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Angel felt the moment Val died. Of course, at the time, he didn't know what exactly had happened. One moment he was talking to Husk and Cherri at the bar, laughing and joking, and the next his throat closed up like he was being strangled, and his wrists ached until tears came from his many eyes.
“Angel!” they cried as he fell off the stool in desperation. He couldn’t respond, only try to move his numb hands and gasp for air that refused to come.
His body hadn't even finished touching the ground when the sensation disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving Angel with a disconcerting feeling of lightness, as if he had carried a weight he wasn't even aware of.
Before the bewildered eyes of everyone who turned around at Husk and Cherri's screams, the deep pink chain appeared around his neck and wrists, each link cracked and then fell, vanishing into the air.
“Angie?” Rosemary, one of the studio workers who had only started coming to the hotel a few days ago, approached him with a frightened wolf-like face, her hand holding her slender neck. “What happened?”
Angel looked around at the curious and confused faces, but especially at the shocked and dazed ones. They were mostly sinners who had a contract with Valentino.
Charlie came down the stairs at that moment with a spring in her step. “Who’s ready for today’s activity?!” At the glances directed at her, her smile dropped several watts. “Did something happen, guys?” At her side, Vaggie tensed reflexively.
A second wave of shock and then chains of a blue so dark they were purple appeared and vanished from existence.
“Guys, what’s going on?” Charlie tried to make himself heard over the noise. Husk stood up from Angel’s side after one last comforting squeeze of his hand, and climbed onto a chair, whistling to silence everyone.
“Alright, it’s been a while since the last Overlord died,” he yelled at them and Angel felt his brain go blank, Husk’s voice sounded very far away, almost as if he were underwater struggling to get back to the surface. Val… dead? “Don’t panic and NO ONE is going outside right now until we have more information. You’re free for a reason, don’t risk losing that freedom to another Overlord or to the death that claimed your former owner. Do you understand?”
If he could have thought, Angel would have found it hot how Husk had taken control and how he was now approaching Charlie to talk and plan, but Angel just stood there, stunned on the floor, with Cherri's arm over his shoulders and moving his wrists slowly in circles, experiencing the strange absence of weight.
“Hey, Angie, are you okay?” Cherri’s voice was unusually soft, Angel’s eyes filled with tears.
“I don’t know,” his voice cracked.
Val was dead.
And Angel…Angel was free .
He wasn't sure how to begin to process it.
The most common theory was that Alastor was back to his old ways and was responsible for Valentino and Velvette's deaths. Husk wouldn't rule it out, after all he was the only one who had managed to do so before the angelic steel came into play; but for Husk it was still strange. Why now? What had changed for Alastor to take such drastic measures?
Sure, his and Vox's hostility was escalating and Husk had always thought it would lead to a lethal end. Vox was heading inexorably down the path that if he couldn't have Alastor then he would destroy him and there was only so much grace Alastor could extend to his old friend and former protégé, before his mocking methods ceased to have any effect and he had to make an example of it .
Killing Vox’s partners (business and romantic) was a way for Alastor to make his point without severing the bond that tied and entangled the two. Vox and Alastor. Alastor and Vox. Husk had been there when they were a unit (business) and when it all fell apart because they weren’t the kind of partnership Alastor wanted (romantic) and he watched firsthand as Alastor dug in with disdain and Vox’s love turned to obsession, both still seeking each other out even if they despised the history that tied them together.
Husk had seen how sometimes Alastor was the one who sought out Vox's attention, how Alastor, knowing he was being watched, would put on a show for his little stalker in order to annoy him. He had also seen how Alastor was so tired some days, so reluctant to allow Vox any access to him, that he practically ran away to where the only radio waves were his own. Husk sometimes thought that Alastor might miss the closest thing he ever had to a friend, but Alastor would skin him alive if he ever said that.
Everyone waited for what seemed like days, but in reality it barely lasted an hour. It was made much easier when Lucifer, whistling happily and with joy in his eyes, appeared within minutes of the chaos breaking out.
It was hard to fear anything when you knew the big (little) devil was guarding the gates, if only to please his daughter, but Husk had seen the way he looked at them (the ones who had been with Charlie from the beginning) and there was genuine appreciation in his eyes.
