A Fall Out of Grace
Author's Note: As more of Helluva Boss comes out, odds are more events will be added to the story. The three women who died in the last chapter weren't planned to be in the story at all originally, but they were interesting enough to add. You'll see another new element in this chapter that from what I've seen… fans have mixed opinions on.
But now that Valentino is gone, enjoy the rest of the story!
Hidden Lab
Alastor steps into a large dark building with several pieces of advanced technology. The room is dark when he first enters, but he has enough vision to see without it. What Douglas didn't know is that the radio demon tapped his phone, and heard a message about several saints that have died in former years. He came here because he recently heard an aquatic scientist was working on solving the case of what happened to them. Only a couple of minutes of looking around happens before the door opens again. Three small demons with pitchforks and a small crossbow with one arrow a piece walk in.
"Are you sure this is the right building Cletus?" A yellowish sheeplike demon asks. Another similar-looking purple sheep speaks up.
"Yeah, if we get the building wrong, we may have no shot at saving the boy." He says. The shortest most human-looking one sighs.
"I honestly don't know if this is the building or not, but if we can't save the only person Heaven sent down here, we'll never get to go back ourselves." He says. Alastor smirks and holds up his microphone staff, sending feedback throughout the room that startles them.
"AH!" They all scream, flinching as Alastor teleports to the back of the room and flips the light switch.
"This is no place for children." He remarks with a taunting smirk. The yellow sheep grabs her bow and arrow.
"This must be him! Attack!" She shouts, causing the shorter boy to draw his weapon as well. The purple sheep quickly steps in front of them both with his arms up.
"Cletus! Keenie! Hold your fire!" He exclaims fearfully, causing the girl to facepalm lightly.
"Collin, I know you don't like murder, but for once it may be our only option." She says annoyed. Cletus frowns a bit, staring at Alastor.
"Besides, how come you think this is the wrong guy? He looks like an overlord, and clearly has technology with him." He points out. Collin stares at his crossbow, frowning.
"Well, we only have one shot left each. If we waste them on him, and it turns out he's the wrong person, we'll have no ammunition left to fight the real threat." He states, causing the small boy to retract and pocket his weapon. Keenie keeps hers out, stepping closer to the radio demon, but pointing the arrow up rather than towards him.
"Who are you? State your name and your business here." She says lightly but demanding in her voice and face.
"My name is Alastor!" He shouts, rushing forward and grabbing her left hoof, shaking it rapidly as her frown becomes a surprised shock. "It's a pleasure to meet you, new friends!" He says excitedly, causing Cletus to frown.
"And why are you here?" He asks. The radio demon holds out his staff and presses a button on it.
"Listen for yourselves!" He says with excitement. The three small demons stare at the mic until it begins speaking.
"Dear Douglas, I feel obligated to warn you about something." A strong elderly male voice says, causing the sheep to gasp loudly.
"Augustus?!" Collin exclaims.
"Douglas?!" Keenie exclaims. Cletus bides for two seconds and just shoves his hands against their mouths, getting muffled noises from them.
"SHUT UP AND LISTEN!" He yells, directing attention back to the message. Augustus's voice keeps playing.
"Though Franklin has been studying Stolas's power, we haven't been able to find a single trace of any representative we've lost in the void. If there's anywhere in Hell it could be, Eddie told me he caught a sign of a hidden lab downtown that looks like it has data. If you don't mind doing a little extra work, we'd really appreciate it if you'd search the building. We've also sent Eddie down as well to look for traces but told him not to enter the lab. I pray for your safety and hope you can find several of my colleague judges that got lost in recent years, along with normal saints that have volunteered to deliver treaties. Thank you and good luck son." Then the message stops. Alastor smirks.
"Well, what are your thoughts?" He asks. Keenie glares.
"You're here to kill Douglas so he fails!" She exclaims. Collin shivers rapidly and reaches for his crossbow.
"O-okay. This might be it." He gulps. Alastor's smirk shrinks as he stares at the little boy.
"Well, aren't you going to get your weapon as well?" He asks. The small demon boy looks up with tears in his eyes.
"Eddie?" He sniffles, putting his hands to his eyes. Keenie quickly aims her weapon down and pats his back.
"Don't cry Cletus, it wasn't your fault." She says as he begins to bawl his eyes out.
"I had a vision of that poor boy getting shot that day! But Deerie assigned us to save someone else!" He stomps his foot and stares at the floor. "If I'd known she would banish us at this point, I would've disobeyed her and saved him that day!" He cries. Getting a small hug from Collin, as well as a couple of tears from both sheep.
"You guys came here to save someone?" Alastor asks. Collin nods.
