Author note: welcome back readers! Sorry for the delay, life got in the way and this chapter went through several rewrites before I was satisfied with it. Giving a spotlight shoutout to my reviewers this time around, thanks for the kind words and theories. Enjoy the chapter, we will be getting to the Masquerade episode soon!
Chapter 26: Hangover
Charlie and Vaggie came looking for Taylor just before lunch and were aghast to see the fire demon passed out in bed still in their work outfit from the night before. When the two finally roused them, they lied and ashamedly admitted that they went a little overboard with the drinking at their meeting and were feeling pretty hungover. Vaggie castigated them for not setting a good example for the other guests and overindulging in alcohol.
"Come on Vaggie, this is the first time this has happened, plus they seem repentant about it." Charlie considered as she tried to calm Vaggie down.
"Believe me, I'm sure as hell not planning on feeling like this again. Scout's honor, Vaggie." Taylor brought up three fingers in a salute as they held their head achingly.
The moth demon's anger seemed to soften as they saw how dismal the fire demon looked.
"Fine. But as punishment, you have to go without medication or more booze to get you through this."
"What?!" Taylor's head swung up, causing them groan as their head pounded. "Husk is hungover almost every day, and he doesn't have to tough it out!"
"Husk isn't seeking redemption." She said firmly as her eye narrowed. "Now come on, it's time for lunch. The food will do you some good." Vaggie pulled them to their feet and dragged them downstairs by their collar. Taylor groaned as the world was suddenly too bright and loud.
Taylor sat around the table, miserably nursing their energy hangover as the group chatted animatedly. Nibbling on some bread and a glass of water pushed on them by Niffty, they leaned over to Husk and asked stealthily.
"Any way you can help a friend out? I'm dying over here."
Husk smirked amusedly as he darted his eyes over to Vaggie. Seeing that she was occupied, he whispered back.
"See me after lunch."
"My hero." They responded gladly.
"Hey Fuoco, did ya hear about this? Last night the Dealbreaker Demon struck a nightclub and took out three dealmakers!" Angel shouted over at them as they waved their phone, making them to wince at the noise.
"The who now?" They said confusedly, feigning ignorance.
"Says here there's a new demon in town that can break soul contracts. They've been going after low- and mid-level goons up till now, but they hit a couple of high-rank thugs last night!" He said with a grin.
Vaggie crossed her arms as her eye narrowed.
"A demon that can break contracts. Sounds dangerous."
"Yeah, for shitty dealmakers ya mean. No offense, Al." Angel indicated toward the uncharacteristically quiet Radio Demon.
"Oh, please! I pride myself in only making fair deals!" He crowed as he put a hand over his heart proudly.
"Bullshit" Husk and Vaggie muttered under their breaths.
"Well, alls I can say is I know a lotta people who would looove to get outta their contracts." Angel said longingly.
Taylor pretended to be engrossed in their food as they listened.
'I'm working on it, Angel. I promise.' They thought guiltily.
"Let me see that." Charlie asked as she plucked Angel's phone from his hand. "Says here they annulled all three dealmaker's contracts, with the victims going missing shortly thereafter. It's unclear if the Dealbreaker Demon returned to finish the job, but evidence suggests that all the victims were devoured." She said with a grimace. "Yeesh. You're right, Vaggie, they do sound dangerous."
It took everything Taylor had to not jump out their chair in protest. They took a tense sip of water as they wondered who could have taken out their targets, and for what reason.
"Well, Fuoco? Whaddya think?" Angel asked, bringing the focus back to them.
They finished their water as they chose their words carefully.
"Well, it does sound useful, breaking contracts. From what I've heard, there aren't a lot of ways to get out of one." They placed a hand on their chin in contemplation. "But I'm wondering why the Dealbreaker Demon would risk getting caught just to kill their victims? Isn't a way to annul contracts is by killing the dealmaker? If the contracts are already broken, what would be the point of going back?"
The room was silent barring Alastor's jazz playing in the background as they all considered the idea.
Charlie broke the silence as she chimed in cheerily.
"That's a good point, Taylor! It did say it wasn't clear if it was the Dealbreaker Demon, so maybe someone else did that part."
Taylor relaxed internally as they defended their own honor. No one noticed Alastor's smile flash sinisterly for a moment as he recalled last night's victims. There were more grumblings about the story before everyone started dispersing for the afternoon. Taylor hung around until Vaggie left before they casually walked over to the bar area, checking for the moth demoness along the way. They sidled up to the bar where Husk was waiting with a drink and some pain relief pills.
"Here, scarf it down." Husk urged gruffly.
Taylor was about to pop the medicine when a livid Vaggie showed up beside them, slamming a hand on the counter.
"Taylor! I said no medicine or alcohol as your punishment!"
Taylor startled and they almost dropped the pills.
"Please Vaggie, just the pain meds at least, my head is killing me! It's either that or I go back to bed for the day." Taylor pleaded.
