Once the others were relocated to Lucifer's Mansion, Charlie had made arrangements for the funeral. With the power of money and persuasion, Charlie was able to find someone willing to bury Vox in a suitable manner.
Given how influential Vox was, she decided to give him a public funeral. She really didn't know him that well, but she had the feeling Vox would've wanted people to know what became of him in the event of his demise.
Once they got the funeral prepared, everyone was told to dress their best for the occasion and meet back in the main hall.
"Ugh, do I seriously have to wear this?" Angel asked, motioning to the light pink pants he had been told to put on along with the rest of the suit,"Seriously, these things ride up my-"
"TMI asshole!" Vaggie hissed,"Nobody wants to hear about that shit! Be quiet!"
"Will you quit being so noisy? Sheesh, I was just saying that these pants need to stop being so uncomfortable. I like stuff being tight, but not like this…"
"Can you stop it with the sexual innuendos?" Arackniss asked, shooting his brother a glare,"Seriously Anthony, this is a fucking funeral and you're bitching about your pants! Learn to read the room will you?"
Angel scoffed,"Fine. Seriously, why are you people so bitchy? Like more than usual."
"Funeral remember? Someone fucking died, someone who saved your sorry ass from your boss and you're bitching about your pants being tight," Arackniss replied,"Show some damn respect, Anthony."
The younger spider narrowed his eyes,"I am showing respect, just cuz I'm complaining doesn't mean I ain't acknowledging Vox saving my ass. But seriously, Niss, what the fuck is up with you wearing white?"
As of today, Arackniss was wearing a white trench coat with a black suit underneath, with his amputated arm sticking out as a worn stub. Even if it would regenerate, it was going to take a while for it to return to its normal state. In the very least, Arackniss was just glad he only lost an arm during that fight and nothing else.
"Decided to change it up a bit. I'm at a funeral so I think wearing the same thing would be redundant. Besides, it smelled terrible because it was covered in dried blood…"
"You mean, smell more terrible? That coat never smelled good, let's be honest here. I'd be impressed you washed it."
"I washed it everyday you fucking idiot!" Arackniss growled.
"Shut up you two!" Vaggie hissed, her hair raising from the bun it was in as her voice became louder."Not the time for arguing! Get over yourselves and be quiet!"
"Yeah yeah, whatever…"
Arackniss rolled his eyes,"Hmph...mouthy bitch…"
"What did you just call me!? I'll tear your other arm off if you say that shit to my face!"
"Vaggie, what's going on here?" Charlie asked, now wearing a black and red dress with puffy sleeves,"I heard yelling, is everything alright?"
"Just peachy," Vaggie grumbled,"Those two assholes can't seem to get along for more than two seconds and it's getting on my nerves."
Charlie sent them a look,"Angel, Arackniss, I understand you two don't like each other, but please refrain from causing a scene. This is a Funeral and I'd appreciate some civility."
"Fine."
"Tch…"
"Thanks for that," Vaggie said before smiling,"Nice dress."
"Oh this old thing? Haven't worn it in over a century," Charlie smiled slyly,"I was gonna wear a suit but I figured to change it up a bit to signify the occasion…."
"You look regardless so I don't see the problem.
"You too, Vag…" She said, looking at Vaggie's dark grey dress and heels,"I don't remember seeing you wear that before."
"Never thought of wearing it honestly. But since we're going to a funeral I may as well put it to good use."
Suddenly, everyone heard Husk shout,"FUCK NO! I'M NOT WEARING THAT SHIT!"
"HUSKER YOU CAN'T GO NAKED! IT'S INDECENT!"
"I'M ALWAYS NAKED FUCKFACE! WHY DOES IT SUDDENLY MATTER NOW!?"
"THIS IS A FUNERAL! YOU CAN'T WALK AROUND NAKED WHILE EVERYONE ELSE IS CLOTHED!
"GET AWAY FROM ME!"
There was then a loud crash and hissing noises in the background. After a few moments, Alastor came out with a torn up pinstripe coat while Husk was wearing a tuxedo.
"Uhh…." Charlie started,"Hey Al, are you alright?"
"Positively perfect! Husker was just being...a bit rowdy for some reason. I don't understand why he couldn't handle the idea of putting on clothes for a formal event."
"Because it's inconvenient! I'm a cat with wings, you have no clue how annoying it is to put your clothes on with these damn feathers in the way! I don't even get what the problem is, I'm fucking naked all the time and nobody gave a fuck, just because its a funeral doesn't mean I have to dress up."
"Common decency and respect. Besides, you'd look out of place if you were naked while the rest of us weren't…"
"So...are you just gonna go like that?" Arackniss asked,"Like, your suit looks like it got clawed to pieces. Being naked would probably be preferable to walking out like that."
