Tension in the Hazbin Hotel lobby was thicker as a swamp. Sitting across from each other was Stolas and Vaggie, drinking tea while the demonic royalty explained what mostly happened, keeping details about how the boy died and the IMP omitted. Surrounding them was the Hazbin crew sitting near Vaggie, absorbing the conversation; close to Stolas was IMP, Blitz was restrained up and gagged by Loona to keep ruining things while Moxxie and Millie sat nervously together. After her guest finished the story, Vaggie put her tea down to talk.
"Let me get this straight." Vaggie pinched the gap between her eyes. "Prince Stolas is here because a newly deceased child stole his grimoire."
The owl demon shook his head. "Yes, that is apparently what happened."
"Before I question the reason for why a child would steal from a royal, explain why those four dumbasses even have your book!" Infuriated, she points to IMP as the three employees restrain their boss.
"Unfortunately, Ms. Vagatha, my role as a Prince involves the study of Earth and it's prophecies. Due to the nature of my work, I am afraid I can't disclose such information." Stolas understood they would be in huge trouble if the truth was revealed, so he used the best excuse he had. "Pray tell, where is the lost boy, if he tries to use any of my spells, it could be dangerous for both him and those around him."
"I'm sorry, tall, dark, and fluffy." Angel Dust strutted over. "It seems the tyke gets a little nervous in a crowd. Maybe you and I could go do some...independent study." The spider demon placed a hand on the Goetia's thigh.
Stolas, not used to positive attention, blushed deeply at the gesture. Meanwhile, Blitz responded with fury at the sight of some Pornstar cozying up to his meal ticked. The tall imp didn't understand why he was so angry, but it set him off none the less.
"ANGEL! AWAY!" Vaggie warned Angel to stay away from Stolas. "I'm sorry, Prince Stolas, but the child ran off and we haven't found him."
"I found him." Niffty interrupted like a giddy schoolgirl.
"What!? Where is he!?" The frustrated hotel manager grabbed her housekeeper by the shoulders.
"He's coming down." Pointing to the stairs, Niffty revealed that Lincoln was indeed walking towards the lobby.
Returning to Lincoln, the recently muted boy was exiting the his hiding place as his new acquaintance just finished her explanation.
"So to make things simple to understand, these are the three big takeaways:" She listed, her sunglasses back on. "Number one, the doorstop that's my physical form is a spellbook that was previously a storybook until it came in contact with your blood. Number two, I'm basically here to help you; think of me as like your fairy godmother, or a supernatural tutor who pops in from time-to-time, or a stepsister who doesn't antagonize you but will only do things together when it's convenient. And number three, your body became a mystical conduit that transcribes magical energy into objects to give them preternatural characteristics."
Lincoln looked at her, confused.
"Bottom line, your blood creates magical effects. Think of it like a chemical reaction. When an object meets your blood it becomes a magical object, and if it's already a magical object it becomes a better one." She explained as they approached the stairs. "P.S. only you can see me, so try not to get talking or people will think you're crazy."
"THAT'S HIM!" Blitz, getting himself free, pointed the boy out. "He's the little shitbag that stole our book!"
Stopping midway down the stairs, Lincoln realized both the demons who were after Stillwell and the occupants of the Hotel were waiting for him. New to the group was a tall demon with a owl head and a cape, a humanoid cat drinking from a bottle, and a man in red with a deep, unsettling, smile. The boy looked down and saw both his own spellbook and the one he took; nervous, he hid them behind his back.
"Don't try to run!" Blitz pulled his gun our. "Try anything funny and I won't hesitate to kill you a second time!"
"A second time!?" Vaggie was more distrustful of the imps.
Before things got any more heated, Lincoln snapped his fingers to get everyone's attention. He gestured clearing his throat; taking advantage of his magician's flair, performed a trick. Lincoln showed both his hands to show him empty handed, then pulled the grimoire from behind as he presented to the audience. Then, he pulled out a white handkerchief and draped over the book. With one fluid motion, he yanked cloth away to reveal the grimoire had vanished.
