Lucifer wipes at his face, saying "I can get you the meeting with Heaven, sweetheart, but once you're there…" He's not allowed up in Heaven anymore. Is physically unable to leave Hell, more like, but still.
Charlie wipes at her own face, saying "I'll be fine, Dad. I'm sure there's no way Aunt Calli will let me go alone!"
"That's my…oh, shit, Calli." Quickly glancing around for the red-head and finding her missing, Lucifer asks "Do you think she heard…" Did Calli hear what he was saying to Charlie before she tackled him?
Angel says "Every single word."
Husk points to the kitchen, adding "She went that way."
Lucifer takes a running start forward, Charlie right behind him…until Alastor's cane blocks both their paths. "Charlotte," he says, leaning on the cane pseudo-casually, "this is something you should probably stay out of. I do believe your father has quite a bit of groveling to do in front of Calliope."
Charlie blinks, asking "Um…what now? Why?"
Angel says "Eh, might have something to do with the four times she went to the palace looking for him?"
Lucifer starts, asking "What?! I was in the palace!"
"Uh,where?! I was there for the last one, and the place looks deserted. We checked twenty rooms before she tried to call you and left another voicemail!" Angel might not be about to get straight in Lucifer's face - and not just because he's about twice the guy's height - and curse him out, but he's noticed more and more phone calls ever since that shoot when Calli thinks nobody's paying attention to her. He's more than ready to bring them up.
Husk raises an eyebrow, asking "When was this?"
"Right after that all-nighter with Val she and Charlie showed up at. It's why we were late coming back." Planting one of his lower arms on his hips, Angel adds "You know she called you, like, seventeen times that night? Calls at least once a day, to - probably more, if that night was anything to go by."
Charlie blinks, asking "She…did? I knew about a few calls, but…"
Husk flatly says "Pretty sure she didn't want you to know and start worrying. And, considering this morning…" Considering Charlie's near-breakdown when they all got up, he's not asking why anymore.
He's never had a doubt that Calliope loves Charlie, but it's become increasingly apparent over the past few months that she's willing to do whatever she needs to so Charlie doesn't worry about things.
They all hear 'Need you Now' start playing from the kitchen, and Alastor deadpans "She doesn't usually play that. Get in there already."
When Lucifer pokes his head into the kitchen, he sees Calli washing a pan off in the sink by hand as her phone plays music.
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind
For me, it happens all the time
It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now…
Stepping into the room, Lucifer clears his throat and says "Erm, hey Calli…" Fuck, but how's he supposed to fix something he fucked up so royally?
Calli glances at him out of the corner of her eye, then neutrally says "Hey, Lucifer. Heard you and Charlie." Heard them singing, heard them talking...gods, her best friend used to have such optimism - it practically oozed out of his every pore. It drove her crazy, once upon a time back when they were first finding their footing...and now, it's gone.
Swallowing to himself, Lucifer nods and takes a few steps in, only for Calli to add "Watch the floor, it's wet."
"So, mm, been a while, huh? What, like a century or so…"
"A hundred and fifty years, eight months, twenty-eight days, and six hours. Yes, I kept track."
It's a quarter after one I'm a little drunk and I need you now…
Glancing towards the large wet spot on the ground, Lucifer tries again, saying "So, you still cook as amazingly as ever…" He never got to taste any of the spread Calli put out, but it looked and smelled as good as he remembers.
Calli just shrugs, still washing the pan he's pretty sure is squeaky clean by now. After a long moment, Lucifer says "Look, Calli, I-"
"Why didn't you call?"
Lucifer blinks at Calliope's sudden question, and asks "Uh…what now?"
Dropping the pan back into the steaming-hot water with a large splash, Calli finally turns around and asks "Before things got this bad, Lucifer. C'mon, I was depression's poster girl for a literal eon before we met! Why didn't you call me when things started going downhill?! I would've come back, D would've understood! He'd have practically lost his mind, but not at me! And you have my number, I wrote it down for you before leaving! Phones were just starting out in the human world, it couldn't have taken that long for them to come to Hell!"
Lucifer rubs his arm, saying "I…lost your number. I remember you left it, but…it vanished somewhere."
"I left it for you twice! Wrote it down on two separate pieces of paper! For each of you!"
"I…lost it twice. They just up and vanished, probably buried somewhere…" Probably buried under a mountain of rubber ducks, in all honesty.
"You could've gone to Asmodeus or Beelzebub, you know! I get that they're the only two of the other Sins that are tolerable for extended periods of time, but still! They've got my number, to! At least, that way, you wouldn't have been completely alone in...wherever it is you've been! What the here happened after I had to leave, dammit?!"
Lucifer's shoulders slump, and he says "Lilith…one day, a few years after you'd left, she came back from something in Sloth Ring and said I'd changed. Said I wasn't the angel she fell in love with anymore. Took the necklace and ring I'd made for her off, eventually took Charlie, and just…left." He's just grateful he hasn't started sobbing at the reminder of Lilith, likely because he already cried with Charlie earlier.
