*Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring*
The roar of an alarm clock shattered the peaceful bliss.
Well, in his ears, it was a roar. To anyone else, it was likely just a mild migraine.
The ring of an alarm was enough to annoy anyone when forced to wake them, and John was no different.
Instantly, irritation washed over the behemoth as his arm lifted. It was difficult to reach over to the table, and a gentle tap of the button solved the issue of the ringing in his ears.
Once the silence took over once more, he relaxed once more, letting his arm slump back down.
Rather than a mattress, however, two masses suspended his arm in the air, causing him to lift his head once more in confusion.
He swiveled to the left, where the light illuminated both his covers and the majority of Zeezi's purple skin.
The blanket was haphazardly draped across her leg, a stray corner barely hiding her mound, while her nipples were now hidden by his own scared appendage.
A small smile slapped itself onto his face. Now, that was a sight he could wake up to more often.
But didn't he have another partner the night before?
A hand raised to his face as he sat up, a pair of fingers rubbing his eyes as the bed shifted under his weight, rolling so that he was sitting upright instead of lying.
He blinked as he heard a small groan from his new left, causing him to instinctively twist his head toward the source.
A small smile overtook his lips when he saw a familiar media Overlord wrapped up in the covers. Velvette was currently wrapped up in the comforter, gone in what looked to be a peaceful slumber as her shoulders quietly rose.
She was still asleep. His own awakening had probably disturbed her, and he found himself shaking his head slightly as his eyes drifted over to her form.
And something else was beginning to stir.
Last night had been fun, that was for certain. He'd have loved to continue well into the morning, but Zeezi had gotten bored not long after Velvette grew tired and decided to stop. And with today's plans, he'd gladly shared his bed with the two as he'd found a slumber of his own.
But that was last night.
And Velvette had a certain habit she liked to enjoy whenever she spent the night. One that he would listen to quite the earful for if he didn't abide by it.
His head swiveled to actually see the clock on his nightstand, and a sigh of relief escaped him when he saw that it was only seven. He still had plenty of time to get up and get ready for Leo's arrival.
A prospect that filled his chest pride. For all his flaws and fuck-ups, Leo was at least the one thing he was doing right. At least, he hoped so.
There was a tug, an instinctive pull for him to get up and begin preparing for his son's arrival. But Leo wouldn't arrive until around nine, and chances were high that Velvette would be sticking around to see his son for a bit.
Unfortunately, Zeezi would probably be leaving after she woke up. She didn't like leaving things unattended for too long.
His erection was aching, begging for attention, and Velvette would be more than receptive.
…
No, no. He had an eternity ahead of him for sex. Velvette could bear one morning of disappointment.
It wasn't hard to climb off of the bed without disturbing the girls, and a small chuckle escaped him when Velvette crawled over toward Zeezi in her sleep once he was absent.
He wasted no time in turning to his closet, making sure to lightly step in order to reduce the noise of his frame as he approached. A hand reached past the already-opened door and plucked some clothes off the rack between his fingers. Even with his wealth, he didn't really see a point in the flashy outfits the Overlords liked to wear.
They bordered on being a stereotypical supervillain getup. Flashy outfits on openly evil people.
Then again, who was he to judge? He didn't give two shits about style, give him a pair of boots, and he was happy enough with pants and a shirt.
Wear something enough, and people recognize it immediately.
He dressed himself quickly, grumbling slightly when a shoulder spike poked a new hole into the already tear-laden shirt before twisting and walking toward the door.
The behemoth realized he must not have stepped light enough because a small groan of dissatisfaction rang out through his room. John rolled his eyes even as a smile flicked up on his lips, twisting his head to his bed just in time for a rising Velvette to meet his gaze between locks of her usually fashioned hair.
"Johnny? Come back, you know I like a little morning love." The doll actually pouted, though the expression didn't really register past the look of exhaustion on her face.
The Overlord chuckled in amusement with a small shake of his head before his blue hues met her red orbs with a brighter, more encouraging smile.
"I know, I do too, but we can't." He replied, raising a small eyebrow. "In fact, today marks the uh… what did you girls call it?"
"Leo's coming today?" Velvette certainly perked up when she heard that, a smile crossing her own face as the exhaustion seemed to fade away, and she eagerly sat up straight. Unfortunately for Zeezi, her own sleep was disturbed when she was unwittingly used for leverage instead of the bed.
John laughed at the site as the lizard's head snapped up in instinctive alarm before immediately relaxing as she shook her head with an annoyed frown.
"Dammit, Velvette, I ain't a fucking armrest." The lizard grumbled as she, too, sat up, shadowing the pink-haired fashionista in her own looming frame. She shot Velvette a pointed look, but she was entirely ignored by the other woman's eagerness. "What's all the racket about, anyway?"
"Leo's coming up today."
"Ah."
