Chapter Text
Although the sky never darkened properly because of the oppressive glare coming from the neon pentagram looming overhead, most of the somewhat sober denizens of the Pride Ring of Hell knew that whenever the clock tower’s clang shrieked through the air, that meant nighttime had officially begun.
That being said, although the time had only just shifted into the evening hours, that didn’t mean nightlife in Pentagram City ever really stopped or started officially.
In Hell, that which was once considered to be the vices of the mortal world- activities, substances and, in some cases, people that were looked down upon at night and furiously denied during the day- were basic staples of everyday life. No matter what circle a sinner might’ve found themself, nudie bookstores, empty alcohol bottles, drug dispensaries and bloodstains coated every which way one looked. Moreover, while the mere thought might’ve made some upstairs swoon, constant exposure to the realities of temptation took the pearl-clutching shock wielded by the self-righteous and dwindled it to the point of acclimated numbness among the population.
No one cared if someone was drunk and drooling on the sidewalk at one in the afternoon, no one batted an eye if some junkie cleaned his needle in the water fountain after he shot up, and no one ever bothered to question why the stripper bar/all-you-can-eat buffet had a breakfast menu.
It was Hell.
After a while, people just kind of went with it.
Still, in a way, casual acceptance of wanton sin and vice was actually quite freeing for the damned. Despite being forever doomed to an existence of everlasting torment, they were no longer looked down upon for their questionable behavior and could indulge to their hearts’ content in whatever they wished without judgmental glances, disdainful whispers and occasional tutting.
As nice as that sentiment was, of course, that wasn’t to say that Hell wasn’t a horrible apocalyptic nightmare by any stretch of the imagination.
Hell was hot, dreary, dirty, dusty, smelled of bad eggs, and discarded syringes littered the ground like confetti on a children’s birthday cake. So, between that, the territorial disputes, the overlords acting as they liked without care and the annual soul erasure, it wasn’t a place one could consider paradise without missing a few screws.
In any case, given how vile Hell was, the mortal souls condemned to it were faced with two options. They could either take the feeble, fleeting pleasures allowed to them as they came with little complaint and find solace in their vices in order to distract themselves from their fate, or they could sink into a dark, self-contained rabbit hole of self-loathing, saddled with the weight of their sins that marred their souls in life and sentenced them to a petty, shallow existence in death, trapped in an afterworld that had already forsaken them before they had even arrived.
Both methods worked, but most opted for the former, usually.
So, as the evening drew towards midnight and the raunchier forms of entertainment shifted into third gear, the majority of Pentagram City’s citizenry flocked to the center in the hopes of finding a diversion that they could get on the cheap, leaving all other establishments that didn’t supply such allure completely deserted.
Even the spires, the ancient, jagged, probably vermin-infested towers that dotted around the city’s edge which were out of bounds to the general public and supposed to be constantly under surveillance, were veritable ghost towns once midnight struck. The security team, which had a strict policy requiring that their guardsmen only perform at seventy percent, seventy percent of the time, had long since abandoned their posts in search of more… exciting means to occupy themselves.
It was payday after all, so rather than carefully conserving their earnings and carrying on with their jobs as expected, they shoved off early to splurge their meager wages on alcoholic beverages, greasy food and pleasurable company, the order of which depending on what they viewed as a personal priority and for what they had a coupon.
Suffice to say, by the time one o’clock in the morning rolled around and the door to a particular spire in the north section of the pentagram creaked open to admit two cloaked figures who clearly had no business being on the premises, nobody was around to spot them for miles, let alone stop them.
“Okay, this way looks secure.” The first figure ducked under the ‘Get Out or Else, Fuckwad’ sign nailed across the door frame and craned her neck from right to left, checking for stragglers that might’ve lagged behind. “Anybody following us, Vaggie?”
“Not that I can see.” The second cloaked figure glanced over her shoulder while her hands tightened around the harpoon she was carrying. “Everybody’s probably already taken off for the night. Not that they’re supposed to, but I doubt keeping scheduled hours is really a priority around here.”