"Yeah, that Douglas boy Emperor Augustus mentioned." He states. "We knew he'd probably die if he went in the lab, so we wanted to protect him. Or back him up if a dangerous demon attacked him in combat." He says. Keenie frowns lightly.
"But you haven't told us your motive for being here. And the fact that you know all this implies a plan of sabotage." She says with suspicion. The radio demon shakes his head slowly.
"Has it ever occurred to you that this boy you seek may be my friend from the other side?" He asks, causing Cletus to stop crying.
"No… he's your friend?" He asks, raising an eyebrow. Alastor chuckles a few times.
"I don't know if he'd still be alive without my help." He says, staring at his staff. "But I'm here to collect the data so he doesn't need to." He says, causing them to flinch.
"And then what will you do with it?" Collin asks. Alastor shrugs innocently.
"Give it to Douglas, what else?" He asks, causing Keenie to frown deeply.
"That doesn't explain why you even have that message in the first place." She says, causing the radio demon to sigh lightly.
"Fine, here's the truth." He begins. "Last night I tried to call Douglas, but the connection got interrupted before I could finish telling him Valentino's weakness." He then grabs a small mini cassette. "Seeing as a certain TV Demon, who shall remain nameless." He says, evil appearing in his eyes, before returning to normal. "Cut off our connection, I realized I'd need to use analog technology to ensure he'd get it at all." He then stares at his staff. "I tapped his phone to get the message, knowing this vile demon would cut the connection so it never goes through." He then presents the lab by raising his arms. "And then came to this magnificent lab to get the data for him!" All three small demons stare with confused looks.
"You're… helping Douglas?" Cletus asks dumbfounded. Alastor shrugs.
"It'd be the least I could do." He begins to smirk darkly. "Considering he's about to eliminate my arch-nemesis from this universe." Keenie frowns again.
"But how can we trust you? You could be trying to sabotage him." She says again, in suspicion. "Hey!" She reacts as he lifts her up by one arm and stares at her face.
"I'm going to sabotage him?" He summons a mirror, causing Keenie to gasp upon seeing her new devil horns. "You three don't look any more innocent than I do." Keenie pulls her hand away from him and folds her arms.
"We were exiled by some bitchy deer for mistakenly dropping a piano on an old man we were supposed to stop from committing suicide!" She exclaims, turning away from the radio demon. The purple goat demon sighs and looks to the side.
"It doesn't help that we actually succeeded in talking him out of suicide before that happened." Suddenly Cletus makes a fist.
"This is not fair!" He shouts, getting a shocked look from both of the goat demons. Alastor smirks lightly.
"Now you understand, eternity isn't fair because someone above decides your fate." He states. Cletus glares at him for a moment.
"Not that!" He exclaims, pointing one hand to Collin and the other at Keenie. "These two are innocent! I'm the one who dropped the piano on him!" He then stomps on the floor several times between his next words. "They, should, not, have, came, here, with, me!" He yells, stomping louder on the last one. He then breaks into tears and holds his head down into his hands. "It's all my fault!" He begins to bawl as Collin pats his back.
"Don't feel bad Cletus. It was an accident." He says softly. Cletus glares down at his crossbow.
"It's all because of one poorly aimed arrow! Gah!" He throws the crossbow forward in frustration, causing it to fly towards Alastor. "AH!" He immediately screams upon realizing it's going to hit the radio demon, however, the crossbow stops midair in front of his face.
"So this is your weapon of misfortune?" Alastor asks, staring at the floating crossbow. "And here I thought gold was the color for fortune." Collin points at the weapon, his finger shivering.
"How are you making it float?!" He asks in shock. Alastor's shadow parallel turns visible, holding the sacred crossbow.
"It's always helpful to have shadow spirits on your side." He says, smiling at the spirit as it smiles back and softly sets the crossbow into his hands. "I must say, you could've killed so many bottom-feeders across Hell with this A-Tier golden device." Cletus holds his hand out.
"I despise murder. It's not something I ever want to get used to doing." He says. The radio demon holds the holy weapon out to him, causing the former cherub to turn away. "I don't want it back. You can keep it." He says. Alastor chuckles lightly and sets the crossbow back on the table.
"Well if your intentions are not to harm my friend from the other side, then I'll happily collect that data in the other room while you three keep watch out here." He says, turning around. Keenie runs in front of him.
"Hold on! How do we know we can trust you?" She says, standing in his way. "You never gave us a clear reason why." She states with demand in her voice. The radio demon's eyebrows lower.
"Listen, little lady, I happen to be an overlord, so I'm pretty much free to do as I please without any consequences." He says in a calm but sinister tone. "So if you have any problems with that, then I respectfully ask that you make your move now." He requests. Keenie aims the crossbow up at Alastor's head, giving him a determined look to fire. "Ha! This is classic!" Alastor says, beginning to laugh hard. Collin steps forward with a worried look on his face.
