"Sir, that one-time outage doesn't make any sense." There were two Sinners sitting across the table from Vox. One was male, one was female both had almost metallic blue skin, their faces illuminated as if there was a light beneath the surface. The facial features more like a digital display, flat, lacking depth. Their hair was dark black, though, upon close inspection each individual strand looked like a wire. They looked very similar, both dressed in business suits, both wearing headsets with red lights, and both with only one illuminated eye. The opposing eye was simply blacked out on their screen-like face. The male was missing his left eye, the female her right. Vox knew the Sinners well, a set of twins he had drafted in his rise to power. Their real names were lost to all but himself, sitting on a contract filed away where they would never see, but their new names were Avery Tysment and Spencer Shipp. It was Avery who had spoken, scanning over the screen in her hands. They were high on the corporate ladder at VoxTek, which was why they were sitting before him now, looking over the numbers from that disaster that had all the Overlords trying to breathe down his fucking neck. Even goddamn Zestial was riding his ass about the incident in question.
"I'm going to need more information than that, Avery, darling." Vox's elbows sat on the table; his hands folded underneath the bottom of his screen as he watched both of the twins scanning over the information he had acquired about the 'Love After Death Incident' as it was being called.
"We've been over everything; diagnostics were fine that day. The only damage to our equipment came during the multiple riots." Spencer held up his tablet, offering it to Vox so he could look over the same information he had been obsessing over for the last forty-eight hours.
"Yes," Vox gave a small chuckle, maintaining his forced smile, "but clearly it wasn't fine, because my name is all over fucking Hell, and not in a good way." As he spoke the smile faded, but his voice cracked, becoming more electronic as he emphasized his words.
"We can spin this." Avery assured him quickly. "It's like you always say, Sir, there's always an angle."
"You're right." Vox took a deep breath, but started to cough again. He had to sit for a second, grabbing the water glass beside him and drinking deeply to try and make the coughing subside. This damn cold was fucking persistent and nothing he did seemed to help it subside. The doctors he saw seemed equally confused by the symptoms, not that Sinners had the best healthcare, but Vox could afford the top of the line, so the assholes should at least be trying. But all they said was that Sinners regenerated anyway. So, he shouldn't worry. He had enough on his plate with this disaster at work. But he took another deep breath, only coughing a small amount, this could be handled. He had been through so, so much worse during his climb to the top. He wasn't going to let some Hell-wide outage slow him down. He just had to think. (Though, that was becoming increasing difficult. Vox's mind had felt almost as if it were filled with static as of late. He felt... lethargic. Though, he was probably not getting enough sleep. That being said- he wasn't really getting any sleep outside of his impromptu naps he took at his desk. Velvette called it 'passing out' but Velvette was a quitter.)
"Perhaps we could pass the blame off on another Overlord?" Spencer had the right idea, but Vox wasn't entirely sold. There was a subtle nuance to public relations. It was a song-and-dance Vox knew all too well. It was his specialty, after all. Someone like Val or Vel couldn't have ascended the ranks of Hell without his insight. Sinners were a mob mentality, and Vox could puppeteer them like the little toys they were. Half the time his mind-control wasn't necessary. Why control the minds of the masses by force when you could just control the narrative?
"Or we could find an underperforming patsy and just push the whole thing off onto them. Everyone in Hell loves a good scapegoat. I have a list of possible names if you're interested." Avery held up her tablet with an array of images of VoxTek employees on the screen each with careful notes beside their names. "I know the I.T. department has been ready to get rid of some dead weight."
"That's not bad." Vox nodded to her. "I like where you're going with this, but I don't think it's entirely right for this scenario. But e-mail me a list of those names because we are losing a lot of people in our entertainment sector recently so some mandatory reassignment isn't out of the question."
"Speaking of which," Spencer put his tablet down, looking over at Vox, "the actress from Love After Death the one who apparently delivered that amazing performance none of us saw? She's missing."
"Sonnuvabitch." Vox's voice surged with mechanical inflection, his hand balled into a fist, slamming on the table. "Are you shitting me right now? That's the third fucking one! I thought these assholes loved to be famous why the fuck are they all up and vanishing all of the sudden!?" How they were vanishing was also a good question, but Vox didn't dare ask that outside of a private meeting with his fellow Vees. He didn't need underlings thinking they could escape their contracts by up and vanishing whenever they didn't like their task. Usually, Overlords could track down those contracted to them, it was as simple as following the chain. So, the fact that Val's people were somehow out of reach to even him either meant something was amiss... or Val was just too lazy to look. Actually... as Vox gave it some thought that second option seemed to be incredibly likely. Val hadn't been taking his duties nearly as seriously as of late. But that was a conversation for later as neither Avery nor Spencer had anything to do with Val.
"I'm not entirely sure, sir, but a few of the film crew from that episode have been reporting some... strange behavior-" Avery started to talk, but Vox cut her off as an idea finally struck through the static in his brain.
"We need to release a statement saying that we were simply testing a new, elevation to the VoxTek sponsored multi-media bundles. Rather than our current premium package, VoxPlus which is our highest costing, but most inclusive deal: we trialed VoxPlus Prime, with a few randomly selected customers. Outages experienced were only experienced by those not chosen for this trial. We apologize for any difficulties we caused, however, to assure the best reception in the future, they will have the option to sign up for this new, exclusive package at a discounted- but still very expensive- cost." There. If they could pass this off as a simple mistake and use it to boost sales in the future, then this little hiccup could actually be used to increase profit. So long as the customers thought Vox was apologetic, they would still buy. The discount, of course, would be completely made up, but that just meant he could raise prices again in the near future with minimal backlash. No... this could work. He could still fix this.
"Brilliant, sir." Spencer nodded enthusiastically.
"Amazing, sir." Avery clapped her hands together.
"So, is this something we have already been working on, or would you like me to fabricate A VoxPlus Prime and backdate the work to make it look much older?" Spencer knew how things worked around VoxTek, and Vox appreciated it.
"Backdate it about a year. Avery, add a few high-end perks to entice the elite to give us more of their money."
"We'll create a new show and advertise it, overhype it, and then make it exclusively on channels and websites only available through the highest tier subscriptions." Avery looked through her notes. "We have a few unfinished projects we could rebrand really easily with minimal cost."
"Perfect. See? This is why I hired you." Hired? Contracted? It was a matter of perspective. But at last, Vox felt himself relax. Things were starting to feel like they were under his control once again. He had this covered. "Now, did we get any backup copies of that fucking episode? I have had people literally begging me to see it again." He knew the Hellions loved whatever shit he threw together, but this was almost on another level entirely. Vox was accustomed to fan mail, but the letters about this particular episode were bordering on unhinged.
