed a moment to process this information and picture it in his mind.

„Ah”, was all he could say. “I kind of did that to people on Earth, but I don’t think our motives were quite the same.”

In the end, they finally located the broken part.

„This one smells burnt”, Lucifer commented.

„Good catch, Your Majesty. Without it, the radio will not be able to play. Even with my skills”, Alastor looked at the part. ”I'll have to look for another radio and hope to find this part intact. I just don't know how long it will take.”

„I will keep searching around here. Maybe I will find stumble upon it”, Lucifer shrugged. “I rarely find some stuff that still works. But I found a fiddle in quite good state. I couldn’t find a bow, so I made my own”.

Alastor raise his eyebrows.

„That’s an impressive quality of sound for a homemade bow”, Alastor complimented him. “Really, it was something beautiful. How did you learn how to play?”

Lucifer snorted quietly.

“Oh, you sweet summer child. I have been the one who taught humans how to play.”

Alastor blinked in surprise. “Oh.”

„I play anything I get my hands on, honestly. My cave is full of instruments. How about you? Do you know these songs, or do you make them up on the fly?”

„I know them. I’m not that talented. Sometimes I played them on my shows, sometimes I’ve heard them on the streets of New Orleans. Most of them are written by world-famous Jazz musicians”, he admitted.

„Oooh, that makes sense” he stood up. „And how are your dancing skills? Can you put on something for dancing? I feel like dancing...” he made his way to the open space and spread his wings.

Alastor switched the song and watched Lucifer’s improvised dance.

It was something absolutely indescribable: watching a blind person dance. A person who likely has never seen someone dance to this song before. He just does what he feels he should do at the moment. It's a wonderful piece of art to behold. His hooves, his tail, even his wings were dancing.

Alastor watched him, entranced and delighted. He has never seen anyone dance like that before.

After the song was over, he slowly walked up to him. The music changed to a slightly calmer one and Alastor carefully grabbed Lucifer’s hands. He started leading.

„Hmmm, what's this? How bold of you, Mr. Birdy”, he chuckled, but let him lead, mimicking his movements as best as he could. And after a while, he let himself get carried away by the song. He started singing along. His voice was truly angelic. Warm and sweet, but also there was some depth to it, that make Alastor feel like he's drowning in a pool of honey. It perfectly complemented the melody and dance. At one point, Alastor slghtly tipped him back and pulled him tightly against him. Lucifer landed face first in his chest and found it extremely soft. Like a pillow or fur.

That honestly surprised him so much that he stopped singing or dancing, and he started patting his chest with newfound curiosity.

“Hm?” Alastor looked at him with a questioning look on his face.

 „I'm sorry, I was not aware you had such… voluptuous cleavage. It took me off guard”, he chuckled. „Also, you are much, much taller than I imagined you to be, little birdie.”

It's good that Lucifer didn't see how Alastor blushed at that moment.

„Why did you have to put it like that”, he cleared his throat. Well... I'm tall, I can't hide it. Also, where did you get that little birdy  from? My name is Alastor. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, your highness”, he added and swirled him around in a pirouette.

Lucifer folded his wings tightly, so that he wouldn't hit him with them. (He seemed to be unable to hide them. His shape shifting powers were... as you could say "rusty". It was one of the things he forgot how to do, so now he is stuck in the form he's in right now.)

“What do you mean where? You are a little birdy that sings to me, Alastor”, he chuckled while spinning, standing on the very tippy toes of his hooves. Alastor couldn’t help but chuckle.

Finally the melody ended and so did their little dance.

„I hope you had fun”, Alastor smiled.

„Did I? That was the most fun I’ve ever had!” he admitted and wrapped his arms around his waist, putting his chin on his fluffy chest again. „You should teach me more dances like that”, he beamed at him with the radiance of thousand suns, wagging his tail very pleased.

So Alastor naturally stroke his head. Lucifer may or may have not put his tongue out, enjoying the affection so much.

„Of course I'll teach you. That’s why you have me”.

Chapter Text

After a while, Alastor decided it's time for him to go back to his team. After all, they need his irreplicable expertise… and his background music for work. Lucifer let him. Because now he was certain he will come back eventually.

“I'll be back soon, I promise. In the meantime, let’s both keep an eye out for that radio part”, he said, stroking Lucifer’s head, making his tongue come out happily.

Alastor decided he should take the burnt part and show it to Vox. Maybe he already has it lying around somewhere. He slowly returned to the camp, feeling strangely light and cheerful.

It was kind of weird seeing Alastor in such great mood, but nobody complained. It was refreshing.

