The next morning, Mammon woke up to a shift in movement and something grazing their lips over his. His eyes creaked open he saw Vox kissing him hungrily like a starved man, the blonde sitting on top of his waist and kissing him passionately. Mammon smiled for a moment before rushing up to kiss him, gripping Vox's waist and dominating the kiss completely when he took the blonde off guard.
Eventually Vox separated the kiss in order to breathe, a saliva trail trickling off of his lips,panting a little as he caught his breath.
Mammon chuckled at Vox's bemused expression,"Aw, what's wrong, Vincent? Did you think you could control the kiss just because I was asleep? You should know better than that. I'm the one who leads this tango, Vincent, not you…"
Vox pouted at this,"No fair, Mammon…"
"Life ain't fair my little whore,"Mammon teased as he nibbled on Vox's ear before whispering into it in a deep and husky tone,"You're such a slut, Vincent. Already hungering for me so soon, like a good little whore. I love that about you, you never seem to be satisfied, just like me…"
The former TV Demon narrowed his eyes before merely smiling,"I suppose so, my Lord…Though I must ask, are my demands from yesterday going to be met? Did I serve you well enough or do I need to grovel before you again to earn your approval?" He said this while barely hiding the disdain he held for his 'master'.
God he wanted to punch this insufferable clown right in the face. It was so hard to resist the urge to hit him yet Vox held it back by the skin of his teeth.
"Oh don't worry, Vincent. I'll let your siren friends use their powers, just this once,"Mammon said,"After all, you've been such an obedient little whore and I'd feel it'd be unfair to not reward you once in a while for being such a good slut.." He then cupped Vox's face and brushed the blonde's hair back that had since been matted with sweat,"You look so beautiful, Vincent, your body is so perfect…and best of all, it's all mine. Every part of you belongs to me, isn't that wonderful?"
"Y-Yes…it is, Mammon…" Vox said,"I'm happy that I pleased you so well, everything I did was for you and you alone…"
"Of course it was, I'm so happy your behavior has improved, Vincent. I'm proud of you for being such an obedient whore for me." He patted Vox on the head and ruffled his hair,"Such a beautiful little slut…"
"Thanks…" He mumbled,"Though, don't you think we should get cleaned up? We do reek of sex and I don't think it would be wise for anyone to see us while we're like this…"
"Don't worry, Vincent. I can clean you up in an instant if you want…"
"You can?"
"Of course, you don't think I take baths every day? There's no need when you have powers like mine…"
'I'd say I'm surprised but that was a lie…' Vox remarked to himself, rolling his eyes at the thought,'Had a feeling those tubs were just for show. Egotistical fuck.'
"Can you do that then?" Vox asked and Mammon agreed. With the snap of his fingers Vox found his body had been cleaned and his clothes neatly placed back on his body. Even the husky odor of sex had been cleansed from his body, leaving him smelling as fresh as a rose in the spring."Woah…it worked…"
"Don't look so surprised, you know I'm capable of far better things than this,"Mammon chuckled.
"I know. Just didn't expect it to happen so fast," He replied, tugging on his sleeve a bit before saying,"Still, don't you think you should lead me down to the carnival? We do have quite the day ahead of us and there's no time to waste around these parts.."
"I don't see why not, come on, Vincent. Let's go see those pals and pay them a visit after breakfast where we can discuss the specifics of the performance in greater detail."
"Sounds fine by me…"
Husk nervously tapped his shoe, his patience dwindling as time passed. He was waiting for Vox to return and had been waiting for Vox outside of his tent for quite some time in hopes he would return yet the former Overlord still hadn't come back…
The possibilities of what Mammon was doing to Vox flooded his head and he feared the worst. He would never admit it but he had grown a tad attached to Vox and he didn't want to lose such a valuable ally despite their differences.
'Come on, Vox…don't die on me now..not like everyone else in my life…' He thought, the old veteran feeling hopeless threatening to consume him the longer he went without answers. They had come so far and he didn't want it to end without even getting a chance to act on their plan.
Husk's concerns were soon put to an end when he heard Mammon's voice pierce into his eardrums,"Well well well, Vincent, looks like your friend has been awaiting your return. Isn't that sweet?"
He turned and saw Vox and Mammon together, his eyes narrowing slightly when he saw the way Vox was wrapped around Mammon, his finger digging into Mammon's shirt in a teasing manner with his eyes batted in his direction.
Husk knew it was fake. He could tell just by looking at Vox's eyes that it was all an act, just a facade to keep the Demon Lord at bay and unsuspecting of their current plans. So far he seemed to have Mammon hooked if the lustful gaze Vox was receiving was any indication.
Still, that didn't make the display any less cringeworthy to him. It was taking all of Husk's self control not to puke right then and there and the mere sight of Vox and Mammon together like that made his stomach turn.
"Mammon…what are you doing out here?" Husk growled.
"Oh nothing, just dropping Vincent off before we perform for the big show tonight. Vincent and I made a little arrangement and since he's delivered I've decided to be nice and let those sirens have their fun just this once with their powers…"
"Wait…you're serious? You're gonna let them use their powers just like that?"
"Of course I am, a deal is a deal and Vincent was being so good to me the other night that I felt the need to reward him for his services…" He sneered, gripping Vox's waist possessively in the process and grinding up against him for a moment.