Zeezi had never been quite as enamored with Leo as everyone else seemed to be. She had questioned how it was possible but dropped the subject when she realized the boy's parents didn't even have a solid answer.
He turned and twisted the door open, stepping through before making sure it was closed and letting his hand fall away as he turned back to his living room.
An annoyed frown crossed John's cracked lips as he took in his living room. They hadn't wasted a second upon his return, and it wasn't a very pretty site left over.
There were a lot of stains. And messes.
And broken things.
A lot of broken things.
"Great, that's another fucking inconvenience. Sorry, Joseph." At least the facility manager would be happy he didn't have to dispose of remains this time. The last time, an attempted assassin had painted the couch.
With a sigh, he shook his head as he crossed his living room and made his way to the handset by the door, plucking the phone up and dialing the number in. It was old fashioned, but he preferred it.
Once he hit send, he brought the tiny device up so that it was hovering about an inch from his ear.
"Sir?"
He could still hear his response clear as day, a dual-echo coming from both the phone and the hellborn's office a few floors down as if they were in the same room.
"Uh, hey, Joseph." John greeted with a twinge of guilt in his voice as he turned to eye the wreckage that was his penthouse, taking note of the damage as he spoke. The couch was split in two, with pieces of it busted off in sections, and a similar pattern followed the TV, coffee table, and just about every other piece of furniture. "I hate to bug, but…"
"We heard you last night, sir. The team left the room the moment the phone rang."
Damn, he really was predictable these days. Then again, what else was there to do?
It was funny to see how much simpler things were in Hell. He didn't have to follow protocol, and Alex wasn't holding him back… well, no, that wasn't the right way to put it. Those were things he certainly enjoyed, if only because they made things easier, but that didn't change the fact that a part of John missed the leash that was once around his neck.
Still, he could afford to indulge the darker parts of himself in Hell. And he didn't have to care about subtlety or innocence very much in the infernal dimension. In fact, quite the opposite, as it turned out that the more attention you had, the less people wanted to give you trouble.
Well, unless it was someone who's cocky. John had an ego of his own; everyone did, but cocky and stupid were synonymous with the average sinner of Hell.
The only way to beat cocky was with a good left hook. Sometimes, in a literal sense.
"Thanks, Joseph. Just have them go ahead and pick up the furniture, I'll clean up the broken shit."
"Special occasion?"
"Getting the kid today."
"Oh? Well, I'll make sure they don't waste any time, then."
And just like that, the call was ended on the other-side, leaving nothing but static that John silenced without hesitation as he sat the phone back on the charger, before turning toward his living room.
With resignation on his face, he set about scooping up the broken remains of the furniture. All of it went straight to the trash chute, and if a piece couldn't fit, John made it fit.
The stains were actually a little easier to clean. With the kind of pressure he could apply, it was easy to find the right amount under his thumb for a rag and a little bit of detergent to clean. As he scoured the living room, not even the windows were left with a spot on them, and he may have overdone it a bit.
As the time passed, his gaze drifted over toward the bedroom door more and more. It was taking the girls a while to come out, and he couldn't help the swell of concern in his chest. In Hell, a lot could happen in no time at all.
Admittedly, he hesitated for a moment, but it wasn't very long before a sigh escaped him. Even if it was pointless, Zeezi and Velvette didn't usually take this long to get up and about, and he wanted to be sure. His feet carried him toward the door, and he opened it once more to peer through.
"You girls, alright?"
"We're fine, worrywart." Zeezi's voice answered him as he found the now-dressed lizard standing closer to the bed than the door, and the Overlord twisted her head to him with a grin on her face while Velvette went further into the room.
He caught sight of the doll pulling up her underwear before allowing a small sigh of relief to escape him, chuckling at his own expense.
"Sorry, ya'll were just taking a bit. I'll leave you be."
He didn't miss the confusion that flashed across Zeezi's face, but neither got a chance to question it as he pulled the door closed once again.
"What was that about?"
"We're in Hell and he was a fricking superhero up top. Come on, Zee, you do the math."
"Ooooh…."
That was… certainly one way to put it. Hell, knowing Zeezi, she was gonna question it a little more later on.
When the remodeling crew arrived, it was the same quick affair it tended to be on days like today. Once he got the knock and opened the door, John stepped into the kitchen and watched wordlessly as a cacophony of demons walked in, did their jobs, and still turned to thank him before leaving.
He only spoke in order to return their thanks with his own.
Once again, his apartment looked as if nothing had happened at all. The couch, the TV, even all of the surrounding decorations that had been damaged were replaced.
A small smile flicked across his lips. At least he wouldn't have to hear it from Nea. Last time, Leo almost walked into a crime scene, and the shark had let him hear it for the next month. Not that she was in the wrong.
He'd been far more aware ever since. He wanted to give Leo the childhood he didn't have, even before he was a superhuman.
The same thing Papaw did for him.
