How long had he been here? A few hours, possibly three if his count was correct. And during that time, not a single sound had occurred. No words were spoken, not even whimpers or whines; Vega and Helsa remained quiet as she silently wept.
He thought to say many things, some combination of words that, at best, would reaffirm that he was there for her. Sure, this was the first time either of them had met, but that didn't matter to him. She was suffering so much, and he wanted to do all that he could to help her through this. But sadly, as he expected, all she could do for right now was cry, until eventually she tired herself out and fell asleep.
Now they just sat there in peace; Helsa curled up in his arms as he did his best to think of what his next course of action should be.
"The others are undoubtedly worried." In a calm voice, he said, not wanting to disturb her, "I do need to return as soon as I can. But I don't want to abandon her either." He continued, struggling to find a solution to this problem.
Then, for the first time since they arrived, a gust of wind blew past them, which preceded the appearance of his child.
"Ah, Abaddon. There you are." He greeted them as they took shape in front of him, "Is there something you need?" He asked.
Raising their arm, Abaddon pointed to Helsa before their body flashed a series of various lights.
"I don't know. Getting Helsa to accept me so quickly is nothing short of a miracle. I worry that a change in caretaker, even though I've mentioned her to you, might be too much right now." He responded, wanting to avoid overwhelming the poor girl any more than she already was.
Like before, Abaddon flashed a series of lights across their ethereal body. Only this time, it was a pattern of dark blues and purples rather than a colorful array.
"Hm, true. You'd have a much easier time connecting with Helsa emotionally than I would. And you are a compassionate person." He agreed before letting out a sigh, "Alright. We'll give it a try. But if this doesn't go well, then we'll have to think of something else." He told them.
Gently placing his hand on Helsa's shoulder, Vega lightly shook it to wake her up. Slowly stirring from her rest, her eyes twitched a few times before they opened. Moving her hands to her face so she could rub her eyes, once Helsa was sure her vision was clear, she looked up at Vega. A look of confusion and question present in her gaze.
"I'm sorry to wake you." He apologized before pointing to Abaddon, "But there's someone I'd like you to meet." He informed.
Following where his hand was directing her, Helsa instinctively tightened her grip as she was frightened by this strange new entity.
"It's okay." He whispered to her, "This is Abaddon. I told you before how this is their circle of Hell." He introduced, prompting his child to wave to her, "The reason why you're meeting now of all times is...well...I'm needed elsewhere. But that isn't to say I'm abandoning you or pushing you onto someone else. However, I cannot ignore my responsibilities unless you want me to. So if you
do not feel comfortable being here without me, then Abaddon and I will figure something out. The choice is entirely up to you." He explained.
Although still uneasy after everything that's happened, which she was completely justified to feel. Helsa still understood what he was telling her and that her suffering was but a small part of a more significant problem. Even so, despite having just met Vega, she felt safe with him; all of the pain and fear she had inside of her was subdued while she was in his presence. However, when she looked at Abaddon, she felt something similar; it felt like...they understood somehow as if they had endured suffering equal or greater to her own in some way.
Because of this, although she was nervous, she looked back at Vega and nodded her head. Showing that she was comfortable with that arrangement.
"Thank you." He said, both proud and appreciative that she was comfortable with him leaving for now, "I promise. Once I get everything settled, I'll come back." He swore, which managed to make her smile a tiny bit.
Rising from the ground and allowing Abaddon to take his place before leaving. Vega then opened a portal to the Sentinel homeworld and passed through it.
The Sentinel Homeworld, A Few Minutes Prior...
No one in the dining hall talked except for the Slayer for three hours. There were Sentinels present apart from him and his group, of course. But every Sentinel knew to keep their heads down, and their hearing limited to avoid eavesdropping on their revered leader. Sadly, his close friends and allies couldn't afford that luxury; if they wanted answers, they had to sit there and listen to every detail he could share.
Things started innocent enough with his explanation of how and why Verosika was among them, as well as why she was the only one allowed to call him William and act as if they were a couple. Then things became excited, at least for Blitzo, as he recounted his clash with the Marauders and the battle with the then transformed Valentino. But that's when they arrived at the last bundle of information he had to give, his deduction of Helsa's part in this whole terrible ordeal and what Valentino most likely did her.
To begin, he believed Helsa was patient zero, the first person infected with a parasite, which is how Valentino infiltrated the banquet so discretely. He couldn't say for sure HOW Valentino infected her, only that it had to be easy for him due to the power he received from the Dark One, which by now had been entirely revoked. The Slayer also strongly assumed that when the moth
demon attacked Octavia and Stella, Helsa played a part in setting it up, but only as a puppet and not a willing participant. That brought everything to the present when the Marauders attacked the Maykr facilities.