Alastor laughed,"Ha! Of course not. You see, clothes aren't much of an issue when you can do this," He then sapped his fingers and got a red-black pinstripe suit on."See? Good as new! Now we just need the others to show up."
Moments later, Niffty appeared with Velvet and Vol following after, having just finished dressing up. Niffty had a scarlet tube dress while Velvet had a gothic black dress, letting her hair down as she wore a veil over her head.
Vol had a purple tuxedo with plain tap shoes, walking with her with his arm locked with hers.
"OMG! You two are so cute!" Niffty squealed.
"Thanks," Velvet snickered,"Honestly Vol, we look pretty amazing, don't we?"
Vol didn't respond, merely shrugging his shoulders, his expression remaining unchanged. He then looked around the mansion, becoming rather irritated the longer he was in the room, having nothing but negative memories within this palace.
"Vol? Are you ok?"
Vol nodded half-heartedly, refusing to look her in the eye.
Velvet the masked,"So...is the funeral starting soon?"
Charlie nodded,"Yeah, we should head out there.." Charlie then used her powers to teleport everyone to the funeral, leaving no trace of them behind.
Charlie had teleported the group to the front of the park. From the outside gate, everyone could see an entire crowd of people present.
Husk paused, noticeably caught off-guard by the amount of people in the area,"Woah, why are there so many people here? I thought we were going to be the only present for the funeral outside of your parents."
"Yeah, like if I didn't know any better, I'd assume this was a better," Niffty said,"There are like hundreds of people here."
"I made the funeral public," Charlie stated, brushing her hair back,"I figured that Vox would've wanted his funeral to be visible if he ever had one. Besides, the people who worked with him deserve to know what became of him."
"Why don't we take a closer look?" Alastor asked,"We should see for ourselves how the funeral looks…"
Everyone passed through the gates and made their way to the front. The other hundreds of demons were all stationed a bit farther back, being on their best behavior for the ceremony.
Lucifer and Lilith were dressed in formal(or rather more formal) attire, Lilith wearing a more conservative style dress while Lucifer wore white and gold in his attire, including the now golden apple on top of his hat.
Charlie weakly smiled, approaching her parents as she said,"Thanks for keeping everyone in order while I was away…"
"You're acting like that was difficult," Lucifer said,"The moment we showed up, everyone just fell in line. Didn't even have to do anything other than look in their direction. Perhaps if you were more assertive people would have the same reaction towards you."
"I don't want anyone to fear me, Dad…" Charlie said before coughing,"So...what do you think of the funeral?"
"It looks...nice," Lilith replied,"You really out-did yourself, Charlie…"
"Thanks…"
Lucifer then saw the group and motioned for them to move forward,"Go on, everyone. Go see what my daughter did for yourself.
The others followed his command, getting a closer look at the burial ground, getting to the front. When they got closer, they were surprised to see that it was an open casket burial while Charlie merely stood by with a nervous expression.
Vox's body lay in a silver casket, lying against lush white bedding and dark blue roses at the lower of the chest. The once bloody and tattered tuxedo he wore had been replaced with a clean one and the cracks on his screen had been fixed. He looked good as new and if you squinted, it almost looked like he was sleeping if you ignored the fact his screen was completely black and devoid of any expressions while his WiFi signal was dead.
Beside him there were vases full of black flowers with a picture of Vox himself on a stand.
"Lovely work, Charlie…" Niffty said,"It looks beautiful."
"Thank you...I just felt like I had to compensate for not getting there in time. This is the least I could do for him."
The next thing they knew, the funeral procession began to take place. Charlie had hired someone to take over and go through the work. It was what you'd expect, emotional speeches, words of encouragement and so on.
Thankfully for everyone's sanity, it eventually got to the part about paying respect before the final burial. Several of Vox's business partners went up to his casket and said something and admitted their final thoughts before taking their leave.
When it was their turn, Charlie went up first with Vaggie following after her. Charlie approached the casket, taking a good look at Vox. She then shook her head,"I'm sorry, Vox. I wish there was more I could've done for you while you were here, but I guess it's a little late for that now, isn't it?"
She got no response. Not like she was expecting one, but the silence did cause her stomach to twist to the side, as if she had gotten sick just from seeing him like this.
Vaggie patted her on the shoulder,"It's not your fault, Hon…" The moth then looked down at Vox before sighing,"Look...I never really liked you. Then again, I don't really like anyone but I always had a distaste for overlords, you know, with shitlord and all. Still, I can't say I don't feel bad now that you're gone. Maybe I...judged you too harshly…" She said the last part under her breath before saying,"Come on, Hun. We gotta give the others their chance with him before he's put into the ground."
