Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Open your eyes..."

25 year old Mirabel Madrigal opened her eyes and jumped at the sight in front of her; a giant golden gate. "Where did the gate come from... How I did I get here... Where is here..." Mirabel muttered to himself looking around and gasped out loud as she looked up and saw that it looked like the sky was around her.

"What... What the..." Mirabel asked taking a step back; she looked and saw that she was near the edge of... "AM I ON A CLOUD?" Mirabel asked or more like shouted as she jumped and got a look at her hands. They turned a sort of grey and she felt something... "Is this a dream... Do I have wings..." Mirabel asked herself.

Was this a prank that Camilo set up on her and got help? A really elaborate one...

She began thinking; what was the last thing she remembered...

She going out with her familia to tour the mountains. Dolores and Mariano had their son Pedro who got his gift of flight recently; they had a hard time catching him at times. Some birds were bothering them and Pedro went to catch Mirabel when she ended up slipping on the mountains. The infant couldn't reach her in time and Dolores yelled out and Isabela quickly tried to send a vine for Mirabel to catch...

That was all that she remembered...

"Wait... Did I... No... I can't be dead... I couldn't be dead... This is a dream... I thas to be..." Mirabel asked herself and nervously tried to laugh and closed her eyes. "Close your eyes and you will wake up in bed with Mum insisting that you try one of her famous..." Mirabel told herself as she then opened her eyes again. She looked and cried out "oh no... I really am dead..."

"You seem to be taking this better than most when they learn... Please tell me if you need another minute..." asked a voice and Mirabel jumped as she then spotted a smiling friendly looking pure white skinned man at a podium next to the gate.

"Sorry... Who are you..." Mirabel asked as the man was waving to her and opened up the book on his podium.

"Saint Peter and who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?" he introduced himself as Mirabel looked around.

"Okay Mr Peter... Or Saint Peter... I'm Mirabel Madrigal and... Where am I..." Mirabel answered as Saint Peter looked inside his book and smiled.

"Here you are in my book Mirabel and I would be happy to explain to you where you are... In song..." Saint Peter replied as he then floated using his wings to the gate and then cleared his breath. Saint Peter then said "dearly beloved; it is my pleasure to say unto thee..."

Vaggie yelled as she awakened in her bed in the Hazbin Hotel; she looked around and then let herself fall back onto the bed with her head hitting the pillow. "Hearing that fucking song again..." Vaggie muttered to herself with a big sigh as she then stretched.

The door slammed open and there in her pyjamas was her scared looking girlfriend Charlie Morningstar. "Vaggie... I heard you... Are you alright? Did you have a nightmare..." Charlie asked sounding as if she was fearing that Vaggie had been attacked in her sleep as she ran to quickly check up on Vaggie.

Vaggie pushed her back gently as she got up; "Chill hon... Was just dreaming about... I remember when I first was in Heaven..." Vaggie explained with a sigh as Charlie froze as she stared at her.

"Oh... When you were created by the angels or..." Charlie asked as Vaggie gave a sigh and shook her head. Even after Charlie finding out what she was; they hadn't really talked about what it was like for her in Heaven. Even after patching things up and then they were busy rebuilding the hotel and managing it...

"No Charlie... I was a 'Winner' as Adam called them... I died and went to Heaven and joined the Exorcists afterwards..." Vaggie explained as Charlie's eyes widened at this. Vaggie wasn't looking forward to the questions afterwards.

"Oh... Was it not... Pleasant your time in Heaven or when you first got there..." Charlie whispered with it being clear that she was carefully choosing her words. Vaggie frowned at this as Charlie gasped and then embraced her. "Sorry... I know that you don't have to share with me everything... But if you did want to talk about it or what it was like as a human... I am all ears..." Charlie whispered assuringly as Vaggie smiled as she embraced her back.

"Thanks Charlie... I will tell you when I'm ready... But right now; I think that I need to get ready for another busy day..." Vaggie then said as Charlie nodded and then went to the door.

"I will let you get right on it..." Charlie then said with a big smile and a double thumbs up.

Vaggie laughed amused as she then nodded at it. "Charlie is everything I have in Hell..." Vaggie muttered with a smile.

Fully dressed Vaggie went into the bathroom and was washing her face; looking in the mirror, she jumped and took a step back. Seeing the reflection in the mirror...

The reflection of the human Mirabel Madrigal before she died...

Vaggie scowled and looked away; "Shouldn't think about that... I'm not that girl with no gifts from the amazing family... I have found my role and it's helping the best girlfriend ever achieving her dreams..." Vaggie muttered to herself as she then stepped right out of the room.

"CHAR-CHAR! VAGGIE!" Lucifer Morningstar yelled from downstairs and Vaggie rushed down the stairs along with Charlie to meet Charlie's father and the king of Hell. He looked to be shocked and a bit cautious.

"Dad..." Charlie asked concerned as Lucifer took a step back.

"Just got back from the Heaven Embassy... Sera was there..." Lucifer explained as Charlie and Vaggie's faces fell as they prepared themselves.

"What does SHE want..." Charlie asked sounding a bit bitter and Vaggie shared the sentiment; whatever the holier than thou bitch had to say could be shoved right up her ass...

"She specifically said that you both have an invitation to come to Heaven... Said that it's in peace and wants to give out apologies..." Lucifer explained as they then stared at it. Vaggie having heard it; thought that there was only one appropriate response...

"How fucking gullible and stupid does she think that they are... She probably wants to put us on trial for that asshole Adam being killed after we acted in self defence..." Vaggie yelled and Charlie frowned nodding her head. Lucifer however sighed.

"I thought so too but she insisted that it was in good faith... Swore in in the name of the Lord..." Lucifer explained and that gave them pause. "Plus she said that someone called... Emily was to be your guide in Heaven again before the meeting..." Lucifer then continued on and Charlie beamed.

"Well... We can trust her and it sounds like it could actually be in good faith... We should at least hear her out..." Charlie then said optimistically as Vaggie couldn't believe that she didn't have much arguments to go further against the idea.

"Yeah... Emily is alright... As long as she keeps her hands off my fucking girlfriend..." Vaggie then thought as she then sighed in defeat. "Alright but if this is a trap... Then I am earning my fucking place down here..." Vaggie then said as Charlie confidently caught her hand.

"We will face this together..." Charlie then said as Vaggie then nodded.

Chapter Text

Vaggie and Charlie were almost ready to go onto their second visit to Heaven; just needed to make sure that everything will be alright in their abscence. "Trust us Charlie, Vaggie... With me here... Everything will go smoothly! Anything does happen and nothing that having to throw my power around as King of the entire realm won't fix!" Lucifer said assuringly them as he slapped his daughter on the back.

"Indubitably. Nothing will go wrong with us manning the the ship so to speak!" Alastor spoke with that damn smile off his and Lucifer scowled at him. Vaggie gave him a look and nodded.

Truth be told; she still didn't totally trust him. He made it clear from day one that he was only here to watch Sinners fail at redemption for his own amusement. However despite his lack of faith in the goal of the hotel; he still helped out and was there by their sides when the angels attacked.

Plus with the chaos that his best friend brought and had to turn her away; he was still takign his role in the hotel seriously.

So yeah; he had to be given some leeway even if Vaggie will watch closely if he tried to cash in that favor that Charlie owed him.

"Have fun with the angels toots!" Angel Dust spoke out from the bar and Husk rolled his eyes but gave them a wave and Charlie in return shot them a bright smile and a goodbye wave of her own.

Vaggie just shrugged as she was getting more used to Angel being... Well Angel and same goes for Husk.

"What do you think is awaiting us in Heaven? You really think that Sera saw the error in the ways of the Extermination..." Charlie asked as Vaggie just shook her head.

"Honestly; I have no clue what to expect and about Sera changing her mind... Only way I can expect that to happen is if a Sinner popped up in Heaven in front of her; totally redeemed." Vaggie replied and Charlie gave a face that pretty much said 'fair enough'.

"Well we still know that Emily will be a friendly face." Charlie said as Vaggie gave a curt nod.

"Yeah her..." Vaggie said trying to sound nice and then an excited looking Sinner demon popped up in front of Vaggie's face.

"Oh; whose Emily? Someone who Charlie is having an affair with in Heaven? A love triangle plot or maybe a third member to make it a threesome between the two of you? Plus give me the details for the fanfiction that I will write..." she asked excitedly and Vaggie scowled as she pushed her back.

"It's none of your fucking business Emberlynn now give us space..." Vaggie almost yelled right into the Sinner's face with Charlie ready to hold Vaggie back. "Even at the start; Angel was more tolerable than her..." Vaggie thought frustrated.

She was found at the gates all tied up and with a note that said:

She's your fucking problem now. No take backs. She gets redeemed; make sure to tell Heaven that there are no returns.

Whatever happened with her and trying to ask Emberlynn almost gave them all a headache; no one blamed this 'Blitzy-Kun' at all for wanting to be rid of her. Even Alastor when interacting with her; had an extremely strained look on his smile and looked close to eating her up in one bite.

Charlie and Vaggie left the hotel together.

"Right here for the 3rd time..." Vaggie thought in her head as she and Charlie were now at the gates of Heaven; Saint Peter was there to greet them.

