Things had been a little strange for the Vees.
It was hard to say when things had started getting... weird, but Velvette had to place it around the time that Exorcist motherfucker had clawed his way through Vox Tower. Not that it was really her problem, her things weren't affected by the unholy terror that had ripped through, leaving nothing but pain and irritation in his wake.
If anything, Vox was the one who seemed the most upset. Something about Alastor... she hadn't paid attention when he was venting to her (it was always something about Alastor). But that whole incident was months ago by now. He should really be over himself. Sure, Alastor could wriggle under Vox's skin like a parasite, but usually Vox chilled out after a few days of angry rants. But this fucking time he was struggling to let it go- to let anything go. Vox had always had a problem with... obsessing. Usually Velvette could ignore it, however, recently Vox was making it everyone's problem.
The asshole had even beefed-up security: just in case.
In case of what? In case Velvette was threatened by the ability to easily access her own fucking room? The abstract and absolute horror. He went so far as to keep changing the security codes at completely arbitrary points in time. Sometimes the dumbass would even forget to tell Val and Vel, so they would both be stuck just pounding on the reinforced doors until Vox realized his mistake and let them back in. It was a goddamn nightmare. And to make things worse, Velvette was going to have to go to a fucking meeting tomorrow with Mary-Lu. She owed that slimy bitch a favor after Velvette had chipped a nail right before a major photoshoot and somehow Mary had just slid right next to her with the exact perfect press-on matching in size and shape. Velvette would have admired the play, if it had been used on literally anyone else.
She should have been prepping and outfit planning for tomorrow, but in all honesty, Velvette didn't give a flying fuck about whatever Mary-Lu wanted her to do, and the rising Overlord would get what she got out of the newest of the Vees. It's not like Velvette had to try hard to look good, anyway. To people like her, perfection came naturally. But Vox was always on about keeping good relationships with the other Overlords (except Alastor, because- in Vox's own words- fuck Alastor). Apparently, it was easier to screw someone over at a later date if they thought you liked them.
Whatever.
It was just one fucking day. Velvette could put up with Mary-Lu for that long. At least she was one of the more recent Sinners. She understood Velvette's references and jokes better than most of the old hags that typically maintained power.
Velvette sat in her room at the vanity, the TV on in the background playing some new melodrama that Vox had introduced. It had only aired a few episodes, but Velvette's models who were hired to play the lead kept coming to her and begging to be changed to any other task. Apparently, it started out strong, but the scripts would sometimes go completely batshit. Not in the ways of grotesque violence or steamy sex- her girls were fine with that. But they insisted things just turned to nonsense as the script went on. It seemed fine from the bits Velvette had seen. It was all stupid. But that was the appeal.
She finished fixing her makeup, running her fingers through her hair one last time just to make sure she was absolute perfection. She hopped on her bed, in her cutest, hottest bedwear and leaned lazily on the pillows. She held up the camera. Nope. The lighting was all wrong. She got back to her feet and began rearranging all her lights before hopping back on the bed. She held up the phone again. Much better. Velvette adjusted her pose, fixing her hair on the pillow.
Snap.
Perfect picture.
She sat back up and immediately logged onto her Sinstagram.
Radvelvetcakes: So tired from working hard. Look like a mess but feel like a badass. Night babes! #sleepy #nofilter
Instantly the picture took off. And why wouldn't it? She was a fucking celebrity. Her feed was flooded with thirsty Sinners and Hellborns alike. There were hate comments too, but haters were easily dealt with in a place where murder was legal. And Sinstagram wasn't as anonymous as people believed, at least, not when Velvette knew the man who had invented it.
Now that the internet was abuzz with talk of her gorgeous face, it was time to actually get ready for bed.
Velvette hopped in the shower to wash off all the makeup and hair products. It would be a nightmare for her in the morning if she left them on. She finished her shower, drying off, and putting on an actually comfortable set of pajamas. Between Vox and Val, there was no one at Vox Tower that was worth the effort of impressing. The Vees themselves lived in the penthouse, each with a massive suit that was large enough to be its own luxury apartment. When image was everything to a Sinner, it meant Vox spared no expense in assuring that his cohorts had the best of the best. Velvette walked into her kitchen, opening the fridge and shoving the alcohol out of the way to find a bottle of very expensive water. She grabbed it before heading back to the bedroom, taking an unceremonious swig of water before flopping back on the bed.
"Do you hear that?" The woman's voice reminded Velvette the TV was still on in the back.
"Do you hear that?" The actress repeated the words, the exact same, empty inflection. Was this supposed to be avant-garde? Vox was terrible with that artsy shit. It was really more Val's expertise. It could be that the actress in question was just fucking bad. But with all the great actors that had ended up in Hell, it seemed unlikely Vox would have to settle.
"Did you hear that?" The staging was also piss-poor in Velvette's opinion. The actress was completely alone, facing the camera. Who the fuck was she talking to? Maybe there was a co-star off screen. Velvette hadn't been paying enough attention to know. Or maybe she was supposed to be talking to the audience. Ugh. Was it supposed to be one of these fucking artsy the audience is a character pieces? Vox was no Shakespeare, that much was obvious.
"D-d y- h-r th-t?" The TV screen became distorted, the sound was going to shit. Fuck, someone must have knocked into one of Vox's broadcast towers. Velvette figured she might as well text the asshole and let him know his precious trash TV was being interrupted.
He probably knew, the egomaniac was always watching his own shows.
Velvette pulled out her phone and started to scroll for Vox's number. Before she could even get close, the screen froze. Yes, it was well known that Vox-phones were pieces of shit that relied heavily on the concept of planned obsolescence, but the Vees used a different phone, a special one that was far superior to the crap the masses fought over in the streets. It shouldn't have been malfunctioning.
The TV was only spewing static at this point. Velvette couldn't make out anything through the pixelated screen and crackling waves of static pulsing through her speakers.
Fuck, she was really starting to get a headache from the noise.
Nope. She was not doing this. Not tonight. Not after she was ready to pass the fuck out, curled up in her very expensive sheets. This was Vox's problem, and he was going to fucking fix it.
Velvette slid her fluffy slippers and elegant bathrobe on before throwing open the door to her suite and making a B-Line for Vox's place. She walked through the common area that all three of their rooms shared (a luxurious sort of lounge stocked with even more food and drinks- things that didn't fit in the Vees' respective kitchens), right up to the front door, knocking loudly. "HEY FUCKER ALL YOUR SHIT IS BUSTED!"
No answer.
Velvette knocked harder and much to her surprise, the door slid open a crack with her constant banging. That was... unexpected. Vox had been locking his place up like it was the bloody crown jewels. Every month he seemed to have invented some new, incoherent lock to attach to his door. So, the fact that it was open left Velvette feeling a little uneasy. She shook herself; she was an Overlord goddamn it, and no pissy, little corporate bastard was going to stop her from making her displeasure known. So, with no further hesitation, she stormed into Vox's living room.
It had been a while since she had been in here, Vox hadn't been inviting people up as much as he once did. There were multiple TVs, computers, drones, and all sorts of technology scattered about. Those that were on were currently flickering and playing that same static. So even Vox's fucking top-tier shit was affected by this. That was... unexpected. Velvette didn't see her target, so she continued deeper into Vox's home. The sound was worse the closer she drew to Vox's room. The door was cracked open and she could see that it was dark save for the flickering, synthetic light from various screens.