Charlie reluctantly moved away from the casket, following Vaggie as they walked away with tears running down her face.
Husk went next, the alcoholic shifting his gaze,"Never interacted with you that much, TV. Normally I wouldn't have cared if you died but you must've made an impact with me since I'm kind of sad to see you go. Still, you knew what you were doing and I respect that. You fought and died for your cause, that's more than what most people can say. Sorry you could've lived long enough to accomplish your mission…"
Niffty then tugged on Husk's leg,"Hey Husk, can you lift me up so I can see him?"
Husk nodded before carrying Niffty over his shoulder.
"I never knew you, Vox. Unfortunately, I don't really have much to say. But I hope that all the pain you passed fairly quickly…"
The cat then carried Niffty off.
Angel and Arackniss got up.
After a brief moment of silence, the former prostitute was elbowed, causing him to growl,"Alright fine, I'll be sappy first, asshole."
Arackniss rolled his eyes,"Get on with it…"
"Fine. Gonna be real frank with you, Vox. Never really thought of you much before you showed up. Thought you were gonna try and take me back to Val, but then you changed everything by freeing me. I've never been so happy in my entire afterlife when you did that. It is just unfortunate that your actions caught up with you and got ya killed in the end. Guess no good deed truly goes unpunished down here, does it?" He dryly chuckled, though it was rather forced,"You did good, Vox...You really did. You helped a lot of us and when you killed Val, you set us free for good. Sorry you couldn't live to see the aftermath though..."
Angel then looked at Arackniss and kicked his leg,"Alright, your turn asshole."
"Annoying bitch,The older demon scoffed,"So Vox...Thanks for doing what I always wanted to do by killing that bastard. Honest to god if I had the chance to kill that motherfucker I would've done it. Too bad you were the one with OP powers and not me. That fucker took away my Father, tried to turn me and Anthony into his slaves and had you not saved us, a missing limb would be the least of my worries. I know we never really talked to each other for more than a few minutes, but you didn't seem half-bad when you were walking…"
Arackniss and Angel took their leave, allowing Alastor, Vol and Velvet to come up to the casket.
Alastor narrowed his eyes,"I suppose this is the end of our rivalry, Vox. It takes two to tango after all and now that you're….dead, I suppose I win by default of being alive? Or at least, as alive as I can be. Normally I'd be happy at winning anything over you, but this 'victory' doesn't feel like one to me. It's hollow, as I've done nothing to really earn it. Valentino was the one to end your life, not me. And now that you're gone, I'm not quite certain what to do from here. This rivalry was one of few things that kept me entertained, on my toes even, but that you're not here...I feel...off. Like a piece of me left when you died. I know we were never friends, but perhaps if we were, this probably would've ended differently…"
Velvet adjusted her veil,"You may not have been my Vox...but it doesn't make seeing you like this any easier. I don't really know what else to say. First my Vox kills himself and then you die by the other Val's hand. It's like no matter what happens, the wrong person always dies," She bit her lip,"I know that there's really nothing I can do for you anymore, but I figured I should return this to ya…"
Velvet then pulled out Vaggie's used spear and put it in Vox's hands, propping it up to make it appear he was still holding it.
"There...I know it doesn't belong to you, but I figured that I should give you something before you go into the ground…" The Doll Demon's gaze flickered to Vol, who had remained silent up until this point.
"What about you, Vol? Don't you have anything to say?"
Vol scoffed,"Nothing positive if that's what you're wondering."
Velvet and Alastor's faces fell for a moment, eyes wide at Vol's choice of wording.
"What? Did you really think I was going to say something positive just because he died? That is not how this works. I am not required to respect nor mourn someone who never cared for me in the slightest. He saw me as an abomination that he was forced to look after. Call me cold-hearted, but Vox and I have NEVER had a positive interaction since we met and I want little to do with him even in death. Don't get me wrong, I don't approve of Val killing him, but I can't say I'll miss him all too much now that he's gone."
Velvet and Alastor tensed. They had feared something like this would happen. They were just hoping Vol could've waited until the funeral ended to voice his true opinions. It didn't help he had since in front of everyone, and Velvet could feel the glares burning in Vol's direction.
"We should get going," Alastor urged, knowing that Vol staying up there any longer would cause problems. Velvet grabbed Vol's hand and led him away, putting her veil down to avoid making eye-contact with the other demons present for the burial.
Even when they got back to their places, Vol was given glares, mainly from the other Hazbins and to a smaller extent, Lucifer and Lilith. Vol didn't react to these glances, remaining apathetic to the looks he received.
