Alastor and Vox rushed over to Volastor, panic rising in their eyes, the injured overlords now getting a closer look at him. They were horrified at what they saw, he was pale and everything about him was visibly drooping, even his ear-tufts had become lowered. His eyes were closed and he wasn't moving...

In the center of his chest was a shattered gemstone, damaged heavily beyond repair. There were purple gem pieces scattered across the floor, the shards pointed and bruised heavily. His gemstone had faded of life, now a sickly dull grey hue instead of the once violet crystal that had been shining bright in his chest previously.

"Vol!" Vox grabbed him and held him gently, cupping his cheek,"Are you there!? Please tell me you're still alive!"

Vol's eyes slowly creaked open, a small smile on his face as he gazed at them, his eyes dimming by the passing second,"Hmm? Vox? Alastor? Is that you?"

"Of course it's us!" Alastor retorted,"Come on, Vol! You need to get up! We have to go get help!"

Vol chuckled weakly,"I'm afraid it's too late for me, Al. My crystal is ruined beyond repair. My two halves have diffused and I won't last much longer at this rate...I"

"N-No!" Vox hissed,"That's not for you to decide! We didn't come all this way for nothing, Vol! We can't let you die here! Please stay with us!"

He coughed,"I'm trying...Vox. I really am...it's just that...I feel so weak, Vox...It's so cold...my head hurts...everything is slowing down...I need...to rest..." Vol's eyes slowly rolled back into his skull, eyes shutting as his body began to shut down.

"SHIT! NO! DON'T REST! DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES, VOL! STAY WITH US! '' Vox panicked, now attempting to shake him awake to no avail, his breathing slowing,"Al, we're losing him! We need to find a way to fix it! We've come too far to lose him! Alastor, try healing the gem with your powers!"

"I'll try…" Alastor narrowed his eyes, now attempting to heal Vol's crystal with his magic. When he did so, the crystal didn't mend like he had intended, instead merely shrugging off the effects of Alastor's powers. The Radio Demon looked back at his rival weakly, his smile barely present,"Dammit...It...it's not letting me do anything. I can't fix it,Vox…It won't let me..."

"Fuck!" Vox cursed,"Stupid excuse of a gem! Won't let us do shit! Why won't it work!? Why won't it let us fix it!?"

"We're not strong enough," Alastor stated,"I don't think we're capable of fixing this by ourselves. This is beyond our capabilities. It doesn't help that Lucifer enhanced the spear to stab Vol, and while it didn't seem to affect the rest of his body, the spear did end up freeing our other selves. Though I'm not certain how Volastor still exist if they are free…"

"If I had to guess, it's probably because Vol's gemstone is basically his second heart. It's a power-source and something he needs to function. While the gemstone itself is still in him, the components he needs are gone. Whatever juice that's left in the fragments is keeping him breathing, but who knows for how long…" Vox replied,"If we're going to save him, we're going to need a way to keep him alive, though I don't think either of us can do that on our own. We're not powerful enough to fix this by ourselves…"

The two overlords weren't certain what to do, the situation was out of their hands and the damage Lucifer did seemed permanent.

Suddenly, the duo heard the sound of footsteps rushing into the chamber, alerting them of the presence of someone coming closer, their steps getting heavier.

Vox and Alastor immediately tensed, Vox respectively clinging to Vol while Alastor weakly grabbed his staff on the off-chance it was anyone hostile. Even if he wasn't in the position where he could defend himself, he refused to go down without at least trying…

However, when the doors were slammed open, Alastor's eyes widened with bemusement when he locked eyes with the person on the other side, a wave of relief washing over him. It was her.

The Princess of Hell in her full glory, her tuxedo had been torn visible and her horns still protruding from her skull, eyes glowing red. Her ivory skin was coating with dust and soot, visible blood stained her outfit, though he knew well that it wasn't hers, blonde hair flowing in the air, her black lips formed into a tight frown.

"Charlie…" Alastor heaved.

Charlie didn't respond to him at first, now examining the damage in the room. She noticed her father on the floor, who barely seemed conscious. She then noticed them in the room and rushed over, coming to their side. Her expression became shocked when she saw Vol's injured/unconscious form and worriedly asked,"What happened?"

"Your shitty excuse of a father stabbed him with a holy spear, that's what happened!" Vox hissed,"Fucking coward just shoved that damn thing in Vol out of nowhere, just when we were about to leave! And thanks to him, Vol's dying!"

