Running Down the Runway

by Random_Canadian_04

Summary:

Only minutes after falling from the sky on Extermination Day, Hell's newest arrival finds himself helping an Overlord in trouble. A chance encounter brought these two sinners together and changed the course of their (after)lives forever.

Tags will be updated as fic progresses.

Quick Note (Dec 28, 2024): To those of you who are stumbling upon this fic for the first time, I apologize for the quality and length of the first few chapters. The chapters do improve in quality and length as the fic progresses.

Chapter 1: A Matter of Chance

Notes:

Hello, I hope everyone is doing well. If you aren't, then hopefully things will get better soon. This is the first fanfic that I have ever written so please forgive any cringe/mistakes. If you have any feedback for me, please feel free to share. Have a good day! :)

December 31st, 2022…

“Wha-WHOA! JESUS FUCKIN’ CHRI-” A loud thud sound was made by the new sinner hitting the pavement.

“Ow… God damn that hurt. What the? The fuck happened to my arms, and why’s the sky red?” Just as he asked himself that, he saw someone running and screaming while being chased by two flying things carrying what looked like spears.

“Uhhh, that’s not good, I need to hide.”

So he picked himself up off of the ground and ran into the building next to him, it looked like a small abandoned factory and was filled with broken crates, piles of scrap metal and old machines. It also had a small office in it which seemed like the best place to hide.

After running into the office and locking the door behind him, the sinner looked around the room. In the room he could see some old furniture, a painting on the wall and another wooden crate. Everything was covered in dust as if they hadn’t been touched in months if not years. Out of curiosity he opened the crate, revealing it contained some grenades, some ammunition, an old military style rucksack and a medical kit.

“Huh, must have been a munitions factory or something. Just gonna leave those there for now…”

 

He then went over to the metal bar covered window to look outside. When he got close to the glass though, he could see a bit of his reflection. His clothes were torn, his normally medium length, brown hair was now messy and blue with white tips. His skin was pale with dark, metallic grey lines wrapping around his hands and forearms.

“This must be a dream. I fell from the sky which is now red, I don’t know where I am, my skin has changed and people are running around screaming. This has to be some kind of nightmare.” Smack “Not a nightmare, shit. What the hell happe-”

Just then, he heard the sounds of tires screeching, glass shattering and metal crashing outside. Looking through the window, he could see a car had rolled over and it looked like a woman was lying on the ground, likely having been thrown from the car. At that moment, one of the flying things from earlier swooped down from the sky and drove its spear into the driver of the car before starting to walk towards the woman on the ground who was trying to crawl away.

“Shit, I should do something, what do I do!? Wait…” He said, before going to the crate and grabbing two grenades before running to the building’s entrance. “Alright Ellis, you can do this, just like in the movies.”

Ellis stepped outside while pulling the pins from the grenades and then threw them into the distance before ducking back inside. When the bombs went off, the woman’s would-be attacker stopped in their tracks before flying off to investigate. Before they could come back, Ellis quickly ran over, picked up the woman and carried her back to the office.

“OW! The fuck are you doing!? Put me down!” said the woman.

“Hold on a second. There, you alright?”

“No I’m no- OW, FUCK!” She said before falling into the old chair. “No I’m not alright, I was nearly killed by a bloody Exorcist, got picked up by some random fucker who took me into a random fucking building and now my ankle’s fucked!”

As if he hadn’t heard anything else that the woman had said, Ellis asked, “Exorcist? That’s what those flying things are?”

The woman gave him a look of disbelief “How did you not know that? Everyone here does.”

“Ma’am, I don’t even know where here is. I just woke up, falling from the sky like ten minutes ago.”

“Just fucking lovely, I’m stuck in the middle of nowhere during the extermination with a new sinner!”

“Sinner? Uh, sorry, I know this may not be the best time for this given your current… attitude towards things, but could you maybe just take a second and tell me where exactly I am?” asked Ellis.

“You’re in Hell, ya fuckin’ twit!”

“What? But if I’m in Hell then that means… OH FOR FUCK’S SAKE! Fuckin’ black ice, god damn it!”

The woman sighed, “If you’re done, why don’t you make yourself useful?”

“Hm? What?”

“Do you know how to splint an ankle?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Hold on, there’s actually a first aid kit here.”

 

---

“There, that should get the job done for now, doubt you’ll be able to put any weight on it though. I’m Ellis, by the way.” He said, extending his hand, but the woman just slapped it away.

“Velvette” 

“Well Miss Velvette, any chance you could tell me what’s happening outside and why ‘Exorcists’ are going around trying to kill people?”

“Ugh, once a year, Heaven sends down an army of Exorcists to kill as many of us ‘Sinners’, as they can.”

“Hold on, Heaven, the place where all the good and pure folks are supposed to go, sends down an army to kill a bunch of people…”

“Ironic, innit?”

“That’s fucked…” Velvette seemed to be slightly amused at that response.

Ellis asked, “So, how long does this normally last?”

“Started at noon, usually ends at eight.” 

“Do you happen to know what time it is now?”

Velvette sighed as she pulled out her phone, “It’s- oh bugger!”

“What happened now?”

“My phone’s fucking knackered. What’s next? Is the roof gonna fall on me?”

Ellis couldn’t help but chuckle a bit as he said, “It might be best to not tempt fate.” to which Velvette rolled her eyes.

“So, if your phone’s broken, how are we gonna figure out when it’ll be safe to go back outside? I don’t think either of us have a watch.”

Just as Ellis finished talking, Velvette, with a wave of a now glowing hand, magically changed clothes, much to Ellis’ surprise. Her clothes that were torn and dirty from when her car crashed, were now replaced with a black crop-top, desire-red and navy blue striped pants, a sleeveless fur coat, long fingerless gloves, and a seemingly out of place leather strapped, silver watch on her wrist.

Velvette, looking over at Ellis, smirked and said “You can pick your jaw up off the floor, darling, I know I’m gorgeous.” Ellis quickly composed himself. “And here, now you’ll have no trouble knowing what time it is.” She said while taking off the watch and tossing it to Ellis.

“Thank you, you didn’t need to do that.” Velvette looked almost surprised for a second when he said that.

“No problem.”

“Well, it’s only one thirty, so this is gonna be a looong wait.”

“You’ll get used to it eventually.”

A few moments of silence went by before Ellis asked, “Hey, how exactly did you do that thing with your clothes? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

“What, this little trick?” Velvette said as she waved twice more, changing her outfit again and then reverting it back. “Being in Hell has its benefits. I can change or repair both mine and other people's outfits, as long as the clothes are either in my studio, closet or in front of me that is. Speaking of which…”

Suddenly Ellis’ own jeans, black tee and red flannel shirt were no longer torn and his hair was slicked back. “Holy shit… That’s amazing, thank you, again.”

“Don’t get used to it. Also, you’re Canadian, aren’t you?” Velvette inquired.

“Uh, yeah, from Ottawa actually. How’d you guess?”

“You’re dressed like a bloody lumberjack and are being overly kind, it’s not rocket science.”

The two laughed for a moment before Ellis said, “ In my defense, one, this is comfortable and functional. Two, it looks good.”

“HA!”

“Oh, hush. And three, I’m not being overly nice, I was just thanking someone that helped me even though they didn’t need to.”

“A bit of advice from an Overlord, don’t even do that. Down here, the fuckin’ knobheads will take advantage of any kindness you’ve got.” said Velvette.

“Thanks, but I’m still going to do it, I think I need to have some bit of normality if I’m going to adjust to, well, everything. Also, what do you mean ‘Overlord’?”

Velvette just sighed at Ellis’ question before she said, “You have a lot to learn…”

“Well, we’ve got plenty of time and not much to do so, if you’re willing to talk, I’m willing to listen.”

And that’s exactly what happened (albeit somewhat reluctantly at first for Velvette), she explained some of the workings of Hell and Ellis listened, not only because he wanted to learn about the place he now found himself in, but also because he genuinely wanted to listen to what Velvette had to say. As time went by, the two started sharing things about their lives on earth like Velvette’s time in the London fashion industry and Ellis' time as a laborer and working whatever jobs he could. Eventually, the conversation turned to Velvette’s business partners, Vox and Valentino.

“H-Hold on a second.” said Ellis who was struggling to contain his laughter. “His whole head is a TV?”

“A big fuckin’ flatscreen, yeah. Meanwhile, Val’s a damn moth. If he’s in a dark room and ya turn on a light, he just goes right to it.”

“You’ve gotta be joking.”

“Not one bit and on top of that, his eyes are complete shit. He has to use speech to text or send a recording every time he texts someone ‘cause he can’t fuckin’ type!”

Before either of them could say anything else, their attention was grabbed by the sounds of explosions outside. Ellis cautiously went to the window to investigate.

“Looks like people are lighting fireworks!”

“Wait, that usually means the Extermination is over, what time is it?” asked Velvette.

“About ten after eight, guess we were talking for a while, eh?”

“Yeah whatever, just help me up already so we can get out of here!” said Velvette, loudly.

“Alright, alright, just hold on a second. I’m just gonna grab a couple things here first.” Said Ellis as he grabbed the bag from the crate and started putting the other items in it.

“Hold on, are those bloody grenades?”

“Oh, yeah, I found them in this crate when I got here. Lucky too, had to use a couple of ‘em to distract that Exorcist earlier.”

Ellis slung the bag over his shoulder and helped Velvette onto her feet.

“Alright Miss Velvette, let’s get a move on.” But just as the two exited the office, Ellis noticed a faint glow coming from the bottom of one of the piles of metal. “Uh, could you do me a favor and lean up against the wall for a second…”

“Why? Ellis?”

As Ellis made his way towards the pile, he noticed that it was made up of old, long forgotten guns.

“What is it?” Velvette asked as Ellis bent down and picked up the two from which the glow that had caught his eye were coming from.

“Couple of old revolvers, actions are seized though.” he said, inspecting and wiping the dirt off of the pair. “Should be pretty easy to fix.”

“Lemme see those. Those are blessing tipped…”

“You mean like those angelic weapons you mentioned earlier?” Ellis said while putting the pair in his bag.

“Yeah, lucky find. Now, let’s go.”

Once they were finally outside, Ellis asked Velvette, “So, how exactly are you going to get back to wherever it is that you live? Especially with the state your ankle is in.”

Velvette flashed him a smile and said, “Well, since I can’t call someone to give me a lift, I guess you are going to have to carry me. It’s not like you have much else to do.”

Ellis raised a finger and opened his mouth to protest before realizing that she was right. “Fair enough…”

And so, Ellis found himself carrying the woman who he had only just met hours prior. Luckily for him, it seemed he was considerably stronger in Hell than in the living world and so far had no trouble carrying Velvette. As the two continued on, they eventually started to cross a field surrounded by destroyed buildings. They soon came across a gruesome sight.

“The fuck is that?” asked Velvette.

“It looks like a dead Exorcist. I thought you said they couldn't be killed.”

“Nobody ever knew how, but clearly someone does now. Grab it’s head and let’s go.”

“Wait, what?” Ellis said, doubting that he had heard her correctly.”

“Its head, put it in your bag. The boys ’ll want to see this.”

Ellis sighed and reluctantly picked up the severed head in front of him and placed it in his bag.

As he started walking again, bag on his back and Velvette in his arms, he just thought to
himself, “What have I gotten myself into?”

Notes:

I hope you guys liked that. Like I said, if you have any feedback for me, feel free to share it. Also, I don't have a set schedule for updates but I promise to do my best to eventually finish this. I do have a plan for what I want this to look like when it is done so hopefully I can get there.

Chapter 2: Character Info: Ellis

Summary:

Information page for Ellis. This will be updated as the fic progresses. I have added a spoiler warning before the parts that can spoil the story, the rest is free of major spoilers and only has very minor ones that don't amount to much.

General Info:

Name: Ellis Owens

 

Other Names:

• Cheeky Bugger (by Velvette)
• Darling (by Velvette)
• Mr. Owens (Multiple)
• (Little) Boy-toy (Multiple)
• Short Stuff (by Angel Dust) 
• Pawn (by Zestial)
• Kid (by Blitz)
• E (Multiple)

 

Birthplace: Ottawa, ON, Canada

 

Age: 24 (as of the start of this fic)

 

Birthday: March 19th, 1998

 

Date of Death/Arrival in Hell: December 31st, 2022 (Extermination Day)

 

Cause of Death: Car crash caused by black ice.

 

Languages Spoken: English

 

Pronouns: He/Him

 

Ethnic Background: English, Irish

 

Religion: None

 

Physical Appearance in Hell:

• Very human-like.
• Pale skin with metallic grey lines that wrap around his hands and forearms
• Slicked back, slightly messy, medium length hair (Kind of like Samuel Drake from "Uncharted", but without the receding hairline.), that is blue with white tips
• Clean-shaven face
• About 5’8”
• Human eyes with blue irises
• A bit stocky

 

Usual clothing and accessories:

• The watch that Velvette gave him in Chapter 1 which he wears on his left wrist
• An open, red buffalo check flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a black t-shirt underneath (Flannel shirt has an embroidered, desire-red 'V' patch outlined in black and white above the left chest pocket which was added in Chapter 8)
• Dark blue jeans
• Brown, lace-up, leather steel toe work boots that look more like casual boots 
• Brown leather belt
• His leather shoulder holster with his angelic revolver that he wears on his left side (Chapter 3 and onwards), and replica non-angelic Colt M1911 on his right (Chapter 21 and onwards), under his flannel shirt
• Horizontal leather knife sheath with his angelic-steel Bowie knife which he wears behind his back (Chapter 8 and onwards)

 

Abilities & Skills:

• Higher level of strength than an average living human
• High pain tolerance
• Knowledge of weapons use, maintenance, etc...
• Driving
• External resistance to cold

 

Likes:

• Listening to music and singing along despite usually not being very good at it
• Hunting
• Working with his hands/Making things
• Cooking/Baking
• Hot chocolate
• Learning about different things 
• Pancakes
• The "Ocean's" movie franchise
• Mary Brown’s chicken and taters
• The Toronto Blue Jays
• The Toronto Zoo
• Apples
• Hawkins Cheezies

 

Dislikes:

• The New York Yankees
• Seeing people he cares about unhappy
• Things going to waste
• Coffee
• Tea
• Needing to wear 'fancy' clothes 
• Killing (But will when necessary)
• Valentino’s advances and general demeanour

 

 

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Reason For Being In Hell: Killed someone

 

Relationships:

Friends/Allies:

• Velvette [Girlfriend]
• Ribbon [Pet Thrasher (Cat, resembles and size similar to a clouded leopard but red and black)]
• Ian (Vox’s Assistant) [Close Friend]
• Hazel (Head of Security for the Vees) [Close Friend]
• Rosie [Close Friend]
• Unnamed Mother {Deceased in the Living World. Current status unknown}
• Ava Owens (Sister) {Deceased in the Living World. Current status unknown}
• Angel Dust [Friend]
• The Carmines (Has business deal with.)
• Verosika Mayday [Friend of Velvette]
• Members of I.M.P. - Blitzo “Blitz” Buckzo, Loona Buckzo, Mildred “Millie” Knolastname, Moxxie Knolastname, Stolas, I.M.P. interns (Adorable, Twig, other two are unnamed) - (Has business deal with)
• Wally Wackford (Has business deal with) [Friend of Velvette]

Enemies:

• Katie Killjoy
• The “server” from the January fashion show {Permanently deceased, shot by Ellis with his blessing tipped revolver}
• Xavier "X" Carlson (Velvette’s Ex) {Permanently deceased, shot by Ellis with his blessing tipped revolver}
• Kitty (Valentino’s Robo Fizz)
• Travis (Valentino's main director)
• Unnamed Father {Deceased in the Living World, bludgeoned to death by Ellis. Current status unknown}
• Goons working for the Knolastname Mafia {Mostly killed with help from Blitz and Loona}
• Crimson Knolastname
• Angry patrons of dive bar near I.M.P's office {Fought against in bar fight with Blitz and Stolas. Beaten/driven away}
• Tick (Vox’s supplier) and his associates {Tick left alive, associates killed by Moxxie, Velvette and Ellis}
• Stella of the Ars Goetia
• Andrealphus

 

Others:

• Vox
• Valentino
• Melissa
• His other coworkers
• Alastor
• The other Overlords
• The residents of Cannibal Town

 

 

 

Chapter 3: Song List

Summary:

List of songs that are featured in the fic. Spoiler warning because some songs may be an indication of what happens in each chapter. Will be updated as fic progresses.

Chapter 2: "Cum on Feel The Noize" by Quiet Riot

 

Chapter 3: "Takin' Care Of Business" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive

 

Chapter 4: "Let The Good Times Roll (Feel So Good)" by Bunny Sigler

 

Chapter 5: "Levitating" by Dua Lipa

 

Chapter 6: "Home For A Rest" by Spirit of the West, “Respectless” by Andrew Underberg, Sam Haft, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Lilli Cooper & James Monroe Iglehart

 

Chapter 8: "The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie" by Colter Wall

 

Chapter 10: "The Spirit of Radio" by Rush, "We Built This City" by Starship, "I.M.P Jingle" by Parry Gripp, "Feel Like This" by Ingrid Andress

 

Chapter 11: “Ocean Eyes” by Billie Eilish

 

Chapter 12: "Just the Two of Us" by Grover Washington Jr. and Bill Withers, "Do I Wanna Know?" by Arctic Monkeys

 

Chapter 13: "She Burns" by Foy Vance, "Without Your Love" by Chris Stapleton

 

Chapter 14: "My Kingdom" by Alan Doyle, "Think I'm In Love With You (Live From The 59th ACM Awards)" By Chris Stapleton and Dua Lipa

 

Chapter 15: "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne, "Cover Me Up" by Jason Isbell

 

Chapter 18: “Low Rider” by War

 

Chapter 18 1/2: "Treat You Better" by Shawn Mendes

 

Chapter 19: "Rasputin" by Booney M., "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)" by Elton John

 

Chapter 20: “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen

 

Chapter 21: “Theme From New York, New York” by Frank Sinatra, “Haunted” by Shawn James

 

Chapter 22: "Die Young" by Kesha

Chapter 4: Chapter 2: New Places, New Faces

Summary:

Velvette and Ellis make their way to the V Tower.

Notes:

I want to incorporate music into the story so for reference, lyrics that are in italics and are bolded, are being sung by one or more of the characters. Lyrics that are just in italics are just being played in the background and such.

Have a good day! :)

December 31st, 2022, 10:30p.m.… 

 

“How far is it again?”

“We’re still not anywhere near it, keep walking.” said Velvette.

“I need to take a break first. Just give me a minute to let my arms rest.” Ellis said while setting her down.

“C‘mon, it’s not that bad.”

“Easy for you to say, you’ve been getting carried for the last two hours.”

Velvette relented, “Fine, just don’t take too long.”

After a moment, Ellis said, “Hey, I just thought of something. If you knew that the extermination was today, why were you out here and not holed up inside somewhere?”

“None of your business.” Velvette snapped, causing Ellis to raise his hands in surrender.

“Sorry, just curious is all. I think my arms are good now if you wanna keep going.” 

 

About ten minutes later, a still annoyed Velvette said, “This would be so much easier if we had a car.”

“You’re telling me! It’d be nice if every one that we’ve seen wasn’t destr-''

Velvette suddenly interrupted, “Look!” she said, pointing towards an alley with what looked like a vehicle at the end. As they approached, they could see that it was an old, beat-up pickup truck.

 

“Well, fuck me!”

“Ha! You wish.” said Velvette, smirking.

“You know I could leave you here and just run off, right?”

“You wouldn’t dare…”

“Wanna bet?” said Ellis with a smile of his own.

Velvette mumbled, “Cheeky bugger…” causing Ellis to chuckle while setting Velvette down on the truck’s hood and putting his bag in the bed.

“Now, let’s see if I can get this running.” One smashed window and some fiddling under the dash later, the engine roared to life.

 

“Well, it may not look like much, but the engine sounds good.”

“Great, now can you get me down and inside?”

“Aw, but I wanted to leave you up there like a hood ornament.” Velvette scoffed at the joke as Ellis picked her up again. “And with all due respect Miss Velvette, you certainly would turn some heads.”

Velvette paused for a second before playfully asking, “Was that a compliment I just heard, or do my ears deceive me?”

“Maybe.” said Ellis while carefully setting her down on the seat and making sure her legs were out of the way before shutting the door.

 

And then they were on the road, heading to their destination. It didn’t take long for Ellis to turn on the radio and find a rock station. “Oh shit, we get songs from the living world down here?”

“Luckily”

“Well thank fuck for tha-” he was interrupted by the radio host announcing the next song.

“Up next, ‘Cum on Feel The Noize’ by Quiet Riot .”

“OH FUCK YEAH!”

 

“Come on, feel the noise”

“Girls, rock your boys”

“We’ll get wild, wild, wild”

“Wild, Wild, Wild”

 

“Do you have to sing along?” asked Velvette.

“Yeah, why not? It’s half the fun.”

“You’re bad at it.”

“I don’t hear you doing any better.”, he said, turning down the radio’s volume. “Since you don’t want to hear my lovely singing, can I ask you a question?”

“What?”

“I’m curious, how did you die? You know how I did.”

“It’s nothing worth telling.”

“Oh c’mon, tell me. I doubt it’s worse than a car crash.”

“No”

“ Pretty please?” 

Velvette sighed, “Fine… ‘was 2015, I was 28 and I was running a fashion show in London. At the end of the show, I walked out to thank the crowd like always, then the runway collapsed under me and I hit my head or something.”

“See? That’s not so bad. At least you went out in style. ” Velvette gave him a light punch in the arm for the comment and the two started laughing.

 

---

 

11:10p.m.… 

 

Eventually, the two arrived at the base of the V Tower.

“This is the place? It’s… impressive.” Ellis remarked.

“Finally! I was starting to think we’d never get here.”

“Just be glad the traffic wasn’t like Toronto after a Jays game or we might not have.” he said, grabbing his bag before lifting Velvette out of the truck. 

 

Ellis carefully made his way up the stairs to the doors so as to not risk them both falling. As the doors opened and Ellis stepped inside, he was suddenly surrounded by security guards, all of which were aiming their guns at both him and Velvette.

“What the bloody hell are you fuckers doing!? Put your guns down, now!”, yelled Velvette.

“Sorry ma’am, we didn’t re-”

“Shut up! If any of you ever point a gun at me again, I’ll feed you to Vox’s sharks myself!” They all quickly went back to their posts.

 

“You.” She said, pointing to a fish-like person. “Send a doctor up to Valentino’s penthouse now. Have someone park that truck in the garage and have food for this fucker and I sent up to my flat in half an hour.”

“Yes ma’am!” said the nervous man, who Ellis assumed was an assistant of some type.

Ellis quickly said, “Miss Velvette, that's really not nessa-”

“Quiet. In the lift, now.”

Soon they were in the elevator, heading up to the penthouse.

“Stop calling me ‘Miss’, makes me feel like a crone.”

“What should I call you then?”

“Just Velvette.”

“Alright then.” Changing the subject, Ellis asked, “So… how do you think your business partners are going to react to you getting back this late? I’m guessing you were supposed to be here a lot earlier.”

Velvette just sighed at the thought.

 

---

 

“Where the fuck were you!?” shouted a tv-headed demon. He continued, “You were supposed to be back hours ago, why didn’t you answer your phone!?”

“Oh, hi Vox, I’m glad you’re safe and in one piece too. I was just out enjoying a nice cuppa tea.” Velvette replied, her words dripping with sarcasm. “Where the fuck do you think I was Vox? I was hiding from the Exorcists and my phone got broken when the car crashed!”

Ellis, who had been told to stand by the door after setting Velvette down, now just wanted to fade out of existence.

“What do you mean, car crash? When the fuck did that happen?”

“When I was on my way back from the meeting with your supplier in Imp City, that you sent me to deal with instead of going yourself. It took longer than it was supposed to ‘cause that bastard wouldn’t agree on a new price, so we left late and the Exorcists attacked the damn car. I’m only alive thanks to this fucker!”

“And just who is this lovely specimen ?” said a new voice coming from a tall, four armed man emerging from a cloud of red smoke.

“Uh, hello. I’m Ellis, Ellis Owens.”

Vox’s demeanor changed immediately, putting on a smile, walking over and grabbing Ellis’ hand to shake it. “Vox, pleasure to meet you.”

Velvette quickly said, “Oh cut the shit Vox.”

He glared back at her before returning his attention to Ellis and saying. “So, you saved Velvette, did you?”

“Uhhh, I guess so…”

The tall man spoke again, “I think an act like that deserves a reward , don’t you?” he said with an off-putting laugh.

“That’s… not necessary, Mr…?”

“Valentino, and the pleasure can be all yours.”

 

Much to Ellis’ relief, the doctor that had been inspecting Velvette’s ankle and splint spoke up, “If I may just interrupt for a moment, your ankle seems to be healing fine, ma’am. You should be able to walk on it after a good night’s sleep.”

“Brill, now get out.” said Velvette, to which the doctor grabbed his belongings and hurried out of the penthouse. “Now, if we’re done with the bullshit, we found something on our way here that you two will be interested in.”

“And what might that be?” asked Vox.

“Ellis, show ‘em.” He slowly opened his now golden-blood filled bag and carefully pulled out the Exorcist’s head from earlier.

“Holy shit … is that?”

“An Exorcist’s head? Someone figured out how to kill ‘em.” said Velvette.

Vox and Valentino just stood there, visibly shocked before Vox started laughing maniacally. “Just wait until those other ‘Overlords’ find out about this!”

A concerned Ellis quickly spoke up, “If I may ask, what exactly should I do with this?”

“I bet I can make use of it in one of my films.” said Valentino, causing Vox and Velvette to shout.

“NO!”

“That’s bloody disgusting Val!”

 

“Put it on ice for now, it’ll be useful later.” said Vox.

“Kitty!” Valentino called and a clown-like robot quickly appeared and took the head away.

After a moment, Velvette said, “Right, I’ve had enough of you two for tonight. Time to go.”

“Aw, don’t you want to stay and celebrate your safe return home?” Valentino cooed.

“I’ll celebrate by eating some dinner and getting some sleep. Ellis, let’s go.”

As Ellis picked her up again for what felt like the fiftieth time and started walking towards the door, Valentino called out, “Have fun with your ‘little boy-toy' .” to which Velvette flipped him the bird.

 

As they got into the elevator, Ellis commented, “‘Little boy-toy', that’s a new one for me.”

“Don’t let it go to your head, it’s what I call Val when talking to Vox.”

“Okay the- wait, those two are...”

“Yep, don’t bother trying to understand it. They’re on-again, off-again so often I don’t think they even know what they are.”

“Duly noted.” After getting out of the elevator, Ellis made his way through the fashion studio and up the stairs to Velvette’s apartment.

“Wow.” said Ellis as he stepped inside.

“You sound almost surprised.”

“I’m not sure what I was expecting but, wow.”

“It’s mine darling, you should’ve expected it to be gorgeous.”

“Humble, I see.”

“When you’re a Vee, you don’t need to be humble. Now, set me down over there and have a seat, looks like fish-face did his job well.”

 

As Ellis sat down, Velvette started opening one of the fast food bags on the table in front of her. “Only decent takeaway place down here.”

Ellis just sat awkwardly, taking in his new surroundings.

“Well? Are you going to eat too or not?”

“Thank you Mis-” she shot a glare at him. “Velvette, sorry. Thank you but I should probably get going. After all, I do still need to figure out where I’m going to sleep for the night, or at least for what’s left of it.”

“Shut up and eat. I know the smell of it must be making you hungry anyway.”

He reached into the other bag and pulled out some fries before responding, “Actually, after being in close proximity to you all day, I can’t smell anything but your perfume.”

Velvette gave him a questioning look, “What are you talking about? I don’t wear perfume.”

“Really? Then how the hell do you smell so strongly of roses and chocolate?” Asked Ellis, with a fry hanging out of his mouth, causing Velvette to laugh.

“It’s natural darling, I got lucky when I found myself down here.”

“Clearly…” said Ellis, looking again at his surroundings, barely noticing the slightly sad look that was on Velvette’s face for a moment.

 

The two ate in relative silence for a few moments until there was a bang against the door which Ellis got up to investigate. Suddenly, the door burst open with the same robot from earlier racing by Ellis who was barely able to move out of the way.

“Damn it! Every time that stupid robot comes down here, it breaks shit.” said Velvette.

The robot quickly dropped a blue package onto the table and raced back out of the room.

“Now I have to wait who knows how long to get someone here to fix that fuckin’ door.”

“I can have a look at it, hold on.” 

 

As Ellis started inspecting the damage to the door and figuring out how to fix it, Velvette started contemplating a thought.

“I’m not sure what to make of this guy. Here's someone that had no idea who I was and yet, was still either willing or foolish enough to risk his life to save me. After he found out who I am, he kept helping me but doesn’t seem to want anything in return. While most people nowadays worship me, he doesn't, but he isn’t overly rude and while most of the rest fear me, he doesn’t and he isn’t afraid of being a bit bold either.”

 

“There, that should work. At least until you get someone with the stuff to do it properly.” said Ellis, sitting back down. “What’s that?”

“Well, it looks like Vox sent it so who knows.” said Velvette, starting to open it. “Oh good, a new phone… and a note with a second phone…”

 

“Give the second phone to your new friend if he’s still around. - Vox”

 

“What game are you playing now, Vox? Here.” Said Velvette, handing the phone to Ellis. “Just know he’ll probably use it to track you and whatever else he feels like doing.”

“Well that’s not concerning at all…”

A few more moments of silence went by before Velvette spoke again.

 

“Ellis, I’d like to propose a deal to you.”

“No offense Mi- Velvette, but, based on what you told me earlier, I think I’d rather keep my soul for now.”

“Not that kind of deal, one which either of us can end at any time.” Ellis gave her a confused look. “Vox has fish-face, whatever his name is. Val has his directors and that stupid robot. I need someone that’s useful.”

“And I take it that you consider me useful.”

“From what I’ve seen, yes.” Velvette admitted.

Ellis smirked as he said, “Was that a compliment I just heard, or do my ears deceive me?”

“Cheeky. I need someone around that can do things that my current employees aren’t any good for, which is a lot. Continue being as useful as you were today, and I’ll help you out. Running errands, fixing things like you did with the door, being an extra set of hands and eyes when you’re needed, shit like that. I have a spare room you can stay in, I assume you know how to cook so you can do that for the two of us and you obviously won’t need to worry about clothes.”

 

Ellis thought to himself for a second. “You’ll have to forgive me for thinking that sounds almost too good to be true.”

“I can see why you would get that impression, especially given that we’re in Hell.” Velvette replied.

“If I may add a few stipulations. One, I want it made clear to your business partners that I work for you, not them. Though, I have no problem with doing certain things here and there for them like fixing things for example, so long as I'm not busy with something else at that time.”

“No problem there.”

“Two, I assume for obvious reasons that my room and board and such would be my payment.” Velvette nodded. “Then I would like to be able to at least discuss with you, should the need arise, the possibility of monetary payment, if you want me involved in things outside of this possible arrangement.”

“I suppose that’s fair.”

“Lastly, I'd like to be able to keep that truck, so I’ll need a place to park it and I’ll need the parts to fix it up a bit. It’ll be useful if I’m going around, doing things for you or if I have other things that I need to do.”

“Well, it should already be parked underground in the garage so you can keep it there. I can get someone to come fix it tomorrow and I’ll obviously need to cover the cost of petrol since you won’t have any money.”

“That would certainly be appreciated.” 

 

“So we have an agreement then?” Velvette asked.

“If you're happy with it all, I think we can make it work.” As the two shook hands, the room filled with blue and red light.

“That’s different…” said Velvette.

“How? I thought you told me earlier that there are always lights when deals are made.”

“Usually just one colour.”

“Well, I guess it has been a weird day.”

Velvette yawned, “It’s been a bloody long one too so bring me to my room. It’s over there.”

As Ellis picked her up again, he said, “You know, I’m starting to think you just like when I carry you.”

Velvette scoffed, “Cheeky bugger. Your room is over there.”

“Alright, goodnight Velvette.”

“...Night.”

Notes:

So... I had an idea about how deals could work. In my little headcanon, deals that benefit one of the parties involved, more than the other, result in light only coming from the person who benefits more. Example A, the deal between Charlie and Alastor. Charlie got information on how to defend against the angels but, Alastor can ask for almost any favor from Charlie, which will probably benefit him more in the show, causing only his green light to appear. My thought is that, if light from both parties appear, then the deal benefits both equally.

Chapter 5: Chapter 3: Taking Care of Business

Summary:

It's been a week since Ellis arrived in Hell and he's getting used to his new life (or should I say, afterlife). Takes place during "Overture".

Notes:

Have a good day! :)

Ellis’ first week in Hell had gone pretty smoothly so far. He quickly found his place both in and outside of Velvette’s studio. Most of the time in the studio, he was helping to move supplies and stock around, doing a bit of cleaning, and taking deliveries. Outside, he was usually either cooking, driving around Pentagram City running errands for Velvette or trying to dodge her attempts at getting him involved with social media. In the little bit of spare time that he had, he managed to fix up one of the revolvers he found and make a shoulder holster out of some brown leather that had been hanging around the studio that Velvette wanted tossed out. 

 

Despite being in Hell, Ellis had no complaints about his newfound life. Except for one, the doors.

 

Once Velvette was back on her feet, Ellis quickly learned that she had a habit of kicking open doors. As a result of both Velvette's unique way of opening them and Valentino’s robot’s inability to, Ellis found himself either fixing or replacing at least one door a day.

 

---

 

January 7th, 2023, 9:00a.m., V Tower Lobby…

 

“Morning, Ian. How are you?”

The fish-like man turned around at the rare mention of his name. “Good morning Mr. Owens. I’m alright, how are you?”

“I’m good. Also, we talked about this, just ‘Ellis’ is fine.” He said with a smile.

“Sorry, habit.”

“Don’t worry about it. What’s Vox got you doing today?”

“The same as always. What about you? Heading out?”

“Yeah, I gotta go get more doors. Again.”

“Cannibal Town?”

“Yep, I just asked them to make like fifteen so that way I can just keep the extras in the garage or something. Better than having to drive there and back every day, still not used to the whole ‘being around cannibals’ thing, you know?.”

"Yeah. Have a good day.”

“You too, Ian.”

 

---

 

A bell chimed as Ellis opened the carpentry shop’s door. “Morning gentlemen, how are you all doing today?”

“Mr. Owens, we’re doing fine, thank you. How are you?” Replied Cecil, the shop’s owner.

“I’m alright. How’s my order coming along?”

“Just putting the finishing touches on now sir, it’ll be ready momentarily.”

“Perfect.”

 

As Ellis was waiting, he heard the shop’s door open behind him. Turning towards the noise, he saw a very tall woman with black eyes, a wide smile, wearing a maroon and burgundy dress and a large hat.

“Good morning Cecil. Have you fini- Oh! I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before. What’s your name, dear?”

“Oh, uh, Ellis, ma’am.”

“Well that’s a lovely name! I’m Rosie.”

“Oh, good morning Miss Rosie, I see you’ve met Mr. Owens.” said Cecil who came back to the front of the shop when he heard the bell. “Mr. Owens, Rosie here is the leader of our little community. She also runs a store in the plaza.”

“Well Miss Rosie, it’s a lovely looking town you have here.” 

 

“Oh, look at you, so polite! What brings you to Cannibal Town on this beautiful day?”

“I’m just picking up some new doors for my boss. She has a habit of breaking them, but these fine gentlemen here are able to make new ones faster than I’ve ever seen. Exceptional quality too.”

“Thank you for the kind words, Mr. Owens.” said Cecil with a very sharp toothed (and slightly unsettling) smile. “Also, your order is at the rear of the building, ready to go. The others can help you load them into your vehicle.”

“Thank you for the offer but that won’t be necessary. It was lovely meeting you, Miss Rosie.”

“Likewise, sweetie. Oh, and here’s my card. If you ever need something, just give Auntie Rosie a call. And feel free to stop by my store anytime!”

“Thank you ma’am, have a nice day.”

 

---

 

Ellis had just started driving back home when he got a call from Velvette. “Hel-”

“Where are you?! I need you here, now!” Well she clearly wasn’t in a good mood…

“I just left th- JESUS FUCKIN’ CHRIST! Get out of the road!”

“The fuck happened now?!”

“Some crazy blonde thought dancing in the middle of the street was a good idea. Anyways, I just got done picking up the doors and I’m headed back now, why? What happened?”

“One of the fabric racks fell off the bloody wall and now the girls can’t get what they need to keep working. I don’t have time for this shit! Get your ass here, NOW!”

Ellis let out a big sigh, “Alright, I’ll be back soon and I’ll head up as fast as I can. See you in a b-”

“Call ended.”

“Annnnd, she’s gone. This is gonna be a long day…” 

 

And so, Ellis turned on the radio and hoped that the rest of the day would go by smoother than he anticipated.

 

“If you ever get annoyed, look at me, I’m self-employed”

“I love to work at nothing all day”

“And I’ve been takin’ care of business, every day”

“Takin’ care of business, every way”

 

---

 

“No. Disgusting. You’re fired. You’re all fucking useless.” said a still angry Velvette to her designers.

“Holy shit. You weren't kidding.”, Ellis said from across the room as he entered and saw what had happened.

“Finally! What took you so long?!”

“I drove here as fast as I could without crashing.”

“Whatever, just clean this mess up and fix it. I need to go work on designs since apparently everyone else here forgot how to.” 

 

“Before you go, what exactly do you want done? You just want this moved and the wall fixed or do you want this put back up?”

“Just fucking get rid of it! They’ve all been rubbish from the start! Now this one is an even bigger problem than usual when I need things going smoothly and I need everyone to start doing their jobs right and not be fucking useless for once!”, Velvette yelled before she stormed out of the studio and into her apartment. Ellis assumed she went to her private office.

 

---

 

6:30p.m., Velvette's Apartment…

 

DING!

 

“Finally. Velvette! Food’s ready!”, said Ellis as he took a dish of macaroni and cheese out of the oven. “Vel?” He sighed. “Guess she isn’t coming…” Ellis took off his apron, put some food in a couple of bowls, grabbed two forks and walked over to the partially open door of Velvette’s office.

 

Knock. Knock.

 

“May I come in?”

“What is it, Ellis? I’m busy and I don’t have time for any more shit today.”

“Well, I called you for dinner but I guess you didn’t hear, so I brought it to you instead.”, he said, setting the bowls down on her desk.

Velvette turned on her phone. “I didn’t get any calls.”

Ellis sighed at her as he grabbed the extra chair in the room, carried it to the desk and sat down. “Not that kind of call, Vel. Talk to me, what’s got you all out of sorts?”

“What did I just say about not having time?”, she said, turning back to the sketches that covered most of the desk.

“Then you need to make some time.”

 

That got her attention. “Excuse me? Do I need to remind you who you’re talking to?” 

 

Ellis looked her in the eyes and said, “I know exactly who I’m talking to. I’m talking to the woman that asked me to be useful to her. Now I’d like to think that I’ve served that purpose decently so far, but I can’t keep being useful if I don’t know what it is that you need from me. I can’t help you if I don’t know what you need help with. I can’t fix what you need me to fix or help solve problems that need solving, if I don’t know what they are. So please, Velvette, talk to me.”

 

Velvette slumped back in her chair and took a deep breath. “Vox wants to put on a last minute fashion show to boost sales and get some more viewers.” Ellis nodded along as she spoke. “Problem is, I don’t have enough new designs and the girls can’t come up with any that are good enough.”

Ellis asked, “How last minute are we talking?”

“Twenty-first”

“Yikes… That’s definitely a problem.”

“And now, that rack falling delayed work on the few designs that I have decided on.”

“That’s been dealt with. I salvaged the supplies that I could before I moved that rack out and fixed the wall like you said. Though, I did notice that the anchors holding the other three up are starting to fail.”

“Never should have got those stupid things in the first place.”

“Why did you then?” 

 

“When I first joined the boys, they gave me a budget to get set-up with. Those were the only ones I could afford that seemed like they would do the job, but they’ve been trouble ever since. Having them up on the wall means more floor space but, more trouble when getting material from higher up and now there’s this shit. I can afford to replace them now but there’s never any time.”

“Well, I’ve got it sorted out for now so why don’t we focus on your more immediate problem.”

“Ellis, unless you’ve suddenly become an expert in fashion, which, judging by your continued choice of clothing, isn't the case, I don’t think you’ll be much help with this.”

“I may not know much about fashion but, I do know that working on an empty stomach is never a good idea. So, are you gonna take a couple minutes to eat or are you going to continue driving yourself insane with all of this?”

 

As the two ate, Velvette put some ideas on paper and eventually came up with a couple final designs. 

 

“Still need a couple more.” said Velvette, who was now more relaxed than earlier.

“What’s in that?” Ellis asked, pointing to a dusty binder labeled “Sketches” that was on a shelf.

“Those old things? They’re just drawings I made from memory of ones that I drew when I started in London. I even adjusted the sizing to fit me after I got down here but haven't done anything else with them. Really they’re just ideas that never became reality, nothing worth looking at.”

“May I?”

“Wasting your time but sure.”

“Hey, you never know. Maybe looking at past designs will give you new ideas. What about this one?” he said, after flipping through a few of the pages. It was an off-the-shoulder evening gown with a mid-thigh slit. It was mostly black except for the desire-red coloured neckline that matched Velvette’s hair.

 

Velvette looked over to see which one he was talking about and her face fell a bit. “That was one of the first designs I ever made. It always was my favourite but I never got a chance to make it.”

“Why not make it for the show?” Asked Ellis, noticing the slightly sad look on her face.

“No, it wouldn’t fit in well with the rest. Maybe it’ll work for another show, but not now. Hold on, if I remember correctly…” Velvette trailed off as she flipped through the pages, looking for another design. “This one! If I change that and that… perfect!” 

 

“And you said looking at these would be a waste of time.” Said Ellis, with a smug look on his face.

After Velvette finished rolling her eyes at him, she said “Hopefully the girls will get their shit together and come up with something at least half-decent to finish the set.”

 

Buzz. Buzz.

 

“Oh, what now?” said Velvette as she picked up her phone. New message from Vox, Link to video attached. ”Vox, I swear if this is another video about sharks… ‘666 News’, even worse…” Ellis moved next to Velvette as she played the video.

 

“Breaking news in Hell today! We have just received word from the Heaven Embassy that the next extermination is happening sooner than ever before. Do you know what that means, Tom?”

“ No. What does that mean, Katie?”

“ It means we’re all royally fucked.” 

The video then cut to a view of the clocktower’s countdown changing from “358” to “176” days left.

 

Velvette and Ellis, eyes wide, turned to face each other and spoke in unison,

“Fuck.”

Chapter 6: Recipe 1: Macaroni and Cheese

Summary:

(April 28th, 2025) This is the first recipe for food that Ellis makes during this fic. I will only be sharing recipes for some of the things that he makes. The recipes that I share will all be ones that I have used IRL.

Notes:

Have a good day! :)

Make this at your own discretion and risk. I am not responsible for any bad or harmful things that potentially occur during or after the preparation or consumption of the food items that this recipe provides instructions for.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

• Elbow macaroni (Can use other types of pasta)
• Marble cheese (Can use other types of cheese)
• Milk (Optional)
• Water
• Table salt
• Olive oil

 

You will need:

 

• Oven and stove top
• Pot to boil the pasta
• Cheese grater 
• Spoon for stirring pasta during boiling
• Strainer (Colander)
• Casserole dish with lid (Preferably a glass lid)

 

The size of your pot, strainer and casserole dish will depend on the amount you wish to make.

Directions:

 

• Put water in pot. Season water with a little bit of olive oil and a couple dashes of salt. Bring to a boil on the stove.

 

• Preheat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

• Once the water is boiling, add your desired amount of macaroni and cook, stirring periodically to prevent the pasta from sticking to the pot.

 

• While the macaroni is cooking, grate your desired amount of cheese.

 

• Once the macaroni is cooked, carefully dump it into your strainer to separate it from the water. Rinse the pasta with cold water to cool it enough to handle and then shake the strainer to remove excess water.

 

• Place a layer of macaroni in the bottom of your casserole dish, then cover that with a layer of the grated cheese. Repeat this until the layers reach the top of the casserole dish, making sure that the top layer is cheese. (I tend to make the top layer of cheese a little bit thicker than the others.)

 

• (Optional) Once finished placing the macaroni and cheese in the casserole dish, pour some milk onto it. (For 2 1/2 cups of uncooked macaroni, I would suggest using no more than 1/4 cup of milk, but the amount you choose to use is up to you. I have made this both with and without milk.)

 

• Place the lid on the casserole dish and bake in the oven for 45 minutes - 1 hour. The cheese on top should be visibly melted. (Cooking time may vary depending on your oven)

 

• After the 45 minutes - 1 hour, remove the lid from the casserole dish and switch the oven from bake to broil. This will make the top layer of cheese crispy. Take care to not leave the dish in for too long as broiling can burn the cheese very quickly.

 

• Once your desired level of crispiness is achieved, remove the casserole dish from the oven. Allow the macaroni to cool for a few moments before serving to avoid burning yourself when you eat it.

 

• Enjoy! :)

Chapter 7: Chapter 4: A Not So Calm Day

Summary:

Despite the previous night's announcement about the Extermination, there's plenty of work that needs to be done. Hopefully Ellis can make it through the day in one piece. Takes place during "Radio Killed the Video Star".

Notes:

Have a good day! :)

January 8th, 2023, 5:00a.m.… 

 

“MOM!” “Wake up… Please… Please don’t be…”

“NO, GET OFF OF ME! ELLIS, HELP!” “Ava? DAD! STOP!”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Owens…” “no… No… She can’t be..”

“NOOOO!” Ellis bolted upright in his bed, breathing heavily. Sigh “Even down here… I still can’t escape them…”

He checked the time on his phone before rolling out of bed and throwing on some clothes. He then went to the kitchen and started making himself a hot chocolate. It was the same way that he had started his days for years, only now he was in a much different place than where he had spent his life.

 

“Ellis?”

He jumped when he heard the voice coming from right behind him. “Jesus Christ, Velvette. You shouldn’t sneak up on someone like that. What are you doing awake this early?”

“I could ask you the same question. I just woke up to the sound of someone yelling.” she replied with an annoyed and sleepy voice.

“Oh, shit, sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Did something happen?” she asked.

“No, no, everything’s fine.”

“Ellis…”

“I’m fine, Velvette. Go on back to bed, get your beauty sleep.” he said with a faint smile.

Velvette still didn’t believe him but she chose not to press the matter any more. “You say that like I need it.” she said with a smirk before leaving to go back to her room.

“You don’t need it at all…” he said quietly to himself. Ellis sighed before picking up his hot chocolate and going back to his own room where he started trying to fix the second revolver, just doing something to keep his mind from going back to… them…

 

---

 

8:00a.m.…

 

“Same as yesterday?” Asked Ellis as he grabbed the loaf of bread, anticipating the answer.

“Of course.” Said Velvette, still looking at her phone.

“And the day before, and the day before that and the day before that, too.”

“Do you have a problem with what I eat?”

“No, I just don’t understand how you can eat beans on toast everyday. These aren’t even Heinz.” He said, holding up a can of beans.

“I like what I like. Now, are you going to make it or not?”

“Yeah, I’m working on it.”

 

And so Ellis finished making Velvette’s food, got himself a bowl of cereal and sat down at the table across from Velvette.

“So, what’s the plan for today? I assume more preparation for the show.”

“Yeah, I need to be around the studio this morning to make sure my staff have their shit together and to decide which of the models is wearing what. Then this afternoon, we need to go fabric shopping.”

“We?” asked a now confused Ellis.

“Yes, we. Vox still hasn’t hired a new driver so that’ll be your job later.”

“You do realize that the whole city is going crazy after the news last night, right?”

“Yeah, but I need to have the fabric so I can finish preparing for the show.”

“Alright, I’ll warn you now though, I’ll probably be singing in the truck.”

Velvette sighed, “Why does that not surprise me…”

Ellis chuckled a bit, “Maybe you were secretly hoping to hear my singing again?”

Velvette rolled her eyes. “Let’s just hope that aside from your singing, today goes smoothly.”

 

---

 

Fashion Studio, 9:00a.m.…

 

“All of you, get ready to start trying shit on.” said Velvette to a group of models. Meanwhile, Ellis was talking to the designers.

”Uh, could you four please get ready to show Vel your designs? Thanks.”

After they hurried off to get the pieces that they had been working on, Ellis walked over to where Velvette was standing. “Well, this morning seems to be fairly calm so far.”

“Don’t fucking jinx it plea-” 

 

SLAM

 

“Shit.”

 

“Stupidfuckinggoodfornothingbagofholes AARGH!” Valentino sent the blood and limbs of one of the models flying across the studio.

“Val! The fuck are you doing!?” yelled a now very angry Velvette, though her words fell of deaf ears as Valentino continued to rampage through the room. “For fuck’s sake. Ellis, get him the hell out of here while I call Vox.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“I don’t care, just fucking do it!”

 

Vox’s voice came from the phone as he answered the call, “Hello there, Velvette. How are you this hellish morning?”

“Oh, cut the shit, Vox. I need you up here now!”

“Whatever could be the problem, my dear?”

“Your little boy-toy is wrecking my department, while I’m trying to pull together a show and-”

“FUCKING BITCH!” Valentino sent more body parts flying as he yelled.

“Just get your ass here. NOW! Dammit Valentino!” 

 

As the call ended, Ellis finally managed to get Valentino’s attention.

“Val! Hey, hey, look at me, down here. Why don’t you go up to your penthouse, have a smoke, a drink, just relax. I’m sure Vox will be up in just a couple minutes and solve whatever problem it is that you have no-”

 

SLAM!

 

Valentino sent Ellis flying into the wall before turning and leaving.

“Ellis!” said Velvette as she rushed over to the man that had now slumped down on the floor.

“Owwww, shit. I’m alright.” said Ellis, weakly, as he slowly started to stand up.

“The fuck do you mean, you’re ‘alright’? You just got thrown into a bloody wall.”

Ellis sighed, “Not the worst pain I’ve ever felt.” He looked around the room that was now a complete mess. “I’ll be back in a minute, gonna grab a mop and a couple other things. You should get started with the designers.” he said as he walked away with a slight limp. 

 

Velvette sighed as she turned around only to see all of her remaining staff staring at her.

“The fuck are you all gawking at? Back to work!” After a few moments, she walked over to where her designers had assembled with their work.

 

“Ugh. No. Unacceptable. You’re fired. What is this? Wrist ruffles? Is it 1750?! Burn it like the witches who wore it!”

Vox teleported himself next to Velvette with a bolt of electricity. “Oh, Velvette! I can see you’re busy. Tell me, where’s our hot-headed friend now?”

“Up in his tower, waiting for a flat-faced prince to calm him down.”

Vox sighed, “And uh, what’s got him so out of sorts today?”

“Who knows? But he threw Ellis into the wall and tore up my best model. And you know, the show can’t wait for that unlucky bitch to pull herself back together.”

“Oh, Ellis is still around?” Asked Vox.

“Yeah and he’s lucky that he’s still walking after what Val just did. Melissa, get over here!”

As Velvette was dealing with the model, Ellis came back carrying a mop and bucket in one hand and a mug in the other. “Morning, Vox.”

“Ellis.”

“Yes. That’s the one.” Said Velvette as she decided which outfit Melissa would wear.

“Well, looks like you have everything under control here.”

“Of course I do. Fuck you. Now shoo! Take care of the piss-baby.”

 

As Vox walked away, Ellis handed Velvette the mug. “Here, I brought you some tea. Thought it might help calm your nerves a bit.”

Velvette sighed after taking a sip, “You’re still walking bad.”

“Yeah, well, if your ankle can heal as fast as it did, I think I’ll be fine. How are the designs?”

“Complete shit. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Ellis thought for a moment, “I think I might have an idea but, you’re going to have to trust me.”

“Sure, whatever, just don’t overdo it. I need you to be able to drive later, remember?.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Why don’t you go for a walk around the building or something, clear your head. I’ll take care of this mess.”

 

Once Velvette left, Ellis got to work cleaning the blood off the floor and walls. After that was done (and after he was suddenly shocked for no apparent reason when the power mysteriously went out), he went to Velvette’s office and got her binder full of sketches, removed the one that was her favourite (which he decided to take a picture of before leaving it on the desk) and brought the binder back to the studio.

“Could you four come over here for a second, please?” The designers rushed over to him nervously. “Now I know that Vel hasn’t exactly been pleased with some of the recent work so, I thought you guys could use a bit of inspiration.” He opened the binder and turned it towards them. “These are some designs that Velvette drew before. I would like you guys to please use these as references and try to come up with some designs that she’ll like, using aspects of them.” The four women seemed almost relieved as they began looking through the designs and got to work.

 

---

 

11:45a.m.…

 

Vox to group chat: “Conference room, 10 minutes.”

 

“Ugh, c’mon Val, let’s go, before he knocks out power to the whole city again.” Two elevator rides later. Velvette and Valentino got to the conference table where Vox was already waiting.

“What’s this about, Voxy?” asked Valentino.

“Sit down and I’ll tell you.” The two sat down, Kitty brought Valentino some glue and rhinestones and then ran off to get the three Vs some drinks.

“We have a problem. Alastor is getting close to Little Princess Morningstar. So our main concern now is ensuring that no deal is ever struck between Lucifer’s brat and that smiling freak.” Said Vox, slamming his fist on the table.

“Well, how exactly are we supposed to stop it?” Asked Velvette, looking up from her phone.

Valentino chimed in while glueing the stones onto his gun, 'Moneyshot', to spell out his name, “Put something inside them. That’s how I get the bitches to behave.”

“Well maybe someone on the inside isn’t such a bad idea. Do you think Angel would?”

“That lanky prick won’t even return my calls.”

“What about Ellis, Velvette? Do you think he would do it?”

“Probably not. Besides, I need him here to help get ready for the show so he won’t be going anyway.” 

 

“Have you fucked him yet?”

Velvette choked on her drink when Valentino asked that. “Never going to happen, Val.”

“Well, at least he’s nice to look at.”

“How would you know? You can’t see fuck all.”

“Uh, yes I can.”

“Really? How many fingers am I holding up then?”

“Three!” Valentino said confidently.

“Two, ya blind bastard!”

Vox tried to get the conversation back on-topic. “We need someone who Little Miss Bleeding Heart would take in.”

“Someone pathetic, desperate, with no direct ties to us.” replied Velvette.

“I employ every down on their luck loser this side of Hell. Who the fuck is left?”

Vox scoffed, “I think I have just the one.” 

 

Velvette opened her text conversation with Ellis, “Time to go, meet me out front with the truck.”

" Ok, I'll be down in a couple mins."

 

“If we’re done here then, I have things to do.” announced Velvette as she stood up.

“Give Ellis my apologies for being a little rough earlier. I don’t want to break your new toy before you get to play with him. Or maybe I can apologize in my own way.” said Valentino with a snicker.

Velvette raised her middle finger as she walked out of the room, she didn’t see the evil grin on his face.

 

---

 

Velvette was standing at the top of the front steps when Ellis pulled up. He got out and opened the door for her as she got to the bottom.

“Your chariot awaits, madam.” he said in a fake accent.

Velvette rolled her eyes but smiled, “Cheeky bugger.”

“I try to be.” he said with a smirk as he closed the door after she got in. “You’re going to need to tell me what way to go, only place I know how to get to is Cannibal Town.” said Ellis after getting in and driving to the end of the driveway.

“It’s right next to it so start driving there. Also, the back better be clean, I don’t want the new fabric getting fucked up before we even get it back to the studio.”

“Don’t worry, I gave the bed a quick sweep and I grabbed a tarp and a moving blanket to wrap the rolls with.”

“Well, at least one of my employees has some sense.” Velvette wasn’t sure why but, she felt the need to ask Ellis how he was doing after what had happened earlier in the day, “How’re you feeling?”

“Better, the pain’s mostly gone. Only my back is a bit sore still but it should be fine as long as I don’t get thrown or hit or something again today.”

 

“Good, I don’t want you getting hurt.” Ellis was surprised by her sudden concern but chose to focus on the road instead of inquiring about it.

 

---

 

1:00p.m.…

 

“Come on baby let the good times roll”

“Come on baby let me thrill your soul, honey”

“Come on baby let the good times roll”

“Roll all night long”

 

“On the right.” said Velvette, interrupting Ellis.

“Perfect, there’s an empty parking spot right here.” Ellis got out and opened the door for Velvette before asking “So, what exactly do you need to get here?”

“A bunch of different fabrics. Need to get even more now that Val got blood on half the rolls in the studio.” she said as she walked inside the store, ignoring the shopkeeper trying to greet her.

“I have to say, I’m kind of surprised that you don’t just send someone else to do this considering all of the staff you have. I’m sure you could also just order it online or something too.”

“I like to pick the rolls myself so I know exactly what I’m getting. I don't trust my staff to get the right things and I don’t trust people to deliver it if I order online.” she explained.

“Fair enough.”

“Also, keep an eye out for a roll of desire-red coloured silk.”

“I assume so you can make your outfit to wear at the show?” Ellis guessed.

“No, I already made my dress, that’s why I need to get more. This is to make a suit for you.”

 

“Wait, what? Why do I need a suit?” asked Ellis.

“Well you certainly aren’t wearing that to my show.”

“I wasn’t aware that I was going to your show.”

“You are and you’re going to be wearing a suit that matches my dress.”

Ellis sighed, “I assume I don’t have a say in this.”

“Not at all.”

 

Not long later, Ellis was carrying multiple rolls of fabric on his shoulder while Velvette looked through the racks.

“Ellis, smile.”

“Huh?” Just as he looked up, he was greeted with a camera flash.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake Velvette.”

“Gotcha! Annnd posted!”

“I can’t catch a break, can I?”

“Never, darl- Oh, look, the silk we’ve been looking for.” Velvette pointed to the roll that was sitting on a low shelf.

Ellis sighed, “Alright, give me a second and I’ll grab it.”

“I can get it.” said Velvette as she picked up the roll.

 

Suddenly, the sound of something snapping could be heard. 

 

“WATCH OUT!”

“Ahh!”

Ellis pushed Velvette against one of the racks as rolls fell from above. He strained against the force of the rolls hitting him as he shielded Velvette’s body with his own.

 

“Ellis, what the fuck!? Oh, shit…” said Velvette as she saw the mess behind him.

“Ellis… are you…”

“Just…” groan  “...give me a second…” he said while still standing over her.

After a few moments, he lowered his arms to let Velvette move out from where he had her pinned. Ellis then turned around and slowly started to pick up the rolls of fabric that Velvette had selected.

“Ellis, take a second. That’s twice now today that-”

“No. I can handle it, go deal with the cashier while I bring these out.” 

 

As Velvette walked away, Ellis thought to himself, “I’m not gonna let you down too…”

Chapter 8: Chapter 5: A Not So Calm Day, Part 2

Summary:

A continuation of chapter 4.

Notes:

Took me a bit longer to write this than I had hoped but, it's finally done.

Have a good day! :)

January 8th, 2023, 2:00p.m.…

 

The fabric store’s door burst open as Velvette kicked it before stepping out. “Are you done yet?” she asked with an annoyed tone.

“Just about…” Ellis slammed the tailgate shut. “There.” He then slowly walked over to the passenger side and got the door for Velvette.

“You don’t need to do that.”

“I know, I just want to.” Once Ellis got in and started the truck, he asked Velvette a question, “How soon do we need to be back at the studio?”

“I don’t really have a set time, why?”

“Well, I was kind of hoping to make a quick stop on the way since we’re already on this side of town.”

“Fine, as long as it’s quick.”

“Great, thanks.” 

 

As Ellis drove, Velvette decided to change the radio station.

 

“I got you, moonlight, you’re my starlight”

 

“I need you all night, come on, dance with me”

 

“I’m levitating”

 

“Finally, some decent music, unlike the stuff that you always listen to.” Velvette teased.

“I’ll have you know, I listen to plenty of different music, including this. Personally though, I prefer Kesha.”

“Hold on just one bloody second, you listen to Kesha?”

“Is that a problem?” Ellis asked.

“I’m just a little surprised.”

“Oh, I’m full of surprises.”

 

“I believe that you’re for me, I feel it in our energy”

“I see us written in the stars”

“We can go wherever, so let’s do it now or never”

“Baby, nothing’s ever, ever too far”

“Glitter in the sky, glitter in our eyes”

“Shining just the way we are”

“I feel like we’re forever every time we get together”

“But whatever, let’s get lost on Mars”

 

They arrived at their destination a few minutes later.

“Why the fuck are we in the centre of Cannibal Town?” asked a visibly confused Velvette.

“This is where I wanted to stop. I met someone here yesterday and just wanted to stop by and say hello.”

“And what if they try to eat us?”

“With how much I’ve been here in the last week, everyone probably recognizes my truck. Just wait here and you’ll be fine.”

 

Ellis got out and slowly made his way to the front door of a store, “‘Rosie’s Emporium’, must be the right place.” he said as he opened the coffin shaped doors and stepped inside. When he got inside he could see Rosie standing behind the cashier counter, talking to a customer.

 

“Just give her that bouquet and I’m sure she’ll be more than willing to have dinner with you. Goodluck, sweeti- Ellis? Is that you?”

“Hello Miss Rosie.”

“Ellis, what happened to you? You look like you’ve been hit by a ton of bricks.” she said, after making her way through the small crowd of people.

“Well, you’re not too far off, I’m alright though. How are you today?”

“Oh, I’m doing very well, thank you. So tell me, what brings you to town today?”

“My boss and I were in the neighborhood and I just wanted to stop by to say hello. Lovely looking place by the way, even if some of the... merchandise isn’t exactly to my personal liking. I mean no offense, of course.”

“Oh, none taken dear. I know that not everyone shares our taste in things, that’s why I stock other kinds of items too.”

“You do?” Ellis asked, surprised.

“Of course! Come in, come in, have a look.” Rosie said as she pushed Ellis to a corner of the store. “I’ve got a little bit of everything here! Clothes, kitchenware, jewelry, you name it.” 

 

He looked around in awe before something caught his eye. “Is that desire-red coloured leather?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes! Cowhide, from the Wrath Ring.”

“The quality is amazing…” he said, examining the material.

“Are you looking to buy some?” asked Rosie.

“I wish I could, I have a little project that it would be perfect for. Unfortunately though, I don’t have any money at the moment. Perhaps another time.”

Rosie thought to herself for a moment, “Tell you what, why don’t you just take it. On the house.”

“Wha- no, no. That’s very kind of you but I couldn’t.”

“Oh, I insist. It doesn't sell well anyway, the folks around here prefer a different type of leather.” It took Ellis a second to realize that she was referring to the skin of sinners. 

 

“Still, there must be some way that I can repay you.” he said.

“Hmm... how about this, if you absolutely insist on paying for it some way, how about you keep an eye out for, let’s say groceries, when you go around town next and bring them to me if you find some. Don’t feel any obligation to though, I know you don’t share the same type of diet as some of us.”

“Alright, I think I can try doing that for you.”

 

Rosie walked with Ellis as he left the emporium. “I never did ask, who is your employer, Ellis?”

“Oh, I work for Velvette. There she is there, actually” he said gesturing towards his truck.

“You’ll have to tell me how that came to be, someday.”

“I’m sure I’ll be back sooner rather than later and can tell you then. It was nice seeing you Miss Rosie, thank you again for the leather. Have a good afternoon.”

“You too dear and it was my pleasure. Have a safe drive.”

Ellis waved as he put the bag with the leather in the back of the truck before he opened the door and sat down inside.

 

He turned towards Velvette who was visibly confused. “How the fuck do you know Rosie?” she asked.

“I met her yesterday when I was picking up the doors.”

“You do know that she’s the leader of Cannibal Town, right?”

“Yeah. She seems really kind, almost makes you forget that she eats people.”

Velvette looked at him like he was crazy before saying, “Speaking of which, that better not be a body part in that bag because I swear, if I’ve been living with someone who’s secretly a cannib-“

“Vel, Vel, I’m not a cannibal, okay? Don’t worry about that. Also, the bag just has some tanned cowhide in it that Rosie gave me, that’s all.”

Velvette breathed a sigh of relief, “Good, now, get us back home.” 

 

---

 

5:00p.m., V Tower... 

 

“Can’t you walk any faster?”

Ellis looked up at her when she asked that, “Vel, I’m pushing a cart loaded with fabric, that you’re also sitting on, after I’ve been thrown into a wall and hit by falling rolls of fabric, so I apologize for not being quite as quick as usual.” he said as they approached the building’s service elevator.

“You should’ve taken a proper moment to rest earlier like I said.”

“I don’t like to stop when things need to be done.”

“Stubborn bastard…” The door closed behind them as Ellis pushed the button to bring them up to the studio.

“‘Stubborn bastard’, eh? I guess I’m not a ‘cheeky bugger’ anymore then.”

“OH NO, you’re definitely still a cheeky bugger.”

“Oh good, I like when you call me that.” he said with a smirk.

“You fucking would…”

 

As the elevator started ascending, Velvette sighed, “Those girls better have come up with something good, there isn’t time for fucking around.”

“Well, they were putting a few things together when I left so they might have a couple ready.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, there’s no way any of those bitches can come up with a sketch and put anything together in the same day.”

“What if I told you that they had some help?” 

 

Velvette looked at him suspiciously, “And just what kind of help would that be?”

“Remember how I said that I had an idea but you needed to trust me?”

“What. Did. You. Do.” Velvette’s red and white eyes were practically staring into his soul.

 

“I showed them your old sketches and told them to take inspiration from them. I also told the one that you apparently fired to stay until you saw their new work.” he said as the elevator doors opened and he pushed the cart into the studio.

“You fucking what?" As Velvette angrily stared at him, Ellis looked at something behind her. “Look at me and answer the fucking question, Ellis.”

He looked at her and then looked behind her again. “What is behind me that is so fucking interesting that you can’t answer the bloody questi…” Velvette stopped as she turned her head to look.

 

In front of her were four mannequins with nearly complete outfits on them. She slowly got off of the cart and walked towards them.

“I’m sorry, I should’ve told you what the idea was and made sure you were okay with it first. It won’t happen again.” said Ellis.

Velvette stayed completely silent as she looked at the outfits. “I’m just going to put these away and then go start cooking supper. Sorry… Again…” he said, pushing the cart away.

 

“How?”

Ellis looked back at Velvette who had turned towards him, “How did you know how to get them to do this? This is the best work they’ve ever done.” she said.

“I just had a feeling. I see you pushing them hard every day and they don’t normally produce results that you like. I figured that if I approached the situation calmly and gave them an idea of what you might want, they might be able to do their jobs better.” 

 

Velvette had a look of contemplation as she turned back towards the mannequins.

Ellis apprehensively said, “May I ask what you’re thinking?”

