"Three."

The lights dimmed, casting the room in darkness only broken up by the dim floor lighting and the gentle glow of various the devices that lined the room.

"Two."

The subtle sounds of movement were heard as everyone shifted into place. Everything had to be perfect.

"One."

He would settle for nothing less.

"And we're live!"

"Good evening Hell, and welcome to our exclusive interview with none other than everyone's favorite Overlord: the big man himself, Vox!" Katie had nailed the introduction, she always did. She was a professional, after all- one of Vox's best anchors on staff.

"Happy to be here, Katie." He relaxed back in his chair, completely at ease with all of Hell watching him. He took a sip from his mug, locking eyes with the Sinner on the other side of the table. "It's always good to talk with Hell's most reliable news network."

"And we are just thrilled to have you!" Her smile widened. Not too wide, but enough for the sell.

"Th-" Tom started to speak from the seat beside Katie, but she kicked the chair with her foot, and it rolled out of the frame with a crash.

"Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to be here with us!" Katie finished Tom's line for him. She was always a bit of a diva, but their constant fighting was great for ratings. (In fact, the two were married just for the ratings. Killjoy and Trench: affairs, violence, and more drama than you can handle- it was great for Vox's celebrity drama show.)

"I always have time for the people. VoxTek cares, that's why you can put your trust in us!" The audience clapped on cue and Vox waved his hand as if embarrassed by the appreciation. "Thank you, thank you all, you're too kind." It was literally the least they could do. In fact, a few audience members seemed to be slacking on their enthusiasm. He might need to speak with Katie about that later.

"So, Vox," the applause quelled on cue. "With the last Extermination taking a rather surprising turn, what are your thoughts on the future between Heaven and Hell?" A perfectly curated question, no surprises. This was exactly what he needed after his afternoon. Having Alastor destroy his perfectly functioning drones was already enough of a hassle to last him a lifetime. The man had no respect for progress.

"I'm so glad you asked Katie," he took an easy stance, crossing one leg over the other. "Thanks to the VoxTek cameras, we were able to monitor all aspects of the battlefield. Our panel of analysts have been able to study the footage, over and over again to learn the subtle nuances of angelic fighting techniques." They also had the part where Alastor got his ass handed to him saved on multiple files, it was currently Vox's screensaver. "This is so our upcoming Angelic Security provides the most protection to you our beloved customers. That is why you can trust us with your safety." Smile, wink at the camera, use the trademarked line, this all came so naturally to him. Vox was more at home on the camera than he was off of it. That was why it had been so easy for him to establish a monopoly on the visual media of Hell. It was always important to control what was seen, image was everything.

"Amazing Vox!" Katie delivered her winning smile right into the camera. Her expression went serious as she looked back toward him. Right on cue. "And do you think another Extermination is coming?" Perfect. He brought up the product, now it was time to build the need- to rile the masses up.

"Of course I do. The Princess and her friend challenged Heaven directly. The Exterminations were bad before but think of what is going to happen now that we've fought back. I've talked to my good friend, King Morningstar, and he's telling me that- oops." A tactful sip from his mug, eyes flickering directly to the camera. He shifted in his seat. "Perhaps I'm saying too much." His smile widened a bit as he heard the nervous stirring in the crowd. Of course he hadn't actually talked to Lucifer. He barely knew the guy. Even before he had become a recluse, Vox dealt mostly with Lillith. She had been the voice that commanded Hell. Lucifer was... a hands-off kind of guy. That was respectable, for what it was. He could be as hands off as he wanted, it left room for Vox to step in.

"Ooooo, some special insider knowledge!" Katie covered her mouth with her hand. By this point, Tom had crawled his way back, dragging his chair with him. "Well, with all this unique insight, I certainly Trust VoxTek with my security needs. What about you, Tom?"

"Well, I-" Tom began to speak but Katie kicked his chair back again.

"Nobody gives a flying fuck! That's all the time we have today! Vox is a very busy Overlord, and he has so much more to do to keep us safe, happy, and on our way to a brighter future."

"A brighter future indeed, Katie. That's why you can trust us with everything you need." He delivered the slogan directly into the camera with a winning smile. A perfect interview to fix a crappy day. This was the sort of win he needed.

"Thank you again, Vox."

"You're welcome, Katie."

"And we've cut to commercials." The cameraman gave the signal and instantly Katie's smile dropped, she lit a cigarette, relaxing in her chair.

"Thank fuck." She looked over at Vox. Her demeanor changed to a more professional one, her back straight, legs crossed. "I hope that was up to your standards."

"Perfect. You'll see the results reflected in your paycheck." He knew she wouldn't be too abrasive with him. He was her boss after all. Katie would do anything to climb that corporate ladder so to him, she was a charming, friendly Sinner working desperately to maintain her relevance as VoxTek continued to evolve.

"You didn't let me do any of my lines!" Tom protested, fixing his hair and dusting off his suit. "I had half of those!"

"No one watches this station to stare at your shitty face, I promise." Katie didn't even turn to look at him. Tom scrambled to catch up to Vox who was already on his way out. (Katie was telling the truth in her news cast-for once- Vox was an incredibly busy man.)

"Vox, sir, you can't honestly think this is acceptable. I am just as important to the station as Katie!"

"People love the conflict between you two. So yes, you are important. You getting your ass handed to you is great for ratings. And ratings are..." Vox trailed off, leaving the rest of the sentence for Tom.

"Ratings are all that matters!" He sounded newly invigorated. Perhaps he hadn't realized how much their bickering kept them relevant. Or maybe he just needed some reminding.

"Exactly! Now get back to work." Vox waved him away. They both had other things to be doing and in order to assure the highest ratings Tom and Katie would need to be on screen. Their bickering turned to violence, and that violence kept the Sinners and Hellborns tuning back in.

He took his leave of the news station. He had no more business there, at this point he was just wasting time. He smiled, waving to the adoring public as he stepped outside. It was hard maintaining an image of perfection, but after Alastor's absence, Vox had found his climb to the top to be far easier. Of course, Alastor was back now (just remembering it put the Overlord in a sour mood) but that didn't matter. Vox had been growing in power while Alastor sat passively in the shadows... being... mysterious or whatever it was that that antlered freak did for fun.

"Vox! Did you really hear from Lucifer that Heaven is planning a retaliation?" There was a slew of reporters out front. Most were his plants, but there were one or two 'independent Jounalists' (mostly Hellborns) that wanted 'the truth'. It was obnoxious, to say the least. The truth was what Vox said it was. Nothing more, nothing less, and the sooner everyone realized that the better. The Vees had a near monopoly on the media (minus radio, of course, but no one listened to that old-timey shit), so Vox's word tended to spread far and fast.

"I'm not at liberty to say." He brought his finger against his screen to his lips. "But if I were you, I would be saving up for VoxTek Angelic Security once it gets released. And just a quick warning," he chuckled, putting both hands behind his back, giving his most charming smile to the captive audience, "it will be expensive."

"How expensive?" Another reporter asked.

"Still in the works, but you can't put a price on your safety, and we want only the highest quality technology protecting our customers. I wouldn't release anything I wouldn't use myself. That's how you know you can trust us with something so important as your very lives." Were those lives important? That varied depending on the Sinner and their respective contributions. But that was more of an insider knowledge sort of fact. It wasn't for the public.

"What do you think of DamnWay and their Anti-Angel Oil? Are you concerned about any competition?" It seemed the reporters were out in abundance today. There had been an absolutely massive event recently, he supposed, so it wasn't surprising, but it was a bit annoying.

