Vox sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror, breath heaving. This was potentially the last time he would see his room again."Alright Vox, let's get this over with…" He was prepared to leave when he noticed Vark following him out of the corner of his eye,"Hm? What is it, Vark?"
The shark stared at him, seemingly in a desire to follow him.
He shook his head,"Sorry boy, I can't let you come with me. This is super important and I can't risk you getting hurt. Especially considering...there's a huge chance I won't come back from this…"
Vark then nipped on his leg, as if to stop him from leaving.
"Vark...I have to go. I can't stay, Volastor needs me. I know it's dangerous, but you gotta understand, I can't just let Vol down like this. He's done so much and I really care for the guy, and I know you do as well. So on the off-chance this plan does work, I need to be there in order to free him."
The hammerhead gave him a worried glance, beady eyes wide and bright.
"And on the off-chance I don't come back from this, I just want you to know you were the best shark I've ever had. Granted, you're the only shark I've ever had, but still, if worst comes to worst, let Charlie take care of you while I'm gone,ok?"
Vark whined.
"I know, but if it comes down to it, I'm sure she'll be able to provide a better home than I could, she has the means and heart to do so. So if I don't come back, don't be upset. Even if I die for real, I at least know I died trying…"
Yeah, call Vox corny, but that was the closest sentimental thing he could come up with at the moment.
He then pat Vark on the head, filled his bowl with pet-food and embarked out, leaving his room to join the others. When he got outside the lobby, he saw everyone who was accompanying him for the journey had suited up.
Sir Pentious had called his army of eggs, all of whom were armed with guns and lasers for protection. Baxter had his own gun of some kind and carried it around his waist.
Alastor had his staff(which Vox knew well was capable of being used as a weapon from personal experience).
Husk had a few military guns on him and Niffty had a collection of knives she hid(though where she got the space for that was unknown). Angel had his Tommy guns and Velvet had her axe that she was keeping tucked in the folds of her dress(don't ask how that works, you'll go as crazy as she is if you do).
Velvet was seemingly patting herself down, touching her chest in particular. Vox blinked and asked,"Uh, Velvet? What are you doing?"
"Oh nothing, just adjusting things that's all!" She giggled,"Why? You wanna have one last peak before we go?"
"Velvet! Come on, not now! You know that's not what I meant!" He shouted, doing his best to avoid blushing in a time like this.
"Relax, I was just pulling your leg…" She teased, elbowing him in the side playfully,"Seriously, Alastor had the same reaction when I asked him! You guys are so funny when you react like that!"
Vox rolled his eyes,"Oh ha ha, very mature of you, Velvet. Seriously, why are you so juvenile?"
"Vox, I literally died when I turned eighteen...What did you expect?"
If Vox had a normal face, he would've pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. He had walked RIGHT into that one. Guess this was what he got for dating a woman who had the mental maturity of a preppy teenager at the time of her death.
"Hey Vox, where's your weapon?" Velvet asked,"Don't tell me you're not going without one…"
"I don't really have anything in my room that could be used as one," He shrugged,"I've already got abilities to defend myself if needed, so it's not like I'm defenseless…"
"I dunno, Vox. It still seems like you should have a weapon of some kind. I'm sure someone here would let you borrow a weapon…"
"There's no need. Besides, we need to get going. Everyone is almost ready at this point, no more point in stalling."
"Alright!" Baxter shouted,"Is everyone ready?"
"Think so," Angel affirmed, tucking his extra limbs inside his tux,"We got all the firepower we can carry."
"Perfect. Just remember, there is a huge chance none of us will come back from this. Even if we fail, we'll at least know we tried if we do perish here…"
There was a mutual silence, the gang sending each other weary glances, potentially for the last time.
With a sigh, Alastor then said,"We understand, Baxter. Let's get a move on, we don't have all the time in the world. Who knows what Lucifer is planning…"
As everyone was about to set off, Vaggie suddenly rushed out and shouted,"Vox, wait!"
The TV Demon froze in his tracks, turning around to see the smaller demon running up to him, breath heaving,"Uh, what is it? You realize we're about to go, right? Are you offering to come or something?"
"No, I can't," She said,"I have to stay with Charlie, I swore I'd always stay with her no matter what happens. But, given you are the only one without a suitable weapon, I figured this was the least I could do to aid your journey."
Vox's eyes widened when Vaggie handed him her angelic spear, holding the divine weapon in his handy. He allowed his neon blue claws to feel the holy metal, bemused at the notion of possessing such a holy weapon.
"I-Is this real?" He inquired, his eyebrow raised in her direction.