“I’m thinkin’ we’ve got a show.” she said with a slight smile.

“Does that mean you’re not going to murder me later?”

“Haven’t decided yet, cook something good and maybe you’ll live long enough to eat it.”

 

---

 

7:30p.m., Velvette's Apartment...

 

“AH, shit!”

“Hot motherfucker!”

“GODDAMN!” 

Velvette laughed from the couch as she watched the man who was struggling at the stove.

“You havin’ fun back there, Miss Giggles? ‘Cause I’m sure as shit no- STUPID FUCKIN’ OIL!”

Velvette leaned back with laughter as Ellis continued to shout profanities at the hot pot that kept spitting oil at him.

“Why did you use a pot and not a fryer?”

“Becau- JESUS! Because you don’t have a deep-fryer here.”

“Then why would you make fish n’ chips?”

“You said to make something good and I aim to.”

 

“For fuck’s sake Ellis, I was joking. I’m not going to kill you.”

“I know, I still want to make something good though.”

“You’re ridiculous. How did you learn to cook like this anyway?”

Ellis paused for a second before he spoke, “I always helped my mom cook and bake when I was little. I would always steal a cookie or something whenever she wasn’t looking. She always had music playing when we were in the kitchen and encouraged me to sing along even though I’ve never been any good at it. As I got older, I didn’t have any choice but to learn to do more, whether that was cooking, fixing things or anything else I needed to do.”

 

He then put the food on plates and set them on the table, “Do you want malt or white vinegar?”

“Malt, obviously.” The two sat down and started eating.

Velvette eventually commented, “You know, I’m still not sure how those girls managed to do what they did in just one day.”

“Well, they were taking inspiration from Hell’s best designer.” said Ellis.

 

“Trying to flatter me, are you? Don’t think it’s going to get you anything.” Velvette said with a smirk.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m not looking to get anything. All I’m doing is giving a compliment to someone who already knows it’s the truth. If you think of it as something other than that, what does that say about you, Cupcake?” said Ellis with a smirk of his own. 

 

“‘Cupcake’ ? Where the hell did that come from?”

“I noticed that your Sinstagram username is ‘redvelvettecake'. Plus, you’re short and small, like a cupcake.”

“I am not that short, ya dickhead.”

“Vel, you’re shorter than me and I’m shorter than most of the people I’ve seen since I got here.”

“I am not shorter than you, stand up!”

 

The two got up from the table and stood facing each other, just inches away.

“Told you, same height!” said Velvette as she looked Ellis in the eyes as hers were at the same level as his.

“I’m not wearing shoes, just socks. Take your heels off.”

With a quick wave of her hand, Velvette’s shoes were off and the two were no longer the same height.

Ellis leaned slightly forward, partially closing the already small gap between them, and looked Velvette in the eyes. “Told you so.” he teased.

“Just shut up, sit down and eat your food before I do decide to kill you.”

Ellis smiled.

“Whatever you say, Cupcake.”

 

“Cheeky bugger.”

Chapter 9: Chapter 6: A Productive Meeting

Summary:

This chapter is a bit longer than the previous ones. Takes place during "Scrambled Eggs".

Notes:

Have a good day! :)

January 14th, 2023, 5:13a.m.…

 

The whole crowd applauded as she walked down the runway…

 

“Thank you all for coming to the show tonight! I hope you all enjoyed it. Have a good evening.”

 

The crowd applauded more as she turned around and began walking back…

 

SCREECH!!

 

“WHA-WHOA!”

 

She had no time to react. The last thing she saw was the platform under her before everything went pitch black.

 

Velvette bolted upright, out of breath. After taking a moment to calm down, she looked over at the clock on her bedside table.

“Every show… Every fucking show…” she said to herself.

She sighed before getting out of bed and putting on her slippers and a robe. As she stepped out of her room and started walking towards the kitchen, she noticed that the lights were already on.

“Ellis?” she questioned as she stepped into the room and saw him sitting at the table, drinking his hot chocolate.

 

“‘Morning, Cupcake. I didn’t wake you again, did I?”

Velvette yawned, “No, I just came out to make myself some tea.”

“I’ll make it, have a seat.” said Ellis as he got up and pulled out the other chair for his boss.

As he started to make the drink, Velvette sat down and rested her head in her hands.

 

“Here.” He said as he set the mug on the table in front of Velvette. She sighed after taking a long sip. “So, if I didn’t wake you, why are you up this early?” Ellis asked as he sat back down.

“No reason, don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Ellis, it’s too fucking early for this. Besides, you’re not exactly sleeping in either. This is the second time I’ve seen you up this early, but I’m guessing it happens more often than that.”

Ellis sighed, “Yeah, well, it’s normal for me. I haven’t slept well in years.”

 

The two sat in silence for a few moments while they both took sips of their drinks before Ellis spoke, “You mentioned something about me bringing you to a meeting today, what’s that about?”

“Ugh, Carmilla Carmine has called for a meeting with the other Overlords. It’s anyone’s guess as to what that old bitch wants.”

“Carmine… why do I feel like I know that na- wait, that’s the name of the people that made my gun.”

“She and her daughters are the top weapons manufacturers in Hell, unfortunately.”

“Why unfortunately?”

“Because she and the other Overlords are all a fucking joke.”

 

“What time do we need to be there?”

“We’re supposed to be there for twelve but I want to get there slightly late and I’m going to look good doing it.”

“One could say you want to be fashionably late.”

Velvette rolled her eyes at the play-on-words before she continued, “Anyway, you need to go get the Exorcist’s head later because we’re bringing it.”

 

“First off, why the hell do we need to bring that to a meeting? Second, I almost had that memory blocked out of my mind before you mentioned it.” Ellis said.

“Oh, hush. We’re bringing it to convince the other Overlords to fight against the Exorcists now that we know they can be killed.”

Ellis sighed, “Alright then…”

“Good.”

 

The conversation changed to some lighter topics and continued for a while until Ellis realized that it was time to start making breakfast.

 

“I should start cooking now.”

“Why? It’s still a bit early, beans don’t take very long.” Velvette said as she checked what time it was.

“I thought I’d make you something different today.”

“And what exactly do you have in mind?”

“I was thinking pancakes.”

Velvette sighed, “Fine, whatever.” It didn’t take long for Ellis to throw on his apron and start making the batter.

 

“What do you want in yours?” He asked.

“Just plain is fine.”

Ellis turned around and looked at Velvette, “Plain? C’mon, why not let loose a little? We’ve got a bunch of things I could put in it, I’m going with blueberries.” he said with a smile.

Velvette smiled back, “Alright, blueberries and chocolate chips then.”

“Now we’re talking!”

 

---

 

“Here you go, Cupcake.” Said Ellis as he set both his and Velvette’s plates down.

“Are you really going to keep calling me that?”

“Are you asking me to stop?”

“…I suppose there are worse things… NOT in public or around anyone though.”

Ellis chuckled, “Whatever you say, Cupcake.” He grabbed his fork and was about to start eating when Velvette stopped him.

“Wait! I need to take a picture first.”

“You've gotta be kidding me.”

“Give me your plate.”

“For fuck’s sake…” He slid the plate over to Velvette who took what seemed like fifty different photos.

“There, now you can eat.” she said as she posted one of the photos that just so happened to have Ellis in the background.

“I really don’t understand the point of doing that.” he said before he began to eat.

“To show off, darling, that’s the point.”

“Wow, the ‘Queen of Sinstagram’ thinks my cooking is worth showing off, ain’t that something.”

Velvette rolled her eyes, “Oh, shut up and eat. Cheeky bugger…”

 

---

 

(The comments on Velvette’s post which she isn’t paying attention to.)

 

redvelvettecake: Stacks of sweetness to start the day! #breakfast #pancakes 

 

moth_pimp: Looks delicious, so does what’s in the background ;)

 

(Random commenter): Is that the same guy from one of the other posts?

 

(Other RC): omg it is

 

(Another RC): holy shit, is she seeing someone new!!??

 

---

 

11:30a.m., Vox and Valentino’s Penthouse…

 

“Say it, Vox.” 

 

“I’m not saying it.” 

 

“Por favor?” 

 

Vox sighed, “ Fine, I want you to draw me like one of your French g-“

 

“Hey Val, Velvette sent me to get th- SHIT! Fuck, sorry. I should’ve knocked.” Ellis turned around just as quickly as he had entered as he saw Valentino sitting next to an easel and Vox laying naked on a couch in front of him.

“Ellis, welcome! To what do we owe the pleasure ?” said Valentino.

“Sorry, I didn’t know that Vox would be- never mind. Vel sent me to get the head.”

“Oh! You’re here for some head, why didn’t you just say so?” 

 

“NO, no. The Exorcist’s head, she wants to bring it to the Overlord meeting.” Ellis said, turning around but still not looking towards the two Vees.

“And you’re going with her?” asked Vox.

“She needs me to drive her there since you haven’t hired a new driver yet. Speaking of which, she wants to know when you are going to hire someone because she refuses to arrive at her show in a pickup truck.”

“Tell her that I’ll have someone in time for the show.”

“Great. Now, about the head?” 

 

“Kitty! Bring the toy!” Valentino shouted.

“The toy?” Ellis thought to himself. Kitty soon zoomed out with the head that was dripping yellow blood.

“Uh… why is it already thawed? I thought it was frozen…”

“Oh, it was.” Valentino said with a smirk. It was at that moment that Ellis noticed a little bit of white liquid leaking out of the head’s mouth. 

 

Trying to suppress the feeling of nausea that came over him, Ellis held out his backpack. “Just… put it in here… please…”

As soon as Kitty dropped the head into the bag Ellis turned and headed straight for the door.

“Come back any time!” said Valentino before turning back to Vox. “Now, where were we?”

 

---

 

“You look like shit.” said Velvette as Ellis opened the truck’s door for her.

“I feel like shit.” He said before closing the door, getting in and driving off.

“You gonna tell me what happened?”

“I have been traumatized in a new way that I didn’t know was possible.”

“Details, Ellis.”

“Val drawing Vox 'Titanic' style as well as something that I really do not want to think about. Just beware, if you handle the head, stay away from the mouth.”

She quickly realized what he was insinuating. “God damn it Valentino…”

“If I may ask that I never need to go in there alone ever again, please.”

“Oh, you need me to protect you, do ya?” Velvette teased.

“What I need is a therapist.” Velvette laughed at that.

 

Not long later, Velvette was changing radio stations when Ellis heard a very familiar sound. “Wait! Go back!”

“What? Why?”

“One does not simply skip ‘Home For A Rest’.”

“For fuck’s sake…”

 

"You’ll have to excuse me, I’m not at my best”

 

“I’ve been gone for a month, I’ve been drunk since I left”

 

“These so-called vacations will soon be my death”

 

“I’m so sick from the drink, I need home for a rest… ”

 

---

 

12:00p.m., Carmine Compound…

 

“This the place?”

“Yeah, just park anywhere and let’s get this over with.”

Ellis quickly parked the truck next to a dumpster that some weird egg-men were playing in. The two got out, Ellis grabbed his bag and they headed into one of the building’s elevators.

As the two exited the elevator, Velvette’s phone rang. “Hey, Vox. Yeah, we just got here.”

Velvette approached a set of doors and kicked one open without any hesitation, leading Ellis to wonder once again, why she can’t just open them normally.

 

Entering the room, Ellis saw a conference table with seven other figures sitting around it and one standing at the opposite end.

“Yes, I’ve got it handled, Vox. Are you doubting me? Really? Me? That’s what I thought. Yes, I know. They’re all a joke. Thank you, V. See you soon. Kisses, darling.”

Velvette ended the call and sat down at the table with Ellis standing behind her, backpack in hand.

 

The woman standing at the opposite end, who Ellis assumed was Carmine, spoke, “Nice of you to join us, Velvette. Will your… colleagues be joining?”

“No. They have better shit to do than to listen to an old windbag who thinks she’s tough shit. I’m here to represent.”

“Charming. Who is this that you brought with you?”

“This is Ellis, don’t worry about him.”

“Hello…” Ellis nervously said before adding, “Good afternoon, Miss Rosie.” 

 

As he said Rosie’s name, Ellis thought he heard the sound of static coming from the overlord that was wearing all red and sitting next to her but believed it must have been his imagination.

 

“So, as I was saying, we need to discuss-“

Velvette raised her hand and waved it to get Carmine’s attention.

“Yes?”

“On the subject of discussion, Ellis…”

He opened his bag and Velvette reached in, grabbed the head and threw it onto the table, drawing various reactions from the other Overlords.

 

“Ooh shit!”

 

“Oh, tasty!” 

 

“Where did you get this?” asked Carmine.

“We found it during Extermination Day. If these Holy Rollers can be killed, the game has changed.” Velvette jumped onto the table. “We can take the fight to them. The boys and I have come up with a full assault plan-“

 

Velvette was cut off by the sound of the Overload that resembled a spider, drinking tea loudly before he decided to speak.

“If it be true thee and thy colleagues desire to war with such meagre proof, thou art far more… foolish than I be thought.”

Velvette scoffed, “Meagre proof? It’s a dead fucking Exorcist. I’d say that’s pretty fucking definitive. You going blind, old man?”

 

The other Overlord spoke again, “We know not how this perished. Mayhaps t’was not by a demon's hand at all. If we rush to war without knowing mightn’t they purge all of Hell for daring an uprising?”

As he spoke, Ellis noticed the man in red tasting the head, “If he knew where that has been…” he thought.

Many of the other Overlords began to speak in agreement to what their seemingly older counterpart said and Ellis found himself agreeing with the man as well, though, he didn’t voice that opinion.

Velvette however, took notice of Carmine’s demeanour.

 

“Oh, I get it. So grandpa is too pussy to fight, so I guess there’s no point, right?”

“Oh, no… ” Ellis said quietly to himself as Velvette got up close to the other Overlord.

“Oh, what’s the matter, Fossil? Too senile to make a real power grab for-“

She was interrupted by Carmine as music suddenly started playing, seemingly out of nowhere.

 

“You better show some respect! Check your behaviour! No one speaks to Zestial that way! Did you expect us to sit back and take your insolent, brazen display?”

 

Velvette laughed as she cut off Carmine’s singing with her own.

 

“You’ve got it twisted. I’m not the one who needs a new attitude! Maybe you missed it, but I’m that hashtag bitch and I will do nothin’ less than what I please, whoo! I’m the backbone of the Vees. Mad that I acted respectless? Well, it’s ‘cause no one could respect this!”

 

Ellis stood in awe.

 

“Sorry group attending, since when are Overlords too scared to fight? You’re long past trending. Sorry, babe, but I ain’t swipin’ right! You’ve lost your relevance-“

 

“We can’t act without more intelligence.”

 

“Ugh! No wonder I’m so respectless, I could eat you lot for breakfast!”

 

“You and the Vees are inane and uninformed! Smug wannabes who don’t heed when you’ve been warned!”

 

“Oops! Did I strike a nerve? ‘Cause when I brought out the angel’s head, couldn’t help but observe, that your wrinkled face was turnin’ red!”

 

Rosie and Ellis exchanged looks of both confusion and surprise.

 

“And why are you avoiding war? That’s what the guns you sell are for! Thanks to my bein’ respectless, one thing I’m startin’ to suspect is you know why this angel’s headless! Do you have a disclosure?”

 

“This meeting’s over!”

 

Everyone was staring in silence at the two overlords until the man in red spoke, “That was a productive meeting.” 

 

“Hmmph. Fine.” said Velvette before hopping off of the table as Ellis opened the door for her. “Safe travels back to the nursing home, fuckers! Kiss my ass!” she said, walking out of the room. Ellis waved at Rosie before following.

 

He waited until they were in the elevator to say anything, “Well, that could have gone better…”

“I’d say that went wonderfully.”

“I don’t see how that went well, at all.”

They stepped out and went to the truck, “It went well because now we know that bitch had something to do with that angel’s death.”

“Vel, I know that I have no experience with things like this, but I’m pretty sure that when you’re preparing for a war, you shouldn’t alienate yourself from the people with the weapons. Especially when we don’t even know how to kill the angels.”

“If I wanted your opinion on the matter, I’d ask. Now, shut up and drive.” Velvette snapped.

“Alright, sorry.”

 

---

 

12:50p.m.…

 

The mostly silent drive back to the tower was almost over when Velvette interrupted, “Turn left here.”

“Why?”

“Don’t ask, just fucking do it.”

Ellis sighed as he did what he was told.

“Park here.”

“A restaurant?”

“I’m hungry and I’m not in the mood to deal with shit at the tower on an empty stomach. Keep from pissin’ me off anymore and I’ll consider letting you eat too.” 

 

As they approached the door, a large security guard stepped out and confronted Ellis as if he hadn’t seen Velvette, “This establishment is for high-end clientele only. Get your worthless ass out of here before I make you leave, or worse.”

Ellis, reaching for his gun, immediately responded, “You can try, but she wants to eat here so that’s what’s gonna happen.” he said, motioning towards Velvette.

 

A look of shock and terror washed over the guard’s face as he realized Velvette was there, “M-my apologies ma’am. Please, go right in.” he said, opening the door for Velvette and Ellis.

Once they got inside, they were quickly escorted to a private booth, away from the other customers and their orders were taken.

Just after their drinks were brought out, Velvette spoke. “What’s your problem? You’re looking around at everything like you’re on a different fucking planet or something.”

“No problem, I’ve just never been in a place this fancy is all, aside from the tower.”

“You think that this is fancy?”

“Compared to the restaurants I went to while living, yeah. You don’t?”

“Ha! Not even close. Plenty of places in London that could beat this any day. Out of curiosity, what was the fanciest place you went to while living?”

“Hmm… probably the Jack Astor’s in Kanata.”

“The fuck is a ‘Jack Astor’s’?”

“It’s a chain of bar and grill places.”

“You’ve got to be joking. The fanciest place you ever went to is a bar and grill.”

“No joke. What about you, what’s the nicest place you went to while living?”

“A fucking gala.”

 

Ellis thanked the server who brought out their food but just as he was about to start eating one of his two sliders, he noticed what was on Velvette’s plate.

“Is that raw ground beef?”

She looked up at him, “It’s called ‘steak tartare’, Ellis.”

“I’m pretty sure I could give that CPR and it would start mooing again.”

Velvette nearly choked on her food as she started laughing. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

“Yep, I don’t understand how you could like that, though.”

 

Velvette paused for a moment, “…I don’t.”

Ellis was confused, “If you don’t like it, why the hell would you order it?”

“Image. As a Vee, I need to have the perfect image, eating only the finest food, always using the latest of Vox’s tech, everything must be perfect.”

“Didn’t you say earlier that you’d do nothing less than what you please? Besides, I don’t think you need to worry about your image. You could probably walk outside wearing nothing but a paper bag and by tomorrow morning, half of Hell would be too.”

Velvette smirked before she teased, “You’d like it if that's all I wore, wouldn’t you?”

 

Ellis looked down at his food.

Velvette continued, “Don’t think I didn’t hear that comment you made Sunday morning.”

“What?”

“After you said I should go back to bed to get some beauty sleep and I said, ‘you say that like I need it’, you quietly said, and I quote, ‘you don’t need it at all’.”

Ellis wasn’t sure how she managed to hear him, “Well, you did basically say it yourself just before.”

 

A moment of silence passed before Ellis pushed his little basket of fries and one of the sliders towards Velvette. “Here, there’s no sense in eating that if you don’t like it.”

She paused for a moment before giving in to temptation. As they ate, Ellis felt the need to say something.

“By the way, I meant no disrespect earlier with the meeting. So, sorry for it coming across that way. I’m just not used to, well, all of this.”

“…Apology accepted.” 

 

Ellis reached to grab a fry from the basket but Velvette slapped his hand away, “Hey!”

“Mine now.” she said with a smile as she grabbed another. 

 

---

 

1:40p.m.…

 

Just after the two left the restaurant, Velvette’s phone rang, “Yes, Vox? He is. There, you’re on speaker.”

“Ellis, I trust that you can hear me.”

“Yeah, Vox, what do you need?”

“I assume you’re on your way back to the tower now.”

“Yep, just about to pull into the driveway.”

“Good, I need the two of you to meet me in the conference room. Immediately.”

“Uh… alright then. Any particular reason?”

“You’ll see when you get here.” 

 

“Is it just me or did he seem a bit happier than usual?” Asked Ellis.

“I was just thinking that. Wonder what the fuck it is this time.”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” 

 

The two made their way inside and into the elevator.

Velvette turned to Ellis, “This week, I need you to supervise the crew putting the runway together.”

“Are you sure you won’t need me around the studio?”

“Oh, I probably will, but I’m more concerned about the show.” Velvette grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down to her eye level and said in a serious tone, “I need you to make sure that it’s solid, understood?”

“Understood.”

 

Just as Ellis straightened himself out, the elevator doors opened. As they entered the room, they could see Vox, with a seemingly happy expression and Valentino, with a sly grin, already sitting at the table.

“Oh, look, the talk of the town! Have a seat, you two.”

“The fuck are you on about, Vox?” Asked Velvette as she and Ellis sat down.

“Haven't you seen the news? It’s fucking fantastic!” 

 

Vox pressed a button on a remote, causing a tv to rise out of the table and start playing a video.

“ Breaking news in Hell this afternoon! Hell’s hottest Overlord appears to have gotten herself a new ‘boy-toy’.”

“That’s right, Katie! Velvette seems to be in a new relationship with a sinner that we so far have been unable to identify.”

“Rumors started circulating after the social media star shared multiple pictures with the mystery man on her Sinstagram account. 666 News has also just obtained exclusive photos of the two together. One where the man has Velvette pinned up against a storage rack and, from just this afternoon, photos of the two seemingly enjoying a lunch date.”

 

Vox paused the video. Velvette and Ellis, both visibly shocked, turned and looked at each other. As they did, Valentino started to laugh.

“You ” said Velvette, “You fuckin’ bastard. This is your doing, innit!?”

“Maybe. Oh, don’t give me that look, I’m just helping you two along.”

Velvette jumped up onto the table, “I oughta gut ya, you son of a bitch.”

Ellis gently picked Velvette up and set her on the floor before she decided to follow through with that threat.

Vox attempted to ‘diffuse’ the situation, “Velvette, relax, this is great!”

“How the fuck is it ‘great’!? We are not in a fuckin’ relationship!”

“You don’t need to be! This is the perfect thing to keep everyone distracted from Alastor returning and it’ll increase viewers for the show. You haven’t been with anyone since X and now practically every other sinner wants to know who this ‘new guy’ is. It’s an opportunity we have to capitalize on.” 

 

“The two of you are fuckin’ bastards.”

Vox paid no attention to the insult, “The pair of you just need to keep doing what you’re doing. Doesn’t even need to be for very long, alright? Now, I think that’s everything, you two have a nice afternoon.”

Vox and Valentino got up and walked towards the elevator, with the latter laughing to himself. 

 

Once the elevator doors closed, Ellis turned back to Velvette, “So… now that we’ve found ourselves in this new… predicament, what exactly do you want to do?”

“Kill Val.”

“Other than that.”

Velvette sighed, “I guess for now, we do what Vox said…” 

Chapter 10: Chapter 7: Showtime

Summary:

The day of the fashion show is finally upon us, surely everything will go well. CW for a little bit of violence.

Notes:

Have a good day! :)

January 20th, 2023, 6:30p.m., Velvette’s Studio…

 

“Arm.”

“Remind me why I need to wear this?” asked Ellis as he raised his arm for Velvette to measure.

“Because you’re not wearing flannel and jeans to my fucking show. Other arm.”

“At least those are comfortable, unlike stuff like this.”

“Have you ever even worn decent clothing before?” she teased.

“One, my clothes are perfectly fine. Two, I had to wear formal shit for job interviews and they always bothered me. Too tight and restrictive.”

 

“They probably weren’t tailored right, where’d you get ‘em?”

“A thrift store.”

“No fucking wonder then. Can’t buy shit from those places and expect it to fit right, should’ve gone to a proper shop.”

“I wasn’t going to spend money that I didn’t have, on something that I ideally wouldn’t have had to use much, though, that didn’t exactly work out how I wanted it to.”

“Why’s that?” Asked Velvette as she measured Ellis’s leg.

“Between not getting hired for jobs I applied to and having to find new jobs after losing the ones that I was hired for, I went to a lot of interviews. The last few years have been especially bad because of Covid, even worse when that fucking convoy was in town…”

“Convoy?”

“Yeah, a bunch of dipshits took over downtown Ottawa. Businesses had to close, people could barely leave their homes and nobody could sleep because of the noise. The police didn’t do a damn thing about it for a fucking month.” 

 

“Alright, that’s all the measurements I need.” Said Velvette.

“Are you sure you have enough time to finish this? The show is tomorrow.”

“I know when my show is, Ellis. I can do this shit with my eyes closed, I’ll have it done with plenty of time left and you won’t have any complaints about being uncomfortable.”

“Alright but, If you don’t finish it, that’s fine too, I could just not-“

“You’re not getting out of it that easy, nice try.”

 

---

 

January 21st, 8:15p.m., V Event Space…

 

“Ellis?”

“Eh?” Ellis crawled out from under the runway, stood up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Ian, how are we looking?”

“Everything appears to be in order. The head of security wishes to speak to you.”

“Alright, lead the way.”

 

The two walked towards the entrance of the building where a security guard that looked like a calico cat was standing. “Ellis, this is Hazel. She's the head of security.”

“Mr. Owens, I hope you are doing well.”

“I’m alright, and just ‘Ellis’ is fine. How are you?”

“I am fine as well.”

“Good. I was told you wanted to speak with me, is there something I need to know about for tonight?”

“Nothing major, everything seems to be in order, sir. The only thing to note is that some of the additional labourers and janitorial staff, which were hired by Mr. Vox, were not properly vetted due to time constraints. We have been surveilling their actions as best as we can with the available security staff but I cannot guarantee anything at this moment. It should not be an issue however as those staff will not be in the building during the show, only security and some servers, as well as yourself and the rest of Miss Velvette’s staff, of course.”

“Alright, well, just do what you can and we can hope for the bes-“ Ellis was interrupted by his phone ringing. “If you’ll excuse me, please.”

 

As Ellis walked away, Ian turned towards Hazel. “So… Do you have anything planned for Friday after work?”

She looked at him and smiled, “Well, I was thinking about asking a cute guy from work if he wanted to get dinner, but I think I just got my answer.”

 

Ellis answered his phone. “Hey, Velvette, what’s u-“

“Get your ass up here, we need to be there in about an hour and you still need to get ready.”

“Alright, see you in a few minutes.”

 

Not long later, Ellis entered the now mostly empty studio.

“ Finally! You need to sta- why the fuck are you covered in dirt!?”

“I had to go under the runway to inspect it.”

“For fuck’s sake. Just go shower, we don’t have time for this shit.”

“Okay, did you finish the- “

“GO!”

“Alright, alright, I’m going.”

 

About twenty minutes later, Velvette went to the door of Ellis’ bedroom.

 

Knock. Knock.

 

“Ellis? I’ve got your suit.” Sigh “He must still be in the fucking shower. I’ll just go in and set it on his bed.”

As Velvette laid the suit down on the bed, she noticed a glow coming from the small desk that was next to the closed bathroom door. She decided to walk towards it to see what it was, not noticing the sound of the shower being turned off. As she approached the desk, she saw that the glow was coming from Ellis’ revolvers.

“He must have finished fixing the other one. That’s odd, he made another harness instead of just the holster, he used different coloured leather too. Wait, that colour matches m-” her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the bathroom door opening and Ellis, completely naked and drying his hair with a towel, stepping out. The two stood, both visibly shocked, for a very brief moment before Ellis struggled to cover himself with his towel.

 

“Shit!” Velvette quickly turned away.

“Jesus Christ! What the hell are you doing in here, Vel?!”

Velvette, still looking away, waved her hand, causing a pair of grey sweatpants to go from the room’s hamper to on Ellis. “I was bringing your suit in. I knocked, but you didn’t answer.” she said, turning around to look at him now that he was partially dressed.

“Of course I didn’t answer, I was showering.”

“No shit. I didn’t think you would come out while I was still in here.”

The two fell silent for a moment before Ellis spoke again, “We both should finish getting ready.”

“Yes! I’m just going to… yeah.”

“Thank you for bringing this in, by the way.”

Velvette gave him a thumbs-up as she rushed out of the room, trying to escape the awkward situation.

 

---

 

A couple minutes before they needed to leave, Ellis stood in the living room, waiting for Velvette to finish getting ready. “Vel, it’s almost time!” A moment later, he heard a door open and looked up to see Velvette, standing in a silk, red, white and black dress that matched his suit.

He must have had a noticeable expression on his face because Velvette quickly asked, “Is something wrong? Hurry up, say it.”

“No, no, nothing’s wrong at all.”

“Then what has your face looking like that?” She asked, walking towards him.

“I was just thinking that you look beautiful. Though, you already know that, you always look that way.”

Velvette paused before smirking and straightening Ellis’ tie, “You don’t look too bad yourself, thanks to me. Now, let’s go, we’ve got a show to get to.”

 

---

 

9:28p.m., In The Limousine…

 

Ellis turned to Velvette, who was sitting next to him. “So… What exactly am I supposed to do? I’ve never been to something like this before.”

“Just act like you belong there, it’s easy. Just remember that you’re arriving with me, at my show and most of these people probably think that we’re seeing each other after what Val fucking did.”

“I forgot about that.”

“Judging by the comments on my Sinstagram posts, everyone else remembers. Just help me get out of the car, place your hand on my back and walk down the red carpet with me. Then you need to pose for a couple photos with me and then we walk inside. When people ask us questions, just smile and let me do the talking.” Velvette leaned slightly towards him and smirked. “Think you can handle that for me?”

“I can try.”

“Good. Now, let’s give them a show they won’t forget.”

 

As Ellis stepped out, he was momentarily stunned by a barrage of camera flashes but quickly focused on doing as Velvette told him. He held the door open for Velvette and helped her out of the limo. After gently placing his hand on her back, the two made their way down the red carpet until they got to where Velvette decided to stop for the photographers. Ellis tried to look relaxed, but he could tell it wasn’t working.

He whispered to Velvette, “I feel like a fish out of water.”

“You’re fine, just a couple more.”

 

Just as they were about to leave to walk into the building, they heard the all too familiar and irritating voice of Hell’s most popular news anchor.

“Velvette! I see you’ve brought your newest boy-toy with you. What is your name, anyway?” Asked Katie Killjoy while putting a microphone annoyingly close to their faces as a nervous looking cameraman stood behind her.

“El-“

“It doesn’t matter who the fuck you are. Now, Velvette, why would you ever want to be seen with a pathetic looking loser like this? This is the first time I’ve even seen him wear something that doesn’t look like it came from a dumpster or like he lives in the woods. You should’ve gone back to X, at least he was-”

Velvette spoke with a slightly sharp tone as she interrupted, “I’d rather be seen with Ellis than breathe the same air as you with your ugly mug.” 

Killjoy became visibly tense as she heard the insult, so much so that her eye began to twitch and Ellis heard her neck crack as she tried to keep her composure. “How cute, you really sh-“

“If I wanted your opinion, I’d have asked. Now, go crawl back under Vox’s desk and make sure you get some airtime tomorrow. Let’s go, Ellis.” 

 

The two made their way backstage to Velvette’s dressing room.

“I know it’s not my place to ask but, who exactly is X?”

Velvette, who was touching up her makeup, paused for a moment before speaking with an almost hesitant tone. “Nobody important, not any more.”

“Is there something wrong?”

Velvette’s voice returned to normal as she finished with her makeup, “No, everything’s fine. You made sure that the runway is solid?”

“It won’t come apart until the crew and I take it apart, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

Velvette stepped towards him and straightened his tie again, “Good. You should go find your seat, left side of the runway, second aisle, front row on the right, end seat, got it?”

“Got it” 

 

Ellis was about to open the door to leave when he stopped, “Good luck out there.”

“Ha! You think I need luck?”

“No, I know you don’t, you’re the best there is.”

 

---

 

10:59p.m.…

 

The show was ending and had gone perfectly. All the hard work had paid off and it was time for Velvette to come out and thank the crowd the way she always did.

The whole crowd applauded as she walked down the runway with her usual confidence. “Thank you all for coming to the show tonight! I hope you all enjoyed it. Have a good evening.” 

 

The crowd applauded while Velvette started to walk back. As she did, Ellis thought he heard the faint sound of someone running and it seemed to be getting closer. Suddenly, one of the servers jumped up onto the end of the runway and started running towards Velvette while carrying a knife, drawing gasps from the crowd.

Ellis yelled, trying to warn his boss, “VEL!”

“Time to die, bitch!”

Velvette turned around and saw the man rapidly approaching her. 

 

Just as the server got within feet of his target, Ellis jumped up from his side of the runway, grabbed Velvette and threw both him and her into the opposite aisle, using his body to shield her from the fall.

“Oww, that fucking hur- SHIT.” said Ellis as he sat up and realized that the server was jumping off of the runway and heading towards them.

 

Aim.

 

Click.

 

BANG!

 

The server dropped to the ground. 

 

“Fucking hell... Vel, you alright? Vel? OH FUCK.” As Ellis checked to see if Velvette was okay, he noticed the tears coming from her eyes and quickly took his jacket off to cover her with just as the flashes of cameras started. “GET EVERYONE OUT, NOW! HAZEL, OVER HERE! Hazel ran over with two other security guards as Ellis picked up Velvette, making sure she was still covered. “Hazel, you come with me. You two stay here, nobody touches that body until I get back. Understand? Good.” 

 

With Velvette in his arms and Hazel behind him, Ellis ran to Velvette’s dressing room. After setting Velvette down on the small couch in the room, he quickly checked for any visible injuries.

Velvette, who was in a partial state of shock, did not react at all, she just continued to cry softly.

“I don’t see any blood. Wait here, I’ll be back soon.” After leaving the room and closing the door, Ellis turned to Hazel, “Stay here and guard the door, I need to call Vox.” 

 

He started calling as he reentered the main room.

"Ellis, how are you this eveni-”

“Vox, I need you to get down here!”

“Is there something wrong with the show?”

“Weren’t you watching!? Someone just tried to kill Velvette!”

Vox exploded with anger, “SOMEONE FUCKING WHAT?!”

“Just get your electric ass down here, now!”

Within seconds, Vox was in the room, standing next to Ellis. “Where is she?!”

“I brought her to her dressing room. She’s fine, I think, just a bit shaken up.”

Vox sighed, “And where’s the fucker that did it?” Ellis led Vox to where the body was and picked up his gun that he had dropped after firing it.

 

“One of the servers did it?”

“Yeah, the question is why.” Ellis knelt down and started to search the man’s pockets. “Got his wallet and his phone. Wait, do you smell that?”

“The piss?”

“No, aside from that, he smells like cleaning chemicals. Why would a server smell like chemicals?”

Vox’s eyes narrowed. “Where’s his ID badge?” Ellis searched the other pockets and handed the card to Vox. “This says he’s a janitor.”

“Hold on, there’s something else here…” Ellis pulled a bundle of cash out of the man’s pocket and exchanged a confused look with Vox before quickly counting it. “There’s five thousand here, Vox.”

“This has to have been a hit.”

“Who the fuck would be crazy enough to put a hit out on a Vee? Alastor?”

A sound of crackling electricity came from Vox at the mention of The Radio Demon. “No, he would’ve done it himself.” 

 

Ellis picked up the knife, now seeing that it was made of angelic steel, and stood back up. “Well, whoever sent this guy must have at least some significance. Could try asking the Carmines who bought this knife to see if it was provided to this guy for the job but, I doubt they’d be willing to tell us.”

“I’ll look through the phone, they were no doubt using it to communicate with the person that hired them.”

“You’ll probably need to do some damage control too, I’m not sure what people caught on camera.”

Vox nodded in agreement. “Have the body sent to the tower, we’re going to send a message to the whole city once this is done.”

“Will do. I should go check on Vel, let me know what you find.” 

 

Vox left with a bolt of electricity and Ellis made his way back to the dressing room where Hazel was still standing guard.

“Any news?” Asked Hazel.

“Nothing good. Can you please have the body brought to the tower? Vox plans on sending a message.”

Hazel nodded, knowing what that meant, before saying quietly, “I didn’t go in but… she doesn’t sound too good.”

Ellis sighed, “Alright, thanks. Take this too please, I’ll collect it once we get back to the tower.” he said, handing her the knife.

“Should I send a car?”

“Not yet, I want to make sure she’s alright first.”

 

He waited for Hazel to walk away.

Knock. Knock.

“Vel?” There was no answer. “I’m coming in…” As he stepped inside and closed the door, he saw Velvette sobbing while hugging her knees and quickly rushed over, kneeling down in front of where she sat on the couch. “Vel, hey, hey, what’s wrong?” He tried reaching out towards her but she quickly and violently slapped his hand away as the crying got worse. “Cupcake, it’s me, it’s Ellis. It’s okay, you’re okay.”

Velvette seemed to calm down a little bit once she heard the nickname. “Ellis?” she asked, looking up slightly.

“Yeah, Cupcake, it’s me. What’s wrong? Did you get hurt?”

Velvette turned away, still hugging her knees, ”Go, leave, I don’t want you to see me like… like this…”

“Cupcake, I’m not leaving you, not now.” Ellis got up and sat on the part of the couch that Velvette’s back was turned to.

 

After calming down a little more, Velvette spoke. “Why are you here?”

“Because you wanted me to be at your show…”

“No, why are you here, in Hell?”

The expression on Ellis’ face went from concerned to sad, “...It’s really not something that I want to talk about.”

“Tell me anyway. Because everything so far tells me that you shouldn’t be here. You don’t make any sense, you’ve risked your life to save mine twice now, once today and once when you didn’t even know who I was, you made sure I wasn’t the one that got hurt in the fabric shop and no matter how much I yell, how mad I get or how much you get hurt, you don’t stop helping me. So what could cause someone like you to end up here?” 

 

Ellis sighed and looked down at the floor, “…This isn’t the first time I’ve killed somebody…”

Velvette raised her head and looked over her shoulder at him. “Why’d you do it before?”

“That’s not something I want to go into detail about…”

“Ellis. ”

“It wasn’t in cold blood if that’s what you’re wondering. I didn’t even intend on doing it, it just… happened… I didn’t know what else to do. It’s something that I never wanted to do again.”

“But you still did it… for me.”

“Yeah, I did… and if I need to, I'll do it again.” 

 

Velvette let go of her knees and leaned back against Ellis.

“You want to tell me what made you so upset? I’m guessing it’s not just because someone tried to kill you.”

“…It’s not worth talking about…”

Ellis wrapped his arm around her. “Tell me anyway. You don’t need to be afraid of talking to me about anything.”

Velvette looked up at him and then sighed as she looked away again. “When you threw us off of the runway… It reminded me of when I fell when I died. Every time since I died, whenever I have a show coming up, I start having nightmares where I just see that moment…”

“Is that why you’ve been getting up so early this week and why you wanted me to check the runway?”

Velvette nodded. “Every time, it scares me awake and I get afraid that it’s gonna happen again… and this time, it did.”

“Hey, you didn’t fall, it was me this time and I’m sorry for doing that to you. I would’ve shot from where I was but I didn’t want to risk missing and hitting you. If I had known that-”

“Don’t apologize for it.” said Velvette, placing a finger on his lips and removing it.

A few moments of silence went by before Velvette spoke again, “Thank you, by the way…”

“You don’t need to thank me Vel, not for-”

“No, for everything, for all your help.”

“Don’t mention it. By the way, I forgot to tell you earlier, you were right, this suit is comfortable.”

For the first time since the attack, a smile found its way onto Velvette’s face, “Told you so.”

Ellis smirked, “Though, it would’ve been better with a flannel lining.”

“Cheeky bugger.”

Notes:

I finally posted a chapter before 1am, Yay! lol

Chapter 11: Chapter 8: Sharks and Ocean's

Summary:

It's the day after the fashion show and it's time to find out who wanted Velvette dead. Content warning for violence and implied past abuse/domestic violence.

Notes:

Have a good day! :)

Also, there is an announcement in the end notes.

January 22nd, 2023, 9:37a.m., Velvette’s Studio…

The lid of a lighter closed with a click as Ellis finished burning the ends of the thread he was using. He had been in the studio for a few hours making a leather, horizontal sheath for the knife. He and Velvette didn’t return to the tower until around 1:00am and he didn’t sleep much due to the pain he was in after bearing the brunt of the fall. After a while, he decided to spend his time doing something productive instead of trying and failing to get some rest.

 

“Well, at least that’s done… I should get myself something to eat and then cook something for Vel.” He thought to himself. 

 

---

 

10:10a.m., Velvette’s Kitchen…

 

Ellis was making a cup of tea when he received a notification on his phone.

Text from Vox: “My office, 10:30”

Ellis responded with a thumbs-up emoji before saying to himself, “I wonder what he found.” He then set the cup of tea on a tray next to a plate of food, picked the tray up and carried it to the door of Velvette’s bedroom.

 

Knock. Knock.

 

“Vel, are you awake? I brought you breakfast.”

Velvette spoke tiredly, “...It’s open…”

Ellis opened the door and walked towards the bed. “Morning, Cupcake. How’d you sleep?”

Velvette yawned, “Like shit. Why’d you wake me up this early?”

“It’s after ten.”

“After ten! Why the fuck didn’t ya wake me up earlier!? The girls are no doubt fuckin’ up down there!”

“Vel, it’s fine, they’re not here today.”

“What the hell do ya mean they’re not here!?”

“After you came in here last night, I had to go pick up something from security. While I was there, I asked them to reach out to everyone and tell them to take the day off. I figured you could use a break after what happened.” 

 

Velvette sighed, “ Fine , I guess you’re right.”

Ellis smiled. “I brought you tea and breakfast. Beans on toast, just how you like.” he said, setting the tray on Velvette’s lap. “I thought I should bring it to you now since I wasn’t sure if or when I’d need to leave or for how long.”

“Where are you going?” asked Velvette with a bit of worry in her voice.”

“I need to meet with Vox in his office to discuss last night.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure that you want to know. It might be nothing.”

“Tell me.” she said, taking a sip of her tea.

Ellis sighed, “Vox thinks that last night might have been a hit. He said that he would go through the guy’s phone to see what he could find so I’m guessing he found something. Speaking of which, I should head down soon so I don’t piss him off any more by being late.”

“Okay… let me know what he says.”

“Sure thing, Cupcake.”

 

---

 

The elevator doors opened, revealing Vox’s office. It isn’t really an office, it’s a platform with a desk and surrounded by screens that is above the conference room.

Vox spun around in his chair. “Ellis, you’re right on time.”

“Morning, Vox. I assume you found something.”

“Of course I did and I was right, it was a hit.” 

“I’m guessing you know who hired the guy to do it.”

Vox shot a bolt of electricity out of his hand and into one of the screens, turning it on to show a photo of a sinner. “Xavier Carlson, also known as ‘X’.”

“Hold on just a second. ‘X’, as in the same X that you said Vel used to be with and Killjoy mentioned yesterday?”

“Yes, that X.”

 

Ellis sighed, “Okay… So, what exactly do you know about him?”

“As you know, X and Velvette used to be in a relationship. It was during that relationship that they both gained popularity on Sinstagram, along with them both having successful business ventures. Velvette had her fashion and X was a ‘life coach’ of sorts and did fitness shit, mostly promoting steroids. At the time, Val and I wanted to expand our empire and decided to offer one of them an opportunity to join us. We ended up choosing Velvette as her popularity was growing, while X’s was nearly stagnant, her business also fit better with ours.”

“When was that?”

“Mid 2017.” 

“That’s almost six years ago, why’s he going after her now?”

“No idea, I assumed he had died on Extermination Day that year since that was when he was last active on Sinstagram. Going through the phone, I found texts between him and the guy he hired. The deal was he would pay five thousand dollars upfront and an additional fifteen once the job was done, though, that extra money is probably just bullshit..”

 

“Any idea how a janitor got a server's uniform?”

“Security found the real server tied up in a storage room, he claims someone knocked him out and he woke up bound and gagged.”

“That explains that. Where do we go from here then?”

“We kill him. I’m sending a team from security to do it.”

 

Ellis thought to himself for a moment. “…Hold off on sending them. I’ll handle it, I’m gonna talk to Vel first though.”

Vox raised an eyebrow. “ You are going to go kill him? Why?”

“Because I’d rather you keep all of the security guards here in case that bastard tries something else. Security being short staffed no doubt contributed to what happened yesterday. If there had been more personnel present, I probably wouldn’t have had to be the one that pulled the trigger.”

Vox shrugged, “Your funeral.”

“Yeah, well, don’t worry about digging a grave, just toss me in the sewer, that’s all I deserve anyway. Now, what do I need to know about this guy?”

 

Vox turned on another screen, showing a building and a gun. “He appears to live alone in an apartment in this building, I’ll send you the address. He also is away from home for hours at a time, including now, likely for work, so you may be able to use that to your advantage. When he was popular, he famously carried around an angelic double-barreled shotgun. He almost seemed to care more about it than he did Velvette, so he’ll likely still have it in his possession.”

“I thought angelic weapons were uncommon and yet, they keep popping up… Anyways, you mentioned ‘sending a message’, how do you plan on doing that?”

Vox gestured towards the giant shark tank below. “Six o’clock tonight, live on ‘666 News’.”

“Alright then…”

 

As Ellis stepped into the elevator, he called Hazel. “Hey, Security has extra gear and ammunition, correct? I need a black rain jacket, lock picking tools and a box of .38 Special please. Thank you, I’ll be up there in a minute.”

 

---

 

Ellis walked into Velvette's apartment carrying the things he got from security and brought them to his room before coming back out.

“What’s all that for?” asked Velvette from where she sat on the couch.

“That’s actually something I need to talk to you about…”

“Why? What did Vox say?”

Ellis walked over and stood in front of her. “He went through the phone and he was right, it was a hit.”

“Does he know who ordered it?”

“...X…”

“ What?"

“Yeah…”

“God fuckin’ Dammit!” Velvette buried her face in her hands, Ellis sat down next to her.

 

“Vox told me about the history between you two.”

“Vox doesn't know fuck all.”

“He said we should kill him, I said I’d talk to you about it first.”

Velvette looked up, “Why bother?”

“Because he’s from your past and he went after you, so I think it should be your decision.” Velvette nodded. “Okay. You know him better than anyone else here, I need you to tell me anything I might need to know before I go after him.”

“What do you mean ‘you’ll go after him’? Send a team from security.”

“Same thing I told Vox, I’d rather have all of the security personnel here in case he tries going after you again. I’ll go and handle it, less risk to you that way, but I need you to tell me if there’s something I can know that can give me an advantage, please. Vox already mentioned the gun.”

 

Velvette turned away and hugged her arms. “...When he takes ‘roids… he gets angry and violent…”

Ellis recognized her demeanour. “Vel… did he…” Velvette gave him a look that told him what the answer was. “Consider it done.” Ellis stood up and started walking to his room.

“Ellis…” He stopped and turned around. “…don’t bring his body back here, please. I know Vox will probably want it for the sharks but I don’t want him anywhere near here.” Ellis nodded before walking away.

 

He came back out from his room a few minutes later, his gun fully loaded, knife behind his back and his flannel shirt traded for the jacket. He was about to walk out of the apartment when Velvette stopped him. “Ellis.”

“Yeah, Cupcake?”

“...Don’t die… please…”

“I won’t, I promise.”

 

Not long later, Ellis drove off into the stormy city.

 

---

 

12:05p.m.…

 

Ellis had been gone for about an hour and Velvette was bored of scrolling through Sinstagram. There was also something on her mind. " Why the hell am I so worried about him? It's not like I… Maybe… No, no way, I haven’t even known him for a fuckin’ month. But… Ugh, I need to do something to distract myself.”

She decided to go into her office and look through a drawer of unfinished projects that had been set aside for various reasons, mostly because she didn’t have time to work on them.

“No, no, last season, definitely not .”

She started to look in a different drawer. “There’s gotta be something here… hmm, I forgot I had those…” she thought to herself, looking at a bag of embroidered ‘V’ patches that were her signature desire-red colour and outlined in black and white. “It’d be good if I could use those but, there isn’t really any-''

At that moment, Velvette had an idea, so she went to Ellis’ room.

 

---

 

5:50p.m., X’s Apartment…

 

The sound of the door opening was loud, even compared to the sound of the driving rain hitting the windows. X quickly and angrily walked in, talking to himself as he reached for the shotgun hanging on the wall. “That fucking skank got away, I’ll have to kill her myself since tha-“ 

 

He was interrupted by the sound of someone cracking their knuckles and neck behind him.

 

“You won’t get the chance.” Said Ellis, stepping out from behind the door and closing it.

X spun around and aimed the gun at Ellis. “You. You’re the reason she’s still alive! I guess I’m killing two people today.” Ellis just stood there as a smirk crept onto his face. “What the fuck are you smiling about!?”

“I know something you don’t.”

“Yeah? Well that doesn’t matter!” 

Click…

Click…

Click…

X kept pulling the trigger, but nothing happened. “What the fuck!?”

“I took the shells out. I’ve been waiting for you to get here for hours, so I had plenty of time to look around and deal with any… potential problems. By the way, you’re supposed to remove the ammunition before storing or displaying a firearm.” X angrily tossed the gun aside, ran up to Ellis and punched him in the face as hard as he could.

It did nothing but knock Ellis’ head to the side and bust his lip open. Ellis took a deep breath and turned back towards X who had a surprised yet angry look on his face.

“Mind telling me what the goal of that was? I’m serious, were you trying to knock me out? Hurt me? If it was the latter, well, you’d have a better chance of doing that by stomping on my damn toes. You know what? Here, go ahead, I won’t stop you.” he said, sticking his foot out on the floor. 

 

X, too angry to think, did what Ellis said. However, when his foot made contact with Ellis’ boot, a loud crack was heard, followed by X yelling in pain and falling to the floor.

Ellis pretended to be surprised, “Oops, sorry, I forgot that I’m wearing steel-toe boots.” He then pulled the knife from its sheath and threw it into X’s other foot, causing him to yell again. “You, however, are not. Do you recognize that blade? That’s the Bowie knife that the bastard you hired was going to use to kill Vel.”

X struggled to stand back up, knife still in his foot. “You son of a bitch! I’m going to kill you and that fucking slut-” This time it was Ellis that threw a punch, knocking X back onto the ground.

 

“Tell you what, I’ll pull that knife out of your foot and I won’t kill you with it, if you tell me why you decided to go after Velvette after all this time.”

Ellis could hear the pain in X’s voice as he spoke, “Because of you, you asshole!”

“You’re gonna need to explain that.”

“She had the nerve to leave and then she starts hooking up with someone else, as if anyone could be better than me! Look at you, there’s no way you have anything on me!”

“ Goddammit Valentino. You should know, Velvette and I aren’t actually together.”

“What? ”

“Yeah, that’s just something that Valentino decided to put in the news. Which means, you tried to have her killed over nothing. Though, even if she and I were together, that’s no reason to kill someone. Plus, from what I can tell, it’s a good thing that she left when she had the chance, not just because of her current status, but because it means that she escaped from you.”

 

Ellis grabbed the knife and twisted it, causing even more pain before pulling it out of X’s foot, wiping the blood off and returning it to its sheath. “I almost forgot, you arrived just in time to watch the show.” he said, checking his watch.

“W-wha-” Ellis picked X up by the collar and tossed him onto the couch before turning on the TV and changing the channel to ‘666 News’. “I’m not watching this shit!” yelled X. Ellis pulled his gun out and aimed it at him. “W-woah, you said you wouldn’t kill me!”

“No, I said I wouldn’t kill you with the knife . Now, look at the TV.” 

 

“Good evening, I’m Katie Killjoy and I am live from the V Tower where Mister Vox is putting on a special show for everyone to see.”

The camera panned to Vox who was standing on a platform. “Citizens of Pentagram City, last night, an attempt was made on the life of one of my business partners. This attempt failed, however, it has become apparent that some souls may need a reminder of how to act and so, tonight I have brought out the corpse of the man who made the mistake of coming after one of us.”

The camera zoomed out revealing a crane that was carrying the corpse above the shark tank. It was at that moment that one of the sharks jumped out of the water and bit the corpse in half, leaving the other half dangling from the crane’s grapple. The crane operator then opened the grapple, dropping the rest of the body into the water where more sharks immediately went after it.

The camera returned to Vox, “Let this be a lesson on what fate awaits those foolish enough to come after a Vee.”

 

Ellis, still aiming his gun at X, turned the TV off. “Well, now you should have some idea of what’s going to happen to you.”

X started pleading. “Wait! Please! Not the sharks! I don’t want to be eaten by the sharks!”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes! Please, anything but the sharks!”

“I’ve got good news for you then. Velvette doesn’t want you anywhere near the tower, so you won’t be getting eaten by the sharks.”

“Oh, thank god.”

Click.

“You’re going to Rosie instead.”

“WAIT! N-”

BANG!

Ellis sighed, “Christ on a stick, I hope that’s the last time I need to do that…” He then wrapped X’s corpse with a tarp and put it in the back of his truck before going back to the apartment to get the shotgun. As he drove off, he turned on the radio to try to distract himself from the events of the previous twenty-four hours.

 

“...that man’s lessons had a price, oh sweet price”

 

“My sweet soul everlasting, a very own eternal light”

 

“Don’t you know that the devil wears a suit and tie?”

 

“I saw him driving down the sixty-one in early July”

 

“White as a cottonfield and sharp as a knife”

 

“I heard him howling as he passed me by”

---

 

6:33p.m., Cannibal Town…

 

Rosie was standing outside of the butcher’s shop holding an umbrella when Ellis arrived.

“Miss Rosie, how are you today?”

“I’m doing well, how are you...” Rosie noticed Ellis’ busted lip and the bruise that had formed on his face and spoke with genuine concern in her voice. “What happened to you? This is the second time I’ve seen you hurt. It wasn’t one of the Vees, was it? Because I swear if it was, I’ll go straighten them out myself.”

Ellis smiled, “That’s not necessary Miss Rosie. This wasn’t any of them, it’s from a… problem that I unfortunately needed to take care of. All is well now though.”

“Well, that’s certainly a relief. Now, I must admit, I was a bit surprised when you called earlier.”

“I owed you a debt and I make sure that I pay my debts. Also, in a way, you're helping me.”

 

Ellis brought the body into the shop and talked with Rosie a bit more before he had to leave.

“By the way, I heard about what happened last night, I hope everyone is alright.” said Rosie.

“Velvette was a bit shaken up at first, but I think she’s alright now.”

“Wonderful. Oh, I almost forgot! How is the relationship between you two?”

“Oh, we’re not actually together. Valentino just decided to put that in the news and Vox wants us to go along with it for a little bit.”

“Ah, I see…” Rosie gave Ellis a knowing look, “You do care about her though, don’t you? More than just as a friend and such, I mean.”

“...Maybe so, but I know that I’d never be good enough for someone like her.” Ellis looked at his watch, “I should probably get back soon, have a good evening Miss Rosie.”

“You as well, Ellis. Come by to visit sometime.”

“I will.”

 

---

 

7:21p.m., Velvette’s Apartment…

 

On his way back to the tower, Ellis had driven faster than he usually would as he wished to end his already long day, even though he knew that he still had things to do. He was taking his boots off when Velvette came out of her office and walked over to him, “You’re back…”

“Yeah, it’s done.” Ellis said, turning towards her.

Velvette immediately saw the bruise and his lip, “Did he…”

“Yeah... No need to worry though, you’ve seen me take harder hits.”

“Ellis, he could’ve shot you.”

“I made sure he never got the chance. I had the situation under control, you’ll never need to deal with him again. Alright?” 

 

Velvette nodded, “You aren’t bringing his gun up here, right?”

“No, I figured you wouldn’t want to see it so I asked security to put it in storage for me.”

“Good…”

The two stood in silence for a moment before Ellis spoke again. “I’m gonna go have a quick shower and then I’ll get dinner started, if that’s alright with you.”

“Yeah, no problem…”

 

Not long later, Ellis came out of his room after finishing his shower and throwing on some clean and dry clothes. “Vel?”

“Yeah, what?” she replied from her office.

Ellis started walking towards where she was, “I know this is a stupid question, but would you happen to know where all of my flannel shirts went… Why are my shirts in your office?” he asked, seeing them all folded on her desk.

“I needed something to do, so I made a decision.”

“What decision could possibly involve my shirts? I’m not changing how I dress.”

“I know, I just decided to add something.” she said, tossing one of the shirts to him which he held up.

“You added a ‘V’ above the chest pocket?”

“Is that a problem?”

“No, I like it. I’m just not entirely sure why you decided to do it.” he said, putting the shirt on.

 

“Like I said, I needed something to do. Besides, you wearing my initial, in my colours, will make sure everyone knows that you’re mine.”

“Oh, I’m yours, am I?” he said with a smirk.

Velvette felt the blood rush to her cheeks, “Shut up ya cheeky bugger, you know what I mean.”

Ellis laughed. “Oh, I almost forgot about something, wait here.” He left and came back a moment later carrying something behind his back.

 

“What’ve you got there?” Ellis moved his hands out from behind his back revealing that he was carrying the second revolver and its holster and harness.

“I don’t need both of them so I thought I’d give this one to you. I used this leather for the holster and harness because the colour matches your outfits and stuff, or at least partially does.”

Velvette carefully lifted the items up, admiring them. “Thank you, that’s… very kind of you.”

“I was also going to give you this.” said Ellis, pulling a bundle of cash out of his pocket.

“The hell is that for? Better yet, where’d you get it?”

“It's the money that was used to pay for the hit, I figured you’d probably want it.”

 

Velvette thought to herself for a moment. “Keep it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, consider it payment for today and yesterday.”

“Vel, you don’t need to pay me for-”

“Consider it a gift then.”

“Alright… Thank you. I should go and start making dinner.”

“No need.”

“Uh, why?”

"I’m getting takeaway sent up. I thought I’d give you a break today. I was also planning on putting on a film, if you wanted to join me.”

“Which one?”

“I was thinking ‘Ocean’s Eleven’.”

“Sure, I love that movie, the others too.”

“Brill.”

“I’ll warn you now though, with how tired I am, I might fall asleep partway through.”

 

---

 

Eventually, ‘Eleven’ and dinner…

 

“Look, we all go way back and uh, I owe you from the thing with the guy in the place and I’ll never forget it.”

 

Turned into ‘Twelve’, popcorn and sharing a blanket…

 

“Do I look fifty to you?” “Yeah.” “Really?” “Well, I mean, you know, only from the neck up.”

 

Which eventually turned into falling asleep on the couch, leaning against each other, during ‘Thirteen’.

 

“Relationships can be…” “Sure.” “But they’re also…” “That’s right.”

Notes:

To try to say "thank you" for all of the support that you guys have given this story so far and for reaching 50 kudos, I have decided to try something a bit... different. If any of you have a question for the characters, write them and I will respond as that character (or at least I will try to). Just write something along the lines of "Question for (insert name here)" followed by the question. Of course, feel free to ask myself questions as well. Also, there are some questions that I will not be able to answer because it would spoil the story, however, I will try.

Chapter 12: Chapter 9: Kitty

Summary:

There's a bit of trouble at the tower.

Notes:

Apologies for taking so long to write this. The next chapter will probably take a while for me to write as well, so I apologize for that now.
Have a good day! :)

February 3rd, 2023, 8:41a.m., Velvette’s Kitchen…

 

Velvette and Ellis sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast and having a conversation. “You’re just telling me this now?” asked Ellis.

“It wasn’t my bloody idea!”

“Vel, that doesn’t make it any better.”

“Well, don’t fuckin’ blame me. Blame Vox, he’s the one who didn’t say anything until now.”

Ellis sighed, “Okay, just tell me again what he said, please. Just in case I somehow misheard you.”

“You know how the photography for the Valentine’s Day adverts is happening today?”

“Yeah, for the lingerie and stuff.”

“He wants you in some of the photos with me.”

“He wants me to wear lingerie?” Ellis asked, confused and concerned.

“No! Don’t be a bloody idiot. You’ll be wearing a dress shirt and pants. I’ll be wearing the lingerie and you’ll pose with me for a couple shots, Val’s people will be in the rest of them.”

“And you’re okay with this?”

“Yeah. It’s not my first time modelling, I’ve done it a bunch, just less as of late.”

“I meant the part where I’m involved.”

“It’s fine.”

 

“Why does Vox even want us to do this?”

“Probably to continue the fake relationship bullshit.”

“He must have forgotten that us pretending to be together almost got you killed because I know that I told him.”

“I’d rather not think of that, please.”

“Right, sorry…”

“It’s fine. Now, let’s go get this over with.

 

Not long later, Velvette and Ellis were in the courtyard walking towards Valentino’s studio.

“I just realized, I’ve been everywhere in the tower but haven’t been in here yet.” said Ellis as he started to open the door.

Valentino noticed as the two walked in and walked over, smoking like always. He spoke in his usual slightly unsettling tone, “Ellis, welcome! I must say, I’m surprised you came to watch the photo shoot, or perhaps you came for something else?”

Velvette spoke, “He’s going to be a part of the shoot, Val.”

“Oh! Perhaps you would like to be on camera more often then?”

“Yeah, no. I’m good, thanks.”

“It was worth a shot.” Valentino blew smoke in Ellis’ face, causing him to cough, before walking away.

 

Ellis turned to Velvette once he finished coughing. “How did he die?”

“Overdose.”

“I was gonna guess lung cancer. I’m pretty sure that more smoke comes out of him in one day than came out of the Superstack in almost fifty fuckin’ years.”

 

Velvette and Ellis went to the dressing rooms to get ready. Ellis finished first and stepped outside of his room where he was met by Vox. “Ellis, I assume you’re ready.”

“I suppose so, I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“Well, everyone else here has so they’ll make sure that you don’t fuck up. Now, have you seen Angel?”

“Who?”

“Angel Dust. Tino’s top performer.” Ellis gave him a confused look. “Pink and fluffy spider.”

“Oh, him. No, I haven’t seen him today. Is he supposed to be modelling?”

“Supposed to be.” Vox then turned and walked away.

 

A few minutes later, Ellis heard a door open and looked over to where Velvette was standing wearing a pink, lace bodysuit and immediately looked down at the floor.

“Are you ready?” asked Velvette.

“I guess so. Are you sure that you’re okay with this?”

“Was I not clear earlier?”

“I just want to make sure that you’re not doing something that you aren’t comfortable with.”

Velvette was surprised when he asked earlier and she was even more surprised that he was now asking a second time. “Yes, Ellis, I’m okay with it.”

“Alright.”

“Why are you staring at the ground, something wrong?”

“No, no, just making sure that I’m not staring at you.”

Velvette laughed for a moment, “Ellis, once these ads air, all of Hell will be staring at me.”

“Yeah, but not all of Hell lives with you. I’d rather not make things awkward, or at least not more awkward than the ‘Shower Incident’.” he said, looking up.

“It’ll be fine, just do as I say and we won’t have any issues.”

 

After about forty minutes, Velvette and Ellis’ portion of the photo shoot was nearly complete. “One more, then we’re done.” said Velvette as she came back from getting a drink of water.

“What are we doing this time?”

“We’re going to be facing each other and you’re going to lift me up. Then, I’ll wrap my legs around your waist and my arms around your neck and then we’ll make eye contact while the pictures are taken. Think you can handle that?” she asked with a smirk.

“I should be able to.”

“Brill. Don’t drop me.”

“Have I ever?”

 

Ellis lifted Velvette up and they posed how she said. They made eye contact like they were supposed to while the photos were taken. As they did, they lost focus on what else was happening in the room, instead just fully focusing on each other. They didn’t notice when the photographer said that they were done taking the picture so the photographer just kept taking more, unsure of what else to do. Their focus was broken after a few more moments by the sound of someone falling after tripping on an extension cord.

“W-woah, shit!”

 

Velvette and Ellis immediately looked over and saw as the person fell onto Kitty, causing the robot to spill the tray of drinks it was carrying onto itself. The robot must have been previously damaged because Kitty immediately started to malfunction when the liquid made contact with it. Kitty started racing around the room, completely out of control and destroying anything in its path before going out the door, nearly hitting Angel Dust who was walking in.

“WHICH ONE OF YOU WORTHLESS FUCKS CAUSED THAT!?” Valentino shouted.

“That’s gonna get into the bloody tower!”

Ellis set Velvette down, “I’ll go deal with it, you try to finish here.” Ellis turned towards Ian  who was helping someone stand back up. “Ian, call Hazel and tell her to get as many guards as she can, please.”

“Ellis!” Vox called while tossing him an earpiece. “Take this, I’ll watch the cameras and tell you where it’s going.”

“Alright, thanks.” said Ellis before running out of the building.

 

---

 

12:05p.m.…

 

KNOCK. KNOCK.

 

“Angel, see who that is!”

“Yes, Valentino.” Angel walked over to the door and opened it. “Hey sexy, wha-” Looking down, he saw Ellis who was covered in cuts and scratches and whose dress shirt was now ripped in several places. Ellis was also carrying Kitty’s head in his hand and body over his shoulder. “Holy shit…”

Ellis just walked inside and straight to where Valentino was sitting in a director’s chair and dropped the robot’s parts onto the floor in front of him.

“What the fuck!?” asked Valentino, angrily.

“I brought your robot back.”

“You stupid son of a bitch! You fucking wrecked it! What the hell am I supposed to do with this!?”

“Replace it or get it fixed. I did what I had to do to stop it from causing any more damage than it already has.”

“You took its goddamn head off!”

“Would you prefer if I had shoved a grenade into one of its holes? Because that was the next option.”

“You disrespectful piece of shit!” Valentino swung at Ellis with one of his upper arms but Ellis was able to duck under it.

 

“Settle down, Val.”

“Why you little-”

“VAL!"  Vox grabbed Valentino by the collar. “Can I have a word with you?” he asked in a tone that sounded more like a command before escorting Valentino to a different part of the building. 

 

“Well, you certainly have some balls, don’t you, Short Stuff?” asked Angel who had walked over to Ellis.

“Nope, I just have way too many things to deal with now and I don’t need to add his bullshit to the list.”

“If only we were all so lucky.”

“We’ve never actually met, I’m Ellis.”

“Angel Dust. You work for Velvette, right?”

“Yeah. Speaking of which, you wouldn’t happen to know where I could find her, would you?”

“Last I saw, she was heading to her dressing room to relax a bit.”

“Alright, thanks. See you around, Angel.”

 

Ellis walked over to Velvette’s dressing room and knocked on the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me, Ellis.”

“Hold on a second. Alright, you can come in.” Ellis entered the room and closed the door behind him. “You’re back, took you long en- What the fuck happened?!”

“Kitty.”

“Jesus fuckin’ Christ.” Velvette fixed Ellis’ shirt with a wave of her hand. “Did you at least stop it?”

“Unfortunately for Val, yes. We, um… we have a bigger problem though. Actually, more than one.”

