"What the FUCK are YOU two doing here?!" Angel Dust was the first to ask, doing so while pointing towards the two women in the elevator.
Even though the spider demon and company had seen literal monsters in the form of Doom and its demons, miraculously that horrid place and everything it had done to both Will and the rest of creation didn't make them feel as much unbridled hatred as these two. Helsa Von Eldritch and Stolas's wife Stella embodied nearly every single characteristic and trait that each of them despised, making them in their eyes the undisputed queen bitches of their circle. So the fact that for some reason both were standing there RUINING this wonderful moment of Sir Pentious's return, ON TOP of disrupting the planning for Will's celebration, had their fuses lit.
"Ooooh, looks like someone's a little cranky this morning." Helsa teased in return as she and Stella stepped out towards them.
"Cut the bullshit, Helsa." Vagatha told her with a glare while crossing her arms, "How the hell do either of you know that Will's back? And how did you know to come here to find him?" She asked.
"Huh, looks like you were right Stella, they ARE calling him Will." Helsa said to her companion, completely ignoring her question.
In response to this, the gray-skinned woman summoned her spear and pointed it at her face, though neither she nor Stella cared in the slightest.
"Juro por Vega que te mataré." She muttered in a low growl, having no issues whatsoever in skewering her right where she stood.
However, before this could go any further someone intervened by placing their hand on her spear's shaft and lowering it away from Helsa's face, who that someone was caught even the two noblewomen by surprise.
"Will?" Vagatha questioned as he had come forward to stand beside her and in front of them.
"How about that? The unstoppable force of nature who rips through demons like they're made of paper is the only one here who has any manners." Helsa commented with a smirk.
Hearing that the Slayer slowly turned his head to look in their direction, and while neither his new helmet nor the state of his new armor intimidated them, what he did next made them feel the cold sensation of death.
"You said you wanted to talk..." He SPOKE before taking a few steps closer so they were but inches apart, "So...let's talk..." He told them.
To say the others were happy when they say both Stella and Helsa become scared the moment they heard his voice, would be the same as describing a tsunami as a harmless splash of water. Most of them had either smiles or greatly pleased grins come to their faces, whereas a few such as Nifty or Velvet let out a giggle or two to show their amusement. But being the nobles they were which meant having been raised and taught to maintain one's appearance, they both cast away that brief moment of fear and refocused on the matter at hand.
"Wow, so you can talk now?" Helsa asked only to immediately hold her hands up defensively, "And I don't mean that in a rude way, I just assumed you were permanently mute or lost the ability
to speak at some point." She explained.
Responding with only silence this time instead of more words, this sent another chill down their spines since now they knew he could talk this meant he didn't care or want to respond to that.
"Right, we came here to talk and that's what you want from us." She said correcting her blunder, "So, I know you've got this whole situation worked out with these...people and everything." She started off while trying to be polite to the others, "But a lot has changed since you've been gone both good and bad, all stemming from when you first showed and started rocking the boat." She informed.
"Are you blaming me for your problems?..." He questioned.
"Of course not, the truth is...may I call you Will?" She asked just to be sure it was okay, to which he nodded to show his approval, "Thank you, anyways as I was saying Will you coming here and doing everything that you did was a good thing, even by Hell's standards we had a lot of messed up people doing really depraved things, they needed a reminder that even with all the power they've obtained in the afterlife there's ALWAYS something bigger, meaner, and stronger than they could ever hope to be." She assured while crossing her arms, "Unfortunately some people, mostly the Magnes, have taken the good work you've done and taken it to a very concerning extreme, as such I'd like to have a proper meeting with you to highlight the issues with their reform and how we could improve it." She revealed.
"WHAT?!" Charlie shouted at the top of her lungs before stomping over and getting in Helsa's face, "Are you, SERIOUS Helsa?! The reason you're here is that you want to try and use Will against me and my family?!" She asked.
"Ah Charlie, like usual you let your emotions fill that empty head of yours rather than something intelligent." Helsa responded, which only added more fuel to the rapidly growing fire of rage burning inside of Charlie, "I'd have to be out of my mind AND mentally stunted to EVERY try and use or manipulate Will for my personal benefit or gain, though I guess you'd know a lot about that huh?" She asked.
Overcome by anger Charlie reacted physically rather than verbally as she reached out, grabbed onto Helsa's clothes, and pulled her so close their faces were practically touching.
"Don't you DARE say that kind of shit!" She told her as menacingly as possible, her eyes becoming blood red and her horns coming out from her head, "I would NEVER use Will! Unlike you, I actually care about him because he's my friend!" She exclaimed.
"Riiiiight, because FRIENDS are people you use to intimidate...oh say a fairly well-known newscaster because you're afraid of her?" She suggested referring to Charlie's initial interview at channel 666's studio, "Or better yet you have them carry out hits for you on live television so you can scare the ever-loving shit out every soul in Hell so they'll HAVE to come to your hotel and seek redemption otherwise they'll die, I dunno about you but that DEFINITELY sounds like friendship to me." She said.