"Vox I'm coming in so if you and Val are fucking, say something now because I don't want to see that shit." Velvette made sure she was loud as she opened the door. She didn't actually think there was some steamy debauchery between the other two Vees. (She was pretty sure Vox and Val were on one of their breaks. They had been rather snippy at each other lately.) But Velvette just wanted to say something. The sound of her own voice could at least drown out some of that static. "So here I come."
There were TVs in Vox's room because, of course there were. The man couldn't be without his technology. Usually, he would use them to display security footage. So, in theory, those should have been working. But they weren't. It was the same, flickering, distorted screen on each of Vox's security monitors as it was on Velvette's TV. Velvette could see Vox, sitting straight up in his bed. His face was... gone.
Warped.
Velvette slowly reached toward him; the static around her was blaring louder than ever. She felt a wave of nausea washing over her as her hand touched his shoulder.
"Vox." She shook him gently at first, but he was as rigid as a corpse beneath her touch. She shook him harder. "VOX!"
A hand wrapped around her wrist so suddenly Velvette let out a small cry. She tried to pull back, but found she couldn't free her wrist from Vox's painfully tight grip.
"Velvette!" All at once the sounds stopped and Vox's face returned. He was smiling, but crimson blood was dripping from the side of his mouth, piling up on the edge of his screen and slowly starting to drip over, onto his bedding. "What brings you here at this unholy hour?"
"What the actual fuck are you doing Vox!?" Velvette was out of breath, but she recovered quickly. Stupid Vox had nearly scared the shit out of her with this new display.
"Sleeping." He looked more annoyed than anything else.
"No, the fuck you weren't! I know what it looks like when you're asleep and it's not whatever the bloody hell you were just doing."
"I don't know what to tell you, Vel. I was asleep." He rubbed his eyes, looking more exhausted than he had the last time she had seen him. "Had a fucking awful dream..." He stared off into space again for a moment. "Can't remember what about..."
"Look, all the VoxTek crap you push on us was acting batshit and I come in and you're..." She trailed off, she couldn't think of a word that fit what she had just seen. "I dunno... possessed?"
"Sleeping, Vel. I was sleeping, we just went over this." Vox stretched and shook himself; he wiped his mouth and saw the red stain on the sleeve of his pajamas in the dim light of the security monitors. "Huh."
"Is huh all you have to say for yourself?"
"I suppose I could also add: how the fuck did you get into my bedroom?"
"Your door was open."
"Impossible. I locked it before I went to bed."
"Well, I dunno what to tell you, Vox. I knocked and it literally just opened."
"But that..." Vox's eyes darted around for a moment. "Hm. Well, I suppose I'll have to deal with that."
"And while you're on it, fix all the bloody TVs, phones, computers... Everything in my goddamn room- no, actually, in the whole fucking tower- was going absolutely mental!"
"Uh... huh..." Vox's eyes flickered to the monitors above him, which of course had begun working fine now that Velvette actually had Vox to complain to. "Fine. Let me see your phone then." He offered his hand out and Velvette sighed, handing him her phone. Vox looked it over, fiddled with it for a few moments, and handed it back. "I dunno what to tell you, Vel. It seems fine to me. All the diagnostics are normal.
"Ugh. Never mind." Velvette ran a hand through her hair. "I'm going to bed."
"Ah yes, hopefully no one wakes you up."
"You weren't sleeping you fucking prick!" Velvette stormed off. She was too tired for this bullshit. She had already gotten all ready for bed and all she wanted to do as pass the fuck out and forget this whole night. She made sure to slam the door to Vox's room before she made her way back to her own suite. She flopped down on her bed, plugging her phone in before finally getting to close her eyes. She had been so tense when talking to Vox she hadn't realized how badly her head had been hurting. Those boys could always find a way to give her a migraine. Maybe it was for the best that she was going out with Mary-Lu tomorrow; it would at least give her a break from the constant presence of her fellow Vees. She felt like she deserved at least that much. (At this point it may have been a downright necessity.)
For the first time in a while, Velvette slept like shit.
When she awoke, her headache had eased, but she hardly felt rested. She rolled over to see spots of red on her pillow. Where the fuck had those come from?
Velvette got to her feet, walking to her bathroom, flipping on the lights and looking at herself in the mirror. It was impressive how, even though she felt like shit, she still looked amazing. She started to fix her hair, but in the process felt something... sticky congealed in her otherwise perfect locks. Velvette took a closer look in the mirror.
Blood?
It had mostly dried but...
Velvette turned her head, dried blood was in her hair and smeared on either side of her head, Carefully, she took a cloth and wiped at her ears. Sure, enough the cloth came back stained red. How the fuck had she managed to do that to herself? She cleaned the blood off her face and out of her hair, checking herself for any sort of injury. There was nothing she could see. That was... certainly an unpleasant way to start the morning. Ah well, the show must go on.
Velvette got dressed back in the same cute nightwear from before. Fixed up her hair, her makeup, and headed back to her bed. She had to flip the pillow over, hide the blood. That wasn't on brand for the picture she was taking. She got her lighting all perfect, before lying in her bed once more, fanning her hair out over her pillows and holding up her phone to get the perfect shot. Then it was back to Sinstagram.
Radvelvetecakes: Morning babes! Just woke up~ Still kinda tired lol, but there's too much to do. 3. #morningroutine #nofilter #bedhead
She absolutely did not have bedhead, but it made the post look more legitimate. Now it was time to get a cute picture of her breakfast. She put on a much fancier robe (she had yet to decide if she was going to be in said picture or not, but it was best to have the option), and headed out to the joint lounge. She was the first one out in the morning, which was fine by her. She wasn't really in the mood for social interaction until she had her coffee. She grabbed a cute mug that matched her outfit, picking out some of the most expensive and beautiful fruit and setting them up against the cup as she started her coffee. She poured a quick bowl of oatmeal, decorating it with some blueberries and strawberries to give it that nice pop of color. She sat back down taking a few pictures of her display.
Radvelvetcakes: Starting the day with a healthy breakfast! #yummy #morningroutine #fitandfine
Her coffee was ready, she shoved the food aside and grabbed a bowl of sugary cereal. Sometimes she would eat her set up, but not today. Today she wanted junk. She grabbed the coffee pot, pouring it into her mug, adding a plethora of milk and sugar until that bitter taste was barely detectable. She put her cheek in her hand and shoveled a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.
"Goooooood morning~" one of the doors flew open and Valentino practically floated out of his room. He looked refreshed, well-rested; he was in a great mood. This had become commonplace for Velvette. Val seemed to be floating on cloud nine for the past few months, and Velvette wasn't complaining. At least someone was in a good mood. "Saw your post~ Cute look. Love it."
"Thank you." Velvette nodded to him. She had gotten his like and comment, but Valentino was always good about interacting with her stuff. "You look good this morning."
"I look good every morning."
"You know what I mean. I slept like fucking shit thanks to Vox's malfunction."