“Why? What happened?”

 

---

 

“AARGH!” Ellis, the designers and the models watched as Velvette threw a broken dress form across the wrecked fashion studio. “STUPIDGODDAMNROBOTCUNT”

Ellis turned to Melissa, “On a scale of one to ten, how mad is she compared to what you’ve seen before?”

“Eleven.”

Ellis sighed, “You guys go on lunch break or something.” He decided to wait a couple minutes before approaching his enraged boss. “Vel.”

No response.

“Vel.”

“WHAT!?”

“...There’s no good time for this so I’ll just tell you now, there’s more damage than this.”

“What do ya mean!? How the fuck can it be worse than this!?” Ellis turned and pointed to the broken doors that lead to the apartment. “No, no!” Velvette practically ran up the stairs and through the doors. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that her apartment had also been destroyed.

 

Ellis stepped inside just as Velvette exploded with anger once again.

“WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED!? WHY DIDN’T YA STOP IT SOONER!?”

“I’m sorry, I tried to.”

“THAT’S NOT GOOD ENOUGH! YA SHOULD’VE STOPPED IT ‘FORE IT GOT ANYWHERE NEAR HERE! NOW EVERYTHING’S FUCKED!”

“We had to chase it all the way up the tower, we didn’t know where it was going.”

“HOW DID YOU NOT KNOW WHERE IT WAS GOING!? VOX GAVE YOU THAT DAMN EARPIECE!”

“It stopped working when we got to the third floor, security and I were flying blind. Half of the security guards got torn to shreds in the process. I’m sorry that it got this bad, I really am.”

 

Velvette’s overwhelming anger turned to sadness as she began to break down, “What am I going to do? Everything is ruined, the studio, here, all the work that’s been done…”

Ellis put his hand on her shoulder and tried to console her, “Hey, Cupcake, look at me. Everything will be alright, okay? Why don’t you wait here for a few minutes, I’ll go around and see how bad everything is and we can go from there. How does that sound?” Velvette nodded in response. 

 

Ellis went around the apartment and the fashion studio, surveying the damage. When he came back, he found Velvette sitting in her office, which was the only room that was left mostly intact, holding her head in her hands. “Vel, I’m back.”

“Please tell me that there is some good news.”

“There’s a bit, but not much.”

“What is it?” she asked, looking up.

“The good news is that most of the damage in the studio was done to the furniture and the girls managed to move most of the stuff that they are working on out of the way. The bad news is, to be blunt, pretty much everything else.”

 

Velvette let out a sigh of defeat, “I just finished talking to Vox over the phone.”

“About?”

“Getting people to fix this mess. He said he’s already hired every contractor that he trusts to fix the damage to the rest of the tower, there won’t be anyone to start fixing this for a while. Only good thing is that he said the cost for repairs will be covered by Val.”

“I’m guessing that he didn’t volunteer to pay for it.”

“Definitely not. But, his robot, his problem. Vox will make sure he pays, not that it matters since there’s nobody to do the bloody work. That also means there’s no way we’re going to be able to complete the two big projects.”

“What projects are those?”

“We’re supposed to be making outfits for Verosika Mayday for the festival that she’s headlining in Gluttony next month. I’m also supposed to go to Imp City to support it from there since we can’t travel between rings and that’s where the elevator closest to us is but, now I’ll have to cancel. The other thing is the show for my summer collection.”

“When’s that?”

“It’s supposed to be on my birthday, April fifteenth, but now that’s probably fucked too.” 

 

“I can do them.”

“What?”

“The repairs, I can do them.”

“Ellis, fixing doors and stuff is one thing but this, how the hell would you be able to do it?”

“I worked for a renovation company for a while before the world shut down because of Covid, I can do it. The work won’t be done very quickly because it’s just me, but it’s better than nothing. Just tell me what you want done first.”

Velvette sighed again, “Well, first of all, tell me exactly how bad everything is since you went and checked.”

“In the studio we'll need to replace almost all of the furniture including everything that was replaced after the incident with Val. Some of the floor tiles are broken so they need to be replaced and so will most of the doors. The fabric racks somehow stayed up on the wall.”

“Of course they did…”

“As for in here, the kitchen and living room look like a bomb went off, all that survived in my room was my bed and a couple small things. In your bedroom, your bed, closet and bathroom look fine aside from some cosmetic damage, the rest is ruined. Also, every wall that isn’t concrete needs repairs.”

 

Ellis waited as Velvette contemplated the information.

“Focus on the studio first, if we can’t get shit done then we’re fucked.”

 

---

 

8:51p.m.…

 

It had been a long and hard day but it was almost over. Ellis managed to clear the debris from the studio and most from the apartment while Velvette had her other employees move all of the projects into storage. The two had finished dinner and Ellis was putting away the dishes when Velvette called him to her office.

“Yeah, Cupcake?”

“Vox just sent the finished ads, come watch.”

“I was there, remember? I don’t think I need to watch them.”

“Just come watch.”

"Alright, alright.”

 

“They look good.” said Velvette.

“I guess so.”

“You guess? What’s wrong with you tonight?”

“Nothing, I’m just sore and tired, that's all.”

“From what? I know you moved most of the shit out but that doesn’t seem like enough for you to be this bad.”

“I also fought a robot after chasing it up most of the tower.”

“Right… I forgot about that.” Velvette sighed, “There’s been too much bullshit today.”

“You can say that again. Could’ve been worse though, I avoided getting hit again by Val so at least there was one good thing.”

 

“What!?”

“Yeah, he swung at me in the studio, but he missed.”

“What the fuck did he do that for?”

“He was pissed off because I tore Kitty’s head off.”

“Jesus Christ, why did you do that?”

“I had to stop it somehow, I assumed its computer was in its head so I just needed to separate it. Also, same thing I told Val, it was either that or use a grenade.”

Velvette shook her head and sighed again, “I should go skin him and turn his wings into a coat of my own for trying to hit you again.” 

 

As a few moments of silence passed, Ellis had a thought and tried to hold back his laughter.

“What? What’s so funny?” asked Velvette.

Ellis started to laugh out loud.

“Tell me what’s so funny, El-“ at that moment Velvette realized what she had said and what Ellis was no doubt thinking, “No. Ellis, don’t you fuckin’ dare start-“

" Cruella De Vil, Cruella De Vil. ”

“Stop it!”

“If she doesn’t scare you, no evil- shit!” Ellis quickly ran out of the room as Velvette jumped out of her chair.

“Get back here ya Cheeky Bugger!”

 

Ellis ran to the half-destroyed couch and grabbed a pillow just as Velvette ran into the living room and jumped towards him, knocking both of them onto the couch with Velvette landing on top of Ellis. Velvette then grabbed one of the other pillows and began hitting Ellis with it as he tried to use his as a shield and continued singing.

 

“ To see her is to take a sudden chill, Cruella, Cruella- “

“Stop it, El- Hey!” Velvette was caught by surprise as Ellis quickly sat up, causing her to fall backwards on the couch before he “attacked” her with his pillow for a few moments as they both started laughing.

“There, I think that’s enough.”

“Dickhead.” Velvette said, jokingly.

Ellis smirked, “You gotta admit, the ‘Cruella' thing was funny.”

“No, it wasn’t!” She said, tossing the pillow at his head.

“Then why are you smiling, Cupcake?”

Velvette rolled her eyes but she kept smiling. If anything, her smile grew after hearing his nickname for her. The nickname that only he was allowed to use, nobody else.

 

Ellis spoke again, “How about this, either admit that it was funny or say that I won the pillow fight.”

“I will admit no such thing and you did not win.”

“Says the one lying down.”

Velvette immediately sat up and looked Ellis in the eyes. Within seconds the two were up and running around the large living room, continuing the pillow fight and laughing with each other the whole time they did. They kept going until their pillows were destroyed and the floor was covered with stuffing. 

 

The two flopped onto the couch, exhausted. “Well… that was fun…” said Ellis.

“Yeah, it was fun… I think I need a drink now though. Wine?”

“No, thanks, I don’t really drink alcohol.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen you drink at all.”

“Like I said, I don’t really drink.”

“Let me get this straight, you don’t drink alcohol, you don’t drink coffee and you don’t drink tea. Why not?”

“I don’t drink coffee or tea because I don’t like the taste. I only drink alcohol occasionally, but that’s for other reasons.”

“I’d say the end of a shitty day is enough of an occasion.”

“…Fair enough, not much though.”

 

As the two drank, they talked about their lives before they died. “I have one for you, what’s your favourite memory?” asked Ellis.

“Hmm… probably when I won my first design competition. The girl that got second place was someone I went to school with. I never liked her, so beating her felt great. What was even better was when I stole her girlfriend just after.”

Ellis nearly choked on his drink as he started laughing, “Jesus Christ, Vel... So you’re bi then?”

Velvette nodded as she took a sip of her drink, “Your turn, what’s your favourite memory?”

“Oh, that’s easy, when I went to Toronto last September.”

“Why’s that? I went there once for work, it wasn’t really anything special.”

“It’s a bit of a story. My mother grew up there and growing up, my grandparents, who I unfortunately never knew, would take her to a bunch of places, but her favourites were Blue Jays games and the zoo. When I was growing up, she always said that we would go one day. Unfortunately though we never did. Then, I was driving to work one day last August and a radio station was running a contest. People had to call in and answer some trivia questions, whoever got the most correct won tickets to a Jays game against the Rays.” 

 

“And you won?”

“Yep.”

“Huh, I didn’t take you for the type to be good at trivia, no offence.”

“None taken. I like learning random things, it comes in handy sometimes. Anyway, I won the contest and I decided that since I had started working at a new place not too long before and had a little bit of disposable income for the first time in my life, I would stay there an extra day and go to the zoo.”

“Well that sounds lovely, did you bring your mother with you?”

“No, um… she wasn’t able to go. But, it was still a good trip.”

 

“You mentioned having disposable income ‘for once’, what did you mean by that?”

Ellis sighed, “Remember when I said that I wasn’t going to spend money that I didn’t have on fancy clothes? I wasn’t exaggerating. My financial situation was never the best, there were a few times where I had to pick between having a place to live or food to eat. I got lucky though, when I was eighteen I worked on a farm for a little bit, I had to quit because it was too far to drive everyday and I couldn’t find a place to live nearby. After I left though, I kept in contact with the people who owned the farm and they told me that if I wanted, I could go hunting on their property. After going hungry for a bit, I managed to scrape together enough money to get my licenses and a couple of cheap guns. Whenever I went, I tried to make every shot count and I’d give the owners a portion of whatever I got. If there was work to be done around the farm when I was there, I did it too.”

 

“So that’s why you’re good with guns? Both shooting and fixing, I mean.”

“Not sure I would say I’m good at it but I can do it. When you have a rifle that’s about a hundred years old, you need to be able to keep it in working condition.”

“You used a rifle that was a hundred years old?”

“Yep, a Lee-Enfield from World War One, used it mostly for deer. The people who owned the farm sold it to me for dirt cheap since it had been left in the barn and needed a lot of work to make it usable. After that, I went to Cabela’s and got the cheapest 12-gauge and .22 that they had.” 

 

“Well, that answers that.” Velvette finished her drink. “Alright, ask me one more and then we should probably call it quits for the night.”

“Okay. Hmm… Oh, I know! I’m curious, everyone changes when they come down here, what did you look like and why do you think you look the way that you do now?”

“I look pretty similar to how I did then, the biggest changes were my hair and my face, particularly my mouth. As for why, my hair is probably because of the wig I was wearing when I died. On the bright side, despite it being actual hair, I can change it with my powers, even the texture and length, as if it was a wig. Downside is, I can’t change the colour no matter how much bloody dye I use. My mouth, on the other hand, is shaped a bit like a bird’s beak now. Vox thinks it’s because I was a ‘culture vulture’. Now, same question to you.”

 

“Well, my height, the shape of my face and everything is the same as before, the only changes are my skin and also my hair. I’m guessing that I ended up in a snowbank or something when I crashed and the cold is what caused my skin to become so pale. I mean, I was already pretty pale, but not this much. My hair was brown, but I assume it changed for the same reason.”

“What about the lines on your hands and arms?”

“Remember how I mentioned starting a job not long before winning the contest? It was in a machine shop. I worked with mills, lathes, did a bit of welding and stuff. I was driving home from work when I crashed and I’m guessing that I had some swarf on my hands and arms and it turned into those. It makes sense, they’re the same colour as steel.”

 

After that, the two said ‘good night’ to each other and went to their bedrooms. Ellis was about to fall asleep when he heard a loud crashing sound.

“God fuckin’ damn it!”, yelled Velvette.

Ellis got out of bed and walked to the door to Velvette’s room, “Vel? Are you alright?”

After a moment, Velvette opened the door. “No I’m not ‘alright’, look at what just fucking happened!”

Ellis stepped into the room where he saw that Velvette’s bed had collapsed. “Holy shit! You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

“No, I’m not hurt. I just laid down and it fucking collapsed! I thought you said the damage was just ‘cosmetic’!”

“I’m sorry, it must’ve been worse than it looked.”

“No shit. What the fuck am I going to do now?”

“…Take my bed, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“Wait, what?”

“I said take my bed, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“No, I heard you, it’s just that the couch is wrecked.”

“I’ve slept on worse. Just give me a minute to move some of my stuff.”

Ellis did as he said before grabbing an extra blanket and pillow. “Alright, that should be good for now. I’ll move my clothes tomorrow.”

“Just leave them, no sense in making more of a mess. Are you sure that you’re okay with sleeping on the couch?”

“Yeah, it should be fine until we get this place sorted out. Good night, Cupcake.”

“Good night, Ellis… Thank you…”

Notes:

Fun fact: By "Superstack", Ellis is referring to the Inco Superstack which is as tall as the Empire State Building is at its top floor.

Also, I got the "culture vulture" thing from this post on reddit which I saw a few months ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/HazbinHotel/comments/1ajpvuu/really_confused_that_no_one_seems_to_understand/

One last thing, feel free to continue asking questions like last time.

Chapter 13: Chapter 10: Trim, Threats and Paint

Summary:

Takes place during a Hazbin comic that was released by Vivziepop in 2020. I will put the link to the comic in the post-chapter notes to avoid spoilers.

Notes:

Hey everybody, I hope you're all doing well. I apologize again for this chapter taking so long to write, I was out of town. Luckily though, I'm back and this chapter is finally complete. It has a higher word count than the last few chapters, mostly because there are multiple songs, three of which I have been planning to include in the story since I started writing it.

Have a good day! :)

February 14th, 2023…

It had been a busy ten days, but Ellis was almost finished with the repair work in the fashion studio. The designers had already been able to resume their work. There were only a couple of things left to do and then he could start fixing the apartment.

 

---

 

8:32a.m., Velvette’s Apartment…

 

Ellis groaned in pain as he got up from the couch.

“About time you got up.” said Velvette, who sat at the table drinking her morning tea.

“I know, I know. Sorry.”

“What’s wrong now? You’ve gotten slower and slower each morning.”

“...That couch is not comfortable to sleep on at all.”

“No shit, I could’ve told you that just by looking at it.”

“Me busting my ass every day to try to get the work done quicker certainly doesn’t help either.”

“Should just replace the damn couch now.”

“If we do, there’s a chance that the new one will get wrecked while I’m doing the work in here. It’s fine, I’ll just put up with it until everything is back to normal.”

“Speaking of which, how long until you start working in here? Other than the few things that have been done.”

“All that’s left to do in the studio is the trim and painting. I need to go to Cannibal Town today to get the trim but, since it won’t be ready until later, I’m going to stop by Rosie’s first for a visit.”

“Why won’t it be ready? I thought you said that they were fast.”

“They usually are, but I decided to get them to precut everything so all I need to do is nail it into place which means that I should be able to start painting tonight. They’re also a bit slower because they have more work to do for others.”

“How so?”

“When I went to pick up the doors the other day, Cecil told me that they were extra busy because a couple of the contractors that Vox hired gets stuff from them as well.”

“For fuck’s sake…”

“Yeah, so if there’s anything that you want that hasn’t already been ordered, we should order it now, before someone else adds more to their workload.”

“We’re just supposed to replace stuff, Val won’t pay for extra shit.”

“Yes, but I’m doing the work which means that the money that would be spent paying people to do it isn’t being used. So there’s room in the budget if you want to change things that you’re not happy with. As long as it’s done within the budget, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

 

Velvette thought to herself for a moment, “Well, I wouldn’t mind changing this.” She gestured towards the floor. “Right now it’s the same tile that’s in the rest of the tower and I get tired of looking at it.”

“Alright, do you want a different tile, hardwood, or…”

“Wood might be good.”

“I’ll get samples then.” Ellis paused for a moment as he had a thought, “…I just realized something…”

“What?”

“During all of the chaos when Kitty went haywire, none of the windows got broken. It’s weird.”

“Oh, Vox can explain that, he loves talking about that shit. Since you need to pass the lift to his office when you leave, there’s a box in the studio with a new suit in it for him. You can drop it off on your way out and ask him about the windows while you’re there.”

 

---

 

9:18a.m., Vox’s Office…

 

Ellis stepped out of the elevator as the doors opened. “‘Morning, Vox-“

“Shit!”

“Fuck!” Ellis immediately turned away when he saw what he had walked in on, but not before he saw Katie Killjoy jump out from underneath Vox’s desk.

After Katie ran past Ellis and Vox finished putting his pants back on, Vox cleared his throat and gave Ellis his standard greeting, “Ellis! How are you this hellish morning?”

“I was doing alright. I would ask how you’re doing, but I think I know the answer.”

“Hmm. Now, what are you doing down here?”

“I’m heading out to run an errand and Velvette asked me to drop this off on my way. She said it was a new suit.”

“Ah, yes. I’m surprised she finished it this quickly. With all the damage to her studio I thought it would take longer.”

“I’ve been doing the repairs, couldn’t afford to wait.”

“Oh, good.”

“Also, I was wondering, how come none of the building’s windows got broken during Kitty’s rampage? Vel said you could explain it.”

 

“Oh, you could try to drive a car into them and they would be fine. Carmine produced that glass years ago, for Overlords only. It’s infused with angelic properties, it’s also the same type of glass that the shark tank is made of. There are only four things in Hell that could break it.”

“And those are?”

“The Sins, Lucifer’s brat, Lucifer’s ex and a gun that the Carmines also made.”

“Hold on, any gun that they make can break it?”

“No, just one.” Vox used one of his monitors to show Ellis a picture of the weapon. “Back when Carmilla’s husband was still alive and when they were making the glass, they made one rifle that put enough angelic energy into its ammunition to shoot right through that glass. The fucker died in the Extermination right after that and took the knowledge of how to make it with him. After that, Carmilla and her daughters locked the gun away, not that it did them much good.”

“Why’s that?”

“Oh, you need to see this.” Vox turned on one of the other screens using his electricity and pulled up security footage from the Carmines’ building, sometime after dark. “In all my years in Hell, this is the funniest shit I’ve ever seen and it just happened in August of 2021.” Vox played the video and he and Ellis watched as someone riding a fiery horse came into view.

“Is that…”

“A cowboy riding a horse? Yeah, it fucking is.” Vox said, laughing. 

 

They watched as the man got off of his horse, broke into the building and came back out with a rectangular object.

“Holy shit.”

“Exactly.”

“How the fuck?”

“I have no idea. What I do know is that there’s only one gun in all of Hell that can shoot through that glass and it was stolen by a fucking cowboy. Locked away for almost fifty years, in a building owned by the most heavily armed people in Hell and it only took one person five minutes to steal.”

“Goddamn.”

“After that, Carmilla asked me to erase any evidence of the gun existing, not that it was well known by that point. The only proof it exists is this picture, the footage of it being stolen and the gun itself, wherever it is.”

“I’m guessing you did that to prevent people from trying to find it and use it against you and the other Overlords.”

Vox nodded, “We may not all get along, but we all know that fighting against each other is bad for all of us and even worse for business. As for the gun, it probably ended up in one of the lower rings.” Ellis decided not to remind Vox about his feud with the Radio Demon.

 

---

 

10:46a.m., Cannibal Town…

 

“Invisible airwaves crackle with life”

 

“Bright antennae bristle with the energy”

 

“Emotional feedback on a timeless-“

 

Ellis turned off the radio as he parked behind the carpentry shop before getting out of his truck, walking around to the front and stepping inside.

“Good morning, Cecil. How are you today?”

“Mr. Owens, I am well. How are you?”

“I’m doing fine, thanks.”

“You’re early, I’m afraid that your order isn’t ready yet.”

“I know, I’m going to visit Miss Rosie. I thought I would just leave my truck parked around back if that’s alright with you.”

“Oh, of course!”

“Great. Also, I was hoping to get some hardwood flooring samples if you have some.”

“Certainly, I’ll have them ready for you when the rest of your order is ready.”

“Thank you very much, I’ll see you later.”

 

Ellis then left and started walking to the centre of Cannibal Town. Rosie’s store was almost within view when Ellis stopped as he felt that he was being watched. He turned around and saw a tall man who was dressed in red, walking towards him. Alastor, the Radio Demon.

 

“Hello!” Alastor was slightly surprised when the man in front him did not immediately run away when he spoke like many others did.

“Good morning, sir.” said Ellis, cautiously. After the Overlord meeting, he had done some research and was now aware of who Alastor was and why he was so well known.

“Lovely weather we’re having, wouldn’t you agree?”

“It certainly is, sir. Perfect for a walk.”

“Indeed. Now, if my memory serves me right, you are the one that accompanied Miss Velvette to the Overlord meeting not long ago. Why is that?”

“There was no driver available so she had me bring her. Also, I’d like to apologize on her behalf for the… theatrics.”

“Well, it certainly was entertaining , HAHA!” Ellis heard a laugh track emit from the Overlord’s cane. “Now, tell me, what are you doing walking around Cannibal Town on a day like today.”

“I’m running an errand and also going to visit Miss Rosie.”

“ Oh? What reason could you possibly have to see Rosie?”

“She’s a friend of mine, I thought I would stop by to have a chat and see how she’s doing.”

“Ahh, I see. A word of advice, be careful when walking around on your own, Hell can be a dangerous place. Not everyone likes the people who you work for, one may want to use you to send a message to them. I would also advise against trying to do something that would harm Rosie in any manner. She is a friend of mine as well and I do not take kindly to people disrespecting her.” When Alastor finished speaking, his already unsettling smile widened and became more sinister looking.

 

“I have to intention of ever trying to harm or disrespect her in any way. As for the other thing, I assume that you are referring to yourself. No offence, but I’m not exactly concerned.”

Alastor tilted his head to the side, “ Oh? And why exactly is that?”

“Because I only work for Velvette and from what I hear, the feud is between you and Vox. Whatever the reasons for the feud are, that is your business and I have no intention of involving myself, I just ask that I am left to go about my own business.”

“A fair request, to be sure, but I can make no guarantees on account of your boss’s ties to that annoying walking picture box. Unless of course, you would be willing to make a deal?” Alastor’s smile widened again.

“That won’t be necessary, your consideration is enough.”

“ Hmm… fair enough. Well, I must be off, say ‘hello’ to Rosie for me.” Alastor turned and started walking away.

“Will do. Have a good day, sir.”

Alastor stopped for a moment before continuing to walk away. “It’s been quite some time since someone other than Charlie, Niffty or Rosie said that to me…” he thought to himself.

 

After Alastor left, Ellis finished walking to the emporium. When he got there he was surprised to find it was mostly empty aside from a couple of customers and Mary, Rosie’s assistant who was standing behind the checkout counter.

“Good morning, ma’am. Would you happen to know where I can find Miss Rosie?”

“Good morning to you as well, Mr. Owens. Miss Rosie is at the rear of the building waiting for you.”

“Thank you very much.”

 

Ellis walked out and to the rear of the building where he found Rosie sitting at a table in the middle of a garden full of flowers.

“Ellis! There you are, how are you?”

“I’m good, how are you, Miss Rosie?”

“I’m doing well, thank you. Also, you don’t need to call me ‘Miss’. Now, come have a seat. I have some fruit and such which you may like.”

“Thank you, you didn’t need to do that. I hope I’m not keeping you from something important today.” said Ellis as he sat down at the table.

“Nonsense! I have to do something when I have a guest. And you’re not keeping me from anything. I’ve actually been looking for an excuse to take a break from work. This gives me a nice chance to relax a little and not have to deal with certain things and people, especially Susan. I gotta tell ya, that woman could make a psychologist insane! Enough about that though, tell me, how are things at the tower?”

 

Over the course of an hour, Ellis told Rosie about all the chaos at the tower and what he was doing and Rosie talked about how her store was doing and some of the things that were happening in Cannibal Town. Ellis also told Rosie about how he met Velvette since she had been wondering.

“Well, that certainly is a story. I’m glad everything is going well, at least for the most part.”

“Yeah, it is. This might sound like a weird thing to say but, to be honest, dying and ending up in Hell is one of the best things to happen to me in a long time. Oh, I almost forgot, the Radio Demon said to say ‘hello’ for him.”

Rosie’s pitch-black eyes widened, “ Alastor? Wait, when did you speak to him? I know that you were at the Overlord meeting, but I don’t believe that you two interacted at all.”

“I came across him while I was walking here from Cecil’s shop.”

“He was in Cannibal town?” Ellis nodded his head causing Rosie to shake hers and sigh. “I wish he would- Never mind, you don’t need to listen to me rant.”

 

“Miss Rosie, if there’s something on your mind that you want to talk about, I’m happy to listen.”

Rosie sighed, “Please, don’t tell any of this to anyone. Alastor certainly wouldn’t appreciate it and I would also prefer that it remains between the two of us.”

“I won’t, I promise.”

She gave Ellis a soft smile, “I just wish that he would come and visit me. He was gone for so long and now that he’s back, the only time I’ve seen him was at the meeting. I talked to him when we sat down and when we walked out and he seemed… off, like something was bothering him. I asked, but he wouldn’t tell me what it is, just that he was ‘handling it’. Years ago, before he disappeared, he would talk to me, but now, nothing. To be honest, when he first disappeared, I thought it was nothing, just a little game that he was playing with a rival or something. As time went by and he didn’t come back, I was worried that something had happened to him. I know that this is Hell, but he is my best friend. He just left without saying a word and now he’s back all of a sudden and I know that something is wrong but he won’t tell me. He knows that if he just told me, I would do whatever I could to help him.”

“Maybe that’s why, he might be worried that if you get involved, it could put you at risk.”

“Maybe… I just hope that whatever it is, it turns out well and that if he does need help, he’ll tell me.” Rosie cleared her throat and attempted to change the subject. “Now, enough about that. You mentioned when you called that you wanted to talk to me about something in particular.”

“Yes, I have a project that I want to do but can’t work on it at the tower. I need a place to be able to work on it whenever I have some spare time and I was hoping that you might have some spare space somewhere that I could use. I may also need a bit of guidance since I don’t really have any experience with doing this kind of thing. I have a bit of money that I can give you in return.” 

 

“What kind of project is it that you can’t work on it at the… wait…” Rosie gave Ellis a knowing look, “This is something for Velvette, isn’t it?”

“…Yes. It’s supposed to be a surprise. Well, one of two surprises, but this is the more important one.”

“In that case, I’m happy to help in any way that I can! No payment necessary. Now, what is it?” Ellis told Rosie what his plan was after insisting that he compensate her which was ultimately denied. Just after they finished discussing it, Ellis got a call from Cecil notifying him that the order was ready.

“Well, I should probably get going so I can try to have the studio finished by tomorrow night. It was lovely spending time with you, Miss Rosie.”

“Likewise, Ellis! Also, I told you, you don’t need to call me ‘Miss’. Just ‘Rosie’ is fine for a friend of mine. Now, hopefully I can have a bit more peace and quiet today and not have to-“ 

“ROSIE!”, yelled a woman in the distance.

“Susan?”

"Susan.”

“Well, I’ll let you deal with that. Have a good day, Rosie. I'll see you again soon.”

“Same to you, Ellis. Oh, and take an apple or something with you in case you need a snack on your way back!” 

 

When Ellis got back to the carpentry shop, he quickly loaded the trim into his truck, got the flooring samples and began his drive back to the tower. He then turned on the radio, like always. 

 

“…don’t you remember?”

 

“We built this city, we built this city on-“

 

“Oh fuck no!” Ellis quickly changed the station.

“ Bliss 92.5, Hell’s top pop and indie station.”

“That’s better.”

“Up next, songs from Billie Eilish, Talk and more, after this commercial break.”

“I wonder what scams are being advertised today.”

 

The first ad started just as Ellis finished his thought.

“Hi there! I’m Blitz, the ‘o’ is silent, and I’m the founder I.M.P! Are you a piece of shit that got yourself sent to Hell, or are you an innocent soul who got FUCKED over by someone else?! Well, luckily for you, thanks to our company’s special access to the living world, we can help you take care of your unfinished business by taking out anyone who screwed you over when you were alive!”  

 

“When you want somebody gone”

 

“And you don’t want to wait too long”

 

“Call the Immediate Murder Professionals!”

 

“Hand grenade or cyanide”

 

“We’ll make it look like suicide”

 

“The Immediate Murder Professionals!”

 

“We do our job so well”

 

“Because we come straight up from Hell!”

 

“We’ll kill your husband or your wife”

 

“We’ll even let you keep the knife”

 

“We’re the Immediate Murder Professionals!”

 

“Call us today at-“

 

“Well, at least they have a good jingle.”

 

---

 

3:31p.m., V Tower Garage…

 

Ellis parked his truck in his usual spot by the service elevator. He had just gotten out and started loosening the ratchet straps holding the trim in the truck bed when he was startled by a blue bolt of electricity from a security camera and Vox appearing next to him.

“JESUS FUCKIN’ CHRIST!”

“ Ellis, you’re back.”

“Fucking hell, Vox. You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

Vox ignored the comment, “You and I need to have a discussion.”

“Okay… what about?” Asked Ellis as he continued what he was doing.

“This.” Vox showed Ellis his phone revealing footage of him talking to Alastor.

“How did you-”

“I get an alert whenever the GPS on your phone shows that you’ve entered Cannibal Town. When that happens, a drone follows you.”

“Why?”

“Because Alastor is close to Rosie and I need to know if someone that works here, especially someone in a position like yours, is working with the enemy. With how much time you spend in Cannibal Town and how close you seem to be getting with Rosie, your loyalty comes into question. I can’t even be sure of what you discuss with Rosie as Alastor has blocked my tech from being usable within the centre of Cannibal Town with only minor exceptions. So the question is Ellis, where does your loyalty lie?” Vox’s expression became very stern.

 

Ellis could tell that Vox was trying to test and intimidate him.

“Since that drone was following me, you already know that Alastor approached me. I never intended to ever even speak to him until he spoke to me and I had to respond, if I hadn’t I likely would’ve pissed him off and I do not want to end up as part of his next broadcast. The drone also likely picked up what I said to Alastor so you no doubt know what I told him, but I’ll say this anyway. I work for Velvette, so my loyalty lies here. I want nothing to do with the feud between you and Alastor. If I was going to switch sides, I would’ve done it when he offered, especially after the shit that Val has done and has tried to do to me. I also have no reason to be disloyal other than what Val has done but, if you think that a little abuse from him is enough to get me to run off to someone else, especially the goddamn Radio Demon of all people, you should know that I lived through a hell of a lot worse. My life here is a lot better than the life I had before I died, the last thing I want to do is throw it away. As for Rosie, she is a friend and I don’t care if she is close to Alastor or not, it makes no difference to me. She and I are on good terms and I have no intention of changing that, not because of her position or her generosity or Alastor’s threat or anything else, but because I value her friendship. If you want to know what our conversation was about, we mostly talked about her store and a bit about the renovation work I’m doing here. She also asked about how I met Vel so I told her about that.” Ellis didn’t mention Rosie talking about Alastor because he promised that he wouldn’t, and he will never break a promise unless he has a very good reason to. 

 

Vox’s face softened ever so slightly as he smirked, indicating that he believed what Ellis said.

“Good. For the record, I did know what you said to Alastor, this was a test to see if you could be trusted. If you had failed…” Vox grabbed Ellis by the shoulders. “I would have torn you apart.”

“Right…”

Vox let go of Ellis and began to walk towards the security camera before stopping. “Though, I still might have to one day. There might come a time where you will need to get involved. I’m sure you’ll make the right decision, though.” Vox then left the same way he arrived, leaving Ellis alone in the garage.

“ Alrighty then… Time to get this shit upstairs.”

 

---

 

9:47p.m., Velvette's Studio…

 

Ellis laid the last drop cloth on the floor. He had spent the hours since returning to the tower installing the trim, which went as fast and as smoothly as he had hoped, before taking a break for dinner. It was now time to start painting. As he finished taking off his flannel shirt, he heard the apartment door open.

“You’re starting to paint now?” Asked Velvette as she walked down the stairs and towards Ellis.

“Yeah, I figure that if I do the first coat now, I can do the second tomorrow and start working in the apartment while it dries. Hopefully this will only take two coats.”

“Brill.” 

 

Velvette walked over and picked up one of the paint rollers.

“Where do we start?”

“We?” Ellis asked, confused and surprised.

“I decided to take a break from my work. Thought I might come to do some painting, try something different.”

“I’m guessing that you’ve never painted a wall before.”

“You’re right, I haven’t, but you can teach me.”

“Alright, before we start though, you should probably change your clothes. Also, put on something that will stop the paint from getting in your hair.

With a wave of her hand, Velvette’s dress was replaced with a jumpsuit and her hair became short and covered with a bandanna. “Good?”

“Yep. Oh, one more thing, is it alright if I play some music? You’ve probably figured out by now that I like to have some playing while I work.”

“I’ll put something on while you get started, but no singing.” 

 

Ellis began to pour some paint into a tray while Velvette started playing one of the daily playlists on “VTunes”. Velvette kept skipping songs as she became annoyed.

“Why the fuck are all of these love songs… shit, I forgot, today is Valentine’s Day.”

“Yeah, it is. Also, what’s wrong with love songs?”

“There’s nothing wrong with all of them, just certain ones and bad memories, caused by you-know-who, is what’s wrong.”

“Right… Perhaps you just need to find someone to make good memories with to help push the bad ones away.”

“…Perhaps. Now, let’s get started.”

“Alright. First, we need to paint along the trim, grab a brush.”

Velvette had given up on trying to find songs that she would have preferred listening to but luckily for her, they soon changed to one’s that she didn’t know. 

 

“It’s crazy how manipulation feels like a soft blanket holding you tight”

 

“And every night sleeping next to someone’s just as warm as the gaslight”

 

As the two painted, Velvette moved her brush quickly, causing paint to splatter onto Ellis.

“Hey! Slow down a bit.”

“Did I do something wrong- oh.” Velvette laughed for a moment when she saw the paint that had ended up on Ellis.

“Here, I’ll show you. You want to use slow and smooth strokes, like this.”

“Okay, got it.”

“Great. Oh, one more thing.”

“What?”

“This.” Ellis moved his hand that was holding his brush quickly, purposefully splattering paint onto Velvette.

“Hey!”

“That’s payback.”

“You Cheeky Bugger!” Velvette flung paint at Ellis again, getting some on his forehead. This led to them going back and forth, playfully getting paint on each other and laughing. 

 

“It’s funny how jealousy sounds like somebody’s worried ‘bout you”

 

“And all that control takes on different roles”

 

“Don’t realize the toll it takes on you”

 

“I’ve been to pretty dark places”

 

“Stuck in toxic situations”

 

“But you taste like stability”

 

“And that’s new for me”

 

The two stopped after a few moments.

“We should probably get back to painting the wall before we run out of paint.” said Ellis, still laughing.

“Yeah, we should, but first…” Velvette smirked as she pressed one of her paint covered fingers onto the tip of Ellis’ nose, adding to his already messy look. “I win.” 

 

“Yeah this feels like homemade cooking”

 

“Like backyard kissing”

 

“Like hold the door open and I laugh but it’s nice”

 

“Like Sunday sleepin’ in”

 

“Baby, I’m leanin’ in”

 

“Conversations I can tell that you’re listening”

 

“I thought I knew what”

 

“I knew what love was”

 

“Guess I didn’t know at all”

 

“‘Cause I don’t know what this is”

 

“But I think love’s supposed to feel like this”

 

---

 

11:07p.m., Velvette’s apartment…

 

Ellis had just laid down on the couch to go to sleep when Velvette walked over to him.

“Get up.” she said.

Ellis sat up, “Why? Need me to do something?”

“I’ve decided that you’re not sleeping on the couch anymore.”

“Um… why? And where else am I supposed to sleep?”

“Because you’re working your ass off every damn day and then going to sleep on this uncomfortable piece of shit. So instead, we’ll share the bed.” Velvette realized the tone of voice she was using was more aggressive than she meant to be. “…If you want to, that is. I figure that you’d be in less discomfort in the morning.”

“Are you sure that you’re okay with sharing the bed with me?”

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be offering. Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve slept next to each other. I’ll stay on my side of the bed and you stay on yours, we’ll make it work.” 

 

---

 

February 15th, 7:30a.m.…

 

Velvette was woken up by the sound of her alarm. As her eyes started to open, she realized that her head wasn’t on a pillow, but instead was on someone’s chest. Forgetting that she and Ellis had shared the bed, Velvette was immediately startled.

“What the fuckin’ hell!?” She instinctively pushed the person away and off the edge of the bed.

“W-woah-“ Ellis awoke as he was pushed before landing on the floor face-first with a loud “thud” sound. “Ow, fuuuck.”

It was at that moment that Velvette remembered the night before and realized that it was Ellis and that she must have rolled over to him in her sleep. “Oh, shit… Ellis, are you-“ He raised a hand, signaling to give him a moment. 

 

Ellis climbed back onto the bed and flopped over. “Christ on a stick, Cupcake. So much for ‘less discomfort’.” He said with a faint laugh.

“I… I’m sorry. I forgot that it was you and just… the last time I shared an actual bed with someone it was-“

Ellis placed a finger on her lips. “It’s alright, Cupcake. No need to apologize. I needed to get up to make breakfast anyway.” He let out a groan as he began to sit up before Velvette stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I, uh, I’ll handle breakfast today. You just take a minute, since you just fell… because of me.” Velvette got up and waved her hand to change out of what she wore to bed and into her clothes for the day.

“Alright... Thanks, Cupcake.”

“…No problem.”

 

Once Velvette walked out of the room, Ellis had a realization, one that he wasn’t sure how he didn’t have earlier.

“Huh, that’s weird, ever since the night that we watched ‘Ocean’s’ and fell asleep on the couch, I haven’t had the nightmare…”

Notes:

The Radio Demon (comic): https://hazbinhotel.fandom.com/wiki/The_Radio_Demon_(comic)

Also, I've decided to keep doing the question thing for all chapters from now on, unless otherwise specified.

Chapter 14: Chapter 11: The Thing

Summary:

It's the day that Velvette is leaving for the festival (except for the very beginning of the chapter). Other than that, I'm sure it will be a completely normal day...

Notes:

Have a good day! :)

Edit: I should probably mention that in this fic, season 1 of Helluva Boss takes place in 2021 and season 2 takes place in 2022.

March 11, 2023…

 

It’s been almost a month since Ellis started renovating the apartment. Unlike the studio, the work in the apartment didn’t need to be finished very quickly so Ellis didn’t have to push himself as hard and didn’t need to rush. He was also able to start taking care of some of his regular responsibilities again, much to Velvette’s relief.

 

---

 

10:37p.m., Velvette’s Apartment…

 

“No.”

bang.

“Also no.”

BUZZ.

“Already watched that.” Velvette sat on the new couch, scrolling through the seemingly endless amount of shows on VoxFlix. Despite Ellis suggesting otherwise, she had decided to have the couch and TV replaced before Ellis finished the renovations. Luckily, they had not gotten damaged like Ellis had feared. “ Ugh, These shows are all shi-“

bang, bang, bang.

“For fuck’s sake. Ellis!”

Ellis stepped into the room a moment later, covered in sawdust. “Yeah?”

“I know that you’re trying to finish the floor in my room tonight, but could you please wait ‘till tomorrow? I’ve got a fucking headache and the noise is driving me mad.”

“Actually, I just finished.” Ellis left to unplug the air compressor and the mitre saw that he had been using and came back a few minutes later. Velvette used her powers to change his clothes to ones that weren’t covered in dust before he sat down next to her. “You still haven’t picked something to watch?”

“No, not yet. All the shows that Vox makes are shit and I don’t feel like watching my usual ones from the living world… Here, you pick something.” she said as she handed him the remote.

 

Ellis thought to himself for a moment. “Hmm… Oh, I know. Ever heard of ‘Shoresy’?” he said, putting it into the search bar.

“Can’t say that I have. What is it?”

“Canadian show, spin-off of another Canadian show called ‘Letterkenny’. All you need to know about the original show is that one of the characters, Shoresy, left one place to join a hockey team somewhere else.”

“It’s a show about hockey?”

“Yep.”

“I thought you liked baseball.”

“I prefer baseball, but I like hockey as well, especially in this show.”

“Alright, fuck it, anything’s better than just sitting here and watching nothing. But if it sucks, you’re never picking again.” As the show started, Ellis put his arm on the back of the couch and Velvette leaned against him.

 

---

 

(For those of you who have never watched "Shoresy", if you are able to, I recommend watching the video below for context for a later part of the chapter. I will also put the link in the post-chapter notes.)

 

---

 

March 12th, 7:30a.m., Ellis’ Bedroom…

 

Ellis awoke to the sound of the alarm. When he opened his eyes, he saw Velvette laying with her head on his chest and he could feel that one of his arms was around her. Since they started sharing the bed, the two had woken up in similar positions almost every morning. Also, luckily for Ellis, Velvette hadn’t pushed him off of the bed again, but that didn’t stop him from occasionally making jokes about it.

“Good morning, Cupcake.” Velvette let out a soft groan. “I know that you’re probably comfortable, but is there any chance you could move a bit so I can get up, please?”

“…Five more minutes…still tired…” Velvette ended up spending an extra fifteen minutes sleeping before letting Ellis get up. 

 

As Ellis stood at the stove, cooking breakfast, Velvette came out and sat at the table, resting her head in her hands.

“Why are you so tired today?”, asked Ellis as he set a cup of tea in front of her before taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

“Stayin’ up to watch that show is why. This is your fault since you put it on.”

“Says the one who kept saying ‘just one more episode’ until we finished all six, even after I said that we should go to bed because it was late.”

“Oh shut up, dickhead.”

Ellis smirked, knowing that Velvette couldn’t argue what he said. “If you’re that tired, why don’t you walk around the apartment a bit. Maybe that will wake you up.” 

 

Velvette took Ellis’ advice and walked around the apartment. She suddenly stopped when she got to the window in the living room.

“WHAT THE FUCK!?”

“Now she’s up.”, Ellis quietly said to himself. “What’s wrong, Cup- Christ on a stick!” It was at that moment that Ellis saw what the problem was. The giant billboard that was across the street now had an image of Katie Killjoy and said "BETTER THAN YOU!” in big, bold letters.

“That fuckin’ cunt!”

“You said it, not me.”

“That bitch must’ve had that put up overnight.”

“Yeah, it definitely wasn’t there yesterday.”

“I swear, I’m gonna go kick the shit out of her.”

“How about we just close the curtains for now and eat breakfast before it gets cold.”

Velvette sighed, “… Fine. ”

As the two sat down at the table, Ellis decided to tease Velvette a little to take her mind off of the billboard. “You know, if you keep moving to me while we sleep like you’ve been doing, I might start to think you’re doing it on purpose.”

Velvette rolled her eyes with a smile and raised a middle finger, “It’s not on purpose. Cheeky Bugger.” “Not that I mind waking up like that.”, she thought.

 

---

 

11:49a.m., Velvette’s Studio…

 

“M-Miss Velvette?”

“What is it now?”

“I-I have a design for you to look at.”

As Velvette took the piece of paper from her employee, Ellis entered the studio from the apartment. “This is complete shit! What the fuck do I pay you for!? Go and do your job right!.” Vellvette balled up the paper and threw it at the designer, “Fuckin’ useless.”

Ellis, who had remained at the top of the staircase and witnessed what had just happened, as well as many other times that Velvette had verbally abused her other employees, pulled out his phone. A moment later, Velvette felt her phone buzz with a notification.

 

Text from “Cheeky Bugger”: “Cupcake”

 

Velvette turned and looked at Ellis who motioned for her to follow him into the apartment. Once the door was closed, Velvette immediately questioned him. “What is it? I’m busy trying to get the girls to actually do something right for once.”

“I know that you’re busy and I’m sorry for interrupting, I just had a thought.”

Velvette rolled her eyes and sighed, “What?”

“I know it isn’t my place to tell you how to run your studio, but I would like to make a suggestion. Maybe the designers would do better if you treat them better. The models too. Perhaps try treating them a bit like how you treat me.”

“What, let them live with me and shit?”

“You know that’s not what I mean. I’m talking about the yelling and stuff. You yell at them and insult them and everything else almost all the time. Maybe if you tried encouraging them and giving them a bit of support instead, they would actually be able to do what you want them to do.”

Velvette scoffed, “I’ve been doing this long enough to know that it won’t work.”

“It worked for me.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Remember the day that Val wrecked the studio and launched me into the wall?”

“Yeah, of course I do.”

“When you left that day and I stayed in the studio, that’s what I did, I gave them support and look at what they did. You said yourself that it was the best work that they’ve ever done. That was in one day, with a little support from me, imagine what they could do long-term with support from someone with the experience that you have.”

“...Fine, I will try.”

“That’s all I ask. Oh, by the way, I made your lunch for you, it’s in the fridge.”

“...Thanks. What are you doing now?”

“I’m going to take a break from working in here and join Ian and Hazel for lunch.”

“I know who Hazel is, she’s head of security, but who the fuck is Ian?”

“Vox’s assistant.”

“Oh, so that’s what his name is. Anyway, when you get back, I need you to start loading the stuff for the festival into the lorry. I leave for Imp City at six-thirty.”

“What day are you coming back?”

“I’m not sure, the festival is supposed to be done on the sixteenth, but they always take longer than they’re supposed to.”

“Okay. Do you want me to cook dinner early today or are you going to get something there?”

“I’ll get something there, don’t worry about it.” 

 

---

 

12:13p.m., Break Room…

 

“Looking back, that day was so funny.”

“It wasn’t at the time, but yeah, now it’s great.”

“I almost wish I was here then because that’s fucking hilarious.” Ian, Hazel and Ellis sat at a table talking over lunch. “Oh, Ian before I forget, are we still on for tonight?”

“Yeah, as long as I don’t get stuck doing extra stuff for Vox today.”

“What’s happening tonight?”, asked Hazel.

“Remember that thing that I mentioned?”

“Oh, yes. I forgot that was today.”

A moment later, a dark figure approached. It was Travis, Valentino’s main director. “Hazel, when are you going to stop spending time with this loser and let me take you out?” He said, motioning to Ian.

“Never. When are you going to stop being a sleazy piece of shit?” Hazel retorted.

“Ouch. Careful, babe, words hurt.”

“F-f-fuck off, T-Travis.” Ian stammered.

“What was that, Fishy? I couldn’t understand what you said, why don’t you repeat it?”

“F-fuck off.”

“Try it again one more time, I still-”

 

slam.

 

Ellis put down the apple that he had been eating with enough force to smash it and he and Hazel stood up.

“He told you to fuck off.”, they said in unison.

“Oh, Ellis, I didn’t see you there.”

“Funny, I thought Val was the blind one, but here you are, deaf and blind. I guess you didn’t get those benefits when you ended up down here as an owl.”

“At least I got a new form and some abilities, instead of basically just being a human like you.”

“I have some strength and that helps me get by just fine. Besides, I’d rather be like a human than have the preen myself and end up staring at my own asshole like you do.”

Hazel chimed in, “It’s not just when he preens himself, every time he looks in a mirror, all he sees is an asshole.”

“Ha! You know what else is funny? Even though Ian is a fish, Travis is the slimy one here. No offense, Ian.”

“None taken.”

 

Travis was getting annoyed now, “You’re talking a lot of shit, Ellis, but I doubt you can back it up.” Travis moved Ellis’s flannel shirt to look at where he usually wears his holster. “Oh look, you don’t even have your gun. I’m guessing you don’t have your knife either. What happened? Did you forget them?”

“No, I didn’t forget them, I just don’t keep them on me around the tower unless I’m going out.”

“Not like he needs them to deal with your ass, Shnookums .”, said another voice. Ellis and Travis turned and saw Angel Dust walking over.

“Angel, how are you today?”

“I’m doing just fine, Short Stuff. I don’t think I got an invite to this party, what did I miss?”

“Not much, just Travis being his usual sack-of-shit self and us telling him to fuck off.”, said Hazel.

Travis spoke again, more agitated than before, “Ellis, you’re nothing without your weapons. I can beat you any day.”

Angel spoke before Ellis could even open his mouth to talk, “Did you forget what he did to Kitty the day of the lingerie shoot? You do realize that he did that with his bare hands, right? Or were you too busy staring at me and the gals modeling to notice?” Travis’ eyes widened. “And if I were you, I’d be even more worried about Hazel shooting that baby-dick of yours clean off than Ellis beating your ass. I know she has her gun.” Travis quickly turned and walked away, muttering to himself.

Angel turned to the group, “Well babes, what are we talking about today?”

Ian spoke, “We were talking about the day that Valentino finally got glasses before Travis showed up.”

“Oh shit! That was one hell of a day. Now it only takes him one hour to count ten bills instead of three. Haha!”

 

---

 

5:42p.m., Velvette’s Office…

 

Velvette sat at her desk, singing along to the music that she had playing as she worked.

 

“...When you give me those ocean eyes”

 

“I’m scared”

 

“I’ve never fallen from quite this high”

 

“Fallin’ into your ocean eyes”

 

“Those ocean eyes”

 

“Holy shit.”

Velvette practically jumped out of her chair. She turned her head and saw Ellis standing in the doorway. “Jesus fuckin’ Christ, Ellis!”

Ellis couldn’t help but laugh, “Sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“How long have you been standing there?”

“Not long. I knew that you could sing, but goddamn. Never thought I would hear someone sing that song better than Billie.”

Velvette smirked as she rolled her eyes. “Is everything ready to go?”

“I believe so. I put everything for Mayday and her crew in the truck like you said and I put your personal bags in the car.”

“Brill.”

“So… how did things go today in the studio?”

“Things were actually pretty good.”

“So, you took my advice then?”

“…Yes. The girls started to do better.” Ellis gave her a smug look. “Don’t even start.”

“I’m waiting for you to say it.”

“I’m not gonna say it.”

“Come on, one time.”

“Don’t you have flooring to replace or some shit?”

“The only flooring left to do is in here and I can’t do it until you leave. Just one time, please.”

“Ugh, fine. You were right. Happy now?”

“Very.” Velvette rolled her eyes again. 

 

“What are you working on?”

“Just finishing some paperwork before I leave.”

“Want some help?”

“No, I’m almost done. Besides, you have enough shit to do around here while I’m gone.”

“Vel, if you haven’t noticed by now, it doesn’t matter how much shit I have to do, I’m willing to help you with extra stuff.”

“Oh, yeah? How willing?”

“What, are we doing the one bit from the show last night, now?” Velvette let out a slight laugh. “Well… I’d take the stairs up the CN Tower just to bring your morning tea to you.”

“Oh?”

“I’d fight a Kermode bear just to be able to cook a decent dinner for you.”

“Mm.”

“I’d swim the length of the Rideau Canal just to see you smile, I swear to god, that’s how willing I am.”

Velvette’s smile widened as she laughed, “Careful, you almost sounded serious for a moment.”

Ellis smirked before saying “Who said I wasn’t?” and giving Velvette a playful wink. The two laughed together for a few moments.

“You’re fucking ridiculous some times, you know that?”

“I know, but I also know that you like it.”

Velvette rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Cheeky Bugger.”

“Well, I should go and get ready to start working in here. Do me a favour and let me know when you get to Imp City.”

“Why? Are you stalking me now?”, she teased.

“No, just so I know that you got there safely is all.”

“Alright then, talk to you later. Bye.”

“Bye, have a safe trip.” As Ellis walked out of the office, he thought to himself, “If only you knew that I was being serious.”

 

---

 

8:27p.m., Security Office…

 

Ellis answered his phone as he closed the door of his locker. “Rosie, how are you this evening?”

“I’m good, Ellis. How are you?”

“I’m good as well.”

“Lovely! I was just calling to check if you’re still doing that thing tonight.”

“I am. I just grabbed my lock picks, now I’m just waiting for Ian and then we’ll head out.”

“Wonderful! Have a safe drive.”

“Thank you, see you soon.”

Ian arrived a few minutes later, “Are you ready?"

“Yep, let’s go.”

Hazel stopped them as they walked out of the office, “You two stay safe, and Ellis.”

“Yeah?”

“If you let anything happen to Ian, I’ll kill you.”

Ellis gave her a salute, “You won’t find a single scratch on him that isn’t already there, I promise. Oh, I almost forgot, can you please delete the footage from the cameras in the garage from about 4:15 to 4:25 this afternoon? You’ll see why.”

 

As the two got in Ellis’ truck, Ian asked, “Why did you ask her to delete footage from the cameras in here?”

“If we’re lucky, you’ll see why.”

The two had been on the road for about ten minutes and were driving through one of the “red-light districts” when they saw a car pulled over on the side of the road and someone standing next to it yelling into their phone. Ellis started to laugh as they passed.

“Hold on, was that Travis?”, asked Ian.

“Yep, his back tires are flat.”

“Okay then… Wait, how do you know- ohhhh. ”

“I put some screws into them earlier. Wanna know the best part?”

“What?”

“I put the screws near the sidewalls so he can’t patch the holes. He'll have to get new tires.”

“Now that is funny.”

 

After a few moments, Ian spoke again. “You said that you were doing another thing as well?”

“Yeah, but that I can do by myself at the tower. I already have pretty much everything that I need and I know how to do it. I’m planning on starting that tonight after we get back.”

“Don’t you need to sleep at some point?”

“Trust me, it won’t be my first time getting less sleep than I should. By the way, thank you, again, for helping me with this. I owe you one.”

“You don’t owe me anything.”

“Yes, I do. You’re a good friend to me, and now you’re going out of your way to help me with my crazy little plan. So, anytime you need something, even if you think I don’t owe you, just let me know how I can help.”

“… Well, there is one thing, but I don’t know if you would be willing to help with it…”

“You won’t know for sure unless you ask.”

“You know how Hazel and I both don’t have a car?”

“Yeah, that’s why you guys borrow this when you go out.”

“Well, we were thinking about getting a car of our own so that we wouldn’t need to borrow this anymore. The problem is, neither of us have the money to buy one, so I was wondering if you could maybe… help us steal one?”

“Yeah, of course I can.”

“Really? For some reason I kind of thought that you wouldn’t be willing to.”

“How do you think I got this truck? I stole it within hours of arriving in Hell so that I didn’t have to carry Velvette all the way back to the tower. If you want, we can steal something for you two on our way back and I can start working on the other thing tomorrow instead. Also, you’re doing me a bigger favour right now than that, so I still owe you.”

“Great, thanks. By the way, you never did fully tell me the story of how you met Velvette.”

“Well, we have a long drive ahead of us, so I might as well tell you now. It started with me waking up while falling from the sky…”

 

---

 

11:24p.m., Velvette’s Hotel Room, Imp City…

 

Knock. Knock.

 

Velvette went to the door and looked through the peephole to see who had knocked. Her face immediately lit up as she saw who it was before opening the door. "Verosika!”

“Velvette!” The two shared a quick hug.

“Come in, come in. How are you? How was Miami?”

“I’m good! So was Miami. Though, anything is better than the incident two years ago. How was the drive?”

“Bloody dreadful, you know that I hate long car rides, always boring. You ready for the festival?”

“You know it!”

“Brill. What are you up to now?”

“I thought I would stop by here and we could catch up. We haven’t really talked much these last few weeks, how are things?”

“Alright. A bit chaotic, but alright.”

“What’s so chaotic? Aside from the usual shit.”

 

The two moved to sit at the small table in the room and Verosika pulled out her flask of beelzejuice.

“Oh, you know that this year has been fuckin’ crazy so far. The latest was about a month ago when Valentino’s robot went insane and tore up the whole bloody tower.”

“Val still has you producing those fucking ‘Love Potions’?”

Velvette sighed, “You know that I'd rather not talk about that shit.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s just that I had to hear the whole lecture from Ozzie again when I told him that you were doing the outfits for this festival. I know why you do it. Anyway, you were talking about the robot.”

“Yeah, it wrecked most of the studio and destroyed my flat.”

“Holy shit. Wait, if the studio got wrecked, how did you finish the stuff for the festival?”, Verosika asked while handing the flask to Velvette.

“Oh, that's thanks to Ellis. Vox had all the contactors working on the rest of the tower and said I would need to wait, so Ellis started fixing everything himself.” Velvette took a sip from the flask.

“Well, I’m glad that you finally got a boyfriend that isn’t a piece of shit.” 

 

Velvette spat out the beelzejuice.

“Ha!”

“He’s not my boyfriend. You know that Val put that in the news and Vox wanted us to pretend it was real.”

“Uh-huh, sure.”

“Bitch, I’m serious. I told you before, it’s not gonna happen.”

“Bitch, please, don’t get me started. You live with him, he cooks for you, he makes you laugh, I know that you’ve seen him naked. Hell, last time we had a proper conversation, you kept talking about him, how you two met and how he ended up carrying you when you couldn’t walk. It’s going to happen eventually.”

Velvette held up both of her middle fingers, “Fuck you.”

“I think you meant to say that you want to fuck him.”

“For fuck’s sake…”

“I saw how you two were looking at each other in the photos for your Valentine’s lingerie line this year. By the way, those pictures are fucking hot and the lingerie is amazing, I got two of everything.”

“Okay, one, thank you. Two, you didn’t see shit because there was nothing to see.”

“Did you forget that I’m a succubus? I know this shit.” 

 

Velvette rolled her eyes, “I can only imagine what Ellis’ reaction to hearing this conversation would- Shit, I forgot.” Velvette picked up her phone.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ellis wanted me to let him know that I got here safely and I forgot to do it.”

“And now you’re doing it? Bitch, you are so fucking in love-“

“Shut up before he answers.”

“Put it on speaker, I want to know what he sounds like.” 

 

Velvette rolled her eyes again but did what her friend said just as Ellis answered.

“Hey, Vel. What’s up?”

“Not much. You wanted me to let you know that I got here safely.”

“Yeah, how was the drive?”

“Boring as hell.”

“Well, at least that’s better than bad.”

Velvette then heard the sound of something breaking and then an alarm.

“What the fuck are you doing?”, she asked as she and Verosika exchanged confused looks.

“I may or may not be stealing a car. Hold on, I’m putting you on speaker so I can start this thing. There.”

“Why the fuck are you stealing a car? What’s wrong with your truck?”

“Oh, nothing. The car isn’t for me.”

“Then why are you stealing it?”

“Ian and Hazel want a car and can’t afford to buy one, so Ian asked me to help him steal one.”

 

Velvette could hear the engine start through the phone before Ellis started talking to Ian.

“Alright Ian, it’s all yours.”

“Thank you.”

“You’ll have to stop to get gas, otherwise you won’t make it all the way back to the tower. You drive ahead and I’ll follow you.” Ellis turned speaker mode off and began to speak to Velvette again. “Sorry about that, Vel.”

“How far away from the tower are you that you would need to get more petrol to make it back?”

“About an hour.”

Velvette became slightly suspicious, “You drove an hour away from the tower just to steal a car?”

Ellis quickly thought of a lie as he got into his truck, “Ian couldn’t decide which one he wanted so I just drove until he saw one that he liked.”

“Okay then…”

Ellis quickly changed the subject, “Hey, I just realized, I don’t need to worry about you pushing me out of the bed tonight!”

Velvette could picture the look on Ellis’s face as he said that. “It was one time! One time in a month of sharing a bed!” Velvette didn’t notice the look on Verosika’s face as she said that and instead was focused on Ellis who began to laugh. “Cheeky Bugger. Alright, I’m hanging up now so I can try to get a full night’s sleep since you aren’t here to keep me up with a stupid show.”

“Ha! Whatever you say. Good night, Cupcake.”

“Good night, Ellis.” 

 

Velvette looked up as she ended the call and saw the giant grin on Verosika’s face. “What?”

“‘Cupcake’?!”

“Fuck.”

“He calls you ‘Cupcake’?! More importantly, you let him call you that?!”

“God fuckin’ damn it.”

“And you’ve been sharing a bed for a month! Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier? This is great!”

“This is why I didn’t tell you. I knew this is how you would react. I told you before, I am not gonna date him.”

“Why the fuck not?!”

“You know why.”

“Velvette, Honey, I know the shit that X did hurt and still does, but you can’t sit here and tell me that you don’t have feelings for this guy.” Velvette remained silent. “I know it’s not the same situation, but I moved on from Blitz and look at me now. I’ve got someone who I care about and who cares about me. You need to try to move on. Clearly, this guy actually cares about you.”

“You don’t know that.”

“He wanted you to let him know that you got here safely, not to mention the other things that he’s done that you’ve told me about. He wouldn’t do all of that if he didn’t care.” Velvette sighed. “You have a chance to be with someone who seems like a good guy and who I know that you like, take it.”

Notes:

Fun facts with Ellis: "Kermode bears, or 'spirit bears' as they're often called, are only found in British Columbia, Canada."

(Please let me know if I should continue with the "Fun Facts" in future chapters or if you would prefer that I don't. Thanks.)

Clip from season 1, episode 4 of "Shoresy": https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=cpaY3lbq7Qw

Chapter 15: Chapter 12: Not Important

Summary:

Ellis has been busy in the time that Velvette has been away...

Notes:

I started to do something a bit different with the songs in this chapter and embedded links to the songs in the chapter so they can be listened to while you are reading certain parts (I still wrote the lyrics in the chapter for those of you who either don’t want the audio or are unable to play it.). I plan to continue to do this in future chapters for the more important songs, the less important ones will continue to just have written lyrics. Also, for reference, if you see “[lyrics]”, it means that the lyrics are in the background of the song/not being sung by the main singer and if you see (“lyrics”), it means that the song is one that is not being played in the story world and is not heard by the characters and instead can only be heard by you, the reader (These may be used together in some cases.).

Have a good day! :)

March 18th, 2023, 5:56p.m., Cecil’s Carpentry Shop…

 

The bell chimed as Ellis stepped inside. “Cecil! How are you?”

“I’m good, how are you?”

“I’m doing alright. Sorry for coming so late today.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Owens. We needed the extra time to finish anyway. I am sorry for how long it has taken us to finish a simple bed frame.”

“No need to apologize, I know how busy you are. Besides, it’s not exactly a ‘simple’ frame, it’s massive.”

Cecil smiled, “That is true. All of the pieces are ready for you at the back, the hardware is in a bag on top of them.”

“Perfect.”

“How are those projects of yours coming along?”

“Very well, thanks for asking. I’m heading to Rosie’s after I’m done here to finish the one and I’m going to finish the other when I get back home. Luckily for me, Velvette is still in Imp City. Oh, I almost forgot, I have your carving tools in the truck. Thanks again for letting me borrow them.”

 

Ellis arrived at Rosie’s store not long later.

“Ellis! There you are, I was starting to think you weren’t coming.”

“Rosie, I’m so sorry for being late. I’ve been so busy the last few days, I don’t even know what day it is.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. Now, let’s get to work. I’ve already got everything ready so we can pick up where we left off. It should be easy as pie.”

 

---

 

March 19th, 3:14a.m., Velvette’s Studio…

 

“C’mon, just a bit more…”

 

Screech.

 

“That should do it.” Ellis took a few steps back to look at his work. “Perfect. Now…” Ellis yawned. “Time to put everything away and get this covered.”

 

---

 

9:52a.m., Velvette’s Hotel Room…

 

“You’ve reached Ellis. Leave a message and-”

“It would be nice if he answered his damn phone.” Velvette attempted to call Ellis again.

“Vel, if he hasn’t answered any of the last three times that you’ve tried to call him in the last five minutes, he probably isn’t going to pick up now.”, said Verosika who had come to Velvette’s room to help her friend pack her bags and say goodbye. “He’s probably busy working or maybe his phone stopped working. With how shitty Vox’s tech is, I wouldn’t be surprised if it just caught on fire or something for no reason.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“It’s pretty close. There’s a reason why most people outside of Pentagram City started buying phones from Ozzie when he started selling them last year.”

“ Okay, you're right, it is pretty bad. Hell, the day that Val’s robot fucked up everything, Vox gave Ellis an earpiece and it stopped working almost right away.”

“Exactly. Now, let’s finish packing your shit.”

 

The two finished packing Velvette’s bags and walked out to the front of the building where a car was waiting for Velvette.

“I hate long car rides so bloody much.”

Verosika laughed, “Well, I would just make a portal for you with my crystal, but you know that Sinners can’t use them.”

“Yeah, yeah.” The two hugged each other, “It was nice seeing you, darling. You need to come visit soon.”

“I know. I’m less busy now that spring break is done so we can figure something out. Also, it would be nice if you had a place for me to sleep so I could stay over instead of using the crystal constantly.” A smirk crept onto Verosika’s face as she had a thought,  “You know, if you and Ellis start sharing a bed permanently, there would be an empty bed for me.”

“We are not going through this again right now.”

“I’m just saying!” Velvette rolled her eyes. “Just give it a chance, Vel.”

“We’ll see.”

“Alright, keep me updated. And like I said, don’t worry about Ellis not answering his phone, I’m sure he’s busy doing something important.”

 

---

 

2:27p.m., Velvette’s Studio…

 

The doors to the studio swung open and Velvette stepped inside. “Where the fuck is everyone?” , she thought as she saw that none of her employees were there working. She then noticed Ellis sitting at one of the work tables with his head laying on his arms, seemingly asleep. “Well, that explains why he didn’t answer his phone.”, she thought. Velvette walked over and gently shook Ellis, causing him to jump to his feet.

“Huh? What? Hey, you’re back! How was the drive?”

“Shitty, like every other long car ride.”

“Can’t be any worse than last time you came back from Imp City.”

Velvette smirked, “Did you forget that last time was when I met you?”

“How could I ever forget the day that we met?” Velvette gave him a genuine smile. “It's the calmest day that I've had since I arrived in Hell.”

“Cheeky Bugger.” The two laughed together for a moment.

 

“You know, I have a couple of questions for you.”, said Velvette.

“Okay, what?”

“Well, for one, where is everyone?”

“Oh, they were working their asses off the whole time that you were gone to have stuff done for when you came back, so I told them to take today off. There’s a stack of designs on the desk in your office for you to look at.”

“Alright then. Two, why the hell were you sleeping down here? Did you forget that you have a bed?”

“I must've passed out from being up for so long.”

Velvette gave him a questioning look, “How long were you up?”