His bedroom door opened up while he was gazing at his repaired living room, causing his horned head to swivel in that direction as he watched Zeezi and Velvette walk out, and the fashionista let a stunned smile flick across her black lips.
"How the hell- it looks like nothing fucking happened!"
"Yeah, I'm gonna let Leo walk in, to what we did to the place." John retorted with a small grin as he walked up next to the women, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "Nea would kick my ass."
"Yeah, then fuck it." Zeezi joked, earning an eye roll from the bemused behemoth.
"Anyway, ya'll staying?" John asked, looking at the two with small smiles. "Leo and Nea will be here any minute, and I know you ain't seen him in a bit, Vel."
"Eh, may as well. Don't have anything better to do anyway." Velvette shrugged her shoulders without a care in the world, strutting over toward the couch as Zeezi rolled her eyes.
"Well, I can't, I gotta get back and make sure nobody fucked anything up." Zeezi gave her own answer with a grin as she turned her slitted eyes back to the other behemoth. "Tell the squirt I said hi, though, okay?"
"Of course," John answered as he watched the lizard walk past before turning back to his remaining visitor as the social media demon went about stealing control of the TV.
He barely moved two steps before there was a knock at his door, and by then, Zeezi had already left the room, so a tinge of amusement shot through him. The neon-haired sinner had probably forgotten something.
Velvette seemed to have the same though, as she started cackling the moment the knocks echoed through the penthouse. The Wraith himself even chuckled as he turned and began to approach the door.
He grabbed the handle and opened it, expecting Zeezi's familiar face to greet him.
Instead, he was faced with dead air for a moment, causing his eyes to widen in surprise as he glanced down both ends of the hall. When he caught no sign of the long-haired lizard, a frown etched itself onto his face.
"Hi, Dad!"
Only for the biggest grin to immediately envelope his face as his gaze quickly lowered to the spot right in front of him.
In front of him, adorned in a matching outfit and a little navy-blue backpack, was a little blue-haired mirror of himself.
Leo Harrison Gallagher.
Sometimes, he wondered if this was how Papaw felt when John himself was just a child.
Leo was the spitting image of his father, nobody could argue that, but fortunately, he seemed to lack the fearsome gashes that adorned John's body. His existence was a conundrum, but honestly?
The behemoth could care less about the answer. He had a baby boy, and he was gonna do his damndest to actually raise him.
A happy, joyful laugh erupted from his throat in a moment of his own childlike glee as his massive hands quickly swung down, snagging the child up off the ground and into his arms.
He wasn't sure he deserved these moments anymore, but he was happy when he got them.
"Hey, Leo!" John gladly greeted his son as Leo threw his little arms around his own wide neck before sitting up straight in his arms to meet his eyes better. "How've you been, little buddy?"
A beaming little smile remained plastered on his face.
"Great! I passed my spelling test, and Mom got me a new PSP!" Leo immediately answered as John took yet another glance down the halls, hoping to spot Nea somewhere close by. When he saw nothing, he turned back to Leo.
Nea would catch up, or she was busy. Either way, Leo knew how to navigate the whole damn city better than John did, and the Strength Demon was the one who built the damn place.
It wasn't a rare occurrence, but Nea still avoided letting Leo loose in the city where she could.
He made sure to keep the door unlocked, but the behemoth didn't pay any further attention to the missing shark. Instead, he turned back into the living room and instead chose to focus on his child.
"Hey, look who's here," John told him, flicking a finger toward the couch as Leo immediately twisted his head around. His little blue orbs landed on Velvette right as the fashionista looked up from the TV.
A massive grin split across the doll's face as the child in his arms immediately started bouncing in excitement.
"Yes! Hi Velvette!" He offered her an eager wave as John watched the two with a small smile.
"Hey, Leo! How are you doing, little guy?" The Overlord immediately hopped to her feet, whatever show she'd been sucked into entirely forgotten as she marched over to the two demons as John let his son down onto his own feet.
Leo wasted no time in immediately throwing his arms around the woman, who laughed to her heart's content as she returned the hug, while John gave a soft chuckle at the sight.
It always warmed his heart to see anyone interact with his boy. Leo had the infectious charm that everyone said he possessed, and if it could warm Vox's cold, dead heart, what chance did anyone else stand?
"I'm doing great, how about you?" He asked as they separated. "I don't really think school is all that interesting to you."
With himself, the boy was always ready to share his own adventures recently, but he was always interested in everyone else's lives rather than his own.
Hell, John would probably be telling a story about Maddie or Papaw tonight.
Velvette laughed in response as she lowered herself down to Leo's level, raising a small eyebrow as she cocked her head to the side.
"Not much. Fashion shows, keeping up with trends, same old."
Leo's eyes suddenly lit up, and John laughed as the boy grinned and pointed toward the TV.
"Oh, did you watch the new Transformers movie?"
