At the moment, Volastor and Velvet were out on a date to pass the time. They didn't want to go to the ballroom just yet, at least not until they spent some quality time together.
It had been quite a while since they had gone on a date. It wasn't because of the lack of interest, it was just because the conflicts taking place left them with very little time to indulge in their dating life.
And Velvet figured it was about time they started acting like a normal couple by going out and getting dinner together. Or at least, try to be a normal couple anyway.
Even if they were the furthest thing from normal, Velvet at least wanted to pretend for a few hours they were just a normal guy and girl going out on a date….in the underworld of all places.
"Velvet, I don't understand why we're even bothering trying to pretend to be normal," Vol admitted as he tugged on the sleeve to the suit he had summoned not too long ago. To fit the aesthetic, Vol had let his ponytail down at Velvet's discretion since she just loved him letting his hair down for some reason.
He wasn't all too big on wearing fancy clothes but Velvet had 'convinced' him to get rid of his knitted garment in exchange for something more presentable, claiming he'd be able to blend in if he dressed nicer.
"You know why! You can't go around in a sweater to the ball! This is Charlie's coronation, you can't go around looking all plain!"
"I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like it…I really do prefer being in casual clothing…"
"But Vol, look at you! You're irresistible!" She exclaimed.
"Oh hush, there's no need to exaggerate, Velvet. Charming as your words are, we know who the real beauty is…"
Velvet giggled,"Aw shucks, Vol. You're such a sweetie…"
"Hardly being sweet, it's just being honest…" He chuckled, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, eyeing her up and down.
Velvet had put a lot of effort in her outfit for the ballroom, picking a shoulderless dark pink and black puffy dress with large frills to keep the gothic aesthetic that went with her original dress. She even altered her makeup to look more bright and alive for the party.
"You look quite ravishing, Vel. Even more so than usual. I can't say I've ever seen someone so beautiful before in my entire life."
"Vol, you haven't even been alive for five years. There are probably better looking people than me down here. There are literal sex demons down here that put my looks to shame."
He shook his head,"Not to me. I frankly don't care for those other demons, they can look as pretty as they want but they don't interest me in the slightest. I already have the girl of my dreams, I don't want anyone else other than you…"
"Vol, are you trying to smooth-talk your way into my dress?"
He laughed,"Ha, of course not. You know I don't care for that sort of thing. Though if you do wish, I could always...indulge in that activity for your sake that is. You do look rather ravishing today and I'd be a fool to not attend to my lover…"
"Nice bluff, Vol!"
Vol grinned,"Who's to say I'm bluffing, dear? You know I'm not one to make promises I can't keep. Make no mistake, I may not care for sex but that doesn't mean I'm not capable of doing it. Those are two very different things and I can easily prove any assumptions you have about me wrong at any moment…"
Velvet's face heated up,'Shit, just forgot who I'm talking to…' It kind of slipped her mind that Vol wasn't normal, even by Hell's standards.
She was currently dating an anomaly in the system, one that was capable of harming those like Saint Micheal or Lucifer. If Vol felt like it, he could turn the entire caste system on it's head, overthrow all other royalty and basically rule the Land. The only thing really holding him back was his general temperament.
If it weren't for that, Velvet kind of dreaded thinking what would've happened because she had the feeling if Vol wasn't as patient and kind as he was.
He was basically a god-like being walking among lesser people who couldn't hope to match a fraction of his power. If he got upset or annoyed that they kept bothering him…all it would take was the flick of his wrist to annihilate anyone who looked at him the wrong way. He could've easily just said 'screw this' and killed her for being a nuisance to him. Hell, he could've killed her in his sleep several times already without batting an eye.
"Velvet?" Vol called out to her concerningly,"Is something wrong? You look dazed…"
"It's nothing," She said with a smile before grabbing his face and kissing him. While taken off guard, Vol didn't move away and actually learned in…before biting down on her lip. It wasn't overly rough, but it was enough to draw blood.
She quickly backed off before asking,"Vol, did you seriously just bite me?"