The former veteran tensed at the mention of 'services'. He already had a feeling what those 'services' were euphemisms for sexual deeds and that he was just dressing it up nice to make it sound like it they were having dinner over a cup of tea.
"Speaking of which, you are going to go tend to them aren't you? It'd be such a shame to leave them out without their powers wouldn't it?" Vox whispered into Mammon's ear,"Be a dear and release them like we discussed earlier, I promise that the show we'll put on will be one of a kind…"
"You don't need to tell me twice, Vincent. I'll be on it right away. I'll see you later for practice…" Mammon teased Vox one last time before departing.
The moment Mammon was out of view, Husk broke his silence and said,"God, I never wanted to hurl more in my entire life. Seeing you two together makes me sick…"
Vox scoffed,"Oh quit being immature, you would've done the same in my position."
"No I wouldn't have…"
"Easy to say when you're not the one in my shoes. Besides, it doesn't matter anyway. I got Mammon to do what I asked and with that in mind, the plan can finally commence.."
"You sure about this, Vox? If anything goes wrong…it could get ugly…"
"Won't ever know until we try it," He admitted,"Besides, it's either that or we live like this for the rest of our fucking lives and I don't know about you, but I don't wanna live in this damn circus and have to grovel at Mammon's feet for the rest of my life. Serving someone else like a slave isn't exactly my definition of living…"
"It's not mine either. I'm just worried if this goes wrong how much trouble we'll be in…"
"We'll never know if it'll succeed until we try it. At the very least we should give it a shot before putting ourselves down, Husk…"
"I'm not so optimistic but I'll give it a shot. Suppose we actually make it out of this and I'll say I owe you one…" Husk then flinched when he heard footsteps coming behind them and tensed,"Fuck, someones coming. Act natural."
He and Vox immediately stiffened and fell silent as the person's footsteps came closer and closer. Before long the person had revealed themselves and to both men's dismay it was Mammon's little pet clown, Fizz.
Well, technically the robotic version of Fizz to be exact but they weren't going to let that part slip just yet.
"Oh…it's you two," He remarked, his voice filled with disdain. Guess they weren't the only ones unhappy to see each other."Can't say I'm surprised to see you two together, it only makes sense the talent-less hacks of society mingle amongst each other in order to be seen. Too bad you two will never be loved like I am."
Vox scoffed, normally he'd get pissed but with the knowledge that Fizz was merely a robot built to resemble him had put a damper on his rage. It wasn't like he wasn't offended,no, that was FAR from the case, it was the fact that it wasn't it wasn't the real Fizz insulting them that made his anger subside.
It was just a copy, a life-like copy to be exact but still just a copy of the original, a poor imitation and he was a little ashamed he hadn't seen it sooner. It did make Fizz's odd mannerisms make a whole lot of sense, he wasn't technically a person in the first place. He was just a machine and while they did give him a personality it lacked the depth a normal person would have.
Still, Vox didn't like the idea of letting anyone get away with an insult. It stung his pride just a bit and he wanted to show this shoddy imitation what for. He had been holding back so much and he didn't see the harm in cutting loose a bit before they initiated their plan.
A part of him was tempted to something around the lines of 'At least I'm fucking real' but he held off since it'd blow their cover and opted for a different comeback.
Vox grinned,"Oh yeah? Well at least I'm a better fuck than you are."
"Excuse you!?" Fizz hissed,"What did you just say to me!?"
"You heard me, clown. I said I was a better fuck than you. And if you disagree with that statement you should go cry to your boss about it since thinks I'm the best fuck he's got in ages. What does it say about you when the new guy can provide a better fuck than you can after centuries of serving him?"
If it was possible for a robot to turn red with anger Vox was certain he would've. Fizz looked on the verge of short-circuiting and his body was twitching in a rapid fashion with sparks emitting from his body as his smile became even more crooked than before. For a second Vox could've sworn he saw smoke coming out of him with how pissed off he was and he was all for it.
"W-Why you little bitch…How dare you…I'll kill you for this…"
"You know you wouldn't," Vox sneered,"Mammon still needs me and he'd be rather angry with you if you killed me. Besides, there's no reason to be such a sore loser, it's obvious that Mammon's grown bored of you a while ago and I just so happened to be a better fuck than you could ever dream of being."
Fizz looked like he was going to explode at that sentence, sending Vox a death glare that would've sent any other soul barreling towards their graves.
But Vox wasn't scared. He didn't show fear at the robot even as he stared daggers into his eyes.
Vox merely stood there with a cocky grin, knowing that in that moment he was untouchable. Fizz wouldn't dare hurt him, not now, he was too valuable and if he did act on his rage it was likely Mammon would have something to say about it.
And the best part was that Fizz knew it. That robot may have been crazy but his AI still had a sense of self preservation inside of it's coding and Vox had the feeling he knew that he was in no position to act.
Instead Fizz merely huffed and grit his teeth at Vox menacingly as he said,"You're lucky Mammon likes you else I'd put you in your place…"
"I'd like to see you try…"
The robot scowled before turning around saying,"This isn't over!" He then stormed off,muttering incoherent curses under his breath.
Vox smirked as he watched the robot shamble away in defeat, chuckling at the humiliating sight,"Ha...sucker. I sure showed him right, didn't I, Husk?"
Husk didn't seem as amused as Vox thought he'd be as he said,"What the fuck was that, Vox? Why were you engaging in a pissing contest with him? That was pointless."