Charlie cringed,"I'm so sorry, Vox...I didn't think this would happen. I wish I had come here sooner. If I had...this wouldn't have happened."

"There's no point in mourning over it," Alastor growled,"What we need is for Vol to be saved! Though we're not quite certain how to do that, since nothing we do has any effect. I believe we're not powerful enough to have any impact on the gem.."

"Then maybe I can try," Charlie offered,"I'm the Princess of Hell, I should at least be able to do something about this…"

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Vox urged irritably,"Do it now! Vol won't last forever, it's only a matter of time before the crystal runs out of juice and cuts off his life-support! He's barely alive as it is, help him now!"

Charlie nodded before focusing her magical powers to Volastor, or more accurately, his crystal. The demoness used her superior powers in an attempt to restore the crystal, however it seemed even with her power, it refused to mend. She grit her teeth, attempting to force the crystal to fix itself but was only left with failure and heavy breathing,"Dammit...It won't let me fix it…"

"What!?" Vox shouted,"How can YOU not fix it, Charlie!? You're one of the most powerful beings in this entire realm yet you can't fix a crystal!?"

"I'm sorry, Vox!" She shouted,"I just can't! The damage is too great, I don't think something like this can be undone. The crystal itself is too damaged to be salvaged…"

"But Vol needs it to live!" Vox shouted,"What the hell are we supposed to do!? That crystal is the only thing keeping him alive! How are we supposed to save him if the one thing he needs is literally dying on us as we speak!? Vol won't last much longer if we don't do something fast!"

"We need a replacement," Alastor replied,"We never fused in this timeline and given this crystal belongs to Lucifer, we might be able to save him if we can swap the dull one with a fresh replacement…"

Vox scowled,"Too bad that crystal is probably in Lucifer's lower quarters, we'll never be able to get there in time, Volastor will die by the time we retrieve it! He doesn't have that much time left and if we didn't find it, he's a goner!"

Charlie's eyes narrowed at this news, the situation was getting more and more tense as time passed. She looked around the room, trying to find something that could possibly help them in a time of crisis. She then noticed something purple and shiny near her father's unconscious form and stood up, ignoring Vox and Alastor's demands for her to come back.

She approached her father's body, locking eyes with her father for a moment before looking down at the crystal and saying,"I'll be taking this, Lucifer…"

Lucifer didn't say anything, too paralyzed from his injuries and shock. That was the first time Charlie had ever called him his real name,"Charlie-"

"Save it," She replied, turning her back and heading back to Alastor and Vox with the crystal in hand,"I believe we'll need this…."

Vox blanked,"How did you-"

"Lucifer had it on him. I don't know why, but he must've dropped it during the fighting. All I know is that I believe Volastor needs this more than he does."

"So how should we remove the original?" Alastor asked wearily,"I don't want to risk harming Volastor, he's already fragile in a state like this. One wrong move and we could end up killing him in our venture to save him…"

"Yeah, this doesn't seem like something any of us are qualified to do," Vox mentioned flatly,"I mean, I'm a CEO, you're a cannibal and she's a princess. Surgery is out of our realm of expertise…"

Charlie narrowed her eyes before snapping her fingers, summoning Baxter with her powers. The angler fish blanked for a moment, holding his gun in confusion.

Judging by his position, he seemed ready to shoot someone up until that point, now looking around with a bemused expression on his face,"Huh? What? What happened? Where am I and why am I here?"

"I summoned you, Baxter."

"What for?"

"We need your help..Volastor, he's in danger...He's dying…"

"What?" Baxter shrunk,"How?"

"My father stabbed him and broke his crystal. We found a replacement, but we need someone who can remove it without causing damage to him. We need your help, Baxter..Please, tell me you can do it..."

Baxter looked down at Volastor, surveying the looked really bad and Baxter himself looked horrified at how injured Volastor looked, the battle had definitely taken a toll on his body, scars being visible everywhere…

"I...I can do it…" Baxter replied wearily,"But I'm going to need some space…"

"Are you sure about this, Baxter? You don't seem sure," Charlie said.

"Even if I'm not, I'll be damned again if I let Volastor die," The scientist replied lowly,"I know I'm not much of a fighter. Hell, I'll admit I'm a bloody coward and would rather run away than fight. But considering how being unable to defend myself got Vol into this mess, I refuse to stand by and let him die on me now. He's saved my ass so many times without caring about his own well-being. It's about time I returned the favor and saved his."

