Tick Tock Vox
On the way to ending this long masterpiece! Motivation to making it this far has been tough to find from time to time, but your patience is what led me as far as I've come. Any new favorites or follows have pushed me further as my life gets busier and busier. Thank you everyone who's made it to this chapter, and I genuinely hope this one exceeds your expectations!
8:15 P.M. Town square
Douglas shivers around helplessly as the pain continues to haunt him in his sleep. The bleeding wound he received from Striker left him very hurt with little remaining muscle control. And on top of that, the flashbangs slowed down his nervous system's reaction time between his brain and body, which left him exposed. The only thing he remembered hearing was that whoever was there with Striker wouldn't let him die, but when awoken, he doesn't see the same silhouette as before. Suddenly all of his pain goes away as he slowly wakes up to see a large darker complected man with huge muscles holding an empty crossbow in his direction.
"You alright little man?" The giant man asks, causing Douglas to pause and take a moment to examine him with his now recovered vision.
"Yeah… I think so." He says, standing up again and staring at the crossbow. "What are you doing with the crossbow?" He asks, getting a hearty chuckle from the big guy.
"It was a holy weapon, and your little buddy told me you'd heal from it." He states, tapping the crossbow a bit. "So I took the opportunity to shoot you with it the moment I realized you needed a dose of holiness." Douglas smiles gratefully.
"Thank you, Mr… what's your name?" He asks, blushing a bit. The large man holds his hand out.
"You can call me Tex. I'm a hellhound around here." Douglas softly takes his hand and they shake on it, but the confusion returns to his eyes.
"Hellhound? You look like a darker-complected human." He remarks. Once their handshake is done, Tex folds his arms.
"It's only an illusion. This is the real Vortex." He comments, a purplish aura surrounding his body for a second and then an equally tall and muscular werewolf with a scar on his left eye appearing. Douglas flinches at the sudden transformation.
"How'd you do that?!" He asks terrified. Tex holds a hand up.
"Relax man, I only used the disguise so you wouldn't be overwhelmed when you woke up." He says reassuring him. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." Douglas looks around but doesn't see the lab from before.
"Where did you take me? I was in a laboratory before I passed out." He states, causing Tex to smirk.
"I brought you here so you could face the overlord of Wrath." He says, pointing to the clock tower with the days until the next cleanse. "This is the place you'll find him." Douglas frowns a bit suspiciously.
"Wait, why am I trusting you? This could be an easy death trap." Tex chuckles a bit.
"You ain't convinced after I saved you from that bloodthirsty cowboy?" He asks, causing Douglas to have a brief flashback of the assault.
"You killed him? How'd you manage to do that?" He asks, somewhat surprised. Tex sighs and rolls up his sleeves, revealing a couple of somewhat recent cuts.
"That little stinger was tough. He knows how to bite you with the blades." He comments before flexing a little. "But if you're a bodyguard like me, you gotta maintain the physical strength to endure it and overpower the predators." He then pulls a large knife out of his pocket. "I stabbed him with this, the same weapon he stabbed you with." Douglas takes the knife from him by the handle, noticing there are several rubber bands wrapped around it.
"What's with the rubber band wrapping around the handle?" He asks. Tex glares to the side.
"I'll get to that in a minute, but first ask any remaining questions you have." He requests, facing the young warrior.
"Why'd you save me? What was in it for you if I survived or not?" The large hellhound chuckles and smirks.
"Your little buddy was pretty persuasive. He told me your victory might be a win for me in my miserable life." Douglas pauses after hearing that.
"Miserable? You don't look too sad, no offense." He states, causing Tex's smile to fade.
"Have you had a job in the sex business?" He asks, causing Douglas to groan.
"No, but I killed the headmaster of a porn studio last night. The damn idiot tried to bribe me with sex slaves of my choosing." He remarks, thinking of Valentino and cringing at the thought of his existence again. The werewolf continues.
"Well, it's not all fun and games kid, sex is an emotional thing that so many take for granted, but being paid for it isn't fun either. You sometimes get and spread STDs or you may even get a woman pregnant and then never know if that baby was born or what their life was like afterward." Douglas sighs deeply.
"Believe me, I understand how you feel about that." Tex then glances to the side.
"Things went downhill recently. My girlfriend dumped me the other day and now I don't have much to look forward to." He then faces the holy soldier again. "Your pal Eddie said if you finish this journey, you may bring peace to Hell and I finally might be treated as an equal rather than an inferior." He says in a low tone. Douglas then grabs his list and glares at the TV demon he hasn't crossed off yet.
"I know who's causing the discord and the cleanse! It's this motherfucker who slaughters peaceful representatives from Heaven!" He exclaims, pointing at Vox's image and showing Tex. The hellhound folds his arms.
"This dude is no joke. He's killed and had so many others killed in Hell." He then looks up to the top of the clock tower. "That building is where he lives and spawns all his TVs. At the top of it is a large beacon with dark red radio wave frequency." Douglas shivers for a moment.
"What does it do? Do you know?" He asks with a nervous look. Tex frowns and shakes his head.
"I'm afraid I don't have an answer for that. But rumor has it some strong-looking angels have entered that building and never came out." Douglas thinks about the horrifying images of the smites to all those saints before.
"Why Tex? Why were they killed? They only wanted peace!" The werewolf sighs deeply and shrugs.
