Chapter Text
A woman lay lounging on a heavenly beach, soaking in the sun and the soothing sounds of the smooth shoreline. She paid very little mind to the soldier who had marched up to her and tossed a white ovaline ring stained with a dried mustard yellow at her feet. She knew what it meant, but her eyes did not widen beneath her thick sunglasses and no gleam of recognition showed through her passive features.
The plain blood-stained halo lay dully on the beach. What once was alight with holy energy now lusterless and drab. The relaxed woman couldn’t bring herself to feel anything more than apathy and slight disappointment.
“Adam is dead,” Lute said, “Your deal is done and I’m in charge now. Your brat is threatening the very foundation of Heaven, and if you want to stay here,” Lute leaned forward and pointed a commanding finger at her, “then you’re going down there and stopping that bitch. You understand, Lilith?”
The lounging woman tilted her head down and glared up at Lute through through her red-lined sunglasses. The absolute gall of a lowly exorcist to command the Queen of Hell, and to command her to raise a bad hand against her own daughter on top of that.
“You’re blocking my sun.” Lilith said dismissively, waving her away.
“Adam’s dead. I’m in charge now,” Lute reiterated, “Don’t you care?”
“You can’t threaten me. You couldn’t do a thing to me if you tried. We both know that that’s the truth.”
Lute grit her teeth and stormed off, knowing that at the moment it was all she could do. She left the halo behind as though it would burden Lilith’s heart. It didn’t. She wasn’t happy, but the reality of it didn’t hurt her either, not like it hurt Lute. In fact, Lilith had been so unaffected that she just left the halo there to sit.
It was a couple of weeks later, lounging in her usual spot by the beach and ignoring the exorcists’ nagging when she even remembered that the halo was there. With a few dull flashes against the sand, it made itself known to her once more.
Lilith watched with curiosity as the halo began to dimly glow yet again, unbeknownst to the heartbroken exorcist who had long since marched off.
The Queen of Hell felt the familiar stirrings of a contract renewed, an assurance along with it that she would not have to leave her eternal paradise after all. Graciously, she summoned a light purple chain in her hand and peered down as a circular visage opened up against the sand before her, allowing her a clear portal-like view of her soul contract.
A faint lavender-hued collar materialized around a sinner’s neck. However similar in appearance he was to another contract of hers, this was not a sinner she recognized. This was a newly formed creature, merely a small red deer demon with a starry robe who remained fast asleep against Hellish concrete. She tugged lightly on the chain, waiting for the little demon to wake up from the motion, but he never once stirred.
“Well, isn’t that something?” Lilith mused.
The first woman couldn’t help but let out a slight laugh. Of course, he remained unconscious. He always had been such a damned heavy sleeper.
She decided to grant a small mercy and let him rest until he awoke naturally. This was the best of both worlds, after all. She’d remain hands-off as long as he remained a non-threat to her daughter. Hopefully, the two wouldn’t even interact again. She shouldn’t have to balance so much down there when she was meant to be relaxing up here.
So she simply vanished the collar and chain and decided to let him be for now.
Adam awoke to unfamiliar sights and sounds. He was lying on a cold, hard surface, surrounded by warm, stale air. He tried to sit up, but his body seemed to ignore his commands. He slowly licked his tongue over the set of jagged teeth in his mouth. That was new.
With a start, the first man remembered his last moments. The failed attempt at an early Extermination. His closest companion crying for him.
It was then that his environment became less unfamiliar. He had been here thousands of times. The Pride Ring of Hell, Pentagram City, no less. The most concentrated area in all of Hell - perfect for slaughtering the sinners down here during the annual Extermination.
His mind was all there, he was clearly still him, but his body felt different in a way he couldn’t put into words.
Able to stand once more, Adam started moving immediately, walking past buildings and trying his hardest to find some destination while keeping a low profile. He passed by building after building, from clubs to casinos to restaurants. He trudged onwards, past a tailor’s and across the street.
He wasn’t sure what he was searching for. His first idea was to get to the Heaven Embassy, but no demon was batting an eye at him, and with the way his body felt… there was no doubt in his mind that he wasn’t in the correct form at all. If he attempted to just walk in and say “Hey, I’m Adam! There’s been a mistake and you’ve gotta change me back!” then he might as well just end up triple dead now. Regular sinners weren’t even allowed to come close to entering those hallowed halls.
No, he needed to go about this a bit more strategically.
He walked past rows and rows of television screens - who needed that many screens? - and some run-down antique store aptly labeled “Old Crap”. His eyes flickered to the date at the bottom of one of the News Channels. He’d been out for two weeks? Shit! Heaven probably thought he was dead! His exorcists… Poor Lute. His sons… fuck. Poor Seth. They must be totally freaked. He’d find a way back if it was the last thing he did.
