"So...how do we fix this again?" Angel asked, looking at the others wearily. Judging by the expressions he was given, it seemed that they were all wondering how to do just that. Everyone was giving Vincent weary glances before Charlie looked at her uncle and asked,
"Hey uncle? Are you really sure you don't know how to reverse this?"
"Believe me, if I could fix this we wouldn't even be here," He replied,"Truthfully, I'm at a loss for what to do here. I never anticipated the purification process having this effect and now that Vincent is here...I'm not certain what anyone can do from here."
Vol scowled,"Are you kidding me? You basically started this mess, you should know how to fix it! Fix him!"
"I can't! It's not that simple! This has NEVER happened before! I can't just fix it! And if I tried, I'd probably make it worse! Vincent's mind is already fragile as it is, the last thing anyone needs is for something else to be lost in the process of trying to revive his memories."
"So that's it?" Vol asked,"We're just going to have to accept that Vox-"
The reformed soul snapped,"Vincent!"
Vol growled,"Fine. Vincent. Are we just supposed to accept that Vincent is like this for good? That he has no memory of the person he used to be a part of? Do you expect us to just pretend everything is fine and dandy? Because you are fucking wrong if you did, this cannot be ignored! You basically killed Vox and replaced him with Vincent, who in case you haven't noticed, views us demons as abominations! Do you not see how problematic that is? You got rid of someone we cared about and replaced with this cold and uncaring husk of a person! What did you do to his soul that ended up creating...this!?" He pointed at Vincent with a disturbed expression.
"I'm not certain, but I believe the purification may have...affected more than just Vox's mind. My original intent was only to purge the sin from his soul so that Vox could possess a heavenly body and while it was a success, this was not the end result I wanted. I don't know what exactly happened, but it might've worked a bit too well and had unintended consequences, not just erasing his memory but twisting aspects of his personality."
"How did you do that?" Alastor asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"I'm not sure, but I theorize that my divine magic and Vox's demonic energy interacting with each other caused some sort of reaction, as when I purged Vox's sinful nature away, it decided to take a few things before it left. Not only did it take away Vox's memories from Vincent, but it likely affected his personality negatively, causing him to act the way he is now."
Everyone was somewhat skeptical of this, but the longer they thought about it, it did make a lot of sense. While Vincent possessed personality traits similar to Vox's, it was obvious that something was twisted about these traits.
He was cold, callous and downright cruel to anyone not of divine origin and responded with great hostility to anyone who either called him 'Vox' or laid their hands on him. Vincent's icy cold eyes were devoid of any compassion towards those he viewed as 'demonic' and showed not a sign of pity towards the feelings of those he hurt.
His actions were also an example of this. Vincent showed little reaction to the death of a demon when the other Exorcist killed them. He was more than willing to kill Velvet, someone who used to be Vox's friend when he was around and shoved Volastor away when he tried to show him affection, coldly proclaiming that he was not Vox and to get his hands off of him else he'd stab him with a holy spear…
All things considered, Micheal really fucked up with the programming if this was the end result of Vox's soul getting cleansed. He did far more than just stripping Vox's sinful nature away, he pretty much reprogrammed him into an entirely new being with a heavenly body to boot.
Charlie looked at Vincent sympathetically, disappointed at what Vincent had become. He was nothing more than a cold, cruel man with no memories to call his own. It was rather sad and she couldn't help but feel bad for him. He wasn't even the same person anymore,just a shadow, an empty shell even.
And thus, she decided to try and directly approach him, gently putting a hand on his cheek. He appeared confused by this action but unlike the other times someone tried to lay a hand on him, he didn't move away, merely staring back. Perhaps Charlie's demonic aurora wasn't intense enough to warrant him being hostile, likely due to her half-angel background, making her appear divine compared to every other person.
"I'm sorry, Vincent…"
He stared at her, visibly confused by her words,"For what?"
"I'm sorry that you became...this shadow, this husk of a person. I'm sorry that we couldn't find a way to solve this problem. I promise we'll find a way to fix this. We'll fix you…"
The moment she looked inside his eyes, Charlie felt even more sombre. His pale blue eyes were filled with ice, not a hint of emotion lingering inside. There was no sense that he recognized her at all.
She was still holding onto the hope that Vox was still in there somewhere, but the more she looked inside his frosted eyes, that glimmer of hope faded like an extinguished candle. It was like she was staring at an entirely different person. The glow that Vox possessed was not present in Vincent's eyes, as if she were interacting with an emotionless husk compared to the person she once knew.