"Beats me dude, that TV man is a menace." He opens his right eye and Douglas can practically see a void of despair in it. "He walks out of there completely intact every time, more and more holy weapons are in his possession which makes his Satanic Mafia even stronger."
"Satanic Mafia?" Douglas repeats quietly. Tex makes a fist.
"He has people at his side who commit murder, I just know it! And that creepy woman on the media covers up all of those people so nobody knows!" He exclaims with anger. Douglas's eyes widen as he realizes Niffty was another victim of this exact thing. He then remembers Sir Pentious tried to blow up the hotel but wouldn't leave before it self-destructed, causing him to glare darkly.
"It's all coming together now! You're right about all of this!" He says, sighing lightly. "And here I thought Alastor was the mastermind." He looks up at Tex again as the werewolf points at the blade.
"The reason I covered that handle with rubber bands is because he has some large shock power. He can cast bolts of lightning that rival thunderstrikes and very few victims can withstand the deadly force." Douglas gasps as he thinks about the boy he saved this morning.
"He must've electrocuted Cletus!" He closes his eyes very tightly as a heavy wave of frustration goes through his head. Tex softly squeezes his shoulder to calm him.
"Take it easy little buddy. I gave you the knife so you can cut the cables he has. If he can't trap you, he can't hurt you." Douglas pauses for a moment and then thinks about what Alastor said before.
"Wait, Alastor said he had the source of his power on a flash drive!" Tex chuckles and pulls a small flash drive out of his pocket.
"Is it this one?" He asks. "Because I gave the other one back to Eddie." Douglas takes the item and examines it, realizing there's a small engraving of a radio on it.
"Yup! That's it!" He exclaims with excitement before his anger returns. "As soon as I figure out what to do with it, I'm going to let Vox have it!" He shouts in determination. Tex gives him a serious look.
"Just be careful. There's no doubt some of those other men were smarter and wiser than you. But they are gone now and you're here." He points to the entrance of the clock tower. "If you're careful and consistent, you can make your way to that beacon and see what's in there. Otherwise, you may end up in the void." He says darkly. Douglas shivers a bit.
"I'm not dead yet though. You don't think my soul would still go to Heaven?" He asks. Tex facepalms.
"I don't think if you die in there your soul will even make it out of that building." He says shamefully. "Once you step foot inside, you put yourself at risk of entering the void, and the only way to avoid it is by making sure he goes in there instead." Douglas takes a deep breath and nods.
"Alright Tex, thank you for the information, and for giving Eddie what I was supposed to find." He points in the direction of the Happy Hotel, which is only a couple of blocks away from the clock tower. "In the meantime, if you want a better life, I suggest you go to the hotel across the street." Tex smirks a bit.
"What's so great about it?" He asks curiously.
"It's run by a very sweet girl who has welcomed several egg boys, a lonely owl girl, and a sharp goth hellhound kinda like you." Tex pauses for a moment and then his smirk increases.
"Another hellhound you say? I think I might've met her before." He gives a suave smirk to the side. "She ain't half bad looking, even in her human form." Douglas pauses, wondering if all hellhounds can do that, but deciding not to bother asking.
"And hey, if I don't show up there by tomorrow morning, please tell Charlie I'm sorry." He says, looking down at the ground. "Her parents are dead and it's all because of me." Tex softly pats him on the shoulder.
"Chin up little man. She'll be fine so long as a dude like you is out there to fight for her." He then smirks daringly. "Now you go show that two-faced 2-dimensional freak who's boss!" Douglas puts the large blade in his pocket and gives him a thumbs up.
"You got it Tex! I'll see you later!" He says, turning towards the building and making his entrance at the bottom. Tex gives a bit of a smirk.
"I forgot to tell him about the justice… Oh well, he'll hear about it later."
Heaven's Judgement Hall
Eddie walks into the building with another cherub by his side. A taller, skinny, and well-dressed deer cherub with a halo and wings. He just walks in with a subtle smirk as she constantly talks to him non-stop.
"So then I realized they needed to go, I mean it's what the holy dude with the spear would've done right?" She says, facing Eddie, but the savage kid stays quiet. "Oh, come on Eddie, you're usually a lot more fun to talk to than this." She says with eagerness. "Can't we have a nice conversation before the proceeding?" She asks. Eddie points to the defendant's chair.
"No need, it's about to start." The deer cherub turns and pauses in confusion when she sees two bright sheep angels and two yellow honeybees.
"Wait, what are my co-workers doing here?" She asks, her confusion starting to grow into nervousness when she notices how sad they all look.
"They are in trouble, and you're the main cause of it Deerie." Eddie says, pointing to Cletus lying down in a bed on the other side of the defendant's area. Deerie frowns.
"Hey! What's he doing here?" She asks, noticing he has his halo and wings back. "He's not allowed in Heaven anymore after the murder of Lyle Lipton!" She says, marching over to the injured Cherub, who returns a scared look as she approaches.
"IF YOU LAY ONE FINGER ON HIM, YOU'LL BE SENT TO THE VOID!" Deerie flinches in place upon hearing that voice, her eyes widening and pupils shrinking.
"Augustus?" She asks almost soundlessly. The large man appears at the Judge's seat with several more judges appearing in seats across the room. She notices Tytus isn't among them though. She faces the large emperor, shivering madly.
"I'm not happy Deerie." He says with a large frown, leaning in a little. "Not happy." He says a bit louder. The deer cherub lightly flutters forward and stops at the witness stand.
