Charlie stood in the grand lounge of the Hazbin Hotel, shifting nervously from foot to foot, clutching a crumpled envelope in her hands. The hotel’s dim lighting flickered, casting eerie shadows against the blood-red wallpaper. Across from her, sprawled on an overstuffed couch, Lucifer Morningstar sipped delicately from a teacup, his usual air of practiced indifference wrapped around him like a royal cloak.

She took a deep breath, forcing a grin that twitched at the edges. "So, uh… dad?"

Lucifer raised a brow, swirling the tea in his cup lazily. "Mmm?"

Charlie let out a short, nervous laugh. "Funny thing—I got a letter!"

Lucifer hummed, a relaxed smile on his face. "Mmhm. Good for you, pumpkin." He waved a hand vaguely, taking another sip.

She exhaled sharply. "It says one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is coming here."

Lucifer froze.

Then, with a violent spffft!, he spat his tea across the room in an impressive spray. The cup slipped from his fingers, shattering on the coffee table. His eyes, which moments ago had been half-lidded with boredom, widened in sheer shock.

"EXCUSE ME?!" He bolted upright, staring at her as if she'd just declared she was eloping with an angel.

Charlie’s laugh became a bit more manic as she held up the letter like some kind of damning evidence. "Y-yeah! Apparently, they’re on their way right now?" She scrunched her shoulders, grinning through the panic bubbling in her chest. "Cool, huh?"

Lucifer dragged a hand down his face. "No. No, that is the opposite of cool, Charlie!" His voice pitched somewhere between theatrical despair and genuine concern. "Which one? War? Famine? Death? Pestilence? Tell me you know which one."

Charlie winced. "Uhh… no?"

Lucifer groaned loudly, flopping backward onto the couch like a man who had just received the worst possible news. "Why? Why does this keep happening to me?!" He stared at the ceiling as if waiting for an answer from the universe. "One of the Horsemen, coming to my daughter’s ridiculous little sinner daycare—"