A/N: In response to GodzillaMaster's(Badass name by the way) Review: I admittedly had no clue about Niffty's age. I read a fan comic regarding the character on Deviant Art, and with the writers art style, it was clear to me that she wasn't a child, though it was also a little unclear to me whether she was a teen or a young adult. In the story titled The Library, or The Discovery of Heaven on Ao3 by the magnificent Descendree (Highly recommend by the way), Niffty was depicted as dying at a rather young age, and admittedly, felt very childlike to me. My depiction of Niffty is based more on Descendree's depiction since Niffty's only canon appearance is in the pilot, and I don't keep up regularly with Vivziepop's info, admittedly. So, I do apologize if that was a jarring change, but I just felt that despite her tendecies that we know of, Niffty fit better as a child rather than an adult woman. Being brutaly honest, not everything you read here will be accurate with what may or may not have been confirmed, because A) my memory isn't the best, B) I have no internet at the moment, so I post these chapters the day after I finish them when I go to work, and C) The way I may change or fit these characters into the story are mostly based on the feeling I get from the characters, taking into account what I do or don't know at the time of writing this.
As for Helsa and Charlie being friends, I have absolutely no recollection of the Von Eldritch family even being mentioned in the pilot, and the only members who appear are Helsa and Seviathan… except Seviathan only appeared in a picture frame off to the side and Helsa appeared for a literal second in a segment where Charlie slapped her ass during "Inside of Every Demon is a Rainbow". I admit that many of the stories I've read have them at each others throats as well, but considering we (or more accurately, possibly, me) know little to nothing about the character with the exception of her pilot design and that she's Seviathan's sister.
To be honest, the only reason I went the typical route of Seviathan being a grade-A ass is because the picture frame he's in with Charlie, his smile comes off as more for show and genuinely arrogant than actually caring towards Charlie. Charlie does look genuinely happy in the picture, sure, but I speak from experience when I say that some abuse victims can recall genuinely happy moments with their abusers.
But back to Helsa, I chose to have them friends rather than enemies, because I feel like she's portrayed that way in fanfics far too often considering we know little to nothing of the character's actual personality, and I feel like Charlie would have to grow up having at least some decent friends in Hell who care for her.
Maybe I'm just an idiot who doesn't do enough research. After all, I placed Lu Lu World and Loo Loo Land both in the Wrath Ring. But I love this fandom, this concept, and the characters so much that I felt the drive to start writing this story based upon the pilot and some other fanfics I've read.
Nonetheless, I felt I should at least address why some of my decisions with this story directly contradict what has been confirmed by both the show and Viv herself. When I saw your review, I literally had to stop for a second to process what I was reading, before going to look up Niffty's age to find that you were indeed correct. However, the chapter is already posted, and personality, regardless of Niffty's age, I just feel that dynamic fits the characters in the story better than assuming she's some brainless follower to Alastor.
So, just a warning in for future chapters, I'm writing this using pretty much what I've seen on the shows that I can remember and only what I can recall off the top of my head, and since my memory isn't the best, that's not exactly much.
Anyway, I still appreciate the review, and I'm glad you enjoy the story so far, GodzillaMaster.
As the sun rose over Pentagram City, or what counted as the sun anyway, not many people were awake within a rather haphazardly thrown together building within the city.
It wasn't usually until nine o'clock when people started awaking from their slumber, and the usual activity that had become the norm of the Happy Hotel began to make itself noticed.
However, John Gallagher wasn't most people.
Ever since he was young, his internal clock would always wake him at seven in the morning, without fail. Sure, he was usually up at five for school in his living life, but that seven seemed to be the lucky number.
However, just because he had to awake at that time, didn't always translate to him getting out of bed.
Most of the time, he had a multitude of reasons. The comfy bed, the soft pillows, or the oh so comfortable feel of the covers. Many of them caused him to remain in bed for anywhere up to an entire thirty minutes, simply because he enjoyed the feeling.
However, as his eyes cracked open from his slumber, it wasn't the bed that kept him in place.
