"Velvette! Good morning!" Charlie's voice broke through the morning serenity like a knife. The Social Media Overlord had been in the middle of taking a selfie with her breakfast (she had it delivered, because this shitty hotel didn't have a five-star chef who could make Sinstagram friendly meals) when the Princess just barged into the kitchen like she owned the place. Which, yes she did, but she didn't have to make it Velvette's fucking problem.
"It was." Velvette checked her makeup for the third time in her handheld mirror before tilting the camera down so it got all her best angles and caught just enough of the food in the picture to look tantalizing.
"You're up early." Charlie carefully stepped around all the ring lights Velvette had put around the table to fix the absolutely atrocious lighting in this backwoods motel.
"Yes, I like to get up early to avoid other people." Velvette didn't look at the Princess, instead, she looked into her phone camera with her best, flirty smile. She took the photo, quickly looking at the image. It would need some touch ups, but it was passable.
"Oh! Me too! It's nice to get a bit of time to yourself! To relax, enjoy that smoldering, Hellish air..."
"You're blocking my light."
"Oh! Sorry!" Charlie scrambled to move, knocking into one of the carefully poised lamps that Velvette had spent hours adjusting. Fortunately, the Overlord was able to catch it using a ribbon from her hair to wrap around the lamp and right it, before it knocked into her entire setup. "Oops."
"Can I help you with something?" Now Velvette had to take extra time to fix her hair again since her ribbon had been moved to save her lighting.
"I was just checking on you! Seeing how you were adjusting to everything since you moved in! I know it's quite a bit different from what you're used to, but..." Charlie trailed off, looking at the table. "Where did that table cloth come from?"
"I brought it."
"Oh! I didn't realize it! I didn't see you and Vox arrive with any luggage. I was a little worried, if I can be perfectly honest with you. I thought you might be in trouble."
"Trouble?" Velvette let out a laugh. It was true, she and Vox had come empty handed, seeking sanctuary, though admitting that was out of the question. "As if anything could threaten a Vee." Image was everything, she couldn't let the Princess know about the issues with Valentino, it would make them look weak. "No, I had some staff bring my things. I'm using more than just one room, though, because I have a lot of things."
"Right..." Charlie didn't seem as excited about all of Velvette's expensive clothes being brought to her little dumpster fire as she should be. Didn't the princess realize what sort of media attention this could net her? "So... then why did you come here?"
"Charity work, Princess." Velvette had this already thought out. Plan A was to deny ever being in this rinky-dink little cesspit, and when that, inevitably, failed; she had a readied response. "Every so often I like to help the less popular. I find a worthwhile cause, and dedicate my resources to uplifting it. People- even in Hell- love that feel-good bullshit."
"Do they?"
"Trust me, I know the algorithm. I am the algorithm." Vox wrote it to make Velvette stand out. But she wouldn't admit that.
"You know," Charlie took a seat at the table across from where Velvette was taking her pictures. Velvette didn't try to hide the sigh she heaved. The Princess looked at the Overlord like she was about to give some sort of bullshit speech. "You can always come talk to me if something is wrong. You're one of my people, and it's my job to keep you safe. As your Princess," Charlie puff her chest out. I just want you to feel comfortable coming to me if you need me." There it was. Velvette had to make a conscious effort not to either roll her eyes or gag.
"So, you'll help me take over rival territory? How sweet. I knew I was your favorite. Everyone says it's Alastor, but that wouldn't be very: women-supporting-women of you. Who should we take out first? I'm thinking Zestial."
"That's... not what I meant." Charlie's mouth drew into a thin line.
"Well, then, I don't know what you want from me."
"Why don't you tell me about those monsters that attacked you?" Charlie's reply made Velvette fumble, her phone slipping out of her hands and falling to the floor right before she could get a satisfactory shot.
"Damn it!" She had just found the perfect angle to make her hair look lush and beautiful even in this shitty barren room.