He averted his gaze in embarrassment,"I may or may not have…."
"Vol, are you for real? Don't tell me you got a biting kink now do ya? At least give me a warning before you pull that shit, I was unprepared."
Vol immediately got defensive,"I don't have a kink, I'm just acting on instinct…"
"On instinct!?"
"I couldn't help it, something just came over me and that's what happened."
Velvet was about to call bullshit at least until she remembered certain demons had...instincts they acted on. It was a thing for those on the animalistic side of the coin and while she didn't have personal experience with any animalistic tendencies herself, she had seen Val's obsession with lamps enough to know that it was indeed a thing.
And given Vol was ethically made up of a cannibal and a TV Host, it was easy to pin down where the biting tendencies came from.
He then tensed,"You're not scared of me, are you? I didn't mean to, I just...lost control for a second."
"Course not," She shrugged,"Just took me off guard. I know you'd never fucking hurt me. We both know that. Ain't gonna judge you on something you can't help."
"That's good…" He then looked at his phone before cursing in frustration,"Dammit. I forgot Vox wanted us to come to the party earlier in the day…"
"He did?"
"Yes, I forgot to check my phone during the date and lost track of time. I better go call him to apologize for the mishap…"
Vol attempted to contact Vox. There were several rings before the call ultimately went to voicemail. Furrowing his brows the fusion looked back at his girlfriend in a concerned manner,"He's not picking up."
Vanny twisted her lip,"Strange. Wonder why Vox has always been the type to answer his phone. Maybe they're doing something over there that's distracting him."
Vol shook his head,"I doubt that. If he's not picking up then clearly something is going on over there and I have the feeling it's not the coronation."
"Vol, chill out. I doubt it's anything that bad…" She assured me, though the look Vol was giving her was enough to make her waver,"You OK, Vol? I'm certain Vox and the others are fine. There's no need to be worried..."
The fusion's eyes narrowed, he couldn't help but feel something wasn't right."We should at least check on them. You can never be too careful down here…"
Vaggie and Vanny watched in horror as everything was falling apart around them. All of the other Hazbins were being held hostage and forced onto their knees, guns placed firmly at the back of their heads. They didn't dare move out of fear they'd turn into nothing but a bloody mess on the floor.
The moth flinched when she saw Al's body just lying there on the ground not too far away from them. She never liked the bastard but she couldn't help but feel sorry for him while he was lying there in a pool of his own blood, his own eye having been shot out completely.
The worst part was that Alastor was still alive but unable to do anything about his predicament due to the severe damage he received. Someone so powerful was forced to lie there in a pool of their own gore while still fully conscious as they see their loved ones being tortured…
And for Vanny, it was worse...Because one of her partners had been shot in the eye while the other was forced down on the ground and having his wings plucked individually.
As for Vox...he was rather complacent with what was happening. Even with Doom tying his hands together the angel didn't dare pose a fight. He resigned himself to his fate without a word of protest….
Pluck.
Vox bit down on his lip to avoid letting out a blood curdling scream as another piece was removed. It felt like literal pieces of him were being removed little by little.
'I want to scream...I want to cry...but I can't...Not here. This bastard's taking sadistic pleasure in making us suffer, I can't let him get any more satisfaction out of me. Everyone's watching me and if I break...they'll all crumble…'
"You know, Vox," Doom started as he gripped another feather,"I have to admit, you're a lot less reactive than I anticipated. Most would be breaking down in tears by now. I'd think a showman such as yourself would be a bit more reactive to such dire situations…"
Vox didn't respond, refusing to acknowledge his existence.
Not taking kindly to being ignored, Doom yanked on Vox's ponytail, forcing his head back,"Answer when you're being spoken to."
"Hmph, and what for? All you're doing is torturing me for the sake of your own amusement. What's the point in diving into a conversation with someone you're just going to make suffer anyway?"
"To pass the time, after all, the alternative is me going on to use one of your pals as target practice."