"Sir, please don't be angry." She says worriedly, glancing at her co-workers and them mirroring her sad look. Augustus lightly taps his hammer onto his indestructible coaster.
"Then do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" Deerie gulps and nods frantically.
"Y-yes sir! I w-will!" She stammers, beginning to sweat. Franklin comes out from the room in the back.
"Lord Augustus, the data from young Douglas's mission has been safely encrypted. We now know what happened to our fallen angels!" He says fairly spiritually before his cheer turns into a strict professor-like tone. "But we're going to ignore that for now as it's irrelevant to the trial of Deerie." She holds her hooves out nervously.
"Look, look! This is all a big misunderstanding! I haven't gotten to speak with an attorney yet!" She nervously takes a step backward. "I'll return in one hour after I've spoken to my lawyer, okay?" She attempts to make a run for it, but Eddie swiftly grabs her by the arm as she passes him.
"Yeah… no. Sorry." He says in a tone she was familiar with. She makes an effort to break free, but the young soul is way stronger than she could pray for.
"This isn't fair! You can't give us a trial without an attorney!" She complains as Eddie pulls her back to the witness stand. Augustus points to Cletus.
"For the same reason this dear boy wasn't given an attorney, you won't be getting one either this time. So you'd better swallow your complaints and answer truthfully or we'll immediately lock you in our jail for a century." He threatens. Deerie shivers and sighs deeply.
"Fine, what do you want to know?" She asks in a dead tone. Augustus raises his head.
"A very simple question. Where are the members of C.H.E.R.U.B now?" Deerie frowns and points to the injured cherub.
"Well, Cletus is clearly right over there." She says in an insulting tone but doesn't get a reaction from Augustus as he maintains his straight face.
"And what about Keenie and Collin?" He asks. Deerie shrugs widely.
"I don't know! Probably still in Hell!" She panics. Franklin summons an illusionary portal showing Keenie and Collin in separate dark dimensions. They're sitting there glooming with no company or hope in their eyes.
"That's where you're wrong my dear Deerie. These pour souls are in the void with no hope of ever getting out as the feeling of despair overtakes their innocent joyful spirits." Deerie's jaw drops.
"They're… dead?" She asks lightly. Cletus glares at her and nods.
"Now for our next question, why are two of them in the void and why is poor Cletus hurt?" Augustus asks, maintaining his tone, but starting to heavily squeeze the handle of his hammer.
"Well, you see… we banished them from Heaven because they murdered a man!" She exclaims defensively. Cletus can't maintain his anger anymore.
"NO, THEY DIDN'T!" He yells, coughing twice after doing so as everyone in the room looks at him. "I killed Mr. Lipton! Collin and Keenie did nothing wrong!" He starts to tear up from both pain from the movements he's making and emotional pain. "It was me, all me!" He sobs and makes a fist. "I should be in the void right now, not them!" Eddie gives him a sympathetic look and then a hostile glare at Deerie.
"Well, Deerie? Did you banish them all for something only he did?" The kid asks. Deerie shrugs helplessly.
"They were supposed to save him! If they let him die, that's all of their fault, not just Cletus's!" She exclaims. Augustus bangs his gavel once, silencing the whole room.
"Deerie, this isn't how things are supposed to go. If killing Lipton is a crime, then Cletus should've been brought to us and given a fair trial!" The deer cherub waves her arms out rapidly.
"No, no, no, no, no! Please, sir, a rule is a rule! Killing someone on Earth is an open and shut case of banishment upon guilt!" She states. Eddie gives her an annoyed look.
"Yeah, we read up on the guy and it turns out Lyle was a rich sociopath who used poor people for dangerous experiments and never paid them a cent for his successes. So he was going to Hell anyway." Eddie replies.
"So let's get this straight. You banished the cherubs without giving them to us for a legal trial and now two of them are in the void." Augustus reiterates, leaning forward. "NOT, HAPPY, Deerie." Deerie shivers in place.
"I'm so sorry." She says timidly. Augustus taps his gavel once.
"Then it's time for our next witness." Deerie flinches.
"Witness?! Nobody saw it other than Cletus!" She complains as Eddie opens the door to a room in the back. Millie and Moxxie enter the courtroom.
"Whoa, this is a legal courtroom?" Millie asks in awe as she glances around the room. "It looks more expensive than Stolas's mansion!" Deerie glares.
"Hey! What are people from Hell doing here?!" She asks angrily. Franklin points at her with his finger glowing.
"I resent that Deerie! You watch what you say about people from Hell you haven't already met!" He exclaims. Moxxie looks around cluelessly.
"So, what are we doing here?" He asks. Eddie points to Cletus.
"Do you know him?" He asks, causing both imps to gasp, but Moxxie doesn't stand idly.
"Oh my god!" He runs over to the injured cherub, completely ignoring their history. "What happened to you?!" Cletus tilts his head up a little to get a better view of Moxxie's face.
"Vox zapped me. Now doing so much as moving one joint stings my body." He says in discomfort. Moxxie softly touches the boy on the shoulder, getting a quiet wince from him.
"I'm so sorry this happened to you." He says, a tear coming to both of his eyes. Cletus gives him a soft smile.
"It's okay. I'll feel better tomorrow." He assures. Moxxie smiles softly and turns to Augustus.
"What did you want from us, sir?" He asks. Augustus sighs.
"Well, you kind of already answered it. I was going to ask if you've met Cletus before." He states as Millie nods.