It was the beautiful succubus currently wrapped up in his arms, nude, from a night of passion.
John smiled at the feeling of Verosika in his arms. Finally after a long time, he felt complete. For two years, the mere mention of Verosika was a sore spot that could set him off like a loaded gun. And now, here they were, wrapped up in each other's arms as they lay in bed.
His eyes glanced towards the clock, and he let out a silent chuckle at the time.
7:00.
Without fail, every morning.
As much as he'd love to sit here with her, he had an obligation to make breakfast for the Hotel.
Well, okay, no he didn't. It was just a habit he'd unintentionally set, and it was one that he planned on keeping, if only because he wanted the place to feel as much like home as possible, both for himself and the rest of the Hotel's occupants.
Slowly, he tried to untangle himself from Verosika's limp form, so as to not wake her, but to both his joy and chagrin, he found her stirring the very moment he moved.
"You're not gonna leave me alone already, are you?" Verosika muttered, tiredly, as she turned her gaze to look at John, a smile on her face.
John returned the smile with one of his own as he leaned down to give her a kiss. "I'm on breakfast duty." He told her quietly.
"Have Alastor do it." She mumbled in response, pushing herself further into John's warm frame.
John let out a chuckle as he sat up off the bed, in turn causing Verosika to pout as she looked at him. "I want to do it." He retorted with a raised eyebrow. "Besides, me and you are gonna go to Imp City today anyway." He reminded with a small smile as he leaned down next to her. "You wanted me to listen to your new song, after all."
Verosika let out a smile as John kissed her, before sitting and letting out a groan as he stretched. "I know." She said as she too sat up off the bed, swinging her legs off the side as she stood up.
John couldn't help himself, taking the chance to ogle Verosika's bare backside. Regardless of how often he got to see it, the site was always one he would take pleasure in seeing.
Tearing his gaze away from Verosika, John threw his legs off the side of the bed before standing up off of it, stretching his muscles with a groan as he made his way towards the dresser.
"You said your recording studio is right across the hall from ol' fuckface's office, right?" John asked as he threw on his underwear, followed by his pants.
Verosika nodded, frowning at the reminder. "Unfortunately." She nodded, mumbling incoherently under her breath following the confirmation. John could vaguely pick out the words 'Blitzo' and 'Shit'.
"Should I expect to run into him?" John asked as he opened up a drawer, pulling out a pair of boxers and some blue jeans.
"Probably." Verosika admitted as she pulled her panties up her legs, before moving to grab her bra. "The damn place is open every day of the week, and they get a decent amount of customers, which considering this is Hell, is admittedly understandable."
"What do they do?" John asked as he pulled his pants and boxers up in one go, buttoning his pants.
"They're basically assassins." Verosika answered. "They take jobs, and they go up and kill people in the living world." She answered, before her eyes widened as she realized just who she was talking to.
John's eyes widened at the info, and since he wasn't looking in Verosika's direction, he missed it when her head snapped towards him, worry in her eyes. "They kill living people?" John asked, slowly turning towards Verosika.
"Most of them have been pieces of shit from what I hear." Verosika admitted in an attempt to soothe the uneased giant. "Hell, from what I hear from Vortex, one of their recent jobs turned out to be a psychotic satanist."
John raised an eyebrow. "How the hell would Tex know?" He asked in confusion.
"He hangs out with Blitzo's adopted daughter. A hellhound named Loona." Verosika explained.
John nodded. "Ah." He turned back towards his shirt, grabbing it as he moved to put it on. "Well, if Tex hangs out with her, I assume she can't be all bad." John said with a shrug. "I'm not sure how I feel about them killing people who are still alive, though. But I can't really deprive anyone of making a living in Hell, I guess." He admitted begrudingly.
"You'll still kick his ass if he says anything to you about me, won't you?" It was a statement rather than a question, and it was one John answered without a second thought.
"Damn straight." He answered as he snagged a pair of socks, before picking up his boots and moving towards the bed.