Velvette's eyes flicked up at the question, waiting a moment for no other reason than to sate Leo's excitement before meeting the younger behemoth's eyes with a smile.
"No, but I did get you a present for your birthday."
John didn't hesitate to roll his eyes at that one; that was just mean.
"His birthday isn't for another couple of months." The behemoth spoke up with an amused grin as the two looked up at him. "While it's on my mind, though, where's your mom?"
A little curiosity never hurt.
At the question, however… well, Leo's smile faded, and his little brows arched upward in sadness.
It was so sudden that it made John blink before his own brow furrowed in concern.
"What's wrong?"
"Mom's mad at you," Leo answered, averting his gaze as he did so. "You hurt the angel."
John's expression went blank, blinking his eyes as he processed the words before shaking his head and bringing his stunned gaze back to his son.
"How- How did she-?"
"Aunt Carmilla stopped by last night."
Ah, that explained it. And considering Carmilla didn't really know nor care about his reasoning, she probably just assumed Nea would agree since the particular angel was an Exorcist. Hell, he was surprised by how many people were questioning it, if he were honest.
He clearly misjudged things. If even Verosika was wary of his decision, then there was something he was either overlooking or simply didn't care about like they did. It was hard for him to consider the idea that he'd gone to far with a threat when he lived above a literal harvesting plant.
"Uh… did she…?"
"You should go downstairs."
Well, he was in big trouble. And he was being warned by his own son.
"Oooh boy…"
John met Velvette's eyes for a second, and the doll let a small grin cross her lips as she playfully waved him off.
"Looks like someone's in trouble." She teased as her hand fell back to her side, and John once again rolled his eyes, though this time the smile was absent. Of course, the doll would find some amusement in his plight.
Still, he was now glad she'd stayed behind. At least someone was watching Leo to keep him distracted. The last thing he wanted was for the boy to stumble into an argument between his parents.
"Tell you what, you and Vel hang out here while your dad goes and gets his ass chewed out; then how about we all three go down to the ice cream shop?" He threw the suggestion out, shooting a hopeful glance toward the Overlord. She preferred her fearsome reputation, but he was hoping she'd be up for a more mundane day than usual.
She raised an eyebrow, and put on a show of examining her nails for a moment, before rolling her eyes nod shrugging her shoulders.
"Fine… a cherry cone wouldn't be so bad…"
All three of the Vees tried to hide behind their fearsome reputation, as did most of the Overlords, come to think of it. Even John himself would admit that he enjoyed the perks of being the most feared being in Hell.
But it was nice when some of them didn't feel the need to be a complete nutjob all the time. Velvette had a knack for swiping his Oreos or giving him shit about being a 'hick' when she wasn't demanding respect that she really didn't deserve.
She liked to put herself on a pedestal. John still wasn't sure why, but it wasn't any of his business either. He was fine just being allowed to help.
He began backpedaling away from the two, flashing a grin and throwing a thumbs up in their direction. His heart swelled when he saw the excitement on his son's face, and disappointment followed it when he turned around to face the doorway.
How much trouble was he in this time?
"I'm… not so sure about this anymore."
Charlie wasn't sure if it was the sight of the complex up close once again or the absence of her girlfriend, but the idea of accepting the Wraith's invitation was now a much more daunting thought.
Considering how their last encounter ended, she hadn't even thought about the idea that the invitation may not even be valid at all.
"Come on, Charlie." Angel encouraged with a roll of his multi-colored eyes, waving her toward the door as both he and Pentious stopped with one foot on the sidewalk. "We're just at the parking lot. I'm telling you, there's nothing to be scared of."
"Except getting tossed into the harvesting plant." The Princess muttered under her breath as she stared at the dark, massive covering shielding the city from the rest of its ilk.
"Oh? Where have you heard that?" Pentious actually looked genuinely confused, and his question earned him weird looks from his companions.
Charlie really wished Vaggie were here. Right now, she was the one who needed to listen, and it was easier to do that when you didn't feel alone. She didn't know this city like either Angel or Pentious.
The spider was familiar, but the usually bumbling inventor seemed to know the place like the back of his hand based on the way he talked about it. And that made Charlie a little nervous.
She wasn't sure what to expect. Initial meetings meant she had absolutely no faith in the supposedly generous Overlord, and the wall housing the city was locked by an equally massive gate. Honestly, one would think they were entering a prison.
Maybe they were.
Angel looked at Pentious for another few seconds before rolling his eyes at the snake's obliviousness.
"Alright, look, we probably won't even see John anyway." Angel tried to offer reassurance. It wasn't much of one, but Charlie felt it worth noting anyway.
"Angel, he lives here." She still pointed out, raising an eyebrow as she finally gave in and began moving with them. "And something tells me it isn't as unlikely as you think."
"If you're worried about conflict, he'll sooner kick you out than hurt you!" Pentious sounded a little too cheery when he said it, but Charlie still offered the snake a smile for the thought, even as Angel shot him a scathing glare.