Vox rolled his eyes,"Oh come on, that was fucking funny and you know it. Besides, you can't tell me you never wanted to frustrate that bastard's gears for all their worth…"
"I never said that, I'm just saying it's probably not a good idea to piss off Fizz while we're still trying to enact our plan. That fucker already hates us and now that you've got him jealous he'll do anything to make our lives worse."
"Oh relax, there's no need to be paranoid. I was just messing around with him, there's no harm in getting that bastard's circuits in a bind. Not like it matters, the end goal is still the same and all we need to do is bide our time once practice is over to do what we need to do…"
"I hope you're right on this, Vox. I don't want this to go wrong…"
"It won't…"
Suddenly they heard someone shout for them from afar,"EVERYONE! IT'S TIME FOR PRACTICE! LORD MAMMON SAYS WE'RE ADDING A NEW ROUTINE! GET GOING BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY!"
"Looks like practice is starting," Vox said,"Why don't we go check up on everyone? I'm certain Helsa and Seviathan would like to see us again…"
"Whatever…"
As the two men walked away, Fizz couldn't help but peer his head out completely from behind a tent nearby, narrowing his eyes. He didn't fully understand what they were going on about but he knew they were up to something…
"Those two…they're planning something aren't they? I don't know what it is but I know it's nothing good. Better keep my eye on them, especially the blonde, he's always been suspicious and I doubt he has pure intentions. Mammon may trust him…but I know better…"
The robotic jester's eyes narrowed in suspicion before slithering off in order to join the other's in
the morning routine…
Seviathan narrowed his eyes as he rubbed his wrists, it had been so long since he was able to actually use his powers and a sense of relief washed over him,"I don't know what Vox did…but I'm glad he at least upheld that part of his promise. I've been waiting to use my powers for ages. What about you, Helsa? Aren't you happy?"
Helsa didn't respond, merely zoning out like she had been doing previously. Seviathan rolled his eyes at his sister's strange behavior before attempting to brush it off.
When Vox and Husk approached their tank, Seviathan made a face before saying,"You know…I'm not sure what you did for Mammon that got him to relinquish his hold on our powers but whatever you did, I'm grateful for it. It's been too long and I'm glad you did your part instead of suckering out like I thought you would…"
"I don't sucker out on my word, Seviathan," Vox retorted flatly,"Seriously, learn to have some faith in me would you? I know you don't trust people but at least act like you believed the person would go through with it."
"Faith is for the weak," Seviathan sneered,"Regardless, it is such a pleasure to have our powers back. You did Helsa and I a huge favor and we'll owe you one big-time on the chance you actually get us out of here."
"I'll keep that in mind…"
"Still, you gotta tell us, what exactly DID you do to get Mammon to let us use our powers?" He inquired,"Because I'm still not quite sure how you pulled it off. Something like this no doubt took a lot of convincing. How did you do this?"
Vox stammered for a moment,"I..I have my ways of convincing…"
"And what exactly were those ways? We're all supposedly a 'team' like you said earlier, you should disclose how you did these things to us."
"I…I'd rather not talk about it…" Vox admitted.
"Why? Are you scared or something? It can't be that bad you know…"
'You have no idea…' Vox thought to himself.
Before anything else could happen, Husk shut Seviathan's prodding down as he hissed,"Knock it off, Seviathan. If Vox doesn't want to talk about it, it means he doesn't want to talk about it. Learn to back off and respect people's privacy."
"Sheesh, I was just curious,"He scoffed,"Fucking drama king. Whatever, I wasn't that curious anyway. I'm just glad Vox wasn't as incompetent as I thought he'd be. Perhaps that means we actually stand a chance of getting out of this palace…"
Vox was somewhat relieved at Husk coming to his defense and silently nodded to show him so gratitude. He then turned attention to Helsa, noticing her zoned out expression.
Concern laced his expression as he approached her tank, waving his hand in front of her face to get a reaction out of her to no avail. It was like her mind had drifted off into another world while her body remained in the outside world.
"Is she alright?" He asked Seviathan who merely shrugged.
"She's been like this all morning. I don't know what's wrong with her honestly. She just started acting like this. I think she's got something on her her mind but I couldn't tell you what the fuck it is with how weird she's acting…"
Vox narrowed his eyes before gently cupping Helsa's cheek and saying softly,"Hey Helsa? Are you there?"
Helsa blinked slowly for a moment before snapping out of her trance and staring at him in bemusement.
For a moment her eyes weren't as icy cold as they had been prior, her gaze appearing as gentle as powder snow. The sight was something to behold and Vox swore she somehow looked more beautiful than before, he couldn't help looking at her and wanted to get closer despite his brain shouting at him not to.
Unfortunately this moment was to be because she snapped back into reality when his lips were mere inches from her's, Helsa's icy eyes returned and she backed away at his touch, shooting a freezing glare that could've frozen Hell itself over with just one glance.
"Oh shit…" Vox mumbled, now backing away and becoming flustered,"Um…sorry about that. I don't know what came over me. I was just trying to see if you were OK at all, I didn't mean for that to happen, I swear, I just wasn't thinking…"
"Oh don't lie, you were thinking all right,"Seviathan retorted,"You just so happened to be thinking with your dick, that's all.."
"SEVIATHAN!" Vox hissed,"It's not like that!"