"Velvette?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Princess." Velvette grabbed her phone, trying to recapture the angle.
"I heard about the attack from the Angel who saved you. He... knows my dad." Velvette raised an eye at the hesitation.
"Gabriel?" Velvette wasn't sure what was with the standoffishness. It wasn't like the Princess had a single subtle bone in her body.
"Oh, Vox told you?"
"Vox mentioned it." In truth, Vox had only told her anything in relation to the Archangel who saved them only once they were alone in the Hotel after the whole fiasco in the Doomsday district. Judging by the fact that Cain hadn't seemed particularly perturbed by the Angelic appearance, compounded by Vox's announcement about the end of the Exterminations, Velvette felt out-of-the-loop, which was not a good look for her. "What is an Archangel doing bailing Overlords out? Who did Vox pay to get Heaven on his side?"
"It's not like that." The Princess looked uncomfortable, now that she was the one under fire. "We are just working on our relationship with Heaven."
"Going from mindless slaughter on an annual basis to saving the worst-of-the-worst is a bit of a dramatic jump."
"I... guess..."
"All I'm saying," Velvette found her good angle again, snapping a few more photos, "is I won't be surprised when they turn on us again, ten-fold, once we let our guard down. Good thing we have VoxTek Angelic Security." Well... they had a prototype. It didn't work, but getting shit to work wasn't her department. She was an influencer. The Quality of the product was irrelevant so long as it made her a shit ton of money.
"The Angels aren't going to attack us again. The Exterminations are over. My dad ended them himself."
"Does your dad actually do anything? I always sort of thought he was a Muppet your mom operated by shoving her hand up his arse."
"My dad does a lot of things!" Charlie visibly tensed, her nostrils flared a bit and the Overlord realized she had touched a nerve. "In fact, he is sending his royal doctor to the Hotel today to make sure that you and Vox are doing okay."
"I don't need a royal doctor." Though, Velvette might not mind getting a selfie with him for publicity. "I feel fine and if I start to feel sick, I'll just call Pete."
"Wait... Pete Peterson?"
"Oh, have you used him?"
"He's real!?"
"Um, yeah, he has a clinic in our district." Velvette raised an eyebrow at the Princess's weirdly stunned expression.
"This is going to be a complimentary thing, Velvette, it's for everyone at the Hotel." Charlie shook herself of whatever weird shock had overcome her. "And it's really super important than you let him see you, okay? I don't want to pull the... you made a deal to be here card... but..." Charlie looked uncomfortable trying to use a power play on the media star. Velvette rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Just fucking order, me, don't pull this passive aggressive bullshit. It makes you look like a fucking pushover." She did not give a single, solitary fuck about the royal family. However, seeing the way the Princess acted made her worry she would give in the moment Val pushed her. Velvette was, in a sense, at her mercy, and if Princess Smiles-And-Rainbows was going to offer any actual protection, she would need to grow a fucking spine.
"I just..."
"I'm not going." Velvette decided to push her, just to see if she even could pull the deal card as Charlie had so eloquently put it. (It was true. Velvette and Vox had made a fucking six month deal to stay at this literal Hell Hole. She didn't want to be caught dead in shitty conditions like these, but at the same time, Velvette couldn't shake the feeling that if she had stayed behind with Val, she would be just that: dead.)
"Velvette, I-"
"No."
"This is really for your own-"
"I have places to be."
"Velvette," Charlie took a deep breath. Velvette checked her nonexistent watch to make a point. "I order you to have this checkup."
"Wow, that took waaaaaay too fucking long."
"Hell is about free will." Charlie tried to explain her reasoning, but Velvette didn't really need a history lesson, she needed a Princess who wouldn't sell her out if Val promised her the magic of friendship so long as she handed Vox and Velvette over to him.
"You are a fucking princess." Velvette put her hand on the table, the other resting on her hip as she looked Charlie up and down. "God, you need a fucking agent, and a publicist, and a stylist, and maybe security-"
"Okay, Velvette, I get it." Charlie looked a little more like she was regretting getting up early to join Velvette for her photoshoot. Good. She should. Velvette did not ask for- nor desire- any company. She was working.