"DamnWay is great if you're looking for hair care or kitchen aids, but we're talking about a matter of public safety." It took every fiber of Vox's being to not roll his eyes at the suggestion. "That is something that requires, finesse, innovation! Mary-Lu hasn't been here as long as I have." He had no idea how long she had been around, but no longer than Velvette from what he could tell. "When lives are on the line, experience matters. And no offense to Mary-Lu, but if an angel is close enough to smell an oil or however that's supposed to work- they're too fucking close for comfort. Am I right?" He laughed and his plants in the crowd began laughing as well, causing the outside reporters to laugh as a part of the crowd mentality. Worked every time. "Now I'm afraid that's all the time for questions I have today! I really must get back to work."

"Wait! Do you know when the security might be-"

"That's all the time we have." Vox's voice shifted, becoming more synthetic as he opened his left eye a little wider, the eye creating a spiral, spinning and reflecting into every eye that watched him. Ugh, it was tiring to use the ability- and it didn't work on everyone. Fortunately, most everyone in Pentagram City was a fucking idiot and therefore Vox could push their actions with the power of suggestion. Due to the energy it cost and the restrictions on who was affected, Vox didn't use this power constantly (he didn't have to, his natural charisma still carried him far). But on occasions, when he needed people to listen, he didn't mind controlling the situation. The swarm of reporters stared back, slack-jawed, eyes wide. "Thank you everyone and have a spectacular day!" And with that, Vox vanished in a bolt of electricity.

The benefit of his unique Sinner form was that Vox could travel through the television. Selling more TVs, thus, gave him nearly free reign of Hell. Very few beings had the power to keep his eyes out of their homes. And why would they want to? Knowing everything about everyone was the business of VoxTek. How could they sell perfectly curated products if they didn't have intimate knowledge of every conversation people had? It was really for their own good that Vox listened in. He made life easier, and sure that came at a price- but in his experience it was a price people were more than willing to pay.

He reappeared in his office, around him various screens displayed the Hellscape outside from the eyes of various drones that surveyed his domain. It was important to have eyes everywhere. Vox was a man who liked to be kept in the loop. When things went down in Hell, he had to be there to capitalize on them. VoxTek was a trusted name in Hell, and he had struggled endlessly to establish it as such. Had it become a point of obsession? Probably. But here the obsession was a survival mechanism. And it wasn't enough for Vox to survive he needed to thrive.

There was nothing of interest that seemed to be happening in Hell at the moment. Petty fights here and there, a few underlings scheming against their respective Overlords, but that was nothing new. (And they weren't his underlings, so it wasn't important. His workers would never be so bold as to think they could take on a corporation as massive as VoxTek.) His last time watching the screens had gotten him into a fight with Alastor, so he needed a palate cleanser. Watching some Hellish drama could do wonders for detoxing the mind.

Not his own trash TV shows, of course. He knew how all those ended. But he found that real life could truly be better than fiction (and could often inspire ideas for future projects). Before he got completely settled, he made himself a fresh cup of high-quality coffee (not the shit from the news station) and relaxed into his seat. He had done a lot today; he had earned a little break.

The wires connected into the back of his head, his screen flickering as all the information around him spilled directly into his mind. Nothing like some unbridled chaos to really get the creative juices flowing. Flights, breakups, robberies, homicides, scheming, scamming- it was an array of sights and sounds. Some of these would be great twists in Vox's many soap operas and reality TV shows (which were really just soap operas with different marketing).

He was in an almost meditative state as he made the affairs of Hell his business. However, there was a small staticky sound coming from one of the many monitors he was watching. Almost as if the signal were weakening, he would have missed it entirely if it hadn't been accompanied by a twinge of pain. Vox winced, forced to come back to his own reality as he disconnected the cables. This wasn't the first time this had happened, it was far from a frequent occurrence, but once in a while, one of Vox's stations would pick up on some sort of interference. It never lasted more than a second, but it always seemed to leave him with a bit of a headache.

He planned to blame Alastor for it, though he had no idea if he was involved or not. (Honestly, he doubted that motherfucker was really smart enough to know shit about television, so it probably wasn't him. But he was easy to blame, as he had such a blame-able face.)

"Look who's finally back to the real world with the rest of us."

Vox blinked for a moment; he had been so engrossed in his little watch party for one that he hadn't realized Velvette had come into his office. He shook himself, smile returning to his face. "Ah, good afternoon, Velvette, my dear."

"It's evening." She never was much for pleasantries. More recent Sinners had a toxic trait where they lacked any sense of cordiality. Yes, it was superficial and fake, but at least it gave the illusion of caring and that was an illusion VoxTek valued.

"Why, yes, it is! What can I do for you this fine evening?"

"This whole Angelic Security bullshit, am I going to have to dress my models up in fucking Exorcist costumes to advertise this? Because that sounds like a fucking PR nightmare." At least Velvette understood the image they were projecting. She had a point, one poorly cropped picture of a big-name model in an Exorcist outfit could look terrible.

"I wouldn't worry too much about that, the security system is still in its early stages. I am sure we can rope unwittingly Sinners that aren't connected to us to model for it when the time comes."

"Shouldn't you be hurrying on that since your good pal, " she put the words in air quotes, "Lucifer, is predicting an oncoming onslaught of biblical proportion?"

"Oh please, you know I made that up." Vox scoffed. He didn't know why, but he was in a much poorer mood than before. He thought that interview had lifted his spirits, but maybe the stink of Alastor had just soured his whole fucking day. "I may not be friends with him, but I do keep a careful surveillance over his house from a safe distance. So, while we aren't friends necessarily, I do still learn from him."

"What do you learn?" Velvette took a seat on the edge of Vox's desk as he came to the realization his alone time was now over.

"Mostly that he has no life. I couldn't even watch him when Lillith was around. So, once she left, I thought: this will be great! I can get insight into the royal family! But honestly? He never leaves the house and pretty much the only one who goes in and out is some Hellborn who occasionally shoots out my drones if I get too close. I think he's on security."

"You think the King would have more security than just some random Hellborn." Velvette examined her nails for a moment before looking at the screen. "Who's that banging on the door then?" Vox looked up to see a stony, gray Sinner pounding on the mansion entrance. "That's Cain, he goes over sometimes. Not frequently, but he's about the only Sinner I have seen go in and out."

"Who the fuck is Cain? You say that like I should know." Velvette gave him an annoyed look.

"Cain, you know: Cain Organics? The guy who oversees all our fucking food? He's been down here since like the beginning of time or some shit. I know he's older than dirt."

"Oh, that's the food guy. Never seen him before. I thought he'd look more... plant like- less... gargoyle. Is he like... Cain, Cain? Like the guy from the old stories?" She tilted her head examining the figure on screen.

"I have always been under the impression that it was." Vox wasn't one hundred percent sure one way or the other. It wasn't like he had really had the chance to ask him in their brief interaction. Velvette seemed content with his reply as she looked at the screen in front of her.

"You know what? Not a bad ass on him."

"I mean, I've only met him once when Katie wanted to do an exposé on him. It was a fucking nightmare to even meet with him to ask for an interview and he shot us right down like a fucking prick. It's like he has no respect for the media." Vox took a sip from his coffee cup, it had already cooled, which was irritating. He saw Cain physically kick the door in, must be one if the benefits of being made of stone to be able to be a human battering ram. The doors shut again, leaving Vox staring at the closed, white, decorative doorway. "However, I guess you are right about his ass," he had gotten a pretty good look when Cain raised his leg to kick, "it's not bad."