Vox didn't see anything suspicious about Alastor’s request either.

„But don't you need a radio tower to broadcast something?” Vox asked with concern.

„That’s correct. However, I want to see if I can do just as well with my powers alone. This is going to be my test device”, he explained. “I guess I just wanted to remember the times when I worked in the radio station”, he smiled all dreamy. “All I need is just that one part”, he fluttered his eyelashes at him, very innocently. “Will you help out or not?”

„I mean, sure...” Vox shrugged his arms. „I will keep my eyes out while looking for some parts later”, he agreed and went back to work.

Alastor had no idea how much that request would bite him in the ass later.

Alastor had the situation under full control. He was visiting Lucifer… pretty regularly, considering he doesn’t have a working watch. The house was getting built steadily, and none of his friends suspected anything.

Vox also liked to take regular trips outside of their camp, looking for some high quality trash and other useful materials. He was dragging his trusty wagon behind him, gradually venturing further and further from the construction site, until he found himself in an unfamiliar place.

He looked at the old, darkened streaks of golden blood, painting the walls of the trash labyrinth. He swallowed his saliva a little nervously. This must’ve been the place that Vaggie and Alator were talking about.

The place where Alastor was chasing Lucifer, right? And the blood stayed behind as a reminder of that day.

He wondered

if maybe

something else has stayed behind too...

He slowly ventured deep within the labyrinth. He’s never been there before. Which means, it has potential for some good, untouched parts.

But for some reason, he had hard time focusing on the parts. He was too busy looking at the golden streaks of blood, thinking about that day.

His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of music.

He stopped and listened.

Not only he heard music, but also he heard Alastor's laughter, and… another voice, familiar, yet so alien to him at the same time. He gently put the handle of his wagon on the ground and on his tippy toes he carefully approached closer to the sounds.

Slowly he peeked his screen from behind the wall and looked at the most bizarre look. Something he couldn’t have imagined in his deepest dreams.

Lucifer was alive. He was very alive! He was laughing and chatting with Alastor, resting his adorable little hooves on Alastor’s lap while lounging with him on a sofa.

„I really don't think you should’ve done that!” Lucifer spoke, resting his head on his arm casually.

“Why not? It’s not like anyone saw me doing it”, Alastor said with full confidence.

Vox felt like he was watching something he shouldn’t have. He slowly backed off, hoping that maybe if he’s very quiet, they won’t notice he’s here.

And while he was walking backwards,

he stumbled into his empty wagon

and fell ass first inside it.

Alastor’s ear twitched and Lucifer immediately tensed up. Before Alastor managed to react, Lucifer was already running at full speed at the source of sound.

Vox heard rapid footsteps and quickly picked himself up, and started running away, leaving his cart behind, hoping maybe the devil will stumble upon it and it will buy him some time.

But it was futile. Lucifer jumped at him from the air and pressed him to the ground, growling, ready to bite his head off, but then

he smelled something familiar.

„Oh. You have my feather”, he IMMEDIATELY stopped growling. He tickled him with his tongue  again, and some electricity shocked his tongue in a very familiar way. “Wait just a darn minute!” he pressed his ear to the box. “You are buzzing!”

“U-Uh huh???” Vox vas trembling a bit.

Lucifer grabbed his legs and started dragging him back into his lair. “AL! THE LITTLE BOX IS BACK!”

Vox dug his nails into the ground, but it didn’t help at all to slow Lucifer down.

Alastor finally caught up to them, panting. He was really running as fast as he could, but Lucifer even with damaged wings was faster than him.

„Your highness, please let go of his ankles. He's a friend”, Al said visibly embarrassed, placing his hand on temple.

“I know he is! He has the feather”, Lucifer said excitedly whipping his tail behind his back.

Alastor groaned, feeling like he’s going to have a headache. He approached Vox and helped him get up from the ground.

„Your highness… Please meet Vox, aka Voxxy, aka Little Box. Vox, please meet His Highness, aka Lucifer, aka The Devil.”

There was a long pause after that, broken only by buzzing of Vox’s screen, that was getting gradually louder. He had a very peculiar expression. He looked like he was trying his best not to explode in a second. He took a deep breath. And then another. It was not helping at all.

„Alastor. With all due respect-what THE FUCK?!” he yelled. “What were you thinking-?!” his yelling was uncomfortable, so Lucifer gently grabbed his knob and slowly turned it down, so he wasn't so damn loud (so imagine Vox yelling at the volume of 2 instead of 20). „I mean, not killing him is an issue, sure, but not as much as the fact that you LIED straight to our faces about it! The lake of lava my ass!” he pulled his feather out of his antenna. „And this shit? What was that for? To make us look like idiots?”