She bit her lip,'Vox really is gone, isn't he?' She was trying to deny the truth, but it was becoming more and more apparent that the man she once called friend was no longer there, replaced by someone with a cruel and icy-hearted man.'I...I can't fix him...None of us can...He's too damaged...'
She then latched onto him, sobbing into his chest. Unlike the other times someone hugged him, he didn't attempt to push her away, merely staring at her blankly, a neutral expression on his face.
Internally though ,he was completely puzzled. He wasn't exactly in tune with his emotions and seeing others express themselves in a reactionary manner made him rather confused. Truthfully, he had no idea what in the hell Charlie was talking about and didn't understand why she was crying.
He hadn't expected to see Lucifer's spawn sobbing on his chest when he came down here and while he was tempted to believe it was fake at first, he could tell that Charlie was more or less an open book and didn't bother hiding her feelings.
She seemed much softer than everyone else and he felt pity that such a sweet person was surrounded by the worst of the worst on a daily basis, residing in a Kingdom of degeneracy and sin. A pure and kind soul in a place like this was like a light in the dark cavern and seeing her cry did make him feel bad, especially since the loss of her friend was the cause of it.
So he did the only thing he could think of, grabbing her face and wiping away the tears. She looked up at him in shock, speechless for a moment.
"Princess..There's no need to cry. But I can tell you this, there is no 'fixing' me. You cannot repair what isn't broken. I may not be Vox but I don't feel any less like a person otherwise just because parts are missing. I am complete, one way or another. I may not have any experience of my own, but that won't stop me from being an individual. So if there's anything else I could do to get you to stop being upset, I'd appreciate it if you stated it now…"
Charlie paused before saying,"I...I would just appreciate it if you were nicer to those who still haven't quite grasped the loss. I know Vox isn't coming back, but the least you could do is try and form attachments and give everyone a chance to be your friend.."
"Friend?" Vincent then looked at the other demons and tensed,"Are you kidding me? Them? Half of them look like they'd kill me given the chance…"
"That's...not true!" She urged,"Trust me I get some people look a bit intimidating, but believe me, everyone is...very friendly when you get to know them! Just because they're demons doesn't mean they don't have emotions or feelings!"
"Still, I don't know how you expect to befriend anyone. I've never 'befriended' anyone in my time up in Heaven and I certainly don't know how to befriend damned souls either…."
She smiled,"All the more reason to get you accustomed to making friends down here! Until we can get on common ground, it'd be in our best interest to get you up to date with everything since you don't have any memories of your own!What do you think?"
Vincent cringed, he REALLY didn't want to befriend any of these people, especially with the way everyone was looking at him. She essentially asked him to befriend strangers that likely saw him as Vox 2.0 and that was something he was adamant on avoiding.
Still, he didn't want to hurt Charlie's feelings so he decided to kneel and put up with her demands so that she would be happy,"Err...I suppose I can give it a chance…"
"Really?"
"Yes...If being 'friends' with them is something you want out of me, I'll do my best to abide by it.."
"Vincent, you know you don't have to. I'm just saying that maybe if you got some friends and allowed yourself to become connected you'd see that there's more to everyone than just the surface. If you give everyone a chance, I'm certain you'll be able to find friends amongst these people…"
Vincent bit his tongue,"I shall then. I will make the 'choice' to 'befriend' your demonic brethren. I doubt it'll work, but I'll give it a shot…" He then glanced at all the demons present nervously,'Oh god, am I seriously expected to interact with all of them?'
"You don't have to approach everyone, just approach one person and try to get to know them.." Charlie mentioned, trying to comfort him,"Trust me, you can do it…."
He glanced up at the other demons, now realizing he had to pick one. He was tempted to go with the moth demon simply because she didn't look all too intimidating and because her sinful aurora was on the low side compared to everyone else, but then he noticed another presence nearby, one that caused his skin to twitch.
He locked eyes with Alastor, his senses picking up on his wicked energy. It was bad enough to be in a room with demons who had worse natures and having to sense it, but Alastor's alone was enough to put him on was likely a good thing Lucifer's angelic heritage masked his else he'd probably feel the same if not much worse…
'Oh god, what even is he?' Vincent thought, narrowing his eyes at his presence.'He looks like some unholy animalistic abomination...granted he probably is, but he looks so strange given he still looks rather humanoid compared to everyone else…'
Charlie then said,"Aw, Vincent, you wanna talk with Alastor? I'm certain he'll be more than happy to talk to you! Go on ahead!"