"Malfunction?" Val paused, drink in hand. "You mean because he's been such a moody little bitch recently? I don't know what crawled into his ass and died, but I am not letting him rain on my parade."
"No, last night, everything went bloody haywire and I had to basically go yell at Vox personally." Velvette shivered a bit at the memory of Vox's rigid form.
"Huh..." Val grabbed a pastry out of the glass case- freshly made by VoxTek staff every morning. "I didn't really pick up on anything last night. I was thinking he was feeling better, between you and me. Guess that's too much to ask."
"I don't know what's gotten into him, but he's becoming a fucking nightmare."
"You're telling me." Val took a seat beside Velvette. "Oh, we both look cute. We need a pic!" He took his phone out. Velvette sighed, picking up her cup.
"You're right we both look incredible. Let's do it." She made a cute pose as Valentino took the picture. She trusted his eye, she knew if he posted it, she would look amazing.
"Ugh," the last door swung open and Vox practically stumbled out. He already had a coffee in his hand, in his custom 'Fuck Alastor' mug. It seemed all three Vees felt like being in the lounge for breakfast. Velvette was here for the lighting and backdrop; she wasn't entirely sure what had the others' excuse was. "Holy fucking shit I feel like I was hit by a bus."
"You look like it too." Val had both hands around his glass as he took a sip. Velvette could see the bite on his arm as his sleeve drooped, it had pretty much healed up. She could only see pale, pinprick marks where the teeth had dug in. Good to see it was pretty much gone, the human mouth was a disgusting place- Val if anyone should know that- so it made sense he would have taken good care of it before it got infected.
"Shut up." Vox flopped down on the last remaining chair. He had his cup in one hand, and his phone in the other. "I have so many fucking work requests from last night. Half of Hell is up my ass about the TVs and phones messing up."
"That's so weird, I didn't notice anything..." Val gave a little shrug. "I thought last night was some of your beat work on that new soap opera."
"I didn't get to see any of it because my bloody TV went batshit." Velvette gave Vox an annoyed look.
"I dunno what happened, I was asleep." Vox kept scrolling through his messages looking more and more exhausted.
"I told you last night, you weren't asleep." Velvette watched Vox carefully. "You were fucking dissociating or something."
"What are you talking about?" Vox finally looked up.
"Last night? When I came to your room?"
"What?"
"I came into your room and shook you?" Velvette kept her eyes on Vox but he looked genuinely confused. "Remember?" He blinked.
"Vaguely..." he took a sip of his coffee. "I kind of thought I dreamed that."
"No. You didn't." Thinking back on it, maybe Velvette should have gotten Val to go with her into Vox's room. Not that she wasn't confident in her ability to fuck Vox up, should the need arise, but having another witness to what she had seen might have made Vox more inclined to listen.
"I am swarmed with either messages telling me that everything I made is shit, or telling me last night's episode of Love After Death was the best one I've ever made. Which episode even was it?"
"Oh, it was really good, Vox." Val leaned over on his elbows. "Usually your stuff is pretty contrived, but last night was something special."
"So, your TV didn't freak the fuck out? Because mine did." Velvette raised an eyebrow at Val. Maybe he had somehow been skipped over by whatever the fuck had been screwing with the electronics in Vox's and Velvette's room. Why did he get a free pass? Was he using something different? No way Vox would give Val something better than what he used for himself. Sure, they were fuck-buddies, but Vox would always value himself more than either of the other Vees. Not that Velvette cared, she was the same way. An alliance was nice and all but they were all only here for themselves.
"No, not at all." Val took another sip from his drink. "It's a shame yours did, Velvette." He sounded surprisingly disappointed. "I was really hoping you would have seen it." Velvette raised an eyebrow at Valentino, glancing over at Vox who looked equally confused.
"I'm sure it'll be on Vox Plus." She wasn't really into any of Vox's silly late-night soaps, she preferred his reality TV. But if Val liked them, that was fine.
"Doubtful. True art can really only be appreciated in the moment." Val sighed heavily. "It's a shame, really. I had such high hopes for you Velvette."
"Dude, it's Love After Death, not fucking Hamlet." Her eyes narrowed. There was a moment where it looked as if Val wanted to say more, but he changed his mind.
"There's still time. Not today though," he took his glass and headed back to his room. "I have a lot to do." He glanced back at Vox who was almost falling over in his coffee from fatigue, his phone slid out of his hand and onto the floor. "For the company, of course." And with that his door shut.
"Okay, fucking weird." Velvette turned her attention to Vox. "Wake the fuck up before you spill something." She noticed a black stain on his sleeve. "Or rather, something else." It was a good thing that it was just the two of them, Vox took a great deal of pride in always looking pristine, so having a stained sleeve- unless it was with Alastor's blood- would have driven him crazy.
"Huh? What?" Vox blinked nearly throwing his coffee as he jerked back awake. "Where's my phone?"
"You dropped it."
"Ah fuck." Vox reached down and picked it up off the floor. He went to get up but smashed his head on the table, dropping the phone again. "Double fuck." He finally managed to sit back up with the phone in his hand. But it was a struggle.
"Maybe you should take some time off..." Velvette watched the comedy of errors unfold before her. "You're practically falling apart."
"I'm fine, Velvette. No one calls out of work for being a little tired. I mean, I won't let them." He chuckled to himself. "That being said, the underlings won't do exactly what I want unless I micromanage them~" At least he was sounding a bit more like himself. Vox coughed into his arm before taking another sip of his coffee.
"Right. Well, if you aren't feeling better by the end of the day, maybe just sleep early." It was a waste for her to say any of this. Vox would do exactly as he pleased. Still, she would be lying if she said she wasn't at least the smallest bit concerned for him. He hadn't been himself lately and he just seemed so worn down...
"Yeah yeah." Vox was on his phone again. "Sounds good. But I am fine, Velvette, dear."
"If you insist." She finished her food and got up. "I have to go to a meeting with Mary-Lu today, so if you need me, I'll be in her headquarters."
"The DamnWay CEO?" Vox finally looked up. "Didn't realize you two had gotten buddy-buddy.
"We're not. But I owe her a favor."
"She pays good money for adds from us, so do try and play nicely."
"I'm not nice. Plus, I thought you hated that bitch because her Anti-Exorcist oil or whatever it is, was competing with your Angelic Security. "
"No, but you can be fake-nice with the best of them. So, say whatever she wants to hear, you don't have to mean any of it. Half of what I say to the other Overlords is bullshit. It's the same for them too. No one is honest in the entertainment or sales industries. It's not about that, it's about results. You're right, I don't really like her, but I like that she throws lots of money at me every time there's a new product she needs to push on unsuspecting viewers."
"I mean it depends on how insufferable she is planning on being. But I'll do what I can to be at least civil."
"Maybe don't sing an entire song telling her that she is an old hag that needs to fuck off."
"Well, she's not old. I think she's about my age. But I still might have to tell her to fuck off if she bugs me too much."
"Velvette, I am counting on you to represent the company."
"Yeah. Okay." Velvette rolled her eyes. At least Vox sounded like himself again- if not a little hoarse. "Like I said, if you need me, feel free to get me out of this." She would just have to make it up later, but at least it would break up the amount of time she would have to wear that fake-ass smile that Mary was expecting.