"That's- you weren't any different than you were the day after Charlie was born! Well, that's not quite true, you were happier, you were thrilled to be a dad! You finally got your wings back, Luci,that's how much this little family of ours meant to you! What the here could've possibly changed?!"
Lucifer sees the tears gathering in Calli's eyes, and says "Don't cry, Calli! If you cry, then I'll cry, and it'll be a big mess!"
Calli swipes at her face, chest and throat constricting as she does, and says "Well, it's a good thing I'm not crying, isn't it?!" She's not going to cry, she's not. Lucifer was always the emotional one of the two of them - when it comes to crying, anyway, something Charlie inherited from him - so if she breaks down in tears then the both of them are going to be crying enough to flood the entire damn hotel.
And then, suddenly, Charlie's voice lets out a cry, she comes running in, and tackles the two of them in a hug as she starts crying. And then Lucifer starts crying as well, pulling Calli to him and burying his face in her neck.
And, despite Calliope's best efforts…a few tears get absorbed by Lucifer's hair and Charlie's jacket, thankfully unnoticed amidst Charlie and Lucifer's much louder sobbing.
And then a thought strikes Calli like a knife to her skull, though she manages not to outwardly react even as it feels like her heart stops beating for a moment - how could Lilith have taken the pearl necklace off?! She loved it so much she begged Calli to replace the clasp with another pearl, swore she'd never remove it even to sleep or shower - said if it represented Lucifer's unending love for her, she'd make sure to have everyone see it.
Even said she'd make Heaven eat the detail that they willingly disregarded the best and brightest of them, so now he was all hers and the Nephilim's.
She charmed that thing to be unbreakable, unable to be used to try and harm Lilith, unable to be damaged…how in all nine circles of hell did Lilith manage to get it off?! Unless…she didn't.
Fuuuck… Quickly deciding not to tell Lucifer her suspicions just yet, Calli waits until Charlie pulls back before saying "I'll go pick out a room for you, Luci."
Lucifer blinks, wiping at his eyes with his arm, and asks "Uh…what now? You're…what?"
Calliope fixes a flat stare onto Lucifer, saying "You are not going to hole yourself up back in…wherever the here it is you've been, Luci. No way, not happening. We're in a literal hotel, there's nothing but rooms here. So, you're staying here, or I'm tracking you down and dragging you back from…where were you, anyway?"
Lucifer coughs, saying "…my workshop…"
"In the palace?" At Lucifer's nod, Calli disbelievingly asks "You've been in your workshop in the palace for the past century and a half?" She figured if he wasn't anywhere in the rest of the palace, then he certainly wasn't going to be in the one place it almost physically pained him to be in some days!
Alastor glances up at a light knocking sound, and then Calliope's voice drifts in asking "You still awake, Alastor?"
Alastor shadows over and opens the door, and opens it up to reveal Calliope standing there - and she looks even more worried than the night he found her calling Lucifer. "Something wrong, Ma Chère?"Calliope nods, asking "Can I come in? I don't...I don't want to be alone with my thoughts right now."
Nodding his head, Alastor opens the door wide enough for Calliope to slip inside and gestures towards the table he has set up.
Five minutes and two cups of hot chocolate later - he's not much of a tea fan, but this needs something and it's far too late for coffee - Alastor asks "What's on your mind?"
Rubbing at her temples, Calliope says "Something Lucifer said in the kitchen. When Lilith left him…he said she wasn't wearing her pearl necklace he made for her when he proposed." Alastor's eyes widen in sheer panic, but Calli apparently doesn't notice as she stares down into her drink, saying "She loved that necklace, ring and earring set, so much so she begged me to make it impossible to take the necklace off. I literally made it impossible to do as much, making it unbreakable as well as impossible to hurt Lilith with. Unless someone managed to decapitate Lilith, there's no way that necklace was ever coming off."
Humming, Alastor asks "You think something happened to Lilith?"
Calliope nods, saying "It's the only explanation I can think of that fits. But, there's very few people I can think of that would be able to get to her. I poured so much power into Lilith that she could overpower one of the Sins, someone looking to do anything to her would have to be on my power level…" And there's only two other beings that fit that description.
Big G, as she calls him, is currently off exploring the world that was created, according to Life. And his counterpart…she's sealed away forever, never getting out. Calli made sure of it eight-thousand years ago.
"Can you think of anyone else that might've been able to overpower Lilith?"
Calli shakes her head, glancing at Alastor for a moment at the strange tone of his voice, and says "Not off the top of my head. Maybe all the other Archangels and Seraphim combined, but they would've been noticed in Hell - there's no possible way Lucifer wouldn't have sensed their arrival. Heck, there's no possible way Death, Life, Magic, and Fate combined would've missed it. And someone would've told me." Scrubbing at her face, Calli says "Lilith's apparently gone missing, not just disappeared like Charlie thought. There's a Lilith-Imposter running around somewhere that's somehow strong enough to overpower the real Lilith. There's one month left before this Extermination Day. Lucifer's a broken shell of himself, barely hanging on by a thread right now…and you're acting weird. Have since I mentioned Lilith." At Alastor's panicked look, she adds "C'mon, Alastor. I didn't get this far by being unobservant."