"I'll answer as long as you don't shoot them…"
"Glad to see you've changed your mind, Vox. Now tell me, how long do you intend on keeping the facade up? You know you can't last forever. Everyone has a breaking point and you'll reach your eventually…"
"For as long as you intend to keep doing this…" He said,"I won't let you break me...You can do whatever you want to me, but I won't falter. I won't let you have that much power over me.."
"Oh, now that's just cute. You must really be delusional if you think you have any control over this situation."
"Hardly delusional, I just know that even if you have me tied down, you can't really win. I can't die, you may be able to break my bones but you cannot break my spirit."
"Oh really? Well, let's see how strong that spirit of yours is when I do this…" Doom then used the knife he had used to 'clip' the feathers of his wings and straight up cut off both of his wings, blood pouring from his back.
Vox couldn't help but let out an agonizing scream, falling face first onto the ground. Wincing from the excruciating pain, he hyperventilated, gasping in a desperate attempt to regain his breath. He saw all the other Hazbins were looking at him in horror, disturbed by the scene they watched him get brutally maimed.
"So, are you going to do it?" He asked teasingly,"Is someone going to cry? Finally reached your breaking point? Come on, we've all been waiting to see you cry, show your loved ones your tears! Your cries are like music to my ears, I'd love to hear more of your suffering…"
With his eyes in the shroud, Vox's gaze looked at his hand before a weak smile grew on his face. Without any regard to anyone around he calmly said,"Ha...You must really think I'm that weak don't you? Well I'll tell you what, Doom, I'll tell you what I think. I'm not the Vox of this timeline, I'm for an entirely different world and I've been through way more things than you think. I've died twice,I've fought against forces hailed from Heaven itself. I've done more things worthy of praise than you've done in your entire worthless existence. Because no matter what you do, you will never be on top. You're just a coward, a weak sniveling coward who thinks he's better than everyone else. You're a being less than dirt..no wait, that actually may be an insult to dirt…"
"Why you little-" Enraged, the spider demon grabbed Vox's head and slammed his head against the ballroom floor. He was grabbing his hair so hard that his hair had become undone.
Coughing up blood, Vox was then bombarded with attacks, getting hit left and right all over, even getting hit with a cane in a fit of rage.
Despite getting hit, stabbed and mutilated in the process he kept up a smile on his face even when battered on the floor. His right eye was black and swollen and he had cuts and bruises just about everywhere, his once pristine suit in tatters.
"Why the hell are you still smiling, Vox!? What is so amusing that you still find it within yourself to smile?"
"Because it's funny seeing someone in a position of power but still not being able to win. Being unable to fully control the situation must hurt, it must hurt knowing no matter what you throw at me, I'm just gonna sit there and take it with a smile. To be honest, I find your act of torture getting rather lame. I thought you could do better than that." Vox then grinned at his expression,"Aw what's wrong? Does it hurt when you can't break someone to your will? You can't break what's already broken, I've long since lost the ability to be emotionally shattered by words and physical violence. My ex already beat you to it and you know what happened to him? I KILLED him with my bare hands. And if I had the chance...I'd do it again...and again…and again…"
"You're sick in the head…"
"If I'm sick in the head, what does that make you?" Vox retorted with a chuckle,"I'm not a beacon of mental health but I refuse to be judged by the man whose pettiness and delusions made him think attacking the ballroom owned by the royal family was a good idea. Honestly, you're a bigger fool than my ex boyfriend was, at least he wasn't dumb enough to try outright attacking the royals. Besides, even if you somehow got away with all this, someone out there will eventually come and ruin your day just like you ruined ours. Karma always comes to collect its debt, one way or another and yours will come sooner than you'd expect…"
"Bold words for someone who can't even stand up on his two feet…"
"I don't need to be able to stand up straight to be able to tell you that you've made a terrible mistake. Mark my words, you'll regret this and there won't be anywhere to run next time. Go ahead, hurt me, break all my bones, whatever damage you do won't matter in the end, because you'll be all alone and it'll be nobody's fault except yours."