Verosika smiled at his words as she pulled her pants up her legs. John wasn't often one to immediately attack when somebody said something rude about her, or to her, or both, especially since she could usually shrug it off or fire back just as quickly and fiercly.
But she also wasn't stupid enough to believe those same thoughts echoed towards Blitzo. Even if things seemed okay between them once again, she knew that her betrayal two years ago would still be within him somewhere, and though she had no doubts that he truly forgave her, Blitzo was a completely different story.
She knew that as much as she hated the imp, when John inevitably met him, she'd probably end up having to step in, lest he do something he'd likely regret.
Good thing Vortex will be there. Due to his own caring nature towards his friends, as well as his hellhound healing factor, Vortex was unafraid to take punishment from anyone if it meant stopping them from doing something they would regret. It was Vortex that stopped John from leaving the day he fell, in spite of the fact that it was his own father John had injured, and because he wasn't afraid to get hurt to help someone.
Vortex took after Andre in a lot of ways.
"What time did you want to be there to record your song, anyway?" John asked as he finished slipping his cowboy boots own, before dropping his pants down over them. "Do you need to be there by a certain time?"
Verosika shook her head as she finally pulled her shirt on. "Not really." She admitted as she turned to look at John, before jumping onto the bed next to him, landing on her knees as she leaned on his shoulder, careful to avoid his shoulder spikes as she smiled at him. "But I was hoping to get here fast. My friends will be there, including Tex, and I really want you to hear the song."
John smiled at Verosika's words. "Well, maybe we can leave Alastor on breakfast duty for the day, and I don't have to work a week straight till Monday." He proposed with a knowing smile.
Verosika practically beamed at his words. "I love you."
"I love you too." John responded as he closed what little distance there was between his faces in order to kiss her, before Verosika let go of his shoulder as he stood up. "Al's the only one who gets up earlier than I do, and if I know him, he's reading a book in the lobby until I get up to make some breakfast."
Verosika's eyes widened. "How early does he get up?" She asked in disbelief. Though she was still with John when he befriended Alastor, it wasn't like Alastor would stay the night at Grundy's Plaza. His home, and radio station, was in here in Pentagram City, and since he could teleport, he never really had a reason to stay the night.
"Since I've been here, I've learned that he gets up at around five almost every day. The only time I can remember that I was up before him was, was the first morning I woke up here." John revealed to the succubus. "And if I'm being honest, I think's it's because he wanted me to make breakfast."
Verosika giggled at that last statement. "You do make a good breakfast." She agreed with the Radio Demon on that front.
Verosika climbed off the bed and to her feet, before moving over to grab the shoes she'd worn when she'd come to meet John the day before. Admittedly, she might have made sure to give John a good view of her rear as she bent down to pick them up.
Okay, she did. Sue her.
True to John's guess, Alastor was reading a book on the lounge in the main lobby when he came down the steps with Verosika following him.
"Hey, Al." He greeted as the two made it down the steps, causing the Radio Demon to raise a finger out of habit. John was at first offended when Alastor had done this to him the first time, but Al was the kind of person who would finish out a paragraph he was on before he'd mark the page and set the book down. As John had grown used to it at this point, he gave a slight eyeroll, but the smile was still on his face as he waited for Alastor to finish reading what he was on.
With a sound of content and an ever so slight nod, Alastor marked the page he was on before closing the book and setting it down as he turned to look at the behemoth. "Apologies, John, you know I prefer to finish up my paragraph."
In contrast to John's own accustomed habit with Alastor, the Radio Demon found himself apolgoizing for the very same habit John no longer minded upon learning that it had irritated him at first.
John shook his head and waved off the apology. "No problem, Al." He assured with a smile as he looked at the Radio Demon. "I'm just letting you know that you're on breakfast duty. I don't need to start working like I promised till Monday, and Verosika really wants me to listen to her record her new song."
Alastor admittedly looked a little disappointed that John wouldn't be making breakfast, but he smiled nonetheless as he stood to his feet. "Not a problem, John." He assured as he picked up his book off the couch. "I'm going to put this back in my room and then I shall get started. I wish the two of you well on your trip."