"A favor is a favor, Velvette. I am sure it won't consume too much of your day." Vox seemed remarkably unconcerned. Fucking asshole didn't give a single, solitary shit about Velvette's plight.
"Be back later." She walked back into her room to get ready. She needed to look cuter than Mary-Lu, which wasn't hard as she always wore that stupid red blazer. Still, Velvette couldn't do anything too simple, she was still a fashion icon. Hell would still look to her to know what was in style. So, she snapped her fingers, the fabrics around her forming something new, something with some nice cool, blue tones that would really stand out in contrast to Mary's red. She made a dress, then thought better of it, switching to a cute top and long, tight pants. That would definitely make her look fantastic.
Perfect.
Another snap and she was in the outfit. Now all she had to do was fix up her hair. Something semi-professional would definitely make Mary happy. Would glasses be pushing it? Too nerdy? She looked back at herself in the mirror. No. Not if she made them chic. Oh, she looked more like a stylish, corporate girl than Mary-Lu. It was perfect. It was on brand for her to completely outshine whoever she was with. If Mary-Lu had a problem with it, then that was on her. Velvette couldn't help being the best.
By the time she walked back out, both Vox and Val were gone. That was fine. She had other things to do.
She made her way out into Hell, over toward the Damnway district, a small area on the outskirts of Pride that had popped up almost overnight and spread outward like a plague over the other Overlords' territories. It was a Pyramid scheme, so rapid growth was expected, eventually it would stall out. Velvette simply had to wait.
She went to the front of the building, a Sinner in the matching red blazer was there to greet her. "Velvette! So happy you could make it! Mary-Lu is waiting for you in the studio!" She gestured for Velvette to follow as she led her into an elevator and up to a nice penthouse suite. There was a pool partially closed off behind glass, a massive theater sized TV, and other forms of entertainment scattered everywhere. Mary-Lu was sitting, legs crossed at the bar where another red-jacket wearing Sinner was serving her a drink.
"Velvette! Hey hun!" Mary-Lu instantly waved her over. "Mimosa?" She was smiling from ear to ear, but Velvette noticed she wasn't rushing to get up like she usually would. If Velvette didn't know any better, she would have sworn she saw the ever-enthusiastic Mary-Lu stifle a yawn.
"Actually, yes. That sounds fucking amazing right now." Velvette took a seat beside her and was instantly handed a mimosa in a cute little glass.
"So glad you could make it! I was hoping we would get some time together. I must say, I really admire what you do. Your social media following is truly something worthy of envy."
"It's true." Velvette never minded flattery. Even if it was fake, it was nice to hear others admired her empire. She made vital contributions to the Vees.
"I know this probably isn't how you want to spend your day, but I promise you this isn't all about work. We are going to have fun today too!"
"What is it that you are going to make me do, exactly?"
"I just want a few photos, nothing dramatic and you can have complete control over wardrobe. We're launching some new products and I know that your image gets sales."
"Of course it does." Velvette took a sip from her drink. At least Mary-Lu had the decency to provide alcohol. "You get one picture, you only helped with one nail."
"Individual? Or group?"
"One of each." Sure, she was being generous, but this was a damn good mimosa. "But I get to keep whatever I pose with." Also, DamnWay had a great shampoo that she would never publicly admit to using (without proper payment of course).
"Sounds fair." Mary offered her hand to Velvette. "Deal?"
"Deal." Velvette shook her hand. There was a brief surge of energy that always accompanied a binding deal, and everything was back to normal. "So shall we get this over with?"
"Oh, we can't. Everyone isn't here yet." Mary chuckled to herself. "But I am sure they will be here shortly. Not everyone is as prompt as you. Or they were held up by all that chaos last night..."
"Chaos?" Velvette had certainly had a night to forget, and Vox had mentioned all the complaints, but a few glitched signals didn't typically cause that much chaos. Then again, this was Hell and a small inconvenience could really make people overreact (especially in the Doomsday District, bunch of drama queens.)
"I only heard about it from some of my girls. I was too busy trying to figure out why my fucking phone was acting like a piece of shit. I need my phone Velvette. My entire business is on my phone." Mary-Lu laughed but it sounded more angry than joyful. "I can't make sales or do team meetings without my phone."
"Right." Velvette stared into her glass for a moment. If Mary-Lu had been affected, it was easy to assume this spread all over the Pride Ring.
"I mean, I suppose you understand me more than most." Mary-Lu's singular eye was watching Velvette. Since she was associated with Vox it made sense that Mary would try and pump her for information. But even if Velvette had answers, she wouldn't share them. What happened at VoxTek stayed between the Vees.
"My phone is important." Velvette wasn't going to give her too much of a response. "If I didn't have it, Hell wouldn't know what to wear or what to think."
"You are truly a kindred spirit in that way." Mary turned her head right as the elevator door to the penthouse slid open again. "Hey hun! So glad you could make it!" Velvette turned around as well, her eyes widened as she saw none other than Rosie enter the room, smile plastered on her face. She seemed to be remarkably energetic- though that may simply be because she hadn't suffered the same rough night that Velvette had.
"Pleased as punch to be here!" Rosie left her parasol by the door. "Oh Velvette! I didn't know you were coming too!"
"I invited a few people. This is a big product launch. I know Mirabel told you all about it." Mary snapped and her red blazer clad employee poured another drink for Rosie. Velvette didn't know who exactly they were discussing, but she could assume it was a Cannibal. Velvette interacted with them as little as possible, for obvious reasons.
"She did! And she told me if I agreed to come, you could get us more of that tooth polish." Rosie accepted the drink, joining Velvette at the bar. The Cannibal Overlord took a small vial out of her pocket and added something red to her drink before taking a sip. Even when drinking she never lost that smile. Velvette could feel the bulging, reflective black eyes staring at her as she looked back at her phone.
"Tooth polish in three new flavors, actually, but I am spoiling the surprise." Mary was more relaxed around the Cannibals than Velvette felt someone with human flesh should be.
"Oh, that'll be such a treat to bring back to the others!" Rosie clapped her hands together in excitement. Mary looked briefly at her phone before gesturing for her bartender to make another drink before the elevator doors even whooshed open. If Velvette was thrown off by Rosie's presence, her jaw almost hit the floor as Carmilla walked in looking annoyed.
"Marie-Lu." Carmilla was about as soft and friendly as a cactus, and with that outdated hairstyle she sort of resembled one. She looked even more annoyed to be here than Velvette felt. Mary-Lu just smiled handing her a glass.
"Come! Sit! Have a drink!"
"Velvette, Rosie." If Carmilla was surprised to see them, she didn't show it. She sat on Velvette's other side.
"How the fuck did she draft you?" Velvette arched an eyebrow at Carmilla who simply ignored her in favor of downing the entire mimosa in one gulp. She looked... tired. It wasn't super noticeable, but up close, Velvette could tell. Probably up doing late-night weapons deals. It's not like most of Hell liked being up early. Often times Velvette would wake up just for a photo bragging about an early start to her day and then she would go right back to sleep.
"This is turning into a real girl's night!" Rosie seemed pleased to see Carmilla. "How ya been, Carm?"