"Shut up, you know nothing about me…" He growled.
Suddenly, Alastor spoke up with a raspy voice,"He doesn't need to know you personally to be aware that you're nothing but a waste of space. That's fairly obvious…"
"You're still alive?"
"You can't kill Vox and I...were immortal. No matter what you do, we'll endure it…" He said, weakly clutching the injured side of his face,"Regardless, I don't see why it matters. Vox is completely right, you're nothing but a worthless being with no purpose in life other than to make everyone around you suffer."
Vox tensed,"Al, get back down. This is between me and him…"
"No, I don't think I will…I haven't had my say yet and even if I don't have an eye, that won't stop me from saying what needed to be said,'' He replied,"Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen someone so pathetic before in my entire life. You claim to be a big-shot but really, you're nothing special and you know it. Just another idiot with an ego the size of the sun, hardly a rarity but it's still disappointing."
He then aimed a gun at Al's face,"Another word and you'll lose another eye..."
"Go ahead. I can't stop you, none of us can. Just know that you'll regret it…" Al shrugged, unfazed by the weapon pointing at his head.
"Don't you dare…" Vox growled.
The spider rolled his eyes,"Well I dare. Your boyfriend's asking for a bullet to the skull and I'll happily fulfill the demand. Say goodbye to your other eye…"
Al closed his eyes, everyone tensed in anticipation for the inevitable gunshot.
Only for the sound of gunshots from behind to alert them of another person's presence. Before anyone could question it, Doom got tackled by….Husk, who had quite literally leapt on him with his wings and clawed at the spider with hostile intent.
"Husker!? What are you doing!?"
"Saving your sorry ass obviously! Just arrived at the party only to see this fuckery at the entrance! Had to beat those assholes blocking the way with my claws to get in here!" Husk retorted as knocked the gun out of the spider's hand,"Long time no see, huh fuckface? Guess who got an upgrade? Betcha didn't expect me, did you?"
"You survived? Damn, guess I'll have to fix that…" Doom then kicked Husk off of him,"You won't be so lucky to have your friends save you…"
Husk scoffed,"Have fun with that. I don't die easily. Though really, as much as I'd love to kick your ass, I have the feeling a certain someone wouldn't appreciate it if I took the honors away…"
"What the hell are you talking about? Are you trying to make an excuse for your cowardly actions?"
"Oh hardly, I'm not making excuses. I'm just being honest, you and your men have MUCH bigger problems than me…"
Before anyone could question what that meant, Volastor rushed inside the building to see an utter bloodbath, his worst suspicions had been confirmed. He then surveyed the damage. It was utter chaos, bodies were on the floor, the others that were alive were held hostage.
"Oh my god…" His eyes then fell to see Vox and Alastor, horrified at how damaged they appeared. He looked sick to his stomach seeing the two he called 'dad' laying in a pool of their own blood, Vox's wings were even discarded on the floor, bloodied and mangled while Alastor's eye was completely missing.
When Vol saw Doom and his men staring at him, it finally dawned on him what had occurred. And when that did, the atmosphere completely changed as Vol went from utter shock to blinding rage…
"You…" He growled, gritting his teeth as his body twitched, Radio and TV static emanating from his body,"How dare you...You HURT MY DADS! You….YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!" Vol's eyes then glowed in dark purple color, a visible scowl on his face as he slowly stepped closer with murderous intent. Several tried to shoot Vol with holy bullets, only for Vol to put up a shield in response without any sign of slowing down.
Fear crippled the henchmen as they saw their bullets were not penetrating his shield, Vol glaring at all of them like a predator viewing his prey. Without another word, Vol used his powers to the soldiers around him, stabbing them with tendrils with malicious intent.
His eyes then locked on Doom, the spider shaking in fear upon seeing the fusion's murderous gaze. It was like looking into the eyes of a cold blooded killer and seeing the abyss stare back at you.