"If you're talking about Cain from Cain Organics," Vox could hear Val's voice shouting from the distance, "his ass is a solid seven on a good day!"

"How did he even hear us?" Vox looked at Velvette who rolled her eyes.

"Talk about asses and you'll fucking summon him."

"Have you even met Cain!?" Vox shouted back. He was almost positive that of the three of them, he was the only one who had. He couldn't imagine a recluse like that would ever have needed Val's services.

"I know the ranking of every ass in Hell. It's a gift!" He shouted back from the other room. Velvette looked Vox dead in the eyes.

"This is a fucking set up, he's building this all up just so he can say that he has the best ass and we fucking fell for it."

"Fuck you're right." Before Vox could say anything else, he heard Val shout again:

"The number one ass in all of Hell is my own, of course~ That's how I make the big bucks~"

Both Vox and Velvette sighed in unison. Vox knew better than to take the bait, but he would blame the beginnings of a headache that were trying to take hold of him.

"Do you actually want to come in here and be a part of the conversation!? Or are we just going to keep shouting!?" Vox really didn't enjoy the yelling, especially right now.

"Keep yelling! I am already settled on the couch and I'm comfy!" Val's voice called back. Vox winced, rubbing the screen between his eyes. The shouting was really grating on him. Velvette must have noticed something in his expression because she was giving him a look.

"What..." Vox stared right back at her.

"Were you busy when I came in? I spoke to you a few times, but you said nothing."

"Maybe I was just ignoring you." He wasn't. He hadn't heard a fucking thing. His fingers drummed on the desk as he dealt with that aggravation welling up inside him. While he didn't particularly enjoy interruptions, Velvette hadn't necessarily done anything wrong.

"Wow, okay bitch." She crossed her legs. "Let's see how you like being put on ignore."

"You can't ignore me with a Vox Phone, it's actually impossible." Vox smirked at her. "Benefit of making them."

"Whatever, prick." Velvette rolled her eyes. "I would threaten to withdraw my support from the Vee's for your piss-poor attitude, but judging by the fact you look like utter shit right now, I am going to assume you're just lashing out because you ran into Alastor and now your day drinking again."

"It's evening." Vox reminded her of her own snide quip from earlier. "And this is coffee." He showed her the mug as if that proved anything. "And while I did have to interact with that fuck head, it was much earlier, and I didn't start drinking afterwards because I had actual important shit to do, and he was running errands like a fucking peasant." Velvette put a hand to Vox's back, patting him gently.

"Awwww, you're pissed he's still alive, aren't you?" She gently rubbed his back as Vox let out a sad little sigh.

"Yeeeeessssss..." he let his monitor shaped head flop onto Velvette for a moment. "It's not fair that fucking Exorcist leader should have slaughtered him, but he ran away like a fucking pussy, and he still has the balls to act all high and mighty about having been in the fight at all." The complaints began spilling out all at once. "And also, I have a headache."

"I'm surprised you can get headaches." She flicked the side of the monitor, "given you don't really have a head."

"I have a head." Vox lifted his head off of Velvette to give her an annoyed glare. "The monitor is my head. I still eat and drink with it. Just because it's not a traditional shape doesn't mean it's not my head and that I can't get the occasional headache."

"But you weren't day drinking?" Velvette raised an eyebrow.

"If Alastor is involved, he was probably day drinking!" Val's voice called from the other room. Damn that fucker had some good ass hearing when he wanted to. He was easily fifteen feet away with only a cracked office door to allow sound through, but he was picking up on every bit of the conversation. Whereas when Vox actually needed to talk to him about important branding opportunities, suddenly Val couldn't hear shit.

"Either be in the room and be a proper part of the conversation, or stay the fuck out of it, Val!" Vox really was on a short fuse today. "And for the last time, I haven't been drinking." Not for lack of desire, of course. But he needed to be at his best for the interview. Rigged or not, he was not taking any risks with VoxTek. "If you must know, I heard some of that annoying feedback again while I was plugged in."

"Maybe you just stood too close to the microphone!" Val shouted his suggestion and Vox cringed.

"That's not how it works, and you know it!"

"Feedback?" Velvette relaxed back a bit. "First I'm hearing of it."

"It isn't super frequent, but over the last few years sometimes my signals will get a little distorted and I'll get a second of unpleasant feedback. Usually I don't even notice it, but this time I was plugged in directly and it was so, so much worse."

"Because plugging in is definitely something that can be done with a regular human head." Velvette mused. Vox gave her a dirty look.

"This is my head. We have had this conversation many times."

"Maybe some of your technology is just wearing out! Maybe that's why you're getting feedback, it's old, just like you!" Val called helpfully. Vox put his head face down on the table. Why did he even bother?

"Oh look, mister Solid Seven Ass is on the move. And he's not alone." Velvette's comment drew Vox's attention back to the screen. Vox might have commented on her use of nicknames to a fellow Overlord but given how he was fairly certain Cain didn't know his name, he didn't feel all that obligated to defend him. Sure enough, Cain was walking outside, escorted by none other than the Devil himself. Making an appearance twice in so many days was unheard of for the petite, pale king. It was made all the more interesting by the fact that Lucifer transformed into a serpent to linger on Cain's shoulders. So, they didn't want to draw any attention.

"Well, isn't that intriguing... where are those two off to at this hour?" Vox leaned forward, watching the screen, bringing his cup to his lips.

"Maybe they're heading somewhere to go fuck!" Val's commentary was still far from helpful. Fucker couldn't even see the goddamn screen.

"Why would they leave the house to go fuck!? They can fuck indoors!" Vox didn't really know why he was humoring Val at this point. Though that would make a spicy story to spread... people loved when Lucifer himself was involved in scandal. He could put the idea away for later.

"Don't kink-shame!" Val shouted back.

"JUST COME IN HERE IF YOU WANT TO BE IN THE CONVERSATION VAL, I SWEAR TO THE FUCKING DEVIL HIMSELF!" Vox screamed the rebuttal so loudly that Velvette nearly fell off the table.

"No thanks! Too comfy!" Was all the reply he got. With support like this, it was a fucking wonder anything got done. Vox let out a sigh that was almost more of a quiet, frustrated scream as he turned back to the screen.

"Now where are those two headed?" Vox carefully maneuvered the drone to keep its distance until he was able to look at the next one. It was easy to map his path, it wasn't like Vox hadn't used his extensive spy network to follow people before. Hell, that's what it was there for!

"You think this might be actually like... important?" Velvette scooted closer to get a better look at the screen. "Val's stupidity aside, this is the King and the son of the fucker who killed us all. That seems a bit sus if you ask me." Vox's eyes widened a bit as the realization sunk in. Velvette had a point, a good one.

"Fuck, is it?" Vox tried to get a better view of the two. They were clearly arguing about something. There was a lot of background noise, so it was difficult to isolate Cain in particular. Lip reading was right out considering Cain constantly looked in different directions and Lucifer was a snake and didn't really have lips to read. "Where are you two going...?" They were winding through the crowd with purpose. This wasn't just some casual stroll. Vox could tell from Cain's body language that there was a specific destination in mind.

"Wait... I know where they're going..." Velvette leaned a little closer to the screen. "Fuck, those bitches are going to visit that old hag Carmilla! This is where I had to go because I drew the fucking short straw last time there was a meeting."

"Ah yes, I was told by Carmilla the meeting lasted all of five minutes, two of which were occupied by you singing a very catchy number in which you," Vox pulled his phone out to read Carmilla's text so he wouldn't leave anything out, "told her you thought she was hiding something, called Zestiel old, and told them both to get fucked." He looked back at Velvette who looked quite pleased with herself, before looking back at his phone. "You also threw a severed angel head directly at her."