"Yeah, we know him. Though the last time we saw him we were after the man he was trying to save." She states. Augustus points to Deerie and her crew.
"Do you know those people?" He asks. Moxxie thinks for a moment.
"Not very well, we were leaving as they came in." He states. Eddie steps over to him and puts an arm on his shoulder.
"Moxxie, this is a vital testimony. What did you hear her say to Cletus?" He asks. Moxxie looks at Cletus, then Deerie, then back to Augustus.
"When he and his friends asked if there was anything they could do, she said: 'Yeah, no… sorry.' To them." Augustus glares.
"What?" He asks. Millie raises her pointer finger.
"She said it in a very bland and careless tone too. Like she couldn't care less if it happened." Deerie grabs the sides of her head and shuts her eyes tightly. A sudden loud bang makes everyone flinch.
"LIAR!" Augustus shouts loudly, causing one of the timid judges to hide under her desk. Moxxie gasps loudly and holds his arms out.
"We're not lying! That's the truth!" He exclaims. Augustus firmly points, but to Deerie rather than Moxxie.
"YOU LIED TO THEM!" He exclaims at the top of his lungs with a very fierce glare in his eyes, causing Deerie to swiftly fly backward and crash into the wall. "AND NOW TWO OF THEM ARE PROBABLY IN THE VOID FOREVER!" Deerie gulps loudly, shivering and sweating rapidly.
"Please forgive me sir! It's what your comrade asked for!" Augustus stomps his foot on the floor, gathering everyone's attention.
"Nobody in this room okayed their banishment! If it weren't for you they would've never gotten it! But you took matters into your own hands instead of following the laws we set up for a perfect afterlife!" Augustus exclaims, glancing around the room. "Judges, what is your verdict?" He asks.
"Guilty."
"Guilty."
"Guilty." They all begin to chime in one by one until there are eleven guilty verdicts across the room. Augustus glares back at Deerie.
"Then no matter what I say is irrelevant. Now we just need to decide a punishment." Eddie raises his hand.
"I say send Deerie and her cronies to Hell!" He exclaims. Deerie glares at him.
"What do you know you, immature child?!" Eddie immediately points back at her.
"I know, that you didn't send any guardian angels to stop a bullet from hitting my head!" Deerie flinches upon hearing that. Cletus and Moxxie gloom at each other.
"I'm sorry Eddie!" Cletus says, tearing up. "I really wanted to save you!" He sobs.
"I'm sorry too," Moxxie adds in a sad tone. Franklin turns to Augustus.
"Well sir, I think Hell is a worthy punishment." He gives her a light frown. "Maybe then you people can wait and see there is some good from there." Deerie lowers her head and steps towards the witness stand.
"Sir, can I please just have one rebuttal?" Moxxie faces her with an uncertain look but stays quiet as the judge speaks.
"Fine, if someone in this room gave you orders to banish the cherubs, point to them," Augustus asks. "And if it's not someone here, name them." Deerie's eyes widen upon realizing she doesn't know where they are or the person's name.
"I… don't know his name." She says in a defeated tone. Augustus frowns at her.
"Is that so?" He asks as she shrugs.
"But look! I swear it happened. He's a really tall guy with a spear and shield!" Eddie facepalms.
"A lot of people up here have those. It's called being a holy soldier." He states. Deerie closes her eyes for a moment as Augustus continues.
"If you cannot name the person, then we have no reason to believe you're being honest with us." He then points at her and raises his hammer. "Because you shouldn't take orders from someone you don't know personally!" The deer cherub shivers rapidly.
"I swear it wasn't just my decision!" Suddenly Franklin teleports her four co-workers next to her.
"That's why you're all going to endure this banishment sequence. Maintain your dignity while you still have it!" The old warlock shouts.
"NO! WE'RE SORRY! DON'T BANISH US!" Deerie screams loudly as Augustus's hammer begins to glow.
"Yeah, no… sorry." Eddie comments in the same tone she'd used before. Cletus glares and gives her a middle finger before the hammer lands on the floor. All of them flinch as the floor begins to crack below them, until a heavy chunk in the middle of the room falls.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" They all scream as they fall will the floor. Cletus winces repeatedly as he stands up and slowly hovers over to the floor in the room.
"JEEEERRRRRKKKKS!" He shouts at the top of his lungs, putting his hands to his mouth to make it louder. Moments later, the floor rebuilds itself and Augustus removes his hammer from the floor.
"I haven't banished anyone in many years. It's a shame we had to do it now." He says as he looks around the room. "Well everyone, case dismissed. Let's all return to our hobbies." He points to Franklin. "Franklin, help Cletus return to the hospital center." Cletus holds one hand out.
"I'll be fine. I'm a little sore, but I can walk now." Augustus smiles heartily.
"If you insist, so be it. I thank you for your forgiveness on my part, and I hope you recover well my son." He says to him. Several people leave the courtroom, but Moxxie can't leave just yet.
"Hey sir, do you think that might've been a mistake?" He asks the large man. Augustus shakes his head softly.
"There's nothing we can do about it. She lied and said she had permission to banish them, but not I or any judge present today would've allowed that without a trial." Moxxie sighs lightly.
"I see, but… what if she wasn't lying about that? Maybe a non-judge told her to?" He asks. The large emperor sighs deeply.
"Moxxie, I understand and respect your compassion, but this is what happens when you abuse power. Assuming we find the person she was talking about, the best we can do is banish them as well. But that wouldn't exempt Deerie or the others in the slightest for the damage they've done. Now we have little to no hope of ever seeing Collin and Keenie through anything less than a one-dimensional window." Moxxie sighs.