The lights were out in the store next to the illuminating lights of the LCD screens besides it allowed the window to act as a mirror of some sort. Adam paused and stared wide-eyed at his reflection in the storefront.
He was a lot shorter now. In his angelic form, he was a large man who lowered over both his underlings and the loathsome sinners below alike. His heavenly presence commanded attention and respect. But now? He was around the same height as Lucifer of all people, maybe even a bit shorter and stouter. No one in Heaven or Hell would ever take him seriously like this.
His robe resembled that of a galaxy, black as the darkness of space but for the visage of white and yellow star clusters littering the areas that fell over his back and chest - the parts of his body where the psychopathic little housemaid stabbed him dead.
When he lifted the robe to check his torso for marks, his eyes were met with a ton of little red Xs scattered like scars in his fur in the places where the tiny cyclops thing had punctured. He didn’t need to check to know that his back was even worse.
The only part that even remotely still resembled him was his face. He had stark, pure yellow eyes against coarse black fur that covered most of his face in the shape of his old mask. He opened his mouth to examine a yellow tongue and yellow teeth as well, also mimicking that of his old exorcist mask. He barely took that thing off back in Heaven, so it was like gazing a bit into his true reflection still. His glowing yellow LED eyes felt just as real to him as his human-like ones with golden irises.
His ear flicked, which brought him to his next question: Why did he have animal ears now? His regular, human ears were gone, replaced with large, red, triangular ears that sat atop his head. Just in front of them sat a small pair of branched black antlers. When he reached up and felt them, they had a nice, soft, velvety texture.
What did this mean? What else had changed? Adam checked his hands. Pitch black like his old gloves, but still normal, apart from sharp yellow claws. He tried to wiggle his toes. He couldn’t. He could only just barely move the hooves that he was now acutely aware existed. His short little tail twitched in irritation under his starry robe. Wait, his tail?!
Then it clicked: A deer. He was a little deer demon. He looked like Bambi’s fucked up cousin.
Then it clicked again: Motherfucking ‘Alastor’, that cocksucking stupid little bitch. What was this? Eternal punishment forcing him to match the last mortal soul that he killed?
He supposed that was also why most of his body was the same overused color red that afflicted most sinners.
On the one bright side, there was almost no way that the sinners down here would recognize him as Adam. That would at least do him good not to get fucking shanked on sight.
With one last glare and flip of the bird aimed towards the antique store and directed at a solitary radio sitting atop a stool, Adam took off again.
This time, he knew where he had to go. He wasn’t going to make it a damn day on his own with these disgusting, ruthless sinners. His new form was far too weak and little. Plus, there was no way he was willing to scrape and claw his way into affording housing through some hellish job, or worse, selling his soul to one of the overlords.
Charlie’s hotel was an idiotic pipe dream that he himself had smashed to bits and intended to do so again once he recovered his old form. But it was also free food, shelter, and protection from the rest of Hell - and definitely rebuilt by now if that girl’s tenacity was anything to go off of. Best of all, he knew for a fact that she had a history of communicating with Heaven. The new plan was foolproof: next time she and Heaven made contact, he’d follow her and reveal himself then.
On his way to his destination, he walked past a donut shop. How did he never notice there was a donut shop right next to Charlie’s dumb hotel? Maybe he should rob some donuts on the way in to earn some goodwill? No, that was dumb. He’d totally be caught if he tried to rob anyone.
Luckily, the hotel really was intact once more as he had predicted. In fact, it was bigger and better than ever. That would’ve seriously pissed Adam off if it weren’t so convenient for him right now. He walked past a statue of some dragon thing that he vaguely remembers Lute killing and knocked on the front door. After a few tense moments of silence, the door swung right open.
“Salutations! Why, aren’t you a deer fellow? Ha ha ha!” Adam froze as the voice of a mirthful radio broadcaster resonated through his newly sensitive ears.
Oh, there was no fucking way. The fucking pussy ass radio deer thing that he was sure he murdered a couple of weeks back had manifested from the shadows before him, still wearing that unforgettable trademark shit-eating grin.
Adam forced back a growl of frustration. What a sick joke, being forced to look like the very last mortal soul he attempted to kill. His appearance was a mark of his failure, mocking him for all eternity. Or at least, an eternity until he found his loophole.
He’d play nice. Oh yes, he would play nice until he proved to Heaven that he deserved to be there; until he was regifted his previous perfect form; until he was free from these disgusting sinners; until he was reunited with Lute and could restart the Exterminations with newfound vengeance.