"Nothing. All the film melted; all the files are corrupted. Whatever hit us, hated that one episode in particular." Why could Spencer never be the bearer of good news? "But we did manage to find the scripts. Though..." He slid some crumbled paper across the table toward Vox who glanced down at it with a look of disgust. Why the fuck was Spencer shoving what looked to be trash in his direction? With a bit of hesitation, Vox picked up the wadded script and looked it over. The cheesy dialog was par for the course, but as the script went on, the handwriting of the director seemed to deteriorate, to the point where it almost seemed as if a completely different person were writing. The words looked less like... words and more like scribbles. The more Vox looked at it, the worse he felt. It vaguely reminded him of some of the weird shit he would see scribbled on the walls of the old rundown buildings he would explore back when he was alive. And that was not a good thing.
"Who wrote this shit?" Vox squinted at the bizarre writing until he thought he might throw up.
"One of Valentino's guys." Spencer frowned looking at some of his own notes on the project. "We've been using a lot of his writers and actors to fill in for our own people who keep getting sick."
"Sick?" Vox started coughing in the middle of his protest, which was annoying and counterproductive. "Come on, I've been a little under the weather for months now and you don't see me letting it fuck with my work ethic? Do you?" Ugh, the needs of his subordinates could be such pain in the ass. Of course, Vox could always force the issue with a little mental push. However, the acting always felt lack luster when Vox had to do it for them.
"Of course not, sir. You are an unstoppable force." Avery assured him. Vox appreciated the sucking up. He was having a bad enough day; the compliments could at least make it a little better.
"Well, we have a plan of attack. I want each of you to make sure we get this whole fiasco covered up and off every major network. As far as the public is concerned, this was a planned test." Vox crumpled up the script. He could just throw it away, but he almost felt as if burning it would be better. He didn't want his name associated with some overworked, wannabe writer's mental breakdown. So rather than just tossing it in the nearest trashcan, he tucked it into the inner pocket of his coat.
"Is there anything else you need?" Spencer offered as he and Avery got to their feet. Vox stood as well, straightening the lapels of his jacket.
"I'll let you know if something comes up, but you should be good for now. Get everything started and send me progress reports at the end of every day."
"Yes, Vox." The twins replied in perfect unison as they turned and left the office. They were good employees, good listeners. Like with most Sinners under Vox, once he had them in a contract, they were hard workers. Though, with the way things had been going for him recently, it felt like a bad move to just... blatantly trust them. This was Hell after all, and while Avery and Spencer had never once given him reason to distrust them, Vox couldn't help but be suspicious. That had gone well, yes, but had it gone too well? There was such a thing as being suspiciously agreeable. Were they simply sucking up? Or covering for another, ulterior motive? Just because neither twin had tried to overthrow him before didn't mean they weren't thinking of taking advantage of his cold to try and off him and seize his company.
...
It wouldn't hurt to just change all the door codes again. Just to be safe. Val and Vel would understand if he explained the reasoning.
Vox closed his eyes, plugging directly in to his security system. With a simple thought, all the door codes and passwords were changed. Now, if Avery or Spencer tried anything, they would have to go directly through him. So would all his other employees, that was true, but the massive influx of complaints about having to reset their login information for the umpteenth time was a small price to pay for security.
Vox headed out of the cooperate office and returned to his room. He was mentally and physically exhausted. Putting up with everyone's bullshit could be incredibly draining. He was so tired of smiling he was worried his screen might freeze with that fake-ass grin plastered on his face. He could take this time to rest, Lucifer knows it's what Velvette would want him to do. She had been riding his ass about it ever since he got that stupid little cough. But now, he had better shit to do than power off and simply wait for the next attack on his company.
Vox had to prepare.
And how better to prepare than by observing every bit of Hell he could get a drone over? (Which was most of Hell, save for Lucifer's fucking mansion as the drones kept getting shot down by some very annoying blue asshole.) Still, he had a nearly complete view of the Pride Ring, and he had been able to even push the boundaries with his technology to explore into the other rings. (They all looked a lot nicer than Pride, something he would surely take up with Lucifer, should he ever have the chance.) He could watch all the streets, survey every Sinner moving through them, watching for anyone who seemed suspicious. (Admittedly, everyone was suspicious, that was one of the detriments of living in Hell. But as long as the fucker posed no direct threat to Vox or any of his properties, he would let them be.)
But what good was just watching?
Cameras could glitch. Eyes and screens could be deceived. Drones could be destroyed- as annoying and rude as it was.
No.
Vox couldn't settle just for watching he had to listen to Hell as well. That was why he enabled himself to hack in to any and every VoxTek item with a microphone! He liked to listen to every phone call, every video conference, anything and everything that might be of interest to him or to the company itself. He did not use this ability much in the past, but he had been overlooking a great deal of potential. Everyone had a vPhone. Though, he did find certain areas to be dead-zones as far as his... supervision. He could never listen to anyone who was currently inside that blasted Hotel, and the same went for the gaudy fucking mansion. But if someone was outside the area in question, then he could listen in!
Not that there was anything all that interesting happening at the moment.
Vox watched the screens around him, listened to the cacophony of screams and conversations that made up the symphony of damnation. However, nothing appealed to his unique interests.
His fingers tapped on the table; he started coughing again. It just felt like someone was out there doing something to try and get to him. It was probably Alastor. It was always, Alastor. But the issue was that Vox couldn't spy directly on Alastor because that asshole had a way of interfering with Vox's technology. It was a frustrating fact. Alastor must have stolen something capable of disrupting Vox's signals because there was simply no fucking way that out-of-date, grinning, shit-head had the technological capability to best Vox of all Sinners.
He checked the cameras around the Hotel in question, but as usual, there was nothing of note in the limited area he could see. However, he did notice the princess and her bitchy girlfriend were out and about at the moment. They seemed to be happily chatting back and forth. Nothing suggested this was anything more than pointless small-talk or romancing as the two traversed Hell.
He would keep an eye on them, but as of right now, he doubted this would provide anything worth his time.
"VOX!" His name echoed, not on the screens or through any of his speakers, but rather on his watch, which was connected to the camera right outside the door to his suite in the Vee's private tower. Vox frowned, looking at the little screen to see a very angry Velvette glaring up at the camera.
"What now?" Vox buzzed her in. The door opened and he could hear the sound of her heels angrily clicking their way toward him. He forced a smile, spinning around in his chair to face the door right as it flew open.
"There you fucking are!"
"Velvette! What can I do for you this fine, hellish afternoon?"
"You changed the wi-fi password again and I was in the MIDDLE of a big 'Get Ready with Me' stream!" Velvette did look only half-finished with her usual routine when it came to going out on the town. In Vox's experience it was an hours long process (or ritual) that would only double in time if he asked her to hurry. "It kicked me right offline and I can't reconnect because you didn't fucking tell me what the new goddamn password actually is! AGAIN! This is the THIRD fucking time this bloody WEEK!"