"Keenie, can't you put down the weapon? I think he's trustworthy enough." He says softly. Keenie adverts her eyes from the radio demon and towards the purple sheep.
"If he's really an overlord, he cannot be trusted!" She shouts aggressively. "Besides, we'd probably be doing this kid a favor killing him."
"Be my guest and fire," Alastor says confidently, spawning a portal with the Happy Hotel in it. Keenie's glare turns into a confused look.
"What's that?" She asks. Alastor points his staff at the portal.
"Why, this here is the Hazbin Hotel! All sinners who strive to be better people and enter Heaven are welcome here!" He says, causing Cletus's jaw to drop. He quickly runs over and grabs Keenie's arm, aiming her crossbow out of Alastor's range.
"Keenie! Do not fire that arrow!" He says with panic in his voice. She gives him a conflicted look.
"Cletus, what's come over you?" She asks. The humanlike demon points his hands, one at Alastor, the other at the portal.
"I've heard rumors about this place. And if we want back into Heaven, this hotel may be our only hope!" He exclaims. "But if we kill Alastor, we'll probably never be allowed inside, so we can't take our chances!" Alastor smiles and pats him on the head.
"A very wise lad you are." He compliments. "I can only assume you're the leader of this team." The humanlike demon glances at the floor.
"I used to be." He mumbles, getting a sympathetic pat on the back from Collin.
"Don't worry about it buddy. You're really good at it." He says sincerely. The yellow sheep sighs deeply and pockets her crossbow, looking up and frowning at Alastor lightly.
"Well, if we're not going to fight, what is your plan?" She asks, genuinely curious. The radio demon pulls a flash drive out of his pocket.
"Why, this is Baxter's lab of course. It'd be very rude of us to spend a lot of time in here without his permission." He states, opening the door to the next room. "I'll make my way to the head PC and collect the data while you three keep watch." Cletus gives him a determined glare and nods, turning to the two sheep demons.
"Alright team, let's do what we do best. Protect Douglas!" Collin and Keenie face each other with savage smirks, grabbing their crossbows.
"Time to show that wimpy deer what we can do," Keenie says victoriously. Collin raises an eyebrow.
"You want your crossbow back Cletus?" He asks. The humanlike demon turns to the side nervously.
"No… I think I'd rather sit this one out." He says in a slightly shameful tone. Luckily, neither of them is bothered by this decision. They both take stances at the front door as Alastor enters the other room.
"Time to see what modern technology is all about." He says, booting up the main PC.
Happy Hotel 8:20 A.M.
It was an average sleep for Douglas. He woke up a bit later than usual, but still early given how late he was up the night prior. The thought of a mafia hitman finding Valentino's burnt corpse worried him a little but also satisfied him at the thought of someone actually freaking out over his death. And not to mention he killed Stolas's heartless wife in the process, so he had a little more to say than he's used to. He lets Eden out of her cage and feeds her some pumpkin seeds. He then smashes the remaining pumpkin pulp into a bowl and adds a bit of sugar and cinnamon to it, making a soft and tasty breakfast for himself. He momentarily hears a knock at the door.
"Come in." He says calmly. He never fully closed his room door, as it reminded him of how his mother would always leave the door open just a bit for him. Angel steps into the room with a very proud look on his face.
"So how'd it go with the big boss?" He asks. Douglas smirks and sets his list down.
"Take a look for yourself, buddy." He says. Angel picks up the list and stares at the X over Valentino's photo.
"I'm impressed. How'd you manage to do it?" He asks, grinning widely.
"I needed to kill a few bitches to get in, but it turns out women that dark will kill each other for you." He says egotistically. "By the way, look at this." He says, showing Angel a photo of Valentino's burning body. The sexual spider grins darkly.
"I could orgasm to this alone." He says, turning to the door. "In fact, I think I will." He adds. Douglas chuckles and gives him a thumbs up.
"You do that buddy. I'm glad I could remove him from your life." He says proudly. The sexual spider reaches into his pocket and pulls out a mini cassette tape player.
"Oh, by the way. This is for you." He says, tossing it onto the holy soldier's bed. "Alastor told me there were some connection issues, so he translated the prayers from above into a tape." Eden slithers onto Douglas's bed curiously.
"Do you know what they said?" He asks. Angel shrugs.
"Beats me. I just wanted to make sure you got it. I didn't bother listening to it." He says. Douglas stares at it for a moment.
"Well let's hear it. Maybe Augustus has another war to fight." He suggests. Angel smiles.
"I'm always up for that!" He exclaims with excitement. He leans in a little as Douglas presses the play button.