'Eh!?' Vincent was suddenly shoved in front of Alastor, now staring at the Radio Demon questionably,"Uh….Hello...Alastor was it?"
"That's indeed my name. Though I didn't think I'd be the first person you'd talk to. Do you wish to take this somewhere private? Because I do believe I have a few things to discuss with you…"
'Is it too late to back out?' He then turned around and saw Charlie giving him a massive thumbs up with the widest smile on her face,'Yup. Definitely too late. Better satisfy the Princess before she gets all teary eyed.'
"Fine...Where do you want to go?"
"I have just the place…Come on now, follow me." Alastor led him away, Vincent wearily following behind.
Volastor looked disheartened as he said,"He...He didn't even look at me. He literally looked at everyone but me..Did I do something wrong?"
"No," Charlie encouraged,"He just doesn't remember you and he probably isn't over you hugging him out of nowhere. Maybe Al can talk through to him if it goes over well."
"And if it doesn't?"
"Well, there's always next time," She shrugged, struggling to maintain her smile.
Lucifer then sent Micheal a look,"You really fucked this one up, you know that right?"
"Believe me, I'm well aware of that, Lucifer…"
"I'm impressed you didn't go running to Dad about this one."
"You know how he is. He never really...responds to anyone nowadays. He just sits back and lets things happen. I haven't seen him in years and he only really interferes when he feels like doing so. I just hope the next time something like this happens he does it himself instead of letting me do the heavy lifting…"
"You should know that he never changes…"
"You don't know that…"
Lucifer rolled his eyes,'Stubborn fool…' Neither brothers faced each other after that, too stuck in their ways to continue the conversation.
Vincent blinked as he followed Alastor to a library, raising an eyebrow in his direction,"Why are we here again, Alastor? Is there any particular reason you brought me here? And why are you wheeling that ladder over?"
"So that you can reach the book up top? Why else?"
"What book?"
Alastor placed the ladder at the bookshelf and motioned upwards,"It's the one that looks out of place, you should be able to find it…"
Vincent reluctantly climbed the ladder and noticed a strange looking book. Curious, he pulled on it only to nearly fall back in surprise when he saw a passageway opening. Alastor didn't seem surprised, merely saying,"Impressive. It still works the same way I remember it being…"
"You knew that would happen?"
"Of course I did. I have a rather keen memory and I know my way around, now follow me…"
Vincent did as he was told, only to blank when he heard the door closing behind them when they entered,"Uh...Was that supposed to happen?"
"Yes it was. Believe me, I've been through this before. Though if my memory is serving me well, we'll get through the rough part smoother than last time…" He said while referencing the passageway that caused this entire situation in the first place.
"Last time?"
"Oh, for you it wasn't the last time. But if you were still Vox it would be…Speaking of which, I am in a way glad that you chose to talk with me first, as I wanted to address a few things with you…"
"Like?"
"Your...less than stellar interaction with Volastor…"
His pale blue eyes narrowed,"Are you talking about that deer person who looks just like you? The one who tried to hug me earlier?"
"Who else?"
"What about him? What relevance does he have about this conversation? I thought this was about you and me…"
"It is, but Vol is still important. You see, Vol and I had a rough start but we eventually managed to smooth things out after I got to know him. Let's just say, I'm not exactly a fan of your attitude towards him."
"And? It's not my fault your friend just randomly decided to hug me like a crazy person for no apparent reason."
"Even then, there was no reason for you to flaunt your spear in his face. You know damn well you could've killed him."
"Well pardon me I don't appreciate strangers running up and embracing me, but I doubt you'd be thrilled if it happened to you, especially if their grip was suffocating to be in…"
Alastor paused,"Point taken, but not really what I"m getting at. Besides, Vol wasn't even intending to harm you…"
"How would you know?"
"Because if Vol wanted to hurt you, he would've done so already…" Alastor admitted, as they continued walking through the maze,"He's stronger than pretty much almost everyone in that room, me included. About the only people there who can give him trouble are Micheal, Lucifer and to a smaller extent, Charlie. Everyone else is just laughably weaker than him and even with your divine status, you'd stand no chance against him one on one. He'd be able to kill you no problem."