“Honestly? I don’t know. I think I passed out here at about four this morning and I don’t think I slept the night before. Or maybe it’s been two days, I’m really not sure. I don’t even know what day it is today.”

Velvette gave him a look of utter disbelief, “You fuckin’ serious?!” Ellis gave her a nod as he yawned.

 

“Why the fuck were you up that bloody long?”

“I was trying to get the apartment finished before you got back. By the way, all that’s left to do is put your bed together. I just picked it up last night.”

“Brill, but you didn’t need to push that hard to finish everything.”

“I wasn’t just working on the apartment…”

“What the hell else were you doing to exhaust yourself this much?”

“I was also working on a surprise for you.”

“And just what surprise is that?”

“Do you notice anything different about the studio?”

“Yeah, it’s been used as a bedroom.”

“Other than that.”

“I see the tables are all in the same spot. So are the mirrors and the dress forms and the- Wait, where the fuck are the fabric racks? And what the fuck is that giant thing that’s covered with a sheet?!”

“That’s the surprise.”

“ Ellis , what the fuck did you do?!”

“Go look.”

“Ellis, I swear to fucking-”

“Just trust me, please.” 

 

The two made their way to the large, sheet-covered object that sat on the floor in front of where the fabric racks were once attached to the wall.

“Just what the fuck is this?”

Ellis lifted part of the sheet for Velvette to grab. “Pull this off and find out.”

“This better not-”

Ellis placed his free hand on Velvette’s shoulder. “Cupcake, trust me. I think you’re going to like it.” Elis backed away and Velvette pulled the sheet, revealing what had been covered. In front of her stood a brand new fabric storage rack made of purple wood, the top of which had a large, ornate carving of the letter V. Velvette stood in awe.

 

Ellis walked up to where Velvette stood, “So… what do you think?”

“I-it’s beautiful…” Ellis couldn’t help but smile. Velvette walked up to the rack and looked at the rolls of fabric on it, each one perfectly sorted and put away neatly with room for more. “H-how? There’s no way that there was room in the budget for this.”

“I made it. Val didn’t pay for any of it. Well, aside from the tools, but he doesn't know that.”

“ You made this ?” Ellis nodded. “W-why? You didn’t need to do this.”

“I wanted to do something to make you happy. You told me before how much you hated the old ones but never had the time to get them replaced, so after you told me that you would be going out of town for the festival and I started doing the repairs, I came up with a plan. Whenever I had to replace a door around here, I checked to see if any of it was salvageable and could be used for this. If it could be, I put it against the wall in the garage where I park instead of in the dumpster. To build it I used the tools and some of the hardware that had been bought for the renovations and I borrowed a couple things from Cecil. The only thing that I had to buy was the varnish and I paid for that myself. I did all of the work down in the garage to avoid getting dust everywhere since I obviously don’t have a proper workshop.”

 

“Thank you, I-I love it.”

“You’re welcome, Cupcake. Now, I should go make breakfast.”

Velvette laughed, “Bit late for that, it’s fuckin’ two-thirty in the afternoon.”

“Wait, really?”

“ Yes. Imp City is four hours away, you didn’t think I was getting up early enough to be here for breakfast, did you?”

“I had know idea when you’d be back, remember? Also, what day is it today, because I honestly don’t know.”

“You’re ridiculous. It’s Sunday, the nineteenth.”

“Okay then- wait, why do I feel like there was something toda- oh…”

“What? What is it?”

“Oh, it’s not important, don’t worry about it.”

“ Ellis, tell me.”

Ellis sighed, “If you must know, today is my twenty-fifth birthday, but like I said, it’s not important.” 

 

Velvette looked dumbfounded. “The fuck do you mean that it’s ‘not important’?! It’s your birthday, first one in Hell at that!”

“It’s not something that anyone has given any importance to in a long time and neither have I. It’s not a big deal.”

“Fuck that, we’re changing that today.”

“What? No, we don’t need to.”

“Yes, we do.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“You do realize that if we do something I might not have enough time to put your bed together, right?”

“That excuse won’t get you out of it. Besides, one more night of us sharing the bed won’t hurt.”

“But-“

“No ‘buts’, we’re doing something and that’s final. Now, what do you want to do?”

“Nothing.”

“ Ellis .”

He sighed, “I’m not getting out of this, am I?”

“Not on your life. So tell me, what do you want to do?”

“Can I have some time to think, please?”

“That’s better. Now, while you're thinking, I’m going to get take away brought up for lunch.”

 

After the two finished eating, Velvette asked Ellis again about what he wanted to do, “So, have you decided on something yet?”

“I have, actually.”

“Brill, what is it?”

“I think I just want to keep it simple and we can have dinner.”

“Perfect! Where do you want to go?”

“Nowhere.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to go out. I want to stay here and cook something for the two of us.”

Velvette gave him another dumbfounded look, “Let me just get this straight, what you want to do for your birthday is stay home and cook for the both of us? Basically the same damn thing that you do every day, minus all the runnin’ around and working.”

“Correct. Though, I will need to do some work and running around.”

“We could do practically anything, anything at all, and that’s what you came up with? I know that you like to cook, but still.”

“Hey, you’re the one who was insisting that I come up with something.”

Velvette sighed, “ Fine, if that’s what you want to do. At least it’s something.”

“Great. I need you to do me a favour, though.”

“And that is?”

“I need you to stay out of the kitchen and the studio for the time being. Please.”

“Wha- You know what? I’m not even gonna ask, I have shit to do anyway now that I’m back. Just tell me what time to be ready for.”

“Well, it’s about a quarter after three now so I’d say eight, if that’s alright with you.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll leave you to it.”

 

---

 

7:03p.m., Velvette’s Office…

 

Buzz.

 

Velvette picked up her phone.

Text from “Ver”: “So… what was E doing? Talk 2 him about u know what yet?”  

Velvette rolled her eyes as she unlocked her phone and opened the text conversation, “Found him passed out and no”

Verosika responded with a beer bottle emoji and a question mark.

“ No, working 2 much” Velvette then sent Verosika a picture of the new fabric rack. “Made this for me + finished reno”

“Holy shit. Why didn’t u talk 2 him?”

“Cuz I haven’t and he’s busy r n, told me 2 stay away from kitchen and studio”

“?”

“Easier to explain verbally, call?”

“Can portal, working @ Ozzie’s later, where r u?”

“Office” 

 

Within seconds of Velvette sending the final text, a purple portal opened behind her and Verosika stepped through and into the room.

“So, what-”

“ Shh! Keep your voice down so he doesn’t hear you.”

“Okay, okay, sorry. So, what’s with the whole- Oh shit, you got new flooring.”

“Yeah, Ellis just finished putting it in while I was gone. Did the whole flat.”

“It’s nice, much better than the tile. Now, kitchen thing, explain.”

“So, when I got here I found him passed out in the studio.”

“From working too much.”

“Yes.”

“I’m surprised it wasn’t from drinking.”

“He doesn't drink much, don’t know why, doesn't really matter. Anyway, woke him up and he surprised me with the new fabric rack.” Verosika nodded along. “Then, I find out that today is his birthday, which he for some reason says isn’t important, and I insist that we do something because it is and he should feel special on his…” Velvette trailed off as she noticed the grin on Verosika’s face was growing. “ Fuck.”

“Hey, I’m not judging, just keep talking.”

“So I told him to think of something that he wants to do. Eventually he decides that he wants to have dinner.”

“ Ooh, dinner date, nice.”

“I’m gonna ignore what you just said.”

 

“So, where are you going for dinner?”

“We’re not.”

“Explain, please.”

“That cheeky bugger decided that he wants to stay here and cook. He said to be ready for eight.”

“Okay, I can understand the kitchen part, but what the hell does it have to do with the studio?”

“I don’t know, didn’t ask. I had stuff to do since I was gone so I’ve been doing that, but now I’m trying to figure out what to wear.”

“The Overlord of fashion and social media doesn’t know what to wear, that’s a first.”

"Are you gonna stand there and be cheeky as well, or are you gonna help me pick something to wear?”

“You know I never say no to going through your wardrobe.”

“Brill, let’s go.” As Velvette walked towards the door, she heard the sound of Verosika’s portal opening and turned around.

Verosika waved as she spoke, “See you there.”, prompting Velvette to raise a middle finger.

 

Velvette entered her closet a few moments later and found Verosika already going through the seemingly endless amount of clothing.

“I’ll never get over how massive your closet is.”

“I still can’t believe it myself some days. Now to find something to wear…”

“Why don’t you wear this?”, Verosika said jokingly while holding up the lingerie that Velvette had worn during the photoshoot.

Velvette could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks as she gave Verosika an unamused look. “Put it back.”

Verosika laughed, “Hey, it is his birthday.”

“Could you please take this seriously?”

“Okay, okay. How about we start with this, what does he like seeing you wear?”

“I don’t know.”

“How do you not know? He must’ve said something to you at some point.”

Velvette thought to herself for a moment and smiled. “Well, he did say that I looked beautiful when he saw me in the dress that I wore for the last show… Then he said that I always look that way…”

“Why don’t you wear that dress then?”

“Can’t, I got rid of it. There wasn’t much good about that day other than that and I didn’t need it here to keep reminding me. Besides, it would probably be a bit too fancy.”

“What do you think his style preference is?”

“He chooses to wear basically the same outfit everyday, so I’d say ‘simple’.”

 

Verosika eventually pulled out a black dress, “What about this?”

Velvette used her powers to put the dress on before turning and looking at herself in a mirror. “Perfect.”

“Good. Now, I need to get down to Lust before I’m late, you go and enjoy dinner. And please, for the love of all that is unholy, at least try to talk to him.”

 

---

 

8:00p.m., Velvette’s Kitchen…

 

Ellis was leaning against the counter when he heard a door open and close. A few moments later, Velvette stepped into the room wearing her black dress.

Ellis turned to face her, “Wow. You know, you didn’t need to get dressed up for this.”

“Oh please, Darling, this is nothing.”

“Maybe not to you, but now I almost feel underdressed.”, said Ellis in a half-joking tone.

“No, no, your clothes are fine.”

“Funny, I thought you said before that I didn’t have any fashion sense.”

“…I’ll admit, it’s growing on me. It suits you.”

“Thanks, Cupcake. Ready to eat?”

“Yeah…” Velvette turned her head and looked around the kitchen. “Um… where’s the food?”

“Oh, we’re not eating in here.”

“What do you mean? I thought you wanted to stay here instead of going out.”

“Follow me.” 

 

Ellis led Velvette to the door.

“Where the hell are we going?”

“Well, since you had suggested going out to do something but I wanted to stay in, I thought we would do something a bit different, instead of just eating like we always do.”

“Different how?”

Ellis began to open the door, “Take a look.”

As the door opened, Velvette could see that while the ceiling lights were turned off and most of the studio was dark, there was a soft, glowing light coming from somewhere in the room. As she stepped into the studio, she saw the source. Near the window was a table surrounded by four poles with lights strung between them and nearby was a cart with some covered plates, a bottle of wine, a couple of glasses and a speaker that was already playing music.

Ellis held out his hand, “C’mon.” Velvette placed her hand in Ellis’ and he led her to the table where he pulled out a chair for her. 

 

“How did you set all of this up?”

“I borrowed some things from one of Vox’s prop storage rooms. Luckily, he doesn’t need them for any of the shows being filmed tonight.” As Velvette sat down, Ellis moved two of the plates to the table and uncovered them. “Pan-seared steak with roasted mini potatoes and Caesar salad. And for dessert, I made cherry cheesecake.”

Velvette gave Ellis a subtle look of surprise as he sat down across from her.

“Cupcake? Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong at all. I just wasn’t expecting you to do all this.”

“Oh, this is nothing.”

“How can you say that this is nothing? The way that you set up the lights and table is beautiful and this food looks like it came out of a restaurant. Not to mention the fact that you did all of this for your own birthday after you did all of the other things around here while I was gone.”

“Sometimes when you want to do something, the work it takes to do it doesn’t seem like a lot, at least not compared to the reward.” The two picked up their utensils and began to eat. “So, aside from the boring car rides, how was the trip?”

 

As the two ate, they talked the things that happened in the time that Velvette was away and eventually began to talk about other things.

“Was there a place that you wanted to visit more than anywhere else while living, but never got the chance to?”, asked Velvette.

“Oh, easy, Newfoundland. Specifically so I could see icebergs and visit Gros Morne.”

“What the hell is ‘Gros Morne’?”

“It’s a national park. Most people think that Banff is the most beautiful place on Earth, but in my mind, Gros Morne is better, at least from the pictures I’ve seen. What about you? Anywhere that you wanted to go?”

“Not really. I ended up going basically everywhere that I wanted because of work.”

“What was your favourite?”

“Probably New York, it was fun. I’m guessing that you’ve never been to New York because of… well, you know.”

“Yeah, not that ever had much interest in going. If anything I had more reasons not to go, other than not having the money for it.”

“Why’s that?”

“I hate the Yankees probably as much as you hate Killjoy.”

“Fair enough.”

“Oh, what about this, since you’ve been here longer than me, is there a place here in Hell or something that you’ve wanted to do here that you haven’t been able to do that you want to?”

“Actually, there is one thing. I’ve always wanted to go to ‘Ozzie’s’. It’s a club down in Lust that Asmodeus owns. Verosika performs there sometimes. Not that I’ll ever get to go though since Sinners aren’t allowed out of Pride. Plus, even if I did get down there, I probably wouldn’t be allowed into the place.”

“Why not?”

Velvette sighed, “A couple reasons, but mostly my association with Val.” 

 

The two eventually finished their meal and dessert.

“Holy shit, that was good. Makes me wonder why you weren’t a chef.”

“Thanks, but I’m nowhere near good enough to have done this kind of thing for a living. By the way, thanks for insisting that we do something. This is honestly the best birthday that I've had in a long time.”

“Don’t thank me, you’re the one that did everything. Also, I hope you know that you’re gonna need to make that cheesecake more often because I’m gonna need to have more of that.”

Ellis smiled, “I’ll keep that in mind. In the meantime though, the rest of this one is in the fridge if you want that.”

“Oh, I’m definitely having it.”

Ellis smiled before standing up and beginning to clear off the table. 

 

Velvette stood up as well, but as she did, her dress got caught on her chair, causing her to trip, “Thank you for din- oh shit!”

Ellis managed to catch her, “I’ve got you. Are you alright?”

“Yeah… yeah, I’m good…”, said Velvette as she regained her balance while still being held by Ellis. 

---

---

The two slowly looked towards the speaker as they noticed that another song had started to play, before turning their focus back to each other.

“Since we’re already right here, would you like to dance?”, asked Ellis.

Velvette smiled, “Sure, let’s dance.”

 

“I see the crystal raindrops fall”

 

“And the beauty of it all”

 

“Is when the sun comes shining through”

 

“To make those rainbows in my mind”

 

“When I think of you sometime”

 

“And I wanna spend some time with you”

 

“Just the two of us”

 

“We can make it if we try”

 

“Just the two of us”

 

“[Just the two of us]”

 

“Just the two of us”

 

“Building castles in the sky”

 

“Just the two of us”

 

“You and I”

 

As the song played, the two kept dancing, slowly moving closer towards each other. As the song began to end, they found themselves pressing their foreheads against each other’s and slowly, their lips moved closer and closer together until they were only millimeters apart. They both closed their eyes and-

 

SLAM!

 

Their eyes shot open and they both quickly turned their heads toward the source of the noise and saw that Valentino, likely drunk (judging by the bottle that he had in one of his hands), had smashed his way through the door.

“Velv-” Burp “Velvette, I ripped my… Oh, am I interrupting something?”, he slurred.

Velvette pulled away from Ellis and stomped over. “What the fuck Val!? What the hell do you want!?”

Ellis sighed before continuing to clear the table like he had started to do before he and Velvette started to dance.

“I-” Hiccup “I ripped my pants and need you to fix them.”

“God fuckin’ damn it.” Velvette used her powers to fix Valentino’s pants. “There, now get the fuck out! Go!” Velvette turned as Valentino began to stumble back to the elevator. She looked over at Ellis who was still cleaning up and sighed as she thought to herself, “Shit… I almost kissed him… Should I… no, I won’t…” She then walked up the stairs and entered the apartment.

 

---

(The important lyrics don’t start until about a minute into the song so you will hopefully have enough time to read everything up until that point.)

---

 

11:29p.m., Velvette’s Apartment…

 

Ellis stepped into the apartment and kicked his boots off. He had just finished replacing the broken door after putting away everything from dinner. He quietly entered his bedroom a few minutes later, trying to not wake Velvette who he assumed was already asleep. Just as he took the clothes that he was going to sleep in out of the closet, Velvette used her powers to change him into them.

“Sorry, I was trying to avoid waking you."

“You didn’t, don’t worry…”

Ellis got into his side of the bed. “Thanks for doing the clothes thing.”

“No problem.”

“Hey, um… do you want to talk about what just happened? Before Valentino, I mean.”

 

(“[Do I wanna know?] If this feelin’ flows both ways?”)

(“[Sad to see you go] Was sorta hopin’ that you’d stay”)

(“[Baby, we both know] That the nights were mainly made for sayin’ things that you can’t say tomorrow day”)

 

Velvette remained silent for a moment before turning to lay on her side and speaking. “...There’s nothing to talk about. We were just… caught up in the moment…” She didn’t see it, but Ellis’ expression became slightly sad.

“...Okay…”

Velvette closed her eyes and thought to herself, “Why did I say that? I want to tell him how I feel, but I just can’t do it… I’m scared that I might ruin things… I don’t want to lose him…”

Notes:

Fun Facts with Ellis: “Gros Morne National Park is the second largest national park in Atlantic Canada and has an area of 1,805 square kilometers. Banff National Park is Canada’s oldest national park and has an area of about 6,641 square kilometers."

Chapter 16: Recipe 2: Cherry Cheesecake

Summary:

(May 2nd, 2025) The recipe for the cheesecake from "Not Important".

Unfortunately, I do not know the original source for this recipe as it was told to me by someone who had found it online or something.

(It has been a while since I have made this so there is a slight chance that I have forgotten to add something, but I believe this recipe is complete.)

Make this at your own discretion and risk. I am not responsible for any bad or harmful things that potentially occur during or after the preparation or consumption of the food items that this recipe provides instructions for.

Ingredients:

 

• 1 brick of cream cheese (250 grams) 

 

• 1 can of regular sweetened condensed milk (300 milliliters)

 

• 1 graham cracker pie crust (I use a premade store bought one, but you could make your own if you want)

 

• 1 can of cherry pie filling (540 milliliters) 

Things you will need:

 

• Oven

 

• Mixing bowl

 

• Spoon/rubber or silicone spatula for mixing

 

• (Optional) Toothpicks

 

• Can opener

 

• Baking sheet (Optional but recommended)

Instructions:

 

• Allow cream cheese to warm to room temperature to make mixing easier.

 

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

• In your mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk, making sure to break up the cream cheese and stir until there are no lumps.

 

• (Recommend) Place pie crust (still in the foil/dish) on a baking sheet. This will prevent any possible overflow from reaching the bottom of your oven and make it easier to remove the cake from the oven once it is done baking.

 

• Pour the cream cheese/sweetened condensed milk mixture into the pie crust. 

 

• Put the cake into the oven and bake for approximately 25 - 35 minutes or until the surface wobbles only a slight amount when the pan is shaken (The edges should NOT move). Another option would be to insert a clean toothpick into the centre of the cake and immediately pull it back out, if it is still clean or with only slight remnants, the cake should be done baking (This does not always work well for cheesecake but I do it.)

 

• Once the cheesecake is out of the oven, allow it to cool completely.

 

• After the cheesecake has finished cooling, open the can of pie filling and pour it onto the cheesecake.

 

• Enjoy! :)

Chapter 17: Chapter 13: Love Potions

Summary:

Almost three weeks have passed since Ellis’ birthday. Since that day, Ellis had assembled Velvette’s bed frame, Velvette moved back to her bedroom and Ellis was back to doing his usual work. Things were normal again… mostly…

Content warning for discussion of rape and attempted rape.

Notes:

Hello, I hope everyone is doing well. I'd like to apologize for how long it has taken me to write this chapter. I initially wanted to have this chapter released before the end of October, but due to a combination of writer's block and being away from home for quite some time, I was unable to do that. So, once again, I apologize for the amount of time this took.

Have a good day! :)

April 7th, 2023, 7:29a.m., Velvette’s Bedroom…

“Whatever you say, Cupcake.”

 

“I was just thinking that you look beautiful… …you always look that way.”

 

“Cupcake, it’s me… …I’m not leaving you, not now.”

 

“Oh, I’m yours, am I?”

 

“You gotta admit, the ‘Cruella’ thing was funny.” “No, it wasn’t!” “Then why are you smiling, Cupcake?”

 

“Perhaps you just need to find someone to make good memories with to help push the bad ones away.”

 

“Good morning, Cupcake.”

 

“...you are so fucking in love…” 

 

“Clearly, this guy actually cares about you.”

 

“You have a chance… …take it.”

 

“I wanted to do something to make you happy.”

 

“...would you like to d-”

 

Velvette was suddenly woken by her alarm. She sighed as she turned it off. “That’s the forth time I’ve had that dream…”, she thought to herself. “If only I had been honest that night…” She then got out of bed and changed her clothes before walking out to the kitchen where Ellis was already standing at the counter.

“Good morning, Cupcake.” He handed her a cup of tea before taking a sip from his hot chocolate.

“Thanks…” Velvette thought to herself, “Even after what I said that night, he still calls me that… and every time he does… it makes me feel like maybe he feels the same way that I do… but the doubt is still there…” They both then sat down at the table.

“Forgive me for asking, but is everything alright? You’ve seemed a bit off lately.”

Velvette put on a convincing smile before she spoke, “Yeah, everything’s fine.” Despite her claim, she knew that Ellis was right. Since Ellis' birthday, Velvette had kept thinking about what she said to him before going to sleep that night and how she regretted it. It was distracting her and having the recurring dream wasn’t helping either.

“Alright, if you say so.”

 

The two sat in silence for a while until Ellis spoke again. “Do you just want your usual for breakfast or would you like something else today?”

“...You decide today. You haven’t let me down with your cooking yet.”

Ellis smiled, “How about pancakes then? I haven’t made them for a while.”

“Sure.”

“Same as before?” Velvette nodded.

 

Velvette watched as Ellis started to sing along to some music as he began to cook. 

 

“She is a little explosion of hope”

“Never turns the lights down low, she can go there if you want to though”

“There are no markings on her country roads”

“No sign to show the way back home” 

“When you get there you won’t wanna go”

 

She began to contemplate the thought that had been plaguing her. “I need to tell him… but I’m still scared…” 

 

“She burns, yeah”

“She burns like petrol soaked paper and fireworks”

“And I’m burning, yeah I’m burning”

“I’m burning so deep that just breathing hurts”

“I’m melting, darling and I can’t let go”

 

“You’re getting better at that.”, said Velvette.

Ellis turned around, “Hmm?”

“I said that you’re getting better at that. The singing, I mean.”

“Oh, thanks. I don’t usually sing along to music like this.”

“I know. You’re definitely better at singing this than fuckin’ rock.” Velvette smirked, “If only this kind of music was all you sang. Maybe then I wouldn't lose my hearing.”

“Hey!”

“Ha!”

“My singing is bad but not that bad. Also, not going to happen. Even if it did, I’d have to make an exception for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’… And ‘Proud Mary’, ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’, 'Somebody To Love’… there’s really too many to list.”

“Can’t argue with you there, I don’t think anyone can resist singing along to most of those.” 

 

A few moments of silence passed as the two were still facing each other. Velvette eventually spoke. “...Can I talk to you about something?”

“Cupcake, you can talk to me about anything. What is it?”

“I... I’ve been meaning to- Shit! Smoke!”

Ellis quickly turned around and saw that the pancakes were burning. “FUCK!” Ellis quickly removed the burnt food from the pan. He sighed, “Well, guess I’ll need to make more now. What were you saying?”

“Don’t worry about it, it can wait ‘til later…”

“Okay then…”

 

Ellis finished making the new pancakes not long later. “Here you are.”, he said, setting the plates down on the table.

“Thanks.”

“So, what’s the plan for today? I assume mostly work for the show.”

“Yeah, we need to make sure that the girls are all set to finish up their work on time and need to get to work on our outfits.”

“‘Our’? I still have the suit from the last one.”

“You’re not wearing the same suit, it needs to be different. I’ll have a different dress so it will need to match that.”

Ellis sighed, “Alright then.”

“We’ll start with yours since it won’t take as long, then I’ll get to work on mine. It would be nice if I wasn’t already behind schedule.”

“I’m sure it will be fine. Everyone else should be able to handle things on their own for the most part, so I should be able to help you with moving the materials and stuff that you need. If you want me to, that is.”

“Yeah, that’d be great.”

 

Velvette and Ellis ate their breakfast like they usually did, talking between bites of food and sips of their drinks, making some jokes and enjoying the calmness of the morning before the inevitably busy and potentially chaotic day of work. When they finished eating, Ellis stood up, cleared the table, rinsed the dishes and started to put them in the dishwasher.

“Oh! I almost forgot, what was that thing that you wanted to talk to me about?”, he asked while drying his hands with a dish towel.

“Oh, yeah…” Velvette took a deep breath. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about what I-” She was interrupted by her phone that began to ring.  Vox was calling. “God damn it. The fuck does he want this early in the day?” She answered the call, putting her phone on speaker mode. “What is it, Vox?”

“Velvette, I want to talk to you about rescheduling your upcoming fashion show.”

Ellis watched as Velvette’s eyes immediately widened, “ FUCK NO! We are NOT rescheduling it!”

“I know this is last minute but I thought that since I have another program that needs to be aired and that time slot is-”

“No! We go through this almost every fuckin’ year!” Velvette, still yelling into her phone, stood up and stormed over to her office, slamming the door behind her.

Ellis, still in the kitchen, sighed and thought to himself, “This is going to be a long day, I can already tell.” He then checked his watch, “I should probably go to the studio, the others will be arriving any minute now, if they haven’t already. I was hoping to talk to Vel about how I feel about her, but I guess that’ll have to wait. I’ll talk to her about it after she finishes talking to me about whatever it is that she wants to talk about.”

 

---

 

1:13p.m., Velvette’s Studio…

 

“Now I need the roll of onyx silk.” Ellis got a roll of black fabric from the storage rack and brought it to the table that Velvette was working at, in the corner of the studio near the entrance to the storage room. Everything was going smoothly so far. Velvette looked at the roll and sighed, “I said ‘onyx’.”

“…Is this not onyx?”

“No, this is coal black, not onyx black. Onyx is the roll that was next to this one.”

Ellis got the other roll and set it down next to the first one. “I don’t see a difference.”

Velvette smirked, “Then maybe we should get your eyes checked.”, she teased.

“I can see just fine. Hell, my eyesight is better than yours half the time.”

“Being able to see shit better in the dark doesn’t count, you cheeky bugger. That must be the only benefit that you got when you ended up down here, aside from your strength.”

“No, not really, I’ve always been able to see things in the dark better than other people, not by a crazy amount though. It’s about the same now as it was before.” 

 

The two continued working for the next few hours. Velvette, for the most part, stayed at the table while Ellis worked throughout the studio assisting both Velvette and his coworkers. He had just reentered the studio after leaving to make himself another hot chocolate and another cup of tea for Velvette when she called him over.

“Ellis, I need you to grab another roll of fabric for me.”, she said, not looking up from what she was working on.

Ellis walked over and set the two mugs that he was carrying onto the table. “Okay, which one?”

“The ice-white silk, please.”

Ellis gave her a thumbs up as he started to walk over to the fabric rack. As Ellis walked away, some of the nearby designers looked at Velvette with surprised looks before returning to their work. Despite Velvette acting kinder, all of her employees, aside from Ellis, still weren’t used to her new attitude towards them. She certainly wasn’t perfect, she still had some moments of outbursts and she rarely said “please”, but she was trying. There was one day that Vox couldn’t believe what he had heard when he stopped by the studio, but he didn’t question it after seeing the increased productivity.

 

Ellis walked back towards Velvette a few moments later, “It’s not there.”

Velvette sighed and stood up before walking over to the fabric rack, seemingly not believing Ellis. “Fuck me…” she said to herself as she saw that Ellis was correct. She then turned towards the rest of the room, “Which one of you has the ice-white silk?”

One of the designers quickly replied, “A-apologies ma’am, I just used the last bit.”

Velvette muttered to herself, “God fuckin’ damn it…”

“We didn’t happen to buy a second one, did we?” asked Ellis.

“No. We don’t use that colour very often, I thought there would be enough.”

“Well, what do you want to do now?”

Velvette spoke with a tone that was more tired than it was agitated, “I’m not in the mood to go to the bloody shop tonight. Plus, it probably won't be open by the time we get there, so we’ll just wait ‘till tomorrow. It’s just one more thing to add to the list of shit that’s gone wrong in the run up to this show.” The two walked back to the table where Velvette had been working and took some sips of their drinks.

After a few moments, Ellis had a thought, “You know what… I think I might have seen a roll in the storage room…” 

 

Ellis began walking to the storage room with Velvette following behind him. The lights automatically turned on as they entered the room and started searching the shelves. Ellis moved a couple boxes that were in front on a shelf in the corner, revealing a dusty roll of white fabric. He blew the dust off of it and called Velvette over, “Hey, is this the right colour?”

She rushed over and looked at the roll. “Holy shit, it is.” Velvette caught Ellis off guard by giving him a sudden hug, something she had never done before, causing him to stumble slightly. “You bloody genius!”

Ellis quickly regained his balance and let out a chuckle, “Careful, Cupcake. The last thing we need is to fall and you get hurt.”

Velvette quickly realized that she had just hugged Ellis and pulled back, but part of her also realized what Ellis had said, “You do realize that you would probably get hurt as well, right?”

“I’m not worried about me, I’m used to it.” 

 

The two stood silently, looking at each other before Ellis spoke again. “Hey, um… what was that thing that you wanted to talk to me about earlier?”

“Oh, yeah, that…” Velvette took a deep breath, “I’ve been thinking about this for a while and-”  Velvette stopped as she heard a loud crash come from the studio, one that both she and Ellis immediately recognized.

They exchanged a look before speaking in unison, “ Fuck. ” They both then rushed out to the studio where they saw the cause of the noise; Kitty, recently repaired, had broken through the door to the studio and was now heading straight towards Velvette and Ellis.

Ellis immediately moved to stand in front Velvette and raised his arms. Luckily, the robot stopped in front of him and held out a purple envelope. Ellis carefully reached out, grabbed the envelope and handed it to Velvette without taking his eyes off of Kitty until it raced out of the room. 

 

“I should’ve blown that fucking thing up.”, said Ellis as he turned to face Velvette. “What’s that?”

Velvette, visibly annoyed, responded as she opened the envelope and pulled out a letter. “Something from Val by the look of it. It would’ve been nice if he just used his phone to call me instead of sending that robotic wrecking ball to deliver whatever the fuck this is. I didn’t even know he had it fixed.”

“Neither did I, but I really wish he hadn’t.” 

 

Velvette read the letter to herself, “There’s a new club opening tonight and we’re going. Leaving at eight. You should come too, bring your boy-toy with you.” She sighed, “God damn it, Valentino.”

“What’s wrong?”, asked Ellis. Velvette handed him the letter which he quickly read. “He sent the damn robot, which he knows causes damage every damn time it comes in here, just to deliver a letter inviting us to join him and Vox at a club… Jackass.”

“That’s an understatement.” Velvette thought for a moment. “I think I’m going to go, it’ll be nice to get a break from this place. You wanna come too?”

Ellis shrugged, “I guess so, I don’t have much else to do.”

 

---

 

7:45p.m., Velvette’s Bedroom…

 

Velvette looked at herself in the mirror, double checking her makeup. “Perfect.” She then waved her hand, changing her outfit to a dark red dress. She then looked at herself in the mirror again as she thought about Ellis, “…Unless he brings it up, I’ll tell him once we get back. No more distractions, no more interruptions, just the two of us…” She then grabbed a clutch that matched her dress and walked out of her room and to where Ellis was standing by the apartment door.

He smiled as she approached. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah. You’re really going to a club in your usual outfit?”

He shrugged, “I don’t see why not. Besides, it’s not like I really have anything else, other than that one suit.”

Velvette brushed a bit of lint off of Ellis’s shoulder before adjusting his collar. “You do realize that we can change that, right? There’s an entire fashion studio just outside that door.”

“Yeah, well, maybe later. Right now, we’ve got somewhere to be.” 

 

The two walked out of the apartment, through the studio and to the elevator. Just as Ellis was about to say something, he was assaulted by the smell of cigarette smoke as the elevator doors opened, revealing Vox and Valentino.

“Look, Voxy, I told you that they would come with us.”

“Uh-huh.”, said Vox without looking up from his phone. 

 

Ellis and Velvette stepped into the elevator and they arrived at the tower’s lobby a few moments later. The four then walked out to the limo parked in front of the tower and got in. Vox and Valentino sat on the much larger section of the seat and Velvette and Ellis sat against each other on the smaller section.

“ Well, you two look quite cozy.” Valentino commented, drawing everyone else’s attention. “You two look like you’re about to fuck right in front of us.” Velvette immediately gave him an annoyed glare while Ellis tried to ignore the comment. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. Besides, no need to be shy, I certainly won’t judge.”

“Fuck off, Val.” said Velvette, earning a slight smile from Vox.

A smug look remained on Valentino’s face for the rest of the mostly silent car ride.

 

As the limo pulled in front of the club, Ellis could hear the music coming from inside. He opened the door and stepped out of the limo before helping Velvette out. The two chose not to wait for Vox and Valentino and instead entered the club without them. Once inside, It took Ellis a moment to adjust to the loud noise and bright flashing lights. “Well… what do we do now?”, he asked.

Velvette scoffed. “What do you mean, ‘what do we do now’? It’s a bloody club.”

“I’ve never been to one before.”

“You’ve never been to a- Actually, that doesn’t surprise me. Wait here.” Velvette walked over to a booth where Vox and Valentino were about to sit down and set her bag on the table before walking back to Ellis. She gave him a smile as she approached. “Come on, let’s go dance.”

 

Before Ellis could answer, Velvette took him by the hand and led him to the dance floor where they began to dance together.

Velvette laughed as she watched Ellis danced awkwardly to the upbeat music. “I thought you could dance, what happened?”

“I can slow dance, but that’s about it.”

Velvette laughed again. “Here, I’ll teach you.” Within a few minutes, Ellis got the hang of it and was dancing a lot better than before. 

 

After about twenty more minutes on the dance floor, Ellis leaned towards Velvette’s ear. “I’m gonna go to the bar, do you want something to drink?”

“I’ll just go with you.” Ellis began making his way to the bar, pushing through the now very crowded dance floor and clearing a path for Velvette who was following closely behind him. “What do you want?”, asked Velvette when they got to the bar.

“I’ll have a Roy Rogers.”

Velvette motioned for one of the bartenders who immediately recognized her. “Good evening, ma’am. What can I get for you?”

“A gin and tonic and a Roy Rogers.” The bartender left and returned with the drinks a couple moments later. “Put it on Valentino’s tab.” The bartender nodded before rushing off to help another patron. Ellis and Velvette spent a few minutes at the bar, enjoying their drinks. 

 

Velvette eventually set her empty glass on the bartop. “I’m going to go dance some more and take some pictures, are you coming?”

“No, I think I’m going to go sit down for a bit.”, said Ellis.

“Alright, suit yourself.”

Velvette quickly disappeared into the crowd and Ellis went to the booth where Vox was sitting, looking at his phone as he sipped a drink and Valentino was sitting with a woman pressed up against him. Ellis sat down across from them and sighed.

Vox looked up from his phone. “Where’s Velvette?”, he asked.

“She said that she was gonna dance some more and take some pictures.” Vox stood up and walked away, presumably to join Velvette. 

 

“Who’s this, Mister V?”, the woman asked.

Ellis assumed that she was new to Hell and probably had not seen any of the various social media posts or news segments about his and Velvette’s fake relationship. Despite it being old news, Katie Killjoy continued to comment on them regularly. It was like an obsession.

“Oh, that’s just Ellis, he’s Velvette’s boy-toy.”, replied Valentino. Ellis just gave a small wave as he took a sip from his drink.

A moment later, the woman set her mostly full glass on the table that sat in the middle of the booth and stood up. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, can I get you something from the bar on the way back, Baby?”, she asked Valentino.

“I certainly wouldn’t mind another drink, Sweetheart.” Valentino watched the woman as she walked away, purposely swaying her hips.

 

Once the woman was out of sight, an evil grin grew on Valentino’s face. Ellis watched as Valentino pulled a bottle of pink liquid out of his pocket, picked up the woman’s drink and began to pour the liquid into it. The liquid dissolved immediately, changing the colour of the drink slightly.

“What the hell are you doing? What is that stuff?”, asked Ellis.

Valentino rolled his eyes. “It’s a Love Potion.”

“What the fuck does it do? Why are you putting it in her drink?” Ellis was becoming increasingly concerned.

Valentino set the drink back down on the edge of the table. “Hmm… how do I put it? It makes it easier for someone like me to have a good time.”, he said with an evil chuckle. “I’m surprised you don’t know about them, Velvette is the one that makes them.”

“What?”

“Yeah. There’s signs around the tower and billboards around town advertising them.”

Ellis’ mood immediately soured and his thoughts raced, “I never noticed…”

 

The woman came back a few minutes later and handed Valentino a drink, “Here you go, Baby.”

As she did, Ellis stood up. “I’m going back to the bar.” As he walked out of the booth, he “accidently” tripped and bumped into the table, causing the woman's drink to fall off the edge and spill on the ground. “Oops, sorry about that.” Ellis could hear a slight growl come from Valentino, but the Overlord managed to hide his frustration otherwise. Ellis continued to walk away from the booth and towards the bar, a scowl now on his face. As he walked, he came across Velvette who was still dancing.

She stopped when she noticed Ellis’ expression. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Ellis didn’t make eye contact with her, “We’ll talk about it back at the tower.” Ellis then continued walking to the bar, leaving Velvette wondering what was wrong. 

 

Ellis sat down on a barstool and the same bartender from earlier walked over to him.

“What will it be this time? Another Roy Rogers?”

“No. Whiskey, on the rocks.”

“What kind of whiskey?”

“Doesn't matter.” As the bartender walked away, Ellis’ mind raced with memories that had plagued him for most of his life and now kept replaying over and over, haunting him again.

“NO, GET OFF OF ME! ELLIS, HELP!” “ Ava? DAD! STOP!”

“ NO, GET OFF OF ME! ELLIS, HELP!” “Ava? DAD! STOP!”

“NO, GET OFF OF ME! ELLIS, HELP!” “Ava? DAD! STOP!” 

 

Ellis remained at the bar until it was time to leave the club. He drank nothing but water after his single glass of whiskey. 

 

---

 

April 8th, 12:20a.m., Velvette’s Apartment…

 

The car ride back to the tower was awkwardly silent as Vox did nothing but scroll on his phone, Valentino was drifting in and out of sleep and Velvette and Ellis didn’t speak. The elevator ride was equally silent. When Velvette and Ellis got back to the apartment, Velvette went straight to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. Ellis followed slowly, stopping near the table.

The two remained silent until Velvette spoke after taking a sip of her water. “So… what was the thing that you wanted to wait to talk about?”

Ellis looked down at the floor, took a deep breath and then looked up at Velvette. “What do the Love Potions do?”

Velvette was surprised by his question. “Why do you ask?”

“Just answer the question, Velvette. And don’t lie to me.”

Velvette was now very surprised. Ellis next to never  uses her full first name and she had never heard him speak in such a serious tone. “They… reduce a person’s… inhibitions.”

“So it’s a date rape drug. For fuck’s sake, Velvette. Why the fuck would you make something like that?!”

Velvette began to feel defensive. “I had to! I needed to make money to stay in business with Vox and Val!”

“You think that makes it any better?! You needed money, so you make it easier for people to get raped?! Jesus fucking Christ! Of all people, I’d expect you to be against people getting abused!”

That struck a nerve. “Fuck you! If it’s that much of a problem for you, fuckin’ leave! See if I fuckin’ care!”

 

The two stood silently for a moment before Ellis walked away and to his room. Velvette walked over to the kitchen counter and leaned against it, breathing heavily. A few minutes later, Ellis came out of his room, carrying his backpack, and started walking towards the apartment door.

Velvette turned around. “Where the hell are you going?”

“I’m leaving. I’m done.”

“What do you mean you’re leaving? What about our deal?!”

Ellis turned around to face her, “The deal is off!” He turned back around, walked to the door, opened it and stepped out of the apartment as blue light filled the apartment. The door closed loudly behind him.

Velvette threw her glass across the room, smashing it against a wall as she clutched her head.

 

---

 

7:30a.m., Velvette’s Bedroom…

 

Velvette turned her alarm off and tiredly got up. She hadn’t slept well but she knew that there were things that she needed to do. She changed her clothes before slowly walking towards the kitchen, expecting the light to be on and Ellis to be making noise as he usually was at that time. But there was nothing.

Velvette stepped into the room, confused, as she rubbed her tired eyes and turned the lights on. “Ellis? Where are you?” It was at that moment that she saw the broken glass on the floor and remembered what had happened the night before. “Right… he left…” 

 

Velvette made herself breakfast and made herself her morning tea. It felt weird to be alone. She was used to Ellis being around. While the room was usually filled with the sound of Ellis making jokes, singing or him and Velvette talking, it was now almost completely silent.

 

Velvette eventually went out to the studio and worked for the day before going back to her still quiet apartment, making herself dinner and going to sleep.

 

---

 

April 9th, 10:35a.m., Velvette’s Studio…

 

The morning had gone by just like the day before. Quiet. Now Velvette was in her studio, but she wasn’t working. Instead, she sat staring at her unfinished dress. Her attention shifted when she heard Kitty smash through the studio’s door and race up to her. The robot dropped a purple gift box with an envelope taped to it on the table that she was sitting at before racing back out of the room.

Velvette didn’t even look at the box. “Ellis! Can you fix that, please?”

“He’s not here, ma’am. Remember?”, said one of the designers. 

 

---

 

 

---

 

“Oh… right…” Velvette tiredly pulled out her phone and called Vox.

The TV headed demon answered in his usual fashion. “Velvette, how are you this hellish morning?”

“Kitty just smashed through the door to the studio, I need someone to come fix it.”

“I can have someone come by in a couple of days, bye.”

Velvette sighed as she set her phone down on the table. “I need another cup of tea.” , she thought. 

 

Velvette picked up the purple gift box, carried it into the apartment and set it on the kitchen table. She removed the envelope, opened it and read the letter inside.

"Thought you could use a little care package now that your boy-toy is gone. - Val”

Velvette sighed as she set the letter down and removed the lid of the box, revealing that it contained various sex toys. She put the lid back on the box, carried it and the letter to the garbage can and dropped them into it. She then walked over to the kitchen counter, grabbed the kettle and brought it to the sink.

Just as she was about to fill the kettle with water, she noticed something in the sink. The mug that Ellis usually used for his hot chocolate was still sitting there from two days prior.

Sadness washed over Velvette as she set the kettle down, picked up the mug and walked over to the table where she sat down and set the mug down in front of her. She clutched her head as tears started to fall from her eyes.

“What have I done…”

 

(“Without your love”)

 

(“Every sky is grey”)

 

(“Without your love”)

 

(“I’m just waitin’ on the sun to shine”)

 

(“Without your love”)

 

(“Every hour is the darkest time of day”)

 

(“And every moment’s a crime”)

 

(“And every moment’s a crime”)

Notes:

Hey KhaosGorvin, remember when you predicted that something crucial would be happening? ;)

I will not be answering character questions for this chapter. I also would prefer if everyone keeps any predictions and theories that they have about this chapter and the next to themselves.

Critiques, questions directed towards myself and etc. are of course still welcome.

Chapter 18: Chapter 14: Painful Past

Summary:

Content warning for talk of rape, domestic violence and suicide.

Notes:

Hello, I hope everyone is doing well. I just want to mention a couple of things. 1: I am hoping to have one more chapter released by the end of the month. 2: I went back to chapter 7 and added that Hazel looks like a calico cat.

Have a good day! :)

Edit (12/12/24): Changed chapter title

April 14th, 2023, 9:46p.m., Velvette’s Bedroom…

 

Velvette laid in bed, wrapped in a blanket, trying to fall asleep. She opened her eyes when she heard her phone buzz with a notification. She slowly reached over to her nightstand and grabbed her phone. When she turned it on, she saw that Verosika had sent her a message.

“Hey, been a while. Hru? Talk 2 E yet? ;)”

Velvette sighed as she unlocked her phone and typed a response. “…he left…”

Verosika could tell just by reading Velvette’s message that she was sad. “Where r u?”

“Bed”  

 

A purple portal immediately opened in the room and Verosika stepped through, wearing the outfit that she usually wears when she performs at ‘Ozzie’s’ and carrying a bag. As the portal closed, she quickly dropped the bag on the ground, walked over to the side of the bed that Velvette was laying on, turned on the lamp on the nightstand and knelt down in front of her. Verosika could immediately tell that Velvette hadn’t been sleeping well and had probably been crying. “Oh, you poor thing…”

Velvette opened her mouth to speak but was stopped by her friend.

“ Shh, just go to sleep. I’ll stay over tonight and we’ll talk tomorrow…”

 

---

 

April 15th, 1:03p.m…

 

Velvette slowly opened her eyes, blinking a couple times to adjust to the light. She reached for her phone and turned it on. Her eyes widened and she practically jumped out of bed as she saw the time. She quickly changed her clothes and started to run towards the apartment door.

“Woah! Where are you going?”

Velvette stopped and spun around as she heard Verosika’s voice. “I slept in! I need to be in the bloody studio! It’s show day!”

“First of all, happy birthday. Second, no, you don’t.”

“What do you mean? Of course I do.”

“I already handled it, everyone knows what they need to do for tonight. I thought you could use the extra sleep. Now…” The succubus gestured towards the kitchen table. “Sit down, you need to eat something. You know I’m not a chef. The best I can do is cereal.”

“I’m fine, I don’t need to eat right now.”

“Bitch, please, we both know what you’re like when you’re in a mood like you clearly have been. You need to eat.”

Velvette huffed, “ Fine… ”

“That’s better.”

Velvette ended up eating quite a bit.

“I told you that you needed to eat.”

Velvette sighed, “Yeah… Thank you.”

“No problem.” Verosika set the dishes in the sink and put the milk and cereal away. “Now, do you want to tell me what happened?”, she said, sitting back down.

“What happened with what?”

Verosika gave Velvette an unamused look. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. What happened with Ellis?”

Velvette sighed, “It was Friday last week… We had an argument, we started yelling and-”

“Hold on, he was yelling at you?! And then he left, leaving you like this. Are you kidding me!? Hell, I have half a mind to call Blitz and get him to-“

“No! No, it was… it was my fault… not his…” Velvette started to tear up. 

 

Verosika got up and hugged Velvette. “Okay, tell me what happened…”

“T-the day was fine, I kept trying to talk to him about my feelings for him, but we kept getting interrupted… Then we ended up going to a club with Vox and Val. We danced together for a bit and had a drink… Then, I decided to go back to the dance floor and he said he was going to go sit down. Everything seemed fine… Then when I saw him again a bit later, I could see that he was agitated about something. I asked him what was wrong but he just said that we would talk about it when we got back…”

“And that’s when you had the argument?”

“Yeah… the rest of the time that we were at the club he just stayed at the bar. In the car on the way back, he stayed quiet and sat away from me… earlier we had been sitting against each other… And then when we got back, he asked me about the Love Potions.”

“ Oh… that is something that could make someone upset.”

“It… it almost seemed like it was something more than just the concept of them that he was upset about…”

“Was he ever…”

“I don’t know… if he was, he never told me. Anyway… we both started yelling and I… I told him to leave… that I wouldn’t care if he was gone… and then he did…” Velvette wiped her tears from her cheeks.

 

“You said that you were trying to talk to him about how you felt about him. Do you still have feelings for him?”, asked Verosika.

“…Yes… but now he’s gone… probably doesn’t want anything to do with me now… and I don’t blame him…”

“Well… you won’t know unless you talk to him. Have you tried calling him?”

“It went straight to voicemail… and I have no idea where he might be. For all I know, he could be in Imp City or one of the other circles in Pride…”

Verosika thought to herself for a moment. “Have you checked his room? He might have left something behind that could tell you where he went.”

“No… I couldn’t work up the nerve…”

Verosika pulled her friend up. “Come on, let’s go look.”

 

Verosika pulled Velvette to the door of Ellis’ room and stepped inside. Velvette looked around the room, seeing that it was back to how it was before she met him.

“Well… it looks like he didn't really leave anything behind.”, said Verosika as she opened the closet, seeing that there were only some hangers and a couple pieces of clothing inside.

Velvette remained silent as she looked around the room.

“I don’t think there’s anything here to tell us where he is…” Verosika thought to herself for a moment as Velvette sat down on the edge of the bed with a sigh. “Hold on a second, what about Vox?”

“What about him?”

“Well, it looks like Ellis took his phone with him. Maybe Vox can track it.”

Velvette’s expression became less sad. “Yeah… you’re right.” Velvette put on her usual expression and air of confidence as she walked out of the apartment and to the elevator while Verosika stayed behind in the studio to manage Velvette’s employees who were still in the process of moving things to the event space. 

 

Velvette made her way down to Vox’s office. When the elevator doors opened, she could see him sitting at his desk watching his monitors intently. As she got closer, she could see that the screens were displaying surveillance footage of the outside of the hotel run by Lucifer’s daughter. Vox was especially paying attention to the monitor that showed the Radio Demon’s radio tower.

Vox spoke in an annoyed tone as he heard footsteps getting closer to him, “What do you want now, Val?”

“It’s me, Vox.”

The TV headed demon turned around slightly, still paying more attention to the monitors than to Velvette. “Oh. What are you here for? You have a show to run tonight.”

“I need you to do something for me.”

Vox sighed as he fully turned around to face Velvette. “What?”

“I need you to track Ellis’ phone.”

“Why would I need to do that?”

“Because I need to find him and I have no other way to.”

Vox looked slightly surprised. “So Val was right, Ellis did leave.” 

 

Vox sent a bolt of electricity into one of the monitors, bringing up the GPS for Ellis’ phone. Instead of showing a location, it just said “no signal”. “Well, that’s that.” Vox turned back to look at the live feed of Alastor’s tower.

“What do you mean, ‘that’s that’?”

Vox sighed again as he spun back around, speaking in a slightly dismissive tone. “There’s no signal, so his phone is either turned off, dead or broken. Either way, I can’t track his GPS location like this.”

“Can’t you try a different way?”

“I could, but it’s not worth the effort. There are enough desperate sinners in Hell, we can find you someone else to fill the position if that’s what you need, but I see no need to spend the time just to track down Ellis. The buzz around the fake relationship has died down and I’m going to tell Killjoy to stop wasting airtime on it. Also, with him no longer here, I don’t need to worry about him potentially being an inside man for Alastor. So, like I said, it’s not worth going through the effort of finding him, not when his only use is as muscle.” 

 

Velvette could feel herself getting angry at Vox’s words as he spun back around to face the monitors again, but she decided to turn and walk back to the elevator. She tried her best to push her thoughts to the back of her mind as she went back to her studio.

 

---

 

5:58p.m., Velvette’s Studio…

 

Velvette sat in front of her still unfinished dress, rubbing her forehead.

“Are you sure about this?”, asked Verosika. “It’s your show. Your birthday show, to be exact. I know how much this one matters to you.”

“...Yes, I’m sure. I’m not gonna be able to focus and it will go terribly if I’m running it. Can you do it for me? Please?”

Verosika gave her friend a nod. “Yeah… I’ll run the show for you.”

“Thank you…”

“What are you going to do?”

“...I guess I’ll keep trying to figure out where he is and if I can’t… I’ll probably just go around the city and look for him.”

“Okay. Now, come here.” The two friends hugged before Verosika opened a portal to the event space. “I’ll see you after the show.”

 

The portal closed as Verosika stepped through, leaving Velvette alone with her thoughts.

“Where could he possibly be…”, she said to herself.

“Ma’am?”

Velvette nearly jumped as she heard the voice behind her. She quickly turned around. “Who the fu- oh, Melissa, it’s you… What are you doing here?”

“I was sent to grab a couple things that the others forgot. Now that Samantha has finished regenerating, I’m no longer filling in for her.”

“Ah, yes…” Velvette noticed that Melissa was carrying a sketchbook, along with other things that were likely what she was sent for. “What’s that?”

Melissa quickly realized that her boss was referring to the book. “Oh, these are just some sketches that I’ve done in my spare time. Nothing important, really.”

“Fashion sketches?”

“Um… y-yes, ma’am.”

“...May I see them?” Melissa handed the book to Velvette who began looking through it. “These are good…”

“T-thank you, ma’am. It’s just a hobby of mine.”

Velvette closed the book gently as she contemplated a thought. “...How would you like to do it as a job?”

“Really? I’d love to. T-thank you, ma’am.”

“...Velvette. Call me Velvette.”

“Thank you, Velvette.” 

 

Velvette looked back at her dress. “You should probably head back soon.”

“Yes, I should. Oh, I almost forgot to ask, what time will you be arriving?”

“...I won’t be. I’m not in the right headspace to run the show. Verosika is going to host instead.”

“...Still thinking about Ellis?”

Velvette turned back to her employee and sighed. “...Yeah… I need to talk to him, but… in order to do that, I need to know where he is and right now, I don’t.”

Melissa thought to herself for a moment. “Have you asked mister Vox’s assistant? He and Ellis are friends, aren’t they? The head of security, too.”

Velvette perked up a bit. “…Yeah, you’re right.” She stood up and started to walk quickly towards the elevator. “Thank you, Mel!”

 

Velvette made her way to the security office. As she approached, she could see Hazel sitting at her desk and Ian standing nearby, talking with her. “Excuse me… You two are Ian and Hazel, correct?”

The two turned to face her. “O-oh, y-yes ma’am.”, said Ian.

“I was… I was hoping that you two could help me… I’m trying to find Ellis. Did he tell either of you where he was going?”

Ian and Hazel looked at each other and then back at Velvette. Hazel spoke, “No, he didn't. When we last saw him, Ian and I were working late. Ian had just finished work and I was about to when Ellis showed up. He emptied his locker and told us that he was leaving, then he said goodbye to us and left.”

“He had a locker here? Do you know what was in it?”

“I can check, Vox requires us to keep track of the contents of every locker.”

Ian spoke as Hazel began looking through a filing cabinet, “After Kitty’s rampage, Ellis asked Hazel if there was an empty locker here. There were a few so he’s had one ever since.” 

 

Hazel pulled a sheet of paper out of one of the filing cabinet’s drawers. “Found it. Let’s see here… he had a box of .38 Special, three boxes of 12-gauge buckshot shotshells, a 12-gauge double barrel angelic shotgun, a set of lockpicking tools and three grenades in a protective case.”

“I don’t know why he felt the need to keep that stuff down here, aside from the gun anyways…”

“He said that he had been keeping the grenades in his room, but after the Kitty incident, he didn’t feel comfortable having them near you. He didn’t want to risk something happening that would cause them to explode and hurt you. We were surprised that they hadn’t gone off during all the destruction. Then he decided to move the gun out of the armory and into the locker as well.”

Velvette let out a sad sigh. “He always did think of me first… I just wish I could talk to him and try to explain… to apologize…” 

 

Ian, seeing that Velvette was being genuine, exchanged another look with Hazel before speaking again. “There is one place that I can think of where he might be… Rosie’s.”

Velvette looked at him. “I’m an idiot… how did I not think of that… Thank you, both of you.” Velvette walked away and called for a car as she entered the elevator.

A car arrived at the base of the tower within minutes and Velvette got into the back seat. The driver turned to her. “Where to, ma’am?”

“Rosie’s Emporium. …Please.”

“Yes ma’am.”

As the car pulled away from the building, Velvette made a decision. “Actually, I need to go to the lab first.”

“Of course, ma’am. Would you like the radio turned on?”

“Yes, please.”

 

“...where did you go?”

 

“I’d let the castle walls come down”

 

“And let the armies take the crown”

 

“My kingdom, my kingdom for you”

 

“It’s a cold and lonely throne”

 

“I’d run the sword back in the stone”

 

“My kingdom, my kingdom for you”

 

“My kingdom, my kingdom for you”

 

---

 

8:06p.m., Cannibal Town…

 

The car came to a stop in front of Rosie’s store.

“Would you like me to wait here for you, ma’am?”, asked the driver.

“...No. I’ll call when I need to be picked up.” Velvette stepped out and watched as the car pulled away. She then walked up to the coffin shaped doors and knocked, knowing that the store was closed by that time. A moment later, Velvette could see Rosie approach the doors, unlock them and partially open one.

“Velvette.”, said Rosie with a slightly stern expression.

“Rosie, can… can we talk, please?”

Rosie’s expression softened as she opened the door fully and motioned for Velvette to enter the building. Rosie led Velvette upstairs and to a room on the rear side of the building. Rosie then left and came back a few minutes later carrying a tray with two pink teacups on saucers and a matching teapot. She poured the tea, handed one of the cups and saucers to Velvette and the two sat on the pink couch in the room.

“Thank you…”

“You’re welcome.” Rosie took a sip of her tea. “So, what would you like to discuss?”

Velvette took a deep breath. “I did something terrible… and Ellis found out. When he did, we got into an argument and… he left. I was wondering if you have seen him.”

Rosie took another sip of her tea. “Yes… I have.”

“Do you know where he is now? I… I need to find him.”

“...Let me ask you something. Since he left, how have you felt?”

“Terrible… like there’s a piece of me that’s missing. I’ve barely been able to go two minutes without thinking about him, how we met, the things that have happened since and what happened the night he left. I just want to find him and try to apologize and explain and… try to fix things. You know?” 

 

Rosie could hear the emotion in Velvette’s voice. She sighed. “I do… I experienced something similar with my husband, Franklin… It didn’t end well…” Rosie paused for a moment. “When Ellis came here after he left that tower of yours, I could tell that something bad had happened. Heartbroken is the only way I can describe how he was… and I can tell that you are too.”

Velvette looked down at her cup.

“I don’t know what caused the argument, but I do know that the two of you need to talk, for both your sakes”

“I need to find him in order to do that… he could be anywhere in Pride by now.”

“...He’s still here.”

Velvette quickly looked up. “He is?”

Rosie pointed to the window that provided a view of the garden behind the building. When Velvette approached the glass, she saw the man that she had been looking for. Ellis was kneeling at the edge of the garden, pulling weeds.

“On Saturday morning, I found his truck parked in front of the store with him sleeping in it, he said he didn’t want to wake me in the middle of the night. Then he told me a bit about what happened, but not much. Since then, he’s been staying here and helping me around the store. He only stops working to sleep, which hasn’t been very much, and to go get himself something to eat.”

Velvette turned back to Rosie. “Thank you, Rosie.” She then made her way outside and around the building.

 

Velvette walked slowly as she approached where Ellis was. “Hey…”

Ellis looked up at her and then turned back to the garden. “Why are you here, Vel?”

“I came to talk to you… I miss you, Ellis.”

“...Is it me that you miss or is it the things I did for you?”

“What? No. I miss you. Ellis, I… Before we met, I thought that I was happy, that I didn’t need anything else. But then I met you and I realized that I hadn’t been. And now… Ellis, I haven’t known what to do with myself since you left. I need you, Ellis. I love you.” Ellis slowly looked up at Velvette again. He could see tears rolling down her cheeks. “...That’s what I was trying to tell you that day…”

 

Ellis slowly stood up and wiped the dirt from his hands with a rag.

“If… If you don’t want to see me again, I understand. But… can I at least explain why I produced the potions?”

Ellis looked at her for a second before speaking. “...Yeah.”

Velvette let out a sigh. “When I went into business with the boys, they said that I needed to contribute a certain amount of money every month. If I couldn’t, I’d be out. The first few months were rough and I was just barely making enough. Then one month, I didn’t. But, instead of just being done with me, Val gave me a way to make enough…”

“The potions.”

Velvette nodded. “He came up with the idea and said that I needed to figure out how and I needed to run it. I… I didn’t like it, but I was scared. I was scared that if I didn’t, they would either kill me or they would get rid of me like they said and X would come after me. Even as recent as December, it made the difference between making enough and not. I know that what I did was terrible… and that my reasons don’t justify causing people to be hurt the way that I made possible and I am so sorry for it.”

Ellis sighed as Velvette wiped the tears from her face. “I kind of figured that it was a reason like that… Can’t say that I really blame you…”

 

The two fell silent for a moment until Velvette eventually spoke again. “...When we had the argument, it was the first time that you’ve ever gotten angry at me, despite all of the other reasons that I’ve given you to get upset. I definitely deserved it and still do, but… it seemed like there was something more that was causing you to be that upset about it.” The look in Ellis’ eyes told her that she was right. “Can you tell me what it is? Please?”

Ellis turned his head away. “That’s a long story… one that I’ve never told anyone…”

“Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

Ellis took a deep breath. “Growing up, it was me, my parents and my sister.”

“You’ve never mentioned having a sister before… What’s her name?”

“Ava… Despite her being a couple years older than me, we were close. When we were little, our dad was in the military and he was sent to Afghanistan. When he got back… ‘mean’ doesn’t even begin to describe how he was.”

Velvette remained silent as he spoke. She could tell that he was struggling.

 

Ellis took another deep breath. “I would lay awake at night and I could hear my parents yelling, mostly my dad. Every so often… I’d find my mom crying or I’d see a bruise that wasn’t there the day before. She always just said that she was fine or that everything was alright. I-I knew that things weren’t okay, but… I was still little and I was too scared to do anything. Then, one day, my sister and I got home after school and we…” Ellis closed his eyes for a moment as he could feel the tears building. “We found her on the living room floor. She… she was gone… After that, my dad started drinking a lot and, as I found out later, started doing drugs. With my mom gone, he started to beat me instead. I didn’t fight back, I didn’t yell, nothing, because as long as it was me that was getting hit and not my sister, I could live with that.”

Velvette watched as Ellis’ tears started to fall freely as he continued.

“Then, just before I turned twelve, school ended early one day so I went home. When I… when I got inside, I heard my sister screaming, trying to get my dad to stop doing something and then for me to help her. I ran to where her voice was coming from… That’s when I saw my dad on top of her… He was…” Ellis wiped the tears from his face but they were immediately replaced. “I-I grabbed the closest thing to me and hit him on the back of the head as hard as I could… As he collapsed onto the floor, I just kept hitting him over and over again until I… Until I knew he wasn’t going to get back up.” Ellis closed his eyes as he took a shaky breath. “Ava and I got split up after that and I spent the next six years moving from foster home to foster home. The… the only thing that kept me going was the hope that I would see her again. Years went by and she hadn’t tried to contact me, so the day I turned eighteen, I went to try to find her.” Ellis’ voice suddenly became very shaky. “T-that’s when I f-found o-out that…” 

 

Velvette wrapped her arms around Ellis in an attempt to comfort him and he wrapped his arms around her.

“S-she couldn’t live with what happened… For almost thirteen years, I had nightmares of those moments that would keep me from getting much sleep… a-and it’s my fault. I-if I had just done something, I might’ve been able-“

“Ellis, no. It’s not your fault. You were only a kid. You can’t blame yourself for that. I’m so sorry that you had to go through all of that…” 

 

The two continued hugging each other as Ellis calmed down.

“I stopped production of the potions…”

“You did?”

“Yeah, on the way here.”

“What about the money? Vox and Val?”

“It’s not worth losing you or causing people any more pain... I’ll figure something out.”

“...Thank you.” 

 

A few moments passed and Ellis, with his head resting on Velvette’s shoulder, took a deep breath. “Mmm… Chocolate and roses… Perfume.”

Velvette chuckled softly. “What are you talking about, Ellis? You know I don’t wear perfume.”

“Perfume!” Ellis pulled out of the hug and wiped the last of the tears from his face. “You could make perfume!”

Velvette was caught slightly off guard by how quickly his mood changed. “Yeah… You’re right, that might be enough. I’ll need to figure out what the fragrance will be and what to name it.”

“Vel, you naturally smell like chocolate and roses.” Velvette’s eyes widened as she realized what Ellis' train of thought was. “And what are chocolates and roses normally associated with?”

“Valentine’s Day… Romance… Love.”

Ellis pretended to make an announcement, “ Love Potion Perfume by Velvette. ”

“Ellis, you bloody genius!”

Ellis gave her a slight smile. “Well, I don’t know if I would go that f-”

Velvette interrupted him by placing a finger on his lips. “Ellis, stop talking.” She then pulled him into a kiss. 

 

Rosie, who was watching from the window above, smiled. “ Finally. ” Suddenly, much to her displeasure, she heard a woman’s voice come from the emporium below.

“Rosie! Where are you?!”

“Goddammit, Susan! We’re closed!”

 

Back in the garden, Ellis pulled his lips away from Velvette’s. “I love you too, Cupcake.”

---

---

 

(“I know our love is real”)

 

(“From all the ways we always make each other feel”)

 

(“And as for why we’ve been apart”)

 

(“Perhaps we needed time to listen to out hearts”)

 

(“Now here I am”)

 

(“And there you are”)

 

(“We’ve come so far together”)

Notes:

Feel free to resume asking character questions. :)

Chapter 19: Chapter 15: A Happy Birthday After All

Summary:

Continuing from where the previous chapter left off… Content warning for a little bit of violence.

Notes:

I’ve been looking forward to writing this chapter and using the song at the end for a long time. Have a good day! :)

April 15th, 2023, 8:47p.m., Rosie’s Garden…

 

“I love you too, Cupcake.” Ellis and Velvette’s lips met again.

 

After a moment that felt both too short and as if it had lasted a lifetime, Ellis pulled back again with a realization and looked at his watch.

“Shit, your show is tonight. We gotta go!”

“El- Woah!”

Ellis picked Velvette up and started running towards his truck which was parked nearby. He quickly sat her down in the passenger seat, got into his side, started the engine and began driving around the side of Rosie’s store.

“Ellis, wait!” The truck skidded to a stop in front of the store and Ellis turned towards Velvette. “I asked Verosika to host for me tonight. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to with how I was feeling earlier. Besides, the drive usually takes an hour and a half from here and there isn’t that much time.”

Ellis looked her in the eyes. “Do you want to be there?”

“Yes, but I… I didn’t even finish my dress, so even if we did somehow get there in time…” 

 

Ellis turned his head away. “Shit…” His eyes suddenly widened as he had a thought. He turned his head towards Rosie’s store and then back towards Velvette. “Wait here.” He opened his door and practically jumped out of the truck.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

Ellis didn’t answer Velvette’s question and instead just ran to the still unlocked doors of Rosie’s store. He swung them open and started running towards the stairs, passing Rosie and Susan on the way. “Sorry, Rosie! I’ll be back tomorrow to finish the garden and to get my shotgun!” Ellis ran up the stairs to the room that he had been staying in. He came barreling down the stairs moments later with his backpack slung over his shoulder and a black garment bag with Rosie’s logo embroidered on the front in his arms. “Thank you for everything!”