Waiting for applause to end; only Niffty, Angel, M , and Stolas clapped.
Then, for a final trick, he threw a smokeball at his feet. When the smoke broke, it revealed Blitz missing his gun and stripped to his horse print boxers. Seeing his condition, the IMP boss was momentarily alarmed until he regained composure.
"So, I'm wearing underwear. I'm not going to apologize. I've got nothing you all haven't seen before." This got him a variety of responses from the others that ranged from catcalls, groans, and a blush from Stolas. "Now where did the kid go?"
Lincoln knocked on wall, showing that he just finished performing the portal spell from the grimoire. As his exit opened, the boy smiled and mimed tipping his hat in gratitude to the audience. Then he jumped in as the portal closed.
"You can say what you want, but the fact remains." Alastor quipped. "The boy has pizzazz."
Before he made his escape, Lincoln understood that if he wanted to get out of Hell and return home, then he would need to find someone who could help. True, with the spell from the grimoire he could open a portal to Earth, but as long as those demons have the book, then everyone up there would be in danger. From what Lincoln read in the storybook, behind all the blatant propaganda, was that angels have the most control. Which is why he made his escape to the only place he could think were an angel would be, the Heaven Embassy.
Outside the front door, the boy saw that the building matched the same depictions of angels as shown in the book, as well as the sight of Heaven in the sky. Smiling to himself, Lincoln knocked on the door before entering, only to find the embassy was devoid of anyone. Slowly walking in the eerie quiet, he approached the front desk.
"Wow, I wasn't expecting a parade for when you got here, but at least some to say 'Hi'." The indigo-haired acquaintance reappeared. "Seriously, where is everyone?"
Lincoln looked around until he heard talking coming from behind a door.
"It's a solution to our biggest problem!" The voice on the other side spoke.
"Oh, herpes. Yeah, that's a bitch." Another, more crass, voice responded.
"No! Our...other biggest problem."
"Oh…uh... ugly people? Math? Global Warming? Nah, wait, that's Earth's problem."
Curious, Lincoln cracked open the door enough to get a peek. To his bafflement, what he saw were angels; one of them was bigger with a weird LED mask and wore a tunic with a giant 'A' on it, and the other was blithe with a similar mask and angry disposition. Lincoln couldn't see the figure directly in front of him as the chair was blocking his view, but he was sure it's a woman.
Trying to figure out where the boy could be, Stolas was writing things down until he recalled a spell to find him. Meanwhile, Vaggie was still fuming at how that child duped them.
"Forgive me, Ms. Vagatha, but it's hard recalling a spell?" Stolas apologized.
"It's you book, Prince Stolas, don't you have a magic homing feature you can use?" Vaggie made a reasonable suggestion.
"Something like this has never happened before, I never thought someone would actually attempt to steal from me." He felt the pressure. "I haven't reviewed my spells for so long, recalling a simple tracking spell has become a labor."
Vaggie rubbed her forehead. "I can't believe a child got away from us, and with silly parlor tricks."
"Can't say I agree." From behind the bar, Husk was cleaning a glass. "That was definitely not some low budget parlor trick a kid could learn as a hobby from a magic kit his Papa got him for Christmas. His timing, the way he drew in our attention, he's definitely well practiced. And the way he gave us the slip, he knows how handle a hectic situation."
"He's a child, Husk!" Vaggie countered. "Someone his age shouldn't be in hectic situations. He should be going to school, playing football with his friends, being nervous that his crush doesn't like him back. Not running through Hell trying to escape dangerous, bloodthirsty lunatics. I'M LOOKING AT ALL OF YOU!" The woman pointing at everyone in the hotel minus Husk.
"Believe me, Vaggie." Husk looked at his reflection in the glass. "He may seem like an average, ordinary kid, but there is more to him."
Exhausted, the hotel manager sat at the bar while Husk poured her some water. "Charlie, I hope your thing is going easier."