Given the severity of Valentino's transformation, it had to have happened over a long period, starting soon after the Cyberdemon saved him from Gabriel. This meant that one of the Marauders was controlling Helsa from that point onward, which of them specifically he couldn't say. They made her play innocent, emotionally vulnerable, and overall unassuming, earning everyone's trust, including that of the Khans; it set the stage for what came next. Whoever was the puppeteer pulling at her strings detonated the parasite, opening a temporary rift that the demons could pass through.
As for what happened to Helsa's soul afterward, it was secured via a protocol put in place as part of
the security, then collected by Vega once the situation was resolved.
"And that's it..." The Slayer concluded, finally finished speaking, "Before you ask or say anything...I'm fully transparent with you...the only person who can tell you more is Vega...whenever he gets back..." He said.
However, that warning turned out to be pointless. Even those who were usually so relaxed, such as Blitzo or Cherri, felt a mix of sickening emotions from what they learned. But as the Slayer studied each of their faces, he could tell it was Octavia, Stella, Verosika, Gabriel, and Charlie who were upset the most, the latter of whom didn't surprise him. Although she and Helsa have been rivals for who knows how long, Charlie was still a kind and caring person, and no matter how much she may have hated Helsa, she'd NEVER want this to happen.
"...Will," Stella spoke, surprising him by being the first, "I understand if the answer is no. But...do you think it'd be possible for Verosika and I to see her?" She asked.
"I'm sorry...but that's not going to happen..." He answered, much to her dismay, "As I said, we have to wait for Vega to know more...but even then...we all know whatever Valentino put her through was worse than anything we could imagine ourselves..." He told her.
"I...I know that...it...still isn't easy..." She replied.
"When IS Vega getting his ass back here, by the way?" Angel Dust questioned as he folded his arms, "I know he's tending to Helsa after what that sick fuck did to her. I'm not trying to make light of that. I know better than anyone the kind of messed-up shit Val puts people through. But this is a really crappy time to leave us hanging in the dark." He said.
"Time moves the same here as it does in Hell...so he should be getting free soon...we'll give him a few more minutes, then we'll have Gabriel or Azrael try to contact him..." The Slayer decided.
No further discussion was needed for everyone to agree to that; they sat there in silence, working through their thoughts and feelings as best they could. And yet, when Vega's portal did appear as they hoped, everyone had a mix of relief and dread fill their souls as they wanted to know more but were scared of what he had to say.
"I see you've all been talking." He greeted them as he emerged, "I believe I know what the topic of your conversation was." He added, the portal disappearing a few seconds later.
"They want more than what I can give them, Vega..." The Slayer informed, "The only question I have to ask...is whether or not they can handle what there is left to know..." He said.
"Then why don't I clarify the exact scope of my knowledge? It should make it easier for them to decide." Vega suggested.
"Sounds good..." He replied.
"Alright then. For starters, I know everything." Vega began as he put his hands behind his back, "And by everything, I mean every. Last. Detail." He emphasized, "I've looked into her soul, examined every memory from the moment Valentino ambushed her. I know how she felt physically, mentally, and emotionally during and after. I wouldn't be so insensitive to Helsa that I'd describe it in vivid detail. But if you truly wish to have an understanding of what he did, I can give it to you without holding back." He told them, "But, know this. If you choose to hear her story, you still won't get to see her. I will tell you what her current state is and how she seems to be doing, but please understand she is recovering. And no matter what you want to say or what you want to do,
seeing ANY of you right now could cause a plethora of different reactions. All of which would worsen her condition." He warned.
Boy, that sure was ominous. Both what Vega could reveal and what Helsa's condition seemed to be. But there would be no point in them not learning the rest, so everyone slowly nodded their heads one by one to show they agreed and were ready to listen.
"Here we go." He said while exhaling, readying himself for what was about to be shared, "To start with, Valentino and his accomplices used things called Gore Nests to peer into Lucifer's circle.