"That's not much better, but thanks anyway." She offered Sir Pentious a consolation pat on the shoulder, but the snake didn't look daunted as he replied with a small shrug.
"Oh well. It's still nice to be back."
It was nice. Even if the circumstances were questionable, it was nice to see that Pentious had something that made him happy. Something that wasn't directly tied to the Hotel.
Even if it was tied to the Wraith.
Charlie followed the two of them up to the massive gate as Angel pulled out an I.D. badge, swiping it across the tiny panel next to the large doors. It was less of a rumble and more of a roar that shook the area as the oversized metal gates split open, allowing some more natural and less hellish light to break through.
As the doors opened wider, so too did Charlie's eyes.
She could give the Wraith this: he certainly knew how to build a welcoming city.
The last time she was here, her objective had made it hard to stop and admire the place's beauty. But now, the pristine buildings and streets were on full display as a many demons roamed without a single fear in their minds.
Meanwhile, the princess could hear explosions and gunshots in multiple different places.
It was like staring into an alternate universe. This was the kind of Hell she wanted.
Now, if only it hadn't been controlled by the worst man in existence.
The doors hadn't even opened a quarter before the gap was big enough for the three to file through, the Princess once again found herself inside of the walled off section of the city.
Depending on who you asked, they were two separate cities, but Community City was really only a part of Pentagram City.
Well, half.
From the air, assuming you could get high enough to clear the walls, all you'd see is a black mass next to a sizable city.
But when you were within…
The city lit up with life everywhere she looked, as demons walked among each other without a moment's hesiation.
She watched a bear and a ram accidentally brush shoulders, and Charlie instinctively expected a fight.
"Sorry."
"My bad."
That's all she got instead, as the two demons immediately turned and continued on their way without another word.
They actually apologized without any scathing remarks or hints of spite or malice.
It wasn't much, but it said a lot.
Still, the royal wouldn't make any judgment calls yet. Sure, the place looked nice, and the populace seemed peaceful enough.
But out of the corner of her eye, she could see and hear the machinations of the dreadful factory. She was still trying to decide if she even wanted to enter.
Loathe as she was to admit it, she couldn't afford to make the Wraith an even bigger enemy than he already was. The fact that he was scum didn't change the fact that he was the most influential Overlord in Hell, nor one of the most powerful beings in creation.
And with the vindictiveness he purportedly held… Charlie had slept with one eye open last night.
In hindsight, throwing him back into the city had been the dumbest possible choice she could've made. She'd made it out of anger, and she'd already admitted right to his face that she couldn't beat him.
But, he had offered her a chance to explore his city, and the Princess would be a fool not to take it. Assuming it still stood.
…
She could apologize, right?
"So, where do you wanna go first?" Angel asked, a small grin on his face as he turned his head toward the Princess.
The moment she heard the question, Pentious' words about wildlife popped into her head.
"Do they have a zoo?"
"Follow me~!"
The fact that Pentious sang it out was enough to surprise both spider and royal, and that gave the snake enough time to clamp his slimy hands around their wrists.
"Ew, Ew!"
"Dude, you're fucking disgusting!"
The inventor heard none of it as he dragged them through the streets. Charlie was too focused on trying to run fast enough to keep pace with the slithering demon.
Sometimes, it was easy to forget that Pentious was a cobra demon.
She wondered if there would be actual king cobras.
Now, there was a thought. Charlie had seen plenty of pictures and videos of Earth animals, not to mention having read plenty of books, but it was hard to believe she was about to actually see them for the first time.
The jog through the city didn't take long, and in no time at all, they arrived at their destination.
Charlie's wrist was finally freed of its slimy prison as Pentious finally slowed. The princess wasted no time in flinging the offending substance off as best as she could while Angel wiped away the fluid on his glove with a look of annoyance on his face.
"Seriously, man. Don't do that again."
The spider went ignored as Charlie finally raised her eyes, only for a starstruck gasp to escape her lips as her eyes widened in surprise.
Standing in front of her was a large brick wall, painted blue, with broad-sized entrance befitting even the biggest of demons. The doorway was propped open, an intricate gold pattern running along the paneling as she took in the massive above.
Taking up the entire upper wall was a stylized logo for the building.
J & N: Hell's First Living Emporium.
J likely stood for John, but she didn't have the foggiest idea of who N was. Not that it mattered.
"Welcome to the Living Emporium!" Pentious looked absolutely enthralled by the place, gesturing to it wondrously as even Angel looked surprised.
"I thought we were going to the Zoo?" Angel muttered in disbelief, dragging his multicolored gaze over to the snake for an answer.
To which Pentious nodded with a grin. "We are! It's inside." He gestured over to the complex as he said it, and even inside of another, it looked rather imposing.
Unlike the city's exterior wall, however, this place held a promise of fun and adventure, something the Princess would never have expected from the Wraith.