Listing to the angel speak was infuriatingly annoying. For a while, Lincoln had to listen to the angelic man list numerous petty, sometimes chauvinistic, so called 'problems'.
"Seriously, I haven't been alive long, but this guy is the most self-centered jerk I've ever met." The spellbook's personification yawned. "I know you want the angels help, but are you sure he could it?"
Looking away, Lincoln didn't confirm his own uncertainty.
"You know when you take her out for the fifth date and she still expects you to pay the check, but then you're like, 'Hey, I thought you wanted equality.', you know?" The male angel continued.
"NO! I'm talking about our shared problem of overpopulation in Hell!" The one person Lincoln couldn't see spoke.
"Oh, we're already working on that. Lute, how many demons did you kill this year?"
"275, Sir, a good count this year." The other angel, now identified as Lute, answered like a soldier.
Although he didn't know who this person was, Lincoln saw how much she cared about the people here in Hell. Those two-hundred and seventy five killed souls meant something to her, while to the angels they're only a number assigned like a high score on a game.
"But these are souls... Human souls just like the ones you have up in Heaven. Don't that they matter the same?"
"They are not the same. They had their chance and they earned damnation." Lute replied, coldly.
"You're wrong. Yes, Sinners made mistakes, sure, but everyone makes mistakes."
"Angels don't makemistakes." Lute countered. "You've wasted enough of our time. The only reasonyou're still here is because daddy gave you and your Hellborn kind a pardon from an Exorcist blade. How does that feel, to know how little you matter?"
He couldn't see the woman, but Lincoln could feel her sheer devastation. Not controlling himself, the boy burst into the room and got between Lute and the only person in the room defending the existence of Sinners. Lincoln surprised everyone, the angels were furious by his attendance, but then he turned to see who Lute was intimidating. She was tall with blonde hair, and wore a red tuxedo that reminded him of some of the pictures he past by at the Hazbin Hotel. That was when Lincoln realized that this woman, was the Princess of Hell.
"Who the fuck is this!" The guy with the giant 'A' demanded an answer.
"I don't know, Sir, but I think he's a Sinner." Lute looked down at the boy with disgust. "Awfully young, but I suppose he's lucky to have missed the last Extermination."
Uncertain of what to do next, Lincoln ran up to Lute's superior and tried to explain but he still couldn't talk. Out of options, he got to his knees and begged.
"Oh, I think I know what you want." He answered. "You came all this way to get an autograph! It's a rare sight to see the first man in person! Let me just..." He made a golden scroll appear and wrote on it, revealing to the boy the superior angel is 'Adam'. "I know, seeing the guy who fathered humanity is a major deal, now if you would."
Adam snapped his finger and Lincoln appeared out the room by the embassy's exit. For moment, he stared at the scroll is disbelief; he came here to ask for help but was just pushed aside by beings he believed helped people. Lincoln picked up the sound of music being played back at the conference room. Running back, he got to the Princess just when she burns a similar scroll as his. Clinging to her, the boy was frightened by the revelation from Adam, that he and the Exorcists would be returning in six months instead of a year.
When he finished his song, Adam sent both the Princess and the boy flying out the room. The door slowly closes while the two can only watch in horror as the door closes shut.
"No, no... Ugh, SHIT!" The Princess hit the door.
Lincoln couldn't believe it, he went to angels for saving but they disregarded him as a no more significant than a stray that wandered in. He felt his rage inside him bubble up, until the only thing he could do was scream, still with no voice. Angry, the boy punched the floor until long after his knuckles bleed. Then, as if woken from a terrible dream, Lincoln felt a hand red on his shoulder. He looked to see the Princess crouched beside him with a scared, concerned expression.
"It's okay." She spoke as soft as a dove. "I promise, I won't let the mean people get to you." She sat down next to the boy. "We haven't been introduced, I'm Charlie, Charlie Morningstar. What's your name?"