He then knelt down, taking out a pair of tools he kept handy in his coat before getting to work, red eyes burning with determination as he sought to save his friend from a harsher fate. Baxter had prior experience in surgeries, often operating on the bodies of demons that had been killed in the purge and salvaging their corpses.

One time, he tried to revive them(obviously this failed) so that he could have another partner walking around. It was a pipe-dream, but reviving demons that bad already perished in the purge had interested him, hoping that if he did succeed he'd have someone with him in his lab.

Still, despite the fact it didn't work, he had learned a lot about biology in his past and current life, and while demon biology was different than human biology, Volastor was made up of two people who were previously human and while he did have characteristics of both sinners, he had a body structure similar to that of a human male biologically.

With that in mind, Baxter managed to safely extract the original crystal , ignoring the blood attached before replacing it with the new and improved crystal. It was a perfect fit, the gemstone fitting in good as new.

"It worked," Charlie breathed in amazement,"You did it Baxter, you put it in without a hitch…"

"Don't mention it…"

Vox narrowed his eyes,"Wait a second, why isn't Volastor recovering. The crystal is inside him, he should be fine yet he still looks like he's dying. I think something's missing because he should be recovering…"

"What do you mean, Vox?"

"Charlie, Vox is right," Alastor said,"The crystal has been inserted, but it doesn't seem like Volastor's condition is improving that much. While it seemed like he's been given a new power-source, he's still in critical condition…"

Charlie paused, a wave of concern washing over her. It seemed like something had gone wrong, as while the crystal was in Volastor, he didn't seem to be waking up or recovering, skin still pale, his breathing still faint and weak. He still seemed to be in a deep state of unconsciousness, not moving an inch.

She scratched her head,"I don't get it. I thought when he was given a replacement, Vol would be healed just like that. What's going on? Shouldn't he be all fixed up?"

Baxter scowled,"It's not that simple, Charlie. We may have put the crystal back in Volastor, but we haven't saved him. At best, we've delayed the inevitable but if we don't give Volastor what he needs, he's going to die…"

"Then what does he need!?" Vox shouted, his voice raising with panic and fear,"We've tried the crystal and yet he still seems to be missing something! What could he possibly need that we haven't tried yet!?"

"Because it's not something he needs, it someone," Baxter replied,"Volastor is a fusion and while the crystal is a main-component to his existence, he ultimately needs Vox and Alastor exist. That means we need to get the other versions to get in the gem so Vol can live…"

"Sounds easy enough," Charlie said before turning to the other version of Vox and Alastor, who just so happened to be watching this event in awe from afar,"Hey! Other Vox and Alastor! Can you two come here and help us?"

They stared at each other momentarily, the other version of them narrowing their eyes respectively, not moving from their positions.

"Hey, did you hear her!?" Vox shouted at his other self,"Get over here!?"

"What for?" The other Vox asked,"Because in case you haven't noticed, we're not deaf. We know what you want us to do, and I'm saying it here, you cannot for the love of god convince either Alastor or I to go back in that damn crystal."

"But we need you guys! Volastor can't exist without you!" Charlie whined.

"Does it look like I care?" The other TV Demon retorted,hands firmly on his hips,"That isn't my problem! His needs don't come over mine and I want to live my life, not be a part of some gem where I can't even move! We've been stuck in that gem for ages and only now have we gained our freedom just for you people to try and take that away from us!"

"I concur," The other Alastor piped up,"As much as I have issues with Vox, I can't say I object to his position. We've been in that damned crystal for what felt like eons. Do you want to know what it's like? Because I'll tell you what it's like, you can't move, you can't see, you can only hear voices around you but be unable to speak to them. We may as well have been Double-Dead at that point, the only difference is you're being trapped in a gemstone and not actually dead, but the world moves on without you nonetheless…"

Charlie tensed, trying to reach out to them again,"I get that you two are reluctant, but please, we NEED you guys to go back! We need Volastor with us and we need you two to go back into the crystal to save him! He needs you guys!"

"Even if that's the case, why the fuck should either of us care whether he lives or dies? That isn't our problem!" The other Vox asked,"We don't even know this guy! He's just been keeping us trapped in his body for who knows how long and you want the US to sacrifice our well beings just so you can keep this person alive? Don't you know we have lives? It'd be better off if this fusion of ours perished so we don't have to give up our lives."