"I guess so." He states. Augustus smiles lightly.
"Well, as a reward for your assistance in this trial, I'm going to send a request to the warden that you and Millie can remain outside of the prison during the day so long as you sleep there at night." The imp smiles lightly upon hearing that.
"Thank you, sir." He says, turning around and seeing both Cletus and Eddie standing behind him, Cletus with an adorable smile.
"Hey, thank you for your concern. I hope there are no hard feelings for what happened before." He says, holding his hand out.
"Nope, I forgive you and hopefully you can forgive me." Moxxie says, shaking the shorter boy's hand, hearing him wince a little as he moves his arm.
"And hey, if you want my help. Maybe I can help redeem you and your wife faster." He offers. Millie comes up from behind.
"That sounds so thoughtful of you!" She says heartily, powerfully putting her arm on his shoulder.
"OOOOWWWIIEEE!" Cletus yelps as Eddie swiftly pulls her off of him.
"Oops, sorry about that." She giggles lightly. Eddie signals to the door.
"Come on, let's all go to the table of plenty for our feast." Cletus sheds a tear.
"I've been waiting so long for another meal from there." As they walk out, he looks down for a moment. "I'll never forget you two." He says, thinking of Keenie and Collin before leaving the courtroom.
Clock Tower
Douglas walks inside and sees a very large assortment of computers and TVs, much like the ones at Baxter's lab, but more spread out than those. Upon taking a couple of steps into the room, the door immediately slams behind him, startling him a bit at first but reminding him now that there's no going back. Thankfully the low-lit aura of the computers provides just enough light to see the floor and all the desks, but not enough to fully cover the room, limiting Douglas's vision to only what he sees from the technology's glow.
*I better illuminate the room* He thinks to himself as he holds up his hand to summon a small Seiken… *What the hell?!* No light emits from his palm. No sword is there either, even a dark one. A terrifying thought hits him as he attempts to teleport. *Oh fuck…* He thinks upon failing. He has no power here. None of his holy powers are working despite working well outside of this building. He closes his eyes and steps forward, the heavy pounding of his heart echoing in his ears as he clings the knife in his pocket firmly.
*Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick*
But that isn't his heartbeat, it's a loud consistent ticking sound echoing through the walls. In no particular direction does the sound come from, just all around, above and below. He closes his eyes for a moment and tries to time his footsteps in sync with the ticking sound to throw off anyone who may hear him intruding.
*BSST!* Douglas flinches and clenches his teeth shut as a computer flashes on behind him, the sound of static and electrical bolts following it. But when he turns around, the screen is pitch-black. And stepping closer to it, he hears no noise implying any heat is leaving it.
"This can't be possible." He mumbles quietly, suddenly another computer sparking from behind him. "EE!" He jumps around, turning his body to the glowing PC which he does manage to see this time. Paying close attention to the ticking sounds, he matches his footsteps up again and makes his way over to the very PC that is lit. He continues walking in sync with the clock, before tripping over a hidden cable in the middle of the room. "Oh!" He falls on his face and feels the cable wrap around his ankle. Suddenly, all the monitors in the room flash on and a loud sparking sound is heard.
"AAAHHH!" Douglas spasms rapidly as a severe electrical shock goes through his body from the electrical cable. When he stops, a very tall flat-faced Demon appears, hovering in the air from behind the desk in the back of the room.
"AT LAST!" A loud static voice says as the holy soldier gets a good look at the TV-faced demon in front of him. "WE MEET AGAIN, BRO!"
"I'm not your bro." Douglas says as the electrocution stops.
"Then we meet again, friend!" The demon says much quieter than a moment ago.
"I'm not your friend either." Douglas says with a light frown.
"Then we meet again, acquaintance." He says with an evil grin. Douglas facepalms.
"I've never met you before! Can you make your point already?" He asks, the tall demon floats closer to him.
"Well, I know you really well, Douglas Knox." He points around the room and suddenly the computers all show footage of Douglas fighting several other former demons, Lilith and Lucifer not among them.
"So you're Vox, aren't you?" He asks in an annoyed tone with an eyebrow raised. "You saw all my victories over the other demons?" Vox chuckles and nods.
"I knew the others couldn't defeat you." He glances to the side. "I don't even think Alastor could beat you." He then glances back at him. "But unfortunately we'll never know for sure!" He then raises his arms as cables start to hover in the air around him. "Because you won't ever make it out of here alive! Defeating me is impossible!" He says with the darkest grin imaginable. Douglas rolls his eyes.
"Clearly it isn't. Alastor kicked your ass this morning." He states.
"What?" Vox's smile fades and he bides for a few seconds, just releasing the cables in different directions. "NO, HE DIDN'T GODDAMMIT!" He maximizes his volume for that swear. "There's no proof that happened!" He asserts, pointing at the young warrior.
"Probably because you deleted that footage before I got here." Douglas states. Vox shakes his body a little before raising his arms out widely.
"WILL YOU STOP THAT?!" He leans closer to the boy and points his thumb to himself. "That fight was mine! MINE!" He shouts in a maniacal tone.
"Then where's the footage of you beating Alastor?" Douglas asks. "Given your hatred of him, I doubt you wouldn't keep that." Vox spasms a little in rage.