Lucifer asked Husk to make him something, his hand tapping a couple of times on his chest, over the pocket from which a piece of paper with red ink was sticking out. The waiter quickly grabbed some apple cider and the king made a show with the bottle that made him laugh at his own antics. The sound was discordant with everyone's emotional state, but somehow it worked. Even if they didn't know what had happened, having their chains disappear was ultimately a good thing .
As long as Alastor didn't want to use that to his advantage.
But Lucifer and Charlie wouldn't let him continue with that. Even though Charlie seemed so attached to him (whether or not it was reciprocated didn't matter. Charlie was way too comfortable leaning on Alastor as a mentor/father figure/dark, creepy handyman), Vaggie had relaxed her distrust (a costly mistake in Husk's opinion) and Lucifer seemed to alternate between wanting to annoy him or wanting to get into his pants (or some weird mix of both that Husk had already seen once before as that particular story ended) they would at least try to prevent it from happening again.
(And hopefully Alastor wouldn't throw a tantrum, as if he'd been told he couldn't go out to play instead of being asked not to commit murders that would destabilize hell.)
In fact, Charlie was already preparing a politely firm speech about why Alastor couldn't do such things and how dangerous it was to take up such fights. The girl couldn't seem to decide if she wanted to scold Alastor for killing (although if it was with provocation she might be more understanding) or be upset that Alastor put himself in danger by going after someone who had a vendetta against him.
“He should have at least warned us,” Vaggie joined in support. “This doesn’t seem like one of his normal fights. This… could have been dangerous for him . ” Husk’s skin still pricked a little when he thought about how protective Charlie and Vaggie could be. One guest had learned the hard way what happened when he tried to drug her hotel ’s first resident , and once, during a call between Val and Angel, Charlie had seemed genuinely homicidal.
It was a good thing Charlie's fire was put out quickly and Vaggie was more hesitant to use violence if it involved a target not within immediate range of her spear, or Valentino would have been history long before then.
What worried Husk was the potential power vacuum this would leave.
(And how his claws itched at such a promising potential bet. Power was a sweet treat that turned bitter in his mouth, but sometimes… sometimes Husk wanted that frenzy, that ecstasy, rubbing shoulders with the greats and knowing that your decisions changed the world.
He had to clench his hands and dig his claws in, hold on to how it ended last time and remember that this, here with Charlie, was also something that changed the world. And that was a good thing.)
He told Lucifer his concerns and the man just laughed.
“There’s always someone else. Maybe the new ones are smarter. It was a lot easier with Lils,” he said wistfully. “Maybe someone else should take that place to keep everyone in line.” Lucifer turned and looked around. “Charlie wants to change things, we need to get rid of the obstacles for that to happen,” he murmured thoughtfully, tapping the paper in his pocket again. “And I’d like to see her dreams come true. See her happy… and you guys too” he added, looking at him again. “I’ve grown very fond of you.”
Husk gave him a smile, one of his small, still cautious, but sincere ones. Seeing the change in Lucifer that had been so critical was something that filled him with hope. Charlie had enough hope for all of them, but the most admirable thing was that she was convincing them . It wasn't all mindless optimism, she was achieving something, something big.
He could only hope that Alastor didn't screw it up. He might not even realize it, but he was a huge part of what was happening, too. Husk would even go so far as to say that he had softened, too (but only inside his head, because Alastor might mount an attack just to prove him wrong).
“I…” Husk began to respond only for the third shock to run through everyone in the form of electric blue chains being torn apart and a massive blackout.
Husk dropped his jaw, horror rippling through his chest. That wasn't on his hellish Bingo card.
All the radios lit up at once. Husk growled, prepared for the screams of the three fallen Overlords, but all that came out was a deep, piercing wail of pain and grief that shook him to the bone, followed by a shrill radio interference that made his ears bleed, and finally… silence.
So absolute it was terrifying. No one moved. No one said anything.
It was the calm before the storm.
And the storm came.