“Which is precisely why this is the perfect time to infiltrate the facility.” Though the hood obscured the upper half of the first figure’s face, a white grin flashed at the second and clashed with the drab fabric of the cloak. “C’mon, the evoking chamber’s down here. Let’s mosey.”
Beckoning the second to follow her, the first figure made her way through a dark, musty corridor that probably hadn’t gotten fresh air in at least three centuries, veered right, and began a precarious descent down a spiral staircase that would’ve been thrilled to break their necks if given the chance.
“Charlie, are you really sure you want to do this?” The second figure hissed at the first’s back. “There’s still time to turn back if you’re having second thoughts.”
The first figure glanced over her shoulder at the second and a flash of white teeth erupted from underneath the hood again.
“Y’know, it doesn’t matter how many times you ask me that, Vags, I’m not going to just magically change my mind.” The first figure replied. “You know me better than that. I’m ‘too stubborn for my own good’, remember? It might take me a while to make up my mind, but when I make up my mind about something, that’s what I’m doing, end of story.”
“But are you absolutely sure this is what you want to do?” pressed the second.
“Yes, I’m absolutely sure, Vaggie.” A few strands of long blonde hair flew out from underneath the first figure’s hood as she marched down the stairs. “Just like I was the last fourteen times you asked me.”
“I still don’t get why you wanted to come here of all places.” Vaggie crept down the stairs and almost lost her footing when a step crumbled underneath her heel. “This whole building is a broken back waiting to happen.”
“I don’t deny that the structural integrity of this spire probably went up in flames with the Great Fire of London, but this nasty, smelly old tower is, without a doubt, the ideal spot for the first step in my grand master plan.” Charlie snatched her free hand and pulled Vaggie safely to the stair below before she fell over the edge. “Careful, you don’t want to lose your balance in here. One wrong step’s a sure fire way to take a shortcut to the ground, and while it’s quicker than taking the scenic route, I’d advise against it.”
“How can you be so sure?” asked Vaggie.
“Because gravity’s a fundamental element of the universe and it’d hurt a lot.”
“No, I mean, what’s so special about this train wreck of a spire that we had to hike all the way to the north rim of the city when there were loads more spires closer and not nearly as decomposed?”
“Oh. Well, a number of reasons, actually.” Gripping Vaggie’s hand tightly in her own, Charlie started back down the stairs again, towing the other woman along behind her like a caboose. “First and foremost, because of its inconvenient location, and the fact that it’s been out of order for the better part of fifty years because of untreated black mold, this tower in particular hasn’t been used in ages because nobody in their right mind who wasn’t getting paid to would ever set foot in here.”
“And yet we’re in here.” muttered Vaggie.
“I know.” glowed Charlie. “See, it isn’t common knowledge, mostly because if everybody in Hell knew about it, there’d be incidents, but even though a demonic hell spire might be deemed unfit for use, it still works as a conduit. Even when out of service, the tip of the spire continuously draws demonic energy up from the bowels of Hell as a means of fueling itself. So, over a period of time when it isn’t being used, that constant drawing of energy accumulates. It keeps gathering more and more energy until, eventually, the tower becomes completely saturated with excessive, loose power, sort of like how a nanny goat that doesn’t get milked ends up with huge, swollen udders because of the lack of fluid discharge and/or baby goats. You with me so far?”
“Gross, but I’m following you. Go on.”
“Okay, so changing gears a little bit, you’re probably wondering why I went to all the trouble of traveling here in the first place and didn’t just make a quick portal in my room with the grimoire and slip through that way, right?” Charlie quickly glanced back at Vaggie, who nodded. “Well, while such methods can be convenient in certain cases, that’s unfortunately only for short little day trips. Since my intentions are more ‘long-term’, I had to augment my approach and that meant using a channeling corridor to travel upstairs through an evocation ritual instead. Problem is, though, in order to make a fully functioning evocation circle that’ll do what it’s supposed to, you typically need two people operating in tandem for it to work; one person to undergo the evocation ceremony and the other- usually a high ranking demon from the Court- to manually administer the power gathered by the spire to the drawn circle so it releases the proper amount of demonic energy to create the corridor and propel the evoked upwards to the mortal realm.”