The tension didn't ease, even when it came time to put Vox in the ground. A few demons that were part of the funeral service, placing Vox's casket beneath the ground before covering the coffin with dirt while they all watched.
Afterwards, several demons came up, putting flowers on Vox's grave before taking their leave. By the time all the demons were finished paying their respects, Vox's grave was littered with flowers from all sorts of backgrounds.
His gravestone was a vertical one with his WiFI signal at the top.
Beneath it read: Here Lies Vox.
Date Of Fall-1950?
Date Of Death-2021
Sorry we couldn't save you in time...
Lucifer raised an eyebrow,"Why is there a question mark on 1950?"
Charlie rubbed her shoulder,"I didn't know what time Vox was born originally, didn't really get the chance to ask him. I remember him being around in the fifties so I figured that was when he originally fell down here. Course I didn't get the chance to ask for the date so I put a question mark just to be safe."
"Hmph. Fair enough. Must say, you really did go all out. The dead tree isn't as much of an eyesore now with all these flowers around. I'm certain Vox would've liked this if he were still around…"
"He never was my favorite overlord," Lilith said,"But I do feel a bit bad that he's gone. At least he made an impact somewhere…"
Afterwards, the Hazbins paid their respects for the final time, standing in front of the grave momentarily before walking away. Vol watched as Velvet and Alastor paid their respects, as they volunteered to go last.
The fusion narrowed his eyes, he wanted nothing more than to leave this place. He had only attended the funeral out of obligation to Velvet, still bitter about the things Vox had said to him.
"We should get going," Vol said.
"Not yet…" Velvet replied,"I know you and Vox never liked each other, Vol. I understand that, but that doesn't mean I can't pay respects before we leave…"
Vol rolled his eyes,"Hmph…"
Suddenly, he heard someone coming up behind him. Vol turned around to see a demon he didn't recognize with...two hammerhead sharks beside him. Vol blinked,"Vark?"
The Vark with multiple scars caught sight of him and immediately ran up to him. Vol patted him on the head,"Hey Vark...I didn't think I'd see you again…." Vol then noticed the other Vark and paused before connecting the dots.'Must be the one Vox originally owned...Oh great…'
He then saw the other demon and asked,"Who are you?"
"I'm Vox's business partner. He asked me to look after these sharks when he was away….I came to...show them what happened."
Vol sighed,"I figured as much…"
Moments later, the Vark's saw Velvet and Alastor at the gravestone. When they took a look at the grave, there was a moment of silence. At first, they didn't show much of a reaction, at least until the Vark that Vox originally owned started whimpering and crying while the other had a sombre expression but didn't bother crying, as if he were too numb to do so.
Vol turned away when he saw the sharks mourning the loss of their owner.
The guy who had been looking after them asked,"So, who are you? I never saw Vox around you. Are you Alastor's cousin or something?"
"No…" Vol replied,"It's none of your business who I am. I just came here for Velvet's sake…"
"Did you ever care for him?"
"Not really. What little interaction we shared, it was all negative. He never liked me and I never liked him. That will never change."
The other demon flinched at this harshness,"Oh...ok…"
"So...do you mind if I take the sharks off your hands?"
"What?"
"I doubt you want to care for them, do you?"
"Well no. I'm not really a pet person."
"Then you should see no issue with me taking care of them. I know how. It's just I'm not used to two of them…"
"It's your choice. Just hope whatever happens from here isn't completely awful…" The other demon walked away, leaving Vol with the others.
Eventually, acid rain started to pour from the sky. Vol told them it was time to leave, Velvet and Alastor agreed but the Varks seemed reluctant to move from Vox's grave and had to be dragged away, the one that Vox owned originally whimpering as he was taken away from his owner's resting place, crying and whining in agony.
"Come on boy, it's time to leave…" Velvet said sadly.
Vark looked back at Vox's grave before lowering his head in defeat as they got farther and farther away from the tree.
Thanks for 8,960 views! Tell me what you think below! Also guys, this story ain't over just yet so don't worry.
Also yeah, I felt giving Vox a funeral was kind of necessary(it'd be weird if they didn't).
Enigmus-28: Don't worry dude, I got a plan. Trust me, I've been prepping for this moment and I've got some things in mind to pull since I knew people would get upset that Vox got shanked. Been planning Vox's death for a while and I got a plan cuz I knew this reaction from the readers would happen. I've got another thing in mind, I've got things under control though. Besides, IMO God is more 'hands off' and typically allows things to happen until a certain criteria is met(legit his other self only helped Vox when he 'repented, otherwise he would've ignored him'). He's more an unseen force and has other beings fill in for him.
Mitsuru6: They can only hope timelines, not go back in time, well God probably can but as said above...he's sitting back for the time being.