"Dear Douglas, I feel obligated to warn you about something. Though Franklin has been studying Stolas's power, we haven't been able to find a single trace of any representative we've lost in the void. If there's anywhere in Hell it could be, Eddie told me he caught sign of a hidden lab downtown that looks like it has data. If you don't mind doing a little extra work, we'd really appreciate it if you'd search the building. We've also sent Eddie down as well to look for traces but told him not to enter the lab. I pray for your safety and hope you can find several of my colleague judges that got lost in recent years, along with normal saints that have volunteered to deliver treaties. Thank you and good luck son."
The tape ends and both boys give puzzled looks.
"Data? Since when does Heaven use computers rather than scripture?" Angel asks. Douglas shrugs.
"I'm not sure. But this lost saint thing is new to me. I've never heard anything about losing anyone from Heaven." He then flinches and his eyes widen. "Wait, he said the void?!" Angel mirrors his worried expression.
"Yeah! We both heard the same thing!" He exclaims, before glooming sadly. "But I don't understand. I've never heard anything like this. Do you think Heaven offs their own people into the void?" He asks. Douglas shakes his head rapidly.
"No, no, no! I'm highly certain they don't!" He says before glaring darkly. "Whoever in Hell did this is going to pay!" Angel puts his hands out.
"Relax dude. Don't you think it's possible you've already killed whoever it was?" He asks. "Maybe Valentino had a hit squad or someone do it." The young warrior glares to the side.
"No. And I know exactly who it was!" He exclaims, grabbing his list and glaring at the radio demon's photo. "Nice try Alastor, but you can't fool me forever." He says under his breath. Eden slithers onto his shoulder and stares at the list, hissing darkly.
"Wait a second," Angel says. "Why do you think he's the guilty one?" He asks curiously. Douglas pockets his list and glares firmly.
"It all makes perfect sense. Why is such a powerful overlord so unnoticed in modern Hell?" He asks. Angel rolls his eyes and shrugs.
"I hardly know the guy. How should I know?" Douglas facepalms.
"This is what I've been missing. Alastor has been murdering representatives over the years and staying hidden about it!" Angel's eyes widen massively.
"You… might be right. I mean, I heard he was a serial killer while he was alive." The holy soldier glares darkly.
"Nice try Alastor, but your little show is about to end." He says, cocking his Glocks and pocketing them. Eden hops off of his shoulder as he stands up. "This message to bait me in was a smart move, but I'm gonna bring you more pain than you anticipated!" Angel nervously steps out of the room with his hands out.
"I don't know if the message thing means anything. He just wanted me to give it to you." Douglas pauses and immediately remembers something.
"Oh yeah, in speaking of messages…" He pulls out the small note from Stella. "Can you give this to Octavia for me please? Her mother was out to have her father murdered." Angel grabs the note and reads it, suddenly giving a sad gloom.
"Um… don't you think it's better if she doesn't know?" He asks nervously. Douglas shakes his head.
"If she doesn't find out, she'll walk home to an empty house." He then sheds a tear. "I've known that feeling for a long time, just wanting to come home and see my mommy there, but that's a prayer God will sadly never answer." Angel sighs and nods.
"Alright. I'll give her the note." He says walking out but turning towards him for a moment. "But wait, what happened to her mother?" Douglas closes his eyes and makes a fist.
"I killed her." He says in a low tone. "I scorched the life out of her while I was in the sauna. She tried to slash me, and I let her suffer." Angel glares lightly.
"That rich prick deserved it. Rumors say she only cares about power and not her family." Douglas opens his eyes.
"That's where you and I split from her. You care about your sister the same way I care about mine, and so I killed Valentino for your sake." He turns to the side and mumbles. "And now I have to kill Alastor for the sake of so many innocent souls from Heaven." Angel shivers a little.
"Right, you do that." He says, finally walking away. The young warrior turns to Eden for a moment.
"Eden, wait here. I'll be back later today." He says. The snake gives him a small nod as he walks out of the room.
*Twenty Minutes later*
Vaggie walked up to the top floor and stared at Douglas. He was standing at the railing of the building and staring into the sky. She knew he wasn't aware of her presence, so she quietly stepped through the door. With careful movement, she withdrew her spear and pointed it towards Douglas's back. Still not a single movement from his body to indicate awareness of her. She stood there silently for several seconds with a dark glare in her eyes, but so many mixed emotions through her head kept her from attacking instantly.