Vox scowled at his counterpart,"Ugh! How can you be so fucking selfish!? Volastor can't exist without you and you two are being stubborn as mules!"

The other Vox scoffed,"We're literally the same person, jackass! You know you're calling yourself selfish right? And who cares if I am? This is MY life! No one here gets to claim it!"

Alastor sent them a glare,"This is pointless, they won't budge! Of all the times we had to be stubborn, they chose now to stick their feet into the mud. Volastor is going to die at this rate thanks to these bastards!"

"Calling us bastards isn't going to change our minds," The other Alastor retorted,"I'd think you of all people would know that."

"Doesn't mean I have to be ok with it…"

"So what now?" Charlie inquired,"The other Vox and Alastor don't seem like they'll be changing their minds any time soon and Vol won't last forever. What do we do from here? Vol needs them and they aren't cooperating…"

Baxter then paused for a brief moment before lowly saying,"But who's to say Volastor needs them in particular?"

"What? What do you mean?" Charlie asked, everyone now giving Baxter a questionable glance.

"Volastor came to be when the other Vox and Alastor touched that gemstone, absorbing their essence in the process. However, considering they refuse to work with us, perhaps we can take a third option. Since the crystal likely won't be picky with who touches it, I doubt it would reject it if a different version of Vox and Alastor were to merge…"

There was a mutual silence from everyone present.

Suddenly the other Vox made a cynical comment at the proposition,"Like that's going to work. I doubt these fuckers are going to agree to that. They're more than willing to sacrifice another version of them, but I doubt they'd be willing to give up themselves for the sake of that fusion…"

"You don't know that…" Charlie replied before turning to her respective Vox and Alastor with a worried glance,"Well, what about it? Do you want to try Baxter's idea?"

Vox and Alastor both fell silent, the two overlords staring up at each other. They didn't know what to say, the idea sounded like it could work, but they didn't want to be trapped like their other selves were…

Still, there weren't many other options and the time was ticking. They had to make a decision and time was running short. Volastor didn't have that kind of time left and the crystal could only last so long without the needed components before it failed...

Vox and Alastor both looked back at Volastor, who was growing paler by the passing second. Vox looked down before turning to Alastor with a sigh,"Alastor, I...I think we should do it…"

"Are you certain about this?"

"Y-Yeah…" Vox said,"Vol's like a son to me. I can't bear to lose him. Hell, we fought through entire armies just to save him. We came all this way for him and I'd rather stab myself with a holy spear than let him go. If the only feasible way to keep him alive is at the cost of my existence, then so be it. I don't have much left to live for anyway…"

"But what about the others?" Charlie asked.

"You'll take care of them," Alastor said,"It's better off this way. Volastor cannot die here, he's barely begun to live. If Vox and I need to be taken out of the equation, then I suppose it's for the best. And for our sake, I believe it's best if we permanently erased ourselves so that in case anyone gets any ideas, Volastor will not be able to be separated like this ever again. It may be painful, but I'm certain it'll be worth it. Vol may hate us for the rest of his life, but I don't care enough to let that get in the way of my better judgement. This is for the greater good."

"You can't be serious," The other Alastor said in disbelief,"You are truly going to sacrifice your being for a stranger?"

"Vol isn't it a stranger, he's our friend and I bet if you had the chance to know him, you'd do the same," The injured Radio Demon replied,"But nonetheless,it shouldn't matter to you, because we're filling in for you two. I don't get why you're so concerned either way. This is our decision to make, we both know what we're doing. So please, let us do what we have to do without any interruptions.

The other versions stood back in awe as their other selves placed their hands on Vol's gem with resolute expressions on their faces, Charlie and Baxter looking away as the two demons made their choice, placing their hand on Vol's gemstone at the same time.

Thanks for all 6,295 views everyone! If you have any questions you're free to ask and feel free to leave your thoughts down below!

Enigmus-288: Eh, Lucifer has been fighting a fusion, barley gathered the energy to 'kill' Vol and passed out again. Bear in mind Lucifer was fighting Vol for a while before they showed up and they were both heavily injured so I think Lucifer not having that much energy makes sense. As for Vol, the crystal is the main thing keeping him alive and is the reason he can exist separately from Vox and Alastor, albeit, not for long. Vol needs Vox and Alastor exist and if he doesn't have them within a certain period of time, he dies. Imagine if Pink Diamond still existed in Steven when White ripped his gem out, Pink still exists when removed but Steven is dying without her gem and if she doesn't go back, he's fucked.