"THAT'S NOT IMPORTANT!" He then points at him. "What matters is you have no power here! You'll never penetrate my barrier!" Douglas returns a savage look.
"Valentino said the same thing, and now he's in the void." Vox gives him an evil grin.
"I know. You did this to him!" He raises his arms and another shock rushes through the cable.
"OOWW!" Douglas screams at the sudden shock as Vox watches him suffer with an evil look.
"YOU ARE POWERLESS DOUGLAS!" He shouts at full volume. "AND SOON YOU'LL JOIN THE VOID WITH THE OTHER FALLEN SAINTS!" The holy soldier grits his teeth as the shock goes on, finally bringing the knife down to the cable around his ankle, cutting it and the electric current going to his leg.
"No! I will not remain your prisoner, you vile bastard!" Douglas shouts as his body stops vibrating from the shock.
"Fine! Let's play!" Vox exclaims with a dark look. "Time to pay your Cable Bill!" He jokes as more electrical cables appear from different locations. Douglas slashes one behind him with the knife before it touches him.
"I don't watch television!" He says as he slashes two more oncoming wire cables. "I was forced to accept reality for what it is when I was eight!" He slashes back and forth, cutting the cords powerless before seeing an electrical ball forming in Vox's fingers.
"Then let me discharge you!" He throws the plasma ball. Douglas attempts to block the ball with the knife, but it explodes upon contact with the blade.
"AH!" The shockwave sends Douglas back a couple of feet and he crashes on the floor. He grunts loudly as Vox hovers closer to him.
"Give up Douglas. My satellite dispels even the strongest holy powers in existence. God himself would perish if he entered this tower!" Douglas gets up and rolls aside.
"Fuck you Vox!" He exclaims as he runs up the staircase next to him. Vox frowns and takes a few steps, before realizing the young warrior is much faster than him.
"You wanna play tag? Let's race!" He says before his screen powers down.
Douglas runs up the long staircase that spirals in a circular direction up the clock tower. Running is difficult, as his heart rate is already significantly elevated from the electrocution but turning back isn't an option anymore. He knows he's not going to have any chance of survival if the electrical demon catches up to him at this point. To his fortune, Vox has no monitors on the top floor, but to his misfortune, he has a moving TV monitor on what seems like a Stairmaster.
"Trying to run Douglas?" Vox asks as the small monitor drives its way up the side of the staircase next to him. "I don't recommend cardio exercises after an electrocution." Douglas closes his eyes to ignore him as he proceeds to dash up the large staircase. Given the clocktower is roughly the same size as the Happy Hotel, he doesn't expect the run up to be easy. "Let me help you exercise then!" Vox says darkly.
"What the hell?!" Douglas shouts as the stairs start to move down below his feet.
"Ever run on an escalator? It's like a treadmill." Vox says with an evil grin. Douglas sighs heavily between breaths and grits his teeth, finally gathering the strength and speed to run up the stairs at a faster pace than they're coming down. Vox's evil grin fades as he realizes the young warrior will reach the top even with the down escalator. But it returns as another idea goes through his mind. "Fine then! Let me help you reach the top faster!" Douglas wonders what he means for a moment, but learns quickly as he trips.
"WHOA! OAG!" He falls forward as his body is propelled upward. Vox had converted the staircase into an up escalator to throw him off balance, and it worked.
"You might wanna keep running," Vox says in a taunting voice. "Once you stop running a heavy sprint, it's hard to continue." Douglas grunts loudly and pushes up on his hands and knees to regain his footing.
"Will you just shut your fucking two-dimensional mouth?!" The holy soldier shouts in frustration as Vox chuckles evilly. However, his face converts into an astonished look as Douglas overcomes the pressure and reaches the top of the tower. He sees the satellite standing on a large platform in the middle of the room, but unfortunately, there is a huge gap in the floor that a basic jump wouldn't be enough to reach.
"I've caught you!" Vox exclaims victoriously as he steps out of a dumbwaiter that led to the top floor. Douglas pauses as he starts to hover out of it, realizing the only safe way out is the staircase again.
"Are you too scared to fight me evenly when we both have powers? Or are you too much of a pussy now that Alastor did it?!" He shouts in frustration, breathing fairly heavily from the run up here. Vox's red eyes flash as another electro bolt appears in his hands.
"STOP BRINGING THAT UP YOU FUCKING ORPHAN!" He casts the larger-than-average bolt. Douglas swiftly pulls out the rubber-handled blade and swings it at a dull angle to deflect the bolt upward. "HEY!" *BZZZT-CRACKLE!* The bolt explodes on the glass ceiling window from above and shatters it. "THIS PLACE WAS EXPENSIVE, JACKASS!" Vox whines loudly. Suddenly a long sharp object lands on the floor in front of Douglas, startling him as it lands directly in front of his face.
"AH!" He flinches until he hears it land with a wooden thunk, dropping the rubber-handled knife in the process. "Hm?!" Upon looking down, he recognizes a spear. The very same one Vaggie had thrown earlier in the day lay before his feet. He quickly picks it up and holds it towards Vox.
"What? You think you're tough because you have a spear?" Vox asks unamused, levitating closer to him. "Just put the toy down and get your ass over here!" He says impatiently. Douglas takes a step back, shivering a bit, before getting a glance of that gap in the room to the satellite again.
"Wait." He mumbles inaudibly as the TV demon floats right in front of him.
