All it takes (A charlastor slow burn)

Chapter 13: Between Hell and Heaven

Bang!

"You can't hide from me!"

Crash!

Scream

"Heeelp!"

Charlie halted her nervous pacing around the hotel parlor as her eyes darted toward the door, every instinct screaming at her to go out there. Her fingers trembled, black nails bitten down to the quick from stress and anxiety. She turned to Vaggie with a pleading look.

"Vaggie..." she began but before she could voice her desperation, a strong impact rocked the building, causing the chandelier above their heads to sway dangerously, its crystals tinkling like a sinister wind chime.

Charlie wanted, no, needed out. The streets of Pentagram City were a war zone, filled with the cries of demons who found themselves hunted by angels. Each scream, each explosion made her shudder, her heart pounding.

She was the princess of Hell, yet here she was, barricaded in the relative safety of the Hazbin Hotel, feeling like a coward while the demons outside fought and died. And she did absolutely nothing to protect them. For a split second, she imagined herself charging through the door, taking on the angels herself, somehow stopping the madness.

BOOM!

A chunk of plaster broke loose from the wall, crashing to the floor and sending up a cloud of white dust, making her cough.

"Vaggie, they are my people... I should..."

"Charlie, please, we've been over this," Vaggie, sitting tensely on one of the red couches, interrupted her, giving Charlie a sympathetic look. She understood her girlfriend's frustration but refused to back down. "I know you want to help, I know you do, but it is too dangerous right now. I am not letting you go out in the middle of a fucking bloodbath. You have to think of Silas. He needs you here, safe and sound..."

As if on cue, Silas let out a loud wail. Vaggie gently rocked the young demon nestled in her arms who had been inconsolable since the violence began, terrified by the noises coming from behind the walls.

Vaggie could not bear the thought of losing her girlfriend to the madness outside. Hellborn demons were exempt from the annual Extermination, but accidents occurred in the chaos of battle.

BOOM!

Another crash, closer this time, the windows rattling violently in their frames.

"Look, the Extermination will be over soon," Vaggie continued, trying to reason with the distressed princess. "Then we can help them. But not now. Not like this. You're not a coward, Charlie, you're a mother. You've got to survive this, for Silas, for us."

Charlie's shoulders slumped with resignation. She didn't want to choose between her people and her family, they both needed her.

Surely there was something she could do? A way to end this cycle of fear and bloodshed?

She moved to Vaggie's side, sinking onto the couch and reaching for Silas, gently taking him into her arms. This was the boy's second Extermination, and it was far more terrifying than the first. Last year, he was just a baby, blissfully unaware of the horrors outside. Now, he was old enough to sense the danger behind the walls, and he was not taking it well.

Silas gripped Charlie's bow tie with surprising strength and buried his face in her chest, sobbing, his antlers pressing lightly against her chin as she rocked him gently.

Charlie buried her nose in her son's orange-tinged hair, inhaling the comforting scent of him. "Shh, mommas are here. We're here with you," she whispered, pressing a light kiss on top of his head.