"Oh. I didn't anticipate that my password changes would affect our private wi-fi. My apologies, dear. I'll get you the new password." Vox's smile softened into an apologetic little frown.
"Why the fuck did you feel like changing it in the middle of the goddamn afternoon!?"
"I had to be cautious." Vox's expression returned to a neutral gaze. If Velvette didn't understand the nuances of security, it wasn't really his problem. It was why he was in charge if it after all.
"Cautious? Cautious of what!? Were you worried we were getting too much bloody work done!?"
"Don't be like that." Vox had not intended to put everyone offline. That sort of mistake wasn't like him, but in his defense, he hadn't had a relaxing night's sleep in months. Not that complaining would get him anywhere. "I was just assuring all of our important data is secured. You never know who is trying to steal from us."
"No one wants to steal from us when we are barely able to function because you have gotten weirdly paranoid!" Velvette scoffed. "And don't get me wrong, you've always been overly protective of our shit, I actually liked that about you. But this? This is too fucking extreme."
"What are we doing right now?" Valentino's voice drew close as Vox realized that Velvette must not have closed the door behind her as Val sauntered in. "Ooo! Are we yelling at Vox? Vel, you didn't tell me!"
"He knocked me off the wi-fi."
"Oh yes! I was also coming in here for that exact reason. But if we're just going to cut into him, hang on for just a few seconds. I made a list." Val put a hand on Velvette's shoulder before turning to slink back out of the room.
"Where the fuck are you going?" Vox watched him beginning to leave, feeling his patience starting to wear thin with both of his colleagues.
"To get my list~!" Val replied in an almost sing-song voice before sweeping out of the room I'm a flurry of fabric.
"We should finish this before he gets back." Vox had every intention of just locking Val outside. The two had been bickering more than usual and it was making Vox's perpetually shitty mood even worse. Usually, when he had a bad day, he at least had the luxury of venting to his fellow Vees, the elite of the elite. But recently, it had been a pain to even try. It felt as if every time he tried to talk to them, they would start acting so... suspiciously. But there was no way his fellow Vees would betray him.
Right?
"I am mildly curious about his list, I won't lie." Velvette was looking in the direction in which Valentino had run off.
"Don't humor him."
"Don't change the fucking password and throw off my entire bloody evening. Did you ever think of that?" She turned her attention right back to Vox. She looked him up and down and her angry expression seemed to falter. "You look like utter shit."
"Wow. Really buttering me up with the compliments today, aren't you?"
"I am saying it because I care." Velvette didn't back down. "You look like you haven't slept since you fucking died."
"I am fine, Vel." As if to contradict his own words, Vox coughed. That wasn't exactly the ideal punctuation for a sentence about how great his health was doing. Hopefully Velvette wouldn't read too much into it. However, judging by her expression, she was doing just that.
"Vox, I-"
"I FOUND MY LIST~" And just like that, Val burst back into the room with a piece of paper in his grip. "Not a moment too soon, either. I hadn't gotten a chance to add the whole wi-fi fiasco yet." He pulled out a pen with a pink, fluffy pencil topper and made a dramatic show of scribbling on the bottom of the page.
"Did you seriously feel the need to make a fucking list of complaints?" Vox's voice and expression were completely flat as he just stared blankly at Val and his list. Val made direct eye contact behind his oversized glasses as he flicked his wrist and what Vox thought was a sheet of notebook paper, unfurled into a long, scroll-like list that touched the floor and kept going, all the way out of the door.
"Yes." Val didn't take his eyes off of Vox as the flat-faced Overlord had to turn his head to follow the paper as it kept unfurling into his living room. Vox's expression shifted into one of annoyance as he looked back at Val.
"Cute show. Entirely unnecessary."
"Quite necessary, I assure you." Val straightened out his wrists, holding the paper with his pinky fingers out.
"I will give you points for presentation." Velvette almost looked amused by the display. But she shook herself, holding out her hand, "but let's not go through everything. I don't think Vox has fucking slept, like, at all."
"Let me at least go over the ones that are starred. I already unfurled the list, Vel, the whole goddamn list. Look at it. Do you know how long this will take to fold back up? I have to at least get some grievances off if my chest or this whole thing will be for fucking nothing. And if it's for fucking nothing, then you can fold it back up. Neatly." Valentino gestured gracefully to the trail of paper, the end of which wasn't visible from Vox's angle. Velvette looked at the list, then at Val, and finally back at Vox before letting out a sigh.
"He went through all the trouble of making a list, Vox, we might as well hear him out."
"Fan-fucking-tastic." Vox could not have forced any less enthusiasm in his voice if he had actively tried. He put his hand to his screen, rubbing the glass between his eyes for a moment, letting out a defeated sigh. "Go on."
"Perfect!" Val took a seat on one of Vox's computer towers that lined the room.
"Don't sit on that!" Vox protested quickly. "It's expensive!" He moved his hand and wires came from the wall, lifting Val up, and placing him in a nearby chair- a chair Val could have easily sat in himself, rather than trying to put his ass on Vox's pricy computer equipment.
"Can I speak?" Val sounded annoyed, using his free second set of hands to gesture at the list his first set were holding.
"I dunno," Vox glowered at him, "can you?"
"There is no need to be a snippy little bitch about this, Vox. I am only trying to help." Val cleared his throat. "You keep changing everything from door codes to passwords and you are driving everyone batshit fucking insane. You lost the best fucking episode of Love After Death that has ever existed. You lost a fight with Zestial, which is honestly kind of embarrassing for everyone involved because it's the equivalent of beating up someone's senile grandpa-"
"Wait, what fight are you talking about? I never got into a fight with Zestial." Vox had only had one fucking interaction with the guy recently, and while it could be called an argument, describing it as a fight was rather excessive.
"You lost the fucking VoxTek store in the Doomsday district because you couldn't schmooze a man who firmly believes that streaming is a cult." Val reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a cigarette, placing it between his teeth.
"If you think you're so fucking charming, then you go talk to Zestial!" Vox spat back. He knew for a fact; Val wouldn't waste a second of his valuable fucking time debating with that old geezer. "I am too goddamn busy and important to bother with his bullshit. It was simply a better business move to just cut our losses. That wasn't the only store destroyed; Zestial was just the only asshole to make such a massive fucking stink about it. But if you think you can handle it better, then please, renegotiate on my behalf."
"No." Val looked back at his list. "Can I continue? Please?"
"Even if I say no, you're just going to-" Vox didn't even have the opportunity to get the entire sentence out of his mouth before Val started talking over him.
"You still have that very annoying cough; you have been losing contracted souls, which shouldn't even be possible, you haven't been replacing any of the ones you did lose; and the new color you picked out for the drapes in the common area is atrocious."
