"Welcome to Channel 666 News." The news started up, only showing one anchor. "I'm Katie Killjoy and I'm here to announce that it has officially been a day since the terrorist attack on the Vee Tower. As of currently, Vox has refused any attempt at contact or to answer any questions. Any attempts to contact the other Vees have been left quiet and unfortunately-" She was cut off as the TV suddenly got stabbed with the remote.
"I can't fucking believe this. After all the shit we've already had to deal with the first time…" Valentino growled in annoyance as he stomped around the room. "That little brat!" He yelled as he flipped the table. "KITTY! DRINK! THE STRONGEST BACK THERE!"
"Screaming your ass off about it is not gonna make it even better." Velvette says while sitting in one of the chairs.
"Oh, that's real rich coming from the BITCH! Who was fucking let off easy!" The moth demon screamed again as the robot gave him a drink before he threw it at her which she dodged. "He didn't even do shit to you! You ungrateful whore!" He then threw another drink at her.
"I only antagonized him a little bit. You were the one who didn't think to keep your eyes on him, knowing what shit he could do."
"You know what!?..." Valentino tried to think of a comeback. "FUCK YOU!" He yelled before growling in annoyance and then going to his closet, pulling out guns.
"You're fucking going out there now!? Do you wanna lose more fucking teeth?"
"I don't care how long it's fucking been! I'll kill that little prick and fuck his corpse before he tries to-!" He was cut off by a metallic door closing over the one he was going for. "Wha… Vox, open the door." He says to the other Overlord who is sitting on the couch, looking at the broken TV. "Vox, I fucking said open the door!"
"You're n-n-not going over there, Val-l." Vox tells him, his voice box glitching, causing him to stutter.
"Excuse me, I'm not gonna be locked in here. Open the goddamn door so I can make a dildo out of-"
"VaLEnTiNo, SHut tHe fUcK UP!" He screamed while looking at him with fury in his remaining eye.
Valentino was taken aback, frightened of his fellow Overlord. Vox growled in annoyance before sitting back in place, then leaning over while covering whatever remained of his face.
"Do you at least have a plan or something?" Val asked.
"No, I f-fucking don't." Vox says before looking up. "We can't af-fford to have this m-m-mistake happen a third time. Especially a-after all the damage w-we got that we didn't have the first time."
"So… what now then? We just let him risk making a deal with you-know-who?" Velvette asked.
"Right now, we need to f-focus on rebuilding and then preparing for t-t-t-t-the Extermination." Vox says before looking up at the screen. "As for the boy…"
He thought for a moment before the damaged TV showed the footage of the angry human. He stared at it, his eye narrowing before squinting.
"He's young b-but he's not stupid." He leaned back against the cushions. "He'll catch on that Alastor is n-not to b-b-b-be trusted. As for us, I can say w-without a doubt that we've l-l-lost all chances of him listening to us. We can't do anything with him right now."
Valentino glared at him but slumped his shoulders in defeat before going back to the closet while grumbling. Velvette sat back in her seat, before taking out her phone, the media being completely bombarded with the news that one of them just got the shit beaten out of him by a living mortal.
As for Vox, he just sat on the couch, hands together, thinking before looking back at the image of the human on the TV in front of him. He knew there was nothing he could do.
"D-don't shake his hand, kid."
(Days later)
"Welcome to Channel 666 News." The other anchor says as he shows up covered in bandages. "I'm Tom Trench, and here to announce the recent updates on the terrorist attack three days ago. The Vees still remain quiet about the incident and in other news, the whereabouts of the human that supposedly committed this attack is still nowhere to be seen. People have been going on, wanting to know more about this human and where he possibly could've come from and mostly, how he pulled this off."
The TV then changed to show them in front of a random guy on the street who just removed his mouth from a pot bong.
"Tell us-" A reporter on scene asks while shoving a microphone in his face. "What are your thoughts on a human being running around attacking the Overlords."
He took another hit from the bong and let out a puff of smoke. "Huh?"
It then changed to show a hellhound guy. "The who's the what now?"
Then to a random buff demon. "They get what they fucking deserve."
Then to an incubus. "Kinda hot honestly."