Now, they couldn't look at specific people or places, their vision and what they could learn was entirely random. Even so, almost everyone in the circle was talking about the reform and the Eldritch family's opposition to it at one point or another. That allowed them to piece together what was going on within your society, and for Valentino, it provided the perfect target. Using the mass arrival of souls in Heaven and Hell when they revealed themselves on earth as cover, Valentino used one of the Gore Nest's portals to enter undetected. He then made his way to Helsa's estate, able to do so without issue because of his increase in power, then waited inside her room to ambush the poor girl. The moment she stepped across the threshold, her fate was sealed." He explained, taking a moment to pause for what remained was horrible, "He grabbed her, threw her against the wall. She tried to run, made it back to the door, but no matter how much Helsa screamed or how hard she tried, it wasn't going to work. When he waited for her, Valentino created a barrier around the room, solidifying it when she arrived. She could've used all of her power at once, thrown caution to the wind, it still wouldn't have done anything. What followed was the single worst night of Helsa's entire life. Valentino beat her, scratched and bit her skin, violated every inch of her body with every part of himself that he could think of. Eventually, she shut down. Time stopped existing, her body numb from the abuse; at some point, she stopped feeling like a person and became what he wanted, his property." He continued, his hands balling into fists from how angry this made him, "Then the time came to finalize his claim to her body and soul.
Valentino summoned one of those parasites, a Mind Fragger, he called it. And he laughed with a twisted smile every second it took for the abomination to rip open her skin, latch onto her spine, brain, and nervous system, before finally tearing down what little resistance she had left. But if you think the cruelty ended there, you're unfortunately wrong. Helsa spent the most time infected, allowing the worm to spread its control to every nerve and muscle in her body. Any time she so much as blinked or breathed without the worm's approval, it caused her excruciating pain. The only thing I can compare it to, to give you some idea of what it felt like, is for you to imagine yourself having your entire body slowly worn away by sandpaper, only to then be thrown into a vat of acid. And when this agony finally came to its end, Helsa was released from her captors. But she is practically nothing right now; her mind retreated into itself to protect her, rendering her mute and timid. I can safely say that if you saw her right now while throwing out all of your knowledge of Helsa Von Eldritch. You'd see a stranger sitting on the ground in front of you, her mental state similar to that of a child's caused by how much damage Valentino inflicted." He concluded.
Letting out a long breath of air Vega nearly fell back due to how much relaying this information drained him. For to do so, he had to bring Helsa's memories, her emotions, everything he saw and felt when he connected with her soul to the surface. And even for God, there are some things so heavy that they take their toll. As for how everyone else was doing, only the Slayer remained his usual stoic self.
But it wasn't because he wasn't upset by what Valentino did to Helsa; his lack of emotional reaction came from him already letting his imagination create a twisted vision of what may have happened. Doing so allowed him to be better prepared for whatever Vega told them, so he could keep his composure and not leave the creator alone as the only level-headed person here. Which they were going to need, for the rest of their group was either struggling to choke back tears, actively crying, or had a noticeable seething rage emanating from their person.
"That...poor girl..." Lilith spoke, one of the many who were actively crying, "We've known her ever since she was little...we've been friends with her parents for so long...I can't believe this happened to her..." She said.
"Guys...take it easy..." The Slayer advised, hoping to keep things relatively peaceful, "I know there's a lot of emotions right now...a lot of things you want to say or do...but letting them control your actions and decisions isn't going to help..." He told them.
"No offense, Will. But isn't that your entire life's story?" Lucifer asked, being one of the many who were pissed off, "You've allowed your rage to empower you. It has helped you in your fight against the demons. So why shouldn't we channel our anger in the same way?" He questioned.
"Because it turned me into an insane ranting savage...if it hadn't been for the Sentinels and the Maykrs intervening when they did...there might've been no coming back for me..." The Slayer explained.
"Yeah, but the difference here is that Valentino's trapped, inside of a dome, on the same planet as us. We can march over there and fuck this piece of shit up." Blitzo countered.
"No. I agree with the Slayer." Gabriel revealed, shocking everyone. "Gabriel?" Stella questioned while wiping some tears from her eyes.
"Don't misunderstand. I want Valentino to suffer more than ANYONE here. Do not forget that he tortured me as well by trapping me inside of a body, cutting off the wings that came with it, then made Sir Pentious, who was also being tortured by the Dark One, turn me into a horror of science. Of everyone here, I am the one with the most to settle with this cretin." He said.
"So...why do you agree with Will then?..." Octavia asked, unable to stop her tears like her mother.
"Because as hard as it may be to hear right now, Valentino is helpful to us. He knows EVERYTHING about the Dark One's operations on earth, the Marauders, the Gore Nests, ALL of it. And currently, the Slayer's ancestor is overseeing his torture. If we interrupt or cause any complications for him, then it might be more challenging to extract information from Valentino." He answered, "With that said, I think neither the Slayer nor my father would object to each of you having a go at him once that is accomplished. Am I correct to assume this?" He asked, looking at both of them.
"By all means...tear him open a new asshole..." The Slayer approved.
