Vaggie opens the door to one of the balconies for Lucifer and Charlie, saying "-and we've been able to find almost all of Angel's drug stashes." They think, anyway.
Charlie says "So, once that's out of the way, things should be much smoother sailing. So…what do you think?"
Lucifer blinks, and asks "About what?"
"The hotel!!"
"Oh, yes…it does look much better now, doesn't it? Though, I'm thinking this railing needs work - lean over too far and-"
Charlie nearly screeches "No, the plan, Dad! What do you think about using the Hotel to help Sinners?!"
Lucifer groans, then says "Charlie, I love that you want to see the best in people - really, I do. But these people…Sinners, they're just the worst. I don't know how much you can realistically expect from them, and Heaven? They're not nearly so open-minded as you'd think…" Almost every time he had an idea, it was shot down - and that was when he was still up there, before his Fall, before Humanity was anywhere near ready! A few of his ideas were used - mostly to humor him, and he knows it - but Calliope was the first to actually encourage his creativity rather than mock it. Lilith did to, but Humanity wasn't actually created for about two-hundred and some years - he's not sure why, Calli always just said 'Supply and Demand issues, and please just leave it at that, Luci.'
Charlie says "These are our people, Dad! I have to try!"
"Charlie, our people suck! Alright? We gave them free will - or, at least, gave it back to Eve - and they took it and did this with it!" Lucifer waves his hand towards Pentagram City for emphasis. "I just don't want you to put yourself on the line for people and get hu-"
Suddenly, the entire building shakes like a bomb's gone off under it.
"…like that. Right there, that's what I'm talking about."
A voice floats up, saying "Mimzy, we know you're in there, you lousy bitch!"
Mimzy glances towards the kitchen, where Calliope went to about two minutes ago, and asks "What's up with her?"
Angel casually says "Calliope? Most powerful woman in all of Hell, able to scare Overlords, Sins, and probably Angels themselves witless with her fury…but, otherwise, she's pretty chill. Great sense of humor…and a truly awesome bike."
Husk chuckles at that last part, having come back in time to hear it, and says "You just like going a hundred and twenty miles an hour and feeling the breeze in your fur, Limbs."
"The look on Val's face every time she drops me off or picks me up is hilarious, to. Can't say shit about it, though, because I'm always right on time!"
Mimzy hums, then says "Well, this Calliope sure seemed interested in how long I've known Alastor."
Husk deadpans "She said literally three sentences to you, Mimzy, and only one of them concerned you and Alastor." Trading a glance with Angel, though, he adds "I did learn Alastor knows French, though, since she arrived."
Mimzy blinks, asking "What now?"
Angel smirks at Husk for a moment, having caught onto Husk's irritation at the woman, then says "Uh, yeah. Every time they talk, he puts at least three bits of French in. Got no clue what he says to her when he does that, and I'm neither brave enough or suicidal enough to ask."
Mimzy does a rather impressive goldfish impression for thirty seconds, most definitely not having known Alastor knows French, right up until the door suddenly shakes like a bomb has just gone off on the other side. "Mimzy, we know you're in there, you lousy bitch!"
Mimzy ducks down behind the bar counter, muttering "Oh, shit…"
Calliope comes running out, quickly followed by a crashing sound, both hands glowing bright green as she asks "What the here?!"
Charlie, Vaggie, and Lucifer step out of one of Lucifer's portals, and Mimzy chuckles nervously before saying "I…may be in trouble with some load sharks…who I may have borrowed fifty-grand from." At Husk's look, she adds "And I may have stolen a car. And crashed it…into the loan-shark's girlfriend - but that bitch had it coming!"
Calli's about to swear when suddenly flaming boulders crash through the windows.
Niffty screams "MY WINDOWS!!"
Sir Pentious says "We're under siege, take cover!"
Calli yells "Everyone behind me!" The next boulder that comes crashing in spontaneously turns into butterflies when it hits the ground.
Angel throws Niffty further into the parlor, Pentious gathering up two of his eggs and making his way over as well, and Calli hits another rock with a beam of green energy before tackling Charlie and Lucifer out of the way of a third and then dragging them behind the bar counter and saying "Stay down, you two!" And then she turns into bright green mist and slips under the cracks in the door - everyone distinctly hears her semi-angelic voice shout at the top of her lungs "LEAVE MY NIECE'S HOTEL ALONE!"
Alastor shadows in right then, and says "It's time I remind everyone why I'm here. A warning to all, not to mess with the Radio Demon!" Alastor shoots several tentacles out of the now-broken hotel windows, demolishing the trebuchets the sharks had brought with - but, when he gets outside in his full demon form…he stops in his tracks, staring at Calliope going all-out on the hapless idiots. All four wings out, dressed in a set of red and black armor, shooting beams of brilliant green energy that are apparently at least partially angelic in nature given the way the Loan Sharks disintegrate on contact with them, and using a sword to cut through the rest of them. And, damn, Calliope knows how to fight - now he dearly regrets not being able to witness her beating Mammon to a pulp, because it must've been something truly special.
Meanwhile, in V-Tower, Vos is having a panic attack and a half that's shorting out his circuitry and fucking with his subroutines like mad - because there's four massive wings that look an awful lot like the description he's found on her! 'Wings of Death' indeed, they look all too deadly like that!!
