[LEX'S WORKSHOP]
Lex is working on his workshop… and he lost the sense of time. He's been working no-stop for a few days now.
The door opens and Liana gets inside the workshop. She frowns and crosses her arms at the sight of Lex working. "... Boss… Lex, how much time did you spend here?"
He looks at her and shrugs. "Dunno, lost the count after the 29th hour."
Liana stares at him and huffs, rubbing her temples. "It's been two days, Lex. Go have a break or something. You're going to die if you don't stop."
Lex shakes his head in dismiss. "I'm a sinner, I respawn if I die. Besides, it will only take one or two more hours."
Liana sighed deeply, stepping closer to Lex's cluttered workbench. She crossed her arms, her gaze unwavering as she watched him solder another piece of equipment with a precision that only came from days of focus and zero rest.
"Lex." She said firmly, her tone brooking no argument. "Just because you respawn doesn't mean you should put yourself through this. Burnout isn't exactly something you can regenerate away."
Lex paused, the soldering iron hovering over a circuit board. He glanced up at her, his face smeared with oil and his eyes ringed with annoyance. "It's not burnout if I'm making progress."
"Oh, please." Liana countered, leaning on the edge of the workbench. "You're barely making sense, and I can't even tell if that's a blueprint or some kind of modern art experiment." She gestured at the pile of crumpled papers next to him. "This isn't sustainable, boss. You're pushing too hard."
Lex rolls his eyes. "I'm a sinner in Hell. Isn't Hell supposed to be a place where bad humans go after dying to suffer? Let me suffer then."
Liana's eyes narrowed, her patience thinning. She grabbed a stool and plopped herself down, making it clear she wasn't leaving anytime soon. "You're right, Hell's for suffering. But you're an overlord, Lex. You're supposed to dish it out. What can you do if you're not functioning?"
Lex paused, his soldering iron now resting idle in his hand. He glanced over at Liana, her stubborn stance at the workbench a clear indication she wasn't about to back down. For a moment, he looked like he might argue, but he just rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand in tiredness.
"Fine," He muttered, finally giving in. "You want me to stop? I'll stop."
Liana raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"
"Yeah, yeah," Lex grumbled, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "I'm tired of hearing my own voice echoing in here. Besides, I don't want to keep hearing your complaints constantly."
Liana smirked, her arms uncrossing as she stood up from the stool. "Good. I'll take it. Come on, let's get you out of here before you change your mind and start soldering again."
Lex groaned in reluctant agreement, but the exhaustion was beginning to catch up with him. He rubbed his eyes again. "You don't understand, Liana. There's so much more to do... This experiment's almost perfect. One more tweak, and—"
Liana interrupted, her voice gentle but firm. "And that one tweak will still be there tomorrow. Today, you need to rest. You've earned it."
Lex let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumping as he reluctantly pushed away from the workbench. The cluttered room, once a symbol of his relentless drive, now felt almost oppressive in its stillness.
"You're really not gonna let me back to work, huh?" he asked, though there was no real anger in his voice, just weariness.
"Not until you've had a real break." Liana replied, crossing her arms again. "I'm not going anywhere. Either you walk out with me now, or I drag you out. Your call."
Lex stares at her and huffs, nodding in agreement. "Fine…"
[LATER]
After dragging him out of the workshop, she wasn't going to let him sit around moping, either. She had already made up her mind: tonight was going to be about fun. And if Lex didn't agree, well, too bad.
"We're going," she said as she tossed him a jacket.
Lex looked at the jacket with a mix of confusion and irritation, his tired eyes barely registering the act. "A party? Really?"
"Yeah, really," Liana replied, her voice the perfect balance of firm and playful. "You need to get out. You're a wreck. Trust me, you'll feel better once you're there."
Lex hesitated for a moment, rubbing his eyes again, clearly worn out. "I don't know, Liana... I still have—"
"Nope," she cut him off with a smile that said she wasn't having any of his excuses. "You've been working for days. You'll survive one night of fun."
He grumbled under his breath but allowed her to drag him to the car. On the way there, the city lights seemed to blur as they passed, his head still in the workshop. But Liana didn't give him a chance to get lost in his thoughts. She nudged him, keeping the conversation light, even though she could tell he was still exhausted.
As they arrive, Lex could hear the music thumping from inside the club, the bass heavy enough to make the ground vibrate beneath his boots. He stood still for a moment, eyeing the flashing neon lights and the sea of people milling around outside. His first instinct was to turn around and leave. But Liana wasn't having it.
She grabbed his arm and pulled him through the door. The beat of the music immediately hit him, the rhythm of the crowd alive with energy. For a second, Lex felt out of place, completely overwhelmed by the flashing lights, the chatter, and the feeling that he didn't belong.
Liana didn't give him much time to think, though. She shoved him towards the bar. "Get a drink. Relax. I'll be right back."