Vol then charged forward, not even giving him the chance to defend himself. Everyone stood back in awe as Vol gripped his throat and asked in a disturbed yet calm voice,"Why is it that you idiots never learn your lesson? No matter how many times you're beaten, you always keep coming back. And you hurt others in your way, others who have done nothing to you. Do you not care or do you think you're amusing? Or is it because you wanted revenge? Is that it?"
When Doom didn't respond, Vol tighten his grip,"ANSWER ME YOU FUCKING BASTARD! DO NOT IGNORE ME OR ELSE I'LL KILL YOU HERE AND NOW!"
"Yes, that's the reason!"
"Figured you'd say that. You people really are a bunch of IDIOTS!" He hissed,"You think you can get away with everything just because you have an ego? You think that will protect you from the reality of the situation!? You are NOTHING but a worm not only to me, but to Charlie and Lilith. How dare you think you could possibly rule when you're nothing but a coward. You're even dumber than your ex boss for trying this! You aren't even powerful enough to hurt anyone without holy weapons and an army, what makes you think you could rule over an entire Kingdom? Was it your delusions talking or was it your ego? Because it's indistinguishable to me…" Vol then rolled his eyes,"Regardless, it doesn't really matter. NOTHING can save you now. You've crossed the line and I won't let you hurt those I care about. And anyone who opposes that...will die…"
"No, please don't kill me!I don't want to die! I won't bother anyone again, just let me go!"
"No amount of pleas can save you now. You've gone too far and I won't allow you to ruin everything. You've already had your chance and you wasted it, now it's time you've faced the consequences of our actions once and for al-"
"VOLASTOR STOP!"
Vol made a face when he heard Charlie's voice in the background. Cringing in annoyance, he turned around to see her and Lilith in their formal dresses.
"Ugh, what do you want, Charlie? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?"
"Vol, let him go!"
"Are you insane? You expect me to let this crazy fucker go after he tried to kill everyone? This bastard is a menace, he's nothing but a cowardly monster who will continue to pester everyone if he's allowed to breathe. I cannot let him walk away from this! Especially since this bastard planned on killing you and your mother, it'd be a dumb idea to let him live!"
"I'm not saying for you to let him run free, I'm saying you need to hand him over to me so we can deal with him! He's technically my Dad's ex servant, his punishment should be handled by us!"
Vol growled,"No punishment you give will be enough for what he tried to pull on us! He took Alastor's eye out, he tore Vox's wings off, he NEEDS TO PAY and I won't let him get away with it!"
"We're not letting him get away with it! Please, Vol, I get you're upset but you gotta let us handle it. This is our problem too! Just hand him over to us so we can sort this out!"
Volastor didn't move, refusing to let go.
"Vol!" Vox shouted,"Let Charlie handle this, this is their problem, let them fix it."
Vol stared back at them in awe,"Are you crazy? After what he did to you, you want me to let him go!?"
"It's Charlie and Lilith's responsibility to deal with people like him. They can find a way to punish the bastard and keep him out of our hair."
"Indeed," Al said,"Just hand him over so we can put this massacre to rest. Come on son, don't look so down, it's going to be alright. Just do as the demon belle says so we can move on."
Vol stared back at his parental figures, eyeing their injuries. Alastor's hollow eye was gazing back at him, dried blood sticking to his face. Vox's wings laid crumbled against the ground while Vox himself had dried blood staining his back, his body heavily bruised and battered.
"Come on Vol…" Vox encouraged,"Let him go…"
Charlie then frowned,"Volastor, I command you to let him go and hand him over to me this instant."
Volastor didn't move at first, at least until he..used his demonic form and straight bit Doom's head clean off his shoulders with his fangs before tearing his body limb from limb. By the time he was done, there was nothing but a bloody and gory mess on the floor…
Everyone stood back, Vox shaking,"Vol, what was that for? You were supposed to let him go…"
"Sorry, but I was short on mercy today and I couldn't find it within myself to spare that fucker's life," He replied apathetically, whipping the blood from his mouth, slightly disgusted by the venomous taste,"I know I wasn't supposed to do it...But I couldn't help it...I just couldn't stand letting that bastard live after what he did…"
Charlie scowled,"Volastor, what the hell! Why didn't you listen to me!? We were going to deal with him! That was an order dammit and you literally killed him off for real!"