"Sure it wasn't," Seviathan remarked,"Look Vox, you're not fooling anyone. It was pretty obvious you were thinking with your lower head."
"That's not true!" He then turned to Husk,"Hey, come on man, defend me here! This was a misunderstanding, ya gotta help me!"
Husk averted his gaze,"I don't know Vox…it kind of did look like you let your hormones get the better of you…"
"Oh come the fuck on, not you too!"
"I mean, Vox, it's pretty obvious, we're not fucking blind," Seviathan replied,"Seriously, I get you have the hots for my sister but can you please do us all a favor and keep it in your pants while we're here? We've got bigger problems and the last thing I need is you being horny for my sister while we're trying to get out of this place."
Vox groaned in defeat as blush stained his cheeks. The embarrassment was killing him and he was already wishing for a second death as he heard the others laugh at him.
Worst part was Helsa giggling at him after he had been a fool out of. Today was definitely not his fucking day….
'He is so amusing when he's flustered, it's almost cute...' She chuckled,'To think the most powerful Overlord in Hell just so happens to be the biggest dork of all time is quite the twist. Can't even look at me in the eyes without becoming a flustered mess…'
She would definitely have fun toying with him later. Right after they escaped of course. It'd be a bit hard to have fun while they were in this godforsaken circus after all…
"Quit laughing at me!" Vox hissed,"Seriously, it's not funny!"
"It's not our fault you have such an amusing personality, Vox," Seviathan sneered,"Perhaps if you weren't so easy to trigger it wouldn't be as fun to mock you…"
"Reminder that the person you're mocking is your ticket out of this place so I suggest watching your mouth, Seviathan…"
"Yeah yeah whatever, that's assuming you even get us that far. Do you even have everything prepared?"
"More than ready…" Vox retorted,"You know where the wagons are Husk?"
"I know where they are. I just need to move them to a more easily accessible area, that's all…"
"Good. Once you do that we'll be all set. I have the torches in my tent…" Vox admitted,"It won't take much to set this place on fire. Everything here looks highly flammable so it'll spread rather quickly. All we need to do is be in the right place at the right time before raising hell to this sorry excuse of a circus."
"So that's it? Once we have everything we're all just going to blow this place sky high and leave? That sounds far too easy," Seviathan admitted.
"It's supposed to be. So long as everything goes to plan, everything will be fine. At least, that's what should happen assuming nothing happens."
They would've discussed more but Husk couldn't help but feel someone looking at them from afar. He turned around and saw Fizz staring at them in suspicion from a distance. He then sapped,"What the fuck are you looking at, fuckface? Don't you have someone else to go bother? No one wants you here, Fizz, go hop on Mammon's dick and fuck off."
The rboot scowled at him before scampering away. Seviathan raised an eyebrow before asking,"What the hell is his problem?"
"Vox pissed him off earlier and the bucket of bolts is being a petty dick about it."
"Damn, you must have really said something to get under his skin. His face was priceless," Helsa chuckled,"I would've paid to see that…"
"Come on you three, let's not act like kids here. Let's not anger Fizz anymore than we have to. We're almost out of here and I'd rather not deal with a pissed off Fizz on the way out…"
"You're acting like he's going to do anything. He's not anything we should concern ourselves over," Vox retorted.
Husk seemed ready to refute this but was cut off by Mammon's bombastic voice flooding the air,"Greetings everyone, I'm pleased to see that you've all arrived on time. Tonight is going to be a very special performance as there has been a…change of plans in our schedule and instead we're going to be focusing on a different kind of act. One that'll swipe the audience right off their feet! Are you ready to show them all what for ladies and gentlemen?"
Everyone cheered to show their support of Mammon's claim and the mad clown absorbed their accolade with pride. As practice commenced, the plan flooded inside of their minds as time dwindled down.
The inevitable was coming and they were prepared for what lay ahead.
The time ticked by as the countdown dwindled further and further. Time was running out and they all knew it. Thankfully, Husk had already positioned the wagons nearby so that when the time came, they could throw the twins inside and make a break for it.
Right now, there was currently fifteen minutes left until they started the final show. Fifteen minutes until they finally ended it all for good. They were given a short break to get themselves situated and Vox was taking advantage of the time they had left making sure everything was in order.
Vox headed back to his tent to gather the torches and light this place on fire once and for all.'It's time to end this bloody nightmare for good. Tonight is the night we end this and I'm going to watch this shoddy excuse of a carnival to the ground…'
As he headed back to his tent, he searched for the torches that had been placed under the bed the night before. To his shock he found that they were nowhere to be found.
"What!? But I swore I put them here. Where did they go!?" His mind began to race as panic flooded his system. He swore to God he hadn't misplaced them, they were there right before he left to pay Mammon a 'visit' last night.
He cursed his luck as he frantically looked around in his tent for the torches to no avail. No matter how hard he tried to locate it, the torches remained out of sight.
Infuriated by this revelation, Vox knew the plan wouldn't work as intended without those torches. Admitting it to the others wouldn't be an easy task, they had come so far and he didn't want to squish their hopes over a roadblock in their plan.