After the day he had, all the fear, pain, and loss, this one simple gesture of kindness made Lincoln realize the enormity of what happened to him. Unable to control himself, he cried like lost, frightened child.
"There, there, it'll be alright." Charlie comforted him, then she took notice of his blood. "I know just the place for you." As if he weighed nothing, the Princess picked Lincoln up and carried him on her back. "I'm taking you to the Hazbin Hotel."
Ticking pen on paper, Stolas still couldn't recall the spell he needed. While he rubbed his head in frustration, the rest of the party shiftlessly waited. Given the short tempers shared by most of the group, that meant angrily glaring at each other until Stolas could figure out a spell.
"EUREKA!" Stolas made the recollection. "I remember, if I just get it down, I can find the boy's precise location-"
"Hey, Everyone, I brought someone!" Breaking the groups concentration, Charlie opens he door while carrying a past out child on her back. To everyone's collective surprise, it was the same child they were looking for.
"Charlie!" Vaggie ran up to take the child. "How did you find him?"
"Find him?" The youngest Morningstar asked. "He was at the embassy. Wait, do you know who he is? And why are you here Stolas?" Charlie noticed both the Goetian royal along with four hellborns, three imps and a hellhound.
"Oh, you Demonic Highness, you see the reason why I'm here is... my work in the study of Earth has made it apparent to..." The owl demon tried to explain himself.
Just then, Lincoln came back to the waking world and saw where he was now. Restless, he got free from Vaggie and ran towards the stairs. Except this time, Alastor materialized right in his path.
"Now, what could be so frightening, my dear boy?" Alastor looked down, he couldn't explained why but something felt familiar to the Radio Demon. "Very curious. Proportional head to torso to limbs, no signs of extra eyes or horns, ears have a slight point but hardly noticeable. Skin is pure white with no sign of undertone." Alastor used his free hand to check the boys mouth. "Teeth seem average, but pearly with canines a little sharp for a human. This mouth however, pitch black like the lips."
Lincoln felt a little uncomfortable, but was a little grateful to learn more about his new form.
"The feature that captivates more though are these eyes." Alastor stared into them. "Blue, like a clear sky. Two skies as they swim in pools of milk. Tell me, what is your name?"
Dejected, he tried once again to speak but Lincoln still couldn't.
"Your voice has left, how could it?" Alastor lifted the boys head and saw a small scar like mark on Lincoln's neck that could be his voice box. "An injury, given the permanence of this small scar, I'd say it was a puncture through the neck that killed you." Revealing the way he died to the rest of the group, Alastor glanced towards IMP. "Something like that wouldn't have been a quick death. Oh no, you would have suffered in agony for a while."
When the hellborns caught the Radio Demon's glance, they felt their blood freeze.
"You four seem to have a particular history with this lad. In fact, I would say you knew him in life, am I wrong?" Alastor slowly moved closure to IMP, stopping just in front of a terrified Blitz. "Now I can respect ones who share the thrill of the hunt, but to go after prey that can't can survive without the security of its parents, and then not even have thegullto finish it off quickly..." Alastor began to look more demonic then usual, but that was when Lincoln got between him and IMP. "What's this now? Are they not the ones responsible for your death?"
Lincoln turned to face them. Blitz sweated bullets, understanding the truth of what happened. Loona whimpered a little as she instinctively curled inwards like a frightened child. The married imps, Moxxie and Millie, held each other for support, keeping their eyes on Lincoln. The boy made a deep exhale before turning back to Alastor, then shook his head 'no'.
"They aren't, then?" Alastor was taken back as he returned to normal. "Well, my apologies, Hellborns, but I would still like to know how it occurred. Mmmm... I have an idea." Pulling up his cane, Alastor removed the eyes in the center of the microphone before crouching down to Lincoln's eye level. "Before I do this, answer one question. Your... maybe not grandmother, but perhaps great-grandmother. Her name, if you know, is it Harriet?"
Taken back by this question, Lincoln retreated one step before regaining composure. With a single, sure nod, the boy answered, 'Yes'.