"Game over Douglas! No more pushing pumpkins for you!" He exclaims as he summons a bolt of electricity in his fingers. Douglas closes his eyes tightly and takes one step backward, with full force he bounces back and does a long backflip down several moving stairs. "Whoa!" Vox's eyes light up in surprise as Douglas lands successfully on his feet several steps down.
*Here's my chance!* He thinks as he sprints up the moving stairs Vox forgot to turn off. When he reaches the top he gives the TV demon a heavy shove directly to his chest and propels him against the wall.
"AUGH!" Vox exclaims in pain as he crashes his back against the metal building structure. But Douglas doesn't go for him. Instead, he uses the running start from the up escalator to build momentum. With precise timing, he brings the tip of the spear to the floor and successfully pole vaults over the gap in the room, landing on the satellite platform. "Hey! Don't damage my satellite!" Vox shouts at him. Douglas makes a wide smirk as he pulls the flash drive out of his pocket.
"I won't damage it. I'll just cut you off of it!" He exclaims victoriously as he quickly plugs the portable drive into one of the open spots for it. Vox gets up and starts stepping towards him.
"What do you think you're doing?! That's my property!" He makes a fist. "I built that!" Douglas runs around in circles on the circular platform a couple of times and then pole vaults back to the top floor with a daring grin.
"I did nothing to harm the satellite. It's still completely intact as you can see." Vox's fist raises in the air as his look turns sinister again.
"Well, it's over now orphan! I'm done playing with you!" He holds both hands in the air. "FEEL MY WRATH!" He shouts loudly, casting both of his hands forward… "What the hell?" He rubs his fingers together as Douglas's smirk turns evil. "TAKE THAT!" He does the same action again, and no electricity comes out of his hands. "What the hell is going on?! How do I cast bolts?!" He exclaims in frustration. Douglas holds the spear out.
"Let's just say, I overrode your powers." He states. "Now that your data is in the satellite, you can't use your powers either!" He steps closer to the TV demon with the spear pointed to him. Vox holds his hands up in a surrendering manner.
"Wait one second, why don't we discuss this?" He offers, but the young warrior continues to decrease the distance between them.
"Like you discussed it with Mimzy? Or Baxter? Or any of the representing saints?!" He asks, preparing to jab the overlord.
"Okay, I have no choice." Vox says as he pulls out a cable whip and casts it out, wrangling the spear in his hands and flinging it off of the floor.
"Hey! That spear was a memento of an innocent girl!" He exclaims in annoyance before they both hear a light clicking sound of the spear landing on the bottom floor. Vox pockets the cable whip.
"I don't give a shit about what you're sentimental about." He says, stepping forward, away from the staircase and towards Douglas. "If we can't use powers, I'll just have to beat you with my bare hands!" He cracks his knuckles as Douglas just frowns disinterestedly.
"Really? A fistfight? You wanna fight me of all people with your hands?" Douglas asks as the TV demon grins maniacally.
"Sorry loser! It's not my fault God decided to make you a foot and a half shorter than me!" He throws a punch forward, only to get a swift dodge from the holy soldier. "Mm!" He takes a few more swings, Douglas moving left and right to avoid the blows. "HOLD STILL!" Vox yells, throwing a double fist punch forward. Douglas jumps up and puts pressure on his shoulders to propel over him. Vox gasps in awe at his acrobatics.
"My turn!" Douglas exclaims somewhat savagely. Vox turns towards him, only to get a very heavy sucker punch between the eyes.
"Ouch!" The force from the blow knocks him off his feet and onto his rear. "Hey!" He stands back up and rolls up his sleeves. "You've done it now Douglas!" He punches again, only for Douglas to punch in unison, their fists hit each other directly and a painful tremor goes through Vox's hand. "Ah! What the fuck?!" Douglas punches him directly in the chest, giving him the feeling of cardiac contusion. "OAG!" Vox lands on his bottom again. "How are you so damn tough?!" He exclaims in disbelief.
"If I can shove a pumpkin to the end of a room with one casual push, you think I don't have the strength to win a fistfight?" He asks before punching him in the face again.
"OW! AH!" Vox's head hits the floor from the force of the punch. Douglas leans down to weigh him down. Leaning over his face.
"Do you give up now Vox? Your ego got the better of you this time." He says threateningly. Vox smirks darkly as he sees the rubber-handle blade on the floor.
"What are you going to do? Kill me with your fists?" He asks before laughing. "My face is too tough to penetrate with hands alone and my neck doesn't need to connect to my body to stay intact. Snapping it isn't going to help you." Douglas makes a fist and steps off of him.
"I'll just dissect every wire in your body." He says, grabbing the blade and turning back towards him. Vox softly makes his way close to the wall while still on the floor as Douglas steps up to him.
"ACTIVATE SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ON SATELLITE!" Vox orders with a loud voice. Douglas pauses for a moment before he hears a counting sound.
"Five, four, three." He turns to the satellite before his eyes widen. "Two."
"What the hell?!"
"One." Douglas turns away from the machine with his eyes closed as Vox covers his own face.
*KABOOM!* The oversized satellite detonates with a loud explosion and sends Douglas to crash against the wall from the force of the explosion and distance away he was standing.
"AH!" He hits the wall and lands on the floor, stomach-first. Time feels frozen around both of them as the shock of the explosion lingers for several seconds. However, moments after Vox stands up, Douglas does the same.