"Hold on one fucking second- I didn't lose anyone! You're the one who's people are dropping off the fucking grid!" Vox was suddenly reminded of why he and Val hadn't been getting along as of late. He had no desire to sit idly and listen to- frankly unfounded- critique about how he was running his company.
"My people are fine, thank you very much." Val looked rather offended at the very suggestion that he wasn't performing at his peak. "If you can't find them, that's not my problem. I was only ever loaning them to you to begin with."
"Come now Val, that's not how this works." Velvette finally felt a need to step in as tensions reached a boiling point. "We share our Sinners for the good of the company."
"Exactly!" Vox gave a self-satisfied little smirk, arms crossing over his chest.
"I can't let Vox keep my people indiscriminately if he can't even keep track of where they are." Val retorted without missing a beat.
"This was about the fucking wi-fi password, how the fuck did we even get on this topic!?" Vox hated being called out, especially by Val, who seemed to be embracing every chance he had to point out any of Vox's mistakes. This wasn't how Val was supposed to act. At least not toward him.
"It started with the wi-fi password, but I took the opportunity to start lodging all my complaints." Val looked back at his list. "Which, honestly, I haven't even really touched the surface."
"We all have grievances," Velvette stepped so she was between Vox and Val. "But they are coming from a place of concern." Her head snapped to look at Valentino who was sitting, poised in the chair, one leg crossed over the other, list draping over his lap and out of the door.
"We are worried about you." Val confirmed. "You haven't been your usual, composed self recently, rather, you've been a paranoid pain in everyone's ass."
"Is there actually some kind of threat?" Velvette turned to look back at Vox, trying to get a reason behind his most recent actions. Vox met her gaze taking a moment to find his way back to his chair. He sat down, putting his screen in his hands for a moment, breathing deeply, trying to sort out his thoughts before he described them. He could feel that static in his head again, making his train of thought feel fuzzy.
"I can..." Vox took a moment more, trying to find the perfect words through the brain fog, "feelsomeone watching us- watching me." Vox was always the one with an eye out, over Hell. He didn't like the idea of being forced under the microscope of some other, unknown Sinner. No one should be able to get a leg-up on Vox.
"Feel... how?" Velvette didn't look as convinced as Vox would have liked. "Like, do you have any evidence that we're being watched by some kind of unknown Sinner? Or are you just... going off a gut feeling?"
"I don't appreciate your tone." Vox narrowed his eyes. "When you say it like that it sounds unfounded, but trust me. I know we're being watched. And whoever it is, doesn't like any of us." At least, that was the sense Vox got from the nearly constant dread that had settled in his chest worse than the cough.
"You don't think that sounds... just a little unhinged?" Velvette looked directly at him as if trying to read what was in his head. "I'm not trying to accuse you of anything, I'm just concerned."
"I think you should spend less energy on being concerned for Vox, and dedicate more time and effort to being the type of person our unseen observers would approve of." Val seemed to be taking this all as some sort of joke, which was almost more annoying than Velvette acting as if Vox was pulling this explanation out of his ass. Clearly, they did not hear the movement in the walls at night.
"Shut the fuck up." Vox put his screen in both his hands for a moment. This interaction was exhausting, and not worth the energy it was costing him. He grabbed a notebook off his desk scribbling on a piece of paper before shoving it at Velvette. "Here's the goddamn password, just leave me alone. I have more important shit to do than sit here and argue."
"Wow, okay, bitch." Velvette looked a tad annoyed by his reaction. "Maybe you should take this opportunity to get some actual fucking sleep." She looked at the paper in her hand.
"I told you, I'm fine." Vox started coughing again at the worst possible time. It was like the goddamn cold had dramatic timing. "Now get out of my fucking room. Both of you." He narrowed his eyes at his fellow Vees, his red eye taking on a slight glow as he forced the issue with his own mental manipulation. It wasn't easy to control the Vees. They were strong willed, stubborn, and aware of his power. However, it was much easier to plant a suggestion for something they were both already considering doing.
"Whatever." Velvette tossed her hair as she headed toward the door.
"Wow, someone got up on the bitchy side of the bed this morning." Val took a drag on his cigarette and the smoke formed a middle finger in Vox's direction. Real fucking mature. "Come on, Velvette." One of his hands picked up his coat and tossed the fabric so it would sweep outward as he turned, knocking into as much of Vox's expensive equipment as it could. "We can go get coffee and get our wi-fi back up and running."
"Bye." Vox turned back to his monitors not even bothering to watch them leave. (Though he could hear the list dragging behind Val). He hunched over, coughing again as he heard the door slam shut. Only then did he turn back around. He was alone again.
He felt shitty. Not for getting mad at Val and Vel, but rather just in general. His head hurt, there was a constant weight in his chest, his throat felt raw from coughing. He had this almost indescribable feeling of being itchy underneath his skin. It was a maddening sensation, as no matter how much he tried to scratch, there was never any real relief. Perhaps, all this had put him in a piss-poor mood and his fellow Vees were just suffering the consequences.
He went back to watching the uneventful screens, monitoring all of Hell, the constant swears and fights becoming white noise in his mind. Perhaps he was more tired than he first thought, because soon the noise felt almost lulling to him. He rested is head on his arms and slowly felt himself tilting forward.
Then suddenly he felt it again.
The same sensation he felt every fucking night when he tried to find peace to sleep.
He could feel eyes on him, watching, waiting, boring into the back of his neck with such ferocity that it was almost painful. He sat straight up, feeling his entire body stiffened.
This.
This was why he couldn't fucking sleep.
He could barely breathe.
Slowly, he tried to turn his head. But he couldn't. None of his muscles would respond. He couldn't even feel the surge of electricity that connected him to Hell.
He had not felt this isolated, this fucking helpless since he had been alive.
There were whispers behind him. He could hear his name. Not Vox, but rather, his real name, the name he had left behind in the living world. No one knew his name. Not down here. But he swore he heard it behind him, the static in his brain becoming louder with each passing moment. That toxic presence was even closer now, inching toward him, painfully slow. He felt colder than ice, which was impressive given Hell's natural heat.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Vox couldn't turn around, but he could hear the shifting behind him. That feeling of dread was crushing. Vox's heart would have been pounding in his ears (if he had ears) but all he could hear was static, blaring at this point. The sounds of Hell were gone and Vox was completely alone. The screens in front of him, once displaying this wide view of the burning pit he called home, now each screen had become completely consumed by roaring distortion.
Closer.
Vox could feel a weight on his shoulders. Something was grabbing him.
"HOLY FUCK!" Vox finally found his voice, electricity surged around him and the pressure vanished from his shoulder.