*I'm sorry Douglas, but you've gone way too far and killed too many people.* She thinks. *I walked by Octavia's room and overheard her saying you killed her mom, which Angel confirmed. He also said you were going to kill Alastor.* She closes her eye, doing everything in her power to avoid sighing out loud. *Not only have you killed her parents, but Seviathan's too, and now the mother of an already depressed teenage girl?* She opens her eye and a wave of furious energy goes through her body. *Time to end this Douglas. I hope you enjoy seeing your parents tonight, as it's something Charlie will never again get to do!*
Vaggie dashes forward, almost feeling time slow down around her as she pulls back and jabs forward. She closes her eye a split second before the impact can be made, as the thought of murdering a teenage boy flashes through her brain. But as the suspense in time goes by her, she doesn't feel any skin impaled, but she fails to open her eye before stumbling upon a large heavy object she can quickly make out as a pumpkin as it knocks her off balance and propels her forward, right over the railing of the balcony.
"WHOA!" She exclaims as her chest bumps off of the rail. She flinches in paralysis as the knowledge of falling to her death hits her, but even so, she's stopped. "AAAAHHHHH!" She screams loudly, getting a good look of the very large deep drop below as she dangles from her wrist. Slowly looking up to see what has her, she's incredibly surprised to see the young warrior's left palm cuffed around her right wrist as he leans most of his body over the railing and uses his right hand to hold onto the rail at a diagonal angle.
"Vaggie, let go of the spear!" He exclaims with a terrified look in his eyes. A tear comes to her eye as she sighs deeply and turns her body to the side and throws the spear firmly, successfully landing it on a glass ceiling tilted upwards at the top of a tall building, not breaking the window, but landing the spear on it. Douglas stares for a second, impressed at her throwing skill, and then looks back down at her. "Okay, now give me your other hand!" He exclaims. The purple cyclops demon sighs deeply and closes her eye, adverting her head from him.
"Why should I do that?" She asks in a broken voice. Douglas tugs on her wrist a little but fails to decrease the distance between their bodies.
"So I can pull you up!" He says in a struggling tone. She opens her eye, looking down.
"No, you better drop me." She says in a shameful tone.
"What?!" He exclaims. She looks up at him as tears stream down her face.
"I just tried to kill you again! I don't deserve to be saved!" Douglas closes his eyes tightly, trying to fight off tears coming to them.
"Vaggie, please look at me!" He pleads, getting her to look directly at him. He stares into her eyes with a desperate, but genuine look. "I promise I'll save you." Vaggie closes her eye and shakes her head softly.
"That won't happen." She says sadly. "Look at the location of your right hand." She asks. Douglas glances to the side and sees he's still holding the railing at an upwards angle. He then looks back down at her as she looks back up at him. "If I give you my other hand, you'll have to let go of the railing." Another tear rolls down her cheek. "I'll just pull you down with me."
"No!" Douglas pulls back, but his chest doesn't want to readjust over the rail with all the weight on his left arm, along with the poorly angled grip on his right. He finally gives up and realizes she's right. "Vaggie, I'm so sorry." He says as he begins to cry. Vaggie finally closes her eye and halts the tears.
"No Douglas, I'm the one who should be sorry." She says lightly. "I believed you were an evil demon-slayer just like everyone else said." She sniffles a little. "And I let my bias towards men help me believe that." Douglas raises an eyebrow.
"What?" He asks in a curious, but still heartbroken tone. Vaggie closes her eye as a traumatizing memory goes through her mind.
"Years ago, I was a prostitute. My father got me into it because he told me that's all women were good for." Douglas gasps loudly.
"What?! How dare he?!" Vaggie sniffles again, and then continues.
"He didn't understand that I liked girls growing up, and he pressured me heavily saying I needed a boyfriend, or I couldn't be a real woman." She pauses and readjusts her tone. "I was never comfortable around men at the strip club, but I did manage to get a boyfriend who I thought I loved, but more importantly, thought he loved me." She says shamefully. Douglas's gloom comes back.
"Oh no, don't tell me." Vaggie nods.
"Yes, when I told him I wasn't comfortable having sex with him, he raped me." She feels her wrist get a little tighter as Douglas squeezes it a bit harder in frustration.
"He actually did that to you?!" He asks demandingly, but not in anger towards her, rather the men she lived with.
"Yes, Douglas." She sighs again. "That man walked free after his attorney got him a not guilty verdict. And I chose to kill him myself." Douglas sighs in an agitated tone.
"I don't blame you for that." He says calmly, trying hard to bide his anger.
"That's why I wasn't allowed into Heaven." She says. "I killed him out of vengeance, and grew to dislike men afterward." She looks up at his face with a sincere gloom. "I'm sorry Douglas." She then closes her eye again. "Thank you… for trying to save me." Then she opens it. "Now please let go. I don't want you to die with me." She requests with a brave look. Douglas's hands start to sweat, and his right one is getting sore.
"HEEEEEELLLLP!" Douglas shouts loudly at the top of his lungs. Vaggie closes her eye tightly as he continues. "SOMEBODY HELP US!" He screams again, feeling his grip on Vaggie's wrist getting weaker. The cyclops demon opens her eye and smiles softly, taking a bit of comfort in Douglas's effort to save her.