Rosie, ignoring Susan who was ranting about something, smiled as Ellis ran out of the store.

 

Ellis ran to Velvette’s side of the tuck and opened the door. “Hold this, please. Don’t open it yet.”, he said, hanging the garment bag to Velvette. He carefully closed the door and then ran to his side and got in, setting his backpack on the part of the bench seat between him and Velvette.

“Ellis, what the fuck is this? If this is one of Rosie’s dresses, I’m not wearing it. Her’s are from the wrong century , not to mention the fact that they wouldn’t fit me.”

“It’s not. Just trust me, please. Also, please put your seatbelt on.”

Velvette sighed. “Okay, if you say so.”

Ellis watched as she put her seatbelt on. “Thank you. Now then…” Ellis turned the radio on.

 

“All aboard! Hahahahahaha!”

 

Ellis cracked his knuckles before placing one hand on the steering wheel and one on the gear shift lever. “Road safety laws, prepare to be ignored.”

 

---

 

9:27p.m…

 

Velvette pulled her phone out as she and Ellis neared the event building and called Verosika.

“Hey, Vel. Are you doing okay?”

“Yeah, better than okay, actually. We’re on our way, just a couple minutes away.”

“Wait, what? ‘We’?”

“Yeah, Ellis and-”

Ellis swerved around a car without slowing down.

“Jesus fuckin’ Christ! Please don’t crash the truck!” Velvette resumed talking to Verosika. “Sorry. Yeah, we. Ellis and I are on our way.”

Ellis spoke as he continued to speed down the road. “Can you please ask her to get the bay door open? The one at the back of the building.”

“I don’t know why, but he’s asking if you can open the bay door. Please.”

“On it.”, said Verosika before ending the call.

 

The crowd in front of the building soon came into view. Ellis turned into an alleyway.

“Ellis, where are you going?”, asked Velvette, a hint of concern in her voice. Ellis didn’t answer, he just kept driving down the alley. Velvette soon saw the familiar look of the back of the event building with the bay door now open. “Ellis, please tell me that you’re not planning to do what I think you’re planning to do.”

“Hold on.” Velvette quickly braced herself against the passenger door.

Ellis then drifted the truck though the open bay door and into the building, avoiding colliding with the walls and the nearby security guards by only a matter of inches. The truck came to a stop in front of Verosika who was still standing at the controls for the door.

Velvette, breathing heavily, turned to Ellis. “ Bloody hell… Never do that again while I’m in here.”

Ellis chuckled. “It wasn’t that bad. I may have died in a car crash, but it wasn’t caused by my driving.” Ellis got out, went to Velvette’s door and opened it.

Velvette handed him the garment bag and got out. She was then engulfed in a hug from Verosika. “You made it! Does this mean that you’re going to host?”

“Hopefully, yeah.”

Verosika turned to Ellis. “So, you’re Ellis.”

“Yeah, nice to meet you.” The two shook hands. “As much as I’d love to stay and chat, we gotta go.”

 

The three walked further into the building. While Verosika went to make sure that everything and everyone were ready, Velvette and Ellis went to Velvette’s dressing room. Ellis closed the door behind them and then hung the garment bag on one of the hooks in the room.

“Okay, I need to know just what the fuck is in that bag, Ellis.”

“I know. Just, before you open it, I want you to know that I hope you like it and that I hope you aren't mad that I did it.” Ellis stepped back and Velvette walked up to the bag.

She carefully started to unzip it, making sure that the zipper didn’t catch on whatever was inside. She suddenly froze and her eyes widened as she saw a desire-red coloured neckline that she immediately recognized. Velvette slowly turned her head towards Ellis. “No… it… it can’t be…” She turned back and finished opening the bag, revealing that inside was the black evening gown that she had first designed years prior, before she died.

 

Ellis spoke with a slightly nervous tone. “Surprise… Happy birthday.”

Velvette remained silent for a moment as she stared at the dress. She slowly turned towards Ellis again. “I… I don’t… H-how did you… How did you do this?”

“Do you want the full story?”, asked Ellis, still nervous.

Velvette nodded slowly.

“ Well… the day that Val tore through the studio and I showed the designers your old designs, I didn’t show them this one but I did take a picture of it. Then, when I found out that you were going out of town for that festival and I came up with the plan to surprise you with the fabric rack, I decided to try to make this too. I know that you had wanted to make it for years but never really had the chance. I needed help since I didn’t really know anything about making a dress and I needed a place to work on it where you wouldn’t find out, so I asked Rosie for help.”

Velvette looked back at the dress.

“Then, while you were gone, I made this. I spent the days working on the apartment and making sure things were going smoothly in the studio, then I would go to Rosie’s for a few hours and then spend the nights working on the rack.”

 

Velvette remained silent.

“Do you… do like it?”

Velvette stayed silent for a moment before quickly turning,  pulling Ellis into a hug and kissing his cheek. “I love it. Thank you.”

Ellis smiled. “You’re welcome, Cupcake.”

“Hold on a second…” Velvette pulled back. “How did you get the material for it? I know it’s not from the studio, there wasn’t that much used, and there’s no way that you could’ve afforded to get fabric of this quality, not even with the money that I gave you before.”

“Um… you don’t want to know.”

“ Ellis. ”

He sighed. “I… may or may not have stolen it.”

Velvette was surprised. “When and how the fuck did you manage that?”

“Remember when you called me the day that you left for Imp City?”

“ Yeah… Wait, you said that you were stealing a car!”

“Oh, I was. But that wasn’t why Ian and I were that far from the tower. I asked him if he could come with me to break into the fabric store to disable the security system and wipe the camera footage. I didn’t want to get caught and end up causing problems for you when you had to restock the studio. I figured they deserved to lose a few rolls after what happened the first time I went with you. While we were on our way to the store, Ian mentioned needing a car so we did that after dropping the fabric off at Rosie’s.”

“You’re crazy. I… I don’t even know what to say…”

Ellis smirked. “I guess you could start calling me Danny Ocean now.”

Velvette laughed and shook her head. “Cheeky Bugger.” She gave him another kiss on the cheek. “Now get out, I need to get ready.”

“Alright, I’ll be outside.”

 

---

 

10:04p.m, V Event Space...

Verosika walked up to Ellis who was standing near the door to Velvette’s dressing room. “She’s still not ready?”

Ellis shrugged. “I guess not, she hasn’t come out yet.”

Verosika sighed. “It’s the first time one of her shows have ever had to start late.”

“In her defence, she did only get here like thirty minutes ago.”

“Yeah, that’s true… I’m going to go sit down, I’ve already arranged for you to have the seat next to me since it was easier than finding a different spot.”

Just after Verosika walked away, Ellis heard the dressing room door open. He turned his head and saw Velvette as she stepped out in her dress and black heels with her makeup done and her hairstyle now changed to an afro.

“Jesus Christ…” Ellis looked down at the floor.

“What? What’s wrong now?”, asked Velvette.

“Absolutely nothing.”

“Then why the hell are you looking at the ground this time?”

“I’m looking at the ground because you look so good that if I spend another second looking at you, I don’t think I’ll be able to look away.”

Velvette couldn’t help but smile at his words. “Ellis, look at me.”

He tilted his head up. “Goddamn, woman…”

Velvette laughed as she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. “You’re ridiculous.”

“No, I’m one hundred percent serious. I mean, look at you. Holy fuck…”

Velvette shook her head with a smile. “I need to go, I have a show to run. I’m already late.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll see you after.” Ellis turned and began to walk away.

“Aren’t you gonna wish me luck?”

Ellis stopped and turned. “You don’t need it.” 

 

Ellis went out to the crowd and found and found his seat next to Verosika. As he sat down, the woman who was sitting on the opposite side of the aisle, who was tall, resembled a white bird and was sitting with two others that looked like birds, glared at him and scoffed.

“Is she ready?”, asked Verosika.

Before Ellis could respond, the lights in the room dimmed. “How’s that for an answer?”

Almost everyone in the room gasped and began applauding when they saw Velvette step into view and begin walking down the runway.

“Holy shit…”, said Verosika, quietly.

“Yeah…”

“Hold on, isn’t that…”

“The dress that she’s wanted to make for years but never got a chance to? Yep.”

“When did she have time to do that? That isn’t the dress that she was working on in the studio.”

“She didn’t, that’s why I did it.”

Verosika gave Ellis a look of both confusion and surprise. “Is there anything that you don’t do? You’re starting to remind me of my boyfriend, minus the fact that he’s an imp and has a m-“ She was interrupted by Velvette who started to speak to the crowd.

“Good evening, everyone! Thank you for coming tonight. My apologies for the delay, I hope the show makes up for it. Now, let the show begin!”

 

---

 

11:13p.m…

 

Velvette had just finished walking off the runway after speaking to the crowd for the final time of the night. The show had gone perfectly, except for one thing. The bird-like woman from earlier had been making snide remarks to the other two avian figures throughout the entire show, mostly about Velvette.

Ellis, who had heard her comments the whole time, turned to Verosika as everyone started to get up from their seats. “What the hell is her problem?”

“Who?”

Ellis pointed towards the woman. “The feather duster or whatever the fuck she’s supposed to be.”

“ Oh, Stella, she’s one of the Ars Goetia. Massive bitch, like, one of the worst.”

“Aren’t the Goetia royalty? You’d think they would be better behaved in pub-”

“ Excuse me . What the fuck do you think you’re doing pointing at me like that!?” Ellis turned and saw Stella looming over him. “And just what the fuck are you two plebeians talking about!?”

Ellis looked back at Verosika and then at Stella again. “Nothing, ma’am. I was just wondering why anyone would invite you to a show like this.”

 

Stella’s eyes widened. “Just who the FUCK , do you think you’re talking to!? I am royalty! I go anywhere I please!” Stella slapped Ellis across the face and a look of superiority found its way onto the bird’s face. “Velvette must be truly desperate if she is allowing lowlifes like you two here. How pathetic.” Stella pushed Ellis to the side as she and the other two birds walked away.

Ellis turned back to Verosika. “You’re right, she’s definitely a bitch.”

 

The two made their way backstage and found Velvette.

“That was amazing!”, said Verosika. The two friends hugged.

“Thank you! And thank you for everything you’ve done.”

“No problem. I’d love to stay longer, but I should get home.”

“Yes, of course. You’ll need to come over for a proper visit soon though.”

“Oh, definitely.” Verosika opened a portal.

“Say hello to Curls for me.”, said Velvette.

“I will. Goodbye, you two. It was nice to meet you, Ellis.”

“Likewise.”

Velvette and Ellis watched as the portal closed behind Verosika and then turned to each other.

Velvette quickly noticed the red handprint on Ellis’ face. “What the fuck happened?!”

“A Goetia happened. I’m fine though, I barely felt it.”

Velvette cupped his cheek. “ Ellis… ”

He smiled as he changed the subject. “That really was an amazing show.”

“Thank you.” She paused for a moment. “I don’t know about you, but I think I’m ready to go home. Are you coming too? I mean… only if you want to, of course. I know that-”

“ Hey… I will and I want to. If it’s okay with you though, I think I might stick around here for a few minutes and try to help clean up a bit since I obviously wasn’t here to help put everything up.”

“Alright, I’ll have someone come pick me up. I’ll see you at home. Try not to stay here too long.”

“I won’t. See you soon.” 

 

---

 

11:52p.m., Velvette’s Kitchen...

 

Velvette, who had changed into clothes that were much less formal, found herself pacing around the room as she drank her final cup of tea for the day. Despite reuniting with Ellis earlier in the day and him saying that he was just going to help clean up after the show, she felt nervous about the fact that he still hadn’t made it back to the apartment.

 

Buzz. Buzz.  

 

She looked towards her phone on the table and saw that Ellis was calling her. She set her tea down and answered. “Hey.”

“Hey, I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“You didn’t, I’m just having one last cup of tea.”

“So you’re in the apartment, correct?”

“ Yeah… Why?”

“Could you please go to the living room window?”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“You’ll see.”

Velvette walked over to the window and looked out. “Why exactly am I standing at the…” Velvette noticed Ellis on the ground below, standing near the base of a billboard tower, at the top of which was Katie Killjoy’s taunting sign. “What the hell are you doing down there?”

“ Well, I figured that since it’s still technically your birthday, at least for the next couple of minutes, I would put on a little fireworks show.”

 

A look of confusion settled on Velvette’s face. “What the hell are you talking about? Where did you get fireworks from?”

“Just watch.”

“Wh-“

Ellis ended the call and put his phone in his pocket.

Velvette watched as he walked up to the base of the billboard tower, stood there for a moment and then ran away. “What the fuck is he-”

 

BOOM!

 

Velvette recoiled as an explosion went off. “Holy shit! What the fuck just…” Velvette trailed off as she saw the billboard tower begin to fall over.

 

Crash!

 

Ellis called Velvette again. She answered wordlessly as a smile began to form on her face. “Happy birthday, Cupcake. I’ll be up soon, I just need to stop by security and drop some things off.”

 

A few minutes later, Ellis was stepping out of the elevator near the security office when he heard voices that he immediately recognized. Two that he was happy to hear and one that he wasn’t.

“Get out of this office, Travis.”

“Y-yeah, get out.”

“Come on, don’t be like that, Hazel. Let me show you a good time. Your little pet here can join us if you want.”

“I-I’m not a pet!” Ian stepped towards Travis.

“Never going to happen, you fucking asshole.”

“You know, you two are really starting to test my patience. Maybe I’ll lose my patience and decide to stop playing nice. I have easy access to those potions, I’m sure I can put them to good use.”

Ian tried to push Travis towards the door but instead was pushed down onto the floor.

 

Hazel drew her gun and aimed at Travis as Ian stood up.

“Oh please, you’re not going to shoot me. You can’t do anything to me and you know it, I’m way too valuable to Valentino. There’s nobody to stop me either. Ellis isn’t here to protect you anymo…” Travis froze as he heard the familiar footsteps of someone wearing boots stepping into the room. He swiveled his head around and saw Ellis standing behind him. Travis turned his body around and cleared his throat. “I-I-I’m just going to leave-”

Ellis stopped Travis from walking past him by grabbing him by the shoulder with his left hand. “ Travis. It’s almost funny, the first thing that I hear when I come back to this tower is someone talking about the thing that I left because of.” He tightened his grip until he knew it was painful for Travis. “Did you know that sometimes when a person cuts the head off of a live chicken, the body will get up and continue walking around?”

Travis’ eyes widened with fear and Ellis pushed him back against the wall.

 

Ellis, holding Travis against the wall and maintaining eye contact, reached behind his back with his right hand, pulled his knife out of its sheath and pressed it against Travis’ neck.

Travis became even more visibly scared as he felt the cold, angelic steel blade against his skin.

“I’m going to say this once and only once. If you ever lay a finger on someone that I care about again or if I find out that you even think about using a Love Potion on someone after this, we’re going to find out just how closely owls and chickens are related. Understood?”

“Y-y-yes!”

“Good. Pretty soon, you won’t even be able to get new Love Potions anyway.” Ellis put his knife back in its sheath and let go of Travis. “Now leave.”

 

Travis quickly left the room and Ellis turned to Ian and Hazel. “Christ on a stick. What the fuck is wrong with the birds today?”

Ian's face quickly lit up. “You’re back!”

Ellis smiled. “Yeah, I am. I’m sorry for leaving on such short notice and not letting you guys know where I was. I hope you didn’t need to deal with too much trouble.”

Hazel spoke, “We’ve been alright for the most part. It’s been more of the usual late work nights and harassment from Travis, what you just saw is the worst that feather covered fucker has been.”

Ellis sighed. “Well, hopefully I gave him enough of a scare that he won’t do anything again.”

“I’m guessing that Velvette found you.”, said Ian.

“Yeah, she did. How did you know?”

“She came here and asked if we knew where you were.”

“Ian guessed that you might be at Rosie’s.”

“Well Ian, you were right.” Ellis hugged his friend. “Thanks, buddy.” Ellis pulled away. “Hey Hazel, I just realized, I didn’t see you at the show.”

“Vox decided to keep me here today. He said that nobody would be stupid enough to try something after the message that was sent after the last time.”

“Well, I’m glad that he was right.”

 

Ellis put some of his belongings back into his locker, said good night to Ian and Hazel and then went back to the elevator. As it ascended, Ellis thought about the way that he had threatened Travis. It gave him a feeling of fear. Fear that he might end up becoming something that he doesn’t want to become, someone that he doesn’t want to become.

“I won’t… I won’t be like him… not now… not ever… but I’ll make sure that I do what I need to do to protect the people I care about… whatever it takes…” 

 

He made his way to the apartment and found that the lights were still on. He kicked his boots off by the door and headed towards the kitchen which he could hear noise coming from. “Hey.”

Velvette, who was standing at the sink rinsing her cup, turned around. “Hey.”

“Sorry about taking so long to get up here. There was a bit of a… problem that I had to deal with when I got to security.”

“Are you alright? Is it something I need to know about?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about it.”

After a moment, Ellis looked around the room and sighed.

“Is something wrong?”, asked Velvette as she walked towards him.

“No, nothing’s wrong. I’m just thinking about the first time that I ever came in here. It felt weird and I felt… odd, like I didn’t belong here. It was probably just because it was new.”

“How does it feel now?”

“…Like home. Not like the ones that I knew before, but like how a home should feel. Peaceful.”

Velvette reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Good, I’m glad to hear that.”

The two shared a soft and brief kiss. 

 

“Thank you.”

“For what? The billboard? You don’t need to thank me for that. If anything, the best part will be seeing Killjoy’s reaction in the morning. It’ll probably be the first time that we willingly watch her.”

The two laughed for a moment and Velvette shook her head. “You’re not wrong, but not just that. Thank you for that, the dress, making sure that I got to the show, all of it. But most of all, thank you for hearing me out and for… trusting me enough to tell me what you went through.”

Velvette and Ellis hugged each other wordlessly.

They separated after a few moments and Velvette spoke again. “It’s… it’s been a long week. I think we could both use some sleep.”

“Yeah, I was just thinking that.”

They both walked to the doors of their bedrooms.

“Well… good night.”

“Good night, Cupcake.” 

 

After entering his room and closing the door, Ellis quickly put the rest of his belongings back where they belonged and changed into the clothes that he usually slept in before getting into his bed. He laid there for what felt like an eternity, trying to fall asleep. As much as he tried to, he couldn’t. It felt like something was missing. Someone was missing. He debated with himself about what to do and after a few moments, he decided.

“Fuck it.”

Ellis got out of his bed and made his way to the door. When he opened it, he found Velvette standing in front of it, about to knock.

 

---

 

 

---

 

“Hey…”

“…Hey…” 

 

(“A heart on the run keeps a hand on a gun, it can’t trust anyone”)

 

“I… I can’t sleep.”

“…Neither can I…”

 

(“I was so sure what I needed was more, tried to shoot out the sun”)

 

Ellis and Velvette stared into each other’s eyes for a moment.

 

(“Days when we raged, we flew off the page, such damage was done”)

 

Then, like two magnets pulling towards each other, they moved closer to one another and began to make out. 

 

(“But I made it through cause somebody knew I was meant for someone”)

 

Velvette wrapped her arms around Ellis and he lifted her up, carried her into his room and closed the door behind them.

 

(“So, girl, leave your boots by the bed, we ain’t leaving this room.”)

 

(“‘Till somebody needs medical help or the magnolias bloom”)

 

(“It’s cold in this house and I ain’t goin’ out to chop wood”)

 

(“So cover me up and know you’re enough to use me for good”)

Notes:

Fun Facts with Ellis: “Before his death in March of 1947, a chicken named Mike lived for approximately 18 months after being beheaded.” (NSFW warning if you choose to look up information about this as you will likely see pictures.)

I hope at least one of you noticed the Gravity Falls reference.

Chapter 20: Chapter 16: A Long Day

Summary:

Now that Ellis is back, it's business as usual. Mostly...

Takes place during “Masquerade”.

Notes:

I would like to mention a couple of things. 1: I decided to change the fic summary. 2: If any of you are fans of the Texas Rangers, I apologize in advance…

Have a good day! :)

April 23rd, 2023, 7:30a.m., Velvette’s Bedroom…

 

Ellis reached for the alarm clock and turned it off as he slowly opened his eyes. He looked around the large room. He hadn’t slept in his own bed in days, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. Instead, he had been waking up in Velvette’s bed with her usually laying with her head on his chest. While he had gotten used to sharing a bed with her before, it was much different now.

 

Ellis kissed the top of Velvette’s head. “Good morning, Cupcake.” Velvette, who was wearing one of Ellis’ flannel shirts, let out a soft groan, causing Ellis to laugh softly to himself. “Cupcake, as much as I don’t want to get out of this bed either, you know that we need to get up.”

“Mm…not yet…”

Fifteen minutes later, Ellis thought that Velvette would be ready to get up, so he gently moved Velvette off of his chest and began to get out of the bed.

“Ugh… I was comfy.”

“I know, but we need to get up. I don’t want my boss to get mad at me for being late for work.”, said Ellis, jokingly.

Velvette rolled her eyes and smiled as she sat up. “Well, I think she would’ve forgiven you this one time, but I’m not too sure now that you’ve taken her favourite pillow away from her.”

Ellis smirked. “I think I can find a way to make it up to her later.”

“Oh? Just how do you plan to do that?”

“I’m sure that I can find time to give her a nice massage tonight. I know that she enjoyed the one I gave her the other day.”

“ Hmmm… deal.”

 

Ellis got dressed and went to the kitchen to start cooking. Velvette made her way out not long later after putting on her makeup and a pair of leggings, still wearing Ellis’ shirt.

Ellis turned to face her as she sat down at the table. “Have I ever told you how good you look in my shirt?”

Velvette smiled. “Yeah, every morning for the last week.”

“And yet, I don’t think I’ve told you enough.”

“You can tell me as many times as you want to, I doubt I’ll ever get tired of it.”

Ellis turned back to the stove with a smile and continued cooking.

 

Ellis finished cooking a few minutes later and brought the food to the table. “So, what’s the plan for today?”, he asked between bites of his food.

“Aside from the usual, I have some perfume samples ready. I’d like for everyone in the studio to decide which they think is the best or if I need to try some different formulas. We’ll also need to look at a couple of bottle designs.”

“Sounds simple enough.”

“I think it would also be a good idea to try to come up with some more ideas for making money. I mean, the perfume should sell no problem, but I’d rather not rely solely on that to make up the difference and run the risk of it not working out.”

“I’m sure that we can come up with at least a couple of things. Now that I think about it, Melissa mentioned something yesterday about having an idea that she wanted to talk to you about.” 

 

The two finished their breakfast and Velvette started to walk towards the apartment door.

“Um, Vel, I think you might be forgetting something…”

She turned around. “Huh? What?” Ellis looked her up and down with a smile. Velvette quickly looked at herself and realized that she was still just wearing her leggings and Ellis’ shirt.

“I mean, if that’s what you want to wear for the day, I certainly won’t complain.”

Velvette laughed and used her powers to change into one of her usual outfits. Ellis let out a slightly disappointed sigh as he walked towards her.

“You’re ridiculous, you know that? Besides, I’ll probably steal one of your shirts again tonight.”

“Is that a threat or a promise?”

Velvette rolled her eyes, still smiling. “Cheeky Bugger. Come on, we’ve got work to do.”

 

---

 

1:07p.m., Velvette’s Studio…

 

“‘Right! Everyone gather ‘round, please.”

All the designers and models in the studio moved towards the table that Velvette was standing next to.

“As I’m sure you've all heard by now, I have shut down production of the Love Potions. Instead, we’re going to begin producing perfume. Ellis…”

Ellis walked towards the table and set down some test strips and glass bottles.

“Thank you. Now, we’re trying to come up with a formula that smells like chocolate and roses, these are the best ones yet. I want you lot to pick the one you like best and then pick a bottle that you think looks the best. If any of you think we should try more formulas then we can do that, same with the bottle designs.”

One of the models raised a hand.

“Yes, Sandy?”

“Um, is this the only fragrance that will be in production or are you planning to introduce others as well?”

“Funny you should ask, that’s along the lines of what I want to discuss afterwards. For now though, I’d like to focus on this. Anyone else have any questions?”

Melissa raised her hand.

“Yes?”

“Have you decided on a name for it yet? That might help us pick a bottle design.”

“Actually, as odd of a choice it might be, we are going to repurpose the name ‘Love Potion’ for these. Any other questions? No? Alright, get to it then.”

 

After a few minutes, everyone seemed to have made their choices.

“Has everyone made a decision?”, asked Velvette. Her employees nodded in response. “And?”

Melissa spoke for the group. “We all agree that this is the best bottle.”, she said, pointing to a heart-shaped bottle which was faceted like a cut gem.

“Lovely. And the formula?”

“We’re split evenly between the second and fifth strips.”

“Alright, I’ll get some new formulas put together and then we’ll do this again once they’re ready.”

Ellis began to gather the items while Velvette continued speaking.

“Now that that’s done, on to the other topic up for discussion. We need to expand our business further than just introducing a single fragrance. So, to answer Sandy’s question from earlier, we will quite possibly be producing other fragrances too. That said, I would like to diversify further, so I’m looking for ideas from all of you. If you have an idea that you think would work, come talk to me. If it’s something that could be done, I’m sure that we can come up with a way to adequately compensate you. In the meantime, if everyone could please return to their usual work, that would be greatly appreciated. Melissa, I’d like to have a word with you.”

 

Melissa stepped closer to Velvette as everyone else walked away. “Yes, ma’am?”

Velvette raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry. Yes, Velvette?”

Velvette smiled. “That’s better. Ellis said that you had an idea that you wanted to talk to me about.”

“Oh, yes, uh… He had mentioned to me a couple days ago that potion production had been stopped and we would be exploring different revenue streams and that you would eventually announce it to everyone here, so I decided to get a head start on coming up with ideas and I think I may have come up with something worthwhile.”

“I’m all ears.”

“Well… most of our current products are geared towards the more wealthy citizens of Hell and are priced accordingly.” Velvette nodded along. “The problem is, most of Hell’s citizens are not in a position where they can afford such items.”

“So the solution is to start selling lower priced products, that way we can reach a wider market.”

“Exactly. There are so many people who want to buy your products that don’t because they just can’t afford them, it might be even more profitable than the current lineup.”

“I had actually considered doing that when I first started, selling lower cost products that is. Only reason I didn’t is because I managed to get noticed quickly with my big-ticket items. What are you thinking, we focus on just clothing? Or accessories too?”

“A mix of both would probably be best to start.”

Ellis, who had returned from putting the samples away and heard most of the discussion, joined the conversation. “Cast a wider net, catch more fish.”

“Yeah, and then we’ll find out what people like best and focus our attention there. Good job, Mel.”, said Velvette. 

 

“Could I propose an idea? Technically two, actually.”, Ellis asked.

Velvette and Melissa turned to face him. “I don’t see why not.”

“Since we’re on the topic of making lower cost items, what about expanding into two other markets which don’t have a whole lot of competition?”

“And those are?”

“Graphic tees and sports merchandise.”

“Of course you suggest sports stuff. You’re just excited about your precious Blue Jays games finally beginning to air down here today.”

“Partially, yes, I am definitely excited for the new season, but I think this could be a good idea for making money.”

“I agree with Ellis.”, said Melissa. “We could do basically anything with graphic tees. Band merch, cartoons… whatever people want, really. Hell, Vox doesn’t even have merchandise for the shows that he makes so there’s likely some market there.”

“Yeah, and when it comes to sports, I can count the number of people I’ve met who don’t like any on one hand. It’s bound to be profitable. Hockey will be popular with sinners from North America. Baseball is popular worldwide. As unfortunate as it is, people all over the world like the fucking Yankees. Basketball is popular too. Soccer-”

Velvette interrupted him, “You mean football.”

“Nope, I mean soccer as in Fifa style.” Velvette rolled her eyes as Ellis smirked. “The Europeans will go crazy for it. and then there’s football, everyone knows that Americans are insane about it. Wish I could say the same for Canadian football…”

Velvette and Melissa exchanged a confused look. “Is there a difference between the two other than viewership?”, asked Velvette.

“There are more differences than you might think, doesn’t really matter though. Anyways, back to business.” 

 

Velvette sighed, “Okay, I like that they’re likely profitable, but I have a couple issues with those, one I also have with Melissa’s idea now that I think about it.”

“Okay, what are they?”

“Starting with Ellis’, there is some competition with those already. Mammon produces some down in Greed. They’re complete shit, but he makes them. The last thing I need is to be on the bad side of another one of the fuckin’ Sins.”

Ellis and Melissa thought to themselves for a moment before Melissa spoke. “If we were to only sell them within Pentagram City, I think we would avoid any problems with him. This is where pretty much all the potential customers for the sports stuff are anyway.”

“That could work… My second issue is image. T-shirts and jerseys and such are far from our current product lineup and brand.”

This time, Ellis came up with a solution. “What if you were to sell them under a different brand? You could just come up with a random name and run ads on Sinstagram and TV.”

“Hmm… Maybe. One last problem, this is the one with both of you, production. Both your ideas would require expansion and in different ways. I’ll have to look into what it would cost and what I can afford to do. Still though, they’re good ideas and I think we’ll be able to at least do something. Thank you, both of you.”

 

---

 

6:48p.m., Velvette’s Apartment…

 

“Oh thank fuck!”, said Ellis as he watched the end of a Blue Jays game which he had watched part of during his lunch break.

”Is it finally finished? If it is, I’d like to put something interesting on."

Ellis turned towards Velvette who was scrolling Sinstagram next to him. “What do you mean, ‘something interesting’? This is better than just interesting, it’s exciting.”

“ Sure… ”

“What, you don’t think baseball can be exciting at all?”

Velvette looked up at him, a slightly teasing look on her face. “Not really, no.”

“You know, I bet that I can show you one game in particular, actually, just one inning from that game and you would want to start watching it.”

“Oh yeah? What are you willing to bet?”

“If I lose, I won’t watch another game for a month and I’ll never ask you to watch another game ever again.”

“And if you win?”

“I don’t want anything.”

“Ha! Bullshit.”

“No, I’m serious. Getting to see you enjoy something that I also enjoy will be more than enough for me. But, you need to put your phone down and actually watch the game.” Velvette gave him a skeptical look. “I mean, I also wouldn't mind if you admit that I was right.”

“Of course you fucking wouldn’t…” Velvette sighed and turned her phone off. “Alright then, you’re on.” 

 

Ellis swapped from the regular TV channels to Vox’s version of Youtube and started to search for a video. “Let’s see here… ‘Blue Jays bat-’ Ah, there it is.”

“I don’t know why you’re so confident about this. How exciting could one period possibly be?”

Ellis chuckled. “They’re called innings.”

“Whatever the fuck they’re called, there’s no way I’m going to be that interested in it.”

“We’ll see.” Ellis played the video and Velvette leaned against him. “This has the ad breaks and shit edited out of it so it’s only about twenty minutes long.”

 

“Bottom of the seventh inning in Toronto. Russell Martin, who was charged with the error which led to the go-ahead run.”

 

“You’re gonna have to tell me just what the fuck that meant.”

“The guy currently batting fucked up and let the other team take the lead.”

“Ah, I see.”

 

“Lead off man on for the Blue Jays in the bottom of the seventh.”

 

“Hold on, did that guy just…” Velvette leaned towards the TV as the replay started. “How the hell did he not catch that?”

Ellis smirked. “And that’s just the first error the Rangers make this inning.”

Velvette turned towards Ellis. “There’s more?”, she asked, a hint of excitement in her voice.

“Just wait and see what happens now that Pillar is up to bat.”

 

“On the ground to the right side… Everybody’s safe!” 

 

“What the fuck…?”

“It’s a beautiful sight isn’t it?”

Velvette watched as a bunch of people gathered at the pitcher’s mound. “Why are they all there now?”

“It’s called a ‘mound visit’. They allow coaching staff and the players to meet on the field to discuss strategy and things like that.”

Velvette turned back to the screen and watched a seemingly weird hit. She turned back to Ellis.

“That was a bunt. Or an attempted one anyway. You’ll see a successful one in a second.” 

 

“Bases loaded!”

“ He dropped it.”

 

“And that’s the third error for the Rangers.”

“Is every game like this?”

“Nope, not even close”

 

“Bounce to the right side, throw comes home. Out at the plate is Pompey.”

 

Velvette leaned back as the game seemed to slow down. “An out is…?”

“It means a batter or runner can’t continue playing. When a team gets out three times during their offensive half of the inning, that half is over and the teams switch places. That goes on for nine innings or more if the game is tied.”

“And you get out, how…? Sorry, I feel silly for asking so many questions.”

“No, no, it’s alright, don’t worry about it.” Ellis paused the video. “Outs usually happen in a few ways. Strikes, which is swinging at a pitch and missing or not swinging at a ball in the strike zone, three strikes and you’re out. Then there’s flyouts which is when the defensive team catches the ball before it bounces. There's also tag outs which is when a defensive player who’s in possession of the ball makes contact with a runner who isn’t touching a base and lastly, if a defensive player touches a base while in possession of the ball before a runner does.”

Velvette nodded slowly. “Okay, I think I get it.” 

 

Ellis played the video and a few moments went by without anything interesting.

Velvette watched as another player hit a pitch. “Don’t catch it, don’t catch it…”

 

“Oh my god! Over Odor!”

 

“Yes!”

Ellis couldn’t help but smile at Velvette’s excitement. “I can’t wait for you to see what happens next.”

Velvette turned to him. “Why? What happens next?”

“You’ll see.”

 

“What an inning. We are tied at three.”

 

“The one who’s at bat now, he’s my favorite player of all time.”

“Bautista?” Ellis nodded.

 

“Are we tied? My goodness. Oh, what a game, huh?”

“ What an inning.” 

 

“You’re about to hear the words that’ll trigger any Rangers fan who watched this game.”

“What?”

Ellis chuckled. “Just watch, you’ll see.” Velvette turned her attention back to the screen.

 

“...after the Rangers took the lead in bizarre fashion in the top half.”

 

Crack!

 

“BAUTISTA WITH A DRIVE! DEEP LEFT FIELD! NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!”

 

“Holy shit!”

“Haha! That never gets old.” Ellis stood up a few moments later.

“Where are you going? Aren’t you going to watch the rest?”

“I figure I should probably start making dinner since it’s already almost 7:30 and I still need to have time to give you that massage after. Besides, I already know what happens. You can turn it off if you want.”

“No, I… I think I’m going to watch the end of it.” Ellis smirked. “Fuck… I’m not saying it.”

“Oh come on. Please?”

“You really want to hear me say it?”, Velvette asked, a mischievous look in her eyes.

Ellis leaned down towards her. “Of course I do. I get to hear your beautiful voice and get the satisfaction of hearing you saying it.”

“Well too bad for you then. I’m not saying it.”

“Okay then…” Ellis reached out and tickled Velvette’s sides for a moment, making her squirm and laugh.

“E-Ellis! S-s-stop it!”

Ellis pulled back quickly. “Stop what? I’m not doing anything.”, he teased.

“Oh, you bas-”

Ellis cut her off by beginning to tickle her again.

“El- haha! No, don- that’s it!” Velvette suddenly reached up and pulled Ellis back onto the couch. She managed to get on top of him and started to tickle him back. “See? How do you like that?!”

Ellis started to laugh as well. “Okay, okay…” 

 

The two took a second to catch their breath as they stayed in their position on the couch with Velvette on top of Ellis and their faces now close together. Velvette then lowered her head and the two kissed slowly and softly. They were interrupted moments later when Velvette’s phone began to ring.

She pulled back. “...Damn it…” She reached for her phone and answered it. “Hey, Val.”

Ellis rolled his eyes and began to whisper. “Tell him to go fu-”

Velvette silenced him by placing a finger on his lips. “Sorry, you said there was a fire? ” Velvette looked down at Ellis as Valentino spoke. “Alright, I’ll ask him.” She sighed as she ended the call.

“What is it?”

“Apparently there was a fire in Val’s studio this afternoon and they need help cleaning up. He asked if you could-”

“No.”

“ Ellis. I know that you want nothing to do with him after what happened and I don’t blame you for feeling that way, but right now we need to try to stay on his good side at least a bit until we’re back in a position where we don’t need to worry about being able to meet the monthly minimum. He’s been in a bad mood because of the potions and helping him with this would probably go a long way. Please? ”

Ellis sighed. “Okay, I’ll go.”

“Thank you.” Velvette kissed his cheek. “I’ll have supper ready for when you get back. And don’t worry about giving me that massage you promised after, I’ll forgive you anyway.”, she said with a smile as she moved off of Ellis.

“If anything, getting to give you that massage gives me another thing to look forward to afterwards.”

 

---

 

7:44p.m., Valentino’s Studio…

 

Ellis pushed the doors to the porn studio open and immediately sighed at what he saw. Burnt items were all over the room, many had clearly been simply pushed out of the way so filming could resume quickly.

“Fuck.” Ellis walked over to where Valentino was sitting in a director’s chair drinking and smoking. “Val.”, he said, making an attempt to at least partially hide the displeasure in his voice.

“ Ellis! So good of you to come.”

“Vel said that you needed me for something. She mentioned something about a fire.”

"Yes, there was a bit of a… royal fuck-up earlier. I need this mess cleaned up and Voxy has the people I would usually use for the heavy lifting busy working on sets. Janitors will take care of the rest tonight.”

Ellis sighed. “Alright. Do you just want everything thrown in the dumpster or is there anything that you want saved?”

“Everything of value was either burned or has already been saved. Just toss everything else. Maybe I’ll give you a reward after, hmm?”

“No thanks, that’s not necessary.” Ellis turned to go start working.

“Oh! There’s likely a mess in one of the rooms upstairs that needs to be handled as well.”

Ellis gave Valentino a thumbs-up without looking back.

 

---

 

8:51p.m…

 

Ellis had moved most of the debris to the dumpsters and decided to investigate the potential mess upstairs. “Well, this is supposed to be the right room…” Ellis knocked, knowing that there was a good chance that someone was inside. He waited as he heard footsteps slowly getting closer to the door and then unlocking and opening the door. “Sorry to bother you but- Oh, Angel, it’s you.”

Behind the cracked open door stood his friend, wearing a disheveled pink robe.

“Val said-”

“Go away.” Angel spoke with a tone that Ellis had never heard him use before.

“Sorry, what?”

“Just leave me alone.”

“...Are you alright? Did something-”

“Fuck off!” Angel slammed the door shut.

“...Okay then…”

 

Ellis went back downstairs to continue working. “Alright, back to-”

“ Ellis! ”, called Valentino as he approached.

“ What the fuck is it this time?” , he thought. “Yeah?”

“Is there something wrong with your fucking phone? Velvette is trying to call you!”

Ellis pulled his phone out of his pocket and tried to turn it on. “Shit, it’s dead. Do you have a charger around here?”

Valentino pointed down a hallway. “Office.”

Ellis made his way to Valentino’s office and plugged his phone in. “There, now I just need to wait for it to have enough juice to turn…” Ellis’ thoughts trailed off as he noticed a glowing gold piece of paper on Valentino's desk.

He slowly moved closer to it and his eyes widened as he read it. “Holy shit… It’s Angel’s contract… But why is it out? It would only be out like this if… if Val summoned it.” Ellis had never seen Valentino physically use the powers associated with a soul contract, but he had heard rumors that it was far from pretty when he did. “That must be why Angel is upset, or at least partially why. But why would Val…” If anyone had been in the room with him, they would’ve been able to see the moment that Ellis connected the dots in his head. “Royal fuck-up… Angel moved into the princess’s hotel a few months ago and Val had a hissy fit… and Angel has said that the princess wants him to spend more time there and that she doesn’t always think things through fully… shit…”

 

Ellis’ attention shifted as his phone turned on. He picked it up and called Velvette.

She answered a moment later. “Hey, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you but it kept going to voicemail.”

“Sorry about that. I didn’t realize that my phone had died.”

“Ah, no worries. I was just calling to let you know that supper was ready and to ask if you were almost done down there.”

“I just have a little bit left to do and then I’ll be up. What’d you make?”

“I thought we could do tacos tonight.”

“Perfect. I probably don’t need to say this, but don’t bother waiting for me if you’re hungry.”

“I think I’ll wait anyway.”

“Alright then. See you soon.”

“ Mm-hmm. Kisses, Darling.”

Ellis ended the call. Just as he was about to put down his phone, he paused and looked over at the contract. “Could be useful…” He decided to take a picture of it before setting his phone back down and leaving to finish his work.

 

Fifteen minutes later, he had finished and was on his way out of the building. “Alright, Val, that should be all of it. I’m heading out.”

“ Wonderful, I’ll have to… repay you some time…”

“ Yeah… No.” Ellis walked out of the building. “Piece of shit.”

 

Ellis made his way back to the apartment. Once he was inside he kicked his boots off and went to the kitchen where Velvette was standing by the stove. “I’m back. Mmm, It smells good in here.”

Velvette smiled. “I know, I thought I was gonna go crazy if I had to wait any longer to eat.”

“Cupcake, I said not to bother waiting.”

“I know, but I wanted to.”

“And you say I’m the ridiculous one?”

“Oh hush.”

Ellis smirked and walked over to the fridge. “Wine?”

“Read my mind.”

The two got their food and drinks and sat down to eat.

“So, were you able to resist the urge to kick Val’s ass?”

Ellis chuckled. “Barely, yes. I’d prefer to avoid talking about that, though. Thank you for cooking.”

“My pleasure.”

 

They continued talking about different things as they ate.

“Oh, I almost forgot, I started to look into the cost for expansion. I believe I’ve got enough funds to go with either of the ideas that you and Melissa came up with, but only one right now.” Ellis nodded along. “Now I need to decide which…”

“Just remember that you don’t need to rush making a decision. After all, we did just mention them today. Plus, who knows, one of the others could come up with something better tomorrow or the day after or something.”

“I know, but they’re good ideas and I don’t want to risk waiting too long. I think… I think I’m going to go with Mel’s idea first. It’s more on-brand and it’ll take less resources.”

“If that’s what you want to do, go for it.”

Velvette smiled. “Thanks… Sorry for not being able to do your idea too right now.”

Ellis set down the taco he was eating and gave Velvette a serious yet tender look. “Vel, you don’t need to apologize for that. It’s your business, your brand, your everything. Do what you think is best. I don’t want you to feel like you need to do something just because I suggested it. I gave you the idea because I want to help. Honestly, I wish I was doing more to help financially and stuff instead of all the weight being on your shoulders.”

“You do more than enough. Thanks to you, I’ve changed how I do things around here and things have been better than ever.”

“Thanks, but… I don’t know, I guess I just feel like I could be doing more. Hell, I haven't even had to replace that many doors lately.”

After the two finished eating, Velvette stood up and reached for Ellis’ plate but he pulled it away. “No, no, I’ll do the dishes.”, he said.

“I can do them, it’s fine.”

“No, you cooked, I’ll do it.”

“Ellis, you don’t need to.”

“You’re right, but I want to. I’ll give you that massage I promised afterwards too if you want it.”

Velvette smiled as she shook her head. “What am I gonna do with you?”

Ellis replied without missing a beat and grinned. “Whatever you want to.”

“Cheeky Bugger.”

 

---

 

11:07p.m., Velvette’s Bedroom…

 

Velvette looked up from her phone as Ellis emerged from the bathroom. “Are you finally done?”, she asked with a teasing smile.

“Hey, I only spent that long in the shower because I didn’t think you would want to sleep next to someone who smelt like smoke.”

“Well, you were right.” Velvette set her phone on her bedside table as Ellis got into bed and positioned himself next to her.

Ellis sighed. “God, it’s been a long day…”

Velvette moved to lay partially on top of Ellis like usual. “That it has…”

“Hey, um… I know it’s late, but can I ask you something?”

Velvette looked up at him. “Of course you can. What’s on your mind?”

“...I know that this probably isn’t the best time for me to ask this, but… I want to get it off my chest. And don’t feel like you need to answer now or anything.”

Velvette gave him a slightly worried look. “Okay…”

“What… What is this? You and I, I mean. I know that we’ve already said those three little words, and I did mean them and still do, but I don’t want to risk wrongly assuming something only to find out that you want something different. I guess what I’m really asking is-”

“If you’re asking me to be your girlfriend, the answer’s yes. Definitely yes.”

Ellis smiled. “That’s what I was asking.”

The two kissed before happily drifting off to sleep.

 

---

 

April 24th, 7:52a.m., V & E’s Kitchen…

 

As Ellis waited for some bread to finish toasting, he checked his phone for the first time that morning. He smiled as he read one of the notifications.

 

Text from “Angel”: “Hey… sry about last night I’m feeling better now thx for caring”

Notes:

If anyone would like to watch the inning that Velvette and Ellis watched, here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ANE-fJK8PU

Chapter 21: Not a chapter, just an update

Summary:

Some good news and other things.

(Quick note, it’s almost 3a.m when I’m posting this so I apologize if I didn’t proofread it correctly, I will fix any mistakes later.)

Notes:

Hello everyone, I hope you’re all doing well. It’s been just over a month since I last uploaded a chapter so I wanted to give a quick update about that and give some insight about my plan for the story. I also decided that as a little thank you to everyone that continues to read this fic and tolerate my infrequent updates, that I would give some bonus information about the fic.

Have a good day! :)

1. The Next Update:

 

First of all, there are more chapters on the way. I originally wanted to have the next chapter finished a while ago and thought that I would be able to since I had it mostly planned out in my head, but unfortunately that did not happen. I’ve spent the majority of the last month focusing on some non-fanfic projects, mostly for a different fandom, and have not been focusing on this. However, in recent days, I have been trying to spend more time writing. What was originally going to be just one, possibly slightly longer chapter, is now likely going to be split into two chapters as the longer I spend on this, the more ideas I come up with for the story. These two chapters are going to see the return of some characters that have only appeared briefly so far and will feature some that we haven’t seen, but that I’m sure you are all familiar with. They will also likely have the first (and possibly a second) real flashback scene in this fic. The story is also going to have a slight shift in focus, but will of course still have Velvette and Ellis. 

2. The Plan:

 

I am planning for this fic to end in line with the ending of season 1 of Hazbin, this means that the fic is over halfway done. I’m not sure how many more chapters there will be, but it will most likely be less than 10. HOWEVER, I am planning to make a SEQUEL to this fic, which I already have many ideas for. I will possibly take a short break from Hazbin in between the end of this fic and the start of the sequel to work on some other fic ideas that I have.

3. Bonus Info:

 

• Ellis got his last name when I watched the trailer for “Twisters” and is named after the character Tyler Owens. For his first name, I used a random name generator. I also used a random name generator for Ian and Hazel. (I’m not very creative when it comes to names lol)

 

• Velvette calling Ellis “Cheeky Bugger” was originally only going to be a one-time thing.

 

• I decided that Ellis would call Velvette “Cupcake” after rewatching scenes from season 1 of “Arcane”.

 

• Roise, Ian and Hazel were originally going to have smaller roles in this story.

 

• I headcanon that it is mostly just the Hellborn that refer to angelic weapons as “blessing tipped” and “blessed” while Sinners usually call them “angelic”. As a result, Velvette refers to the revolvers that Ellis finds in chapter 1 as “blessing tipped” because of her friendship with Verosika.

 

• The “crazy blonde” that Ellis nearly runs over while leaving Cannibal Town in chapter 3 is Charlie on her way to the Heaven Embassy.

 

• Aside from chapters 6, 8 and 13, the title of each chapter is essentially the last thing that I come up with before posting.

 

• One of my goals is to avoid using multiple songs from the same singer/band. The only exceptions to this so far have been Chris Stapleton and Dua Lipa.

Notes:

Thank you all again for your support and for continuing to read this fic. It amazes me that it has gotten the amount of support that it has.

Like with the chapters, feel free to ask me questions about the fic if you have any, as well as any questions you have for the characters.

Chapter 22: Chapter 17: Fire Away

Summary:

Velvette has a surprise for Ellis...

Content warning for violence.

Notes:

I finally finished this chapter. Sorry for it taking so long.

Also, I forgot to mention in the update and in the previous chapters, in the Hazbin Halloween merch drop last year there was a Vees keychain that appears to show that Velvette's body canonically resembles a doll. In this fic, that is not the case. Instead, her only major changes related to her appearance in Hell vs the living world are the ones discussed in chapter 9.

Have a good day! :)

April 30th, 2023, 10:26a.m., Outskirts of Pentagram City…

 

“Wednesday? Of course I can make time on Wednesday, I’ll clear the whole day. What about Curls, will he be coming too? Lovely! Alright, we’ll see you then. Kisses, darling.” Velvette ended the phone call and looked over at Ellis who was focused on driving. “Verosika and Curls are going to come for a visit on Wednesday.”

“Okay, sounds good.” A few moments of silence passed before Ellis spoke again. “Are you going to tell me where exactly we’re going? We’ve been driving for an hour.”

“You’ll see soon. Take the next right and then go straight. It’ll be on the right” Ellis followed his girlfriend’s directions.

“I just realized, is ‘Curls’ his actual name or is it just a nickname?”

“Oh, it's my nickname for him because of his curly horns and moustache. His real name is- Oh! This is the place.”

 

Ellis brought the truck to a stop in front of a large building that had old, red brick walls and was surrounded by a rusty metal fence with a broken gate. He looked at it confused for a moment, wondering why it looked familiar. Suddenly, he realized that it was the building that he and Velvette had hid in during the Extermination.

“Uh, Vel, why the hell are we here?”

Velvette smiled. “Surprise!”

“This is where you wanted to go?”

“Yeah, it is. C’mon, let’s go inside.”

Ellis parked the truck in the building’s fenced area and he and Velvette walked into the building. As they stepped inside, Ellis looked around the building. It was mostly the same as when he and Velvette were last there.

“So…are you gonna tell me why we’re here? Is this where you’re going to set up the accessory production? I thought you already had a place for that.”

“I do, that’s not why we’re here.” Velvette stepped towards Ellis. “This is yours.”

Ellis gave her a confused look.

“Mine? ”

She nodded. “Yours.” Ellis’ expression didn’t change.

 

“Come on.” Velvette took Ellis by the hand and led him into the office.

“You…you’re gonna have to explain this to me.”

Velvette smiled. “Well, after our conversation over dinner the other day, I got to thinking. You use work to keep yourself distracted from things, don’t you..?”

“…It definitely helps to keep my mind off of…certain memories.”

“But recently you haven’t needed to do as much around the studio…so those memories are bothering you again.”

“…More than usual, yes…”

“Well, I asked myself ‘what if you had a place where you could do all the work you wanted?’. Then I thought of this place.” Ellis silently turned to look back at the much larger part of the building. “It definitely needs some work, but you can do whatever you want with it. You could use it as a workshop instead of using the garage like you did before, you could…I don’t know…fill it with random shit. Hell, you could start a business of your own if you want. But I don’t want you to start a business just with the goal of helping to pay for shit, I won’t have it.”

 

Ellis turned back to face Velvette and she immediately became concerned as she saw a couple of tears slowly running down his cheek. “Wait…what’s wrong..? Ellis-“ She stopped talking as Ellis slowly smiled.

“…I’ve never really had a place of my own before…”

The two hugged each other and Ellis used one hand to wipe away his tears as he looked at the larger part of the building again, his gaze fixing on a few specific things including a large hole in the roof.

“I think I have an idea for a business. I’ll need to meet with some people first though.”

Velvette pulled back slightly and looked up at him. “Why would you need to meet with anyone?”

“So I don’t get in trouble later. Also, if this works out, I will be helping you with money.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Nope.”

“Yep.”

“Stubborn bastard.”

“It takes one to know one.” They both exchanged a serious look before breaking out into laughter.

 

When they stopped laughing, Velvette looked around at their surroundings. “I think you should probably put money into fixing this place up a bit before you worry about anything else. Unfortunately, I won’t really be able to help with that right now, I’m stretched thin as it is.”

“You won’t need to provide a single cent. I just hope that if I can get a meeting then they don’t kill me on sight.”

“Hold on… Who is it that you need to meet with?” Ellis looked at a dust covered painting on the wall which he had noticed the first time that he was in the room months prior. Velvette followed his gaze and saw that there were four people in the painting. She had only been in Hell long enough to meet three of them. “Shit.”

 

---

 

May 3rd, 9:34a.m., V & E’s Apartment…

 

“Are you taking the piss!? You’ve got to be joking!”

“I wish I was…”

“Of all days, why today? Ver and Curls are going to be here soon.”

“They just sent me an email saying that someone else canceled on them and they can fit me in today.”

“There has to be another day that you can go. When’s the next opening?”

“June Twentieth.”

“For fuck’s sake…” Velvette rubbed her temples with frustration. “I suppose this is partially my fault for the timing of everything.”

“No, it’s nobody’s fault, we had no way of knowing that there would be an opening today. It’s alright, I’ll just wait until the one next month.”

“No, no, you’re always doing things for me, it’s time you do something for yourself. Go to the meeting. If you want to then you might as well go to the factory too after. Let me know when you’re done with the meeting so I know they didn’t shoot you.”

“I will.”

“I want you back here in time for the four of us to have supper together, though.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Just let me know what you guys want so I can pick up stuff on the way back.”

 

---

 

11:21a.m., Carmine Compound…

 

Ellis got out of his truck, grabbed a gun case from the bed and walked to the main entrance of the Carmines’ building. Just as he was about to press the button on the door buzzer, the door quickly swung open, almost hitting him. He froze as a pale blonde woman wearing a white lab coat, who Ellis recognized as one of Carmilla Carmines’ daughters, pointed an angelic submachine gun at him.

Ellis took notice of the gun’s design, especially the barrel and drum magazine. “Finnish design, very nice.”

“What do the Vees want now?”, the woman asked in a serious tone.

“They don’t want anything. I’m here for a meeting with Mrs. Carmine. The 11:30 time slot.”

“E. Owens?”

“Yes, ma’am.” The woman stared at him for a moment before partially lowering the gun and stepping to the side to allow Ellis to enter the building. 

 

The woman led Ellis to a security checkpoint.

“Remove all weapons from your person and place them on the table.”

Ellis placed the gun case on the table before pulling his knife out of its sheath and setting it next to the case. He then pulled his revolver out of his holster and removed the ammunition, placing the cartridges in a tray before also placing the gun on the table with the loading gate open. The woman then directed Ellis to step through a metal detector before putting her gun away.

 

A few minutes later, Ellis and the woman approached the doors to Carmilla Carmine’s office.

“Wait here.” The woman entered the room and came back a few moments later, motioning for Ellis to enter the room.

As Ellis stepped into the room and started approaching Carmilla’s desk, he immediately saw the scowl on face. “Good morning ma’am. How are you today?”

Carmilla raised an eyebrow, suspicious of Ellis’ greeting which was unusually kind for a resident of Hell. “I’m doing fine. And you?”

“I’m alright. Though, I could have gone without the KP/-31 replica being pointed at me.”

Carmilla shifted her gaze to her daughter who spoke with a matter-of-fact tone. “He’s with the Vees. We do not know what his intentions are, especially after the last Overlord meeting.”

“We have produced countless newer models and you still choose the Suomi?”, said Carmilla, a lack of surprise in her voice.

“Old habits die hard, Mother.”

 

“Speaking of that meeting,”, said Ellis, “Velvette sends her apologies for how she acted that day.”

Carmilla looked back at him. “I doubt her sincerity. Now, enough of this, what do Velvette and her colleagues want that they couldn’t be bothered to come here themselves for?”

“Nothing, actually. I’m here for my own reasons.”

“The Vees did not send you?”

“No ma’am. Velvette would actually prefer if I had stayed home today since she has guests over, but this was the earliest opening in your schedule. As far as I’m aware, Vox doesn’t know or care that I’m here, though I’m sure he’ll eventually find out. As for Valentino, I would rather be repeatedly run over by an eighteen wheeler than do anything for that blind bastard ever again.”

Carmilla’s lips nearly curled into a smirk at hearing Ellis’ disdain for Valentino, but her stern expression remained.

Ellis continued, “I’ve come here out of respect for you and your family and to avoid possible conflict. I have a business proposition. If you’re willing to hear me out, that is. I would understand if you aren’t.”

 

Just as Carmilla was about to speak, the doors to the room opened. Looking over his shoulder, Ellis could see Carmilla’s other daughter carrying a folder.

“Mom, here’s that report you asked for about the non-angelic orders we haven’t been able to- oh, sorry. I thought your meeting was cancelled.”

“It’s alright, Clara.”

“Please, don't let my presence get in the way of your business.”, said Ellis.

Clara gave Ellis a confused look as she approached her mother. “Aren’t you-”

“Yes, he is.”, her sister said, predicting what Clara was about to ask. “He claims to have a business proposition.”

Carmilla cleared her throat. “As I was about to say, you are already here, so you might as well speak. However, do not expect to receive an answer that you will like.”

“Your consideration is good enough for me.” Ellis motioned towards one of the chairs in front of Carmilla’s desk. “May I?” Carmilla nodded.

 

The two sisters moved to stand at their mother’s side as Ellis sat down.

He took a deep breath before speaking. “There’s an abandoned industrial building roughly thirty minutes from here. I have good reason to believe that the three of you are familiar with it.” Carmilla’s eyes widened and her expression shifted slightly. At the same time, Clara and her sister glanced at each other. “I’d like to use the building as a workshop and, at least temporarily, run a business out of it. With your permission, that is.”

Carmilla regained the serious attitude which she had  ever so slightly lost. “And… which building is that, exactly?”

Ellis pulled his phone out of his pocket and showed her a picture of the building. When she saw the picture, Carmilla closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Lo juro,” Carmilla opened her eyes and her body became visibly tense with anger. “if Velvette sent you here as some kind of joke, I will-”

“It’s no joke ma’am. And Vel didn’t realize your family’s connection to the building until I essentially pointed it out to her. She hadn’t seen the painting until we went back there a few days ago. I don’t blame her for not seeing it on Extermination Day, that day was pretty crazy for the both of us.”

Carmilla’s expression changed slightly again, a hint of surprise now in her eyes. “You two were out there during the extermination? And yet I thought she could not be more foolish. Now I see that you are both idiots.”

“Ma’am, I mean no offence, but if Velvette was an idiot, you likely wouldn’t have ended the last Overlord meeting as abruptly as you did. Also, in my defence, I didn’t exactly choose to die when I did or fall from the sky and land there in the middle of a slaughter.”

“You expect me to believe that you arrived in Hell during the extermination and didn’t die?”

“It’s the truth. I landed on the road in front of that building and ran inside as fast as I could. That’s also how I met Vel.”

“Velvette does not strike me as the type to hide in a decrepit building. Especially considering where she does live.” Ellis noticed that Carmilla's blonde daughter seemed to become slightly sad at the mention of the factory’s condition.

 

“She wasn’t. Not originally, anyway. The car she was in rolled over, I carried her into the building before the angels could kill her.”

“How stupid of you.”

“Yeah, running out from cover certainly wasn’t my brightest moment, but I don’t regret it. And now here I am, trying to do the right thing by respectfully asking for your permission before going forward with my plans, despite knowing how slim the chances of receiving the answer that I'm hoping for and even walking out of this building alive are.”

“‘Respectfully’. Ironic given Velvette’s actions the last time you two were here.”

“Well I’m not her. If I was, I probably wouldn’t be here.”

 

The room fell silent before Carmilla took a deep breath once again. “You said…workshop and business. What exactly do you have in mind?”

“Well, a workshop would be useful to me. At the moment if I need to do anything I have no choice but to use the underground garage, which I'm sure you can imagine is less than ideal. The business will primarily be used to fund repairs to the building. It’s the specific type of business I’d like to start that brings me here.”

“…You wish to enter the arms trade.”

“Yes ma’am, I do. I’m sure you’re aware that there are a number of weapons in that building. With your permission, I’d like to return them to working order and sell them.”

“Why, in all that is holy, would I want to invite a competitor into my industry?”

“Because it would benefit you with minimal risk.”

“And how exactly would it do that?”

“When your daughter walked in without realizing that I was here, she mentioned a report about ‘non-angelic orders’.” Ellis motioned towards the folder that Clara still held in her hands. “I assume, and please correct me if I’m wrong, that she was referring to orders that you weren’t able to accept or fulfill due to production capacity.”

Carmilla’s eyes shifted to look at the folder before moving back to Ellis.

 

He continued. “If my research is correct, most of your competition is from small organizations down in Wrath and Greed. That’s no doubt where people go when you can’t provide and then you end up missing out on that money entirely. If you allow me to, I can at least partially fill that gap and I’ll pay you a percentage of the profits.”

Carmilla reached out towards Clara who then placed the folder in her hand. She opened the folder and skimmed over the contents for a moment before looking back up at Ellis. “I need to discuss with my daughters in private. Wait in the other room.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

“Odette, the door please.”

“Yes, Mother.”

 

Ellis and Odette walked towards the office doors. As Ellis opened them, he was startled by a tall, dark figure standing there about to knock. “Zestial.”, he thought, recognizing him as the other Overlord that Velvette had antagonized. “Good morning, sir.”

The Overlord’s four large green eyes narrowed. “What on earth are thou doing here? ”

Odette perked up at the sight of the man. “Mother, Zestial is here.”

“Send him in, please.”

Zestial stepped past Ellis and into the office. Odette then closed and locked the doors, leaving Ellis alone in the meeting room.

He sighed as he put his hands in his pockets. “Well, I might as well use this time to go admire the weapons on the walls in the hall before they decide which ones to skin me with…” 

 

Back in the office, Zestial and Odette approached Carmilla.

“Zestial, how nice of you to come. I was not expecting you.”

Zestial seemed to tilt his head in confusion and was about to speak when Clara interrupted. “That’s something I was going to mention when I came in here. He reached out and asked if you were free for lunch. I said that you were since I thought that your meeting was cancelled…”

“Ah, I see…”

Zestial spoke as he sat in one of the chairs. “Carmilla, what doth the foolish ones desire that they sent a pawn here in search of?”

“Apparently, they did not. He came for business of his own.”

“What business might that be, if thou does not mind mine inquiry?”

Carmilla sighed. “He wishes to…take possession of the old factory and sell weapons.”

A look of surprise formed on Zestial’s face. “...Alexandre’s factory?” Carmilla closed her eyes and nodded.

 

---

 

July, 1936, Spain… (Everything is written in English)

 

Soldiers held a man at gunpoint, his hands tied behind his back and his head hung low, as an officer approached.

The officer stopped in front of the man. “You are Alexandre Carmine, are you not?”

The man remained silent.

The officer lifted the man’s head up and punched him in the jaw. “Are you Alexandre Carmine, the gunsmith?!”

The man stared into the officer’s eyes. “You Nationalist pigs murdered my family in the theatre. I will never help you.” Alexandre then spit in the officer’s face.

The officer wiped the spit from his face before letting out a sadistic laugh. “Oh, we did not kill them, you just did.” The officer whistled.

Moments later, a group of soldiers emerged from a building with a woman and two teenage girls dressed as ballerinas.

“Carmilla… My daughters… No… No! Please!”

“Alexandre!”

“Father!”

The three women tried to run towards Alexandre, but the soldiers stopped them and pushed them to the ground.

“Let them go! Please! I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t hurt them!”

“Oh, it’s too late for that now…”

 

One of the soldiers spoke. “What do you want us to do, sir?”

“Let’s allow him to decide.” The officer pulled out his pistol and aimed it in the direction of the girls. “Choose one to die. The other two will live.”

“No! Please!” Alexandre began to fight against the rope that bound his hands. As a result of Alexandre struggling, the soldiers became distracted.

Seeing an opportunity, Odette quickly reached for the submachine gun that one of the soldiers was holding. She managed to take control of the gun and shoot three of the soldiers dead and graze the officer’s shoulder. At the same time, Clara managed to steal another soldier’s gun and take out two other soldiers. Carmilla and Alexandre were momentarily stunned by the sudden gunfire.

Carmilla quickly got out of her stunned state and saw multiple other soldiers preparing to shoot. “Clara! Odette!” She moved towards her daughters in an attempt to shield them from the impending gunfire. Just as she reached them-

 

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!

 

The bullets tore through the three women and they collapsed to the ground one by one.

“NO!" Alexandre struggled more against the ropes that held his wrists as tears fell from his eyes. He felt a sharp pain as someone yanked his head back by his hair. Looking up, he saw the now wounded officer who then placed the blade of a knife against his throat.

“Join them in Hell.” 

 

With her final breath, Carmilla reached out towards her husband as his body fell to the ground and everything became dark.

 

For what felt like just a few moments, everything was nothing. No feeling, no sounds, just nothing. 

 

Suddenly, Carmilla felt something. Air, rushing around her. She opened her eyes and realized that she was falling, rapidly approaching the ground. “Woah, no, no-“ 

 

Thud.

 

“Ow…” Carmilla brought a hand to her head, rubbing an area that was now sore as a result of her fall. “Where… what is this place..?” She looked up at the sky and saw that it was red. “Wait… what hap-“ At that moment, she remembered the events that had just occurred not long before. Her heart immediately sank. “No…no, they couldn’t have… Clara… Odette… Ale…” Carmilla looked down at the ground. As she did, she noticed that her hands were now much larger than before and her once dark hair was now white. “What…what is this?” She closed her eyes, hoping to escape the nightmare that she found herself in. 

 

“Mom..?”

Carmilla, hearing a familiar voice, opened her eyes and turned to face the direction that it had come from. She saw a woman who resembled one of her daughters. “…Clara?”

“Mom!”

As Clara started running towards her mother, Carmilla tried to stand up but stumbled. She found that her feet had also changed. She managed to stabilize herself just as Clara reached her and wrapped her arms around her. “Clara… I thought…”

“Mother! Clara!”

“Carmilla!”

The two turned towards the two new voices which they immediately recognized.

“Odette! Ale!” The family embraced each other. 

 

“Where… where are we?”, asked Carmilla.

Alexandre looked around, taking in his surroundings and seeing strange looking people everywhere. “I don’t know…” He thought to himself for a moment. “But wherever we are, what matters is that we are together. We…we will figure it out. We will build a new life for ourselves.”

 

---

 

May 3rd, 2023, 11:52a.m., Carmilla Carmine’s Office…

 

Carmilla opened her eyes after what to her felt like an eternity, but was really only a few seconds. Zestial used his powers to make a full teacup with a saucer materialize and took a quiet sip. “Most of me just wants to say no. But part of me…” Carmilla sighed again. She looked towards Zestial. “Zestial, you know I have always valued your counsel…”

Zestial took another sip of his tea before setting his cup back down on the saucer. “It be difficult to decipher the intentions of the pawn with mine minimal knowing of him. What, praytell, doth he particularly desire?”