He recalled how happy Helsa looked earlier, how she smiled at him. Maybe it was far fetched but maybe she did believe in him to an extent. Those hopes would be crushed if he didn't find an alternative and he couldn't let her down. Not after they had come so far…not after what she did for him…
'She saved my life…it's only fair I return the favor for her. I can't give up…for hell's sake if anything…'
Regardless, he'd have to inform Husk of the issue. He wasn't sure telling the twins was a good idea(especially given how Seviathan was already skeptical of him). He knew the siren would chew him out for his 'clumsiness' for losing the torches and that was the last thing any of them needed right now and Helsa would judge him for it.
He was confident Husk would at least be a bit more understanding than the twins were. He may have been a cynical alcoholic jackass but he did seem more down to earth when it came down to things and Vox didn't feel like he was talking to a ticking time bomb like how he had with other people in his life.
They were far from friends but Husk did seem like a good person to rely on when things got tough and the best part was that he was useful.
Acting fast, Vox rushed over to Husk's tent and stormed inside,"Husk! We need to talk!"
"Gah! What the fuck, Vox!?" He hissed as he sipped on some leftover booze he had,"I swear to god you're intending on giving me a heart attack with the shit you're pulling. Are you TRYING to send me to the grave again?"
"Of course not, I'm trying to catch your goddamn attention because we have a bit of a problem here…"
"What do you mean? What problem? Is it urgent because I don't appreciate being bothered right now…"
"It is URGENT!" Vox snapped,"The fuckign torches are missing."
"What? How did they go missing? Did you misplace them?"
"Damn certain I didn't. They were there the other night and I'm fairly certain that this was a recent thing. If I had to guess, someone must've got inside my tent while my back was turned and took them."
"Any ideas on who could've done it?"
"I have a sneaking suspicion…" Vox growled,"And I think you know who I'm thinking of right now…"
"Does it start with an F and end with a Fizzarolli? Then yeah, I have a good feeling in my gut of who you might be talking about. It's the only option that makes any sense, none of the other workers really interact with us, let alone care about what we do. Fizz is the only one who cares whether this circus runs or not and he probably overheard our conversation. Even assuming he didn't get all the information he heard about the torches and is probably keeping them somewhere to ensure we can't do anything with them…"
"Well that's just great…Regardless, the plan still needs to be put into motion. We just won't have an easy way of lighting this place up. Suppose we'll have to do this the messy way after all…"
Husk cocked an eyebrow in his direction,"The messy way? WHat do you mean by tha, Vox?"
"If we don't have torches to burn this place down, who's to say I can't…start a fire the old fashioned way? After all, lighting can cause fires in the right circumstances and it's not like this place isn't flammable. The torches were just an easy way of doing this but I suppose if that's not an option, I can do it in a more direct fashion."
"Why didn't' you think of that before/'
"I did," He retorted,"It's just lighting is…more risky. I don't want to risk us getting caught in the crossfire. At last with a torch you can control where the fire starts, with lighting it can spiral out of control rather quickly and since fire isn't my element there's not much I can do on the off-chance it starts impacting us. With the torches you can just run for it but this…this is a lot more tricky."
"Wait, you're worried about the rest of us, not just the girl?"
"I mean, I don't want to lose valuable allies, especially not after we came this far. Don't get me wrong, I can hardly stand you but that doesn't mean I need you to get caught in the crossfire while we're attempting to escape."
"Gee thanks, I guess…" He mumbled, somewhat thankful Vox bothered to care about him in that way, even if it was out of a sense of pragmatism,"Still, I'm certain we can manage with this. The twins may not like it but when we're out of here that will likely be the last thing on their minds…"
"So you believe we can pull through with this? Do you still have hope for our future?"
Husk scoffed,"Pfft, I gave up having hope in humanity ages ago. I'm just going with the wind nowadays. Not certain what will happen assuming we do succeed but I can't say I'd mind if we did escape. It would be nice for things to go in our favor for a change…"
"Y-Yeah…it would…" Vox sighed,"Don't worry, Husk. We'll get out of here, no matter what it takes. We've had prisoners here for far too long and it's about time we show Mammon what for. You with me?"
"You bet your ass I am. It's time we show that deranged lunatic and his robotic side-piece whose boss."
"Then let's get to it."
Finally the moment had arrived, Vox's heartbeat picking up speed as it came time to get in their places. They had gone over this at practice yet Vox still felt a tad nervous, knowing what he was about to do was going to change the gravity of the situation now and forever.
Even with the pep-talk from Husk, he did feel a twinge of fear, knowing that Mammon would be furious with him for burning down his circus. If they didn't get out of this they were all in for the biggest punishment of their lives and Vox didn't want to imagine what Mammon would do to him after he pulled this stunt on him.
This was a once in a life-time opportunity and Vox knew he had to act fast,for the sake of himself, for the other's and most important for Helsa. This was the end of the line and there were only two choices, be slaves to Mammon for entertiy and take the risk in a desperate effort to gain their freedom once and for all.
Their freedom was on the line…there was no going back after this and he had to brace himself from the consequences that may come from this decision.
And you know what?
He was going to take that chance, because he didn't have much else to lose. His status was gone, his wife was dead and his Val probably had long since moved on with his life. Velvet probably thought he was dead anyway and he had no idea what could've happened to her. She could be dead for all he knew and there'd be nothing he could do to stop it.
It was just him and his allies at this point, the only advantage they had were their cunningness and their elemental abilities. It wouldn't help them against Mammon physically but they were still good to have regardless.