"Good. Seriously, though, I have a meeting with Mary Lu coming up at some point this week-" at least she thought it was this week; it was hard to remember. "And I absolutely must go shopping for a new dress because I CAN'T be caught dead in something I've worn before. You know how it is." She stopped herself, looking Charlie up and down. "Well... then again... maybe you don't." She cleared her throat, raising her voice slightly. "The point is: that this whole doctor thing will need to work around my schedule."
"Mary Lu?" The Princess's expression contorted into the look of someone who had definitely dealt with the Overlord of DamnWay one too many times. "Why?"
"She paid me a lot of money to be at one of her little girl's night makeover things." That was only half the truth. Velvette wished she had been paid for this, she should have been paid. But she had used Mary as an excuse to get out of a meeting with Valentino before Vox had made his oh-so-triumphant return to the company. Seriously, if she had known Val was going to act psychotic, she never would have let Vox leave. He was a good meat-shield. (She knew Val was fucked up, they all were, it was Hell, but he didn't act that way toward her.) Val had actually gone so far as to track down Mary Lu and ask about Velvette and she had lied on Velvette's behalf. Now, Velvette owed her. And going to these idiot parties was better than having Val breathing down her neck more than he already was.
"Can I come?"
"Why?" Velvette parroted Charlie's own question back at her with the same, disgusted inflection. The Princess faltered for a moment.
"I…. need a makeover?"
"Oh honey, you need more than that."
"I mean, Mary Lu invites me to shit all the time, I probably have an invitation somewhere in my spam box." Charlie started scrolling through her phone. "Oh! Yeah! She did invite me! This is the Boss Babe Bash, right?" Velvette rolled her eyes. She didn't even know the parties had names.
"Probably?"
"This is great! We can go shopping together, too! I could get a new outfit! Maybe you could help me pick something!" Explaining to Charlie that she might be beyond even Velvette's expert advice seemed like a waste, so the fashionista settled on a simple, unenthusiastic:
"... yay."
"Babe, you're up early." The angry bitch who was fucking the princess finally made it down the stairs. Velvette thought she couldn't be any less enthused before, but the one-eyed, snide, brute of a bodyguard could put anyone in a shitty mood. (At least, Velvette assumed she was some kind of bodyguard with benefits.)
"Yeah! I thought I would get some time to welcome Velvette officially to the Hotel. We have been pretty busy lately; I didn't want her to feel left out."
"Trust me, I don't." Velvette finished editing her photos and posted them on her Sinstagram. "Since you're here though. I want the set struck and returned to one of my rooms. Thanks, doll." She turned on her heel, leaving everything she had set up for the Hotel staff to clean up. That was what they were there for after all.
"Velvette, you have to pick up your own shit." There was that surly attitude from that white haired bitch. It was really to be expected. "And what do you mean one of your rooms? It's one room per patron. We talked about this."
"Yes, because you have so many guests." Velvette openly laughed as she headed up the stairs. "And I like my tablecloth folded into triangles it's more aesthetically pleasing. And if you could have that done before everyone else wakes up, that would be ideal."
"I'm not your fucking-" the bodyguard started to speak, but she was stopped by the Princess who placed a gentle arm on her shoulder.
"Velvette, Vaggie is a manager she's not here to pick up your things.
"That just saves me the trouble of going all the way to the manager when the servant's fuck up. Which, while I have you, your pet needs a muzzle, she tried to bite me. Also, she used my very expensive shampoo to clean the floor. So, I accept reimbursement through straight up cash or on Mammon Pay, HellCash, or PayUp- I don't do checks since everyone commits fraud."
"We're not paying you back," Vaggie was the name of the Princess's annoying right hand. It was so forgettable Velvette honestly figured she had heard the names before and it just slipped seamlessly out of her head like a majority of whatever came out of Charlie's mouth.