"Damn straight, you should have seen the look on her wrinkled old face when I lobbed that bloody thing onto the table. Fucking speechless." She laughed, kicking her feet up playfully.

"That was a very important piece of evidence that was supposed to invoke a discussion about the future of the Exterminations." Vox looked back up from his phone. "It was not a way for you to sing an entire song calling the other Overlords senile geezers, no matter how true it is or how catchy the song was."

"It was pretty fucking catchy." Velvette protested. "And they were being paranoid pricks, so like, what was I supposed to do? They weren't going to step up and do anything unless I lit the fire underneath their wrinkly asses."

"Clearly, they are going to do something." Vox gestured to the screen where Cain was being led back by one of Carmilla's daughters. Great. Fucking fantastic. Now those two were completely out of Vox's reach. Carmilla was too damn sly to let Vox eavesdrop. "But now we're not invited to the meeting- probably because you burned a lot of bridges with that whole display. I understand that Carmilla, in particular, can be fucking frustrating as all get out. But you have to play the long game if you want to stay in the loop." Velvette glared at him.

"You thought it was pretty fucking hilarious when I told you about it right after it happened." She huffed. To be fair, Vox had gotten onto her a bit right after it had happened, but it was through laughter as he had to envision everyone just staring as Velvette completely derailed a meeting.

"Yes, but that was before I saw the King and fucking Cain going to some secret Overlord meeting without us."

"Why are you pissed? Cain doesn't go to those things at all. If you want to go to the super-secret club meeting so badly, then why don't you call up your best friend Lucifer and ask for an invite." Velvette met Vox's annoyed stare with a smarmy smirk of her own. "Oopsie~ Forgot you made that up."

"No, you didn't." Vox tapped his fingers against the desk again, making the drones circle Carmilla's building from a safe distance. He hated being on the outside like this. Not knowing something drove him fucking crazy. He made a living off of being on the inside. It was his business to know the business of everyone else.

Vox waited, and waited, and waited some more- his eyes never leaving the screens that displayed Carmilla's office building. If Lucifer left- even if he was as small as a bug, Vox would fucking see it. Velvette was on her phone, ignoring him after his outburst had clearly pissed her off. Vox's headache didn't feel any better either, which was only putting him in a worse mood.

One of the images flickered. Vox instantly was focused on that screen. He ran diagnostics on the drone in question. Nothing was wrong. Then why was it-

Before Vox could even finish his thought, the rest of the cameras began to flicker as if the feed was being interrupted. Not just the ones watching Carmilla's place either. All across the feed there was a brief little glitch. That horrible little feedback sound resonated for a split second, and everything was back to normal.

"Woah..." Velvette blinked, looking at the screens uncertainly. "The fuck was that? Was someone trying to screw over our signal?"

"Maybe Carmilla was onto us? Used some sort of jammer." Vox didn't know if that was even something Carmilla had access to, but he wouldn't put it past her. He knew she didn't approve of his constant surveillance. (Which was why he never asked). Great. Now he would need to work on ways for his tech to resist... whatever the fuck that was- and on top of all this shit- his headache was even worse.

"Oh, that's fucking rude." At least Velvette was on his side. "Oh look!" She grabbed Vox's shoulder. He was about to protest, given the fact that he was starting to get a migraine- but Velvette pointed to a figure on the screen that briefly made him forget all about the pain he was feeling.

"Where are you going, fucker?" Vox's eyes widened as he saw Lucifer, fully transformed, wings out- taking to the sky like a damn rocket. Vox was on him in a moment, following him through his extensive network of cameras- it looked like he was on his way back to the mansion- no more Cain. Where the fuck had he gone? Maybe Lucifer ditched him. He supposed it wasn't that important. Cain was definitely not as important of a target. Lucifer's trajectory seemed to change quite suddenly and he B-lined toward that fucking hotel.

"What's gotten into him?" Velvette, too, was intrigued by the sudden change. They both watched as Lucifer landed on the ground only to start messing with a body laid out in front of the hotel. He hadn't been poking at it for too long before the Princess and her guard dog showed up. "Oh, what happened to her highness? She looks like shit." He could tell Velvette was amused.

"I'm going to try and get sound." This looked important, judging by the expressions on the royals' faces. Vox was not about to miss some big update to Hell. He had to keep his distance, for one thing that fucking radio tower caused interference if he got too close, for another- he knew Lucifer would destroy his drones on sight, and Alastor had taken out enough drones for one day.

"Please do, this looks juicy." Velvette kept her eye on the screen as Vox began trying to filter out the surrounding noise and isolate Lucifer's voice. "Ooo~ Cain just showed up and he looks piiiiiiiiiised~." At least Velvette was giving him the play-by-play. Vox got a bit of sound. It wasn't much and was cutting in and out quite violently- but it was more than he had started with.

"B-dy of - dead dad- who-" Cain was cutting out immensely but Vox was getting the gist of what he said. ", M-rdered so - S-ners." Vox squinted at the screen as he saw Lucifer and Cain seemingly arguing about the body at Cain's feet. Had the body moved? Did it wake up?

"Why is that body in a different spot? What'd I miss?" Vox looked at Velvette for answers. Fortunately, she had been paying attention.

"Lucifer tried to hand it to Cain, and Cain fucking dropped him."

"Oh damn, sad I missed that." Vox could always watch it on his own later. That was the good thing about recording everything. "The sound sucks, but... did you hear Cain say: dead dad?" That much had his attention.

"Yep..." Velvette was thoroughly invested. At least Vox knew that when the real shit began, he would have Velvette right there with him to analyze how best they could utilize this to their own advantage.

"Oh shit, that's Adam." Valentino's voice shocked both of the other Vees as neither had heard him make his entrance. "I would recognize that ass anywhere." He squinted at the screen, long cigarette spilling pink smoke into Vox's office.

"First of all," Vox had to take a deep breath to ready himself for the breakdown of Val's comment. "How can you tell? You can't see his ass. He's face up. AND ALSO," he turned around to look at Val directly. "You can never see his ass because he's wearing a fucking dress when he comes to slaughter us!"

"It's a robe." Val corrected.

"Yeah, it's very clearly a robe, Vox, what the fuck?" Velvette was on Val's side, but that didn't account for the fact that the fucking main point had been completely missed. Vox brought his hand to his face.

"I don't care what it is! You can't see his ass in it!" He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. All the yelling was just going to make his head feel worse. "Forget it. Moot point. We heard Cain say it was his dad. So clearly that is the very same Adam who murdered the fuck out of Sinners like us."

"That, and you can clearly still see the halo. It's broken, but it's definitely there." Val tapped the screen with the end of his cigarette (it made Vox cringe to see him treating his screens like that. Couldn't Val show just a little bit of respect to the merchandise?) Vox looked where Val was pointing, and sure enough there was something broken and circular over the head of the unconscious body on the ground.

"See? Why didn't you start with that point?" Vox sighed. "That makes sense. We didn't need any of this fucking ass-nonsense." He watched the screen as Lucifer picked up the body on the ground. It seemed like they were going into the hotel. "Why do you think he's out like that?"

"I don't think they know." Velvette replied, leaning back once again as Lucifer, the Princess, Cain, and the others vanished inside. "Though it's fucking hard to tell because the sound is bloody awful." Vox gave her a dirty look.

"You try getting quality sound with the fucking radio tower close by! AND without getting close enough for Lucifer to notice we're fucking spying on him and destroying my very expensive drones."