"Okay, that was an overreaction." Valentino's voice was clear as day and Vox turned to see he was no longer alone. Val was standing behind him, nursing a hand that had been shocked as Vox regained control of himself once again. "Did you have a nice nap?"
"Nap?" Vox was still shaking, though he put his hands in his lap to hide the obvious trembling. He started coughing again and Val made a deliberate show of recoiling away from him.
"Don't get me sick."
"Why the fuck are you here?" Vox was still trying to come to the terms with the fact that he had been sleeping. He couldn't pinpoint the moment in time where he had nodded off.
"You have something I want." Val walked toward him, putting his hands on either side of Vox's screen, tilting his head up. "But also, holy fuck, you look like shit."
"You woke me up, of course I don't look my best." Vox pulled his head away. If Val was trying to seduce his way into getting Vox to give him something, he was about to be poorly disappointed. "What do you want?"
"What do I want?" Val seemed undeterred by Vox's clear rejection. He put two hands on Vox's shoulders the other two arms pressing against the front of his suit. There was the crunch of paper under his touch and Val's face lit up as if he had found a treasure. His hands slipped into the inner pocket of Vox's silken suit and pulled out the crumbled script that Vox had been intending to burn at the end of the day. "There it is! You're a doll, Vox."
"Put that down."
"This?" Val released Vox, dangling the script over him. "It was written by one of mine, you know, so technically I own this." Vox didn't know why, but the idea of having Val taking the script from him was making him feel itchy again. (Maybe he was just unreasonably anxious from lack of sleep.) Vox reached up to grab it but Val did a little spin and his fingers brushed the paper but came up empty.
"Your artist loses all his rights to his creative properties when he writes under our television station."
"Well that just sounds unfair, don't you think?"
"It's Hell, Val." Vox was far from amused by Valentino's almost mocking tone.
"Still, since you lost him, the least you can do is give me my writer's magnum opus." Val unfolded the script and Vox felt himself getting more anxious. He could hear the television screens behind him, charged with monitoring the Hellscape outside of his tower, glitching and flickering as his emotions surged. He was on his feet before he even realized he was moving.
"Give me the script, Val." Vox's own voice became more mechanical, as he turned the brightness up on his screen to draw the moth demon's attention directly to his swirling, hypnotic eye. It was draining to try and take control of Val like this, but Vox was starting to feel like he was out of options. Val stared into the light, his expression starting to go blank as his eyes were drawn to that lulling red. His body relaxed. He reached forward, script in hand. Vox went to take it but Val's hands passed his own and went right to his screen again.
"That won't work on me anymore, I'm afraid." Val's blank expression twisted into a smirk and he started to laugh, holding Vox's head and shoulders. Vox's eyes and screen returned to normal, he started coughing again, but this time Val didn't pull away. His hands gently tilted Vox's head so he was looking directly at him. "I'm so much stronger now."
"What... the fuck?" Vox choked the words out through the coughing. Val hadn't lost his smile- it hadn't even faltered. It reminded Vox vaguely of Alastor, and that was more than enough to piss him off.
"Vox, please, you can't keep fighting it."
"Fighting... what?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You would be so much stronger if you would just give in."
"I have to get to work..." Vox did not, in fact, have any goddamn clue as to whatever the fuck Valentino was ranting about, nor did he want to know. He wanted to get out of this conversation.
"Don't be like that, mi amor." Val gave a playful pout as if he and Vox were simply joking back and forth. His dismissive tone only left Vox feeling even more uncomfortable. His eyes darted toward the screen behind him. He couldn't control Val; he wasn't able to force him to leave- not without a fight- and currently, Vox was not at his strongest. A fight was far from ideal. The idea that he was losing control of his situation was starting to feel suffocating. "I'm trying to help you."
"I need you to fucking leave." Vox stood firm, eyes narrowed, playing off his lack of control as being simply annoying.
"You can't fight it forever, Vox."
"I don't know if you hear yourself, but this overly cryptic bullshit should be saved for my screenplays." Vox forced himself free of Val's grip and turned back to his desk. "Speaking of which, take that shitty, garbage script and get it out of fucking sight." Vox coughed a bit harder, but kept himself standing tall, hands on one of the keyboards on his desk, trying to look busy.
"The fact that you can't see that this is the finest art there is..." he heard Val sigh, "it disappoints me."
"Get out of my office."
"Be that way, but you're only going to keep getting worse." Val sounded rather cold as Vox heard him turn to leave. It wasn't until the door closed behind him that Vox finally turned around. He was alone again, and relief washed over him like a wave. That whole conversation had been so fucking weird he almost believed that he was still asleep, still dreaming. He took a seat back at his desk, closing his eyes, breathing deeply, trying to get ahold of his situation once again.
The fuck had gotten into Val?
Nothing good, that was for sure.
Vox couldn't help but equate that interaction with the beginning of some sort of coup. Hell was already struggling politically after the failed Extermination. This was the time for the Vees to come together and climb their way to the very top of Hell's hierarchy. Internal fighting was not a fucking option- and yet Vox had never felt more distrustful of his companions.
A part of him hoped he was still dreaming because this was becoming a fucking nightmare.
All his monitors had somehow been muted, some had just straight up just stopped working, which was annoying. He would have to get everything set back the way he wanted. He wasn't even sure when they had messed up, whether during his impromptu nap or his weird confrontation with Val. Perhaps it didn't really matter. But it gave him something new to which he could devote his attention. Anything was better than constantly replaying that weird interaction with Valentino over and over again in his mind. Which, knowing himself, was exactly what would happen if he didn't stay busy.
"Dad?" The sound was working again from the drone that had been keeping a helpful eye on the princess during her afternoon out with her watchdog of a girlfriend. Vox perked up immediately seeing that Charlie was on her phone. Now this was a great distraction. The princess of Hell having a conversation with her father outside of that fucking dead zone of a hotel? That meant Vox could spy. Vox tapped into the call with ease.
"Hey bitch! How are you!?" The King sounded incredibly pleased. Why he would refer to his daughter as bitch was a bit beyond Vox's comprehension, but if he was going to try and play the role of therapist to the Morningstars, they would be here all fucking year.
"I'm good, just out with Vaggie." The princess seemed a bit confused by the call. "I didn't expect to hear from you again so soon."
"I know, I just had to tell you the great news!" Lucifer's voice was brimming with excitement. "I think you will be very pleased-"
"He told Sera to fuck right off!" There was another voice on Lucifer's end. Vox had to run the sound through his memory and realized that was Adam. The fucker who had torn his building apart like some sort of rabid animal. So, the Devil was keeping him as some kind of pet. That was definitely information Vox could store away for later. But at present it was irrelevant. The more posing question was: who the fuck was Sera? Vox knew a number of Sarah's of various spellings but none of them had done anything worthy of having Lucifer himself telling them to fuck right off, at least not to Vox's knowledge. And if the Devil was yelling at one Sinner in particular, Vox would know about it. It was his business to know the business of others.