"So, you endorse your staff stealing and misusing my products? That's not very Redemption of you." Velvette glanced behind her.
"If you had kept your things all in your room, your one room, then Niffty wouldn't have gotten confused and she would have left your shit alone."
"Also, Niffty isn't a pet. I am sure Vox told you that she was, but she's actually our friend and a valuable member of the staff." Charlie clearly hadn't dealt with the same red-headed terror Velvette had seen skittering across her floor like something out of a horror movie.
"I wouldn't need to use multiple rooms if you offered luxury suites." She started up the stairs again. "Now let's get everything cleaned up before I have to do my next photos. Chop-chop." She clapped her hands together before opening the door to one of her rooms. She nearly screamed as she saw Vox was sitting on the unused bed.
"Shhh." He put a finger to where his mouth was on his screen. "I am glad I caught you. I just want to see how you are holding up in this shit hole."
"By breaking into my bloody room!?" Velvette did keep her voice down, but that didn't mean she was happy to see Vox in one of her private spaces. She knew she had locked the door.
"You don't sleep in this one, I don't think. You have a lot of rooms, I won't lie."
"I need them for all my things." Velvette was eyeing him. It was hard to trust anyone after what she had been through with Val over the past few months. "Prove you're really Vox."
"What?"
"Prove to me that you are actually Vox."
"Who the fuck else could I be?"
"Janie exploded into a fucking monster, I need you to tell me something only Vox would know."
"Why?" Vox seemed confused by the request but Velvette had her nerves shot. She had been on edge for months sleeping with one eye open, listening to Val talk to himself in the dead of night, waking up to see him staring at nothing on the security cameras. She was starting to understand the paranoid outbreak that forced her to tell Vox to go to the Hotel in the first place. She would have been changing all the door codes too if she had seen how Val was acting.
"Just fucking do it!"
"I don't know, I hated that gift Rosie got me at my last birthday party?"
"Everyone who saw your fucking face knows you hated that gift." Velvette remained unconvinced. "Also, Rosie always gives you a severed human hand, with a note that says: need a hand. That's not a real secret. Tell me something that only you and I would know."
"Wow, put me on the spot, why don't you?"
"Just do it!" Velvette hissed, still trying to keep her voice low, her back pressed against the door, ready to run at a moment's notice. Vox was quiet, thinking to himself.
"You actually really hate kombucha."
"Okay, you're Vox." Velvette felt herself slowly start to relax. Relief hit her like a wave and she let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "How did you get into my room?"
"The door was unlocked."
"It shouldn't have been!" And just like that, the tension was back. Vox put the finger to his screen again and he closed his eyes. Velvette recognized that he was connecting himself to the Hotel's electricity, probably trying to get access to the security cameras. (Assuming this place had them.)
"Fuck!" Vox's screen flickered, there was a burst of sparks as he fell backward onto the bed. His body twitched erratically for a moment before going still.
"Vox!?" Velvette ran to his side, her heart in her throat. Vox remained motionless for a moment, before his fingers flexed and he slowly shifted to sit up, holding his screen in his hands. There was blood dripping out of the corners of his mouth and running down his screen.
"I'm fine... I ran into... I dunno... feedback?"
"Don't fucking scare me like that!"
"I didn't do it intentionally!"
"Then what the fuck happened!?"
"I told you, I don't know, but I am betting it was Alastor."
"You can't just blame him for everything. I know he is a creepy weirdo with terrible fashion sense, but-" Velvette stopped talking as there was a knock on the door. Both of the Vees froze and Velvette felt a sensation as if someone were pouring cold water over her head as she slowly looked at the door. Vox stood, he looked a little shaky on his feet, wiping the blood from his mouth. He gestured for Velvette to step back as he slowly opened the door a crack.
"It's rude to pry, you know." Alastor's voice was unmistakable, despite her not being able to see him with Vox's head in the way. Velvette could see Vox tensing, his fingers tightening on the door frame.