"Thanks, Al." John said with a smile as Alastor made his way towards the steps, before turning towards Verosika. "So, shall we?" He asked, gesturing towards the stain glassed doors that were the Happy Hotel's entrance.
Verosika smiled, excitement filling her as she nodded. "Let's go."
Vortex found himself bored out of his mind, swiping away at his phone, looking through Sinstagram to pass the time as he waited for his boss, and cousin, arrive.
The others were already inside, and Vortex was fine with being left outside, admittedly. He didn't have a problem with any of them, he saw them as good friends, but he wasn't really a fan of the recording booth, especially since he knew what had gone on in there some times.
Vortex was solid in his stance on Verosika and John's relationship. He'd do anything for the both of them, after all, they were his family, but there relationship was not his business, and he refused to get involved.
He wished John would at least talk to Verosika, he truly did. He hated seeing her so broken, a shell of the girl he knew. She truly regreted what she did, and he knew she'd do anything she'd have to, jump through any hoops he made her, if it meant he'd at the very least be her best friend again.
But he also knew that John could hold a fierce grudge, and he truly didn't blame on that front either. Verosika had betrayed his trust, threw his own feelings aside to sleep with another man, and she'd shrugged off his anger as if it were a simple overreaction.
He understood both sides, but he also knew that it wasn't his business to get involved, and he wouldn't betray John's trust by trying to help Verosika get him.
When Verosika had begged him to tell her how he was, Vortex was not afraid to admit that he felt like a piece of shit when he'd told her no. He had never, ever seen Verosika so desperate, so utterly heartbroken.
But he stood by his beliefs, and admittedly he brought on some of his old anger towards Verosika to help him say his piece.
"You want to know, Rose, find him."
That's exactly what he'd told her, even as she about tore his shirt to pieces and soaked it with tears, crying and sobbing, on her knees for godsakes, just begging to know how John was doing.
As much as a part of him would've liked to, a part of him was also completely against the idea.
When he'd told Verosika to find John, he'd negated to mention that John was at the Princess's Hotel. Though he didn't doubt that Verosika at least wanted to apologize to John, he wanted her to show the effort.
He wanted her to show that she truly did miss him.
Vortex was a pretty laid back guy. He didn't butt into anyone else's issues if they weren't his business and no one was being a dick. That's basically the main reason why, despite having full knowledge that the imp right across the hall was the one whom Verosika had slept with, he didn't really hold anything against him.
Sure, he'd agreed to it, and Verosika had more than likely at least mentioned that she had a boyfriend, but at the end of the day, Verosika was the one who made the decision to sleep with someone else and cheat on John, knowing full well that she already had a boyfriend.
The only time so far that he'd ever gotten pissed at Blitzo was when the bastard had been about to make a threat towards Verosika. Over a fucking parking spot.
Now, Vortex was relaxed, but not only was he Verosika's bodyguard, but he was her cousin, and he didn't care if the threat would've turned out to be real, or some half baked remark that would hopefully get her to move her convertible, but if you threaten his family in any way, you better believe that all bets were off.
He'd been absolutely pissed, and he admitted he got a little amount of satisfaction scaring the ever loving hell out of the imp.
He knew the difference between threatening someone, and accidentally hurting someone. It's the very reason why he'd never hated John with an absolute passion, even though John had broken every bone in the right side of his father's body the day he fell. It was the reason he'd been the one to calm John down, prevent him leaving out of guilt.
Because at the end of the day, John had a panic attack, and his dad had gotten himself hurt trying to calm him down, trying to contain him.
No one had expected John to be so strong when Madrox had dragged him home, and no one was going to blame the sinner for accidentally hurting someone in a panic attack. Hell, considering he nearly sent himself into another from the sheer guilt of hurting Andre, Vortex could say with utmost certainty that he was glad he'd stopped John from leaving.
John was a good person. It didn't matter what he did to end up in Hell, and it didn't matter how angry he could get or how violent he could be.