He watched her disappear into the crowd, leaving him standing alone in the middle of the chaos. Lex sighed, rubbing his forehead, the ambient uncomfortable and noisy.
He covers his ears in an attempt to shut everything and find a way out. He manages to slip out of the party. He looks around and climbs to the rooftop of the building to not be found.
The cold air hit Lex's face as he stepped onto the rooftop, away from the chaos below. He leaned against the railing, his mind spinning, but at least the noise had quieted.
He breathed in deeply, trying to shake off the tension still coiled in his body. The party had been overwhelming, too loud, too chaotic. He couldn't focus on anything with the lights flashing and people moving around him. It felt like he was suffocating. And yet, now here, on the rooftop, he felt a strange calm.
While in his thoughts, a horse neigh pulls him back to reality. He looks around and see a demon riding a horse jumps on the rooftop.
The demon, a hot snake-imp cowboy, unmounts the horse and picks an angelic pistol, spinning it in his hand. He prepares to enter the building, but then he notices Lex staring at him.
They stare at each other in silence for a moment before the imp grins. "Well, well, well. Didn't expect to find you up here, but hell, makes things a lot easier for me, doesn't it?"
Lex narrowed his eyes at the imp, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten. He straightened up, letting his arms drop to his sides as he took a step closer to the edge of the rooftop. The demon cowboy exuded an aura of cocky confidence, but Lex wasn't in the mood to be toyed with.
"What do you want?" Lex asked, his voice low but steady, even as he felt the faint tug of lethargy lingering in his bones.
The imp's grin widened, his sharp teeth glinting in the pale moonlight. "Ain't it obvious? Boss man downstairs put a bounty on your head, and I aim to collect. Not every day you get a shot at an overlord, you know. Gonna make my name with this one."
Lex looks at the imp and shakes his head. "Striker… you failed to kill a Royal, twice. Of course, I'm a class below, but I know you enough to not fear ya."
Striker's grin faltered slightly, his eyes narrowing as he twirled the angelic pistol in his hand. The confident swagger that had been there moments before slipped a little, but he quickly recovered. "You think I'm afraid of you, Lex? You're just a tired, overworked sinner with a fancy title. What are you gonna do? Slink away like you've been doing all night, or are you gonna finally stop pretending you're invincible?"
Lex pauses and nods. "Yeah… you're right. I can't beat you… not right now…" He sighs and grips the railing of the rooftop. "... But if I got into my workshop, you'll be screwed."
Striker laughed, the sound sharp and cutting through the still night air. He holstered his angelic pistol and leaned casually against his horse, clearly enjoying Lex's weary state. "Oh, I bet you'd cook up something real nice in that workshop of yours. Too bad you're not getting there, partner."
"... Well… See you there." Lex suddenly jumps from the rooftop, landing on his neck and dying.
Striker rushes to the edge of the roof and widens his eyes. "... That fucker."
He get on his horse and start moving to Lex's building.
In the sky above his building, Lex respawns already in free fall. He opens his arms and tries to slow down the fall. He aims for the roof of his building as landing space.
He lands with a roll and minimal damages. He quickly gets up and bursts into his workshop, searching for something.
His eyes scan the room until he finds the project he was working on and makes him skip some days of sleep, a small, round device.
He sighs. "Dammit… I'll have to finish it later." He takes a syringe, puts the device inside it and takes the air off the syringe. He quickly pierce the vein on his arm and injects the device inside himself.
Lex grimaced slightly as the syringe emptied into his arm. The sharp sting quickly gave way to a strange warmth spreading through his body. He flexed his hand experimentally, feeling the device integrate into his system. It wasn't complete, but it was operational enough to give him an edge.
The door to the workshop burst open, splinters flying as Striker strode in, his angelic pistol already drawn and trained on Lex. The demon cowboy's smirk was as cocky as ever, though his eyes betrayed a glimmer of caution. "You're quick, I'll give you that. But did you really think you could hide from me in here?"
Lex sighs, standing amidst the chaos of his workbench. "Not quite. I just needed to even the playing field."
Striker's eyes flicked to the cluttered workbench, the half-finished projects, and the tools scattered everywhere. His smirk widened. "Even the playing field? You're still half-dead and look like you haven't slept in a century. What, you planning to bore me to death with one of your little gadgets?"
Lex rolls his eyes. He clenches his fists and suddenly his arm morphs into a massive metal arm and he moves to punch Striker.
Striker doesn't have a second to react, being punched and launched backwards, breaking through the wall of the building and landing on a dumpster.
Striker groaned as he clambered out of the dumpster, his clothes covered in grime, his pride more bruised than his body. He spat out a mouthful of blood and dust, glaring up at the hole in the wall. "Well, hell. Didn't see that coming."