"Ah yes... Charlie Morningstar... I was told to expect you..." Saint Peter said with a smile as Charlie returned it and Vaggie looked at him carefully.

"Please tell me if you are gonna sing that song again..." Vaggie asked as she didn't know if she wanted to hear it again; she just wanted to get this visit over and done with. Looking at Saint Peter who shook his head looking amused; she thought to herself "you think that he remembers the souls that he greets at this gate? If he does; would he ever recognise me as I look all different now... I barely recognise myself in the mirror..."

"Charlie. Daughter of the Morningstar. We are gifted to have you here." Sera spoke with a smile as she and Emily appeared in their angellic forms before transforming as they landed. Emily looked to be as excited as she had been to greet them the last time.

Charlie gave her wave but Vaggie raised her eyebrow and said "so you're gifted this time and not us?" Emily frowned as Sera gave a nervous cough; Charlie was giving a strained look as Sera stared down at them.

"I give my deepest apologies for your treatment last visit and the events of the failed Extermination. Adam took things too far and I hope we can sort things out as we meet formally later." Sera said actually sounding sincere as Vaggie looked at her carefully.

"I wouldn't believe it if Charlie's dad didn't say that you swore in God's name..." Vaggie muttered as Sera gave a sad sigh.

"I suppose that your lack of trust is as valid as it is unsurprising while unfortunate. You remember Emily; she will be your guide again before we meet up." Sera then said as Emily went to grab Charlie's shoulders before Charlie had a chance to react.

"Oh; you won't believe what has happened since we last saw eachother... I so want to tell you but I don't want to spoil the surprise..." Emily said excitedly as Charlie jumped and Vaggie shot Emily a 'get your fucking hands off my girlfriend' look.

"We must go to the zoo again... Oh Vaggie! You must join us this time! Give you better memories of Heaven as it was so unfair what Adam did in revealing that secret to Charlie and the entire court... Wasn't his to share and I was mad at him! But we can start anew..." Emily said excited as she went and took Vaggie's hand as she looked at her carefully.

"Okay... Thanks..." Vaggie said carefully as Emily looked at her eagerly as she then dragged Vaggie through the gates as Saint Peter opened them.

Emily showing her through Heaven; Vaggie knew why this was familiar...

Mirabel carefully walked through the gates and saw the buildings and the angels in front of her; not 2 looked alike and it felt overwhelming. "Oh hi... New here..." Mirabel said nervously as just about everyone who passed her gave her a polite smile and waved to her.

"So I am dead and in Heaven... Where do I go..." Mirabel said as she then jumped as a smiling Emily was right in front of her. "Uh... Hello?" Mirabel asked as Emily grabbed her hands.

"I saw you walking through the gates and you look so lost. Don't worry; I can help you with getting started! I'm Emily though you can call me Em! Emmy. E. whatever you want. I go by whatever." Emily then said sounding like she was about to burst as Mirabel cleared her breath.

"Nice to meet you 'Whatever'." Mirabel replied and was mentally kicking herself for her bad joke but Emily actually giggled. "I'm Mirabel... Mirabel Madrigal. Do you know where to go... I honestly have no clue where to start or where I am supposed to stay..." Mirabel said as Emily just smiled.

"So nice to meet you Mirabel and that's not a problem at all! We can find your family and you can stay there!" Emily then said as Mirabel's eyes widened at that. 'Family'...

She was dead and what is her family back on Earth going to think... Her siblings, parents, cousins, her tios, tia and abuela... The thought was so depressing; "Hey now... I promise that it will be okay... I am here for your... I'm the Joybringer and I bring joy to the ascended souls here in Heaven! Emily told her assuringly pulling her in for an embrace.

Joybringer? Was this like Camilo's job to the children back in the Encanto...

Emily floated and practically dragged Mirabel away and Mirabel quickly had to learn about how to use her wings...

"Just like Casita..." Mirabel muttered in shock as Emily had taken her to what looked like an exact copy of the Madrigal family home. Emily excitedly knocked on the door and soon it was answered by a man with a goatee that looked just like a certain picture that hung on the walls of Casita...

Mirabel gasped out loud and asked "Abuelo?"

Chapter Text

The zoo in Heaven was jaw dropping; Mirabel could only glance a tiny bit of a second at the animals that they had and her breath was taken away. So majestic; so magnificent and the directories saying that they had animals that were either extinct or just never existed on Earth.

One of them put their head over the barrier and snuggled against her shoulder; "Oh! Hey now; nice to see you too buddy..." Mirabel laughed at the animal and frowned as she recognised it as a jaguar...

They were always Antonio's favourite animal...

"I wonder how Antonio is doing... He probably doesn't miss me too much... He has other cousins and siblings along with his parents... He is pretty much a young adult now... He doesn't need his prima who gave him that toy that he still keeps with him... Who held his hand when he walked to his door for the first time... Yep..." Mirabel said to herself with a strained forced smile.

"You alright Mirabel?" Emily asked with a concerned frown as she had her face right next to Mirabel. Said ascended soul jumped at that.

"Emily! You got to stop doing that..." Mirabel chided shaking her head once she caught herself. "Sorry... Just that the animals... Remind me of Antonio... He would love this place... His gift is to talk to them..." Mirabel then said with a deep sigh and Emily then put a hand around her shoulder.

"It's okay to miss your family... You will see them one day Mirabel and you can help show them around when they do arrive..." Emily told her assuringly as Mirabel gave the best smile that she can. "Let it all out Mirabel and tell me if there is something else that you want to do after we are done here. We can go back to your new home and ask your grandfather if he has suggestions if you want." Emily suggested and Mirabel thought about it.

Pedro being back at the home; the grandfather that she never got to know... Him staying there while Emily showed Mirabel around Heaven... Give them both time to think about what to say to eachother.

"You don't need to Emily... I could probably find something to do on my own... Maybe someplace that I can help out..." Mirabel said in an amost retort sounding grateful but Emily shook her head.

"I don't need to... Nonsense; it's my job and it's bother or burden at all. You are new to Heaven and I need... I want to make sure that you are being settled into Heaven and anything that I can do to bring you joy then I will do it. You just need to take what you time to take it all in and when you are ready... Just enjoy your afterlife..." Emily then said firmly to Mirabel.

Mirabel took this in; here she is in the afterlife and big important roles for others to fill and here she, once again just expected to go about her day... Without purpose... Without a role... She found her own one in the familia and in the Encanto but now...

"Thanks Emily... You think that I can get a minute please..." Mirabel asked and Emily then smiled as she saluted and floated away with her wings. "What am I supposed to do... Just enjoy myself here and relax while ignoring how my familia is taking my death... The second youngest of my generation and they were there as it happened..." Mirabel asked out loud annoyed.

"You alright..." asked a female voice and Mirabel jumped and her eyes widened at the strangely scary clad angel next to her with the hornet head. "Oh sorry... You're new here so... Let me get this thing off..." said the angel apologetically and she then unmasked herself to show a smiling woman angel with short hair.

"Oh hi.... I'm kind of new here..." Mirabel said awkwardly as the angel laughed.

"I was able to tell... Trust me; it took a while for me to take it in after I made it here... Good thing that I got my wife and her husband with me... We died around the same time really..." said the angel and Mirabel's eyes widened.

"Your wife had a husband?" Mirabel asked; not in a judgemental tone but a curious one.

"Yeah... polyamory is freely practiced here... Turned heads when Eugene and I married her together when we were alive but we found out upon dying... Turns out that it's needed because when someone who remarried after the first spouse's death and they are all up here..." she then explained and Mirabel took it in.

"I can actually imagine..." Mirabel laughed and the angel laughed as well. "Mirabel." she introduced herself offering a hand that was accepted.

"Cass." she the introduced herself back. "Sorry for the get up... I'm part of Heaven's guard; just us women angels besides the leader... We keep on guard and patrol Hell every year to make sure that they don't get any idea to threaten us or this place..." Cass then explained and Mirabel took this in.

"So... An important job here in Heaven that is voluntary... No need for special gifts..." Mirabel asked interested as Cass got out a flyer to give to Mirabel.

"All the details if you are interested... Think it over because trust me... The job is a lot sometimes and the toll..." Cass then said explained as Mirabel looked at the flyer...

The Heaven zoo... The first place that Emily showed Vaggie (besides what was her home there) in Heaven... Walking in with Charlie and Emily; the daughter of the Morning Star looking like she was seeing this for the first time all over again.

"I wish that you had the chance to see it the last time... You probably have seen it before since... You know but..." Charlie said excitedly and then looked a little awkward but Charlie grabbed her hand.

"Don't worry about it Charlie... How about we see those koalas?" Vaggie assured her and Charlie excitedly all but dragged her to where the koalas were. Charlie insisting that she hold one and Emily get the picture of them both of them together.

Vaggie laughed as the koala didn't want to let go of her arm as she put it down; Vaggie then said to them "so anything else that you want us to see together here..."

"No way..." muttered a voice and Vaggie straightened up recognising the voice. She then turned to see in a bit of a distance with wide eyes but in different clothes; none other than Cass. Vaggie jumped and then ran over to her. "Mirabel... It's been 3 years and who would have thought that we ran into eachother here again and..." Cass said in awe but her eyes widened as Vaggie glared at her.