"What are you talking about, asshole?"
"I simply mean that I was in the middle of a broadcast and I don't need some obsolete Overlord with an identity crisis spying through the electricity."
"I wasn't spying on you. I don't give a shit about you." Even Vox's voice was radiating tension. It wasn't a good look.
"We both know that's not true."
"So that was you." Vox ignored the comment. "You attacked me."
"I didn't attack you; I simply exercised my right to privacy."
"You-" Vox was cut off, he coughed again, and Velvette felt her breath hitch. Was Vox getting sick again? That's what started all this fucking bullshit in the first place. She thought he was getting better, something about a special medicine... "You're behind this... all of this! Aren't you?" Vox's voice crackled as he spoke.
"Behind what?" Alastor's voice was soft, dangerous, taunting Vox. Velvette knew enough to know that he was fishing for a reaction. Vox took a breath, trying to steady the coughing before it got any worse.
"All of this started when you left that window open."
"Well, first of all, that was Niffty-"
"It was your fucking idea! You orchestrated this whole thing!" Vox wouldn't let Alastor finish his sentence.
"I didn't make you do anything Vox." The door shook as Velvette saw Alastor's clawed hand grip the door frame, pulling it open further. She could see a hint of his face, those deeply sunken eyes, that wide, Cheshire grin, the ticking of a radio dial twitching where a pupil should be. "Such baseless accusations. You should really watch that mouth before somebody shuts it for you." Vox, shockingly, kept at least some of his cool.
"Maybe I'll tell the princess what you did."
"Ha!" Alastor snapped back to his default form with a laugh. "What are you possibly going to tell her? That Niffty left a window open and you took advantage of her carelessness? That's not exactly a good look for a man seeking asylum from her."
"You are a part of this! I know it!" Vox's voice crackled with electricity, taking on that synthetic tone as he emphasized his words with confidence.
"A part of what?"
"You know what I'm talking about!"
"Do I?" The radio demon's crimson eyes darted in Velvett's direction. "And what do you think Velvette my dear?" She felt her breath hitch.
"Think about what?"
"About whatever crazy conspiracy Vox is concocting in his head! I thought he told you everything. You know, since you're in his weird little club?"
"I want to be in the club." A voice that had not yet spoken echoed through the room. Velvette screamed as clawed, black hands gripped at her ankles from beneath the bed.
"Fuck!"
"There you are, Niffty darling!" Alastor was craning his neck at an unnatural angle to peek through the door. A single, crimson and yellow eye was staring up at Velvette, sitting just above a smile full of needle-like teeth. "I was wondering where you had gotten off to."
"This place is a mess." The Hotel Mascot, Niffty as she seemed to be called, used Velvette's ankles to pull herself up, dusting off her dress. "You should be better at keeping things clean. I thought you would be at least somewhat competent about it because, you know, you brought so many rags." She handed Velvette what used to be one of her very expensive tops, turned to rags thanks to whatever the fuck chemicals she had used. Velvette felt her eye twitching.
"THIS WAS A DESIGNER BLOUSE!"
"Well, it doesn't clean, like at all." Niffty skipped past her trying to wiggle past Vox's legs to reach Alastor on the other side of the door.
"Fucking Christ, Niffty," Vox's expression changed to one of annoyance as he moved his leg to let her free, "you used to be an Overlord. Pull yourself together."
"SHE RUINED MY BLOODY SHIRT!" Velvette wondered if she was going crazy, why was no one else freaking out over the ruins of what used to be one of her trendy outfits.
"Well, I think the solution to that is to stop leaving your things in public spaces. How was Niffty supposed to know that it wasn't a rag for cleaning."
"Because this is my fucking room!" Velvette threw the remains of her shirt on the ground in exasperation. She had been at this run down, hole-in-the-wall for less than a week and she was already contemplating if, perhaps, she had been too harsh on Valentino and should just go home.
