Chapter 44:

The final memory

As the memory began to fade again, the group consisting of Charlie, Vaggie, Carmilla and sera once again found themselves standing on solid ground, in the entrance hall of the Vee tower as Vox and Vallentino looked on in confusion.

"WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?!" The tall moth barked out as Charlie was currently in the process of gathering the second crystal.

"That…my dear "colleagues"…was us collecting a piece of Ink and her hostage soul…." Carmilla sneered at her 2 fellow overlords.

This caused the TV headed demon to take a step back and for the pimp overlord to flinch as his eyes widened in horror "You mean to say that that 8 eyed puta is in there?!"

Sera nodded at this "Their minds are extremely fragmented in their current state, but yes, they are in there….and technically, they "ARE" still alive…"

Pocketing the crystal, Charlie sighed "2 down….one more….."

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Combing the streets of pentagram city, Charlie occasionally closed her eyes and focused on the energy she felt…., before turning towards a direction "This way, it's coming from here" as the group kept walking.

"Can't we better take the limo?" Sera asked "It'd make our search allot easier than having to search on foot"

This caused Carmilla to raise a brow in curiosity "Wait….3 out of 4 of us have wings….why don't we take our search to the skies?"

Which caused a sigh from Vaggie "mamá…the energy we're tracking is very weak. If we use our wings, we're just going to accidentally glance over it and miss the crystal" to which Charlie added.

"Yea, searching by foot is our best option at the moment, I'm afraid" as she took a deep breath "We got lucky that Velvette was able to lead us to the second crystal but this last one….i'm afraid we're on our own"

It took them a little bit of tracking, but eventually, the energy trace had led them to…..the heaven embassy…..

Arriving at the large, imposing clocktower, which, since the cancelation of the exterminations, was converted from a doomsday clock to a regular timekeeping device, the group consisting of 4 once again found themselves with a smoldering hole in the side of the building.

All though, To Charlie's and Carmilla's surprise, the hole was slowly getting smaller and smaller.

Seeing the confusion on their faces, Sera was quick to speak up, even before either of them had the opportunity to even ask "There are magical, self-repairing wards in place that protect the building" causing an "ohhhh" from the both of them.

Entering through the ornate double doors, there, in the middle of the large room, the crystal hovered slightly above the ground, just like the 2 others.

"This is it, girls….the last shard….the last set of Vallery's and Ink's memories" Charlie spoke.

Approaching the crystal, Vaggie put a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder "You sure you're ready for this, hun? This is the last set….who knows what we'll see in there….it might contain….what got them send to hell…"

With determination on her face, Charlie gave a firm nod "We got to help Vallery….i'm ready" before glancing over to Sera and Carmilla, who both gave their own nods in confirmation.

Taking a deep breath, Charlie pulled out the ancient spell tome as she began to flip through it "Alright, once we got all 3 of the crystals, we're going to need an item of personal value to them, as a catalyst….sort of an anchor point to bind the shards back together"

Giving a firm nod, Carmilla whipped out her phone "I can send my girls ahead towards Ink's manor. They can gather the catalyst and once we have the shard, we'll meet them there" as she shot a quick few messages.

Everyone now being in agreement, Vaggie gave the clear signal to her partner as Charlie began to close in on the crystal "Alright Vallery….Ink….what do you have to show us…." As they once again were sucked into the shard….

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Once the memory materialized around them, the 4 of them were met with a confused Vallery, observing a shovel in her shed, covered in dirt, as well as inspecting and cleaning dirt from underneath her fingernails.

"I…..don't remember doing yard work…." She muttered out to herself as she eventually shrugged, picked up a bag and made her way outside.

Following the memory, the hazbin group once again got to see Vallery stroll up to what they now came to know as Alastor's house before he died as she rang the doorbell again.

Not much later and they once again found themselves observing Vallery and Alastor have lunch as the man in question was reading the day's newspaper.

Upon closer inspection, Vaggie managed to make out the headline "Disturbing developments as corrupt city official disappeared without a trace. Has the smiling killer struck again or is a new monster on the loose?"

Glancing over to the newspaper, Vallery's memory would pipe up "What do you make of it, Al?"

Raising a curious brow, the radio host folded up the newspaper, laid it down on the garden table and picked up his teacup "I don't think it's the smiling killer this time" as he took a sip.

"As a radio host, I've done my own amateur research. I mean, my listeners deserve to know after all, and it just doesn't add up" as he pointed at the photo accompanying the headline "All the telltale calling cards of a smiling killer case are missing….whoever this killer is, they are new"

At this news, Vallery sighed as she buried her head in her hands out of frustration "Uhg, just great. As if the streets weren't dangerous enough at night. Now there's TWO of them"

Though as she did this, Alastor got a good look at her still dirty fingernails as he narrowed his eyes and mumbled "…..could it…."

Realizing he was speaking out loud when Vallery asked him "Could it "what" Alastor?" in a confused tone, he quickly changed the subject "Oh nothing, my friend, just speculation" as he tapped her on the top of her head "Nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about, my dear"

Giving him an unsure look, Vallery decided to drop it "Well….if you say so, Al…"

Though….this gave the creole man some thought….."Say….my dear….have you had any more….intrusive thoughts lately?"

As he dropped this question, Vallery suddenly perked up "Yea….now that you mention it….no….they fell silent a little while ago"

Taking a sip of her own tea, Vallery asked "Why are you asking, Alastor?"

The memory of Alastor waved a dismissive hand as he smiled "Oh nothing important, my dear, just curiosity for a good friend's wellbeing" as he gave her a wink "They're harmless but I know you were bothered by them, so hence why"

Vallery smiled as the bit off a corner of her sandwich "Thanks Al…..you're a good friend, you know that?"

"A gentleman does his best" Alastor smiled as slowly, the memory once again began to fade as Charlie, Vaggie, Carmilla and Sera were slowly being transported to the next memory…..

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Ink's estate, pride ring, hell:

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Managing to find themselves a way inside, Clara and Odette had begun wandering the eerie halls of the seemingly dilapidated manor.

"How can someone live like this?" Clara muttered as the uncanny décor put the both of them on edge, everything just having an eerie feel to it as Odette spoke up "Well it IS Ink's house we're in. I suppose it reflects its inhabitant"

But as the 2 Carmine sisters prowled the halls….a short….stout shape followed them in the dark "Hehe….feckin perfect…I'll show that prissy royal princess bitch for siccing her dad on meh" as it kept to the shadows as it followed them….

Eventually reaching the bedroom of the estate, Clara would hold up a locket she found on the nightstand "You think this will do?"

Glancing over to her sister, Odette adjusted her glasses as she narrowed her eyes and gave the locked a closer look "That should be sufficient" as the 2 of them began making their way back downstairs….

They didn't get far though, as suddenly, the wooden floorboards below them began to squeak and crack.

With a loud yelp from the both of them and the sound of old, dry, rotting wood splintering, the floor gave out under them as the Carmine sisters found themselves plummeting down a rocky, underground tunnel, all the while they heard the unmistakable cackling of the "prince of pranks" Roach above them….."TELL THE FECKIN' PRINCESS ROACH SAID HI, BITCH!"