"An entire zoo is inside this place?"
"Oh, John sought out people from all over to help," Pentious admitted with a broad grin. "Restaurants, Arcades, even movie theaters and amusement parks! The zoo is just one destination."
"Jeez, he really went nuts with the place, didn't he?" Angel asked, raising an eyebrow as they turned to look at the building in amazement. "I bet this place is popular?"
"Quite!" Pentious answered with actual pride in his voice, eagerly nodding as he gestured back in the direction they'd come from. "Carmilla Carmine stops by on occasion with her girls, and nobody bats an eye!"
Well… that was something. If Overlords frequented the place without issue, then maybe the Wraith's apparently established peace wasn't some kind of fairy tale. Still, though, Charlie doubted she should take Pentious at his word.
The snake had the same kind of disposition that the succubus who'd scorned her did if she had to guess. Where he felt free, others could feel chained down.
Or maybe she was just grasping at straws as she watched a gargantuan wolf sinner pass by with a young imp on his shoulders, and an older female accompanied him with a content smile on her face.
That threw her for a loop. Hellborns and sinners weren't demons that tended to get together, and the few who did have happened so long ago that no one was even sure if any remained.
Well, she supposed standing here was doing nothing, and she did want to see some of the earth animals.
"Oh! Do they have cats?"
"Of all types!"
A massive grin sprawled instead across her face at the snake's answer. If that was the case, she knew exactly what kind of cat she wanted to see. Lions were said to be beautiful creatures, right?
And the look on Angel's face when he saw a bear against the glass was definitely worth it, too.
"So, to summarize, you took a woman's soul while threatening to rape her, and then you decided to antagonize the Princess. Is that right?"
John rolled his eyes at Nea's rather piss-poor summary, in his opinion. Though he supposed that would forever be the story of it, wouldn't it?
"Yeah, sure, let's go with that." It was hard to keep the annoyance off his face, but he tried his best even as he shook his head in frustration. Nea never cared about all the little things that went into ruling Hell. Just what she knew mattered.
Still, Nea was also perceptive, and in his frustration, he'd quickly forgotten that fact.
The tall shark demon had little care for the behemoth's own dismissive attitude, however, and he immediately found himself on the receiving end of a harsh hand to the back of his head.
*SMACK*
"Ow!"
His hand shot up to rub the aching spot on his cranium as he snapped his head toward his ex in disbelief.
For her part, the nudist didn't even blink, instead rolling her eyes once again and scoffing.
"Don't give me that, you know better!"
"What would you have me do?!" John shouted in exasperation as the ache was forgotten in favor of throwing his arms up. "This ain't nothing new! You know that as well as I do!"
"No, actually, I don't." Nea crossed her arms as she spoke in response, shifting her weight into one leg and raising a challenging eyebrow. "Why don't you tell me what I should already know?"
He had to resist the urge to growl. The behemoth loved Nea, but just like Verosika, she knew how to press every button he had and didn't think twice about it.
"Well, for one, the bitch," He gave the nine-foot shark a harsh stare as he paused, watching her sigh in annoyance and once again shake her head before continuing. "Is an Exorcist. I do not care about anything else about her right now, just that."
"So that justifies all of it, right?" Nea retorted, raising an eyebrow. "Because that's the way it works with you. If you can find some way to justify any of it, everything's okay."
"That's not-" John's lips clamped closed before he did let something akin to a growl escape. He could feel the air rumbling in his throat, ready to escape.
Rather than a rumble, he opted instead for a smooth sigh as he shook his own head. He wouldn't snap, not at Nea.
It felt like every day, another person took issue with something. What was he supposed to do, whisk her off back to Heaven for a happy life and another year of murder?
No.
"That ain't what I'm saying, and you damn well know it." The behemoth refused to look at her as he spoke, instead opting to favor the general store set up at the opposing street corner.
He wasn't even sure if he wanted to keep talking. Conversations like this always went the same way: he was ignorant or monstrous, and whatever he said never mattered.
God, he was ready to head back up and lock himself away in his penthouse.
"Then what are you saying?" Nea asked, crossing her own arms over her bare chest as she raised an eyebrow. "Come on, I'm all ears; I have to hear this."
He heard the patronizing tone in her voice, and he let a sigh of annoyance escape him.
"Nah, never mind." Suddenly, he didn't care what Nea thought at the moment. "We ain't dating anymore; you ain't gotta hear jack-shit."
He swiveled his head over to the shark from where he stood against the wall, and a small bit of petty satisfaction shot through him when he saw a flash of hurt cross her blue-skinned features.
He ignored that stab of shame he felt in his stomach and instead stood up straight, facing the shark sinner fully as he waited for her response.
The hurt barely lasted a second before it was overwhelmed by rage, and John probably should've seen what happened next before it occurred.