"Alas, dear Velvette, your room is two doors down."
"I have more than one room!" Velvette gave Alastor an angry glare. "The one two doors down and both rooms in between are all still mine!"
"That's a lot of rooms." Niffty stared at Velvette, her eye wide as she peeked out from behind Alastor. The Radio Demon gave a chuckle.
"Why Velvette, it's not fair that you get more than one room when all the other patrons must make due with just one. Remember! This Hotel is about Redemption and the first step on your way to a better you, would be realizing that you are not entitled to extra space simply because of your Overlord status."
"That's bullshit! You have your own tower!" Velvette had seen the radio tower that hung off the Hotel like an eyesore. It was kind of hard to miss.
"Yes, but I don't have the tower because I'm an Overlord, I have it because Charlie likes me better than she likes either of you. Also, I work here."
"You don't actually do anything!" Vox countered, still standing between Velvette and Alastor, his stance firm. "Skulking around causing trouble isn't a hirable position! And if it was, she would hire Niffty."
"You are truly delightful Vox!" Alastor's head snapped to the side in a rather abrupt movement. The sound of bones cracking made Velvette shudder, not because of Alastor himself, but rather that sound had been difficult for her to hear since her demise. "And I, for one, look forward to more of your comedic stylings in the future! What a fun and fruitful life we shall have here, ahead of us, at this illustrious Hotel!" The smile on his face began to widen, the lights in the room flickered, though Velvette didn't know if it was Vox or Alastor causing the disturbance. His eyes became like radio dials once again, his teeth remained closed, and pulsed with light as he spoke, his words not hindered one bit by the lack of movement in his face, giving it an almost mask-like appearance. "So long as you keep your nose out of my business." Then, in an instant, he was back to normal. "Not that you even have a nose, right my good man?" He reached his hand fully through the crack in the door to pat the side of Vox's screen. The Television Overlord jerked backward as if he had been touched by something slimy and disgusting.
"What if I tell the Princess? Tell her what happened when you let that diseased, feral Sinner out on the streets. You knew what you were doing, fucker!"
"You mean when you kidnapped him." Alastor chuckled to himself. He turned to go, picking up Niffty and putting her under one arm. "But do as you will, even if you do talk to the Princess," he came to a stop, his head, snapping backward, so he was looking at Vox and Velvette upside-down. His smile widened again, and Velvette swore she saw his shadow moving on its own. The crimson of his eyes sunken into empty black pits until they were simply small circles with that same radio dial within them. "She will never believe you." And once again he was back to normal, as if nothing had happened. Velvette felt as if she were getting whiplash from Alastor's mood. "So good luck with that, Vox, my good man. I look forward to seeing you fail spectacularly, I hope Val will let you back in after everything. Maybe you should learn to see things from his perspective. But here I am, giving you relationship advice, when you haven't paid me nearly enough to care. Come along Niffty, I think we have shopping to do together. Rosie wants a matching pair of socks to go with that scarf!" And with that Alastor headed down the hall and Vox slammed the door shut, leaning against it.
"You see it, right?" He looked expectantly at Velvette who was still reeling from Alastor's constant personality shifts. She didn't know what to think. "That he's setting us up!"
"I mean, all I can think about is why Rosie cares about a matching pair of socks when nobody can even see her feet under that tacky dress she always wears."
"Forget about the socks, Velvette! Alastor is clearly behind all of this. Don't you see it? Everything is his fucking fault!" Vox blaming Alastor, there was a familiar sight.
"Well, you are sounding more like yourself."
"I'm serious, Velvette, he was taunting us."
"I mean..." Velvette couldn't deny that there was a mocking tone to the whole exchange, but at the same time that is just how Alastor talked, especially when it came to Vox. Her hesitation made Vox more annoyed as he started pacing back and forth through the room.
"There is a disease in Hell, Velvette. That is what happened to Janie, to the others in that room. They got sick from it, and it ate them from the inside out."