"He can't kill me," Vincent corrected,"No one really can. Well, maybe Micheal could erase me or something, but given he made me like this, I doubt he'd ever go through with it. He told me himself that holy weapons don't work on souls bound to Heaven so no matter what he does, he can't really hurt me…"
"I doubt it'd feel pleasant either way. The last thing you want is Vol being angry at if he can't kill you, you'd wish he had. I didn't see it for myself, but he managed to beat Lucifer from a different timeline. It was a tough fight from what I recall hearing, but he still managed to pull off the feat, so I'll give him credit on that note."
He tensed,'Oh god, that demon is strong enough to beat Lucifer to a blood pulp? Glad I didn't stick around long enough for him to get mad at me. Last thing I need is to be trapped in a room with that psycho…'
"But don't let those things cloud your mind, Vol is fairly kind...or at least as kind as a demon can be down here. So long as you don't provoke him, he'd leave you alone. As powerful as he is, he's fairly uninterested in power. He prefers living a 'normal life and staying on the down low. He's fairly normal, ignoring the whole 'ability to tango with Lucifer' thing that is."
"And? Even if that's the case, why do you feel the need to tell me this?"
"Because I want you to understand that Vol is not a threat to your life, nor is he someone you should avoid. Given your last interaction with him, I had a feeling you'd try and go out of your way and I wanted to address this before you went through with it."
The divine soul raised an eyebrow,"And what for? Why does it concern you so much that I wouldn't want to interact with him? I'm not exactly a fan of any of you demons so I don't get why you think it's something special if I don't interact with this one person."
"Because I know you and Volastor had the worst interaction I've ever seen. You freaked out, shoved him and threatened with a spear. In all honesty, he probably thinks you hate him and just by looking at your expression, this assumption isn't too far off."
"I literally don't know him at all and he made a very bad first impression on me. Besides, why does it matter? There are plenty of other people he can be friends with, why does interacting with me matter?"
Alastor was about to respond when they suddenly looked ahead of them. They were in a large treasure room, one that Alastor recognized right off the bat. Everything looked just the same as how Vox and him left it all that time ago. "We finally arrived here. I've been waiting to show you this place…"
"What for?"
"This place is how Volastor can be," Alastor explained,"It all started in this very room. We...I mean Vox and I were merely trying to locate one of Lucifer's trinkets. Said trinket used to be right here.." He said this while motioning towards the gold hand in the center of the room.
"Why were you two even down here in the first place? Were you here to steal it?"
The Radio Demon scoffed,"Of course not. We were here because Lucifer especially requested we find his item for a game. We only intended to get in and get out, but it appeared to be stuck at first, requiring both Vox and I to grab it when it started glowing. By the time we realized it was alive...it was already too late and it sucked us in."
"So how did you get free again?"
"Well, you know how Vol and Lucifer had a fight in the other timeline? I don't remember the details, but Lucifer managed to sneak up and stab that crystal and shatter it, freeing Vox and I from it's clutches. Volastor likely would've died had the other Vox and Alastor not volunteered to go in when a replacement crystal was found, agreeing to erase themselves so such a thing couldn't happen again. After that...Vol was fairly depressed and he didn't take too kindly to Vox and I, believing we were trying to replace the ones he knew. Vox and Vol were often at conflict with each other and it was the whole reason this entire situation with you even occurred, as he fled the timeline unintentionally to get away from everyone when it got too much. Then all these events happened, ultimately ending with Micheal accidentally erasing more than he should've in an attempt to purify Vox's soul, leaving you less of a person and more of a fragment with no life experience."
"Just because I lack Vox's memories doesn't make me less of a person…I do not need another man's memories to be someone important."
"Agree to disagree," Alastor replied,"Regardless, the reason I'm saying all this is because at the end of the day, Vox and I promised to take care of Vol and while I've been fulfilling my part, Vox never really got the chance to fulfill that end of the bargain. I know it's asking a lot out of you, especially since you probably feel like you shouldn't have the obligation to watch after a person you never met before, but I'm begging you to at least give it a chance. Volastor...he's been through a lot. And don't let his form fool you, he may have the appearance of a grown man but inside...he's about as fragile as a child. He never really had much of a childhood, he just found himself existing one day and tried to figure himself out from there. He's been through so much and he really needs all the support he can get, especially from you. He...and Vox never really got along but now that he's gone, he took it pretty badly when he realized he cared about him..."