"Pretty sure they said he's not waking up any time soon." Velvette just ignored his rant. "So, I guess the hotel is just going to be housing the man who fucking murdered us all. That's a good look."

"Yeah, you know how many Sinners would love to get their hands on the guy who led the Exterminations?" Vox sat back in his chair, keeping all his cameras focused on the hotel in question. He wasn't sure what to do with this new information. Adam was here in Hell, and he seemed to be weak. So why were they hiding him away at the hotel rather than making him publicly pay for his crimes? "Wonder what Lucifer has planned for him? Sure, seems like he's trying to keep this under wraps."

"I'd imagine he would. This would be a publicity nightmare if it got out." Velvette tilted her head to the side. Vox saw the windows in one of the top rooms close one by one. At least he could hazard a guess as to which room they were in.

"You know how many Sinners would flip their shit if they knew that fucker was down here?" Vox laughed to himself. "After everything he's done?" His fingers drummed on the table again. An idea was starting to spark to life in his brain. "Actually..." he looked at Velvette who seemed to be reading his mind.

"You have been looking for a way to test that stupid Angelic Security you promised." He could see the glint of her fangs in the light of the television screen.

"Well, it's not stupid, it's profitable. If they live, it works, if they die: they can't ask for their money back. So, it's kind of a win-win." Vox was focused on the new idea that was buzzing in his brain, but at the same time he wasn't about to let Velvette shit on what was a very good idea. "Also, it looks to me like Lucifer is pretty anal about keeping this guy locked away. Do you know what sort of leverage we could have if we got our hands on him?" The idea had been pinging around his brain since he first saw the unconscious body on the ground. Every time he tried to push it down, it wormed its way back into the forefront of his mind.

"I mean..." Val looked at the screen uncertainly. "I suppose that is a pretty big bargaining chip. But I am not sure how we're supposed to actually get him with the big guy just... hovering around like an unwanted pest." One of the drones caught the image of a parakeet flying out of the hotel. The Vee's exchanged looks. "Do think that was him?" Val put one hand on his hip, the other on Vox's desk as he leaned forward.

"That's definitely him." Velvette nodded. "It even kind of looks like him."

"Not gonna lie," Vox shrugged his shoulders, "I was expecting something more intimidating. But I guess he has to be subtle."

"I don't think a parakeet is very fucking subtle. But go off." Velvette turned back to the screen. "We following it?"

"Are we following... hah!" Vox repeated her question with a laugh. "Do you know me at all, Vel? Of course we are." A drone kept a close (but not too close) eye on the bird as it sped upward toward the bright light of Heaven in the sky. "Where the fuck is he going?"

"Heaven?" Valentino squinted at the screen, pushing his heart shaped glasses further up. (Vox had no idea how those even stayed on his face, since Val had no fucking nose. But he had tried questioning it once and Val's explanation was lack luster at best. Which was why Vox didn't even try to tell him that pushing the glasses closer to his eyes would do absolutely fucking nothing to improve his vision because he was wearing tinted glasses in a dark room while trying to look at a screen. Some fights just weren't worth starting.)

"You can't go that high. There's some kind of forcefield." Vox put both hands on his cup, elbows on the table as he leaned forward. "I have tried to send drones to spy on Heaven but there's like a massive, invisible wall."

"There's a fucking what?" Velvette turned to look at him.

"Yeah, if you try to fly up to Heaven you eventually just hit some kind of solid surface. It's like we have our own skybox." Vox saw Velvette staring at him and he took an indignant sip of the cold coffee. "What? You know I had to try."

"I guess I'm just surprised you thought that would work." She replied flatly.

"What the fuck is a Skybox?" Val interjected. Vox sighed; they were getting woefully off topic again. The point was to follow Lucifer, not debate what composed Hell's sky.

"Forget about the Skybox, just know the sky isn't infinite. It's solid." As if proving Vox's point, the parakeet on the screen turned back into Lucifer who began to put his hands along the invisible solid ceiling that separated Hell from the paradise above it. Vox gestured to the screen. "See?"

"Wait so if there is like a ceiling, then are we technically always in doors?" Valentino had a point. Vox had to stop for a moment, watching as Lucifer seemed to be searching for something in the unseen boundary.

"Fuck... maybe? I don't think so. I mean..." Vox had to think about it for a moment, but it didn't last as he saw a light appear in the otherwise dark sky. It wasn't super bright, or really noticeable, but he saw it wash over Lucifer's face before the Devil just disappeared. "..." The three Vees stared in silence for a moment before finally Vox spoke. "The fuck was that?"

"Did he just fucking leave? Can he do that?" Valentino looked completely floored by the revelation.

"It makes sense if he can, he is the King." Vox had to come to terms with the revelation as well. He had scanned that skybox over and over, he had never seen one of his drones just fucking vanish. But the idea that anyone could actually exit the massive black hole that was Hell was a bit hard to swallow.

"He is also recently single, so if he can leave, maybe he could take me too- if I play my cards right." Velvette put her hand to her chest, kicking her legs playfully. Vox had sincere doubts about her odds with Lucifer, considering the devil seemed about as social as a rock.

"I like your enthusiasm." Despite his doubts, he wasn't going to give Velvette an outright 'no' in case, by some unholy miracle, it did work. Then he could tell Velvette he knew it all along and utilize her perks.

"He obviously likes them tall, Sorry Vel." Valentino pushed his way in front of her with a flourish of his hand.

"I saw him first you bloody prick. So-" Velvette started to object.

"Can we focus less on Lucifer's marital status and more on the fact he literally just vanished." Vox gave them a flat expression.

"So, Lucifer is like... gone-gone? Well damn, that's a plot twist. Hopefully he's going to stay out for a bit. I hope that doesn't mean his daughter is in charge right now because she is the most annoying little insect." Val looked irritated at the memory. Vox didn't know the whole story (it involved Angel Dust, so he didn't really care. But he knew Val didn't care for the princess and also, she had set fire to an entire studio. Which, while impressive, was also quite expensive.)

"I don't think the Princess has that sort of power. Or if she does, she doesn't have the personality for it." Vox shifted the focus of the cameras back to the hotel in question. "And with Lucifer out of the way, that fucker who tried to kill us all is prime for the taking." Despite the revelation that Lucifer could actually leave, that figure on the ground was stuck in Vox's head. The idea to take him refused to be quelled no matter what else tried to take his focus.

"Except the fact that he is in a locked hotel with you-know-who, and also probably Cain, and little miss princess." Valentino didn't seem sold on the idea, which was annoying to say the least. The other frustrating factor was that Val actually had a point. There was no telling when the Devil would be back, and there were at least two Overlords and a Royal between them and the target.

"That sucks, because he would be such a good bargaining chip to get the Morningstars to owe us a favor." Velvette huffed. "But unless we're going to blow out a wall or something we might be stuck."

"It was a good idea though." Vox put his face in his hands. They watched the hotel in silence for a moment before seeing one of the other hotel residents running rapidly back to the building. It was one of Alastor's little henchmen, Vox knew she used to be an Overlord back in the day, not that they had ever really crossed paths, but Niffty had been in service to Alastor for the vast amount of the time Vox had known her. She seemed in a hurry, the other Sinners nowhere in sight (it was probably for the best, he didn't need Val going off on another raging rant- especially not in Vox's office.)

"Wonder what's got her going?" Velvette tilted her head to the side. Niffty hurried back into the hotel and vanished out of view.