Even when those Cannibal Colony bitches got a hold of him for a time, John had absolutely refused to kill anybody for a meal. He'd eat the remains of someone with reluctance, and you better believe that when he found out he was lied to, John was both immeasurably horrified and unbelievably furious.
To this day, Vortex has never seen another soul obliterate three people with a single clap.
The Cannibal Colony trio were lucky they were sinners, Vortex would say that.
But outside of when he first met Blitzo in person, Vortex had never really found any reason to really pick a fight or be a dick to the guy. Sure, he could be a bit of a douche, and he definitely didn't appreciate how he'd done Verosika when he left her, but he had his moments from what he'd seen.
For example, he truly cared for his daughter. He didn't care how reluctant she was to admit it, and he didn't care if it was through adoption, that imp was Loona's father, through and through, and he proved it with how much care and love he'd seen the imp show, as well as from some stories that he'd heard from the girl herself.
Vortex smiled at the thought of Loona. He wasn't an idiot, and he wasn't blind by any means. He knew that Loona had a crush on him, but he still saw her as a friend and hung out with her because she understood boundaries. She didn't try to push it. She understood that he had a girlfriend and didn't go crazy trying to break them up or be with him.
The only flaw he saw in her was her seemingly endless anger towards Blitzo. He'd done nothing but be good to her, even when he probably should've put his foot down on some things, but Loona always seemed to treat Blitzo like a piece of trash, and as much as he liked her, he truly didn't understand it. And he'd told her that.
She acted as if she didn't either, and it admittedly irked him, but regardless, she'd made it clear when he asked that in spite of her rude personality towards the imp, she truly did care for her father.
Loona was a good woman.
Verosika at the very least understood that it was Blitzo who wronged her, and though she and the others did jump the little guy, Moxxie, if he recalled correctly, they didn't actually do much but kiss the dude every where, in spite of how it looked when looking from outside the studio. And in spite of how their foray into the living world ended, which he fully realized that Verosika's carelessness was to blame for, Verosika seemed to hold no ill will towards them.
She knew it was her fault, and she apologized profusely for it. He had a sinking feeling that she felt guilty for how it ended, and Vortex could imagine why, considering what most of the females, and a few of the guys, had to do to get them out.
Vortex didn't usually hold a grudge.
But by god, he still wished he could've slaughtered all the policemen in that station without getting one of the others hurt.
The Hellhound was pulled from his thoughts, having long since put his phone away, when the elevator down the hall dinged, signaling the arrival of someone on their floor. He was half expecting it to be Verosika, since she had a recording session some time today, whenever she returned, drunk or hungover, and the other half was expecting it to be Blitzo.
What he didn't expect was for Verosika to have arrived, having forgone her popstar attire apparently, with a happy smile on her face and a notable skip in her step.
"Hey Tex!" She greeted chipperly, and Vortex had to admit he was somewhat stunned for a moment. She was acting like her old self, rather than the drunk and rather rude girl she'd been for the time he'd worked as he bodyguard.
"You seem happy." He noted as he stood up, pushing himself off the wall he was leaning on as he raised an eyebrow, though he did have a small smile on his face.
Verosika smiled at the hellhound as she approached, before Vortex was taken off-guard when she actually hugged him.
"Thank you." She whispered, hugging him tightly, an appreciative smile on her face.
Vortex smiled, though he was admittedly confused as to what she was thankful for. "Uh… for what?" He asked as he returned the hug, before Verosika let go of him as she looked up at him.
"For telling me to find John." She said, her smile sincere as she looked up at her cousin. "For putting some sense into me."
Vortex raised an eyebrow, and the smile dropped from his face. "Um… okay?" He admittedly was still a little confused, especially since that particular talk had only happened two days ago. "No problem."
Verosika laughed at Vortex's confused expression, before her own turned to one of curiosity, though the smile seemed ever present on her face. "Is everyone else inside?"
"Yeah." Vortex nodded, leaning back into the wall. "I've just been sitting out here, waiting on you." He admitted as he gave a small smile. "Not gonna lie, I was kind of expecting you to be drunk as a skunk or hungover from some late night drinking last night."