"It's okay Douglas." She says softly. His arm starts to shiver, losing its grip. "Don't worry about me." Douglas cries a few more tears.
"Charlie is gonna be really angry with me if you die." He tells her. Vaggie looks up and smiles at him.
"Don't worry about her. You're almost done with your quest." She reminds him. He stops crying for a moment but maintains his sad look. "Good luck defeating Alastor and Vox." She says warmly. "I believe in you."
"No! Vaggie…" He feels his heart breaking as the grip in his hand gets weaker and eventually releases. "I'M SORRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYY!" He screams in a broken voice as he watches Vaggie fall. She continues to smile up at him until she's so far down he can't see her face anymore. He watches her body get smaller and smaller from his range of vision until she looks like a small bug at the end of a large hall. She lands firmly on the ground and instantly knocks her consciousness out even before she feels herself land. Douglas sits on his knees for a few moments, before standing up. "I'm so sorry." He covers his eyes to wipe the tears, turning around and going back in.
Meanwhile at the lab
Collin and Keenie continue to aim their crossbows at the door, poised for an intruder to walk in. Cletus is next to the door Alastor is behind, waiting patiently for him to finish up. Collin can't help but stare at the child demon as he softly paces back and forth.
"Is something wrong Cletus?" He asks. He looks up at the purple sheep and stops moving.
"How long do you think it'll take before Douglas gets here?" He asks. Keenie rolls her eyes.
"It's only around nine in the morning. We don't know his sleep schedule." She states. Collin nods.
"Keenie's right. Besides, I imagine fighting overlords is a lot of work. He probably needs extra sleep to regain his stamina." He adds. Cletus shrugs.
"He can take all the time he needs. I'm just waiting for Alastor to finish up." Collin aims his weapon down for a moment.
"You know Cletus, that process takes a while." He says, sounding nerdy. "I mean, there are data encryption phases he needs to bypass, internet barrier penetration, and the downloading process itself can take several hours depending on how many files he needs, and the files themselves probably vary in size." Cletus kicks the wall in frustration.
"This sucks!" He shouts. "There are so many innocent souls out there we could be saving right now!" He turns around and faces them. "Instead we're in Hell because we failed to save a rich old asshole who wanted to commit suicide from the start!" Keenie sighs and aims her crossbow up, away from the door.
"We're gonna have to get over that at some point you know?" She states. Cletus hits the wall again.
"So many innocent people at the concert died because a few imps had to interfere!" He pouts. Collin smiles nervously.
"At least the piano man survived." He says. Cletus facepalms.
"That doesn't excuse all the other deaths we caused!" He holds his head against the wall and sobs quietly. Keenie walks over to him with her weapon down.
"Calm down Cletus. It's not over for us until we reach the void." She says. Suddenly, the door bursts open, causing all three of them to flinch. A very tall demon with a square TV head levitates in, along with an unusually tall imp with lighter skin and a black cowboy hat his horns stick out of. They take a few moments to stare at the former Cherubs as the two sheep aim their weapons towards them, Collin shivering rapidly.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" The TV demon says. "A couple of colorful sheep and a worthless human orphan." Cletus gasps at that comment and Keenie stomps her foot.
"Shut up flathead! What gives you the right to speak to others that way?!" She asks in a demanding tone. A large maniacal smirk appears on his screen as it lights up a blue background, his red eyes brightly glowing.
"Apparently you've never heard of me. I am the most powerful overlord left in Hell." He says in a calm voice but sets the volume high so it would stagger them a little.
"What are you doing here?" Cletus asks with a slightly angered look on his face. The cowboy imp steps forward.
"Vox has come to stop any intruders to his plan." He then pulls out a red and black pistol from his pocket and pokes the top of his hat with it to reveal his eyes. "The Satanic Mafia shall live on." He says, Collin, raising an eyebrow.
"Satanic Mafia?" He asks. Vox chuckles a few times.
"What do you know Striker, these intruders think they'll get to learn more from us." He then makes a mocking look and puts his hands up. "Oooh woo, I'm really scared of your little golden arrow." Keenie frowns.
"These are holy weapons, dumbass." Vox stops laughing and snaps his fingers.
"Striker, exterminate them. I need to check the next room and say hi to my old pal Al." He says, the imp steps forward and holds out his pistol, aiming at Collin.
"With pleasure." Collin's eyes widen as he steps closer to him. Keenie fires her crossbow, but Vox swiftly sets up a barrier around Striker, causing the arrow to disappear in a small spark upon hitting it.