Lex jumps from the building, landing on his feet. He stares Striker as his arm morphs back to normal. Striker tries to shoot Lex, but his arm morphs into a massive blade and he deflects the bullets.
Striker stepped back, reassessing the situation. Before he could think any further, Lex's dashes towards him and grabs his collar. From Lex's back, two metal turbine wings morph and he sets fly from ground, still holding Striker.
He goes high in the sky above the clouds, staring Striker with a serious expression.
As Lex soared higher into the night sky, the wind whipping around him, Striker struggled in his grip, his feet kicking helplessly against the air.
"Hey, let me go, you oversized scrap heap!" Striker shouted, his voice full of defiance despite the panic creeping in.
Lex looks down and back to Striker. "You sure?"
Striker's defiance turned to genuine fear as Lex continued to rise, the city below shrinking to a distant blur.
"Alright, alright! You've made your point!" Striker shouted, his voice faltering as he struggled to free himself from Lex's grip. "Just let me go, man! I'm not looking for a fight, I was just doing my job!"
Lex nods. "I know… then just tell me, who hired you to kill me?"
[V TOWER]
The Vees, Vox, Valentino, and Velvette, are in the living room watching some movie… directed by Valentino.
They are bored.
Vox groans in anger from time to time, looking at his phone waiting for a message of Striker. "When is that imp going to kill that crow? It's been 30 minutes now!"
Velvette rolls her eyes. "Relax. It's not like Lex is going to enter through the window and get you or something. Soon he'll be dead."
Vox grunts and sits on the sofa, trying to calm down.
Suddenly, Striker is thrown through the window, shattering it severely. Lex simply passes through the broken window and lands on the floor. He stares at Vox with anger. "Seriously, Vox? Hiring someone to kill me? You're dirtier than I thought."
Vox's eyes went from Striker to Lex in shock. "What the hell, Lex?" He stood up from the sofa, his hand instinctively reaching for something hidden beneath the armrest. "You— How— What the hell are you doing here?"
Lex's chest heaved with frustration and exhaustion, his heavy gaze fixed on Vox, ignoring the chaos of Striker's entrance. "I should be asking you the same thing, Vox," Lex growled. "Hiring someone to kill me? That's a new low, even for you." His voice dripped with venom, and the anger behind it was palpable. "The big TV demon is so scared of a crow that he hired someone to kill the crow. That's pathetic, Vox."
Vox's hand tightened around whatever he was gripping beneath the sofa armrest, but he didn't pull it out just yet. "You think I'm scared of you? You're not even supposed to be a threat, Lex. You're a tired sinner who's gotten a little too comfortable in his overlord status."
Lex clenches his fists tighter. "Oh, really? So you wouldn't mind if I allied with Alastor, would you?"
Vox's eyes narrowed at the mention of Alastor's name, and for a moment, the room felt unnervingly still. Valentino and Velvette exchanged uneasy glances, sensing the shift in tension. Vox, however, didn't flinch. His hand remained firmly on whatever he had gripped, though he hadn't drawn it yet.
"You're bluffing," Vox spat, his voice thick with venom. "You think that little threat's going to make me cower? Alastor's no friend to anyone. He'd turn on you just as easily as he would me. You're a fool if you think otherwise."
Lex's lip curled into a sneer. "Vox, I'll say only once, if you try to do any funny plan with me, I'll make sure to ruin everything you built." Lex jumps out of the tower and flies away from there with the turbine wings.
Vox stands there, fuming with hate. He kicks the air in anger, making a tantrum. He throws the angelic knife he was gripping away in anger.
Arriving at Lex's workshop, Liana scans the room for him. "Lex! Where are you? Why did you escape the party? You're supposed to be resting."
She walks around and goes to the living room. She finds Lex sleeping on the couch peacefully, finally resting after so much time.
The sight of him resting, so peaceful for once, made her sigh in relief. It it was clear now that he needed the rest more than he realized.,
She approached him quietly, not wanting to disturb his much-needed sleep. Lex's breathing was steady, his usual tense posture gone as his body relaxed. His arm was hanging off the edge of the couch, and there was a slight twitch to his face, probably from some strange dream. Liana smiled, shaking her head.
Liana gently pulled a blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over him, careful not to wake him up. She took a moment to glance around the cluttered workshop, everything still in disarray from his endless tinkering. The machines, the tools, the half-finished projects, it was all a chaotic reminder of his relentless work ethic. But now, as she stood there, watching him rest, she felt a bit of peace settle in her own chest. Maybe he needed this more than she ever could've imagined.
Sighing once more, Liana turned off the lights in the workshop, leaving only the dim glow from the streetlights outside to filter through the windows. She left the room quietly, closing the door behind her, and finally allowed herself a moment to relax. Lex would get the rest he needed. And when he woke up, she'd be there to make sure he didn't work himself to death again.
For now, though, he was safe. Finally.