Verosika gave a fond smile as he gaze suddenly seemed to shift, looking at nothing in particular. "Well, now I have a reason to quit." She admitted.
Vortex's eyes widened at that. Now he was extremely curious as to what had her so happy. "Okay, what's the game?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, though a small smile was on his face.
"You'll see." Verosika assured with a smile. The sound of the elevator dinging caught both of their attention, and they turned to look at it, and it didn't escape Vortex's notice how excited Verosika seemed when she glanced over towards the elevator.
However, any positive emotion on her face was immediately wiped away by who had actually arrived.
"So, we got two guys who caught one of our clients burying a body today, and some poor schmuck who managed to wrangle another's wife." The tall imp, well, tall for his species anyway, known as Blitzo listed off as he exited the elevator with his employees and hellhound daughter in tow.
"Yeah, yeah." Loona muttered in annoyance. "Let's get this over with so I can go back home and-" The grey hellhound's eyes widened when she spotted Vortex. "Oh."
Vortex smiled at the hellhound, while Blitzo's gaze turned towards his daughter in confusion. "Oh? What do you mean, Oh?"
"Um, sir?" Moxxie spoke as he spotted Verosika and Vortex.
"Not now, Mox, I'm trying to talk to my daughter." Blitzo shrugged off his employee's words as he maintained his gaze on Loona. "Now, Loona, what was-"
"Blitz, your ex is here." Millie interjected, her thick Wrath Ring accent, or as Vortex had heard from John and other sinners here and there, her southern accent, prominent in her voice as she gave a small smile to the hellhound and succubus, personally having no problem with the two.
"Wait, what?!" Blitzo's gaze immediately snapped forward, and his eyes widened when he spotted Vortex and a very pissed off Verosika. "Oh great." He muttered, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "What, you come to complain about the car and the credit cards?"
Verosika's lips pulled back into a snarl, and she looked about ready to charge the imp. "No, I'm here to record a song, something I do for a living."
"Alongside fucking anybody you have an eye for?" Blitzo retorted without a second thought.
Vortex had to admit, the imp had balls and quick wit.
"Only one guy I have an eye for, and it definitely isn't you." Verosika responded, just as sharp tongued as the imp in front of her.
"I still can't get over the fact that he actually dated a pop star." Moxxie whispered to his wife, who gave a quiet giggle. Loona, however, just looked annoyed at Blitzo's antics.
Blitzo snorted. "Please, woman, you weren't saying that in that hotel room, two years ago." He shot back just as quickly, glaring right back at Verosika without an ounce of fear.
"You mean when you-"
"Stole your care and rode three rings to Wrath and maxed out your credit cards on shitty horse riding lessons, yes." Blitzo interrupted with an annoyed groan. "I know where that's going woman, I've heard it a hundred times."
Vortex couldn't help the slight smile on his face. While he didn't appreciate how Blitzo had done her, he couldn't help but be amused at he imp's quick wit.
"When you broke my heart, you selfish piece of shit." Verosika corrected, gritting her teeth as he her hands closed into fists, her fingernails digging into her skin.
If any of them had been paying attention, they might've heard the ding of the elevator.
"Oh, really?" Blitzo asked with a knowing smirk, knowing what he was about to say would strike a nerve. "You mean like your old boy toy when we first fucked?"
Now that pissed Vortex off.
"You ever think you oughta keep your mouth shut on some things?" Vortex growled, any amusement gone his sudden sharp tone catching almost everyone off guard, with the exception of Blitzo himself, who simply didn't care.
"What are you gonna do, big fella?" Blitzo asked with a raised eyebrow. "Why don't you just stay quiet and be a good bodyguard. It's not like I'm making some kind of threat." He shrugged, seeing no reason to actually fear the hellhound this time.
"It's not him you have to worry about." Verosika retorted, glaring at the imp with a small smirk, causing Vortex to look at her in surprise. It wasn't that she couldn't defend herself, he knew she could, but she was also well aware of his temper when someone actually managed to set him off.