"Rosie." Carmilla didn't really give Rosie much of an answer. She held out her drink and Mary-Lu's underlings refilled it without a word.
"What? I don't get a hello?" Velvette knew Carmilla's opinion on her, but that was no reason for the other Overlord to ignore her. Velvette thrived on attention, negative or not.
"Velvette." Carmilla's eyes narrowed.
"This is almost everyone!" Mary-Lu seemed incredibly pleased with her current companions. Velvette did have to wonder what strings he had pulled to secure a meeting with the crème de la crème of the Pride Ring. Sure Mary-Lu was an Overlord, but she wasn't nearly as well established as the others in the room. This would definitely be something Velvette would have to tell Vox. Hopefully it didn't result in him trying to one-up DamnWay in some over-the-top fashion that would result in Velvette having to entertain Rosie- or worse- Carmilla on her own turf.
"Damn, I way overslept." The door slid open one more time as Missi Zilla almost stumbled in. "I am still a bit hung over from last night." She looked the worst of any of them, but Velvette rarely knew Missi to be up this early.
"Missi! You made it! I am so glad all of you could come to my new product line photoshoot!" Mary-Lu ran over with a massive glass the size of her torso, filled with mimosa, in her arms. Missi grabbed the glass, seemingly pleased to see glassware in her size. (It was shocking Mary-Lu even had something like that, nevertheless, that she was able to lift it. She was stronger than she looked.) Missi gave a toothy grin, tail swishing. She downed the glass with ease, her eyes widening as she spotted the other Overlords sitting across from her. "There is still just one more..."
"Oh shit! Rosie! I saw you last night!"
"Oh yes! At the riot." Rosie gave a friendly wave.
"Riot?" Velvette leaned back on the counter, tapping her empty glass. It was instantly refilled. "Rosie, you never struck me as the riot type.
"Oh, who doesn't love a good riot now and then?" Rosie chuckled to herself. "Al and I were just in the right place at the right time to enjoy it."
"You both kicked respectable ass but you really have to learn to get in there. Staying on the outside of the mob prevents you from doing maximum damage." Missi waved the glass and Mary-Lu's underlings swarmed around her, lifting a giant pitcher to refill it without her having to ask.
"I was really only in it for the light snacks." Rosie reached into her bag, pulling out a little container filled with body parts. "Any of these belong to your people?"
"If they did, you can keep them. Trophies, snacks, who gives a shit. If they wanted to keep their fucking fingers, they would have fought harder." Missi didn't look nearly as off put by the container as Velvette felt- being next to it and all. It did not smell great.
"You two were at a riot?" Carmilla must have forgotten to bring any sense of fun to the little party. "Was it the one in my district? Because we agreed that-"
"Nah, I know the dumb treaty." Missi made a face, clinking her empty glass with her nail. The bartender ran over and quickly refilled her drinks.
"We were over by the cinema. I was trying to talk Al into seeing this absolutely delightful picture- but you know how he is about film. Won't see any talkies. Luckily this was a lovely silent film." Rosie shook her head. "Never did make it to the picture show. But you know how riots get. They can be quite time consuming."
"That's what makes 'em fun." Missi gave a toothy grin.
"Wait that's in our territory! What the fuck you two?" Velvette hadn't even realized there was a riot. It would never get close to Vox Tower with all the security he had in place, but still, Overlords shouldn't be fighting on each other's turf. "If you killed any of our guys-"
"It's a fucking riot I wasn't paying attention to who I was killing. Just how many." Missi didn't really seem all that deterred by Velvette's annoyance. "Twenty-five, by the way."
"Oooo, very nice." Rosie clapped her hands together. "I did see a lot of body parts just go flying in the center of that mob."
"What about you, Rose? What's your count?" Missi staggered over standing between Rosie and Carmilla, cutting the weapons specialists out of the conversation entirely with her body. Her tail nearly knocked Carmilla's stool out from under her. Carmilla stood, looking annoyed and walked over to join Mary-Lu.
"You know I don't keep track of that sort of thing. Riots are just a fun time. A good way to get some snack food since the angel meat is running out- it stays good forever, you know. But it's very popular."
"Ha, you're fucking gross, Rose. I love ya." Missi slapped Rosie on the back. Velvette didn't particularly want to hear about any of Rosie's "food", so she stood up as well.
"You both shouldn't have been fighting on our turf." Velvette would have to tell Vox about this part too. Just great. He was already paranoid, hearing the other Overlords were caught battling in his territory was going to make him a thousand times worse. The door codes were all changing again. (Maybe she should text Val and give him a heads up.)
"It wasn't like I went straight out into your territory looking for a fucking fight. I was at a party, but then the people started getting really antsy- something about their phones getting all fucked up. I dunno, I wasn't really paying attention, but I could tell the mob was getting ready to snap, so when all the people surged outward, I just kinda went with 'em. Next thing I know they are trying to knock down one of them big ol' towers that Vox has set up. But some of the other Sinners tried to stop 'em. Suddenly, it's a full out brawl!" Missi started punching the air, her tail thrashing back and forth, sending Carmilla's stool that she had abandoned, careening into Mary-Lu's window. It ricocheted right off, back onto the floor.
"I don't think any of the towers were taken down." Velvette was certain if they had been damaged, Vox would have known instantly and he wouldn't have been nearly as calm at breakfast.
"You're welcome." Missi grinned at Velvette who rolled her eyes.
"So sorry I'm late..." the elevator swished open again and Velvette saw the princess herself walk in, a tiny Sinner at her heels like a desperate puppy. "There is a lot of destruction today and the Doomsday District is nearly impassable."
"Charlie! Hey hun!" Mary-Lu handed her a drink. "And you brought our little sales associate with you!" While Mary was smiling, Velvette could see the irritation in her eye. She had been fake-nice enough to know the technique through and through. It figured Mary wasn't big on plus-ones. Still there was no way she'd go off on the Princess.
"Yeah, Mimzy really wanted to come along. Oh Rosie! Carmilla!" Charlie smiled cheerfully waving at the Cannibal and the soulless bitch, each in turn. "I didn't know this would be a group thing!"
"Surprise!" Mary-Lu clapped her hands together. "I am unleashing a new line of bags: Boss Bitch Bags. For the toughest, most commanding babes in Hell!"
"That's why you got all of us." Carmilla crossed her arms over her chest, careful not to spill her drink.
"That is such a great idea, Mary-Lu!" Mimzy, at least that's what Velvette assumed the little Sinner was called, spoke up. She had certainly never met the woman before. She was one of Charlie's desperate entourage. Throwing oneself at the Princess of Hell was a decent technique to assure one's safety. But that was really more for the weak. Velvette didn't need bigger names to bail her out.
"I know. And I am loving the enthusiasm Mimzy, honey-pie! But you need to stay out from underfoot or you might get crushed." Mary-Lu's sweet laugh did wonders to hide the obvious threat in her words.
"I am not sure I would call myself a 'Boss Bitch'..." Charlie wasn't as sold as her little cohort.
"Charlie! You are a business owner! You have your very own hotel where you makeover Sinners!" Mary-Lu put an arm around the Princess, pulling her into a forced little side-hug.
"Redeem. I redeem Sinners." Charlie's smile looked forced.