She huffed in annoyance and rolled her eye.
"Fine. But take it with water. And you have to have a sparring session with me."
"You're an angel, Vaggie, you know that?" Taylor said gratefully. Husk grunted as he passed a glass of water their way. They took the pills and relaxed in their seat immediately.
Vaggie seemed rattled by the statement before she shook her head and looked back sternly at Taylor.
"I'll see you in an hour in the ballroom for sparring practice, got it?"
"Sure, sure. See you then." Taylor acknowledged as they laid their head on the cold bar counter and waited for relief. Vaggie nodded curtly as they left to find Charlie with a furrowed brow.
Husk stocked the bar for a few moments before speaking to the laid-out demon.
"Still want a drink? Hair of the dog will help."
"Later. Can't risk she smell it on my breath. Make sure that peach whiskey is warm, and you can expect a fat tip, friend." They responded with a chuckle.
Husk just laughed mirthfully.
As promised, an hour later Taylor was in the ballroom, warming up with a flaming spear they had summoned. After the medicine kicked in, they went upstairs and freshened up before getting changed into workout clothing consisting of a skort and loose T-shirt. They were twirling the spear around mindlessly when they heard Vaggie come in with Charlie alongside her, hand in hand. Vaggie seemed troubled, holding Charlie's hand limply and looking deep in thought. Taylor held their spear and greeted them.
"Hey there. Vaggie, thanks again for allowing the meds, I feel less like a zombie now." they said appreciably.
Charlie leaned into her girlfriend lovingly.
"Vaggie is a softie on the inside." she said warmly.
"Babe, cut it out." Vaggie groaned as she rolled her eye and let go of Charlie's hand. They looked toward Taylor with a determined look. "Ready for another session?"
"Sure, but can you please go easier today? Still not hundred percent here." Taylor implored as Charlie walked over to the side and watched with interest.
"Not a chance! At the ready, soldier!" She said excitedly as summoned her spear and started her assault. Taylor groaned as they dodged the thrust and settled in for their counterattack.
The two demons lightly sparred for a while with the sounds of thrusts, parries, blocks, and slashes ringing out in the ballroom. This time around, Taylor was more confident and went on the offensive, resulting in the two being pushed and pulled equally on the field. As the two continued their dance of spears, they settled into throwing playful banter at each other and even started to laugh. But before long, Taylor started getting winded as Vaggie's attacks got increasingly quicker and closer to hitting their target.
"You're getting pretty heated right now."
Taylor commented breathlessly as they parried another attack. Vaggie didn't seem to hear them as their gaze started to get more intense and she swiped at their face. They barely stepped back in time as the blade nearly cut across their nose, causing Taylor to sweat.
"Cutting it kinda close there!" They shouted worriedly as they had to block a particularly intense downward slash. The response was an unnerving giggle as they saw Vaggie's eye was wild and her grin wide. Taylor threw off the attack as they jumped back to get some space. With barely any time to register, the moth demoness barreled at them before thrusting with inhuman speed. Taylor tried to turn in time to dodge but felt a sharp sting along their side as they were sliced by the spear. Hissing in pain, they swept their spear wide to get the demoness to back off.
"Vaggie! Calm down! You got me that time!" they shouted, but Vaggie scrunched her face as she readied for another attack.
Taylor glanced over at Charlie for some support, but they couldn't even make eye contact before they saw in their periphery another overhead slash coming straight for them as Vaggie viciously pounced on her distracted opponent. They quickly brought up their spear horizontally to block the strike, but Vaggie faked them out at the last second and swung the spear to the side and down past their feet before pulling back, hooking Taylor's ankle with the bottom of the spear point. With a yank, Taylor lost their footing and landed on their back as their head hit the floor, dazing them and their spear clattered to the side. Groaning, they cracked an eye open to see the demoness looming over them with a bloodthirsty gaze as they pulled her arm back to thrust the spear into them. Their blood froze as they panicked and held up their hands defensively.
"VAGGIE! STOP!" they screamed as they squeezed their eyes shut. They braced anxiously for impact or pain, but nothing came. Shakily opening their eyes, they flinched back as they registered that the spear tip was mere millimeters from their eye. They laid there frozen, not daring to move.
A gasp drew their attention from the spear as they looked over and saw a paling wide-eyed Vaggie. She stumbled back as she began breathing heavily. Taylor let out a breath as the spear was retracted.
"I-I'm sorry!" she stammered out. Charlie came up to comfort her, but she shrank away, shaking her head before running out of the room. Taylor started sitting up as they called out,
"Vaggie, wai-" they hissed as their side burned and they clutched it painfully.
Charlie looked conflicted on who to tend to, but ultimately went over to check on Taylor. Helping them sit up, they waved her off.
"I'm fine, go to her." They said uncomfortably, more worried about getting Vaggie some help. The blonde demoness nodded quickly and sprinted out of the room. Taylor partially removed their hand from their side as it came back crimson. They grimaced as they heard a commotion outside. Standing up carefully, Husk and Angel rushed into the ballroom.