"How pathetic. Even your holy weapons are inferior to my power!" Vox says egotistically. Keenie glares at him but is too scared to take a step forward. Cletus glances at her, but he begins to shiver as Vox steps up to him. "Would you like to enter the void?" He asks. Cletus shivers and rapidly shakes his head. Collin and Striker stare each other down with their weapons pointed at each other, until Keenie attempts to tackle Vox.
"Stop bullying him you stupid TV with legs!" She says, grabbing onto his torso and trying to knock him down. Vox stares down at her feeble attempts to even move him as Collin sees a dark look in his eyes.
"Keenie, you'd better-" *BANG!*
"AAAAHHHH!" Cletus screams loudly and hugs the wall.
"COLLLIINNNN!" Keenie screams upon seeing Striker standing there while the purple sheep lay on the ground, bleeding from his forehead. Vox gives him a thumbs up.
"Good job Striker." He says in approval. Cletus stands against the wall panting rapidly from fear, but the yellow sheep reacts differently.
"YOU WESTERN CLUSTERFUCK!" She shouts, charging at Striker and shockingly managing to knock him down.
"Ow! Hey!" He reacts as Keenie pins him on his back. She starts to rapidly smack him across the face as hard as she can, getting several grunts from him.
"You, asshole, dickbag, son, of, a, motherless, circle, jerking, whore!" She shouts loudly, landing a smack on his face each syllable of her sentence. Striker reaches for his pistol, but the enraged sheep demon slams her elbow down on his arm, getting another heavy grunt from him. "You're not using that gun again!" She says harshly, only getting a smug smirk from the cowboy imp. Cletus gasps as Vox pulls a black and red machete from his pocket.
"I'll carve this lamb chop." He says darkly, Keenie ignoring him as she continues to slap Striker. The humanlike demon runs in front of her and holds his hands out at him.
"No! Please!" Cletus yells desperately, catching Keenie's attention. "Nobody else needs to die!" He insists. A large ball of electricity forms in Vox's hands.
"Out of my way, orphan!" He shouts, casting the plasma bolt directly at him. Keenie's eyes slam shut as the bolt flashes brightly.
"OOOOWWWWWW!" Cletus screams loudly as his body rapidly spasms in place. He immediately falls onto his back and continues to spasm as Keenie opens her eyes and gasps.
"CLETUS!" She screams in horror, glaring at Vox as he laughs. Suddenly, she feels a slash at her arm. "Ouch!" She lets go of Striker and aids her arm, gasping silently as she sees a heavy red and black blade in his hands. He punches her in the face and knocks her onto the ground.
"Kee-nie" Cletus says weakly as he rolls onto his stomach and watches Striker pin her down. He holds the knife above her chest and starts to press down.
"Gotcha little girl." He says, putting pressure on the blade. Keenie grunts and holds his arm back with her hands, but very easily gives in as the bleeding from the cut before weakens her.
"AaaaAAAHHHHH!" She starts to scream in agony as what starts as a light jab slowly becomes even more intense as Striker very slowly pushes the blade between her ribs. Keenie sobs and repeatedly gasps for air as her pulse starts to slow and her skin gets cold.
"Got them down boss." Striker says, standing up and licking Keenie's blood off of his blade.
"Good work, now if that pesky boy comes in, make sure he suffers," Vox instructs as he levitates to the next room.
"Doug-las…" Cletus weakly says inaudibly, losing hope as his body starts to feel numb. Striker gives Vox a thumbs up, not noticing Cletus as the TV demon enters the power room.
"And this should be exactly what my friend is looking for," Alastor says, grabbing a flash drive. A large bluish light flashes throughout the room.
"Oh look, another intruder!" Vox says in an evil tone as more electricity comes to his hands. The radio demon turns his head slowly, smirking like always.
"I've been waiting for you Vox."
Several minutes later, outside the Happy Hotel
Douglas stared at Vaggie's corpse. She had several broken bones that left her body in a completely different out-of-place shape, and some bones even came out of her skin. Of course, she was a skinny person, so these bones were very thin, but they still had enough net force to pierce her skin upon landing. It wasn't long before another person stepped outside.
"Are you kidding me? This is what it actually had to come down to?" Douglas turns around to see Charlie standing a few yards away from him. A small wet stream of tears has gone down her face moments prior, but she had a more annoyed/disappointed look in her eyes than a sad one. "Seriously, what is your problem, Douglas?!" She asks, sounding prepared to kill him. The holy soldier facepalms.
"I didn't kill Vaggie!" He exclaims. "In fact, I tried to save her after she almost killed me!" The princess summons a fireball in her hands as a dark glare comes over her eyes.
"You've got a few seconds to explain yourself. You killed Husk last night, and now you've killed Vaggie as well this morning." Douglas sighs and stands up.