"Obviously it is," Vaggie replied, rolling her eyes,"I got this weapon off the market. I never used it to kill, only to defend myself and scare people off. It worked so far, but I think for someone like you, there's a chance you may have to...defend yourself with deadly force if you encounter any problems across your journey."
Vox stared at the weapon momentarily before putting it away awkwardly.
Whenever Vox had someone killed, they were sinners and they eventually picked themselves off the ground, albeit horribly maimed. This weapon was one of the few things that could kill a demon for good. He had never held an angelic weapon before and to have someone willingly hand over one of the most powerful weapons in Hell did make him weary.
"Thanks for the weapon. I'll be sure to keep it one me just in case," He replied, not bothering to face Vaggie,"Alright everyone, let's venture forward. It's time we go and save Vol once and for all…"
There was a mutual nod as all the sinners headed out the door, Vaggie watching as they all took their leave, Vox and Alastor leading the group.
Vaggie shook her head,"I hope this doesn't go how I think this is going to go. Charlie's already in a fragile state, the last thing she needs is all of her patrons/co-workers dying in a suicide mission…."
In order to get to the underground entrance, the group had to leave the urban part of the Pride Sector.
Angel groaned, his legs wobbling from the long distance they had traveled,"Oh my fucking god, how far is this fucking underground passageway!? It feels like we've been walking forever! Are we ever gonna be there!?"
"It's far away because its an abandoned underground passageway and the only realistic way we stand a chance at retrieving Vol," Baxter huffed,"I know the walk is long, but considering the alternative is facing Lucifer's army of lunatics upfront, I think the distance is the better alternative."
"Doesn't mean I gotta like it…"
"You're acting like any of us do," Velvet muttered,"Seriously, I'd much rather be partying than walking this trail, but since Lucifer is holding one of my boyfriends captive, I gotta go on this bloody trail instead to rescue him."
"So where is it?" Alastor asked wearily,"I do believe we should've encountered the underground entrance by now."
"Because it's abandoned," Baxter said,"Thankfully, I already have a feeling that it's somewhere around-HERE!"
Everyone watched as Baxter fell on his face, tripping over what appeared to be a large metal hatch.
Niffty blinked,"Wowie, Baxter! You found the hatch! That was a super smart move on your part!"
Baxter blanked,"What? You think I did that on purpose?" He then quickly recomposed himself,"No wait, I mean, yeah. I totally did that on purpose...Definitely planned on my part. All part of my magnificent plan."
"Oh brother," Vox muttered,"Anyone with working eyes knows you didn't do that on purpose, you'd have to be a complete simpleton to believe otherwi-"
Niffty then exclaimed,"Oh my god, that's so cool! You are so smart, Baxter!"
Vox stared at the small cyclops like she was the dumbest person on the planet."You have got to be fucking kidding me.." He then sighed,"You know what? Fuck it, it doesn't matter. Let's just see where the end of this passageway is…"
"Agreed," Alastor said, lifting the lid and motioned towards Velvet and Niffty,"Come on everyone, not time to waste!"
When they all got inside the passageway, they noticed how rugged it looked. Looks like Baxter wasn't lying when he said the place had been abandoned for years, it seems Lucifer had stopped using the place long ago, as there were cobwebs and dust and gave off a musty cloud of air. There were several bugs present, crawling across the walls and infesting the place like a hive mind, spiders nesting themselves on their webs as they coiled up their prey.
Niffty covered her nose, cringing at the sight,"Oh my god, ew! This place is so nasty! Someone forgot to clean this place up, really needs a touch-up!"
Velvet scoffed,"It's an abandoned passageway, this place hasn't been cleaned in centuries and I doubt that's ever gonna change. Best we just bear with it and hope we can find the exit cuz this place is giving me the creeps…"
"Agreed," Alastor said,"Surely the way out is around here somewhere. We just have to keep looking…"
The gang continued the journey, they couldn't help but become more uncomfortable the longer they traveled beneath the cave. The longer they continued the walk, the longer they noticed just how eerie the atmosphere was. There were creaks and groans from above ground, the ceiling above them rumbling, most likely due to age.
Sir Pentious narrowed his eyes as he slithered across the floor, pausing when he felt one of his egg bois grab his coat,"What is it now!? Can't you see I'm trying to focus!?"
"Uh Mr. Boss-man? The roof has been shaking an awful lot…"
"It's nothing," He assured, dismissing his claim,"Probably just how things are given how old this place is…"
Needless to say, there was a massive pause when everyone began hearing the roof rumble, the ceiling shaking above them. Everyone's eyes widened with terror when they saw the ceiling of the passageway collapsing, rocks falling from the sky.