"Jeez, Fuoco, what happened? Did ya pick a fight with Vaggie just to get your booze privileges back?" Angel said exasperated.
"Where is she?" Taylor asked, ignoring Angel's comment.
"Ran upstairs with the Princess hot on her heels. But let's get that checked out first." Husk said gruffly as he led Taylor down the hallway. They nodded, but Vaggie's look of horror was still on their mind.
After getting patched up and changing into some slacks and a dress shirt, they went up to the penthouse to find Charlie and Vaggie. They found Charlie looking dejectedly out the window as they knocked on the doorframe, making her look up in surprise. Taylor went over and Charlie hugged them gently before pulling back.
"How are you?" She asked as she looked at their side apprehensively.
"I'm fine, nothing I can't handle. Where is she?"
She gazed outside to the pirate ship attached to the hotel.
"Down there on the crow's nest."
"Okay. I'll go talk to her." Taylor nodded as they opened the window and stepped out into the breezy air.
Gulping nervously at the long drop, they opted to summon their flame tendrils to help them climb down the side of the building and make the jumps onto the hotel sign and the ship. They landed on the crow's nest with a relieved sigh and saw the moth demon perched with her back to them on the edge of the railing, hair fluttering in the wind. Taking a seat next to her, they gazed up at the red pentagram moon and the white Heaven orb in the sky and waited.
"I failed the hotel." She said tensely.
"What? No, you didn't. You got carried away, that's all." They said gently.
"No, I did! I'm supposed to keep Charlie and this hotel safe, and I almost maimed her best chance at her dream coming true!" She said angrily as she clutched her head.
"I don't know about that, but you made a mistake. It happens to all of us." They paused as they looked back at the moth demoness. "Do you want to talk about what happened? You seemed upset even before we started."
"Not really, but…" She said before she sighed heavily. "Before I met Charlie, I was… part of a group taught to fight for what we were told was a righteous cause. And for a while I believed it wholeheartedly. I was really good at what I did, and I hurt a lot of people." She shuddered before she took a breath and continued. "But one day, something changed, and I couldn't go through with it anymore, and I was cast out for it mercilessly." She gripped her shoulders and brought a trembling hand to her eyepatch as she spoke, but then she calmed herself as she spoke lovingly. "Shortly after that I met Charlie and from then on, I vowed to protect her and her dreams. I pledged to be her armor." She furrowed her brow as she spoke sorrowfully. "That's why I have to be perfect. That's why I failed today." She shook her head as she turned to Taylor. "Anyway, memories of those dark times came back during our fight, and I lost myself in them. I'm sorry."
"It's fine. Does Charlie know about this?"
"No! And you can't tell her either! Promise me!" She said, agitated.
Taylor held up their hands in surrender.
"Okay, okay, I'll keep it a secret. But I don't see why you wouldn't, I think she'd understand."
"I'm not so sure, and that's what scares me. I can't risk losing her." She said quietly.
Taylor nodded as they looked back up at the two moons.
"You scared the shit out of me today, but I'm not mad. I could tell you weren't yourself and you realized your error. No one's perfect, Vaggie, not even those self-righteous prick angels up there who say otherwise." They huffed at the memory of Lute and Adam's assertion to the contrary. "And thanks to you and Charlie, you're giving us a place to do better, be better, and for that I think you're both equally amazing."
Taylor ignored the pain in their side as they stood on the railing and held a rope. They extended a hand to Vaggie. "Ready? Charlie is worried sick about you."
Vaggie perked up at the kind words.
"Thanks." She frowned guiltily when she saw Taylor jump down and hold their side gingerly. "I really am sorry about hurting you."
The fire demon shrugged.
"I've bounced back from worse. Just go easy for real next time and we'll be square." They had an idea and smiled mischievously over at Vaggie. "You could make it up to me by letting me have one drink tonight. Just one, I promise."
Vaggie rolled her eye but agreed with a small smile.
Vaggie refused to offer to take the elevator, challenging the fire demon to a race up to the penthouse instead. Taylor groaned but brought back their flame tendrils before the two climbed up the face of the hotel as fast as they could. They met up with Charlie, who hugged Vaggie tightly and mouthed a thanks to Taylor. Nodding, they headed out of the room to let the couple have some alone time.
As they were riding the elevator down, their phone buzzed, and they read a message from Antonio.
"Hi T. How are you holding up? Get over your hangover yet? While you're recovering from the last job, Mels, our contacts, and I have started prepping for the next target. Let's talk details when we meet up next."
Taylor sighed as they texted back that they were back on their feet, and they will be ready. Pocketing their phone, they groaned slightly as their side ached and their head still had vestiges of their hangover headache.
'Will I ever catch a break? I need a vacation.' they thought tiredly. The elevator doors opened, and they made their way to the bar for that newly sanctioned whiskey they promised themselves.