"Oh, really?" Biltzo asked sarcastically. "Then just who am I supposed to be worried about, you fucking whore?"
"Me."
That voice. That was a very familiar voice. One Vortex was not expecting to hear at all.
Everyone's gazes snapped towards the direction of the elevator, and Vortex couldn't help the absolute shock that flooded through him.
Standing at the end of the hall, the elevator doors closing behind him, was a very, very pissed off John Gallagher.
"John?" Vortex couldn't help mutter in disblief, and he couldn't help it when his gaze snapped towards Verosika, who had the biggest smile on her face at the site of the behemoth.
Now it made sense. The hug, the thank you, the return of her old self.
Holy shit. She'd actually gone and found him.
Blitzo, meanwhile, was looking at the behemoth in shock. His own five feet to John's nine feet was not a very comforting thought considering how they could all practically feel the anger coming off of him in waves.
And then he shrugged it off.
"Who the hell are you, gruesome?" Blitzo asked with a raised eyebrow.
"The old boy toy." John answered with sarcasm in his tone, looking none to pleased as he approached everyone, his eyes glued to the imp in a glare.
Loona leaned over towards Vortex, her eyes glued to the absolute juggernaut that she was staring at. "Is that the John guy you told me about?" She asked, her eyed wide in complete disbelief.
Vortex couldn't help the smile on his face as he eyed his brother. "Yep." He answered, turning to look at Loona. "That's him."
"Holy crap." Loona couldn't help but respond.
Mille and Moxxie, being the shortest people there, were looking at John with eyes wide in complete shock. Yes, they were imps, but never before had they ever felt so completely small compared to someone.
"Oh crumbs…" Moxxie couldn't help but mutter, feeling that this may go bad somehow.
"Maybe Blitz should've kept his mouth shut for once." Millie mumbled, eyeing the beast in front of her.
"Wait, seriously?" Blitzo actually had the audacity to laugh at John's revelation, somehow amused despite how pissed off John looked. "What'd she do, suck your dick?"
John couldn't help but smirk. "Actually, yes." He answered as he walked passed the imp, intentionally leaving out the part where they'd had a tearjerking talk beforehand.
"And I enjoyed every second of it." Verosika couldn't help but to pipe in, if only to see the shocked look on Blitzo's face, filling her with satisfaction.
"Wha- You said that you hated sucking dick!" Blitzo couldn't help but shout in indignation.
"Only those who don't deserve it." Verosika retorted with a smirk, finally feeling satisfaction at the fact that she'd managed to one-up Blitzo. "And guess what, you didn't."
Loona couldn't help but snicker at the retort. "Oh, this is embarrassing."
"What the- Loona!" Blitzo practically squawked. "Who's side are you on?"
"Hey, you fucked up." Loona said with a shrug. "Not my fault."
"She's got a point there, sir." Moxxie couldn't help but pipe in.
"And you did break her heart." Millie added.
"What?!"
"Look, let's get one thing out of the way." John said, glaring down at the imp in disgust. "I don't like you. Quite frankly, I want to kill you." He admitted bluntly. "Not only did you break my girlfriend's heart, but you caused two years of misery between us and I would love for nothing more than to pound you into paste."
"Yeah, yeah, get in line, pal." Blitzo waved off John's words without a care in the world, shrugging his shoulders. "You're the one dating a whore, not me."
"Correction, he's dating a slut." Verosika retorted, and John's eyes widened and he let out a grunt when her hand slid down to cup his crotch.
"Oh, woman, you will be the second death of me." John groaned as he looked down at Verosika, lightly pulling her hand from his crotch.
"A whore would have to be paid." Verosika said when she turned back towards Blitzo with an smirk on her face.
Vortex shook his head and he let out a chuckle. "She's got you there, man." He said as he looked down at Blitzo with a raised eyebrow, while Loona, Moxxie, and Millie all snickered.
Blitzo looked at John and Verosika, before he shrugged his shoulders with a smirk. "Well, if you wanna fuck her STD ridden snatch, that's your problem." He said as he turned away from the couple and towards his door. "Come on, you three, we got work to do!"