„So you can survive, idiot!” Alastor replied with annoyance. “Lucifer promised me that anyone with his feather on them is safe. And that he won't cause any problems as long as I visit him. I have never put you in any danger. Tell me, has anything bad happened since I told you he was dead? No! Because Lucifer has been sitting here nicely and not bothering anyone.”

“But why would you keep that a secret for fuck sake?! We put trust in you, and you spit on that trust”, Vox put his hands on his head, feeling extremely frustrated.

“I was going to tell you eventually”, Alastor’s expression softened. “I swear I was. Listen Vox. I'm probably the only person in that group who saw him as more than just a monster. Because I’ve put some effort into knowing him.”

„God fucking damn it, that was something we could have discussed BEFORE the whole killing him bit!!”

“You wouldn’t take me seriously then! You could have now!” Alastor protested.

“Well, guess what. Not anymore, dipshit!” Vox dragged his fingers across his screen. “Use your pea brain for one second, won’t you? What if you WEREN'T here right now, as I have stumbled upon this murder machine? Or worse, what if I lost this stupid feather and didn't even notice? It could have happen to anyone of us, and what? He would gladly rip us apart without asking twice. I have-AAAAAAAAAAAA! I have no words for you right now. I trusted you Alastor”, he looked genuinely hurt.

After he was silent for a bit, Lucifer gently turned his volume back on.

„Thanks”, Vox grumbled.

„Are you feeling better? Did you scream it all out, little boxy?” Lucifer gently stroked the side of his head.

„...yeah. I guess”, Vox said and looked at the Devil a little taken off guard. „Don't you little boxy me now, you... you... friend murderer. I'm mad at you both”

„I’m aware”, Alastor sighed. “I’m really sorry Vox. I didn’t want you to find out this way”, he looked away for a second. After a pause, he asked the most important question. „Will you tell them?”

Vox felt a little sting in his heart at his tone. But he knew the answer.

“I have to.”

Alastor paled. He brushed his hands through his hair. His ears laid down flat on his head.

“…how about… I will look for another hiding place with Lucifer?” he looked Vox deep into his eyes. He’s going to bargain. “I will leave your camp and will never come back. And you  have my word that Lucifer will not hurt any of  you… but I’m begging you, don't tell the others that he is alive”, he whispered.

Vox sighed deeply and looked at Lucifer, who looked a little confused, not knowing what to say. He just placed his hand on Alastor’s back.

“Al… We should tell them”, Vox said softly. “The lie can only live for so long, before someone stops wearing that feather, and you will need to think of another lie to justify it. Or, before Husk flies over your head and sees you two. There are simply too much things that can go wrong. But if you tell them on your own, there is still a slight chance that they will forgive you that lie. Vaggie isn’t an evil person, she will definitely at least listen to your side of the story. In fact, I think that she’s been feeling guilty ever since we “killed” him. She cleans his scythe a lot.”

“Daww....” Lucifer quietly let out.

“I really doubt they will forgive me”, Alastor grumbled and sighed heavily. “We are not ready to tell them. Not yet. I mean, remember his reaction a minute ago? He’s not ready for a presentation. Please Vox, do not tell them anything for now. I'll tell them, I promise... Just give us some more time”, he covered his face with his hands. He was really panicking in this moment. He felt control over the situation slip between his fingers.

Lucifer felt Alastor's body shake a little. He slowly moved closer, wrapped his arms around his waist and hugged his back.

And at that moment Vox knew what’s going on. Even before those two really knew. He dragged his hand across his screen (making a funny, squeaking noise), and sighed deeply.

„Fiiiiine. But just so you know, I'm really not great at keeping secrets. Also, you owe me a big favor”, he took the feather back and tied it in its place. “Deal?” he reached his hand to Alastor.

“Deal”, Alastor quickly shook his hand.

Al smiled at him a little sadly. He didn't want all their progress to go to waste, and even though Vox agreed, he still felt a little uneasy.

“Thank you Vox. I’m ready whenever you need my assistance”, he said, looking at him with slightly tired smile. He glanced at Lucifer under his arm. “What are you doing there, silly?” he joked, and Lucifer showed him his tongue in a teasing manner.

Yup, there is definitely chemistry between them.

Vox would lie if he said he wasn't a little jealous.

