Author's note: This chapter and the next one are going to be a little heavy, the next one, chapter 32 is going to be especially dark.

Chapter 31:

Emotions laid bare

In a large room inside the hazbin hotel, the short social media overlord and former member of the Vee's known as Velvette was anxiously pacing back and forth as she fidgeted with the ends of her large pigtails in a futile attempt to get the raging tidal wave of nerves that was currently ravaging her lower gut under control.

In the middle of the room, around a large, ornate looking wooden table, on one of the fancy looking dining room style chairs, the princess of hell, Charlie Morningstar sat, looking at the short fashionista with worry.

"What if it goes tits up? This is the ONE fucking chance I get, I can't screw this up!" the short overlord said in a shaky voice.

Charlie would get up from her seat and gently gestured with both hands for Velvette to take deep breaths "You don't know that. Yes there's that chance, but there's equal chance that the 2 of you can talk it out and she can learn to trust you"

Velvette rubbed her temples "You're right….you're right, I'm sorry….i'm just nervous ok? Nervous and scared" as she looked on her phone…8:56PM.

When the doors to the large dining room opened, Velvette would flinch and rubberneck into its direction, only to see Vaggie poking her head in. Giving a deep sigh, she asked her "Seen Ashley yet?"

The fallen angel would shake her head "Not yet, but shouldn't be long now. Vaggie did pause however when she saw Velvette's face "You really got it bad hu? You look like shit" to which the short doll demoness raised an eyebrow and pulled out a compact mirror "Oh fuck, I DO look like shit" as Vaggie stepped closer and put a hand on her shoulder "Yea, stress will do that to a person"

Suddenly, the sound of an old-timey doorbell could be heard through the building, making Velvette jump.

"I guess that's Ashley" Vaggie spoke up as she got up "I'll let her in, you ready Vel?" To this, Velvette swallowed a lump in her throat as she spoke "No…..let's fucking do this"

Vaggie would nod and walk towards the large doors again, tho before disappearing into the main hotel, she suddenly piped up "Wait, we had a fucking doorbell this whole time?!"

..

..

Having just rang the ornate button of the doorbell, Ashley stood before the front doors of the princess's hazbin hotel as she heard footsteps on the other side which slowly got louder.

"Alright Velvette….let's see what the fuck it is you want….i really hope for you that what everyone's been saying is true" she thought to herself as the door would open and she was met with the familiar face of the former exorcist and Charlie's girlfriend, Vaggie.

"Hey Ashley, come in. you ready?" She spoke.

The shark-grinned sinner just shrugged "Ready as ever I guess, Vags" as she stepped inside.

As the 2 women made their way inside towards the large dining room, Vaggie spoke up "So, just try to keep an open mind, ok? I know Velvette hasn't exactly done herself any favors in the past but she's been making big strides as of late"

Ashley would shrug "S'pose so, tho I remain skeptical, but we'll see"

To this, the fallen angel stopped dead in her tracks and whipped around as she gave the shark overlord a glare she had never seen before, sending chills down her spine "I mean it Ashley, she doing her best to fix shit, the fucking least you can do for her is hear her out and let her tell her side of the story" the former exorcist said in a stern, sharp tone.

This caused the anarchy demon to flinch. She knew she was a powerful overlord in her own right, but she was also VERY aware what the shorter woman before her used to be and could easily kick her ass if she wanted to "F-fine, I'll hear her out! Jeeze Vaggie, who pissed in your lasagna?"

Once they had arrived, Vaggie stopped the shark-grinned sinner "Wait here for a bit" as she poked her head inside "She's here, you ready?"

Velvette was now sitting at the table, face down with her head in her hands as Charlie was next to her, rubbing her back and trying to calm her nerves.

As Vaggie poked her head inside and gave the clear signal, the short fashionista demoness would raise her head to look her in the eye.

She looked terrible, she had very subtle dark circles around her eyes and looked pale, almost as if he was going to be sick. It was very clear she was NOT handling the anxiety and stress well.

None the less, Velvette would subtly nod her head "Let her come in" to which Charlie asked "Are you sure Velvette?"

The short overlord looked at her "Yes….i have to do this"

Vaggie returned her attention to Ashley "She's ready "As the 2 of them entered.