Old friends but she was still among the Exorcists; she probably fought in...

"What happened to your eye? Is that why..." Cass asked as Charlie and Emily came forward. "Hold on... Is that Lucifer's daughter..." Cass asked surprised.

"Vaggie... Why did you... Who is..." Charlie asked concerned and Vaggie felt a bit awkward about running off; force of habit... Vaggie then sighed apologetically as she put a hand on Charlie’s shoulder.

"Sorry Charlie... I don't want to keep more secrets than I need to but... This is Cass; she's an old friend from... The guard..." Vaggie explained with a bit of an eye towards Cass and Charlie started to understand what she was talking about. She then frowned at Cass who put her hands up.

"Listen... I heard about the debacle in the court... I promise that I knew nothing about it... I haven't been in... The guard... For 3-4 years... Last I saw you; it was my last... Patrol day... I quit..." Cass then said defensively as Charlie and Vaggie looked at her.

"Really..." Vaggie asked hesitatingly; wanting to at least hear her out.

"You remember how we talked about the toll the job was having on us... After that day... I didn't see you and when I asked Adam if he knew here you were... He just bluntly and rudely told me to drop it... No matter how many times I asked... It was too much... I finally quit and it was a relief to Raps..." Cass then explained softly and quietly and Charlie and Vaggie's eyes widened at that.

Sounds like Adam to do if someone asked about her...

"Sorry Cass... Just that... For all we know; we just had to fight you on the 2nd... Patrol Day of the year... If you heard about that..." Vaggie told her apologetically as Cass shrugged. "Anyway... This is my girlfriend Charlie the Princess of Hell..." Vaggie then said as Charlie then excitedly took Cass' arm to shake.

"Sorry about that Cass but you think we can start over after getting off on the wrong foot... So nice to meet a friend of Vaggie's!" Charlie said excitedly as Vaggie laughed amused.

"You are reminding me an awful lot of my wife... Your hair is even the same color and is held back as hers' is..." Cass muttered as Vaggie continued laughing. When Charlie stopped; Cass asked "what brings you to Heaven?"

"Showing them around as we have a special surprise for them..." Emily said excitedly making her appearance known; grinning at her knowledge inside. "Nice seeing you Cass; didn't know that you knew Vaggie here." Emily said as Cass raised her eyebrow to Vaggie's concern but she showed relief as Cass knew not to say anymore. Some more waving and the trio continued looking at the animals.

"Just how much animals do you have here at the zoo?" Charlie asked Emily wondering what species they haven't seen at the last visit.

Emily gasped excitedly looking over their heads; she then said "well here is someone who has a special gift with animals and works here at the zoo... Antonio; can you please come over here?"

Charlie and Vaggie turned around and Vaggie registered the name at the same time that she recognised the angel there...

Chapter Text

Shit...

Shit...

SHIT...

SHIT!

Vaggie looked at this angel and knew that this had to be her younger cousins; definitely looking older than she remembered. He was only a teenager when she last saw him; that was about 60 years ago. He had grown up; lived a full life... Without her to see it...

"Charlie! It's so good to see you again!" Antonio said greeting Charlie as he came closer and they both waved to eachother; definitely sounded like him only older... He then smiled at Vaggie making her nervous; how was she going to get out of this...

"You must be Vaggie... Charlie definitely gushed about you when I saw her on her last visit here." Antonio then said as Vaggie tensed for a minute but then put in a friendly wave. There was a slight raised eyebrow from the angel but it was gone after a second.

"He doesn't recognise me... Not fully at least... Off course... My hair is much longer, missing an eye and my glasses... I certainly don't look like the cousin that he knew..." Vaggie thought calming down as she then gave him a smile.

"Well nice to meet you Antonio..." Vaggie then said as Antonio and Emily gave her a look but then Vaggie cleared her breath. "You think that you could tell us the best animals to see here... So many animals here and so little time..." Vaggie then asked as Antonio just gave a smile.

"Always loved jaguars... Biased there but the birds are great as well and we have some cool ones..." Antonio answered and motioned for them to follow him. Vaggie thought that this was going well and they followed the angel.

"Birds huh... Thank God that Alastor isn't with us..." Vaggie whispered to Charlie and they giggled together. It turns out that the Radio Demon wasn't a big fan of birds...

After giving it a thought; she signed up for the Heaven guard within two weeks of her arrival in Heaven, despite some concerns from Pedro. She was sent to training and... It was nothing close to what she expected...

Showed how to handle spears and the best way to use them without hitting yourself or others with it. While that would be as expected; it wasn't that this was basically all that they were trained to do. Besides flying very fast. Apparently it wasn't needed as their Angelic weaponry was more than enough for the demons of Hell.

"Here's your mask babe... You're an Exorcist now... Remember that we tell you here is left out of your fucking mouth..." Adam the leader of Heaven's guard (or the Exorcists as they were called it seemed) told her giving her the mask and made her jump as she felt a slap on her behind.

"What... Hey..." Mirabel complained with a glare but Adam kept on giving the masks out and didn't really react to her. "Jerk...When I heard that the first man led this army... I though that he would be some wise figure... Not... Whoever this is..." Mirabel muttered as she stormed out of the door.

"You should have seen it when he did it to me... Never tried it again and he's lucky that I never told Raps... If I did; he would have been knocked right out with a flying pan and hung using her hair..." said a voice and Mirabel jumped as she saw that Cass was there with her arms folded. "Congrats on graduating... Thought that I would help you adapt to this environment" Cass then told her with a smile as Mirabel smiled back at her.

"Thanks Cass... Definitely not what I expected... Is Adam going to keep doing this..." Mirabel asked feeling like she was going to quickly get frustrated with Adam with his attitude. Inappropriate and she didn't even like males that way...

"Be sure to stay out of his way and it's a bad sign if he decides to nickname you; it's his way of saying that he likes you... Only reason he hasn't done it with me is that he's scared of me..." Cass then told Mirabel who sighed.

"Thanks... At least things can only get up from here... What did you say about a frying pan and your wife's hair?" Mirabel asked eyes widening as Cass laughed.

"I will explain later but I will warn you... Now that you're one of us... You have to be prepared for a certain day... Truth be told; Adam has us hide our true purpose and... You will see..." Cass told her in a serious whisper that had Mirabel frowning...

After a white; Vaggie had the worry escape her and Antonio did show her a lot of cool animals that she never saw at the zoo. Didn't help that every time she did visit; she kept to the jaguars and other animals she knew.

"Thanks for showing us around Antonio; sorry that we can't stay." Vaggie then told Antonio as they were done at the zoo.

"Don't worry Vaggie; the pleasure is all mine. Will see you all soon enough." Antonio then said with a big smile that had Vaggie raising an eyebrow and Emily giggling and the Hell couple turned to face her.

"Sorry... It's just that the surprise is for now being hosted at Antonio's home with his family. Can't say much more..." Emily then said giggling and Vaggie's eyes widened as she digested it...

What?

"Wonder how the rest of Antonio's family is like..." Charlie then said as Vaggie thought back to her familia...

The ones she avoided as they came up here... Dealing with the toll that being an Exorcist done to her and being too much of a fucking coward to face them; scared of how they would think of her now...

"Heard about them... The amazing Madrigals... a glowing constellation... So I have heard..." Vaggie then said putting on her best smile and a hint of suspicion on Charlie's face.

"Sounds about exactly right! People who were gifted with a light of Heaven from the sky! Always willing to help out if they need to be..." Emily then said with a sigh. "I remember welcoming the first of them since they were gifted when she came up here..." Emily said but put on her smile and Charlie gave a look as Emily had then following her again.

"Way to make me feel like a piece of shit Emily..." Vaggie thought in her head.

"The amazing Madrigals... a glowing constellation..."

Dolores Madrigal had her eyes widen as she was sitting with her husband Mariano; enjoying some quality time at a park while their family was hosting an unusual special guest. She listened out for some birds and picked up...

"Sounds so much like... How she described us..." Dolores muttered and Mariano frowned as she gently caught her hand.

He then asked "what's wrong Dolores dear..."

Chapter Text

Mirabel was done on her first Extermination... As it turned out that every year the Exorcist army would descend onto Hell and kill Sinners (the name for the damned souls); the demons unable to defend themselves against their weaponry and power. Only rules were that they could only target the Sinners and so the Hellborn and especially the royal family of the Morning Star, the Fallen Angel and King of Hell himself Lucifer Morningstar were off-limits. They were also only able to fly about and hunt on the Pride Ring which was the Ring that the Sinners were bound to.

Mirabel was shocked upon hearing this and strictly warned that no non-Exorcist angel were allowed to know about the Exterminations. She told herself that the souls were already dead and were damned anyway because of their actions; shouldn't be too hard...

Her eyes were wide and twitching behind her mask as the bell signalling the end of the first Extermination. She took her blood soaked spear from the body of the last Sinner that she had killed; the fear in their eyes and leaving them.

The carnage and the blood... It was overwhelming...

She didn't know if she would ever be the same.

She flew up with her fellow Exorcists through the portal; "You know that it it's not a priority to bring your weapons back. Easily replacable and the idea of the fucking Sinners stabbing themselves with what we leave behind is fucking hilarious." Adam spoke flying near her and then nudged her shoulder with his fist. "Hey great job out there newbie..." Adam complimented her and Mirabel put on her best if strained smile even if it wasn't seen underneath her mask.