“Exactly like I said, or so he claims. He said he will use the profits from the weapon sales to repair the building.”

“And in return, will provide a portion to thou?”

Carmilla nodded. “It’s not necessarily a bad idea…but his close ties to the Vees and our history with that building make me even more hesitant than I would be otherwise.”

 

“Hmm…” Zestial took another silent sip of his tea. “What is thy’s impression of him?”

“Apart from the meeting where he said maybe two words?” Said Clara. “Different.”

“Cooperative.”

“Surprisingly respectful…” Carmilla turned to Odette. “By ‘cooperative’, what are you referring to?”

“Unlike most that come here, he did not resist when told to surrender his weapons. And, while we are on the subject, he also had far better weapon etiquette than I have seen from anyone else outside our organization.”

“And compared to our own?”

“Better than ninety-four percent.”

“Doth thou have any negative opinions? Apart of course from his involvement with the foolish ones.”

Carmilla sighed. “Nothing in particular, but I don’t think we know anything about him other than what we just mentioned.” Odette nodded in agreement.

“Mayhaps the input of another is necessary to come to a conclusion? However, I know not who may be in a suitable position to provide.”

 

The room fell silent for a moment.

“What about Rosie?”, asked Clara. “The two of them seemed to be familiar with each other at the meeting.”

“Rosie? I highly doubt that someone as close to Alastor as she is would have much contact with someone within Vox’s inner circle. And, while I have nothing against her, how much do we really trust her?”

Clara shrugged. “Do you have any better ideas?” Carmilla sighed.

“In mine dealings, Rosie hath never been untrustworthy. Oftentimes barbaric, aye, but never untrustworthy.”

Carmilla thought to herself for a moment before picking up her phone and going through her contacts. 

 

Ring…

 

Ring… 

 

Ri- 

 

“Rosie, how are you? It’s Carmilla. Good, good. I was wondering if you would be willing to assist me with something. I’m looking for someone that could provide some insight into a particular Sinner…”

 

---

 

12:16p.m., Carmine Meeting Room…

 

Having finished looking at the weapons on display in the building, Ellis paced in the meeting room, waiting to be allowed back into the office. He turned to look at the office doors as he heard them open.

“You may re-enter now.”, said Odette.

Ellis walked back into the room and approached Carmilla who motioned for him to sit in the chair next to Zestial.

 

Carmilla took a deep breath, giving Ellis a serious look. “You are aware of that building’s significance to us, yes?”

“I have a pretty good idea, yeah.”

“Then you know why I would be even more apprehensive about accepting your proposal than I otherwise would be if it was just the question of business.”

Ellis solemnly nodded. “I’m…no stranger to losing people I care about and the feelings that come with it.” A slight look of understanding broke through Carmilla’s expression. 

 

Carmilla remained silent for a moment before speaking again. “If I were to agree to anything, I would first need to know the type of person I would be dealing with, so I made a call. Rosie speaks highly of you. She said that you did more for her in a week than the people she usually hires can do in twice that.” Ellis smiled. “However, whether or not you are qualified for this line of work is one of a few questions which I have for you. My daughter says that you have excellent weapon etiquette, are you ex-military?”

“No ma’am, that’s just part of what’s taught in the courses that Canadians need to take to get a gun license.”

“Hmm. So what related work experience do you have, then? Gunsmithing is something that requires skill.”

“Well, if you would like to see some of my work first-hand, you can look at the two firearms that I brought with me today.”

Carmilla pushed a button on the intercom on her desk. “I need the weapons that were checked in by the man that Odette escorted earlier brought to my office.”

A voice quickly replied. “Understood. Someone will be up right away.”

“Aside from what you’ll see with those, I don’t have much experience in gunsmithing. That said, prior to my death, I did restore a SMLE that had been left in a barn for who knows how many years. And, while I didn’t work with firearms professionally, I did work in a machine shop for a while, so I can do the work that needs to be done. I also have experience in other fields which will be of use.”

 

Just as Ellis finished speaking, one of Carmilla’s employees entered the room, carrying Ellis’ weapons, and set them on Carmilla’s desk before leaving.

“I will admit, I was slightly surprised when my daughter said you did not resist when told to surrender your weapons. Why was that?”

“Because I didn’t come here to cause problems. Not to mention the fact that even if I did try anything, at least one of you would probably pump me full of lead before I could even pull the hammer back.”

Carmilla smirked before opening the gun case, revealing the shotgun. She then looked at Ellis’ revolver and knife.

“Where did you get these? We haven’t sold any angelic weapons to the Vees in years and it’s not often that people sell what they have.”

Clara looked at the shotgun, recognizing it. “Hold on…I think I recognize this one… Yeah, I do, this belonged to that one steroid guy. What was his name again?”

“X.”, said Odette.

“Yes, that’s him. Wait a second…how did you get it?”, Clara asked, looking at Ellis suspiciously.

“He made an attempt on Velvette’s life at the end of January, he didn’t exactly need it after that…” Clara nodded, immediately understanding what he meant. “All I’ve done with that is clean it. I got the knife the same way. For something that actually took some effort, you’ll want to look at the revolver.” 

 

Carmilla picked up the revolver. “Our Colt Single Action Army replica with a five and a half inch barrel and chambered in .38 Special. We haven’t made these since…”

“1975…” Carmilla looked at Odette. “...Father’s preferred length and cartridge.”

Carmilla turned to look at Ellis again. “You got this from the factory, didn’t you?”

“Yes ma’am, I did, as well as another one just like it. I found them when Vel and I were leaving after the extermination ended. When I found them, both actions were seized and they had all the other problems that one would expect to find given the environment they were in.”

Carmilla handed the revolver and knife to Ellis and he put them back in his holster and sheath. She then turned to Clara. “What do you think?”

“The extra money wouldn’t hurt. Velvette has never really been a threat, but my concern is how close he is to Vox and Valentino.”

Zestial finally spoke again, breaking his silence. “Clara doth have good points in mine opinion.”

“I wouldn’t say that Vox and I are close. He’s already suspicious of me because of my friendship with Rosie and how close she is with Alastor. I think I’ve also made my opinion of Valentino clear as well.”

Carmilla turned to look at Odette. “You have final say.”

“I would like to see the building restored and the firearms be used as intended.” She looked Ellis in the eyes. “Those weapons were the last things that my father made. You will treat them and the building with respect.” Ellis nodded.

 

Zestial used his powers to get rid of his now empty teacup and saucer. “I believe now is the time for thou to decide upon the specifics of thy impending agreement.”

Carmilla nodded in agreement and looked at Ellis. “First of all, rules. One, building off of Odette’s point, you will not remove any markings that identify the weapons as made by us unless they are damaged. In which case, you will re-mark them the same way.”

“Completely reasonable. Not to mention the fact that your name will add value to them.”

“Two, upon requests made by us, we will inspect the operation at times that are convenient to both parties.” Ellis nodded along. “Three, you will only sell non-angelic weapons unless otherwise permitted.”

“What do I do with the angelic ones then?”

“You may keep them or bring them to us and we will compensate you for them. Whether you restore them prior to delivery is your decision, though their condition will determine the amount of compensation you receive. Four, you are only permitted to sell outside of Pride. How you do it is up to you. Do you understand?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Good. Now, how do you intend to fund yourself until you are able to begin sales? It will not be cheap.”

“I have some money that will last me for some time. Also, since I’ll only be selling angelic weapons to you, why don’t we start now? How about you take this shotgun off my hands now, but instead of a monetary transaction this time, you provide me with some supplies that I’ll need to get started?”

“That is acceptable.”

Odette closed the gun case and removed it from her mother’s desk.

 

“Lastly, payment. I want thirty percent of your profits.”

“That’s too much. If I’m not allowed to sell in Pride then I’ll need to bring in people who can transport and sell for me which means I'll need to pay them on top of the cost of everything else. Five percent.”

“Ha! No.” Carmilla thought for a moment. “Twenty-five.”

“Ten. I’m the one doing the work, for you it’s practically money for nothing.”

“Twenty.”

Now was Ellis’ turn to think. “Fifteen. But, I purchase ammunition exclusively from you, as well as gun oil and solvents at a dealer price for testing and restoration as well as any parts that I can't efficiently make myself. And, for the ammunition, I am allowed to sell it as well at a price that you determine, but without paying you a cut of the profits from it as I'll already be paying the dealer price.”

Carmilla silently looked towards Zestial who nodded. “Girls. Drinks, por favor.” 

As Clara and Odette went to a nearby table to fill some glasses, Carmilla and Ellis both stood and shook hands, white and blue light momentarily filling the room. A moment later, Clara and Odette handed Carmilla, Ellis and Zestial each a glass before picking up their own.

Carmilla raised her glass and everyone else did the same. “Salud, dinero y amor!”

“Salud, dinero y amor!”

Notes:

Fun facts with Ellis, Odette Carmine Edition: "The Suomi KP/-31 was designed in the 1920's and entered service in Finland in 1931. It was used by both sides during the Spanish Civil War."

Hey Internet_XxxPl0r3rxxX, remember when I said I had something planned involving Ellis and Carmilla? I'm curious about what you think about it if you still read this.

Chapter 23: Chapter 18: Professionals

Summary:

We continue from where the previous chapter ended and things sure do happen...

Notes:

Today marks one year since I posted chapter one and I managed to finish this chapter in time to post today. Yay! lol

To celebrate, I'm thinking about sharing some recipes for some of the things that Ellis cooks in the story that I have used IRL. If that's something that you guys would be interested in, let me know.

 

Also, I would like to mention, through yesterday's Hellaverse Hot Topic pride merch reveal, it was revealed that Velvette is canonically lesbian in the show. This fic's lore will remain as is and the story will proceed as planned.

Have a good day! :)

May 3rd, 2023, 12:56p.m., Carmine Compound…

 

“Keep coming, keep coming…” Ellis stood beside the bed of his truck, giving directions to a forklift operator. “Just a bit more… Stop! Alright, down. Almost… Right there! Perfect. Thanks.”

As the forklift driver pulled away and drove back into the building and Ellis started strapping down the now loaded crate, Odette walked over, carrying a manila envelope.

“Mr. Owens. Here is a list of everything contained in that crate. Ammunition of every type you might need as well as snap caps, oil and solvents. I also added company stamps for if and when you need to re-mark the weapons.”

“Thank you, ma’am. And just ‘Ellis’ is fine.”

“Then you’ll also refrain from calling me ‘ma’am’.”

“If that’s what you want, sure.” 

 

Odette placed the envelope in the cab of the truck as Ellis prepared a second ratchet strap. ”How do you intend to return power to the building?”, she asked.

“Well, when I was there the other day I took a look at some of the electrical system and it looked surprisingly better than I thought it was going to. So, I acquired a generator and went back yesterday and connected it. It’s definitely not the best, but it should work until I have the money for a more permanent solution. I’ll probably go for solar panels, the problem will probably be finding someone to help me do it because that’s a lot of work, even for me.”

“Inform me when you are ready to do it, I will assist you.”

“You know how to do electrical work?”, Ellis asked, pleasantly surprised.

“I assisted my father when installing that building’s current system.”

“Well, I’ll definitely take you up on that offer.” Ellis finished strapping the crate down and climbed out of the bed. “That should be everything. Have a good day.”

“You as well.”

 

Ellis got in his truck and began driving towards the factory.

“Hey Tek, call Cupcake.” 

 

…

 

“Hey Tek, call Cupcake.”

 

…

 

“Stupid ai, doesn’t even fucking work. What’s next? Are people going to make a different type and use it to make shitty art by stealing from actual artists?” Ellis sighed as he picked up his phone to manually call Velvette while managing to keep his truck on the road.

 

Ring…

 

Ring…

 

Ring…

 

Ri-

 

“Hi, Darling.”

Ellis placed his phone down next to him on the seat. “Hey, Cupcake. I’m happy to report that I made it through the meeting without getting any new holes.”

Velvette chuckled. “Good, good. Aside from that, how’d it go?”

“It was good, we made a deal that should work out well. Now it’s just a matter of getting set up and started.”

“Brill.”

“What’s happening there?”

“Not too much. Verosika and Curls got here a few minutes ago.”

“Nice. Tell them I said- JESUS FUCK!” As Ellis was driving through an intersection, a dark coloured van nearly t-boned him. “Christ on a stick! Learn how to drive you dumbfuck! Sorry about that, someone nearly crashed into me.”

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, aside from my heart rate.” Ellis took a deep breath. “Tell them I said hello, please.”

“You sure you don’t want me to tell ‘em the first thing you said?”, Velvette asked with a laugh.

“Ha, ha, very funny.”

“Yes, yes I am. Alright, I’ll let you go now so you can focus on the road.”

“Okay. Love you.”

“Love you too. Kisses, Darling.”

 

---

 

In the dark coloured van…

 

“All my friends know the low rider”

 

“The low rider is a little higher”

 

“Sir, could you please refrain from driving so erratically?”

“Relax, Moxxie, I have it under control. Christ on a stick, was Millie too rough with her strap-on last night or something?”

“Blitz, if you crash this damn van with me in it, it’ll be the last thing you ever do. Don’t think fer a second that me bein’ pregnant will stop me from bein’ able to kill yer ass.”, Millie hissed.

“Sorry, Mills…”, Blitz said nervously as he glanced at her in the rear view mirror.

“It’s okay, Honey.”, said Moxxie, trying to calm his justifiably stressed wife. He looked at Blitz’s reflection in the mirror. “Sir, remind me why we didn’t just use the crystal instead of driving for what is now almost five hours?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be smart, Fatty?” The Hellhound in the passenger seat asked, looking up from her phone. “The yellow ones only allow travel between here and the living world. The pink ones allow travel within Hell as well.”

Blitz practically beamed with joy as he heard his daughter's knowledge. “That’s right, Loona! I am so proud! Plus, even if I did have one of those fancier ones, you still need to know where you’re going to use them.” 

 

“How many times do I have to tell you? I am not fa- Wait…you don’t know where we’re going, Blitz!?”

“Nope, not exactly. Stolas mentioned knowing about this place last week and all I remember is that it’s around here somewhere.”

“Oh, crumbs…”

 

“Take a little trip, take a little trip”

 

“Take a little trip and see”

 

“Take a little trip, take a little trip”

 

“Take a little trip with me”

 

---

 

1:38p.m., Ellis’ Factory…

 

Ellis parked his truck in front of the factory’s bay door. He then got out and went into the building through one of the man-doors. He sighed as he looked at his surroundings. “Well…time to get to work.” He began to clean the area around the workbench, lathe and mill that were closest to the office. 

 

A few minutes later, Ellis heard the sound of a vehicle coming to a stop outside the building. “Who the fuck is that?”, he said to himself. He pulled out his revolver and cocked it as he approached the same door that he had entered through. When he got near the door, he could hear people talking and getting out of the vehicle.

“See Mox? I told you it would be fine. We found the place.”

“After driving around in circles for an hour.”

“Uh, Dad, there’s a truck here… The engine is still warm.”

“Oh shit, someone must be here. Alright team, get ready. Millie, you stay with the van.” 

 

Upon hearing that, Ellis quickly swung the door open in an attempt to catch the strangers somewhat off guard. “Hands where I can-“ 

 

Whack!

 

He had just enough time to see three small red figures and a larger grey one. He then saw a flash of black and gold before feeling something hit his head and everything went dark.

 

…

 

…

 

…

 

Ellis started to awaken as he heard the same voices from earlier.

“Holy shit, this is a nice gun! What do you think, Mox?”

“It is. The Carmines haven’t made these in years…”

As Ellis opened his eyes, he realized that he was gagged with a piece of cloth, his hands were tied together and he was tied to a chair. “Mmph…” "For fuck’s sake, what kind of kinky shit is this?” His eyes shifted to the four figures that were now in the building with him. He saw three Imps and a Hellhound, and that they had some of his belongings. He then started grinding his teeth together to try to cut through the cloth.

“You boys may like that gun, but this here knife is mighty fine too.”

“Uh, guys, he’s awake.”, said the Hellhound.

 

The three Imps turned and looked at Ellis and the tallest one spoke. “Well shit, that was quick.”

“Sir, what are we going to do with him?”

“Kill him, Mox. What the fuck else would we do? And it’ll give us a chance to test out this revolver. Then we can look for what we came here for.”

“He looks kind of familiar to me for some reason…”, said the Hellhound.

“Maybe you're just thinking of somebody from the living world, he looks a lot like a human.”, said the female Imp.

“Perhaps one of the lumberjacks we killed that one time.”

“Yeah, maybe…”

“Hey Loony, you wanted a new wallet didn’t you? Here, have his.” Ellis watched the tall Imp throw his wallet to the Hellhound as he continued to try to bite through the gag. 

 

The Hellhound started looking through the wallet as the three Imps started walking towards Ellis.

“Hey Millie, want to give that knife a try first?” “Sure thing, B!”

“Mpmmh!” Ellis could feel that his teeth were almost through the gag.

As the three Imps got close to Ellis, the Hellhound’s eyes widened as she pulled a small photograph out of Ellis’ wallet. “Uh, guys, hold on a second.”

The Imps paid no attention to her. “Guys!”

The female imp lifted her arm as she prepared to use the knife on Ellis. “DAD! Millie! Stop!”

The Imps stopped and turned around. “He’s with the Vees! That’s how I recognize him!”

“How do you know he’s with them?”, asked Millie.

The Hellhound showed her the picture that she had found in the wallet. It was a picture of Velvette that Ellis had just put in there the day before.

 

“So he has a picture of one of them, that could just mean he’s some fucking pervert that’s obsessed with her or something.”, said the tall Imp.

“I don’t think so, I’m pretty sure he’s the one that Velvette is dating.”

Ellis suddenly spat out the now chewed through gag and the Imps turned to look at him. “Check her Sinstagram, assholes. Her initial is on my fucking shirt too.”

As the Hellhound turned on her phone, the tall Imp turned and looked at the letter on Ellis’ shirt.

“Blitz, look at this.”, said Millie as she and the others looked at the Hellhound’s phone.

He looked at the screen. “God damn it… You’re sure that’s who this is, Loona?”

“Who the hell else could it be?”

Blitz sighed.

“Um, Sir? What do we do now?”

“I-fuck-I don’t know, Moxxie, just give me a second to think.”

 

Ellis cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention. “You basically have two options. One, you can kill me and piss off an Overlord in the process. She’s expecting me to be home for dinner tonight, so it won't be long before she starts wondering where the fuck I am. Actually, it would be two Overlords because knowing Rosie, she would be very disappointed if I’m not able to join her for our weekly chats.”

Moxxie’s eyes widened at the mention of the leader of Cannibal Town.

“Option two, which is the one I think everyone here including myself would prefer, we talk this out like adults.”

The Hellborn all answered in unison. “Two.”

“Moxxie, cut him loose.”

“No need, I just remembered I could’ve just done this the whole time.” Ellis used his strength to snap the rope that held his hands together and then the rope holding him to the chair.

 

Ellis stood up and noticed that not including horns, he was taller than everyone except Loona. “Alright, first of all, give me my stuff back.”

“Why would we give you your weapons back?”

“Because it’s four against one and I assume that you’re all armed. Now why don’t you even the odds a little and give me my shit.” The Hellborn reluctantly gave Ellis his stuff back and he put everything back where it belonged. “Great. Now, let me guess, you’re the leader.” He said, pointing to Blitz.

“Yeah and this is my team, I.M.P.”

“Hold on, the hitman company? The one that claims to go to the living world?”

“It’s not just a claim, we do go to the living world.”

“Well shit, ain’t that something. I’ve seen and heard your ads. By the way, nice jingle.” 

 

The atmosphere almost immediately changed from the tense state it had been in. Blitz beamed while Moxxie rubbed his forehead in annoyance.

Blitz turned to look at him. “See, Mox! I told you the jingle was good!” Blitz turned back to Ellis and extended his hand. “I’m Blitz, the ‘O’ is silent.”

Ellis shook his hand. “What ‘O’?”

“Oh, thank you. And you are?”

“Ellis. I would say it’s a pleasure to meet you, but my sore head and the rope marks say otherwise.”

Blitz laughed nervously. “Yeah…that’s our bad…”

Ellis turned to the others as Blitz began introducing them. “This is my daughter, Loona.” The Hellhound crossed her arms and remained silent. “The knife loving, pregnant one is Millie and that’s Moxxie, her husband.”

“Hello, Sir.” 

 

Ellis sighed. “Okay then. Now why don’t you tell me what you four are doing here?”

“We could ask you the same thang.”, said Millie.

“This is my building.”

“Since when?”

“Since I received permission from Carmilla Carmine to take it over a couple hours ago.”

“So this is the right place, see Mox? I told you I knew where it was.”

“Sir, maybe we shouldn’t reveal too much about why we’re here?”

“I’m sure you can tell me something.”

 

Moxxie sighed before speaking cautiously. “We came here…to look for something.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Mox. We’re looking for a part for a gun.”

“Hold on, aren’t you guys based in Imp City?”, Ellis asked, having doubts. “You drove four hours just for a part for a gun?”

“It was five hours because Blitz didn’t know where we were going…”, Moxxie grumbled.

“Relax, Sweetie.”, Millie cooed.

“We’ve been trying to track the fucking thing down for two years. Moxxie can’t even tell what model the gun is.” 

 

Ellis thought to himself for a moment. “How about this? Nobody needs to get shot or stabbed or any of that shit. No more pistol whipping or whatever the fuck you did to knock me out, either. Why don’t you show me the gun, I’ll see if I can help you and then we work something out so everyone can go home without any more problems. How does that sound?”

Blitz, in a rare moment of seeking someone else’s approval before making a decision, looked at the others. Millie and Moxxie each gave a hesitant nod while Loona paid no attention, not bothering to look up from her phone.

Blitz turned back to Ellis. “It beats the fucking alternatives… Loona, Sweetie, can you toss me the bag please?”

Without looking, Lonna tossed a dark coloured backpack to Blitz who immediately opened it and reached into it.

 

Ellis watched as Blitz searched through the bag.

He pulled out a small toy horse. “Oh, I was wondering where that went.” Blitz then put the toy in the pocket inside his coat and then resumed his search, pulling out a pair of pink fuzzy handcuffs. “Nope, those are for later…” Reaching back into the bag, he finally felt what he was searching for and pulled out a rifle.

Ellis stood there with a confused look on his face, wondering how the rifle could have possibly fit inside the backpack. “What kind of ‘Mary Poppins’ and cartoon logic bullshit was…” Ellis trailed off and his eyes widened as he actually took notice of the rifle’s design. It was the gun that had been stolen from the Carmines. “ Holy shit… ”

“Pretty nice, huh?”

“What the fuck..? Where did you- wait…” Ellis reached into his pocket for his phone as his mind raced with an array of thoughts, mostly fears and concerns. He fumbled with it for a moment as he powered it off. “If any of you have anything from VoxTek, turn it off.”

“What? Why?”

“Just do it.”

Blitz sighed. “Loona, phone off please, Honey.”

“Ugh. Fine, whatever.”

 

As Loona reluctantly turned her phone off and put it away, Ellis looked at Blitz again. “How the fuck did you get that gun?”

“Oh, we took it from an inbred, sexy, honky-tonk motherfucker.”

“Who has tried to kill us and Blitz’s…whatever Stolas is, on multiple occasions.”, Moxxie added.“

“Light skin, big dark hat and rides an orange and dark coloured horse?”

“Yeah, that’s- wait a minute, how the fuck did you know that?”

“Please tell me that he’s dead.”

“Uh, no, not last time we saw him.”

 

Ellis started rubbing his temples. “For fuck’s sake, it’s always something. God damn it!”

“Uhh… The hell is your problem? He’s not trying to kill you too, is he?”, asked Blitz.

“You really don’t know anything about that gun? None of you, not a single thing?”

Moxxie spoke, “Well actually, I knew when I first saw it that it’s an authentic Carmine-crafted blessing-tipped rifle. However, like Blitz said, I don’t even know what model it is. I’ve never seen any other one like it and I can’t find anything about it online.”

Just as Ellis was about to speak, he remembered something. “Shit, I forgot, Vox wiped almost every trace of it…”

“Is there somethin’ we should know about it?”, Millie asked as she moved to sit in the chair that Ellis had previously been tied to, wanting to get off of her sore feet.

“Oh, just that you guys having it could get you all killed if the Carmines find out.”

Loona and the Imps all immediately tensed up. 

 

“Why would having this get us killed? It’s just a fucking gun!”

“That ‘fucking gun’ is the most powerful one in Hell. It was locked away for nearly fifty years before it was stolen by some cowboy.”

“Whaddaya mean, ‘most powerful’? What’s so special about it?”, asked Millie.

“Yeah, isn’t it the same as the other blessing tipped guns? And why was it locked away?”

Ellis debated internally about how much information to share. “What’s your policy on taking jobs within Hell?”

“We don’t.”, Blitz said firmly. “Way too fucking risky.”

Ellis sighed. “Aside from the Sins, the Princess and the Queen, that gun is the only thing powerful enough to get through the glass that all the Overlords have on their buildings. It was locked away after Carmilla’s husband was killed. I’m sure you can imagine what the consequences of someone suddenly taking out the Overlords would be.”

“Chaos…even more than there already is in Pentagram…”, said Moxxie.

“Yeah. And who knows what the Carmines would do if word got around about it.”

 

Blitz remained silent for a moment. “Son of a bitch… ‘When you could be slaying Overlords’... It makes sense now…” Everyone turned to look at Blitz.

“B?”

“When Striker was trying to convince me to join him by going supremacist daddy mode and complimenting me and shit, he said I could be killing Overlords instead of killing people in the living world…” Everyone remained silent as they thought about what could have happened if things had gone differently. “Fuck me…”

“Um, Sir, what do we do now?”

Blitz turned to Ellis and tossed the rifle to him.

“Woah! Why the hell are you giving it to me?”

“Take it back to the Carmines. C’mon team, let’s go home.”

“Wait, what?”

“Are you telling me we drove all the way here for fuckin’ nothin’?”

Loona let out a frustrated groan as she followed the others.

“Hold on, do you realize how suspicious it’ll be if I show up with this rifle right after making a deal with them? I’m sure as shit not bringing it back to the tower either, the last thing anyone needs is for Vox or Val to get their hands on it.”

Blitz stopped and turned to face him again. “Well what the fuck should be done with it then?!”

 

Everyone fell silent again. Thoughts filled Ellis’ head, none of which he particularly liked, but then a different thought came to the forefront of his mind.

“Hmm… How long have you guys had this?”

Loona quickly did the math in her head. “About nineteen and a half months.”

“…Keep it. If you’ve had it that long without any trouble, it’s probably safer with you.”

“Oh great, a gun that’s fucking useless right now that might also get us killed, just what I’ve always wanted.”

Ellis sighed. “I can take a look at it and see if I can help you fix it. But there are some conditions.”

Blitz walked back towards Ellis and took the rifle back. “Like what?”

“After today, I never hear about it, see it and it never comes near here again. I also want your word that you won’t start going after Sinners unless it’s in self defense.”

Blitz thought silently for a moment. “Alright, done.”

“One more thing. If you cross paths again with the one that stole it, you kill the bastard.”

“Oh, trust me,” Wicked grins grew on the faces of all the members of I.M.P. “that motherfucker already has it coming!”

“Alright then, let’s take a look at that gun.”

 

Ellis and I.M.P. (with the exception of Millie) finished clearing the workbench and area around it before setting down the rifle.

“So what exactly is wrong with it?”

“The bolt is severely damaged. It’s visible when it’s closed.”

Ellis closed the open bolt and immediately saw what Moxxie was referring to. There was a crack in the middle of it which seemed to originate from a dent. “How the hell did that happen?”

“Striker caused Blitz to shoot towards me. Luckily, I was able to deflect the bullet using the rifle but that dent was caused by the impact. I assume that the impact also weakened the metal’s integrity and when I then shot two rounds after that, it caused the crack.”

Ellis thought to himself for a moment. “Well… I can think of two options. The easiest method would be to grind out some of the cracked area and weld it, but it probably won’t last and I’m not sure if there’s even a welder here that will work.”

“What’s the other? Make a new one?”

“Yeah, either completely from scratch or try to find a bolt from a different gun that we can modify. I’d go with the latter.”

“Whatever will get the job done faster and without causing more bullshit later.”

“Alright then. Let’s get this bolt out. Can one of you go turn on the generator outside, please?”

 

Within a few minutes, some of the building’s lights were on, the bolt had been removed from the gun and everyone was looking through the piles of old weapons. Ellis and Moxxie were going through one, Millie and Loona at a different one and Blitz on his own.

“Semi-auto, semi-auto… If only we could use one of these.”, said Moxxie.

“Yeah, if only. But instead we need a…” Ellis trailed off as he moved a gun, revealing the one underneath which he immediately recognized. He excitedly picked it up. “Would you look at that! A No. 4 Mk. 2-”

“Lee-Enfield?”

Ellis gave Moxxie a confused look. “Yeah. How’d you know?”

Before Moxxie could speak, Loona provided an answer as she tossed a shotgun aside. “Because he’s a fucking dork.”

Moxxie cleared his throat. “I enjoy learning about these things. I care about more than just whether or not they go ‘bang’.”

“Hey, if it’s good at banging, it’s good enough for me.”, said Blitz. Moxxie rolled his eyes in response.

"Anyways, I don’t think we’ll be able to use the bolt from that.”

“You’re right, we won’t, but I’m definitely keeping this one for myself. I had a No. 1 Mk. 3 when I was alive so this will be nice to have.”

 

Ellis set the rifle aside and the group continued looking. A few minutes later, Millie called out.

“Hey Honey, what about this one?” Moxxie walked over to where Millie and Loona were standing and Ellis and Blitz followed.

Moxxie looked at the gun in Millie’s hands. “FR F1, these are of French origin. They went into production in the Living World and here in Hell not long before the death of Mrs. Carmine’s husband.” Millie handed the rifle to Moxxie and he removed the bolt. “This looks very similar to the damaged one.”

Moxxie handed the bolt to Ellis. “Yeah, it is. This might actually work. Looks like I’ll have to do a little bit of milling and swap the firing pin for the one in the old bolt but that should be it.”

Blitz grinned, “Well what are we waiting for then? Let’s get to work so we can get that fancy fucker firing again!”

 

---

 

4:07p.m…

 

Ellis handed the finished bolt to Moxxie. “Alright, moment of truth.”

Moxxie lined the bolt up with its place in the rifle and breathed a sigh of relief when it fit. “Perfect. It’s like it was always meant for it.”

“Great.” Ellis looked towards the far end of the building to where Blitz and Loona were. “Are you two almost done?”, he asked, loud enough for them to hear him from where they were.

“Just a second!” Blitz and Loona leaned a thick piece of steel against an empty crate which Blitz had placed some empty cans on.

As Blitz and Loona made their way back towards the others, Moxxie loaded three cartridges into the rifle’s magazine and chambered one. “Everyone ready?”

Everyone covered their ears. “Ready!”

 

…

 

…

 

BANG! The first can was shredded by the bullet

 

…

 

BANG! Then the second. 

 

“Alright! Let’s see if that thing is strong enough to get through that big ass piece of metal!”, said Blitz.

 

…

 

BANG!

 

Moxxie opened the action to remove the last casing from the chamber. As he and Ellis inspected the bolt for damage, Blitz ran towards the steel. “Looks like it held up perfectly!” Ellis and Moxxie high-fived.

“OH YEAH!” They turned to look at Blitz. “This thing got fucking penetrated! ”

The group laughed at Blitz’s words as he ran back.

“Well, I’d say that was a success.”

“Yeah, good going, Kid.”

Moxxie put the rifle back into the bag (which Ellis was still confused about.) and turned to Ellis. “Thanks for your help, Sir.”

“You’re welcome. Just don’t make me regret it.”

“Well, now that this bullshit is over, let’s get out of here. See ya around, Kid.” Blitz and the others started walking towards the door.

 

As I.M.P. walked away, Ellis had a thought. “Hey Blitz, can I have a word with you, please?”

I.M.P. turned around and Blitz approached Ellis. “About?”

“How busy are you guys? Work-wise.”

“There’s always room in the schedule. Why? You need someone offed up topside? Evil coworker? Traitorous friend?”

“No, no, not that. When I made the deal with the Carmines, one of the conditions is that I’m not allowed to sell within Pride. I can fix the guns myself here no problem, but…”

“Let me guess, you need Hellborn to bring them to the lower Rings?”

“Exactly. Is that something you guys would be interested in? I’ll need to find a way to advertise too, but transportation is the bigger issue.”

Blitz turned to Moxxie, Millie and Loona.

“The extra income would help to replenish our pensions that you drained after the incident. ”

“…As much as I would rather keep working, we all already know I won’t be able to for much longer with the baby on the way. That’ll leave you guys short handed for the bigger targets.”

“With Stolas more comfortable in the office, I can be in the field more to make up for Millie being out. And if we take this on, we could send those interns out on the small jobs now that they decided to come back. They’ll need training since they’re fucking useless right now, but that shouldn’t be too hard. Though, we might need to pay them for that kind of stuff.”

Blitz turned back to Ellis. “What’s the pay?”

“Name your price.”

“Hmm… Fifteen percent.”

“Five.”

“Ten, and I’ll make a call to a guy I know that should be able to help you advertise. That motherfucker can sell anything . Hell, I’ve lost track of how many businesses he has.”

“How about seven and a half? But, you can buy weapons from me at a discounted price and I’ll sell you ammunition, Carmilla will still get her money, I just won't tell her. I’ll also clean your weapons for you for just the cost of the supplies as long as you bring them when you come for pickups. And I want you to make that call.”

Blitz thought to himself for a moment. “Alright Kid, you got a deal. I’ll make that call right now. I’m sure he’ll answer, I doubt he’s busy with anything too important right now.” 

 

Blitz pulled out his phone, went through his contacts and called one of the numbers. The person answered a few moments later.

“Heyyy, Wally! How are things? Listen, I have a business opportunity for you if you have a sec. You’re still seeing whoever it is that has that fancy crystal, right? It’ll be fine, this will just take a minute, I’m sure they won’t mind you stepping away quickly. It’ll take no longer than going for a piss. Alright, I’ll send you a picture.” Blitz ended the call and quickly took a picture of the room which he then sent to the person he had called.

A couple moments later, a purple portal opened right in front of Blitz and an Imp with a moustache and long, curly horns stepped through while talking to someone on the other side.

“I say, I say, I’ll be done here in just a minute, Princess.” The Imp turned around. “Heya, Blitz. It’s been a-”

“Blitzo?!”, exclaimed a feminine voice on the other side of the still open portal which Blitz and Ellis both recognized.

Blitz looked through the portal. “Wha- Verosika?!”

Then Ellis looked through the portal and saw Verosika standing in his and Velvette’s living room. “Verosika?”

“Ellis?”

Then Velvette suddenly appeared next to her friend.

“Ellis?!”

Velvette, Ellis, Blitz, Verosika and Wally exchanged confused looks.

“I say, I say, this is quite the surprise!”

The others spoke in unison while Loona, Millie and Moxxie watched with confusion. “What the fuck?!”

 

“Wally, what the hell is going on?”

“Like I told ya Honey. I got a call for a business deal that should be done lickety-split.”

“You failed to mention the part about Blitz being involved, or Ellis for that matter.”

“I didn’t think you’d want to know. And I didn’t even know about him.”, said Wally, motioning to Ellis.

“Why does Blitz even have your phone number?”, asked Verosika in a partially annoyed tone.

“We’ve known each other for years. Who do you think bought all those taxidermy owls from me last year?”

“I- I don’t- you know what, nevermind. Just let me know when you need to come back.”

“Hold on, don’t close the bloody portal yet.”, said Velvette just as Verosika was about to close it.

“Ellis Owens, exactly what the fuck is going on and why are you with Blitz of all people?”

“You want the full story?”

“Preferably, yes.”

“Well, I got here and was cleaning when I heard a car pull up so I went to see who it was. That’s when these guys knocked me out and tied me to a chair. Then I woke up and they were about to kill me but I got them to not. And then we made a deal for them to transport the guns to the lower Rings for me and Blitz called that guy so we could discuss advertising.” Ellis said all of that in a calm tone as if he was just talking about the events of any normal day, adding to Velvette’s confusion.

“How the fuck do you go from being tied to a… Actually, forget I even asked. Are you gonna be coming back here soon?”

“I’m planning to, just need to wrap this up. Have you guys decided what you want for dinner yet?”

“Oh, yes. We were thinking pizza.”

“Perfect, send me a list of the toppings you guys want so I can pick them up on my way home.”

“Will do. Bye!”

“Bye!” The portal then closed.

 

---

 

V & E’s Living Room…

 

As the portal closed, Velvette walked over to the couch where Verosika was already sitting.

“I don’t know how he does it, but he does.”

“I know! It’s the same with Wally. But hey, at least they're not doing bad shit, right?”

“Yeah. I’m surprised you were that calm about Blitz bein' there.”

“We kind of had a heart-to-heart back in October. It eased some tension.” 

 

The two remained silent for a minute before Verosika spoke again. “Alright, neither of them are here. Spill.”

“Oh, don’t even get me started.”

“That good?”

“Words cannot describe.”

“Does he..?”

“Like it’s a five course meal.”

“Bitch, I told you, guys like them-”

“I didn’t realize you meant like that. I mean, holy shit.”

 

---

 

Ellis’ Factory…

 

As the portal closed, Ellis turned to Wally. “So, you must be the one that Vel calls ‘Curls’.”

“Yes siree. And you must be the one dating her. Nice to finally meet ya.” The two shook hands.

“Hold on just one limp-dick second, since when are you dating Ver?”, Blitz asked Wally.

“I say, I say, since just after you, Prince Stolas and them two over there were at Ozzie’s.”

“Oh shit. Well…congrats…I guess.”

“Now what’s this business ordeal you got goin’ on here?”

“Ellis here needs someone to advertise some shit so he can sell stuff and we can all get paid.”

“And maybe to handle the customers too.”

“Well, them things are my specialty. What’re ya sellin’?” Ellis pointed towards the nearby piles of guns and Wally’s eyes widened. “I say, I say! Sellin’ guns in Hell is easy as bribin’ Mammon!”

“So you’re in?”

“I can’t say no to a good business opportunity! How about we make my payment… say three percent, on account of you bein’ with Velvy?”

“You’ve got a deal.”

“Perfect. I’ll get your phone number when you get back to the tower.” As Wally spoke, he pulled out his phone and texted Verosika. A portal opened a moment later. “I’ll be seeing you soon.”

 

Once Wally was gone, Ellis and Blitz exchanged numbers and everyone walked outside to Blitz’s van.

“Alright, Kid. I’ll be in touch so we can figure out this transportation bullshit.”

“Sounds good. Drive safe.”

“Ha! My driving is perfectly fine! See you later!” 

 

As Ellis watched I.M.P. drive off, he realized that they were in the same van that nearly crashed into him.

“Oh for fuck’s sake!”

 

---

 

8:17p.m., Notamafia Town, Greed Ring…

An Imp was sitting in an armchair in front of a fire, talking to someone on his phone. Next to him stood a tall Hellborn Shark, writing on a notepad.

“Pale skin, blue hair, red flannel. What does he drive? Old, red and white M-1000. Understood. Of course we can handle it. Just let us know when he’ll be vulnerable and uh, we’ll take care of your problem for you. Pleasure doin’ business with you.”

Notes:

This chapter ended up being much longer than I planned so I did not include a part that I intended to. I will likely turn that part into a mini chapter.

Chapter 24: Chapter 18 1/2: Good Food and Good Friends

Summary:

A mini chapter that gives a little bit of backstory.

Notes:

Apologies for not posting this sooner. I started work on the next full chapter right after finishing this and forgot to upload it.

Have a good day! :)

May 3rd, 2023, 7:03p.m., V & E’s Closet…

 

Verosika lifted a dress bag off a rack. “Is this the one I think it is?”

Velvette, who was sitting on a chair nearby, looked up from her sketchbook. “Hm? Oh, yes, that’s the one from the last show.”

“God, I’m still not over how good this looked on you. Ooh, what about the neckline from this, just a little bit more my style?”

“So twice the cleavage and at least one ‘X’, maybe an ‘O’ as well?”

Verosika feigned offence, “Velvette, are you insinuating that like showing off? How rude of you.” The two laughed together for a moment before Velvette turned her attention back to her sketchbook.

 

A few moments later, Velvette drew the final line. “How about this?”, she asked, turning her book around to show Verosika.

“Perfect! What colours are you thinking for it?”

“I’m not sure yet. Hmm… Maybe…” Before Velvette could finish her thought, her stomach audibly growled. “Bloody hell, I’m hungry.” Velvette stood up and walked to the door. “Ellis, is dinner almost ready?!”, she called out.

“Almost! Couple more minutes!”

Velvette sat back down. “Well, let’s see if we can figure this out before that’s done.”

Verosika nodded. “What do you think the two of them are talking about out there?”

“Oh, probably work, knowing them.”

 

---

 

V & E’s Kitchen…

 

“How the hell did I get so lucky?”

“I say, I say, I’ve been tryin’ to figure out the same thing.”

“I really don’t think anyone has ever been with someone this far out of their league before. Holy fuck…”

“I still think I’m dreaming sometimes when I look at Ver and we’ve been together for over a year now.”

“God, I hope this feeling never ends.” 

 

BEEP!

 

Ellis turned the oven’s timer off and grabbed an oven mitt. “Vel! Verosika! Dinner’s ready!”, he said as he pulled two pizzas out, each having the preferred toppings of one of the couples. As Ellis began to cut the pizzas, Velvette and Verosika entered the room.

“‘Bout bloody time! I’m starving!”, said Velvette in a teasing tone.

“Well I’m sure you’ll find that the wait was worth it.”

Velvette smirked, “Hm, we’ll see.”

“Have I ever disappointed you before?”, Ellis asked as he handed Velvette a plate with two slices of pizza on it.

“There’s a first time for everything.”

“ Wow, what did I do to-”

Velvette interrupted him by quickly kissing his cheek as she took the plate from him before walking to the table, still smirking.

“...Fair enough.” Verosika and Wally laughed at the playful banter and Ellis’ immediate surrender.

 

The laughter slowly died down and everyone sat at the table with their food.

“I say, I thought you were in actual trouble earlier when Velvy called you by yer full name.”

Ellis chuckled. “Oh, that was just my first and last. The day she uses my middle name too, I’ll assume I won’t wake up the next morning.” Ellis, Wally and Verosika laughed. As Ellis turned to look at Velvette, he noticed that she wasn’t laughing and had an almost confused look on her face.

“Since when do you have a middle name?”

“Uh… since always? It’s ‘Elton’. I thought I told you before.”

“You most certainly did n-“  Velvette paused as she had a realization. “Walt, ‘Elton’, as in Elton John?”

“Yep.”

“You’re named after Elton fucking John and you never told me?!”

Ellis shrugged. “I thought I did.”

 

As the two couples ate, they talked about a wide range of topics.

“And that’s how I went from getting thrown by Mammon as a child, to running multiple businesses while still working for other people at the same time.”, said Wally.

“And here I thought I was a workaholic. Your schedule must be a mess.”

“Trust me, you have no idea.”, Verosika commented.

“Verosika, I’ve been meaning to ask, how did you and Vel meet?”, asked Ellis.

“Oh fuck, that… that was a while ago.” Verosika looked at Velvette. “Do you want to tell the story or should I?”

 

---

 

July 17th, 2016, 9:28a.m., Velvette’s Former Store…

 

Velvette stood in front of a mirror, checking her outfit. She sighed as she noticed a bruise peeking out from the collar of her blouse and used her powers to summon a scarf from a nearby rack. Once she was satisfied with her outfit, she walked to the door and turned the sign from “Closed” to “Open”. “Another fucking day…” Velvette then made her way to her desk where her laptop was already open and began editing content for her Sinstagram page while listening to some music. 

 

“I’ll stop time for you”

 

“The second you say you’d like me to”

 

“I just wanna give you the loving that you’re missing”

 

“Baby, just to wake up with you”

 

She became so focused on her work, she practically jumped when the shop’s door opened.

“AH- bloody hell… Mornin’. Welcome to…” Velvette trailed off as she saw a taller, pink succubus standing just inside the entrance to her store. “You…you’re Verosika Mayday…”

The succubus smiled. “That’s right.”

“And you’re in my shop…”

“ Yes I am! And you are Velvette.” 

 

Velvette stood in awe at the popstar in front of her.

Verosika, completely nonchalant, stepped towards a mannequin which was displaying a dark coloured, sparkly, strapless dress with two hearts and the word “NO” on it. “This is it! This is the one you posted about last night.”

Velvette quickly collected her thoughts. “Yes, it uh, it is.”

“So fucking gorgeous.” Verosika turned back to Velvette. “The second I saw it I knew I had to come here to see it in person. And now that I have seen it, I want to commission you to make my wardrobe for my next tour.”

 

To say that Velvette was surprised would be an understatement. “You want me to do your wardrobe for a tour?”

“That’s right! And I’d love to buy that dress from you if you’re selling it. If you can make it fit me of course. Whatever the cost, cash or card, doesn’t matter, I have it. Well, actually, my boyfriend has my clutch, but he should be walking in here any-“ Before Verosika could finish her sentence, she and Velvette heard people yelling outside.

“Fire toad!”

“Shove a shotgun up your ass you fuckin’ dipshit!” The shop’s door then swung open and Velvette watched as an Imp with a large scar on his face and wearing grey pants and a short black jacket stepped in. “Christ on a stick! Fucking assholes… Alright Ver, I’m here.” The Imp then noticed Velvette still looking at him. “The fuck are you looking at?” He asked in a tone that sounded more casual than it did aggressive.

“Blitzo, be nice.”, said Verosika. She then turned back to Velvette again. “Ooh! You do men's clothes too, right? Blitz could use some new stuff. Maybe a coat.”

 

Velvette wasn’t sure what the future had in store for her now, but she had a feeling life was about to start getting better.

Chapter 25: Chapter 19: Blood and Beezlejuice

Summary:

Ellis goes on a trip, Velvette doesn't, and things sure do happen…

Content warning for violence.

Notes:

I’ve been working on a timeline of the story, the shows and their lore while I’ve been writing this. The timeline should be finished very soon.

I know that this chapter is even longer than the last few. I’ve decided to stop caring about how long the chapters are and just end them when it feels right to me so apologies for that.

Have a good day! :)

May 20th, 2023, 9:13a.m., Ellis’ Factory…

 

Ellis turned the lights on.

“Alright, Blitz should be letting me know that he’s leaving his place soon, so that leaves me with a few hours to finish a couple extra rifles.”

He then carried a cooler bag into the still messy office and around the old, weathered desk. As he stepped closer to put the cooler under the desk so it would be out of the sunlight, he realized that his footsteps sounded different.

“What the..?” He put the bag under the desk and then stomped on the rug covered floor. 

 

Thunk.

 

“There’s no way…” He lifted one end of the rug and tossed it aside, revealing a steel trapdoor. “Well, this just got interesting.”

He opened the door, revealing a staircase. He then turned on his phone’s flashlight and descended the stairs, entering a somewhat small concrete room.

“Looks like a bunker or a storm shelter… They must’ve used this during the exterminations. I’m sure I can find a use for it.”

 

Ellis then walked back up the stairs. As he closed the trapdoor, his phone buzzed with a notification. When he looked at it, he saw a text with spelling so bad it could only have been written by one person.

 

Text from “Blitz”: “Hay cun’t mak twodays picup. Goot laast minat doktar apoientmant fur Loona. Wun’t b bac untel arond for.”

 

“Oh for fuck’s sake…”

Ellis looked up at the ceiling. “God, if you’re real and listening, one week, just one week without any bullshit, that’s all I ask.”

He sighed as he spoke to himself. “The sale is tomorrow, there’s no way he’s going to be able to pick them up and deliver them in time… I guess I’m going to Imp City. Vel won’t be happy. Question is, do I tell her in person or over the- who am I kidding, I better tell her in person, that way she might not kill me…”

Ellis then sent a reply to Blitz. 

 

“I’ll drop them off this time since sale is tmw. Should get 2 Imp City some time b4 u. Lmk when u are back”

 

Not long later, Ellis had all of the guns for the sale loaded into the back of his truck and covered with a tarp. He then walked back to the office and grabbed his cooler. As he was walking back towards his truck, he heard the sound of something rustling around coming from behind a pile of crates.

“What the hell was that?”

He began to walk closer to the crates, as he did, he heard the same sort of sound again.

“Must be a raccoon or something.” He sighed. “Might as well get rid of it now before it causes any issues.” 

 

Ellis set the cooler down, pulled out his gun and pulled the hammer back as he walked around the crates. He aimed where he assumed the animal would be, but as he did, he was surprised to see that it wasn’t a raccoon. Instead, he saw a cat arching its back defensively as it was now cornered. It was slightly larger than an average fully grown house cat and had dark red fur with black and even darker red markings. 

 

“Hiiiss ”

 

“Oh… I was not expecting that…” Ellis un-cocked his gun and put it away before crouching down and slowly extending his hand. “Hey buddy-”

 

“Hisss ”

 

“Nope, okay then…”

Ellis could see that it looked a bit thin and thought to himself for a moment before remembering that he had the cooler. He walked over, pulled out the sandwich that he had made for his lunch and removed the pieces of meat. He then crouched back down.

“Want some turkey?” He asked in a soft tone of voice as he tore off a small piece and gently tossed it towards the animal.

“It’s alright, I’m not going to hurt you.”

After remaining still for a few moments and just staring at Ellis, the cat finally moved and began to eat the piece of meat.

“There you go.”

Ellis tossed a few more small pieces, each one bringing the animal closer to him. When it got close enough and seemed to have relaxed, he held out the final piece.

“C’mon, it’s okay.” The cat slowly and hesitantly took the piece from his hand. As it was eating, Ellis gently began to scratch behind the cat’s ears. “There you go. You were hungry, eh?” 

 

Once it had finished eating, the cats pulled back slightly and began to lick Ellis’ fingers. “Sorry, that was all of it.”

As he continued to pet it, Ellis looked at the cat’s features. “You’ve got some pretty big paws and teeth. Differently shaped head too, must be a Hell thing.”

Ellis then glanced at his watch. “I should get going if I’m going to make it back from Imp City by tonight.”

He slowly pulled his hand away and stood up. “Try not to get into any trouble.”

As Ellis picked up his cooler and began to walk away, the cat followed and suddenly walked between his feet. “Woah, careful. You don’t want to get stepped on.” 

 

Ellis made his way outside and to his truck, the cat still following him.

“Sorry, but you can’t come with me.”, he said, looking down at it.

Ellis opened the door and tossed the cooler inside, it landed on the passenger side floor next to a sawed-off double barrel shotgun. Before he could get in though, the cat suddenly jumped in and onto the seat. “Wait- no, you can’t…” It then moved over to the passenger side.

Ellis sighed, got in and started the truck. As he did, the cat moved back towards him and rubbed up against his side while purring before laying down. “Vel is definitely going to kill me now.”

 

---

 

10:52a.m., Vee Tower…

 

In the hope that he would save some time, Ellis didn’t bother to park in the underground garage and instead parked in front of the tower. He got out of the truck carrying a shopping bag full of cat related items and walked into the lobby, the cat closely following him.

As he approached the elevator, he saw Angel entering it. “Hold the door, please!”

Angel looked over. “Hey, Short Stuff!” He held the door and Ellis jogged over, the cat managing to keep up. “How’re you to- oh my! Who is this?! You didn’t tell me you and Vel got a cat!” Angel bent down and picked up the cat with one of his sets of arms.

“She’s just a stray that I found in my workshop today, she won’t stop following me. Also, she might have fleas so…”

“Oh shit!” Angel quickly put the cat back on the floor of the elevator. “Good thing I’m wearin’ gloves, the last thing I need is those little fuckers getting in my fur.” 

 

“You wouldn’t happen to be looking for another pet would you?”

“Nah, I’ve got my hands full with Nuggs. Why don’t you keep her?”

“I don’t think Vel will be too willing. I’m already going to be taking a risk just by asking her if we can keep it until I find a permanent home for her and to watch it while I’m gone.”

Just as Ellis finished his sentence, the elevator stopped and the doors opened, revealing Travis who then stepped in.

“Oh, Ellis. What an annoying surprise.”

“Good to see you too Travis.”, he said in a very sarcastic tone.

“What are-”

 

“HISSS ”

 

Travis suddenly jumped back against the wall of the elevator. Ellis looked down and saw that the cat had puffed itself up and was clearly agitated by Travis’ presence. He couldn’t help but laugh as he looked back up at Angel who was laughing as well.

“Well, at least if Vel murders me, my last memory will be a happy one.”

As they both stopped laughing, Angel spoke. “Where are you going, anyway?”

“I have to make a delivery to Imp City. I just hope Vel won’t be too upset about it.”

 

Once the elevator reached their floor, Ellis and the cat got out and walked to the doors to the studio. Ellis set the shopping bag down between him and the cat.

“You gotta wait here for a minute.” He managed to quickly open the door and slip in before the cat could follow him. He then walked towards the nearby workstation where Velvette was sitting.

She looked up and had a surprised expression on her face. “Hey, you’re back early. I thought Blitzo was coming for the pickup today.”

“Yeahhh… About that… He can’t come today”

Velvette’s expression immediately changed. “Don’t tell me…”

“So…”

“Don’t say it.”

“I need to make the drive to Imp City myself.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake.”

"That’s what I said. But, I should be able to get back here tonight.”

Velvette sighed. “Alright…that’s not too bad. You better get going soon then.”

“Um… There is one other thing.”

Velvette gave him a suspicious look. “And what might that be?”

“I-” Ellis was interrupted by the sound of the cat scratching at the door.

“Ellis, what is that?”

“...The other thing…” 

 

Velvette stared at him for a moment before marching over to the doors and opening them. When she did, she looked down and saw the cat.

 

“Mrrow ”

 

“Ellis Elton Owens! Why is there a fuckin’ cat here?!”

“I can explain.”

“You fuckin’ better.”

Ellis then proceeded to quickly explain the events of the morning. “So yeah…that’s why.”

Velvette was visibly annoyed.

“I was hoping that we could maybe-”

“No.”

“-take care of it temporarily. Just until I find a permanent home for it. Please? ”

“You do realize that Val’s allergic to cats, right?”

"I doubt he’ll be down here today. Besides, he’s probably built up a tolerance with how much cat hair Angel probably has on him everyday.”

Before Velvette could respond, she felt the cat affectionately rubbing against her leg. She stepped away from it and took a deep breath. “One night. One. Then it’s gone. Understood?”

Ellis smiled. “Thank you, Cupcake.”

Velvette used her powers to change her pants to ones that did not have cat hair on them. “And give it a bath before you leave. I don’t want it getting dirt or bugs or whatever the fuck else it might have all over the bloody place.”

 

---

 

3:58p.m….

 

Velvette sat at a workstation trying to focus on the outfit she was working on. Unfortunately for her though, she kept being distracted by the sound of the cat scratching at the apartment door.

“I swear to god, that thing’s driving me mad.”

At the same time, Melissa walked over. “Why don’t you just let it in here? Then it won’t be scratching at the door.”

“Because then I have to deal with the bloody thing making a mess or getting in the way. When I was in there it wouldn’t fuckin’ leave my side!”

“Maybe if you just let it in here it will settle down. How about this? If it starts causing any real trouble, I’ll deal with it.”

“Ugh. Fine, whatever.” 

 

Melissa walked up the stairs to the door of the apartment. When she opened the door, the cat immediately stepped out, made a “chirp” sound at her and then ran to Velvette. It began rubbing against her leg again and purring, earning a giggle from Melissa.

“I think she likes you.” Velvette glared at her.

As Velvette resumed her work, she felt the cat move away from her.

“Finally. Now I can-“ She stopped speaking as the cat suddenly jumped onto the table and sat on her project, much to her annoyance. “Asshole. I swear, Ellis better be focused on nothing but making the drop off and then coming back.”

 

---

 

Outskirts of Imp City…

 

“Ra-Ra-Rasputin, lover of the Russian Queen”

 

“There was a cat that really was gone”

 

“Ra-Ra-Rasputin, Russia’s greatest love machine”

 

“It was a shame how-“

 

Buzzzz, buzzzz

 

Ellis stopped singing and answered the phone call without looking. “Hello.”

“Hey motherfucker, we’re back from Sloth.”

"Oh, Blitz, what a coincidence. I’m on the outskirts of town now.”

As Ellis spoke, he noticed three cars in his mirror turn off of a side street then begin driving behind him.

“For the record, you’re not getting the full payment this time since I had to come out here.”, he said, paying no more attention to the cars other than checking his mirrors like normal. 

 

“Turn left in two-hundred meters.”, said his GPS. 

 

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Ellis made the turn and noticed that the three cars did as well. “How far from the-“

“Hold on.”, said Ellis in a concerned tone, now paying more attention to the cars in the mirror. He made another left turn.

“Why? What the fuck’s wrong?”

Ellis watched as the cars also made the turn once again. “I think I’m being tailed. Three cars.” Ellis looked back down at the road in front of him.

“It’s probably nothing.”

“Maybe, but- SHIT!” Ellis looked in the mirror again and saw a shark demon hanging out of the window of the car directly behind him, pointing a gun at him. He managed to duck down just before multiple bullets shattered the back window. “Fuck!” 

 

As he struggled to drive, Ellis pulled out his revolver and shot back at his attackers three times. All the bullets missed.

“Blitz! If you’re still there-“

“Where the fuck are you!?”

“Where all the-“ 

 

BBBBBRRRRATTTTTT!

 

“Goddamnit!”

“I hear it! Hang on to your ass for a second! Loona, Honey, get-“

 

Beep, Beep

 

The call disconnected before Blitz could even finish his sentence. At the same time, two of the cars sped up and passed the lead. One drove in front of Ellis and the other drove at his side, both had people shooting at him. One of the gunmen also shot at the engine bay of his truck. As Ellis continued to try to avoid getting shot while driving, he remembered the sawed-off shotgun which he had put on the floor. As the gunmen stopped firing to reload, Ellis quickly grabbed the shotgun and aimed at the driver of the car next to him.

 

BANG, BANG!

 

SCREEEAAACCCHHH!

 

CRASH!

 

“Suck on that you piece of-“

 

BANG! BANG, BANG, BANG!

 

“Fuck! Blitz, where the hell are-“ Before Ellis could finish his sentence, a very recognizable van suddenly drifted onto the street and rammed into the side of the car in front of him, pushing it off the road and into a nearby building. Seconds later, Ellis saw a plastic dog cone come flying towards his truck and Loona climbed out of the passenger window and onto the roof of the van with an assault rifle.

 

BBBBBRRRRATTTTTT!

 

With the driver and passenger dead, the car behind Ellis began to slow. Ellis sped up and drove alongside Blitz’s van as Loona climbed back in.

“You two are a sight for sore eyes!”

“We fucked those assholes up real good! Haha!”, yelled Blitz.

“Yeah we did!”

“I’m glad you got here when you did or that could’ve been a lot worse.” As if on cue, white smoke began to rise from the front of Ellis’ truck. “Shit!” He looked at the dashboard and saw that the engine was severely overheating. “This isn’t going to last much longer!”

“We’re almost at the office! C’mon!”

 

Ellis’ truck came to a stop in the parking lot of the building that I.M.P’s office is in a couple minutes later. He quickly got out and opened the hood, releasing a cloud of smoke that made him cough.

“Fu-“ cough “-ck me. That’s definitely coolant.”

Blitz and Loona approached a moment later once the smoke had dissipated.

“Oh shit. That definitely won’t buff out.”, said Loona while looking at all the bullet holes in the truck. 

 

Ellis let out a sigh of defeat as he looked at his truck’s very damaged radiator. He then turned and looked at Blitz who had a contemplative and slightly concerned look on his face.

“Is there something I should know?”

“No, no, I doubt it’s anything too important. It’s just… Those fuckers looked a lot like some people we had had some trouble with last year.”

“What kind of people?”

“Oh, you know, just a mob family. Nothing major.”

“A mob family that happens to be run by Fatty’s dad.”, Loona added.

Ellis rubbed his temples in frustration. “This day… This fucking day… Hold on, why the hell did they come after me then? None of the ads talk about me or you guys or that we're working together, just that the weapons are genuine Carmines.”

Blitz shrugged. “Maybe they figured it out somehow, I don’t fucking know.”

Ellis took a deep breath to calm himself. “Can you two please put the guns away? I need to make a call.”

 

Ellis walked around the corner of the building and called Velvette.

“Hello Darling.”, she said in an annoyed tone. “I hope you’re on your way back because this furry fucker is driving me mad.”

Just as Velvette was about to continue, Ellis spoke. “…Vel.”

Velvette could tell by the sound of his voice that something wasn’t right. “Ellis, what’s wrong? Are you alright?”

“Yeah Cupcake, I’m okay. My truck on the other hand…” Ellis then proceeded to tell Velvette about what happened. 

 

“Are you sure you’re alright? Are you hurt?”, Velvette asked, very concerned.

“I’m okay. Blitz showed up just in time. But…I don’t think I’m going to be home tonight.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’m just glad you’re alright.” She sighed. “I guess I need to keep taking care of this purring asshole alone then.”

Ellis laughed. “C’mon, it can’t be that bad.”

“Are you joking? This bitch won’t leave me alone. Keeps purring and rubbing against me and shit. And she keeps walking under my feet and getting in the way when I’m trying to focus on things.”

“I think she likes you.”

“Well it’d be great if she could not.”

“Just imagine how much more she’ll like you after you feed her.”

“Oh fuck right off.”

“There’s an open can of wet food in the fridge, she can have the rest of that tonight, then there’s a couple more in the bag I had earlier. Just split one of them across three meals tomorrow, please. The guy at the store said not to feed her too much at once since she’s so undernourished.”

Velvette sighed. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“I love you too. I’ll keep you updated and let you know when I’ll be heading back.”

“Alright. Bye Darling.”

“Bye Cupcake.”

 

After Ellis ended the call, he grabbed the last few guns from his truck and went up to the floor of the I.M.P office. As he opened the door and stepped inside, he saw Loona flop onto a couch, clearly tired from her visit to the doctor earlier in the day and the shootout. As he turned his head to look around the reception area for Blitz, he spotted a demon resembling an owl who was writing in a book.

“Oh great, another bird…” , he thought. “Excuse me, do you know where Blitz is keeping these?”

The owl looked up, “Hm? Oh! Hello, I’m Stolas. You must be Ellis.” Stolas stood and outstretched his hand.

Ellis looked up at the man who now towered over him and then down at his own hands which were currently holding multiple guns.

“Oh, my apologies.” Stolas let out a light laugh. “Now, what was it that you had asked? Oh, yes. Oh Blitz!”

 

Blitz walked into the room a moment later. “Yeah Stols? What’s the- Oh, Ellis, there you are. I was wondering when you’d get your ass up here.”

“Where are you storing these?”

“Over here. I’ll show you around.”

Ellis followed Blitz as he led him through the office and began pointing things out.

“Right there by Stolas is my office. If for whatever reason that big moth bitch that Vox fucks comes here, make sure he doesn’t go in there and touch my lemon tree. Over there’s the kitchen, the boardroom and the shiter, it’s finally fixed…maybe. Anyway…”

Blitz led Ellis to a door and opened it. “This is where we keep all the firepower.”

Ellis looked around the room which was filled with firearms, melee weapons and ammunition, many of which were haphazardly piled on a table or leaned against a wall. He then spotted the rest of the weapons that he had brought, stored in a more organized fashion along a different wall which had a hand written sign that said “DOO NAUT YOUSE”.

 

Ellis put the guns he was holding where they belonged and then turned to Blitz. “Out of curiosity, the um…‘you know what’ is not here, correct?”

“Fuck no. Hell, it’s not even in Pride. With where it is, there’s no damn chance of Carmine finding out about it or anyone stealing it or something. Don’t worry.” 

 

The two then walked back out to the reception area.

“Hey, are there any cheap motels within walking distance?”, asked Ellis. “I need a place to sleep tonight.”

“There’s plenty, but you could get an STD just by breathing the air in those fuckers. You can crash at our place if you want.”

“I mean, if it’s not too much trouble, sure.”

“Kid, we just saved you from the mafia, sleeping on our couch is nothing.”

Before Ellis could thank Blitz, Stolas interrupted by loudly closing his book. “Saved him from a what? ”, he asked, concerned.

“Nothing! Nothing. Hey, why don’t we close early today? I don’t know about you guys, but I could use a drink.”

“I don’t see why not.”, said Stolas.

Blitz turned to Ellis who shrugged. “Sure, I could use a drink after that trip. I can deal with the truck tomorrow. But, I’m buying since you saved my ass earlier.”

“Deal. There’s a dive down the street that I’ve been meaning to check out for a while. You coming too, Loony?”

Loona simply groaned tiredly and held up a middle finger.

“Alright Sweetie. We’ll be back to pick you up after then.”

The middle finger turned to a thumbs up.

 

A few minutes later, the three men walked into the bar. As they did, the room fell silent aside from the music coming from the jukebox and all the patrons looked at them.

“The fuck are you all looking at?”, asked Blitz. After a moment, everyone resumed what they were doing.

Blitz led the other two to the far end of the bar where there were a few empty stools. “Here we are.”

The bartender, an Imp, walked over, giving both Ellis and Stolas the side-eye. “What’ll it fuckin’ be?”

“Bottle of beer”

“Beezlejuice, please.”

“Oh um… I suppose I'll have Beezlejuice as well, please.”

The bartender rolled his eyes at Stolas and Ellis' answers before going to prepare the drinks.

 

As the bartender roughly put the drinks down a few moments later, Ellis received a text from Velvette. When he opened it he saw a photo of the cat sitting in the kitchen sink.

“Trying to start getting dinner ready but this little fucker has other plans.” Ellis couldn’t help but laugh as he sent a reply.

“What’s so funny?”, asked Blitz.

“Oh, I found a stray cat this morning. Vel gave me a day to find a home for her, but since I had to come out here, she’s taking care of her.” Ellis showed the photo to Blitz who choked on his drink.

Stolas looked at the photo as well. “Felinus Dentus.”

Blitz cleared his throat once he finished coughing. “Kid, that’s a fucking thrasher.”

“A what?”

“A thrasher, it’s not a house cat or whatever.”

“If my memory serves me correctly, they are much like the clouded leopards in the living world. Though, they are not nocturnal.”

“Oh shit. I should let Vel know.”

 

As Ellis opened his contacts, Blitz stopped him.

“Calm your tits, it shouldn’t be a problem. Unless you’re a mouse or rabbit or something, those things are pretty much harmless, especially when they’re as young as that one looks. You said ‘her’, right? It’s probably only like five or six months old. The males are bigger.”

“Wait, how do you know so much?”, asked Ellis as he hesitantly put his phone away.

“We had a couple in the circus.”

“You were in a circus?”