Then to a succubus. "I wouldn't mind having a ride on that train. ~"
Then to an imp. "Who the fuck cares? I'm trying to run a business here. I ain't got time for that shit."
"So you're not worried that he might attack you?" The reporter asked.
"Listen, bitch. Not my cum, not my balls."
"... Blitzo, the phrase is 'not my monkey, not my circus.'" A hellhound tells him.
"Mine's better."
It then cut to Tom as he stared at the camera for a moment. "Uh…" He then leaned off-screen and whisper-yelled. "What the hell? Where's the footage of people who give a shit about this?" He says before someone whispers back. "Fuck you mean that's it?" He then quickly straightened up. "People uh… have been talking about it, I assure you. There hasn't seemed to be any more attacks from the human so far-"
"Lucky us, huh." Angel says while holding Fat Nuggets.
"Yeah, lucky they haven't come here to look for him." Husk says, Oshawott sitting on his lap. "With all the shit went down, the kid'll be lucky to leave the place."
"I mean, isn't that the point of his disguise he has?"
Everyone and the Pokemon were in the parlor watching the news that was still going on about the recent events. Razzle and Dazzle were hanging around Charizard, continuously assuring the dragon that it wasn't his fault what he had done. The other Pokemon, unfortunately, had to go through the normal treatment of taking time to heal without the help of a Pokemon Center or Nurse Joy.
Charlie looked back, perking up as Vaggie noticed and looked back. Ash walked out with Pikachu on his shoulder, adjusting the bandages around his hands before he started down the stairs.
"Ash!" Charlie called out, catching his attention.
"Hey, guys." He says, getting to the ground floor before the girls pull him into a hug.
"It's good to see you're okay." Charlie says before kissing him.
"Yeah." He says before doing the same with Vaggie.
"How are you holding up?" She asked.
"I'm doing better, honestly. Just had a little burnout with my aura."
"Wouldn't call that a little burnout." Angel says. "You went fucking nuts on Vox back there. The fuck did he do to you?"
Ash had a small flashback to what he experienced from the Overlord, before shaking his head. "I don't know if I wanna talk about it."
"Makes sense."
"What about you? You get any calls from your boss?"
"Nah, he… surprisingly has been ghosting me which he usually doesn't do. Not that I mind, but… kinda worried about the blowback this is gonna be for me."
"I'm sorry."
"Hey, don't you fucking dare apologize?" Angel then poked his chest. "You worry about you, okay? Just keep yourself out of trouble."
Ash wanted to argue but didn't have the energy to do so. All he could do was hope that the pimp demon was out of commission for a long while and his friend could at least get some kind of break.
"Well, I am happy to know you're recovering just fine." Alastor says while walking over. "You certainly put up quite a show back there. I'm most impressed."
"Do you really think you should be talking about that shit already?" Husk tells him.
"Just saying."
Ash stared at the Radio Demon in worry. Whatever was talking to him back in the tower, it sounded exactly like him. And hearing his voice now, it wasn't off in the slightest. He knew the tone, knew what he sounded like, especially since he'd been around the Overlord long enough.
This man who he had grown close to, who had gone out of his way to give him a disguise so that he could walk around Hell, the same one who helped him find a friend to give him some dating advice, who even did something as little as helping him find clothes for a date, had gone and instead of helping him keep calm, encourage him to cause such destruction and nearly…
As he stared, the Radio Demon stared back, still grinning. He wasn't mistaken. That was his voice talking to him. His presence beside him at each second. Maybe he wasn't physically there, but he was there and he almost made him-
"Ash?" Charlie asked, snapping him from his trance.
"Wh… huh?" He says, looking at the princess.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
He took a second before looking back at the Radio Demon. Alastor only tilted his head before he turned and started to walk away. Husk scoffed, but the boy felt some form of relief when he did leave.
Ash then looked down at his hands, remembering how they had been damaged. Vox's shards cutting into his skin… how much damage he had done to him… the look of fright on what remained of the Overlord's face… and just learning now that it was broadcasted for all of Hell to see… even the people in the hotel… even the girls.
He could only imagine how frightened they must've been when seeing him act so ferocious, but he couldn't feel any more shame than knowing he was about to use his aura to kill someone. Even if they were sinners that would recover, the intention was still there.