"Agreed. We need his intel first, but then you may form a mob and properly stomp him into the ground." Vega answered.
"...Hey...Vega." Angel Dust spoke while looking down at his lap, "I know you said none of us can see Helsa right now because it'd fuck her up more. And I get that. But I'm the only one here with prior experience of being messed up by Val. I think I could do some genuine good for her." He suggested.
"Likewise." Vox said while raising his hand, "Now, I know Velvet, and I played a part in the abuse you suffered, Angel. But that moth bastard wasn't the best to me either. We...were an off and on again sort of situation...mostly whenever you weren't around when he needed to get his rocks off. So, if you'd let me, I'd like to help too." He offered.
"Hey, you may have been a dick in the past, dude. But you were NEVER as bad as that mother fucker. Besides, you and Velvet have done more than enough to make up for that shit. So don't feel bad, okay?" Angel Dust replied, which made him smile.
"I'm proud of both of you." Vega told them, "It warms my heart to see you show such compassion for someone, who not long ago you didn't have the highest opinion of." He admitted.
"Well, we're not suddenly best friends or anything. But NO ONE deserves to be stuck alone in a room with Val. And that comes from experience." Angel Dust replied.
"I don't doubt it. But still, while your intentions are in the right place, Helsa isn't ready for that. Put yourself in her shoes, and I don't mean her trauma. Her entire life has been based on reputation, power, and feeling superior to those in her life. But now, she is nothing. At least, that's her current opinion of herself. Helsa feels separate from reality and that it'd be best if she never returned. So even with your reasons for going to see her being pure. She'll perceive it as you coming to kick her while she's down. To patronize her, or she'll be so horrified by anyone she knows, no matter how insignificant of a relation, seeing her in that condition that it'll cause her to shut down again. And as her caretaker, I cannot permit anything that has even the slightest chance of causing any of those outcomes. I'm sorry." He explained, ending with an apology.
"Eh, it was worth a shot." Angel Dust accepted with a shrug, "So, what do we do now then?" He asked.
"I thought about that..." The Slayer revealed, "In light of everything that's happened today...everything you've learned...and everything that you're feeling...I think it would be best if we called it here for now...gather ourselves...then reconvene in the morning..." He suggested.
"But Will, what about our training?" Cherri asked.
"You still have a ways to go...but from how everyone handled themselves, I can safely say that you're farther along than I assumed...you should feel proud with the progress you've all made...I sincerely mean that..." He praised, which honestly did a lot to making everyone feel better, "However...you can't fight with your current equipment...if I hadn't shown up with the BFG, that fight could've last much longer...so as all of you get some rest for tomorrow; I'll put the Sentinels to work tonight..." He decided.
"Wait, we're going to get gear made by THESE guys?! For real?!" Millie asked.
"Yes...each of you earned it...including Blitzo even though he wasn't there...I'd be a bastard if I excluded him..." He answered, causing the lanky Imp to pump his fist out of excitement.
"What about us?" Sir Pentious inquired, "We're not going to be on the frontlines. So what does that mean for our training?" He pointed out.
"Don't worry. I will be speaking to the forge master personally." The Wretch replied, "After what you two did to help Samur. I'm sure she'll have some thoughts about the next stages of your training." He said.
"Oh, thank goodness. No more repair work..." Sir Pentious sighed in relief. "And ours?" Alastor asked, for their training was different as well.
"Yours and Charlie's training are radically different from those in the arena and the forge. So more than likely, we'll be keeping things as they were before today. I hope that's alright." Vega answered.
"No objections here." He responded. "None from me either." Velvet said. "That makes three." Stolas chimed in.
"I guess that means we'll be heading home." Lucifer said with a sigh as he crossed his arms, "I hate that we can't help all of you more somehow." He confessed.
"On the contrary, son. You and Lilith are keeping your circle from turning into a circus. If both of you were to vanish suddenly, all Hell would break loose. No pun intended." Vega replied.
"What about me?" Verosika asked while raising her hand, "Can I please stay here with William? Without Helsa, I'd be alone in her estate. And after everything that he and you have told us, I don't feel like being by myself." she said.
"I...suppose that is up to him," Vega responded.
"You can stay..." He agreed, which sent her to the moon and back, "Hope you don't mind bunking with Stella and Octavia..." He told her.
"Not at all! Thank you!" She joyously exclaimed before hugging him.
"I guess we're done then, aren't we?" Husk asked, "Unless anyone else has got more depressing shit to share." He added.
"That we are. Have a good night's rest, everyone." Vega answered to close out their gathering.