"Dunno, maybe Alastor needed his fucking socks cleaned." Vox retorted; a bit annoyed his impromptu plan had been so easily thwarted. It was just so rare to have an opportunity to do anything while Lucifer was gone. Vox just felt like they were wasting it, sitting here staring at the hotel. "I like to think he has no idea how to do laundry. He just seems like the type."

"I mean I don't care one way or the other, but I'll say he can't because it'll make you feel better." Velvette patted Vox on the top of his head, careful not to knock off his hat. "And you seem like you need a win."

"I do." Vox huffed, stretching his arms out, resting his head on the desk, face first. "It's been a fucking day. And I still have that fucking headache." It hadn't really gotten any better, he had just distracted himself.

"Maybe you should go to tech support, see if they can fix that for you." Val put a hand on Vox's back.

"It's not a real TV- it's my fucking head!" Vox had just had this conversation with Velvette, he wasn't about to start it again with Val.

"Don't get so pissy, I'm just trying to help." Val scoffed.

"I think you're just being an ass because you had to get up to be a part of the conversation." Vox knew for a fact that Valentino had only gotten up because he and Velvette were talking about something interesting, and they weren't going to bring the screens over to him.

"I think you vastly underestimate just how comfy I was." Val retorted, bitterly. Vox glared at him.

"I didn't make you get up."

"Actually, you did." Val brought his cigarette to his lips, letting out an annoyed puff of smoke, crossing his arms. "Because it is very hard to unwind with you constantly shouting at me."

"I was only shouting because you kept shouting at us so you could be in the conversation!" Vox countered.

"BOYS!" Velvette interrupted before they could engage any further. "You're both pretty now shut the fuck up and look at this." She gestured to the screen where Vox could see Niffty opening the windows one by one, wiping them down with a cloth. He blinked at the scene before him.

"Is she fucking serious?" Vox looked to Velvette as if expecting her to have an explanation. Clearly, she didn't, but he was just in shock. Niffty just finished wiping the windows down and vanished back into the room. Vox carefully moved the drone so he could see into the room. The form of Adam was asleep on the bed, Niffty was wiping the floors. Once she was done, she gathered her supplies in a little basket, opening the door, and closing it again, leaving Adam in plain sight, windows open to the world. Well now this was just asking to happen. Vox couldn't deny temptation- if he could, he wouldn't have been in Hell.

"We could just send in some fucking expendables to go grab him. Worst case scenario and we get caught; we have plausible deniability." Velvette also seemed to notice the opportunity that had quite serendipitously fallen into their laps. Usually, he wouldn't be so quick to act, but this was a very narrow window of opportunity, and that idea just wouldn't leave his brain.

"Do it." Vox put his hand on the table. "If they die, that's a risk I'm willing to take."

"Look at you, taking a risk." Valentino smirked, taking another long drag from his cigarette. "I'll deploy the lowest earners." He stepped out to make the call leaving Vox and Velvette to keep eyes on the screen. Vox had a camera focused on the door at all times. He had to be absolutely sure they weren't going to get caught. Just because the King was out of Hell for the moment, didn't mean he wasn't coming right back.

He could see their employees scaling the building. He was poised, ready to call it off at the slightest hint of discovery. That hotel wasn't easy to penetrate at the best of times, and now they knew Cain was inside as well. It was almost suspicious how easily they were able to secure the unconscious body. It wasn't long at all before Vox, Valentino, and Velvette were staring down at the catatonic form of the man who led the armies against them, on the floor of Vox's office.

"That seemed... easy." Vox frowned as he waved away the employees who had actually done the deed in question.

"Why does he look like that?" Val nudged the man's face with his foot. He was odd looking, split down the middle in a black and white palette. It would have an interesting camera read; Vox would need to account for that if he was going to put Adam in the Angelic Security commercials. Watching the leader of Heaven's army get his ass handed to him on camera would be incredibly well received.

"Sinner form?" Vox shrugged. "Maybe he got kicked out of Heaven after he got his ass murdered. Maybe they're pissed he didn't finish off Alastor. I know I am." He wasn't too aware of the details surrounding the interactions between Heaven and Hell and how souls moved between the two. It was something he would need to learn before the inevitable takeover, but maybe that was just another use for Adam. "We should restrain him in case he wakes up. I don't want him breaking my shit."

"It didn't sound like they thought he was going to wake up from the shitty audio you got when he was talking to Cain." Velvette replied leaning to get a closer look at him.

"Still, I would rather not risk it." He was in Vox's space, after all. Everything in here was expensive and he already had to worry about Val going temperamental and breaking things. He really didn't need the extra cost.

"Easy enough." Val took handcuffs from his pocket and snapped them around Adam's wrists. Vox narrowed his eyes.

"I just hope those are clean." He snapped and wires came down from the ceiling, lifting Adam up and pulling him into the ceiling. Vox had to focus, using his abilities to move Adam from his office into a nice cell at the bottom of the building. It wasn't currently in use, but it was sturdy. Mostly, it was somewhere for the Vees to keep people of interest, or employees who didn't obey the rules. Hell was a lawless wasteland, VoxTek had fucking standards- and Vox held his people to them. It wasn't a particularly horrible room. It had a bed, bathroom, sink, and you could see one of VoxTek's most popular soap operas playing on the screen outside the bars. Vox watched on the camera as Adam was placed on the little bed, still out cold. Good. Vox could keep an eye on him while they discussed their next plan of action.

"Seems like overkill, but he's out of the way." Velvette watched the screen as Adam was put back down.

"So do we go straight to Lucifer and use him as leverage, use him for our own gain, or do we want to see how much Hell is willing to pay for his head?" Vox took his seat at his desk so he could keep an eye on the cameras and still talk with his fellow Overlords, "because I think Carmilla in particular would pay a lot."

"I doubt it. For an arms dealer she's kind of a fucking disappointment." Velvette took a seat, kicking her feet up onto the table.

"We don't know until we make an offer." Valentino was the last to sit.

"I still think he could be great leverage for Lucifer. He seemed really intent on keeping that guy locked tight." Vox remembered how... uneasy Lucifer had looked when he was examining Adam. It was hard to say how the public would react to finding out the Devil had him, and Lucifer's PR was already struggling.

"Then he'd know we took him." Val pointed out.

"We could always phrase it as: we saw a flaw in the Hotel's security and took matters into our own hands." Spinning a story was Vox's strong suit. "As concerned citizens, we couldn't risk such a dangerous individual out and about."

"Oh, that's actually good." Velvette sat up. Vox smirked. They were starting to get the beginnings of a plan. This was good. A flicker of light got his attention, he looked over to the screen where Adam was still lying peacefully. It seemed as if the TV had experienced some of that annoying interference (it was bad today, Vox really needed to go through and do a full system upgrade. This was bordering on ridiculous.)

"It's all about presentation. We can look good in the public eye, especially if he tries anything. How would that come across? The King of Hell attacks concerned citizens only trying to keep people safe. Even the Princess would have to take our side then. She's all about that protect the Sinners bullshit." Vox was, admittedly, proud of himself for these ideas.

"It's not bad." Val gave a nod. "I think we should still spitball a little more, but we have something good here. This has legs."

"I mean, if course it does. I thought of i-" Vox cut off mid-sentence as his eyes fell on Adam's cell only to see that Adam was now sitting directly upright. "Oh, he's... awake."

"Oh shit..." Velvette got to her feet, getting a closer look at the camera. "Should we talk to him."

"I've got this." Valentino was already on his feet. He reached past Vox to the button on his console. "This is the microphone for cell three, right?"