Vol shrugged,"Who cares? It's not like anyone missed him or anything. And no offense, Charlie, I don't mean anything against you but I couldn't care less about your authority when it comes to things that include the safety of my family. My judgement comes first and I'm done having my Dad's get hurt when I take my eyes off of them due to issues from my past. I'm sick and tired and I'm done letting these bastards walk all over me. You may be able to use that 'Princess of Hell' title to scare people into obeying, but that doesn't work on me. I don't fall in line like that. It's just not in my nature to do so. I do not kneel to commands, especially when those I care about have been harmed."
Volastor then looked at Vox and Alastor,"Don't look so surprised, you two. You know I meant what I said the other night, didn't you? That I'd ensure you'd stay alive at all costs? Or did you think I was bluffing?" He then laughed,"You two should know better than to think I was joking..."
"We...just didn't expect you to kill him when told not to…"
"Don't worry, it's not like anyone will miss him. I don't think anyone is going to be too upset that he's gone. We're all better off without him. Now let's get you back up on your feet…" He then helped them up, going as far as to break Vox's binds before lowering his head,"I...I'm sorry for not coming sooner. I knew something was wrong but I didn't think it was this bad. If I had just come here sooner I'd-"
"Don't fault yourself. Nobody could've predicted this," Al assured,"Besides, we'll find a way to fix this…"
"Al, you're eye...it's gone…I don't think that can be repaired or heal…"
"We'll find a way around it…"
"Your wings, Vox…"
"They'll heal eventually…" He said,"It's gonna be a pain but it'll eventually grow back. I'm sure it'll get better eventually and-"
"Shut up! Shut up dammit! That doesn't make it OK. Stop trying to act like we can find a way to make things better and make this situation you've been put in OK. Please just stop it, it really hurts seeing you two like this and I'll lose my mind if you keep downplaying the situation. I can't stand it anymore and it hurts me inside when I see you two trying to shrug off the severe damage done to your body. I can barely look at you two and it pains me that I wouldn't have gotten here sooner. I love you two so much and seeing you get hurt kills me inside. Because no matter how strong I am, it appears I'm never strong enough to protect those I love in time..." Vol's eyes then started watering.
Al panicked, wiping Vol's face,"Hey, don't cry on us, Vol. it's going to be 're not going to get hurt anymore.."
"Yeah, it may look bad now, but we'll find a way to pull through…" Vox said.
"I know...I just...can't help myself..." He sniffled.
"Trust me, Vol, we're gonna be alright. Just hang on, we'll fix this somehow..."
"As long as you two stay with me...I don't care what has to happen. I can't lose another person, there's been too much pain in my life that I just want to have comfort in at least the few things I have that haven't left me..."
"We're not going anywhere, Vol...We're sticking together, no matter what..."
"So…" Angel started,"Are we gonna do the ceremony in here or what? Cuz this place looks like fucking shit…."
Lilith sighed,"It's a good thing I always have a backup plan in case something happens. I know a place not too far from here to celebrate the coronation since this one got ruined. I'll have to call everyone and tell them the news…"
Charlie rubbed her shoulder,"Mom...are you alright? You look a bit shaken up..."
"Oh it was nothing. Just making a mental note to keep my distance from that fusion. I can certainly see what your father was weary of him. Not many things scare me but I think I've seen enough of Volastor's bad side to last a lifetime..."
"Same..."
Thanks for 14,350 views, tell me what you think below!
Enigmus-288: Yeah, this is 'villain is crazy/stupid and believes they are better than anyone to the point they are borderline suicidal' ball. I mean, we have Striker who wants to get rid of the royals but even he's not crazy enough to go on an all out killing spree. Yeah, attacking while Charlie's on her coronation day and hoping to kill them both is borderline suicidal.