"Keep one thing in mind, both of them tried to kill me." He states. "Eden bit Husk in the neck with her now purified fangs, I merely shot him to spare him a slow and painful death." He clarifies, pointing at Vaggie. "And all I did here was teleport before she speared me in the back. I left a pumpkin in my tracks, which she tripped over and fell off the balcony." He says, only getting a more serious glare from the demoness.
"You left a pumpkin for Vaggie to trip over?!" The fireball in her hands gets a little bit bigger. "If this is what it comes down to Douglas, you and I are at war!" The young warrior sighs and shakes his head shamefully.
"No Charlie. I can't accept this." He looks into her eyes. "I made a promise that I wouldn't hurt you." Charlie raises an eyebrow in suspicion.
"Who, Vaggie?" She asks. He shakes his head. "Dazzle and Razzle?"
"Not exactly, but I might as well have." He admits. "Whoa!" Charlie throws the fireball without hesitation, which he manages to avoid swiftly.
"Then why should whoever you promised this matter?! They're obviously in the void right now because of you!" She retorts. Douglas holds out his hand.
"Well, maybe! But I assure you I had pure intentions when I said this!" He pleads. Getting another fireball, which burns his leg a little. "AH!" He teleports into the holy pond to cool off for a second, then he climbs out, his clothes now soaking wet. "STOP FIRING!" Douglas shouts at her in frustration.
"You've done more than enough damage already, Douglas! If I don't do this, you'll only continue your killing spree!" She exclaims, summoning a fireball. Douglas sighs deeply and summons a pumpkin.
"Charlie, stop this. I don't want to fight you!" He exclaims desperately.
"Then you should've made sure Vaggie knew this before she died!" The princess casts the fireball quickly, managing to warm the air around his body as he swings the pumpkin at it. Several bits of burning ash landing on his arm, getting uncontrolled painful grunts from him.
"My turn." He says darkly, swiftly zooming towards her and swinging the pumpkin. Charlie instantly flinches upon seeing how fast he is, but the thick orange item is slammed against the side of her head before she can react.
"AH!" She instantly spins around and falls onto her face. Douglas gasps upon seeing Charlie laying there. He didn't realize how vulnerable she was to his basic fighting tactics.
"I'm sorry." He says in a low tone, as he rolls her onto her back. "Sorry, I couldn't keep that promise." He then places a finger on her upper chest, feeling the princess's heavy heartbeat for a moment, a little relieved he didn't kill her with that hit. And suddenly, his phone rings. He sighs deeply and answers it. "Hello?"
"Hello, my friend from the other side," Alastor says in an upbeat tone. Douglas glares lightly.
"What do you want?" He asks, suspiciously. Alastor steps on top of a flattened TV.
"I wanted to inform you that I've collected the data you were assigned to collect." Douglas's eyes widen.
"What?! How'd you get it so quickly?!" He asks in shock.
"I spent several minutes downloading it." The radio demon answers, beginning to put some weight on the flattened TV screen on the floor. "I also took down a pesky intruder in the process." An unconscious Vox groans as he does this.
"An intruder?" Douglas asks. "Who else is with you?" His suspicion turning into curiosity. Alastor steps into the other room.
"Well, three fallen angels and-"
"Did you finish yet boss?" Striker asks, turning towards him. "Huh?" His eyes widen as the radio demon gives him an evil smirk.
"May I make a suggestion?" He asks as his shadow companion expands and hovers behind the western imp. "Run." Striker gulps loudly and turns around.
"Okay! I'm leaving!" He exclaims fearfully. He steps on Cletus on the way out.
"Ugh." The small boy groans weakly as Striker runs out of the room. Alastor turns back to his phone.
"Um, yes actually. There were three fallen angels, and right now one of them looks hurt." He says, glancing at the two sheep. "They don't look to be in great shape." He states. Douglas sighs deeply.
"Alright, I'm coming over." He says, taking one last look at the unconscious princess and her dead girlfriend. "Please don't do anything with the data." He requests.
"I'll leave more data behind than you're looking for." He says evilly, placing another flash drive into an area on Vox's head. "We shall meet again, friend from the other side."
Author's note: Well, that was a very long chapter and it took a few days to get through. It's amazing what a single new Helluva Boss episode can do to alter the route of this fanfic! Someone even told me Vivziepop herself might be reading my story because I predicted Stella wanting Stolas killed. If this is true, I'd request a guy named Augustus in a future episode. (I'd say Douglas, but I don't want him to die.)
I don't necessarily think this is true, but I do know Vivzie is pretty silent amongst fan work, in which case, I'm not ruling it out. You'll soon see the names of several random characters I didn't want to die from different franchises in the next chapter, and odds are you'll recognize a few. I look forward to that, and I hope you enjoyed this intense and tragic chapter!
Deceased:
Vaggie
Collin
Keenie
Cletus: … Help me…