"Exactly what I said, sweetie. A makeover of the moral variety. I love it! You are such an inspiration for the women of Hell. You all are!" Mary-Lu finally released Charlie going back to the group. "So, I thought, who better to inspire the masses with this truly unique and trendy line of bags, than Hells most powerful, sensational, and sexy ladies!" Oof, she was laying it on real thick, especially since it was obvious no one was here by their own volition- except maybe Missi. But Velvette could assume each and every one of them was in a similar situation to herself. At least it was only handbags. And a line called: Boss Bitch was pretty on brand for Velvette.
"I mean... that does seem nice when you say it like that." Charlie scooted away from Mary-Lu and toward Rosie. It was a weird choice, but perhaps the princess was confident in the fact that she didn't taste very good.
"And I am donating some of the proceeds to help young Hellborn ladies!" Mary-Lu's promise earned her a rather skeptical look from the princess.
"I... no offense, I highly doubted that."
"It's true! We at DamnWay value putting back into our community!" Mary-Lu's smile widened.
"How much?" Velvette didn't believe it either. There weren't charities in Hell, for starters. The only ones she knew of were the ones Vox had made up so he could run telethons.
"The percentage is classified. If you want to know you could always join up!" Mary-Lu's forked tongue flicked out between her fangs as she gave her best, most charming smile. Charlie took a step back.
"No thank you!"
"Well, now that everyone is finally here! We can get started!" She snapped and more of the coat-wearing underlings came flooding in with bags in their arms.
"Again, really sorry about being late. I wasn't expecting things to be that destroyed." Charlie was too polite for her own good. And she was the princess, she was older than Velvette, and should be more than accustomed to the inconveniences that rowdy nights in Hell could leave for the mornings. It was the main reason why nothing was really scheduled before noon. Mary-Lu must have just missed that memo.
"I might have done some of that damage. Sorry not sorry." Missi grabbed a bag out of the arms of the Sinners holding it, it was the only one that matched her immense size. "There was a big riot. Lots of fun, you shoulda come!"
"There was a riot?" Charlie looked genuinely surprised. "Usually, they don't leave that much cleanup."
"Well, this one was fucking huge." Missi was on her... maybe sixth drink at this point. "I killed so many people you shoulda seen it!"
"That's..." Charlie looked incredibly uncomfortable. Perhaps, this whole affair was worthwhile after all just to watch the Princess squirm as she was forced to play nice with the other Overlords. "Nice."
"Well, if we are being technical," Mary-Lu picked up a handbag and handed it to Charlie, "there were fifteen different riots in Pride Ring alone. There were twenty recorded in total across the other rings."
"Bullshit." Velvette examined the bags in question and picked the one that was the least obnoxious. "You're a Sinner, you can't know what the other rings are doing." Vox knew, but Vox had spent years cultivating a network that crossed the rings.
"I have a lot of sources." Mary-Lu's smile widened. "Oh, what a great choice Velvette! It will really detract from that tiny bit of blood in your hair. Did you kill something on your way over?"
"I do not have blood in my fucking-" Velvette knew she had washed it all out. But Mary-Lu simply pulled a few strands toward Velvette and she saw a very small amount if congealed blood sticking them together. Velvette's eyes snapped to the blood then to Mary-Lu.
"Sorry hun, I could smell it."
"You don't even have a fucking nose."
"Neither do you." Mary-Lu's smile never wavered. "But if you want to be certain you get all those nasty blood spots out of your hair or clothes, we have a great line of products that is specifically for that! Blood is a real problem for a boss babe on the go. You gotta teach a lesson to some rowdy pests, but you also have to look sleek and hot for a meeting-"
"Don't pitch me, I'm only here because of that fucking nail." Velvette was never in the mood for one of these over dramatic presentations. If she wanted to hear a bunch of made-up bullshit about products that didn't work, she'd go to Vox. "The blood probably just dripped on me when I was on the way over." Or maybe she had missed a trace amount when she was cleaning it out of her hair.
"If it did, it was probably my fault." Missi sounded remarkably proud. "Like I said, I killed a whole lotta fuckers at the riot. You can ask Rosie."
"I did see a lot of body parts flying." Rosie confirmed with a giggle.
"Oh, you were there too, Rosie?" Charlie looked surprised.
"Missi and I ran into each other at the same riot. It was quite the fun time. Did Al not tell ya?" Rosie opened her little container and took out a pinky finger to munch on as the girls gossiped.
"Oh, no. Alastor just said you tried to force him to go to the picture show but you got side tracked." For a Princess, Charlie seemed to be remarkably okay with having Alastor slinking around doing the Devil knows what under her nose.
"It's a bit of a shame, he would really have enjoyed it." Rosie shook her head. "Next time though!"
"I'm surprised Alastor wasn't at the Hotel. Usually when our TV messes up, it's because he stands too close." The one called Mimzy finally spoke up. She had been clinging to Charlie like a parasite. "I just assumed everything was on the fritz because of him."
"Can we please just get started?" Carmilla had been sitting quietly, drinking her mimosa and watching the others chat. Velvette would have assumed those cold eyes would have been focused on her, however, Carmilla seemed to mostly be watching Rosie. "We are all very busy and I am sure we have more to do than sit around and discuss how terrible VoxTek is."
"Oh of course! Did you pick out your favorite bag?" Mary-Lu gestured to the remaining items and Carmilla picked the closest one to her. "Now I want one big shot of everyone together, and one of each of you separately. This is going to be huge."
"We'll see." Velvette examined her choice in bag, it wasn't something she would wear in public, but she was keeping it regardless, as per the terms of their deal.
The actual modeling part wasn't terrible, at least not for Velvette who was done with her individual shot in no time flat. One or two clicks with the camera and instant perfection. This wasn't her first gig. She knew the drill. Watching Charlie struggle was a show in and of itself. The Overlords, while not as skilled as Velvette, still knew how to model a product. Mary-Lu kept going to Charlie, correcting her pose, moving the bag, fixing her hair and clothes. Bloody hell, had the princess ever learned how to do this shit? Most marketable face in Hell and she was a disaster.
"Oh, come the fuck on," Velvette eventually reached her limit. She snapped her fingers, and Charlie's tacky red suit changed into a fashionable red dress. Velvette included beautiful jewelry and a glittering tiara as each of the accessories she made moved Charlie's limbs into a perfect pose.
"Ah!" Charlie seemed taken off guard as her clothes changed and her new accessories started pulling at her limbs.
"Don't fight it, princess. You are going to keep us here forever if you don't get your shit together." Velvette had things to do other than watch this- frankly, embarrassing- struggle.
"Perfect!" Mary-Lu's photographer quickly got the picture as Charlie finally relaxed and allowed Velvette to work her magic. "Now we can do the group picture!"
"Finally!" Missi jumped to her feet and the whole room shook.
"Sorry, everyone..." Charlie looked genuinely apologetic. Velvette rolled her eyes, giving a little scoff.
"You don't have to apologize. You're a fucking princess."
"It's no trouble, Charlie sweetie!" It wasn't shocking that Rosie would suck up to the Morningstars. "I wasn't the best at all this either!"