That was it, the last little push Charlie needed to just say fuck it and not hold back, which she planned to do as she reared back one of her hands to slap Helsa so hard her makeup would fly off and onto the nearby wall. But plans like that very rarely ever go off as intended, which proved true here as she was stopped by the Slayer grabbing onto her.
"Will?" She questioned as she looked at him, her eyes returning to normal but her horns remained.
"Don't...it's not worth it..." He told her before releasing her arm then looking to Helsa, "I'll hear you out...but only if you stop antagonizing her..." He said.
"Wait what? Will, you can't be serious!" Charlie exclaimed with a look of fear and worry.
"Hmm...that's going to be tough...but seeing as how it'd be pointless to come ALL the way here and not have you come back with us...I suppose I can stop picking on her." She agreed.
"Alright, then let's go..." He told her as he walked towards the elevator.
"WAIT A FUCKING SECOND HERE!" Angel Dust shouted getting their attention, "WHAT THE FUCK WILL?! You JUST got back! AND we're in the middle of planning your welcome home celebration! Are you seriously gonna walk out of here with those two cunts and leave us? Your friends?" He asked.
"If I don't then they'll just keep showing up until I give them what they want..." The Slayer answered while looking over his shoulder back at them, "It's better if I just get it out of the way and give them my answer so they leave us alone..." He explained.
"Respectful AND smart, he must feel so lonely being around all of you." Stella commented finally bothering to speak up.
"Now now Stella, I promised to not antagonize sweet innocent Charlotte, so you have to do your best from telling the truth." Helsa told her before focusing back on the Slayer, "We have a car waiting for us downstairs, I assume you want to take the elevator with us correct?" She asked.
Responding with a simple nod Helsa then press the elevator button, which just opened the doors as it hadn't been called to another floor in the building during their conversation. After that, she, Stella, and the Slayer all stepped inside and waited for the doors to close, with Helsa going so far as to wave goodbye to everyone before they disappeared from sight. Feeling shocked and even hurt by why just happened, everyone didn't know how to properly react or convey the confusing maelstrom of emotions that swirled inside of them.
"...Um..." Sir Pentious sounded which got their attention, "I know what you all may be thinking, but I swear on my LIFE I had nothing to do with this." He told them.
Meanwhile, On Urdak...
A comforting cold touched the warm skin of the demon known as the Wretch, seeping down into his bones and organs to help further soothe his anguished soul. He wasn't sure how long it'd been since he touched the soul sphere and how much time he spent screaming, but from the sounds, smells, and sights that filled his senses, he could tell he was in the infirmary. How he got here, where precisely he was, and how they had treated him were all questions he wanted answers to, but before he could get them he'd need to get up from the chamber he rested in. Gently pushing against the transparent glass-like door that allowed entry, he carefully climbed out just to be certain there were no remaining effects from the experience.
Moving his feet to the floor he was able to stand up without issue, then as he moved both his arms and his legs he found there was no stiffness or pain. Finally, he moved other parts of himself such as his neck and his waist to be certain there were no other possible problems, which to his elation there were none.
"Ah, it feels good to be back to normal." He breathed with a sigh of relief, "Still, I don't recall how
I even got here, I presume the Khan and Samur had something to do with it." He said.
Looking around himself he discovered he was in a fairly isolated part of the infirmary, very similar to where he knew Azrael was being kept so the other patients wouldn't be concerned that the literal angel of death was nearby. But as he continued to take in his surroundings he soon detected what sounded like several people talking to each other coming from somewhere nearby, and when he looked in the direction it seemed to be coming from he saw a door that led out of the room.
"Hm, that must be them." He reasoned as he started walking towards it, "But it sounds as if there are more than two voices, has the creator come as well?" He wondered.
Yet as he got closer it sounded like there were even more voices than just three, but that didn't make any sense unless the creator's son Gabriel had joined them, but why would he? The answer to that question proved to be more shocking than he could have ever expected. For when the door opened allowing him to see into the room, he not only saw the three figures he knew were present but also six others. That by itself wouldn't have been surprising if it were angels or drones who made up these six people, but they weren't either but instead appeared to be...other Khans?!
"Oh, look who's come to join us." Vega noticed as he stepped in, the attention of the others being directed towards him, "How're you feeling Wretch? No longer in any pain correct? And has your arm grown back without any issue?" He inquired.
"...The Khans..." He spoke as the door closed behind him, "They're...they're all here...in flesh and blood..." He muttered.
"Hm? Oh right, of course, you've only ever seen them when they appeared in their ethereal forms or otherwise." Vega realized before gesturing to them, "These are the six Khans who preceded the current, each able to live for thousands of years before eventually having to enter the Singularity alongside my soul." He introduced.
"It is wonderful to finally meet you." All six of them said together with a bow of their heads, both from their voices and how similar their features were to the current Khans it was clear they were all female.