"I'll be in in a bit." Loona said, waving off Blitzo, to the imp's shock. "I wanna hang out with Tex for a bit."
Blitzo's eyes widened at her words, before he frowned, but he said nothing. "See ya in a bit." He muttered as he turned and walked into his office.
They all stared at the door for a moment, before Moxxie and turned to John.
"I like you." Moxxie said with a smile, causing John to chuckle.
"Thanks." He said with a smile, before turning towards Verosika as Moxxie and Millie followed after their boss. "Anyone else I should meet?"
"The whole crew's inside." Vortex nodded, before turning towards Loona. "Wanna come in for a bit?"
"Are you for real?" Loona asked in surprise. She'd expected to talk to the hellhound outside, not get invited into the recording studio.
It's not that she had any problem with it, is was just that Vortex usually stood outside until a session was over. He wasn't really interested in listening to the songs Verosika usually sang, and Loona knew it.
Vortex chuckled. "With him here?" He jerked a thumb in John's direction. "I think I can relax for a bit and still be a body guard."
John turned to look at the female hellhound. "You Loona?"
Loona turned to the sinner in surprise. "You know me?"
"Rose mentioned you hang out with Tex." John explained as he offered his hand. "I'm John."
"Nice to meet you." Loona smiled as she shook the sinner's hand. "Tex told me a little bit about you. You're a sinner, aren't you?"
"I'm not an asshole if that's what you're worried about." John joked with a grin.
Vortex snorted. "I beg to differ." He teased, raising an eyebrow at John, who laughed.
"Okay, I'm not a complete jackass." John said, going along with Vortex's joke as he glanced towards the hellhound. "Better?"
"Yeah." Vortex nodded with a smile, before turning towards Loona. "John here may be a sinner, but I consider him a brother either way." He told the fellow hellhound. "And I don't care if he's a sinner or not, he's probably the best guy you'll ever meet."
"I second that." Verosika said with a smile as she glanced up at John. John leaned down to kiss Verosika in response.
"I love you too, Rose."
"Is Rose you're real name?" Loona asked curiously, glancing towards Verosika curiously.
Verosika shrugged. "Depends on who you ask. Verosika is the name I was born with, but when my mum adopted me, Rose was something she'd call me." She explained to the hellhound. "It caught on with everyone else, and now I just consider it my real name. It's what friends and family call me."
Loona nodded. She could understand that sentiment when it was explained to her. "Alright."
"Well, we better get inside." Vortex said as he glanced towards Verosika. "Like I said, the rest of the crew's in there, and you and I both know what will happen if we leave them alone for too long."
Verosika nodded. "Yeah, I know." She acknowledged before her eyes narrowed. "But they better keep their grubby paws off my man."
The other three chuckled at Verosika's possessive words, but John and Vortex knew her well enough to know that she wasn't actually jealous.
"So, I got a question for you." Loona said as they began moving towards the door to the recording studio, glancing at John. "From what I hear, most sinners rename themselves not long after they die. But John doesn't sound like a name someone would call themselves in Hell."
John smiled at the hellhound as he stopped by the door. "I'm proud of who I am, Loona." He said simply. "I know what I did to get myself down here when I died, and I even though I don't regret, it's about the only thing I'm not proud of in my life. But I am proud of my family, I'm proud of my friends, and I don't plan to ever create some seperate personality for myself just because I ended up in Hell."
Loona looked at the demon in surprise, before she smiled. "I agree with Moxxie. I like you."
"Just a warning before we go in here," Verosika spoke up, turning to look at both John and Loona. "Everyone in here is a succubus or an incubus, and they all are massive flirts."
John and Loona looked at each other for a moment, before they both shrugged.
"Eh." John said.
"Not the worst kind of people to meet in Hell." Loona remarked.
Verosika smiled at their responses, before she opened the door, and the four proceeded inside the recording studio.
Though not without John learning the hard way that the top of the door frame was lower than he expected.
"OW! Dammit!"