"Don't touch that." Vox tried to bat him away, but Val had him trapped.

"Hello fucker~" Val spoke into the mic, thankfully it was going to the correct cell- it would be super awkward if he had been talking to one of the empty ones. Adam's head moved, almost snapped, in the direction of the speaker. It was the first good look Vox had gotten at his eyes. One eye seemed to be entirely white, glowing, with an almost crazed shine over it. The other eye was entirely black with a golden flame to act as the pupil, though currently the light was very dull. "And welcome to Hell."

"Well, we know he can hear..." Vox watched the screen, Adam wasn't talking back. He seemed to be looking at the camera.

"Come on, say something." Val instructed. Adam didn't reply. He just kept staring into the camera, unblinking. His body slid off the bed, his head didn't really move, gaze completely locked on the camera. Adam's mouth moved, but the microphone didn't pick up his voice at all. Instead, the Vee's were met with a horrible, reverberating feedback from the microphones implanted in the room, the image went pixilated for a moment before clearing up.

"Cut the sound!" Vox pushed Val aside, knowing too well he was just going to wind up doing it himself. His head rang with that horrible sound, his headache worse than ever. The cacophony ceased, but there was no more sound coming from Adam's cell. He was looking toward the door, solid bars of Infernal and angelic steel kept Adam imprisoned like an animal in a cage.

"What the fuck was that?" Velvette was holding her head in her hands. From the looks of it, she and Val felt every bit as shitty as Vox. That high pitched sound hit like a bullet to the brain.

"Must have been something wrong with the recording devices in the walls. Maybe some kind of faulty wiring?" Vox knew, for a fact, that wiring was not responsible for that horrible ringing. But he had no idea what was, so he was grasping at straws.

"Whatever it was, you need to fix it. Send in some of your repair guys. I do not want to hear that awful shit again." Val instructed. Vox gave him an annoyed look.

"The sound is cut, we're fine. I am not losing any of my IT guys for something this fucking petty."

"It's not petty, that sound is awful." Val huffed. "I think it tried to give me a fucking migraine. Plus, it's not like they'll have to be that close to Adam, he's behind bars and in handcuffs. Is he still staring at the camera?" Vox didn't really need to look, he could feel those eyes boring into him, but he turned anyway to see the screen.

"Yeah."

"Fucking creepy, and I know creeps." Val made a face. Adam's head snapped to look at the exit. The bars were made of a mix of Infernal and Angelic steel- strong and durable, made to withstand all but the strongest Hell had to offer. He placed his hands on the bars, eyes still locked on the cameras. Slowly, he began to pull, the solid metal starting the bend in his grip, much to Vox's absolute horror.

"Oh fuck no." The wires came from the ceiling to restrain Adam. If he somehow broke the bars, Vox had no idea if there was enough angelic steel in the bars to make them viable extermination weapons. It wasn't worth the fucking risk. "We'll have to keep him fully restrained. The handcuffs don't seem to be cutting it." As if on cue, Adam snapped the handcuffs. His mouth curled into a snarl. On one side, Vox could see the sharp fangs, typical of a sinner, on the other he could see nothing but blinding white light. He bit into the wires restraining him. "Fuck that shit." More wires came down, going to wrap around Adam's neck, but before they could tighten, he opened his mouth wide, and a horrible scream reverberated through the room.

"FUCK VOX, I THOUGHT YOU SAID THE MIC WAS CUT!" Val covered his head, antennae going flat. Velvette was covering her ears. They both looked as nauseated as Vox felt. He was hunched over, eyes on the floor. He could feel the screen that made up his face flicker for a moment.

"It... it was..." Vox choked the words out as he tried to get his barring back. He winced, looking back up that the screen and- "Fuck!" He scrambled to his feet. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" He felt his blood turn to ice as the camera panned around a now vacant room. Vox felt his breath hitch in his throat.

"Where the fuck is Adam?" Velvette was staring at the screen too now.

"I don't-" Vox stopped short.

One of the benefits of Vox's Sinner abilities, was that he was always sort of aware of where the technology around him was, and what it weas doing, it helped him make sure things were working when he wanted them to and to be sure they would break only when it would benefit him. So, Vox could, in some sense, feel Adam crawling through the ceiling, clawing his way through the machinery like some sort of wild animal. Vox tried to control the wires, tried to send the pulses of electricity into Adam, but it was much more difficult to catch a moving target he couldn't see.

"Do you have him?" Val was finally up, brushing himself off. "I told you; you should have sent I.T. down there. If I end up with a migraine because of-"

"Shut the fuck up Val, I'm trying to focus." Vox hissed.

"Shut up? Shut up!?" He puffed his chest out with indignation. "It was your stupid idea to bring this guy here!"

"Val. Shhhh." Vox winced. His head was pounding, Adam was squirming his way through very expensive wiring, having made his way into the walls. He seemed to be climbing- trying to escape the wires Vox sent to hold him.

"Do not shush me! There is a fucking feral Exterminator lodged in our fucking ceiling and- AH!"

"FUCK!" Vox jumped back. Val's ranting had him struggling to focus, and he had completely lost hold of Adam who had managed to climb through their walls all the way to Vox's office. He had launched from the walls so suddenly and with such ferocity, it took Vox and Velvette a moment to react. He was on Valentino like a rabid animal, tearing at the coat with his teeth and nails. Vox reacted in a matter of seconds. All the wires from the televisions intertwined into a large, thick wire that slammed into Adam's stomach, flinging him backward and pinning him against the wall. "Val," Vox moved toward Adam as he used his energy to hold the wire against him, sending electricity surging through it. "Are you okay?"

"He fucking bit me. God damn psycho!"

"The fuck is wrong with him?" Velvette was helping Val up as Vox kept Adam pinned in place.

"Not a goddamn clue." Vox could see the mix matched eyes were wild, watching them hungrily as Vox got close. Adam snarled and Vox forced the massive wire back into Adam's chest. He coughed a spray of golden blood onto Vox's screen. "Oh, did that hurt?" He sneered a bit. "Fucking good." More golden blood dribbled on the ground as Adam bared his teeth at Vox. Vox's eye widened, the hypnotic spiral starting to swirl. "Why don't you be a good little Exorcist and stay put- OH SHIT!" As Vox held Adam to the wall, two wings erupted from his back, causing the wire to slip and Adam lurched forward. So mind control was not going to work on Adam. Either his will was too strong or (given how he was acting) there was literally no mind to control.

"ENOUGH!" Velvette swiped her hand quickly and Adam's own robes moved backward under her control causing him to miss Vox and fly into the opposing wall. "Val, do the smoke thing."

"It'll be hard if his wings keep moving." Val moved his hand, and trails of pink smoke wafted toward Adam, but the white and black wings beat it back as Vox tried to use the wire to push him back again. "Can't you control them too!?"

"I manipulate clothing. Not wings!" With Velvet and Vox working together, they almost had Adam back against the wall.

"Aren't feathers clothing!?" Val demanded.

"THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS!" Velvette managed to hold to Adam long enough for Vox to pin him back to the wall, wings and all.

"Got him. Smoke, now." Vox ordered. This time as the pink smoke swirled toward Adam, it reached him, despite the Exorcist's best efforts. The spoke wrapped around his neck, his wrists, wafting under his nose. Adam's eyes rolled back for a moment and his head lulled. "Oh thank fuck." Vox took a deep breath.

"We need to lock him up somewhere... even more secure." Velvette sat on the edge of Vox's desk; legs crossed as she caught her breath. Adam's head lulled. He was breathing heavily as all three Vees tried to get themselves put back together.