Alastor's eyes seemed to widen at the response, able to tell the boy didn't lie to him. Then, he gave a roaring laughter before calming into a light chuckle. "Ah, even after all this time... my darling sister still finds a way." When this news became known, the rest of the room gasped surprise; those who knew Alastor better was surprised to hear he had a sister, and more that the child was here descendant; and those just meeting him, IMP, were shocked to learn that they were indirectly responsible for the death of an Overlord's relative. "Now, this may hurt for atiny bit."
Promptly, the Radio Demon took the eye from his cane and lodged it into the scar on Lincoln's neck. It hurt the boy as blood seeped from the wound. Charlie and Vaggie tried to stop him, but their efforts were unneeded as Lincoln remained on his feet as his blood's reaction with the bit of cane created a glow similar to the spellbook. Once it was over, the devil-tailed boy fell to his knees and felt his throat. Surprising, the eye was now like a knob from a classic radio, black with orange accent.
"Anything to say now?" Alastor asked, back to his power stance.
Lincoln cleared his swore throat. "Ugh... hu... He-hello?" Lincoln heard himself, his voice was just like before. "Hello? Hello! I can say 'Hello' again!" He jumped for joy as he tested his voice. "Hello. How are you? Good day, isn't it? Cat. Dog. Frog. Harry. Mary. Mary Poppins. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!"
When his joy subsided, Lincoln saw that he was still the center of attention. Charlie approached him to speak, but the boy looked to Moxxie and ran up to the imp to give him a deep hug.
"Thank you! Thank you All for what you did for me!" Lincoln had tears going down his cheeks while everyone else looked at him with confusion.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry interrupt, but who are you?" Charlie asked with concern.
Lincoln took a moment to tidy himself before turning to face the Princess. "Nice to meet you. My name is Lincoln, Lincoln Loud. Thank you, Princess Morningstar, if you didn't bring me here, I may have spent the rest of days without speech."
"You're very welcome, Lincoln. But explain what happened?" Charlie pointed to Stolas. "Prince Stolas told me you stole his book. Is that true?"
Covering is mouth, Lincoln pulled the grimoire out while moving in closure to the owl demon. "I'm sorry, Prince Stolas. I didn't want to trouble anyone, but I was scarred, and when I remembered what the kind wolf woman did with it, I thought it could help me." He lowered his head in apology.
"Well, you are very-" Before Stolas could finish, Vaggie interrupted.
"Wait a minute. You saw the hellhound use the grimoire?" She pointed to an angered Loona.
"Oh, yes, I must give my upmost thanks to both Prince Stolas and his good vassals." Lincoln pointed to IMP. "Me and my friends were at the mercy of an evil man. His name was Stillman, and he used the blood of children to conduct wicked spells. These Hellborns came to rescue us and put a stop to Stillman; my friends were able to escape, but I... I wasn't as lucky. He used something to pierce my throat; and then that was it."
"Oh, you poor boy." Charlie patted his head. "Is this true, Stolas?"
Stolas was at a lost for words, but Lincoln answered in his place. "It is, I assure you. The group's leader told me."
Lincoln moved to closure to Blitz. "He told me himself. Stolas had a premonition that Stillman would use his dark powers to bring untold suffering to innocent souls on Earth. If left unchecked, the Angels would get involved and place Hell as the cause for it, leading to unimaginable loss of both Sinners and Hellborns."
"Wow, you five have done a great service for Hell." Charlie, touched by this story, expressed gratitude to both Stolas and IMP. "If you guys didn't go to Earth, who knows what may have happened."
"We're just lucky they have permission to do this." Lincoln nonchalantly rubbed the back of his head, causing the celebrated party to look towards him. "Just imagine if Blitz, Moxxie, Millie, and Loona didn't have the authority to go to Earth to assist Stolas. I mean, if those Angels were any indicator, unlawful access must be a big crime down here?"
"Well, it would be an issue." Charlie brushed it off. "But it isn't without good cause."