„I have nothing for you right now. But I will let you know if I come up with anything. See you at home”, he took his cart and left, feeling really conflicted right now. Keeping secrets from his friends is the thing he hated doing the most.

Unfortunately, he hated disappointing them even more than that. And unfortunately, he became quite attached to Alastor. He felt connection with him.

“Oh Voxxy~ Where have you been? We were waiting for you with a surprise”, Valentino said excitedly. “Look what we have managed to pull out of the garbage”, he said presenting to him a cell phone. It was in surprisingly good condition, still had intact screen and most buttons worked. He knew Vox would be happy to see such a find.

And yet. Vox only looked at the phone with a tired expression, and then raised his eyes at Valentino for just a second. He had guilt all over his face.

„I will take a look at it later. I need to lay down”, he waved his hand and dragged his almost empty cart with him to the little corner he usually slept in. Much to everyone's disappointment, he decided to sleep with his face to the ground.

„Oh”, Tino let out quietly, seeing that they won’t be able to catch any new episodes today. Also, he felt concerned with Vox’s mental state. He placed the phone in a safe spot and sighed quietly.

„What’s gotten into him?” Angel asked, pulling a cigarette out of a pack that they found in the trash. They've found a ton of them over the time together, but they never were able to smoke them – of fear that the Devil would sniff them out. Now they were able to overcompensate.

“I have no idea. He was normal when he was leaving”, Val shrugged. “Something must have happened. We will ask him after the nap”, he said and glanced at Angel. “Oh, I want one too”, Tino said excitedly and approached Angel.

Angel passed him the box without hesitation. He clicked his lighter and when Valentino moved closer to him, he lit both cigarettes at once. For a second their faces were really close to each other.

“Vox would’ve loved to see this”, Angel chuckled. Val took a drag of the cigarette and exhaled, blowing thick, red smoke out of his mouth.

“His loss. Fuck, I missed it so badly”, he admitted.

Breathing in Valentino's smoke didn’t seem to be more harmful than smoking regular weed, although it made you a little more… cuddly. Something about his saliva was different, which Angel discovered after making out with him, but they weren’t really able to figure out why and how would it be useful in Hell. A real mystery.

So, for now they used Valentino as their bong.

“Don't waste the good stuff, sweet cheeks”, Angel chuckled and caressed his cheek. “Maybe Vox would loosen up a bit if he joined us.”

“I can always smoke another one when he gets up. For now let him nap”, Val purred and slowly laid down on the blanket in the other corner, giving Vox some space. He grabbed Angel and pulled him into his arms.

They were into each other since the very beginning, but as you can imagine it's pretty hard to fuck while being completely silent, so there wasn't much action going on in their little camp. Now that Lucifer is gone, they would occasionally sneak out and have a quicky, but there was always some random guy who ruined the mood.

“Can't wait for that house to be ready. It will be dope to have my own room, and some god damn privacy, if you know what I mean” Angel wiggled his eyebrows.

“Same here, baby”, Val muttered, brushing Angel’s hair with his fingers. “Be patient for me, okay?” he gently blew smoke into his face, and Angel took a deep breath. He lied down his head on Valetnino’s chest and stretched, looking at him from below.

“At my place or at yours first?” asked Tino.

“Depends which one will be bigger” Angel chuckled. “Honestly I hope yours. You are such a big guy, you need your space”, he started playing with his fingers.

Vaggie came back with some wood and she immediately saw two gays cuddling in the corner, and a third one pathetically laying face down in the other corner.

“Another casual day in Hell”, she sighed and went to put the wood in the designated space.

„Oh, relax a little. We did everything we were supposed to. Voxxy didn’t tell us what to do next, then decided not to give us a new episode, and sweet Angel and I were simply bored. We needed some relaxation”, Tino said and blew smoke at her. ”Relax, Angelito.”

„Didn't ask... but I appreciate your honesty... no, don't blow it at me”, she waved her hand in front of her face. “I don't wanna be high out of my mind.”

„Why not?” asked Angel.

…

Honestly she couldn't think of any good reason. She looked at Vox, and then at the boys.

After a minute, she was laying on the blanket with them, with her head resting on Valentino's fluffy collar.

“Okay, I have to admit… this is kind of nice.”

“Told you”, Val started petting her head gently, playing with her hair. “A moment of relaxation never hurt anyone, and I can’t think of another person who deserves it more than you, Corazón”, he said and blew another portion of smoke into her face. She shivered, but she didn’t protest.

Husk came back to the camp. He looked at the pile.

“Hell yeah”, he dropped everything and immediately joined them, and in a very cat-like behavior he settled directly on top of Angel, making him laugh.