Alastor threw open the doors with such force that they left cracks in the wall. His strides were quick and everyone moved out of his way, but his eyes… his eyes were deep pools of maddened red and the emotion in the expressive red eyes was… pain. Not joy, not triumph. Pain.
An uncomfortable lump tightened in Husk's throat, like a hairball stuck in his throat. Something about him, the part Charlie had awakened, made him want to come closer. Luckily his common sense won out and he froze, barely breathing behind the fragile protection of the bar and the much safer protection of Lucifer.
The devil himself didn’t seem fazed, raising a hand in greeting. His smile didn’t falter even as his eyes took in the blue stains on Alastor’s suit, hands, and chin, but Husk’s heart dropped. That was blood, Vox blood. And lots of it.
Alastor, what have you done, Husk thought with surprising sadness. Alastor killed Vox in a fit of rage? He was mercurial, but not that mercurial. Whatever had happened was bad, and Alastor…Alastor didn't seem to be coping well.
The overlord caught up to them. Husk flinched. Alastor grabbed Lucifer by the suit, staining the white blue, and pulled him out of his seat and pushed him against the nearest wall. Charlie and Vaggie screamed. Many ran or hid in near hysterics until only the original members of the hotel remained. Angel, who had been nursing his drink and staring into space, looked up in fear, Cherri standing in front of him like a protective shield.
“What have you done?” Alastor screamed in Lucifer’s face. His voice was uncomfortable to hear. Broken and filled with despair, without even the most fragile radio filter to cover the same heart-wrenching pain that had sounded over the radio. “Lucifer, what did you do?!”
Lucifer smiled sweetly at him. He reached up and brushed Alastor's damp hair aside and stroked his cheekbone, wiping away some of the blood. Something inside Husk twisted uncomfortably.
“Look at the mess you’ve made. Come, let’s get you cleaned up.” Lucifer’s voice was understanding. Husk couldn’t see Alastor’s face, but he saw him step back before Lucifer touched two fingers to Al’s forehead and he fell unconscious into Lucifer’s ready arms. “Looks like he was in quite the shock. I’ll take care of him, okay, Char Char?”
Charlie looked unsure. “What do you think happened, Dad? Why did Alastor…?”
“I’ll find out and we’ll talk, okay, apple?” Lucifer stood up on his tiptoes and kissed Charlie’s cheek, all without seeming uncomfortable with the Radio Demon’s ungainly weight. “I think the important thing is that those pesky bees won’t bother you anymore. Not Alastor, not Angel, not your other guests. You take care of your people and I’ll take care of this boy.”
Lucifer shrugged, the movement making Alastor sway like a doll. Husk felt another twitch.
“Yeah, yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Dad.” Charlie kissed his cheek.
“I’m here to help you, princess. In everything.” With a final gesture, he disappeared in a red whirlwind.
Husk gulped and stepped out from behind the bar, his hands blindly reaching for a bottle. His shaky legs carried him to one of the stools. Angel was staring at the floor with a frown, and Cherri was tracing circles on his back.
“Come on, baby. You need to get better. Do you want a blanket or something? I think you’re in shock,” Cherri murmured, still worried.
Husk wanted to help her, but he didn't feel like he had the emotional or mental energy right now. Cherri was a better help and protection than Husk right now who felt numb. The adrenaline of what had happened (the old fear from Alastor's worst years) was finally catching up to him. His instincts had failed him in the past, but right now they screamed danger and Husk knew that if he wrapped himself around Angel like he wanted to do, he could nestle in and not allow either of them to get out into the terrifying world that had gone off its axis. He was coming out of fight mode, but he was dangerously close to entering flight mode.
His foot brushed against a folded piece of paper, one corner stained red. Husk half-unplugged Cherri and leaned over to pick him up. Lucifer might want him back.
As his clawed fingers touched the paper he saw that the stain was pasty and wet. It was blood. Red sinner's blood. He took a deep breath, opened the paper, and a very familiar shot of a smiling Alastor stared back at him.
Husk knew this photo. He had taken it at an Overlords party. And he knew who owned the photo. The same man who was originally standing next to ALastor in the now cropped half of the photo.
Vox.
Husk looked towards the stairs.
His bad feeling increased.