"SHIT!" Husk screeched,"Everyone run for it! The roof is gonna collapse!"
Panic flooded within the heart of every sinner present as they quickly dashed for it, running away for safety.
As they ran, Vox noticed Velvet was standing in one place, staring at the ceiling in shock, not daring to move even when the ceiling threatened to crush her.
"Fuck! Not now, Velvet!" Vox cursed and ran back for her, forcibly grabbing her and pulling her to safety, just narrowly dodging the onslaught of rocks overhead."We barely fucking made it…"
"Guys, look!" Angel shouted.
"Look what?" Alastor asked.
"The cave, it collapsed behind us!"
They all turned and saw that the cave behind them had collapsed on itself, the rocks having tumbled down just where they all were.
"Shit," Vox huffed,"There goes our only exit…We're pretty much stuck here for good. If we try to move those rocks, we might risk the rest of this cave falling on us. "
"Knew this place had a fucking catch," Angel murmured,"No wonder this place was abandoned, it can barely function without the ceiling falling on whoever is unfortunate enough to stumble inside."
"So what now?" Velvet asked,"What should we do now?"
"I suppose we should still continue searching," Alastor suggested,"Though I do wonder what happened to the others…"
"They're fine,"Vox replied,"At least, they should be. Assuming they didn't get crushed, they're probably in the same situation we're in. They just so happen to be on a different side of the abandoned maze-like passageway Lucifer set up."
"Well that's just fucking perfect," Angel growled,"That's just what we fucking needed. This rescue mission is already going off to a terrible start. First we go into this shitty cave, now we're split up from the rest of our group and have no fucking clue where we are. Just wonderful."
"Don't act like we're not in the same situation, Angel," Alastor stated,"We're all in this together, whether we like it or not…"
"Yeah, I know. Doesn't mean I gotta fucking like it…" The spider demon retorted.
"Well, the only way we're ever getting outta here is if we walk," Velvet shrugged,"Let's hope we can find a way out of here…"
With just the four of them present the three overlords and former prostitute threaded through the cave, mentally bracing themselves in case the ceiling collapsed on them again, feet itching for a chance to flee.
As they were walking, Velvet had become entrenched in her thoughts, her mind drifting off from reality…
'I wonder how Vol is doing...He's probably super scared right now….I hope we make it in time to save him from...whatever Lucifer is planning on doing with him…'
"We'll be able to save him...right guys?" She paused at the lack of response,"Guys?"
Velvet then blinked when she noticed that Vox, Alastor and Angel were no longer beside her. In fact, it was as if all three men were gone from her sight. She looked around,scratching her head,"Huh? Where'd they go? How'd they just disappear on me? Come on out you guys, this ain't funny!"
She got no response in return. Velvet scowled,"Dammit! I lost em!"
She groaned, realizing her procrastinating had cut her off from the rest of the team, at least what was left of their original group anyway.
"Fine, whatever. Like I need them, I can do this by myself. I'll save Vol on my own if I have to!" She rushed forward, taking multiple turns in a random direction. As she did so, she couldn't help but feel the back of her skin crawl, as if she was being watched.
Unable to put the feeling aside, Velvet reached into the folds of her dress for her axe and brandished the weapon with a sneer,"Alright asshole! Come on out of your hiding spot, it won't do ya any good! I know you're fucking here, quit being a coward and fight me! I got an axe and I ain't afraid to use it!"
Velvet blanked when she heard a familiar cackle as a soft voice said,"Babydoll, babydoll, there's no need to be so hostile, especially to an old friend…"
The shorter demon stood back,"Val...is...that really you?"
"Course it is, there's only one Valentino around here, you know that," He chuckled, his eyes narrowing in her direction before motioning towards her,"Come over here, baby. There's no need to be shy. It's just your good old friend, Val. I know I may look a bit different, but I assure you, it's still me, baby. Come on, come to Daddy…"
Velvet slowly made her way over to Val and stopped when she was a few inches away from him, eyes glued to the floor.
"Aw, what's wrong Babydoll? You don't look like yourself. Is it because you miss that damned fusion? Cuz if that's the case, then you need to fucking forget about him. He's gonna die soon, Lucifer is going to make sure of that. But don't worry, once he's out of the picture, everything will go back just how it used to be. Just you, me and Vox, together again, as a family. Ain't that what you always wanted? For us to be a family? Cuz once I get my empire back, we're going to go back to the way things used to before that fucking fusion ruined everything."
Velvet didn't move, fist clenching, her lip bitten into.