“However, since this spire’s been in a state of prolonged disuse, it’s already absolutely buzzing with demonic energy.” She bounced down the steps, dragging Vaggie along with her, and landed on the cellar floor with a flourish. “So, in theory, it’ll be possible to make a fully powered evocation circle on my own and with it, I’ll be able to blast upstairs in a demonic milky corridor of inter-dimensional travel!”
“Ooh, can’t you just feel the raw energy coursing through this place, Vaggie?” Charlie let go of Vaggie’s hand and beamed at her, the round, rosy patches on her cheeks flushed bright like light bulbs. “The build-up of untapped, raw power in here is so thick, I’ve got goosebumps!”
“I just feel clammy more than anything else.” Vaggie surveyed the mottled brickwork and glared at the worms living in several holes that were making rude faces at her. “This tower should’ve been demolished years ago.”
“I agree. However, luckily for us, it wasn’t, and I’m not above taking advantage of an opportunity should it make itself useful to my aims.” Charlie chirped and jerked her head towards a nearby archway. “C’mon, this way.”
“So, to answer your question in a really roundabout way, I had to pick this tower.” After passing through the arch, they treaded down a decrepit hallway lined with moldy, threadbare burgundy rugs, Charlie in the lead. “It’s the only place I knew I’d be able to make a successful transfer without being interrupted and without any outside approval, assistance or knowledge.”
“Or permission?” smirked Vaggie.
“That, too.” Charlie stuck her button nose in the air. “Not that I need permission or anything, of course. Considering what’s supposedly expected of me one day, I don’t see why I should have to seek out permission to do what I think is appropriate in regards to benefiting the welfare of the citizenry and acting appropriately on their behalf as I see fit.”
“Oh, so stealing that book out of the royal archives was appropriate behavior, then?”
“Hey, I didn’t steal anything.” Charlie wheeled around and huffed at Vaggie while her arm tightened around a large, rectangular object hidden underneath her cloak. “It’s not stealing. It’s just… borrowing… without permission… or knowledge… in the middle of the night… and climbing out a window afterwards- Okay, fine, it’s stealing. However, I stole this book in the name of a good cause and I’ll give it back when I’m done, so… so there.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” A grin sprouted out from the smirk on Vaggie’s face.
“Oh, hey. No teasing.” Charlie pouted at her, but she quickly caught Vaggie’s smile and broke out in one of her own, for smiles, as everyone knew, were notoriously infectious. “Anyway, the other reason I liked this spot was because since the northern spire’s an absolute death trap, the chances of being caught during the evocation ceremony are pretty low. Like I said before, nobody ever comes down here, and even if, on the off-chance, they did, I’ll be long gone by the time they reach my hiding spot, so either way, there’s no way I’ll get caught. See? All and all, I’d say this is a fairly perfect plan so far, don’t you?”
She nudged Vaggie in the arm with her elbow as the pair drew closer to the last door in the hall, but when she was met with an averted eye and a bit lip, her broad smile shrank.
“… You think this is a really bad idea, don’t you?”
Vaggie blanched.
“What, I- no, not exactly, I just…” She shifted her attention to the craggy stones in the wall. “Your plan’ll work, Charlie, I’m not doubting that, but this is just… I dunno, this part of it seems extreme. Really extreme.”
“Yep, that’s what I thought you were going to say.” Charlie put her hands on Vaggie’s shoulders and rubbed them with her thumbs. “Vaggie, I know an expedition upstairs may seem a little bit… clinically insane, but certain risks have to be taken if this is going to work and there’s no getting around that. Remember, that’s why they call it ‘growing pains’. We can’t grow into something new and be comfortable at the same time. That’s not how it works.”