"Wait. What?" Charlie also seemed puzzled by the exclamation, though Vox noted she wasn't at all confused by Adam's presence.
"No more Exterminations, Charlie! The contract was broken and Heaven has to eat SHIT!" Lucifer practically shouted into the phone. "Your old man is putting his foot down!"
"You're serious!?" Charlie's entire expression changed, she nearly glowed. "What happened!? I mean how did this even come up!?"
"Who cares how it came up! We are done with that shit! We should celebrate!" It was rare to see such enthusiasm from the King. Vox had only met him on occasion, the Queen had been far more involved with the Overlords in the past. But even still, he never envisioned the man shouting for joy. "We're going to have a dinner! Here! At the mansion!"
"A dinner?" The princess seemed to be equal parts excited and confused. Vox couldn't blame her. The King had been quite the recluse, this sort of grand function was out of character for him as of late.
"Yes! A grand feast! An exclusive dinner party for just you and your hotel patrons! You can even invite the Bellhop!"
"Alastor's not a bellhop and you know this." Charlie's expression briefly shifted to one of annoyance before bouncing back to joy. Vox had to stifle a snort. Bellhop. That was funny. He would have to use it on Alastor at a later date. "But that could be so much fun! When should we have it?"
"Tomorrow night!" Lucifer was on a roll.
"Tomorrow?" Adam spoke up again, Vox had to guess he was just hovering around the King like a gnat. "You... sure about that?"
"It doesn't have to be so soon, dad, really." Charlie spoke up again. Vox was a bit surprised she would listen to Adam's input at all given the man's history with her Sinners.
"Nonsense! Adam is just mad that means he'll have to get prepping now if he's going to be able to finish our feast on time!" Lucifer was dismissive of the protest and Vox learned Adam apparently worked for the Devil. Oh, how the mighty had fallen. Surely that was punishment in and of itself.
"Wait, I'm cooking?" Adam sounded annoyed.
"Of course you are. You won that right, remember?" Lucifer retorted sounding both smug and amused. There seemed to be a story there, to which Vox wasn't privy. "Tomorrow night! Bring your friends! We are going to have a dinner to remember! Love you, crabapple! Bye bitch!" And with that Lucifer hung the phone up.
"What was that about?" Vaggie looked at Charlie who was staring at her phone.
"Dad wants to throw a dinner party for the Hotel tomorrow, at his place."
"The place he wouldn't even fucking let us in? That mansion- hold on." Vaggie's gaze turned up toward the drone and Vox tried to move it so that it looked as if it were simply passing by, however, he saw a weapon in Vaggie's hand and he lost the signal.
Well, that was fine.
He had more than he needed. This Intel was quite juicy. The only problem was that he needed to find a way to crash that dinner. A look inside the mansion which had been closed off for years? That was an opportunity that Vox couldn't allow to slip away. The first rule of Hell was to capitalize on what whatever golden chances came your way, no matter who got screwed over in the process.
Now it was simply a matter of coming up with a plan.
Though... his head was still feeling rather fuzzy, making that quite difficult.
Vox got out of his chair, he needed to clear his head and get his thoughts in order. Perhaps a change of scenery could act as a sort of inspiration for his schemes. He had been cooped up for far too long. Clearly, he just needed to clear his head and then he would come up with a brilliant way to get inside that mansion. Think of the things he could learn, or steal, or even the bugs he could plant. He didn't dare try that shit when Lilith was around, she was cautious. But Lucifer? He was practically a joke.
There was a crackle of electricity as Vox took himself to the Vees' meeting room. Perhaps the dim lights and swimming sharks would provide the perfect environment for thinking. He did very much enjoy watching the movements of the fish in the water, Hell's wildlife was unique in its appearance, like a bastardized version of what Vox had seen on Earth. (Though Vox didn't go in the water much when he was alive.)
"Well, well, well, look who crawled out of his fucking hole." Well fuck. Velvette was already in the office. Usually, Vox would have checked the cameras but he was far too distracted with trying to create a plan. She was sitting with her feet kicked up on the table, on her phone.
"I thought you would be out on the town by now." Vox looked down at her for a moment, before turning his attention to the aquarium.
"It's too early. If I show up anywhere now, I'll look desperate. Plus, I have to make an apology post because someone," she looked up from her screen long enough to glare at Vox, "interrupted my rather important stream."
"My apologies." Vox could see the dirty look he was receiving in the reflection of the glass. "But it was for security purposes."
"Was it though?"
"Yes."
"Sure." She rolled her eyes, returning her focus back to her screen. "So, what fucking dragged you all the way out here? I thought you'd be locked away in your room for at least twelve more hours."
"Work, if you must know."
"Can't be work if you're not plugged in or hovering over a computer."
"I am in the planning phase of something big if you must know." Vox was regretting his decision to come here. Had he known he wasn't going to be alone with his thoughts, he would have sought relaxation elsewhere.
"Oooo, what's the new project? Something to keep track of every fucking password you decide to change?"
"If you must know," Vox normally would have just ignored her. However, he was getting really tired of Velvette's obsession with his security protocols. Was it inconvenient? Sure. But this was fucking Hell if inconvenience was the only complaint she had, she could fuck right off. "Lucifer is throwing a party. I am planning to secure an invite."
"Well, that shouldn't be hard since you're best fucking friends." Velvette was referencing Vox's many public statements in regards to his close personal connection with the King. They were lies, of course, but a majority of what Vox said on the television was just what the public wanted to hear. He was selling them a dream, not a reality. Reality didn't sell.
"Hey, shut the fuck up." Vox turned to face her with a fake smile plastered on his face. "If you must know, he is throwing an exclusive event for the Princess and her little cult, or whatever the fuck she's doing at that godforsaken hotel. The easiest solution would be to send someone in to spy for me, but we tried that with Sir Pentious and that was a fucking disaster." Though it had resulted in Pentious's death, through a wild series of events. And that death had gotten him great ratings when he publicized the entire fight with Heaven. "Plus, Alastor fucks with a lot of my equipment, and quite frankly I don't trust any of our fucking staff to be able to survey and analyze the situation on the same level that one of us could. Missing details could be a matter of victory or defeat when we finally take over."
"You're probably just mad Alastor fucks our signal and won't fuck you." Velvette didn't look up, but Vox could see her satisfied little smirk. She seemed proud of her bitchy little comment. He wouldn't give her the dignity of getting under his skin.
"Hilarious." He kept his tone flat, but his voice crackled a bit sounding slightly more synthetic than usual. "But supremely unhelpful."
"Just calling it like I see it, babe."