Next time, he would leave no survivors.
“Alastor!” The Radio Demon stuck out his hand, privy not to Adam’s true thoughts, “A pleasure to be meeting you! Quuuite the pleasure! Come right in!”
Adam took the hand and shook it. Alastor laughed, grabbed his hand, and yanked Adam inside the hotel.
The shorter deer demon stumbled on his feet but made no complaint. This was fine. Totally fine. So what if the larger, taller deer demon could probably beat him to a bloody pulp in their current forms? He had no idea who he was! Therefore, no motive to attack him! And even if he was way shorter than him now, Adam refused to be intimidated by a strawberry twink.
“And what should I be calling you, my dear deer?”
Shit! He should have thought of that earlier! He couldn’t say ‘Adam’, they’d chuck his sorry ass right out. Or worse: kill him again.
Think, think! He was a deer demon. His robe was covered in stars. Well, no one would question him if he gave a themed name. That’s what most sinners did, wasn’t it?
“Comet. It’s nice to meet you,” Adam’s tone was sickeningly pleasant.
Alastor’s pupils flickered into radio dials and microphone interference rang sharply in Adam’s ears for a moment, causing them to pull back in discomfort.
Almost as quickly as they came, the sound accompanying the Radio Demon had softened back to an easy static and his eyes blinked back to normal.
“Ah-ha! Sorry, about that. Your voice just caught me rather off guard! You sound a lot like someone I should have killed!” Alastor said, sounding ever so cheerful despite the fact that his grin had turned wary.
Adam chuckled nervously, “Well, we haven’t met before, so…”
“Yes, yes, pardon me! I have no animus with you, Comet. I’m certain I shall get used to hearing your dulcet tones soon enough should you plan on staying in this fine establishment!”
Adam nodded, starting to look around, “Where is everyone?”
And why was Alastor alone? Adam briefly glanced towards his chest before looking away again. Luckily, Alastor seemed nonethewiser. Could it be that he was still recovering from what he did to him?
“Hell’s royalty is visiting with some of the other Sins who I shan’t name, the other guest here is sleeping in, and our esteemed bartender… well, I believe he’s recovering from a hangover right now!” Alastor said laughingly, “But! I’m certain our delightful housemaid is around here somewhere! Shall I call her?”
“No, that’s fine.”
“Hmmm? You mean you don’t want to meet Niffty? Why-ever-not?” Alastor’s smile widened and he purposefully towered over Adam.
Why wouldn’t he want to meet Adam’s killer? He wasn’t stupid. This was a test.
“I just didn’t want to bother anyone. If she’s around and isn’t busy at all then I’d be happy to meet her,” Adam said.
Alastor eyed him suspiciously for a moment before shaking his head and chuckling to himself. The paranoia was a bad look. Adam wasn’t the first pitiful creature to have pure yellow eyes, nor did he own any particularly unique voice type. How could a fawn so polite possibly be that detestable angel?
“Oh no, you’ll be meeting her soon enough! How about I get you checked in while we wait for my co-host, hmm?”
“Sounds good!”
It wasn’t too long after Alastor had checked Comet in as a new patron and gathered his room key-cards that the sound of the front door opening interrupted their polite small talk.
“We’re back! Alastor, have you-” Charlie started before she, along with Lucifer and Vaggie, stopped and stared at the smaller deer sinner. Adam stared right back at them.
“Charlie, my dear! I’d like you to meet our newest resident! I was just checking him in as we spoke!” Alastor said.
The excited squeal that escaped from Charlie was so loud and high-pitched that even Angel and Husk came down from their rooms to see what the all the commotion was about. They watched with some bemusement as Charlie grabbed at some sinner they hadn’t seen before’s hands and shook them enthusiastically.
“Oh my gosh, welcome! We’re so excited to have you! I’m Charlie, Princess of Hell and your guide on the path to redemption! It’s so nice to meet you! What’s your name?” She gushed, still shaking his hands.
“Uh - Hi. My name’s Comet,” Adam said.
The King of Hell made a sudden noise, the fond expression he had previously aimed at his daughter turned to a scowl of distrust. Charlie slowly let go of Adam’s hands.
Lucifer’s eyebrows furrowed as he glared at the smaller deer demon, “...Adam?”
Adam stared right back at him with a slightly confused expression, pretending like he didn’t recognize the name at all.
Vaggie subtly brought out her spear and held it at the ready, trusting Lucifer’s judgment. Likewise, Angel internally clutched his firearms and shot the little deer a harsh look. Charlie glanced between all of them, looking conflicted. Alastor seemed amused at what he assumed now to be a wrongful accusation directed towards the poor fawn, and Husk just shrugged and took a sip from his flask. He wasn’t about to assume anyone was anything until he saw some proof of the matter with his own eyes: two people having a very similar voice didn’t count.