“My dad’s, yeah. Don’t ask. Anyways, Stolas is right, at least about them not being nocturnal. They’re also one of the few fucking things in Hell that aren’t more aggressive than they look. The ones we had were actually pretty friendly, smart and easy to train for performances. Clingy as fuck though. I’ve seen a couple folks keep them as pets.”

 

Stolas, Blitz and Ellis spent the next few minutes chatting and sipping their drinks.

“Blitz!”, yelled a somewhat tall, angry sounding Imp.

Blitz turned around on his stool, Stolas swivelled his head around and Ellis looked over his shoulder.

“Got a lot of nerve bringing him here.” , said the angry Imp, pointing at Ellis as other patrons began to gather around him. “Bad enough that you walk around with that blue-blood, but now you’re bringing Sinners outside your office.”

Ellis returned his focus to his glass which was still over half full.

“The fuck is anyone gonna do about it?”, Blitz replied before he and Stolas turned back around.

 

A moment later, a throwing dart flew between Blitz’s horns, the flight grazing the top of his head, before breaking one of the bottles behind the bar. Seeing this, the bartender decided to hide behind the bar and the few calmer patrons made their way out of the establishment.

Blitz spun back around, visibly annoyed.

“You three better leave now, or it’s going to get really messy in here.”

“Ha! That’s what you think! You just sit there, Stolas. Ellis and I will handle this. Right, Ellis? Ellis?” Blitz looked at Ellis who had just stood up, drink still in his hand.

Ellis brought the glass to his lips and downed the rest of his drink before letting out a satisfied sigh. “Fuck it.” He then threw his empty glass across the room, hitting one of the angry patrons in the head, causing them to fall back onto the bar’s worn-out jukebox which then malfunctioned and started playing a different song as the fight started.

 

---

 

 

---

 

“It’s getting late, have you seen my mates?”

 

“Ma, tell me when my boys get here”

 

Blitz grabbed his bottle and lunged towards the leader of the group, smashing it on his head, before jumping to the next person. At the same time, a Hellhound ran towards Ellis who managed to narrowly avoid getting slashed by the Hound’s claws.

As he dodged the attack, Ellis managed to grab the Hound’s tail, causing him to yelp, and used it to hurl him into the nearby wall. “Right, who’s nex-“ Ellis was interrupted by a below-average height Imp hitting him in the head with a pool cue. 

 

“Oh, don’t give us none of your aggravation”

 

“We had it with your discipline”

 

“Oh, Saturday night’s alright for fighting”

 

“Get a little action in”

 

Meanwhile, Blitz ducked under a punch thrown by a Succubus and landed his own on their midsection.

“H-harder.”

“Hey, that’s supposed to be my line. Or Fizz’s.“

“AAAHHHH!”

Blitz watched as a short Imp suddenly went from screaming while flying through the air to crashing into the Succubus.

 

Smash

 

Blitz looked in the direction that the Imp had come from and saw Ellis who had just punted him halfway across the room.

“Yeah! Way to go, Kid!” His eyes then widened as he saw a group of patrons, who Ellis had taken out before dealing with the hellhound, stand back up and prepare to charge towards him. “Oh shit! Stolas, stool!”

 

“Well, they’re packed pretty tight in here tonight”

 

“I’m looking for a dolly who’ll see me right”

 

“I may use a little muscle to get what I need”

 

“I may sink a little drink and shout out, ‘She’s with me!”

 

As Blitz ran towards him, Stolas held up one of the bar stools for him. But, instead of immediately grabbing the stool and going back to the fight, Blitz grabbed an unattended shot, drank it, kissed Stolas on the cheek and then grabbed the stool and ran towards Ellis.

Stolas, somehow visibly blushing despite having feathers, whispered to himself. “That’s… that’s getting added to the book…”

 

“Oh, don’t give us none of your aggravation”

 

“We had it with your discipline”

 

“Saturday night’s alright for fighting”

 

“Get a little action in”

 

“Launch me!”

“Got it!”

Blitz jumped towards Ellis and Ellis grabbed him and threw him into the group as Blitz began swinging the stool, knocking most of them out before eventually landing on his feet. At the same time, Ellis dealt with the ones that were still standing and not running away. 

 

As Ellis knocked out the last of the aggressive patrons, Blitz tossed what was left of the now very broken stool over his shoulder. It ended up hitting the damaged jukebox, finishing it off and stopping the music.

“Now that…was fun…”

Ellis leaned against the bar, trying to catch his breath. “Not…what I would…consider fun… Holy fuck…” He looked around the destroyed room. “Well, I can add this to my list of reasons to not drink much.”, he said before placing some money on the bar for the three drinks.

“Come on, live a little. Also, I should teach you how to fight better. Right now you block more hits with your face than your hands.”

Stolas cleared his throat to get Blitz and Ellis’ attention. “If you two are done, I believe it’s about time we pick up Loona and head home. Perhaps we can stop and acquire some rats on the way.”

 

---

 

V & E’s Living Room… 

 

Velvette sat on the couch, scrolling through the TV channels while she waited for her dinner to cook.

“No, no. Not that…” As she continued scrolling, the cat jumped up onto the space next to her. 

“Mrrow ”

“No, how many times do I need to tell you, stay off the fuckin’ couch!” Velvette shooed the cat away. “Go lay somewhere else.”

Seemingly understanding Velvette, the cat began to walk away.

“Finally.”

 

A few minutes later, Velvette heard a “thump” sound come from her office.

“The fuck is it this time?!”

She got up and walked to her office. As she pushed the ajar door open fully, she saw the cat on its back on the floor, wrapped in a mess of ribbon with an empty spool laying near her.

Despite her annoyance, Velvette couldn’t help but laugh. “How the hell did you manage that?” She sighed. “Alright, let’s get you untangled.”

 

As Velvette began to rewind the spool after freeing the cat, the animal kept chasing the end of the ribbon.

“Stop it ya silly fucker.”, she said with a laugh. Velvette spent a few minutes playfully making the ribbon move away from the cat before finally wrapping the rest of it.

“That’s enough of that now. I… I suppose if it’ll keep you out of more trouble you can lay on the damn couch.”

Once again, as if it understood her, the cat followed Velvette out of the office and back to the living room. However, just before Velvette could sit back down where she had previously been, the cat jumped up and laid there.

“Oh fuck you.”

 

---

 

10:22p.m., Blitz’s Apartment…

 

After stopping at the office to get Loona and at an alley to catch rats, Blitz, Loona, Stolas and Ellis finally arrived at Blitz’s apartment.

“Nice place.”, said Ellis as he stepped inside and looked at his surroundings as he removed his boots.

“Thanks. I used to have a smaller place, but we needed the extra space so a friend lent me a bit of cash to rent this a couple months ago.”

 

Stolas and Loona both went to bed almost immediately while Blitz grabbed a blanket and an extra pillow for Ellis before the two of them sat at the kitchen table.

“Thanks again for this. And for saving my ass earlier.”

“It’s nothing. Just a regular day for us really.”

“Well, a regular day for you has more than enough excitement in one day for me.”

“Ha! Be glad you’re not around for half the other shit we get up too. Oh, by the way, I’ll probably be gone before you’re up tomorrow. Gotta pick up Moxxie and head down to Envy for the sale. I’ll be dropping Stolas off at the office too, but Loona will be here to help you find what you need for your truck.”

“Great, thanks. Actually, speaking of Mox, I didn’t see him or Millie at the office today. Or those interns you mentioned before.”

“The interns took today off. M and M were down in Wrath, visiting Millie’s family. They just got back like an hour ago.”

“Oh, nice.”

“Yeah. And, with Millie pretty much out of commission, she was supposed to ask her sister if she’s interested in coming up here and filling in for her. Not sure if she did though, I’ll find out later. Either way, things should work out.”

 

---

 

V & E’s Apartment…

 

Velvette walked to the closed door of her and Ellis’s bedroom, the cat closely following. As she opened the door, the cat attempted to run into the room, but was quickly scooped up.

“Oh no you don’t. The couch is one thing, but you’re not going on the bed.” Velvette placed the cat back in the hall and swiftly closed the door. 

 

Not long later, Velvette settled into bed and closed her eyes.

 

“Mrrrooowww”

 

“No, no, no, don’t start now…”

 

Scratch, scratch. “Mrrrooowww”

 

Velvette grabbed her pillow and used it to cover her ears. Unfortunately for her, it wasn’t as soundproof as she had hoped.

After a few minutes of hearing the cat meow and scratch at the door, Velvette let out a sigh of defeat, got out of bed and walked towards the door which she opened just enough to see the cat.

“Will you quit bein’ a cunt if I let you in?”

“Mrow”

Velvette opened the door enough to let the cat in and she walked into the room.

Once Velvette got back into the bed, the cat jumped up and stretched before laying down, curled up against her. “Wait, what are you…”

The cat let out a tired sigh and almost immediately fell asleep.

“…I guess you’re not all bad. Still an asshole though.”

 

---

 

May 21st, 10:34a.m., Imp City Junkyard…

 

Ellis stopped and looked at his surroundings.

“Holy shit… I’ve been to junkyards before, but I was not expecting this place to have this much stuff.”

“This is still less than average, you should see the ones in Greed.”, said Loona who was standing on top of a pile of crushed cars. “Look, there’s one of the cars we took out yesterday.”

“Do you see what we’re looking for?”

“Uh… Looks like there’s one over there.” Loona jumped off of the pile and almost landed on some broken glass.

“You know, you really should be wearing shoes in here.”

“Yeah, I was just thinking that. Hold on a second, there aren’t really shoes made for hounds, but…” Loona was suddenly engulfed in blue light and transformed into her human form, much to Ellis’ surprise.

“What the…”

“Hellhound magic bullshit, don’t ask.” 

 

Ellis looked down and saw that Loona was now wearing sneakers.

“Hold on, how the fuck do you go from not wearing shoes in your normal form to having them in your human form all of a sudden?”

“I don’t know, but it keeps the freaks from just staring at my toes all episode long.” Loona then turned her head and gave you, the reader, an annoyed look before turning and beginning to walk towards what she and Ellis went to the junkyard for.

“What the fuck just happened?”

 

Ellis made his way over to where Loona was standing in front of a scrapped M-1000.

“Great. Now to find out if today’s my lucky day.” Ellis popped the hood and Loona opened it and looked inside.

“There’s a rad in here. Looks pretty good too.”

“Perfect.”

 

Ellis quickly got to work and had the radiator removed not long later.

“Alright, now we just need to get to the office so I can…” Ellis trailed off as he realized Loona was no longer standing near the truck. “Loona? Where did you…” He then spotted her standing near a pile of wrecked motorcycles and walked over. “Are you looking to get a bike?”

“Yeah, but Blitz would kill me. He keeps saying that they’re too dangerous.”

“Aren’t you an-“

“Grown adult? Yeah, I am.”

“And aren’t you guys-“

“Guns for hire? Yeah, that’s what I keep telling him, but every time I bring it up, he just says that I’m his little g-“ Loona suddenly stopped as she realized that she was sharing more personal information with Ellis than she does even with people who she knows well. “Fucking- Just- Forget it, forget I-“

“I’m not judging. If you need to talk, then talk.” 

 

Loona remained silent for a few moments.

“He… I was almost eighteen when he adopted me and got me out of that cage. And yet, he’s always acted like…like he’s always been my dad. Protective, doting, all that shit. As infuriating as it’s been sometimes, like with this, it’s… I love him too, even though I don’t say it much. Just…sometimes I don’t understand how he does it, or how I can show it too without being…”

“Exactly like he is about it?”

“Yeah, that. Doesn’t help that I didn’t really get to experience anything with my…blood, before I got dumped at the orphanage, if you can even call it that.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out. As for how he does it, well…family’s a funny thing. The way I see it, you don’t need to be blood to be family.”

 

The two once again stood in silence for a few moments.

“…If you did get a bike, what kind would it be?”

“Well, I don’t really care for choppers or sport bikes… I like the look of cruisers though. Look, there’s even a frame for one there with the engine and some other parts already mounted.”, she said pointing towards the edge of the pile.

“Tell you what, if you want the bike, I’ll store it at the factory for you until you can convince your dad to lay off a bit. It’s not the most convenient place since it’s so far from where you live, but it’s better than missing out on something that’s already in somewhat decent shape. And, you can build it custom to what you want instead of just grabbing one off the street. Plus, I probably already have most of the tools.”

“Wait, really? You would do that?”, Loona asked, her tail wagging slightly.

“Yeah. Besides, I owe you for your help yesterday. Now, I’m going to go back to the office, swap the rad and then drive the truck back here. In the meantime, you pull out that frame and whatever parts you can find for it and get them ready to load so I can get my ass back to Pentagram sooner rather than later.”

 

As Ellis turned and walked away, Loona called out to him.

“Why are you like this?”

Ellis stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. “I’ve seen enough bad in life. I like to help make at least some good.”

 

---

 

7:47p.m., V & E’s Apartment…

 

“Cupcake, I’m home! Finally…”

Ellis began kicking his boots off. As he did, he heard footsteps approaching him. Suddenly, he saw a flash of red and the cat practically jumped onto his foot.

“Hey buddy.” He picked the cat up. “I hope you didn’t get into too much trouble while I was…” He trailed off as he noticed a desire-red coloured collar around her neck. “Now what’s this, hm?”

“That is Ribbon’s collar.”, said Velvette as she stepped into view.

“Ribbon? You named her?”

“I did. I figure that there’s no point in trying to find a different home for her. Having to keep moving around would probably stress the poor thing out.” Ellis gave her a knowing smile before setting the cat back down.

 

“Um, you should know, she’s not a normal cat.”

“Well I know that, she’s pretty smart.”

“I mean her species.”

Velvette gave him a confused look.

“She’ll probably be about as long as you are tall… Or longer…”

Velvette’s eyes widened and she looked down at Ribbon who now had her entire head in one of Ellis’ boots. “Does everyone have to be taller than me?”, she asked jokingly.

“Apparently so.”, Ellis said with a laugh before kissing Velvette.

They both pulled away and looked down as Ribbon, now out of the boot, pawed at their legs.

Ellis smirked. “I wonder if I can train her to chase Travis.”

Velvette laughed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you try.”

“Mrrow”

 

---

 

9:26p.m., Notamafia Town, Greed Ring…

 

The tall Hellborn Shark quietly entered the parlour and stopped a few feet behind the Imp who was standing in front of the fireplace holding a rocks glass.

“Crimson, Sir.”

“Alessio. I hope you bring good news.”

“Unfortunately Sir, I do not.” Crimson turned around and glared angrily at his bodyguard. “The target got away. Took out all three cars.”

Crimson spun around and angrily threw his glass into the fire, the flames immediately intensifying as the alcohol burned. “How the FUCK did he get away!? What the fuck do I pay those goons for!?”

“…One of the men survived… He claims the target had help.”

Crimson slowly turned around again. “From who?”

Alessio remained silent and that was all the answer Crimson needed.

 

Crimson walked over to the bar and grabbed a book from underneath the counter. He pulled out his phone, then flipped through the book, stopping about halfway through, and then dialed a number.

 

Riiinngg…

 

Riiinngg…

 

Rii-

 

“I have a job for you. Don’t fail me again.”

Notes:

Fun Facts with Ellis: “Clouded leopards are found in Asia and, like snow leopards, are not actually leopards. Their adult head-body length typically ranges between 68.6 and 108 cm (27-42.5 inches), their tails are usually between 61 and 91 cm (24-36 inches) long and they typically weigh between 11.5 and 23 kg (25-51 lbs), with the males typically being larger than the females. They also have the largest canine teeth of any cat species in proportion to their body size.”

Chapter 26: Chapter 20: Ruffled Feathers

Summary:

Vox has a task for Velvette.

Takes place during “Welcome to Heaven”.

Notes:

Edit (8/6/2025): Fixed formatting errors.

I made a correction to the timeline. I mistakenly put Blitz and Moxxie meeting before Blitz adopting Loona originally, this has been fixed. Also, once I have updated the timeline with each chapter, I will move it to after the most recent chapter.

Please at least read the last part of the post-chapter notes after you are finished reading the chapter.

Have a good day! :)

May 30th, 2023, 8:22a.m., V & E’s Apartment…

 

“No, you can’t lick the bacon grease.”

“Mroww”

“Oh, quit whining. You act like you haven’t eaten today.”

“Mrrrow”

“You had breakfast ten minutes ago and I gave you a piece of bacon while I was cooking.”

Velvette laughed at Ellis and Ribbon’s antics as she stood up from the table. “While you have her distracted, I’m going to go get myself ready.”

“Alright, I’m just going to-“ Ribbon suddenly jumped onto the counter. “I said no, you little shit.”

Velvette laughed again as she walked away.

 

As she got to the bathroom, Velvette set her phone before using her facial cleanser. Once she finished with the cleanser, she stopped and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes focused on the features that had changed when she arrived in Hell years before, specifically her lips as their beak-like appearance looked more pronounced than when she has makeup on which she usually uses to make it at least slightly less noticeable. She let out a sad sigh. 

 

Velvette didn’t even notice the sound of footsteps as Ellis walked into the bedroom.

“Alright, Ribbon is laying down on her bed with her…” Ellis trailed off as he noticed Velvette standing at the bathroom counter, a sad look on her face. 

 

Ellis walked over and stood in the doorway of the bathroom.

“What’s wrong, Cupcake?”

Velvette glanced at him before quickly moving to open the drawer that she kept her makeup in. “Nothing. Nothing…”

“Vel.”

“I’m fine.”

Ellis walked over and hugged her from behind. “If it’s something you really don’t want to talk about, just say the word and I’ll go.”

Velvette sighed. “…It’s been seven years since…this,” She motioned to the reflection of her face. “but sometimes I can’t help but think that it’s…wrong.”

“Any part in particular?”

“…My mouth, mostly. Specifically this damn beak. The makeup helps a bit, but my lips just look- w-woah!” 

 

Ellis swiftly, but gently, turned Velvette around and lifted her onto the counter. He looked at her lips and then into her eyes.

“May I?”

Velvette could feel the blood rush to her cheeks. “…Yeah…”, she said, breathlessly.

Ellis gently pressed his lips against Velvette’s and she immediately reciprocated.

“…There’s not…a single thing wrong…with your lips or any other...part of you. And…I’ll stand here all…day long and…prove it if I need to…”, he said between kisses.

Velvette smiled as she pulled back slightly. “Oh, such a sacrifice.”, she said sarcastically, but without any sadness remaining in her voice, before their lips met again.

 

The pair enjoyed a few more moments of peaceful bliss before Velvette’s phone started emitting the theme from “Jaws”.

“…Ellis…that’s Vox…”

“…Yeah, well,…I’m dealing with something…much more important…than whatever it is he wants…”

“…You’re bad…you know that?...”

The phone stopped ringing.

“If it’s…that important to him… he’ll just call ba-” Ellis was interrupted by Vox calling again.

Velvette and Ellis both reluctantly pulled back. “Asshole.”

Velvette laughed before answering the call. “Mornin’ Vox.”

 

Ellis mouthed the words “Fuck off”, among other things, as Velvette listened to Vox, trying not to laugh at Ellis.

Velvette’s expression soon soured. “Again? Today? Are you bloody serious!? And why the fuck can’t you go? It’s your shit and you can just zap yourself there through the fuckin’ power lines or someone’s phone a lot quicker than I can get there. Lower the payment for next month?”

Velvette looked at Ellis who now had a curious look on his face. “Yeah. Alright, I’ll handle it. I don’t know, I’ll ask.” Velvette ended the call.

 

“What problem do we have to deal with now?”

“His supplier is bitching again. So… What do you think about going to Imp City?”

“It hasn’t even been ten days since I was last there. I just got the windows replaced on the tru- Wait a second, the same supplier that you had to go meet with in December?”

“Yeah, that one. Fuckin’ prick. He said doing this will lower the amount I’ll owe next month.”

“Do you want me to go alone and handle it? I know how much you hate long drives.”

“I was thinking we could both go. We haven’t spent as much time together since you’ve been working at the factory, so I think it would be nice.”

“Alright, no complaints here. But, I’m bringing the sawed-off.”

“Brill. Now, one last thing before I put my makeup on and we leave… Ribbon!”

Velvette and Ellis could barely hear the sound of Ribbon’s four large, cushioned paws before she suddenly appeared in the doorway, carrying a horned, duckbilled, purple plushie that Ellis had found at a dollar store in her mouth.

“Do you wanna go in the truck?”

 

---

 

1:34p.m., A Parking Lot in Imp City…

 

“This is complete shit.”, said Velvette as she took a bite of her burger.

“Do you want to switch?”

“Nah, it’s still MAMdonald’s. Should’ve gone to Burger Queen.”

As Velvette and Ellis ate, Ribbon, who was sitting between them, stared at Ellis’ food.

“Why do you never beg her for food?”

Velvette laughed before reaching out to scratch behind Ribbon’s ears. “Because she knows that I won’t give her anything while you tend to.”

Ellis took another bite of his food and changed the subject. “Yeah, this is pretty shitty. What I would give for some chicken and taters from Mary Brown's instead…”

 

“I forgot to ask, how exactly do you want to handle this thing? I know you said they weren’t very cooperative last time.”, said Ellis.

“That’s putting it nicely. Those fuckers have their heads up their own asses. I’m hoping that your presence will keep them in line a bit. Though, I wouldn’t be surprised if they try something stupid.” Velvette pulled the short leather jacket she was wearing to the side, revealing her angelic revolver that Ellis had given her months prior. “I brought this just in case.”

Ellis swallowed the last bite of his burger. “Mm, leave that in here. If things go bad, the last thing we need is them having access to the only thing that can permanently kill us.”

“Have you got something else to use then?” Ellis reached over and unlocked and opened the glovebox, revealing two replica Colt 1911s and their magazines. “His and hers.”

“When the hell did you put those there?”

“When Ribbon and I went down to the parking garage while you were still in the apartment. I grabbed them when I got the shotgun. Also, do you remember how many of them were there at the last meeting?”

“Um… about six I believe.”

Ellis sighed.

“Yeah, they like to try to intimidate.” 

 

The two sat in silence for a moment.

“You want to even the odds, don’t you?”, asked Velvette.

“Yeah… Let me make a call. You said the meeting is at 2:30?”

“Yeah.” Ellis turned on his phone and went to his contacts.

 

Riiing…

 

Riiing…

 

Riii-

 

“Hey. How are you today? Good, good. Oh yeah? How is she? Lovely. Listen, I have a quick job for you if you’re interested.”

 

---

2:30p.m., Office Building in Imp City…

 

“Are you sure you’re up for this if it goes bad?”

“Yeah, it’s far from my first time doing this kind of thing.”

“Alright, just checking.” 

 

Ellis opened the door to the supplier’s office for Velvette and the two walked in. As they stepped into the room, which was only lit by the light coming through the window, they saw four Hellborns of various types standing around a desk that an Imp-Succubi hybrid was sitting at while smoking a cigar.

“Tick.”, Velvette greeted, an annoyed tone in her voice as she sat down in the chair in front of the desk. Ellis stood next to her, his focus remaining on the other people in the room.

“Velvette. I see Vox is still sending a woman to take care of his business.”

Velvette smirked as she’s used to having to play this particular kind of game. “That’s ‘cause a man would use words that are too big for you to understand.” 

 

Tick gritted his teeth, already frustrated by Velvette. “Bitch.”

“Oh, I’m the bitch? That’s funny,” Velvette motioned to the four men standing behind and to the sides of Tick. “‘cause if I had to guess, you just got finished sucking those four off before we got he-“

“Alright! You better have come to agree to the new terms of our deal with that flat-screened fuck. And you,” With the hand holding his cigar, Tick pointed at Ellis who still had done nothing but look at him and his men since he and Velvette walked in. “the fuck is your problem?”

“Don’t worry about me. It’s her you need to worry about because I’m not going to do anything until she gives the order. So I suggest you listen to her.”

 

After a few moments of tense silence, Tick spoke. “Gutty.”

The demon to Tick’s left pulled out a gun and aimed at Velvette. Ellis pulled out his own pistol and aimed at the demon at the same time in response. The demon on the other side of Tick then pulled his gun and aimed at Ellis, prompting Velvette to draw her gun and aim at him. Tick and his other two associates then quickly pulled their guns and aimed at both of the Sinners. Ellis, despite feeling the need to step between Velvette and the people aiming at her, knew that if he moved at all, the gunfire would likely start.

 

Tick snickered. “You’re outnumbered. This was too easy! Now, I’m going to tell you what you’re going to agree to and if you much as complain, you’ll both get sh-“

 

bang.

 

Crash!

 

Splat. Splat.

 

Thump.

 

A look of pure horror grew on Tick’s face as he turned his head and saw that the two demons that had been standing behind him were now laying on the floor, black blood leaking from their heads, after both being killed by a single bullet that came from outside and shattered the window.

 

BANG!

 

BANG! BANG!

 

Thump.

 

Tick turned again, the hand holding his gun now shaking uncontrollably and his other letting his cigar fall to the floor, as both Velvette and Ellis shot the other two demons, leaving only Tick.

 

“How ‘bout you be a good lad and put that down?”

“Take the mag out and empty the chamber first.”

Tick followed their instructions and Ellis put his own gun away before grabbing Tick’s.

“Now,” said Velvette as she partially lowered her gun. “I’m going to use simple words so you fully understand me. There will be no negotiating or new deal. Instead, we are going back to the one that was in place before my last visit here. And, If I need to come back here again before the end of the year, I’ll bring your replacement with me. Right then, that should be all.” Velvette stood up and began walking out of the room. “Let’s go, Ellis.”

 

Ellis walked backwards out of the room, making sure Tick made no attempt to retaliate. Once he and Velvette were out of earshot, they stopped for a moment.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah. Been a while since I’ve shot someone, but yeah. What about you?”

“I’m alright. Hopefully that’s the last time either of us need to kill someone for a while.”

 

Velvette and Ellis walked out of the building and across the street towards where the truck was parked in front of a different office building.

“Do you have enough cash on you?”

“Yep.”

Suddenly, Moxxie stepped out of the building next to the truck, holding a black and red sniper rifle.

“Beautiful shot, Mox. Thanks for your help.”, said Ellis as he reached for his wallet, pulled out a couple hundred dollars and handed it to him.

“Thank you Ellis.”

At the same time, Velvette walked up to the open window of the passenger door of the truck which Ribbon was leaning out of. “Look at you! Such a good girl, waiting for us.”

Ribbon nuzzled against Velvette when she approached, happily purring.

“I swear, she’s more like a dog than a cat sometimes.”, said Ellis as he and Moxxie watched. “Alright, let’s get you back to the office. Vel, can you put her in the back, please?.”

 

Velvette lifted Ribbon out of the cab and set her down in the bed of the truck where she then climbed into a dog crate that Ellis had bolted down to the floor for her. Ellis, Velvette and Moxxie then got into the cab and they drove to I.M.P’s office.

 

When they arrived a few minutes later, Ellis parked and Moxxie got out of the truck.

“Thanks again for your help, Mox. Tell the others I said hello.”

Moxxie smiled and nodded.

“Actually, I’d like to go in and have a word with Blitz.”, said Velvette as she moved to get out as well.

“He’s actually out with Millie right now, but you two are more than welcome to come up and wait of course.”, said Moxxie.

“Alright then, you two head up there. I think I heard noise coming from the engine so I’m going to quickly check that and then I’ll be up with Ribbon.”

 

Minutes later, Velvette and Moxxie stepped into I.M.P’s office.

“Moxxie, you’re back. I hope it went well.”, said Stolas who was in the process of standing up and stretching after sitting at his desk for who knows how many hours.

“It did, thank you your high- I mean, Stolas. I’ll be back in a moment, I just need to put this away.”, said Moxxie, holding the rifle.

Velvette looked up at the tall owl and internally questioned why she is so short.

“Oh, hello there, I’m Stolas.” Stolas held out his hand and Velvette shook it.

“Velvette. Wait, Stolas as in…”

“Yes… I’m afraid so.”

“Ah… I saw that ‘trial’ on the news, sorry to hear about all that.”

“Thank you.”

 

“Hiiisss.”

 

“Ribbon, no.” Stolas and Velvette turned to look at the door of the office where Ellis and Ribbon were now standing. “No hissing at Stolas.”

“Good afternoon, Ellis.”

“Hey Stolas. Sorry about her.”

“No worries. What brings you two up today?”

“I was hoping to talk with Blitz. Moxxie said he’s out with Millie, do you know when they’ll be back?”

“No, sorry. I’ve never been good at predicting them either. Perhaps Loona will have a better idea. Loona!”

Loona responded in her usual somewhat annoyed tone from somewhere else in the office. “What?!”

“Do you know when your father will be back?!”

A confused look formed on Velvette’s face as she thought to herself. “Father? Since when does Blitz have a kid? Especially one that sounds fully grown…”

 

“For all I know he and Millie could be gone for the next month.”, said Loona as she stepped into the room from the hallway. “Why? Are you-" Loona froze as she saw Velvette standing in the reception area and was slightly star-struck.

Velvette’s confusion quickly turned to surprise as she saw the Hellhound. “Well aren’t you just gorgeous.”

Loona immediately became nervous. “I- uh, y-you think, um, you think that I-”

Velvette started walking towards Loona who’s tail was wagging slightly. “Most definitely! Love the outfit, seems to suit you. Come, come, let’s chat…”

Loona, equally confused and surprised as she was nervous, looked to Ellis, who was still standing with Stolas and Ribbon, as if to ask what was happening. Ellis simply shrugged before Velvette began dragging Loona to a different room.

 

Ribbon looked up at Ellis and tilted her head to the side.

“Don’t look at me, I don’t know.”

At the same time, Moxxie returned. “I just got off the phone with Millie. They should be back any-”

Blitz suddenly burst through the door with Millie right behind him. “We’re back, bitches! We got the- Oh, Ellis, what are you doing here?”

“Hey Blitz. Hi Millie. We needed Moxxie’s help for something and we were just dropping him off, but then-”

“You brought the cat with you?”, asked Blitz, a pleasantly surprised tone in his voice as Ribbon ran to him. He immediately sat down on the floor and began petting her, the two having met when Blitz went to the factory for that week’s pickup a couple days prior.

“She’s a cute one.”, said Millie.

“Yeah, but she can be trouble too.”

 

“Anyways, what brings you here today, E?”, asked Millie.

“Vox needed something done and we needed Moxxie’s help for it. We were just dropping him off, but Vel wanted to come up here and-”

Blitz suddenly jumped to his feet with an almost scared look on his face, startling Ribbon who ran underneath the nearby couch. “Velvette‘s here?!” Blitz nervously sidestepped towards the door. “You guys have fun, I’m just going to-”

“Don’t even think about it ya little bastard.”, said Velvette, now back in the reception area. Behind her stood Loona, now wearing a different outfit. “You and I need to have a talk.”

 

Stolas clapped his hands together. “Well, while you two do that, I’m going to the coffee shop down the street. Do any of you want anything?”

“I’ll just have my usual.”

“Usual.”

“I’ll have a- actually, I’ll just text it to you.”

“Much appreciated. Ellis? Velvette?”

“I’ll go with you and help you carry everything.”

“Ellis knows what I like.”

“Perfect. Blitz, what about you? Do you want anything?”

“Yeah, help.”

“I’ll just get your usual as well then.” With that, Stolas grabbed a black jacket with the I.M.P logo on the sleeve from the nearby coat rack and he and Ellis walked out of the office.

 

Blitz watched as Stolas and Ellis walked out and then turned to look at Velvette. He let out a sigh of defeat before grabbing the chair from behind the secretary desk and walking towards his office as Loona, Millie and Moxxie went to different areas.

“C’mon then…”

 

A few moments later, Blitz and Velvette were sitting across from each other in silence as Blitz contemplated what to say.

“…I know I fucked up with Ver and-”

“Six years.”

“…W-what?”

“It’s been almost six bloody years, B.”

Blitz looked down at his gloves and ran a finger over the worn and damaged leather. “Yeah… I guess it has.”

“Six years and you haven’t spoken to me once. No calls, no holiday card. Hell, you didn’t even pop up to say hello when Vox hired you to take out those nerds in the living world so he could improve his own tech. I know you were at the tower, he next to never leaves. By the way, one of ‘em is his assistant now.”

“Hold on, that’s what you wanted to talk about?” Blitz breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank Satan. And here I thought you were going to be up my ass about the stuff with Ver.”

“Oh, I was fuckin’ pissed at you for that, don’t think I wasn’t. But, she says that you two had a talk, so good on you for finally growing a set. Doesn't change that fact that I haven’t heard from you though.”

 

“I… I thought that after what went down, what I did, you wouldn’t want to hear from me, much less see me, or if you did it would be so you could strangle me.”

“B, I know that I used to be a fuckin’ bitch, and still can be, but give me some credit.”

“Look… I’m sorry, alright? I am. I’ve been trying to be better but… Well, you know how I am.”

“Yeah, I do. That’s part of why I wish you had kept in touch.”

Blitz gave her a smile. “Back to friends?”, he asked, his hand outstretched.

“Fuck that.” Velvette stood and raised her arms for a hug. “Come here you silly bast-” Velvette suddenly noticed the holes in Blitz’s glove and dropped her arms to her sides. “The fuck did you do to these?! All that hard work I did and you let your gloves get like this?” Velvette's eyes then moved up to the right shoulder of Blitz’s jacket. “Is that a patch? The hell did you do that you would need to… You got fuckin’ shot, didn’t you?”

“What else is new?”

Velvette sighed. “Come around, let me see how much more damage you’ve done.”

 

Blitz got up and walked around his desk to stand in front of Velvette.

“Christ, Blitz, did you put your jacket into a blender? Patch here, holes there. Not to mention the hem.”

“I’m a mercenary, damaging my clothes is an occupational hazard.”

“Just try to take better care of your shit, and yourself for that matter. Here…” Velvette used her powers to fix Blitz’s clothing, the faded and blood stained fabric of his jacket returning to its original obsidian black colour. “Good as new. Now come here.”

The two hugged.

“Thanks, Vel.”

“No problem.” 

 

After a few silent moments, Velvette pulled back from the hug. “Seriously though, you couldn’t have at least called and been like ‘Hey, I have a daughter now.’? Now I’ve got to catch up on acting like a rich aunt that spoils her with new clothes.”

Blitz laughed. “Hey, don’t go overboard, she doesn’t have that much closet space. I’m not about to give up mine after finally being able to have a bedroom of my own instead of sleeping on the couch or floor while letting her have the only one for years. I already have to share with Stolas.”

“No promises.”

 

---

Meanwhile, on the sidewalk…

 

“Stolas, I forgot to ask, how have you been?”

The owl finished putting his jacket on, desiring some extra warmth on this unusually cool day, though Ellis seemed to not notice the lower temperature.

“I’m well, thank you. Today has been surprisingly nice. There haven't been many calls, which of course is good and bad, and with Blitz and Millie having been out for most of the day and Moxxie gone to help you, that left only myself and Loona in the office. That’s typically when it’s quietest.”

Ellis chuckled. “Yeah, I bet it is.”

“What about you?”

“I’ve been good. Business is going smoothly, other than today there haven't been many unexpected things. Ribbon’s training has been going well too. Sorry again about earlier, the only other owl she’s met is Travis and he’s not exactly pleasant.”

“Oh? How so?”

“He’s probably the second biggest piece of shit I’ve met down here.”

 

As he and Stolas continued walking, Ellis could see the sign for the coffee shop ahead of them. He could also see a much larger cafe across the street called “Richest Cup”.

“I swear, he's one misstep away from me dragging him to Rosie. I’m sure she’d love to Kentucky fry his ass.”, he said, still referring to Travis. A moment later, Ellis realized what words he used and looked at Stolas. “Shit, sorry, I forgot…”

Stolas gave him a somewhat uneasy smile. “T-that’s okay.” Stolas laughed awkwardly. “If nothing else, it’s not as bad as when Blitz made me some eggs for breakfast.”

“Alright then, at least- He did what!? Jesus Christ…”

 

As the two approached the coffee shop, they could hear yelling coming from inside a blue limousine parked along the curb, loud enough to be heard clearly.

“You buffoon! The cafe is on that side of the street! Now we have to walk there ourselves!”

“Imbecile! You don’t even know to open the door for us!”

The door of the limo then burst open with a rush of cold air, nearly hitting Ellis who jumped back.

“Hey! Watch it Motherfucker!”

 

A tall white and blue bird demon which resembled a peacock then emerged from the vehicle, immediately glaring down at Ellis with a look of disgust.

“Watch your tone, peasant !”

“Who the fuck thinks they can talk to us like that!?”, screeched the second voice which now seemed familiar to Ellis. In an instant, a white peahen rose out of the car, right behind the first bird.

Stella. She looked down at Ellis. “You.”

“Hey, Duster.”

Stella then looked up at Stolas.

“Oh, isn’t this just hilarious! The walking refuse and the disgrace, spending time together, how fitting.”
The peacock snickered. “Oh, Stolas, I didn’t recognize you without your royal attire. Whatever happened to that? Oh yes, it’s all mine now.”

“Andrealphus.”, Stolas acknowledged, his frustration evident in his voice.

“Tell me Stolas, whatever happened to that toad that you abandoned your daughter for?”

At the mention of his daughter, Stolas moved as if he was about to punch Andrealphus, but Ellis stopped him.

“Stolas, don’t. These two pieces of shit aren’t worth it.”

“Excuse me!?”, Stella screeched.

“You better watch your mouth boy. And don’t you dare insult my extremely attractive sister.” 

 

Ellis exchanged a look with Stolas before looking back at Andrealphus.

“What the ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ fuck are you talking about? The two of you should go pull your heads out of your asses.”

Andrealphus became visibly angry. “You best cease speaking now.”

Stolas attempted to get Ellis’ attention to tell him to back down but ultimately failed.

“Or what? From what I’ve heard, not all Goetia have powers and that waste of oxygen you call a sister is one of those unlucky ones. My guess is you aren’t much different.”

Ellis’ eyes widened slightly as Andrealphus slowly began to float and blue snow began to fly around him. “You insolent rat! I’ll show you power!”

 

Ellis quickly raised his arms to protect himself and closed his eyes as Andrealphus sent a torrent of ice towards him. When he opened his eyes a moment later as Andrealphus stopped, he saw that both his forearms and hands were encased in ice.

Andrealphus let out an evil laugh. “Try doing anything of use now! Oh wait, you can’t!” Stolas stood back, unsure of what to do.

 

Ellis remained silent for a moment as his mind processed the situation. Suddenly, his eyes widened with realization.

“Interesting… I just noticed, I can barely feel the cold on my skin.”

Stolas looked at him with confusion as Ellis stepped towards the brick exterior wall of the coffee shop and punched it with his left hand, shattering the ice around it and his arm. Stella went dead silent, mouth ajar and Andrealphus’ look of superiority quickly faded as Ellis did the same with his right hand, resulting in multiple bricks cracking.

Ellis looked at them. “What? You didn’t know that ice can break easily?”

 

Andrealphus quickly gathered his thoughts and began conjuring more ice. But before Andrealphus could launch it, Ellis pulled out his revolver with his left hand and knife with his right. However, instead of aiming at either of the antagonizing birds or pointing the knife at them, Ellis purposely kept his weapons down at his sides in a not overtly threatening manner, while also angling them so Stella and Andrealphus could clearly see that they were angelic. Stella looked at Andrealphus, her fear evident on her face.

Andrealphus’ tough facade quickly faltered and he stuttered as he began to speak. “Y-you d-dare threaten the royalty of Hell!?”

“No.”, Ellis replied firmly. “I’ve gotten enough blood on my hands today. Both sides of this need to back off before things get any worse. Let us go about our business, and you go about yours.” He slowly moved to put his weapons away.

 

Once Ellis put his weapons away, a few moments of mostly silence passed before Andrealphus slowly lowered back to the ground and the snow in the air fell to the ground.
“Very well…”, he sneered. “Come Stella. Let us go for what we came here for.”

“But An-“

“I said COME!”, he snapped before leading her across the street and into the cafe.

As they sat down at a table and a nervous server came to take their orders, Stella’s whining resumed. “Andy, we can’t just let that… that thing get away with disrespecting us like that!”

“We will not!” Andrealphus’ expression darkened. “I know just how to deal with him…”

 

Stolas and Ellis slowly backed into the Coffee shop as the two royals walked into the cafe. As they turned around, they were met with the staring eyes of all the patrons. After a moment of complete silence, the patrons, mostly consisting of Imps and a few Hellhounds, suddenly began to cheer and clap for Ellis as a result of him standing his ground against the much more powerful demon. Ellis turned to Stolas with a look of nervousness and hesitation.

 

The shop slowly quieted and Ellis and Stolas were able to get what they went there for. They then began walking back to the office in silence before Stolas spoke.

“That was incredibly stupid of you back there.”

“…Yeah…”

“…Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me.”

The two remained silent for a few seconds. “I don’t mean to pry but, you’re troubled, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. Just… In the last few weeks, actually, in the months since I ended up down here, it’s just one thing after another. Don’t get me wrong, some great things have happened to me as well, but the bad is taking its toll on my mind. And now, what just happened is going to add to that and with the extermination coming, I have a feeling things are only going to get worse before they get better. Not to mention the risk of those two retaliating.”

“I wish I could say otherwise, but that is certainly a risk. There’s not one redeeming quality between the two of them. I don’t know how Octavia turned out how she has, but I’m glad. I only wish I could see her...”

“I’m guessing she’s your daughter.”

“Yes… To say that things are complicated would be an understatement.”

“Well, I hope things get better for you. We don’t know each other very well, but if you need someone to talk to, let me know.”

Stolas smiled. “And I would gladly provide the same outlet for you. Now, let us return.”

 

---

Back in the I.M.P Office…

 

“Who wanted the iced?”, asked Ellis.

“That’s mine!”, replied Loona as she lazily stood from the couch.

“Millie, here is yours and Moxxie’s”

“Thanks, Stolas.”

Ellis whispered to Loona as she took her drink from him. “Remind me to never get Mox coffee again. Holy fuck…”

Loona laughed. “That’s why I don’t go. Oh, I almost forgot, I have those things you asked me to grab from topside.” Loona then walked towards the secretary desk.

“Vel, here’s yours.”

“Thank you, Darling.”

Ellis looked towards Blitz who was getting his drink from Stolas. “I see you decided to be merciful.”

“Oh hush, you cheeky bugger.”

“What did you want to talk to him about that had him that spooked anyway?”

“Oh, we were just catching up. He’s just dramatic.”

“Uh huh, sure, sure…”

Velvette playfully swatted Ellis’ arm. “Oh stop it.”

 

Loona returned a moment later, carrying a plastic bag with red and white stripes and a blue logo with the name “Hawkins”. Ellis practically lit up as he saw it.

“Yes! Thank you.”

“What even are those things?”, asked Loona as she handed Ellis the bag.

Ribbon, who was sitting at Ellis’ feet, gently pawed at the bag inquisitively.

“The Cheezies? Do you know what Cheetos are?”

“Yeah.”

“They’re like those but ten times better. Here, have a pack.” Ellis opened the bag and handed Loona one of the three smaller packages inside. “Just don’t try them now if you’ve already started your coffee.” 

 

“Hey Ellis.”, said Blitz as he walked over, holding out his black and gold pistol. “Since you’re here, could you take a look at this? Moxxie hasn’t had a chance to. It kept fucking up when I was shooting TVs yesterday.”

Ellis looked down at the gun. “That’s because you don’t clean or oil it.”

“Great, can you do that?” “No. We’ve been over this.”

“Why the fuck not, wasn’t that part of our deal?”

“Blitz, I have no problem cleaning guns for you guys, but you need to know how to clean that one yourself in case you run into trouble on a job. Not to mention the fact that I have no fucking clue how that one works. It looks like a percussion cap and I’ve seen you load it like a muzzleloader, but then you’ll fire five shots in a row which is physically impossible for that kind of gun.”

“Ugh. Moxxie!”

“Yes Sir?”

“I’ll give you an extra hundred bucks if you-”

“Moxxie, do not do it for him, he needs to learn. I’ll double his offer if I need to.”

“Sorry Sir, but I have to agree with Ellis on this. Keeping one’s weapon properly cleaned and lubricated is of the utmost importance and having the knowledge of how to do so is paramount to-”

“Christ on a stick, fine, I’ll do it myself. Fuck both of you though.”

“You will do no such thing.”, said Velvette and Stolas at the same time as each other, making everyone in the room laugh.

 

---

9:36p.m., Highway entering Pentagram City…

 

Ellis and Velvette sat in the truck, with Ribbon between them, singing together as Ellis drove with one hand on the wheel and the other petting Ribbon.

 

“I gotta be cool”

 

“Relax”

 

“Get hip”

 

“Get on my tracks”

 

“Take a back seat”

 

“Hitch hike”

 

“And take a long ride on my motorbike”

 

“Until I’m ready”

 

“Crazy little thing called-”

 

Duunnn dunnn…

 

Duuuunnnn duun… 

 

Dun dun dun du-

 

“He keeps calling at the worst time.” Velvette sighed as she answered the call and Ellis turned the volume of the radio down. “Hey Vox. You’re on speaker.”

“Velvette, Ellis, how did the negotiations go? You haven’t told me yet.”

“They’re done. Back to before the December deal, like you wanted.”

“It got messy, but you shouldn’t have any more trouble. At least not for a while.”

“Excellent. I assume you’re- what the hell is that buzzing sound I’m hearing? I know it’s not my fan.”

“It’s not a buzzing sound, that’s the cat purring. Ellis is petting her while he’s driving.”

“You still have that thing? No wonder Val started sneezing after your designers were with him to do the consultations yesterday.”

“Just tell him to take some damn tablets.”

“I do, every fucking time his allergies act up, but he refuses. He happily takes every fucking drug there is, but no, not pills to help him.”

“Crush them and put them in his drink. I’m sure he knows what that’s like…”, said Ellis, making no attempt to hide his lack of respect for the moth man.

Vox noticed Ellis’ tone. “Do you have a problem with Val or- Actually… That’s a good idea… I should’ve thought of that forty years ago. Ian! Where are you!? I need a pill crusher! Or a-” 

 

“Call ended.”

 

“Hey, we should probably look into getting this one spayed soon. I don’t want to have to deal with the bullshit if we don’t get it done.”, said Velvette as Ribbon climbed into her lap.

“Millie might know of a vet that can do it, her family has a farm down in Wrath. Or Blitz might still know someone from his circus days, but I doubt it. Oh! I bet Angel knows someone, he probably has a vet for…Nuggs… What the fuck..?” Ellis leaned forward and squinted as he noticed something in the distance. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Velvette. “Ummm… Could you please open this…and call Angel…”

“You’re want to call him now about that? It’s 9:30, knowing him he’s probably just now having dinner or is drunk or high right now.”

“No…I’m want to call him about that…” 

 

Velvette looked in the direction that Ellis then began pointing in. In between the buildings that formed the city’s skyline, she could see what looked like a small golden portal in the sky.

“What the fuck..? The extermination isn’t for another month, why is there a…”

She trailed off as she saw what looked like two small figures come through the portal, but they weren’t flying. They were falling . Velvette then scrambled to call Angel like Ellis had asked.

 

Riiing…

 

Riiing…

 

Riiing…

 

Riii-

 

“Hey Sh-”

“Angel, are you home?”

“Whoa, relax. Nah, I’m out. Almost home though. Why?”

“Because there’s a portal in the sky and two people falling from it. It looks like they’re gonna land near the hotel.”

“People falling from a portal? Why would I care about- OH SHIT! Charlie and Vags! Husk, step on it! I gotta go, thanks Ellis.” 

 

“Call ended.”

Notes:

Fun Facts with Ellis, Odette Carmine Edition: “The Colt 1911 is a semi-automatic pistol that is most often chambered for .45 ACP. It was originally designed in 1911 and production began that same year. It continues to see use across the world to this day.”

I got the idea for Stolas’ jacket and him and Ellis getting coffee from a comic called “I Was Wrong”by Fuzzandfeathers which was reposted to Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/HelluvaBoss/s/3HC9FGoIf2

We are approaching the end of this fic. I estimate that there will be 3 more chapters. I will share more information regarding the planned sequel which I have previously mentioned once we have reached the end.

Chapter 27: Chapter 21: The Calm Before the Storm

Summary:

After a certain princess's trip to Heaven, there's work to be done...

Start of chapter takes place during "Hello Rosie!".

Notes:

I have been wanting to provide a visual example of what Ellis looks like since the start of this fic. Unfortunately, I do not have Charlie or Blitz’s artistic talents and I don’t really have the money for a commission. So instead, I decided to try and make him in GTA Online. It’s far from an exact recreation of what I envision, but I think it’s good enough considering the limitations of the game. I realize that this is completely unnecessary as I’m guessing you all have just been picturing what he looks like in your minds especially since I have a description of him on the character bio page, but I wanted to do it anyway. If you’re interested in seeing the images, you can see them on my Reddit page, which has the same username as I do here, or just copy and paste this link: https://www.reddit.com/u/Random_Canadian_04/s/C00z6Fv80H

If any of you happen to want to draw Ellis or anything else from the fic, feel free to do it, I would be honoured. I obviously don’t expect anyone to do anything so please don’t feel any pressure to do so. If any of you do decide to do something, use the bio page for reference or ask me any questions you may have either on Reddit or in the comments here and share the finished work with me on Reddit.

 

I mention the announcement for season 2 of Hazbin in the post-chapter comments.

 

Have a good day! :)

June 1st, 2023, 12:53p.m., Ellis’ Factory…

 

“Start spreading the news”

 

“I’m leaving today”

 

“I want to be a part of it”

 

“New York, New-”

 

“Hey Angel.”, Ellis greeted after swallowing a bite of his lunch as he answered the phone. “What’s up? What happened with the people falling out of the portal?”

“Hey Short Stuff. Funny that you ask that…”, said Angel in a tone that immediately gave away that he was at least a little bit nervous.

“Why? Has something bad happened?”

“You could say that. Those two you saw, that was Charlie and Vaggie.”

“Hold on, isn’t Charlie-”

“The princess? Yeah, and Vags is her girlfriend. Or was. I don’t think they even fuckin’ know at this point. But, turns out, she used to be a damn Exorcist!”

“I must have misheard you because I could’ve sworn you just said-”

“No, you heard right! And she kept it a secret from everyone including Char and the only reason we know now is because the two of them were up in Heaven and the little dick in charge of the Exterminations revealed it before throwing ‘em through that fuckin’ portal!”

 

Ellis remained silent as he was stunned by what he was hearing.

“E, you still there? Hello! Earth to Ellis.”

“I’m here, I just… What the fuck?!”

“Exactly. And, as the cherry on top of this shit sundae, those winged motherfucka’s are coming here to the hotel to kill us first.”

“Fuck… What are you guys going to do?”

“I got no fuckin’ clue! Charlie and Alastor just left to go who knows where and Vaggie went to go see Carmilla Carmine ‘cause apparently she knows how to kill Exorcists.”

“So Vel was right… She did have something to do with the dead one…”

“Hold up! You knew too?! Not just Al and the egg?!”

“Oh, yeah. Well, not for certain. I went with Vel to the overlord meeting in January and she figured out that something was up immediately.”

“Fuck me…” 

 

Suddenly, Ellis could hear the sound of a power tool through the phone before Angel began to speak again.

“I gotta go Ellis, looks like Pent has got some sorta idea.”

“Alright, keep me updated and let me know if you need anything.”

“I will. Thanks.”

 

---

 

11:06p.m., E & V’s Bedroom…

 

Buzzz…

 

Buzzz…

 

Ellis slowly opened his eyes as he heard the sound of his phone buzzing on the bedside table. He slowly reached over and grabbed it.

“What could Carmilla want at this time of night?” , he thought as he saw who was calling.

He quietly got out of bed, trying to not disturb Velvette who was sleeping peacefully next to him. He did however accidentally wake Ribbon, who was sleeping between them, who then got up and followed Ellis out of the room. 

 

Ellis stepped into the hall, closing the bedroom door behind him. Ribbon walked towards the living room, presumably to sleep on either the couch or her bed.

“Good evening, Ms. Carmine.”, he said as he answered the phone, his voice tired.

“Ellis, my apologies for the late call. I need to meet with you, are you available tomorrow morning at nine?”

“I can be. May I ask what we are meeting about?”

“I would prefer to not discuss it over the phone. Though, I will say that it has the potential to be very profitable for you.”

“Alright…” Ellis yawned. “…I’ll be there.”

“Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your night.”

“You as well.”

 

“Call ended.”

 

Ellis sighed before quietly returning to the bedroom, leaving the door slightly ajar in case Ribbon decided to return to the bed.

As he walked back to the bed, he could see that Velvette was awake. “Sorry for waking you.”, he said quietly.

“Who was that?”, asked Velvette as Ellis rejoined her under the covers.

“Carmine. Wants to meet with me in the morning.”

“About?”

“She wouldn’t say. Just said it would be profitable. I have a feeling it had to do with what Angel told me earlier.”

Velvette shifted towards him and they both wrapped an arm around each other. “Well, you better get some rest then.”

The two then shared a brief soft kiss before falling back asleep.

 

---

 

June 2nd, 8:55a.m., Carmine Compound…

 

Ellis walked up to a keypad and input a code to unlock the door before holding it open for Ribbon to enter with him. He and Ribbon then made their way to Carmilla’s office and Ellis knocked on the door.

“Come in!”

Ellis looked down at Ribbon. “Stay.” He then opened the door and stepped in, leaving Ribbon in the meeting room. “Good morning, Ma’am.”

“Ellis. I hope you are well.”, said Carmilla from where she sat at her desk, a rare smile on her face, though not a very big one.

“As well as I can be. The cat had me up extra early this morning.”, he said as he sat down across from her.

“Yes, pets have a habit of doing that, don’t they? I had many instances of the same experience when we had a cat of our own, oh…thirty something years ago now. Though, I imagine your hands may be a bit more full given the nature of yours.”

“You could say that again. How are you? You seem a bit more cheerful today.”

“I am quite well. And I am in a bit more of a pleasant mood than normal for the same reason I wished to speak with you today.”

 

Carmilla pressed a button on a console on her desk and all the electronics in the room turned off, including the lights.

“Could you please turn off any devices on you? Vox will inevitably learn what we are going to discuss, but the longer he goes without knowing, the longer I have the satisfaction of knowing something he does not.”, she said with a slight smirk.

Ellis chuckled before turning off his phone.

“Thank you.” 

 

Carmilla’s expression then dropped slightly.

“This is something that I had wished to not ever need to discuss, but things have changed. You of course remember what transpired at the meeting, yes?”

“So this does have to do with what Angel mentioned.” Carmilla’s eyebrows raised in curiosity. “A friend of mine lives at the Princess’s hotel. He mentioned yesterday that her girlfriend was paying you a visit.”

“Ah…I see… Well, let’s not waste any time then. The residents of the hotel plan to make a stand against the Exorcists.”

“...So Vel was right..."

Carmilla sighed. “During the last Extermination, I was forced to defend against a group of exorcists to ensure my family’s safety… In doing so, I took the life of one of them. The one whose head you and Velvette found. That also meant that I discovered how a demon can kill them. That is why Vaggie came here.”

“I see. So how do I fit into this?”

“An Exorcist’s weakness is the same thing which they themselves provide us with each time they leave Hell and forms the bulk of my business’s current income. Angelic weapons.”

“…Now that I know that, it seems painfully obvious that that would be what could have even the slightest effect on them. It’s also incredibly stupid of them to leave them here then.”

“Overconfidence and a feeling of invulnerability has a habit of leading to poor decisions. Now, because angelic weapons are my business, I am supplying the Princess and her forces with the necessary arms to defend themselves. I already knew that angelic bladed weapons are effective against the Exorcists and since the Overlord meeting, Odette conducted some tests using the angel’s head which Velvette so graciously left on my table.”

“Sorry again about that.”

 

“Anyways, thanks to Odette’s tests, we are sure that firearms are effective as well. That’s where you come in. We need to provide as many as possible while also not completely depleting our resources. With how many angelic weapons we abandoned in what is now your facility after my husband’s death, a higher output is feasible and therefore higher profits.”

“So you want me to focus on them?”

“Yes. Vaggie agreed to pay a premium for the arms they need, though the exact price is yet to be agreed on. I wanted to meet with you first to ensure we can meet the required output. I estimate that you can expect a minimum of three times the usual payment for any contributions. I do require an answer from you now however.”

Ellis didn’t hesitate for a single second. “How could I say no to that? I’ll make a call and get some help to boost production. I’ll need more supplies as well.”

“I’ll send a truck with a larger shipment tomorrow. One of us will contact you once talks with the royals are done.”

 

Ellis stepped out of Carmilla’s office a few minutes later.

“Come on, Ribbon. Let’s…” Ellis trailed off as he looked down at where his furry companion had previously been and saw that she was no longer there. “Where did you run off to this…” He then saw her sitting on top of the far end of the meeting table, being petted by an overenthusiastic blonde haired woman with a white haired woman standing next to her.

Ellis brought his fingers to his lips and whistled loudly to get Ribbon’s attention. “Let’s go, Ribbon! C’mon you silly cat, we have things to do.”

Ribbon quickly jumped off the table and ran to follow Ellis who was already walking towards the exit.

The blonde woman yelled out in a cheerful tone, “She’s very cute and sweet, Mister!”

Ellis called back over his shoulder, not realizing that the woman who had just been lavishing attention on his cat was the princess of Hell herself. “Don’t let her fool you! She’s trouble when she wants to be!”

The woman giggled.

 

---

 

4:27p.m., Ellis’ Factory Office…

 

“Alright, everyone gather around please. Thank you.”, said Ellis as he leaned against the old desk. In front of him stood the four I.M.P interns while Blitz and Loona stood at his sides and Ribbon slept on the old chair, partially hanging off. “First of all, I’d like to thank you all for coming. I know this was very last minute and it was a long drive. Blitz, I assume you told them what I told you.”

“Yeah, not that you told me much other than we would be making some money.”

“Okay then, I’ll try to make this short. You are here because we have an opportunity to make a significant amount of money, but we have a limited amount of time to do so and I cannot do it alone. We are working alongside the Carmines to supply the Princess and her forces with arms to fight against the Exorcists in the upcoming extermination. This means that we need to get as many angelic weapons as possible back in working condition. At the same time, the preparation and sale of standard arms also needs to continue. For your contributions towards this effort, you will be paid well. On top of that, I will provide you with temporary living quarters within this building and all food, drink and other necessities will be provided to you at no cost. Any questions?”

 

After a moment, the second tallest intern, who looked a lot like Blitz, raised a hand.

Ellis motioned towards them. “Yes, uh… Sorry, I’m bad with names.”

“It’s Twig.”

“Twig, yes, what’s your question?”

“What exactly do you want us to do?”

“Oh, yes, that is an important thing to mention. That is going to partly depend on what experience each of you have. Have any of you worked with weapons before aside from the things that Blitz has you do?”

The second shortest one raised a hand.

“Yes, mister…”

“Adorable. And I’m non-binary so…”

“Oh, shit, sorry. My bad, I forgot to ask.”

The Imp smiled. “No worries. Um, I do have some experience. When I was little I used to help out at a relative's gun store.”

“Great. And you did what there?”

“Whatever they told me including maintenance and restoration.”

“Perfect. In that case, I want you to work on the standard weapons. Teach two of the others what they need to know and have each person dedicated to a couple of tasks each. Whichever one of you isn’t working with the standards will be helping me personally. Everything is mixed together in piles so I need one of you to go through and separate the angelics while I work to restore them. Any other questions?”

 

The shortest one raised a hand. “You said there will be living quarters within this building but I didn’t really see much when I took a quick look around.”

“Blitz and I are going to handle that as soon as we’re done here. I’ve already set up a makeshift kitchen area with a fridge, a stove and a microwave, and there’s a porta-potty on the way, it should be here within the hour. You four can get started here while we’re gone. Anything else?”

Nobody spoke or raised a hand.

“Great. In that case, you four get started and such. There’s all the safety equipment you could possibly need, all the tools are sorted so it should be easy for you to find whatever you need and I got as many of the machines working as I could. Please remember to tie up your hair, remove any jewelry and accessories, roll up your sleeves and keep your tails out of harm's way, I don’t want anyone to accidentally become an amputee or worse. Also, text Blitz a list of necessities and what kinds of food that you want so we can pick up everything.”

 

Almost everyone then began to leave the room.

“I’ll meet you outside in a minute, Blitz.”, said Ellis.

“Alright. Loony, are you coming too or are you gonna stay here with those four?”

“I’ll stay, someone needs to be here to supervise them.”

“That’s my girl, always thinking.”

As Blitz walked out of the office, Ellis turned to Loona. “Those two friends of yours weren’t interested in coming?”

“They were, but Russ is hoping things will improve at his current job, despite all the bullshit there, and Gigi has some family stuff going on.”

“Ah, I see. Let them know that if things change they can still come, we can use all the help we can get.”

“Alright, I will. Since you’re going to have Blitz away from here, I’m going to try to work on my bike if that’s alright.”

“I figured you would want to do that so I already moved a bunch of tools and shit closer to it. It’s behind the crates in the back corner.”

“Great, thanks.”

“You’re welcome. I’m gonna leave Ribbon in here so just make sure that the door stays closed, please. I don’t want her getting caught in a lathe or something.”

 

---

 

9:04p.m., Ellis’ Factory…

 

“Just a touch higher…right there! Hold it…”

 

Whirr, whirr.

 

Ellis put down his impact driver and Blitz let go of the makeshift door that they just installed. The two then stepped back and looked at their handiwork. In front of them stood a structure within the factory that had four small separate bedrooms, enough for the interns. It certainly wasn’t the prettiest thing that Ellis had ever built, but it was still better than most apartments in Imp City.

Ellis wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Not bad for less than four hours of work.”

Blitz chugged an entire bottle of water at once before letting out an exhausted sigh. “Christ… Remind me to never help you with building shit again. Holy fuck, you move fast…”

Ellis laughed, tiredly. “I only go that fast when necessary.”

“With my luck that would end up being every time.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Come on, let’s let them know we’re done.”

 

Blitz and Ellis walked over to where the interns were and got their attention.

“Alright, your rooms are done. They’re not the best but they have four walls and a door. If we need to make improvements we can do it tomorrow so please let me know if there are any problems. For now though, there are cots and bags of bedding for each of you and you already know where the fridge and stove are so help yourself to whatever you want, when you want. Get some rest and we’ll get back to it tomorrow morning.”

Loona then appeared next to them. Blitz looked at her. “Oh there you are Loony, I was wondering where you were. You still just want to just sleep in the office here? Why don’t you come to Ellis and Vel’s place instead?”

“Ugh, I’ll be fine here.”

“Alright…if you’re sure…”

“Speaking of the office,", said Ellis, "I need to get Ribbon.”

 

Ellis walked to his office and opened the door.

“Come on Rib, let’s go home. Ribbon..?” Ellis stepped into the room and began to look for his pet. When he couldn’t find her, he stepped back out of the room, a concerned look on his face. “Did someone let Ribbon out of the-”

“Mrrrow!”

Ellis looked up to where the sudden sound had come from and saw Ribbon standing on one of the ceiling joists. “How the fuck did you get up there?! Get down!”

Ellis, Blitz and Loona watched as Ribbon began to walk along the beam before jumping onto a shelving unit along the exterior wall of the office. She then crawled through a hole in the wall that Ellis hadn’t noticed before.

“Goddammit cat, you can’t be doing that.”

Ribbon walked over and sat at Ellis’ feet.

“Look at you, you’re all covered in dust and cobwebs. Now I need to patch that hole too, but that will have to be a later issue.”

 

---

 

10:16p.m., V & E’s Apartment…

 

“Holy fuckin’ shit! This place is nice.”, said Blitz as he and Ellis stepped inside and Ribbon ran in.

“I just renovated it a couple months ago.”

“What did it look like before that?”, he asked as he took off his boots.

“Before or after it got destroyed?”

Blitz raised an eyebrow. “The fuck did you do?”

“Nothing. Val’s stupid robot tore through the whole tower.”

“Why the fu-” 

 

“There you are.” Ellis and Blitz turned to look at Velvette who had just approached with Ribbon following close by. “Care to tell me why my baby is covered in dirt?”, she asked, motioning to Ribbon.

Ellis sighed. “You don’t want to know.”

“Hey V.”

“Hi Blitz. It’s just the two of you? I thought Loona had come down with you too. I have a biker jacket for her that will be perfect for when she’s-” Velvette suddenly noticed Ellis, who was standing behind Blitz, frantically signaling for her to stop. “When she’s out with friends. Yeah, when she’s out with her friends.”

Ellis let out a silent breath that he had been holding and mouthed the words "Thank you".

“That’s great! For a second I thought you were going to say it’s for when she’s riding a motorcycle. As if that’s ever gonna happen.”, said Blitz as he began to walk further into the apartment as the others followed. 

 

Ellis and Blitz quickly reheated and ate what was left from what Velvette had prepared for dinner hours prior and the three then relaxed on the couch. A few minutes later, Ribbon jumped onto the couch with them while carrying her purple plushie.

“Hey, Millie has one of those. I think Mox won it for her or something.”

Velvette took a sip of a drink. “How long are you and Loona gonna be in town?”

“As long as it takes to get the shit done with Carmine I guess. That or until Millie goes into labour. Whichever comes first.”

“How far along is she? I imagine she’s not far from the end now.”

“Almost seven months.”

“Oh shit! She’s really close then. Isn’t the average for Imps somewhere between seven and eight?”

“Somewhere in there, yeah. I’m hoping that whatever I make from this shit will cover the rest of the money I owe one of my friends and that I’ll still have more than enough to buy some stuff for M and M and the baby.”

 

---

 

June 3rd, 10:12a.m., Ellis’ Factory Yard…

 

Ellis sat in the seat of his forklift, frustrated, as Blitz attempted to guide him as he unloaded the Carmine delivery truck. He complied as Blitz signaled to tilt the forks back.

“Whoa, whoa! What are you doing?! Up! Not tilt! Up!”, yelled Blitz.

"You just signaled- Oh fuck this,” Ellis looked over his shoulder and through the open bay door at the interns who were working inside the building. “Do any of you know how to properly act as a spotter?”

The four shrugged.

“I can give it a try!”, yelled Loona from a different part of the building.

“Can you please come replace Blitz?!”

“Hey, I’m not that bad.”, Blitz argued.

“No offence, but you kinda are.”

Before Blitz could say anything else, Loona approached while wiping grease from her hands with a rag.

 

“Thank you, Loona.”, said Ellis, relief clear in his voice.

“Hey Loony. How’d you get so dirty? Come to think of it, I haven’t seen you helping the others.”

“Oh, I uh, I’m doing some cleaning in the back for Ellis.”

“Oh, that’s nice. Well, I’ll leave you two to handle this since I apparently can’t.”, said Blitz as he turned to walk away, but there was no actual hurt in his words.