"I-I'm sorry if I scared any of you that night." He says.
"W-what?" Pentious says he and the others look puzzled.
"I got a little out of hand, but… I don't want you to think that I'm anything like that-"
"Oh my-Shut the fuck up!" Husk yelled in frustration, catching the others off guard. "God… do you have to apologize about every single fucking thing? 'I'm sorry I scared you guys'-You didn't scare us for jackshit."
After a second, the cat gathered his thoughts before sighing, and then stepping closer to the boy.
"Look, you did something that's messed up to you, I get it, but you don't gotta say sorry about it. Maybe it's frightening, but that doesn't mean we hate you for it like you obviously think we do." He says while poking his chest. "Kid, we've all done something messed up. Maybe not as far as you have but still, join the club." He says while gesturing to himself and the others.
"Yeah, I mean, come on. You just fucked over an Overlord. One of the top ones at that. That is sick as hell." Angel says while doing finger guns.
"The point is, you've done more than enough for us to know you're not a psycho that'll kill us at a moment's notice." The cat says before smiling and then putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're good in my book, kid. Don't let what happened this week get to ya."
Ash stared for a moment before smiling, then moved forward to hug the cat, catching him off guard. After a second, Husk began to hug back while rolling his eyes leaving the girls to look on, proud of their boyfriend and happy for him.
Angel leaned forward while moving his eyebrows teasingly before the cat was about to shove him away, the boy grabbed and pulled him into the hug. The demons looked at each other before they just accepted the hug.
Pentious slivered up, tapping his fingertips together before he was pulled into it as well. He smiled warmly and accepted it, the eggs soon following after.
(Meanwhile, elsewhere)
"I assume you know why I requested your presence today." Carmilla says while standing in the Overlord meeting room, the Overlords of Hell sitting in their seats. "And I thank you all for coming, not including Alastor or… the Vees." She says while looking at the empty chairs.
The only Overlords that showed up were the ones from the first meeting. The Vees didn't attend for obvious reasons, but Alastor… well, no one knew why he wasn't there.
"Their absence is the least of our worries, though. Assuming you've all heard from the news about the recent events, particularly involving not just the existence of a human in Hell, but that same human attacking one of our fellow Overlords." Carmilla said before the projector showed a screenshot of the event.
"This is something the likes of Hell has never seen before. This could spell trouble for us." The demon with a blue flame says.
"I mean, it's just Vox. The human's strong, yeah. But let's be honest, he probably did something to piss it off." The dinosaur girl says.
"And that's where you misunderstand the situation." Carmilla tells her. "As I've stated previously, we've already lost a wide number of souls not long ago, and the angelic army is gonna be coming back in half the time, now we have a supposed human strong enough to damage an Overlord somewhere in the city with his current location unknown."
After the explanation, the other four nodded, understanding what she meant.
"If we were to assume this human is trigger-happy or perhaps on a mission to continue causing damage, it spells much trouble for everyone. However, if he can be reasoned with, it'll be one less problem for us to deal with." Carmilla continued. "If I were to be honest, I have doubts that this thing could be human at all."
"Doth thou believe this might be an early attack from heaven?" Zestial asked.
"I can't say for sure. Though, Exterminators don't typically leave their skin exposed like this, much less, Vox wouldn't still be alive if that were the case. I don't believe he might be from Heaven."
"Thou makes a fair point. Though, haply this human could be reasoned with would we were to encounter him."
Carmilla was about to say something else before she noticed one of the Overlords leaning close and squinting her eyes. "Is there something wrong, Rosie?"
"No, no, nothing, just…" Rosie says before humming. "I can't help but feel like I've seen him before."
Hearing that, the other Overlords took another look at the human. "Huh… ya know he does kinda look familiar." The dinosaur says.
Carmilla seemed confused before she turned and looked closer at the boy. His blue eyes did look familiar, but she couldn't pinpoint from what. His hair was disheveled a bit but it still had enough shape to resemble something she once saw. Then there were the marks on his face that looked like Zs which narrowed it down.
The more she looked though, the more she started to think about the demon Alastor had previously brought to the meeting. Then her eyes widened, recognizing who it was.