“But there’s a huge difference between getting out of your comfort zone and putting yourself in mortal peril!” Unable to stand it any longer, Vaggie dropped her harpoon, seized Charlie’s upper arms and clung to them like they were the last lifeline in Hell. “Charlie, please, listen to me. You know I support exploring more humane methods of curbing overpopulation as much as you do, but you don’t have to put yourself through this in order to do it. We can find another way. There has to be another way to do what you want without risking yourself in an evocation-”
“Vaggie.” Instead of being shocked by the outburst, Charlie just stood there and sighed, her mouth pursed into a thin line.
“Charlie, I know you want to learn more about mortal souls, but putting yourself at the mercy of one is just crazy!” The grey hood atop Vaggie’s head flew back when she shook it, revealing a shock of long, white hair decorated with a pink ribbon, grey skin, and a lone eyeball that begged Charlie to reconsider. “You don’t even know who’ll try to make contact with you when you’re in there. You could end up right in the lap of a murderer, or a rapist, or a murdering rapist, or a murderer and a rapist! They could be working together, you don’t know-”
“Vaggie, I-”
“And that’s not even considering all the other people wandering about that you could run into while you’re up there. Charlie, the world up there isn’t like the world down here. The dead humans that you see now around Hell, the sinners, the mortal souls given demon form, what they look like now is who they really are.”
“Vaggie-”
“Their physical forms match their souls. They can’t hide it anymore now that they’re dead, but it’s not like that up top. The people there, they all just look like humans. Regular humans. Some good, some bad, some in between, and you can’t tell which one’s which. Trust the wrong one and you’re as good as dead-“
“Vaggie!”
“What?!”
“Look… it’s really sweet that you’re worried about me and all, but I’ve already made up my mind.” Happy that she’d finally gotten through, Charlie reached up and smoothed out the stray locks of silver hair that had flared every which way during Vaggie’s tirade. “I have to do this.”
“But why?” Vaggie implored while Charlie tried to straighten up the pink hair bow in her hair that had nearly come out of its knot. “Why like this? And why you?”
Charlie bit the inside of her cheek. She’d expected that she would have to explain herself to Vaggie before she disembarked, but, even knowing so, she couldn’t say she was looking forward to the prospect.
“Well… after the ’talk’-” Her nose scrunched as memories of a conversation she didn’t want to think about attempted to make a reprise. “I did a lot of thinking and, while it wasn’t what I would call the most delightful discussion I’ve ever had in my life, there’s no denying that by the end of it, I realized that there’s something even I can’t change.”
“I can’t make the people who rule over Hell give a damn about what’s happening to the souls trapped on the ground floor.” said Charlie. “It doesn’t matter what I do. They don’t care and they never will. I don’t really know what I was expecting when I broached the subject, but the point still stands that they don’t care and there’s no sense in denying it anymore. When it comes to bettering the welfare of the mortal souls, I’m on my own, nobility-wise.”
“Yeah, well… we always knew this endeavor of yours was going to be an uphill battle.” Despite her bow still being off-center and her raging rant from barely a minute before still evident in her complexion, Vaggie offered a halfhearted smile and set a hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “That’s not any reason to be discouraged, hun. You shouldn’t give up.”
“I know, and I’m not.” Charlie patted Vaggie’s hand twice with her own before pulling away to pace like a caged tiger. “But the sheer callousness and total disregard towards the sinners in the Pride Ring, it’s all just, it’s awful and repugnant and- oh, Heaven with it, it’s just plain wrong!”
Out of the top of her head, a pair of massive goat horns snapped up from beneath her yellow hair, and, in a matter of seconds, her appearance shifted from resembling that of a harmless child’s plaything to a cursed vessel that was in dire need of an exorcism.
“I don’t care if no one else agrees with me.” Charlie glared at the brickwork, daring it to object; it didn’t. “I don’t care if they think I’m nuts. None of this is right and I can’t stand idly by while the citizenry, my citizenry, are subjected to such barbarity every year. What kind of ruler would I be if I did nothing to better the lives of all those under me, and instead obeyed the whims of the status quo put in place by complacent autocrats just because it’s better for me personally not to make waves, lest I rock the boat?!”