"But I'm not Vox…I cannot be expected to care for someone I don't know. I am no one's parent and I cannot be expected to care for another man. Vox's responsibility do not fall on my shoulders, just because he had unfinished business doesn't mean I have to be saddled with it. We stopped being the same person long ago..."
"I know, but can you at least try and give it a shot? Vol really needs someone. He only has Me, Velvet and those sharks, but I don't think we're enough for this job. It doesn't have to be today, but when you're ready, please approach him…"
Vincent look irritable at this,"Do I have to?"
"You don't. I really can't force you to do anything but it'd be greatly appreciated…"
Vincent thought about it for a moment. He really did want to say no and decline, but the look Alastor was giving him was rather unsettling. No, it wasn't like he was scary or intimidating, but like he was trying to plead with him and seeing someone so depraved pleading with a divine soul to help out felt...rather strange.
"Ugh. Fine," He groaned,"I'll do it."
"Thank you-"
"When I'm ready that is." He cut in,"It's not going to happen today, so don't get your hopes up. I have enough on my mind and I don't need to be overwhelmed."
"I know. But I am glad you've turned it around. But please do it sooner rather than later, he really does need you and he's rather hurt at the moment…" Alastor then sighed,"Well, I said my fill for today, I do believe that we're done here. I'm entrusting you fulfill your end of the bargain, not just for Vol's sake, but for yours as well. You don't exactly have any friends down here, I suggest you start making some since the others aren't too fond of you as it is. Prejudice isn't exactly a trait you should seek to have and it won't earn you any friends..." He said rather darkly, referring the 'demon' comment that Vincent said with disgust earlier when Vol touched him.
Vincent was about to respond, but was unable to when Alastor suddenly teleported away. He blanked before scowling,"Did...Did he just teleport away without me? Why that bastard! How dare he just leave me here! Now I'm going to have to find my way back through that stupid maze without anyone to guide me…Guess I'm on my own now…Better find a way out given Alastor decided to ditch me."
Still, Vincent decided to file away his words for another day. He wouldn't do it now, and probably not tomorrow, but when he felt like engaging with Vol, he would. He didn't personally care for him, but given Charlie wanted him to form attachments, he figured kneeling to their demands would get them to stop pestering him...
Thanks for the 9,748 views everyone! Tell me what you think below!
Chronosign: Ha lol. That'd be funny and Vox technically did redeem himself(on accident), just now that he's a different person there's another problem to tackle...
Mitsuru6: Vox and Vincent are really not the same person anymore. Like legit, whatever memory Vincent has in him is damn near nonexistent. Like all the 'memory' he has is legit finding someone familiar in appearance but ultimately not remembering jack about them as a person. The reason Vincent is so cold is because not only are his memories basically reset, but his personality has been regressed. The maturity that Vox had over the years from growing up and having a childhood? Gone. Doesn't exist.
Vincent has legit nothing to base shit off of and the purification fucked up his mind in more ways than one. It's why Vincent is so cold in comparison to Vox despite being purified, as he really has no memory of Vox's life experiences. Vincent's personality was fucked by this as it pretty much made him underdeveloped in comparison to everyone else. While he has the basics of a personality, he's more or less a shell of a person.
And Vincent has legit no interest in getting his memories back because he likes being considered his own person. Remember when Micheal approached Vincent about going to Hell? Vincent wasn't happy one bit. He preferred being in Heaven because it was basically paradise in comparison and when Micheal tells him it's to explain to Vox's loved ones about what happened, Vincent really wants nothing to do with them from the start and gets pissed when those who try to get close(example, Vol) hugs him. Ignoring the fact he's a demon, Vincent and Vol are more or less strangers at this point. It's like some stranger going up and hugging you out of nowhere like you were best buds, you'd probably be doing a major 'WTF' if that happened and try and get away from them.
And remember Vincent's reaction to Velvet? He wanted her dead and would've killed her had Micheal not intervened. This is pretty in character for someone with no memories and is naturally a cold person who is being dragged somewhere they don't want to be.
But don't worry, Mits, I got this covered and we'll be making..progress with Vincent.
Enigmus-288: I mean, are you surprised? Vincent legit showed NO interest 'reuniting' with Vox's friends. He legit only went there cuz Micheal told him to and when Vol hugged him, he just freaked out because this stranger was embracing him like they were best buds. Vincent doesn't know any of these people so this reaction isn't surprising.