(Back at the hotel, later that night)
Ash was up on the balcony, not repeating the same mistake of being alone as he had Pikachu, Charizard, and Keekee with him. He patted the dragon's head, for some more reassurance before looking out at the clock tower. The number had gone down but not by much. Still, the Extermination wasn't far.
He leaned on the railing, taking his hat off as his hair flowed through the breeze. He was surprised that there was a breeze in Hell but didn't question it, only breathing it in and relaxing himself.
Then he reached into his pocket and took out the mask he had for his disguise. Staring at it started to bring back memories of the past few days. Things went downhill so quickly.
It was supposed to be just a peaceful morning, yet it led to him getting kidnapped, threatened, touched in a way he shouldn't have, and then hearing the voice of someone he trusted convincing him to cause so much damage. The more he looked at the mask, the harder he started to grip it.
He then started to recall all the times the others tried to warn him about the Radio Demon, not to trust him, and how dangerous he truly was. He knew he did questionable things, but now he started to wonder why he hadn't listened to them, how he could let his guard down so easily.
He reeled his arm back, ready to chuck the mask out there. However, he hesitated, knowing he would also be throwing out his only means of disguise before lowering his arm, and putting it away again. Pikachu patted his arm for comfort, the boy petting him in return.
As of now, he began to wonder… should he really be trusting the Radio Demon? If he lost control of his aura again and heard his voice… what would happen then?
Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Ash, I know you say you're okay, but…" Charlie says.
"We told you before. Just talk to us, please." Vaggie also says both are concerned.
Ash looked back at them, starting to feel bad.
"I know, but it's not easy." He says before he thought for a second. "I just wanna get my powers under control. I'm… afraid I'll end up losing myself again and…" He paused, hesitating for a second before taking their hands in his. "I don't wanna hurt any of you."
"Ash, we know you won't hurt us. You wouldn't do that." Charlie tries to reassure him as she caresses his hand.
"But what if I end up doing so? Getting anger… I might… I don't want that."
"Hon, don't get yourself worked up so much." Vaggie says as the girls pull him into a hug. "Please, try to take it easy. We know this is new to you too and it's a lot, but we can get through this. Together."
"Trust us. We know you're get through this." Charlie tells him while rubbing his head.
"I… I hope you're right."
Hearing that, the blonde smiled. "Hey, don't look so down. Come on, smile at me."
"Charlie…"
"Come on!" She then says before rubbing her cheek against his.
"Charlie." He started to laugh as she gave him a flurry of kisses. "Okay, okay!"
"There's that smile we love." She says before pinching his cheek.
He laughed before hugging the two again. He started to wonder where he would be if it weren't for them. He knew that he wouldn't have been able to get through this without them.
"Alright, come on. Let's start by changing your bandages. They…" Vaggie says before noticing something.
The bandages seemed to have gotten loose for whatever reason, showing a bit of his skin. She undid the rest of them until his hand was completely free and it was… healed.
"What?" She says in astonishment before feeling it. "No way." She realized how smooth his skin felt.
The other two were surprised to see it and then did the same with the other hand. It was just like his other, with no trace of injury.
"Wow…" Charlie says before smiling as she holds his hand. "This is amazing."
"No scars… huh. What do ya know." The other woman says.
The boy felt his own hands, amazed by how fast they had healed and gone back to normal as if nothing happened. Things seemed to looking up.
Then the moment was interrupted by the sound of beeping that caused Vaggie to jump and look around, drawing her spear. Charlie reached and lowered the weapon, silently telling her to calm down. Ash reached into his pocket and then paused for a second before slowly pulling out something he had forgotten about.
The Arc Phone stopped beeping once in his hand as the screen lit up, much to his shock. The screen said 'WELCOME BACK ASH' before it showed the apps as his eyes widened. He tapped the TRVL app, and the options appeared.
"Ash? What's wrong?" Charlie asked in concern.
He looked back at her and smiled. "I can go home."
To be continued…
Yeah, this is just a short chapter to follow up on what happened. Next chapter, Ash is gonna be taking the girls to his world again.
I'm gonna wait until Tai's done moving so that we can work on the next chapter together. Until then, hope you enjoyed this chapter, even if it was short. Stay tuned and see you then.