Return of Cipher (Hatters!AU: Return to the Falls)

Chapter II: Calling Upon the Demons

Author's Notes:

Only started this because I realized I needed to, so don't ask why I started this while I also started the return of cipher rewrite

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Chapter Started: 1/21/23

Chapter Finished: 1/25/23

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July 2021

Pandæmonium, Treachery

Lucky

The streets of Pandæmonium were rather busy today. There were demons, hellhounds, and imps rushing past me, most of them carrying shopping bags and designer purses or wearing business suits and holding briefcases as they rushed towards Lucifer Towers to clock in for the day. I was amongst those demons, wearing my favorite Friday outing outfit, the outfit I had dubbed "the Friday Furfest" (and before you ask why I'm wearing fur in the summer, summer sunshine doesn't really exist in Treachery, so it's always best to bundle up regardless of the season). To start, it had a black crop top, which went well with my fuzzy choker and my short denim shorts. On the bottom, I was wearing my fur-topped black thigh-high boots, along with my black coat that had a fur collar on it. To complete the look, I'd topped it off with a top hat with a feather stuck in the band, my black rose stud earrings, and my collection of rings with all sorts of black gemstones on each one. My black sunglasses hid my face somewhat well, but people were still snapping photos of me (those bloody paparazzi follow me everywhere) because my red hair and black wings made me immediately recognizable; I was Lucifer's beloved daughter, the queen of Treachery.

Now, you may not know who I am, and that's perfectly alright. I know you mortals aren't given the best education, so allow me to do what your Sunday school teachers won't and tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Lucky Lilith Lucifer, and I'm Satan Lucifer's ninth ruling child in the lineup of the Nine Children who rule over the circles of Hell. I'm the daughter of the Devil (the aforementioned Satan Lucifer) and Lilith, the first woman to have existed on Earth (and also the first feminist, if you think about it). Ever since her passing, I've been raised mainly by King Dice, the well-known manager of my father's casino down in the Inkwell district of Hell, who also happened to marry my father when I was around ten or eleven (and it's surprising it took that long for them to finally marry, since they had been friends since the early 1920s). Some will call me a spoiled rotten child (like my jealous brother, Bendy), but I like to consider myself privileged and independent. My father signed me up for all sorts of fighting classes when I was a little girl since he wanted me to be able to survive in the world and wanted me to be just as strong as my mother was, if not stronger. I'm far more capable than I may seem to some, and those who doubt me usually end up with a chest full of lead.

While you've been paying attention to my monologuing, I've been standing outside the beauty shop, as my father barters with the manager to let him buy out a whole shelf of mascara for his beloved husband. I pulled out my phone when I felt a buzz in my purse, unlocking it and picking up the call as soon as I saw who it was from: my brother, Bendy.

"What is it, Bendy?" I asked, putting my phone to my ear.

"Hey, sis! How are you? I feel like we ain't been talkin' much lately!" The high-pitched voice replied.

"I'm good, I suppose," I said. "Just waiting for Dice and Father to finish buying out the entire beauty shop, that's all."

"Aw jeez, again? Doesn't that guy already own like, twenty Jeffree Star palettes?"

"Yes, yes he does." I looked inside the window to see them still at the desk. "But apparently, he needs more."

"I mean, Dad is Dice's sugar daddy, so I don't know why this is surprising to me."