"Exactly." Vaggie agreed. "If demons just went up to cause havoc on Earth, Heaven would wipe us all out with no hesitation."
"Really?" Lincoln acted scared. "What would the penalty be?"
Vaggie considered. "Just my own guess, but I think if demon royalty lower than the Sins did it, it could lead to them being revoked of their power, their position, and cast out to the streets of Hell with nothing to their name."
"Wow?" As Lincoln reacted, IMP stared on in fear.
"Well, that's just if they're the only perpetrator. If a royal giving access to an imp, hellhound, or the like to Earth without clearance, they may be sent to death." Vaggie continued.
"No kidding." Lincoln then turned to face IMP with his back turned to everyone else, this time his eyes turned an unsettling black with blue pupils. "If someone as important to as a royal would be given the death sentence, what would happen to someone, say, an imp?"
"Trust me, you don't want to know." Charlie tried to discourage the thought.
"Oh, but I can imagine, Princess Morningstar." The suddenly imposing boy kept up his act. "Those in power would try to make a spectacle of it. If an imp, or even a hellhound, got to Earth without permission, they would probably be tortured for days on end. No food, no water, no rest, they would be tortured around the clock in all sorts of merciless and sordid ways. Not just as punishment for what was done, but to send a message to discourage such things from being tried again." Lincoln moved closure until he was no more than arm's reach from IMP. "Yep, if any word got out that it happened, those poor souls would get on their knees and beg for a quick death."
They couldn't explain it, the boy was younger and shorter than any of them, but the way her spoke before them. It felt as if that boy was towering over them.
"Good thing you have such remarkable subjects, Princess Morningstar!" Lincoln changed moods when he turned to face The Hotel crew.
"Thank you very much, Lincoln. Please, just call me Charlie." Charlie didn't see any difference in his demeanor.
"I'm glad we got that sorted out." Vaggie went to her girlfriend. "I also have great news, we made a new commercial and Alastor got it slotted for tonight."
"Really!?" Charlie felt more at ease before turning towards IMP, Lincoln, and Stolas. "Would the rest of you like to see it with us?"
"I'm sure it's very nice, Charlie, but could I have a private spot to talk with my saviors? After everything that went on, I have a lot of words for them and I'm nervous of saying them with an audience." He asked nicely.
"Of course, why don't you use one of the empty rooms." Charlie gave permission while she went to the tv with her friends.
Lincoln smiled before turning back to the others, changing his demeanor again. "Let's talk." He said it like a simple phrase, but the weight of his words meant more. To IMP, these words weren't a sentence, but an unnegotiable demand.
Now alone in one of the empty guest rooms, Lincoln was sitting on the foot of the bed taking multiple deep breaths while the others stood in silence in front of him. On his final exhale, the boy rested his head in his hands.
"Okay, Kid. I know you think-" Blitz tried to talk but Lincoln raised his palm.
"One moment." He took another deep breath before speaking. "First question, who is the one in charge here?"
"Ahem, you're looking at him." Blitz responded, defensively. "As founder of IMP, Intermediate Murder Professionals, I am the-" Once again Blitz was cut off, this time by Lincoln punching the leader in the crotch. Doubling over in pain, the male imp vomited while his team and Stolas winced.
"That was for threatening me when I got to Hell." Lincoln coldly explained the reason for his actions. "And this." He said before kicking Blitz in the face, sending him flying to the wall. "Was for nearly killing my friends."
Stolas walked over and picked-up his love interest before using a simple healing spell. "It's okay, Blitzy. I'll make the pain go away."
Watching their boss like this was a first for IMP, but their unease was broken when Lincoln approached Moxxie. "Of the rest of your group, you seem the most reasonable." Lincoln cleared his voice. "Although you and your... I want to say friends, came to my school and terrorized me and my friends... you weren't responsible for my death."
The shorter male imp was surprised by the boy's words.
"If I hadn't gotten involved or helped Stillman, you might have just left without harming the rest of us."