"Well, you need to fucking learn." Velvette struck her pose with the others. She looked over at Charlie and with a flick of her wrist the Princess was posed perfectly with the others.
"Thank you all so much!" Mary-Lu clapped her hands together with excitement. Once the picture was taken, it felt like a burden had been lifted off of Velvette. A favor had been repaid and Velvette no longer had to worry about Mary-Lu. "Feel free to take drinks for the road!"
"Fuck yeah! Load 'em up ladies! Start with the big glass and just keep filling 'em!" Missi slammed her massive hand on the counter. Velvette decided that Mary-Lu had dragged her here, so the least she could do would be to drink as much as she could on Mary's dime. So, she stood beside Missi as the DamnWay representatives struggled to fill as many glasses as they could while Missi kept drinking them. Velvette grabbed two for herself, before heading toward the elevator to get out.
"Velvette wait!" Charlie made a dash toward the elevator. Velvette looked in dismay at both her hands, each holding a drink making it impossible to press the door-close button. She lifted her foot trying to hit it, but it was too late. Charlie managed to slide in before the doors closed, dragging her little Sinner mascot with her. "Thanks for holding the elevator."
"You're the best Velvette." Mimzy gave her two thumbs up.
"Mmhmm." Velvette made a noise of confirmation, accepting her fate of being trapped- it took everything in her power not to roll her eyes. At least the ride would be short.
"Thank you," Charlie just had to make this more awkward and uncomfortable than it already was. "For helping me."
"Don't fucking thank me." Velvette took a sip from one of her drinks. If she had known she would be trapped in this literal Hell, she would have been pounding the drinks down like Missi. "We would never have gotten to leave if I hadn't done something. And unlike you, I have an important job."
"Yeah... okay." Charlie rubbed her arm, looking away. "Are you... gonna change my suit back?"
"No. You're a bloody princess and you look like a worn-down college professor, struggling for tenure, who uses slang like: 'down with the kids' unironically."
"She has a point," Mimzy seemed to share Velvette's outlook which was an almost pleasant surprise. (The key world being almost, because Mimzy didn't look like the trendy type of person whose opinions mattered. Still, it left Charlie outnumbered.) "I mean, I thought you were a bell hop for like a month."
"No, you didn't." Charlie had to do a double take. "You're the one who asked me if you could move in! You called us both small business owners."
"Did I? That doesn't really sound like me." Mimzy shrugged.
"You did. You definitely did..." Charlie looked at herself in the reflective elevator door.
"Keep the dress, and the accessories. You just owe me a favor." Well since she was trapped in this conversation, Velvette might as well make the most of it.
"But I didn't ask-"
"You needed my help with more than just the outfit. I helped. Now you have to help me with something-something small, of course- at a later date." At least Velvette wasn't leaving this place empty handed. Two mimosas and a favor from the princess wasn't a bad pull. Perhaps, despite the way this day had started, things were finally starting to look up.
"Fine." Charlie let out a little sigh. "But it's very small, and I reserve the right to refuse if the favor goes against my best interest."
"And you have to tell me what the favor is." Mimzy added, hands on her hips.
"No, Mimzy, I don't think that's necessary." Charlie was trying so hard to be polite. Velvette almost had to respect the princess for not drop-kicking the small Sinner into the sky (or rather, the apparent magical ceiling that existed in the sky.)
"But I love gossip!" Mimzy folded her arms, pouting.
"Gossip actually isn't nice. And I have been meaning to talk to you about some of your behavior regarding that at the Hotel-" Charlie started to talk, but the elevator came3 to a stop, saving Velvette the secondhand lecture.
"Wow, this has been just so fun, but" Velvette had to give the princess that she wasn't as naive as she came across. Setting up boundaries was important when it came to favors and deals. Else, you would get screwed over by the other party. The elevator doors opened and Velvette took another sip of her drink as she pushed her way out before Charlie. "I am afraid I have more important things to do. You know, literally anything else." Velvette didn't wait for Charlie to answer and she headed right toward the exit, out of DamnWay and onto the streets.
Finally. Relief. Velvette could enjoy the rest of her day with these two mimosas and maybe a relaxing massage.
"Velvette."
"Oh, come the fuck on!" She slowly turned to see Carmilla waiting for her at the exit. The fuck did that old hag want?
"Can we speak?"
"No."
"This is important."
"Still no."
"Is... Vox alright?"
"Bitch, I said no to talking. Are you going fucking deaf in your old age?"
"Vox, is he having some kind of issue?" Carmilla grabbed Velvette's arm, pulling her to the side.
"He's got plenty of issues. Issues with Alastor, issues with Val, daddy issues? I could go on." Velvette shrugged herself free of Carmilla's grip. "But that's all nothing new. And also, it's none of your goddamn business."
"This is serious Velvette." Carmilla's frown deepened. It's like she didn't even care how many wrinkles she was getting- not that it mattered. She was so old that Velvette assumed she was held together with spite alone. "Something happened last night and it has to do with Vox."
"Vox does lots of shit, Carmilla. I'm his coworker, not his bloody babysitter." Though sometimes it did feel that way. "If you have a problem, bring it up to him. He has a complaint box." That box led straight into a fire, but it did exist.
"Have you noticed anything... unusual?"
"If you're trying to get secret intel on VoxTek, you are doing an incredibly shitty job." Velvette had a completely flat expression as she took a sip of one of her drinks, maintaining eye contact with the Overlord in question.
"It's not about finding intel; I'm concerned. Can't you see that?"
"Yeah, that sounds incredibly likely." This time Velvette could not stop herself from rolling her eyes. "We Overlords are nothing if not a tight-knit community that relies on trust and the magic of bloody friendship. Forgive my skepticism."
"You're impossible, you know that right?" Carmilla glared down at her. Velvette grinned back up at her. "Last night something shook all of Hell and Vox might be at the center of it." As she was talking, Velvette started handing her one of the mimosas without a word. Carmilla seemed too wrapped up in her lecture to even notice. "And while you may not be concerned, I am- what are you doing?" By this point Velvette used her newly freed hand to pull out her phone.
Radvelvetcakes: Stuck in a boring conversation with an actual dinosaur. #notyouMissi #sendhelp
"You know, if you're concerned about us, maybe you should follow me on social media. You know: Sinstagram, TikVox, Slither?" She put her phone back in her pocket, snatching her mimosa back. "Actually, given your age that might be asking too much. Do you have FamineBook?"
"This isn't something you would share on your socials, Velvette." Carmilla was only getting angrier and that brought a small amount of joy to Velvette who deserved at least that much after everything Carmilla had put her through.
"And it's nothing I could share with you either. You haven't exactly been forthcoming with information in the past, regarding...Say... the head of an angel?" She sipped her drinks as she watched Carmilla's face contort briefly into anger, before succumbing to defeat. "That's what I fucking thought." She smirked, sipping smugly from one of her glasses.
"Well, this has been an absolute waste of my time. I have more important Overlords with whom I must discuss these events."
"Oh gosh, my feelings! More important!? You don't mean that do you, gram-gram?" Velvette's tone was dripping with false offense as she pretended to swoon from the attempted blow to her ego. "You know that I'm important!"