"What are you talking about?" Velvette wasn't sure what had happened to Janie and the other employees in that office dripping with inky, black sludge. She didn't like to think about it. Vox took a deep breath, he stopped pacing. He slowly walked over to the bed, taking a seat.
"I am just going to have to tell you everything."
"The fuck do you mean: tell me everything? What have you been keeping from me!?"
"Sit." Vox patted the bed beside him.
"What has gotten into you?" Velvette knew Alastor had a way of worming beneath Vox's skin like a parasite. But Vox had been even more unnerved since that black-and-white, coloring-book-looking asshole had tore his way through their office like something out of one of those possession movies Velvette used to watch with her friends back when she was Veronica. (She didn't even like those movies back then.) She hesitantly walked over, sitting beside him. When push came to shove, this was Hell, and you couldn't trust anyone. She knew that. She had learned it the hard way. But at the same time, she trusted Vox more than most. At one time Val might also have held that distinction, but not anymore. "I don't like not knowing what's going on."
"I know, I'm sorry." Vox apologizing? That was almost unheard of- outside of his typical, corporate: sorry you feel that way bullshit that he liked to say. "Look, at the dinner, the one I have been covering up, we were attacked."
"By angels, I knew it!" Velvette knew there was a cover-up but Vox wouldn't release the real story, even to her. Though, it was weird that the Archangel Gabriel, as Vox had called him- had bothered saving them from Janie and the other... explodingly-disgruntled employees.
"No, the Angels saved us. Just like Gabriel did back in the Doomsday District. The Archangels... seem to be on our side. I don't get it either. I'm assuming it has something to do with whatever deal King Asshole made to get the Exterminations to stop." It was good to know that Vox was equally baffled by Heaven's sudden loyalty shift. "The actual assailants were... Shoggoths."
"Gesundheit."
"I didn't sneeze. Shoggoths are a kind of... fleshy, eyeball covered abomination. They're not particularly intelligent and they often serve a more powerful being."
"So like Angels."
"I mean..." Vox gave a little shrug. "You're not wrong necessarily. He chuckled to himself. "But no, Shoggoths are often associated with darker forces, Eldritch forces."
"The fuck is Eldritch?"
"A force neither divine nor infernal, but rather, cosmic in nature. It is a powerful, corrupting presence based in the unknown that can break a man's mind trying to truly understand it." Vox seemed to be quoting something or someone the way his expression looked distant as he spoke.
"So it's bad."
"Very bad. You know how I was sick? How crazy I was acting?"
"Are still acting, but continue." Velvette corrected. Vox gave her an annoyed look.
"Adam was sick with some sort of Eldritch illness. He spread it to me when he coughed blood in my mouth like a fucking prick. Shoggoths are along that same vein. They are Eldritch creatures, I think they spread the sickness too. And those flowers Cain showed us, the ones that gave you bad vibes?"
"Oh." Velvette didn't know how to feel. Overwhelmed, maybe? Cain had mentioned the flowers were sick. She remembered how being too close made her skin crawl and her head spin. "Yeah, I remember."
"And I think Alastor knew about this, about all of this! He set us up to make things worse. I can't prove it, but I think he's got that fucked up sickness too."
"Did you tell the Princess?"
"I... tried. But that bowl-cut bastard is right. She won't believe us over him." Vox had his hands in his lap. His head tilted up to look at the ceiling. Velvette would have also thought Vox was forcing his own issues with Alastor into the situation, but something about that last interaction had her... unconvinced. But it was pointless in the long run. Even if she said something, the Princess was shoved so far up the radio demon's ass she couldn't hear any opposing opinions. (Especially not from the Vees. Vox was basically the Overlord Who Cried Alastor at this point in time.)
"You... seem to know a lot about this." Velvette decided to change the subject rather than let Alastor live rent-free in her head. He had a big enough room in Vox's mind. He didn't need the extra space.