*CRACK*
Nonetheless, Nea's fist lashed out and caught him clean on the jaw, snapping his head aside with a grunt.
It made his jaw ratchet awkwardly for a moment, but when he turned back to meet her eyes once more, it was fury that greeted him.
"You son of a bitch, as long as Leo is coming near the slaughterhouse every month, you will keep me informed." She growled, and John's eyes widened ever so slightly at the disgust in her tone.
It wasn't anything new; it had been directed at him plenty of times. But it was when Leo's name accompanied it that things changed. Or at least, they did for him.
Out of pure spite, the fleeting thought arose that Nea couldn't really do anything. If he truly wished it, she'd never see Leo again, just for that simple statement.
How dare she try to use Leo against him? How fucking dare her? Leo was a child, her child too, not a damn bargaining chip.
It's the fact that small things like that wrought those big reactions that made him pause. It was just an argument; it shouldn't mean too much as long as their son was safe.
And yet, in the pit of his gut, he felt a small ounce of genuine fear.
"I… look, do you really want to know, or are you just worried about Leo?" He didn't like arguing with Nea, and he remained thankful that she could at least be reasoned with. "Look, I'll bite; the rape thing crossed a few lines."
"A few?" Nea's blue-slitted eyes widened into an incredulous stare at the Overlord's words. "Just a few?"
"Living on top of a slaughterhouse, remember?" A dry tone slicked his rumble as he gestured toward the structure behind him. "Let's be real, I've crossed way worse lines already, and I'm just used to people thinking I'm a rapist. Why not take advantage of it?"
"Do you even hear yourself?" The shark asked, raising a genuinely disbelieving brow.
John's brow furrowed as he watched his ex look away for a moment before she sucked in a deep breath.
"John, that's something you shouldn't want." She finally responded, sounding much calmer. Still, her expression betrayed her hesitance, and her features were unusually solid. "It sounds like you're looking for excuses."
"Look, I can't do much about my reputation." John let a small sigh escape him. One way or another, that's what it always circled back to.
Hell saw him as a myriad of things, but above all, he was a monster. He'd use it to his advantage where he could without crossing further lines.
But it was that same damned reputation that meant even those he cared for were always cautious around him. The only person who didn't look at him anymore with some type of fear in their eyes was Leo, the Princess, and the shark sinner in front of him.
Everyone else… well, they either hid it well or sucked at hiding it.
"We can sit here all day talking about all the stuff I've apparently done, plus the shit that actually is me." John continued, crossing his arms once more as his piercing blues slowly drifted back toward the street. "But all I can do is let you figure out what you think of me."
Silence descended once more upon the two as the man slowly watched Nea's expression. She remained unblinking for a few seconds before her face slowly softened.
And then a sigh escaped her blue lips.
"God, you drive me up the wall." She grumbled as she pressed her palm against her forehead before shaking her head in mild amusement. "This, right here, is why I couldn't handle dating an Overlord."
Sad as it was, she really didn't know the half of it.
"Hey, you did alright, all things considered." John offered a small smile of his own, hoping to cheer her up and put her in a good mood. "We didn't exactly have a bad breakup."
The shark rolled her eyes at his words, refusing to acknowledge the latter sentence as she turned her attention back to the behemoth.
"Look, just…" She paused in her words, struggling to find exactly what she wanted to say. "Please be careful, okay? I don't want Leo getting dragged into… Overlord stuff."
"He won't."
The words came out much harsher than he meant them to. Harsh enough that it surprised both of them.
But he couldn't help it. No one would hurt Leo, not so long as he had anything to say about it.
Nea watched him for a moment, and John half-expected another argument, but a small smile broke out across the woman's lips instead.
"Alright." She raised her hands in surrender as she visibly relaxed, the tension forgotten. "I'll ease back. Just… please, think next time."
He rolled his eyes in amusement at her words. "Yes, Mom, I will think of your wishes the next time I have a woman bent over a table."
The shark didn't hesitate to slap his arm for that one, but a small laugh accompanied it as the tension finally seemed to drain completely.
"That is bad, John!"
"Don't care; you set the joke up perfectly." A small grin spread across his cracked lips as she swatted him upside the head once more, but it did nothing to hinder his chuckle.
"I was ready to rip your head off when I got here, you know that?"
"Naw, we just fucking argued because you had a hankering for yelling."
"Quit being a smartass."
"I reserve that right, thank you."
The woman smirked but spoke no words. Instead, a small chuckle escaped her own lips as she shook her head in amusement.
"God, you never shut up, do you?" Nea asked, raising an eyebrow as she finally joined the merriment herself.
John offered nothing more than a small shrug in response to that.
"Depends on who you ask."
They didn't see each other often. So when he got the chance to talk to her, he took it as often as he could. Not to mention, she wasn't the biggest fan of most of his usual company.
The behemoth was still surprised she'd hit it off so well with Carmilla.