"WHAT?!" Vox glares very sinisterly. He then goes back to the dumbwaiter and hits the button. Douglas regains his vision and starts walking towards him, just a second late as the door starts to close. "Meet me on the ground level if you want to finish this!" The TV demon exclaims in rage before the elevator begins to go down. "How did you survive that blast?!" Vox exclaims to himself with a firm fist. Douglas looks up at the broken window from before.
"Come on, please…" He closes his eyes and teleports up, on top of the roof. "Yes!" He lowers a fist victoriously. Without the satellite, he has his powers back, and now he's ready to go. He teleports back into the clock tower and jumps down the huge gap between floors, riding the falling momentum and teleporting to the ground when he's still a few feet above it. Several small pieces of metal in different colors scattered across the floor from the broken satellite. "Alright Vox, reveal yourself." He says, looking around. The dumbwaiter opens up with the overlord inside it.
"Do you have any idea how much I needed that fucking satellite?!" He complains, summoning another ball of electricity. Douglas frowns lightly.
"Why? Because you can't win a fight against anyone without disabling their powers?" He asks, giving him a middle finger. "You're not an overlord, you're someone's toy with no balls!" Vox's hands shiver and the voltage of the bolt increases.
"WHY WON'T YOU JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP?!" He exclaims loudly, casting the bolt. Douglas summons a mystical cylinder over himself to instead direct the ball into the center of the room. Both guys brace themselves as several computers explode from the intense shock, leaving the giant TV at the end of the room to be the only thing completely unharmed.
*BZZZT-KABOOM!* The shockwave goes off, leaving almost nothing on the floor where it was before other than a few tables slightly moved to uneven patterns.
"My lab…" Vox says with sadness. "My beautiful computer lab…" He puts his hand to his eyes in sadness. However, as Douglas gets up, Vox shivers in place and raises a hand toward him. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
"Ah!" Douglas trips forward as a cable wraps around his ankle, and then moves on to bind his whole body. "Mmmm!" He feels the harsh sizzling of an electrical current travel through his body as Vox levitates a bit closer.
"You've destroyed everything I love! Everything I own! And now, I'm going to destroy every cell in your body!" He says harshly, summoning another plasma ball. Douglas grits his teeth to endure the shocking further.
"Y-you c-c-can't say t-that!" He then inhales and says a full sentence. "You've smitten many innocents!" Vox glares darker.
"I had to! A cleans every year ensures nobody ever has the potential to match my level again!" He says, the bolt getting bigger as he expands his shoulders. "And killing your loving representatives ensured more exterminations!" Douglas realizes the voltage of the cables around him is decreasing as Vox converts more and more of it into his own hands.
*Now's my chance.* He tells himself, summoning a Seiken to cut the cable below his ankle. Fortunately, Vox can't see him escape as his bolt is too big and bright to see over at this point. Douglas sees Vaggie's spear only a few feet away.
"YOUR TIME IS UP DOUGLAS!" Vox yells loudly, not seeing him tie the loose cut cable around the end of the spear.
*Alright Vaggie, I know you're gonna help me with this one!* He thinks as he grips the spear firmly with his right hand. He looks back to Vox at a downward angle to avoid vision damage by staring at the bolt. He then raises his hand to an angle he preys will land without him looking.
"FEEL MY WRATH!" Vox casts the bolt, but in perfect sync, Douglas throws the spear with the connected cable.
"AAAHHH!" Douglas dives to the floor mere milliseconds after throwing as several small jolts spark his body from above. But as he does, the spear goes directly through the bolt and the tip pierces Vox's glass face.
"YOOWWWWWW!" Vox exclaims before his voice gets muffled from the spear touching the wires inside his head. He continues to spasm rapidly as the voltage from his bolt travels through the cable and electrifies the spear. With almost one full second of spasming, the electrical wires give in and detonate.
*KABRAAAAWWWNNNN!*
After the huge explosion happens, there are several moments of silence around Douglas. His body continues to spasm lightly out of his control as he softly raises his face. The aftershock of the loud bang still furiously ringing in his ears as he finally gathers the strength to move onto his knees, and then finally his feet. His muscles still move very slowly as he walks, but only a few occasional sparks from the disconnected severed wires light the room. He finally illuminates the wall with a small light beam and finds the light switch. Flipping it on, he turns to see all the damage. So many broken monitors and modems all over the room with several chairs tipped over or just several feet away from where they originally were. He moves around the uneven tables softly, only to get a clear picture of what lies at the end of the room. Next to the spear still intact with a powerless cable wrapped around it, lies the TV demon completely motionless. Vox's entire face is gone with a tin wall with a few fried wires and a couple of loose shards of screen glass at a couple of points being all that remains where his face was. Douglas softly picks up the spear and untangles it, letting the cable fall over Vox's still very fancy suit and turning away.
"To say TV rots the brain," Douglas says, pulling out his list. "Too much of it will cause irreparable damage." He pulls out his pen. "Whether it's cable or satellite, limited screentime is the only hope anyone has. And the addiction continues to spread and brain drain more and more." He puts a large X over Vox and turns around. Taking one more moment to glance at the deceased overlord with a dark frown. "Good riddance Vox." He steps out of the tower and slams the door behind him, turning the light off and the very few remaining sparking wires to finally shut down forever.
Author's note: As you can imagine, this one took some more effort than I'm used to. But admittedly I have been slacking off. Not only am I working more than before, but another semester of school has started and my time may be limited. But I'm glad I was finally able to beat another overlord, leaving only one to remain. Everyone's favorite one. ;)
Deceased:
Vox