 

With Loona’s help, Ellis was able to quickly unload the truck and get the supplies into the factory without damaging anything.

He turned to her after parking and getting off of the forklift. “Thanks for the help. How’d you know how to spot like that anyway?”

“Russ needed an extra hand at his job one day. We weren’t busy so I went to help and ended up learning there.”

“Good for y-“

“Loona!!! ” Ellis and Loona looked towards the back of the building. “You better have a good explanation, young lady!”

They then looked at each other. “Shit.”

 

Blitz angrily stomped over and Ellis slowly backed away.

“Loona, would you please tell me why in the seven Rings there is a motorcycle?! We talked about this!”

“Damn it Blitz, why can’t you just let me have this without being on my ass!? It’s just a bike! It’s not like you’ve never fucking had one! Why won’t you just let me!?”

“Because they’re dangerous! I don’t want you getting hurt!”

“For fuck’s sake, just-“ Loona turned and kicked a pile of garbage. “ARRGHH!” She then stormed off in the direction of her motorcycle.

“Hey! You come back here!”

“Blitz.”, said Ellis trying to get his attention.

“Loona! Come here and listen-”

“Blitz!”

Blitz spun around. “What?!”  

“A word. Please.”

 

Blitz reluctantly followed Ellis to the office, grumbling as he walked. As they stepped into the office, Blitz started talking, frustration clear in his voice, while Ellis closed the door. The noise woke Ribbon who was sleeping on top of the desk, next to Ellis’ pistol, revolver and hostlers which he always removes before working around machines to avoid them getting caught.

“Why can’t she just listen?!”

Ellis turned and slowly stepped towards him.

“How did she even get a bike without me finding out?! And how the FUCK did she get it all the way out here when she-” Blitz’s eyes widened and he looked at Ellis. “You. ”

“Me.”

Blitz pulled out his pistol and aimed at Ellis’ head. “You son of a-”

 

“Grroooww ”

 

Blitz turned his head and saw Ribbon, now on the ground behind him, ready to pounce.

 

Click, click.

 

Blitz turned his head to look at where Ellis was now standing next to the desk, pistol aimed at Blitz’s midsection.

“Ribbon, easy. Go lay down.”

Ribbon slowly backed away from Blitz and went into a nearby wooden crate that Ellis had cut and put a bed in for her, keeping her eyes on the Imp.

“Can we talk like adults, please?”

“Oh fuck off! You got involved in a family matter.”

“I helped a friend.”

“You undermined my authority as a parent!”

“You have no authority over her as a parent. She’s an adult, only a couple years younger than me.”

“She’s still my daughter! I want her to be safe!”

“You’re a fuckin’ mercenary! You bring her on jobs to the Living World, where you’ve told me you were previously captured and probably would’ve died if she, Millie and Stolas hadn't saved yours and Moxxie’s asses! So enough of that bullshit, what’s the real reason?”

 

Blitz and Ellis stood for a few tense moments, still aiming at each other, until Blitz suddenly lowered his gun.

“Fuck! ” Blitz then turned around, as if to hide his face from Ellis, and brought a hand up to his eyes.

Ellis slowly lowered his own gun before gently tugging Blitz’s out of his hand.

 

Ellis put both weapons down on the desk, next to the magazine which he had left out of his gun, before reaching out and placing a hand on Blitz’s shoulder. Blitz pushed it away immediately.

“Fuck off. You…you wouldn’t understand…”

“Try me.”

 

Blitz wiped a tear from his cheek and turned to look at Ellis over his shoulder. “Do you know what it’s like to lose everything?”

“More than most.”

“Yeah right…”

Ellis sighed. “I’m going to say this as quickly as possible. My dad beat my mom until she killed herself, then he beat me. When I was eleven I killed him for raping my sister and she killed herself not long after. Now talk.”

Blitz gave him a partial look of disbelief and remained silent for a moment. “…You’re right, it’s not just about her safety… I...I’m scared…scared that she’ll run off and leave me behind…”

“I get that, but… Trying to force her to stay, that’s just going to push her away and if and when she does leave, then she might not come back. Besides, don't you think that if she really wanted to run off she would just steal the van or some poor bastard’s car?”

“…Yeah…yeah I guess you’re right…”

“And, she’s been wanting a bike for a while, but out of respect for you, she didn’t try to get one until I offered the space to store and work on it.”

 

Blitz smiled slightly. “Yeah, she did… Fuck… I’m an idiot.”

“No. Can’t blame yourself for being afraid, I’m sure you’ve got a good reason. Think of it this way, you can turn this into a positive.”

“How do you expect me to do that?”

“Well, I’m guessing, especially after what Loona said, that you’ve ridden a motorcycle at least once in your life.”

Blitz turned to fully face Ellis and wiped the last tear from his eyes. “Yeah, I rode one for a bit for an act in the circus.”

“Ever work on one?”

“Didn’t have much choice.”

“So… Why don’t you offer to help her? It’ll hopefully get you to warm up a bit to the idea of her having it and it’ll give you two some daddy-daughter time.”

Blitz practically lit up at the suggestion. “Yeah! You’re right!” The Imp then ran to the door, threw it open, causing it to slam against the wall, and ran towards the back of the factory. “Loony, Honey, can I talk to you please?!”

 

Ellis smiled as he watched Blitz. “Hopefully that’s the last of the bullshit today.”

 

Crreeaakk…

 

Ellis slowly turned his head and sighed as the door slowly began to fall due to the old wooden frame breaking from the force of Blitz opening it.

 

Slam!

 

“Fuck.”

 

Ribbon sauntered over a moment later and brushed against Ellis’ leg.

“Good girl.” Ellis bent down, picked the cat up and held her in his arms. “God, you’re getting big fast, eh? You’re already almost twice as big as when I found you.”

Ribbon purred lightly.

“Come on, let’s go see if they’ve sorted their shit out and then we can get back to work.”

 

Ellis, still carrying Ribbon, walked to the back corner of the factory where he found Blitz and Loona hugging.

“I’m sorry, Loona. I promise I’ll be better.”

“It’s alright, Dad.”

Ellis cleared his throat and the two pulled back from their hug to look at him. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but I assume things are better now.”

Both Blitz and Loona smiled before Loona spoke. “Yeah, he’s even gonna help me.”

“That’s great. But, if I may ask that we put that on hold until after we’re done with what I’m paying you guys to help me with.”

Loona chuckled. “Yeah, sure. Come on, Dad. Bet I can get to the machines before you!”

“Oh, you’re on, Missy!”

 

---

 

June 9th, 7:13p.m., Ellis’ Factory Yard…

 

“Are you sure you want to go home now? You guys won’t get there until almost midnight. It wouldn’t be any trouble if you stayed until morning.”, said Ellis as he and Blitz walked out of the factory and towards where the truck and van were parked.

“Yeah, I’m sure. With all that fucking work done, it’ll be nice to go home and sleep in my own bed.”

“Fair enough.”

 

Blitz climbed into the van where Loona and the interns were already waiting while Ellis got into the truck. Ellis then pulled alongside the driver’s side of the van and rolled the window down. He could see that the interns were somewhat squished in the back of the van with the load of weapons for the next sale in one of the lower Rings.

“Are you four going to be comfortable back there?”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine, Mr. Owens. We can move things around a bit if we need to.”, replied Adorable.

“Alright, if you’re sure. Thank you guys again for coming all the way out here, this wouldn’t have been possible without you. I’ll send your last payment as soon as I get it from Carmine.”

“Thank you, Sir.”, said Twig while the others nodded.

 

“Blitz, you’re sure that you only loaded standards, right?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll have Mox double check before the sale and bring any back next week if there are some.”

“Alright.” Ellis then laughed as he had a thought. “You know, with how many standards that got fixed up, I won't even need to come back here until you come for the pick up. Hell, I’m gonna run out of guns to fix soon. Anyways, drive safe.”

“Bye, E. Thanks for your help with dad and the bike.”

“No problem, Loona. I’ll see you guys later.”

“Scratch Ribbon between her ears for me!”, yelled Blitz as the van began to roll forwards.

 

---

 

 

---

 

(“When I go you know you can’t follow me into the darkness”)

 

Ellis and Blitz then drove out of the yard, heading in different directions.

 

Nobody in either vehicle noticed the pair of yellow eyes watching from a nearby rooftop.

 

“I’ll be seeing you boys real soon…”

 

(“Now I’m haunted, haunted, haunted, haunted by the ride”)

Notes:

I decided to name the one intern “Adorable” because they are listed in the credits of “Mastermind” as “Adorable Intern” and I didn’t feel like coming up with something else. Twig was named because there was a twig on the ground next to me when I was writing it.

Regarding season 2 of Hazbin: With the announcement that it is premiering October 29th, my plans are slightly affected. I was hoping that season 2 wouldn’t be released until January at the earliest. This is because my plan has been to take a break from this story for a bit to work on other fics I have planned, before working on the sequel and posting the first chapter just before the premiere. With the announcement, I will be lucky if I have this done before the release day. So instead, I have no real estimate of when I will start the sequel and I urge anyone who is interested in reading it to follow my user so you know when it is posted. Also, as some of you may have noticed, I have already added this fic to a series in preparation for the sequel.

Edit: I forgot to mention, based off of what little I know about the upcoming season, the sequel will not be following the plot of it at all.

As for the other fics that I have planned (If you have no interest in non-Hazbin stuff, feel free to skip this), I have been planning a few different ideas. These ideas include a Gravity Falls x Arcane multi-chapter crossover, a possible unrelated Gravity Falls one-shot inspired by a song and a separate multi-chapter, a Star Wars: The Clone Wars x Shoresy multi-chapter crossover, a possible Star Wars one-shot and finally, either 2 connected DC Comics (specifically based around Batman related characters) single/short multi-chapters or one somewhat longer multi-chapter or series combining them. If any of you have any interest in these, then follow my user like previously mentioned, though I cannot promise that I will get to all of them or when. However, the Arcane x Gravity Falls and the Star Wars x Shoresy will definitely be happening at some point.

Chapter 28: Not a chapter: Timeline

Summary:

A timeline of the events before and during the shows and the fic.

Notes:

Spoiler warning for those of you who have not yet watched "MIssion: Orphan Time".

For those of you who read Chapter 19 prior to this being posted, please note that I went back and tweaked the conversation between Ellis and Loona about family to reflect the fact that we learnt today (June 28th, 2025), in "Mission: Orphan Time", that Loona was canonically orphaned and not just abandoned/surrendered/etc like the chapter originally alluded to.

 

Have a good day! :)

This will be updated as the fic continues. 

 

Events and dates marked with (C) are Canon to the shows and the fic, events marked with (F) are canon to just the fic. Some show canon events do not have canon dates, the ones that I have created dates for are marked accordingly. Events that happened in real life which are relevant are marked with (R).

 

This is made using the Fandom Wiki for reference as well as other canon sources and my personal timeline for things. Some information is directly copied from the Wiki. Some (C) information may change once season 2 of Hazbin is released as some is from before the show aired and only the pilot was released. Information will only be added for characters once they have been mentioned/appeared in the fic, except when referring to specific events that take place during episodes of the shows.

If there is something that I have forgotten to add or that you want me to add, or if you notice a mistake, please let me know. Of course, feel free to ask any questions you may have as well.

SPOILER WARNING FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT UP TO DATE WITH THE STORY!

• Thousands of years ago: Hell is created, Lucifer and Lilith are cast into Hell. (C) 

 

• Multiple centuries ago (F): Zestial dies, goes to Hell and becomes an Overlord. (C)  [He currently does not have an exact (C) age.]

 

1800s:

 

• 1840s: Sir Pentious is born on an unknown date. (C) 

 

• 1880s: Tom Trench is born on an unspecified date. (C) 

 

• 1888: Sir Pentious dies in London and goes to Hell. (C) 

1900s:

 

• 1900s: Alastor and Angel Dust are born on unspecified dates. Angel’s birthday is April 1st. (C) 

 

• 1910s: Tom Trench dies sometime around WW1 and goes to Hell (C).

 

• 1933: Alastor dies and goes to Hell on an unspecified date (C).

 

• 1930s: Alastor becomes an Overlord on an unspecified date (C).

 

• July, 1936: The Spanish Civil War begins. (R)  The Carmines die and go to Hell (F/C).

 

• 1940s: Katie Killjoy is born on an unspecified date (C). 

 

• 1947: Angel Dust dies of a drug overdose and goes to Hell on an unspecified date (C). 

 

• 1950s: Vox dies on an unspecified date and goes to Hell (C).

 

• 1970s: Valentino dies on an unspecified date and goes to Hell (C). He dies because of an overdose (F).

 

• December 31st, 1975: Alexandre Carmine dies permanently in Hell during the annual Extermination (F). The angelic rifle that is eventually stolen by Striker is locked away and most of the evidence of its existence is erased (F).

 

• 1987 (F): Stolas hatches on an unspecified date (C).

 

• April 15th, 1987 (F): Velvette is born (C).

 

• 1990s: Ava Owens is born on an unspecified date prior to 1998 (F).

 

• 1990s (F): Moxxie is born (Hatches?) on an unspecified date (C).

 

• 1990 (F): Blitz is born (Hatches?) on an unspecified date (C). 

 

• 1992: Katie Killjoy dies and goes to Hell on an unspecified date (C).

 

• 1993 (F): Verosika is born (Hatches?) on an unspecified date (C).

 

• 1995 (F): Millie is born (Hatches?) on an unspecified date (C).

 

• 1997 (F): The events of the childhood flashback scenes in HB S2 Ep1 “The Circus” take place on an unspecified date (C).

 

• March 19th, 1998: Ellis is born (F).

 

• 1999 (F): Wally is born (Hatches?) on an unspecified date (C).

 

2000s:

 

• 2000 (F): Loona is born on an unspecified date (C). [She is canonically 22 years old according to the wiki, I interpret that as her being 22 during Season 1]

 

• 2001: The War in Afghanistan begins (R). Ava and Ellis’ father is sent sometime after, eventually returns (F).

 

• 2005 (F): Octavia hatches on an unspecified date (C).

 

• Mid - Late 2000s: Ava and Ellis’ mother commits suicide, the siblings find her body. Ellis begins to be physically abused (F).

 

• 2005 - 2006 (F): Blitz and Fizzarolli attend Mammon’s event seen at the beginning of “Mammon’s Magnificent Musical Mid-Season Special” (C).

 

• 2007 (F): Blitz accidentally causes the fire that burns down his family’s circus as seen in S2, Ep 6 (C).

 

• Early 2010: Ellis kills his father for raping Ava. The siblings are then split up. Ellis is sent to the first of multiple foster homes. Ava eventually commits suicide on an unspecified date. Ellis begins having nightmares and not sleeping well every night (F).

 

• 2015: Velvette dies and goes to Hell on an unspecified date. Eventually meets and begins dating “X” (F).

 

• October 14th, 2015: Game 5 of the 2015 MLB American League Division Series (R).

 

• 2016 (F): Alastor disappears (C).

            

• 2016 (F): Lilith leaves Lucifer and stops being in contact with Charlie on an unspecified date(s) (C).

 

• March 19th, 2016: Ellis finds out about Ava’s death on the day of his 18th birthday (F).

 

• Mid - Late 2016: Ellis works at a farm for an unspecified amount of time, eventually obtains a rifle and permission to hunt on the property (F).

 

• July 17th, 2016: Velvette meets Verosika and Blitz (F).

 

• Mid 2017: Velvette joins the Vees, leaving X. Not long after, she struggles to make adequate financial contributions to the group and starts producing the Love Potions after Valentino’s suggestion (C).

 

• 2018 (F): Blitz finds Loona at an adoption agency (Orphanage? Pound?) and adopts her not long before she turns 18 on an unspecified date (C).

 

• 2018 (F): Moxxie meets Blitz while in prison as seen in “Exes and Oohs”. I.M.P is founded some time after (C).

 

• 2019 (F): Blitz hires Millie after she steals a hit from I.M.P on an unspecified date (C).

 

• Early 2020 (F): Charlie meets Vaggie sometime after the yearly extermination (C).  

 

• March 11th, 2020: The World Health Organization declares COVID-19 to be a pandemic (R). As a result of the pandemic, Ellis loses his job at a renovation company that he had had for an unspecified amount of time, he then struggles to find stable employment throughout the duration of the pandemic (F).

 

• 2020 (F): Stolas and Blitz reunite and Blitz takes possession of the grimoire as seen in “The Circus” on an unspecified date (C).

 

• 2020 (F) Blitz leases and opens I.M.P’s office in Imp City on an unspecified date and the company begins operating in the Living World (C). Vox hires I.M.P to kill multiple people, including Ian, in the Living World so they can work for him to improve his technology on an unspecified date after I.M.P begins operating in the Living World (F).

 

• Late 2020 (F): The events of the Helluva Boss Pilot take place on unspecified dates (Pilot is not completely canon).

 

• Early 2021 (F): Millie and Moxxie get married exactly one year before “Ozzie’s” (C). 

 

• Early 2021 (F): The events of “Murder Family” (except for Mayberry’s flashback) take place on an unspecified date (C).

 

• Early 2021 (F): The events of “Loo Loo Land” (except for the Stolas and Octavia flashback) take place on an unspecified date (C).

 

• March 2021 (F): Verosika is hired to lead a team of Succubi during spring break. The events of “Spring Broken” take place on an unspecified date (C).

 

• August, 2021: Striker steals the angelic rifle from the Carmines on an unspecified date (F).

 

• September 20th, 2021 (F): The Harvest Moon Festival and Pain Games take place (C).

 

• December 2021 (F): The events of “C.H.E.R.U.B” take place on an unspecified date (C). [I know that this episode came out before “The Harvest Moon Festival”, but in T.H.M.F, Stolas opens a portal and shows the real Harvest Moon which in 2021 was on September 20th and this episode canonically takes place in December according the wiki and does show a mall santa.]

 

• 2022 (F): The events of “Hell’s Belles” take place on an unspecified date.

 

• January 22, 2022: The “Freedom Convoy” begins to form, eventually reaching and occupying the city of Ottawa, disrupting the city and its inhabitants (R). Ellis suffers the effects that the protest had on employment opportunities in the city of Ottawa (F).

 

• Early 2022 (F): The events of “Truth Seekers” take place on an unspecified date (C).

 

• Early 2022 (F): The events of “Ozzie’s”, “Queen Bee” and the end of “The Circus” take place on an unspecified date (C).

 

• Early 2022 (F): The events of “Seeing Stars” take place (except for flashbacks) on an unspecified date (C).

 

• Early - Mid 2022 (F): The events of “Exes and Oohs” take place on an unspecified date (C). 

 

• Mid 2022: Ellis begins working at a machine shop on an unspecified date (F).

 

• Mid 2022 (F): The events of “Western Energy” take place approximately 2 months after “Seeing Stars” (C).

 

• June 2022 (F): The events of “Oops” take place one week after Stolas is hospitalized in “Western Energy” (C). [I have moved this to before “Unhappy Campers” because it makes more sense to me. Personally, I think Blitz would decide to try to reconnect with Barbie after reconnecting with Fizz because it would give him some hope that she might also forgive him.]

 

• June 17th, 2022 (F): The events of “Unhappy Campers” end after taking place over the course of approximately 1 week (C). [According to the wiki there is a poster shown in the episode that says Millie’s performance is on Friday, July 17th, but I am ignoring that and going with this instead as that would be impossible in the timeframe that I am putting everything else. In “Seeing Stars”, Moxxie gets a coin dated 2021 which to me means that the episode must be in that year or a year after that, however, the next year after 2021 in which July 17th is a Friday is 2026. However, June 17th, 2022 was a Friday.]

 

• Late July 2022 (F): The events of “Mammon’s Magnificent Musical Mid-Season Special (Ft Fizzarolli)” (except for flashbacks) takes place on an unspecified date (C).

 

• August 2022: Ellis wins tickets to a Toronto Blue Jays on an unspecified date (F).

 

• October 30th (C), 2022 (F): The events of “The Full Moon” take place.

 

• October 31st (C), 2022 (F): The events of “Apology Tour” take place.

 

• End of 2022 - Early 2023: Ribbon is born on an unknown date. (F)

 

• Early December (C), 2022 (F): The events of “Ghostfuckers” (except for flashbacks) take place.

 

• Early - Mid December (F): The events of “Mission: Antarctica”, “Mission: Weeaboo-boo” and “Mission: Chupacabras” take place on unspecified dates (C) between “Ghostfuckers” and “Mastermind” (F).

 

• Early - Mid December, 2022 (F): The events of “Mastermind” take place on an unspecified date (C).

 

• The day after “Mastermind” - December 24th or 25th, 2022: The events of “Sinsmas” take place on unspecified dates (C, not specified which day in canon).

 

• December 30th, 2022: Velvette is sent to Imp City by Vox for a meeting with some of his suppliers (F). 

 

• December 31st, 2022 (F): Velvette’s meeting with Vox’s suppliers takes more time than expected (F). The Extermination that occurs just before the Hazbin Pilot happens (C/F, the Pilot is not entirely canon. Though I believe that is mostly due to design changes, I'm categorizing it like this anyway). Carmilla decapitates an Exorcist (C). Ellis dies in a car accident and goes to Hell (F). 

---

Events During the Fic: [All dates of show canon events are (F), but the events do take place within the canon amount of time between the start and end of Season 1 of Hazbin.]

• December 31st, 2022: Chapters 1 and 2: Ellis arrives in Hell and saves Velvette from an Exorcist. The two hide in the abandoned Carmine weapon factory. Ellis acquires two angelic revolvers. He then carries an injured Velvette towards the V Tower and they find the head of the Exorcist killed by Carmilla. Ellis continues carrying Velvette towards the V Tower until they find an M-1000 pickup truck. Ellis drives Velvette and himself to the tower where he meets Vox and Valentino. Velvette and Ellis make a deal and begin living together. Velvette starts calling Ellis “Cheeky Bugger”.

• January 1st, 2023: The events of the Hazbin Hotel pilot take place, except for Charlie’s song at the very beginning which takes place at the end of the Extermination.

• January 1st - 6th, 2023: Ellis settles into his new life in Hell, befriends Ian and begins ordering doors from Cecil’s carpentry shop in Cannibal Town.

• January 7th, 2023: Chapter 3 (Takes place during “Overture”): Ellis meets Rosie. One of the fabric racks fall off the wall in Velvette’s studio. Ellis finds out about the dress that Velvette had wanted to make for years. Velvette finalizes the designs for the January fashion show. The new Extermination date is announced.

• January 8th, 2023: Chapters 4 and 5 (Takes place during “Radio Killed the Video Star”): Valentino wrecks Velvette’s studio and throws Ellis into a wall. Ellis helps Velvette’s designers and takes a picture of Velvette’s dress design. Velvette and Ellis go to the fabric store where Ellis protects Velvette from falling rolls of fabric. Ellis visits Rosie’s Emporium for the first time and gets some leather. Ellis starts calling Velvette “Cupcake”.

• January 14th, 2023: Chapter 6 (Takes place during “Scrambled Eggs”): Velvette posts a picture of Ellis and the pancakes he made on Sinstagram. She and Ellis go to the Carmines’ compound for the Overlord meeting. They then go to a restaurant before finding out that Valentino planted a story in the news about the two of them dating and Vox asks them to go along with it.

• January 20th and 21st, 2023: Chapter 7: Velvette makes Ellis’ suit to wear to the fashion show. Ellis ensures the runway is safe and meets Hazel. Velvette and Ellis pretend to be a couple when arriving at the fashion show. A hitman attempts to kill Velvette at the end of the show, Ellis kills them. Vox begins investigating who sent the hitman and Ellis takes their angelic Bowie knife and their payment. Ellis comforts Velvette and reveals why he is in Hell.

• January 22nd, 2023: Chapter 8: Ellis makes a sheath for his knife. Vox informs Ellis that it is Velvette’s ex (who Velvette reveals was physically abusive) that wanted her dead. Velvette sews “V” patches to Ellis’ flannel shirts. Ellis breaks into X’s apartment, makes him watch Vox feed the hitman to his sharks and then kills him. Ellis then brings X’s corpse to Rosie as payment for the leather she had previously given him. Ellis goes back to Velvette’s apartment where he gifts her one of his revolvers, she tells him to keep the hit payment and the two of them fall asleep together while watching the first three “Ocean’s” movies. Ellis’ nightmares stop.

• February 3rd, 2023: Chapter 9: As part of the fake relationship ruse, Ellis poses with Velvette for ads for her Valentine’s Day line of lingerie. Kitty goes haywire and destroys Valentino’s studio and most of the V Tower including Velvette’s studio and apartment. Ellis works with security to stop the robot, resulting in Ellis ripping its head off. Ellis returns Kitty to Valentino who then tries to hit Ellis before being stopped by Vox. Ellis meets Angel. Ellis begins the process of renovating Velvette’s apartment and studio. At the end of the day, Ellis teases Velvette by calling her “Cruella De Vil” and the two have a pillow fight. Velvette and Ellis eventually share details about their lives in the Living World while drinking wine. When she attempts to go to sleep, Velvette’s bed collapses as a result of the damage caused by Kitty so Ellis gives up his bed for her and begins sleeping on the damaged couch.

• February 14th, 2023: Chapter 10 (Takes place during “The Radio Demon”): Ellis wakes up in pain from sleeping on the damaged couch. Velvette decides that she wants the flooring in the apartment changed. Ellis delivers a suit to Vox and Vox tells him about the rifle that was stolen from the Carmine’s. Ellis goes to Cannibal Town to pick up trim and visit Rosie. Ellis meets Alastor who threatens him. Rosie confides in Ellis about something being not right with Alastor. Ellis asks Rosie for help making a gift for Velvette. Vox, who had been surveilling Ellis, threatens him. After Ellis installs the trim in the studio, he and Velvette paint the wall together and playfully get paint on each other. When Ellis lays down on the couch to go to sleep, Velvette insists that they share the bed going forward so Ellis is no longer in pain.

• March 11th and 12th, 2023: Chapter 11: Velvette and Ellis watch season 1 of “Shorsey”. Velvette sees that Katie Killjoy has put up a mocking billboard. Ellis tries to get Velvette to treat her employees better. Ian, Hazel and Ellis have a peaceful lunch together until Travis begins harassing them, Angel eventually joins them. Velvette travels to Imp City to help Verosika who is performing at a music festival in the Gluttony Ring. Ellis and Ian steal fabric from the store seen in chapter 4.

• March 13th - 17th, 2023:  Velvette is in Imp City for the duration of the festival. Ellis builds a new fabric rack for Velvette and makes a dress for her with help from Rosie.

• March 18th and 19th, 2023: Chapter 12: Ellis finishes making the dress and fabric rack. Velvette returns from Imp City and Ellis surprises her with the rack. Velvette finds out that it is Ellis’ 25th birthday and insists they celebrate. Ellis prepares dinner for him and Velvette and sets up a table with lights and music in the Fashion Studio. Velvette and Ellis have dinner together and then dance. The two of them nearly kiss for the first time but are interrupted by Valentino.

• March 20th - June 21st, 2023: The events of “Mission: Orphan Time” take place on an unspecified date during Spring. [There is no canon timeframe for this short, but judging by the baby bird shown at the start, it likely takes place in Spring.]

• April 7th, 8th and 9th, 2023: Chapter 13: Velvette attempts to tell Ellis that she had feelings for him but is interrupted each time. The two of them are invited to go to a club with Vox and Valentino. While at the club, Ellis witnesses Valentino attempt to drug someone and learns of the Love Potions before knocking over the spiked drink. Once home, Ellis confronts Velvette about the Love Potions which leads to an argument that results in him ending their deal and leaving the tower. On the second day of Ellis’ absence, Velvette breaks down and is filled with regret about making the potions and how she handled the confrontation.

• April 14th and 15th, 2024: Chapters 14 and 15: As a result of Ellis’ continued absence, Velvette has been in a constant state of sadness and has not been eating properly. Verosika visits to check in on her and stays overnight. Verosika takes charge of Velvette’s staff and helps her cope with Ellis’ absence. Velvette promotes Melissa to being a designer before going on a search for Ellis, eventually resulting in her going to Rosie’s Emporium. Velvette has a conversation with Rosie who eventually reveals that Ellis had been staying with her and helping around the store while also not acting like his usual self. Ellis and Velvette have a calm conversation about the Love Potions and Ellis shares the details of his past before suggesting that Velvette could produce perfume. The two have their first kiss and tell each other that they love them before rushing to make it to Velvette’s summer collection fashion show. Ellis gifts Velvette the dress he had made for her, based on the design she had wanted to make for years, for her birthday. Ellis has a brief confrontation with Stella after the show. Before finally going back to the apartment, Ellis surprises Velvette again by blowing up Katy Killjoy’s billboard. Velvette and Ellis sleep together. 

• April 23rd and 24th, 2023: Chapter 16 (Takes place during “Masquerade”): Velvette and Ellis, with help from Velvette’s employees, come up with ways to replace the income from the now stopped Love Potion production. The two watch footage from Game 5 of the 2015 MLB American League Division Series. Ellis is called to help clean up the mess from the fire in the Porn Studio caused by Charlie. While there, he finds Angel who is physically and mentally hurt and tells Ellis to leave him alone. Ellis then finds Angel’s contract with Valentino and realizes what likely happened. After Ellis returns to the apartment, he and Velvette have dinner and he tells her that he wishes he could do more to help make money. Ellis and Velvette officially label their relationship. Angel apologizes to Ellis for his reaction the night before and thanks him for caring.

• Late April, 2023: The events of “Dad Beat Dad” take place on an unspecified date. [I know that there has been no mention of this in the fic at the time that I am writing this, but Charlie says at the beginning of the episode “We only have a couple months left before the angels come.” and that places it around here.]

• April 30th and May 3rd, 2023: Chapters 17, 18 and 18 1/2: Velvette brings Ellis back to the factory seen in chapter 1 and suggests that he could use it as a workshop. Ellis comes up with a plan to make money by restoring and selling the weapons in the building. Ellis meets with the Carmines (and Zestial, unintentionally) to obtain permission to use the building and sell the weapons. Carmilla has a flashback to when she and her family arrived in Hell. Ellis makes a deal with the Carmines to use the building and sell the weapons in exchange for a cut of the profits. Verosika and Wally visit Velvette. Ellis goes to the factory to start work and is captured by I.M.P. Once released by I.M.P, Ellis finds out they are in possession of the rifle stolen from the Carmines by Striker and helps them fix it. I.M.P agrees to transport Ellis’ weapons to the lower Rings in exchange for a cut of the profits. Ellis also makes a deal with Wally to manage the sales and advertising of the weapons. Velvette, Ellis, Verosika and Wally have dinner together. Velvette and Verosika tell the story of how they first met. Someone puts a hit on Ellis.
  
  
  

 

 

• May 20th and 21st, 2023: Chapter 19: Ellis goes to his factory where he finds a hidden bunker under the office. Blitz backs out of scheduled weekly weapon pickup so he can take Loona to a doctor appointment, forcing Ellis to transport the weapons to Imp City himself. While preparing to leave the factory, Ellis finds what he believes is a stray cat. Velvette reluctantly agrees to let the cat stay with them for a night so Ellis can find a permanent home for it. Ellis, while driving to I.M.P’s headquarters, is attacked by multiple gunmen. Blitz and Loona help Ellis kill his attackers, but not before Ellis’ truck is severely damaged. Velvette helps the cat after she gets tangled in a spool of ribbon and gets more accustomed to it being around. Ellis meets Stolas and Blitz shows him around I.M.P’s office. Blitz informs Ellis that the stolen rifle is being stored outside of Pride in a place that he believes no one will find it. Ellis goes with Stolas and Blitz to the dive bar that Blitz mentions in “Ozzie’s”. While at the bar, Blitz and Stolas inform Ellis about the cat he found before being confronted by a mob of angry patrons. Blitz and Ellis, with some help from Stolas, fight off the angry mob before leaving to go to Blitz’s new apartment. The next day, Loona and Ellis go to a junkyard to get a new radiator for Ellis’ truck. While there, Loona opens up to Ellis about her relationship with her adoptive father and her desire to have a motorcycle. Ellis gives her his perspective on family and offers to store a motorcycle at his factory so she can restore it and keep it while convincing Blitz to be less protective. Ellis then travels back home and finds out that Velvette has named the cat “Ribbon” and decided that they are keeping her. Crimson is informed about his employees’ failure to kill Ellis and calls someone else to give them the job.

 

 

 

• May 30th, 2023: Chapter 20: The events of "Welcome to Heaven" take place. Vox sends Velvette to Imp City to deal with his supplier. Velvette, with help from Ellis and Moxxie, deal with the supplier before going to I.M.P's headquarters. Velvette confronts Blitz about not keeping in contact with her after he left Verosika, despite the two being friends prior to him leaving. Stolas and Ellis confront Stella and Andrealphus while going to get drinks from a coffee shop, nearly resulting in a fight. Andrealphus has a plan to take revenge on Ellis for disrespecting him and Stella. While driving home, Ellis and Velvette see Charlie and Vaggie falling from the portal created by Adam which removed them from Heaven.

 

 

 

• June 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 9th, 2023: Chapter 21: The events of "Hello Rosie!" take place on June 1st. Angel calls Ellis and explains why Charlie and Vaggie were falling from the portal and that the hotel is not the initial target for the upcoming extermination. Carmilla asks Ellis to come to a meeting the next morning where she informs him of Charlie's plan to fight back against the Exorcists and asks him to assist with supplying them with angelic weapons in exchange for a higher payment than usual. Blitz, Loona and the interns arrive in Pentagram City to assist Ellis with the work. Loona works on her motorcycle behind Blitz's back. Ribbon finds a way to climb onto the factory roof joists. The next day, Blitz finds Loona's motorcycle and confronts her about it. Ellis intervenes in the argument between father and daughter, helping Blitz to accept Loona having a motorcycle. After a week, the work on the angelic weapons is finished and there is a surplus of standard arms, meaning that Ellis will not need to work at the factory for the next week, and it is time for Blitz, Loona and the interns to return to Imp City. A new threat looms...

Chapter 29: Chapter 22: Under Dark Clouds

Summary:

Content warning for violence.

Notes:

Surprise! I managed to write two chapters in one month lol

Have a good day! :)

June 22nd, 2023, 8:15a.m., V & E’s Bedroom…

 

Beep!

 

Beep! 

 

Velvette let out a tired groan. “Five minutes…please…”

Ellis chuckled as he reached over and pressed the snooze button for what felt like the tenth time. “Cupcake, we can’t just stay in bed all day. Or I can’t at least.”

Velvette tiredly looked up, her chin resting on his chest. “Well, I fully intend to stay in bed all day except for maybe going down to the pool.” She laid her head back down on it's side. “What do you need to do anyway?”, she asked, yawning halfway through her question.

“I need to go to Carmine’s. Clara finished making the scope for my rifle so I gotta go get that. Then I need to meet Blitz at the factory for the pick up later.”

“ Right… I forgot that he was coming down today. Mmm… Give me five more minutes, then we’ll get up and I’ll go with you.”

“You want to come with me to Carmine’s?”

“Yeah, I want to talk to her about that thing you and I spoke about.”

“ Ohhhh, yes, good idea.”

“I know, I thought of it.”, Velvette said with a smirk. “Now hush, let me sleep.”

 

The five minutes that Velvette had asked for came and went, but she made no attempt to get up.

“Cupcake…”

“…Five more minutes…”

Ellis smirked at her response before slowly moving his fingers to her sides and gently tickling her.

“Ah! No, st- stop it!”, Velvette protested while laughing.

Ellis pulled his hands away before feigning innocence. “Stop what?”

“Oh you know exactly what, you Cheeky Bugger. Stop tick- ah! N-no!” Velvette began to laugh again as Ellis resumed his tickling.

“I’m not doing anything.”

“Ellis! S-stop it! Haha! T-that’s it!” Velvette managed to grab Ellis’ wrists and pinned them above his head as she moved on top of him. 

 

Velvette remained straddling Ellis while she caught her breath.

Ellis looked above him at where his wrists were still pinned against the headboard and then back down at Velvette with a grin. “I guess it’s a good thing we’re still in bed.”

Velvette laughed. “Oh, like you deserve anything after that?”

“As if you’re so innocent all the time. Remember, that door can swing both ways.”

Velvette leaned down until her face was only inches away from Ellis’. “That so?”

“You know-“

 

“ Grooww! ”

 

Ellis and Velvette turned their heads to look at the floor next to the bed where Ribbon was now standing after running into the room with her back already arched.

Velvette turned back to Ellis. “Well, looks like you’re not that lucky this morning.”

Ellis turned his head back to Velvette and gazed at her body which was still only dressed in the little amount of clothing she wore to bed and still on top of him, and then back up to her face. “I’m still the luckiest guy there is.”

Velvette smirked. “Mm, right you are.” She then leaned down fully and the two kissed passionately before Velvette pulled back. “Now come on, let’s get ready and get out of here.” 

 

---

 

9:06a.m, Carmine Compound…

 

Ellis walked with Velvette through the halls of the Carmines’ main building, carrying a plastic rifle case. “Here we are.”, he said as they approached a room with large windows along the hall and a sign that read ‘Caution! Shooting Range.”

As Ellis opened the door, Velvette spotted Carmilla at the other end of the hall. “I’m gonna stay out here, you go ahead.”, she said.

Ellis turned as if to ask why, but then noticed Carmilla. “Alright. Good morning, ma’am.”

 

Once Ellis was in the range, he walked over to a table where Clara was already standing with a box. “Clara, how are you?”

“Tired, but alright. You?”

“Pretty good. I would say tired too, but that’s just par for the course.”

“Understatement of the century.” Clara looked down at the rifle case. “That’s the one?”

“Yep.” Ellis lifted the case onto the table and opened it, revealing the No. 4 Mk 2 Lee-Enfield inside. The rifle looked almost brand new with a refinished stock, the brass buttplate polished to a mirror finish, a new sling and the steel freshly blued and rust free. It was hard to believe that it was ever in as rough condition as it was when Ellis pulled it out of one of the piles in the factory the day he met I.M.P.

Clara shook her head. “You and my sister, always favouring the old shit.”

“In my experience, old shit is more reliable.”

Clara couldn’t help but laugh. “And now you're starting to sound like her.” 

 

Meanwhile, in the hallway, Carmilla approached Velvette and the two stood silently for a moment as they both looked through one of the windows into the range. The air was slightly tense as they were both well aware of what transpired the last time they were in the same room.

“Velvette.”

“Carmilla. How’s your morning going?”

“Peacefully. Yours?”

“Quiet lovely, actually.”

Carmilla remained silent for a moment before speaking again. “Seems like Ellis has been a good influence.”

“…Yeah, he has.”

 

Clara opened the box that she had and slid it towards Ellis. “Here, take a look.” Ellis smiled as he saw the contents of the box and Clara spoke. “One custom scope with a built-in range finder, Weaver style rings, a No. 4 mount with a Picatinny rail and the necessary hardware.”

“It all looks perfect.”

“Yeah it does.” Clara picked up a hex key, a screwdriver and a small wrench from a nearby workbench. “Now, are we going to just keep standing here looking at it or are we going to mount and test this thing?”

 

“I am surprised he wanted to spend the money for one of those scopes. They are far from cheap as we don’t make specialty scopes on a commercial scale.”, said Carmilla as she and Velvette continued watching from outside.

“He told me that he wanted to treat himself to something with what he made from the hotel thing. I said I would pay for it for him, but he insisted on doing it. He said he made more from that alone than he did all of last year.”

 

Clara set down her tools and Ellis removed his rifle from the vise they had put it in while attaching the mount and scope.

“Did you bring ammo with you?”

“Yep, got it right here.” Ellis opened the bolt and then reached into the chest pocket of his flannel shirt to grab his cartridges. At the same time, Clara hung an aluminum, human shaped target with one bullseye on the head and one on the chest on the range’s track system and moved it into position.

 

“I assume you’re wondering why I came here with him.”, said Velvette.

“Not really.”

Velvette looked at Carmilla and saw the slight smirk on her face. “I heard you said that to Alastor.”

“The look on his face was worth the seven year wait.”

“I bet it was. From what I’ve heard about him, he especially likes to feel important. Though, Vox’s opinions aren’t exactly unbiased.”

“That is certainly one way to put it.”

BANG!

 

“Inch high and three quarters to the left.”, said Clara as she looked at the target at the far end of the range with binoculars. Ellis quickly made the adjustments to the position of the scope’s crosshairs.

 

BANG!

 

“Just high and right, about a quarter inch.”

“That might just be because of me. Hold on.”

 

BANG!

 

“Yeah, it’s just you. Zeroed in three shots, nice work.”

“Thanks.”

“What’s the rangefinder reading? Should be between one hundred and one hundred and five.”

“Uh…three hun- oh, it’s set to feet.” Ellis pressed a button on the side of the scope to change to units from feet to yards. “There we go. Hundred and two.”

“Perfect.”

 

Velvette handed Carmilla two envelopes she had been carrying.

“What are these?”

“Invitations. For dinner. One is for you and your daughters. The other is for Zestial, I was hoping you would be able to pass it along for me as I don’t have a way to contact him.”

Carmilla gave her a skeptical look. “You are inviting us to dinner?”

“At a place of your choosing, whether it’s a restaurant or Ellis and I will cook, and on a date that works for everyone. Some time after the extermination, of course.”

“Hm. Very well, I will ensure Zestial receives his and I will discuss it with my daughters.” Carmilla then turned her head as she noticed movement at the end of the hall. “Speaking of which. Odette.” 

 

Odette walked down the hall towards them, carrying a gun case. “Mother.” She then glanced towards Velvette before opening the door and stepping into the range.

Ellis looked up at her as he set his rifle down. “Hey Odette. What do you have there?”

Clara answered first. “Her most recently finished project. Or hopefully finished, anyway.”

“Clara mentioned that- Oh, there’s the No. 4. Very nice work. Anyways, Clara mentioned that you were coming this morning and I thought you may want to try shooting this.”

“And what exactly is this ?”

 

Odette lifted the case onto the table and opened it. “Winchester 1887 with the cut-down stock and shortened barrel. Redesigned to remove the issues of the original while maintaining the look.”

Ellis looked at the lever-action shotgun in front of him. “Holy shit…”

“You mean ‘old shit’.”, Clara remarked.

“Sister, just admit that you have poor taste.”

“C, you comment about old stuff, but aren’t you two over a hundred years old or something?”

Clara froze and her eyes widened slightly as she heard Ellis’ words.

“You broke her.”, Odette said bluntly.

Clara then turned to Ellis. “…That’s not the point. The point is-”

“Haha!”, Ellis laughed loudly at Clara’s deflection while Odette simply chuckled.

 

Outside, Velvette turned to Carmilla as they watched the three inside interact. “Should I be concerned about having competition?”, she asked, jokingly.

Carmilla let out a single sound resembling a laugh. “No. Odette has no interest in anyone of any type and Clara would sooner have interest in you.”

 

Ellis picked up the shotgun as Odette explained. “I changed the lever to have a larger loop to allow for one handed reloading and-”

“So whoever uses it can cosplay as the Terminator saving John Conner.”

Odette glared at Clara as she continued. “ And so there would be room to add a paracord or leather wrap for comfort.”

“Very nice. I’ve wanted to try one of these for a while. I’ve been a bit disappointed that I haven’t found one at the factory.”

“That would be because we did not ever produce them, largely due to the flaw which I have now fixed. First though, if you turn your attention to the underside of the weapon, you will see the most noticeable change.”

 

Ellis turned the gun upside down and saw a loading gate on the underside of the magazine tube. “You changed how you load it?”

“Yes. In my opinion, breech-loading is inconvenient so I changed the design to allow the user to load it the same way as a pump action. The downside to this design is it holds one less shell than the original. I have also solved the problems with the feeding and ejection, that is the flaw I have fixed.” 

 

Ellis cycled the weapon a few times including one handed.

At the same time, Clara unlocked a nearby cabinet. “O, is it smooth bore or rifled?”

“Smooth. With how short the barrel is, it’s unlikely that anyone would even try using this for longer range.”

Clara grabbed a box of buckshot and a single slug shell from the cabinet and handed them to Ellis while Odette adjusted the position of the target, moving it closer to where Ellis was shooting from.

 

Ellis loaded four of the buckshot shells into the magazine and an additional one directly into the chamber. He then held the gun next to his hip. “Here we go…”

 

BANG!

 

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

 

Ellis turned his head to look at Velvette through the window, a giant smile on his face.

“He’s like a kid in a candy shop.”, she said with a smile of her own, glad to see that Ellis was having fun. She watched as Clara handed the slug shell to Ellis who then loaded it into the magazine before unnecessarily cycling the gun one handed and aiming it as if it was a pistol.

“That is going to kick back out of his hand.”, Carmilla said bluntly.

 

BANG!

 

“…It appears I was wrong.”

Velvette smirked at Carmilla’s admission while still watching Ellis. Thanks to his strength, the shotgun only had as much kickback as a pistol has in most people’s hands. 

 

“Hey, O?”, said Ellis as he cycled the shotgun again to remove the now empty shell and make sure the gun was empty.

“Yes?”

“How much would one of these cost me?”

 

---

 

11:29a.m., V & E’s Living Room…

 

Ellis stood in front of one of the walls with a measuring tape. “That’ll be twenty-six inches by… forty-eight… Okay, that should be everything.” As he wrote down the measurements on a piece of paper, he heard footsteps approaching him.

“You measuring for the cat tree?” 

 

Ellis turned around and saw Velvette standing in a robe. “I just finished actually. I’m about to go get Ribbon and then head to the factory. She’s in the studio with the girls right now.”

“Oh, you’re leaving already? I thought Blitz wasn’t coming until later.”

“Yeah. There's some things I'd like to get done before he gets there. I need to fix the office door and the hole that Ribbon was using to go up on the rafters.”

“Hm, that’s too bad…”, said Velvette, pretending to be sad.

“Why’s that?”

“Well, I was hoping you would be here a bit longer so you could help me pick which bikini I wear when I go down to the pool later…” Velvette turned and began walking down the hallway towards the bedroom, purposefully swaying her hips more than usual. “But, since you’re going, I guess I’ll just need to try them on all alone… Every. Single. One.” 

 

Ellis watched, a look of awe on his face, as Velvette walked down the hall before entering their bedroom. “ …Fuck… ” Before Ellis could say anything else, he felt his phone begin to buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out of his pocket, saw that it was Blitz who was calling and answered it. “Hey Blitz.”

“Hey Motherfucker. I’m just about to leave here.”

“Alright, I…” Ellis trailed off as he saw Velvette toss her robe onto the floor of the hall from the bedroom. “…You know what, um… Something just uh… came up and I might be a bit late. Why don’t you go sit down at a restaurant or something and have lunch with Stolas before you leave so you’re not waiting for me at the factory? Take your time.”

“Nah, I don’t mind waiting. Besides, I already had…” Blitz trailed off as his mind connected the dots. “Yeah, lunch sounds good. I’ll see you la-”

Ellis ended the call and then ran down the hall.

 

---

 

5:19p.m., Outskirts of Pentagram City…

 

Ellis looked up at the sky full of dark clouds as he drove. “Christ, it’s not even six yet and it’s nearly as dark as midnight. Vel definitely won’t be staying by the pool much longer.”

 

A few minutes later, the radio station’s ads finally ended and Ellis heard the beginning of a song he immediately recognized. “Oh fuck yeah!” He turned up the volume.

“I hear your heart beat to the beat of the drums”

 

Ribbon covered her ears with her paws.

 

“Oh, what a shame that you came here with someone”

 

“So while you’re here in my arms”

 

“Let’s make the most of the night like we’re gonna die young”

 

“We’re gonna die young”

 

“We’re gonna die young”

Ellis eventually turned onto the street that the factory was on and saw Blitz’s van in the oncoming lane. 

 

As both vehicles turned into the factory’s yard, Ribbon excitedly climbed over Ellis’ lap to look out of the window.

“Ow, ow, fuck. I need to trim your claws tonight. Christ…” Ellis then parked the truck next to Blitz’s van and opened the door, allowing Ribbon to jump out and run to Blitz. Ellis got out and walked around the van. He laughed as he saw Blitz on the ground with Ribbon on top of him, licking him. “Are you having fun?”

Blitz attempted to reply but was unable to.

“Ribbon, off.”

Ribbon gave Blitz one last lick before moving off of the Imp. 

 

Blitz sat up, spat on the ground and then wiped his tongue with his hand. “Christ on a stick, she got her tongue in my mouth.”

Ellis laughed as he extended a hand to help Blitz stand up. “It could've be worse.”

“Yeah, it could’ve been your tongue.”, Blitz said with a laugh. As his laughter died down, Blitz tilted his head inquisitively and raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

Blitz smirked. “Nice neck.”

Ellis was confused and moved a hand to the side of his neck. “What’s wrong with my…” He trailed off as he looked at his fingers and saw that they now had black lipstick on them. “…You shouldn’t talk, you showed up with a bunch of beak marks on you a couple of weeks ago.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Come on, we have shit to do.”

 

Blitz, Ellis and Ribbon walked into the factory. As they did, Ribbon let out a low growl.

“What’s her problem?”, asked Blitz.

“I don’t know. She probably just heard a mouse or something. Oh! Wait until you see the new gun I’m getting. Odette just finished finalizing the design. It’s a-”

“Wait, don’t tell me! Let me guess… Oh, I know! Machine gun!”

“Nope. I already have a few.”

“Hmm… Sniper?”

“No. I got the scope for the Enfield this morning though.”

“Shotgun?”

“Yep. Lever action.”

“ Nice .”

 

Ellis approached the building’s electrical panel on the wall and turned on the switch that controlled the lights. He then closed the panel’s door as the lights began to flicker on, only for it to slowly swing back open like always.

“Add that to the list of shit to fix.”, said Blitz.

Ellis sighed. “It’s been on the list since I first started working here. It’s fine, in a few weeks the whole system is going to be redone.”

 

Blitz and Ellis walked towards where the restored guns were with Ribbon following closely, still extra alert.

“Alright let’s get these into your van so we can both go home.”

“You boys won’t be goin’ anywhere.” 

 

Ellis and Blitz turned around as they heard the deep voice behind them. They watched as a figure jumped down from the rafters and landed on the floor. When Ellis saw the man, he noticed that he appeared to be a pale Imp and dressed like a cowboy.

Blitz Immediately tensed up. “ Striker .”

“Long time no see, Blitzy .” The cowboy took a couple steps forward until he was standing roughly thirty feet away, before letting out a deep, unsettling laugh.

Ellis’ eyes widened with realization. “Striker..? You’re the one that stole the rifle from the Carmines…”

Striker smirked. “Look at that, someone did their homework.”

 

“What do you want this time, asshole?”, asked Blitz, anger in his voice, mixed with a bit of fear.

“For starters, you can tell me where you hid that rifle you took from me.” Striker took a couple steps closer. Ribbon arched her back and her fur stood on end in response.

“Not gonna happen! Even if I did tell you, you wouldn’t be able to get it.”

“ Well… I guess it’s time for the other thing I came for then.” Striker stepped even closer until he was only twenty feet away.

 

“Grooww!”

 

Ellis looked down at the floor behind him where Ribbon was. “Go. NOW. ”

After a moment, Ribbon turned and began slowly walking away, occasionally looking back.

Ellis turned his attention back to Striker who was letting out a low laugh. “What do you want?”

“Me? Oh, I came here to kill the both of you.”

“Why? I’ve done nothing to you.”

“No, you haven’t. He has though.” Striker motioned to Blitz. “But, you, it’s nothing personal. Just business.” Ellis and Blitz exchanged a look. “I’ve killed plenty of folks before, but I’ve never been hired by two different people to kill the same guy. Not that I’m complaining.”

“And who the fuck did that?”, asked Blitz.

“Well… I suppose I can tell you since neither of you will be around long enough to do anything about it. It was a couple mutual friends of ours, Blitz. The pathetic one's dad and that cold fuckin’ Blue Blood. That reminds me, once I’m done with you two, I think I’m gonna pay a visit to your Little Birdy, your mutt too. And maybe the rest of your friends while I’m at it.”

 

Ellis glanced towards Blitz and he could see the immense anger on his face.

Striker could see it too. “That’s it, get good and mad, Blitz. It’ll be the last feeling you have, ‘cause there’s no escape this time.”

Blitz suddenly reached into his coat, pulled out his pistol and pulled the hammer back. At the same time, Ellis reached for his revolver. 

 

His eyes widened with panic when his hand couldn’t find it. 

 

Ellis looked down and saw that his revolver wasn’t there. He then reached for his pistol, only to find that it wasn’t there either. Neither was his holster. “ Shit… ” He quickly realized that he had forgotten to put his holster back on and that it was likely on his bedroom floor. 

 

Ellis slowly turned to look to his right at Blitz, fear on his face.

“Don’t worry, E. I’ve got the bastard this time!”

 

Click…

 

Click…

 

Click. Click. Click…

 

Blitz kept pulling the trigger, but nothing happened. The hammer was stuck.

 

Blitz looked at Ellis, a mix of nervousness and fear on his face. “I uh… I guess I should’ve cleaned it…”

Before Ellis could say anything to Blitz, Striker began to laugh, drawing the attention of both the Sinner and the Imp. “Oh, I’m gonna enjoy this.” Striker reached to his hips and pulled out two angelic revolvers. 

 

Ellis looked at Blitz again. When he did, he saw that Blitz wasn’t looking at his face or at Striker. Rather, he was looking down and behind Ellis. Ellis was initially confused as to why Blitz would be looking behind him, but then he realized. It was at that same moment that Ellis looked past Blitz and noticed something on the wall.

 

“Any last words, boys?”, asked Striker as he cocked both of his guns.

Ellis turned his head to look at him again while slowly and subtly reaching behind his back. “I have one. Duck! ”

 

Blitz quickly lowered his head and Ellis pulled his knife out of its sheath and threw it in one swift motion. The knife flew through the curl of Blitz’s horns and right into the electrical panel, causing it to malfunction and the lights to turn off. Blitz and Ellis quickly jumped behind some crates and machines in different directions as Striker fired off two shots into the darkness. The only light left in the building was the glow of the two Imp’s eyes, the light emitted by the angelic steel on Striker’s guns and the little bit coming from outside through the building’s dirty windows and the large hole in the roof.

 

Ellis leaned out from behind a crate and saw the light coming from both Imp’s eyes. “Blitz, keep your eyes shut! I’ll handle it…” Ellis slowly began to crawl around some of the crates and towards Striker who was slowly walking around, trying to find him and Blitz.

“Come out! Right now!”

As Ellis got close to Striker, he quietly grabbed a screwdriver from one of the workbenches and threw it towards the bay door. 

 

As the screwdriver hit the ground, Striker spun around and shot in the direction of the noise. Ellis then ran up to Striker and hit him in the back, causing him to drop one of his guns.

“Come here you little…” Striker spun around and attempted to aim the other revolver at Ellis.

Ellis managed to grab Striker’s wrists before the barrel was pointed towards him, but struggled to gain any control. The two began to grunt as they attempted to shove and make the other loose balance.

 

Despite Ellis’ strength, Striker was managing to slowly overpower him.

“End of the line, you blue haired bast-” Striker was interrupted as Blitz suddenly jumped towards them and grabbed the gun while it was still in Striker’s hand. It was just enough of a distraction for Ellis to be able to punch Striker in the midsection, causing his grip on the gun to loosen.

 

Striker quickly wrapped his tail around Blitz’s waist and threw him against one on the lathes, knocking him out, while the revolver also left his hand, landing on the floor.

Ellis attempted to punch Striker in the head, but Striker managed to dodge it and slip behind him.

Striker wasted no time in wrapping an arm around Ellis’ neck, beginning to choke him and at the same time, pulling out his own angelic knife and attempting to stab Ellis with it.

Ellis managed to reach out and grab Striker’s arm before the blade could get near him, but Striker was still overpowering him and the steel was slowly getting closer to Ellis’ skin.

 

In a desperate act, Ellis suddenly moved backwards, slamming Striker into a crate.

“Arghh! It’ll take more than that to-”

Ellis suddenly moved forward and then back again as he began to slam Striker into the crate repeatedly. As he was continuing to be slammed against the crate, Striker lost focus on slabbing Ellis, allowing Ellis to pull his arm down and to the side, lodging the knife into the crate.

 

“Arghhhh! That’s it! I’ve had enough of you!” With the knife now stuck in the wood on the crate, Striker used his second arm to tighten the hold he had on Ellis’ throat, completely preventing him from being able to breathe.

Ellis desperately began to claw and pull at Striker’s arms as he began to choke and sputter, but it was useless. “B-b-lit-z…”

The Imp had only just begun to regain consciousness and couldn’t hear Ellis’s call for help.

 

As Ellis’ already limited vision began to fade, memories began to fly through his mind…

 

---

 

“Whatever you say, Cupcake.”

“ Cheeky bugger.”

 

“Ribbon? You named her?”

“I did.”

 

“Well Miss Rosie, it’s a lovely looking town you have here.”

"Oh, look at you, so polite!”

 

“Hold on, was that Travis?”

“Yep, his back tires are flat.”

“Okay then… Wait, how do you know- Ohhh.”

 

“What’s wrong this time?”

“Absolutely nothing.”

“Then why the hell are you looking at the ground this time?”

“ I’m looking at the ground because you look so good that if I spend another second looking at you, I don’t think I’ll be able to look away .”

 

---

 

With the last bit of oxygen he had left, Ellis jammed his elbow into Striker’s side while pulling down on the arm against his throat as hard as he could.

 

It was just enough to cause Striker’s grip to loosen long enough for Ellis to steal a breath.

“Look at that, you still got some fight left in-” Striker’s words were cut off as Ellis elbowed him again, even harder. Then again, and again and again. In response, Striker tightened his hold until Ellis felt like his head was about to pop off. 

 

Just as his vision began to darken again, Ellis noticed movement above him. He quickly moved to slam back against the crate again, followed by another elbow. It was finally enough to loosen Striker’s hold enough for Ellis to slip free. He wasted no time and punched Striker twice in the midsection, knocking the air out of his lungs. Ellis then punched Striker in the jaw with as much strength as he could, knocking the Imp’s gold tooth out and sending it flying.

 

Before Striker had a chance to regain his bearings, he found himself being hurled away from the crate and landing on his back on the floor, about ten feet away from Ellis. The throw also resulted in Striker’s hat flying off his head.

The pale Imp slowly stood up, wiping blood from his mouth. He looked at Ellis with pure rage in his eyes. “You’re gonna pay for that!”

In response, Ellis simply brought two fingers to his mouth and whistled.

 

Striker gave Ellis a look that was a mixture of anger and confusion, but just as he was about to say something, he was interrupted by Ribbon suddenly landing on him, digging her sharp claws into his back and biting the back of his neck.

Despite the continuing attack from Ribbon, Striker didn’t go down and began trying to pull her off of his back. “ARGH! Get OFF!”

 

With Striker distracted, Ellis ran to a nearby workbench and grabbed a crowbar. He then ran back towards Striker. “Down!”

At the command, Ribbon jumped off of Striker’s back.

Ellis quickly closed the distance between himself and the Imp and swung the crowbar like a baseball bat at Striker’s head.

Unfortunately for Ellis, Striker was able to duck just enough for the tool to avoid his head. However, unfortunately for Striker, the crowbar instead hit his left horn. And it hit HARD.

 

Crack.

 

The horn broke off, falling to the ground and leaving a jagged stump.

 

“ YEEOOW! FUCK!” Striker reached up to where the horn had been with one shaking hand.

Ellis could see Striker become completely irate, but wasted no time hitting Striker again, but in the side instead. He then kicked the Imp in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards as he saw Blitz rapidly approaching after finally getting back up.

“Hey! Shitstain!” Blitz ran and punched Striker, knocking him back towards Ellis who swung the crowbar again, hitting Striker’s right arm and breaking it, before grabbing him by the throat and slamming him onto the ground.

 

As Ellis stood with Ribbon next to him, looming over Striker who was trying to pull himself away, Blitz ran to where Striker’s guns were on the ground and picked them up.

Striker spat out a mouthful of blood. “You think you’ve won? I’ll be back!” Striker then tried to jump to his feet and away, but Ribbon bit and held his tail, pulling him back onto the ground.

 

Blitz ran over to Ellis and handed him one of Striker’s angelic revolvers. The two then stood side by side and aimed at the cowboy. 

 

Click. Click.

 

Striker propped himself up on his unbroken arm, spat onto the ground again and smirked. “You think killing me will change anything , Blitz? Imps killing other Imps just keeps all of us low. It’s what all the higher races want! And no matter what, you’ll always just be the same worthless piece of shit that nobody, especially a Goetia, will ever lo-”

 

BANG! BANG!

 

Striker’s body collapsed back onto the ground, one hole in his head and one in his chest.

 

“Maybe so… But I have people that I love and that’s all I need.”

 

BANG!

 

“ Blitz . You don’t need to-”

“I’m not taking any chances with this motherfucker.” Blitz continued shooting Striker’s body until the gun ran out of ammunition.

At the same time, Ellis kneeled down and pet Ribbon. “Good girl… Thank you…”

“ Mrroww” 

 

Blitz took a few steps back and Ellis stood up.

“Are you alright?”, asked Ellis.

“…Yeah…yeah… You?”

“I’ll live.”

Blitz motioned towards Ellis’ bloody right hand.

Ellis raised his hand to look at it. “Oh, that’s not mine, it’s…” Ellis suddenly looked at Blitz, a concerned look on his face, and then reached out and touched a bleeding cut on the side of Blitz’s head with a finger on his left hand.

“Ow! What the fuck?!”

 

Ellis ignored Blitz and walked over to Striker’s body. He then dipped a different finger into one of the bullet holes.

“The fuck was that for? Ellis?”

“…This guy is supposed to be an Imp, right?”, asked Ellis as he looked at his fingers.

“At least partially, yeah. Why?”

Ellis walked back to Blitz and showed him his fingers. Blitz’s blood was black.

 

Striker’s was blue.

 

The two looked at each other and then at Striker’s body. “Fuck…”

They both remained silent for a moment before Blitz spoke, a panic in his voice. “Shit. What the fuck are we going to do? If the royals find out that we killed one of them, even if it was this guy, whatever the fuck he is, there won’t be any way out. I got lucky once and it still cost Stolas-”

“ Blitz , just… Just give me a second to think… I… I have an idea. I’ll need to make a call to-”

“No . No one can know about this.”

“I don’t think we have much choice. I wouldn’t even be considering it if I didn’t trust her.”

“I… Ellis, I can’t risk my friends, my family , getting hurt again.”

“Hey.” Ellis placed a hand on Blitz’s shoulder and looked him in the eyes. “ Your family is my family, and I’ll do whatever I need to to protect my family. I got your back. That is my promise to you.”

After a moment, Blitz slowly nodded. “...Okay… Okay. What are we gonna do?”

“We’ll wrap him with plastic, cover him with a tarp and put him in the back of the truck. I'll deal with it from there.”

“Alright…”

 

Blitz and Ellis walked towards the bay door.

“Where’d you learn to throw a knife like that?”, asked Blitz.

“When you’re unemployed and don’t have enough money to do things, you find ways to pass the time.”

 

As they got close to the door, they heard the sound of heavy breathing coming from outside.

Blitz decided to discreetly open the mandoor to look at who or what was there. “Oh shit…”

“What is it?”

“...It’s alright. You can open the big door...”

Ellis somewhat cautiously opened the bay door. As he did, he found himself standing in front of a fiery horse. 

 

The horse slowly walked past Ellis and towards Striker’s body.

Ellis looked at Blitz. “That’s…”

“Yeah… Bombproof…”

The two watched as Bombproof walked over to his owner and sniffed him before letting out a sound that Blitz knew meant sadness. 

 

Blitz and Ellis silently decided to let the animal grieve, loading the weapons for the next sale into Blitz’s van while they waited. After a while, Blitz led Bombproof to a different part of the factory while Ellis loaded Striker’s body into the back of the truck.

Blitz returned just as Ellis picked up the broken off horn. “Is that everything?”

“Not quite. I knocked one of his teeth out too.” Ellis pointed towards where the majority of the fighting took place. “It’s somewhere over there. Then there’s the blood.”

“I’ll go find the tooth. I have an idea, it’ll send a message.”

“Alright.” Ellis thought to himself for a moment. “What do you want to do with the horse?”

Blitz sighed. “Well… he’s gonna need someone to take care of him. I’ll do it, but I’ll need to keep him here until I can figure out where to keep him and how to get him there.”

Ellis sighed. “You can keep him in here. Temporarily . But, he’s your responsibility.”

“Deal.” 

 

Once Blitz prepared an area in the factory for Bombproof to temporarily stay in, he and Ellis walked out of the factory and towards their vehicles just as rain began to lightly fall.

After Ellis opened the truck door for Ribbon to jump inside, he grabbed a bag that he had put on the seat and carried it over to Blitz. “Here. Take these.”

Blitz took the bag from Ellis and opened it. Inside he saw Striker’s angelic knife and revolvers. “I thought you couldn’t get rid of angelics except for selling them to Carmine.”

“I’m not allowed to sell them to anyone else, she didn’t say anything about giving them away. Besides, you should have at least one angelic just in case.”

Blitz closed the bag and set it on the passenger seat before looking at Ellis again. “Thanks, Kid. I’ll probably give the knife and one gun to M & M. I’ll keep the other gun for Loona and I.”

“Alright. Drive safe.” 

 

Ellis got into his truck and both him and Blitz drove out of the yard. Ellis looked at Blitz’ van driving in the opposite direction in his rear view mirror. He then looked at the bit of tarp that he could see in the bottom of the mirror and sighed. As Ribbon curled up next to him, he pulled out his phone and went through his contacts.

Someone answered a moment later.

 

“Rosie’s Emporium, Mary speaking. How can I help you?”

“Mary, it’s Ellis. Can I speak to Rosie, please?”

 

---

 

June 24th, 7:33p.m., Notamafia Town, Greed Ring…

 

Crimson sat in his chair in front of the fireplace, a cigar in one hand and a drink in the other. He smirked as he heard footsteps approaching. “So, I take it that you got the job…done…” He trailed off as he realized that it was Alessio that had entered the room and was now standing next to him. He sighed. “And here I thought you were the fuckin’ Hick.”

“No sir. There has been no word from him yet.” Alessio pulled a package wrapped in brown paper out from behind his back. “This just arrived for you. Wacky Express.” 

 

Crimson looked at the package suspiciously before setting his cigar down on an ashtray and his drink next to it. He then took the package from Alessio and tore the paper off, revealing a plain box. He slowly opened the box and then stopped once he saw the contents, before handing the box back to Alessio and staring at the fire again, a look of despair forming on his face as he sighed.

 

There were only two things inside the box. A live cartridge with the words "Laast chanse” scratched into the casing, and a gold tooth.

Notes:

Just one chapter left...

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of It’s a Hell of a Life