"I...I don't...what happened while I was unconscious?..." The Wretch questioned utterly confused.
"Actually this happened at the same time, perhaps even a fair amount of time before." Samur spoke up taking over for Vega, "Apparently the Khans decided that the best course of action after recent events were to undergo reincarnation, for seeing as how the Dark One cannot revive or resurrect any of the demons in Doom while he is both absent and without his power, they could do more to help if given new bodies rather than being confined to the Soul Cube or remaining in entirely ethereal states." He explained.
"So the meeting you said you were having...it was actually this?" The Wretch asked.
"Correct, we didn't tell you exactly what we were planning as we worried you'd have some objections." One of them answered.
"Some is an underestimation..." He said while crossing his arms, "Do you realize the potential dangers? Or how this affects our strategy of containing the Dark One's soul? What if his and Valentino's plan is to find another space for them to expand and increase their forces like before and then somehow resurrect the demons?" He interrogated.
"If that should happen we can easily leave our bodies, we are experts when it comes to controlling
one's soul and the energy it possesses after all." Another replied.
"So your plan of response to the Dark One potentially assaulting us with another legion even bigger than what he already has, is to abandon bodies meant to house the souls of great angels which if given the opportune chance he could take possession of and use against us? Or before you are able to reach the soul cube either he or his arcanists keep that from happening by focusing their attention on you to potentially capture you as they did the creator's son then use you for their own purposes?" He questioned.
Over the next several seconds each of the six Khans opened their mouths in sequential order to try and argue with him, but each remained silent as they hadn't considered those possibilities. But before they could even try and think of something else to say their minds refocused on the Wretch, who after that brief exchange was already leaving.
"Where are you going?" One of them asked though it didn't stop him.
"I must return to work, now that the Soul Cube is no longer an option less you abandon your bodies, which I'm highly doubtful you'll do since you went to such secrecy to have them made, in addition finding a way to safely use the Dark One's power I also must get to work on a new weapon we can use." He answered.
"Wait." Vega requested which managed to halt his exit this time, "Wretch, we need to talk about what happened." He said.
"Regarding my reaction when I came into contact with the soul sphere?" The demon questioned receiving a nod from the creator, "I apologize that I caused a state of alarm, but I assure you it will never happen again." He promised.
"I know it won't because the Khans will be assisting you." Vega told him. "...What?" He responded unsure if he heard him right or if he just had a stroke.
"Even though the Dark One's power is immense, with their divine energies combines and all together in one place it'll be a much safer environment to work within, and should the sphere need to be moved or handled in any way they can do it so we won't need to bring Will back to do it instead." Vega explained.
Turning around so he could look him in the Wretch brought his hands to his face while letting out a deep sigh.
"Creator, I cannot begin to count the number of ways that arrangement could end in horrible fiery disaster." He said being as direct and blunt as possible.
"Could? So...there IS the possible chance that if we help you everything does explode?" One of the Khans inquired.
Moving gaze back and forth between Vega and the Khans, whose expressions ranged from hopeful to appearing neutral but were actually concerned about what he was going to say, he could tell no matter what he said or did at this moment that he was essentially sailing a sinking ship.
"...Fine..." He resigned much to the joy of the Khans, "But if this is a nonnegotiable matter I want to make a request." He said.
"Very well, what is it?" Vega asked.
"If something should happen to me again, whether that be the soul sphere influencing my behavior or trying to manipulate in some way, I ask that instead of wasting time trying to free me you kill me as that will be much faster." He answered.
"Out of the question." One of the khans said before coming over to him, "Samur severing your arm is one thing, but we will not be killing you at any point we are working together." She told him.
"Even though it would be the most efficient method of ensuring no breach in security occurs?" He questioned.
"I know you care not for your well-being or for any pain you might experience, but we if you can believe it do." She replied.
Letting out another sigh the Wretch turned around to continue his departure, deciding it be best to hold his tongue as otherwise, they'd be there for who knows how long debating this. In response the six Khans all followed after him, leaving Vega, Samur, and the current Khan to themselves.
"Do you think they'll be able to work together father?" She asked being the first to speak, "I'm concerned that tension may appear, and if that happens things may become unpleasant." She said.
"Are you suggesting that either the Wretch or your predecessors may reach a point where they say or do something regretful?" He questioned.
"Not necessarily, I more so mean that they could come to argue on many decisions will which impact their work and how much progress they make." She clarified.
"Do not worry I shall be present, and if any disputes appear I can act as the mediator." Samur told her.
"Even so I don't think that will ever be needed." Vega said while putting his hands behind his back, "If anything this could be exactly what the Wretch needs, by spending time around the Khans who've shown great concern to him I feel both his perception and opinion of himself shall improve." He explained.
"I hope you're right, the last thing we need now is infighting, we aren't like the demons after all." The Khan said referring specifically to the ones from Doom, earning nods from both of them in agreement.