Alastor lets off quite a bit of feedback, looking positively cornered despite having his back to an open forest, then eventually says "Charlie's in no danger."
Calliope nods her head slowly, saying "Alright, good start…you've got something being held over your head."
Alastor slowly nods his head, looking panicked and almost semi-feral at the turn the conversation has taken.
"Let me guess…you can't talk about it."
Alastor quickly shakes his head.
Giving him a measured look, Calli asks "Is it something I can help you with?"
Alastor shrugs, genuinely having no clue whatsoever.
Hissing to herself for a moment, Calli says "Alright, then…dammit, I really wish Lilith was here. One of the lesser-known abilities she had was that she could void a contract between two people that live in Hell." At Alastor's stunned expression, she smirks and adds "One of the perks of being Queen of Hell. The titles come with their own powers, we eventually learned. For example, Lucifer and Lilith have the final say if an issue gets brought to their attention - as in, they can immediately override the authority of other high-ranking royalty from Hell."
"And, as their ambassador…?"
If Alastor sounds hopeful, it's because he is - he's spent the last seven years in this damned deception of a contract, and now he's finally found a way out…except it requires going back there.
Calli grins for a moment, and says "Not quite as all-encompassing, no. But I don't really need it to be. My job is to basically be their gatekeeper, no matter how glorified we make the title sound, and handle any problems that don't personally require Luci and Lils' attention. I manage that just fine. Though, one nice perk is that if I can make something sound official and legit then there's nothing anyone can do about it. Diplomatic immunity with a magical twist to it." After a long silence, Calli decides to give into her impulsiveness just a little and reaches out to take Alastor's hand in her own. At his surprised gaze, she says "If there's something I can do to help, or if you get in trouble…"
Alastor shakes his head, but doesn't pull his hand away, quietly saying "They aren't…they aren't like most people. Even you may have trouble defeating them, Calla Lily."
Calliope squeezes Alastor's hand in her own, saying "I've faced far worse than you can imagine, Alastor. Trust me when I say I've seen the very worst this world has to offer." And it was ugly - Roo was an absolute bitch to fight, literally and figuratively. She found out later it had taken her a straight three months to drive her down to the 9th Circle of Hell, trap her there, and then demolish the path through the 8th Circle down to the 9th.
And then, for good measure, she put the knowledge of the path she took under Fidelius, creating an impassible stone wall sealing everything off.
And then she fucking Obliviated that knowledge from her own mind, to ensure not even Roo would ever be able to get through. There's no possible way Roo got out, she would've felt the Fidelius being tampered with, to say nothing of the Warding she did to trap Roo for all eternity, so who in all nine circles of Hell, Earth, and Heaven managed to get to Lilith?!
It's when Alastor takes the mugs away that she realizes the hot chocolate's long-since gone cold, she only managed to drink about half of it, and it's been three damn hours. And she's fucking exhausted - today's been an emotional rollercoaster basically the whole day, between Lucifer coming, meeting Mimzy, the shitshow that was her whole fiasco, and then trying to think of anyone that could've gotten to Lilith and impersonate her without letting Lucifer or Charlie catch onto the detail that she's now very worried about the woman's whereabouts.
"How about we continue this tomorrow? It's far too late for something like this."
Calliope groans, saying "Or we could just drop it for now. You literally can't tell me anything that could lead me to whoever it is you're stuck under. Unless something drastic changes, you're stuck and I don't know how to help."
Alastor sighs in relief, and promptly picks Calliope up before she can react - he could not possibly be more grateful for her tact, having been able to literally feel the chains wrapping around his throat the more direct he tried to be about the whole ordeal. Dropping her straight onto the bed, Alastor quickly shadows to the other side as Calli sits up.
Calli raises an eyebrow at him, asking "Something up? Or just feeling relieved?"
Alastor smirks at her, running his fingertips along the spot on her back where one of her top wings comes out, and says "As I recall, there is one way to put you out like a light. And it certainly wasn't unappreciated."
Calliope blushes brightly, but says "Guess it has been a few days…" Her wings are getting stiff again anyways.
And, just like with Lucifer, after they got used to the feeling of Alastor's fingers tunning through the feathers…it felt really good. Too good, almost.
The feeling of Alastor's sharp fingertips running along her back has her wings appearing almost on their own, and Calli sucks in a sharp breath when those fingers bury themselves in her feathers without hesitation and start working their magic on the limbs.
The last thing she remembers before blacking out is thinking she might just be in over her head…because Alastor's sharp fingers running through her feathers feels absolutely divine, no pun intended.
Alastor decides he's absolutely screwed when two of Calli's wings settles over him, smelling of her magic and Calli herself, and all he can think is that it's better than anything else he's ever been under before. Fuck, Husk was right…