"Thank you sir..." Mirabel replied as Adam put his head up over Mirabel's shoulder.

"Watch out Lute... If this new babe keeps it up then she might be getting your job..."Adam shouted as he then flew away as Mirabel sighed; the thought of her going about blindly killing whatever was in her way...

How was she supposed to face her Abuelo after this... She wanted to feel useful and it led to this...

Mirabel unmasked herself and jumped as there was Cass there putting on a smile; "How was your first day out there? Seriously... I saw you out there and I was thinking to myself that you did as well as I did on my first time and I actually trained my whole life to fight..." Cass asked as Mirabel showed her strained smile making her blink. "It's overwhelming... I know..." Cass whispered putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Mirabel sighed and said "I know they must have been bad people but... Did all of them deserve it... The fear in their eyes... I ended their lives without knowing what they did to get sent down there..."

"My way of coping isn't going to be helpful... It's basically reminding myself of all the mistakes I have done in my lifetime and how many people I hurt and that includes people I care about... And I still made it up there so if they went down there then they must have deserved it..." Cass replied with a sigh and Mirabel blinked at her words. Certainly a story there but she didn't want to intrude.

"I guess that I will have to get used to it..." Mirabel then said and Cass pulled her closed.

"Truth be told... This does get hard even for me who has been dead for hundreds of hundreds of years... Why don't I treat you to get your mind off things..." Cass then said with her as she pulled Mirabel closer through the door and off the ground with her wings.

Mirabel gave a small smile; this could be just what she needed to get her mind off this. At least she had a friend to help her as she gets used to this job...

Emily then showed Charlie and Vaggie an outdoor café that she loved during her time in Heaven. "Everything is on me you two!" Emily then said with a big bright smile on her face as Vaggie gave her a smile and Charlie gave a brighter one.

"You are too kind Emily but thank you!" Charlie then said as she and Vaggie then looked at the menus. Everything was so great that it was hard to choose. "What do you think we should go for Vaggie?" Charlie asked Vaggie shrugged; she could honestly go for anything on it.

"Hard to pick... But since we're not paying... How about everything?" Vaggie asked almost jokingly and Charlie nodded.

Emily actually did order everything for them and they were famished after it all; "So... Safe to say that we won't be able to do any more food places?" Charlie asked as Emily giggle and Vaggie agreed with her girlfriend.

"Nope... This tastes better than I remember but yet oddly familiar... As if I feel better and refreshed..." Vaggie said and it felt odd.

"Well; if you are not up for seconds then I am going to go pay..." Emily then said flying to the inside of the place.

Vaggie then looked at Charlie's face and began wonder; "What surprise do you think that Emily is setting us up for?" asked Vaggie and Charli blinked and thought it over.

"Maybe it's official confirmation that Heaven will be supporting the Hotel?" Charlie suggested and Vaggie gave her an eye. "Come on Vaggie... I know that last time things weren't... Ideal... But Emily was on our side and Sera did seem sorry and swore by the Lord that..." Charlie then reminded her and Vaggie then nodded.

Sera did seem sincere but after how she acted...

Her mind beame distracted as in her eye looked through the window and saw at the counter; Emily talking to...

"Vaggie... VAGGIE?" Charlie then yelled making Vaggie jumped as she was startled and panicked. "Are you alright... You have been weird... Just tell me if you are not ready to go into what's worrying but I promise that if you do decide to tell me... I am here for you..." Charlie promised taking Vaggie's hand softly and Vaggie looking into her eyes...

Remembering how hurt she was when she found out...

Vaggie sighed and hoped she didn't regret it...

"Charlie... That angel at the counter... Who Emily is talking to..." Vaggie asked slowly pointing to the window and Charlie slowly nodded. Vaggie sighed and whispered "I think that... That the Angel is... My Mum..."

Charlie didn't have a chance to gasp as Vaggie was tacked to the ground out of her seat; "What is the big idea..." Vaggie demanded as she was taken to her feet and was met with a smiling angel in a dark purple dress and long blonde hair that was all tangled up.

Charlie was looking at this angel smiling happily and taking her girlfriend's hands with a strained look that said that she was about to fucking murder this stranger if she didn't let go of her girlfriend's hand within 5 seconds...

"Mirabel! It is you... Oh my gosh... What happened to your eye?" the angel asked gasping and noticing the X over Vaggie's eye.

"Rapunzel... Don't worry..." Vaggie told her and then pointed to Charlie who was sitting there with an odd look on her face. "Rapunzel... This is my girlfriend Charlie..."

"Oh my... I heard that Lucifer's daughter was coming here... I didn't expect..." Rapunzel gasped as Charlie looked at Vaggie.

"Vaggie who is this and... Did she call you Mirabel?" Charlie asked with a look as Vaggie sighed.

"It's my birth name... I go by Vaggie now..." Vaggie replied and then flew in was Cass and a muscular angel with a goatee.

"Charlie; this is my wife Rapunzel and her husband Eugene... I am so sorry; I made the mistake of telling them that I ran into her and well... They insisted that we find you so that they could see you themselves..." Cass then sighed apologetically.

"Wow... Nice to meet you... Glad to meet Vaggie's friends and wow... Your hair and dress are so nice!" Charlie then said getting up and then she and Rapunzel were gushing over each other's clothes; you wouldn't think that not 2 minutes ago Charlie was looking at Rapunzel with a jealous look.

"Vaggie? You go missing all these years and come back with a new name? Plus not in a hurry to say hello to me?" Eugene asked with a grin to Vaggie who sighed.

"Nice to see you and I see that you haven't changed... Do you still snore?" Vaggie asked with a grin and Eugene looked affronted but Cass grinned and nodded.

"So what have you been up to and where have you been?" Eugene asked Vaggie who became tense and Charlie stopped as she heard it and frowned. "You had us worried... You never came back and Cass wasn't able to get answers..." Eugene then asked seriously as Cass sighed and Rapunzel frowned.

Vaggie looked guilty; all her time in Hell and couldn't dwell too much on what she had let behind but dealing with this...

"Eugene... I don't think that we should badger Mirabel... Vaggie about this..." Rapunzel said softly going to take her husband's arm.

Eugene without thinking then said "come on... She should at least tell us something... I mean we only let her crash at our place for 51 years while she hid from her family!"

"WHAT?" Charlie asked eyes wide looking to Vaggie who was only facepalming and Rapunzel and Cass gave looks to Eugene who slowly looked nervous and realised that he would be spending the night on the couch...

"Why doesn't this get any easier..." Mirabel asked herself flying home after what was more than just a long day; her 5th Extermination Day since coming to Heaven and joining the Exorcists. What she sees down there in Hell and the carnage as she and her fellow Exorcists raise... Well Hell on the Sinners... It felt like it should be getting but it doesn't... Plus all the secrecy and having to hide it from her Abuelo and insisting that she's fine when he asks how is she. He could obviously tell something is wrong but can't tell him... Extermination Days were brutal on her and the days afterwards equally so...

Sometimes she doesn't feel like she's Mirabel anymore...

Well a long day with Cass and her to take their mind off things... Sometimes she wondered if Cass was really taking all this that much better than she does...

Flying home after it all and the night was coming; grabbing the door to open it. She remembered how it was getting used to this house that seemed like Casita only much better and wasn't alive.

Rushing to the kitchen; she looked to the fridge. "I have been waiting for you..." Mirabel sighed taking out a pie on a plate that she had put on their; a grin on her tired face as she tucked in.

"Mirabel..." asked a voice carefully as there was Pedro at the door peering in. A look of not only concern marred his face but also the feeling that he looked tense.

"Hey Abuelo... A really long day at the patrol this time... Needed the rest of the day to recover but who said that keeping this place safe from Hell would be easy..." Mirabel said greeting him as she then quickly eat the pie and cleaned up. Going to the doorway and found an angel woman next to him who had been watching her. "Sorry... Didn't know that you had a guest here Abuelo..." Mirabel said as slowly the woman then slowly touched her cheek.

"Mirabel?" asked the woman hesitatingly and Mirabel realised that the woman's face looked familiar as she remembered certain portraits in Casita... Her clothing and how her voice was familiar but younger.

"Abuela..." Mirabel asked awkwardly as Alma then pulled her into an embrace...

Chapter Text

Emily didn't mean to keep Charlie and Vaggie waiting; she did intend to return as soon as she paid for their orders at the cafe. However when talking to friends; she admits that she tended get side tracked when talking to friends and take longer than she had intended to.

And she just so happens to consider all the ascended souls in Heaven her friends.

So a transaction of paying for food became a discussion. Doesn't help with that the current proprietor of the café was Julieta Madrigal as in of the Madrigal family who were hosting Sir Pentious for her and Sera.

"...Once he got over his nerves; he has been a welcomed guest at the home... Still working on his habit of making weapons but I am certain that Charlie and Vaggie will proud of how far he has come already!" Julieta was telling Emily was already feeling proud herself of the Ascended Sinner. She knew that things would be awkward and tense at first at the Madrigals' home since he came from Hell but things turned to have worked quicker than expected.