'It's now or never…' He thought to himself, taking a deep breath. This was it, their final stand. This was where it would all go down and once they did what they did, they'd have to be on the run for the rest of their lives if they ever wanted to preserve their freedom once and for all.
He marched into his place. For the performance he had to do a tight-rope act with that goddamn robotic clown. Apparently Mammon just thought sticking them together was a fantastic idea for godforsaken reason.
Climbing up the ladder into his position, Vox shivered a little upon seeing how high he was off the ground. He wasn't the type to get jittery over heights but it was a little hard not to panic even with a net below them.
"God I hate tight-rope acts…" He grumbled as he stood up on the platform. Fizz was waiting on the other side and despite the distance he could still make out a smug look in his eyes. Vox felt a bit uncomfortable by this but brushed it off.'Just don't think about him, Vincent…sooner we get this over with the better…'
Down beneath them, Vox could see EVERYTHING in the circus from here. Everyone looked like tiny dots from here. It was amazing and downright terrifying at the exact same time!
Vox held back the fear inside of him as he heard Mammon announcing the show to the audience. He couldn't quite hear what he was saying but he honestly couldn't have cared less. All he knew was that time was ticking and he had to act fast…
'Better get this over with…'
The act went how it was supposed to go. Fizz was doing tricks over the tight-rope, being the absolute show-off he was and amazing the audience(No surprise there).
Vox rolled his eyes,'These fuckers will eat anything up that you show them. Mindless drones..'
When it came for his turn, Vox carefully walked over the tightrope, trying to keep his balance and not fall. As he was walking over the line and hissed when Fizz broke his concentration,"Hey Vincent, look what I have!"
"I'm a little busy!" He snapped,"What do you want!?" Vox's heartbeat nearly burst out of his rib-cage when he saw Fizz carrying the torches in hand with a cocky smirk,"What the fuck!? What are you doing!?"
""You know what I'm doing, Vincent. Though I was unaware of your plans didn't you? I knew…and it's time you suffer the consequences of your actions. You've mocked me for the last time and you'll pay for it with your life. Mammon doesn't need a triatore like you in his ranks anyway and it's time your pathetic little friends watch their hopes die along with you.
Vox gasped when Fizz lit the torch and threw it over the edge onto the net, lighting it on fire. Vox's eyes widened in horror as he saw the net erupted into flames. He struggled to maintain this balance but was unable to keep up when Fizz got impatient with his struggle and cut the rope.
"Oh just die already!" He snapped before waving mockingly,"Bye-Bye, Vincent! Enjoy the flames of Hell for me, hahaha!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" He checked as he fell downward in a spiral, the flames growing higher and and hotter. Vox braced himself for the worst, the flames mere inches away from him when he suddenly found himself being thrown away from the fire,"ACK!"
The former Overlord tensed as he found himself dropped to the ground rather roughly. When he looked up he saw Husk standing there. He blanked in disbelief as he connected the dots,"W-What? Did…did you save me?"
"Of course I did. Did you think I'd just let that clown kill you like that?" He asked,"Sorry for the rough landing but I kind of panicked when I saw you fall like that. Having another person's life in my hands tends to freak me out a bit.
"I'm just glad you bothered to save me at all," He admitted before standing up and regaining his footing. He then looked up at Fizz, clenched his fist in frustration upon seeing that his attempt at ending Vox's life had failed.
"Why you little drunkard! How dare you save him! I was about to kill that traitorous bastard once and for all!"
"Gonna have to try a little harder to kill us asshole!" Husk hissed,"We don't go down easily and I'll be damned before I let myself get killed by a robotic imitation!"
There was a gasp by the rest of the audience and even by the other performers. Vox grinned, taking advantage of the shock and shouting,"What? Has Mammon been keeping you all in the dark? Not surprised by that one, because the truth is that the Fizz you all see before you isn't the real one. He's just a robot built in his image because the real Fizz died centuries ago. He's had you fooled this entire time. Not only is Mammon a cheapskate but he's also a fucking fraudd whose been keeping us wrapped under his hand for FAR too long! But we know the truth, we know about the fire, Mammon and I know what you've done….You cannot hide the truth from the public any longer…"
Mammon blinked at this before chuckling,"Aw…so you think you've finally figured me out, don't you, Vincent? Plotting against me this entire time have you? I should've known, you were too suspicious yet I ignored the signs to be considerate. Ah well, I still don't get what you hope to accomplish, fraud or not, everyone loves the performance Fizz puts on and the best part is I don't even have to worry about him getting injured since as you said, he's just a robot…"
"Because there won't be anymore performances, Mammon!" Vox shouted,"This lousy carnival has been nothing but a hellhole since the day I got here and we're tired of it. You've made us all suffer and it's time you feel our pain! Let's see how you feel having another creation of yours going up in flames!"
The former TV Demon's then summoned a bolt of lighting at the fire, causing a hellstorm of chaos to erupt in the circus. The air became heated up more than before and an eruption of smoke clouded the area as the fire spread. Screams of terror were heard as people began attempting to flee for the lives as the the ground beneath them trembled. The circus began falling apart all around them and terror consumed the area.
Vox and Husk hissed as they were forced to get down to avoid falling debris, the former veteran cursing,"Shit! We need to move, Vox! This place is falling apart!"
"Not without Helsa, I can't leave her behind! Come on, Husk, can you show me where those wagons are so we can get the twins out of here?"