"I had friends who were into this sort of thing back when I was alive. There was a whole club dedicated to understanding it at my University. I always thought it was a bunch of bullshit, but... I guess I was wrong." It was strange to hear the Television Overlord sounding nostalgic. He didn't talk about his life much, outside of various very real sounding awards that he supposedly won and name dropping that Missi-something University he loved so much. Velvette didn't speak much about her life either, so she understood. Still...
"Wow, Vox being wrong, stop the presses." Velvette smirked. She felt a need to lighten the mood which had become so heavy it was almost suffocating.
"Hey, shut the fuck up." Vox smiled too.
"Thank you for telling me the truth. I mean finally, am I right? It only took fucking months but who's counting?"
"You, apparently."
"Well, the past is in the past. Now I have to get ready to look cute before the Princess drags her royal doctor around. I am not about to look like a hot mess in front of a doctor."
"You really should see the doctor." Vox's reaction would have been surprising if he had insisted before Velvette knew there was something going around. "He's the one who got rid of that horrible cough I had."
"I am." Sure, Velvette had given Charlie a hard time about the whole thing, but that was before Vox hared the full fucking stpr about the disease. "Now, get the fuck out of my room so I can change."
"Fine." Vox smirked just slightly before taking his leave. Velvette sprung into her morning routine. It was a process, but beauty was pain. It was hard, being this fucking perfect. But she had to go through all her products and creams, get her skin and hair flawless, pick another amazing outfit, and get down the stairs to meet the doctor.
By the time she did, most of the others were up. Though, she had yet to see Alastor or Niffty which was fine by her. If she saw that little gremlin it was punting time.
"Velvette, perfect." A tall, looming figure in a plague mask emerged from one of the hallways. Velvette assumed that was the doctor in question. "Glad to see you made it."
"I figured you'd be here way sooner, I know you've prolly been up for hours" Angel Dust was relaxing on the couch with Cherri. "You already updated your Sinstagram." Velvette didn't really have an issue with Angel, he did modeling for her from time to time. She glanced at him.
"You liked it? Left a comment?"
"Bitch, I ain't got time for that shit." Angel definitely had time to do both of those things but Velvette wasn't able to call him out because the doctor called to her again.
"Miss Velvette, with me, if you don't mind."
"Yeah, yeah." Velvette tossed her hair, holding her head high as she walked past the others, following the doctor into one of the unused bedrooms (see, there were plenty for Velvette to be able to use her three without hindering anyone.) He gestured for her to sit on the bed. He pulled a strange device out of the worn looking leather medical bag slung over his shoulder. He looked at the device in his hand, then back at her.
"How have you been feeling?" He looked at the device again.
"Well, the beds are too firm, the pillows are too soft, the thread count on these sheets is like... five, there is no storage in these bedrooms, and everyone keeps telling me I can't have multiple rooms which is bullshit because who is even using them? No one. No one. No one is using the rooms, they are just sitting there, wasted."
"I..." the doctor looked back at her. "I meant like... cold symptoms? Headaches? Nightmares? Difficulty sleeping? Anything like that?"
"Oh." Velvette blinked. "No." The difficulty sleeping she had suffered was due to the poor Hotel quality and, prior to that, Val being a total fucking creep.
"Huh." The doctor stared at the device in his hand, and Velvette tensed.
"Oh god. I've got it, don't I?"
"Excuse me?" The doctor looked blankly at her.
"That disease! I have that stupid fucking STD that Two-toned bastard gave to Vox! Don't I?" Velvette felt her heart racing. She didn't want to be sick. She had seen what it did to Vox. She was too young and too hot to be contaminated because of Vox's weird vendetta!
"Calm down, Miss Velvette." The doctor put a hand on her shoulders, gently lowering her back to her sitting position on the bed. His voice was calming, shockingly gentle for a Hellborn. There was just something about him that made her feel at ease. It was weird. "I promise you, that, despite your run in with some infected individuals, you are perfectly fine."