"Well don't. I'm trying to think." Vox turned back to watch the creatures swimming behind the glass. He took a deep breath, as silence finally settled in the room, the only sound was the hum of machinery, the soft sloshing of water in the aquarium, and the tapping of Velvette's fingers on the screen of her phone. That last sound was a bit irritating, but Vox could push it out of his mind if he focused his energy on the problem at hand. There was an exclusive event for the princess and her posse and he wanted- no needed a fucking invitation. The King had been closed off from Hell for far too long and if something was being planned- which given Lucifer's claim about the cancellation of the Exterminations, it was not only possible but probable that he was doing something behind those closed and locked doors- Vox had to know.
"Why not just go there yourself?" Velvette finally spoke up, breaking Vox's serenity and interrupting his brainstorm.
"Excuse me?"
"You don't want to send anyone, but you will literally not stop obsessing until you find out what Lucifer's up to. So, go your fucking self."
"Go... where exactly?" Vox turned again to face Velvette who was posing to take a quick selfie in the office.
"Go to the Hotel. Tell them you want to be part of their fight club or whatever it is they do in that fucking eye-sore."
"I think it was about Redemption or something like that, I'll have to double check the footage from her segment with Katie." The song had been catchy enough, but there had definitely been better musical moments since then, so the message hadn't one hundred percent stuck with him.
"Then tell her you want to be Redeemed. She let Pentious in with that same sob story, didn't she?"
"Pentious was a nobody, who was immediately caught." Vox waved off the suggestion. "I highly doubt the Princess would believe that I want any part of that sugary, feel-good shit she preaches about."
"The great Vox can't trick a naive little royal. That's a pretty tragic." Velvette shifted in her chair so she was leaning back.
"It's not a matter of deception, I could obviously convince her to take me in if I wanted," Vox didn't like having his abilities called into question, "but don't forget that Alastor is there too. If I'm staying in that rat-infested motel of hers for even just one night I would be stuck in the same building as him, and if you recall, he is literally an awful, has-been, piece of shit who is clinging to the royal family out of desperation because he's lost all control of his fucking afterlife."
"Wow, tell me how you really feel." Velvette finally put the phone down, kicking her legs off the table and leaning forward, resting her chin in her hands. "So are you like... scared of Alastor since he almost killed you that one t-"
"I'M NOT SCARED OF THAT OUTDATED SACK OF FUCK!" Vox's voice reverberated with a synthetic undertone.
"The Vox doth protest too much, methinks." The fact that Velvette knew enough Shakespeare to pull that quote out of her memory would have been impressive if Vox wasn't currently so pissed off.
"Even if I charm the princess- which I could, by the way-" Vox calmed himself, "Alastor would be there, whispering poison in her ear. She already has a good rapport with him, and thanks to Val and the fact that Pentious was a fucking joke, we're not exactly on her good list."
"Maybe you're not." Velvette's eyes narrowed and there was a hint of a smile on her lips. Vox met her gaze, trying to read her expression.
"Do you have something you want to add?"
"The princess owes me a favor~ If you really want to get in to that party, I could tell her to let you join her little band of misfits. BUT," there was always a but in Hell, "you'll owe me a big favor in return."
"Why the fuck would you cash in a favor with the princess of Hell just to help me get into a party?"
"Maybe I just want to get you out of the fucking tower for a few days so I don't have to put up with all your bullshit." Velvette's response was cutting, but her plan was surprisingly solid. There was the matter of Alastor, but the odds that he would try something under the princess's nose were incredibly slim. And if he did try something, Vox would have the unique opportunity to break up that alliance that had been bothering him since he discovered its existence.
"That... might actually work." And maybe getting out of the tower for a few days wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. If things got out of hand and Vox was forced to kill Alastor then he was bound to return feeling so invigorated that all his troubles sleeping and thinking would just be things of the past. Of course, he would owe Velvette, but the Vees were so intertwined with favors and deals it was really nothing to add one more I.O.U to the already overflowing plate. "Okay, Vel, you have my attention. You cash in that favor and I'll share everything I learn from that party with you, and then some." Information alone wouldn't be a fair trade, and Velvette wasn't stupid.
"Sounds good." She held the camera up in front of her face, fixing her hair before making a quick video call.
"Velvette?" Vox heard Charlie's voice and he immediately stepped away. She couldn't see him to begin with, not from the angle Velvette was holding the phone, but Vox still didn't want to take the risk.
"Hey luv!" Velvette's voice was so cheery and sweet it almost didn't even sound like her, in Vox's opinion. "You remember that favor you owe me?"
"Yeah, but I really didn't even want to keep those cloth-" Charlie started to speak, but Velvette gave an over-the-top, friendly laugh that drowned out whatever the princess was trying to say.
"Oh you! It was nothing, really. But I'm going to have to cash in my favor now, is that okay?"
"What's the favor?" The Princess's reply was noncommittal.
"A friend of mine wants to join your little hotel! Do you think you have any openings? I know you're just so busy with all those patrons that are clawing down your door day after day." Even when trying to butter someone up, Velvette's natural, judgmental nature was shining through in biting sarcasm. Vox made a gesture toward her, trying to tell her to stop before Charlie just hung the phone up.
"I mean... your friend will have to ask me directly-"
"Of course, of course. But thanks so much for letting him in. I've been really worried about him lately." Velvette cut down on the underhanded sarcasm so much that the part about her being concerned had actually sounded genuine. Vox was mildly impressed. Usually public deception was his domain.
"I didn't say-"
"Thanks, luvvy! You're an absolute doll! Kisses!" And with that, Velvette ended the call without giving the princess a chance to say no. Vox gave a soft applause as Velvette turned to face him, grinning. "Better head over there and charm the shit out of that little bitch or this was for nothing."
"Please," Vox straightened his tie. "Velvette, dear, I was made for this sort of thing." And with that, electricity consumed him and Vox transported himself as close as he could get to the hotel in question. (He could never get directly onto the property thanks to the interference from the radio tower. It interfered in everything he tried to set up in this area.) He landed about a block away. It was further than he wanted, but it would do. With any luck the Radio Demon would be out, galivanting around Hell, being some else's problem. It would make things so much easier if he wasn't there.
Vox reached the hotel door and knocked, standing with his back straight, looking as presentable as possible. Charlie opened the door. She looked surprised to see him, and looked around as if expecting to see someone else. "Hello Vox!" She smiled politely, but it looked more confused than anything else. "Are you dropping off the Sinner Velvette wants to join the Hotel?"
"Alas, Princess, I am the Sinner." He gave a flourished bow. "I'm tired of bossing people around, being wealthy, and famous. I'm learning it really doesn't bring happiness." He gave a dramatic sigh.
"Bullshit." There was the girlfriend again, breathing down the princess's neck like a fucking stalker.
"No, it's true. I want to be redeemed." Vox insisted.