"I should know…the only problem is the chaos around us. We need to make this fast if we want to make it out of here alive…"
"Then let's go! They need us!"
The two men scrambled through the chaos, running past the panicked populace as their eyes were clouded with smoke. Husk managed to track the wagons down and shouted,"HELSA! SEVIATHAN! WE'RE COMING FOR YOU!"
"HURRY! I CAN BARELY SEE!" Seviathan shouted through the air,"IT'S GETTING HOT AND I CAN'T EXTINGUISH THE FIRES! IT'S GROWING TOO FAST! I CAN'T BREATHE!"
They rushed to Seviathan's aid and Husk saw Seviathan in his respective tank and rough he wagon over,"Alright kid, hop in my arms!"
Seviathan didn't protest and hopped in Husk's arms who threw him inside the wagon. Vox's eyes darted around and cursed,"Shit! Where's Helsa!?Seviathan, where's your sister!?"
"I don't know!"
"What do you mean you don't know!? Wasn't she just with you?"
"She was…but then the fire started and so much chaos started happening. I could hardly see anything but the next thing I knew she was there and then she wasn't! I think someone must've taken her while the crowd was in a panic."
Vox grit his teeth, eyes filled with hatred,"That son of a bitch..he took her..I know he did…"
Vox then turned his back and said,"Husk, take Seviathan and get him out of here and wait for me."
"Wait for you!? You mean you're going to stay here? Are you insane!?"
"Just trust me! I need to find her! I'm not gonna let that bastard keep her. And if I don't come back…run for it and don't stop…"
"Vox-"
"I said GO!" He snapped,"GO WHILE YOU STILL CAN!"
Husk didn't need to be told twice as he flinched at Vox's harsh tone before pulling on the wagon and dragging Seviathan out as fast as his legs could carry him, disappearing off into the smoke.
The former TV Demon turned his attention to the fire before going deeper inside of the burning circus, avoiding the parts there were consumed by the flames and going as fast as he could. He was on a timer and if he didn't get out of here he'd die of smoke inhalation and burn with the rest of this place…
The cinders that got in his eyes slowed him down and his lungs were burning, finding it harder to breathe with each passing second. He then frantically shouted her name in desperation, knowing he'd die in here if he didn't get to her in time,"HELSA! HELSA ARE YOU THERE!?"
No response…
His heart sank but continued to tread onward, he had come too far and would prefer to die inside than to lose another person…
As he was walking, Vox noticed a horrifying sight up ahead the deeper he got. He saw Helsa laying out on the floor, unconscious and covered in cinder and ash.
"HELSA!" He screamed out for her and dashed to her aid, picking her up,"Come on, don't be dead…please don't be dead. Wake up, we still need you…I still need you…"
Helsa didn't respond, laying limp in his arms as he found himself unable to trace her heartbeat, tears pouring from his eyes as choked sobs came from his throat. As he cried he heard a familiar cackle behind him,
"Looks like you came too late, Vincent," Fizzarolli cackled manically,"Isn't that just too bad? Couldn't save the girl of your dreams couldn't you? How pathetic. And to think you were SO CLOSE to getting her, too bad you were too weak to get to her in time! Ain't that funny, Vincent?"
Vox continued to sob for a moment, as if he couldn't hear Fizz. The robotic jester frowned,"HEY! Are you ignoring me!? Quit crying over the girl and pay attention you lousy bastard! Are you even listening!?"
The former sinner's head then snapped in his direction, his eyes glowing pure white. Vox was remarkably silent as he gazed at Fizz with murderous intent, a small but ever present frown embedded into his face.
Without batting an eye he spoke, his voice eerily calm as it grew with undeniable hatred,"You…you took her from me…How dare you, she should've been mine…you ruined it…you ruined everything…I will make you suffer, clown..You..Will..Feel..My..WRATH!"
Vox then summoned a bolt of lighting in Fizz's direction, stirring him several times as the robot cried out in pain. Vox continued this process even as he pleaded for mercy and scoffed,"You dare ask ME for mercy after you've offered none to anyone else? It's not like your life matters, you're just a poor imitation of the real Fizzarolli and you're a stain on that clown's legacy. Your mere existence disgusts me. People like you deserve to be eradicated and this is long overdue. Because not even Mammon will be able to repair you once I'm through with you…"
Vox struck Fizz until he was nothing but scrap metal on the ground, a few wires and metal were all that remained. Vox heard Fizz's voice box glitch and stutter and raised his boot to crush it, stomping on it until it was nothing but bits…
Not saying a word, he turned his back and walked through the carnage of the burning circus as everything around him was consumed in flames, the populace had long since fled.
When he got outside, it was utter chaos. The entire carnival was up in flames, people were screaming and running for their lives. Vox treaded through the destruction around him for the longest time.
He continued to walk, his footsteps heavy and slow as if he were in a trance. He wasn't thinking anymore, just treading onward until his legs would give out. He got himself a fair distance from the fire until he heard Husk's voice from behind.
"V-Vox! You're alive!" He shouted as he ran over to him,"Holy shit…I didn't think you'd make it…" He then cringed,"Oh god…is…is she alive?"
"I…I didn't find a heartbeat..I think the smoke got her before I did…" Vox admitted slowly.
Seviathan growled,"Hey! What are you two doing over there? Is my sister over there? Did you get her out?"
"Technically yes…" Husk said,"Though I don't think it matters anymore…"
"What do you mean?"