"You act like a petulant, idiotic child. But you would be wise to take heed from those that have been here longer than you." Carmilla must have taken Velvette's sass as permission to go off on a totally dull and meaningless rant. Damn if Velvette had known this would have happened, she would have fucking bolted the moment Carmilla had mentioned leaving. "There is more out there than just Heaven and Hell. There are many things you don't-"
"Do you ever shut up? I'm asking for a friend."
"I tried. I really tried." And with that, Carmilla stalked out of the alley and off toward the entrance of Mary-Lu's little office building. (Probably to bother some other unfortunate Overlord.)
"Bye bitch." Velvette sipped at her drinks. So long as no one else decided to corner her for some sort of fucking hostage situation of a conversation, she should be fine to head back. (Half of her expected Missi or Rosie to be waiting down a dark alley, eager to waste her oh, so precious time.) Velvette had very little tolerance for others. Thankfully, she was able to waltz back to Vox Tower without anyone else stopping her with their petty problems.
She put in her private passcode for the door, having to punch it in with her elbow as her drinks still occupied both hands. The lights blinked red. Fuck. She had probably typed it in wrong. Ah well, easy fix.
Velvette tilted her head back and began chugging the first mimosa. She finished and threw the glass behind her, hearing it shatter with a satisfying crash upon the pavement. There. Now she had a free hand. She retyped the code, this time certain she had done it correctly. The lights blinked red again.
Sunnovabitch.
Velvette sighed, pulling her phone put and hitting the speed dial. There was ringing for a moment before:
"You've reached Vox, how can I help you?" That overly formal voice and tone was as unmistakable as it was forced.
"Oh, hey Vox. How are you?" Velvette sipped on her other drink, phone against her ear, looking up toward the top of the tower.
"Good...?" Vox sounded confused. Velvette didn't really call him just to chitchat. "How was um... your thing with Mary-Lu? That's where you were, right?"
"It was! So glad you remembered! It was big fun, Voxy-luv, you should really have been there. Lots of gossip and all that."
"That's... nice..."
"Oh, a real treat. I am just so happy you asked about it!"
"Is there a point to this, Velvette?"
"Just a small one." She took a sip, swallowed, and took a deep breath. "DID YOU CHANGE THE BLOODY DOOR CODES AGAIN!?"
"Ah fuck. I didn't send you the new one, did I?"
"You fucking think,"
"Sorry, sorry, I'll buzz you in. I can tell you in person." The door lit up green and Velvette opened it, walking inside. This was a private entrance, used only by the Vees. Thus, Vox only had to remember to give the code to two fucking people, but obviously that was asking too much.
"Do I need a new elevator key too?" Velvette reached the elevator at the end of the long, ornate hallway that should take her to the penthouse. But of course, as she pressed her key against the keypad, nothing was happening.
"...I can send the elevator for you." Electricity surged from the top of the tower and the doors swung open. Velvette didn't even bother trying to push the button. She sipped at her drink as the elevator rose at Vox's mental command. The doors opened once again and Velvette hung up her phone as she walked into their joint lounge. Vox wasn't there.
"Oi! Where are you!?" She shouted at the ceiling as she flopped down on the couch, drink in hand. "I need the bloody passcode, Vox!" Electricity crackled and a bolt hit the floor as Vox appeared, more cleaned up and put together than before.
"Sorry about the inconvenience, Velvette."
"You should be. How hard is it to fucking text me like: Hey Velvette, the new door code is 123456?"
"That's a terrible door code." Vox narrowed his eyes at her. "Also, I think the six number code is too easy to guess. I mean. We're in Hell, right? Everything is based on the number six. Too obvious."
"It's six fucking numbers. Aren't there like... infinite possibilities?" Velvette raised an eyebrow at him.
"Only a million, Velvette, don't be silly. So, I am going to change the combination to a seven-digit number. Seven, being a lucky number, can counteract all the bad energy coming from the walls." For a moment, the screen that made up Vox's face glitched. It was so brief that Velvette almost didn't notice, but the small waver, the tiny distortion in his voice cued her in to look more closely.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Velvette sat up, putting her glass down on the counter. Vox was a bit anal when it came to security, he always had been. But he was also an incredibly grounded person, especially for a Sinner. If he was superstitious at all, it mostly came out when he was manipulating those who were true believers.
"What I mean to say is," Vox pinched the screen between his eyes, it lit up under his touch. He seemed to have confused himself with his own rant. "It gives us ten million options rather than just one million. Buy us some time."
"Time?" Velvette squinted harder.
"Until I need to change it to eight." Vox chuckled to himself. "Now, here's the new code." He showed her a piece of paper with seven numbers scribbled on it. "Now memorize it and destroy the paper."
"Fucking what?" Velvette leaned back as Vox leaned forward.
"You can't trust anyone, Velvette."
"Are you going to do this to Val?"
"Val..." Vox went quiet for a moment, he pulled back. "I suppose I have no choice, as of right now."
"Vox, you're acting a little off... actually no. You're acting fucking weird. Maybe you need to take some time off." Velvette knew Vox would refuse, but Carmilla's words were sticking in her mind, despite all the effort Velvette made to forget them.
"I'm fine Velvette." Vox smiled at her. "Now memorize the code." Velvette stared at the paper for a moment before it burst into flame in her hand. She let out a scream of surprise. "Like that? Self-destructing paper! It's fun right!?"
"I wasn't done memorizing it you FUCKING PRICK!" Velvette had almost knocked her drink over and had that happened, heads would roll (or flop, since Vox's head was not shaped in a way that was conducive to rolling.)
"Fine, fine." He pulled out another piece of paper, writing on it, and handing it over. "Please memorize faster this time."
"Just let me keep the bloody paper, you asshole!"
"No. Too dangerous. We have to be safe, Velvette." Vox's face flickered for a moment as his voice took on that mechanical tone. He started coughing and his face returned to normal, he covered his mouth with his sleeve.
"Why don't I work on memorizing this, and you go to bed early. You look like shit." Velvette held the paper away from her in case it combusted again.
"Ugh, maybe a ten-minute power nap wouldn't hurt." Vox coughed harder.
"You do that." Velvette watched him head back to his room. She picked up her glass, fingers drumming against it as she looked after him. She pulled out her phone.
Velvette [2:30PM]: Val, is Vox acting weird?
Valentino [2:31PM]: No more so obnoxious than usual lol. Did he change the door codes again?
Velvette [2:31PM]: How'd you ever guess?
Valentino [2:32 PM]: Fucking dick. He's probably just in a bad mood. Maybe Alastor mispronounced his name during a fight or something. Just let him wear himself out.
Velvette [2:33 PM]: Fuck, you right.
She put the phone down, looking back at Vox's room. She went back to her phone, pulling up a different number.
Velvette [Unsent]: Hey, Carmilla... what was it you were trying to say earlier about Vox?
She stared at the text in silence before deleting it. Val was probably right. Vox had tantrums like this before... maybe not quite as severe but the point still stood. She wasn't that desperate, at least not yet.
A/N: Our first time-skip! Not a huge one but I am still SO excited. Things are really starting to get going plot-wise! I hope you guys like this brief look into the consequence of Chapter even _. Also sorry I was late with the update. I am traveling this week. But next week should be more timely!