Alastor returned soon after, and similarly to Vox, not in his usual good mood. He had a lot to think about..

…and yet…

The sight of that pile made him stop in his tracks, and for a brief seconds, all his thoughts paused as well. He tilted his head questioningly.

“Do I want to know what’s going on?” he said hesitantly. Husk looked at him with one eye, purring loudly. Angel started scratching his chin.

“Dawww, kitty”, Angel whispered. “Come ‘ere Alastor. Something tells me you need this.”

Al looked at Husk’s tail, whipping lazily to the sides, and then at Vaggie that was playing with Valentino’s collar fluff. She seemed fine...? He debated himself for a moment.

„Fine. Just for a minute”, he sighed and sat down next to Vaggie. He was just about to ask what are they even doing when Tino blew red smoke into his face, and after he coughed a little, he felt calming effects of the smoke. His ear twitched and he blinked in surprise. He laid down on the edge of the blanket, looking at the sky.

Just a moment ago, he had a lot to think about, and yet… he couldn’t remember what was stressing him out so much.

After about 10 cigarettes, Vox has finally concluded his nap, only to find the whole team high as kites. He didn't even say anything. He just walked over to them and sat next to Vaggie.

“How long have you been at this?” he asked.

“……….yes”, she muttered.

“Long enough I reckon”, he sighed.

Husk was completely lost to them. He slept with his face in Angel’s chest fluff, his tail covering Valentino and reaching Vaggie as well. Tino smiled at Vox.

“Your turn, Voxxy. Come to Papi, let me take your worries away for a second”.

Vox sighed and started climbing on top of Valentino. The moth man used his last free hand and pulled Vox closer, so that his face would be in front of him.

“Mi linda lucecita… Open your mouth for me”, he whispered.

Vox’s screen turned bright pink. He opened his mouth obediently, and allowed Valentino to blow smoke directly into his mouth.

He swallowed everything like a good boy.

Angel  was watching that with awe. Honestly, he got a little excited. For some reason, after all that smoke, even his square face looked pretty cute.

Al glanced at Vox, smiling sweetly at him.

“How are you feeling, Voxxy?” he asked, and Vox turned his head towards him, but Tino didn't let him, turning his face back at him. His moth side always won when it came to Vox.

Vox didn’t try to fight it, resting his chin on Valentino’s fluff.

„It's... better, honestly. You know, my naps are a lot more relaxing when nobody turns on my fucking face every time I go to sleep, you degenerates”, he grumbled. He wasn’t sure why they were doing this, and they were too invested at this point to tell him. So instead, all of them just chuckled diabolically.

But... as annoying as it was, he loved his degenerate friends. He looked at Valentino and gently turned one of his knobs, to make his face a little brighter for him. After all, Valentino is the only one who cannot get high on the red smoke, so he's laying there sober. However, he seemed to really enjoy his brightness. He was his big, bright light in a world that’s always been dark and grim… and blurry.

Their high lasted about as long as Valentino needs to finish a pack of cigarettes, and then some more. They napped, and clarity returned to their heads.

“Honestly? I thought I will be hangover after that but it's quite the opposite”, Vaggie checked her head. “I feel great, guys... I feel... so energized and productive!”

“That's called being well rested, babe” Angel chuckled.

“…ah”, Vaggie blushed a little.

Val slowly raised from his spot, so Vox was currently sitting on his lap.

“Thanks sweetie for the light”, Val purred and kissed his forehead, feeling a little spark of electricity tickle his lips. He chuckled, watching Vox’s face turning pink again.

“Oh, yeah, s-sure! Whenever you want Tino... haha...” he looked away and quickly left his lap. „I am... going to check that... telephone you found! Great find by the way...” he left quickly, embarrassed by the way he reacted at Valentino.

Tino shook his head, amused. “Angel, honey, we need to take care of him”, he looked at his friend.

“Oh, we do, we do”, Angel nodded agreeably. “But I want to see him struggle a little longer”, he chuckled mischievously. „It's really cute.”

“Oh, you are so mean to him”, Valentino chuckled. “I agree though~”

“Hey, if you’re finished flirting, maybe we can finally put up another wall, huh?” Vaggie called out to them.

Alastor rose from the ground and stretched contentedly. It was a really good break, but now he felt like he needed to finally repair that cursed radio. And as he was thinking that, he noticed that Vox’s cart was full of broken radios. He glanced at him, and Vox returned the look. He sent him a slight smile and returned to disassembling a mobile phone.

Maybe his secret was safe after all.