“A typical one?” offered Vaggie.
“Exactly!” fumed Charlie. “And that is precisely why I’m going. I don’t care if Hell’s supposed to be a place of punishment, this practice they’ve set into tradition is just sick and somebody has to do something about it.”
“… Does it really have to be you, though?” Vaggie asked quietly, watching Charlie’s chest heave in response to the sudden onslaught of emotional outrage she had just undergone.
“… Yep. It’s gotta be me.” Gulping down some air in a bid to steady herself, Charlie slapped her cheeks with her hands and started combing her fingers through her thick, yellow hair. “If you want anything done right in life, you’ve got to do it yourself. I have to put my money where my mouth is and show the world I mean business. Otherwise, no one will take me seriously, nothing will get better and everything’ll just… well, it’ll all just go to Hell, pun sort of intended.”
She laughed at her own lame attempt at humor, but the hollowness in her voice ruined the atmosphere and she trailed off, staring at the ground as discomfort spread through the air like ripples on the water of a fish pond into which someone had just pitched a lead weight.
“… sorry. I didn’t mean to go all soapbox on you again.” Charlie wilted while the horns on her head did the same and her original appearance resurfaced. “I shouldn’t have done that. I know you’re already on my side and it’s not like you were telling me I was wasting my time like… well, in any case, you didn’t deserve that at all and I apologize. I should’ve kept a better handle on myself. It wasn’t fair to vent at you like that and it was unreasonable of me to-“
“Eh, don’t worry about it.” shrugged Vaggie. “You’ve got a lot on your plate right now and blowing up because of what happened is understandable. I mean, if somebody’d said all that stuff to me, they wouldn’t have had a head left after I was done. So, it’s not a big deal. Getting furious at being insulted like that is normal.”
“It’s not normal for me.” Charlie rubbed her face with her sleeve and groaned when it came back wet. “I don’t let stuff get to me. I stay calm and collected all the time and I never get mad. I’m perky.”
Vaggie snorted.
“Yeah, that’s a big, fat lie.”
“… not the perky part.” grumbled Charlie.
“Charlie… I know what you said, but are you sure this is what you want?” Vaggie put her hand on top of Charlie’s shoulder. “If you’re only making yourself do this because of what he said to you-“
“What? Oh, no, no, of course not.” Charlie’s head snapped up. “There are bigger, much more important issues at stake here, none of which involve me, and I don’t have time or the luxury to worry about myself right now. I can deal with my problems later when I have some time and the erasures stop.”
“And you really think that risking yourself like this is worth it, even if it means you could potentially end up being stuck upstairs for Satan knows how long?”
“I have to get more information about the mortal souls one way or another and, try as I might, nobody’s really all that keen on chatting about it once they’re down here. So, it’s this plan or nothing.” said Charlie. “Besides, I can’t expect other people to undertake what I wouldn’t be willing to do myself. So, yeah. I think it’s worth it in the end.”
Vaggie stared at her for a minute or two, her eye keenly fixed on Charlie’s own as if searching for something, but eventually she just sighed.
“… alright.” She murmured, her voice tight and thready. “Just please promise me that you’ll watch yourself. The human world, it’s not something to be treated lightly.”
“Don’t worry, Vaggie. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself and I made a plan and preparations and everything.” Charlie smiled at her in the hopes of getting one in return. “Besides, Razzle and Dazzle are coming along as my attaches, so I won't exactly be going by myself-“
“Charlie, I mean it. You have to be careful up there.” Unfortunately, Charlie’s aspiration to pry a smile out of Vaggie shattered against the stony frown she bore. “You don’t know the humans like I do. I know you want to go upstairs and I get that I can’t talk you out of it, but I meant what I said earlier. Not all humans are good. You won’t be able to tell who’s a good person and who’s not just by looking at them. They all just look like people and… it can be hard to tell who’s really a good person and who’s just acting nice to get you to lower your guard so they can use you. It’s trickier than you think, and the really dangerous ones, the humans you have to look out for, are the ones who can hide in plain sight. That’s what makes them so dangerous. They could be right beside you and you’d never know.”