"No shit." Loona responded. "We only got paid to kill the teacher, but you had to go-"
"Sit." Angered, Lincoln faced Loona and spoke a command like a man would give to a disobedient dog.
Without realizing it, the hellhound woman fell to the floor and sat there.
Lincoln collected himself again. "I don't trust any of you." He said blatantly to the others. "I don't trust you, but if I want to get back to my home, then I need you just as much as you need me."
"Woah, woah, hold the phone, Jr." Blitz got back to his feet. "Who says we some Sinner kid? Unless you've noticed, we've done pretty well on our own."
"Maybe not, but if I spend to much time out of your sights, others may learn the truth of how I got here." Lincoln faced the IMP boss. "If what Charlie and Vaggie said is true, everyone of you would be in deep trouble. I'm still new to all this, so I need people who can teach me to survive and get me back to Earth. So here is my offer; (A), you take me on at IMP, I'll keep my mouth sealed and you can resume doing your regular profession; or (B), you don't take me on, and I tell Princess Morningstar that four hellborn demons got me killed and are terrorizing Earth. And before anyone of you give some pitiful justification for what, why, or however, just consider this fact." Lincoln turned deathly serious for a moment. "Who is going to bother listening to the reasons of, what I have inferred, is the lowest class in Hell, or the giant chicken who gave them access?"
When Stolas heard this he wanted to rebuke, but the truth was the boy is correct. He couldn't risk his superiors learning what he'd done, especially if it can hurt Octavia. The demon prince looked at the IMP and saw they all made the same realization. Taking a deep breath, Blitz walked up and offered his hand.
"Welcome to IMP, you cocky little bastard." The imp tried to be as civil as possible.
Returning the animosity, Lincoln shook his new boss' hand. "You've just earned yourself a Junior Partner."
"What I did is get myself saddled with an overblown assistant."
News of what was revealed at the meeting with Adam and Lute became public. The yearly Extermination would now be twice a year, and now Sinners only had six months until the Angels returned. When the rest of the hotel learned this they began discussing what why this would happen, but Charlie was the only one not in the conversation. After Lincoln stopped talking with Stolas and his group, the owl prince left with his grimoire in hand along with most of the Hellborns.
Lincoln didn't come out for the discussion. After he left the discussion, Lincoln explained what he did to Charlie's storybook and apologized. Charlie understood it wasn't intentional and forgave him; the Princess of Hell asked if the boy liked books and offered him to read anything in her office. Grateful, the new Sinner went inside and hasn't left.
"Pardon us, Your Royal Hellish." Turning around, Charlie found the imp couple carrying a tray of soup. "My wife and I are trying to find Lincoln, were is your office again?"
"Oh, just down the hall." Charlie pointed the direction. "And please, call me 'Charlie'."
Following the couple down the hall, Charlie peeked into her office and found the boy sitting cross-legged using his tail to support him in the air. He was facing away from the door, completely engrossed in his reading. There were two stacks of books next to the boy and the shelves of the office were picked clean. To their collective amazement, Lincoln was reading through every book Charlie Morningstar had.
"Incredible, most of those are books even I've never read." Charlie was impressed.
"I guess working keeps his mind off how sad he is." Millie commented, looking at the boy. "At least when you're doing something, you don't have time to realize what's happening around you."
Charlie looked down at the imps. "How did he die? If you know."
Moxxie faced the Princess for a moment before turning away. "He was trying to save the people he loved. Used himself as a diversion and got impaled from behind. His friends... they didn't fall victim, but they had to watch their bestfriend be murder just for trying to save people he loves." The male imp looked at Charlie for a moment. "Your- Charlie, I understand wanting to save souls by sending them to Heaven... but if Angels didn't accept a boy like him into Heaven, can a Sinner even ascend?"
Charlie always had doubts, but she also knew what the alternative was. "We only have hope."
Not wanting to disturb Lincoln, thought they doubt it could happen, Moxxie left the tray of soup on the table and the three observes left Lincoln Loud to his work.