"I bet they will be... Gosh... I hope they don't mind that I kept them waiting..." Emily then answered and gave a look to the window of the place; she was met with a surprising sight... Charlie and Rapunzel talking to eachother while gushing which was a nice sight. There were also Eugene and Cassandra (or Cass as she liked to be known by friends).

"Looks like Cass brought Rapunzel and Eugene to meet them... Was a surprise to find that Vaggie knew Cass when she was down here but since they were part of the Guard..." Emily then said and there was a sad sigh from Julieta. "Oh my gosh... I am so sorry Julieta... I wasn't thinking..." Emily said apologetically floating up to face the angel who gave a small smile.

"Don't worry Emily... Still seeing them..." Julieta said as Emily knew the bad memories that came from seeing them...

The almost throuple (everyone who knew them knew that Cass and Eugene were more like bickering siblings who were married to the same woman) had been Mirabel's closest friends while in Heaven and even stayed with them when Mirabel's grandmother had ascended.

Then Mirabel just plain went missing about almost 4 years ago and not even the three knew what happened to her; was she on a long mission from the Guard or MIA... Adam didn't say to anyone and the Madrigals got banned from their HQ when they tried to demand answers...

Definitely hurt the family as Mirabel departed far too young and lived the rest of their lives missing her only for her to steer clear and didn't tell them why... Pedro didn't even have answers and Julieta started to work for this café after hearing about the news of Mirabel being missing; in the hope of Mirabel one day coming back there.

Emily pushed it away and said goodbye to Julieta while waving and she waved her back. She got through the door to hear Eugene say:

"come on... She should at least tell us something... I mean we only let her crash at our place for 51 years while she hid from her family!"

Emily blinked and saw Charlie's reaction, Vaggie's facepalming and Eugene getting looks from Rapunzel and Vaggie. She was digesting this and suddenly remember that seeing Vaggie's face as an Exorcist at that hearing... There was something familiar about it but she never gave herself time to think it over...

Emily gasped and then Vaggie and Charlie noticed her; Vaggie gave a look of horror and then took Charlie's wrist and began flying away in a panic. "Emily... What's going on..." Julieta asked concerned as Rapunzel, Cass and Eugene called out to them.

"I think... Vaggie is Mirabel..." Emily slowly said as the trio looked tense as Julieta took this in; Emily thinking back to when she last talked to Mirabel...

Knowingly at least...

Rapunzel came from a royal family so it would make sense that their home resembled the castle that she lived in; though she grew up in a tower raised by Cass' mother who had kidnapped her as a child but Cass herself had been abandoned by her which led to the Captain of the Guard adopting her...

Not so much a long story as books worth when Mirabel was told...

Mirabel was invited to stay with them as she worked on being ready to face her family now that she had her Abuela up here... They didn't mind and it turned out that it was them living there; while they looked to be in their peak age wise and acted like young adults... They lived full lives and had children and grandchildren who were up there living with their families but would visit from time to time and the same with their parents...

Didn't count Cass' mother and Cass told the story of how vindictive she felt when she found her in Hell one Extermination; the prideful narcistic woman looked to be a thousand years old and had took pride on the magically enhanced youthful appearance she brought to herself...

Still it was fun being with them and the three's pets Pascal and Owl (Cass was really creative with names it seemed) and when their families visited.

Speaking of...

Mirabel sitting enjoying a sandwich in what was considered the living area of the place; listening to a music player playing the music of Elvis Presley. Who knew how the Earth's music developed during the time she was dead...

How long had it been? Hard to tell at the moment...

Cass came in looking serious; "Something wrong Cass?" Mirabel asked concerned as Cass looked to her.

"Emily is at the door with an angel named Julieta... Said she recently dead and wants to see her daughter..." Cass informed her and Mirabel blanched. Her mother was here now... Was it like two decades now since she was up here if she really thought about it...

"Great... I thought that I would have more time... Dealing with the job and the Exterminations and I don't think that I have gotten better about dealing with it all..." Mirabel screamed as Cass calmly took her hand.

"Don't worry... Raps is stalling at the door and if you want... Just go to your room and I will tell them that you are not here..." Cass assured her and Mirabel gave a grateful look. She then flew up to her room and then just laid down on the bed.

Some talking and yelling outside the window; she heard and she heard the sound of flying. Mirabel got up and found outside her window with her arms folded and childishly pouting at her was Emily. Mirabel thought that she was trying to glare at her and wasn't very good at it.

"Cass told you that I wasn't here so you checked anyway..." Mirabel asked as Emily shook her head.

"The excuse was not only used too often but Rapunzel had already said that Cass was talking to you and you were here... Told your mother I would handle this..." Emily then said as Mirabel gave her a look.

"Handle this?" Mirabel asked and Emily gave a sigh as she facepalmed.

"Mirabel... I have been encouraging your grandparents to give you time but... It's been 20 years... How long do you plan on keeping this up? Do you know how your mother reacted to her parents telling her that you had been avoiding them ever since your Abuela came up here... That even before then; you were distant thanks to your job at Heaven's Guard... How many times your Abuela had been confronting Sera or Adam; demanding that they give you time off or let you go since it was clearly not doing you good... Her words before you say anything..." Emily then said as Mirabel silently digested this.

Some truth in this but the speeches from Adam that their work were important... The Exterminations were needed to stop them from trying to rise up and endanger Heaven which would endanger her familia and that includes the ones still on Earth...

Just had to grin and bear it for however long it takes...

"Just been... Getting a handle... 20 years isn't that long to you..." Mirabel said weakly as Emily shook her head and softly took Mirabel's hand.

"Was a long time for your family... You know that I heard the stories from your Abuela... How frantic your mother was after you fell; holding your body saying that you were gonna be okay... Trying to get you to eat the food that you brought but it was too late... None of them were the same after that... Was raining for the next over a week thanks to your aunt... Luisa spent a week smashing rocks in the mountains and Isabela spent the same week hugging one of your old toys to your chest... Your parents were too in tears to say anything at your funeral and your Abuela said that this should have been for her and you should be there to take her place leading the familia and the Encanto..." Emily then said and that made her feel all the much worse...

Hearing how your family took her passing...

Mirabel gave a sad sigh and said "look Emily... I am not ready... I promise that when I am; I will reach out to them..."

"Fine... Don't wait too long... I don't know how long I can keep this up with your family asking for my help in reaching out to you..." Emily sighed as she flew out and Mirabel just laid on her bed taking this in.

"I am definitely not sleeping tonight..." Mirabel thought with a sigh. "Some Heaven my afterlife turned out to be..." Mirabel then muttered...

"This is kind of getting old Vaggie..." Charlie said with a hint of frustration as Vaggie had dragged them away in a panic; hearing Emily seeing that and her mother closeby. Seeing her for the first time since...

She then gave them a moment to catch their breaths and Vaggie thought about it; being vague and secretive about this was not doing any of them any good...

"I am so sorry Charlie... I owe you explanations..." Vaggie said with a deep sigh as Charlie gave her a look.

"Are you sure..." Charlie started to ask as Vaggie then gave a firm nod as she decided that it was the best.

"You know Antonio... From the zoo..." Vaggie asked as Charlie then gave a curt nod. "He's... My cousin; always felt more like a kid brother as we both grew up in the nursery..." Vaggie explained and Charlie took this in.

"He's your cousin and he didn't recognise you?" Charlie asked as Vaggie then nodded.

"Haven't seen him since he was alive... Most of them really... My Abuela was the first of them to die after I had in an accident..." Vaggie admitted and Charlie was thinking of what to say.

"I would ask why you had been avoiding your family but then again I hadn't been super close to my dad, especially since my mother disappeared and our interactions before we made up were business related..." Charlie admitted and Vaggie then took a deep breath.

"Well I will tell you... Did start as the light from Heaven came from as my grandparents, their newborn triplets and some villagers were escaping from soldiers... My Abuelo Pedro sacrificed his life for them and my Abuela's emotions activated the magic in the light that inhabited a candle... We called it 'the Miracle' and found a safe place for them to live in the mountains... When the family were old enough; the candle would grant them their power or 'Gift' and their own room... They would use their Gift to help the community and keep them safe until... I for some reason never got one..." Vaggie explained.

"Wow... I can't imagine what it must have been like for your Abuela or you growing up..." Charlie muttered as Vaggie sighed.

"Would have been hard for her but for me... I won't fucking lie... As much as I tried to hide it... I felt like an outcast... The mutters from the villagers and the comments... Expected to stay out of the way while everyone worked on their roles... When Antonio got his gift; I saw cracks in our Casita home but they had been covered by my Tio Bruno who had been living in the walls for years..." Vaggie replied and Charlie took this in.

"Your Tio was living in the walls..." Charlie questioned as Vaggie gave a snicker.

"Sorry Charlie... Should have realised how it sounded..." Vaggie said apologetically. "He could see the future and foresaw me either breaking the Miracle or something else... Hid himself to hide this... Don't know what Abuela would have reacted... She always put so much pressure on everyone to live up to their standards; afraid of the Miracle being threatened and their way of life... Everyone else was affected but was hiding it... Especially my golden flower sister Isabela who Abuela wanted to marry someone she didn't love... We had a blow out and the Miracle faded..." Vaggie then continued on and Charlie gasped.