"Are you seriously still upset, Velvet? Come on, pick yourself up, you're making yourself look pathetic. Don't tell me you actually cared about him, did you? I don't get why, fusion or not, all people are replaceable one way or another. Especially to people like us, Volastor can easily be replaced by any other pretty boy, there are so many men out there who'd kill to be with you, Velvet, there's no need to get upset over one man out of dozens," Val then knelt down,"Don't give me that look, baby. There's no need to be sad. Tell you what, once this bullshit cools down and everything goes back to normal, I'll take you out to that sundae place where you can eat to your heart's delight if it'll cheer you up. We can do everything we used to do, just like in the old days…"
Velvet stared at him,"Really?"
"Yes, really. Once everything is back to the way it's supposed to be, we'll go back to being the Triple V's everyone knows about. All you have to do is come with me and forget about that fusion and stay with me. I'll take good care of you. Once that happens, life will go on and that fusion will be nothing more than bad memory. Vox may be a bit stubborn, but I'm sure he'll fall in line as well, he always does. The sooner you all forget about Volastor, the better…"
The doll didn't reply, merely standing in place.
"Come on, Velvet. There's no need to be shy. Come here and give Val a nice big hug, will ya?"
She stared Val blankly, cocking her head to the side at this gesture. When Velvet didn't respond, Val got irritated, deciding to initiate the hug on her behalf.
As this was happening, she felt her memories flash for a moment. She remembered all the times she had with Vol, from when she first met him by sneaking into his bed for a selfie, to spending time with him at the park for a game of tag and then heading out to the ice cream parlor to eat so much ice cream that it gave her the chills.
All of those memories came back to her like a tidal wave, all the pleasant times she had been with him. What started as a fake relationship eventually evolved into something more, something neither of them anticipated.
She remembered those times. One that stood out to her was when they were talking about their deaths prior to the revelation of him being a fusion. She remembered showing them a video of how she killed herself for the sake of being an internet sensation. When she showed him, she thought he'd be happy…
Only for him to be...sad? He seemed so genuinely hurt by her killing herself in such a fashion and expressed concern for her. Nobody really ever felt concerned for her well-being before. The only time she remembered anyone outside of Vol caring was Vox himself, but Vox had learned by now to leave Velvet be, as she always dismissed him as being stingy and uptight.
And now that she thought about it, she couldn't help but feel anger build up in her. She remembered how they even got to the hotel in the first place. Vol burned Val's Studio to the ground in a fit of rage when he found Val had assaulted Vox and beat him within an inch of life.
At this point, Vol and Vox were still on fairly hostile terms with each other and yet...he still went out of his way to avenge him and destroyed everything Val owned just for the sake of it. When she first heard it, she didn't want to believe it.
She knew Val and Vox had their...differences but never had it gone to full-on rape before. She thought they really had something and what Vol said had really shattered her opinion on Val…
She then grit her teeth before slowly asking,"Hey Val…"
"Yes, sweetie?"
"How much does it cost for an arm to be sold on the market?"
"Don't fucking know, why are you asking?"
"No reason…" Velvet smiled before gripping her axe tightly with a vengeance,"Because I'm certain the black market will pay loads for all the arms you have once I fucking cut them all off!" Velvet then sliced Val's lower arms with her axe, ignoring his scream in agony as a stream of red blood dripped from her weapon,"Wowie, you look so much better without those arms of yours, too bad I didn't cut all of em off! Guess I'll have to FIX that!"
Val stared at her in disbelief,"WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT, VELVET!? I FUCKING MADE YOU WHO YOU WERE AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY YOUR FRIEND!? AFTER ALL I DID FOR YOUR SORRY ASS? YOU'RE JUST GONNA FUCKING CUT MY ARMS OFF!?"
Velvet giggled, her soft voice crazed yet barely above a whisper,"Hehe...Wowie, Val...You must really think you're slick, huh? You think just cuz I died when I was eighteen, that must mean I'm a dumb, easily manipulated little girl? A loving, stupid little girl you could just use for your selfish desires and bend to your will? That may have been the case before, but now...I think I let you in on something, Val. I stopped considering you a friend a while ago, so you can take your shitty opinion and go die in a hole with it, cuz I'm fucking done. I ain't your baby-doll anymore and I sure as hell won't be friends with the man who dared to kidnap my boyfriend! Which is why…" She then lifted her axe with a maniacal grin,"I'll enjoy cutting you to bloody pieces over, and over, and OVER again! So stay still for me, I promise it's only gonna hurt a FUCKTON!"
Thanks for 5,046 views! Tell me what you all think in the comment section below, I'd love to know your thoughts on this chapter cuz we still got a bit more to go!
Enigmus-288: Yeah, pretty much lol. And it's only getting more ramped up from there.