A couple weeks later, Emily was sitting at the hotel bar, running a finger around her glass of water. Charlie was no closer to waking up, and Emily was starting to get a bit worried.

Everyone at the hotel was worried about their light in the darkness.

Angel wasn't doing drugs.

Niffty was cleaning slower.

Pentious had less inspiration to build machines.

Even Alastor was a bit less chatty as he hid it behind his smile.

Emily was doing her best to run things but she could only do so much.

"Top you off?" Husk asked her.

"Whatever." Emily said, not looking up to him.

"You're upset, kid." Husk said, pouring Emily more water, "I can't blame you, but moping isn't going to help anything."

Emily just took it and drank it all before she frowned.

"My sister is in another ring, in the hospital, with no signs of waking up." Emily said, bittersweet in her mood. "The fact that I haven't started drinking yet is a miracle."

"Yeah, because you're the drinking type." Husk said, cleaning a glass. "What happened to "angels don't drink?""

"Yeah, well..." Emily then pulled out a cigarette and used her fire to light it. "I'm not much of a heavenly being anymore."

She put the cigarette between her lips and took a hit of it as Husk gave her a sad look.

"I know things look tough right now, but if there's one thing I know about you Morningstars, it's that you're too stubborn to give up. I've seen Charlie keep going when everything seems bad. It's honestly impressive." Husk said as he poured Emily her third glass of water.

Emily took the cigarette out of her mouth and drank her water, finishing it before putting the glass down. Husk went to fill her cup again, but she waved him off.

"No, get me a whiskey." Emily said, surprising him.

"... You sure, Kid?" Husk asked.

"I've had a lot of things happen as of late, I REALLY need something strong." Emily said, before taking another drag of her cigarette.

"Yeah but don't think I can't hear you having nightmares at night." Husk said.

"...Just please give me the drink." Emily said, looking away as she pushed her glass to him. "I don't want to talk about the nightmares."

Husk sighed as he nodded, grabbing a bottle from the shelf.

"Demon Seed Whisky, made with Scorpion Pepper, Ginger, and Maple Syrup." Husk said, showing her the brown bottle of liquor.

He managed to open it before Emily took the bottle, drinking from it like she's been drinking for years. You couldn't even tell that this was her first alcoholic drink. Husk looked at her.

'Just like Charlie. Once again, they ARE sisters.' Husk thought as Emily stopped drinking.

"Kid, if I could give you some advice, you're not going to find an answer to your problem at the bottom of that." Husk said, seeing her set the bottle down. "I would know."

"Then what do you suggest I do?" Emily asked, ignoring the burning in her throat. "Compared to me, you're younger but you're much wiser and experienced."

"Age is just a number down here but wisdom comes with experience." Husk said with a grin before frowning. "Now let me tell you a story."

"I'm all ears." Emily said, taking another hit from her cigarette.

"I never bought this whole redemption thing. Out of everyone here, except maybe Alastor, I'm the one that deserves to be here." Husk said before beginning his story. "When I was alive, I wanted to be like my dad. He told me a story about how he was part of D-Day, said he beat a Nazi to death. Thinking he was a great person, I joined the army and found myself in 'Nam...I killed a lot people and hearing their screams, I loved the feeling until one day, I saw kids burning while their parents laid on the ground. DEAD. The only ones that suffer in war are the people caught in the crossfire, the ones that couldn't get away."

Emily's eyes widened at this, she had no idea he witnessed something like that. She herself had not even witnessed it as she was more focused on Heaven than on Earth.

'I never did actually look at humanity before they died, did I?' She thought as Husk continued.

"When the war ended, I headed home and I was wondering if I made the biggest mistake of my life. You'd think I'd feel relief when I learned I didn't. Heh, you'd be wrong because that came later." Husk said, glancing at the ceiling. "My dad was a different kind of soldier, he didn't have to deal with the after effects of war but I did and I..."

Emily watched tears form in Husk's eyes, making him shut them to make them stop and take a breath to calm down.

"One day, I had a nightmare. A really bad one, I was back in 'Nam on an empty battlefield and all the people I killed rose from the ground like zombies and were dragging me into the dirt. I fought back with all my might and when I woke up, I saw the body of my wife lying in the floor because I strangled her to death." Husk said before wiped his eyes, opening them. "I spent time in prison after that and when I got out, I tried to drown my pain in alcohol then I picked up gambling because I hoped the mix of money and booze would eliminate the pain. And it did for a time, until I lost it all."

"H-How much?" Emily asked.

"Thousands, hundreds of thousand. When you owe people that kind of money, they expect payment. By ANY means necessary." Husk said before putting a finger to his head. "To pay off my debt, I got a bullet in my head and woke up here."

"And that's how you died." Emily said.

Husk nodded before he looked at Emily and gave a small smile.

"Drinking can be fun, kid, but you should never use it to numb yourself of pain. It can be great at first but things catch up to you, and you might not realize you have a problem until it's too late." Husk said before he took the bottle from Emily. "Like now, I think you've had enough for today."

'Compared to my problems, he's suffering much more. STILL suffering in fact.' Emily thought, looking at her cigarette before taking another hit.

"Thanks, Husk. I know that must've been a lot for you to share." Emily said to him, putting out her cigarette.

"Yeah, but I've got a lot of time to share things." Husk said, putting the bottle back on the shelf. "Now you should go get some rest, you look like shit."

"I....." Emily soon yawned after trying to deny this. "I guess a nap couldn't hurt. But I don't want to sleep too long."

"Sure, Kid. I'll ask Nif to come wake you up later." Husk said.

Emily left the bar and headed to her room for a nap as Sir Pentious came up to the bar with his five egg bois.

"Ssssshe puts up a strong front." He said with his usual hiss.

"Yeah, I know." Husk said, "She's just afraid, she was kicked out of heaven and the person that's been by her side the entire time is in a coma."

"But Ms. Charlie will be back soon, right?" Egg Boi #1 asked.

"Sure. She's tough, real hard boiled." Egg Boi #2 said, flexing his arm.

"I have to agree with them. The princessss is the toughest demon we know! We know she'll be back ssssoon." Pentious said as Husk chuckled a bit.

"Yeah, I doubt this will keep her down." Husk said, grabbing a beer and drinking, "She'll be back. I know it."

"I do wonder how her father issss doing." Sr. Pentious said before Husk poured him a drink.

"I'm sure he's doing good." Husk said.

At Lucifer's home, he had just finished a call with Vaggie, getting things ready, and put his phone away. He grabbed a bottle and opened it, not even bothering to get a cup, he just drank from it. He was strong, but Charlie being hurt does hurt him. He put the bottle down and just looked out the window.

"I was wondering when you'd show up." Lucifer said, before turning around, "It's been a long time... hasn't it?"

Standing in the room was an angel, with long blonde hair, pale skin, six wings, and her eyes were so blue they made the ocean look dirty.

"Hello, Jophiel."