“So, promise me. Keep your eyes open and don’t trust anybody until they’ve properly earned it.” Her grip on Charlie’s upper arms tightened, not enough to hurt, but enough that Charlie noticed. “And, even then, keep your wits about you. They could turn on you in a heartbeat and not care a lick about it afterwards. It happens all the time, and as much as I hate to say it, people in Hell are usually down here for a reason.”
Charlie’s smile softened.
“… I promise.” She caught Vaggie in a hug. “Also, thanks for coming with me. You didn’t have to see me off, but you did and… I really appreciate it.”
“Well, I couldn’t just let you go alone, hun.” Though the embrace had thrown her off balance, it didn’t take long for Vaggie to shake off the shock and hug her back. “Somebody had to see you off, even if it’s just me.”
“Oh, what do you mean, ‘just you’?” Charlie let go and tapped the tip of Vaggie’s nose with her index finger. “You’re more than enough. You’re one of the only friends I’ve got.”
“Alright, well, I think I’ve put this off long enough. Time to get a move on while I’ve still got my nerve.” She then perched her fist on her hips and faced the shriveled oaken door with the purple light coming from underneath the jam. “Oh, and are you going to be okay getting back on your own? I can walk you back if you want.”
“Nah, I’ll be fine.” Vaggie rubbed at her nose. “It wasn’t that hard to get here the first time, just a pain. Besides, if I do get lost, I’ll just follow the line of knocked out bodies that I clobbered on the way. No worries.”
“… Oh. Er, okay, then. Well, if you’re sure you’ll be alright getting back, then I suppose there’s nothing left other than to… do this.” Drawing in a breath to steel her nerves, Charlie squared her shoulders, grabbed the rusty door ring and wrenched the door open. “Welp, this is it. Wish me luck.”
“Luck.” Vaggie called after her as she slipped through the crack in the door frame. “Oh, uh, hey, Charlie?”
“Yes?” Charlie poked her head back through the gap in the door. “What’s up?”
“How, er… how long do you plan on being gone, exactly?”
“Oh. Um… hmm. Good question.” Charlie tapped her cheek with her finger. “Well, I guess that’ll really be up to the evoker. Ballpark figures, I could be gone from anything from a couple days to a few years, give or take.”
Vaggie’s jaw dropped.
“Years? Years?! You didn’t say anything about being gone for-“
“Relax, Vaggie, I was only overestimating for the sake of being thorough.” Charlie tried not to laugh at the horror etched on Vaggie’s face; sometimes she was so easy to ruffle, it wasn’t fair. “Still, the chances of anybody upstairs wanting to keep a demon around for that length of time are really low, so this is just going to be a temporary situation. Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Oh. Well… that’s a little bit better, I guess.” At that, Vaggie seemed to calm down a little, which was probably good for her hair bow; it was about to come loose again. “And, um, what should I say if anybody asks about you? If you’re gone for a while and nobody’s heard from you after another purge comes and goes, they may start to wonder where you went.”
Charlie’s smile grew brittle.
“I really wouldn’t worry about that if I were you, Vaggie.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not exactly the most popular person in Hell right now.” Charlie brushed some of her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. “Especially not after… well, anyway, let’s just say nobody’s going to care if I vanish for a bit or not.”
“But-“
“It’ll be alright, Vaggie. You’ll see.” Charlie grinned at her. “I’ll go up there, meet some mortal souls, figure out what makes them tick, come back home, and nobody’ll notice that I was even gone.”
Then, with a wink and a wave, Charlie slipped back through the crack and the door shut behind her, sending a gust of dust and mold up in a tizzy all around the hall.
For a while afterwards, Vaggie waited by the door, watching for any sign that it might open again. However, when it became obvious that the door wasn’t going to reopen, her shoulders drooped and so did her hair bow.
“… I’ll notice.”