"You don't give a shit about redemption." The one-eyed bodyguard was looking him up and down.
"No, Vaggie, we have to at least hear him out." Charlie didn't sound as convinced as Vox was hoping.
"You heard the man; he wants to be redeemed!" That voice, that fucking, synthetic, staticky old-timey screech made Vox shiver to his core with anger, however he kept his smile unwavering as Alastor poked his head out behind Charlie looking him up and down. This may not be worth the humiliation.
"Alastor." Vox's voice cracked with synthetic reverberation, despite his best efforts to keep his temper level.
"Vox! You look like absolute shit, my good man!"
"Thank you for noticing." Vox was smiling with such effort his face was starting to hurt as crimson eyes looked him over. "Yes, Princess, things have been rough at the tower recently and I'm looking for a break."
"Valentino finally kicked you out. Huh? That's tough, my dear friend! Velvette could only tolerate you for so long before she ousted you too. I always had a sneaking suspicion she was the leader of the Vees-"
"I wasn't kicked out you fucking l-" Vox had to stop himself. The princess and her angry pet of a girlfriend were staring at him. He coughed, clearing his throat, but only resulting in him coughing harder. Fucking perfect. Now of all times he decided to have one of his fits. He caught his breath, forcing a smile back at Alastor. "Fucking lovable scamp." It took every bit of effort he had to give a warm, playful laugh, offering a hand toward Alastor. "I am just trying to make a personal change."
"It's true, I am a lovable scamp." Alastor chuckled to himself, looking at the offered hand and making no motion to grab it. Vox let his arm drop. "I can't wait to tell Angel about how you got kicked out."
"I wasn't kicked out." Vox reiterated, his voice sounding a bit higher pitched and strained despite his efforts.
"I will have to talk to Angel about this..." Charlie bit her lip, deep in thought. "I want this to be a safe space for him." Vox did not like Angel, but his interactions with him had always been fairly minimal and surface level. Angel's problems didn't particularly lie with him. Thankfully.
"It's physically killing you to be nice right now, isn't it?" The girlfriend looked rather amused as Vox kept his smile frozen on his screen.
"Nope!"
"Holy fuck, is that Vox?" And if the day couldn't get any worse, there was Angel Dust putting in his two cents no one cared about.
"He is here to join the Hotel." Charlie explained as Angel stood behind her, looking the Overlord up and down.
"I don't believe that." Angel looked rather unimpressed.
"Valentino kicked him out."
"Oh shit, really? That's hilarious." Angel looked up at Alastor. "I knew they were fighting a shit ton but to actually get kicked out..." He shook his head, clicking his tongue as Vox let out a forced laugh.
"That didn't happen." No one was listening. He could always force the issue, but he knew from experience his mind control did not work on Alastor, and chances were the Princess would not easily fall prey either. So, it was best to keep the fake-ass grin up, until his screen cracked from the effort.
"He was spying on us earlier, remember? I bet this asshole just wants a fucking invitation to your dad's thing." The girlfriend had a name but Vox couldn't remember it. Right now, all he wanted to call her was an annoying pain in the ass.
"Yeah, that makes sense." Charlie nodded.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, I assure you." Vox put his hands behind his back. "I was just trying to-" He stopped, he started to cough again, harder now. Fuck. This was going terribly. He covered his mouth with a VoxTek monogramed handkerchief as he hunched over, trying to catch his breath. Finally, the coughing subsided and he looked up to see the Princess and her crew staring at him. Angel and the girlfriend looked rather disgusted. Charlie seemed strangely concerned, and Alastor? Alastor was grinning from ear to fucking ear.
"My word that sounded terrible! You should really get that looked at!"
"Are you feeling okay, Vox?" Charlie had a hand over her mouth. Vox tucked the handkerchief back in his pocket.
"Quite fine. Doctor says it's a cold, should clear up in a week." The doctor had said that months ago, and Vox was still waiting for the symptoms to be at all alleviated. They only ever seemed to be getting worse.
"Right." Charlie took a deep breath. "Give me one second, okay? Just stay right here." And with that, she gently closed the door.
Great.
Door shut right in his face by the princess of fucking Hell. (At least he could finally stop smiling. His face was aching with the effort.) This was a mistake. Was Lucifer's goddamn party really going to be worth this fucking hassle? Maybe one of Vel's models could have done the trick without Vox having to put his dignity on the line like this. And did Velvette's favor mean nothing to the princess? Where was her sense of obligation to her people? Where was the blatant naivety?
Was she smarter than Vox had given her credit for?
Unlikely.
But it was growing more and more possible.
A painful amount of time passed before the door was reopened. Charlie stood with her Sinners behind her like guards. "Vox." She spoke directly to him.
"Yes Princess?" The moment the door opened his smile returned.
"You can join the Hotel. But if you do, we're going to have to make a deal." She rolled up her sleeve, offering her hand forward."
"Deal?" Vox repeated the word, smile never fading, but his eyes narrowed, looking past the princess toward the grinning, crimson-clad Sinner who had been whispering into her ear for far to long.
"You can join the hotel, and go to my father's dinner. BUT" She stressed the word and Vox's gaze returned to her. "You must be on your best behavior. You cannot fight with Alastor-"
"And Val can't visit." Angel piped up from behind her.
"And Valentino cannot visit you while you're here." Charlie accepted the additional rule. (Which was fine by Vox. He didn't particularly have any desire to see Val, right now.) "And you must participate in activities and give redemption a try for at least one month." One month? That seemed excessive.
"How about one week?' Vox smiled back at her, looking at her hand.
"Now, Vox, that doesn't sound like a man who's hungry for the sweet embrace of Redemption, does it?"
"Ah," Vox's mind was screaming at Alastor to shut his fucking mouth before Vox tore his head off, but Vox simply chuckled. "No, you're absolutely right. One month." And with that, he shook Charlie's hand. There was a rush of energy. Vox felt... more put together than he had moments before. That surge of power... was that what a deal with the royal family felt like...?
Holy fuck.
No wonder Alastor was trying to kiss the Princess's ass.
"Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel!" Charlie threw the doors both open, and Vox noticed her cleaning the hand she had used to shake his. Okay, a little rude on the princess's part. But he had been coughing, so he would try to overlook it.
"Excellent." The deal was going to complicate things just a bit.
But Hell was nothing if not a twisting, writhing, mass of loopholes. Vox would figure something out.
The important thing was: He had an invitation to that fucking dinner.
A/N: Sorry about the late update! My betareaders and I got busy and we only JUST finished with edits. BUT HERE IT IS! THE FRIDAY NIGHT UPDATE! I am soooo excited for these next chapters you guys have NO idea. I loved getting to pop back in with Vox. Doesn't look like he's doing so well. But at least he gets to go to that dinner party.