Fuck, he's gotta keep Val from making her so much as glance at them!!
That'd be when his system crashes altogether.
It takes Calliope maybe thirty seconds to deal with all of the Loan Sharks, everyone else bar Charlie and Lucifer poking their heads out of the doorway to watch - Husk and Angel still sharing a bag of popcorn as they do - and Alastor shrinks down to his usual size before saying "That'll work, to…" So this is what the demons originally got to deal with when Calliope, Lucifer, and Lilith first came to Hell…he's jealous, jealous by far.
Calliope glances at her very blood-stained sword, and the blood vanishes moments before she slides it into a holster at her hip before turning and heading back towards the Hotel. Glancing at everyone, relief crosses her face when she sees nobody looks hurt…until her gaze lands on Mimzy poking her head from around the doorway, that is.
Stalking up the partially-destroyed hill, she says "You gold-digging, irresponsible, selfish little-"
Alastor steps between Mimzy and Calliope, saying "I'll handle Mimzy, Lys Calla. You should go get cleaned up after all that." Both to prove his point and cut off any protests, he runs a thumb along her cheek and shows her the blood now dripping from it. There's also the tiny little detail that her covered in blood is apparently the hottest thing he's ever seen, and if it doesn't get removed soon he may just act on the unhelpful imagery of licking it off her his mind is currently supplying.
Mimzy waits until Calliope is past the doorway before walking out…just in time for a beam of wood to crash to the ground. "Oops," she says, "sorry about the mess. But I'm sure the little-"
Cutting Mimzy off before Calliope rightfully decides to see how things are looking on the outside of the building or fix the hill, Alastor says "I think you should go, Mimzy. Now."
Mimzy laughs a little, saying "Oh, pfft, Alastor, you're such a kidder, you."
Alastor flatly says "I mean it. You deliberately brought danger to this place just to have me clean up your mess. I can't have that here."
Mimzy stares at him for a moment, then says "But you love taking care of me! You don't actually give a shit about this tacky place, do ya? C'mon, I know you," she starts poking Alastor in the chest, saying "you heartless. Son. Of. A. Bitch."
Alastor pulls Mimzy's finger off him, saying "You are welcome if you actually want to give Redemption a shot or need somewhere safe to stay…without deliberately endangering everyone else in the process. But, I think we both know none of that's your style. So you need to leave."
Husk cracks up quietly as Mimzy gets the most flustered expression he's ever seen on her, popping some more popcorn into his mouth as he watches the show - she's had it coming for way too long, and he's enjoying every single moment of it.
Mimzy stamps her foot on the ground, saying "Fine! See if I care! Have fun with your little Princess, and your little hotel, and that bitch Lys Call…wait a minute, is she that Calla Lily that's been on the air?!"
Alastor raises one eyebrow, asking "If she is?"
Mimzy just shrieks in outrage before storming off.
Angel murmurs "This is really getting good." "I've been waiting for that for ages, Angel. That's gonna live rent-free in my head for a long time."
Calliope's already fixed the inside of the hotel - while Lucifer watched with something akin to crushing guilt written all over his face, so Charlie takes the opportunity to ask him again about helping with the Hotel. Lucifer looks away, closing his eyes in defeat as he says "I…I can't."
"Why can't you?!"
Lucifer whirls around, gripping Charlie's shoulders like they're a lifeline, fighting back the burning in his eyes, and says "Charlie! You don't understand! Heaven never listens! They never listened to me, they won't listen to you! No matter how good your idea is, how well-intentioned, how much you want to make things better…" They were all concerned with keeping the Status Quo, nothing more. He knows exactly how many times he went to them with ideas, and how many times they actually accepted. Out of 3526 tries, they took exactly 3 of his ideas and used them.
Calliope was absolutely furious, honestly, ready to go rabid on everyone up in Heaven - she accompanied him on a few of his meetings…he always ended up literally holding her back from tearing them all to shreds, fruitlessly trying to calm her down by saying it was a dumb idea to begin with and sorry for wasting everyone's time to stop her from accusing them of gaslighting him again and again.
And the one time he didn't go to them…
Charlie brings him out of his spiraling thoughts, saying "You don't know that!"
Lucifer nods, tears running down his face at this point, and says "Yes, I do…I tried this all before." Hundreds, thousands of times before. He tried, and tried, and tried, and the result was always the same. "My dreams were too hard to defend, and in the end…you and Calli are all I've got worth fighting for."
Calli watches as Lucifer and Charlie get sucked into another song, disappearing into a giant portal to some kind of subspace Lucifer created at some point - maybe right that instant, she's not sure - and quietly heads to the kitchen. She was mixing cake batter when the mini-siege started, and quite a lot got everywhere when she dropped it in her surprise…even if the bowl itself turned into ice that shattered on impact with the floor.
Her best friend is…completely broken. Lucifer's bright, creative spirit is just…snuffed out. Despite all her and Lilith's efforts over the past ten millennia…Heaven won, in the end.
She hopes they fucking choke on their victory, hopes it tastes bitter and hollow to each and every one of them.