Vaggie would take a position on a seat in the middle of the large dining room table, Charlie and Velvette on one end, leaving a vacant seat on the other end for the shark sinner to occupy.

Ashley would make her way to the chair, snap her fingers as within small flames, her sleeveless coat and hat vanished as she plopped herself down onto the chair as she rested her arms on the table "So, you wanted to talk hu?" Ashley couldn't help but feel a bitterness creep in once she laid eyes on the doll demoness again.

That first time she had met Velvette had never really left her mind as she could still hear the insults play in the back of her brain on loop, allowing venom to slip into her every word, albeit subconsciously.

She felt it in the back of her throat as her impulsiveness got the better of her as she spat out "So what fucking game are you playing, hu?"

This caused Velvette to flinch with shock on her face, she almost looked like she was just slapped as Vaggie spat back "Ashley?! Remember what you said! You'll hear her out!"

Trying to get the slow, boiling anger under control, she grumbled out "Fine…." As now, it was Velvette who spoke up "I ain't playing any game. Zestial said it himself, didn't he? "as Rosie said, words are cheap, actions speak the truth" right? Well that's exactly what I'm fucking doing!"

"Yea and I'm supposed to just believe that the #BITCH suddenly had a change of heart? Sounds like a fucking load of bull if you ask me"

The fallen angel would once again interrupt the shark overlord "Velvette has her reasons, reasons that she isn't comfortable sharing just yet" as Charlie would add "Yes, aren't you all about second chances? Letting folks walk a mile in another's shoes?"

Vaggie would once again add to her partner "Charlie is right, you make deals with jerks and try to set them on the right path, even going as far as to send them to the hotel here to try redemption. And yet you don't extend that same gratitude to someone who's desperately trying to be better then she was and show everyone she's being genuine" as the fallen angel got up and stood behind Ashley, leaning over her shoulder "A little hypocritical, wouldn't you agree?"

What no one had anticipated was for the shark sinner to throw up all her walls and act as if she was driven in a corner as she bolted upright, pushing the chair back which fell over backwards as she suddenly towered over the former exorcist, making her realize just how much taller Ashley was.

"Oh so now I'm the fucking badguy hu?!" She sneered as her tail emerged and the large shark fin shot out of her back "Aren't you supposed to be some kinda mediator? And yet here you are picking sides, and you dare call ME a hypocrite?!"

Vaggie's own anger would bubble up as she gestured wildly with her arms "ASHLEY, NO ONE is picking sides, we just want you to hear her out without judgement!"

Charlie would also get up at this point as she got in-between her partner and the slightly taller then her sinner "Vaggie is right, Ashley, please calm down and hear her out, no one is picking sides and no one is blaming anyone here"

Realizing she had lost her temper, the shark-grinned sinner's eyes widened as she began to take deep, long inhales through her nose, keep them in for a bit, before slowly exhaling through her mouth as her more demonic traits slowly retracted.

"Shit….sorry Vags….i…didn't mean to shout at ya" she spoke.

Vaggie just glared at her, her wings having emerged by now as they flared out proudly on either side "It's not me you should apologize to, and you know that very fucking well" She said sternly as she gestured to the short doll demoness at the other end of the table.

As Ashley looked at her, she saw for the first time just how much of a wreck Velvette was. Gone was the overconfident, arrogant social media overlord she had seen that first meeting. What took her place was what looked like an anxious mess, her eyes slightly shiny as 2 small, wet tracks ran over her cheeks…was she crying the entirety of Ashley's outburst?

Taking another deep breath, she pushed down what little anger was left, picked her chair back up and sat down "Alright…..i guess I owe you an apology…..that was incredibly unprofessional and uncalled for….i'm sorry"

Velvette would take a few deep breaths of her own as she nodded before she began her story "You…..probably noticed my….change in behavior…something hit me in the face and I tried to ignore it at first…."

Ashley would slot her hands together as she rested her elbows on the table "And I supose this "something" is what you're not yet comfortable sharing"

"Indeed" Velvette answered before she continued "It wasn't until one of my models repeatedly hit me over the head with the truth that I couldn't deny it anymore and I realized I had to…..make some drastic changes"

"Worker revolt hu?" Ashley shrugged, to which Velvette winced "Well….yes and no…."