She gave her a look for to continue and Vaggie said "I ran and Abuela found me where... We talked and began to understand eachother better... I helped lead the town and our famila in putting our place back together and everyone didn't have to bottle their emotions and everything... The Miracle returned when I put the doorknob on the front door... Things were better..." Vaggie then said as Charlie took it in.

"So things were fixed... Then why were you hiding from them here?" Charlie asked and Vaggie sighed while putting her head down.

"I guess... Things weren't as okay as I thought... I still had a lingering desire to find a role for me... I died in an accident and ended up here... I got to meet my Abuelo for the first time but I didn't let myself just relax... When I first met Cass on my first day and learned about the 'Hell's Guard'... I thought that this would be my place to do something useful..." Vaggie said as Charlie became tense.

Vaggie knew that this was the hard part but she continued on "Faced with the Exterminations... Even knowing that I would be killing bad people... The bloodshed and everything around me... Not knowing why the Sinners I got to got down there... Not knowing who really deserved it..." Vaggie stopped and looked at Charlie awkwardly.

"Trust me Vaggie... Val taught me that some Sinners are beyond help... Please continue..." Charlie softly whispered and Vaggie's eyes widened and continued.

"All the shit I had to deal with and even though I had Cass to talk to about this... Having to hide all this from my Abuelo about what I was really doing... When I found my Abuela down here... I just went away and expected to wait until I was in a better head about this... Didn't happen... Didn't want my familia to see my like that and how I didn't even feel like the Mirabel that they knew anymore... I don't even know how they would ever react if I told them that I realised that I like girls... Never got a chance as when I found a Sinner child; I took mercy and let him live but Adam and Lute didn't like that..." Vaggie finished with tears escaping her eyes and Charlie rushed to her and put her head in her arms and embraced her.

Charlie let all her tears out; "Do you feel better now..." Charlie asked softly putting her head up to face her and Vaggie wiped away her last tear.

"Honestly yeah... Sorry about unloading all that hon..." Vaggie admitted but Charlie shook her head.

"Are you kidding... All the years I spent unloading on you... If it makes you feel any better... You really needed to get all that off your chest..." Charlie assured her as Vaggie smiled. "So... What do you want to do now?" Charlie asked as Vaggie frowned.

"Honestly... I don't fucking know... Thanks to me; we ran on Cass, Rapunzel and Eugene and left Emily hanging and no fucking doubt my Mum will know now... How about we take in the scenery until I know what I want us to do..." Vaggie asked as Charlie beamed at her and took her hand.

"How did I fucking deserve you?" Vaggie asked as they walked through the streets together.

Charlie giggled and replied "funny; I ask myself the same question every single day about you..."

Chapter Text

Vaggie and Charlie just walked down the pavement together quietly; taking in all that had happened to them that day and what Vaggie had revealed to her girlfriend. Was definitely a lot and they relaxed themselves by taking in the sights. Waving and saying hello back to everyone who was greeting them with hellos and waves which was near everyone with it being Heaven and all.

They then noticed a screen on a building showing an angel in a white labcoat with welder's goggles and a goatee; "Hello angels of all sizes; we here at VarianTech are always working hard to give you the best technology possible..." the man then said as Vaggie's eyes widened.

"Varian... He's one of Cass, Rapunzel and Euegene's friends... Knew him ever since they were all alive... From what they said he was still an inventor even then. Even if he rushed into things a bit from what they said." Vaggie informed her as she took this in and gasped.

"That's cool and... He sounds just like Dad..." Charlie then told her and Vaggie's eyes widened in realisation.

"Shit... When I first met your dad; I thought that he sounded familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it..." Vaggie then said as she thought that she should have realised this before. They then giggled about this but then started to keep walking together.

"Where do you want to go? See anywhere?" Charlie asked Vaggie who began thinking about it and how she felt like she had removed a weight off her shoulder when she told Charlie about the past. Facing her family members and either faking through the encounter or just running away like a coward...

Time to face the music...

"I think that..." Vaggie answered and then stopped to take a big sigh. "I think that I want us to go to the place I stayed with my Abuelo... Face my family again..." Vaggie then said as Charlie then looked at her.

"You sure that you are ready for this?" Charlie asked carefully as Vaggie thought it over.

"Fuck no but I have been putting it off for far too long..." Vaggie then said as Charlie gave her a big smile and offered her hand. Vaggie took it and Vaggie began leading them to where she remembered the neighbourhood was.

Dolores had put what she heard before aside and continued on with her date with her husband but the same voice from before being picked up...

She urgently asked her husband if they could go to see her brother; Mariano looked concerned but just gave a small nod as they flew to the zoo. Dolores dragged him through it until they found Antonio. "Dolores... Mariano... What's going on?" Antonio asked with a concern as Dolores took a deep moment focused herself on her husband and brother.

"I remember Emily saying that she wanted to bring the Princess of Hell and her girlfriend here... Have they got here yet?" Dolores then asked as Antonio blinked oddly but nodded and Mariano was confused.

"Charlie and Vaggie... They were super nice; wonder how someone as nice as them could be down in Hell but I guess that is to be expected when they are trying to redeem souls down there." Antonio then responded and Dolores looked carefully at her brother.

"Vaggie... Did she say anything to you or react much to you?" Dolores then asked as Antonio shook his head looking more confused. "Are you sure..." Dolores asked shaking her head if Vaggie really didn't say anything to seeing Antonio.

"Dolores my dear... If there is something that troubles you then please share it..." Mariano pleaded with Dolores with his eyes filled with concern and Dolores took a deep breath.

"I heard her telling Charlie about us with a particular description which I brushed off at the time but just now... I picked her up telling Charlie... That she's Mirabel..." Dolores then said and the two were silent at this.

"This isn't something to joke about Dolores..." Antonio whispered seriously and Dolores gave him a look that was just as serious. "But that would mean... She had been in Hell? Why... Did something really happen to her on her patrol..." Antonio asked looking close to freaking out as Mariano gasped.

Dolores then muttered "I heard her admit that... The stress of her job really got to her and she didn't want us seeing her like that and how... She doesn't even feel like Mirabel anymore..."

Antonio's face looked crushed and heartbroken and Dolores embraced her him as he took in her words. "What... How hard was it really being part of Heaven's Guard..." Mariano asked as Dolores was silently thinking...

"Does he ever shut up..." Dolores almost screamed in irritation as she overheard Adam (the pest that Heaven just had to deal with) bragging about how many Sinners he killed in the last Extermination to several of his Exorcists and they bragged about their own numbers as well.

Took some walking but Vaggie and Charlie found their destination.

Vaggie was taking deep breaths as they were coming up to the house that resembled Casita; in the neighbourhood that was set up like the Encanto. "Hi everyone, it's me here finally after ghosting you for far too fucking long... HI Abuela; sorry I ran away like a fucking coward..." Vaggie was practicing saying out loud in worried whispers as Charlie just squeezed her hand and Vaggie yelped.

Charlie looked apologetic but loosened her grip; "You can do this... I will be here for whatever happens..." Charlie assured her and Vaggie then gave her a smile.

"Time to introduce you to the familia... Knowingly at least... Fuck Camilo... He could be annoying with his shapeshifting Gift and using it for his trouble making... How he would react to me coming home with a girlfriend... Bruno probably knew this was coming from a vision and... Isabela... She tried to set me up on dates before so... Tia Pepa will probably take the house down in shock over seeing me again..." Vaggie then shouted thinking of the potential reactions and Charlie's look got her to calm down.

"You can do this Vaggie..." Charlie repeated and nodded to Vaggie who nodded back. They got to the door and Vaggie took a deep breath...

And knocked...

They heard the sounds of someone coming to the door and Vaggie braced herself; wondering who would it be answering the door...

"Oh... Charlie... Vaggie... So nice to see you again..." said Sir Pentious awkwardly as he gave a little wave as they gave a little gave small smiles in return.

"Hey Sir Pentious... Are the Madrigals..." Vaggie answered and stopped along with Charlie.

Their faces froze and slowly their eyes grew wide and they mouths fell wide open as they digested the being in front of them...

Down in Hell; things were going well in the Hazbin Hotel and the staff decided to play a game of cards with some of the patrons. "How do you think Charlie and Vaggie are doing in Heaven?" Niffty decided to ask curiously as it was her turn to draw a card.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCKING SHIT?" the sounds of Charlie and Vaggie's combined screams thundered throughout the Hotel and all of Hell itself from the skies; the ground screaming and outside there was a panic about 'Hellshakes'.

"I am sure that things are going swimmingly..." Angel Dust then said after they took this in.

Chapter Text

Sera was relaxing in her office as her sister was showing Lucifer's daughter and her girlfriend around Heaven. A big ordeal that she had to help to fix and after they have their reunion with Sir Pentious; they would be ready to discuss Heaven backing her hotel project. Hopefully things would go smoothly but so far; it looked to be going well.

The Madrigals were helpful and had taken to hosting Sir Pentious after they got used to him and no problems there. The magical family that had 'gifts' from the magic from a piece of sunlight of Heaven. A long time since magic like that fell to be utilised; the last was the 'Sundrop' as it was known that was hosted into a flower.