“No way, buddy. Say something again. Anything.” Lucifer demanded.
“Anything?” Adam said, still putting on an act of innocent confusion.
“Yep. Yeah, okay,” Lucifer jabbed a thumb in his direction, “Guys, that’s Adam.”
All the hotel’s residents slowly turned to look directly at the smaller deer demon, as if waiting for some sudden confirmation. Like the little sinner would just break and declare that it was him all along trying to deceive them. Adam did like to brag, after all. He loved the sound of his own name and the sound of his own voice.
But, again, he wasn’t as much of a dumbass as everyone thought. He stared back with some faux nervous trepidation, “Uh - why is everyone looking at me? Who… do you keep talking about?”
“Like I’d fall for that,” Lucifer scoffed, crossing his arms, but he was starting to look uncertain. Adam bit back a retort about Lucifer having plenty of experience in falling and kept his face passively confused.
It was only after the scuttling of tiny feet was heard and Niffty entered the room that Adam knew he had his chance to convince all of them that he wasn’t actually him. The tiny maid squeaked excitedly and dashed around the newcomer, her eye bright with excitement.
“Hi!!! Hi! Oh my gosh! You must be a new resident!” She said excitedly, “Wooow! I like your clothes! I’ve never seen another deer demon before, but you kind of look like Alastor. You guys are even the same shade of red!”
Oh, don’t fucking remind him…
But, this was his test and he would meet it - literally - unflinchingly.
“You must be Niffty. Alastor mentioned you!” Adam said with a polite smile, “It’s nice to meet you!”
“Aww, man! You’re so lame!” Niffty complained, her attitude completely changing without warning.
“Huh?”
“He’s not a bad boy at all!” Niffty crossed her arms and stomped away from him. Adam didn’t dare let out the sigh of relief that he wanted to.
He was actually kind of flabbergasted though. He looked back at the rest of the staff with a concerned expression, “Did I just do something wrong?”
“Oh no! Don’t worry, Comet, she’s just like that!” Charlie waved her hands, “I’m sure you two can become friends soon enough!”
Adam forced back a derisive scoff at the ridiculous suggestion. There was no way in hell he’d ever be giving that little freak the time of day.
“Golly, I’ll be damned! Looks like you just passed the ultimate sniff test!” Lucifer exclaimed, shocked.
Vaggie nodded, “If Niffty’s saying that he’s not bad, and he’s more confused than freaked out by her, then there’s actually a fair chance that he’s who he says he is… and we’ve severely insulted someone who didn’t deserve it.”
“There truly is no greater insult than being compared to Adam,” Alastor snickered. Adam forced his face to remain passively confused, even while he mind was hurtling insults and profanities towards the Radio Demon like an angry spitfire.
“Sorry about that, buddy!” Lucifer grinned and extended a hand for Adam to take. Adam obliged and shook it, “I’m Lucifer, by the way! I’m Charlie’s dad aaaand the hotel’s benevolent sponsor!”
“Lucifer? Like the King of Hell? I mean, you’re the actual Devil? But, you seem friendly.” Adam blinked a few times and tilted his head, letting go of his hand at the same time Lucifer did.
Part of it was him playing up truly not recognizing Lucifer, but another part of him was earnestly a bit confused over how such an evil conniving bastard was able to mask himself as an awkward, yet affable person.
“Well, I’m glad someone thinks so! Don’t you worry, Comet. Stay on my daughter’s good side, and I’ll keep being friendly ol’ Luci to ya!” Lucifer chuckled through his thinly-veiled threat.
“Dad!” Charlie cried, before turning back to Adam, “We’re so glad you’re here, Comet! I’m going to do my very best by you, I promise!”
“Thank you, princess,” Adam said sweetly, continuing to play up an image that she wouldn’t be able to connect to the arrogant first man he was to her previously.
So, his voice hadn’t changed. And unfortunately, it seemed like it was rather iconic if everyone was acutely aware of it. But that shouldn’t be too huge of an issue. He just had to act the part of a downtrod sinner and soon enough they would forget who ‘Comet’ sounded like, and just know him as a guest at their hotel. He could swing playing nice for however long it took.
Adam was different. He didn’t belong down here. But unfortunately, these idiots might be the key to getting his real life back. There was no doubt in his mind that this whole ‘redemption’ bullshit did not work. A sinner was a sinner, and there was no defying their hellish fate. But if he stuck with those Morningstars and their silly project long enough, then there was no doubt that he’d eventually be able to contact Heaven and right this massive wrong.