"At least that smoke should calm him down for a few hours." Valentino was examining a rather nasty looking bite to his forearm. "I can't believe the fucker actually bit me. Usually, people have to pay for that shit."

"I just have to think of where he should be put." Vox spit out a bit of the golden blood that had gotten into his mouth. Adam made a noise and all three Vees looked instantly over in time to see him starting to stir.

"How is he up already!?" Valentino forced more smoke forward, but Adam's eyes were already opening. "No no no! Go the fuck back to sleep!"

"We have to take him back." Velvette got to her feet. "This is bloody mental. He has torn his way through our prison, your office, our fucking walls, Val," she gestured around her. "If Lucifer wants him so much, he can keep him."

"But if we give him up now, it feels like this is all for nothing..." Vox's protest was more a sunk-cost fallacy than a real argument.

"Think of it this way," Velvette put an arm around Vox. "You leave him with Alastor. And do you think that bitch-ass stands a chance against this guy?" Vox watched as Adam's wings started to pump again and he snarled.

"Fair point. Let's bring him back." Vox carefully manipulated the massive wire to completely wrap around him. Adam's teeth instantly sunk into the metal, trying to rip free, it would only be a matter of time before he succeeded. "More smoke Val! He's getting bitey again!"

"He is pretty resistant; I'll do what I can." The smoke wrapped itself around Adam's head and he lulled again. "We need to move him fast."

"Yeah, let's go." There was no way to avoid bringing him in person. Any lower employee would be torn to shreds. And Vox needed to drop this psychopath back off where he could go apeshit on Alastor.

"You two go, I'll watch the cameras to make sure we aren't caught." Velvette took a seat on Vox's chair.

"Are you shitting me?" Vox glared at her. Val mirrored the expression.

"Someone has to."

"Let's just hurry." Vox sighed. She had a point, and they didn't have the luxury of time to spend arguing.

Val and Vox carefully traversed their way back to the hotel, having to constantly reinforce Adam's bindings, unless they wanted to unleash him on an unsuspecting Hell. If things didn't progress as intended, that was a backup plan, but they also didn't want him hunting them back down.

Vox climbed up the window, Val hovering behind as the two of them hoisted Adam through, onto the floor. He thrashed and struggled against the metal bonds the entire way up. Vox was lucky to have avoided getting bitten himself.

"Did you two have fun?"

Vox froze. His head slowly turned to see Alastor sitting in the comfortable plush chair against the opposing wall, crocheting what looked to be the beginnings of a scarf, unphased by the writhing mass of rage on the ground. "You-" Vox wanted to scream, wanted to launch himself directly at the Overlord and strangle him. "You fucking KNEW!?"

"Of course. Who do you think had those windows opened for you?"

"Y-Y-you s-s-sunnova f-f-fuck wh-who-"

"Shhhh," Alastor put a finger to his lips, "Cain isn't too far outside, and if you make a lot of noise he'll come running in here and report this whole debacle right to Lucifer. He's on a short leash like that- but why am I explaining that to you? You know exactly what that's like, I'm sure."

"We should k-" Val began, but Alastor cleared his throat, putting the crochet down on the chair as he stood up.

"Do you really want to make this a scene?"

"W-won't you get in t-trouble too?"

"Why Vox!" Alastor's attempt at feigning ignorance was fucking laughable. "I was simply investigating some strange noises when I stumbled upon this wild plot!" He grinned so wide that his smile neatly cut his face in two. "And who do you think they're going to believe, hm?"

Fuck. He had them by the balls here. Vox was seething his head pounding but as Adam started to break free, he realized it was best to leave things as they were. Hopefully Alastor's overblown ego would fuck him over in the coming few minutes. (He also did NOT want to end up in a situation where he was at any risk of owing Alastor a favor.) "I c-can't W-wait for him t-to rip your f-f-fucking face off."

"Lovely seeing you too." Alastor gestured to the window, stopping for a moment as he seemed to notice the bite on Val's arm. "Oh, that does look nasty. You might need to clean that before it gets infected."

"Oh you little-"

"Val." Vox spoke quickly. Yes, he wanted to murder Alastor, but not if the king was going to hunt them down for this. He wasn't ready to take on Lucifer, yet. He could let Adam do the dirty deed (and he did seem to already almost be out) Vox wanted to get out quickly before the bloodshed could be pinned on him. "Bye fucker!" and with that, he and Val took their leave, heading back to clean up the mess Adam had made of Voxtek.


Alastor watched as Vox and Val scurried out of the window like frightened animals. Adam escaped the restraints with ease and made a lunge at Alastor who caught him easily in the black tentacles, arms above his head, legs trapped in the wriggling darkness as he snarled and growled, glaring up at the Radio Demon.

"Well, you did quite a number, didn't you?" As Alastor kept Adam bound, he took the metal from Vox's wires, making it vanish as it was consumed by his dark shadows. He slowly went to each window, closing them, locking them back up one by one. It had been easy for him to message Niffty, have her come home and clean the newcomer's room. Oh, and to be sure and leave the windows open so all those cleaning chemicals could air out.

He had no idea if Adam was going to wake up with Vox, or not. But he was under the assumption he would. And he was right.

Not surprising.

"Good work today partner." He gave Adam a nod.

Alastor cleaned the droplets of blood off the floor, got rid of any trace Vox had been in at all. He stopped, looking at Adam who was watching him, eyes wide, staring at him- or really... more accurately... through him.

"Well, I'm going to go get your son. I will say, having met you both now, that apple did not fall far from the tree." He laughed slapping his knee. Adam growled at him. "What? You don't like apple jokes?"

He started to vanish into the shadows. "Everyone's a critic." And with that he released Adam's restraints. It was as if he was never there.

He reappeared. Cain was currently getting a drink from Husk (At Alastor's suggestion. Cain was shockingly easy to distract, Alastor had kept him roped in conversation for the entirety of Niffty's cleaning- as long as you kept Cain talking about himself, the man could rant.) Everyone was back from their little night out by now. Husk had wanted to turn in, but Alastor needed Cain to stay occupied, so while most of the others were in their rooms, Husk was making weird cocktails for another Overlord that he had once served alongside. (Presumably. Alastor didn't know how much Cain and Husk actually knew each other. But Cain was also dumb-at least that's what Alastor had gleaned from their needlessly long conversation when he had been distracting him. So even if they had a history, there was no guarantee Cain would remember it.)

"Cain! I think I heard a noise upstairs. We might need to check on Adam." As if on cue there was a loud BANG from above their heads. "I think he might be awake." Cain looked upset by the revelation.

"Fucking really?" He downed the entire drink in his hand. "Right. Smiles, with me, Cat in the Hat," he looked over at Husk, "tell Charlie to call her dad. I'm not dealing with bitch McGee for any longer than I have to."

"As you wish!" Alastor followed Cain up the stairs. Nothing was out of place- not a fucking trace of either of the unwanted guests from earlier. No one would have any idea what had transpired while Adam "slept".

And that was fine by Alastor.

What a perfect end to Alastor's day out.


...


Author's note: SO SORRY IT'S A BIT LATE! Especially for such a hefty chapter. But today was my birthday so I was out a bit later than I thought lol. ANYWAY! Hope you guys enjoyed this very long ride! This is PROBABLY the only time I'll swap perspectives like this? I hope it wasn't too jarring. I have LOVED reading your comments! Thank you so, so much for the feedback. I love hearing from you all! You make my whole week!

Anyway, hope you're ready for next Friday! And thank you SO much!