"Vox…come on, show him…"
Vox brought Helsa over so Seviathan could see and his face paled before he nervously stammered,"Helsa…we made it. Come on, wake up. Stop messing around, I know you're just trying to pull our legs here. Wake up dammit! Helsa! Stop laying there like you're…dead…."
"Seviathan…she's…she is dead…"
"No…she can't be dead. We've come this far, she can't be dead.." He rambled,"Shit..shit..this all my fucking fault…"
"Seviathan, it's not your fault," Husk said.
"Yeah…it's Fizz and Mammon's fault…"
"No..you don't understand. If Helsa still had her voice you would've found her sooner…If I just kept my fucking mouth shut she'd still be able to talk."
"What did you do!?" Vox hissed,"You took away her voice!? How could you do such a thing!?"
"It was an accident! I swear I didn't mean it, I just was angry at her and I told her I wish I couldn't hear her speak again and then when we fell into this world…my wish came true. I didn't think it would actually happen, I just wanted her to shut up for a few minutes and now I won't be able to fucking fix it…"
Silence prevailed as Seviathan actually began breaking down and looked like he was going to cry.
Neither Husk or Vox knew what to do, they had never seen him look on the verge of tears like this. The only expressions they ever saw on Seviathan's face was a smug smile or an irritated frown.
This…this was an entirely different side of him and they were uncertain what to do at that point…
Just then, Helsa began coughing and wheezing, Husk jerking back as he shouted,"Holy fuck, she's alive!"
Helsa gagged before her eyes creaked open, her head swimming around in chaos. Her vision blurred before she noticed Vox holding her close, his body smelled of ash and cinder and he looked like he had walked through hell and back.
"Helsa! You're alive!" Vox exclaimed,"I'm so happy, we were so worried about you! Everyone thought you were dead, even Seviathan did!"
"Yeah, you should've seen his face, I thought he was actually going to cry,"Husk retorted only to growl when Seviathan elbowed him,"OW!"
"Shut up!" He hissed,"Anyhow, Helsa, don't mind these fools, they're just making shit up. I was perfectly calm and collected prior and was patiently waiting for you to revive yourself just as I thought you would…"
Vox scoffed,"That sure wasn't what it sounded like…"
"If you don't shut your mouth I swear to Lucifer I'll-"
"Enough!" Husk shouted,"Seriously, we barely made it out of there, let's get at each other's throats soon."
"Whatever," Seviathan scoffed,"It's a miracle we got out of there. So many unexpected things ended up happening and I'm shocked we even escaped in the first place…"
"To be fair, I don't think anyone expected Fizz to burn the rope and try to murder Vox like that," Husk admitted.
"I expected the clown to pull something but I didn't think he'd outright try to kill me," Vox growled,"That damn clown may be a robot but he's got the sadistic streak on him. He dragged Helsa out of her tank and put her somewhere deep in the fire in hopes she'd burn. I think he was trying to lure me out so we would both burn…"
"Speaking of Fizz, is he going to come after us? I don't want that bucket of bolts trying to kill us again…"
"Don't worry, Fizz is nothing more than scrap metal at this point, I made sure of it," The former Overlord stated,"He won't be a problem anymore…"
"You know…I'm not even gonna ask what you did, it's probably nothing I want to know about," Husk said.
"Wise choice…"
"Regardless, we should probably get out of here. Mammon might try to come after us and I'd rather not be in the crossfire of that kidnapping scumbag after his entire establishment went up in flames."
"Fair enough, we should get going before he tries to go after us…" Vox then put Helsa in the spare wagon,"I know it's not all too comfortable but this is the best we can do for you two until we get you back in the ocean. I hope that's OK…"
Helsa merely nodded in response and smiled at him. It wasn't her usual one that was laced with mischief and malice but it was a genuine one, one that made his heart skip a beat.
"Vox!" Husk snapped,"Quit dilly dallying and let's get moving. I'm not getting any younger and the faster we get away from the circus the better…"
"Coming…." Vox said as he pulled on the wagon, heading in the opposite direction. They moved far enough to where the smoke coming from the circus was no longer clouding the air and when Vox turned around, he was mesmerized by the sight.
'Wish I could take a picture…' He thought to himself as he peered back at it through the night, weakly smiling at the sight of the destroyed circus. Vox made a face however when he looked at his bandaged hand that held the sigil underneath his skin and tensed…
Even through the bandages, he could feel the marking embedded into his skin. Mammon's symbol was still on him and even with the circus burnt down, the sigil remained.
He was still bound to him despite everything he had done to escape. He then looked at Helsa who was sleeping in the wagon respectively, quietly snoring. The siren looked so peaceful despite the marks and cinder on her…
He couldn't imagine telling her what he had done. Nor could he imagine telling the rest of them. They'd judge him for it and no amount of explanations would ever be enough..
'Just don't think about it, Vincent…If you pretend it's not there, maybe you'll forget it exists…' It was a foolish hope and he knew better, for the moment he wanted to think about something else for a change since it was his first day of true freedom…
OMFG this took too long to write. I hope y'all like this one.
Anyhow,thanks for 7,192 views, tell me what you all think below! Be sure to show your support and keep yourself updated on this story! I'd love to know your thoughts down below!
Enigmus-288: Well we finally got to that part of the story where they busted out so I hope it was worth waiting.