"Sounds like a bunch of hogwash" Ashley just blurted out very matter-of-factly, making Velvette wince and Vaggie to give her another glare, before she continued "But I promised Vags here I'd hear you out, so I will"

By now, Velvette was gritting her teeth, a combination of hurt and frustration twisting her guts into uncomfortable knots "I'm fucking trying, ok? I'm trying to show you so hard that you can trust me….and you CAN trust me, but no matter what I do, you still hold that first image you ever had of me firmly in your head!"

"What can I say, first impressions are lasting impressions" Ashley quipped back.

"Well maybe there's more to a person then what can be seen at a first glance, maybe there's a reason, a method to the madness!" Velvette spat back, her own emotions now bubbling to the surface as it was harder and harder to contain "I've been trying so fucking hard to get better, I stopped making love potions, I treat my employees with respect, even the souls I own are better off now"

Ashley shot up from her chair again "And why the fuck do you suddenly care?! You never fucking did before!" to which Velvette would yell back "Because I learned! Because Charlie and Vaggie here showed me how! You really think they'd give me the light of day if they didn't think I was being genuine?!"

The shark-toothed overlord gritted her teeth more as the once supposedly normal conversation was bordering on becoming a shouting match "I don't know what fucking game you're playing but I ain't falling for your tricks, Miss #BITCH!" As Velvette shouted back through slowly forming tears "Well maybe I don't want to be that bitch anymore!"

By now, Velvette too had stood up, slamming her fist on the table repeatedly "Yes, you're right, I didn't care! Not before, but I do now, I still fucking curse the day Melissa showed me that video of the talk she had with you, because it fucking hurt!" It was too late when she realized that she had revealed that secret, but my now, Velvette didn't care anymore.

"What fucking video!" Ashley demanded.

Velvette had become nothing but pure emotions at this point as the flood of tears kept rolling over her cheeks.

"The fucking video of you telling her how much you fucking hated my guts, and knowing that you did tore me up inside, it fucking ate at me! Seeing how much you despised me made me question fucking EVERYTHING, it made me want to fucking try, it made me want to be better, YOU made me want to be better!"

By now, Ashley was screaming at the top of her lungs, demonic form on full display as her shark fin was completely out, her scars fumed with fiery heat, lightning sparked from the corners of her eyes and her tail had emerged and thrashed behind her wildly "AND WHY THE FUCK WOULD I MAKE YOU WANT TO CHANGE?!"

"STILL DON'T FUCKING GET IT, DON'T YOU?!" Velvette yelled back.

Ashley just Bitterly spat back "NO, I FUCKING DON'T"

"ARE YOU REALLY THAT FUCKING DENSE?!"

"ANSWER MY GODDAMN QUESTION, VELVETTE!" Ashley raved angrilly.

"WHY THE FUCK WOULD I MAKE YOU WANT TO FUCKING CHANGE?!

Velvette couldn't keep it inside anymore as her heart finally spilled out and the dam broke.

"BECAUSE I'M IN FUCKING LOVE WITH YOU, YOU DUMBASS!"

The words felt like a whiplash as they snapped Ashley out of her rage and her demonic features immediately retracted.

A silence fell over the room, the only sound that was heard was a soft sniffling, originating from the short overlord on the other end of the table. Charlie and Vaggie looked at each other with wide eyes, unsure of what to do as Ashley just stared at Velvette with shock on her face as she saw the flood of tears trickle onto the wood of the large table.

"Velvette…i….i didn't…..." she barely croaked out as she slowly got up and tried to step closer.

With a shaky, barely audible voice, Velvette croaked out "You know what, j-just fucking forget it…..why the fuck did I ever even think I had a fucking chance with you.…..." in-between fits of tears as the short overlord just pushed her aside as she ran out of the room, Ashley trying to stop her "Velvette, wait!" but it was too late, the short fashionista had ran off to who knows where.

"i…..i really got to talk to her" Ashley mumbled to herself as she began to chase after her.

Note: I know Ashley kinda seems like a massive bitch in this chapter, but i can asure you all there is a reason as to why she behaves the way she does, and it all ties into her hate for bullies, as well as her constant joke cracking and aloof nature, it's all connected.

But more on that in the next chapter.