"Once we restructure the Exterminations and the Exorcists; we could see about how it fits into the new deal with Hell. Maybe the new leader can find out what happened to the MIA Madrigal..." Sera asked herself as she felt a migraine coming.

How annoyed was she with an ascended soul that she had never met before?

Mirabel Madrigal was a tragic tale; what she had to go through growing up before her family drama was sorted out and healed from but became the first death of the magical generation of the Madrigals. Died too young but joining the Exorcists; seemed that she was one of those that was struggling to come to terms and her family noticed.

She had dealt with complaints from ascended souls before and they were to be expected. Asking how their loved ones in Hell or that their still living ones would be coming up here or the ones involved in the Exorcists. However starting from Alma demanding that something be done to remove her granddaughter from the environment.

She was tempted to do so (partly because it did sound like the poor girl wasn't mentally fit for the job and partly so that they would stop be bothered about it) but it was one of the Lord's rule that they can't make decisions for the ascended soul. As long as they are not causing a ruckus or deciding to be sinful or evil; they were allowed go about their lives unbothered by the elder angels.

Alma was a persistent one and more so than usual and she spent about two decades wanting to get in the face of Mirabel and yell at her to speak to her family. But then she went MIA and off course Adam had to be dodgy about answering questions when asked and her files listed Mirabel as still being alive (in retrospect she was always too trusting of Adam to keep to the rules).

A Madrigal dies and the cycle continues with more souls asking what happened to her and she began dreading it upon hearing the news...

"Still... Nothing to worry about at this moment..." Sera said to herself pouring herself a glass of wine but then the table and ground shook and she heard the screams and made out the sounds of Charlie and Vaggie. "I should not have become too comfortable..." Sera sighed a she put her glass down; mourning her moment of peace as she flew out to investigate what had just happened.

"Mirabel... Has been in Hell... How did she get there... Was it on a mission from the Guard that went array... Has she been safe that time... Wait... She met and fell for the Princess... She wasn't magic controlled into it..." Julieta was muttering taking this in and Rapunzel, Eugene and Cass were trying to comfort her taking this in. "Mirabel has a girlfriend... Explains it and how long as she known that... Was she alive when she realised and thought that we would shun her?" Julieta asked feeling hurt and Cass looked to her.

"I remember telling my Dad and was surprised to find how accepting he was... Raps was there by my side..." Cass sighed with a smile to comfort her friend's mother as Rapunzel smiled at Cass and Eugene gave a thumbs up.

Emily was taking this in slowly; "Vaggie was Mirabel this whole time... I was too excited to meet Charlie the first time that I didn't recognise my missing friend... I should have recognised her... Especially when I saw the picture... How did she get stuck down there... What had she been up to..." Emily muttered in shock wondering if Vaggie ever planned on telling her.

She was so excited to befriend Lucifer's daughter and her girlfriend and she was already friends with one... Even if they didn't realise it and Vaggie didn't act like they were friends at first...

"Don't worry Julieta... Mirabel knew that you all loved her and loved her in return... It's just that... Cass knows too well how hard it was especially on Extermination Day..." Rapunzel whispered to her assuringly and Emily heard it and then...

"Wait... Rapunzel... How do you know about Extermination Day?" Emily asked suddenly with Julieta confused and the throuple's eyes widened in panic. Cass looked awkwardly and Emily then said at once "you told them..."

Cass groaned and admitted "fine... It was taking too much of a toll and Rapunzel was pleading with me to to finally tell me what was bothering me so much with my job and I finally cracked... Before I quit and after Mirabel was MIA during one... It was my last one..."

Julieta was about to ask what was Extermination Day when Emily groaned saying "Sera is not gonna like this...

"What am I not gonna like Emily?" asked a regal calm voice as a shadow was over them...

"... What... But... How... Huh... How?" Vaggie muttered in shock after she and her girlfriend had both screamed so loud that all of Heaven, Hell and the Earth itself heard it. Sir pentious stood there awkwardly at the door as Vaggie asked exasperated "how are you here? We thought that you were vaporised by the ship... We had a memorial set up when we rebuilt the hotel!"

"Believe me; I thought that my time had come when the blast hit... But I awoke in front of Ms Sera and Ms Emily... Ms Sera asked me questions and was suspicious at first but Ms Emily was welcoming to help me adjust... Met my son and the Madrigals were welcoming hosts once they got used to me." Sir Pentious explained as they took this in.

"So instead of dying for good... You ended up in Heaven as an angel by the looks of it..." Vaggie asked stunned as she hook her head but Charlie blinked as she started to understand what had happened and a grin started to form on her face. "This must be the fucking surprise... How are the Hotel gonna react... Cherri and the rest... We would have to bring you down ourselves for them to even believe it..." Vaggie muttered as Charlie took Vaggie by the shoulders and started to shake her excitedly.

"Sir Pentious was redeemed... You see it... We were right... i was right all along... We were right all along... Redemption is possible... A Sinner was redeemed and got to Heaven..." Charlie shouted out excitedly with tears of joy as Vaggie took it in.

"Fuck.. Yeah... I knew that we would get there one day but the circumstances and who it was..." Vaggie muttered as Charlie finally calmed down but was still beaming excitedly.

"Sir Pentious... Who is that and what just shook the Heavens?" asked a voice and Sir Pentious then motioned for them to come right in. They did and they both looked around; Vaggie started to recognise the place and how it was like only yesterday she was last in there; instead of the decades that it had actually been.

Charlie and Vaggie noticed people coming down and from the main area was Pedro and an angel wearing a dark pink dress. "You must be Princess Charlie and Vaggie..." Pedro said as as Vaggie's eye widened upon seeing her grandfather again after so long. She took Charlie's hand and Charlie looked at her encouragingly.

"Sorry have we met... You look familiar..." Pedro asked as Vaggie flashed a nervous smile.

"Hola Abuelo..." Vaggie said softly as Pedro's eyes widened and there were gasps from all around them. Vaggie looked around and managed to make out the angel versions of Pepa, Felix, Luisa, Camilo and Bruno. There was the sound of someone falling down the stairs and Vaggie caught him.

"Still clumsy Dad?" Vaggie asked with a nervous chuckle as his eyes widened and he gasped.

Then the angel with the pink dress then hesitatingly asked "Mirabel..."

"Hola Isa..." Vaggie answered to her big sister who gave her an astonished look that turned stern. She came forward and...

"OW! WHAT THE FUCK!" Vaggie snapped as she was sucker punched in the eye and Isabela picked her up by the collar.

"Isabela! Put your sister down this instant..." Alma shouted out making her appearance known with a stern look on her face.

She then snapped "You have a lot of nerve... We all mourned you and came up here... Missing you all this time and I so badly wanted to see you again but to be told that you had been avoiding the family in the afterlife since Abuela died... To hear from Mum that she went to see you but you refused to greet our mother who had been mourning you... We all went through that and we could never prepare for when Antonio came and we had to tell him..."

Chapter Text

Dolores kept on listening in and managed to hear Sera giving a remark about Exorcists not keeping secrets as she asked Cass, Rapunzel and Eugene to basically make themselves scare as the seraphims try to find Vaggie and Charlie. "Feels like we are going in circles my love..." Mariano told Dolores as they were flying around and Dolores just gave him a smile.

"So sorry my love but we will be done soon..." Dolores then promised him as they flew together.

The family members began to drag Isabela off from Vaggie and Charlie caught her and was checking on her; "You sit right down Isabela! This is no way to treat your sister after she finally comes home!" Alma told Isabela in a scolding tone with a pointed finger for good measure. Isabela relented but her visible anger did vanish as she sat down on a seat with stares from the family.

Agustin was even giving his daughter a disapproving look; "Never expected Abuela to chide Isabela for my sake..." Vaggie muttered in a joking tone and not even Camilo reacted to her joke and Vaggie then sighed.

Alma's demeanour shifted into a softer tone as she then slowly walked up to Vaggie and caught her chin into her hand. Charlie nudged Vaggie in support as she gulped; "You probably want an explanation for why I took off not long after you came here... There's an explanation I assure you..." Vaggie muttered with a big gulp as Alma embraced her a for a second.

Vaggie returned it as Alma then told her in a soft tone "That can wait Mirabel dear; I am so glad that you have come home..." Alma let go and gasped as she saw the X over where Vaggie's eye had been and demanded "Nieta... What happened to your eye? What have you been up to in that guard... Been giving them a piece of my mind... I kept being denied..."

They gasped as they noticed Vaggie's eye as well with a small rain cloud forming above Pepa's head; "Mirabel... Your mother will want to cook up a meal stat when she sees you..." Agustin said softly as they all came forward to take a closer look; Vaggie laughed awkwardly.

"About that dad... I don't think that it will do any good... Mum's cooking; I don't think can regrow lost body parts..." Vaggie answered as their eyes widened in horror and Pepa's rain cloud starting to grow.

"What have you been doing all these decades?" Camilo asked bluntly as they started whispering and Charlie gulped holding Vaggie's hand and Vaggie held it as well. "Well if you are not gonna answer that just now... How did you and Hell's princess happen?" Camilo asked looking to Charlie and she gave a wave and eyes turned to her.

"I admit that I am most interested in hearing more..." Alma then said with a look that Vaggie was familiar with; it was the same one that she had when all her cousins (sans Dolores) and siblings brought their partners to meet the family for the first time.