"Well, I'm glad you haven't gone completely nuts, I guess," Nea commented with a small sigh of relief. "Sometimes I just… it's hard to tell, you know?"
"I'd imagine." Some people had full confidence, while others questioned his sanity on a regular basis. If nobody questioned things, he would be concerned. "Look, I don't know what Carmilla told you, but don't hold it against her either, alright? I didn't tell her every little detail."
"Well, you need to make it clear that you didn't actually rape her." Nea retorted, raising an eyebrow as she met the fellow sinner's own blue orbs. "I know Carmilla well enough, and the way she told it, it was anyone's guess."
"It always is." John pointed out, raising his eyebrow as his smile faded.
Ever since becoming an Overlord, his honesty meant squat. He hated that, but there were also times it came in handy.
It meant all he had to do was speak his mind, and people came to heel.
Well, most of the time. He was more than thankful there were still people who weren't afraid of him.
"I prefer it like that, even when it leads to shit like this, you know that." He reminded the shark as a saddened expression crossed his face. "Let people talk freely. I'm enough of a hypocrite as it is."
Nea's eyes softened at his words, and a beat of silence passed before she let an annoyed sigh escape her.
"Just… god, you're unbelievable." She said as she turned her gaze back to him, uncrossing her arms and instead choosing to close the distance to rest her hands on his shoulders.
John's head instinctively swiveled towards the appendages on his shoulder spikes before raising his head back up to the shark's face in confusion.
Only to find her eyes mere inches from his own as she pressed her face to his.
"Alright, let's go through this again. Where are your limits?"
It took a moment for the question to process in his thick skull, but when it did. He took a deep breath, his eyes refusing to look away from those blue hues as he spoke.
"No kids, no rape."
"Is that all?"
"I don't like scamming, so I won't do it."
When he paused once more, Nea pulled her face away so that he could properly see the small smile of amusement on her face.
"I'm serious, John. You need this."
The behemoth held his ex's gaze for a moment before a sigh escaped his mouth as he nodded his head.
"Alright…" He muttered slowly as he lifted his head back up to face her. "No kids. I can't do that. Ever. Vanessa crosses enough of a line, and I was beaten as a kid myself."
Nea flinched at the mention of the succubus, but she refused to let her smile fade, nodding her head encouragingly.
"And… sex is something where you should always feel safe. I'll throw threats around all day, but… I can't do that one."
"And your last one?"
"I'll never lie." He felt as confident as he sounded, and he'll admit that he was now surprised by the turn of events. "Now, why are you making me feel better again?"
"Figure it out." Nea offered him a cheeky grin as she pinched his nose before stepping away and flicking a finger toward the door. "Now go. I've kept you enough, and Leo's ready for some time with Papa."
"Oh, fuck you." That was the only response he could think of, but he made sure the smile on his face was nothing other than playful as the shark stepped away.
"You already did, remember?" Nea teased once more before turning away with a wave. "Maybe you'll get another chance, but I've got work, and you have a kid waiting on you."
John couldn't help but throw his hands up in disappointment at her sudden departure, but he didn't stop her.
She never did stay long. And John never felt like he was allowed to ask. What right did he have?
"Be careful, alright?"
She waved back at him in response, shooting him a small smile over her shoulder as she stepped up onto the sidewalk, but she said nothing.
And with a turn, she disappeared from view around the corner.
Leaving the Wraith alone once more.
With a small sigh, he turned away from the street and began moving back toward the Factory entrance.
A familiar scent wafted past his nose as his hand raised toward the door. The mixed scent of vanilla and strawberries.
It made him freeze in an instant.
It was the familiar sweet scent that the Princess carried.
"Already?" John muttered aloud to no one as he stood up straight in disbelief. He'd have thought she'd still be too angry to even humor the idea.
Showed what he knew.
If the Princess was brave enough to show her face here this soon, god only knew how else he may have misjudged her.
A small chuckle escaped him as he had a thought.
People really had no idea how brave the Princess was; he'd certainly give her that credit.
However, there was still the unfortunate chance that Charlie wasn't very bright, but honestly, he highly doubted that one. She was naive, but she sure as shit wasn't stupid.
It might be best to head her way on the chance she tried anything funny. It wouldn't be hard to jettison her out of the city. And in much the same manner she'd done to him.
Not to mention that she was more than likely going to cause some kind of trouble if her interest in the factory was anything to go by.
But the tug at his heart was stronger. He wanted to spend time with his son. Enough had happened, and he was ready to unwind.
Besides, the time hadn't lined up the way he wanted. Unfortunately, one day, I would end up sacrificed in favor of the Exterminations.
Still, at least Leo would be safe.
And besides, they were going out today anyway. If the Princess caught wind of him, she'd likely come sniffing to bug about her girlfriend.
He just hoped he wasn't taking a risk by leaving her be. People may not like it, but something told him that releasing anybody in the factory would be bad for everyone.