"Is she the reason why... She been keeping you as her plaything..." Isabela asked getting up and an instant later there was Vaggie glaring harshly at her sister; having summoned her spear and had it like a finger's fingernail's distance away from Isabela's eye giving the older sister fear.

"I let the punch slide as I can get you being pissed at me for this but I swear to God that if you ever try and make any fucking slanderous claims towards Charlie again... Not even Luisa can hold me from making you regret it..." Vaggie warned in a threatening voice that had Isabela looked scared and she quickly nodded. Charlie frowned as she dragged Vaggie away from her.

"Wow kid..." Bruno muttered lost for words like the rest of them.

Agustin frowned but didn't look like he blamed Vaggie for reacting to Isabela's comments. Alma and Pedro just stared at this; "So... How did you meet?" Pedro asked trying changet he subject and Vaggie and Charlie blanched at this causing more concern. Then they heard the door knocked and Sir Pentious slithered away to get it for the family.

"Can you tell us anything?" Felix asked and then rushed in was Julieta followed by Sera and Emily.

Julieta just rushed to Vaggie and embracing her and Vaggie gulped and she got looks from Emily and Sera. "The famous Mirabel Madrigal. Didn't expect this as your family spent almost over 5 decades pestering me about what happened to you and or demanding that you be set free from the duties." Sera then stated and looked like she was gritting her teeth a bit while trying to remain formal and calm.

"Please don't be like that Sera. I can't believe that you were Mirabel this whole time Vaggie... I can't believe that I didn't recognise you..." Emily then said with bright eyes to Vaggie who just sighed.

"Okay... I am sorry and for making you be pretty much an accomplice in... Me not being ready to face the family since Abuela came here..." Vaggie then said apologetically but Emily gave her a frown.

"So... You have see our big surprise and met Sir Pentious?" Emily asked and Charlie beamed excitedly and nodded with Vaggie nodding. "Wonder what else we missed since you found yourselves here..." Emily then said as Luisa looked to Isabela.

"Isabela punched Mirabel and then Mirabel threatened Isabela with a spear after she made an inappropriate comment." Luisa said as Isabela looked like an older teenager angry at her sister for tattling as Luisa had her eyes widened and gave them a look.

"Mum... But... I overreacted but... She still hasn't explained why she had been avoiding us, where she has been or why she is going by Vaggie..." Isabela retorted trying to defend herself and Vaggie let her frustration grow.

"You want to know why... Because the shit I have had to do and the secrets that I was forced to keep... Only having 1 real friend to confide in while having her family being welcoming... But what I had to do and see while keeping to myself... Some shit happened and I ended up in Hell and I went by a nickname derived from the shit fucking name that Adam slapped on me but I took as my new name because... I no longer felt like the Mirabel that you all knew... I didn't want you all to see how much I changed and reject me... I became a mess and thought that I didn't feel like the person that I was before!" Vaggie then yelled to silent stares of shock from everyone.

Vaggie looked and feeling ashamed ran while dragging Charlie's wrist away as Julieta ran after them; the only one getting over their shock to do so. Isabela's anger had vanished and a look of guilt replaced it. "...I knew that I should have arranged for psychiatrists to help with Exorcists..." Sera whispered underneath her breath and Emily was basically shrinking with a big sad frown on her face.

Luisa however tackled Sera as eyes were on the head seraphim; "What exactly did your guard do to my sister?" she demanded and Sera looked at the eyes on her.

"I knew that I shouldn't have let Adam take charge of his extermination idea and been more forceful in extracting information about Mirabel... Why did he have killed and I have to deal with this instead? Perhaps Lute will have answers as to what happened to Mirabel and she WILL give them this time..." Sera thought in her head.

Chapter Text

Vaggie just kept running with Charlie until they reached a bench of sorts; deciding to pick her up and fly to the top of a building so they could sit down. Charlie screamed and took a few deep breaths with her; Vaggie looked at her guilty after dragging her like that after that heated speech that she had just gave. She was about to say something apologetically but Charlie put a finger on her mouth and just gave her a reassuring smile.

They embraced and a few minutes of silence went by with them calming down; Vaggie got up and offered Charlie a hand for her and she accepted it. They stood up together and they then ended up noticed that there was Julieta standing behind them. Charlie frowned and Vaggie sighed.

"Sorry that you had to learn that way... Fuck no... Sorry that you had to learn about that at all... Reason why I just wanted Cass to cover for me and pretend that I wasn't there when you wanted to see me... Was because I didn't feel like I was still the daughter that you buried and comforted... I feel more pathetic than I was when I was the giftless Madrigal... Trying to prove that I belonged in the family..." Vaggie muttered with her head down but then was enveloped into a hug by Julieta.

"You are still my daughter... You are still Mirabel... I am sorry for all that you went through and I don't blame you..." Julieta told her assuringly as Vaggie let tears escaped her eye and embraced back. Charlie watched with a smile but then Julieta extended an arm and Charlie was taken aback.

She slowly walked towards them and Julieta had her join in the hug; "So Julieta... You mind that I call you that as Dad doesn't mind being on first name terms with Vaggie and it would be weird calling you 'Mum' as I'm much older than your mother..." Charlie asked awkwardly as Vaggie sighed good naturedly and Julieta giggled.

She then let go and was about to respond as Julieta gasped looking at Vaggie's eye. "What happened to your eye... How did it get like this?" Julieta asked as Vaggie groaned about having to explain this again.

"I... Had some disagreements with a former co-worker... Got an eye for an eye or rather an arm for an eye..." Vaggie joked weakly as Charlie shook her head and Julieta looked angry.

"I am seeing Sera and learning just who did this to you and how it happened... I won't be taking no for an answer this time..." Julieta ranted angrily as Vaggie just let her talk. "By the way... Before we knocked at the door... You had a spear pointed to your sister... Was this about the punching you thing? Or did you have another argument afterwards?" Julieta asked as Vaggie and Charlie gulped.

"Well... She... She kind of... Accused Charlie of keeping me prisoner in Hell... As her plaything..." Vaggie answered in a whisper as Julieta had calm fury on her face.

"Your sister is grounded until Antonio's grandchildren enter Heaven themselves." Julieta stated with fury being kept in check. She then calmed down and asked "So... You and Charlie... You look like you found a wonderful woman even if she is the devil's daughter... How long have you known that you liked girls?" Julieta asked as Vaggie held her breath.

"First off... Charlie's dad is the ultimate king but Satan is a different demon and he is the big scary asshole Devil..." Vaggie answered but Charlie shook her head.

"Come on Vaggie... Uncle Satan is a big soft teddy bear at heart!" Charlie lightly chided her but Vaggie rolled her eyes at this.

"As for the question... Since I was a teen and didn't want to give Abuela or anyone else any more reasons to be disappointed in me..." Vaggie admitted as Julieta pulled her close.

"I know your Abuela was harsher than you deserve but this... She would never be disappointed in you for this..." Julieta assured her and Vaggie smiled. "You prefer 'Mirabel' or 'Vaggie'?" Julieta asked as Vaggie thought about it.

"I am used to 'Vaggie' but either is fine..." Vaggie answered with a smile and then there was applause as they found Cass, Rapunzel and Eugeen floating nearby.

"We were spying on your house and found you running out after Sera sent us away." Cass answered and Vaggie smiled.

"Should introduce them to you properly Mum as they were great friends when I was in Heaven. Cass was pretty much my best friend." Vaggie then said as Juliet waved to them as they got in closer.

"I remember Raps insisting on Cassandra inviting her over when she told us about her. I wanted to meet her as 'Cassandra making a friend on her own?' this was something I had to see to believe..." Eugene said as Rapunzel and Cass gave him looks. Cass in particular had a glare.

"You are already spending the night on the couch so you wanna stay there longer?" Cassandra asked as Eugene gulped.

They reached the Madrigal home and found Dolores and Mariano there; "Mirabel?" Dolores asked seeing Julieta there with who she guessed was Charlie; the unfamiliar angel had to be her cousin.

"Dolores? Mariano?" Vaggie asked as the couple then embraced her and she embraced them back. "I have a long story to tell you about all this..." Vaggie then said as they then went back through the door and found the seraphims there with the family being shaken. "What happened?" Vaggie asked as Sera gave a sigh with Emily frowning. The family jumped upon seeing them all there; some relief filling up inside of them.

"I am guessing that Sera had to tell them about the Exterminations..." Rapunzel whispered to Cass as Charlie and Vaggie had their eyes widened.

"Wait... You told them?" Vaggie asked as Cass sighed with her wife and her wife's husband frowning.

"After you left..." Cass sighed as Vaggie looked awkward and looked to her confused mother and her cousin's husband.

"I already knew. Heard Exorcists brag about their numbers all the time." Dolores then said as Vaggie and Charlie paused.

"Yeah... That fucking tracks..." Vaggie then said simply as Sera closed her eyes, pinched her nose and took a deep sigh.

"Could any Exorcist keep a secret?" she asked incredulously.

Chapter Text

Sorry not exactly happy with this so do you mind if I did a remake of this story as I want to try again please? Any ideas for it and I like my Cassandra included idea as it was born from an idea I toyed with where she became Lute but would make it harder for her to be in a sympathetic light here.